Chapter Thirty Six

"So, whaddaya think? Do you want to hear another?" Gerson grinned toothily. "I got plenty more. Not all of 'em true, mind you. Wah hah hah!"

"Heck yeah!" Undyne shouted.

"And he can tell it over dinner." Toriel interrupted her. "It's ready now!"

"It has been far too long since I've had the queen's cooking," The old turtle mused. "I'm anxious to see what you made!"

Toriel smiled modestly. "Oh, it's not much. Just some turkey."

"Well, it smells mighty nice." Gerson sniffed the air appreciatively and sat down.

"Tell us another story!" Frisk begged. "They're so good!"

"How 'bout I tell one that just happened to me?" He shot the king and queen a meaningful look. "It's true, and pretty interesting. Y'see, I came from Twoson. Nice place. Anyway, I was askin' around because I'd heard some... Rumors. It seems that there was a school there some years ago. A special school. Taught humans to use their magic."

Gerson smiled knowingly at the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "Now, I know what you're thinking. Humans haven't used magic for ages. The seven magicians who sealed us underground were among the last known. And you'd be right. But I did some digging. You know how I am, Asgore. Can't resist an interesting mystery."

Asgore nodded. "That's certainly true. Remember when we checked out that old map when we were young that led to supposed treasure? You insisted there would be a great find at the end. But all we came across was a little white dog sleeping in the woods."

"Aye, I remember. You were fairly disappointed, I recall. But we sure had a good time, eh? Anyway, back to my story. Turns out that school did exist. Taught by a young girl named Paula. But she vanished. Nobody seems to know where she went. At any rate, the students left. Well, most of them." He paused and pointed to his plate. "These mashed potatoes are spectacular, Toriel. How do you manage to cook everything so perfectly?"

"Cut it out, Gerson." Asgore said with a grin. "I know your tactics for building suspense."

"Wah hah hah! So you can't wait to hear more, eh? Can't say I blame ya. It's pretty fascinating stuff." Gerson continued. "So, I heard rumors of some of the former students in the area. Decided to check 'em out. Turns out there was one living nearby. I managed to contact her." He spread his arms. "It's true. She could do magic. Not particularly well, mind you, as it has been nearly twenty years since she first learned. But she could summon sparks of electricity. Called it PSI. No idea why. But it was definitely magic." He leaned back. "So there ya go. There are still humans who can do magic."

"But... That's incredible." Toriel looked astonished. "With this, maybe the world will see we aren't so different."

"Yep, I was gettin' to that." Gerson replied. "I heard about all the ruckus that took place at the school. Had an idea for a way to show a bit of a peace offering. What do you say you teach some humans how to use their magic?"

Papyrus dumped a pile of notes on the table. He had been busy writing them. Some were simple (Hi, dad!) while others were long paragraphs telling Gaster how he and Sans were doing. Alphys entered the lab yawning.

"GOOD MORNING!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I HAVE PREPARED SOME MESSAGES FOR GASTER!"

Alphys rubbed her eyes. "Papyrus, it's six AM. Why d-did you wake up so early?"

"I DIDN'T."

"Huh?" Alphys blinked heavily.

"I NEVER SLEPT." Papyrus scribbled on another sheet of paper. "I WAS BUSY."

"Papyrus, you'll n-need to sleep. You do know that, r-right?" Alphys asked, concerned. "The lab has quite a few places t-to get some rest."

"I DON'T NEED IT." Papyrus insisted. "SANS GETS ENOUGH SLEEP FOR BOTH OF US."

Alphys smiled in spite of herself. "Th-that's not how it w-works." She sat down beside him and glanced over all of his notes. "Y-you wrote all of this?" Papyrus nodded. "I guess it m-means a lot to you. Finding your f-father."

"IT DOES. SANS AND I HAVE TAKEN CARE OF EACH OTHER PRETTY WELL, BUT HAVING DAD BACK WOULD BE SO NICE."

Alphys was silent for a minute. "What about y-your mother?" She finally asked. "I d-don't want to pry, but Gaster never m-mentioned a wife."

Papyrus only shrugged. "I DON'T KNOW. AS I SAID BEFORE, I WAS YOUNG WHEN DAD DISAPPEARED."

"She vanished one day."

Alphys jumped and looked to her right. Sans was casually sitting in the chair next to her, slippers up on the table.

"I think that was right after you were born, Pap. I can't remember too well. There you were, my babybones brother, but mom was gone." He shrugged noncommittally. "Dad never liked talking about it."

"I'm sorry." Alphys said quietly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Let's just focus on Dad. I see you two got an early start." Sans observed.

"More like a l-late start for your brother. He's been up all night."

Sans sighed. "Pap, we've talked about this. You need to sleep."

"BUT SANS-"

"No buts, bro. I know you're excited about Dad. I am too. You need sleep though."

"OKAY..." Papyrus grumbled, sounding like a kid who had been told no. "BUT I AM NOT TIRED YET! CAN WE AT LEAST SEND THESE MESSAGES TO DAD?"

Sans nodded. "Sure. Alphys, you do the honors."

Alphys got up and headed to the computer terminal. With a few keystrokes, the machine started up with a hum. The void appeared, swirling calmly.

"DO WE JUST PUT THE LETTERS IN?" Papyrus asked.

Alphys shrugged. "I g-guess so. I'm not sure what else there is to d-do."

Papyrus opened the recently installed airlock-style door leading to the void room and placed his piles of notes inside. He then closed the door and stepped back. The door on the far end opened and Alphys adjusted something on the computer. The void expanded until it reached the letters, which slowly drifted off into the darkness.

The messages to Gaster were on their way.

-End of Chapter Thirty Six

First of all, I apologize for the delay. I've been pretty busy with robotics competitions, schoolwork, and working on YouTube videos. But anyway, this story arc has been revealed! Humans that can use magic...

As for the Earthbound references, that'll probably be the last of them for a while. At least, the last references to major plot points and such.

I'm pretty excited to be doing this, as I want to explore more deeply into what magic is. Toriel's explanation to Sans about the unexpected use of magic was oddly fun to write and I want to do some more of that. Also, as I mentioned in some replies to reviews, Temmie will play an important role. The reason for this will be explained in a few chapters...

Well, that's all for now. Thank you all for your continued support!

Umbreon31