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Forgotten Perseverance - Chapter 5

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Prologue Previous Next

Gaster decided to take care of the injured girl. She seemed harmless, no matter if she was injured or not. If she did something, he would solve the problem himself.

By the way, Sans makes jokes at certain points in the story. Unfortunately, I don't know much about jokes, but I tried to convey his humour in the story somehow. I hope you will be understanding of his jokes.

I slept on the bed covered with a duvet. I had always been a light sleeper, so when I heard the door creak I open my eyes. In the doorway stood my father dressed in a white apron down to the ground. His typical work attire. Did I mention that Dad was a workaholic?

He could go to the lab even on weekends and sit there until noon, and then home - as if that wasn't enough - he would bring paperwork.   

Sometimes he would sit with us, playing if he didn't have a project on his mind. Most of the time it was me who took care of Papyrus - we coloured together, did homework, played in the snow.   

I looked at my father with sleepy eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the watch on the dresser. The hands pointed to a few minutes past six.   

Dad walked over to my bed and sat down next to me. In turn, I managed to lean my back against the wall.   

"I would like you to take care of Papyrus and Katharina today," said father.   

Then I thought how he could ask me to do that. I was supposed to take care of a human who was a potential threat to us. I was furious with him and made no secret of it.   

"I don't understand why I should take care of her at all. If she doesn't die from her wounds the king will kill her," I replied coldly, without looking at my father.  

 Yes, I disrespected my father. I resented him for saving the human. I wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible from here.   

I felt my father's stern gaze on me. He didn't like my expression. Now that I look back on it, I don't blame him. I said terrible things.   

"Sans, I understand your concerns. I have similar ones myself, but the girl is injured. If something were to happen you would be able to handle her without a problem" replied father, standing up. "And as for the king, I am sure he will understand the situation. Maybe there is another solution than killing" He walked to the door, and was about to leave. "I hope that you will too." He added on his way out.   

How did I feel then?   

I was frustrated by it all. I didn't understand my father's actions and I was sure, although I didn't know the king personally at the time, that he would kill Katharina anyway.  I thought that he would have no mercy by having people take his children from him. I didn't take into account that the father as well as the king might have thought otherwise.  

I hated people because of what Bravery was like. I took into account only him despite the fact that people before him were not so wrong.   

Katharina gave me no reason to hate her, at first I could not accept that she was different. I had the blindfolds. I did not see the girl's fear. I only saw what I wanted to see.   

After my father left I settled down to sleep again. Paps got up around nine o'clock or even later at weekends, so I had plenty of time to make breakfast.

Only thoughts swirled around my head not allowing me to sleep. My father's words hurt me to a certain extent. Even then I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing. I was too stubborn to admit to myself that the girl was not a threat.   

I wrestled with my thoughts for a long time, and remorse wouldn't let me sleep. Maybe I had reacted too harshly?   

I looked at my watch again. It indicated half past eight. Somehow I saw no point in continuing to sleep, or rather trying to. I crawled lazily out of bed. I sat down on its edge, stretching. My bones ached a few times. A new day had to begin.

...  

Dressed I went downstairs. Katharina was lying on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. She was asleep. I didn't even go up to her, but headed for the kitchen with the intention of making pancakes. Although it may come as a surprise I could cook. I didn't always dine at Grillbi's or his father Netsu's. I went to Netsu's bar occasionally. Usually when I didn't want to make meals.   

I made breakfast quickly and efficiently. I also prepared a few more pancakes for Kath, but I did this out of remorse and a desire not to let his father down than out of concern.   

By the time I finished it was getting to nine o'clock, so I headed to my brother's room to wake him up. I quickly found myself at Papyrus' bedroom, skipping up the stairs two steps at a time. I didn't even knock just opened the door wide, letting the light into the room. I heard quiet murmurs of displeasure. The room was illuminated by the faint glow of lamps from the corridor. The outlines of Paps' bed, desk and a few cupboards appeared in the darkness. I turned towards the window with the intention of letting in more light. However, something stopped me, more specifically the scattered books. I stumbled over them and landed on the floor with a bang.   

Suddenly the light came on and I heard my brother's voice.  

"What are you doing?" he asked, yawning.   

