Skeletons and Robots (Discontinued due to lack of time)

Chapter 12: Gathering

My feet pounded against the ground, sending charges up my body, powering each new stride. I sprinted through the sidewalk, making passerby monsters and humans leap in all different directions. I heard some cries of "slow down!" but I ignored them all. My hands balled into fists, and I raced the wind to Alphys' lab.
"Alphys! Let me in! NOW!" I screamed at the door. Nobody responded. I screamed with frustration, and took multiple steps back. My hand tingled and became the dark pink blaster I was getting severely used to. I screamed again, my throat turning hoarse, and a ball of light formed. After a moment's hesitation, I blasted down the door and stomped in. "Alphys!" I called, shivering. My hand ran through my hair, no longer a blaster. "Alphys!" I called again, my shivering turning violent. "Neo, you seem to be having an emotional breakdown. Is there any way I can-"
"BE QUIET NAMI!" I barked, throwing my phone across the ground. It didn't shatter, but Nami sure as hell shut up. My cheeks grew hot with frustration, and I started to run down the hall.

"Sans... Sans?" Said a whimper from one of the rooms I had run by. I skidded to a stop, and I flung the door open. Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, and surprisingly, Mettaton all looked up at me. Papyrus had been sobbing, I could see orange tears flowing steadily down his ashen face. "So you finally show up, punk?" Undyne said weakly, her hands shaking. I didn't speak. I only pushed past Mettaton to see my friend. His eyes were tightly closed, his hand clutching something. Alphys took it out of his hand. I heard the clink of the skeleton's bones, something that was almost never heard. She handed it to me. "It had your name scribbled on it. Mettaton wanted to read it and give it to you so you wouldn't have to see him, but Papyrus disagreed." Alphys said, her expression blank. I couldn't read it. "Thank you Papyrus." I said, unfolding the crumpled paper. "Read it aloud!" Undyne hissed. "No." I said. "It says to Neo and Neo only. I know you Undyne and Mettaton. You heard me." I smiled a bit, cherishing how he put his sarcastic humor into the note he had scribbled during his last times of life. I started to read the words he had written.
"Hey buddy.
I know you're probably standing over my body, stricken by grief on what I had done to myself, but trust me on this kay? I did this so I wouldn't have to kill you. Something wants to kill you. And it will not stop. I'm serious Neo. I know it all too well. And one last thing...
I love you too. Every time I spent with you was sansational.
-Sans"
My eyes sting with tears. "Sans..." I said, my voice cracking. I held back a sob, trying to act like nothing in the note had mattered. I opened up my chest compartment and put it in, the teal heart that it rested in no longer bright and shiny. I sat down on a chair and put my head in my hands, feeling as if nothing would ever be right again. One thought floated in my head:
Was this my fault?
-----------------
We were each allowed to personally visit him once before Alphys promised she would shoo us out. She said that he was in some sort of death coma, somewhere between living and dead. Must have not eaten enough poisonous flowers, she thought. As if she still had hope for him. When each one of us took turns saying what could most likely be our goodbyes to him, the rest of the group just kind of hovered in the hallway. No one talked, and not a single tear was shed. I guess we were all just in shock.
Papyrus got to visit Sans first. He took about ten minutes, but it seemed only like seconds. His gloomy face was almost elusive, and it was the only time I ever saw him without his scarf. He had abandoned it, given it to Sans. I didn't dare look at Papyrus' face, I was just too afraid to see him in greif. Undyne hobbled through the door when Papyrus departed, her bouncy steps almost like a bad dream. A forgotten memory. When she came back to us, a loud slam accompanied her. Undyne had seemed to lose her touch, for there was not a speck of fight left in her. It was as if she had died in Sans' place. Mettaton went after her. His sassy strut faded in an instant, as if he remembered his place. He ducked under the hole Undyne had made in the door, clasping a fragment in his hand. He came back through a few seconds later, a grim smile clouded his face. He came to a stop facing me, his eyes reflecting my terrified expression. He reached his arm out, I flinched and stepped back on my heel. His hand followed me back, his cold fingers sending electricity shooting up my cheeks. His eyes lolled back as he squeezed them shut , I bit my lip.
