AN: Sorry, this one took a little longer than I was anticipating. Life's been a little crazy lately, but I really do love writing this, so I'll keep coming back! =^_^=

Enjoy!

Chapter 6

FEEDBACK

The hallway had gone eerily quiet as all eyes turned to the Skeleton grinning widely. A nervous chuckle emerged moments later to help cover the awkward silence. Incidentally, that laugh made the whole situation just that much more awkward.

Papyrus wore an incredulous expression as he regarded Sans. He was beyond confused. Only a few hours ago, he had woken up with the desire to find his brother, only to be told two hours later by said brother that the relationship didn't exist. Then, nearly killing the one he thought was his brother (and incorrectly expecting Sans to be furious) and now he was being introduced by that same not-brother as a brother. Yes, there had been a little hesitation, but the fact that Sans had called him his brother said plenty enough.

Alphys stared at Sans with the strangest expression he had ever seen. She seemed confused, curious, wary, and ecstatic all at the same time and she seemed to be fighting within herself to figure out which emotion to let out.

When a giant grin pulled at her features and her eyes lit up to the point Sans doubted they needed to turn on more lights, He came to the conclusion that she'd gone with "ecstatic". His suspicions were confirmed when Alphys released a long squealing sound.

"Sans!" She cheered, "I didn't know you had a BROTHER! How come I've never seen him before!? How come you haven't mentioned him? Oh, gosh, where are my manners? Hi! Papyrus, was it? I'm Alphys! I'm . . . well . . . I'm just an intern, but . . . Omigod, Sans! A BROTHER? How come he's down here? Why is he behind the force field . . ." Her expression sank significantly as she remembered why Sans was in such a hurry to make it down here. "Why were you so afraid that Gaster was going to – to kill him?"

"Eh-heh," Was Sans' initial response, "It's kind of a long story."

"But an enthralling tale I'm sure we would all be eager to hear. Please, Sans, why don't you tell us about your 'brother'."

Immediately, Sans' grin dissipated and his eyes went pitch black. He knew he would have to face Gaster eventually, but he hadn't even thought about how he was going to explain himself to the doctor. He spun around on his heel to see a very stern . . . and suddenly intimidatingly tall . . . Skeleton walking pointedly toward him. There was something very unnerving about the lack of expression on the man's face, making it look about a smooth and delicate as a porcelain doll. Just behind that China-like smoothness, Sans could sense the raging fury welling within Gaster. That abrasive curse from before was playing on repeat in Sans' head as he sorted his thoughts.

"Oh, hey, Dr. Gaster!" Sans cheered, pasting a wide grin back on his face, "Fancy seeing you here!"

Gaster didn't respond. He just kept walking forward with his same expressionless mask. Sans took a step backward, his own mask falling again after only five seconds. Gaster was obviously not in the kidding mood and pushing jokes now could only end badly.

"Gaster, look. I can explain." He tried again.

"Alphys. Leave your binder with Sans and go home." Gaster said evenly. There was no room for contest. But still, Alphys remained frozen to her spot. She'd never seen the doctor so upset and she didn't quite know how to respond. She kept shifting her eyes between Sans' worried expression and Gaster's stolid one.

"Now, Alphys." Gaster pressed.

Alphys shrank.

"It's okay, Alph." Sans stepped in, holding out his hand, "Just-just give me the binder."

Alphys nodded and handed over her workload to her colleague. Were his hands . . . shaking?

Or, wait. Maybe those were just her own nerves . . . or both?

Without another word, Alphys turned tail, rushing back down to where she felt the elevator should be. She could figure her own way and she already felt bad enough leaving Sans to whatever scolding he was in for without being awkward and asking for the directions.

"Other way, Alphys." Gaster directed, "Down the corridor to the right. Take the elevator to the top level. I'll trust you to lock up and set the security alarm before you go."

"U-um, of course, Dr. G-Gaster." Alphys responded as she corrected her mistake and headed down the right corridor instead.

Once, she was out of sight, Gaster focused his attention to his apprentice. The shorter Skeleton was nervous and maybe a little afraid. Good. It seemed Sans needed to be reminded exactly for whom he was working.

