The following weeks after Kaitlyn's release from the hospital flew by. Everyone made their own arrangements to be ready to leave for the city once Kaitlyn's ankle finally healed. Sans found some nice people to rent his and Paps' place while they were gone and Kaitlyn went ahead and cancelled her upcoming lease renewal.

She could hardly believe it was almost October already, but she couldn't wait until the cold weather finally made its long awaited appearance again. Summer was okay, and it's not like it ever got unbearably hot where she lived, but Kaitlyn couldn't deny her love of snuggling in layers of clothing or sipping hot cider beside a blazing fireplace or the feeling of joy at the impending holidays, each promising food and quality time with loved ones. She smiled at the thought of Halloween with real monsters, Papyrus' spaghetti at Thanksgiving, standing under mistletoe with Sans on Christmas Eve… Kaitlyn shook her head and slapped her cheeks lightly when she felt heat creep up her neck at that last thought.

She picked up a moving box and carefully carried it down Sans' and Paps' stairs. She had been staying on their couch for the last few days until their trip ever since she'd cancelled her lease. The trio had been packing for the last 24 hours, preparing to leave tomorrow afternoon… or at least Kaitlyn and Papyrus had been packing. Sans had been… doing whatever it was Sans did. Papyrus was taking a break and resting for a little bit.

Though, it would've been nice to have either of them near her at the moment. She'd misjudged the weight of the box she was holding and the steepness of the stairs. Kaitlyn did her best as the box wobbled precariously in her arms. She nearly made it halfway down before she felt herself begin to fall. She yelped as she went down and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact, but it never came.

She glanced up to see herself and the box she'd been holding surrounded in a familiar blue glow.

"Thank goodness," she breathed a sigh of relief.

"well, i'd hate to see you back in a hospital after only just getting out. maybe leave the heavy lifting to me or Paps."

"You weren't here and Papyrus is taking a nap. Poor thing is exhausted." Kaitlyn attempted to plant herself back on her feet but Sans still had her floating just above where her feet could touch.

"hm. still, you should really weight next time." He smirked at her struggled attempt to stand on her own.

"Good one," she rolled her eyes, stifling a small laugh. "Anyway, I didn't know when you'd be back. You seem to like leaving when there's work to do. And who knows where you go off to." She paused before motioning to herself and continuing, "Or should I say, where you glow off to."

"aw, is that a hint of disappointment i detect? Kat, did you perhaps… miss me?" He grinned and strolled up the stairs to meet her halfway, still floating. "you do seem kinda blue now that i get a closer look."

"No need to stair."

Sans shrugged. "can't help it. i guess i missed you too." His left eye which had been glowing the same cyan that was surrounding Kaitlyn dimmed as she floated down slowly into his waiting arms. "can you ever forgive me?"

She gently knocked her forehead to his, giggling like a silly, lovesick schoolgirl. "Maybe just this once." Kaitlyn closed her eyes and inhaled Sans' scent. Like pine and the forest. It had become familiar and comforting for her recently. "I love you."

Sans carried her down the stairs bridal style. He grunted a bit. "Kat please, you can't say that and expect me to retrain myself."

Kaitlyn laughed; she hadn't even realized she'd said it out loud. The last couple of days had been somewhat of a struggle for the two. They did their best to hide the occasional touch or kiss from Papyrus but living under the same roof and staying a "friendly" distance away from one another had proven to be a little difficult.

"Sorry, but it's true." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before jumping from his arms to her feet.

"god give me strength." He sighed and rubbed his head, clearing his mind of the thoughts recklessly running around his mind. "anyway, i came back because-"

"You're going to help pack?" Kaitlyn interjected with enthusiasm.

Sans laughed. "well, that too i guess. but i wanted to talk with you first."

"About?"

"Gaster."

"Oh." Kaitlyn was a little surprised. Gaster hadn't been around much recently, especially since she moved from her apartment, and Sans had been avoiding the topic of Gaster since they'd left the hospital. She had been beginning to think he'd changed his mind about talking to him and wondering how and when to bring him up to Sans. She hadn't really expected him to be the one to bring it up.

"i'm not one to break a promise, and i said i'd talk to him… has he said anything?"

