Echoing voices are everywhere. Some are panicking and others are telling the loud ones to quiet down. It's cold out… It feels light night time… Night time?
Gaster opens his sore eyes and confirms that it's dark out. He stares up at the black and blue sky. The stars and moon though are especially beautiful and bright tonight he thinks… With soreness, Gaster tries to roll over with a grunt.
"Daddy, are you okay?" Sans asks, suddenly popping his head into Gaster's line of sight right over his head. Gaster blinks a few times tiredly.
"SANS… I SUPPOSE SO."
Papyrus wobbles over on his unsteady legs and tackles his dad's head on the ground. Sans gasps and picks his baby brother up off their father's face.
"No Papyrus, you're gonna hurt 'im!" Sans scolds and sets Papyrus down next to him on his feet.
"DA…." Papyrus whines. Walking towards the family is the owl monster, Civetta. She perches herself next to Gaster in the cool grass as he tries to sit up.
"I'm very glad you're awake. The boys were scared…" Civetta says quietly. She looks at her friend as he struggles to get up off of the hard earth. Gaster finally gets into a sitting position, only to be tackled by Sans and Papyrus directly in his chest.
"OOF! AH MY BOYS… I'M SO SORRY I SCARED YOU AGAIN. I'M GLAD I RETURNED WHEN I DID…" He kisses both of their heads and holds them close. The boys snuggle up to him and latch on like adorable little cuffs.
"It looked like things weren't going very well when you returned."
"THEY WEREN'T… TRUTHFULLY, IF NOT FOR ASGORE, FLAMEHEART AND GERSON…" Gaster starts to remember now. The large human man holding him down and choking him. The child that slashed him very deeply on his back and kept stabbing his eye with their machete… God it was agonizing… Even the memory of it brings back a small twinge of pain in his eye… Wait a second.
"IS THERE ANOTHER HEALER AROUND THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT? I FEEL RATHER FINE FOR… WHAT HAPPENED." Gaster looks around and then at his friend a bit confused. Civetta clears her throat and avoids eye contact. She knows how Gaster feels about this subject.
"Queen Toriel."
Gaster's eyes go wide. That stuck up naïve queen?
"You collapsed and I was shouting for help. Toriel was off healing others when she heard me, but she rushed right over to fix you up. I noticed that it took her a rather long time to heal you though. She kept acting surprised too. It was strange… But she did a good job. I…" Civetta looks down a bit… then slightly over at Gaster.
"I wasn't sure you were going to…uh…" Gaster nods and understands.
He stays quiet for a while and rubs his children's skulls and backs. The queen actually healed him. He didn't think she had such magic. Not everyone has it, or is good at it if they DO… If Toriel didn't help him he might have been dusted…. It hurts his pride. It makes him feel like she's almost… replacing-… Gaster shakes his head. Not the time.
"I'M SORRY. I WON'T BE DOING THAT AGAIN. I MADE IT OUT ALIVE AND I PLAN TO KEEP IT THAT WAY…"
"You promise?" Sans' quiet voice comes from Gaster's chest. Gaster looks down at his son when Sans lifts his head to stare at his father sadly.
"You PROMISE you won't leave us again?" Sans says again.
"I PROMISE SANS. I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU TWO EVER EVER AGAIN… AND I'M SORRY I LEFT YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT NO MORE. YOU AND PAPYRUS ARE MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD." Gaster hugs his boys tighter again and they return the action. Civetta watches them and smiles a little. She sure hopes Gaster is telling the truth… She'll have to make sure he keeps that promise if he even steps a single skeletal toe out of line.
A few hours pass in partial silence. In the distance are the wails of humans and monsters being injured or dying. They're horrible sounds… The clash of metal and woosh of magic; war shouts and cries of those who lost a loved one. During it all, monsters who had no choice but to live and retreat return to the pathetic base group of the already defeated. Some of them come to Gaster and he does his best to heal them with the magic he has. Luckily, Toriel is making her own rounds, healing those Gaster can't. He hates it.
The night is ending now, and the monsters who were still fighting finally had no choice but to surrender to the humans… Asgore told everyone to surrender rather reluctantly, to some monster's surprises. The defeated monsters are corralled by the humans into one big group. It's all that's left of them… 1100 monsters.
"Walk." Says one hooded human. Clearly a very strong magician. The monsters stand their ground for a moment and wait to see what Asgore does, but when a second and third strong magical human walk up, they start to falter a bit.
"Walk." The hooded human repeats and points to the west. Asgore knows he must take the lead… So he turns and begins to walk with his head held high, Toriel at his side with her chin up. Monsters begin to turn and walk defeated after their King and Queen. Gaster picks Sans and Papyrus up in his arms and walks. Civetta stays close, just in case the humans try to pull anything on her friend and his children…
The walk is long. Humans walk next to the group of monsters, pinning them against the mountain with no escape.
