Alright! Not sure if anyone checks out my other profiles on deviantArt or Tumblr but I'm going to try to update every Wednesday or if I can't it will be up the following Wednesday. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!
ALSO! I do want to remind those who read this that this is story addresses the more domestic problems that Frisk and the Monsters might encounter. Sure there'll be action and difficult times but it mostly focuses on the above subjects.
W.D. Gave a slight nod to the King and cleared his throat but it didn't help the seemingly permanent rasp his voice had, "Yes, of course. There was an unfortunate accident some point nearly ten years ago and I... fell into The Core." He steepled his hands together on the table before continuing, "As a result, my very being was scattered throughout a localized portion of time and space. It was a very long time before I was able to pull my Soul into one particular pocket of time, the very one we exist in as we speak."
Toriel stared at him for a moment before nodding for him to continue. He gave another nod in return, "Because of the incredible amount of a substance we call Determination held within Frisk, they were able to hear my pleas. I was able to contact them only in points where their consciousness was weakened, such as when they slept."
The caprine woman's eyes widened, "How long have you been speaking to them in their dreams?" She asked, ignoring his drawn out explanation, her voice bordering on annoyed.
Gaster seemed to give a sigh, "Although time was difficult to grasp in my place in the Void, I would say it was roughly two weeks."
Toriel bit back a huff, "And how is it that Frisk was able to help you return?" She asked as she folded her arms, clearly unhappy at the prospect of her child coming to any sort of harm.
The skeleton didn't hesitate with his reply, "I came to the conclusion that Determination from a deceased subjec- individual, would not have been strong enough. They would have had to been willing to assist me- I needed their consent, so to speak."
Toriel sighed and pinched at the bridge of her muzzle, of course Frisk would want to help him, they wanted to help everyone, even if it put them in danger. While she found this particular trait endearing and admirable, it was also worrying. "What is wrong with them? Are they harmed?"
Gaster stared at her for a moment before giving a half-hearted shrug, "I can't be sure, I've never encountered this type of situation, I will have to keep an eye on them. I'm sure Alphys will assist as well."
Asgore took this time to speak up, "If there is any lasting damage, I am holding you personally responsible." He told the scientist warningly, his voice a low rumble, like distant thunder.
Gaster didn't even flinch, the tiny lights for his pupils flicking to the King, "I doubt there is any permanent injury to their Soul. When they have rested more, I will perform an examination of it." He told him dismissively, his tone deadpan.
All three of them looked up when Sans shuffled in with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He leaned on the frame of the door, his trademark grin nowhere to be seen, "They'll probably be out of it for a while. They're gonna need to recoup that Determination they used bringing him back." He said icily, directing his sentence to the other skeleton as he sat at the table.
Asgore nodded, "I trust that you will keep watch of their condition." He stated more than asked, addressing the spindly scientist.
"Yes, they will need to be closely monitored. I will need to run some tests and record all of their symptoms in detail. But, it is as Sans said, they most likely only need rest to regenerate their Determination that was depleted."
"You still have not explained what has happened to cause Frisk to be in this condition." Toriel said as she crossed her arms and eyed him irritably.
There was a moment of silence before he spoke up again, readjusting his interlaced fingers as he thought of how to word his explanation, "You see, all humans and monsters possess Determination. Humans have a much higher concentration in their Soul and bodies. Frisk is the one of two that I have seen in my lifetime with such a massive amount."
The Queen noticed he neglected to mention who it was other than her child it had been to have such power. She nodded once for him to continue.
"That being said, Determination has a certain effect on monsters in certain doses, it can cause them to lose form if too much is applied and until now, we had been only experimenting with Determination from recently deceased humans or from their contained Souls. Never had there been an instance where a live human Soul has come into contact with another Soul. Case in point, their very Soul healed mine. Had I not forcefully separated them from me, I would have most likely inadvertently absorbed their Soul into mine."
Both of the Boss monsters looked horrified. Gaster made no move to defend his return but he did meet their anxious stares.