"Educating myself," I said, standing up. It may not have been the joke of all time, but it was enough to make Paps nervous. Sometimes... Well, okay. I always made jokes to annoy him. Then he would pretend he wasn't amused by my jokes, trying to hold back a smile. I had a lot of fun in the process, seeing his poor efforts. He was then funnier than my rusks.   

"They are awful!" announced Papyrus, getting up abruptly from the bed. I massaged my skull, heading towards the door.    

"Since you're up, let's go to breakfast" I replied, opening the door. "I made pancakes."

At the word pancakes Papyrus was already in the corridor. My brother was even fond of pancakes with strawberry jam. They were a good way of getting Paps out of bed. I made them every other weekend. This one I decided to make an exception because of a recent rather unusual experience.  

"Are you coming?" shouted Papyrus from the top of the stairs.  Well my little brother wasn't too quiet, so I figured he had also woken Katharina up with his morning screams.

"Yes, just don't run up the stairs," I admonished him, leaving the room. As usual it was of no use, because after a while I heard him running down to the ground floor.  Like a pea against the wall... Going downstairs, I wondered when Papyrus would start listening to me. The paradox was that if he had listened to me and stayed at home, I would have done something to Katharina that I might have regretted later. To think that by my brother's disobedience we had saved this girl's life.   

"SANS! Hurry!" Pap shouted from the kitchen. As a kid he was always in a hurry to go somewhere, especially to breakfast.

"Put out the plates and I'll wake up our guest," I replied.   

Paps and I had been behaving terribly loudly for some time, and the girl didn't even react. A normal person would have woken up some time ago, but she was still asleep. Either she was in such a deep sleep or something is wrong. With this thought, I walked the distance between the stairs and the couch.   

Katharina was lying on the couch covered up to her head with a blanket. I couldn't see her face because her hair was covering it. Something didn't feel right here.   

"Hey, get up" I crouched down by the sofa. I brushed a few strands off her forehead. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a strange grimace and her cheeks were slightly flushed. As if that wasn't enough she was breathing fast with a slight effort. "Are you all right? "

"C-cold" she said with difficulty, covering herself with the blanket. I touched her forehead. She had a fever and a high one at that.   

"F$ck" I said briefly. Fever and chills boded badly, especially in a person whose body I knew nothing about.   

"SANS! What are you doing?" Papyrus asked, looking out of the kitchen. I looked at him. I must have looked worried because he responded immediately. - Big brother, what's going on? "

"I need to call my dad" I said, standing up. I walked over to the cabinet by the other side of the couch. I reached for the phone, dialing the number for Dad's lab. "Kath has a fever. "

I heard three beeps... Nothing... I called the number again... Nothing... I was annoyed. My father didn't answer. He probably didn't hear the ringtone, muted it. I couldn't wait. I had to do something. I gave the phone to Paps and told him to dial the number until it rang. Bro listened to me, and in the meantime I went running to the kitchen. Katharina had a high fever, so it had to be brought down somehow. The only thing that came to my mind was ice. I took a towel and took the ice out of the freezer. I wrapped my ankles in the towel, heading towards the living room. I put the compress on the girl's forehead. I didn't know what to do next. I didn't have the faintest idea what could be wrong with her. This... I knew a lot about anatomy, I may not have been a top student, but I knew the basics. But as far as people were concerned I knew absolutely nothing, maybe some residual information. There wasn't much of that. All I could do was sit and wait for my father to kindly tear himself away from his work.    

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long for an answer. As soon as my father picked up Paps handed me the phone. I walked away from him a piece. If it turned out that she was going to die I wanted to relieve him of that somehow. I surprised myself that I cared about her after all. Papyrus took an instant liking to this girl. Somehow at the time I did not want to contribute to her death.   

"What is it, son?" asked the father quickly. From the background I heard some calling, shouting... I was surprised. Dad didn't like working in a hectic environment.   

"Dad, are you OK?" I asked uncertainly. What was going on there?  

"Sans, if you were just calling for...." he didn't finish because he was interrupted by a bang, and after a while I heard the screams of Doctor Resma. She was a cat-like monster with bluish fur. She also worked as my father's subordinate together with Mr Timo the human-like green monster and Dr Tarel, who was a big white head.   

There were other scientists working in the lab in Hotland, but these monsters belonged to my dad's team of royal scientists. Ah... I would almost skip Saere. The young monster looked like a pink lizard with no arms. She mostly wore plaid shirts. She was, as Ms Resma put it, "a person with potential", so it was no surprise that she became her assistant.... And she was only three years older than me!    

