Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It's been a while.

Well, at least you think it has been, if what little active part your mind told you was right. Everything was too hazy to really put much thought into. How long has it been since you’ve been stuck like this... days, weeks, years? You didn’t really know. All you knew in this faded state was that it was dark, and peaceful. Nothing like before-

Before… your mind tried to look back, but your consciousness was in too much disarray. All you could remember… was night, knives, and pain. Oh god, so much pain.

It hurts to remember, so you let it go. You let your mind drift, looking back throughout your life.
It wasn’t… the worst life, but it wasn’t great either. You never had any family, or any love interests to fill your life with. You'd had a few friends over the years, but they had all come and gone.

It was how life worked, you guessed.

So, when you turned eighteen, you went and made a life for yourself… or tried to at least. You had just graduated high school, had a small apartment, a quaint little florist job. It wasn’t much… but it was a start.

You had been completely alone by then, so you decided to surround yourself with the things you loved. A tranquil peace came over you as to looked back at all the pleasant memories flashing into and out of focus: the great outdoors, rainy days, listening to music, camping out in the mountains, swimming, drawing on your computer, reading books, eyeing colorful flowers, watching your favorite shows and movies, playing with pets, making and eating food, playing video games, playing Undertale-

Undertale: your mind focused on the subject. Yes, Undertale grew on you in ways you never thought possible. You knew you could, at least to yourself, confess that you liked and cared for the characters more than you should. They weren’t real, you knew, but it didn’t stop your heart from caring for them.

It took you awhile to get the courage to play, but you did. It quickly became a haven from the responsibilities of your life, and you took great care in cherishing every moment you could. After all, you had been adamant in it being your one and only run.

You had gotten through it all, defeating Asriel and Destroying the barrier. Everything was as it should be.

Until, it wasn’t.

Reserved sadness came to you at that. Curse you for taking that break; curse the cheap apartment for the faulty lock. If it weren’t that, maybe things would have gone differently.

Maybe, you wouldn’t have died.

It didn’t matter much anymore, you supposed. There was no use getting angry now.

Exhaustion filled your mind once more, blurring your focus. What use would dwelling on the past do? You’ve already come to terms over it. Now, all that was left, was for your consciousness to fade away into the darkness.

Darker
Darker
Yet
D a r k e r
. . .

-----

Frisk, had been through quite a lot.

They remembered the time when they first fell into the Underground; where everything had begun. They remembered it vividly; the soft petals of the golden flowers they had fallen on, the ancient stone pillars that stretched to the cave ceiling above, and the opening that seemed so, so far away. They had been utterly lost then, scared and confused as to what they should do. They knew of the stories about Mount Ebott (who didn't?), but they had never expected those legends to suddenly concern them.
Then, they heard your voice.

To say that you scared them at first, was a big understatement. If anyone just started to hear a disembodied voice coming from seemingly nowhere, they'd be terrified too. Not only that, but they felt the uncontrollable urge to follow your advice, which terrified them even more. They had no choice in the matter as you directed them away from the light above ground and deeper into the dark ruins.

Yet, their fear didn't last too very long. In fact, it soon became apparent that you knew more than they did about this place, and took steps to make sure they were safe. You had known their name from the start, and you knew that Flowey's friendliness pellets would hurt them. As you helped them dodge the pellets, their fear turned into uncertainty and confusion.

How had you known who they were? Who were you even? No one else seemed to hear your voice, so perhaps you were just a figment of their imagination? No, you knew things even they didn't know of, so that couldn't be right.
So, as Toriel, or Goat Mom as you liked to call her, helped them through the Ruins, they let you lead them and listened, wanting to learn more.

That was how they learned more about you, and that was how they learned to trust you.

You talked to them, even though it was apparent that you thought this was nothing more than a game. Even with that mentality, you still tried to do the right thing. Even when they died in a battle, you wouldn't give up and hurt any other monster.

You also seemed... sad. Later on, you would remind them of Sans in a way on that front. It wasn't obvious really. Frisk was just rather good at reading between the lines. They never heard any other voices other than your own. Were you all alone? They could understand the feeling. Loneliness can really get to a person. Being in an orphanage was not the most hospitable place, after all.

By the time they had reached Toriel's house, their uncertainty had melted away into trust. You had taught them that these monsters weren't their enemies, that they could be befriended instead of harmed.

That trust, however, was tested when you chose to leave Toriel.

Why would you want to leave her and the Ruins? You had seemed to really love Toriel by the way you had been talking about her, even making them call her mom on the phone, which they didn't mind of course. They had found a mother who would love and care for them the best she could at last and now you were wanting them to leave her. Why? It wasn't like they had anything up there on the surface.

They didn't want to leave, but they had no choice but to obey as you led them to battle with Toriel.

It didn't just scare them to fight with Toriel, it also was heartbreaking to do so too. It also seemed to be hard on you as well, which aggravated Frisk. You had wanted this, so why were you getting so upset about it?

Then, you spoke those words to 'yourself', words that changed everything as they continued to spare Toriel.

"I am sorry Tori, but we have to do this. I know you want to take care of Frisk here, but we can't stop now, even if the thought of living here with you is nice."

"Once we get to the end, you all can go and live on the surface. You can take care of Frisk up there then."

"Until then, you will just have to let us go. We need to go. We will free you all, if it is the last thing I do."

"That is a promise."

Then, everything started to make sense.

They left the ruins and went along; talking to Flowey, meeting Sans and Papyrus, and going through Snowdin. You grew better and better at dodging attacks, and you grew more compassionate and happy when playing the game.That, in turn, made them more confident in what the two of you were doing was right.

Meeting Sans and Papyrus was a big turning point in their journey. They knew you cared about every monster they came across, even Jerry, but the skelebros (as you liked to call them) was obviously a special subject to you. You spoke about them so endearingly, enjoying their antics so much, that they didn't even think to be scared that Papyrus had been trying to capture them. They had put their complete trust in you for the first time, and they had gained two new friends because of that.

Even though you were an only child to their knowledge, they could see that you and Sans were so very similar when it comes to the love and affection of those they cared about. It was endearing really, how much you cared for everyone. If you and Sans were to ever meet, they knew the two of you would become the best of friends. Perhaps the two of you would be even more, if the tone in your voice you tried to hide said anything. Yep, they were going there, and they shipped it harder than even Alphys could ever ship. You, after all, seemed to have a certain softness for that pun loving skeleton, one that they expected to be more than just platonic.

Going away from your platonic love for Papyrus and probably not so platonic love for Sans, you had helped them through the battle with Paps, went through a very amusing date with him (You had actually panicked when you suggested they flirt with him, saying that you had not wanted to choose that button. It was hilarious.), and went to waterfall, where they met with Monster Kid and got attacked by Undyne.

Even when things seemed impossible, you eventually found them a way through. You were able to get them to befriend Undyne, they got through Alphys's and Mettaton's shenanigans, and you led them through the Judgement Hall and up to King Asgore's castle.

In the end, they were able to defeat and spare Asgore. Everything seemed to be going well. Asgore wanted him and Toriel to take care of them like a family, and they had been overjoyed to hear that. You, however, seemed sad by it.

They soon figured out why.

Watching the friendliness pellets kill Asgore was one of the most horrifying things that had happened in their journey, followed closely by the Omega Flowey battle after. Everything seemed pointless in that battle, like there was no way to continue, but you didn't give up.

Even when they died over and over again, you didn't let that stop you. You zoned out and focused on the fight, saying words that they never would forget.

"You see Flowey, why we don't give up is simple." You had said, dodging all the while.

"We have friends to help out. I made a promise to see them to the surface and I intend to keep that promise."

[INTEGRITY]

"They deserve to be up there, they shouldn't suffer down here. It is just wrong."

[JUSTICE]

"Maybe I am just crazy, and I care for characters more than any reasonable person would..."

[KINDNESS]

"but I honestly don't care what they say, I will stick to my opinions about this game whether they like it or not."

[BRAVERY]

"I know you wouldn't understand that, even if you were to be able to hear me, but that doesn't matter. Even if you can't understand, we will keep on going, even if you kill us again and again."

[PERSEVERANCE]

"Even if it takes as a million tries, we will continue on fighting for their freedom. I am willing to wait that long."

[PATIENCE]

"We will never give up... as some would say, we will stay determined!"

[DETERMINATION]

With that, the other souls heard their pleas for help, and helped them defeat Flowey. That was when they knew you were something special.

After that, you spared Flowey. It was something even they had trouble doing, but you still did it. Your ability to forgive was unparalleled. It was something to admire about you. As they finally went through the exit, the two of you listened to the phone call from Sans and the others. It hurt them to know they were stuck down there now. You had promised they would free them, but it didn't work. What were they to do? Their determination didn't work...

Then, Flowey appeared again. There, evidently, was another way to end the game. At least, Flowey said so. They didn't trust him, but they trusted you, so they went along with you as you went back to the newest save.

It definitely wasn’t all there was to their journey, no. Alphys had a lot more hidden about her than they had first thought. She was able to reveal her feelings about Undyne, was able to tell them the truth about the Amalgamates, and was able to start healing from her mistakes. You understood that it was all an accident, and didn't put it against her. You still loved her.

As they said, very forgiving.

As they went back to the castle to Asgore, they were worried as to what would happen. Yeah, they were able to help Alphys, but what was that going to help in this situation?

A lot, apparently. When they finally faced Asgore once again, they hadn't expected Toriel of all monsters to appear. Helping Alphys gave them the extra time they needed for Toriel to choose to save them. Soon, their other friends started to appear, Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, and Sans came to their rescue. Even Mettaton made an appearance. It filled them with hope, that you had been right in your judgement. They could all live down here in peace now, until they found a way to get them to the surface.
That was, until Flowey appeared.

Flowey had tricked the two of you, as it seemed, and now he once again had the human souls, as well as their friends. What were they supposed to do?! As Flowey attacked them again, they felt their hopes for a good future dwindle with every hit.

As they thought it was all over, the last hit never came.

Soon, their friends started to block the attacks for them, and with every successful block they felt their health get better and better. Soon, every other monster came to their aid, standing by them...

Filling them with determination.

Even as Flowey absorbed every soul, they didn't give up. They would face whatever monstrosity Flowey had in store for them.

They, however, didn't expect a boss monster in Flowey's place.

Then, they could understand why you spared Flowey. As they battled Asriel Dreemurr, they finally felt they understood why you had tried so hard this whole time. You knew everything that was going to happen, didn't you? You knew that even the worst of people could be redeemed, could have a second chance. After everything, you would still wish to save them, even Asriel. No matter the odds, even if it seemed impossible, your love for everyone would find some way to get them all out of here.

They could feel both your and their souls beating as one. Your unbreakable love, mixed with their determination, kept them from dying. They refused to die, they refused to give up.

You were such a special person, they could feel it as they continued on and on. You dared to hope so much for others, yet you wished nothing for yourself, you were so selfless, it was unbelievable. As they struggled to do anything, they didn't fear. No, they knew you would find a way, and as they figured out no one else could save them, they figured out another option instead. They would have to save the others instead.

Saving the lost souls, and in turn Asriel, they refused to give up. Everyone was counting on them, you were counting on them. You never gave up, and so they wouldn't either.

Even as Asriel hit them with his strongest attack, and their health went so close to zero, they held on. They would never give up.
And finally, it all paid off.

They defeated Asriel, forgiving him as you wished to do, and hugged them before finally departing, watching as Asriel used every soul in the underground to finally break the barrier. Once Asriel left, they woke up surrounded by their friends, not knowing what had truly happened.

Their journey had finally been over. They could leave the Underground like you had promised.

Yet, it wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

When they thought about going to the surface, they realized something. If they left, there was a good possibility that you wouldn’t come with them. If this connection between you and them was linked to this ‘game’ of yours, then finishing it would destroy it… right? They... they hadn't given any thought as to what would happen after they reached the surface. Was it true... that your journey together would end here? They had found themselves not wanting you to leave, which surprised them. It would be nice to be on the surface, able to control their body again... but they had also grown attached to you. You deserved to participate in their life on the surface as far as they were concerned. They wanted you to accompany them, if only in voice, for the years to come.

Yet, they wouldn’t get that, in fact, they would get the last thing they would ever want.

They don’t remember much, as they had been way too panicked. All they remember was the sound of a door opening, loud bangs of a struggle, your piercing scream, and your pained breath as you returned. To their knowledge, something horrible had happened and you were hurt, and they had feared for your life.

Despite everything, you saw it to the end. You, somehow, decided to lead them outside, telling them to be the ambassador to the monsters as well as to live with Toriel.

Then, you were gone.

It's been silent since then… they missed you and your voice, your constant advice and loving personality. Were you dead, alive?
They didn’t know… but they grieved for you nonetheless.

If only they could talk to you at least once and thank you for everything you did… but they couldn’t.

They missed you so much… but for you, they would continue on. For you… they would stay determined.

Chapter Text

It's been several months now since the barrier broke.

Monsterkind's integration to the surface has been going surprisingly well. Humans, once the word got out about Monsterkind's existence, had been, for the most part, accepting. They had by now fully transported the monsters to the surface, the government allowing them to integrate into the cities and ocean near Mount Ebott. Despite a bit of the populace not being that supportive of the monsters, they have been able to accomplish a lot in the relatively short span of time.

The King and Queen have managed to gain custody of Frisk after a long court case with the authorities. Now they lived in a mansion in a private housing area next to Ebbot city, along with the rest of the main group.

Alphys was able to quickly get a job at a university, working with some of the brightest minds in the country. Undyne is currently living with her, as they now are in an official relationship, and is now aiming to one day open up a Gym of her own. Until then, she is going to work as a gym teacher at Toriel's school, which was bound to open in a month or two.

Mettaton and Nabstablook, of course, rose quickly in the media's spotlight. Now, they were quickly climbing in popularity, especially Mettaton, becoming celebrities among not just Monsterkind, but humanity as well.

Sans and Papyrus were, obviously, still living together in their own home. Papyrus, now the official mascot for Monsterkind, accompanies Frisk to their speeches and promotes Monsterkind whenever he can. When he is not on duty, he works with Asgore in his flower shop. Sans, not very surprisingly, still works at an array of small jobs, like his hot dog stand and stand up comedian gig.

Things are looking bright for their future, in all directions honestly, but there are some things that still bothered them. Monster hate and terrorism were some of them, but that wasn't the major part of their worries.

It was Frisk.

-----

Sans might be a bonehead, but he was a lot more perceptive than most gave him credit for.

It was obvious from the start, when Toriel had carried a crying Frisk down the mountain, that something had happened. The problem was that no one knew what or why they had been so upset. They were so upset that the group delayed their trip and brought them back to the Underground for a whole week to recover.

The whole Underground had been so worried for them, seeing as something had to be wrong for their savior to be so distraught. Yet, as time went on, they seemed to recover, on the outside at least.

They never told anyone what had happened. Not Toriel, not Asgore, not anyone. Not even Sans himself knew what had happened. He had tried several times to convince the kiddo to tell him, but they always just shook their head and sighed.
To many it may seem that they were okay now, but Sans knew better. Frisk never really fully recovered from whatever ordeal they had gone through. Several times, when Frisk would wake up from nightmares and go to him for comfort, they wouldn't ever tell them what the nightmare would be about.

You see, Sans knew of the kid's ability to reset. Not too long after their freedom, he had talked to Frisk about it, and they had confessed that he had been right with his assumptions. They, however, had told them they had never did a true reset, and promised they never will. Both of them had nightmares, nightmares of times that weren't theirs, and would always come to the other for support. They had grown very close over these few months, but even then they would not utter a word about what had made them upset, and still did to this very day.

It frustrated him to no end.

Yet, as he watched them walk towards the park's river in Ebott City, smiling all the way, he knew he wouldn't push it. Papyrus was alive, everyone was alive, happy and thriving on the surface because of them. He had no right to try to push the answers out of them. For now, all he could do was support them the best he could and be there when they needed it.

And so he would.

-----

Frisk walked up to the riverside, approaching the hooded figure as they waved at Sans with a smile.

This has become a routine for them now, taking a ride on the Riverperson's boat. Every two weeks they would come here, ride with the Riverperson, and talk to them. They never spoke back, just listened, but Frisk was okay with that. As long as Frisk knew they understood, it was alright to them.

The Riverperson did understand, too. They were probably the only other person in this world that could. They didn't think even Sans would understand the situation, of you that is.

It hadn't been long after they migrated to the surface when they found out the Riverperson knew about you. How they did, they weren't sure. Yet, they both knew something in common, and they both had been grieving over it.

After Monsterkind got a decent camp set up, Frisk had gotten word that something was wrong with the Riverperson. Evidently, they seemed to be in distress, and wasn’t giving anyone a ride on their boat. Since this was slowing down the transportation of monsters to the surface, Frisk went to find out what was wrong.

It took them awhile to get anything out of the Riverperson, but they eventually cracked, telling them that ‘the angel’ had fallen. It didn’t take much to add two and two together and figure out it was you.

And so Frisk decided to start telling them about you, and tried to move on.
You had left a hole in your departure, one that had caused so much grief for them. You were gone, the one that they had most looked up to. They tried not to show it, tried to move on. They didn't want to burden their knowledge on their friends and family, not Sans, not Mom, not Dad... They already had to worry about so much, they didn't need more on their plate.

So, to cope with the hole you left behind, they would talk to the Riverperson... for now.

"Tra la la." The Riverperson spoke, their tone not the sing-song voice that they once knew. You had left your mark on them, too, "Would you care for a ride?"

Signing a yes, they hopped on, sitting down comfortably on the wood before they were off.

They looked out in silence, Gazing out at the beauty of this day. It was late summer, the trees holding the richest of greens it would hold this year. No clouds were in the sky, allowing the sunshine to rain down upon the land, causing the river-water to sparkle with its soft movements. The birds sang their cheerful songs, being backed up by the cicadas' loud calls. Monsters and humans alike enjoyed the beautiful summer day, picnicking, playing ball, or just simply chatting among themselves.

It was a beautiful day outside.

"___ would have loved to see this." Their voice murmured softly. They almost never spoke. Yet, right now, with only the Riverperson at their side, they didn't find themselves minding, "She always wanted to see everyone happy on the Surface."

A comfortable silence came between the two of them as they went on. Looking out at the peaceful park. Nothing else really needed to be said. They had said everything about you by now, and all that was left was nothingness.

They wondered if they would ever be able to find peace again, like the peace they found before them.

For some reason, they doubted it.

Chapter Text

The first thing you noticed was silence.

There was nothing. No voices, no ambient sounds, no static. Just complete silence.

There was no light, just darkness.

Darker, darker, yet darker it went.

You felt... nothing really. Just numbness as you were coming to once again. This confused you, yet you weren't sure why.

Why were you so confused by this?

Then, the memories came flooding back.

You jolted upright, gasping as you clutched were the pain was… or well, should have been. It was horrifying to think about what had happened, but it was no use trying to not think about them now. Memories flashed through your mind: the happy faces of the monsters, the dark moonlit halls of the apartment, the silver flash of a knife, the explosive agony as a hulking figure stood over you, the loss of focus as the game ended…

It all came to you, unrelenting, demanding your attention. You curl up, your hands clutching your head as you tried to make sense of what happened. It had happened right? Why weren’t you in any pain then?

Then, you noticed another detail, one that you had overlooked when the memories demanded your attention.

Where were you really?

You slowly let a hand slide off your head as you force yourself to uncurl, wide eyes looking around for any sign of where you might be. There was nothing to see though, just you and the darkness.

So… you were dead then? Was this some weird kind of purgatory or something? It would make at least some sense for what you are looking at right now. It could be some near death hallucination though… but you think your brain would be more creative than whatever this was.

At least you weren’t in any pain. That was the one upside to whatever situation you were in...

You take note of another thing as you start to calm down. Your clothes you had been wearing were not on you anymore. In place of it was a stark white gown, certainly a large contrast to your dark surroundings. You looked to be a lot thinner than you used to be, the little bit of chub you had before long wasted away. You looked a little malnourished honestly, and felt extremely weak now that you thought about it. Shakily, you brought your hand to your chest, surprised to feel the faint beat of your heart resonating from within.

How long have you been here?

Though… did it really even matter? If you were dead, and this was somehow your after life, Nothing… would truly matter. You could just lay here in the darkness for the rest of eternity and ponder these questions and you would never really get any answers. It was useless.

That thought in itself terrified you.

You were lost, all alone in the middle of nowhere. Just the cold and darkness there to keep you company. Well, at least, you think you are alone.

You are alone… right?

“H-hello?” Your voice, cracking and dry from lack of use, called out for someone… anyone. It echoed through the nothingness, slowly getting softer until the silence joined you once more.

…

After a few moments… someone came.

It was odd. You haven’t even seen anyone here, but you somehow knew someone was approaching. You could feel someone's eyes on you, feel the presence of another being in this nothing so clearly, it caught you by surprise. Perhaps, since there was nothing here to begin with, it made things like that more apparent?

“Ah, you are awake! It's nice to see you finally up.” A voice called from behind you, soothing in their tone with a hint of tiredness, as if they were coming back from a long day of work.

Slowly, you turn yourself around a little, craning your neck to see who this mystery person was.

The first thing that came to your attention was how close this person was, followed shortly by how tall they were compared to you. How they were able to get so close without you hearing their approach, was beyond you. Another thing you noticed quite quickly was how their form wasn’t very solid. It was hard to see any details of their lower body, as it seemed to be in a permanent grey, goopy state.

As your eyes traveled upwards, the form did regain some form of solidity. From the grey haze stood out a white turtleneck sweater, seemingly covered by what was, to your assumption, a coat or jacket of some sort. At the end of all that, was their face.

To your realization, you knew exactly who this was.

Two cracks split their- no, his face, the left one reaching upwards to the top of his skull while the other spit downwards to his mouth. Two eye sockets met yours as you stared blankly, one having a harder time staying open more so than the other. The two pinpricks of light that served as his eye lights gazed at you with a flickering haziness that you weren’t really able to comprehend.

“W.D Gaster…” You whispered, feeling as numb as ever. This… this wasn’t happening, this couldn’t be happening. He was a video game character, not something that was real.

The near death hallucination idea was suddenly growing more and more appealing to you now.

Your thoughts must have been easy to see on your face, as his expression changed to a small, sad frown. He didn’t say anymore, simply walking over to your side. With one smooth motion, the monster sat down, thankfully deciding it would be best to give you a little bit of space.

“So… I see you know who I am…” Gaster spoke, eyeing you carefully as he went, “I guess I should've expected that. You had been a rather intense fan of the game.”

The two of you sat in the darkness, or you guess, the void in silence. You stared down blankly, not able to meet his gaze. You could feel yourself attempting to block everything off within yourself, emotions, reactions, everything. An unhealthy habit you suppose, but it helped you continue on when you needed to.

Yet, you wouldn’t be given that chance.

A flash of white came into your vision, catching your attention while your mind had been trying to retreat within. After a moment, you vaguely recognize it as a skeletal hand. It was like what the fan-art portrayed. The bones of the fingers seemed almost fused, yet could still operate like any hand would. They looked smooth, yet a few nicks did mar its surface if you looked hard enough. The hole in his palm stood out vividly in your mind, the bone cutting off so sharply you’d have to guess it wasn’t natural.

His hand stayed where it was, outstretched right next to yours. It took several moments to realize that he was offering his hand for you to take.

You didn’t want to take it. Not because of it being a skeletal hand and all, but more about the implications if you were to take it. If you took it and it was a real, tangible skeletal hand, it would also mean that this… whatever was happening to you right now might not just be in your mind. Your mind, no matter how creative it was, couldn’t just fake an experience like holding a hand that foreign and you knew it.

Yet, deep inside you, a part of you knew you needed to take it. You needed to know if this was real or not.

With another moment of hesitation, you slowly move your weak, shaky hand to take his.

Hard, smooth bone was a large contrast to your squishy human flesh. It held a certain sense of unfamiliarity to it while at the same time having a similarity in form. While being firm, there was the slightest of gives as you clutched harder. Many fan works have described a skeleton monster’s hands as surprisingly warm, and in a way they were right. No amount of descriptions could prepare you for the real deal though. Seeing the skeletal hand, your mind had already associated it to being cool to the touch, but it was wrong. The bones held a subtle warmth to them, not nearly as hot as a human’s, but enough to recognize it as being something that was very much alive. Beyond all that, you could barely feel something, some type of feeling that was new and unique. It let off the barest of hums, almost unnoticeable to your comprehension.

All you could think of, was that the feeling could only be what you would assume as magic.

This hand was very real.

Your body shook as you now held onto his hand for dear life, feeling that barrier you had been trying to build up fall before you. After a few moments, you noticed the wetness of your tears running down your face. When had you started crying?

Pressure seemed to envelope your body, causing you to stiffen until you recognized what it was. The Doctor’s free arm wrapped around you, bringing you close to him in a comforting embrace. Slowly, you relaxed, leaning limply into him with your head on his chest as you cried in silence. You were too exhausted to try to fight back.

“I am so sorry _____…” Gaster murmured, pain evident in his voice, “No one deserves to have to go through what you went through. If only I could have done more…”

The two of you sat there in relative silence, the doctor patiently holding you in his arms as you let the emotions of this overwhelming situation out. You were grateful for that, as you really needed some sort of comfort right now. You really didn’t want to have to deal with this alone.

After a while, the tears dried up, leaving you feeling empty and exhausted. Looking back at his earlier words, you notice something that wasn’t quite right.

“Could have done… more…?” You pulled back a little bit, looking up at the doctor with confusion, “What… what do you mean by that?”

Gaster’s expression changed, looking uncertain and almost… guilty? He refused to meet your eyes as he spoke.

“I-.... I know you might have a hard time believing this… but I am the reason you are here in the first place.”

“When you first opened up Undertale, I watched from the sidelines. You see… what you only perceived as a game was in fact more of a… portal between your universe and ours. You could see and interact with our world while I could look into yours.”

“Wait,” Your eyes widened in shock, having a hard time comprehending this new information, “S-so… the world of Undertale is… real… and you just watched me mess with it?”

Gaster looked surprised and slightly amused at your response, giving off a little chuckle before shaking his head.

“Of all the things you could have been concerned about, it was about that? Oho, I knew you were someone special.”

Oh, uh. Well then, you weren’t expecting that.

“Anyways,” He gave you a small smile, graciously ignoring your flushed cheeks at his compliment, “ Yes, our world is very much real. I did not have much else I could do in such a situation though. I did not have the power to interact with you, well, for the most part. All I could do was watch as you went on though the Underground.”

With this, Gaster winced, looking away from you once more.

“That… that also means I also saw what had happened at the… end of it all.”

You flinch, grimacing as brief flashes of that time bombarded your mind. You forced them away though, focusing on Gaster’s face instead. No, no you didn’t want to think about that right now.

Clutching the fabric of the gown where the gash should've been, you ponder the implications of such a thing. Lord, it must have been a horrific sight, seeing you like that.

“I’m… sorry, that you had to see that.”

“There is no need to be sorry,” He reassured you, shaking his head sadly, “it was not your fault that something like that happened to you, and there was no way for you to know I could see you. I am just happy that I was able to save you.”

“Well, save what I could of you… that is.” The skeleton monster sighed, looking off into the distance, “You see… When the game ended, our world changed. Old code was deleted and new code was added to the world. A rift opened in the void through the window to your universe and I was able to detect your soul.”

“You… you didn’t make it… back in your world.” Gaster grimaced, pain showing on his face. For you, however, you didn’t feel much of anything. You had thought that might have been what happened. Well, only the dying part that is. You never would've expected that you would end up here of all places. “The only reason I could sense your soul was that it was leaving your body to shatter like most human souls try to do when they die. I, with what magic I had, grabbed your soul and was able to bring it over here before the rift closed.”

“Wait… hold on again,” You spoke up, confused, “If I died, and you brought my soul here, then how am I like this, body and all?”

You gesture to yourself, quirking a brow as you did so. It sure looked like you had a body again; it felt corporeal too.

“Well, that is a bit hard to explain,” He answered, tilting his head slightly as one of his hands reached for his chin, contemplating exactly how he was going to explain this to you.

”Naturally, when something not of this world enters it, the universe would react aggressively to get rid of the intruder. You, however, seemed to be an exception.”

“I am still not exactly sure what took place, but I do have a theory,” Gaster straightened up, looking at you with a look of enthusiasm that surprised you. Oh dear, you brought the scientist out of Gaster.

“When you started the game, a link between you and this universe was made, allowing you to manipulate said world from your side. When you ended the game, that connection should have been severed.”

“When I brought you here, you still were connected to that very link, albeit barely. It severed shortly after.”

“That little time with that link on you, however, I believe it to be what was needed to change everything.”

“This is only a theory, but I believe that with that brief connection, the universe was able to recognize you not as a threat, but as a friend. You had been the one to help free the monsters from the underground, after all.”

“As you had been one of the key factors in this universe’s balance, it accepted you and took measures to integrate you to our world. It recreated your body, probably from your previous memories.”

You sat there in silence, trying to comprehend the new information given to you. It was quite a lot to take in.

With a sigh, you brush your hand through your hair, looking off into the distance.

It was unbelievable. In a way, you were… alive? Revived? Absentmindedly, you pinch your leg, feeling the stinging pain that came with it. Despite the odds you were here, defying death itself, in the world of Undertale. Everyone you knew; Frisk, Toriel, Asgore, Flowey, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Nabstablook, Papyrus, Sans; were real. They were real, living people here.

Despite that fact, you didn’t feel the joy of that thought settle in. In any other situation you would, but now…

You shuddered, your breath hitching as another thought passed through your mind. Your home, everything you knew and worked hard to get, was gone. You couldn’t ever see your old high school friends or visit your favorite childhood places. There was no going back for this.

This wasn’t right; you shouldn’t be feeling like this. Dimly, you noticed that you were crying once more, which frustrated you even more.

“I-I’m sorry,” You croak out, furiously wiping away the offending tears, “I should be h-happy of-or grateful… not-”

You never finished that apology.

Once again, bony arms wrapped around you, pulling you even closer to his form. With that, you didn’t have the strength to hold back anymore. Clutching the soft cloth of Gaster’s jacket, you let out your grief for everything you’ve lost, crying until you eventually embraced the darkness once more.

Chapter Text

You wake up still in Gaster's arms.

You feel several conflicting emotions about this right now.

You shut your eyes and let a long breath out, examining how you feel at this moment. You feel the spear of pain in your chest that you were expecting. You feel glad to wake up, not alone again. You think a part of you still was worried that he had been an elaborate hallucination or something.

The more rational part of yourself is having a hard time accepting that this is… real. A situation like this, being in this world, has crossed your mind before. Yet, they were nothing but nice little fantasies and nothing more.

So, you were here now. Even if you technically weren’t supposed to.

That thought hurt a little bit more than you expected.

You decide you had enough of thinking about your situation for now.

You open your eyes again, shifting your head slightly to look up at the monster holding you. Looks like he had been looking at you already, his expression unreadable.

You look at each other for a moment before the Doctor decides to break the silence.

“I think… It is time for us to take our leave from here.”

You blink, your mind taking a moment to register what was said.

“Where?”

You let out a little squeak of surprise as you find yourself being picked up. Gaster’s hold was firm yet careful, holding onto your back and legs as he turned from were he came.

“To a place were you can heal, now that you are no longer unconscious.”

The two of you continue on in silence for a while, well, at least you think you are going. It's kinda hard to notice if you are even moving if you were being honest with yourself. There is nothing around you but darkness, and there is no wind for any indicators there. In addition to that, Gaster’s movement seems to be not just fluid, but completely silent. No footsteps could be heard. Not even the subtle sounds of shifting clothing against his body appeared. The basic feeling that you were in motion was the only indicator you had.

So, you were going to a place to heal, huh? That brought a few questions.

“Why didn’t you take me there in the first place?”

“Because I wouldn’t have been able to safely use the amount of magic on you to keep you alive,” Gaster replies on a dime, his face now supporting a crooked smile. Wow, you guess he was expecting that, “One of the few upsides of the void I guess.”

“Huh,” You look at your body again, eyeing how much it deteriorated. 

How long had you been here, in the void? It must have been a while if your condition was like this . Wait… now that you think about it, wasn’t the Void supposed to be like a place were time and space didn’t exist? How was your body like this if that was the case?

The more you get answers, the more questions that pop into your head it seems.

You let said questions be known, and he winces a bit, his hands holding you tighter.

“The Void is the place between existence, and nonexistence. In this place, time and space can or can’t exist depending on the state of the thing or person it is acting upon. For me, I found myself here in a state were I was in the process of… dusting. Thus, when I found myself here, time and space didn’t exist for me anymore. You, however, appeared here in a renewed, ‘complete’ state, even if you were unconscious. That is why time and space is working for you, causing you to wake up in such a state instead of when you first came into the Void.”

You digest that new information for a few more moments, before adding.

“I see… well, how long was I unconscious then…?”

You waited for a few moments, but an answer didn’t come. 

You look up, gazing into the Docs blank sockets, a full grimace adorning his face.

“Gaster…”

“I… understand the wish to know such information, but do you really think you need that on your plate as well as all the other things you’ve learned today?”

“Yeah,” You answer, watching him sigh and turn his face away from you, “I… I need to know.”

“It's… it's been just over a year since you appeared here.”

Oh my god a whole-

You felt your breath leave you as you stared out in complete shock. You’d been asleep- no, in a coma for a whole year ?! How much did you miss that time?

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you today,” The skeleton grumbled, looking at you in concern, “You have got a lot on your mind already, and I only made things worse, my apologies.”

“No…,” You whisper, shaking your head a little as you let the news sink in, “I needed to hear this, thank you for telling me.”

-----

It's been a while now since you woke up.

How long have you been here now? A few weeks, a month? Hell if you know. The days are such a blur here, causing you to lose track of time.

Despite everything, Gaster has been very supportive. In preparation for your awakening, the doctor had apparently morphed the grey room into a little place of your own.

The grey room was an area that connected the Void with existence, so its properties could be fluid, allowing Gaster to change it for what he needs while still making it easy for the doctor to bring objects too and from the underground. Well, that was how he explained it, anyway. Unlike what you knew of it before, it was now similar to a small apartment, with a bed, kitchenette, bathroom, and main area with a table and a loveseat. Hell, there was even a TV here as well. How it could work, you had no idea.

You really didn’t have the will to bother with using it though.

It's been… hard, since you woke up.

Your body really has deteriorated after all that time. You were so weak that you couldn’t even walk anymore. Not eating any food or making use of your leg muscles for so long really did a number on you, you guess. Without Gaster watching over you over all that time, you’d most likely be long dead by now.

Still, even if you weren’t dead, it didn’t mean you were fine. Nightmares were commonplace for you every time you went to sleep. Your death plagued your mind every time you close your eyes. It was becoming so bad that you dreaded going to sleep, knowing full well what was to await you. In addition to all of that, you were underweight, had a bad case of malnutrition, and had to slowly regain the muscle mass that you had lost over time.

You had to admit, you were having problems with all that had happened. You were strong enough to admit to yourself that you had gained a serious case of depression from this. Could anyone even blame you? You were MURDERED, taken to what you thought was just a fictional world, and slept away a about a whole year of your life for god's sake!

Even with all those issues, time went on. Gaster carried you around your new room (Much to your embarrassment) and helped you with the recovery process. He became the one guiding you through intensive physical therapy . He brought you food and water, the food being of both the monster and human variety. You had asked him how in the world he got those, but all he gave you was a little secretive smile.

Well, at least there were a few things you could still do by yourself. Your arms worked fine, albeit unable to hold anything too heavy. God, you were happy that was the case. You would be totally uncomfortable if he had to help you change or wash yourself too.

Speaking of changing, when you first changed, you had found out that some things about your body did change as well. The scars from the whole ordeal struck out like a sore thumb, sickly light in comparison to the rest of your body. One lined your upper right arm and another slit across the outer left thigh. A small incision lined the lower right end of the ribcage, nowhere near as large at the horrific scar slashing along the middle left of your rib cage down to the lower right of your hip. You should've expected that they would have been there.

You sighed, snuggling deeper into the covers of the bed. To be honest, you didn’t feel upset over that discovery. You didn’t feel the grief that had first claimed you anymore either. You didn’t even feel much happiness whenever Gaster came by to check on you.

You were just… tired.

It’s just… Why were you even here in the first place? It wasn’t like you were ever supposed to be here. It just seemed like so much pain and effort to have given you this second chance, not to mention making things much harder for Gaster.

No… you know you shouldn’t think this way. You are being given a second chance at life; you should be feeling excited about this, happy, hopeful… anything .

Suddenly, something breaks the seemingly infinite silence, tearing you away from your thoughts. Something soft and repetitive came from within the room. This quickly caught your attention.

Well, this was new. You knew Gaster never made any noise when he moved around.

After a few moments, the noise ceased. Slowly, you open your eyes, blinking a few times to adjust yourself to the light. Shifting a little in the bed, you look around for whoever or whatever was in the room with you.

You saw… nothing?

Quirking a brow in confusion, you scour the grey room from your bed. Oddly enough, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Making a small confused noise, you drag yourself into a sitting position, eyes closed in concentration.

When you opened your eyes, another pair of eyes locked with yours. There were no pupils to be seen within them, leaving them blank, white, and empty. All you could do was stare numbly at them, the numbness staring right back at you from beside your bed.

You stare into the void.

The void stares back.

Blinking, you examine the small figure right next to your bed. They were small, only reaching the top of your bed. That must be why you didn’t notice them at first. They looked kind of like Monster Kid, a small reptilish child with grayscale colors and no arms. Instead of spikes lining their head, they wore a single silver bow that matched their grey striped shirt beautifully.

You remembered who this child was. People called them… Goner Kid right? Yeah.

Finding this staring contest growing to be a little uncomfortable, you decide to do something about it.

