AN: Hey everyone! Welcome back! Well, here we are at Chapter 17! Isn't that exciting!? I can't believe this story is over a year old already! Again, I wanna say thank you to you all for sticking with me! All of you who have been around since the beginning and all of you who just found us! Thank you ALL! =^w^=
I won't make this long! This chapter is FILLED TO THE BRIM! And I don't wanna keep you from that! So . . . actually, I think I'll leave it here . . .
Enjoy! And I'll see you at the end!
Chapter 17
The CORE of the Matter
Something just beyond the lids of her eyes pulsated in an oscillating pattern. Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Red and blue again. It even lined up with the throbbing pain threatening to split her head in half.
Alphys groaned and frowned as she felt herself waking up to the pain in her head and in her side. What the heck happened? How did she end up on the floor with these sharp pains? When did it all happen? Why did she feel like she missed something?
There was a faint beeping sound now too. Long, intermittent, shrill. It pierced her ears and felt like it was trying to penetrate her head.
That . . . wasn't a good sound. Not at all. And it was coming from the control panel of the machine! It meant that the machine was searching for Determination and it couldn't find any. It meant that whatever had been the subject, the source of the Determination, had run dry and a new source would have to be found. And soon the panic began to set in as well. She definitely missed something! Something happened. Something big. Something bad . . .
Alphys pulled herself to her feet and squinted toward where the machine was beeping. But somewhere, during whatever it was that happened, she'd lost her glasses. She would have to piece together what happened on her own. She tallied the information she could gather just on her initial observations.
The red warning lights were flashing on and off, leaving the room in darkness for a three second cycle before coming back with a dim glow. However, during those dark periods, there was an even dimmer secondary glow. The blue glow . . . and it was coming from the machine. There was a glowing and pulsating something in the machine's eye. Was that magic . . . ? A soul?
Though she could see the glowing and hear the beeping, the implications went unrealized for too long.
. . .
Wait!
That was Sans' soul in the eye, wasn't it!?
WHO TURNED ON THE MACHINE!?
Scrambling to her feet, Alphys rushed to the controls and saw they were all turned to the highest possible setting.
. . . Oh no . . .
"SANS!"
Immediately, Alphys lowered the settings for all of the controls and turned off the machine. The last thing she did was release the latch that kept Sans encased within.
When she was sure that the capsule was on its way back to the docking point, Alphys rushed toward the machine.
"Sans!? Sans! Say something!"
When she lifted the front panel of the capsule, the first thing that she noticed was that Sans' bones seemed to be charred. They looked so much different than before. It took squinting through the blur to figure out what was really going on. It wasn't that Sans' bones were charred . . . it was that Sans no longer had his skeletal features at all.
When she lifted his face mask, she saw that Sans' signature smile was gone. His . . . everything was gone. Sans was gone . . . and where he had been seated before, there was now a human . . . a human wearing the same clothing Sans had been. The human had dark hair and tanned skin and he was expressionless . . . lifeless . . .
And his soul . . . his soul had been harvested. It floated right there in the machine's left eye. The source of the blue glow.
How did this happen!? Who could have done this!?
. . . She had to tell Gaster!
But he was out in the CORE tending to whatever the disturbance was out there.
But still . . . he had to know . . . She had to tell him . . .
"I-I gotta . . . G-G-Gaster! GASTER!"
It almost escaped her mind! Recently, Gaster started carrying a cell for emergencies exactly like this! She could still contact him!
Alphys rushed to the wall phone, picking it up and dialing the correct sequence of numbers.
It rang twice before there was an answer. On the other line, there was a loud screeching and a frantic typing.
There seemed to be no reasoning behind what was going on. There was no explanation. It was as if the CORE just suddenly decided to give up on them! Every so often there was a violent shake and Gaster would be nearly knocked to his knees again.
Against his instruction, Baelin, Maltez, and Ruddard stayed in the CORE with him, attempting to gather whatever information they had in order to assist Gaster in fixing whatever was wrong inside the CORE.
But of course no one could find anything wrong.
Still, the quaking told them otherwise.
There was one episode that was so bad that the walls began to warp and the integrity of the structure was compromised! A long split in the wall, like a jagged smile tore its way through the only protection keeping them safe from the blistering heat of the surrounding areas. Already, the searing winds were beginning to flood the room and even though attempts had been made to seal the fracture, it seemed as nothing was able to hold it at bay. The whistling screech of the winds played on like a constant alarm to the severity of the situation.
Meanwhile, the others had retreated to the far back wall of the chamber near the exit. Maltez and Ruddard were busy trying to recalibrate the parameters of the thermal intake valves. It seemed as if several of them had suddenly gone offline and they needed to find the reason behind it.
Baelin was near Dr. Gaster, keeping a close eye on the monitor against the wall and reporting any fluctuations. If another chamber was compromised, or if there were any changes to the intake valves, she would be the first to know.
Gaster was frantically typing away, trying to find another temporary algorithm that would keep the CORE stable until he and his team could locate and fix any bugs in the system. Something that would lessen the pressure in the rooms that had been affected. Perhaps if he could divert the flow of energy away from the damaged rooms, they would be able to—
The phone in his lab coat rang.
"No," He groaned to himself, "Now is not the right time!"
It rang again.
Though . . . the only people who had this number were his staff and the king and they all knew to ONLY contact him on that phone in case of an emergency . . .
An emergency like the one with which he was currently dealing . . .
Just before it could ring again, Gaster grabbed the phone from his pocket and flipped it open. He summoned a single floating hand to hold the phone for him so he could continue to type as he spoke.
"Yes, what is it!? Can it wait?"
"D-Doctor! Doctor G-Gaster!" Alphys' disjointed cry rang through. Her tone was too panicked to be the "all-clear" from the lab he'd been hoping for.
"Alphys! What's wrong?"
"Doctor . . . it-it's Sans!"
And just like that, everything seemed to come to a screeching halt. All other sound stilled. The squealing from the crack in the wall muted and the chatter from the assistants quieted.
"What happened?" Gaster demanded.
"I-I-I don't know, sir! Something went wrong when we were trying to escape. The-the-the-th-the machine . . ."
"What happened to Sans?" Gaster asked sternly, more directly.
To his dismay, Alphys hesitated before giving her answer. "Sir . . . Sans . . . S-S-Sans is-is dead."
Something inside of Gaster stilled instantly. Not only did the sounds in the room mute, but all light all heat, everything seemed to just . . . stop existing. It was as if someone had come in and erased everything and everyone around him, leaving him in an empty blackness.
It couldn't be true. Surely he'd misheard. Sans couldn't be . . .
They were supposed to escape! They were supposed to evacuate!
"Sir . . . ?" Alphys questioned.
"I'm on my way."
Gaster ended the call abruptly and pocketed his phone once again. Sans needed him. But he couldn't leave the issue with the CORE either. And there was no way to do both at once . . . he had to make a choice.
As the sounds slowly came back to him, he found his solution with the others.
"There is another emergency which requires my immediate attention. You three can hold things down here until I get back, right?"
His decision would hinge on their response.
"Yes, Sir." The three assistants answered simultaneously.
"Good." Gaster nodded, "Maltez! Take over here at the control panel. See if you can divert the excess energy from all affected rooms. Baelin, keep him informed of any changes! If it becomes too much, if it looks like things may get too severe, you all need to get yourselves out! Understood? We can always rebuild and repair damaged rooms, but you cannot be so easily replaced. I cannot afford to lose all of you too."
"Yes, Sir!" They answered again, hesitating slightly.
"Sir . . ." Baelin asked tentatively, "What happened to Sans?"
Gaster didn't have it in him to tell them. He still couldn't quite come to grips with it himself. He backed away toward the exit. "I will return shortly."
With that, Gaster rushed off, leaving his remaining assistants to at least maintain until he could get back.
He had to get back to the lab. He had to get back to Sans . . .
He continued at a full sprint, everything else falling away. Though he could feel the heat of the CORE, and though he could hear the chaos of the room he just left, he had to keep going forward. The others could handle it for a short while. He had to get to the bottom of whatever it was that happened back in the machine room.
He was nearly back when he saw a figure streaking past like a bolt. He was just as focused on getting to the lab as Gaster was.
"Papyrus!" Gaster called, "Papyrus, wait!"
Papyrus turned his attention to the doctor, but did not stop.
"I'm sorry, doctor, but I can't! It's an emergency!"
"I am well aware! I know where he is! Come with me!"
For that, Papyrus stalled for a second, only to change his course to where Gaster was holding out his hand for him. The moment they reached each other, Gaster focused intently on the path to the basement where Alphys and Sans were waiting for them. He'd memorized every turn, every door and every hallway. He knew them well enough to be able to do what he had in mind.
In a blink, Gaster was able to transport himself as well as Papyrus through every one of those hallways, around every turn and through every door in an instant.
Right away, the two of them noticed how tense the air was in the room. The lights were nonfunctional, casting the room into almost complete darkness. But on top of that, there was a heaviness that felt almost tangible and just being in the vicinity seemed to weigh on them from the moment they appeared in the threshold.
"Where is he?" Papyrus demanded, not even bothered at all by the fact that he'd just been teleported several rooms away from where they'd been. No, there was only one thing on his mind. "Where is my brother!?"
