Chapter 16: Restoring Hope-Part 1

Carmen was in her room, reading a book when she happened to look up to see something coming into view and she gasped in surprise and fear before feeling relief fill her at seeing the familiar skeleton that had appeared before her last time, telling her 'don't forget'. Seeing him now, she went up to him and he smiled at her, giving her a nod in greeting.

"Gaster, right?" She asked.

He seemed to light up at that, making her smile and realize Sans was right about the ghostly skeleton being his brother. "Gaster, is there a way to bring you back here? Like are you trapped in...oh, what did Sans call it? The void? Or something like that?"

He nodded to her, the same symbols forming around him before he suddenly spoke again like last time, two words appearing before her as the skeleton gestured towards the east, in the direction of Snowdin.

"Ask Alphys."

"Ask Alphys?" She repeated. "But...I don't know someone named Alphys." It then hit her. "Would Sans know?"

Gaster nodded again before he noticed he was starting to fade. He gently ruffled Carmen's hair again, smiling at her. The affectionate gesture made her smile before she looked serious. "Hang on, Gaster," she said. "We'll find a way to free you."

He gave her another smile before he vanished completely and the young girl ran to find her mother. "Mom, do you know where Sans is?" She asked.

"I believe he said something about being at his post," the goat woman said. "Why?"

Carmen put on her coat and scarf. "I've got to find him," she said urgently. "Gaster returned and he said 'Ask Alphys'. I asked him if Sans would know who Alphys is and he nodded."

Toriel looked surprised, but then nodded, smiling. "If anyone would know where to find him if he is trapped, it would be her," she said. "Hurry, my little one. You might be able to catch Sans before he goes home."

The eleven-year-old girl wasted no time, running down the path from the ruins to Snowdin. "Sans!" She called out. "Uncle Sans! Where are you?"

She paused for a moment before hearing a footstep behind her. "Looking for me?" Came a familiar voice.

Though she recognized the voice, Carmen let out a yelp of surprise and jumped from the sudden scare. "Uncle Sans! You scared me," she said, but was having a hard time keeping a smile off her face, which told the skeleton she wasn't mad.

He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "So what's the emergency, kid? Is everyone okay?" He asked, noting that the young girl seemed out of breath and she looked like she had an urgent message.

"Sans, who's Alphys?" She asked.

"She's the royal scientist and one of my best friends," he said before looking curious. "Out of curiosity, how do you know about her? Did she come by?"

Carmen shook her head. "Gaster told me," she said. "He appeared and he nodded when I asked if he was trapped in a void and he told me to ask Alphys when I asked him if there was a way to free him."

Sans nodded. "She would know what to do," he said before looking at her. "Gather up your siblings, kid. I gotta talk to your mom."

Nodding, she was about to head back for the Ruins when he gently grabbed her shoulder. "Let's take a shortcut," he said. "I can teleport, but I need you to hold on tight."

Nodding, she hugged him, closing her eyes as Sans wrapped his arms around her and his left eye lit up blue, the cold air of Snowdin being replaced with warm air in the blink of an eye. Opening her eyes, Carmen was surprised to find them in the Ruins and she looked at her uncle.

"Cool," she said with a smile.

He chuckled before looking serious. "We've got to hurry, kiddo," he said. "If Gaster told you to ask Alphys, then it's possible that we only have a small window of time before it'll be too late to save Gaster."

Nodding, she ran to gather her siblings while Sans went to find Toriel, hope filling him that his older brother would be rescued.

Frisk looked up as Carmen came running into the playroom, where the rest of her siblings were. "Carmen? What's up?" The ten-year-old boy asked.

"Gaster came back," she said.

That caught the others' attentions and they stood up. "What did he say?" Nathan asked.

"He told me to ask Alphys when I asked him if there was a way to get him out of wherever he was," the eleven-year-old girl said.

Thomas, David, and Sarah looked interested. "Is he really somewhere where he can be reached?" The young girl asked.

"If so, we've got to try it," David said.

"Yeah!" Thomas said.

"I want to help," Julie said.

"Me too," Nathan said.

"We can all help," Frisk said. "But who's Alphys?"

"I asked Uncle Sans that and he saw she's a good friend of his and the royal scientist," Carmen said.

That made them all perk up and they went to find Toriel and Sans, who were in the living room.

The goat woman looked hopeful. "I hope Gaster can be saved," she said. "But Sans...if my children go with you...,"

"I'll keep them safe, Tori," he promised. "Plus, Alphys wouldn't hurt them. She doesn't like fighting."

"I do remember that she preferred to avoid fights," Toriel said with a nod before sighing. "Alright, Sans. I trust you to keep my little ones safe."

He took her hand. "Toriel, I swear to you, no harm will come to them in the lab," he promised. "I'll be there too."

She nodded. "Thank you, Sans," she said, smiling softly. "Tell me, how is Asgore?"

"He misses you like crazy," the skeleton admitted. "He misses the kids too."

Toriel nodded. "I don't want to go through that heartbreak again," she said softly, but he heard her and hugged her, knowing what she meant.

"You won't lose these kids, Tori," he said softly.

Footsteps reached them and they turned to find the kids come in. Toriel nodded and stood up. "Children, stay close to your uncle Sans and be careful," she said.

"We will, Mom," Frisk said.

"Uncle Sans will keep us safe, Mommy," Julie said.

The skeleton smiled at seeing how the children trusted him. "You bet I will," he said. "Alright, gather close. We'll take a shortcut."

The seven children clustered together and with a snap of his fingers, Sans teleported them all to the lab.

