So here is the next chptr.

College is starting back up again the day after this is being posted,
so I don't know when the next one will come.

But fear not,
I am determined to finish this!


The early morning air was bitter cold as Gaster walked and it scratched at his face with the frozen water droplets that fell. Maybe the weather somehow knew where he was going and this was its way of scolding him. Gaster didn't believe in such things honestly, but he also never believed it possible to creating a human soul so it was up for debate.

One thing Gaster did believe in, though, was that if Grillby ever found out that he was not actually going to go see a doctor but to the lab he would be better off as dust. Gaster didn't like lying to the flame monster, but the skeleton knew that no monster in any medical field would be able to help him in his… condition. No, this problem he had to solve on his own and with a scientific approach.

So after dropping his sons off at Grillby's, Gaster made his way to the labs. Grillby had asked why he was leaving so early but when Gaster had responded with that it was the doctor's only opening it calmed the worry and suspicion the flame monster had. Mentally sighing in relief that Grillby had not questioned his response further Gaster finally made it to the lab.

It was still early, really early, so none of the other scientists would be arriving yet. Though technically this was his lab, Gaster was still on leave for his injuries and was still forbidden from coming to the lab by Grillby. So stealthy and secrecy was a must on this mission of his.

After entering the lab and making it to his office Gaster was welcomed with a tiring sight as the lights came on. His office was in complete shambles, debris from the explosion lay all over, the walls were scorched and stained with a black substance, notes were askew and burnt, and the machine lay broken on its counter and didn't even remotely look like it once had.

"Of course no one would take a moment of their time to clean this mess up." Gaster said as he turned away from the mess and towards another door. The mess could be dealt with later; Gaster had more important things to worry about.

Walking through a door that led to his smaller private lab, Gaster flipped on the light switched and watched as the room was bathed in a dimly glow from the ceiling. The room wasn't too big but was filled compactly with objects. On one side of the room stood three tall cylinder tanks filled to the brim with a brightly glowing purple liquid. The other half of the room was covered in tables, counter tops, cabinets, and other various scientific items and tools. There was also a fridge on the far wall that Gaster kept to house his snacks and the food that Grillby made for him.

Taking a step towards the tubes, Gaster glances down at one of the monitors that read the stats and information of the purple liquid. This liquid had been one of Gaster's biggest achievements as well as failures. It was an achievement because of the fact that this glowing and bubbling liquid was Determination in a solid form, but it was also a failure as Gaster had no real use for the stuff. He truly only made this on a whim and wanted to see if Determination could take a solid form, but beyond that it served no real purpose.

Until now.

After seeing that the Determination, or DT for short, was stable, Gaster called forth his soul. Once manifested before him Gaster gazed down at the human soul that seemed to be resting inside his own. It appeared to be comfortably sleeping and undisturbed by the fact that Gaster had summoned it or that it was now cupping in his hands.

A smile formed on Gaster's face but it quickly faltered. A human soul, though highly resilient, needed more than his magic to sustain itself. It needed determination, something that monsters lacked greatly in, and it needed a body. The latter of the two was still a work in progress but the first Gaster thought he had a solution for.

"Maybe this stuff will finally have a purpose other than just sitting here." Gaster said as pressed a button on the monitor and it made a slot pop out on the side of the DT tank. The slot was used to transfer items into the DT or extract the liquid to use in tests… It was also conveniently big enough for the small human soul to slip into. If Gaster's plan worked, and by god he hoped it did, the soul should survive better in the DT than in his soul and magic.

Turning back to the souls in his hand, Gaster gentle stroked his own in hopes of rousing the human soul inside it. It didn't seem to be working so figuring he had nothing else to try Gaster tried talking to it. He knew the soul could hear his thoughts but Gaster hadn't thought of trying to communicate with it that way. Anything was worth a shot at this point.

'Wake up little one,' Gaster thought as he smiled down at the tiny red heart. 'It's time to get up.'

The soul gave a sort of shudder movement, which made Gaster shiver, before moving around and appearing to look up at him. Gaster gave the soul a warm smile as he motioned with his free hand to the tube in front of him.

"This is where you will need to stay," Gaster said as the soul turned to look at the vat of purple liquid. "My soul won't be able to house you much longer with how much magic you are draining me of. Besides, magic is not a great substitute for determination."

Gaster could sense the soul's confusion, but he also felt fear ripple through it. The soul had understood when Gaster had said it needed to stay in the tub and that terrified it. The soul felt safe inside Gaster's and thinking of leaving it made it shake. Feeling both the movement and fear the soul made, Gaster ran his thumb over the surface of his soul.