“Uh… Hello there…”

The child stayed silent, simply staring with that same unrelenting gaze. After several uncomfortable moments however, the silence was broken.

“... Hi…” GK replied, their voice soft and hollow. It had a feminine tone to it, but you weren’t sure if you should just assume they were a girl or not. Did monster’s even have definitive genders? You had no idea...

“You’re… you’re finally awake.”

Quirking a brow, you nod. Evidently, this child seems to know you in some way. Gaster never told you that he told anyone else about you, let alone that there had been anyone else in the void. Perhaps, even he didn’t know they were here with us?

“Heh heh… ,” GK laughed, a hollow and broken sound, smiling a little sad smile. Their head dipped a little, causing you to believe they weren't looking directly at you anymore, “Mister Gaster told us you were.”

Well, there goes that theory.

Despite everything about them feeling muted to you, you honestly were starting to not find them unnerving. After the shock of meeting a new person you didn’t know was here, you were more sad than anything. It's interesting that when you feel yourself be this numb, it doesn’t really bother you at all; but seeing someone, a child no less, with that same expression actually upset you.

After a moment, the child’s expression turned into a more mischievous one, their personality shining out for just a few moments. The child’s chest puffed out a little in a show of pride.

“I am not actually supposed to be here right now,” They spoke conspiratorially, “but when the doctor told us you woke up, I couldn’t wait another moment to meet you.”

Watching this child, you couldn’t help but giggle a little at their antics, a little amused and flattered. You scratch the back of your head sheepishly, unsure about how to respond to their excitement.

“A little rebel huh?” You comment, a crooked smile adorning your face, “Well, heh… I-I’m flattered kid. I’m not sure why you would want to meet me so badly though.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” They said, looking at you as if it was obvious, “You’re the Angel.”

…

“What?”

“You know, the Angel? The one in the prophecy that had seen the surface and would cause the Underground to go empty?” GK spoke, looking at your shocked face, “You do know of the prophecy, don’t you?”

“O-of course I do,” You reply. Why in the world did this kid think you were the Angel though? Most people had thought Asriel or Frisk had been the Angel. Though, the kid shouldn’t know about that, you guess.

“I just… Why would you think that I of all people would be the Angel? Why not Frisk?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” GK’s face lit up in a burst of excitement, that hollowness that had clung to her face dissipating, “Gaster told us everything about you!”

“He told us how you, a human from a whole different world, guided Frisk through the Underground! How you already knew what every option would do so you could get the best future possible! You had led and protected Frisk from every monster they faced, helping them befriend everyone, and eventually led them to break the barrier that had trapped us!”

“If you already knew how to get to the surface, then you had to have seen the surface at least once before. Oh, and without you, Frisk would never have been able to get through the Underground. Undyne or Asgore would have been too much for them without your help. Undyne’s just too awesome to be defeated without some help!”

The kid continued on talking as if it was merely fact. With every word, your face grew hotter and hotter. You couldn’t find your voice as you sat there, too flustered at the praise to speak out.

“Don’t you see? You watched over everyone, you have seen the surface, you helped to break the barrier, and the Underground ended up going empty because of you! You have to be the Angel!”

You stare down at the child, eyes wide and mouth open. Now that they said all that, it actually kind of made… sense. It could surely be interpreted that way, Could- could it be? Were you actually the Angel from the prophecy?

Holy shit.

The child straightened up, their facial expression melting from the previous excitement to a shy type of wonder. Breathlessly, they softly spoke something that shook you to your core.

“Y-your my hero…”

This child…

A whirlwind of emotions stir within your heart at their confession. Forcing tears back, you smile through your flustered expression, reaching out with open arms.

Recognizing the gesture, the child didn’t need to be asked twice. With a beaming smile, GK jumped headfirst into your arms.

With what strength you have, you pull the child up on the bed and into a hug. You could feel the child snuggle into the fabric of your gown, giggling with joy. Never before have you felt so embarrassed and happy at the same time.

It was amazing, now that you noticed it, how quickly your mood has changed because of this child, how that hollowness the two of you had clung to was so easily replaced when the two of you came into each other's company. You had really needed this, hadn’t you?

“Thank you,” You murmur, hugging GK closer. The child, in response, took it all in stride, curling into a more comfortable position.

The heartfelt moment, however, wouldn’t last long. To your surprise, a black figure appeared before your bed, startling you to attention.

It was Gaster, his back fully turned to you. He seemed to be looking around, a confused expression on his face.

“No, that's not right…” You could hear him mutter as he turned around, “I was supposed to teleport to her, not-”

Whatever he was going to say was never finished as he froze in his tracks, staring at the scene before him. You both stared right back at him, you with a deadpan stare while GK peaked at him with one white eye. His expression was one that reminded you of a deer in the headlights, and was he… sweating?

At that moment you recognized two things. One: he said ‘her’, probably referring to GK, which made your assumption correct. Two: Gaster, for once, seemed really nervous. Hm… you could definitely work with this new situation.

“Well hello there,” You break the silence, keeping control over your expression, “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“O-oh, uh, really?” Gaster replied, clasping his hands together. Wow, he actually stuttered a little there.

“Yes really,” you say, adding a little bit of sass in your tone. If you were going to do this you would go all out. Giving him a questioning look, you continue, “Tell me, why haven’t you told me that there were other people here in the void too?”

“I-... I’m sorry,” Gaster dipped his head, guilt showing on his face. GK’s eyes gazed back and forth between the two of you blankly, that hollowness returning, “With everything that had happened to you, I didn’t want to overwhelm you in your condition. I honestly should've told you a while ago.”

You make a dramatic sigh, struggling to keep your composure. Gaster’s face was one of shame, while GK was starting to look uncomfortable about this situation. With a moment of contemplation, you decide to end this here.

“Wow G,” You say, not faltering when Gaster blinked in both surprise and confusion at the sudden nickname, “I can’t believe you would keep this from me.”

It takes all your determination to keep yourself from losing it when you finish.

“It just leaves me so… flabber gaster ed.”

A dead silence fills the room.

“Oh my stars why,” Gaster groaned, putting his boney hands to his face. You, on the other hand, burst out laughing. GK looked up at you in joyous surprise before finally joining you in your laughter.

“By the stars, you are just like my son.”

“Hahaha! Oho - okay! Let me make sure of this. Sans and Papyrus are your son’s right?”

“Why, yes they are.” Gaster answered, eye lights flickering in surprise.

Awww yeah! Head-cannon confirmed!

“Your knowledge of Monsterkind never ceases to amaze me.” He continued, his expression thoughtful. After a moment, his expression turned into a glare, though you could still see the grin he was struggling to keep off his face, “Your taste in comedy, however, leaves much to be desired.”

“Aw come on, you’re smiling.”

“I am and I hate it.”

With that, you burst out in laughter once more, lying back down on the bed in exhausted mirth. Oh god, you wonder who stole that phrase from the other, Gaster or Papyrus?

With a few remaining giggles, you laid there with a contented smile. Wow, you haven’t laughed this hard in ages. GK lies down next to you, her face snuggling into your stomach.

“Well,” Gaster sighed, looking down at the two of you fondly, “I guess I did deserve that.”

“Yeah, you kinda did.”

Gaster chuckled, shaking his head at your smug look. Before you could continue, however, Gaster spoke up.

“Now that you’ve met her… you might as well meet the others.” Gaster’s expression turned into a stern one, eyeing GK with a crooked smile, “I was planning on you meeting them anyways, but for some reason we couldn’t find a certain monster child.”

The child in question giggled sheepishly, snuggling closer to you in an attempt to hide from the sudden attention. You smirk at the little monster, patting her head in reassurance. Lord, this kid was so adorable.

“Well, now that you’ve found her,” you reply, graciously directing the subject away from the child, “it would be as good of a time as any to bring them in.”

“Of course, I’ll go get them right now.”

With that, the former royal scientist took his leave, silently leaving through the door. You wonder why he even bothers to use it though. You’ve seen him teleport before, so why not just teleport out?

It must be a form of preference, you guess.

It didn’t take too long for him to return. With the click of the door, Gaster re entered, followed by three other monsters. Eyeing each one, you vaguely recognize them as Gaster’s three followers.

The first one, a grey cat monster, was the first to catch your eye. Mostly because, well, he didn’t have a face. A black haze covered where the face should be, only a white line working as his mouth being the only thing seen. He had a muscular form, his long sleeved shirt covering most of the muscle. The front of it seemed obscured just like his face. Fitting black shorts peaked out from under his shirt, and dark grey boots completed the look.

The second monster, a small humanoid one, appeared behind the other. Their wide eyes gazed at you with just a hint of curiosity. At first, you thought he had rectangular glasses on his face, but soon noticed they seemed to be fused onto his face instead. He wore no clothing, but it seemed that there were hardened, rib-like armor covering his front. When he turned to the side, you could see small spikes lining along his back.

The third and final monster of the group came in; or, well, slithered in. They were similar in form to the amalgamates, their body not entirely solid with the exception of their head. Their head reminded you of a snake's, their white eyes focusing on you with those slit pupils. When meeting eye contact, they smiled at you, which left you feeling both happy and a little creeped out at the same time.

It was surreal to see them all before you. Even if they weren’t the main characters from Undertale, the fact that people from what you’d once thought was a video game stood before you now as real, living people still boggled your mind.

It seems like even after all this time, you still have a lot to get used to.

The cat monster stepped up first, flashing you a white smile.

“Hello there,” he greeted, “ I’m happy to see you’re finally awake! Oh, and the name is Caz, by the way.”

“Yes, Caz is right about that. It is surely a relief to see you awake after all this time. We were starting to worry you’d never wake up.” The small humanoid spoke up next, looking at you with studious eyes. They march up to your bed, hand holding their chin thoughtfully, “Now that you are awake though, it would be best to monitor your condition…”

“Tell me, how are you feeling? Has the combination of human and monster food accelerated your healing? You do seem to have gained a healthy bit of weight since the last time I saw you…”

“Oh give the poor girl a break Levie,” The final monster interrupted, reaching forth to pull the small monster back to her side, an exasperated look on their face. She bobbed her head a little as she continued, “She just met us, for stars sake! She definitely doesn’t need you messing with her like she’s some experiment.”

“Sorry girl, he just gets like that sometimes,” The monster sighed, giving you an apologetic look while the smaller one pouted from where he stood, “My name is Lirra, and this guy right here is Levie if you didn’t catch that earlier. I’ve got to say, you are looking much better than when I last saw yah. Seems like Gaster has been taking care of yah like he said.”

“Yeah, he has been taking really good care of me…” You finally speak up, your voice soft as you partially hide behind your hair. You’ve never been the most socially adept person in the world, and you were particularly bad when it came to meeting new people. Giving them a crooked smile, you continue, “It is nice to meet you all in person…”

Wait… SHIT. Did they know of your situation too? You knew GK did to a certain extent, but you didn’t ask to make sure they knew everything . Crap, you should have been more careful!

Despite your sudden panic, the new monsters didn’t seem surprised by your response, instead, they seemed both awed and excited, looking at each other in wonderment.

“So, Doc wasn’t just telling tall tales, she does know us!” Caz exclaimed.

“That would make sense of her lack of panic when she first saw us. She wasn’t even surprised when she laid eyes upon everyone,” Levie noted with a nod.

“It is still so hard to wrap your head around how she could be from another world,” Lirra murmured before adding with a look of endearment, “but she seems to be such a sweet lil’ thing hiding behind her hair like that!”

“H-hey, I’m right here you know!” You retort, feeling your face heat up in betrayal.

The monsters all just laugh in response, filling the room in light hearted banter. You try to pout at this, but you soon end up joining them.

You end up taking part in pleasant conversations, talking about what you liked, did, ate, and much more. Each and every monster welcomed you with a warmth that surprised you even now. Despite their disconnected and muted appearance, you find that every single one of them stood out vibrantly in ways the game never replicated.

You put a hand on GK’s sleeping form, smiling softly as the little monster hummed a little in response. Realization comes to you as the monster’s bantered on, that this was real, they were real, living, complex people. They had it just as bad as you had, being stuck here in the void, but they still found a way to smile.

At that moment, you knew you couldn’t give up. It would be hard, you knew, to get out of this funk you found yourself in and recover, but there would be monsters to help you the whole way. They had so much compassion and support for you; you couldn’t just ignore it. 

No matter what, you aren’t and wouldn’t be alone in the trials ahead. No matter what, these monsters will help you every step of the way.

Chapter Text

The next three weeks flew by like a blur. Despite the stifling darkness that forever clung to the void, the four new monsters gave a new light to your existence

The group has been very supportive of you since the very first day you’ve met them. Every day at least one would visit you, bringing something new into your once simple routine. They would chat, ask about you and your world, and occasionally bring gifts. (Evidently they could leave the void for a decent amount of time, unlike Gaster, who couldn’t at all.) GK even came over once with a sketchbook and some mechanical pencils in her mouth when she found out you liked to draw.

Yes, you still struggled to find any motivation to do anything at times and nightmares continued to invade your sleep, but that was to be expected. You know this wasn’t going to be an easy recovery; Anyone would have a hard time recuperating from such an experience as yours.

At least you had people to help you through it all.

With enough of the steady training and the magic fueled diet you’ve been subjected to, you have recovered your ability to walk again! Well, you are still sluggish and tired very easily, but you can walk! You didn’t have to get Gaster to help you everywhere!

It wasn’t like you were ungrateful for all his help. You just didn’t like to be such a burden to others. You might not be the most independent girl in the world, but the level of dependency you had been at was just too much for you.

There were some things that probably would never change though.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Oh, just shush your griping and let me measure yah!”

You groan inwardly, resisting the urge to move as Lirra circled you with a keen eye. Seems like your laziness was resurfacing from the abyss it fell into as well. How long have you been standing here? It had to be at least twenty minutes.

You sigh as the measuring tape floated around you, the thought of just laying down on your bed and not getting back up increasingly appealing in your mind. You have to admit, you never were much of an athletic person. You would much rather cuddle up with a blanket on a couch than stand here doing nothing for god knows how long.

Lirra’s eyes glowed a soft cyan, showing that she was currently using gravity magic. The measuring tape is fixed on your leg, pen and paper soon joining near it as some measurements are taken. You had to admit, it was still cool to watch her do that. You had thought it was something only Sans and Papyrus knew how to use, but no. Evidently, it was a common thing for armless monsters to learn gravitational magic. They had to have some way to carry items after all.

“Gosh,” Lirra chastised you, giving you a stern look. Yet, you could still see the shimmer of amusement in her eyes. “I know yah like your gowns, but yah can’t be wearing them forever. Yah gotta wear regular clothing like a normal adult, not nightwear.”

“Plus, yah will want to have some more fitting clothes if yah are going to continue your training, right?”

Oh, yeah, you almost forgot about that.

“I guess your right,” You murmur, a spike of resignation surfacing from within you.

Recently, the monsters had been using monster confrontations to continue your physical training. You might be in somewhat working condition now, but you needed to gain some more strength to get to how you were before. So, with that in mind, your monster friends ended up getting the idea to use how monsters battle to help you with that. Well, it sure was a more rigorous, challenging exercise, that’s for sure.

“Your still nervous, huh?”

You jump a little in surprise, taken away from your thoughts as Lirra spoke up. You didn’t even notice, but you had stiffened over the time you had been lost in your thoughts. With a sigh, you roll your shoulders, forcing your body into a more relaxed position.

“Well, no. Not exactly,” You mutter, shaking your head, “I just… I never liked the thought of battling. I know I am only dodging the attacks and all… but it just doesn’t sit right with me.”

That was one of the main things that has been messing with you lately. One day, you remembered that Gaster had actually pulled your soul here and, in a bout of curiosity, asked him what it was like. Frustratingly enough, all he would tell you was that your soul was different from any human soul he had ever seen, as well as it being the strongest. When you had asked to see it, though, you had been outright denied.

Only later would you know the implication of what you had asked. How were you supposed to know how intimate the gesture was when outside of battle? You had thought that was something fans had thought up, but no . Evidently, it was a real thing here.

“I know hun,” The snake monster reassured you, her face contorting into a frown at your words. She took it like a champ though as she continued measuring your sizes, “There is nothing weird or wrong about that, just so yah know. After everything you’ve been through I wouldn’t expect yah to act any other way.”

You nod in recognition, your eyes unfocused as you looked back at the recent memory.

---

You, to state it bluntly, were nervous. 

Today was a special day, a day where you were going to go into a monster confrontation. Sure, you were not a stranger to these types of confrontations, but this was the first time you would experience one personally.

It's been two weeks since you’ve met the group of monsters, and currently you are wondering how in the world you allowed yourself to get into this situation. In front of you, Gaster and his three followers huddled together, talking with one another in hushed voices.

You, however, just stood there in your white gown, riding back and forth between your heels and your toes nervously.

You let out a shaky sigh, tugging at the hem of your gown. You usually wore a jacket of some kind, so without one you felt rather uncomfortable. Nothing about this situation was helping really. Yet, here you were, waiting for the training to start despite the odds.

The murmuring hushed, driving your attention back to the monsters at hand. The three followers stood back behind the doctor. Caz didn’t seem too pleased, yet Lirra seemed pumped up about this situation. Levie, however, simply looked curious to see where this would go.

Gaster walked up towards you, halting just a few feet ahead of where you stood. You still as you focus on him, waiting as he spoke up.

“Alright, the training will commence now,” Gaster explained, holding a professional posture as he did so, “After discussing it with the others, we have decided that I will be your first opponent.”

“I still say that this is a bad idea.” 

Caz spoke up, taking a step forward with a concerned expression. You blink, eyeing the two of them uncertainty. Gaster eyed the other, his expression unreadable.

“It's not like I am worried for _____; you are far from being weak or naive,” Caz smiled at you for a moment before focusing on Gaster, “You, however, know what using too much magic in your state could do to you. Gaster, you could get yourself seriously hurt if you go too far!”

“Well, it's a good good thing we will only be doing the basics then,” Gaster replied.

“Y-you could get hurt?” You stammer. You had no idea that this could be dangerous for the monster ahead of you. Getting him hurt was the very last thing you wanted to do.

Gaster sighed, shaking his head before giving Caz an annoyed look. Caz, however, took it in stride, eyeing him right back.

“Yes, it is possible that in the incomplete state that I am in, I could hurt myself,” The doctor stated, “Yet, that is only if I go too far and use too much magic. Using a small amount, however, is completely harmless.”

“Since we won’t be doing any complex training but the basics instead, I won't even go near to the magical threshold of my current capabilities, so I won't be in any real danger.” He said in an authoritative tone, giving you a reassuring smile as he added, “In addition to that, I thought it would be best for you to start on familiar ground. Since you have already faced my younger son in battle already, you already know of the attacks I will use on you for this training session.”

“If it makes everyone feel better, I will make sure to be extra careful with my magic attacks.” Gaster’s gaze flickers between you and Caz before focusing on you, “Stars, I’ll even add this. If you think I have used enough magic and need to stop, just tell me and I will halt my attacks immediately. Does that sound fair enough?”

Despite the uncertainty over this situation, it did indeed sound fair. Everyone seemed to agree with that too, though Caz still looked a little uncomfortable about it. Feeling sympathy for the worrying monster; you gave him, and in turn everyone else here, what you hoped was a reassuring smile. The cat monster, in turn, gave a small smile right back at you.

“Alright alright, I think we can all agree to that,” Lirra spoke up, shifting her melted body with impatience, “Now can we start now? I want to see these little angel’s moves!”

That made you let out a startled laugh, effectively dispelling the tension in the air. Shaking your head in amusement, you would have to agree with her. You’ve had enough time waiting and fretting over it.

“Pfft, well I don’t know about me having any good moves or anything, but sure. Let’s start.”

“Alright then, if you are ready we shall start the training as of now,” Gaster spoke, waiting until you nodded in confirmation. The tall skeleton rose into a professional stance, putting one bony hand outstretched in front of him. “If at any time this becomes too much for you, just tell me and I will stop, okay?”

“Alrighty,” You nod one last time before everything truly began.

Gaster’s eye lights flickered out and back into life, replaced by two flashing purple orbs that illuminated the scientist’s body with it’s hue. The air around you chills, the thrum of his magic’s power suddenly engulfing your body. White lines appeared in your vision, creating a box that held both of you inside. You let out a shaky breath, Forcing your nerves down as you watch the misty cloud that rises from your mouth and fades away. Without even knowing anything about magic, you could easily tell that Gaster was anything but a weak monster.

At that moment, you were glad that this wasn’t an actual battle but a training session instead.

You are ripped from your thoughts as your eyes focus on his hand, the pulsing of his magic coagulating at his phalanges. As his magic grows stronger, you vividly recognize an electrifying tingly sensation overtake your body. Somewhere, deep inside your chest, something shifts.

Shock fills your system at the alien sensation, your body instinctively trying to block whatever was happening from happening. Wincing at the sudden pain, you force yourself to relax. You have to let this happen.

Slowly, Gaster’s hand pulls back toward himself. Once again, the tugging sensation pulled from within your chest, causing you to close your eyes in concentration to keep yourself from closing up once more.

Finally, the tugging finished. Something left your body, causing you to feel hollow, incomplete. You knew what it was, but the thought of actually seeing your own soul was still something you had yet to get your mind wrapped around.

After a few moments, you crack open your eyes, blinking rapidly at what was before you.

It was bright, so so bright, and vibrant too. Colors invaded your vision, not one, but all . Violet, blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, and red glittered with no sense of obtrusion, stretching out as far as they could reach. In the center of it all, a vibrant colored heart shined proudly for all present to see.

You stood there slack jawed at the sight, barely even recognizing that it floated back towards you. Cradling it in your open hands, you try to make sense of this situation.

How? How could you have ALL the soul traits? As far as you know, it was canon for a human to have only one. Yet, there were theories that adults grew to have more than one, but not all of them! How was this even possible?!

“By the stars…” Caz murmured, both him and Lirra gaping at the soul before them. Levie, instead, stared wide eyed before scrambling to write something on a notebook he somehow required. The origins of this notebook was lost to you, but you decided to ask questions later as there were more important matters to attend to.

“How?” You breath, your eyes locked on your soul. The heart pulsed with power, seemingly draining the world around it of color, leaving everything muted in comparison to its vibrant glow.

“To be honest, even I do not know how your soul could be like that,” Gaster answered, “Based on what we know on souls, a soul like yours should not be possible.”

“Yet, you aren’t from this world. Your universe might be totally different when it comes to soul dynamics, and what we see here could be a very common sight for all we know. We just don’t know. All we can confirm now is the obvious unfortunately, and it probably won’t change in the foreseeable future.”

You sigh, nodding in affirmation. Of course, why should you be surprised?

“Honestly,” You spoke up, looking up to the monsters ahead of you, “now that I think about it, this isn’t that surprising to me.”

Seeing the questioning looks on their faces, you add.

“Back home, there were times where I would think about what type of soul I would have. The thing though is that, well, I never could make up my mind which soul type I would be. I, in some way or another, could fit into all of the categories in my mind, and it seems what I had thought just happened to be right.”

“How curious…” Gaster said, his flickering eyelights hazy and distant. The other monsters also seemed to have thoughtful expressions, Levie absentmindedly tapping his pencil to the side of his cheek.

With the shock of your soul out of the way, you further examine the new situation. Just below where your soul floated, four golden boxes blinked into existence, along with some white text just above them.

*  The journey has just begun.

_____          LV 1 HP  140 / 140

FIGHT     ACT ITEM     MERCY

“Oh wow. The battle interface is more than a part of the game. Huh.” You comment, eyeing your stats. So, you have only one LV, which isn’t surprising. Your HP, however, was pretty high. Perhaps it was because of the power of your soul since it had all soul colors? It was a possibility.

You are taken from your musing by something peculiar. Softly, as if in the distance, there was the gentle thrum of a beat, barely heard over the pulsing of your soul. Each beat went in a sequence that seemed awfully familiar, coupled by sounds that beat in tandem with the other. In a way, it almost sounded like... music?

“Oh my god,” You exclaim, breaking out in laughter as recognition came to your mind, “Ho-holy crap, i-it's your theme song! Jesus , even the music is here too!”

Gaster quirked a brow bone, tilting his head to the side with a crooked smile. Lord, you must look insane like this. Come on _____, regain that composure!

Taking deep breaths, you get a hold of your laughter, putting on a more serious face. Heat starts burning your face, but you try your best to ignore it.

“Hehe, sorry. I just wasn’t expecting the game mechanics and music to actually be a part of this world.”

“Oh!” Gaster spoke, nodding in understanding, “Of course. I almost forgot that you still have a lot to learn about this world.”

“As you can see, what you see in front of you is in fact what you called the Battle Interface. I doubt I need to explain what it is to you, right?” You nodded in confirmation, listening as Gaster continued.

“Alright then. The mechanics are simple. Move around and your soul will move along with you. Please refrain from touching it, as it is rather taboo to do it in front of anyone other than someone you are very close with. In addition to that, you would probably end up looking back into memories you don’t want to see right now.”

Yep, that didn’t sound fun. Nodding once again, Gaster smiled, closing his eyes again for a moment before opening them again, a steeled expression on his face.

For a monster, he sure did look determined.

“Alright then. Let this training session commence!”

---

“Just look on the bright side! It is not like we are teaching you how to fight exactly. ”

“Yeah…” You agree after a moment, blinking as you try to shake the memory away. Instead, you decide to change the subject a little. 

“I was wondering, where is everybody? Isn’t Caz the one that is supposed to actually make the clothes for me?”

“Caz?” Lirra spoke, writing some more measurements down, “Ah, he’s watching over the kid right now.”

“Levie and the doctor are off doing whatever sciencey stuff they usually do, so there was either me or Caz left to watch over her. Since I am better at taking the measurements than he is, he asked me to do it while he takes care of the kid.”

Quirking a brow, you smile at the monster, amused.

“Sciencey stuff huh?”

“Eeey,” She retorted, eyeing you with a crooked grin of her own, “I’m a reporter, not a scientist. All that sciencey stuff and junk never made a lick of sense to me.”

Writing a few more measurements down, the measuring tape was snapped back into place, finally being set on the table along with the pen and paper.

“Alright, that should be all,” She sighed, seemingly content that her part was done. Slithering next to the couch, Lirra coiled at the table, resting her head on the pillow you placed there just for her. After a moment, you joined her at the table, plopping on the couch unceremoniously.

You eyed the monster with curiosity, or more specifically, with curiosity over what she just said. She was a reporter before she found herself in the void? You had thought they had all been scientists working with Gaster or something and something happened to make them fall into… whatever would be Gaster’s creation. Yet, Lirra truly didn’t seem like the sciency type, and GK was a kid, so your original idea didn’t seem to be correct.

You weren’t sure how sore of a subject it was. Was it something you should even ask about? You had no idea. Instead, you decide to go on a more indirect approach.

“Um… you were a reporter?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I was,” Lirra answered, tilting her head in confusion, “Don’t yah already know that though? I thought yah knew a lot of stuff about us or something.”

“Oh, well, I know a little bit about you, yes,” You answer, scratching the back of your head sheepishly. How were you going to put this…

“I know more about those who were considered more of the ‘main’ characters, I guess. Like… Toriel and Asgore, Sans and Papyrus, and Undyne and Alphys, for example. Hell, I even know alot about those who were technically considered secondary characters, like Mettaton, Nabstablook, and even Burgerpants, interestingly enough.”

“Yet, while I know quite a lot, I don’t know everything. You guys were portrayed as really obscure characters only available in certain situations. You only had a few lines, and all of it was about Gaster. The only one I know even a little bit about, other than Gaster, was GK.”

“Oh, huh. That’s quite a lot to wrap your head around…” Lirra murmured, a puzzled look on her face. You didn’t blame her; knowing that somewhere, your life was basically a video game wasn’t something one would easily understand. Suddenly, her puzzled look turned into confusion, “Wait, GK? Who’s GK?”

“Uh…” You quirk a brow, surprised that she didn’t know. Wasn’t that the kids name?

Well, now that you thought about it… Goner Kid was a name that the fans more or less gave her. Once you actually thought about what the name actually meant, it actually sounded a little insensitive.

“Um… just forget I said that. Now that I’ve thought about it, it probably isn’t her name.” You scratch your head, wincing, “It was a nickname that the fans gave the little reptile monster that you guys take care of…”

“Oh, uh, I see. Yeah, that’s definitely not her name,” She shook her head, “and… uh, if you could, don’t ask her about her actual name. It usually tends to… upset the kid.”

“Oh… uh… okay?” You agree, slightly confused about the whole situation. Yet, you didn’t want to upset the child, so you decide to go along with it.

After a few moments of awkward silence, you are saved by the door opening. 

Oh, would you look at that. Speak of the devil and she appears! The monster child in question skips into the room, looking around until her blank eyes lock onto you. With that, she makes a beeline to the couch, literally leaping headfirst into your ready form. The kid had made it a habit of doing this every time she came to visit, so much so that you are starting to instinctively brace yourself for the impact when she comes over.

You smile, patting the kid on the head as another monster comes in from the void.

“Well, that’s one way to get the kid to keep still,” Caz spoke, amused by the display. The cat monster sat down on the other side of the couch, sighing in relief. Huh, this little guy must be a handful, “Just go over to your place and she will just curl up next to you and pass out.”

You look down at the child and sure enough, she was fast asleep in your lap. Wow, that was fast. The three of you chuckle softly at the sight before Caz continues.

“Welp, what did I miss?”

“Well, other than the measuring, Lirra was just telling me about how she was a reporter.”

“Oh yeah!” Lirra jumped in, a fond look on her face, “I was one of the main reporters in the Underground. Heh, I used to go all over to report on the happenings around there. There wasn’t anything too big to report on until the Core started being built though.”

“Heh, you should have seen Caz when I tried to interview him,” Lirra added, snickering, “He was so flustered, his face looked like a cherry it was so red!”

“O-Oh common, I wasn’t that bad!” Said monster replied, the dark abyss of his face lightening in a, what was that, a blush?

“I-In my defense, I was just a simple engineer. It was not too hard and paid well enough for me to take good care of my wife and kid. All I did was do some heavy lifting and put some pieces together. Gaster, Levie, and all the other scientists were really the ones who were behind it all. Why you chose me of all monsters to an interview when there were so many better candidates is beyond me.”

“To be honest, I chose yah because yah had the most amusing reactions.”

“ L-Lirra !”

The monster mentioned was now currently stuffing her face into the pillow, trying to bury her laughter as to not wake up the sleeping child on your lap. You were not doing much better. You, currently, lay limply on the couch, your hand over your face, breathing heavily as you tried desperately not to laugh.

Then, you make the mistake of peaking over to Caz. The cat monster’s face was now stark white. It looked like light was radiating off his face. You could barely see his pouting face through it all.

Before you knew it, a loud snort escaped your mouth, your hand cupping your mouth as you were now shaking with mirth, barely keeping the laughter at bay.

Several minutes pass before you regain your composure. Taking deep breaths, you finally look up again. Caz seemed to be doing a little better, even if his face was still a light grey. Lirra, however, still had her head stuffed into the pillow.

“You okay there Lirra? You gonna live?”

“Mrf mrhrf.”

“Uh… what?”

“I’m good… heh.” Came a tired yet content sounding answer.

“Oh, good.”

Several moments of content silence pass, with just the three of you enjoying each other's company. It was nice to just hang out like this, even with everything that has happened.

Speaking of things happening…

Your eyes stare up at the grey ceiling, your mind sobering over a thought that appears in your head. No… you shouldn’t ask that. Yes, you were curious, but that was surely a sore topic.

“You want to know what happened… don’t you.”

You flinch, your eyes locking onto the monster that spoke. Blank eyes stared numbly up at you from their spot, locking you in place.

“Um… uh…” You sputtered, wanting to look anywhere else, but being unable to do so.

You felt your sins crawling down your back.

“It's okay, you must be curious. If almost every monster has completely forgotten our existence, then you probably don’t know much either.” The tiny monster reassured you, seemingly seeing through you. The other two monsters appear to be shocked silent; they must have never heard her talk about this before, “I’ll tell you… if you want me to, ____…”

“I… um…” 

You are at a loss for words. Unsure how to respond, you look to the other monsters for help. All they do, however, is shrug in response. Evidently, nothing like this has ever happened. Sighing, you look back down to the child, her eyes still looking up at you patiently.

“S-sure… I guess. If that’s okay with you… of course.”

Nodding, the child snuggles closer to you, getting comfortable for the conversation ahead, probably.

“It was the day of the Core’s grand opening. Everyone was excited about it. It was a generator that could easily power the whole underground, after all. Of course everyone would be stoked.

Despite all the excitement that was made for the Doctor’s invention, only people who worked and managed the core were allowed near it, with a few exceptions of course.

I… I wasn’t supposed to be there. My...  my parents told me I couldn’t go out to see it when I asked, but I didn’t listen to them. I snuck out when I had the chance, and even managed to slip past the security that was put there to keep others out.

We were at the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess. I don’t know much of what happened. Something went wrong, and monsters were told to evacuate. I was scared… but I didn’t leave like I was supposed to. If I went with the others, I would certainly be found. I would have been in so much trouble. There was no way I could let my parents know I was there.”

The small monster closed her eyes; a sad, resigned look forming on her face. Without even realizing it, you had clutched her closer to you, wanting to comfort the pained child.

“T-there was an explosion, and the floor caved in. I-I tried to get away… the few that were left did too… but only a few got lucky and survived. Those that didn’t…”

“Fell into my creation.”

You all jumped at the familiar voice, looking up at the dark figure that stood ahead of him. His eyelights focused on you, scanning for your reaction before letting out a long-suffering sigh. Levie stood in silence behind him, his expression unreadable.

“Looks like we’ve missed some important things while we were gone.” Gaster murmured. Your guilt must have surfaced on your face, because he gave you a small reassuring smile as he added, “Do not worry, I am not mad. I knew that subject would come up sooner or later.”

“Now, however, it is time for the two of you to sleep.” He concluded, picking up the small monster in your lap, much to her chagrin. She whined in protest, but didn’t try to wiggle from his hold, the doctor’s sockets not looking at her, but at you sternly, “That would include you.”

“Wait, why do I have to get a bedtime?” You question, pouting, “I am not a kid.”

“While you are not a child anymore, you are still a patient recovering from a weakened state. So, you get a scheduled bedtime.” He answered back, his eye lights flashing for a moment. This wasn’t something you could get out of, evidently, “Am I clear?”

You groan dramatically, getting up with a defeated look. You could just feel the previous tension melt away as you walked past him, giving him an exaggerated complaint.

“Ugh, fiiine. Whatever you say… Dadster .”

With that, the last of the tension from the previous discussion disappeared.

The four other monsters burst out into laughter, not expecting the sudden pun to come out of you. Gaster, however, stood were he was, trying to sputter out some kind of response but too flustered to do so.

Then after a few moments, you felt yourself halt in your tracks as what you would say a downright evil look slowly came onto the doctor’s face.

“My my, _____, how daring. I didn’t know you were thinking that far ahead. You haven’t even met my son in person yet.”

It was your turn to sputter in response.

“Wait WHAT?!” The three followers exclaimed, staring from him to you. You knew you were blushing something fierce right now, in fact, you didn’t think it could get any redder than it was at this moment of time.

“That's it, you guys are banned from my room for the rest of the day.” You say, marching over and pushing them all over to the recently opened door. Looks like someone forgot to close it.

“Wait wait, yah can’t just leave us hangin’ like this!” Lirra exclaimed, grinning impishly as you push them through the door, “At least tell us which one it is!”

“NOPE, nadda, not happening! We are NOT and will NEVER have this conversation!” You hiss, “Now good day to you!”

“But-”

“I said GOOD DAY!”

With that you slammed the door behind them, locking it for the first time. After you stood there for a moment, you slid down with your back to the door, listening to the excited laughter and chatter that slowly subsided until it was no more.

Your heart was pounding in your ears, fluttering every once in a while as mental images of what Gaster had implied appear unwelcome in your mind. Of y-you and h-him… a-a-actually…

A little squeak escaped your mouth as you covered your face with your hands, feeling the heat emanating there. You shouldn’t think of this; you haven’t even met him yet for god’s sake! This was just some simple infatuation from when you thought this was just a game…

But it wasn’t a game. He wasn’t a game character anymore. He was just as real as anyone else.

C-could there be a chance that you… you could actually have a chance… with...

You groan, curling up a little more, shaking your head at yourself. No, you couldn’t think about this right now. Your weren’t going to think about it, consider it, or even acknowledge it right now. There was too much happening in your life right now, too many things you needed to focus on and fix, that such a concept like that should be left alone for now.

First, get your stuff together and then you can go and confront this issue… even if Gaster seems to already know all about it and will probably tell the others about it too.

You have a feeling this isn’t going to be the last time you hear about this from them.

“God dammit…”

Chapter Text

You lie there amongst the colorless sheets, your gaze eyeing the grey ceiling above you. Whatever simulation of light was gone now, leaving a false sense of night in its wake.

You should have been asleep for a long while now, but you weren’t. The information you had learned earlier just wouldn’t ease from your mind, it seemed.

You close your eyes, dragging a long inhale before letting out a quiet sigh.

After you had calmed down, it hadn’t been long before you followed the doctor’s orders and went to bed. Your mind wasn’t going to let you sleep though.

You hadn’t put much thought into what these monster’s lives could have been like before they were lost to the void. Well, with the exception of Gaster, that is. They were not just lost characters in glitched code anymore. They had family and friends before this; they had a whole life that they had lost.

Levie was probably a scientist working with Gaster if his analytical nature was to go by. Lirra had lost her job as reporter of the underground. Caz, oh god poor Caz, has a wife and child he had been separated from, just like Gaster had been ripped away from his children. The monster child had to have parents before this. The poor dear must miss them so much.

Had they been forgotten? Most likely. If Gaster had been erased from the minds of most monsters, then the others must have as well. How many monsters remember anything of the others? Their families, their friends? Probably not many, if any at all; if you were to say by the knowledge you know at this moment.

