Gaster's Involvement
Chapter 1
The decrepit wall held his weight for the most part as he vaulted over the top. The brick he had grabbed, though, shifted and came free with his touch but he was already off running before it thudded to the ground. This way and that he weaved through areas that were deserted and untouched before weaving back into the areas that had been ravaged by bombs. He knew they would be expecting him to keep to the undamaged areas because that way was faster but the cover was sporadic and there were too many areas to get cornered. Not that there weren't in the bomb stricken areas but at least he would hear them coming.
He slid down the mound of debris into an exposed basement and ducked under what remained of the roof. His eyelights created some light but it was the magical construct that he summoned that illuminated the room.
Further under what remained of the home he caught sight of a crawl space and hurried for it, vanishing the construct out of habit more than conscious thought. He slipped easily into the space and hunkered down.
Silence pressed into him with the darkness. It was comforting, familiar, and he let the lull of annoyance from his brother ease his magic.
The noises gradually reached him. At first it was the high clink of metal on metal, then the thudding of feet and the sound of shifting debris. None of it was close but it was getting closer. He waited, the weight of the package heavy on his back.
Shouting startled him. It hadn't even been close but the sudden bark of an unfamiliar language that grated against his skull had been enough to remind him just how real the danger was.
The sound of tumbling gravel shattered the silence and he forced his eyelights to vanish. His vision blurred a bit more but it didn't hinder him from watching the soldier in unfamiliar attire come to a stop at the base of the same pile of gravel he had.
The soldier didn't speak as they brought their weapon up and started sweeping the space. A second and then a third followed, both mimicking the action. A fourth slid in, this one with an air of self importance that made him sneer. The fourth barked something in that gravelly language as a fifth came sliding down. The first offered something in turn, the gravelly language softer around the edges like the soul the first had. He closed his sockets against the significance of it before returning his attention to the group. A sixth was at the top of the gravel hill looking in, speaking something with a sharper edge. It made the gravelly language bearable.
He took a slow breath not because he needed it but the act centered him. It helped bring his magic to a finite point with precise control and as the first soldier actually made it to the opening of the crawlspace and looked in, he lashed out with two different magical intents.
The first was a bone construct that shoved the muzzle into the roof of the entrance. A cry escaped the soldier as the other magical lash-out pinged every soul within the area.
His soul clenched at feeling fifteen souls of varying traits. He wasn't sure if he was glad that they were all human or saddened as he shoved all fifteen souls into the ground.
The human sitting at the edge of the hole fell in with a thud that was barely heard over the outcries and bodies hitting stone and dirt. He released the souls in exchange for the more magically draining blasters he summoned. The moment the maws of the blasters had opened wide and let loose the stream of blinding white magic into the supports holding the remaining structure and surrounding area up, he pulled at the world.
There was no sound, no fancy display of swirling magic or a portal appearing and swallowing him. Some did that teleported but his and his brother's way wasn't showy on any level. He went from existing in that crawl space to existing seven blocks east at a dead run down the street. He barely had to think to teleport nowadays, able to pick points and simply be there in an instant, that it allowed him to concentrate on the sudden strain of magic as he put distance between him and the combined sound of a building collapsing and the screech of the beams of magic the blasters were releasing.
He nearly ran into more danger half distracted as he was focusing on his magic and guiding it from a distance. He rounded a corner and movement caught his attention. Panic seized his heart and the side of his foot caught a bit of cracked pavement. He let it throw him sideways as he felt the blasters shatter and dissipate. The uneven pavement bit into him painfully but there wasn't any damage that he needed to worry about as he turned the fall into a roll and changed directions.
There was a bark in that gravelly language.
He pulled the package to his chest and pulled at the world as soon as something was between him and the army he had just seen.
Arms wrapped around him as his face hit a very familiar shoulder as he was bodily stopped. A scent that was his but slightly not alerted him just as surely as the thrum of their soul that his brother had just snatched him out of the middle of a teleportation.
