REALLY OLD FRIENDS CHAPTER 7:
Papyrus forced himself to tone down his usually cacophonous greeting to his family as he returned home with Alphys in tow. Two of the usual suspects were dozed off on the couch, while their newest addition silently watched what was left of their show with heavy eyes, arms folded tightly to his chest. Alphys twiddled her fingers in a wave and he raised a couple digits off his arm to return the gesture and smiled.
"I g-guess it went well, then?" she asked quietly.
Gaster looked down at the slumped pair and he gently patted Frisk's head with a fond smile.
"Are you being quiet because they are sleeping or did you lose your voice again?" Papyrus asked worriedly.
The phantom, blue hands appeared and held up two fingers. Papyrus sighed.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But! Luckily! I brought help."
.
"Paps?" Frisk sat up groggily, blinking, and Sans fell away from her and onto the floor. She looked around and smiled at Alphys, then noticed Gaster. She yelped and then began to laugh. "Oh! You're still here!"
To the skeleton's surprise, the kid threw her arms around him. His bones flushed instantly and, through shivers, he hugged her close.
"Ah, F-Frisk, you look so happy!" Alphys said with a big smile. "Um. Y-You, um…? No h-hard f-f-feelings, right?"
"Course not," Frisk said. "Jeez, Alphys."
"Aaaah, I'm sorry, though!" she said.
"But you remember that one story you did? The DadSans AU? You were almost right, though, isn't that weird?" the kid asked.
Alphys stared back blankly. She blushed. "Oh n-no, no no no, don't b-bring that up! Oh god. I mean…" She coughed into her fist and hurriedly tried to straighten herself up despite her wobbly smile. "Did you guys, umm…? Did y-you have an okay time? I mean, meeting and everything?"
Gaster stuck four thumbs up and couldn't help but grin. Frisk let him go, but turned as she sat on his lap and smiled brightly. He bashfully kept a light, huggy hold on her.
"It's not like it was the first time!" she said with a laugh. "Buuttt, it was totally my first time having a dad for real, though, so that was extra exciting. Mostly I was just super happy he wasn't a goo-mess."
"I b-bet," Alphys said gently.
.
She turned her eyes on the tall skeleton and frowned with a feigned disapproval. She put her hands on her hips. "G-Gaster, why didn't you say you were h-having this kind of issue, huh? Papyrus had to tell me a-all about it!"
He looked embarrassed and his phantom hands shrugged. The lizard sighed dramatically. She brushed her finger across her phone screen and a big white box on a trolly clunked out onto the floor, the sound finally waking Sans, who leaned up curiously on his elbow.
.
Alphys knocked on the top of the box with her fist and it popped open, revealing a few compartments of things, including a small, dark screen with the shape of a soul in white on it. She took out a stethoscope— in some sense, anyway, it was a little more like a modified set of earmuffs — plugged it into the screen, and then touched its little metal disk against the skeleton's soul spot after Frisk shifted off his lap to give her access.
.
The lizard yelped and pulled back the second she heard it, eyes wide. "Jeez! G-Gaster, that sounds h-horrible!"
"It's, uh…" His voice was a croak. He smiled sideways. "It's no lullaby, for sure."
"And you k-keep losing your voice, right?" she said.
"I do, I…" It happened again. He shrugged.
Alphys leaned over the screen where the picture of the soul looked more like some sort of burr or crystallized spike of ice as its corrupted waveform tried to play around an already shattered image. Papyrus leaned over too and winced.
"That looks like it hurts," he said. "Does it hurt?"
Gaster shook his head. He opened his mouth but words were still gone. He flinched. Frisk held out her phone. He stared back at her with surprise, and she opened a note app. He took it from her and tried to type, but his fingers were shaking too hard. He drooped. She held out her hand to him in reply. He looked puzzled until she tapped on her palm.
"Well?" she said.
He grinned wide and gently grasped her hand in his to hold it steady. Slowly, he began to trace letters in her palm and she concentrated hard as he did.
"What're you doing?" Papyrus asked curiously.
Frisk held up one finger to ask him to wait. After a minute, she smiled at him. "We used to do this all the time when he was just speaking weird backwards language but he needed to tell me something," she said. "He says it doesn't hurt, it's just cold. But it gets a lot colder right before it happens. Right?"
Gaster nodded.
.
Alphys looked thoughtful and she tapped her chin. "Th-That sounds an awful lot like a bad but pretty n-normal case of the offkeys."
"Offkies?" Frisk asked.
"S'kinda like a cold where your soul kinda goes outta sync with the rest of ya," Sans explained. "Not super common, but it happens."
"Oooooh, off key, I get it. Is that kinda like a worse version of what happened to Undyne when she fixed your head?" Frisk asked.
"Kinda."
"Oh! Th-Thanks for bringing that up, Frisk," Alphys said, and she looked at Gaster with a reassuring smile. "I think I kinda know what t-to do for you, but after that, I w-want you do go do an a-attunement with Undyne, okay? Sh-She managed to get F-Frisk's hum going with it, so it should be strong enough to help you, um, if you do it right. Aaaand w-we should find you a n-notepad to carry around, in case th-that shaking stops. Okay?"
Gaster looked intrigued. He nodded. Alphys smiled and texted with one hand, but she still looked like she was a little at a loss.
"N-Now… We have, um, a f-few options, but… Hmm…?"
Sans gestured to the box. "Opera cake?" he suggested.
"Ah! Good idea!" she said with a grin.
.
She typed something quickly into the screen and, out of one of the compartments, raised something that looks suspiciously like a microwave. Instead of numbers or temperatures, though, the numbers on the front listed status increases and flavours. Alphys hit on coffee, chocolate, cream, batter, and a music note, and then zapped the thing so hard with yellow magic that she squeaked and hopped away, shaking her hand out. The machine beeped melodically.
