Ending the Cycle

Chapter 4: Heart to Heart

Shortly after parting ways with his family, the skeleton came upon a magical storage box. Being rather familiar with the storage unit he did not hesitate to put away the spider donut and pie, as well as the bandage he found on his person. With that done he glanced down the two pathways they could take and immediately saw one led to a river.

That left the other path and he was quick to spot the next consistency long before he was spotted. But he stood there casually with his hands behind his back and a slight smile on his face as he waited for his two little brothers to notice him.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE," The taller of the pair was in the process of saying before cutting himself off and looked Gaster's way in obvious surprise. Then Papyrus looked to the skeleton next to him as Sans looked his way, to which Gaster briefly winked at him. And he could immediately tell from the slight widening of the smaller skeleton's smile that Sans had caught on.

Soon enough the former scientist watched in mild amusement as his two younger brothers comically kept turning back to one another and him until finally they both faced his direction. "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A HUMAN?!" Questioned the youngest brother in the lowest voice that he was capable of, which was still fairly audible.

"uhhhh... actually, i think that's a rock."

"OH."

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Following along with the comedic skeleton, Gaster gave them a wave and an amused smile.

"OH MY GOD!" Exclaimed Papyrus, who immediately leaned in and whispered. "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"yes."

Once again placing his hands behind his back, the older skeleton watch with great amusement as his youngest sibling got over excited and began talking about how popular he was going to be. This was of course followed by declarations that the human would not pass and would end up being captured. Then the taller skeleton took off to prepare while laughing happily.

This once again left the two elder brothers alone as the monster in human form moved to stand beside Sans. "well now paps knows you're around, even if..."

"Bonds must be established even if... Who I truly am is never learned... It is essential. Besides... I do not even know if I am remembered." With those depressing word said he continued walking, well aware that he would run into his brother again at some point up ahead.

Gaster felt the child take hold of his hand through their shared mind and he could sense their worry. 'I will be alright Frisk. Sans knows about me, remembers me, and I also have you.' Both of these facts brought him some form of comfort but there was the thought of what would happen to him when all was said and done. One thing he did know for sure, he couldn't continue to possess the human like this as it was unfair to Frisk; he wouldn't regardless of what might happen to him.

Due to being so focused on his internal conversation and thoughts, the monster in human form paid no mind to a sign he happened to pass by. That was until he came to stand almost directly in front of a sentry post and saw a bit of movement with in and was immediately followed by a voice. "Did something move?"

Immediately he came to a complete stop and watch the dog sentry with bated breath, he'd rather avoid as much conflict as possible. With that in mind Gaster hoped that the dog monster would go back to whatever he was doing. And thankfully after a moment the monster did just that while muttering to himself. Taking in a deep breath, the skeleton slowly inched forward while trying to be as quiet as possible. Little by little he sneaked his way past the sentry post, making sure to stop completely when the dog was focused on his surroundings.

Almost there... He was almost there... And then... CRUNCH! Internally Gaster groaned as he stepped on an area of snow that hadn't been flattened down by multiple footsteps. "Something move!" In a panic the skeleton in human form took off running, the other monster right behind him.

Coming to a quick decision, he abruptly ducked between some trees and bushes then went completely still. The dog sentry paused and again glancing around suspiciously. Taking another moment to think over his options, Gaster slowly checked what items he had on him. All he had was the monster candy and... A stick? A stick! That could do the trick, so he waited until the monster had turned away from him. Once they had, he was quick to throw the stick back in the direction of the sentry post.

This resulted in the dog monster turning that way upon hearing the noise of the stick hitting the ground, then yelling about movement before running off barking. Giving it another moment, the skeleton quickly stepped back onto the path and darted away before he could be noticed.

Gaster finally came to a stop once he reached an area with an ice covered pond, the former scientist put a hand to his chest as he tried to collect his breath. "Well, I will be dog-gone if that was not a close one..." He couldn't help but lightly joke despite himself, getting a small giggle out of the child.

However he heard another sound that seemed to be someone trying to suppress laughter and he recognized the voice. "But I certainly threw caution to the wind." Came his next joke without hesitation as a slight smirk crossed his face when the laughter increased. "At least I was able to a-void a ruff situation."

There was no longer any attempt to suppress the laughter that was coming from just within the tree line. With an amused grin, Gaster walked over to the sound and found Sans standing there laughing his skull off. One hand on his head while the other was on his knee as he was bent forward slightly. With a warm smile he leaned against the tree trunk closest to his brother, his hands casually behind his back as he waited for the other to collect himself.