He huffed, feigning annoyance as he pulled back to look at his brother, grateful to be back in safe territory. "Honestly, Decos. I was fine. Just putting distance between me and a few bad guys."
Decos's sockets narrowed at him. "You pulled two blasters and a vanishing act all at once. That is not fine."
"But I am fine." He took another step back but his brother's hands did not leave his shoulders. "And I got it without damaging anything."
The package at a glance was nothing more than a bundle of fabric tied shut by a belt but his fingers were quick and the fabric fell aside to reveal a massive book, two smaller ones, three cans, and an assortment of spices still in unopened containers.
His brother's hands ghosted over the largest book - he felt the wave of desire and echoed it; he understood - before collecting up the food items. "Amrelt will be pleased with this. We've been needing more of these."
"Just don't tell what I did to get them," he joked with a cheeky grin even as his sudden apprehension flashed through their soul. "I'd be skinned alive."
He would have laughed at his brother's expense - the look he got for his choice of words was hilarious - but the entire exchange was interrupted by a voice directly behind him. "And who exactly will skin you alive?"
He jumped, squawking indignantly as he slammed the large book into his chest and pinned it there, the fabric obscuring it from sight. He sheepishly grinned over his shoulder. "Hello, Amrelt." His gaze flickered to the other behind him and his grin turned more genuine. "And Queen Toriel. Pleasant surprise seeing the two of you together without the entourage."
Toriel gave him a skeptical look but it was Amrelt that responded. "Enough of the teasing, Gaster. Who are you to be in trouble with?"
"That would depend on who we are under, Your Majesty," Decos cut in. "You said we were being transferred."
Amrelt gestured towards Toriel. "To Queen Toriel. Her people have more need of your skills than mine do."
"All people need our help, Amrelt," he offered softly, gaining the sharp glare of the Boss Monster. He barely noticed. "Going from one sight to another could counter your intentions in ways we cannot predict."
Amrelt huffed. "I am not asking you to predict the future, Gaster. I am asking you to go where you are needed." Amrelt's gaze left him and fell onto Decos. "Both of you."
"I go where I am needed," Decos said almost dismissively with a deep, showman's bow. "It is my brother who is the one that has to think outside his rank."
The lie wasn't even his and it still leadened his tongue. How his brother had managed to even speak it was impressive. "We are scientists, dear brother. It comes with the job description."
"Yet you should tread carefully around those superior to you, Gaster," Amrelt bit back. "Titles are there for a reason."
Decos's fury slammed into him and he nearly moved from the emotional blow. He tempered it with his own exhaustion. He had fought this war for far too long to be prodded by Amrelt's words. "So they are, Your Majesty." He caught a brush of Decos's annoyance but he couldn't tell if that was from his genuine acceptance of the matter or at Amrelt's behavior. "If we are to be under Queen Toriel's care, then it would be best to start the conversation now." His gaze flickered between the two Boss Monsters, ignoring his brother seething internally in the background beside. "Unless it must wait."
Amrelt waved his concern off. "I have brought her here for just that." That sharp glare was on him again. "Did you at least manage to get what I had asked for?"
"Unopened and undamaged," Decos replied in his stead, offering the books, cans, and containers. Amrelt snatched them up and left without another word.
"You will have to forgive my next words, Queen Toriel," he offered to the remaining Boss Monster, "but I'm really glad we've been ditched onto you."
Toriel smiled at the two of them - a full, happy smile that slammed into them harder than they had anticipated - as she brought her hands - paws - together before her. "Gorey and I have heard much of the two of you; and more than as the first single soul twins in a very long time and being skeleton on top of that." She raised her hand to the side of her mouth and nearly whispered, "Your way of thinking outside of your position is what actually drew our attention."
This drew Decos in as disbelief was heavy in both of them. "You will have to forgive me, my Queen; I strongly doubt that. Wing Dings and myself have been had at many times because of it."
He felt his expression twist even as he added, "Wing Decos and I have not had a good reputation among even the scientists because of it."
