Don't look
Ludo waltzed down the dim streets of the Under City with a cigarette hanging loosely from between his lips. The street lamps had just been lit, and the evening sun was quickly making its exit from the cold winter sky. Ludo let a puff of smoke slither out from behind his teeth while he smiled up at the approaching frozen night.
It was now when Ebott’s underbelly came alive. All of the vile little nightmares that had been previously sleeping away the day in the shadows were now stirring in response to the approaching darkness, and soon they would be free from the daylights revealing presence to wander about the city and do as they pleased. Ludo felt an excited shiver run up his own spine as the light continued to fade. He chuckled to himself at the pale moons first appearance as it began to rise high above the city. This was really his favorite time to be up and about.
Tonight’s affairs were also adding to his good mood, as it seemed that he had finally been given a little stroke of luck. Unexpectedly running in to constable Johnathan Slyde had surprisingly turned out well for Ludo. What had started off as maybe a chance to taunt a constant thorn in his side, had actually opened up a possible opportunity to make a former enemy a promising future partner.
Still, Slyde had shown hesitance at Ludo’s suggestion to make use of one another’s powerful organizations, which Ludo had expected. He knew that he would have to play a little bit off the waiting game as it stood. If Ludo tried to pressure the constable too soon, then he would only scare Slyde back to the straight side of the law. For now, Ludo would simply leave the bait on the table and wait for Slyde to get desperate enough to take it. In the meantime, however, Ludo still had plenty to occupy himself with. Now that Alico had confirmed that Mettaton had been the main orchestrator of his previous meetings with the Pansies human contact he suddenly felt very interested in having another conversation with the robot.
Ludo winced a little at his memory of their last encounter. He had snubbed Mettaton, mid-sentence if he recalled correctly, and he knew that that Priss of a robot was a real stickler for manners, but no matter. Ludo was now the don of the Gambinos; Mettaton would have no choice but to entertain an audience with him, and besides even if he had been rude to Mettaton in the past, Ludo knew how much of a vulture the robot could be when offered up a promising business arrangement. All Ludo would have to do was wiggle his little finger and boom, the best deal that Mettaton could have ever hoped to get would be laid out on the table in front of him …that is if he was willing to pay Ludo’s asking price, which was to arrange another meeting, but this time instead of Alico, Ludo would have the honor of a rendezvous with Frisk. If Slyde also played his part, and kept that skeletal body guard of hers busy, then there would be literally nothing keeping Ludo from finally getting his hands on the little brat.
Ludo continued to grin sinisterly as he quickened his pace down the side walk. Finally, things were working out. Now that he had a plan there really wasn’t much that could stand in his way. As he rounded the corner Ludo flicked the butt of his cigarette into the gutter. He had come to arrive at MTT Casino Royale and Hotel. He smoothed a hand over his slick black hair while he entered through the elegant front doors. Ludo hadn’t bothered to make an appointment. He didn’t want to be kept waiting any longer then he had to and it wasn’t like Mettoton could simply turn the Don of the Gambinos away at the door.
His eyes sharpened as he made his way through the casino area and toward the lounge. The place was busier than the last time that he was here. The lounge was almost packed full. The room reverberated with slightly drunken laughter and banter as the guests chattered amongst themselves while they sipped at their mixed drinks around round tables clocked in pristine white linens. Ludo was about to continue on his way through the lounge toward Mettaton’s office when suddenly, the lights dimmed hushing the rambunctious crowd.
Ludo paused, and looked toward the stage as a spotlight illuminated the glossy red curtains. Delicate piano music began to play, before a clear pitched, sensual voice began to sing the starting verse of a bluesy love ballad.
“No one to talk with, all by myself, No one to walk with I’m happy on the shelf.”
At first Ludo paused as he remembered the last girl that he had watched perform on Mettaton’s stage and also how he had almost had the pleasure of making her acquaintance. He wondered if perhaps he might get another shot at an introduction. Then the satin curtains shifted slowly. A velvet, gloved, feminine hand slowly made an appearance from behind the curtain and the audience was transfixed as they all watched the tantalizing fingers slowly pull more of the red satin aside to reveal the rest of the beauty behind it.
“Ain’t misbehaving, I’m savin’ my love for you.”
Ludo was also bewitched for a moment by the singer’s magic spell, until she stepped further out into the light illuminating herself fully. She was not the girl that Ludo had seen before. She was a monster. A fox monster. Ludo sneered and averted his gaze immediately.
The fox woman was attractive by conventional means. She had pretty green eyes and a lovely figure, but Ludo still felt silently ashamed that he had even glanced her way. She was beneath him; all of her kind were.
“Mama, I know for certain, The one I love, Through with flirtin’, Just you that I’m thinking of.”
“Ain’t misbehaving, I’m saving my love for you.”
