Archive of Our Own ^beta

[No, no, no!] Dr. W.D. Gaster shouted as the lights flickered and went out. Power outages in the Underground were, unfortunately, very common. He had backup generators in the lab for this very reason.

They weren't working.

Clearly, they weren't working properly, at least. There was some kind of fault because when the generators finally kicked in and the lights hummed and back on, a spark went up from the tubes. He watched in horror as the experiments began squirming in discomfort.

They couldn't survive in the solution without magical energy sustaining them.

Before he could even think about what he was doing, he'd rushed over to the first tube, up the ladder, and was wrenching the top off. His spectral hands couldn't lift the lid from the second, but they worked to get it unlatched. He used blue magic to pull subject one into his arms, then rushed to the second tube, using the same blue magic to pull subject two out of the now static solution.

He panted, slumped against the rickety metal scaffolding, clutching the two tiny subjects to his ribcage. They coughed, tiny sounds that rattled Gaster's bones. Globs of translucent blue solution dripped down his arms, quickly soaking into his lab coat and chilling him to the bone.

Towels. He needed towels.

He stumbled back down the stairs with two tiny, slippery skeletons clutched tight. He supposed that they'd be crying if they weren't still coughing up solution onto his lab coat.

He was glad they weren't crying.

Towels. Did he have towels in here? Yes, in the drawer of the desk. Using his spectral hands to open the drawer and get the towels out was easy enough, but it took a bit of juggling with blue magic to get them both wrapped in the towels.

Subject one was easy enough, barely squirming in the hold of blue magic, settling as it stopped coughing up solution. Subject two was a different story. It wriggled, slippery with slimy solution.

[Stay still!] Gaster snapped, though he knew subject two wouldn't understand. Instead, it kept kicking and flailing its arms as Gaster towelled it off. Gaster thought the difference in reaction between the two subjects might be concerning. He would have to keep an eye on such things.

Subject two reached up and grabbed Gaster's pointer finger. The scientist froze. The baby smiled up at him.

The baby.

He couldn't do this.

He should have pried the baby's finger off of his own. He didn't. Instead, he looked at the orange glow of the tiny child's eyes and saw yellow light reflected back at him in the fluid, which was still not cleaned up. He was glowing, too, though definitely not as brightly as the baby clutching his finger.

It had stopped kicking. Gaster was able to clean the child far more easily so long as he let it hold on to him.

That was the only reason.

...

He couldn't do this.

[What am I going to do?] his voice trembled.

Subject two cooed at him, reaching up with tiny, bony hands. Gaster finished wrapping the baby in the towel and picked it up. Subject one seemed to have fallen asleep on the desk with little fuss. Gaster picked it up as well and tucked its head into the crook of his elbow.

Now what?

He'd have to keep them out , of course , at least until he could fix the tubes. But there was no telling when that would be, since he didn't yet know what exactly had caused them to malfunction.

He stood there, looking around the lab. He had nothing for two babies. Nothing to feed them with, not even anywhere to safely put them down.

He could not keep them down here.

He was going to have to reveal them, and that meant the project would be impossible to continue with.

As he looked at the babies in his arms, he knew it would have been impossible anyways.

Gaster looked to the computer and sighed before using his spectral hands to type as he spoke.

[Entry #▮. The project is cancelled.]

Gaster looked down at the two babies curled up in his arms. One was still asleep, while two stared wide-eyed at everything around. There wasn't much to see in the elevator to the upper lab, but it seemed excited and curious nonetheless.

It was still glowing, and quite powerfully at that. Gaster thought he'd have to make a note of that. Or perhaps not.

Then again, these two were entirely new creatures, and though their souls came from him, they were new in a way that had never before been achieved. He probably should be making some notes, even if they weren't for the purpose he'd envisioned .

The lab was mercifully empty. It was late at night now. He was probably the only one who had even noticed the power outage. He could just take the babies home, but he really had nothing for them.

The only person he knew who did...

Gaster groaned, eliciting a giggle from subject two.

He could have carried them back to Snowdin easily enough without notice, but even at this time of night there would be guards in New Home looking after the king.

His eyes caught on his messenger bag.

[Hm...]

Skeletons, while not having lungs, did need to take in air, though they were usually able to absorb it through their porous bones directly . But if he left the bag unzipped, the babies should be fine. Gaster used his spectral hands to pull the bag over and dump it out on the desk. The babies fit inside it just fine.

[Right,] Gaster said. [Let's go then, I suppose.]

As he had expected, no one was out and about in Hotland . Most of the lights had been turned off for the night, though there was still the ambient light from the puzzles and magma. At some point, subject one awoke and began babbling with subject two. It wasn't language; there wasn't even any kind of discernible font.

When he wasn't looking at them, it was easy enough to imagine they weren't monsters. That it wasn't a pair of infants babbling, but rather the unintelligent gibbering of non-sentient creatures.

That was what he had wanted.

But a quick glance down at the babybones in his satchel assured him that wasn't what he had.

