Chapter eight: Beginning the pursuit

It was silent in the lab. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft voices of Undyne and Alphys, and the occasional quiet sob from one of the Dreemurrs. Sans and Papyrus had stopped talking, and were anxiously waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

Little did anyone know that Papyrus' thoughts were anything but silent, instead being entangled in a raging conflict with himself – a battle between two opposing sides.

One side tried to convince him to tell his friends the truth about him and his brother. With Gaster's reappearances and Frisk's breakdowns, there could be a connection. Maybe Gaster could help, or maybe he was the one responsible for all this. But neither Sans nor Papyrus were sure if they had the bravery to contact their former self. So what better idea was there than to tell the others? Maybe they were willing to talk to the ghost.

The other side wanted him to shut up about it. The connection between Frisk and Gaster was mere speculation, and probably not worth telling the others his secret for. Not worth telling them Sans' secret for. How would the others look at the skelebros, knowing that they were the two halves of a seemingly dead Royal Scientist? And even if they would contact Gaster, why would he help them? How would he help them?

Eventually, one side gained the upper hand.

Papyrus looked at Sans, who was motionlessly sitting next to him.

"SANS," he whispered.

The shorter skeleton looked at him.

Papyrus hesitated, but then spoke again, making sure to keep his voice down. "MAYBE WE SHOULD TELL THEM ABOUT GASTER."

Sans' eye sockets grew a bit wider for a moment. He then sighed and looked down.

"so you connected the dots too, huh?" he mumbled. "ya think gaster's involved in all this?"

"I DON'T KNOW. BUT GASTER RETURNED RIGHT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. YOU THINK THAT'S A COINCIDENCE?"

"i think that telling the others might not be as harmful as it seems. they'll probably be shaken, but if we're right and gaster's got something to do with frisk's situation, i'd say we have to come clean."

"WHAT IF WE'RE WRONG?"

"then we're wrong and the others will know a fun fact about our origins." Sans looked his brother in the eyes. "i'm willing to take the risk. what about you?"

Papyrus swallowed and hesitated. Then, he silently nodded.

Sans let out a joyless chuckle as he stood up. "well then, let's tell our friends about how we're the two halves of a dead scientist."

The taller skeleton stood up as well, only to be stopped by the shorter one, who looked at him with a pitying expression.

"look, bro…i got this. you don't need to worry—"

"SANS…" Papyrus softly interrupted. "I APPRECIATE YOUR WORRY… BUT LIKE BEFORE, I NEED TO DO THIS. I'LL EVEN DO THE TALKING IF YOU WANT ME TO."

"we should do it together."

"OKAY."

A brief silence occurred. Undyne and Alphys had noticed the skelebros standing up from their seats, but the Dreemurrs only looked their way when Sans started talking.

"everyone," he said. He paused before continuing to make sure the others had their attention on him. "there's something paps and i should tell you about."

All eyes in the room (except for Frisk's) were now looking at the skeleton duo. Papyrus swallowed.

"Is it connected to Frisk's current situation?" the king asked. He had obviously been crying, albeit silently, as evident by his quivering voice and slightly reddened eyes.

"it might be," Sans replied. "we're not sure."

Another brief silence. Asriel, who had also been crying, broke it. "Go ahead," he said.

The skelebros shared a glance.

"IT'S ABOUT DR. ALPHYS' PREDECESSOR," Papyrus began. "THE ROYAL SCIENTIST WHO BUILT THE CORE."

"Dr. WingDings Gaster," Asgore said. Sans nodded.

"everyone says he died when an experiment went wrong," the short skeleton said. "but we're not sure if that's entirely true."

"W-what do you mean?" Alphys asked.

"WELL…WHAT IF WE TOLD YOU THAT DR. GASTER'S FAILED EXPERIMENT SPLIT HIS BODY INTO TWO SEPARATE, AMORPHOUS…THINGS, EACH WITH THEIR OWN SOUL?"

"eventually, one of those things took a solid form. the other one followed soon after. the gaster everyone knew was gone, but he left his…legacy."

"Stop there," Undyne intervened. "I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure that copying a Soul isn't possible."

Sans almost gave the Royal Guard leader a glare. He was about to come up with a retort, but was stopped by Papyrus' calming hand on his shoulder. He looked at his younger, taller brother, who continued speaking.

"IT HAPPENED," he said. "WE'RE NOT SURE HOW, BUT IT HAPPENED."

"How do you know this?" Asgore asked.