"I feel I've been patient with you, Sans." Gaster said, directly addressing him for the first time since catching up to him and Alphys. "But perhaps I've been too lenient. You've bent so many rules to fit your own needs and broken so many regulations for the sake of convenience. I cannot allow this continue. This is where I draw the line, Sans. If you continue this way, I'll have no choice but to ask you to leave."

Sans averted his gaze with a terse scoff as he sorted through the information and the threat. Eventually, he hung his head. When he thought it over, he supposed that he did deserve it.

"Gaster . . ." Sans breathed with remorse in his tone as his hands clutched tightly over the binder. "Gaster, I—"

"You will do as you are told." Gaster said sternly, "Now, come here, Sans."

With his head lowered, Sans approached Gaster to receive whatever punishment the doctor had in store for him. When Gaster reached out, Sans flinched, but when Gaster rested a gentle hand atop his skull,

Sans' widened eyes shot upward to the monster, his shoulders falling and the evidence of his worry vanishing almost completely.

Gaster's expression had changed again. In place of the stolid disapproval, and the raging fury there had been, there was a soft smile and a bit of understanding there as well.

"Sans," Gaster began again, "First and foremost, you should know you mean a lot to me. Ever since you first came here, I felt there was a connection, a sort of common thread between us. I've come to love you as if you were my own son and it pains me to see you in such distress as you've been in lately. If there is anything that I can do to help reverse that, I will do it without a second thought. However, even for you, I cannot sit and do nothing as any regard for the rules is thrown aside. The last thing I want is to terminate your employment and evict you, but like I've said before, if it comes to that, I'll have no other choice."

Sans was silenced at the speech, a million thoughts crashing in his head as he listened. An overwhelming sense of guilt began to weigh on him. Gaster had taken him in and given him a place to stay. For years, this lab had been his home and that was due to Gaster's kindness. On top of that, Gaster had given him employment. He owed his very life to the kindness of this monster and to pay him back, Sans pushed his limits, broke his rules and disregarded his directions. Some payback, huh?

Sans shook his head and shut his eyes as he removed the hand from his skull and stepped away.

"I can't." Sans muttered, looking down to where his hands clutched the binder. The thin, bony fingers drummed against the dark plastic covering as Sans' thoughts swirled and ignited. "I've gotta . . . I've gotta come clean."

Gaster's expression twisted once again as he regarded Sans. His apprentice had been mumbling so quietly, he couldn't quite understand what he'd said.

"What's the matter, Sans?"

"Gaster . . ." Sans began, still not speaking much above a low hum, "Gaster, I'm sorry."

"Whatever for? Because you made a mistake? Sans, That is to be expected. You are still young after all and a curious mind."

"No, Gaster. I have to . . . " Sans sighed, his gaze fell again between his shoes and light of the force field.

Gaster followed the gaze. "Does this have to do with that? Sans, I've already told you what needs to happen with it."

Sans looked up again, regarding the third Skeleton behind the force field. Papyrus had been so quiet that his presence went completely unnoticed for several minutes. Now, he started as well as the attention fell to him. He stepped away slowly, seemingly in search of the spot he occupied on the examination table.

"Wh- Papyrus?" Sans asked, jolting out of his previous thought trail, "No."

Gaster sighed, "I wish you would stop calling it that."

"Well, it's easier than 'P-4-9 . . . whatever it was. That's for sure."

"Sans," Gaster warned.

"Fine. No, it has nothing to do with Pap- with . . . him . . . with . . . this project."

"And therein lies my point." Gaster pointed out, a bit of that bite back in his voice, "Project 497305 has obviously gotten into your head. You've become attached to it in a way that is unhealthy to a scientist."

"You mean in the same way you've become attached to me?" Sans questioned, and he had to admit, it sounded a little more challenging than he'd meant for it to, "I honestly don't see what the difference here is."

Damn it, it's like his mouth didn't know when to shut up.

"There is a significant difference, Sans. You know that! You are more than just sets of formulas and synthesized materials that could only hope to imitate life. You are a living and breathing creature with hopes and aspirations. You have a strong soul and a genuine claim to life."

"And what makes that so different than Papyrus? You said it yourself. He's aware of everything that happens around him and he's constantly learning new information. He's downright courteous and kind. He's never once thought of himself first. It's obvious he feels and he reacts to those feelings in ways that can't be written off as purely coincidental. Papyrus . . . he's alive, Gaster! Why are you having such a hard time seeing that!? How is his claim to life any less genuine than mine? Or yours!"