"P-Papyrus!" Alphys stammered, "H-how did . . . who told you to come?"
"No one! I just . . ." Papyrus gripped at the fabric of his chest.
"Of course . . ." She mused for a second, "Your s-souls were connected. The moment that s-something happened, you m-must have felt it."
"I guess, so." Papyrus answered with a rushed and impatient tone, "What happened to him? Where is Sans?"
"Oh, Papyrus . . . I'm- I'm so sorry."
Alphys turned away, leading Gaster and Papyrus to the gurney on which she'd managed to move Sans' body. The human had been taken from the machine and covered with a sheet.
The three stood on the sides of the gurney with Alphys and Papyrus on one side and Gaster on the other. Alphys, grabbed at the end of the sheet with a shaky hand. The hesitation gave both Papyrus and Gaster time to prepare for what could possibly be under it.
"N-now," Alphys warned, "He does . . . um . . . l-look different."
Alphys removed the sheet. As she did, there was a sharp inhalation as Gaster and Papyrus took in the sight.
Alphys did say that he looked different now . . . but Papyrus hadn't been expecting this. The figure on the table did look a bit like a Skeleton, it was true. It had arms and legs like a Skeleton, a head . . . with hair . . . It had fingers at the ends of its hands. It was even wearing Sans' clothes, but it was covered in some other strange exterior plush that wasn't fur like the dogs in the Guard had or scales like Undyne or Alphys had. It made the figure look somewhat squishy and strange. There were cuts and bruises on its arms and wrists, and red stuff that had been leaking from those cuts. The same red stuff was leaking from the figure's eye and stained its face.
"W-what happened?" Papyrus stammered, "This isn't Sans."
"He has reverted." Gaster answered in a fabricated calm, trying and failing to keep his words and his composure even. "It can only mean that the curse which was placed over him so many years ago has finally been lifted . . . most likely at the event of his death. This is no longer the Sans we know. Alphys, Papyrus. Meet Simm Sansing."
Alphys, wiping fresh tears from under her recovered glasses, tried the name out. "Simm . . ." She said softly as she looked over her friend, "His name was Simm? How come he never told us?"
"He was a victim of an extremely powerful curse." Gaster explained, "One that was easily as strong as the barrier that seals all monsters underground. He was unable to tell anyone who he really was. Not only that, but he was . . . understandably afraid of what would happen to him if he did. So, he adopted the name 'Comic Sans Serif' for as long as he was here."
"I-I wish I'd known . . ." Alphys sighed, "He was always so kind to me and dedicated to his work and to helping us . . . I wish I could have been helping him too . . . I-I don't know what I c-could have done, but . . ."
As Alphys and Dr. Gaster continued to talk about Sans in the past tense, Papyrus stared downward at the body in utter disbelief. There was no way . . . somehow the doctor and Alphys must have been lying. They must have had the real Sans hiding somewhere and this . . . this Simm was just someone they brought in to throw him off . . . But why would they do something like that . . . what reason would they have for trying to trick him like this?
No! There had to be another reason!
"But . . . Sans can't be dead!" He protested, bogarting his way into the conversation, "He only just woke up! He was supposed to be taking things slowly today so he could get stronger! He was getting better!"
"The more pressing question is, how did this happen?" Gaster questioned. His tone now took on a darker growl and though his words continued to be even, the fury behind them was steadily making its way to the surface. "Alphys. You two were supposed to be evacuating!"
"Y-yes." Alphys acknowledged, "W-we-we were. And I was taking Sans out of the machine when . . . when . . . w-well, sir, I d-don't know what happened exactly. I was knocked out." Alphys tenderly touched the spot in the back of her head where she was struck. "Wh-when I woke up . . . The machine was on f-f-full power and Sans . . . Sans was . . ."
Again, Gaster let out a deep breath, almost visibly fighting something or another within his own thoughts. His fists clenched and unclenched several times.
'No . . . Alphys is not to blame here.
I mustn't take it out on her . . .
Not on Alphys.
No. She is a victim here, just like Sans . . .
Yes, I did tell her to take Sans and flee, but . . .
No . . . that does not make her liable for his death . . .
Yes . . . yes, of course. I am upset, but . . .
No, there has to be another explanation.'
"But how do we fix him!?" Papyrus demanded, breaking through the darkening thoughts and successfully snapping Gaster back to the present.
"I-I'm sorry, 'f-fix him'?" Alphys asked, the outlandish request taking her by surprise, "Papyrus . . . S-Sans is dead. You c-can't fix death."
"Yes you can!" Papyrus insisted, "I've seen it before! Dr. Gaster! You've done it before! I wouldn't be here if you couldn't! So why can't you help him too? Please, Doctor! You have to fix Sans!"
Again, Alphys hesitated, taking in what Papyrus was saying. What did he mean he wouldn't be here if Gaster couldn't fix death . . . ? Just what was Papyrus?
"D-Doctor . . . ?" Alphys said quietly fidgeting with the front of her lab coat, "Is that- is that true?"
Gaster frowned, letting out a deep breath. He was never aware that Papyrus knew about that part of the experiment. If he'd known before . . . that Papyrus actually knew where he'd come from and how he had been created . . . This whole time . . . was it possible that he had retained knowledge of his past life . . . ? Of Corbel!?
'Don't be so ridiculous! Haven't we already been through this? We concluded that this creature was not our son.'
'My son'
'Your son. Reverting to all of this wishful thinking will get you nothing! Besides, even if by some miracle, Papyrus did retain Corbel's memories, don't forget the terrible things you did to him since his revival. All the things you said. All the times you tried to have him destroyed. Do you think Corbel would ever forgive you for that?"
'. . . My son . . .'
'And don't forget all the terrible things he did. Or was that fox girl nothing to you but a hired hand? If your son was in there, then he had a hand in her murder. That makes your dear little boy a killer. Let that sink in a bit. But you already have, haven't you? Like I said, we've been through this before. You already know all this.'
'No . . . no, you're right. He . . . is not my . . .'
"D-Doctor Gaster? Are y-you okay?"
"I'm fine." Gaster answered, regaining his composure, "And . . . it's true . . . but Papyrus, that was under completely different circumstances. You were created using the dust of a dead monster . . . but Sans . . . Was never a monster to begin with. He was human. And when a human dies, they don't turn into dust like a monster would. Their souls leave their bodies and you are left with . . ." Gaster had to take another steadying breath, ". . . With what's known as a corpse. The empty shell of the human. That's all he is now . . . a corpse . . . I'm sorry, Papyrus, but there is nothing we can do for him now."
Papyrus froze in his thoughts and in his actions. Nothing they could do . . . ? That just couldn't be true. Sans was so close to them. Apparently, he was hiding in the skin of this "Simm" person, but he was still there- right in front of them! Why was it that neither Dr. Gaster nor Miss Alphys could see it!?
He was just missing his soul, right? He needed his soul to become Sans again . . . right? If he had it . . . then they could bring him back, right?
And his soul . . . was in the container! It was right there! Next to Miss Alphys! On that metal table! It was still pulsating a soft blue glow!
Yet, Dr. Gaster and Alphys continued to talk as if they couldn't see it! They kept talking about how they were going to "deliver 'the human's' soul to the king" and how "It's what he would have wanted".
But not Papyrus! He saw a solution! All he needed was to give Sans back his soul and . . . and he'd have his brother back!
While both the doctor and Alphys were distracted with their depressing talk, Papyrus reached out for the soul container. He'd seen Gaster, Sans, and Alphys use it on several separate occasions and knew the sequence of how to open it with very little difficulty.
Working swiftly, Papyrus unlocked the bottom of the container, twisting it to detach it, and lifted the glass casing from around the soul. It hovered a few centimeters over the base.
Reaching out with a gloved hand Papyrus, took possession of the soul and dropped the base where it clattered on the ground. The blue soul hovered now just above his glove radiating its soft glow.
He just needed to give it back.
. . . For Sans . . .
At the sound of the disturbance from the container base, Gaster's attention shifted once again. He focused with only enough time to see Papyrus leaning slightly over the body of the human, the soul hovering a few inches above the chest.
"Papyrus!? Papyrus, step away from him!"
"Please, brother . . . take your soul and come back."
"Papyrus, stop that!"
Ignoring the doctor, Papyrus laid a hand atop the soul and pushed downward over the chest. Immediately, he could feel the resistance beneath his efforts. Almost like he was trying to stuff something into a container that was already full. Soon, it felt as if the soul was quaking in his grip and it trembled in uncertainty.
"Come on, Sans!" He pleaded in a whisper as burning tears began to form in the corners of his eyes and fall down his face, "Please . . . Please!"
There were grips at the shoulders of his shirt as Gaster's floating hands grabbed at him and attempted to pull him away as the doctor held the gurney still. But Papyrus resisted, planting himself firmly on the ground while physically grasping onto the gurney with one hand and attempting to force the soul with the other. He was a lot stronger than he looked. Even with the doctor working against him, Papyrus was able to stand his ground.
It happened quickly.
The trembling soul seemed to heat up the closer it got to the body. Papyrus could feel the warmth even through his gloves. There was a definite reaction there and even though, it was unclear as to why it was happening, Papyrus knew it meant progress.
