#gaster thread

[jays-fictional-fun]

The souls of the lab were agitated. Something was happening again. Jay could feel a mix of emotions... happiness... joy... but also fear and pain. There was movement. LOTS of movement...

Was something happening to the other jars?

She couldn’t dwell on it, as suddenly the lid to her own prison was twisted open, and musty but admittedly much fresher air spilled into the container. Almost as if on instinct, the tired teal soul immediately pounced out... Couldn’t let this chance escape! ... And its colors swelled to the brightest they’d been in over a month as it flew out into the open room...

Free? She was... She was free!

... But where was her body?

A crack widened on the soul’s surface, and in a flash, the hope and optimism turned to fear. She needed to find her body as soon as possible.

So she fled. Before whoever her rescuer had been could put her back in the jar, Jay’s soul disappeared down the labyrinthine hallways.

[jays-fictional-fun]

Both Jess and the taniwha gasped in horror, moreso Jess, HepoRaru was more silent and unreadable. Jay was here for how long? Too long. Trying not to panic as much, Jess helped HepoRaru undo the binding straps carefully, yet quickly before something else happened. They didn’t know how they were going to find the soul, but they were still going to try.

Once freed, Jay’s eyes slowly blinked open, and she lifted her head to look at her rescuers. The normal vibrant blue of her irises was dulled to gray, and the entire eyes’ surface seemed to be covered in a misty film. She opened her mouth, as if she were trying to say something, but the groaning croak that passed her lips was hardly audible after her throat had been screamed raw from the tests.

Still, Jess would probably understand their meaning.

“... Thnnnnk... ooooo...”

Jay tried to sit up, and reached for Jess’s shoulder in awkward, jerky motions, but fell flat off of the examination table... muscles atrophied to the point that even if the hollow husk did have a soul, she would need help standing.

[jays-fictional-fun]

Loud crashes could be heard and the flaring of at least one soul's energy could be felt from another part of the lab. Something was going on.

Jay’s soul had once again fallen to the bottom of her prison. She could feel everything going on... the intensity of the fighting, and at least one party was angry... but the little heart needed rest. Its cracks had widened, and though it still wasn’t quite at risk of falling apart, it certainly didn’t look good for Jay.

It sluggishly slid along the glass floor towards whatever side of the container was closest to the ongoing battle... She could sense Gaster all too well... That soul had been burned in her mind during her confinement... but who was standing up to him?

[jays-fictional-fun]

Jay's soul can likely sense a familiar presence, it had felt Trashy's unfiltered soul before. It's somewhere in this lab, without its owner.

The little teal heart had sunk to the bottom of her container, worn out from an hour or so of trying to somehow open the lid of its prison... but even after all this time, or perhaps especially so, a familiar, friendly presence quickly flared it back to life.

((Tra... shy?... Is... that... you?))

It hovered next to the glass, trying to get a better sense of where Trashy’s soul was.

[jays-fictional-fun]

(Answer at any time) Jess and HepoRaru ran off after they arrived at the spot where Jay was, trying to maneuver their way to save both soul and body while hoping not to encounter Gaster. Both were equally worried.

While Dominic had Gaster busy, the rest of the hallways were relatively quiet, although they branched this way and that like an unending maze. It would take some time to find both pieces, since body and soul were kept far apart when they weren’t being examined... Honestly, finding the body would be the easier task, if the rows of glass containers containing different shapes and colors of souls was anything to go by...

Though by some miracle or perhaps just some stroke of dumb luck, Jess and HepoRaru did manage to find the examination room where the body was held...

Though it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Jay's body was still strapped securely to the table, and if it weren’t for the barely visible rise and fall of her chest, she looked like a fresh corpse. There was deep bruising around the restraints to hint at just how much she’d struggled when she was conscious, and flecks of dried blood dotting her pale face. Her robotic arm lay limp at her side, and smelled faintly of old electrical smoke up close.

[jays-fictional-fun]

*a skinny squid reaches out to poke the soul. Like a child poking a fish tank's glass.* "Whazzit?"

The sound of tentacle striking glass in an otherwise silent lab echoed surprisingly loudly, and the little soul inside wobbled from the reverberating noise. It backed up against the other side of the glass, unsure of this newcomer.

((Who... are... you?)) it asked quietly.

[jays-fictional-fun]

“... I hope so. She’s alive, at least. And she’s gotten out with someone’s help, that is, I think that instance is canon? But I don’t know for how long... If he finds her again...” Renee shook her head and cut herself off. “Whatever the case, you need to worry about you. You’re not going to be able to afford worrying about anything else pretty soon. I’d say more, but... Spoilers.” Well, she WAS an author. She was loathe to interrupt the flow of a story.

((... Good...))

The colors brightened a little more... Jay had been so worried about her friends that were also trapped here, but knowing that they had managed to flee gave the little soul some hope.

The warning though, made the soul dim again.

((Soon? ... What...)) But even in this state, she could tell that Renee wasn’t going to elaborate... And she could respect that. Jay had at least an idea of what she might mean anyway.

((... Stay... safe... all of... you...))

[jays-fictional-fun]

Nora had been going through one of her many periods of isolation and had just recently returned to visit the kingdom. She noticed immediately that something was very wrong. She could just sense it. Or rather it was what she couldn’t sense that unnerved her. Where was Jay? Her energy just abruptly vanished like it took off or something. Nora sent out a telepathic message.

After what seemed like ages... perhaps long enough that Nora would think Jay was beyond reach, a quiet voice called back...

(No... ra?)

The voice was hardly recognizable. It was choked in pain, and exhausted beyond belief... but it was Jay alright.