Hey guys! Sorty it took me a while to update. But it's here now, and it's from this chapter that things will get interesting! Enjoy!
The school of the Monster Village finally opened its doors. The people calmed down after the shock they went through due to the De-Code, and decided it was time to resume a normal life, including the children's education. No child was really thrilled to go back to school, but the knowledge that there would be the Gyftmas break in a few weeks made it less annoying. So, in this cold morning, Sam and Piper were walking to the school they'd attend from now on. They were a bit disappointed that Toriel would no longer be their teacher, since her queen duties prevented her from teaching. No other teacher would understand them as well as Toriel did. On the other hand, their relationship with Gaster was improving, a side support at school was probably not that much required. When they arrived at school, they saw that - surprise, surprise - there were only monsters. But that wasn't something that bothered the twins. They thought that being in the company of monsters was better than in company of humans, because they were nicer than the latters. Plus, they were much more fascinating! As Sam and Piper crossed the playground, some of the monster children were looking warily at them. Sam was the first one to notice and wondered why was that. Was it because they were the only humans around? Or was it something else? Soon, the schoolbell rang and the children were instructed to go to their classes. There was one class per year; Sam and Piper belonged to the 9-10 years old students. The two were about to take the free seats, but as Piper walked up to one of those, the dog boy sitting at that desk quickly put his backpack on the near chair.
"You can't sit there." - he said - "I have mange, I'm contagious."
Piper was pretty sure he wasn't telling the truth, because the way he said it sounded more as though he just wanted to scare and/or disgust her. Piper just shrugged in response, then walked to where her brother found a seat - the back row. She sat next to him, and Sam whispered:
"I was denied a seat too."
Soon, the class started. At some point, while the teacher was writing something on the blackboard while providing explanations, Piper took the opportunity to ask her brother:
"Why do you think other kids didn't want us to sit next to them?"
"I'm not entirely sure… But they're surely not being welcoming."
The twins then refocused on the lesson. Sam had a little idea of why the monster children didn't want them around, but he said nothing to not upset his sister. He didn't have the proof of it, anyway.
Noelle and Papyrus were once again in the garden, having a training of magic. Noelle's skills were only getting better each day, she seemed to have an inborn talent. Noelle really had Papyrus' genes. Not only she was talented in creating bone patterns, but she also had a good physical health. She had a good amout of HP, so she wasn't one who could be knocked down so easily. But would Noelle ever actually need to fight anyone that way? The time of animosity between humans and monsters was over after all.
"YOU ARE DOING PERFECTLY, NOELLE!" - Papyrus complimented his daughter - "YOU'RE MAKING OBVIOUS YOU DESCEND FROM SKELETONS! I THINK THAT AT THIS POINT, YOU CAN EVEN BE CALLED ONE!"
"No need to call me that, thank you." - Noelle replied.
She and Papyrus laughed a little at that. Then, Noelle asked out of curiousity:
"So, could you tell I know everything about skeleton magic?"
"WELL... YOU KNOW A BIG PART OF IT." - Papyrus replied.
"Say... Sam and Piper once mentioned something about skeletons being able to uh… turn a SOUL blue..?" - Noelle asked - "Is that true? And what does it do, exactly?"
"...YES, IT IS SOMETHING SKELETONS CAN DO…" - Papyrus grew uncomfortable - "IT'S CALLED 'BLUE MAGIC' AND IT CHANGES TO GRAVITY OVER YOUR SOUL AND YOURSELF."
"That sounds interesting! Can you show me? Can you teach me?" - Noelle asked, as her hunger to learn something new grew.
"UH... NO. I DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA." - Papyrus replied.
"Why not? Come on, I'm sure it's not much different from any other magic you've taught me!"
"I CAN'T. I'M SORRY." - Papyrus shook his head, looking away.
"But... why? It can't be scarier than the bones!"
Papyrus just winced a bit. Noelle gave him a confused look, but after a moment of thinking, she understood.
"Wait… Sans once told me magic's fun when not misused. So, does it have anything to do with what Gaster did in the lab..? Did Gaster misuse blue magic?"