Just a little further . . .
Not only was there the warmth radiating from the soul, but now there was a brighter, more intense light that came along with it. The soul seemed to glow more the nearer to the body it got. It soon became so bright that the three needed to squint, cover their eyes or look away completely in order not to be blinded by it.
The light seemed to reach out to the body as well, surrounding it in a brilliant white, starting from the chest and spreading out to all of the other extremities. Arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, and toes were all engulfed in light as the soul was submerged into the chest.
Papyrus could feel it when Gaster's grip loosened as he became more invested in what was happening on the gurney. He knew the doctor would be upset. Not only had the soul been lost, but now something new and completely foreign was happening to the human's body. No one knew what was coming and no one could say how to prepare or even how to react.
"Papyrus," The doctor groaned, "what have you done?"
Nothing like this had ever been successfully accomplished before and Gaster had never actually seen anything of the like . . . attempting to return a human's soul to its host? The scientist in Gaster could not look away.
Papyrus continued to stare. Okay, so the body was glowing. It still wasn't moving. It still wasn't responding. It still wasn't Sans!
He reached out, fitting an arm beneath the body while a second cradled the head, his gloves gripping tightly at the human's hair as he pressed the body closer to his chest.
"Please, Sans." Papyrus begged, "You are so close. Please come back! We still need you. I still need you. I love you, brother. Just please wake up!"
Papyrus held tightly as the warmth seemed to enter him as well. It surrounded him in light and held him in return, like an embrace.
Inside his chest, Papyrus' soul began to pulsate in time with the human's.
"That's right! This soul was made from yours! It still part of you! I don't know if I can give it back . . . but if I could, I would give it back at once if it meant that you would live! If it meant I could have Sans back!"
The pulsating became stronger as the human soul seemed to latch onto Papyrus' and used it to jumpstart itself into working properly again. To Papyrus, this was what it took to help . . . even if it did sting . . . even if it did grip to the point that it was painful. It continued until the souls both seized at once, filling the entire room in that bright white light.
It was like an explosion with Papyrus and the human at its center. A massive wave of energy pushed its way through the room, toppling anyone and anything within range, including Gaster and Alphys. In the center of it all was what seemed to be a spiraling tower of wind, energy, magic, and glowing particles of dust.
As Papyrus held firm, he kept thinking back to everything he could remember about his brother. About the one who welcomed him even when everyone else pushed him away. The one who taught him and who looked after him. His smiling face, his terrible sense of humor, his passion and thirst for solving the unsolved as well as his compassion for his friends. That was his brother. That was Sans.
Even as he thought it, he could feel the shift in his arms. The energy and dust were stemming from there. The vortex of energy was coming from him . . . from Simm . . . as his appearance gave way.
His hair, his skin, his entire outer form . . . all of it disappeared, instantly turning into specks of swirling magic and light as it lifted from the body, leaving behind the familiar bones and skeletal features of the monster Papyrus remembered.
Just as suddenly as it began, the forceful shifting winds suddenly ceased with a final pulse of energy, leaving Papyrus huddled over another Skeleton.
Fighting to catch his breath, Papyrus let the other down and held tightly onto the gurney instead. The grip from over his soul was released and the pain subsided as the light from around them died down. When Papyrus dared to open his eyes again, he was both shocked and elated to see the familiar face of his brother laying unconscious beneath him.
The lingering soft glow seemed to be contained now in a small localized area just within his ribcage and hidden beneath his shirt. It was the soft white glow of a new soul.
Finally, after a few more eternal seconds, a sharp intake of air alerted the others to the change and the one on the gurney opened his eyes wide. Instinctively, he coughed, turning his head to the side as he fought to catch his breath as well.
Sans!
Sans was back!
"Congratulations, Papyrus." Gaster said slowly and quietly as he took a step forward to observe the result of what had just transpired, "You've created a monster."
Fire!
Everything was on fire!
Even the lights dancing when he opened his eyes! The air when he drew in a breath! All of it! It was on fire! He had to get out! He had to move!
He turned to the side to rid his lungs of the burning and it came out as series of coughs. Every breath he drew afterward sent more fire rushing in.
And now there was a low buzzing sound too! It sounded off from somewhere off to his right.
Was that a voice?
No time for that! He had to get out! He scrambled on unstable limbs, trying to use them to pull himself up.
Why couldn't he do it!? Why was he so weak!? Why couldn't he move the way he wanted to!? Why was he having so much trouble focusing?
Where was he? Why was it so dark?
What happened to all the fire? He still felt so hot!
Suddenly, something trapped him and prevented him from moving. His arms were pinned to his sides and his head was pulled against something.
Something soft . . . and it was warm too . . .
Another buzzing . . . and this one was definitely a voice.
"Shh . . . Shh, it's okay brother." It said, "You're okay now."
Wait a minute . . . he knew that voice.
But when he tried to speak, nothing would come out. His voice . . . his voice wasn't working!
"pap-papyrus . . .?" He tried.
The grip became tighter and the form around him shook slightly.
"Hello, Sans! Welcome back!"
"Papyrus, h-how about you let him breathe!" Another nervous voice jumped in, "It s-sounds like he m-might be having a hard time of it."
The form hesitated, but now that he was sure the other was at least slightly more calm than before, he reluctantly obliged.
When Sans was left alone, he was immediately looking for something to hold onto. A bar or a ledge or something. He was starting to get some of his vision back in one of his eyes at least and not everything was on fire anymore . . . just his . . . his . . .
He looked out at his hands as they reached for the sides of his gurney and he froze at what he saw.
Bones . . .
Like, actual bones. He could no longer see the lines of his palms or his fingernails. It was as if he were back in class and being asked to label a skeleton for a lab assignment . . . and he could do it too. He could count the carpals in his wrists and watch at the joints of his knuckles where his phalanges met the metacarpals where his palms used to be. So strange . . .
He flexed his fingers. How . . . how did this happen? Where did . . . the rest of him go? He looked down toward the end of the bed and saw his own tibiae and fibulae of his legs and the patellae of his knees. He still had his socks and Converses on. That was weird to see.
He felt his own chest . . . and his individual ribs and his sternum and his clavicle.
He still wasn't completely convinced he knew what was going on. He was . . . awake . . . or he felt awake anyway. It was either that or this was the most vivid dream he'd ever had.
"S-Sans . . . a-are you alright?" That voice was Alphys, wasn't it? So she and Papyrus were both here, "I-I mean, I understand if maybe you n-need a minute . . . you-you've been through a lot."
Sans raised a hand to his skull. Trying to filter through the sounds to get the words and the meanings behind them. Everything was so loud and so muddled . . .
". . . what . . . happened . . . ?" He tried again through a voiceless scratch.
"We were hoping you could tell us." It was that low buzz again . . . Gaster.
"gaster!" And Sans fell to coughing again as he became too excited and tried to use too much of his voice at once.
"Perhaps you should try to relax and rest your voice while you re-adjust."
Sans shook his head fervently as he gripped the side of the gurney with one hand and raised the other into the air like a child at school. ". . . can't" he strained, ". . . answers."
"Answers?" Papyrus asked, "Does that mean you need answers or you have answers?"
Sans groaned. Why was this so difficult?
Alphys stepped forward now, still not completely over her shock. Her friend had been killed. She'd retrieved the body herself! And now, miraculously, he'd been brought back to life. It was all a bit much to take in so quickly.
"S-Sans." She stammered, "D-do you remember what happened here?"
Sans nodded urgently.
Gaster narrowed his eyes. Okay, another game of "yes and no" it was. Sans still couldn't speak more than one word at a time. He would have to word his questions carefully.
"Now, I know it's a lot for so soon after being brought back, but, this is important, Sans. I will be asking more questions of you, I'm afraid. Answer them to the best of your ability. It will have to be quick as we still have the matter of the CORE to deal with."
. . . That's right. There was the CORE to worry about too. Wait . . . didn't he say that the CORE was just a distraction?
He had to get this done quickly. Gaster needed to know.
Sans nodded his agreement, even twirling his finger as a signal for Gaster to hurry.
"Alright then. Did you see what happened in here."
Sans nodded.
"Did something happen to Alphys during this?"
Sans nodded again. " . . . attacked." He answered, reaching up to touch the back of his skull.
Alphys mirrored the movements. Someone had attacked her? And left her on the ground? Vaguely, she wondered what else the assailant could have done.
"What about the machine? Was it an accident? A malfunction?"
Sans shook his head.
Gaster's face fell to a deep scowl. So, someone had done this deliberately. Someone had intentionally turned the machine up to full power in order to eliminate Sans.
Again, the fury began to rise inside of Gaster.
"Who?" Gaster demanded, the ice clearly showing through. He didn't need to say more than that.
". . . gaine . . ."
"Gaine!" Both Gaster and Papyrus repeated, the anger in Gaster rising and the focus in Papyrus following suit.
"Do you know where he went?" The tone in Gaster's voice lowering now to just above a rumble.
Sans thought over how best to answer the question. He decided quickly. Screw his voice. He'd get it back eventually.
He pointed toward Gaster. "to find you." Sans tried again, his voice still refusing to leave as anything more than a painful rasp, "core is a diversion. sabotage. a trap. he attacked me so i couldn't stop him."