Alphys was studying her notes, making sure she had everything right so far. "Mettaton, would you get me the those small chemistry tubes, please?" She asked.

"Of course, Alphys dear," he said, sliding closer to her. "Anything for you."

"M-Metta!" She cried out in embarrassment. "J-Just p-please get those t-tubes, p-please."

He chuckled at her flustered state, but did as she asked. He loved to get her all embarrassed because he thought her stutter was cute. He had just set down a few chemistry tubes on the table when he looked up to see Sans and the seven children. "Well, hello, darlings!" He said with a smile.

The kids jumped in surprise and clustered close to Sans, who smiled gently. "It's okay, kiddos," he said. "That's Mettaton, one of Alphys' creations."

"And her very best creation, I might add," the robot said, tossing back his dark hair.

Frisk giggled. "He reminds me of Michael Jackson," he said.

The others looked at her in confusion, except for Carmen, who smiled. "He's a famous singer on the surface," she supplied.

Mettaton came over and he smiled. "My goodness, I've never seen such cuter looking children except for Dogaressa's puppies," he said. "What can I help you all with?"

"Well, we're looking for Alphys," Thomas said.

"Uncle Sans said we could find her here," David said.

"That you can, my darlings," the robot said. "Follow me this way."

Sans had to smile and shake his head in amusement. While he didn't completely care for the robot, he was glad that Mettaton was at least being friendly to the kids and the kids seemed to like him. They headed into Alphys' lab and the poor dinosaur was so startled to see humans that she promptly fell over backwards, papers scattering everywhere.

"Alphys! Are you okay?" Sarah asked, rushing to help the scientist.

"Come on, guys. Let's help Alphys," Nathan said.

It wasn't long before the paperwork was right again and Alphys had regained her composure somewhat. "I...I n-never seen real h-humans before," she admitted. "W-What are you all d-doing here?"

Carmen took a deep breath. "Gaster needs help," she said. "He said to ask you."

Alphys gasped in shock. "Y-You've seen h-him?" She asked in surprise. "H-He's a-alive?"

"That's what we're hoping for, Alphys," Sans said. "Can you help us?"

The dinosaur sighed softly. "I've been trying to find Gaster ever since I became the royal scientist," she admitted. "I've even been working on his project, the CORE."

"The CORE?" Julie asked curiously.

"A machine that would supply power to the Underground," Alphys explained gently. "He was working on it before he...vanished."

"How did he vanish?" Frisk asked.

"No one really knows," the dinosaur said. "One moment he was working in the lab and the next, there was a flash of light and he was gone. Some thought he had fallen into the CORE and was killed, but if you kids have seen him, he might still be alive."

Sans nodded. "I sensed his magic, Al," he said, calling the dinosaur by her nickname. "It was really strong. Toriel even mentioned that it felt like his magic."

"The Queen?" Alphys asked before it clicked. "Are you children...Queen Toriel's children?"

"Yes," David said softly.

Mettaton gasped in awe before smiling. "I'm so glad," he said. "The Underground needs hope."

"Yes," the dinosaur monster said with a nod before looking determined. "Well, let's see about finding Gaster."

Moving to a large machine, she turned it on and moments later, a portal opened up right in front of the machine, a hand with a hole in its palm reaching out.

Carmen recognized that hand immediately. "Gaster!" She exclaimed in hope, running up and reaching out, grabbing onto the hand. It gripped her hand just as another hand reached out. "Guys! I need help!"

Frisk nodded. "Nathan, David, Sarah, with me," he said as they went up and grabbed the other hand, quickly forming a human chain, ready to help their sister pull Gaster free.

Sans, Julie, and Sarah quickly did the same behind Carmen, who was holding tight to the hand she had hold of. Mettaton quickly minded the CORE, noting the levels it was at. "It's stable," he reported.

That was all they needed to hear. "Pull!" Alphys called out, keeping an eye on everything, wringing her hands in worry and in hope.

The kids echoed the cry and all seven of them and Sans pulled back. Two black arms connected to the hands came out and then a face and a body, one Sans recognized right away. "Hang on, bro! We've got you!" He called out.

Mettaton noticed the levels were beginning to fluctuate. "Hurry! The portal is getting ready to close!" He said urgently.

"Pull with all you've got!" Carmen called out.

"Come on!" Frisk called out encouragingly.

After what felt like many minutes, they managed to pull Gaster free and as they all fell back, he too collapsed to the floor, gasping for air as the portal closed. Weakly, the tall skeleton pushed himself to sit up, leaning gratefully against the cabinets that were nearby. Julie was first to move and she went up to him, looking worried.

"Gaster?" She asked softly.

He opened his eyes, smiling at her. "I'm alright, little one," he said, his voice a bit raspy, but gentle. "Just a little weak."

"Bro," Sans said, his voice choking up as he came forward, hugging his older brother, who returned the hug. "Pap and I missed you."

"And I missed you both," Gaster said with a smile before looking up at the children. "Thank you, children. You've freed me."

They gathered around and hugged him, to which he returned the hugs, feeling hope fill him. "You children really are something," he said with a smile before looking a bit serious. "May I ask you all something?"

"Sure," Frisk said.

"Would you be willing to help two others? The first Royal children?"

David gasped. "You mean Chara and Asriel?" He asked.

Gaster nodded. "There is a chance to save them, but all seven of you will be needed," he said.

"How can we help?" Carmen asked.

"With your traits," he replied. "The seven traits."


Hmm. What does Gaster mean? Stay tuned to find out! :)

And please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418