MagiStream

Sans smiled upon seeing how happy Mira looked. Surely that meant her recovery was going well, right? While he doubted she would really be able to just go home really soon, guessing she still had some healing to do, hearing how optimistic she sounded made Sans feel somewhat optimistic as well. Maybe that evening or the next day, depending on how well exactly the medicine was working. Figuring Mira wouldn't like staying in the lab overnight and would prefer her own room, Sans hoped it would be the former. Not wanting to disappoint her, though, he kept those thoughts to himself.

"i'm glad you're feeling better," Sans said, "and thank you for being patient with the whole sitting thing." Sans clearly felt bad that she had to stay where she was and not move around, but he wanted the healing process to be smooth and successful. Before he could try to change the subject to something that would get her mind off of it, perhaps about what she had been reading, he noticed Alphys motioning for him to follow her to the next room over. "i'll be right back," he said, smiling at Mira and then following Alphys.

Seeing Alphys' smile drop as she mentioned Mira's vitals, Sans immediately felt panic rising up inside him. This couldn't be a good sign. When Alphys took out the graph, he felt nervous as he looked at it. It definitely didn't look like her Soul was almost healed. What Alphys said worried him even more, the hope he'd been regaining the past few days draining from his eyes with each word.

"n-no... there must be something... is there anything i can do to help?" Sans asked, looking urgent and worried. There had to be a way to save her! Sans wouldn't give up, not when things were finally looking up...

..........

Alia looked up from the book she was reading when Papyrus spoke up, curious what books he had found for her to read. However, she was briefly concerned when Papyrus walked right through Chara. Fortunately, the ghost seemed to be fine, and simply floated over to Alia's other side and resumed reading from over her shoulder there.

Focusing on the books Papyrus was showing her, Alia smiled. She figured the book on monster culture would be extremely helpful, even if Chara could probably tell her most of it, if she needed them to. The book about how monsters ended up in the Underground could be useful to read too. She really wasn't sure why the comic book was there, but she wasn't about to tell Papyrus that, and simply said, "Thanks, Papyrus! Those seem like they will be very helpful."

Alia listened as Papyrus spoke about the book about magic she was currently reading. "Oh, um, I just think it's cool," Alia said, not sure how else to explain why she was reading this book. Considering Papyrus had literally walked right through them, he definitely had no clue about Chara being there. So she couldn't explain about them; he'd never believe her if she did.

Chara sent her a questioning glance; clearly they had figured out there was more to her reason for reading this book than mere curiosity, but the explanation should be enough to convince Papyrus. Regardless, perhaps Papyrus thinking she had an interest in monster magic would be a good thing; he might know of some more books on the subject she could read once she finished these ones, just in case she couldn't find anything useful in them.

Alia was slightly confused by Papyrus's last statement, though. Was it really that unusual for a human to be interested in monster magic?

........

Chara was startled when Papyrus walked through them; it was an uncomfortable and weird feeling, and they hastily retreated to Alia's other side. However, they made sure none of that showed in their expression, and acted like nothing had happened. Still, they would be more careful in the future to make sure they were not in anyone's path.

They were still wondering why Alia was reading all of these books about magic. The way Alia had given such a vague explanation when Papyrus brought it up, they were certain she had some reason that she was not telling anyone. But they could not, despite trying to think of what that reason could be for quite awhile, figure out what it was. So they just read along with her, keeping an eye on her expression, trying to figure out what exactly she was looking for.

Mira being naively unaware that her fate was being discussed in the next room as she picked up one of the books that had been brought to her and flipped to a page she had bookmarked about human and monster Souls, the girl was looking forward to showing Sans her discovery on the fact that apparently monsters could absorb human Souls, her thinking this might be a reason for the events that had happened in the void with the mysterious figure that had attacked them.

Of course, Sans likely already knew this, Mira just being excited to show him that she was learning quickly and could be useful in terms of research if he would give her the chance. Alphys had taught her some cool stuff too while Sans was gone, the fear that the scientist had been hiding not reaching the optimistic girl for better or worse.

“I-I didn’t want to say any of this in front of her obviously, but I’m just not sure how to work with human souls in this condition. Usually when a Soul breaks it shatters and, well...dusts it’s host, but I’ve never seen one with a piece of it just gone like it is”, Alphys knowing that she was ruining Sans hope with her terrible news about Mira’s vitals so far, the scientist didn’t have much of a choice seeing as Sans was the girls main ‘caretaker’, “She is really strong, but I’m not sure how much longer she is going to hold on. H-her Soul is working overtime to compensate for her low magic levels right now”.

Hesitating as she sighed and shook her head, Alphys really was trying to break the news lightly, “If you know anyone experienced with human Souls ‘please’ send them here. It’s just not possible to regrow a missing piece of Soul when we struggle with even creating artificial ones, S-Sans”.

