Chapter 5:

Spring Cleaning

It hadn't even been an hour since the train wreck of the examination room. Ever since Sans fell, Gaster felt as if time stopped completely. The young monster still had yet to stir and Gaster thought it very likely that he would be unable to wake himself for a while. The doctor had summoned a bit of his own magic to pick him up and take him off to bed so he could regain his HP in peace. Normally, he would have escorted him himself, but he was not about to leave that thing unsupervised.

Once he was sure Sans was well on his way, he turned back in order to deal with his failure himself.

Of course that was exactly when the first of the other lab assistants began to report in. A chiming sound filled the halls and alerted the doctor that there was someone at the entrance to the lab. Gaster would not have to go and let them in because each monster had their own security code if they needed to enter without him.

Knowing that the assistants were starting to file in and would immediately start searching for their assignments, however, put everything into perspective for Gaster. With the constant excitement of the night, he hadn't even had a chance to sort through the notes or split up the work for Spring Cleaning. And now that Sans was out of commission, he would have to distribute his share among the others or else pick up the slack himself.

Glaring at the offending creature from under heavy eyebrow ridges, Gaster came to a decision. Retribution would have to wait. After all, it was supposed to go out with the rest of the trash later that day anyway. Until then, the room they were in would have to double as a holding chamber.

"Lucky you." Gaster hummed, "It seems time is on your side. You have a few more hours before I come back and deal with you. Until then, you get to wait here and contemplate your sorry existence."

Gaster left, springing a force field to life behind him in order to keep the poor excuse for a monster detained.

"You can stay right there." He sneered, "If there's one thing I'll make sure happens today, I WILL see you burn."

Papyrus hung his head and not for the first time, he directed his attention to his hands, reflecting on what happened and wondering why.

"I'm sorry." He offered timidly, "I would never . . ."

"Don't waste your breath." Gaster hissed, "Instead, I suggest you cherish it while you can. You have very few breaths left."

Papyrus went quiet finding a spot on the examination table to sit and wait for whatever was coming his way. He looked to the spot where Sans was sitting with him less than an hour before. He thought back to the Skeleton who was not his brother and let out a breath. He had been the only one to ever treat him like he was worth something, like maybe he could have been a normal monster. The thought of what he'd done to him- even if he didn't mean to- the thought of never seeing him again weighed on Papyrus.

"Will he be okay?" Papyrus asked, speaking in wingdings as he reached back out toward Sans' empty spot.

Gaster stilled, suddenly resenting the fact this thing could speak in wingdings almost as much as the fact that he was the only other person who could understand.

"What was that?"

"Sans," Papyrus answered, "Will he be alright? Was he badly damaged?"

"'Damaged'," Gaster scoffed, "You nearly killed him. However, I suppose you should be thanking him. If not for him, you would not be here now."

"But will he recover?"

Gaster let out a long breath, choosing his next words carefully. "He will survive you. If you truly wanted to help him, you could give him back the HP you stole from him . . . But that wasn't what I created you to do. It is not in your functions."

"If I could use magic and not hurt him, I would gladly give him back the HP. I didn't mean to take it away from him . . . But . . . I."

Papyrus went silent once again and Gaster looked over his shoulder, curious of what he would say next.

"Could you tell Sans that . . . I am truly sorry. For all of it. For whatever pain I've caused him."

Gaster halted in his actions and in his thoughts. "You are very articulate." He noted, "I admit I'm impressed by how much you have learned during such a brief time."

Papyrus nodded, "Thank you." He said, with his head and his gaze lowered, "I do my best to be as great as I can possibly be. It's . . . it's in my—"

"Papyrus." Gaster sighed composing himself. The least he could do for the doomed creature was call it by the name Sans gave to it, "You were created to be the beacon of light in this dark place. A ray of hope to all monsters. You were meant to be something magnificent- the one to finally break the barrier and free us all from this. 'The Great Liberator' they would have called you."

Papyrus listened intently. If he was supposed to be this wonderful great being, how had his growth been stunted? Why couldn't he still be what Doctor Gaster made him to be- what the other monsters needed him to be?

Was it because of what he did to Sans? Because all he could do was take and he knew nothing about how to give others what they wanted?