"AH! Jeez." She laughed. "Well. Give it a m-minute."
"What is that, exactly?" Papyrus asked.
"Is it like a tiny oven?" Frisk said, leaning closer.
"Sort of! It's e-experimental." Alphys grinned proudly. "I a-actually started working on it around the same t-time as Mettaton's body, but I never finished it, but b-basically it should make, um, small doses of concentrated status-reduction or status-increasing foods. You know, t-to cure poison or… or b-burns or whatever. It w-was supposed to go in first aid kits, but without, um, humans coming back down here— with the exception of you, Frisk— it wasn't really needed. I mean. It's a bit simpler now s-since we know h-humans don't actually have magic anymore, soooo…" She pulled a can of soda out of her purse and held it out to Gaster. "Anyway. I need you to drink this."
He popped the tab and chugged it without complaint.
.
The small oven rumbled and dinged. She pulled out a little tray of tiny, wrapped squares. She unpackaged one, stared at it intently, and poked it. It let out a soft, chocolatey note of music that hung, sweet, in the air. She passed it to Gaster.
"Give th-that a try."
He ate it quickly and, after a few seconds, the picture on the monitor shifted slightly. Looked a little more heart-shaped. They all stared at the skeleton curiously and he let out a quiet sigh that did, in fact, carry his voice.
"Ah… That's a little better," he said. "Thank you."
"Knew it!" Alphys said with a smile.
.
Alphys yanked a paper bag out from yet another compartment. She shovelled all the other little squares into it and handed them to him. "Keep these. And t-take one if you feel that ch-chill coming on again, okay?"
"I should have suspected you'd know what to do," he said with a smile. "And this… attunement you mentioned, you think that might be some sort of help?"
"Might be a fix, even, judgin' by what it managed to do to a human soul, even," Sans said.
"That's interesting. I've… I've heard the word," Gaster said, "but I didn't realize it was still a common practice."
"It's not, I've literally never heard of it except from through Undyne," Papyrus said. "So… I guess that offkeys thing isn't incredibly common, is it? "
"N-Not really, it's usually c-caused by, um, extreme strain," Alphys said. "And… Again, since there wasn't much to really s-strain about with no humans around, I think there's only been maybe a d-dozen cases in the last, I dunno, five years. ANYWAY. SO. Gaster, take it easy, okay?"
"I will do my best," he said.
"Y-You'd better! Honestly, how long did you say y-you've been back? Have you even slept since then?!"
"Well, not exactly," he said. "In my defence. I did have some very important things to take care of."
Alphys laughed and shook her head. "You h-haven't changed at all, huh?" She pointed at Sans. "You make sure h-he takes care of himself. Have you even had a meal?!"
"I did do that," he said, somewhat sheepishly. "Ná bíodh imní ort."
"I'll w-worry if I want to!" Alphys laughed and thumped his shoulder. "Honestly."
.
Frisk looked over at the bashful skeleton. The bone around his eye sockets was pretty dark.
"Hey, dad?" she said. "I mean. It's not that late. But it's kinda late. And if you wanna go to sleep, we could totally just leave you alone, or you could use one of the beds upstairs. Mom's gone for the weekend, so—"
"I'm just fine." He forced himself to his feet. "Actually. There's… There's something I should do."
.
Though Papyrus and Frisk looked at him curiously, Alphys nodded and grabbed his hand, shooting him a smile.
"Want me to go with you?" she asked.
"Part of the way," he said. "I'll walk you home."
"Oh! I get it! Are you going to see Asgore?" Papyrus asked. "ALSO! GASP! That means you will see Asriel! Will you be okay?!"
"I… Well…" Gaster smiled bashfully. "Probably not. But. I'm eager for it anyway. And don't worry. I'll explain everything to them."
.
Frisk looked thoughtful. She grabbed his bag. "You have a phone?"
"I do." He passed it over.
She flipped it open and swiped through menus for the dimension box to put it away. She frowned slightly. "Did…? Did you get my texts?"
"Just a little bit before we met," he said quietly. He looked ashamed.
She smiled, much to his surprise. She quickly brushed her the back of her hand over one of her eyes. "G-Good! I'm glad. I, um, kinda used some of those like a diary a little at some point, so, um, they might be a little embarrassing."
"I won't read them if you don't want me to," he said swiftly.
"I wouldn't have sent them if I didn't," Frisk said with a laugh.
"I w-wondered why you had so many texts," Alphys said quietly. She raised her hands quickly. "Ah! I didn't r-read them, I p-promise."
Frisk giggled and shook her head. She stood up on the couch and grabbed Gaster's hand, making sure he took the phone tightly. "Need a little time, huh? Be careful, okay?"
"Careful?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah. If you're still not feeling well. Keep your phone on. There's, um, a new waterproof app, so make sure you get that, in case you start shaking really hard in Waterfall or something. And there's a flashlight, too, it works way better than just using the screen for light if you need it. And don't do anything weird," she said. "Just, y'know, come back and stuff."
.
Gaster was taken aback. He was at a loss for a few seconds, then grabbed the kid into a warm hug. Sans burst out laughing.
"Hopeless," he joked.
"I know, I know" Gaster said.
xXxXx
Riding down the dark river was so familiar. It was strange for Gaster to feel the wind traveling the groove in his head. He rested his elbows on the side of the boat and watched the crystals form streaks of light above them. Even back before the CORE, he hadn't taken the boat in far too long.
.
"S-So." Alphys scooted up beside him. She smiled warmly. "H-How are you holding up?"
"I'm consistently a wreck. I can't stop crying. My soul feels like it's full of holes and icicles." He grinned. "So. All in all. I'm doing very well, actually."