"I-I can't believe that G-Gaine would go as far as all of this, though. It s-seems like a lot of t-trouble."
Sans silenced, nodding slowly at Alphys' words. All throughout Gaine's attack, he thought for sure he was a goner . . . he could barely believe it himself, how was he even able to talk to the others? How was he even alive . . . ? Was he even alive? Was all of this some terrible iteration of the afterlife? A world where he'd been able to save Gaster and the others?
The fire in his throat definitely made him think that maybe he was still alive.
"He's done it before." Papyrus answered in a very uncharacteristic mutter. The sound pulled Sans from his thoughts and made him focus on Papyrus.
That's right!
"Excuse me?" Gaster questioned.
"kit." Sans answered with a scowl, "gaine was the one who killed her . . . not papyrus. gaine confessed . . . he killed kit because she was going to report him to you. then he blamed it on papyrus."
"But we saw Papyrus with the dust."
"he just happened to be in the room at the time. back then, we didn't think paps was sentient. gaine wouldn't have even thought twice about him being able to defend himself from being accused."
"And afterward when the rest of us arrived at the scene. You attacked us, Papyrus. How do you explain yourself against that?"
"I never attacked you, doctor." Papyrus explained. "My attack was meant for Gaine. He was dangerous and he was near more people he could hurt. He was near you and Sans."
"And why is it that this is the first we're hearing about it!?" Gaster argued, "If you had this information, why did you never come forward with it!? Why did it take this for you to say anything!?"
"I-I . . ." Papyrus stammered, taking a step backward and wringing his hands in front of him in a nervous habit, "I couldn't at first. I was decommissioned . . . and when I woke up . . . you were going to kill me. I was afraid. You hated me so much . . . and I couldn't talk to Sans at the time. He didn't speak wingdings. And later . . . well . . . you wouldn't have believed me. Gaine didn't hurt anyone else after that and I had no proof."
". . . and then ava . . ." Sans said darkly.
"I-I tried to stop him, brother. I tried to give you time to save her. She was important to you . . . And then . . . Gaine was suspended. I didn't think that he would . . ."
"come back and do something like this . . . ? try to take me out too? yeah. it would've been nice to know beforehand, then we could have known what to watch out for."
"I'm sorry . . ." Papyrus moaned, choking back tears, he raised his gloves to his face to cover the guilt and the shame from his expression. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"it's . . . it's alright, bro . . ." Sans sighed in response to Papyrus. Once again, he shifted to sit up completely. If he could lower the handle, he could sit off the edge of the gurney. He was starting to feel a bit more like himself. He wasn't nearly as dizzy and he didn't feel like he was burning . . . though there was definitely something off about his right eye. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to focus through that eye. Like Papyrus, he brought up a hand and rubbed the heel of his . . . well, he didn't have palms anymore . . . to his eye, trying to get it to work. "not much we can do about it now except figure out what we're gonna do next. gaine is still out there and he's heading for the core looking for gaster. he's probably gunnin' for you too now, bro. now that he knows that you're around to tell his tale. what we have to do is stop him before he has the chance to hurt anyone else."
"I'm sorry, 'we'?" Gaster stepped in. For someone who had just come back from death and couldn't even find his voice, Sans sure did a lot of talking and he sure seemed to be in a hurry to meet his killer. "Sans, no. I'll be the one to deal with Gaine. He is my responsibility after all. And so are you. Look, do you even realize what just happened here?"
"gaine got the upper hand on me last time. i was stuck in the machine, but this time—"
"Gaine didn't just get the upper hand on you, Sans!" Gaster snapped, " He killed you! You died. And if it weren't for Papyrus, you would still be dead!"
"papyrus . . . ?" Sans repeated in a quiet moment, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. So Gaine actually had gone through with it . . . he had been dead, "but then . . . how did . . ."
"If Papyrus hadn't forced your soul back into you, if he hadn't been around, you would be in a body bag right now on your way to the capital! You're lucky! I almost stopped him!"
Sans turned his attention back to Papyrus who was still trying hard not to let himself cry and Alphys who was at his side attempting to comfort him and assure him that everything was okay.
Again, Sans hesitated and he gripped at his shirt over his chest. Gaster said that Papyrus had returned his soul to him in order to revive him. How was that even . . . How had he managed to pull that off?
Sans focused his energy, any and all energy he could muster, to call forth his soul and through all of his effort, he was able to produce a light in his hand. A floating white light in the shape of an upside-down heart.
Sans' eyes went wide at the sight . . . "w-what-what is . . . how did . . . what am i?"
"The short answer is," Gaster explained, "You are no longer human. That soul is proof that you are a fully fledged monster now. Like the rest of us. As for what kind of monster, that has yet to be seen."
"Well, he's a Skeleton, isn't he?" Papyrus inquired, "Look at him."
"I'm afraid that's not enough, Papyrus. You see, Sans is something completely unlike a typical Skeleton, like you or I, simply because he was human first."
Sans pondered, calling his new soul back into him. Such an odd thought. He didn't feel any differently. It was like he'd just woken up from a really long dream, but still . . . he couldn't quite get over the fact that he'd really been killed and brought back to life and yet he still felt completely normal. Better even.
"so, i'm kinda like a zombie then?" He asked with a bit of a smirk.
"A zombie . . . ?" Gaster questioned raising a brow.
This time, it was Alphys who raised her hand, "U-um, in-in human mythos they are known as the r-reanimated or the undead. They- they travel the post-apocalyptic surface world devouring s-surviving humans. It really is quite fascinating, if a b-bit r-repulsive. It-it's a monster made up by humans."
"No . . ." Gaster reflected, "Not made up. Just mislabeled . . ."
Gaster sighed then, shaking his head as he continued in a slightly faster-paced mumble "That is, except for the cannibalistic devouring of human flesh. Where does this obsession of being eaten come from, I wonder? . . . that aside. Sans, if the base of these 'zombies' is truly a reanimated human . . . then you are an extremely rare monster indeed, even more rare than a true Skeleton. You would be what's known to the monster world as a Revenant."
Sans, thought it over, nodding slowly, "i've heard of that before. and i assume there are tests and whatnot that we could run to prove this one way or the other?"
"There are. But they will have to wait."
"eh, don't bother. 'sans the revenant' just doesn't have the same ring, if you know what i mean. i kinda like the other one better. so for now, 'sans the skeleton' is back!"
Gaster hummed, slowly shaking his head again with a bit of a soft smile pulling at his features.
"Then, welcome to the family, Sans the Skeleton."
"it's an honor." Sans nodded adjusting again to lower himself from the gurney. "now, let's get going. we still have to make sure gaine pays for what he's done."
"There you go with that 'we' nonsense again. Sans, I've told you, this is something I am responsible for! Gaine is mine to deal with. And I won't have you, a brand new monster with no idea or grasp of what he is, running out and getting yourself killed again! I'm responsible for you if something were to happen."
"with all due respect, doc . . ." Sans interrupted as he released his hold on the gurney and stood on his own for the first time since waking up, "no you're not. maybe when you were my boss, yeah, but not now. you have no say in what i do. now, you're taking me with you this time. alphys can work on stabilizing the core. it seems to have quieted down, so maybe all you'll have to do is make sure the power is restored to all sectors. and papyrus, you can make sure everyone else is out safely."
"I assure you, there's no need for that." Gaster answered, cutting through Sans' suggestions, "I already have hands working on the reactor. Maltez, Ruddard, and Baelin are at work in there as we speak."
Sans froze for a second, ". . . what!?"
"And it seems you are right. The tremors have ceased. Perhaps they have been able to efficiently reroute the excess energy for the moment and stabilize the affected areas."
"no, gaster, listen. if gaine is going to the core, they can't be in there! i mean, look at what he did to alphys and she was just a bystander! if they resist him in the slightest, if they stand in his way, he will kill them! we have to get going now!"
As Gaster looked back on Sans, he could see the sheer anger, and fear in his eyes. Gaster still had trouble believing that a member of his team would be able to do something as heinous as kill their coworkers, however, and perhaps Sans was a bit biased when it came to Gaine because of what he did to the purple human . . . and to him . . . and what they said he did to Kit.
Damn it . . . Gaine really was a madman, wasn't he?
"look, gaster. we have the element of surprise on our side. he won't be expecting me. and . . . " Sans released a deep breath, letting something drop from his resolve. "and i don't even have to fight. let me just go and help. let me help save the others."
It only took a second more as Sans stood tall before Gaster, pleading his case. If the others really were in so much danger, they had no choice. They had to get to them and quickly.
"Very well." Gaster acknowledged, inclining his head.
"Then, I'm going too!" Papyrus stepped up, "I can help fight. And we will have the upper hand if there are more of us against him." Papyrus didn't mention that his number one reason for wanting to go was, of course, to protect Sans. His brother might talk a big game, but even though he had been revived, Papyrus could feel that his HP was still incredibly low . . .
Sans frowned. There was no time left to argue and Sans figured, they could use the help.
"only in an emergency, alright, bro?"
"Understood." Papyrus responded, a bit of his guard training kicking in.
"And w-what should I do?" Alphys asked a bit timidly. She wasn't a fighter and there really wouldn't be much she could do to help if she went along. Still she didn't want to be completely useless. If there was something she could do to help . . . then, that's what she'd do.
