What Blooms in Shadow

by PaddieFrog

In the dog days of summer, a happy event sparks a terrible realization in Toriel regarding her immortality and the future consequences it could entail. She knows there is only one way for her to age again, to avoid such a fate. But things are no longer as simple as they were over a century ago. (Soriel, Sequel to All These Broken Pieces)

20. Control

Toriel felt frozen in place as she struggled to take in the overwhelming sight before her. While she had rushed through her home to get to the yard and burst out the backdoor with little thought, all her frantic energy was struck down once she was actually directly faced with what she'd seen through the window. She'd stopped dead in her tracks right as her paws met the snow, and suddenly couldn't move nor tear her eyes away from the sight before her.

Just a short distance away, Papyrus stood in front of a truly enormous blaster. It utterly dwarfed any iteration of Sans' that she'd seen him conjure up. It could easily plow through the house if it wanted to! And where GB had soft curves in places and could pull off a friendly expression quite easily, this blaster was all jagged edges, sharp spines jutting out in all directions, rows of massive dagger-like teeth, and burning eyelights that seemed to stare straight through her without any hint of emotion.

It certainly made the idea of blasters being intended as terrifying weapons of war a lot more tangible.

The oppressive aura it emanated instinctively made her take a step back, but her gaze did not waver from its looming shape. For a few moments, it felt as though her voice had been stolen from her, her mouth opening and closing a few times without getting out any words. But upon once again catching sight of the skeleton standing in front of the enormous beast, who looked nearly as frozen as she was, she found that her ability to speak returned.

"P-Papyrus…?" She croaked out, wrapping one arm around her middle protectively as she took another small step back. "What is…"

Her friend didn't get a chance to reply. For as soon as Toriel spoke, it was like she had caused something within the massive blaster to awaken. While before it had been floating in place, still and staring without a hint of expression, suddenly it's massive eyelights locked onto her with full awareness.

Its pupils dilated, its massive jaws slowly began to part with the sound of creaking bone, and curls of magic tinged smoke began curling up from the gaps between its teeth. Perhaps most frightening of all, a low rumble of a growl began to escape the great beast. One that was deep enough to faintly shake the ground beneath her feet. It reminded Toriel of distant thunder, but there was nothing distant about the source of the sound in this case.

It began slowly to move through the air towards her, its growling steadily growing in intensity all the while. Toriel felt like a deer, or perhaps, goat in the headlights. Her mind screamed at her to summon a volley of fireballs to defend herself with, but her limbs felt like they were made of ice.

Thankfully, before the hulking blaster could make much headway towards her, Papyrus hurriedly scurried out in front of it. He halted its advance by giving it a harsh wack on the end of its huge muzzle.

"NO! STAND DOWN YOU INFERNAL THING!" He shouted at the blaster, standing defiantly with his hands curled into fists at his sides, but still noticeably trembling. "TORIEL IS A FRIEND, CLOSE UP YOUR JAWS AND STAY STILL THIS INSTANT!"

With that, he stepped forward and gave the huge weapon a firm shove backwards. It was clear to see that it wasn't really the physical force of it that led the blaster to move away, moreso the authority Papyrus was trying to project. The huge beast continued to rumble, but the threatening tone of it had faded. Its gaze was briefly drawn away from Toriel down to the small skeleton in front of it, and it was incredibly difficult to tell what sort of emotion it was feeling, if any at all.

But for what it was worth, it obeyed Papyrus and stayed where it was. Though it was quickly focusing its huge eyelights on her again, and didn't fully close its massive smoking jaws. Once Toriel realised it wasn't going to move again, she finally released the breath she didn't realize she was holding and felt an intense shiver run through her whole body.

Once that passed though, she snapped out of her terrified stupor as her logical side was able to take hold again. At least enough so that she could face Papyrus. But he was already unleashing a flurry of apologies, looking more like he'd been caught stealing pie before dinnertime than having unleashed a terrifying weapon into their backyard.

"OH DEAR, I'M SO VERY SORRY, TORIEL! P-PLEASE DON'T BE SCARED, EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL, I ASSURE YOU!" He insisted, trying very hard to straighten up and appear confident.

He was sweating visibly though, and his forced smile slowly turned more into a grimace.

"UM Y-YOU CAN PUT THOSE AWAY THOUGH… I WON'T LET IT HURT YOU. I THINK THE FIRE MAY JUST AGGRAVATE IT MORE." He said uneasily after a moment, pointing down at her paws.

Toriel blinked, only then realizing that she had in fact summoned her fire magic in the midst of all that. Along with her claws, which were ablaze with fierce purple flames. She found herself reluctant to heed his advice, especially with the massive blaster still staring her down like that. But eventually, she took another steadying breath and allowed the flames to dissipate. Once they had, the words quashed by fear came flooding out.

"Papyrus, what is going on?!" She demanded, eyes wide. "Is that your…?"

She trailed off, unsure how exactly to word the question. She knew what Sans called his attack, but wasn't sure how much of that could be applied to the massive beast before them. Thankfully, Papyrus understood what she was asking regardless and hesitantly nodded.

"I DIDN'T INTEND TO SUMMON IT OUT AT THIS SIZE." He explained, wringing his gloved hands fitfully. "IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MUCH SMALLER, BUT…"

Frustration suddenly flared up on his face and he stamped the ground repeatedly with his foot.

"I JUST DON'T GET IT, I CAN CONTROL EVERY OTHER FACET OF MY MAGIC TO THE UPMOST! WHY MUST IT ONLY BE YOU THAT MAKES THINGS DIFFICULT?!" He shouted, whirling back around to glare daggers at the blaster.

The massive beast only regarded him with the same dull emotionlessness as ever, not offering so much as a blink. Toriel did her best to ignore the renewed shudder its expression summoned in her and keep her gaze on her friend.

"Papyrus." She said firmly, managing to regain his attention. "My friend, why on earth were you summoning your blaster out here in the first place?"

The question caused him to stiffen, and his frustrated expression gave way to shame. He fidgeted with his scarf for a few moments, looking conflicted. But eventually he let out a conceding sigh.

"FATHER... SHARED SOME ADVICE WITH ME ON HOW TO BETTER CONTROL IT." He admitted, not meeting her gaze. "IT FELT SO GOOD HEARING HIS FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THE BLASTERS WORK. OR… ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK ANYWAY."

He grimaced at that, shooting another uncomfortable look at the blaster looming behind him before explaining further.

"I GUESS I WAS SO EXCITED TO FINALLY GET SOME OF MY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT ANSWERED THAT I GREW… OVERCONFIDENT IN MY ABILITIES."

That last part was clearly difficult for him to get out, a rare admittance of shortcomings from the usually proud and confident skeleton. She didn't like the way the admission seemed to make him deflate, and it only worsened as he continued.

"AND NOW I'M…" He paused, starting to anxiously wring his gloved hands together a bit. "I'M HAVING TROUBLE GETTING IT TO LEAVE..."

The explanation gave Toriel little comfort, but it was good to know there was at least a somewhat understandable reason for the terrifying blaster's sudden appearance. Her mind whirled, trying to figure out what to do and making an effort to parse the conflicted emotions Papyrus had been displaying. Inevitably though, the solution to both kept circling back to the same thing.

"We should get your brother." She said quickly, taking a step back towards the door. "He will know what to-"

"NO!" Papyrus exclaimed suddenly, cutting off her words and stopping her in her tracks.

He froze up as well, as though equally startled by his own outburst. After a moment of stammering and looking embarrassed he quickly kept speaking.

"ER, JUST NOT YET." He clarified in a gentler, apologetic tone. "PLEASE, GIVE ME A CHANCE TO FIGURE THIS OUT MYSELF. I KNOW I'VE ALMOST GOT IT."

He looked at her with imploring sockets, making them sparkle and bringing his gloved hands together plaintively. She regarded him warily, still wanting to rush through the door to get Sans but feeling her willpower dwindling under Papyrus' gaze.

It seemed the skeleton knew her weaknesses well. It was rather hard for her to resist puppy dog eyes, especially from a kindly soul like Papyrus. The fact that the little one was also driving her to be more emotional than usual certainly wasn't helping matters either.

She worried her lip with her fangs, internally warring with indecision. But in the end, she just couldn't make herself reach for the door handle.

"Very well…" She said through a strained sigh.

Papyrus looked like he wanted to leap into the air at her answer, the cheerful sparkles in his sockets intensifying. She was glad to see him so happy, but couldn't help but cast another uneasy look to the creature behind him. Seeing its cold, terrifying eyelights and gleam of the moonlight off its rows of teeth almost made her want to go back on her agreement, but she kept her nerve for the moment.

"But please… please be careful." She all but begged, grasping her excitable friend's shoulders to ensure he listened to her.

Unphased, he quickly gave her a reassuring nod and puffed himself up as he usually did. He then faced the blaster again with renewed confidence, narrowing his sockets up at the massive beast. Its expression didn't shift in the slightest, though it's piercing eyelights did move to focus on him.

Though Toriel's gaze still instinctively wanted to stay on the towering threat before them, something drew her eyes back to Papyrus. Slowly, a dark blue magical aura began to emanate and encircle from his hands.

And though he was facing away from her, the sudden flashes of orange and blue light dancing across the blaster's face and painting the snow around them in an array of hues told her that his eyelight was ablaze the same way that was common with his brother. Though it seemed that for Papyrus, the opposite socket served to host the display of magic.

"YOUR CURRENT SIZE IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE!" Papyrus declared, pointing a glowing gloved hand at the beast. "YOU WILL LISTEN AND CHANGE TO THE SIZE I INTENDED YOU TO BE!"

The order was clear and direct, and carried a level of authoritativeness that Toriel wasn't used to hearing from the skeleton. It certainly took her by surprise. But initially, it didn't seem the blaster was all that impressed. It simply continued staring him down in eerie silence, magical curls of smoke still swirling out of its massive jaws. The lack of reaction reopened the pit of fear in Toriel's stomach, and she felt the urge to resummon her flames.

But then, without any change in expression, it ever so slowly began to close up its looming maw. Its chilling sets of jagged teeth began to slide back together, and the smoke it had been emitting began to fade away.

