#I know a few of you are antsy for the updates now ahhha

[motherlyra]

Chapter 44: Prophecy Day

Long ago, the characters lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Request Box attacked.

Really though, this was not how I was planning these events to take place but it ended up working out in the end. Apparently this is what happens when I set the characters loose.

[Sans Days/Nights]

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Warnings: Serious warning for first part of this chapter for rape undertones. It doesn’t actually go anywhere, but the terror and thoughts of those situations are there. The rest of the chapter is nice tho and you chat with the old turtle so that’s kinda cool.

The command was simple enough to follow.

Your adrenaline was already pumping through your veins as you struggled against the magical bonds, your mind scrambling and trying to make sense of the situation. You could feel Gaster’s smile close to your ear, his hand grabbing your shoulder one sharp finger at a time, the heat radiating from him. You were breathing shallowly and quickly, feeling like you couldn’t get enough oxygen in your system as your muscles pulled with all their force to wield no results. Gaster wouldn’t hurt you, right? If he wanted to hurt you, he would have done so a long time ago… So what was he planning on doing to you?

As your thoughts scrambled to gather the worst possible scenarios, Gaster grew to his full height, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. A rumble came from deep in his chest and turned to a dark laugh, eyes cracking open as they drifted back down to you. A hand closed around your throat and he tilted your head to watch the panic on your face.

“So this is what it feels like to be alive.” His voice seemed different. Darker, excited, and even more dangerous sounding than usual. “Fascinating.” His hand tightened around your throat and he pressed his body against yours, his nails digging into your shoulder. You opened your mouth to scream, but black tar covered your mouth the moment you started.

Trapped.

He had you pinned with nowhere to go. Every time you tried summoning your teleporting powers and started feeling the needles, he would tighten his grip ever so slightly, halting any progress you would be making. “You don’t get to run off again. As of right now, you are mine.” He growled. He knew you were trying to teleport, you swallowed, mind reeling and trying to come up with a plan C. The magic holding you up suddenly faded, and Gaster caught you, holding you by your sides and pinning you to the wall. His face pressed against where your neck met your shoulder, and you could feel him take in your scent.

No longer restricted by the orange magic, your hands flew to his shoulders, trying to push him away to no avail. He was too strong, too close, to gain any sort of advantage. You tried kicking him, but he didn’t seem to notice your weak attacks. Your muffled struggling was the only sound in the quiet room, and you knew Sans wasn’t going to hear anything. He wouldn’t be back in time.

That thought sent a chill throughout your body as the terrifying realization settled in you, and that seemed to make Gaster grip tighter onto you as a rumbling came from deep in his chest. “That is right… Feel the terror coursing through your body. The hopelessness of your reality. I need it.” His teeth brushed along your neck down to where your neck met your shoulder, the sharp edges threatening to break skin. You froze up, unable to think of anything you could do to escape. He was right; you were powerless to defend against him. You were at his mercy.

Your thoughts were panicking so badly it took you a moment to realize he stopped moving, simply holding you in that position for a few seconds.

The coldness of the room suddenly became apparent as he separated himself from you, his magic effortlessly picking you up and bringing you back to the counter. He quickly stepped over to his papers, writing something quickly as his magic released you back in your original seat. The tar left your mouth and you gasped for air, bringing your knees close to you, shock still scrambling your thoughts as you tried to figure out what just happened. You felt yourself shaking, watching Gaster fearfully while he seemed to ignore you.

“My apologies, but I needed genuine results.” Gaster quickly said as he wrote another line in Wing Dings before swiftly standing straight, and pulling his Soul out. The once hollow Soul now seemed like it was almost pure red, just along the edges you could see the gap between the Determination and white outline. He gave a single shocked laugh, taking a step back and bringing a hand to his forehead. “It… It worked. My theory was correct.” He gave another relieved laugh, looking like exhaustion was suddenly catching up with him. He wiped sweat away at his forehead with the back of his wrist, still staring unbelieving at the Soul.

Gaster looked up at you, genuine smile appearing on his face as he stepped up to you. You had another wave of panic as he grew closer, and you saw the red in his Soul brighten ever so slightly, but he didn’t seem to notice as he reached out for you. Orange magic grabbed you and threw you into his arms with a yelp, and he held you in a tight hug as he spun around. “You beautiful, glorious human!” He held you up by your arms, looking excited. “Do you know what this means?” He asked quickly, eyes wide and smile big. You’ve never seen him so happy.

You have also never been more terrified in your life.

