MagiStream

Seeing that Mira was now watching Alphys and Gaster, Sans' entire focus was on the conversation with Papyrus. It seemed like the news had indeed been a shock for Papyrus, if how long he paused before speaking again was any indication. Sans felt bad for adding yet another shock on top of everything else that had happened today, but he had a feeling Papyrus would have been annoyed if he hadn't actually answered the question. Sans was starting to get concerned by the silence by the time Papyrus finally spoke again; he sighed inwardly when at first Papyrus seemed to be playing it off as if what he'd said was a joke.

Sans knew he was known for his jokes, but surely Papyrus could tell that he was being serious right now? When he was joking, Sans usually couldn't help but laugh. Besides, why would he joke about them being related to someone? Sans' sense of humor had always been more along the lines of puns and bad jokes, not trying to trick people. Even his pranks were harmless things like whoopie cushions.

Admittedly, it kind of hurt that Papyrus kept assuming he was joking when he tried to give any kind of serious news; when he had tried to tell Papyrus about meeting Alia, Papyrus had thought that was a joke too. Still, it had been a rather trying day, so he couldn't bring himself to feel annoyed with Papyrus. Just... Slightly frustrated that he wasn't taking him seriously.

As Papyrus continued speaking, Sans realized how confusing this must be for him since Papyrus had apparently believed Gaster was dead due to his absence from their lives since they were quite young. Sans figured this was probably a reasonable thought process, since almost everyone had completely forgotten about Gaster so it wasn't like anyone would have told him what actually happened. Sans hadn't ever really talked about it himself, either.

"nah... he didn't die. just... disappeared. it's kind of a long story, and probably one you should talk with him about. anyway, and i'm being completely serious here, he really is our dad." Sans replied after a few moments. Hopefully Papyrus would believe him, and he wouldn't have to spend too long trying to convince him. After all, he figured Mira probably wanted to leave the lab sooner rather than later, so he probably needed to get Alphys' and Gaster's attention so they could make sure it was alright for her to leave.


.......

Alia had started making a snowperson again, once she and Chara had finally managed to stop laughing. Chara was giving her tips, though that was pretty much all they could do to help, being a ghost. Still, Alia appreciated it, and was having fun anyway. At the back of her mind, though, she was still trying to figure out how to help them communicate with the monsters again. Part of her wanted to keep researching right now, but she figured wandering out of sight might make Papyrus worry, as she had seen he was keeping an eye on her. It also seemed like whatever he was talking about was making him confused, and she didn't want to make things worse by seemingly disappearing.

Still, she told herself, she would make sure she continued researching today. She was filled with Determination to help Chara.

After finishing with the snowperson, she headed back over closer to where Papyrus was, but still staying far enough away that she shouldn't distract him if Chara decided to try to make her laugh again.

Papyrus remaining quiet for a long moment on the other end of the phone as he seemed to sense that Sans wasn’t making a laughing matter out of this, the tall skeleton simply thought it seemed preposterous that that stranger he had met outside of the lab was in fact their long lost father, him only for a moment having assumed that Sans was trying to be a jokster about this whole situation. It simply felt like some kind of bad joke that just because the strange man had been a fellow skeleton that of -course- they would be related, but judging by the general aura that Sans was giving off with his explanation Papyrus knew in his Soul that he was dead serious.

“Hey, I’m really sorry I’m doubting you on all this, it just...think of it, dad being back? It sounds like the beginning of a weird story, you know?”, Rubbing the back of his skull nervously as he spoke in a normal tone for once, Papyrus was audibly feeling guilty, him knowing he had probably hit a nerve in Sans with thinking he would be messing around with something so important, “As weird as all this sounds, I believe you...knowing you I bet you found a way to bring him home or something”.

Smiling doubtfully on his end as he sighed and glanced at Alia playing in the snow, Papyrus still felt guilty over how odd he had been acting earlier, him wanting to discuss it all with Sans later seeing as his brother was smarter at helping with these types of things, “Of course, now that he -is- back there is a whole lot of catching up we must accomplish! Will he be staying with us, Sans? It only seems best if we are to be a full family again!”.

