PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

a real heroic spearpoint wedding chapter 71

A typhoon of blue and red bore down upon Hotland, a bluster of raging scales and steam that slammed into the lab so hard that even its locked, reinforced door couldn't withstand her. The metal buckled at the impact of her foot and, panting, yellow eye gleaming, Undyne crashed inside, scaring the shadowcat sitting at Alphys's computer into a puddle of himself.

"Where is Gaster?" she growled.

"Wh...?" The shadowy mass quickly shot up in his seat again into a form more resembling himself. "What's going on? Wait, is that...?" His dark eyes glistened like polished glass. "Sans?"

"Where's Gaster?!" Undyne demanded again.

"Wait, wait wait, what's going on?" Scathkath rushed over. A second to process had his ears drooping low. "Oh no."

"Is he here?!" she pressed. "YO?! GASTER?!"

"Wait, relax, okay, hang on," the shadowcat said quickly. "H-He's... He's not here, he's at the CORE."

"Get him. Get him, now," Undyne said.

"But what happened, I...? H-Here, I can take him." He held out his arms. "It's alright. I'm his uncle."

Undyne reflexively drew the skeleton back into her chest. The shadow cat smiled sympathetically.

"Okay, you wanna hold him, that's fine, too. Let me at least..." He put his hand on Sans's head and his entire body rippled with a shiver, his whiskers bending at jagged, sharp angles. "H-He's so c-cold! Are you healing him?"

"Of course I am!" Her voice cracked a little. "It's just not really my thing, okay?!" She leaned towards him. "Are you a doctor?"

Scathkath smiled nervously. "Nnnnot a medical one." He patted her on the shoulder. "Listen, how's about you go on downstairs? We got stuff to help down there. And I'll get G for you, okay?"

"...Fine. Fine. Okay." Undyne stormed to the elevator. "Hurry up!"

The shadowcat pulled out his phone. "Already on it!"

The ride down in the elevator was the longest one Undyne had ever taken. She clutched the icy skeleton close, gritting her teeth; cursing herself to the ground.

Undyne was out and running the second the doors gave way. She brought Sans to a large room where there was already a bed waiting and some medical equipment scattered around. The déjà vu came with an intense agita, too.

Gripping Sans tight, Undyne stood beside a bed with pink blankets for a few long seconds. The thought of laying the skeleton down made her nauseous. What if she stopped healing and he just crumbled to dust?

She lugged her charge around in one arm as she dragged a loose magic drip close to the bed and shoved a capsule of green liquid into its stand. Nervous sweat beaded at her brow as she opened Sans's hoodie to expose bare bone and his blue soul glowing faintly inside his ribcage. She gritted her teeth as she forced her hand steady and drew the tube of the drip up through his bones and stuck the end of it into his soul. She stared down at him nervously. When he didn't fall apart, she blew out a long, heavy sigh.

"You stupid asshole," she growled under her breath. "I can't believe it. Why did you leave?!" She pressed the heel of her hand hard against her brow and snarled. "Idiot."

Though she still couldn't bring herself to release him completely, she settled him onto the bed. With one hand clamped solidly onto his wrist, she used the other to check his vitals again. SOULSCN hardly knew what to make of him. Under his dismal number was a warning— the app thought that either it was broken or that funeral arrangements were in order.