#Mostly pushing him down the stairs in the demon kings castle

[diavolosboobies]

Lucifer also get's senior citizen discount when making purchases and that's why Mammon wants to use his credit card. Peepaw Luci gets all grumpy when Mammon steals his pension

SOBBING He probably has 30 cents left in his pension because "Technically he didn't take *all* of it 🙄"

His back is probably fucked up from that slab of concrete he sleeps on

He probably has them thick ass bottle lenses and several braces

[littlemisslol-fic]

Summary: Two years after the events of Barviel Keep, Varian has tried to adapt to the expectations brought by being a King’s Ward, with mixed results. Haunted by ghosts, Varian is forced to face the demons he tried to leave behind in Bayangor when his abdication is forcibly stopped by a third party, out for revenge against the Bayan Royal bloodline. On the run, with few allies left to turn to, Varian finds himself chasing a ghost through a series of tests that only a true heir of Demanitus could ever hope to pass.But the shadows are ever present, looming and dark, and not everything is as simple as it might seem.

Notes: It's KICKIN OFF OH LORD

If there were a word to describe Pincosta, Varian would have to pick bland. It was picturesque, quaint little streets lined with quaint little cobblestones, tiny houses clustered around perfect market squares. It was a perfectly maintained hamlet, adorable and ready to be slapped on a postcard. The people were well mannered, even under the blistering heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Pincosta was charming, delightful, even.

It was also irritatingly saccharine.

Varian grumbled as Rapunzel pulled him along the street, her hand tight on his wrist. He couldn’t help but look over his shoulder, unable to shake the feeling of eyes on him. Eugene was nearby, making room up ahead as they walked through the quiet streets. People milled about around them, going about their afternoon with a sort of quiet calm. Eventually they came to a stop in front of a medium sized building, a large set of stone stairs up in front of it. Eugene went right in, leaving Varian and the princess outside. Rapunzel finally let go of his hand, spinning to face him with a forced grin.

“Okay, Varian, you stay here while Eugene and I speak to Constable Lumph,” Rapunzel said, her eyes darting around the cramped streets. “Just for a second.”

Varian arched a brow at her, tilting his head. “Don’t you want someone to go and get supplies?” he asked, “For when we go back?”

“When Eugene and I go back-” Rapunzel’s tone was unimpressed, “We’ll get our own supplies. After Vardaros I don’t want to risk it.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Varian argued, “I can just go into a market, it’s not even that far; there’s like, six people-”

“Varian.” Oof, that was her big sister voice. “No. Thank you. Please just stay where I know you’re safe.”

Varian rolled his eyes but nodded his assent, leaning against the thick stone wall of the constable’s headquarters. “Fine, whatever.” He muttered, looking away from her. Rapunzel’s face fell at the attitude, but Varian heard her sigh and step up onto the stairs leading to the front door.

“Thank you,” she murmured, “We won’t be long.”

Varian grunted something that could be acknowledgement, but could have also just been him clearing his throat. Rapunzel sighed again, and Varian heard the shifting of the old stone stairs as she entered the building. Eugene was probably already bullying the constable for something he’d done last time the pair had been in the town- Varian honestly forgot, he’d heard the story once and even then, it was mostly to fill him in on where Cass had gone- though, they’d left the vast majority of the details glossed over.

Varian huffed, shifting on his feet. No one ever seemed to want to tell him anything unless it was life or death, and to be honest, it was just bits and pieces. Not his dad, not Frederick and Arianna. Not Rapunzel. Something bitter in him made him roll his eyes at the thought.

He waited a minute, then two. The heat of the midday had started to pick up; between that and the ring of raccoon currently wrapped around his neck, Varian can’t help but feel a little warm. He risks a peek back to the door Rapunzel had disappeared behind, thinking. Sure, Rapunzel had said to stay… but Varian was going insane with this whole protect the babyschtick. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, thank you very much.

It was a little insulting, this idea that Rapunzel had that Varian was completely useless- when he was younger, especially after Bayangor, Varian had appreciated it. Hell, he’d even craved it, that idea that someone he loved was willing to deal with him without complaint and push the bad things away. He’d needed it, honestly, needed someone to stand between him and the difficult parts of life, even just to filter out the worst of it. But in circumstances like this, when it was all hands on deck, Varian was rendered effectively useless.

And it made him bitter.

The door didn’t open; Rapunzel would probably be in there for hours. Varian bit his lip a little, thinking to himself. He wanted to be useful, even if she was determined to sideline him. Maybe if he went and got the supplies himself, quick and quiet, Rapunzel would get off his case… Or at least, maybe she would stop thinking he was totally inept. Varian’s mind latched to the thought, and he made his choice. With a movement that was almost casual, he pushed himself off the wall and started walking.