" Mettaton...I really need to see Sans, please get out of my-" And then he kissed me. He felt so warm against me, my eyes found themselves closing despite my efforts. My attempt to pull away seemed to lose it's purpose as I found myself leaning into him. My mind seemed to drift, and soon enough, the cold tinge of fingers pushing me towards him seemed to disappear. My body went limp, and Mettaton broke away. As the world came back under my feet, a wave of shock drifted around my atmosphere.
"What the hell was that!?" I whispered with fire in my tongue. He grinned sheepishly, a certain glow I was unable to dis ribs completing his features.
"S-sans wanted me to do that for him, I just know he did." He stammered, turning his heel and sauntering out of the hallway. My hand softly pressed my lips, a mad heat sizzling in my cheeks. Wow. Was it bad that I had enjoyed it? Then, I remembered Sans, an open void seemed to suck the happiness right from my soul in seconds. I would have to address it with him later, for I had a duty to do. I ducked under the door.
Alphys awaited me inside. She adjusted her glasses feverishly, attempting to use it as a distraction for clearing tears from her eyes. She was obviously quite flustered.
"Neo...I know you two were close, I can leave the room i-if that would be what you w-want. " She stammered, adjusting her lab coat. I grimaced, my eyes shifted around the room, refusing to look at her.
"Yes, Alphys, that would indeed be nice. Just please, do whatever you can to at least attempt at bringing him back."
"I promise you, I will. I-I promised everyone I would try my b-best. I have never seen a case like this, and Neo, I am afraid." She mumbled, tears streaming around her face. I brought her close to my belly, cradling her into a hug. Her warmth felt good pressed against me, her petite figure fitting perfectly in between my arms. She pulled away, adjusting her glasses for a final time before exiting. We were alone, Sans and I. I swallowed my fear, tiptoeing over to the cot where Alphys had put him. He looked absolutely dreadful, just looking at him made me wish I could vomit. His lifeless eye sockets seemed almost too wide, his pupils still seemed to focus on some imaginary object. There was a long green tube running down his jaw and into his mouth, accompanied my many other tubes attached to his arms by some sort of bracelet type.
"Hey, buddy. I really wish you didn't-uh..choose to put yourself here. Papyrus is devastated, and The rest of the gang, you know, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Me...we just have not been ourselves. News will spread to Toriel soon, so hopefully she might visit you too." I shivered, an uncomfortable feeling growing at my own bittersweet words. When no response filled the empty room, I continued my speech. "But I guess you would like to talk about other things, knowing you. Uh, that evil being thing you wrote about in the note, is it real? Because we can still fix this. We can still work together with no one getting hurt, if you want to come back. And if anyone tries to hurt me..." My blaster activated, it purred as an engine would to prove my point. "..then you just have to know that I am not exactly what one would call 'helpless'. But yeah, if you want to come back, I know it will take you and Alphys a while to come up with something, so I will visit every day. Tell you the layout of the day, ya know. If you can even hear me. And I promise I will take care of everyone if you guys end up at a dead end. This isn't the end, Sans." I cupped my hands around my mouth, warm tears dribbling into my knuckle sockets. "But hey, i guess I have to look at the fun things we did. We went to Grillby's that one day, you showed me your life's work, I slept at your house once...yep, I am definitely getting a little NEO-stalgic thinking about all of the good times we have had." I chuckled through the pain, reaching out to grab hold of his hand. I just kind of sat there, holding his hand. Countless minutes went by, and silence was all I needed. Not even a peep from Nami.
I snuck under the broken door, Alphys sat up from the bench when I emerged. I kneeled down, my wet face reflecting off of my eyes. She was so afraid, so conflicted. She knew there was little she could do to save him, but that was were I came in.
"Alphys. Save his life. Do whatever you have to do." I order solemnly before turning on a heel and heading for the exit.