Broken Souls

Chapter 8 - Forbidden

The skeleton brothers stayed in the Underground for the next few days, as per Sans' wishes. Everyday, when Sans went down to the basement, Papyrus would head back to the surface to collect food and give a report to Asgore. Report being Papyrus weaving an increasingly elaborate story about Sans needing a break after recent events and returning to his old workshop to calm down. Neither Sans nor Asgore had told Papyrus what Sans was doing was against direct orders but the older skeleton had told his brother not to mention the machine to Asgore for whatever reason. Papyrus reasoned that it would be a surprise for the King and he did what he was told.

Naturally, Sans' plan of secrecy came falling down around his metaphorical ears when Asgore requested to come with Papyrus to visit him. The king had his suspicions and knew that Papyrus would never tell on his older brother, so the only way to check in on whatever Sans was doing down there would be to go himself.

When Asgore arrived at the entrance to Snowdin, he noticed the fresh foot-prints leading away from the brother's house. Seeing as there were none going back, Asgore assumed that Papyrus had gone to get food and had left Sans by himself. A good opportunity to properly talk to the short skeleton without Papyrus intervening.

Now approaching the front door, Asgore suddenly wondered if it would be locked , although there would be no point, seeing as no one else was there for it to need locking. The king opened the door and stooped to fit through the door frame, straightening up again only for his horns to smack the ceiling. He lowered his head again.

The house was empty, with a certain air of disuse. The only place that didn't seem to be covered in dust was the brother's couch, piled high with blankets. This was apparently where they had been sleeping for the past week or so and just by looking around the main room, Asgore doubted if the two skeletons had actually gone anywhere else in the house. There was a sudden crash from the basement, startling Asgore. He looked around for a way down until he remembered what Papyrus had told him about the basement door being behind the house.

Slightly apprehensive of what he'd find down there, Asgore exited the house and went to the back, gently knocked on the basement door with one claw-like finger. The sound that followed was a mixture of a strangled yelp and the grating of bone against bone.

"pap? uh that's not you is it?" Sans spoke from the other side. His voice shook with nervousness.

"Hello Sans. No I'm not your brother, I believe he's gone to fetch dinner. I just wanted to talk." Asgore replied calmly. After a few moments, the door swung open and revealed a small, yet surprisingly tidy workshop. Sans was stood meekly behind the door, peering at the King with wide eye sockets.

"hey asgore. i'm not in trouble am i?"

===

He was getting rather weak now. He'd only just been remembered - and even then it was a laughably small number of monsters who each had the barest fraction of any memory at all - and he'd just expended most of the power he'd regained just to get himself noticed. With the strength he had left, he doubted he could even use his voice. Unfortunately, that wouldn't do. Sans was in a bit of a predicament at the present and his son needed help to sway the minds of that other scientist and the King. So, he was going to help his son, or be further erased trying.

===

By the time Papyrus arrived back in Snowdin, Asgore and Sans had already moved from the basement to the living room and were in the middle of a rather heated discussion. Sans was slowly shrinking back into the couch as Asgore became angrier and angrier. Finally, just as Papyrus was about to intervene, Asgore snapped.

"Sans! You are my friend first and foremost and it pains me to say this. But as a King, I cannot let you endanger the live of innocent monsters just for your own personal gain. I declare this project illegal, until proven entirely safe."

And with that, the King swept past Papyrus and left the Underground. Papyrus instantly came over to his brother, scooping Sans onto his lap and cradling him in his arms. Sans was shivering, his eye sockets wide and scared.

"papyrus... he banned it..." Sans mumbled, staring straight ahead and not meeting his brother's gaze. Papyrus just nodded, holding Sans closer to him. After a few minutes, Papyrus noticed that Sans had stopped shaking so much and instead quiet tears were welling up in his sockets.

"Shhh. Shhh... It's okay Sans... It's okay..."

"Go to sleep Sans... It'll be okay..."

"Everything will be fine..."

"I promise..."

===

No no no nO NO! He was so close. So close to being saved until the King just went and to shut down Sans' work! He could not allow that to happen, not when his, and Sans', hopes had been so high. But how could he do anything? His power was almost entirely diminished, he was lucky that he could even be thinking right now.

No.

He had to do something. He was furious at his efforts having gone to waste. And he used that fury...To force his shattered Soul together in the most powerful form he'd managed since gaining consciousness.

===

"Allllphhhyyyysssss."

The former Royal Scientist let out a small scream.

"Allllphhhyyyysssss. Ansssweeerrrr meeee."

Alphys clamped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the static voice. There was an audible grumble from the static before she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. Alphys turned around with yet another scream.

"O-oh my g-god! Wh-what a-are y-you?" she stammered, barely coherent. The figure that stood behind her was the same as the one that had appeared in the lab, if slightly more melted.

"Nnnnooooo tiiimmeeee... heellllpppp Ssssaaannnssss." it hissed

Alphys blinked twice.

"W-what! No! H-he's g-gonna get u-us killed!"

The figure leaned back for a moment. Then it loomed over Alphys once again, it's creepy gaping mouth curling up into a wicked grin.

"Ddoo itttt. Hhheeellppp mmyyy sssooonnn."

At that point, Alphys could see the signs of physical pain in the figure's face. It gave a strangled, staticky scream before vanishing.

The yellow monster was thoroughly shaken as she sat down on the floor. The words of the figure haunted her thoughts...

Help my son.

Son... That figure had a son, who was Sans. Sans had talked about saving someone close to him with the machine he was building. Alphys remembered Papyrus explaining to her ages ago about how Sans was sad because he missed someone very special to him. A special person who had died when Papyrus was just a baby, yet no one could remember him.

The ex-Royal Scientist pulled herself up off the floor and stood straight. She needed to get to Asgore, needed him to see sense. Screw safety, Sans' dad was alive and Alphys couldn't just ignore that. She just hoped Asgore could see that too.