The problem was, she had no idea what that was.
Gaster huffed. This was getting out of hand.
"Set up a safe area away from the lab." He instructed, "Bring first aid supplies and food. We don't know what will happen or in what condition the others will be in and they may need the respite. If Gaine catches up to the others they very well could–"
BOOM!
There was a violent shake, more demanding and urgent than any others before it. It rocked the room, nearly sending everyone crashing over themselves. There was no doubt where the disturbance was centered.
"we've gotta go now!" Sans pressed.
Gaster nodded, taking Sans' shoulder, already seeing their course in his mind's eye- every turn and every door- every hall and every corridor.
"Papyrus," Sans instructed, "Stay with Alphys. She'll need your help more than we will and when we get the others back. They'll need you too."
Papyrus' jaw dropped, but before he could argue, Gaster and his brother disappeared instantly from sight.
"No!" He cried futilely after them, "Damn it!"
Gaster released Sans' shoulder when they reappeared at the entrance to the CORE. Already, there was a dark looming feeling of apprehension surrounding them.
"We can't waste any more time." Gaster pushed and led the way inside, "I want you to focus on finding the others and getting out as soon as possible. Let me handle Gaine."
"doc, you know he's setting you up! let me help! you know i can fight."
"No, Sans!" Gaster snapped again, "You must understand, this is incredibly dangerous . . . I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to worry Alphys or Papyrus . . . You have been revived, it's true, but you have only been brought back with 1 HP. I can't have you doing anything reckless. On top of your 1 HP, you no longer have your Determination, so, you must be exceedingly cautious from now on. If you take any damage whatsoever, you will turn to dust. So, it is imperative that you do as I say. You are not to get involved, in any circumstance! You are not to fight! You are to find the others and get out. And if I say run, you get out immediately, understand?"
Sans hesitated for a brief and solemn moment, "okay, doc." he answered, thinking it over, "get the others, get out. got it."
Another lie.
"what i don't understand is how they managed to stay in the core with you in the first place, especially when you were so hard-pressed to do everything in your own?"
"Just like you, they were insistent." Gaster responded instantly, "It seems as if I've managed to hire the most frustratingly stubborn group of monsters the Underground had to offer."
"yeah, well." Sans hummed, "you can thank us later. for now, we've got work to do."
"Indeed."
So Sans and Gaster made quick work of navigating. As soon as they stepped inside, there was a surge of flowing energy and heat, nearly making the CORE unbearable.
. . . If the others were still in here . . .
Gaster led the way once again toward the room he'd left his assistants and Sans followed one step behind. Off to the right side of the elevator seemed to be the main source of heat and energy. That's where the others had been. That's where the disturbance had originated.
The doors to the room were smoldering, impossible to grip by hand, and the automatic doors, of course, were non-functional. Gaster instead summoned his magic hands to pry the door open for them. It took a great deal of effort and more magic than he was expecting for something so simple, but the doors were eventually opened and immediately, there was another forceful blast awaiting them.
Inside, they were greeted by another stronger surge of energy, raging winds, and searing heat to the point that it would not have been surprising if their clothing caught on fire. Both Gaster and Sans had to raise their arms in front of them to try to block the sheer force.
But the only reason for the winds to be this intense was if . . .
From under his forearm, Gaster dared a look to the room where he'd left his other assistants.
The entire back half of the room had been blown away, leaving a gaping hole where there should have been a wall of protection between them and the burning flames.
But more than that . . . His team . . . where Maltez, Baelin and Ruddard had been . . . there was nothing! No one around . . .
Again, there was that sinking feeling . . . that terrible weight in his chest.
And laughter tugging at the edges of his awareness. They weren't alone in this furnace.
"Welcome to the show!" The voice called, "So nice of you to join us!"
At Gaster's side, Sans stilled, lowering his arms slightly to glare over the top of them, trying to locate the source of the voice.
"gaine . . . " he muttered.
"And look. The doctor even brought along his own bartering chip!"
"Gaine!" Gaster called, "I'm not here to fight! Just tell me where the others are and we can settle this rationally like scientists, like colleagues!"
"Rational!?" Gaine laughed out loud, his voice pitching, "Colleagues!? You bring that thing with you and you want to talk as if we're on the same level!?"
"that's not important right now, gaine!" Sans spoke up now, "where are the others!?"
He turned in hopes to actually locate the other monster. They couldn't afford not to have him in their sights at all times. "what did you –"
As soon as he turned, he was greeted with a harsh claw and a tight grip around his neck. Gaine laughed again as he lifted Sans off of the ground, keeping his hand clenched tight around Sans' throat.
Immediately, Sans noticed how difficult it was to breathe. Though he no longer had a physical throat, his airways still functioned in the same way.
And they were being obstructed. Already, he was beginning to feel lightheaded.
"Well well! If it isn't the pet! How did you get out!? I thought I was through with you! I watched you die myself! I saw the machine extract your soul! So, how did you do it, you slippery little worm!?"
Sans struggled against the grip, raising his hands to dig into the underside Gaine's wrist in hopes of prying the hand away, "g-gaine . . ."
"Unhand him!" Came the demanding growl of Gaster. All at once, there was a flash and Gaine let out a hiss as he was forced to release Sans. Gaster's magic surrounded both Gaine and Sans separating the one from the other. Sans was released from the magic moments later, but Gaster pushed Gaine hard, almost slamming him against the far wall. He made sure Gaine remained solidly in his grip, his movements limited.
"Are you alright, Sans!?" Gaster called.
"i'm fine!" Sans answered through a harsh cough.
"Just as I thought!" Gaine chided, shaking his head as he held his gaze high, talking down his nose to Gaster even as the magic surrounding him restricted his mobility. It only further demonstrated his point, "You say you're not here to fight, yet here we are."
"I'm not here to fight, Gaine, so long as you leave Sans out of this." Gaster pushed again, "Your issue is with me, isn't it? I'm right here! Let's talk."
"Oh, no, too late, Gaster!" Gaine chided again. "If you didn't want your favorite toy to get broken, you shouldn't have brought it along! He's involved now. Like it or not!"
"fine by me!" Sans combated, a certain amount of fury in his voice. He could even feel the magic within him begin to shift and course through his body in a way he'd never felt before. It felt more intense and more pure than anything he had ever used before. "i still owe you payback after all, plus a little interest! time to settle the score!"
"No, Sans!" Gaster interrupted, shooting his arm out to stop him, "Stay behind me!"
Biting back his own frustration, Sans huffed, still trying to suppress his new energy. In the end, he stood down, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He didn't want to admit it, but as he was, he wouldn't stand a chance against Gaine; not one-on-one. It would probably be best if Gaster handled things here.
Damn it all.
"Well, that is interesting." Gaine hummed, "What's the matter? This thing could easily take me with one hit if it wanted to. Or is it that you don't have the juice, Sans? What? Too tired to go another round?"
Sans scoffed, still fighting to bite his tongue. He wanted to lash out. He wanted to get his revenge he wanted to give Gaine a nice taste of that latent fury.
"like the doc said," Sans growled through clenched teeth, "we're not here to fight . . ."
"Maybe he isn't." Gaine scoffed right back, gesturing to the taller Skeleton, "But somehow, I get the feeling that's not the case for you. Maybe he's the one you should have in your grip, Doctor! For the safety of your 'colleagues'."
"You're stalling, Gaine." Gaster frowned, "Where are the others. Tell us that and then we can talk."
Gaine chuckled to himself, letting his eyes slide shut and his head fall forward.
"Isn't it incredible how sentimental monsters are!?" Gaine grinned, "The lengths they're willing to go when they're afraid to lose something or someone close to them!? They never fail to disappoint. But it also makes them so damned predictable!"
"Of course," Gaster answered, trying to bring his tone back down to a more calm and even level. The last thing he wanted was for this to escalate, but it seemed as if Gaine was deliberately building them up. Gaster refused to allow him to. "The same could be said of any of us. When those near to us are endangered, it is only natural to want to protect them."
"But you especially, Doctor! You have been particularly easy to control! It was almost boring." Gaine sighed and shook his head. "Every single time." He recounted, "Every single time! You always chose him over the rest of your team. You should have known there would be consequences. Opportunity costs! Repercussions! Didn't you think that maybe just once your team was just a little more important!? That just maybe they needed your help more? Instead of running off, you should have been here! Taking care of business and of your team! Now look where it's gotten you! Look at the beautiful chaos your choices have wrought!"
The magic surrounding Gaine solidified instantly and became a large magic hand, tightly gripping Gaine, threatening to crush him in its grip.
"What. Did. You. DO!?" Gaster demanded.
"Oh! I didn't do a thing!" Gaine bit back, "I just showed them the awful truth of their employer. That they couldn't even rely on you to come to their aid when they needed you most because your priorities were elsewhere."
"While you were tending to your pet, this room was in peril! It couldn't handle the sheer force and energy of the CORE any longer and it gave way. Everyone's attention was spread so thin and they were all distracted, they just couldn't handle a crumbling room on top of it all. If only you'd been here, Doctor, you could have helped them . . . Instead, your team had to pay for your negligence!"
