Chapter 30: - GASTER -
The royal scientist was playing with a small metal ball for several hours now. His assistants watched him do it from a safe distance, nervous, as they continued to classify some old files they cautiously put away in boxes.
Asgore ordered the immediate departure of all monsters towards Mount Ebott soon after Toriel had her first contractions. Gaster didn't think the baby would come so early, but he guessed he had lost all notion of time since the beginning of the war. It didn't help Boss Monsters showed physical signs of pregnancy in the very last hours of the process. Asgore told Monsterkind he didn't want any dust bath anymore, and that the heir-to-be would bring the hope they so desperately needed.
"If only", Gaster thought. The birth of his child completely softened the King's brain. He even asked Gaster to be the kid's godfather. Him! Paternity turned people into complete morons. He knew that too well.
Since Sans and Papyrus left, all he felt was a big emptiness he couldn't fill despite his best efforts. He tried to get back to work and drown his expectations into the royal paperwork, but something prevented him from focusing. Without his emotions, however, he couldn't know exactly if it was anger, sadness, or simply impatience. Maybe a mix of the three.
The operation he did on himself was a complete failure. He kept feeling despite the inhibition of his emotions, except now he couldn't discern what exactly he was experiencing. A failure all the way through. Sans was right somewhere, if his mother hadn't died, he would have never sunk so low.
A long sigh escaped his throat as the metal ball fell back down on the floor. Maybe he sacrificed his children for nothing. The King changed his mind like he changed his shirt, and he was now completely ignoring his remarks about the children he abandoned in the hands of the enemy, always looking everywhere but at his face. A few years ago, he would never have bowed in front of the humans.
Times changed, obviously. But not him. Gaster still dreamed of a past that didn't exist anymore. Even if Sans succeeded somehow, what would happen next? There weren't enough monsters still alive to build back their civilization or even lay a siege, and among those who were still standing, many got traumatized by the war. It would take generations to erase the consequences of those battles, losses, and mistakes. Added to that, he couldn't have descendants anymore: except for his two sons and himself, skeletons didn't exist anymore. He would have to hybridize himself or accept the near extinction of his people, and with them, an important part of Monsterkind culture. Many subspecies of monsters would soon follow. He could at least say he left a mark in the long history of his people.
"Doctor Gaster?" One of his assistants called on the phone. "His Majesty is asking for your immediate presence. The Queen is about to give birth, and he needs your help."
He sighed loudly and stood up.
Who did Asgore think he was? He was the Royal Scientist, not a midwife! Yet, he still obeyed the order of his monarch. Even if he struggled to understand any of Asgore's decisions at the moment, he could never disrespect the King. There were many things people could reproach him for, but his loyalty to the Dreemur family was not one of them. Despite what the Queen thought of him.
Gaster still hoped the Queen would forgive him someday. He didn't hate her, far from that, but the matter of children was always a touchy subject between them, way before Sans' arrival. Added to that, it was actually not the first heir to the crown to be born. The previous one passed away only a few minutes after birth. The Queen stayed traumatized, and time never could erase her grief. Gaster thought this was why she had this unhealthy need to mother any young isolated monster she found on her way.
The little Undyne was a perfect example of that. Even if she had no royal blood whatsoever, Asgore and Toriel clearly adopted her already. It was only a matter of days before it got officialized. Too bad. If the Queen didn't protect that child so much, Gaster would have gladly "adopted" her too to continue years of work wasted by Sans' departure. That kid had an uncommon will to survive, and he didn't doubt one second she could hold determination too. Maybe it was a new skill the children of her and Sans' generation had. The war had been rough for everyone, and the rare young monsters still alive had to become adults as soon as they entered their teenage years. There was no place for the weak ones in this world.
Kill or be killed.
Outside of his lab, soldiers and civilians were running in every direction to fill carts with supplies and military equipment. The news of the flee to the mountain spread fast in the camp. Everyone was readying for a life in the darkness without even questioning it. Gaster didn't get it. Did everyone resign already on everything they fought for so many years? Except for a few monsters who thought like him, most of the others approved of Asgore's decision to stop the war and leave in peace under Mount Ebott. It seemed he was the only one to realize the gravity of the situation: not only they would not see the sky anymore, but they wouldn't be able to grow vegetables again. They would have to live for months without electricity as well. Like beasts. That was what the humans wanted all along, right? If they didn't kill them, famines and epidemics surely would in the next few months.
Well, he could still try to resolve this issue. There was already a power source inside of Mount Ebott: the CORE, which the scientist conceived himself to boost their needs for magic and electricity in the camp. All he had to do was to find a way to bring it everywhere in that dark cavern. If he had enough materials for that. Contrary to many monsters, Gaster still had a future at least. He didn't know if he wanted it though. He wasn't a simple lab worker with a well-ordered life, he was before all a soldier and a monster who lived for the adrenaline. Inactivity would kill him way before he could complete this new project.
He sighed again as he reached his destination, the removable "royal palace". Another of his ideas.
Toriel's screams could be heard from behind the entrance. Gaster pushed the door and dragged his feet to the living room's couch, where the Queen had been laid down. Asgore was kneeling beside her, his hand crushed by the merciless grip of her hand.
The doctors supposed to take care of her twiddled their thumbs behind her, waiting for his arrival as usual. Were they ever useful anyway? As long as Gaster could remember, the King always called him to fix any of the couple's health problems. Maybe he should get them fired at some point.
"Your Majesties, doctors." He saluted.
"Don't stand there like a lemon and help me!" Toriel roared, visibly in pain.