"Do not worry, I promised nothing would happen to you and I intend to keep it." Gaster said to reassure the soul, though he also feared that he may not be able to keep that promise. "This will be far safer for you and me than staying in my soul."

The soul seemed hesitant, still shaking as it stared up at the imposing tube of purple liquid, but with what looked like a glance at Gaster it slowly fazed through his soul. The tendril that connected them suddenly faded away and Gaster found himself letting out a sigh. No longer being connected, Gaster suddenly felt more energized now that he wasn't sharing his magic. Allowing his soul to fade away he gently grasped the human soul. Moving it to the opened slot Gaster was about to put it in when the soul suddenly jumped out of his hands and floated over to his cheek.

It shook violently and Gaster, though no longer connected to the soul, still could sense the fear in it. Fear was literally radiating off the human soul; fear of fading away. But he could also feel that endless supply of Determination, determination to live, right behind that fear and Gaster gave a reassuring smile. Reaching up to the soul Gaster moved it away from his cheek and held it out so that it was looking at him.

"Trust me." Was all Gaster could think to say, but even then in his mind it still wasn't enough. How could this little soul trust him when even he was unsure?

But it seemed to be just the thing the soul needed to hear as it didn't fight Gaster this time as he placed it in the slot. Giving it one more smile, Gaster pressed a button on the monitor and the slot shut with a shunk. Once closed, the slot deposited the soul into the DT and it floated in the purple liquid slowly.

'So far so good.' Gaster thought as the soul stopped in the middle of the glass tube. It turned left and right, as if to get a look at its new home, but suddenly gave a startling shake. Smile now completely gone, Gaster watched as the soul began to pulsate and the DT around it began to glow even brighter. Terror now filled his soul as Gaster could do nothing but watch as the soul went into a panic state and shook violently.

Looking down at the monitor, Gaster saw that the DT's chemical compound was changing and the tanks temperature was rising. Looking back the soul Gaster let out a shocked gasp as the soul was now producing a white light and so was the DT. Taking a step back Gaster only had a split second to cover his face as the light became much too bright and cascaded the whole room in its brilliance.

Gaster fearfully thought the soul had exploded or disintegrated in the DT as the light blinded him. He had failed this soul and couldn't keep his promise, even worse was that it was his fault he basically killed it! As the light began to fade Gaster was afraid to look at the tank, knowing he would see nothing inside it, but once the light was dim enough to where he could see and Gaster dared himself to look he saw that his prediction was not what he had feared.

The soul was still there in the tube, thankfully, and seemed unharmed by the strange light show but the DT had changed. The DT in the tube was now a brilliant Camelot blue that sparkled and glowed. The soul seemed just as shocked as Gaster was as it moved around the tube, as if to see if it was really alive, and when the scientist placed his hand on the tube the soul moved towards it instinctively.

"That… was too close for comfort." Gaster said as he let out a heavy sigh. That was way too close.

The soul appeared to be fine in the DT and the monitor didn't detect any new anomalies so that put Gaster's mind to ease. Moving his hand away, the scientist watched as the human soul floated around to explore its new surroundings. It didn't seem to be in pain which was a good thing, though what just happen was a mystery to Gaster.

'Maybe it has something to do with the DT being in contact with a soul?' Gaster thought as he walked over to a counter and picked up a clipboard and began to jot down notes as he returned to the vat. 'Or possibly the reaction had something with the soul itself, seeing as it isn't a naturally made soul?'

Turning back to the soul, Gaster let a smile cross his face. The soul appeared to have gone into a recharge state as it floating calmly in the middle of the cylinder tube; the red light it gave off pulsated in a way that Gaster couldn't help but think was its way of snoring. Setting his pen down, Gaster placed his hand back on the glass. Rubbing his thumb over the smooth and cool surface, the scientist felt something he hadn't felt since he first started working on the core.

He felt determined. Determined to do everything in his power to keep this human soul alive and out of danger. The thought of keeping it safe filled Gaster with so much determination his body shook. This human soul was special, and Gaster would do everything in his power to make sure no harm came to it and that it didn't fall into the hands of those who would use it wrongly.

He was determined to keep this promise.


.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


A month has passed and Gaster has found himself in a rather new and enjoyable routine.