“C’mon Ruddiger,” Varian muttered, “Let’s go make ourselves useful.”

The raccoon chittered in concern, looking frantically back towards the constable’s office. Varian felt his pet pulling on his hair, but ignored it. Ruddiger tried once more to direct Varian’s attention back to the office, only to get a pat on the head. Varian winced when Ruddiger nipped at him, his fingers retreating.

“No, listen,” he said, shaking his stinging hand. “Just in and out, ten-minute adventure. We’ll show Rapunzel who’s defenseless.”

The people of Pincosta were generally pleasant. The town center reminded Varian of Old Corona in a way, if the people were a little less farmerand a little more miner. He liked it, wandering through the streets, feeling normal for the first time in years. Back in Corona he’d never been allowed outside the castle without an escort of some kind, be it a subtle one- like Eugene or Rapunzel insisting on joining him- or an unsubtle one- like Frederic’s ordering Stan and Pete to dog his footsteps like loyal hounds.

He’d missed it, more that he thought he would. The ability to mesh with crowds, to disappear into the throng of faces. To slip in the cracks of the public, vanish like a ghost. Amongst the people, he wasn’t a target, wasn’t a forced heir or a missing child. Here he was just Varian, and something in him settled at the ability to shrug off the status like a musty cloak.

Varian weaved through the crowd, slipping between miners and townsfolk with a small grin. How novel to be able to walk like a normal person again- like he was back home, like Barviel Keep had never happened, like Aldred had never existed…

Like Quirin was home, waiting for him to walk in the door.

Varian coughed roughly. He shook his head, working his way through the main street of the town. Ruddiger perked up at the smells wafting from a nearby bakery, but Varian rolled his eyes and scratched behind the raccoon’s ears again.

“No, buddy, supplies.” Varian laughed, “No cupcakes.”

The animal pulled his biggest puppy dog eyes, but Varian wasn’t convinced. He dipped in and out of a few stores, the money purse he’d nicked out of the bag weighing heavy in his pocket. Varian wasn’t sure exactly where the things they needed were- all of Pincosta’s main stores seemed to be specializing in kitschy souvenirs and housewares- but surely the people needed to eat, so it was just a matter of finding the grocers.

Varian huffed as he left the fourth store, growing frustrated. Maybe he was useless. He sighed, despairing as the maze of keepsakes and clutter vendors grew around him. It seemed like he couldn’t even find food without someone to hold his hand and show him the way. He ducked around a stall, kicking at a loose stone and watching it clatter across the cobblestones; it had been nearly an hour and he was still empty handed, how pathetic. Even Ruddiger seemed fed up, the raccoon draped over his shoulders limply.

Varian wandered to the center of the square, where a large fountain stood. It was an ornate thing, carved to look like flowers and stars surrounding a beautiful, muscular woman, holding a pickaxe out to the sky. He knew the people here followed a deity called Vaara, said to be a goddess of the earth. Made about as much sense as worshipping the Sun, Varian supposed, though he knew the Sundrop had been very real.

He looked over the edge of the fountain, peeking in with a small air of curiosity. He could see coins settled on the bottom, the white limestone bright and clean. Varian could see his own reflection looking back at him, rippling in the water from small streams tossed through the air. He looked pretty much the same as always, maybe a little more exhausted than normal, but nothing out of the ordinary. His gaze drifted up towards his hair, the boy scowling as he saw his hair stripe peeking out from the hood of Quirin’s cloak.

With a rough movement Varian shoved the hair behind his ear, the mass of it irritating under the hood, but hidden, at least. He looked back down into the fountain, smiling softly as Ruddiger reached small paws down as if to grab the water-

Which is why Varian saw the reflection of a dark, looming shadow rear up behind him, and was able to dodge its grabbing hands by the breath of an inch.

Varian spun out of the figure’s reach, snatching Ruddiger off his shoulders and hugging the animal as he backed away. The figure- a woman- smiled at him, a bearing of teeth that scared Varian more than he’d like to think. She looked to be about Eugene’s age, with roughly buzzed hair, short and black and roughly cut. Most startling thing about her, however, was her set of very familiar, toxic green eyes.

“Damn,” she muttered, drawing closer. Varian backed off as fast as he could without tripping, hugging Ruddiger tight. “Aw, what-” she leered closer to him, green eyes glowing even in the shadow of the fountain, “You scared, little crow?”

“Call it more rightfully nervous.” Varian snapped, but was surprised when the woman laughed.

