I think that the few hours that I was unconscious after my rage-induced escape attempt were some of the best in the human imprisonment. While I was unconscious, I could feel no pain, no worry, not even my Lv had any affect. I was simply unaware of all.

But eventually, I began to wake, and it was... not good, to say the least.

I wasn't in a cell. Actually, I was right outside a cell. I was sitting down, my hands chained above my head to the bars behind me, more chains wrapped around my chest to the cell bars. My feet were also tied together. I was exhausted, and had a multitude of broken bones.

As I woke, at all of the cells I could see, monsters were pressed against the cell bars, watching me, concern across their faces.

I felt no gratitude for their concern, nor any appreciation. I felt no worry for what had been done to me, nor for how I would escape.

All I felt was the fire, the burning rage, directed at every human.

Of which there were quite a few. The ordinary guard had more than tripled. They were taking no chances with me.

Now, before you say anything, no they were not foolish to chain me up outside of the cell. Like this, I was sitting in the middle of the hall. Whenever a guard would pass me, they would pause a second to kick or punch or generally harm me. They did not let me rest, they did not let me regain my strength. They kept me weak.

It worked unfortunately well.

There was one guard, the one who had denied Fennin medical help, who was particularly brutal to me. He didn't miss an opportunity to beat me, and, in fact, I think he rather often went out of his way to come down the prison hallway.

He broke at least four of my ribs.

I hate him.

But there was nothing I could do. I didn't have enough spare Magic to summon a single finger, much less a set of hands to undo myself. And what little food I got (fed to me by another monster under heavy guard, as the humans didn't like to touch me aside from beating me, and they didn't want to unchain me so I could feed myself) didn't help enough to do anything significant.

So, to put it shortly, I was screwed.

But of course, things outside the prison complex had not halted when I had been captured. There was still a world outside, and, contrary to how I may have acted, it did not revolve around me.

Remember how I said the humans planned to use me? As a bargaining chip?

Yeah, well, it worked. In return for the release of all the imprisoned monsters, Asgore surrendered.

Except it wasn't release. Not really.

I had just received a particularly brutal beating from our favorite (note my sarcasm) guard when they came. A troop of guards. They started escorting monsters out of the cells, down the halls.

I didn't look up, didn't lift my weary head until they started undoing my restraints. As soon as I was released, I just flopped over sideways and lay still. For as invincible as my Soul was, my body was still broken, and it took far too much effort to move.

"Come on, get up, you filthy monster!" One guard crowed.

I made a halfhearted attempt at gaining my feet, but didn't even manage to lift my head. For my efforts, I received a sharp kick- to my already broken ribs.

Honestly, I'm surprised my ribs healed as well as they did. They aren't- or, weren't, as my ribs don't actually exist along with the rest of me- crooked at all.

Regardless. I couldn't get up. The guards had to call over a couple of monsters to help me.

I remember that, as I stumbled along, supported on either side by a monster, one of my escorts murmured to me, "it's okay now, Dr. Gaster. The war's over now. Everything's okay now."

But everything was quite far from okay.

At the time I was far too out of it to understand what was going on, but the monsters were taken to a sort of concentration camp. Not just the prisoners, though, it was all the monsters.

At the foot of a certain mountain.

I remember hearing a shout, and for a moment, my support was gone. Before I could fall, though, someone- Asgore- caught me, and lowered me carefully to the ground. I remember him leaning over me, his face covered in shock, and his voice- oh, my friend! What have they done to you? He pressed his hands against my ribs and started pouring healing Magic into me, while at the same time ordering someone to go get a doctor.

But I, exhausted, fell asleep long before help got there.

When I woke, I was not happy to learn of our situation. I ignored the fact that my body was screaming in protest, and stalked out of the medical tent to find Asgore.

He, Toriel, Gerson, and Dagiel were all in his tent, talking about something or other. They all looked up when I stormed in, furious.

"What did you do?" I spat at Asgore, gesturing wildly along in Hands. "You surrendered? How could you? How could you betray all the monsters that gave their lives for our freedom?"

Asgore stammered a moment, surprised by my fury.

I roared on. "Instead of fighting for what they believed in, you surrender like a coward and let the humans seal us away in a pit? How can you be so- so-" I gestured for a moment, to furious to come up with an insult fitting enough to my anger.

Asgore finally gathered up his courage, though. "Gaster, I did not betray the dead. I saved the living. If we had not surrendered, then monsterkind would have been made extinct."

For a moment, I was still, my rage building. Then I stepped up close to Asgore, and even though he was a good three, four feet taller than I, I still had the distinct feeling of looming over him. "My brother died in this war, Asgore. Firhaur. Died. You are turning your back on him. You are betraying my brother." I paused slightly, just long enough to jab a finger at his chest. "You  D I S G U S T  me."

Before he could respond, I was already stalking away.

But I couldn't go far, I found. The camp was large, a few square miles, it contained around seven thousand monsters, and that number was still slowly growing as the humans dragged in more monsters, but it was well guarded. The humans weren't letting anyone out, and I was the only one, it seemed, with the Soul left to escape.

Not that I actually managed to. Five unsuccessful attempts, and I was far too tired and sore to keep going. With a heavy Soul and a strong feeling of betrayal, I claimed one of the camp's tents as my own, and fell into a fitful sleep on the small cot inside.

§

A/N

Anyone else ever have one of those days where you're just like

Nnnnnggghhhh.

all day?

I had one of those days today. It kinda matches Gaster's entire mood.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!