The vixen, however, didn’t seem to notice, or care about the cold shoulder that Ludo was sending her way as she had plenty of other eyes on her giving her attention, monster and human alike. The more lustful males in the audience hooted and hollered as the somber bluesy tempo all of a sudden got kicked up a notch. Trumpets suddenly screamed from beneath the stage as the vixen ripped away the bottom half of her long, elegant black dress, which turned into a very short leggy number accentuated by a pair of fishnet stalking; their graders just visible below the dress’s hemline.
“Like Jack Horner in the corner, don’t go nowhere, what do I care?”
“Your kisses are worth waiting for, believe me.”
The crowd was going wild at this point and Ludo stared on in disgust as he saw a few of his fellow human males practically fall to the vixen’s feet with every little sultry swish of her bushy red tail. Some people, he supposed, just had no standards; though he also had caught himself staring more times than he would have liked to admit.
“I don’t stay out late, don’t care to go, I’m home by eight, just me and my radio.”
“Ain’t misbehaving, I’m savin’ my love for you.”
The fox women then spun on her heals playfully before pointing at multiple members of the audience.
“And you, and you, and you.”
She sang while batting her lashes and blowing kisses to her adoring riled up spectators. Then the music faded, and before another beat past she slipped out of sight back behind the red curtain leaving her audience hungry for more.
Ludo rolled his eyes as he straightened out his suit and continued on his way. He had no time for games. There were more important things to deal with then awaiting the encore of a lowly monster dame's tease show.
He shuffled his way through the crowd until he got to the quieter back hallway used by mostly the staff. Mettaton’s office stood just down the corridor and Ludo fixed his face into a charming smirk as he approached it. He only waited for a beat to pass before he raised his hand and rapped on the door three times, all the while his icy eyes gleamed with confidence. Just as he had expected Mettaton answered his beckon with a board sounding drawl.
“What is it Thomas?” the robot said. And Ludo smirked, liking the idea of not being who Mettaton was expecting as he entered the room, and then cleared his throat to announce himself when Mettaton didn’t look up from his desk.
When he did, a shocked expression crossed the robots face briefly before he stood up with an overly enthusiastic smile. Ludo snickered inwardly.
“Oh, my word, well if it isn’t the Don of the Gambino’s, What a surprise.” He exclaimed. “What do I owe the pleasure.”
“I was in the neighborhood, is all.” Ludo began casually, while walking forward into the room. “And well I just so happened to remember that our last meeting unfortunately ended a bit prematurely to say the least, and I realized that I never did apologize for my quick exit.” He said. Mettaton waved a dismissive hand.
“Oh, don’t even bother with that. We are both busy men, I understand completely.” Mettaton said gesturing for Ludo to take a seat at his desk. Ludo nodded in thanks before he did so.
“I’m glad.” Ludo continued. “Because I would actually greatly like to continue where we left off.”
Mettaton blinked back at him with a blank smile.
“I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure I follow.” He said.
“Well you see.” Ludo began to explain. “I was over having a visit with Alico a little while ago, and it turns out he informed me that you made a little arrangement with him and the Pansies human contact a while back.”
Mettaton’s face began to shift from its over compensating smile to something more akin to a small frown.
“I would still very much like to make her acquaintance, but you see I think she’s a little shy. No matter who I ask I just can’t get an audience with her, so I figured you could set up another meeting with Alico only I’d stand in in Alico’s place. That way I’m not putting her on the spot see?” Ludo said, his wolfish grin growing as he stared Mettaton down with cold eyes.
Mettaton sat silent in his seat while he deliberated Ludo’s request.
“That is quite the idea, and yes she is very popular with Alico so I can understand your interest.” Mettaton began carefully. “However, I’m afraid that she is not meeting with anyone lately. I believe she has decided to take some personal time for herself…this business can be quite vexing after all. I’m sure you understand.”
Ludo’s phony smile slipped from his lips as he continued to stare at Mettaton, struggling slightly to comprehend what the robot was telling him.
“What do you mean she’s not meeting with anyone? That’s her job ain’t it?” He asked, his voice low and threatening. Mettaton quirked an eyebrow.
“Well I’m sorry to disappoint you, truly I am, but she is not my employee. I don’t make the rules to her contract. All I know is that Asgore has decided to allow her to lie low for a while… Maybe she’s taking a vacation…or maybe there is someone she just wants to avoid.” Metttaton explained, sending Ludo over an indicative side eye.
Ludo blinked blankly when he began to understand that Mettaton already knew what his real intentions were with Frisk. He let out a dark chuckle in response.
“No, no, don’t toy with me like that. That’s bullshit!” He then shouted dropping his calm façade in an instant. “What’s he paying you to keep her off the table huh? I’m the Don of the Gambinos! I own this city! You have to give her to me!”
Mettaton continued to sit calmly, not batting an eye at Ludo’s angry and childish display.