He was allowed back in the labs a week after finding the human soul, much to the annoyance of Grillby, and he no longer has to sneak in. Gaster also now leaves an hour earlier for work, to give him some time to spend with and observe the human soul, and because of this Sans and Papyrus now get dropped off at Grillby's in the morning. They don't mind, both of Gaster's sons adore Grillby, and the fire monster says it is no trouble watching over the boys until it is time for them to go to daycare.

After this, Gaster stays in his personal lab and interacts with the human soul until the other scientists arrive. Gaster mostly checks on the soul's vitals and replenishes the tank's DT, and as he does this he usually strikes up a conversation. True, it is mostly a one sided conversation, but Gaster knows the soul is listening and sometimes he does get a response. It is usually in the form of a pulse of light or even on rare occasions… feelings.

Though it cannot speak, Gaster can sometimes feel what the soul is feeling. He isn't sure how these feelings are being shared, and he wonders if the soul knows or not, but the best way Gaster can describe them is that possible the human soul and him have some form of bond. Maybe it had to do something with how the soul was created or just simply the fact that it had attached itself to him in the beginning, Gaster wasn't sure. But every time he brings up certain things he always gets different responses.

Whenever he brings up the topic of the core and its construction, the soul sends him the feeling of being bored. If Gaster talks about the other scientists and their endeavors, the soul reacts with curiosity. The topic of Grillby and his sons is when Gaster feels the most emotions from the soul as he can sense both interest and wonder, hints of enjoyment and content, but the emotion Gaster can make out the best from the soul is love.

Gaster had never seen anything with so much love in it; the soul was almost literally overflowing with the emotion alongside its determination. Whenever he talks about how Sans and Papyrus play together or how he and Grillby just sit down and talk, the human soul radiates with love. Gaster finds himself liking the way he and soul can somehow share their emotions and so he talks more and more each passing day.

Today though… Gaster finds that there is this emptiness in this bond he shares with the soul.

Looking up from his notes and pausing in his story of how Papyrus had drawn all over Sans' skull in crayons, Gaster turned to the soul with concern. It had not once sent him any form of emotion during the conversation and that worried him. Talking of his sons always made the human soul active, but now it appeared to not even be slightly listening. Walking over to it glass tank, Gaster saw how the soul seemed to limply floating in the DT tank. Its glow wasn't as bright and Gaster could barely make out the pulse it gave off.

Pressing a hand to the glass, Gaster could feel his level of concern rising. The soul always leaned into his touch, even if the glass separated them, and seeing it not even moving an inch towards him was startling. Looking down at the monitor, Gaster saw that the DT levels were stable but it was the information on the soul was troubling. Not long after having transferred the soul into the DT tank, Gaster had modified the monitors to keep track of the soul's health and stats. And right now what he was looking at was not good.

The soul's HP level had dropped and though it wasn't at a worrying number it did bring up some concerns.

What could be the reason for the soul's sudden drop in HP? No physical harm had come to it, Gaster was more than positive on that, and all of its other states were fine. So what could have made it…?

"You're dying…" Gaster said as he turned back to the soul but still it did not react. It wasn't unheard of when older or sick monsters were about to die or Fall Down as it was called, for their HP levels to suddenly drop for no reason. So when this information came to mind, Gaster wondered what reason would bring the human soul to be close to Falling Down.

And then it hit him. It hit him like a slap to the face. How could he forget about something like that?! How could he be such a fool?! How could he let that slip his mind?! In all this time since he had brought the soul to his lab how could he forget the one thing every soul, monster or human, needed?!

"You need a body." Gaster said as he dropped his notes, no longer interested in what he had been working on. "You cannot survive without one."

Honestly, Gaster was shocked now that he thought about it; shocked that the soul had lasted this long. The soul had survived almost a month and a half without a body and something told him that human souls weren't supposed to do that. Human souls last much longer outside the body than monsters', but Gaster knew it shouldn't be this long. Something had allowed this soul some extra time before expiring, but what it was he didn't know.

Pressing his other hand to the glass, Gaster stared down at the small soul and found his own clench up. After everything he had done to keep this human soul alive, something as simple as not having a body was going to be its end… okay, maybe it wasn't as simple as Gaster thought. Forming his hand into a fist, Gaster slammed it on the glass in irritation and startling the soul enough to wake it from it dying slumber.

Feeling how he had frightened it, Gaster regained his composure and pressed his forehead to the glass.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you." Gaster said as the soul slowly moved closer to him. It sent him the feeling of concern and comfort, obviously trying to calm Gaster down, but all it did was make Gaster feel even more upset. This little soul wanted nothing more than for Gaster to be happy, even though it was Gaster's fault for its current state. The soul should be angry with him, but it wasn't.

