Eyes of Stone (Gaster!Sans x Reader)

38. Mountains Of Memory

G froze.

"Marli?"

"Yes, Marli," I drawled, cocking a brow at his sudden nervousness. "Who is she, or was she?" 

Silence.

"G." I poked him in the side and he jumped a little, his eyes never meeting mine. "Come on, man, I deserve to know!" I exclaimed, a laugh edging my voice. G merely sighed, scratching the back of his neck and tapping his foot on the cobblestone.

"Okay, okay," G relented after I cleared my throat, and so I sat up, ready to hear just who this 'Marli' was. "It's not a pretty story, so jus'... jus' prepare yourself."

"Alright," I replied, lifting a leg onto the bench to lean on it.

And so he told the story.

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A tentative silence drew out between us, and my brows were knitted in dense confusion.

"So... Let me get this straight: you captured a woman, held her and interrogated her in your basement, and then proceeded to completely forget about her until she escaped?!"

"You're forgetting that she basically had me arrested!" G cut in, his eye sockets forming round circles of desperation. It would've been comical, had I not been so shocked. When G had finished his story I had stood up, beginning to pace in front of the bench, and his eye-lights followed me.

"And that was because you kidnapped her!" I shot back, shaking my head in disbelief. I could not comprehend his story; for G to kidnap a woman and interrogate her? It didn't seem real.

"I kidnapped her to get her to tell me about you! To see if she knew where you were, if you were still alive!" G yelled, and I stilled. My eyes dropped to the floor, the faint sense of a headache purging my mind. I sighed, rubbing my temples in small circles with my fingers. In my peripheral vision I saw G slump, taking his head in his hands. "Doll, what I did was wrong, 'n I regret it. But you gotta understand, it was for you," he explained, his hands out in a sort of surrender gesture.

"Where is she now?" I breathed, folding my arms. G looked confused for a moment, before the emotion slipped off his features.

"Undyne told me she escaped, and they have a feeling it was her who rallied the humans to attack," he sighed, defeated. I nodded, my eyes trained on the far sun.

"Okay," I replied.

"Okay?" he cocked a brow-bone, sinking into one hip.

"Yes, okay. I get why you did that, but promise me..." He looked hopeful, and a faint smile crossed my face. "Promise me you won't ever do that again." G grinned and ate up the small distance between us, drawing me into him.

"Easy, doll. I promise," he murmured into my hair, and I relaxed into his familiar hold.

"Now," I started when we broke the embrace. "We ought to get back up to the Capital, see what we can do," I spoke, and G nodded firmly, taking my hand and beginning to walk up the desolate street.

"I wonder if they know when the humans will attack again," he pondered aloud, and I felt a dark cloud of thought pass over me, remembering what was truly at stake.

"Hopefully, that way we can plan and fight back," I concluded, watching the way tiny pebbles skittered across the grass and cobble, that paved the way through the Monster City, my home.

As we walked many things made their way through their mind, the process like water dripping from a waterfall- slow, but steady. So much had happened, so much that I had yet to absorb. After a while I figured that, if I couldn't catch up on absolutely everything, then I should just 'live in the moment', despite the cheesiness of that phrase. It was true, though. After disappearing for four years, I found a sad sort of gratuity for G, for my friends, for life, in all its splendors and horrors. I would live life, and live it to the full, if not for myself then for the billions of people that couldn't, especially my family.

"Penny for your thoughts?" G murmured, and I smiled at the recurring use of the saying.

"Just thinking how lucky I am to be here, right now," I grinned, and G mirrored the expression, his white bones glowing in an ethereal way. The sun kissed our backs, the soft breeze like a feather dancing on our skin, and my soul finally felt at peace.

But, nothing lasts forever. 

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The familiar brick work and flapping banners of the Capital Building eventually came into view, monsters huddled at house fronts or crossing the roads, limbs holding all the supplies they could muster. It was a melancholic but recognisable sight; I had come upon it many times after my home was bombed and my family killed. After trying to run from the city, I, along with other orphans and innocent people ravaged by the war, was rounded up by the military and sent to housing estates further inland, but no further from the horrors that seemed to pursue us. Ruled by military divisions, it seemed state authority and furthermore country authority had been forgotten, disbanded because of the current state of affairs. They had fled, taking with them our hope that we might ever greet peace face to face again.

You're probably thinking: well at least you had a roof over your head, food and water, right? That much was true, but the families and people living in the shells of villages and cities were no happier than they had been living in a war zone. It was petrifying, hearing the shouts of riots outside the compound and the shrieks of shells echoing further out. I remembered one instance where a monster had thrown a bomb into the compound, killing a couple of families. I was sat across the dirt square from them when it happened, and I threw up when I saw what was left of them. I couldn't remember how long my panic attack lasted, but it felt like dying, and we all know that isn't usually a good feeling.

The leaders were no kinder than the nightmares that plagued me at night. Their rule was harsh, valuing strong men and women who joined their forces, and not batting an eye when the weaker ones were suspiciously sent out for more water, more food, who came back with only a quarter of their group left. I didn't want to live like that any longer, and so I ran, escaping only because of my nimbleness and my ability to melt into the shadows like they were a second skin. I hid from patrols, slept under the stars every night, and used cities and towns that I passed through like a tally, a number of how long I had survived.

And then G found me, and you know the rest of the story. It was safe to stay that I had a rocky start to life, but somehow, I knew that it was fate that brought me here, no luck in the matter. Whatever god that was staring down at the world, they were thinking ahead. That was what I thought, anyway.

The white stone steps drew up to the building, and we were quick to get up them and through the glass doors after. The elevator ride was short, but when we got to the meeting room (/throne room), we were mildly surprised to find the room desolate, except for Alphys and Flowey, who were sat at the table and chatting, it seemed.

Their conversation drew to a close when we entered.

"Um, hey, Alphys. Do you know where we can find Asgore, or Undyne, or Papyrus?" I quickly added his name at the end when I remembered that he was the new Head of the Royal Guard.

"They're all in the courtyard, o-out back," Alphys gave a small smile, Flowey offered a grimace, and I nodded my head.

"Okay, thanks. Is everything alright here?" I questioned, attempting to keep my manners in check.

"Everything's g-good, t-thanks Y/n." Alphys smiled again before she turned back to Flowey, who looked less than pleased, as per usual. With a grin I left the room, finding G leaning on the wall outside. He raised a brow, waiting for an answer.

"Courtyard," I answered simply, and he nodded in understanding. And so we went, down to the courtyard. What answers we were looking for I wasn't sure, but I was determined to help, to make amends even if I didn't know why I needed to.

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