Chapter Text
Another day, another entry. Another attempt, another failure. Doctor Gaster slumped forward, skeletal hands holding his skull as he sighed. The fourth attempt had ended catastrophically, and Asriel had to take the brunt of the fall for that one. He felt guilty, truly, that he had no one else he could really turn to for help here. His sockets were locked onto the report in front of him. “Subject D-2, regarded as unstable, took advantage of D-1s lapse in control and violently ended the life of A-4 several times. A-1 had to intervene before D-2 could absorb their SOUL. Results deemed a failure.” That…
That was bad. Far worse than even the first attempt, back when he was taking a partially literal shot in the dark.
He stood up from his desk as he focused. This attempt ended badly, sure, but there was still time. She wasn’t completely gone, not yet, he’d just have to pull out all the stops this time. He walked his way through the messy, paper covered floors, and out of the grey door that marked the entrance to his strange office. Outside the office lay a space, endless and dark, the only thing one could see were the thousands of different grey pathways that were strewn about. The silver lining to being scattered across time and space was that some parts of his lab also got scattered with him, which gave him quite a lot of room to work with. The doctor began to move with purpose, anyone else would struggle to even understand the basic layout of the lab now that it was like this, but Gaster knew it like the back of his carpals.
After making his way through many winding pathways and oddly placed doors, he had finally made it to his destination. The operating room. He straightened his lab coat and took a moment to calm himself. The doctor really hoped his new ‘companion’ came through for him this time, forgetful people were always the most annoying to deal with, for him. Through the cold grey door he went, to find the strange obscure figure he’d been looking for. “Ah yes, hello there dear doctor, me and the poor thing here have been waiting for you for ages now!” It was a cheery voice, although heavily obscured by what most would compare to TV static. “I see.” The doctor said bluntly as he walked over to the operating table in the center. The doctor had seen many rather bad altercations and injuries, even when his main degree wasn’t medical, but the sight before him gave him pause.
It was one of the vessels he had made, one of the many grey and faceless bodies long cut off from the SOUL that was supposed to make them whole. Aside from that, though, he couldn’t tell anything more, as the body in front of him had been thoroughly gored by some horrid creature of the depths. Its body was riddled with small, pin prick holes that oozed a paradoxical rainbow in place of blood or dust. Its head had been long caved in, broken porcelain skin sticking into the darkened flesh beneath. “...Are you sure this is ‘his’ vessel?” The doctor asked, voice barely betraying a hint of his true feelings.
The vague man next to him nodded. “Indeed it is, I know it’s hard to see but this is clearly a first generation vessel! And of course it carries the traces of the light he left behind, too!” The strange man smiled at him, handing him a vantablack magnifying glass. “See it for yourself, Doctor.” The doctor looked through and found he was right, the body turned into a silhouette upon looking through the glass, and in the distant darkness of the body one could see the flickering light of a higher world. “Ah, thank you.” He spoke succinctly as he put the glass away. The forgettable man sighed as he studied the broken and bleeding body. “You know, this vessel was one of your first ones, I thought you’d be a bit more sentimental over it.”
Gaster did find some sentimental value in the poor thing, But sentiment might mess with the results. He was already pushing it by planning to be there directly, he couldn't risk it even more. “In its current state, it’s admittedly hard to tell it even is one of the first, it’ll take some extensive repairs and upgrades to actually harbor something more than a fragment of an angel.” The doctor spoke clinically as he pulled out a small PDA, and inputted a strange code in wingdings. “What happens next will be simple, we repair the body, improve it, and then do our best to transplant a full angel into it.” The man simply laughed. “See, this is why they always called you mad! I’m all for sentiments and love, but if you were truly being logical why not just make a new one from scratch? Your third generation vessels are far more advanced, and it would take far less time than upgrading one of these.”
The doctor rubbed his temples. “My sentiments might poison the attempt…” he looked at the body with a mournful gaze, “But it will rely on the power of his.” The doctor's compatriot gave an understanding nod “Ahhh, of course! I see why you wanted me to go rooting around for this vessel specifically, then, she was quite fond of him during his lifetime, no?” Gaster nodded as he stepped back from the table. “Indeed, this vessel carried something many others did not, and thus we hope that introducing it to its proper SOUL will give A-6 a leg up in comparison to his for–runners.” From the ceiling, a hole opened up, and from it slowly descended a small glass container. Within the container was a small, crimson heart, far brighter than one would think. The two looked at it, a tense silence between them.
“You could at least call him by his name, Doctor. You know what you’re sending that poor boy into.” The man spoke in an uncharacteristically grave tone. Gaster looked to the side for a moment as he thought. “That is always a possibility, but I have faith that A-” he paused, “That Coriander will not give up like those who came before.” He hoisted the container onto the table next to the body. “With that will alongside the memories of the vessel’s time with her…”
Gaster looked into the container one last time, giving the crimson soul within a hopeful look. “Hopefully he’ll be able to guide her home.”