PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

by Spark the Barkivist

DIRECT SEQUEL TO "PATCHWORK SOUL" — A few months later. A family of monsters and their little human kid try to start life anew beyond the confines of a giant mountain. Maybe they find something. Maybe they lose something. Time flows ever onwards, but sometimes it goes sideways, and it's heavier than they thought.

54. big dumb pile of hypocrites

big dumb pile of hypocrites chapter 54

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Consumed by limitless dark, Gaster fell, and fell, and fell. Down, through a universe of deep silence. Aching cold. Bones numb, eyes useless. Frozen, coiling tendrils of obsidian flowed around sharp, white ribs. The vertigo was unbearable.

.

Then, it all came to a stop. Faint white noise crackled in his skull. The creaking of wood. The distant, rhythmic drip of water. The soft snorts of someone large lost to slumber. A melody drifted in his mind. A deep pulsing and a soft, howling refrain. He could see its notes despite its blackness in the deep of his skull.

.

For the first time in what felt like eons, disorienting, foggy images formed hidden in shadows. The skeleton couldn't open his eyes, but magic coalescing in his hands showed him more than nothing. It took him longer than he'd like to admit, staring through his hand at abstract shapes and darkness, before he realized what he was seeing was the edge of a quilt and the nebulous space underneath a bed.

.

It was still a while longer before he could move. He stiffly dragged his arm up to rest it across his chest. His bones rattled and he slowly raised his hands to rub his face, kneading above his eye sockets with insistent fingertip. He grumbled quietly as he managed to sit up, his spine and joints stiff.

.

Forcing his eyes open was a chore. His eyelids of bone ached like they'd been cracked. He still couldn't see much, but he tried to get his bearings regardless. He carefully felt over the blankets around him. Soft. Quilted. The top layer was thin, but warm. The one below it was more akin to a duvet.

.

He stayed there a while longer, warming his bones, before he sluggishly swung a leg out of bed. He had to brace to gather the energy to stand, but once he did, the ground beneath his bare boney feet felt solid enough. He sighed with relief and, rubbing his eye, lethargically wandered towards the door.

.

The house beyond this room was dark, too. Must've been night and not just his eyes. It didn't matter much, he had the layout memorized.

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He traipsed down the hallway and through the house, softly humming the strange song that was stuck in his head. Droplets from the faucet in the kitchen plunked slowly into the sink at even intervals. He reached for a tall glass and then filled it, turning off the drip-dripping properly this time as he chugged the cool water.

.

The scraping of wood on tile gave him a mild start and he turned to see the form of a chair approaching him from the hallway. It stopped abruptly and squeaked like a little girl. Gaster tilted his head. In fact, he could see a small someone right behind it.

"Cò tha ann?" he asked groggily. He rubbed his head and frowned at himself. "Ah. Who's there? Behind the chair?"

Another squeak. "S-Sorry!" A hushed girl's voice.

Gaster smiled to himself. He snapped his fingers to call a light but nothing happened. His bones felt odd, but only on his right. He frowned at himself for a moment before calling a magic orb up with his left, instead. That worked just fine, casting a faint blue glow around the surfaces of the kitchen.

"Counter's too high, is it?"

"Yeah, um… I-I just wanted some water." A small, pale face peeked out from behind the chair. Human girl. Stripes painted on her cheeks. Ellie.

.

Gaster reached to grab her a glass from the cabinet, only for his eyes to settle upon his right arm. He froze stiffly in his tracks. His bones were deep, dark grey from the tips of his fingers all the way up to his elbow, where a pattern at the border between colours seemed to indicate something akin to the splashing of paint. His soul roiled uncomfortably, but he kicked himself from his stupor and grabbed the glass, despite his dark finger bones rattling sharply against it. He filled it for the kid and passed it down to her.

"Thanks, mister skeleton," the kid said with a sheepish smile. She drank deeply. "How come even the water is nicer here?"

"I couldn't say," he said apologetically.

"Ah, it's a secret!"

Gaster chuckled. "It means I don't know."

"Ooooh." Ellie sipped, slurping loudly, much to her own amusement. She looked up at him with big, shiny eyes. "Do all dads snore?"

Gaster blinked. "Uh. I—"

"Daddy snores. And the big King, he's a dad, right? And he snores even louder," she said. "But June doesn't snore. Do you snore?"

"I—"

"Are you a dad?"

"I am. You've met my sons, in fact."

"Then I bet you snore!" she asserted with a grin.

.

Gaster chuckled. It was a small sample size, but an amusing hypothesis nonetheless. He paused, a bashful look passing over his face.

"Ah. I apologize for asking, little one, but you wouldn't happen to know how long I was in bed, would you?"

"Ummm…" She frowned thoughtfully as she finished her water. "I thiiiink… you got to sleep all day? The King said you were feeling kind of sick," she said.

Gaster nodded.

"Are you feeling better now?" she asked.

"I am, thank you." He tilted his head. "Are you? It sounded like you had quite the adventure before you arrived."

"Well! Yeah. I… I guess I kinda wish I could tell grandma I'm okay and stuff but she'd be really mad I'm with daddy again." Her eyes sparkled. "But! It's really nice, though! She said he turned into a mean man but really he didn't! And it's fun and nice to be back together, I really like it. And we got to see so many cool things, nobody'd ever believe it!" She grinned. "I thought it was a dream for a bit. But now I get to play here and see the giant city and eat snacks and have brown hair again soon!"

"That does sound rather exciting." He held out his hand and she gave him her empty glass. He put it in the sink. "Would you like anything else here?"

Ellie shook her head.

"It's still late, isn't it? Should I walk you back to your room?"

"Wellllll…" She hesitated, but then smiled bashfully and nodded. "Y-Yeah, I keep bumping into the walls."

.

Gaster grasped his ball of light in his hand. It shone through the hole like a lantern before he passed it off to the little girl. She gasped sharply and cautiously cupped her hands underneath it.

"Coooool," she said under her breath.

.

With a little light on their way back through the house, Gaster caught Asgore dozed off in his chair near the fireplace. The skeleton followed Ellie to the bedroom the humans occupied and flickered the light out as he opened the door for her. She waved brightly before hopping back inside and tackling her dad an instant before Gaster closed the door.

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A creak in the floorboards caught Gaster's attention and he sensed a movement, but in turning around, was caught up in a tight hug from strong, furry arms.

"H-Hello to you, too," he choked.

"Thank goodness you're awake," Asgore said. He was beaming, big fangs gleaming; his mane of golden bed-head making him look like a shaggy lion. "I thought I heard you. Come. Come, come."

.

Asgore carefully released the skeleton and pulled him back into the dining room. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair to brush it out of his eyes. He flicked the lights on, though he kept his voice low. "How are you?"

Gaster squinted in the light. He rubbed at his eye socket with the heel of his hand. "I… am not sure."

"I'm glad to see you." Asgore gently took the skeleton's blackened hand. "I'm sorry we could not stop whatever this was, old friend. Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't. Though… I can't seem to cast properly with it," he said.

Asgore's eyes bugged out. "Wh-What? But that's…! How is that possible?"

Gaster shook his head. "Never mind, I will figure it out later. The rest of me is fine." He cracked a tired smile. "I'm sorry for stealing your bed."

The huge monster chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry. Oh! And I'm sure you'll be pleased to know, we copied all your notes out onto paper for you."

"You…" Gaster looked at his dark arm again. "Oh! That's… a great idea, actually, thank you."

"It was Tori's. The second she saw this darkness spreading," he said. "Papyrus should have them."

.

Gaster's eyes glimmered. A small, relieved sigh escaped him. "So… everyone's doing alright? Was Undyne okay?"

