You eyed the barrier silently in front of you. You didn't know why but ever since you managed to push through it, something inside of you felt uncomfortable, almost afraid of being here. 

You pushed away your feelings and reached for the barrier. Unlike before, the barrier didn't give in, and you had no way to pass through. A frustrated sigh escaped your lips. Why didn't it let you through now? 

A hand touched your shoulder, and you snapped out of your thoughts. 'Are you okay?', Gaster asked hesitantly. You forced yourself to smile at him: "Of course, don't worry." 

'Are you sure, you want do this?' 

"Yes. I mean, I can at least try. Maybe it will work. I managed to pass through it without even knowing what I was doing exactly. If I try hard enough and focus on our goal, maybe I can make it work." 

'Let's not be too hasty about this and look at it from a more logical point of view. It took multiple humans and their magic to create this barrier, I don't think it is possible for just one human to nullify it.' 

"Well, I am not exactly normal though, aren't I? Maybe things will be different.", you shrugged and looked back at the barrier. 

'And so what? Just because you are special doesn't mean that you should be going out here and killing yourself in the process. What if you die and nothing changes? Is this really worth it?' 

"And what if I was the key to return all monsterkind to the surface all along and I was too much of a coward to try? Maybe this is exactly what I am meant to do...even if it kills me." 

For a moment, both of you fell silent. It stretched into an uncomfortable length until Gaster broke it with a long sigh: 'I want to believe in you and your capabilities. But I am also selfish. Selfish enough to keep everyone locked down here if it meant that I don't have to lose you [Y/N]. I-' You carefully clasped his hands to stop him from signing and looked him in the eyes, feeling somewhat hopeful: "Please, G. Trust me." 

Gaster's pupils trembled, his gaze sank down to his hands. As he looked back up at you, his eyes were glowing white-ish in worry and a bitter smile decorated his face: 'I can't talk you out of this, can I?' You took a step further towards him and rested your forehead against him, closing your eyes and relaxing. 

You felt the tension in Gaster's body slowly release itself with a small tremble. "I know you are worried, but I know I can do this. I have you right here with me so if anything happens, you are here to support me." 

You let go of him and waited for Gaster to get into safety, before summoning a javelin with your magic. It glowed in a soft [s/c] as your magic soared through it. Maybe if you manage to channel all of your energy into it, you would be able to break the barrier.

You took a deep breath and the next second you wedged your weapon into the barrier with a hard thrust. You were slightly taken aback by how easily it went through the force field, but you regained your focus and let your magic flow into the javelin.

You pushed harder as you felt the resistance increase and watched the javelin glow more intensely as it was fuelled by your magic. Small [s/c] cracks formed inside of the barrier as your magic began to seep into it, trying to destroy what has been keeping monsters sealed away for centuries. 

You pushed harder and closed your eyes to maintain your focus. Your hands burnt, your knuckles turned white as you pressed harder, and you felt all of your energy being slowly drained from your body. 

Then you heard a little crack. 

A small wave of success and happiness overflowed you. It's working! 

You heard another crack, but suddenly you stumbled as you felt your javelin give in. You opened your eyes in surprise and realised to your dismay that the source of the cracking wasn't the barrier breaking but your javelin in your hands. 

You heard Gaster shout behind you, but everything went too fast. Before you could react, the cracks in the barrier closed itself with rapid speed, snapping your javelin in half like it was a mere wooden branch as it sealed itself. A loud boom followed, and the javelin shattered into thousands of pieces before dissolving fully. A shockwave hit your body and the next second you found yourself flying across the room. Your body made impact with a stone wall and a sharp pain tore through your entire body. Your lungs felt crushed as you struggled to breathe, and your vision blurred. There was nothing you could do due to the intense pain, so you just laid there as you heard Gaster approach you and slowly everything went black...

.

.

.

You heard the sounds of machinery around you and an all familiar not-understandable rambling voice that somewhat appeared panicked as you slowly regained your consciousness. 

You held your head as you carefully tried to sit up. "Ugh...G?", you grumbled as you tried to open your eyes, but two arms gently pushed you back into the pillow. You heard his voice again, which probably ordered you to lay down, so you tried to recollect your memories of what happened before. 

A warm, comforting feeling washed over you and you felt revitalized and energetic again. 

"Th-" A loud thud caused you to flinch and you turned your head to see Gaster facing the wall in silence. His back was turned to you, but you could clearly see his shoulders tremble. 