"It was Ruddard who stepped up first. He tried to save the other two, but in the end, the room took him. He went down easily. Baelin would have too if not for Maltez. That little tool! He was so adamant about protecting her. Honestly, if it weren't so sickening, it would have been admirable and maybe a little cute. They even fell together. Heh, Maltez always did carry a torch for Baelin. Too bad it ended up getting him burned. If he'd just let her go, he could've gotten out."
Sans' eyes went wide and pitch black at the story. The same was true for Gaster.
"HOW COULD YOU!?" Gaster roared and even the heat of the surrounding area seemed to give way to his fury as his magic surrounded him. The hand gripped tighter around Gaine and the other monster finally let out the slightest cry of pain, "THEY DID NOTHING TO YOU! THEY DID NOT DESERVE THAT!"
"Oh, wait." Gaine smiled through, chuckling slightly around his discomfort, "You think this is my fault? You're blaming me for their deaths? I told you. I didn't do a damned thing!"
"so, in other words, you stood there and let it happen?!" Sans stepped in, "you were right there! you could have saved them! they could have escaped! they could have lived!"
"Oh gee, you know, you've got me there, Serif. But you see, I wasn't supposed to be here anyway. I'm suspended, remember? No, no. Whatever happened to the others, the doctor has no one to blame but himself! You made your choice, Gaster, when you left them to fend for themselves while you ran off to save your dog! Everything that happened to the others only happened because you weren't there to save them. They are the consequence. Now the question here is: how do you plan on living with yourself knowing that you could have saved them, if only you'd made the right choice!?"
The large hand threatening to crush Gaine faltered as Gaster's resolve faltered as well. The doctor's grip loosened as his struggle turned internal. The more he thought about it, the more he realized Gaine was absolutely right!
'But it isn't anything you didn't already know, is it, Gaster?' Said a familiar dark rattling rumble. NV sounded more forceful and more derisive than ever- there to dig into his wounds with a burning and dull serrated edge and stuff them full of salt immediately after.
Gaster let it. He deserved it after all. After what happened. After what he let happen.
'That's right! Gaine found your weakness and exploited it for all it was worth! This is all your fault and you know it! You are the one who let them die! You are the one who left them, your dedicated and loyal team, who would have movedMOUNTAINS for you, to be burned alive while you took off!"
"To tend to someone who was already dead, you sacrificed the living!"
"Congratulations, Gaster, you've reached a new low! Now you can add three more names to your list of people you failed to save!"
The hand faded from existence, releasing Gaine as Gaster doubled over on himself, clutching his skull. He let out his own cry of pain and frustration as the truth of his actions crashed over him. Because of him, his team was gone! Because of him, three more people needlessly lost their lives . . .
. . . Because of him . . .
"don't let him get in your head, gaster!" Sans called, his own magic pooling once again and this time, he let it fill him completely, "he said it himself! he isn't even supposed to be here! there wouldn't have even been an issue with the core if he hadn't been here to cause it! he is the one responsible for what happened to the others. he's the one responsible for what happened to everyone!"
Instinctively, Sans threw out his hand toward Gaine as his anger climbed. At his command, several bones, blue and white, all shot out toward the source of rage. The bones flew through the space and rushed toward Gaine at break-neck speed.
Gaine dodged the attack expertly. Only a single bone managed to scratch his upper arm and cut into his sleeve.
Gaine laughed full out, "Well, look at you! It seems your master's taught you some new tricks!"
For the slightest moment, Sans hesitated as well. Bones . . . just like Papyrus' attacks! But he'd never summoned a bone attack before . . . He never even thought it possible to do anything outside of blue magic.
. . . Of course that had been before . . . when he was human.
"O-ho!" Gaine hummed, "Looks like it's new to you too. How interesting! I thought for sure that you'd know all about your own magic, right? That's sorta how it works, isn't it?"
Sans huffed as he prepared another attack, holding out his hand. Immediately, Gaine's soul was taken in a solid blue grip.
"don't you ever stop talking?" Sans growled, lifting Gaine into the air. He was prepared to slam Gaine against the walls as many times as it took to wear him down . . . even to throw him over the edge if that's what it came to.
And this time, there wouldn't be anyone to stop him . . .
Somewhere in the back of his mind was a woman's voice.
And it sounded sad as it replayed in his head. She begged him not to harm Gaine. To let him go and to show him what being a decent person meant.
Maybe he would have listened once upon a time, a time before the subject in question killed the object of his wishful delusions . . . before Gaine killed everyone Sans cherished! Everyone that made him feel like he was part of something great! Everyone who made him feel whole!
He pushed the voice far from his mind as his magic flared again into his hands and in his eyes . . . eye . . . his right eye didn't seem to want to . . .
A sharp throbbing pain seemed to pierce his skull straight through and the magic in his eye flickered. His attention lost, Sans released Gaine and reached instead to tend to his eye. He cringed through the pain until he pulled his hand away to inspect a curious substance coating his fingers.
Blood . . . ?
How was his eye still bleeding? He thought everything that made him human had been stripped away when Papyrus gave him back his soul. If that was true, then he shouldn't have been able to bleed.
He sensed the attack coming immediately and took a step back, dodging almost as if it was second nature, like a choreographed dance set up purely for the enjoyment of the ghosts of the surrounding area.
"Damn it." Gaine chuckled to himself, "Still sharper than I'd like. No matter. You've still only got . . . Gaine CHECKED Sans' stats and let out a fierce cackle of a laugh.
"Only ONE HP!? Seriously!? You've got to be kidding me! That's hilarious! No wonder Gaster was so determined not to let you fight!"
Sans glared back at Gaine, wiping the blood from his face and preparing another attack.
Gaine scoffed, "Please, this'll be a cakewalk. And I can't tell you how good it'll be to finally be rid of you! The chosen one. The golden child! The teacher's pet! You really don't know how privileged you were to have the doctor there to answer to your every beck and call and meanwhile the rest of us -the rest of the team was pushed off to some forgotten backburner and for what!? For a dismissive, careless, incompetent employer who never even bothered to learn our names!"
". . . Fitz, Marielle, Barton." Said a low grumble from behind them.
Gaine's ears perked at the sound. His attention turned toward the doctor, who was still hunched over, almost as if he was nursing an upset stomach. Something in his posture and in his general presence shifted dramatically. Something in him seemed to have snapped completely as the air around him darkened and became heavy.
"Their names were Fitz Maltez, Marielle Baelin, and Barton Ruddard!"
Gaine couldn't help himself. He froze as his attention was cemented to the doctor. Gaine's ears fell as he listened to the new tone Gaster's voice had taken on. If he thought Gaster was distant or serious before, it was nothing compared to this new side. This new Gaster was . . . cold . . . frigid even. He was intimidating. No . . . more than that.
Gaine swallowed as he took a steadying step backward. His fingers twitched in uncertainty as he reached for his pocket and the slight warmth harbored there. Blue, Yellow, Green, and Purple little pills he'd stolen from the doctor. Each one filled with pure Determination. He may need them after all.
But . . . This was what he'd asked for, isn't it? A chance to confront Gaster and to get an unfiltered, unadulterated answer from him. But this . . . was more than he'd bargained for!
"Y-you said you wanted to talk, right, Gaster?" Gaine tried, steeling himself again, "Alright. I'm game. Let's—"
"IT'S TOO LATE FOR TALK!" The booming rumble spat.
Once again, Gaine was caught in one of Gaster's floating hands. The grip trapped him so suddenly and it was so harsh that Gaine never even had the opportunity to move before he was taken up by the hand, the strength in the grip threatening to crush him completely in a matter of seconds.
Gaine released a cry and immediately attempted to stifle it by clenching his teeth.
Gaster still had yet to raise his head and approached Gaine in slow uneven steps with a single arm outstretched as he commanded the magic hand threatening to crush his former assistant. As he approached, he passed Sans and with his free hand, he laid a hand flat on Sans' chest and pushed him almost violently backward and out of the way. Sans landed unceremoniously on his back and he scrambled to see what the heck was going on with Gaster. He'd never seen Gaster so upset before. Even when he believed that Papyrus was a murderer. Being brought face-to-face with the truth and with the true killer. It looked as if Gaster had completely lost any and all remaining control of his tempered façade. It was as if he was a completely different person altogether.
When he approached Gaine, he raised the magic hand so Gaine was lifted off of the floor. Still, Gaster kept is head lowered.
"Don't you DARE assume you can tell me what I know or how I feel you son of a bitch!" The darkened voice growled, "You have no right to put words in my mouth or actions in my hands! And now three people are DEAD! AND FOR WHAT!? SO YOU COULD PROVE A POINT!? What did they do!? How could you hate them so much that you couldn't even bring yourself to save them!? That you could sit there and WATCH them die and then SMILE about it!?"
"G-Gaster . . ." Gaine forced out, "You- you said that you didn't—"
"The circumstances have changed! You've taken FAR too many lives, Gaine! I won't allow you the opportunity to take any others! You . . . you're worse than human! Sans SHOULD have killed you that night in the hall! If he had, then they would still be alive!"
The hand tightened even more as Gaster shifted, turning himself and Gaine out toward the gaping maw where the back of the room had fallen away. Gaine hissed and kicked and tried his claws, anything he could to break free. But no matter how hard he struggled, nothing came of it.
