A.N: Hey everyone! Just so you know, the following has NOT been edited except for a very light spell check. So I apologize for anything that might come across as confusing. You are always welcome to ask if you have any questions. That being said, I also won't take long in this note, but I will say that this is the longest chapter I've written for this series and I will advise you to hang on to something.

You have been given fair warning. I'll see you next chapter!

Chapter 9

DETERMINATION

Sans had turned out the lights to his bedroom several hours ago and was ready to call it a night. After all, even though it had been their day off, they were still pretty busy and it hadn't left much room for rest. They hadn't eaten much and they had worked long hours that day searching for and sorting through the things Papyrus brought back from the dump. Even if it wasn't all completely strenuous work, Sans could feel it draining on the edges of his HP, slowly, but surely.

But, of course, that meant next to nothing to Papyrus. It seemed as if the other Skeleton had been overly stimulated the entire day, which should have worn him out. With each new experience, however, he seemed even more excited.

Even now, in the dark of the room he shared with Sans, his constant stream of questions hadn't stopped. As the two lay together on opposite sides of the same bed, both staring upward toward the ceiling and speaking into the air, Papyrus rattled off question after question about what they'd done and what they'd seen that day. Sans did his best not to let his inability to sleep wear on his nerves too much. After all, It was a good thing that Papyrus was curious. More questions now, meant fewer questions later, right?

But still he needed sleep if he was going to function in the morning.

The good news was that it seemed as if Papyrus was finally starting to slow down. His questions became more spread out as he began to think more on each answer.

Finally, it seemed as if he was just about finished. Several minutes had gone by and there hadn't been another inquiry. Sans, who was now beyond exhausted, could feel his eyes closing as he began to shut down. He even turned to his side to face the wall in a show of abdication. He curled over on himself and let his body and mind relax.

". . . Sans . . . ?" Papyrus asked again.

"Yes, Papyrus?" Sans sighed in response. Maybe he should have feigned sleep, perhaps Papyrus would've fallen asleep as well and the day would have finally been over.

Papyrus was careful and precise with his question. It was definitely something he had put a lot of thought and a lot of effort into organizing.

"That lady earlier? The scary one, Undyne?"

"What about 'er?" Sans breathed. He laughed quietly, "I suppose she was kinda scary, wasn't she?"

Papyrus nodded, though the gesture went unnoticed, "She was. I thought that she was going to be mad at me. She did look like she was in a fight, didn't she?"

"She did. But you don't have to worry about her. If she tried to hurt you, I woulda stopped her. Heh, I told you no one would hurt you on my watch, didn't I?"

"Yes . . ."

Sans sighed at the hesitation in Papyrus' voice, "I know that tone. What's the matter?"

"Something Undyne said."

"Paps, really, you should just stop worrying about—"

"She said she knew me, Sans. She said . . . she said I died."

Sans went quiet for a moment as he listened and thought about those words. "Well, that's a funny thing to say to someone you've never met before. I still wouldn't worry about it, though. She musta had the wrong guy."

"She said she knew Dr. Gaster." Papyrus pushed. It didn't look like this was a conversation that Papyrus was willing to just let go. He had been building to this the entire time and now that he was able to talk openly about it, that was exactly what he was going to do. Sleep be damned.

Again, Sans had to think about the new information. That was definitely a bit strange. When would the crazy fish lady have had the chance to meet Gaster? Sans had been trying for YEARS to get the doctor out of the lab with no luck. Where would she have possibly met him?

"She called me something."

And just like that, Sans' nerves were struck. He frowned as he pulled himself into a sitting position so he could see Papyrus clearly.

"What did she call you, bro? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"No." Papyrus protested in a low voice, "It wasn't a bad word. Just . . . different." He reached across his body to touch the part of his arm Undyne grabbed. He didn't know why, but it was like he was familiar with the touch. "Sans . . . what's a corbel?"

"A what?"

"Something else Undyne said. 'Corbel' . . . what's that? I've heard Dr. Gaster use it before too, so . . . it has to mean something, right?"

Sans thought it over, trying to use the word in a sentence. After a few moments, he reached a conclusion. "Doesn't sound like a 'what' but more of a 'who' to me." Sans went quiet for a while. When he spoke again, it was in a contemplative and methodical tone. Papyrus noticed he was using his Scientist face and his Scientist voice too.

"Tell me, when Dr. Gaster said it to you, what was the context? Do you happen to remember what he was talking about when he said it?"

Papyrus shook his head, "Something in wingdings. Something about wishes. Something about promises . . . and stars. I don't remember any more than that."

Sans hummed, "Well as information goes, that wasn't much. But it was interesting."

"I'm sorry, brother." Papyrus groaned, "I'll try to be more observant next time."

"No, Paps, you did fine. And it is a good start. Don't worry about it anymore tonight. Just try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay." Papyrus answered, but it was obvious by the tone that his mind was still working on overdrive. Sans' was as well.

"I think I want to see her again." Papyrus stated several minutes later with definitive conviction. "Undyne, I mean."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Well, she looks really strong and really tough. If I could be like that, then you wouldn't have to worry about protecting me. You have less HP than I do, so I should be protecting you instead, right?"

Sans' expression fell as he let himself lie back down and he turned back toward the wall. "Don't worry about protecting me, Papyrus. You just worry about you, okay?"

Papyrus hesitated. Apparently, he'd said something to upset his brother. "Sans . . . ?"

"Hey, Forgeddaboudit, Paps, okay? I'm fine." Sans' Scientist self was gone again and this Sans was . . . Well, Papyrus had no idea what to call this Sans. It was as if there was an invisible and unbreakable force field around him now that he couldn't get through no matter how hard he tried. He hadn't seen this Sans before, but suddenly, he seemed . . . distant.

"Hey, bro." He began again quietly, "If you wanna train with Undyne, you go right ahead. I'm not gonna stop you, but do it because it's what you wanna do. Not because of me."

Papyrus nodded, "Okay."

After that, it actually didn't take long for Papyrus to fall asleep. He was quietly snoring within half an hour. Sans, on the other hand, couldn't find it in him to relax anymore. Part of him wondered if he would be able to get any sleep before work in the morning, or if it would just be easier to stay awake until then.

If that were the case . . . he would need food to help fill his HP where his lack of sleep wouldn't.

But did he really want to get up to look for food? He would also be risking waking Papyrus again. He sighed to himself as he shifted again, pushing Papyrus' leg and his sheet away. It might actually be easier to force himself to sleep. Oh, what a vicious cycle.

It wasn't long afterward that he heard the rumbling sound through the walls. Was that the elevator? Did it just stop on his floor? What the . . . ?

Sans pulled himself off of the foot of the bed as stealthily as possible as not to wake Papyrus. He shuffled into his slippers and threw on something with pockets, his favorite blue jacket.