It was disturbing just how easily one could be forgotten, how you could be erased from the map with one, single, horrible event.

They had lost everything, and yet they were still here. How could they still be like they are now after everything they have gone through? Perhaps, it was because they were together? Still, you believed they were stronger than you could ever be. You don’t think you would have survived long if you were in their shoes.

Sure, you were here with them now, stuck in the same predicament as they are, but there are a few key differences between you and them. For one: no one was left for you really back home to worry or care about. Those that you had cared for were long gone from the state you lived in, or just not in the equation anymore. Two: unlike them, you were complete… or at least you feel like you aren’t missing anything. They were devoid of any color, missing key components from when they existed. You could see that just by looking at them. Three: Unlike them, you were never supposed to be in this universe in the first place.

Despite everything that you have learned so far, you felt like you have learned almost nothing in comparison. You had so many questions. What was the monster kid’s name? Who were their family members before they fell into the void?  Why can’t they leave this place? What will happen after you finish your recovery? Will you eventually go into existence? Will they?

Did they need help to get out of this void, and if so, how can you help them reach existence?

You sit up, forgetting about the need to sleep as your brow furrows in concentration. After all of this time stuck here, you never once thought or even heard about that topic. You guess everyone was trying to help you get your mind wrapped around dieing, basically being revived, and now living in a world once thought of as a simple work of fiction. Yeah, your mind had been a bit busy on other things then.

Now however, it was now working overdrive on ways to save them. Your natural instinct to think of others before yourself kicking in with a vengeance.

However, to your frustration, nothing substantial comes forth in your mind. You knew too little to even start thinking of a way to help them right now. If you were to plan this out, you needed to get the necessary information.

That means you had to wait to talk to your friends in the morning to get the information you need.

For once, you really just didn’t want to be patient on this.

Thankfully, you didn’t have to suffer through waiting, as your frustrated thoughts were broken by a loud thump on your door. Huh, how curious.

With a quirk of your brow, you throw your sheets off of you, sliding off your bed before silently finding your way to the door. With a flick of your finger, you unlock the grey door, opening it up. Who could be knocking on your door this late? Well… you feel like it is still late at least.

…

Oh.

Oh dear. So that’s who would want you at this time of the night.

Looking to the floor in front of you, the small lizard monster stood silent. The poor thing was shaking, her eyes straining and failing to hold back tears. After a moment, the child looked up, yet she gave you the distinct feeling that she wasn’t able to look you in the eyes.

“I-I’m s-sorry…” The monster child choked out, struggling to take even breaths, “I k-know you p-probably w-w-were asleep, -hic- but I- I-”

A spear of pain struck your heart at seeing the crying child. Not letting the monster finish her apology, you reach out and gently pick her up, holding her close as she devolves into broken sobs in your arms.

Upon thinking about what could upset the kid so much, your mind instantly goes over to the previous discussion with her. Was this your fault? Did you do this by letting her tell, and in turn, relive their fall?

Seeing the kid in such a way fills you with no small amount of guilt.

“Shhh, it's okay. There is no need to apologize, I’m here for you now.” You reassure, whispering more soothing words as you walk back to your bed. Sitting back down, you position your back to the front panel of the bed, freeing one of your hands to mold your covers into a plush nest around the two of you.

You never had much experience comforting anyone before; you hope you are doing this right. Right now, all you had going for you was your gut instinct and natural wish to see those you cared about happy.

Thankfully, your care seemed to be working, as after several moments and many hushed words later, the child started to calm down. You rubbed her back as she stilled, her sobs devolving into nothing as she laid there with her head hiding into your gown.

“You… you feeling at least a little better now kid?” You murmur softly after several more moments of silence. All you got was a shaky nod, not seen but felt through your fabric covering your stomach, in reply. Not knowing much else to say in this situation, you add, “You… wanna talk about it?”

Oh… great going _____. Just ask her the most clique thing you could in this situation. Of course.

As you are internally face palming yourself, the small monster peeks out from the white fabric she had been hiding into. Her hollow eyes held a look that was both haunted and desperate, like two sides of herself were warring with her mind right at that very moment. After several silent moments, her face steels with something akin to determination, her decision seemingly met.

“Oh- okay…” She whispered, nodding to herself as she shifted into a more comfortable cuddling position, “Once I went to bed… I-I tried to fall asleep like Doctor Gaster wanted me to…”

“... but I couldn’t. I-I couldn’t stop thinking about what it was like, before all this happened,” The child stammered, taking deep breaths to try to keep herself calm. It seemed to be working, “When I still lived with my ma and pa…”

“O-oh,” You say, forcing back the bile that threatened to rise from the bottom of your throat. You could feel your chest burn with the guilt you felt, but you still listened. If there was anything you could do, it was listen.

“Yeah…” the small monster agreed with a small melancholy smile, “I just… never saw how much I took them for granted until I got stuck here. Like… I always thought they were just trying to keep me down when all they were doing was protecting me.”

“Now though, there is nothing I’d rather do than see them again.”

The monster’s smile faded, turning into that blank stare you’d once had.

“But that’s not going to happen… is it?”

You jolt at that, shock filling your system. In a panic, you try to reply, but are interrupted.

“No matter what we’ve tried to do, we never won. They’ve messed with the void, nothing happened. They’ve messed with the code of the world and we got something, but it wasn’t enough. We finally got out of the void to a certain point, so we went to anyone, hoping that someone could help. Yet we. got. n o t h i n g.”

“Do you know what happens when we leave,” She asks, yet you don’t get time to answer as she continued, “We might be able to go about the underground like we used to, but we still don’t exist.”

“We can go to everyone: King Asgore, The Royal Scientist, our friends, our family. Yet, they can’t see us. They can’t remember us. If your lucky, only the few closest people to you can remember even a little bit about you, if they remember at all.”

The child lets out a small laugh, but you could see nothing about this that could be remotely funny. Your chest tightened in pain; the implications of what was being said felt horrible to your mind. What a terrible thing to experience.

“The funny thing is… you’d think that my parents would remember me, right? Well, they didn’t. Of course, they still grieved for me, even if they didn’t know what they were missing. I saw it with my own eyes, after all,” She sighed, looking off into nothing, “Yet… nothing lasts forever, and time moved on without us. Eventually, the holes we left behind were filled with other monsters until it was like we never existed at all.”

The small monster took that moment to look up at me. Their emotionless eyes bore into your own, and at that moment, you realized what that expression was.

It was someone devoid of hope.

“Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same… except you don't exist? Everything functions perfectly without you…,” She murmured, unknowingly speaking her iconic lines, “Alphys replaces Doctor Gaster as the royal scientist. Old friends get new ones to replace the ones they lost. Empty jobs quickly get refilled…”

“My family has a new child to replace the one they lost.”

“Whoa kid, wait a minute,” You finally interrupt her, clutching the kid’s shoulders and you look down into their blank eyes, “They didn’t just replace you-”

“But they did,” She replied, anger replacing the blankness. She gritted her teeth, tears forming in her eyes as she continued, “I know they didn’t do it on purpose, but they did!”

“They got a new kid, a son, that acts just like me,” The grey monster closed her eyes, hanging her head, “he looks like me, he likes the same stuff I did, he even does the same stupid mistakes I did…”

“But of course that couldn’t be all, even after that he had to take the one last thing I had away from me,” Tears fell from her face, looking back up at you once more. Your mind screamed for you to say something, anything, to help this child. Yet, there was nothing you could think of to say.

“He even has the same name as me!”

“Oh shi-mph!” You mutter, blocking your mouth with a hand.

You think you know who she was talking about now.

Come on, there was only one monster you could think of that looked the same, acted the same, and did the same things that this child did. The very same lizard monster that sneaked off from home to other places that they shouldn’t have. The only one that got themselves into a possibly dangerous situation.

“M-monster kid…” You breathed.

Curse her parents and their incapability to decide unique names for their children!

You sat there for a moment, processing this information. What are you supposed to say to something like that? This was way out of your line of experience; there was nothing you could say to fix something like that.

Yet, you couldn’t just stay silent. You felt something spark within you, starting from your chest and flowing throughout your body. Sure you could never relate to what happened to this child. You weren’t going to pretend that you did. No, but you could be honest and tell them what you did know. 

The idea that no matter what you would help this child, fills you with DETERMINATION.

You shift, letting go of the child and making your way out of the bed. You saw the look of resigned acceptance on the child’s face, but you wouldn’t let it stay on there for long.

You lightly grab the child, causing her to squeak in surprise as you position her to be sitting on the side of the bed. You kneel down, looking at her face to face, one of your hands laying on her shoulder.

“Alright kiddo. I am going to be absolutely truthful here,” You say, letting out a sigh, “ I am not going to say I understand what you all went through. I honestly don’t, but I can tell you this,”

“You’re not a goner, kid. You might think the world works perfectly without you, that everyone replaced you with someone else, but that isn’t true.”

The child's eyes widened at that, and you felt yourself growing more confident at that. You let yourself speak your mind, wiping the kid’s tears away with the sleeve of your gown.

“You said it yourself that your family grieved for you, that they missed you even if they didn’t remember who they were missing. If there is one thing I know, is that the space in their heart that was for you, can’t just be filled by someone else.”

“No matter what, the world can’t just perfectly work without you. Your parents will still miss you. Everyone else's families will still miss them. Without Gaster, the underground wouldn’t have had the core in the first place.”

“And sure, the world goes on without you, but that is how things work. If it didn’t, existence would just be as stagnant as the void, don’t you think?” You smile at the child, “It doesn’t mean it's the end for you. Far from it really.”

“After all, you have me, and that is something you definitely haven’t had before.” You add, seeing the child flinch at that realization, “I don’t know what I could do to help you all leave this place, but I am here. Maybe, with me by your guys’ side, we can finally find a way to get you guys out of here.”

With that said, you bring the child into your embrace, taking a deep breath before finishing.

“And that right there, is a promise.”

Chapter Text

“A-a new name?”

After a while of talking it out. It seemed like the monster child was feeling much better. You could see it in her face, and the emotions in it. 

Deep down, you seemed to have given the little one at least a little bit of hope.

Now, however, you’ve steered the conversation towards a different topic. Specifically: a name for the child.

“Well, yeah. As much as I love calling ya kiddo and all. I think at least some sort of nickname is in order.” You smile, a little nervous to be approaching this topic. “Uh, you know, if that is okay with you… I understand if that's a subject you don’t want to… think about right now.”

“N-no. Your right.” The little lizard monster nodded, snuggling into the fabric of her sweater in an attempt to hide the light colored blush rising to her face, “I can’t be avoiding the problem forever. Besides, I don’t really want to be called ‘Monster Kid’ if I ever get back to my family…it wouldn’t be fair to my little brother, at least.”

“Well alright then,” You nod, getting up from your crouched position and letting yourself have a nice, long stretch. Not the most comfortable pose you could have done, that’s for sure, “Well, I’ll see if I can think up anything while I make us some breakfast if ya don’t mind.”

“Oh, okay,” The child agrees, watching you as you stretch. She slides off your bed, walking over to the couch and taking a seat.

With that you get to work, grabbing eggs and butter from the fridge before grabbing the bread and putting it in the toaster. Once that is done, you gather up a pan and a spatula to get started on the eggs.

In the silence, you let your mind focus on all the things you learned today. It was a lot to take in really, and overall heartbreaking. Just how much have your friends suffered?

Friends… you haven’t thought of that too much, have you?

You truly thought of them as friends. Huh.

You’ve never had this many friends at once before… or so quickly for that matter. 

I guess that happens when some people literally save your life.

And such a great friend deserves a great name to go with it.

You hum softly at that, peeking over at the child for a moment. The little one seemed to be in her own little world, swinging her legs absentmindedly as she waited.

The kid’s been through a LOT, so you needed to think of something really good. Something that fit her well and was unique to boot.

You eyed her for a moment, looking at the grayscale colors she wore. Your eyes seem to lock onto the bow on top of her head.

It was a beautiful shade of silver.

“Hey, kiddo…” You speak up after a moment, watching as the little one startles into attention. Flipping the egg you are working on, you ask, “Has that ribbon of yours… always been silver?”

“Huh? O-Oh… yeah, it has.” The child replied. You could only assume she was focusing on her ribbon now, “All my colors for my clothes were basically purples and silvers actually. It uh… complimented with my scales.”

You nod again getting a picture for what it would look like. You smile at the mental image, it was a lovely color combination really. Maybe you could focus on that.

You couldn’t do much with purple when implementing it into a name. Besides, silver sounded a little less common than purple in your opinion. Like, it was more… specific really.

Now, all you needed to do now was edit the word into something more… name-worthy.

Silver… Silia? No no, you couldn’t easily tell it came from the word silver. Silvia… better… better.

Silviar… Ooof, no. Silviak… yikes that’s worse.

Silvian?

Oooh, that actually sounds good!

“Silvian,” You mutter it out loud, testing it. It rolls off the tongue nicely, if you do say so yourself!

“Huh?” 

You look back as you put the final over easy egg on the plate, noticing the confused look on her face. Oops, you probably should have at least given her a little more context before blurting the name out.

“I think I got a good name for you,” you smile, bringing the two plates of food to the coffee table to eat, “Does Silvian sound good? It's nice and unique, and it can be shortened down to Silvy for a nickname.”

You watched as the child processed what you said for a moment, blinking in realization.

“Silvian…” The monster murmured, her body slowly straightening as she tested out the new name. To your pleasure, her eyes widened as a smile rose onto her grey face, “S-Silvian! I… I like it!”

You grinned, happiness claiming your soul at the child’s reply.

“I am so happy to hear that… Silvian.”

You dig into your meal, feeling accomplished at seeing the child’s, Silvian’s, grin. This was much better than what she was like a few hours ago. Now, all you needed to do was look into just how you could help them get out of here and back to the real world.

Now, just how were you going to do something like that?

Well, you already knew that you needed more information, so that was the first thing you needed to do. Silvy gave you a good bit of information, but the kid probably knew only so much. It would be best to wait for Gaster or Levie to come over and talk to them then. Seeing as they were both scientists, you were sure they had most of the information you could need to think up something .

Sure, you might not be anywhere near as smart as them, but you had an intensive knowledge of Undertale itself and DETERMINATION on your side.

No matter what, you would find a way, you always have.

“Uh, are you okay?”

You look up, meeting the child’s worried gaze. Seeing that, you give them a determined grin.

“Yeah, just thinking on what I need to do to make a plan on helping you guys get out of here.” You look towards the door, thoughtful, “I’ll need to talk to Levie or the Doctor to get a better understanding of the situation. Once I have that, I’ll hopefully be able to figure out a plan.”

“O-Oh yeah, that makes sense, hehe.” 

The child giggles a little, before stopping abruptly. Surprised, you look over to her. Was…. was that beads of sweat inching down her skull?

“O-ooh boy…”

“Er… are you okay kid?”

“Y-yeah!,” Silvian replied, her grin looking more like a grimace, “I just remembered that I might have not… told anyone that I went here.

“Oh,” You say blankly before the implications of what was just said finally gets to you, making you wince. “Oooooh lor-”

You both flinch in your seats as frantic knocking comes from the door. Welp, this was going to be an interesting morning…

---

“H-hey, we are so sorry to bug you this early in the morning, but have you seen- Oh thank the stars she is just here…”

You smiled sympathetically at the cat monster in front of you. The poor guy looked like a mess. He probably didn’t get completely ready for the day before he noticed the monster child was missing. In fact, everyone else behind him didn’t look  much better either.

“Yeah… sorry to make you all worry.” You apologize, letting out a nervous chuckle before giving them space to come in, “Come on in, you look like you need a breather from searching… wherever you go to search for a lost child.”

With a huff, the followers and Gaster entered the room, eyeing the site of the guilty looking child and the empty plates before sitting down themselves.

“Interestingly enough, not only us exist in the void,” Gaster murmured. He went straight for the coffee maker as he continued, “ We made homes in the little patches of land lost to time and space. It is not much, but it is something.”

“I see.”

“If we are going to be stuck here, might as well make the most of it,” Lirra mumbled, continuously bobbing her head off of the pillow in an attempt to keep herself awake.

“Indeed,” The humanoid monster next to her nodded, agreeing. His eyes went to you and to your surprise, his gaze almost instantly went intense. You’ve seen this a few times before when he was checking your health; this was the look when he found something that concerned him.

“Wait… your eyes are red, and the rings under your eyes are darker than usual,” Levie spoke up, looking blatantly concerned, “Did- did you not get any sleep last night?”

Welp, here we go.

It still surprised you when Levie suddenly showed spurts of emotion like this. He was a calm and collected guy, but just like all the monsters here he was more than he seemed. 

By that, you mean he is very compassionate about your health.

In turn, it concerned you how he might react if one of his ‘patients’, oh you don’t know, perhaps did an all nighter with a traumatized child instead of sleeping as what was ordered of you.

Well, might as well get this over with.

“Well… er… I- we didn't get much sleep last night.” You start, watching as all eyes focus on you. You felt the glare of Gaster’s from the kitchen, his fatherly instincts no doubt kicking in something fierce.

“_____,” You wince, looking over and - yep, that look he was giving could subdue even the most unruly of people. You could feel yourself start to sweat as he continued, “If I remember, I put you - no, both of you - to bed. It wasn’t a suggestion.”

You wince, unable to look him in the eye. In fact, you couldn’t look either Gaster or Levie in the eye, as the smaller monster stood up in a fit of righteous anger.

“I can’t believe you, staying up while your body is still recovering.” The humanoid monster paced over to you, analyzing you as he chastised you, “Of course, staying up one night isn’t going to be too hard on your recovering body, but you had just started to have a successful sleep schedule after a long bout of spotty sleep!”

“I know, I know! Jeeze…,” You mutter, “I am very sorry for not keeping to the new ‘sleep schedule’... I couldn’t seem to fall asleep… I had too much on my mind.”

“Oh really,” You look over to meet the intense gaze of the doctor himself, forcing yourself to keep eye contact, “Pray tell, what could be so important to keep you from the direct orders of your literal doctor?”

You straighten up at that. This could be your best chance to bring up such a subject!

“Lots of things actually.”

The rest of the group, not including Silvian, blinked in surprise at the complete one-eighty shift in your demeanor. What once was a shy, guilty looking girl now sat a human that looked dead set on something. What said something could be, they couldn’t guess.

“I thought about how much you’ve helped me… how far I’ve come since I woke up here.

I thought about how strong you all are, and how much you've had to fair all on your own.

I’ve thought about how and where I might have to go from here… and how I want to help you guys out in return for what you’ve done for me.

And… after Silvian came over and talked to me… I know exactly what I want to do.

I want to get all of you out of here and onto the surface.”

---

“Wha- hwu- when… how… Wait…. Silvian?” Lyrra stammered, effectively summing up just how confused everyone appeared to be, you simply pointing to the monster child as the answer to her last question. She looked at the child for a moment before speaking up again, “I have, so many questions.”

“I think we all do,” Gaster mumbled, looking both confused and concerned.

“Seriously though, how did we get from simply ‘getting yah back to health’ to ‘Saving several monsters lost to time and space’?!” The snake monster exclaimed, “and don’t think I am just gonna let slide the whole ‘Silvian’ thing!”

“Okay okay, I’ll explain everything.” You reconcile, your hands held up in defeat.

With that, you take your time explaining everything that happened that night till the present. Everyone’s attention was on you, all their expressions unreadable.

You would be impressed with their poker faces if not for how anxious it was making you.

Once you have finished, you all sit there in silence, seemingly stewing over all that you said. Finally, after several moments, Gaster spoke up.

“Child….” Gaster murmured, putting a skeletal hand softly on Silvian’s head, “is this what you wish to be called from here on out?”

Blinking, the little monster nodded, causing the doctor to nod in return. 

“Then… I have no quarrel with it.” The skeleton monster smiled fondly at the child, “I would be happy to call you by your new name if that is what you want, Silvian.”

“Silvian… wow, it's a very nice name!” Lirra crowed, nodding her approval, Caz joining in with what could be considered a grin of his own.

“It's better than anything I could have thought up… or most of us for that matter.” Levie added, smirking a little bit as the others looked at him begrudgingly.

Pleasure coursed through you at the sight of all their happy faces. It really made you happy to see them all like this. No worried looks, no flickers of despair or hopelessness in their eyes. They were all glowing at this moment, bonded together with the new beginnings for someone they cared about.

Yet, of course, it was just a moment. Time goes by and thus this happiness couldn’t last forever.

“As nice as this is, there is something I must talk to _____ about,” Gaster sighed, bringing everyone's attention to him. His expression was unreadable as he continued “If you all could leave for a moment, that would be great. I wish to speak to her in private.”

Looking at each other for a moment, the other seemed to get the same idea at once. With a simple nod in unison, they all went out the door.

Now that left you, all alone with the doctor, both looking at each other with uncertainty. You didn’t know what you got yourself into…

Yet, you know that whatever happens, you wouldn’t give up on that goal to save them.

Chapter Text

“So…”

“So indeed…” 

The doctor sat slumped on the couch, his whole demeanor changing in a way you’ve never seen before. He looked so tired, gazing at you with faded eyelights.

“I must say… I knew something like this would happen sooner or later.” Gaster muttered, his eyelights looking away from you, “You’ve proven you care about our race time and time again, so I really shouldn’t have thought it would be any different now.”

“Yet, even now I am surprised. Even after everything that has happened to you… you still want to help us.”

“Well, yeah,” You reply, raising an eyebrow as you continue, “You guys saved my life and are nursing me back to health, so of course I’d want to help you.”

“I know you too well to know that anything I say now wouldn’t change your mind even if I wanted to. However, I must ask you not to be too overzealous to help us right now.” Gaster spoke, raising a hand as you tried to protest, “ You are still healing _____, Don’t forget that. I do not want to see you ignoring your own health in favor of our own situation.”

Gaster sighed, eyeing you sternly. He could tell you weren’t too pleased with what he was saying, “and, even if you were to find a way right now, what then?”

“What would you do after that? There is no evidence of your existence in this world. You don’t have any money, nor a birth certificate or any other required IDs. You don’t have a place out there to live and recover. You don’t even have a way out of the underground without being seen. Humans aren’t supposed to be down here _____, being seen would be the last thing you’d want.”

You tried to think of something to retort with… but nothing came to you.

You sighed, thinking hard about what he said. He was right; you didn’t know what you’d do if you did get them out of here. You, quite literally, had nothing to your name here.

“I am not here to discourage you,” the doctor added, reaching out to put a bony hand on your shoulder, “I just want to make sure you don’t rush towards mistakes that could easily be solved with time.”

“Ugh, yeah, I get you,” You agree, albeit a bit begrudgingly, “What do we do now though? I am still going to try to find a way to help you guys, but what do you think we should do?”

“Well… The best thing I believe we can do is call everyone back in and get you caught up on our… situation.” He replied, looking away from you, “Then if you have any ideas we can discuss them together.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan.”

-----

“This… Yah are really going for this?” 

“It seems so.”

“I thought we were going to wait till she was fully recovered before we went to this!”

“_____’s… really determined when she wants to be.”

“Uh, guys? I am right here you know!” You spoke up, looking back and forth between Gaster and Lirra in exasperation.

Everyone in the room looked to you with deadpan expressions, causing you to clutch the monster child in your arms harder.

Within the group, Levie sighed, pinching where his nose would be if he had one. 

“Okay, disregarding our last topic, lets see what ideas you might have.” the humanoid monster spoke, eyeing you, “Do you have anything that could be of use to us?”

“Well… to be honest with you I didn’t have anything,” you reply, sighing, “I just need more information on the situation before I can think of ideas. Could I get a bit of an explanation?”

Gaster nodded, opening his mouth to explain.

“Of course, our… situation is very different from each other. We are stuck here, shattered into broken forms of ourselves. You... you are whole. You aren’t stuck in the void; you could leave anytime you wanted if you really wished to.

Those of us stuck in the void are directly linked to each other… Well, they are directly linked to me specifically.

Whatever my condition is, they will mirror too. They were forgotten because I was forgotten. They are stuck in this void because I am. They are shattered across time and space because I am.

They are only able to leave the void because they are linked to my health. If I would leave, time would start for us again… and in turn, with my incomplete form, I would instantly die… and thus them.

Yet. Here, we still can’t heal. Time doesn’t exist here in the void for us. That means we are stuck like this, unable to age or heal in this place.”

You let the information stew in your mind for a few moments, before replying to Gaster.

“Okay, let's make sure I understand this right. Everyone is connected to your condition.”

“Yes.”

“So if you were to be able to have your soul healed, they would be healed as well.”

“Indeed.”

“Yet, from what I’ve been told, you can’t leave the void or else time would come back for you, killing you and your damaged soul in the process.”

“That would be the case.”

“And being in the void isn’t any better since there is no time or space here, causing you to be stuck like this.”

“Correct.”

“So… all we need to do is find a way to get you out of the void without it instantly killing you, were your soul would be safe enough to heal until you were whole again.”

“Well…,” Levie spoke up, wincing, “That could theoretically work. The problem with that is how we could be able to do such a thing…”

Yes, this was a bit problematic..

“What is the exact condition of your soul, Doc?”

“Oh? Well…” Gaster blinked, eyesockets drooping as he thought, “Well, my soul is experiencing extensive damage, and as our bodies reflect the conditions of our souls, we come out as damaged… incomplete.”

You hum, closing your eyes as you lose yourself in thought.

How were you going to be able to do this, how were you going to be able to take Gaster to existence without him instantly dying in his incomplete state?

Incomplete….

Your eyes snap open, widening. You feel like your onto something!

“So, the reason you can’t go out is because your body isn’t complete enough to support your soul?”

“Yes, that would be the case.”

You stare at the ground for several moments, thinking things through. You feel like somewhere in your mind, you have the solution here. You swear it is on the tip of your tongue! However, much to your frustration, it seems to be eluding you.

You groan, raising one of your hands to rake through your hair. Gaster sighs, shaking his head with a little smile.

“Don’t think you need to have a solution right away ____,” Gaster spoke, “You just learned a lot of information. There is no shame in letting that knowledge stew in your mind for a while.”

“God, but I feel like the solution is on the tip of my tongue though!” You voice your frustration.

“And that is okay hun!” Lyrra spoke up, grinning, “We’ve been here for years, a few more days thinking this stuff over isn’t going to hurt yah.”

“I-I guess so…” You sigh.

“Look, no matter what you do, remember this,” Gaster reassured you, resting a hand on your shoulder once more, “Even if you do find a solution, that solution would take time. It would take quite a while for my soul to heal from this type of damage. So let's just focus on your training while you think it out. I am sure that in time, the answer you are looking for will reveal itself.”

“Yeah,” You sigh, smiling up at him. “Your right.”

Gaster smiles back, before letting himself up from the couch, “Alright, I think that is all for today. Unfortunately, Levie and I have to leave for now. We do have some work to attend to.”

“And I have to continue on your clothing,” Caz added, getting up as well, “You still up for watching over Silvian for today Lyrra?”

“Of course,” The snake monster replied, nodding in affirmation, “I think I’ll stay here with them for a while. Just come back here once your done for the day.”

Once everyone agreed, Levie, Gaster, and Caz left. They traveled the void together for a few minutes before going their separate ways.

Once they were alone, Levie spoke up.

“So, what is this ‘work’ we are supposed to be doing today,” The humanoid looked up at the doctor, brow quirked in question, “If I remember correctly, we were supposed to have a day off today.”

“That is correct, my apologies Levie.” Gaster sighed, looking down at his companion before crouching down to get an eye to eye level. With a serious tone, the doctor answered.

“I have a very important mission for you…”

Chapter Text

“Uh, should we ask her, or…” 

“I don’t know hun.”

“But, she’s been at this since this morning…”

“True…”

You’ve been planning for a few days now.

Well, trying to plan would be more specific. In front of you held your hard work. Pages covered the coffee table, some in stacks, others lining one after another in a chronological fashion. Many, however, were strewn around on the table seemingly randomly, paying further homage to the organized chaos.

You’ve been writing down everything that they’ve told you about, every bit of knowledge you have encountered. You’ve also written down all you could remember on the game, every fact and tidbit that could possibly come in handy. Finally finished with the writing stage, all you had to do is put what you know together. Hopefully, your geekiness for the game will be your savior in this situation and you’d figure something out.

Well, once you figured out what your friends wanted to ask you, of course.

“You know I can hear you guys from over there right?” You question, your gaze locking on the two monsters in the kitchen.

Caz and Lirra stiffened, both sharing a deer in the headlights look. Having to stop yourself from snorting at the view, you smirked, resting your head on one of your palms.

“Sooo, what do you want to ask me?”

“Uh…” Caz muttered. Lirra, quickly getting over her surprise, nudged her companion into action, “Oh, yeah! We just wanted to ask you about what clothes you might specifically want.”

Lirra, nodding in approval, turned her gaze onto you and smiled, adding, “I know we talked to yah about what yah would and wouldn’t want in general, but is there anything specific you’d like him to make?”

“Hm… well,” You hummed, leaning back a bit as you thought, “I’ve never been that picky as long as what I wore was comfy and didn’t look completely crappy… The only thing I can think of is a jacket probably. No matter what I wore I usually had one with me, wearing it or not.”

“... A jacket,” Lirra spoke. You weren’t liking the knowing look on her face right now.

“... Yeeees?”

Lirra’s grin grew wider, up to shit-eating levels if you do say so yourself, “Did said jacket happen to be blue by any chance?”

“Uh, yeah? Blue is my favorite color,” You answered. You weren’t exactly sure where she was going with this. So what if your favorite jacket was blue…. Oh. Oh .

“Wh-” You sputtered, feeling your cheeks heat up traitorously. You should have known you weren’t going to get your way out of this topic,  “Dude, come on, I’ve been wearing jackets long before I even knew of Undertale. Don’t you two get any ideas.”

“We didn’t say anything~,” Lirra replied in a sing-song voice. She was enjoying this way too much.

You deadpanned at that, “You don’t need to, it’s written all over your faces.”

“Funny, I could say the same to you.”

Et Tu, Caz?!

“Don’t make me come over there dorks,” You jokingly threaten, pointing a finger at the monsters in question.

Their snickers rose in volume. You could feel your resolve breaking as Lirra went on, “Oh, and what would yah do missy? Hug me to death?”

“Pfft, don’t tempt me!”

With that, you all broke out in laughter. 

Man, you didn’t know you needed that. You’ve been working on this project of yours every chance you could get, so maybe a break messing around with your friends would be a good idea.

After the laugher died down, Lirra and Caz went to join you in the living room, taking great care not to mess up the papers in the process. Caz propped himself down with a sigh, a few final chuckles escaping his white mouth.

“Heheh, speaking of jackets, this reminds me of something that happened on my first two weeks on the job.”

Oh? That sure caught your attention.

“Yeah?”

“Yep,” Caz nodded, before getting lost in what you’d assume was the memory, “I had been working directly with Gaster for about a week or so, as at that stage of the Core’s development he often needed some work done on particularly complicated machinery.”

“One day, right after work, I get this call from him,” Caz’s smile widened in mirth, “and he asks me, in the most defeated tone of voice, ‘Hey, Caz? Do you remember how you told me about your passion for sewing?’ “

“Evidently, the day had tuckered him out so much he couldn’t just ‘port his way back home after he got his kids from their babysitter,” He further explained, “And the elevators had malfunctioned that day, so he had to go the long route home.”

Oof, that must of been quite the time. Trying to take care of two little kids after a long day at work and having to go the long route... Man… that must have been quite the day.

“To get back to their home in Snowdin they had to go through the dump. Gaster took his eyes away from Sans for only a second, but when he looked back the kid had gotten ahold of the rattiest blue jacket you’ve ever seen.”

“No way…,” Your eyes widened, your mind starting to put the pieces together, “Your serious?”

“Yep!” Caz replied, grinning even wider, “You think that’s something. I am sure you know Sans is a pretty chill guy. He was just like that as a kid too. Calm, not really wanting to many things. He was always pretty content in watching his little brother do all the mischievous things kids get up to then doing it himself.”

“However, when he saw that jacket in the dump, the kid must have loved it, since no matter what Gaster tried to do Sans wouldn’t let go of that jacket.”

“Oh my god,” You murmured, putting your hand over your mouth, covering your grin. You could see it now. A little skeleton clutching some oversized, dirty jacket over his tiny body, refusing to let go no matter how much his tired father pleaded. It had to be the most adorably hilarious thing you’ve heard of in a long time.

“So, after all that, all the doctor could do was call me up and ask me if I’d fix the jacket up.” Caz, shook his head, sighing happily at the memory, “It was in really bad shape. It took me several hours of work, but I got it patched up really well. Hehe, even if the jacket was way too big for him, Sans always wore it. Hell, he still wears it now.”

“Wow,” You sighed.

Wow indeed, you weren’t expecting to get the origins on sans’ jacket today. You wonder just how much more you’ll learn in the future.

Shaking your head, your gaze returned to Caz, adding, “That is a seriously adorable mental image. I wish you took a picture of it man.”

Lirra’s grin went back to knowing again, “Adorable huh?”

This time, however, you quirked your eyebrow in challenge.

“What, am I supposed to think a babybones wearing a waaay oversized jacket to be anything other than the most adorable thing ever?”

Lirra blinked for a moment, surprised by your reply, before recovering, giggling sheepishly.

“Ehhh you got me there.”

Chapter Text

The void was a dark place, holding many secrets in its grasp. Gaster knew this from experience.

As he went on his way, darker yet darker into the abyss, he pondered on everything that had occurred to get him to this point. All his achievements; all his… failures; and yet, here they were despite it all.

They were not alone. Despite it all, he- everyone seemed to have a bit of hope again.

There was a time, where he would have scoffed at the idea of getting help from a human. Yet, those times were long past now. The void can do that to someone, he supposed.

Gaster blinked, his pace slowing. There wasn’t anything there to the untrained eye. Yet, if one were to look closer…

The doctor, with a practiced swipe of his hand, tore through the nothingness, opening the passage to something no one else had, or would ever, have access to.

With only a moment of hesitation, the monster entered.

Numbers, data, code: It was everywhere. Swirling around him, past him, to stars-knows were. He didn’t dare touch it.

Only a true fool would mess with the very fabric of their reality without the knowledge of what it could do, and he was far from that fool.

Ah, but he was getting off track. He was here for a reason. Gaster’s gaze locked on a specific sequence of code; a code that used to not exist, your code.

It was here were you appeared, and he had witnessed the very fabric of reality shift to accommodate you. He never thought such a thing could be possible, but alas, whenever it came to you even the most asinine of things somehow feel like they can become reality. You were as anomalous as one can get, after all. Stars knows what could be possible with you in the midst.

Gaster eyed the code carefully. Thankfully, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Some of the code was… odd, but that wasn’t anything new. Everything seemed stable, as he hoped it would. The code seemed to be fitting with the rest just fine.

At least he didn’t have to worry about your stability in this world. Now, all he had to do is figure out your anomalous parts of code…

-----

“There!”

Caz exclaimed, snipping the thread from the article of clothing he created. He’s been at it for several hours, and he was proud to say things were looking great. As of now he was around three-fourths done with all the clothing that needed to be made. 

Right now, however, he felt like it was best to take a break after so long at work. The cat monster rose from his seat, giving out a long, languid stretch before exiting his room.

He was glad he stocked up when all of Monsterkind was still underground. The whole underground was practically empty, so actual supplies were incredibly rare now. Maybe he would go out into the underground again… It was unlikely to find that much of anything, but it wouldn’t hurt to try he supposed.

With that in mind, he procured his phone from his pocket; a large, durable thing; and gave a text to the Doctor himself for access. As usual, the skeletal monster was as punctual as ever, and gave him the affirmative after only a few moments.

With that, he opened the door and walked into the underground once more.

Caz padded along through Waterfall, the grey door from whence he came quickly vanishing into the darkness as he went on. He let himself enjoy the whispers of the Echo Flowers as he traveled, making a pit stop at the dump for whatever he could find before continuing on.

So deep in his thoughts, Caz barely noticed his feet carrying him through Hotland, across the now empty Spider cave, and towards a very familiar building.

Caz blinked, eyes focusing as he eyed the building. Even as it stood dark and empty, the grandeur of the place still permeated its existence.

“O-oh…”

He felt a wave of nostalgia crash through him at the sight. It's been so long since he has been here. It wasn’t a place that he knew before the accident, no. 

It was what it held long after his extraction from this world that made this place so important to him.

With shaky breaths, the monster entered the building, his eyes quickly growing accustomed to the darkened interior. It was the same as ever. The same glitz and glamor the building emanated. The same ridiculous fountain in the center.

The same shop on the side.

Unwittingly, he approached the building, opening the door with a shaking paw. 

It was empty when he entered.

Caz took a deep breath, and then let out a sigh. Of course he expected this, but the memories still keep making him feel this way.

After all, it’s not that surprising to see a parent missing their son, right?

Yet, he was free now, on the surface where Caz couldn’t go. Perhaps he was still working a job he despised, or perhaps he was working on that acting degree he always wanted. Caz hoped it was the latter.

The cat monster straightened himself, wiping away a few stray tears. He never got to be there for his family. They had to struggle through life without him or his funds to keep them afloat. Even then, when he found a way to get back into the underground, they couldn’t even notice his existence.

He wasn’t going to give up hope though. One day he would be back, and even though he couldn’t get back all the precious time he had lost, he would do whatever he can to give his family the best future they deserve.

-----

In Hotland, the lab was mostly silent. A large screen was the only thing on; its light piercing through the darkness and enlightening the small, humanoid monster that sat in front of it.

Levie continued to type, just as focused on his work as ever. There was a lot that needed to be done. Eventually you would leave here, sooner or later, and such a thing comes with some prerequisites.

Levie has been at this for a while, a few days in fact. He silently thanks the stars that Alphys connected this computer to the network on the surface, or none of what he was to do would even be possible. 