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

“Most humans...well, the ones that I have known and heard of, were usually interested in learning about human mages and such! Humans Can’t really use monster magic so no one ever really seemed to look into it!”, Papyrus explaining in no uncertain terms that despite his fascination with Alia and her interest in monster magic that she was rather unusual for being so young and into such a topic, the skeleton was only growing more fascinated by this strange fallen child the more he talked to her.

She was just so...different than Frisk or Mira in a way he couldn’t explain, him first having noticed it back at the water puzzle when he had made the mistake of acting brazen towards thinking she wouldn’t pass his challenge, Sans advice changing his course after that but him still being quite curious as to why Alia had a almost...otherworldly vibe to them.

“Of course, it’s not bad to take interests in things that are hard to do! Maybe I can even teach you some stuff when your ready for it!”, Papyrus grinning happily as he already had been able to help teach Mira to cook, if he could teach Alia some magic he would be a full blow teacher!, “I mean, only if your interested. The Great Papyrus would never force you into anything you aren’t Interested in!”.

Sans listened as Alphys continued talking, his worries skyrocketing. Of course, he understood Alphys not wanting to talk about this in front of Mira; Sans was worried about what would happen if she found out before they could find a solution. Which had to happen. There must be something, some way to fix Mira's Soul! And it sounded like they needed to figure it out quickly...

Sans tried to think of something, but he really didn't know anything about fixing broken Souls. And he wasn't sure who else might know about it, either. Alphys was the one who knew the most about Souls, after all, so if she wasn't sure what to do, how could he find someone else who would know about it? But he couldn't give up; maybe there was someone who would know what to do.

"i-i don't know of anyone who would be able to fix her soul better than you could, but i'll ask around. do you have any suggestions?" Sans hoped Alphys would be able to point him towards someone who could help. Of course, he wasn't sure how someone could be more knowledgeable about this kind of thing than Alphys, who had been researching Souls for so long, but Sans refused to dwell on that.

If there was any way to save Mira, Sans was going to find it.

..........

Alia shrugged; she was planning to read about human magic as well, this book on monster magic just happened to be at the top of her stack of books so she was reading it first. Truthfully, she'd just been grabbing a bunch of books on magic, not knowing where she might find information that could help her help Chara. Just because monster magic wasn't available for her personally, didn't mean she should disregard the possibilities. After all, she could always ask Sans to help if she did find a method involving monster magic.

When Papyrus mentioned most humans being more interested in human magic, she wondered if he was referring to Frisk, and/or the other human that was apparently down here. Well, she supposed that would make sense; after all, if two out of the three humans Papyrus had met were mostly interested in human magic, he'd probably be expecting her to be the same. Though, the other two didn't have an invisible friend they were trying to help...

Alia was slightly confused when Papyrus offered to teach her monster magic. After all, he'd just said humans couldn't use it... Was that because it was actually impossible, or because no one had ever bothered to try? She'd thought it was the former, but if Papyrus seemed to think he could teach her, it might actually be the latter. She glanced at Chara curiously.

"Well, Rei tried to teach me a bit. It did not seem to work, though we were about eight at the time, and kind of gave up after it seemed clear nothing was happening. But, I wonder..." Chara trailed off, seemingly deep in thought.

Alia turned back to Papyrus, figuring it might be fun to try, even if nothing came of it. "Sure, you can try to teach me monster magic!" She was inwardly a bit nervous, not wanting to disappoint Papyrus if it turned out learning monster magic truly was impossible for a human, which she still kind of figured was the case. Regardless, Alia wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to try to learn something new. Besides, if, for whatever reason, she somehow was able to learn it, and found a way to use monster magic to help Chara, that would make things a lot simpler than having to explain it all to Sans and hope he'd be willing to help.

Stars, Alphys hated seeing Sans in distress like this when she knew the skeleton had been doing his best to support Mira ever since she had fallen down here. She understood that the monster was naturally a very caring individual even if he tended to come across as lazy or the type to brush things off, her simply wishing there was some way she could reassure Sans that everything could work out in the end.

Who was she kidding though?....Human Souls were complicated and strange compared to monsters Souls, there being no way she could just lie to Sans and suggest that there was surely a monster out there who could heal Mira. Letting nature take its course though was unthinkable, humans ending up down here...the knowledge they could bring especially, being too rare to let go to waste by just hoping for the best.

“Well...uh, there is -one- person who may be able to help, but...”, Alphys trailing off as she hesitated on actually suggesting that the same being who had apparently attacked Mira was known in the past for his ability to heal almost anyone given time, how was Sans bound to react to her suggesting that Gaster was really their only option?

