#THERE ALREADY WAS FOOD IN SNOWDIN BEFORE HE TOLD THEM TO EAT HUMANS

[triglycercule]

What do you think the types of drunk would the murder trio be? Im pretty sure ask dusttale already answered this question about dust but i have to ask the mtt expert

see now askdusttale DID answer the question. but they didn't ANSWER the question when asked what dust is like drunk. they just said that dust is the type to drink himself blackout drunk. so that mean i have total freedom on deciding what the mtt are like drunk hehehe (rubs hands together in a villanous way that you would imagine nightmare doing or something idk)

i already have an absolutely hilarious idea for horror and it might just because i'm on the guilt section of his character analysis but i could TOTALLY imagine him being an emotional drunk. like he CRIES. horror sans man known for being incredibly guarded and private with what he feels bawling his eye out. he gets mad he gets sad he does not get happy because horror doesn't have the right to be happy. he is too upset over the fact that he fucking DOOMED all of horrortale because of his selfishness and nothing can stop him from being incredibly vocal about that fact so much so that killer had to tape his mouth shut because he wouldn't stop crying so loud. and then he just silently cries until he passes out from exhaustion. the alcohol has an incredibly strong effect on him because i dont think he would drink regularly plus he definitely hasnt drinken anything in those 7 years of starvation. it hits like a fucking plane crashing into him. or like getting his eye taken out again. either one!

another funny idea i had for killer would be like the alcohol affecting him but he SWEARS that he's still sober. he is very confused when he starts stumbling because wtf he doesnt FEEL drunk??? why is he bumping into walls and tables HELP WHY DOES HE SOUND FUCKING STUPID???? the alcohol is definitely effecting him but he swears he swears he doesn't feel drunk. hes not drunk its just the damn body doing this stupid bullshit!!!! he's still very aware of what's going on and is basically the same as sober but just like. he's wiggly he's wobbly and oh shit he just fell head face first into a tv whoops. he'd also have a high tolerance because just because. he can drink without feeling like shit until he just blacks out mid conversation with someone because his body couldn't take the toll of all the beer or whatever. hilarious idea triglycercule thank you triglycercule i know

dust in the context that we already know that he drinks AND he can fight against the human while like partially drunk.... i feel it would be kinda like a giggly drunk situation. except dust doesn't laugh at anything that's funny he only laughs when someone gets hurt or something. SADISTIC giggly drunk. because i can already imagine a half drunk dust laughing his ass off after killing the human and its a beautiful sight to me.

anyways imagine how it goes when you pair this sadistic giggly drunk with another that wont stop going through the 5 stages of grief and another that keeps on fucking falling over for no reason in his eyes. dream blunt rotation but the blunt is a bottle of vodka. i can already imagine it in my head and its fucking HILARIOUS. horror going on about how he caused the deaths of others and manipulated and tricked papyrus while killer is just trying his best to keep his eyes open because for some reason they won't stop trying to close. he is surprisingly getting frustated. dust has long since lost his voice laughing at this and he's just silent wheezing at everything. also phantom papyrus is only making the laughter worse because he keeps on making rude comments towards horror and killer and only he can hear him and its guffaw inducing. mtt amazing friend group you dont get shit like this anywhere else

[vex-bittys]

Bittyswap (part 27)

My version of Bittyswap involves full-sized bittybones (and other monsters) living in the Underground and getting miniature humans as pets.

———-

Cherry's severe anxiety ruled him out as our food fetcher, and Lil Bro declared that he'd met his activity quota for the month. Yanyan couldn't be bothered with menial tasks like lifting and carrying, nor could he be seen in a lowbrow location like Grillby’s. That left the task of gathering our meals to fall upon Cap's broad and hopefully capable shoulders. It also meant that I would be going to Grillby’s since Cap took his job as my caretaker so seriously that he refused to let me out of his sight again. 

I don't blame him. If my “pet” trashed my kitchen so badly that the entire worldly concept of breakfast suffered a critical hit, I wouldn't leave them unsupervised either. Brassberry never took me to Grillby’s with him though because the Snowdin Royal Guard frequented the establishment. Nobody else seemed concerned, but I couldn't help wondering if this was a good idea (says the human!bitty who thought a homemade pancake breakfast was a good idea).

Gathering everyone's order became another ordeal in our fraught-with-peril quest to just have a meal today since each skeleton had specific requests, and each of his housemates felt the need to pass commentary on those requests.

Cherry asked for the Junior Grillby’s Special with extra mustard on the burger and fries, which was met with a chorus of indignation and outrage. I added a tiny “eww” under my breath. Mustard is gross, but I didn't want Cherry to feel bad. Hopefully someone else would order something that I could nibble off of. Lil Bro dashed those hopes when he spoke up next. He wanted the Grillby’s Special with, of all things, honey slathered on the burger and fries.

“Degenerate,” hissed Yanyan.

"Gross,” Cap said, making an exaggerated gagging sound.

“Why?” cried a distraught Cherry.

I just gave my best Neutral Face of Displeasure but said nothing. Maybe Yanyan would share his food with me. He had impeccable taste… except when it came to burgers and fries apparently. 

Before Yanyan told us what he wanted, he launched into a lengthy tirade about the quality of any establishment that didn't serve Glamburgers. To Yanyan, the Glamburger (which I'd never even heard of) was the pinnacle of branded gourmet cuisine, unrivaled by anything that came out of the cut-rate grease trap next door. I assume he meant Grillby��s. Yanyan took a moment to collect himself from the emotional distress of not getting a Glamburger and dictated a long and complicated order to us with special requests for things like kale, tofurkey, vegan cheese, and sprouted chia seed buns. I looked around, sure that the haughty skeleton was joking, but the other housemates were just sighing and rolling their eyelights.

Tofurkey is a real thing? What the heck is it? Toes? Fur? Keys?! I grew more alarmed the more I considered the possibilities, and I hadn't even thought about the other ingredients yet!

“you're really gonna waste a trip to Grillby’s on health food?” Lil Bro asked,  scornful. Ah, healthy foods. Antioxidants and Omega-3s and superfoods and whatnot. I know nothing about health-conscious options; I am all about flavor with the curves to prove it. You couldn't change Yanyan's mind by mocking him though. A person needed tact and an appeal to the skeleton’s ego for that.

“You're already so slender, Yanyan. Isn't kale and-” I struggled to remember the words he'd used. “-tofurkey for people who are on diets?”

Yanyan preened at the compliment, just like I knew he would. “I WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK I NEED TO DIET. I GUESS I'LL GET THE SPECIAL.” Finally, food that I can actually eat with no weird add-ons! “WITH EXTRA GLITTER ON THE BURGER AND FRIES!”

Dammit!

I couldn't count on Brassberry, asleep or not, to choose something normal. His usual consisted of a Grillby’s Special double with steak fries. This might seem normal for a monster who prides himself on being tough and macho, even if the fries are thick cut potatoes and not actual meat. The problem is what he does to the aforementioned food. He absolutely saturates it in appalling amounts of ketchup. 

Cap was my only hope to finally get a taste of non-ketchup-flavored food from the Underground's famous Grillby’s Bar and Grill. I believed in him, but I got a bit less confident and a lot more nervous when Cap placed me carefully against his cervical vertebrae and tucked a warm scarf around me. I usually rode around in Brassy's pocket, safely hidden from sight. Sure, I could enjoy the view from Cap's mountainous height, but any monster we passed could easily spot me.

I felt exposed, despite burrowing down into my little scarf nest. Maybe Grillby’s, a popular hangout and restaurant destination, would be totally empty during the lunch rush? A very small and vulnerable girl can hope.

“Make sure nothing happens to our human!bitty,” Yanyan called to us as we stepped outside, which isn't at all ominous. I watched the door close on him, flanked on either side by Lil Bro and Cherry who nodded their agreement to ensuring my safety against dangers unknown (to me anyway).

I was now alone with Cap in the big, wide dangerous world of Snowdin, and all I could think of was that I'd been upgraded from vermin to pest to Brassy's pet to their human!bitty.

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[owlheartt]

Star Sanses Extended Chapter 3: Error

Here is chapter 1 on AO3

“YOU CAN’T-” Undyne began, her face furrowing together in a sort of pure anger that felt very unlike her.

“PLEASE, WAIT FOR EVERYTHING TO CALM DOWN. MY FRIENDS AND I CAN EXPLAIN IN A BIT, BUT I CAN’T STAY HERE TALKING TO YOU.” Papyrus said, trying to be patient and not show how unnerved he was. It occurred to him that talking to Alphys might help her some, and he used blue magic to carefully grab her SOUL. Then, with full concentration, moved the blue bones and Undyne herself to the blubbering Alphys in the corner who had stayed where Papyrus had asked her to.

Behind him, he could hear a sound almost like a soft gust of wind. Turning around, he found Mettaton’s body collapsed on the floor. There were bones sticking out of his middle, solid ones. His arms looked burnt, like he had been hit with a Gaster Blaster and deflected it using them. Dream and Ink didn’t have blasters or bones, Dream had told him earlier. Therefore, Papyrus could assume Error had done this. Papyrus looked at the black boned skeleton. He had a scratchy grin scrawled across his face, and his expression was comically like a cartoon villain’s.

“Drreeaamyyy boyyy!” Error said, taunting. His voice was glitching in such a way that it sounded like an old radio’s version of nails on chalkboard. Dream threw a mourning glance at Mettaton’s crumpled body, which felt mildly excessive since he had only run out of battery.

“Error! Please! Leave this timeline alone!” Dream begged, stringing another arrow. He didn’t sound exactly desperate, more like he didn’t want to deal with any of these shenanigans.

“Pretty please?” Ink called from the ceiling, blinking his eye sockets and grinning.

“Can it squid!” Error said, his voice no longer sounding so ear-grating.

“FRIEND…” Papyrus trailed off, struggling to find the right thing to say. He wasn’t following what was happening. He wasn’t done training with Dream. He had just plunged into his first Alternate Universe and came face to face with a troubled skeleton he didn’t know that looked horribly like his brother. He just met Alphys for the first time and she was rude and terrified. He just met a grieving Undyne. The Underground felt like it had been flipped upside down and things were moving too quickly.

“Friend?” Error said, laughing. The glitching in his voice made his giggles sound halting. “We’re not friends, you idiot. In fact, I will be your downfall,” Error reached his hands up to his eye sockets, his fingers snagging on something Papyrus couldn’t quite see. Then he pulled them away, dragging brilliant blue strings that matched the permanent tears streaming down his face. He appeared braced to move, and then Dream grabbed his forearm. Error’s expression of glee turned to shock, then the errors and glitches riddling his body multiplied until it was hard to see any bit of him. Dream drew back, looking relieved.

“So. Now you’ve met Error,” Dream said, sighing. “I’m ready to go home, how about you?” He gave Papyrus a tired grin, and his slump showed he was just about ready to drop on the spot. Papyrus nodded, and shot solid bones to cut Ink loose. He reached out his SOUL magic to catch his falling friend, but he missed. Somehow. It was almost like there wasn’t a SOUL there for Papyrus to catch. Ink hit the ground and rolled, coming to a full stop splat on the ground like a puddle.

“Thanks!!” Ink said, grinning. “Ooone moment!” He danced forward (yes, danced) and scooped his brush off the floor. He then splashed bright blue ink all over Error that solidified into chains.

“Ink, the SOUL.” Dream said patiently. Ink looked at him blankly for a moment, his expression mirroring Papyrus’s feelings, then a little light bulb went off on his eye light. He splashed a pool of ink on the floor, just like he had when he made the shortcut, but this time all he stuck was his hand in. Then he pulled out a Determined human SOUL, just like that.

“WHERE’D THAT COME FROM?! DO WE NEED TO RETURN IT?!” Papyrus said, alarmed.

“No, no.” Dream said, walking over to Ink and reaching a hand out. “This SOUL belongs to this timeline. Error took it so that the timeline couldn’t RESET.” Papyrus opened his mouth to ask a question, but Undyne interrupted him.

“Who the hell are you guys?! Let me go and we can have a real fight!!” She yelled from the other side of the room, where Papyrus had left her.

“RIGHT, SORRY FRIEND,” Papyrus said, reaching out a hand to dissipate the bones.

“Paper, wait.” Dream said. Papyrus turned to him questioningly, but before he could ask Dream continued. “I’m going to show you something, alright? Come here.” Papyrus strode over and crouched to see the brilliant red SOUL Dream was holding.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?” Papyrus said tentatively.

“RESET the timeline. Do you know about RESETs?” Dream said. Papyrus felt his SOUL drop past his ribcage. The word felt… familiar. It did not feel good. But for whatever reason, he couldn’t place it.

“I’M… NOT SURE. I THINK I DO, BUT YOU BETTER EXPLAIN IT ANYWAYS.” Papyrus said. Dream nodded, his expression saying that he was thankful Papyrus was honest.

“Determined human SOULs have the power to manipulate time itself. They can SAVE, LOAD, and RESET. SAVING is when they place a bookmark of sorts in time itself. They can LOAD and come back to the savepoint. RESETTING is when they go back to the beginning, typically when the human first fell into the Underground.” Dream explained. Pieces were beginning to come together in Papyrus’s skull.

“SO WE CAN BRING THIS TIMELINE BACK TO BEFORE OTHER ME… LEFT.” Papyrus said, exited.

“Exactly!” Ink said, jumping up to sling his arm around the crouching skeleton.

“WHAT ABOUT ERROR?” Papyrus said, looking towards the skeleton, still glitch-ridden.

“Eh, he’ll be out for a while. We could take him with us for lunch though, he might like that!!” Ink rambled. “Do you have any chocolate?”

“I BELIEVE SO, WHY?”

“We are not bringing Error for lunch.” Dream said firmly, nervously glancing at Error. “Ink, please take him back to his anti-void.” Ink pouted before making another shortcut and dragging himself and Error through.

“MAYBE HE JUST NEEDS A FRIEND,” Papyrus said ponderingly. Dream barked a dry laugh.

“Ink’s his friend. If either of the idiots can remember it.” He said.

“THEN WHY DO THEY FIGHT? AND WHY CAN’T WE BRING HIM FOR LUNCH?” Papyrus said. If Error was a friend, then why did he act the way he did? Error needed to take some friendship classes.

“You know how Ink forgets everything if he isn’t looking right at it?” After Papyrus nodded, Dream continued. “Error’s the same way. He can even do it staring right at you.”

“I WONDER WHAT IT’S LIKE TO NOT REMEMBER YOUR LIFE.” Papyrus said.

“I don’t know, and honestly? I’m too concerned already to find out. Now, I’m going to RESET then teleport us straight to your place. Don’t worry, we’ll come out right outside of your door.” Dream said, closing his eyes in concentration. Papyrus refrained from saying anything in case he broke Dream’s concentration. A small blip, then two glowing buttons appeared in front of the human SOUL. One said LOAD and the other RESET. Dream brought a hand up and brushed a finger along RESET. A white flash, tinged with gold and red, then they were in Snowdin.

Snowdin looked just the same as he had left it. Nothing was changed, nothing at all. It didn’t feel different like that red timeline. It felt so bizarre, having just gone on this adventure, and home was the exact same. What was he going to tell Sans? The truth, obviously, but where to start? Papyrus’s fantastic mind had barely been able to keep up with it all. But it was lunch time. He could pause and think over lunch. Surely, nothing would happen over lunch.

“Come on, unless you’d like to eat elsewhere?” Dream asked. Papyrus straightened, realizing he was still crouched.

“NO, PLEASE! COME IN. I WAS SIMPLY ENJOYING BEING BACK AT MY FANTABULOUS HOME.” Papyrus said, striding forward to the door. He heard Dream mutter something to himself that sounded a bit like “is… real word?” before his boots thumped in the snow behind Papyrus. Papyrus swung open the door, ready for food (and his brother). Sans was, in fact, inside, and right in front of the door.

“hey bro,” Sans’s eye lights were out, which made Papyrus pause. Sans’s eye lights didn’t go out often.

“SANS, IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG?” Papyrus said, concerned.

“nah, nothin’. but uh, did ya’ know we got some visitors?” He said, turning his skull slightly to the couch that had a broom thrown behind it.

“AH, MY APOLOGIES DEAR BROTHER! THAT’S MY NEW FRIEND. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO COME WITH ME, BUT I GUESS HE GOT EXCITED.” Papyrus said.

“... friend? as in singular?” Sans said, his eye lights flickered back on, but he still looked concerned.

“WELL I HAVE A SECOND ONE HERE, SAY HELLO DREAM!! THIS IS MY BROTHER SANS.” Papyrus said, only after realizing Dream knew this.

“then uh, why’s he got a buddy?” Sans said, waddling towards the couch. Well, he was really walking, but Papyrus liked to call it waddling. He did look like a penguin. Papyrus followed, with Dream in tow, only to find that Error had been plopped on the couch with Ink.

“Heyyy buddy friend pal!” Ink said excitedly. “What’s for lunch?”

“I thought I was clear, Error is not having lunch with us.” Dream interrupted, stepping in front of Papyrus and his brother.

“Aww come on, why not??” Ink whined. Dream began lecturing him as Sans sidled up to Papyrus.

“hey bro, i’m glad you're making friends don’t get me wrong, but could ya’ have picked… better ones?” Sans said, raising an eyebrow bone (honestly I don’t feel like googling the terminology just shhhh).

“THESE REALLY ARE GOOD FRIENDS! WELL, ERROR ISN’T, BUT I’M SURE WE CAN HELP HIM!!” Papyrus said, trying to be reasonable and look at it from Sans’s perspective. “THEY’RE VERY IMPORTANT, I CAN EXPLAIN OVER LUNCH.”

“aight, guess that brings us back to lunch, huh? whatcha want? i can make it today, so you can keep hangin’ out with your buddies.” Sans said.

“MAC AND CHEESE, PERHAPS?” Papyrus offered. Sans nodded, and was beginning to walk into the kitchen when there was a shout.

“SQUIIIIIIIIID!!!” Error shouted, his voice escalating and glitching hard. Ink paused, looking at the mad skeleton.

“Uhh… yea?” He said, an eye light flipping pale green.

“Why the hell am I here?!?” Error said, glaring at his ‘friend.’ It did not look like they were friends.

“Oh- I thought you might like lunch!” Ink said cherrily, throwing his hands up.

“You are perfectly welcome to leave,” Dream said in a voice that would’ve been icy had it been used by anyone else. Dream himself was so warm though that it was impossible for his words to have the same edge.

“Fucking hell squid, how many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone?!” Error growled, standing up. As much as he was pretending to not be listening to Dream, he seemed about to accept his offer.

“I HAVE CHOCOLATE.” Papyrus said, remembering what Ink had asked him. Error whipped around and stared straight at Papyrus, locking eye sockets. He glared for a moment, and Papyrus got worried that Ink had remembered something wrong (again). Then, Error sat back down.

“Fine, I guess I can stay for lunch.” He said, scoffing, pointedly not looking at Ink. Sans grabbed Papyrus’s arm, yanking him into the kitchen.

“papyrus, where did these guys come from?” Sans said, keeping his voice low enough that the others couldn’t hear.

“THAT’S… HARD TO ANSWER. ELSEWHERE, I SUPPOSE. MAYBE HERE. THEY ARE ABLE TO EXPLAIN BETTER.” Papyrus said. It felt like he was telling a lie, or avoiding the truth. Even though he just couldn’t find the right words. He hoped Dream would clear everything up. Sans just sighed.

“that’s aight. go back to the living room, i don’t want your glitchy buddy tearing up the couch,” Sans said. Seeing Papyrus’s look, he added, “i’ll get the chocolate for him, don’t worry. and i won’t burn anything.” Sans relaxed his expression, the previously strained smile looking a bit more natural. As Sans turned to the cupboards to search for food, Papyrus walked back out to the living room.

“MY CARING BROTHER IS TAKING CARE OF LUNCH, IT WILL HOPEFULLY BE READY SOON.” Papyrus said. Error scoffed again, turning to look at the door in what appeared to be longing. “ERROR, I DON’T BELIEVE I INTRODUCED MYSELF TO YOU EARLIER.”

“You did.” He said dryly.

“I- I DID? REALLY?” Papyrus said.

“I’ve got no clue if you did or didn’t, but I know who you are and I’m sure golden there told you who I am.” Without moving his head, Error drifted his eye lights back over to Papyrus. They were mismatched, Papyrus realized. Dream huffed.

“Don’t bother Paper. Error’s a prick.” Dream walked over to Ink, shoved him closer to Error, then sat down at the very edge of the couch.

