Chapter Text
It was night. Gaster sat in his chair, drinking a glass of scotch. The couple cubes of ice clinked softly against their confinement, as the scientist took a sip. He was broken from his thoughts when he heard singing.
“There was a time when I was alone
Nowhere to go and no place to call home
My only friend was the man in the moon
And even sometimes he would go away too
Then one night, as I closed my eyes,
I saw a shadow flying high
He came to me with the sweetest smile
Told me he wanted to talk for awhile
He said, "Peter Pan. That's what they call me.
I promise that you'll never be lonely."
And ever since that day…”
He polished off his glass and set it down, before following the source of the voice. That's when he reached the kids’ room and noticed that the voice was female. There was only one female skeleton in this house. Lucida. He, quietly, opened the door and found her kneeling by her brothers’ shared bed. The two boys were pulled under the covers, as she sang to them with her eyes closed.
“I am a lost boy from Neverland
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan
And when we're bored we play in the woods
Always on the run from Captain Hook
"Run, run, lost boy," they say to me,
"Away from all of reality."
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free
He sprinkled me in pixie dust and told me to believe
Believe in him and believe in me
Together we will fly away in a cloud of green
To your beautiful destiny
As we soared above the town that never loved me
I realized I finally had a family
Soon enough we reached Neverland
Peacefully my feet hit the sand
And ever since that day…”
(F/c) magic streamed from her closed eye sockets, as they boys began to nod off.
“I am a lost boy from Neverland
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan
And when we're bored we play in the woods
Always on the run from Captain Hook
"Run, run, lost boy," they say to me,
"Away from all of reality."
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free
Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Wendy Darling,
Even Captain Hook,
You are my perfect story book
Neverland, I love you so,
You are now my home sweet home
Forever a lost boy at last
Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Wendy Darling,
Even Captain Hook,
You are my perfect story book
Neverland, I love you so,
You are now my home sweet home
Forever a lost boy at last
And for always I will say...
I am a lost boy from Neverland
Usually hanging out with Peter Pan
And when we're bored we play in the woods
Always on the run from Captain Hook
"Run, run, lost boy," they say to me,
"Away from all of reality."
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free
Neverland is home to lost boys like me
And lost boys like me are free”
She stood up and touched her teeth to each of her brothers’ foreheads, before moving to her own bed. When she looked up, she saw Gaster leaning on the doorframe. She looked down, her eyes disappearing, as if she'd done something wrong. When she looked up, she found him calling to her with a “come hither" motion of his hand. She hopped down from the bed and followed him into the hall, silently. He knelt on one knee.
“I don't think I've ever heard you sing before, Lucida.” She quivered slightly, her voice coming out almost inaudible.
“Please...P-Please don't h-hurt me...th-they just c-couldn’t s-sleep...please don't hurt us…” He looked a little taken off guard, before he set his hand on her shoulder.
“There is no more need to harm any of you. I have come to see that there never was. You three are only children.” She looked up and he winced a bit at the cracked scars that went from the corners of her eyes and down, like a tear streak. She rose her hand to her right one, knowing what he was staring at.
“Then…” He sighed softly.
“I was just curious how you learned to sing.”
“I...don't know. I've sung to them as long as I've been able to speak...but, most times, back then, it was only through glowing my eyes. I didn't know what you'd’ve done if you had heard.” He gave a barely noticeable smile, patting the top of her head, as he stood.
Before he could walk away, she snagged his fingers and he looked back. She looked a little worried.
“You...You look like you haven't slept in days…” He sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. He didn't need to say anything, before he was pulled down the hall. Outside his room, she stopped and let go of his hand. He opened the door and walked in with a reluctant sigh. She was right. He no longer had massive projects to work on. He needs to sleep more regularly. Right after he closed the door, he heard her slide down against it and start humming. He reopened it and tugged her inside. She gave a smile a little wider than her permanent one, her eyes closed. Gaster sat on the edge of his bed, rummaging through his nightstand. He handed her a puzzle cube.
“For Papyrus in the morning.” She nodded, as he slipped under the covers. She smiled lightly. He was letting his guard down. That's a good sign. She watched him from the other side of the room, before stepping closer. She knelt at his bedside, making him raise a brow at her. She tapped her sternum and a soft rain sound filled the room. She took a breath.
“May your dreams bring you peace in the darkness,
May you always rise over the rain.
May the light from above always lead you to love,
May you stay in the arms of the angels.
May you always be brave in the shadows
till the sun shines upon you again.”
