Yeah, okay, lame update, long wait time, blah, blah, blah. But being honest, this chapter was hell to write. I got stumped literally after every paragraph. Mostly because I kept forgetting how I wanted the story to transition into the ending chapters. After all my internal screaming, constant editing, deleting, retyping, rephrasing, et cetera, this was the result. Anyway, school started three weeks ago, and classes are decent so far! I forgot my homework at school today though... Crap.

Alphys's claws shook slightly as they gently poked a needle into the firm surface of the purple human soul, drawing out its patient energy to fill the syringe. Sans put a gentle hand on her shoulder, his phalanges lightly digging into the softness of her flesh when she flinched.

"it's alright, alph. it's just me." Alphys swallowed, ignoring the dryness of her throat as she made a small sound of acknowledgement. Sans gave her a worried look as she handed him the now purple syringe. Immediately, the lizard turned to return the soul to its chamber and to dutifully fill another syringe with the essence of different soul. The skeleton sighed and wandered to the his own work station, taking great care to inject the contents of the syringe into one of the seven knobs in the frame of the artificial soul they had constructed hours ago. With a frown, he lifted a hand to press it against the side of his skull where an almost foreign ache throbbed.

Headaches were almost nonexistent for skeletons, for their skulls were empty and lacking in all things that tricked the mind into feeling aches and pains. But the migraine that plagued him now was starting to get impossibly annoying. He set the frame down, blinking away a sudden blurriness in his vision as his other hand tugged at the collar of his sweater. He coughed, gritting his teeth as pain flashed into agony, his knees beginning to buckle. A thump behind her almost made Alphys drop the syringe filled with the orange power of courage, a scream nearly escaping her throat when she whirled around to see the unmoving form of her friend in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Sans!?" The syringe was forgotten on the table, the soul was hurriedly ushered into its chamber, and the skeleton was dragged to Alphys's bed, the only decently comfortable place in her entire home, where she left him in a flurry of swears to frantically search for her medical kit. Sweat and fear made her movements awkward and jerky as she thrust open every cupboard, every drawer, and every cabinet in sight, only to be met with cluttered piles of absolutely nothing useful. Her breath came short and quick, a dizzying lightheadedness frequently knocking her vision out of focus as she practically sprinted around her lab in a worried frenzy. Her foot caught on the wheels of her rolly chair and she tumbled forward, giving a pained grunt as she plopped onto the ground. Groaning, she glared at the offending object over her shoulder before her jaw went slack upon spotting the med kit sitting peacefully beneath her desk. Too busy to berate herself for not looking there sooner, she snatched it up in her claws and sped up her escalator, taking the moving staircase two steps at a time and nearly tripping on the last step.

Sans remained nearly exactly as she had left him, the only difference being the soft blue flush over his cheekbones and the fact that he was noticeably shivering. Alphys grimaced at the change as she inhaled large breaths of air, looking down to sift through the various supplies residing within the kit until she tugged out both a thermometer and a soul monitor, a device she had modeled after a human heart monitor she found in the garbage dump. The lizard shuffled closer, tentatively placing a trembling claw against the smooth surface of the skeleton's forehead, wincing at the heat that radiated from him. Giving a shaky sigh, she put the thermometer in his mouth and quickly went to retrieve an ice pouch from her freezer, placing it on his skull upon returning.

"Damn it, Sans," she muttered, starting to fuss with the controls of the soul monitor, pressing buttons and flicking switches whilst trying to recall their purposes. Once the device a flashed a green light and gave a cute "beep!", Alphys's face began to pinken with a sudden realization dawned on her. On any other monster, she would have no problem attaching her machine to them. But this was Sans. Sans was a skeleton. He didn't have flesh like every other monster, so she would have to...have to…

Attach the machine directly to his...

The scientist gulped and set the device down to dry her perspirating palms on her labcoat, an uncomfortable whine escaping her throat as she then hid her burning face behind her hands.