He has already surpassed the government’s first defenses, but he had to be careful. He knew for a fact that anything he did while in the state that he is in wouldn’t be noticed. That is a tried and true fact by now. However, the last thing any of them needed was for him to leave any trace of what he was doing behind. Stars, that would just be asking for trouble.

Come on, he was so close! Just a little farther…

Aha! He was through!

Levie grinned, letting a wave of accomplishment course through him before getting back to the project at hand.

After all, there was a lot Levie needed to get done. 

Getting you back to health is easy in comparison to getting everything ready for you once you went back to reality.

Huh, it was an odd feeling talking about reality in such a way. There wasn’t an if, only when.

He hasn’t felt like this in a long time. So… optimistic.

Well, you did have that effect on others, he supposed.

Levie sighed, typing away. At least there was something he could do to give back, in a way.

There were files that needed to be made, documents to be forged. You needed a new birth certificate, ID, Driver’s license, and more. All to make you a citizen to a world you didn’t use to exist in. 

You also needed a place to live and a bank account with an ample amount of money to support you. Monster’s G would give you more than enough to live off of, and you were being taken care of by some of the richer monsters of the Underground, Gaster especially. 

Yes, you would have more than enough money to support yourself once the G was converted to the dollar.

All that there would be left to do after that was find a place for you in the main city next to Mount Ebott, Goldenpoint City,  and said the city had plenty to choose from.

If there was anything he could do, it was to find the best place for you to live and heal at.

No matter what, he was determined to help you like you helped them.

-----

“I’m never going to get it right!”

Lirra was currently on kid watch right now, and things were going… well…

“Aw common dear, yah were almost there!” The snake-like monster reassured the child in question, “Blue magic had always been tricky to learn, and yah already got the hard part down!”

“Ugh, what's even the point…,” Silvy sulked, glaring down at the practice blocks with a vengeance, “My magic is always going to be spotty at best while I am like this. It's not like I am going to be able to really use it.”

Lirra hummed, coiling in on herself.

The child had every right to be frustrated, Lirra supposed. When everyone got stuck in the void, Silvian had been unfortunate enough to get stuck in a very specific spot in a young monsters life.

The child was long past the magical outbursts of her baby years, but only on the fringe when a monster child would start gaining an affinity to magic once again. A crossroads, as some would put it.

It caused the child to be stuck with… rather unreliable magic.

Yet, that didn’t mean the kid shouldn’t learn about it.

“Hmmm,” Lirra replied, trying to put together her thoughts, “Just because it is hard now, doesn’t mean it is pointless.”

“You’ve been given a hard predicament, and yah have taken it like a champ. It might be hard to get magic down now, but once yah do, you’ll not have to worry about it when you grow older.”

Lirra was a bit unsure as she watched the child mull it over for a few moments. 

“Do you… really think I can?” The child peeked up towards her.

“ Yes,” Lirra affirmed adamantly, nodding her head as she continued, “I don’t just think, I know you can.”

“Thanks to a few certain scientists ,” Lirra smirked, thinking back to previous memories, “You’ve learned things not many monsters even know, much less children your age. Do you think just anyone can sit along with the Doc and read giant books about Quantum Physics and actually understand it?”

“No...?”

“Exactly,” The Snake monster grinned, “And hey, if you got that down the bag, you can do anything kid.”

Silvian blinked, before speaking up timidly, “Y-yea, I guess I can.”

“Alrighty then,” Lirra grinned, raising the end of her droopy tail to boop the child in the nose. Said child giggled as the older monster continued, “Let's do it again shall we? How about this time I go through the steps alongside you; does that sound good?”

“Yeah! Let’s do that.”

With that out of the way, the two monsters got into position, ready once more.

“Okay, you already got the grabbing part down,” Lirra says, letting her magic grasp at the wooden cube ahead of her. Silvian, seeing the older monster encase her cube in a blue glow, nodded an affirmative before focusing her gaze on her own cube. 

With a bit of concentration, a blue glow sputtered into life over the other cube as well. It was weaker, but at least it was there.

“Now that you have the cube in your magic, make sure to keep your focus on it,” Lirra advised, “Now, here is the tricky part. Blue magic is all about the change of gravity on an object. When an object is dropped, it falls down due to said pull of gravity.”

“All you have to do is visualize gravity falling in a different direction,” Lirra spoke, making her cube float upwards slowly, “To make your cube go upward, you have to visualize the cube falling upwards, instead of downwards.”

Steering the cube back down, Lirra focused on the other cube in anticipation.

“Alright, now let me see you do it.”

“O-okay.”

The child kept her focus on the cub, her brows furrowed in concentration. Lirra leaned in, watching as the magic flared brighter. Oooh, she was so close!

“Alright, just a little more!”

Gritting her teeth, Sylvian narrowed her eyes. Lirra could see a few beads of sweat start to form on her head. She, too, could feel herself gritting her fangs at the sight. 

Suddenly, to both of their surprise, the cube shot up at alarming speed, causing the child to squeal in surprise and lose her concentration. Tripping as she backed away, Sylvian fell back on her butt, the cube soon joining her on the ground a few feet away with a dull clang.

After a few minutes of silence, Lirra let out a few exasperated laughs. Wow. Well, she definitely got it to work, that's for sure.

“Well would ya look at that, yah did it!”

“I did?” Silvy muttered, still dazed. After shaking her head, she held herself and exclaimed “I- I Did!”

Lirra giggled as she watched the child let out her excitement, congratulating Silvian on her accomplishment. The kid definitely wasn’t finished yet, but with that first display of power, Lirra had no worries that Silvy could get the hang of it.

Lirra smiled, feeling her soul sing in pride over the kid’s accomplishment. She couldn’t think of any time before everything happened that could bring her such happiness. 

What about her job? It was fun sure, but seeing this kid accomplish new heights…

It was just on a whole other level.

If someone told Lirra that she would be teaching a kid such an important part in a young monsters life, she probably wouldn’t have believed it. She sure as hell never even considered the possibility of teaching kids before. 

Now, however, she couldn’t think of much else she would rather be doing.

Chapter Text

Today, was going to be an interesting one.

Its been a few days since you’ve finished your ‘research’. At that time, not much has changed. You still have been trying to piece things together in between your therapy and visits from your friends to no avail. 

Today, however, was different. Today, you would be taking a break from all that and hanging with the entire gang. It should be good for you; well, you think so at least. Sometimes, leaving a project alone for a day or two and coming back to it can be helpful. It worked with you before, so you are hoping it would work again.

When you’d proposed this, every monster seemed thrilled with the idea, and everyone quickly scheduled the day off. They were to bring whatever they could find entertaining, and you would be working on dinner before they would arrive. 

Currently, you were doing just that.

In the state they were in, they technically didn’t need to eat. However, if they were to use magic they’d have to replenish it somehow. So, it was occasionally good for them to eat some monster food. Whatever they’ve been doing recently must be rather magic intensive, you’d guess.

Humming, you eyed your eclectic options. You had both a mix of human and monster food to choose from, yet you didn’t know how healthy eating human food was for the others. In fact, could some of them even eat them? Levie, Caz, and Silvy would probably be okay. Gaster, however was not only a skeleton but a very… goopy one at that. Hell, Lirra was practically amalgamate levels of goopy. Could they even digest just human food?

Well, you’d rather not wait till they get back here to start making dinner, so you decide to stick with monster ingredients for now.

Just to be safe.

Well, you sure had an interesting mix to choose from. At least you had the essentials. In the fridge there was milk, eggs, and the like, along with some vegetables and what looked like crab/shaped fruit. Crab Apples if you remembered correctly. The freezer had some sort of meat in it? You weren’t sure if it actually was, but you trusted that your friends wouldn’t get you something that would make you sick. Oh! There was some ice cream In here too? You’d have to remember that for desert.

 In some of the cupboards There were some canned goods, teas, spices, noodles, and some grey looking onions? You eyed the package holding them. “Stoic Onions” was all it read.

Shrugging to yourself, you set one of them on the counter, along with a box of Noodles, a few tomatoes, two packets of sea tea, some spices, and whatever unidentified meat was in the fridge. Spaghetti sounded like a plan.

Nodding to yourself in agreement, you gather up a cutting board, tomatoes, and onion. Then, you look around in search of a knife.

After a few moments of opening and closing compartments, you find one that contains what you need.

Instead of grabbing one, however, you just… stop.

There were only a few knives to choose from, some with serrated edges while others held a single sharp line. None of them were exactly the same, and each of them were different sizes depending on their purpose. It was an ordinary selection, and none of them were that large or anything. Just your typical kitchen utensils you’d normally see in any home really.

Then, why were you feeling..?

Your eyes couldn’t look away from the metal utensils. The minor scrapes and wear that could be seen in the blades. The knives sheen glittering to life in the light of the grey room.

Unblinking, you slowly raised your hand back up, only to pause again. Only then did you notice…

When had you started shaking?

You could practically hear the blood pumping in your ears as you stared the knives down. You were alone, there was no-one here to worry about. These knives weren’t anything special. You’ve worked with knives like these for a long while. You could do this!

Yet as you force your hand closer to the offending objects, the utter sense of dread coursed through your system.

-there, in the corner of your eye, through the darkness, moonlight shining through your window, illuminating the glittering sheen of metal.

Then, all you knew was P A I N .

Gasping, you stumble away from the compartment as quickly as you could, leaning against the nearest counter before your legs could give away. With rapid breaths, you clench your eyes shut, balling your hands into fists as your body slumps down.

Fuck, man, there would be no usage of knives for you today, evidently.

Gritting your teeth, you force yourself to straiten up on your own shaking legs, trying to take deep breaths as your heart continued to drum in your chest. After several tries, you could finally feel yourself start to come down from your adrenaline high.

Only then do you open your eyes once more.

Groaning in frustration, you shake your head. You thought you’ve been getting better. Perhaps it was foolish of you to think that you could just put your past behind you so easily. Man, you would have loved to just never think about that again, but things were never that easy.

You know what? Screw it. You weren’t going to mess with that can of worms today.

Your brows furrowed as defiance filled your mind. You had more important things to deal with right now than dealing with the good ol’ ‘Memory Lane’, so to speak. There was dinner to be made and friends to hang out with. You will deal with whatever in the world that was later.

You’ll just… make dinner without the knives. You were pretty sure you’d seen a food processor somewhere…

Even still, it took you longer than you’d like to admit to shut the still open compartment, and as you search the cabinets for the required item…

You desperately ignore the itching sensation of wounds that were no longer there.

Chapter Text

You, indeed, had a food processor.

It took you a few moments to figure it out (you’ll admit to yourself that a food processor wasn’t something you had used often), but once you got the hang of the machine you were swift in action. Soon, you had the vegetables cut, spiced, and later put in alongside a pot of browned meat to heat up alongside another boiling pot of noodles.

You sigh, dragging your hand through your hair as a wave of exhaustion hit you. Now that the previous adrenaline has completely left your system, you felt like you were starting to run out of fuel.

With a shake of your head, you meander over to the sink, grabbing a glass of water before resting with your back to the counter. All that was left to do, was wait.

Humming to yourself, you set your glass down next to you, your gaze wandering over the room.

It almost felt strange just how silent it was now. You’d gotten used to having at least one of your friends around most of the time. Now, however, all that was left to hear was the quiet bubbling of boiling water.

Your gaze settled on a particular object laying on top of the drawer that sat next to your bed. It was the sketchbook that Silvian gave you, left practically pristine, but also unused.

You frown a little, feeling an itch that you haven’t felt in a long while, your hands twitching by your sides.

It's been a long while since you’ve drawn.

There wasn’t much of a reason why you haven’t drawn. You’d just haven’t been in the mood or just hadn’t felt inspired to do it. Now, however, with nothing better to do other than watching the food cook…?

Ahh, screw it. Why not give it a go?

Shrugging to yourself, you meander your way over to the item in question, picking it up along with a mechanical pencil. Finding your way back to your previous spot, you flip the book open to the first page, and think.

And, as usual, nothing came to you.

Grumbling under your breath, you look up to the grey ceiling, eyes narrowing in concentration.

You weren’t so sure what you wanted to draw, but you wanted to draw something. It would at least keep you from being bored throughout the time spent waiting for the meal to finish up.

Well, there was something you would generally do when you didn’t know what to draw… but drawing your favorite characters right now made you feel a bit… odd. You know, since some of them actually exist now?

You cringe at the thought. Yeaaah, no. Let’s not do that. It just felt too creepy to draw them when they didn’t even know you.

Perhaps, you could draw your friends instead?

Well, they know you and one of them quite literally gave you the sketchbook to draw in… so you’d think it would be okay?

Despite being a little embarrassed by your actions, you let your hand descend onto the paper, starting your sketching.

Its been a while, so it took you a few minutes to get into the mode, but fortunately, you soon found yourself sketching the monsters up with practiced strokes. Their forms filled the paper, with you only stopping to stir the components to your meal. You could thankfully even color them in, as their greyscale forms didn’t require any colored pencils, a resource that you currently lacked.

“Huh, would you look at that.”

You yelp, your body flinching away from the sudden noise invading your silence. With a quick inhale, you turn around and brace yourself for-

Caz?

Oh, you must have been really zoned into your work, as you didn’t notice the cat monster enter at all. You both stare at each other in shock for a moment, the feeling of dread that had originally spiked up again now morphing into embarrassment.

“O-oh,” You apologize, inwardly cursing yourself for your voice cracking, “I didn’t even notice you came in Caz, sorry if I startled you.”

“No, no. It’s fine,” The monster shook his head, somehow managing to conjure a sheepish look on his face, “I’m sorry for scaring you, I tried to get your attention but you were pretty caught up in that .”

Caz pointed, his focus now on your book once more. The white sliver that indicated his mouth quirked into a crooked smile, and you could feel your blood rising to your cheeks even more.

“Ah yeah, that,” You grab the book, your eyes wandering over your art for a moment longer before closing it. With a few nervous chuckles escaping your lips, you start to ramble, “I hope you don’t mind me… sketching you. I just got really bored watching the food and couldn’t think of anything else to draw… Speaking of…!”

You turn your back to him, busying yourself with draining the noodles, it was a blatant redirection of the topic at hand, and you both knew it.

Thankfully Caz seemed to be in a merciful mood today.

“Ah, it’s all good Kitto,” Caz replied. If you had been looking his way, you would have seen the fond look on the monster’s face, “I don’t think any of us will mind. How is that dinner going, by the way?”

“It's been good! I wasn’t sure if you all could eat any human food, so it’s all made with monster ingredients.”

“Oh, good,” Caz sighs in relief, putting a paw to his chest, “Gaster wouldn’t be able to eat it otherwise. Well, Lirra technically could too, but she despises the feeling of digesting human food in the… the current state she’s in.”

For a moment, you consider what that must feel like to the goopy, amalgamate-like monster, and then quickly regret that decision.

The face you must be making must have been hilarious, because as you turn back to set the drained noodles next to the sauce, You could hear the monster next to you let out a snort and a few snickers at your expense.

“Well, before we got on a tangent,” Caz spoke up again after a few moments, “I was supposed to tell you that the others are coming over now. I came a bit early to make sure you had help if you needed it.”

“More like I kicked ya out for obsessing over your lil present.”

Both you and Caz jolt, thankfully a lot less than last time, over the sudden interruption, looking back over to the Living Room to see the rest of the crew. 

Levie stood in front of everyone else, looking as calm and collected as ever, the only difference to him being the surprisingly large box he seemed to be holding effortlessly. The next person after him was Silvian, for once not immediately running to you. Instead, her head swiveled around, her blank eyes searching for something you weren’t sure of.

The next one after Silvy was Lirra, the owner of the voice that popped into the conversation. Her smile was absolutely smug, her narrowed eyes shining the glittering blue of gravity magic. Right next to Lirra, enveloped in her magic, was a brightly colored array of boxes or… presents???

At the back of the group stood Gaster, and wow, did he look tired. The usually poised scientist was now slouched down, his eye sockets drooping more than usual, with the dark circles under his eye sockets only further aiding the look.

“Uh…”

“Wha- hey!” Caz exclaimed, his tail frizzing out in agitation, “That was supposed to be a surprise!”

“Well, for one: we are already here so she would have seen them anyway,” Lirra retorted, her head bobbing back and forth in a show of sass, “And two: that’s what you get for telling them about my ‘food problem’.”

Caz groaned, and to your surprise, somehow successfully pulling off a glare without- you know- any visible eyes.

“And what, do you want her to make a mistake and feed you human food?”

“H-hell no,” The snake monster retorted, shaking her head fervently, “I probably would be okay with eating it if I was more solid, but come on! If I eat it just squelches its way through my body until it's digested enough to be expelled, and I feel every inch it travels… do you know how squishy that feels??? It's a truly horrifying experience!!!”

Lirra shivers in disgust, and you don’t blame her. Everyone else around the group seems to be thinking the same thing, with a mixture of disgust and sympathy on their collective faces.

“Eeeewww…” The monster child murmured, her small snout wrinkling up and tongue sticking out at the thought. With that the child vacated the discussion, scurrying away from the group and further into the room.

You think the kid had the right idea.

While the two monsters bickered back and forth, your eyes wander across the presents still floating up in the air and towards Gaster. While you were rather curious of what was inside all of those boxes, you were more worried about the doctor’s condition

Walking over to the goopy skeleton, you look up at him with worried eyes. You’ve never seen him like this, and you didn’t know how much exhaustion his damaged body could take…

“Hey… you alright? You look exhausted.”

Gaster, who’d been watching the two bickering monsters with a mix of disgust and amusement, blinked in surprise at your sudden voice. Looking down at you, he gave you a small tired smile.

“Oh, no need to worry about me ___, I am just fine.” Gaster reassured, his head swiveling back over to the two other monsters as he continued, “I’ve just been working hard sending everyone back and forth between the void and existence. Only one can be out at a time so several trips need to get taken, and I am the only one who can safely manage them. It just takes a little out of me, that's all. Once I get some food in me I’ll be just fine.”

You smile a little at that, reaching out to pat his back as you start, “Well, dinner is done whenever you wa-”

You completely freeze.

Your eyes widened, staring unblinkingly at your raised hand. What was supposed to lightly contact his upper back, was now inside his back.

The room went utterly quiet. 

You could feel the doctor stiffen, yet you couldn’t pry your gaze away from where your hand was. Your hand was encased with the black substance that usually would make up his lower body. However, you couldn’t actually feel it at all; it felt as if your hand was in the air and nothing more. As your panicking mind zoned in on the area, to your horror, if you were to look closely through the blackness you could just barely see through him. Almost as if he was a ghost and nothing more.

“_____,” Gaster chocked out, voice strained, “Could you please remove your hand from inside my back please. ”

With that, you broke out of your stupor.

“Oh my god,” You exclaim, tearing your offending hand out as swiftly as possible, ”I am so sorry are you alright what the hell-”

“Whoa there, it’s okay, everything’s alright,” The Doctor interrupted, shaking himself a little now that your hand was safely extracted, “There is no need to panic.”

“Dude,” Your brows raise at that, your shaking hands clutching at your shirt, “I just had my hand inside your back, and you expect me not to panic???”

“Well, when you put it like that…,” Gaster replied, chuckling a little. You could feel yourself calm down a little as the doctor grinned reassuringly, “I know that little incident must have alarmed you, but everything is fine. It actually happened a few times before.”

“It scared me too when it first happened,” Caz jumped in, putting a hand on your shoulder, “but it just happens when a certain skeleton is particularly low on magic .”

Gracefully ignoring the cat monster’s stinkeye that was being sent at him, Gaster nodded in affirmation.

Okay, so you didn’t hurt him them, that is good. You could feel your heart slow from its previous thrumming beat.

“Okay, well, as long as your good,” You sigh, shaking your head before looking at the skeleton monster once more.

“Let’s get you eating then.”

Chapter Text

Dinner was a surprisingly calm affair.

After you had calmed down and dealt out the meal, everyone sat around the coffee table, chatting amiably about their day. You were pleased to see Gaster’s body morph back into his usual, more solid, state. 

With a wistful sort of look from the Doctor himself and more than a few compliments aimed at the meal you made, you giggle, shaking your head and letting Lirra float the dishes over to the sink.

“So…” Caz spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention, “I am sure you are curious about what we brought you today.”

You nod in agreement, your eyes flickering over to the boxes lined neatly to the side. Seeing as it was supposed to be Caz’s ‘surprise’, you had an inkling on what it might be. The slightly smaller cardboard box that Levie had been originally carrying, however, stumped you.

“Well, there’s no time like the present!” Lirra exclaimed, looking rather excited as she floated the first few colorful boxes to you, “Go on an open ‘em!”

Smiling a little in amusement, you waste no time opening up the presents. By the looks of it, your assumption on the box’s contents had been correct!

As you open the others, however, you did feel surprised at the sheer amount of it.

“Wow,” You breath, your eyebrows raising, “That is a lot of clothes.”

You weren’t exaggerating either. Each box you opened was filled to the brim with a plethora of articles, each article containing a few variations of that specific type. There were t-shirts and pants, socks and gloves, blouses and sweaters. There were even a few jackets and a pair of slightly battered, but impressively repaired tennis shoes.

You pick up a jacket that almost immediately caught your eye. It was a light, almost cyan-colored jacket; the fabric was impressively soft under your touch. Eyeing the stitchwork, you could hardly believe that this was something that was handmade! Putting it on, you reveled in the comfort it brings, the years of wearing that type of clothing causing you to unconsciously relax into the fabric.

“Yeah…,” Caz chuckled, his shrouded face lightening a little at your comment, “I might of… gotten a little carried away.”

“Oh really,” Lirra muttered, gazing back at the cat monster with a deadpan stare, “Just a little?”

Caz’s face only grew lighter at that.

“Okay, a lot, I get it,” Caz grumbles, looking back at her, “On the plus side, _____ won’t have to worry about buying an entire wardrobe when she eventually gets to the surface.

… Well, he did have a point there. Only a few more garments you could think of and you would be practically set.

“Eeeh I’ll give you that,” Lirra nodded a little in agreement.

“Well, thank you, Caz,” You murmur, smiling at the respective monster, “I can’t imagine how much of your time it took to make all of this.”

“And, just look at the quality of this stuff,” You add, raising your arm to marvel once more at the impeccable stitchwork, “If you don’t want to go into engineering when you get to the surface you could totally go into tailoring if that interested you.”

“Oh, uh,” Caz was now fully wearing a blush, seeming to be endlessly flattered by your praise. He nervously chuckled, looking down away from you and at his hands, “T-thanks Kitto, heh heh.”

You blink, watching as the cat monster stiffened suddenly, his blush going stark-white for some reason. Your eyebrows shot up, watching as everyone in the room zoned in on him with various expressions of surprise.

“... Awwwww,” Lirra cooed, “Cazzy!”

“Lirra please no…”

“That’s so sweet~!”

Caz groaned, hiding his face in his hands, his ears pinned back in embarrassment. You smiled a little at the scene before you even if you were a little confused.

“Uh, I am not exactly sure what is going on here,” You mutter to the doctor beside you, your eyebrow raised in question. Thankfully, he seemed more than happy to fill you in on what you were missing.

“Its because he called you Kitto.” Gaster replied, “Most common types of monsters have special terms and phrases they use to describe others. When human trash started filtering into the Underground, human terms started filtering into and expanding onto these special terms. Hence, Kitto was formed.”

Gaster hummed, leaning back as he continued, “Feline monsters often call their offspring kits, and when the term kiddo was introduced to the underground, those two words ended up being combined. Kitto is generally used as a term of endearment for those of a younger generation that the speaker cares for, but is not related to.”

Ooooh, okay, you think you understand now. 

Your smile goes crooked, cheeks warming a little at the idea. It was so subtle, you didn’t even notice it at first. Though, now that you knew of it, didn’t he call you that earlier today too?

Well, it was a nice little thing to be called, so you didn’t really mind.

“Well, now that you finished opening my presents, why don’t you open Levie’s,” Caz urged, obviously trying to change the subject. You felt the urge to mess with him a bit more, but decided to just do that sometime later.

“Ah, yes,” Levie nodded, getting up to grab the cardboard box in question. Walking up to you, he set it down on your lap, the weight a little heavier than you’d first expected, “I, while I was out in the underground, had found something not only entertaining, but rather educational for you. I do hope you enjoy it.”

Nodding, you give him your thanks before opening the box. While not having the same flare as the other boxes did, you found yourself endlessly curious about what this box must contain.

Carefully removing the paper on top, you blink several times to get used to the surprisingly strong shine the contents refracted into your eyes. Getting used to the light, you examine your present.

Only to have your eyes widen in complete shock.

“ No way … ”

There, inside this box, held tapes, CDs, and magazines. Each item was adorned with flashy designs, glittering hot pink in the light. What had immediately caught your attention, however, was the iconic logo that popped right out at you in bold letters.

‘ MTT LIVE - RISE TO STARDOM MEGAPACK ’

“Oh you gotta be kidding me,” Caz moaned in despair, snapping you out of your stupor.

Eyeing the monster’s around you, each had their own reactions. Caz, interestingly enough, seemed to be grimacing at the sight. Lirra, however, was practically squeeing once she noticed the MTT tapes. Silvian, who had been mostly silent this whole time, simply looked curious with this new addition, and Gaster looked immensely amused upon seeing the contents.

“You guys didn’t know what was in here?” You question, confused.

“Nah,” Lirra answered, her eyes crinkling up with how wide her grin was, “Levie wouldn’t tell us no matter how much we tried to get him to crack.”

“And now I am regretting trusting him when he said not to worry about bringing anything for entertainment,” Caz grumbled, his tail twitching in irritation. Huh, you guess Caz must not be a fan of Mettaton.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, this is awesome,” Lirra exclaimed, her head bobbing up, “Ohhh, I can’t wait to watch some of those! That sassy robot never fails to be entertaining!”

“Hmm, I suppose that ‘robot’ would be a good choice,” Gaster added, a thoughtful look on his face. You noticed with interest the way he phrased his previous words, “He is practically one of the biggest icons of monsterkind, so it would make sense. Not only that, but the familiarity of the monster in question would make comprehending the material even easier, as you would already have previous experience to go back on.”

“Yeah,” You murmur, eyes gazing back down at the items. 

It was strange, seeing all this. Surprisingly enough, a strange cacophony of emotions hit you like a truck as you eyed the tapes.

On one side, holy crap you actually have some legit MTT merch! Knowing that you had something like this promoted straight from the robot himself was just indescribable. This wasn’t some item from Toby Fox or from a fan, but the very person it was made after, and that was just… surreal and exciting at the same time. Knowing you had these at your disposal made a part of you… not exactly fan-girl, but somewhere close to it.

However, on the other side, with these you would actually see one of the main ‘characters’ in their full glory, albeit on tape and not in the ‘flesh’ per se. You have to force down a full-body shiver as you picked up one of the tapes in your hand, trying to comprehend the complex whirlpool of emotions that you were feeling at this moment. There was like a bittersweet sort of nostalgia, not like you’d seen the tapes before, but more for the person the tapes starred in. There was a strange mix of nervousness, doubt, and… perhaps guilt that formed a sort of anxiety pooling in the bottom of your stomach. Almost as if you weren’t supposed to be seeing this, that you were doing something taboo in watching these tapes.

However, these were obviously merch, and if the guy sold them for other monsters to watch, it should be okay for you to watch it right?

You’d think so…

“Thanks Levie, I’d love to watch these.”

Looking quite proud of himself, the humanoid monster pointed out a few of his recommendations, and with that, you all got comfortable around the TV and watched.

You’d like to say you were surprised, but with your headcanons and what you personally learned from playing Undertale, you totally called it.

The tapes you’d seen so far were AWFUL. You know, horrid graphics, terrible overexaggerated acting with ridiculous poses, the whole bit.

Though, to be fair, you’d not gotten completely into it yet, so you weren’t going to judge. You all were watching the tapes that were chosen in Chronological order, so you honestly expected it. In fact, as you watched more, you could quite literally see Mettaton, in his boxy form, learning and improving with his career right before your eyes. Was it weird that you were feeling some weird sort of pride watching him get better at this? It’s like watching a friend working hard at something and finally seeing them get it right. You had to continuously keep a goofy smile from sneaking on your face just watching this.

With every new tape, things started to get from ‘just completely bad’ to ‘so bad its good’ and teetering on the precipice on being genuinely decent quality entertainment.

Even if it ain’t quite there yet.

With a little sigh, you drag your gaze away from the screen and toward the others, seeing everyone more or less invested in the tapes.

Well, almost everyone. Oddly enough, one monster seemed to be missing?

With a sudden nudge to your leg, however, you quickly figured out that conundrum.

Silvian stood to your side, her eyes glowing a soft flickering blue and her teeth gritting in concentration. To your shock, at her side floated your sketchbook haphazardly coated in her magic.

Her odd behavior this afternoon made so much more sense now.

Ignoring the heat rising to your face, you swiftly grab the book. Silvy, seemingly relieved to not be holding the heavy load, grinned in triumph, running around your feet and jumping into the empty spot on the couch, right next to you.

Snuggling up next to your side, the child peaked up at you, expectantly?

Wha- oh. Ooooh.

She wanted to see what you’ve drawn, huh?

Oh boy.

Well, with the expression she was giving you, who were you to tell her no?

Feeling bashful, you peak open the book, making sure it was facing only her. Upon seeing your sketches, Silvian gasped before devolving into giggles, her tail thumping against the couch happily.

Feeling your face heat up even more, you took a peek at the others. They appeared to be still watching the video, but the smirks on their faces told you that they surely saw your interaction.

Well, you weren’t sure if that was better or worse.

Once allowing the kid to get her fill, you close the book, putting it to the side and focusing back on the video at hand. 

By the looks of it, the previous one must have just finished as Levie was reaching over for the last tape. Oddly enough, the monster seemed to pause for a moment, and you got a glimpse of the cartridge itself.

Unlike the other ones, who had been completely covered in hot pink designs, this tape was completely bare. Was this one not like the others? Odd, but you trusted Levie to not accidentally put an unrelated tape with the others.

After that moment of hesitation, the tape was put in, and the video started.

For a moment, it was dark. Nothing could be heard other than a high pitched, muffled voice. For that moment you were worried that the tape was damaged or something…

Until the loud sound of metal beating on metal started.

You blink, something- no, your soul, shivered in your chest.

This was oddly familiar.

More pounding could be heard, and the voice sounded clearer

Your eyes widened in realization.

It couldn’t be.

But it was.

Suddenly, the darkness burst into light, and you fully realized why it was so familiar.

Out in full view, was the Hotland lab, and in it, held a golden scaled dinosaur and a small human child.

“Oh no.”

“OHHHH YES!”

Your eyes are glued to the screen as the view shifted, showing an angle you were more used to. All three familiar faces could be seen as the ‘show’ went on.

Yet, you weren’t hearing what was said, as your mind was in turmoil.

Nothing could have prepared you for the absolutely visceral reaction you were having right now. Seeing these people you’d grown a deep compassion for outside of a videogame screen was quite the kick to your system. At least with Mettaton, you knew his appearance was coming, but here you didn’t have that luxury.

There was Alphys, with her golden scales and large glasses. Her hunched over form was covered by her lab coat, her tail twitching back and forth nervously. If your mind wasn’t completely occupied with the human next to her, you would have been absolutely blindsided by the rush of affection you had for her.

However, your gaze was zoned on the very child you’d guided through the underground, and your emotions demanded your attention.

What was this your feeling? It was so powerful it left you breathless, your eyes watering just below the verge of tearing up. This was the child you tried to take care of, the kid that you wanted so badly to guide to the best ending. Their determined expression was seared into your mind, their confident smile causing your soul to practically soar.

Yet, darker feelings twisted in your gut as well. This was not only Frisk, but you as well. This was you answering the questions; this was you dodging the obstacles. Flashes of the times you failed to keep them from dying shot through you like icy spikes, and you felt no small amount of guilt.

Did they know they had been manipulated? Did they know it was you? Would they know if they ever saw you? Did they hate you for what you did?

You didn’t know.

Your thoughts couldn’t figure out what to feel at this moment, so you set aside your mixed feelings for now and watched silently.

You observed throughout the cooking show, the newscast, and the impromptu musical. You gazed on as the finale neared its head, and found yourself with bated breath as Frisk flipped the robot’s switch.

You were slammed with both nostalgia and awe as the silhouette warped, whirled, and contorted, the mist finally disappearing to show Mettaton’s new body in all his glory.

The audience roared, and Lirra practically squealed. However, you couldn’t keep your eyes off the final battle. Your pupils darted over the familiar patterns and your face winced when you had failed to dodge one of his attacks. It was unbelievable watching the child dance and weave around the floor with practiced grace, posing alongside the robot when necessary.

With your mind focused more on the fight at this current moment, you could hone in on the robot in question. 

Art couldn’t really meet up with the real thing. Seeing the marvel of design and styling working in synergy, as one, was unparalleled. Alphys really went all out on the design; you could tell with every fluid motion Mettaton took. There was no jerkiness in the movement. The curved metal was flawless, shining brilliantly in the lights of the video, the glow emanating from the pink soul enhancing the vision.

Wait. Pink soul?

You stiffen, eyeing the soul in question. Thinking back, you remember gawking at the monster soul during the transformation, shifting into a right-side-up heart as it was encased in the clear container of pink, viscous liquid.

It was a strange thing, sure, but knowing Alphys it must be helpful for the design somehow.

Well, seeing as Mettaton was a ghost before, maybe the soul had to be kept away from the metal parts when he possessed the body? The liquid locking up the soul in question could also keep the soul safe perhaps, you could only guess…

Wait… his soul.

A soul safely encased to keep it from harm. In a strong metal body more than capable of protecting it…

You have an epiphany.

-as your panicking mind zoned in on the area, to your horror, if you were to look closely through the blackness you could just barely see through him. Almost as if he was a ghost and nothing more.

Excitement coursed through your system, your mind going a thousand miles a minute.

How could you not? After all, you might just have stumbled upon a way to get Gaster and the others back to the surface.

Chapter Text

You didn’t immediately voice your epiphany.

You really wanted to of course, but your mind wasn’t exactly ready to collect your thoughts at the time. As excited as you were, you wanted to make sure your thoughts could form into an actual intact idea that would at least sound possible.

It was late now, and the others were gone from the room. Now, it was the perfect time to act.

You sat alone in front of the coffee table, your hands grasping the last tape you’d watched. While you felt incredibly conflicted about what you saw, you are happy that you did indeed watch the tape. The subjects that it faced you with needed to be dealt with at some point. 

So you sit back and sort through your emotions.

Let’s just face the facts. What you had done to Frisk wasn’t right. Sure, you guided them through the underground, but to do so you took away one of a person’s most basic rights. No one should have that power to control another’s choices, to take control of their every movement and action.

And you had done that, to a child no less.

While, on the other side, you didn’t know you were doing such a thing at that time. There was absolutely no way for you to know that the game you played could allow you to manipulate this world, and you understood that. That doesn’t completely dismiss what you did, of course. However, you knew that no matter how utterly horrid you feel for completely taking control of another living being, beating yourself over it would not make things better.

You did your best with what you had at the time, and would continue to make things right in the future, for as long as you can.

You sigh, nodding to yourself before carefully setting the tape alongside the others. You were left feeling bittersweet, but at least you weren’t battling with your own mind anymore.

Now, you could truly focus on the task at hand.

Settling down on the floor, you sort through your papers, picking out and categorizing what you needed and setting those you wouldn’t need down to the side. Grabbing some empty sheets, you begin to write out your idea, fleshing out your hunch in a way that you hoped would make sense.

It would take a few hours of lost sleep, but eventually, you got it to a point where everything was more or less completed.

You’ll tell everyone in the morning. Hopefully, this idea of yours is plausible.

You really hope so…

-----

“Alright _____, how are you feeling today?”

Levie was the first to come today. With all the planning that was in your mind, you’d forgotten that the humanoid monster was supposed to check up on your condition.

“I am feeling pretty good,” You smile at the smaller monster, trying to ignore the nervous anticipation in your gut.

Levie nodded, going through the usual routine: checking your weight, temperature, reflexes, and muscle growth. He seemed to be in his own little world, scribbling down notes with the pen and clipboard he always seemed to carry around.

As you were trying to figure out a way to breach your subject, you barely noticed the concentrated look the humanoid monster adopted, muttering under his breath as he flipped through older papers. You blink, eyeing him in confusion as he hummed thoughtfully.

“Uh…. is something wrong?”

“Hm? Oh, no- well,” Levie spoke up, snapped out of his reverie, “Not really, I don’t think. It’s just…”

Levie sighed, his gaze unreadable, “Have you had any aches or pains in your body by any chance; or, perhaps, noticed any ‘unnatural growths’ making an appearance?”

You blink in surprise for a moment before shaking your head. You were starting to get concerned as the monster pursed his lips, muttering something under his breath.

“Well,” Levie spoke again, his eyes meeting yours with a certain glint to them, “You seem to be healing remarkably well, perhaps a little too well.”

“What?” You weren’t sure what to think about that.

“You see, I’ve been noticing a substantial increase in your regeneration of muscle mass over the last month.” Levie explained, his eyes narrowing in confusion, “And at first I thought it was simply the Fusion diet we’ve been feeding you doing its job.”

“However…” He looked back down his notes with a bit of frustration, “The regeneration process appears to be substantially faster than even your diet should be instigating.”

Your brows raise, alarmed.

“Is that bad?”

“Well, you are showing no irregularities in or on your body, and the generation isn’t irregular in any form other than the speed, so as far as a can tell you should be fine…” Levie reassured, before looking away from you. He almost looked nervous as he asked, “Is… I have a hypothesis for why this is happening… yet in order to test it, I will have to scan your soul. Is there any chance you would be willing…?”

