No Strings Attached

Chapter 11.

Here we go.

"It's...it's you," Asriel said in awe, referring to Gaster, "you're the one I've beein seeing, the one I've been sensing. But...it wasn't a dream, it wasn't just my imagination...you're real."

"Yes, child, I am real," Gaster affirmed, "well, mostly real."

Asriel looked confused.

"I'll explain it." Frisk offered.

The human child inhaled deeply then explained Gaster's situation in full, at least the parts he had been told.

"Wowie," Asriel responded, sitting up and turning himself around to meet the two at his bedside face-to-face, "so, then, you're kinda like me...only...you didn't end up doing bad things."

There was a brief awkward silence.

"Um, well..." Gaster faltered, "I'd...I'd be lying if I...said I was innocent, believe me...I'm not."

Asriel looked on curiously.

"I still wonder about that." Frisk stated.

"Of course, it's his decision on whether he tells us about it or not." Asriel offered.

"Eventually." the looming skeleton stated.

Frisk pulled himself onto Asriel's bed.

"Oh, so if you were the royal scientist before Alphys," Asriel said, "then you must know my dad."

"Of course," Gaster affirmed, "we go way back."

"Really?" Asriel inquired, "What was my dad like when he was younger?"

Gaster was about to answer, but, had to pause and think.

"You don't remember?" Frisk wondered.

"Oh, I remember," Gaster said, "I'm just trying to think of a fact I can share that won't break camaraderie conduct."

The children looked on curiously.

"Well, I can tell you that he did not always have that beard...or any facial hair for that matter," Gaster affirmed, "he used to always shave it off."

"So, why did he finally let it all grow out?" Asriel asked.

"Now that part I can't tell you, lest I violate the conduct." the looming skeleton said.

The three continued to talk about different things.

"So Gaster's the one whose been helping you with your school work, Frisk?" Asriel wondered.

"Yeah, like I said, he shows up whenever I want him to." Frisk attested gladly.

"Well, I'll be in school soon," the goat boy voiced, "when I am, could you help me with my homework, too?"

"Come now," Gaster replied, "how could I refuse?"

The goat child looked on happily.

"Maybe by that time he'll actually be here with all of us." Frisk offered.

"Frisk." the skeleton man responded with a strained, patient sigh.

"What?" the human boy replied, "I'm just trying to stay positive."

"I know that," Gaster said, "I just don't want you to get ahead of yourself."

All was quiet for a moment.

"Well, it's getting awful late," the looming skeleton voiced, "you kids should probably be getting to sleep, shouldn't you?"

"Aw, not yet," Frisk said, jumping onto the skeleton scientist's lap, "it's the weekend and I don't have anything planned for tomorrow."

"Yeah, and this is the first time I've actually been able to interact with you," Asriel said, also rolling off of his bed, onto Gaster's lap, "there's still a lot I want to talk to you about."

As the two children pleaded in unison, the skeleton man quickly relented.

"Okay, okay," he laughed softly, "if it pleases you two, then very well, I'll stay as long as you want me too."

Gaster held the human boy and goat boy close as they happily huddled up against him, re-positioning himself into a sitting position to get comfortable, knowing that he was going to be there a while.

It was nearly 9:00 a.m. when Toriel had just finished making breakfast for the family, all of whom awoke at different times. Though, Toriel quickly noticed that Frisk and Asriel, usually two of the first ones to wake up, had yet to come down for breakfast.

"Hmm, odd," the goat woman voiced, as she walked up the stairs, "they don't usually sleep in this late, at least, not at the same time."

She got to the door to the children's bedroom and curiously pressed her ear against it, when she did not hear anything, she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

To her surprise, Toriel found the two young boys laying on the floor next to each other in odd positions, sleeping peacefully. Amused and perplexed, the goat woman approached the sleeping children knelt down in front of them, nudging both of them gently.

"Asriel," she called lightly, "Frisk, wake up."

The human boy and the goat boy opened their eyes and looked up at their goat mother.

"Good morning, little ones," Toriel giggled, "what on earth are you doing sleeping on the floor?"

Frisk and Asriel looked at each other awkwardly.

"We were...dreaming." Frisk said.

"Yeah," Asriel affirmed meekly, "dreaming."

"Silly children," the goat woman responded, "you have beds for a reason."

Frisk and Asriel stood up.

"It was a really good dream, though." Frisk voiced.

"Yeah, a hopefully not-impossible one." Asriel added.

"As long as you two aren't doing anything you're not supposed to;" Toriel affirmed, "now come along to the kitchen, boys, your breakfast is getting cold."

The two slowly followed after their mother as she led the way to the kitchen.

"Frisk, we don't have to keep this a secret for too long, do we?" Asriel asked the human boy quietly, "Because, bad things happened the last time I had to keep a secret."

"No, not long, if we start brainstorming right away and get an idea, we'll be set," Frisk affirmed quietly, "it's like Gaster said, all we have to do is find a way to pull him from the realm of nonexistence to our realm existence."

"I don't remember him saying that." Asriel stated.

"Well, that's how I interpreted it," Frisk attested, "and that's what we're gonna do...as soon as we get an idea."

The two boys took their places at the kitchen table with the rest of the family a,s Toriel set their plates in front of them.

As he ate Frisk looked at everyone surrounding the table, focusing intently on the skeleton brothers and Asriel. Now that he was not the only one who could see what was going on, he felt that things would get much easier.

"We'll make things right," the human boy thought, "no one get's left behind."

Okay, that is it, that is the end.

Sorry if it seems weird to end it here, but, I think I taken this as far as I can and I have so many other fic ideas following this, I have to move on already. But, that's okay, because while this fic is done, the story will be continued in another, hopefully not too far down the road. In the meantime, I want to do some fics focusing on the other characters, like the Muffans situation, Asriel bonding with the skeleton brothers, Asriel starting school, and so on, just a lot of ideas and I am not quite sure where I start next, but, whatever it is, here's hoping I can make it interesting.