~~But satisfaction brought it back~~
Gaster was unsure of what exactly had transpired. One moment he had been trying desperately to wrench his hand away from a rather persistent human soul, and the next he awoke to find himself led face down in the snow.
His breath was laboured, and ever bone in his body ached with a ferocious intensity. With his every inhale the icy air racked across his ribs, making it harder to quell his erratic breathing.
Groaning in pain, he gingerly lifted his head from its pillow of white particles, using a hand to brush the icy specs from his skull. For a moment the scientist considered laying in the snow for a while longer, to gather himself, but quickly decided against it.
The first thing that struck Gaster as odd was the fact that he had been unconscious. In the void, it was impossible to 'sleep' seeing as time did not pass. It meant he had no need to rest. So for him to have been unconscious was, in a sense, impossible. That was, if he was still in the void.
Was it possible that he had escaped the dead space? No, surely not. A human soul simply could not be that powerful. It was unfathomable. Wasn't it?
Clearing the thoughts from his mind with a shake of the head, he propped himself up by an elbow, releasing a pained sigh from his nonexistent lungs as his eyes eagerly began to scrutinize his surrounding environment. He was surrounded on all sides by towering evergreens, and gathered that he was still deep within the snowy forests on the outskirts of Snowdin.
Slowly Gaster pushed himself upright into a sitting position, wincing at the effort of moving his uncooperative, stiff limbs.
Eventually the skeleton managed to clamber to his feet, feeling strangely unbalanced as he awkwardly swayed from side to side. Gravity was an odd sensation to be so suddenly reacquainted with. Again, in the void, gravity was nonexistent, it was impossible to tell up from down.
He had to devise a way of determining if he was truly free of the void's clutches. He quickly recalled everything he was unable to do while in the void to pick something easy he could test, and eventually settled on trying to use his magic.
With a shaky deep breath Gaster attempted to call upon his magic from within his soul. At first he was met with a searing pain that seemed to tear away his breath and cause his head to begin pounding, but amazingly, both his left and right eyes began to emit a soft violet glow.
The purple light reflected off the surrounding white sleet as his magic began to flicker from his eye sockets like flames.
Though dull in comparison to his usual vibrant violet flames, his magic was working well given the current circumstances. While in the void it was beyond Gaster's ability to summon forth his power he was now quite capable of doing so, albeit with a degree of difficulty.
He quickly allowed his magic to dissipate, not wanting to strain himself any further than necessary. Gaster still had yet to examine the inflicted damage to his soul, but decided he could put it off for the time being.
Cautiously the scientist edged a foot forward, trying to recall his motor skills and the general principals of walking. Soon enough he had recovered the basics, regaining his accustomed level of control over his movements.
Having spent so much of his attention on trying to walk, Gaster had not taken a moment to consider where exactly it was he was going.
The first place to pop into his head was Snowdin, his home. He was desperate to see Sans and Papyrus again after so long apart. He knew Sans would remember him, but was unsure of Papyrus. The skeleton had been a mere three years of age when Gaster had met with his fate.
However, as hard as Gaster tried to convince himself that it would've been for the best to simply go home, he knew that he was neither physically or emotionally able to handle facing the music just yet. And so he decided to do what he did best, focus on his work.
The faster he reached his lab, the faster he could finish his work, and the faster he could reunite with his boys. The very thought of seeing them again, after so, so many years…
* It filled him with DETERMINATION.
Alphys was sat perched upon one of the few chairs within her lab, her tail coiled loosely around her short legs. She had just set down after a tiring day to re-watch some of her favorite anime and to tuck into a steaming bowl of instant noodles.
The day had been largely uneventful and it had seemed to drag on for eternity. Not that the reptilian doctor was looking for anything 'exciting' to happen, she was perfectly content spending the day watching through her cameras and installing a few new improvements to Mettaton's body.
Alphys was about to press the play button to begin her 'study of human history' when there was a distinctive knocking at the lab's main door.
It startled the scientist more than she would like to admit, she had not been expecting anyone, especially at this time of night. She presumed whatever it was, was important for someone to trek all the way through the hotlands. Well. That or it was Undying deciding to pay a visit.
The anxious reptile precariously placed her meal on one of the crowded desks beside her. Almost all of the work surfaces were covered in an assortment of different papers, piled high. It was only now that she seemed to take into account the state of the lab, and a sorry state at that. It had certainly seen better days.
Alphys slid off her chair and began making her way towards the door, nervously sliding her glasses further up the bridge of her snout.
She reached out and activated the door, unlocking it so that it slid open to reveal her visitor.
When she was who was on the other side however, her heart seemed to skip a beat, her whole posture stiffening as eyes widened and her mouth hung slightly agape in raw shock. She was quite literally speechless.