"Hah! W-Well, I'm glad." she said. She stretched her arms high above her head and popped her back. "You g-gotta, um, let me know if you need any m-more help with anything at all, okay? I mean… T-Ten year leave of absence, right?"
"That's still very surreal to me," he said. "All of this is. But it must be for you, as well."
"Oh m-my god, you don't even know!" She laughed and blushed. "I mean. I know it's not n-nearly as bad as what happened to you, but having… I d-don't know, almost two sets of memories, with and without you, it's so w-weird! Like… I guess how t-time decided to cover you up."
"Do you mind if I ask?" he said.
"No! It's actually w-weird, it's d-different for different situations," she said. "Mostly it's either you're just gone, or sometimes it's like you're a passerby a-at the edge whose voice and f-face you can't actually remember."
Gaster's gaze drifted off. He tried to wrap his mind around it. "That is interesting." The crystals began to blur in his eyes. "I apologize if I caused you any stress."
"You're worth it," she said. She took his phone from him. "Now let's just fix this up f-for you."
.
He'd zoned out almost completely when Alphys touched his hand. He jumped. She looked at him expectantly.
"Sorry, did you say something?" he asked.
"I w-was just wondering," she said as she returned his phone, "how it was, meeting F-Frisk? Was it l-like you hoped?"
"Oh! She found me out before I even approached her. And… she was incredibly sweet. Funny thing, I thought she might panic, but it turned out I was the one who… Hah. She ended up comforting me more than anything else. Strange, isn't it?"
Alphys laughed. "No. That sounds j-just like her, actually." She smiled. "She's a r-really good kid. She works h-hard on everything she tries. You're going to really l-like getting to know her."
"I know," he said.
She patted his shoulder. "H-Hey. You're going to be okay. I j-just know it."
He was sure she was right. He'd probably have to rinse out his eye sockets at the end of this, but he supposed that was inevitable.
.
He walked Alphys back to the lab after disembarking, and she promised she would show him how the lab had changed since he'd left— once he was more settled, that is.
.
There were many of the star-like tears in time in Hotland. They looked strangely suited for the environment. He reached his hand into one to try to pull himself through. He was certain there was one near Asgore's house — could see it in his mind's eye after a few seconds. When he emerged, though, slumping out onto grey stone, he couldn't see anything at all. He felt like a slosh. As if his body had melted and he preferred freezing back into some structure despite the numbing frost.
.
It took him a while to heave himself up on his hands and knees, and for his eyes to decide they wanted to function again. He felt an awful, chattering chill through his bones and coughed up a mouthful of pitch tar that, after a moment, dissolved into the stone below him as if sucked into a sponge. Miserable experience, he thought. Reserve that for emergencies. He supposed he'd have to take the long way home.
.
He managed to steady enough to clunk himself into a sitting position. He took a long, deep breath and pulled out his phone with shaking fingers. It took him far too long to hit the right button, and but he managed to get the bag of tiny opera cakes and hurriedly ate one. After a few seconds, he felt like he could move again. The moments he took catching his breath felt like an hour, and almost as soon as he felt like he had it, it slipped away from him with a start when his phone rang, just once.
.
Fumbling for it, he peered at it with squinting eyes and took off his glasses, rubbed his sockets, and then put them back on. It was a text, from Frisk. He almost choked. He'd accidentally sent her a gibberish message in his bumblings.
"u ok?" she asked.
"Sorry to worry you." He replied quickly. "I'm fine. My fingers slipped."
"ok! take it slow! (heart)" she sent back.
He appreciated that. More than she knew. He sighed to himself and tried to calm his buzzing, distorted resonance.
.
His legs felt numb and it hurt a little to walk, but he trudged down the path across the high walkway overlooking the city below. It hardly looked a day older than the last time he came this way, though seeing it with a faint amount of colour tinting the buildings was a pleasant surprise.
.
The sight of Asgore's house, warm and welcoming, and with a hint of colour itself, at the end of the road sent his mind reeling. He had a flash of doubt. Would his old friend recall? He hoped desperately that he would. And Asriel… Nothing would prepare him for that.
.
He took a deep breath. He was glad he hadn't thrown himself into the world from the starlight that glimmered right before the doorway. Didn't want to spew inexplicable time goo out on his King's doorstep. Another deep breath. It would be fine. Memories or not, Asgore was one of the kindest monsters to ever live. He'd hear him out regardless, he was sure. Even so, he brushed himself off and straightened his scarf. He knocked on the door. Nerves made the pulse in his soul speed and the inside of his skull get uncomfortably hot.
"Howdy! Please come in!" he heard from somewhere inside. "I'm just tidying some teacups! I'll be with you in a second!"
.
Gaster's hands were shaking when he opened the door. The inside was cozy. It smelled like flowers. Just like he remembered it. Like stepping into a warm, familiar family photograph. The memories of this place sang.
"Who's there, by the way?" Asgore called.
The skeleton felt like a nervous child. "Um. It's, uh, Gaster."
.
He heard china clink heavily. In the moment it took for the sound to finish, Asgore— in a big cushy green and white sweater, scented with pleasant orange dish soap— was in the hallway before him, eyes wide with shock. Gaster waved a little nervously and was immediately squashed into a tight hug. The huge monster let out a booming laugh and, shaking, Gaster gripped into him and withered with a sigh of relief. He started to glow and certainly couldn't be bothered to keep it in check as he melted against his friend's shoulder.
.
"GASTER! W. D. Gaster, how are you, you old bag of bones?!" Asgore demanded.
"I'm… shattered. And a mess. But. I'm good," he said. He pulled back and thumped him on both shoulders. "You? H-How are you?"
"I am excellent!" Asgore was positively beaming. "It's so good to see you!"
Gaster grinned tiredly. "You haven't changed a bit."