Once its mouth had finally closed, it grew still again for another long moment. Until Papyrus took another step towards it, his magic once again flaring. Toriel could see now that he was starting to sweat, being drained as he attempted to assert his will over the enormous weapon. What seemed nearly effortless for Sans to do with GB, appeared to be taking every bit of Papyrus' concentration and strength.

But it paid off in this instance, as the blaster reacted to Papyrus' more bold actions. While its expression remained as icy as ever, something shifted. It was slow and disjointed, like a balloon being manually deflated bit by bit, but the hulking beast began to shrink in size. Not with the sound of hissing air, but with the faint crunch of bone and crackling magic.

Toriel watched with bated breath, some part of her expecting the magic to suddenly fail and for the blaster to surge towards them both again. It didn't help that she could tell Papyrus was struggling somewhat to maintain the control he had over the situation. But the skeleton once again proved himself as an incredibly adept magic user, continuing to will the blaster smaller until he had to stop for his own sake.

He was left panting slightly and wiping sweat off his brow, but his efforts had paid off. The blaster was now only about the size of a horse, which while still large and imposing, no longer made Toriel fear it was seconds away from reducing her home to rubble if it so much as moved wrong.

The blaster didn't react much to its sudden reduced size. Its expression remained frozen, as though it were carved from stone. But it did seem more willing to move around a bit more, starting to casually drift over towards them.

"THAT… THAT WILL DO FOR NOW. I SUPPOSE." Papyrus panted before straightening up again.

He realized then that the blaster was approaching and held out his hand in a clear signal for it to stop. At first, it didn't seem to notice, not until its muzzle was nearly touching his hand. Only then did it finally halt, exhaling another small bit of ethereal smoke from its jaws.

It blinked once, slowly, then directed its eyelights back over to Toriel. Though its gaze still sent a shiver down her spine, it was a lot less intimidating when it wasn't towering over her like one of the dragons of old. Still, it took her a bit before she could speak again.

"W-well done, my friend." She stammered out after a moment, still watching the blaster closely.

Papyrus gave a soft sigh of relief, then quickly straightened himself up again as though trying to appear as though he hadn't been worried.

"YES! YOU SEE? I'VE GOTTEN IT UNDER CONTROL!" He proclaimed confidently, giving his scarf a dramatic toss.

When the blaster simply continued staring at them and remained stationary, Toriel took a few hesitant steps forward to stand beside Papyrus. Now closer to him, it was clearer that he was still trembling slightly, and sweat continued to bead on his skull.

She worried her lip with her fangs uneasily, unsure of what to say as her gaze was drawn back to the newly shrunken blaster in front of them.

"It is... not so bad at this size I suppose." She offered through a weak attempt at a smile."

As though mocking her words, the creature gave a low rumble and a few drops of stark white drool rolled through its teeth and down its jaws. They fell and hit the snow with an audible hiss, denoting their magical nature. All the while its gaze continued to remain steady and unwavering.

She supposed all that magic the blaster had been building up in its initial reaction upon seeing her had to go somewhere, but the method chosen certainly wasn't helping matters.

"Though it could certainly still use some manners…" She continued, her smile slipping into a grimace.

Tapping her chin for a few moments, a thought came to her.

"Perhaps um… giving it a name would be a good start?" She suggested, turning to look back at Papyrus. "That might make it easier to-"

"NO."

His quick and harsh response cut her off and she winced a bit in surprise. The saddened surprise must have been evident on her face, because the skeleton was quick to speak in his usual tone again and apologize.

"SORRY, SORRY, I DON'T MEAN TO BE SNIPPY WITH YOU, TORIEL." He said in a duller tone, wringing his gloves a bit.

He cast another long glance at the blaster, his dark sockets looking truly haunted for the few moments he did so. His "attack" simply stared back, continuing to drool a bit and drill its wielder with its icy gaze.

"IT'S JUST… THIS WEAPON… ITS THE SOURCE OF A LOT OF COMPLEX FEELINGS…" He admitted, avoiding her gaze. "...AND OF A LOT OF PAINFUL MEMORIES FOR ME."

Toriel felt her soul tighten up in her chest at that, rapidly recalling all she had been told about Papyrus' blaster by him and his brother. With the actual creature in question now there in front of her eyes, it was a lot easier to picture just what happened that terrible day all those years ago. The events that still had a hand in everything happening now in their current life as well.

"Of course, my friend. I am sorry." She apologized softly, stepping closer and reaching out a paw to lay on his shoulder. "I know that suddenly remembering what happened back then… must have been very hard on you."

To her surprise, he flinched a bit at her touch, prompting her to pull her paw back. He was quick to play it off with his posture, straightening up again, but the emotions in his sockets betrayed its falsity.

A sharp winter breeze lightly tossed his scarf and her long ears for a few moments before he spoke again, still not looking at her.

"WELL IT… IT IS MY FAULT FATHER AND MANY OTHERS DIED. BECAUSE I COULDN'T CONTROL MY BLASTER'S ATTACKS." He said with a strained smile and even more strained little laugh.

Toriel didn't like how matter-of-fact he sounded about it. But she didn't get a chance to reply before he continued.

"EVER SINCE THOSE MEMORIES RETURNED… I'VE BEEN MORE SCARED THAN EVER OF ALLOWING IT OUT OF ITS POCKET DIMENSION." He went on, turning to look again at their menacing silent observer.

In the returning heavy silence following those words, Toriel willed herself to sort through her surge of thoughts and emotions in order to say what was needed. She wanted to project her firm but warm side, the side that got others to listen when needed but made the love behind the intentions clear.

But alas, with everything going on piling up, her little one's hormonal effect on her emotions was having its way with her. She felt tears wanting to fill her eyes, and it took a lot of willpower not to have her voice tremble when she managed to reply.

"Please, you cannot blame yourself for that, my friend." She implored, daring to step closer again. "Gaster was the one who pushed you too far, who instilled those dangerous abilities in you in the first place, was he not? If anyone is to blame, it is him."

Again, her eyes welled a bit at the thought, mostly from renewed rage at the former royal scientist. But she didn't let any escape her. Crying certainly wasn't going to help her make her point, even if it did feel like her soul was being squeezed at the moment.

Her words did not seem to have the effect that she hoped, perhaps due to her unsteady emotions. Papyrus continued to keep his expression hidden from her, and went noticeably stiff. He was gritting his teeth harshly, as though trying to keep whatever words were burning within him in that moment from escaping. His blaster appeared to react to his shift in emotions, letting out a low rumble as a renewed curl of magically charged smoke curled out from its jaws.

The slight startle that gave both of them seemed to snap him from his attempt at repressing a response. He audibly drew in a breath, and the words rushed out upon the exhale.

"BUT IF HAD JUST LISTENED TO HIM AND DID WHAT HE ASKED AND NOT GOTTEN SO ANXIOUS AND UPSET SO EASILY, I COULD HAVE KEPT MY MAGIC UNDER CONTROL!" He exclaimed, sounding as though the idea had taken root far before he could now voice it aloud. "I WOULDN'T HAVE MISFIRED THE BLASTER. I WOULDN'T HAVE HIT THE ENERGY FIELD! I WOULDN'T HAVE-"

Toriel cut into his frantic rambling without hesitation, feeling at least one tear escape her control as she did so.

"You were still a child, Papyrus." She pointed out shakily before quickly steadying her voice again. "A child who did not deserve to be in a situation anywhere close to what you were in the first place. It was beyond cruel and unfair in every way."

Papyrus fell silent at that, but had at least regained the will to meet her eyes again. She could practically see the memories he was rapidly picking through in his mind, reflected in his wide sockets. For a beat, she thought he was going to launch right back into his earlier bout of self blame. But after a long moment, his expression dulled and his gaze fell to the ground again.

"I KNOW…" He rasped, scuffing a boot through the snow a bit.

He opened his mouth to say more, but then hesitated, letting his jaw shut again. He cast a long glance up at the window she had spotted him from earlier, the one in the bedroom that had quickly become hers and Sans' since the events of the last spring. From what little could be seen of the room beyond the glass, it appeared to still be dark and still within.

It was only once he pulled his gaze away from the window and back to the blaster that he spoke again, in as quiet a voice as a boisterous monster like him could manage.

"THE TRUTH IS… I HAVE BEEN MAKING... UNANNOUNCED TRIPS TO THE WOODS AROUND THE MOUNTAIN LATELY TO PRACTICE THE ABILITIES THAT FATHER TOLD ME ABOUT." He admitted, shifting uneasily and hunching his shoulders a bit. "THE ONE'S I'VE ALWAYS HAD… BUT HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO USE TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL..."

Toriel hummed softly in acknowledgement, conflicted on how to feel as his admission rapidly explained a good deal of Papyrus' odd behavior. There was disappointment in her eyes no doubt, but he seemed to expect worse, given that he reacted to her response with visible relief.

With that, he seemed to lose his worries about facing her for the moment. When he turned back to her once more, sparks of enthusiasm began shining in his sockets.

"I'VE GOTTEN MUCH BETTER AT THIS FOR EXAMPLE!" He said, posing with renewed confidence.

With a sudden leap, he launched himself up into the air, scattering the snow beneath him. Taken off guard, Toriel took a startled step back and craned her neck to look up at her now airborne friend. She noticed the blaster's eyelights moving up to follow Papyrus as well, though it remained in place.

Papyrus had somehow managed to reach nearly the height of the roof before stopping, grinning widely all the while. Toriel's soul all but leapt in her chest as she thought about him inevitably coming down from such a height, but it appeared as though he had been briefly suspended in space. Then with a flutter of his legs, he settled himself atop the bare branches of the large tree in the backyard.

He stood proudly, beaming in a way that had been sadly rare for some time. It brought another pang to her soul in her emotional state. That too wanted to abruptly make her cry, but thankfully Papyrus was quick to continue his performance of sorts.

"OH! AND I LEARNED SOME NEW BULLET PATTERNS THAT ARE OPTIMIZED FOR BONE ATTACKS." He declared, rapidly summoning a volley of bones that floated all around him in careful formation.

