Dr. Gaster sat in his wife's office going over some of the final reports to be filled out. Helvetica was at her obstetrician for an unscheduled check up. Initially Gaster was very worried, but Helvetica promised that it was nothing to get worked up about that it was just some discomfort nothing more. Not that this news eased Gasters worries, the mere fact that she felt that she needed to set up an unscheduled appointment said that this was more than common pregnancy discomfort.
Gaster received Helvetica's call later in the evening and was surprised when she said she would meet him in her office after. She still wanted to work on the last of her reports, excited to almost be done with the overflow and there was no changing her mind. So Gaster went to her office moments after getting the call, trying desperately to get as much as he could get done with one of Helveticas most trusted employee's.
"I can't believe Dr. Helvetica would think about coming back here after her obstetrician appointment. Is the lady mad?" Asked Dr. Robertson as he was filling out one of the patient reports that he was given. Gaster laughed.
"You know my wife, she's never happy if she knows that there is work to be done. If she was to go home all she would be thinking about is work and practically drag me back here regardless of whether or not she was told to rest." Robertson signed as he placed the report in the outbox and picking up another.
"I don't know how you live with her, don't get me wrong she's great, but honestly Dr. Gaster she would drive me crazy. If my partner told me that they wanted to work rather than rest I would tie them to the bed."
This made Gaster laugh harder, "You Robertson have no idea what kind of hellbeast would be released if I even suggested such a thing. No, it's best I try and work through some of these reports before she comes back than even suggest trying to prevent her from doing it herself." Gaster said getting back to his own reports.
"I guess you're right, I mean the other week we were working with a patient trying to determine whether or not they were a psychopath, I swear some of them are harder to identify than others, good actors you know. Anyways, Dr. Helvetica wanted a PET scan done, but no one was around to do it at the moment so she did it herself. God forbid she wait a few minutes." Robertson exclaimed. "Enough about my work, it's boring, what about you? Any new breakthroughs you can share?"
Gaster thought before answering. "Actually we did get the Extraction Machine to finally work. It has successfully extracted and stored all seven hundred and fifty souls, well actually seven hundred and sixty we wanted a few for experimenting with vessels."
"Wow that was fast! How did you guys get it up an operational so quickly?" Robertson asked surprised at the doctor's progress.
"Well we hypothesized a while ago that the soul was similar to the energy that runs through your walls and gives you electricity, only in monster bodies it gives us a soul that and operates our person. Drs. Alrep and Protile hypothesized a while ago that's why ghosts find it easy to possess machines than other objects, they feel it's probably easier on the ghosts to manipulate something that is built to harness energy than something that was not. So the idea was, just like we can extract energy from the core, we could also extract souls using a similar method. I won't bore you with the science, but let's just say it worked. The two doctors were very excited because it confirmed a lot of their hypotheses on energy harnessing, transfer, and storage."
"Oh, how exciting. So what's left trying to find a vessel?"
Gaster nodded. "That is turning out to a lot more challenging that I first thought it would be. We figured that organic vessels will work better than mechanical ones and will be more stable. We just need to find the right organic vessel. Our first idea was to place them in some sort of plant life, but plants are not inherently sentient. We tried our first experiments today with a few plants. While it was possible to place a soul in them, nothing of worth seems to comes from it. It's just a plant that can talk, which is really too much credit, they really only echo you. They don't seem to have any magical abilities other than the ability to echo. Our other idea is to put them in a living body but we have no desire to torture anyone and we are afraid that is what will happen with a living person being forced to take on another being into themselves."
"Well, isn't that a concern regardless? There are so many souls that you are planning on putting in one vessel, isn't it going to drive anything crazy? There would be so many personalities in one confined space." Robertson asked genuinely curious.
"In the Extractor Machine the souls have already formed a singular fluid soul. We can take individual souls away from the main one, but when left alone they combine to create one single soul. It's quite fascinating. We are not a hundred percent certain that all problems have been solved in the creation of the single soul as it is made up of hundreds but we are hoping that it will limit the adverse effects. If we were to put this soul in a living monster it would destroy the host's soul and absorb it into the larger combined one, possibly causing undue torture for the host. Our newest idea is that if we could somehow keep a body after death, that would allow us to place the soul without any need to cause torture."
"Is that even possible?"
"I don't know, but we are trying." Gaster said. The two scientist were silently working for a few moments more before Gaster's phone rang. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Dr. Wing-Ding Gaster?" The voice on the line asked pleasantly.
"Yes, who's this?" Gaster asked suspiciously, no one called him on his personal phone outside of his wife.
"This is Dr. Avory Wright, your wife's obstetrician, would you have time to come down to my office? I would like to talk about the progress of your baby's soul with you both present."
Gaster stood in alarm. "Is there something wrong? Is my wife ok?"