The soul, though obviously in pain, didn't want Gaster to be worried about it and was trying to comfort him. It was Gaster's forgetfulness that was going to be the soul's downfall, and yet it used what little energy it had to worry about him. Even with its death looming over it, the soul was concerned for Gaster and not its own wellbeing.

What did Gaster ever do to deserve this precious little life's concern?

Letting a sigh escape him, Gaster closed his eye sockets. He could remember a time when he asked himself the very same question once before, but that had been a long time ago and in a different situation. Surprisingly the outcome to that had been strikingly similar to the one Gaster found himself in now. In that one though, Gaster couldn't do anything about it… but maybe in this one he could.

Opening his sockets, Gaster found the soul was pressing itself into the glass and trying as best it could to be close to him. Raising his hand up to the spot where the soul was Gaster made another promise. And he hoped to whatever god or deity there was out there that he would be able to keep this one without any complications.

"I will make you a body. I don't know how but I will… I promise."


.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


Another month passed and during that time the soul was worse for wears. Its HP levels kept dropping and Gaster, though try as he might, could not stop it. The red glow it gave off, once a vibrant and brilliant light was now a flickering candlelight; ready to be blown out at any moment. Small cracks had started to form on the heart and Gaster had lost count how many times he had used his magic to seal them.

Gaster had found that his magic gave the soul a boost of energy but it was only a short lived one. The magical pick-me-ups only lasted half the day and the soul would just revert back to being pretty much lifeless by the time Gaster had to leave the labs. Because of this, Gaster started giving the soul some of his magic at night instead before leaving for home; in fear of the soul fading with him away.

It was a waste of his magic, it did little good in the long run, but Gaster could care less. If it allowed the soul a few pain free hours and maybe a little more time, than he would use his magic. But as the days rolled on, Gaster found that the soul was getting weaker despite how much of his magic he gave. It also left him feeling a bit drained himself from how often he was using his magic.

Though Gaster gave himself a pat on the back for how well he acted like nothing was wrong around his sons and Grillby. Sans had only asked about his wellbeing three times and Grillby only seven. That, in Gaster's mind, was a win in his books. Usually Sans and Grillby knew when Gaster was troubled by something, hence why they asked if he was alright, but he had managed to put up a pretty convincing act and it seemed to put the two at ease… somewhat.

Sans, since he was a child, was a bit easier to fool but not Grillby. Though the fire monster had stopped asking, Gaster could see that he was still concerned. His body language was a dead giveaway.

Grillby normally had this calm and relaxed posture but when something was troubling him or he was agitated his body went more rigor and stiff. His flames also changed in color to fit his moods. His normal colors were bright oranges and yellows, but when he was angry it durned a darker color of red-orange and hints of blue when he was sad or concerned.

Gaster would swear that he knew Grillby better than the fire monster knew himself sometimes. And the scientist knew that Grillby knew him just as well. Apparently, from what Grillby had told him, Gaster would wring his hands into and out of fists when he was worried.

And it was because of this that Gaster found himself sitting on Grillby's couch with his sons playing on the floor while the fire monster prepared dinner. After coming back from the labs, and having to give the human soul a larger amount of his magic, Gaster had gone to Grillby's house to pick his sons up, but the moment the fire monster say how exhausted he was leaving without dinner was not an option.

Gaster at first had protest, saying how he had to get his sons home, Sans was getting behind in his studies, but when Grillby pointed out his little hand quirk he knew that he lost the battle. And knowing Grillby he would want to talk about what was troubling him after dinner.

Truthfully, Gaster did want to talk to someone about his problems. The human soul, though not intentionally meaning to, was draining him and as the days progressed it seemed as though he would not be able to solve the problem of giving it a body to inhabit. Talking to someone would take a lot of his chest and possibly have someone who could help him in his endeavors but…

The fear of someone bringing harm to the soul just because it was a human one was much too great and it squashed any thought of Gaster bringing someone into his little secret. Some monsters' hate for humans was so immense that Gaster wouldn't be surprised that if he told the wrong person that he would wake up one day to find an empty DT tank or hear news of the king having obtained human soul.

So Gaster would keep this to himself. No matter how tiring and draining it would be Gaster would keep the human soul a secret for as long as he could. It would be his burden to bear and his alone.

"Daddy?"

At hearing the sound of his son's voice it pulled Gaster out of his musing. Looking down at the floor Gaster saw that Sans was staring up at him with a concerned expression while Papyrus continued to play with the little toy car. Sans, unknown to Gaster, had been watching his father for the better half of an hour and could sense something was bothering him.

