Sam and Piper were sitting on Noelle's bed, discussing what kind of gift they could make for their father. Getting a good idea wasn't an easy task, figuring that the amnesic Gaster would probably be very difficult to please. Even though the twins did their best to stay positive around him, they still could sense that he was accepting their generosity and kindness rather reluctantly. That was why they had to come up with an uncommon gift; something special. But what?
"I really have no clue…" - Piper said with a pout - "What do you think Dad liked before adopting us?"
"Except doing science? Nothing." - Sam replied with a hint of sarcasm - "Wait… I think I know what to do."
"What? You have an idea?" - Piper asked curiously.
"Not exactly. But I think we should recall what Dad was doing for us when we were sick." - Sam answered - "And now, we could return the favor by doing the same for him."
"Oh, that's clever, Sam!" - Piper's eyes lit up, liking the idea - "And maybe it'll even help him remember?"
"That's what I hope." - Sam grinned - "Now, we must try to recall something about us being sick."
The twins got thoughtful looks on their faces. Being a doctor and scientist, Gaster was most of the times very clinical when it came to treat his children's sickness. And since he was a busy man in general, he'd rarely waste time at home for things like "comforting". It was usually a job he'd leave to Toriel. She'd stay at their beds to help them to eat and reassure them, to keep them company in general while their father was working at the hospital for long hours.
"It's a surprise he actually could change…" - Sam commented - "Not that I want to speak badly of him, but you gotta admit he wasn't the best at fathering."
"It's true that he could do better… but there were times when he'd be nice." - Piper said thoughtfully - "Wait… I recall one time when he…"
"What is it, Piper?" - Sam asked - "What do you recall?"
"Remember the time we got the flu when we were six?" - Piper asked her brother.
"I think… Yes, I do..! We got ill at the same time, but it took you a little longer to recover!" - Sam remembered.
"Yes, that time." - Piper confirmed with a nod - "Dad stopped going to work until he was sure we totally recovered. He was most of the time by our side, he was so caring… I recall once asking him if I would die. Dad looked at me and said that he'll never let it happen. And… even if he was wearing a surgery mask to not get ill too, I could see in his eyes that he was smiling."
Piper paused for a moment as she smiled at the good memory. Sam looked at her curiously until he recalled the day too. He saw where she was going with this story.
"Dad then gave you a new plushie and said that it would chase your sickness away." - Sam pursued the story - "Heh, he even gave me one too, to make things fair. Even though I was not as sick."
The reason why the kids remembered that day from years ago was because it was one of the rarest times when Gaster wasn't acting all rational and clinical towards them. That time, he's been just a comforting father, which was all what they truly needed. If only Gaster's been this attentionate all the time during those years… The kids and him surely would've gotten better along back then.
"It was one of the rare times he showed that he cared… I get it! Dad gave us plushies, so we must give him one now!" - Sam understood - "The question now is… what kind of plushie would he like?"
The kids went into their pondering mode again. It was shortly before Noelle returned from her ride to the city that the kids got an idea. Gaster cared a big deal for Asgore and Toriel. So, the most logical thing to give him was a plushie of a Boss Monster. The question now was where to get one. Sam and Piper decided that they'd explore the option the next morning.

