Gaster walked through the hallway of his laboratory, one of his subjects at his heels. He had created two artificial, sentient skeleton children using cut-out pieces of his hands, and was using them to perform tests on, like lab rats. The one following him, Subject 2-P, was a lot quieter than usual, something that worried him more than he would like to admit. Subject 2 was usually whining for attention and affection like a dog, but now he barely spoke and looked more nervous than usual. He kept looking at the ceiling and the walls nervously, which made Gaster curious. "Is something bothering you, Subject 2?" he asked. Subject 2 looked up at him. "Something feels wrong..." he said. Gaster signalled for the small skeleton to walk next to him. "What do you mean, 'wrong?'" he asked. 2-P flinched and looked at the wall again. "Something just doesn't feel right about this place today," he said. "It's... different." Gaster summoned his magic hands and wrote down what 2-P was saying. "It looks normal at first glance, but... it's like the ground is shaking a little bit, and the walls look... more... I don't know... pressed down?" Gaster was interested now, and looked around. Sure enough, the walls looked a little more compressed. "Strange..." he said quietly. He looked up at the ceiling. It also looked a bit different, but he couldn't put his finger on how. "Very strange, indeed..." 2-P looked up at the scientist, his eyes shimmering with slight fear. "Do you think something is going to happen to us?" he asked. Gaster shook his head. "This laboratory is safe. We'll all be okay, and if worse comes to worst, there's always the escape route." 2-P nodded. "I trust you. You're smart, after all." Gaster flinched. Again with the compliments, he thought. Why does he bother? Where does this kindness come from? That was a question that had remained unanswered for a long time since the two subjects' creation. 2-P was always such an innocent, kind soul, and believed that anyone, despite their misdoings, could be a good person if they tried. This confused Gaster, as he didn't know where this came from. 2-P thought it came from him, but he wasn't believing that. Without another word, they arrived back at the cell, where 2-P's "brother", Subject 1-S, was waiting for him patiently.

Gaster opened the cell and gently ushered 2-P inside before putting the force field back up and walking away. He could feel 1-S watching him as he left. 1-S had begun watching him walk away, which was, admittedly, a bit unsettling. He was always the more clever one of the two — 2-P was admittedly a bit stupid — and had nearly killed Gaster once already. Had it not been for 2-P choosing to heal him, he really would have died. This one choice scrambled Gaster's head for days about exactly why 2-P chose to heal him, after everything he had done. He walked back to his desk, sat down, and began writing a new lab entry. "Entry Number 💱: While walking back to his cell after a test, 2-P kept looking at the walls and ceiling, which was intriguing. When I asked him why he kept glancing around him like that, he told me that something felt 'off' today. He said the hallway looked 'different'. Upon closer inspection, I realized he was right. The ceiling looked different, although I can't describe how, and the walls looked more pushed down. I kept calm at the time, but to be honest, it worries me as much as it worries 2-P. I told him that we would be safe down here, and he said he 'trusted my judgement because I was smart'. I can't let his compliments get to me. They are just my creations, things created by following a monster's blueprint. I created them for testing and that is what they will be used for." Gaster put down his pen and sighed, leaning back in his chair. He hadn't gotten a particularly good sleep that night, but he couldn't afford to fall asleep at his desk again. If something was wrong like 2-P had said, he needed to keep tabs on the lab at all available times in case something happened.

Suddenly, he heard a cry of fear from the security feed. He whipped back up, drowsiness gone in a flash, and saw that a piece of the ceiling had fallen down in the subjects' cell and nearly crushed 1-S. Gaster ran to their cell and found them cowering in the far corner from the piece. "Are you both alright?!" he asked frantically. 2-P nodded. "Neither of us are hurt, that was just a bit scary," he said. Gaster put a hand to his head, confused. "I don't understand how this could happen... this place was built so sturdily. Anyway, after this incident this cell is no longer safe for you two to stay in. I... cannot lose you two after all the work and time I've put into this project. Come with me." He put down the force field, and the two subjects got up. 2-P reached out to hold his hand, and Gaster instinctively jerked it away. He couldn't risk getting attached to these subjects. 2-P looked disappointed, but 1-S cheered him up by agreeing to hold his hand. The two skeletons followed Gaster to a cell down the hall from his office. "I'll need to keep a close eye on you both, so I'm keeping you a lot closer," he said. "If anything happens I need to be able to get to you and relocate you quickly. Now don't cause trouble. I'll be back with food." Gaster opened the cell and let the subjects go inside before closing it again.