The sight tugged at something in Toriel's memories, but she ignored the sensation, finding Papyrus' display of magic genuinely impressive. He gave a dramatic sweep of his arm and sent a wave of the bones spiraling down towards the ground. Every other bone in the formation moved at a slightly different speed than the one directly beside it, creating a mesmerizing zigzagging effect as the attack streaked towards its target. Thankfully in this case, that was a sizable snow poff and not Toriel.

But just before the rush of magical bullets could strike and obliterate the unsuspecting pile of snow, they stopped just short, all levitating mere inches away from touching it. Toriel knew that this was no accident, but a display of just how much control the skeleton had over his magic. Even she couldn't hope to exert such minute command over her bullets.

Furthering this, Papyrus flexed a hand and most of the bones all dissipated into a shower of harmless magic, sparkling as the breeze carried it out over the snow. He left a few of the bullets in place, and used one to rapidly carve something into the front of the snow poff. Once he directed the bone away with a proud "NYEH HEH HEH!", Toriel got a look at his creation.

A depiction of what appeared to be his own face wearing large sunglasses stared back at her, managing to summon a giggle from her. On top of being amusing, it was also an impressive work of art, especially for being done so quickly. Papyrus really was a greatly talented monster in so many ways. That reminder made her soul feel warm within her, but also stirred a faint unsettled sensation that she couldn't quite place.

Ignoring that, she watched as he summoned another wave of bones, arranging them into levitating rows that descended downward. It took her a moment to realize the shape he was forming, but once they all settled into place, the structure of a skeletal staircase became clear.

He cheerfully skipped down the bone steps back towards the ground, still moving through the air as though he was light as a feather. It made her laugh again, especially as he landed in front of her with a theatrical bow directed her way. Unable to resist playing along, she clapped a few times for him with a bright smile.

She supposed that maybe she should have been more shocked then she was, to have seen her friend all but casually defying gravity in such a way. But when it came to the skeleton brothers, discovering new ways they could disregard the unwritten laws of time and space was hardly a rare occurrence at this point. That and, in all honesty, she was more worried about the subtle implications of his earlier admission than any flashy display of magic.

"Bravo, that was certainly impressive, my friend." She praised him warmly, before her smile started fading again. "But I am not sure if…"

The sudden sound of a deep growl cut her off, causing both her and Papyrus to quickly turn towards its source. With both of their attentions focused on Papyrus' demonstration of his abilities, they'd failed to keep an eye on the blaster. That had clearly been a mistake, as it seemed the skeletal weapon had only been keeping still when watched. During their distraction, it had drifted over to the snow poff adorned with Papyrus' self portrait. Apparently it was not a fan of his work.

It glared at the snow Papyrus with its chilling eyelights, baring its huge fangs and growling low and deep. The snow poff, of course, was unfazed by the attempt at intimidation, prompting the blaster's clear agitation to intensify. The situation may have managed to be amusing if not for the telltale hum of magic charging up within the blaster rapidly making itself known.

Once that realization hit, it felt like the world was suddenly moving in slow motion. Papyrus shouted out a command for the blaster to stop, making a mad dash towards it. Toriel summoned her fire magic by instinct and braced herself, prepared to fight back in order to subdue the unruly weapon again if necessary.

But it wasn't her or Papyrus that stopped the blaster from reducing the snow poff, and potentially her whole backyard, to scorched earth. Instead, another, far more familiar blaster, suddenly erupted onto the scene from the shadows.

GB moved in a flash, launching himself at Papyrus' blaster and biting down on its jaws, forcing them shut. The unruly blaster seemed just as shocked by the sudden assault as Toriel was. It let out a low hiss like a massive snake and attempted to wrench itself free, but GB held firm, growling warningly all the while. Even as the magic the other blaster had intended to fire as a blast burst out from between its tightly clenched teeth like tiny fireworks, GB refused to let go.

Soon the two were tumbling through the air, snarling and brimming with fiery magic. The juxtaposition between them then was clearer than ever. GB's smoother, more simple form contrasting against Papyrus' blaster's jagged and fearsome one. If it weren't for the fact they were currently around the same size, it was unlikely GB could be matching the far more intense blaster in a fight like this. Toriel silently thanked the stars that Papyrus had managed to shrink his blaster when he did.

Inevitably though, Papyrus' blaster did manage to free itself, sharply jabbing GB with one of its sharp horn like protrusions and rolling away. But it didn't flee, it spun right around with another beastly snarl, jagged fangs wreathed in curls of sparking magic. The look in its ringed eyelights was akin to that of a wild animal rather than a weapon. GB held his position, but Toriel could see the ferocious glow in his own eyelights had begun to fade into something more fearful.

Her soul seized up in her chest, fearing for GB's safety. She pulled back an arm to aim a wave of flame attacks at Papyrus' blaster, but stopped as she felt a familiar hand rest upon her side.

Her gaze snapped down to see Sans standing there beside her, calm and collected in the face of the chaos in front of them. His left eyelight was blazing with magic, casting the snow in rapidly alternating shades of blue and yellow. Despite his flashing eyelight, something in his expression silently communicated to her that he had this under control.

She stared at him for a moment, the flame bullets burning hot all around her. But after a beat, she grasped the fact that despite how dangerous the current situation seemed, if anyone knew how to handle it properly, it was Sans. He wouldn't willingly allow his blaster to be hurt after all.

Putting her trust in him, she slowly nodded and let the fireballs she'd conjured dissipate. Then she and him both turned their gazes back up to the standoff between the two blasters. Papyrus' was still glaring at GB, snarling and puffing itself up for all it was worth. GB didn't move, and seemed to be staring at the other blaster with a softer expression, the kind Toriel was used to seeing on his face.

The exact emotion there escaped her. Was it sadness? Pity? Some sort of silent plea? Perhaps it was all of those at once, or something else entirely. She dared not question how deep such things went with creatures like blasters.

Whatever the case may be, GB's lack of fighting back further seemed to perplex Papyrus' blaster. It surged forward in a few mock charges, elevating the volume of its snarling. But when GB didn't move in response to any of them, it drifted back again with what sounded like a confused rumble. GB warbled something in return, in a far less aggressive tone than before.

There must have been some communication between the two, for whatever was said kept Papyrus' blaster's attention enough to distract it from the surprise attack swiftly approaching from behind. Two more GBs burst out from the shadows and locked onto either side of Papyrus' blaster with their jaws.

It snarled anew like a revving chainsaw, eyelights blazing and fiery sparks of magic erupting from its jaws in rage. But the first GB once again locking on to its jaws in order to hold them shut quickly ended that. The now trapped blaster fought against the GBs fiercely for a few moments, letting out muffled hisses and thrashing about.

The mass of beastly floating skulls tumbled to and fro through the air, narrowly missing clipping the edge of the house or colliding with the tree. But through their teamwork, the GBs managed to keep Papyrus' blaster from escaping.

It was only after a few more tense moments of struggle did it seem to recognize the futility of continuing to fight. It went limp in the GBs grip, breathing heavily but still glaring venomously at its captors. Toriel released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, feeling nearly as winded as the subdued blaster looked at that moment.

By the stars, had all that really just happened? It had been so fast, and could have been so much worse if GB hadn't intervened when he did. She turned to look back down at Sans, but he was no longer standing beside her. Instead, his voice came from closer to where the tangle of blasters cast a shadow on the snow below.

"welp, not exactly the reunion i was hoping for for these two, but hey, what can you do?" He quipped, as jarringly lighthearted in spite of the given situation as usual.

He looked over at Toriel with a wink, but the sweat dotting his skull and the dimming flickers of magic lingering in his left socket betrayed the strain the situation had brought him. She let out another soft sigh of relief to see that he was alright, and even managed a weak smile. But that faded once she realized that a certain other skeleton had been notably silent throughout all this.

"hey bro." Sans said, almost sheepishly.

She followed his gaze to see Papyrus standing near the base of the tree. His hand was still slightly raised as though he'd been trying to bring his blaster back under control before his brother appeared. She'd been so fixated on her fear of how the fight would end that she didn't even notice. It was difficult to read his expression as his gaze flicked between Sans and the blasters floating above.

Slowly, his hand fell to his side and his gaze fell with it. He stared down at the snow as a mixture of embarrassment and vexation soured his expression.

"I… I KNEW YOU WERE LISTENING." He said dully, scuffing a boot through the snow. "I'D REALLY HOPED YOU WEREN'T… BUT I KNEW."

A shadow passed over his face as resignation entered his tone.

"BUT YOU PROBABLY KNEW EVERYTHING ALREADY… DIDN'T YOU?"

The pain behind the words brought a harsh pang to Toriel's soul and any hope she had at possibly chiming in without her eyes spilling over was dashed. Thankfully, there wasn't any need. Though his jovial tone had eroded, Sans was quick to respond.

"nope, not this time." He assured him, taking a step closer to Papyrus and shaking his head. "would be pretty shitty of me to be spying on ya right after we had that talk about how i uh… haven't been giving you the space or respect you deserve."

He slipped his hands back into his pockets, expression softening as he met his brother's gaze.

"i may hate promises, but that's mostly because i hate breaking em' even more."

Papyrus didn't reply, nor did the heavy mix of emotions ease from his expression. Toriel could see him working his jaw, most likely trying to sort through many things he wanted to say in response, but unable to settle on one. When the silence from him continued, Sans let out a soft sigh and broke it himself.

"so... you've been getting some magic advice from ol' g?" He asked in a more serious tone.

The younger skeleton stiffened, his gloved hands curling up into fists at his sides.

"YES, I HAVE. EVERY FEW NIGHTS OR SO." He replied bluntly, clearly defensive.

He moved to cross his arms firmly in front of him and hardened his expression.

"AND… AND ITS BEEN GOING FINE. HE HASN'T MANIPULATED ME."

Even Papyrus didn't seem to believe that last part, as he visibly winced before either her or Sans could give him a dubious look.

"OR WELL, SOME THINGS HE SAID MAY HAVE BEEN UH, TRYING TO DO THAT…" He admitted, briefly looking sheepish before growing defiant again.

"BUT I HAVEN'T LET HIM! I JUST ASK QUESTIONS, LISTEN TO HIS ANSWERS AND LEAVE IT AT THAT."

