W.D Gaster considered himself to be a patient man, both in life and death. Watching over a world that progressed without him made it easier to be as such. Yet, even he had his limitations. Although, he didn't turn his head, from the corner of his eyes he could see the demonic child's afterimage as she hovered just a bit from her prison. He didn't say anything to her but he didn't need to. It didn't stop her from speaking none the less.
"What do you think you're going to achieve?"
He didn't turn his head but she had his attention completely and she knew it. It was hard to block out conversation when one had been so deprived of it for years. "Do you think she's really going to be your saving grace? My god, you're dumber than I thought." Rolling her ruby red eyes the girl grinned. "Those saving lives days are over and like Flowey you didn't make the cut. Oh excuse me, Asriel. How could I forget my dearest brother?" Her grin grew but he didn't react. "And do you think that little bag of bones will let you get to her if he can help it?" Ah, there. A reaction. He went ridged but just barely. But that was okay, that's all she needed. Give Chara an inch and she would rip a mile from it. "You think just because they are connected and he remembers he'll try to save you?" Clapping her hands together, she released a happy giggle but the tone still held her true nature behind it. "Have you not been watching? He doesn't want anything to do with you. Finally he's gotten his happy little ending. No more resets. No more remembering the deaths of his loved ones—not for a lack of trying on my part mind you—and no more remembering regrets." Shaking her head she cooed. "Yet here you are hoping with the bottom of your heart that they will see these actions as a cry for help. That Sans will put together the pieces and along with Frisk they will find away to come and set you free. Truly is that what you think will happen? That you'll get a piece of that happiness that is dangling right before you? Oh sweety, honey~" Her grin grew and twisted into something of a more malicious nature.
"He'd sooner forget you just like everyone else—"
Chara was a beast. In the few moments she had taken control of the body she once resided in she had decimated the underground with such precision that the monsters didn't stand a chance. Everyone had fallen before her and sometimes, just to take it in, she would bask in the glow of corpses around her. But the one person she always had trouble with, was one little fucking skeleton. The very first time she fought him he annihilated her so quickly that she wasn't even sure that she had died at first until the prompt rose up. The other times it was always back and forth. He would win, she would win, he would win then she would win. She hated it. She hated how easily she was beaten and how hard she had to move to not be killed. But as Gaster turned to her with eyes illuminated she realized that he wasn't like Sans' at all. No…
She would never win.
Chilled to the core the child scowled and receded into her prison once more. She was brash, not dumb and if she wanted to live for another day in order reclaim the body she once possessed she would have to learn when to back down. If she went up against him well… Gaster Blasters would seem like butterscotch kisses.
'Run that by me again?'
"You heard me, kid."
Crossing her arms over her chest. Things really did just get a bit more complicated. 'Look Sans, I can do a lot… but I can't communicate with the dead. And that's exactly what you've literally described. If he fell into the core how is he still…' "Everywhere?" 'For lack of a better word.' Sighing, the skeleton placed his hand over his eyes. "There was a period of mourning after Gaster…died. But afterwards, Alphys and I began to notice a few things. It seemed that everything associated with Gaster began to disappear as well as knowledge of them. People began to forget he even existed in the first place. For the longest time we thought we were going mad. I mean here we were mourning a man who just died and the world around us was forgetting he even existed. Something just didn't add up. Something happened when he fell into the core, something more than him just dying." He sighed but it didn't stop him from speaking. "When we were researching time anomalies, Gaster had a theory that there was a space in between each one. Items—whatever little—that existed in between them were able to view these different timelines but because of their placement they were also very present even though they were not."
He could practically hear Frisk's mind sound off at a million miles a second as he spoke and he looked over just as she began to sign. 'But wait… They are present but not? So doesn't that mean that—' "They are everywhere but nowhere. You get it now, kid? When Gaster fell into the core his body was destroyed but his soul was placed in the in the in between. Which means at every moment and second Gaster is listening in. That he knows that we know." The thought alone caused her to shiver and look around the room instinctively. Well if she didn't feel comfortable speaking aloud before… "Asgore mentioned a soul that could not be effected by their experiments, a spirit who ended up taking the other souls away before they could cause damage. It couldn't have been Gaster,, not if he is truly stuck. But like I said he's scattered in the in between. A smaller piece of him may have gotten through or perhaps even a familiar. But as to how it was able to I can't say. From that point on everything becomes speculation on just how he gained control over the souls. But what I do know is that it is him in charge."
Silence was the last thing she wanted to hear after hearing that there was a monster who was damned to always watching their every move. However it fell upon the room like a plague. 'S-So what does he want from me?' "I'm not completely sure kid. But this is where you come into the picture, I need a favor." She narrowed her eyes until they were almost slits as she waited to hear what he wanted. "Next time he comes to you in a dream don't run away from him." Her eyes went wide in horror. "Confront him." "Are you insane?!" The words slipped from her before she could catch them. She knew it was relatively silly to hold on to her silent way of talking when she had begun to speak verbally slightly some time ago but it was second nature like a bad habit. But sometimes the old ways weren't cutting it in terms of conversation.
