Chapter 22: Checkmate

Lying in bed, Sans couldn't sleep. He kept watch over Papyrus, who hugged his big brother in his peaceful slumber, smiling.

The little skeleton hadn't let go of his sides since he came back, and it seemed he was still not ready to do so. Sans didn't want to anyway. Even if Papyrus didn't say it out loud, his brother could see he got deeply affected by his runaway in the woods. Undyne playfully told him he cried the entire time he was gone, but when Sans looked his way, he could only see distress in his eyes. Papyrus feared loneliness since he was a babybones. It would only be logical that he felt betrayed as his only family suddenly abandoned him in the woods with strangers.

But still… Gaster was right. Their special bond was a dangerous weapon waiting to be turned against himself. But how could he explain to a five-year-old child, unable to take care of himself, that he needed to be more independent? Papyrus only had him, and never learned how to socialize properly thanks to their incompetent of a father. Alone, he wouldn't do well.

Sans gently pet his brother's head. Papyrus sighed with pleasure and cuddled a little more against him, like a big cat. Looking at his peaceful expression, he couldn't help but think about what would have happened if their mom was still there. The only woman who could stand up against Gaster. Well… Until Toriel, apparently.

He was still little when she left him, but he could still remember how she helped him drive his first bicycle, how they watched the stars on the roof, how she was singing to him before going to sleep… Papyrus would never have any of this. It was so unfair.

A frustrated tear ran down his cheekbone, but he erased it with a sweep of his hand. He forbid himself to think about her a long time ago. He couldn't break down in front of his brother. Not now. She would have maybe found the words to stop Gaster's madness for good, but she was gone forever.

"Sans? Are you crying?" A small sleepy voice whispered next to him.

"N-no. I'm just happy I found you again. I love you Papyrus. So much. And… And Mom too."

Papyrus shifted slightly to look at him.

"Do you miss her?"

"Every day. If she was still there, none of this would have happened. We shouldn't live through this."

"Do… Do you think she misses me too? In the sky? She didn't know me for a very long time, and Dad always says that's my fault she died."

"It's not. It's not, don't ever think like this. She loved you, Papyrus. I don't have a lot of memories, but we were always talking together about what we would do together once you'll be there. I wanted to give you all my dinosaur collection." He confessed, smiling. "She always said she couldn't wait for us to welcome you. She loved you. She still loves you. Both of us."

"Do you think she is watching us from the stars?"

"Of course. And she is so proud of you."

"I think she is proud of you more. Your jokes are sucking so bad, but you're the best of all the big brothers. I love you, Sans."

"Love you too, bud. I promise, once everything is over, we'll find a nice house to live and you won't ever worry about anything."

"But Sans… You can't buy a house. You're a brother, not a dad."

"I'll find a way. I promise."

Sans held his little brother closer. Both of their souls shined in unison as they slowly fell back asleep, hugging each other.

A huge explosion woke the children up in the middle of the night. Suddenly, it was like daytime in the small dark room. Except it was still two in the morning.

Terrified, Undyne jumped out of her bed and ran to take refuge in Sans and Papyrus, crawling under the blanket to cling to the older one. Sans gently unhooked her and put her arms around Papyrus instead.

Sans sneaked to the window to see what was happening. A lot of monsters were waiting behind the magic barrier, most of them wearing dark armor. In the middle of them stood Gaster and Asgore, talking together. The royal scientist suddenly stopped and looked his way, like he perceived his presence.

The skeleton backed away and closed the curtain shut.

"Stay here." He asked the children. "I'm going to see Toriel."

He ran out of the room as a new burst of magic spells hit the magic shield. Undyne screamed, terrorized, covering her eyes and shutting her eyes shut. Papyrus tried to comfort her, but his legs were shaking like coconuts.

The Queen was already in the corridor, tensed. Her eyes were shining a burning gold, as magic radiated everywhere around her, ready for battle. Charlie was holding her hand. Toriel smiled at Sans, trying to stay calm, but the skeleton knew the situation was bad. She grabbed a backpack and put the magic orbs in, before giving it to him.

"Take Charlie with you and stay in the bedroom. If the shield breaks, don't waste any time and flee through the tunnel. I will try to reason with them. Whatever happens to me, do not intervene. Even if… Even if they kill me." She said darkly. "I will hold them back for how long I can."

"I don't know if I'm ready to do this on my own…" Sans confessed, anxious.

She kneeled in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Sans, you do not need me. You can make good decisions, you proved it numerous times already. Believe in yourself. Believe in your magic to protect them. Did you notice your eye is shining with two colors? Blue for patience, yellow for justice. There were monsters, long ago, who had the same type of magic that you have. They were very powerful. Trust your power, it will tell you what to do when you need it. Watch after them like you did so far."

"Thank you, Toriel."

She smooched the skeleton on top of his skull before she picked up a huge spear hanging on the wall. Sans nodded at her, before pushing the human in the room. He closed the door behind him, turning towards the three children, staring at him nervously.