He slipped out of the room as noiselessly as possible and made his way through the hall in the same manner. Off in the distance, he could hear the steady and familiar footfalls of Dr. Gaster. But why was he on this level? He lived a few floors down.

As Sans approached the corner, he noticed Gaster was carrying with him several bags full of jars and tins and . . . Tupperware?

"Gaster?" Sans called after him.

The doctor turned around at the sound of his name. The slight surprise didn't escape Sans' notice.

"Oh, Sans!" Gaster greeted with a . . . was that a smile? "My apologies. Did I wake you?"

"Oh, no." Sans shrugged, his tone still low in respects to his brother sleeping just down the hall, "I was already awake. Papyrus can be a bit of a handful. We've been running around all day and he only just got to sleep." Sans took notice of the bags and took a few more steps forward, even giving Gaster a playful wink. "What about you? You're getting in pretty late, young man. What have you been up to?"

Gaster gestured for Sans to follow him by means of a jerk of the head. "If you must know, the king and queen invited me to dinner."

"Oh really!? Well, what a coincidence. I ran into their kids earlier!"

"Oh, yes, I am well aware. I caught them snooping around the lab. They must have gotten away from you."

Sans chuckled. "Those sneaky little kids!" He mused, shaking his head, "I showed them out myself."

"Yes, well, I escorted them to New Home and Asgore . . . I mean, the king invited me to stay for tea. Time must have gotten away from us, because before I knew, the queen was inviting me again to stay for dinner. Toriel made enough to feed the whole staff here at the lab, or perhaps two and a half Asgores." Gaster laughed quietly to himself at the thought. "The point being, she insisted that I bring some of the leftovers back with me. At first I refused, but then I thought maybe, if you hadn't eaten . . ."

"How considerate of you, Gaster!" Sans answered, a swirl of different emotions and thoughts began to swim about in his mind. First off, when was the last time he had ever seen Gaster this casual about anything, especially when it came to the king and queen? He was even on a first-name basis with them now? How interesting . . . and strange.

"Well, the moment I mentioned I would be bringing food for someone else as well, Toriel would not allow me to leave without first getting enough food to feed you too, which, of course, means that we will be able to eat for days. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you do have a cold food storage container on this floor, do you not?"

"Heh, you mean a fridge? Yeah, I think I can find you one of those. Follow me."

Together Sans and Gaster walked the halls, retelling the stories of the day. Mainly, Sans let Gaster speak, taking in the opportunity to listen. Gaster almost never indulged in idle chatter, so any chance there was to just sit back and let him run off, was a welcomed one. Sans enjoyed every second.

Throughout the storytelling, neither one of them mentioned anything having to do with the awkward subject of Corbel- not his pail and its new home or the awkward meeting his friend from so long ago. That conversation could wait for another day.

After helping to stow the leftovers away, Sans helped himself to a little bit of his portion, and even tried a few bites of pie, courtesy of the queen . . . Man, her homemade food was good . . . especially that pie. He noted that the comfort food really did make him feel better at the end of the very long day. But even though his HP was maxed out, he still felt as if he needed at least an hour or two of rest before the morning came.

So with a few parting words, the two split ways to attempt to get that much-needed rest.

Sans went to bed that night content and relaxed . . .

. . . Only to be woken up once again not even an hour later by a clamor that came from a few floors down.

"Damn it, Gaster." Sans groaned, "Don't you ever sleep?"

"I think we should probably give him a few more minutes."

"Well, the assignments are right over there. We could just grab them and distribute them amongst ourselves. He can trust us with that much, right? We can handle it ourselves."

"Yeah! They're right over there just waiting for us. He probably put them there on purpose. He knows we can handle ourselves."

"B-but maybe there are some s-special instructions that he d-didn't have a chance to include in the assignments. It would be a shame if we got through the assignments only to-to find that we were doing them wrong the entire time. I-I say we wait for him."

"And what does the teacher's pet think about all this? Well, c'mon star student, enlighten us! You're in tight with the doctor, right? Did he give you any 'special instructions' to pass along to the rest of us?"

There was no response. Sans was standing some distance away, leaning against the wall with his foot propped up, his arms crossed over his chest, and his head lowered. His eyes were closed as well as he finally found enough serenity to rest them. Over the past few weeks of caring for Papyrus by day and struggling to sleep through the clattering of Gaster's late-night projects by night, on top of all of the work and projects he had taken on, Sans was feeling a little worn out and sluggish.

"Well, Mr. Right-hand-man? Anything?"

Still no response.

"SERIF!"

The Skeleton opened his eyes and lifted his head as if he had been alert and aware the entire time, even as an unceremonious and oddly musical yawn escaped his mouth. He hadn't quite realized that all eyes were on him. Wait, why were they all looking at him? Was he snoring? Heh, how embarrassing.

"Hm . . . We're all still here?" He asked quietly, more to himself than to the others. "Gaster's a no-show again? Seems he's starting to make a habit of that . . . hmmm . . . "

"Look who's finally caught up with current events."

Sans hummed, "'Current' events, huh? I 'sea'. Well, it could just be that Dr. Gaster's a bit 'tide' up at the moment. Ever think of that? He's been really busy lately, drowning' in workloads I couldn't even 'fathom', so maybe he finally 'crashed'. But, hey, sinceyou have trouble 'wading', I suppose you could just 'tuna' round and get the 'shell' outta here. We'll be 'shore' to be pleasant and 'wave' on your way out. But don't 'bank' on having work when you 'drift' back this way."

There were staggered responses to Sans' onslaught- a few groans, a few snickers, a low "ooooh" and a full-out laugh.

"You know, for a string of ocean-based puns, those seemed to really burn!"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Sans. That was very 'nautical' of you!"

"Though, h-he might have been 'f-f-fishing' for a few of them!" Alphys joined in.

The other assistants continued to laugh and create puns among themselves, leaving Sans with a sense of accomplishment, even as the one assistant, who had been the butt of the joking, approached with narrowed eyes and an unmoving scowl.

"How dare you use my job as leverage over me!? Even you don't have that kind of authority, Pet! And I don't appreciate you threatening me like that." The taller monster growled, nearly pinning Sans against the wall with his long limbs.

"Really?" Sans continued in the same humming contemplation as before. "Personally, I don't like being threatened at all, but, hey. To each his own." Sans shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Okay then, how would you like for me to threaten you?"

The taller of the two glared, his dark eyes piercing directly into Sans as if trying to shoot holes into him or melt him with the sheer intensity of the stare.

The Skeleton remained unmoved, his smug expression, unaltered.

"Listen up," The tall monster hissed, lowering his voice to just above a harsh whisper. "And pay attention, because I'm only going to tell you this once, you little . . ."

