Chapter Text
The void could never be what Gaster imagined.
All the years of research that had taken him gone overboard as soon as he failed all those weeks ago.
Although 'Failed' was a wrong way to explain the monumental way in which he had screwed up.
Because magic was not something that could be studied, something that the scientist discovered the hard way, seeing his efforts become useless after weeks of research, every step forward was four steps back.
He couldn't understand something that was constantly changing, it drove him mad.
Trying to investigate what he had been curious about at one point in his youth became frustrating with each week, unlike when he was younger, his research brought him more and more discomfort. Seeing monster magic in action years ago made him feel hopeful, knowing that the shitty situation the entire race was going through could be overcome, he hoped it would be, he wished it.
Gaster could remember murmuring his wishes in the dark caves, accompanied only by the silent waterfalls, a young one in mid-adolescence looking hopefully at the shining gems on the stone ceiling, wishing so strongly that the flowers echoed his murmurs.
But hope was a flame that was destined to hurt for the knowing monsters.
All the senior monsters were charred torches, monsters who lived for years in flames until the fire consumed them, leaving behind charred wood that suffered at the slightest spark of hope, igniting into anger and flaming sadness. At least that's how he remembers the elders of the royal families, the heirs were still young ones who wanted to be hopeful.
He could still remember how hard the titled monsters among the colonies that went deeper underground strove to keep that flame of hope burning, but far from themselves. Thinking about how difficult it was to create laws and rules in the midst of the community's panic, what a great effort it was to keep the monsters fed, satisfying infinite needs with finite materials, thinking about all that made him grimace because of the knowledge of politics that he remembers having studied but was not kept in his skull.
Although he was sure that a grimace was barely possible with his current situation.
Being everywhere and nowhere was strange, like derealization, he could pretend to see and hear, but not feel, It was like being trapped looking at one point in the darkness everytime. Things that don't feel real even though he knew they were, he could see it was there even if he knew it wasn't real, making him think it was real.
It was strange and impressive, although not in a good way.
It was fucking terrifying.
Like being in a dark room, not being able to see anything clearly was disconcerting, Gaster felt lost, like entering a forest at night without a flashlight, he couldn't tell what was in front of him, behind him or below him, everything was dark and cold.
The cold was the most noticeable, eating away at his bones every time he moved forward into the dark void, feeling like he was stepping on a thousand needles when his shoes touched whatever was beneath him again.
The ground was too wet and his feet sank every time he took a step, like stepping into a puddle that wouldn't end, At this point in the darkness the moisture had penetrated the material of his shoes, dampening his socks and his pants almost to his knees, the dark trench coat he was wearing was also damp from quite a bit of time taking short naps on the floor making it painful to wear, but it was better than nothing.
Gaster unconsciously tightened his arms around himself with what little strength he still had, lowering his head again and narrowing his sockets as the vapor of his breath, hotter than the cold surroundings, momentarily warmed his frozen and melted face.
He was turning into silicone, his body and his clothes seemed to melt more and more, or at least that's what he thought, he could barely move and the cold, which was the only thing he felt from his surroundings, numbed and pricked with needles every little sense that could exist in him.
Maybe he was dying.
Maybe the void was slowly killing him with each passing second in the darkness.
He didn't know, and it terrified him.
It was driving him crazy.
A soft murmur made him look up.
The void, very similar to space, sound did not travel through the darkness, dying in the throat of whoever tried to speak, he remembered.
It was imposible that was something making sound.
He couldn't even hear his own voice as he asked who was there, wanting to get an answer from who or what the sound came from.
But nobody responded.
His gaze dropped to his hands, feeling shattered when the small spark of hope that grown in him died as quickly as it started, leaving him empty and cold, accompanied only by darkness and silence.
"I found you".
To his surprise, the liquid up to his knees slowly receded until it was barely on his shoes, leaving a trail of blooming punctures until all that was left was the cold, and the light.
Beneath his shoes a shining ring shone beneath the ink that trembled and shuddered but did not move.
The previously overwhelming cold was slowly replaced by an embracing warmth and a soft light that forced him to cover his face as black spots appeared in his vision from the sudden light.
He fell to his knees quickly as a tremor caused him to lose his balance, panicking at the thought that the thick liquid would swallow him, to his surprise, the thickness seeped through the sides of a new hardness beneath him, leaving only a hard warmth that almost lulled him.
Hear a chuckle made him rise his head, looking to where the soft sound was coming from, something that didn't take him long, a different kind of darkness meeting his gaze.