Glancing in the direction of the clinic as if she didn’t want the girl to hear, Alphys sighed as she tried to give a hopeful smile to Sans, “Listen, it sound crazy, but Dr. Gaster is the only one I know of that has worked with human Souls to the extent that we need. I-if that’s who attacked Mira like you said than there might be the chance that..well, if he is really still alive somewhere, he could help”.

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


Papyrus not being aware that humans held a unique magic of their own seeing as he had no knowledge of Frisks ability to reset or that humans like Mira had subtle little traits as she had shown to Sans, the skeleton really thought that showing Alia a bit of monster magic might make her feel a little more comfortable in the Underground.

He was doing his best to help Alia adjust to living down here and was even trying to be more subdued then his usual boasting of his greatness, but something just felt off to the scarf wearing skeleton still between him and Alia that he couldn’t quite put a phalange on.

It was a feeling that he and the child weren’t entirely alone when he talked to her. It was honestly making Papyrus a bit uneasy, him starting to get the feeling he had scrambled up his words as he ran a hand across his skull and started over, “I’m sorry, human! I should have phrased myself better! What I -should- have asked was if you were interested in learning about monster magic for simple fun. I’m aware that you humans are different from us in your Soul power and I can’t exactly teach you how to use bullets, but I get the sense that your a quick learner!”. A smile spread across the skeletons usual grin, Papyrus remembered Sans advice from earlier and that he needed to make Alia feel more comfortable and less pressured into things as he had a tendency to do.

Hope rose again in Sans' eyes when Alphys said there was someone who could help, though the way she trailed off made him feel worried. Why was she hesitating to tell him who it was, when healing Mira was so urgent? There must be something Alphys knew that he didn't, a reason why she wasn't rushing off to ask the person to help. Whatever the reason, though, helping Mira was far too important to Sans for him to give up without even finding out who it was. So, he just nodded at Alphys, indicating for her to tell him anyway.

That still didn't make hearing the person Alphys was thinking of was Gaster any less shocking. Sans felt worried; would Mira even let Gaster help? After what had happened in the Void... Well, Sans had been planning on waiting until after Mira recovered to bring him back for a reason. Seeing him while she was still in pain might make things worse. Sans didn't want that to happen, but if there was really no other choice... If Gaster was the only one with enough knowledge to heal her...

What would Mira think of the suggestion? She was under the impression she would heal soon, due to the medication numbing the pain she likely would have been feeling without it. She might not even believe them that they needed Gaster to heal her... What if she refused to let him help? Sans felt extremely worried by that idea; If she genuinely believed she'd be fine in a day or so without needing any more help, it was very likely she would refuse to let Gaster help.

It would definitely be an awkward situation, but Sans would rather deal with some awkwardness so Mira would survive than risk her dying to avoid it. "alright. i'll find him." Sans said, "but can you speak with mira while i'm gone? i... don't think she'd be receptive to letting him help unless she knows more about what's going on. she thinks she'll be fine, she doesn't know how bad things really are. and, uh, since you're a doctor, you'd probably be better at explaining everything in a sensitive way than i would."

...........

Alia listened as Papyrus spoke, smiling reassuringly at him to show she didn't mind. She wondered why he seemed to be a bit uneasy, was it because of the awkwardness earlier and him wanting to make sure it didn't happen again? Or was there something else going on? Either way, she didn't want Papyrus to feel uneasy. Despite the awkwardness earlier, she did want to be friends with him, and didn't want him to feel unhappy.

"It's okay, Papyrus, really! I'd be happy to learn about it!" Alia smiled, eager to learn more about magic in hopes of figuring something out so she could help Chara. Chara was still hovering by her side, and seemed curious as well, though Alia figured they probably already knew quite a bit about monster magic from living with monsters for years. Nonetheless, it would probably be fun to hear about it from a new perspective, Alia figured.

Both waited, curious whether Papyrus would start talking about monster magic now, or if he meant he would talk about it later on. Alia didn't mind either way, she was just eager to learn, whether it was from books or from her friends. Just the thought that she had friends to talk with made her feel happy; prior to today, such a thought would have seemed impossible.

“I’m uh, obviously not really sure how it would work, but he is the only one I can think of who would even be close to knowing how to heal a humans Soul”, Alphys knowing that it was a long shot to even think that the long lost Royal scientist would even be able to assist Mira, the only reason she was even bringing it up was because Sans had previously mentioned that he had been the one to attack Mira somehow which must have indicated that he was alive...well, somewhere.

How Gaster was apparently still alive didn’t matter right now though, the lizard monsters concern being to save this valuable human from being yet another human death to stain the Underground. Mira may have been about as naive and fragile looking as they came but Alphys could tell the girl was a fighter despite her shattered Soul, her believing the human could hold out until Sans found a way to bring back the brilliant mind of the first Royal scientist.