To say Gaster was surprised was an understatement. How did she…
“Hear this prayer in my heart
and will ne'er be apart,
May you stay in the arms of the angels.
May you hear every song in the forest
and if ever you lose your own way;
Hear my voice like a breeze
whisper soft through the trees.
May you stay in the arms of the angels
May you grow up to stand as a man, love
with the pride of your family and name.
When you lay down your head
for to rest in your bed,
May you stay in the arms of the angels.”
Before he knew it, the weight of his eyes became too much and he slipped into sleep. Lucida stood up and pulled the sheets up over him, taking his glasses from his face and putting them on the nightstand, folded. He looked so peaceful when he slept. It was like most of the creases in his skull had smoothed out. It was then that she could see the dark rings that bordered his eyes. She clicked her teeth to his forehead, before leaving the room and closing the door quietly behind her. She walked off to her bed, clearly feeling her tired mind weigh on her.
The next morning came and Gaster woke, not remembering drifting off. He, then, recalled someone singing to him. Lucida. He swapped out yesterday’s clothes for a black turtleneck and some black slacks. He picked up his glasses, which he had no memory taking off, and walked down the hall. When he reached the kitchen, a sweet smell reached his nasal passages. Lucida stood on a stool in the kitchen over the stove. He looked a little worried that she might burn herself, but it dissolved when she glanced back at him.
“Oh! You're awake!” Papyrus gave me a wide smile.
“SHE TOLD US TO LET YOU SLEEP IN.” Sans glanced at him, before looking back to the book he was holding. Papyrus was fiddling with the puzzle cube Gaster had given Lucida. He looked up, beaming at him.
“THANK YOU FOR THE CUBE!” The scientist gave a light nod.
“Mr. Gaster?” He looked up to the only girl.
“Hm?” A (f/c) blush came over her face.
“Y-You like bacon, right?” He nodded, a barely noticeable smile on his teeth. She turned back to the stove and, after a few more minutes, she brought over some plates. Her magic levitated the last two by her sides, placing them in front of her seat and another in front of Sans. She set down the last two in front of her youngest brother and their caretaker.
He noticed that everyone had scrambled eggs. He, himself, had two strips of bacon, while the boys had a strip of bacon and a piece of sausage each. Lucida had bacon/sausage, as well as a rest tube near her plate. Pushing that to the back of his mind, he noticed that everyone had pancakes. He had bacon inside his. Sans had strawberries and Papyrus had chocolate chips, while she had apples. She set a bottle of ketchup near Sans.
“Sans, remember the last time you put ketchup on pancakes…” He shuddered.
“Just on the eggs this time.” She chuckled and sat with her food. She opened the tube and downed the dark black liquid. It was like ink. That was when he noticed an identical tube next to Sans’ plate.
“Sans.” He sighed.
“I know. I know. It's so bitter.”
“Well, it's medicine. It's not supposed to taste good.” He tipped it back and shivered.
“I still can't believe you made this.” He washed it down with some eggs, sighing in relief, as he held his sternum for a moment. A faint trace of worry flickered through Gaster’s eyes, before he turned his attention to his breakfast. It was wonderful.
“Where did you learn to cook so well, Lucida?” She looked up, surprise in her white, heart shaped, pupils.
“Um...I read some cookbooks and watched some tv shows. I...I don't know how I was able to apply it right, though.” He gave another nod, before digging into his food again.
Afterwards, she sent both her brothers to the couch, as she levitated all the dishes to the sink and began running the water. When she went to start washing, she found Gaster next to her with a towel. He took the clean dish from her hands and began drying it. She gave. Him a grateful look and, for the next couple minutes, they washed the dishes in silence. Then, Gaster sighed.
“It's...been bothering me since last night. How did you know that song you sang to me last night?” She was silent for a moment, before sighing.
“I can glow both of my eyes, like Papyrus, but brighter. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can see us...but we’re older...and you're not there. I can also see us when we're younger, but not like a memory. It's when we're still in the tubes.”
“You can see timelines? And the future? Or possible futures?” She nodded.
“I can see further back...a little boy. He looks like Papyrus, but with glasses. It's a stormy night on the surface and the boy wakes up when the lightning crashes. A woman with a crack in her jaw bone walks in through the door, wearing a nightgown whiter than her bones. She sang that song and the boy fell asleep again.” He looked stunned, holding his hand to the crack running from the bottom of his left eye.
“That boy...that was me. The woman you saw was my mother. She sang that song when I couldn't sleep.” She looked startled, before poking her fingers together.
