"Tra La La, Friend of the gray door? Hand-and-Mailbox Talker?"
Gaster starts awake with a rush of hope. It's back. he had slept by the door, the first sleep he'd had in ages- but now he shoots up, his darkness bubbling as he quickly yells out a response, hope rising despite himself in the melted darkness that used to be his chest.
"✡ ? ✌ ?¬ワフ? ゚リミ✏ ❄ ✌ ? ❄ ? ✋❄ ?¬ワフ?¬リᅠ❄ ✌ ?¬リᄐ ✌? ゚モᆰ ✋? ✌?¬ント?¬ワフ ✡? ゚モᆲ?¬タン
For some reason, he hears a faint voice, an unfamiliar one, but it is cut off by his singular conversational companion.
"No, my friend of spaces between spaces, You were not in the world of night during our happenstance, Tra la."
Gaster finds it hard to understand their speech, but then realizes with an internal record-scratch; …did they just…understand me when i…?
"?¬ワᄀ ❄ ✌ ✡ ? ゚モᆱ ✡ ? ?¬リᅠ?¬リワ ?¬ント✌ ? ?¬リワ✍✏ ? ?¬レミ ✡ ? ?¬リᅠ?¬リワ ?¬ント✌ ? ?¬リワ✍✏"
He shouts through the door, his eyes wide. Did they just understand him? Does this mean the stranger is a skeleton? if so, why did they pretend not to before- wait no, WingDings is a genetic font, so how- The voice of his new friend is a little louder when they next speak, and the words cause gaster to sink into confused silence as they approach.
"Hush now, Tra la, the box that talks lacks ears to hear you at such distance. I cannot understand you without it, my friend of the between spa-"
Gaster hears a startled yelp and an audible thump through his door, and then the slightly muffled voice of the mysterious person.
"It…appears I have not left my boat in some time, Tra la la..."
…boat? I must be in Waterfall then. I had guessed, because of the water sounds, but still, it is nice to have confirmation…is this a Shyra, then? Or a Fish monster? They don't sound or act like either…but still. They are someone to talk to. That's more than I've had for a…very long time. And they are definitely real, and so am i…
…hopefully…?
He thinks, cringing at the uncertainty. He's…well, he probably should be used to questioning his own existence by now, but he gets the feeling that's not the sort of thing you ever get used to. After a slight spell of indiscernible shuffling noises, there is a loud thump against gaster's door, and he sits up, curling himself into the small corridor that encloses the door, as the stranger apparently sits on the other side. He can still barely believe that this is happening, is still very mentally unprepared for a social interaction after heck knows how long- but still he keeps himself together, waiting for the stranger to speak first.
"...Now then."
Which they do.
"...who are you, friend of the gray spaces? I have no name, if you were to ask. Simply speak to the door, and the box that talks shall speak for you."
Gaster is stunned for a minute by the fact that no, he's not actually imagining this- then shakes his head and somehow manages to speak in normal volume through the door, barely daring to hope as he shakily attempts to speak after so long in silence. So long…alone.
"…✋ ✌? ?¬レミ?¬ント ?¬ワヒ ?¬ワヒ ? ✌?¬ント ? ✋? ゚メᆪ? ゚モᆲ? ✞ ✡ ✌? ❄ ❄✌ ? ❄ ?¬レミ?¬リワ ✌ ✌✋ ? ?¬ワフ✋❄? ✋❄ ✋? ?¬ワフ✡✋ ?¬リ゚✌❄ ✋'? ゚モᆱ"
Almost immediately after he starts, he hears another voice echo his words. But not in wingdings.
"…I am Doctor WingDings Gaster. I'm... very glad to talk to someone again. Wait, is it saying what I'm-"
Gaster stops himself, shocked and confused as a soft chuckle comes from the other side of the door. Deciding to test the limits, he tentatively speaks some more, and this time it is immediately translated.
"Uhh…testing? One, two, three, paragraphic formula… Hello? Wait- Is…is this a translator program!? Fascinating- i didn't think this was possible! If this is a translator, then why does it not sound like…wait…Is- is that my voice…? Is that what I sound like? It's so different in standard font…the quick fox jumped over the lazy dog, four five seven two forty sixty nine…"
He mutters, distracted and fascinated by the voice that echoes and translates, the voice that apparently belongs to him. He'd always wondered what he sounded like…all WingDings sound the same, so he'd never had any distinct 'voice.' It's so strange, to hear an unfamiliar voice, yet know it's your own.
"Oh, wait, the stranger is still- I'm sorry, I just…ahem, i haven't spoken in awhile…"
The stranger on the other side of the door laughs lightly, and replies in their twisting manner, their own voice coming in slightly muffled font through the door;
"I had guessed, yes, I had, that you had not spoken for a strange and shattered spell, Tra la la...We are indeed a stranger to each other, but I have heard of you, Wing Ding, tra la la."
These words shock him, gasters melted eyesockets widening as much as they can. They…know of him? How? He is supposed to be forgotten, falling into the core right as the universe's chaotic death throes are ripping it apart…he's had a lot of time to go over the theory, and he should be… Forgotten. By everyone, and everything… erased from time. After all, how can one exist when you've been shattered across time and space? He answers immediately, even as those thoughts rush wildly around his mind.