He clamped his jaw shut at that with an audible clack and narrowed his sockets at them, as though daring them to question his actions further. Toriel swallowed uneasily, not trusting her still turbulent emotions not to betray her should she try to answer. What could she say? There were a million reasons to worry about what sort of things Gaster could be saying to Papyrus, but expressing any of them in a way that wouldn't only upset Papyrus more felt impossible in that moment.

Sans seemed equally unsure about how to respond, looking as though he were struggling to keep the blatant concern out of his expression. He was doing his best to keep up his usual stiff grin, but the wavering of his eyelights betrayed his true feelings.

Thankfully, like before, it didn't seem that she or Sans had to say anything for him to see the flaws in his own statements. His confident, hardened expression faltered again, and he fiddled with his scarf uneasily.

"THOUGH… I DID… EXPRESS MY HOPES THAT HE COULD COME TO SEE THAT HIS CURRENT ATTITUDES ABOUT UM… EVERYTHING, WERE WRONG?" He went on with an uneasy grin. "LIKE WE DID FOR FLOWEY FOR EXAMPLE. AND THAT WE COULD HELP HIM BECOME A BETTER MONSTER AND MAKE UP FOR SOME OF HIS ACTIONS BEFORE HE'S… GONE."

The strength in Papyrus' voice faded upon that last word, as did the stiffness in his posture. His gaze drifted away from them again, back up to the tangle of blasters just above them. They had been steadily lowering downwards bit by bit during the whole conversation. Papyrus' blaster looked as listless in the GBs' grip as the skeleton himself did at that point, no longer putting up any sort of fight.

"i'm guessin' he wasn't exactly receptive, huh?" Sans asked, drawing Papyrus' attention back to him.

Sarcasm laced his words, but Toriel could tell he was holding back in that regard for his brother's sake. Papyrus sighed and then reluctantly shook his head.

"NO… HE… JUST LAUGHED AT ME." He admitted, poking at a bit of snow with the toe of one of his boots. "SO I CHANGED THE SUBJECT AND JUST ASKED ABOUT ME AND MY MAGIC."

Sans' stiff grin twitched as he clearly held back some sort of biting remark towards Gaster that he wanted oh so badly to put into words. But again, he caught himself, knowing that doing so, no matter how warranted, wouldn't help things with Papyrus. Toriel admired his self control. Her own was nearly splintering under the weight of what she desired to say about their unwanted house guest, and she didn't have a fraction of the terrible history with him that Sans did.

She made a mental note then to give him a chance some time after everything had been settled to talk about this more openly. He'd shared a lot with her regarding his feelings towards his father, but she knew there was little chance of him getting through this situation without a few of those wounds being reopened again.

The lingering fears surrounding what was to happen later that day certainly didn't help matters either. Stars above, this was all too much too fast. She had to remind herself to take a breath and center herself again. One thing at a time. She had to focus on one thing at a time.

To her relief, the soft rumble of Sans' voice was quick to help ground her again.

"welp, i'm just glad you're alright pap." He said with a weak smile before taking a step towards his brother. "c'mon let's get your blaster sorted out and-

He was going to say more, but Papyrus cut in again, his expression difficult to read.

"I ALSO… APOLOGIZED TO HIM." He admitted, keeping his gaze away. "JUST BEFORE COMING OUT HERE."

"What?!" It took Toriel a moment to realize that she and Sans said the word simultaneously.

They shared a brief look then turned back to Papyrus, silently imploring him to elaborate. But he wasn't quick about it, curling his hands into fists and clenching up his jaw. A short distance away, his blaster gave a sudden harsh shudder and growled softly once more as the GBs settled it onto the snow laden ground.

But the sound and any renewed aggression it may have represented faded with a gust of icy wind that blew through the yard, tossing a few sparkling specks of snow into the air around them.

"I JUST… I DON'T WANT TO JUST LET HIM DIE, SANS." Papyrus finally got out, his usually strong voice quavering a bit. "I AM THE REASON HE IS IN THIS STATE TO BEGIN WITH. BECAUSE I MESSED UP SO BAD BACK THEN AND..."

He visibly winced at his own words, a few beads of sweat dripping down his skull, but he rapidly continued. With the weight behind the words, it was clear these were things he'd been holding himself back from saying for a long time.

"HE'S THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS I HAVE ABOUT MYSELF." He pointed out, looking down at his gloved hands. "ABOUT WHY MY MAGIC IS THE WAY IT IS AND WHY I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I AM SUPPOSED TO BE DOING SOMETHING COOL AND IMPORTANT BUT I JUST CAN'T EVER SEEM TO ACHIEVE THAT."

"pap…" Sans tried to interrupt, pain leaking into his voice.

But if Papyrus heard it, he didn't show it. He carried on, pacing a bit in front of them and gesturing dramatically as he continued speaking.

"M-MAYBE IF I HAD JUST, BEEN GOOD ENOUGH AT WHAT HE WAS ASKING OF ME THEN, HE W-WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO CRUEL TO US." He said, the tremble in his voice worsening with every word.

Tears started to well up in his sockets, glowing slightly in the dark of night with a deep blue hue. One escaped and ran down his face as he turned to look at his brother, guilt etched across his features.

"MAYBE HE WOULDN'T OF H-HURT YOU SO MUCH... MAYBE IF I HADN'T MESSED UP AND…"

He paused, seemingly having to all but force out the words.

"M-MADE HIM FALL I-INTO THE CORE... HE COULD HAVE EVENTUALLY EVEN R-REALIZED WHAT HE WAS D-DOING WAS WRONG AND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO B-BE A BETTER PERSON SOMEDAY. MAYBE IF I JUST-"

This time, Papyrus was cut off. Not by Sans' words, but by the grip the older skeleton had on his soul. The pale blue aura now surrounding it cast mesmerizing patterns of color across the snow around them, and the same magic shimmered around Sans' phalanges.

Toriel felt her breath catch as she looked between the two, readying herself to intervene somehow if things escalated further. Though for his part, Papyrus merely looked surprised and regrounded, though tears still shone in his sockets.

And he wasn't alone in that. While Sans' expression was still stiff, pale tears of his own rimmed his sockets, their lighter color making them stand out far more starkly than Papyrus'. For a moment, Sans almost looked angry through the tears, his sockets dark and boring into his brother. He slowly walked over to Papyrus, never wavering his gaze. But once he'd fully closed the gap between them, he simply released his grip on his brother's soul.

Then, rather than say anything that would suit the cold expression on his face, he just reached out and hugged as much of Papyrus as he could manage at his short height. Surprise flashed across the younger skeleton's face again, but after a moment, his expression crumpled a bit and he knelt down to return his brother's embrace more properly.

"pap, stop." Sans pleaded, muffled against the taller skeleton's battle body before he lifted his skull to address him better. "please. stop. don't talk like that. you can't let him make you think like that. nothing that happened back then was your fault. none of it, papyrus."

Sans' voice steadied as his tone hardened with seriousness. Now that Papyrus was closer to his height, he moved back a bit to hold his brother's gaze. Papyrus obliged, though it was hard to imagine he could see much at all through the tears now openly spilling down his face.

"gaster chose to do this to us. he chose to make us the way he did and treat us like lab rats. he has said over and over that he stands by his actions and has no remorse, even now." Sans reminded him, giving Papyrus's arms a squeeze and keeping his voice surprisingly steady.

"he wouldn't have ever been satisfied with you or me or anyone because his idea of what he wanted us to be wasn't even possible in the first place!"

Some of Sans' own pain had leaked into those words, making him audibly rattle a bit as a shudder passed through him. He kept his gaze locked with Papyrus', imploring his brother to understand and see the truth behind what he was saying. Toriel could only silently will the same, ignoring the stinging wetness she felt in her own eyes.

Papyrus didn't reply right away, just continued shedding tears in silence and trembling lightly as he took in Sans' words. From the tangle of blasters nearby, a strained low sound emanated from Papyrus' blaster. It sounded pained, sad, like a cornered animal losing the will to fight. No one paid it much mind, too focused on its wielder in that moment.

Finally, the dazed expression on Papyrus' face began to fade into something more openly pained. He tightened his grip on his brother, curling up the material of his hoodie in his fists. Another wave of tears poured down his face, but with them came a response as well.

"TH-THEN…" He voice broke but he continued, even as he crumpled further before his brother. "WH-WHY DO I WANT HIM TO B-BE PROUD OF ME SO B-BADLY, SANS?"

Sans blinked at the question, sockets wide. He stared at Papyrus for a long moment as the words sunk in. Then a strained, sad smile spread back across his face, and his eyelights wavered with a pain that was both old and new all at once.

"b-because good parents are supposed to be proud of their kids." He replied shakily, blinking back fresh tears of his own. "and we… n-never had one of those. not even close, h-heh..."

The statement seemed to make the frigid winter air around them grow heavier, as truths left unspoken were finally laid bare. Now it was Papyrus' turn to be struck silent, looking for all the world like he'd had the vitality drained from him. While nothing Sans had said was a revelation, it was a blunt reminder of the reality of their past. One that brought a stab of pain to Toriel's soul too, so harsh she could of sworn it ticked away some fraction of HP.

She felt the stinging moisture in her eyes as her vision of the brothers blurred. There was hardly any keeping it from happening now. She just hoped she could keep herself from weeping outright, not wanting to draw attention away from what was happening between them.

While she would never fully understand the damage Gaster had inflicted upon them, and still inflicted upon them, she did know that this conversation was one that needed to be had.

Despite the pain of what was said, Sans didn't allow himself to get swept up in despair. Nor did he draw away into apathy to deal with it as had once been routine with him. Perhaps he was tempted to… no, he certainly must be. But the steps he'd been taking to do better in that regard led him away from those old instincts.

Steadying himself, but still with the noticeable shimmer of tears edging his sockets, he stepped closer to his brother again. He then promptly wrapped his arms around Papyrus' neck in another hug, much easier now that the taller skeleton was closer to his level.

"you don't need him to be proud of you, bro." Sans assured him, squeezing him tight. "b-because i'm more proud of you than he could ever be in a m-million years."