The next day, it was almost midday when Noelle walked out of the village in the direction of the mountain, where the Dog requested her to come for their meeting. Noelle gave a quick glance at her watch to see that she was tree minutes in advance. The Dog was nowhere to be seen. "I guess he'll show up exactly when the clocks will strike midday." - Noelle told herself - "I don't know him that well, and yet I think it's in his character." When Noelle arrived at the spot of rendezvous, she felt uneasy. It didn't take her long to figure out the reason. As she looked around, Noelle recognized the place.
"It's the place I saw in my vision…" - Noelle said to herself - "That's where Chara and I will have a fight."
"A fated place? That makes it even more interesting!"
Noelle gasped and turned around to see that the Annoying Dog was there. He was smiling his usual cute dog smile, wagging his tail. Noelle stepped towards him and greeted the world's creator:
"Hello, Dog. I'm glad to see you… You have no idea how much I need you right now."
"Hi, Noelle. So, what's the problem? Lay it all down." - the Dog said with an encouraging tone.
"Where do I even start..? I mean, first of, Chara's back..!" - Noelle started - "You know, the Dreemurr's other adopted child? Except that she's no longer a child, and she's here to hurt my family, especially my mom. And… and I feel powerless against her! I mean, it's not like I'm afraid of her… well, I am a little, but… it's just that my powers aren't working normally for some reason. Yet, Papyrus and Sans have trained me well, so I don't understand why I'm losing control of it? Well, that's basically the situation."
Noelle stopped with a small sigh, expecting the Dog to say anything in response.
"When exactly did your magic problems start?" - the Dog asked.
"Um... It was the next day after Chara paid me a visit." - Noelle replied.
"What were you doing just before that? Before using your magic, I mean."
"I asked questions to Alphys about skeleton magic. I needed an enlightening about why Sans can perform the Karmic Retribution, while my father and I can't."
"I see… And did you get your answer?" - the Dog asked curiously.
"Yeah. Basically, it's because I don't have in me a desire to punish the sinners that I can't master the KR." - Noelle replied with a sad look.
"It obviously upset you, am I correct?"
"Of course it did..!" - Noelle exclaimed with frustration - "Because it means that I don't have the required weapons against a full of LV Chara! I mean… if I don't have it in me to kill people like Chara does… what are my chances against her?"
"Okay. First, stop that. Really." - the Dog said calmly - "If your magic doesn't work right, it's because you're filling your mind with those thoughts. They're a venom to your soul and magic. You can't allow yourself poison your morals just because the psychotic Chara has 'too much power'. You allowed her to make you doubt your abilities and power. Throw those doubts away now! Okay?"
"I'd like to, but…"
"There's no 'but', Noelle. You must be proud that unlike her, you're on the right path." - the Dog said seriously - "She thinks she's more powerful because of her LV. Prove her wrong! The notion of 'power' is more subjective than one may think."
"...What can I do against her then?" - Noelle asked - "I won't stray from the right path, that's what I promised to myself. But how can I win against her with my low LV?"
"What you really must understand is that anyone can win, no matter their LV. You especially have a chance, considering the hybrid nature of your SOUL. You have more power than any human or monster has. Your mother didn't need high LV or magic to make it through the Underground and SAVE everyone, did she?"
"I guess she didn't... Even without those, she could stand against any monster she encountered… including Asriel in his God of Hyperdeath form." - Noelle agreed.
"Good. Now, answer one simple question. Why do you want to fight Chara?"
"It's pretty obvious. I just want to protect my family from her."
"This." - the Dog said with a satisfied tone - "You just said one fundamental thing. You fight to protect those you love. This is what makes of you a true Savior."
"A 'Savior', huh..? I still don't really understand what that means…" - Noelle sighed.
"Maybe that's the main problem?" - the Dog suggested, making Noelle look back a him intently - "But you have time to figure this out on your own. For now, I'll just tell you two rules that you'll have to keep in mind all the time."
"Rules?" - Noelle asked - "Are those for a fight?"
"Yes. But it can help in other aspects of life too sometimes." - the Dog replied - "Two rules. They're simple, yet fundamental."
"Okay, what are those?"
"Rule number one: When you fight, do it to protect others. Rule number two: Always trust the rule number one."
A short silence followed and Noelle frowned her brows a little. She then said, hesitantly:
"But uh... that's makes… just one rule then…"
"No. They are distinct and equally important rules." - the Dog insisted - "Sometimes, I have the feeling you're not taking my words very seriously."
"Don't think that..! I'm taking you very seriously, haha…!" - Noelle hurried to say, sweat of embarrassement forming under her bangs.
"If you do, then keep in mind those two rules, no matter what happens." - the Dog instructed her - "Trust me, it's very important."
"Alright... I will."
"Sweet." - the Dog got a satisfied expression on his face - "Okay, it was all very nice, but I have to go now! There's so much to do, so many things to keep track of, and so little time!"
"What? But I thought that gods didn't know time problems." - Noelle remarked with a curious look on her face.
"Please..." - the Dog rolled his eyes.
Then, he turned around and jumped. The Dog just vanished in the middle of his jump. Noelle blinked her eyes a few times, and she couldn't help but think: "Woaaah… Amazing..!"