Sans looked at him. "this is where things get weird."

"Things already got weird," Undyne said.

"Wait," Asriel suddenly spoke, "two separate entities? Each with their own Soul…" He incredulously looked at Sans and Papyrus. "You two…?"

The skelebros nodded.

Asriel looked at Sans. "Sans…were you the first one to take a permanent form? Is that why you're older than Papyrus?"

Sans sighed. At least he and Papyrus didn't have to tell it themselves. It wasn't the easiest thing to talk about, let alone reveal to their friends. They were the residues of what used to be a popular and brilliant person. It was comparable to someone finding out they are a clone of a long-lost celebrity… Or something like that.

"yes," he said. "i was. papyrus appeared just a few minutes later."

"JUST AFTER GASTER'S…'DEATH'…SANS AND I HAD…EXPERIENCES." Papyrus briefly glanced at the motionless Frisk. "SOME OF HIS MEMORIES RESURFACED. THEY WERE MOSTLY JUST VAGUE FLASHES, THOUGH."

"that's not all." Sans looked around the silenced room, preparing to bring up another subject he didn't usually discuss with anyone. "we believe gaster's still alive, somehow."

"After he turned into you two?" Undyne asked. "How does that… Never mind, dumb question."

"Why do you think he's alive?" Alphys asked.

Papyrus audibly inhaled, definitely not comfortable with what he was about to say. "YEARS AGO, LONG BEFORE FRISK ENTERED THE UNDERGROUND, WE'D BEEN HEARING A VOICE. WE'D BEEN HAVING ODD DREAMS. MEMORY SPARKS THAT SEEMED…UNNATURAL."

"the voice we heard was the same voice we sometimes caught in those memory sparks," Sans continued. "and in the dreams, we would sometimes see a tall, skeletal person in a black robe."

That made Toriel and Asgore share a glance. Alphys, Undyne and Asriel just stood frozen, shocked at what the skeleton brothers had told them. When the silence was broken, it was done so by the king.

"That is indeed what Dr. Gaster looked like," he said. "A tall skeleton-like fellow, usually in black clothing." He looked at Sans. "One thing seems odd to me, however."

"what's that?" the skeleton asked.

Asgore tilted his head a bit. "I remember WingDings as one of the most polite people I have ever met. He was brilliant, but while his research was important to him, he valued friends more than his scientific projects. So… Why would he haunt you?"

Yet another silence, torn apart by Papyrus.

"I…I AM NOT A SCHOLAR…BUT WHAT IF GASTER'S CURRENT STATE OF BEING SOMEHOW…CHANGED HIM? OR…HE WAS JUST TRYING TO…COMMUNICATE?"

"Either way, where're you going with this?" the Royal Guard leader asked. "What does this Gaster have to do with Frisk's problems?"

Sans looked at the ground and sighed. "the hauntings eventually stopped. paps and i haven't heard of the guy for a pretty long time now, and we wanted to keep it that way." He let out another humorless chuckle. "unfortunately for us, gaster had other plans."

"He has…returned?" Asgore asked. "What happened? And when?"

"not long ago. point is, we already suspected that something was up with frisk. gaster somehow tried to make me go to him, 'cause he apparently needed my help with something." He glanced at Asriel. "second time this happened was at grillby's."

Asriel nodded slightly, remembering the sudden anxiety Sans had displayed when they were at the restaurant.

"then this happened," Sans continued as he gestured towards Frisk, "and i think i understand a bit more about the whole situation. gaster said that if i went to him, it'd 'allow him to help my friend'." He regretfully looked at the motionless Human. "i guess i should've obeyed."

"I wouldn't say that," Undyne spoke with a hint of sympathy in her voice. "After everything that Gaster guy did, I can see why you didn't listen. 'Sides, maybe he's the one responsible for all this."

"IN ANY CASE," Papyrus said, "IF GASTER'S GOT SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS, WE SHOULD TALK TO HIM TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH."

"How're you going to do that?"

"if gaster can talk to us, there might be a way for us to talk to him," Sans said. "papyrus and i are still him, in a way. if we tried, i'm pretty sure we could contact our former self." He scratched his head. "i've…kind of done it before. i'll probably be able to do it again. there's just one more problem."

"And I suppose that would be…?"

"Y-you're not sure i-if this'll work?" Alphys asked.

"yes, but that's not what i meant," the short skeleton replied, his pupils having vanished. He and his brother shared another look.