“Well, there are no arguments here on your status. The Gambino’s do own practically all other human organizations in Ebbot city, however, not all of us are required to follow your rule.” He replied. Ludo’s eye twitched in absolute fury.
“What was that you bag of bolts? You wanna try to say that again?” He hissed.
Mettaton sighed, obviously feeling very much done with this meeting.
“Maybe during our last conference things would have gone differently, but as it stands now I am in allegiance with Asgore and the Pansies as you are already well aware of, so I am not sure why you are so surprised that I don’t plan on giving you access to one of the Pansies’ protected members. It’s just bad business darling.” He said.
Ludo laughed bitterly at Mettaton’s statement.
“Bad business you say? I would think that bad business would be sticking with the Pansies as it stands. I never pegged you to be the type to side with the loosing team. I thought you’d be smarter than that.” He said sinisterly. “So, I’m gonna give you one more chance to reconsider ….” Ludo then reached into his coat to grab his gun from its holster.
A metallic click ,however, sounded from behind Ludo stilling his movements. Ludo’s eyes widened in surprise as He glanced back over his shoulder.
A tired looking tabby cat monster stood rigid, his yellow eyes sharp while he held a pistol pointed at Ludo’s back.
“That’s very generous of you darling, but I’m afraid that my answer is going to remain the same.” Mettaton then said, a smug smile on his face. “I’m sorry that you haven’t gotten what you’ve come here for, but do feel free to relax in the lounge and enjoy the floor show. My staff will be happy to accommodate you.”
Ludo slowly straightened himself up before he fixed his jacket and smothered his anger down deep. He then turned and walked out of Mettaton’s office without speaking another word. Thomas kept his gun poised on Ludo’s figure until the new Don disappeared down the hallway. Then he let it drop to his side as he exhaled loudly, his soul hammering in his ears.
Mettaton then slowly got up from his seat before walking over to his employee.
“Well done Thomas. Your timing was impeccable.” He said simply, noticing the tabby cats state of panic.
“Th- thank you sir.” Thomas managed to muster out. “But do you think that this was really the wisest thing to do? Ludo’s a nut job after all, and a powerful one at that. He’ll probably want to string you up by the neck for this.”
Mettaton nodded plainly in response.
“Yes, that is true, but we can’t simply let ourselves be door mats either. It was time to choose a side, and I’m putting my money on the Pansies. Manners really do tell a lot about a person’s character you know. Asgore is much more respectable then that low life Ludo anyway, and if my name is going to be associated with any of them I would much prefer it to have some integrity attached.”
Thomas just exhaled to himself, not really sure if he agreed with his boss’s decision on this matter, but he did have to admit that Mettaton’s choices were admirable; though admirable wasn’t necessarily a quality that got you far in this world. He just hoped that he didn’t wind up dead for deciding to follow the robots lead.
Mettaton then straitened up his lapels before preparing to leave the office.
“Good work today, but make sure you keep eyes on Ludo until he leaves the casino. I don’t want him bothering any of my guests, while he’s skulking around here. I’m going to go and make a call to Asgore, he will probably want to hear about this little encounter.” He said.
Thomas nodded before he holstered his gun and left down the hall to go and find Benjamin. He knew that when dealing with thugs like Ludo the more help he had the better off he would be … hopefully.
…………………………
Chara bounded forward, spurred on by his utter frustration and annoyance. The skeleton had proven to be a much greater threat then he had originally anticipated. Though he had become, unfortunately, somewhat aware of Sans growing closeness with Frisk, He hadn’t thought that Frisk would actually allow that monster to ever have access here. Chara had assumed that she would be smarter than that.
Chara ground his teeth in anger as he leapt off the roof of yet another building, landing with poise on the adjacent ledge. No matter, he would simply have to have a word with Frisk later on after he had given the bag of bones the slip. Though He had assumed that he had been plenty clear enough when he had been alive. Chara really hated repeating himself, it was something that irked him to no end, and Frisk was working on his last nerve with her being so closely affiliated with such monstrous scum… but he supposed that she was just more tolerable then he was. She had a kind heart and Chara appreciated that, even if he thought that her kindness was misplaced on most occasions.
With a glance over his shoulder Chara figured quite quickly that he had left his unwanted guest far, far behind him. He smirked to himself devilishly as he imagined the broken scowl of a smile that was most likely gracing Sans’ face at the moment. Chara laughed wickedly, he almost wanted to double back to drink in the spectacle. It was rather hard to keep oneself entertained in this world after all. You could only replay memories so many times before you started getting bored of them.
But now the fun was over. Chara sighed to himself as he waltzed over to the ledge of the building, taking in the conjured image of Ebott put before him. He sneered as the sky settled back into its previous brilliant dawn like settings. He had been a prisoner of this city for far too long.
Suddenly, Chara felt a shift in the air. A foreign energy rapidly wrapped itself around his being as the city quaked underneath his feet at the disturbance. Frisk’s very soul seemed to tremble all around him. Something wasn’t right.