Sans waited as Papyrus seemed to think about what he just said, hoping that his brother believed him now. When Papyrus apologized and explained why it had been hard for him to believe, Sans could understand how it would have been quite a shock for him to learn Gaster was back, especially after hearing nothing about him for so long. Sans could tell Papyrus was feeling guilty for not believing him at first from his tone, and spoke reassuringly, "it's alright, bro. i certainly wasn't expecting it either."

Really, Sans hadn't thought he would ever see Gaster again himself. And he certainly hadn't expected the circumstances of seeing him again to be, well, what had happened earlier. Sans was rather disappointed by how far Gaster was willing to go to escape the Void, truth be told. Trying to steal someone's Soul, that was going way too far, no matter how desperate he was. There had to have been another way to escape that didn't involve hurting anyone. Still, in the end, he'd made things right, and healed Mira's Soul. And he'd seemed like he was being honest when he promised not to hurt anyone for his experiments again.

It was complicated. Sans was glad Gaster was back, and he'd missed him a lot while he was gone. But he also knew he'd have a whole new set of nightmares to worry about from now on; arriving too late to save Mira, for one...

Sans forced himself to focus back on the conversation as Papyrus spoke again. Papyrus's question caused him to think silently for a bit. Would Mira be alright with Gaster hanging out around the house so much? She seemed to have forgiven him easily, but he still wouldn't blame her for feeling uncomfortable being around Gaster for long periods of time after what had happened. Sans knew he should ask her first, before talking with Gaster about it. Just to make sure. After all, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, when she was already stuck down here until they could find a way to get her past the barrier...

"i'll ask, bro. i'm sure he's looking forward to catching up with you, too." Sans replied. Well, at least Papyrus seemed cheerful again, and eager to catch up with Gaster. Sans had been getting rather worried how everything that had happened today would affect Papyrus, but as usual, his brother seemed to be trying to make the best of everything. Sans smiled slightly; he'd always been impressed by how optimistic Papyrus could be, even when things got tough.

(::: Sans seems so beaten down, poor thing. Mira is gonna try to give em a pep talk later!)

Papyrus’s optimistic nature returning in spades as he was already feeling much better than earlier, there was a sense of relief in the air that hadn’t been there before...almost as if things were in for a change for the better despite the odd circumstances that had brought back someone he had long since assumed had been turned to dust ages ago. Sure, this was all very, very strange to the skeleton but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t weather as usual!

He was -very- great after all!

Now that their apparent father was back the younger of the brothers was determined to catch up on what had been inevitably lost with...well, wherever he had been, Sans already having told him that he would need to ask the third skeleton directly since it was a long story to just tell over the phone.

“Good plan!~ I will hope to see you back home soon! As for our human child Alia,
I have prepared her a place already in our crowded home so please do not worry about her either!”, Beaming confidently as he had, through either magic or sheer willpower that only one as great as he could harness, created a area in the often not used sub basement
Of their home specifically for Alia, Papyrus figured it could work well for their seemingly always expanding family lately.

Hanging up the phone in his usually sudden way, Papyrus soon focused his attention back on Alia as he grinned happily like he had found 100g out of the blue, “Sorry that took so long, little human! It seems my brother has found someone very important who was able to heal the other, ill human who fell down here a few weeks ago!”,


......................

Mira honestly growing a bit curious as her mind wandered to how Papyrus must not have known that Gaster was his father, she until now really hadn’t had a reason to contemplate the parentage of her skeleton friends nor the fact that monsters obviously had to come from somewhere just as humans did. It was all pretty strange to think about for the girl that was accustomed to a human mindset, but this odd Underground world only seemed it had more and more layers the more she learned.

Waiting patiently for Sans to finish his call with his brother as she watched Alphys show Gaster around the lab, Mira grew a bit curious as she observed the tall skeleton’s almost doll-like form, the holes in his hands being quite interesting to her as she hesitated on asking if they had a purpose at all or were simply part of his anatomy.

She was still incredibly nervous, but she understood that this wasn’t the same monster who had attempted to steal her Soul in the Void, her blushing ever so slightly when she spoke up in a attempt to make conversation, “I-if it’s okay for me to ask...uh, those holes in your palms, do they hurt at all?....Sorry if it’s intrusive to ask, but I haven’t s-seen any monsters with anything similar yet...”.