"That's ENOUGH, Sans!" Gaster snapped, his eyes flickering to life as his magic began to boil to the surface. He began to emit a bright glow and in the dim lights, Sans had to avert his glare. "I've heard about enough of this foolish drivel! You will stand back and do your job! That's the end of it!"

The smaller Skeleton took another step backward, his own eyes beginning to glow in a defensive tactic. In the years he'd known the doctor, Sans didn't think he'd ever seen his eyes glow like that. Gaster was normally so reserved and understated. He almost never had a reason to use his magic offensively, so this new side was a complete detour from what he knew.

"The experiment will be destroyed tonight." Gaster started once again. Though his voice was even, the fury hadn't subsided and it was evident in the constant glow in his eyes. He rifled through the projects in his hands until he found the correct one. He separated it from the others and held it out toward Sans. "It will be YOUR responsibility to deal with this!"

Sans looked back toward Gaster and the sheet of paper he offered him. The familiar project number and the charts and reports glared back at him like a mortal enemy.

He didn't accept the paper. In fact, he took several more steps backward, refusing to even touch the assignment.

Inside the force field, the third Skeleton gripped at the hem of his cloth covering, taking in everything that was being said and everything that was being done. Sans has stood up for him and protected him. He had put his own issues aside for the sake of his and Papyrus couldn't stand the thought of Sans sacrificing anything to keep him alive.

But why? Why did Sans care so much about him? With his home and his job on the line, why would Sans stand against Gaster to protect an artificial life?

"Why did you call me 'brother'?" Papyrus asked quietly. As simple and as genuine as it was, Papyrus' question cut through the tense air with a sharpened edge. The others stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the third.

"What?"

"Earlier, Sans said he didn't have a brother." Papyrus explained, the words coming easily, "But to Alphys he introduced me as his brother. Why, Sans? What changed?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gaster snapped again, "You will hold your tongue, Project!"

"Actually, Gaster." Sans interjected, "That has everything to do with it! Please, just listen for two minutes."

"Sans, I said I've had enough nonsense! This ends here! And if you won't dispose of this project then, I will!" The flare in Gaster's magic turned blinding as he called his reserve magic in his hands and turned toward the one trapped behind the force field.

"Damn it, Gaster, STOP this!" Sans shouted, rushing to stand between Gaster and Papyrus. The force field burned at his back, but he was determined to stay right where he was. If it meant he would stop Gaster, he would stand there with his back burning for the rest of his life. "You can't kill Papyrus!"

"And since when do you tell me what I can and cannot do!?"

"Since, like you said, I have a claim to life! If you kill Papyrus, you'll have to kill me too. There's no way around it!"

"Certainly there is!" And the glow in Gaster's eyes turned blue. Instantly, Sans was flung across the room where he landed heavily. Quickly, he pulled himself up again to get back to where Gaster now stood before Papyrus who had now taken several steps backward to make some distance between the two of them. Being trapped behind the force field, there was no getting out of the very powerful attack Gaster was preparing.

Around the taller Skeleton, the air seemed to swirl and the magic he had accumulated began to materialize. Broken and jagged bone shards surrounded him and took aim toward where Papyrus stood with his back against the far wall, both his hands clutching his hospital gown and wringing the fabric between his fingers. His eyes were widened in pure fear as he faced Gaster.

Sans stood again, "Papyrus!" He called out toward him, his eyes still glowing a fierce blue, "Turn on your magic! C'mon!"

Papyrus diverted his attention to where Sans had stopped right in front of the force field near the threshold of the examination room. He looked pleadingly toward Papyrus, his hands balled up at his sides. He was already anticipating the skull shattering screech before it came.

"But what about you," Papyrus protested, "If I do, it will—"

"I'll be fine! Just do it!"

Papyrus did, his eyes glowing now as well. Right away, the deafening screech punctured through Sans' skull and the smaller figure slumped as he reached up to cradle it. There was no denying it was painful, but to prove his point, he was willing to endure.