Asgore threw him a distressed stare. The King was at the end of his rope. His hand as well apparently. If Toriel talked so nicely to the doctors as well, he could understand why they called him to the rescue. The Queen was nice and gentle, but as soon as she was angry or in pain, it was best to not stay in her surroundings.
Gaster put on a pair of latex gloves and walked to her, rolling his eyes at her. He kneeled in front of her and started the examination.
"The baby is coming by the breech. Are you all so incompetent to not have noticed it?" He said to the doctors, annoyed. They all carefully avoided meeting his eyes. "I must do everything on my own in this place…"
"It's just that… You're the only one who has blue magic, doctor." A whale monster tried to justify herself, gaining only a murderous stare from her supervisor.
Gaster stood up. His eyes turned light cyan as he raised a hand towards the Queen's pregnant belly. He quickly found the child's soul and turned it blue. He nodded at her and simply waited for her contractions to help the Queen to expel the baby, with great pain. The small being finally came to life ten long minutes later. The skeleton picked up the little monster that immediately bleated with a high-pitched voice.
"It's a boy." Gaster announced, carefully packaging the child in a towel a nurse brought to him. "Congratulations."
Asgore sniffed loudly, then burst into loud sobs. He stood up and hugged the skeleton tightly. Gaster tensed, shocked by this sudden unexpected physical touch. He coughed loudly, then got rid of the baby. He dumped him into his father's arms, who immediately brought the baby to the new mom, in tears as well.
The scene didn't touch him. At least, this was what he tried to tell himself. Yet, his hand was trembling slightly.
This was stupid. It was just a baby. And yet, his legs gave up under him and he had to sit down to recover for a minute. What was happening to him? He whined as a brutal headache forced him to bend over.
"Oh, look! He moved. There's a small crack here. See?" Arial pointed at him, laughing happily.
"Well, he for sure takes his time. How much longer do we have to wait?"
"Gaster, you are too impatient." She scolded him.
Comfortably sitting in bed, Arial watched the gigantic luminescent ball in which her future child was evolving slowly. Skeletons didn't have a uterus, not the way some other monsters had. Everything happened in a magic pouch, forming a magical belly, the parents had to feed with magic regularly for six months, so they could follow the growth of their baby as time passed.
The little skeleton was floating upside down, slowly pushing his head through the crack, inch by inch. It wouldn't take long to explode now, finally freeing the little miracle they had been waiting for several years. The child was well-formed, Gaster personally kept an eye on the pregnancy and nothing would waste that moment, not even the phone. Asgore called every two minutes now, and, nervous, the scientist threw the object into the toilets to have some peace.
Ariel gently pushed his hand away from her belly. She knew that if the baby didn't break the pouch in the next few minutes, her panicking husband would run to the lab to fetch his weird machines and analyze everything. Gaster couldn't just relax and appreciate the moment. But this was why she married him too: his perpetual nervousness made him easy to flush, which gave him a certain charm.
The baby kicked again, but this time, a small foot pierced through the magic protection. Arial gasps in surprise. The pouch suddenly gave away and the young mother instinctively caught her newborn child who slipped out of her belly straight to her hands.
The small skeleton made no sound for a few seconds, then gave an enormous yawn. He then flinched slightly at his own movement, and whined, displeased, as if someone bothered him from a good nap. Two white confused pupils appeared in his eye sockets, and then he cried, suddenly realizing something was not normal.
Arial smiled at Gaster, victorious.
"It's a boy!" She screamed with delight. "I win!"
"But Sans isn't even a real name!" The scientist argued, sore loser. "Can't you imagine how his future classmates will react if…"
"His name is Sans and that's final." She threatened. "We agreed. You could name the baby if it was a girl. Stop frowning so hard, you're going to stay stuck like that, Wingdings."
"Fine, fine…" He conceded. "I guess his name is Sans."
He leaned a trembling hand toward the ridiculously small skull of his child. Sans grabbed his finger, looked up at him… And immediately burst out in tears. Gaster took a deep breath.
He wasn't going to sleep for a long, long time.
"Gaster? Gaster, are you alright?"
The royal scientist shook his head, struggling to focus on the voice talking to him. He tried to sit up but quickly growled as a burning pain spread in his skull.
Asgore was kneeling in front of him, sincerely worried. Why? He couldn't remember what happened. Did he fall asleep? He looked at Toriel behind the monarch. She was babbling, tickling the fluffy little being she was holding in her arms.
Ah, yes. She just gave birth.
"Yes… Yes, I'm fine." He answered, troubled.
"You should sit a few more minutes. You just passed out, Gaster."
"No, I will just… Just let you enjoy your child. I still have work to do, and things to pack. I'll be fine. I'm just tired."
"Alright, as you wish. But please, go to rest for a few hours. Thank you again for your help. Our little Asriel is in good health thanks to you."
"Asriel? Oh. "As"gore and To"riel", right?" He realized. "Really though?" He asked skeptically. "Your Highness, with all my respect, I suggest you learn to name people and places with a little more… originality?"
"I did my best." He apologized, chuckling.
The skeleton pushed on his legs to stand up. All of his bones were rattling for some reason and he didn't feel well at all.
He briefly met Toriel's eyes. She quickly looked away, frowning. It seemed she was still mad at him. The birth of their child had been only a pause in their cold war.
He walked to the exit, struggling to breathe as he grabbed the door with two hands. He could barely make two steps outside before falling on his knees in the snow. He sobbed loudly, like a child, not even understanding why. What was happening to him?