"…really? How? Who told you? And how is this possible, my words being translated? I have never…I cannot understand how. This sort of thing…it should be impossi- I, uh… apologies, I still cannot get used to the voice…"
That is actually true, he can't get used to it. It's so strange to hear something so unfamiliar and yet know it belongs to you. Gaster pauses, trying to steady himself, that's not the most important thing about this situation. He's actually talking to someone. he's actually, truly, talking to someone. The stranger chuckles again, speaking yet still in their twisting manner, their font curling like smoke.
"Oh, the answers to those curious queries are mostly the same. Dr Alphys, the Royal Scientist. She talks to me, by the bank, when she needs to 'untangle her brain'. What I do not understand is how yarn got there in the first place, Tra La la…"
Doctor Gaster starts at this. So…he's been gone long enough for someone to replace him? Of course, it would be ridiculous if no other was appointed, he has probably been gone for a year, maybe two…Alphys, Alphys….that name sounds familiar. Wasn't she…
"Wait…alphys is the Royal Scientist?! How…how long have I been gone…? She was an intern when i…"
The stranger doesn't miss a beat, and gaster perks to attention at their words, straightening so that he can better hear what they say, the melted darkness he now calls a body shifting as he listens.
"That depends. When did you become 'erased from every file' like alphys told me, Tra La?"
Gaster, still rather in shock that someone has learned of his fall at all, tells the stranger the year, month, day, and even hour he disappeared. It's burned into his memory. Literally, burnt. He shudders, remembering the endless pain…the tearing, endless roiling mass of bloodied and broken worlds, swallowing him…But the stranger is silent, for long enough that gaster begins to worry they've left, before-
"I am not the best at being the bearer or breaker of bad news, Tra La La..."
Once he untangles their words, Gaster begins to seriously worry, tentatively asking as his mind whirls;
"What…what do you mean by this? How long has it been? Two years? Three?…f-four?"
His voice catches slightly at the last word. if he's been gone that long, then sans is twenty now…The stranger sighs, and eventually speaks once more, their twirling font hesitant.
"Th…Thirteen, tra la."
Gaster is silent. He cant…thirteen? Did he- is he hearing them right-?
"I-I'm sorry?"
He asks, his voice breaking. the stranger continues, sounding slightly sad, the first sign of genuine emotion he's heard from them, sighing heavily as gaster quivers with grief suppressed.
"Tra la la…It has been over thirteen years, since the first clock ticked without you. Not fully sure of exact days, but definitely thirteen, or a little more, Tra La la…"
Gaster sits in a stunned, horrified silence. He… he had thought four years, four years at worst…and now, here he is, and it's been more than ten years. His sons…his sons, are they even…? Are they really already…sans, papyrus, they…His thoughts break off into incomprehensibility, starting and stopping as doctor Gaster, lost beyond time for more than a decade, begins to shake. Small hiccuping sobs penetrate the door, and the stranger listens with a flicker of empathy as gaster sobs. One hand raises shakily to cover his melted mouth, and thick tears stream down a dripping skull as gaster shudders with grief and horror at the weight of lost time.
"Sans…papyrus…i…they- they must have forgotten by now…they, they'll never…never know how much I…"
He whispers, his voice choked as his hands tremble, every inch of his melted body shaking with horror and pain.
"who?"
The Riverperson asks from the other side of the door, as they sit on the bank of blue moss, echo flowers whispering nearby as the machine crackles in their lap, a flicker of a memory of a dream alighting in their mind. Something about…a small skeleton shooting rainbows out his eyes-…no, a dream. Definitely. They often have strange dreams…
"M-my sons…"
Comes the choked answer. It is startling, and… explains things…On the other side of the door, the Riverperson, cloaked in a shimmering blue, hears another choked sob from within the door they sit by. They are not always the best at reading others… but they know enough to guess what this strange father whose font forgets his face is feeling. And they know enough about the fickle nature of fate to understand what they can do, in some way, to help. They don't even know why they want to help this stranger- They just do. They 'just want' to do very few things, so they heed the feeling, the instinct to help.
They had almost forgotten what an instinct felt like.
Silently, they calmly begin to tear off a long strip of their cloak, the sound prompting a startled noise from behind the mysterious door, and a strangled gasp as they start to feed the fabric under. The air around the door buzzes at their gloved hands like TV static, but the Riverperson continues all the same, persisting calmly until the fabric disappears under the warbling door. When they are done, the Riverperson speaks softly, gathering every ounce of empathy and coherence they have within them.
"If what the good doctor says is true, then you have been Lost beyond time, beyond anything you may have known, So, I will give you this. It is a piece of the world beyond this door, so that you may…may know,"
The Riverperson gathers strength. It takes a lot out of them to speak in the way others do, unscrambled, for this long, and it is even more exhausting to muster this much empathy.
"...That it has not forgotten you."
Gaster, on the other side of the door, stares down at the fabric with dripping dark eye sockets, every inch of his darkness frozen stiff as he stares in shock, tears still wet on his melted, warped skull.