Asgore nodded. "Thankfully." His ears drooped. "I… think there may be much more going on than I'm being told, but I feel as if the boys don't want to worry me. Or, even worse, they don't want to bother me. Or. Perhaps it's still that Tori can't stand the sight of me more often than not. Which, to be fair, I understand."

"Asgore," Gaster chided.

"Oh! But! There was some good news," he said. "We're sure we know our son's name."

Faint blue and gold light flickered in Gaster's eyes. "Cnámha m'anam. That's…" He froze, a chill sinking deep into his bones. He'd seen them. It'd been a dream, but they'd been right there before him. He'd asked their names and they'd given answers, but he couldn't recall a single syllable of it. "That's good news. What is it?"

Asgore smiled proudly. "Asriel. We're sure."

.

The name instantly conjured warm nostalgia deep within Gaster's soul. He could see the boy's face in greyscale; the much brighter version from his dream. His voice was strange, but something about the way the name resonated in his memories felt very correct. He smiled.

"Dead on." Though he was sure he knew the answer, he couldn't help but ask, "Any luck with my daughter?"

"…I'm sorry, old friend," Asgore said, face falling.

"Don't be."

"It must be so difficult," the King said quietly. "Returning after all this time to meet her, only to have this happen."

Gaster winced. "…It's entirely my fault."

Asgore clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Don't say things like that."

"It's…" A heavy sigh slipped past his teeth. "It's completely accurate. My return caused Sans's illness." He drummed his fingertips against each other. "If I'd stayed gone, nobody would be the wiser. And none of this would be happening."

.

Asgore's mouth fell open, but he said nothing. Instead, he wrapped Gaster in his arms and held him close, cradling the back of his skull. He nosed his friend's skull with his big, soft snout. "I know what you're thinking. But… please. Don't."

Gaster's soul ached. It was loud enough that he was sure Asgore heard it. His shoulders slumped. What place did he have in this world aside from repairing messes that wouldn't exist without him? His time had long since come and gone. "I… I just hope everyone will be alright," he said quietly.

"They will be. I'm sure of it," Asgore assured him. He drew back, holding the skeleton by his shoulders, his hands strong and warm. "Come on, Gaster. I think you've been away from home for far too long." He smiled. "And I will come with you. I think we could both use a nice, long stroll, what do you think? Some time to chat?"

"I think you're right," Gaster said.

.

Gaster gathered up what little of his things were still in the house and Asgore grabbed a tin of his homemade tea and placed his crown upon his head before they headed out. They took the long way, down through New Home and the main drag of Hotland. Asgore had many stories about the humans who had come to stay, and though they were mostly mundane, Gaster was glad to hear them anyway. The way his daughter interacted with monsters was always going to be atypical, so learning about the way normal humans who had lived regular human lives up to this point coped with the sudden culture shock was both fascinating and a good distraction for the skeleton's troubled mind.

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Once the pair reached Waterfall, all hints of exhaustion had vanished from the skeleton. His dark arm felt strange, even as he rolled his fingers over each other. It set vertigo roiling in his soul whenever he looked at it, though. He kept his hand in the pocket of his sweater as much as he could.

.

Deep in the caverns, as they neared Gerson's store, Gaster was given pause by a cave's deliberately carved opening close by. A faint purple light flickered from crack beneath its door. He didn't recall seeing a home here in a hundred years or so. He wondered, but only for an instant— when a memory of a certain, benign interloper with a purple soul shot through his head. He couldn't be certain, but when Asgore took note as well, the skeleton did his best to hurry his friend on his way instead of curiously inspecting a door that may have just flashed back into existence.

.

Night was calm in Snowdin town, wind whistling, snow drifting peacefully over the streets, the pillowy banks fluffing up as they gathered soft flakes. Seeing the house, the first on the street, its skull-and-crossbones flag flapping, Gaster felt much lighter than he had in ages. It was very late, so he was prepared to wait to reconnect with his sons until morning but, upon entering the house, he was shocked to see the living room full up with familiar monsters packing the couch and floor, lit only by the sharp glow of a grey TV screen.

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Though Toriel was conked out with a small, purple crocodaur in her lap and Alphys sat curled up under a blanket against the arm of the strangely red couch, Papyrus was there and wide awake, as was a rather groggy-looking Undyne. The fish monster sat on the floor with Sans, a healing hand on his head, where he was bundled up in a quilt cocoon.

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"Oh my, looks like we've crashed a party," Asgore joked, keeping his voice low and quiet as they stepped inside. "Howdy, everyone."

"Dad! King Uncle!" Papyrus was instantly beaming. He bolted over and crushed Gaster into a hug, knocking the wind from him. "Oh, what a relief! Welcome home!"

Gaster didn't know what to say, but the warmth of his son's soul made him buckle. He held him as tight as he could.

.

Asgore smiled fondly. He turned his attention on Undyne. "My girl, how are you doing?"

"Eh. Not bad." She carefully got up and stretched. "Things've been nuts, though."

"I was worried about you," he said, clapping her on the shoulder. His expression softened with concern and he gently cupped her head, rubbing her hair. "How's your head?"

"Been worse," she said. She pointed at the TV. "Paps was in a movie, apparently."

"Oh! Was he now? That's very exciting."

"It was quite good, if I do say so myself! Which I do." Papyrus said, trying his best to keep his voice soft despite his enthusiasm. "Sans was trying to memorize it." He pointed to his dozing brother. "Though. That plan has mostly fallen through. It was just in case sending it to the mysterious time phone of Crabapple Kid doesn't work. He was sure she'd love it! I mean, who wouldn't, really?"

"…Crabapple Kid?" Gaster repeated.

"Oh! Yes. Crabapple Kid, that's my sister, until any of us can remember her name," Papyrus said brightly. "I had a vision from one of those star looking things that showed me her with— Actually, that doesn't matter all that much." He grabbed his father's hands. "What matters is that you are here and awake and why is your hand still that colour?"

"Ah." Gaster flinched. "I'm… not sure."

"Y'alright?" Sans stirred, looking up at his father with heavily lidded eyes.

"I am. You?"

Sans shrugged.

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"We, uh, had a pretty screwed up day, overall," Undyne said. She pointed to Suzy. "Kid's house vanished, Toriel ended up back in the Ruins with weird memories, me and Alph basically forgot everything about her, Papyrus was in this movie he can't remember, and Sans—"

"Looked like someone thought it'd be real funny to shoot void hoses out my eyes," Sans interjected with an amused smile. "I teleported. Probably shouldn't have. Oops."

"Sans…!" Gaster stifled himself and knelt down to grasp Sans up by the shoulders, but the short skeleton instead snatched his father's hand and rolled up the sleeve on the dark arm before any protest could be made.

Papyrus gasped and clapped his hands over his mouth and Undyne's eye widened as she whispered an incredulous swear under her breath. Gaster winced.

"We got a lot to go over, huh?" Sans asked.

"…We do," Gaster agreed.

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"Not right now you don't." Toriel looked at them, a faint smile on her face as her violet eyes gleaming in the artificial light. She looked at Gaster and smiled fondly. "Welcome home, hun." Her gaze shifted to Asgore and her tone took on a faint chill. "Asgore." She got to her feet slowly, cradling Suzy close, and then gently scooped Alphys up as well. "Let me tuck these two in first. Then we can begin."

Undyne's brow furrowed. "But Alphys—"

"Her work has been intense. We can get her caught up later, alright?"

Though the blue monster didn't look certain, she remained stiff and bowed her head in deference. Toriel smiled gently.

"Don't worry, my child, I'm more than willing to give my time to it. Papyrus, do you mind?"

