Life in the human prison camp did not treat me well.

Since the humans knew who I was now, I was interrogated, harassed, and sometimes even tortured on a daily basis. The humans thought that I knew all of Asgore's battle plans and strategies, and were determined to get them from me.

I did know a few things, of course, but not to the extent which they were asking.

Not that I was going to tell them any of that. I remained stoically silent. It didn't matter what they tried, I didn't respond to them.

And they tried a lot of things. They tried starving me. I just sat there and glared at them. They tried offering me the most delectable of foods. I just glared at them. They tried beating the crap out of me. As soon as I recovered from the whiplash and was able to lift my head again, I just glared at them. And, after beating me down and breaking my bones, they would try to play the 'sympathetic human' card and have someone heal me to gain my trust. I just glared at them.

Every attempt they made, I just clutched tighter at my Lv. Grew colder. My EXP rose.

Despite this, I think I became something of an invincible legend amongst the other prisoners. After every failed interrogation session, I would be escorted back to my cell, sometimes more dragged there on my account of being less than half conscious. And every time my escort guards (yes, it was always at least two guards, even when I was barely awake,) said the same parting words as they dumped me in my cell: "maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Maybe tomorrow, Dr. Gaster, maybe tomorrow we'll get something from you."

And every time (at least all those that I was capable of it,) I would stand up, turn to look at them, and grin. "No. No you won't."

And with every day, I cut myself off more and more from my emotions. Less and less mattered to me except for proving myself stronger than the humans.

That is, I do believe, what got Fennin killed.

While I was the main focus of the humans' brutality, that doesn't mean the other monsters weren't subject to their gaze as well. And, well... the others weren't so... determined as I.

And my own Lv made me uncaring to their suffering. It wasn't until...

Well...

I suppose I should tell the story of that night from the beginning, hm?

Actually, I believe Fennin had been left alone that day. It was the day before that he had received his beating. He had seemed fine, been functioning normally, if a little sore, afterwards.

But... that night...

I was woken by a gentle shake, someone's hand on my shoulder. It was one of the other two in my cell. I merely opened one eyesocket to look up at him.

"Dr. Gaster..." he said quietly. "Fennin's not doing too well."

I just closed my eye. "None of us are."

"Yeah, but... Fennin's really not doing well. I-... I think he might be... be Falling Down."

With a bit of a sigh, I climbed off my cot. Fennin's was the cot opposite mine, and I crossed the cell in four strides. It was dark, but there were dim hall lights that provided enough light to see by.

Fennin was lying on his side, his chest only just rising and falling. I knelt next to his cot and reached out, tapping his shoulders lightly. "Fennin. Fennin, wake up."

He shifted just a little, but otherwise didn't respond.

I tried again. "Fennin, I need you to look at me."

One of Fennin's golden eyes slid open, the slit of a pupil looking up at me.

"How do you feel?"

Fennin hesitated for a moment. "... Warm..." he eventually murmured.

That was not good.

Let me explain. When a monster is slain in battle, its Magic dissipates immediately and its Soul shatters.

However, with a slow death, such as old age, other natural causes, or a sort of 'bleeding out' death like Fennin's, the Soul gradually releases all the Magic it contains into the body. It's a sort of final defense in a way- the excess Magic in the body soothes any wounds and relaxes the body, so the monster feels warm and comfortable. A peaceful death amid whatever pains might besiege them. With the lack of Magic in the Soul, the monster starts to shut down, until they fall comatose and eventually dust. This is also in part where the euphemism 'Fall Down' comes from- without the Magic inside it, the physical part of the Soul, the membrane that contains the Magic collapses, 'falling down' on itself.

So Fennin's response that he felt warm was very bad indeed.

I stood again, and walked to the cell bars. "Hey!" I shouted out. "Hey, guards!" I successfully caught the attention of the two guards stationed at the end of the hallway.

One of them walked over. "What do you want, Dr. Gaster?"

"There's a monster in here who's badly wounded." I said coldly. "He needs medical attention."

The human laughed. "Medical attention? What makes you think you'll be getting that?"

I kept my expression neutral. That really wasn't difficult with the amount of Lv I had. "He will die without it. You are killing him."

The guard just laughed again. "I think we shoulda done that back in the lab, to be honest." And then he walked back to his station.

For a long moment, I just stood there. Then, without a word, I turned back to Fennin. He was large, but I managed to get his head and shoulders into my lap.

And in those moments, my tightly-held Lv defenses fell apart. I felt as if my Soul would break.

It only got worse when Fennin tried to talk. "D-dr... G-ast-er-...?"

"Yeah?" I responded quietly.

"A-am... I g-... oin-... g... t-... o... di-... e...?"

I smiled gently at him. "No. You're going to be fine. You're going to heal, and we're gonna get out of here. You'll be fine."

I think that, in a way, I did this out of guilt. Because I hadn't been able to save Firhaur, so here I was trying to save Fennin.

Of course, I wouldn't be able to. The first shafts of sunlight were just making their way through the barred window at the top of the cell when...

When Fennin crumbled to dust in my lap.

I could swear that in that moment, my HOPE was only just above zero, and it was only through my desire for vengeance, through Firhaur's fire that I clung to life.

And then... then, as the guards came marching down the hall to get me, I was pulling up my defense again, steeling myself against the humans.

The second the cell door was open, I was moving. I started with a backhanded swing with a bone, catching the foremost guard in the face and sending him to the floor. Then I was summoning one of my hands, grabbing up the next guard's face, and slamming his head back into the guard behind him's skull.

From there, my surprise attack wore off, and it was merely an all out assault. I was already out in the hall, now, and while it wasn't my focus then, I can clearly remember every monster at the bars of their cells, watching as the battle raged up and down the hallway.

I think I killed two humans and brought down another three before more backup arrived. Then I took a hit to my shoulder that sent me sprawling.

Up until that point, I had been more or less silent. Little more had escaped my mouth than the occasional grunt of exertion. But now, as I rose to my feet, a peculiar sound rose from me.

It was not just Fennin's dust on my clothes; it was Firhaur's, too. And it was not merely the guards in front of me. It was Firhaur's murderers.

I don't know what it was. Something between a laugh and a scream, sadistic satisfaction and rage, and just...

That fire. It consumed my Soul. I fought in an astonishing frenzy.

But the guards, it seemed, were infinite. I was brought down.

I remember staggering to the side a little, and looking down...

Seeing the red stains that covered my lab coat in a bloody tye-dye.

And then blackness engulfing the splotches.

§

A/N

Thank you, everyone, for your concern and generosity. I appreciate it immensely.

But you don't need to worry about me, I'm fine. Really, I am.

I got more Oreos.

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!