"Daddy, where are we going?" Sans asks. Gaster looks around…
"I'M NOT SURE. BUT WE'RE CLOSE TO MOUNT EBOTT." Sans looks at his dad confused. He doesn't know anything about the mountains or even where he is.
"AH, UH… WELL SEE, THERE ARE THREE MOUNTAINS THAT WE'RE WALKING NEXT TO. THE ONE WE'RE GETTING CLOSEST TOO IS THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, CALLED MOUNT EBOTT."
Sans nods a little and looks all around him. The mountains on his father's right, and the humans fencing everyone in on the left. He looks up at his dad who is trying to keep a straight face, but Sans knows his daddy. Gaster is upset and he's keeping a wary eye on the humans.
"Are we going to be okay daddy?" Sans says now. Gaster looks down at his son a little surprised… But he remembers what his sons have been through… Of course such a question would pop up. Gaster smiles to try and reassure him and kisses each of their heads.
"WE'RE GOING TO BE OKAY. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AND NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE, YOU BOYS WILL ALWAYS HAVE ME AND I'LL PROTECT YOU." Sans stares at his dad closely… and then nods, resting his head on Gaster's shoulder. Gaster wishes there was some way he could hug his boys tighter and closer than ever. He intends on keeping his promise this time for real. He WILL protect them and he WILL stay with them.
The humans start guiding the monster group up to the mountain. It's hard for most, still being mostly wounded. It takes forever to finally see where they're going. It's a small opening to a cave. Every monster is forced into the cave, some being pushed and some being dragged inside if they resist.
This cave appears to be similar to the first one they all lived in. There appears to be a small city inside, old and turning a weird lavender like color. Broken pillars hold up broken roofs and some rocks to stop a cave in. There are flowers and weeds growing through most of the cracks.
Asgore stays by the entrance to wait for his people to be filed in as peacefully as possible and then waits to see what the humans have to say. Toriel stands next to him with a sad face…
Once everyone is inside, Gaster watches Asgore standing in front of the humans to talk. He almost can't bear to watch his King speaking to those damn bags of flesh like they didn't just slaughter the majority of their entire race…
"Asgore," says the cloaked human. Many monsters look at the humans with disgust. They aren't even properly addressing him as "KING Asgore!"
"You wanted to resolve this peacefully. So we won't kill you…" They say. A second, third, fourth and fifth human walk up to the first one.
"That's right. We're going to let nature take its course with you lot." The fourth human says with a sneer. A sixth and finally seventh human walk up, one of them rolling their shoulders. Seven humans. Every monster can see the magic radiating off of them…. They're so strong. The strongest ones they've ever seen. So why have they all gathered at the entrance like this? What do they mean they're going to let nature take its course? What are they planning?
Asgore is quiet. What…. what is he supposed to say to that?
"Stop talking!" The third human says. Their colored soul floats out in front of them. The other six humans' souls follow suit. The monsters take a few steps back. Gaster himself takes several steps back and holds his boys tighter and closer, feeling Sans' little arms wrap around his neck.
"It's time to finally do away with you filthy creatures…" The seventh human says. All of the humans lift their hands and huge amounts of magic begins to pour out. Asgore takes a step back. He can't believe the power humans have… They're SO STRONG. Their magical energy is astounding… They're so so SO much stronger than monsters…
"Goodbye, you damn monsters." The second human says.
The seven mages begin to chant, magic spewing from their hands. The monsters can feel it like electricity. The magic goes around the mountain like a huge sheet and surrounds them completely. Some monsters know exactly what's going on… Several monsters rush at the humans to try and stop them, but they run into an invisible wall and fall backwards. A magical human barrier. Toriel rushes to one monster and helps them up.
The strongest looking human comes up and destroys the rocks that made up the entrance and exit to the cave. Rocks tumble down and completely cover up any light from the outside…
Everyone is still now… Everyone is quiet.
Is this real?
Asgore takes another step back finally and looks at where the light used to be. The only sources of light are several fire monsters and a few luminescent monsters.
More monsters rush at the wall and attempt to use their magic. All of the elements, magical weapons, rocks, anything and everything. But nothing can even touch the barrier without fizzling out or crumbling… People begin to panic and yell and even and cry. Sans stars to cry at the panic and holds into his father tightly. When he looks up to hopefully find answers in his eyes, he only sees horror. Terror in his dad's face.
Gaster's arms shake as he holds his sons... This can't be real. They're trapped. Everything has gone so wrong so quickly. First their home on the surface. Their family and friends. Their cave homes and more friends...