"He… hasn't been around much. I think he wants to wait for you to be ready. When do you want to talk?"

"i dunno. i guess sooner is better than later. might as well get it over with, ya know? also, i'm kinda curious about what will happen now that he's, uh, half-existent."

Kaitlyn nodded.

"see if you can contact him… however you do. we'll talk later, when Papyrus is busy or something."

"He's asleep now."

"yeah, but he never naps for too long. that's more my thing. maybe if he goes to visit Undyne or when he falls asleep for the night. i'd rather not have him wake up in the middle of... whatever will end up happening."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Butterflies danced in her stomach, but she pushed them down to keep her nerves from showing.

"good." Sans nodded thoughtfully. "thanks, Kat." His gentle smile had the butterflies pushing their way back up for a completely different reason, but she gladly returned his smile.

Both returned to packing. It wasn't long before Papyrus woke up and joined them. A few hours of moving boxes, made much easier with Sans' blue magic, and the trio were practically finished. Everything they owned had been stuffed into boxes and crates then packed into a trailer they'd rented. None of the local moving companies had wanted to lend them a hand with movers due to the attacks on humans from the MEO. It seemed even sympathetic humans were turning their backs on the monsters to keep themselves safe. It upset Kaitlyn, but she couldn't say she didn't understand. At least they were letting them keep the truck for awhile.

She wiped her brow and leaned against the side of the truck, letting her sore arms and aching legs take a break.

"heya, i made some lemonade if you want any." Sans walked over, carrying two glasses of the delicious beverage while a third floated over his head. Kaitlyn gratefully took one and gulped down half of the glass.

A moment later, Papyrus was also at the truck, placing the last box inside. "WELL, AT LEAST YOU HELPED OUT A LITTLE BROTHER." He dusted his hands off. "THOUGH MORE MOVING AND LESS BEVERAGE MAKING WOULD HAVE BEEN APPRECIATED."

"does that mean you don't want any then?"

"OF COURSE I DO! I'M DYING OF THIRST AFTER ALL THAT!" Papyrus grabbed for the floating glass and had the entire drink gone in seconds.

"AHHH, NICE WORK BROTHER! PERHAPS WE SHOULD HAVE HAD YOU ON DRINK DUTY ALL ALONG."

Sans shrugged, "always happy to help, bro. so, now that we're all packed, what's the plan?"

"I THINK I'LL HEAD TO UNDYNE'S UNTIL DINNER. I WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH HER BEFORE WE LEAVE..."

"'kay, i'll walk you over. what about you, Kat?"

"Think I'll stay here and rest. Tell Undyne and Alphys I said I'd miss them." As much as Kaitlyn wanted to go see her friends, she knew this might be her only chance to try and summon Gaster while Papyrus was gone. Otherwise, they would have to wait until after the move to see him. She waved as she watched the brothers walking away in the direction of Undyne's house.

It took Kaitlyn longer than she thought it would to reach Gaster. Even as Sans returned home from walking Papyrus over to Undyne's, she still hadn't had any luck reaching Gaster. She spent nearly an hour calling out to him in her mind like she'd done several times before, but she was beginning to worry something had happened to him. Just as she was about to go out and see if she could find him, he suddenly appeared before her.

"Gaster, there you are!" Kaitlyn breathed a sigh of relief. "Where have you been?"

"My apologies. Ever since my recent- uh- well, since more of myself came back to this world, my consciousness is slowly drifting away from the rift between times."

Kaitlyn ran her hand through her hair, looking puzzled. "I'm not sure I follow."

"It is quite complicated… you see, up until now, my body and consciousness have occupied a space between timelines. The 'void' as you have called it."

"I know that, but I thought you left that place when I brought you back here by saying your name?"

"if only the timelines and alternate planes of existence were that simple." Sans walked through the door.

"Oh, Sans! Sorry, I was about to come get you…" Kaitlyn looked around. "Also we're in your room, so sorry about that too. I tried calling out in every other room first and thought moving around might help."