"I'm sorry I don't mean to startle you. Yes, your wife is fine, unfortunately there seems to some complications with the new soul's progress. There wont be any harm to your wife but I fear what the implications of my latest tests might mean for you child's soul. If you wouldn't mind coming to my office I can give you more details." The doctor stated in a calm tone.
"Alright I'm on my way." Gaster motioned to Dr. Robertson to start packing up. "I should be there in about five minutes."
"Thank you Dr. Gaster, just tell the front desk receptionist that you are here to see Dr. Avory, she should point you to my office. See you soon." The doctor said before hanging up.
"What happened?" Dr. Robertson asked as Gaster started picking up papers and placing them in their correct location.
"I don't really know yet, the doctor wants to talk to us both." Gaster said as he places a few other items away and quickly scanned the room checking to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. Nodding Gaster headed out with Robertson close behind.
"That's odd, right? Do you think everything is alright?" Robertson asked concerned.
"I really don't know. That's why I'm going to the doctor's office. Hopefully, I can lean more there." Gaster said as he grabbed his coat near the door.
"Well, tell your wife I said I hope everything is alright." Robertson said as Gaster made his leave with a final wave.
The walk from the Mental Research Wing, where Helvetica worked, to the Children's Care Wing, where Helvetica's obstetrician was located, was not far as they were both located on the Royal Hospital grounds. Which Gaster was grateful for as he was able to quickly make it to Dr. Avory's office and not keep his wife waiting. If he was coming from his office in the Royal Labs it would have taken him at least twice as long.
Entering the building Gaster went straight to the main building's front desk. "Hello, I'm Dr. Gaster, I'm looking for Dr. Avory's office?" He asked the monster behind the desk.
"Dr. Avory …. Dr. Gaster," the monster repeated as they scanned the computer screen in front of them. "Ah, yes there you are. Right hallway, take the first elevator to the second floor, turn left, third door on your right." They said and Gaster was off, finding the office easily.
"Hello, are you Dr. Gaster?" asked a small monster as Gaster opened the door to Dr. Avory's office.
"Um, yes I am." Gaster said looking for his wife in the small waiting area. The monster smiled.
"Your wife is in the room down the left hall second door on your right." The monster said sweetly before getting back to the work she was doing before Gaster showed up.
"Thank you," Gaster said making his way over. Gaster knocked on the door that was indicated to him.
"Come in," Gaster heard Helvetica say in trepidation. Gaster quickly opened the door to see his wife standing in the room by herself looking worried. "Gaster! They said they were going to call you, but I wasn't expecting you for a few more minutes." Gaster made his way over to his wife wrapping her in a hug.
"I was at your office, trying to work on some of the reports before you got back." Gaster said making Helvetica laugh.
"Without me, how ever did you manage?" Helvetica asked humorously.
"I forced Robertson to help me, he's a good lad that one." Gaster said as he broke the hug and looked his wife.
"Remind me to give him a good bonus this year." Helvetica said smiling beautifully.
"Hmm," Gaster acknowledged. "So what happened, have you been told anything yet? They just told me there might be something wrong with the soul." Gaster put his hand over Helvetica's chest as he said the last part.
Helvetica looked broken hearted before answering. "She hasn't confirmed it yet, but I think … I think I'm going to lose the child Gaster." Helvetica said almost bursting into tears.
"What?" Gaster asked astonished. "How? I mean … I …" Gaster was dumbstruck by the news.
Yes, he knew his wife was having a bit of a hard time with the pregnancy, but to lose it altogether? He hadn't given the notion much thought. Losing a child wasn't something that was common among skeleton parents due to how the birthing process allowed for much more manipulative than for other monsters, allowing for most problems to be easily rectified. Such things as deformities in skeleton babies were basically unheard of because the parents were able to make the body that the soul would possess. The soul itself was made out of the mothers magic, as long as the mother had magic a soul could form, and all skeletons had magic because at the very least it was what held them together, so even if the soul took years it would form. Given all this, to lose a child was very rare indeed.
"I'm sorry I should have gotten here sooner." a voice said from the doorway. "Hello, Dr. Gaster, I'm Dr. Avory. Nice to finally meet you." A harpie monster said as she entered the room and she extending her hand, which Gaster shook.
"Yes, same." Gaster said. "I would be present more often if my wife didn't schedule these appointments during work hours." He said looking playfully at his wife, she just shrugged. "So what exactly are we looking at here." Gaster asked trying to figure out how much trouble his wife and his unborn baby could be in. Dr. Avory motioned to a seating area of a few chairs. Both Helvetica and Gaster went to sit with Dr. Avory sitting across from them.