Just as soon as Chara turned to flee and figure out what was going on. He saw a figure appear out of the corner of his eye. Chara shockingly realized that it was Sans who had seemingly materialized out of thin air, just as if he were one of the other phantoms that occupied Frisks soul, only Chara knew that this vision was very real.
Chara could immediately feel the same foreign energy radiating from the skeleton. His brows raised in shock as he faced off with the glowing red iris that was locked on to his person. The skeleton let his head fall lazily to the side while still eyeing Chara. His face stretched into that stupid indolent grin that Chara had grown to hate so much, while he also tucked his hands loosely inside his trouser pockets.
“Heh heh, look kid, I know you’re not all that good with interacting with others, but you really got to learn how to play nice.” The skeleton snickered, his voice a condescending drawl as he all but sneered in Chara’s direction.
Chara struggled to unstick his dumfounded jaw as he focused his angry red stare on the skeleton before him. He had been made vaguely aware of Sans mysterious ability to appear at will through Frisk’s experiences, though he had never even fathomed that he would be able to do such a thing here. Finally, Chara was able to find the words to match his rage.
“You absolute idiot!” He spat. “Are you insane? you called your magic here?! Do you want to cause a soul bond!”
Sans narrowed his sockets threateningly, a little surprised that Frisk’s subconscious could be so aware of soul bonds when Frisk had barley understood the concept of them herself.
“Relax kid, it’s not my magic. I’m just borrowing a little bit of Frisk’s determination.” He explained before taking a step forward.
“More like stealing It!” Chara retorted accusingly as he backed away. Sans grin faltered slightly.
“Hey now bucko, you started it.” He replied. “You broke the rules first. I’m only following suit and you have to live with the consequences.”
Chara scowled and then brandished his switch blade before he held it out defensively in front of him.
“Don’t you dare take another step! I’m doing what’s best for Frisk!” He shouted. Sans huffed unimpressed.
“Put the knife down kid, you’ll cut yourself.” He replied scornfully.
Chara snarled, his crimson eyes reflecting his inner malice. He tightened his grip on the handle of his weapon before lunging forward with the blade.
Sans sighed to himself as he saw Chara dart toward him. With his eye now activated by the power of Frisk’s determination he could easily predict Chara’s movements. As Chara slashed at him Sans side stepped before hooking his arm under Chara’s knife wielding one and wrenched it upwards. Chara yelped as Sans secured his hold on him.
“That’s enough now.” He cautioned. Chara struggled but it was in vain. Sans had caught him.
“Let me go you stupid bag of bones!” Chara screamed as he attempted to kick backwards at the skeleton.
Sans grumbled under his breath, annoyed by the brat’s temper tantrum. With a quick twist to his captive’s wrist Chara stiffened and stilled as he clenched his teeth together holding back his cry. It wasn’t enough to cause any damage, but it was enough to suggest that if Sans wanted to he could make this ordeal a lot more painful. Chara seemed to get the hint rather quickly as he ceased his struggling.
“Now that’s much better.” Sans taunted.
Chara scowled and threw him a nasty glare, though Sans paid it no mind as he instead searched for another short cut that would take him and his new companion to a more secluded place where Sans would have more control over the situation at hand.
The location that he ended up choosing was a somewhat familiar one. After Sans had dragged a fairly uncooperative and cursing Chara through the tear, they both emerged on the other end in Frisk’s old abandoned apartment where Sans had first met her.
The space was empty, save for an old mattress piled with pillows, quilts, and blankets. A broken wooden chair sat a few feet away. The stove in the corner was lit, a calm flame was dancing in its hearth, and over the back rung of the chair were a pair of woolen socks drying out in the warm glow.
Sans knew that there were a lot of ghosts here as it had been Frisk’s base of operations before she had come to stay with the Pansies, but he dismissed them as he had something else that he needed to focus whole heartedly on.
As Sans shoved Chara forward, Chara fumbled with his knife dropping it on the floor. Sans didn’t give him the opportunity to try to reach for it as he pushed him down into the old broken chair before grabbing the woolen socks and tying them together around Chara’s wrists through the rungs of the chair as makeshift restraints. Chara struggled and snarled, but it was to no use. When Sans was satisfied that Chara was not going anywhere he backed up.
“Are you ready to play nice yet?” He questioned. Chara responded with an outraged shriek as he stomped his feet in protest. Sans sighed, already feeling drained from this encounter.
“Alright, it looks like you still need a few minutes to calm down so I think I’m gonna go on ahead.” Sans continued before he reached forward and loosely pulled on the chain hanging from around Chara’s neck, bringing the red heart shaped locket into view.
With a sharp tug Sans snapped the clasp from around Chara’s neck, closing his palm around the locket and pocketing it. Chara thrashed in absolute fury.
“You have no idea what you’re doing!” He spat. Sans rolled his sockets.