Gaster was certainly surprised by the two pairs of eyes coming from the same person that did not leave his figure, although the size of the new company left him speechless. She was gigantic, beyond enormous as she held him close to her carefully, as if he were something fragile, as if he were not already broken, somewhat surprising considering he wasn't even the size of her palm.
"Here you were."
A soft crimson stared back at him warmly, a melodious voice that seemed to bounce off the void, overlapping what he could recognize as an familiar voice despite turning into a soft, eerie hum. A soft tone and way of speaking that he knew well, that had accompanied him for a long time, earning him a special position that would never leave him, one that never left his mind despite the mental toll that being trapped away from anything else in existence brought.
A young woman surrounded by golden flowers momentarily appeared in his mind, causing his sockets to widen in surprise, the whisper of his own trembling voice finally audible to himself as her name came back to him.
"Ariel.."
The permanent smile on his face trembled as his eyes remained on the giant woman that he remembered differently, time passed for the sheep unlike him, whom the void had been responsible for breaking in a different way than the passage of years could do. She changed, looking more adult, mature, than the young woman he fall in love with.
And the one he was still in love with, falling deeper everytime.
Seeing her after so long was like falling in love again, despite the circumstances in which he found himself.
He smiled, although he was sure his smile looked more like a grimace because of how deformed his face was after his time in the void.
"You found me.."
Her gaze softened as he ran his hands over the giant palm he was sitting on, being held as if he were made of glass, pieces that threatened to shatter.
She smiled softly as his voice reached her, despite how distorted and broken he sounded to himself, a whisper barely audible, she hear him.
She always hear him.
Just a few more moments of looking at each other made him realize that although his soul sang with deep and pure joy to see her again, she shouldn't be there, trapped in the middle of nowhere.
"Dear, you don't belong here.."
Gaster said, trying to get closer to her unconsciously because of the heat she gave off, something he did not have while the freezing cold that had accompanied him for so long still made his bones ache.
He could tell that the sadness that seeing her trapped with him brought him did not reach her when her smile grew on her lips.
"You do?"
Gaster pressed his hands tighter into his partner's large palm, giving her a serious look that after a few moments was reciprocated with one coming from her.
She shook her head, clasping her hands together a little, as if trying to protect him as she curled in on herself with him curled up close to her chest, he unconsciously tried to move away so as not to dirty her white fur more than he already had, but she didn't let him. Snuggling him in her hands so that he was attached to her, surrounded by the warmth that his beloved gave off and the smell of lavender and rosemary that clung to her.
"I came to get you out..
I promised you that".
She whisper her words so softly that he felt the purr of her voice all around him.
He believed her more than he believed in himself.
He knew her promises would be kept.
He snorted, somewhat embarrassed as the sound became a sob.
"...I'm broken into pieces, trapped here".
She didn't seem to care as she caressed his skull with her thumb gently, knowing that he was fragile with his current corrupted body from being in the void, she knew well that he was much smaller than her right now, so she remained careful.
A hum made him look up from where he was comfortably in her hands, which had risen to her face without him noticing, holding him in front of her eyes.
"I'll not leave you".
There was not a hint of doubt in her voice.
"I'll stay,
and glue your pieces together."
It was a fact what she was telling him.
The sky is blue, ice is cold..
And she would never leave him.
The thumb that caressed his skull moved gently down his spine, making him straighten as a shiver ran through him, feeling how his breath left him thanks to the touch that stopped on his lower back.
The unspoken words that had not left her lips for a long time left him trembling as he understood, with his feelings blooming as he felt comfortable knowing what she was referring to, knowing that this time, even if he wanted forever, she would not leave him, accompanying him.
"I'll take you home."
You heard him snort, slowly falling unconscious, muttering:
"You're here now.."
The light that your new gigantic body gave off slowly became brighter, until you were sure you shone brighter than the sun and were hotter than a star.
"...I'm at home".
You watched as his consciousness slowly slipped through his fingers, trying and failing to hold on, to be with you as you slowly warmed up.
You ignored the heat and pain, taking care to enclose the curled body in your hands as if you were cradling a firefly between your fingers, bringing him so close that you swore you felt the small, slow heartbeat of the body in your hands, four eyes fixed on the darkness that slowly escaped and stained the pure whitish of your hands, claws growing so slowly.
You watched that empty liquid, yet so full that it darkened, slowly fall from the cracks between your claws.
All that was left was to wait.
And pay the price that was left.