Outcast: A Gaster Story [Discontinued]

Chapter 15

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Grillby asks, Gaster walking on the other side of him. I nod, taking deep breaths and rotating my arm a bit. My shoulder still hurts, but not as bad as it did before. No tears or anything like that, but I’m sure it will be bruised for a week or two.

“Just a little sore,” I laugh, leaning forward to look around the monster,

“That was a pretty nice fight, Gaster. No one’s given me a run for my money like that in a while.” His pupils float over to me, his shoulders hunched over slightly. I furrow my brow, lagging behind Grillby to switch sides. “Are you alright? I didn’t hit you too hard, did I?” 

“Of course not, soldier,” my jaw tightens when he calls me that. I guess he isn’t going to let go of that anytime soon. “I shall be fine, no need for your concern.” I sigh softly, nodding and looking back over at Grillby. The king is now out of sight, Artyom just a few meters ahead of us. This field really isn’t that far away from the mountain, maybe just a half a mile. 

Gloved fingers brush against mine, my head snapping down quickly. Grillby apologizes, but there is no need. My hand wraps around his, paying no more mind to the situation. That is, until his fire begins to turn color. Gaster looks over, giving him a questioning look. I contain my smile to myself, squeezing his hand for a moment and then letting go. 
“Samantha, hurry up. I need to take you to see Malius,” Artyom says from in front of me, now facing us and waiting. I nod quickly, looking over to Grillby for a moment and then running ahead to join my new ‘general’. I think I’ll like this one a lot better. 

While I was getting ‘suited up’, Asgore met with Artyom outside of Malius’s room. When he walked back into the armoury, he said that we had a lot of stuff to do. Along with the fact that I’ll be accompanying him. The only thing he has told me so far is that we have to go get vegetables from a farm located in the mountain. “So, I need an entire suit of armour to get food from a farm?” I ask, not used to having this much protection on me. Previously, us soldiers would have to wear simple items: a helmet, grieves, a simple chest plate and other small items. Now, I’m wearing silver and dark purple armour complete with a matching shortsword and helmet. It’s all quite heavy duty as well, weighing me down a bit more. Much to my surprise, Malius was quite lenient with how he made the armour. I could make it how I wanted it to fit, and even choose other colors. Artyom said that the king recognises the fact that the monsters need different armour to work with their magic. Hell, some don’t even need any protection. So, as long as the rune is on their outfit somewhere, most things are okay. 

“Is there a problem with that?” He asks, cutting his eyes back at me. I shut my mouth tightly, shaking my head and straightening my shoulders out. 

“No, sir.” He nods, turning his head back to watch where he is walking. He’s leading me through the basement of the royal home. I’m not entirely sure why. I’ve never been down here before, but I doubt there would be any space for a farm. 

“The farm that we are going to is secluded,” Artyom starts, stopping in front of a large, purple door, “and we have to walk through snow to get there. That’s why I had you were armour.” Snow? We’re part way under a mountain, why would there be snow? Artyom pushes open the door, a cold burst of wind rushing into the room we are standing in. I shield my face from the cold, looking through my fingers to see a snow covered forest. There is a path in the center, my jaw dropping. 

“Wha. . .how?” I ask, following Artyom into the snow. He shuts the door behind us, taking the lead once again. It’s even bright outside, as if there is a sun around here somewhere. 

“We don’t know, either. Our old king found this place a few decades ago, and it wasn’t until about five years ago that we actually started to use it,” he explains, more wind blowing the branches of the pine trees around. “Monsters began to build houses here, though right now there are only a handful.” Looking around the peaceful forest, a few birds fly from tree to tree. This is honestly amazing. 
   
“Do you think with the recent events that more will begin to move here?” I ask, walking up beside him. He nods, glancing over to me. 
   
“We have a whole team of construction workers beginning to build down here. King Asgore put them into place a few days ago, in fact, because we are running out of room in the beginning part of the mountain.” With that being said, we walk through caverns and tunnels reaching a place where there is a lot of construction. Several buildings are being built, some further along than others. I guess this will be some sort of town. We continue walking, the wind growing stronger and a fog settling in. 
   
As we walk out of it, everything grows darker. The walls and floor are now blue-ish green, and my feet sink into the ground slightly whenever I walk. Soft rain droplets hit my armour, a few hitting me in the face. “It’s just off to the side.”
   
“. . .to the side. . .” My brow furrows, looking around. A glowing blue flower glows near us, about knee height. Artyom stops in his tracks, looking back at me. 
   
“It’s an echo flower, they like to repeat things,” he explains, continuing to walk again, “They can repeat whole sentences, not just fragments.” 
   
“. . .not just fragments. . .” Wow, that is both cool and terrifying. 
   
Artyom and I step into a large room, the ground not as wet as it was before. Metal tables line the room in rows, lots of plots with food growing in them under light. In the corner of the room, sits a water run wheel. That explains how the lights are still getting power.