“Whelp well just have to see about that.” He said as he walked over and then picked up Chara’s switch blade form the floor. He closed the blade and then walked over and placed it a few feet away from the chair that Chara was bound too.
“You’re a smart kid, so I’m sure that If I leave this here for you you’ll be able to cut yourself loose eventually.” Sans then said as he turned to leave. “By that time I’ll probably already be long gone so this is goodbye kid. I’d say it was a pleasure but that would be a lie.” He continued smartly. Chara glowered at him.
“You’ll regret this. I’ll make you regret this.” He hissed. Sans shrugged.
“Sounds like a promise then.” He replied before he focused his eye on a shortcut that would bring him back to the lab.
He didn’t hesitate as he stepped through the tear leaving Chara behind, alone in Frisk’s old abandoned flat. He was now back outside the warehouse and its structure still appeared as intimidating as ever.
Sans walked quickly through the empty expanse of the main lab. He knew that he had plenty of time. Even if Chara had somehow managed to free himself within an instant after Sans had left he would still have to run across the entire city to get here, though the anxiety that Sans felt continued to build the closer he came to the grey door.
When Sans had finally made it back to the door he could see that the chains still remained that barricaded it shut. He reached into his pocket and squeezed the little heart shaped locket gently. This was it. He finally had the key to all of the answers that he was looking for, but even as Sans pulled the locket from his pocket he hesitated.
What lay beyond this door was almost guaranteed not to be pretty. Sans had gotten a sneak peek, thanks to Gaster’s journal, and his soul shuttered at the thought of the horrors that lay just beyond. He shook his head as he furrowed his brow bones in frustration with his rattled nerves. He could not afford to back down now. He had come too far, and had risked too much to simply turn away. He would go in, he would see, and then he would leave. He would lock the door behind him and go on his merry way, Simple as that.
Sans brought forth the locket before he carefully slipped the little heart shaped trinket into the lock. The lock snapped open releasing the iron chains. The chains retreated quickly, disappearing behind the cracks of the door almost instantaneously, before the lock landed at Sans’ feet with a heavy thud.
The grey door creaked open eerily, and Sans winced at the unsavory invitation for him to enter into the room. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then walked into the darkness.
At first, he saw nothing and heard nothing. Only the sound of his own rattled breathing perforated his ear cavities as he squinted in vain to try to make out anything in the inky blackness surrounding him. The room was bigger than he remembered it being, and much, much colder. Sans continued to walk forward until the doorway behind him had shrunk away in the distant and was nothing more than a small sliver of light that barley kept the darkness at bay.
Sans didn’t like this. Every bone in his body felt stiff with fear. The darkness was suffocating, it felt thick and heavy, almost tangible even.
“Heh, jeez this place sure is gloomy. Well, I guess that’s why dark rooms are where negatives are developed.” Sans then shakily sputtered into his inky surroundings. His joke was an attempt to calm his own nerves, but up against the sheer weight of the void surrounding him it really didn’t help much.
Suddenly, Sans heard something, and he almost felt himself fall to pieces then and there. Tiny sniffles and whimpers echoed quietly from around the vast space. Sans held his breath as he focused on the sound. At first it appeared to just be bouncing around the room with no clear direction, but after a minute Sans was able to hear that it was coming from his left.
He turned slowly toward the crying, a cold sweat breaking out across his skull as he saw something just barley visible crouched down in the darkness right next to him.
“Holy shit…” Sans muttered under his breath as he kept his wide-eyed sockets locked on the child like form that sat right by his side.
The figure appeared to be dressed in some old stained rags that it was using as clothing. It looked dirty, its hair was over grown and hid its face. Sans could just make out tiny dirt stained hands and bare feet peeking out from the child’s worn garments. It was human… or at least it appeared that way.
The figure then stopped its crying, almost as if it were aware of Sans’ presence, and before Sans could make another move it stood up and darted off into the blackness again. Sans defensively stumbled away, caught off guard by the sudden movement as his soul felt like it was about to leap out of his mouth. He clutched a hand to his chest in an attempt to ground himself. His nerves felt like they were on fire.
Before Sans could even begin to try to make any sense out of what he had just experienced, or attempt to get his fear saturated mind under control, a spot light then switched on illuminating a small portion of the room right in front of him.
Sans was almost not even able to process the sight presented to him as his pinpricks adjusted to the sudden bright light before darting over the scene. There was a medical table modified with leather straps and brass buckles. The spotlight was hanging over head of the table, it was harsh and unyielding, and also revealed the surgical equipment laid out neatly on surrounding metal trays. Sans recognized this setup. He had come across it on his previous venture down into the depths of the laboratory back in reality. The instruments here, however, were not rusted and dusty from years of neglect and disuse. Their blades gleamed sharply in the artificial light. The instruments had been polished meticulously, which reflected their owners’ pride and attention to detail. Sans felt a sick feeling sink into his soul.