His wife... Vrinda, the angel who stayed and loved him and gave him his children... and now this. Now friends and his children and himself... They're all going to die down here in the darkness. His sons won't get to grow up in the light that they deserve to...
"Daddy!" Sans yells, knocking Gaster from his horrified trance. He looks down at Sans and then at Papyrus who has been crying for a while apparently.
"Daddy what's going on?" Sans says again. He watches a lot of monsters pound and punch the barrier, crying and screaming. "Make them stop yelling daddy, they're scaring us!"
Gaster takes a step back from the crowd and bumps into a few people. Finally he wiggles away towards the back with several other monsters who are speechless. Silent. Some even accepting their fate.
For hours, monsters try to beat their way through, but no progress is made. A slow trickle of monsters start to leave what was once an exit and head further in. Sans stares at his dad. His face is so dejected and defeated... Mommy would know what to do. She'd know how to make everyone happy. How to make daddy happy... What would his mommy do?...
"Dad?" Sans says quietly. Gaster moves his tired eyes to look at him.
"What would mom do right now?" An odd question. But Gaster supposes he can't blame Sans for asking. He's doing a pathetic job of keeping calm. But he's so devastated...
"MOM... WOULD TRY TO HELP EVERYONE SHE COULD... AND SHE'D PROBABLY TELL SOME AWFUL PUNS RIGHT NOW..."
"Then go help people."
"I CAN'T. I USED ALL OF MY MAGIC ALREADY... I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD EVEN HEAL A RUG BURN RIGHT NOW." Sans looks at Papyrus who is wide awake, but quiet. What would mommy do... What would mommy do... She'd make puns? Those are like jokes right?... Well, he doesn't know how to make puns yet, so he'll stick with jokes for now.
"What did the mushroom say to the other mushroom?" Sans says. Gaster can't believe this. Something so horrible has happened to them. To them ALL. But his son is trying to make HIM feel better? With a joke he's heard his wife make many times.
"WHAT DID IT SAY?"
"You're a fun guy. Get it? Like fungi!" Sans smiles and hopes that it's funny enough for his dad.
Gaster can't stop a small smile. The light in his son's eyes at telling him a joke is just bright enough to make him feel a little better. He looks so much like his mom...
"GOOD ONE. WHY DID THE QUEEN SPREAD PEANUT BUTTER ON THE ROAD?" He says. Sans' eyes go wide, so excited his dad is participating in the joke-making!
"Why dad?"
"TO GO WITH THE TRAFFIC JAM." Sans laughs. He doesn't getting it entirely since he's never been in a car, but he's heard of traffic jams. He gets it enough to find it funny.
"Nice one." He looks back up at his dad and sees his smile has faded some.
"What's wrong daddy?..." Gaster can't help but think to himself "You have no idea."
"YOU REMEMBER OUR HOME IN THE CAVE WHERE PAPYRUS WAS BORN? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE PLACE?"
"I remember. I liked it. It was fun."
"THAT'S GOOD... THIS PLACE WILL BE OUR NEW HOME. JUST ANOTHER CAVE LIKE BEFORE... OKAY?"
"Okay." Sans recalls clearly how much he liked it there at the first cave. Papyrus would scream happily when Sans would talk to him and Gaster made him feel safe by patrolling with other monsters and he'd take him to the little markets that were made for the monsters. And his mom would cook... And she'd sing to him when he was scared of storms, sew his clothes when they tore, dance with him when music played, tell him everything would be alright in the end...
Tears begin to swell up again in the child's eyes. It keeps coming in waves, the reality that his mommy was dead now.
"I want mommy back, dad. I want mommy." He cries. He puts his tiny skeleton hands to his sockets and sobs. Gaster tears up and grabs Sans up, putting him on his knee and hugging him tightly with Papyrus.
"I KNOW SANS... I WANT MOMMY BACK TOO..." The family sits there for a long while, their crying echoing that of the other sobbing monsters.
Finally, a flame monster comes over, illuminating their tear stained faces. It's Flameheart. He holds out his hand and offers a look of pity. A quiet, deep, crackling voice comes from where a mouth should be.
"Were moving further in Dr. Gaster. I think you all should come with us." He says. Gaster looks up at him slowly... then nods.
"YEAH. WE'RE COMING." He stands up, hosting his boys with him and follows Flameheart. Gaster is thankful that Papyrus has opted to sleep...
God how is he going to feed his children? Clothe them? Shelter them? The horrible thoughts of them all just turning into dust from starvation or from a stalactite falling on them and crushing them, what if there are pitfalls or something?
The further in everyone gets, it's clear this place used to harbor humans and monsters hundreds of years ago. They're ruins of some old civilization. The bricks are all a weird shade of purple. And more disturbingly, there are a few traps that were set by the inhabitants.