Or maybe he just lacked the capacity.

"Doctor Gaster?" Papyrus asked into the growing silence, never looking up, "Do you resent me?"

Gaster didn't even have to think about the response before he spoke, "Yes." He said plainly.

"Why? It can't just be about what happened tonight. You've hated me for a long time now. Was there something I did to offend you? If there was, I'm sorry. I regret making you suffer because of me."

Gaster scoffed, "It's odd to think of you feeling anything at all, much less regret. That's enough. I've got work to do." He began to walk away toward the elevator leading up to the front atrium.

"Doctor Gaster?" Papyrus asked again. As he watched the doctor leave, something else was starting to overtake him, a new feeling he'd never encountered before. Was this what Gaster had called "dread"? Or was it "fear"? Was this what Sans was feeling when he thought he was going to die? Or was this what Gaster was feeling while watching as Sans believed he was about to die? Either way, the feeling fueled Papyrus and once again, he sprung up from his spot, standing and rushing toward the force field only to be stopped in his tracks. "Doctor Gaster!"

Gaster kept walking, never turning back.

"Doctor Gaster, please! I promise I'll try to do a little better. For you and for all monsters . . . for Sans!"

Gaster kept onward wordlessly.

"Please, just tell him what I said. Tell him how sorry I am!"

Still no response.

"Doctor!?"

". . ."

"Doctor Gaster!"

After greeting the wide-eyed monster who had walked in so early in the morning and informing them that Spring Cleaning would commence as soon as the others had arrived, Gaster hurried to gather the notes everyone had taken the day before and compile them as best he could into something that at least made some kind of sense. Sorting through the project numbers next, he made piles, dealing them out into stacks like playing cards in a game.

In an extra stack, he dealt two projects at a time. That would be his stack with the projects he would have assigned to Sans.

He made sure P-497305 was in that stack.

This took him all the way until the late-comer, Alphys, arrived. She was in such a rush, flinging on her lab coat as she nearly tripped through the door.

"S-sorry I'm late!" the intern panted, trotting the final few steps toward the other assistants. A quick look around told her that by some miracle, she wasn't the last to arrive. "W-where is Sans?" She stammered.

"He'll not be joining us today," Gaster said evenly, already distributing the binders with the list of rooms that had junk and projects slated for disposal.

"Really?" asked another shorter armless monster who was standing near a counter in order to read their list, "It's not like him to be absent. I hope he's okay."

Yet a different monster, taller with long limbs, made a short scoffing sound at the comment. When several eyes turned their way, they knew they would have to elaborate on the gesture.

"Oh, C'mon. You were thinking it too, right? One day without stupid pointless jokes and bad puns. They're getting worse and worse by the day, like even he doesn't believe in them anymore. You know, he should really consider just giving up."

"I dunno . . ." Alphys commented, "I-I think they're pretty punny." She let out a short laugh at her own, severely overused joke.

"Oh, God, please, not another one. Look, Alphys, you're new here, so I'll just say that life's annoying enough already with one wise- cracking monster and it's a relief when we don't have to deal with him. We don't need a second."

"O-Oh," Alphys stammered, "Well, I . . . okay."

"That'll be quite enough of that." Gaster instructed. "Now, this is the only thing I have slated for us to do today. The sooner it gets done, the sooner we can all get some rest."

"Understood." All the underlings rang out in chorus. Every one of them knew exactly where Gaster was coming from. In fact, everyone had noticed the slight change in Gaster's demeanor, in his temper, and in his posture. None of them wanted to say anything out loud but –

"U-um, Sorry, Doctor G-Gaster?" Alphys started again shifting her gaze to her feet as she tapped at the ground with her toe, "Are you . . . are you feeling okay? Y-you look like you h-haven't slept at all."

"I haven't, but that is not the focus of today's assignment. I suggest you not waste time with something so insignificant, Alphys."

"Oh, o-of course, Doctor Gaster . . . it's just –"

The taller of the assistant monsters let out a groan.