"You have! Don't be so nervous coming into my home, old friend!" Asgore said. He cupped his skull with a huge, soft paw. "I can't believe it! Look at you! You look good!"
"With these old broken bones?" he joked.
"Of course. What happened?"
"Ah. Um. Internal magic blowout," he said. "It's… It's fine. It's just a bit unsightly."
"Nonsense, as long as it's no harm, then it's just fine," Asgore said gently. "But…" His brow furrowed. "I… I'm not sure I understand. Where were you? It's been… It has to have been ten years, hasn't it?"
"About that," he said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize! It must've been very important, but… Where were you? Why on earth didn't I send out a search?" he asked, and his brow furrowed just a bit. "Wow, this will sound absolutely awful, but I don't think I even realized you were missing until just now, now that I think about it."
.
Gaster couldn't help a smile. He had to take off his glasses to wipe his eyes and he laughed. Asgore hugged him tight again. He chuckled, though he could feel tears encroaching on him.
"I know. That's fine," he said. "I was erased from time, no one realized."
.
Asgore let him go, giving him enough room to wipe his face on his scarf. Even so, tears dripped down his cheeks. He laughed at himself.
"Sorry, I just can't seem to stop crying today," he said.
"Don't you dare apologize for that!" Asgore said. His ears bristled. "But. What did you say? Erased from time?" His voice came out a little shrilly. He passed a hand through his golden hair and let out a deep breath. "Oh. Right. Right, right. All that time travel stuff. I didn't realize you were involved in that. But, I guess, of course you were, right?"
"I presume someone at least tried to explain that part?" Gaster asked worriedly.
"Oh! Yes, yes, don't worry," he said. "Sans did. And Alphys. And Fr… Oh! Oh. My god. Um. Gaster, I don't know how to say this, so I guess I'll just say it. A-Asriel's alive. A little human came down here and she… she saved him."
The skeleton couldn't help a grin. "So I was told. My boys seem very fond of him. And Frisk, well…" He felt his soul stutter. He laughed weakly at himself. "Sorry. I'm just a mess whenever I even mention her."
"Oh?" Asgore tilted his head. "Oh! You must've met her! Because of Sans and Papyrus! They're always together, it's so sweet."
.
He took Gaster's shoulder and guided him towards the kitchen. "Come, come, let's get you something to drink! When did you get back exactly?"
"Yesterday. I think," he said. "My sense of time is a little skewed at the moment."
Asgore filled the kettle up with water for what felt like Gaster's dozenth hot drink today, not that he minded. "And what changed, exactly? Did you… accomplish whatever you were trying to do?" He put it on the burner and turned the stovetop on.
It was strange— it had been so long, but this felt so normal; so familiar. "As much as I could. But, honestly, I wasn't supposed to come back," Gaster said quietly.
.
Asgore almost stumbled; whirled on him with a worried frown sinking his brow. "What on earth do you mean by that? You can't tell me you meant to sacrifice—?!"
"I know. I know what you're going to say." Gaster put up his hands quickly. "But when I say there was no other choice, I sincerely mean it this time."
"But you thought there was no way to come back?" he demanded. "Gaster, come now, you couldn't possibly…" Asgore sighed and took his friend's hand gently. His big fingers passed very deliberately over the hole in his palm. "I know… that this one here is irreplaceable but… you've made enough sacrifices for us, my friend."
.
The skeleton couldn't help the colours in his eyes from flaring. Asgore cracked a smile and laughed quietly, grabbing his other hand and squeezing them both.
"So! Tell me! How does one come back from being erased in time, hm?" he asked.
"Actually… Frisk found me," he said. "That's… part of how I—"
"Oh! No wonder you're so emotional about her," he said. "You must be so grateful. I am! And I bet she just loved you, right? She's absolutely inseparable from your boys."
"There is that," he said.
.
Asgore pulled out a teapot that looked like a bunny and gently put a sprinkle of tealeaves and golden flower petals into the little strainer at its centre. "I don't know how much they told you, but it's thanks to that girl that the barrier's down now. Such a brave little thing. And so powerful, my goodness! Good thing she's on our side. Maybe it's not my place to say, but I'm very proud of her. You will just love her, I'm sure of it."
"I do," he said softly. "More than I have the words for."
Asgore beamed. He patted him on the shoulder. "Oh! Actually. Speaking of humans. I have something you will be happy to see. Something very precious." He took an old, battered phone from his sweater and put it on the counter, and then whisked a midnight blue, bound tome from inside it. He cradled it in his hands carefully before handing it over to the skeleton. "Does it look familiar?"
.
There was no title on the thick book, but there was an inlaid border in faint, metallic gold. Skeleton runes, even older than the ones Gaster knew. His eyes went wide.
"But how…?!" He opened it and his jaw dropped at the sight of pages scrawled with handwritten notes of spells in complex music.
Most of it was written in the skeleton script. The ink was in red and blue, depending on the page, and the magic compositions were heavy and dire, and a bit sombre. Custom spells that would be difficult even for a very strong monster to use.
"A… A book of Dirges?! How…? Where did you get this? I thought this magic was all lost! It's very…" His fingertips skimmed gently over a series of symbols. "Powerful."
"What a wonderful time for you to come back, hm?" Asgore said with a fond smile.
.
"Cnámha m'anam…" Gaster's eyes shot up to meet his friend's. "Where on earth did you find this?"
"It was given to me. By a human visitor," the big monster said. "He said he'd found it buried in the archives of a university years ago, though nobody could read anything but the music itself. He gave it as a gift. Had no idea of the value. I offered him gold, but he refused." He winked. "So I may have dropped some in his wife's bag. Purely by accident, of course."