"Doctor Alphys," the other began providing a small inclination of a smile.
His words seemed to snap her out of her awe. Alphys snapped close her maw and swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat. She wrung her hands together in front of her to stop them from twitching and forced herself to blink.
"Might I come in?" the tall skeleton inquired politely, his head tilting slightly down to gaze upon the smaller scientist as he waited patiently outside the lab. His voice was rougher than it had been the last time Alphys had heard him speak.
Alphys finally managed to find her words, "O-o-of course," she murmured in a tone almost inaudible as she slowly backed away from the door, her eyes firmly trained on the other, "M-make your-yourself at home." With no little effort she pried apart her hands and used a shaky arm to gesture around the lab in a semi welcoming manner.
The skeleton confidently strode into the building, his arms firmly clasped behind his back, and walked straight past Alphys, further into the lab. He paused mid stride upon seeing the building's interior. There were piles of cups drained of their contents, stacks of paper with undecipherable notes scribbled across their surface, numerous figurines placed strategically around the several of the desks, there was even a bag of dog food slumped against one of the walls. In short, it was a mess.
The black clad skeleton seemed to wince at the very sight of it. Alphys knew for certain that Gaster had always been a bit of a 'clean freak', everything had its rightful place. Asgore help anyone who moved something without telling the doctor beforehand.
Everything about the scientist before her seemed to be slowly crawling back to Alphys, his rather intimidating features, his confident personality, even his attire seemed to be unchanged. He sported a light grey turtle neck that was hidden within his long black cloak. It seemed familiar to Alphys.
The only thing that was new about Wing Dings would be the two large cracks that transcended his face. One reached down from the top of his skull and finished at his right eye, juxtaposed by the other crack which reached from his left eye and ran downwards.
Alphys readjusted her glasses once more before trailing after the doctor. She paused at his side, looking up at him expectantly.
"I require use of your computer" He stated calmly. Without waiting for a response form the small bipedal lizard he abruptly pivoted around on his heel and stalking towards said computer. He pushed the chair aside, opting to stand while he accessed the computer system.
His fingers seemed to effortlessly dance across the control panel, keying in numerous commands for the computer to run. He began accessing files, his eyes slowly sweeping over each document with slight difficulty. He reached towards the pocket on the right side of his chest and began fumbling around for something.
Finding nothing he pried his eyes from the screen and glancing at the pocket he had previously been searching. He muttered something under his breath before looking back to the computer screen, only this time he was leant closer.
Only then did it seem to click for Alphys, Gaster required reading glasses, much like Papyrus. She also recalled Gaster used to stow his glasses in the top pocket of his lab coat. No wonder he seemed to be having trouble reading the information. She made a mental note to try and find a pair for him tomorrow, that is if he was still there and hadn't found his own, and, well, if Alphys wasn't simply hallucinating.
She edged closer to the skeleton, peeping up at what he was so thoroughly scrutinizing. However, her curiosity was not rewarded, the entire document he was gazing at had been written in a strange indecipherable language that consisted of odd symbols.
"D-do you require any assistance, Do-doctor Gaster?" She asked timidly. It felt odd to address someone as her superior, other than Asgore that is, seeing as she was the head Royal Scientist. Sure, she would never treat anyone less than equal (she had not the heart to do it), but this man, authority seemed to radiate off him. It was impossible to miss.
Gaster shook his head, eyes still firmly glued to the screen, "It is quite alright Alphys, I believe I have found what I was looking for." He assured her.
The reptilian scientist gave him a nod despite knowing he would not see it. She turned away and began pondering what to do next. The night had taken a definite turn for the strange. It had started off normal enough, but the next thing Alphys knew, she had willingly invited a dead man into her lab, allowed his to snoop through her computer without question, and now she was at a loss on what to do… What on Earth was in those noodles?
Speaking of noodles, Alphys decided she would have to start cleaning up the lab to make it a little more bearable for her company.
"Oh, and Alphys," Alphys paused mid step, something about the way he began the sentence sent shivers down her spine, she turned, looking at the skeleton once more. This time however he had turned to face her.
"Y-yes d-doctor?" she stuttered, finding it increasingly hard to keep eye contact, let alone speak.
"I trust, you will not speak of my presence here," he continued, his voice so cold it could freeze the hotlands, it certainly made Alphys' spine prickle with anxiety, "The results of that could be most catastrophic."
By now the white pinpricks of light that symbolized his pupils had receded, leaving only the black pits of his eye sockets visible, that and the evident scowl he was wearing.
"O-of course, d-doctor." Alphys replied, trying her best to sound convincing.