WHAT HAVE YOU DONE CHAPTER 16

Too weak to heal, too scared to leave, Gaster stayed at Frisk's side with a hollow feeling deep inside his ribcage. He wondered if a magic drip might help. Then again, it might make it worse. He didn't know what to do.

.

The door down the hallway opening loudly startled him out of his stupor. He got up, expecting to greet Sans, but instead was met by Papyrus barreling right into him. His son gave him a frantic squeeze and then cast around, eyes wide.

"Where's Sans?! Is he here? Mom said he was coming here and…" He caught sight of the bed and oozed out a warbling, "Oh."

.

He ran, eyes starting to blaze, and almost tripped over himself getting to Frisk. He carefully slipped under her and scooped her up into his lap, his magic igniting in a burst. "Oh no no no, Frisk? Friiiiisk? Little sister, come on, get up."

Gaster gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry," he croaked.

Papyrus jerked up. "Why? What did you do? What happened?"

Gaster opened his mouth and then withdrew in on himself. He shuddered and then hurried to join his son. He gently held his shoulder and put a hand on his skull. "Can I show you?"

"Please!" Papyrus said.

Gaster touched on his soul, and then bonked his brow gently on the boy's, focusing hard on what he wanted him to see. Papyrus yanked back, suddenly panting, eyes even wider. Gaster shrunk away.

.

Papyrus's jaw dropped. He looked down at Frisk and then hurriedly pulled her up and into his arms, rocking her gently back and forth.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let her go," Gaster said quietly.

"No you should not have!" Papyrus said shrilly. "But… But. I don't know if you could have actually… Nyeh!" He gripped his fingers tightly into her shoulders. "Oooh no this is not what I wanted to find. Not. At. All."

"You… came here for Sans?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes! I felt… Ugh! Undyne and I got stuck in New Home and I felt him going all wonky," he said. "I should…! I should…"

"It's alright. I'm sure he'll be here soon," Gaster said.

Papyrus let out a loud, shrill sigh. "Can you go find him?" There was a hint of pleading in his tone. "I… I need to know he's okay. But I can't leave her. You understand, right?"

.

Gaster stalled. He grimaced. He nodded and got to his feet, but his legs were stiff under him. He didn't have to go far, though. By the time he reached the elevator doors, they let out a pleasant chime and Sans stepped out. He already looked worried. Their eyes met and Sans put a hand to his brow, his eye flaring and his cheekbones flushing with sickly blue.

.

When he saw his siblings in the other room, Sans stared in stunned silence. His father reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. The short skeleton let out a deep breath and took a seat beside them.

"Brother, I'm trying my best," Papyrus said.

"I know." He touched on her soul. "I knew something was wrong. When my vision cleared up so fast. I knew… I just knew."

"Sans, I'm so sorry," Gaster said swiftly.

.

Sans gestured for his brother to hand her over. Reluctantly, he did so, and the short skeleton put a finger against each of the kid's temples and bent to rest his brow against hers. After a few seconds, he drew back, running his hand over the her head. He cracked a tired grin.

"She's fine."

"She is?! She doesn't feel fine! Are you sure?!" Papyrus demanded.

"Yeah," he said. "Give her a little bit."

.

"Thank god." Gaster put a hand to his face and his shoulders sagged, his eyes welling up. "I… I… I'm a horrible father. Oh my god."

"Stop," Sans said.

"I c-can't believe I…! I just wanted to keep you both s-safe, I—"

"Dad. Stop," he said again. "Listen. You listenin' to me?"

"I am," he said.

"Okay. Good. What happened?" he said.

"She… She wanted to test the void," he said. "I told her she could seal it. I thought it was the only way to keep you safe. I didn't think that this would—"

"Don't wanna be safe at her expense," he said. He shook his head. "Jeez, kid, that's why I said nothin' crazy, huh?"

"I didn't mean for this," Gaster said, pacing. "She… She dove straight for a rupture. Like… she was drawn to it, too. I… I can't believe I brought her there, I never should've… I should've done more research, I should've done it myself, I—"

"Dad. Stop." Sans grabbed his soul tight to force him still. "I want you to go. Upstairs. Get a coffee. Calm down. It's gonna be fine. You stabilized her?"

"I d-did," Gaster said, nodding quickly.

"Good." Sans smiled. "She's tougher than you think."

"But—"

Sans simply pointed his finger at the door. Stiffly, Gaster nodded.

.

Once he was gone, Papyrus let out a long, loud sigh and grabbed Sans into a tight hug. The short skeleton snorted out a laugh and he shot him a smile.

"Jeez, Paps," he said. "This happened to me too way back, huh? It wasn't so scary."

"Ugh, not that! I mean! Yes that. Thank you. But, no. You. You were… What happened?!" he demanded.

"Oh. That. Yeah, just my time vision junk got all screwed up. Kiddo was tryin' to fix it," he said. "Went a bit too far in a few places, huh?"

"But you're okay," he said.

"Sure," he said.

"And she's okay?"

"Soon."

.

Papyrus deflated where he sat and he rubbed his face with the palms of his hands. "Oof. She scared me. Maybe I should go get some coffee, too. If you are okay to heal her for a bit on your own? I'll bring you some tea or one of Alphys's terrible fizzy sugar drinks, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Uh…" Sans grinned sideways. "I'm sure I'll figure somethin' out. You go. Chill out for a bit."

"Nyeeeh I hate big scares like this!" Papyrus said. "I'll be back in a few minutes?"

"Take your time," Sans said.

.

As he left, Sans puffed out a sigh. He settled in beside Frisk and rested his palm against her forehead. Her skin was a little too warm. He put his hand on her chest, touching on her soul and trying to light a spark of healing. It wouldn't come. He wasn't entirely surprised, but it gave him a sense of heaviness in his soul nonetheless. However, he could hear her hum carrying along pleasantly.

"Got you, kiddo," he said quietly. "Jeez. Never listen, huh?"

.

He tucked her in snugly and rubbed her head. She let out a little, drowsy sigh and rolled over onto her side, curling up and snuggling into the covers. Sans couldn't help a snicker. Relief wasn't a strong enough word for it.

.