Meanwhile in the house, Sam and Piper were in the attic, searching in the boxes of Noelle's old belongings something that would be close enough to what they had in mind. Luckily, there was a homemade plushie that represented a goat monster. It needed a wash, but it still looked cute. The plush goat held a resemblance with both a young Asriel and Toriel. (So, it was a bit difficult to tell if the goat was supposed to be a boy or a girl.) It was dressed rather ordinarily, wearing a striped shirt.
"It looks cute." - Piper commented with a smile.
"It is. But we must modify it a little. To make it look less ordinary." - Sam remarked - "We must give it a more magical look, like one of an angel or a wizard?"
"Maybe other toys have fitting clothes?" - Piper suggested.
"There must be some." - Sam agreed with a nod.
And so the searching resumed. They found a doll, who was dressed in a nice green shirt with a black heart drawn on the front. At once, they underessed the doll and, while Piper took care to put something else on the doll, Sam tried the shirt on the goat plushie. Since the doll was bigger than the plushie, the shirt looked more like wizard robe on it. Piper smiled at the sight with a satisfied grin.
"Looks better already." - she said to her brother.
"Yeah... but the clothing is just a bit too long." - Sam remarked.
"That's not a problem. We can shorten it with scissors." - Piper replied.
"shorten what with scissors?"
The twins turned their heads to see that Sans was staring at them from the entrance of the attic. Sam showed him the toy and said that they needed to shorten the "wizard robe" so it would fit the plush toy. Sans walked up to them and after looking at it, he said:
"i see... but why are you customizing the toy? i mean, those are noelle's old toys. you shouldn't mess with other people's belongings."
"We already asked her this morning. She said she doesn't mind." - Sam replied.
"as long as she's okay with that." - Sans shrugged - "but what are you doing exactly?"
"We're making a gift for our dad." - Piper replied.
"oh... i see."
Sans' eyesockets turned black for a very brief moment. Which made Piper ask:
"What's with that face, Sans?"
"what? nothing's wrong with my face."
"You're not pleased we're making a gift for our father, are you?" - Sam said on his turn.
"you know how things are between him and i... but this doesn't mean i disapprove. you can love him as much as you want, give him gifts and all." - Sans said casually - "i'll just never understand what you like in him, but that's okay. he's your father, so i cannot judge."
"Well, technically he's your father too..." - Sam remarked.
"he's never been one to me." - Sans said with a lower tone - "he's been merely a scientist. pap and i've been just experiments to him."
"But deep down... I know he cared." - Piper said quietly.
"so what? it doesn't matter what he thought or was 'deep down'. it doesn't change all the atrocities he did to us."
Sans' left eye had briefly glowed blue as he spoke. The twins looked down after his words, as those made them uncomfortable. Sans noticed and realized his mistake. He facepalmed and said:
"uhh... sorry about that, kids. i guess what i think of him isn't what you need to hear."
His expression then softened and his eyes smiled a little.
"but here's an idea for your little... project. you're trying to make that thing look like a wizard, right?"
"Uh-uh! Like a wizard who'd help Dad feel better." - Piper replied, as her enthousiasm returned.
Sans chuckled at this, envying a little the kids' silly beliefs.
"then it'll need a hat." - Sans pointed out - "you can make one out of the cut fabric."
The kids looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing that it was a good idea. Sans then suggested the kids to wash the toy first, to make it look newer. The kids agreed and decided they'd later ask Papyrus to take care of that.

At that same time, in the monster hospital, Gaster was sitting at the table, starting a new journal entry. It didn't take long to figure what to write about in his journal. Yet, he'd always been inspired when it came to writing his thoughts down.

Entry n°3

I have seen the therapist yesterday. Like I expected, he can't help me. He said some stuff about my inner cognitive disharmony, that my mind refused to accept a new reality, and that it's because of my hatred for humanity that I can't remember "my children". He suggested me to think about it. The guy really doesn't get it. He doesn't know what I got to witness. He has no idea about the horrors I've seen humans do during the war. I can't just pretend it never happened and welcome the twins with open arms. They might look harmless now, but they'll surely change when they grow up and start to lust for power. No doubt they'll have more and more interest for my SOUL. They'll want to steal it. I know what I'm talking about, I've seen humans take SOULs from monsters. The "mages" who created the Barrier were nothing but thieves of Boss Monster SOULs. They couldn't have performed magic spells otherwise. Humans are fascinated by power. And those curious and invading twins can't be an exception. The only relatively positive scenario I can come up with is the fact they're two, while there's just one SOUL. They won't be able to share, so they'll end up fighting for it until they kill each other.
And to think that I'm meeting the therapist tomorrow again. I'd rather listen my neighbour's nonsensical rants.
Speaking of her… Like suspected, her unconventional thinking is only the lesser of her problems. I discovered last afternoon that she likes to pretend eating. But only if it was just that. When she's done, she actually believes that she ate for real, making her feel no hunger. I wonder when the staff will realize she's not taking her pills, if they didn't already. But it's not my business.
Maybe I should observe if her levels of insanity influe her skills at checkers in any way? That would definitely be interesting to observe.