“He’s not a prick per say…” Ink said in a wheedling voice.

“Sure, go ahead and talk about me as if I’m not in the room.” Error said, his eye lights gliding back to the door.

“I APOLOGIZE FRIEND. LOOK, I RECOGNISE THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, BUT I WOULD.” Papyrus stuck out a hand. Error glared at it. “GREETINGS! I AM PAPER. I BELIEVE I’M FROM UNDERTALE.”

“I’m Error. I’m an outcode. Leave me alone.”

“I call Error’s AU Errortale!! There are others from his timeline out there I think…” Ink said, trailing off into thought that would surely be forgotten.

“They don’t fucking matter.” Error grumbled, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Would you lighten up on your language?!” Dream said, snapping a little. He had squeezed his eyes shut.

“Fuck shit damn,” Error said, and Papyrus could see a little smirk appear on his face. Error was proving to have… a difficult personality.

“keep the cuss words down in m’house please!” Sans called from the kitchen. Papyrus winced, realizing that this was Sans’s first impression of his new friends.

“HOW ABOUT THIS- DREAM AND I CAN FIND A BOARD GAME WE CAN PLAY WHILE WE WAIT FOR FOOD!” Papyrus threw a glance at Dream. His eye lights had reopened and he stood up. Error rolled his eye lights and Ink just looked passively happy. Papyrus walked behind the couch to a tired bookcase. It had puzzles, games, and cards that he and his brother played with when their free time lined up. Or when the snow outside was too much to go anywhere. While Papyrus and Dream pursued the games, Ink blathered to Error in the background.

“What about this one?” Dream said, pulling out a tan box titled “Munchkins” with cartoon humans on the front. Undyne had given it to him a few months ago, he and Sans had played it once.

“AH, ALRIGHT. FRIENDS! WE’RE PLAYING MUNCHKINS.” Papyrus said, walking back over to the couch and sitting down uncomfortable in front of the TV. Ink slipped to the ground happily, and Error made a big show of getting up and sitting back down, dragging a pillow Sans had left from the night before to the floor with him. Dream plopped down between Papyrus and Ink. It was game time, and Papyrus was ready to be competitive.

[roxybefab]

Half Dead

Art belongs to @forgivemeimmafloof

Thank you for the request, @florindaxx , I really enjoyed writing this :3

You were horrified of Sans the Skeleton.

And it was understandable, considering the first thing he tried to do when you met him was to chop your head off your shoulders.

You were so sure you were going to die that day, since a goat lady and a flower both attempted to murder you. And then a tall, broad and scary skeleton with a crack in his skull and sharp canines the size of your fingers was attempting it as well.

You had every right to be terrified.

That same day, you had ran away from Sans and hid behind a snow poff, whole body wrapped around yourself as you attempted to warm yourself.

When another skeleton, as tall as the first but thin and silly looking, found your trembling form.

And when he saw you, you started to cry. Begging him to not kill you and telling him that you didn’t want to die.

He didn’t kill you and asked to be your friend, which you complied to. He said his name was Papyrus and that Sans was his brother. He said that he wouldn’t let Sans hurt you.

Then he noticed your pale skin and blue lips and asked if you were okay. And then you passed out on him

When you awoke, you realized you were on a couch and had in front of a fireplace. And next to you was Papyrus, placing a third blanket on your small human body. You immediately thanked the skeleton and searched your bag that had been on you the whole time, and had found a full box of granola bars. And gave him four, which had left him excited and happy. Then the door had burst open and in lumbered Sans the Skeleton. The moment his red pupil had seen you, he had let out a loud roar and attempted, once again, to use his axe to cut your head off.

Papyrus had stopped him immediately, exclaiming that you had food and that he should try the granola bars.

Which left the both of them happy once they had one and realized just how good it was to have actual food again.

Sans almost immediately saw you differently and became obsessed with you, watching as you interacted with his brother and how you always have them food when they wanted some.

Your bag had an endless supply of snacks and candy.

It was another day of you living in the skelebros home with them. And you and Sans had been getting along for a while now. Now that you think about it, ever since he started to warm up to you, you have been leaving little extra snacks in front of his door in hopes of him understanding that you cared for him. And it seemed he understood because he actually treated you like an equal individual most of the time.

He kinda reminds me of a bear or a big dog.. you thought, smiling at the thought. He did occasionally act like one, chewing on many things like his pillow or this piece of wood that he found outside. You wondered what it was like to have the urge to bite things most of the time but discarded that idea almost immediately.

Sans was huge, honestly, and most of the time you would imagine what a hug would be like.

Not to mention his hands fully covered yours whenever you handed something to him.

And today, you were planning on giving him something better. In your backpack, you happened to have a bottle of ketchup which made you all giddy because he loves the stuff. Knowing it was a big deal to share food with another, you were hoping he’d finally warm up to you 100% and that you’d be able to be on friendly conditions afterwards. So you went off in search of him, checking his room and the living room.

Then you went to his brother’s room.

You were so excited to see the happy look on his face when you gave it to him. You were so sure that he’d stopped thinking about killing you and you were pretty fucking positive that he’d care for you.

Upon arriving at his door, you raised a hand to knock, but heard voices on the other side. Papyrus’ and Sans’ to be precise. Now, it wasn’t abnormal for them to be speaking together, they were siblings after all, but the fact that they were speaking in hushed whispers made you curious.

Papyrus was never quiet.

Sans voice slowly caught your ears as you pressed your head against the door, listening to their conversation.

“paps.. bro..”

“Admit it, Sans, you like her!”

“no, i don’t.”

“Admit it!”

“no.”

“Admit it, Sans!”

“i want to kill her, paps. that’s the only reason i’ve been getting closer to her.”

Silence.

You heart paused it’s beating and you felt your arms start to tremble. Your (e/c) eyes watered and your throat clenched up.

A quiet whimper left your lips and you suddenly felt the same way as you had felt when you first arrived in the Underground. Scared, nervous, and untrusting. And then it hit you hard, the shock wearing off as you realized something.

Sans wanted to kill you.

He was simply tricking you.

You couldn’t breathe anymore at this point, feeling as if someone had punched you in the gut and knocked all the breath out of you. Once everything finally clicked in your head, you dropped the ketchup bottle with a quiet ‘THUD’ and shakily turned, a loud sob leaving your lips before sprinting down the hall and down the stairs and out the door. Forgetting your coat and bag, you heard muffled cursing as you sprinted through Snowdin.

He was just using me! You thought, remembering all the sweet things he’d do like getting you little gifts or simply carrying you to bed at night.

Or that time he told you what had happened that gave him the huge injury in his skull.

God, he had even cried when he explained what had happened! You had thought he trusted you already! But he was simply saying it to get you to trust him more.

Out of nowhere, you felt your soul being pulled out of you and turned to see Lesser Dog glaring at you.

You didn’t want to kill anyone.

Oh no.. you thought as he launched an attack at you.

.....

....

...

..

.

“i seriously messed up..” Sans muttered, pacing back and forth in his room as he looked out the window.

she should be back by now..

It’s been a day since he last saw you and he was actually beginning to worry.

Why did he say that? He obviously didn’t mean it, he had just blurted it out!

Why did you have to be looking for him at the exact same moment that his brother was trying to get him to admit his love for the you? Why couldn’t he just agree and let his brother be happy and keep you happy as well?

“hey, pap, i’m goin’ out..” he called out, hearing nothing but silence.

Oh yeah.. Papyrus was out looking for you too. Sighing, the huge skeleton slowly went out in search of you, remembering what had happened.

“paps.. bro..” he muttered his embarrassment clear as he looked away from his brother. His single red pupil darted to the door and back to his brother as Papyrus gave him a determined look.

“Admit it, Sans, you like her!” The younger yet taller skeleton was actually whispering. Something that really confused Sans cause he was rarely ever quiet.

“no, i don’t.” Sans’ face was glowing a deep red as he looked away from his smirking brother. He had no idea why he couldn’t just admit it. Papyrus would leave him alone and he may have a chance to be with you.

But they both were so damn stubborn.

“Admit it!”

He was feeling irritation crawling on his back at this point.

“no.”

And he knew he was going to say something to disappoint Papyrus.

“Admit it, Sans!”

“i want to kill her, paps. that’s the only reason i’ve been getting closer to her.” His face was bright red, embarrassment clear on his face as he let himself blurt it out.

Oh, how he regretted it so much.

That’s when the other skeleton had gone quiet. He had no idea why he said something like that but it didn’t matter because seconds later, he heard a whimper coming from the other side of the door.

Sans froze like a deer in headlights, his only pupil shrinking into a pinprick as he realized who was on the other side of the door.

There was a quiet ‘THUD’ and then a loud sob, followed by the sounds of footsteps running away.

Many curses left his ‘mouth’ as he began to walk towards the door before an arm stopped him.

“I’ll look for her, Sans.” Papyrus said, looking at his brother with a sad look before walking out of the room.

He felt like an idiot, knowing that a defenseless and terrified human was most likely on the verge of being killed. He was scared that you were already dead.

He had to find you.

.....

....

...

..

.

It was cold, too cold for you.

You were full on trembling and had managed to escape Lesser Dog and a few others. Everyone wanted you dead, it was no secret. The fact that your body was cold made you slower, however, and led to you getting hit easily.

But despite everything, you were thinking about Papyrus. He was so sweet and silly and cared about you. He was actually the only good thing down here. He didn’t try to eat you or kill you.

Then you realized something and the fear came hurtling back at you; you currently only had 1 HP.

You were full on terrified now, the thought of being killed making you paranoid that someone was following you.

Before your soul was pulled out of your body..

“hey, kiddo..”

No.. The person who wants to kill me for good had to be him..

Slowly, you turned to the bear-like skeleton, trembling and cowering before him.

Sans felt a pang of guilt hit him where his heart should be, his only pupil widening at the sight of your body.

Cuts and blood covered your arms, your hair was disheveled and your lips were blue.

He was sure that that wasn’t normal for humans.

“(y/n).. listen to me.” He whispered, stepping closer to you.

You flinched, eyes wide as he kept walking closer to you. But you obeyed, waiting to hear him out.

“I-I.. I heard that you wanted to kill me..” you confessed, eyes looking away from him before your gaze met his. He was staring down at you with a sad look, transparent red tears forming in his eyes as he gently lifted a hand to cup your cheek.

He hated seeing you like this, especially after how much you had improved since he had met you.

His sharp phalanges were unnaturally warm and soft, claws barely grazing your skin as he looked down at you. He could tell you were scared of what he was planning on doing but he knew what to do to make you relax.

“i.. i won’t hurt you.. i don’t know why i said that.. i didn’t mean it..” he whispered to you, his other hand gently gripping your waist and guiding you closer to him. Slowly, you settled into his comfortable grasp and lay your head against his chest, feeling a bit safer. A hand ran through your hair and seconds later you felt yourself being picked up.

He carried you all the way back to his and Papyrus’ home, making sure to keep you hidden in his arms. He also made sure that his huge hoodie managed to cover your body in hopes of you warming up a bit.

When he noticed that your lips weren’t that blue color anymore, he relaxed a bit as well.

Papyrus was so damn happy to see you safe and alive. And he immediately gave you a hug, not letting you go for hours.

Currently, he was off in search of a gift for you and you were left with Sans, who had insisted that he healed you.

Your HP was full and you were busy snuggling up to the giant bear.

“so..” His voice got your attention quickly and you looked up at him, “you heard paps trying to get me to admit something.. right?”

Your response is a nod, which makes him sigh before he gently sits up and makes you turn to look at him.

“well, he wanted me to admit that i liked you. as more than friends.” He sighs as you stare at him, red creeping up to his face as he continues talking, “and honestly.. he has a point. as you know, at first i was tricking you. but i completely forgot about it after i told you about the incident. and i.. i actually do.. like you that way.” He managed to choke out, face completely red at this point as he looked down at you.

A wide smile formed on your face before you sprung up and wrapped your arms around him, quietly squealing.

He was confused to say the least.

“I like you, too, dum dum! I made it so obvious!” You exclaimed, calming down and sitting back down. Your smile was still on your face and you noticed him starting to smile as well.

“you.. you like m-me? are you.. are you sure?” He managed out, watching you nod giddily.

“Yes! You’re adorable and sweet and I don’t think I’ve met anyone like you, Sans!” You exclaimed, just as he visibly relaxed.

He chuckled as you hugged his arm and he decided something at that moment.

His phalanges gently gripped your chin and tilted your head up to look at him, his red pupil wide and you managed to see it flickering to a heart before back to normal.

And slowly, he began to lean in, giving you enough time to move away if you didn’t feel comfortable but why would you? Your heart beat picked up it’s speed and your face flushed a bit as he paused centimeters away from your lips. He looked troubled and you knew why.

Chuckling, you moved forward and your lips met his teeth. His teeth felt strange against your lips, they were soft and warm but also hard at the same time.

His phalanges lowered and gripped your waist, your arms slowly wrapping around his neck as it got a bit more passionate.

Seconds later, the door burst open and you guys pulled away.

“ABOUT TIME!” Papyrus said and walked towards you with his gift.

A giggle left your lips at Sans’ red face and you slowly leaned up and picked his teeth.

You might love him, now that you think about it.

Other Masterlist

[undertalethingems]

Bark at the Moon Chapter 9: Setup and Punchline

<Previous / Next>

Or read on my Ao3>

Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon

Chapter Warnings: None

Chapter Summary: Terrorizing Snowdin is fun enough, but Flowey wants more--where's Papyrus in all of this...?

Flowey suppressed a giggle as he hid beneath the lowest branches of a pine. Two monsters--a purple deer and a double-eared fox--were hiking just outside Snowdin. Idiots. Didn't they know there was a beast running loose?!

Flowey's smile turned jagged. There was a crack, and plumes of snow burst around the hapless monsters. Withdrawing his vines, he sent them running with a shower of pellets, delighting in their screams. He'd gotten bored of killing, but instilling fear in people was still fun and he had the perfect scapegoat.

Well, more like scape-dragon. His little rumor had done the trick. Even if he couldn't get Sans to attack, the townsfolk were so used to nothing happening it was easy to whip them into a panic. A prod here, a nudge there, a hail of bullets in between, and all of Snowdin had been buzzing within a week. He'd given it another just to really let it set in--and then let his pet go.

Flowey hadn't actually seen Sans in a while now, though he'd noticed his tracks around town and heard him howling at night. To think the toughest opponent he'd ever faced could be reduced to hiding in the shadows and relying on people's trash to get by! Though... that's more or less what all of monster kind was doing... A simple fact of life wasn't the best insult. Flowey frowned, his gloating spoiled. So much for that.

His fun over for now, he left his hiding spot to check in on the latest with the Guard. They usually met around this time to discuss the day's orders now that living in Snowdin had actually become eventful. Flowey liked keeping track of just how much chaos he'd caused, so he popped up beneath another tree and eagerly listened in.

"Undyne should be here soon, right?" Doggo was saying, and there was a rustle--presumably one of the Dogi nodding.

"We're supposed to meet with her at nine sharp. I wonder what our orders will be now that we know the beast is real," Dogamy said, and Doggo growled.

"I don't like it. We can't smell it, barely anyone's seen it--and its tracks just disappear into nowhere! Maybe it did eat Sans and stole his weird... appearing without moving thing..."

Flowey stifled a laugh. How were they all so dumb?!

Dogamy sighed. "Those brothers sure were something... at least Undyne told us Papyrus is okay."

Huh. So someone knew where Papyrus was...

"I've just gotta wonder about Sans after he was so worked up... and then he got sick, and we haven't seen him since. I hope he hasn't... you know..."

Doggo huffed. "Yeah. Damn. Oh hey--there's Greater Dog with the rest of 'em, guess it's time. Undyne's probably two steps behind 'em."

Flowey ducked a little closer to the ground to see better. He could hear the clanking of armor as Greater and Lesser Dogs trotted up with Dogaressa in tow. All the dogs shuffled around each other happily, sniffing and yipping; Flowey gagged as the Dogi kissed each other sloppily. Then someone started the morning howl, and they collectively threw their heads back to cry, their hot breath sending plumes of vapor into the chilled air.

Flowey found it all incredibly dumb.

Metal clanking rose over their voices, and their howls died away as they turned to salute their captain. She returned the gesture as she surveyed her troops, and sighed. She looked troubled.

"Anything to report before I begin?"

"No ma'am," Dogaressa replied firmly, "to our knowledge, there have been no further incidents. What are our orders for the day?"

Undyne nodded. "Right. We need to see if we can capture this... creature. It's clearly not a human, which means it has to be a monster somehow, so I don't want anyone hurting it. Whoever they are WON'T escape justice. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" they chorused.

"Good. Now, if it's scavenging from people's trash... that's gotta mean it's hungry."

"I can relate," Doggo murmured wryly, and Dogamy elbowed him.

"Ahem," Undyne growled, then continued. "What I was saying was, we might be able to lure it out with food. Today, I want everyone to scout out places that look promising--where there's been a lot of tracks, places that naturally make escape difficult. We're NOT letting this thing get away."

Flowey quietly scoffed--good luck with that plan. Sans wouldn't be found if he didn't want to be, and he couldn't be caught so easily either. He would know--he'd had to keep him tied up personally at all times just to keep him from disappearing on a whim. This would be hilarious. Even more so if he messed with them the whole time. The guards broke their huddle to get to work, and Flowey followed with full intent to sabotage.

He dumped snow on the Dogi, threw a stick for Greater Dog that sent him skidding across a patch of ice, and kept pulling on Doggo's tail when he wasn't looking; Undyne was harder to mess with, but he still managed to clock her in the helmet with a big icicle. By the time the morning shift was over, he'd made a thorough nuisance of himself and was quite pleased.

"Maybe this beast is actually a ghost, and they're playing poltergeist with us," Doggo growled dejectedly during one of their breaks, and Greater Dog whined in agreement.

"We'll question the ghost cousins if we have to, but I want everyone to focus on our goal," Undyne commanded. "There's already been one incident today. Let's do everything we can to make sure there's not another. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Flowey had gotten bored of messing with them, so he left them and settled for poking around town to see what other havoc he could cause while the Guard was occupied. There wasn't much--everyone had taken to keeping their things and themselves indoors, so the most he could do was tap on windows and scratch at walls. But not being able to see the fear on his victim's faces took the fun out of it, and he grew bored of that too. He might as well wait for Undyne to get home so he could find out where Papyrus was.

He wasn't sad to exchange Snowdin's ice for Waterfall's mud, popping up in the corridor just outside Undyne's home. He'd hang out here, then maybe catch her attention as she passed by.

The wait was almost unbearable, but he finally heard her clanking down the passage and wriggled with excitement. Finally, he'd be able to question her--wait, where was she going? She'd passed by and continued down the hall. Flowey lowered a brow, and ducked down to follow her. At one point he overshot--she'd stopped somewhere behind him, at a cleft in the rock walls that wasn't really a path. She sprang up, and he burrowed as fast as he could to catch up before he lost sight of her completely.

He came out in time to see her finish vaulting up the walls and frowned. It could take him hours to find a route through the rock... but he didn't want to keep sitting around. He wanted--needed--to know what Undyne was doing, because this pathway was new. He grit his teeth, and sent out his roots to feel for weak points in the rock.

He finally emerged on a landing some twenty feet above the spot he'd left, and muddy boot prints confirmed this was where Undyne had come through. He peered down the corridor they led into, and cautiously made his way forward. There wouldn't be so many places to hide here--but not far from the exit, he found a nook between a few stalagmites and hung back, listening as Undyne spoke.

"Yeah, sorry about that. There's just... a lot going on with this investigation. Nothing serious, don't worry! But it's got the Guard all worked up and someone's gotta keep 'em on task, y'know?"

"Of course!" Papyrus replied.

Flowey frowned. Papyrus was way out here? Why?!

"Are you sure I can't help yet?"

"No, we can handle it," Undyne replied firmly. "We're close to a breakthrough, I can feel it!"

He heard Papyrus huff. "I'm sure your investigation would be over instantly if I helped, but fine... Anyway! You wanted a sparring session tonight!"

"YEAH! Gotta stay sharp, especially now that there's an active threat. Plus, you're perfect for helping me against--" Undyne cut herself off.

"Against anything!" Papyrus supplied.

"Yeah," Undyne agreed. "Alright, let's get into positions... and, whenever you're ready!"

Flowey heard the familiar ping of a blue attack, and Undyne was already laughing eagerly.

"Right off the bat! Hell yeah, bring it ON!"