"I…I THINK SANS MEANS THAT MEETING GASTER WILL BE…DIFFICULT FOR US," Papyrus said.

"yeah… i don't think i have the guts to meet him."

"Understandable," Asgore said. "But what other choice do we have?"

Papyrus looked around the room. "WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO…SEND…SOMEONE ELSE TO HIM."

"We can talk to him in person?" Undyne asked. "Good. I'm in."

"it's not that easy," Sans said. "assuming that this'll work at all, i don't know how many people we can…'send'. we can 'send' ourselves, but we're only two people."

"I-if that's the case," Alphys spoke up, "y-you'll probably be able to send one person who doesn't have a connection to Gaster. I-I mean, It's just a hypothesis, but…" She shrugged.

"Well then," Undyne said, "I'll go. I'll fight Gaster if I have to, but you know I'll get Frisk out of this mess one way or another."

"of course i do, but i don't think you can fight gaster like he's just another enemy," Sans said.

"Undyne," Asgore spoke, "I appreciate your selflessness, but Tori and I are her guardians. And…well…" He hesitated for a bit. "Given that I still need to…redeem myself for my misdeeds and genocidal plans, I am more than willing to go. I have known WingDings personally, so I might be able to talk my way through."

"N-no! I-I can go!" Alphys said with surprisingly much conviction, despite her stuttering. "I-I have things to redeem myself for too, and maybe I can talk to Dr. Gaster? You know, Royal Scientist to Royal Scientist?"

"You are needed here, Alphys," Toriel softly said. "I have failed to protect too many children. Frisk included. And simply sitting here, waiting for her to return… I cannot do that."

"None of us can," Asriel said. "Look…"

"Asriel…" Asgore spoke.

"No, hear me out. Frisk is my friend too. As Flowey, I've made a bigger mess of things than anyone here. Granted, it wasn't really me, but still. I know a thing or two about nightmares of the past. I can help her."

"We cannot risk losing you again."

"You won't lose me again."

"No, Asgore is right," Toriel said.

"What about me, then?!" Undyne voiced. "Why can't I go?"

"No, it is best if I go," Asgore said.

"Asgore," Toriel cut in, "Frisk still sees you as family. It has only been three weeks, but she regards you as her kin – no matter what you do or what you have done in the past. I have seen it."

"Tori…"

As the others continued arguing, Sans and Papyrus were having a conversation of their own.

"who do you think should go?"

"I…I'M NOT SURE. THEY'RE ALL GOOD CANDIDATES."

Sans sighed and despondently closed his eyes. "that's what i was about to say."

He thought back to his conversation with Asriel in Snowdin.

He hesitated.

Then, he made a choice.

After having calmed the group down, Sans ordered Alphys to get another stretcher. As the Royal Scientist left the room, the skeleton looked at Asriel, who was talking to his obviously worried parents. Sans almost came to regret his decision when he saw said parents' faces, but Papyrus put a hand on his shoulder.

"DON'T WORRY, SANS," he said. "I'M SURE ASRIEL WILL DO THE JOB."

Sans sighed. "i'm just sorry that i can't go there myself."

"I KNOW. BUT PERSONALLY, I THINK ASRIEL'S THE BEST CHOICE."

"why's that? 'cause i just happen to be havin' second thoughts."

"ASRIEL IS FRISK'S FRIEND, AND THE CLOSEST THING SHE HAS TO A BROTHER. TORIEL WOULD POSSIBLY BE TOO AGGRESSIVE TO SAVE HER CHILD, AND ASGORE MAY BE TOO MILD. I THINK ASRIEL'S THE PERFECT COMPROMISE."

"i guess…that's one way to look at it."

Alphys reentered the room with a stretcher. "I got it!"

"good," Sans said. "asriel?"

"I'll be right with you," the prince replied. He turned back to his parents.

Toriel's eyes were still red, but she managed to show a small, encouraging smile. "Y-you be good," she softly spoke. "My son."

Asgore looked at the ground and sighed. "Asriel, I…I wish you good luck. And please, just…" He fell silent.

"Thank you, Dad," Asriel said, before suddenly giving both his parents a hug. "I-I'll be alright. That's a promise."

He then walked over to the stretcher. He lay down, looking at his parents and giving a smile of his own. The skeleton brothers approached him.

"you ready?" Sans hesitantly asked. The prince nodded.

Sans looked at his brother. "paps?"

"I'M WITH YOU, SANS," Papyrus replied.

From there, Asriel remembered very little as his consciousness left him.