Gaster closed his journal and went to hide it under the mattress. Then he went to the hall, where to his surprise, he didn't see Patty there. It was a bit strange to not see her around. It made Gaster wonder what she was up to. Not that he cared, it was just his scientific curiosity. So, the skeleton sat down at a table and, since there weren't much things he could do, started to doodle on a sheet of paper. At first, it were merely symbols and insignificant forms. Then, he started to draw himself as a young boy. He usually didn't like to think too much about his childhood, let alone draw pictures of it. But this time, due to his boredom and loneliness, he just felt like doing it. When he finished the small boney form, he started to draw Toriel next. Gaster got, for a brief moment, a small nostalgic smile. The time when Toriel has been his foster mother was probably the best period of his life, because it was the serener one. When he laid down the pen after finishing the doodle, he heard Patty's voice say:
"Wow! I like the drawing. It's simple, yet so cute."
Gaster looked up to see that Patty was standing there, holding a sheet of paper and pastels in her hands. He didn't reply to her compliment and slid the drawing aside. Patty then sat down right next to Gaster, making him move his chair a little aside (to create a minimal space between them). As Patty started to draw the base lines on the paper, she said:
"I wanted to paint with watercolors today. But the nurse didn't want me to and gave me pastels instead. He thinks I might drink the paint by accident."
Gaster could tell by Patty's expression that she was a little upset by this. To his own surprise, Gaster then said casually:
"The beauty of art comes from the artist, not from the used material."
"Well, I... I guess you're right there, hehe..." - Patty said with a smile - "How could I even forget that? Silly me!"
Gaster almost chuckled at her reaction. He then didn't say anything for a while. Barely realizing it, Gaster's attention was caught by Patty's drawing. He quickly noticed that Patty definitely wasn't a beginner. The moves of her hand were sure, swift and elegant. Patty's expression was focused and eager. She pictured the final result in her mind, and she was determined to make it real. Patty in a way reminded Gaster of himself, when he was working on his science projects. As soon as he realized he just made the comparison between them in his head, Gaster chased the thoughts away. "She and I are nothing alike." - he told himself firmly. Patty had finished the pencil lines by this point and started to use the pastels. As she was filling the blank spaces, Gaster figured that the drawn scene was pretty familiar. In fact, any kid would recognize it.
"The mad tea party?" - Gaster asked.
"That's right, Gaster." - Patty replied with a smiled - "One of my favourites scenes from 'Alyssa in Underland'."
"Let me guess: the most relatable to you?" - Gaster said a bit snarkily.
He then almost regretted saying that out loud. But Patty, even though she narrowed her eyes at him, did so in a playful manner rather than out of anger. Then, she admitted with a shy cat-like smile:
"Alright... a little bit."
"So, do you draw often..?"
"I do. In my room, there's a huge pile of old drawings." - Patty nodded - "I can show those later, if you want."
"If I get nothing better to do, then why not?" - Gaster said with a shrug - "What are your pictures usually about?"
"Those are mostly scenes from famous stories." - Patty replied - "Like 'Cinderetta' or 'Red Hoodie'. But I also draw other things sometimes. For example, I once drew myself flying like a bird in the blue sky…"
Patty sighed dreamily at the last part. Gaster guessed that flying must be her biggest impossible dream. But then, Patty snapped out from her short transe and looked at Gaster with a smile:
"I didn't get to have a closer look on your drawing. May I?"
Gaster hesitated. He was tempted to just say "no". But he knew that if he did so, Patty would point out the "unfairness" of the situation, considering that she let him watch her draw. So, Gaster sighed and handed the folded paper to Patty. The cat smiled and her eyes shone as she studied the small drawing.
"I don't get why you wanted to see it, though." - Gaster commented - "I mean, it's a simple pencil doodle."
"But it's still well drawn. You have a cute style!" - Patty complimented him.
"Thank you, I guess...?" - Gaster replied awkwardly.
Gaster wasn't sure what to think about aspects of him being qualified as "cute". This kind of compliments always just puzzled him. Patty then handed him the paper back, saying with a cat-like grin:
"Anyway, the striped owl is adorable."
At once, Gaster snatched the drawing from her hand and looked away. His face displayed that he was very annoyed by Patty's statement, and most likely offended too.
"It's not an owl, it's me..!" - he muttered, without looking at her.
Gaster couldn't believe it - how couldn't that cat woman make a difference between him and some owl? He surely was a better drawer than that! Or maybe was she mocking him for wearing big glasses? Either way, Gaster saw Patty's words as pure insolence. Patty, on her hand, looked at him with a surprised look, and after a moment, she said:
"You... you know I was joking... right?"
Gaster gave her a quick glance before looking away again.
"Gaster, I was merely teasing you." - Patty said.
"Your sense of humor is poor." - Gaster grumbled in response.
Patty smiled and laid her hand on Gaster's shoulder, which made him turn away from her. This only made Patty giggle, and then she started to shake him a little.
"Come on, look at me..! I know you're not mad..!"
"I am. Leave me alone."
Patty chuckled some more at his attitude. After a moment, Gaster sighed and finally looked back at her. He then fully turned to face her and said with his serious look:
"You are annoying, you know. Very annoying."
Patty didn't reply as she simply gave him a victorious grin, before resuming her drawing.

