No One is Happy with This (Undertale)

81 ~ Flashbacks

Sans is first to react, but not in a good way. He scrambles over to Gaster and drops to his knees, trying to hold on to Gaster as much as he can. He's babbling, too, an incomprehensible mess of noises- you don't even think it's Hands; it sounds more like he's just too panicked to speak.

Gaster's response, as out-of-it as he seems, is to nuzzle against Sans and let out a comforting murmur. But that only seems to send Sans deeper into a panic, and his voice starts to rise to a volume you didn't know was even possible for him.

By now Papyrus has started forward. He rips off his gloves as he kneels beside his father, healing Magic already flickering across his hands.

But before he can do much of anything, Sans' head snaps up, his panicked gaze falling on you. "frisk. reset. reset!"

You don't hesitate. The last time you saved was just a few hours ago. So you slam you hand on the RESET button, and find yourself standing outside your house at the SAVE point, Flowey's flower pot in your hands.

You can tell Flowey's going to make some sarcastic remark just based on his expression, but you don't have the patience to hear it. You set the flower pot down on the ground and take off running, leaving Flowey behind to scream insults at your back.

You think you make it to the lab in record time.

But when you get there, things aren't all better. The lab is in a state of chaos, and it's not Gaster's usual productive chaos. It's legitimate panic.

And as you sprint into the lab to see Gaster still sprawled on the floor, now nearly unmoving, you realize Sans' fear-driven command for you to reset may not have been the best idea.

Because despite the way Sans is clinging to him, despite the obviously massive amounts of healing Magic Papyrus is pouring into him, Gaster seems to have only gotten worse, and not in a normal way. There's no longer a chunk of metal in his chest, as the machine hasn't exploded in this timeline, but the bones in his hands seem to have begun to fuse together, turning each hand into one solid shape. And his black lab coat not only seems to have lost much of its shape, but it also seems that light can't touch it- it's become pitch black, like- like the Void. Like Gaster is turning into the Void.

Luckily, it doesn't look like he's getting any worse; whatever Papyrus is doing seems to have him more or less stable.

Still. You decide to pull out your phone and call Toriel. You tell her there's been an accident at the lab, and she needs to hurry over. She says she and Asgore will be there immediately. So then you call Alphys, and tell her he same thing. She responds much the same.

Soon after, with all the monsters gathered around Gaster's inert form, you take a step back. You're no monster; you know no healing Magic. Best to give space to those who know what they're doing.

And whatever they're doing, it seems to work well enough. Gaster settles down, and, really, so does Sans. He's still clinging to his father, but his panicked shouting has turned into the occasional concerned whimper or sniffle. Papyrus sits next to him, patting his back, a sympathetic look on his face.

And then Asgore scoops up both Sans and Gaster, intent on bringing them home. Papyrus follows immediately behind.

The crisis seemingly adverted, the remaining monsters turn to you for explanation.

"Well..." you begin. "When they went to test the, uh... whatever it is for the CORE, it blew up, and Gaster teleported in front of Papyrus to keep him from getting hit by the explosion. But there was this big piece of metal that cut right through him, and he just sort of- collapsed. And Sans started panicking, and told me to reset-..." You trail off. The last time Sans told you to reset like that was way back when you were trying to save Gaster, and you hit your head or something, and to get you to reset, Sans-...

And he said, afterwards, about having someone he loved die in his arms...

This- has happened to him before, hasn't it? Gaster got hurt or something, and-...

You realize you've been silent for a long time, and everyone is still looking at you expectantly. "So I did," you continue. "And when I came back to the lab, he was... like that." And again Sans' words come back to haunt you, that resetting can't always bring everything back, resets don't affect Gaster, because he's of the Void... "So I called Toriel, then Alphys. But-... What exactly was wrong with him? I've-... I've seen him get- stabbed before, and he wasn't hurt."

There are a few uncertain glances around, and you get the impression that no one, not Undyne nor Toriel or even Alphys knows exactly why Gaster went down. But Alphys begins with a little hesitation. "F-Frisk-... H-his Soul was n-nearly cut in h-half-... I-... I don't t-think even he could s-survive without a S-Soul. I th-think."

"But you got it fixed, right?"

The lizard monster lets out a nervous chuckle. "Y-yeah! Mostly. It's-... h-hard to t-tell with Souls-..." for a moment she looks away sheepishly, then her expression brightens with what might be forced enthusiasm. "B-but! J-just going off the o-other scars in his S-Soul, I t-think he'll p-probably be okay. Probably. If t-that is what was wr-wrong."

Undyne slaps a hand on Alphys's shoulder, grinning widely. "Hey! Gaster's a really strong guy. I'm sure he'll be fine!"

You laugh a little and agree.

Everyone is worried, though, you can tell. And as you all slowly turn to leave, you can tell it's with a nervous sense of apprehension.

You, especially, have a ball of dread forming in your stomach. Because if they're wrong, if that's not what it was, or if they're right, but Gaster simply doesn't survive-...

Well.

Resetting can't always bring everything back.

§

A/N

Believe it or not, NOiHwT is actually pretty close to its end, I think.

Or. Well. Put it this way:

There's more of the story written than there is left to write.

But there's still quite a bit left to go. [=

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!