"i don't really mind you being in here, but," Sans looked over to Gaster who simply stood dumbfounded and shocked that Sans was standing before him of his own free will. "not sure this is the place i want to talk. let's go somewhere else." Sans took hold of Kaitlyn's hand and motioned for her to take one of Gaster's. Once she obliged, his left eye blazed to life and the trio were suddenly in a completely different place.

"Where are we?" Kaitlyn asked looking around. It looked like a small work shed with blueprints scattered around and an odd looking machine half covered beneath a dirty, tattered cloth.

"my workshop. it's right outside the house."

"I've never noticed a workshop before." She picked up an old blueprint and an old photo of people she'd never seen before fluttered to the ground. Sans quickly picked up the photo and tucked it into his jacket pocket.

Weird. Kaitlyn thought but decided now wasn't the time to ask about it.

"i keep it hidden. when we moved from Snow- er, the Underground, I wanted to take this place with me. only Paps knows its here." He shrugged.

"You… you kept all of this?" Gaster placed a hand on one of the blueprints and ran his hand down the designs scrawled across it.

Sans stuffed his hands into his pockets. "well, yeah. i got into scientific research after you… disappeared."

"I know, I watched you and Papyrus after... a while. I guess I just didn't expect you to pick up where I left off."

"i didn't. i mainly kept all of this to study the resets and timelines. i wanted to at least try…" Sans' voice trailed off.

"Try…?" Kaitlyn urged him to continue his thought. This was the first she'd heard of any of this as well.

Sans sighed. "i thought i'd at least try to find you. it was unsettling that everyone had just forgotten about you. at first, it was almost a dream come true for me. i could finally start from scratch in a universe where no one knew i wasn't a real monster and i could protect Paps and let him live a normal life. but... i dunno, i couldn't get your face when you got sucked in out of my head, and how you wanted me to run rather than try to help you. i guess Paps rubbed off on me. he always wanted to believe there was someone... something better in you; someone who wanted to be a good person and just didn't want to let anyone down. maybe i began to see a bit of that too, so i wanted to at least try and find you." He folded his arms across his chest, though it looked like more of a defensive gesture to Kaitlyn.

"Hold on, I'm confused. Why did you get all worried when you found out I brought some of him back into existence if you'd tried bringing him back yourself?" She questioned.

"to be honest, it scared me. It had been so long since i'd tried and maybe while part of me wanted to try and get him back another part was terrified nothing would change if he did come back… you don't understand Kat. you don't know the things he did…"

Gaster looked down, ashamed of his past transgressions. "I am truly sorry Sans. I know nothing I say can undo what has already been done, but I swear to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. To everyone."

Sans looked a little skeptical but eventually sighed and dropped his folded arms down to his side. "guess we'll see." He shook his head. "also, i never got the chance to say it before, but thank you." Gaster looked up and met Sans' eyes. "for telling me where she was that night and for trying to stop her."

His eyes flickered with relief as they darted to glance over to Kaitlyn. "Of course. She can be a handful at times but someone must look out for her." Gaster ruffled her hair and Sans' eyes softened.

"got that right. she's a wild card for sure." He nodded and smiled.

"Aw, come on guys." She waved away Gaster's hand but couldn't hold back a smile of her own.

"You know, I know it might not be worth much, but I've watched you and Papyrus grow this whole time. I'm so proud of what you have both become, despite what I had done. All I ever wanted was to succeed but it turns out you two have done far more good than I ever could have."

"Paps would be happy to hear you say that… if he, uh, remembered you that is." Sans looked at the ground. "look G, you and i both know the things you did in the past were… less than humane, but Kat sees something in you. and Papyrus saw something in you before too. hell, even i saw glimmers of a good person at times. i... i can't say i'm ready to trust you yet-"

Gaster looked down as well. "I understand Sans. I promise you will not see me if you wish-"

Sans held up a hand. "but..." Gaster flinched. "i think everyone deserves second chances. Kat believes in you; she believes you've changed, and while i might not fully trust you," he looked over to Kaitlyn, "i trust her with every bone in my body." Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and snickered at his pun he'd sneaked in. "i guess what i'm trying to say is… i forgive you." He turned back to Gaster and held out a hand, smiling slightly.

