Fictober 2024

A Paradoxical Existence

Universe: Something New

MC: Gaster

Genre: Angst

Warnings:
-OOC
-Barely edited
-Mention(s) of past abuse
-Mention(s) of past torture
-Implied character death

A/N:

I did not mean for Gaster to turn out like this, but my mind seems to really want Killer to suffer today. Can you tell Killer is one of my favs?
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The door creaks open.

Gaster waits patiently till the door fully opens, not too surprised at the skeleton that walks through. While not fully capable of being present in the timelines due to his foolish mistake in the past, he's still a bit aware of what goes on in each timeline.

He's surprised it took this long for the values to align so the door would open, honestly. No matter. With his situation, Gaster is admittedly grateful that this can happen at all.

Especially since he can actually talk to the surprise guest this time. His feelings about Sans are... complicated.

(Or is it Killer now? Him and his brother really don't stick with the names they're given, even if they're ones they chose themselves. Though, he doubt they're close enough anymore to name each other a new name again.)

He doesn't regret making him and Papyrus. He does regret what he did with them a bit, admittedly, even if it was ultimately all to find a way to break the barrier and defend them against humanity. But no, what he regrets most is leaving an opening for Sans to push him into the core, into his current predicament.

He shouldn't have been so foolish. Now, the damned monsters who he pushed his SOUL and sanity into attempting to save and protect, to preserve their existence, have all forgotten his existence, and-

Deep breaths. Gaster will not let his first meeting in possibly a decade (or is it shorter? Or longer?) start on a bitter note. No matter that it's the preparator for his nonexistence in this universe.

(He supposes he can recognize it's his fault, ultimately. An eye for an eye, as the humans say.)

Sans stares at him listlessly, a lifeless smile on his skull and eyesockets blank. His SOUL bobs slightly in the air in front of him, a fascinating spectacle. The amount of determination in it should not be possible for a monster SOUL to hold, so much so that he's surprised his body hasn't completely deteriorated.

His smile widens as he approaches the still skeleton.

"It has been a while, has it not?"

Killer's stare is still blank, though his head is tilted upwards to gaze at his face. Good, Gaster likes to know he isn't being ignored.

(Why can't they hear him? Why can't they see him? He's right there, so why- )

Gaster continues on.

"I admit I did not expect such a turn of events! But, well..." Gaster tilts his head. "I suppose you were never the type to not stray off of expectations. "

He hums, a bit delighted, a bit annoyed. Killer does not speak.

(It's a bit irritating. Even the child was more willing to speak with him, despite not understanding him.)

"I have to admit, you've gotten even more creative since you were taken away by that new anomaly! Such a twisted little thing you are, aren't you?"

The new powerful monster had been a surprise. Nightmare, he thinks he called himself? Gaster is unsure.

(He dislikes being unsure.)

It's a pity Killer came here in one of his silent episodes, truly. He's usually so chatty whenever Gaster manages to peek at the current timeline. He hums as he brings his hands to the side of Killer's face, tilting his head upwards further as he caresses it in a mockery of a parents gentle hold.

"Perhaps I could have broken your spirits if I learned to make you suffer like that, if I was a bit more SOULless. I think I could've done a much better job now."

Not that Gaster is capable of going back to that time, unfortunately.

"I'm not surprised this is what you learned when you went flouncing around the multiverse."

While Gaster was stuck here, damned to a paradoxical existence, alive and yet not at the same time-

... He coos at him.

"You are my son, after all."

Killer's hand twitches, his SOUL shifting as a faint eyelight briefly flickers in one of his eyesockets. The black sludge dripping down his face starts speeding up, growing thicker as Gaster's hold on his skull tightens.

(Is it determination? Is it hate? Corrupted magic, perhaps? He can see dust in it.)

"Now... did you stick to the plan?"

Sans's plan, naturally. Not Gaster's, not Killer's. And, well, Gaster is hardly the type to let go of a grudge. He may not start the interaction on a bitter note, but he can certainly end it on one.
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A/N:

And that's the last of Killer's AU! He may show up again as a side character later on, but he will not be a main one.

Next chap: Outertale, Asgore