Ending the Cycle

Chapter 3: Lonely Ruins and Freshly Fallen Snow

Darkness was all he could see, no matter what way he looked all there seemed to be was eternal black. Just like... No! He couldn't be back in the void already! Could he? Was his time up already? Moving to place a hand to his face, Gaster was quick to notice that it was actually HIS hand and not the child's. A quick glance over himself revealed that it was his own body, but... But his form wasn't warped or melted, his appearance looked as if he had never fallen into that realm of nothingness. There was no way he could keep a solidified form in that place. So where...?

The sound of all-too-familiar creepy laughter snapped the former scientist out of his thoughts, the pinpricks of light that were his eyes darting around for the source. A chill ran down his spine as he realized he recognized the voice, his brief moment of fear was quickly replaced with anger. "Where are you, you soulless monster?!"

"If I'm a monster, then what does that make you doctor?" Came the haunting voice of an all-too-familiar malevolent spirit.

From a brief moment, Gaster thought he saw a form in the darkness and quickly turned in that direction. "I am a better individual than you ever were Chara..." Came his response without a hint of hesitation, his eye sockets focus on the spot where the form had briefly appeared. "Even when you were alive, I always felt there was something off about you..."

Something else appeared within his peripheral vision, to which he quickly turned to only to see nothing. "So you were always suspicious of me? Heh! Then why didn't you act sooner? Or were you afraid of making everyone hate you?"

"Sometimes one must be patient and move slowly in order to catch the snake before it strikes..." Now the skeleton thought he understood what this was, he was dreaming... He had to be. But was Gaster just imagining the corrupt child speaking to him? Or were they actually here?

"Oh, I'm here all right..." Spoke Chara practically directly into his nonexistent ear but when the monster turned there was nothing there. "And you're correct, this is a dream... And I'm invading it... Consider this a... FRIENDLY reminder that I'm watching... I'm waiting... And if you slip up... I will KILL you! And then I will take Frisk's body and kill everyone all over again! And then I'll kill them again just to spite you! Maybe I'll kill them a fourth time just for fun! Or maybe I'll just erase this worthless world..."

"I will not let you!" Gaster couldn't help but cry out in the darkness, his hands balling into fists as he glared into the nothingness. "You will not have it your way this time Chara!"

"Hahah! Give it your best shot doctor! This should be a fun game..." Once again Chara's creepy laughter echoed all around him but unlike last time it seemed to grow louder and louder... Until...

Snapping awake with a gasp, the monster in child's form rolled out from under the covers that he had never pulled over himself and onto the floor. Most likely Toriel's doing and the piece of pie placed nearby confirmed this... Gaster leaned back heavily against the side of the bed and took in deep slow breaths as he tried to collect himself.

He could easily feel the worry that Frisk felt for him and after a moment he gave a hesitant chuckle. "Sorry... Bad dream..." These words were true, but at the same time he knew Frisk could see his racing thoughts and thus they knew how bad it truly was.

For another few moments he sat there in silence before finally picking himself up. Then he took a provided napkin to wrap up the piece of pie and carefully slipped it away. It was time to go, he had slept long enough...

With that thought firmly in mind, Gaster picked himself up and exited the bedroom. He knew exactly where he would find Toriel so he wasted no time in getting to her. Standing in the doorway to the room, he looked at the goat monster with a serious expression. "I want to leave the ruins." The statement was made before she had a chance to even greet him and seemed to take her off guard. "I know that... You are lonely here by yourself... I can see it clearly... And I am sorry to do this but I have to go... There are things I need to do..." That was as much as the skeleton monster felt he could tell and he hated seeing that expression on her face.

After that silence hung between them until she abruptly closed the book she was holding, set it aside, then stood up. "I have something to do. Stay here." And with that she was off with Gaster hot on her heels, he followed her down the staircase into a long tunnel. There he continued to follow her as she talked about the exit to the ruins and about how the other monsters would kill him. How Asgore would kill him, this of course was something he already knew. But Gaster also knew that this had to play out, this had to happen.

Soon enough they rounded a corner which opened up to a small chamber with a pair of double doors on the far side, the exit. Once there he stood a crossed from her tensely, waiting for her first attack that he knew was coming. And then the fireballs came one after another, he did his best to dodge but he was no athlete and would occasionally be grazed by the magical fire. Despite this he still kept trying, he kept trying to get through to her. To show her that he wasn't going to fight, that he didn't need to fight to win.

Eventually her attacks started to go awry, veering off to the sides and missing him completely. And soon he didn't even have to move, so he just stood there and met her gaze without flinching. But Toriel couldn't keep eye contact with him very long and ended up glancing to the side.