"C'mon Alphys. It's just Sans, and he needs your help. You've gotta do this," she sighed to herself, dropping her arms to her sides ungracefully. Inhaling deeply, she felt around for the hem of Sans's sweater, closing her eyes as the hand she had grasped the soul monitor with becoming weak with her nervousness. Her teeth dug into her lower lip as her hand dipped into the emptiness that was hidden behind the layer of clothing, her face scrunching up when the tips of her fingers brushed against the warm ridges of the skeleton's spinal cord. An embarrassed whimper slipped into the air as she felt her way towards his soul cavity, the color of her face gradually deepening into more of a scarlet.

"This is so wrong-" Her hand bumped into something warm, oddly solid, and…heart-shaped? Halle-fucking-lujah. Alphys gently curled her hand around the solid warmth, cracking open an eye to activate the soul monitor with her hand. Immediately, the sharp rush of static filled the air, the strange language from the blueprints running across the screen. Alphys paled.

"W-w-what th-the?" The machine grew unbearably hot in her hand, forcing her to instinctively drop the device in fear of being burned, loud static sounds filling the room with noise. It clattered to the floor as garbled nonsense began to flow through its speakers, the metal turning red from heat. The items that furnished her room began to shudder and shake for all as if an earthquake were occurring, an odd purple veil of light shrouding their surroundings as the lizard screamed and cowered against the bed in terror, releasing her hold on Sans's soul as she quickly maneuvered her body protectively between him and the apparently bewitched monitor. She twined her fingers with his, gripping his hand bones firmly as she desperately tried to draw courage from his presence.

"…memory…" She froze at the voice, her other hand curling into the thin blankets of her bed as her teeth clenched in disbelief and terror. Her eyes bounced around the room, from her shuddering furniture to the machine currently burning a hole into her floor to the skeleton who had yet to stir.

"D-d-Doctor…Gaster?" A raspy cough filled room, rough from disuse and Alphys pressed herself further into the side of her bed, her teeth gritting noiselessly.

"...Lost…" Alphys gulped, her breathing coming in erratic pants. Black ooze began to pool around her machine, its surface shiny and lumped as it grew larger and larger, the thick liquid already threatening to lick the tips of her clawed toes. The goopy puddle shuddered and began to rise, large heavy paws of dripping goo lifting towards her from the gelatinous mass of its formless body.

"Void."

Sans's hand twitched in her own as she looked back, the spark of hope the ignited within her soul sizzling into nothingness as the skeleton rose, a manic grin stretching across his skull whilst his jagged purple gaze cut into her. In one strong, swift movement, Sans snatched the front of her lab coat and shoved her backwards, causing her to trip over her own feet and fall to the ground, her head knocking against the floor painfully. Bright purple eyes taunted and danced before her eyes before a black wave dragged her down to unconsciousness.

"ALPHYS."

Alphys groaned as she sat up, blinking hard, stray tears dribbling away to help clear her sight. Her head felt muddled and terribly pained, as if she had slammed it into a wall five minutes ago. Her eyes struggled to focus, but the blurred colors and odd shapes remained in her vision, framed by an ominous cloud darkness. Shoot, my glasses.

The distorted forms of her yellow claws skated across the ground, her vision focusing and unfocusing as she squinted and scrunched her eyelids to get a better sense of what she was looking at. Her palm ghosted against something metallic, thin, and cool, her fingers curling around the object in hopes of it being the item she was searching for. The familiar curves and ridges of her spectacles brought relief to her in a great surge, her hands fumbling to return them to the bridge of her snout where they belonged. The black pressed closer, casting shadows around the once vibrantly colored room.

"al...ph-phys?" The scientist flinched at the cracked sound of her name, her eyes wide as she surveyed the damage her home sustained, a scream lodged in her throat. Alphys turned, slowly, and her soul ceased it pulsating for what felt like an eternity as from the ruins of her bed stumbled the bleeding form of Sans the skeleton. The shiny redness oozed freely from the cracks in his skull, red blotches expanding on various places of his clothing. His everlasting smile was strained to the point of looking almost like a grimace. It was the most pain Alphys had ever seen him outwardly express.