Flowey listened to them clash, wishing there was some way to watch--but he hadn't found any more weak points in the surrounding rock. Drilling straight through would take forever--they'd be done by then. So he sat back and listened, and flinched at the hum of a 'special attack'. Flowey shook his head. 'Gaster Blaster' was a cooler name than that, but he never could get Papyrus to use it.

"Hah! You're hardly TRYING!" Undyne taunted as she undoubtedly summoned a ton of spears. "Now, dodge THIS!"

He could almost picture Papyrus darting around each crashing spear--but the sounds he heard didn't match. They were scratchy, clicky, came too close together to make sense with his mental image. Flowey furrowed his brow. What the heck was Papyrus doing? Walking on bone stilts?

A raspy yelp startled him from his thoughts.

"Oh geez, sorry!" Undyne called. "Are you okay?"

More clicking sounds, and Papyrus cleared his throat. "Yes! I was simply startled by that arrangement, that's all! It was very good!"

"Fuhuhuhu, thanks! I based it on a thing Alphys showed me--I'm gonna surprise the humans by using their own tactics against them!"

"Clever! It certainly caught me off guard! But soon! I'll be on the Guard! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!"

Undyne burst out laughing. "Not so fast! You gotta get through me first, punk! Come on! Prove you've got what it takes!"

Their sparring match began anew, and Flowey continued to eavesdrop. Papyrus seemed to be using his special attack more often than usual--maybe he was getting over thinking he had to 'save it' to keep it special. But... oddly... it sounded like Undyne was holding back? For all her boasting, he could hear it--she wasn't using as many spears as she usually did.

Papyrus confirmed it. "Hmph! You tell me to go all out! But you! You're holding back on me! You think I can't take it?"

"No!"

Papyrus gave an offended gasp. "You don't?!"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Undyne retorted. "I meant 'no' I think you can! I just! Don't--I don't feel like it! Ngaaaah!"

Well, that sounded like the usual number of spears.

"See! I knew you could do better!" Papyrus cheered when the salvo was over. "I even got hit a few times! But this battle isn't over yet!"

"... I dunno, Papyrus. I don't wanna hurt you anymore."

A huff. "You keep saying that! Or things like it! I know you're a very strong monster--you're the Captain! But! You seem to be afraid of everyone else hurting me too, and though it's true I don't wish to be seen, that is not the same... as being able to handle myself in battle! Nyeh!"

Undyne grunted, apparently taken off-guard by his attack. Flowey pondered his words--he didn't want to be seen? He was Papyrus, he always wanted to be seen...

"That's not it!" Undyne grunted. "It's--attacking you right now... feels like attacking a puppy!"

There was a long pause as the battle ground to a halt, but Papyrus finally spoke.

"... I see."

"No, I mean--it's just--you're already so nice! And then, everything that's happened getting you down--I dunno, it doesn't feel fair anymore."

"Our fights are very fair, Undyne! Perhaps the most fair! I am not, despite appearances, a puppy, but a very capable and dedicated warrior!"

Despite appearances!? Flowey's mind raced. If he was right--no, no, he needed to see. He hoped this little chat would wrap up soon, it was getting in the way!

Undyne sighed heavily. "I know, but... Listen, forget I said anything. You're a great fighter. There's just been a bunch of junk that doesn't make sense lately. Let's head home and get dinner, that'll clear both our heads."

"... Okay. I'm sure whatever feelings you're struggling with will be subdued by punching vegetables!"

"Yeah! Need any help packing up?"

"No, I can manage!"

Flowey cheered internally, then ducked back and waited. He could hear Undyne's armor clanging as she approached, and the rustling as Papyrus gathered up whatever stuff he had. And then, more clicking, a steady rhythm against the cavern floor. Flowey practically vibrated with excitement as it grew louder, nearer. The hall darkened briefly as Undyne filled the entrance then passed, and then it darkened again--though not as much, and Flowey kept his eyes riveted to the opening.

Oh.

OH.

There it was. Flowey watched, tucked in his corner, as a tall skeletal creature walked by with an easy grace, its slender claws clicking on the stone. It carried its long head high, with bright orange eye lights reflecting on the corridor walls. A red scarf was draped around its neck, some sort of brightly patterned sash or skirt wrapped around its hips, and a light satchel was slung from its tall dorsal spines. A long, whiplike tail trailed behind, flicking idly as it walked.

Flowey almost couldn't believe his eyes as he passed by, but there was no mistake. It was so familiar, but different. No wonder Sans hadn't been bothered by threats of Papyrus finding out what he was... because he was like that too. They were both freaks who didn't want anyone finding out. A wide grin spread on Flowey's face, and he ducked out to go somewhere private--somewhere he could laugh freely.

Oh, this was all too perfect! He had to do something with this--and already had the groundwork laid out. Now, to figure out just how to use it...

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Some Sense of Normalcy ch.2 (baon)

Summary: It’s Edge’s first day back to work at the Embassy, but his job isn’t the only thing on his mind.

Tags:  Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Injury

Chapter 1 | 

~~*~~

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read Chapter 2 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Stretch kept watch out the front window, waiting for Edge to drive off with Red at the wheel of his car and wasn’t that a question he didn’t have time to find out the answer. Then he went back upstairs to get dressed; he had places to be and of course today would be the morning that Edge decided to let his ridged adherence to his schedule slip.

It was pretty damned hard to nudge Edge out the door without making him suspicious, since all previous evidence pointed to Stretch trying to keep him in bed as long as possible and now that he was finally gone, Stretch needed to double-time it.

He hadn't lied about the video conference with his therapist, but that wasn't until this afternoon and there was something to look forward to. He had a love/hate thing going with Doc Lee, loved that she could help him collect all his thoughts back into the right baskets and get 'em back in order, hated that he had to actually talk about why they were scattered to begin with to get there.

In the meantime, he yanked on the first pair of pants and sweatshirt he found in his side of the closet. He was headed back downstairs, socks in hand, when the doorbell rang.

Stretch opened the door, leaning awkwardly on the jamb as he reached down to pull on his socks. "hey, andy."

“Morning,” Jeff said with a smile. He was dressed for work and Jeff’s style was a little less posh than Edge went for. No suit coat and his button-up shirt was a deep blue with a scattered floral pattern and a sort of long, gauzy white vest hanging open over the works. He looked good and Stretch didn’t mind telling him so.

“good thing i’m a math genius, your clothes are looking pretty acute there.”

Faint pink rose in Jeff’s cheeks. The kid didn’t take a compliment well, it was a work in progress. But he sure as heck proved his pun skills were up to par. “Thanks for going at the right angle so I don’t have to be obtuse about it. Are you ready to head out?”

“give me two minutes to feed the chickens and we can hit it.”

Stretch headed into the backyard, Jeff at his heels. Jeff stayed out of the coop in deference to his nice shoes and only watched as Stretch let the chickens out, scooping feed into their trough. Nugget came out of the coop last, not the normal order of things, gobbling her food with record speed. Probably wanted to book it back inside to her weird nest and that was another mystery on Stretch’s list. It’d keep for a day or two, and Stretch would take a dozen peculiar eggs, carton and all, to have her back home. He gave her a light pat, didn’t even mind when his affection was ignored in favor of the eats.

Meanwhile, Jeff wandered over to the freshly planted garden beds, peering down at the tiny points of green poking out. "So, do I get to hear why you didn't hitch a ride in with Edge?"

See, that was the problem with Jeff being pals with Edge; it made him concerned for Edge’s welfare and feelings and stuff. That was some double-sided sticky tape, ‘cause Stretch wanted Jeff to like Edge but not enough that he’d tattle. "that would be because he'd interrogate me about what i was doing."

"And you think I won't?"

"nah, you will, but you're more lucky to fall for the eyes." Stretch turned to him, feed bucket still in hand, and gave him the very best doe-eyed, pathetic look in his collection.

"okay, that is pretty effective,” Jeff admitted, “But, somehow, I don't think you're planning a surprise party. So, I have to ask, is what you're doing going to make Edge mad and that's why you're going behind his back?"

"nope." Probably not, anyway.

Jeff gave Stretch a scrutinizing look that would give Sans a run for his money. Well, maybe a leisurely stroll. “All right,” he said at last, “If I don’t take you to the Embassy, you’ll just take the bus, anyway. But if something is actually wrong or you need real help that isn’t solved by a quick lift, you tell me. Deal?”

“deal,” Stretch hesitated and added, “i promise.” Fuck it, Andy was his best friend, if he couldn’t confess to him at least a little, then he might as well start rethinking the title.

Stretch never really gave Jeff a rundown about how he felt about promises, but stood to reason that someone did. His expression softened into a lopsided smile and he jerked his head towards the house. “Then let’s get going before I’m late. Catty is a good boss but the last person in has to get coffee for everyone for the rest of the day.”

The ladies were still chowing down and Stretch left them to it, though he did double and then triple check that the gate was shut tight. Not that he’d ever accidentally left it open, but he was pretty resigned to being stupid about his chicks for a little while yet.

Jeff’s car was a sporty little compact with a surprising amount of legroom in the front seats and there was zero doubt in Stretch’s mind that Edge was the one who chose it with that feature in mind, along with every safety feature package that they could cram in without popping a seam. He didn’t wait for the seat belt speech, already buckling up, and they were off.

Crawling through the streets of New New Home to the security checkpoint and once they were through the gate, Jeff turned things up a notch. His cautious driving was only about a step down from Edge’s, but unlike Edge, Jeff didn’t say a peep when Stretch rolled down the window and let his arm dangle out, relishing the cool wind on his bony fingers.

Nice to be able to relax and enjoy the breeze. Edge would’ve bitched at him and he knew from experience that Blue would stop the car and refuse to move until he rolled the window back up, citing statistics about Humans losing limbs and heads all the while.

Yeah, okay, today wasn’t a good day to think about anyone losing their head. Stretch pulled his arm back in and let it sit more sedately on the window ledge. He could feel Jeff giving him a look, but he didn’t say anything, didn’t ask or probe or scold and that was why he was an awesome friend. Even if a couple times he’d asked about things Stretch didn’t like to think about, things from the past, from Underswap—

The sound of the wind through the opened window suddenly sounded a little too much like a brewing storm in Snowdin, the way they often swirled up across the narrow path that led to Waterfall. Dredged up memories that Stretch usually kept packed away, neat and tidy in a box of ‘past is past’. His head really wasn’t on straight today and—

Stop it, STOP IT—

“how’s things at the embassy?” Stretch asked abruptly. He yanked his arm inside and rolled the window up entirely, sealing out the blowing wind. Jeff didn’t seem perturbed about the sudden break in the silence.

“Great. Busy.” Jeff kept his eyes on the road, but his smile was honest and wide, “I know you’re going to put me off for saying this, but I seriously could never thank you guys enough for getting me this job.”

Stretch shrugged. “i didn’t have anything to do with it. i have less pull at the embassy than hussain, and i’ve heard what he did with the cafeteria.”

“The food is great,” Jeff agreed, “especially the falafel.” His quick side eye said a lot about how much he believed the rest of it.

It wasn’t that Stretch minded the gratitude, but it really wasn’t necessary. Yeah, sure, being his pal probably got Jeff’s foot through the door. That wouldn’t make Edge give Jeff a job that he couldn’t do or that he wouldn’t be suited for. Strategy was what Edge did, and if he thought Jeff would be great for Public Relations, Stretch was a hundred-and-nine percent sure he was right.

“anything i had to do with it was strictly by association,” Stretch told him, “you’re probably more lucky being my pal didn’t put them off, but eh, if they haven’t ditched edge, i doubt you’ll be in line.”

“I think if they fired Edge, half the Embassy would grab their staplers and follow him out the door,” Jeff snorted, “Speaking of lines, you want to stop for a coffee on our way?”

Seriously, best pals forever, “lead on, macduff, i’ll follow you anywhere.”

Jeff laughed even as he turned into the lot for the Beanery and headed for the drive-thru.

Jeff dropped Stretch off at the Embassy entrance before he went to park his car. Which was fine, he knew where he was going, and he didn’t need Jeff to hold his hand along the way.

The security guard only gave him a disinterested look as he swiped his rarely-used keycard and headed for the elevator. Not the normal elevators, the ones that led to the offices upstairs that Humans and Monsters used all day long, where you could press any button and be off.

No, the elevator to the labs was around the corner from those and needed a keycard just to open the doors, another swipe of the card with a password to activate it. Not all Monsters had access to all the labs, and their cards would only take them as far down as their security clearance allowed.

Stretch’s card would take him to any of the labs. All he had to do was swipe it.

He stood in front of the elevator, the card gripped too-tight in the clench of his fingers, staring at the closed doors.

When he’d texted Alphys yesterday, she’d been perfectly happy to meet with him, but said she couldn’t get away from the labs right now, so he’d have to come here. He’d assured her that it was fine and yesterday, it was. It’d been a relief, even.

Somehow while he’d been lying in bed the day before, lost in the tangle of his thoughts, the idea of his HP dropping again got hooked into his head. He couldn't stop thinking about it, none of his distraction techniques were working, his focus was fucking shot. All the clues that he might be having HP trouble were banging on the door, demanding to be let into his mind.

Like the fact that the lower his HP got, the wearier he was and just lately, he'd been feeling awfully damned tired. He'd gotten used to his HP being at five and the extra slice of energy that came with that. Falling asleep at random times in even more random places was becoming the exception rather than the norm and he fucking well liked it that way.

Last time Alphys checked him over, his HP was back on the rise, but it’d been a while. Lately, he'd been smoking way too much, using up a lot of magic healing, and he’d been so, so tired. He wasn’t the puzzle-fiend that his bro and Edge were, but even he could do one that only had a couple pieces.

Yesterday, Alphys’s assurances that he could stop in had been a relief, enough to make that worry back off a little and let him go back to his sour ball of grief over Nugget. Now that mourning was off the table, the reports of her death greatly exaggerated, here came his ghostly HP worries, trundling back in to for another go at haunting the inside of his skull.

After dinner, he’d gone upstairs to take a shower and stood there, looking at himself in the mirror. All it would’ve take was a quick Check, only a few seconds, and his stats would have spilled out right in front of his eye lights, letting him know exactly the state of his HP. Just a quick check and if everything looked good, he could tell Alphys never mind, he could stay home and take a day, not curled up on the bed but on the sofa, maybe, day-binging Netflix. Or outside, watching the chickens roam the yard, maybe see if Nugget would let him get a picture of that mystery egg she was so protective of.

Would’ve only taken a quick Check and Stretch just…couldn't. The magic was sitting there ready to be used and he couldn’t make himself pull the trigger on doing it. He couldn't do it and he sure as fuck wasn’t going to ask Edge. Like Edge needed any other problems on his radar? Not a chance.

So that cemented the plan right there. He was gonna go downtown and see what the deal was, and if it was bad, he would tell Edge. No secrets, not this time, no trying to hide this shit. Edge was going to have to deal with whatever fallout came down the line from his HP dropping, so may as well give him as much prep time as he could.

All he had to do was open the elevator door.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Stretch startled so badly the world blurred around him in an aborted shortcut. The mostly empty coffee cup in his hands slipped though his fingers, spilling out a few creamy droplets when it hit the floor.

Jeff only went to the nearby cleaning station to grab a paper towel, crouching down to wipe up the mess while Stretch tried to remember how to breathe normally.

Finally, he blurted out, “you scared the shit out of me, andy!”

“I noticed and it’s extra impressive considering you don’t shit,” Jeff said. He tossed the cup and dirty paper towel into the trash can. “And you didn’t answer me. Do you want me to come with you?”

Stretch laughed unsteadily, “you don’t even know where i’m going.”

“I don’t,” Jeff agree. “What I do know is that leads to the labs downstairs. And I know you have trouble with labs sometimes, even your own. So. Do you need me to come with you?”

Jeff’s gaze was steady, calm, and beneath it was that warm gentleness, the compassion on his face as obvious as the soft green of his soul. It was hard to resist the urge to grab onto him and drag him downstairs, fuck all the security protocols, but that would be plowing over all kinds of boundaries and Stretch wouldn’t be the only one getting in trouble over it. He wasn’t about to damage anyone at the Embassy’s trust in Jeff over his own stupid issues.

“nah,” Stretch forced a smile, “you need to get upstairs before you’re the designated coffee runner for the day.” Then, when Jeff didn’t move, he said, more seriously, “but you can hit the button for me. if you want.”

Jeff stepped up but instead of pushing the button, he wrapped both arms around Stretch’s rib cage and hugged him tightly. All of Stretch’s good intentions snapped like the elastic in an old pair of undershorts; all he could do is lean down and hug Jeff back, his slim body giving in a way that bone simply couldn’t. Jeff was softer and squishy and so very Human, the best part of humanity.

If anyone came down towards the elevators, Stretch might’ve let go sooner. As it was, they stood there an embarrassingly long time for whatever security cameras were probably watching. Jeff didn’t let up an inch, held tight and let Stretch be the one to step back first.

Stretch shook his arms out, gave himself a full body shake. He could do this.

“okay, i’m heading down,” Stretch said firmly. He pushed his card into the key slot. “hit it.”

Jeff did and the elevator door slid open smoothly. Stretch stepped inside and the doors were closing almost before he could turn around.

“You can text me whenever you’re done!” Jeff called through the narrowing opening. The door closed completely before Stretch could reply but that was okay, Jeff would know his answer without him saying a thing.

He pushed his keycard into the control panel slot and tapped in his password; the calendar numbers of his wedding anniversary used in a linear equation. The elevator lurched hard enough to unsettle his non-existent stomach and started downward.

No big deal, Stretch told himself, struggling to pull his keycard back out with sweat-slick fingers. He rubbed them impatiently on his pants and tried again, and this time the card came free, just as the elevator doors opened into the gleaming stainless steel and glass of the labs, all clean sterile lines, nothing at all like his own cluttered workspace. But it was all fine, he wouldn’t even be in the lab long, Alphys always took him right to her office.

Right on in and she could do all her tests, let him know the state of his body and soul, that was it, yep.

No big deal at all.

tbc

[teacherunicorn]

Rewrite

Chapter Six

dying

The snowy forest was dense, but felt empty, like walking through a graveyard. You could tell something was waiting to jump out and attack you. hurt trying to survive

Rook had had Shadow in her life for just over six years now. Appearing at what was perhaps her lowest low, the entity had been harsh with her at first, it's words faint and migraine inducing.

The one thing that had come through clearly was the lullaby it sang when Rook was crying herself to sleep. The song was clearly old -- it wasn't your standard nursery rhyme and no one she'd mentioned the lyrics to had known what she was talking about. But her strange follower knew them by heart; never once missing a step or loosing the melody.

Perhaps it was her dependence on that song that allowed other things to come in clearly, not that they were as helpful. It was mostly gruesome threats to people she got angry at and a desire to take supplies from others at food banks and homeless shelters.

While tempting at times, such actions were simply not who Rook was. She continually frustrated Shadow with her goodwill and giving nature, and arguing with them led to further migraines.

The two weren't....friends, not really. They just happened to be stuck with each other -- literally. It didn't matter if Rook knew she could trust Shadow's instincts when it came to dangerous situations, or if Shadow's malice seemed to ebb away anytime they sang their lullaby to a crying Rook.

It wasn't until that good karma came back around; a woman she had shared her food with and given up her bunk at the homeless shelter for supplying her with pain medicine and teaching her how pads worked; as she had been unfortunate enough to experience puberty on her own, that Shadow finally gave pause.

"Sometimes kindness is enough." She'd told the spirit.

This gave way to a new form of communication between the two; an open one that involved proper conversation instead of trading insults. Shadow seemed very good at being aware of their -- and by extension Rook's -- surroundings at all times. They'd offer tips, warn of danger, and catch details that would normally go unnoticed.

Rook still wouldn't say the two were friends....part of her was still convinced that Shadow was just some trauma induced hallucination.

Until today at least.

"So lemme see if I've got this right." She said, piling up the driest twigs she could find for a fire. "You're an actual, proper ghost. You're dead."

More or less, yeah.

"Then how come you keep following me around?"

I'm stuck in limbo unless I find a soul to match to....a cracked one.

Rook paused. "So when...." a forced swallow past the lump in her throat. "when he died, you're saying it cracked my soul?"

Yeah.

She huffed. "Can't say I'm surprised. Okay, you're here, I'm here, now what?"

Well.... The spirit sighed. You already know by now that I'm not an optimistic person. But when I was alive I was....less pessimistic. I had hope for something; this place.

"This place?" Rook echoed in surprise.

Yeah. It was less broken in my time, but yeah.

"....What happened?"