"It's just . . . I can't help but wonder what happened after I left yesterday. When I went home, you seemed just fine and Sans was his normal self. Now . . . He's gone for the day and you look like Death died and went to Hell and Hell froze over and now Death is thawing out and about to—"

"It was a long night for the both of us." Gaster answered, cutting off Alphys' rapid-fire speech with a bit of an impatient and irritable bite to his voice, "Sans is resting and I'm just fine. Now, I'll thank you not to bring it up again. You've got a lot of work ahead of you today just like the rest of us. You have your assignments, so I suggest you get to them so we can ALL . . . Those had better be notes for your dissertation you're scribbling down, Alphys."

Alphys snapped the extra notebook she brought with her closed as her cheeks began to burn with the heat of embarrassment. She always carried the tattered book with her just in case she ever got the spark for a new fanfiction. She stowed it away and refocused her thoughts to the tasks at hand.

"Now, you all know what to do. When you have finished with your assignments. Place your folders on my desk and you can be dismissed. We'll not meet tomorrow either. I anticipate this taking a lot out of each of us, so tomorrow will be a rest day."

There were a few quiet cheers and a sigh of relief from the assistants as they immediately thought about what they would do with their extra time. That promise, alone, was enough to inspire them to want to get their work done quickly. Each one, taking a look at what section of the lab and in which room they would be starting, set off to begin their work.

Alphys stayed behind for a few moments after the others split off. "Y-you've got a big stack of assignments, Doctor Gaster. Are some of those S-sans'? D-do you want me to help s-so you can rest too?"

"Alphys," Gaster sighed, "As much as I appreciate your concern, I can handle this on my own. The way you can help the best is just to get your own assignments done in a timely manner. Now, please. Get to work."

"Right." Alphys answered, jolting into action, "Of c-course!"

It had taken hours longer than she anticipated and she was sure some of the "real" assistants had already completed their assignments and had headed home for their day off, but even with this thought, Alphys pressed onward. She knew that once she could finish up with these last couple of rooms, she would be free to watch all of the anime and write all of the fanfiction she wanted. =^w^=

One of her assignments took her a few floors down and to a wing far west of the central elevator and immediately, she was surprised at how dark the place seemed. None of the lights seemed to be on or working and the looming darkness of the hallway reminded Alphys of one too many movies of axe-wielding humans. Granted those humans in the films often were out to kill other humans, but the image was no less horrifying. It still filled Alphys with a feeling of foreboding.

"J-just get it done, q-quickly." She whispered to herself, "Get it done and g-go home!"

Swallowing her nerves, she stepped forward. Keeping her binder and her notebook close to her chest just in case she needed to use it as a weapon.

A faint sound caused Alphys to stop cold in her tracks. She waited cautiously to make sure what she heard was right.

There! That low groaning sound! And there it was again! It was soft and almost inaudible. But to Alphys' paranoid and overstimulated mind, it was easily detectable even over her own racing pulse.

And it was coming from behind this ominous-looking door to her left marked . . . . . . something in wingdings . . . Four letters long. The first and last letters were the same.

Alphys pressed her ear against the door and listened. Was that rumbling just breathing? Dr. Gaster did say Sans was resting. Is that what the sign said? Was that Sans' name? Maybe he was asleep. Maybe that was him snoring.

But then, why didn't he just do that at home?

Despite what seemed like common sense, Alphys twisted the door handle and opened the door so she could see through the tiny crack she'd made through the threshold.

There he was, sleeping just like she thought. He was lying on an old mattress close to the wall with the sheets bunched up around him so random body parts were sticking out from under the fabric. He had good handfuls of the sheets clutched tightly in his fists as if his life depended on his grip. The more Alphys could hear of the room, the more it sounded like Sans was in some kind of distress. He was moaning in his sleep and every so often, his foot would twitch or he would curl in on himself. Was he having a nightmare?

Alphys opened the door carefully as not to disturb her colleague too much. He didn't even seem to notice. Curiously, quietly and carefully, Alphys entered the room completely.

Inside she took note of Sans' pile of clothing, all his notes strewn about, the beginnings of a few projects and the bit of trash in the corner. This room was used often and had a familiar feel to it. The arrangement was a little different, but it looked a lot like her room at home. Was this . . . Was this where Sans lived? In the lab?