(Probably a good idea, he's definitely had a rough day, but don't worry, he'll be alright!)

..........
//Alphys' Lab

Sans smiled as he listened to Papyrus talk about how he had created a place for Alia. As usual, Papyrus had thought ahead to help out even with all the confusing things going on. "thanks bro," he said gratefully, figuring Alia would appreciate having a place to stay. Considering Papyrus had done quite well with setting up a room for Mira, Sans was sure he'd done a good job preparing one for Alia too. Speaking of Alia, she was probably still expecting a tour of the Underground, and he felt rather bad for disappearing for so long after promising her one. Hopefully the library books or exploring on her own or with Papyrus was keeping her entertained...

Sans chuckled a bit when Papyrus hung up suddenly in his typical fashion, for him it was a reminder that some things would never change, no matter how confusing things got or what unexpected events occurred. Well, Papyrus was expecting him and Mira to be back home soon, and Sans didn't want to disappoint him, so he turned his attention to the other three in the room. Seeing that Mira seemed to be having a conversation with Gaster, he just listened silently. It would be rude to interrupt, after all.

Sans was truly glad for Papyrus's optimism; though he himself didn't understand how it was possible to be so optimistic, Sans was relieved that Papyrus could still find the good in almost every situation. Sans had often struggled with staying positive, even if he did his best to hide it. It was very impressive to him that Papyrus didn't seem to let anything get him down for long. Maybe he should try focusing on the positives himself... After all, things did seem like they were slowly starting to get better, especially compared to how bleak things seemed earlier. Mira was healed, Flowey didn't seem like he was planning to reset or hurt anyone now, and Gaster was back. Sans would just try to focus on that.

.........

Gaster was quite impressed by many of the experiments Alphys had done while he was gone, and made sure to tell her as much seeing that she was still quite anxious and could probably use a boost in confidence. When Mira spoke up, he turned to her, inwardly somewhat surprised she had started a conversation with him after everything that had happened today. Gaster was relieved that she was comfortable enough to do so, as he'd been a bit worried his presence in the Underground would upset her.

Though, he could tell she was still nervous, so he smiled reassuringly as he replied. "Ah, it's no problem at all. They don't hurt at all. They are a result of an experiment I did long ago. Before my disappearance, in fact." Gaster certainly couldn't fault anyone for curiosity, being a scientist and all. Besides, he knew the holes in his hands were quite unusual, and even many monsters had likely wondered about them. Back when they remembered him, at least.


..................
//Snowdin

Alia couldn't help but overhear Papyrus's side of the conversation after walking back over, and she smiled as she heard that he had prepared a place for her. Though she felt a bit concerned hearing the house was apparently crowded already; she hoped that she wouldn't be imposing on the skeletons or the other human who lived there. Still, Papyrus seemed cheerful as he spoke about it, so she supposed he didn't have any problems with it and didn't seem to think the others would either.

Even if it was crowded, Alia felt that might be nice; it was certainly better than being ignored, especially since both Sans and Papyrus were so nice. She was actually rather excited. Had she finally found a home where she felt like she belonged? She hoped so...

When Papyrus suddenly hung up and spoke to her, Alia smiled back, and quickly replied, "Oh, it's alright! I'm glad everything worked out." She was relieved to hear the ill human had been healed. She was also glad to see how happy Papyrus was now. It seemed like the news had really cheered him up.

Papyrus being back to his old goofball self with how proud he was to have set up a place for everyone in their ever expanding home, it wasn’t unusual for monsters to take others in with the limited space the Underground held, many monsters sharing spaces with others to make the most of life and to avoid even more overcrowding. Adding a human or another monster wasn’t going to strain the brothers, Papyrus already quite looking forward towards cooking meals and showing off his ‘amazing’ culinary skills to everyone.

The beanpole skeleton was constantly optimistic for various reasons, not the least of which was because he knew next to nothing about the incredible stress that Sans was under daily due to the threat of resets. To Papyrus, sure they were trapped underground...but at least someday they would find a way to the surface, right?