Gaster was absolutely astonished. He had dreamed of this moment but never really thought it would come. Tears built in his eyes as he reached towards Sans' outstretched palm. The moment he touched it, he felt a warm feeling surround his Soul.

Kaitlyn's eyes widened as light began to radiate from Gaster, shrouding his body before dimming and disappearing completely. He looked… different somehow. Brighter. More… corporeal. Sans and Kaitlyn looked at one another then back at Gaster for a few moments.

"Gaster, I think you…" she stared. Gaster touched his chest, the area where his Soul would be, and laughed nervously. His happiness mixed with a sudden anxiety Kaitlyn felt begin to radiate from Sans.

"soooo... do either of you guys know how this affects the others' memories?" Sans eyes went dark and Kaitlyn swore he looked a little whiter than normal, if that was even possible.

"Um, well-"

"SANS! KATE! ARE YOU TWO PLAYING THE HIDE AND SEEK GAME? I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I AM A SPECTACULAR SEEKER!" Gaster was interrupted mid-sentence by a wondering Papyrus, just outside the door.

"shit." Sans tried to calm his breathing. Sure, he was ready to give Gaster a second chance, but he wasn't ready to have Papyrus remember all of the things he'd done in the past to them. Papyrus would have nightmares for weeks!

"uh, can you maybe still go invisible by any chance?" He was beginning to panic. Seeing this, Gaster made a face of concentration and closed his eyes. When they opened again, he looked down at himself and shook his head, becoming a little frantic himself.

"ARE YOU HIDING IN THE MAILBOX PERHAPS? THE ONLY PLACE LEFT AFTER THAT IS SANS' WEIRD SECRET SHED-THINGY!"

"oh, no. no, no, no, no…" Sans was pacing back in forth and muttering under his breath.

Kaitlyn grabbed Sans by the shoulders to stop his pacing. "Sans, calm down! It'll be okay. He might not even remember him still! And if he does, we'll deal with it together."

"Kat, no. you-you don't get it! Paps, he used to-"

"Okay, then we'll teleport out!"

Sans smacked himself. "i'm an idiot." He quickly grabbed Kaitlyn's hand and just before they could blink out of existence, the doors to the shed swung open.

"AH-HA! I KNEW I WOULD FIND YOU TWO! AND UM-" Papyrus' eyes went to Gaster. "And… um…." He squinted his face in concentration. Everyone else had frozen, silently waiting for his next words.

"I-I'm sorry, but who are you?" The entire room seemed to exhale in relief as everyone else visibly relaxed.

"I-I am, um, my name is G-Gaster. Nice to, ah, meet you."

"Oh! Well it is nice to meet you too, mister Gaster!" Papyrus bounded over to shake his hand.

"Please, just Gaster is fine." He smiled, taking his hand.

"Sans, why didn't you tell me we would have a guest! I haven't prepared anything!" Papyrus leaned over, somehow whispering loudly to his shell-shocked brother.

"well, uh… he, this is, um…"

"I-I invited him over! Sorry Paps, I wanted it to be a surprise." Kaitlyn interjected, saving Sans from having to answer.

"AH YES, I SEE! WELL, THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES LOVE SURPRISES!" He smiled widely at Gaster, who simply gave a weak nod and hesitant smile in return. "Though, you do seem familiar… do I know you from somewhere?" He squinted and Gaster froze up again.

"do you not know who you know?" Sans snapped from his shock and came to Gaster's rescue this time.

"PBPBPPBPT! OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW! THAT WAS A JUST A... A TEST! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW WHO I KNOW WHO I KNOW!" Papyrus looked questioningly at Sans. "...You know?"

"of course bro." Sans nodded as if what was just said made perfect sense. "i think it's safe to say i know who you know who you know just as much as you know who you know who you know, ya know?" Kaitlyn was completely lost but Papyrus was now nodding back at his brother vigorously.

"OF COURSE!" He turned back to Gaster who looked about as confused as Kaitlyn felt. "So mister -er, I mean Gaster, will you be joining us on our journey to the monster capital as well?"

"O-oh, I do not think-"

"Yes, he will!" Kaitlyn said quickly before Gaster or Sans could refuse. Both of the skeletons raised their eyebrows at her outburst, though one looked slightly irritated about it, while Papyrus just smiled wider and clapped his hands together in joy.

