Chapter 11: Jokes And Smiles
Toriel took a deep breath and looked at her children, who had gathered in the living room at her request. "Children, a friend of mine wants to meet you all," she said. "He is a daily visitor here at the ruins and when I told him about you, he expressed interest in meeting with you."
"Who is your visitor, Mom?" David asked.
"Are they nice?" Julie asked.
"Yes, he is," Toriel said reassuringly. "And his name is Sans. He's a skeleton."
Carmen straightend. "Like the one I saw in my room?" She asked.
"Similar," the goat woman said. "I told him about the skeleton you had seen and he believes he might know him."
Frisk, Nathan, Thomas, and Sarah didn't look so sure. "What if...he wants to hurt us?" Nathan asked warily.
"Mom wouldn't let anyone dangerous near us," Sarah said surely.
"I agree with Sarah," said Frisk. "Mom promised that she'd keep us safe. If she's letting someone in, then she trusts them enough to have them know about us."
Thomas agreed with his brother. "If he is a good monster like Mom, then he won't hurt us," he said.
The others looked at each other before Carmen nodded. "Okay," she said. "If you trust your friend, Mom, then we'll at least meet him."
Toriel knew this was a big step for her seven children as they were wary due to their pasts, though they trusted her as their mother. Then again, she had worked hard to earn that trust. She now smiled at her children. "I know you're all worried, but believe me, Sans is a good friend of mine and he's willing to meet you all before judging you," she said.
"Judging us?" Julie asked curiously.
"He holds the position of Judge, which means he checks on your stats and main traits to get a read on you. Your stats can show him what your actions are," the goat woman explained. "Are you ones that will hurt someone on purpose, or are you ones that don't want to fight? He'd be looking for things like that."
Having learned about stats and traits from her sometime back, the children understood what she was saying. "What do our stats look like, Mom?" Sarah asked.
Toriel smiled. "They're right where they should be," she said. "Though some of you do have a higher defense because of your pasts, but your attacks are at 1, as are you LVs. Sans will see this as he uses his Judge sight on you."
"But he won't hurt us, right?" Frisk said.
"No, he won't hurt you," the goat woman said reassuringly. "He'll be here tomorrow in the morning."
The seven siblings looked at each other, still a little unsure, but trusting their mother and hoping that Sans would see they were good kids.
The next morning...
Sans arrived at the door, politely knocking. Toriel, who was on the other side, smiled and opened the door, letting him come in. "Good morning, Sans," she said. "Feeling a little tired?"
"Just a little, Tori. Why?" He asked curiously.
"Because you've been running through my mind all day."
The skeleton laughed aloud. "Good one," he said with a grin. "Hey, what drink to trees love the most?"
"I don't know. What?"
"Root beer."
Toriel laughed, liking that joke. "I bet my children will like that joke," she said. "They're in the living room and...a little pensive about meeting you."
Sans nodded understandingly. "With their pasts, they probably have had bad experiences meeting someone without fearing that someone meant them harm," he said before taking a deep breath. "Are they at least willing to meet me?"
"Yes," the goat woman said.
"Well then, let's see if the kids and I can meet in the middle," he said seriously as they stepped into the living room. Julie was first to spot them and she immediately scampered behind Carmen, who stood up as Nathan also hid behind her. Sarah and Thomas hid behind David and Frisk stood beside his older sister and brother. Seeing this, the skeleton took a deep breath and let it out softly. "Hi, kids," he said, trying to make himself appear non-threatening.
"Children, this is Sans," she said. "Sans, these are my children."
The skeleton smiled gently. "Your mom told me a lot about you kids," he said. "I've been looking forward to meeting you all since yesterday."
David and Carmen looked at each other before looking at Frisk, who nodded, and the three bravely stepped forward to meet the skeleton, though the others stayed behind their siblings. Smiling, Sans held out a hand for a handshake and David bravely took his hand.
An unusual sound filled the air and the boy jumped in surprise before letting go of the skeleton's hand and gazing at the palm, spotting something there before looking at the skeleton in surprise. "What is it?" Frisk asked.
"It's...a whoopie cushion?" The ten-year-old boy said in confusion.
