W. D. Gaster - An Undertale Story

Chapter Four

   Gaster's alarm went off again this morning just as it had yesterday morning. He woke up and turned it off. He looked to the mirror in his room and sighed deeply.
   Last night, he had numerous nightmares. Not just about the "Void", but about Dr. Raven, about the war, even about monsters he saw but had never even talked to. He had been tossing and turning all night. Maybe it was a mistake to read the note, Gaster thought, Maybe Raven left it in the wrong hands. Maybe I failed her. The thought terrified him.
   He shook the feeling off and went to his bathroom. He put on a different set of clothes today. He had on the same white lab coat, but underneath wore a black button-up shirt with a tie, a black belt, and black pants. In school, the other monsters had always accused Gaster to be a depressed kid because of how often he wore black. But it wasn't because he was depressed. He simply just liked the color.
   Gaster walked down the stairs, past his black table, and out into the Hotlands. It must have been storming on the Surface, because every monster could slightly hear and feel the thunder and lightning.
   Gaster walked down the path to the Lab. A few monsters by now knew who he was and said "Hi". Others had no idea who he was and didn't even acknowledge him.
   As Gaster continued to walk, he suddenly felt a push on his sleeve. He turned around, not seeing anyone. Then he heard a small voice from below say "Down here, mister!" Gaster looked down to see a small monster. It wore a orange-and-dark-orange-sleeved shirt. It had a few pointed scales that started at the top of his head and ran down his back into his shirt. The creature did not have arms.
   Gaster was fascinated by the creature. He did not know if the creature not having arms was genetic or if it they had been torn off somehow, but he was sure that either way, life would be hard like that. "Hi! My dad saw you walk into the Lab yesterday! So today he took me here all the way from Snowdin! Are you Dr. W. D. Gaster?", the creature asked.
   Gaster smiled at the creature's cuteness. "Why, yes I am!", he replied. He kneeled down to the creature's level. "And you are?"
   The creature smiled. "My name is Monster Kid!", the creature answered. Gaster laughed with joy. Monster Kid smiled even wider. "My dad comes here every day, and I was hoping to meet the first Royal Scientist we've had in my lifetime!", Monster Kid said excitedly. "I would hug you, but…", Monster Kid trailed off, looking at both of his shoulders, where arms would've been. He then giggled.
   Gaster felt bad for the creature, but also loved everything about him. Monster Kid may have had the disadvantage of no arms, but he always looked on the bright side of things. So Gaster did what Monster Kid had wanted to do. He hugged Monster Kid tightly. Monster Kid smiled, enwrapped by the warm embrace of a hug.
   Gaster pulled away, stood back up to his own level, and patted Monster Kid on the head. Monster Kid smiled. "Stay safe! And have a nice day!", Gaster called out as the creature ran back to a monster, which W. D. Gaster guessed was his father. Gaster finally brung himself to the Lab entrance.
   Today will be better, he told himself, Today will be better.
   He opened the red doors at a normal speed. He stepped into the Lab and immediately saw Alphys in the crowd of scientists presenting their theories. "Alphys!", he called out, and the yellow lizard immediately looked over to him and waved.
   "Hey, Dr. Gaster!", she called back. They walked towards each other and met at the center of the main hall. "Are you ready for your next day on the job?", Alphys asked. Gaster nodded. "Alright then. Follow me." They continued to walk down the hall.
   Gaster stopped at the elevator but Alphys continued to walk. "Um… Alphys! Where are you going?", Gaster called out. Alphys turned around then smiled.
   "You have a surprise visit, Dr. Gaster.", Alphys said, motioning for Gaster to follow her. Gaster looked at her confusedly. He decided to follow her, captured by curiosity. "You see,", Alphys started, "I found out that Dr. Raven's parents are still alive. So, considering that we haven't had a Royal Scientist in 13 years since Dr. Raven, they want to meet you." Gaster gasped.
   Alphys stopped at a different elevator with light blue doors. Gaster stopped as well. "If we get there through an elevator, why didn't we go through the elevator back in the main hall?", he asked. Alphys looked up at Gaster.
   "Because this elevator only moves between two floors. This one,", she said as she pointed around the room. "and floor 'Malice'." Gaster hadn't realized how important Dr. Raven was. What an inspiration she was to people. And now the people who raised one of the smartest monsters ever known in the Underground wanted to meet him.