Good! Let's better get back to the story before I lose the thread.  

After the situation at my father's had quietened down for a short while, he came back to me. "Son, we have a little problem here and if it's nothing important.... "

"Katharina has a high fever and chills" I interrupted my father. He fell silent. On the other side I could only hear the sounds of running and someone's calls. After a short while, my father answered me.  

"Sans, listen to me. Try to bring her fever down. You have to make sure that her temperature doesn't exceed 40 degrees and that it doesn't drop too much," my father said calmly, but I could sense the uncertainty in his voice. I didn't know what was wrong with her and I was in no way reassured by my father's statement. "I will try to come back as soon as possible. "

"OK, I'll take care of her" I looked at the girl and at Paps standing next to her. She really didn't look well. "But what's wrong with her?"  

"Sepsis" that's all I heard in reply. I didn't really understand what he meant. Paps must have realised that I didn't know what it was, because after a while he added. - I will explain it to you later.   

After that he hung up, and there was nothing left for me to do but follow his advice and wait. I put the phone down on the table and sat down on the floor next to the sofa. Papyrus was sitting close to Kath, watching her with a worried face. As soon as I sat down it was Paps who looked at me, anticipating any response.   

"Dad said we should do her compresses and he'll try to get back as soon as possible,' I said scratching the back of my skull." But something happened in the lab, so I don't know how long it will take him.   

The youngster said nothing but returned his gaze to the girl. You could read from Papyrus like an open book. He cared about the girl and wanted to help her somehow, but he didn't know how. I felt sorry for him. That sad look on his face made me feel guilty, even though I had not contributed to the girl's illness in any way. Maybe the very realisation that I wanted her to die made my conscience seize up.   

"Bro, don't worry," I said, and Paps looked at me. "'I'm sure our father will help her. He is a royal scientist after all " 

A small smile began to appear on my little brother's face, which after a while turned into a big grin, and his eyes flashed orange.   

"You're right! Father manages everything," he said, standing up abruptly. I shuddered at his impulsiveness. "I can help too!"

He said and ran to the floor. He skipped up a few steps at a fast pace and disappeared behind the door of his room. I stared at him the whole time, wondering what had hatched in that little skull of his. I soon found out, because just a few minutes later he was standing next to the sofa, holding a teddy bear - his favourite mascot - in his hands. He had received it when he was less than two years old from his father. He slept with it every night. He surprised me by bringing it.

"Mr Candy supported me when I was ill, so Kath will help too," Papyrus said proudly, puffing out his chest proudly. I smiled. Paps could be really corny at times like this. And how could anyone not like him?  

My bro placed the toy next to the girl's head. The plushie's head tilted slightly, peeling against the armrest of the sofa.  Paps sat down next to the girl on the sofa. I looked at him and suddenly, as if someone had cracked a whip, I remembered my breakfast. I had also forgotten about my hunger. But now he was making himself known with redoubled force.  

"Papy, there's no point in both of us sitting here. You'd better go have breakfast," I said to my brother. He immediately got up without stammering and went to the kitchen.   

I thought he would eat there, but my brother can surprise. He came into the living room with a plate of pancakes in one hand, and in the other he held the plates, and on them stood the jam.   

I smiled slightly. Sometimes my brother could surprise me. He sat down next to me on the floor and we ate pancakes together. In the meantime, I changed Kath's wrap.   

"Sans, will you get me some water?" asked the teenager weakly.

"Sure, I'm coming," I said, getting up.  

When I was in the kitchen I heard Papyrus talking to the girl. I could mostly hear my brother. Kath was probably nodding weakly.  

I picked up a glass and poured water into it. I was back in the living room with the water when the door swung open abruptly, letting the cold wind in. I looked together with Paps in that direction. 

"Daddy!" said Paps, running up to his father.

Paps had just managed to close the door when the youngster hugged him.

"Yes, Papyrus I'm happy to see you too," said his father, hugging Paps. "And now we'll take care of Katharina," added the father, looking at me.  

Papyrus moved away from dad, and he followed me into the living room. Katharina, who until then had not reacted to anything, raised her head with an effort. However, she immediately lowered it. With her fever and general weakness, even this was too much effort for her.  

Gaster approached her, putting his briefcase down next to the sofa.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, crouching down beside her. "Where are you in pain?"