Papyrus, who was still looking down, didn't reply and braced himself as though seeking some comfort from the bad memories. Noelle gave him a look of sympathy, so she walked closer to him and asked gently:
"Papyrus... tell me, are you afraid that I'd use blue magic the wrong way? That I'd hurt you with it?"
"NO! I TRUST YOU COMPLETELY!" - Papyrus exclaimed - "I KNOW YOU'D NEVER HURT ME OR ANYONE WITH BLUE MAGIC! I'M ACTUALLY SCARED... OR RATHER NERVOUS THAT… I MIGHT HURT YOU. UNWILLINGLY, OF COURSE."
"But you won't hurt me, because you're good and wouldn't abuse of blue magic. Didn't you ever use blue magic on people you know or care about?"
"I DID. ON ASGORE, UNDYNE, AND… FRISK." - Papyrus replied as he looked down.
"And they're all doing fine now, aren't they?" - Noelle insisted - "If it went well with them, it'll go as fine with me."
"...NYEH. YOU ARE RIGHT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME." - Papyrus then managed a smile - "THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS KNOWS WELL WHAT HE'S DOING. AND IF HE DOESN'T INTEND TO HURT HIS DAUGHTER, HE WILL NOT!"
"That's a better spirit." - Noelle said with a smile - "Now, will you teach me to use blue magic?"
"I WILL. OKAY, SO FIRST YOU NEED TO TURN A SOUL BLUE." - Papyrus resumed the lesson - "TO DO SO, YOU MUST IMAGINE AS IF YOU'VE REACHED SOMEONE'S SOUL AND THEN YOU GRABBED IT. IMAGINE AS IF YOU'RE HOLDING IT IN YOUR HAND."
Noelle nodded, then closed her eyes (for a better concentration for a first try) and then imagined in her head as if she was seeing a glowing white SOUL. She pictured how her hand was slowly reaching to the SOUL and after a moment, it finally touched the white heart. At the moment she imagined how she was having a solid grip over it, she heard Papyrus let out a small whimper. So, Noelle opened her eyes and saw that she actually managed to turn Papyrus' SOUL blue. She could see a blue heart-shaped aura at his chest.
"Oh my… You're SOUL's really blue now..!" - Noelle exclaimed, then looked up at Papyrus' face and asked - "Are you alright..?"
"YES, DON'T WORRY." - Papyrus replied with a nod - "NOW THAT YOU TURNED MY SOUL BLUE, YOU HAVE ALL THE POWER OVER ME. RIGHT NOW, THE GRAVITY'S STRONGER OVER ME, SO IT MAKES THE DODGING MORE DIFFICULT. BUT YOU CAN USE BLUE MAGIC TO LIFT ME UP IN THE AIR, OR MOVE ME IN ANY DIRECTION YOU LIKE."
"Woah! So, you mean I could actually make you fly?" - Noelle exclaimed, her greenn eyes shining in wonder - "Incredible…"
"BUT BEFORE I TEACH YOU TO ACTUALLY USE BLUE MAGIC, I'LL MAKE YOU EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF, SO'LL YOU KNOW HOW THAT FEELS." - Papyrus suggested - "IF THAT'S OKAY TO YOU, OF COURSE."
"Sure, no problem." - Noelle replied.
After that, Noelle undid the effect from Papyrus' SOUL. Papyrus then turned Noelle's SOUL blue. The woman could feel the difference. It was as though there was some invisible weight over her whole being. The sensation was difficult to explain.
"ALRIGHT, WE'LL DO A SHORT DODGING EXERCISE. IT'S THE SAME AS BEFORE, ONLY WITH YOUR SOUL BEING BLUE." - Papyrus said - "IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT. IF YOU WANT TO STOP AT ANY TIME, JUST TELL ME SO!"
"Okay. Give me your best shot, Papyrus!" - Noelle said, to let know she was ready as ever.