"G...?", you asked hesitantly. He slowly turned around and you saw the broken look in his face, tears rolling down his cheekbones and his eyes flickering in hundreds of colours. 

Guilt washed over you as you saw him stand there like that. He moved a little towards you and you saw a small dent in the wall. He must have punched it. Gaster stepped even closer and without a word he pulled you into a bone crushing hug, burying his face in the crook of your neck. His magic hands floated into your view: 'Please...never scare me like this ever again...' 

Realization hit you and you started to tear up as well, hugging him back just as tightly. "I am sorry, I am so, so sorry...G...", you mumbled repeatedly. Your heart ached and you trembled slightly yourself. 

'I can't take this anymore...Just a little later and...' He didn't finish his sentence, but you knew what he meant. You almost died. And you probably gave him a heart attack as well. What he must has seen, must have been traumatizing. 

You heard him take a deep breath as he snuggled closer to you. Your heart was pounding in your chest due to the seriousness of your near-death experience and it also throbbed since you were ridden with guilt. 

The crook of your neck started to feel wet and cold and Gaster took another shaky breath before he pulled back. He ran his bony fingers through your hair and studied your face closely with a pained expression. 

Then, he leaned in and placed a soft and gentle kiss on your forehead: 'I am just glad you are okay. I know you are perfectly healed again but please, lay back down again and rest a little.' You were somewhat stunned by his sudden affectionate action, but you remained silent, laying back down and trying to relax. Your heart was hammering in your chest now for a different reason and you couldn't help but feel somewhat giddy and warm inside.

.

.

.

"Maybe...I approached this whole situation wrong." A couple of hours passend and you were sitting with Gaster at his work desk. Gaster tilted his head in curiosity and signalized you to continue: "If we want to do something about the barrier, we have to work together. I-" 

'You are not going anywhere near that thing if I can't guarantee your safety.' 

"I know and I promise I won't do anything as risky anymore. What I wanted to say is...maybe your scientific methods could help us. I could pass through the barrier once. We have to figure out how. We need all the data we can get from the barrier and from my SOUL if that helps. You can run whichever tests necessary. Do whatever needs to be done." 

Gaster abruptly stood up, not looking happy at all: 'Y/N! Are you aware...what you are asking of me here? You are not just some laboratory rat. You are my partner.' 

Now that you thought it about it, it was kind of cruel to ask your best friend to do whatever experiments on you, regardless of their consequences but you also had genuine faith in Gaster. You knew he could do it right and you knew he would try everything to make everything less painful for you. 

'I am not exactly familiar with the properties and abilities of a human soul yet, but even the smallest mistake could cause irreversible damage. Or worse, it could shatter. I can and will not take that risk. Especially not after what just happened! I won't stand for it and my heart certainly can't take something like this again.' Gaster's eyes flickered between yellow and white. He was probably going through every single worst-case scenario in his head right now. 

"Gaster, I trust you more than anyone. I know, my previous approach wasn't exactly...ideal but maybe with your brains and my soul we can figure something out." 

'You can say that so easily.' He scoffed, his eyes were filled with sadness. 

'Nothing has ever been just fine in my life. We lost everything. I am still plagued by nightmares and memories. The only light of hope that I have in my life is YOU. You are what keeps me going. You help me not lose myself in my darkest times. If I would go along and do these experiments and you die through my own hands...' He looked at his skeletal hands in fear as they shook uncontrollably. Tears slipped from his eye sockets, and he anxiously grasped his scarf, squeezing it tightly to try and control his shaking.

You got off the chair and approached him. Taking his hands into your own, you stroked them gently, feeling the smooth but firm texture of his bones with your fingertips. You learned throughout the years that this is the best way to soothe his panic attacks and stop the shaking. He gently squeezed your hands and looked at you with purple and blue flashing eyes. 

'I can't lose you. You are my everything, [Y/N].' 

Your heart skipped a beat. But why? Gaster has told you before how much you mean to him and how important you are in his life, but it has never been...like this. It never felt like this. 

Gaster immediately pulled you into a hug and you felt like as if your heart was about to jump out of your ribcage. He mumbled something to you in his language, so you could not figure it out. Usually, you were good at guessing what he said to you in such moments but this time, it left your head spinning. 

You couldn't help but tear up a little and tightly wrapped your arms around Gaster. You breathed in his scent, mixed with coffee and chemicals and it lingered pleasantly in your nose. 

This was the day where you had a faint feeling that you might want to be more than friends with Gaster.