"Ok, so as you both should know, Dr. Helvetica has been having some pregnancy discomfort recently." Dr. Avory started. "Now this isn't much of a problem in most other types of monsters, but in skeletons this is very rare and is usually an indication of a much larger problem. In a regular monster most discomforts happen because the female's body is changing, getting larger, making room for another being in their system, organs are moving, the skin is expanding, and honestly the body is just not the same. As we know this doesn't happen for skeletons, if anything the only thing that Helvetica should feel is as if there was a small weight on her soul. It shouldn't cause discomfort, just feel differently. As the baby's soul grows the weight should gradually become heavier and heavier, and you should only really notice it when the baby is about to be born. So being able to feel your baby's soul as something almost painful is disconcerting. Sometimes this might mean that the baby is syphoning magic too fast, which results in an unstable soul, or irregularly, which will also cause an unstable soul." Dr. Avory took out some scans that looked like PET Scans of Helvetica's soul that showed not only her soul but also a smaller fuzzy looking dot next to it.
"As you can see Helvetica's soul looks perfectly normal, but this is your baby's soul." Dr. Avory pointed towards the fuzzy dot. Helvetica gasped and grabbed the photo from the doctor.
"Oh, no that's not right. What's wrong with it." Helvetica asked with tears in her eyes. From previous scans and research Helvetica knew that this was not what a baby's soul was supposed to look like. Babies souls moved around their mother's soul like a small electron going around a nucleus. Once upon a time it was hard to actually see what a new soul looked like, but with the help of new technologies they have been able to use scans to take photos of them. These scans usually showed a smooth ball of energy, to see a scan of an unstable ball of fuzz was something to really be uneasy over.
"Well simply put, your child's soul is unstable." Helvetica gave a small choked sound when Dr. Avory said this. Dropping the scan Helvetica placed her hands on her mouth, she was distraught. Gaster couldn't handle it and pulled his wife close for a hug. She cried and Gaster hushed her, telling her it was going to be ok. Dr. Avory looked sad for the couple and pick up the scan.
"As you both know this is not something that looks good. Yet, it's not something to lose hope over yet." Dr. Avory said, making both parents look at her skeptically. "This isn't a case of a soul not getting enough energy from it's mother, and this is also not a soul that is leeching too much energy off of Helvetica. This is a soul that wants to be separated and be placed in its own body. Out of all the possible situations regarding unstable souls, this is the best case scenario."
Both parents looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean," Helvetica asked hopefully.
"Well this is very rare within this rare circumstance, but every once in awhile there are cases of skeleton souls wanting to remove themselves from their host. While the souls is extremely weak, and thus the child itself will be very weak, it is very likely that the soul could survive. A soul that isn't taking enough energy from their parents will just disappear from existence due to being too small, unstable, and overall just not being able to sustain itself. A soul that is taking on too much energy literally explodes once moved into a new body as it is trying to siphon more energy but can't. A soul that wants early separation can usually sustain itself for a time but overall these monsters usually have smaller lifespans. With these souls there is a 15% chance that the soul will find a balance on its own and be able to live."
"That means there is an 85% percent chance of what, it dying? Then if we are successful, what do you mean smaller lifespan? Are we talking they only a few years of life or are we talking about something that isn't really different from other monsters?" Gaster asked looking skeptical, he couldn't tell if he was happy that there was a chance or if he was angry that there was such a low chance.
"Well there is a 85% chance that the soul won't take to the new body and it will dissipate during transfer, just like a soul that isn't taking in enough energy." Dr. Avory informed them.
"But there is still a chance," said Helvetica.
"Are there any risks?" asked Gaster.
"Other than the obvious, no, there are no risks to Helvetica's health. It's just like a normal soul transfer. You two will create the body you wish the child to have, and Helvetica shall transfer the new soul to the body just like a regular skeletal birthing process, one of the safest birthing processes that any monster species has." Dr. Avory concluded positively.
"Ok, when do we get this done?" Helvetica asked excitedly. "Should we do this now? Should we wait?"
Dr. Avory held up a hand. "Please Helvetica remember there is only a 15% success rate, but as you two haven't worked on the body yet, I was hoping that we could do this early tomorrow morning. You both can create a body tonight and bring it in tomorrow and we can do the transfer. How does that sound?"
Gaster and Helvetica looked at each other. Helvetica had nothing but hope in her expression while Gaster still held on to his own trepidations. An 85% chance of losing their child, he could already tell that Helvetica was not going to take the loss well if that was what it came to. He should make some preemptive measures tonight, and make sure she wasn't too excited about the child that they might not have. "That sounds like a plan." Gaster said looking back towards Dr. Avory.
