It was weeks before anything happened. And while Gaster could be very patient when he could see the results in-the-making, with something like this, he got very agitated with having no idea what was happening.

He was in the lab that evening. He had told Papyrus that he was working on something big, and might occasionally forget to watch the clock to meet Papyrus at home.

"Come on!" He Snarled in Hands, as he was prone to revert to when too irritated to speak properly in the Common Language. "It's not that hard! They just have to step on the thing and it triggers the thing!! That looked like a well-trafficked area, and we hid it perfectly. One of them has to have walked by there by now."

"Have you considered, Sir," one of the braver of his four assistants spoke up after taking a minute to translate Hands to Common, "that maybe the signal device is broken?"

Gaster walked over to the workbench in that particular lab, and picked up a device that could have easily been a cellphone. After a few minutes of jabbing at the buttons, he gave a roar of impatient irritation. "It says it's connected! It says the trap is fully functional and has not been triggered!" He just about chucked the small device across the lab with his wild gesturing. He continued, his voice and gestures becoming much to quick and frustrated for any of his assistants to understand. Speaking in Hands was, after all, a second language to them.

On the other hand, Papyrus, who had just walked into the room carrying dinner, as Gaster had long since forgotten what time it was as well as not eaten at all that day, had a quite fluent understanding of Hands, having been raised learning it.

After setting down the plate with some vaguely food-looking objects on it, he asked in Hands, "What's going on, Dad?"

Gaster hesitated, frustration replaced by a touch of anxiety. He had not told Papyrus about the trap; he hadn't wanted him to worry.

"Ahh-- ... Nothing you need to worry about, Papyrus. Just-- ... A project of mine isn't working as well as I-"

At that moment, the device in his hand started beeping loudly and incessantly, as well as started vibrating.

For a moment, everyone just stood, looking at the small transmitter in Gaster's hands.

Then Gaster's scarred face split into the widest grin it had since Sans died.

"Come now! No time to waste!" Now he was simply too excited to speak in Common. "The trap's been sprung! We have work to do! To the King!"

"Trap?" Papyrus wondered out loud. "Wait- what-"

He found himself suddenly swept up in Gaster's arms as he moved out the door and down the hall. "Papyrus, you're going to have to stay with Queen Toriel for a little while again. But don't worry, I'll only be gone for a few days, and it will all be worth it! We shall be that much closer to ending the war."

"But Dad, I don't understand. What's going on?"

Gaster just laughed. "We're getting a fighting chance."

Papyrus decided he was happy to see his dad happy, and Gaster would tell him eventually if it was important.

So Gaster and his assistants headed off to New Home to talk to Asgore, while Papyrus was again left under the Queen's care.

~o0o~

Oowww...

What...?

Where...?

Where am I? What happened? Why-- why is it so dark?

...I can... Magic...

... That's a little better. I can see now. But...

A box...?

I'm...

Stuck? Trapped?

... My head hurts. Not good.

Have to get out. Now.

Attack. Attack the walls. Break them. Break the ceiling. Break something!

Have to get out.

~o0o~

The Royal Scientist startled Asgore quite badly when he burst into the throne room, shouting and gesturing incomprehensibly excitedly. Asgore, never having been too fluent in the tall skeleton's language in the first place, couldn't make head nor tails of what was being said.

"Calm down, my friend." Asgore set a hand on the slender shoulder of his Royal Scientist. "I cannot understand you when you Speak in Hands, much less when you do it so fast."

Asgore didn't have to know Hands to understand that Gaster's next words were a flurry of frustrated profanities.

Finally, the Royal Scientist calmed down to speak in Common. Mostly. He fluctuated between Common and Hands. "Your Majesty, you have to authorize ✌️️☠️ 👈✠︎🚩👈👎✋❄️✋🏴☠️ into Waterfall now! It worked, I got it ✝️🏴☀️😐✋☠️👆✏️✏️ If we can get out there ☠️🏴✝️, I can start research ✝️✋❄️👇✋☠️ the week, and finally start on a cure! But we have to hurry, I don't know if the trap can 👇🏴😟👎 ✋❄️ for long!"

Gaster stopped speaking, staring at Asgore enthusiastically with a wide, excited grin. Asgore frowned, a bit confused. Taking what was in Common and piecing it together, he began to get the idea.

"So... you set up a trap in Waterfall..."

"✡️👈💧✏️✏️ ✌️️☠️👎 ✋❄️ ✝️✌️️💧 💧🚩☀️✝️☠️👆✏️✏️"

Asgore continued as if Gaster hadn't interrupted. "...Even though I told you not to go out..."

"✡️👈💧📫 👌✝❄ ✋❄ ✝🏴☀️😐👈👎✏️✏️"

"And now... you want me to let you go out to it again?"

