Necro

Goodnight, My Son

It took a few days to get Gaster properly adjusted. The first he'd literally slept away as the main substance of the Void dripped off him, and his body became visible with arms and legs once more. As they tended to him and his color and magic slowly restored itself. Cairo was a bit restless, he had to admit. The one person who could free his souls. At the same time, he wanted to catch up, talk to Gaster, and see if he was ok. His father had been gone such a long time, after all. All the brothers were present when Gaster finally did stir. Sans was checking in, and Paps was bringing in fresh water and spaghetti for Cairo and Gaster. Cairo himself was simply waiting, wanting to be the first face Gaster saw when he woke. So when he finally cracked open exhausted sockets and looked up, it had to have been an experience to see all three of his sons staring back at him. Gaster blinked once twice, then reached out to touch Cairo's face. "I-is this real...?" He asked as Cairo leaned into the touch. "As real as Sans is lazy, father..." Sans snorted in laughter.

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Of course, they had to catch him up. Reaching the surface, being found by Cairo, learning about Sam, and trying to free their souls so they could finally move on. Gaster listened, Cairo helping to keep his weak body upright while Papyrus helped him drink and eat. "You want to undo the... the necromancer spell?" Gaster asked in confirmation. His expression fell. He'd only just got his son back. He didn't want to lose him a third time. "We... are very tired, father. Sam and I survived and died over and over and want to rest... of course, we miss you, and we were so happy to meet our brothers, but it is time!" Cairo tried, his eyelights flickering as he willed Gaster to understand. "Cairo... you must understand that... a spell like this can not be so easily undone..." Cairo's eyelights dimmed, but he pressed on. "How so? What makes it so difficult to release my souls?" Gaster turned away, looking at his lap. "Because of Sans and Papyrus. "Us, Father?" Papyrus inquired. "Yes. I made you and your brother with the matter of my palms and the dust of your mother. As long as you live, it may very well be impossible to release the souls due to the spell's conditions. It would require a blood sacrifice."

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A blood sacrifice. The blood of his mother and father were needed to release the necromancer spell. A mother died long ago, and a father that was ill in bed. Skeletons lived long lives. Well, into their hundreds. 500 was the oldest living skeleton age, though most passed at 300 or 400, as far as Cairo had ever heard. So Cairo had a loooooong wait ahead of him. And it killed him on the inside. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with his family, he did, but as long as they still lived, they'd be under the scrutiny of Asgore and the others who knew what he was. "blood sacrifice, huh? easy enough." The other three turned to Sans in surprise. "i mean. ya just need a little of mine an' pap's blood, right? heck, even a bandaid could probably work. It's not a big deal." Gaster stared at Sans, then Papyrus, before finally turning to Cairo. "And... this is what you really want?" Gaster asked slowly. "Yes... Father, we want to see Mother... please... let us rest."

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They had to prepare a few things. A kitchen knife for the blood sacrifice and a blanket was laid out on the floor to catch Cairo's dust at the end of the ritual. The others had gathered near the doorway to pay their respects. "Cairo, I will need you to summon your souls." Gaster requested. Cairo stood in the center off the blanket, not hesitating for a moment as he pulled the very culminations of his being out into the open. One monster soul, riddled with cracks and one human bravery soul, also looked like broken China. Every crack was filled in with purple magic - the very same that kept them tethered together like a lifeline. Gaster grabbed the knife, pricked his finger, and reached out to smudge the blood, first on Sam's soul, than Cairo's, before passing it to Sans so he could do the same. Cairo shivered delicately but said nothing about how it felt to have blood smudged onto his soul.

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Once Papyrus finished and stepped back, Gaster continued. "Boys, repeat after me. I, Wingdings Gaster, release you of your contract." Sans and Papyrus shared a look as Gaster's smudge lit with purple magic. "i, comic sans gaster, release you from your contract." Sans prints started to glow, and Cairo sucked in a sharp breath. "I, Papyrus Serif Gaster, Release You From Your Contract!" Cairo's sockets widened as Papyrus marks started to glow, and he released a relieved sigh as the magic - the tether - snapped. Papyrus was the first to tear up as the souls started to crumble apart. "I LOVE YOU, BROTHER!" He cried out, and Cairo turned to Papyrus with an overjoyed smile as he started to turn to dust. Sans hugged onto Papyrus, tears brimming his own sockets. "see you on the other side, yeah, bro?" Cairo tried to nod and succeeded for the most part. His skull didn't fall off his neck. "Fairwell, Cairo and Sam!" Toriel called, Alphys was already sobbing into Undyne. "You were pretty damn cool, Cairo! Your human soul, too!" Undyne shouted over. Cairo didn't have the time or magic to respond and turned to his father. Gaster's shoulders shook as he sobbed. "I-I love you... b-both of you..." Cairo knew. He loved them too. "I-I will miss you... g... goodnight, my son..." Finally, the last of his body and souls crumbled away to dust, finally at peace.

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