“My brother and Mira will be back at the house soon! Oh, and...apparently Sans has somehow managed to bring back our father so he will be living with us as well!”, Smiling happily as he patiently explained to Alia what was up, the skeleton really did want Alia to be comfortable living with them and was going to fully treat her like family.

“We will have a huge, loving home human! I know you might wish to return to the surface, but I promise we will take good care of you until you can go home!”, Papyrus almost tempted to pick up Alia and squeeze her into a hug, the monster held himself back as he instead simply offered her a hand to grab onto if she wished so he could lead the way home.

.......................

Mira still being clearly just a bit uneasy with everything that was happening so quickly around her, the girl was brave regardless though as she initiated a conversation with Gaster despite his earlier confrontation with her. She was pretty damn smart and was well aware that he was no longer dangerous, her curiosity being peaked at just how different he was compared to Sans and Papyrus.

“Thats so cool~....”, Her wide, curious eyes wanting to ask even more about the mysterious scientist and his hole punched hands as she turned her focus on Sans for a moment, the girl smiled happily at her friend as she seemed to be genuinely cheerful that everything finally seemed to be getting better for everyone.

“How about when we get hond I can make that dish for everyone?~ Now seems like it would be as good a time as ever”, Miras once pained and shattered Soul now beating a bright, slow pulse of green as her confidence was sky high, the girl had little idea that her and her feitjes were soon to be in for a rude awakening in the coming weeks that was to culminate in finally getting the freedom monsters deserved.

//Snowdin

Alia listened as Papyrus explained that Sans and the other human, Mira, would be returning soon. She was excited to tell puns with Sans again, but a bit nervous that perhaps Mira wouldn't like her... After all, most humans didn't seem to care for her much, but hopefully that wouldn't be the case here. Besides, it sounded like she got along well with the other monsters, so she was probably very nice and Alia was worrying for nothing. 'Stop worrying, everything will be alright,' Alia told herself, deciding to try to be optimistic instead, even if it was rather difficult to ignore the deep-set worries that often arose when she was facing uncertainty.

Regardless of her internal worrying, Alia remained smiling, not wanting either Papyrus or Chara to catch on to how nervous she felt. Some confusion did flicker across her face when Papyrus mentioned Sans somehow brought their dad back, though. Alia wondered what he meant by that, but didn't want to ask in case it seemed rude. Anyway, she was curious to find out what the skelebros' dad was like; would he be more like either Sans or Papyrus, or a mixture of both, or completely different?

Hearing Papyrus's optimism about them all happily sharing a home helped Alia feel a bit more optimistic, too. She felt excited, even in spite of her nervousness, to see the house and meet the others. "That sounds nice," Alia said cheerfully, her eyes full of hope that things would really work out just as Papyrus seemed to think it would.

When Papyrus continued, mentioning that they would take care of her until she could go home, seeming to imply that the surface was her home, Alia just fidgeted slightly, awkwardly. She didn't want to go back to the surface and live among humans who didn't care about her. Would it be rude of her to refuse if they did find a way for her to go back to the surface? Was this taking care of her thing just supposed to be a temporary arrangement? Would they be upset if they found out she wanted to stay with them for as long as she could?

'No... No, they really do care about me,' Alia reminded herself of Sans helping her make a snowman, of Papyrus showing her the maze of doors puzzle, of both skelebros helping her find the library without her being crowded around by other monsters... They wouldn't be upset with her for wanting to stay. They wouldn't be offering to take care of her if they didn't actually want her around.

"They will be happy to take care of you for however long you want. They would never force you to leave," Chara spoke up with a reassuring smile.

Alia smiled back, glad that Chara was here to help talk her through her worries like this. She knew they were right, of course; they had lived with monsters themself, so they probably knew better than anyone what to expect. Expression free of worry, even if there were still a few lingering thoughts in her mind, Alia started following Papyrus to the house, trying to focus on feeling excited.

Alia wondered if she she mention how she didn't want to return to the surface, but decided not to bring it up just yet. Besides, who knew if they ever even would find a way for her to return to the surface? It would probably take a rather long time to figure out, so she probably had plenty of time to figure out how to explain it.