Papyrus sockets widened at his brother's words and he seemed frozen in place briefly. Toriel recognized that look. It was the look of someone lost in a sudden rush of memories, flashing so vividly before their eyes that they seem to replace the present reality for a short time. What those memories were for him, she didn't know. But she did know what she felt compelled to do in that moment.

"And he is not the only one, my friend." She chimed in as she stepped up to stand beside the brothers.

She wiped her eyes on the back of her paw and knelt down to her knees to join their little hug, easily enveloping both skeletons in her arms.

"We are all so proud of you. More than you could ever know. You have far surpassed anything Gaster could have wanted you to be, and have achieved far greater things then what he intended for you to. And I know you will only continue to do so, my friend."

She could feel Sans' gratitude at her support, rippling over all of them like a warm spring wind. For a beat, it was almost enough to make her forget the frigid grip of winter around them. Papyrus' soul, powerful and somewhat erratic in contrast to the frail languidness of his brother's, steadily grew warmer as well. Still, he remained uncharacteristically quiet apart from his shaky breathing.

"your real family… a-already knows you're the coolest monster there is, paps." Sans went on in a softer tone. "don't forget that."

Once again, Papyrus' reply came from his soul rather than his voice. But this time the silence didn't have a chance to linger. A sudden low rumble startled all of them, and Toriel briefly felt her magic run cold as she turned to see Papyrus' blaster, unrestrained, floating just behind them. The GBs that had been holding it still drifted alongside it, making no efforts to bite down on the more frightening looking blaster again. Something had compelled them to let the it go.

She felt her claws slide out and the heat of her magic flare to life within her. But the moment of panic was brief. The look of almost feral aggression was gone from the errant blaster's face, along with the ice cold emptiness that had been there before. Instead its features now seemed to carry visible emotion, even if it was still quite subtle in comparison to GB.

Was this blaster… concerned? Worried? Sad? It was difficult to grasp what the faint crease in its brow ridges and shimmering of its eyelights truly meant. But it was certainly not a threatening look, and Toriel instinctually let her inner fire simmer down again. Even as the blaster drew closer to them, moving hesitantly as though fully expecting to be ordered away once more.

She felt Papyrus stiffen beside her, likely preparing to do just that. But his voice clearly wouldn't cooperate with him, so the blaster continued its approach. Before they knew it, the massive floating weapon was gingerly prodding Papyrus with its bony muzzle. It let out strained, raspy high pitched sounds that took Toriel a moment to recognize as whines. Like those of an anxious dog.

The GBs quickly drifted in alongside the blaster again, one of them giving it a nudge to gain its attention before starting to gently nuzzle Sans with a rumbling purr. It kept one socket open and peering back at the other blaster as it did so, watching it carefully. Papyrus' blaster watched for a time, its slight expression of uncertainty looking rather alien on its rugged face. Then it slowly began to do the same to Papyrus, clearly copying GB's actions.

The sound it produced was more of a somewhat softer growl than a purr, and it had to be extra careful not to prick Papyrus with the spines jutting out from its jaws, but the intention behind its actions was clear enough. Papyrus just blinked up at the blaster in utter confusion with his jaw slack. Even his onslaught of tears had ceased. It seemed the blaster's sudden 180 in behavior was just baffling enough to break Papyrus from his emotional reverie. Toriel felt like her own mind was in a whirl as well as she tried to make sense of it. But apparently, Sans did not share their surprise.

"heh, see bro? your blaster's not so bad." Sans said warmly, as the floating skull continued in its mediocre but earnest attempts to comfort Papyrus. "maybe... he just needed his brother too."

That prompted Papyrus to look back over at Sans again, something shifting in his expression. Unspoken words seem to pass between the brothers, something Toriel couldn't hope to grasp. It was carried between their souls, and was as personal to them as the full spectrum of memories they shared, good or bad. He didn't freeze up his time. Instead he properly returned Sans' hug once more, wrapping his arms tightly around the smaller skeleton and holding him close.

Toriel left the brothers to their moment this time, staying back a bit and absently stroking the side of one of the GBs as she watched over them with a soft smile. Though her emotions were still caught up in the turbulent whims of the influence of the child growing within her, something deeper within told her that things would be okay.

The soft but deep rumbles from the blasters kept the sound of rattling bones, sniffling, and quiet sobs from reaching the residents of the house beyond.

…...

"I'M SORRY I'VE BEEN SO… DISTANT LATELY, YOU TWO." Papyrus apologized weakly a short time later, the first time he'd spoken for a while.

He was now wrapped up in a blanket and sitting on the porch swing alongside his brother, holding a steaming glass of warm milk in one hand. Sans was sitting beside him, sharing the warm blanket shroud and sipping at a glass of his own. All around them, small purple flame attacks floated in a lazy circle. They illuminated the porch in lightly flickering hues and kept the temperature far more comfortable than it had been down in the snow.

Toriel, sitting on the porch railing just across from them, looked up in surprise from her own small mug of milk at the sound of Papyrus' voice. Behind her, Papyrus' blaster and one remaining GB paused in their attempts at learning to play nicely with one another and drifted over to pay attention to the skeleton's words as well.

All of the eyes on him made Papyrus stiffen a bit, and his gaze flicked nervously between her and Sans. But with an encouraging nod from his brother, he continued, still far more subdued than usual.

"I JUST... DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL ABOUT ANY OF THIS. I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU BY TALKING ABOUT... HIM... OR THE THINGS HE'S TAUGHT ME ABOUT MYSELF." He explained, looking down into the curls of steam from his glass.

His grip on the glass grew a bit tighter, and for a moment Toriel feared it may even crack in his hand. But once again the skeleton displayed his remarkable control over his strength and kept that from happening. Still, that didn't stop his expression from growing haunted.

"BUT... I ALSO JUST DON'T FEEL RIGHT ABOUT LETTING HIM DIE WITH SO MUCH LEFT UNSPOKEN, Y'KNOW? BEING HAPPY ABOUT IT AND HOPING IT HAPPENS SOON. I… CAN'T FEEL RIGHT ABOUT THAT." He admitted, shuddering audibly for a moment.

His gaze briefly rested on Toriel again, notably her middle, before he shook his head firmly.

"WHAT KIND OF UNCLE WOULD I BE, IF I HAVE TO TELL MY FUTURE NIBLING THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A GRANDFATHER BECAUSE I HELPED LET HIM DIE?" He went on, gesturing dramatically in her direction as he did so.

He paused, wincing a bit and lowering his voice again.

"EVEN IF HE IS AN AWFUL ONE..."

Ruminating on that thought only made the confused mix of emotions shift through his expression again, before he took a long sip of milk. Likely a means of distraction. As before, Toriel could tell Sans wasn't exactly thrilled with what Papyrus was saying. But he knew better at that point than to react dismissively or with unwarranted harshness, even if the temptation must have been great.

Sans took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly, leaning back a bit as he did. He scratched idly at his collarbone as he pondered his response, managing to keep his usual lazy grin in place.

"i think they'd understand when they're old enough." He offered with a barest of chuckles before his expression dulled again. "but i get whatcha mean, bro…"

He dropped his gaze away and Toriel could see the confliction making his eyelights waver like candle flames in the darkness. He drummed his phalanges anxiously against the side of his glass as sweat beaded down his skull. As much as seeing him like that brought an ache to her soul, she knew that this was something Sans had to figure out on his own. There were no easy answers here. Not with something like this.

Eventually though, he did look back up at Papyrus. Who was waiting expectantly, but patiently for his brother to go on. Sans' eyelights had dimmed, still reflecting his unease, but there was a resoluteness there too.

"i can... talk to alphys later today to see what she feels his current prognosis is…" He said, before shutting his sockets with another soft sigh. "and at least consider what sort of "hospice care" might be an option. i told ya when we talked before, i'm willing to not totally mistreat the old bastard until he goes. i get why you want to do that. there's no stopping what's coming, but we... we don't have to be like he was to us. in a way, i think being all angry and vengeful is what he wants from us. so maybe not doing that is... the better option."

Toriel could tell Sans didn't totally believe his own words at that moment, but he was at peace with his decision if nothing else. Papyrus blinked then a grateful smile slowly spread across his face. There was still a sadness to his sockets, but the relief he felt was palpable. Sans clearly did not share in it, though it was clear that to him, his brother's feelings far outweighed whatever desire for more tangible justice that he had.

"THANK YOU, BROTHER." Papyrus said, reaching over with his free hand and giving Sans' a light squeeze. "THAT MEANS A LOT TO ME…"

Sans' only reply was to nod with a soft affirmative sound. He kept his gaze away for a few moments, eyelights hazy with thought. The somewhat eerie shadows cast upon his face by the flickering flames made it difficult to parse his expression.

But rather suddenly, he took another long drink from his glass of milk. When he set it back down again with a contented sigh, his expression was suddenly his usual one again. With his wide lazy grin, droopy sockets and bright eyelights. Along with the addition of a prominent milk mustache.

He casually wiped that away with his sleeve and grinned up at his brother, looking almost as though he'd all but forgotten about the weight of the previous topic. Toriel solemnly recognized his old habit, but she conceded that it was understandable to be falling back on it in this case.

"hey whaddya think about uh, making it a regular thing for a while to train our magic together?" He suggested, gesturing towards Papyrus' blaster. "i'll help you get better control of that blaster of yours, and you can teach me some of those cool new bullet patterns you've learned. deal?"

Papyrus' face lit up even further at the question, and his smile grew to be far closer to his usual one. Sans held up his mitten clad fist, and Papyrus happily tapped his own against it.

"DEAL." He agreed with a nod, a few sparkles forming in his sockets. "I'D REALLY LIKE THAT…"

Sans grin widened, becoming more believable even to Toriel's now trained eye. She shared a meaningful look with him when he turned back to her, settling some of her lingering anxiety for him. Then his gaze drifted to the two blasters floating just behind her.

"you hear that, gb2? you're gonna be hanging out with us a lot more often." Sans said, pointing a finger gun at Papyrus' blaster.

The more intimidating floating skull stared back blankly, still not displaying any obvious emotion. But after GB gave him an affectionate nudge, trilling cheerfully, he let out what could possibly be considered an affirmative rumble. Papyrus however, was not nearly as pleased.