"Ah! Not at all." He bounded upstairs with her to open the door to his bedroom, and then vanished inside behind her.

.

When the two monsters returned, those who were awake gathered in the living room to recount everything that had happened while Gaster was unconscious, from the shifting of New Home to Toriel's hundred-something year regression and the reversal thereof. Especially distressing was Suzy's displacement, but what she'd done outside the Ruins was of intense interest to Gaster. He speculated that what had happened to his arm was related to the dark in his soul, and hoped that the same thing wouldn't happen to the child.

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While they conferred, Sans was mostly distracted by his father's unusual bones. He prodded the arm with his fingertips, ran his magic through it; shoved the SOULSCN app against it. It didn't seem to produce much of a reading at all.

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Asgore's knowledge of the strange happenings had been limited by circumstance, but now he sat with his arms folded tight, a steady, thoughtful frown on his brow as he took it all in without a single question uttered to interrupt. When the stories had finished, the King looked to Toriel as if for permission. She held out her hand. He stroked his beard and cleared his throat.

"My friends. This… This is all so much. The work you've all been doing is amazing. I'm sorry I haven't been much of a direct help with this, but know that you have my full support, in whatever form you wish for it to take," he said. "Tori, after all that, you're sure you're alright?"

"If I wasn't, I may have tried to throw you out already," she said with a sly smile on her face.

"Mooooommm," Papyrus whined, much to her amusement.

Asgore rubbed his mane. "And, you, Undyne? You… still don't recall meeting Toriel before?"

"Uh." Undyne's ears drooped and she smiled with awkward embarrassment. "N-Nah, not yet! But, uh, we seem to get along okay, so I think it'll be fine until this is all fixed. I still got my eye on what I need to." She shot Sans a knowing look. "Even if it's the wrong one."

Sans shot finger guns her way and she scoffed quietly. Papyrus grabbed her arm, clinging to it as if somehow to protect her.

"Sans even tried to blue-magic-zap her head a few hours ago," Papyrus said. "Which is a type of strange memory-jogging magic, by the way, for anyone who didn't know. But it didn't seem to do anything. So either he is getting even weaker or this whatever-is-happening is getting stronger."

"Or it's both. Or it reacts with her different than with Tori." Sans's brow tilted apologetically. "No clue."

.

"Is there no rhyme or reason to what's changing?" Asgore asked. "…Is it affecting the human world as well? Or…" He gulped. "Even farther?"

"Eh… Sans spaced a little up top, but not much else," Undyne said.

"Fainted a few times," Sans agreed. "But I'm not sure I saw—"

"Oh!" Papyrus stuck his hand up high. "I saw something, I think! A human's red dress turned blue. In the first town we stopped in."

"Damn! So it's… already out there? Is it spreading? Or is it everywhere?" Undyne asked. She rubbed her head and growled. "Shit, I don't understand any of this!"

Gaster frowned to himself. He tapped his teeth. "It could be it radiates from the CORE, or a similar focal point. I'd have to look into it."

"Does it matter?" Sans asked. "Maybe, uh, just focus on the kids. Get them and this whole mess gets cleaned up."

"True," Gaster conceded.

"But in the meanwhile, citizens will still need help. Especially if they are shifting between being sunstarved and not," Asgore said. "I will do my best to keeping finding those in need, but I also have our guests to watch over."

"What if we just give them all walkie-talkies," Papyrus suggested. "The humans, I mean."

"Some sorta emergency needing-the-sun phone booth wouldn't be too bad either," Undyne said. "Maybe Alphys could—"

Sans flinched. "Uh. Sorry to bust in, but this… All this stuff, it's gonna be reversed. Keep that in mind, huh? And, uh, at the risk of soundin' super selfish. We need Alph on our stuff."

"That's alright," Asgore assured him. "Undyne, if you're comfortable with it, I'll take some of your soldiers and form a patrol or two. To see if we can keep a lookout for anyone in danger."

"Yeah, 'course, go ahead," Undyne said.

"And perhaps watch out for monsters with memory issues as well," Toriel suggested. "If what happened to me happens to anyone else, they will certainly be left incredibly confused, as will their families."

"Excellent idea," Asgore said with a nod. He sighed. "I… I still have such trouble understanding this, to be honest. That such a small child can ground so much. This… cannot be our world's natural state, can it?"

.

Sans's eyes darkened. Papyrus shot him a worried look, but the short skeleton smiled sideways.

"Wasn't always like this, nah," Sans said.

"Maybe it wasn't the smartest to trust all this to a tiny kid," Undyne grumbled.

"We don't have a choice," the skeleton said. "And it ain't her fault."

Gaster frowned deeply. He clenched his hands together tightly, black and white fingers interlocking. That song murmuring in the back of his mind was louder now, pressing into against temples from the inside. His eyes dropped to the floor and his soul spluttered sharply. "This is my fault. I… will do all I can, to make it right."

"Oh, Gaster." Toriel reached out, her large hands engulfing his. "Everything you've ever done has been in the service of helping our people, we know that."

"Things go wrong. Horribly wrong. I understand," Asgore said quietly, putting a comforting paw on Gaster's shoulder. "But all we can do is keep working towards a solution. You've always been good at that."

"Then…" He stood up from his seat. "I should get back to the lab."

.

Before he could take a step, his soul lit up in blue and he was given a gentle toss back into his seat. All eyes were instantly on Sans.

"Nah. Sit." Sans pointed at the TV. "It's late. Watch Paps's movie."

Gaster shook his head. "Sans, honestly, I need to—"

"You need to relax. I can hear your soul scratchin' from here."

"Wait, was that what that was?" Undyne asked, wincing. "Jeez, Doc, that's really rough."

"It is pretty bad, in fact," Papyrus said quietly.

"Forget about my bloody stupid soul. The longer we wait, the worse this gets for everyone," Gaster insisted.

"And nobody wants this crap done more than I do. But you're the one who's gotta do this next bit. With the NOCTURNE, right?" Sans said. "And the last thing we need is you rushin' in headlong while you're barely awake and gettin' taken out for who the hell knows how long again."

The old skeleton frowned, the blue falling from his soul as he leaned towards his son. "We don't have the time to waste."

"Don't have it to risk, either. Chill for an hour or two."

Gaster grabbed Sans's arm tight and lowered his voice. "Sans. We. Do. Not. Have. Time."

Sans's eyes darkened and his grin widened slightly. He stared back at him, steadfast. "You do."

.

The magic prickled, frosty between the two, and Gaster gritted his teeth, his irises flaring. Sans raised his brows. Papyrus looked between them wide-eyed, but before he could interject, Toriel got up. She cupped Sans's head and bumped her snout against his brow and then turned to Gaster. She grabbed his shoulders and smiled sympathetically.

"It's so difficult, isn't it?" she said. "I understand your urgency. Honestly." A deep melancholy shimmered in her eyes. "But, let's pause. Let me spend an hour healing you, at least."

"Oh! Yes, Gaster. We can't forget about this strange thing with your arm, can we?" Asgore said quickly. "It'd be best to at least give Tori a chance to stabilize you a tiny bit before you get going again, don't you think? I'll make you some tea in the meanwhile. I brought an awful lot of it, after all."

"I can help, too," Papyrus said quickly. He lit his hands up and grabbed his father's; the warm, golden magic coalesced in the holes in Gaster's palms. "Caring for yourself is a very important part of caring for other people, you know! And of doing good science work, too, I bet! And…" He grinned sheepishly. "I really am very happy to see you here, even if it's just for a little bit."

.

