It took a while, but some time after the queen left, the Underground settled back into a semblance of something normal. Their hope, now, came from that glowing Soul, sitting in the container Asgore had me design to preserve it.

It would be... A very long time before the next one joined it.

Admittedly, as time slipped on, I gave up keeping track of it beyond what day of the week it was. I hired lab employees and fired lab employees, I built things and broke things, I kept going.

I tried things with the Barrier. But it seemed the force of seven human Souls was the only way to break it.

I tried things with my CORE plans. But nothing worked. More employees were fired with each failure.

It had to have been... fifty, sixty years? Something like that. Something...

I had, once or twice, petitioned to the king to allow me to research the human Soul, but he seemed reluctant to allow me to do so, and considering my friend's rather fragile mental state... well. I didn't want to push him too hard.

But still. At the thought of finally learning the humans' secret to strength, Firhaur's fire blazed up again in my Soul.

And again, I pressed for access to the Soul.

Eventually...

"My friend." Asgore said. He seemed rather tired, but not just an exhaust of body or mind. "Do you know why I do not want you to research the Soul?"

"No. Why?" I responded simply.

He sighed slowly. "Because I am afraid. Human Souls... they are stronger than anything we have. I do not want... you, Gaster, are one of my few friends left, and I could not bear it if something happened to you."

"But Asgore!" I protested. "I am a grown monster. I am fully capable of taking care of myself!"

He gave me a somewhat dubious look.

"I am not that irresponsible!"

The doubt in his expression increased.

"I am entirely accountable!" Before he could look any more doubtful, I continued. "And besides! Think of what I could do, Asgore! I might even be able to figure out how to break the Barrier! Did you know, Asgore, that this new generation has never seen the sun? I might be able to change that! I could free monsters! I could bring everyone back to the surface!"

Asgore looked at me for a long moment. Then, finally, his shoulders slumped with a heavy sigh. "Okay. But-" he added sharply, before I could celebrate too much, "but, I want monthly reports. Every. Month. And I want you to get an assistant, someone whom I approve of, as reliable, to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Quite honestly, I'm not sure I've ever heard Asgore speak quite that blatantly. And while I could deal with the monthly reports, I certainly wasn't eager to get an assistant.

Nonetheless I wanted access to that Soul, so I-...

I got-...

...

... hm...

This is...

This is most curious indeed. I remember that conversation. I remember promising Asgore I would get an assistant. And I remember months after that, researching the Soul.

But I cannot, for the life of me, remember the assistant I hired.

Who they were, where they were from, their name, their personality, what they looked like... nothing.

...

But that does not make sense! I am outside space and time, I should be able to recall all that happened! It's not as if this person was erased from reality as-

...

Oh.

Oh.

Is it possible, that...?

I was not truly, fully erased from existence. There are still bits and pieces of me scattered about. After all, if I had been fully erased, nothing I had ever done would exist at all. The weapons, the CORE...

... My sons...

...

... None of it. Because if I had never existed, then I would have never been able to do any of that. So, there are still a couple pieces of me that are somewhere in space and time, allowing bits and pieces of my work to remain.

But... but even still, only Sans remembers the vaguest details of who I was, and I theorize that is because he spent a moment or two in the Void on that fateful day, which heightened his awareness of space and time, and me.

And so, of someone else didn't have a piece or two of themselves somewhere in space and time... if someone was really, truly erased...

Even I, here in the Void, would most likely not remember them.

... actually...

... Those grey beings... those few who sometimes slip between the threads of reality, speaking a name no one remembers...

... Annoying Dog...! I wasn't the only one to fall into the Void, was I? They fell in too, I bet. Except, they didn't have anything left in reality, so they were entirely erased...! Nothing of them would remain, nothing of what they had done or who they were, nothing...!

This is... fascinating! I can't believe something like this had never occurred to me before! It's--

... Ah...

... I will tell you what it is, yes. It's not a part of this story. That is what it is. Even if it is... vaguely relevant, in that I never had an assistant, that particular event is a part of a story of another time entirely. Not this story, in short.

... Yes, I apologize. I got a bit caught up in my excitement there. You see, absolutely nothing happens here in the Void. The idea of exploring some new idea-...

... But again, I digress. That is not a part of this story.

This story.

So.

I did not hire an assistant, as the monster whom I would have hired did not exist.

But even so, my research went on.

§

A/N

... Just a suggestion. Remember what was said about Gaster having a couple pieces of himself still in reality. It... might be important later, and I might be planning things.

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!