“Fair,” she conceded, “Very fair.”

There was a tense second of silence between the two of them. The woman shifted on her heels, looking Varian up as if sizing up a competitor. The halberd on her back caught the sunlight, a blinding flash of metal that made Varian wince. The market around them seemed unaware of the standoff going on, the people still milling about. Though, the woman’s posture was deceptively casual; Varian couldn’t help but think of Cassandra, how she walked without a care, but was really constantly tense and ready to fight. It made him nervous.

“You know, I expected more,” she commented, pursing her lips. “At least, for Aldred’s heir.”

Varian bristled at that, scowling. “Sorry to disappoint.” He tried to start backing away, stopping when she moved forwards to maintain the distance between them. She paused as he did, cocking her head to the side.

“You know this isn’t going to end well for you, right?” She asked him, as if talking to a toddler. It made Varian all the angrier, the cold wash of fear slipping away and turning to furious indignation. She didn’t seem to care, looking ready to laugh as Varian fumed. “You’re adorable.” She cooed, crossing her arms. “But I can promise that if you try and fight me, I’ll drag you back to my brother missing at least one limb. We don’t need you in one piece, after all.”

Ruddiger hissed at her again, his fur puffing up until the racoon looked nearly double his usual size. Varian inched his hand towards his pocket, stalling for time. Stupid, he thought to himself, stupid, stupid- Rapunzel’s going to have a fit.

“You’re his sister then?” Varian asked the woman, “What, is the whole family out to kill me?”

“What’s left of it,” she shrugged. Her expression was bitter. “Merrick’s young. He needed guidance after what Aldred did to our family.”

Oh, it always came back to that son of a bitch, didn’t it-

“And what?” Varian asked, “You think I’m just going to go with you?”

“I was hoping you would,” she replied. The air of calm surrounding her was borderline infuriating. “But if I have to kill the princess and her husband to make you cooperate… well, no skin off my nose.”

Varian felt his breath hitch in his chest. He’d seen the chaos and bloodshed the Bayans had caused when they’d attacked Corona; he knew she wasn’t threatening lightly. He just needed more time-

“You wouldn’t dare...” He paused, not knowing her name. She caught on, arching a brow.

“Cerise,” she said, her tone flat. Varian nodded.

“Cerise.” Sun, the manners Quirin had instilled in him were so annoying- “I’m Varian.”

“I’m aware.” She looked confused now, tilting her head. “You are an odd one, I’ll give you that.”

Varian couldn’t find it within himself to argue- he only shrugged. She huffed out what might have been a laugh, if not for the smug undertones of a cat who’d caught a mouse.

“You have a choice, here.” Cerise stepped forwards, closing the gap between them just a little more. “Are you going to come quietly, like a good little boy, or am I bringing you back to my baby brother in pieces?”

Varian tensed, his shaking fingers finally touching one of his last alchemical bombs in his pocket. He gently took it in hand, trying to seem nonchalant as the Bayan woman drew closer. “I can’t say either of those would end very well for me,” he told her, trying again to back away. Her face was amused, but in a way that seemed condescending. He felt his rabbit beat heart threatening to burst from his chest with how fast it was going, but Varian forced himself to remain nonchalant; if he panicked now, he’d lose any shot of getting away from her.

“Probably not,” she agreed, like they were discussing afternoon tea. She was getting too close, he had to act quickly. With every step she took he felt his shaking get worse- he nearly fumbled the bomb in his own pocket, nerves finally getting the best of him. Varian grit his teeth, his grip tightening on the smooth glass.

Varian took one more step back, roughly ripping the alchemical weapon from his pocket and throwing it at her. Cerise let out a yell as it exploded at her feet, a plume of noxious green smoke surrounding her instantly. Varian could hear her coughing, could see her frame stumbling through the smoke like she was drunk.

But he didn’t stick around long enough to see what happened next.

With speed he didn’t know he had, the alchemist turned and bolted from the square, Ruddiger situated on his shoulders with a strong grip. He could hear people scream, frantic footsteps everywhere as the citizens fled the market. Varian heard the Bayan behind him shout in rage as he vanished, deliberately weaving between the crowd and disappearing from view The streets of Pincosta flew by as he ran, a blur of brown and dull greys in the bleak morning sun.

“Oh shit,” Varian muttered to himself as he ran. His lungs burned, legs ached- between all the walking and the lack of food, he wasn’t exactly in peak performance- but Varian refused to stop. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” He could hear people yelling behind him, the smoke probably still thick, even in such a large, open space as the main market.