Gaster looked around him at the concerned faces, then at Papyrus, and he couldn't keep his shoulders steady. He wilted and pulled his son into a hug. Papyrus cackled and squeezed him tight, and with a glow of his soul, the mood in the room instantly lightened.

"…A-Alright." Gaster took a deep breath. "Alright." His eyes brightened. "Paps, I'm sorry, you're right. And I would love to see your film."

"Nyeh heh heh! Excellent! I think you're really going to enjoy it!" He whirled on Asgore. "Would you like to see it, too? I mean, who knows when time's going to go all wibbly-wobbly and it won't exist anymore."

"I…" Asgore looked at Toriel, and she nodded. "…Would love to stay!" He got to his feet and lightly clapped his hands together. "Alright. Let me make us some tea. And we can get started."

xXxXx

BLACKLETTER, the film Papyrus starred in, was about the adventures the eponymous hero, a rogue with masterful archery skills and a penchant for clever sabotage and thievery, but always for a good cause. It was set in the time before the barrier in a mysterious land ruled by humans, despite not having a single human actor in the movie. However, for an MTT production, the sets weren't as bad as usual and the script was a hair above average. Nonetheless, Papyrus played the part of the daring and very slightly edgy hero quite well. The actual quality of it didn't matter much, though— it was now Sans's favourite film.

.

Most of the monsters had already seen it at least twice by now, if not three times (if they hadn't fallen asleep), and it was almost three in the morning. Gaster sat sandwiched on the couch between the two massive royal monsters, transfixed by the flashy action scenes and tense stealth segments. He couldn't help it; he was swelling with pride. As promised, Toriel healed him for the entire duration of the film. It felt like it was helping, but Gaster, still couldn't get that strange melody out of his head.

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By the time the credits rolled —which quickly became redundant since Mettaton had listed himself under transparently fake company names for many behind-the-scenes jobs— Asgore had just barely dozed off on the couch. Papyrus carted the heap that was Sans away to the kitchen for more tea, and Undyne followed. Toriel brushed her hands over her eyes and shuffled up onto the arm of the couch, stretching.

"How are you feeling?" Toriel asked Gaster quietly.

"Better. Thank you," he said.

"You were smiling a lot," she said.

He chuckled. "I'm happy I stayed. It… It was important to him." His face fell. "It's… difficult, but… I can't wait until this is all over and our family is whole again. I… I'm really looking forward to getting to know them properly. And Papyrus, as well."

"He was quite young when the accident happened, isn't that right?" Toriel asked.

Gaster nodded. "Eight."

"Only eight." She sighed softly and shook her head. She winced as she tried to suppress a yawn, her snout wrinkling up like a shar-pei's .

Gaster chuckled. "Thank you for your help. Why don't you get some rest?"

"I think I might." She stifled another yawn behind her hands and then slid to her feet. She bent down to gently bump the end of her snout against Gaster's forehead. "Good night, my friend."

.

Toriel excused herself, heading upstairs. At some point nobody could quite pinpoint, a third door had appeared between the other two, where a painting of a bone usually hung. The painting was nowhere to be seen. Toriel paused in front of the mysterious door, scoffing quietly and rolling her eyes before continuing on to the final of the three.

.

Gaster stayed through the rest of the credits, then got up from the couch and gently helped the slumbering King to lay down, though the couch was too small for him and his limbs dangled onto the floor. Nonetheless, Gaster grabbed a blanket from behind the furniture and draped it over his dozing friend before turning off the TV.

.

In the silence, the song echoed in his skull, and guilt pulsed in his soul. He grimaced and headed towards the kitchen. Papyrus and Undyne chatted quietly inside, and the skeleton turned to his father with a big grin.

"So?! What'd you think?!"

"It was fantastic, a stór. I'm glad we got to see it."

"He can do that bow for real now, too," Undyne said.

"Absolutely right!" Papyrus beamed and stuck his hand in the air, calling up a bone bow from his fingers in a simple motion. "See?!"

Gaster's eyes got big. "Just like that?"

"Yes! It was surprising to me, too." He let the weapon vanish into sparkling dust again. "But! It's also incredibly cool so I'm hoping very hard that I don't forget how to do it, now that I know."

Undyne smirked. "It's kinda good to see someone gettin' something cool outta this crap, at least."

"Plus Suzy!" the skeleton said brightly. He tapped his teeth. "I hope we're still friends after this. Dad, you remember Crabapple Kid mostly, right? She'd be up for making a new small purple friend, right?"

"I… I'm sure she would," Gaster said, his soul aching. "Ah. Sorry to veer, but have you seen your brother?"

"Oh. Yes. He rolled down the stairs by accident," Papyrus said, pointing into the strange doorway beneath the very tall sink. "And he said to just leave him for a while."

"He was fine," Undyne said. "It's real weird down there, though."

.

Gaster raised his brows, and Undyne gestured towards the stairs as if inviting him to look. The skeleton took the hint and headed down through dim light, only to emerge in a room he'd never seen before. It was strangely cave-like and had an elaborate shrine to a white dog at the back of it. Sans was sitting against the wall by its side, the bone around his sockets a deep grey and his eyes half-lidded. He raised his hand to greet his father.

"Hey. Sorry for bein' a pain in the ass," he said.

Gaster shook his head. "I need you to be. Always have."

"Heh." San's eyes brightened. "Thanks for takin' the break. I know Paps was pretty thrilled."

"I'm glad I did." The old skeleton folded his arms. "I'm just worried about you."

"I know." Sans grinned sideways. "'Preciate you not callin' my bluff."

Gaster snorted and rubbed his head. "You still haven't told him, have you?"

"Nah." Sans's shoulders slumped. "…Gonna. Not yet."

.

Blowing out a quiet sigh, Gaster approached the shrine and looked up at it curiously. "So. When did this get here?"

"Sometime after we went topside, I guess," Sans said. He pointed to a little donation box in front of the white dog's portrait. "Dog's tryin' to give us the shakedown."

Gaster scoffed. "I suppose it suits the tone." He pulled a gold coin from his pocket and plunked it into the slot. A little gold shimmer glittered against his fingertips. "For luck. Has Papyrus tried placing that red orb here?"

"Not that I know of," Sans said. "How's the arm?"

"Well. I'm sure I'll find this humerus once this is all over and done with, but at the moment…" Gaster smiled sideways.

Sans snickered. He tilted his head. "Still can't cast?"

.

Though he couldn't help but flinch, Gaster held out his dark arm. It was still bizarre to look at. He rolled his fingers and tried to call up a simple light. He felt something, but the magic didn't flow from his fingertips. He frowned, drumming his foot.

"What's that?" Sans asked.

"What's what?"

"That song you were hummin' just now."

Gaster stared back at him blankly. "Was I…?" He curled his fingers and pressed them against his chin as he frowned deeply, his confusion palpable. "That's odd."

"Wuh-oh," Sans said jokingly. "Don't lose it on me."

"Oh, it's far too late for that," the old skeleton joked with the faintest of warbles in his voice. He huffed and rubbed the back of his skull. "I'm not sure what to make of it, to be honest."

"It ain't doin' sound right," Sans said. "Kinda like the black in Suzy's soul. But she could definitely use it."

"So maybe it just takes more adjusting." Gaster folded his arms. "I should really get back to work."

"Never learn, huh?"

"If I recall, you're no better."

Sans snickered. "Welp. Got me there. Bein' stuck in a loop in kinda my M.O."

Gaster flinched. He paused to consider his words carefully. "I… know you've been through the unimaginable. And what you've done, it's… I know you put everything before yourself, but this is no way for you to live."

"Well I got news for ya—"

"Sans."

The short skeleton twirled his index fingers around each other and grinned wide. "You and me, we're an ouroboros of hypocrisy."

