From War to Science {UNDERTALE}

Different

It has to be SOMEWHERE in here, Gaster signed absently with one hand as he flipped through his dictionary with the other. He had the perfect phrase to be used in the textbook, but confound it, even with nearly two hundred years of speaking Monster, he could not translate the stupid thing. And he wagered that the future students reading the text wouldn't appreciate a string of random symbols.

He shut the dictionary with a huff before getting to his feet. Forget it, he signed to himself. I'll rewrite it later.

A little giggle came from the other side of the lab. He blinked.

"Hello?"

No answer. He glanced down at his hands, then half-smiled. He shrugged before signing, I guess it's just my imagination. He heard another little giggle, then smiled as he began to sign the first few lines of "The Femur's March".

"Woah!"

"I told you he did this when no one looks."

"Golly, I never even knew..."

"Yeah, he does it all the time when he talks to Mom about us."

Ah, so he did have visitors. Quietly, he walked over to the table where the voices were coming from. Abruptly, he leaned down to look at the two intruders.

"Who does what when he speaks to your mother?"

"Ah!" Asriel fell back in surprise, then let out a loud laugh. "Dr. Gaster, you scared me!"

He smiled. "My apologies, Asriel," he said as he crouched down.

"You didn't scare me."

Gaster's gaze went to the other child. Chara smiled back at him, dark eyes glinting. He let out a breath.

"Yes, well, I suppose it would take more than that to scare you, Chara." He stood up, watching the two as they crawled out from under the table. "Did your parents send you here?"

"No, Chara just wanted to show me your hand thing," Asriel said, dusting off his striped shirt. "I didn't believe them."

"That's because you don't pay attention to things," Chara said matter-of-factly as they pulled themself up onto a stool.

"I do, too!"

Chara laughed. "Okay, sure, Asriel."

It really was quite remarkable how much of a difference six months made with the human. Anyone who met the rosy-cheeked, smiling child here would never guess that they were the same pale, quiet child that had fallen down into the ruins. They were friendly enough to everyone, and obviously adored Asriel, but even so...Gaster couldn't trust them. They weren't proving themself to be like other humans, but something about their eyes...

"So is your hand thing why your hands are like that?" Asriel asked abruptly, pulling Gaster out of his thoughts.

"Er...well...no," he said, automatically rubbing one of the jagged holes with his thumb. "It is from an...er, accident. Since you two are here, we should try—"

"Was it from when the Core blew up?" Chara asked quietly.

Gaster's back went ramrod straight, and he looked down at the child with wide sockets. "How did you—?"

"It blew up?" Asriel exclaimed, then puffed and gave his adopted sibling a little shove. "You're lying, Chara! I'd know if it blew up."

"It did," Chara insisted. "There's a plaque at the entrance!"