After a bit more, the younger skeleton seemed to finally calmed down and returned his hands to his pockets. Then he too moved and leaned against the same trunk as his older brother. "those were some pretty good ones big g." Sans finally commented with amusement clear in his voice.

"I suppose." He answered with a dismissive shrug and then his smile faltered some. "Is this one of those private spots you mentioned?" Upon receiving a confirmation, Gaster couldn't help but take a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. "Listen Sans... There is something you should know... It is most likely that I am not your Gas-"

"i know." The shorter skeleton cut him off with before he even had a chance to finish. This caused the monster in child form to glance the other's way with a questioning look. "i figured that out when you said you tried to find a weak point in the void. and if there really are countless timelines then the likeliness of you finding your own are slim to none. but that doesn't change the fact that you're here, or the fact that you're trying to make a difference. so don't let it bother you bro."

These words brought quite a bit of comfort to the former scientist, his head lowering slightly as his eyes closed. "Thank you..."

"so... if there are countless timelines, that means there are countless variations of me, paps and you out there. and i doubt the relationships between us are the same in every single one." Commented the short skeleton in an offhand manner, his own gaze upwards.

This of course caused Gaster to return his gaze to his brother with a raised eyebrow. "That is correct. In some of them we are brothers, while in some I am yours and Papyrus' father, and others we have no relationship at all, and then... There are the ones I do not want to think about..." A shiver ran down his spine as he briefly thought about the ones where the younger skeletons were nothing but experiments. "What brought this up?"

"well, i was just wondering what kind of relationship we had in your timeline." Now the older skeleton understood where this was going. It seems that Sans might be a little conscious about referring to him as brother if Gaster himself viewed them differently.

"We are... Were..?" Trailing off briefly, he once again glanced away before shaking his head then focused on the snow by his feet. "I was an older brother doing everything I could to provide for my rambunctious and troublemaking younger siblings. Tibia honest, you two were quite a hand-ful." The puns caused them both to laugh slightly before the air became tense and serious again.

"how did..." Sans started to say then seemed to trail off as if he was hesitant, then he let out a heavy sigh. "how did it make you feel seeing us die in those other timelines?"

"It was..." Pausing a moment to take a breath to collect himself, the older skeleton couldn't help but wonder once again where this topic was going. "It was devastating... Every time it hurt just as much... Perhaps even more given how many times I had to watch those scenes play out... It did not matter if they were from my timeline or not... I viewed them all the same regardless..."

"i see... welp, then as far as i'm concerned you're my big bro g. so what's next g?" And just like that the tension in the air was gone.

When Gaster glanced up at his younger brother, he found Sans looking right back at him with a wide genuine smile. Glancing down just briefly, he took a moment to collect his thoughts before looking back to the other skeleton. "First and foremost you should know is that my mind... Is a little unstable... Scrambled more like... I have seen so many events a crossed so many timelines for such an extended period of time that sometimes I... Mix them up..."

"okay, so you need someone to help keep your head on straight. i can do that so long as i know the gist of what needs to be done." Came the easy response with a slight dismissive shrug, although the older skeleton could easily spot the bit of worry in his sibling's expression; even if they tried to hide it.

"Indeed. Of course, you will not be the only one helping me with that." When he received a questioning look, the former scientist tapped the side of his, Frisk's, head slightly as he spoke. "The child is in here, do not forget. Frisk can hear and see everything that I do. Ah... Frisk is the child's name."

"so you're saying that the kiddo is conscious in there?" Questioned Sans after a small pause and there was also a hint of hesitation in his tone of voice.

"Yes, very much so. And do not worry for my well-being, Frisk feels extremely guilty for what they were forced to do. They have not even spoken a word to me this entire time. If not for the mental link we share that allows me to feel their emotions, I would question if they were even in here at all." Once again he could feel Frisk mentally lean into his back, it was almost as if the child was trying to hide behind him. Strong emotions of regret and sorrow were coming through to the monster, which caused him to sigh heavily. "They are deeply sorry for what happened before the reset."

There was another moment of silence before Gaster decided to continue the conversation. "Speaking of my presence in this body..." As this was said he lifted a hand to stare at it with a small frown. "I think I now understand why this became a possession instead of an absorption."

"oh yeah? and?"