Alphys had always assumed Sans was just dedicated to his work here. That he would wake early to be here and stay late to help Gaster clear up. She never thought that the reason he was always around was because he had nowhere else to go.

"Oh, Sans." She sighed quietly to herself.

The Skeleton flinched, clutching his sheet tighter as he moaned in discomfort.

Should she wake him? Would it be right? Gaster said he was supposed to be resting, but in this state, whatever sleep he was getting probably wasn't restful at all. Maybe it would be better for him to wake up now.

Dropping to a squatting position, Alphys lowered herself to Sans' level. Being even closer, she could make out some words Sans was muttering.

"No," He slurred, "It's not . . . not funny. Don't . . . No, I won't . . . not again . . . I c-can't. No . . ."

Whatever it was he was dreaming about, it sounded as if he was being forced into a position he didn't want to be in. Maybe it really was better to wake him.

Reaching out, Alphys laid a hand over Sans' shoulder. Her other hand took his.

"Ow," Sans breathed, still asleep, "It burns."

Alphys shook her colleague gently, rattling him and hoping it would be enough to wake him. His eyes were shut tightly and his brows furrowed as he twitched again, snatching his hand away from the burning sensation.

"C-cmon, Sans. Wake up." Alphys pushed, shaking him a bit harder.

Still he didn't wake.

"Sans!"

That did it. The Skeleton's eyes shot opened and were instantly glowing a bright blue. He went into panic mode, using his magic to push whatever it was away from him. As a result, he sent Alphys tumbling backward to crash into the pile of empty bottles and other assorted containers. Sans didn't seem to notice he'd hit anyone with the magic and immediately his eyes shut tightly again as he shot up to a hunched sitting position, groaning in extreme displeasure. He clutched at his skull.

"The ringing . . ." He groaned, "That ringing . . . it's so loud. What is that ringing?"

Alphys pulled herself from the trash pile, wide-eyed as she stared back at Sans. She'd never seen him like this before. He was filled with a panic he couldn't shake as his dream lingered into his waking world. She had to help. She had to let him know he was okay.

She just had to watch out for that blue magic.

Sans huffed as Alphys drew nearer. It was almost as if he could feel her getting closer, though he still didn't seem to be aware that it was her. His grip on his skull became desperate and the intensity of his moaning inched upwards toward screams.

"Sans!" Alphys called as she reached out toward him again, "S-sans, wake up!" She took both his shoulders in her hands, "S-Sans, s-snap out of it!"

"Ringing . . ." Was all he said. He still refused to open his eyes.

"There i-is no ringing, Sans." She tried to comfort him, "It's q-quiet now. You're okay now. Just w-wake up."

Finally, Sans opened his eyes though the blue glow still hadn't subsided. It was happening again! He couldn't turn it off! He blinked again and again trying to shut it off to no avail. And then there was that damned ringing! His eyes darted around searching for something to help clear his head. Where was he now? What happened after he passed out? Why couldn't he –? Who was holding him? Why couldn't he move?

What was that voice clashing with the ringing? Who was that?

"Sans, look at me!" Alphys demanded, her leathery hands gripping him tightly, "Sans!"

He did his best to focus on the sound and through the lingering blur, he found the young lizard woman staring back at him from behind her glasses. Through the lenses and beyond the reflecting glow of his own magic, he could clearly see the concern in her eyes.

"Alphys . . . ?"

"Sans!" She sighed, "Th-thank goodness!"

"Alphys, what . . . what are you doing in my room? How did I—" He squinted, grabbing at his skull once again. "What's with this ringing!?"

Sans noticed that Alphys was immune to the overpowering sound that seemed to want to tear Sans apart. So, was he the only one who could hear it? Great, now she probably thought he was insane too.

"Sans, c-calm down." Alphys instructed, releasing the Skeleton's shoulders. "Y-you still hear the ringing? It wasn't j-just part of the n-nightmare?"

Sans groaned in the affirmative. He didn't want to risk nodding and allowing the ringing sound shatter his skull.

"C-can you describe it for me? If you had to relate it to s-something, what does the ringing s-sound like?"