Sans didn't seem surprised, he'd heard this same explanation and filled in the gaps with his own theories, "So, bottom line is, their Soul brought him back. He might have a piece of theirs with him."
Asgore looked both confused and furious as he looked between the two. Toriel seemed to be silently seething, not meeting either of their faces.
"What's done is done, and no amount of being mad at him will help Frisk recover." Sans suddenly said, his tone matter-of-fact.
The King shot him an annoyed look before taking a breath to calm himself and settle his nerves. "Yes well, there seems to be much that needs to be addressed." He looked to Gaster, "From what you have told me, I can only come to the conclusion that you need to be observed closely as well given your vast amount of time in isolation."
W.D. gave another shrug, "Fine by me. I am in no hurry."
His reply seemed to have startled Sans and his eye sockets narrowed in suspicion. He asked himself why he wanted to even come back. But, he supposed that if someone was stuck in a place where there was no concept of time, a sense of helplessness and lack of contact with anyone, they would want to get away as soon as possible. No wonder he tried so hard to get out, even if it meant hurting a child. Sans couldn't put his finger on it but something was definitely off with Gaster. He imagined that anyone who was in his position now would be anything but normal.
"There is also the matter of where you will be staying. Do either of you have any suggestions?" The King asked with a sigh as he looked between the two skeletons.
"Maybe Alphys has an extra room or something, I dunno." Sans said with an aloof lift of his shoulders, sounding as if he couldn't care a less about where the other man stayed. He certainly didn't want him anywhere near Papyrus or him so staying at their house was out of the question, even though his younger brother would probably be ecstatic to have guests, no matter how creepy they were.
Toriel looked thoughtful but her brow was still tugged together with concern and traces of irritation, "Yes, we will need to have Alphys come, she will need to hear of what has happened to both Frisk and Dr. Gaster." She pulled her phone out of her robe pocket and carefully dialed the reptilian scientist's number.
There was a rather awkward moment of silence while the Queen waited for her to pick up. If Sans knew Alphys, she probably would be frantic at the sight of Toriel's name pop up on the caller ID but just at that moment, Toriel perked up when it seemed the timid reptile finally got the courage to answer, "Ah, yes. Alphys, will you be able to come to my home? We have an-" She glanced at Gaster, "-an unexpected guest. Yes, right away please, of course." She replied with a nod and hung up her phone, a sigh through her snout made it clear that this was something she was not particularly looking forward to. She looked up and over at the skeleton in the doorway, "Sans, would you please take Frisk to their room? My chair is most likely not the best place for them in their condition."
He lingered for a moment before he pulled away from the door, "Yeah, sure." He replied quietly and disappeared from view as he headed to the living room. He made sure to check the status of their Soul again. He held a hand to their chest and carefully gave their Soul a tug with his magic, it felt a little stronger in just the short time he took them from the mountain. He gently gathered them in his arms, "Up we go..." He couldn't help wincing at the whimper they made from being moved.
He quietly closed their door after placing them in bed and tucking them in, his brow furrowed with worry, this wasn't good. They'd never done something this drastic before that he knew of, would there be lasting damage? He really wished that something like this had happened before, even if it ended badly, so he could at least have something to compare it to. After ensuring that they were somewhat comfortable, he made his way back down the hall and made his way toward the kitchen and leaned against the doorway just as Alphys was sitting down.
"So good of you to make it, Dr. Alphys, I'm sorry for such short notice... Dr. Alphys?" Toriel tilted her head at the shorter woman who was gaping at Gaster, at a loss for words as to the how and the why of it all.
Asgore cleared his throat to jar her from her staring, "Dr. Alphys, if you would, we have much to discuss."
She blinked and snapped out of her trance, "Huh? Oh! I'm s-sorry, r-right." She replied quietly and shifted in her seat, stealing a glance at the older scientist who sat still in his spot. The only sign that he acknowledged her presence was his fingers twitching on their place atop the table top and the slight nod of his head.
"So now the question we have is where Dr. Gaster will stay, we needed your input on several things at this time, Dr. Alphys." Toriel said somberly, obviously still worried about Frisk's wellbeing.
