A/N: Hey, welcome to the story! Hope you like it! Also, why the hell is Gaster not listed as a character?

But yes, babybones! And Dadster! :3 I'm in the camp that thinks Gaster is a huge sad nerd, timeline-breaking shenanigans included.

New Home. The capital of the Underworld, or at least as much a capital one could have when your 'country' consisted of ragged cave formations, a hollow belly tucked beneath the Earth's surface. Nevertheless, monsterkind was anything if not earnest. The 'kingdom's capital' was littered with arch-shaped stone buildings built haphazardly around the Palace, the latter being an imposing structure whose top fused with the rock above.

If one paid attention, they'd see through the luminous crystal's light that the capital's ceiling was also of interest, unnatural shapes protruding from the darkness. They were the remnants of one of the first attempts of escape; monsters dug upwards in hope the humans' spell was a poorly thought-out last resort, brimming with loopholes.

It wasn't.

But hey. It wasn't all in vain. Thanks to the myriad of scaffolds and ingenious use of magic New Home's 'top' was a district by itself, rock buildings protruding from the ceiling and suspended through the sheer stability of the Earth's crust and a few extra magic protection spells woven into the rock. Not the best in terms of safety or structural integrity, but damn impressive to look at.

And, as a young skeleton in an oversized jacket was currently experiencing, they were very fun to parkour on, especially when chased by the half the Royal Guard.

"Sans Serif Gaster!"

The skeleton in question barely held in an amused snort, bright yellow boots squeaking against the cobblestone as he ducked into another narrow alleyway. Though small and chubby –for a skeleton- the child moved relatively seamlessly from half-collapsed cobblestone to sound rock foundation, over abandoned stone fences, rubble and the like. His jacket, unnecessarily baggy to the point where its ends nearly touched ground, flailed wildly with the boy's hectic pace as he turned a tight corner over a half-fallen pillar.

"When I get you young man, you'll be grounded until your bones creak from old age!" The shrill voice reverberated throughout the narrow hallways, accompanied by the sound of with heavy footsteps and the loud clangs of old medieval-like armour. Sans glanced from his hiding place, seeing the stout female skeleton bark orders at the rest of monsters which were also clad in similar armour.

Well… All the more reason for him to keep evading arrest. Sans peaked again from the top of the column, to the monsters roaming at the 'bottom'.

…They seemed utterly confused. Fun.

"New!" The female skeleton turned to see a stocky Knight-Knight scratch her head in confusion. "I can't find the babybones anywhere! You sure he went into that alley?"

"On my medals!" the elder skeleton replied, her cheekbones a bright orange colour that could be mistaken for lava. "That little troublemaker is somewhere around here, I feel it in my bones. What on Earth was he thinking, sneaking in, and what the hell is my brother-in-law doing-?"

The young monster's grin widened as the female skeleton went on another tirade, her voice rivalling a sonic boom in sheer volume. He couldn't help letting out an amused snort.

The Guard's head did an almost 180o degree turn, immediately homing in on the unexpected sound.

Welp. Time for Plan B.

The young monster gave the Guard a little wave. "hiya auntie"

"Sans! Get down from here this instant!" A small pause. "Wait, how did you get up there in the first place?!"

Sans threw up his hands in delight, "shortcuts!"

The Head of the Royal Guard threw the boy a confused half-glare, before shaking her head. "No matter. Get down right now."

"k" Sans made his descent.

In extreme slow motion.

A minute passed. Some of the other guards gathered around the half-collapsed pillar.

New narrowed her eyes. "Sans."

"auntie"

More minutes passed. A crowd of Royal Guards gathered.

"Hurry up."

"i am"

Even more time passed. A Final Froggit on the back had fallen asleep.

"Don't make me come up there."

Sans stopped his almost non-existent descent to give his relative a 'good-natured' grin. He applied most on his weight on his right foot, so he could twist his spine to look at the fellow monster.

His support gave in and collapsed, the little skeleton about to follow along. Oh dear.

"Good Grief get the child-!"

There was no need. There was a flash of dark blue and Sans found himself floating in mid-air. The boy however, completely ignored the supernatural light around him and focused on his relative, whose expression an entertaining mix of worry and frustration. The older skeleton's right hand was also bathed in the same ethereal glow.

"oops. thanks. guess I needed a little lift, didn't i?"