"You want me to confront that thing?! Sans' have you lost your mind?"
"Kid."
"Don't 'kid' me! Who knows what the hell that thing will do if I do that!"
"He didn't hurt you last time."
"He dropped me, Sans! And from the sounds of it scared the crap out of you in the real world when whatever he did made me go all demon eyed!"
"It can't be helped Frisk. You're the only one who can get in contact with him." "Doesn't matter if I'm dead!" "Kid, if I thought you would be killed do you think I'd really tell you to do this?" "But—" He was standing in front of her before she could register it. He placed a hand on her head and made her look up. It was the first time she really took in his appearance. Sans always had this tired look about him but after all of this he look absolutely ragged. She couldn't help but to feel a bit sorry for him. If it was possible for a skeleton to have bags under its eyes he was pushing the world record for it and she couldn't help but to question if he had gotten any sleep at all. But the ruffling of her hair snapped her back to the present as he spoke. "I know you don't want to kid… But we don't get much of a choice. He wanted our attention now he has it. Anything you can pry out of him can help us." Frowning, Frisk looked away. The last thing she wanted was for to come face to face with Gaster again but like he said it wasn't like she was going to have much of a choice.
"Fine… But you better be near to wake me up. I don't want to wake up to a reset prompt." "That makes two of us. Once we have a better grasp of the situation we'll be able to assess what to do from there." There was a lingering statement that neither brought up but they both knew if things continued to head where they were heading… A trip to the underground was bound to happen. Before either could say something else, her bedroom door was thrown open and standing before them in all his glory was Papyrus.
"I KNEW I HEARD YOU! SANS! JUST WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME!" "Hey kid… Why did the scientist install a knocker on his door?" Despite herself, Frisk grinned as Papyrus became infuriated. "SANS I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" "Because he wanted to win the no-bell prize." "THIS! THIS RIGHT HERE IS WHY YOU ARE A HORRIBLE INFLUENCE ON THE HUMAN! I SWEAR HER PUNS ARE JUST AS BAD AS YOURS!" Winking at Frisk, Sans shrugged. "Well I'm no photographer, but I can picture us together." "SANS!" Turning to his brother Sans gestured for him to calm down. "Go to sleep kid, we'll catch up later." "SANS, I DEMAND YOU TELL ME WHY YOU WERE GONE FOR THREE FULL DAYS ONLY TO RETURN HOME SO LATE!" "Relax bro. I was only running late in dog years." "SANS!" She couldn't help but to smile as Sans deflected his brother's inquires effortlessly. He couldn't do that for ever and she knew it. One day he would have to tell him the truth but for now… Getting out of her chair, the teen flopped down on her bed and sighed gently before closing her eyes. She hadn't meant to fall asleep honestly; after that conversation sleep was the last thing she wanted. But her body wouldn't comply with what she wanted when it was exactly what she needed.
"I AM SERIOUS!" "Nice to meet you serious, I'm Sans." The glare that Papyrus gave him caused him to start when he realized his brother meant business. Holding up his hands in surrender for the second time that day he closed his eyes half way. "Come on bro, chill out. I need you to have a cool head about this." "SANS." "Icy that you're not a fan of my ice puns but that's cool." "SANS." "That doesn't mean you should get mad for no freezin'." A sudden slam caused him to up right instantly and he realized it was the sound of Papyrus bringing his fist down on the dining table. The action was enough to bring down the mood. Papyrus was not going to be ignored nor deterred from what he wanted to hear and he let him know it.
"SANS ENOUGH! WHY IS IT YOU CANNOT CONFIDE IN ME?! WAS WHAT HAPPENED SO BAD THAT YOU CANNOT TRUST ME WITH IT?!" The humor drained off of his face instantly and what was left behind was a solemn look. "YOU WERE GONE FOR NEARLY HALF THE WEEK! FRISK WAS WORRIED! I WAS WORRIED! DID IT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR FIGHT WITH ASGORE?" He had forgotten for just a moment that Papyrus was present when that went down. Casting a soft gaze upon his brother he soon looked away. "Everything is fine Papyrus. Really. Something just came up but me and Frisk are fixing it. It really isn't a big deal."
It was very hard to not feel like a horrible brother when Sans lied dead to his face. Why was it so hard for him to trust him? Did he think that he couldn't take it? That he wouldn't understand? Or did he just do something so unforgivable that he wanted no one to find out? He truly doubted it was the last one but what was he supposed to think when his brother acted like this? He wasn't stupid but what could he do for him when he kept his pain and trials away from him. Reaching out, Papyrus placed a hand on his should forcing his brother to look up at him. "EVEN WHEN WE WERE IN SNOWDIN, YOU KEPT YOUR SECRETS AWAY FROM ME. I AM NOT A FOOL SANS, I KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG. BUT I ALSO KNOW YOU WON'T TELL ME NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TRY TO PRY IT FROM YOU. I JUST WISH YOU TRUST ME ENOUGH TO INDULGE IN ME LIKE YOU DO FRISK. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN OVER COME A LOT OF THINGS. BUT I FEAR THIS WALL YOU HAVE BUILT IN BETWEEN US IS ONE ENEMY I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO CONQUER."