Buttons you have to step on in the correct order to open a door, spikes jut from the ground, nearly stabbing the foot of a poor young dog monster. Rocks that have to be put on a button to keep spikes down and just what Gaster feared, a pitfall. The ground is so cracked and decayed that without knowing the right path, if there even is one, they'll all fall through. A few brave monsters walk and most immediately fall through. But they call up from wherever they've landed to say there's a pattern down below. When the monsters crawl back up through vents, the first monsters lead the way along the right path. Gaster holds onto his sons very closely and is nervous to step on one wrong part and collapse the whole thing. But he and everyone make it out. This is worse than any line to Disneyland.
Eventually the group meet with several spiders. Spider monsters too that already lived down here. Asgore has to explain that now there's no way out of here. But they aren't upset. This was already their home. And so some of the spider monsters lead the rest of the huge group right through. There's a giant hole in one of the walls and it leads right into a huge purple city. It's so big! The monsters are all in awe that huge place was hidden underground. It's like an ant hill, it just keeps going. Asgore and Toriel thank the spiders profusely and everyone eventually disperses to see if there are any livable places for them. Or at least shelter from the stress. And in most of these strange buildings, monsters find homes.
The Royal Family has chosen a small little place just before the city starts so if anyone comes through, their house will be the first one that's visited. Although Gaster is silently unsure WHO exactly they think will be coming. More monsters? Humans? Yeah right…
Gaster picks a place for his boys that's a small family home made of stone. He's actually impressed with how well it's built honestly. When he sets both of his sons down, Papyrus wobbles and then crawls around. Sans on the other hand just stands there. He can picture his mom rushing around, cleaning the place with fervor and being totally deaf to everything but the sounds of her cleaning. Sans can almost smell her cooking and hear her skeletal feet clicking on the concrete of the house, feel her arms around him in a hug. It was only yesterday that she clung to him and Papyrus, protecting them from the humans that were cornering them in the forest…Sans looks down and doesn't move until Gaster takes his hand to look around.
The rooms are just the right size. Gaster told the boys they'd all be sharing one room for a while until they all felt a bit better, and Sans didn't protest. More than anything he didn't want to be alone. To have their home raided once again. To lose anyone else.
The first week of this place was hard to adjust to. Cries from all around still rang out. The loss of loved ones from the fight, the despair of being trapped in here for probably forever, and from hunger. There was no food. Any food had rotted or disintegrated over hundreds of years. Gaster was only able to feed his sons from a bag of wheat grain that wasn't that worse for wear he'd found in a different abandoned home. He'd pulverized it with magic and found a small dripping spring on the mountain wall. He wondered where it was coming from and if he could get to it. Papyrus was reluctant to eat the wheat cereal, and he nearly refused it until Gaster pretended to turn and give his bowl to Sans. Sans ate his food like he'd never see any again.
During the night Sans would wake up hear his dad crying in another room. Sometimes he'd beg Vrinda for forgiveness, sometimes he begged her to tell him what to do, to help him help their children. He prayed and begged and sobbed, night after night.
One time Sans dared to peek inside… He saw his dad gripping the burnt and torn yellow dress of his mother. All of this scared Sans. He was really upset too, but to see his dad falling apart like this... It's terrifying to think that the only adult left in your life doesn't know what to do or how to fix every little thing... Sans has to help. Somehow he has to help his father! He has to be stronger for the two of them... Sans doesn't know how he'll do it when he himself is still trying to get used to life without his mom, but he has to help the parent he has left.
Sans insists that he takes care of Papyrus more often. Gaster is confused, but he'll occasionally take the offer when he has to leave to find more food. It's fun taking care of his brother, he thinks. He can make Pap laugh and giggle, and he helps him walk around their little stone house. Sans also tries to clean what little they have in the house. He'd clean furiously and quickly so that when his dad came home the place would be spotless. Gaster would smile and thank Sans for his hard work, promising him that someday he'll repay him for it all.
On another night, Gaster sneaks out of the house. Sans, the curious little boy he is, follows him. (Leaving his sleeping toddler brother behind...) He follows him all the way to where this all started. The place where the humans locked them away. "PLEASE WORK, PLEASE WORK, PLEASE WORK..." Gaster chants to no one. He lifts both hands and they flow a bright purple. A terrifying skull appears and floats next to him. Sans thinks he remembers it. Gaster showed it to them when they were on the run about a month ago. The glowing gets more intense, but now a white purple ball of magic is forming in the things maw. It opens its jaw wider and wider when the ball gets bigger. The sound when it releases the magic is loud and terrifying. It sounds like the skull is shouting and screaming at the same time. The magic crashing into the barrier is strong enough to shake the ground under Sans's little feet violently. He remembers now. The sound and the feeling. When his dad made Civetta take them away to a safe spot, he could hear this things shrieking all the way from where he was. This is what he used to fight the humans. And he still came back to them almost fatally wounded... The blaster stops its attack on the barrier and Gaster falls to his knees. He used a lot of magic... But he stands up and starts pounding and punching the barrier covered rocks, as if that will do something.
