No One is Happy with This (Undertale)

56 ~ No Panic

You think Matt and Elise are funny. You like them.

You decided, when Alphys took the two humans to show them around the lab, to tag along. And the two scientists are complete, utter geeks, obsessing over everything Alphys shows them. And they really are excited, so excited to be there, that they actually refuse to touch anything out of fear of being thrown out.

Of course, about ninety-five percent of the words out of their mouths you don't understand, since it's all science-y babble, but you pick up on the excitement easily.

After exploring the seven upper levels of the lab, you all pile into the elevator again to head back to the lobby.

"What about the basement?" Elise asks suddenly.

You and Alphys share a glance.

"That's Gaster's personal lab. You guys... probably aren't allowed down there."

They put up some protest, trying to argue that Gaster never said they couldn't go down there, but you and Alphys stay firm. The argument is ended when the elevator doors open to the lobby, and the four of you step out.

Then the P.A. comes on, Sans' voice ringing out through the building. "hey, can everyone associated with the core project come to the main core lab? we're gettin' ready to test the next prototype."

You glance at Matt and Elise. They're giving Alphys puppy-dog eyes.

Alphys shakes her head. "A-are you kidding? I-if I let you in t-there, Dr. G-Gaster would kill me, a-and then fire me!"

But you wanna go see the CORE prototype, too. "But Alphys, aren't you part of the CORE design group? Sans said everyone associated with the CORE group, and you're a part of the CORE group! You gotta go, and we gotta come with you, 'cuz Gaster said you had to stay with us!"

"Frisk..." Alphys protests nervously.

"Please?" Matt begs. "You'd be my favorite person in the world, except for Elise!"

The argument goes back and forth for another few seconds, and then Alphys cracks.

"F-f-fine! L-let's g-go!"

The four of you gather once again into the elevator, and Alphys hits the button for the fifth floor. Soon enough, you're all entering the main CORE lab. The room is a flurry of activity, a hurricane of preparations as the CORE prototype is readied for it's testing. And, of course, Gaster, standing beside the CORE prototype, is at the center of the chaos, directing it, shouting orders every which way.

Matt and Elise look like they're in heaven, the stars in their eyes nearly comparing to those in Papyrus's eyesockets the first time you told him you liked his spaghetti.

Gaster registers your presence with only a glance, and continues ordering people around. After a moment, you find he's suddenly ordering you around, telling you to carry things from here to there, clean up that mess, for Annoying Dog's sake, get me some coffee!

You're just as busy as the scientists.

And then, you think, Elise and Matt's dreams must have come true.

"You two! What do you think you're doing, standing there? Get to work! Those cables need to be cleared up, make sure nothing is tangled!"

The two of them scramble over, grinning like maniacs. In a moment, they're suddenly embroiled in the chaos just as much as everyone else, and they're having the time of their lives.

And then Gaster is calling out, "safety checks complete?"

And Sans responds, "safety checks complete!"

"Begin power-up!"

And then the CORE prototype is humming to life as Gaster feeds just a touch of Magic into it, to boost start it.

And then, Gaster is stepping back, laughing, genuinely laughing. "It's working...! The energy output... it's working!"

The room erupts into cheers.

And then there's a sound like a rumble of thunder, and an invisible force knocks you off your feet. You slam into the ground--

-on your back-

-head cracking against the floor-

-ears ringing, head pounding-

-every agonizing heartbeat, gasping, choking-

-breathe, Frisk-

-lungs burning, can't see-

-c-come on, breathe...!-

And suddenly, you're sucking in a choked gasp, recovering from having the wind knocked out of you. Alphys is standing over you, hands on your chest, healing Magic flickering across her fingers.

Slowly, you sit up, groaning.

Alphys smiles. "O-oh! Y-you're okay! Good."

You smile at her and nod, looking around the room. It seems everyone was knocked off their feet. Matt is helping Elise up, and Gaster is sitting with his back against the wall, Sans in his lap. Everyone seems to be alright, just a little banged up.

You look at Alphys. "What... what happened?"

Alphys glances at Dr. Gaster. "H-he said the Magic flow was even h-higher than he expected, a-and the p-prototype couldn't contain it all, and o-overflowed."

"And everyone's okay?"

She nods. "Now everyone i-is! You h-had a small c-concussion, I healed you."

You smile and thank her, and climb to your feet. You're sore and stiff and a little bruised but everyone's okay, and the CORE prototype worked.

The day goes on, and all the CORE scientists are excited, Gaster most of all. He says they just need to modify the overflow and channeling capacity and the prototype will work.

Matt and Elise are just about out of their minds with glee- not only did they get bossed around by Dr. Gaster, but they were caught in a CORE explosion!

The day winds to a close, and you decide it's been a good one.

And then morning comes, and you hurt so bad you can barely get out of bed.

§

A/N

So I'm dogsitting for some family friends for the weekend (aka, I'm being paid to live in their house, eat their food, and use their wifi just because their dog needs to be let out a few times a day) and I really need to go to bed because I have to go to work tomorrow morning but Knight and Day is on Tv and dANGIT IT'S SUCH A GOOD MOVIE.

(This chapter was written during commercial breaks.)

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!