Thought I could be the hero. The barrier keeps the monsters in, they're trapped. I thought I could be their angel. the air seemed to scoff Course that was before being down here got me killed.

"What does that have to do with me?"

Shadow had no physical form, and therefore no face, but somehow Rook could still feel the puppy dog stare being aimed at her.

How far do you think your kindness can really go?

*****

Rook didn't bother trying to track down the skeleton brothers. Snowdin was clearly not the sort of place to just go wandering around, and she had no doubt one or both of them would eventually find her.

So, gathering the driest twigs she could find, she sparked a small fire and went about making herself something to eat.

Filling her collapsible pot with snow, she set it over the flame to boil, making sure to keep the smoke as small as possible so as not to alert anything unsavory.

Crossing her legs as she sat down, she held her hands out to warm them. Pausing a moment, she pulled her left one back.

The cut she had received from the strange glowing artifact in the ruins hadn't been deep by any means, but it really ought to have left at least a scratch. But looking at her palm now Rook couldn't even tell she'd been injured.

Sighing to herself, she dug into her backpack for some oatmeal, taking out the teal colored shard as she did. She studied it as her food cooked. It didn't seem all that peculiar; it wasn't even glowing any more. It was just a stupid shard of glass.

So why had she felt so drawn to it in the ruins?

"HUMAN!" the sudden sound jolted Rook from her thoughts. She looked up to see the taller of the skeleton brothers standing a few paces away from her. (measured in his giant steps anyways) "SO SANS WAS TELLING THE TRUTH. DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD ESCAPE ME?"

"No, I was pretty sure you or your brother would turn up." She shrugged. "You hungry? Oatmeal should be ready by now."

The bravado of the skeleton seemed to seep away. "....Food?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's just oatmeal -- I've figured out a lot of ways to mix it up over the years though!" pulling her backpack onto her lap Rook began to dig through her stash. "I've got cinnamon, ketchup, honey...."

For as loud as he had once been, the tall skeleton's voice seemed quiet now, despite it being a normal speaking volume as he inched closer to her. "There Was A Time When I Enjoyed Oatmeal That Hatched Creatures In It."

Rook blinked and stared at him a moment before looking back to her bag. Pushing a few things this way and that, she produced a small box with a cartoon dinosaur on it.

"These?" She questioned, holding them out to him.

Perhaps she imagined it, but at that moment Rook could've sworn that the small pecks of light in his sunken eye sockets turned into miniature stars. He crossed the space between them in three large strides, but stopped short of taking the box from her hand.

He looked between her and the box a moment, prompting Rook to push it closer to his outstretched hand.

"Go ahead, it's all yours."

He finally took it from her like she was handing him the holy grail. "...Why?"

"Why not?" Rook shrugged and went back to her own oatmeal. "If people didn't share with me, I wouldn't be alive." She looked up at the tall skeleton. "My name's Rook, by the way. You're Papyrus right?"

The sound of his name seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in. "YES! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I HAVE DEVISED SEVERAL PUZZLES AND TRAPS TO CAPTURE YOU HUMAN ROOK!"

Rook smiled at him. "I like puzzles, that sounds fun."

*****

There was something laughably insane about watching the two skeleton brothers interact. They explained the puzzle well enough, but then got sidetracked as they started arguing about frisbees.

In a strange way, it comforted Rook to observe the classic siblings dynamic.

Looking away from the still arguing pair, she turned her eyes to the orb she'd been given. It looked like a regular nick-nack, but supposedly it would guide her through the skeleton brother's first puzzle.

Watch yourself. Shadow muttered in her ear. I don't like this.

For the record, neither did she. The expanse of snow between her and the monsters looked far too innocent and unassuming.

Hang on. Was that...?

Something Rook had taken notice of in this strange underground forest was that the snow didn't shine. Not that there was any sunlight to reflect off of the frozen crystals, but whatever was lighting this place didn't do it either. The slush was matte and blank, like dust rather than water.

But was there? There was! Just about two feet in front of her something was sparkling under the snow. Only noticable if you had been looking for it, and clearly not meant to be there.

The sparkling looked odd, and not just because it was out of place. She wondered....

SNAP!

Rook gasped and jumped backwards, falling flat on her butt as her feet slipped from under her. Tossing the orb in the sparkle's direction had indeed yield result; a huge bear trap had popped out from the snow and clamped shut. It's razor teeth were rusty, but certainly effective enough to chop her in half.

The noise had caught the skeleton's attention, both turning to stare at her in shock.

"WOWIE!" Papyrus finally broke the silence. "SHE SOLVED THAT PUZZLE ON THE FIRST TRY! FINALLY, A HUMAN WORTHY OF BEONF MY PRISONER!"

"Wait...how did she know...."

"GASP!" the taller skeleton said, putting his gloved hands on his cheeks. Cheekbones? "ONLY FOUR PUZZLES LEFT! AND STILL WITH THREE FREEBIES! HURRY SANS! WE MUST PREPARE THR NEXT CHALLENGE!" Papyrus took off, dragging his brother behind him by the hood of his jacket.

Rook laughed in spite of everything. Take away the fear for her life, and that was kinda cool.

How did you do that?

"By getting extremely lucky." Rook muttered, rubbing at her neck subconsciously. Kindness or no, Papyrus hadn't seen it to make his 'puzzles' any less deadly.

Not that she blamed him, logically. One act of kindness certainly didn't make up for whatever these two had been through. Statistics didn't follow an outlier after all.

Sha had been like that once, but it hadn't stopped the people she met from being kind to her.

Least she could do was pay it forward while she tried to stay alive.

[kittysukagasterfics]

Halloween Blues

Note: Happy (early) Halloween, everyone! I hope you all have a lot of candy to eat! (But not too much, hehehe!) Anyway, onto the fic!

Handplates belongs to: @zarla-s

Summary: Sam and the brothers are excited for the Halloween party that Undyne is hosting. But when an unexpected snowfall traps the citizens of Snowdin inside on the day of the party, they’re all understandably upset about it. Will Gaster be able to cheer them up?

    “*You asks Flowey if he has any suggestions for costumes. You’ve ran out of ideas already...Ehehehe...”

    “𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎?”

    “*Because you need a Halloween costume for Undyne’s party of course!”

     Flowey had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes at this. The Human was recently invited to a Halloween party by the Captain of the Royal Guard herself. He pretended to be excited for them, but the plant couldn’t have cared less about this party. Whatever made Sam happy...

    “𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝, 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚞𝚖𝚋 𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗?”

    “*Gaster didn’t want anyone to see you dressed like that apparently...”

     That was so typical of the skeleton that Flowey wasn’t even surprised by it. Hopefully Sam wouldn’t drag him along as well but knowing them, they’ve probably already made planned to even with the multiple excuses he had when they first told him about it. At least the plant was able to convince Sam to leave him at the snack table until it was time to leave. Flowey was pulled out of his thoughts by Sam giving an excited cry. He looked up to see the Human wearing an all-black outfit with attached wings and a little headband.

    “*You’ll be going as a cute little bat to the party!”

    “...𝚆𝚘𝚠, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚞𝚖, 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝, 𝚂𝚊𝚖! 𝙷𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎, 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢!”

    “*Don’t worry! You have a costume prepared for Flowey as well!”

     Flowey’s eyes widened and he began to scream for Gaster, who had been sitting on the bed working the entire time, to help him. The skeleton gave Flowey a look before going back to working. Gaster continued to ignore the plant as he was taken away by Sam, probably to be dressed in a silly outfit picked out just for him...

~~~~~~

    “*You ask Gaster if he’s as excited for tomorrow as you are!”

     Gaster chuckled at his excited joyfriend as he listened to them ramble on about Undyne’s party happening the next day. He had originally planned on not going, but not only is Alphys going as well, but Sam just seemed so happy to have gotten invited that the scientist couldn’t say no.

     During Sam’s rambling, they were cut off by a sudden drop in temperature, causing them to shiver. The Human mumbled something about how cold it had been getting throughout the day.

    “It has been getting colder, hasn’t it? And I noticed that it’s snowing more than usual as well...Probably nothing to worry about though.”

    “*That means he’ll have let you cuddle up to him extra close tonight! Ehehehe!”

    “...Don’t push your luck, Sam.”

     The Human started pouting as they and Gaster laid down on the bed to sleep. While everyone was fast asleep however, the snow outside continued to fall with no signs of stopping at any point during the night...

(*The Next Morning...)

    “*You ask Undyne why she needs you to come over...The party doesn’t start until later...”

    “Because I uh, kinda don’t want my house to burn down before the party so I need you to help bake a few things before tonight. Grillby isn’t answering his phone and I’m definitely not going to ask Muffet!!”

    “*Don’t worry! You’ll be happy to help her out! Gaster can just bring everyone over later like planned.”

    “You better or the next time I see you, I’ll suplex you into next week!!!”

     The fish monster then hung up, leaving Sam to slowly place their phone in their dimensional box. They decided it would probably be a good idea to leave now before Undyne made good on her promise. After making sure their bat costume was alright, the Human went into the kitchen to find Gaster struggling to help Sans and Papyrus with their own costumes. Papyrus just couldn’t decide on one and Sans was too busy sleeping to actually choose. Toby and Flowey were the only ones ready and dressed up, although the plant was sulking while wearing the cute bunny ears Sam had for him. The little pup on the other hand was sitting on the kitchen floor, wagging his tail and wearing a cute hot dog costume. The poor scientist looked so exasperated that Sam wanted to just to stay home to help but instead they told him they were headed out.

    “-sigh- Alright, just be careful, Sam. I believe it snowed all night so the snow could be pretty deep outside...”

     Sam nodded and left the kitchen. Gaster was about to scold Papyrus and tell him to just choose a costume when Sam’s shrieks were suddenly heard from the living room. Everyone looked out, only to be shocked when they noticed what looked like a ton of snow crushing the poor albino. Gaster wasted no time in pulling his now shivering lover out of the pile while clearing out the snow from the house. The scientist covered Sam with a warm blanket while the brothers stared outside with confusion. They could see nothing but white everywhere.

    “DAD, HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET TO UNDYNE’S PARTY NOW?”

    “I...don’t think we’ll be going anywhere for a while, Papyrus. It’s a good thing I went to New Home the other day to buy food.”

    “*N...No party?”

     Sam looked up from their position on the couch with an upset expression on their face. Hearing Gaster say that made the Human’s SOUL clench with sadness. They were really looking forward to the party at Undyne’s but now apparently that wasn’t going to happen now. Sam desperately asked their boyfriend if he was sure there wasn’t that could be done but the skeleton stayed firm on his thinking. The Human and the brothers were saddened by this, something Gaster immediately took notice of.

     Maybe he should try cheering them up somehow...

~~~~~~

     Sam had just gotten off the phone with Undyne explaining the situation to her. She was understandably upset that they wouldn’t be able to bake or even come to the party, but the fish monster was just glad everyone in the house wasn’t hurt. The Human wondered what they and the brothers were going to do now when Gaster walked up to them.

    “Sam, I need you, Sans, and Papyrus to come into the kitchen. Oh, and don’t forget to wear your costumes.”

     The Human and the little skeletons looked at each other in confusion but complied with Gaster’s request. As soon as they entered the kitchen, they were surprised to see the place decorated with some Halloween decorations that Sam had made a while back and the table was covered in some themed sweets Sam had prepared just in case Gaster decided not to attend the party after all. Sam was speechless but they couldn’t their immediate reaction as they turned to their boyfriend with a large grin and twinkling ruby-colored eyes.

    “*He didn’t have to do all this for everyone...”

    “Well, it wasn’t like I had anything better to do-!”

     Gaster was cut off by Sam hugging him, wrapping their tiny arms around his waist. They looked up at him with an even larger grin.

    “*You thank Gaster for making this Halloween extra special.”

    “...You’re welcome, Sam.”

Note: Happy Halloween Eve once again, everyone! Sorry if it seems short, but I’m preparing for a Halloween call with my friends tomorrow! I’ll still be available but just delayed response. I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic! Thank you all so much for reading! I love all of you so much! Requests are always welcomed! Stay tuned for more.

[antarestyl]

PTA Sans: The one with Mrs. Smith

Summary: Sans is still waiting for the other shoe to drop and well... he has some interesting conversations in this.

AO3-Link

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!

I am sorry it took again so long. RL and writers block kinda made things very difficult but I had a few days off now and well... Christmas time always makes me nostalgic for this AU. I was to thank all of you who left Comments or gave Kudos. Thank you so much, you always gave me the motivation to return to this AU again and again.

All of you have fun with the chapter and have some wonderful holidays and a happy new year!

To be honest, Sans was a bit skeptic when things went unusually right and smooth. There were no strange after-effects from creating Azzy. Asgore and Toriel kinda coped with Azzy being around and being Azzy, Toriel kinda-sorta forgave him for lying to her, Frisk was overjoyed to have Azzy back and as something like a pseudo-sibling...

Hell, he even dunked Linda a few times again and it was GREAT. (Even with Linda being strangely more manageable these days. Guess she CAN learn after all. She still gave as good as always thou. )

Still, something inside him waited for the other shoe to drop. He waited for the humans to turn around and declare war on monster again seal them Underground. He waited for the officials to come down on Toriel's head and close her school. He waited for something to come and steal his stars or his life, for Toriel to realize that he was just a miserable bag of bones or for Papyrus to finally have enough or...

Or to wake up again in Snowdin.

He really really didn't like thinking like that. He KNEW it was a bad way of thinking, something he realized after months of therapy and something he had under control... most of the times.

It seems with everything that happened he was still a bit on the edge.

He felt it in his bones when he worked in his home office, when his fingers were a bit to tense to type quickly. He felt it when his magic seemed to ripple like waves when he wanted to do small delicate levitation work. He felt it when his magic took just a second to long to dissolve his food into magic at dinner, making him eat just a bit slower than usual.

Luckily, he was not the only one noticing these things.

So when he went to bed about three weeks after Azzy joined them for the PTA meeting, he was kinda surprised when Toriel pulled him into herself. Sans looked up and even in the dim light he saw her looking down at him with concern. It was hard to look at her expression like this.

“Uh...” Sans said, not knowing how to go from here.

“Knock knock.” said Toriel, making Sans blink more but answer just out of instinct.

“Who's there?”

“Water.”

“Water who?”

“Water you thinking in your skull, huh?”

Sans laughed a bit at that, Toriel joining in with her giggles.

“But seriously, Sans.” she said finally. “You seem a bit... distant.”

“I uh...”

“And tense.”

“What can I say, I am all bones, I am bound to be a bit... stiff.”

Toriel chuckled a bit and nuzzled him a bit. “I mean it Sans. Something is on your mind. … talk to me.”

And there they were, the three words that struck Sans more than anything. Not I love you not Let me help, no. Talk to me was the one that let his soul do a little jump. He didn't want to. Honestly.

He had to, had he?

“I... I really dunno, Tori.” Sans mumbled out, turning so he could bury his face into white soft fur. “I just... I feel...”

There was a soft paw on his head again, petting him and this shouldn't feel so nice and this shouldn't sooth him so much but it did. Toriel didn't even SAY anything but her touch and intent and the subtle touch of magic was enough.

She was worried and she wanted answers and Sans had no idea how to put it all into words.

“I just feel like... it's not over. Or it can't be over.” he mumbled. “I worked for years... and before that on something similar even longer and it never worked and now...”

“You waiting for it all to go wrong?” asked Toriel.

“Kinda? I mean... it was hard. So hard.” mumbled Sans. “And I know you and Asgore and Azzy... are still figuring stuff out. But all in all it's so... okay now?”

“Would you prefer if I was more angry?”

“No? I mean you got all right to be. With me, with Asgore, with nobody in particular...”

“Sans...” said Toriel, sighing deeply. “Listen to me?”

Sans sighed with relieve. Toriel talking meant he didn't had to talk now. He nodded and looked up into Toriel's eyes.

“I was angry.” Toriel said. “But I was angry for a very very long time. Angry and bitter. I was angry at Asgore, at the humans, at myself. I was angry even at the children that left me behind despite me warning them. I was angry at so many things, Sans. And I did things in anger I regret and ironically I judged Asgore for doing wrong things in his anger and grief too. And I was unable to let go of my grudge for a long, long time because sometimes it felt like it was the only thing that let me go on.”

Sans wanted to say something but Toriel just lifted a paw, showing him that she wasn't done.

“After the barrier fell... I was angry too. I was angry that Frisk saw Asgore as a father figure despite him trying to hurt them. I was angry that Asgore wasn't hurting MORE. I was angry that there were monster looking at Asgore with adoration, especially Undyne. I wanted to scream at all of them, wanted them to be angry and hate him just as much as I did in that moment. I wanted Frisk to not love him so much.”

Sans stared at Toriel. Sure, he had known she had a lot of issues with Asgore and that she could hold a grudge but he had never thought how deep this was going.

“But... in the end? I sat down with Asgore. We talked. A... a lot. And I came to realize that I misjudged him. That I did a lot of things wrong too and that Asgore was not the evil heartless creature I had pained in my mind. That he was suffering just like I did and just expressed it differently.” Toriel sighed. “We both got angry, we both grieved. He declared war on humanity to keep the Underground from losing hope. I took the body of our dead child and ran away and let my feelings fester. We both had to let go of this. It's not nice, it's not pretty and what happened was horrible... but we both had to accept that.”

“So... that was why you got along better suddenly?” asked Sans.

“I a way.” Toriel sighed. “It... took a lot. To let it go. But I learned a lot in that time. To not let my hurt and grief transform into the sort of dark anger like I had let myself do it before. So... when you told me about this.... about Flowey and As...Asriel... and how you had known my son was still out there, even if his soul was not there anymore... and how you told other people, Alphys and Asgore... I was hurt Sans. It hurt. Because I thought I was better now and that you would trust me with this.”

Sans looked away, soul vibrating with hurt. “I am sorry.”

“And I forgave you for that Sans.” said Toriel, gently holding his skull. “I was hurt but I forgave you because I can understand. And I honestly don't know what I would have done had you told me before. But what was done is done and we are dealing with it.” Toriel sighed softly. “Asgore and I will always have a very complicated relationship now. He hurt me and I hurt him and we forgave each other and are friends again but sometimes it still hurts. Sometimes I am jealous and sometimes I still feel that terrible dark bitterness but I know it's not fair.” She took a big breath. “It was reasonable of you to think I would not take this well. It still hurt but I didn't exactly put much confidence into you that I was able to handle it. And believe me, even now the whole thing is by far not as... okay now as you seem to think. But it is more okay than you seem to fear.”

Part of Sans was relieved. A big part of him even. As strange as it sounded, Sans was just happy that he wasn't the only one still mentally reeling from this.

“Are you still angry with me?” he asked.

“No.” Said Toriel. “I forgave you. I was angry, I worked through it. Things are... different now. With me and Asgore and Azzy and I still have to think about a lot of what happened in all these years since this horrible day. But I am not angry with you, Sans. We talked things out already and things will get only better from here.

Big fuzzy paws were now petting him more, cuddling him into Toriel's body and surrounding him with warmth. He felt himself relaxing more and more because darn this felt nice and he wanted to stay like this forever.

“So relax, my dear.” said Toriel. “Things won't just break apart.”

And in that moment, Sans believed her.

For some reason, Sans never really met with Mrs. Smith. He heard of her and saw her once or twice in the school but she never had talked to him.

From what Mettaton and Papyrus had told him, he kinda didn't want to anyway. It was still strange and Sans really didn't know if he should see it as a blessing or a curse.

Well if even Linda was freaked out, something had to be wrong about her... on the other hand, Linda gets freaked out at a ton of things that Sans considered as only shoulder-shrug-material. (Heh, get dunked on Linda!)

Anyway, he had heard of her, he had seen her once or twice walking through the school but he never actually talked to her. So he was kinda surprised when she suddenly walked up to him while he was waiting at Toriel's office, small brown lunch-bag in his hand. He had felt like grabbing some coffee and chat with Toriel if possible but when he heard the small cough behind him any thought of coffee and chatter went out of his head.

Something was wrong with Mrs. Smith and Sans had no clue what. She looked like a human, yeah. But... just... off.

The feeling was back. The feeling of wrongness was back in full force and it took almost everything in Sans to not let his bones rattle in absolute basic terror.

“Mister... Sans.” She said and Sans cringed again.

“Just Sans is alright.”

“It is nice to finally meet you. Until now you always seemed... indisposed.”

Sans made a face at that. Because... yeah... big can of worms. Very big can of worms.