Varian kept running, leaving it behind. Sun, he’d been so stupid-

The constable’s office loomed before him, only a block away from the market. His heart soared at the thought of backup, nearly sobbing with relief at the sight of the stone steps. He raced to the steps, skidding to a stop in front of them. The dust puffed up under his boots, nearly making him slip into the dirt, but he managed to catch himself with a pivot of his ankle.

“We may have made a miscalculation, Ruddiger.” The boy gasped through heaving breaths. The raccoon grumbled his agreement, clinging tighter as Varian sprinted up the stairs two at a time; the alchemist didn’t care enough to take his time. He didn’t even bother to knock, shoving the door open and falling into the room beyond. He just caught sight of Rapunzel’s purple dress before hitting the wooden floors. Varian grunted as he fell, twisting to kick the door closed behind him with a deafening BANG.

“We’re in trouble!” He crowed into the room, uncaring as to what he may have interrupted.

“What?!” Eugene. The man had been leaning back on a chair, his feet propped up on a table. He dropped his boots to the floor, the two air born legs of his chair quickly following. They landed with a thunk on the wooden floors. Eugene stood quickly, gaze already shifting towards the door. “What do you mean trouble, kid? Please tell me the trash cat got caught stealing again-”

“It’s one of the Bayans.”

Eugene’s face fell into a grimace, the man looking tired. “Of course it is,” he muttered to himself. Rapunzel took the silence after to jump in, rushing over to Varian and grabbing him by the shoulders. She pulled him up off the floor, hands flying around him in a frantic mess.

“Did they see you?” She asked, her voice frantic. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

“I’m fine!” Varian snapped, pushing her away. “I’m fine; she attacked me out in the square, but I got away-”

“She?” Eugene’s voice piped up from behind Rapunzel, the man arching a brow.

“I only saw one,” Varian replied, “She said she was Merrick’s sister.”

Eugene groaned, rubbing at his closed eyes with the tips of his fingers. “Great,” he muttered, “There’s more than one magical lunatic. Why wouldn’t there be?”

Rapunzel looked even more spooked at that, backing off before grabbing their bag off a nearby table. Varian just caught sight of the fresh supplies stocked inside before she was sealing it shut, looking towards Eugene.

“We have to go,” she said, slinging the bag over one shoulder and pulling her frying pan from her belt with the other hand. “We can’t stay here, not if they’ve already caught up with us- how did they even know we were here?!”

“I don’t know,” Eugene was shaking his head, “But you’re right, we have to get out of town, back to the woods.”

“Back to Corona?” Varian asked, head flicking between the two adults. “They won’t be expecting that, right?”

“Kid’s got a point-” Eugene started to say, only to be cut off by a furious noise.

“We are not going back to Corona!” Rapunzel barked, her voice echoing in the small room. Her eyes were wide, almost angry, as she got nearly nose to nose with the boy in front of her. Varian found himself shrinking in the face of her ire, shaking as he stumbled backwards. His back slammed into a table, rattling the contents on top. Mistake, his thoughts screamed, mistake, mistake, going to be locked in your room again-

“If you go back there, we’ll be playing right into their hands,” she said. Varian could barely hear her through the pounding of his heart- when had she gotten so scary?!- “I promised that you would never go back to Bayangor, and I intend to keep that promise, Varian. Even if you don’t like it.”

With that, she shouldered past the stunned boy, not hitting him, but moving in a way that had Varian scrambling to get out of her path. She grabbed at the doorknob of the office, pausing before sighing heavily. Rapunzel didn’t turn around, but Varian could see the way her shoulders slumped, and the grip she had on her frying pan went white.

“It’s for your own good.” She muttered, wrenching the door open and stepping out onto the street.

Varian and Eugene stood there for a second longer, both of them wincing when the door slammed shut. There was an awkward pause, the sudden silence smothering and strange after such an outward display from someone usually so gentle. Varian shuddered in the new quiet, his hands unconsciously reaching up to rub at his wrists. Something in the bones hurt, inescapable and intangible but very much there. Eugene grimaced, moving the few steps toward his younger friend. He shuffled closer to Varian, slowly bringing his hands up. When the boy didn’t react, he reached down to gently take the teenager’s hands and break the vice like grip. Eugene caught Varian’s eye, trying for a smile. It failed.

“She didn’t mean to snap.” He murmured, gently lifting a hand to wipe away a few frightened tears that had slipped from Varian’s eyes. Excuses, always with the excuses for her- Varian’s fear snarled, something bright and angry. Sure she gets a free pass to act like this, but the second he snaps- chaos! Eugene kept going, unaware of the shift in Varian’s mood. “She’s stressed, we all are. Sunshine is worried about you-”

“It doesn’t give her the right.” Varian shuddered, turning away from the older man. “Just because she’s upset-”

“I know.” Eugene soothed (but did he really?), “You’re right, Varian. But we have more pressing issues for now. We have to sort through it once you’re safe.”