And so, the two resumed their training. Noelle was doing well this time too, though Papyrus was being careful, this being Noelle's first experience with blue magic. But as things were going okay, Papyrus was progressively rising the difficulty of his patterns. And Noelle, being an agile and attentive person, dodged the attacks without much trouble, having adapted to the strange feeling on her SOUL. All was well, until at some point, Noelle froze at her spot. Her eyes widened as she was "seeing" again. The vision. Her mind absent, she didn't see the next attack coming. Luckily, Papyrus saw that Noelle wasn't doing anything to dodge. He acted quickly and with blue magic, he lifted Noelle up in the air just in time, before she could get hit by the bones.
"W-whoa..?" - Noelle exclaimed, as she came back to reality.
Papyrus stopped everything and he carefully put Noelle down on the ground. He rushed to her, to see if she was alright.
"NOELLE! WHY DIDN'T YOU DODGE? WHY WERE YOU JUST STANDING? A LITTLE LONGER, AND…"
"I'm sorry, Papyrus. But it's not due to blue magic, I promise. It didn't hurt me at all." - Noelle hurried to reassure him - "I just… uh, I guess I don't feel well."
It was a lie. She had to come up with an excuse, there was no way she could tell Papyrus about her vision.
"IT'S TRUE THAT YOU LOOK PALE!" - Papyrus remarked, then wrapped his arms around his daughter and helped her to get up - "IF YOU WEREN'T FEELING WELL, YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME SO! IT'S NOT GOOD TO FIGHT WHEN YOU'RE ILL!"
"Well, I was feeling okay before that. I can't predict when I get ill, you know…"
"HMM, MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET SOME REST?" - Papyrus suggested - "YOU CAN EVEN NAP IF YOU WANT!"
"Yes, that would be nice." - Noelle replied quietly with a slow nod.
Even though she wasn't actually sick, Noelle needed some time alone to think. What she saw a few moments ago scared her a lot. And she was barely keeping up appearances. She couldn't conceal a light shaking though, but Papyrus assumed that it was due to her sudden weakness. Soon, the skeleton and his daughter were walking up the stairs and as they made it to Noelle's bedroom, Papyrus helped her to lay down.
"THERE. I WON'T DISTURB YOU, YOU CAN REST AS LONG AS YOU WANT." - Papyrus said as he gently stroke Noelle's hair fringe, almost as if he was comforting a sick child - "FRISK AND I CAN PICK SAM AND PIPER AT SCHOOL TODAY, IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE DOING IT."
"...Yes, please. If it's not much trouble." - Noelle replied.
Normally, she'd never miss an occasion to see her children. But her vision disturbed her so much, that she wasn't in the mood for careless chatting with them. The thought of her vision made her shiver again.
"ARE YOU COLD?" - Papyrus asked, having noticed her shivering.
"No, no… I'm fine."
"ALRIGHT, IF YOU SAY SO… I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE. BUT IF YOU FEEL WORSE, YOU MUST TELL."
Noelle just nodded. Papyrus exited the room, and so Noelle was alone in the room. She rolled over so she was facing the ceiling and she just blankly stared at it. "Oh gods, what must I do? Should I tell my parents and Sans about the vision? No, they'll freak out and it might make things even worse… It might even become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I can't take the risk." - Noelle was thinking - "But I can't just sit and do nothing. Can the vision even be avoided? Or is it fated to happen?" And so, Noelle was lying there deep in thought, having no track of time. She got pulled out of it as she heard a gentle knock on the door. As she allowed whoever it was to come in, the door opened and Frisk entered the room, holding a cup of tea in her hands.
"Frisk? I didn't know you were home…" - Noelle commented as she sat down.
"I returned a few minutes ago. Papyrus told me you're sick, so I decided to make you some golden flower tea, just in case." - Frisk said as she handed the cup.
"That's very thoughtful… thank you." - Noelle said, then drank a few sips.
It was a bit hot, so she put the cup aside on her nightstand and then… wrapped her arms around Frisk, pulling her in a tight embrace. Frisk's eyes widened in surprise. Sure, getting a hug from her daughter was something she wanted since the undo of the De-Code, but the suddenness of the gesture was still a bit strange.
"Noelle, are you okay..?" - Frisk asked in concern.
"I... I'm alright…" - Noelle replied as she pulled away - "I just… needed this now."