“Uh... yeah.” said Sans, laughing uneasily as he tried to put his best unassuming smile on his face. Mrs. Smith didn't seem impressed. “So you wanna talk right here or....?”

“I think one of the unused classrooms will be appropriate.” she said smoothly and that was how Sans ended up in an empty classroom, sitting more or less uncomfortable on one of the chairs with Mrs. Smith right across him staring at him, clipboard and pen in hand.

“So. What do you wanna know?”

“First of all, I was told you are one of the guardians of the child called Frisk?”

“Uh... yeah, their mom and I are married.”

“And you are an active member of the Parent-Teacher-Association?”

Sans blinked at that. He never considered himself an active anything. Mrs. Smith was still staring at him and after a few seconds took to writing down something on her clipboard.

“I guess?” Sans said unsure, trying to sound casual.

“How would you describe your experiences at the school?” And that gaze was back on him. Sans tried to not look away.

“Well... it is different than my school back in the Underground.” said Sans easily.

It wasn't a lie. Nobody had to know that he never really visited a normal school. To be honest Sans was well past ready to lay his entire past to rest now. Nothing to see here, just a normal skeleton monster, totally boring, not-at-all interesting past, assume just the standard thing, okay? Okay.

“I see... in what sense?”

“Well... there are humans here? And... things are just different?”

Mrs. Smith wrote something down again and the looked at him again. Sans noticed that he hadn't seen her blink since they sat down. Humans usually did that right?

“You also filled in as a substitute teacher a few times?” She asked.

“Yeah, for science.”

It was super awkward but also kinda fun to mess around with the kids he had to admit but he gladly left the job to people who actually had the qualifications for that. Toriel only approached him as a last resort.

“What are your qualifications for that?”

“Uh... I have several doctorates and I worked with kids some times in the Underground.”

“What kind of work?”

“Babysitting.”

Again not a lie... he did babysitting, he kinda raised Papyrus and he did entertain and look after kids that came to Grillby's, simply because kids like his jokes.

Mrs. Smith was writing something again. Something about that made Sans more and more nervous.

Finally she looked at him again, eyes settling directly onto his.

“Would you say the school is a success?”

What kind of questions were these?

“I would say so.” Said Sans slowly. “I mean... we have monster and humans learning together and from each other. Understanding for each other and all that. Also Toriel does run the school very well, she is a great teacher and knows exactly what to do to make learning fun for the kids. Even the kids from parents that don't like monster seem to get along very well with the monster.”

Even Billy seemed to be... strangely okay. Frisk had turned him down politely when he finally managed to state his intentions to hold hands properly but they remained friends and Sans had seen him hanging out with Monster Kid more and more now.

“I mean... even I learn something new about humans and human culture every day.” added Sans softly, thinking of the last months. “And I kinda hope that the humans learn something about us too.”

Mrs. Smith nodded slowly and wrote something down again, this time more than before. Her pen moved for a whole minute before she looked up at Sans.

“And do you believe in this? Do you believe that humans and monster can change?” she finally asked, eyes boring into Sans as if she was trying to look at his soul. “Do you believe everybody can change?”

Something was wrong. Off. Something of that wording...

Was it just the lighting or... was there a glint in Mrs. Smith's eyes? And why did it feel like Sans's very soul was getting heavier? Why was he so afraid of this human? There was no reason to, she was just a normal human, she wasn't even aggressive towards him!

“I...”, started Sans, unsure what to say but willing himself to form words, any words. “I think so?”

Lots of people changed after all. Asgore and Toriel, Alphys, Undyne. Even Papyrus changed. Heck, he could argue that Linda changed. Frisk changed. He himself had changed. Heck, even Flowey... Asriel... Azzy was as changed as a monster ever could change with his new soul.

Sans had a long time to come with terms with that. Really. He had to come to terms with Flowey being the lost prince and with Flowey changing and wanting to be different and becoming Azzy...

It still didn't really delete what he had done, soulless or not. It still didn't change that Sans was hurt, so so hurt. It didn't change that his friends were hurt, over and over, that the Underground was the playground for a being too powerful for a single being and unable to feel any remorse or empathy towards it's playthings.

 It didn't change that Azzy was Flowey and Flowey was Asriel but also that they were each a different being with different mistakes.

 It didn't change that Sans still had to go through hell, through therapy and through nightmares and tears and panic attacks. It didn't change that he was broken by resets and loads and being helpless to change anything on his own. It didn't change that some scars probably will never really truly heal.

“You think so?” asked Mrs. Smith again.

Still, things had changed, right? Azzy was making an effort. So Sans could too.

“I mean... people do change.” said Sans slowly, trying to keep the unease out of his voice. “We learn new stuff about others and ourselves each day... and that can be used to chance. How we act, what we say and do around other people, our opinions on certain topics... it all can change over time.”

“So you say knowledge is the base of change?”

“... in a way? I guess?”

Was it knowledge? Did knowledge change Flowey to Azzy? Sans was not that sure about it... Flowey had told him that he did most of the things he did simply because he wanted to know what would happen.

He was bored and soulless and way way to powerful. What did made him change?

Frisk.

Kindness and mercy and a different view on things and an offer to help and a whole mountain of determination in a small human being that somehow had the power to make people listen to them, really really listen to them.

Sans fell in love with the human, loved them like his own child. Maybe it was a similar kind of love that made Flowey want to finally change.

Or maybe he really just... got the knowledge about how far gone he truly was and finally got the knowledge that instead of wallowing in it, he could indeed change.

That there was even the option of change.

“... interesting.” Said Mr. Smith before Sans could voice his thoughts and somehow, it seemed like it was supposed to be the final say in that matter.

There was a silence stretching between the two of them and Sans tried not to shiver. He didn't like the way she said this word. Luckily for him she seemed satisfied with him because she started to pack up her clipboard and pen and got her purse before standing up.

“I thank you for your time. This was a very... enlightening interview.” Mrs. Smith said and Sans blinked a bit at the sudden change of mood as she left the room.

“Uh... thanks... bye...?” he said weakly, long after she was gone.

What the heck just happened?

Sans was still a bit shaken when he came home. Toriel would pick up Frisk from soccer practice today and Papyrus was helping Undyne with the training still, so the house was silent when Sans let himself fall on the couch, face down into a pillow.

This was just all... weird. Especially his own reaction to Mrs. Smith.

It didn't made sense. Sans was sure he had never seen this human before. Why did he had such an reaction to them?

Why do they even seem so strange to him?

Questions he just couldn't answer. They seemed normal. The questions were a bit odd but nothing to bad.

The phone appeared almost on its own in his hand. A number was called quickly and only after the second ring did Sans really think about what to even say.

“... Sans...?”

“Hey Grills.”

“... are you alright?”

Classic Grillby, always right to the point. Sans took a deep breath.

“Yeah I am fine... just uh... wanted to talk.”

“You usually text, Sans.”

Damnit.

“Hehe... yeah...”

“So?”

“... do you think people can change?”

There was silence on the phone for a while, only the soft crackle of Grillby's flames could be heard.

“Philosophy?”

“Na, just... a conversation I had today.”

“... I see...” There was again a stretch of silence before Grillby spoke again. “I believe in change. Not completely however. I believe the very core of a person can't be changed.... but they can change their outlook, their believes, their approach to life and their behavior. I do believe a person that acted bad can do good and I believe a good person can change to somebody doing bad things. I believe every being has potential to be good or bad or anything in between and the potential to change... but also that not every person wants this change. And that some very fundamental things of ones being can't be changed, no matter what.”

“... that is a very... uh.. two sided theory, Grills.” Mumbled Sans. “But... what if there was something changed? Like... a soul?”

“... ah. You are thinking of Azzy and Flowey...”

“... and Asriel. I mean, I never knew him before Flowey. But... there are texts everywhere about him and Toriel sometimes talks about him and he sounds like the sweetest child... and then there is Flowey who was just... completely devoid of any morals. And now Azzy. It's just hard to wrap my heard around it. Has he really changed? Or was there always Flowey in Asriel and Azzy in Flowey?”

Grillby again was silent for a bit and Sans noticed that his breathing had speed up and willed himself to calmness.

“Asriel was a sweet soul.” Grillby said slowly. “Flowey had no soul. Asriel's soul shattered when he was wounded by humans and brought back his sibling to the Underground. And Azzy... Azzy is a new soul giving live by the King's love and magic. I don't think it's true change because it's not the person who changed but... a new person was created. First Asriel died and Flowey was born from his memories. And then Flowey gave up himself to give his memories to a newborn soul which became Azzy. I am not saying that they are completely separate people but... Asriel died and what was left became Flowey and Flowey gained a new soul which made him into something new again. Asriel and Flowey don't exist anymore.”

“... what about what Flowey did?” Asked Sans quietly. “Should I... get over myself? Should I just be okay with it? With him?”

“... no.” said Grillby. “... you were still hurt. And the one who did it was Flowey and Azzy has Floweys memories and all the concequences that come from that. He is not to be punished for his deeds but... you don't have to forgive and you don't have to forget, Sans. You were hurt, you are allowed to be upset.”

“I just feel bad no matter what.” mumbled Sans. “I mean... he is basically a child... He IS a child...”

“He still has memories reaching longer than your own, maybe longer than mine considering he lived through loop after loop after loop.” said Grillby. “But I agree, his mental age was stuck and stagnant in the stage of a child. And now he isn't anymore. He has to accept responsibility and consequences of action just like you and me. Including your unease around him.”

“... thanks Grillby.” said Sans quietly, not knowing what to say anymore.

“... Sans, do you want me to come over?”

“No... no, Tori and the kid will be home soon... but thanks.. I might uh... come over one of these days again.”

“Alright.” Grillby said gently. “Don't hesitate to call me any time again. There are many people that care about you. Myself included. And I am willing to help whenever you let me.”

“I know.”

“Have a nice evening, my friend...”

“You too... uh... and say hi to the others from me.”

“I will.” chuckled Grillby, some mumbling in the background indicating that he was no longer alone.

Sans was thinking about Grillby's words still when his family returned. He smiled and greeted them, ate dinner with them, helped Frisk with their homework, made puns and played around with Papyrus. And later, when it was just him and Toriel she took him in her arms and he cuddled into her soft fur and let himself relax.

There were still problems to be solved, things for him to understand. There was still the pressure of the knowledge that things are continuing.

Things keep changing. Some of them good, some of them bad.

But for the moment, Sans decided to care about all of that in the morning. There are people out there who care about him, his family and friends.

His soul was filled with love.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the void there was something and the something became somebody.

 I am.

 I am.

 I need to go home.

A lost soul was formed and wanted to be found. The void was not the void if there was something or somebody. So the void stopped being the void around the person.

And a person, a lost soul found, fell back into the world, back into existence and time and space. There was a gasp and a small groan and maybe a muffled curse as they fell face-first into mud.

The void was the void again, the lost soul back where it belonged.

Wingding Gaster sat up from where he landed and looked around, rubbing his skull, his soul pulsing with a steady hum of life.

Time to go home.

[rainbow-scarab]

It’s fanfiction time!!

A mini crossover between @kuttiesstuff​‘s Human Candy AU and LanternDay AU (but mostly LanternDay).

I found out about LD Sans's story a few days ago looking through Kuttie's art tag (I had seen him in the Twitchy Timeloop comic but didn't really know what he was about). Aaaaaaaaand somehow a fanfiction happened XD

I've taken some liberties with the AUs, especially since there's only so much revealed about LanternDay (as well as some things I didn't notice went against canon until it was too late WHOOPS), but I hope it's fun anyway. ...Pretend everyone speaks German lol I don't want to butcher it with my attempts

(Also....this is the first fanfic I've actually completed since like....2009 o__o;;; I'm not much of a writer. But I still enjoyed myself c: )

Title: Tastes Like Home

-------------------------------

Chance wasn't used to the stares he was getting from monsterkind on his long trip back to Snowdin from the surface. In fact, he wasn't used to any part of the journey--that's what teleporting was for! But today that wasn't an option. Not for a human.

Of course, he had been human all along! But now it was visible to the outside world (even if no one recognized him anymore as "Sans"). Ever since he found that one universe with its unique candy... Well, it had only been a day, but already it was a new chapter in his life--he just knew it! He'd finally be able to go home, whole, in his body... The universe had promised him.

When it would happen, he didn't know. But in the meantime, he explored the surface. This time, where other humans could recognize him as such, and he could fit in! Malls, movies, food........he could be just another human teenager.

But human teens had to sleep eventually, so it was back to his house in Snowdin. A big grin spread across his face as he walked. He couldn't wait to tell Papyrus about his day.

---

Papyrus pounded the bread dough with all his might. And again, and again. It made an odd crunch each time.

It had been two days since Sans came home from another universe, ate some strange magic food, turned into a human, and ran off excited! Leaving the Great Papyrus behind!!

He punched the dough so hard it flew off the counter, joining half a dozen others on the floor. He sighed and started on another. At least one loaf of his surely soon-to-be-famous spaghetti noodle bread had made it to the oven.

Sans had seemed so happy in this human form. But there was no reason he had to go off by himself. He would have gone with him, if he even knew he was going somewhere! It frustrated Papyrus to no end. But most of all, he was worried. Worried at how long Sans had been gone. Worried that he was alone as a squishy human. And worried that....

That...........

Papyrus didn't want to think about it, and he threw himself back into breadmaking. Grillby was out there looking for him anyway. Sans would come home one way or another.

Then came the sound of the front door.

"SANS!?"

---

The moment he opened the door, Chance was swooped up in a huge hug. "papyrus!" He smiled and wrapped his own arms around the taller brother. Before he could get out any more words, Papyrus spoke up at his typical volume.

"SANS!" Papyrus, stern, put him down quickly (but gently) in favor of putting his hands on his hips, and stomped his foot down. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN ANSWERING YOUR PHONE?"

"oh, uh..." He should have expected to be taken to task for something like this. "sorry paps, phone ran out of power. i didn't think too much of it since it was only a day--"

"TWO DAYS!"

His good mood was slowly deflating. Had he really lost track of time that badly? No wonder he was so tired. "sorry. i guess i got too excited at the thought of going home."

"H....home?" He realized his mistake immediately. Papyrus's shoulders sagged, and his face looked less angry than....scared.

"i, um, papyrus..." His mind struggled against the twinge of pain in his heart. Of course he'd be going home! That was how it always was gonna be. Papyrus knew of his origins too, so...so....why was this so hard!? Not being able to bear the look on Papyrus's face, he looked to the side. Leaving him staring at the house he'd lived in for so many years now. But...not for much longer, right? He'd have to say goodbye to it.

"Sans?" Papyrus was waiting on him. Looking back at his little brother just made his heart hurt more. For years, he hadn't wanted to think about it, but with the promise of going home closer now than it ever had been, the fact was unavoidable, standing in front of him. If he wanted to go home, he'd have to leave Papyrus behind too.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he shot forward to hug his brother. "don't worry about it, paps..."

Papyrus returned the hug. "I'm going to worry about it if you......" There was a strange pause. "Sans, your body!"

"...huh?"

"YOU'RE BACK TO NORMAL!"

A quick glance at his hands confirmed it. Skeletal, again. Back into the strange magic costume he'd been trapped in for years. "....oh."

He pressed back into his brother, tears flowing in earnest. Somehow this wasn't a shock to him. It made sense. Despite everything, he was too attached to this place and the people who came with it. In this moment, being here, as Papyrus's brother, even in monster form, was more important than going home. That was what what his heart told him. But it still hurt.

---

Papyrus held Sans until he calmed down. There was a lot he didn't understand. Sans's mood had changed so quickly. Was it related to where he went? Did it have to do with being human? Was it all those "mood swings" teens were known for? He didn't know. He was still worried about what Sans said, about going "home"...but it could wait for now.

Sans's breathing finally evened out. "you're the best, paps."

"NYEH??" That brought a smile to his face, and some of his usual attitude. "Well...OF COURSE! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS."

A loud beep sounded from the kitchen. "...MY BREAD!"

---

The brothers sat on the couch with a plate in front of them, as Papyrus put on the finishing touches. Bread, full of spaghetti noodles, marinara sauce on top, and a sprinkling of herbs.

"MY CREATION IS COMPLETE!" Papyrus sprang to his feet for dramatic effect. "THE FIRST SPAGHETTI BREAD!" He cut off a slice and held it out for Sans, looking at him expectantly.

Sans took and bit into the slice, bits of dry crunchy noodle crumbling out of it. The bread's contents scraped against the inside of his mouth, and he found out the hard way an entire bay leaf made it into the bite as well. "it sure has a lot of texture, paps."

This pleased Papyrus. "NYEH HEH! BUT OF COURSE! TEXTURE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF A DISH."

"yeah you always know what a dish kneads." He took another bite.

"OH MY GOD SANS. DON'T START."

"what? my puns are the yeast of our problems." Another bite.

"SANS!!"

"just roll with it paps." Crumbs and sauce were getting everywhere.

"SANS! NO MORE...HALF-BAKED PUNS OUT OF YOU! NYEH!"

Sans burst out laughing, and kept laughing, until tears streamed down his face. He kept grabbing more bread, and shoving it in his face as best he could through the laughter and tears. Papyrus had to wonder again if he was okay.

Was he okay? Sans really wasn't sure. He so desperately wanted to go home, but it just wasn't happening. He felt like he was given an amazing opportunity, and he missed his chance. He couldn't prove to the universe that he wanted it enough, and so not only could he not go home, he couldn't live life as a human either.

All he could do was laugh, cry, and eat more and more of this bread. It hurt. But somewhere inside him, he didn't want to admit, he couldn't help thinking maybe this was what home was like. A home anyway. The taste of the bread...the old couch...a little brother. And, maybe home hurt sometimes. A reminder that he couldn't have everything to make him whole. Torn between his origins and his current life.

At least this life came with a cool brother.

He curled up against Papyrus, still slowly attempting to munch on bread, and drifted off to much needed sleep.

-------------------------------

The end!

.....Papyrus eventually remembers to call Grillby to tell him Sans is back.

I didn't know how much canonically Papyrus knew about Chance's past as a human, and how Chance expected to go "home" someday. I just kinda made him know here....and be low-key anxious that someday his brother would leave D:

I might have seen too late that Papyrus doesn't make his own bread, but.....it's spaghetti bread??? XD Which I found out after writing IS A REAL DISH!? ...WHY XD I thought for sure I was making it up but no...real life beat me to it. But at least the version in this fic is a true Papyrus original 😉 Also going under the assumption here that these skeletons can taste cuz...why would they love bread so much otherwise?? Well, doesn’t matter so much in the actual fic anyway.

I had Chance stay human for so long, longer than in the Human Candy comic, cuz of the magic that makes up the candy. Using hypnotism to trick the soul into thinking its human. Chance already believed he was human so strongly it enhanced the effect.

In fact I wonder if it could possibly work so well he could be in that form for weeks, or indefinitely, so strong is his conviction. But, well.... Some things are more important to him. (Yeah, this picture was a big inspiration for the direction the fic took).

Because the candy would have naturally run out well before he actually turned back, this wavering in his conviction was enough to end its effects. So...while Sans wasn't correct in thinking the universe had something to do with it, he was a little correct in that his mindset had an effect.