Movement drew his pinpricks to the right side of the makeshift stage, and Sans felt his bones tense up with terror. His sockets widened in horror and anger as they took in the familiar visage of the new person now appearing from under the cover of darkness. Doctor W. D. Gaster moved into the light. He was just as Sans had remembered him. His form tall and pois, as he glided underneath the spotlight. His clothes were a clean sharp black underneath a stark crisp white lab coat. He took his time moving about the space, inspecting every detail with a sort of sick pride. Sans watched as Gaster meticulously adjusted a scalpel, making sure that it was perfectly lined up with the rest of his tools. Sans gritted his teeth. More than anything he wanted to grab the good doctor by the neck and make him sorry for everything that he had done in the past, but he couldn’t do that. Instead Sans balled his hands into fists to temper his rage before he shoved them deep into his pockets. He reminded himself that he couldn’t do anything here, right now all he could do was watch.
Suddenly Gaster straightened up and looked to his left into the darkness.
“Number four.” Gaster called into the shadows. “Come forward.”
There was a pause after Gaster made his command, but sure enough Sans saw someone else hesitantly shuffle their way into the spotlight. It was the kid from before. The one that had almost scared the be jibbers out of Sans in the darkness. They were hunched in on themselves as they approached Gasters’ side apprehensively. They recoiled in the light, obviously not liking being exposed. Sans could see that they kept glancing over their shoulder back to the darkness wanting its protection. Gaster grew impatient with the child’s slow advance.
“Number four now.” He demanded, his tone stern.
The child whined at the strict command, but wasted no time at hobbling forward. When they were positioned directly under the light Gaster then circled them. He studied them as he poked and prodded at their small frame. At first, Gaster’s inspections seemed quite routine. He listened to their heart beat, examined their pupils and ear cavities, and checked height and weight. He then had the child do some sort of exercises that seemed to be testing their physical abilities. All in all, it almost appeared like a slandered medical evaluation, but Sans knew better then to trust appearances. After Gaster took a moment to write some notes down on a clip board, he then pointed toward the medical table.
“Number four take a seat.” He said, and the child immediately tensed, their breathing becoming erratic as they clutched the front of their rag garb tightly. They shook their head. Gaster’s expression shifted to one of annoyance.
“Number four sit.” He demanded again, and again the child protested as they took a shaky step backwards.
Gaster was silent as he starred the child down before slamming his clipboard down on the counter. the child yelped in fear as Gaster shot out a hand and yanked at the collar of their clothing.
“That was not a request number four. You have to get better at following directions.” Gaster scolded as he hoisted the struggling child on to the table. Sans watched as the kid began to thrash about, but Gaster greatly over powered them, and forced their thin arms and legs into the leather straps.
“You are making this difficult for yourself number four.” Gaster lectured calmly. “If you didn’t struggle so much then it wouldn’t hurt as badly, but you never learn do you.”
Sans felt a cold sweat break out across his skull as he watched the nightmare play out in front of him. The child had begun to whimper, now absolutely powerless as Gaster turned toward the medical table. He lightly reached over and gingerly picked out a shiny syringe. From out of his pocket, Sans could see him retrieve a vile of crimson red liquid. Gaster then plunged the needle through the rubber stopper as he filled the syringe to the appropriate dosage marker.
The child was also watching, and when Doctor Gaster held the syringe up to the light to better see the amount measured, their panic surfaced. They began to tug at the restraints as their breathing became even more labored in their struggling. Sans winced, actually concerned that the kid would hurt themselves if they kept tugging so hard.
Gaster paid the struggling child no mind as he approached them without hesitation, confident that the thick leather binds would hold his test subject still. He drew up their shirt sleeve and swabbed a patch of their bare skin with an antiseptic socked towelette. At this point the child began to shriek. Gaster snapped a narrowed socket toward them.
“Enough.” He ordered harshly. His sharp tone appeared to do the trick as the child was startled back into silence again. Gaster took this opportunity to inject them with the contents of the syringe.
He then retreated, placing the now empty syringe and vile on one of the adjacent medical tables the child had, for the most part, stopped struggling, and was now sobbing silently on the table.
Sans felt sick, he wanted to forget what he had just witnessed, but he knew that the memory would be permanently scared into his soul until the day that he dusted. He wanted more than anything to turn away, but he kept his sockets pinned on Gaster. The good doctor had been keeping a very close tab on the child, watching them from a distance, and making no move to remove them from there binds. Sans realized then that the experiment wasn’t over.
Soon, the child stilled and went eerily silent. Their whimpers and quiet sobs ceased completely. They lay motionless for a while before sans noticed that they began to twitch. Their little body began to pull again at the binds, but instead of out of fear it seemed to be out of rage. their crying had been replaced with guttural growls and snarls as they tore harder at the leather straps. At one point they even attempted to gnaw at them. In their flailing, their mop of hair was briefly swept away from their face and Sans could see that their eyes were a potent crimson red, glinting with carnal fury. At this point Doctor Gaster had stepped over to the bedside. His movement drew the child’s attention to him.
