CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE: Insert Funny Title

"[I just don't understand how he has disappeared so completely!]"

Gaster is in a frenzy, continuing to search frantically around the small cavern, darting around to peer behind stalagmites as though Crooks might have squeezed himself behind one. Upon realizing Crook's absence, the group had immediately begun to look for him, the shadow bastards having dissipated for now- and, according to Herman, so long as they don't use any magic during their search, it should stay that way. She has an easy confidence about her that Gaster remembers very well, and isn't surprised has persisted into this place. She knows a shitton about the shadow bastards, too- as, apparently, she's been 'researching' them. Gaster is fairly sure that equates to "blasting them to bits and picking through their insides" considering what her knowledge consists of. Archemedies is already inspecting the area around the door in a similar manner to Gaster, muttering to himself irritatedly, and Herman has taken the liberty of searching the inside of the room for 'clues'.

"What's this guy you lost look like again?"

Herman yells from inside the room, gaster yelling back the description in his static font for the fourth time- tall, triangular ears, long limbs- Herman yelling back a quick 'gracias' and continuing her scrutiny of the room, the description already slipped from her mind. In her opinion, it's incredibly boring- but she can't exactly come back out with nothing, can she? Archemedies now nosing about a small cluster of stalagmites clustering near the door, accidentally pricking his nose a couple times in the process- but his sacrifice is worth it. Suddenly, gaster finds his train of thought has been derailed by a loud-

"AH HA!"

-from Archemedies, Gasters head immediately snapping up as Herman sticks her own ghostly skull out the door with a questioning 'Eh?' as Archemedies grins sharply, holding up a strip of ripped fabric entwined through his tail spines, the corner of a sheet or scarf or-

"[His coat!]"

Gaster yelps, eyes widening as Herman's nonexistent eyebrows raise.

"His coat?"

She asks, pointing to the cloth. Archemedies nods, sighs, and explains, shaking the cloth in the air;

"Yes. Coat. Which he left here. And that means that, sometime in between Gaster running from that shadowbastard and us arriving back, Crooks woke up, left the room, and…"

Archemedies shrugs, searching for a phrase.

"Decided to take a walk, let's say."

He supplies, Herman and Gaster exchanging a worried glance. Crooks, a monster who's been dead for years, is severely disoriented, and potentially extremely unstable, alone? That sounds like a recipe for disaster, even to Herman- who is usually described as a recipe for disaster all on her own. Archemedies, ever the blunt one, voices the worry everyone's worrying.

"…which means he almost definitely needs rescuing."

Gaster rubs his skull with one hand, muttering something under his breath about stupidity, worries spiraling in his skull as he (once again) wishes he still had legs so he could kick himself for letting this happen. Herman however has no such problem, and immediately exclaims;

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go rescue the poor fool!"

She exclaims, already spinning to stride towards the cavern exit. Archemedies. spotting a chance for revenge, neatly hooks his tail around her ankle as she passes him, causing her to trip forward with a yelp before-

…oh.

Herman raises one nonexistent eyebrow at Archemedies, grinning, arms crossed, lying flat on her back as she floats an inch off the ground. Archemedies just smirks smugly at her in return, the sharp-toothed grin stretching ear to nonexistent ear as he snickers. Archemedies has a…let's say 'talent' for getting even, and Herman knows it. Gaster, utterly bewildered, just points at Herman, speechless- his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of waterfall as she notices his expression and grins, still floating. Making finger guns, she winks, in infuriating fashion.

"Oh yeah, didn't I say? I can fly now. Beat that, Hermano pequeño."

She teases, Gaster immediately looking outraged as Archemedies snorts at them both. Some things never change. Gaster, of course, demands an explanation of his sister's sudden decision to ignore gravity- Herman, of course, just shrugs, very infuriatingly. Archemedies sighs, rolls his eyes, and interrupts Gasters rant about how unfair it is Herman gets to fly when he doesn't even have arms with;

"Oi, you two, shut up and listen. The reason I stopped Herman was-"

"You mean TRIPPED!"

Herman interrupts, shaking her fist at him,

"-same thing- is because we need to figure out how we'll track him. We can't exactly follow the footprints, you know, since there aren't any."

Archemedies explains flatly, Herman blinking and immediately looking at the floor as if she hadn't realized you can't leave footprints on stone. Gaster however, perks up, grinning smugly in a way Archemedies knows by now means he has 'a solution for that, actually!'

"[I have a solution for that, actually!]"

He signs excitedly, Herman looking up and raising one nonexistent eyebrow at him in a dubious expression that is, ironically enough, identical to Archemedies. Not waiting for them to ask, Gaster continues, speaking and signing at the same time as his hands flurry and static words speed up in his excitement.

