The short walk through the mountain passage, and the entrance of Hotland was done in a tense silence. Both Asriel and Frisk remained on opposite ends of the path from each other, occasionally casting mistrusting glances at the other. Ralsei walked awkwardly in between them, keeping his hands neatly behind his back, pausing only to re-adjust his glasses. As Asriel glanced up to check on Frisk again, Ralsei looked back at him, mouthing to him.
"Can you at least try?" Frisk for the most part kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, as if trying to melt into the dirt itself. Asriel gave a helpless shrug, unsure how he was to converse with the same human he and Undyne had been chasing. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he wouldn't need to think of a subject.
"The others…are they okay?" The two princes almost didn't hear the mutter. Asriel stuffed his hands into his pant pockets.
"Dad makes sure to have the cells cleaned regularly. Bedding in there is always fresh, Mom makes it a point to personally cook for the few that ever go there. They're fine." Frisk's shoulders sagged slightly at the response. Asriel wanted to just drop the short-lived discussion. But now that the dialogue had been initiated, he felt compelled to justify himself.
"Look, I know it…probably doesn't mean much, but it wasn't personal."
Frisk scoffed bitterly. "You've been chasing me all over the place for the last two days. It kind of feels personal."
Asriel felt a twinge of annoyance, the attitude spreading quickly. He stopped dead in his tracks. Ralsei glanced up at him, and Frisk didn't stop for another few paces.
"Okay look, it sucks right now. But I'm trying to learn how to be a king. That means I've got a job to do…Okay, well it's not my job yet, but the point stands. I'm just trying to think of what's best for everyone!"
Frisk turned on a dime, storming back with one hand closed into a fist.
"What about us?!" He hollered. "You think we asked to come down here? Like we wanted to get dragged into this?!" Frisk breathed heavily, waiting for a response. Asriel searched his gaze, picking out the subtle circles under Frisk's eyes. Ralsei awkwardly stepped between them.
"Hey, I think I can see the lab just up the road!" He pointed at the white building, just peeking out from the long bend. Frisk broke his gaze, walking alongside Ralsei.
"What happened?!" Asriel blurted out, barely pausing to even think about the question. He wasn't even totally sure about what he was asking about…it just felt like the right thing to say. The question froze Frisk again. But instead of turning on him in anger, the human's head lowered slightly.
"Nothing you'd understand." Seeing he wouldn't get anywhere by pursuing the answer, Asriel reluctantly fell back in step.
Once more the pale building drew closer and closer, while the distant rumble of the CORE, and the bubbling of magma deep below filled the eerie atmosphere. Asriel took the lead as they approached the lab. The tablet beside the door, usually bearing some type of message, showed nothing.
The prince tapped it twice, shrugging when nothing appeared. He knocked on the door…but nobody came. Without any windows on the building, he was left to bang on the door with his fist…but still, nothing happened.
"Maybe we are too late?" Ralsei offered, still keeping hope that they were around. Asriel shook his head.
"No, they aren't usually open, but the doc doesn't go home for a while. I've heard Dad talking to him on the phone a few times in the middle of the night." As if on cue, the screen flickered to life beside the door, and another message appeared.
"The laboratory is currently closed for the evening. If you have a message, feel free to call, or slide a letter under the door!" Movement caught Asriel's eye, and he looked up just in time to see a security camera adjust itself…something cameras here never did unless someone made it do that. He lifted his hands in exasperation.
"Come on Doc, I know you're in there. I know it's late, this is important though. Can you just come to the door?"
The camera remained motionless. But with the jig up, it took only seconds before the door swished open. Asriel blinked, finding himself staring at a yellow reptilian monster. She stared back sheepishly, already knowing who had come knocking.
"Oh, howdy! Uh…Alphys, right?"
"Y-Yes sir, that's me! The new-"
"Assistant, yeah I heard about that. Uh…is Gaster in? We need to see him."
"W-Well…" Alphys looked over her shoulder, before shaking her head. "He is, b-but he is very b-b-busy, and has given st-strict instructions to be left a-alone, even…uh…"
As she trailed off, Asriel sighed. "Look, just…whatever he's doing, believe me. This is more important. He'll understand when we see him." Alphys fiddled with her claws nervously, before giving a nod, stepping aside.
"H-He's downstairs, through th-the elevator." Frisk took in a gulp of the cool air from the air conditioned building as the door slid shut behind him. Alphys was already on her way to open up the elevator. Asriel watched her receding back, before kneeling by Ralsei.
"Hey, you need to stay up here, okay?"