Gaster sighed heavily. He rubbed his temples. "I know. Fine. Forget that. Can we at least discuss next steps?"

"Sure." Sans patted the floor beside him. "Whatcha have in mind?"

.

The strange shrine room was chilly, much more noticeable while sitting on the floor. Gaster propped his back up against the wall. There was a soft barking song coming from somewhere that he hadn't noticed before. He chuckled.

"This whole thing is bloody strange, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Sans said.

"So, what I figure… If I can just…" Gaster clasped his hands together. "I believe if I get the NOCTURNE going at this point, with all the work Alphys and you boys did, we should at least be able to find out where the kids went. And then if we could get them a signal, and they signal back…"

"Sucks that you couldn't actually see it when you grabbed 'er, huh?" Sans said. "You're, uh, sure it was real, right?"

"I'm leaning on ninety-percent sure," he said. "Plus. Whenever I've seen her in a dream, she's acted surprised, and I know for certain it's not a memory. I do believe it's a real connection."

"…Hm. Yeah. Guess that makes sense," Sans said. "No more where you're in the head of some hateful freak, right?"

"It hasn't happened again," Gaster said. "But, I admit, if it'd allow me to speak to her directly, I'd gladly take it over nothing." He shook his head. "I still can't even imagine what lead her to a version of the world where she would have to confront… me, like that. Where I would…" He grimaced. "It's shattering."

"I know." Sans rested an arm across his knee. His gaze was suddenly far away. His expression twisted downwards for a moment before he chuckled weakly at himself. "Shit. I miss her."

.

If guilt had a sound, the shrine would have been a cacophonous mess. Gaster grimaced and got to his feet.

"I really should get to the lab," he said.

"Couldn't wait 'til mornin'?" Sans asked.

"I want… I need to work. I have to help you," he insisted. He heard the sound of feet on the steps and lowered his voice. "I know your point about recuperation is valid, but if I… if I cannot help my own son, what do I do? What good am I?"

"CEASE IMMEDIATELY!" Papyrus's eyes flashed in the shadows of the steps and his posture was rigid and alert like a dog at the sound of a whistle. He raced to his father's side, grabbed his shoulders and spun him around to stare defiantly into his eyes. "Nyooo, no no no, you do NOT talk about yourself like that!"

"P-Papyrus?" Gaster croaked.

"I don't know where I've heard someone say that before but I know that I have and I will say to you what I'm sure I've said before!" He crushed his father into a hug. "It makes no sense and how could you actually think any of that?! You're a million percent wrong and you're good for a lot! So don't you dare. Alright?!"

The old skeleton's eyes flared with colour and he cast a nervous look at Sans. His son merely grinned and shrugged. Gaster sighed and hugged Papyrus as well.

"I'm going to try, Paps," he said quietly.

"If it's too hard, just believe in me, who believes in you!" Papyrus said. He pulled back and jabbed his thumb into his own chest, winking. "I will believe in you non-stopped!"

Gaster cracked a tired smile. He nodded. "I will do my best. Thank you."

.

"Hey, bro." Sans pointed at the dog shrine. "Don't mean to, uh, terrier you guys apart, but dad had the bright idea to plunk that red thing down here. Who knows, maybe some mystical dogs are down to play ball. Or, uh…" He winked. "Fetch, more like."

"Brother. You're horrendous," Papyrus said with a starkly unamused face.

Sans laughed loudly, and despite what he'd said, Papyrus pulled the shiny orb from his pocket. He looked at the shrine with a suspicious squint and placed the artefact down in front of the portrait of a white dog. Light from nowhere shimmered across it and it let out a soft tinkling sound, then it remained still. Papyrus huffed out a sigh, and his brow instantly furrowed. He lifted his shirt and pulled an identical white dog from his ribcage once again.

"Nyeh! I can NOT believe you can't find a less annoying place to appear in!" he protested.

The dog licked his face and Papyrus grumbled quietly. His father couldn't conceal the shock from his face and Sans burst out laughing again. He held out his arms and Papyrus gladly deposited the dog into them.

"What d'ya think, is it a dud, bud?" he asked.

The dog licked him right on the mouth.

.

Papyrus sighed heavily. "SIGH." He reached for the orb again. As soon as his fingers grazed it, it shot a beam of gold light into his forehead and his bones flashed over the same colour for a split second. He reeled back, blinking with shock. "NYEH, what was that?!"

"Papyrus!" Gaster grabbed his shoulder. "What—?!"

"Sheesh, weird, you okay, bro?" Sans asked.

"Hm? Oh! Yes, completely fine, it was just strange is all." Papyrus shook his head and pointed at the little dog Sans held. "Dog! You're strange. That is all." He jerked his thumb back over his shoulder. "I'm going to go help Undyne set up the garage as her just-for-now house. Dad, you aren't heading out right this second, are you?"

Gaster looked at Sans, who shook his head. The dog also shook its head. The old skeleton sighed quietly.

"I'll rest until it's properly morning, at least."

"Perfect!" Papyrus said bright. He seized his hand. "Come with me! I'll get you settled, too!"

Gaster didn't resist as Papyrus dragged him up the stairs. Sans held the dog's paw up and waved with it, and his father couldn't help a snort of amusement.

.

Sans stayed where he was for a while, squeezing the dog's cheeks and thinking about nothing. When he got up, he left the pup with a magic bone to gnaw on and headed upstairs, where the King was snoring on their couch. He checked the clock. Almost five in the morning. He mostly hated that.

.

He trudged upstairs, pausing at the sigh of mysterious door number two. He opened it. It was a narrow room with the same zigzag carpet as outside, though in orange and yellow instead of blue and purple. The walls were covered in blue wallpaper with a faint pattern of bones on it. There was a small cot with squishy patchwork blankets on it against one wall and another dog shrine overseeing the room from its farthest point. This one was much smaller than the one in the basement. Two candles that smelled like soup were lit on either side of the centrepiece: a chubby, triangle-eared dog holding a crescent moon in its front paws. Sans chuckled and rolled his eyes, backing out and telling himself he'd let someone else deal with it.

.

He headed for Toriel's room and knocked lightly on the door. When he heard her voice say something in reply, he wandered on in. She was at her desk, cheek slumped onto her fist as she stared, glassy-eyed, at the journal laying before her.

"Hello, hun," she said, her voice low and drowsy. "Doing alright?"

"Was here to ask you that," he said.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I've certainly been better, but I feel fine now, if not a bit… is existential the right word. Probably, hm?"

"Can, uh…? Can I ask what it was like?"

Toriel sat back in her seat, brushing her ears from where they flopped forward. "It was… normal. For a while. Seeing you, when I did not remember, it was truly like meeting you for the first time. When my memories returned, it was almost like waking from a dream. Now, though, that time in my life is a little more refreshed in my thoughts, if that makes sense."

"So it's not… awful," Sans said.

She shot him a warm smile. "No, hun, it's not. Please don't worry so much."

He shrugged and grinned sideways. "You know me, regular ol' ball of anxiety."

Toriel snickered. "Oh stop. Go to bed." She leaned back in over her journal, scrawling a few more things with in her measured, flowing handwriting. "Oh. Check on Suzy for me, would you?"

"Gotta walk all the way over there, huh?" he said.

"Yes, you do."

.

Sans did just that, slipping silently into Papyrus's room. Alphys was snoring softly in the bed on the right side of the room. She'd rolled awkwardly at some point and lost her blanket. Sans grabbed it and pulled it up over her shoulders— wasn't the first time, for sure. Papyrus's race car bed cradled the crocodaur. Sans wandered over to check on her, though fragments of shattered time speckled his vision very suddenly. He was too tired to care much.