It's…blue.
It's the first color he's seen in over thirteen years…It's the color of Waterfall. A memory returns to him. Then many more. Of many days spent naming constellations in the crystals with his sons, of many days spent chasing the minnows that dart through the glowing rivers, of many days playing with his two wonderful sons, of many…many happy days. before… Then, through the device cradled in the lap of the (silently out of breath) Riverperson, a voice crackles out, choked by unfallen tears.
"You…have no idea how much that means to…thank you. Thank you, I… I just… I can't believe I have been gone that long, that…that I've lost so much time, but… this…this helps. Thank you. You can't know how- how much this helps…And please… if you see my sons…"
There's a small pause as Gaster wipes his melted eye sockets, tears still coming as he speaks, as he gathers the cloth in his hands and holds it tightly, like he's afraid it'll disappear.
"Tell them…I'm proud of them, alright…?"
After a moment of silence, the Riverperson replies, hesitantly.
"...I just realized you cannot see me nodding, tra la..."
And for the first time in a long time, Doctor Gaster laughs, tears still falling as he does.
Sans sits in his room, staring at the wall, where he's been summoning bones, one by one, trying to find the limit of his…Bell-enhanced power.
…he's been at it for…a few hours.
It's getting sort of full in his room.
He kinda wants to know what'll happen if someone opens the door.
He chuckles dryly to himself, staring at his own stats, trying to…get used to them? He guesses so…The kid is long asleep, and sans has silently sworn to never tell another soul what they told him, knowing that stuff like that- it's not something to share with just anyone. He's glad they got it out, though…It's terrible, what happened to that kid…so much pain, and they're only, what, 7? They were forced to grow up way too fast…he sees it in her eyes sometimes. An ember of understanding, compassion…conviction. This little kid understands so much pain, and they are still willing to sacrifice whatever's left just so someone else could be happy… they shouldn't have to be so selfless, not yet, not when they're just a little kid…Adult humans…maybe humans just get worse as they age. But that would mean Bell would grow up to be capable of such cruelty, and sans just can't imagine that…
Guess they're just normal jerks then. Sending kids to die in mountains…and they call us evil, heh…
sans sighs, flinging another bone across the room. He cant sleep, the buzz of new magical energy won't let him, and considering the story bell told him...he doesn't think he'd have good dreams anyway. He has 200HP now…Is that more than paps? He can't remember. Imagine that….him, having more HP than paps! He checks his stats again, and sighs, closing the interface with a wave of his ungloved hand.…Anyway, he still has the defense of a snowdrake. Snowdrake… he wonders how the poor guy is doing. Amature pun-artist and rebellious teenager that he is, sans can't help worrying about him sometimes. What with his mom at the lab still-
Wait, Alphys. she'll have an opinion on this.
And anyway, it might cheer her up…she hasn't been around much, for some reason. Yeah, a good old enigma will cheer alph' up, without a doubt. Guess it's time to visit my old colleague…Making a decision, He groggily gets up, staggering over to the window of his room and sticking his head out into the cold in an attempt to wake himself up before he prepares to shortcut.
A sleep deprived sans isn't usually a good thing, but he somehow manages to shortcut to the lab, vaguely annoyed that it didn't have any drain on him, as well as sorta pleased. He's never been able to shortcut inside the lab, but it doesn't matter. He doesn't mind walking the short distance-
"Tra La… Called Himself Gaster, He Did. I Wonder What That Means…tra la la…"
What?! Who said that- who- how?!
Sans stops in his tracks, his eyes gone dark. He's staring down a flight of stairs at the Riverperson, who is sitting mumbling on the bank, their boat tied nearby in the slightly charred reeds. Their cloak is torn, and though he still can't see anything above the waist where their cloak pools in the crook of their legs, they are sitting in such a way that sans can see thick rain boots and trousers emerging from the previously impenetrable shadows of their cloak, which spreads out around them, ending in freshly jagged and frayed edges.
He blinks, unused to seeing the Riverperson as anything more than a mysterious ferrier, let alone the sight of them disembarked from their precious boat, which he's never seen tied to anything, either. But still, they said a name he last heard in his own desperate scream, years and years ago. He has to know where they heard it, where they...If someone else knows- He has to know. He's been bottling up so much for so long, and hell if he's gonna ignore a chance to pop the cork. He shortcuts down, appearing beside the river person, causing them to let out an uncharacteristic yelp of surprise, before they relax upon realizing who it is that has appeared out of thin air beside them.
"Ah, the sansational sans, a pleasure it is to be meeting with you, tra la la…the waters agree."
Sans blinks in surprise for a moment, caught off guard. …What? Sans-ational sans? I mean, it's a good pun, but where did that come from?
"...what did you call me…?"
he asks in bewilderment, temporarily distracted by the papyrus-like title. He feels the shadows within the Riverperson's dark hood smile at him goodnaturedly, before they wind out their meaning in possibly the most cryptic way possible.