“G-gaster…” You could feel yourself shaking in his hands, and his smile quickly dropped when he saw how red your face was, the slight quiver in your lip. “C-can you… put me down, p-please?” It took everything you had to not start crying at the request, your nerves clashing and still reeling from the panic. The response was instant, and he quickly set you down back on the counter. You immediately pulled your knees close and hugged yourself, still watching him carefully.

“What is wrong? Are you hurt? Was I perhaps to rough?” He asked quickly, seeming to grow concerned and leaned down to look for exterior damage with a much more expressive face than usual. You felt a flash of anger, and your eyes burned.

“I t-thought… I thought you were going to…” You inhaled trying to keep your shaking under control, but it felt like you just made it worse. You brought a hand up to where his teeth threatened to break skin, and looked away.

“Oh, no, of course not!” He straightened himself for a moment, seeming to realize what you were getting at. He swallowed, and leaned forward to quickly explain himself. “I would never mark you as my own. I simply needed you as terrified as you could possibly could be. I would never actually put you under anything like that, that was just a-“ There was a cracking sound, and he recoiled, bringing a hand to his face. You had your hand extended, and you realized you smacked him.

“But. You. Did.” You said sharply, shaking violently. You tried to control your breathing, anger burning on your face. “I was terrified. Y-you can’t just… do that!” You yelled, voice straining. Gaster seemed genuinely shocked you were so upset. That made you angrier. “What? D-did you expect me to be frightened for my life one moment, and fine the next?!” Gaster opened his mouth to say something, but you jumped to the ground and interrupted him. “No! It doesn’t work that way! I don’t care what your reasons are, that isn’t okay! I’m only human!”

“Precisely! I thought humans were resilient when their life was on the line. Surely you must have survived more life endangering situations than that.” He tried reasoning, taking a step back away from your rage. He must be nearly half a foot taller than Papyrus in height, yet he seemed to think you were a danger when angry.

“My life, maybe, not… that!”

“What’s going on here?” Sans’ voice caught the both of you off guard, and you turned to see him standing at the open door, a paper bag in his hand. He looked at how defensively Gaster was standing, and how your cheeks were burning with anger. His eyebrows lowered and he looked at Gaster. “What did you do?”

You immediately stomped over to Sans and grabbed the paper bag out of his hands. “Tell your fucking brother how to treat a human properly.” The venom in your voice shocked Sans, but you left the basement and stepped into the snow. It seemed like it was growing dark in Snowdin, but it wasn’t like you had any concept of time down here anyway. As you walked away from the basement you heard Sans pick up an accusatory tone of voice, but you left the brothers to the argument without you.

The snow crunched under your bare feet, and you bit your cheek to ignore the regret of allowing yourself to be teleported unprepared earlier. You quickly made your way to the house, going in just long enough to slip on shoes, ignoring the concerned look Flowey gave you and slammed the door behind you. You were halfway to the entrance of Waterfall when you realized you were still in your robe and pajamas, but you didn’t care at this point. You fixed your disheveled robe to cover more of your neck, but not because you needed the warmth.

The entrance of Waterfall welcomed you with warm air, probably coming all the way from Hotland you figured. You let the blue toned darkness surround you as you continued walking through, letting the distant sound of running water slow down your thoughts.

Your mind replayed the events of the basement without your permission, and you kept shaking your head to focus on where you were right now. One thing that stuck out was how he insisted he wasn’t going to… ‘mark’ you. Your hand rubbed your shoulder, thinking about it. As if getting ‘marked’ was what you were worried about.

Shaking your thoughts away once more, you made your way through the close cave space until you finally ended up where all the bridges were. You stopped a moment to take in the scene, before walking to the edge you and Sans ate at before. You really were a creature of habit, you realized as you sat down and pulled off your shoes, slowly putting your feet into the blue glowing water. Finally opening the paper bag you took from Sans, you saw plenty of hotdogs in buns stacked on each other, along with an entire bottle of ketchup next to them. There was just about enough food in here for three people, you realized with a slight pang of guilt. It ended shortly after Gaster’s actions replayed in your mind yet again, and you quickly grabbed a hotdog and gave it a small layer of ketchup before angrily biting into it.

“Just who does he think he is?” You mumbled with a mouthful of food, kicking the water. You swallowed and took another bite while staring at the waves of color. Possibly the worst thing about the situation, you figured, was how you didn’t see it coming. Ever since he was back he seemed cold, but more-or-less predictable. He was a doctor, and acted on curiosity but not to the point of threatening you like… that. After the fact he seemed so excited and active, somehow losing his cold doctor act after that terrifying situation. Maybe it had something to do with his Soul.