"Of course." Gaster chuckled. He wiped his wet eye sockets again and clutched the book to his chest. "So much was lost, but… This is really good news. If we could study this; develop some lessons from it, we may be able to get more monsters composing more complex spells on their own again."
"It really is a whole new world," Asgore said brightly. He threw his arms around the skeleton and grinned. "And things are going to be wonderful from now on!"
.
Gaster smiled. He offered the book back, but Asgore shook his head.
"No, my friend, you keep it with you," he said. "You're the most suited to read it."
The skeleton nodded and stashed it away inside his own phone. He jolted slightly as a door closed down the hall. He felt himself go cold at the sound of paws on the wooden floor.
"Hey, dad? I was just wondering, if…?" Asriel froze in the kitchen's entrance. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "U-Uncle G?!"
.
Now, Gaster couldn't keep it together. Didn't even have time to think to try. He dropped to his knees and pulled the boy into his arms. Asriel squeaked with surprise, but quickly clung to him tightly.
.
Eons past flashed through Gaster's mind. He'd been there for this child's birth. He'd been a babysitter, a teacher; an uncle. He remembered Chara's illness, Asriel's return from the surface; his funeral. His dust spread in the garden. He remember the change in his friends. The colour draining from the city. The hole in the heart of the entire kingdom.
.
He could feel something of his daughter's soul when Asriel's lit up against him. The melody that played in that mishmash of energy, though, was as clear as a bell. He could hear it, that same song that had always belonged to the Prince. It was stronger now, though. More complete. Sure and steady in its position entangled in that red magic. It was one of the best things he'd ever heard.
.
Gaster's breath was rasping and his vision blurred with tears, but he was beaming. "L-Let me look at you." He pulled back and held the little goat's face. Stripes on his cheeks and horns on his head, and much lighter irises, but no different than he remembered otherwise. "A stór, you've grown."
Asriel grinned big canines at him and snickered despite his tear-filled eyes. "Jeez. Th-That was a surprise."
"Absolutely—"
"Oh! Oh my god." The boy's eyes bugged out. "…Shadowman?"
Gaster froze. It occurred to him that Asriel knew everything. Of course. His children were his siblings. "You're right."
"Holy crap! Does Frisk know?!" he yelped. "Did you see her? Did she see you?!"
"I did. Everything…" He had to pull back and wipe his eyes. "Everything's fine. You… Anam géar. Prince Dreemurr, I'm so glad to see you."
"Hey, same to you!" he said brightly. "Oh! Oh man! I…" He looked over past Gaster to see his father and smiled bashfully. "I have so much I wanna…! Hey! C-Can I show you something? It's super cool! I think you'll like it."
"Of course," Gaster said. "Anything."
Asriel hopped up and grabbed his hand. "I'll be right back," he told Asgore.
"Take as much time as you need, you two," he said, his voice a little craggy from holding back tears. He smiled wide.
.
Gaster let the boy pull him to the bedroom. Once they were there, Asriel pushed the door closed, wiped his eyes again, and shot the skeleton a tired smile.
"Sorry," he said. "You know my story, right? I think we have a lot to talk about."
Gaster was taken aback. The boy's voice wasn't really different, but his inflection was. It was a lot less like the child he remembered.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. I'm really glad to see you," he said. "My memories got rewritten right away. It's kinda amazing. And… Wow, I guess you're Sans and Papyrus's dad, right?"
"I am. But… Asriel." He held his shoulder. "You sound…"
"Oh. Heh. Yeah." He brushed his thumb under his eyes again. "I kinda try to… to act more like before I died around dad, y'know? But I'm, uh… I'm older than I look. Or, at least, I've been around longer than I shouldda been."
"Frisk told me everything," he said quietly.
"Probably not everything, if I know her." He winked. "Left some stuff for me, I bet."
"She told me what happened to you," he assured him. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault."
"Eh, debatable. So. What's your deal? Why were you around her so much? Time stuff?"
"Ah. Well. Partially, but…" He folded his arms. "This may be… This may be unbelievable. But. I thought I should tell you since she told me the sort of family you've all built. I'm her father."
.
"Wow, that was quick," Asriel said with wide eyes. He cupped his chin. "Well, actually, if you've known her since she was a little kid except you were a weird ghost, maybe it's not actually that quick. That's real good of you to adopt her, she'll—"
"Oh. Sorry," Gaster said, raising his hands quickly. "Not… Not adoption. I made her. In a sense."
"You… made her," he repeated.
"When I shattered in the CORE," he said. "It made her soul out of mine."
"Wh… Wait, WHAT?!" Asriel quickly cupped his paws over his mouth before he relaxed and let out a long, deep breath. "Dude, you're serious?!"
Gaster nodded sheepishly. Asriel stared at him silently for a few moments. His ears lifted slightly.
"Huh. Well. Okay," he said. "That's… Alright! Okay. Good."
"Good?" Gaster repeated with a laugh.
"Yeah, actually! Really good," he said. "That means she's safe. So. Good. How is she?"
"I think she's okay," he said.
"Good! That's… That's really good, actually. I'll call her after you go," he said. "Oh man. So. Like…" He grinned mischievously. "She's my sister now, so does that mean I technically get two dads?"
"Um! If that's what you need from me," he said.
Asriel barked out a laugh and grinned up at him fondly. "You were always kinda good at that. Don't worry. I won't be weird about it. Really. I'm glad you're here. And, jeez. I'm so glad it was you! Who was the shadowman guy, I mean."
"Really?" he said.
"Yeah of course! To be totally real with you, I didn't trust you at all." He winked. "Frisk did. I'm glad I was wrong."
Gaster chuckled. "Can't say I blame you for your suspicions."
.
A soft knocking on the door drew their attention.
"Sorry to interrupt," Asgore's voice called gently, "but the tea is ready."