............
//Alphy's Lab

Sans smiled at Mira when she turned to him, happy to see her looking so happy. At her suggestion of going home, he glanced over at Gaster and Alphys, hoping they would say she could go home now.

"I see no issues with that, as long as you are careful not to overwork yourself for the remainder of today," Gaster said, the last part directed at Mira, before glancing at Alphys to see if she had anything to add or any final tests to run before letting Mira go.

Sans grinned, glad that it seemed like Mira could go back home soon. It was quite a relief that things had finally gone back to normal, well, mostly normal at least. After all, there were also several changes that had happened today; Gaster was back, Alia was here now... And he should probably check with Papyrus to make sure that he was handling everything that happened today alright. It had seemed like what had happened with Mira had really bothered him, so even though she was healed, it would probably be a good idea to ask how Papyrus was feeling now. At least he'd sounded happier during the last phone call, so that was a good sign.

(Made this one all about Pap and Alia ^^)

Papyrus truly caring for Alia despite his earlier misgivings, the skeleton simply had grown soft on how to talk to children over the years much less on one as sensitive as this one seemed to be, his earlier attempts at ‘playing hard’ with her in his various puzzles clearly having been a mistake. It had been for the good of them both that Sans had pulled him to the side and given him a lecture like a good older brother should, Papyrus having adjusted his behaviour accordingly to be a better potential friend.

It was still amazing to the skeleton that not one but -two- humans had fallen in the span of a month, Mira and Alia bound to be excellent friends in his mind seeing as they were...well, both humans! The only one besides these two that he had ever met was Frisk a few years back so he didn’t have much to go off of, but he knew things were bound to work out!

Things were moving incredibly fast lately and the skeleton had needed time to adjust, hence his attitude change earlier, but now that things were beginning to fall back into place he was returning to normal himself and really, really wanted to get to know both Alia as well as about his seemingly brought back from the dead parent that he still wanted to figure out -how- was still alive.

It hadn’t taken long for Papyrus to introduce Alia (and to a lesser extant Chara) to his and his brothers place back in Snowdin, the monster being patient with Alia just as Sans had suggested. He also introduced her to her new room as well where he had procured a bed and the like for her, his hope being that she would remain comfortable and happy in what was likely to end up being a long stay in the Underground.

“I want you to know that your free to come and go as you please, little human. The Underground isn’t very big so I don’t you will ever get lost! Of course, if you do you can always just call me or Sans!”, Explaining to Alia that despite being a child she was able to do as she pleased in her new home, she deserved just as much ‘freedom’ as everyone else down here, “And I do hope your room is to your liking! I know it’s not much right now but over time I’m sure it will be your own!”.

The sound of the front door opening making it clear that everyone else had likely arrived home by now, Papyrus knew better then to touch Alia as he instead motioned for her to come along and meet everyone else if she wished, “I understand if you are nervous human and I won’t force you to meet everyone right now. I’m sure Mira will be very glad to see you though when your ready!”.

(I am very excited for this! ^^)

Alia was amazed when she first saw the skelebros' house. Even just from an initial glance at the outside, it felt... Warm and welcoming. But more than that, it felt like somewhere she could fit in, just as she was. The only thing that had ever come close was Toriel's house, but the feeling of not quite belonging there, in a room that was supposed to belong to two other children instead, had made it difficult for her to feel at home there.

Home.

Alia hadn't really felt 'at home' in the house where she lived on the surface in... A long time. She felt invisible and alone there, so it was really nothing more than the place where she lived. But, maybe here, things would be different. Maybe this could really be her home. She followed Papyrus inside, looking around the living room eagerly. Everything felt so comforting, despite this being the first time she had ever seen it. There was a rock on the table, covered in sprinkles. Alia giggled as Chara commented that it must be Sans' pet. Keeping a rock as a pet... That did sound like something he would do, to be honest. Probably completely unironically, as well, if the sprinkles were anything to go by. She wondered if he had named it after some kind of rock pun, and figured that was probably guaranteed.

There was also a sock with a bunch of post-it notes covering it. Alia grinned as Chara read the notes aloud, switching between Sans' chill and joking tone and Papyrus's louder and somewhat frustrated one, which was almost certainly how the two had been feeling as they exchanged notes regarding the misplaced sock.

