Red Echoes - Undertale (12+)

Chapter Six

Hi guys! Sorry this part was so late, I've been dealing with a lot of stress from school, and also a bit of writer's block. But I've planned out what's going to happen, so from this point on I will try to stick to a regular upload schedule. Thanks for being so patient! 😃

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Sans sighed and sat back as he finished his test. He was twelve now, and would be thirteen in a couple of weeks. He helped his dad in the lab regularly, and he loved doing it. He's aced every science test he's had since then.

A frustrated grumble came from the desk beside him. He turned his head, and the girl next to him was struggling on the last two questions. He recalled her name, Undyne. She was really enthusiastic about Phys-Ed, but not so good in the other subjects. Sans, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of her. He wasn't such a fan of gym.

Sans made sure the teacher wasn't looking, then turned his paper to the last page and slid it to the corner of his desk so she could copy. He knew people usually weren't supposed to let other people copy off their work, but Undyne needed his help. On the bright side, maybe Sans could make a new friend. At the moment, he didn't really have very many.

He turned to see what the people behind him were doing. A couple of boys at the back of the class were ripping pieces off their tests and throwing them at each other. Then one of them threw a notebook, so the teacher had to step in. (That actually happened to someone in my real life class...) Sans sighed in annoyance and turned back to his own desk.

After everyone was done, the teacher handed the tests back. Sans smiled at the A+ written at the top. The lowest mark he'd gotten in science this year was a B+, and he was really proud of his marks.

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Undyne from beside him. He looked at the top of her page, where a B+ was written on. She winked at him in thanks, and he winked back. He slipped his test into his backpack as the bell rang for the end of class.

Sans was a couple grades ahead of Papyrus, and Papyrus was still in the monster's elementary school. Sans was in the other Underground school now, which went from Grade 7 to 12, so he had to walk home without Papyrus every day until they went to the same school again.

Time seemed to drag on forever. The walk home was always so boring.

"Hey, babybones! Come over here so we can toughen you up!" One of Sans' old bullies called out as he passed. All three were still a grade above him, however they seemed to have a new member in their group. There was a girl with them now, with the same violent grin on her face.

Great. Another one. Just what I need. Sans thought. "I'm good, thanks." Sans called back sharply, and kept walking.

"Well, look who's got an attitude." One of the bullies put out his foot and tripped Sans. "Too bad we won't take no for an answer."

The bullies all surrounded Sans and began punching and kicking him. Between the blows, Sans managed to summon a few bones, but none of them were hitting his targets. Sans was still practising with his magic, and it was even harder to tell where to aim the bones when he couldn't see his opponents. After a couple minutes, the bullies backed off, laughing and high-fiving as they jogged away.

He got up slowly, holding his head, and checked his HP.

Damn it... 20 out of 100. Not the best. Sans thought, as he finished the walk home.

He arrived at the lab, and ran inside. He chatted with Papyrus for a bit, then headed back downstairs to where his father would be working in the lab. Sans' father had told him before he left this morning that today's experiment would be extra special.

"Dad, I'm home." Sans said, walking into the experiment room where his dad was working.

His father turned around. "Sans! Good. I'm almost finished the machine we'll be using."

"Machine...? I don't remember you saying anything about a machine..." Sans said, trying to recall this machine his father was talking about.

"Would you like to try it out?" His father opened the door to the tall, round machine.

"What does it do...?" Sans asked.

"It's a surprise." Sans' father winked. Sans didn't have the best feeling about this, but he stepped inside anyway.

The door closed slowly and Sans closed his eyes. What was this machine going to do to him?

Smoke poured from little cracks in the walls of the machine. Suddenly, a tingling sensation gripped Sans' entire body. He squeezed his eyes closed tight as the tingling turned into pain. He felt like all the magic was being sucked right out of him. This seemed to go on for an eternity, until the sensation finally subsided and the door creaked open. Sans took a step, and then fell to the floor, panting heavily.

"Wh... What did... What did th-that thing... D-do...?" Sans asked, trying to catch his breath.

Sans watched his father's eyes light up with happiness. "It worked!" His father yelled with excitement. "It actually worked!"

"What do you mean 'it actually worked'? You mean this was an experiment?" Sans asked sharply.

"Quick! Check your HP." Sans' father said, and Sans obeyed.

Sans' HP was now 1 out of 1.

"M-my... HP... What did you do to it?!" Sans yelled. "It was 100! Why did you take it away?!"

"Try attacking." His father responded, not even paying attention to Sans speaking.

"Attacking? Why should I? You already took my HP, are you gonna take my attacks away too?!"

"Just do it, Sans."

Sans rolled his eyes angrily, and reluctantly obeyed. But instead of bones, he summoned a creature, with a skull like a goat's. It's eyes glowed cyan blue, the same as Sans' when he did magic, and it opened it's mouth and fired a beam of white light into the air. Sans' eyes widened in shock.

"See? It's called a Gaster-Blaster." Sans' father grinned.

Sans narrowed his eyes. "I don't care! I was perfectly fine before, with just my bones! And now I have only 1 HP! What good will that do me in battle?!" He was yelling now. "You knew this would happen! You knew this would take my HP! How could you?! I trusted you!"

"Sans, li-"

"I hate you! You don't deserve to be called my dad!" Sans felt tears welling in his eyes. "You don't..." He cast one last hateful glance at his father, then ran out of the lab. He ran upstairs to his bedroom, though he shared it with Pap. Papyrus had been on the first floor colouring when Sans ran by. He looked up as Sans passed.

Sans ran to the corner of the bedroom and slid down the side of the wall, until he was sitting on the floor with his head in his knees. He sniffled, and tried to hold back the tears overflowing from his eyes. But he just couldn't. His father had betrayed him. He cried softly to himself, until the door opened and Pap came tiptoeing in. He sat beside Sans, his little body thumping gently to the floor.

"Sans?" He asked quietly. "Why are you crying?"

Sans looked up and smiled at his brother. "Don't worry Pap. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"But Sans, seeing you sad is making me get sad. I want to know what's wrong." Papyrus' cute little eye sockets filled with concern.

"It's okay, Pap. I'm fine." Sans hugged Papyrus. He didn't want him to be scared. Sans had to stay strong. For Pap.

"Are you sure?" Pap said with his little voice.

"Positive." Sans released Papyrus and looked him in the eye. "Nothing's ever going to hurt me." Sans knew that was a lie. But he had to say it. For Pap.