"But-"
"Rals…I mean it. It's probably going to get…well, not so friendly in a minute. I'm sure it'll be fine but I'd rather you not get in the way."
Ralsei kicked the floor softly, not doing a good job on hiding his disappointment. When he looked up though, it was still with a smile on his face.
"I-If you think that's best…I'll stay here."
Asriel nodded, hearing the elevator ding, and open behind him. Frisk was looking back at him, waiting for his new acquaintance. They followed Alphys into the elevator, and the doors slid shut. The hum was quiet, but for Frisk it didn't sound as calming as the elevators back home. The fact that this one was devoid of any cheesy jingles didn't help matters. It didn't take long before it touched the bottom floor, the doors swinging open.
Alphys beckoned Asriel and Frisk to follow. The hallway they entered was a very pale white. Not too dissimilar from the hospitals Frisk had often seen. But those halls were usually littered with flowers, calming paint patterns and images, warm lighting, and the constant bustle of nurses, doctors, and patients alike.
Here, the light was a harsh white, every footstep seeming to echo on the tiled floor. Metal doors branched off from the hallway. None of them had windows, and all were locked by keypads. Beside each door were weird scribblings, as if someone had labelled the rooms like you would expect…but it wasn't in any language Frisk recognized. Hand signs seemed to be a common theme. The only sounds other than their walking was the sounds of tinkering from a room they approached…though he could have swore he heard a low howl from somewhere else in the building.
"D-Doctor?" Alphys squeaked as she cracked open one of the only unlocked doors near the end of the hallway. "I know you didn't w-w-want to be disturbed, b-but it's Prince A-Asriel, and he says i-it couldn't wait."
The sounds of tinkering stopped, as Frisk waited right around the edge of the doorway. An annoyed voice grumbled back.
"Fine. Let's see what the prince wants."
Asriel walked around the corner, and Frisk followed him in, staying behind the prince for now. The door swung shut, and a beep signalled an automatic lock from the outside, though from the looks of things it would still be easy to leave from inside. He glanced around Asriel as he saw a figure rise from a work table.
The monster had a bony structure, similar to the sentry he had briefly encountered in the humble town at the very start of his journey. The monster did up two buttons on his white lab coat. Below, he seemed to wear a fairly simple turtleneck, black dress pants, and matching shoes. Frisk could see almost perfect circles in the skeleton's palms. The doctor turned around, and the sight made Frisk shudder. Deep gouges were etched into the monster's skull. With one running from the top of his left eye, up to his forehead, and the other from the bottom of his right, running down his cheekbones, stopping just shy of his chin. On the left breast of his lab coat, a laminated name badge was pinned to the pocket:
"Doctor W.D. Gaster - Chief Royal Scientist"
"Hey Doc…" Asriel started cautiously, trying to pick his words carefully. The skeleton folded his arms impatiently. Unable to properly describe in one sentence, he simply stepped aside, revealing Frisk.
Frisk noticed the doctor visibly tense up. He started to cautiously bring one hand closer to the shoulder strap of the rifle. Gaster reacted instantly. He spread his legs, putting his left foot forward. With a sweep of his right hand, the doctor's right eye began to glow a soft blue and yellow. A sinister animal skull phased into being, immediately glaring Frisk down over Gaster's shoulder. As Frisk grabbed the butt of the rifle though, a loud snap could be heard from Gaster's free hand.
"Don't, even, try it…human." The doctor warned cooly. Frisk dared to look over his shoulder, and saw a bone hovering in mid-air, surrounded by a soft blue glow. One end was filed off to a deadly point, aimed directly at his neck. Alphys crouched behind an unused bench. The standoff only lasted for a moment, before to Frisk's surprise, Asriel stepped in front of him.
"He's not a threat, Gaster. He's just here to talk."
"He's a human! That alone makes him a bigger threat than you can hope to manage!" The scientist barked back. Asriel stepped towards the skeleton, finding it hard to believe even his own words.
"Doc, I'm not a king yet…but I'm still the eldest prince. That does give me some authority over you. Back, off." Asriel internally willed for Gaster to not call his bluff. In truth, he wasn't sure if he really could order such things…Gaster adjusted his stance, still glaring the human down. Second, after second passed by, with neither party moving so much as an inch. It was Gaster to break the standoff though. He raised his left hand, waving the bone dagger away. With a snap of the fingers in his right hand, the animal skull closed it's eyes, disappearing from sight. On cue, the glow in his eyes disappeared.
Alphys relaxed slightly, daring to stand up from her place of cover in the corner. Gaster gritted his teeth, forcing the words out.
"What, can I do for you?"