"MY SONS," Gaster says. "DON'T DESERVE THIS... HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY CHILDREN?" He punches the wall.
"YOU'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM THEM... THE SUN, THE GRASS, THEIR MOTHER WHO DID NOTHING BUT PROTECT THEM..." Sans could see his eye glowing purple, tears forming and reflecting the light of it.
()
Food is running out and it's not looking good... Gaster decides he has to go out and explore more, past the ruins. A decently sized group of monsters all think the same thing. No one really knows who started this group, but they all head off. Sans insisted again that he'd care for Papyrus. It takes a few hours for the group to return. And for the first time in a month and a half, Gaster comes back to his boys with a real smile on.
"Dad what did you find?" Sans asks happily, seeing the clear joy on his dad's face finally.
"SOME PLACE I THINK YOU'LL LOVE A LOT. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT?" Gaster asks.
"Yeah!" Gaster picks Papyrus up and holds Sans's hand and walks off. Others are moving with him. Including the flame family and a huge family of bunnies and a family of dogs. The walk is long and weird. More traps and pitfalls. But eventually... a big hole in a purple wall appears and a cold breeze blows through. When they walk through, a bright light blinds Sans. Once he adjusts, he sees... Snow. Snow covered bushes and trees. Little Froggit's jump around. And some Whimsun's float around too. It looks like some monsters have already found their homes here. Maybe they already lived here before the mountain was sealed up. Maybe they just found the place faster than the others. Or maybe these were the monsters that lead everyone else who wanted to come out of the ruins.
"Daddy there's snow everywhere! How? We're underground!"
"I HAVE SOME THEORIES, BUT I'M NOT QUITE SURE. BUT WHAT I DID FIND WITH SOME OTHERS IS THAT THERE'S FOOD HERE. LOTS OF IT. AND I THINK THIS IS WHERE THE WATER WAS COMING FROM. MELTED SNOW."
It's beautiful. The more forest comfortable monsters have already fled into the woods. Sans runs around in the snow happily and Papyrus wiggles in Gaster's arms, wanting to be let down to play as well. Gaster puts him down and watches his youngest toddle around after his brother, trying to step into his footsteps. The other monsters walk around wide eyed, surprised that there's an inside snow area. It's a huge forest. Gaster leads his sons through and through, walking over already made bridges. There's one really long bridge that Gaster picks both of his boys up for. He looks down nervously and forces himself to look forward. Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down….
"Are you scared of heights daddy?" Sans asks. Gaster laughs nervously.
"N-NO OF COURSE NOT. DON'T BE SILLY. IT-IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GOING TO FALL OR ANYTHING, HAHAHA!" Sans giggles at his daddy and looks all around. He can't believe how BIG the inside of this mountain is. Down below are entire forests, just as big as the ones on the surface. It's amazing.
Behind him he can hear one child, just a bit older than Sans, messing around on the bridge. He isn't talking, but he seems to be having fun. Gaster looks back at the child, Flameheart's son. He never learned the child's name, but the kid's making him nervous…
Gaster's family gets across the bridge and he lets out a huge slightly terrified breath.
"PHEW…"
"Ah!" comes a small voice. Gaster looks back and hears Flameheart gasp with a huge breath.
"NO!" Flameheart shouts, ready to jump over the edge himself. Gaster rushes forward and sees Flameheart's son falling and flailing his arms and legs wildly. He summons up all of his magic and throws his holed hand out to the child. A giant skeleton hand with a hole in it rushes to the child. The hole closes with magic and the hand becomes slightly more filled in.
"Gaster please!" Flameheart shouts at him. But Gaster doesn't hear him. He doesn't NEED to hear him. All he needs to know is that someone needs him.
The hand flies under the flame child's body and slows, catching him softly. Gaster cups his own hands and a second magical one appears by the one holding the child hundreds of feet down. He focuses and lifts the magic hands up and up and up, and finally over to him, setting the boy on his shaky terrified feet. The child grabs onto Gaster's shirt and clings to him breathing hard.
"THERE THERE, YOU'RE OKAY NOW." Gaster says, putting his hands on the boys back.