"Great, now before you leave, it will be a few hours still till we plan to do the transfer. I suggest you create the body as soon as you get home. I also need to warn you, if Helvetica experiences pain in her soul tonight you need to do an immediate transfer. If not, the new soul can damage Helvetica's soul as the pain will be a sign that the soul is trying to escape while hers is trying to keep it close. It would cause a rip in the two souls if this is to happen and the small soul will be lost. So if you feel anything that you might determine as pain, Helvetica, you must make the transfer. You can call me after the transfer at any time if such a circumstance happens." Dr. Avory explained and both parents nodded in understanding. "Great, now my office will open at 7:00 am tomorrow, do you think you can make it in then or should we wait until later in the morning."
"That would work fine," Gaster said as Helvetica nodded in agreement.
"Ok, great," said Dr. Avory standing up. Helvetica and Gaster stood with her making their way to the door. Remember when you get home work on the body, if you feel any pain Helvetica you must do a transfer, otherwise we will meet here at 7:00 and please remember there is a 15% chance of success. It's small, but it's our best option." They both nodded and thanked the doctor before making their leave. The walk to the river man was made in silence and the walk from the Snowdin port to their house was made in a lighter note. At their house they instantly started working on the baby's body. All the while Helvetica was excited, holding on to the hope that she would see her child soon, rather than dwell on the notion that she might not see them at all. Gaster tried to make sure she understood the risk, but she wanted to be happy, not sad, so she only listened to him half heartedly.
"Gaster dear, please. I know the risk," Helvetica said in response to Gaster once more trying to explain that the likelihood of this working was very small. Helvetica held their completed child in her arms as Gaster held her from behind looking down at the small face. The baby's bones were a little thicker than what was probably ideal, but it would have taken them a very long time to shave them down to a point where they were perfect. It didn't quite matter to the two at the moment anyways, the baby was perfect regardless. Their first baby bones, how could it not be perfect, if this worked it would be a miracle baby. "I want to hope, not dwell. So please stop, tomorrow we will know for sure what will happen." She turned to her husband and kissed him. "Now I don't know about you but I'm pooped. Let's go to bed." Gaster let go of his wife as they made their way to their room. Yet, while they turned off the lights and laid in the bed neither actually slept, instead they held each other with their tiny creation in between them both worried about what the next day might hold.
Gaster was woken by a scream.
In a frantic search he looked around his room, eyes alight with magic ready for any oncoming attacks. His panic intensified when he noticed that the scream came from his wife who screamed once more. "Helvetica!" Gaster was terrified as his wife writhed in agony, experiencing what looked like the worst pain imaginable. It took a moment for Gaster's mind to catch up with what he was seeing before he understood what was happening. The baby's soul was trying to separate. Quickly Gaster grabbed up the small bundle of bones that still laid between them and grabbed his wife.
"Helvetica! Helvetica, can you hear me dear?!" Gaster yelled trying to grab his wife's attention from her pain. Helvetica's eyes focused on her husband's face and she let out a sob.
"G-Gaster! I-it h-hurts … GAAHHH!" Helvetica's face scrunched up in pain as another wave of pure pain ripped through her soul.
"Hush, hush, my dear. I got the baby, see?" Gaster said holding the child close to her. Desperately Helvetica clenched the small body holding it close. "You need to do the transfer. Now Helvetica!" Gaster said desperately as he noticed that his wife wasn't making a move beyond holding her child's still body.
"Wha-what if it doesn-doesn't w-worK, AHHH!" Helvetica tried to say as tears streamed down her face. "W-hat if they d-d…"
Gaster grabbed his wife's face and made her look at him. "They could also live! We won't know unless you do this, if you don't you both will die. Please Helvetica, please! Do the transfer dear, NOW!" Gaster exclaimed panicked. "Please my dear, I love you I can't lose you too." Gaster whispered tears starting to fall from his eyes as well.
Helvetica looked at her husband for a few second more before starting the transfer. Fear enveloped her as she tried to focus on the process, this was the worst situation of the bad situation they were presented with. Please, if there was any deities out there watching over them right now, please let their child live. It was only a few second after the transfer started that the new soul was in it's new body, practically leaping from it's mother to the small body.
The small body twitched once, and then again before going still. The two parents watched silently for a few more moments. "Please, please live." Gaster sobbed touching the small things cheek bone. But there was no further movement. After a few more moments tears silently fell down Helvetica's face before she sobbed and held her baby's body close. Gaster sat back watching his wife. There was a sense of detachment for him after the whole ordeal. First waking up to the sound of his wife screaming, and now the loss of his child. The whole situation was horrifyingly unreal.
Slowly Gaster moved besides his wife and held her close as she cried. Every once in awhile he would stroke the small things head, imaging what could have been. Silently tears fell from his face. How were they going to get past this, as things looked right now their lives were over. He couldn't even imagine what his wife was feeling, but if it was anything like his own torment, tomorrow looked to be a thousand years away.