"Tra la la…Came to me in a distant dream of lives reversed, of stories tumbled yet twisted, kings in hiding, mothers killing…everything scrambled, like the shadows of shivers of shaken speech, sansational sans. Tra La La… the currents lead many places, if you know where to look…Tra La."
Sans stares in silence a moment, trying to unwind the Riverpersons' confusing talk, but he eventually gives up and just asks straight out in a deadpan voice;
"...where'd you hear that name?"
The Riverperson seems to pause, as if uncertain, their hood shifting as if whatever head is within has tilted to the side.
"...i told you, sansational sans, dreams are fickle things, tra la la….somewhere, it's Friday…"
Sans lets out a huff of frustration at their confusing and unhelpful response, all empathy and patience spent, and persists.
"Don't toy with me, River guy- or gal, I guess, The other name- Gaster."
He asks coldly, his voice catching a little as he repeats the name. A flash of memory- a fire, deep in the core, an explosion, a screaming face- The Riverperson simply stares into sans's empty eye sockets, assessing him, the void within their hood silent and cold.
"...i…hmm. You're here to meet with alphys, right?"
This time, they speak without flourishing or twisting their words, even without their characteristic trilling, and Sans gets the creeping feeling that it's hard for them to rearrange the words… a sense of unease, as if their voice is not meant to speak that way.
"Yeah…? but why-"
The Riverperson cuts him off sharply, almost choking out the easy-to-understand words with a little shudder of effort, their cloak vibrating slightly as they blurt out the words with obvious effort and discomfort.
"Conduct…your business with her first. I need to…to unscramble my words. and…it takes- takes time."
Sans gets a feeling of deep unease. He always thought that the Riverperson spoke that way out of simple boredom, not…necessity, or need. Hearing them speak with so much effort simply to make their words understandable…it…No. He needs to know, so it's either now, or he needs to ensure they will be here. He cant lose them, or that information.
"...how do I know you'll still be here?"
Surprisingly, the Riverperson laughs audibly from under the hood, and Sans can almost believe he caught a glimpse of something, a wisp of shadow…but it's gone, and the Riverperson has apparently given up on 'untangling their words,' at least for now.
"You were always the smartest fool, Sansational sans, when did you last see me on ground? When was the last we spoke both on shore? I am not going just yet, and won't until you return from deciding with the doctor who keeps wailing disasters in darkness. I, at least, won't run as she does, tra la la..."
Sans takes that to mean;
"You smart…idiot? I haven't got off my boat in an ungodly long time, so I'm not leaving yet, and won't until you get back from talking with the doctor I don't trust. I'm not that trustworthy either, but I'm better than her."
Sans squints at the Riverperson, who gives him one of those 'sense it, not see it' smiles from within their shadowy cloak, and returns to their mumbling, waving sans off with a gloved hand. He begrudgingly relents, realizing he's not getting any more information from the infuriating Ferry-person, shortcutting outside the lab with a small 'blip,' his slippers thumping lightly on the stone.
That river guy- gal- uhg, river person? Gets on my nerves.
He chuckles to himself dryly.
Well, they would, if I had any.
He presses his skeletal hand to the lock, and it slides open with a small 'swoosh', causing the small yellow lizard monster inside the lab to nearly fall off her chair with a small "EEP!" frantically clicking at the keyboard to pause the rom-com style anime she's watching. Sans gets a quick look before the screen goes dark, and internally notes that she's rewatching her 'comfort episode'. Something must be up. Well, she could probably use a distraction anyway.
"hey alph'. how've ya been?"
The yellow lizard monster gives a small sigh of relief.
"O-oh sans…it's j-just y-you…"
She hops off the chair and pads over, the door sliding shut behind Sans as he walks in, the two monsters meeting in the middle like they always do, a comforting routine. Alphys fiddles with her claws, looking sans up and down very quickly, before hesitantly asking him with a small nod at his clothes;
"U-uh…d-did you come, er, s-straight from y-your…uh, bed?"
Sans realizes he's still wearing the slightly damp t-shirt instead of his usual blue jacket-and-sweater combo. He shrugs, deciding to play it off as if it's on purpose…at the cost of a small lie. He's not telling alphys that he gave his jacket to a human. She'd totally flip- maybe even tell asgore, considering her suspected crush on the gentle king. Not that she's any less enamoured with undyne, but alph always has been the hopeless romantic type.
"...nah, my usual stuff just got poached by papyrus. he's workin himself down to the bone doin the laundry all the time, heh."
Alphys gives a small chuckle, but doesnt look entirely convinced.
"S-so…why are you, uh, h-here? I m-mean, not to be r-rude but-"
Alphys pauses nervously, glancing around at the darkened lab, nervous now that she's away from the comforting glow of her computer.
"...y-you dont usually come at, u-uh, two a-am…"
Sans is slightly taken aback at the late- or rather early- hour, but continues as normal anyway. He does need to get his HP checked out, just in case, but it's going to take a while to explain everything to the nervous monster…
…or…
Sans shrugs, deciding to play a small trick on the yellow lizard monster, still a little bitter from his conversation with the Riverperson, and still emotionally exhausted from Bell.
"eh, I just wanna get my HP checked, you know the drill."