Somewhere near the far end of the atrium came the sound of an approaching someone. Right away, the assistants sobered, ready to begin the day.

"Heh," Sans smirked, his voice dropping to a matching whisper, "You might wanna hold off on that. Here comes the Boss-man."

"Well, it is nice to see everyone is in such high spirits." Came the low tones of an exhausted Gaster who was at the end of his reserve. "Good morning everyone. My apologies for the delay. I'll not make excuses, but instead get right to the distribution of the new projects. Without any further ado, let's get today's assignments started. Step forward to receive your folders."

As the team stepped up to get their new assignments, the tall, almost cat-like monster leaned in over Sans, trying to use his height to intimidate him.

"You'd better watch yourself."

"Maybe you should follow your own advice, bucko." Sans shot back, not intimidated in the slightest.

"This isn't over." The other iterated, "Not in the slightest."

Sans smirked in response, "Oh, I hope not. Anytime, just bring it."

The two parted and took their places at the end of the line, ceasing all argument and all conversation in general as they waited to receive their assignments.

Of course when it got to the final two, Gaster waited until after the other assistants had gotten their projects and vacated the atrium before he continued.

"Good morning, Gentlemen." He greeted, lowering the two remaining folders to his side. "I trust you are both well."

"Uh, y-yes sir." The first monster answered hesitantly, his back straightening as he stood even taller.

Sans gave a bit of a shrug. "Eh, I could've used another hour or two, but otherwise, okay."

"Yes, good to hear." Gaster continued as if he hadn't heard the responses. He didn't need to. They were not the subject of conversation, nor were they pertinent to anything else. "Now, let me get one thing perfectly clear." He continued sternly, "Under no circumstance are you to engage in any activity that is hostile in nature. If there is any animosity between any monsters on MY team it will be handled in a professional manner and environment. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly, sir."

Sans nodded.

"Excellent. Now, if there is anything either of you would like to get off of your chest, now is the time. Take this opportunity to resolve any issues the two of you may have."

The three stood in complete silence for several minutes and every moment that passed weighed more and more on Gaster's already fried nerves.

"Then I will assume all is well and that there will be no further conflict. Are we clear?"

Sans was the first to answer with a nod and a brighter-than-expected, "Sure thing." He really had no beef with the other, but he would be damned if he didn't stand up when he was backed into a corner. "Yeah, we're all cool here, right, bud?"

The tall monster nodded, "Frosty."

"Wonderful. Now, here are your assignments. Sans, you're with me."

Both monsters received their folders and looked them over. The cat-like monster also seized the opportunity to take his leave, but the harsh glare back at Sans was a little more noticeable than he would have liked.

Once he was out of sight and out of earshot, Sans released the breath he'd been saving and let himself deflate once again, shoving his hands in his pockets once more.

"That Gaine . . ." Gaster sighed, "I want you to keep an eye on him, Sans. Apparently, this isn't the first time he's been the cause of tension among the monsters of this team."

"Gotcha," Sans replied, "He seems to enjoy causing a stir."

"If it keeps up, I'm afraid he may have to be dealt with. That aside, I would like for you to take over the project distribution on days like today when I'm running a bit late. The projects are assigned according to each monster's strength. For example, I usually assign Alphys to inspections, maintenance, and repairs since she excels at engineering and mechanics. In times that call for it, she is also a valuable asset in assembly and installation.

"Maltez and Baelin, work very well together and they are both rather small monsters, so I will often pair them. Where one may be extremely observant, the other is very delicate so they do best with detail work.

"Ruddard, on the other hand, is extremely focused when it comes to his work and he is much more the type to work better solo. I give him the projects it would take other monsters weeks to do alone and he'll have it done in the span of one at the most. This means, however that he can only be assigned one or two tasks at a time.

"And Gaine . . . well, he's meticulous and precise. He's best in jobs that require his keen eye and knack for accuracy. All of this is to say that I will do my best to have the assignments organized and ready for the next day so all you would have to do is hand them out in the mornings, but on the off chance they are not. I'll trust you to distribute them accordingly."

Sans nodded again slowly, still trying to wake himself. It was taking a lot more energy than he would have expected and it wasn't working. He managed to catch most of what Gaster was talking about, but he was still struggling to focus. He'll have to ask him to write it all down for him later.

"Long night?" Gaster observed.

"Long month . . ." Sans responded rolling his head and stretching out his neck, "I could ask you the same thing, slow poke. What are you working on that keeps you up for three days straight? How are you even functioning right now?"

Gaster let out another breath, leading the way toward where their next assignment was waiting for them. "Believe me, Sans. If I could tell you, I would. As of right now, I'm afraid, those projects are classified, but once they are completed, you and every other monster will be much better off."

"Close to breaking the barrier then? Well, that's exciting."

"Yes, your lack of enthusiasm says it all."

Sans fought off another yawn, covering his face momentarily behind his binder. "Eh, sorry about that. Give me a few more hours then tell me the good news again."

"Yes." Gaster mused, "Well, when the projects are complete, trust me. You will be the first to know."

When Sans returned to his room, he felt as if he was ready to collapse and sleep for a few days. But of course, Papyrus was in the exact opposite mind frame. He had been in and out of the room all day, looking forward to and counting down the minutes until Sans would return so that maybe they could perhaps go somewhere or do something together. It seemed he had plenty of energy to burn.

"Sans!" He cheered as his brother entered the room. He gave a bit of a wave and a bright smile as he called, "Welcome back! You have no idea how . . . you . . . you look terrible. Are you feeling alright, brother?"

"Wha- me?" Sans questioned wiping at his face as he'd been doing all day to try to stay awake, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a long day, that's all. What've you been up to?"

"Oh!" Papyrus answered somewhere between excitement for sharing his adventures with Sans and concern for the other, "Well, I've been working on those puzzle books Miss Alphys gave me! There are quite a few interesting things in there! Mazes, word jumbles, spot-the-differences, word searches! All kinds of puzzles! See, I've finished this one all the way through!"

Papyrus handed Sans one of the thin books and right away, Sans could tell that Papyrus had, indeed, been hard at work at completing it. Every page looked as if it had been folded at some point and pressed open as he had been working on it. There were different colors on each page where he had been working on the puzzle written there and even a few sections where he seemed to have gotten bored with whatever was happening on the page and just started drawing in the margins.

One of the most interesting discoveries, however, was Papyrus' organizing strategy. As Sans looked through the book, he noticed that Papyrus had designated different colors for different puzzles. Word searches were in blue, jumbles were in green, crosswords were in red and so on. And even on the corners of the pages, he scribbled the corresponding color so that he could turn the book directly to whichever type of puzzle he felt like doing at the time. Sans found this more interesting than the completion of the book . . . though, that feat on its own was admittedly impressive as well.

