Chapter 32: The Clearing

"Wow, I can't believe that believe that you have your own private training grounds!" Undyne exclaimed.

We had just arrived at the Clearing. I remembered it well, a flat dirt plain, surrounded by rocks and plant life, about 100 yards in diameter. On top of practicing magic, I would spend time with friends out here, having fun. I remembered the times we'd dance along to Blooky's music.

"The Clearing doesn't belong to me, it's just close to my home," Gaster corrected. "However, it is just as secluded as my home, so in a sense, I suppose it is private."

Papyrus and Sans were already waiting for us, but while Papyrus was fully awake, and very much brimming with energy, Sans was already napping.

"YOU HAVE ARRIVED!" Papyrus exclaimed. "ARE WE READY FOR SPARRING?"

"Heck, yeah," Undyne replied excitedly. "You should told me about this place before."

"BUT YOU HAVE THE ROYAL GUARD'S TRAINING GROUNDS..."

"Well, I guess, but we could've had some one-on-one sparring here!"

"GOOD POINT."

"This is certainly a good spot to practice magic," Gaster spoke up. "This is where I taught Sans and Papyrus on our form of magic, and where my father taught me. Chara also practiced here."

"I'll be honest, it's hard to believe Sans does any kind of training," Undyne remarked, looking over at Sans.

"hey, cut me some slack," the skeleton replied. I guess he wasn't as asleep as I thought.

"YET, WE ARRIVE AND YOU GO RIGHT BACK TO SLEEP!" Papyrus countered.

"Well, perhaps he can watch Frisk," I said. "We should do some warm-ups before I help her."

"I SUPPOSE THAT WORKS," Papyrus agreed.

So, Frisk, along with Toby, ran over, and sat down by Sans. Well, the dog hopped right into the skeleton's lap, giving Sans a hefty grunt.

Gaster then spoke up. "I understand that you don't have much faith in Sans's abilities, due to his lack of ambition. But I'd ask that you do indeed 'give him some slack'. Keep in mind what we discussed yesterday."

"Fair..." Undyne replied. "I still can't imagine what that's like."

"It is difficult, to say the least. But besides that, I should also let you know that Sans is actually quite skilled in magic, a very powerful mage. I taught him well."

"I MUST ADMIT, SANS IS EXCEPTIONALLY SKILLED. HE'S EVEN MASTERED MY DAD'S 'GASTER BLASTER', FAR BETTER THAN I HAVE," Papyrus admitted.

"don't forget about my shortcuts," Sans called out.

"Wait, hang on, Papyrus, I haven't seen you use Blasters," I noted.

"BECAUSE YOUR DOG STOLE IT!"

"Wait, it was your 'Special Attack'? I haven't found them that hard to use to consider them a special attack."

"Papyrus has struggled to balance the power output," Gaster explained. "Although, there is nothing wrong with his use of Blasters."

"I mean, that's true. But on a different note, I must say, I am surprised you're still calling them 'Gaster Blasters'."

Gaster just sighed.

"It does sound a bit on the nose," Undyne remarked.

"No, it was Chara and her friends at the time that named them," Gaster explained. "You see, Chara always had a love for those word plays, similar to Sans. It's a wonder they were so alike, considering they hadn't met until recently. Although Chara is more sparing with her jokes."

I smiled smugly at that.

"So... what are these 'Gaster Blasters'?" Undyne asked.

"I used them against you during our fight," I explained, summoning my own skull blasters. "They channel Soul energy into an attack. Although, I can channel my fire magic through them, as well. Though, I can only use multiple types of magic like this because I am human."

"Nonsense, monsters can learn more types of magic than their primary type," Gaster explained. "It's just more challenging."

"So... can I learn how to use a Gaster Blaster?"

"No," Gaster replied flatly. "They require discipline. Especially since the Blasters themselves are alive, to a certain degree, something Chara actually showed me. And no offense, but I don't think you're responsible enough."

"Dang. I thought would be cool."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're more than strong enough without a Gaster Blaster, trust me," I replied.