Alphys blinks, a little surprised, but seems to believe him, relaxing slightly.
"O-oh! Really? Have you f-felt anything…er, different?"
Sans is internally grinning at all the possible puns.
"eh, i dunno…i kinda feel like a bag of bones, tibia honest i can feel it in my bones just how very bone tired i am-"
Alphys lets out an exasperated groan, and sans stops, grinning.
"S-stop! I get it, i get it…here, h-hop up on the table and ill-"
Sans shortcuts up to stand directly on top of the table, still grinning. Alphys gives him an unimpressed look.
"...g-get my equipment."
She pads over to the upward treadmill, disappearing to the upper level of the lab, shaking her frilled head with a sigh. As Sans waits, swinging his legs subconsciously on the edge of the table, surrounded by messy piles of papers, he picks up a file that catches his nonexistent eye.
?¬リᄐ✋✞✌❄ ✏ ❄ ✡ ?¬リᄐ ?¬ワフ? ゚メᄃ ? ?¬ワフ?
Is written on a burnt corner, and he can just about read the writing, though garbled, still understandable.
PRIVATE! GET YOUR PAWS OFF, SA-
Then it cuts off. Sans sighs, his mood suddenly dark. He's seen lots of files like these, names and people and dates burned out, but research intact…He knows who wrote them. But, that was a long time ago… Shaking his skull, he sighs again, setting the file down and looking towards the door as Alphys walks back in, carrying the equipment that will let her see his stats without damaging him. She really is a genius…she just doesnt have the motivation, or faith in her ideas, to do…well, anything but watch anime, i think. Sans thinks, and waits patiently as Alphys sets up the equipment, and stays perfectly still as she carefully inserts the small probe into his working eye socket, as per the usual routine.
"O-ok, lets see your HP-"
Alphys is still a moment, actually skimming over his health before realizing what she's read and jumping back with an "AHHH!" as she realizes the readings up on screen, landing on her tail with a small thump.
SANS
HP: 205/200
DF: 5
*This boss monster has had his HP and DF stats raised by human kindness…and sleeping.
"S-sans! O-oh my g-god! Y-your HP! I-its…"
Alphys stutters in disbelief, but stops when she notices sans's huge grin, and the suppressed laughter he's trying to hide, the skeleton covering his frozen grin with one ungloved hand as he shakes with laughter.
"Pppfffft- alph! your face!"
Sans snickers to himself as alphys inspects the readings incredulously, her frill slightly extended as it sometimes does when she's frustrated, the red scales within showing slightly.
"S-sans! Is t-this another one of your pranks?!"
She asks incredulously, and squints at the readings, then tapps the screen, as if it will magically change into something possible, the monitor bobbing slightly as sans watches her with amusement.
"B-but…how could you manipulate…"
She mumbles, and Sans laughs, then winks and points to his glowing soul with one ungloved hand.
"nah, nah- alph, that's real. sorry for trickin' ya. here, hit me or somethin, I won't just keel over or something anymore."
Alphys just stares at sans in disbelief, as the skeleton grins smugly, his soul glowing a little brighter than usual where it hangs in the air before him.
"A-are you serious right now?!"
She asks incredulously, and Sans nods, alphys just gaping at him. She glances from him to the readings and back, her mouth slack, and sans can basically hear the gears grinding in her frilled head. Heh, poor alph is gonna have a migraine over thi-
Then, suddenly, she slaps him hard across the face.
The sudden blow prompts a loud 'OOF-!' from sans, Alphys blunt claws swiping across his skull, doing very little damage but still stinging as the damage causes his HP to pop into view.
-5HP
200/200HP
Sans rubs his skull, looking shocked and a little impressed as the yellow lizard monster stares, open mouthed, at the bar above Sans's head that confirms what he said, and also that she did just actually do that. She slowly puts her claws around her snout, sans watching with amusement as Alphys goes pale under her scales.
"O-ohhhh my god- s-sans, I'm so, so s-sorry I-!"
Alphys squeaks out, her eyes almost as wide as her glasses as sans rubs his skull, but he just shrugs, looking amused and a little impressed.
"nah, it's fine alph, probably good for me anyway, heh, didn't even hurt that much."
He says, waving one hand as if to dismiss what happened, and alphys lets out a long sigh, before snapping back up and insisting worriedly;
"B-but sans, I- wh-what if you had been j-joking!? What then?"
Sans shakes his head lightly, chuckling. How does she think he survived this long? By not saying stupid stuff, that's how. Be chill, don't start arguments with anyone- generally just be on people's good side and stay outta the way. If you do that, he's discovered, nobody will fight you.
"then I wouldn't have said 'hit me' alph, geeze!"
He says goodnaturedly, bopping the lizard monster lightly on the arm with one hand, not too bothered. Alphys blinks a moment, seemingly relenting, but then her eyes widen and she puts her claws on her head, looking overwhelmed.
"B-but sans, how did you do this?! Y-you- it should be impossible! The i-implications alone…"
Alphys eyes look like dinnerplates as she goggles at Sans's stats, her mind racing. Sans chuckles and points to the reading, responding nonchalantly;
"just what it says, alph. human soul voodoo or somethin."