The boy looked up to his friend; Eugene seemed to have swapped tactics, but Varian couldn’t figure out if it were an actual change of heart or of Eugene wanted Varian to sit down and shut up. The man schooled his face into an easy grin when he saw Varian looking at him. “C’mon.” Eugene said, “We’ve got places to be. This place was giving me hives anyways, too many goodie-two-shoes for my liking.”

Ah. The second one, then.

Varian sniffled again, fighting the press of tears; he looked towards the door with a sudden sense of apprehension. Not quite fear, but close. He couldn’t help but feel a thousand eyes boring into his back, the creeping vision of a room full of portraits staring into his very being taking over. Eugene’s concerned voice slipped away, the tremors growing more extreme as the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow.

Varian could feel his chest hitching, the shaking doing nothing to ease the tensing of his shoulders and spine. The breaths he was trying to take were unable to reach his lungs, his throat felt clenched tight as if he were being choked from the inside. Tears, unbidden and unwanted, flowed down his cheeks as the alchemist crumbled inwards. His hands curled around his wrist once more, the phantom sting of broken bones pulsing through his hand like a flame he couldn’t put out. Varian’s eyes slammed shut, blocking out the world in a desperate attempt for calm, for peace.

So when Eugene stepped forwards and gently cupped his face, Varian wasn’t ready.

“Don’t touch me!” The boy wailed, scurrying back as if burned. His eyes remained closed, the horrifying images of Barviel Keep flying through his mind at a breakneck pace. The knot in his throat only tightened, the hitching breaths doing nothing to ease the strain. Varian couldn’t hear a single thing beyond his racing heartbeat, the terrified thump-thump of a rabbit’s beat echoing through his mind.

But then.

Hands.

Someone touching his shoulders, a grip that felt like a vice, a manacle, a cage to keep him trapped and complacent and a perfect little doll- a brutal grasp, tight and rough, one that would shake him until he cooperated-

“Father, I’m sorry!” He screamed, an instinctual, gut reaction.

And those hands left his shoulders like he’d burned them.

Varian’s eyes snapped open, a sudden fear taking him at the sudden lack of contact, the boy looking up and expecting to see his own eyes glaring back at him- so when he was met with warm, chocolate brown it was like a shock to his system.

He was free, Aldred was dead; Varian was in Pincosta, not in Barviel Keep.

And Eugene Fitzherbert was staring at him in absolute horror.

“I-” Varian stuttered. “I- Eugene, I didn’t- I wasn’t-”

“Kid?” the man asked. He didn’t dare draw closer, and it broke Varian’s heart. “Are you back, uh, back with me?”

Varian sniffled, nodding. “I don’t know what… what happened,” the boy stammered. “I just…”

“It’s okay.” Eugene said quietly. “You’re okay. You’ve had a rough week.”

Varian rubbed at his eyes furiously, chasing away the thoughts of roaring winds and pink tourmaline. The feeling of eyes on the back of his neck. He took a deep breath, forcing it down past the knot in his throat. It didn’t do much to calm him, but they didn’t have time for much else.

“Try a rough year.” Varian couldn’t help but try and crack a joke, to shove the pain under a layer of flippant, couldn’t care attitude. Eugene didn’t seem to buy it, but could only shake his head in wonder.

“You might be right, there,” the man said, holding a hand out hesitantly. When Varian didn’t flinch, he gently placed it on the boy’s shoulder, slowly directing him towards the door. “I’m sorry kid, I wish we had time to calm down- but we have to catch up with sunshine.”

Varian nodded, the movement rough, and wiped away the last of unshed tears and forcing the panic away. They didn’t have time for this- they had to move before Cerise figured out where they were. The panic simmered, set to a low heat- Varian knew it would come back, later, like it always did- but for now he had to pushed it down and keep moving. Eugene pulled the door open with a grimace, peeking out into the streets beyond. The smoke had done its job and scared away the public, it seemed, as the cobblestone paths that had just been filled with people were left empty.

They cautiously stepped out into the hollow streets, a loud silence ringing all around them. Varian rubbed again at his face, chasing away the last of his cloying panic and steeling himself. Eugene scanned the area once again, brown eyes narrowed and scrutinizing. Varian held his breath, waiting, as the older man finally seemed satisfied with their surroundings.

