Unrequited LOVE

•Chapter 33•

I'm never getting out of here.

The revelation came to you after what had to be a few, agonizing weeks in the 'red void'.

...Blue would have scolded you for daring think that.

Jokes aside, the chances of escape seemed unlikely. With your magic permanently disabled (due to the fact that you had no SOUL), there was no feasible way out.

The desire to leave also shrunk. In a way, the loneliness seeping at the edges of this reality comforted you. It was far better than staying with Gaster, too.

I wonder if that prick's dusted yet...

And so, you continued to exist - if this even qualified as existing. While the emptiness of the void was rather annoying, it gave you time to think... actually think.

Life in the neutral void - where just about anyone (*cough* Ink *cough*) could barge in and ruin your day - was a thought killer. Being a guardian came with the same predicament, for there was seldom a time when you'd been able to think without interruption.

...It was far more calming than one would perceive.

When the red color of the void deepened, you laid down, curled on top of your right wing. One small mercy was that the void periodically changed colors, a symbolization of night and day.

And it was rather helpful. At least you were getting enough sleep each 'day', a luxury rarely enjoyed in your life as a guardian.

Everything was silent - just as it always was - when your eyelids fluttered closed. The calmness seeping from the red-void invaded your limp form, though no emotion stirred.

Oh... right. The thought of your missing SOUL was enough to dampen the mood.

...You might as well get used to it, for a SOUL could never be recovered. It was one of few things in life that existed only once.

Sleep poked at the edges of your mind, engulfing it in a hazy blanket of nothingness, an embrace of compassion.

...

It was a shame you didn't notice the figure looming in the distance; watching, waiting.

***

Swap didn't know what to do upon finding a strange monster in his section of the void.

...A naked, female monster with big, feathered wings.

Yeah... he was still getting over that.

After sufficiently clothing her (which consisted of shucking his vest off and throwing the oversized garment over her body), the Gaster-base decided to bring her to his home. Much to his surprise, her body, despite being almost as tall as him, weighed so little he could have mistaken her for a stuffed, life-sized doll.

Now that was a problem.

And so, he brought the monster to his home; a one-floor cabin that's existence defied all logic. The living room couch proved an adequate bed, and Swap was glad he had so many blankets on 'hand'.

Though he didn't know when, or if, she'd wake, Swap found himself pulling up a chair near the couch. He sat down after brewing himself some golden flower tea.

Now all he had to do was wait.

***

Swap was getting worried. Two days passed since he'd found the mysterious female, and she'd yet to wake. Even he, a simple ferryman, knew the danger of such a situation.