“Number four.” Gaster spoke calmly. The child snapped their fiery gaze toward him, but did not acknowledge that they had actually understood what he had said. Instead they only let out another roar.
“Number four, if you can understand me I need you to show me four fingers.” Gaster instructed. demonstrating the hand gesture himself. The child just stared at him, their brows pinched in their frenzy as they bared their teeth like a wild beast.
“Number four, if you show me four fingers then we can work on getting you off of this table.” Gaster tried again, however, Sans could see that the good doctor was growing impatient.
Sans remembered that he had read in Gaster’s journal about how Gaster was finding it difficult to control his little test subjects when they were induced. Sans then suddenly felt about a hundred times more on edge.
The child paid no attention to Gaster’s commands, as instead they began to thrash harder against their tethers, trying with all of there might to get at the good doctor’s throat. Doctor Gaster stumbled backwards, taken off guard. He stabled himself on one of the side counters and then narrowed his sockets very much annoyed.
“Still not co-operating I see.” He said mostly to himself as he watched the raving child continue to struggle. He then sighed heavily to himself as he turned to make updates to his notes.
“Still no progress in control or communication. Subject four continues to act hostile when in an induced state….” He mumbled under his breath as he scribbled down his thoughts.
Sans watched onward in abject horror. He couldn’t tear his sockets away from the beast like child that still screamed and growled like a banshee. They were absolutely furious, completely different from the docile and submissive child that he had seen only moments before. It was disturbingly similar to Frisk’s transformation in the grave yard.
Suddenly Sans saw one of the thick leather straps begin to tear at its base. His sockets widened in fear. The child was actually breaking free. With a horrible shriek the child wrenched the strap from the table and extended its now unrestricted hand out to try and grab at Doctor Gaster. Gaster narrowly escaped there grasping fingers as instead they clawed at the empty air.
With another hideous roar, the child then turned its attention toward trying to wrench their other arm free, all the while staring doctor Gaster down with murderous blood red eyes.
Gaster was quick to react, and Sans saw him grab at another syringe. This one looked to hold a sedative. Gaster called forth his magic as three disembodied skeletal hands surrounded by an aura of dark purple flew through the air toward the child at his command. The child growled and swatted at them, but the hands were agile, and dogged the child’s attacks with ease, before fastening themselves quickly to their small body, holding them down as Gaster approached with the syringe.
He jabbed them in the arm wasting no time. The child fought for a moment more before they went limp on the table, the sedative taking immediate effect. It was unnaturally still for a while then, as Gaster just stared down at the incapacitated child with a morose expression. Sans was currently clutching at his shirt over his soul as he was certain that it nearly almost burst out of his rib cage. He watched Gaster as he stood stagnant. The good doctor looked quite vexed about the ordeal, though it wasn’t fear that Sans read on Gaster’s face but annoyance and frustration.
“Useless …” Gaster muttered under his breath as he turned his gaze away.
He headed back toward his notes and began writing something down again. sans pinpricks followed him as he moved but then something else drew his gaze. The child was twitching and then they were straight up convulsing on the table. They shook uncontrollably as their small body began to seizure. Sans watched on helpless as Gasters attention was also pulled back to them. He grabbed them and then forced open their eye lids as he looked at their pupils before hurriedly reaching over for another vile and syringe, knocking the other neatly kept instruments into disarray. The child was foaming at the mouth now, the episode proving to be too much for their small form to handle.
Gaster began to curse under his breath as the child did not respond to any further treatment. He tried multiple times to get the child’s heart rate under control, but it cut out on him before he could find a way to stabilize it. The child then lay limp and lifeless over top of the medical table. Gaster stood above their body as stern as a statue, and sans watched stunned, not even able to come to terms with what had just happened.
Gaster then turned abruptly away. He gripped at the edge of one of the side tables his knuckles clenched rigid. He then rapidly shot his arm across the surface knocking all of his pristinely kept medical equipment into disarray.
“Curses!” He bellowed and Sans jolted entirely unused to seeing Doctor Gaster display such little control over his emotions.
With an aggravated huff the good doctor then stormed away, leaving the spot lit stage before disappearing again into the darkness. Sans waited for the rest of the scene to fade just as all the other visions had, but it remained. The once orderly space now left in disorder reflecting the chaos that had just taken place only moments ago. The corpse of the child was left on the table motionless and cold. Sans continued to wait, wanting for the nightmarish vision to leave him already, but it would not dissipate. The memory wasn’t over.
Suddenly Sans heard more sniffling and whimpering coming from behind him. He startled at first, stiffening in place, but gradually he worked up the nerve to peer over his shoulder.