Eugene indicated with a tilt of his head for them to move. Varian went first, already taking stock of his meagre weapons. He didn’t have much left in the ways of alchemy, just a few more smoke bombs and exactly one sticky bomb. Stupid Vardaros he thought to himself with a grimace, should have grabbed more supplies.

A sudden clang noise echoed along the abandoned cobblestones, stirring both Varian and Eugene into action; the two of them set off at a brisk pace towards the center of town. They drew closer to the marketplace Varian had run from, and the closer they got, the louder the sounds of fighting and female voices became. Varian lagged, but Eugene let him set the pace- probably to keep an eye on him, if Varian were to guess. It was still a fair gesture, as if Eugene were running at full pace, he’d surely leave the alchemist behind.

Varian skid to a halt by the corner of a building, yanked to a stop as Eugene grabbed at his elbow to keep them in place. The boy looked to the older man with confusion, but Eugene held a hand out, asking him to wait, silently. The sounds of fighting were louder here, so Eugene took the lead, peeking out. Varian, stubborn little shit that he was, followed, and winced at what he saw.

Cerise snarled as her halberd slid off of Rapunzel’s frying pan with a harsh bang, the metal blade slamming deep into the stones of the square. Rapunzel twirled out of the way with a grace that screamed of practice, a swirl of purple fabric cutting through the air, but it was easy to catch the sight of crimson blood staining the sleeve of her dress. Cerise too wasn’t unscathed, her body covered in patches of bright pinks and blues- surely the residue of Varian’s own creations. Both women huffed for breath, circling each other like a pair of lionesses. Neon met forest, two pairs of green eyes locked together- sizing the other up and waiting for a break to make their move.

“Where’s your baby brother, princess?” Cerise taunted, yanking her weapon from the rock. It left a deep wound behind, a thick line right through the stone. Varian’s mouth went dry at the sight of the kind of damage that axe could do. Rapunzel didn’t reply to the Bayan’s question, backing off as Cerise spun her halberd in a wide, devastating arc that cut the air with an audible whumph. Rapunzel was forced to dodge, rolling to the side to avoid getting sliced in half. She landed hard, a cry of pain echoing through the square. Eugene let out a lout yell at that, rushing from their hiding place and to his wife’s side.

Rapunzel grinned at the sound of his voice, quickly standing and twirling her body around. Her frying pan clattered to the ground as she brought both of her hands into am interlocked pose, offering a flat surface while she crouched towards the ground. Eugene took it, using her hands as a step. Rapunzel let out a grunt of effort as she brought her hands up, launching Eugene high into the air with a well-timed throw. Varian blinked as Eugene drew his sword while in midair, bringing it down onto a startled Cerise.

The Bayan woman shouted, bringing up her arm to block the blow. Eugene’s sword rattled off her gauntlet, blocked, but Varian could see how roughly Cerise had taken the blow in the way she held her arm once Eugene backed off. The man refused to let up, quickly forcing Cerise away from Rapunzel with a series of well-timed slices. Rapunzel followed, her frying pan forgotten in lieu of a few of Varian’s alchemical bombs.

Varian felt frozen, like he’d been glued to the ground as the two adults quickly backed the threat away. Cerise snarled as she spun her halberd, but splitting the attention between the two Coronians was obviously difficult with such a bulky weapon. Varian felt a sudden sharp tug on his hair, snapping to attention as Ruddiger frantically gestured to the forgotten frying pan.

Varian forced his legs to move, stumbling towards the iron pan. He scooped it up just as Eugene let out a shout. Varian twisted just in time to see the man fall to the ground, Frederic’s sword going flying from his hand. The boy gasped, rushing for the chaos with his newfound weapon. The iron was cold in his hands, heavy and solid. Varian didn’t take to reflect on it, bringing it up in a fluid motion.

Cerise didn’t even see him coming.

Varian brought the pan down with a swift crack onto her head. Her whole figure tensed for just a second, swaying oddly, before she collapsed to the ground with a thump. Her halberd was loud as it fell, a rattle of metal against cobblestone that echoed.

Eugene, still on the ground, gawped up at Varian in shock. The boy huffed, turning as Rapunzel ran up to him. The unsettled fear in him solidified into proper irritation at the sight of her, condensing further into a rough, bitter anger. She got close, her hands already reaching forward, grasping, like she always did. He scowled, shoving the pan into her chest roughly. Her hands flew up to grab at it, green eyes blinking in shock at his ire. Varian huffed, refusing to back down. She knew what she did.

“Can we go, now?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, stepping over Cerise’s unconscious body and holding a hand out to Eugene. The man took it, blinking as Varian pulled him to his feet. The square was oddly silent, now that the fight had been cut off. It felt nearly unnatural, like seeing something fall upwards. Just something that shouldn’t be. Varian shrugged off the feeling, looking at the two adults with a scowl.