"Damn it!" He growled, "Damn it all!"
Step by uneven step, Gaster carried the struggling Gaine until they reached the end of the room. A few feet away from the edge, Gaster stopped, but the hand kept onward until Gaine's feet were dangling over the burning abyss below.
"Not like this!" He muttered, ceasing his struggle. If he managed to break free now, he would only fall into the fire. "Damn it! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!"
Gaster finally tilted his head and peered upward with his good eye. His pupils were constricted to white pinpricks in his pitch black sockets and there was a wide smile torn across his face, jagged and wild. And it even looked as if he may have been trying to keep it from melting on itself. In fact his whole face seemed to be on the verge of melting! Was the heat starting to get the better of him? Even if it was, why would he be melting!? Since when did bones melt in the heat?
If he had been in a rational and level mindframe, these were questions Gaine would have asked upon seeing Gaster's face for the first time since this new malicious side took over. Instead, he was filled with trepidation and fear as he realized he'd made a dire mistake in challenging this man. Any sign of the doctor had long since gone and this . . . person in front of him, dangling him over a fiery tomb was not someone who could be reasoned with.
Gaster raised his second hand now, pooling energy into it. In the air next to Gaine, there was a noticeable shift, nearly tangible as another figure began to form. Large, solid, fearsome with dark sockets and sharp jagged fangs. It was the giant skull of a large animal staring him down as if it hadn't eaten in decades. Just like Gaster, the skull was cracked- not enough to be in danger of falling apart but enough to know exactly to whom this incredible power belonged. As it continued to stare Gaine down, the eyes began to glow as even more power filled it.
Gaine looked back to the giant animal skull and could not find words. He had to fight with himself to even keep breathing. When the jaws parted and a light, bright and even more searing than the flames, burned to life, Gaine shut his eyes against it. He may have even let out a bit of a whimpering mewl, the fear getting the better of him.
"Not so fun when it's your own death you're facing, is it!?" Gaster demanded, "When the consequence is your existence!? When the number being called is yours!?"
"G-Gaster . . . ?" Gaine pleaded, "Gaster, please!"
"NO!" Gaster raged, "NO! YOU DON'T GET TO BEG FOR YOUR LIFE! YOU DON'T GET TO TRY TO CONVINCE ME TO SPARE YOU! YOU DON'T DESERVE MERCY!"
From further inside the room, Sans pulled himself to his feet as he watched the scene play out. Something very familiar pulled at his soul and the voice tugged at his memory once again. The other side to Ava's speech. The side of the witness who was about to watch a loved one cross a very fine line and become something they never wanted to see.
He had to stop Gaster! Before he did something he'd regret.
"KIT. FITZ. MARIELLE. BARTON. SIMM. I DIDN'T PROTECT THEM. I DIDN'T PROTECT ANY OF THEM FROM YOU, BUT I'LL SURE AS HELL AVENGE THEM!"
"gaster, wait!" Sans called after him.
"IT ENDS HERE, GAINE!"
"Gaster, no!"
Sans threw out his hand and another animal skull appeared in an instant, floating before him. Another first. He'd never summoned skulls for this before. From its jaws, a bright white beam shot forward, hitting Gaster square in the back. The attack wasn't very strong, and it didn't do much damage, especially in comparison to Gaster's strength, but it was enough for what Sans had in mind.
Gaster stumbled forward as his own attack was redirected. It still hit Gaine, shaving off a drastic amount of his HP, but it didn't kill him.
"this isn't you, gaster!" Sans called, "you would never take another monster's life!"
"AND WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT I WOULD AND WOULDN'T DO!?"
"c'mon, doc! you know me! and i know you! i've worked with you for years! i know why you work! i know what motivates you! i know your dedication! and i know your passion! this isn't you! you're better than this, doc! don't lower yourself to his standard! be the bigger man here!"
Gaster hesitated for a moment, turning to look back at his captive, burned and injured, in the grip of his floating hand.
"You're absolutely right, Sans!" Gaster responded, but even through the response, his shoulders shook through a laugh, "That sounds exactly like the Gaster you know. TOO BAD HE'S NOT HERE RIGHT NOW!"
At the response, Sans paused, drawing in a sharp breath. What the hell . . . ? Something was seriously wrong. He had never seen Gaster like this before and he never thought he would see the day Gaster would be driven to actually taking another monster's life . . . and that smile . . . it was nothing short of terrifying. No, this wasn't the Gaster he knew . . . but then, if he wasn't the doc, who was he?
Sans attempted to regain himself, taking another slow step forward, his hand outstretched in preparation. Whether that hand would be used to take Gaster's . . . or to attack Gaster . . . that all depended on the doctor.
"c'mon, doc. put gaine down. he isn't worth it. would you be able to live knowing that his death was on you?"
"S-Serif . . .?" Gaine groaned, "What are you . . . why are you trying to save me?"
"shut up!" Sans snapped back, "i'm not trying to save you. i don't give a shit about you, you murdering piece of garbage. i'm trying to save him."
The one standing in for Gaster let out a deep laugh and mixed in that laugh was a tumbling sound like asphalt.
"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I NEED SAVING?" Gaster grinned, taking the moment to turn and face Sans. He still kept Gaine hanging in his grip over the edge, "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE WOULD BE THE FIRST!? WHAT MAKES HIM WORTH SAVING AFTER EVERYTHING HE'S DONE?"
"i already told you, he isn't worth it. but you are . . . or at least doctor gaster is . the gaster I know. he would never be able to live with himself knowing that he was the cause of another monster's death . . . i've watched him beat himself up for years over the deaths of monsters he had no control over. i won't allow you to make him suffer that again. besides, death would be the easy way out, for that jerk wouldn't it? so please, let gaine go. we'll deliver him to the royal guard and let justice come to him on its own. make him pay for what he's done. Let him live knowing that it was you who decided to spare him. then, give gaster his mind back and we can piece together what's left. let this nightmare end here."
Through Sans' plea, Gaster's shoulders bounced in silent laughter and his head shook in disbelief.
"you are the one he keeps talking to, aren't you?" Sans questioned, "the one he's always arguing against? you're gaster's id. his "envy". and you've taken over the doctor completely in order to do this for him. i understand. but this isn't your choice to make. it's his. he's the one who will have to live with the aftermath. let him choose the ending."
Gaster continued to laugh, "HOW NOBLE OF YOU! I SEE WHY HE KEEPS YOU AROUND. YOU REALLY ARE DEDICATED TO HIM, AREN'T YOU? BUT, I'M AFRAID I CAN'T AFFORD TO LET HIM COME BACK JUST YET. GASTER DOESN'T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, IT'S TRUE, WHICH IS WHY HE LET ME OUT TO PLAY. DON'T YOU GET IT? HE'S ALREADY MADE HIS CHOICE. AND I AM THAT CHOICE. NOW, I HAVE A JOB TO DO."
Again, Gaster turned his back to Sans and toward the figure struggling in his grip. Gaine was still as trapped as ever, but Gaster gave another firm squeeze of his hand, reminding him just how doomed he was. Gaine cried out in pain.
Behind him, Sans lowered his head as his hand clenched at his side. The hand he had outstretched began to gather more energy and once again a large animal skull materialized before him, larger than the last. The eyes began to glow and the pain started up again in Sans' right eye. Both his eye and the skull's flickered in uncertainty until they both shut off completely. Blood continued to run down Sans' cheek like burning tears, but he didn't pay it any attention.
"i'm so sorry, gaster." He whispered, "i can't just do nothing while you destroy yourself."
Sans released the beam and it shot toward Gaster at full power. At the last possible second, the doctor responded, whipping his head around again to see the blast coming right at him. It was an impressive amount of magic to be sure, especially for one as fragile as Sans, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
Gaster threw out his second hand to shield against the attack and a barrier sprung into existence. Sans' light bounced off of the shield and flared outward around the doctor, but the force behind the attack was undeniable and it steadily pushed Gaster backward toward the destroyed end of the room.
Gaster groaned at the effort it took to keep the barrier up as well as his balance. But even through that, there was something else. Another draw on his focus and power. The animal skull that had been ready to blast Gaine had since dematerialized and reassembled itself directly behind Sans. Its cracked face opened at the jaw as energy began to gather in its mouth.
Still, Sans continued to fire his beam.
"put gaine down. give the doctor his mind back and i'll stop." Sans demanded. He could feel the burning of the energy behind him and monitored that as well. So, Gaster's "envy" was so desperate to keep control that he was willing enough blast him in the back?
So be it. Then this would be the end of them all. Sans was not about to back down from the threat any more than if it had been his mortal enemy.
He could hear it when the doctor's blaster finished gathering energy. He could feel the energy burning into his back and he could feel it in his soul when his own blaster was pulling up on its last reserves.
Still, he refused to back down.
"Sans!" A voice called out from beyond the barrier, "Sans, no!"
The beam was released. Still, Sans refused to move.
So he had to be forced to move!
Another large disembodied hand materialized at the last possible second, shoving Sans out of the way of the attack. Sans hit the wall hard, the beam missing him, but the powerful shove and the solid walls of the room pinned him harshly and kept him immobile. He fell to the ground, dizzy, disoriented, and unstable, having used up his reserves and his strength.