"Well done, Paps!" Sans commended, continuing to look through the pages. He did note a few mistakes here and there, especially on the crosswords . . . was that page filled completely with the letter "z"? Sans chuckled to himself at that. Why on Earth would he do something like that? "One of these days, we'll have to do one of these together."

"Really?!" Papyrus' eyes went wide as he grinned at Sans.

"Of course! Maybe this weekend if nothing comes up." Sans responded handing back the book and heading back to the corner of the room to get the paperwork for the day filled and filed. He had recently acquired a desk so he would have a place to do this. Though this meant that with the bed and the desk, plus his stuff, plus all the stuff they'd picked up for Papyrus, there wasn't much room for anything else in the tiny room. He reminded himself again to ask Gaster about that . . . and maybe finally asking for a room for Papyrus as well.

But back to the subject of the desk: during the day, while Sans was at work, Papyrus would often use it to complete his puzzles, calling them his daily assignment, much like the ones Sans would receive. He even had his own drawer in which to keep the books and supplies. At night, he knew he would have to give the spot up so that Sans would be able to get his real work done. During this time, Papyrus would wander the halls as not to bother his brother, or he would occupy a section of the bed where he could continue work on the puzzle book.

As Papyrus used this particular evening to draw and color in one of the other books, he took notice that Sans had been incredibly busy lately: leaving before he would wake up, returning late in the evening, and using the rest of the night to fill in paperwork. On most nights, he wouldn't even go to sleep until after Papyrus had already gone and had been asleep for several hours. He would get two or three hours of sleep himself before having to get up and start again.

On top of this, it seemed as if Dr. Gaster had been giving Sans more responsibility around the lab, leaving him to conduct the more top-priority assignments alone while he would work more directly with the super secret projects. Essentially, Sans had taken over for the doctor as far as lab work was concerned. Even without the official title, Sans was heading and managing the place while still playing the apprentice role as well.

By the end of the week, Sans was exhausted and it seemed as if he had no time to spend with Papyrus, which left the younger of the two brothers slightly dejected. Though he would try to fill his time with puzzles and games, Papyrus was going a little stir crazy. He needed the interaction and he needed more than just this room- more than just this lab.

But it was something Sans just wasn't able to give him yet.

Even now, it seemed as if the rest of the world just kind of disappeared as he continued to work on the papers . . . and it looked like he had a pretty big pile of them today too, which meant he would be working for a long time. Once he was finished with them, he would finally set them aside and give the reports to Gaster in the morning so he could chronicle them and compile them in a report for the king. Then MAYBE he might be able to get some sleep. It was an important responsibility, but it ate away any time he had to spend with his brother.

After a while of staring, Sans dropped his pen and let out a sigh. He hadn't even put a dent in the paper work, but something distracted him from continuing.

"I can feel you staring into my back, Paps." He commented, "And I can't hear your paper or your colored pencils. What's wrong?"

Again, Papyrus' eyes went wide, but this time it was in the shock of being caught staring. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Sans reiterated, turning his chair around to speak directly with the other Skeleton. "If there's something wrong, it's your job to speak up, okay? No matter what, I'll listen, alright?"

"Alright," Papyrus nodded.

"So what's bothering you, bro?"

"Oh, nothing really . . . it's just . . . Do you think that maybe Dr. Gaster will give you a day off again? Like that day we went to the dump. That was fun. I want to do something like that again, or maybe go somewhere else! But you're always busy and you haven't been able to go with me, and you haven't been sleeping and you're always too tired to do anything but work, and—"

"Heh, yeah." Sans sighed, lowering his head to sink between his shoulders. "I'm starting to get what you mean. You do bring up a few pretty good points too. I've been starting to see a difference at work too . . . maybe it is time for a little quality time. I don't think I'd be able to get away for more than a day, but I'll tell you what. How about I ask Gaster about it tomorrow and then we'll see about taking a day to go out and have some fun! I've got a few things I wanna show you anyway. We'll make a day of it!"

"You mean it?" Papyrus gasped, "Will he let you do that?"

"Well that's what days off are for! And since I've been working through the weekends lately, I think I can build a pretty strong case for myself. If all goes well, I could work this to have maybe three days off!"

"Three whole days!? Imagine all of the things you could do with three days?"

"Heh, I'd probably sleep." Sans laughed, though it came with a hint of truth to it, "But it would definitely give me time to work on a puzzle or two with you! Maybe we could visit Alphys and watch one of those movies."

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Papyrus grinned, "I hope Dr. Gaster says yes."

"Heh, you and me both, bro." Sans sighed as he prepared to get back to work. Before he could, however, another thought crossed his mind, "You know, Paps. You don't have to wait for me to go do things. If you wanna go out and mingle, you can just go do it. You don't need me to go with you."

Papyrus hesitated for a second as he thought this over. "Oh . . . well, I've never been out of the lab without you before. It would be weird. I don't think that I could . . ."

"Of course you can, Papyrus!" Sans encouraged, leaning forward again, "Anything you can do out in the underground with me, you can do without me. Go out and make lots of friends!"

"I can't talk to you without you there. So that's false. And you know your way around more than I do. What if I get lost? What if I can't find my way back and I never see you again!"

"Shh, Papyrus." Sans smiled, his expression and his voice carrying what he hoped was comfort, "I believe in you, Paps. You won't get lost. And if you do, I know it won't be for long. Look, I've seen you in tons of scenarios and mazes and simulations here at the lab and you always managed to pull through . . . or almost always. The Underground is no different. Think of it like one giant puzzle. One big maze and it's your objective to navigate through and make note of all the things that are different or things that you find interesting. You can use those things to help you retrace your steps and remember your way home." Sans thought it over for a second, hoping that what he said was the right thing. From the renewed vigor in Papyrus' eyes, he guessed that it was.

"In fact," Sans began again, a bit of his smile in place once again, "How about we make it your assignment? You're an observant guy. I know you can do it. What I want you to do is make a map of the underground. Use your pencils and I'll get you some blank paper. I want you to start from the lab and make note of every turn you make. You should label every place you think is important or interesting. By the time you're finished, you'll be able to find your way around with no problem at all! Now, this will take you more than one day, so your challenge is to find a different way home every day until there are no other options. That's when your map will be complete. Wha'd'ya say, bro? You up to the challenge?"

Papyrus looked between Sans and his book and to the red-orange pencil in his hand.

"That sounds like a lot. Do you really think I can do something like that?"

"I know you can, Paps!" Sans nodded with a wink.

And just like that, Papyrus' smile returned. He gathered his pencils in his hand and held them tightly in his grasp. He nodded enthusiastically.

"Then I accept your challenge, brother! I won't let you down!"