Asriel smiled and tilted his head towards the door. "We can talk about this more when I get home, alright?"
"Of course," Gaster said. "Ah… Prince—"
"Hey, you don't have to call me that," he said. "Never did. Don't worry. Let's not keep the old man waiting." He smiled brightly. "Welcome home, huh?"
.
The kid grabbed Gaster with arms that squeezed like a vice. He was strong. Too strong for his size. The skeleton had a million questions to ask, but he owed these two some answers before that.
xXxXx
Grey darkness settled in Snowdin, the air woven with big, fluffy snowflakes. A cozy, quiet blanket. Warm inside, Frisk watched from the window, phone clutched in her hands. She had so much she wanted to say.
.
She slipped upstairs when her brothers weren't watching. The bedroom felt foreign for just a second. Everything did. Like everything had changed. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the things that were different.
.
She rested her hand against her soul and felt its song tremble through her skin. Her eyes bubbled over with tears and she quickly tried to wipe them away. She took a deep breath and flopped back onto the blanket pile to catch her breath. Everything was hitting her like a sack of bricks. She took a deep, trembling breath and just let herself go, allowing the warm streams to fall down her face until she felt exhausted, but satisfied. She closed her eyes to rest.
.
Her head felt comfortably foggy. She only managed to rouse herself at all when she heard the sharp rap of knuckles against the door. She let out a quiet noise of affirmation. She heard the soft creak of the hinges and knew from the slowish steps that it was Sans. He plopped onto the floor beside her and put his hand on her forehead.
"Doin' alright?" he asked.
"Hm? Oh. Yeah." She opened her watery eyes and her smile widened a little. "I'm just really happy."
"Yeah?" There was a little glimmer of blue in his eye. "Feels better?"
She looked at her hands and rubbed her thumbs over her fingers. "Yeah. Feels… weird. But good. I just…" She sat up and took her brother's hands. She ran her thumb over his cool finger bones. "Look, I… I know this isn't that huge of a deal for you. You've always been so amazing to me, you know? But for me, it's just…" Her eyes started watering again. She huffed.
Sans tilted his head and gently patted her hair. She smiled and took a deep breath.
"I n-never thought I'd… I never thought I'd know," she said. "And I told myself, after living with you guys, that I didn't even want to know anymore. Which w-was true, but… I thought I'd always have that little, stupid voice in my head telling me, they're not really your brothers and they'd be just fine if you weren't here. And… A-And now maybe it'll shut the heck up."
"Jeez, kiddo." Sans smiled sympathetically and brushed her tears away with his thumb. "C'mere, huh?" He waved her closer and bonked his head against hers.
She snickered and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. He grinned and mussed up her hair, and she hugged him tight around his ribcage.
"Thanks," she said.
"You know it wasn't like that for us. Right?" he said.
"I know. I… I felt guilty for even—"
He bonked his skull against hers again. She laughed.
"Okay okay," she said. She sat up, grabbing him, and kissed his forehead.
He snickered as she plopped herself into his lap. She sighed dramatically.
.
"Should I have said earlier?" he asked.
"Said what? You've been saying it this whole time," she said. "You're the best, y'know? Both of you guys."
"Welp. You're half right," he said.
"Oh stop," she scolded.
He laughed quietly. "Hey. You know. It'd always be true. Always was. Even if he wasn't a thing. The fact that we… That I love you never had a thing to do with us bein' related."
"Aaaaah, you're so nice I can't stand it!" she cooed.
"That's a first."
"Saaaans," she whined.
He grinned and cuddled her up in his arms. She was more than happy with that. Their souls drifted together and shone purple, and she blew out a long, heavy, contented sigh.
"I'm really lucky, huh?" she said.
"Funny. I was gonna say the same thing," he said.
.
"Can I just creeeeeep on in here?" Papyrus stuck his head into the room. "Are you busy? Oh! Nyeh heh! Look at you two!" He rushed on over and and scooped them both into his arms. "Frrriiisssk, why were you crying?"
"Happy crying!" she said.
"Oh good! What a ridiculous day! How are you guys?"
"Fine," Sans said.
"I'm actually a thing that should exist I guess," Frisk said with a laugh.
"Shhhhshush shush," Papyrus scolded lightly. "Even if you never ever even had any parents ever and you literally just plopped out of the sky, you should exist, you silly Frisk."
"Yeah, still time god, kinda have to," Sans joked.
"I still don't know what to tell mom," she said.
"Let him deal with it," he said. "Besides. They haven't seen each other in like a million years, so let 'em catch up, too."
"I agree! Though it would probably be nice to tell mom, you already have a big day tomorrow," Papyrus said. "You don't need to worry about all that other stuff, too!"
.
"Wow, whoever comes is really gonna be super wasting their time, huh?" she said sheepishly.
"Told you," Sans said.
"Well, guess we can feed them spaghetti unless they're a jerk or something," she said.
"But what if spaghetti would make them less of a jerk?" Papyrus suggested.
"I see your point." She slumped and rubbed her eyes. "Anyone wanna make a pie with me?"
"Pie? This late?" Papyrus said. "I mean, it's not late at all for me, but you are so small and tired and you had such a big day!"
Sans raised his brows at his brother, then tilted his head slightly towards the window. Papyrus's eyes got big.
"Oh! You're worried about dad, I guess!" Papyrus said. He leapt up, sending the others tumbling to the floor, and determinedly stuck a finger in the air. "Then! We will make a pie! All the filling and a crust! And it will be fantastic! And we will wait up for him! Nyeh HEH!"
xXxXx
There was a nagging weight deep in Undyne's soul. She didn't like it. She hadn't been this worried about Frisk since the kid had been knocked out in the CORE. She hadn't gotten word from Asgore, either.
.