But it seemed as if Gaster wasn't going to wait for the two of them to explain. He fired his attack directly toward Papyrus intent on riddling him with bone fragments and ripping him to shreds.

Thinking quickly, Sans fired up his own blue magic, dragging Papyrus away from the attack at the last second and pulling him to a temporarily safer spot behind the examination table. In the place where he had been standing, there were pointed shards of bone piercing the wall and leaving sizable holes in the structure.

"Gaster, please!" The apprentice repeated, his tone becoming more imploring. "Stop this! Just listen for a second!"

"There is nothing to discuss! Now, Sans, you are in my way! Step aside or risk injury. I'll not hold back!"

"Fine by me!" Sans groaned, "Like I said, if you want to kill Papyrus, you'll be taking my life too! I wasn't joking! And I'm NOT bluffing!"

A second attack came and again, bone fragments shot through the room, littering the scene. Papyrus stayed squatted in a corner, curled in on himself and clutching his own skull as he ducked the attack.

"Papyrus!" Sans called, "The only way to get through to him is to show him! I need you to show him your soul! You can feel it, can't you!? Show Gaster!"

"Soul." Gaster repeated incredulously as he let his magic pool once again. "How absurd!"

"C'mon, bro!" Sans pressed, "Just show him! Like this!"

Sans held out both of his hands in front of him and focused all of his energy. But before his soul could manifest itself, Papyrus had already pulled it off, baring his soul, the culmination of his being, and holding the form of a little white upside-down heart in the palms of his hands. It floated there, hovering just outside of his grip and it even seemed to be giving off its own glow.

Gaster halted for a second. His curiosity piqued if nothing else. That was definitely a monster's soul there in its hands. Still, Gaster was hesitant to believe that soul belonged to the abomination. Undoubtedly, the soul had been stolen somehow!

"It's holding a soul." Gaster announced, "How does this play into your plan to convince me?"

"That soul is his, Gaster! If that doesn't prove he's alive, I don't know what will!"

Gaster scoffed, holding off his attack and shaking his head. "Fine, I'll humor you!" He turned his attention to Papyrus, "Alright. Tell me. How is it you came to possess a soul? Surely, you haven't always had it."

Papyrus stood frozen in his spot, the tiny floating soul glowing radiantly over his hands and softly thumping in a syncopated rhythm. He seemed entranced by it and couldn't tear his attention away. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Answer me!"

Papyrus shook his head. "I'm . . . Not entirely sure." He admitted, "I could just feel it there like it was part of me."

Gaster hummed and turned back to Sans with a derisive smile in place, "and how is it that you knew the soul was there, Sans. Were you a witness when the soul was stolen?"

But as Gaster regarded Sans, there was no hint of the smiling Skeleton he'd come to know. Sans was completely stone – faced and rigid as he looked back to Gaster. His glowing eyes pierced straight through him and he had removed his coat so Gaster could clearly see his point without the need for words.

Behind Sans' shirt, protected by his ribs, was a familiar glow, pulsating in time with the other. In fact, the rhythmic beating was exactly in time. They glowed in the exact same way and they gave off the same frequency.

"That's why the machine screeched when the two of you touched!" Gaster muttered more to himself than the others. It was picking up on the resonance. On the exact same frequency. . . And that's why it pains you to use your magic simultaneously. You still hear that sound in your head, don't you?"

Sans nodded "It's the result of the feedback," he explained in a Gaster-esque even tone. "Two souls echoing each other on the exact same wavelength. We have identical souls!"

"How . . ." Gaster asked, now dumbfounded by the discovery, "how is this possible?"

"Simple," Sans answered, "It's the same soul. That's a fraction of my soul in his hands. I knew it was there because I could feel it! And that's why I didn't notice I was losing HP. I never really lost it. It just found a new body. When I said that if you killed Papyrus, you would be killing me too, I meant it literally. You would be shattering a fragment of my soul!"

That seemed to be the right thing to say. Gaster stopped as he took a moment to look between Sans and Papyrus. The intensity of his magic diminished as he came to a realization.

"Papyrus." Gaster said quietly, thinking through the information that was unfolding before him, "He really would be like a brother to you wouldn't he?"