"There you go! Just make sure you save some of that enthusiasm for tomorrow, because that's when you'll get started! Don't worry, bro, you'll do great!"

The rest of the night went smoothly. Excited and motivated for the next day, Papyrus busied himself with making plans and making sure his pencils were sharpened. He even layed out an outfit to wear. One of his thinner orange sweaters with khaki shorts and one of the pairs of boots he'd brought home. He folded them neatly and set them aside for use the next day.

Sans continued work on the papers. Knowing that Papyrus was busy and motivated actually helped him stay focused on his tasks as well. It was a strange sensation, like the two were feeding off the other's enthusiasm. Well, whatever it was, it was the most driven and alert he'd felt all day and he welcomed the extra kick it brought that helped him in his work.

It still took forever to complete, but eventually, he was finally able to call it a night. As Sans pushed the stack of papers to the opposite side of the desk, he realized just how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten that day and it had taken him this long to remember. The problem was that it was far too late to get food from anywhere and there were no more leftovers from that day Gaster had come back from New Home. And though monster food doesn't spoil, it still would have felt strange to Sans to eat something that had been in the fridge for three and a half weeks . . . though he did wish he'd saved a little bit more of that pie.

Anyway, food aside, he should probably get some rest before the morning. Something told him that he would have to be the one to distribute the assignment folders, so he would have to get up earlier than usual if he wanted to get food then and organize the assignments before the other monsters showed up. Plus, he would have to make sure Papyrus was settled and on his way, preferably before the others showed up as well. They still had no idea that Papyrus was active again and after the fiasco from the last time they saw him . . . it would probably be best if he avoided contact with them.

And suddenly, just thinking about the workload and challenges the following day would bring, Sans was tired again. As he climbed into bed next to Papyrus, he turned to his side to face the wall and curled in on himself as he let his eyes drift closed. It was a quick process falling asleep and within minutes, Sans' quiet snoring joined Papyrus'. Finally, the day was finished and the two could find rest. The room was quiet and dark and any movement was only as the result of one or the other shifting to a more comfortable position.

It was a calm scene for all of maybe 45 minutes. Somewhere, several floors below, was a rumbling- quiet at first. It was so quiet that neither of the sleeping Skeleton brothers took notice of it. But within moments, that rumbling turned into a shaky clatter and little by little, the floors began to shake until it became a violent quake that startled the two awake.

At once, Papyrus was up, looking around for whatever it was that could be causing the quake. He turned on the lamp in the corner of the room to see more clearly.

Sans woke with his eyes instantly glowing, ready to fight off anything or anyone that threatened him or Papyrus. It took him a moment or two to realize it wasn't an enemy, but when he made that distinction, the glow faded.

"What the Hell!?" He exclaimed, throwing on his coat, "Oh, God, it's not the CORE, is it!? We don't have time to evacuate everyone if it is!"

"It's not the CORE." Papyrus answered with an almost unnatural calm about him.

"What? How do you know?"

"The shaking." He answered, planting both feet flat on the ground. There was a slight bend to his knees as he focused, "It's stronger near the center of the room. It's coming from inside the building. Almost directly below us."

Even as he explained, the rumbling began to quiet and the shaking stilled until it was quiet again. Sans and Papyrus stood still in anticipation as they waited for a sign that it could be over. After several moments, Sans let out a breath and a nervous chuckle.

"Eh-heh, talk about a shaky situa—"

BOOM!

There was a near deafening explosion that rattled the entire room and knocked both Sans and Papyrus to their knees. The desk was jerked from the wall and their lamp was knocked off balance, crashing to the floor, shattering the bulb and throwing the room into darkness once again.

In place of the lamp, the blinking of a bright red warning light flashed on and off, giving them enough light to see and be able to pull themselves up to their feet. The wailing siren was not far behind.

Right away, Sans was in evacuation mode. Any joke he had been planning to make was forgotten and the only thing that mattered was getting out of the lab safely before something else exploded. "Alright, Paps, we gotta get out of here! Get your shoes, but don't bother with anything else. We're leaving until we can figure out what's going on.

Papyrus hesitated. The shaking had stopped once again and it didn't feel as if the building was in danger of collapse. It was still just as sturdy as ever. But Sans was worried. To put his mind at ease. Papyrus put on his boots.

"Brother?"

"What is it, Papyrus? Are you ready?"

"Yes, but brother. That explosion. It came from beneath us just like the shaking. Do you think—"

"Gaster." Sans finished, thinking between his evacuation plan and going back for the doctor. Though he knew what he was supposed to do, something inside of him wouldn't let him leave the doctor behind.

"Alright, Paps. You get out of here. I'm gonna go below to get the doc."

Papyrus shook his head defiantly, "I can help." He explained, already heading for the door. "And there's no more shaking. I don't think there will be any more explosions either."

"But you can't know that for sure!" Sans pressed. "It would make me feel better if I knew you were outside!"

But Papyrus was already out of the room and on his way toward the stairs that would take him down toward the explosion and the source of the shaking.

"Damn it." Sans hissed as he followed out of the room as well. Since Papyrus was so determined to help . . . and technically his strength was greater than his own, Sans decided that it was probably better to have Papyrus around. He would just have to be sure to keep an eye out for him as well while they were down there.

They took the stairs down and all the while Sans let Papyrus lead the way. He seemed to know where he was going and where the source of the shaking and explosion had been. Sans noticed on the way that nothing else about the lab seemed abnormal. There were no walls blown away or no fallen beams blocking their path. There was no rubble or debris or really anything that would have suggested such a violent disruption occurred.

There was one exception to this, however. Down near the end of the hallway there was one room where plumes of billowing black smoke spilled out, blocking the view.

"Gaster!" Sans called, his eyes going wide as he sprung ahead of Papyrus toward the smokey end of the hall. "Gaster, are you okay? Doc!?"

Papyrus stayed in step with Sans as he fought against the screeching siren to be heard. The doctor had yet to respond and that caused Sans to worry even more. Papyrus was worried too.

"Dr. Gaster!" Sans tried again, with no response, as he tried to wave the smoke away to see better.

It seemed as if the explosion had been condensed and contained within this one room, but from what Sans was able to see, what did happen in the room was completely devastating. As Sans looked around and squinted through the smoke, there was nearly nothing recognizable about the examination room. Equipment had been obliterated, containers were shattered, displays were in shambles, counters and chairs were in disrepair. Yet, it had all been contained. Even if the walls were scorched, they had not been blown through. Something made sure that the explosion did no damage beyond this room. Something . . . or someone.

"Dr. Gaster, please!" Sans called again, searching the room. His voice was already starting to go hoarse. Perhaps he should have covered his nose and mouth before entering. "Answer me! C'mon, G! Wingdings!?"