The blast continued forward, directly toward Gaster now! And now that the energy had been released, there was no stopping it. Gaster did what he could to fortify his barrier before the blast hit, but it wasn't much. The blast made contact and the shock of the force shook the entire room. Support beams trembled and buckled, jolting everyone inside back toward the blasted end.
At the edge, Gaster lost his footing as the room tilted from lack of support. He fought with the room and with himself to remain standing, but everything was off! He fell to a knee for stability, but continued toward the edge.
The animal skull as well as the hand holding Gaine dematerialized in the confusion. And with the disappearance, Gaine was released and he immediately began to fall. At the cry of the other, Gaster shot into action once again and he reached out behind him. From his position, Gaine reached out as well gripping Gaster's hand through the large hole in his palm.
The resulting jerk when Gaine's fall bottomed out, pulled Gaster down as well, right over the edge of the room, Gaster caught them both, hooking his elbow and upper body against the edge.
Still, the room tilted and the churning sound of grinding metal filled the area.
Sans, from his spot, remained pinned against the wall, Gaster's hand preventing him from sliding or moving at all. The doctor had saved him from the blast and had taken the force himself. He was still in there! Not only that, but he was back in control of his own body.
Sans witnessed as Gaster stumbled over the edge and caught himself as well as Gaine before either of them could fall. They were still okay!
But the room around them continued to shift. At this rate, they would fall completely.
He had to help! He had to get them back up! They could all still escape!
"gaster!" He called, struggling to free himself from the hand, "gaster! let me help you! c'mon, let me out of here!"
Gaster's attention snapped again toward Sans.
"Sans!" Doctor Gaster called up to the other, more out of shock than anything else. Why was Sans still here!? Why hadn't he made a run for it already!? This whole place was going down. And Sans had made a promise!
"gaster!" Sans cried out again, his hand reaching desperately through the bony bars of his cage. Not again! The doctor wasn't gonna leave him stuck to the sidelines again, unable to do anything, "c'mon, doc! we gotta get outta here!"
Sans tried to focus what little energy he had left. Surely he could do something as simple as pull Gaster up! To save him!
Another support beam buckled and a far section of the room gave through like a large slice had been taken away. When it fell, there was another resounding crash that shook the room violently. As a result, the room continued to tilt to dangerous levels. Gaster and Gaine groaned as they fought for their grips.
But something was terribly wrong.
"Doctor!" Gaine called, a wavering uncertainty in his voice.
Gaster chanced a look downward to where Gaine was gripping to his hand for dear life. He could already feel what the issue was, but actually seeing it brought a new level of alarm to the situation.
Gaster's wrist was crumbling- his hand, splintering. His arm was giving out on him! It was beginning to turn to dust. Already, the strength in that arm was compromised and it was everything he could do to keep Gaine—
"DOCTOR!" Gaine cried, holding tightly to the hand even as the wrist completely crumbled away.
It happened quickly- far too quickly to even react.
Gaine's eyes went wide as he plummeted quickly out of reach. The reality of what was happening shot through him like lightning. He was falling and there was nothing that could stop it.
Still, he held tightly to Gaster's hand as if, somehow, it could save him.
"GAINE!" Gaster cried watching as another member of his team was lost to the flames.
As Gaine fell and met the flames below, there was a blinding flash of light, unexpected and oddly warm. It only lasted a few seconds and died out immediately afterward, but still . . . there was something strange about that light. It almost felt . . . alive somehow.
Again, the room shook! And Gaster gripped even tighter at the edge of the platform.
"Sans!" The doctor cried out.
Sans nodded, it was up to him to save Gaster!
"hang on, gaster!"
Sans grabbed at Gaster's soul, determined to use his blue magic to lift him up to the platform, but the moment he had a hold of the soul, it was ripped away from him. At first, Sans thought that it was because of his own weakness . . . that maybe he just didn't have the strength left . . .
. . . until he saw the look on Gaster's face as he shook his head . . . was he . . . smiling?
"Sans, you have to get out of here!" Gaster instructed in a calm voice- eerily calm- disturbingly calm.
Sans' face fell, a million thoughts hitting him at once and each one pinning his own soul to the ground. It was the one thing he'd been dreading- the one thing he didn't want Gaster to say to him while they were here. He could feel Gaster's resolve through the command and the reserved acceptance.
But that didn't mean shit to Sans!
"no!" He argued vehemently, "gaster, no! if i'm getting out, you're getting out with me, got it!? just let me fuckin' help you, okay!?"
Even as he said it, the tears fell, mixing with the blood staining his cheek. He knew what was coming. He'd already played this entire conversation out in his head. Several times over. He already knew what the doctor would say.
"We had a deal, Sans." The doctor reminded him as a firm grip surrounded his soul and his entire being. A faint blue glow encased him as the large skeletal hand finally gave way. Sans was still unable to move and he couldn't escape Gaster's hold even as he tried to use his own blue magic to negate Gaster's.
Still the doctor smiled at him. The beginnings of his own tears starting to fall slowly from his cracked sockets. Were those splinters new? And there were even more cracks in his skull and in his remaining hand. He was shattering- crumbling into dust right in front of Sans!
"I'm sorry." He sighed, "This will be the last time I ask this of you. You have my word."
"fuck that!" Sans cried, "fuck 'sorry'! you're still talking, aren't you!? you're still breathing, aren't you!? you can still—"
"No, Sans!" Gaster snapped. "I've already come to terms with this . . . I need you to as well. For me. Can you do that for me, Sans?"
Sans shook his head furiously, choked sobs fighting to escape now. This couldn't be goodbye! Not now! Not Gaster! Not like this!
"let me help you, doc! i-i can help! i can figure it out. we can figure it out!"
The room buckled again. Gaster nearly slipped, but he brought his other arm up, using his forearm as a secondary, albeit flimsy, anchor.
"LEAVE, SANS!" He demanded.
"no! i can't lose you too! not on top of everything else! i can't afford to lose you!"
"And I can't afford to lose another son!"
Sans clenched his eyes, his throat closing in, "don't start that again!" he fumed, "don't you dare!"
"Just one thing . . ." Gaster began again, a bit of that calm curiosity ebbing back into his tone, "Answer me this last thing . . .
"It's about Papyrus . . . I'm sure you know by now, but I used my little boy's dust in his creation with a glimmer of hope that part of him would live on in Papyrus . . . tell me, Sans, is he in there? Is my Corbel in there?"
Sans' breathing was uneven as a part of him finally began to accept what was happening.
"i think you know the answer to that already, doc . . . but to give you a plain answer, yes. i really do think he is. i think i may have even met him before. he convinced me to keep going and not to give up when i needed to hear it most. you-you've really got a great kid, doc."
Gaster nodded slowly as his smile spread. "I agree. Now . . . promise me you'll take care of your brother, Sans!"
Sans hesitated . . . another promise . . . but this was for Gaster so . . . "of course, gaster . . . i-i promise . . ."
The room's final supports gave way, shaking everything as the entire structure fell.
Gaster's eyes went wide now as a realization hit him too. No! Sans! Sans was supposed to be long gone by now and if the room was falling . . . there was no way for him to escape!
. . . unless . . .
It was a risk, after all, he didn't know what the rooms beyond here looked like anymore . . . but it was the only thing he had left.
The blue aura surrounding Sans glowed in an ephemeral brilliance, a brief moment of light and of warmth before the magic entered him, filling his very being, permeating every bone down and straight through to his soul.
"Go!" Gaster commanded, releasing the edge of the platform to throw his hand back out toward Sans. A part of his magic was there inside him now, he could use it!
In an instant, Sans was gone, his form dissipating and leaving a completely empty room.
Gaster's smile spread as he allowed his tears to be released. Even as he felt the heavy weightlessness of falling, as the final images of the room and of Sans disappeared, he was unafraid. He'd done the right thing. He took solace in knowing that they would live. The last of his team.
. . . Alphys . . .
And both his sons . . .
. . . Sans . . .
And Papyrus . . .
He let that thought fill every void in his mind and an overwhelming sense of pride washed over him. And even as he fell into the depths, he could not feel the searing winds or the scorching heat that threatened to boil him alive. To him, it didn't exist beyond the immense euphoric elation as he let it all slip away.
Wait a minute . . .
Something seemed a bit off . . .
Shouldn't he be burning along with the walls of the room? They were on fire; the flaming maw of the CORE devouring every screw and bolt, but not him. In fact, he was starting to feel cold as a hungry darkness descended over him . . .
Soon all light around him was doused . . . extinguished . . . snuffed out . . .
Everything around him was going dark . . .
Darker . . .
Yet Darker . . .
AN: well there you have it! We all knew it was coming . . . we might not have wanted it to ever come, but it was inevitable. So long to the science team . . . It actually, almost physically hurts to say goodbye to them!
And Gaster . . . I cried.
I plan for there to be maybe two more installments of this story . . . and then, that's it! It'll be all over!
(Unless I decide to write a "sequel" that wouldn't actually be a sequel, just a separate story set after these events with possible callbacks to them and the characters. Would anyone be interested in that?)
Also, just in case anyone was wondering, Gaine's first name is Aldrin.
Alrighty, that's it for me! See you guys next chapter!