"PERFECT! I SHALL MAKE A CELEBRATORY DINNER RIGHT AWAY THEN!" And with that, he was out the door and running back into the house, leaving the trio where he'd found them.

"U-um…" Gaster felt a little awkward. He hadn't expected to speak with Papyrus again so soon, and as though they were strangers… even though in a way, they almost were. It was also not hard to see the tension between Sans and Kaitlyn at the moment, which didn't help his feeling of discomfort.

"Kaitlyn. talk. upstairs. now." Sans blinked out of existence leaving her and Gaster alone.

She sighed. "Well, that's my cue. C'mon Gaster, let's go inside. You can wait downstairs and help Paps. Talk to him a little more. I'll be down with a smiling Sans before you know it!" She smiled, trying to give a little comfort to the shaken monster beside her. Slowly, he followed her out and into the house.

Kaitlyn left him with Papyrus to cook, climbed the stairs and knocked gently on Sans' door. It glowed blue for a moment before swinging open, dragging her in then slamming shut behind her.

"since when was he coming with us!" Sans voice was just shy of a yell and Kaitlyn flinched.

"You didn't expect him to stay here did you? Besides, this is a big moment for him! He finally fully exists now! We can't just leave him to fend for himself in a world he probably doesn't know very well yet!"

Sans folded his arms. "i did not agree to this."

"Well, where would you have him go then?" Kaitlyn crossed her own arms.

"to hell, if i had any say…" he grumbled.

"Sans." She glared and he conceded with a sigh. She knew he was just upset with her for being brash more than anything.

"i don't know. Alphys' place maybe? they used to be kinda close… well, until Undyne anyway." He plopped onto his bed, moping.

"They were close?" Kaitlyn sat down beside him. "I knew he trained her or something but I didn't know they were friends…"

"he was more like a father figure to her actually." Sans laid his head back and draped his arm over his face. "i used to hate her. she found out what he'd been doing to us one day. she'd always known we existed. she'd come bring us food sometimes or blankets or toys. i used to try and tell her what he'd do, but she never believed me. apparently he was some kind of saint to her." Sans scoffed then sighed. "forgiveness, Sans. forgiveness."

He exhaled and rubbed his temples before continuing. "she was kind to us, so i was sure the day she found out what he'd really been up to, she would help us get out but… she ran away. left and never came back. the next time i saw her, she was running her own lab to replace Gaster after he'd disappeared."

"You don't hate her anymore though." It was a statement rather than a question. Kaitlyn was positive he didn't hate Alphys. She could tell from when the three had worked together.

Sans shook his head. "nah, i guess some of Paps really did rub off on me." He gave a short snicker before continuing. "i think she was just scared. i would've been too though, so i can't say i blame her." Sans uncovered his face to look at Kaitlyn. "i guess it was Undyne and the experiment that drove her away from G."

"Why do you call him that?" She leaned down on her elbows to get closer to him.

Sans laughed. "cuz he used to hate it. he'd insist we call him 'mister Gaster' or 'Doctor Gaster.' I think Paps might have some residual memories of that. he seems to prefer the opposite now though." Sans chuckled. "kinda rattled his bones when Paps added 'mister' before."

Kaitlyn watched him as he laughed. Her eyes became soft and she smiled at his happiness. "I'm so happy you decided to talk to him, Sans. And I'm proud of how you handled everything."

"huh?"

"It's just, I know it must've been hard. And I know it took a lot of courage to talk to him and forgive him like you did. I'm glad you did. And… I guess I wanted to thank you for doing it. I know you didn't really want to."

"maybe not, but i think it was good, for both of us. he needed to hear it and i needed to say it. now we can both move forward." He looked over at Kaitlyn. "i don't think i ever would've done that if i hadn't met you though, so don't thank me. we should both be thanking you, Kat."

"What happened down there by the way?"

"what?"

"Why didn't you teleport us out or make Gaster float or literally just walk outside so Papyrus didn't see him?"

"i... i panicked, okay." He sighed, frustrated at his own stupidity.