There was also a joke book near the couch, which Alia opened at Chara's request. Inside the book, was a quantum physics book. Chara laughed and asked Alia to open it as well. Inside was another joke book. The two were laughing uncontrollably as Alia continued opening the books, only to find a seemingly infinite number of books within them. She eventually stopped as Papyrus led the way to her room- Her room!- but made a mental note to continue later and see if there really was an end to it.

Chara seemed convinced there wasn't.

Alia already knew the room would be perfect, just because it was in a house where people who cared about her lived and it was made specifically for her. Still, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement when she saw it. "It's perfect," she whispered barely audibly, smiling as she walked into the room slowly, trying to look all around it all at once.

Barely managing to tear her attention away from the room and direct it back at Papyrus when he started talking, Alia grinned at his comment that she could explore whenever she wanted. She would definitely take up that offer, already feeling excited to explore the rest of the Underground with Chara. Based on Chara's mischievous smirk, they seemed to feel the same.

"Thank you so much, Papyrus! It's perfect, really!" Alia said cheerfully.

When she heard the front door open, Alia felt slightly nervous; was she ready to meet more people? Well, she was going to meet them eventually anyway, so she shouldn't just try to put it off. Besides, she was sure Sans and Papyrus would help so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed. As well as Chara, of course, even if they were likely to help by trying to make her laugh at random times. Not that she really minded that very much, if she was being honest.

So, she simply nodded and smiled, following Papyrus. Chara floated along beside her, smiling encouragingly at her whenever she glanced at them, though she had a feeling they were feeling rather nervous themself. Alia smiled reassuringly back at them, and Chara told a pun that probably would have made Papyrus facepalm if he'd been able to hear it, but made Alia grin and struggle to stifle laughter.

Everything would be alright.

Papyrus being honored to show Alia around his and Sans almost eccentric minded home, the both of them had lived here for as long as the tall skeleton could remember and he had never really put much thought into exactly why that was, most monsters, even being trapped Underground, not liking to stick to one place for too long.

Of course, that wasn’t what was on Papyrus’s mind right now though as he was focused on showing Alia that this was her home now as much as it was his and his brothers, any of the odd nature he had held from earlier long having disappeared to his usual one of complete confidence with just a bit of a silly undertone.

....albeit, he hadn’t gotten rid of his hoodie though, the whole reason he had been wearing this strange change of a outfit today being that he, by some chance of the stars, was -washing- it instead of showering with it on as he often did.

A relatively unassuming answer to a ‘’deep’’’ mystery.

Showing Alia her new room proudly after allowing her to explore the house at her leisure for a bit, Papyrus seemed incredibly touched by the child’s almost tearful reaction to what he had managed to scrap together, his cheekbones blushing a faint blue as he smiled sheepishly to her joy.

“I’m very glad you like it, human! It took quite a bit of my magic to put it and a few other things all together but seeing you happy makes it worth it!”, Papyrus going to greet who he assumed were Sans, Mira, and now Gaster back home after what had been a terribly stressing ordeal, things were about to get much, much more interesting around here from now on.

Mira barely being able to get a word out as she was scooped up by the overjoyed Papyrus nearly the minute he spotted her, the giggling girl didn’t seem to mind being handled as she greeted her friend happily as he spun her around a few times , it being quite easy to dismiss Papyrus as lanky and ‘weak’ until moments like this occurred.

“Everyone is finally back! This is so exciting! I’m already preparing to make a homecoming meal for tonight to celebrate!”, Papyrus allowing young Alia to remain behind him as she saw fit in case she was too shy to meet everyone and so she could do so on her own terms, Mira blushed happily and did give the young girl a small wave and a smile to show she wasn’t a threat by any means.

“And...ah, it’s really nice to meet you as well again!”, The skeleton turning his attention towards Gaster as there was obviously the awkward fact that G was apparently his and Sans lost father despite Papyrus not recognizing him as such earlier, it was a bit...odd to be face to face with ones long thought dead parent like this, “Of course, by again I mean from Hotland, not...uh...oh, I’m just making this really weird! Sans! How does one speak properly to a semi-new parent??”.