"WE ARE NOT CALLING HIM THAT!" He exclaimed, suddenly launching up off the porch swing and onto his feet.

Somehow he managed to keep the milk in his mug from flying out. But the abrupt movement sent the blanket up into the air and then down again on top of Sans, leaving his small form totally buried beneath it. Toriel snorted softly in amusement at the sight. Sans chuckled along with her and lazily freed himself from the tangle of fabric, all the while grinning wider.

"gb jr?" He suggested with a shrug.

"OH MY GOD!"

The name was so terrible, Papyrus needed to set his mug down in order to facepalm with both hands.

"I WEEP FOR WHATEVER YOUR CHILD IS GOING TO BE NAMED, SANS!"

That had her and Sans both laughing, almost deliriously so in the wake of it all. For things to suddenly feel so normal again after all of that… it just didn't seem like it should be possible. But then again, these kinds of situations weren't exactly new to them at this point. Toriel wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse that they were all but used to it by now. But she'd take the moment of levity and lack of dragged out stress without complaint.

They certainly didn't need any more of that to contend with today after all…

Once the giggles trailed off, and she rode out an annoying but brief wave of stirred up nausea. She turned her attention back to Papyrus. He hadn't joined them in their laughter, but his return to his usual banter was a good sign that he was feeling a lot better too.

Still, his expression had become rather contemplative again as he stared at the looming shape of his blaster. The sight summoned up a small pang of guilt in her for finding amusement in what was said. Humorous as the situation was on the surface, it had been clear that the idea of Papyrus giving his blaster a name was not a laughing matter to him.

The floating skull regarded his wielder in silence, his piercing eyelights still an unnerving sight even now. That cold stare couldn't be helping matters, but Toriel was sure that Papyrus also recognized that there was a difference in the blaster that wasn't there before. It was small, just a start perhaps, but still a difference that mattered.

She saw one of his hands clench and lift up a bit, as though he were considering patting his blaster on the muzzle. But he dropped his hand after a moment and cleared his metaphorical throat instead.

"I'LL… THINK OF A BETTER NAME... MYSELF." He declared slowly, turning away from the blaster to look back at his brother.

Sans grinned up at him, and Toriel caught a hint of pride shining in his eyelights.

"sounds good bro." He replied with a wink, before playfully elbowing Papyrus in the leg. "c'mon, why don't we do a bit of training right now, while your blaster is out and about? we can help teach him to listen to ya better with a classic game of fetch. gb can help show em' the ropes."

Papyrus shot a glance at the two blasters and then narrowed his sockets down at Sans.

"FETCH?" He repeated back incredulously. "YOU WANT TO TRAIN A DANGEROUS WEAPON BY PLAYING FETCH?

Sans' grin widened and he nodded with a wink.

"hey, it works, and it requires barely any effort on my part." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "that's a win win in my book."

The explanation prompted another facepalm and dramatic sigh from Papyrus. But once he lowered his hand again, his expression betrayed that he'd conceded.

"UGH, WHATEVER, FINE." He huffed, crossing his arms. "IT'S A START I SUPPOSE."

With that, he whirled around on his heel and faced his blaster again. This time he had all the confidence and energy that Toriel was used to seeing from him, and then some. He puffed himself up, wearing the best commanding expression he could muster.

"AS OF YET UNNAMED BLASTER!" He projected in an elevated tone, jabbing a finger down towards the ground in front of him. "COME HERE RIGHT NOW! YOU ARE GOING TO LEARN TO FETCH!"

The blaster blinked, slowly, but didn't budge from his spot. Nor did his expression shift. GB however, cowered back a little with an expression that reminded Toriel of a puppy being scolded. Sans reached up and gave Papyrus' scarf a gentle tug to gain his attention.

"uh, try being a little gentler about it, bro." He advised, placidly calm in contrast to Papyrus' wound up bravado.

The taller skeleton let out a low grumble of annoyance, but relented once again with a sigh that seemed to deflate him.

"PLEASE COME HERE, BLASTER." Papyrus implored in a softer tone, though an edge of irritation was still evident.

For a few long moments, the blaster still showed no reaction, just staring at Papyrus with those eerie, lifeless eyelights. But when GB nudged him with an encouraging trill, something shifted slightly in his expression. After another slow blink, the blaster finally began to move.

He approached Papyrus without a sound, and Toriel could sense that everyone present was subconsciously holding their breath. Even now, she felt her claws itching to extend as the blaster drew close enough to loom over his wielder. But thankfully, he stopped just short of touching Papyrus with no sign of his earlier aggression.

Papyrus gulped, clearly not as mentally prepared for this as he thought he was. Sweat beaded his skull and he stuttered as he tried to figure out what to tell the blaster to do next. But when GB let out another encouraging yip from where he now floated alongside Sans, Papyrus' blaster moved again. This time, only to gingerly press the non spiky areas of his snout against one of Papyrus' hands and shut his sockets.

Seeing such a sweet gesture from the blaster that had previously seemed so terrifying made warmth blossom in Toriel's soul, and she couldn't help but smile a bit, even if it still felt bittersweet.

What the blaster wanted was obvious, but Papyrus didn't reciprocate right away. A complex mess of emotions saturated his expression, even as he tried to keep it neutral. His hand rested on top of the blaster's muzzle, but it was more like it was frozen there rather than left by choice. Sans recognized the conflict Papyrus was going through, and his tone softened to something more serious once more.

"what happened back then wasn't your fault, pap." Sans repeated, casually stroking his own blaster as he spoke. "and it wasn't his fault either."

Papyrus' sockets widened at that, and he blinked slowly as the words sank in. It was only then he seemed to really look at his blaster. Without fear or resentment clouding his vision. His hand curled and uncurled uncertainly for a moment, but eventually he finally followed Sans' lead and gave the blaster a few hesitant strokes across the non-spiky area of his muzzle.

The blasters' sockets slid openly slightly in what Toriel could only assume was surprise. The sight inevitably led her to speculate with a sudden pang in her soul if this was the first time the creature had ever experienced a kindly touch. Or perhaps that this was the return of something the two had once shared, but hadn't experienced since Papyrus was a very young monster. She wasn't sure which option was more sad.

Whatever the case, it summoned the tears back to her eyes regardless. She did her best to ignore them, blinking them away as she attempted to stay focused on the situation at hand. That became more difficult as she watched on, and the blaster seemed to slowly recognize the significance of what was happening.

He eased his sockets shut in contentment, even a sort of peace? It was hard to tell with his features still not reflecting emotion as readily as GB's did, but the general feeling was impossible to miss.

Then he began to let out the rough purring sound as before, enough that Papyrus visibly vibrated a bit from where he was touching him. Only this time the contented sound seemed far more believable. Even if it still was a little unsettling compared to GBs. Something like a distorted snoring dragon perhaps, but a happy one nonetheless.

While the blaster's happiness was clear, it was more difficult to tell what Papyrus was feeling. He hadn't stopped petting the blaster, and his expression had notably softened, but the look in his sockets was still far from his usual joviality. Sans didn't seem worried though, shooting a grin up at his brother as that warm shine of pride returned to his eyelights.

"see?, you two are getting more in sync already." Sans said with a wink, before looking at Papyrus' blaster with surprising fondness. "like you said, it's a start."

Just as Sans so often did with her, it seemed his calm, casual encouragement was enough to ease most of the tension from Papyrus. The blaster seemed to sense that too, softening his rumbling purrs further.

"YES, IT IS." Papyrus agreed after a moment, giving the blaster two last pats before turning back to Sans with the beginnings of a smile. "THANK YOU, BROTHER."

"no worries, bro." Sans replied warmly, before giving Papyrus another playful jab in the leg with his elbow. "now c'mon, let's go throw these dogs a few bones."

He summoned a bone attack in one hand and let it lazily spin in mid-air for emphasis.

"THEY ARE NOT-"

Papyrus began to retort, but he paused as he got a look at GB's excited expression and huge sparkling eyelights fixated on the spinning bone. A glance at his own blaster showed he was watching the attack too, just as interested in the bone as any canine would be. Papyrus sighed, recognizing there was no use in continuing his argument.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. FINE, YES. LET'S GO." He huffed, though Toriel could tell any true anger had long since drained from him.

Sans chuckled heartily, and was about to spin around towards the porch stairs when he suddenly paused and looked back at her. She moved to wave him off, encourage him to go on without worrying about her. But the look of recollection in his eyelights made her stop, and she too remembered the full weight of what was still to come that day.

"just a sec pap, i'll catch up." He said, giving the bone a light toss to his brother.

Papyrus caught it with surprising skill and quickness, hardly even moving from his spot. But the movement of the bone also left him suddenly crowded by both blasters, who were not so easily shooed away from their potential treat. Papyrus shot Sans a flat look, but did well protecting the bone for the moment.

"take em' to that one open spot a little ways in." Sans said, pointing towards the dark shape of the treeline beyond the fence.

Papyrus nodded, still dutifully keeping the eager blasters away from the bone attack. The fact that his blaster was already showing restraint when directed to was a good sign, though there was clearly still room for improvement. Before he turned away though, he too paused and looked over at Toriel.

A touch of guilt and unease returned to his sockets. She could tell he wanted to say something, perhaps shower her with frantic apologies. But her expression then must have been enough to tell him she understood.

Looking pacified for the moment, he hurried towards the fence and leapt over it with ease. His leap and descent were almost soundless, save for the light rattle of his bones as he landed on the other side. The blasters followed with the same silence, drifting over the fence and slipping away into the darkness after the skeleton. Toriel perked an ear by instinct, listening to Papyrus' retreating footsteps until the sound of Sans stepping closer brought her attention back down to him again.

The weight of all that had just happened was reflected in both their eyes. Like before, a lot of what needed to be said passed between them unspoken. For the moment, they hadn't the time to dwell on it. That would have to come later, once the sun had set on what was proving to be an even more harrowing day than expected.

She took a steadying breath, recognizing how worked up her erratic emotions still were. Once those felt more settled, she managed a more steady smile and leaned down to give him a quick hug.