"[Well, i got tired of waiting for Archemedies quite quickly, so I tried moving Crooks outside of the room. It wasn't altogether a failure, he became conscious for a few seconds, but he apparently did not recognize me. He quickly became hysterical and tried to attack- presumably on impulse- and did not calm down. Hit me in the face, actually.]"

Gaster observes, Herman's eyesockets Immediately narrowing. She has no idea who Crooks is- she never paid much attention to her brother's work acquaintances- but if he hurt Ding, he's getting a punch to the face at some point, no matter who he is.

"[As a result, he retreated to the gray room. The interesting thing is, he collapsed as soon as he entered- it's fascinating how it seemed to affect him, the room might have some sort of preserving or even standstill effect on souls or maybe even the chemistry of the patterns themselves or perhaps-]"

"Gaster."

Archemedies interrupts, Gaster blinking at him in surprise.

"Get to the point."

Archemedies says bluntly, Gaster chuckling awkwardly and signing a sheepish apology before finally explaining.

"[…long story short, I summoned a small bone and placed it in his coat pocket, in case he woke up again and ran before I could explain the situation. That, combined with the attacks he threw at me and the signal from you, must have been what attracted those…things.]"

Gaster explains at last, Herman raising her brow, impressed at her younger siblings enginuity.

"Jeeze, you just can't catch a break, can you bro?"

Herman remarks, prodding at his cracked eyesocket. Gaster sighs wearily, batting her hand away and giving her a weak smile.

"[No, no I cannot.]"

Meanwhile, Archemedies has his tail on his chin, thinking. If Gaster can work as a compass, then it should be possible to find crooks fairly quickly- but what then? Where do they go, back to the gray room? Archemedies shudders, no, he's had quite enough of blankness. Perhaps Herman has some sort of shelter nearby, since she's been here so…

…archemedies can barely hear the muffled voices of his friends, his whirring mind fading. Slowly, he winds down, shoulders slackening, a static film clouding over his eyes.

Then, there's a moment of nothing at all.

"ARCHEMEDIES!"

Archemedies jolts awake, someone shaking him roughly by the shoulders, two worried skeleton faces staring down at him as Archemedies blinks rapidly, perfectly conscious but thoughts jumbled. His eyes flick from face to face- Herman looks shaken, as does Gaster. Archemedies feels dread slowly settle along his spines, and slowly asks;

"…how long was I out?"

Herman is the one who replies first, hands still squeezing his shoulders worriedly as she cries exasperatedly, worry in her faintly orange eyelights;

"You weren't "out" you were staring blankly at the ground and not responding for like- like an-"

herman splutters a moment, mumbling ' Segundo, Minuto, Hora-' under her breath before finding the word.

"An hour! Thats the bastard, why is this language so stupid!?"

Herman explodes in exasperation, Gaster interjecting with;

"[Not an hour. Twenty minutes, maybe- don't worry arch, you were not gone for long.]"

Gaster signs gently, seeing Archemedies shaken expression. Herman however immediately spins around, barking irritably;

"Well excuse ME for not having great sense of time- theres not many clocks ¡En este retorcido purgatorio!"

She retorts angrily, most of her fury fueled only by worry. She immediately turns back to archemedies, her ghostly skull glaring brighter than usual as she demands, her emotions spiking;

"Seriously though arch, what was that? Are you okay!?"

Archemedies doesn't reply. They haven't stopped. They haven't stopped, even though he's free of that stupid wasteland of broken things, he wasn't even trying to sleep or even rest then- there were two actual people talking barely a foot away from him, his friends. Why haven't they stopped? Even in the place of broken things, he could always feel it happening, feel himself slipping away, but- but he couldn't then, he couldn't, they're getting worse. His mind goes quiet instantly, that one realization echoing as if through an empty room as Archemedies expression goes cold. Slackening, then hardening, his expression as stony as the cave walls around them.

He's not free after all.

He shrugs Herman hands off his shoulders, and turns, limping towards the cavern exit as he growls quietly;

"…let's go."

Herman opens her mouth with an incredulous expression, her eyes betraying her concern, but Gaster gently places a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head.

"[i'll talk to him.]"

He reassures her, speaking quietly and giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze as she stares after Archemedies with a concerned expression. Herman hesitates, just for a moment, running the situation over in her head, before patting gaster's hand with a small nod. Worry still clouds on her face as she gets up, and begins to slowly walk after the limping reptilian monster, her cloak chasing her heels as she follows Archemedies swaying tail. Dings will deal with it- it's better like that anyway. She's not the most emotionally delicate person.

Gaster is about to follow her, but then he pauses, looking back towards the gray door. He remembers everything tied to that simple, unassuming, monochromatic door. Everything that's happened behind it. Nightmares, voices, rain…his friend with their strange device, the skeleton from another world, the fever dream narrators that spoke even to the void- he thinks over everything that's happened in a flash. This door roams between worlds… will it still be here, should he change his mind?

No going back.

Gaster tells himself, before silently turning, and following the only family he has left.