It's with a strange detachedness that you realize you've never been this terrified in your life.
You're in Gaster's lab, now, sitting on the edge of one of the big steel tables while he finishes up getting the anesthetic ready. Toriel was left behind in the lab's lobby, as she didn't know her way around the lab, and Gaster didn't want her getting in the way. Sans and Papyrus were left out in the hallway, as apparently neither of them have much of a stomach for this kind of work, and don't know much about runes anyway.
So it's just you and Gaster. Soon, you'll be unconscious, and Gaster will be stabbing you.
Sure enough, Gaster steps over to stand beside you. "Go ahead and take off your shirt and lie down."
You nod and do so, trembling fiercely. The steel table is cold beneath your back, and only makes you shiver harder.
You've never been so scared in your life. Not even all those dangerous times in the Underground. Because then, then, you could actually do something. You could run, act, fight. You could do something, and now you can't.
You close your eyes as Gaster carefully fits the plastic mask over your face. It'll administer the aerosol anesthetic that'll knock you out.
You can't run, you can't act, you can't fight, you can't even struggle. You just have to lie there and suck in the drugged air and hope it all works out. That's all you have. A thin hope. Your determination is useless here. Resetting won't fix this. You're completely reliant on Gaster. He has to help you. You'll die if he doesn't- you won't be able to--
"Frisk."
You crack one eye open at Gaster's sharp voice.
"Frisk. I understand that you're scared, but you do realize the anesthetic is completely useless if it's not in you, right? You need to calm down and keep. Breathing. Don't hold your breath. That'll just make this take longer, especially considering how long the anesthetic needs to take effect already, anyway."
You let out a small whimper as you release your breath. "Wh-what?"
Gaster blows out a small sigh. "Well... So you have all this Magic in your body, right? The problem is, most ordinary human anesthetics can occasionally cause rather... volatile reactions when mixed with Magic. So I didn't want to use one of those, because... you know. And most Magic anesthetics wouldn't work on you, because of the amount of physical matter in your body. This anesthetic works alright on humans and doesn't have any dangerous side effects when in contact with Magic, but... it takes a long time to take effect."
You let out a sort of groan and sigh and sob all at once. You don't think you can last under this strain for much longer.
Gaster just chuckles a little.
You close your eyes again as Gaster slips away to get his equipment ready. You can hear him moving around, and whenever you hear him draw near, you heart pounds a little faster, and doesn't slow back down when he moves away.
You could die here, on this table. You could die, and resetting won't fix it. You can't run, you can't act, you can't fight, you can't struggle. Saving is pointless, because resetting can't fix this. You're going to die.
You're probably almost going into cardiac arrest when you feel something brush against your chest, and you can't help it. You jerk away, a small shriek escaping your mouth.
"Frisk! For Annoying Dog's sake, calm down! It's just a marker!"
Breaths still coming in sharp gasps, your chest heaving, your body trembling, you look up at Gaster. He gives you a bit of a told-you-so look as he waves a permanent marker in one hand.
"Whh--" you try. "Wh-hh--... wh-at--"
He laughs a little, setting one hand against your collarbone and leaning over your chest again. "I have to admit, that is one small advantage of being fleshy in situations like this. I can lay down my plans before getting to work. It's easier to follow pre-made lines than to freehand them with a knife, which, in turn, makes it easier to avoid mistakes. Not that I'd make any mistakes, of course. I know what I'm doing." He pauses and looks at you. "Would you like to know what I'm doing?"
You hesitate a moment, then nod.
"I'm drawing runes, with a marker. That's all, right now. Can you feel it?"
You can. You can feel the tip of the marker tracing strange lines across your ribs, curling together in a foreign pattern as Gaster draws. It's a good thing you're not especially ticklish.
Gaster continues. "By the time I'm done with this, the anesthetic will have taken effect, and you'll have passed out. Then I'll start actually carving, and you won't feel a thing. You'll be absolutely fine. Lose a bit of blood, sure, but not enough to cause any serious issues. Then, when you wake up, you'll be in pain, sure but nothing too bad. Nothing like what you've already been through. I mean, you have experience in being run through, multiple times. Believe me, I indirectly made Undyne's spears; I know how sharp they are. This'll be nothing compared to that. But, you'll still probably spend... oh, I don't know, a week? Two? Three? A while in bed while your body recovers, both from the carving and from the Magic in your body. But, soon as that's over, you'll be up and about again, just fine. So you see? That's what I'm doing, making you just fine."
You understand what Gaster's doing. You've seen him do it, back when he was first out of the Void, and Papyrus's arm was broken. He's not taking your mind off the topic at hand, he's simply dispelling your fear of it by rambling on, his voice so calm that it's impossible to believe he has even a shred of doubt about it. And because he's so confident in it working, so are you.
You're not nearly so confident as he, though. "Gaster..."
"Hmm?"
"But-... what if-... what if it doesn't work...?"
"Then you die."
You can't help the way you suck in a sharp breath, a scared gasp shattering the calm Gaster's voice had slowly pulled you into.
"But," Gaster says firmly, "but that's okay, because you can just load from your save."
"B-but I thought you said that wouldn't fix this!"
"Right. It won't. But what it will do is give us another opportunity to fix it ourselves. Frisk, you've been telling me these past few weeks to stay determined. But determination alone does nothing; determination is just the tool. It's up to us to do the actual work, the using the tool. So yeah, if you die, that'll suck. But it won't matter, because we'll just have another shot at fixing this." He pauses, then snorts a little. "Not that we'll need another shot. I know what I'm doing, Frisk. You'll be fine."
You just let out a quiet whimper.
"Oh, stop it. I do know what I'm doing, I've done stuff like this before."
"... You... have...?"
"Oh yeah. To Sans, no less."
"... R-... really...?"
"Yup. You've seen his Blasters, right? He didn't have those originally. I made those, gave them to him with runes. And I didn't make any mistakes there! In fact, Frisk, I've done stuff like this to myself! I was the first person I ever did something like this to." Gaster's voice seems to become a bit muffled. "I made my own Blasters, in the war. Relgore, Asgore's dad, didn't believe me that... ...work, so... ...prove to... would do just what I said... ...did..! ...well as I could... ...later made... ...hands... ...people... ...couldn't have... ...almost... ... sleeping... ...good... ...just fine... ...promise..."
You sleep.
§
A/N
Nnnngggghhh for any of you out there that play Cave Story, any advice to me on how to beat the bloodstained sanctuary? I swear, I've died there more times already than I did fighting Sans...
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!