The first week of school went by quickly without any further issues. The bullies he not shone their faces around them ever since the incident, likely because of their suspension. They have all bonded a bit further with Michael and Tiffany. Now, school was over and Toriel had to stay late for work, so the kids got to spend much longer with the skeletons and even have some of Papyrus' spaghetti for dinner, which has gotten much tastier since his time in the Underground.

Alex was sitting on the couch beside a snoozing Sans as he watched, from his comfortable spot, Papyrus teach Frisk and Asriel how to make proper spaghetti. Alex was smiling, watching the creation of a mess as the front door opened and a taller skeleton walked through it. Wearing his normal black coat and suit, Gaster closed the door behind him and smiled toward Alex and Sans.

"Good afternoon everyone." Gaster said as he walked inside.

"HEY DAD. WELCOME HOME. HOW WAS WORK." Papyrus shouted from the kitchen. Frisk and Asriel greeted him too.

Gaster sighed, but still smiled, "Busy and tiring, but not bad." He looked over to Alex and smiled a bit wider. "How are you doing today Alex?"

"I'm fine Mr. Gaster. Hey… um…"

Gaster stopped walking toward the stairs as he turned around toward Alex, "Yes Alex?"

"Remember when you told Frisk and I that you could teach us magic?"

Gaster chuckled, "Good memory Alex. Yes, what of it?"

"W-well, could you teach us soon?"

Gaster rubbed his chin for a moment, "Hmm, I'm not busy tomorrow. Perhaps you, Frisk, and Asriel could visit me at the lab tomorrow and I could try to teach you a little bit."

Alex jaw dropped as he stared at Gaster, "R-really?!" Gaster laughed and nodded as he turned back to the stairs and began to climb them. Alex quickly jumped up from his spot on the couch and dashed over to the kitchen to tell his siblings the good news. The quick movement stirred Sans awake, so he got up and followed Gaster to his room, knocking on the door before walking in.

"heya G, is teaching 'em magic such a good idea?"

Gaster turned toward his son and nodded, his face looking a bit more serious, "Yes Sans. If I can get the QMA up and running soon, they should know how to use magic for defensive purposes."

Sans nodded in agreement. He knew how dangerous some timelines may end up being. "alright, just be careful with 'em."

Gaster's expression softened as he smiled, "Don't worry Sans, I'll be as careful as I can."


The next day couldn't come fast enough for the Dreemurrs. Finally, the day came and the sun rose as they quickly begged their parents to take them to Gaster's lab. After a quick phone call to the scientist, who agreed that he could watch them for the day, they agreed and dropped off the kids at his lab, a large white building about three stories tall.

After they got out of the car, they all turned to Asgore and Toriel in the front seats, with Toriel driving. "My children, please behave for Doctor Gaster." They all nodded and promised they would be on their best behavior. She smiled, "Good. Asgore and I will be near our phones all day, should you wish to talk to one of us, ok?"

"Yes mom." The all said in unison. She laughed as she slowly drove off. They three of them then took off at a run toward the entrance to the lab. As they got closer they saw Gaster, wearing is usual suit and lab coat and leaning against the wall beside the door, waiting for the children.

"Good morning children. Ready to see my lab?"

Asriel began to whine, "But what about them learning magic!"

Gaster laughed, "All in good time Asriel. Besides, my lab will help explain how each of their magics work."

Asriel nodded as they followed him inside, down the hall, and into the main lab. Alex pointed toward a large ring-like structure in the corner of the room. "What's that thing."

Gaster smiled, "That is my Quantum Multiversal Accelerator, or QMA for short. When completed it would allow travel into other timelines and realities."

All three children's eyes grew twice their normal size, all saying the same thing: "Whoa…"

Gaster walked over to another machine with what looked like a hand-held scanner. Frisk spoke this time, "Dr. Gaster, what's this?" She asked, pointing to the scanner.

He smiled again. He loved explaining this kinda stuff, especially to those who were genuinely intrigued by this sort of stuff. "This, Frisk, is a Soul Scanner. I can use it to scan a monster's or human's soul to see its soul trait, the LV amount, the magic potential, and all sorts of other useful information. Speaking of, come over here for a moment Alex."

Alex nodded and took a few steps to be right in front of Gaster. Gaster took part of the scanner into his hands and scanned Alex's chest for a moment until it made a beep sound. He then brought up the results on the monitor attached to the device.

"Alright Alex, from what I've learned about souls of Purity so far, you have a wide range of magical abilities, but they are also very limited."

"How so?" Alex asked, curious as to how their magic works.

"So, your soul's trait is Purity, and based on your past experiences, I'm sure you're familiar with your ability known as 'Purify'."

Alex nodded, "Yeah, but what exactly does that do?"

"Well, it appears to be able to remove any outside influence on other souls, such as forced control in my case…" Gaster looked away in shame for a moment, frowning.

"heya G, no need to get all blue. i red somewhere that being blue could keep ya in a gray mood."

Frisk turned to see Sans sitting on a chair, slowly spinning counterclockwise, "Well, that came out of the blue."