He shuffled her and her pillow over sideways and kicked back beside her. She clutched to his hand when he settled in. His eye glowed and he laughed tiredly.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, don't worry," he said.

xXxXx

Frisk's head was spinning; it was filled with music. She felt like she was falling and then stopped, suddenly in a cozy place. She felt safe and warm and she could hear a hum right up against her soul. Her brother's. She could feel his ribs as she started to gain focus, but it was too dark to see. His pointy, cool fingers rested on her head, his skull leaning lightly on hers. It was so strange, though: she was sure he was glowing, but she couldn't see any hint of blue in the blackness. She cautiously touched her eyelid, but nothing was blocking her sight. Her stomach dropped for a moment, but she let out a deep breath and tried to rationalize. Whatever. If it was true, she'd fix that, too. Or, maybe, if she had to give up her sight for her brother's, that wasn't so bad of a trade.

.

"Hey. Kiddo. You awake?" Sans asked groggily.

"Mhm." Her voice cracked and it rasped weakly. "Think so."

He chuckled. "Not sure, huh?"

She rubbed her eyes and leaned over to rest her ear against his soul. She didn't have to listen for long. She perked up and smiled at him. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm! I just saw a bunch of… Uhhh…" She smiled sheepishly. "I'm really sorry. I went out into the place through the rips to try to help and—"

"I know, I know," he said. "How you feelin'?"

"Umm… Pretty okay," she said. "Forget that. How are you? Did it fix?"

"Mhm."

.

She let out a loud phew and squished him, though her arms were shaking. He chuckled and scooped her up.

"Jeez, kiddo, what am I gonna do with you?" he said quietly.

"I know, I know, I'm really sorry," she said. "But I'm also kinda not sorry? Sorry."

He snickered. He nudged his elbow into something and Frisk was surprised to feel someone else stir. Her eyes went wide and she jerked around as she head a soft nyeh-ing sound.

"Paps?" she asked.

"Hm?" He snorted sleepily, and then quickly let out a loud squeaking sound.

.

Frisk found herself whisked up into boney arms again and snuggled up against his shoulder. "Oh hi!" she said.

"Nyeh, you gave us such a spook!" He bumped his brow gently on hers. "I'm so glad you're okay, little sister."

"Mhm!" She felt him glow and she knew for sure that she couldn't see. She reached up and held his face. "I'm happy you're here."

He cooed and snickered.

.

Frisk settled in and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't help the furrow in her brow. "Jeez, how long was I out?"

"Just an hour or so," Papyrus said. "Thankfully."

"And this dude just stress-naps the whole time," Sans said with a laugh.

"I did not! I was just…Well… Nyeh!"

"Oh! Wait! Crap, what about dad, is he okay?" Frisk's heart thunked heavily.

"He's a mess, but he's fine," Sans said.

"He didn't get wrecked, though?" she insisted.

"Not, not at all, he was very much intact," Papyrus said helpfully. "A bit, um, over-emotional, maybe. He was very, bad father this and how could I? that, and it was all very melodramatic, but he's okay otherwise. I'm not sure why he was so worried, though, I was sure you'd be fine!"

"Hence the stress nappin'" Sans said. He was grinning, for sure.

.

Frisk snickered as Papyrus huffed indignantly. She reached up to find his face again and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. He melted, giggling quietly, and slumped straight down under her, a deflating bag of bones. Sans ruffled her hair and then poked her on the forehead.

"How're the eyes doin'?" he asked.

"Ahh… Ummm… W-What d'ya mean?" she stammered.

"See anythin' yet or nah?"

"Oh! You…" Her cheeks flushed. "You knew about that?"

"You weren't gonna say anything?" He barked out a loud laugh. "Jeez, kid."

"Is it normal?" she squeaked.

.

"C'mere." He grabbed her in his magic and sat her in his lap. "Lemme look at you."

"Uh…?" She didn't complain at all when he held her face. She felt the shimmer of his eye, somehow. "You're glowing, right?"

"Mhm. Can't see it though?"

"No, it's totally black," she said.

"Oh no, Frisk! That must've been scary at first," Papyrus said sympathetically. "But not to worry! The same thing happened to Sans a long while ago and he came out fine!"

Frisk tilted her head, confused.

"Dad had to chuck you into the stabilizer," Sans explained. "Apparently your eyes were all burnin' out your head or somethin'? Anyway, thing's supposed to help. Kinda messes with your vision for a little bit, but you'll feel fine after."

.

"Okay. So… the stabilizer?" She was suddenly a lot more curious than concerned. "What's that?"

"It's like a big dumb machine that shoots beams of magic into your head and your soul," he said. "Redirects your magic so that it sorta knows not to do that. It's pretty par for the course with us. Paps is the only one who never needed it. Dad even had to do it to himself. More than once."

"Jeez, I must've scared the heck outta him, huh?" she said sheepishly.

"Well, that's what he gets for shootin' you into space," he said with a laugh. "Don't worry. Everything's fine."

.

Frisk looked around. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. Everything was so black she might as well not even have them open.

"Dark day for us, huh?" she joked.

"Pffffft. Yeah. Guess so." He grinned sideway. "But, jeez, what the hell were you thinkin?"

"Sorry. I know. I thought that, too," she said, drooping. "I didn't mean to lie. I just… I wanted to see if I could find the problem and then I just kinda maybe found it. Wanna know a really weird thing?"

"I do!" Papyrus said.

"I saw, like, three different Sanses out there," she said.

"Well that's surreal," Sans said with a laugh.

"What?! What do you…? Nyeh! That's too weird! I don't understand," Papyrus said quickly.

.

"I think there's, like, a ton of worlds with their own sets of timelines and stuff out there," Frisk said. "Like… Um. I dunno why, but I wanna say bubbles? Does that make sense?"

"Okay, so. Wait. What?" Papyrus insisted.

"I saw two that were the same guy. One was blue and was, like… I guess a part of him he'd left in a save to try to go out and get help." She grabbed Sans's hand. "And then the other was normal. Kinda. He was a lot like you. But I don't think he'd ever found an anchor. He was stuck in the hallway. For a really really long time."

"Rough," Sans said.

"Yeah. But. I think I gave him something that went purple, it might help," she said hopefully.

"Ooh! That sounds helpful," Papyrus agreed. "This is so weird, though! What about number three?"

"He was grey." She smiled sideways. "He seemed kinda goofy. He called me sweetheart."

"Pffft," Sans scoffed.

"He was nice. Think he was helping with… something. He seemed… I dunno. It's kinda hard to explain. I passed out a little after that, I think, though. Sorry. Can't really tell much more. But it fixed your eyes, right? So I'm okay with it."

"That's some weird shit," Sans said.