"But it is minds like the two of yours that we need to help make sure the UNDERGROUNDS are operational when we send people into them."
He felt his brother give her that as Decos took a physical step back. He stepped sideways to mask his brother's backwards motion. He offered a charming smile, as tight as it was. "I do hope we drew you in with more than insubordination, Queen Toriel."
The Boss Monster laughed and it sounded like booming bells. Compared to Amrelt who never laughed, let alone treated them like the soul bound creatures they were. "Oh, absolutely. You two are highly spoken by all of the scientists that have ever had the chance to sit in on only a few words. Highly intelligent, uniquely bound, and with the magic that nearly ranks you as Boss Monsters despite the status rank you two were born into, you have gained many curious eyes and the admiration of even more. Asgore and I want to make sure you have what you need to thrive."
The sounds of the refugee camp slowly seeped in between them and Toriel seemed not at all concerned as the silence stretched as the twins fought against the disbelief that was overwhelming them.
"My Queen," Decos started, the words grating against each other as they both fought to keep their tongue in the right language. Decos's hands flickered through the gestures that spoke the same words as what passed his tongue haltingly. "We are-there is a war going on. There is no thriving. Even when we make it into the UNDERGROUNDS just fine and they function as they are supposed to, the conditions will be harsh that very, very few will thrive for a very long time. Not to mention there will be constant need to continue work on the UNDERGROUNDS even while residing within. Many of the construction sites are just going to be too small in the long run due to the necessity of them needing to be ready now."
Toriel blinked at Decos. Heck, even he blinked at his brother. Whatever Toriel had said had truly gotten through the persona Decos generally played when dealing with higher ups. But, then again, he could feel the concern, disbelief, and annoyance coming from Decos. This was more to save their nonexistent skin more than anything else despite how it had sounded so passionate for all the right reasons.
"The best way to have someone thrive is provide them a place to rest, food to eat, and something they can pour their mind and soul into," Toriel offered so serenely, he had to pull his gaze from Decos to make sure she was actually speaking and he wasn't hallucinating her voice in his head. "I am offering you two a place to not only call home for as long as it needs to be home, but a place among the Royal Scientists leading the construction and continual betterment of UNDERGROUND-Gentry 5, if you will accept it, that is."
UNDERGROUND-Gentry 5 - or better known as UG5 - was one of seven in the Gentry region, thus the Gentry title. The naming had been simplified for easier communications and it led the way for a more uniform process all round. But the Gentry UNDERGROUNDS were famous not because of where they were, but because of who was overseeing them.
Despite the lack of any need for proper Monster Royalty, there were still thirteen families recognized as Royalty among monsters. There were five that were the most beloved and had the truest loyalty from their subjects; the Dreemurr Family was one of them and it wasn't just because they were genuine in their caring. Not only was King Asgore one of the highest Boss Monsters, Queen Toriel surpassed him. Magical strength wise, they held third in the ranks of Royals only because the Ryne Family included two generations and Broxin Lorn was a beast of a Boss Monster.
To be offered a place as part of the Royal Scientists by any Royal, let alone Queen Toriel herself, was a fantasy any scientist worth their weight in knowledge knew to not be likely to happen in a lifetime.
No one ever specified if it was a long or short lifetime. A skeleton monster can naturally live past their first millenium before their magic starts to slowly degrade.
"One condition," he found himself spitting out, startled to find the words his first language, hands gesturing with the harsh, irregular sounds and only aided by the soul-speak. "No heavy formalities. No...no Amrelt."
Toriel laughed. "Of course not. Please, call me Tori from now on." Decos bristled, ready to interject but Toriel was already plowing on ahead with a smile still on her face. "But, if that is too informal for you, Toriel is just fine."
Decos closed his mouth. Wing Dings swore he heard the sharp click of teeth clashing with teeth from the gesture.
"Splendid!" he quickly chimed before his brother figured out how to work himself up into something else. "Where do we sign?"
She laughed again.