“Pincosta’s a bust,” Varian said firmly. “We need a new plan.”

Ruddiger chittered from his place on Varian’s shoulder, dropping to the ground to sniff at Cerise. The animal hissed, scrambling up Rapunzel’s leg. The brunette sighed, grabbing the raccoon and holding him on her hip not unlike one would an infant. He cooed, snuggling close to her. Traitor.

“We’ll just need to hide you somewhere else,” Rapunzel said firmly, “Tropi Island was our next bet-” she shifted Ruddiger in her arms when he got squirmy. “-but we weren’t sure about it.”

“Sunshine,” Eugene tried to interject, “Maybe we should listen to Varian.”

Rapunzel’s face morphed into something almost called irritation, twisting to look at Eugene. Ruddiger complained from her arms, wiggling and grabbing into her dress pocket at the motion. She didn’t notice, too busy locking her husband with a look.

“We’re not going back home until Varian’s safe,” she said firmly, “I won’t lead him right into the hands of the people who want to hurt him-”

“I’m right here, you know!” Varian objected with a tart voice, only scoffing when he was ignored by both adults. Eugene and Rapunzel kept debating back and forth, both of them obviously trying to keep cool, but Varian could see the stress lines creeping across Eugene’s face, the way Rapunzel’s shoulders hitched higher and higher. The alchemist sighed, clicking his tongue at Ruddiger.

The raccoon perked up, his little hands leaving Rapunzel’s pocket. Ruddiger jumped from her arms, scuttling back to Varian, who scooped him up in attempt to ignore the others. The boy sighed, a rush of air that took his whole body. Ruddiger cooed to him, papping at him with one little paw. The alchemist smiled, but cracked an eye open in curiosity when he only felt one paw hitting his face. Varian pulled back, seeing the animal’s other paw taken up by an envelope.

“What do you have there, bud?” Varian asked, taking it gently from Ruddiger and looking it over. It must have been in Rapunzel’s pocket. He felt a small pulse of surprise when he saw a broken wax seal on the front. He flipped it, pushing Ruddiger up onto his shoulders so he could use both hands to inspect the already cracked wax seal.

Rapunzel and Eugene’s tense bickering faded from his ears quickly as Varian pulled the letter out and scanned it, his stomach sinking with every word. It couldn’t possibly, not- she wouldn’t, right? Varian’s thoughts struggled to comprehend what he was reading. If it were true, then his mother- he thought- and Rapunzel had the evidence in her pocket! His heart started to race as everything began to slot into horrifying place.

Rapunzel’s defensiveness, her push towards keeping him in Corona, all of it was because…

Because his mother was still alive, and she’d been hiding it from him.

Because Rapunzel must have known, of course she did. She had the letter in her pocket. He stared at the looping script of Aisha’s signature as the world fell out from under him. He was focused on it, transfixed, blue eyes scanning it as if the paper were about to burst into flame and be turned to ash before he could get to the end. He could feel something stirring in his gut, nausea perhaps, and the ringing in his ears only grew and grew.

He finally tore his eyes away, looking to the two adults. Eugene was off to the side, quietly trying to convince his wife to turn back for Corona. Varian zeroed in on Rapunzel, and the feeling in his stomach cemented itself not as sickness, but in rage. Rage at the lies, at the trickery, at keeping something like this from him…

It was the amber all over again.

Varian let out a strange noise, something of a growling gasp. Rapunzel turned to him, the irritation on her face swiftly turning to horror when she saw the envelope in his clenched grip.

“Varian-” she started, but was cut off when his eyes met hers. Rapunzel had gone pale, a rarity for her. It made her look sick. She was cowed by the glare he leveled at her. Her voice was quiet, weak. “I can explain…”

“How long?” The question echoed in the abandoned square.

“I-”

“How. Long?”

Rapunzel flinched at his tone. For a second she turned to Eugene, who was staring at Varian in confusion. The boy’s face twisted even further, shoving it at the older man to read. When Rapunzel still didn’t give him an answer, he moved forwards into her space. He was shorter than her, but she still shrank under his glare.

“Rapunzel.” He wasn’t asking anymore.

She finally shook her head, turning her gaze away. “Since before your birthday,” she finally admitted. Varian’s hands tightened at his side.

“I… that long?” His voice cracked in the middle, the full weight of her actions finally hitting. “You- you knew, for that long?”