He didn't see anyone at all until he reached the Core, where he could see several technicians running around, no doubt thanks to the earlier power outage. He tossed the flap of his satchel over the babybones' skulls and made it to New Home without question.

The guards smiled at him and waved him in to see the king happily.

"He's in the garden, Dr. Gaster," said Night Knight.

Gaster frowned. If the king was having difficulty sleeping, this predicament was not going to help.

[[Thank you,]] he said, summoning a rather shaky pair of spectral hands to sign his words.

Night Knight nodded, staring at Gaster's magical hands, his gaze quickly darting to Gaster's real hands and away again. Gaster tried to swallow his discomfort. He knew how his hands now looked, but it was still new and shocking to most.

Unpleasant.

He brushed past the guards into the long, grey corridors of New Home. With every step, the babies in the satchel, who in reality probably weighed less than a pound each, felt impossibly heavy. The dread in his soul only grew as he pushed through Asgore's house, down the stairs to the Final Hall, and finally into the garden.

The king was there in full royal robes, yet kneeling in the dirt, weeding the garden with a tender reverence.

Gaster stared at the king for a moment, soul thrumming in his ribcage. He clutched the strap of his satchel, feeling the children in it squirming against him.

Asgore was the best father Gaster had ever known. He was endlessly kind, and affectionate, and patient. He was everything that Gaster knew he couldn't be. He needed Asgore, and more importantly, in this moment, these babies needed Asgore.

Gaster cleared his throat. [Your majesty?] he called out. Though he knew Asgore didn't understand his cipher, he did recognize his voice , and turned around with a smile.

"Gaster!" Asgore cried with a grin. "To what do I owe the pleasure of such a late night visit?"

[Um...] Gaster cleared his throat. [[I have something to show you, um...]] It occurred to Gaster that Asgore might not approve of carrying two babies in a satchel, even if it was perfectly safe. [[Perhaps if you could close your eyes for a second.]]

Asgore looked confused, then smiled. "A surprise?" he asked.

Gaster blinked. [[It will likely be surprising, yes.]]

The king's smile grew. "How delightful!" He lifted his giant paws to his face obligingly.

Dr. Gaster took a deep breath, trying to steady himself at least enough that his bones wouldn't rattle. He carefully drew the infants out of his satchel and into his arms. Subject two was awake, but still not crying, mercifully. Subject one had fallen asleep again, but curled into Gaster's chest without opening its eyes, a tiny fist clutching Gaster's lab coat.

They felt safe, Gaster realized. They felt safe in his arms. They trusted him, they--

He shook his head. They didn't know any better. That was all it was.

[[Alright, your majesty.]]

Asgore lowered his paws and gasped, eyes wide.

[[So...]] Gaster signed, avoiding the king's eyes. [[Well, as you can see, uhh...]] He looked at subject two, blithely smiling up at him. [[Well...]] Gaster couldn't help it. He began shaking. Subject one squirmed, blinking open a sleepy eye, immediately turning towards Asgore, drawing subject two's attention there as well.

Gaster finally looked up, terrified to know what the king would think, what he would ask. But Asgore hadn't moved. He remained gawking at the children.

[[Don't...]] Gaster's voice shook, though he wasn't sure if Asgore could detect that through his cipher. [[Don't just stare,]] he said. [[This is very awkward.]] He could feel heat in his cheekbones. The two tiny skeletons began clawing their way out of the towels, subject two reaching towards Asgore.

Tears began gathering in the king's wide, brown eyes as he leaned toward the children with a squeal. "Baaaaabieeeeess..."

Gaster felt the heat in his face increase.

"Oh my goodness, they're the most precious, beautiful little miracles I've ever seen!"

The babies were now fully reaching out to Asgore, making sweet cooing noises at him. Gaster struggled to hold them both still.

[[They-re-]] he shifted his grip. [[They're just babies, please, this is embarrassing as it is...]]

Gaster wasn't even sure that Asgore had caught any of what he'd signed, since he was still gawking at the babies.

"May I hold him?" Asgore squealed.

[[Yes, please!]] Gaster nodded emphatically in relief and passed subject one to the king.

Asgore squealed again, tears streaming down his face and wetting his fur. "They're so small they fit in the palm of my hand!"

[[Your majesty, your hands are enormous.]]

Asgore held subject one close to his face, where the baby pressed his tiny hands into the king's beard and gurgled happily. Gaster had to fight back a smile, even as the king beamed at the baby.

"What are their names?" Asgore asked, looking up to see Gaster's answer.

Unfortunately, Gaster didn't have an answer. He had never planned on naming the subjects, and even if he had... [[I haven't yet identified their fonts,]] he signed.

"Ah, yes, of course," Asgore nodded, then smiled back down at subject one, who had begun fussing, its eyes glowing cyan. "Oh, now," Asgore tutted at the baby, drawing it closer. "There, there. Poor little one; he must be hungry." Asgore then frowned. "What do baby skeletons eat?" he asked.