No one noticed a moderately sized boulder behind the pillar land on the floor, the light-blue glow around it dissipating.

New's face eventually settled for resigned displeasure. The little skeleton floated to her, and she grabbed him by the oversized shirt and jacket. The blue glow around sans disappeared, and the boy was now help up by the female skeleton, his baggy shirt catching up on his ribcage.

"I found the child. Disband," she announced to the rest of the gathered monsters, who nonchalantly went their own ways. New started walking–or more accurately stomping- her way out of the district, Sans still hanging in mid-air and swinging like a pendulum.

"i can walk"

"And have you ran away? I think not."

Sans tilted his head in surrender. New's pace didn't falter. They'd reached a spiralling staircase, half of it standing in mid-air, whereas the other half was fused with the wall on the side.

"Can't see what my sister saw in your father boy," the female skeleton muttered as she went down the stairs.

"come on aunt New-"

"It's Times New Roman for you, you little outlaw. What did you think you were doing?! This area is out of bounds!"

The younger skeleton shrugged, still in mid-air. "I's jus' explorin'"

"And you though the best place to do that would be the half-crumbling ruins of the old Tavani area?!"

"yep"

"…Why?"

Sans shrugged again. "it's a cool area. and it's close to the channel"

The older skeleton let out a long-suffering sigh. "Of course. The channel." The 'channel' was a small tunnel, barely fitting in a small person, which connected with the surface. Occasionally things from the above would come through, falling through the tunnel until they formed an amorphous pile in the inner reaches of the Tavani district. It was an endless source of stress for the Head of the Royal Guard, as more than one daring explorers were willing to face falling to their doom for mere trinkets. "You're wasting your time, dear niece. Anything that comes from the channel is placed at the Central Library and examined until released for civilian use."

"sounds boring"

"It's protocol, in case something dangerous makes it through." Truth be told, she agreed with the process, though she wished there was some sort of organised scavenging sessions from the Royal Guard. So far they'd let the pile accumulate. Maybe she would talk to the King about setting up a regular shift. "We know humanity's cruelty, do we not?"

"…" Sans didn't answer.

Well. A t this point New might as well address the elephant in the room. "…What'd you find?" she hummed.

The abrupt question surprised the child, and he looked away. "nothin'"

"Sans."

The young skeleton shifted, which only made him swing again. He quickly glanced at a faint bulge on the left side of his pocket. At this point, he might as well have it painted a fluorescent green.

"I know it's in your pocket, young man."

After a brief shocked look, the small skeleton rubbed the bone of his nose, before reaching in his pocket and taken out a dark-brown figurine and presenting it with both hands to the older skeleton.

"That's… a doll?" It was more of a statement than a question. The figurine had four limbs, two arms and two legs, seemingly connected by little rolling balls. The figurine itself did not have many discernible features, probably worn away; any and all paint having been washed away by time and heaven knows what else.

"'s a wooden action-figure" San briefly twirled the figurine before grinning to himself –or was that a neutral expression? Hew nephew's grin seemed to be literally plastered on his face. "i'll give it to pappy"

Time's expression faltered. "That's ok… I suppose. The figure appears to be harmless." She cleared her voice. "As head of the Royal Guard, you request to claim ownership over this Surface Object has been approved."

"cool! thanks auntie, you rock"

"It's Aunt New," the older skeleton quickly corrected. Her expression softened. "You're welcome."

\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

After an unknowable –to Sans, because he took a brief nap- time period, New had angrily marched her way onto New Home's 'surface', at the outskirts of the city close to Hotland. Though it wasn't as bad, as the 'city of fire itself', the excess heat from the slowly moving lava bathed the area in a warm orange glow and a warmer climate –or at least the underground's equivalent of one.

The Head of the Royal Guard stood in front of an old, but renovated house. Its ancient walls were made of stone as with every other building, but the little details such as metal antennas protruding from the top, and a constant buzz of electricity made that house stand out more than the rest.

Times New Roman knocked. No response.

"Gaster." She knocked again. No response.

"Gaster…" she growled, knocking harder. The door didn't open.

"Gaster!" She full-on punched the door. There was a crack. Sans felt sorry for the wood… No one came.

"I swear, if he's gone deaf too…" The female skeleton muttered to herself, before resuming her pounding. "Oi, open up you bird-brains!"