[torrikor]

The first time I've ever heard of an Swaphorror AU was with like ONE other person on tumblr and I still think the idea is FASCINATING. Especially since US is often portrayed as the softest AU (even more so than canon). Tell me your ideas, my dude!

honestly!! like, i’m not a fan of nitty gritty dark and dreary aus that exist just for someone’s grimdark kick, but working out the logistics of how the characters and world got to that point? how they deal with and eventually get out of it? hell yeah that’s my jam

so!! here goes!!

the empress is dead. she’s been dead for a long time, the human that came through left and the loss of the monsters’ ruler is the only evidence of their ever having been underground. alphys tries to take over for a while, since no one else wants to step up to the position, but she can’t do it. she’s suited to a specific role and the leadership one isn’t it.

so undyne takes over. she was the empress’ personal assistant and scientist, of course she would take over, even if she doesn’t want to. even if she would rather tear down the doors to the ruins and hole herself up there than be the new empress, she takes over. during the power vacuum, there’s unrest among all monsters. a new leader does not settle them.

the guard is reworked, there’s more of them now. no one wants to risk another human destroying their already destroyed system. the one piece of stability they had is now gone, despite undyne’s desperate scrambling to get everything running again, and that shows itself in the increasing riots, scraps over the simplest of things, and the death toll. monsters dust almost daily and those who remain alive are slowly starving- there was a reason why the empress wanted out so badly, undyne realises all too quickly. 

alphys becomes her personal assistant, and doesn’t stop her from shutting herself in and trying to come up with a solution. so far all she has is a ‘no humans left alive’ policy, something forced and wrenched out of her by the monsters enraged by the last human’s adventures. she understands, but she doesn’t understand enough, so she looks for a solution to their problem daily, turning a bild eye to the state of the monster kingdom as it withers and rots before her and everyone else.

some monsters have pried open the doors to the ruins in a desperate attempt for relief, for food, for something but all they find is dust and disappointment. the doors remain closed once more.

the remains of the guard do as they please, undyne’s only orders being to bring her any human soul they capture. they are not told why, but it doesn’t matter; no human has fallen down since the disruption. monsters eventually discover that dust works just fine as sustinence when mixed with water, although one would cringe at calling it ‘food’. most have yet to succumb to the desperation that eating it would require.

in alphys’ increased absence, sans is unofficially promoted to lieutenant. he is not happy with this development. he does not report to undyne, that is still alphys’ job, but he is left to oversee everything else. he stays in snowdin, but no one buys his snowcones anymore. there is a void carved into the side of his skull, and his magic is malfunctioning. he does not remember how it got there.

magic is a tricky thing. it adapts, changes, morphs itself over time and environment and feelings. it is expressive, it is a life force. unless you don’t have enough of it, then it will be your death. papyrus no longer has access to the medicine undyne made for him, she refuses to waste her resources on someone who should have dusted centuries ago. he is dying, slowly and blindly, dragging out the inevitable and defying fate every day that he continues to live.

however. things can change. people can change. for better or for worse, people and monsters can always change. a broken vase is even prettier when repaired with strings of gold, it just takes some patience, and perseverance. eventually, things will get better.

[mrfandomgage]

Sans stands there, his constant smile doesn't seem to emit the same rage as it did the last few times. He seems to be confused. He waits for me to get closer. Here I go, again.

"Frisk, kid, just stop", oh, he remembers my name, "you've been here eight times, not including all the loaded save files, and not once have you passed me. Then in between those resets you went on being a pacifist, I thought you were actually going to leave the world be, then I woke up again in Snowdin. You have, in counting fourteen different Pacifist timelines where you wouldn't dare hurt a fly and two no kill timelines where you hurt but never killed anyone", oh, he just, remembers.

"Sans-", I try to say, I am cut off.

"No, I'm not done yet. I initially thought you were a sick freak, but now I know you are. You used different methods to Kill Toriel when every time you completed a run, you let her adopt you. Each time you completed a run you always wanted to be Papyrus' best friend, even in the no kill runs when you'd harm but spare everyone. EVERY RUN. You always wanted to give Asgore hope, you always went to see Asriel, you ALWAYS been truthful to Undyne and didn't fuck around with Alphys when role-playing so she could actually hold a normal conversation", okay, he remembers way more than I thought he could, "what do you have to say for yourself? Why do you continue?"

I wait and think of what I say. I sit down and start making some noodles... five minutes... this will be a small while. He stares, he seems angry that I'm making food instead of talking, but I just need some time, and he needs some food. Two more minutes. Well I have time, he has time, it's not like I'm going anywhere, he knows I'll reset, or load a file, or fight again. I have to be honest with him, he deserves to know how messed up I am. The noodles are done. I slide them down to Sans, time to tell the Judge I'm guilty.

"You're right, I am a Freak", maybe I should start by saying something else... hell with it, Sans will remember even if I reset, "I am an absolute monster. Where should I start? My inability to truly die? My slipping grasp on feelings? My desire to die? I didn't want to live coming here Sans, I was already a train wreck waiting to happen, I'm surprised you couldn't tell".

Sans looks down at the bowl, he notices that I didn't put in the... whoops, I toss over the flavoring packet, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't trust me doing that anyway. He sits down and he... puts ketchup in it? Weird, but at least he's eating that and I don't have to eat it.

"How should I start?" I think he would want to choose the starting point.

"How about..." whatever you want Sans, "the why, why do you reset? Why do you attempt genocide? Why do you still act peaceful after a reset in a genocide run?"

"Why do I reset..." that's a good question, "why I started resetting is because the first Pacifist run, the longest run. Do you remember the day before the reset?"

"Yeah, you were sixteen and Toriel informed me you were going to a friends house. I didn't worry, you were a good kid".

"I lied to mom, I stole a knife, went to a bridge, stood on the highest part to make sure I'd die, then next thing I knew I hit pavement with a knife in my chest. I never let go of my wants to part this world, but after I died that time, I accidentally reset. I was twelve again. Soon I figured, if I can never die, what if I just get rid of the world around me. You always stood there to kick my ass. You always stood there to kill me. I still love you guys, but you don't deserve to know me, not because I'm good, but because I'm useless. Papyrus always believes in me, Toriel always cares for me, You always told me jokes, funny and stupid ones all the time. Maybe what I meant to say is, I don't deserve to know you, you're all so great, but it's just so... so infuriating I can't just die and have someone better fill my place".

Sans stares at me, I can't tell what he feels. I wish I could read his face as easily as he reads mine.

"So Frisk", here we go again, what is it Sans, "Why do you want to be six feet under?"

Kinda personal, but ok, "I have no clue. My parents ignored me? They were really nice but I just felt so bad, I abandoned them. Maybe I just could never open up to them. I remember in the first timeline I messaged them when I was fifteen, they were so happy I was alive. I remember that they actually talked with Toriel, and they agreed to let her legally adopt, but they'd move to see me more often. I felt ashamed I didn't tell them earlier, I felt like I was being even more a burden to them. I never talked to them, even when I was theirs, and then they moved over cities just to see me? I didn't want them to move, I just wanted them to not worry about me being gone. I wasn't happy in Toriel's care I just felt like monsters didn't worry as much as humans. I just, couldn't handle it".

"Okay", Sans, please lose hope in me, "Why did you go on pacifist runs after killing everyone you could?"

"I..." why did I do those? "I can't tell. Maybe it didn't sit right with me. Maybe I'm toying with myself, killing everyone because I just want to suffer like the beast I am, forcing everyone including myself into a happy world before plunging back into black. I don't care if I'm being honest with you. I probably want them to feel the joy they deserve, even though they can't remember it".

God it's quiet. Sans has been sitting there thinking with blank eyes. This is selfish. I'm doing this all out of my personal wants, I should just let them live and go live in the woods. Then I'd be selfish again, I'd be their savior and then just leave forever? What I'm doing now is even worse. I'm really stuck aren't I? I can't die, the world will load or reset, I can't leave someone will want to see me, and I really shouldn't murder like I've done eight times.

"Sans", here I go, "I am stuck in a catch twenty-two. I know you should live a happy life, but I don't believe I deserve one. Especially after this, I shouldn't have a happy end, I don't want to fight anymore, I know I'll just lose again, I won't even try. My problem is, everyone else won't remember, and they might just love me, like they always do, making it hard for me to just leave. I can't die or the world will load or reset. Worst of all it's all because of my selfish actions and wants that I'm stuck in this problem. I can't fix this like the Barrier, and I don't deserve your help, and I'm going to ask, do you have an answer?"

His pupils light up, those white dots staring into my eyes, into my soul.

"You want an answer?" Sans asks, I feel responsible to respond but I can't speak, I feel like my throat doesn't want to open. "Okay, Frisk, I have an idea for an answer. I want to make an agreement first, a deal".

I just nod my head.

"Alright, my deal is simple", I will do it, just tell me, "Reset, free everyone, and help me with something. I can assure you, it is of up most importance I get this task done. You just can't reset again after this, deal?"

"Deal" I say. It doesn't matter what I need to do. Any punishment is fitting. I throw away the knife. "I want you to end this, you deserve t-".

I didn't finish, but I understand. A sharpened bone pierces my throat. I can't tell what's worse, struggling to breath or the blood going into my lungs. It's all just... well... deserv...

Deserved. I deserved that. Back again, these sticky yellow flowers. It will never be old to me how comfortable these are. Time to make good on that deal. If I'm going to live, I might as well do it.

[sleepyfan-blog]

Garden Awakening

chapter four of Confession series. First chapter here. chapter three here. AO3 link

characters and pairing: Nightmare, Dream, Killer!Sans, Dust!Sans, Horror!Sans, Dreammare

warnings: cursing

word count: 5,240

Summary: Killer and Dust drag an unwilling Hatchet into the forbidden garden. There they find a very interesting statue.

also I would like to once again thank @trashydragonartist7 for editing this fic

tagslist: @anxiety-is-married-to-depression @angelofthehalfmoon @trainwreck-of-skeletons @hisame-amadashi​ @therandomskelekey @capisnotonfire

Hatchet, Dust and Killer have been working for Nightmare for decades. While working for the Lord of Darkness wasn't what any of them thought that they would be doing with their lives, it wasn’t so bad. Dust and Killer were free to maim, terrorize and even kill anyone stupid enough to piss off the Boss - but they couldn't play with the fuckers who lived in this AU unless they did something stupid. But they couldn't instigate anything - and boss knew if they tried. Hatchet had more noble reasons - he was trying to keep his people fed. It was safer for them to keep behind the protective barrier than deal with the humans above ground - who were just as vicious and dust-hungry as the monsters who thirsted for the humans' blood and flesh below.

There were some monsters who had moved to Boss's world - Crooks being one of the first, along with most of the non-guard members of Snowdin. They'd settled in one of the previously abandoned little mountain villages, surrounded by seemingly endless snowy forests, filled with animals to hunt and land fertile enough to grow any crop that they so desired. With land to roam and a night sky with stars to look at, Hatchet and those who had moved here - some of the aquatic monsters of Waterfall finding either fresh or saltwater lakes and oceans to live and be where it wasn't cramped and awkward... Not going after the other sentient beings in this world seemed more than fair.

Other minions came and went - some either dusting in battle or thinking that betraying Nightmare would end in anything but their death (after they watched as Nightmare tore apart their AU, the monsters and/or humans alike dying screaming, pleading in mercy, terribly confused as to why the eldritch creature who had been aiding them suddenly turned on them,) laughing with a manic grin as he tore their minds and bodies apart. Not that every monster and human from such AUs were killed, the survivors allowed to live in other worlds, traumatized and telling the stories of what happens if one ever attempted to cross Nightmare.

The three of them were currently trying to find Nightmare. Several Toriels and Asgores had just arrived at the castle, wishing to speak to their ruler. Give him the time of day, and dark and often mysterious benefactor it was probably in the Forbidden Garden. As far as the three of the new, and as Hatchet had been working with him for over a hundred years, no one but nightmare was ever allowed to be in the large and expensive Gardens near the castle. From what they could tell there were beautiful flowers, shrubs, and even trains. There were fruit trees and berry bushes, even nut trees from every Au that nightmare had ever visited. They knew that their boss grabbed any unique plant, particularly if it was flowering or put give food that was edible. They also knew that there were herbs and spices that grew in certain sections of the garden. The only kind of fruit that was noticeably absent the gardens were apple trees. No matter how beautiful or unique The Apple Tree, nightmare seem to purposefully leave even the smallest and easiest sapling in the area that came from. Whether that was because he hated apples for some reason or because he was allergic to them and didn't want something that could make him sick in his home AU... As there were no apple trees anywhere within Nightmare's home timeline.

They reached the edge of the gardens, and if they squinted, the three of them could see a distant dark figure, standing still, touching the Mysterious Statue. Hatchet sighed. "We'll tell them that Boss is busy. None of the visitors said that they needed his attention urgently, and we're not allowed to cross into the gardens."

"But... He's just... Standing there. Hatch, do you know what that statue even is? I've seen him wander over to it like... At least twice a week since I started here thirty years ago. None of the Dark Papyri either know who the statue's supposed to be... Or if they do, not even tickling them with my knives will get them to tell me? He spends like... Hours just standing there two, sometimes even three days a week." Killer asked curiously, glancing at the taller Sans curiously.

"What makes you think I have any more of a clue as to what that statue is or why he spends so much time in this place any more than you do? Maybe he likes gardening. He could be sleeping or taking a nap. I ain't stupid enough to ask those sorts of questions." Hatchet grumbled, rolling his eye lights a little. "He's killed people for trespassing in the garden. Seriously, we should just leave him be."

"Ugh, fine. You're such a killjoy." Dust grumbled, pouting a little as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I mean... We're his favorites. Do you really think that he'd kill us just for trying to tell him that some of his administrative minions want his attention for something?"

"I don't know and I'm not going to risk it." Hatchet answered back stubbornly. There was no way that he was going to risk his people's food supply. "We can wait right here for Boss to be done. You can go back to the castle and torment one of the prisoners if you're bored."

“Nah, I think that I'll stay.” Killer answered after a moment. He glanced at Dust and the two of them nodded just a little bit, biting back grins. This was going to be the perfect opportunity to explore Boss's garden - Nightmare was going to be busy with whatever the Asgores and Toriels needed from him for hours - a perfect amount of time to meander through Nightmare's forbidden garden and maybe even check out the statue... Hopefully to find out just what was so special about it that he'd go to such lengths to keep others from messing with it.

About an hour later, Boss made his way towards them, stilling as he apparently spotted them before abruptly teleporting in front of the three of them, his words clipped and irritated, his tentacles flicking in agitation behind him. "Why are you here?"

Hatchet answered immediately. "There are several beings here to see you. They need to talk to you about something - what none of them would tell any one of the three of us. But none of them said that they were dealing with emergency situations, so we stayed here at the edge of the garden, since you've told us all repeatedly to never go in your garden. So we stayed right here, waiting to inform you of what they needed but not breaking your rules, boss." Dust and Killer nodded in agreement.

Nightmare sighed and rolled his visible eye light. "Very well, thank you for adhering to the rules that I have laid out for you." With that Nightmare teleported off - likely to the throne room in order to deal with his visitors.

After ten seconds of hesitation, Killer and Dust stepped into the garden simultaneously, wicked grins on their faces as they turned and looked at Hatchet. "You going to join us? Come on... You're just as curious about what's up with this garden, same as us. He's going to be busy for a while, and it's not likely that he'll return to the dead center of the garden after he's been here once today... You know that you wanna...." Dust teased, his eye lights shining with mischief. Killer had already ran off, deeper into the garden, vanishing from sight as Dust had talked, eager to explore this forbidden, beautiful place.

"I... Fine, stars damn it. But I get to decide when we leave, and neither of you get to argue about why. We never talk about what we see inside this thing and we don't take so much as a single berry or leaf from this garden." Hatchet grumbled, rubbing his face with on of his hands. He really didn't think that this was going to end well for them but... He was very curious about this place. He'd seen this garden grow from a few sparsely planted flowers to the huge, lovingly tended garden while he worked for Nightmare.

"Yeah, yeah. I promise - and I'll make sure that Killer won't try to eat or take anything from this place too." Dust answered with a bright grin, glad that Hatchet was coming in with them rather than obediently trotting off to boss to squeal on them for exploring this forbidden area. He ran after where he could sort-of sense Killer's magical presence, glee filling him at being able to misbehave like this.

~

The three of them eventually made it to the center of the garden. They carefully made their own paths through the field of gold and violet flowers up to the small stone statue. The statue appeared to be made in the likeness of... Someone who looked very similar to an Underswap Sans - with the rounded skull and slim frame. None of the three of them recognized the style of clothing that this statue was wearing - the sensible boots, the star-clasp that would have fastened the cape around his shoulders... The gloves... The expression on the statue's face - shock, horror and betrayal was interesting. One of the statue's hands was raised partially in front of themself - as if trying to reach out to someone.

"Hey... They're wearing some sort of circlet on their head - the style reminds me kind of that golden crown that Nightmare wears occasionally... Not that the bastard ever explained where he'd gotten that in the first place." Dust noted, reaching out and lightly touching one of the swirls. "I wonder who carved this - it's done with a lot of detail."

"Hey, come look at the back of the statue - there's a design on the cape." Killer murmured, frowning a little as he could see a crescent moon within the star that was very much reminiscent of both the crown that Nightmare only ever wore on very formal occasions, and the crescent moon motif that was in the oldest sections of the castle. "I wonder who this is supposed to represent. Or, as I should probably say, was." Killer reached out and lightly patted the top of the strange statue Underswap Sans's (?) head.

"Would you two quit touching the statue? There's a good chance that boss has put some sort of alarm spell on this statue, to prevent anyone stupid enough to try to come in this far into his private guardians from trying to fuck with this thing. I don't know if you two haven't fucking noticed, or just don't care, but it's fucking obvious that this whole place is maintained and created with a great deal of affection and love." Hatchet hissed, grabbing both Killer and Dust by the back of their necks, taking a couple of steps back from the statue, about to teleport off when the three of them heard a deafening crack.

They turned in unison to stare at the statue, horror filling them as the stone statue continued to crack - starting from the point at which Killer had touched it on the statue's head, lines beginning to criss-cross throughout it - the lines filled, strangely enough - with a brilliant golden light... Which started to burn brighter still, until it pulsed outwards, blinding all three Sanses as they threw themselves backwards to avoid flying chunks of stone, covering their faces in a desperate attempt to preserve some of their sight. All three of them can sense something approaching them. Something with power.

A gentle voice calls out from just above their heads from where Nightmare's top lieutenants are curled on the ground, light fingers brushing along the tops of their skulls. "Are you alright? It's okay... I won't hurt you..."

Hatchet is the first to uncurl from his protective ball, and he looks up at the being, his eye lights shrinking to pinpricks in utter confusion at what he sees. The statue turned into a person? There were little chunks of grey... Something. He would call them rocks, but it clearly wasn't if this being was trapped inside of it somehow. "I... Sorry. You startled us. Oi! Dust, Killer you can get up now."

The both of them do so, staring in mute shock at the small skeleton before them, unable to make heads or tails of what had just happened. Killer manages to get his voice working after several uncomfortably awkward seconds of staring. "What... What's your name?"

The skeleton had pale golden eye lights, and tilted his head a little bit in confusion, as if surprised by his question "I... My name is Dream... I've never seen any... Any other skeletons before.. Uhm, are you... K-Killer or Dust?" The other is shivering a little, despite the warmth of the day. "That's uhm... An unusual name..."

Not that he seems to be afraid of them, just as confused as they are. "I'm Killer... It's a nickname. All three of us are named Sans, but we're from different universes, and calling someone else by your own name gets really confusing very quickly. Dust is on my left - and Hatchet's the big man on the right." Killer responded after a moment, briefly tempted to scoop up the smaller skeleton and promise to protect him for the rest of his life. He shook off the strange impulse.

"I... Oh... Uhm..." The strange skeleton looked at the stunning garden around him, visibly confused. "I... Where are we? I've never seen a garden like this... But it's really exciting to meet people from other timelines! I've always wanted to wander to different worlds... But I... I couldn't..."

"Yeah, we can't move between timelines on our own, either. But boss can. It's... Fun. You... Don't recognize this garden? What was the last thing that you do remember, Dream?" Dust questioned curiously.

"I...." Dream frowned a little and wobbled before falling to the ground, his legs seemingly giving out beneath him, as he pressed his face into his hands, taking in a couple of shaky breaths in "I... I don't feel well..."

Hatchet was frowning a little - a golden circlet on his name. Confusion about where he was but with knowledge of other timelines. A thematic name. Oh hell. "You... You wouldn't happen to know someone called Ni-" he began to question carefully when a black and cyan streak knocked the three of them to the ground, scooping up Dream.

It was Nightmare, who was holding on very tightly to Dream, one arm under the other's legs, the other wrapped around his chest. The other's tentacles were flailing wildly behind him, and he hissed at the three of them, "He needs food! He hasn't eaten in centuries and is close to collapsing. Move you idiots-!"

"Yes boss!" The three of them yelped, each scrambling to find the nearest food bearing plant, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

~

Hatchet came back a couple of seconds before Dust and Killer did, his arms full of peaches. He holds out the best and ripest among them to both Dream and Nightmare, making sure to move loudly enough so that both of them could hear him before he spoke. "Boss, I've got some food."

The peach was unceremoniously snatched from his hand by one of Nightmare's tentacles - and brought up very gently to Dream's mouth, the lord of darkness coaxing gently, "Dream... Please eat. You need to do so, and Hatchet is an excellent judge for what is edible."

"I... Okay..." Dream mumbled, opening his mouth and tiredly nibbling on the fruit. After he ate half of the peach, the smaller skeleton seemed to brighten up a little and grabbed the fruit with his own hands, finishing it quickly. "That's... Really tasty... Uhm, may I please have another? And what is that called? I've never had a fruit like that before." Dream turned to look at him and said with a sweet smile that felt like a physical blow against Hatchet's dark soul, "Thank you."