"We need to be ready to go." He said with as little panic in his voice as he could. "You all stay behind me. Undyne, Papyrus, hold hands and never let go of each other. Charlie…"

The human lightly lifted their shirt, revealing a sharp shining knife in the light of the moon.

"I can fight too. I'll stay behind to defend them." They said with determination.

Sans didn't like that, but for once, trusted them. After all, they proved to be trustworthy and compassionate enough in the last few days. Even if he could never lower fully his guard in front of a human, regardless of how kind they were, Sans knew by now they were in the same boat. Toriel told him to trust his instincts, this was exactly what he was doing right now.

The skeleton walked to the window and pulled the curtains lightly. Toriel progressed proudly towards the line of soldiers, not impressed by their number or powerful equipment. Sans couldn't hear what they said, but Asgore seemed to be hauled over the coals. The King lowered his head sheepishly and took a step back. Only one monster kept talking, more and more agitated and aggressive: Gaster. The royal scientist was always talking with his hands, and Sans knew too much these signs meant he was getting frustrated and angry. He understood quickly that he was threatening her. The insistent stare he was throwing his way taught him he noticed his son too.

Tension built up. Gaster got angry before the Queen. The royal guards' weapons pointed once again at the shield. Toriel summoned hundreds of fireballs around her, ready to fight. Her spells could cross the shield, not theirs. Not yet at least. The guard fired, but Toriel as well. She aimed at Gaster, who dodged with difficulty, forcing Asgore to block the attack with his body.

The magic shield trembled scarily. It wouldn't last much longer. Toriel fired again, touching a few royal guards, but nothing could stop Gaster's perseverance. Asgore summoned his trident, which was shining a weird green abnormal light. It was supposed to be red. Sans had a terrible feeling when he walked alone to the shield, as the soldiers moved away.

Gaster was playing with Toriel from the beginning. He knew she had no chance to stop him. The Queen seemed to realize that as well as she soon ran back towards the house.

The King hit the shield once. It exploded in a huge rumbling. The royal guards immediately charged, screaming savagely. Sans yelped, frozen in fear. The dogs quickly won over Toriel and tackled her on the floor before she could reach the door. Sans heard her struggle and insult them, in vain.

The skeleton needed to act. Now. He put the backpack on, then took Undyne and Papyrus's hands, who were completely lost. The children ran to the end of the corridor as the windows exploded, one after the other.

The passage opened in front of them. Sans pushed the children in front of him before closing the wall as fast as he could. He didn't need words this time to encourage his brother, the fish girl and the human to run for their life. They didn't have much time. Gaster probably knew this passage existed, and the guards were much faster than them.

"Charlie, take Undyne on your back."

The human obeyed despite the little girl's protestations. Sans picked up his brother and slid him between his back and the bag. They were slower, but still a lot faster than when the little ones were on foot. Focus on the way, Sans barely heard Papyrus' hiccups of terror, holding to him for dear life. Straight. Always straight.

Way too soon, however, footsteps echoed behind them, far at first, but closer and closer. Sans realized too late they were coming from the direction they were heading as well, when flashlights appeared in the distance.

The dogs barked with excitement as they were forced to stop, cornered. Terrorized, Papyrus burst into tears, quickly followed by Undyne. Sans looked around for an exit. There was none. They were trapped.

"You have nowhere to run now, little skeleton." The closest dog sang. Sans realized it was the one who chased him in the cave the day before. "Time to give up. You can't go further. Don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

"Stay away!" Sans yelled.

He summoned bones and threw them his way. Immediately, the dogs behind him stepped closer. Charlie took out his knife and pointed it at the guards, the hands shaking.

That couldn't end like this! He promised he would do his best to Toriel. He promised to protect Papyrus. The small skeleton suddenly put something in his hand. The orb. They still had a chance. Sans' eye shined as he grabbed Charlie.

"He's teleporting!" A female voice screamed. "Blast, shoot him!"

Sans threw the orb on the floor as the guard shot at the same moment, missing him. The guards all screamed in agony, suddenly electrocuted, as the skeleton teleported out of there with his last forces.

They roughly crashed at the edge of the forest, behind the house and the line of soldiers, who didn't notice them yet. Everyone was there, which was quite good news. Maybe things would get better now.

"Sans!" Charlie suddenly screamed, panicked.

The skeleton turned around. Undyne was lying still on the ground, terribly silent. Sans' soul sank in his chest as he threw himself next to her, checking for injuries. Her left eye was covered in dust, pierced by a big dart. She lost consciousness.

"See, Sans? This is what happens when you don't listen to your father. People get hurt."

Sans jumped and looked up at the voice. Royal guards got out from the bushes, blocking all the exits, weapons pointing them. Gaster was standing behind them, exulting, next to Asgore, refusing to look their way.

This time, there was no exit. He was out of magic.

One of the guards aimed at Sans and shot him, right in the soul. Immediately, the skeleton felt all his strength leave him and collapsed. Before he fell asleep, he heard Papyrus scream his name, as Gaster dragged him away, far from him.