"You did well, my dear." She said softly, giving him a light squeeze.

Perhaps that went without saying, but she still felt he needed to hear it. And the warmth she felt from his soul as he returned the hug was quick to validate that. She knew he needed to get back to Papyrus though, so she gently released him. Not before leaving a small kiss atop his skull as she pulled away though.

"You two have fun out there, but be careful." She advised, before her smile faded some. "I will… start getting things ready for later today."

Her small show of affection had caused his eyelights to brighten considerably, but those last words of hers dulled them right back down again. His gaze drifted towards the house, in the direction of the room their unwanted houseguest was residing in. His eyelights briefly dimmed even further, nearly going out completely before he caught himself and refocused.

"right…" He replied softly, before looking back up at her and reaching out to give one of her paws a light squeeze. "are you sure you're okay?"

It took her a moment to realize he wasn't just referring to what was to happen in regards to Gaster. The evidence of the little one's influence on her emotional state was still clear on her face after all. Subconsciously, she affectionately rested her paw on her stomach to feel her child's magic.

"Hormones, my dear." She assured him with a weak smile as she rubbed any pesky lingering moisture away with her free paw. "All of that was very touching indeed but, this is admittedly a bit of an overreaction from me."

Her tone seemed to reassure him, and he even managed the barest of chuckles before his gaze shifted to her middle. Worry crept back into the lights of his eyes, and she knew his fears without him having to say them aloud. He was not alone in them, after all.

"We will be fine, Sans." She assured him, giving her stomach a circular rub for emphasis. "It is one more day of stress to endure. Then this will all be behind us. Just… focus on your brother for now. At least until it is time for the..."

She trailed off, finding herself unable to find a word to complete the sentence that didn't make her feel sick. The one Gaster had favored had been especially horrible. But it was unnecessary in the end, Sans knew as well as her what was to transpire that day.

"yah." He agreed in a heavy tone, sounding as though he were talking more to himself than her.

He shifted uneasily, glanced over his shoulder at the distant treeline, then looked back up into her eyes.

"be careful, tori." He implored, before his tone softened up a bit and his usual smile crept back into place. "hormonal mess or not, you're way tougher than most give you credit for."

He accented his somewhat snarky praise with another little squeeze of her paw. The meaning behind the words was touching, but she still felt the urge to give him a playful swat. But knowing her as well as he did by now, he easily saw it coming.

"later." He quipped with a wink, and vanished with a brief flash of light.

Then she was alone on the porch, with her now empty paw hanging at her side. She sighed lightly as she blinked away the spots of lingering light his departure had left her with. A bit of a pout formed on her face, wishing she'd been able to offer some retort to his teasing. But it didn't last long, for she knew that he was only trying to cheer her up some before she faced what was to come.

And no matter how affronted she'd act in the moment, she wouldn't trade his silliness for all the stars in the sky.

That thought brought some comfort to her uneasy soul as she turned to head back inside. She paused once at the door to look back into the darkness in the direction the brothers and blasters had gone. Her erratic emotions threatened to flare up again. But she kept them in check, not allowing herself to be dragged into another spiral of worries on top of everything else she'd have to face today. They'd be fine. She had to believe that.

So she just silently wished them both luck before she slipped back into the house, shifting all of her focus to the events of the day ahead as she passed through the doorframe.

And oh, what a long day it was going to be.

….

Toriel had barely opened the door to the guest room when it's dark occupant's voice and its simultaneous robotic translation stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I TOLD YOU THAT I'M DONE SPEAKING WITH YOU TODAY." Gaster hissed, cold anger coating the words like venom. "NOW GET OUT OR-"

He abruptly cut himself off once he whirled his amorphous form around to face her, splattering the glass with black ooze. Toriel was surprised to briefly see true rage in his distorted features, burning hot in his flickering eyelights. But once he caught sight of her, that quickly faded away. Though it took longer than expected for him to regain his usual distant, smug expression.

"AH, IT'S ONLY YOU, TORIEL…" He rasped, straightening himself up as much as was possible. "APOLOGIES FOR MY UNCOUTH GREETING, A SIMPLE CASE OF MISGUIDED ASSUMPTION. QUITE UNBECOMING OF A SCIENTIST I MUST ADMIT."

Toriel didn't move or respond for a moment, still trying to process what she'd just witnessed from him. She'd never seen him that angry, not even when he was talking with Frisk. In fact… she wasn't sure he'd shown any amount of emotion in the time he'd been here that had come close to that.

It occurred to her then, that the look in his eyelights distinctly reminded her of the anger she'd once witnessed from him when they were both children. When the dark royal scientist had been little more than a deeply troubled child. She wasn't sure how to feel about that, but recognized that the mix of emotions within her were notably sour.

She took a deep, but subtle breath to steady herself. Regrettably, her emotional volatility had not lessened since she saw the brothers off. Her little one's magic still erratically swirled about her own, chipping away at her usual poise whilst sending her emotions off in wild directions at a whim.

There was no doubt the lack of sleep wasn't helping matters in that regard either. But in all honesty, she hardly noticed it, still somehow feeling like she was riding on adrenaline since the moment she'd spotted Papyrus and his blaster from the window. She'd take it for now, knowing that the unstable energy may be her only hope in navigating this encounter with Gaster with any composure.

"I SEE I AM NOT ALLOWED ANY DECENT SLEEP EVEN ON A DAY AS IMPORTANT AS THIS." The dark monster mused, tilting his skull as he regarded her. "WELL, I SUPPOSE THAT MAY BE FOR THE BEST."

Toriel purposefully did not meet his gaze, knowing by now that that was the best way to avoid allowing him to get to her. Instead she stepped forward and began tapping the buttons on the containment chamber panel that would allow her to send food to him.

"I was already awake, so I thought I would bring you your breakfast early." She replied flatly, balancing his usual bowl of porridge in one paw.

Once the panel opened up, she placed the bowl, spoon, and bottle of water inside as had become a routine. But once the panel shut and began moving the meal towards the inside of the containment chamber, she couldn't help but glance up. She flinched despite herself when she saw Gaster's distorted features mere inches away, nearly touching the glass.

He'd pulled that trick before in order to startle her and others who spoke to him, enough so that she mentally kicked herself for not expecting it. But there was also something about his appearance this time that contributed to her being taken off guard.

Gaster had looked awful from the day he'd arrived, his form clearly damaged and highly unstable. But he'd been at least more or less consistent in how that reflected in his appearance. Now though, she realized that he had crossed another threshold of degradation.

Part of the bottom of his skull appeared to be bleeding into the top of the dark part of his body, like a mound of melting candle wax. The cracks on his skull had deepened and even spread further in a few places. His mouth seemed to be stuck twisted between two expressions. And the puddle of black ooze beneath him that his form seemed to continuously melt into had spread to fill nearly the entirety of the bottom of the chamber.

Toriel blinked and backed up a step, feeling her soul start to pulse more quickly in her chest.

"You… look like you…" She gasped before trailing off, eyes wide.

"HAVE CREPT EVER CLOSER TO DEATH?" Gaster cut in, sounding almost cheerful in a way that sent a chill down her spine.

He continued speaking undeterred, looking down to take in the dire state of his body.

"YES… IT SEEMS THAT CONDUCTING THE PROCEDURE TODAY WAS INDEED WAS WISE DECISION." He rasped, coughing violently a few times before looking back up at her. "IT MAY INDEED BE… JUST IN TIME… HOW LUCKY FOR YOU."

Toriel gulped, unable to formulate a response in the moment. She had gone so quiet that the soft click of the tray of food as it finished extending nearly made her jump. Her frown deepened as she looked between the bowl of porridge and Gaster's further disfigured mouth.

"Do you think you will be able to eat that?" She asked, flatly.

The ailing monster let out a mixture of a chuckle and a wheezy cough, summoning out his floating hands to pick up the bowl. Toriel couldn't help but notice that they too showed further decay, with some fingers looking to be stuck in a curled position, and others missing bits of bone entirely.

"I AM NOT SO FAR GONE AS TO BE INCAPABLE OF CONSUMING PORRIDGE JUST YET, SORRY TO DISAPPOINT." He replied casually, managing to keep hold of the bowl despite the degradation of his hands. "UNLESS YOU'D LIKE ME TO PERFORM A RISKY FIRST OF ITS KIND EXPERIMENT ON YOUR CHILDREN WITH A STARVED SOUL AS WELL."

Toriel had nothing to say to that, and he knew it. Even with his mouth more twisted than before, she could still see the smugness lingering in his expression. She simply fixed him with an icy look until he chuckled again and used a shaky tendril summoned from his dark form to lift a spoonful of porridge to his mouth.

As expected, his declining state left him struggling to eat even more than before. Only one side of his mouth still seemed to open fully, and even then, more of the scoop of porridge was sent sliding off the bottom of his skull than actually got into his mouth. It was an almost painfully pitiful sight, one that almost managed to make some small part of her feel sorry for him. The part of her that hated to see anyone or anything struggle in that way.

But inevitably, any sympathy she could have had for him was quickly snuffed out as soon as she reminded herself just who it was behind that glass.

"HMMM… STICKING AROUND ARE WE? HOW UNUSUAL." He commented, using another dark tendril to scrape some escaping food back into his cracked jaws. "YOU'RE USUALLY OUT THAT DOOR BEFORE I EVEN TAKE THE FIRST BITE. DO YOU HAVE SOME NEW INANE QUESTION TO BOTHER ME WITH, OR DO YOU SIMPLY FIND THE SIGHT OF AN OLD DYING MONSTER STRUGGLING TO EAT AMUSING?"

She blinked at that, finding that she was surprised at herself too. Why hadn't she left already? She'd done all that was necessary, had she not?

After a moment of pondering though, she realized what nagging thought had been keeping her paws rooted in place. She narrowed her eyes a bit and stepped closer.

"Who... did you think I was when I first came in?" She asked calmly.

The question made him pause mid-way from delivering another scoop of porridge to his mouth. Something she couldn't quite grasp flashed through his expression. Something dark and… far more unguarded than what she usually witnessed from him. His cavernous sockets narrowed at her a moment, then he turned his gaze away, finishing his clumsy bite of porridge.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS ANY OF YOUR CONCERN." He finally replied, stiffly. "BESIDES, I'M SURE YOU ARE ONLY ASKING BECAUSE YOU ALREADY THINK YOU KNOW THE ANSWER."