The girl did not really respond to her father's words. The fever must have been tormenting her.  

After a while Papyrus stood up, looking for something in his bag.

"Papyrus bring a medical bag, not a first aid bag," said the father, without even looking at him.  

Paps immediately ran upstairs to his father's office. I didn't understand what his purpose was when Paps took a syringe and a vial with a strange substance out of the bag after a while.

"What is this?" I asked. "And why did you make him go upstairs?"

"These are antibiotics," said my father calmly, pushing the clear liquid with the syringe. "And I have something strengthening in my medical bag" he added, checking for air in the syringe."Can you help me?" I nodded. "Roll up her shirt sleeve" 

I did as he instructed and it was over. Literally a moment later Papyrus ran down the stairs carrying a first aid kit in his hands. Bro placed it on the table where the plates still stood. 

"Paps, go wash the plates," I said to him. Surprisingly he took them without the slightest objection. This was completely unlike him. Perhaps he was beginning to be responsible?  

At this time my father took another substance out of the medical bag. It was a strange green colour. I don't know if I thought it, but this substance was flickering.

"Are you administering magic to her?" I asked. "Will this not harm her?"

"As perceptive as ever" said the father, handing Katharina the medicine. "Magic does not harm people. Now people have residual amounts of magic in them. They used to have more of it, but over the years they have forgotten how to use it. Increasing the concentration of magic will help purify her blood."

"Why should it purify her blood? Is it related to that sepsis you mentioned earlier?" I asked. At the time I didn't know much, or rather at all, about the human body. I didn't know how magic was supposed to help her. 

My father put the syringe back in the medicine cabinet. Only now did I see what he looked like. He was wearing a slightly smeared apron and in some places it was torn. This sight heightened my growing sense of curiosity. What had happened in the laboratory? However, I doubted he would answer me now, if at all.

"Sepsis is a bacterial or viral infection of the blood. With all sorts of infections, microorganisms enter the bloodstream. If the body cannot cope with them there is a general infection of the body," the father explained. "Sometimes it occurs in monsters with corporeal shells, but it does not occur in skeletons."

"I guess sepsis can't get under our skin," I said. 

Father looked at me, smiling slightly. After a moment Papyrus ran into the room with a large bag. He placed it next to father on the table. Dad opened it and looked through some vials of medicine. I didn't really know what was in them.  

I preferred not to disturb my father, so I took Papyrus upstairs. Little brother had to do his homework eventually. It was a bit difficult to drag him away, but his father's support helped.  

We sat together in my brother's room. We were doing maths homework. As Papyrus put it the greatest bane of the Underground. He simply hated it, even though he did well in it. 

After an hour we were down to the last assignment. However, there was one thing that did not give me peace of mind. And that was Katharina. I didn't mean her health. That was a completely different tale. I was more concerned with what would happen to her now. Would she stay with us? I didn't know anything yet at the time.  

Although by then I had already started to have doubts.  

She may have been with us for less than two days, but she had done nothing to make me worry, even though she was unconscious most of the time. Above all, her father had decided to take her in himself. He wouldn't do something like that if Kath was dangerous. And then something came to my mind. King Asgore.  

I jumped off the chair like a scalded man.

"What happened to you?" asked a confused Paps. 

"I just remembered something" I said, walking towards the door. "I need to talk to dad" I added opening the door. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the youngster make a victory gesture. Oh it's not that easy with me. "Finish this task and I'll check it later" I said closing the door. I didn't even have to turn around because I knew he wasn't happy about it.  

I went down the stairs. The father was no longer with the teenager. Instead, she was standing next to her with an IV. I thought she was probably in the kitchen and I was not mistaken. Dad was sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

"Her condition had improved. She'll recover in a few days" Gaster said as soon as I entered the room. I wanted to say that he was wrong.... But he was right. I silently pushed back my chair and sat down. Gaster took another sip of coffee. I ostensibly wanted to ask him how the King thing was going, but I didn't want it to come out that I was worried about it. I guess he guessed that I had no small problem with it, because after a moment of silence he added. "I spoke to the king. I told him the situation. And he agreed that the girl could stay with us...."

"But? "

The father sighed heavily. You could see that this matter was bothering him terribly. 

"If she does something suspicious then..." He fell silent. Father looked at me. He was anxious. "I am then to solve the problem" he finished grimly.