"Oh... I h-have a r-room in the lab up h-here if you w-want to use it, Dr. Gaster." She said and made sure not to actively look at him as she spoke.
There was silence and Alphys wasn't sure if he'd heard her but, "It will do, thank you, Alphys." He replied, his voice coarse with fatigue despite the contrast of his straight composure against his tone.
"Good, there is also the matter of monitoring Frisk's current condition. According to both Sans and Dr. Gaster, this situation has never occurred before."
Before Alphys could question what he was referring to, "I'll draft up a full report on what I remember of the incident. We will both have to observe their reaction and status of their Soul frequently. The only side effect seen so far is exhaustion and body and muscle pain."
She nodded in reply before looking to Frisk's parents, "I'll make sure to keep a c-close eye on them, d-don't worry, Your Majesties."
Asgore gave a slight bow of his head to her, "Thank you, doctor." He cleared his throat, "Now then there is also the matter of observing Dr. Gaster himself, he has been isolated for quite a long time from what he has told me." The king rumbled quietly before looking to the three scientists.
The reptilian woman properly looked to her colleague, "What? What h-happened? We thought you died!" She blurted and covered her snout with her hands, the scales on her cheeks reddening.
He didn't look over and gave a small sigh, his shoulders sagging slightly, "The Core was my downfall, I was a bit careless. It seems those involved insured that this information would be the extent of what the public would know."
She looked away, her brow furrowed behind her glasses, "I m-mean, I had th-theories but..."
"We both know that there was no 'death' involved, Alph." Sans suddenly said from his place in the doorway.
She jumped and looked over at him, "So you m-mean th-that.."
"Yeah, the Void is real, it's where he's been for the past ten years. Surprised he hasn't gone crazy or fallen down since he got out." He said with a scoff and folded his arms as Gaster's eyes darted over at him, his expression blank. Sans stood his ground and didn't look away, as if daring him to try something. The shorter of the two narrowed his eyes, "'Dunno how Frisk got him out in one piece, they said they needed to heal his Soul. It probably shattered when he fell so he's been stalkin' their dreams for the past week and a half."
Gaster shrugged and broke the staring contest as he looked away, "As I've said before, it was only then that I could make any sort of contact, such as when they slept."
Alphys gasped, "You w-were able to establish some s-sort of contact?"
He looked at her, "Yes." He replied simply.
She blinked and raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. She looked over at Sans who shook his head with a shrug, she wasn't going to get any more information out of him, not until she read his report. She wrung her clawed hands together nervously, "W-well, I suppose I understand about what you m-mean by m-monitoring Dr. Gaster if he's really b-been in isolation for ten years." She said quietly but abruptly put up her hands defensively at her colleague, "I-if it's alright with you, that is." She added hastily, glancing up at him. He met her glance for a moment before looking away. She remembered working with Gaster for a few months before the 'incident' and she didn't exactly know him very well but even she knew that his quiet behavior was disconcerting.
The dino-scientist looked to her king as if she just realized something, "B-but, your Majesty, I'm not a psychiatrist. I m-mean, I'll do my best and d-document everything I can but I'm not qualified to treat someone..."
Asgore didn't seem worried, "I'm sure you'll do fine. Not to worry, we'll find someone suitable to do so." He assured her with a small tired smile.
"...Of course, I understand your caution." W.D. said suddenly, his voice sounding more tired and somehow even raspier.
"...U-um, I'll go on ahead and get th-the room cleaned up, there isn't much in it, just a cot..." Alphys mumbled as she stood from her seat and hurried past Sans, making a beeline toward the door.
Gaster suddenly rose from his seat and gave a slight bow to the two, "If you'll excuse me." Before he walked out of the kitchen, taking the same path as Alphys.
Sans moved as the taller man walked past, not even sparing the shorter skeleton a glance. Said skeleton shifted his jaw as he watched him leave before he turned back to the caprine couple, "If it's alright, I'll stick around to keep an eye on 'em tonight."