"Sans!" Papyrus cawed. "Well, we are just really glad that everything worked out."

.

Frisk snickered. She stretched "Is dad here?"

"Nah. He was freakin' out; I sent him to get drinks," he said.

"It has been a while, though, he should be back. Somewhere," Papyrus said.

"Okay, good." Frisk groped around the bed and tried to find the edge. "Someone come with me?"

.

She squeaked when Papyrus lifted her under her arms and put her on the floor. She reached out for the edge of the bed and held herself up. She blinked, snickered, and rubbed her eyes. "Aaah, it's weird," she said. She looked back and pointed at her face. "Do they look weird?"

"Nah," he said.

"But my eyes were burning like right outta my head?" she asked.

"That's what I was told. Didn't, uh, see it myself, though. Sounds pretty ablazing though."

"Sans!" Papyrus scolded.

"Pffff." Frisk leaned back and grinned. "That was awful."

"Thanks," Sans said.

"And they weren't burning burning like with fire, it was magic flaring!" Papyrus protested. "Skeletons do that all the time! Um. Okay, well not all the time."

"It's fine," Frisk said. "Someone gimme a hand?"

"I will!" Papyrus said. "Aaah! Sans, don't. Even. Think about it!"

"What?" he said with a laugh.

Frisk could guess, especially as Papyrus squawked and she heard the clicking of bones.

.

There wasn't much point in staying downstairs for any longer, as far as they could tell. Though she clung a little more tightly than usual to Papyrus, Frisk was happy to make their way to the top level. She hoped to find Gaster and then head home. She was pretty confident she could navigate their house, but she was also sure the lab would be a permanent tripping hazard if they stayed there for very long.

.

When they reached the ground floor, however, Frisk was surprised to hear voices more than just their father. That was Alphys, too. And Toriel. And was that Mettaton?

.

Before she could say a word, she was grabbed and pulled forward out of the elevator and against a fuzzy body not much bigger than her own. She laughed tiredly. "Hey, Az," she said.

"I was just about to come see you." Asriel's voice warbled. "You okay?" He turned his attention Sans. "She okay?"

"I'm fine," she said.

"Oh, is that…?!" Toriel joined them now, kneeling and yanking both kids into a hug. "Thank goodness."

"Hey, Gaster, you hear that?!" Undyne called from somewhere. "She's up!"

"O-Ooh! That's great! F-Frisk, let me make you some tea," Alphys said. "You must be tired."

"Y-Yeah, I guess," she said.

.

She was whisked away from her brothers and deposited somewhere—looking like she'd been chucked onto a treacherous floor puzzle— where she stood stiffly and almost jumped out of her skin when Undyne ruffled her hair.

"Kid, you're nuts," she said.

"Yeah kinda," she said.

"Were you doing strange weird time shenanigans again, darling?" Mettaton asked, gliding up to her. "I thought most of that was over, n'est pas?"

"It was, um, kinda an emergency," she said bashfully. "I think it's all okay now!"

"Aw, wonderful!" Mettaton said. "Honey, uh…? Are you alright?"

"Sure, why?" she asked.

"Well, it's just that you're just sort of staring off," he said.

"Oh! That's because she can't see," Papyrus stated.

.

Frisk blushed and folded her arms up close to her chest.

"What?!" Toriel barked.

"Ooooh…" Alphys said, as if suddenly understanding. She flicked on a kettle on a hotplate and it bubbled to life. "A-Actually, that does make sense if—"

"Ah, c'mere, kid!" Undyne's big hands wrapped around hers. "You poor little dork! No wonder you look all lost and crap."

"Will she be okay?!" Toriel cupped Frisk's cheek gently. "Oh, sweetie."

"Just needs a few hours, it'll clear up," Sans said.

Toriel gently touched her snout to Frisk's brow. "Thank goodness. Do you need anything?"

"I dunno, not really," she said.

"This is from what Gaster did?" she pressed.

"Mom, she'll be okay!" Asriel said with a laugh. He shouldered between her and Undyne and grabbed Frisk. "Here, hang onto me. I'll make sure you don't trip, promise."

"Thanks," she said. "Um. Hey, is, um…? Is dad here?"

"Well of course he…! Ummmm…" Papyrus sounded suspicious, and he bustled all around the room quickly. "That's weird, I thought I saw him."

"Huh? D-Did he leave?" Alphys asked. "I c-could have sworn he was…?"

Frisk felt something in the air bristle. Sans's energy. Took her a second to realize he must've teleported. She smiled, even though her heart held a little ache of worry for her dad. "I'm sure Sans'll find him."

"What? But Sans is…? Aah! He's gone, too!" Papyrus said shrilly. "How'd you know that?"

She shrugged and smiled. "Felt it."

"That's impressive," Toriel said, surprise clear in her voice.

"You can do that?" Mettaton asked.

"Okay, okay, enough questions," Asriel said with a laugh. "Jeez, just look at 'er, she's gonna fall over. C'mon, Frisk, let's sit."

"R-Right. Right. Yeah." She let herself get guided to a squishy, spinning office chair. Something didn't feel quite right, though.

xXxXx

Sans didn't have to go far to find his father. He was just outside the lab, back to the wall, eyes sparking and flickering brightly, hands clasped tightly over his mouth. Sans raised his brows.

"What d'you think you're doin'?" he said.

Gaster shook his head.

"You need to get back in there," Sans said.

The tall skeleton's shoulders slumped. He shuddered, but he nodded. Sans tilted his head slightly. There was steam coming off his father's face. He sighed and grinned sideways.

"Jeez, dude. You're gonna boil your bones at this rate."

.

Gaster coughed silently and managed a smile. He brushed his thumb under each eye. He took some deep breaths and a rasp of his voice returned. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't say sorry to me, it's the kid you gotta talk to," Sans said, frowning slightly.

"…I am an absolute fool," he muttered. "What I did, I… I should have been more careful. So much more. She… deserves better than— "

"No offence but, uh, this ain't really the time," Sans said. "Kid's in there. Can't see a thing. Hasn't heard from you since she went off in there, right? Think she might kinda need her dad?"

"Need me?" He gripped his own arms tightly, his voice choking up. "I have done nothing but cause problems since I arrived! I—"

"Don't you dare," Sans said. He grabbed Gaster's arm. "Listen, you can't just—" His vision greyed out. His head felt heavy and he almost swooned.

.

He blinked and his father was holding him up, wide-eyed, burning with blue and gold.

"Are you alright?!" he demanded.