.

Suzy had her claws clenched tight into her blanket, her chompers bared in a grimace. Sans lit his hand with a cooling blue and set it against the kid's forehead. She slumped and settled, her weight pressing into the mattress. Just as he was about to leave, Suzy's eyes shot open, her irises blazing with purple light. She reached out for him and snatched his hand.

"I-I'm real right?" she asked breathlessly. "I'm here? I d-didn't disappear, right?"

"You're alright," Sans assured her. He squeezed her fingers. "See? You're right there. Chill. S'too early, huh? Go back to sleep."

"Right. Right, sure," she said quietly. The light faded from her eyes She grabbed her blanket and, pouting, pulled it up over her head like a hood as she rolled over onto her side. "I'm here. I'm real. Okay."

.

Sans took a step back, pausing as he felt something fluffy against his leg. It was the white dog. He plucked it up and plopped it in the bed beside Suzy. It let out a big yawn and did a big stretch and then curled up with the kid, a soft, fuzzy marshmallow. Her fingers clenched into its fur.

.

Sans rubbed the back of his skull. He couldn't help a heavy blink. He wondered if that mini shrine room was taken. He wondered if it might vanish with him inside it; what might happen. He was too tired to deal with that. Before he knew it, he crashed facedown onto the cot, unable to summon the will to do much else as he ran Papyrus's film over in his head, imbedding the dialogue into his memory. Even if the film itself might not stick around past a reset, at least it would make a good story to tell those kids. Or, since it was Mettaton's, at least a mediocre story with a flashy climax. Very on brand.

xXxXx

After Alphys was fully brought up to speed over breakfast, she had her own news to share. First thing, the check-in app was done already. She had everyone download it to their phones, hoping that it would help keep track of them all. She also added a small section to include noticed shifts, even though it wasn't something she could experience. They already had their first entry, though. The couch was green again, but was a bright lime, as if its saturation had been cranked way up. It didn't match the decor at all.

.

The next thing Alphys brought to the breakfast table was the completed song of the universe. With the addition of Asriel's song from the music box woven into it, the lizard was confident the melody was right. She'd cross-checked it with the red line about a dozen times. She played it for everyone and Gaster had to stop himself from crying.

.

Finally, the pieces of Sans's time machine were repaired. As Gaster and Papyrus packed things to bring to the lab, Sans and Alphys (bundled up in a thick, wooly sweater and Papyrus's scarf) went into the garage to begin the theoretically simple repairs.

.

Papyrus and Undyne had really done a good job of fixing up the place. There was an old carpet spread across the floor to keep feet from freezing, and a mattress set up in the corner with thick blankets and a stack of pillows. Some of Undyne's clothes were piled up in a box, and from the stuff that was there, it looked like she'd managed to salvage her guitar, some boxes of tea, and a big, yellow road sign with a shark on it. The latter was stuck up on the wall beside a pirate flag. A tattered training dummy stood stoically in the corner beside a yellow beach chair, and several books from inside the house were propped up near the foot of the mattress. A striped curtain to divide the little living area from the time machine hung by bones from the ceiling.

.

"S-So… So her whole house is… gone?" Alphys asked worriedly as her eyes darted around the garage. "I'm glad y-you guys, um, had this extra space."

"Yeah, turns out it's been useful," Sans said. "And, uh. The whole thing's on fire, last I heard."

"That's so scary," she said quietly. "I can't imagine…" She sighed heavily. "I'm m-missing a lot, huh? I'm… I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first. Did I say that already? I-I hope so."

"Don't sweat it, Alph."

Alphys reached for her phone to grab the machine parts. "A-And I still can't believe the old Queen lives in y-your house and A-Asgore's so casual about it!" Her cheeks flushed. "Do, um…? Do you think th-they're going to get back together?"

"Uh. Probably not," Sans said.

"Ah." She pouted for just a moment before kneeling down in front of the time machine. "O-Okay, do you mind if we…?"

.

Sans plunked himself on the floor beside her. He saw a scrap of paper under the pod and pulled it out. There was Alphys's note, just like she'd said, explaining that she'd taken broken parts to the lab. He put it aside and held out his hand. She passed him the first of the parts she'd repaired— a small plate with some circuitry soldered onto the backside. It belonged just inside the hatch. Sans reattached it, and she handed him the next part.

"Y'know, I was so outta it, I didn't even think to check on this junk," he said as he tinkered.

"I f-figured. You've had a l-lot going on," Alphys said. She leaned in to watch as he carefully rewired a switch that had snapped. "Um. When… When this is d-done, would i-it be okay if I, um, studied this thing?"

"Go ahead," he said.

"But, um, can I still, even if I f-forget?" she asked hopefully.

Sans nodded and she grinned wide. He snickered.

"Hopefully I don't blow it up," he said.

"Yeeeeeah, that w-would be bad." She chuckled and sat back, looking at the pod-like machine in awe. "I still c-can't believe you built an actual t-time machine in your g-garage. It was… t-to find Gaster, right?"

"Yup, pretty much," Sans said.

"Okay." Alphys nodded to herself. "T-Too bad it's so, um… small? And these parts…?"

"CORE leftovers and literal garbage, mostly," Sans said. He finished with the switch and she passed him another bit. "Hey. 'Preciate you doin' this."

"Ah! I-It was nothing," she assured him quickly. "The, um, red line stuff was a l-lot of waiting for things to render after a certain point, t-to be honest, so I had a lot of free time." She pointed to the interior of the machine. "Sh-Should we, um, slot some crystals in, give it a test? I-I mean, just to make sure it turns on, I d-don't think we should be going anywhere."

Sans nodded. "Yeah. Better now than havin' it blow up when I actually need it, right?" He winked.

.

He got to his feet and popped his back, then leaned into the pod. He slid the three remaining power crystals he had into the appropriate sockets and waved at Alphys to back up. She stumbled to her feet and darted across the room. Sans flicked a red switch inside and hit a chord on the keyboard controls. The panels inside lit up and the machine let out a low, melodic hum. After a few seconds, though, the metal rattled and the crystals began to glow and flicker.

"Wuh-oh," Sans said.

"D-DON'T WUH-OH!" Alphys cried.

The skeleton shielded his eyes with his hand just in time for a big, bright flash to shine out of the inner compartment. He quickly powered the time machine down and let out a tired sigh. He pulled the crystals out and passed them to Alphys as she hurried up to him again.

.

"Wh-What happened?!" she asked shrilly.

"Not sure." He got into the pod and reached under the console. "Guess somethin' inside got dislodged on the last trip, too." He unlatched part of the panel around the middle and flipped it up to reveal a mess of wires, crystal tubes, and swirling magics trapped in clear capsules.

One of the capsules in a line of five was leaking iridescent drips and some wires below it were burned almost all the way through.

"Ah. That'd do it." Sans reached in to unscrew it from the metal.

"Here, l-let me just…" Alphys leaned in around him to take a photo of the contraption's innards. "That shouldn't b-be too bad to fix, I'm pretty sure I h-have more of those you can take."

"Cool." He dislodged the broken capsule and squinted at it. "Hm. Maybe replace all of these with somethin' stronger, too."

"Troubleshooting never ends, huh?" she said with a smile.

He laughed. "Got that right."

.

Alphys looked at the crystals she held and, cautiously, gave one a nip with her blunt front teeth. She jolted like she'd received a static zap, then started laughing. "Your b-brother was right!" She held up the crystal. "Fifty-eight percent charge!"

"Eesh, big overload. Good to know," Sans said. He rubbed his skull. "Alright. Hope we don't gotta go diggin' in the dump."