You paused mid-bite at that thought, just for a moment, before finishing the hotdog and grabbing another. His Soul was nearly full of Determination when he pulled it out the second time, but you didn’t know what exactly that meant. He was going to tell you, you realized, but of course you doubted you would have been able to appreciate that answer in the state you were in.

“You know, food tends to taste better when you actually take the time to taste it.” An old voice startled you, nearly making you drop what little of the hotdog you had left. You quickly turned around to see an old turtle monster looking at you. He stopped stroking his beard and slapped his knee. “Wahaha! So jumpy! I’m sure you have your reasons though.” You blinked at the monster, not knowing how to respond. He took the silence as an invitation to sit beside you. “Gerson.” He introduced himself simply.

You said your name, silently wondering why he was suddenly picking up a conversation with a random stranger. He seemed to notice. “You’ve a question in your eyes, I can see it. You’ve also lots of anger in there too. I’m not about to pry into anyone’s business, but I can see you need a distraction… and maybe help with those hotdogs?” He looked at your paper bag with his one good eye, slight smile hinting at his actual intentions with sitting with you.

“They’re not really mine to give out… but you can have one I suppose.” You grab one out of the bag and hand it to the old monster, who seemed to appreciate it quite a bit.

“Ah, that’s what I love about you humans! Either you are completely selfish, or truly givin’, and you never know what you might end up with! Wahaha!” He laughed again, taking a massive bite out of the hotdog. “Where are my manners? I said I was going to distract you, yet here I am making casual conversation.” He coughed and cleared his throat. “Let me tell you ‘bout the prophecy. Sure, the darn thing seems to be irrelevant now since we monsters are freed and everything, but it sure does make a nice story.” He pulled out a small purple cloth that was in the shape of a rounded shield, a circle with wings were taking over the top half, while three triangles almost looked like a face at the bottom.

He continued to talk about how the circle was an angel, said that they were the one who was going to empty the underground. He then laughed and said how the underground was still not empty, but the principle of the prophecy came true enough. He then continued to distract you more, talking about the ancient monster-human war, which he seemed to know too much about to have simply heard about it. You started to wonder how old monsters could even get, given that the war had become nothing more a bedtime story back on the surface…

He had strange nicknames for other monsters you knew, the one that stood out the most was his name for the King. Fluffybuns. That managed to make you laugh, and he seemed to take comfort that you genuinely responded. He talked and talked… rarely needing any sign to continue talking about absolutely everything.

After awhile he suddenly grew quiet, and he looked around the empty cave room you two were in.

“Say, I don’t see many humans around these parts alone. More often than not they are with another monster or travel in a pack, but givin’ that you are so comfortable as to wear your ‘jamas here, I can safely assume you’ve been here for some time, eh?” He half asked, and you shrugged.

“A little while, yeah.” You had kept your answers short and vague for the turtle during the encounter so far, and he picked up on that.

“Long vacations are fine and all, but don’t be hiding for too long.” He commented, finally finishing up the last bit of hotdog he had been holding onto this entire time. You startled, wondering how he knew. “The only people who go on breaks are ones who need to get away from something. The only time someone is upset on their break is when they can’t escape what they’re running from.” He winked at you… or maybe just blinked, you couldn’t exactly tell when he only had one eye.

“I’ll… keep that in mind, thank you.” You looked down at your feet, gently splashing the water to make the waves grow brighter in color.

“I think I distracted you long enough.” He stood up with a grunt, seeming to struggle with the shell on his back for a moment. “I’ll leave you to your business.” He gave a lazy wave to you and started walking back over the bridges. You mulled over the stories he told you. They weren’t directly relevant to your life at all, yet you took comfort in knowing about them. Old people were too wise for their own good, you concluded before standing up and shaking off the water on your feet.

You tried to dry your feet to the best of your ability before slipping on your shoes again, but you really didn’t want to walk all the way back to Sans’ house… Maybe you could try to teleport again? You swallowed, not really wanting to scare yourself to try teleporting though, knowing that you had plenty of material for that. You shook your head and sat down again, crossing your legs. People say meditation is great to control your thoughts… It was worth a shot.

You straightened your back and relaxed your arms, putting the paper bag in your lap and listening to the running water around you. In… Out… You controlled your breathing, and tried to clear your mind. Thoughts of the monster war bubbled in your head, and you quickly brushed them off. Come on, you could do it. In… Out… Your home popped up, and you wondered how Samus was doing. You hoped she was enjoying her time with Undyne and Alphys. She probably missed climbing in Sans.