"don't you mean bone-head?"

New narrowed her eyes in the opposite of appreciation. San's grin widened.

After a few more knocks there was a sudden crash, followed by a rumble of noise until it quitted down to pair of hasty footsteps.

The door opened. The one who opened the door, a male thin skeleton dressed in a black coat and white turtleneck, initially gave his two fellow monsters a look of confusion followed by an oblivious, friendly wave.

Sans, still hanging in mid-air, reciprocated the gesture. "hey dad. 'sup?"

The man finally noticed the female skeleton's menacing glare and lost about half his height.

"Wingdings Dingbat Gaster."

"oh no" Sans mumbled. "dad, she's using full names, run"

"Tell me, my dear doctor. Are you my brother-in-law?"

The man looked between the two skeletons, before nervously nodding.

"Did you marry my dear twin sister, Times Old Roman?"

Another nervous nod.

"And did you, have this child," she wiggled a grinning Sans, still dangling by his loose jumper, "and a few years after, another babybones?"

Another nod, accompanied with a blush.

"That makes this child your son. And you're supposed to watch over him. Correct?"

Another nod, this time much slower and with an increase in sweat.

"That means making sure your child doesn't run off to ran along half-crumbling, out-of-bounds areas!"

There it was. The explosion. The breaking point. The final straw.

It was glorious.

…

After a few more minutes of unnecessary screaming, nervous gestures, and a young monster more chill than it had any right to, the Head of the Royal Guard deposited the child on the scientist's lap and angrily stomped away from the house.

The tall monster watched the woman leave and gulped. Sans shifted in the embrace.

"got auntie pretty mad didn't i?"

Gaster let out a small inaudible sigh and gave Sans a small comforting pat to the head, before taking the boy inside and letting him down. The little skeleton immediately ran further inside the house, while the scientist quietly closed the door behind him, and then followed his son in the inner reaches of their home. They made it past a worn sofa, a table filled with blueprints and sheets of paper filled with equations and handwriting that wasn't neat or precise, but rather approaching legibility in the opposite direction.

Eventually, Gaster made it to the quiet part of the house, a small but colourful room with a garishly flowery wallpaper.

"pappy!" the young skeleton rushed to a bone-themed crib, where a small bundle was cooing playfully.

The Royal Scientist watched in contentment as sans took a small footstool and climbed it to lean over the crib. The little monster's hand reached into his oversized jacket, taking out a wooden object and playfully waving it above his little brother. Said little brother giggled in delight, small, bony arms flailing wildly, trying to catch the elusive toy.

After a few minutes spent like that, Sans withdrew the toy, much to Papyrus' loud objections.

"sorry bro, but I gotta wash this"

The little skeleton made his way to the kitchen, where his dad was. W.D. Gaster, or most commonly referred to as simply Gaster, was a relatively imposing monster. His tall, thin frame, combined with the flowing black robe (which doubled as a lab coat) the two mysterious cracks on his face and holes on his palms, made the Royal Scientist look like something straight out of a pulp horror novel, a mad scientist toying with forces one shouldn't interfere with.

"hey dad" Said scientist was now eyeing a smoking pot in disappointment. Sans could make out the smell of burned spaghetti.

In reality, Gaster was as dangerous as the Lesser Dogs at Snowdin town.

"HELLO." His hands full, Gaster resorted to utilizing his chime-like voice. Technically the Royal Scientist could talk but anything he said sounded incomprehensible to most, like a complete new language. The few who could understand his speech were his two sons (of course), his wife (after a few frustrating months), his sister-in-law New (whenever she was feeling generous), and various lab assistants could decipher bits and pieces now and then.

"I WAS HOPING TO DISCOVER A METHOD ON HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES FOR SPAGGETTI TO BE PERFECTLY COOKED." He eyed the half-burned mass of pasta. "NEEDLESS TO SAY I WAS UNSUCCESSFUL."

"doesn't the package say 12 minutes?"

The adult skeleton shrugged as he placed the pot on the kitchen sink and began scraping away at the burned food. "IF WE FOLLOWED INSTRUCTIONS BLINDLY AND DID NOT EXPERIMENT, PROGRESS WOULD COME TO A HALT."

"eh, I guess so" Sans, still equipped from the footstool he used at this brothers room, placed it right behind his dad. Now able to reach the kitchen sink, he leaned over to the soap dispenser, where he placed the wooden figurine below it.