"Heh. Jeez." Sans rubbed his eye socket with his palm and managed to get his feet back under him. "Heat must be gettin' to me."

"Sans," said said. "Come on. What can I do to help?"

"See Frisk?" he suggested. "Seriously. Why you holdin' back? And don't say guilt or I'm gonna whack ya."

"…Should I lie instead?" he said sheepishly.

"Oh my god." He rubbed his temples. "You're worse than me, you know that?"

"Of course I am," he said.

"That's not what I…" Sans sighed. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and towards the door to the lab. "So?"

Gaster looked between him and the door. He gulped. "I… I will. I will. I… I know! I have an idea." He headed away from the lab quickly, and then turned on his heel to look at his incredulous son. "Ten minutes. I promise. I will be back."

.

He took off at a jog. Sans sighed and went back inside. Everyone was sitting around the kid, who was cozied up with Asriel. They paid rapt attention as she told the story of what she had found out in the time void. The imagery she painted was starkly unfamiliar to all but Asriel. So, there was a lot of explaining to do. It wasn't that Sans wanted to tap out, but he was suddenly feeling lethargic and heavy. He folded his arms and supported the wall.

.

He roused only when he felt his sleeve being tugged. He opened one eye to see Frisk smiling at him. The iris in her left eye was softly shining red. The lab was quiet, except for the faint squeaking noise of Alphys's chair spinning around slowly. Sans put his hand on her head.

"Found your way over okay," he said.

"Yeah, I only tripped one time," she said with a proud grin.

He cocked his head to the side and held her cheek. She snickered bashfully.

"You notice this?" he asked.

"I'm not really in a noticing kinda state," she joked. "Why, what is it?"

.

Sans tilted his head and he looked over at Asriel, who seemed nonplussed. He hadn't seen it, then. Could the left eye be a coincidence, or…?

.

He reached into his pocket and stashed a scrap of paper in one hand. He held both fists out to the puzzled kid.

"Pick a hand," he said.

"What?" she asked. "I don't… uhh…"

Sans began to open the hand holding the paper, and the kid instantly perked. She grasped his fist in hers, and then grinned proudly.

"Gotcha!" she said. "Oh, that's weird. Wait, I—"

"Try again." This time, he backed up and held both hands over her head.

"What the heck you doin'?" Asriel called as the chair he sat in spun around to face them.

"Hang on." Sans began to open his hand.

.

With a lot more curiosity on her face, Frisk reached up and grabbed his hand again without a second of hesitation. She tilted her head. "Why do I…?"

"Well, would you look at that." Sans grinned and stashed his trash away in his pocket. "No offence, kiddo."

"…Am I doing a blue glow?" Her eyes went wide. "Can't be right?! I lost it, right?!"

"Your left eye is red," Sans said.

Frisk put her hands to her cheeks. "What?! No way! So, is this…?"

"Guess at least part of it sunk into ya," he said proudly. "Nice."

.

"Wait, okay, what's happening?" Asriel asked.

She grinned and whirled, pointing at her eye. The kid sat up a little more in his seat.

"Okaaay… That's weird." He squinted. "That's a thing. Is it helpful?"

"Um! I think so?" She turned to head back towards him and almost instantly tripped over a spare box.

.

Sans caught her before she hit the ground and she laughed and stuck a finger into the air.

"Okay, um, overconfidence. Bad," she said as he set her back on her feet. "It's just weird, I felt like maybe I could—"

"If it was movin' you'd be okay, I figure," Sans said.

"Explain," Asriel whined.

"She's using a predictive sense," Sans said. "So if it were movin'…" He gestured as if summoning the conclusion from somewhere.

"Oooooh. Okay," Asriel said. "Like you?"

"Basically," he said.

"Aaaah, that's so exciting, though!" Frisk smiled brightly and grabbed him into a tight hug. "Saaaans! I thought I lost it forever!"

"Not like you need it," he said.

She pulled back bashfully. "I mean, yeah, it's fine without it, but…" She tented her fingers and her cheeks flushed. "I dunno, just kinda makes me feel better."

"You guys are such dorks," Asriel said. "Of course she doesn't need it, bonehead, it just makes her feel like you're helping her."

Sans looked down at his sister with surprise. "Aw, c'mon, kid. Really?"

She smiled sideways. "Well… Yeah?"

"You guys are hilarious," Asriel teased. "So is it gonna be doin' that until you can see again?"

"No clue," Frisk said. "…Can you explain it to mom and everyone for me if they ask?"

"Uuugghhh, do I have to?" he whined.

"Speakin' of," Sans said. "Where is everyone?"

.

"This girl is so sneaky," Asriel said. He had a big, sly grin on his face. "She just kinda slips in, how, oh, wouldn't it be nice to all hang out for dinner or something and everyone just goes ballistic to go shopping and everything."

She tapped her fingertips together and smiled shyly. "Um. Well. I mean. I do think it'll be nice, though. It's just… It was getting kinda loud, and… I dunno." She snuck in a little closer to grab Sans's hand again. "But we could have a thing. Get Asgore. Hang out with dad. If he ever shows up."

Sans sighed. He held the kid and patted her hair. "Said he was grabbin' somethin'. He'll show."

.

Frisk pouted. She nodded anyway. "I should be normal soon, though, right?"

"Overnight, maybe," he said. "You'll be fine."

"Phew!" Her face suddenly fell. "Oh. Right. Um. This is probably important? Az passed out, too. At the same time as me."

"Hm?" Sans shot a look back at the goat boy. "You alright?"

"Been worse," he said. "I'd say it was a weird coincidence, but I kinda don't think coincidences between Frisk and me are a thing, so…"

"Fair enough." His brow furrowed and he folded his arms. He smiled slyly and nudged the kid gently with his elbow. "Maybe that'll be enough of a deterrent, huh?"

"Aaah, stop stop, I said I was sorry," she whined. Her cheeked flushed. "I… I know. I goofed up. I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

"Pfffft, course not." He grasped her soul carefully in the blue of his magic. "Helpful or nah?"

"Umm…" She squinted and then looked up at him. "Yeah, actually."

"Then I gotcha."

.

He mussed up her hair and cast a glance around. The lab was a cold metal mess at the moment— not a lot of seats or cozy places to hang out, just a lot of fold-out chairs and scraps of junk brought up from the lower levels of the building. Some of Undyne's dumbbells, too.

.

