Skeleton Ghost

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((You ain't ready for this one, lads.))

Sans blinked, staring up at the long shadows on the ceiling high above. The charcoal rock was painted in streaks of gold from the setting sun beyond, glittering faintly in the fiery light.

Then he sat up. He could hear distant voices, but he distinctly remembered that every time he woke up before, they would be standing around him, not far off.
So he got to his feet and followed the voices to their source.

It was.. an argument? Toriel pointing angrily at Asgore as said king was on the defensive, looking almost panicked as Undyne inserted herself between them, Papyrus trying to calm everyone down as Alphys stood awkwardly to the side, glancing at something on the ground in the middle of their cir- Chara?

The.. whatever they were anymore was laying curled up, inert in the fetal position, back to him.
So he did the only thing he could think of; he strode over, looking to see what was going on.

Alphys saw him approaching, waving wildly for him to stop, but since he didn't know why, he kept coming, pausing near the group as something electric and cold brushed through his arm.
"𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢'𝚛𝚎.. 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖... 𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢."
"No, thanks for letting me know. Wanna help with that? I'm gonna try to talk to them."

Napstablook seemed almost delighted for a moment- as much as he could be.
"𝙾𝚔𝚊𝚢."
The ghost slid into place, a comforting barrier between himself and immediate death from just a single misplaced prick.

Sans quickly bent over the human, ignoring as both Papyrus and Undyne immediately noticed and shouted for him to back away- too late to prevent the flashing blade from lashing out, a blind jab that only cut a slice through his shirt.
Undyne then placed her hand on his shoulder, gripping tightly to yank him away, only for Sans to whip around and grab her arm, shooting her a dark look.
"Let me deal with this." He stated calmly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sans, they just attacked you. You could die." The captain warned.
"No. Trust me, I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just need to talk them outta this. Okay?"
"Sans." Papyrus spoke, afraid. "Please? Can I talk to the human instead?"
"I'm sorry Paps, but this is something I gotta do. Okay? Can we give them a little space? Kid's a little overwhelmed right now."
He glanced at Asgore. "Please?"

The king studied his expression for a moment, then sighed, stepping away.
"Come. I have known Sans. He is very good with children- better than myself in things such as this."

"Of course he would be better than you with children." Toriel quipped, turning and guiding Papyrus away, despite the skeleton's arguments. Asgore gave Undyne a look, and she scowled, mostly baffled at how the king would personally know a simple sentry and comedian of Snowdin. She released Sans, about to stalk off when Alphys caught her eye, trying to distract her from the moment.

The last of them left, giving the pair (technically trio) a wide berth as they retreated to the edges of the room, closer to the place where the Barrier had previously stood.

"Hey Chara." He started, crouching beside the other. "What happened?"
"Go away." Their voice was hoarse, very little energy put into it. Sans sighed.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I would leave."
Chara twitched slightly. Sans shifted to a seat, bold with understanding.
"You see, I get the feeling that you don't really wanna be left alone. And since the others aren't really helpful given our situations, then it's probably safe to say that I'm your best bet to talking it out."
"I'm not talking to you." They hissed.

"Funny. You just did." He remarked.
"Go away, comedian."
"Nah. I'm not gonna stop bothering you until you explain what's gotten into you."

"What, is this your revenge? Is that it?" Chara snapped, red eyes leaking darkened tears as they shot him a look.
"Just to torment me in secret until I break?"