"Hopefully," Alphys agreed.

.

After throwing a tarp and a big "NO TOUCHA" sign over the time machine, Alphys and Sans met up with the other skeletons back inside the house. They were ready to go, except Gaster couldn't find his glasses. However, he didn't seem to actually need his glasses, which was odd. They headed out, joined by a mysteriously appearing white dog, and made their way to the lab, armed with Toriel's journal and a ton of books.

.

The lab was tidied up from the overwhelming mess it was the last time they were there. A flowery note and a gift basket was left on Alphys's desk chair. Apparently, coming in to look for extra hard drives, Mettaton had decided it was a good idea to try to try to boost the rocket skates in his boots himself with one of the modification tools Alphys had left out upstairs, to disastrous consequences. He'd sent a "personal assistant" over to clean up while they were gone, which meant that it was fairly probable that the cat guy that worked at the MTT Burger Emporium had not had a very fun night.

.

The first part of their endeavour was simple enough. They could access a program into the NOCTURNE's search from the main room and plug the melody and red line straight into it. Though that key in the CORE had to be run from down there, the program chirped happily and gave them an easy positive response, accepting the melody as a query with no trouble at all.

.

The next part, though, was more difficult. They had to enter the lowest CORE chamber. It wasn't safe for Alphys to go into, especially with the strange nature of what they'd be doing. She set up in a booth a floor above where, with a few platform rotations and dragging some of her monitor screens down with her, she could access some of the controls along with see what was going on. She synced her laptop to Gaster's directly. She'd be able to get all the data she needed from there, and would be recording the entire thing.

.

Sans certainly wasn't eager to enter that blazing hot CORE cavern again, but Gaster was sturdy and Papyrus was bouncing with anticipation. The youngest of the skeletons had no clue about the last time they were there and what had happened to their sister. Small mercies, maybe, Sans thought.

.

Sans dragged his feet when the elevator they rode in finally clunked to the ground. Gaster pushed back the heavy metal doors to the CORE's inner cavern, which greeted them with a blast of heat and intense orange light. The massive stream of magic energy swirling up through stone inside the chamber was calmer than the last time Gaster was there, its iridescence painting the walls like ripples of light off water. A bright surge of red spiked through it, but it stayed contained to the pillar. Papyrus gasped loudly and clapped his hands against his face.

"Oh. My. GOD. This is amazing!" he said, throwing his hands in the air. "Brother, are you seeing this?!"

"Yup." Sans wished he could at least feign enthusiasm, but his nerves were getting the better of him and the whole place was scrambling his vision into strange, colourful chunks of light. "You wanna wait here, though?"

"What?! Why?!

"So if it blows, you don't melt."

"What about you?!"

Sans winked. "I'm a weird red-oozin' freak, remember? I'll be fine."

"Nyeh! That's…!" Papyrus rubbed his chin. "A valid reason, I suppose. I would like to help as much as I can, though! Dad, what do you think, how can the great Papyrus be of the most use to you?"

Gaster frowned thoughtfully. "Well… Maybe, listen to the CORE itself? Look out for any shifts in its resonance. Give a shout if you hear something very odd."

"Okay!" He saluted and positioned himself right at the threshold of the heavy, metal doors. "Can do!"

.

Sans stuck his thumbs up. Gaster nodded approvingly and headed straight for the console farther into the chamber. He opened it up to reveal the stark crimson loop of the key that was the NOCTURNE. As Gaster drew a string of red out from it to attach to his computer, a swirl of ambient magic began to glow in the holes in his palms. Sans shoved his hands into his pockets.

"God, I hope this works," he muttered under his breath.

The computer screen lit up with a black diagram, graph-like, with the red line flowing like a ribbon in the wind. Equations representing the melody traced along its edge. Gaster split the windows to show the alternate program Toriel had helped him inject into the system. He set it to run, and Sans leaned in over his shoulder to look.

.

The red line and numbers tracing it merged together. Gaster nodded to himself.

"HOW'S IT GOING OVER THERE?!" Papyrus called.

"It just started," Sans replied.

"SO?!"

Sans chuckled. "Good, bro."

"WELL, GOOD THEN!"

"So far," Gaster said quietly. He pressed his fingers too hard into the side of the computer, the casing compressing every so slightly. "Bloody hell."

The NOCTURNE began to process, a big, grey loading bar running along the top of the screen. The tracking program's window popped up a green button with a thumbs up inside it. Gaster let out a sigh of relief. The red line began to map itself out, but then quickly spread to overcome its entire screen.

"Wh…? Oh. Shit," Sans said.

"Hang on. One moment," Gaster said. He pointed out the little dots of equations still running beneath where it had been. "Asriel. There."

Sans's eyes brightened. "Oh yeah?"

Gaster clicked on it, bringing up a parameter box and ordering the program to focus hardest on that signature. The loading bar turned into a spiral. Gaster let out a tense breath and began to hum softly as he drummed his fingers on the computer.

.

It took a few moments for the spiral to unravel. It now read: Est. Time: 1000y.

"A thousand…?" Sans caught the words as the number began to go up, ten thousand, a million, ten million. "Ten. Million."

"Years," Gaster said miserably as the number still climbed astronomically. "Ah, shatter me, that is… impossible."

"So what now?" Sans said.

The old skeleton shook his head. "It's… It's wrong. It's searching every facet all at once. But we know it begins here." He pointed to the pinprick that began Asriel's path. "If I could just redirect it right along there…"

"Does that take a new comp?" Sans asked.

"It… does." Gaster sighed. "Sans, I'm so sorry."

"IS IT GOING POORLY?" Papyrus shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING POORLY! DON'T WORRY, I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

.

Sans folded his arms. He tapped his foot. There had to be something else. "What…? What if I, like… stuck my hand into the CORE or somethin'?"

"Out of the question."

"Maybe one of those save stars, then?" Sans asked. "We just need… somethin' that can shove it in the right direction out there, right?"

"Bending its energy correctly…" Gaster's eyes lit up. "I will."

"Hey. No. Wait. You almost bit it last time," Sans said swiftly. "And every time, actually, That's nuts."

"I am the only one who has any chance of doing such a thing, though," he said with a frown.

A text popped up on Gaster's computer screen with a cartoon icon of Alphys's face beside a big, bold message that read, "DON'T YOU DARE!" The old skeleton sighed. He closed the laptop.

"We don't have millions of years, obviously." He grabbed Sans's soul in blue magic with his left hand and lifted him off his feet.

"Wait," Sans said incredulously. "Oh, no you d—"

"I'm sorry." He tossed Sans swiftly to his brother, bowling them both over, and used his magic to slam the doors closed after them. He took a deep breath. "Told myself I wouldn't, and yet… Heh. Idiot."

.

Magic shining at his fingertips, Gaster carefully sliced the world with his off-hand, unveiling a void of sheer black behind it. He took a deep breath and plunged his left arm into it. The bones froze instantly, but he could feel the vibrations of the NOCTURNE against his fingertips as its energy oozed out into the space between. That song seared inside his skull began to thrum. He scrunched his eyes shut and reached out with red and black, trying to call the searching melody to him.

.

It didn't work. Nausea hit him, but before he could even reel back, goo of the void splurted out, twisting around his bones like an icy tar. Gaster yelped and dug his heels in, but it was like fighting a massive magnet. He dragged back, attempting to detach the arm but the pitch liquid gave him no control of what it touched. It heaved him in to his shoulder and seeped up his neck.

"Bloody hell, I c-can't…" He could hardly speak for the nausea, and his vision blurred as the goo began to leak from within his own head. That song pounded in his skull. He spluttered and tried to call up bones around him as a buffer, but they were chaotic black spears, jabbing out all over the chamber.

