[ Y/N ]
"So are you coming with me or are you staying here?" I asked G while tugging a loose white tank top over my head. He pursed his boney lips while looking out the huge window before shrugging. "Eh, I'll go with you, it gets boring when I'm alone." I nodded in reply before tugging on some black shoes that were inside a small closet next to the elevator.
"I'm going over to Alphys' lab, by the way. She said that she wanted to show me a few things." I looked out the window and narrowed my eyes up at the cavern ceiling. "She said to be there at nine in the morning, so we better hurry." I started to head over to the elevator before I remembered something. "Grab the coffee machine," I said, thinking that Alphys would be the right person to take it to. G seemed to know what I was doing and let out a snicker before walking into the kitchen to grab the red coffee machine.
"So you think Alphys will be able to fix it?" he asked while following me into the elevator with the huge red coffee machine in his arms. "Hopefully," I answered while pressing one of the buttons in the elevator just as the doors closed.
The elevator doors opened a few seconds later to reveal the tenth floor, it's whitewashed walls and light grey doors all looking exactly the same. "Well," I said, clapping my hands together before rubbing them. "Guess we better start playing Marco Polo."
A confused look passed over G's face but it quickly turned into understanding when he watched as I brought my hands up to my mouth. "Alphys!" I shouted, starting to run down the hallway while glancing at the name tags on the doors as I passed them. G let out a sigh before running after me, shouting out Alphys' name all while struggling to keep up with me with the coffee machine.
"Alphys! Where are you!" I called out, a door to my right swinging open a second later to reveal a familiar monster peering out. "What are you two doing?" Alphys scolded, her face a mixture of annoyance and amusement.
I smiled at her and walked into the lab as she held the door open for us. I stared up at the complexing devices that hung from the ceiling and the strange glass tubes that were connected to large machines. "We were looking for you," I answered. " Why did you want to see me, by the way?"
Alphys closed the lab door behind us before scurrying over to a giant metal table. I cringed at the sight of it.
"The Persistence was nice enough to lend me this lab for my research," she started, "and the first study I've been wanting to conduct is on souls. After all, it was the subject I dropped after . . . the incident." She glanced over at G who shifted the coffee machine in his arms uncomfortably. "Let me guess," I piped up, noticing the unease that seemed to spread through the air. "It was after those two monsters fused, wasn't it?" Alphys nodded. "One of them was my colleague, Dr. Gaster. He wasn't a very empathetic monster, but he was brilliant."
I looked over at G and smirked. "Well, at least we know that you didn't get his brains."
Alphys laughed while G tried to smack me with his hand. I ducked out of the way before he could hit me and laughed. "Oh shush, I'm smart too," he huffed out, shifting the coffee machine in his arms with a scowl on his face.
I smirked and shrugged. "Whatever you say, but I'm still counting that time you got blasted in the face from that geyser as stupidity." G groaned and I laughed, the unease in the air immediately disappearing.
"Anyways," Alphys said with a chuckle. "Could I see your soul, Y/N? Oh, and since you're here, could I see yours too, G?"
We both nodded and I helped G set the coffee machine down on the lab table before he held a hand over his chest and pulled out an upside down heart shaped soul. It looked exactly like the holographic image that had been on Alphys' Soul Searcher, except it looked more magnificent in person. "Uh, how do I . . . ?" I placed a hand over my chest and pulled it away, empty handed.
"Here, like this," G said, moving my hand back to my chest. A warm feeling started to spread from underneath my fingertips after a couple of seconds. He pulled my wrist back and a white heart shaped soul hovered over my palm, the soul seeming to have melted out of my chest.
"Hope?" he said with a hint of confusion and surprise in his voice. "Yeah, that's what I thought when I saw it on the cameras in the Monster Capital," Alphys piped up, coming over and taking both our souls in her clawed hands.
G raised a bone-brow. "Cameras? What did they . . . oh." Realization crossed his face as Alphys set both souls into two glass cylinders, my body shuddering at the familiar sight of the glass. "Don't worry," Alphys said quietly to me, noticing my discomfort. "It'll only read the data and DNA of the souls. Not . . . that."
I nodded and hoisted myself up into the metal table behind me, the cold metal chilling my skin as I swung my legs back and forth. "How long does it take?" I asked, leaning on the coffee machine as G jumped up on the metal table beside me. Alphys rushed over to a control board and flicked a switch that turned on the glass cylinders, bubbles starting to float to the top as our souls glowed brightly inside. "Only a few minutes at most," she replied before turning on a machine that flickered to life with a whirring noise.
She turned back to us and looked at the coffee machine. "Why did you bring that here?" I chuckled sheepishly and hoisted it up into my lap. "We have no idea how to work this. Please help." G mindlessly pressed a button on the machine, making it release a loud beep that seemed to not do anything. He frowned. "We just want a decent cup of coffee, that's all."
Alphys giggled and heaved the coffee machine into her arms before setting it down on top of another metal table. "I'll just fix it up for you to make it easier," she said while grabbing a few tools. "And while I do that, I can explain the research I've gathered on souls so far."
I leaned forward on the metal table in interest, wondering what my soul could possibly mean from her research.
"I've conducted a few experiments while in the Monster Capital on souls," she started, "and found that there are three types to human and monster souls." She opened the back panel on the coffee machine and twisted a cord.
"There are pure souls, simple souls, and empty souls. Pure souls are the ones with solid, vibrant colors and high levels of their respective trait. They're extremely powerful and can be found in both humans and monsters, but mostly humans."