"Grillby!" Flameheart shouts, rushing over to him off the bridge. The flame child, Grillby, turns around and runs to his dad. Flameheart crashes to his knees and hugs his son who smashes into his chest tighter than ever. Gaster watches and looks for his own sons. Sans is standing there in shock while Papyrus is clapping with his tiny hands and a huge smile. He doesn't know what's going on, but he saw his daddy being awesome and that's all that matters to Papyrus. Gaster walks over to them and gets on one knee.
"DO NOT /EVER/ PLAY ON THAT BRIDGE." He says quietly to them. Sans nods quickly.
"Gaster." Flameheart says. Gaster turns around only to be hugged tightly by the man. For only a second, he expects to be burnt, but remembers that flame monsters don't get hot unless they make it so.
"Thank you so much for saving my son." Flameheart grabs Gaster's shoulders and leans back, small tears forming (and subsequently evaporating) on his white eyes.
"I… I've already lost so many… and if I lost my son…." He shakes his head and looks down. Gaster puts a hand on Flameheart's (surprisingly solid) arm and looks right in his eyes.
"I UNDERSTAND. I'M GLAD I WAS ABLE TO HELP. I CAN'T IMAGINE LOSING MY BOYS AFTER ALL THIS." He gives one nod and the two men smack each other on the arms. Grillby walks up shyly and finally says something.
"….. Thank you." Gaster smiles at him and nods.
"YOU'RE WELCOME. I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU'LL DO THAT EVER AGAIN HUH?" Grillby shakes his head and holds his dad's hand. Sans and Papyrus run up to Gaster and hug his legs. The children all make eye contact with each other and then so do the fathers. They wonder if a weird friendship will evolve.
More walking. Eventually they find a place with just one very old wooden building. "Inn" it says. But that's it. Some bunny monsters walk inside and take a peek. But they have to quickly bound and run away as the small inn collapses on itself after a couple hundred years. The travelers look at the building defeated… But not all of them. Some of them look around and talk about being able to build new places. They are literally SURROUNDED by trees! So some of the monsters begin to cut down the surrounding trees, making a little path.
"I want to keep going dad!" Sans says. "I want to see more!" Gaster wonders if it's a good idea to be separated from the group, but when he sees others deciding to head forward too, he decides that it's alright.
The snowy place is so pretty. Just flat snowy land with trees covered in a blanket of snow. There's only ONE set of spikes! Gaster sarcastically things "it's a miracle."
Eventually the snow disappears and waterfalls are everywhere. It's a bit darker, but Sans likes that the walls have been cut so cleanly, leaving sparkling glittering rock behind. A big waterfall is unbridged so Gaster thinks it's probably shallow enough to walk across. But he lets others go before him to see how they fare. And it's all very easy. So he crosses as well, holding his sons up in his arms. Vrinda always told him that oceans and lakes and pools were a huge no no for the children because they'd sink right to the bottom. And he takes her advice very seriously, wondering if she's gone through a similar situation and knows firsthand how scary it is.
Talking flowers repeat everything they hear. Sans goes up to them and says hi to every single one he can find, and they all, of course, say "hi" back. Water and cat tail water sausages glow brightly, too brightly for some. There are glowing mushrooms and glowing trees. It's very impressive actually and Papyrus screams in excitement at it all. There's a branching path that leads down to a slightly smelly water covered area. It's…. garbage. It's literal garbage that seems to have flowed in from the surface all the way down here into a sort of dump. Aaand of course, the boys want to rummage around in it. Gaster doesn't let them naturally. But he can't say no when Sans sees and wants a cool toy that some spoiled brat human threw in the garbage. Gaster examines it and deems it worthy of taking home. And of course that means he has to let Papyrus pick something out as well. He just prays that it's not a cloth with…. Gross human stuff on it or something. Because once Papyrus wants something, he WILL get it, or it's complete hell for him. Luckily Sans finds something for him and Papyrus loves it.
After another long while, it starts to get hot. Gaster travels and travels, some monsters in front and some monsters behind him. There are little crystals and lamps that light the way down a hidden path and if someone didn't touch a lamp, then darkness would overtake them until someone found one. It's such a long way, but the entire time Sans is very excited to see all this new cool looking stuff. Gaster on the other hand is beginning to get tired of this place.
The heat. God the heat. Gaster knew that snow had to be caused from something. The heat blasts through the underground and by the time it gets to the other side of the mountain, it becomes snow and cools down rapidly. The moisture from the heat becomes snowflakes. Well, he THINKS that's how that works… He didn't get a lot of time to read up on mountain weather on the surface….
Gaster refuses to go far into this hellish place. If his boys fall, then he might not be able to save them in time and he refuses to risk it. Sans doesn't object to leaving this hot place.