Somehow, in a matter of seconds, she went from laying sprawled on the ground to curled around the collapsed form of her friend, her hand cupping his cheekbone while her opposite arm cradled his head. The red liquid had already soaked through her lab coat, coloring the leathery yellow skin beneath the hue of his physical essence. Her energy-less tears mingled with the magical streams of blue rivulets gently streaming from the corners of his eyesockets.

She said nothing. He said nothing else. And the darkness embraced them both.

"You are insane, Doctor."

"I find it humorous to hear you say that. For the last I checked, I wasn't the only one."

She stood in silence, assessing the glitching shell of a once brilliant creature. Her eyes seemed to bore scorching holes into his soft, gelatinous figure, making the remnants of his data shudder with discomfort. She smiled crookedly at the involuntary movement, her soft features lighting up with an innocent, almost childlike amusement. Her gaze trailed away from him to the image he had conjured, her fingers twitching with some restrained urge.

"It is cruel of you to give them this nightmare. Do you know that?"

"Gaining awareness over ever-shifting timelines can induce so copious amounts of pain. I, of all monsters, should know." The girl's sugary laughter sent chills through him.

"Your reasoning leaves much to imagination, sir." Dr. Gaster gulped, maneuvering his body to face her as she followed up with saying, "Some could be led to believe you enjoy seeing them writhe in agony." Another saccharine giggle. The doctor clenched his fists within the folds of his physical form, the nightmare he had created shuddering with his anger.

Within the dream, Alphys let out a crushed sob, the sound of the purest anguish which resonated throughout the void. Guilt hit the remnants of the doctor's soul in ways the brought a stinging to his left eye, causing him to turn away from the other worldly creature taunting him. Silence lapsed between the two void-walkers, tension weighing down on them like the ocean on the seafloor.

"There are many ways you can solve your little problem. You need only to look at where it begins." The scientist solidified his body, listening with intent despite his discomfort with the girl. A sudden warmth appeared at his side, scaring him into his liquid form. The black ooze pooled around her tiny white feet, but the blank emptiness of her pupiless eyes remained. Gaster shifted away, drawing his essence into a solid structure once again.

He watched in fear and awe as the little white creature reached out her tiny arms and grasped a handful of data, bringing it close to her to read its contents carefully. Two hands, their appearances mocking his own, were summoned with a soft pop of her mouth. They floated gracefully down to join her, the massive magical creations dwarfing her own small hands. He gasped as she crushed one of the strands from existence.

"What are you doing!?" Her laughter became cold and dark.

"Good day, Wind Dings." And with that, she was gone.

...

You felt your sins crawling on your back…

Okay... It's, uh, been awhile.

Responses!

KaidaShi: Oh, ok! Lol, I remember doing the same thing way back when I was REALLY crazy. Had five people running around my head. But now it's just me. My lead persona must have subconsciously killed them off, or merged with them. Either is possible.

Okamilover1: KILL THEM ALL. JOIN US WHO HAVE FORSAKEN THE WORLD. Just kidding. Don't. It will hurt your heart. Aw...I didn't mean to make anyone tear up! Now I feel bad... Even so it warms my heart to know that someone can be affected that way. Bless your heart. Thank you! I did purposely leave Paps out of that conversation, but he was still at the party, probably learning how to smile upon seeing how well Sans is moving on. I just felt that Undyne and Toriel don't really get know each other, and tossing out ropes of friendship between the both of them could help them cope with their shared sorrows.

I guest as much: OMG I love you guys with the super fun names! It's just so awesome! And I'm glad to read that!

Monkey999Boy: I CAN DREAM HAROLD. I'm actually not sure how to reply to that. :P