He gently tossed Frisk back to Asriel and plopped himself on one of the packed up moving boxes. He watched the kids sleepily hold each other and relief lifted him a little. Whatever the two were to each other since the soul creation, it was times like this when it was clear how helpful it was for them. He put his elbow on on his knee and rested his chin on his fist.

.

The banging of the metal door at the other end of the lab announced the return of a huffing, steaming skeleton, arms heavily laden with brown paper bags. Sans raised his brows.

"Hi dad," Frisk said.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I did not intend to take so long." He dropped everything in a heap onto one of the desks and then struggled to straighten them out before anything tipped over. "The bar was busy and it was a very large order. And, uh, I believe I dropped a bag out in the, um, void of time, so if any of you find a burger out there, it should theoretically still warm, umm… Ah." He surveyed the room. "Where did everyone go?"

"Picking up food," Asriel said with a laugh.

"Oh." Gaster grinned sideways.

.

He hurriedly began to unpack a bag before he abruptly reconsidered. He jerked away and bolted for Frisk. He pulled her from her seat and hugged her gently. She snickered and put her arms around his shoulders. His soul spiked and warbled an awful song that was, somehow, cheerful. He let her down again and held her face in both hands, his long, boney fingers cool against her skin.

"I'm sorry. I… I should have been here. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she said, holding onto his hands. She smiled. "You okay?"

"Me?! Wh…?!" He gritted his teeth, bones flushing with colour, especially as Asriel snickered. "I… I'm fine. Why would you even…?"

"Well, I mean, you had to go out in the weird void place, too. And it makes you puke sometimes. A you fainted and stuff. " She shrugged. "Plus, I mean, whatever I did must have been dumb and freaky, right?"

"You're just kinda a freaky creature," Asriel joked.

"Aaaah, I try not to be!" she protested.

"Cnámha m'anam." Gaster stroked Frisk's head. "Do not waste a second of worry on me. Is… your eye…?"

"Future sense super powers she stole from Sans but thought she lost but didn't actually," Asriel said.

"O-Oh." Gaster shot Sans a confused look, but he had dozed off already.

Frisk shrugged. "S'helpful. I think."

"Wh… Um. Alright. Okay. That's… That's good!" Gaster said. His urge to question was so strong that there was a twitch in his hands. He didn't, though.

.

He pulled back and straightened up to turn back to the bags. He hurried to remove some carefully stacked milkshake cups from inside one of them. "Kiddo, did someone explain to you about your vision?"

"Mhm," she said.

"And you're alright?" he insisted.

"Yeah."

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Unc, she's fine," Asriel said with a laugh, grabbing her hand to help her back up onto the chair.

"And you?!" he said. "You're still holding up?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, jeez," he said.

"Listen," Gaster said, "if you start flaring, you tell me or your mother right away, okay?"

"What, like I did?" Frisk asked. She reflexively looked in Asriel's direction and her brow furrowed with worry. "Can that happen?"

"If it can happen to you, it stands to reason that it could happen to him." He brought the milkshakes over and made sure each of them took one. "Please drink these, they will help." He also carried one over to Sans and gently nudged him awake where he had slumped on his box. "You too, lazybones."

.

Groggily, Sans stuck his thumb up. Gaster patted his shoulder affectionately. He took a step back and leaned against the desk stiffly. He ran his hand over the back of his skull. A comfortable, quiet lethargy settled upon them. Gaster pulled off his glasses and hooked his sleeve onto his thumb to wipe around the edges of his eye sockets.

.

"So," he said, directing the somewhat heavy, lingering word to his daughter. "Are you… able to recall what happened out there?"

"Oh, yeah, for sure," she said. She smiled bashfully. "I already told everyone about it. I, uh… Oh! Hey, that memory thing, can I do it backwards?"

"Backwards?" He looked at her questioningly. "I'm not sure I follow."

"I looked at your memories. Can you look at mine?"

"Wh…?! Oh! Of course! That's perfect, actually," he said quickly. "Was…? It wasn't too frightening, was it?"

"Oh, no, it wasn't that bad," she said. "Hey, do we have a way to see if it worked?"

"How would you even do that?" Asriel wondered.

"Tomorrow," Sans interjected. He raised his hand as if to stop his father's inevitable protest. "We're not the only ones who're exhausted."

"He's right," Frisk said quickly. "Don't do any more work today, okay?"

"Well…" His voice warped and he coughed. He smiled sheepishly. "Alright. Fair enough. Now if I may take a look?"

"Yep!" Frisk extended her hand. "There's a couple Sanses in there! So don't freak out."

.

Gaster would certainly freak out. He'd hide it as best he could, though.

xXxXx

Dinner that night was at Asgore's. Soup, spaghetti, and fresh snail pasties were accompanied by the burgers and fries brought up from Grillby's. For the third time, Frisk explained what she'd seen, this time crowded by big, concerned monsters, the more Kingly of which needed even more context than usual. He needed to know, though, since Asriel had gone through something as well. Gaster provided it to give the kid more time to eat.

.

The old skeleton wasn't the only one keeping a close eye on the kids, but he noticed that Frisk seemed to be feeling better as the night went on. Asriel was perking right up with a bit of food, too. It was only Sans that was slowing down. Though, he supposed that wasn't outright unusual.

.

By the time they went home and bedtime caught up with them, Frisk had gotten some separation between lights and shadows back, and the red in her left eye had faded away. She'd fallen asleep as Sans read to her— in fact, Sans had probably fallen asleep as he read to her, too. The whole house settled in, but Gaster couldn't.

.

He paced the living room until he worried his steps might be too loud. He sat at the table, drumming his pointy fingertips against the wood until he thought that might be disruptive, too. His soul sputtered and warped between his ribs but he couldn't for the life of his find his phone, so he was stuck with it. He curled up in the corner of the couch, wishing he'd brought a notebook. After a little search of the living room, he found one that had some knock-knock jokes scrawled in just the first few pages. He gave a bit of a buffer before starting his own notes.

.

He filed away the information from Frisk. To be honest, it frightened him. He'd sensed other places out there— a fragment of himself had even claimed a small one out on the far reaches, outside of everything else— but he'd never expected the girl to consciously run into to someone from beyond their bubble. He wondered if they were from a split off their own world, or a different one entirely. Could even have been a little of both. No way to know, of course, but that didn't stop it from bothering him. He was glad she'd only run into Sans, though. He knew, at least, she would be able to get on the good side of almost any version she'd find of him.

.