   Alphys pressed a golden button beside the elevator. It opened to reveal a small space made of silver and bronze. It appeared as if the elevator was made for King Asgore himself. Gaster and Alphys stepped into the elevator. Gaster looked around the elevator and noticed that there were only three buttons in the elevator. One button was labeled "1". The one above it was labeled "Malice". There was a final and third one to the side labeled "Emergency Stop". Gaster just wondered why this elevator only led to floor "Malice", but the others did not.
   Alphys pressed the button labeled "Malice". The other elevator had a jerk when it began to start moving up or down. But this elevator's movement was smooth and Gaster could barely tell when it started and stopped. He just knew when the door opened, he was about to meet two special people.
   Alphys walked down a path of grey and red carpet, Gaster trailing behind her. The hall they were in was built with gold and black crystals. The pillars were white and built with marble. Alphys stopped at a huge set of black doors. Gaster thought the place was beautiful. Alphys grabbed one of the black crystal doorhandles and looked at Gaster.
   "Are you ready to meet them?", Alphys asked. Gaster nodded. She pullled open the huge door with force. A light emitted from the room, lighting up the entire hall. After his eyes adjusted to the light, Gaster looked at the contents of the room.
   The room was built from black crystals and clear crystals. Red carpet covered the entirety of the floor. Light flowed in from every window, which light was emitted from bright lamps, there being no sun in the Underground. There were three people standing in the middle of the room.
   One of them was a female crow creature. She wore a golden diamond-shaped necklace, a dark turquoise dress, a black shawl, and a pair of dark turquoise buckled boots. She appeared to be at least 60 years old.
  Another one was a male toucan creature. He wore a black top hat, white button-up shirt, dark grey jacket, dark blue jeans, and black dress shoes.
   The final monster was King Asgore. Gaster widened his eyes and bowed down to Asgore. "King Asgore!", he said with respect. He closed his eyes as he did so, then he heard Asgore slightly laugh. Gaster opened one eye and looked up in curiosity.
   Asgore waved off Gaster's sign of respect. "No need to bow, dear friend.", he said. Gaster looked up wide-eyed at Asgore, surprised. Asgore, the current king of the Underground, didn't want Gaster to bow down to him. He always had, but now, because he was the Royal Scientist, he did not have to bow down to Asgore. Gaster slowly stood up.
   The male toucan creature looked at Gaster with a smile. "Hello, Dr. W. D. Gaster. My name is Marco.", the man said. He glanced at his wife, the crow. "This is Jecklyn.", Marco said, then looked back up at Gaster. "We are so honored to meet you." Gaster widened his eyes.
   They were honored to meet him? Gaster shook his head and chuckled. "It is quite the opposite, um, Marco.", Gaster said. Marco had a confused look on his face. "You see, I am actually honored to meet you two. You guys had a child that achieved more in her lifetime than I probably ever will in mine. She is irreplaceable.", Gaster explained.
   Jecklyn smiled. "Thank you, sir!", she said, wrapping her hands around the golden diamond-shaped necklace. Gaster looked down at it, fascinated by it's beauty.
   "What's that?", Gaster asked, pointing at the necklace. "It's beautiful."
   Jecklyn looked down at the necklace and back up at Gaster. "Oh. It's a necklace that Marco gave me on our wedding day. It was like a wedding present, and he promised to always be here for me.", she explained. Gaster smiled, happy that even though the woman was a complete stranger to him, she was willing to open up to him. Jecklyn gave a laugh under her breath. "You know, you remind me of Raven. She was always curious about things, always wanted to know an answer, just like you. She actually asked the same thing about this necklace.", she said, tears beginning to form under her eyes.
   Marco wiped the tear away and Jecklyn hugged him tightly. Gaster placed his hand on the crow's shoulder. "Thank you.", he said. Jecklyn and Marco smiled at him. Asgore placed his hands on the couple's shoulders.
   "Now, let's talk about what we came here to talk about.", he said, nodding his head once. Jecklyn and Marco nodded back. Gaster looked around the room, suddenly realizing that Alphys had left. He looked back at the three monsters. Jecklyn took in a deep breath and sighed.
   "It happened when Raven was 15 years old. When she found out about the substance called 'determination'."