And then finally the attacks stop coming altogether... "I know you want to go home but..." Actually Gaster never said that, but he wasn't going to correct her. "But please... Go upstairs now." He didn't move a muscle and continued to stand there staring at her sadly. "I promise I will take good care of you here." These were words he didn't doubt, she had been a wonderful mother and a wonderful ruler but he had a task to complete. "I know we don't have much, but..." One doesn't need much to be happy, this was something the skeleton knew all too well. "We can have a good life here. Why are you making this so difficult? Please go upstairs." How badly he wanted to tell her that he was doing this for the sake of everyone but he couldn't, he didn't know who could be listening...

Toriel fell silent before letting out a heartbroken laugh. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot even save a single child." Another extended silence until she spoke again. "No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this." He couldn't help but give her a sad smile and began to close the distance between them. "My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For you, my child. I will put them aside."

It was at that moment he closed the gap between them and stared up at her sadly. Gaster wanted to comfort her but he didn't know if that would make it worse. Listening heavy heartedly as Toriel stated she would not stop him but requested for him not to come back. When she kneeled down to hug him, the skeleton in child's form did not hesitate to return it. And they stayed like that for several minutes until she finally bid him farewell and departed from the small chamber, taking one last glance at him before leaving.

Standing there in silence for a moment, Gaster lifted a hand to rubbed at his face while letting out a heavy sigh. That was harder than he anticipated, in the emotional sense that is. Then once again he felt that mental hug from the small child as Frisk tried to comfort him. Given a weak smile in return, he could only take a deep breath and proceeded forward.

On the other side of the double doors was a long corridor and this time he was mentally prepared for who was waiting. When Flowey made his presence known, Gaster simply stuck his hands into his, Frisk's, pockets and listened to the plant's ranting. This too was a consistency in all the good timelines and he certainly wasn't bothered by what he heard, more bored then anything. And soon enough the flower departed while laughing maniacally and he was free to continue on his way.

Stepping out into the snowy woods, Gaster took a moment to turned back to the pair of double doors. Placing a hand upon them, his mind stared past them and to the heartbroken monster he left behind. "It will all turn out all right in the end your highness..." He whispered sadly even though the words could not reach her.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the skeleton finally turned away from the doors and began the trek to his old home. He couldn't wait and yet simultaneously dreaded seeing his family again. Although he knew he could open up to at least one of them, but how much to tell? Should he really keep this burden all to himself? Well... Himself and Frisk... No... If something went wrong then he would need the help and he certainly could use the emotional support.

The sound of a breaking branch snapped him out of his thoughts and caused him to glance back the way he came. Right... The first encounter was coming up. So he continued on his way, despite the occasional footfall he would hear somewhere behind him. The situation would have been scary if Gaster didn't already know who it was and thus he knew he had no reason to be worried. But what to say starting off? Then it came to him in a spark of inspiration and caused him to smirk ever so slightly. However, he was quick to school his face when he heard footsteps approaching as he came to a stop by a bridge.

"human. don't you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand."

Turning to face the speaker without hesitation, despite their attempt at speaking in an eerie way, he did not take the extended hand. Instead, Gaster simply smiled at the skeleton who was only slightly taller than the body he was now in and said. "As much as I would like to greet you properly, I am afraid not legendary fartmaster. While I must admit that the whoopee cushion in the hand is always funny, it is far too easily a-void-able when you know what to look for." However when he spoke the skeleton in human form made sure to do so in his own unique language that he had not been using up to this point, for obvious reasons.

The reaction was immediate, as all amusement that was in Sans' eyes quickly shifted to surprise and slight hesitation. "g... g-gaster...?"

The hesitant way his name was said caused him to smile wider and tilted his head ever so slightly. "Surprised? That makes two of us." This time when he spoke, the older skeleton stopped using his own language to speak.

"but... how...? last time i saw you... was in that hall and..."

"Ah yes... The judgment hall... I was hoping you would remember that..." Gaster immediately spotted the questioning look the other skeleton was giving him he couldn't help but smile a bit sheepishly. "It is what I have come to call it... You see... While I was in the void, I had the ability to watch countless timelines play out over and over again... And that hall plays a critical role in every single one. However... The majority of those alternate realities are what I have come to call genocide timelines... Usually leading to the complete annihilation of everything... This timeline was no different..." Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned his gaze away from Sans as he continued speaking. "I became so tired of seeing all the death being replayed like an old record... So I tried to find a weak point... A spot where the void's hold was lax enough for me to escape... And that brought me here..."

Briefly he glanced in the younger skeleton's direction to try and judge his reaction. But Sans was just standing there staring at him blankly, hand still held out but he could tell the other was listening so he continued. "You see, I had hoped to absorb the human's soul and force activate their ability to reset the timeline. An ability gained by their determination and the magical properties of the Underground... This would bring the timeline back to when the child fell down here and I know you are thinking, that probably would not change the outcome of events. However, the child's actions were not their own... They were possessed by another spirit... When I tried, and succeeded, in forcing out the spirit however... There was an uncalculated side effect..."