Sans' expression didn't budge even as Gaster's calm returned and the only magic left in the room was the slight buzz coming from the connection between Sans and Papyrus. Papyrus watched and as soon as he was sure the doctor wasn't using his magic anymore, he dropped his own magic, his eyes fading back to black. He knew that the sooner he stopped the flow of magic, the sooner Sans' senses would be spared.

Once his power was stifled, Papyrus held his soul within his hands and called it back into his being, the glow faded as it entered him once again.

Sans, however, didn't lower his magic. The ringing in his head was gone, but glow in his eyes remained. He needed to make sure Gaster knew just how deeply he felt about this.

"I won't let you or anyone else hurt Papyrus." He said solidly.

Gaster's brow ridges raised in a show of mild surprise. He never thought he'd see the day Sans was forced to take a stand, much less against him. Maybe, just maybe, this was the distraction he had been searching for. A reason to keep Sans' focus off of the negative. The fact that it had to come in the form of this . . . Papyrus was . . . unfortunate, but it sparked life within Sans and that, he supposed was the goal.

He needed something to protect. And if that something happened to be Papyrus, well then, Gaster would have to learn to cope with it.

Alphys' Notes: Entry Number . . . Oh, wait I haven't been numbering these, never mind . . .

I normally don't do this in my stories, but I feel I needed to get this out. Please bear with me:

The preceding was not entirely fiction, but rather pulled from an actual eyewitness account: my own. (the fact that it does spark some new insight and depth into the parts that are linked to my fanfiction is purely coincidental)

I was told to stop writing fanfiction about real people. I was told to leave the Skeletons behind and go home. I was told a lot of things, but I don't always listen to everything I'm told. It comes with the territory, I suppose. After all, if I didn't give into my curiosities every once in a while, what kind of scientist would I be?

For one thing, I'm glad I didn't head directly home when I was told, otherwise, some very important information could have been missed.

My observations have been numerous and my initial notes were extensive to say the least. I will try to consolidate my findings and my theories here:

1) If a monster's attack is an extension of their soul, what does it mean for Dr. Gaster to have broken bone fragments and shards that he then uses as projectiles? Man, that was scary to see. I really hope I'm never on the receiving end of THAT attack. Anyway, does this mean that Gaster's soul is, in fact, broken in ways he never shows the rest of us?

2) Sans has been losing HP. And Gaster seems to be aware of this phenomenon. This is concerning to say the least. I suppose it does explain why he's been so lethargic lately. And why he always seems tired more often lately. Just the challenges of everyday life is a struggle that can take a toll on our HP. This is why we need to eat and sleep. Our HP drains slowly but steadily just by being alive and we need the sleep to refill it. But if Sans has been losing Max HP, he would need to be extremely careful not to over-exert himself or else he could easily and literally work himself to death. That's a really scary thought too. I wasn't aware that sort of thing could happen to a monster . . . unless . . . that's something I'll need to follow up on later.

3) Sans' "brother" Papyrus is . . . interesting to say the least. He seems to have been siphoning energy from Sans in order to fuel his own body. Perhaps that is the reason Sans has grown so attached to him. After all, we are naturally drawn to others who are similar to ourselves in one way or another. So, if Papyrus has a piece of Sans' soul within him, it would make sense for Sans to naturally be drawn toward that piece of his soul and want to protect it no matter what.

4) And this is the most concerning piece of information I have managed to gather. Sans' soul. It's . . . I don't know, it's different from anything else I've ever seen before. When he was trying to show Papyrus how to manifest his soul . . . even though Papyrus was able to do it without being shown, Sans had nearly called forth his own soul. There had been a flash that I didn't mention in the narrative. It was a flash of something extremely bright, which I'm sure Gaster didn't notice due to the nature of his own magic and because he had been preoccupied with the destruction of Papyrus. But during that flash, I was able to glimpse Sans' soul and . . . well, I don't know. There's no real way to describe what I saw. And afterward, I noticed though he did manifest his soul to show Gaster, he kept it hidden within his shirt. Why wouldn't he show it like Papyrus had? Why would he need to keep it under wraps?

Not only that, but before they started fighting, Sans had mentioned that he needed to "come clean" about something that had nothing to do with Papyrus. That, coupled with what I heard him muttering in his sleep, has led me to draw this one conclusion:

Sans is hiding something. Something HUGE.