Whew! It's been a crazy two months for me with work and writing stories. For those of you that have requests, rest assured, I have not forgotten them and plan to do them soon. :)

Now, on with the story! :)

Chapter 13: It Takes Two

Gaster worked on his device as Kayla, Frisk, Sans, and River Person watched. The scientist looked at Kayla and Frisk. "May I see your souls?" He asked.

Both grew a bit worried. "Why?" Kayla asked gently.

"I have a theory that just might work," he replied, smiling gently. "I promise it won't hurt."

"What exactly will it do?" River Person asked.

"Hopefully mimic the traits that we need to break the barrier," Gaster said, but then he looked pensive. "It is a bit risky, so the moment you girls feel any pain, I need you to shout out the safe word."

The girls nodded, agreeing a safe word was necessary and they were glad he was thinking about their safety. "What's the safe word?" Frisk asked.

"Restart," the scientist said.

The girls nodded again, taking deep breaths as Gaster's magic gently surrounded them, bringing out Kayla's tri-colored soul and Frisk's red soul. Gaster very gently handled the delicate souls, taking a small amount of their aura and guiding it to the machine. "Are you girls doing alright?" He asked.

Kayla bit her lip, but nodded. "It...feels weird," she admitted. "And a bit uncomfortable."

"Any pain?" Gaster asked, ready to stop the process immediately.

Both girls shook their heads. "No, no pain," Frisk responded.

Nodding, the scientist gently continued, keeping a close eye on the souls, as did Sans and River Person. They grew a bit alarmed when both girls' HP dipped a little, but they saw it wasn't by much.

Gaster nodded as he finished and released the souls, letting them return to their owners. Kayla and Frisk swayed a little on their feet, forcing the scientist to catch them. "Are you two alright?" He asked, worried he might have gone too far.

Kayla groaned a little. "Why do I feel a bit weak?" She asked.

The scientist checked their stats and his eyes widened. "Oh, gracious," he said in horror. "It affected your HP."

"Only a little," River Person said soothingly as he accepted his daughter from the scientist and helped her sit down. Sans did the same for Frisk and the girls quickly ate some food, bringing their HP back up again.

Gaster took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, girls. I didn't know it would affect you so bad," he said, feeling terrible that he might have badly hurt them.

Kayla went up to him. "Gaster, you didn't hurt us," she said, hugging him. "And we trust you."

Frisk nodded, also hugging him before perking up. "Let's see if your machine works," she said eagerly. "It's high time you guys were all free."

"I agree," Kayla said, smiling and going up to her father, hugging him. He returned her hug, holding her protectively.

"And when we get to the surface, I'll sign the paperwork to officially make you my daughter," he promised.

She grinned. "That would be great, Papa," she said.

Sans grinned. "Let's call the others," he said. "This is something none of us can miss."

That was met with agreement and they headed out, spreading the word and inviting everyone to come with them. Soon, the whole Underground was following them to King Asgore's castle.

Kayla recalled when her father had told her that Asgore knew about her, but hadn't wanted to hurt her. She had a feeling he wouldn't want to hurt Frisk either, but she pulled up her hood to hide her face and stood close to Frisk, ready to shield her.

The king was surprised, but when he heard his royal scientist had returned with a device that could break the barrier, he willingly let them through, meeting Frisk and Kayla for the first time and welcoming them warmly, to their surprise.

Toriel was even surprised as well as she learned her husband had had a change of heart about humans, but she was inwardly happy. They were soon gathered around the barrier and Gaster pointed the device at it. "Alright, this is it," he said with a grin as he turned on the device.

But to everyone's surprise and Gaster's embarrassment, the machine spluttered and broke, not working at all. Everyone felt disappointed, but none of them blamed the scientist. The barrier was held together by strong magic, apparently a bit stronger than they realized.

Kayla fell into thought before she perked up. "Perhaps something else can break the barrier," she said, catching their attentions.

"What?" Doggo asked curiously.

"Love," she replied. "Papa took me in after I nearly drowned and he's raised me as his own ever since. Not only that, I befriended many of you, even if we had to battle first."

Frisk realized what Kayla was getting at and smiled, recalling how she had first met Sans and how he had accepted her and Papyrus giving her spaghetti that wasn't quite right, but it had improved since she showed him how to properly make it. "Kayla's right," she said. "You guys have shown us love and helped us."

Kayla nodded. "The humans the banished you here were wrong," she said. "You're people, just like us."

"And we're going to help the surface world see that," Frisk promised.

Just then, both girls began glowing with their trait colors and the river, which was nearby, flowed up to them, as if drawn to them. Kayla reached out, as did Frisk, and they caught hold of each other's hands.

The river began slamming against the barrier then, almost with a vegeance. With their free hands, the girls reached out to the monsters. River Person grasped his daughter's hand as Sans grasped Frisk's hand and they extended their free hands towards the others, who grasped each other's hands like a chain, their soul colors lighting up the area as well.

The colors grew brighter as more of the monsters joined hands and the river smashed against the barrier, seeming to gather strength as more monsters joined the chain and now spraying the girls a little as it crashed harder against the barrier.

Kayla glanced up. "Look," she said softly.

Frisk glanced up to see that the barrier seemed to be weakening at the edges, but was still apparently holding strong against the raging water. "All together now!" Frisk called out. "Gather closer!"

The monsters did that and the colors swirling around them grew so bright everyone had to squint against the brightness. "Keep it up!" Kayla cried out as the river now because as fierce as a hurricane, slamming continuously into the barrier with a fury that drowned out all other noise.

Suddenly, the barrier began shaking harshly, which made the ground shake too in a mini-earthquake. "Hold on!" Asgore cried out. "Don't let go!"

That advice was gladly taken as the noise grew louder, the river reached its full fury, and with one final, powerful shake, the barrier collapsed with such force that it almost knocked everyone to the ground.

Then, all was quiet.

Alright! The barrier is broken! Yay! :)

Next chapter is the epilogue.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418