2-P sighed. "Brother, I'm scared," he told 1-S. "What if this place comes falling down around us? What if we get stuck down here, what if even he can't get us out?! " 1-S smirked. "We're already stuck down here, bro. Can cross that off the list." "Brother..." 2-P said, looking at him with an unimpressed look in his eyes. 1-S rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll admit it, I'm terrified too. But we've gotta stay brave. We can't let a little chunk like that scare us." 2-P hugged his brother close. "It wasn't the rock that scared me! It was the fact that it almost crushed you! What would I do without you here?!" 1-S hugged him back. "We're both going to be okay, bro, don't be scared," he said. "Neither of us are going to die, we're going to get out of here safely and away from this place. We're going to be nice and safe and nothing bad will ever happen to us again." 2-P and 1-S sat together until Gaster came back with food. "Here," he said, passing two hot dogs on a plate through the gap in the force field. "Thank you," 2-P said as he picked up the plate and gave it to 1-S. Gaster flinched. "Don't make too much noise, I have work to do," he said as he left. 1-S and 2-P ate in silence, talked about the lab and how safe it would be for a while, then took a nap. Gaster watched them on the camera.

"I just hope 1-S is right about this place being safe," he said to himself. He had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Then his phone rang, startling him a bit. He picked it up and stood up from his desk. "Yes, who is this?" he asked politely. "Hello, Dr. Gaster!" said a cheerful voice on the other end. "Hello, King Asgore, what do you need?" Gaster responded. "Can you meet me in Waterfall? I'd like to talk to you about something that's been concerning me." "Your Majesty, may I ask, why Waterfall? Why not the palace?" "You'll see when you get there," Asgore said. Gaster could tell he was smiling. "If you insist. It's almost lunch anyway, I can spare the time. Let me get dressed for the weather and I'll be right there. See you soon." He hung up the phone and sighed, putting on his rain boots and throwing out the cigarette he had just lit. He put on a plaid scarf, since Waterfall was a bit chilly, grabbed his umbrella, and went down to the cell. The subjects looked at him. "I'll be gone for a while, you two, so if anything happens, try to stay safe," he told them. "I won't be able to contact you, but if this cell starts falling apart, get as far away from the rubble as possible. If either of you are hurt, I'm sure you can heal each other, and I'll fix what you cannot." 2-P and 1-S nodded in understanding. "We'll keep each other safe," 2-P said. "Unlike you..." 1-S mumbled under his breath. Gaster smirked. "I heard that, 1-S," he told the smaller skeleton child. 1-S didn't seem to care.

"Have a nice time!" 2-P called as Gaster walked away. He flinched again. "Stay out of trouble," he called back. He left the lab and took the elevator upwards to the upper portion of the lab, where he saw Dr. Alphys writing something down at her desk, which was cluttered with paper. Despite the first appearance of it being covered with scientific notes, most of the papers were actually little stories or plot analyzations of human shows she liked to watch that she found in the dump, which she said were called "anime". She often invited Gaster to watch with her, and he couldn't turn down anything from the lovable lizard monster. She turned around and saw him walking out of the elevator. "Greetings, Dr. Alphys," he said respectfully. Alphys waved at him. "H-hi Dr. Gaster! Where are y-you going?" Gaster smiled a bit for some reason. "The king wants to speak with me in Waterfall, out of all places," he said. Alphys shrugged and smiled. "K-king Asgore has a r-reason for everything he d-does," she said. "He p-p-probably has a g-good one for wanting to meet in W-Waterfall." Gaster nodded. "Most likely. I'll be back in a little while, Alphys. Take care!" "Have a good t-time, Dr. Gaster!" she said. "Thank you," he called back to her as he left. He took the Riverperson's boat to Waterfall, where he met up with Asgore, who was waiting for him patiently and waving at him cheerfully.