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Falling and Flight.
Running and Hiding.
Fighting and Dying.
All culminating in starbursts of pain, until finally–
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
Everything shattered before her… eyes? No, that wasn’t quite right, she wasn’t witnessing any of this with normal senses, even as a subpar, newly learning, mage, Frisk could tell that much. This was… far closer to thinking of something like her own memory, like it was being superimposed over something that was already there.
The voice, the scream, the all-encompassing rage, however, that was all Chara. So strong in its intensity that she could feel it boiling over into her own mind, and body, covering her in a tidal wave of emotional turmoil until it all just…
Exploded.
At one moment, there was nothing, but in an instant; they were back in the field. The only difference now being the million blades that filled the air between them and Dr. Gaster. Frisk was more startled, however, by the miasma that seemed to leak from Chara’s body. from her eyes, from under her nails, and even from her mouth. Where there had once been a clear blue sky above them, the sun was now setting, and the air around Chara had turned black– except, that wasn’t quite it. It was more like the air was empty , just a pitch-black nothing where the air had once been, it almost made her appear like she had demonic-like wings.
“Peace, Child of Charis.”
“Peace?!” Chara shrieked, her voice sounding layered and echoed, as if others were trying to talk over her, “You went in my head! You rifled around in my memories! You committed one of the greatest sins of magic!”
The floating blades inched ever so closer.
“I should have your head.”
For all the threatening, accusing, and danger, Dr. Gaster seemed more unamused than anything resembling scared. In fact, he seemed almost to frown, contemplative, as he looked at Chara once more.
“You have experienced much, but I do not pity you,” he intoned, “the compromises you made, well, I suppose it would be correct to say that you’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”
The blades moved again, all but skewering the monster, and Chara advanced.
“You said you wanted to know how many times this world has been Reset, but you didn’t even look in the right spot. You knew exactly what you were doing, don’t pretend to have shame now.”
The blades moved in ever closer, almost beginning to pierce the scientist, that was, until he spoke again.
“You don’t even know who you’ve made a deal with, do you?”
His smile was gone, as was any sadistic humour that he had previously possessed, only a cold, calculating gaze remained. the blades stopped, and Chara paused, looking down on him as a god might a human. Her eyes glowed for a moment, and the scowl morphed into one of a grimace.
“I know enough.”
Gaster viewed the girl, shaking his head, “No, you truly don’t.”
Another moment passed, and then the World began to peel back, like petals floating away into the wind. Leaving them in the office of the doctor once more, not a single thing out of place, as if the whole thing they witnessed hadn’t just occurred.
“Talk,” Chara said, voice deadly even, even her mutations remained the same despite being outside of her World, “or I’ll be keeping my word.”
She held the same dagger that Frisk had seen in her memories, she wisely didn’t comment on that, however, as she liked living.
“I’m sure,” he chuckled, although it didn’t feel particularly funny, “do you ever have nightmares? Either of you?”
“The answer is ‘yes’, of course,” he continued without waiting for them to respond, “everyone has dreams, even if they don’t remember them, and in turn; everyone has nightmares. What if I told you that for magic-users, these nightmares are something else?”
“Meaning… what exactly?” Frisk asked, speaking up from behind Chara for the first time since the visions had taken place, “does this have something to do with…” she looked at Chara, and then back to Gaster, “World?”
Gaster’s eyes gleamed, and he hummed, “you’re on the right track, but, if I may ask; what led you to this conclusion?”
Chara wanted to know too, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off the scientist to look back at Frisk, after all, she was trying to keep him in check.
“Well, Grillby said humans using magic is like creating a reality within ourselves, right?” she started, “and, if the reality where magic flows through eventually creates a World… it’s still inside us, part of us, and couldn’t that reality affect our dreams?”
There were a few moments of silence, Gaster looked pleased, but Chara was… disturbed. The explanation was too perfect, too uniform, as if this wasn’t the first time she had to explain the idea. She wondered, and not for the first time, the true extent of Frisk’s Reset-induced amnesia.
“You would be partially correct,” he agreed, “the ‘reality’ within humans that allows them to create magic has an interesting effect on the mind, even though our limited studies– from decades ago, mind you– show that even though they are separate.”
“You said ‘partially’,” Chara said, “what does that mean?”
“Humans and Monsters work inherently differently from each other, for example; as you know, humans have that ‘reality’ within them that pulls in magic from around them. Monsters do not have this ability, we have what is within us, and that is it. As such, Monsters cannot have a type of ‘reality’ and by extension; we cannot for a World.”
Chara knew this, of course, but something about all of this still stunk.
And then it clicked.
“But you pulled us into your World,” Chara pushed, “you tried to–”
“I am a bit of a special case,” he cut her off, eyes looking hard, “across every timeline, no matter the place, or status, ‘W.D. Gaster’ makes contact with the Void. I am the only one to keep my wits about me after that event, however, and now… well, I suppose you could consider me a bit of a ‘faker’.”
