Reset {UNDERTALE}

Gaster

                Despite the dread that sat in his stomach—well, lower abdominal cavity—throughout the morning, nothing happened. There was no threat, no ambush...nothing. To say Sans was having second thoughts was an understatement—he was on his third or fourth thoughts halfway through his shift. Even so, he'd heard too much from others to discount what he was feeling. And, once his lunch hour hit (Asgore was adamant that his guards have breaks), he was off to Hotland to find W.D. Gaster, the Royal Scientist.

As he reached the lab, he couldn't help but be nervous. Despite being a household name, no one knew much about Gaster. He was the Royal Scientist, yes, but he had zero public presence. Sans didn't even know what the man (maybe woman? W.D. could stand for anything.) even looked like. What if he was bothered by the intrusion? Sans hesitated at the door. This was a bad idea. He wasn't even sure that the threat was real; he was going off of what some dumb guards had said and his own unfounded anxiety.

He puffed out a breath. No. He couldn't do this. There was no need to bother the Royal Scientist, who really was probably very busy and probably had, like, eight experiments going on right now. He turned and started to walk away.

Hsst.

Sans stopped at the sound of hydraulics. Slowly, he turned around. The door was open, and in the bright light, a tall, dark figure towered in the doorway, nearly reaching the top.

"Ah, the Judge has paid me a visit."

The voice was hoarse and strange—it seemed as though it struggled with the words—and something at the shadow's midsection fluttered. Sans took a step back, sockets narrowing.

"How...how did you know I was here?" he asked, tense. The shadow laughed.

"I have, er, cameras. For protection," he said. A long, thin arm pointed up. "The light is not good here, but look closely."

Sans looked up, and he relaxed slightly. "Oh, surveillance cameras."

The shadow's head bobbed. "Yes, yes." It stepped back. "Please, come inside." Sans could make out a smile. "It has been a long time since I have seen one of my own kind."

Sans frowned curiously, but followed him inside and took a good look at the scientist before he smiled. "Oh my god, another skeleton!"

Gaster smiled and took Sans' hand to shake. While he was definitely a skeleton, his skull had two large cracks above and below each of his respective eye sockets, and both of his hands—which seemed to be in continuous motion when he spoke—had jagged gaps in his metacarpals. He gave a small laugh as he caught Sans inspecting him.

"Being Royal Scientist is a dangerous job," he said with a shrug, then motioned for Sans to follow him. "I am sure that being Judge has its dangers as well." He looked over his shoulder and smiled down at Sans. "I am surprised we have not met before, considering we have the same, er..." His hands fluttered again, apparently trying to motion the word. Sans smiled.

"The same boss, yeah." He stuck his hands in his pockets. "The language is pretty rough, isn't it?"

Gaster tilted his head. "I do not understand what you mean."

"I mean it's hard to speak. My parents had the same problem when they moved down here."

Gaster shook his head with a wry smile. "It is a curse. However, I do not let it stand in the way of my work." He guided Sans up to the second floor, which seemed to be a mix of lab and library. "Would you like any tea, Judge?"