"If I knew tea gets such a reaction out of you, I would've tried this sooner." - Frisk half-joked, before becoming serious - "But really, are you alright? Is there something bothering you?"
"No, Frisk. I'm fine, really." - Noelle shook her head, then forced a smile - "I guess I'm in a needy mood today."
Frisk didn't say anything for a moment, then decided to not pressure on the matter for the moment.
"Alright, then. But if there's something - anything - that's bothering you… you know you can tell us. We'll do our best to help."
Then, Frisk put her hand over Noelle's shoulder for a moment, before standing up and leaving the bedroom. Noelle let out a sigh. She took the cup of tea and as she looked into its depth, she thought: "The problem is that 'your best' might not be enough…"
Soon, it was the time to go pick the twins at school. Like promised, Papyrus and Frisk took care of the matter and left the house in the direction of the school. As they walked, Papyrus noticed that Frisk had a thoughtful expression. So of course, he asked if everything was okay.
"I'm concerned about Noelle." - Frisk answered - "I don't know why, but I have a feeling she's not actually sick."
"SO YOU THINK SHE LIED?" - Papyrus asked - "BUT WHY WOULD SHE LIE TO US? SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN HONEST WITH US!"
"I don't know, maybe she doesn't want us to worry..?" - Frisk suggested.
"OH NO, SO SHE HAS PROBLEMS AND WE DON'T KNOW?" - Papyrus got alarmed.
"Maybe she doesn't." - Frisk hurried to try calm Papyrus down - "It's just an impression I got. It could be just my imagination though."
"HMM... WHAT MADE YOU BELIEVE NOELLE'S HIDING SOMETHING?" - Papyrus asked.
"I... I just noticed that she has an unmatching behaviour sometimes…" - Frisk replied with a frown - "Like... today, when I brought her some tea, she hugged me."
"COULDN'T THIS MEAN SHE'S WARMING UP TO YOU? TO THE IDEA YOU'RE HER MOM?" - Papyrus suggested, crooking an eyebrow.
"It's not really the fact that she hugged me, but the way she did." - Frisk clarified - "It was almost as if… she feared it would be our last hug?"
Frisk then shivered a little, after what Papyrus wrapped his arms around his beloved human in a reassuring way.
"MAYBE NOELLE'S JUST INSECURE? SHE HAS BEEN ALL ALONE DURING TWENTY-TWO YEARS. AND NOW THAT SHE HAS A FAMILY, SHE'S PROBABLY AFRAID TO LOSE IT. BUT WE WENT THROUGH THE DE-CODE, AND IT ALL LOOKS LIKE JUST A BAD DREAM NOW. SO, I'M SURE NOTHING CAN TEAR US APART ANYMORE." - the skeleton said confident.
"Please, never change Papyrus." - Frisk requested him as she looked into his eyesockets - "At least one of us two must remain optimistic no matter what."
"WORRY NOT, FRISK! THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ENOUGH OPTIMISM FOR THE TWO OF US!"
The two spouses smiled at each other and then, holding hands, resumed their walk to the school.
Meantime at school, while Sam and Piper waited for their mother to come pick them at school, they heard a group of children whisper something between them. Sam frowned as he understood it was him and Piper they were talking about. He could tell it by the quick glances the monster children were sending in their direction. The boy shook his head and let out a sad sigh.
"Piper, I think I know why our class hates us." - Sam said quietly to his sister.
"Why? We did nothing wrong." - Piper replied as quietly.
"No, but our father did." - Sam said darkly - "They hate him, and since we're his children, they hate us too."
"But why would they hate us for what our dad did? It doesn't make sense…"
"Oh, Piper... We're related to him, and that's enough for them to hate us."
Piper was about to reply something, as at that moment she got pushed by someone who passed next to her. This made her fall forward and drop her backpack. A few of her belongings fell out of her bag in the snow. Piper looked up to see that it was the dog from her class who denied her a seat next to him. The girl quickly put her notebook back in the bag so it doesn't get wet.
"You should be more careful..." - she remarked quietly.