There was the wall of cages. The ones that Sans had seen before in the fire gutted building back in reality. There were shapes in the darkness behind the bars, all of which sans realized were the other children that Gaster had experimented on. All were curled up into a ball facing away from the scene under the spotlight. all were still and silent, save for one. The smallest one. They were shivering and crying. There eyes wide open as they stared at the horror in front of them, refusing to look away, memorizing every detail.
Sans recognized those eyes. Those big brown orbs full of fear.
“Oh hell no…” Sans muttered under his breath as he grasped at who the little girl was. “Oh god no, Frisk!” He said as he darted toward the cage.
He clung at the bars wanting to reach through them, gather her up and take her away from this place.
“Jesus what did he do? What did he do to you?” Sans rambled on quietly, realizing that she had not only simply witnessed such horrible things, but was also the one on the table at times.
Frisk looked right through him, like he wasn’t even there, which made Sans feel even more desperate. Then a thin, frail looking hand reached in from the cage next to Frisk’s and held her gently by the shoulder.
“Don’t look.” Said the boy who had moved himself from his previous position huddled in his own corner in order to reach through the bars. Frisk turned toward the boy before quickly scurring over to him and pushing herself up against the wall of her cage that was closest to him, searching so desperately for comfort.
The boy remained still for a moment apparently surprised by Frisk’s actions then tentatively he reached through with his other arm and pet the top of her hair soothingly. Frisk began to calm as she settled in to her position next to him.
Sans squinted at he stared at the boy, trying to make out his appearance. He was older than the other children, though barley. He was thin and dirty like the others, his hair also an over grown mop. But briefly he brushed it aside and Sans sockets widened when he saw that the child’s eyes were a brilliant red. He recognized him instantly after that. The boy with the red eyes. Chara.
The vision then vanished immediately and sans was left in the darkness again. He panicked briefly as being plummeted back into the blackness so suddenly did not do his already rattled nerves any favors. He sat for a while then. His sockets empty and blank as he processed what he had just bared witness to. He felt sick. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He had his answers, but now what? He was lost. Lost and alone in this suffocating blackness.
Sans heard footsteps echoing from behind him. He turned his head slightly at the sound, but this time he was pretty sure who it was that was now standing directly at his back.
“What did you see?” The angry voice of Chara asked, his voice low and foreboding.
Sans sighed. he hadn’t realized that he had been stuck in this room for so long. If Chara was already here then he supposed his time was up. Sans then slowly reaffirmed his typical lazy grin back on to his face before standing up, brushing off his trousers, and turning around to meet with Chara’s scolding gaze.
“Heh, oh hey there buddy, you caught up pretty quick." He replied lazily. Chara narrowed his eyes.
“You have no idea what you’ve done.” He said simply before he began walking toward Sans with his switch blade brandished. Sans didn’t try to put up a fight this time. He was already so exhausted.
“I told you not to come in here. You trash bag.” Chara continued to hiss.
Sans ignored the insult, not really all that offended by it as he instead reached into his pocket and pulled out Chara’s gold locket and held it out to him.
“No problem friend, a deal is a deal. I got what I wanted so I’ll leave like I said I would. Here, I’ll let you, heh, locket back up for me since I’ll be heading out.” He said with a smug smirk and a wink.
Chara paused briefly before his face twisted into a sinister smile.
“Wow, you really don’t get it do you.” He said bitterly. “That is useless now.”
Sans blinked back at him confused. He glanced down at the locket only to see the gold start to rust in his hand before fragmenting. Within a second the trinket disintegrated completely.
“What?” Sans asked. staring at his now empty hand. Snickering then drew his gazed back to Chara and he jolted backwards.
Chara’s face was now twisted into a large black grin. His eyes also reflected the darkness of the void that surrounded Sans completely.
“You idiot.” He spat. “This place is mine and Frisk’s. We were made here in this darkness and it is forever a part of us. You can’t just tuck it back in its box.” Sans sockets widened as he began to feel terror trickling into his soul once again.
Before he could speak, or ask what the hell was going on, Chara moved toward him with incredible speed. He slashed across Sans’ abdomen without hesitation and Sans didn’t have time to even register his actions. He only felt the hot sharp sting of the blade cutting through him.
He was too afraid to look down at the gaping wound in his chest as he clutched at it. He fell to his knees, the pain overwhelming him. Sans was so confused, he didn’t understand. His mind felt like it was melting as it tried to force his body to move. But it wouldn’t, not one inch.
Sans could see that his fingertips were starting to disappear just like the locket had. He was fragmenting, breaking apart into nothing. Soon there wouldn’t be anything left of him, nothing but a pile of dust left in a dark room.
Sans looked up at Chara in disbelief as his vision started to fade. The void that surrounded him now turned deadly as it continued to advance upon him ready to swallow him up whole. Chara just smiled back at him, the black void leaking out from behind his lips. He laughed.
“You’ve released us comedian, and now you have to deal with the consequences.” He said.