"Thanks."

"SO, ARE WE ALMOST READY FOR OUR SPARRING MATCH?" Papyrus asked, as he began to do some warm-up stretches.

"Yeah. So, how are we doing this?" I asked.

"Well, I'm thinking... that I want a rematch," Undyne exclaimed.

"With me, right?"

"Both of you."

"Both...?"

"You... and Gaster."

"Why?"

"You said that you fought me in the last timeline. Well, I don't remember what happened then. H***, Chara never mentioned if I beat you or not."

"You, in fact, did not," Gaster replied.

"Well then... I want to prove myself."

"Captain, if this is about proving yourself, then keep in mind that our past battle was not a sparring match, so I'll be holding back further."

"Further?" I asked.

"yeah, dad was always saying that he never used his full power, unless he absolutely had to," Sans said.

"You're kidding, right?" Undyne replied.

"nope."

"My question is, Undyne. do you plan to take us on one-on-one?" I asked.

"Oh no, I plan to take both on AT THE SAME TIME!"

"I don't doubt your strength, but are you sure that's wise, a one-on-two?" Gaster asked.

"Of course!"

Both me and Gaster gave each other concerned looks.

"DON'T WORRY, I SHALL JOIN YOUR TEAM, UNDYNE," Papyrus spoke up. "THEN THE BALANCING WILL BE FAIR. BESIDES, I AM READY TO SPAR."

"Alright, I don't have a problem with that," Undyne said.

"Yeah, that works," I added.

"Son, show me what you've learned," Gaster said, as he summoned his bones.

And so, the sparring match commenced. The team-up of Undyne and Papyrus was surprisingly good. Undyne was basically the front-line fighter, while Papyrus was the methodical support fighter. And if either Gaster or I went onto the offensive, Papyrus would make a wall of bones to block us, and Undyne would shoot spears through the gaps.

But me and Gaster weren't slouches ourselves. Gaster was definitely more skilled than his son, or any of us, and with his blasters, he could keep Undyne away. My job pretty much became covering his back, using my flames to get to the areas where Gaster wasn't covering, and adding in my own Blasters to Gaster's array.

"Excellent, Papyrus. Despite her faults, Captain Undyne has done well to temper your skills," Gaster exclaimed. "And Undyne, while you're control and temper could use some work, your own abilities are up to par. If anything, I'd say you are worthy as a protector of monsters. But for you and my son, it's time to test your use of Soul power."

And with a snap of his fingers, I could feel the flow of magic rush through us, as I noticed that Undyne and Papyrus's Souls were glowing blue.

"Oh, okay, using Papyrus's trick," Undyne noted. "But in that case, I want you to try my own! And Chara, no switching it up for him!"

And with that, Undyne swung her spear out, and Gaster found that his Soul turned green, and he was given a spear.

"Very well, I don't need to move to fight," Gaster responded, as he summoned some bones spinning around him for more defense.

"I guess it's me and you, Paps," I called out, since I hadn't had my Soul turned green.

Undyne began her barrage of bullets at Gaster, which he effortlessly blocked with his spear shield and bones, even Undyne's sneaky yellow bullets, while he countered with with waves of bones for both Undyne and Papyrus to leap over. Meanwhile, Papyrus sent his own bones for me to hop over, while I sent back fireballs and a few shots from blasters.

The match went on for a few more minutes, until we were exhausted. Well, Gaster was fine, and Papyrus only showed a few signs of tiredness. But Undyne and I were sweating.

"Wow... you are tough. I can see where Papyrus gets it from," Undyne said. "I just wonder how strong you are when you go all out, or just how strong Sans actually is."

"I reserve my power for when I need it, and for very good reason," Gaster replied. "If I 'went all out', it could very well kill me."

"What do you mean?"

Gaster put his hands behind him. "Undyne, do you know why I spoke of Determination last night. It's because, in our first battle, I noticed that you and I have that in common. Both of us have lots of natural Determination, much more than the average monster."

"Really, cool!" Undyne exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, it is a great gift, as it empowers our magic, and increases our durability. But... it is also a terrible curse."