"It is because of the state of my soul..." He could feel his brother's gaze more focused upon him but the monster in human form did not look his way. "My soul... Has not exactly been whole since my... Accident... My body and soul were scattered a crossed the void and... Well... It took a long while for enough of my being to gather in one place enough to even generate any sort of form at all."

"heh... you did look a little out of shape." Joked the younger skeleton as he directed his gaze away once again. "so basically what you're saying is that since your soul wasn't exactly whole, then you weren't able to absorb the kid's soul."

"That is correct."

"but how did it become a possession then? wouldn't you have simply not been able to do it." That question was something that had passed through Gaster's mind right off the bat but events forced him to put it to the side. Now that it was being asked, he had to take some time to go over what he did know.

The hand that the monster in human form had been staring at was now lifted to his chin in a thoughtful manner. "That is something I have been wondering as well to be honest... However the only explanation I have at this time is human determination." He finally admitted with a shrug while glancing back to Sans. Upon receiving a look that seemed to say 'elaborate', the former scientist couldn't help but once again shrugged as he continued speaking. "Determination is a very powerful thing. During my studies of the human soul I came to learn that there are different attributes that are represented by different colors. All humans contain determination, however red souls have so much determination that they can some what defy reality."

"the resets."

"The resets." Gaster said in confirmation, one hand now pointing upward briefly. "But it is more than that, red soul humans have the ability to come back after being killed. The best way to describe it is like saving your progress on a project through a computer. If you mess up you go back to a previous save or if the computer loses power, you don't lose that much progress. These can also be viewed as a minor reset which may make one lose only minutes rather than hours or days. Some of the humans that I witnessed in other timelines would use this to memorize attack patterns of particularly difficult opponents."

"that's... actually kinda scary... knowing that no matter what you do your enemy is just gonna keep coming back to fight you over and over again." Commented Sans with a slightly nervous chuckle while briefly running a hand over his skull. "so how do you beat someone like that?"

"Keep trying until they lose their determination... Although I have very rarely seen it happen... Thankfully, red soul humans aren't very common. In every timeline I viewed I only ever saw two that I was aware of. The first fallen human who was adopted by the royal family and Frisk. However, I do not know the full extent of what a red soul is capable of. Just when I think I know their capabilities, I see something new. Sometimes the Frisk of another timeline will find a way to break the reset ability to it prevented from ever being used again. And sometimes they will find a different way to use their abilities, such as their ability to save." Once again he could see the questioning look he was being given but he raised a hand to stall whatever question was coming.

"I am getting to it... I promise." A slight huff escaped from his brother, who finally decide to slide down the trunk into a sitting position. However Gaster chose to remain standing but he did send a small smile the other skeleton's way. "Like I mentioned, red soul's can save their progress and backtrack to that point. However, during the final conflict in many of the pacifist timelines Frisk found a way to change how save works. Instead of saving progress they had figured out how to change it to save others."

"This of course leads to the process that I must try to replicate..." The former scientist couldn't help but say with a heavy sigh while rubbing his, Frisk's, forehead. "Are you familiar with a little yellow talking flower?"

"what about the weed? what does he have to do it this?" The disdain in Sans' voice clearly stated he had a history with the mutated plant and not a good one.

"Flowey... What a ridiculous name he chose for himself... He is soulless... Has no capability of feeling whatsoever, at least nothing positive. He is the main individual I need to be absolutely clueless. He cannot know what I am trying to do because he holds the key." This led to a long explanation of who the mutated plant used to be. Which also led to the explanation of who the malevolent spirit was that had been possessing Frisk, not to mention both soulless beings' interest in the child. Gaster also explained what he needed to do to get the results he was looking for and what those end results were.

"so... you're going to try to manipulate the manipulating little weed and get him to break the barrier?" Inquired the other monster once the explanation was done and he had a few moments to let it all sink in.

"That is right. And that is how it goes for the pacifist timelines that I can recall and the ultimate goal I hope to achieve for this timeline. If all goes well, your role be minor. In the events I can recall easily, you would periodically show up to spend time with Frisk or give them advice. But nothing really more than that, other than the final conflict... Although I suppose that in of itself is probably rather frightening to think about." Silently he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he revealed to much to his younger brother. Put too much weight on the younger skeleton's shoulders...

There was only but a moment of silence before a sigh escaped from the one beside him. "welp... if that's what has to be done then i'll trust you big g. although i don't know why you would need my help if i'm supposed to play a minor role, like you said."

