Hey, I'm not dead! I come down with a bad case of writers block, and just when I got my mojo back, I got sick and lost it again.
But I'm back now, and with a new plot point!
I was originally going to have the group head into Waterfall this chapter, but I got several new ideas, one randomly, and one sparked from a guest review, so I'd like to thank that guest for kickstarting this new plot point.
But, that's pretty much it, so enjoy the chapter!
Badd was floating in an empty void. He was aware that he was dreaming, which was an odd sensation for him.
Since he was conscious of his, well, unconsciousness, he attempted to change the surroundings to something he saw fit. It didn't work. He groaned.
"Well, this is gonna be a long night."
Suddenly, he heard a strange voice.
"Can... can you perhaps, hear me?"
The voice sounded odd, like it was there, but not.
"Uh, yeah?"
The voice spoke again, this time with much more life.
"You, you can!? Ha Ha! Yes, finally! I've made contact with a soul in reality!"
Badd was starting to feel a little awkward.
"Uh, hey look, disembodied voice that's probably a figment of my imagination. This would probably be a lot less weird if you told me your name."
The voice gave a small chuckle.
"I suppose that is fair enough. My name is W.D Gaster, and I was the last royal scientist of the underground."
"So you retired? What are you doin in my dream then?"
Gaster was silent for a moment, before speaking again.
"There was... a lab accident. I was just putting the finishing touches onto my greatest invention, the core. A giant machine that uses quantum energy to power the entire underground. I had just finished assembling the quantum generator, and went to run a test. That is when disaster struck. There was an electrical malfunction in the wiring, sending much more power into the generator than needed, causing a massive surge of quantum energy, ripping me from reality and sending me into the void, the space between all dimensions."
Badd was looking a little sympathetic now.
"Wow. I don't really understand half of what you said, but it sounds like you're in a pretty rough place. If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do my best to do so."
Gaster responded excitedly.
"Truly? I am very lucky to have found a selfless soul such as you! There is only one thing that can return me to the plane of reality. There is a legendary artifact hidden in the depths of Waterfall. If you should find it, bring it to my old assistant, Alphys. I wager she would be the new royal scientist. She can help you imbue the artifact with quantum energy. However, do not tell her about me. A side affect of being essentially erased from existence is that no one is likely to remember me. Once the process has been completed, bring the artifact to the road connecting Snowdin and Waterfall. once every six months, a door appears connecting the void to reality, but only for a few minutes! It should appear in two days. Should you arrive there within that window of time, insert the artifact into the slot on the door, and I shall be able to return! I know this is a lot to ask of you, but should you manage to pull this off, I will be forever indebted to you."
"Whoa, that's a lot to take in man. I mean, I'll try to help you out, but I don't know if I'll succeed."
Gaster spoke again, although this time his voice was more faint.
"That is all I can ask of you, my friend. I am afraid we cannot converse much longer, my connection to your mind is growing weaker, and I can't hold it for much longer. I wish you good luck, and bid you adieu."
and with that, Badd was once again alone in his mind.
"Huh. Well, that was kinda weird. Man, I'm bored already. I'm gonna see if I can wake myself up."
He figured the best way to do so was through pain, so he slapped himself. Hard.
Badd sat up in his bed with a start.
"Yeesh, what a weird night..."
Suddenly, he heard knocking on the door.
"Come on big brother, it's almost 10! we have to get going soon if we want to make any progress!"
"What?! it's that late already? Hang on Zenko, I'll be ready in a sec!"
Grabbing his bat and a spare comb, he ran the combit through his hair as he rushed out the door and down the stairs.
Sans was in the kitchen with Seito, the two of them cooking up some bacon and eggs.
The bat wielding hero looked into the kitchen with mild shock.
"Sans, are you... doing something productive?! This is practically unheard of!"
Sans grabbed his chest in mock hurt.
"wow, that's harsh, i'll have you know that i do something mildly useful at least once a month. in fact, if helping you guys out counts, then i think i've more than met the monthly quota."
Badd just shook his head, going to sit on the couch beside Zenko.
"Hey, where'd Papyrus get off to? Haven't seen him around."