The next day, the twins were getting ready to go visit Gaster at the hospital. Their little gift was ready and they were proud of how it turned out. After the robe and hat were made, Sam got the idea to draw glasses on the face, to give the goat wizard a Harry Potter vibe. And since it felt like something was still missing, Piper made a scarf out of a dark pink fabric (similar to her own, actually). Now that it was ready, the kids were both excited and anxious to give it to their father. After all, they weren't sure how Gaster would react. Papyrus, who would take them to the hospital, reassured them that everything would go well.
"EVERYBODY LOVES GIFTS, KIDS. PLUS, YOUR PLUSHIE'S TOO ADORABLE!" - Papyrus said to them - "SO I KNOW IT JUST CAN'T MAKE HIM HATE YOU!"
"Let's hope you're right..." - Piper said, breathing out nervously.
Chara (still with Frisk's appearance) was observing the kids with a great inner satisfaction. She didn't plan for Gaster to survive, but the fact that he lost his memories and that the twins suffered from this… was a pure delight to Chara's SOUL. "Humans made me suffer for too long..." - Chara was thinking - "And now, I am making them suffer. Those brats' misery feels too good sometimes." As Papyrus, Piper and Sam went out of the house, Chara waved them goodbye. Then, she let out a relieved sigh. It felt good when they were at a distance. Living under the same roof with them pretending to be Frisk was more difficult and annoying than she thought it would be. "I just hope nobody's suspecting anything… especially Sans." - she mused.
"What are you thinking about, Mom?"
Chara turned her head to see that Noelle was looking at her from the kitchen doorframe. It didn't take long for Chara to come up with a lie.
"Oh, just that... you know, I worry for the kids." - she said - "They spend so much time to try make their father remember them. But I'm afraid it might just damage their inner health."
"What do you mean?" - Noelle asked.
"I mean... they're putting way too much effort for a person who doesn't even want to be with them. Knowing how Gaster was back then, in the end the kids will only get hurt. All this effort just for more pain..? Is it worth it?"
"Huh... What you say does make sense, and that's definitely a position some people would take. But... it's quite weird to hear this from you." - Noelle said with a light frown.
"Weird? Why?"
"You're the type of person to advise to stay determined and fight for the people you love to the end... no matter the pain it can bring, becasuse love is wroth it." - Noelle said - "So I am a bit surprised to hear you say the kids should give up."
Chara felt her heartbeat quicken. She couldn't allow Noelle to suspect her, she had to come up with something and quick!
"Oh, well that's uh... That's because the kids are maybe a little too young for this emotional battle."
"Maybe you have a point..." - Noelle replied - "Yeah, Sam and Piper are only ten after all..."
"I must be really careful from now on…" - Chara thought.
Chara couldn't allow her cover to blow up. Not after she finally came up with such a perfect revenge! But being Frisk definitely was much harder than she thought it would be.

A/N: Not much happened again, but we're approaching a moment when things will get violent. Chara already made a bad move around Noelle. And knowing Papyrus' undeniably good observation skills, Chara would need to be extremely careful around him. Let's pray she fails! :)

Btw, if the fairytales Patty mentions have slightly different names it's because the UT world isn't the same as ours. I imagine there would be similar stories out there but named a bit differently. (For exemple, MMKC is clearly a reference to Tokyo Mew Mew. And in Deltarune, Alphys mentions something similar to the Simpsons, and Toriel talks about a game like SSBB.)

Oh, and the "two rules" the Annoying Dog tells Noelle are actually a reference to "Karate Kid, part II". (I just love those movies!) When Myagi tells Daniel that 1) karate's only for defense; and 2) you must always trust number 1.
And it's not the last you've seen of the Annoying Dog, I promise! ;) There's more of him to come.