Papers were scattered on every surface, on everything from theoretical time travel to the nature of the soul. Sans knew that while most of these would have been written by Alphys, but some of them would be Gasters, that she was trying to decode or understand.

As they stood waiting, Sans looked over Frisk. She was clutching the locket to her chest, and staring off into the distance. Her shirt was covered in blood, from cuts that had since either healed or scabbed by now. She was covered on dirt and grime, but she seemed Determined to see this adventure through.

Alphys burst into the room.

“S-sorry to keep you waiting! It took a while to set everything up!”

Sans smiled to himself. Alphys always seemed so nervous, as though she was afraid that someone was going to tell her she did something wrong at any moment. She only ever seemed to calm down when she was doing work, or with Undyne.

She looked at Frisk, and seemed to sense her nervousness, and instantly went to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, this will all turn out fine. Neither you nor Chara will be harmed. I am merely extracting Chara’s soul from your body into a temporary vessel.”

Alphys noticed She seemed to be rubbing the heart shaped locket around her neck.

“That belonged to Chara, right?”

Frisk nodded. “It was given to her be Asriel.”

Alphys acklogeded this. “Can you ask Chara if she would like to be in it, at least for now?”

Frisk nodded again. She seemed to look deep into herself, before looking back at Alphys. “She said that would be good.” She said, pulling off the locket. “Here you go.”

Alphys led her to the lab.

“This is where you need to be.” She said, pointing to a chair on a raised platform in the middle of the room. “That’s the extraction hub. It’s where the soul, or in this case Chara, is pulled from. And this;” She heaved a heavy box covered in wires and tubes onto the table. “Is the seal. It makes sure that when Chara is put in the locket, she’s not scattered across the room.”

With that the locket was lowered into the container, the top sealed. Frisk sat in the chair, and alphys attached restraints to the arms and legs. Frisk gave a nervous start when she saw this.

“Don’t worry,” reassured Alphys. “It’s just to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. Humans tend to lose control of their arms and legs during this process.”

Frisk was still wary, but she allowed herself to be strapped in.

Alphys gave the small human one last piece of encouragement.

“When the machine comes down, there will be any lights and sounds. This will be the machine pulling out Chara. Extracting a human conscience is no easy matter. If Chara kind of pulls herself, it may help.”

With that Alphys pulled a switch, lowing a shell of a machine down around Frisk.

Sans stood back, watching.

“Are you sure the human will be okay Alph?”

Alphys nodded. “I-Im positive. There is no way either of the humans will be hurt.”

“Do you have the other thing i mentioned?”

Alphys nodded once more, pulling a glowing white liquid from her coat.

“This is the artificial soul substance. Once Chara is in the locket, this can be poured in around her.”

“And that will give her a body too, right?”

Alphys hesitated.

“Alphys… What aren't you telling me?”

Alphys started trembling.

“Th-the Artificial soul on its own is not enough to m-make a new body for her. To convince it that it needs to manifest that it needs…”

Alphys paused.

“Don’t stop Alph, what” asked Sans impatiently.

“A sliver of an actual soul.”

Sans pondered this.

“How much of one?”

Alphys ran some calculations of the lab computer.

“1/252 of a soul.”

Sans raised an eye socket.

“That’s it? “

Alphys nodded. “A soul is a powerful thing. Even a monster soul would do it.”

Sans nodded to himself, tapping ever so slightly on his chest. “We can worry about that after. For now, let's get this thing going.”

Alphys flipped some important looking switches, and both the extractor and the box lit up.

“All we can do now is wait.”

They didn’t have to wait long.