Suddenly, Undyne wasn't so excited. "Why...?"

Gaster pointed to his eye. "Too much Determination... can kill us. Without a Human Soul, a monster's body can't handle the kind of Determination we have. If not used carefully, we'll melt. You can see that my left eye is dipping down. A result of a great burst of Determination in my childhood, almost killing me. And this is only part of the damage I took in that moment."

"Oh..." Undyne sounded, her confidence shaken. But to my surprise, she shook it off, and exclaimed, "well, I've never had to worry about that! No melting here!"

Gaster, however, was skeptical. "Undyne, why do you wear your eyepatch?"

Interesting question. Even when we went to sleep, Undyne didn't take it off.

Undyne scoffed, saying, "oh, it's... the EYE OF SHINING JUSTICE. Yeah! Its power is too great, so I have to seal it away."

"You mean your Determination," I remarked. "Yeah, as a Determination Soul myself, I don't think that's how it works."

"W- well-" Undyme stuttered.

"You not far off Chara, but that's not the truth, is it?" Gaster continued.

Undyne sighed. "Fine. Kid, you might want to look away," she said to Frisk.

Then she pulled off her eyepatch.

Frisk immediately buried her face in Sans's jacket, while he got his dark-eyed stare. Papyrus looked horrified, and so did I.

Where Undyne's left eye should be... was an empty socket. And not like our present skeleton monsters's eyes. It was a dark, mushy hole, with bits of some... black liquid, having dripped out at one point, before drying up.

"As I suspected," Gaster said, being the only one who didn't react negatively to the reveal. "I'm sorry for causing you to reveal this rather... horrifying secret of yours, Captain, but I had to be certain."

Undyne put her eyepatch back on, before saying. "I was a kid. I got excited over something... I don't remember what. All I remember was that... eventually, my eye just... fell out. My moms took me to a healer, but they couldn't do anything for me. I was lucky it stopped with my eye, but... my moms... They thought I would die. I think it's the reason they eventually fell down."

"U-Undyne, I'm so sorry..." I said.

"That... I wasn't aware of," Gaster apologized. "I'm sorry for your loss. It seems you have experienced falling down before. If it's any consolation, I lost a close friend to falling down. I've also lost family, not to falling down, but other means: my father, and my dear wife, Sans and Papyrus's mother."

"It's all good. I just figured, I'd want to make my moms proud you know. That's why I work so hard to help the monsters."

"I see where your passion comes from. It's good that your loss hasn't held you back. However, I should return to my point from before. Determination... can be a powerful tool, but it is a dangerous tool. I urge you to practice control, Captain Undyne."

"I got it. So, do Sans and Papyrus...?"

"No, they do not share my overflow of Determination. Which is good, as I do not wish my sons to share in my curse, and they are plenty strong without it."

"i mean, yeah, but don't forget that i have your preserverance. so we both remember the timelines," Sans remarked.

"Yes... we do share in that other curse," Wingding said solemnly.

Frisk looked down, sad, but I walked up to her to cheer her up. "Frisk, I know this is hard, but this is probably Sans's first real chance to talk about this with anyone but his father. But I said it before, I'm going to get you home. In fact, I'm warmed up now, so I think it's time."

Frisk's expression perked up, as she got up excitedly.

We walked into the center of the group, so everyone could watch. Even Sans got up to get a closer look.

Gaster had pulled out a notebook. Seems we were intent on taking notes for his studies. "So, how does this work?"

"Let me think. My mom did this when I was quite young, but I know she took my Soul out," I explained. "Frisk, may I?"

Frisk stood in front of me as I knelt down. Then I pulled out her Soul.

"UM... I HAVEN'T NOTICED THIS BEFORE..." Papyrus spoke up. "BUT FRISK'S SOUL LOOKS... CRACKED."

"What do you mean?" Undyne asked. "It looks like?"

"look closer," Sans said. "it's hard to notice, but if you pay close attention..."

Undyne squinted her eyes, and she saw it. "Oh..."