"Are you okay?"

'Well, make that four times he's asked me now.' Gaster thought to himself as he pulled on the most reassuring smile he had.

"I am." Gaster said as he reached over and ran his hand over his son's head. "Don't worry, it's nothing concerning. Just thinking about work is all."

"You've been thinking a lot about work." Sans spoke softly as he stared up at his father. "Tibia honest, that's all you've been thinking about lately."

"NO!" Papyrus shouted as he slapped his hand on Sans' head. "BAD!"

Gaster couldn't help but chuckle lightly. Papyrus, though so young, was never one for his older brother's puns and jokes, and Sans was solely to blame since he did tend to over use them. For a moment the topic that Sans had brought up was forgotten and the older of the three skeletons could help but smile at the youngest as he repeatedly beat his brother with tiny fists.

"Well isn't this a sight." Grillby's smooth voice spoke as he entered the living room. "If I am interrupting something I can always put the lasagna away and we can eat it later."

At hearing this Papyrus immediately stopped his swings at Sans and quickly held his arms up to his sibling in a sign to be held. Sans, more than happy to have his brother's attention on dinner than on hitting him, lifted his brother up and carried him into the kitchen and left the adults in the living room.

As he watched his sons leave Gaster stood up to follow them, but was stopped when Grillby placed his hand on his chest and prevented him from continuing on. Looking at the flame monster Gaster could tell by the light blue coming off his that something was bothering Grillby and with how he still had his hand on Gaster it didn't take much to figure out it had to deal with him.

"You know you can come talk to me, about anything, right?" Grillby asked after a bout of silence.

"… Of course I know this." Gaster said, a bit confused by the question. "But why ask that?"

"Because I know you are hiding something." Grillby responded, his flames now changing to a dark shade of orange. "And whatever it is, it's affecting you. Now I know you have your reasons, you'll probably give me some mumbo jumbo science related one, but you need to know that you don't have to. Whatever it is, we're here, I'm here, to listen."

Gaster found himself at a loss for words and any comebacks he had been thinking of were shot down the moment Grillby spoke. Turning his gaze away from the flame monster Gaster couldn't stop the regret from filling his soul. He didn't like lying to his sons or Grillby, but it was safer this way in his mind; safer for the soul and for his odd little family.

His mind created scenarios in which if he did tell Grillby the truth how someone would find out and not only harm the soul but also harm Gaster and his family. He could almost hear the yelling of monsters calling him a human loving traitor and how the screams of his sons echoed as they were torn away from him by an angry mob. He could just make out what would happen to Grillby, his home wrecked and vandalized just because he was friends with Gaster, and that didn't sit well with him.

Gaster's would have continued to think of horrible scenario after scenario, if it were for Grillby taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. Turning his attention back to Grillby, Gaster could see the worry in the other monster's eyes.

"You were doing that hand thing of yours again." Grillby said as when Gaster looked down at his free hand he saw that he was. His hand was stuck in a fist and after having relaxed it Gaster could feel his face blush. "What is bothering you Gaster?"

Looking back into Grillby's eyes Gaster soon found that he couldn't keep it in any longer. At this rate it was going to kill him long before he managed to create a body for the soul. Letting a sigh escape him Gaster it was now or never.

"… It's-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

A firm knocking on the door interrupted Gaster and something deep inside of him was thankful for the disruption. Faster than he should have moved, considering the situation, Gaster went over to the door and opened it. Standing outside in the snow was a royal guard, a bird monster, and from how it was panting it had just finished running.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh thank god you're here!" the bird monster gasped loudly as stared up at Gaster. "You weren't at the lab or at your house so I have been going home to home asking for you!"

"Who is Daddy?" Sans asked as he came up behind his father with Grillby, having heard the knocking from the kitchen. Papyrus was in the fire monster's hold and was trying his best to look over his father at their new guest.

"A royal guard. He said he's been looking for me." Gaster said as he turned back to the bird monster. "Why have you been looking for me?"

"The king has called for you. There is an emergency at the palace." The monster said as feathers on his head stood up.

"Emergency?" Grillby asked as he stepped to stand besides Gaster. "What kind of emergency?"

"The king's son has found a human and they appear to be hurt."


Meeeeh...
I feel like I rushed the ending a bit.

But I think it is good enough to leave it as it is.
;)

Leave a comment below!

Until next time,
Girl Supersonicboy OUT!