Toriel perked up a bit, "Oh, thank you, Sans. I would appreciate that. I'll get the spare blanket for you."
Asgore rose from his seat carefully as to not break the chair (or table for that matter), "I would like to see them."
The woman nodded, "Yes, of course, but please make sure you are quiet."
Frisk opened their eyes from their dreamless sleep to see the wooden ceiling of their room. Their eyelids still felt heavy and they felt like a statue when they tried to move, their limbs and muscles stiffer than they'd ever felt them before. They opened their mouth, "... Mama?" They croaked, their voice hoarse and raspy, barely a whisper. What happened?
There was a startled snort from nearby, "Oh, Frisk, hey, you're awake." They struggled to sit up to see Sans sitting in their desk chair, he'd moved it to be near the foot of their bed, had he been there all night? He shifted before he stood to gently force them to lie back down, "Nuh-uh, don't move, I know you're sore." He tilted his head at them, a nervous smile on his face, "You want me to get Tori?"
They could only manage an 'mmhmm' as they winced, pain etching into their features. Why was everything still screamingly exhausted? Was what they did yesterday really that bad? It must have been, judging by how they felt now. Sans left the room and they could hear his footsteps, faster than usual, padding down the hall to where they assumed was the living room. They heard his voice, it sounded excited for some reason, and before long there were two sets of feet quickly approaching the child's room. Frisk stared at the ceiling while they waited, seeing Toriel would help them feel a little better.
The door didn't quite burst open, but it was certainly close, as Toriel entered their room, her eyes wide with concern as she went to their bedside. "Oh you had me so worried, Frisk! I did not think that you would wake up." She put a paw to their face, her brows drawing together in concern.
They gave her a confused look, "...H-how long w-was I as-sleep?" They managed to rasp out.
Her features looked crestfallen at their question, "Oh, Dearest, you have been sleeping for nearly a week now."
If they could have, they would have bolted up in bed, they'd never slept for nearly that long. Their eyes widened and they could only grunt in surprise. Toriel noticed their sudden change, "Oh, Dr. Gaster has told me that your Soul needed to recover, he has been quite attentive."
Frisk looked past her and over to Sans who was watching their exchange, his expression bordering on grim at the mention of his former colleague. "S-Sans...?" They asked, their small voice sounding more timid than they would have liked.
Toriel followed their gaze and turned back to the skeleton just as his face reverted back to its normal expression albeit a bit more tired. He forced a smile as he shuffled over to them, "Hey, it's all good. Good news is that you'll make a full recovery."
The Queen turned her attention back to Frisk with a tired smile, "Yes, and Sans has made sure that you have been safe. I am very grateful for his help in watching over you." She said as she stroked their hair, "Alphys had said that it would not be good for you to be unattended while you recover, it has been a very 'touch and go' sort of week. We were quite worried for you."
Frisk blinked blearily, their muscles still tired, "M'sorry Mama..." They mumbled and looked up at her.
She tilted her head to the side and gave a sad smile as she sat on the bed carefully, "I am simply glad you are still with us, Frisk."
The child didn't say anything but they were slowly and steadily gaining more and more mobility and limberness in their arms and legs but it was then that their stomach decided to make itself known by rudely grumbling. Their face flushed and they looked up at Toriel again, who gave them a gentle smile, "It is good if you have an appetite. I'm sure you must feel quite stiff, would you like to try walking?"
Frisk nodded and tried to sit themself on the edge of the bed, nearly pitching to the side and consequently, off the bed. Toriel merely watched their efforts, knowing they would want to do this themself. Using the bedpost for support, they managed to stand on their own two feet but they were soaked in sweat from their efforts now. They gave their mother a weak smile and moved to wipe their forehead but nearly fell back. Toriel caught them by the arm before they hit the ground, "Goodness, I think that might be enough for now, don't you?" She said as she carefully scooped them up.
Thought I would add a tiny twist with the whole 'Frisk being unconscious for almost a week' type deal... Hope you guys liked it! It really helps to leave a review!