Chapter Thirty Eight

As it turned out, Papyrus had not found Alphys' noodles, but rather had struck up a conversation with Mark Stewart. The scientist was curious about how the skeleton was built. Papyrus was trying to explain it to him when Alphys and Sans found him.

"WE ARE MADE OF BONES AND MAGIC," Papyrus explained. "IT'S WHAT GIVES US LIFE AND HOLDS US TOGETHER."

"Yes, but where did the bones come from? Are you... reanimated?" Mark tried to put it lightly.

"WHAT?" Papyrus was confused.

Mark turned slightly red. "Well, what I mean is... were you alive at some point?"

"I'M ALIVE NOW!"

"But... before that. What I'm trying to say is... Are you like a zombie or something?"

Sans chuckled as Mark fumbled for words. "Nah. We were born like this. Nothin' but bones. I'm Sans. I see you met my brother."j

Mark turned around. "Oh, hello. I'm, uh, sorry." He looked rather flustered. "I didn't realize you came in. I-I didn't mean to be insensitive."

"Nah, forget about it. I've heard worse. You were just curious." He grinned. "You are a scientist, after all."

Mark relaxed. "I guess that's true. Thanks for being so understanding. My name's Mark. I work with Alphys a lot."

"Nice to meetcha." Sans winked. "She's a real smart one, huh?"

"Tell me about it. When she introduced me to Mettaton, I pretty much lost it. That's some highly advanced robotics, not to mention the fact that he's sentient!"

"W-well, I didn't program him. He's a ghost in the m-machine, if you will." Alphys said, blushing slightly. "C'mon you g-guys, I'm not that great."

"You kidding?" Mark asked. "Look at what you've done."

"Just did that, bro." Sans spoke up. "I'm thinking we should find new ways to show Alphys how awesome she is."

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS GIVEN THE MISSION TO DO SO BY UNDYNE!" Papyrus interjected.

"Guys, st-stop. I'm fine." Alphys was bright red now. "I know I've done a lot. I'm just being m-modest, I guess.

"Whatever you say," Mark grinned at Sans. "So how is your dad project going? Alphys filled me in on what you're doing the other day."

"WE'RE WAITING FOR A REPLY!" Papyrus told him. "I HOPE WE GET ONE SOON!"

"I'm sure we will." Sans reassured his brother.

"Sp-speaking of that, I-I can run a scan to check if there's anything of note in the area of the void we h-have access to." Alphys said. "We sh-should have left enough time for him to respond, assuming time flows in the same w-way between the realities."

"LET'S DO IT!" Papyrus shouted happily. He sprang to his feet and disappeared down the hall, a faint 'NYEH HEH HEH' trailing behind him.

Asgore sighed heavily. "Asriel, I know it's difficult. But you've done it twice now. You can do it." He gave his son a reassuring smile.

Asriel closed his eyes and focused. Nothing happened. "Dad, last time it was an emergency. I don't think I can do it just because. I need a reason."

"Hmm." Asgore thought for a moment. "There may be more to it than just a surge of power from a dangerous situation."

"I'm pretty sure there is." Asriel grumbled. "I don't need to fight right now. I don't really ever need to fight."

Asgore lowered his head. "You did with Chara." His voice turned somber. "Asriel, there will come times when you have no choice. When the only option is to fight. It's not only self-preservation, either. It can be for your people. I learned that the hard way. When humans declared war on us, I fought only to protect my people. If I wanted to, I could have slaughtered many. I simply tried to defend, but it wasn't enough. Monsters were slaughtered. I often wonder what could have gone differently if I had let myself fight with all my strength..."

Asriel was silent.

"But enough about that. I think it is very possible you are unable to summon your swords unless it is truly a time of great need. I've heard of such things before."

"So can I go play with Frisk now?"

Asgore smiled and ruffled the fur on Asriel's head. "Alright, son, go ahead and play."

-End of Chapter Thirty Eight

Yeah, it's really short. I know. I just didn't see any way I could continue this chapter while keeping continuity in check. Don't ask me what I mean by that, because I'm not entirely sure myself. The point is, I have my reasons for keeping this chapter short.

Anyway, updates may slow down for this story for a while, as there are a lot of things going on in my life, not all of which are easy to deal with. But don't worry about me. I'll get through it. I always do. I'm a determined sort.

On the bright side, if any of you are fans of the Star Fox series, I've started a fic for that. So keep an eye out!

That's it for now,

Umbreon31