Sans nearly tripped as he searched the room. When he caught his balance again, he realized he'd nearly tripped over a foot. No, a leg . . . no, a body!

"Gaster!" Sans gasped, rushing to move the bits of the table and counter that had him trapped. Though he fought and called his name, Gaster did not respond and he did not move.

"C'mon, G. Wake up! We gotta get you outta here!"

Again, Sans' eyes began to glow and the larger bits of debris lifted, uncovering the unconscious Gaster. It was then Sans noticed that beyond the smoke and ash, Gaster was in a worse state than he thought. His skull! His skull had been cracked, pretty badly too! The split started from his right eye and traveled all the way behind his head. They had to get him help! Someone should be able to help heal him right? But first, they had to get him out of here.

"Gaster, this would be so much easier if you'd just wake up!"

Papyrus entered the room as well, looking around and being able to point more shapes and identify the pieces of broken equipment. He saw the near quivering form that was his brother leaning over the doctor and as he saw it, a small part of him seized. Sans really did care an awful lot about the doctor in order to get a reaction like this out of him. Papyrus hoped that the doctor would be alright.

He was about to help, maybe carry the doctor out for Sans, but even as he made his way over toward where they were, he nearly slipped on something he had not been prepared to find on the floor.

Something glowing through the lingering smoke stopped Papyrus in his tracks. And there were more of them- dozens of them scattered across the floor. They were all a bright light blue color, small and round like tiny marbles littering the ground. Now that Papyrus was honed in on the color and the glow, he noticed little spots of the stuff all over the room, on the walls, on the floor, dripping from the cabinet, there was one destroyed machine that was absolutely covered in the stuff . . . and there it was oozing from one counter in the far corner of the room that looked untouched. It hadn't even been burned in the explosion. It had been completely spared.

A human soul floated there over the counter, glowing the same faint color of light blue. The soul seemed to be . . . leaking.

Papyrus made his way over toward it to take a closer look. The splattered pattern of the blue goo seemed to have originated from that soul.

"This belonged to . . ." Papyrus stalled, "Then she . . . died? The doctor couldn't save her . . . but then what is he doing with her soul?" The closer Papyrus got to the soul, the warmer the light became until it was almost hot as Papyrus reached out for it. No doubt if he touched it, it would burn.

"Ah!" Sans exclaimed. It seemed as if he'd learned that lesson the hard way. As he attempted to shift Dr. Gaster, he shattered one of the tablets and the blue goo splashed over his fingers. That and apparently something else was wrong with the doctor.

"Geez, he's burning up!" Sans grit through his teeth. "What the hell, doc? How are you running a fever? Papyrus, help! Find me a damp cloth or a towel or some ice water or something! We have to bring his fever down!"

As Papyrus left the soul in search for the things Sans requested, Sans busied himself with trying to remove Gaster's coat. It was during this that Sans noticed movement from the previously immobile form in his arms.

"Gaster! Oh thank goodness! C'mon, doc, wake up!"

The doctor shifted with a low groan and he fought to try to open his eyes. Of course, only one would obey his attempts. The other was stubborn and . . .

. . . In immense pain.

Gaster reached up to cradle the side of his face with both hands and he released a pained moan, though he didn't try to speak.

"It's okay, doc." Sans began, a small bit of relief washing over him now that Gaster was conscious again. "Don't worry, we're gonna get you outta here! We'll get your eye looked at once we can find you some help."

Gaster shifted again, hissing a curse under his breath as he cradled his cracked skull in one hand and attempted to move with the other. He groaned and tried to get to his knees. He spoke in a quiet tone as he fought with himself and the image of the swirling room before his eyes.

Sans noticed something wrong right away as Gaster swayed in his attempts to stand.

"Hey, on second thought. Maybe you should stay down, Gaster! You don't look too good, there."

Gaster spoke again, waving his hand and calling to existence his floating appendages. He continued his dictation as if Sans wasn't there- as if he didn't even realize there was anyone else in the room, or that there had been a devastating explosion that decimated it. When he spoke again, it was in wingdings, the language pulling at a strange mesh of curiosity and familiarity. Sans was able to pick out the words, "Test" and "Failure" right before the doctor crumpled over on himself again with a pained moan.

"Gaster!" Sans called, rushing to the doctor's side. He was apprehensive to approach him, his bones still hot to the touch. How could he even be running a fever?

He attempted again to help Gaster out of his coat. As many layers as he could do without, he needed to be rid of them. He needed to get that fever down.

As much as Sans tried, however, Gaster was uncooperative. He kept trying to pull away and continue his dictation. Whenever he spoke, he would be cut off again by another twinge of pain.

This continued until Gaster released a pitched cry and a sudden blinding flash filled the room. The flash sparked deep within the crack in Gaster's skull and emanated through it, filling the immediate area with light. When the flash died down, Gaster collapsed once again, gripping his skull in a vice as if willing it not to shatter.

"Papyrus!" Sans cried, "Where are we with that water!? We-we're really hurting here, bro!"

Gaster continued to groan, the volume of his voice rising incrementally until it was almost painful to listen to. The groans became screams.

"H-hang in there, Gaster." Sans tried again. "I-it's okay. We're gonna get you taken care of. Papyrus is-is on his way with water. We're . . . we're gonna try to bring down your fever, okay? Just-just hold on!"

As much as he was against the idea, Sans had to leave. If Gaster wasn't gonna cooperate, then he'd have to cut him out of his coat. The problem: how was he supposed to find scissors in this war zone? In an act of desperation, Sans began to fling debris from the explosion aside, searching for whatever was left of the drawers and cabinets. There had to be something in there! Scissors, knives, scalpels, box cutters . . . . SOMETHING!

Behind him, the doctor convulsed on his side, but there was something even more off about the motion. His breathing . . . the way his body twitched. He was . . .

Gaster was finally able to pull himself to his knees, but he wasn't able to do much more than that. He remained hunched, heaving over the side of the remains of the examination table. At first, nothing came from it, but after a few moments . . .

With a sickening sloshing, a thick blue substance forced its way up through Gaster's mouth and spilled across the floor, staining it in more of the same glowing goo. And once it started, it didn't stop. Push after push yielded more of the same and before long, there was a sizable puddle of the stuff.

Needless to say, Sans was torn from his mission of finding the scissors as Gaster's situation once again demanded his attention.

"Oh my God, Gaster!"

Again, Sans dropped to his knees beside Gaster, his hand falling between the doctor's shoulders as he heaved. The downpour of blue continued to fall. Where was it all coming from?

"What the hell did you do to yourself, doc?"

Not much later, Papyrus returned with a small towel and a bowl full of ice water.

"Sans!" He called, entering the room, "Brother, is this enough? Will this help?"