The grey one worried him more than the blue one, however. The way he spoke was as if he knew Frisk inside and out. Usually that grey was a sign of timelessness— not bound to any timeline, and not usually perceptible by them either. Sort of like he'd been himself. But, Frisk had had no trouble remembering this grey skeleton. Also, how he'd touched her eyes with that light… He wondered if it had something to do with the glow she'd had just afterwards. He jotted it down, and then a plethora of question marks.

.

He was so caught up in his worries that he didn't notice Toriel joining him until her weight jostled the couch. He almost jumped straight upright until she put a hand on his shoulder.

"You are up awfully late, old friend," she said.

"Ah… I just have a lot on my mind," he said quietly.

Her brow furrowed slightly. "Your voice doesn't sound good. Have you been taking those cakes Alphys made you?"

"Ah, right, uh…" He patted down his pockets. "It's, uh… In my phone… I'll have to look for it."

"You didn't lose it, did you?" she asked.

"I lose everything," he said sheepishly.

"Perhaps I should have kept that book, then," she teased.

"Ah!" His soul plummeted. "I'm sure it's around somewhere. I'm sure you can find it. I must've left it at Grillby's, I'll—"

"Take a break. It's not going anywhere." Toriel patted his back. She got up and headed for the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea."

He jumped upright quickly. "It's alright, don't bother yourself with—"

"Sit down, Gaster."

He sat.

.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

"What was on yours?" he asked worriedly.

"The kids. This… time void thing."

"Me too," he said.

"Please, tell me honestly. How dangerous is this?" she said. "If it blinded Frisk—"

"Oh, it didn't blind Frisk, that was the stabilizer's doing. It just becomes sensory overload and the eyes usually decide they don't want to deal with it," he said. "But then everything heals quickly."

"Right. Right…" She sighed. A soft flash of light illuminated the kitchen as she blew a quiet breath of flame under the kettle on the stove.

"Honestly. For Frisk it is… not too dangerous," he said. "There will always be a risk. But that place belongs to her. She just needs to learn how to navigate it."

"And Asriel?" she asked.

"I'm hoping he's similar," he said. "But no monster has ever existed with those powers. It will be a little trial and error, but Frisk can keep him safe. I promise."

.

She rejoined him with a cup of tea and gently handed it to him before sitting at his side. He took a quick sip and cracked a smile. The woman folded her arms into the sleeves of her sweater as she sat back.

"So. How can I help?"

"I am not exactly sure," he said apologetically. "The kids are all exhausted. So, tonight should be a prime setting for their dreams to look into other times. I'll see what has happened in the morning, and then I'll try to take some readings of the void and we'll go from there."

"Never switch off, do you?" she asked. She smiled at the flustered look on his face. "No, of course you don't. Never have."

His cheekbones darkened slightly. "I still have a lot to do. My priority needs to be repairing any damage I might have…" He gritted his teeth; tapped his fingertips together.

"What do you mean by that?" Toriel asked.

"It… It does not escape me that Sans's issues have gotten worse since I arrived," he said.

"Come now, it's only been a few days." She grimaced. "And he has been declining for months." She smiled with sadness in her eyes. "Not overall. His outlook has lifted, for sure, but… They've tried to keep me out of it. But I notice the dips in his energy, too. So you shouldn't blame yourself."

Gaster flinched. He took off his glasses and rubbed his hands over his face.

.

Toriel gently took the glasses from between his fingers and then curiously held them up to her eyes. "Ooh. They aren't very strong, are they? I don't recall you needing them back when I left."

"I didn't, I damaged my eye during an experiment much later," he said with an embarrassed smile. "That was before I'd had Sans, even. Asgore got me a monocle."

"Pffff, you'd look like such a villain," she joked.

"I did make an effort with it, but it certainly gave me an air of unapproachability that didn't agree with me. I also lost it constantly. I probably went through a dozen of them." He sipped his tea. It settled some of the jutting spikes of his soul. "Glasses stay on my face a little better. Still lose them, too. I learned to create them myself— it was just more efficient. My eyes have somehow mostly repaired themselves now, though."

"That sounds useful." Toriel smiled fondly. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Gaster couldn't keep the confusion from his face. He nodded. "…Alright."

.

Outside was clear and crisp in the quiet night, the town lit by the colourful strings of festive lights dyeing the snow. The fresh air— or, fresher than in the house, anyway— lifted some of the sluggish weight in Gaster's skull. His eyes lingered on Toriel a little too long as they lazily travelled the main street. He still had trouble with the fact that she wasn't just a spectre of the past. How long had it been? How many years? He couldn't seem to recall. He caught himself smiling.

"This is such a nice little town," Toriel commented.

"It is. Though I recall a lot more dismal of an outlook when we first arrived," he said. "I'm glad it became what it is."

"I know. It's amazing how different everything is now." She smiled sideways. "Going to have to get used to seasons again. That'll be interesting."

"I've always liked snow. It'll be nice to see it out there again. It'll also be nice to see how the world has changed overall, don't you think?"

"I expect it'll be unrecognizable." She chuckled. "That's alright." She cut her eyes at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he said.

.

The woman hesitated. Tried to gather her thoughts. "Back to what we discussed before… When Frisk said she saw other versions of Sans wherever she was," she said, "is that… literal? Are they real? From these other worlds?"

"Mostly," Gaster said.

"Does that mean… there might be others of me? Or you? Or… her?" Her eyes went wide.

"It does. Though other Frisks is sort of a different and more complicated topic," he said. "But, others of any other person, absolutely. Though I doubt she'd be likely to run into many people she wasn't familiar with at all. And… to be fair, if we exist, it would mostly be Sans. Or… Or me." He shuddered at the thought.

Toriel tilted her head, her brow furrowing. "What was that?"

"What was what?" he said quickly.

"Why does that frighten you?" she asked. "Encountering other versions of you?"

"Ah…" He felt a twinge in his soul— it jerked uncomfortably. He grimaced. "It's… I'm… unpredictable."

"I don't follow," she said.

.

Gaster folded his arms. He paused to look up at the large, fragrant Gyftmas tree in the middle of the street, letting the lights adorning it blur across his vision. He shot Toriel an apologetic look. "Frisk exists as an entity of her own. So does every other one like her. They all exist in completely separate circumstances, tethered to their own bubble of timelines. So, in many… In probably most of those other places, that Gaster is not the father of that world's… Frisk, if one exists."