"he went off to give his daily report to undyne early. he probably won't be back for a while. undyne is out on patrol from about 8 to 10 every day, and they're pretty hard to track down when they're doing so." Badd gave a shrug.
"Well, let him know we said goodbye. I think we'll head out as soon as we finish breakfast."
Sans and Seito waved the two over to sit down at the table.
"that's fair. hey, there's something i need to tell you guys before you head into waterfall." The skeleton said while squirting an entire bottle of ketchup onto his eggs.
"undyne is a good friend of pap's, but they hate humans with a burning passion. they're likely to be you're biggest challenge yet. if anything were to happen to any of you, whether it be you or the captain, pap won't take it well. look, what i'm trying to say is, keep yourself safe, but try not to resort to violence if you can help it."
Seito gave a nod of acknowledgement.
"Don't worry, we'll be able to handle whatever threat comes our way. This Undyne person sounds like a stubborn one, but I'm sure we can get through to them."
Sans' smile grew a bit.
"that's the spirit kid. don't worry, i'll be around to keep an eye socket out for ya."
The rest of the group's breakfast went by in relative silence.
Eventually, the group was ready to head out. They bid Sans a farewell, before heading out the door.
Chara went to float after them, but all of a sudden, time seemed to slow around her, before coming to a complete stop.
"What the..." She looked around frantically, before feeling a gaze boring into the back of her head.
Swiveling around, she came face to face with a very serious looking skeleton.
"so, you're chara, aren't you?" He asked, lights in his eye sockets burning into the spirit's very essence.
"W-What? How are you doing this? Better yet, How can you see me?! I didn't make it so you could!"
"pal, nothing escapes my eyes. that includes spirits. what are you doing following those humans? i want a straight answer, no funny business."
Chara gave a sigh, before responding.
"They, particularly Badd, are very special. All of their souls are incredibly powerful, even for humans. I presume you already know that?"
Sans gave a silent nod.
"Yeah, well, Badd's Determination was so great, that it managed to wake me from my eternal slumber. Not only that, but now my Spirit is attracted to his soul, so wherever he goes, I must follow."
Sans looked at Chara silently for a moment, before speaking.
"well, you aren't lying. perhaps a millennia lying six feet under has mellowed you out."
Chara looked at Sans weirdly.
"come on, don't play dumb. i know about your whole escapade to try to end humanity all those years ago, the one that resulted in both the death of you and your adopted brother."
Chara Grit her ghostly teeth, before yelling at the skeleton.
"You.. bastard! How do you know about that?! Not even Mom or Dad know! Who could have possibly told you?!"
The short skeleton closed his eyes for a moment, before responding.
"you're the princess of the underground, so you had access to the royal archives. tell me, did you ever read up on a legend that had to do with a judge?"
Chara appeared to think for a minute, before going wide eyed.
"Wh-what? Y-you?! Why?! Why you, and why now?! The Judge, one of the legendary monsters. The book said that they would be born with unimaginable power and intelligence, one of the chosen destined to protect not only monsterkind, but the entire world! You, you can't possibly be saying that's you?"
Chara wracked her mind for any other way that Sans could possibly know about her terrible mistake, but she couldn't find any.
"N-no way... Does Dad know?"
"yeah, he does. he's the only one who does, and i would prefer it if it stayed that way. look kid, i'm not gonna go blaming you for past mistakes, just make sure you learn from them. and hey, if you're accompanying those guys, try to keep em safe and out of trouble when i'm not around, k?"
Chara was shocked. The judge was letting her off scot free, despite knowing about the atrocities she had committed? Of course, the judge was said to be astounding at judging a person's morality, so maybe she wasn't as horrible a person as she thought.
The spirit gave a small smile.
"Thanks, Sans. That means a lot to me. And don't worry, I'll make sure to take care of the others."
"good to know, kid. and hey, is it just me, or are those humans growing on ya?"
Chara sputtered, trying to come up with a rebuttal.
"Heh, just think on that for a bit. now off with ya." The skeleton said, snapping his fingers.
Time around them slowly picked back up. Chara gave one last look at Sans, before flying out the door to met up with the others.
I wasn't originally planning on putting Gaster in the story, but, one idea led to another, and suddenly, this happened! Be sure to review and give constructive criticism, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Edited 3/16/20