Uh, well, this wasn’t what you were expecting today. You really wanted to make sure you were alright, however, so you gave him the affirmative.

Nodding to you, he somehow acquired what appeared to be a phone? You blink, but don’t question it. You’ve seen him acquire things from seemingly nowhere and you knew after a few tries to not ask, as it would just get you nowhere. Levie was a mysterious monster when he wanted to be.

After a few clicks on the phone, you watch in awe as he literally pulls a strange handheld contraption twice the size of his phone out of the screen.

Your first thought was ‘ Oh my god the dimensional boxes actually work like that in this world ’

Your second one ended up being ‘ Is that a freeze ray?! That looks like a freeze ray! ’

You must have said that second thought out loud, as not soon after Levie let out a snort before he could stop himself.

“No its not a freeze ray , Kitto,” He smirked as your face grew red with embarrassment at both the slip-up and the nickname. He chuckled, “Heheh, its just a scanner. A weapon like that would have to be twice as big and built with mechanisms too costly for the reward anyway. Though… hmmmm.”

You stare in disbelief as his face went from amused to thoughtful.

Oh my god, he’s actually considering it. I’ve given a mad scientist ideas.

“No, bad Levie,” You glare at him, “You are not making a freeze ray .”

Said monster blinked, before grinning all too innocently, “Of course not.”

“You’re still thinking about it…”

“Whatever would give you that idea?”

“It’s written all over your face man.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

You groan, putting your hand over your face. Welp, you highly doubted you were going to win this one, so you silently accepted your fate before continuing.

“So, you going to scan me or?”

“Oh, yes,” Levie nodded, remembered what he was to do. “Just stand over there and…”

You did as he instructed, listening intently as he explained the process of what was about to happen.

“-Once we are in the confrontation I will scan you, and all that would be left to do is spare each other. Sound good?”

You agree, smiling as the now familiar feeling of a confrontation started.

Blinking, you adjust to the light of your soul, watching as your friend went through his turn. You eyed the scanning device as it lit up, but other than that nothing seemed to be different.

“Alright, that’s all I need.”

You nod, sparing him and watching as the color came back to the world and your soul disappeared back into your chest.

You waited patiently as Levie focused on the small screen of the scanner, humming and making more notes on his papers.

“Hmm… interesting,” Levie murmured, eyes narrowing as he put the contraption back into the dimensional box, “Well, it at least supports my theory…”

“Oh,” You question, tilting your head, “Mind telling me what that is?”

“Well…,” He replied. Looking uncharacteristically uncertain, he holds his chin in his fingers as he continued, “Well, your magic stores seem to be depleted. I have an idea as to why… however, I need more data than just ‘this’ before I can be completely sure. I don’t want to go spouting answers and actually be wrong.”

You sigh, feeling tiredness creeping up on you. You’d just wanted to go about with your plan, but you weren’t going to ignore this if something was off with your soul.

“I understand that you’d like to be certain on this sort of thing… but if it has to do with my health I’d like to at least keep myself in the loop on things, even if they are theories.”

“I…. are you sure,” Levie asked, letting out a small huff as you nod, “Alright then… there are three ideas that come to mind that can cause someone’s magic to be depleted…”

“For one, a weak soul can sometimes have problems generating enough magic that it would constantly be depleted. However, those cases are rare and only seen in monsters. Human souls have never been recorded to have such a problem as they are much stronger than the souls of monsters. If that wasn’t enough, your soul is obviously abnormally strong for a human soul anyways, so that idea is out.”

“The second way a soul could be depleted is if the soul is sick. A monster can get sick if its magic becomes ‘impure’ in away. The soul will expel the tainted magic and thus causing it to be depleted. However, you are showing no symptoms of such an experience, so that idea is out too.”

“Then… there is the third idea, where one is using up the magic right as it is being generated. Usually, it happens when a monster had been injured. To accelerate the healing process one’s body will naturally use up the magic it makes or had consumed, while also leaving it depleted.”

“So…” You ask, brows quirked. You feel like you are forgetting something, “What you’re saying is that my body is using up the magic my soul makes to accelerate my healing.”

“Well, there is a problem with that,” Levies gaze went intense, locking your own eyes to him. You felt a shiver crawl down your spine as he continued, “A regular human, although often generating magic, shouldn’t have the ability to use it, unconsciously or otherwise. Only a human with a strong soul and the ability to use magic should be able to do such a thing, and those humans were thought to be extinct.”

Your eyes shot wide open, alarm ripping through you like a freight train.

“Are you saying that I could be a Mage ???”

“From what I’ve collected, it seems like that could be the case.”

“How can we be sure?”

“We can’t,” Levie sighed, placing a hand on his head with frustration, “I can’t know for sure unless you either start regenerating your magic, or if we can get our hands on some better tech, and the tech I would need are either on the surface or in the true lab. Neither places both of us can go right now.”

“Jeeze….” You breathe, flopping down on the couch unceremoniously. You eye your shaking hands in disbelief and frustration, grumbling, “Of course not. Man… what is with you all and throwing epiphanies at me lately?”

“Epiphanies?”

Oh yeah, you’d forgotten what you’d been wanting to do in the first place. Oh, you know, just the whole ‘I actually have a plan on getting everyone out of the void’ idea. Nothing too important really .

No one appreciates your witty sarcasm, surely.

Mentally snapping your mind back on track and pointedly away from the magic situation, you breathe, gathering up your thoughts before speaking.

“Okay, if you could get everyone here for a meeting I’d appreciate it. I think I have a plan to get you all out of here.”

Levie blinks, once, twice, before completely processing your words.

“...You have a plan.”

“Yeah.”

“To get all of us out of the void.”

“...Yeah?”

Levie quirked a brow, “and you didn’t think to just tell me when I first came in?”

“Wh- hey,” You retort, your face heating up as you glare at him defensively, “I didn’t want to interrupt you and your check-up! I know how seriously you take them!”

The humanoid monster stares at you for a few tense moments, before snorting in amusement.

“Alright, I’ll give you that,” Levie concedes, rolling his eyes. You frown as he walks over to the door, calling out as he leaves, “I should be only a few minutes.”

“Uh… can’t you just call them? You have a phone.”

His reply was immediate, as if he anticipated it. “Only Gaster and I have phones, I have to get the others the old fashioned way.”

“Oh.” You mutter, your eyes straying as the door shuts completely. 

Well, time was of the essence.

You gather up your papers, laying them out on the table as you steel yourself for the debate ahead.

-----

This was it.

Everyone was sitting around the coffee table, all their eyes on you with interest.

Evidently Levie had taken a moment to update everyone on what he had found out as well, and the hushed voices between the Doctor and him weren’t making things better for you.

“Hm… it’s an interesting theory, truly,” Gaster spoke up, his eyesight flickering as he thought aloud, “If you are indeed a mage, stars knows what you could be capable of with a soul as strong as yours. It would at surely make a lot of sense with the various oddities that we’ve noticed.”

Your eyes flicker back and forth between the two, not sure how to feel about this.

You used to be just an artistic girl with a fondness for gaming; just your average everyday human going about her life. Now, however, things continuously seemed to build upon each other and keep throwing you in a loop. 

You’ve been revived in a world not your own, where people of fiction are real. You live alongside people lost to time and space. You’ve been pointed out to possibly be the ‘Angel’ in the prophecy. You are about to explain the outlandish idea to get them back into existence, and now you might have magical powers to worry about.

You were so out of your zone of knowledge you don’t know what to do with yourself now.

“Are you guys… okay with me being a mage? If that is the case,” You question, exhaustion pulling you down along with your uncertainty.

Everyone seemed confused by the question.

“Of course not? Why would we not be?” Lirra hissed, her head tilting as she did so.

“Oh, you know, Mages were the ones who locked monsterkind underground in the first place,” You mutter, feeling the cold spike of dread at the mere mention of it.

“Wha-,” Caz sputtered, caught off guard, “Is that what you are worried about?”

The cat monster reached over from his side of the couch and places a hand on your shoulder, the white line of his mouth curling into a frown.

“Kitto, we could never judge you for what you are.” He spoke clearly, with a sense of certainty, “If you are indeed a mage, it doesn’t change anything. You are still the goofy girl who not only helped monsterkind, but are helping us too. No amount of magic can change that.”

“He is right, you know,” Gaster spoke up, your watering gaze meeting up with his, “It doesn’t matter what you are or what you will be. Who you are is all that we need.”

Seeing everyone’s reassuring smiles, how they all cared, made your chest warm inside.

“Heh, yeah, your right,” You stumble on your words, blinking away the moisture gathering on your eyes, “So much has been happening in the past twenty-four hours that I guess it all finally got to me.”

“Yeah,” Caz agreed, giving you a quick hug before settling back where he’d been, “You had a plan for us, right? Knowing you, you’d probably been working non-stop.”

You straighten, trying to ignore the nerves you were feeling as you explained.

“Yeah, I do,” You answer, watching as everyone went from concerned to curious, “As you all know I’ve been planning out everything I could from what I’ve known about Undertale, writing everything down in the hopes that I could piece everything together into a coherent plan.”

“For a while, I just couldn’t think up an idea that made enough sense, nothing really fit together enough,” You sighed, remembering your frustration. You lean over to the side of the couch, picking up the plain, old tape that played there, “Then, I got to see this tape.”

“While being one heck of a nostalgic kick at first, I noticed later in the video that the missing part to my plan was staring me right in the face.”

“Ah, that’s when you had your epiphany?” Levie questioned, studiously writing down what you were saying. You were kind of glad; he probably could write down the plan of yours much better than you could.

“Yeah,” You agree, “You see, when I saw Mettaton changing into his new form, I remembered that he was originally a ghost.”

You flinch in surprise as the others around you, for the most part, speak up in surprise.

“Wait, what? I thought that guy was just a bucket of bolts?!” Caz hissed.

“Whoa, how do yah even know that??? Though, that would make that question about smooching a ghost make a lot more sense….” Lirra hummed, looking thoughtful.

“Ah, how fascinating,” Levie muttered, mostly to himself, “I wondered how Alphys could even make a robot with a soul. I never would of thought that she’d forgo the soul thing entirely.”

“Even now you still surprise me on what you know,” Gaster chuckled, leaning back in his seat, “You are correct on that, of course. Artificially creating a soul is possible in very specific circumstances, but such knowledge had been destroyed for a long while now for several reasons. Having a ghost monster inhabit a mechanical body was an ingenious stroke of ingenuity, even if I don’t agree with the way my old protege decided to use it to her advantage.”

There were many things that interested you in this conversation, from the fact that they didn’t know about Mettaton, that Gaster knew Alphys, and to the subject of artificially created souls on top of it all.

However, as much as you’d like to ask about it all, you were on a mission here.

You aren’t getting sidetracked again , dammit.

“Okay, I’m going to want to talk more about that later,” You spoke up, your mind made, “But we got to get back on track here.”

After a few sheepish moments, all eyes were on you once more.

“There are many things I’ve noticed over time about you Gaster,” You continued, your eyes narrowing as you carefully try to explain your thoughts, “I’ve seen how you are completely silent when you move. I’ve seen how to seem to phase through objects that were left on the floor that one time. Then, when you were low on magic yesterday, I saw how not only can I accidentally phase through you sometimes, but at that time I could also see through you.”

“You managed to become at least semi-incorporeal,” You explain, eyes traveling from the tape in your hands to the skeleton in question, “and I would bet that you could become completely incorporeal, just like a ghost monster. Am I wrong?”

“Well,” the doctor replied, quite uncertain as to where you were taking this, “Theoretically, yes. I’ve never tried to do that. Doing so would destroy what is left of my physical form, causing my soul to be at risk of being damaged even more by the void.”

“I see,” You nod, pleased to see everything was going so far, “You see, you are a lot like a ghost in many ways, and you’d probably be able to do similar things.”

“You said to me before that your soul needed to be healed, but can only do that if you leave the void. Yet, in the state you are in now, you would instantly dust,” You breathe, gathering up your BRAVERY for what you are about to say.

“Right now, as you are, I don’t think you can heal in your old body. There is no way to bypass that I don’t think. However… If you were to have a mechanical body, similar to Mettaton’s, to hold your soul safe as you heal… could we possibly create a new body for you while that happens? That way once you are done healing, you’d have a new safe body to go back too?”

For several moments, everyone sat in stunned silence. You could feel yourself starting to sweat bullets the longer they failed to reply.

Then, Levie spoke up.

“Well, that was far from anything we’ve thought up.” The humanoid monster murmured, attempting to sort out his thoughts, “Though, the best ideas are often when someone thinks out of the box, as it were.”

“There are a few problems, however. The biggest thing is that while Gaster currently shows several ghostly characteristics, he is still a skeleton monster at heart. Every monster’s soul is reflected in what they end up being at birth. That includes all that specific type of monster would need to survive. Some monsters might need to live underwater to survive, some might not need to eat, drink, or sleep depending on the soul of the monster. Ghosts are special in this as they are the only ones to not need a physical body as well as the only monster able to live in inanimate objects.”

“Ghost monsters souls have special characteristics that allow them to survive in an inanimate host. They are traits that Gaster’s soul just doesn’t have. His soul wouldn’t be able to survive inside a mechanical body, no matter what systems it had. For an idea like yours to work, you would need…. A…”

It was silent once more. This time, however, a dark feeling filled the room instead of shock. Levie’s, and soon Gaster’s, faces morphed into utter horror, while the others looked on with a hint of fear. Silvian, still silent after all this time, simply stared on hollowly.

You didn’t know what was going on, but the expressions alone made you think twice about what you were going to ask.

Slowly, you force the words out.

“W-what would we... need?”

“We…” Gaster whispered, his voice strangled as if the words pained him, “We would need…”

Levie decided to finish for him.

“A living host.”

Dead silence.

Well, shit.

This was far from how you were expecting this to go.

There was only one person here that wasn’t affected by the effects of the void while also not being lost to time and space. The only person that could possibly do this.

That person was you.

“No,” Gaster spat, eye lights completely gone from his sockets, “There is no way we should do that. I am sure we all can see here that _____ would be the only one able to willingly take up such a responsibility and of all the things I have been willing to do as the Royal Scientist, I am NOT adding possession of someone’s body to the list. Some of my peers had deemed to call me a mad scientist for what I was willing to do, but I am a mad scientist with standards !”

“Doctor,” Levie retorted, his face betraying how much he dislikes what words were about to come out of his own mouth, “What should be done… and what needs to be done are two different things. I hate the very idea that we would have to do something like this, surely. This is probably the most morally twisted idea that’s been thought up. Possessing someone by ghost standards is considered a taboo of the highest order, only below the absorption of souls. Yet… think about this. This is the only full plan we’ve been able to think of that went all the way to you being whole again, and the fact that it actually sounds logically possible is even more tempting. We tried to get help on this with anyone else out in existence, but we know by now we are alone in our attempts. This plan here might be the only chance we got.”

“But… literally possessing Kitto though…” Caz cried, his ears pinned back on his head, “Do we even know what doing something like that could do to her?”

You could feel the cat monster’s gaze on you, but you couldn’t meet his eyes. You stared blankly down at your shaking hands, now clutching the tape closer to your body.

“Exactly,” Gaster exclaimed, his voice strained from the cacophony of emotions that he was warring with, “Possession from a non-ghost monster is unheard of! We have no idea what something like that could do! That doesn’t even include just how far the possession would go. For all we know I could just automatically gain complete control over her! The last thing she needs is to be a prisoner in her own body!”

“By the stars, this is so wrong…” Lirra groaned, planting her face into her pillow.

After that, the words being said blurred into background noise, your mind hyper-focused on the situation at hand.

What were you supposed to think about this? So many crazy things have been thrown at you lately that by now you weren’t feeling the horror you’d usually expect at this idea. In fact, all you could feel right now is uncertainty.

What were you supposed to do? Just say no? Levie was right. As far as you knew this could be the only way that would work right now. Yet, to possibly have someone else have complete control over your body…

Why did that sound familiar?

Ah, yes. That is what you did to Frisk, isn’t it?

Your eyes locked on the tape in your hands, and your mind went down memory lane.

Here you were, fretting over this idea, when you’ve already done this to someone else. They didn’t even get a say in the matter, unlike you.

You’ve always been the type that didn’t like to ask something of someone if you wouldn’t do it yourself. So, what was stopping you now? Was it the idea of not being in control? The fact that you’d be sharing a body for god knows how long?

You slowly look up, your gaze traveling to Gaster.

This was the person who saved your life, who helped nurse you back to health, and most importantly, he was a dear friend you know you could trust.

You’d promised that you’d help them, and nothing was going to stop that.

“I’ll do it.”

All eyes were on you again.

“Wh-,” Gaster breathed, his sockets wide and dark, his voice also seeming to escape him at this moment.

“Yeah, I know this feels wrong,” You eye him with a newfound sense of understanding, you knew what it felt like to be on that side of the plan, more or less, “I do not know what we will do if we did it either, but I am more than happy to do it if it means getting you all out of here.”

“_____,” The doctor replied. You forced yourself to keep eye contact, watching as his body rattled with the realization that you were being serious, “Y-you understand that we could be like that for a long time with almost no knowledge of possible side effects, right? We might be stuck together for years .”

You take a long breath in, and then out, steeling yourself.

“If that is what it takes to get you all back to existence. Then so be it.”

Gaster stared in silence for a few moments, then to the others. Levie sat there with acceptance, his head bowed to you. Caz and Lirra eyed each other, a strange mix of disturbance and hope flickering on their faces, and lastly, Silvy, who’s face shined in pure awe at the human ahead of her.

“Alright…,” Gaster murmured, his voice soft in defeat, “If you are completely sure, and if we can patch up the rest of the holes in this plan, then we can… can do it.”

“So…,” You sigh, slumping down in your seat, “What’s left then?”

“Well, there is the problem of making his new body.” Levie spoke up, seeing that the doctor needed a moment before speaking up again, “How we would go about that is out of my realm of knowledge, however…”

“No need to worry about that…,” Gaster sighed, exhaustion laden in his tone, “Never thought I’d use them again… but I have a secret section in the true lab that will be more than okay to meet the technical needs of making me a… a new body. The problem would be getting the core sample needed to start the endeavor…”

“Yes, you are right there doctor,” Levie agreed, closing his eyes in thought, “When you go with the possession, you will have to go completely incorporeal to do so. That means what physical part of your body that is here right now will be gone…”

You blink, a flashback to one of your papers coming to mind.

“Wait…” You look at Gaster, confused, “You don’t have that piece of yourself?”

You flinched as all eyes went on you, Lirra blinked several times in confusion before hissing.

“What do you mean, having a piece of him? It's not like we can just take a chunk of him off of his body and call it good!”

“But…,” you mutter, looking over to Caz with confusion, “Have you not found the piece of Gaster yet?”

All eyes were now on the cat monster.

“W-what, me?!” He pointed to himself, sounding incredulous, “N-no, I am pretty sure I would have known if I found something like that.”

“Wow…” You blink, before looking over to the skeleton once more, “Gaster, I know were to find a piece of yourself, I think.”

“Y-your serious?” He twitched, still sounding uncomfortable about the situation, yet seemingly resigned to his fate, “You… where?”

“Well, I know that Caz can find it… He just needs to go to elevator R1 in hotland if I remember correctly.”

Everyone was staring at you, stupefied.

“What?” You retorted, looking away a bit in embarrassment, “I did tell you guys on many occasions that I was a huge nerd for the game…”

Everyone blinked for a moment, before continuing the conversation.

“Well…,” Gaster grumbled, his skeletal hand softly running down his face, “That is all that should have been a problem I believe. I guess that… all that is left to do now is prepare.”

-----

It took a few minutes, but everything eventually sorted out. Gaster was to make sure everyone got in and out of the void properly and to teach Levie how to use the mechanisms that were to be in the rooms he mentioned. Caz was to go and find the piece of Gaster and help with the machinery when needed. Levie was to learn to main the operation on the new body and make sure you had what you needed to live on the surface.

That last bit was what you didn’t like.

“What do you mean I’d have to leave you guys?!” You growled, after all the chaos today you weren’t remotely pleased to hear that.

“B-but, I don’t want her to go away,” The child, who had rushed to you when the topic came up, cried out at the idea, tears forming in her eyes at the very thought.

“Doc,” Lirra groaned, looking as tired as you felt, “Mind to explain why our angel would have to do something like that? Cause honestly I am feeling _____ on this one.”

“Look, Staying here in the underground would be best for us,” Gaster answered to the others, everyone seemed to be tired from all the craziness of the past few hours, “While we heal, there is a good chance that over time, others will slowly remember us. While good, in the long run, the last thing we need is to have those that knew us to see us and feel all the grief of losing us without being able to fully understand or comprehend why. The last thing we need to do is hurt them. Besides, it’s much easier to stay here as ‘us’ as the underground is mostly empty now. To top it all off everything we need to use is here, so its best to stay close just in case something needs to be fixed.”

“_____, unfortunately, doesn’t get that privilege. Humans aren’t allowed underground, and if anyone saw her that would put her, and us, in danger. Sure we could try to hide her in the lab with us, but even then Alphys or perhaps even my son might come down from the surface and there would be nowhere to hide for her. How would we explain a human they’ve never seen before somehow finding their way through the underground, bypassing all the cameras and traps, and into a high-end facility? It would be safer for everyone if we are going this route to have _____ on the surface and us down here.”

As much as you hated to admit this… but it made sense.

It was silent again, everyone looked at each other sadly. The idea of being separated, didn’t appeal to any of you.

“... It’s not like you won’t see us from time to time,” Levie added, “You’ll still need to come back so I can check on both your condition and progress with Gaster’s soul.”

Levie hesitated for a moment before his face lighted up in some sort of realization.

He went and grabbed a blank paper from the table, forgoing his notes to write down something

“And you’ll have this,” Levie smiled, handing you the paper, “When you get a phone up there on the surface, you can put my number on it. That way we can all keep in touch as much as possible.”

You stare down at the paper, before making yourself smile for their sake.

You couldn’t help feeling bittersweet about this.

No matter how happy you were with finding a way to help them, you were really going to miss your friends.

Chapter Text

Caz couldn’t believe what he was doing.

Of course, no one would blame him. After all, if going out searching for a piece of a person lost to space and time wasn’t crazy, then he didn’t know what would be.

Yet, here he was. An inky faced cat monster trudging through Hotland, the fiery area as desolate and empty as it has been for the past several months.

Here he was, looking for something that shouldn’t even exist, looking for the final crucial piece for a plan so crazy and wrong… and yet it is the plan that just might work.

In fact, it made a lot of sense. It was the morality of it that was the problem.

The monster let out a soft breath as he kicked at a rock, his tail twitching in agitation. Looking up from the ground, a familiar looming box of machinery cast a shadow over him. Squinting, he read the two symbols on the front. 

R1

So, this was it.

Caz blinked, eyeing the area around him with uncertainty. To be completely honest, he wasn’t even sure what he was looking for exactly, or even if what he was looking for even existed. Of course, he trusted you quite a lot. Yet, knowing about a long lost part of Gaster of all things…

Being so focused on his thoughts, Caz didn’t pay attention to where he was walking until a pain coursed through his foot and up his leg. Hissing, he looked down angrily for whatever item he somehow managed to stub his booted toe on.

Only for him to go limp from shock.

Below him wasn’t a rock. It shone a dull gray, immediately feeling out of place from the yellows, oranges, and reds of the vicinity. Kneeling down, his shaking hands grasped the item, turning it over.

One and a half divots lined the surface of the item, a darker grey lining the pits. From the bottom, the surface bent upward until it met a slight circular obtrusion that melded to the rest of the object. The whole right side was destroyed, the jagged edges confirming such a theory.

To his astonishment and horror, he recognized what this was.

It was a fragment of the left side of a skull.

And by the feeling and wrongness that was emanating from it, he knows who it was from too.

This is what he was sent out for.

Putting one of his hands to his head, he let out a few weak laughs. Both excited and disturbed.

How could he not be?

After all, he was holding a piece of Gaster right here.

-----

Of everything Levie had experienced, this was one of the strangest.

The humanoid monster walked along the heated path, Entering the hulking structure that was the lab with a carefully cased piece of his friend in his hands.

Everything was done now with his old assignment, from your credentials to your living arrangements. It took a few days of course, but finally, that part of his duties was complete. Yet, as he has known for a long while now, his work was never done.

Glancing at the paperwork next to the computer, his eyes lidded in satisfaction. It was only part of the stuff she would need, but the rest would be sent to her new place of residence, and with this special Levie touch to the operation, no one would suspect a thing. 

Yet, this time, the papers were not what he was going for.

Levie silently walked past the desk, into the elevator, and down into the true lab.

As he went down, he settled the case in one hand and he grabbed his phone with the other. It was an old flip phone, nothing compared to the ones the monsters generally had now, but at the time he got it, wireless phones like that were incredibly rare, only available to those of a high status. Most monsters at that time had only wired phones in their homes.

Well, being the right-hand man to the Royal Scientist did have its perks back then, he thought.

Thinking of the Doctor, he went and called him, not surprised at the swiftness of his counterpart when he almost instantly picked up.

“Hello there Levie, I assume you are almost in the lab?”

“I’m in the true lab actually,” Levie answered, walking into the dimly lit room and out of the elevator. Levie eyed his surroundings, “So, you were going to tell me how to get into this secret part of the lab?”

“Ah yes,” Gaster sighed, His voice sounding tired through the speaker, “At the entrance room of the lab, there will be a vending machine. Go there.”

Levie swiftly made his way to the machine in question. Once there, he gave the doctor an affirmative on his position.”

“Good, now, you will push in this sequence of buttons…”

Diligently, the humanoid monster repeated the buttons spoken to him until, with a step back, Levie watched the vending machine shift to the side, revealing the black abyss behind it.

Levie’s eyes widened, carefully swiping the newly gathered dust off of the glasses that were melded onto his face. He didn’t like to admit it, but seeing the complete darkness he was about to go into sent shivers down his spine.

With a deep inhale and exhale, the monster gathered his confidence, defiantly approaching the entrance with the case clutched closer.

And, as he entered, the darkness covered his body once more, the vending machine closing the entrance behind him.

-----

Gaster wasn’t sure how this ended up happening.

The skeleton eyed the neverending walls of code once more, careful not to touch it.

His sockets roamed from the old, familiar code, to the newer one. The one that was your code. The one that let you exist in this realm without issue.

He knew he, as the royal scientist, was known to do things that others had thought morally questionable. Like how he made his own son’s, for example.

Yet this… even he knew this felt wrong.

Yet… he was still doing it. Despite all the odds, he was doing this because the one he had been caring for… was determined to do it for him and the others.

He would be lying if there wasn’t a part of him, that selfish little thing inside of him, that was exciting for this. To be able to leave this prison, to see the world he missed and perhaps even see his sons again…

Yet, at the same time, it was possessing a living person they were talking about here. They would have to share a body for stars knows how long! He didn’t know how far the possession would go either.

Would he take control of her body, her thoughts, her soul?

The thought was utterly horrifying.

Despite this, he was still doing this. He didn’t back down when Caz came back with, by the stars, a piece of himself. He didn’t back down when Levie came back from his expedition, papers in hand, and the case now in place. He didn’t back down when Lirra came and helped you package everything for the inevitable move to the home that was selected for you.

Now, it was time, and he couldn’t back down now. Not when everything was already prepared. Not while everyone had so much hope for the future.

So, he left the code for the last time, porting to the grey door to knock for that one final time.

It was time for the possession to commence.

He only hoped everything would turn out alright in the end.

-----

You looked at everyone, nervousness clouding your mind.

This was it, you were really doing this.

To share your own body in the hopes that you can save the other’s soul, this was your plan.

You hoped to all that is good in this world that this worked.

“Okay, I am ready.”

“Yah sure this is what yah wanna do hun?” Lirra hissed, fidgeting nervously. To be completely honest, everyone had similar expressions on their faces.

You didn’t exactly blame them.

“We got this far, didn’t we? I am not going to back down now.”

“_____,” Gaster approached you, putting his phalanges on your shoulder, “This is major friend. We will probably be stuck like this for months. To do this, you need to want this to happen. If there is any distrust or doubt it is not going to work.”

Your eyes widened at this, causing your soul to race, for a moment, you doubted yourself. Was this really what you wanted to do? Were you willing to do this for such a long time?

That moment passed, and you took a deep breath, in and out.

“I am ready.” You said in confidence, “I made a promise to save all the monsters, including you all. I meant what I said, and I am not going to stop now.”

“I know this probably won't be easy,” You sigh, before looking him straight in the eye, “But I trust you Gaster, so that is more than enough for me.”

Gaster stood there, silent, as the others swarmed you. 

“Awww I am going to miss yah girl!”

“Make sure to keep track of your health while you are out there, you are still on the road to recovery after all. Oh, and don’t forget to get that phone to keep in touch with.”

“Yeah, and don’t forget to tell us all about your adventures on the surface, alright?”

“Yeah! Please come visit us soon too, okay?”

“Of course,” You smile at the little monster child and the others, before locking your gaze on the skeleton in question, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

With that, the skeleton opened his arms wide as if for a hug, but you knew that wasn’t all of it. You walked into the skeleton’s embrace, shivering as you felt him literally envelope you.

“Brace yourself, this will probably hurt.”

It did too. You winced but bore the pain and as felt something foreign trying to enter you from all sides, yet you could feel yourself instinctively want to retaliate.

Just let it happen!

You force yourself to relax, to let it in, and it did.

At once, the pain rose up with the electrifying feeling of power, and a presence that wasn’t your own. You bit back a scream as it flooded you, overwhelmed you.

Then it all stopped, and you faded into darkness.

Chapter Text

It was midnight over the city.

The stars twinkled dimly in the sky, the light pollution of the city blocking the Riverperson’s view of the galaxy they knew was there. Still, it was a clear night; no clouds could be seen in the sky. It surely was a night to go stargazing if one could. 

Only the sounds of the city could be heard over the rippling of the river water. The boat they sat on slowly went downriver, farther and farther away from the park and towards the edges of the city.

The Riverperson didn’t have a home like the other monsters did. They, in their opinion, didn’t really need it. They were one of the few monsters who rarely needed to eat or sleep; they didn’t see the need for a fancy house they wouldn’t even use. They had their boat friend, and the cloak on their body. That was all they truly needed.

Still, they had some things they had to do. Going to and fro from the outskirts and the center of the city was mandatory. They might be a rather reclusive monster, but being in an empty park all night still brought the attention of the more… unpleasant humans. So, in order to be safe, moving away from the center of the city at night became their routine. 

It didn't take long before they reached their final destination. With a single tap of their finger, their dog-like companion slowed down, altering their course till they reached the riverbank. It was a secluded area; the trees and thick layer of foliage creating a shallow cove hidden away from prying eyes. They both stopped at the edge, the Riverperson patting their companion’s neck in appreciation. With a soft happy whine from the boat-like dog monster, they both settled down for the night.

Laying against their boat’s back, they kept vigil as the other slept. It hadn’t been that long ago since they had their rest, so they weren’t tired. It would probably be weeks before they would need to sleep again.

It was tranquil. The chirps of frogs, crickets, and other nighttime creatures were the only things to be heard. It was still cold this time of the year, but it didn’t deter life from reemerging this early spring it seems. With a tilt of their head, they watched the murky depths of the shallows, the occasional flicker of silver revealing the location of fish for the briefest of moments.

After several moments of silence, they sighed, closing their eyes as they allowed their mind to wander.

It's been a… strange few months. With some struggle, monsterkind has been doing pretty well. It was better than it could be, at least. Even without their… Angel, life seemed to go on.

Yes… the Angel. They now knew of you more than they ever expected to. 

When their savior child, Frisk, came back to the underground showing all the signs of grief, they had a feeling that it had something to do with you. Though, they never would have expected just how much more there was to it.

They would admit that… the child recovered a lot faster than they did. The Riverperson, after all, had been in great grief as well over what had happened even if they didn’t know the details of what occurred back then. It was, in fact, so obvious that they had been upset that Frisk went to them just to figure out why.

The child sure was… determined, when they wanted to be. Eventually, the child got the truth from the cloaked monster. When Frisk figured out that the Riverperson knew of the Angel, the child decided to tell them about you. 

From then on, they both helped each other in a way. Every week or so, the child would come take a ride on the monster’s boat. Frisk would tell the Riverperson about you, and in turn they would listen.

Somehow, doing so seemed to help both of them, little by little. Yet… there was something that has been bothering the Riverperson lately.

Reaching within themselves, the Riverperson concentrated on the feeling of their magic. Opening their eyes, they eyed the waters next to them once more.

Instead of the clear sentences, they would expect to see within the water’s reflection, they couldn’t see anything. The waters used to tell them what they needed to know. From the age-old prophecy that depicted the freeing of monsters. To the iconic ‘the angel is coming’ and the horrifying ‘the angel has fallen’. Now, however, there was nothing. Everything was murky, covered in a strange colorful fog that was and felt foreign to them. It had been like this for a while, about a month if they remembered correctly. The worst thing about it was that they had no knowledge of this happening before, and had no idea what it meant. Perhaps it is depicted in an uncertain future? 

It didn’t just concern them because of their lack of knowledge of the phenomena; it also concerned them because of its magical signature. The colorful fog that blocked their sight held an unbelievable amount of power. It swirled slowly, jolts of power lighting within in anticipation for its release. This… was a newer phenomenon. It was as if it was charging up for something, preparing for something… big.

Whatever it was… it worried them.

Perhaps… they should tell Frisk about this. They were the ambassador to Monsterkind after all. If something big was going to happen, they should know about it.

Closing their eyes again, the Riverperson nodded to themselves in agreement. Tomorrow they would see the child again, and when they do, they would tell Frisk of what they have been seeing.

After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

---

“I… apologize. You took me by surprise.”

Frisk, was a bit concerned.

They knew something was off the moment they saw the Riverperson. From said monster’s demeanor to the way they were silently staring at the water, Frisk knew things were not like they normally were.

It was only further proven when the cloaked monster not only didn’t notice the child approach, but flinched in surprise once they did eventually notice Frisk.

Are you alright?

The small child signed, looking up to the Riverperson in concern.

The Riverperson looked down at the human for a few moments, seemingly considering the question before giving them a silent nod. Once that was done, the monster moved to the front of the boat, stretching a cloaked arm open in invitation.

Frisk smiled a little, though the concern still stayed. There were no ‘tralala’s; there were no ‘would you like to ride on my boat?’s. There was only silence. 

Yet still, the child hopped on the wooden surface. Turning in place and sitting down, Frisk briefly gazed back to where they came. Sans stood there, browbone possibly raised in confusion.

Sans was far from naive, he probably knew something was off the moment he saw them.

Yet, Frisk wouldn’t cause a scene. After all the Riverperson has done to listen to them, the child wouldn’t cause too much ruckus over this. So, Frisk simply waved at the skeleton, grinning as the skeleton waved back with his signature lazy grin on his face.

With that, both of them were off.

It was a cloudy day, the cool wind rustling the trees, grass, and sweater they were wearing. The first leaves of spring had sprung a while back, the melting of the snow even moreso. Now, spring seems to be almost at full swing.

The boat was nearing a bridge when Frisk finally spoke up.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

It was a simple question, yet by the Riverperson’s flinch, it might be a loaded answer.

They both crossed under the bridge before the monster tapped the neck of the boat twice, causing it to stop in the shadows. Frisk eyes locked onto the darkness of the monster’s face, waiting patiently as the Riverperson turned, sighing.

The Riverperson looked like they were about to speak, but then it happened.

The monster suddenly shook as if they were hit by something, before falling to their knees, hissing in pain.

What in the world happened?! Frisk tried to speak, but their throat had closed up in their panic. They tried to sign their concern, but they quickly noticed the monster wasn’t looking at them.

So Frisk went over and touched the monster’s shoulder.

That was a mistake.

Frisk opened their mouth in a silent scream as what felt like electricity coursed through their veins, causing them to quickly let go of the Riverperson in return.

Yet, just as quickly as it came, it stopped.

Wincing at their sore muscles, the child opened the eyes they didn’t even notice they closed, and with that, their confusion blossomed.

All that they could see was the boat, the Riverperson, the waters, and a thick cloud of colorful fog.

Frisk looked around for a moment, before looking back at the monster in concern. Thankfully, the Riverperson seemed to have gotten past whatever happened to them, but the whole situation was still a bit worrying.

W-where are we?

The cloaked monster looked around in confusion, before focusing their attention on the child.

“I… I do not know how you are here with me… but this is where I get my prophecies.”

Wait, did the Riverperson mean the strange, cryptic words they would speak occasionally came from here?

Blinking in surprise, Frisk swerved their head around in an attempt to see anything, but the mist was thick and rolling, and the waters were dark and murky. The only thing that piqued their interest was the lightning that rippled through the fog itself. Did they get hit by one or something…?

“This is what has been worrying me, the fact that I cannot see.”

So… it isn't normally like this?

“No, it should be clear as day, but the words are all hidden away.”

They both flinched as the crackling sound of thunder echoed in their ears. The swirls of fog circled faster, angrily encircling the group. The waters shifted under them uneasily, the ripples tugging at the boat dangerously.

Suddenly, a dark hand escaped the cloak and tugged Frisk closer to the Riverperson, clutching them protectively. The small child wrapped their small arms in the silken fabric, looking at the storm with wide eyes.

“Brace yourself…”

And then, in an instant, it all stopped.

With a blinding flash, the entirety of the fog dissipated, leaving only darkness in its wait. The waters went completely still, and silence reigned.

Then, out of nowhere, came a voice.

“Okay, I am ready.”

No… no way.

Frisk froze. They knew that voice. They knew that voice intimately .

Yet, there was no- there was no way…

That couldn’t have been you .

“We got this far, didn’t we? I am not going to back down now.”

Yet, there it was again, the impossible voice that sounded just like you. The same soft, yet determined compassion that they haven’t heard in over a year.

And it was here again.