"Yes, Papyrus. It's-it's perfect. C'mon, we need it over here. Hurry!"

Together, Sans and Papyrus used the towel and the water to try to lower Gaster's temperature and for the most part, it seemed to work. With the application of the towel to Gaster's skull and the back of his neck, plus the expulsion of the blue liquid, the doctor was beginning to show signs of his normal self. His moaning quieted and he was even able to focus a bit on his environment.

"S-Sans . . ." He forced out after the majority of the blue contents had been expelled, "Sans, is that . . . ?"

"Yeah, doc." The apprentice answered, reapplying the wet cloth, "Yeah, it's me. I'm . . . y-you're hurt pretty badly. But me and Papyrus . . . Papyrus and I are gonna get you to bed. You've had a really rough night."

Gaster let out a long groan as he fought to catch his breath, his stomach churned and he felt like maybe he could vomit again. But even more pressing, even more demanding than that was the sharp pain in his skull.

"W-what happened? My head."

Sans hummed in discomfort, "What's the last thing you remember, doc?"

Gaster tried to answer, but even as he tried to recall, the pain in his skull made it nearly impossible.

"The room . . ." Was about all he was able to get out, "The soul . . . was it contained?"

"The soul . . ." Sans repeated, looking around the room and for the first time actually taking in what it actually looked like. That same blue mess Gaster had been throwing up . . . it was all over the place! And there in the corner . . .

"Oh my God . . ." Sans breathed, "Is that what caused all this? Gaster, what on Earth are you doing with the soul? You've nearly drained it!"

"Is it . . ."

"It's safe," Papyrus answered, reverting again to wingdings. It was still much easier to communicate with the doctor this way and this way, he knew the doctor would understand him. "The soul is safe, however, the container was shattered in the explosion."

"Explosion?" Gaster asked, refusing to speak back in wingdings. Again, the doctor fought to focus his attention beyond his immediate area. He took notice of the floor and the equipment and the walls and the cabinets.

Once again, Gaster groaned, curling over and reaching toward his skull.

"Ugh, my head." He repeated.

"Hey, c'mon. How about we get you to bed?" Sans suggested. You can rest in there and it's much better than sticking around here. We'll figure out what to do next after that. But for now . . . you need to regain yourself."

Even as the three of them stumbled to stand, supporting a sagging Gaster, the awkward deterrent from the subject hadn't escaped Gaster's notice.

"What aren't you telling me, Sans?" Gaster asked, "What's wrong?"

Sans turned his eyes away, focusing on anything else except the look Gaster was giving him. There were several things wrong here, but he needed time to sort through them all in his own mind before he could even think about how to talk to Gaster about them. For now, he chose to stick the most obvious."

"I can't think of anyone who knows how to heal bone." Sans said as plainly as he could. "The most we can do is try to dull the pain, but your skull . . . Dr. Gaster . . . if it had split any more than this, you would have lost half of your face . . ."

Gaster let out a low hum as they walked from the room. Slowly, he reached up to finger his eye and he felt the split in his skull for the first time. He trailed the crack all the way to the back of his head. Even though he tried to cover it up, the shaky breath he took at the realization demonstrated just how shocked he was at the discovery. So he didn't even know his skull had been cracked?

"Well . . ." Gaster breathed, "That . . . explains a lot. Like that ringing . . . and why I can't see out of that eye."

"Gaster . . ." Sans responded, the new information hitting him like bricks, "Should I . . . we need to find you a healer."

"There's no point. Like you said. There is no one who can heal bone. For now . . . bed sounds like a good idea."

And so Sans and Papyrus supported the unstable doctor as he directed them down the correct hallways. Neither of the other two Skeletons had ever been to Gaster's room before and neither one of them knew the way. So they had to rely on Gaster's direction.

More than once, they had to pause as Gaster's stomach churned once again and he had to fight not to vomit again. He knew that if he did, it would be Sans cleaning it. And he'd been through enough that night already. He had enough to deal with without making even more work for him.

But speaking of work . . .

"The others will have to be contacted." Gaster droned, "We'll have to remain closed. It's a matter of security until we can get that room back in order and the soul contained once again."

Sans nodded.

"But . . . I'd rather they not know just yet what happened." The doctor continued hesitantly, "It . . . is rather embarrassing."

"Don't worry, doc. I'll think of something to tell them. But that's later. Right now, let's get you taken care of."

Not much longer afterward, they were able to find Gaster's room.

Right away, both Sans and Papyrus were stumped by how massive the place was. Just in the front area, they could have easily fit two of Sans' room. This place was more of a small apartment than a "room" and it was obvious that Gaster had put in a lot of work to make this place livable. Part of Sans wondered if Gaster had been expecting him to do the same with his room.

But that was far from the reason they'd come. They needed to get Gaster to bed, which of course meant getting him out of the stained, burned, and blackened clothing he was wearing.

"You wait here, Papyrus." Sans instructed, "This shouldn't take long, but I gotta make sure the doc gets to bed okay."

Papyrus nodded his compliance and let go of the doctor. He stood near the entryway as Sans continued onward, past another threshold and into the area where Gaster must have had his bedroom.

In the meantime, Papyrus looked around to see just how Gaster organized his room. For the most part, it looked pretty well furnished with a good-sized desk, a couch, a coffee table, and some cabinets where he must have kept his paperwork. There was no television or radio or computer or anything that showed much of what the doctor did in his free time . . . Except for maybe the literal WALL of books just behind the desk. That was definitely interesting.

Curious, Papyrus wandered over to the desk to read the titles . . . There were several history books lining to top shelf and theory books just beneath it. Biographies, journals, Geology, an atlas, Science Fiction, even a few fantasy novels . . . And on the bottom shelf . . . were those children's books? Interesting.

Moving on to the cabinet beside the desk, there were a few more very interesting things: a folder with several loose pages sticking out of the top and sides . . . and that over there must have been Gaster's personal journal. But the thing that caught Papyrus' attention was a dusty picture frame that had been turned around and placed face-down.

Carefully reaching out, Papyrus took the frame carefully in his hands, brushing off the dust with the end of his shirt. As he looked downward into the photo, he tilted his head in curiosity and confusion.

This was a picture of Gaster. There was no doubt about that. It looked like it was from a long time ago- a time when he was clearly able to smile freely. The look was so natural on him and Papyrus wondered how long it had been since the doctor had smiled like that.

But aside from the doctor, were two other Skeletons. One was almost the same size as Gaster, though a bit more delicate looking. The smile was gentle and kind and Papyrus was immediately drawn to it. It was a very comforting and endearing expression that made him feel at-ease. She looked content and happy. Papyrus thought that she would have been very nice to have around and he bet that she was an excellent storyteller. Though, why he would assume that by looking at her picture, he had no idea.