That hurt him... That hurt him a lot. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust Papyrus, his brother was loyal to a fault and he knew it. But he already had to burden the kid with his past issues. He didn't want to do the same to his brother not if he could help it. He didn't want his brother lingering on the reality of alternative timelines, he didn't want him to know the true power he held, he didn't want to remind him that he had once been a scientist and he didn't want him to enter this battle between them and the lost souls. Not when he wasn't sure that it wouldn't turn into a war. "Pap—" "JUST PROMISE ME THAT IF ANYTHING HAPPENS THAT YOU AND FRISK CANNOT HANDLE YOU WILL LET ALL OF US KNOW. YOUR LIVES AFFECT US TOO SANS! AND I DON'T KNOW WERE WE WOULD BE IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO YOU TWO." His shoulders fell and he gave his brother a tired smile unable to help but to acknowledge the fact that he knew something was us. "You know I hate promises, Pap."
"PROMISE ME ANYWAY." A tired smile etched its away across his face and he sighed.
"Alright, Pap. I promise."
For a little bit, his brother just stared at him before finally throwing his head back and sighing. "I SWEAR, SANS. YOU ARE A PART TIME JOB. I—" The taller was rendered silent as his brother's shorter form hugged him. It took him a moment to register it, but when he did he laughed before picking the other up and hugging him tightly. "ONCE MORE IT SEEMS YOU ARE IN NEED OF THE EMOTIONAL STABILITY THAT ONLY OUR BOND CAN CREATE!" "Yup." "FEAR NOT BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE THE LOVE YOU NEED ONCE MORE." "You're so cool bro… Just the greatest." "NYHEH-HEH-HEH! YES I AM! AND KNOW THAT IF YOU EVER NEED ME BROTHER I—" His words were cut off as the sounds of light snoring filled the air. "SANS!" Despite his tone the shorter skeleton remained asleep unwilling to awaken unless it was absolutely necessary. With a sigh he did what he'd done multiple times before and carried his brother up to his room before tucking him in and retiring to his own room. Toriel had brought Asgore to her home and the house was empty with the exception of its three occupants. And for that he was glad because although his brother's actions annoyed him, sleep sounded like song of angels in that very moment.
This time she wasn't caught off guard.
Okay that was a lie, he did catch her off guard but not as much. But, she wasn't afraid.
Not as afraid.
Once she registered what was going on she moved so she was standing instead of floating upon her back. But she didn't move. She didn't dare. He was everywhere but nowhere… No matter where she went he would pop up eventually right? Placing her hand over her heart she took a deep breath as she allowed herself to be filled with determination. "…How dare you?" As the thought overcame her, her anger rose alongside her determination. "How dare you pose as one of my friends? How dare you pose as Asriel… I don't even know if I was talking to him at all or if it was you." She let her hand drop and allowed it to roll into a fist. "If you wasn't something speak for yourself. Come to me like a man and let me know what you want." She didn't know how she knew he was behind her but she felt it before anything else and whipping around she reached out and snatched his turtle neck. Bringing him down to her level she growled. "But don't you dare use him to get your way."
He relished in the sight of the child before him. She oozed determination as if she was an oil river man had yet to touch, had yet to harvest. After a moment he grabbed her wrist and pried her fingers away before releasing her. Once more his voice was like a voice fighting against static. Choices… I did not have many. Options are fleeting… In the world in between. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms firmly over her chest. "What do you want, Gaster?" He turned on his heels and began to walk forward. Freedom. She followed behind him. "And you had to take control over violent lost souls to do so? Seriously?" You could not free me as you were. She stopped short. "W-What?" He can only piece together so much… his brilliance isn't without flaws. Even through the static there was a bit of venom to his words that she couldn't miss.
Pieces of myself were scattered within the real world as the core took its dues. I cannot interact with this world but they can under my influence.
"Then get them to set you free."
Before she could even blink the soul was before her sticking its dis figured skull in her face.
If only it were that simple. Insolent. Child.
The static grew and it was deafening. She had to fight past it in order to hear what he was saying. The machine cannot be fixed. "W-what machine?" The machine child—my machine. But the hybrid child may hold the key yet. The key needed to repair. No monster holds what a human does. No not any human. She quickly found herself frozen in place unable to move despite internal struggles. Feed off the determination. Grow. Not like a parasite. Grow. Like a tree to feed the roots beneath. Limitations are boundless, chainless. So feed. Standing back the tall monster stared down at her before taking an elegant bow. The air behind him grew thick and before eyes appeared a slew of lost souls, all filled with determination. All at his beck and call.
So that you maybe the one to set us free.
Annnd I'mma call it.
Typing for Gaster is weird. I always imagine someone who is classy, clumsy and sassy.
But yea there it is.
Don't forget to review and all that jizz jazz.
Now I'm going to get some coffee, go on tumblr and annoy my friends with all these puns I have in stock pile.
Later Kiddo,
~Muds