Gaster had to think hard for a minute, trying to remember back through the centuries to what his parents had done for his younger siblings. Though he'd tried to cling to those memories, it had been an awfully long time. [[I don't believe anything special is needed. Skeletons are born with teeth, and as we only take food in as soul nourishment, solid food ought to be fine.]]

"How fascinating!" Asgore beamed. "Well, then, little one, why don't we go back upstairs and get you something yummy?"

Subject one responded by letting out a loud cry, which let to subject two responding with an even louder wail.

[No, no no no, stop that,] Gaster beseeched subject two. He looked up at Asgore in a panic. However, the king was already turned to go upstairs with subject one. Gaster hastily followed. He could just see over Asgore's shoulder that the king had tucked subject one against his chest and was gently patting its scapulae. Gaster frowned. Without a physical digestive system, there was no reason to burp a baby skeleton, but it seemed to placate subject one slightly. Gaster looked at subject two and shifted his hold on the child to copy Asgore's more practiced motions.

It worked.

Likely, subject two was only crying because subject one was, and this physical interaction gave it something else to focus on. But nevertheless, Gaster felt a sense of accomplishment. He'd never thought he would be the one to comfort a child to stop them crying . He'd never thought he'd want to.

Subject two whined, settling against Gaster's shoulder. Gaster shuddered and hurried after Asgore.

Both babies quieted for a moment in the Final Hall, looking around with wide eyesockets at the simulated sunlight, but began squalling again once they got into the grey hallways. Gaster took the stairs two at a time after Asgore, rushing to follow the king into the kitchen.

When he got there , Asgore already had a carton of milk pulled out of the fridge.

"I know you said they could have anything," Asgore said. "But that just seems so strange!"

[[I'm sure milk will be fine,]] Gaster replied.

Asgore smiled. "Now, let's see... bottles, bottles..." His smile faltered. "I don't think I still have any baby bottles, I'm afraid. It's been hundreds of years since I last needed them."

Gaster's voice stuck in his throat at the thought of Prince Asriel and how long it had been since his infancy. He watched stiffly as Asgore poured the milk into a teacup.

" I suppose this will have to do for right now. We'll just take it slowly-" Asgore was cut off as subject one grabbed the teacup and started chugging. Nearly half of the milk had poured into the baby's skull before Asgore could pull the teacup away from it.

[[Here!]] Gaster quickly shoved subject two into Asgore's massive arms before grabbing subject one and holding the spluttering infant over the sink to let the milk pour down the drain. [Now you know not to do that, I should hope.] Gaster swiftly popped subject one's skull from its spine and shook it out carefully into the sink. [Now I'm going to have to wash you again,] he chided the baby.

"Gaster!" Asgore cried out.

[[Yes?]] Gaster responded without turning around.

"What are you doing?!"

Gaster looked at subject one, who was fine. [[Cleaning the baby?]] he answered, feeling strangely wrong-footed.

"You can't take a baby's head off, Gaster, and you certainly cannot SHAKE it!"

Gaster turned on the tap and began carefully splashing subject one with warm water. [[Your majesty, skeletons are perfectly safe with both of those things,]] he said. [[Bones are held together by soul power, not tendons or ligaments or muscle , and we have no physical brains that can be damaged by shaking our heads. Furthermore, shaking bones in a natural, instinctive action for skeletons!]]

Asgore did not look particularly reassured and his discomforted expression only worsened as Gaster poured water from subject one's eye sockets.

[[I suppose that's good enough for now,]] Gaster said, picking up the towel and wrapping the baby in it again, a big clumsily.

Asgore shook his head chidingly, then looked down at subject two, nuzzled into his arms. The infant was gnawing on the king's fuzzy paws. "But where did they come from?" he finally asked. "There aren't any other skeletons left; how did you..." the king trailed off.

Gaster reached forward to pry subject two's teeth off of Asgore's finger. [[I... don't want to discuss it; it's-]]

Asgore suddenly grabbed Gaster's wrist. Gaster had forgotten how quickly Asgore could move. A miscalculation that could be fatal under different circumstances. Gaster could feel the fur of Asgore's paw brush against the hole in his palm and tried to suppress a shudder; subject one had already fallen back asleep and he didn't want to wake it.

"Two babies..." Asgore began, his voice grave, and Gaster had the sinking feeling that it was far too late for excuses. "And two holes..."

It was too late.

"It wasn't an accident, was it?" Asgore asked. "That's what you were truly doing that day. Why didn't you tell me?" the king's voice cracked.

[[I...]] Gaster certainly couldn't tell the king his original reason for making the children. Now that the experiment was cancelled, there was little point in giving the king any false hope regarding the research into soul power. Not to mention that Gaster would not be forgiven for his crime.

[[I didn't know...]] he'd never planned to create real children. He'd never planned for things to develop like this, but Asgore could never know that. [[I didn't know if I could successfully create them, but they're both... they both seem to be...]] he looked at Asgore helplessly, not sure where he was going with this lie. [[I have two children now and I don't know what to do.]]

Asgore smiled sympathetically. "I think I can help with that."