Karma is fascinated by the SOULS of this new place but loneliness is starting to creep in. Perhaps this new monster is the solution?

———-

Void

It was soothing being in pure darkness again. No one around him to make him question things and even his role was silent for once, no longer bombarding him with information on the multiverse he was in. It was nice and quiet...so why couldn't he stop the tears from flowing?

No matter how hard he wiped them they just came straight back. Maybe a nap would help......

He awoke, unsure when he had laid down or how long it had been in this perpetual darkness. Perhaps he should leave this place soon, who knows what effect this could have on him. Standing up he stretched his wings, feeling a smile form at the lights coming off his feathers but soon fading as his emotions churned.

This place did seem to block the bond but he did admit to growing a bit lonely.

It was as if that was a signal as soon his pin lit up, opening a portal. He stood still, wary of entering but pushed past the fear to walk through. He couldn't stay here forever no matter how much easier it would be.

Daemons Multiverse

As soon as he stepped through he realised he had ended up in the middle of the street but thankfully no one seemed to be paying attention to him. He would like some time to acclimatise to this new place first, before he was forced to interact again. Walking away from the closing portal he looked around, not spotting anything particular that stood out to him.

It was as he passed by another monster next to an animal, that he realised what had been pinging in his senses. It seemed here that everyone had their SOUL out in display, but in a much different form than he was used to.

The 'animals' all varied from each other and he was curious how their form was decided. Some children ran past and he watched in awe as one persons 'animal' changed from a cat to a bird, in one smooth motion. This place was truly grabbing his interest.

He did have to get somewhere else soon though, as he could feel the eyes on him, most likely searching for his 'animal'. He so far had not spotted anyone else like him so turned into an alleyway, making sure he was hidden from the masses.

Looking at his chest he hummed, having a pretty good idea why his wasn't coming out, so wasn't worried. Karma was instead darkly amused, almost tempted to force it out but ignored the urge, to instead make sure he was invisible to mortals.

He wondered whether having the SOULS so separate from the body would affect how others perceived him. Would they be more sensitive to his magic or would their reactions be more dulled? So many questions such wonderful distractions .

He took out his bear from his brother, cuddling it tight for comfort. He felt the magic from it sweep over him and relaxed into the feeling. The intent was helping to soothe his nerves and he knew this was one thing he could easily know to be true. At least this couldn't be faked.

Beating his wings he flew into the air, hovering over the streets, happy to watch the world passing by. It seemed like such a large weakness to have your SOUL so exposed but perhaps they were benefits. He would just have to wait and see.

-

It was fun watching the streets. Seeing humans and monsters, walking side by side and united in their commonality of weird SOULS. He switched between walking and flying past the crowds, enjoying the anonymity and not having anyone watching him. Who knows. Perhaps in this multiverse he will stay alone until he moves on it might be less painful that way.

He made sure to stay invisible but was intrigued how others 'animals' could still sense him in a way. Whenever was near he could see the tension in their form and the way their eyes would flicker around the environment. He chirped in astonishment when he heard them talking to their physical vessels and they even had separate names. Some even argued back with their vessels! He could feel a smile stuck on his face at the newness of this place and all the cute 'animals'.

He twitched when he sensed a magical spike occurring not too far from him. Lazily floating towards the source he spotted a portal that was staying open, despite nobody nearby. He faltered before entering but knew it was a great chance to see what else was in this new world.

Floating through he felt relief flow through him, at ending up in a place he recognised. This Snowdin looked like all others and he was glad this wasn't a Genocide route. He did wonder if they followed a similar pattern to what he was used to though.

He was glad that this multiverse seemed to have AU's and ones he was familiar with at a first glance.

"SANS! STOP SLEEPING YOU LAZY BONES. IT'S TIME TO GO TO WORK"

That was his que to leave! He was enjoying the solitude and the freedom to explore. He refused to give that up!

Karma enjoyed this small schedule he had made for himself. He would spend a few days in an AU and would then use his magic to sense any unusual spikes of magic, to find new portals.

This new place was very busy and he had zero issue in finding plenty of beings creating portals daily.

It would also explain how calm the Balance felt. Peace would allow others to travel as they wished with no fear of fights breaking out between the Balancers. He was doing fine by himself and had plenty of supplies from his brother, with his basic skills in cooking keeping him fed. 

He was tempted to see what the main Balancers were like but the thought of being near any of their variants dissuaded him. He was fine as he was. He was surviving he was getting lonely .

His luck sadly didn't hold as he ended up in a rather empty AU. He was incredulous why the monster had opened a portal to this place and left so soon, after dropping off a single bag.

He hardly had time to realise what was happening before he stared in disbelief at the closed portal. Glancing around he was at least happy to know he was in Snowdin again but the lack of SOULS he sensed was a tad alarming.

Exploring further he did not spot any monster dust and as he made his way to Judgement Hall, he could not sense the barrier. Standing in the Hall he felt relaxed, as if this was a place of comfort and strength. He could feel the magic in the room start to curl around him in greeting, making him chirp back in reply. Magic was so cool.