Sans thought it over, but even thinking hurt and irritated the senses more than just the sound in his skull. Sans' grip tightened even more and his eyes closed once again, the blue glow slipping through slits in his sockets. Even his hands were beginning to glow.

What did the ringing sound like besides ringing . . . ? It was a good question. It did sound like something he'd heard before. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't really ringing at all. It was more like a long screeching whirr . . . like that machine . . . and that sounded like that sound where you get a microphone too close to a speaker and it starts screaming at you to move it away . . . like . . .

"FEEDBACK!" Sans exclaimed, his eyes snapping open once again and nearly scaring Alphys all over again.

Sans pushed himself up. He had to go! He had to stop Gaster before he made a HUGE mistake. Trying to stand too quickly, Sans tripped over the sheets and stumbled forward toppling over right on top of Alphys. Strangely enough, it was Alphys who apologized, blushing profusely, as if she'd done something to cause the fall. She spewed a string of broken "s-sorry"s to the point where Sans was starting to wonder if maybe she was part snake.

"It's okay, Alphys." Sans insisted, pulling himself up from over her and untangling himself from the sheets. "I have to go!" He added urgently, "Do you know where Gaster is? I have to find him now!"

Alphys shook her head, "He had a lot of p-projects to get rid of today. He even t-took your pile s-since you weren't feeling well."

Sans spat out a bitter curse and rushed out of the room.

"I-I doubt he's f-finished them all already!" Alphys called after him. She decided to pick up her things and follow him. He still didn't seem quite back to normal. Perhaps she should be there just in case.

Sans was faster than she would have thought. When he wanted to be, he could be a downright speed demon! He even bypassed the elevator and went right for the stairs, all the while muttering that same curse over and over.

"Sans!" Alphys called out to him, with hopes of getting him to slow down and wait for her. "Sans, w-where are we going!?"

"I can't just let Gaster kill him!"

"Wait, k-kill who!? Sans! Is G-Gaster planning on k-killing someone!?"

"Not if I can stop him! That's why I have to find Papyrus!"

"What? P-paper! You need paper to stop Gaster!? I've g-got that right here!"

Sans just ran forward. He couldn't be bothered with explaining to Alphys. He had to stop Gaster!

In no time at all, they'd made it down to where the disastrous tests of this morning occurred. Immediately Alphys shied away from it, that same uneasy feeling filling her once again.

"You can wait here." Sans suggested. "Either that or go find Gaster! I have to make sure Papyrus is alright!" He rushed off again.

"D-damn it." Alphys muttered, forced to make a decision right on the spot. She didn't remember the way back and she didn't want to be left alone in this creepy hallway. So, swallowing her nerves, she started again behind Sans.

She was relieved when he stopped suddenly, frozen in front of one of the doors. It gave her the chance to catch up.

"Papyrus!" Sans called into the room, unable to enter because of the force field, "Papyrus, can you hear me!?"

Alphys caught up just as soon as a noise from beyond the force field sounded and it nearly made her heart beat out of her chest.

That is . . . until she got a good look at the creature in the room.

The tall Skeleton stood from its corner and turned its head to see over its shoulder. The lanky figure turned completely when it saw who was calling it. Its eyes were glowing a fierce orange and it looked as if it had been in the same kind of distress Sans had been in. Upon seeing him, the glow in its eyes died and it reached out toward them.

"Sans?" It said. "Sans, you came back!"

Sans sighed, a wave of relief washing over him. The blue glow in his eyes died down and the ringing died down with it. His features went back to normal as he allowed himself to calm. Papyrus was still okay. Gaster hadn't gotten to him yet. Good.

"Of course I did!" He answered, "I've been through worse. Besides, I couldn't leave you behind."

"Sans . . . ?" Alphys questioned slowly, "W-who is that? What's g-going on?"

"Of course!" Sans answered in realization, "You weren't here that long ago. So you haven't met! Alphys, this is Papyrus. He's . . . well . . . he's my brother!"

AN: *Atonal humming* Geez, Sans, that's kind of a bold statement. Wasn't it just one chapter ago you were saying that you didn't have a brother and you never would? Heh, I wonder what Gaster would have to say about that.

Sorry, I don't have much to say here, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter all the same. I'll see you in Chapter 6!