The younger children giggled while Toriel did her best to smother her laughter into her hand, though a few giggles escaped her.
Deciding that if he liked jokes, then the skeleton wasn't dangerous, Carmen moved closer and looked at him, seeming to study him before shaking her head. "You're not the skeleton I saw," she said softly.
Hearing that, Sans gently grabbed her arm, making her jump a little. "Can you describe the skeleton you saw?" He asked, looking at her pleadingly.
She took a deep breath. "Well, he wore black, like a cloak," she said. "His face looked almost like a mask and had two cracks in it. One going up from one eye and the other running down his face from his other eye." She paused and looked at his hand, gently touching it and examining it. He let her do so, feeling she was comparing something. "His hands were like yours, only...he had holes in his palms, like right here."
She drew a circle gently on his palm. "His hands glowed purple and he...he called up a FIGHT sequence and when he saw my main trait, he looked...hopeful, I guess."
"But he didn't hurt you?" Sans asked.
"No," she said. "If anything, he seemed to be trying to reassure me that I didn't have to be afraid of him. Even his two skulls were playful, like puppies."
Closing his eyes, the joke-loving skeleton opened his eyes a moment later to show his right eye was dark and his left eye was a blue flame. This startled the kids and they backed up as a skull came into view. "Were they like this one?" He asked, his voice still calm and level.
Carmen swallowed a bit, but moved forward, reaching out a hand to the skull, who seemed to sniff her hand before giving it a friendly lick and pushing its nose into her hand. "Yes," she said. "And they acted just like this one. What is this skull called?"
"It's a Gaster Blaster," Sans explained. "It's a powerful skull that can shoot out laser beams in a fight."
The kids were awed and Frisk giggled as the Blaster went up to him and gave him a lick on the cheek. "He seems really friendly," he said.
The skeleton smiled. "When not in a battle, Gaster Blasters are very playful and friendly," he explained before blinking and his eyes went to normal again as the Blaster vanished. "And I think without a doubt, you saw Gaster, my brother."
The kids looked surprised. "Your brother?" Julie asked, coming out from behind Carmen.
Sans nodded, seeing them all come out from hiding. He blinked his eyes again, his left eye lighting up blue and yellow. The kids froze as his stare seemed to hold them into place. After a bit, he nodded and blinked, his eyes going back to normal. "Toriel was right. You kids are good," he said. "What are your names?"
"I'm Carmen," the oldest girl said before gesturing to each of her siblings. "These are Frisk, David, Thomas, Nathan, Julie, and Sarah."
Each child nodded as their name was spoken and they moved a bit closer, no longer afraid of the skeleton, who now looked at Carmen. "Julie. Nathan. Carmen, can you three show me exactly where you saw Gaster?" He asked.
They led him to the two rooms and Sans activated his magic, his hands glowing blue as he glanced around for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't see him," he said. "But I can faintly pick up a small residue of magic. It's definitely Gaster's."
Sarah came forward. "Sans, is it possible...Gaster is a ghost?" She asked, having heard that sometimes ghosts would appear if their graves were disturbed or if they were feeling unsettled.
"He might be," the skeleton agreed. "Or he could be trapped in another dimension, or even be between dimensions."
"Is that possible?" David asked.
Sans nodded. "Yeah," he said. "The magic is really strong here in the Underground, so almost anything is possible."
"How do we get him free?" David asked.
"I'm not sure," the skeleton said. "I'll have to do some research."
He was surprised when Sarah hugged him. "We'll find a way to help him," she promised.
"Yeah," Nathan said. "I bet he misses you."
"Is Gaster nice?" Julie asked.
Sans smiled. "Yes," he said. "And he loves kids. He's immediately develop a soft spot for you all, just as I have."
Thomas came forward and also hugged Sans and the other children did the same as the skeleton hugged them back, not only relieved that the children weren't afraid of him, but also that they were willing to help.
In the void, Gaster smiled at seeing this, hope filling him once again.
So, the kids have met Sans and it seems they have another ally on their side, but can the same be said about Papyrus? Find out in the next chapter! :)
And please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418