Frisk relaxed his grip on his empty weapon, gulping nervously. Even when he wasn't preparing to gut him, the skeleton still stood a good head taller than him…and now, Frisk knew what he was potentially capable of.
"I just want to get home. There's a way down, so there must be a way out. Right?"
Gaster scoffed. "You're wasting your time, kid." He started to turn back to his projects…but Frisk was not to be deterred.
"Come on! We read about you. You're one of the smartest monsters-"
"The smartest." Gaster corrected.
"Whatever, the point is if anybody could find a way, it would be you!"
The skeleton mumbled something under his breath, before standing up straight again.
"Doctor Alphys?"
"Yes?" The reptile piped up, stepping around the bench.
"Go to my study. Open up the crimson safe, and bring me one of the binders in there."
"Right away." Alphys scuttled away, leaving the door open. As the sound of claws on tile started to fade, Asriel took a second to look around. Despite all the times he had been out here to be tutored by Gaster in his various science courses, he had never actually seen the lab properly. Tools lay in a scattered, yet somehow organised mess across various work tables. In one end, a tank bubbled calmly, with a bright purple liquid fizzing inside. One could only guess what its purpose could be.
What caught his eye the most though, was a series of vials, neatly lined up in six rows on the table Alphys had been crouching behind. With Gaster so focused on keeping an eye on Frisk, and Frisk doing the same, Asriel was able to make a subtle step to the left, glancing down at the vials. Each of them were labelled. He couldn't make out all of the cryptic text on the papers scattered around, but he was able to pick out keywords. The one that caught his eye the most, translated to "Determination."
"Which binder doctor?!" Alphys's voice called back from the hallway.
"Any of them!" Gaster shouted back with authority, making Frisk visibly jump, and even Asriel started, almost bumping into the tray. Hearing Alphys's footsteps returning, Asriel quickly swiped one of the vials, tucking it into his pocket. There were at least two dozen more…and with all the 'excitement', he hoped it wouldn't be noticed…at least soon.
Alphys returned, clutching a green binder close to her chest. She held it out to Gaster, only for him to nod at Frisk. She frowned, appearing confused, but handed it to Frisk anyway before stepping back.
Frisk opened the binder to a random page. Depicted on it was some sort of machine, with the same weird text written all around it. He flipped to another, and another. Many of the pages had a similar fashion, though the apparent designs varied wildly from one another.
"What is all of this?"
"Time…energy…and failure." Gaster grunted in response. "That binder has over a decade of carefully catalogued experimentations, and failed creations. Every last page in that damned book, dedicated to fixing a problem there is no answer for."
"You were…trying to break out…" Frisk murmured, his hands starting to shake again.
"There are five other binders exactly like it. Despite all of this work though…nothing has come close to getting us free. The only way to break the barrier, is to attack it with the strength of seven, human souls…an amount that can not be created…" Frisk exhaled sharply, taking a stumbling step backwards. Alphys cautiously approached, taking the binder back from Frisk. He fought panic, trying to keep himself composed. But the overwhelming realisation that they might never make it home crashed down on him.
Once more, Asriel tried to search his gaze. He expected anger…rage even at the revelation…but there was no fury in sight. And even his fear was covered by a sudden wave of sorrow. Asriel felt a twinge, seeing the human so distressed over the discovery. He no longer seemed like something to fear…was this what Ralsei had seen from the very beginning?
"Thank you for your time…" Frisk croaked, half walking, half stumbling out of the door. As Frisk's footsteps receded, Asriel flinched at a harsh whisper behind him.
"Are you insane?! What were you thinking bringing a human down here?!" Asriel turned, expecting a furious glare. But it was instead directed at Alphys, who shrank away.
"Back off. I ordered it." Asriel interjected. Immediately Gaster's eyes swung around to bore into his.
"So it was you…somehow I should have expected this."
"He needed to know from the source." Asriel explained coolly. "He's already tried looking at the texts. He didn't believe them…now he does."
The skeleton gritted his teeth. "You should never have brought him here regardless. What if something had happened?!"
"Nothing was going to happen. He just-"
"How could you have known, hmm? Just how many humans have you met in your life?"
Asriel opened his mouth to fire back a retort…only to close it right after.
"Get out." The prince immediately walked backwards out of the room, turning back to the elevator.
"With pleasure…" He grumbled in his head. Frisk's back was already out of sight, and the elevator doors were closed. Asriel picked up the pace. With this newfound knowledge, humans could be…unpredictable. Yet despite all of his concerns though…he couldn't shake off the growing sympathy for Frisk in his soul.