“Frisk…” The Riverperson whispered, bringing the child to attend. The dark hand wiped over Frisk’s cheek, causing the child to notice the tears that were leaking from their eyes. The Riverperson didn't look down at them though. For the first time, Frisk could see white dots under the monster’s cloaked figure, shining in awe at something right behind them. “Look…”

Anxiously, the human child turned around.

And their mind went blank.

In the darkness, stood a figure. The vision was hazy, and a bit static looking, but it was there, despite all odds. It was a girl. Her eyes tired, yet determined, were locked on something neither of them could see. There were words spoken, yet they couldn’t make sense of it, much to Frisk’s frustration.

Eyeing the human, the child could see more. A faded t-shirt lined her form, and a scar that shone starkly against her, lining her arm up towards her shoulder.

“I am ready.” The woman spoke in your voice, “I made a promise to save all the monsters, including you all. I meant what I said, and I am not going to stop now.”

“I know this probably won't be easy, but I trust you [REDACTED], so that is more than enough for me.”

Frisk couldn’t believe what they were seeing. There was no way this should be real, but…

That same expression, the utter DETERMINATION in your voice. The promise that only you and them would know…

It was you.

You were ALIVE!

Instinctively, Frisk’s body jolted forward, the desire to get to you, to finally see and feel you in their arms, was undeniable.

Yet, the dark hand they forgot was even there halted them in their tracks.

“Do not forget where you are.” Riverperson hissed in worry, “I would rather you not be lost to the dark.”

Frisk, frustrated, glared out at the vision through the darkness, yet stayed put. They eyed the waters, dark and foreboding, the only thing that was keeping them from meeting you.

“Of course,” You smile at something beyond their sight before your eyes locked once more at something or someone else at your side.  More confusion filled Frisk at this, who were you talking to? 

 “Ready?”

You walked forward, embracing the darkness. Both of them watched in alarm as the darkness embraced you back, enveloping your form.

“_____!” Frisk’s voice burst out, rushing forward as much as the dark hand would let them, reaching forward with one tiny hand in a futile attempt to save you from whatever was happening.

The darkness engulfed you completely, and for a moment the child thought it was over.

But it wasn’t.

As soon as the darkness was there, light replaced it just as fast. Lightning fast, colors of all shades burst from where you once stood. It was everything. It engulfed the air, waters, and then them all.

They could feel it, the power, the being that was undeniably you.

And within that, they could see it

Words formed within the colors, soon changing into something that brought them HOPE once more.

The Angel Has Fallen-

The Fallen Angel-

The Fallen Angel Has Fall-

The Fallen Angel Has-

The Fallen Angel Has Awoken.

---

Sans, knew something was off. 

The moment they saw the Riverperson, he knew something was weird. Yet, the kiddo didn’t make a fuss about it, so he didn’t either. He waved at them as they left, and took a shortcut to the area down the river where he would pick them up as usual.

Then, he saw the Riverperson sitting down on the boat of all things, holding his kid in their arms.

He decided that being discreet about this was no longer on his priority list.

He rushed over to the edge, his phalanges in the air despite the fact he didn’t know what he should do for the kid. Did they need comfort? Would they want to be left alone? He didn’t know.

“w-what happened here bud?” Sans spoke up, looking at the cloaked monster slightly accusingly. Of course, the monster in question didn’t even reply, they just set the child down on the ground.

To his surprise, an ‘oof’ escaped his grin as said child rushed him with an almost instant hug.

Hesitantly, Sans hugged back, looking down in concern. The child was shivering. For a moment, he thought they were sad, but the impossibly large, unbidden grin they flashed up at him proved him wrong.

He tilted his head to the side, scratching one side with one of his phalanges. He never saw the child this happy in forever. What in the world happened in the span of twenty minutes to cause this? The only time he could remember Frisk this happy was…

Right when they broke the barrier.

“what made you so excited there bud?”

Of course, the child wasn’t going to tell him. Frisk simply shook their head and took his hand, rushing him to the exit.

Inwardly sighing, he followed suit. Putting a note to figure out what happened later.

Perhaps it was the child’s complete change of demeanor, or perhaps it was the secretive look the kiddo kept giving him time and time again, but there was a small part of him that believed….

Something truly did change. He just hoped that whatever it was, it was a good one.

Chapter Text

You felt tired.

The mattress was comfy, cradling your slightly sore body under the silky smooth blanket that covered your form. You never knew your bed could feel this nice, but you weren't complaining.

You nuzzled closer, hiding from the light as you chase your sleep once more. Life could wait a few more hours. Nothing would wake you. Not your friends, not breakfast, not even the birds chirping in the distance…

Wait, birds?!

Sleep was instantly lost to you as your eyes flipped open, sitting up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, with unfamiliar windows, sunlight, and the sounds of life beyond it.

Suddenly, the events of before came back to you, and the confusion came soon with it.

Where were you? How did you get here? How long were you out? Did the plan work?

Ah, you are awake.

You gasp, instinctively looking around for the iconic cracked skull and drooping eyes of your companion.

“G-Gaster?”

It is indeed me. It's good to know you can at least hear me through your own thoughts.

“Ah, yeah,” You sigh, pressing your hand on your rapidly beating heart,  “So I am going to assume that the plan worked.”

It did, quite well actually. I am sorry about that whole… fainting spell our merge caused. I gained control over your body when that happened, so I decided to get you out of the underground and to the home we selected for you. Making sure you wouldn’t be seen, of course. It would, at the very least, be problematic if anyone saw a human going out of the Underground of all things.

“I-,” You stutter, trying to collect your thoughts, “You’re right, thanks G.”

Your welcome, _____.

“Alright…” You mutter, looking around the room.

The bed was large, larger than the one you had before. Probably a king bed if you were to guess. To the left was a closet, closed by shutters that would fold up in order to open. Closer to the bed, on either side, were twin nightstands. The rich, brown mahogany causing the bright blue sheets of the bed to stand out in stark contrast. To the right was a dresser in a similar caliber, soon followed by a mostly empty desk that aligned perfectly with the window.

Silently, you slipped out of bed, feeling the plush cream carpet in between your toes. You stumble towards the curtained window, and, almost urgently, you grab the curtains and open them.

Blinking away the sudden light, your eyes widen in awe at the first sunlight you’ve seen in a long time.

You were on a high floor of an apartment complex, possibly the highest one if the view said anything. Below, a semi-busy road went past, lined by the apartments and a shop on the other side. Farther on, a few more buildings went, until it stopped by a cacophony of trees.

If you were to look further, beyond the trees, you could see more buildings rising higher, some rising into skyscrapers, only to be dwarfed by a tall, jagged, two-peaked mountain. Farthest away, if you were to squint to the right side of the mountain, the slightest flicker of reflected light could be seen, perhaps the tell-tale sign of an ocean in the distance.

This is Goldenpoint City.

You shivered, cupping your sides as you stared down into the city. You watched a child and their mother walk and pass by a rabbit monster as if it was an ordinary occurrence. On the side you watched as a purple flamed elemental walked out of the corner shop, no- a cafe, sipping on a coffee before chomping down on… was that wood?

You chuckled, feeling your mouth form a grin you looked away from the window. Closing the curtain again, you sigh.

“Wow… I am finally here.”

It is surreal, isn’t it?’

“You can say that again.”

You walked out of the room down the hallway, and into the rest of the apartment.

It wasn’t terribly small, but not large either. There weren’t many things that told someone lived here. Just the impeccable condition of the furniture; and the boxes, now empty of what few belongings you had, that sat forgotten by the door.

“Is all this furniture brand new?” You question, before shaking your head and adding, “You know what, priorities first. How is the situation? Like, is there anything I need to know or worry about?” 

Well, there isn’t much I can think of. The… situation we have found ourselves in seems a lot more stable than it could be.

It seems you, being the original soul of this body, automatically gets control over said body. When I am not in control, it appears I can only see and hear what you hear. I can’t feel touch, smell, or taste… at least I don’t think so on that last part.

I also found out something rather interesting. I appear to be able to recede into my own mind, cutting myself off from yours. That is quite fortunate, as that will give me a place to go for whenever you need- er- privacy.

You snort, simultaneously amused and relieved by that revelation. You’d been dreading the awkwardness if you had to deal with him while you changed or other sorts of things.

Sighing, you fall back onto the blue-green couch, following with a groan as you feel the supple fabric under your lagging body.

Your eyes scanned the area, eyeing the house, no- your home.

From the couch you laid on, you could see the dark wooden coffee table sitting bare ahead of you. Ahead of even that, hung a new TV. To the left of it stood a mostly empty bookshelf. Below the TV was a low cabinet, which could contain DVDs and game consoles if you wanted it too. On the right under the window, a side table stood barren.

Looking back to the left, you followed the wall until it opened up again, revealing a dining room and farther on, a decently sized kitchen. If you remembered correctly, there would be a small entrance area where there would be the front door, as well as two separate doors to other rooms. What they held, you didn’t know.

“So…” You murmur, turning your gaze back to the window, “What now.”

Well, whatever you wish, I suppose. Gaster replied, sounding contemplative as you watched the rays of sunlight cascade onto the wooden surface below.  While we are like this, most of our time will be dedicated to healing and integrating into society. My soul will need time to heal before anything else. Other than the integral checks of our condition that we will need to maintain, you will ultimately do whatever you want. This is your new life after all.

So go, rest, recover, and explore the world as you see fit. I’ll be here to talk to you when you need me.

There is also a wallet filled with an ID, credit card, and a gracious amount of both human and monster currency for you to use as you see fit. There will be no worry of managing your spending either. We all gave you a certain percent from our old, corrupted accounts to use to live in this new world, and have already paid a half year’s worth of expenses for living in this apartment in advance, so you won’t have to worry about that either. Our G is evidently really valuable on the surface, so no worries about not having enough money or burdening us in any way. All of us had rather high-end jobs in the Monster community, so we had more than enough saved up.

You didn’t know what to say…

“Wow I…” You murmured, your vision blurring slightly from unshed tears. This was so much… they had done so much. A small part of you felt guilty, like you didn’t feel worthy of all this, but you forced the thought deep into the back of your mind. Shaking your head, you shakily reply, “T-thanks, really. I have no idea where I’d be if you didn’t help me get to this point.”

It is the least I can do. Gaster sighed, adding, As much as I’d like to watch you take the first steps into your new world, it doesn’t appear like I can actually rest my soul when I was in control of your body. Getting everything to this point has simply been exhausting. I need to recede into my own soul and sleep, if that is alright with you.

“Oh, of course! Jeeze man, go get some sleep.”

With that, you were left alone to your own devices.

Now, what were you to do? There were so many options to choose from. A whole new world was, quite literally, opened up to you now.

What places were there to see; where even were you in the world? Did the world even have the same states, countries, hell even continents?!

What people would you meet? Would you meet anyone you could recognize? How would you handle meeting anyone you knew from Undertale? How would you react if you actually met someone from the main cast?

Ugh, enough of that. There was no need to think about that right now. What would happen would happen. Eventually, you would probably see one of them, as you couldn’t see your friends sending you too far from the mountain. You might have been gone for a while, but you didn’t think you’d been gone long enough for Monsterkind to spread out that much. When that happens, you will deal with it. There is no need to work yourself up over it.

Those things could wait for the future. Right now, you would go out and explore as you please. You would enjoy this day like never before.

God knows how long you’ve been missing this anyways.

With a quick shower and a change of clothes, you grab the wallet and go.

There were many things you could think of that you needed to do. Shopping for groceries, a phone, and the rest of your clothes; getting a basic knowledge of the world around you; and getting a job was just a few of the things that popped into your mind. Yet, today, you think it would be best to just enjoy yourself. 

You look around outside your complex, eyes focusing on the little cafe on the corner.

Eh, why not? You were sure you had nothing in your kitchen when it came to food. Besides, you were feeling really hungry anyways!

So, with your mind made up, you safely crossed the road and into the shop.

-----

Honey Bunn was having one of her usual days.

It hadn’t been a long time since she first opened her little cafe. In a few more days it would be officially her first month.

She kinda wished her first week had gone better.

Monster’s opening up shop on the north-western side of the city was a growing trend. She was far from the first to do it. She had thought that, since there were so many monster owned places that were growing successful, that it would be the right time to test her luck and set up the business she had always dreamed of.

Things were not going ‘bad’ per se, but she wouldn’t call it ‘great’ either.

The Bunn family was a large one, and a rather supportive one too. So it was no surprise when they got the word around about her new cafe. Other monsters now come in at a decent pace now, she even had a few regulars!

Though, it wasn’t her own kind that was giving her problems.

The humans were… not very pleased about the situation. 

Perhaps it was the place she chose. She was the closest to the center of the city in comparison to the other shops that opened up. She knew this might be a problem, but the corner shop was right between the park and the residential area. It was too sweet a spot to pass up.

Honey remembered the first day she opened the shop. It was a beautiful one, a clear, sunny day. She remembered walking to the front, only to see a large crowd of humans, protesting in front of her shop.

No one dared to come in that day.

After many days, however, the crowd dwindled down to a group, and monsters finally braved the anger and hate to come into her cafe.

These days, no humans were left protesting at her front door. Though, none of them seemed to care to come in either.

The only time a human came in, it only took one look at the patrons for them to race right back out.

Honey sighed, eyeing the empty shop around her. It's been a very slow morning. She probably hadn’t even dipped into the double digits yet.

Busying herself with cleaning the coffee area behind her, Honey’s ears twitched as she thought to herself.

If only I could get just a little more business… stars, I am not sure I can keep this up if I don’t get more customers than this.

Then, suddenly, she hears the jingle as the door opens.

“Oh! Hello, welcome to the Cinnabun Cafe!” She calls out, turning around, “How can I help yyyyyou???”

A human, there was a human in her cafe.

It was a girl, somewhere in her young adult years. She was wearing a casual outfit, with black shoes and pants that made her white, long sleeve shirt pop out in contrast.

There was this human in her cafe, looking right at her, and didn’t seem to even blink an eye.

-----

This rabbit monster doesn’t get many humans in here, does she?

She was a petite one, only a few inches taller than you with a lanky body. Her cream-colored coat looked soft and plush, complimenting her light blue eyes. She also wore a generic outfit that hid under her, admittedly adorable, frilly blue apron. Looking at the nametag, you found out her name.

Honey, huh?

“H-hello,” you stuttered a bit, much to your embarrassment. The monster still stared at you in shock as you continued, “I just moved here and saw this little cafe of yours. Um, I know what I’d like to drink but I am not sure what to get for food.”

It wasn’t even a lie too. You looked down at the plentiful array of pastries on display. Wow, they all looked so good! You had no idea what to choose, however.

“Uh, is there anything you’d recommend? They all look so good I can’t decide…”

Honey blinked a few times, needing a moment or two to process the information, before jolting to attention, her fluffy cheeks glowing… pink?

“Oh! O-of course!” She nodded, pointing out a confection that makes you blink in recognition, “I would recommend our Cinnamon Buns, it's a favorite amongst my patrons.”

Your eyebrows raise as you examine the bun in question. The Cinnamon roll was skillfully shaped into the shape of a bunny, both cinnamon and sugar drizzled on top of the adorable looking confection to top it off.

It was almost too cute to eat! Almost…

“Wow, yeah, I’ll get two of those,” You answer, adding your drink of choice afterward. You could feel yourself grinning a bit in excitement. Were these like the ones that the Snowdin Shopkeeper makes? You hope so. It would be cool to try some of the Monster food you really know.

“Coming right up!”

Honey, in a few efficient motions that could only be replicated from plenty of experience, had your order completed within the minute. As she placed it on the surface in front of you, you gave her the money owed.

“Thanks!” You say, taking the drink and paper holding your cinnabuns. 

Instead of going to a seat immediately as you’d initially planned, you decide chatting with this shopkeeper might be a good idea. Turning to your side and leaning a little bit on the counter, you take a quick assessment, and as you remember, no one else was in this little cafe right now other than you. 

Well, as long as you aren't halting business, a minute or two won’t hurt, right?

Taking a bite out of your sugary delight, you smile, very pleased with the taste. It had that perfect balance of light sweetness to the point where it wasn’t too rich that mixed perfectly with the still warm temperature it held. Man, you could see yourself eating these every day and not be sick of them.

“Wow, these are really good,” you compliment, your smile widening a little more as the bunny monster now looked not only surprised, but a bit flattered as well, “I can understand why these would be someone’s favorite here.”

“Oh, why thank you,” Honey replied, one of her paws covering one of her flushing cheeks, “It's a family recipe.”

“Ahh, I see.” You nod, looking out the window for a moment more as you take another bite. The day was still young, and you did not have any idea where to go from here, maybe…

“Hey, remember when I said I am new here?” You ask, continuing once you see her nod an affirmative, “Do you know of any nice places nearby that I can go to?”

Honey looks thoughtful for a moment before she answers.

“The park is not too far from here. It's a large area that surrounds the river that splits the city, so you can’t really miss it.”

The park huh? Yeah, that sounds pretty nice.

“Thanks! I think I might just go there.” You reply, turning your head once you notice a small group of Monsters entering the cafe. Welp, it seems like you’ll be taking your leave then.

“Might as well get an early start,” You say. Nodding back at the shopkeeper politely, “Thanks for the advice and the food, by the way.”

“Your welcome,” The bun replies, adding as you take your leave, “Hope to see you again!”

You know what? You might just do that.

Chapter Text

The sun shone brightly in the streets as you walked down towards the park. Finishing off the remains of your confectionaries, you ended up sipping on the drink you ordered as you took tabs on your surroundings.

It was a lively part of the city, with many apartment complexes lining both sides of the street you walked on. Occasionally, you’d pass what appeared to be a business place. Despite those few buildings, you’d guess you were in more of a residential area of the city.

Which was interesting, since that rabbit monster said that the Park held a river that spit through the city. Does that mean that you live near the center of the city? You’d assume that the center of the city would be where all the high-end buildings would be, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Thinking back to your first glimpse into this world, you remember seeing what you’d guess to be skyscrapers in the distance. With that in mind, the business district it probably on the other side of the river, farther away from the park. Preferably on a bit higher, drier ground. Which, now that you thought about it, made sense.

Shaking your head, you take note of the lack of shops along this street. Tomorrow, when you go out to look for a place to buy a phone, you’ll know to avoid this area at least.

Hopefully, it won’t be too hard to find one. Getting some form of GPS system would work wonders for your future explorations.

Finally reaching the intersection, you swiftly cross over to the other side, following along the brick wall that lined the park. Once finding an entrance, you happily enter the premises.

You slow your pace, eyeing the area in awe.

Unlike the concrete jungle you came from, the park you entered was as green and full of vegetation as could be. Around the rustic brick paths that went through the park, there were lush green grasses and several small flowering plants that cluttered the ground. Further ahead, forest clung thickly with vegetation, lined at the edges by brick that separated the park from the wilderness.

As you made your way down the path, you took notice of the people around you.

There was a playground to the left of you, which contained a gaggle of both human and monster children playing within its midst. Not too far away, many of the parents sat on benches or blankets, either chatting amongst themselves, eating from what food was laid out on the blanket, or reading from books or phones.

You couldn’t help the smile that crept onto your face at the site.

A part of you wanted to join them, to say hello, and perhaps learn a little more about what this world had to offer. Yet… someone they don’t know just randomly coming over and greeting them might be too much. You were never the most outgoing person truly, and you’d hate to bother their picnic.

Perhaps it would be best to just keep your distance until you know enough about this world to not stand out like a sore thumb. Just seeing humans and monsters coexisting happily will be good enough for you, for now at least.

Passing the group, you carry on your way, following the path away from the scene.

As you walked, the forest grew closer and the people grew more sparse until you were eventually left alone on the path. You could feel the excitement jittering inside you as the distant rippling of water grew louder. Then, finally, after a few more steps, you entered a smaller clearing. One that, upon further inspection, was not only empty, but also lined the river you wanted to see.

Your eyebrows rose as you immediately focus on the brick bridge that you were approaching. Albeit small, the bridge had a lovely yet durable curved design, one that you’d typically see starring in wallpapers and the like.

Man, now you were starting to regret not immediately getting a phone. This looked like the perfect place to take a picture.

Shaking your head at the thought, you trot onto the bridge to it’s highest point, and breath a sigh of relief at the soft winds that greeted you. It took you a moment to realize, just how much you needed this.

It was quiet here. You didn’t really notice it in your excitement, but jumping back into the thick of things was a bit of a shock to your system. After being in the void for so long, your body and mind had forgotten the various sounds, feelings, sights, and smells that you’d usually experience on a daily basis. The city was loud and abrasive to your neglected senses, and you didn’t know just how overwhelming it had been until you found yourself here in this tranquil portion of the park.

You could feel fatigue creeping up on you, but here, you could handle this. You’d take a note to not go overboard in the future when exploring more of the city.

Leaning on the side of the bridge, you let yourself relax for a few minutes in the soft sounds of nature.

For after today, your journey will truly begin.

Chapter Text

The sun’s rays cast through the glass door you were sitting near, greeting you on this late-spring morning. It's been a few days since you came to the surface and saying that it’s been crazy would be an understatement. 

Nothing really bad happened or anything; It’s just been rather hectic for you. Suddenly getting back into life has been a rollercoaster ride and you’ve, in your opinion, messed up on more than one occasion.

On the very second day, you spent half of it trying to find someplace to get a phone and somehow gotten horridly lost. You didn’t want to look back at your past self who had been way too stubborn about asking for help and just walked aimlessly around the city for stars for how long. You would admit though, it was kinda fun seeing the sites while the Doctor was awake. Well, even if he’d been arguing with you half of the time about just asking someone for directions.

On that note, you’d have to remind yourself multiple times not to argue with him out loud and make yourself look like a crazy person. Earlier that morning you’d found out that he can only hear what you say and not what you think like you’d originally assumed. Though, to be honest, that probably would be for the best. You did not want him to hear ANY of your thoughts if you end up meeting any of the main cast that you knew. 

Nope, he would not be hearing any of your dorky ass fangirling any time soon. Nu-uh.

Well, eventually you ended up at a mall and found your way to a shop that did sell some phones. With Gaster’s insistence, you ended up getting a nice smartphone with monster-tech integrated in it. While you knew it was needed, a part of you still cringed deeply at the price tag.

STARS monster/human fusion tech is expensive!

Well, you had the money right now and Gaster said it was necessary, so you quickly forced that feeling away and bought the thing.

Now with that phone in your possession, things went decidedly more smoothly.

With that new phone in hand, you were able to navigate the city much more efficiently. You spent the next few days after that getting things you needed for the house. Food, dishes, linen, clothing, and several miscellaneous items were acquired within that time.

Throughout those days you learned that despite how much you’ve healed, you were still on the road to recovery. There were plenty of times that you ended up winded and had to rest for a few minutes. You also had this new aggravating problem when getting too close to particularly loud areas of the city. You had the unfortunate luck of stumbling upon a construction area whilst exploring the city, and had to immediately retreat as a splitting headache quickly crept in.

Guess being away from civilization for as long as you had really messed with your tolerance.

Well, you can’t really complain, as the Doctor was having it way worse.

The guy was having a hard time bracing the sights and sounds of the city, the sounds especially. If getting around the city could get overwhelming for you, you really felt sorry for poor Gaster. Well, unlike your other friends, Gaster couldn’t leave the void for even a moment in all the time they’d been stuck there. So, getting adjusted to life again was going to take quite a bit of time for him.

Thankfully, he could retreat back into his own soul when things become too overwhelming for him. You hope that he will be okay by the time he gets his own body back.

Over everything else that has happened, you’ve most recently started researching the new world around you. It took you a bit of a walk, but a few blocks to the north of you held a library that you’ve ended up taking advantage of for the last three days. You’ve been mostly learning about the city you lived in and the status of Monsterkind at the moment, but today you will end up looking into the similarities and differences between this world and your old one.

It was imperative to know what exists in this world if you were to keep from making too much attention. You didn’t think anyone would suspect you to be someone from a different universe of course, but you also didn’t want to try answering about you accidentally talking about things or places that didn’t exist.

Yeah, let’s not do that.

If the worst-case scenario does happen, and there are those that suspect something is off with you, you really didn’t want to put Gaster, and in turn the others, in danger.

So, research was the highest priority. Only seconded by getting a job of course.

“I’ll go research till the afternoon, then I should use the library’s computers for some job hunting while I’m there…” You mutter aloud to yourself, finishing the cup of tea in your hands as you eyed the view from the door.

You know you don’t have to jump into a job right away. Gaster spoke up, breaking you away from your thoughts. You are still recovering while still in the process of learning about the world around you. So, don’t worry too much about that. You have plenty of money to sustain yourself until you end up getting one.

“... Yeah… your probably right,” You sigh, “It’s just... I guess I feel guilty depending so much on your own money.”

You think back to your old life, back to when you lived all alone in your small apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was your own. Everything there was obtained from your own efforts. You guess you valued that independence more than you originally thought.

You were okay with depending on others when needed, but you just couldn’t take advantage of others' kindness, much less your dear friends.

“I will get a job eventually at least,” You finally state, nodding to yourself, “But, I can at least look around, and see what’s available right?”

You quirked a smile, biting back a snicker as the doctor sighed.

If it is just that… then I don’t see the harm of it. However, I suggest you don’t go farther than that for now, okay?

Nodding in confirmation, you get up from your seat, ready to take on the day.

-----

Looking up at the building ahead of you, you feel a grin creep onto your face.

You’d just reached the library, and the familiar sight did not subtract to its rustic beauty. The Various shades of brown brick lined the walls, supported by several colonial pillars presumably made of a light stone like marble. Long, curved windows lined such walls periodically, letting in the sun’s rays to illuminate what was inside. Several steps lined in front of you, meeting up to the entrance were a large double door stood with the Delta Rune engraved on its surface.

Smiling at the several flowering plants that lined the walls, you enter through the doors, preparing yourself for the study session you’d have.

The first thing that you saw when entering was the Reception area. Dark, rich wood made up the desk, complementing the marble tops they held up. It always impressed you how immaculate the surface was, free of the books and other items you’d think could be stacked there. Behind the desk was what you’d assume was the workroom, were all the books yet to be sorted and placed were stored.

Then, of course, you couldn’t forget the person, or monster, that manned the desk.

“Wahaha! Back again I see,” The elderly turtle monster crowed, entering the front desk from the back. You smiled back at him as he greeted, “Never thought I’d get a regular in a library of all places, but here we are! Welcome back, kid!”

“Thanks,” You nod to him, feeling the spark of admiration for this older monster. To be honest, you’d thought Gerson would retire once he got to the surface, so you had no small amount of respect for him when you found out he manned this library all by himself of all things, “It's nice to see you again mister Gerson, how are things going for you today?”

“Ahh, no need for honorifics now, Just call me Gerson,” The turtle monster grinned, adding as he watched you nod sheepishly in conformation. Gerson chuckled, his good eye wandering back to the open door that went to the back. To your surprise, you could see lines of books inside, needing to be put away, “And, well, ‘s been a bit chaotic as you can see. It's gonna take a bit to get caught up, but nothin’ I can’t handle.”

You raised your eyebrows, yet said nothing. You didn’t want to automatically assume that he couldn’t do such things, you were sure he could, but that was a LOT of books back there. You knew he worked all alone, yet you weren’t sure if it was right to ask if he needed some help…

“Well, I won’t hold you up anymore then,” you finally answer, saying your goodbyes before leaving for the historical area of the library.

---

It's been a while since you came into this library.

Ever since you came in you’ve been researching nonstop, and what you found…

Was about to drive you crazy.

The first subject you went for was the history and geography of this world in itself, and oooh boy were you in for a shock.

You see, this world was both similar and different to your own. The continents were in the same general locations but were shaped differently from your own. The countries you knew didn’t exist per se, yet instead, they had other similar countries that more or less resembled them.

The land that you were in was the anagram of the United States: now called the Unified Federation. This country held 55 states instead of your old 50, and had a vaguely similar history.

What was amazing was how the history of the world developed. It seemed this world had, overall, a less violent upbringing. It’s not like there weren’t wars and other things, no. There were just no large scale wars like the World Wars from your old world. There were no atrocities like the holocaust, 9-11, and others that your world had faced, and the events that did happen that reflected your world had a noticeable percentage less casualties.

The civil war and the times of discrimination still happened in this country, but overall the world had a more hospitable history.

Which you were happy for; Monsterkind happened to get a lucky break and ended up getting a world that would be much more likely to accept them… well, compared to your old world, but to be honest it’s not much of a comparison…

Yet, as amazing as this history was, it wasn’t what made you dwindle into the state you were in now.

“This is it, this is my life now,” You groaned, head planted on the cool surface of the table.

Don’t you think you are exaggerating just a bit too much?

“Oh shush you,” you hissed in retaliation, “You can’t understand the pain of this.”

You could feel your heart tighten as the culture you knew fragmented bit by bit.

The stories, movies, games, cartoons, videos, anime, manga; the whole bit, everything you knew from your whole world could possibly not exist here. It was hit or miss.

And okay, maybe some would consider this a bit of an exaggeration, but come on! You’ve been an avid participant of these things, and suddenly seeing them being ripped away from you is just killing you.

You would be like this too if you found out SKYRIM didn’t exist here!

Now you could no longer play one of your favorite RPG’s, being the Dragonborn and saving Tamriel against the dragons by absorbing… their souls…

Okay, that might be too on the nose here, but it still hurt!

Several game franchises, a LARGE portion of music, books, and about half of the Anime and manga you knew of didn’t exist. None of the same people of your world seemed to exist, so a lot of the meme culture was different too along with the videos from YouTube. 

Oh my lord, you would no longer watch your favorite YouTubers anymore… you didn’t even think about that!

This was going to take forever to figure out what was in this world and what wasn’t.

Wiping away the tears that pricked at your eyes, you vehemently dove into the subject of jobs, not wanting anything to do with the previous subject for now.

You started writing down possible jobs you might look for, the paper slowly filling up as you eventually regain your composure.

“Ah, so you’re still here huh?”

“Huh?”

You looked up from your page, blinking in confusion as you eyed the turtle monster once again. Gerson chucked at your expression, placing some books into their correct places from the book cart by his side.

“It's been over a half a day and you are still going? Waha, I’ll give ya some credit, you much be quite diligent in that research of yours,” Gerson continued, his eye gazing over at the significant amount of books you’d finished.

Placing the last of his books on their respective shelves, Gerson let out a sigh before approaching your table. You’d already started picking up the books you’d been using, picking up certain ones in a practiced manner.

Gerson gave you an unreadable look at that.

“Yah done for today? If ya want I can put them away from here.”

“Oh, no need to do that, thank you though,” You answer, smiling. You didn’t want to give him any more work to go when he was so swamped already, “I can just put them away myself.”

Gerson’s scaly brows raised at that.

“You know how to put all these books in the right places?”

“Uh, yeah,” you said, walking over to the shelf you needed, “I took note of were the books I used were so I could put them back later.”

You continued to do as you said, placing each book you used in their original places. You could feel your nervousness rise as you felt the old monster’s gaze trained on you the entire time.

Why did this feel like you were being tested or something?

With the final book placed, you turned back just in time to see Gerson’s gaze flickering away from the page you’d been previously writing on, and back to you.

“Well I’ll be..,” The old monster muttered, just low enough for you not to hear.

“What’s that?” 

“Ahh, nothing to worry yourself over kid,” Gerson shook his head before grinning, “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but are ya lookin’ for a job?”

Oh, I know where this is going.

“Yes,” You answer, almost questioningly. You had an inkling too as to where this conversation was going as well, but… there was no way right?

“Would you like to work here as my assistant?”

Oh, well, nevermind. Evidently there is a way.

“Uh, yes…? I mean, yes that would be great!” You stumble on your words, your voice going from confused to enthusiastic.

“Wahaha,” Gerson belted out an amused laugh, you felt a little embarrassed by your outburst, but chose to ride it out as you waited for his reply.

“Well then, you’re hired!”

Oh oka- wait what?!

You must have said that out loud, as the turtle monster burst out in laughter once more, turning around and motioning for you to follow him to the front desk. You could only follow along as your mind raced.

What in the world? You suddenly got a job just like that? No interview or nothing! Was this just how monsters do things in this world? No way, perhaps this is just a Gerson thing…

All you could do was stand confused as Gerson went into the back room, your skeleton companion’s laughter being the only thing you heard.

Gaster was getting way too much amusement out of this.

Well, after a few moments, the elderly monster came back and placed a few papers in front of you. Upon closer inspection, they were the papers you needed to fill to get hired at a job.

Evidently Gerson was really serious about this.

You really don’t know what possessed you to ask this, but for some reason you did.

“...Why?”

Gerson eyed you for a moment, seemingly able to understand the vague question you asked. He huffed, smiling his crooked smile.

“Well, you see, these old bones of mine don’t work like they used to anymore. I’ve been thinking of getting an assistant for a while now and here you come in able to put all those books in their correct places just by memory alone. Seeing as you’ve never left any other books with me on all the other times you came in, you must have done the same thing then as well. Wahaha, ya might be a little slow on pacing but that can just be fixed with experience!”

“Besides,” his grin turned cheeky, “If ya are plannin’ on coming around so often, might as well get paid to do it!”

You stare at Gerson for a moment, before huffing in amusement.

What a strange old man. Well, you weren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Of all the places to get a job, a quiet job at this library would probably be the best.

And, seeing as Gaster wasn’t objecting to it, makes all the difference.

You write down your credentials and finish the paperwork swiftly, giving it back to your new boss. After discussing your starting date on Monday, you take your leave.

You didn’t notice the old, battered Warhammer strapped above the exit as you passed through the double door. Gerson did, however, once his old relic shimmered golden, if just for a moment.

His one good eye widened in shock at the sight, before closing as he chucked.

“Ah, so that’s how it is,” He shook his head, smiling a fond smile from whence you came, “I knew she was a good kid, but to think she would be such an interesting one…”

“Wahaha, I can’t wait to see how far that kid ‘ll go!”

Chapter Text

It was a stormy Saturday in Goldenpoint City.

The soft pitter-patter of rain hitting the window greeted you as you sat along the window bench. The soft, plush fabric of pillows framed your reclining form, the new phone you bought in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Today, you decided to have a break from going out. With your new job starting after this weekend, you think you deserve a rest.

It was peaceful, staring aimlessly down at the streets below. Other than the occasional car that drove by, the streets were empty. The streets were dark from the storm clouds ahead, causing the street light to flicker to life as if it was already night. The droplets of water lined your window as well as pooled into puddles that congregated on the concrete. Some instead dappled on the decorative foliage or rushed among the road’s edge and into the drainage system. All of them, however, shared the soft, glistening effect as they reflected the warm, golden lights of the buildings around your own. Looking closer, you could see the shadows of people going to and fro inside, doing whatever activities one would do while it rained.

You let a little sigh escape your lips, feeling much more at peace than you did that morning. When you woke up today, you’d been feeling rather depressed over having to go through every single form of entertainment you know in order to figure out if it existed in this world or not. Every time you find something that doesn't exist here, it only causes things to get worse.

So, you decided to just screw that research for now. You were not going to deal with that today. Nope.

Instead, you were going to have a good day, as now you were about to get your main means of communication with your dear friends! How could you not be excited over that?

Well, you’d had the number on your phone for a few days, but Levie wanted to get some extra security on your phone just in case someone decided to mess with it in the future. The less of a chance that people could truly learn about this, the better.

You had your texting app pulled up on your phone, reading the reply you just got from them.

Shortbean-n-Friends: I’ve finished the app. Simply install it and you should be ready to go. Once you install it, however, will cause all your posts from us to disappear from your usual contacts. So, make sure to write down these instructions before you install it.

Shortbean-n-Friends: Once you install it, you should see a new app that looks like a calculator. Once you open it up, type in these numbers and you will get into the hidden portion of the app. You will be able to speak to all of us there.

You blink, eying the long series of numbers right before the attachment.

“Well, this is an interesting way to make a hidden communication app…”

It's a bit unorthodox, but at least you won’t have to worry about anyone suspecting you of anything with a harmless looking app like that.

“Hm, true,” You reply, practically used to the doctor showing up randomly now, “I guess you already memorized the code?”

Of course!

“Just as I suspected.”

You smile, tapping the apk given to you. If it was anyone else, you’d think twice about installing a random apk given to you, but this was Levie you were talking about here, of all the monsters you knew of, he was definitely one of the ones that wouldn’t even consider giving you anything malicious.

You installed the app, and just as Levie said, the calculator app appeared. Clicking on it, you typed out the numbers Gaster spoke out. You watched with interest as the calculator disappeared and was replaced with a chatroom. On the top of the screen, it read:

-____ joined the chat-

-Several people are typing…-

You snickered at the quick response, knowing a stupid grin was creeping onto your face but not caring enough to be embarrassed about it. You only felt the joy of finally being able to talk to them again.

Evidently, you weren’t the only one.

Sylvian: You’re here! :D

Lyrra: Awww yeah, angel’s back!

Caz: Welcome back! I hope things have been going well for you up there!

Levie: It’s nice to see that my app worked. Welcome back ____.

Your gaze widened in glee, before blinking in confusion.

“How in the world are they typing with no hands???”

Magic devices are able to use the user’s magic to translate what they want to express into words. Not all monsters are able to physically type things out so this was the next best thing for us.

Your eyebrows raised, surprised for a moment. Then, you remembered all the monsters you knew of that didn’t have hands to type with: MK, Moldsmol’s, and Gyftrot to name a few. Of course, they’d need some alternate way for digital communications.

Feeling a little bit foolish, you decide to ignore your earlier confusion and type back.

You: Aaaaaaaa thanks, guys! I am so happy to hear from you again! X3

Lyrra: Same here girl, it’s so boring down here without you around!

Caz: Well, for those who don’t work with Levie that is…

Caz: Though, the work right now is more frustrating than anything. >.<

You: Oh, are you guys having any issues?