The third Skeleton was very small in comparison to the others and the only way he could be seen in the photo at all was because Gaster and the lady Skeleton held him up between them. The child Skeleton seemed to be laughing at something very funny, or, more likely something had been done to him to cause him to smile so broadly. Perhaps the other two bigger Skeletons had told him a joke, or they had recently tickled the child or thrown him unexpectedly into the air. There was something infectious about the child's smile and Papyrus couldn't help but smile as well.

This must have been Gaster's family. They all looked like they belonged together, like it would have been unnatural to see one without the other two. But the problem with that thought was that Papyrus had seen Gaster plenty of times. But the other two . . . he had never even heard of. Why? Where were they now? Why did he never mention them?

With a look back to that first and most familiar Skeleton, Papyrus couldn't help but wonder what happened. Dr. Gaster used to be so free and unburdened. He used to be able to release his grip on the lab and embrace other things. He used to be whole . . . complete.

But now . . .

"Papyrus!" Sans hissed from the other room. "Don't go around picking up and touching things that aren't yours!

Startled, Papyrus flinched, hurrying to replace the picture and the frame exactly where he found it. Though, in his panic, his hand hit against one of the other few things on the top of the cabinet. The blue vase wobbled, unsure of whether to right itself or topple over. After a moment or two of deciding, the vase fell, rolling in a wide circle before nearly falling over the edge toward the unforgiving surface below, and threatening to take the bunch of small echo flowers with it.

Quickly, Papyrus reached out again to save it from the fall. He was able to catch the blue vase, but the flowers cascaded to the ground where they were activated and chimed to life. Right away and without warning, the room was filled with a chiming melody and haunting words.

There was a dark groaning sound coming from the other section of the apartment, and through Sans' insistent protests and direction, Gaster sat up.

"That's it," He demanded his demeanor stolid and stiff, "You need to go! Now! Get out of my room!"

"I'm sorry!" Papyrus defended, his hands trembling as he dropped down to pick up the flowers and bundle them together. It was the least he could do, he knocked them over. He should at least pick them up. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'll put them back."

"You put those down this instant and get out! Sans, take your brother and leave. I thank you for everything you've done tonight, but I can not have that . . . creature in here!"

Sans stalled as he looked between Gaster and Papyrus in the other room. Again, the thought of leaving Gaster alone after something as harrowing as what happened in that examination room really didn't sit well with Sans, but in his current mood . . . it was probably best to comply. Gaster would be okay for one night, right? And besides, he could always stop by and check on him. Not to mention that Sans now had a lot of work to do if he wanted to clean up the examination room.

"Alright," Sans sighed, "We're gone then. Just . . . be careful, Gaster. Get some rest and you know how to reach me if you need something."

"Indeed." Gaster answered plainly, he was still livid about Papyrus in the other room. His eyes hadn't left the other as he tried with shaky hands to reassemble the echo flower bouquet.

At once, Sans went to collect Papyrus, taking the flowers from him and replacing them and the vase on the cabinet top. He also set the picture frame upright and front-facing once again, but he hesitated when he caught a look at the family preserved behind the glass. Everything that had crossed Papyrus' mind when he saw the photo flashed through Sans' mind in the span of a few seconds and he left the photo alone as he slowly backed away from it.

"Alrighty, bro." Sans instructed quietly, "Let's get out of here. We've got a lot of work to do and Gaster needs his rest, okay? We'd better leave him alone for now, don't you think?"

Papyrus nodded in response. "Yes brother." He answered in a voice smaller than Sans had ever heard from Papyrus. "Let us be on our way, then."

As the pair of them turned to leave, Sans shot another look at the photo, something standing out to him and striking at his curiosity.

Funny how Gaster never spoke about his life outside of being the Royal Scientist. Sans had to admit that the thought was intriguing. For a moment, he looked at the family, his eyes focused on one of them in particular.

That boy . . . the child Skeleton was almost an exact match to Papyrus . . . almost.

Maybe that Undyne lady had a point . . . Maybe she wasn't as crazy as he had previously thought.

He would have to interrogate, or rather, question her about it later. She had been absolutely right. Their dealings with her were far from over.

Turning away from Gaster and the photo, Sans left, following Papyrus out without another word. They had to get started on cleanup.

Heh, so much for a few hours of rest.

Gaster's room was dark and the doctor lay in bed, just about every bit of him was in some kind of pain and he struggled to find the kind of rest he had promised Sans. For a few minutes at a time, he had been able to close his eyes and drift, but the visions would startle him awake once again.

In his dreams, he would see a never-ending sea of dust. People he knew . . . people he considered friends and colleagues. Asgore. Toriel. Their children. His lab assistants. Sans. His wife. His son. They had all been standing before him moments before. But now, their dust clouded his vision and powdered the ground beneath him. He realized a moment later that it wasn't ground he had been standing on at all, but more dust. All monsters. He was the only one left.

The dust was shifting. He was sinking- being funneled into a pit. He was going to be consumed by the dust! Already, it was up to his waist, his chest, his shoulders, his neck. He was going to drown in dust! He held his breath.

His foot hit something. A bottom? Glass. So this was . . .

Gaster reached out and his hand hit more glass. He was trapped in a glass container with the dust of all the monsters he'd ever met and all the monsters he hadn't funneling into the ground.

"An hourglass." Gaster realized. He wondered what it was counting down to.

He reached out to the glass again, knocking fervently on it. He tried to use his magic to break the glass that way if he could. But every time he tried, there was a sharp ringing and a shattering pain in his skull and his magic would fizzle from existence. He was useless and trapped, waiting to be turned to dust himself.

There was a shift. Something moved. The room . . . the hourglass was being moved- being lifted. Being turned. Gaster fell, tilted and upended to land on the flat surface. The dust! The dust was falling now! It rained all around him, all over him. It covered him and threatened to bury him. Again, he could do nothing but watch as the falling dust engulfed him, swallowing him whole. The whole thing made him sick to his stomach. He wondered whose dust he was breathing. Who was coating his hands? Who was seeping between his vertebrae? Who was clogging his airways? Who was choking him to death?

The dust covered him and though he fought to breathe. He couldn't. He coughed, trying to rid himself of the dust.

The coughing continued and got harsher, shooting pain through his skull.

Gaster awoke in the midst of a violent fit of coughing- one he hasn't suffered in years. His stomach churned and he fought to catch his breath.

He turned to his side where he'd brought a bucket just in case he still had any remnant of the soul essence to expel from within him. As he reached for the bucket, the coughing continued and Gaster noticed the dust billowing from his throat now. His own dust. Bone dust.

"No!" Gaster gasped around the cough, his eye going wide, "No, Damn it! Not again! Not now!"