When she turned up on the King's doorstep, she knocked hard and then let herself in. The place smelled like salt and tea. She was a little surprised to hear multiple voices in there.
.
"Uh. Hey?" She poked her head into the living room.
There, she saw Asgore at the head of the table, with Gaster at his side and Asriel with his chair dragged up closer to the skeleton's. The kid was the one who reacted first. He grinned and stuck his paw up, then hopped to his feet.
"Hey!" he said brightly. He hugged her and definitely didn't call her a fishface.
She scoffed and gave him a squish as she noticed Asgore's face breaking into a big smile, and the skeleton raising a hand to greet her quietly.
"Howdy, Undyne!" he said brightly. "Have you met Gaster?"
"Yup. Did for sure," she said. "The guys stayed home?"
"They did. Um…" The skeleton looked a little embarrassed and paused himself as Asgore got up to crush Undyne into a tight hug. He cleared is throat, more from nerves than anything else. "We thought it was best if I came alone this time."
"Because he's a huge wreck," Asriel volunteered.
"Can you blame me?" he joked. He smiled slightly. "I can get out of your hair, if you prefer, Captain."
"No. Dude. Relax." Undyne smiled sideways. "I'm here about your kid, after all."
.
Gaster immediately straightened. A ping of nerves from his twisted soul was palpable. "Is something wrong?"
"Well. Kinda? I mean. Not now. Tomorrow," Undyne said, turning her attention on Asgore. "I don't get how this happened. But I'm stayin' with her tomorrow."
"Of course," Asgore said. "Thank you, my child."
"You gotta give the order, though," Undyne said sternly. "You know. The one."
"Oh! Right. Yes. Of course," Asgore said. He stood up straight and puffed out his chest, putting his paw over his soul. "Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard, I order you to protect Frisk of the Underground by any means you deem necessary, and to accompany her as close as you can until any perceived danger has passed. And you are not dismissed until everything is over. How was that? Good? Royal enough?"
"Perfect." Undyne stuck her thumb up. She looked at Asriel. "You gonna be there, squirt?"
"No, ah… I'm the pre-warning squad," he said. "I wanted to, but, you know her."
.
"I'm a little lost," Gaster said.
"Kid gets hung up on not bothering people to her own, uh, detriment, y'know?" Undyne said.
"So, that order was… Oh, I understand," he said quietly. "Thank you, Undyne. I'm sure, no matter what she says, she'll feel a lot safer with you around."
"You, too," she said sternly. "Stick as close as you can. But don't tell them you're her actual dad, right?"
"Right, ah… They would… probably cause us a lot of trouble if they thought we could just make humans in the lab," he said quietly.
"Wait, can you do that?!" Asgore said, wide-eyed.
"She was more of a… one time thing, from a maelstrom of very specific but inevitable circumstances created by the nature of our universe," Gaster said.
"So, no," Asriel said.
"Right, that," Undyne said. "So. Get your stories straight. Asgore, they sent you a time, yet?"
"No," he said apologetically.
Undyne frowned and pursed her lips for a moment. "I don't like this."
"Yeah, who does?" Asriel said.
.
"Everyone, please," Asgore said quickly. "It's going to be okay. I trust the human Ambassador. And what reason would they have to try anything underhanded?" He smiled softly. "After all this time… Their hatred for us has died off, it seems. The least we can do is give them an honest chance. We will be cautious, of course, but I don't think their intentions are bad."
Undyne folded her arms and shifted uncomfortably. Asriel's ears pressed back and he looked at her worriedly. He beckoned her down. A brow raised, she tilted her ear towards him.
"Dad's real nice but he's being naïve. I think we can trust this Ambassador person, to a point, but Frisk saw something in her dreams. If anyone else tries to sneak in… If anyone else tries to take her…" He raised his brows and then lowered his voice to a very soft, unassuming whisper. "Stab 'em."
.
It was kind of funny, she thought. She hadn't forgotten who he was; what he'd done. But it was a little weird to hear those words coming from that voice. He was dead serious, of course. Made sense. He smiled slightly with those big fangs of his.
"Or. If you don't want that on you. I'm okay breaking myself for her," he said.
She nodded and thumped her fist over her soul. "Gotcha covered."
"Great, thanks, big sis!" He said that much louder and grinned bright. He threw his arms around her shoulders. "You'll keep her safe, I just know it!"
She resisted the urge to jokingly call him a freak as she hugged him close. It'd be a little hypocritical, though. If things got bad, she was on the same page.
.
As she straightened up, Asgore clasped a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled at her fondly.
"Please don't worry so much," he said. "All of you. Trust me."
"We do," Undyne said.
"Come, sit with us," he said. "Have some tea."
She looked at the others, her eye settling on Gaster. He actually didn't look so well— she could see a tremor in the fingers that were resting on the table— but he smiled slightly and gestured for her to join him. She pulled out a chair and clunked herself in.
xXxXx
When it was time to go, Undyne took it upon herself to walk closely with Gaster back towards Snowdin. The skeleton was quiet and very cold, holding his arms tight to his chest. It was kind of weird to see him seem almost fragile like that. She remembered him big and commanding, and overwhelmingly certain about everything. She remembered him holding her as a child when he gently stitched up the wound where he eye used to sit — the one that had missed the window for proper repair— explaining everything to her in such technical terms it had almost put her to sleep. It had been thanks to him that her scarring wasn't much worse. She wanted to talk to him, but she wasn't really sure what to say. Thanks for that thing all those years ago? Thanks for coming back for Frisk? It sounded so corny in her head.
.
As they walked through Waterfall, he began to slow. Undyne matched his pace and shot him a worried look.
"Yo, you alright?" she asked.