Toriel's eyes went wide and round. She stared at him for a long, quiet while. "So… So they might… Oh. I… I see."

"It's not a very happy thought," he agreed. "And for whatever reason, I… I seem to vary drastically between iterations. Almost as much as she does. In fact, in Frisk's case, it's somewhat unfair to even lump them together for any reason other than ease of discussing the topic. For me, Gasters, on the other hand, I've felt more than my share of them. While I was… out there. While I wasn't entirely me. Many of them broke like I did. Or will at some point. And many of them try to reach out through time. Some not for the greatest of reasons. Honestly, I wouldn't trust them but I… I hate to say it but I feel like I may have even felt one today."

"What?! So… So what does that mean?" Toriel asked.

"He might have detected me," he said. "We often attract each other."

"Is this a danger? To you? To Frisk?" she demanded.

"Not if she's sealed us off," he said. He smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Tori. I know this all sounds awful and dangerous. And insane, too, to an extent."

.

Toriel chuckled softly. She shook her head. "It all feels very… distant. It's hard to process. Abstract, in a way, if that makes sense? But I understand. Well, as much as I can." She smiled fondly, her brow bending with sympathy. "You're shaking."

"Am I?" He looked at his hands and the trembling in his fingers made his cheekbones flush. "I apologize."

"Gaster," she chided. She looked up at the ceiling and snorted— snowflakes, light and slow, had a dizzying effect on the eyes as they floated downwards out of the black. "Getting colder."

"I don't suppose that means what I think it does?" he said.

"Maybe it's good." She cut her eyes at him and smiled gently. "A chance to stay in and rest tomorrow, hm? We should still have some time…"

"For what?"

"A walk in through Home?" she suggested.

Gaster's face lit right up. "I haven't been there in—"

"I know."

"Honestly," he said, "I would love that."

She chuckled. "I know."

xXxXx

The old monsters walked the ruins of a city they'd helped to found, revelling in the strange, personal silence. It was cozy and private, somehow, despite wandering such a large, vacant space, inspecting the skeletons of old buildings and the withered remains of untended parks.

.

Toriel told him all about her years in the Ruins. About the children who'd come through with their fractured rainbow of souls. It wasn't easy. It'd been decades for some— longer, for others. Gaster could give her answers. He'd cradled and cared for each soul, even though some of them left him chilled and unnerved. The old friends consolidated their stories. Most of the real information had been secreted away from the general public. Thinking the King himself had defeated each human made the citizens feel safe, secure, and protected, and Asgore bore the full weight and responsibility, no matter what had actually occurred.

.

The first child that had entered the mountain on his own had been closest to Asgore's declaration of war. He wasn't yet a teenager, but he was wiry and strong. The boy had loved Toriel, but wanted to leave the underground at all costs. She reluctantly gave him directions, but not long afterward heard whispers that the first human soul had been claimed. He'd fought, and fought a lot, and lost in the end. He'd only killed one monster, but that was one too many.

.

The second human was a young girl who'd been lost on the mountain a long while later. Skittish little thing, but patient and willing to learn about monsters and how things worked in their Kingdom. She, too, had wanted to leave, to return to a family above. She was so young, younger even than Frisk had been when Toriel had found her. She couldn't in good conscious have let her go, but the child snuck out in the night. She hadn't made it far. Gaster hadn't even heard there was a human in the underground until her shining, pale blue soul had been brought to him. He'd taken a lot of care with that one. He wasn't sure why, but it'd felt like such a shame.

.

The third human had come fairly soon after the second. Toriel noticed he seemed to have arrived with a purpose, but he was gracious of her hospitality and had slipped out without her approval, just as the girl before had done. He'd come seeking revenge. His weapon had been deadly, and his passage through the mountain had been far from victimless. Asgore himself hadn't reached a healer in time, and still had the scars of ancient bullets under the fur on his chest.

.

The fourth human arrived after a long gap of nothing. She was a studious tween with big, round glasses and an insatiable curiosity, which was what moved her on her way after living with Toriel for a few weeks. Gaster was happy to talk about this girl, though. She'd lived peacefully, hiding in Waterfall and researching magic for almost two decades, until she succumbed to a medical condition no monster could treat. The old turtle Gerson, in fact, was very well acquainted with her. He still kept many of her filled notebooks in his cupboard, and sometimes offloaded the barely started ones onto strangers that looked liked they'd use them. Gaster himself had known her, if only in passing, and he'd kept her secret at Gerson's request. He wanted to escape as much as the next monster but, as Gerson had said, they'd waited so long already, what was the lifespan of one human to add to it if still more souls would be needed?

.

The fifth was also a kind-hearted little tyke, with a weak constitution and an interest in cooking. He'd been injured badly entering the mountain a while before Toriel found and healed what she could. She had taught him a litany of recipes before he decided it might be a good idea to try to return home. He'd helped many monsters on his adventure before he'd gotten lost and almost succumbed to the heat in Hotland. He was brought to Asgore unconscious and unresponsive. The fourth and fifth humans had actually overlapped their stay in the underground, but Gaster didn't think they had met each other. Their souls were acquired out of order by only two years.

.

The sixth, though, was the most difficult to speak on. It had only been fifteen years ago. Maybe it was the fact that the last two humans had been truly lovely that had allowed for the events to unfold the way they did, but who could be certain? Waterfall, especially, had been exceptionally friendly before that point. Toriel had noticed nothing wrong, but this strange teenager had killed more monsters than anyone had since the world-changing war centuries ago. She was the reason Undyne only had one eye. Concerning her end, Gaster told Toriel only that the girl had been exceptionally violent and that she'd been trying to kill Papyrus right before she was stopped. He didn't mention by whom. The look in her eyes suggested that she suspected it was him, and he wasn't about to correct her.

.

He expected her instant ire, but didn't receive it. In a park of gnarled old vines, they held each other and cried together. Wasn't the first time they'd done that.

.

By the time they headed for home, snow had blocked them into the Ruins. Toriel sighed and rolled her eyes. The schedule had said midnight, but they were early again. It wasn't much trouble, though. Gaster whisked them through a tear in the world and plunked them into the attic.

.

The skeleton slipped out of the bedroom as Toriel prepared to go to sleep, feeling drained, exhausted, and elated all at once. The rooms of the house were even darker than usual, the snow pressing in against the windows leaving them in their own, personal cavern. He stuck his hands out until he found the railing and then slowly made his way down to the couch.

.