A massive slam jarred him and he turned, barely able to see two skeleton blasters smashing the heavy metal doors off their hinges, and Papyrus start to sprint for him, dodging between the obsidian bone shards.

"Don't! Do not touch it, don'!—!" Gaster's words were stolen from him as the ooze from the tear seeped over much of his face, plunging one eye into the void where all it could could see was darkness. Terror gripped him, but the ice cold was draining him of the energy to fight it. All he could hear was that song, getting louder and louder, overwhelming everything.

.

Papyrus seized his father around the chest and pulled back as hard as he could. "Come oooooon, no you dooooon't, we're not getting sucked into a nightmare star today, no we are not!"

Sans rushed to join him. "You idiot," he growled. He grasped Gaster's soul as hard as he could in blue and tried to pull, but even that winded him. "Paps, y-you got 'im?!"

"Yes I doooo, but…! Oof!" He took a deep breath, bracing his boots against the ground. He lit up with amber and took one step back.

Though Gaster was still stuck, from the angle he was at, Sans could see the ooze recede around his brother's hands. His eyes went wide.

"Paps! Your magic's screwin' with it, do a big burst!" he called.

"Oh! Can do!" Papyrus scrunched his eyes shut and his magic warmed the air around him with golden light. A spot in the centre of his forehead flashed and a bright, effervescent aura like honied champaign burst from his soul in a wide, smooth bubble.

.

Almost as soon as it had come, the goo from the void wiped away and Gaster lurched back, gasping, his eyes beaming with light. It still had his arm, and he reached in with the blackened one as well. Papyrus yelped and dragged him back, but now both of the old skeleton's limbs were elbow deep in the black star.

"Noooo, no no no, we just got you out of there!" he yelped. "Dad?!"

Gaster didn't reply, but his soul began to shriek, some strange, disjoined tune. Papyrus winced and held him as tight as he could.

"What the heck is happening?!" Papyrus demanded. "Dad, why are you not answering?! Helllooo, it's me, your cool son Papyrus!"

Sans's mind rushed, but that song… It wasn't his hum, but it was a disturbing mess in a similar way. Even so, there was something familiar about. Sans's eyes went wide.

"Oh shit." He got closer as quick as he could, clambering around the black spikes Gaster had made. "Hey! Numbskull! Tune to F sharp major and D sharp minor, then on four go to G major and E minor, got it?! Then compensate!"

"What the heck, brother?" Papyrus demanded.

"He kept hummin' this. But it's off key now," Sans explained quickly. "C'mon, old man. You got it."

.

Papyrus frowned. He lit his soul up bright and, though he didn't know the tune, he tried to gently guide his father's notes back to an even place. After a moment more of chaos, the bizarre song Gaster's soul played became smooth and melodic, though the tone was dark, it was almost lullaby-like. He carefully slipped his left arm out of the void and something grey and shimmery cast itself across the right one.

.

Gaster let out a deep breath and blinked, his eyes flitting back into focus. The sharp bones around him shattered into obsidian glitter and he pulled his dark arm from the void. The aura that coated it slipped off and floated in a strange, greyscale bubble before him. He turned to look back at his sons and grasped Papyrus tight in a hug.

"I'm so sorry," he croaked.

"Yeah, you better be," Sans said, rubbing his temples, his bones rattling faintly. "Holy shit, that was stupid."

"I know. I know."

"Stupidest shit I ever seen in my life."

"Nyooo, I'm just glad you're okay," Papyrus said. "But yes, that was monumentally dangerous, dad! Why did you do that?!"

"I… I didn't see another way, but…!" He pulled back and looked at his dark arm with a grin spreading. "I think I have it."

"Holy shit," Sans said under his breath.

"Sans." Gaster looked down sympathetically. "It's alright. Get it out."

"Okay." Sans counted on his fingers. "One, you're an idiot. Two, I can't believe you'd be so damn stupid. Three, you're an ass. Four, never do that shit again. And five." He sighed. "You're my dad and I love ya, so don't friggin' die again or I'm gonna be actually pissed."

"And he's almost never actually pissed," Papyrus said with a solemn nod. "So you better not."

.

Gaster smiled fondly. He began to laugh quietly. He reached out and carefully sealed the rip he'd made back up, and then popped the grey bubble with his fingertip. "I will accept this judgement. And I will do my best." He held out his dark arm. "Thanks to you two, I understand what to do now."

"Nyeh? You, um… You do?" Papyrus asked.

The old skeleton nodded. Just as he opened his mouth, Alphys came shrieking down the hallway, stumbling to a stop at the busted threshold, her arms laden with healing foods.

"GASTER!" she yelled. "OVER HERE, RIGHT NOW, TH-THAT WAS N-NOWHERE NEAR N-N-NORMAL!"

"Ah! Alphys! Perfect timing," he said. "Do you have any way to do a mountain-wide search for the soul type with the unusual black in it?"

"Uh. Umm. I… I-I guess I c-could modify Mettaton's broadcast blaster, why?" she asked, then shook her head swiftly. "Just g-get out of there, will you?!"

.

Sans raised his brow. "We got Suz at the house. What're you thinkin'?"

"That spell… The one in my head," he said. "Once it was right, it… protected me. And these dark bones, they… allowed for something out there. I think we can change the flow of the NOCTURNE from the outside. But I am not quite strong enough. I can't do it on my own. But if others with that ability channeled into me…"

Papyrus eyes bugged out. His face lit right up and he clasped his hands together, beaming. "Oh! That's excellent! That's going to be so good for Suzy, you don't even know! I'll go get—!"

"Waaait! W-Wait. Wait wait. Stop. A-All of you," Alphys said. She frowned and pointed at the ground at her side. "Out here. N-Now. Y-You guys are g-gonna e-eat this st-stuff and I'm running t-tests on all three of you b-before you do anything!" She pouted, her eyes glossy, and she puffed up, trying to convey a sense of authority despite her arms laden with packages of cake slices. "D-Doctor's orders."

Gaster smiled sideways. Sans grinned and shrugged.

"C'mon, you heard the doc," he said. "Free cake."

Papyrus shook his head. "Un. Be. Lievable." He strode ahead of them, taking all of the cakes out of Alphys's arms. "Here, that looks like quite a load."

.

Gaster turned and closed up the cover over the NOCTURNE. He also picked up his computer and told it to cancel the operation before closing the lid.

"So. Trauma breakdown now or later?" Sans asked.

"I'm alright," Gaster said. "It… was horrifying, absolutely, but I mostly blacked out."

"Oh. Lucky," Sans said.

The old skeleton sighed, his brow bending with sympathy. "Sans. I am… so sorry I scared you. I didn't expect for that to happen."

"And you wouldda been less bad off if you hadn't chucked me," Sans said, folding his arms.

"You're right. I won't be chucking in the future," he said. "But… Aside from that." His gaze drifted to Papyrus as he and the little lizard headed off towards the elevator. "What on earth did Papyrus do?"

"Somethin'." Sans tapped the middle of his own forehead. "Right where that dog thing hit him."

"Huh." Gaster cracked a smile. He shrugged. "I guess the payout for the good luck was pretty quick, wasn't it?"

"Pfff." Sans elbowed him in the side. "Get outta here, y'old weirdo. "

.

Gaster laughed. He patted Sans affectionately on the shoulder. Sans was still more than rattled, but he let his father walk on ahead. He turned and gave the CORE's magic pillar a cautious look. It sparked a little red, but nothing more. Sans sighed heavily and rubbed his hand over his skull. The heat was getting to him. He followed the others, kicking small stones on the way out.