No One is Happy with This (Undertale)

47 ~ Fragments of a Soul

Saturday afternoon comes, and Toriel decides that there needs to be some family bonding. She makes some popcorn, and pulls everyone into the living room after acquiring some board games. You're not sure where she got the games, but they're all good ones.

Sans and Gaster totally dominate everyone at Monopoly. It ends up with each of them owning practically a third of the board with fully developed properties, while the rest of you slowly go bankrupt as you cross the board. Even after you, Papyrus, Toriel, and Flowey have gone completely bankrupt and dropped out of the game, the two of them keep going, amassing fortunes, emptying the bank, and trying to be the one to land on that last unclaimed railroad. Gaster eventually wins.

Next, Toriel pulls out Clue. Papyrus wins that one quickly (it was Mr. Green in the game room with the revolver) and his prize is lots of snuggles from Gaster and Sans.

Flowey recommends you play Battleship (it involves blowing people up!! What could be better?!), but Toriel seems a little reluctant because it's only a two player game, but then Gaster starts coming up with a rule set for a five player game, and once enough boards are found, you all play that for a while. It's confusing and kinda difficult, but fun nonetheless.

Dinner doesn't take too long. There are plenty of leftovers, and everyone is having fun with the games and is eager to get back to it.

Gaster then chooses Risk as the next game. It's sorta difficult, and you more just like playing with the little figurines, but you play the game anyway. Toriel is surprisingly good with it; Gaster says it's because she was one of the head strategists in the monster and human war. Toriel quickly deflects that topic of conversation by shoving the empty popcorn bowl into Gaster's hands and telling him to go make more- which he obliges.

When he comes back with the popcorn, you suggest Apples to Apples as the next game. After a few rounds, everyone's pretty much figured out the strategy for choosing the proper red card to match a green card. Flowey always chooses the most contradictory thing. Toriel usually chooses a reasonably logical one. Papyrus's are always incredibly well-thought out, while Sans' choices tend to make the least sense. Gaster alternates between incredibly, ridiculously, factually scientific answers, and making his opinion, or just a flat out silly card, sound like it has a scientific reason for it.

You play Settlers of Catan for a while after that, but Flowey starts complaining that it's boring. When Gaster tells him to shut up, he starts screaming, so that puts a quick end to the Settlers of Catan.

Scrabble comes next. Sans and Papyrus team up for it, and so do you and Flowey. The brothers win, though, as Papyrus's skill with puzzles and Sans' skill with words together makes them an unparalleled team.

Well. You think Gaster might be able to match them, but he's actually looking pretty tired by then, and keeps trying to spell things weirdly. He assures you that he is spelling things correctly, just in Hands, but you think he's just making excuses.

And then Sans asks an all-important question. "hey, dad? when was the last time you slept?"

Gaster gives him a jokingly contempt look. "Sans. I'm a high energy monster who mostly doesn't exist and is made of Void antimatter. I don't need to sleep."

You laugh a little.

Sans, though, frowns. "so, what you're saying is the last time you slept was almost a week ago when you fell asleep watching that movie."

Gaster just shrugs.

"Dad!" Papyrus admonishes. "Even I get more sleep than that!"

"And I don't need sleep! Things that don't exist don't need energy!" Gaster argues, only to promptly yawn afterward.

"Maybe you just need less sleep?" You suggest. "Since, you know, you said you mostly don't exist? So you still kinda exist, and still kinda need energy?"

Before Gaster can respond, Sans cuts in. "hey dad, can i sit in your lap?"

Flowey lets out an audible snort at that, to which Gaster responds with a dark glare and an "Of course you can, Sans."

Sans wastes no time in settling down in Gaster's lap, leaning back against his dad. Gaster wraps his arms around Sans and snuggles him.

Flowey, though, true to Flowey-form, sees this as fit time for an insult. "Wow, smiley trashbag, you're like a little kid."

Surprisingly, Gaster doesn't respond with a vicious burn. He seems to have settled down around Sans just as much as Sans has in his lap. He's hugging Sans in a loose grip, and has slouched down to let his chin rest on Sans' shoulder. And his expression has relaxed, his working eyesocket drooping just a little. It seems Sans knows a trick or two in getting his family to take a nap. "He is a little kid. My little kid. Always will be. You too, Pap."

Sans snorts a little, but he doesn't seem particularly perturbed. "gee, dad, we've been okay for the last decade or so without you; i think we're a little more grown up than that."

Gaster's looking pretty drowsy, now, snuggling Sans almost like a stuffed toy. "Mmmmmmnahhh. Your Soul's not full. You're my kid."

That truly piques your curiosity. "Their Souls aren't full?" You ask. "What do you mean?"

Gaster yawns. "Well. Th' way I made 'em. Just cut out bits of my own Soul. So, y'got a normal Soul..." Another yawn. "... where th' mom 'n' dad both contribute traits 'n' stuff to th' Soul. But here, y'just got some parts from me and no one else... 'n' so, your Souls are just made... from that... and there are some traits... you'll never have, missing..." Gaster yawns yet again, his head falling forward and eyes closing. "... Just... Soul fragments... always... my little... boys... ...my..." He gives Sans one more cuddle, then falls still but for the rise and fall of his shoulders with each gentle breath. He's fallen asleep, contentedly snuggling Sans to his chest.

For a moment or two, everyone's silent, just glancing around at each other.

Then Toriel blinks a little. "Can... Can someone explain to me what exactly he meant?"

You just shrug, not entirely sure you understand yourself. Papyrus does the same, and so does Flowey, despite not really having shoulders to shrug with.

Sans, meanwhile, seems to have followed Gaster's example, and has dozed off.

This seems to remind Toriel of something. "Oh! It is getting quite late. Frisk, you ought to start getting ready for bed, now!"

You complain a little, but you are sort of tired. So you go to bed, and fall asleep, Flowey already counting the hours until he can scream you awake.

§

A/N

I have a confession to make.

I've never in my life played Scrabble. I have no idea how to.

... On another note!

A while back I came up with this idea that, since Sans and Papyrus's Souls are just grown from fragments of Gaster's, they're "incomplete". So they're not dysfunctional, exactly, but there are certain development points they weren't quite able to reach, due to the lack of a second contributor, so the skelebros still have some childish attributes. E.g., Sans is incredibly smart and mature, but he permanently has that unfortunate teenage insecurity and no idea how to properly deal with his emotions (this is ok, though, because it means lots of opportunity for feels'n'fluff). Papyrus, meanwhile, got an infinite childish innocence.

On a third note, my only excuse for this recent lapse in updates is I forgot how much fun Starbound is, and I've been... playing... that... all day...

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!