He supposed he could leave and head for a town but he was growing a tad weary from travelling so much the past few weeks. A small stop would be perfect before he set off again. Plan sorted he went deeper underground, grimacing at sensing a single SOUL still here.

They felt familiar but his mind kept shying away from who it could be. He was sure he could easily avoid them as this place was quite large. He could even visit the echo flowers without risk of bumping into others for once!

'We are free!'

'Do you think humans are similar to us?'

'I wonder what the stars look like..' 

'Daddy look! My —— changed! Ar— p—'

'Don't steal that! Its —-'

'Why is ——?'

'Da—on are every—-'

He was a bit sad that some of the messages had been lost but he did enjoy hearing the thoughts of the monsters. They sounded rather peaceful and he enjoyed hearing the 'animals' speaking as well. He had observed how shy they could act around others apart from their vessel, so it was nice to hear them so relaxed.

Pushing himself up he wiped his hands, ready to explore the ruins next. The flowers were rather nice there.

"Oh! I didn't realise anyone was here. Where are your parents, little one?"

...They were not there a second ago! He thought they were in the Lab.

"Little one?"

He forgot they had the annoying ability to teleport. Maybe if he ignored them they would go away? Even better, he should just go invisible. While obvious it was a quick solution.

"Are you alright?"

Why were they still here?! How are they not getting a clue? He was more than willing to ignore them but they just had to get closer. When he saw their hand heading towards him in the corner of his socket, he jumped back.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He made sure they were fully in their view and snarled at the Gaster, keeping his back against the cave wall. It was a small blessing that their eyelights were white otherwise he was sure his magic would have violently reacted. He would rather not kill if he could help it. His magic churned at the thought but was still prepared to react in his defence.

Their lab coat and green jumper was another variation to what he was used to, helping to calm his breathing at being so near them. Fluttering from above made him twitch but he refused to look away from the main threat. He was therefore surprised when a grey parrot landed on the Gasters shoulder, making him switch his gaze to them. He preferred to look at their 'animal' SOUL then directly at them.

It was a pretty grey coloured bird with blue eyes. The curious gaze and worried flutter of their wings, calmed him more than words ever could. It was so much easier to understand others this way, making him wish this was common across other multiverses. It would help with all the misunderstandings he seemed to go through.

Gaster was rather worried at how the babybones got Underground, let alone without him noticing them on the cameras. He could see no visible injuries but their hostility with their lack of daemon, was alarming him. It was rather personal to ask so he didn't risk it, especially when he could see how they were eyeing the exits.

He was relieved that they calmed down when they spotted his Daemon. Perhaps it was due to both having wings? He knew his Daemons form wasn't unique among the masses but he still dearly loved his companion. He stroked their feathery chest, feeling much more relaxed with them near him.

"I'm sorry for startling you. Can I offer you a place to stay? Even for the night?"

It was rather late and it would soothe his worries to have them nearby. He saw the way they were inching towards the exit, glaring at him suspiciously.

"I have chocolate! Please. I don't want you to be alone"

He was throwing all his tricks he had had to use with his kids and grinned when he saw them hesitate to leave....it almost felt like he was tempting a wild animal into coming to his home. The thought almost made his smile falter at the image.

"It's not far. I have magic that can allow me to teleport us both—OR NOT! That is fine too"

He cursed his atrocious socialisation skills, for already forgetting they did not want to be near him. Of course they wouldn't want him touching them, let alone having his magic on them.

"It's this way by foot"

He turned away, not wanting to pressure them and let out a breath hearing their footsteps follow him. He was thankful his companion was so observant, knowing he would be truly lost without them.

' Do not look back, Gaster. The chick is very jumpy'

" I know, Grey. Keep an eye on them?"

' Of course I will! I'm insulted you have to ask'

He made sure to lower his voice when speaking, so as to not alarm the babybones. Did someone abandon them here? There were so few skeleton monsters, as he did not count the many alternates as unique. They were just copies of him or his sons, not really that different.

He didn't recognise their features but he also didn't really leave his AU.

As soon as the barrier had broken he was more than happy to stay here with few visits from his children. Solitude and getting to work as much as he wanted was a dream.

"Here we are. Want to go explore?"

He opened the door to his house, which he rarely stayed at anymore. The Lab had a perfectly functional bed, even if it wasn't the best for his back. He made sure to not make it obvious he was looking at them and had little time to react as they sped past him to the inside, making sure not to touch him. 

Hearing tiny footsteps in this place was nostalgic but knew he would have to deal with the main issues now. Just who were they and would he even be able to help them?

~~~~~

*Karma spending weeks being invisible*

Karma:...This is fine. Great even! I totally don't need to interact with others

Also Karma: *Goes to places with the most amount of beings present*
-
*Gaster first meeting Karma*

Gaster: *Internally panicking and forgetting everything he knows about children* Ps-ps-ps. You want some chocolate?

Grey: *Resigned to Gasters idiocy* That wont wor-

Karma: Chocolate?

Grey:...