"Pff, I'm not getting advice from you." - the pup, whose name was actually Pupamy, replied.
Sam and Piper could have a closer look of him now. Pupamy was a white dog with long ears and black nose, wearing a blue hooded robe. He wasn't wearing any shoes and he didn't seem to need any. By his looks and name, the twins could guess that he was the son of two ex-royal guards: Dogamy and Dogaressa.
"That's not very nice…" - Piper replied, upset by the tone the dog used.
"Apologize to my sister." - Sam requested calmly - "You could've hurt her, or ruined her books."
"I'm not apologizing to the mad scientist's daughter." - Pupamy replied, saying the last three words as though it tasted like poison.
"Look, we didn't chose whose children we are!" - Sam replied, a little more loudly than he intended - "We have nothing to do with what our father did, so don't annoy us for his actions!"
"Maybe you're not responsible, but you're still his kids! You'll grow evil just like him!" - Pupamy kept insisting on his point.
"Our dad's not evil!" - Piper yelled, and her rounded eyes showed she could cry at any moment - "He just made bad choices…"
"And we won't become like him, we won't make the same mistakes." - Sam added, his eyes being more angry than upset - "You surely also know that our mom's the Dreemurr princess! She saved everyone from the De-Code! Doesn't that play in our favor?"
"I know who's your mom." - Pupamy crossed his arms over his chest - "But it doesn't matter, 'cause you two lived too long with Dr Gaster. He already corrupted you and your sister."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Sam punched Pupamy hard on his face. Not having expected that, the dog fell down on the snowy ground. Piper gasped at what just happened. Pupamy, after rubbing his stinging face, glared up at Sam. He got up on his feet and he said with a growl:
"Oh, you shouldn't have done this!"
Then, he punched Sam on his turn. The children that were on the playground got attracted by the scene, so they stood in a circle around the two boys. Sam saw that his nose was bleeding after the punch. But he didn't care. He faced his foe and declared:
"This is a fight then! Prepare to bleed!"
"In your dreams!"
And thus, the fight started. The two rushed towards each other and soon, they were punching and kicking each other until they were both rolling on the ground. The cold snow on their clothes didn't stop them, they kept fighting on the ground. Everybody around was shouting excitedly:
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Piper was gasping or closing her eyes each time any of the two boys was getting hit. Also, the sight of her brother's nosebleed was disturbing her even more. Especially when red drops were falling on the white snow.
"Take this, manged dog!" - Sam shouted angrily as pulled on the dog's left ear.
This made Pupamy let out a highpitched loud yell, the kind that were emitted by dogs getting hurt (which was pretty much the case). It was at that moment when a teacher walked through the crowd and separated the two boys.
"What is going on here?! What came over you?! You know violence isn't tolerated in this school!"
"It's his fault!" - Pupamy yelled as he rubbed the base of his left ear - "He punched me first!"
"Maybe, but he said my sister and I were corrupted! He deserved the hit!" - Sam shouted - "No one insults my sister! No one!"
As the two argued whose fault that was, Papyrus and Frisk made it to the school. When they saw that Sam was being grounded by the teacher along with another kid, they rushed to them and asked what happened. The teacher explained that the two kids were fighting and that Sam was apparently the one who started it.
"Sam, you really started the fight?" - Frisk asked - "And... you're bleeding?"
"It... hasn't stopped since... they started fighting..." - Piper said with a pale expression.
Frisk gently rubbed the girl's shoulder, while Papyrus knelt to Sam and put his gloved hand over his broken nose. The hand emitted a green aura and within seconds, the bleeding stopped. The nose had been healed.
"Thank you..." - Sam said.
"NOW, I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU, THE GOOD BOY I KNOW, HIT ANOTHER PERSON FIRST!" - Papyrus said sternly.
"I was angry, the dog insulted my sister. He said that she and I had been corrupted by our father and that we'll be evil people when we grow up."
Papyrus and Frisk exchanged a look, then looked back at the two children. Frisk sighed and looked into Sam's eyes.
"I do agree that he shouldn't have said that. It was horrible of him. But he hurt you with words. You should've replied with words, not hitting him." - she said seriously.