Gaster stopped his scrubbing to sign at Sans. "WHAT IS THIS?"

"it's an action figure!" Sans said as he drenched the toy in soap, opened the sink and began washing it.

Gaster raised his eyebrows in mock surprise and tilted his head questioningly. "HOW NICE."

"yeah"

The two spent a few minutes away in silence. Sans grin didn't falter, though Gaster kept glancing nervously at his boy.

Eventually, he sighed and stopped his scrubbing entirely. "SANS." Upon seeing his son turning to face him, Gaster switched to sign language. "WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS 'ACTION FIGURE'?"

The little skeleton's grin froze in his face and he looked away. Gaster frowned. He knew that look.

"IT WAS AT THE TAVANI AREA, WASN'T IT?"

No response.

The older monster sighed. "YOUR AUNT IS RIGHT," he signed. "IT IS DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE."

"…it's not that bad" the little skeleton finally said. Gaster did not look satisfied with that answer. Sans retreated further into his jacket. "i was practising my magic"

"YOU WENT THERE TO PRACTISE?" Now Gaster was confused. "THE ONLY REASON I CAN THINK YOU WOULD GO UP THERE WAS TO PRACTISE ALONE," he signed, exaggerating the last gesture.

Sans placed both hands in his jacket. "kind off"

The Royal Scientist tilted his head in confusion. "WHY? I'M SURE IT'S SAFER IF YOU PRACTISE AT SCHOOL? KING ASGORE RECENTLY MADE SURE THAT ALL YOUNG MONSTERS LEARN HOW TO CONTROL THEIR MAGIC VIA SPECIAL FACILITIES?"

"i mean, the school had an 'indestructible' practise dummy but I kinda… broke it" Sans nonchalantly shrugged. "freaked some of the teachers too"

"AH." A pause. "WELL, THAT JUST MEANS YOUR MAGIC IS POWERFULL. NOTHING BAD ABOUT THAT."

"yeah, but I didn't want to accidentally… hurt someone, like the gym teacher"

Ah. Gaster saw where his son's train of thought went. Gym teachers were one of the highest-paid teachers in schools, partly because their job recently included making sure young monsters learned how to control their magic. That involved learning to wield it in the first place, and many attempts ended in… potentially harmful situations. Hopefully, no teacher had been dusted yet, though that was more due to the abundance of food and other healing items they carried with them. Sans might have been afraid his magic may be a 1-Hit-KO, and if what he said about the dummy was true, Gaster believed it was a reasonable hesitation to have.

"WE CAN TRY PRACTISING TOGETHER." To be honest, Gaster was absolutely awful at magic. Science, especially meta-biology was his strong point. Sure he could do the most basic bone attack, but his healing power was terrible (as evidenced by the two cracks on his skull, remnants of a battle he'd rather not think about) and as for any other type of attack/magic he was abysmally bad at… with one unwieldy exception.

Sans hesitant expression revealed he knew his father's magic was on par with his cooking skills. "but dad, you don't do blue magic"

"NO, BUT I CAN DO OTHER COOL THINGS." Gaster winked. "PLUS, BASIC MAGIC IS VERY SIMILAR ACROSS MONSTERS, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDERN. ALSO, HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT YOUR DAD WORKS WITH? I'M SURE MY TEA BREAKS AT THE LAB AFTER THE CORE IS COMPLETE WILL POSE MORE DANGER THAN YOU, SON." That was true. After spending so much of one's time to close proximity with lava, while simultaneously dealing with potentially unstable chemicals, Gaster had his fair share of survival skills (how much he chose to use them was another matter entirely). In addition, though his magic was terrible, he doubted any other monster new more about how magic worked than him. He was the Royal Scientist for a reason.

"heh, cool… i'm in"

"THERE'S ONE CONDITION. WE WILL TRAIN TOGETHER IF YOU PROMISE NOT TO SNEAK INTO FORBIDDEN TERRITORY."

"you're driving a hard bargain, dad" Sans giggled but eventually agreed, causing Gaster to give him the most awkward of parental hugs.

A/N: Sorry for so much time on an Aunt New (oh no, I don't even like puns, help), had to get some of the backstory out of the way, along with some characterization. Hope you liked her!

Next chapter will be up on 'I have no idea'. I hope soon.