I knew what he meant. He meant that he would have to be the one to kill Katharina. Yes father had killed a man before. It was Bravery, but it was in self-defence. Two completely different things. I don't know if Father could ever kill a defenceless person.  

After that we both didn't speak. We felt quite uncomfortable in the situation. However, the silence was broken by Paps' loud voice coming from the living room.

"And how are you feeling Katharina?" 

"A little better" I barely heard her.

Paps got up and moved towards the living room. After a while I followed his footsteps. Kath was sitting on the sofa, tightly wrapped in a blanket. She was still pale and her cheeks were flushed, but she was conscious. She smiled weakly at the sight of her father.

"Good morning," she replied. 

"It is good to see that you are feeling better" said the father, smiling slightly. I leaned against the door frame. I preferred to watch them from a distance. 

"YES! Mr Candy certainly helped you with taht!" replied Papyrus, sitting down next to the girl. Quite quickly she realised that he was talking about the teddy bear that was lying next to her. She took it in her hands, hugging it.

"You're right, his help was indispensable," she said.

"NYEH HEH HEH" 

Eh... That's when I really started to doubt my rationale. Thanks to her, Papyrus is smiling. The father is at home. He's not trying to get home at all costs. I seriously didn't know what to think about her. Maybe I should give her a chance? After all, her father did, and he couldn't be wrong.  

I walked slowly over to the couch. 

"Are you hungry?" I asked, leaning with my hands against the back of the sofa.

She turned to me. She was looking straight at me with those violet eyes of hers. For a moment I thought they shone.

" I'm sorry, but I'm not hungry just Katharina" she said smiling slightly. Well... I have to admit that I didn't expect something like this. Either she's trying to befriend me or.... And let my suspicions run wild! I laughed along with my father, and Papy, as Papy does, scoffed.

"DAD! SANS INFECTED KATHARINA WITH A BAD SENSE OF HUMOUR!"  

I couldn't stand it and neither could my father and Kath. We laughed and Paps, even more upset, got up abruptly from the sofa and started stomping his foot.  

This sight was really disjointed. It was only after a good minute that we calmed down.

"OK, now for the serious stuff," Paps began, heading towards the kitchen. "He'll take care of dinner. "

I sat down next to them on the sofa, taking the remote control in my hand.

"Then why don't we watch something?" I asked, turning on the TV. 

"YES! HOW ABOUT 'MR ARIS AND HIS FRIENDS'?" suggested the youngster. 

Kath just shrugged her shoulders. I didn't care either, so we turned on 'Mr Aris and His Friends'. A children's series about the adventures of a monster dog and his friends. One of the few series that flew on Underground Television. Yes, we had a studio in Hotland, but.... There weren't many people willing to run programmes. There were a few cooking programmes, science programmes and children's cartoons. We also created fake films that went underground. You're probably familiar with 'A Christmas Story'? In ours, instead of Ebenezer Scrooge, there is a spider called Sting Y. Freak. The story was the same as the original, but the names of the characters were changed. And there was no connection to religion. There were a few more films like this e.g. Lone Alone at Home.  

But there was still an anime broadcast. It had different stories depending on the genre, so there was something for everyone. There weren't many of them flying on TV, because you had to find a whole season on the Dump and see if it worked. One of the anime I happened to watch was 'Sailor Moon'. A story about a girl who turns into a moon heroine and saves the world from evil. This one... I only watched one episode, not even to the end. In my opinion it was too girly.  

Coming back to the rest of the day, it passed in a nice, friendly atmosphere. My father prepared broth for dinner. Although he cooked infrequently, the soup turned out well. We watched some more television. We talked about everything from TV programmes to interesting books.  

I didn't even notice when it was evening. There was some kind of adventure film on the TV, I don't remember much what kind. I was already tired. I looked at my brother. He was sleeping cuddled up with Kath and she was cuddled up with him. It was a really sweet sight.

"I'd better take him to bed," my father said, turning off the TV.  

When Dad put Paps down in his bed, he stopped in the doorway of my room. I looked up at him. My eye sockets were closing from exhaustion. I had the feeling that I could fall asleep standing up.  

"I'm proud of you son" my father said, closing my bedroom door.  

This really made me swoon. Dad said he was proud of me. In that moment I felt happy. I know he loved me, but he rarely said such words to me. THAT made me happy. Maybe giving this girl a chance isn't such a bad idea? I thought, going to bed.