"I know about this, and that's why I want to be careful," I replied.

I raised my hands, and started channeling healing magic. I figured it would be the safest magic I had to do this.

I then hovered my hand over Frisk's Soul, letting the healing magic flow directly into the Soul. I know that I would need a lot of magic to unlock Frisk's own magical abilities, but I wanted to take it slow. Healing magic couldn't directly fix damage to the Soul, as it was a representation of yourself. It couldn't fix the cracks, but it would empower the Soul.

As the green healing magic flowed in, the cracks showed more clearly. Despite this, the Soul glowed brighter, until there was a small burst of light.

Frisk stumbled back in surprise, and I moved to calm her down. "It's okay. You're fine. Do you feel that rush of new energy?"

Frisk stopped, and felt her chest. Then she nodded.

"Okay, we need to make sure this process worked," I said. "Hold out your hands, and try to focus magic into your palms." Frisk did so, and when nothing happened, I continued, "don't worry, it could take a moment. Just try to find the power in yourself."

A moment passed...

And then... a white glow appeared in Frisk's hands.

"Yeah, you got it!" Undyne exclaimed. "She did get it, right?"

"Yes, that is pure magic," I explained. "Now, she just needs to find a form of magic to use for herself."

"Awesome, so your training begins now!"

"Woah, woah, hold on. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I replied. "Learning magic can take a long time."

"But how long do we have?" Undyne asked.

"That's... a good question. I didn't think about that. Wingding, how long until Frisk's new clothes are done?"

"About three days, at most," he replied.

"SO, WHAT CAN WE TEACH HER IN THREE DAYS?" Papyrus asked.

"Basics, to start," I said. "And it has to be something Frisk can use."

"How about a barrier?" Undyne offered.

"Aren't those a bit complex? I can't even make a standard barrier."

"Yeah, but the point is for Frisk to defend herself without harming the monsters back, right? A barrier would be perfect!"

"I guess so... but I think we should start with something simpler. Like healing magic! Healing magic is common and easy to learn!"

"PERHAPS SHE CAN LEARN THE SAME AS ME!" Papyrus offered.

"You mean your bone magic and Blue magic. Probably not... she'd have to learn how to form, store, and summon her bones, and that would take too long."

"I suggest you start with healing magic, Chara," Gaster said. "Then, perhaps Undyne can attempt to teach her how to use barriers."

"Alright, then, Frisk, remember what I just did. Let me show you again," I told her, as I began to channel healing magic, the green glow appearing on my hands. "It'll be difficult to do at first. You have to imagine what you want, and try to get a feel for it. It'll be very weak at first, and it'll time and practice before it becomes second nature. But can you do this? Try to draw on the kindness in your Soul, as that is the base of healing."

Frisk nodded, and held her hands close together.

"Okay, focus, focus on thoughts of kindness and healing."

I wasn't expecting much on Frisk's first try. But if Frisk could even get the smallest of spark in the next few days...

Then Frisk surpirsed me. It took a minute, a minute and a half, maybe, but a soft green glow appeared in Frisk's hand. It wasn't very strong, but she was doing it, she was using healing magic!

"No way, that was so quick," I exclaimed. "Great job Frisk!"

Frisk beamed at me, happy to get it so quickly.

"How did she get it so quickly?" Gaster asked.

"Well, she has Determination, right?" Undyne said. "You just said that it makes our magic stronger."

"I was referring to monsters, but... that doesn't mean the same can't be true for humans," Gaster replied. "Perhaps Frisk's high amount of Determination enabled her to get in touch with her new powers far more quickly."

"But I am a Determination Soul, but it took me a month to figure out healing magic," I exclaimed.

"and it took Papyrus over half a year to figure it out," Sans replied. "and i'm not saying that to make fun of him. not everyone can do healing. i can't. g can't. but you two learned it fairly quickly."

I chuckled. "Thanks."

"I also theorize that perhaps by using healing magic to unlock her potential, it has also made her more in tune with the same magic," Gaster explained.