"✡️👈💧📫 👌👈👍✌️️✝️💧👈 ✋❄ ✝️🏴☀️😐👈👎✏️✏️" Gaster Spoke. Then he realized the king probably had not understood, so he repeated himself, carefully keeping to Common. "Yes, because it worked! I caught one, the trap was sprung!"

Asgore was silent for a minute. Then, "Doctor Gaster, we have spoken about this. As much as I appreciate that you want to get work done, I cannot congratulate you for disobeying my order, nor can I allow you to return to Waterfall. As my Royal Scientist, if you were to be lost in hostile territory, we would be losing, quite honestly, the most valuable mind we have."

While Gaster did enjoy being called smart, he ignored the compliment, instead trying to convince the king.

Asgore cut him off before he even began. "No, Doctor. It is simply too dangerous. Why not let me send out a troop to retrieve the Corrupt?"

"Why--?!" Gaster spluttered indignantly. "👌👈👍✌️️✝️💧👈 ❄️👇👈✡️ ✝️🏴✝️😟👎 💣👈💧💧 👈✝️👈☀️✡️❄️👇✋☠️👆 ✝️🚩📫 ❄️👇👈❄️🕯💧 ✝️👇✡️📫  ✡️🏴✝️ 🏴😟👎  👉🏴🏴😟✏️"

Asgore just gave a befuddled frown as Gaster spewed out insults and angry remarks the king couldn't understand.

Eventually, he stopped. Silent, but still seething, he glared at the king. No doubt, the hand gestures he was silently making were also insults.

Finally, after a moment of the two staring at each other, Gaster snarled "Fine." and stalked out the door.

Asgore had the sneaking suspicion, though, that Gaster was going to try anyway. So Asgore was going to send a message to Commander Undyne...

~o0o~

Not... Not working.

Walls aren't even dented.

... So tired...

Have to get out. Keep going.

Magic's running dry fast. Faster than it should be.

Exhausting.

Have to get out. Keep trying.

Magic shouldn't be going this fast.

Something in the air, maybe?

Hold my breath.

No. Too late for that. Just makes me dizzy.

Well.

Dizzier.

So tired.

N-

No!

No! I'm stronger than this! Enough-!

... enough...

~o0o~

Undyne growled internally when she saw the Royal Scientist striding into camp, smug expression on his face. She had just received a message from King Asgore saying that he had not allowed the Royal Scientist to set up the trap in the first place, and he was not allowed to go retrieve it either.

Her irritation grew when he sauntered straight up to her.

"Commander Undyne." He greeted her smugly. "I am requiring your aide in retrieving my trap, which has been successfully sprung. A small troop of soldiers for defense is all that will be required, including yourself, if you so desire."

"Hang on now." She growled. "I can't just send something like this out. This time, I'm going to require authorization from the king before I just let you go out-"

"Already taken care of. This is on the king's orders, Commander." He pulled from the pocket of his long, black lab coat an envelope, sealed with the royal seal.

Undyne accepted the envelope and broke the seal. The documents inside did indeed appear to be official orders... there was even the king's signature, which he never gave unless something was really important. It seemed strange, though. He had just said that Dr. Gaster was not to go out into the battlefield, and yet, here was an official order from the king, allowing him to do just that.

They really did look official, though.

Not one to disobey a direct order from the king, Undyne shrugged. "Well alright, then. Give me a minute to get some people ready, and we can head off."

~o0o~

I... I'm... I'm so... tired.

It's hard.. to think...

G- ... gotta... get up. ... get out.

... They'll come... eventually... check the trap... can't... escape... once... they take... me... wherever...

But...

Can't... get out.... here...

Wait... Rest... until... open...

Then...

Attack...

Attack them...

Kill them...

Kill all of them...

Their dust... will cover... the ground...

When... they find me here...

Kill them...

...Until... Then...

...So...

...Tired...

~o0o~

The expedition met with a few Corrupters, but nothing Undyne's group couldn't handle.

And the trap was, apparently, just a big box. Gaster explained that the insides of the panels were coated with a powerful chemical that suppressed a monster's Magic when they were surrounded by it. The amount of the stuff on the inside of the box was enough to make even a bossmonster pass out eventually, and the walls strong enough that it probably would be able to contain a bossmonster for long enough for the chemical to take full effect.

So the box would be transported back to Gaster's lab, where he would put the Corrupter in his specially-made containment cell.

And then, he could find a cure.

~o0o~

... Whhhnnnghhh...

... m ... vmnt...

...guhhh... guh... t...

...Hhhh... pp...

...nnnngh...

~o0o~

The box was successfully transported to the lab.

Papyrus was also told not to come down to the tenth floor, just in case something happened.

Finally, though, Gaster had his test subject.

Finally, he was going to find a cure to the Corruption.

...Just as soon as he figured out how to open this blasted box!

§

A/N

Fun fact: Those wingdings don't count as words. Guess autocorrect/Wattpad doesn't recognize Speaking in Hands. =)

Anyway, thanks for reading, and votes and comments are not only always welcome, but always appreciated, too!