“I-I hope I didn't bring up bad memories.” He reached a hand towards his right crack, a sad smile on his face.
“Nothing too bad.” She smiled back and they finished the dishes, joining the other two in the other room.
Gaster sat at the small table, while Lucida sat across from him and watched her brothers occupy themselves. After a moment, Papyrus looked up.
“UM...GASTER? WHY DO YOU CALL HER LUCIDA? WE CALL HER _____.” The scientist looked up at her and tipped his head.
“Which do you prefer?” She, nervously, fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.
“I-I like ______. Papyrus couldn't pronounce Lucida, so he gave me another name. I like it, because my brother gave it to me.” He gave a small wistful smile, as he nodded.
“______ it is, then.”
Another ten minutes went by, before Gaster sighed.
“______.” She looked up, a questioning expression on her face.
“At breakfast, both you and Sans took something black. You called it medicine. What was it for?” She sighed hesitantly and pulled up her soul. It was a very pale (f/c) with cracks going through it. Black lines stitched along these fractures, almost like thread holding a quilt together.
“Sans’ is less severe, but it still hurts him. We've figured out the cause. It's because we're twins. Since I was formed first, I ended up taking most of the magic in that fragment. This is the reason Sans only has one HP. We are twins, meaning we share some of our pain, though, luckily, Sans doesn't get too much. I have an overabundance of magic, which gradually weakens my soul, because of its density.” Sans stood and walked over.
“_____...why didn't you tell me you were in more pain?” She gave a slightly pained smile.
“Because you're my younger brother.” Gaster trembled slightly, his eyes dripping in horror.
“Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you ease the pain…” Sans turned around, pinning a glare on the man.
“Why do you care now?!”
“Sans! He's in pain too!” He shrugged her hands off of him.
“Him? In pain?! You don't know pain!”
“SANS!” He started. _____ never yells like that. He turned back around, feeling his magic go cold. Even Papyrus and Gaster jolted, a bit of fear going down their spines.
_____ was standing, both of her eyes glowing (f/c), wisps of magic licking the air like flames. She pointed to her chair.
“Sit.” He obeyed, knowing not to cross her when she was mad. She pinched bridge of her nasal passage and took a deep breath, calming her eyes down.
“Sans. Look at him. He's as scarred as we are. Maybe not physically, but...I've seen his past. He lost his parents at a young age and was taken in by the head scientist, who was cold and borderline abusive to him. He hurt us to find a way to free his...our people. He knew it was wrong, but he felt he had no choice! He, now, knows how horrible he treated us and he's apologized to all of us multiple times! Now, look at him again and tell me you still see the monster you believe him to be!” He flicked his eyes to the scientist, whose eyes, even the droopy one, were surrounded by thick rings of exhaustion, guilt, loss, and anguish.
“I don't...He's not as bad as I thought, but he still hurt us! He put us through so much!” Her eyes turned sad.
“He put himself through so much agony for us to come into existence.”
“What?”
“Sans...he didn't always have holes in his hands…” Her twin stared at Gaster’s hands, which were palm up on the table, as the scientist watched his palms with haunted eyes. A couple minutes ticked by, before the answer sucker punched him in the brain.
His eyes widened.
“You punched holes in your hands?! Are you insane?!” He sighed into his hands, shakily.
“Perhaps…” She placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Those bone fragments are what we grew from. One of them split in two, creating us, Sans. It's the reason I'm bigger than you, despite being only ten minutes older. I...I could see the past...when he cut those circles from his hands. Even though he bit into his leather wallet, I can still hear his muffled screams. Even though it was him hurting...my soul ached. I knew somewhere in my mind that he deserved it, but I couldn't help but feel horrible that he was. I…” She stiffened, finding Gaster's arms around her waist from the front.
“I never knew you could see into the past. Not until you told me in the kitchen. I didn't think you could see that far back, considering you weren't born yet. If I knew, I...I-?” Sans had wormed his way between them, little Papyrus in his arms. _____ was still looking at Gaster in surprise.
“Mr. Gaster?” He gave a noticeably soft smile.
“If you wish, you may call me Dad...If you want to...all of you…” All three of them stared up at him, making a self conscious, yellow, blush surface on his face. Papyrus beamed joyously, while Sans looked at him with shock and thinly veiled hope. He looked to the eldest child and found her scars lit up by tears. They overflowed in the grooves and dripped in globules. Her set grin grew so wide it nearly split her face.
“Thank you…” He smiled back, tiny tears of his own streaking his face with yellow. Maybe...just maybe…
He could have a family again...