Another month passes. Gaster has kept the boys in their home in the ruins until he's built their new home in the snowy place that has jokingly become called "Snowdin" because of the obvious play on words of being snowed in. Gaster and other monsters who've helped usually use their magic to lift pieces of wood and slam nails into place. Where do they get all the materials? Well the woods for one thing. But nails? From the dump of course. Sans and Papyrus LOVE going to the dump in Waterfall (because no one wanted to bother making a name for a place that was CLEARLY made to be called "waterfall") and Gaster happens to like going there now too. He revels in the stupidity of humans, unknowingly helping the monsters they cast away into darkness.
When Sans and Papyrus don't journey with Gaster to the dump, the two hang out with Flameheart's son, Grillby. Papyrus doesn't understand it all much, but someone to play with is always welcome. Sans tires to make jokes to Grillby, but they're never enough to make the mute child laugh. He'll try them on Gaster when he gets home from the dump with nails and even a rolled up carpet and his dad chuckles at most.
After another month, the house is completed. A few houses are completed. At the start of the little town is an inn and a shop that are small, but Gaster thinks that if they keep building, everything around here will get bigger. More homes are made, more monsters move from the ruins to Snowdin and even Asgore and Toriel visit to see the progress. Gaster glares at them when they pass. Of course they only show up AFTER all the work is done.
Finally most of the construction of Snowdin is done and the other builders move into Waterfall to make homes there for the more watery type monsters. Gaster stays behind in his home with the children. Papyrus turns one and Sans turns four. Gaster does everything he can to get them presents and decorations. He finds an educational stack of books for Sans, and some coloring books with some broken crayons and a wooden car with paint on it for Papyrus. They both love their gifts and Gaster can't help but feel accomplished. He thinks that Vrinda would be proud of him…
Gaster never gives up on trying to destroy the barrier. He'll often float up to the ceiling of the mountain and pound at it with giant magic fists, travel back to the ruins to see if he can break open an escape path from the one patch of sun in the ruins. But it never happens. He wonders then if magic won't work on this damn barrier, maybe human made science can. Gaster finds school books thrown away in the dump in waterfall and reads them all front to back, taking the weirdly abundant amount of chemical waste and trying to get it to explode the rocks away.
At some point, Sans walks with his brother all the way to the dump so they can be with their dad. Gaster apologizes and says he'll take the stuff home. But Sans tells him not to.
"If you're finding the good stuff here, then we should stay here. Papyrus and I like it here anyway." He insists. Gaster SAYS that he'll take them all home… but it's a week later and Gaster hasn't even slept. He's got black marks under his sockets and he almost can't even hold up his experiments. Gaster takes the boys home and feeds them the best food he can find, which is usually fruits of vegetables that he's filled with magic. He always knew he was a terrible cook. Or at least he's not as good as Vrinda was… But the children eat their food, (even Papyrus) somehow knowing that their dad really is doing his best.
Another month later, Gaster is back in the dump trying to get something done. He manages a few small explosions and tries them on the barrier wherever he can find a spot and uses what he's learned on it. But it doesn't even scratch the rocks.
Without his knowing, monsters have moved into Hotland and have started to build there. Monsters have even walked by him with rather large metal parts and have begun building metal pipe bridges in Hotland. (You know, because they're all super original with names… Gaster wonders if Asgore named Waterfall and Hotland secretly. He was never good at naming things.) But Gaster didn't even notice the other monsters because he was so focused on his work.
After a while, someone passes Gaster in the dump. It's Toriel and Asgore. Gaster ignores them, but he can hear them whispering. Asgore in his favor and Toriel sounding iffy about something.
"IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY TO ME THEN PLEASE SAY IT BEFORE I OVERHEAR SOMETHING I SHOULDN'T." Gaster says to them point blank. Toriel seems worried she's been caught, but Asgore just smiles and walks to him, even through the disgusting waters of the dump.
"Gaster," he says. "You've been working very hard. I've seen and heard all you and the others are doing. But your uh… dabbling into science I think will be really useful. To everyone! Tori and I have been wondering if we need a sort of… advisor. Assistant?... Uh…" Asgore scratches his head and looks back at Toriel silently asking for her help. She sighs and walks into the water next to Asgore.
"We need your help Wingdings Gaster. There are few monsters that are as well versed in scientific studies as you are. And I think your thoughts on using science instead of magic to break the barrier is probably the key we need to break it. So what we want to know is if you'll please work for us as a uh…. A royal scientist if you will. The goal being to help everyone in the underground to escape this place…. Please help us all like you have so many times before."
Gaster stares at the Queen in slight shock. He's not entirely sure what to make of this… Cynical man that he is, he can't keep his mouth shut.
"WHAT DO MY SONS AND I GET OUT OF WORKING FOR YOU?" Gaster says flatly.