Hatchet handed Nightmare another peach as the dark king - his voice stunningly warm and gentle - explained, "It's called a peach. It grows on a certain kind of tree I found in another world. I've planted a few here in this garden. For you."

"Really? That's amazing, Moonlight!" Dream answered, the gold in his eye lights gaining strength as he continued to eat. It seemed to take the small skeleton a couple of moment to process everything that Nightmare had just said, and Dream murmured after a moment, voice full of care and surprised delight. "You... You made this place for me? That's... Thank you. It's very beautiful."

"Thank you, Dream. I am glad that you like the look of the garden so far. When you are stronger, I'd be delighted to explain what plants are here and which worlds I gathered them from." Nightmare promised gently, his voice full of a fondness and love that none of them had entirely suspected that their boss would ever show so openly to anyone before.

Just who the fuck was Dream? He had called himself the guardian of positivity... But what did that really mean? Hatchet did his best to keep his curiosity off of his face - though he could see Dust openly scowling at Dream and Killer was restlessly moving from foot to foot. Generally that wasn't a good sign, but Hatchet was also pretty sure that neither of them were stupid enough to do anything to the little golden marshmallow when Boss was holding him.

Dust looked about ready to say something when Dream spoke up again, looking very curiously at the three of them. "So who are these friends of yours, Nightlight? They did say their names... I think you were the one referred to as Dust?" He pointed at the correct lieutenant, smiling sweetly up at him. "I... I would like to try whatever kind of... Are those berries of some kind?"

Dust moved forwards, answering quietly, unsure as to whether or not he was allowed to speak, but being addressed directly by this very strange being who had his hands wrapped around their boss's soul and probably wouldn't ever let go, he supposed he should. "I... Don't know if these are berries? They're called grapes. They come in bunches like this - there are several different kinds of colors and one can also make wine out of certain kinds of grapes."

"Oh,  okay! ... What's wine?" Dream asked curiously, tilting his head a little as Nightmare grabbed a bunch of grapes from Dust with a tentacle and pressed it into the positive being's hands - clearly not wanting the other to move more than he absolutely had to.

"Wine is a kind of alcohol - it's fruit based. I don't care for it much, because it's surprisingly bitter- well, most of it can be. Some of it is nice, but it gives me a stomachache. Which is weird, because I don't have a stomach." Dust answered after a moment, tilting his head a little at the other, and wondering just how fucking sheltered Nightmare had kept this monster before he'd somehow turned to stone.

"Oh... So perhaps it's fermented similar to mead, then, which the villagers did enjoy drinking." Dream murmured, frowning a little and making a bit of a face. He yawned (no one should ever be that cute, stars damn it) and stretched a little in Nightmare's grasp, nuzzling one of his shoulders, his eye lights starting to fuzz out.

"Dream... Dream you need to eat more." The Lord of Darkness ordered, his voice sounding more stern than it had since Dream had first woken up. "As for my friends... I found them in other worlds. They were suffering and alone, so I brought them and some people from Hatchet's timeline here... They have issues with getting the right amount of food to feed everyone in his timeline - or they used to. But he helps me make sure that his people get plenty to eat."

That was... Certainly a creatively truthful explanation for how Nightmare had found the three of them, but like hell were they going to be the ones to disagree. Killer smiled at the small skeleton and murmured, "Dust and I don't have anyone left in our timelines... We were awfully lonely and stuck before Nightmare came by and brought us here." He looked like he was going to say more, but Nightmare shot him a warning look over Dream's head that the other did not see or notice.

The smaller skeleton fussed a little, opening his mouth with a pout as several grapes were unceremoniously shoved in by a clearly very worried Nightmare. Why the other was so agitated, none of the three of them could tell. They could sense Dream's magic - not that he seemed to have much. "Mnn... Fine... I'm just... So tired. And my neck hurts from.... From..." His eye lights went out completely and he went entirely still in Nightmare's grasp, before bursting into tears and clinging to the taller skeleton, stuttering out quietly "Please... Ni-Nightmare... N-Nightmare p-please I wasn't... I'm not... I'm not going to f-fight you... I-I wa-wasn't then I... I just... I-I couldn't..."

The calm smile on Nightmare's face vanished and he curled his arms protectively around Dream, pressing a couple of kisses to the top of the other's head, and murmuring soothingly, "I know... I know that you had to eat the last positive apple in order to ensure that there was some semblance of a balance... I deeply regret hurting you, love. I was... I wasn't in control when I lashed out at you, and for that I am deeply sorry. I never wanted to hurt you and the... The fact that I had still haunts me to this day."

What? From how lovey-dovey and gentle Boss had been, the thought that Nightmare would lash out at the golden marshmallow was... surprising, to say the least. But all three of them were very much aware of the other's temper as well - and from what Dream was implying, he'd done something to disobey the other - and if Boss hadn't been in full control of his magic at the time...

Ouch. But perhaps that was why Nightmare had been creating this garden for centuries apparently? As an apology for turning the other to stone?  It was one hell of a gesture, especially as Boss himself worked in the garden - few if any of the dark Papyri were allowed to tend to this place - it was something that Nightmare did himself...

Dream spoke up after a moment, his voice shaky, but the other was still clinging to Nightmare with a desperate strength, as if frightened the other would vanish if he let go. "I accept your apology, Nightmare... I..." The other seemed to lose focus and he yawned a little, exhausted still, although from what, neither Hatchet, Dust or Killer could guess. Dream seemed to have almost no magic - then again, that might be due to the fact that he'd been trapped by some sort of stasis spell for centuries. It had probably fed on his magic in part to keep him immobile and unable to see or hear anything.

"You need to continue to eat, to gain strength." Nightmare pressed, carefully feeding Dream a couple of grapes until the smaller skeleton started to eat on his own again.

"I just... wanna sleep... That should help... Right?" The other fussed, pouting unfairly adorably up at Nightmare as he grumpily ate.

"It should - but only after you've eaten a fair amount first. I don't want you to go into a coma because you hadn't eaten enough first." Nightmare murmured, his voice low and filled with concern. "Particularly since there isn't a great deal of positivity in this world for you to draw upon while you rest."

Wait... Did that mean that boss - as the guardian of negativity as he had introduced himself to them long ago gained some sort of power or strength from the misery and suffering of others? That... Explained a lot though. Not that any one of them were going to speak up. This was already weird enough as it was and they should probably just -

"Killer, what sort of food did you get? And... Uhm, I'd like to apologize for kind of ignoring the three of you and just talking to Nightmare. Thank you for getting me food... And you shouldn't call your friends idiots, Nighty. You should apologize for being mean." Dream scolded as he finished the grapes, startling the three of them for having the gall to actually sass Nightmare to his face like that.

"I grabbed a bunch of... Their either called hazelnuts or something that starts with a P." Killer had cracked their shells open already, to reveal their tasty meat inside. He'd also had a couple before he'd come back to boss. He awkwardly handed a good fistful to Dream, shuffling closer and felt... Calmer as he gave the other the food.

Dream smiled sweetly up at him and for the briefest moment, Killer was seized with the desire to seriously swear that he would protect and care for the other as long as he lived. There was something so... warm and almost vulnerable about the other. Something that made him precious and clearly someone to protect. The feeling left when he stepped back to where the other two were, and he shook his head a little "Gah..." The hell was that?

Nightmare smirked and hummed a little as Dream ate, remarking lightly, "Your aura is starting to come back - And they were being idiots - I had asked them not to come into these gardens and they did so anyways. On the other hand, they might have had an unintentional hand in you breaking free of the stasis spell, so I suppose that I shouldn't be too angry... I don't allow anyone else into this place - at least while you were trapped and vulnerable to be taken by those who might think that you'd be safer with them. Or would try to break the magical stone that you were encased in, under the assumption that it would free, rather than harm you." That had been one of his worst fears, alongside Dream waking up and immediately fleeing him before he had a chance to apologize for attacking the other. Possibly even being found by Ink or one of his allies and turned against him.

Dream;s eye lights shrunk to pinpricks and he buried his face into one of the other's shoulders, voice shaking a little "I don't want to be separated from you, Nightmare. I... I remember how awful and violent the... the Villagers’ emotions were and how they... They wouldn't listen or calm down.. How much they... they hated you... Why didn't you tell me that they felt so awfully towards you? I would have insisted that they leave the both of us and The Tree - far enough that they wouldn't be able to hurt or harass you."

"I didn't want to burden you with the knowledge, and they might have tried to convince you to go with them, as they were..." Nightmare began, his voice light and gentle, as if he were trying to hint at something, but not wanting to say it outright.

"... They were addicted to my aura, weren't they? They liked feeling happy all the time... Which they only did when I was in the village with them and you weren't with me to balance things out... 'm sorry I didn't know that I was making things worse." Dream apologized, sounding close to tears.

"Dream, listen to me. It. Was not. Your fault. That they were addicted to your presence.  You have no more control over the mortals' reaction to your aura than I do." Nightmare responded sternly, frowning a little and bopping Dream lightly on the forehead with one of his tentacles. The lord of negativity took the food that his top lieutenants had gathered for them and ordered, "Send the visitors in the castle away. Dream is low on energy and their presence will not help him recover faster. He and I will either be out here in the gardens or in my... our personal rooms for the rest of the week. Contact us only if there is an actual emergency, understood?"

"Yes Boss." Hatchet responded, grabbing Dust and Killer before either of them could try to remind Boss that he had planned to invade a particularly obnoxious Underfell world later this week. His newly awakened - currently exhausted and weakened - mate clearly took priority.

He let the both of them go as soon as they were outside of the throne room, and Killer scowled. “Hey! We were going to roll over an Underfell! That was going to be a lot of fun and I’d be able to get some really fucking awesome chocolate! Which we should probably do anyways because of how mouthy their fuckin’ Sans was. I was looking forwards to playing with him. But nooo, his creampuff of a mate had to suddenly wake up, and I’m pretty sure he has an Emotional Aura like boss does. When I gave him food I felt all mushy and shit. He’s probably playing merry hell with Boss, making sure that the other’s wrapped firmly around his delicate little fucking fingers... if he even knows what he’s doing on purpose.”

“Your eye lights are very green right now. I could read that little marshmallow like a book - he’s as sweet as a young Underswap Sans - he doesn’t have a clue about the power that he has over boss, I’m sure of it... which means that one of us is going to be stuck on babysitting duty to make sure that he doesn’t wander into the wrong sort of person.” Dust teased, smirking at the other, knowing about Killer’s little crush on the boss.

“I don’t use my eye lights, you asshole. So how the fuck would you know if they’re green or not” Killer hissed, glowering at Dust and tempted to lash out at the other. So what if he had a bit of a thing for Boss - it wasn’t as if Dust and Hatchet didn’t. Nightmare was powerful, charming and dangerous being. He gave Killer access to idiots to murder and torment as he pleased… And to have this strange interloper suddenly appear out of nowhere and get so much of Nightmare’s attention without the other raging and furious at him was… Distressing. 

“... I think that the both of you might be underestimating and overestimating Dream in the wrong ways. Boss wouldn’t fall for someone who manipulated him - he’s able to spot shit like that in ways that none of us ever will.” Hatchet countered with a shake of his head “It’s just that sunshine has next to no magic and has no idea what’s going on… I suspect that he’s much more than we’ve seen. We shouldn’t discuss this in a public place, though. We need to deal with the visitors.” The other two grumbled and rolled their eyes. Killer smirked widely for a moment as he swaggered into the throne room, delighted to terrorize the local rulers into fleeing home.

[undertalethingems]

Bark at the Moon, Chapter 8: Local Cryptid

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Or read on my Ao3>

Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon

Chapter Warnings: None

Chapter Summary:  A rumor's been spreading in Snowdin...

"I'd dismissed it as gossip myself, but then that Ice Cap said they attacked it," Dogaressa was saying, catching Undyne's attention as she stepped indoors.

"What's going on?"

"Oh! Captain!" Dogamy yelped, and the dogs gathered around the table at Grillby's quickly stood and saluted.

"At ease," she said, and the group collectively wagged their tails as they sat back down. "Really though, what were you talking about before I came in?"

"Some rumor," Doggo replied dismissively. "It's been going around a couple weeks now. Supposedly there's some kind of beast running around attacking people. Some even think it's a human. I don't believe a word though, I haven't seen anything."

"And we haven't smelled anything," Dogamy added, his wife nodding. "It was all just hearsay until two days ago, but everyone's been on edge because of it."

"Two days ago--that's when the Ice Cap saw it?" Undyne surmised, and her crew nodded.

"Did they get a good look at it? If someone's causing trouble--or if it IS a human--we can't let them escape justice. You know the policy."

The dogs exchanged looks.

"Well..." Dogamy started.

"The Ice Cap didn't exactly see what they attacked," Dogaressa said, drumming the table with her claws, her brows furrowed. "All they could say was that it was big and white--frankly, that could be anyone at this table. Or even just a snowbank... The rumors, though..."

"Supposedly," Doggo picked up, "it's some kind of deathly skeletal beast that picks off people who stray too far into the woods to eat their dust. Sounds like something parents would say to scare their kids if you ask me. Uh... that's why we haven't reported it. We were just discussing what to do before you walked in."

"I see." Undyne narrowed her eye. "...Skeletal?"

Doggo shrugged. "Yeah, all made of bones, like the brothers who used to live around here, but no one's actually seen it so who knows... By the way, have you heard from either of them lately? I thought sure Papyrus would be back from vacation by now, and you said Sans was sick... but it's been a real long time..."

Undyne studied her crew's somber faces and made a quick decision. "Papyrus is fine, I've been in contact with him. As for Sans... we don't know where he is--just that he... probably isn't dead. Seems he's taking a vacation of his own."

The table considered her words somberly.

"There's been some speculation that he was one of the beast's first victims," Dogaressa said quietly. "Of course, no one else has disappeared, so it's kind of silly, but... he has been gone for a while, and other people have been attacked."

"It's been a lot more glum without either of 'em runnin' around," Doggo sighed, propping his head on a paw, and Undyne's heart twisted.

"Well, I'll let Papyrus know how much you guys miss him, and... I guess, keep an eye out for Sans--and this so-called beast. If people are getting hurt, we need to bring it--or whoever's behind this--into custody as soon as possible. I'll have more formal orders for you later, but if you'll excuse me, I DID come here to order food."

The dogs nodded and waved her off, and she headed for the counter.

"Hey Grillby, long time no see. Yeah, one order of cheese fries, thanks."

She waited on her food, thoughts buzzing. If the rumor was true, it didn't make any sense. A skeletal beast... she only knew one person who fit that description, and he'd been hanging with her for three weeks now. Her fries were set before her, interrupting her thoughts briefly, but she continued to ponder as she ate. Gossip and rumor wasn't unheard of--it, for better or worse, was a frequent form of entertainment in the Underground. But tales of strange creatures were rare--largely because almost everyone was a strange creature. Was someone trying to play a joke...? Being petty about their neighbor? Or... was there more to it? She needed information.

"Hey, so the rumor that's been going around, the one about the beast," she started, turning to the red bird sitting next to her. "Any idea who started it?"

The bird opened a bleary eye. "No one's entirely sure, Cap'n. Jus', one day it was all the kids could talk about. Think maybe it's some game they're playin'. Right Grilbz?"

The fire elemental paused to nod.

"Hmm. The Guard told me people have been attacked?"

"Sure, and everyone's all jumpy because of that," the bird replied, "but I still think it's the kids, messin' around with their magic. Someone oughta set 'em back on track."

Undyne snorted a laugh. "I get the hint. Still... no one's even seen it, but they're all pretty sure it's not a regular monster, huh?"

The bird thought for a moment. "Guess not. If it's someone new to town, why haven't they introduced themselves? Us Snowdin folks don't bite--the dogs are real good about that."

"I would hope so," Undyne stated, brow raised. "You're right though. If there really is someone out there attacking people, they need to be dealt with. Thanks for the info. Here Grillby, keep the change. Stay safe."

The dogs saluted her as she marched back out; she was really glad she'd decided to treat herself and learned about this situation sooner rather than later. What an odd rumor to start up... Her thoughts still swirled, trying to piece it all together. She was confident no one had seen Papyrus in his current state--but maybe something had gotten past her. If that was the case though, why had the rumors started in Snowdin and not Waterfall? And that relied on the description of the beast being accurate--as far as she knew, no one had actually seen it. It was an odd coincidence--but not enough for proof.

With a scowl deepening on her face, no one dared stop her during her patrol, and by the time she headed off to pick up Papyrus she was ready to punch something. People were getting hurt, and she couldn't understand or figure out why. Maybe it was reckless kids--but whether it was that, some rogue monster, or even a human somehow, they needed to be stopped. And if it was Papyrus at the center of this--then someone needed to be set straight about that too. But without any major leads or evidence, she couldn't take action. There was nothing she could do about it. She hated it.

"Undyne? You look... displeased..." Papyrus noted wincingly as she stormed into his sanctuary, and she checked herself.

"Sorry, uh... bad day at work. Hope things went okay here?"

"Yes! Quiet as usual! Well! Except for when I was practicing my best bone rattles. Would you care for a demonstration?"

Somehow, he was already brightening her mood--she broke into a smile. "Aaaah c'mere, I'll rattle your bones for ya!"

He dodged her lunge with a yelp and took off, and she was happy to chase after him and let off steam until she ran out of breath. Sinking to the cavern floor with a clatter, she laid her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her hands, panting. Papyrus, who had won yet another round, trotted up and turned in place a few times before laying down next to her.

"That should have put some distance between you and your problems," he said, and she laughed breathlessly.

"Oh, my god."

"I'm not wrong." He beamed.

"No," she replied, "no, you aren't. I feel a lot better. Thanks."

"Then I have done my job! Nyeh heh heh!"

"Hey, I saw some people who really miss you today."

"Really?"

"Yeah--I went to Grillby's for lunch and talked to the dogs, they're all still worried about you guys and hope you'll be back soon."

"Aw," Papyrus said, looking flattered. "I still can't believe I have so many fans! I'll have to be sure to say hello when I return--though, not by going to Grillby's. I could smell you coming almost as soon as I could hear you!"

"Hey, I don't smell that bad!"

Papyrus looked like if he'd had a nose, he'd have wrinkled it. "You smell like greasy, sweaty fish and it's a wonder I haven't keeled over."

"Oh my god! I'm gonna push you into the lake!"

"Then I'm taking you with me! You need a bath!"

"Just you try it, bone boy! NGAAAAAHHH!"

Undyne was up and chasing him again in a flash--and between her own single-mindedness and some clever moves on Papyrus' part she did end up careening into the lake. Armor sopping, she hauled herself up laughing, and had to take a moment to lean with hands on her knees. Papyrus watched her happily, tail waving in a motion that wasn't quite wagging but seemed to mean the same thing.

"Alright, I've had enough fooling around for now. Ready to head home?"

"Yeah! I think I'd like to try those clothes you talked about tonight."

"Awesome! Yeah, Alphys helped me pick some stuff out, she knows what dealing with a tail is like and had some great suggestions. I think you're really gonna like 'em!"

Papyrus bounced in place, then darted off to collect his things. Undyne was extra vigilant as they headed back; she scouted ahead to make sure the coast was clear, ears pricked and eye darting at every sound and motion they encountered. Escort missions were always a bother, but if her friend was being targeted by awful rumors... She wasn't taking any chances.

They got back to her house without incident, but Undyne had made a decision. She'd considered leaving the strange sightings to the Snowdin unit until further notice, certain they could handle it. But the more she'd thought about it, the more she was certain someone had seen Papyrus. Considering it was her duty to protect him while he tried to regain his other form, she owed it to him to track down whoever had started the rumor and get to the bottom of this personally. He was getting more comfortable with himself every day--he hadn't slipped in over a week--and she wouldn't let his own hometown ruin that for him. They spent the evening laughing, wrestling, and relaxing as they always did, but all the while, Undyne had her mind set on her goal.

It was only a few days later that she heard from the Snowdin dogs that word had spread of residents hearing eerie howls. According to witnesses, these cries came from deep within Snowdin Forest late at night, well after most monsters had gone to bed. But despite being the usual suspects, the calls were not coming from the dogs themselves--they didn't sound right. No one quite knew how to describe what they'd heard, but they all knew how it had made them feel: terrified.

