PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

apples not falling far from trees, or something like that Chapter 108

The boy could produce little more but a lukewarm smile, but his father didn't seem to notice. Beside them, Gaster sighed softly and rubbed his eye sockets for the umpteenth time, though there was no wetness left on his face. He looked as if he wanted to speak, but couldn't come up with what to say. Asgore put a reassuring hand on his arm.

"This has been a lot for you as well, hm?"

"Forget about me," Gaster croaked. "This is... Impossible. I..." He gulped and his dark eyes focused intensely on Asriel. "How do we bring her home?"

"Can't," the boy said apologetically.

"There has to be some way—"

"Not yet there isn't," he said. "And, besides. She loves her other family, too, she wouldn't just abandon them."

"I... I understand that, but—"

"We'd need some way to get her through the void without her touchin' it," Asriel said. "...And her family, too." His ears pinned back. "We decided really early, there was no way we could ask her to... I mean, she has a whole life there, now. It's been like three years or something for her."

Gaster looked troubled, but he nodded. "...For the record, I wouldn't mind hosting the rest of them either. Especially those boys, after the nightmare that was their father, presumably."

"Yeah. Pretty glad we didn't meet him on top of all the other crap we were dealing with," Asriel said with a lopsided smile.

"For now, I'm content to hear that she's... Well, that she's even alive, of course," Asgore said. "But that she has a loving group of monsters taking care of her makes me put almost all of my worry aside. I... I'm very, very happy."

Gaster nodded. He clenched his hand into his shirt and took a deep breath as if to brace himself. "Should I...? I mean... Toriel shouldn't be alone right now, should she?"

"Don't worry for even a second, dad," Papyrus said, jumping up as if from nowhere to join them near the couch. "Frisk went up to see her a while ago and they're both still there, so I think it has to be going well!"

Asgore let out a little, fond coo but Gaster looked as if he'd seen an apparition. His gaze shot straight upstairs to the door to the second room.

"Frisk," he said sharply. He leapt right to his feet, but Papyrus intercepted him and held him by the shoulders.

"Relax! Reeeelax! She's perfectly okay! Everything's okay."

"But I...!" He wilted. A hand went to his head. "Oh god." He took a deep breath and gently moved past his son to go to Sans. "And, you—!"

"Eh, I'm fine," Sans said.

Gaster ignored him and crushed him into a hug.

"Ah..." Asgore's ears drooped a little. "Poor man."

"Jeez, he's a wreck," Asriel said under his breath.

"Of course he is." The huge monster rested a hand on his son's back and leaned closer to him, lowering his voice. "I don't think he ever forgave himself for not being able to cure Chara."

"Of course he couldn't, she was eating poison, dad," Asriel said with wide eyes. "He can't blame himself, that's nuts."

"But, not just that. Your mother and I, we were... in pieces. If not for him, I... I'm not sure what we would have done." Asgore's mouth drew into a thin line for a moment as his eyes looked far away. A sad smile spread on his face. "He was the one who treated Chara's..." His voice hitched and he had to try again. "C-Chara's... little body. After you... Ah. After you fell."