Alphys just stares at him blankly.
"Y-you mean to say…the h-human I saw…was actually…r-real…?"
Sans nods, remembering with an internal facepalm that Alphys has a camera in the bushes by the ruin- he stops in his tracks. His knock knock sessions by the door, has she literally been-? He shakes his skull a little, dismissing that thought, and answers the panicked lizard with a small shrug.
"yeah. and turns out they're just a little kid, too. name of Bell. pretty cool kid, amazing cook, reviver of dead skeletons with crap defense…"
Alphys jumps at this, and stares at sans in shock.
"Y-you D-DIED?"
She screeches, and Sans chuckles, the conversation seeming to echo around the empty lab as the two monsters talk, shadows dancing in the ghostly light of the monitor.
"yep. undyne was chasing after the kid, but me n' paps got in the way. she threw paps into a tree, then tried to actually FIGHT me. It was pretty cool. I survived for… about three whole seconds before she hit me. then there was the whole, OH NO SANS IS DEAD thing, my bro pinned undyne with blue attacks, the kid came and saved me with weird human voodoo, and here we are."
Sans can hear unknown machines whirring somewhere else as Alphys thinks hard, her expression a mixture of incredulity and fascination as she stares down at the tile, clutching her forehead. Sans chuckles, and adds;
"so, uh, if ya have any questions…"
Alphys looks up at him, opening her mouth to speak, but freezes in place, her eyes somehow going wider.
"…uh, alph'? You ok there pal?"
Sans asks, Alphys still standing there on the tile, looking …scared? Sans narrows his eye sockets at her in concern as she stares at a spot just above his head, her eyes wide, so wide he can see the color of her irises- a faint rose red as something dark reflects in her glasses. he's about to ask her what's wrong, before she finally speaks, in a shaking voice;
"S-sans…d-d…d-don't move…p-please…"
Sans immediately begins to move, about to hop down, but freezes in his tracks as he hears wet, frothy breathing gurgle behind him. Something presses up against his back, and breathes raggedly, vibrating and shifting in a way no living thing ever should. So it wasn't just the news that had alph' frozen.
…something else is here.
A long howl erupts from the creature behind him, and sans can feel thick froth spilling from the mouth of… whatever it is, as he quivers in place, not allowing himself to move as it lets out mangled pleas for him to play, play, play, pleading with him, gurgling and rumbling, it's shifting body vibrating against him as it gurgles-
Plaaaaayyyyyyhhhhhhhhhh…
pl llllaaaaahyyyyy hh h …. ….
Pleaaaaaaaa…plllllllaaaayyyy…. ….. . ..
Play? It…what is this thing?! I- i recognise the voice, almost, it almost sounds like…Oh. oh no. oh nonononono. Darra? Mochi? Krana? Is that…is that you…? oh god, alph…what have you done…?
The thing just gurgles more pleas for him to play, and a single drop of black froth slides down Sans's skull as he silently tries to form a plan. Alphys is shaking with terror, her eyes locked on the…something, behind him, tears clouding the lizards gaze as she begins to crumble. Sans is internally screaming, his bones rattling together as he shakes with fear, his eyesockets dark and hands clutching the metal table with a fierce intensity. But, he pulls himself together. Plan. Right. Those things people make so they don't die and stuff. Surprisingly, now that he won't actually immediately die if he's wrong, the answer is easy.
Turn, and ACT.
Quick as a bullet, sans shortcuts just a few feet forward, appearing in front of alphys and spinning around to protect her, facing the amalgam that's dragged itself from far below alphys lab. Alphys is crying now, curled inwards and sobbing in fear and regret as the thing crawls towards sans, its mouth agape as it frothes, twisted but familiar faces peering out at sans from the melted figure, all silently barking at the sight of his bones. It's own melted and mangled bones crack beneath layers and layers of melted muscle as sans actually sees it for the first time, the skeleton freezing up again as he stares into far too many familiar eyes.
It's a writhing, pulsing mass of fur and muscle, six twisted limbs dragging it forward as sans stares up at Mochi's familiar head, a gaping dark hole where the muzzle should be, swallowing all features as the familiar faces stretch out from the dark webbing between its limbs, the familiar faces barking and frothing.
It's the stuff nightmares are made of.
But he has to protect alph.
Sans, tense as a coiled spring- but still shaking with fear and horror- draws back and manages to summon a single, long bone in his shaking hands. He hurls it towards the amalgam, where it spins over its goopy ears, sticking in the elevator with a crunch. But the amalgam only shudders in place for a moment, unmoving, having stopped its approach- but not following the bone, either.
Panicked, sans calls out shakily, desperate by this point, his bones rattling with fear as he calls;
"h-hey Darra, Mochi, Krana- you- you remember me, right? it's sans, sans the skeleton. just…just go get it bud, i'll…i'll come back soon ok? just…"
His voice breaks a little as Alphys sobs and the amalgam quivers with faint recognition, it's mangled faces all tilting to the side in a horrible unison.
"just go get it, o-ok pal…?"