Someone had folded blankets neatly for him at one end, and laid pillows at the other. He was grateful. He only took a moment to disregard his winter clothing before collapsing, his skull heavy as he sank into the squishy, warm, makeshift bed.

.

Gaster's sleep was light and troubled. His wee hours were broken by the shrill sound of a faucet. He got up slowly, rubbing his eye sockets, and leaned around to peer into the dark kitchen. The small shape he picked out in there was probably Frisk.

.

He got to his feet quietly and walked in to join her. She was putting a glass back up on the counter, standing on her toes to reach. She turned and bumped into his leg with a squeak.

"Whoops, sorry," she said groggily.

"My fault." He knelt down and gently held the kid's face. "How are you?"

"M'okay…" She blinked hard. She hardly looked like she was awake.

.

"Frisky-wisky," he cooed under his breath. He patted her head gently. "How are your eyes?"

"Not sure," she said with a sleepy laugh.

He focused and brought light up into his sockets. She winced and smiled faintly, rubbing the back of her hand across her face.

"Yeah. They're fine," she said.

Gaster blew out a sigh of relief and wrapped the kid in his arms. He felt like his soul might burst.

.

He drew back to her looking up at him with shimmering eyes and a faint smile on her face. She grabbed one of his hands in both of hers.

"You didn't get it too bad out there, did you?" she asked.

"Don't concern yourself with that," he said.

"Hey." She frowned. "C'mon. We're kinda the same, right? We gotta be like a team. We gotta talk to each other. Right?"

The old skeleton chuckled and patted her head. "Honestly. It's alright. It must be quite early, hm? Shall I take you back upstairs? You should get some rest."

"Um. No, I'm okay," she said, the shadow of a pout on her face. She peeked past him into the main room. "Oh, right. It's doing one of those magic blizzards, huh?"

"It is," he said.

"No wonder it's so dark." She rubbed her brow and sighed.

"You don't have a headache, do you?" he asked quickly. "Did you dream tonight?"

She shook her head. "Nnnoo…"

"Then why do you not want to sleep?" He frowned curiously and then got to his feet. The clock on the microwave read just barely past five in the morning. "Ah. I think I have an idea. If you're willing?"

"What is it?" she asked.

.

He grinned and flicked on the light with false, magic hands and picked her up to sit her on the counter. "How much do you know about baking?"

"A bit," she said. "I know a little. And mom taught me some stuff."

"Good! Good. Fantastic." He headed for the cupboards, long fingers searching for ingredients. "I always found a certain appeal in making things from scratch. There's some things that only a master escamancer can replicate without doing so. I find, at least." He shot her a smile. "We had old family recipes, you know. I learned them when I was quite young. I mentioned my mother was not the best cook, didn't I? So I became quite proficient, if I do say so myself. If you'd like. I'd love to teach you."

"Yes please," she said instantly.

Gaster beamed.

.

Nostalgia was the scent of fresh soda bread flavoured lightly with herbs and sweetened with honey. Gaster hadn't made it in years. He needed gloves to knead, but that didn't bother him. An early, snowy morning without a place in the world to be was the perfect time to bake. The oven gave the kitchen a toasty warmth.

.

Frisk watched with quiet, curious attention. He gave her a chance to try it herself. She wasn't half-bad. Almost like she'd made it before.

.

They formed small loaves, sliced the tops, and carefully put them on a tray to bake. The sleepy kid took it upon herself to watch the round, uneven breads' crusts browning through the oven window. It was long and boring, but she insisted. She dozed off where she sat on the floor, her cheek on her fist. Gaster took off his sweatshirt and put it around her shoulders. She was sure to awaken when the timer went off.

.

The skeleton leaned up against the counter, sipping a cup of tea with milk and honey. He was struck by an odd, heavy sense of banality that was so comfortable his eyes welled up. He watched Frisk snooze and had to stop himself from scooping her up. To distract himself, he slowly cleaned up, trying to be as quiet as possible. That didn't take that long, though, and he was left again staring at his daughter, somewhat in awe that he even had a daughter.

.

When the oven dinged, Frisk squeaked and fell over herself in surprise. Gaster laughed softly and caught her by the shoulders. He gently moved her to the side and then reached over into the oven, barehanded. He lifted the baking trays out and put them up on top of the stove. Frisk stood up, rubbing her eyes, and then went up on her toes. He grabbed her to sit her up on the counter again and lifted one of loaves.

"Listen." He tapped it on the bottom with his fingertip. "How does that sound?"

Frisk scooted a little closer and leaned her ear in. She reached out a hand, but then pulled back sheepishly and shot him a smile. "Sounds good."

"So, you know if it has a hollow sound—"

"That it's done? Yup," she said.

"You have made this before, haven't you?" he said.

"Not this one," she said. "I've done one with just the honey. Yours smells even better, though, it's really nice."

"Isn't it?" His face lit up. "We'll let them cool, just a little."

.

He brewed more tea and, once that was done, sliced one of the loaves. He buttered the warm bread and they sat together, munching it on the couch. He hoped he wasn't imagining how thrilled she looked. Even so, his head was buzzing.

.

"Frisky? Um. Frisk. Can I… ask you something?" he said quietly.

"Yeah, of course," she said.

Gaster had to stop himself. His mind was on the void of time, but he shooed it elsewhere. His voice caught, anyway. He coughed quietly behind his fist and then put his other hand on her head gently. "Tell me what you'd like to do. Once we're out there for good," he said.

"Oh! Jeez. I dunno," she said with a laugh. "People keep asking me. I'm not sure."

"It doesn't even have to be long term," he said. "Anything at all."

"Well…" She looked bashfully down at her plate. "I just… I'm not sure. I'm just happy everyone's here, y'know? I guess maybe I'd like to work on my magic more. Then I can help more people and maybe not almost pass out every time."

"It's always a guessing game, hm?" he said sympathetically. "You are one of a kind. In a way, I am sorry, simply for the fact that we will not know what's normal for you. However. I'd guess that some of your powers beyond simply travelling backwards are operating at an advanced level. If that is the case, it would be no surprise that they could be exhausting to you."

"You think so?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Some of that is very complex, right?" He patted her hair gently. "Don't worry. You will grow into it. But, if there's anything I can do to help you, please tell me."

.

Frisk snickered. She looked up at him with big, shiny eyes and she hugged him. Her soul glowed and hummed softly. "This is fine."

Gaster's face flushed. His eyes welled up and he wrapped her in his arms. He supposed it was.