"you ended up possessing the child instead..." Interrupted Sans after having remained silent for so long, to which Gaster nodded in response. "well, you certainly spirit-ed this child away."

Gaster couldn't help the slight snort of amusement then escaped from him. "Apparently it was una-void-able. But someone had to cut that malevolent spirit out of the picture."

"god... i missed ya big bro..." Commented the younger skeleton as he abruptly pulled the monster in human form into a hug.

But before Gaster could even say anything, a long extended sound reached his ears from somewhere behind him. In fact, it sounded like... "Darn it Sans! The whoopee cushion is still on your hand!" He exclaimed in a playful manner while his little brother snickered at his reaction then released him from the hug.

"sorry big g, couldn't help myself." His little brother apologized, although his tone of voice gave the impression that he really wasn't.

Letting out an enduring sigh, although he was still smiling, the other skeleton couldn't help but shake his head. "I suppose it has been a long time... Longer for me than for you... Time holds no meaning in the void... But we can discuss this more at a later date. Somewhere more... Private and out of the potential hearing range of others. Besides, Papyrus should be here anytime now." Once again he received a questioning look from Sans to which he answered with a shrug and simply stated. "Certain things are a consistency and that is one of them."

"i'll take your word for it then." The hooded monster commented with a lazy shrugged as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Then followed after his long-lost brother over toward his sentry post. Once there he glanced toward Gaster with a sideways glance as he asked. "Conveniently-shaped lamp?"

"Conveniently-shaped lamp." The elder brother confirmed with a wide grin and an amused expression, then he ducked behind the item in question. And there the skeleton remained as he listened to his younger siblings humorous conversation while doing his best not to laugh. All too soon he heard the sound of Papyrus leaving and the okay from Sans to come out.

But as Gaster made his way back over, he couldn't help but notice the slightly thoughtful expression on his younger brother's face. "What is rattling around in that skull of yours?"

There was but a brief moment of hesitation before a sigh escaped from the other monster, his gaze shifting away and downward slightly. "i'm gonna take a wild guess that we can't tell paps about you..."

"No..." Came the answer with only a moments hesitation and was followed by a heavy sigh as he too glanced away. "I only told you in hope that you remembered what happened in that hall... I do not know if I will be able to have a second chance at this, so I have to get it right the first time. But if something happens... If I do not succeed... Then someone else needs step in... But it has to be someone who understands the situation..."

"and that's why you chose me..." It was a statement not a question, so his elder brother didn't say anything. Letting out a heavy tired sigh Sans returned his gaze to his brother and couldn't help but think about how weird it was that his brother was actually in there. "you're gonna work me down to the bone, huh?"

The monster in child form couldn't help but give his sibling a smile that was a mixture of hesitation and amusement. To which Sans couldn't help but let out another heavy sigh. "welp, you talked about chatting somewhere private and I just so happen to know a few spots further in. could use a shortcut to get there." The younger skeleton suggested with a dismissive shrug.

"You go on ahead and act like everything is normal, when I get near one of these spots meet up with me then." Immediately he noticed the questioning look he was receiving which he couldn't help but shrugged while lifting his hands slightly. "I need some time to gather my own thoughts on the matter."

It was immediately clear to Sans that was the only explanation he was going to get for the time being, so he relented. "if you say so big g. catch ya later. and... welcome back." And with that his little brother went on his way, leaving him alone with the only other person around.

'Welcome back, huh...? I am sorry Sans... But I am pretty sure I am not from this timeline...' This thought bothered him greatly since he didn't really know what happened to his own timeline. Was it a genocide one like so many others? Or had they been able to find a happy ending? That's the one he would prefer, but Gaster was a realist... And he had seen far too many genocide timelines to have hope for his own.

Once again he felt the sensation of being pulled into a hug by Frisk which brought a sad smile to the skeleton's face. 'I am sorry Frisk... I suppose in the end it does not really matter where I came from. I am here now, for now. And this is the timeline I am trying to save. Let us be on our way, my brothers are waiting...' The sad smile shifted to that of slight happiness at the thought of his siblings and the fact that right now they were alive and well. And he planned to keep it that way...

And that's it for this chapter, like I said this is where the real differences are going to come in.

On an unrelated note, I recently joined a role-playing forum for Undertale. There's only a few of us right now but that also means there's a lot of characters up for grabs. The forum is simply called Undertale RP and is run by WolfofIce88. So if you like to role-play then come join us.

That's all for now, until next time. R&R.