He knew these dogs. They fell to the sickness- the old dog guard captain, Mochi, taught him most of the dog puns he knows. Darra and Krana- they tried, but were pretty terrible at comedic timing…they were his friends, and Mochi's daughters, an unstoppable force of nature. They trained pap when he was little, they were practically family to him. Mochi and her daughters fell too early, and everyone was so hopeful Alphys might…
"d-doggone it, Mochi, y-you got me on this one…."
Sans tries, and the amalgam twitches. There is a long moment, a standoff, as the living nightmare stares at sans, dribbling black froth as its broken minds whirr.
Heahhhhh heee eh ehhhh…
It gurgles, it's tail wagging a little as sans shakes in fear, Alphys sobbing raggedly behind him. But he still sees the broken faces smile, and the abomination that was once a proud family finally turns and races after the bone, half-dragging-half-bounding its way back to the elevator to collect its prize, gurgling black froth all the way and chuffing to itself as sans shakes with suppressed fear and horror.
"H-hey alph? they're gone, alph. I uh… gave her what she wanted…"
He's penned the thing that used to be Mochi in with bones now, but it's too busy chewing happily to notice it's penned in. Alphys is huddled on the floor, crying, and she recoils from sans when he tries to help her up.
"I dont…i d-dont d-deserve h-help, sans…ive h-hurt s-so many o-of them… im s-so s-sorry…."
This last word becomes a wail, and with a sigh, Sans sits down next to her. "Alph…" he starts, but as soon as he speaks, her wails grow even louder.
"N-now they-they'll all kn-know! A-and e-everyone will h-hate me, and I- I d-deserve it, I-"
But sans interrupts her, putting an ungloved hand on her shoulder, still shaking himself.
"Alph, listen. I'm not tellin' anyone, m'kay? we can find a way to fix them, I know about this kinda stuff, I can help."
Alphys shakily looks up, her face flushed a bright ochre from her tears, her glasses fogged as the yellow lizard monster trembles.
"Y-you…you a-arent…gonna…"
Sans pats her awkwardly on the back. Of course he's gonna help. He's stopped shaking now, the scientific part of him beginning to whir back to life as he tries to figure out how to fix this. He owes it to the old dog- and to alph...though she doesn't remember most of it, he's worked with her a long time, after all.
"Nah, alph. we'll fix it, ok?"
Slowly, Alphys sits up, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and still shaking as the amalgam chews noisily in the background, it's many melting tails wagging.
"B-but…s-sans…we can't f-fix them! they- they- i-it's impossible, sans- i tried! I tried for s-so long…so l-long, I tried e-everything sans! For m-months! t-they c-can't be…"
With that, the tears return in full force, Alphys again beginning to sob as tears of regret roll down her scales, her whole body trembling.
"They c-cant be saved-!"
She sobs, slamming into sans with the force of a freight train and sobbing into his shirt as he pats her awkwardly, slightly taken aback.
...i never thought anything alph did could go so wrong. Looks like the Riverperson was right…sorta. Poor alph…she was never the most confident even way back when, and now….geeze, poor alph, poor dogs, poor bell- so many people I gotta cheer up one way or another…
Good thing I'm a pretty punny guy, heh…
Attempting to comfort the sobbing lizard monster that still clings to him, sans reminds her as he wipes black froth off his forehead with a small shudder;
"Hey, hey c'mon alph…'impossible' like raisin' someone's HP…? I've managed that, no problem. Or maybe impossible like, say…"
Here he forces Alphys to look at him, her blurry eyes shakily meeting his worried gaze as she hiccups with sobs, pitch black smears covering his skull as the skeleton asks;
"…makin' a robot with a soul?"
He tilts his head, trying to be comforting as Alphys hiccups with sobs, the lizard monsters claws digging into his spine as she shakes.
"you did that, alph. we can fix this."
Alphys still hiccups there, burying her face in Sans's shirt once again as she tries to calm down her sobs. when they finally die down, Alphys just stays there for a long moment, shaking with regret as sans awkwardly pats her frill, unsure of what he's meant to do with his hands in this situation. Then suddenly, she freezes in place, going rigid. Sans looks down at her, slightly confused, and sees that the little of her face he can see has turned a bright fluorescent red.
"Uhh, alph-"
But before he can even finish, Alphys lets him go abruptly and covers her eyes with her claws, her glasses sliding down her snout as she flushes a bright red, mumbling something about how pathetic and useless she is before Sans tapps her on the shoulder and interrupts.
"C'mon, Alph, it's fine. I don't actually mind. you were uh, pretty upset…"
Alphys face does not turn any less red, and sans shrugs, winking and adding goodnaturedly;
"…I mean, I am basically a marshmallow."
That earns him a small, choked laugh from the lizard monster, and sans spreads his arms out so Alphys can see every sharp bone in them, splaying his hands and proclaiming;
"C'mon, just look at all this fluff."
Alphys turns a little less red, and again chuckles quietly, her voice still choked but definitely a bit calmer as her shaking recedes slightly.
"Tibia honest, you're not the first."