"I guess that makes sense. My mom used fire magic. Safely, of course," I replied.

"SO, NEXT WE MAKE SURE THAT FRISK KNOWS HOW TO USE HER NEW POWER, RIGHT?" Papyrus asked. "SHE NEED TO HEAL SOMETHING."

"Okay, but none of us have any injuries," I told him.

"WORRY NOT. I SHALL INJURE MYSELF, SO FRISK CAN HEAL ME."

Before I could say anything to stop him, a bone shot out of the ground, and smacked Paps in the face.

"PAPYRUS!" I called out, running over to him.

"Man, even I wouldn't do that," Undyne said, a bit worried. "What were you thinking?"

Papyrus hadn't hit himself too hard, but there was a nasty crack on his skull.

"Geeze, I didn't ASK or WANT you to hit yourself," I told him.

"YES, BUT NOW, FRISK CAN HEAL ME," Papyrus replied.

"I... guess your right, but next time, don't hurt yourself."

"UNDERSTOOD."

I motioned for Firks to come over. Understanding what she had to do, she rested her hands over Papyrus's head, and began to try and heal the crack.

It was slow, but the crack did seal itself back up.

"Nice job," I told Frisk.

"She is certainly a natural," Gaster noted, "but that does not mean she should get complacent. It'll still take time, lots of time, for her to master her abilities."

"Yep. Frisk, don't stop practicing, and you'll only get better."

Frisk nodded.

"This has been very informative," Gaster said. "I can't wait to use this to prepare some experiments. Until then, let's make sure that you two get as much practice as possible."

"Well, for now, let's take a break, then we can do some more sparring and magic practice for Frisk."

Everyone was in agreement there, and from there, we began to prepare for the next leg of our journey. It wouldn't be long before we made it to Asgore...


Author's Note: Part three of three of Gaster's Home arc, although this is more in the Clearing from Book 1. In fact, this chapter's title shares the same name as the first chapter in Book 1 which took place in the Clearing (I believe it was Book 1: Chapter 8).

So, let's start with Frisk's magic. That was the big thing in this chapter. Now she will start using magic. Not much, far less than Chara does, but she'll be healing herself and practicing barriers. For the most part, though, she'll still be Frisk.

The thing I wanted to discuss was Gaster's talk about Determination with Undyne. To start, the whole Undyne's eye melting out, while horrifying, is my theory / headcanon as to why Undyne wears an eye patch. It's not to look cool (though I'm sure she thinks it's cool), but to hide this horrifying imagery on her face. It's what makes the most sense to me.

But the "Eye of Shining Justice" thing? It's a reference to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and the character Zeke, a.k.a. Zeke von Genbu, a.k.a. the Zekenator. He wears an eye patch, and claims that it was to seal the "Eye of Shining Justice" (and it's totally not because he could only afford one contact lens).

Zeke reminds me of Undyne in a few ways (perhaps a mix of Undyne and Papyrus, sort of), not to mention the "Eye of Shining Justice" line and Undyne's theme, the "Spear of Justice". Justice is eccentric, apparently (I have yet to play Undertale Yellow as of the posting of this chapter, if you are wondering, but I plan to). But because of this, I decided that Undyne would make the reference, because she totally would, and it's a good cover for what's really under there.

But think about this. For Zeke, he never actually takes his eye patch off and releases the "Shining Justice" (except for an ability of his in New Game+, kind of). But with Undyne, think about the Undyne the Undying fight. Her eye patch is gone, and her empty eye is shining with light. Undyne the Undying LITERALLY has the Eye of Shining Justice, two whole years before Xenoblade 2 came out (makes you wonder if Xenoblade took some inspiration from Undertale).

Anyway, I felt that the Eye of Shining Justice fits Undyne so well!

Not much more to say. There was the sparring match, but I didn't want to write out a whole extra battle. We've all seen Papyrus and Undyne fighting in earlier chapters, and even Gaster, back in Book 1. But... I do have more planned with Gaster, just you wait.

For now, that's it. So, look forward to the start of Hotland!