He turned to look at his papers, pulling a specific page out from the top of a, seemingly, random pile. A skeletal hand shimmered into existence beside him, hovering in the air as it took the page, and handed it to Chara.
“I have my own magic, of course,” his eyes glowed a dim turquoise, “I can affect all five of the senses, as much as I want, all at the same time, to any degree. I was very much vaunted among my peers during the war, but do you want to hear something interesting?”
Chara didn’t look up from the sheet of paper she had been handed, only reading name, after name, after name, and affiliated magic.
“I hated my power,” he sighed heavily, “I loathed it entirely. When our city was breached, forced into the Underground below our kingdom, we sealed ourselves inside, with the humans of your family adding another layer on top of that.”
Chara flinched, almost dropping the paper, and Frisk stiffened. He didn’t seem to hold any ill will, but he certainly didn’t care about being nice about it.
“I turned to the concept of the Void to free us,” he suddenly seemed as old as he probably was, weary, tired, “but it was never mine to wield, and so, it gave me a curse; the curse to copy anything I see, no matter my own will on the matter.”
His fists clenched, and they could hear his bones creak.
“I must remember everything I see, storing it in my mind, every death, every failed attempt, every deadly magic, and every dead child. The Void is a cruel mistress, but the fault is my own, for a concept itself cannot be inherently evil–”
“Just like a storm isn’t evil just because it rips up houses, or floods,” Frisk whispered, looking paler than usual.
Gaster nodded, “Yes, it meted out the most fitting punishment for someone who tried to steal something that never belonged to them,” he grunted, “I see that it finally found its Queen, though, child.”
“You still haven’t answered the question,” Chara growled, ignoring the jab.
“Right, of course,” he nodded, “it was only a decade, or so ago when my apprentice sought to do what I did, only he thought himself smarter, purer, without experience in the war… he thought the Void would not curse him as it had me.”
The silence was deafening.
“At first, we thought him correct,” Gaster continued, “he made contact with the Void, and its curse did not inflict him. But, in due time, it's madness did.”
“Madness?” Chara whispered, “ what happened?”
“He had dreams, nightmares,” Gaster pulled out a chair from his desk, and sat, “but they were abnormal, of things he had never seen, places he had never been, with people he didn’t know… and he could feel pain within these dreams.”
“That…”
“Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Gaster chuckled, truly lacking in humour this time around, “yes, they were visions. It seems that those with an inner ‘reality’, those who awaken magic, and those who touch the Void, can experience these nightmares.”
“What did he see?” Frisk asked, stepping forward as arcs of purple light jumped off the bottom of her feet.
“Frisk–”
She ignored Chara, walking right up to the monster, “ What did he see?”
He looked at her, and just stared for a minute, leaving them all in suspense until he spoke again, “He saw you, ” then he looked to Chara, “and you. He saw you save the world, he saw you destroy it, and he watched you end yourself, many times more than anything else. You always came back though…”
Frisk looked sick, distraught, and angry all in one moment, the last being a rare sight for the girl, and Chara had no way to comfort her. Especially not right now, during all this, and while she still looked like a monster.
“He saw the magic of Avalon traced onto your body, he saw that you would never be rid of it,” Gaster laughed ruefully, “such a powerful magic, even if the scabbard itself is not with you at the moment… but this is all just the rambling of an old man.”
He stood again, far above the two teens, and shook his head, “my apprentice, the prince, he thinks the only way to save the world, and to escape this hell; is to kill you.”
Chara felt her blood boil, but Frisk’s words stopped her from doing anything drastic, “ I can’t die, ” she whispered, almost too quietly for Chara to hear, “ he can’t even…”
“Aye,” Gaster said, “but, he can kill your companion.”
Chara stiffened, and they all felt the room become charged with static.
“ Don’t– ”
“I don’t make threats, and I don’t try to endanger children,” he paused, “but if one of you falls, he will more than likely have what he needs to enact his plans with the barrier.”
Chara felt something stir with her, something she had not felt since…
“If I could talk to him–”
“Whatever relationship you shared with him in another world, is no longer important here , even less so to him. In his visions, he has lived many more of your lifetimes.”
Frisk turned, making way to leave the room behind, “Yeah, but he’s not the only one.”
She stepped out of the room, and yet the static charge remained, Chara was yet to leave. However, she did let her magic leave her body, letting her return to some semblance of normality before she too would exit.
“You brought all of this up,” Chara motioned at the paper, and herself, “all while talking about my deal, but you never did explain that.”
Gaster turned away from her, looking at something that was probably unimportant to her, “Do I really need to?”
Chara paused, looking at the old monster, and then turned to leave as well.
“Not anymore.”