Once again, Toriel felt like he was seeing straight through her. And she didn't like it a bit. Annoyance made her claws twitch, but she waited until the feeling eased before continuing. She saw no point in denying his observation, but she wouldn't validate his question with a response either.

"You… have been teaching Papyrus about his magic, have you not?" She asked, some unease creeping back into her tone.

Though it was hard to tell, she thought she spied a hint of his usual smug grin form again. But he returned to being calm and refined before she could be sure. As much as one could be with porridge dripping off their chin, that is.

"INDEED. I WAS WONDERING IF HE WOULD COME CLEAN ABOUT IT EVENTUALLY." He rasped, casually scooping another spoonful from his bowl.

After downing what he could of that bite, he tapped the spoon against the edge of the bowl in thought. A more clear emotion of satisfaction crossed his distorted features then, tinged with a hint of… pride? It was far from the pride she and Sans had been expressing towards Papyrus earlier though, and the sight of it sent another small chill down her spine.

"I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT SOME OF MY INTENTIONS FOR HIS ABILITIES WERE REALIZED AFTER ALL, EVEN IF THEY AMOUNT TO LITTLE USE NOW." He said, setting the bowl down and weakly brushing some of the mess off of himself. "KNOWING THAT I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN MY EFFORTS BACK THEN WILL LET ME MEET MY FATE WITH AN EXTRA BIT OF CONTENTMENT."

He chuckled softly to himself, the sound reminding Toriel of someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard. She gulped, fighting her unease in order to put what she felt needed to be asked into words. Things still weren't adding up.

"But why teach him at all? Why answer any of his questions?" She pressed, narrowing her eyes a bit. "I cannot imagine they were all just… about his magic."

That thought brought another pang to her soul for Papyrus' sake, but she continued.

"You could have just as easily ignored him."

The statement brought a chilly silence back to the room, where all Toriel could hear was the quiet whirring of the containment chamber's mechanisms and the crackly, raspy sounds that could pass as breathing from the imprisoned monster.

She recognized that just like when she'd entered the room, something about the topic of Papyrus struck a nerve with him. Enough to briefly banish his smug postering in favor of a far darker, more raw emotion. It bothered her further that she still couldn't grasp just what that emotion was.

As expected though, the slip in composure was brief, and he was back to speaking in his usual scholarly tone. But something remained just a little bit off even then, a lingering edge to his voice that was more stubborn to fade.

"I TOLD YOU, IT WAS FOR CLOSURE. FINALLY WITNESSING THE RESULTS OF AN EXPERIMENT I NEVER GOT TO SEE TO ITS COMPLETION. NOTHING MORE." He said flatly, setting the mostly empty bowl back on the extended tray before boring his empty gaze into her. "ARE YOU SO FOOLISH TO IMPLY I DID IT FOR ANY SORT OF SENTIMENT ON MY PART, TORIEL?"

His tone then was so condescending, it felt like he was speaking to her as though she were a child. But still, the ever so slight off-ness to his voice made it so his words didn't have the impact he was likely hoping they would. She didn't flinch, keeping her gaze level with his even when it made her feel a little sick.

"No… you have made your feelings on that matter very clear." She acknowledged darkly before she evened out her voice again.

"I am just puzzled by how… genuinely angry you sounded when I came in. When you thought I was Papyrus. I have not seen anyone other than Frisk affect you in that way." She pointed out, a bit of confusion entering her expression. "But while I can understand why you would hate them, I cannot see any reason Papyrus would warrant such a reaction from you."

Gaster hummed thoughtfully, scraping the last scoop of porridge into his mouth before setting the bowl back on the extended tray. Then he wordlessly slid closer to the glass, until his face nearly touched it.

"AH, I SEE." He rasped, reaching up to drag a gnarled phalange down the glass. "NOW THAT I AM LITTLE MORE THAN A DYING SPECIMEN IN A JAR, YOU SEE FIT TO EXAMINE MY EVERY WORD AND ACTION LIKE ANY OTHER SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY."

Toriel couldn't help but scoff, crossing her arms and arching a brow at him.

"Like you do to everyone you speak to?"

The wheeze of a chuckle that escaped him in response to that lapsed into a few heavy coughs. It left the glass between them abruptly covered in black flecks. Toriel couldn't help but grimace and take a small step back, but then willed herself to stay put. Gaster's unstable form shuddered as he regained composure and wiped the resulting streams of black liquid from his mouth and sockets.

"NOW NOW, I NEVER SAID IT WAS WRONG OR UNDERSERVED, NOW DID I?" He continued, his voice notably more strained.

He let out an especially labored breath, his gaze drifting away from her for a moment to look down at his floating hands. He open and closed them as best he could for a few moments, expression unreadable.

"NEVERTHELESS, I DON'T THINK THAT TOPIC IS WORTH THE ENERGY TO ANSWER." He said at last, sliding back from the glass a bit. "MY TIME IS RUNNING OUT, WE BOTH KNOW THAT. AND I AM SURE YOU WANT ME TO SAVE WHAT STRENGTH AND FOCUS I HAVE LEFT FOR TODAY'S PROCEDURE, DO YOU NOT?"

Toriel worried her lip with her fangs, tempted to continue pressing him on the question he'd just so openly dodged, but eventually conceding that he was right. What was to happen with the children… had to come first. Though the thought of what that would entail still reopened the icy pit of worry in her chest.

"I… suppose so." She replied after a moment, letting her curiosities go as she was suddenly quite eager to leave. "Was that enough food for you?"

He didn't offer a prompt answer, instead opting to push the tray containing the now empty bowl back into its closed position. The containment chamber hummed louder as it began transferring the items back to Toriel's side of the glass, but she ignored it, keeping her gaze on Gaster.

"NOTHING WOULD BE "ENOUGH" AT THIS POINT." He pointed out with what appeared to be a grin, but resignation in his voice. "I AM SURE YOU ARE MOST EAGERLY LOOKING FORWARD TO ME NO LONGER HAVING ANY USE TO YOU."

She blinked at that, instinctively opening her mouth to let out some scathing reply, but then slowly shutting it again and looking away.

A big part of her wanted to wholeheartedly agree with his statement, or deliver some snarky dismissive comeback. He certainly deserved that and far more, did he not? But the words wouldn't come, as she found herself unable to banish Papyrus' earlier pleas from her mind.

Even if she couldn't make herself believe in his view of his father or what Gaster deserved, she recognized that it wasn't her place to break from that. Sans had agreed to it, and she'd concluded since the beginning that the brothers needed to have the last say in how things with Gaster went.

Besides, she could at least agree and recognized that Gaster only seemed to thrive off inspiring negative reactions in them, so there was some catharsis in denying him that.

The imprisoned monster took notice of her avoidance, tilting his skull curiously before tapping a crooked phalange against his chin in thought.

"I DO WONDER IF THAT WILL MEAN YOU OR PERHAPS THE PROTOTYPE WILL GIVE INTO YOUR RAGE AND END ME PREMATURELY." He said casually, clearly prodding her further. "WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE TO LOSE AT THAT POINT AFTER ALL? WHAT USE AM I ONCE THE CHILDREN ARE SAFELY SEPARATED?"

The turbulent whirl of emotions within her flared anew at that, and she could feel a whole host of things she wanted to say burn on her tongue. But she kept up her silence and didn't look at him. After a few moments that dragged on for far too long, he appeared to shrug and admitted defeat. Though not without his usual smug grin still visible on his distorted features.

"I SUPPOSE SUCH SPECULATION CAN WAIT UNTIL THE PROCEDURE IS COMPLETE." He rasped, sweeping his gaze over the various bits of equipment set up about the room before looking back at her.

His twisted grin grew wider and he laid one of his floating hands over his chest area, ignoring the black ooze that spilled over it as a result.

"THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD, TORIEL, I AM FOREVER THANKFUL THAT MY LAST MEAL WILL INEVITABLY BE YOUR WONDERFUL COOKING."

The "compliment" was one bit of manipulation too many. She gritted her teeth as she turned towards the door, grabbing the now empty bowl as she did.

"I need to go." She said, perhaps a bit too quickly.

She took a moment to steady her voice before continuing, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to her.

"Sans and Alphys will be by later to assist with whatever else is needed for the preparations." She added, much more stoically.

A whispery sort of chuckle met her words, almost too faint to hear, but still enough to make some of the fur on the back of her neck stand on end.

"WONDERFUL, I SHALL SEE YOU THEN." He rasped, far too casually for her liking. "AND TORIEL, DO TRY TO BE A BIT MORE CHEERFUL ON SUCH AN IMPORTANT DAY."

Her paw froze as it wrapped around the doorknob. Something was making her feel frozen again, and it took her a moment to realize it was the feeling of being watched. She could feel Gaster's gaze all but scorching through her from behind, and the energy of the entire room seemed to have shifted. Growing darker, yet darker despite the various lights in the room.

Against her better judgement, she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

The imprisoned monster was in the center of the chamber, just like the first time she'd seen him since he'd appeared in their life here. It made the evidence of his deterioration all the more blatant. But despite his poor state, he was staring her down with feverishness that caught her off guard.

His grin was wider than ever, straining against the seemingly paralyzed areas of his mouth. His sockets were equally stretched open as far as they could go, and the eyelights within were mere burning pinpricks of intense white that flickered in and out erratically.

The strain of it all seemed to have triggered renewed floods of that sickly dark liquid down his face as well, making him appear more ghoulish than she had ever seen.

The worst part though, was beneath what was a clear ploy to unnerve her, she could tell he was genuinely, manically, excited for what was to come.

"YOU SHOULD BE SMILING." He said, entirely unmoving apart from the continuous trails of dark ooze cutting through the white of his skull. "AREN'T YOU EXCITED? AREN'T YOU HAPPY?"

The lights in his sockets guttered out, and he slowly began sliding into the shadows in the back of the containment chamber.

"YOUR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO BE FREE."