"I couldn't control myself… Anger just took over me." - Sam replied - "I know, it's a lame excuse. But I'll try to control myself better next time."
Frisk nodded, glad that Sam admitted his mistake. She took the kids' hand in hers, while Papyrus approached the sniffing Pupamy. The pup looked up at the skeleton with a slightly fearful look. He thought that Papyrus would lecture him for insulting his grandchildren. But instead, he just asked:
"DO YOU WANT ME TO HEAL YOU?"
"N-no, thanks…" - Pupamy replied, averting his gaze - "My parents can do that."
Pupamy didn't want Papyrus to heal him because he felt somewhat ashamed for what happened, so he thought he didn't deserve to be healed by the kind skeleton. Papyrus then patted the dog boy on his shoulder, before going to join his family. As they were walking to Gaster's house, Piper was pretty much silent. Usually, she was talkative, so her silence concerned Papyrus and Frisk. When they reached the house, the two adults made sure that the girl was okay. She assured them she was fine and that she had just been disturbed by the sight of blood. Gaster watched from the window at the scene and quickly understood that something must have happened at school. Soon, the two adults left, while the twins walked up to the porch of the house. Gaster opened the door and asked:
"So, what happened? The look on your faces isn't the best."
"I... I had a fight with a boy from my class." - Sam answered honestly, but didn't dare to look at his father - "And I started it."
"What?" - Gaster asked calmly as his facial expression hardened - "Explain yourself."
Gaster closed the door, after what Piper quietly went up to her room. Sam sat down on the couch in the living room, as he felt the pressure from his father's gaze. After a moment of silence, Sam spoke up:
"The guy said some trash about you, my sister and myself. I lost it, so I punched him. I was just... so angry! I still am, to be honest. I wanted him to shut his mouth, so I acted on impulse."
"Well, you shouldn't have surrendered to those 'impulses' of yours." - Gaster said with a stern tone and expression.
"You can't judge me! If anything, it's your fault the entire school hates us!" - Sam replied angrily.
A pause followed. It didn't take long for Gaster to understand what Sam meant. Then, he asked, sounding emotionless:
"What did the boy say?"
"Go, ask Piper if you want!" - Sam crossed his arms and looked away - "I don't want to talk or even think about it!"
Gaster thought that he should deal with Sam's behavior towards him later. He decided to go talk with Piper instead, she'd surely be more cooperative. He went up the stairs and as he made it to the door, he knocked. Piper allowed him to come in.
"Piper, can you perhaps explain me better what happened?"
Hugging her puppy plushie tightly, Piper told the whole story, including what Pupamy had said. As he listened, Gaster had an unreadable expression on his face. After she finished, Piper asked hesitantly:
"Can you tell me something...?"
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
"Well, Papyrus says that anyone can be a good person if they try. But now, I wonder... is the reverse true as well? I mean, can even the best people easily become evil?" - Piper asked.
"I used to be much nicer years ago. You know what I eventually became."
It was only when the words left his mouth that Gaster realized he said the wrong thing. Piper was now hugging her plushie even more tightly and she was trying to fight back tears. Gaster sat next to her and apologized:
"I'm sorry. That's not what you needed to hear. But the truth is, each person is different. I might've changed for the worse, but if you look at Papyrus, you'll see that there's nothing in the world that can break him."
"I guess you're right..."
"But why are you asking me this? Is it because of what Pupamy said? Are you afraid you could become a bad person?"
Piper didn't answer. But Gaster guessed that the answer was "yes". He wondered how he could reassure her, and quickly enough, he got an idea.
"Can you close your eyes for a moment?"
Piper complied, not feeling like asking why. Gaster then brought his hand at the level of her chest and after he made the right move, he summon the girl's SOUL. He then told her that she could open her eyes and when she did, she gasped at the sight. She could see a green heart floating right in front of her chest. She looked up at Gaster curiously.