He didn't unclench his arms but a blue, translucent hand in magic appeared and stuck its thumb up. The skeleton's real body didn't seem to agree much, however, because within a second, he was plummeting stonewards. Undyne ducked and caught him, only to see the man was oozing some sort of sludge from his eye sockets and mouth.
"Gah! What the hell is that?!" she said.
.
He didn't move. She winced. Hefting him up in her arms, she carried him to the closest cave wall and gently sat him down against it. She grabbed his scarf and gently unwrapped it from around his neck, took off his glasses, and then used the end to wipe his face. She held his head and put her other hand over his soul. Just the whisper of it made her scales bristle and the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She grimaced and set about healing as fast as she could.
.
It felt like it took forever, but the skeleton choked and hurriedly retreated in on himself, looking around with flickering eyes.
"Hey! Hey. You okay?" Undyne asked. "You fainted."
"D-Did I?" His voice was weak and gravelly. "I'm sorry."
"You're not gonna fall, are you?!" she insisted. "You better freakin' not."
"Oh. It's… It's not like that." He struggled to stand but slipped and was forced to rest a little longer. "I'm not falling… Except literally, I guess. I'll be okay."
"Look, Alph texted me about attunement stuff for you," she said, handing him his glasses back. "You gotta go home and rest. And then the second you feel ready, you come to me. And we'll do what we can. Okay?"
.
Gaster smiled at her fondly. She raised her brows.
"What?" she asked.
"Hm? Oh. Nothing. I was just… Never mind." He tried to stand again, grasping to the wall tightly. He managed to get about halfway up before starting to slip again. "Ah. Damn."
Undyne rolled her eye and grabbed him up in her arms, holding him under his knees and around his shoulders. "Don't even think about complaining. Now let's get you home."
.
The skeleton did look embarrassed, but he didn't complain. He could walk again by the time they'd reached Snowdin, but he was still looking wobbly. She opened the door for him and helped him inside, and wasn't surprised in the least to see Frisk waiting, half asleep, leaning over the arm of the couch. Now, he shook again, but for what was clearly a different reason.
.
The kid propped herself up slightly and smiled at them. Gaster bent and put his hand against her head gently.
"Did you stay awake this whole time?" he asked quietly. "You look so tired."
"S'okay," she said. She looked around him to Undyne. "He alright?"
Gaster's face flushed two-tone blue and gold, and Undyne grinned wide.
"Squirt, you're hilarious," she said. "He fainted on the way in. Got kinda wobbly. But… What d'ya think, Gaster, you're doin' a little better now, right?"
"Ah… I am. The chills have mostly subsided, thankfully," he said.
.
Frisk waved him over and he stiffly sat down beside her. She hugged him quickly and then got up and headed for the kitchen. "We made pie," she said proudly. "Kinda like mom's! A bit messier, but it's good. Undyne, you want?"
"Heck yeah."
.
She followed the kid into the kitchen to see a huge pie resting on the counter. There was a wedge already sliced from it. Golden, butterscotch goo had oozed out ever so slightly. It smelled pretty good. Frisk climbed a little stepladder to reach the counter and reached for a blunt-edged spatula and aligned it to make a slice. Undyne smiled sideways and put a hand on hers, then grabbed the large knife at the back of the counter.
"Here, ya punk," she said. "Let me."
"Thanks," Frisk said bashfully. She withdrew and looked up at the big monster curiously. "So, um, were you friends with dad, too?"
"Ah, not really. I was pretty young mostly, when I'd see him," she said. "Kinda knew him, though. He fixed up where my eye was."
"Oh wow," Frisk said.
"Don't get me wrong. Everyone kinda knew about him. And I saw him when he'd visit Asgore, back before I got my own place." She reached up to a cupboard and pulled out three plates, letting them gently clunk onto the counter. "Always thought he was pretty nice. Kinda surreal that he's your dad, though, right? Not a bad guy for it."
Frisk smiled brightly. The fish monster chuckled and patted her head.
.
"Hey, uh. This all wasn't too hard, was it?" she asked as she doled out the chunks of pie.
"What? Oh!" she said. "No way. It was easy. I mean. I was really hoping he'd show up sometime, y'know? I mean, I didn't know he was our dad. That was just kinda extra awesome."
"So how's it feel bein' part skeleton all of a sudden?" she asked. "And how's that work, anyway? You count as a half, or what?"
"I have no idea," Frisk said. "But, like, I always had bones anyway so it's not like it's that different."
"Hah! Guess that was a dumb question," Undyne said. "I have bones, too. Where are your brothers at, by the way?"
"Sans passed out," she said. "Dreams haven't been great, so Papyrus went to keep him company."
"Ah. Right. Sorry," she said. "Well. Hopefully it'll be better after tomorrow. At least a little."
.
Frisk shrugged. The look on her face told Undyne that maybe it didn't really work like that. The kid didn't feel like correcting her, though. She sighed and put the knife down, and then pulled her into a hug.
"I'm stayin'. Tomorrow," she said.
"Oh!" Frisk sounded shrill and pleased, but then she recoiled a little. "Y-You don't have to, it's okay."
"Sure do," she said.
"But I don't wanna mess up your day," Frisk insisted.
"You won't. Besides. Got orders right from Asgore himself," she said. "Wouldn't wanna disobey a direct order, huh? Who knows what'll happen!"
The kid looked surprised. She smiled sheepishly and squished against the fish. "Th-Thanks."
.
Undyne snorted and patted her head. "So. We good?" she asked.
"What? Yeah, of course, why?" Frisk said.
"Wanted to tell you about that guy all day," she said. "Sorry."
"Oh! Don't even think about that." Frisk laughed quietly and hugged onto her tight. "It's okay, it's complicated, huh? Don't worry."
"Thanks." Undyne breathed out a sigh. "Okay. Pie? Pie. Alright."