“Agghhh…” You grumbled, rubbing your head. Your thoughts were too active to be empty. You would be here forever if you kept trying to meditate like this. You sighed, figuring the easiest way to teleport would to give yourself a quick scare, but you had trouble deciding if it was worth it. You made an incredibly short pro-con list that simply consisted of; Pros: Get to Sans’ place without the long walk. Cons: Scared. You sighed, your laziness winning the argument.

Swallowing, you closed your eyes and imagined yourself in a dark room, trying to force the thought of vines covering the ground. Yeah… Yeah that’s scary as shit, you congratulated yourself before realizing you weren’t actually scared of that at the moment. You grumbled at yourself and quickly shook your head, restarting the imagination.

The vines were slowly moving around you, growing along the sides of the shadows, before they all suddenly stopped moving. They started to sag, turning brown before slowly collapsing into dust, confusing you. You heard footsteps beside you, and when you turned your head, you saw a man with a crooked nose and burns across his face pointing a gun to your head. He had a wild look in his eyes, along with something dark that was splattered all across him. You looked down his dust-covered body, seeing that he was holding a long metal arm. That arm looked familiar to you, but before you could process it, you heard him cock the hammer of the gun back.

“End of the line, pet.”

The gun fired, and you screamed as you fell in the air. Your fall was interrupted by the table in Sans’ living room, but only partially. You bounced to the ground hard, putting pressure on your tailbone as you swore and hissed through your breaths, the pain being equal to at least double that of hitting your funny bone on the counter edge.

“Whoa!” You heard Sans shout, a cup falling to the ground. You glanced up to see Sans looking shocked at you, before quickly coming to your side. “You okay, Vertebae?” He asked, helped you sit up, but you kept sitting on a hand, to try and relieve the pain. You started to shake your head, but automatically trying to nod, and ended up with an awkward impersonation of a bobble head. You swallowed and looked around the room to make sure you actually ended up where you wanted, more-or-less.

Gaster looked like he was sitting at the couch before you appeared, now standing with a hand to his chest as he looked puzzled between you and it. “Did something happen?” He quickly asked, seeming to be his more lively self rather the doctor.

“No- I mean, yes, but not really…” You quickly said, shaking your head trying to get your thoughts straight. “Sans, call Alphys.” You quickly looked at Sans, your request confusing him.

“Right now? It’s pretty late-“

“Call Alphys.” You said again, carefully standing up and rubbing your rear. “Just… trust me. It’s probably nothing, but please?” He nodded, quickly heading up the stairs and to his room. You watched him close the door behind him, hoping your imagination was just an out of control daydream.

“Are… are you alright?” Gaster asked. You looked at him, and he was still looking concerned at you.

“Just peachy.” You said flatly, clear that you haven’t forgiven or forgotten what he’d done yet. He nodded, averting his eyes a moment before looking back to you. His hands were tying themselves into knots before he took a breath, bringing them behind his back.

“I should… properly apologize. Sans has told me more about humans and I realized that my actions earlier may have came across as a much more personal form of attacking.” You raised your eyebrow, waiting for more. “Please understand my interactions with humans within this reality are nearly nonexistent. Before the core incident I have had but a couple encounters with humans, not nearly enough to learn any sort of behavioral or social norms. I believed I was simply threatening your physical body and the integrity of Sans’ territory, as… that is what the equivalent to monsters is.” He swallowed, seeming genuinely nervous. “I would not have acted in such a manner had I known it carried a different weight for humans.” He bowed slightly, keeping his eyes to the ground.

“God, why do you have to always be so wordy?” You asked, crossing your arms. Gaster looked up at you, shocked. “Just… say you are sorry already, man. I don’t care what your excuse is, I just want to know- that you know- that you seriously messed up and won’t do it again.” You frowned at him, and he quickly stood up properly again, placing a hand on his chest.

“My ap- I mean… I am sorry. It will not happen again without express permission.” He gave a slight bow again, and you wondered where he picked that sort of habit up. You considered his apology, but you weren’t entirely sure if you could forgive him just yet. It did seem like he meant it, at least.

“Guys, we have a problem.” Sans stepped close to the railing on the second floor, looking down at the two of you. He had the phone in his hand, and you could see the worry on his face.

“What’s wrong?” You asked feeling a pit open in your stomach, already having a bad feeling that you knew what happened.

“They have Mettaton.”