Alphys nodding reluctantly when Sans asked her if she would explain to Mira about what was going on and what to expect if Sans managed to bring back the same being who had nearly wiped her out, this was something she needed to do and couldn’t swerve corners on if they didn’t want Mira to automatically reject the very idea that might save her life.

“Y-yeah, I’ll tell her everything. I’m really hoping she goes for this, but..uh, if not...”, Alphys trying not to think of having to -force- Mira into being healed if the human truly didn’t want anything to do with Gaster, it wasn’t a option that was off the table if they were going to save her life, “If not, we will still save her one way or another. I refuse to have one of the only humans we have d-down here die because they are stubborn!”.

Trying to show a bit of bravery for Sans sake, there was no guarantee he could even manage to pull Gaster out of whatever Void he was in no matter how intelligent the short skeleton was. Science was amazing, but some things were simply not possible to have happen without some type of miracle occurring. Alphys had to admit that she very much missed her old friend...but for Sans to simply ‘bring him back’ left a bad taste in the scientists mouth.....



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

Papyrus meanwhile unaware of the events that were unfolding in the search for Mira’s cure, it wasn’t necessarily Alia or even Chara that was making the skeleton uneasy as he explained that he would teach Alia monster magic if she wished, there clearly being something weighing on his mind as he was going through all the motions of being ‘normal’ for this new humans sake.

To say he was worried about Mira was a understatement, something in the back of his mind yelling at him that something was going to go very, very wrong in the near future that he couldn’t quite put a phalange on. It was a feeling that Alia...no, both Alia -and- Mira were going to have their lives on the line so much worse than it was now.

“It’s very good to know you want to learn, human! Very good!~”, Beaming a bit happily as Alia agreed to listen to him talk a bit about monster magic, Papyrus was happy to have not outright been rejected seeing as...well, the chances of Alia learning monster magic were low as it was, him taking a seat near them as he spoke, “First things first, do you have any concept of Soul traits? It will take you far in learning if you, a human, can learn anything in the future!”.

Sans nodded as Alphys spoke, knowing that if Gaster was the only one Alphys thought could heal Mira's Soul, he probably was. So, he didn't have any choice; he'd have to hope it would be possible to convince Mira to let Gaster help her. Sans didn't bother explaining how he was going to bring Gaster back; it was more important to ensure Mira was healed. Besides, he could always tell Alphys later.

It was a relief to hear that Alphys would explain everything to Mira. It would save a lot of time if Alphys convinced Mira to let Gaster help while Sans was fixing the machine, since then- hopefully, at least- by the time he brought Gaster back, Mira would have agreed. Then, Gaster could heal her Soul sooner rather than later. At least that was what Sans hoped would happen. After all, Alphys had sounded a bit like she wasn't actually certain Gaster would be able to heal Mira's Soul...

...But he could, right? Surely they weren't going to make it this far just for the plan to fail at the last step? After all, Alphys seemed pretty convinced that Gaster was the most likely to be able to heal Mira. So if he couldn't...

No.

There had to be a way. Gaster was their best bet at the moment, so he was going to bring him back, and hope for the best. And if that didn't work, they'd figure something else out. Sans wasn't giving up. Whatever happened, he would find a way to save Mira.

Sans managed a small smile, grateful to Alphys for trying to reassure him. "thanks. you're right, we'll find a way to save her." Sighing, he added, "welp, time to get to work. i'll let mira know i'm leaving." Heading back over to Mira, Sans put a smile back on his face, hiding how worried he was. "heya, i have to go, but i'll be back soon, alright?"

...........

Alia noticed that something seemed to be bothering Papyrus; Chara seemed to have noticed it as well. Alia wondered what it was, hoping she hadn't done something to upset him somehow. Still, he seemed to be trying to act like nothing was wrong, and Alia didn't want to pry since it might be something that isn't any of her business anyway, so she didn't mention it.

She smiled when she saw Papyrus seemed happy she was willing to learn about monster magic. Perhaps talking about it would get his mind off whatever he was worried about? Either way, if it could potentially help her with her quest, she was definitely interested in learning as much as she could. She listened as he talked, curious when he mentioned 'Soul traits.' She had no idea what that meant, so as usual, she turned to Chara.

"Humans have Soul traits. It is easiest to tell by the color of their Soul. For example, yours is red. Determination. There are some others as well, like Kindness or Bravery. The Soul trait a human has is based on the trait they exemplify most." Chara explained.

Alia smiled gratefully, before turning back to Papyrus. "Yes, I know a bit about them. What do they have to do with monster magic?" She tilted her head curiously, wondering why Papyrus asked about that.