He adds, grinning, though still watching alphys in concern, genuinely worried for his friend behind the jokes. Alphys finally looks up, smiling tiredly, and sighs, wiping away the last of her tears and staring at the ground as the two monsters sit in the dark lab. Then, after a moment, her eyes widen, and she stares at him.
"Y-you…you knew…you kn-knew them…?"
She asks, and sans nods, looking away, the time for jokes over. Alphys sighs, burying her face in her claws.
"I-i should tell you e-everything…"
She mumbles through her talons. Sans leans back and shrugs gently, tilting his head at the lizard monster and responding gently;
"only if ya want to. but I've got time."
And so, Alphys steels herself, and tells Sans everything. Really, truly everything, the words pouring out of her as if she's desperate for someone else, anyone else, to know. About the amalgams- snowdrake's mother, the old elite guard squad of dog monsters, Shyren's sister… everything that happened to them. She tells him about the determination, and how they were fine for a whole day, but then they all melted together, and there's no dust, and…Sans listens. He's pretty good at that. He asks questions here and there, but he mostly just listens, with that ever present, yet now hollow, grin of his. When Alphys is done, sans is silent a moment, then;
"…well…uh, this ain't exactly a textbook case, but i do have an idea why that happened to em…but i'd need to check my old notes on DT…"
Alphys straightens up abruptly, surprised at both the offer of help and the shape it comes in.
"S-sans? You- you w-worked on Determination experiments? I- I thought I was the f-first to try it…"
Sans chuckles dryly, looking away with a sigh.
"yeah, I majored in astrophysics, but I did a lot of soul work too. come to think, I have a degree in it, actually. can't remember all that much though, all that was…a long time ago."
Alphys is staring at him with her jaw practically on the floor.
"Sans! You should be working here! Why- w-why are you a sentry if you have a degree in soul study?!"
Sans laughs, taken aback by the recognition, and waves to the lab around him with one ungloved hand.
"Alph, I did work here. It was just… a very long time ago, m'kay? and anyway, after I nearly died a couple times, I decided to drop it and pick somethin closer to home. Papyrus was still too young to stay behind on his own, so I had to take him with me most days. It…wasn't where he should be."
He shrugs, trying to ignore Alphys intense stare of both disbelief and partial understanding. She opens her mouth, but he keeps talking so she won't ask any…awkward questions, like, "who did you work under" for example. That's not a question he's exactly ready to answer right now…or ever.
"anyway, you were the first to try it Alph. I mostly just worked on theory, a couple simulations here and there, but never field testing. we- uh, the lab didn't have any DT to spare."
Alphys is silent, seeming to finally understand that sans doesn't want to answer any questions. Thank god.
"S-so…if you can find anything in your old notes about w-why this happened to them, m-maybe we can fix it…?"
She asks, wiping her scales dry with one sleeve, hope and desperation evident in her face. Sans gets up, and performs a useless 'stretch' motion, helping Alphys up with a gentle yank on the back of her lab coat with blue magic, prompting a disgruntled "h-hey!" from the lizard monster.
"yup. but, I gotta get back, I have some urgent sleeping to do, ya see…"
Alphys immediately flushes bright red and apologizes quickly, her claws cupped around her snout in nervous and apologetic gesture;
"O-oh! Im s-so sorry for k-keeping you that, uh, long!"
Sans shrugs for perhaps the fourteenth time in this chapter, and winks at alphys casually, not too bothered.
"nah, it's no bother, alph. I don't mind."
Then, he remembers the amalgam... amalgams. As in, multiple…He pauses tentatively, back on guard. Are there more of them up here? If that one managed to sneak up, why not others?
Dread crawls up his spine.
He slowly turns his head to scan the area, glancing around the room to check for more amalgams, for even the slightest trace of movement...His glowing eyelights scour every corner of the lab, but he sees nothing… good. He lets out a small sigh, before using a bone to send the elevator (and endogeny with it, thank god) down to the lab's lower levels. Alphys jumps, as if she'd forgotten about the amalgam during her and Sans's talk, then hurriedly turns to thank him.
"O-oh! T-thank you, sans- id have never m-managed to g-get that close…usually I have to use a b-broom…"
Sans puts his hands in his shorts pockets, leaning around alphys to look at the mess inside the lab, one non eyebrow raised as he takes in the mess of black froth and raw white who knows what that streak the tiles.
"Uhh, do you need…uh, help with that…?"
Alphys turns, and, spying the mess, turns and waves her claws frantically, looking for some reason apologetic as she explains hurriedly:
"Oh, nononono, it always, u-uh, dissipates by m-morning!"
Sans nods, then addresses alphys with a cautious tone.
"hey…ill, uh, try to bring my notes by tomorrow, ok? then we can talk a bit more about…er, that."
He says, waving at the frothy mess inside the lab. Alphys nods sheepishly, then turns back to sans as he speaks.
"I'd best be off then. seeya tomorrow Alph."
Alphys awkwardly waves goodbye, then closes the door with a long sigh. This day has been…hectic. But, at least maybe she has help now? Maybe she can fix all this, with Sans's help. Who knew sans was so…well, so sciencey? Alphys sighs and rubs her frill as she turns away from the door.
She's glad she can get back to her anime…
