Were We Doomed From The Start?

7.- A Person In The Woods

Ninja turned around very quickly, and this creature leaned close to him. He asked Ninja what they intended on doing, having seen that Ninja was staring at the skeleton in pink slippers and a blue fluffy coat.

Ninja was vague in his response, not wanting to divulge information about himself to a stranger. The creature noticed this and nodded, then disappeared. Even when out of sight, he still continued to watch the human, seeing if he was up to anything sinister. However, after observing for quite some time, he found Ninja to be quite harmless.

Even then, he kept his distance till Ninja caught a glimpse of him, and motioned for him to come over. He went over, and saw Shadow staring at him with a mostly blank expression on his face, with a slight hint of anger. The creature started to communicate with Ninja, and slowly noticed how Shadow watched his every move, and every breath he took. But then Shadow began to ignore him the more Ninja talked to him.

The creature also noticed this, and decided to speak to Shadow about it, signing to him that he meant no harm to his human, but Shadow only ignored him more, and started to look back at Ninja for backup as he tried to keep him away from Ninja.

"Hm, that odd shadow is rather protective..." He muttered to himself. He looked towards the human before speaking again.
"Look, shadow...I wish to speak to your human friend alone if you don't mind. Your presence and jealousy are a little...unsettling." He spoke. Shadow got angry at this comment, while Ninja's interest peaked, as he was now snickering at Gaster's comment.

Gaster looked at Shadow, his eyes locked onto him as he signed something slowly.
"I'm not here to harm your human friend, please calm down...there's no need for hostility."
He then looked at Ninja.
"Your shadow is acting very protective. Perhaps it is jealous of me?"

Ninja's snicker abruptly stopped, and he slowly turned to look at Shadow, stone faced. His tone turned into something of anger and annoyance as he asked Shadow if that was true, if he really was jealous. Shadow shook his head and feebly attempted to deny it but the slight blush on his face said otherwise.

Then he looked back at Shadow while Ninja glared.
"Why are you jealous of me, Shadow?" He asked.
Shadow ignored him, but Ninja took notice, his face still scowling.

He then waved his hand, catching Shadow's attention. "Shadow, I mean you no harm. I mean the human no harm. So, again, can you please stop acting jealous here?"
Shadow scoffed, and turned away, leaving them both in the cave.

He then waved his hand to get Ninja's attention, before speaking again.
"Human, I am W. D. Gaster, Royal Scientist of the Underground. I suppose I must be a bit of a mystery to you, correct?"

Ninja nodded, and introduced himself as someone with a blurred out past, of which he had long forgotten, with seemingly no present, and the only thing he remembered being his nickname, "Ninja".

"Ah...an odd nickname...and no identity to go along with it...hm, why is that?" Gaster asked curiously.

"Why do you have a blurry past and no present, Ninja...? Is this some sort of curse?"

Ninja shook his head, claiming he didn't know why, and explained how he lived, along with how his shadow came to be and how he got to the Underground.

Gaster nodded, listening intently to Ninja's situation. After hearing the whole story, he seemed more understanding than usual. Something about Ninja's predicament made him rather sympathetic.
"Ninja, hm...I see. A sorcerer? Very interesting that your shadow is...well, sentient."

Ninja nodded in agreement and asked him for his help to look for Shadow, then leave the Underground.

Gaster took a moment to think. Finding Shadow, and leaving the Underground.
"That sounds like a dangerous quest...but, I suppose I could help you."
Gaster took a few more moments to think in order to be sure with his decision. Then,
"Alright. I shall assist you, Ninja."

They both set out to find Shadow, and found him fiddling with Echo Flowers, picking out a few small ones for Ninja.

Gaster watched Shadow pick a few of the Echo Flowers and walk over to Ninja, putting a few in his hair. As he did so, Gaster took notice of Shadow's protectiveness over the human. He didn't seem too thrilled about it, but he remained silent for the time being.

Ninja then explained to Shadow how Gaster would help them leave the Underground, and Shadow seemed unhappy about it, but only frowning about it when Ninja looked away.

Gaster nodded in agreement with Ninja as he watched them sign to each other. After a little bit, Shadow signalled to speak with him. Curious, Gaster asked why.
"Shadow...do you have something you wish to discuss with me?"

Shadow nodded, and walked over to a different part of the cave, Gaster followed.

Once there, Shadow asked Gaster for a favour, to help him keep Ninja safe, as he worried a lot due to the creatures roaming about and the talking flower that had taken an interest in him.

It was easy to tell just how much Shadow was worried, and so Gaster decided to help him, telling him that he shouldn't worry.
"Shadow, I understand your worry.
But I'm sure Ninja will be okay; I am here with them after all...I'd recommend having a bit more faith in Ninja."

Shadow seemed shocked to hear this. "More faith?" He thought to himself.
"I trust him with my very existence, but if he gets hurt..."

He silently sighed and looked up at Gaster, confused at Gaster's comment but grateful that he'd help. As he was about to sign something else, an echoing laugh came from the cave where they had left Ninja in.

"Is that Ninja? Perhaps we should go check on them." Gaster signed to Shadow. Shadow nodded and they both headed over, only to encounter the talking flower from before.

It was about to attack Ninja, who had his hands up in a vain attempt of blocking the hit. The attack was about to hit him when Gaster stepped in. He swiftly pushed Ninja out of the way, into Shadow's arms and blocked the attack.

He then asked the flower a question.
"Who are you, and why are you trying to attack Ninja? What has he done to provoke you?"

The flower was vague in its rambling response, the only thing that was clear was that he said it was a world of "kill or be killed" while looking halfway around the bend, clearly losing its mind if it hadn't already.

Gaster frowned, disappointed in its response. He briefly glanced back at Ninja, slightly worried before diverting his attention back to the flower.

"Very well then...if that is the game you wish to play."
Gaster turned to Shadow, and signed something.
"Shadow...I want you to hide with Ninja while I take care of this flower, understood?"

Shadow's expression changed, now looking incredibly serious as he realised the magnitude of the situation. He nodded and grabbed Ninja's hand to pull him away from the chaos about to break out. They hid just out of sight, but close enough to observe the fight.