"That's... not like you though."

"it's hard to explain... i just..." Sans took a deep breath. "i know he's different now. i trust you and i've even seen it for myself but... when i see him, i just- i go back to when things were..." Kaitlyn placed her hand on his shoulder. He was shaking.

"Sans..."

"sorry, i know i'm not explaining this well."

She shook her head. "It's okay. I know you're not used to sharing emotions like I am and you're not a huge fan of talking about your past. You don't have to talk about it if you aren't ready, I understand." He looked over to Kaitlyn and she smiled gently. "Thank you for trying though."

He smiled weakly and shook his head. "no, i'm okay. i can do this. just give me a second." He closed his eyes and clenched his hands together in concentration. "i won't go into specifics, but there was a time before that i was terrified of Gaster. not that that's much of a shock. he used to force us to repress our magic then go all out during tests he'd run. when i saw him for the first time, back in your apartment, he was strapped down and harmless. couldn't even use his own magic, but i froze. even with you in danger, just seeing him made me forget everything. it was like i was back in that place... in the dark, all alone. cold and scared..." He shuddered. "i know i said i'd give him another chance and that i forgive him, and i do. really, but..." His eyes opened and went dark. "i will never forget. i can't."

"So, just being around him makes you a little panicky."

"that's what it all boils down to, yeah."

"You don't have to feel ashamed for not forgetting or getting nervous around him, Sans." He glanced over at her.

"is that really even forgiveness though?"

"Of course it is! He came back didn't he? I don't think he would have if you didn't truly forgive him. Besides, I don't blame you for not wanting or being able to forget. I couldn't even bring myself to forgive Sam or Ashleigh for what they did and they were my best friends before... everything happened. Even if I ever do bring myself to forgive them, I'd never be able to forget. Gaster was obviously anything but a friend to you and Papyrus before and you can still find it in you to forgive him! Honestly, I find it all kind of amazing."

"you were the one who begged me to forgive him!"

"I know, but I would've understood if you couldn't. That's why I tried not to push you into it. Sure, I'd ask but I never expected you to do anything you weren't ready for. I never knew the Gaster you knew and you barely know who he is now. It wouldn't be fair of me to expect you to move on just like that."

Sans exhaled. "well, that's kind of a relief. i guess i was kind of putting that on myself more than anything. i thought if i couldn't move beyond it you might be... disappointed."

Kaitlyn smacked his head, not hard, but enough to get his attention. "You dummy. I could never be disappointed with you."

"that's good to know." He stood up from beside her and held out a hand. She took it and he pulled her up alongside him. "for what it's worth, i wouldn't be able to go through any of this without you. thank you for staying beside me." He looked away, slightly uncomfortable. Kaitlyn beamed at his bashful face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him to her.

"Thanks for letting me in. I know it's hard for you, but I'm always here if you need support." She pulled back and led him to the door. "Now, let's go down and see how those two are doing."

And so concludes Gaster's portion of the story. I hope you all enjoyed it! Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, I'll be on vacation for the summer so it may be a while before I can post again. Worry not though because I have TONS of ideas on the next part :3 I thought about posting it as a brand new story but I felt some type of way marking this one as 'complete' when there are still SOOO many things I have yet to wrap up.

I hope you look forward to the upcoming storylines! I'll put a tiny preview after the author's note so you guys have something to look forward to (and because I'm evil and like to keep you all waiting :) ) and also because I had already planned out a summary if I made it into a sequel rather than a continuation. In the mean time, feel free to leave any suggestions or comments in the reviews. Have a great summer guys and see you all real soon for the continuation of Saving Them!

Preview: All is peaceful for Kaitlyn and her friends after moving to the capital. Sans has been helping her practice controlling her magic better and Gaster begins his long overdue task of repairing past relationships with monsters that can't seem to remember him. However, more problems arise as familiar faces make an appearance. A child with the power to reset, a talking flower who finds out a dark secret, a newfound power, and behind each phenomenon, an evil presence begins to make itself known. Will Kaitlyn and her friends find the strength to take on not only their own futures, but someone else's mysterious past as well? Find out in part 2 of Saving Them: Prince of Darkness.