Levie: Not particularly, no. Progress is simply a bit slow. The equipment we are working with has been in a state of decay for a while and needs repairs to get them up to date. Thankfully we already finished the most important machines so we can end up using them while we continue our repairs.

Sylvian: It was really messy in there when they first started. Everything was covered in sheets and dust was everywhere! I had to sit and watch while they cleaned everything up. XP

Lyrra: Everythings going pretty well now though, thank the stars. All I gotta do is watch over the kid while Levie and Caz do their thing.

You: I see! I am happy to hear things are going well. C:

You were happy indeed. It seems everything is going smoothly, if not a bit slow. You could just imagine the whole gang in some lab room, cleaning as much as they can and trying futilely not to sneeze from all the dust they kick into the air. You chuckled at the image, fondness flowing through you at the thought.

You decide after that to tell them about your first few days on the surface, both good and bad. Every one of them really seemed to hang onto every word you typed.

You: And then Gerson just up and gave me a job, just like that! No interview or anything!

Lyrra: LOL, sounds just like him!

Caz: From what I’ve heard, he has always been a bit of an eccentric one. Gerson’s a good soul, however, so you shouldn’t need to worry or anything.

Lyrra: I’m just surprised that the old man hasn’t just gone off and retired yet!

Levie: Well, he is basically a walking treasure trove of knowledge, so I can’t say I am too surprised. Many in the scientific community respect him since he basically one-handedly kept records of the entirety of Monster History as we know it in his old place in Waterfall. Before the barrier was broken, many of us would visit his place in order to use those records whenever it was needed.

Caz: Yeah, I remember the times when I was in college and had to go out to his place so I could have material for my essays. It also helped that Gerson literally lived through all that stuff.

Sylvian: I remember when he came to my class one day. He talked about whatever stories we asked about, and it was really cool even if he’d forget where he was in the story a few times.

Lyrra: That’s ol’ Gerson for yah! The guy’s a really stubborn one too, so I am pretty sure that is why he still chose to work even now. The old ‘Hammer of Justice’ just can’t stand lazing around!

You read through the texts, completely fascinated by the plethora of knowledge that was given to you. You knew that the elderly monster had lived since before the barrier broke, but you hadn’t known anything about him actually making and maintaining records. Thinking back at the art you remembered for his shop, you wonder just how much of that ‘junk’ he tried to sell was actually priceless artifacts; or how he kept records in good condition in Waterfall of all places.

Well, you were sure Gerson had his ways.

“Hammer of Justice huh,” You question aloud, reclining back a bit more as you continued, “I think I remember that from the game…”

Well, he wasn’t always known as the Underground’s Historian. Gaster replied, a fond note in his voice, He used to be the old Captain of the Royal Guard, back when we weren’t even underground.

“Whoa, really?”

Yes, really. I don’t know much of that time personally. I was only a babybones when the war started, but I do know that his actions during that war here are considered legendary. Even when we were locked underground, he still did his duties and kept everyone safe as much as he could while holding his old warhammer he always had around him. Everyone respected him so much that they dubbed him the Hammer of Justice for his good deeds.

“He is quite well-loved, isn’t he,” You murmur, thinking back to what you knew. You honestly don’t remember seeing anyone near his shop generally, “If he was loved by the other monster’s why we’re there so few people visiting him in Waterfall?”

Well, that was more of the fault of time than anything. Gaster sighed, causing your brows to quirk in worry, Gerson eventually decided to retire from the Royal Guard, and while many people visited him to start off with, less and less people came to visit him over time until only a select few would come over without any educational purpose. The King and I made sure he had at least some company from time to time, everything stayed fine for the most part.

I think things went a real good turn for the better once a certain fish monster started to extract herself into his life.

“Undyne right?”

Indeed! She was only a young kid back then, going wild around the underground with no parents to hold her back.

“She’s an orphan?” You exclaim, shocked. Now that was something you didn’t know anything of.

Yes, she is. It wasn’t the rarest thing for monsters to fall down in the pre-core era. We’d been struggling to support ourselves down there for a time and the stress and worry of it was just too much for some…

I do not know who her parents were, unfortunately, and she was incredibly young when it happened, so I doubt she even remembers them. No one directly stood up to take the responsibility of being a parent for her, so the whole community of New Home became her caretaker.

Gaster’s chuckles echoed in your mind, thinking back fondly as he continued.

Of course, after she grew a little older, all hell broke loose. Undyne was an absolute terror of a child, so much so that no one could hold her back. Nothing and no one could stop her if she really wanted to do something…. Like, Oh I don’t know, disappearing from New Home all together and sneaking her way over to Waterfall to see her hero.

“Oh my god,” You choked out, stifling your laughter with your hand at the mental image. Thinking of a child Undyne thrusting her way out of New Home and bursting into Gerson’s life was just priceless.

Of course, one would think that he’d be a bit perturbed by this random kid appearing out of nowhere and never leaving him be, but no. He might not look like it, but the old monster has a soft spot for children, and Undyne’s wild personality utterly charmed him.

“Of course she did.”

The whole ordeal became the talk of the underground, once news of Undyne’s whereabouts met those at New Home. Everyone ended up talking about it, and things only got better from there.

Well, you were invested now. Finishing off your now lukewarm tea, you set it to the side and snuggle deeper into your pillows, listening with rapt attention.

Undyne never left him to go back to New Home. She’s always been following him around, trying to help him wherever he got asked for help with some trouble in Waterfall. Most of the time, however, she’d go around and try to beat up anyone who got near to his home, thinking they were burglars or something. Of course, that was never the case, but Gerson got quite the laugh out of it.

Over time the two of them bonded so much that Gerson decided to adopt her as his own. Seeing as he was the only one at the time that she would obey, well, no one had any objections.

“So Gerson is basically Undyne’s father???” You exclaim, eyes wide.

More of a grandfather really. Gaster snickered, I am not sure why you are so surprised. I’d thought it would be obvious since they share a family title and everything.

“Family title?”

You know… Gerson is the Hammer of Justice and Undyne is the Spear of Justice.

“Oh. Oooooh.” You mutter, everything suddenly coming together. You facepalm, chuckling at how long that took you to figure out. Well, now that you did know that it made pretty good sense.

Then, another thought came to you.

“Since I’ll be working for Gerson…,” You hum, nervousness starting to pick at you, “Do you think I’ll end up meeting Undyne too?”

Hmmm… more than likely.

You groan, curling up to hide your face into your legs. Just thinking of meeting any of the main cast gave you this confusing cluster of emotions, and Undyne herself was just on a different level entirely. Would you even be able to withstand the intensity that is Undyne? You don’t think you can. Knowing you, you'd probably either make an absolute fool out of yourself or faint on the spot.

You should have known you’d end up meeting them sometime. After all, you were sure they had to stay near the city in order to continue diplomatic relations right now. You just didn’t expect the possibility of it happening so quickly of all things.

“Geeze, I am not going to be ready for that.”

I don’t think anyone can truly be ready to meet Undyne ____, just be yourself and I am sure you’ll be fine .

“I hope so.”

Chapter Text

Its been a while since you’ve done this.

Your fingers deftly held the pen, masterfully guiding it across the screen in well-practiced strokes. Various hues melded together to create the picture that was on your screen. You’d always wanted a graphic art tablet like this, with a large screen that you could directly draw upon. It was a far cry from the old one you used to have, but you couldn’t bring it upon yourself to miss it.

When you’d been shopping, you couldn’t just not buy it. A graphic tablet like this was rather expensive, yet once you saw it you just couldn’t help yourself. You did technically have the money for it, after all.

You sigh in contentment, leaning back to gaze at the finished product. It was the first time you decided to fully test the tablet and software, and you had to admit the finished product was pretty good. It wasn’t as good as if you went all out, of course, but that would take days to do and you simply wanted to draw a nice, simple picture for now.

There were two figures in the drawing, one, a young girl around age 10; and two, a slightly older amphibian-like child. The scrappy younger child stood next to her companion, a bandaged stick in one hand and a webbed hand in the other, appearing to be leading the other child somewhere unknown to the viewer with a smile on her face.

You smile at the sight, nodding in approval. It felt so invigorating to draw again, even if you were just testing the waters, so to speak. You’d also have to flesh these new characters out later too. You might have simply thought them up on a whim, but seeing them like this gave you a strange sense of endearment. 

Yeah, you’ll totally end up keeping these two.

After saving the finished product, you go onto the internet and enter your still new account on the art platform called ‘Imative’; which was, to your knowledge, this worlds closest site to Deviantart. It worked mostly the same, just without, you know, most of the weird stuff you’d usually see on it.

It was quite interesting, especially with it being an absolutely booming art platform for both humans and monsters. You’d have to ask Miss Honey later if she knew anything about this site. It’d be interesting to hear about it from the perspective of someone you know.

You went to your feed, still feeling the small bubble of happiness at the few sketches and doodles you’ve posted before. It wasn’t much, but interestingly enough you have been getting a decent amount of likes, and even a few follows from them. It was so interesting to see just how much this world appreciated art in comparison to your old one. 

It was exciting, if a bit confusing… but hey, if people enjoyed your little sketches then good on them! Absently, you wonder just how much people will like this new post of yours. Perhaps you’d get a small jump in followers from this? Who knows!

You pick your image, write your necessary title and tags, and send it off. It will be a while before you’d see anything from it most likely, so you shut off the tab and then the computer.

You’d done what you wanted to make sure to do today, so you decided to go out and explore the park some more. It was your last free day before you start working with Gerson at the library after all, and you should make the best out of the free time you have left.

-----

You walk down the pavement towards your destination, humming under your breath with your gaze set on your surroundings.

It was a bit of a damp morning, but the storm from the previous day had just about diminished by now. All that was left was the fragmented remains of clouds, soaring through the sky by strong winds. The sun was already warming the air and drying up the surroundings, only leaving the larger puddles in its wake.

With it being a Sunday, not as many people were out today. It felt like life was going at a slow pace today, with the few people out walking went at a relaxed pace and only a few cars drove too and fro from your position. Well, with many stores being closed on this day, you weren’t that surprised.

You entered the park, making your way down your usual path. Which way should you explore today? This place was rather large, so you still had quite a bit of new land to explore.

As you ponder this, a familiar yawn echoed from within your mind. Smiling, you grab your phone from within your pocket and pretend to be calling someone.

“Good morning!” 

Morning ____. Gaster grumbled, voice groggy from sleep. You couldn’t help but feel a bit amused at him, having learned quickly that he was definitely not a morning person. Man, you wished you could give him some coffee or something, but alas, it’s impossible without a body.

I see you are out and about again. Did I miss anything while I’ve been asleep?

“No, nothing too much,” You reassure, “I tested out my graphic tablet some and posted the art I made from it, but nothing else. I had just started thinking about where to explore next when you woke up.”

Ah, that is good to hear.  Perhaps we shall find something interesting today.

“That’s the plan,” you beam, entering the area close to the river. However, your smile dwindled into confusion, a sudden shiver crawling up your spine unexpectedly.

You slow your pace, your hand holding the phone lowering involuntarily as your hairs pricked from the back of your neck. Not even realizing what you were doing at first, you find yourself looking around you for anyone that could be here.

Yet, there was no one? Then… why did it feel like you were being watched?

What’s wrong? Gaster asked, probably concerned with your sudden change in behavior.

“Well….,” You mutter under your breath, trying to articulate what you just experienced, you walk over the stone bridge absentmindedly, “I know this might sound weird, but I just felt like someone was watching me.”

… Is that so? Do you still feel like that right now?

“Well, yeah,” You admit, scratching at the side of your head sheepishly.

Well, perhaps it is just your imagination, but if it continues after we leave the park we can make extra sure no one is following us , Your friend reassures, Just stay alert for now. I’ll tell you if I notice anything strange.

“Alright.” You agree, letting out a long breath to calm yourself.

You continue on the previously unexplored trail, your senses now focused on the world around you. It was peaceful, the sounds of the river rippling and birds singing is the only thing you could hear nearby. The sun caused the waters to glitter and the canopy of trees to dapple the ground in cool shadows. 

You were about to exit the area from your originally appointed path when you notice something interesting to the other side of you.

“Whoa, man look at this…”

Your gaze locked onto the thick brush to your side; large, well-grown ferns being the closest to them all. They had originally caught your eye because they had reminded you of the ferns that grew next to your old apartment complex, but if you were to look closer…

You find yourself stepping off the beaten path, a childlike sense of excitement at the chance of adventure emerging from within you. Your free hand carefully slid along the plant’s stems, moving them away to reveal an overgrown path beyond.

It looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, but it definitely was a path. The path was made out of old, crumbling cobblestone, the foliage surrounding it causing what once was a 3 person space to only hold one person now. You look down at your feet, noticing the lighter colors in the stone that lined between the path and the wilderness, depicting that they’d been placed here earlier than the rest.

“Whoah…,” You breathe, already entering the abandoned path.

You’re really going to go into this blocked off path…

“Yeah?”

Going who knows where...

“Of course,”

Even if there might be something dangerous at the end?

You snort at that.

“This is not the underground Gaster; humans don’t just put traps and puzzles around pathways like you guys do.”

… I would be offended by that statement, but I can’t be considering how true said statement is.

You laugh at that his frustrated reply, giving up on the phone and putting it back in your pocket. You won’t be needing to fake a phone call where you’re going.

You walk on for a while, eying the thick vegetation around you. It was fascinating just how well this place was recuperating from the previous winter. If you hadn’t known better you’d say it was early summer instead of mid-spring.

To top this all off, not long after you entered, the peculiar feeling of eyes watching you dissipated. You feel a bit more relaxed at that. If things go well, it won’t resurface again.

After a while, the old path ended along with the brush around you. You stumble into the opening, gasping at the sight ahead of you.

You were in a clearing, a huge, aged oak tree centered in the middle. Rays of light cascaded through openings in its canopy, lighting the vibrant golden flowers that caked the ground below in thick patches.

You carefully step around the beautiful flowers, approaching the tree before laying down upon its roots. You lean back on its trunk, relaxing with your eyes trailing up toward the few blue patches that revealed the sky.

So, this is what the golden flowers would have looked in their natural habitat… Gaster whispered, his awe bringing you to look back down at the garden in front of you.

“Wait, these are the golden flowers from the underground?!” You exclaim, eyes widening as you lean to the patch near you. 

Indeed it is, The doctor answered, almost breathless, I almost can’t believe I am able to see this with my own eyes…

Once you looked closer, remembrance hits your mind like a truck. It looked just like it was depicted in the game. It was a large flower with five rounded, golden petals. In the center was the brown disk floret, reminding you faintly of a sunflower in appearance.

Feeling a rush of nostalgia, you gently reach your hand to the nearest flower, fingers propping up the petals almost reverently in your hand.

Then, a stick cracked, disrupting the silence.

With a sharp inhale, your head shot up…

And the world froze.

Your mind went blank. You couldn’t move. You didn’t know what you should do, or what to say.

All you could do was stare, wide-eyed at the person who stood from where you came, standing frozen just as you were, staring right back at you.

In the iconic purple and blue striped sweater, their shoulder-length brown hair flowing in the wind, who seemed to be just as speechless as you.

Here, in a moment you were completely not prepared for, the Monster Ambassador Frisk stood right in front of you.

Chapter Text

It was a silent morning for Frisk.

The sun’s rays greeted the young child, waking them up from their slumber. Shifting in their bed, they sat up, plush green blankets falling from their form.

For a few moments, they sat there, gazing absentmindedly at their room. With its rich, golden-brown walls and soft, forest green carpet. There were a closet and lamp alongside the wall with a window, and on the opposite held their desk, bookshelf, and toys. On the end of the desk, among the clutter, their gaze focused on a dull empty flower pot, left to be untouched for a long time.

They sighed, frowning before looking away. Sliding out of their bed, the small human trudged blearily to the window, staring out from the forest that lined their home and into the sky.

Its been about a week now since they had their experience with the Riverperson. At first, they had been so elated at the mere thought of you actually being alive, but now there were a lot of questions that they had no way to get answered. Like, if you were alive, were you here in their world? If you were here, would you be living near them? If that was the case, how could they find you, and would you even be looking for them?

Well, knowing how you were, they’d guess not. You’d probably have no idea how to even approach them…. And that would probably be one of the things the both of you had in common.

Like, how were they going to explain how they knew you? Did you even know that they knew about you? You’d only thought of them as some sort of game the last time they’d been together with you. If they could find you, how would you even perceive them? 

Frisk huffed, shaking their head before looking back to the sky with a now focused gaze. Yes, it looked like yesterday’s storm had passed!

Frisk’s mood instantly improved by that, quickly rushing to get out of their fuzzy dinosaur pajamas and into their favorite purple and blue sweater and shorts combo. They’d been unable to take their usual ride with the Riverperson yesterday because of the weather, but now that the storm had passed they would be able to go for it today instead.

Once properly dressed, the young human rushed out of their bedroom, down the hallway and stairs, and into the kitchen, whereupon entering, they ambush the monster inside with a hug.

“Ah, Frisk!”, Toriel exclaimed, almost dropping the plate that she held in her fuffy hands out of surprise. The goat-like monster was a tall figure, with white fur and soft ruby eyes. Her gaze went down to her child with a softly stern look on her face.

“It is nice to see you too my child, but let’s be a little more careful while someone is cooking in the kitchen, alright?”

Feeling just a tiny bit sheepish at that, the child nodded, releasing the larger monster once receiving a pat to the head. Frisk trotted over to the table, sitting at their usual seat while they waited. They didn’t even need to look at the counter to know what they were having, the iconic scents of toast, bacon, and eggs easily identifiable.

With practiced ease, Toriel walked over to the table with two plates in hand, placing them in their respective places. With that completed, they both settled down to eat.

After eating for a while in comfortable silence, the motherly monster spoke up.

“My child? You seem a bit antsy this morning, is everything alright?” She asked, her head tilting with concern. 

Well, she wasn’t wrong. The kid had a lot on their mind and wanted more and more to talk to the Riverperson about it. So, the longer they sat here the more fidgety they got.

I am just excited to go to the park today! They signed, figuring that saying enough of the truth would be enough for now. Toriel eyed them for a few moments more, before nodding with a smile.

“I am sure you are! It was rather unfortunate that the weather was too foul yesterday,” Toriel agreed, picking up the now finished plates and walking over to the sink to watch them, “Its unfortunate that I have a meeting to go to today, or I would love to take you myself. Sans should be here any moment now to go in my stead, however.”

Speak of the devil, and he appears.

In the distance, the bell to the door rang, causing Frisk to perk up at the sound. The child raced to the door, swinging it open and once more tackling the monster with a hug.

“whoa there kid,” The short skeleton laughed, his surprise flickering in his eye lights for only a moment, “i see you are as excited as ever. tibia honest, i don’t know how you keep all that energy. it makes me bone-tired just thinkin’ about it.”

Frisk let the skeleton go, shaking their head with a smile at his overused puns. In the distance, however, their mother’s laughter could be heard over the sound of rushing water. 

Sans winked, took the kid's hand in his, and called out, “alright tori, the kid and i will be going out now.”

“You two have fun!”

-----

Frisk couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

They stared at the Riverperson, wide-eyed, blinking several times in the shadow of the bridge just like before. Their mind was trying to process the words that came from the monster’s mouth, but it took a few tries to finally get it through.

… You saw her?

“Yes.”

___?!

“Indeed,”

She’s here in this park, right now????

“Yes, I believe so.”

… Where is she now? I need to see her before it is too late. Frisk signed, hands shaking as they looked around frantically. This was happening, and they were freaking out quite a bit in their mind.

The cloaked monster let the boat drift downstream for a bit, before sliding to the edge over to dry land. The Riverperson’s eyes sparkled as they pointed to the ferns they saw you disappear in.

“Walk through the wall of ferns and you will find her.”

The child nodded, not thinking twice as they hopped from the boat and ran over to the spot in question. To their surprise, they were left with a hidden path once they moved away the ferns in their way.

Clenching their hands, they make their way down their path, steeling their resolve for what was to come. They had no idea what they would do once they finally met you, but…

The thought of being with you again fills them with DETERMINATION.

-----

You couldn’t speak. Hell, you couldn’t even think. 

You sat there, eyes wide as dinner plates, staring at the child before you as your mind tried to free itself from its absolute panic.

The child ahead of you, through their shocked state, took one shaky step, then another, and another, until they were right in front of you. You straightened up, your lower half completely frozen, and your frame as stiff as a board.

Now that the child was close enough, you could see how much their entire body was shaking. After a moment, they gulped, opened their mouth, and after not one, not two, but three tries, they spoke so softly, it could almost be mistaken for a whisper.

“_____?”

You gasped, your mind going from panicked to completely short-circuiting.

They must have seen the recognition in your eyes, as they not a moment after burst into tears.

“_____!”

Frisk now shouted, quickly getting rid of the remaining distance and barreled into your chest, their arms hugging you tight. While your mind was still out of order at the moment, your body kicked in, jerkily enveloping your arms around the child in response to the familiar actions it was used to, even if it was from a different child.

“H-how…” You whisper, a confusing cacophony of emotions coursing through your soul, “How do you know my name?”

Frisk stiffened in your grip, slowly forcing their sobs down to sniffles. You wait patiently as they regain their composure, forcing themselves to distance themselves enough to look up into your eyes, but not out of their lap.

Freeing their hands from your shirt, they shakily signed.

Of course, I know the one who helped me through the Underground. How couldn’t I?

Your breath hitched, closing your eyes with your heart skipping a beat. You couldn’t lose it now, not in front of them.

“P-please explain to me in detail how you know me, Frisk.”

The small child gave you a watery smile, their hands wiping their face with the sleeves of their sweater.

Alright, I’ll tell you everything.

Chapter Text

For several minutes, you listen closely as the child explains their situation, your brows furrowing as several things come to light.

One: You had been completely controlling a ten-year-old kid with them being completely conscious of it.

Two: They’d heard every single thing you said while doing so. They, in turn, had to hear your death in your previous world

Three: Not only them, but the Riverperson knew of you too.

Well, this was unexpected… Gaster muttered.

You sigh, one of your hands holding up your head as you muttered, “I can’t believe I never noticed this.”

Well, they never gave any indication that they did know of your actions, so don’t beat yourself over it. Stars, I didn’t notice it myself! Though… I was more occupied with you at that time so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why it went under my radar.

H-hey it’s alright, I already had a feeling you didn’t realize it, so just knowing your intentions was good enough for me , Frisk signed, unknowingly replying to your response that was not originally meant for them.

You blink for a moment, a random spark of amusement coming from the fact that two different people, without one even knowing the other’s existence, somehow tried to reassure the same person at the same time.

Yet you shake your head, deciding to focus on Frisk for now. You could have a talk with Gaster later.

“I am so, so sorry that I put you through that Frisk,” You apologize, raising your hand as the same child started to retort, “Just hear me out alright?”

“While I didn’t know that I was controlling a real person while we went through the underground, it still doesn’t make things right.”

“I did what I did ignorant of the reality of my actions, yet I also did what I did with nothing but goodwill in my heart. I’ve learned to recognize these facts. Yet, no matter what I did I still took control away from you, which I just can’t think of in any way to be excusable.”

“Your body is yours, and you should have the right to use it, and I, even unknowingly, still disrupted that. So, while I know I can’t really beat myself up over it, I still want to say I’m sorry for putting you through all that. I hope that you can forgive me at some point for what I’ve done.”

Frisk signed your name, their usual expression turning sad. Twice they almost looked to be about to argue with you about what you said, but instead, they sighed, twisting in your lap to get into a more comfortable position.

You know, at first I was afraid of you. Frisk signed, causing you to wince, but to be honest it didn’t last long. 

Being in the underground was like being all by myself in a completely different world. I had no one else to help me along my entire journey but you. You helped me not just get through the underground, but you helped me understand that monsterkind could be my friends instead of my enemy.

I don’t think I would have been able to free everyone without you on the first try like this… so thank you for guiding me through the underground. They beamed up at you, signing away, And, even though I really don’t think you need to apologize for your actions, I’ll still accept your apology. If accepting it will make you happy, then I’ll be more than happy to do so. 

The child finished signing, reaching up to your face to wipe away the wetness on your cheeks. With a shuddering laugh, you close your tearing eyes, slowly regaining your composure.

“Heh, for a kid you have quite a way with words.”

Well, I kinda have to be; being the Monster Ambassador and all.

“Oh yeah, I guess that is right,” You mumble, laughing awkwardly once you notice just how tightly you’ve been holding Frisk. You let go apologetically, “Ah, my bad, I didn’t even notice how tightly I’ve been-”

Your apology was cut off as the brown-haired child immediately wrapped their arms and legs around your waist, practically clinging to you with their head buried in your shirt.

You stare wide-eyed for a moment before amusement slowly takes hold.

“You good there bud?” You snicker, watching as they nod.

“Huh, who would have known that you were half koala,” You grin cheekily, delighted at the muffled groan that came from the child in question.

Frisk peaked up at your face, pouting up at you with their squinted eyes. You chuckled in amusement at their reaction, patting their head.

“Come on Frisky Business, you gotta admit you ran into that one.” You chuckle, only to be surprised by the dopey grin on Frisk’s face

.

“What’s that expression for?”

Sorry, sorry, Frisk signs, letting go of you a bit bashfully. That bashfulness, however quickly turns into a look of fondness that firmly locks you in place, It’s just been so long since I’ve heard you say that nickname. I missed it so much…

Oh be still your beating heart, this child is going to be the death of you!

… We must protect this child at all costs.

Indeed Dadster, indeed.

Steeling your composure, you rustle up Frisk’s hair as you reassure them with your best smile, “Well, you won’t have to miss it anymore kiddo. I don’t plan on leaving this place anytime soon, so I’m sure you’ll be hearing it more often from now on.”

Really?!

“Yes really,” 

You laugh, watching as the small human stood up and twirled around in some Frisky-brand of victory dance. Seeing them hop and dance around the field of flowers, grinning, and as happy as can be, filled you was unparalleled joy.

Yet suddenly they stopped, letting out a gasp as they twirled back to you at speeds that you would never expect a ten-year-old to accomplish.

Wait, so your living here in the city? Frisk signs rapidly.

“Yeah?”

So that means you can meet everyone else!

You freeze, the child continuing on completely oblivious to your sudden turmoil.

I can’t believe it, you can finally meet mom!

“Uh-”

Oh, you could join everyone on anime night and join us on our days out!

“Frisk w-wait!”

They stop, looking at you in confusion at what must be the panic in your voice.

Shit, you haven’t even spent much time thinking through your confusing mix of emotions about this topic and now you had to give Frisk an explanation of it. Well, this was going to be interesting.

You sighed, leaning back onto the trunk of the oak tree as you gather your thoughts.

“I… don’t feel like it is the best idea for me to be the one to go and befriend them,” You finally speak up, raising your hands to halt the rapid signing of the young child ahead of you, “Hey, hey, hear me out first alright? I know it sounds bad but there is a reason for what I said.”

Frisk stops, staring at you with an intense, unreadable expression. Then, they eventually pout, crossing their arms and nodding, even if they obviously are unhappy with it.

“Okay, thank you,” You slump, continuing with a weak smile, “It’s not like I don’t want to see them or anything. Honestly, it would be a dream come true to meet the whole gang.”

“Yet, it wouldn’t be right for me to simply go and weasel myself into their lives like that, especially with the knowledge I know of them,” You grit your teeth, your chest tightening at the thought, “It would be like I am manipulating the situation with the knowledge that I hold in order to befriend them.”

But you wouldn’t do that! You’re not that type of person!

“Your right, I am not,” You agree, “But it would definitely look like it.”

“Try to think about it this way Frisk. Let’s say you were one of the gang. You became good companions with the savior of the underground and are now with them on the surface.”

“After living on the surface for a while, another human appears out of nowhere and tries to befriend everyone. The human child seems to really like this other human, and she seems nice, so they give this human a chance. With the knowledge the human has, she is able to befriend everyone of the monsters with ease.”

“However, if her past were to be revealed, what would it look like to them? They might consider the human as someone who abused her knowledge of them to get into their good graces.”

“And, while I don’t think they would think of me that way. I’d much rather avoid that path altogether and give the choice of befriending me to them.”

“While this city is large, I am sure sooner or later I’ll end up meeting one of them. If they choose to come and befriend me then, then I will have no objections in joining in. Only when they give the incentive, though, will I do that.”

“It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I can give them. Everyone deserves that much.”

Frisk sighs, looking frustrated.

So, you won’t go looking for them?

“No, I won’t”

Frisk frowns, before a look of determination forms.

Though, you’ll be okay if they come to you instead?

“Yeah…” You answer, unsure if you should be worried by the expression on the child’s face.

Alright, Frisk agrees, albeit a bit begrudgingly, Honestly, I think you’re worrying too much about it, but you do have some good points, so I’ll let it go for now.

They look up at the sky, their expression turning sad.

I need to go back to the boat. Frisk signs, Sans will start to get suspicious if I take any longer here.

“Ah… yeah, that would be for the best,” You agree, fidgeting at the thought of the skeleton monster being nearby and completely unaware at the smirk being sent your way by the other human in the clearing.

Will I be able to see you here again? Frisk asks, worried

“Well, I think I’ll probably come to hear more often when I go to this park, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to stumble upon each other again,” You say before an idea pops into your head. You grin at them as you ask, “You still have your phone, right?”

Frisk brightens at this, easily getting your drift as they nod. The small child retrieves their phone out of their pocket and types at the screen a few times before giving it to you.

Seeing that it was already at the new contacts tab. You were able to swiftly add yourself to the list before giving it back.

“There, now we can chat whenever you want.”

Fist bumping the air in excitement, they give you a hug and say their goodbyes. You watch as the determined child waves at you before racing from the way they came.

Your entire frame finally slumps down in exhaustion, putting your arm over your eyes as you sigh.

You didn’t have many expectations of a meeting with Frisk… but you think it went pretty well. Now, however, you were completely exhausted after that emotional encounter. 

You weren’t sure why, but after this, you had a feeling…

Things were going to be changing really quick from now on.

-----

Sans didn’t know what was going on, but the situation was definitely suspicious.

The kid has been acting strange since that last boat ride, and seeing that this one had taken longer than usual was not helping matters. Now, seeing the Riverperson here, singing with that singsong voice of theirs that no monster has heard of in over a year, along with the child he is taking care of with a facial expression that is downright evil is just the topping on the cake.

“uh… kid?” Sans ground out, half of him wanting to know what is going on while the other half wants nothing to do with what is causing Frisk to make such an expression, “everything alright there?”

In the blink of an eye, the kid goes from the downright evil look to an all too innocent smile. They simply nod, skipping away and over to the nearby Nicecream stand with their phone clutch tightly in their hand.

Sans sighed, following them at a much slower pace. He hopes that whatever the child is planning, doesn’t have anything to do with him.

Chapter Text

Today would be your first day at work.

You got up a bit early today, swiftly completing your morning routine while being bombarded by texts by your friends as well as your newest addition. Frisk, ever since yesterday, has chatted with you on and off while asking questions either you could and couldn’t answer at the moment.

The reason behind that was, well, Gaster.

I understand that they will be curious about how you are here in this world, but it would be best to keep our plan a secret. Trying to tell the child anything related to us will not stick with their memory and only cause them migraines. Besides, we don’t even know if our plan will work out in the end, so the fewer people that know the fewer people we could let down.

“I know,” You groan, clutching your phone in your hand, “I hate having to be so vague to them, but it’s better than nothing I guess.”

So, in the end, all that you could tell Frisk was that an old friend helped you, and now you were here on a secret mission to help them in return. They seemed to be awfully supportive of it and told you that if there was anything they could help you with, then they would be more than happy to do it.

The support surely was appreciated.

On the Void Gang’s side of things, everything seemed to be going relatively well. They’ve finally got most of the machines they needed right now up and running, so now they were slowly transitioning towards editing some other machines for the future processes that will end up being undertaken. The DT extraction machine is the highest priority among them.

You’d only thought that machine only extracted Determination out of human souls, but you found out that it had some high-end mechanics that would examine the soul’s condition and power. So, it wasn’t hard to figure out its importance when it came to your plans. 

Once the gang was done with the machine, it would hopefully be able to extract Gaster’s soul from your body when the time came to it.

You got goosebumps just thinking about it.

Well, it would be a long while before the both of you got to that part, so there was no point stressing out over it.

You pocket your phone, exiting your apartment building before walking toward what has become your regular place to go to in the morning, the corner cafe. You probably shouldn’t let yourself eat there as often as you do, but you couldn’t help it. You always had a weakness for sweets and the homey atmosphere the cafe always maintained sounded like just the thing to help with your first day at work jitters.

You enter the cafe, eyeing the empty space before approaching the currently unmanned counter. Well, you were here just about when the shop opened, so it wasn’t very surprising. By the heavenly smell emitting from the back, you didn’t even need to wonder where the shopkeeper was either.

Gently, you ring the bell on the countertop, standing there patiently as you listen to the sounds from the back.

“Coming,” The rabbit monster called from the back, wrestling a smile from your lips. You watch as she appeared into view, carrying a fresh tray of Cinnabuns in tow, “Welcome to- oh, ____! It’s nice to see you!”

“Nice to see you too!”

Miss Honey had been surprised when you first came into her store, and even more so when you kept on coming back. After the first few times, however, your presence seemed to wear off and instead, you found yourself ‘clicking’ with the fluffy monster. You didn’t realize it until it happened, but you found yourself thinking of this rabbit girl as a friend, or at the very least, a good acquaintance...

This woman didn’t know about you. She didn’t know anything about your past or what you’ve done. The void gang and Frisk had the luck to know about you already as well as having that intense, emotional connection to really get their friendship going, but she didn’t have that. You usually were not the most socially adept of people in the world, so actually befriending someone generally took you a while.

Yet, it wasn’t like that with her. You’d been your awkward self at first, but she had been genuinely nice and a pleasure to talk to! It also helped that she was about your age… well mentally of course. With a monster’s living much longer than a human, you couldn’t even guess what her actual age would be. 

Eh, it’s not like it mattered anyway.

The shop owner swiftly but the buns in their usual spot, patting down her hands before smiling over at you.

“Would you like to try something new today or will you have your usual?”

Yeah, you might have a problem if you’ve only been here for a little over a week and already have a usual...

“I’ve got a new job to go to today, so my usual would be best.”, You say sheepishly, blatantly avoiding the previous thought in favor of the delectable cinnamony goodness that was about to come your way.

“ Is that so,” Honey perks up, grinning as she makes your usual order, “Well congratulations on getting that job! I hope your first day goes well.”

“Thanks,” You thank her, receiving your order in exchange for your money, “I hope so too.”

You go and settle down in one of the booths, taking out your phone as a thought surfaced from your mind. With all the things that happened yesterday, you’d completely forgotten to check to see how your previously posted artwork faired. Kicking your feet back and forth in excitement, you hope it was received well. Best case scenario, you might have gotten a few new followers from it!

Taking a bite out of the deliciously fresh confectionary, you use the Wi-Fi to click onto your art page...

And finding yourself almost choking on it from what you saw.

Throughout the time that you were left ina coughing fit, you didn’t notice the store order rush over until she patted your back with a concerned frown.

“You alright there ____?”

“Y-yeah I am okay,” You choke out, taking a swig of your beverage to soothe your throat, “Just got caught by surprise, that’s all.”

“What in the world did you see on that phone of yours that would elicit that reaction?” Honey replied, thoroughly confused.

You stop for a moment, looking down with an uncertain look. You weren’t used to showing people in real life your art… but she’s more than a stranger so…

You give her your phone, watching as her face lit up at the site.

“Oh, I saw this one!”

“Wh- you did?” Your eyes widen, jolting in shock.

“Yeah,” She confirms, her ears perking as she continued,” Quite a few of my family members post their work on here too, so I am on here often to check on all the new stuff they make.”

“At first it was just that, but I’ve grown to like checking other people’s art from time to time as well.” The rabbit monster explained, looking down at your picture fondly, “You don’t see many people posting art of both humans and monsters so blatantly, and those who do usually are are trying to portray us in a… negative light.”

“I guess that is how it caught my eye at first, but it also helped that these two just look so cute! And looking at the description it says these two are siblings of all things! It really makes me want to know more about them. Heh, with that it is no wonder it got featured-”

“It got featured !?”

“Well, yeah? Isn’t that how you found this post? Wh-wait… are you alright? Why’s your face suddenly so red?”

Oh my god.

This is definitely not how you’ve expected this piece to go. You’re art got featured?! Well, the site was still very young and it doesn’t have nearly as many people on it as DeviantArt did in your old world, even with its spiking rise in numbers, so perhaps it wouldn’t be impossible… but this art… how??? And, with that many likes to… what the hell… it already passed a hundred likes, almost two hundred by what you had seen. You were beyond confused and flustered as hell. It didn’t help with your friend unknowingly complimenting the hell out of your art, as well as the distant cacophony of Gaster laughing his nonexistent ass off at your situation.

“Honey,” You squeak, hiding your eyes with one of your hands, “Look at the account that made the picture.”

“Okay? I see it?”

“Now scroll up to see what my account is.”

“Okay, I don’t see why this would have to- what in the world?!”

You watch as the young monster’s eyes glow as wide as saucers, clicking on your account page just to make extra sure what she was seeing was right. Both shock and realization morph into her expression.

“You… made that picture?”

“Y-yeah?”

“W-well, at least that explains that reaction…” The monster mutters, shaking her head, “I didn’t know you were an artist, much less such a good one.”

“I-I don’t know about that,” You stutter at her words, “I… I don’t understand why it got this much attention… I was just testing some things out… It’s not like I went all out to make this or anything.”

Honey appears to be about to say something, before a strange sort of realization sparks in her eyes. Her expression morphs into something unreadable as she murmurs.

“You… really don’t understand why it’s gotten that much attention huh?”