All this had been charted in a brief report. Undyne looked it over again, shaking her head. She'd thought the beast rumor had been based on a sighting of Papyrus, but there was no way he was responsible for these howls. He'd have to be sneaking out every night while she was asleep... which, she supposed was possible. She wasn't sure he slept...? But, she was sure he wouldn't risk the whole trek to and from Snowdin every night, and she knew he'd never hurt anyone. He liked fighting, but... this wasn't his style at all. She had no reason to doubt him.

Undyne glared at the report and growled under her breath. Was the rumor and the howling even connected? The story had started up well before any strange noises... it didn't add up. None of this made sense and it was making her brain hurt. She slipped the note into the rest of the paperwork she'd put together so far, then left the small archive feeling antsy. It wasn't often a full report had to be filled out--most incidents were small and easily resolved, but this one... people had been hurt. Someone had to face justice for that, whether the beast was real or not.

And then, only a few days after the howling had begun, someone pounded on her door in the middle of the night. She ushered Papyrus into her room--a rare allowance--and answered to find the Dogi and Grillby decked out in a plastic poncho, wading boots, and an umbrella. His normally reserved expression seemed alarmed, and Undyne wasn't sure if it was because of a trek through hostile territory, or why he was here to begin with.

"What's happened?" she said quickly, and the Dogi saluted.

"Captain! We apologize for waking you, but this was urgent. The beast is real--Grillby saw it!" Dogamy replied, and his wife nodded.

"Grillby, please describe what you saw to Captain Undyne."

Her understanding of Hands was rusty, but Undyne did her best to follow the bartender as he explained. He'd just turned in for the night after closing, and hadn't been in bed long when a noise disturbed him. He got up to investigate, and found something digging in the restaurant trash.

At this point, he paused, looking unsure of himself.

"Go on," Undyne encouraged, and he rubbed the back of his neck before continuing.

He'd turned up his light, and seen it really was skeletal just like the rumor had said (and with Sans being his best customer, he knew a skeleton when he saw one). But the creature had noticed him as well, and he took no chances and cast a burst of flame at it. It darted off faster than he thought a creature of that size could move, and just like that, it was gone. He'd secured his trash, then found the Dogi as quickly as he could to give them his report and evidence. They'd made the decision to go to Waterfall from there.

Undyne considered all this carefully. "Thank you, Grillby. Whatever this thing is, it seems like it's getting bolder. We might have to put a curfew in place until we can catch it--for now, advise people to put their trash indoors and keep an eye out. Did you smell anything unusual on the evidence?"

Dogamy shook his head. "It just smelled like snow--and Grillby's--and maybe something else we couldn't identify. Not good enough to track. But here, you can have it for the file."

He handed her a small plastic baggie with a few torn-up napkins and a burger wrapper with holes punched in it--a bite pattern. She eyed it skeptically, but took it and set it on the table. "Thanks. You guys get some rest, call me if anything else happens. We'll continue the investigation tomorrow. Dismissed."

The Dogi saluted, and Grillby gave an awkward bow before they left. Undyne waited until they were well out of earshot.

"Okay Papyrus, you can come out. They're gone."

The door creaked, and he slowly crept out. "Is everything alright? What happened?"

She smiled at him. "Everything's fine! Just a small investigation that's ongoing, nothing you need to worry about."

"Oh, I'm not worried--I want to help! If. If I can. If that is a thing I can do. Which it almost definitely is."

Undyne shook her head. "No Papyrus. The Guard is handling this. Your assignment is staying safe while you try to get your regular body back."

Papyrus looked hurt. "You think I can't keep myself safe? You complimented my bullet patterns just last week--"

"I know!" Undyne snapped. "Your magic is great, but--"

"But what?"

She grit her teeth, rubbing her face. "... We're still trying to figure out what's going on, and everyone's on high alert for anything strange. Even Grillby... I don't want you getting hurt because someone made a mistake. I'll bring you in when I think the time is right, but until then, you have to stay hidden, and no investigating on your own. Promise?"

Papyrus studied her for a bit, and closed his eyes. "... I promise, Undyne."

She breathed a sigh. "Alright. And I'm SERIOUS! No sneaking out!"

He jumped, then nodded quickly. "I'm sure if I did not get in trouble out there, I would be in a definite quantity of trouble with you, and that is the opposite of a calming thought. So. I'll just wait here! You can count on me!"

Undyne smiled. "Good. I'm gonna go back to bed so I'm ready for tomorrow. You should try and rest too."

"I will. Goodnight, Undyne."

"G'night."

Undyne turned back to her bedroom. With all this new information, falling asleep would he hard... But it was better if she faced this with a clear head.

Because the only thought she'd had that seemed to make any sense was that this creature was Sans, and that couldn't be right. She'd never admit to Papyrus, but she was starting to doubt he was even alive at this point... and they'd both told her this shapeshifting thing was unique to Papyrus. But Undyne didn't know of any other skeletons...

Even if it was Sans somehow, she couldn't let Papyrus go charging in, not when he matched the description of the creature everyone was either attacking or had orders to capture. Until she knew more, she couldn't let him get involved. She settled into bed, one thought clear above the others.

No matter who or what this creature was, it wouldn't escape.

[keelywolfe]

Drabble: You Could’ve Been Any Flavor At All (baon)

Summary: Stretch should've remember at least once lesson from Snowdin: you never know when you'll stumble across a trap.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationship, Domestic, Humor

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it on AO3

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Read it Here!

~~*~~

According to the Human’s calendar, the first day of winter wasn’t for another month. Stretch was calling bullshit on that because it was already freezing out and when he went out to check on the chickens, he didn’t bother walking out to the coop. A shortcut was good enough for the best days in Snowdin, it was good enough now.

He didn’t linger, shivering as he fed the ladies and gave a few quick scritches before heading back inside. Stripping off his jacket, Stretch shook off the chill, wandering into the kitchen in search of caffeination to find Edge sitting at the kitchen table with a disturbingly large puzzle laid out before him on a mat. Edge loved puzzles but he didn’t get to work on them often, too damn busy with everything else in the world, so it made Stretch smile to see it.

That smile faded as he looked down at the pieces.

“are those all one color?” Stretch asked dubiously.

“Not at all,” Edge told him absently. He plucked up a random piece and snapped it into place with the confidence of one who knew they were right. Because of course he was. He picked up another piece, turning it so Stretch could see the color shading from pink into dark blue. “It’s lenticular, so the colors shift.”

“that is pure madness,” Stretch told him, admiringly. His patience with puzzles pretty much ended with trying to force a square peg into a round hole, so it was always kind of impressive to watch Edge’s progress throughout a day. His baby may or may not finish it today, but he’d enjoy it while he was doing it, and if Stretch could pester him a little along the way, then they’d both have a good day.

There was a cup of coffee next to Edge, still steaming, and a yellow plastic bag with a couple of treats nearly spilling out from the opening, ooooh, was that chocolate? Edge didn’t eat candy very often so to see him sitting here, puzzling and snacking, made a certain giddy lightness fill Stretch’s soul.

But sharing was caring, right? Stretch filched one of the candies and popped it into his mouth, saying around his mouthful, “so how long have you…grrrk!”

The salty bitterness that suddenly registered with his sense of taste made Stretch gag, loudly and vigorously. It was like pure evil condensed into a tempting candy disguise and his magic recoiled, desperate trying not to assimilate it the way it normally did food. Stretch darted to the kitchen sink and spat the glob of vile out, struggling to get the gooey foulness off his teeth where it stuck stubbornly. He fumbled for the knob, turning on hot water by accident at first and then finally cool, blissful relief as he rinsed his mouth directly from the faucet.

It took several rounds of gargling and spitting along with scraping at his teeth with a fingertip to get rid of that nastiness. By the time Stretch turned back around, he was feeling like he’d taken a spin through the washing machine in the heavy cycle, waterlogged and abused. The front of his sweatshirt bore scars from his battle, more or less drenched all the way down to the waist.

Stretch eyed that innocuous yellow packet warily, half-expecting one of the things to crawl out and try to hop into his mouth like the incarnation of evil that it was. He pointed one shaking finger at it, j’accuse!, and rasped out, “what IS that?”

Edge hadn’t even looked up from his puzzle, that prick, and the faint amusement in his voice was as blatant as a howling laugh, “It’s salted black licorice. I take it you didn’t care for it?”

“you think?” Stretch grumbled. He spat again into the sink, ugh, that shit lingered, didn’t it. “babe, if you’re after my life insurance, there are kinder ways to commit murder. arsenic, maybe, or you could start leaving roller skates at the top of the stairs.”

“I’ll remind you that I didn’t offer you one.” The tone was airy, but a damn stranger could see how hard Edge was struggling not to laugh.

Okay, the candy wasn’t the only piece of shit in their kitchen today. Stretch swallowed back his own laugh and that tasted a helluva lot better. “that’s why it’s a trap! you know me, you knew i’d take one!”

“Hmm, that sounds more like just punishment than attempted murder,” Edge mused, snapping another piece into place. He didn’t turn his head, but his eye lights shifted slyly in Stretch’s direction. “Can we also call it a lesson learned?”

Oh, mama bear, challenge accepted.

Edge’s exasperated sigh as Stretch squirmed in between his chair and the table to straddle his lap was a blatant lie; his gloved hands settling on Stretch’s hips to tug him closer was more truthful. He tipped his head up with a softer sigh as Stretch nuzzled a kiss against his mouth.

“nah,” Stretch murmured, “that’s a lesson i refuse to be taught. i’ll always wanna steal your candy.” Another kiss, then a sly murmur, “even when it’s salty.”

He let out a startled laugh as he was suddenly lifted, Edge’s arms supporting under his femurs. The table jarred as they bumped against it and Stretch thought he heard a couple pieces fall to the floor. Didn’t matter, looked like it was puzzle intermission time and if Edge’s mouth tasted a little of that medicinally bitter nightmare stuff, Stretch didn’t complain.

His baby was an acquired taste.

-finis-

[for-a-flower]

Chapter 6 (The King and His Son)

              Two hours passed as Frisk continued a treacherous journey through Hotland.  He ate the hot cat on the way and passed a spider bake sale from which he bought two doughnuts.  Frisk took heavy breaths of air as he climbed several steps.  He stopped at the top completely exhausted from the heat.  He was met by a soft, refreshing breeze.  The air was cooler here.  The human child stood several yards from the entrance of what looked like a hotel.  Standing by the left side of the glass door was Sans.  The skeleton waved with a carefree smile.  Frisk rushed to join him.

            "Hey," said Sans.

            Frisk panted weakly.  "Hi."

            "I heard you're going to the Core."  Frisk nodded.  "How about grabbing some dinner with me first?"

            Frisk smiled.  "Yeah . . . sounds good," he said.

            "Great.  Thanks for treating me."

            "Wait, hu?"

            Sans shrugged.  "Heh, heh.  I'm kidding, buddy.  Over here."  The skeleton started around the left side of the hotel down a dark alley.

            "Another shortcut?" said Frisk.

            "Yup."  Sans walked several feet into the dark.  Frisk followed close behind until he couldn't see anything.  Slowly, a dim, moody light lit up a diner.  Frisk looked around.  There were tables and chairs set up neatly with some potted plants and pictures hanging on the walls.  Each table was decorated with a tablecloth and a lit candle in the center.  Frisk glanced over a shoulder only to see a wall where they had entered.  He shook his head and followed Sans to a table.  Sans offered Frisk a chair and the human sat down on the opposite side of the table.  "Well, here we are.  Wait here.  I'll go order."  Sans casually walked toward a host at a counter by the entrance.  He shook hands with the monster.

            Frisk could hear him chuckling quietly as he waited.  He was curious to know if Sans was going to bring up anything important like he had last time they hung out.  Frisk stared at the candle in front of him.  Its flame flickered softly with a warm glow and pleasant scent.  Frisk took a deep breath, soaking up the cool air inside the room.

           Just a few minutes later, Sans came back with a large sandwich on a plate and two cups of water.  He set the plate in front of Frisk along with both cups of water.  "Here you go, kid," he said.  "Enjoy."

            Frisk was only interested in the water at the moment.  He picked up the first cup and drank the entire thing, while Sans took a seat across from him.  Frisk set down the empty glass and smiled at the skeleton.  "Thanks.  I think I almost de . . . hy . . ."

            "Dehydrated?” said Sans.

           Frisk nodded.  “Yeah.”

           “Eh, I wouldn't have let that happen."  Frisk reached to pick up the sandwich and licked his lips.  "So," said Sans.  "Your journey's almost over, huh?"

           Frisk nodded.  “I hope so.”

           Sans leaned back in the chair, hands in his pockets.  "You must really wanna go home."

            Frisk swallowed a bite to reply.  "Yeah . . . I do.  I gave my family a promise.  I told them I'd come back and . . . I want to keep that promise."

            "Hey.  I know the feeling, buddy.  Though . . . maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you.  Down here you've already got food, drink, friends . . ."  Frisk took another bite of the sandwich.  "Is what you have to do . . . really worth it?" said Sans.

            The child tried not to look surprised at the question.  He started a response with his mouth full.  "It is to me.”  He swallowed and continued.  “I'm sure my parents are worried.  I've been gone for days now.  They might think I'm dead."

            Sans sighed.  "Aw, forget it."  He glanced down at the table for a few seconds before looking up again.  "I'm rootin' for ya, kid."  Frisk smiled and took another bite of the sandwich he held.  "Hey.  Let me tell you a story."  Sans folded his arms.  "So, I'm a sentry in Snowdin Forest, right?"  Frisk nodded.  "I sit out there and watch for humans.  It's kinda boring.  Fortunately, deep in the forest, there's this huge locked door and it's perfect for practicing knock-knock jokes.  So one day, I'm knocking 'em out, like usual.  I knock on the door and say 'Knock knock.'  And suddenly, from the other side, I hear a woman's voice."  Frisk’s chewing slowed.  He suddenly felt his appetite leaving him.

           Sans continued.  "'Who is there?' she said.  So, naturally, I respond 'dishes'.  'Dishes who?'"  Sans paused to wink at Frisk.  "Dishes a very bad joke."  Frisk forced a smile and set down his half eaten sandwich.  Sans chuckled.  "And then she just howls with laughter . . . like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years.  So I keep 'em coming, and she keeps laughing."  Sans glanced away.  "She's the best audience I've ever had."  Frisk looked down at his plate, a lump forming in his throat.

            "Then, after a dozen of 'em, she knocks and says, 'Knock knock.'  I say, 'Who's there?'  'Old lady!'  'Old lady who?'  'Oh, I did not know you could yodel!'  Heh . . . Wow."  Sans seemed to notice something was on Frisk's mind.  He sighed.  "Needless to say, this woman was really good.  We kept telling each other jokes for hours.  Eventually, I had to leave.  Papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story.  But she told me to come by again, and so I did.  Then I did again . . . and again.  It's a thing now, telling bad jokes through the door.  It rules."  The skeleton chuckled.

            Frisk’s gaze drifted down.  Sans was the one Toriel had written those jokes for in her diary.  They were friends.  Frisk had ruined everything.  Sans’ voice got the child’s attention again.  "One day, though, I noticed she wasn't laughing very much.  I asked her what was up.  Then she told me something strange.  'If a human ever comes through this door, could you please, please promise something?  Watch over them . . . and protect them . . . will you?'"  Frisk looked down again, trying to keep his composure.  He could feel tears coming to his eyes.  Not now.  He couldn't let Sans find out.

            "Now, I hate making promises," said Sans.  Frisk forced himself to look at him.  "And this woman, I don't even know her name but . . . someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't say 'no' to."  Sans paused to stare at Frisk.  "Do you get what I'm sayin’?  That promise I made to her . . . you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything?  Buddy . . ."  Sans lowered his head for a second and when he lifted it again, his eyes were completely dark.  He spoke with a quiet, disturbing voice, sending chills down Frisk's spine.  "You'd be dead where you stand."  Frisk stared back with wide eyes.  He sniffled, and tears finally came.  The child dropped his head into his hands.

           Sans sighed.  "Hey, lighten up, bucko," he said.  Frisk slowly lifted his head, as tears ran down his face.  Sans' eyes had returned to normal.  He looked concerned.  "I'm . . . just joking with you," he said.  Frisk wiped the tears from his eyes.  "Besides . . . haven't I done a great job protecting you?  I mean, look at yourself.  You haven't died a single time,” Sans said.  Frisk narrowed his eyes at the skeleton.  Sans looked alarmed.  "Hey, what's that look supposed to mean?" he said.  "Am I wrong?"

            "I've died at least five times now," said Frisk.

            Sans stared.  "Heh."  He stood and stepped away from the table.  Frisk had expected him to be more surprised.  "Well, that's all I wanted to say.  But . . . I think I remember you wanting to ask me something.  Now's your chance,” Sans said.

            Frisk sighed and stood up to face Sans.  "I was going to ask why I kept seeing you everywhere.  Why you seemed to be following me.  But you answered that."

            Sans put his hands in the pockets of his coat.  "Anything else, buddy?"

            "Why . . . why would you have killed me?"

            "Well, you're human.  No offense but, we all wanna get out of the underground one day . . . and you're the last one we'd need,” said Sans.

            "So . . . even if I was innocent . . . you'd still kill me?"

            Sans gave Frisk a questioning look.  "Why do you say that?  'Even if you were innocent'."

            Frisk paused.  A part of him cringed when he had said that.  He had to be careful with his reply.  "I was asking because . . . it doesn't seem like you to hurt someone who hasn't done anything wrong," he said.

            "You don't know me very well, kid.  But you will."  Sans winked.  "Trust me."  The skeleton turned to head back toward the wall through which they had entered.  He paused to look back at Frisk.  "Take care of yourself, kid.  Cause someone really cares about you."  He turned and continued to walk.

            Frisk glanced at the sandwich that he didn't want anymore.  When he looked up again, Sans was gone.  The little human sighed.  "Someone did care . . . and I killed her,” he whispered.

            "You did what you thought you had to.  You didn't know it would destroy her,” said a dull voice.

            Frisk scowled.  "Yeah, but you did and you didn't tell me?  What kind of monster are you?"

            "I am not a monster."

            "Only monsters do things like this."

            "And all monsters live here . . . in the underground."

            "And so do you," said Frisk.  He left the table and stomped down the hall to the hotel lobby.  It wasn't fair.  This person . . . whoever was talking to him . . . could influence and tell him anything.  Sometimes Frisk was confused as to which intents were his own.  After eating, the child gathered his money and paid to stay for the night.  The room he was given was huge, so he flopped on the bed and fell asleep in minutes.

            Frisk woke up well rested without interruption this time.  He rolled out of the massive bed and straightened a small wrinkle he had made before going out.  Frisk thanked the monster at the counter for the service and headed to a door at the back.  He opened it and stepped onto a dark bridge.  On the other end was an entrance labeled, ‘Core’.  Cool air swept by the child.  This was the last place between him and the capital.  Alphys had warned that the Core was full of lasers and technology.  She also mentioned that Mettaton had disappeared and she couldn't find him.  Frisk took a deep breath then started across the metal bridge.

            As soon as Frisk entered the Core, Alphys called to update him.  She gave him directions and sent a map to his phone.  Frisk followed the map carefully as he traversed bluish halls and crossed bridges over steamy gaps.  There was a strange chemical smell in the air and it gave Frisk a headache.  For the first thirty minutes or so, he wandered into dead ends and strange monsters that attacked him from behind corners.  There were several creatures patrolling the corridors between laser grids and directional signs.  Alphys seemed confused with the layout and eventually admitted that her map was inaccurate.  She told Frisk to keep looking for an elevator and encouraged him not to give up.

            By now Frisk was frustrated.  Strong monsters kept attacking and injuring him before he could escape.  Their magic was more powerful than any monster he had encountered so far.  He was too weak to fight them.  A part of him seemed to laugh at his pain, telling him over and over that he should have listened.  During his journey through the Core, Frisk took a fatal blow from a large armored knight creature.  It had swung a thick, metal rod at his head.  The child revived at the center of the Core's ridiculous maze of halls.  He pressed on and tried not to think about Toriel or where Flowey had gone.  Maybe the little thing really did decide to leave him alone.

            When Frisk finally found the exit, he was worn out, sore, and covered in bruises.  As soon as he saw the gateway leading out, determination filled him.  His heart pounded with life and his injuries healed in a moment as a yellow light flickered in the doorway.  Frisk paused to look at an object mounted above the entrance.  It was the same symbol he had noticed at various places in the underground.  He wondered what it was for and what it meant.  But this was no time to speculate.  Frisk wanted to get back home more than ever.  He couldn't wait to tell his parents about this place and how he had escaped . . . if he ever would that is.  Frisk stepped through the doorway into a dark room on the other side.

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