Chapter 12: The Goopy Skeleton

Frisk was walking around, looking for Kayla when she heard laughter and found Kayla giggling as a cloaked being held her in his arms and was tickling her stomach, making her laugh harder. "Papa!" She cried out through her laughter.

"I've got you, my little one," he cooed to her before noticing Frisk. "Ah, and this must be the new child. Frisk, is it?"

The young girl shrank back, unsure of the cloaked being. "Oh, come now, I'm not going to bite," River Person chuckled as he motioned the young child closer.

Kayla straightened as she regained her breath and she smiled. "It's okay, Frisk. This is my father, the one who rescued me when I first fell down here," she said.

The child was still uncertain, to which River Person gently grabbed her in his telekinesis, his hands glowing a soft purple as he gently pulled the child closer to him. She trembled a little as she was gently placed in his arms, but giggles soon poured out of her mouth as a gentle hand began tickling her stomach. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo!" River Person cooed to her. "I've got you, little one!"

Frisk giggled and laughed, trying to squirm away, but was unable to. Thankfully, the cloaked being let her up after a bit. "See? I'm not so scary now, am I?" He asked, gently pinching the left side of Frisk's face, making her giggle again.

Sans came out, smiling at the scene. "Hey, River Person," he said. "What's up, Kayla?"

"Hi, Sans," she replied, hugging him.

Frisk reached for Sans, who accepted her from the cloaked being. "See, kiddo. Not all monsters are mean," he said. "River Person is one of the most peaceful monsters I know."

"Thank you, Sans," said River Person, smiling as he felt Kayla hug him and he nuzzled his forehead against hers in affection. "Little one, don't you and Napstablook have a date today?"

"Later this afternoon, Papa," the seventeen-year-old replied. "Mettaton's doing some last minute work for his next CD release and Blooky's helping him."

"Who's Napsta-, um...," Frisk asked.

"Napstablook," Sans said helpfully. "He's Mettaton's cousin and Kayla's boyfriend."

Kayla smiled. "And he's an amazing guy," she said. "You'll like him, Frisk."

"What kind of person is he?" Frisk asked.

"He's a ghost," River Person said. "And a very talented DJ."

Just then, Kayla's phone rang and she answered it. "Hello?" She said before perking up. "Blooky! We were just talking about you."

"Really?" He asked, perking up. "Well, we're done over here and I was wondering if you'd all like to come to the studio. Mettaton's going to give you guys a free concert."

"That's awesome! Tell him thanks and we'll be there," Kayla said.

"Alright. See you soon...my diamond rose," he said, the last part coming out shyly.

The teenager blushed. Napstablook had come up with that nickname for her and she loved it. "See you soon, my handsome DJ," she said before she hung up. "Hey, everyone. Mettaton's going to give us a private concert!"

"Well, how about that?" Sans said with a chuckle, looking at Frisk. "You haven't met him yet, have you, kiddo?"

The child shook her head. "Is Mettaton nice?" She asked.

Kayla made a thoughtful noise. "He can be when he wants to be," she said. "He's a bit vain and loves his television show, but he's decent, for a robot."

River Person chuckled. "You still haven't quiet forgiven him for pulling you on stage that time where you got a pie in the face, have you?" He asked.

"No, Dad," she said. "It took a week to get those stains out of my cloak. Thankfully, Alphys' mixture worked to get it clean."

She looked at her cloak and nodded, making her father and Sans laugh in amusement. "Well, come on," River Person said. "I'll take us in my boat."

"Yay!" Frisk exclaimed happily as they headed for the dock, climbing aboard the boat and River Person stood at the stern, guiding them as the boat floated down the river.

All of a sudden, Frisk jumped in shock. "What's that?" She asked.

"What's what, kiddo?" Sans asked.

"I heard something. I think it was a voice."

Kayla jumped up suddenly. "Wait, I think I hear it too," she said. "It sounds...staticky, but it has a strange rhythm, almost like...someone speaking."

Frisk moved closer to Kayla, clinging to the older girl's cloak before the boat suddenly rocked and they gasped. "Papa! What's going on?" River Person heard his daughter call out.

"Hold on!" He called out, trying to steady the boat.

Just then, an evil laugh filled the air and Frisk screamed as she saw a familiar flower coming towards them. "Flowey!" She exclaimed.

Seeing the evil-looking flower coming towards them, Kayla quickly pulled up her reflective and protective magics to stop him, trying to get a read on the flower, but finding no stats, which she found odd. "A soulless monster," she heard her father say as his hands glowed purple and Sans' left eye lit up with a blue flame.

Unknown to them, Flowey was sneaking his vines closer to them from behind, about to grab the two girls, but before he could, two goopy arms grabbed Frisk and Kayla, making them gasp in surprise as they were pulled back and away from the evil flower and the other two monsters. "Papa!" Kayla cried out in fear.

"Dunkle!" Frisk cried out.

"Babybones!" "Kayla!" Came the cries of River Person and Sans, who were unable to do anything as the girls disappeared before their eyes.

It became somewhat dark around the girls, but they noted the arms that held them were holding them in a protective embrace, like whoever had grabbed them had done so to protect them. They turned to find a monster behind them, but he looked like a goopy skeleton. Curious, Kayla called up her protective magic and gently surrounded all three of them in a protective bubble.

No sooner had she done that, the skeleton began changing and to hers and Frisk's astonishment, they were facing a skeleton in a black cloak with holes in the palms of his hands. He had two cracks on his face, one running up his head from one eye and the other running down his face from his other eye, and his hands glowed purple, like River Person's hands when he was using his magic. "Who are you?" Kayla asked.

"I am Gaster, young one," he replied. "And you restored me. Thank you."

Frisk looked up at him curiously. "Where are we?" She asked.

"The Void," he said. "A place where I've been trapped, but now the three of us can escape."

"How?" Kayla asked.

Gaster picked up Frisk and held an arm out to Kayla, who let him hug her to him. "Hold on tight," he said and in a flash of purple and gold (Kayla's protective magic), they were on the riverbank and spotted River Person and Sans coming up to them.

"Dunkle!" Frisk cried out, running to him, seeing he looked like he had just been in a battle.

"Papa!" Kayla cried out in worry, seeing part of her father's cloak was torn. He caught her in his arms.

"I'm alright, my little one," he said soothingly before gasping as he saw the skeleton responsible for keeping Kayla and Frisk safe. "Gaster. Old friend, you're back."

"Yes," the taller skeleton said as Sans hugged him in relief. "And I think I have a way to break the barrier, but I must get to my lab."

Sans nodded. "I'll take you there," he said.

"Can we come too?" Frisk asked hopefully.

Moments later, they had all teleported to Gaster's lab, where he traded his black cloak for his white lab coat and began levitating different pieces of machinery, metal, or just components. "I hope this works," he said aloud.

"What is it, bro?" Sans asked.

Gaster smiled at them. "Hopefully, the device that will break the barrier and free us all," he replied.

Oooh! Looks like the barrier might be broken after all. Or will it? Stay tuned to find out! :)

And please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418