I glanced over at the glass cylinders and stared at my soul floating inside. "Then, there are simple souls. Those are the ones with mixed traits and weaker power, yet they can still top the average monster soul, since human souls are the most powerful. Simple souls are the most common between humans and monsters, and usually appear as a dull color or a mix of several different colors." She pulled at the gears inside the coffee machine until it made a click noise.
"Then, there are empty souls. Those are the ones that have been deprived of their trait, or have simply never been able to manifest one. They aren't common, but they do happen. Fortunately, it doesn't affect the monster or human's personality, so they'll stay their normal self even with an empty soul. The term just means that their soul is weak and vulnerable. But it also means that they can be given a forced trait with proper treatment."
Alphys placed the back panel of the coffee machine back into place just as a beeping noise sounded out from the control panel. "The soul readings are done, let's see what your types are." We all hurried over to the machine Alphys had flicked on earlier that now held two sheets of paper. Alphys picked up both and skimmed over the words before passing them to us.
"Congratulations! Your souls are both healthy and you've got some special aspects with each." I skimmed over my paper, my eyes wide when I looked back up at Alphys. "I've got three soul traits? But I thought I had only one." G looked over at me in surprise. "So, you're a simple soul?"
Alphys grinned at us. "Oh, so you were both listening, and yes, Y/N is a simple soul. And G has a pure soul." I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. "No fair," I pouted, earning a chuckle from G.
"I always knew I was amazing," G bragged as we switched papers. "Huh, you're a pure soul but you don't have a soul trait," I muttered to myself. Alphys nodded. "Monsters don't have soul traits, that's why their soul types are so important to figure out. It's their only way of figuring out their strengths." I cocked my head to the side and puckered my lips. "That makes sense, but why does it say here that he has a 'magic infused soul?'"
G looked up and over at his soul that was still floating in the cylinder. "I can answer that. Since I wasn't born like everyone else is normally born, I had to be given my own magic since I never manifested it. That's why it says 'infused.'"
Boy am I learning some new things today.
"What about the cracks?" I asked, looking at the deep fissures in G's white and gold soul. "Those marks came from the cracks in his skull," Alphys explained. "The cracks are permanent, and so they appear on his soul as well. It doesn't weaken him, it's just to show that the cracks will always be there." I nodded in understanding while G stared at the words on my paper. "Oh, you really do have three soul traits."
I smiled proudly and lifted my chin up. "I'm hope, curiosity, and ambition. Hah." Alphys chuckled at my childish act before walking over to the two glass cylinders and bringing our souls out. "Yup, and Y/N's soul also has permanent markings on it because of her scars." My eyes widened at her words as I took my soul into my hands and stared at it, starting to notice the little details that I had missed before.
My soul was overall a bright white, just like it had always been, but now I could see the haze of pale yellow and rose pink swirling around in the murky white. I could also see the tiny scratches all over my souls' surface, the little etches looking like glowing marks that you'd find on an old phone screen. There was a large glowing scar that ran from the top right of my soul and down to the middle, showing the one scar on my forehead that would never disappear.
Even though the marks were supposed to make me feel ashamed, I couldn't help marveling at how beautiful they appeared. I guess it's just my twisted sense of wonder, but the marks reminded me of what I had been through and that I had survived. "I can see it now," I mumbled, smiling softly as my soul fluttered in my hands. I glanced over at G who was twirling his soul around his finger, the weightless upside down heart spinning around and around.
I giggled and pushed my soul back into my chest, my skin growing warm as the empty feeling in my stomach filled back up. G did the same before hopping off the metal table and heaving the fixed coffee machine into his arms. "Thanks for everything, Alphys," I said as I opened the door to the lab. Alphys smiled at us and waved goodbye. "Anytime, hope your coffee machine works now!"
I was about to walk out the door, when I realized I still had one question left. I turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Alphys, what's the point of figuring out human's and monster's soul traits?"
She smiled at me and tapped a claw on her clipboard. "By knowing what soul trait monsters posses, I'm able to personally design ways to make them stronger. And for human's soul traits . . . well . . ." She trailed off and gave me a knowing smile. "By knowing your own soul traits, you now know what you need to depend on in sticky situations."
She gave us both one last wave, before pushing the lab door closed behind us.
+ + +
I feel like the coffee machine is taking over this book XD
Gosh I love creating theories and head canons almost as much as I love plotting world domination.
But yeah! Pure, simple, and empty souls exist now. And so do the two new soul traits that I'm introducing, curiosity and ambition. ((If you read my first art book, you'll already knew about curiosity))
For you guys that didn't quite get your soul explanation, I'll explain it a bit more. Overall, the soul trait is hope. But since your soul is a simple soul, it's able to take on multiple soul traits. And those two soul traits, are curiosity and ambition. Make sense now?
(Also here's everybody's soul traits okay I'll go now)
Y/N: hope, curiosity, ambition - simple
G: monster soul - pure
Papyrus: monster soul - pure
Undyne: monster soul - pure
Alphys: monster soul - simple
Grillby: monster soul - simple
Temmie: monster soul - empty
Frisk: determination - pure
Lavender: hope, empathy, wit - simple
Sammy: ambition, courage, wit - simple
Tyler: justice, grace, bravery - simple
Katherine: patience, integrity - simple
Conner: courage, curiosity, wit - simple
Edward: integrity, kindness - simple
Dalton: monster soul - empty
(I think that's it, tell me if I missed anyone)