"We'll provide you with anything you need. Clothes, food… Money probably in the future." Asgore says. Gaster can't help but appreciate Asgore's straightforward answer about the money. Not that he thinks money will do much good underground… trade might be a better option unless they can find enough coins or whatever to circulate…
"I'LL THINK ABOUT IT. WHERE EXACTLY… WOULD I BE WORKING? IS THERE EVEN A WORK /PLACE/ TO GO?"
"Hotland, Snowdin, Waterfall? I imagine any place would be good to work for now. But Tori and I are thinking of moving further in. It's beginning to get over crowded."
Gaster outwardly bursts into irritated laughter.
"OVERCROWDED?" He says in shock. "WE'VE BEEN IN HERE FOR LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS AND YOU THINK WE'RE OVERCROWDED?" Gaster shakes his head. Of course the royals would get claustrophobic with a few stray monsters near their home.
"WHATEVER… FINE. I'LL TAKE THE JOB. BUT MY SONS GET EVERYTHING FIRST. THEY NEED FOOD… AND I REFUSE TO TAKE THEM TO HOTLAND WITH ME. AT LEAST FOR NOW."
"That'll be fine. We actually got here from a monster in a boat. They got us all the way here from Hotland in just a few minutes in some back water routes." Asgore says a little too cheerily, as if he hadn't just implied that this huge underground place was overcrowded. Gaster wonders who this boat person is… but decides he should check them out. If they can get to and from Hotland without actually having to travel very far IN to Hotland, then he thinks taking the boys might not be as dangerous as he thought.
Once Gaster returns home with the good (?) news, Sans is overjoyed for his father. His dad finally has a job, something that will keep him busy and hopefully distracted from the stress he's been under. And of course he's happy to hear of the food they'll be getting from the royal family. He wonders where all this food was before.
Gaster starts work for the royals a week later and he finds that there is a person in a purple cloak on the river in Snowdin.
"I am the Riverman. Or am I the RiverWOMAN? It doesn't really matter. I love to ride my boat. Would you care to join me?" They say in an indistinguishable voice. Gaster warily gets in the boat and is glad that his boys aren't with him and are instead being babysat by Flameheart and his son.
"Do you want to go to Waterfall or Hotland?" They say again.
"UH… HOTLAND." Gaster says. The boat begins to move. They're both quiet for a few minutes until the person says "Tra la la. Uh oh, suddenly feeling tropical…" Gaster has no idea what they're talking about, but decides not to ask…
They show up in Hotland and the Riverperson says something like "thanks for riding" or whatever, but Gaster is too dumbfounded by Hotland that he can see ahead of him. It's glowing it's so hot. Gaster says thanks and walks forward. On the path is Asgore waiting for Gaster. He looks very overheated. With that fur and all… He and Asgore talk for a bit about what Gaster will be doing. Gaster halts the conversation.
"I… I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN DO ALL OF THIS WORK BY MYSELF… I NEED HELP. AND YOU KNOW, I HAVE JUST THE PERSON TO ASK." Gaster says. The meeting is long after that, and when Gaster returns to Snowdin, he returns to the ruins and starts shouting.
"CIVETTA!" When the humans were pushing everyone inside the ruins, he lost contact with Civetta. He couldn't find her. And honestly, he didn't want to find her. Or anyone. He wanted to be left alone. But now he hopes that Civetta will forgive him for not seeking her out. Gaster walks around and shouts her name until the few remaining monsters in the ruins point him in the direction of his friend. He finds her house and shouts to her, just like he did when he was a kid back on their farm homes when they got done with chores. And just like before Civetta pops her poofy feathered head out. Her beak turns up into a smile and she flies out of a purple window from a top floor. She lands hard in front of Gaster, towering over him by an extra foot. She grabs him in a hug and swings him around.
"Gaster! I thought I wasn't going to see you again! It's been a pretty long time. I hear from some others that you've been busy though."
"YES…. I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T TRIED TO GET A HOLD OF YOU UNTIL NOW… AND FOR A SELFISH REASON. I NEED YOUR HELP."
"When DON'T you need my help, Dingbat?" Civetta says happily. Gaster smiles at her a little and explains to her the situation. Of course Civetta agrees. She even decides to move to Snowdin so she can be closer to him and the boys.
Everything starts to work out. Civetta babysits the boys sometimes, she helps him with the work that the royals have allowed them to make all on their own to break the barrier and she remains a great friend.
Gaster finds himself with a small locker in his Snowdin home. In it are several lab coats…
And one ruined yellow dress.
He closes the locker after looking at it with a promise.
"WE WILL ESCAPE. AND I'LL DO IT ALL FOR YOU AND THE BOYS… I LOVE YOU VRINDA, MY ANGEL."
(End)