Relief filled the older skeleton when Sans agreed to his plan and he couldn't help but smile at his younger brother. "You can help keep me grounded, keep my mind focused when my scrambled thoughts start to get to me. If they get to me... And you can help in case something does not go as planned. I have noticed a few unique variables that differ from other timelines but so far nothing that would dramatically change the outcome. However, one change can cause a ripple effect.

"such as you telling me everything about this." Pointed out the normally lazy skeleton, to which he couldn't help but hum in agreement. "you know you really got carried away with your spiel and never really explained how determination resulted in you possessing the kid."

"I did not?" Questioned Gaster in mild confusion as he tried to replay everything that he had said. But he quickly found himself unsure of what he had or hadn't revealed, unfortunately his thoughts had become a little scrambled with all the information he had given. "I apologize... I did not realize I had not..."

Taking a moment to shake his head and collect his thoughts, the skeleton in human form began to rub one arm with his other hand in a nervous fashion. However before any comments could be made, he continued speaking. "When I attempted to absorb the child's soul, I found that... For lack of a better word... That they were reaching out to me... Trying to accept me... And desperately so. Frisk wanted to be free so badly that they were willing to take a risk with a stranger. I think their determination is what made the process successful in a sense... Since, as stated earlier, absorption could not take place."

"so basically you probably would've failed if not for the kid." Came the blunt statement from the skeleton sitting next to him, which caused him to flinch ever so slightly due to the tone that was used.

"Yes... That is highly likely..." Admitted Gaster in a slow and slightly drawnout manner, his gaze directed away from Sans. He went to say more but ended up taking a sharp intake of breath as he spotted an all too familiar form standing amongst the trees, staring at them with blood red eyes.

Quick to notice the change of demeanor the younger monster was even quicker to inquire with a worried tone of voice. "what is it g?"

The monster in human form couldn't help but blink and when he looked again the figure was gone without a trace. "It...I-It is nothing... My eyes are just playing tricks on me... I have not had proper rest in a long time..." Finally came the answer in reply as a hand was lifted to rub his face. "I think we should move on for now... My mind is getting a little mixed up with all the information sharing... Plus... Papyrus is waiting."

Finally he turned back to his younger brother and gave the other a weak smile. "Perhaps by the time we reach the next 'safe spot' I will be able to sort out my thoughts enough to answer any other questions you may have."

There was a moment of silence which was broken by a sigh and the sound of Sans getting up. "sure big g... just don't work yourself down to the bone. you hear me? your not alone in this now, although I'd rather be taking a nap." There was a hint of teasing in his tone of voice as his endless smile grew a bit wider. "but then if i did i wouldn't be able to spend time with my awesome big brother as he tries to save the world." As this was said the skeleton lightly tapped Gaster on the shoulder with a fist.

"Oh yes... Just what I always wanted... Juggling family time while simultaneously performing death-defying feats while also possessing the body of another like some sort of character in one of Alphys' animes..." The former scientist couldn't help but say in a slightly sarcastic manner while rolling his eyes. This of course brought a laugh from his brother, who then proceeded to give him a pat on the back and a thumbs-up.

After that Sans went off to meet up their youngest brother which once again left him and Frisk alone on the edge of the clearing with the frozen pond. So the skeleton took a moment to collect himself and took in a deep breath of the cool air. However an abrupt coughing fit snuck up on him at that time and Gaster ended up leaning against one of the trees while clutching his chest.

After a few more minutes the brief coughing fit subsided and he spent another moment to collect his breath. 'I am all right Frisk... Most likely just breathed in to deeply, it happens sometimes.' He was quick to think to the child when he felt their deep concern for him. And once the monster was sure he was all right, he continued on his way without a second thought.

That's all for this chapter and I can't help but say I ended up rewriting half of it. I quickly realized I was advancing some of the plot to quickly, as to what that plot is... You'll just have to wait and see.

On different note, a realization hit me while I was lying in bed the other night... One of my reviewers referred to Frisk and Gaster's situation as G!Frisk, which isn't inaccurate... However I didn't think of it as an actual Undertale AU until now, which makes me want to make this into a comic even more... But what could this AU even be called? Anyone have any ideas? Regardless, I'm really wanting to see this as a comic now... So that means I have to start practicing my drawing again... Going to start with cover art... Wish me luck.

Anyway that's all for now, until next time. R&R.