“Uh… no?” You nervously answer, trying to make sense of her expression, “If I had actually been trying to make a great piece of artwork then I could at least understand… but I don’t see why I’d get this much attention over a sketch of all things.”

She stares at you for a few intense moments, seemingly searching for something. Then, she smiles at you with such a fondly amused smile, it locks you in place, unable to look away.

“Perhaps I can help you understand…,” Honey laughs, looking thoughtful, “I don’t know if you’ve thought of this since you moved here, but are you interested in doing commissions?”

“Uh…” You had no idea where this conversation was going, “I haven’t thought about it since I moved here… but I’ve done them on and off before.”

“Well… perhaps you could do one for me,” The rabbit monster asked, looking away for a moment before pointing over to a barren wall, “I’ve wanted to decorate my shop a little more for a while now. A painting right over there would probably work well, don’t you think?”

“Uh, yeah I guess,” You say, finding yourself going along with this despite it all, “I only do digital artwork though.”

“That won’t be a problem,” She smiled reassuringly, “My sister has worked with this company that will make posters out of your artwork as ordered. If you look into it I am pretty sure they could print the finished piece and send it to me with no issues.”

“Okay, but how would this help me understand why my art is so popular?”

“Well,” Honey grinned, “Once I get the finished piece, you post the finished commission to your page while also mentioning that it can be seen at my shop as well. On the same day, you come over and have your meal here, and see the reactions of those who come in.” 

“I think you will understand when you see it.”

You blink, considering it for a minute.

You weren’t sure how in the world this would help you any… but it wasn’t like you were against the idea of doing a commission for her either. You weren’t really needing the money, but knowing how most monsters were they wouldn’t let you just do it for free.

“Eh, why not,” You shrug; you had plenty of free time to work on it anyways, “So, what do you want me to draw?”

“Anything.”

You pause.

“Uh… anything?”

“Yep,” Honey smirked at your expression, giggling, “All I ask is that you go all out and do the best work you can and that you make it something that will go with the cafe. I don’t have any specific timeframe or anything either, as long as you don’t make me wait forever of course.”

You shake your head, quirking a smile.

“Well, sure I can do that. Is there any way to contact you to keep you updated and all?”

“Already ahead of you,” Honey replies, handing you back your phone. Once looking at the screen, you see that you have another new number on your phone, “Just text me whenever you need or whenever you want to give me an update on your progress.”

“Alright then,” You nod, finishing the last bite of your now cool pastry.

“It’s settled,” The rabbit monster cheered, walking back over to the counter, “ I got to get back to work now, the next customer should be here any minute now. Text me whenever you get off work so we can talk about prices and stuff, okay?”

You agree, watching as she went. Just as she had said, it was only a minute or so later before two people came in, and, to your surprise, they were human. Two young women entered, probably around college age, and looked around with obvious uncertainty.

You drank the last sip of your drink, not noticing the quick glance the two girls sent your way. However, you did notice their sudden increase in confidence. They went to the counter, greeting back the shopkeeper happily, albeit still a bit shyly.

You smile, relieved to see that this place seemed to be getting more business on the human side of things. When did this place start to get more humans coming in though? You weren’t sure, but you were just happy for your friend anyway.

After that, you left for your first day at work, with not only books but a new piece of artwork in your mind.

Chapter Text

Have you ever felt like time was just flying you by? Well, you were surely feeling that one quite well right now.

Right now, you were on your second week on the surface. Wow, that really felt surreal to you. It only felt like you’d just got up here a few days ago, and now you were half a month in.

Things seem to be going well. Your first day at work went smoothly despite your fears, and stayed that way after that. With how much books Gerson had backed up, you’d mostly just been putting the returned books back to their proper places, though later in the week, once you really started catching up on the books in the back, the elderly monster also started teaching you how to work the front. Which was a bit more complicated, but thankfully it wasn’t something you couldn’t handle.

While not working, you’ve been occasionally exploring the city, talking with your friends, planning out your art commission, and researching all that you could about what entertainment was and wasn’t really in this world… well, you did until it got too depressing for you, at least.

There was only one little mishap, though. Which you were currently facing right now.

Frisky Business: You work at the Library?!

_____: Yeah? Did I not tell you that?

Frisky Business: No!

_____: Oh… oops.

Well, evidently you let that slip past your radar. You sigh, standing up from your couch and exiting the still rather sparse apartment.

_____: In my defense, I only started the job a week ago.

Frisky Business: But still! If I knew you worked there I could have totally visited you! Mom’s school is like, right next door you know!

You pause for a moment, surprise sparking within you as you stand in the elevator. Shaking your head, you push the button to the 1st floor.

“I knew there was a school nearby, but I didn’t realize it was Toriel’s of all things,” You murmur to yourself, your heart skipping a beat at the thought of being so close to one of the main cast without realizing it, “Hey Gaster, you awake yet by any chance?”

Yet, with no reply, you got your answer. Huh, looks like he was still asleep. You hum at that, shrugging as you exit the elevator and through the foyer, entering the streets. Looking at the time, you frown a little at what you saw. You had work to do today, and as much as you wanted to indulge yourself with the delicious confectionaries of the cafe, you wouldn’t have enough time to do so today.

_____: Well, knowing you I am sure you will make up for lost time.

Frisky Business: You got that right! I’ll make sure to ask mom to take me there after school sometime this week.

_____: Wait, you’re bringing her with you?

Frisky Business: Mom isn’t going to just let me go wherever I please anymore _____, this isn’t the underground and I am still a kid. XD

_____: Well, I know that, but if you do that then there is a chance she will end up meeting me too!

Frisky Business: Well, if she is taking me over there and just happens to talk to you too, it wouldn’t really be a problem would it?

_____: Frisk.

Frisky Business: It would technically her decision in that case, just like you want. :P

_____: Frisk!

Frisky Business: Or would you want it to be Uncle Sans instead~? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

_____: FRISK!

_____: OKAY I am leaving for work now GOODBYE!

Frisky Business: Have fun! 

You shove your phone in your pocket, your face feeling like it’s on fire. Who the hell even taught them that emote?! Or the better question would be, what the hell was that?! You weren’t that oblivious to not know what the kid was hinting toward, but it confused you as to how they ended up thinking about that in the first place!

They have been spending way too much time with Alphys it seemed. She’d be just the right person for shipping and all that stuff.

You snorted to yourself, shaking your head and lightly slapping your flushed face for a moment to get yourself in order. It’s best just to forget about it for now. If something like this happens again, you’ll make sure to give them a good talk that will hopefully make the kid think twice about doing such things.

Though… knowing their determination and your poor track record within the void group about that subject… you had a feeling it was probably a lost cause.

-----

You arrived at the bricked walls of the library, just five minutes early.

You smile, sighing as you look forward to another day at work. Wow, you never thought you’d get a job so early in life that you’d actually look forward to it. Back before in your old world, such things would be quite a rare sight.

Walking up the lightly colored steps, you enter from the entrance as you usually do, relaxing as the calming scent of old books swarmed your senses.

Ahead of you, the elderly turtle monster stood behind the rich wooden counter, glancing up from the books he must have gotten from the return bin outside. He smiled his crooked smile at the sight of you, setting the book he was holding down and greeting you cheerily.

“Wahaha, early again I see,” Gerson chatters, “Hope you’re ready for a challenge ‘cause I got a bit of a test for you today!”

“Oh?” You blink, a little surprised at this sudden turn of events, “Is that so?”

“Yessiree,” The elderly monster affirms, nodding his head over towards the entrance to the back, “Since we get everything caught up last week, I think it is about time to see how well you do in working the front by yourself.”

“Oh! Alright, that sounds good,” You nod to him in agreement. You think you got everything down, or at least mostly, when it comes to the front, so you weren’t too worried about it.

Gerson seems to be pleased by your agreement.

“Good! On top of these books I just checked back in, we got ourselves some new ones that shipped in over the weekend as well. I’ll be adding them to the database-thingamajig in the back while also taking whatever books that come in back to their correct places while you work the front.”

“If ya need any help at any time just give me a holler will ya?”

“Of course,” You agree, taking Gerson’s place as he meandered back into the back, whistling a tune the whole way.

You prepare yourself for the day forward, making notes in your mind on what things you'd need to do upfront at the counter, before going back to the door, opening it, and flipping the sign attached to it to ‘OPEN’.

It was a slow morning, with it being a Monday and all. A few young adults came in, most of them probably college students from what you could guess. An elderly couple also came in and out and were quite sweet to talk to as you checked out the books they chose. A few monsters, a duo of Froggits as well as a Mouse-like monster you didn’t recognise, came in as well. The mouse monster simply wanted to use the public computers, so there wasn’t much to do there; and the Froggits, even with the language barrier, were easy enough to handle.

Besides organizing the books by area occasionally to make things easier for both you and Gerson, as well as checking in and out books, you find yourself chilling at the front desk. Looking out the glass made into the wooden doors, you watch the beautiful day go by. Cars speed past your location, as well as quite a few passersby. It was odd to see so many out walking instead of just taking a car. It was something you’d rarely see where you used to live. 

Here, though, it was different. It was like the people who lived here moved along day by day and didn't even think about rushing too and fro, but instead let themselves take their time and enjoy life. As far as you could tell at least. It was a nice change of pace.

The only people who you saw even remotely rushing around were, for more or less, the children that passed by. Human and monster children of all caliber went to and fro, excitedly running up and down the sidewalk, to the dismay of their parents. Of course, they did it in order to catch up to their friends, so in the end the parents let it go. 

Seeing the happiness just emanating from the other side of the street gave you a smile on your face. It was really bizarre to think that just next door was the very school that Toriel ran, and you were more than just a little curious to see what it looked like in real life.

Yet, well, that was all it was gonna be, for now, a curiosity. Sure, you wanted to see it, but come on. Just think about it. Some random adult comes around were kids often dwell and starts examining the place… yeah, that would be waaaay too creepy. Like hell you’d be doing that.

You snort to yourself at the mental image, shaking your head to dismiss the thought. Making sure to say goodbye to the mouse monster that was leaving the library, you turn back to the cache of returned books, updating the order of them once more.

You try to get into the zone, organizing them by the area first to where they would be put, from Kids to Teens, then Fiction or Nonfiction, Poetry, Science, and Social Sciences. The subjects could go on and on. It was a bit monotonous, unfortunately. If only you had your old music to go back to. That would just make the process so much more manageable.

If you could choose one to listen to right now, what would you choose? You thought about it for a moment, humming. Well, you’d like it to be something striking, something to get going too. Energy would be a must for you.

In your mind, you delve deep in remembrance of all the music you’ve listened over the years, the notes coming too and from different bits of songs. You huff, for none of them are really what you are looking for.

Then, like a distant memory in your mind, notes come to you. It takes you a few moments to remember them, but as it fits with said music, the iconic rhythm ends with a slow but steady crescendo in power as it emerges from the depths of your mind.

You snort, feeling the irony of said music being useful in a library of all places. It was more for the battlefield, or when you would go to a gym to exercise. That would be a perfect place for such music.

But hey, like the monster it was inspired after said before, it didn’t matter if it was being used for something nerdy or lame. All that mattered was that it led you to your 100%, with all your passion. Even if it was to simply organize books of all things.

You giggle at that, shaking your head as you move to the music in your mind, the beat vivid in your ears. You smile at the memory, for how much of a sucker you were when it came to music.

Toby Fox did always have a way when it came to music, so you really weren’t too surprised you supposed.

Guess that’s why any music from Undertale could be remembered by you. Hell, with how vivid you could hear it, you’d almost think you could hear it in your ears, instead of in your mind!

.... Wait a minute.

Then, a memory flashed in your mind for a split second. One that would have been very useful a few minutes earlier. You remember the times you sparred with Gaster, when you’d been using it to get back into better physical condition. You distinctly remember the music that came with it, which was Gaster’s theme song back at your old home.

You stiffen with horror.

That music wasn’t from you remembering, it was coming from outside, it had been getting rapidly louder.

You didn’t have any time to react.

Suddenly, the doors were opened with a sudden immeasurable force, soon accompanied by the horrifying snap of metal breaking and finally followed by the monumental crash of the doors hitting the carpeted floor, the glass shattering on impact.

The music of Spear of Justice now roared in your ears.

In the entire moment when that even happened, you find your mouth opening in a silent scream, your throat also closing as the sudden terror claims you. You twist around as swiftly as possible, your previous memories sparking your muscles into overdrive, your stomach area burning with a vengeance under your mid sleeved shirt.

Your hip clips the rack on the way around, but the pain is completely overshadowed by your entire body and mind’s screams ‘NO!’ at the thought of an unexpected attacker. In your mind, you knew who this was going to be, but you couldn’t shake yourself out of this funk if you tried.

The doors were, indeed, kicked out of its hinges. In its place stood the tall, sharp, imposing figure you knew you’d see sooner or later. The sun shone harshly through the ruined opening, casting a long, dark shadow to the front of her body. Her red hair and blue scales practically shone at the edges of her ripped frame, complimenting the utterly terrifying sight along with her one golden eye and teeth that glittered through her shadowed face in a sneer that could give anyone nightmares.

And that sneer was completely directed at you.

“You.”

Welp, were you freaking dead.

You couldn’t speak, your mouth gaping but no words coming out. Your eyes get accustomed to the sudden increase in light just in time to see the fish woman stomp to you like a man on a mission, her webbed hands slamming down on the front counter so hard some distant part of you was amazed that it didn’t get obliterated upon impact. 

That left her, the former captain of the Royal Guard, leaning over you imposingly as you tried desperately not to have a heart attack.

Did you mention just how dead you were right now? If looks could kill, you think you would be nothing more than a desecrated husk by now.

“So you’re the human who’s working with Gerson huh,” Undyne growls, her good eyes looking you up and down, sizing you up, “Huh, didn’t think my old man would ever get an assistant, but here we are!”

Upon examining your expression for a moment, before her expression turned darker.

“Never would have expected he would pick a human like you either,” Undyne fumed, her face doing down closer to you so she could look into your eyes with a distrusting, almost accusing glare, “And, while some of you are pretty cool, a lot of you are also not the type of person I want my Gramps to have to be anywhere around.”

Her eye narrows, her sneer turning into a full-on scowl, “And trust me punk, seeing you so terrified ain’t doing you any favors.”

You blink once.

Then twice.

And you blame your current state of emotions to the conversation that would come out of your mouth next.

“Seriously?”

“Uh…,” Undyne fumbles, moving her face a bit away from yours as her face becomes confused at your sudden one-eighty shift in demeanor. What once stood a girl scared out of her wits was now nothing but a blank unreadable expression. The music around you quiets in response.

“Seriously.”

“What in the world are you trying to say punk?!”

You almost instantly regret what you say next.

“Some buff ass lady comes and bursts through the door, looking more than ready to snap me like a twig, and you expect me to not freak the hell out? You must not have noticed this yet but I don’t have balls of steel, much less the proper parts to begin with.”

… Oh my god, what the hell did you just say?! You’re supposed to use your freaking filter for a reason!

Undyne is now standing straight, staring at you wide-eyed and mouth agape in shock as utter mortification claims your brain. That leaves you as an utter mess, with a speechless fish, with your only saving grace being the turtle that has finally broken the tension in the room by laughing his butt off the moment he walked in and, evidently, heard what you just said.

You bury your face in your hands, a moan of despair emitting from underneath them. In your embarrassment, you don’t notice the twitching upwards tilt of the corners of Undyne's mouth. You, however, do notice the sudden lack of music, as well as the aborted warbling sound that Undyne was able to choke down halfway.

You peek out from behind your hands, watching in surprise as the once foreboding monster turns away from you, her shoulders shaking every once in a while.

“Are… Are you laughing?”

“N-no!”

Oh my lord, she stuttered! She totally is laughing!

“No, I’m not! I just got something in my throat, that’s all punk! Don’t you forget it!”

Oops, you must have thought that out loud.

“Alright, alright, that enough you two,” Gerson chuckles, shaking his head as he looked over to you, both amused and stern, “Now, while that was just about the funniest thing I heard in a while, try to keep the cursing down will yah? We are right next to the school and the last thing we want is one of the kiddies to hear something like that.”

“Oh god yeah, sorry,” You apologize sheepishly, “I kinda, lose my filter when I lose my cool…”

“Pfft, kinda?” Undyne finally turns around, staring back at you with a mockingly amused look on her face, which was better than the ‘Ima suplex you’ look she was giving you earlier, that was for sure.

“Oh don’t even start you brat,” Gerson snaps at the fish woman, marching out from behind the front desk, and to the monster in question, “A lil’ cursing is nothing in comparison to what you’ve done to my doors. Just look at them! Ima have to call the installer again!”

Undyne has the decency to at least look sheepish as well.

“Yeaaaah, sorry about that gramps,” Unyne scratches the back of her head, her finned ears flexing up and down, “I’ll pay for it… as usual.”

You quirk your eyebrow at that but are not too surprised at the implications.

“Yo, human,” Undyne looks back to you as Gerson gets on his phone, catching your attention. Her eyes are serious once more, and you are at the very least much more ready than you were before, “What’s your name.”

“Uh, it's _____.”

“_____, huh? The name’s Undyne. Well then, now that that's taken care of, I’ll cut to the chase here,“ Undyne leans back onto the desk once more, frowning.

“Gerson means a lot to me, he’s my only relative after all. If you try to hurt him in any way…,” Undyne's face turns dark again, her hand making a slicing motion over her throat, “Your screwed, got that?”

You, if she had tried to say that in your stupor a few minutes ago, you think you might have actually been scared.

Yet, right now in your calm moment, you know this woman. You know her passion, and how intensely she cares for the people around her. Her methods of protecting her friends and family are quite excessive, you won't deny that, but it is what makes Undyne, Undyne.

You smile at that, looking up at the taller woman with a fondness in your soul.

“Of course, you won’t have to worry about that at all, that I can promise you.”

For several moments Undyne stands still, staring at you with an intense unreadable gaze, eventually, however, it becomes the most perplexed look you’ve ever seen on a person.

“You really are a weird human.”

You tilt your head, blinking. What’s with monsters and thinking your weird? This was the second person to think that.

The fish woman shakes her head, standing up against and walking over towards the wall while rolling her eye.

“Eh, I am sure a nerd like you will get it sometime.”

“Alright then,” You mutter, exasperation. Evidently, monsters also like to not give you any answers either. Just add that to the list of weird things people do in this world.

Gerson comes over from his phone call, grinning over at you apologetically.

“Sorry about this, but I’m gonna have to call you off until Thursday,” The elderly monster sighed, shaking his head, “Until we get some new doors installed, we’re gonna have to close the library until then.”

“Oh, well, that’s alright then, can’t exactly help it anyways,” You shrug, giving him an understanding smile, “Do you need any help right now or?”

“Nah, don’t worry about that,” Gerson laughed, nudging his head over to where Undyne was, “She made the mess so she’ll be the one to clean it up.” 

You nod at that, saying your goodbye’s and clocking out.

“I’ll be watching you punk!” Undyne yelled, one door held in each hand as you walk away from your work and back to your home.

“Sure man, any time!” You holler back, laughing at the deadpan glare that was sent your way at your response.

In the end, you have one hell of a story to tell once Gaster wakes up.

Chapter Text

Ever since that day, Frisk has been doing well.

It was subtle. Frisk wasn’t ever one whose face could be easily read. Many didn’t even notice. However, those who were closer to them knew better.

The human child went about their days with a skip in their step. They smiled more, talked to others much more often. Interestingly enough, they often were curious about the state of monster businesses, like the up and coming Cinnabun Cafe and most recently, the area around Heartsong Elementry School.

Every day, the kid was often found flaring with determination, with both plan and phone in hand. It was both concerning and relieving to see the Monster’s angle so full of determination again.

Now, if only they could know as to what that determination was for…

-----

Undyne might not be a genius like her girlfriend was, but she was far from stupid.

Frisk has changed suddenly in the past two weeks. Of course, seeing the punk so happy was great to her, but she had absolutely had no idea why things had changed. 

She’d been curious before, but what she has heard from the lazy skeleton is making her suspicious

“So, you think the punk is up to something?”

“heh, most likely,” The skeleton in question replied, leaning back on the wall nonchalantly as they both watched the whole gang of monsters ahead of them, “you would have known if you saw the kid’s face when they got off of the riverperson’s boat. besides, why would the kid have so much interest in the northwestern part of the city all of a sudden?”

The fish monster’s ears twitched, her golden gaze going from the barbecue they were having to Sans. Well, he wasn’t wrong there. It was suspicious.

“Eh, I’ll give you that. It is strange,” Undyne admitted, kicking off from the same wall she had been leaning on, “I don’t think the twerps gonna do anything bad, but knowing them they could get into some sort of trouble. I’ll keep an eye on them and scout out that section of the city just in case.”

“sounds good to me.”

The two monsters walk back over to the commotion around the grill area. Undyne’s planning could go on the backburner for now, for there was food to eat and she was starving!

-----

Undyne was a woman on a mission.

The tall fish monster strode along the streets of Goldenpoint city, her eye and ears focused on the surroundings. She’d been at it for a while, looking for anything out of the ordinary that would pique the interest of the kid in this area of the city, but to no avail.

Grunting in frustration, Undyne halts on the sidewalk, her hand taking her phone out of her pants pocket. Checking the time, she finds it to be eleven-thirty in the morning. 

Tch, she has been at it for half of her day now, and she hasn’t gotten any results. How disappointing.

“Hey, have you seen the human that always goes to my cousin’s cafe?”

Undyne looks up from the phone, her ears twitching as she focuses on the conversation. You don’t hear of humans frequenting monster-owned businesses too very often. The fish monster’s gaze trailed a pair of monsters, a young rabbit monster, as well as a smaller mouse-like monster, who had just exited one of the stores ahead of her.

“You mean the shy looking girl?” The mouse questioned, her head tilting to the side.

“Yeah! Just that one,” The rabbit monster grinned in reply, her dress fluttering in the wind as she continued, “I never knew she’d get a human as a regular at her shop. I heard when that human first came in, the girl didn’t even bat an eye when she saw a monster manning the counter like it was the most normal thing to see for her.”

“Yeah, I can see that girl doing that,” The mouse nodded her head in agreement, before getting a smile to form on her face, “She didn’t seem to pay me any mind when she was working at Gerson’s library.”

The fish monster blinks, her face growing blank.

There was a human… working at her gramps library… without her knowledge?!

“Whoa, she’s working there? I didn’t know that!” The rabbit monster exclaims, surprised.

“Yeah, it caught me by surprise too when I first went in there myself to see her manning the counter.”

“Wow, it makes me wonder what other things that human is going to end up doing.”

Undyne cuts out of the conversation a whole new purpose claiming to her mind.

Screw the original plan, She had to go to the library instead. Nothing was more important to her than keeping her friends and family safe, and now there was a human with unknown intentions near her old man. She’d have to see for herself just who this human was.

Feeling the coursing of magic flowing through her body, ready to be released, Undyne’s soul started to emit her song, causing the two ahead of her to flinch and turn around. Their faces paled at the sight of her, both of their ears lowering.

The fish monster grinned, her teeth gleaming as she strode past them, her pace slowly increasing after that till it became a full sprint, her soul song growing louder and louder as she did so.

The two other monsters looked on, both concerned yet relieved as the old captain of the royal guard eventually went out of their site.

“She overheard us didn’t she?” The mouse wavered, “She must not have known that Gerson took the human in.”

“I think that’s probably what happened,” The rabbit monster replied, her ears drooping, “Do… do you think that human will be okay?”

“I… I think so? She seems different than the other humans I’ve seen, so I think she could impress Undyne enough to not kick her out of the library,” The mouse monster replied after a moment, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than the person next to her.

“... I hope so,” The rabbit monster sighed, looking from where Undyne ran off to.

She could only hope that the human would be alright.

Chapter Text

You know, over everything Undyne had been expecting, you seemed to blow them right out of the water.

The fish monster watched with a deadpan gaze as you walked out of her sight, laughing as you did so. Such a reaction was a complete one-eighty to when she first met you not even a half-hour ago. Hell, even that was just a sliver in time in comparison to how you reacted after that.

Undyne groaned, walking over to the side of the building, trying to wrap her head around the bizarre human to no avail. At first, you had seemed to be exactly like she expected, with a look of terror across your face. It was quite a common occurrence for her, truthfully. Most humans feared her for her looks and intense personality, so it wasn’t surprising when she saw it coming from you.

Yet… after getting a moment to really eye the human, that’s when things started to get strange. 

When you had turned around, your eyes had been clouded over,  almost as if you had been looking through her at something else entirely. Then, when your eyes had focused at her, you went from terror-struck to simply nervous and… perhaps, even relieved? Your reaction confused her to no end, and that complete one-eighty shift only moments later did not help things either.

“Weird ass human…” Undyne grumbled, chucking the two doors she had been carrying in her hand into the library’s dumpster. Walking swiftly back to the entrance, she grimaced slightly at her handiwork. 

Alright, maybe she got a bit too carried away. The fish monster has been improving on her restraint ever since she came to the surface, but even now, she still occasionally makes mistakes.

Yeeeah, she’s gotta make sure Alphys doesn’t catch wind of this. She wouldn’t hear the end of it otherwise.

Humming in thought, the fish monster focuses her attention back to the other monster in the room.

They both stare at each other, the room practically sparking with energy from the amount of tension between the two. Two monsters, both with very intense and stubborn personalities, now had to discuss the elephant in the room.

“So, when were you going to tell me you hired a human?” Undyne broke the silence, brow quirking. Upon seeing the turtle monster cross his arms at her words, she quickly added, “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really care that you hired a human or anything like that as long as they aren’t dangerous.”

Undyne scoffed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she imaged you once more, “Yeah, I don’t think that weenie could do anything too bad. What I really want to know is how did you even go about hiring her in the first place, I didn’t even know that you were even wanting to hire someone!”

Gerson sighed, chuckling while giving her that all-knowing look, the one which usually meant he knew something she didn’t.

“I didn’t want to worry yah, but working the library here was getting tough on these old bones,” Gerson admitted, looking away sheepishly, “and that kid’s been going about this library for a while, reading book after book and putting them back where they belong without my help. I thought it’ll be best if she’s just gonna be here so much she might as well get paid for it. 

“The girl gets a job, and my work gets easier, it’s a win-win situation.”

“So, that’s it?” Undyne questioned, “Some nerd comes in while your needing help and you just went with the flow from there?”

“Wahaha,” The turtle monster laughed at his grandaughter’s words, “Yeah, for the most part. Wasn’t too sure about it myself; well, until ‘that’ happened.”

Unyne’s good eye narrowed in confusion, watching as her gramps looked up near the door with that same smile as before. What in the world did he mean by that?

Then her gaze followed to where he had been looking to. Then she understood.

“... your kidding,” Undyne muttered, her head whipping back and forth between the Warhammer and its owner with a wide eye and flared ears, “You’re saying, that the nerd I just saw, made your hammer activate?”

Gerson grinned cheekily, “Yep!”

“You gotta be kidding me,” The fish monster exclaimed, smacking a webbed hand to her face, “ You’re telling me that that artifact actually reacted to that random human when it only ever reacts to those with a true sense of JUSTICE. Other than the both of us, the only other person that thing’s reacted to was the freaking comedian!”

“Darn tootin’! Saw it with my very own eyes… er, eye that is.”

Undyne glared at the offending artifact for a few moments, before shaking her head in defeat, “Overall the humans that thing could of chosen… I might not have known that nerd for long, but she doesn’t even feel like a person with JUSTICE as their soul trait.

Gerson simply shrugged, watching over to sit behind the counter. Leaning on the wooden surface, he nonchalantly adds, “I’ll agree with you on that one; thought the kid was a KINDNESS soul myself with how she reacts to others, but she could have more than one trait. While not common, it’s not unheard of.”

“Yeah, your probably right,” The fish monster shrugged after a moment of consideration, walking back to the entrance to lean on the damaged architrave.

Now staring out into the world, her golden eye noticed with surprise at how dark it had suddenly gotten. Searching for the source, her gaze was caught on the other side of the city, towards where the south end would meet the ocean. As the sun was now descending towards the horizon, the orb of light was now being obscured by dark clouds, no doubt promising rain.

“Aw man,” Undyne hissed, grimacing at the sight, “Looks like it’s gonna storm tonight.”

“Well, get the tarp then,” Gerson replied, eyebrow quirking upward at his granddaughter’s reluctance. She’s really loved it when it stormed, especially when a thunderstorm came in, so this reaction was quite strange.

“...,” Undyne looked sheepishly down at her phone, her voice not as boisterous as she muttered, “Alphys has it…”

Undyne pouted as her old man went from confused, to snickering at her misfortune in seconds. The cheeky bastard knew exactly what would happen when she called her Alphy for that tarp. The only time Undyne needed that thing was for when she did things like bashing doors in, and both of them knew that she would have to explain to her why it happened.

And, as much as Undyne found it cute whenever her girlfriend got worked up, seeing her worried over the fish woman wasn’t something Undyne wanted.

Undyne sighed, steeling herself for the discussion ahead. Staring out at the approaching storm, Undyne braced herself as her girlfriend picked up the phone.

“Hey Alphy, you know the tarp you have right now?”

She was definitely going to have to make it up to Alphys with an anime marathon for asking this of her during her lunch break...

Chapter Text

For several moments, you stood there.

Everything was a blur around you, your mind still and your senses numb. Then, you blinked.

The place was familiar. The room you found yourself in was bathed in moonlight, shining down upon a small kitchen table. The surface was littered slightly with papers, drawn with sketches of all kinds. Little nicknacks of the various things you’ve grown to love lined the shelves of the cabinet at the side. The wall that the cabinet is lined to supports a few picture frames; whose figures, albeit easily recognizable as your childhood friends and you, felt more like a lifetime ago than simply a few years back.

Your body moved on its own against your will, the eerie silence only serving to make each step you took louder than it should be. You went through the dining room and to the living room, and are greeted by a sight you dreaded to see.

Your focus zoned in on the body that collapsed on the wall to the left of you, the facial features nothing but a blur in the darkness. Blood trickled down from the head, making a minuscule pool of blood on the floor in comparison to the wreckage of the surrounding area. A disturbing amount of blood caked the floor on the other side of the room, flowing over to the wreckage of what was once a new guitar, one that never would get a chance to be used, and eventually reaching back to…

You.

You choke, collapsing to your knees, your eyesight blurring as searing, overwhelming pain-wracked your system, stemming from your stomach. Your body screamed, finding yourself being unable to breathe as you choked on your own blood.

Looking down, your gaze was met with the cursed knife, the handle being held by the hand of the one that should be knocked unconscious. More blood exited your form, causing a feeling of hopelessness and horror to claim you.

You slowly look up, your eyes locking onto the eyes of the perpetrator.

Only to have black, soulless pits stare right back at you.

-----

A thunderous boom jolted you from where you were, your body screaming as you scrambled desperately to get away from your attacker. Your heart pounded through your chest, accompanied by tears clouding your vision. You desperately gulp in air into your lungs, suddenly being able to breathe despite the burning of your wounds.

A voice yelled through your ears, but you couldn’t comprehend them as you tried to find the form of your attacker through your washy vision. Blinking rapidly, you find nothing but an empty room, laying on a large bed.

Your brows quirked in confusion before slowly recognition sparked into your mind. This was not just some empty room, this was your room. You look down to where your shivering hand clutched your, actually intact, pajamas; seeing no blood even when you hike the shirt up from underneath. You let out an involuntary hiss as the scars you had still burned despite that fact.  Your eyes wavered over to the window, the roaring of a torrential downpour reaching your ears as well as the thunder that accompanied it soon after.

You close your eyes, your arms moving to hug your sides, trying to force yourself to calm yourself from your panicked state. As your mind starts to clear, the voice from before finally became recognizable.

_____, I want you to breathe with me when I say so, alright? Just follow my lead. The familiar voice murmured softly, as if afraid of putting you back into a panic if he spoke too loud.

You shudder, your eyes squinting open through the burning sensation with a grimace. You couldn’t bring yourself to speak, so you instead nodded in confirmation. With that, you followed his instructions as he passed them the best you could, slowly coming down from the episode you just experienced. After several minutes, all that was left was the shaky exhaustion that wracked your body along with your nerves that caused you to flinch whenever the crackling sound of thunder graced your presence.

Alright, it seems you have calmed down considerably, Gaster sighed, guilt making you wince at how tired he sounded, I wish I could have been of more help, but unfortunately being in my state doesn’t give me many options…

“N-no, thank you,” You croaked out, your hand clutching at your throat at the painfully dry sensation. You needed some water. 

You toss your legs off the side of your bed, shakily hauling yourself up onto your own two feet. You find yourself stumbling out of your room and into the kitchen. Swiftly grabbing a cup from a cabinet, you pour yourself some water and chug the cool liquid down. Your body practically shudders in relief as it soothes your throat.

When the last of the water was practically inhaled, you set down the glass onto the counter, finding yourself intake a big gasp for air, only to let out a just as big sigh of relief. Man, you really needed that water.

You lean on the counter, your fingers coursing through your hair. You could practically feel the tense silence as you and the doctor tried to think about how to address the elephant in the room.

Ugh, screw it, you knew you’d talk about this sooner or later.

“Sorry about earlier…”

It’s perfectly fine _____, there is absolutely nothing you need to be sorry for, Gaster reassured you; at times like this, you really wished you could see his face.

Assuming what occurred was a nightmare… Gaster added, continuing once you nodded sheepishly, It’s not like you could control such a factor. I am simply happy that I, as both your doctor and a friend, could be here to help you, even a little.

Whatever you must have dreamed of had to have been pretty bad though. Even throughout all my years of experience in soul studies, I never knew I could feel a soul scream like that…

“My soul… screamed?”

Well, in a sense, yes, Gaster answered, The soul generally emits excess magic no matter the species. It’s one way we monsters can check others when we are in a friendly confrontation. Being in the same body as you, however, I can feel that excess magic at practically any time… even if I can’t really give you a check in this state.

Thankfully, your soul gave off a massive burst of energy, waking me up from my slumber in the process. Hence, why I am not comatose right now.

“Oh, geez, sorry for waking you up like that.”

Don’t you worry about it, I am more than happy to be of assistance in situations like these.

May I ask… what the nightmare was about?

You shudder at his question. You were in no condition to look back at that . All you wanted to do was to, at the very least, forget about it all for right now. However, he did deserve some explanation for waking him up at… what was it? 5:53 AM in the morning? That’s what the wall clock says...

“Just the usual memories turned nightmares,” You admit, trudging from the kitchen and into your family room, all but collapsing onto the couch, “Guess Undyne’s scare yesterday did more damage than I thought…”

Is that so? You could easily envision the concerned look that would be on Gaster’s face at your words.

“I… might have kept one detail out when I explained the situation to you…,” You mutter guiltily, “When… when Unyne first burst through the door, I don’t know why, but for a moment…”

“It was like I snapped back in time. As I turned around, I was scared half to death that I was going to be shanked by that… person again.”

“Then, I finally noticed that it was Undyne… and funnily enough I felt relieved,” You let out a hollow laugh, tears threatening to form over your eyes, “It is really strange, she looked about ready to snap me in half and instead of being scared, I was relieved that it was her and not anyone else…”

I see, that’s not too strange considering what you have had to deal with. A little concerning, but I had hypothesized that you would have to deal with certain symptoms after dealing with such a traumatic event, even if that hypothesis was derived from personal experience…

I know you don’t like other’s to know you aren’t okay, Gaster adds, causing you to wince, don’t think I didn’t notice you always wearing clothing that hides your scars on your arm and leg, or how you blatantly avoided handling any sharp knives.

I do hope that when you do have your bad moments, you will feel okay to get support from either me or our friends… or even some of your new friends that you have made on the surface! Just please, don’t try to bottle it all to yourself. 

“I-I’ll try,” You whisper after a moment, looking down at your feet.

That is all I can ever hope for.

You both sat in silence after that. You both seemed to be on the same page now, both not seeming interested in going back to sleep. 

You stared out the window to your right, watching as the time passed you by. The storm went from a torrential downpour to a drizzle in the time you had your conversation. Now, as the first rays of the sun breached the horizon and graced the surface with the light day; the storm, along with its rain, eventually passed you and the city by. Soon, the city slowly awoke from its slumber, the noises that accompanied the rising dawn steadying you a little bit more.

You let out a breath, deciding that after getting ready for the day, you would get out of this apartment and explore some more of the city. Hopefully, getting out a little will get you out of this funk you’ve gotten yourself into.

Who knows, you might meet a new friend in the process.

Chapter Text

After getting yourself ready for the day, you exit the apartment complex.

You walk along the paved sidewalk silently, your pack safely slung across your shoulder. It was a windy day, the sky steadily clearing from the rains the night before. Despite the dampness that still clung to the city, the area was quickly starting to fill up with the rush of cars and the flow of people going back and forth.

It was still a bit strange to you being in such a large city, even after all this time you’ve stayed here. Guess that is what living in a more moderate-sized town did to you. While you went with the flow of traffic, you wonder to yourself. Would this place one day feel like the norm to you? It would make sense that at some point it would, but the thought right now seems to be such a faraway thing…

Upon your aimless wandering, you find yourself at a four-way intersection. You quickly recognize where you were, it was the path you usually used to get to the Library after all. While your mind had been elsewhere, your body must have gone on autopilot.

Well, you weren’t here to go to the Library. Going straight would lead you there, so that was out… then that would leave the left and right.

Looking to the right, you squint at the various shops and businesses that dominated it. Many were monster-made if the large amount of them going in and out of said shops said anything. Looking to the end, however, made you gawk at the sight before you.

It was a ways away, for sure, but it wasn’t too hard to identify. It was a large building, wider than it was tall. It had to be about 3 stories in height, and the flashy design surely differentiated it from the other buildings. Massive letters shining in bright neon pink spelled out a rather iconic sight.

‘MTT MALL’

…