"Now." Chara spoke with a low chuckle.
I immediately rolled out of bed, returning my mask to my face and walking toward the door.
"Wait." I stopped, fingertips against the door handle as my eyes narrowed toward the demon, "How do I know you're not lying to me?"
"You don't," They crossed their arms over their chest, "but it's not like I'm asking you to send this world to oblivion. You're just going to look into a room."
"And possibly get in trouble." I gave them an unconfident laugh, "What if Gast doesn't let me live here, anymore?"
"Or Papyr-" They stopped, contemplating on the thought, "Never mind. There's no way that idiot would boot you."
"You better watch it." I could feel my jaw throb as I grit my teeth, "That's my brother you're talking about."
"Oh, that's right." They laughed at me, clasping their hands together as their voice raised an octave, "'I've always wanted a brother! Hopefully I can protect this one from harms way! At least this one couldn't possibly get run over by a car!'" Their voice suddenly became dark as shadows appeared over their eyes, "Because it's all your fault. You are the sole reason as to why she died. It was your fault, and all you did was run."
I pulled the remote out of my pocket, turning it on.
"Alright. Shutting up." They returned to their normal, bored tone, "Though I do have to say, you are very determined to protect little Pappy. Perhaps it was all for the better that you climbed Ebott."
My thumb wavered over the button as I tapped one of two cups against my stomach, "There's no post-mortem shit you're able to pull, right?"
"I'm a demon, Bryan, not a miracle worker."
I let out a sigh, turning the remote off and stuffing it back into my pocket, "I've told you not to call me that." I hissed, opening the door and walking out to the hall.
"Sans is a dumb name, if you ask me." They pouted, folding their arms over their chest. If I hadn't known a hell of a lot better, I'd be convinced they were an innocent child, "I mean, I know you're trying to be a skeleton, and skeletons have font names. Aster. Wingding. Papyrus... but what the hell are you going for? Sans Serif? Comic Sans? ... Open? PT?"
"Actually, Sans Serif is more of a subcategory in typography." I spoke in a low whisper, "It's just regular font without the Serifs. Papyrus is more of a decorative, and Wingding's a symbol..." I stopped by Gaster's door, listening for whatever's coming next.
There was silence.
"Open the door." They laughed, their hand phasing through the door handle.
I gave them a glare.
"C'mon." They stepped through the door, their voice still lingering in my mind, "If you get in trouble, I'll let you blame it on me."
I slowly cracked the door open, looking inside the fairly dark room. I could barely make out the shapes.
There were two men seated on the bed, one fairly shorter than the other. They had the same crack up the right eye, but otherwise they seemed to show no other characteristics. The other was the opposite, all features but no crack.
They didn't speak in words, but rather through sign language. There were some words I could make out. Time. Save. End. They seemed to be going too fast for me, though I already have a rough idea as to what they mean.
"The shorty's Aster." Chara stood between the two, glancing over at me, "But, well, I guess he's probably your height, so that's probably what you'd consider normal." They watched me for a moment, hopefully able to feel the anger boiling within me, "The other guy's Wingding." They stopped, tapping their foot, "Wing, Asriel, and I were decent friends while I was alive... Aster would tag along... but he always kinda separated himself from us." I had never seen any form of sympathy from this thing. Maybe there is hope for them, "Aster... was strong with his magic. Thank God he was! Imagine a human falling down here shortly after they became trapped down here... and walking with the king's son? I would've been dead in an instant, if it weren't for him... Well... if it weren't for him, maybe my plan could've better played out"
The one they called Aster signed their words with hesitation. Reach out. Old friend. Save them.
Anger flashed within Wingding, who gave off one word with utter violence. Impossible.
"It's been way too long since the experiments." They sounded deflated, "I watched it happen hundreds of times through the eyes of the third soul. I didn't do anything to stop it. I couldn't. It started long before I got that vessel... And they were oblivious." They looked back to me, eyes glazed over, "I know what you're thinking. Why would a murderous child have any sort of emotion other than hate?" The gave me a dry laugh, gaze returning to the two as they reached out, "I didn't originally want to kill monsters. They're full of love. Why would I ever want to destroy something so beautiful?... Hmm? Why am I telling you this? Heh. Well, in case you've forgotten, you do have the upper hand. No one's bested me, yet you seem to be the one human I can't understand. These skeletons? You're so determined to protect them, even if it's from yourself. Why do you care? Don't you want to see the sun? Don't you want to see the stars?"
{Don't you understand the necessity of privacy?} Wingding stood over me, catching me off guard. When had he moved?
"I-I'm..." I stopped myself, "Chara made me!" I motioned toward the demon, who still stood in front of Aster.
He looked over his shoulder, looking in the direction I had been pointing.
"Sans?" Aster spoke for the first time. His voice was timid and weak, but probably one of the most calming I've heard in a while, "Do you see the demon right as we speak?"
"No, you can't." Chara laughed, disappearing before my eyes.
"No, I can't." I sighed, holding my head, "I'm sorry for this. I should be better respecting your space."
They exchanged looks for a moment before Wingding gave of a dragged out sigh, pulling me into the room and closing the door behind me.
"How much do you understand of this situation?" Aster began questioning me, his gaze wavering between my eyes and the exit. Social anxiety? Not quite. More like a lack of trust or fear that I could attack at any given moment.
"Absolutely nothing." I lied. Of course, they knew I at least had a vague idea, otherwise I wouldn't have been snooping around, "Actually, could I ask you something, now that I've got you practically trapped in a corner?"
{You don't have us trapped in a corner.} Wing folded him arms over his torso, narrowing his eyes to me.
"Does Pap know about this?" A smile begged to be set free, though I smothered the thought. I'm trying to play cool here, not sly.
They exchanged looks once again, quickly signing to each other.
{You're bluffing.}
"Does it look like I'm bluffing?"
He shot me a confused look, Aster giving me a quiet laugh. That's right. Mask... Well, I'm in too deep. I can't take it off, now.
"What is it you have to ask?" Aster gave me a weak smile.
"Well..." My words trailed off, "You kinda got mad last time I asked... so how do I..." I brought my right hand up, moving it up and down.
He covered his hand over his broken self, breaking eye contact with me.
"I mean, you did tell me you 'fell as a child,' and I'm not saying you're lying, but at the time it sounded like that bullet was already in the barrel."
{You need to leave. Now.} He held a menacing tone, forcing shivers through my spine.
"But all I want is ans-"
He grabbed my arm, and we suddenly ended up in my room.
"ers... huh?"
{Either say in here or prepare for eviction.} He threatened me, instantly vanishing.
"Such polar opposites." I gave off an unconvincing laugh, walking up to my door and locking it.
"Welcome to Hell, now." Chara nearly cackled, "No one's seen them separated from each other in seventy years."
"First in seventy years." I chuckled, meandering to my bed. The sheets were still crumpled from last night's restless sleep, "There's an accomplishment I can be proud of."
"You may want to get some rest." They motioned toward my bed, "A good night's rest could help you recover above your maximum hp, and I think you're due for a beating come tomorrow." The let out a quiet snort, "You're going to want to hold onto at least all twenty."
"Yeah." I yawned, stretching my arms before taking my mask, gently placing it on the floor, "I'll get right to that."