Asriel groaned externally while Chara was likely doing the same within Frisk's head. However, it brought a smile to Alex's and Gaster's faces as they laughed from the horrible color puns. Asriel groaned for a moment longer, "That was horrible Sans."

Sans made his boney hands into guns and punted them both at Asriel, "dontcha mean hor-rib-le?"

This prompted another round of laughter and groaning. Gaster shook his head as Sans spoke again, "so dad, you showing alex what we learned about purity souls so far?"

Gaster nodded with a smile on his face still, "Yes Sans. And speaking of colors…" Gaster turned back to Alex and his machine, "There is a second part to your soul and magic. You remember your fights in the underground where your soul would change color, right?"

Both Alex and Frisk nodded, remembering the amazing colors that Alex's soul had become. "Well, we've since learned that if a Purity soul is exposed to enough of a soul trait, it can mimic the soul powers of that trait. Meaning, you can use soul magic and the soul modes associated with them if you are exposed to enough of said trait or emotion. Furthermore, your soul seems to be able to even use more advanced and powerful forms of these 'Soul Modes'."

Alex's eyes widened, "Like how with enough Determination, my soul came back together. And with enough Kindness I could make two shields AND move around."

Gaster nodded, "Exactly, however you are unable to do that kind of stuff without exposure. But, I've been working on a way for you to be able to use that magic without the same type of exposure."

Everyone stared in amazement at Gaster, who smiled mischievously before turning to Frisk, "But first I must discuss Frisk's magic."

Gaster took the scanner and scanned it over Frisk's chest, making the machine update and display data on her soul. "Frisk, you are obviously a soul of Determination. While you are able to Save, Load, …and Reset…" Gaster saw an involuntary shiver run down Sans' spine as the same happened to him upon mentioning 'Resets'. "…You also have more power than that."

"R-really?" Frisk asked in surprise.

"Yes. You see here?" Gaster asked, pointing to some data next to the soul on the screen. Frisk, Alex, and Asriel all nodded. "These reading are similar to those of other monsters like Undyne and Asgore. This is showing that you should be able to manifest certain object at will, made completely out of magic."

Asriel spoke up, all excited, "So Frisk could create epic weapons out of thin air with magic?"

Gaster nodded, "Furthermore, it seems that Chara would be able to do the same once she regains a body. The only limitation with this Determination magic is… well, their Determination. As long as you 'stay determined'" Gaster used his hand to make air quotes, "You should be able to keep the weapons manifested."

Frisk spoke up, her soft and delicate voice was filled with excitement, "This is so cool!" Her eyes were filled with wonder. "What about Alex? You said you had a way for him to use magic, like, whenever?"

Gaster chucked, "Yes, yes. Sans, would you be so kind as to bring the Trait Synthesizer?"

"ya got it boss." He said with a slight tone of sarcasm as he disappeared into one of his shortcuts before immediately appearing back in his seat holding some sort of bracelet. Gaster narrowed his eyes at Sans as he walked over to him to retrieve it.

"You know, you could learn a thing or two from your brother about be proactive…"

"yeah, but learning takes time and energy. i'm too lazy to use either of 'em."

Gaster shook his head in disapproval as the kids snickered behind him. He turned back to them and walked over to Alex, showing him the metallic bracelet. "This is my prototype Trait Synthesizer. With it, it can inject small doses of synthesized traits into your body, temporarily giving you the power of that trait." Gaster turned the bracelet over to show Alex three small bubble of plastic on the bottom. "It can store up to three doses of up to three different soul traits."

Alex's eyes were huge as he spoke a single word, conveying the feeling he felt perfectly, "Whoa…"

Gaster chuckled, "Haha, I thought you'd like it." He then motioned to a small shelf nearby, filled with vials of various colors, "I have been able to manufacture small amounts of these traits that could be used. If you would like, I could show you how it works."

All three children began to rapidly nod their heads in agreement. Gaster laughed. He thought so. He motioned for them to follow as he led them to the basement level. Down there, the walls were thick and the ceiling was high. There were only two large rooms down here, used for testing possibly dangerous experiments. This would be the perfect spot to test their magic. He took the bracelet in his hand and injected some Kindness substance into the first spot, some Justice into the second, and a bit of Bravery into the third.

He led Asriel and Frisk a few steps away from Alex to give him room as he explained what to do to Alex while simultaneously setting up some training dummies on the other end of the room. Of course, these were all uninhabited by ghosts.

"Now Alex, in order to use it, you simply take a finger and push in the plastic bubble of your choosing. It will drain all of the trait out of the compartment and inject it into you painlessly, giving you a short window of time to use the power." Alex nodded in understanding as the last of the dummies were set up. He walked back over to Alex before continuing.

"Let's start you off easy. Try the first bubble first, the trait of Kindness."

Alex nodded as he put the bracelet on his wrist and pressed the first bubble in, which was relatively easy. He felt a quick prick as his senses were flooded with Kindness. Alex could feel his soul resonating and adapting to the Kindness. He… He was filled with Pure Kindness. Alex turned around to look at Gaster, who had a small smile on his face. He nodded, giving Alex all the information her needed as he prepped to use the magic.