"This is your SOUL. It's beautiful, don't you agree? And it's green. Green represents kindness. This means that kindness is your main trait. But the truth is…" - Gaster said as he let the SOUL go back inside Piper's body - "...I didn't actually need to see your SOUL to know that. Because I know this SOUL like nobody does. You've always been so kind, while I... rarely returned the favor. And let me say you're one of the kindest people I ever knew. Your kindness is so pure, and I know that nothing can change it."
As soon as he finished, Piper wrapped her arms around Gaster and burried her face into his turtleneck.
"Thank you, dad." - Piper said quietly.
"I meant every word I said." - Gaser replied as he hugged back - "And don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise."
Gaster then did what surprised Piper a lot. He "kissed" the top of her head. Even though he didn't have lips, the gesture was gentle so it still felt nice. Piper looked up at her father, having a confused look on her face.
"Did you just kiss me?" - she asked.
"Oh, sorry. It probably feels weird without any lips."
"No, it was nice, I'm just surprised. I don't remember you ever giving kisses." - Piper said, making Gaster look down.
"I know, I wasn't the best at affections..."
"Can you... can you do that more often? Please..?"
Gaster just nodded before giving his daughter another peck on the top of her head, while still comfortingly holding her.
A few hours later, when the kids were asleep, Gaster was standing at the porch of his house, finishing his cigarette. It was his third one, actually. What happened at school made his SOUL ache. It was aching because he knew it was his fault that his children were bullied now. "I made the bad actions, and it's my children who are undergoing the consequences… just because they're bearing my name." - he thought to himself. He was about to drop and crush the end of his cigarette, as he suddenly heard Noelle's voice:
"I hope you at least don't smoke in front of the kids."
Gaster looked up to see that she was standing with a few steps of distance from him. He dropped the cigarette and replied:
"I don't. Toriel had already lectured me about it years ago."
"How can you even smoke anyway? Skeletons don't even have lungs or blood to enjoy necotine." - Noelle said curiously.
"Uhhh..." - Gaster facepalmed, clearly annoyed - "I have no time for your stupid questions..!"
"And what about clever questions then?" - Noelle asked, making Gaster arch an eybrow - "Because I do have one."
Gaster waited for her to ask whatever she had to ask. But instead, Noelle walked up to him and said quietly:
"It's something I didn't tell my parents, Sans, or anyone else. You're the first person I'm telling this because you're surely the only one who has answers. But I want you to keep this for yourself. You mustn't tell a soul about it. Can I trust you with that?"
"...I guess I owe you, so I won't repeat your secret to anyone. What is it about?"
"Well, it happens I have an ability to have glimpses of the future, like Papyrus and Sans." - Noelle said, picking Gaster's interest.
"Intersting... I didn't know it could be transmitted genetically…"
"It's not the point now. I was having a vision that scares me, and I need to know if all visions are bound to happen or if there's some way to avoid it!"
"Could you perhaps tell me what your vision was about for starters?" - Gaster requested.
Noelle hesitated for a moment. But then she guessed that if she wanted some help, she'd have to be completely honest.
"All right... The vision is a short one, it barely lasts a few seconds. The landscape is a bit blurry, but I can clearly see Papyrus. I see him wearing a black outfit and he's crying… I see my own hand land over his shoulder, as though I was attempting to provide some comfort. But it's pointless, because his grief isn't one that can be easily erased. I see Papyrus having his arms wrapped around a glass container. And within the container, there is…" - Noelle trembled, and so did her voice, struggling to finis her phrase - "...there's a red SOUL… It's Frisk's SOUL."
A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuun!
Okay, so regarding Papyrus' blue magic trauma... Just like in the regular "Handplates" story, he mostly overcame his fear. It's just that this particular situation triggered the bad memories. Because Gaster is technically Papyrus' father and misused blue magic on him, and now Papyrus is a father himself, so using blue magic on his own child obviously made him anxious.
This chapter introduces a new secondary OC - Pupamy. Like it was said in the chapter, he's the son of the two married dogs. His role won't be that much significant, but he'll be there sometimes to add a bit of "life" to the story, particularily in the twins' one.
And... oh my, can Noelle avoid the death of her mother? And who'd be to blame? (Btw, the visions's inpired by "Dustjar", a concept that belongs to Zarla as well.)