Alex widened his stance and took in a deep breath before he moved again. He focused his entire soul toward his arms, trying to summon the dual shields he had before. Suddenly, they appeared on his arms, two large circular shields that felt weightless, yet strong enough to stop almost anything. Alex couldn't help the large smile that appeared on his face. Then he heard the cheering.

"Alright Alex!" Asriel cheered loudly from behind. Alex turned around to see Asriel jumping up and down with joy. Gaster was smiling and clapping at Alex's success. He looked to Frisk to see the cutest smile on her face as she held a thumbs-up to him. It warmed his heart, seeing her like this, but he knew he wouldn't say anything. Then he heard a voice behind him.

"nice job kiddo. you just gonna stare at her or what?" Alex quickly spun back around with a small amount of fear on his face to see Sans standing there with a smirk. Sans saw the look on his face and shrugged, "hey, don't worry pal. i won't say anything. i'm not heartless… well actually, i guess i am." He said with a chuckle.

Alex calmed down a bit and relaxed. Luckily, no one else heard him. Gaster then shouted out toward Alex, "Great job. Now, I would advise against using two or more traits at once. I'm not sure how the conflict of traits would affect your soul, so you should probably avoid that."

They all spent the next few hours down there practicing their magic. Asriel got a bit better with his fire magic and seemed to show signs of healing magic, just like his mother. Frisk was able to form a few objects, like a stick, a ball, and a few other things. However, she was unable to come up with a weapon she felt comfortable with, although Chara did try unsuccessfully to convince her to summon a knife. Alex tried out the Justice and Bravery traits as well, once again allowing him to fire magical energy bursts and affect his speed. Both him and Gaster are unsure whether Bravery slows time down for the user or allows everyone else to feel as if the user is moving faster.

Before they all finished, Gaster took back the prototype device from Alex for the time being and put it away. Finally, it was time for them to go back up and they returned to the main lab right as Papyrus pulled up in his car and came inside. "GREETINGS EVERYONE. HOW WAS YOUR DAY?" Everyone smiled as the kids all tried to tell him at once, with little success. They all prepared to leave when Gaster felt a vibration in his pocket.

"You all go on ahead home, I have something I need to take care of first." They all nodded in understanding as they all walked out to Papyrus's car, but not before Papyrus tried to get Gaster to come home now. Finally, Papyrus gave up and brought everyone to the car to drive home for some spaghetti.

Once they arrived at the skeleton's household, Gaster was already waiting for them, having already completed what he was doing. Alex, Frisk, and Asriel spent their dinner talking excitedly about their magic and how cool their day had been to Papyrus. Papyrus eagerly listened, ecstatic that his friends were learning how to hone their magical skills. They finished their spaghetti and hung out around the house until Toriel and Asgore arrived.


Once their parents arrived, they proceeded to tell them all about their awesome day with Gaster and everything they learned. Toriel was particularly pleased to learn her son was able to use healing magic and that both human children were able to use magic as well. They all said goodnight to Gaster, Sans, and Papyrus as they headed home. As soon as they left, Gaster left the table to go to his room to work a bit on some schematics before going to bed, as he does every night.

"GOODNIGHT DAD!"

"night G."

Gaster smiled as he climbed the stairs and entered his room before pulling out the schematics for his QMA. He was close now, perhaps he could get it running within a few days. However, that was not what he was interested in at the moment. He pulled out a device from his pocket and examined it. He had received some sort of message from someone.

But… this someone was someone from another timeline. Another universe even. Gaster had not had any contact with anyone outside of his timeline since his encounter with Core Frisk. He hadn't listened to the message yet, but finally gained the courage to hear it. Somehow, the message was recorded in audio rather than visually. He pressed play on it, listening to an eerily familiar voice. He knew exactly who he was listening to, which made the message ever the more eerie.

"DR. W D GASTER." Gaster's eye sockets widened as he heard his name being spoken. "I KNOW ABOUT YOUR TIMELINE. I KNOW THAT YOU WERE UNABLE TO REVIVE BOTH CHARA AND ASRIEL. WHAT IF I TOLD YOU I COULD HELP YOU SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM?" There was a pause for a moment.

"I HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR YOU. YOU HAVE MY COORDINATES. YOU KNOW HOW TO REACH THE VOID. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, CONTACT ME AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE DETAILS. UNTIL WE MEET, DR. GASTER…"

The message ended, a mixture of relief, confusion, and worry all flooded Gaster's senses. Was there really a way to help Chara? But that wasn't the worst part. Gaster knew himself pretty well. If there was another Gaster willing to help him, he must need help. And… knowing himself pretty well, it would take an emergency to get him to ask someone else for help, especially someone from another timeline.

"Well… better get working on the QMA…" Gaster said quietly to himself before teleporting to his lab to get some work done on his device. This might be the breakthrough he was looking for.


Author's Note:

This chapter was a bit lighter than last one, which is good... Questions, comments, concerns, congratulations, complements, or any such stuff? Leave a review, PM, or follow/fav. Hope you've enjoyed it so far.

-swrWriter