“Sunshine?” Eugene’s voice drifted between them, the man having finished reading. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I…” Rapunzel trailed off, tugging at her hair. “I was only trying to protect you-”

“From what?!” Varian snapped. “From my own mother-”

“From all of it!” Rapunzel finally said, loud and frustrated. “Varian, after everything that’s happened with those people can you blame me?”

“She’s my mother!” “And she was just as bad as Aldred was!”

The boy reeled for a second at the audacity, before the fury in him exploded outward.

“How can you say that?!” Varian snapped, “She ran from fa- from him! To protect me! How can you think she’s evil after that, after everything she did to keep me safe? If it weren’t for her, I would have grown up with him, I wouldn’t even have had my dad, or my home, or any of it; I would have had nothing-”

“She burned villages to the ground! She murdered people- you know as well as I do; she was a warlord in her own right.” Rapunzel countered, obviously over trying to cushion her words. “She ran away because it benefitted you, it was still in her own interest! You don’t need her!”

Varian bristled, the fury welling up from a place he’d thought was long dead.

“You don’t get to make that choice for me!”

His voice echoed around the square. Rapunzel reeled back at the shout, clenching her fist tightly around her frying pan. Eugene tried to step in, but backed away when Rapunzel took a step towards Varian.

“I did what was right.” Her voice was steel. “Those- those people have caused nothing but pain, and I am not going to let you walk right back to them.”

“I’m not just going to ignore her,” Varian said, “She’s my mother, she’d be the only family I have left!”

“What about us?!” Rapunzel argued. Varian grimaced, shaking his head.

“That’s not fair-”

“No, what isn’t fair is you trying to run away from this! To abandon us, abandon me, because you keep trying to ignore what happened!” Her chest heaved from the shout. Eugene tried to get in between them, handing the note back to Varian numbly, only to be pushed out of the way so Rapunzel could invade Varian’s space once again. Her face was inches from his, his eyes going wide with fear. She snarled the next words, more furious than he’d ever seen her before.

“It happened, Varian; if you go to her, it will happen again- and this time it will be your fault.”

The silence following Rapunzel’s shout was deafening. Varian stared at her with wide eyes, the salt in them burning. His heart raced, a cocktail of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Rapunzel’s chest heaved, her face twisted into an angry mask. She didn’t even look like his sister anymore. The shock spurred Varian’s legs to life, shaking knees unlocking at last. Varian took a step backwards, unable to look away from her eyes. Rapunzel’s tense frame slumped, shock at her own words making her expression drop into horror. She reached a hand toward Varian, grabbing at him, trying to tie him down-

He stumbled back, and ran.

>>>><<<<

Rapunzel scowled, trying again to weave around Eugene. Her husband refused to move, however, blocking her way to where Varian had disappeared between the buildings.

“Eugene!” She cried, “We have to go after him, it’s not safe-”

“Sunshine, I love you, but you are probably the last person he wants to see right now.”

Rapunzel slumped, trying one last time to dip around Eugene’s chest. He stood firm, his boots planted on the cobblestone. She sighed, looking up into his brown eyes, pleading with him.

“Eugene,” she tried again, “Even if Varian’s confused, we can’t let him go off on his own, if she-” Rapunzel gestured to the unconscious Cerise with her free hand, “-wasn’t alone, then he’s in danger! We don’t have time for this!”

Eugene caught her flailing hands gently, holding them close to his chest.

“Rapunzel,” he sighed, “Varian will be fine for a while, he’s a big boy. We need to get you sorted first, or we’ll find him, and he’ll run off again.”

“I…” she trailed off, before scowling. “He needs me- needs us. He can’t handle them on his own.”

Eugene’s face was concerned; Rapunzel felt a knot tie in her gut. She could see in the way he was approaching her that he thought she was wrong, that she was going to have to argue this. Case in point- “Listen to me,” he said, “We’re going to go get the kid, trust me, but first you need to calm down. Varian’s hurting, he needs us to be stable. After the- with the constable’s office- Rapunzel, he had a breakdown. I haven’t seen him so scared in a long time.”

The princess paused at that, her expression dropping. “He hasn’t had one in almost a year,” she said quietly, “He was doing so well… did I… did I set it off?”

Eugene’s grim face was enough. Rapunzel felt her anger shrink, the anger melting away in the face of what she’d done. “Oh, no.” It was nearly a breath, quiet in the abandoned square. “Oh, no, what have I done?”

Eugene’s face broke into a small smile, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. “There you are,” he murmured, “I knew you were in there somewhere, sunshine.”

Rapunzel sniffled, shaking her head. “He must hate me,” she said, “I would hate me. I was just trying to do what was best for him.”

Eugene smiled, wiping away a stray tear. “You made a bad call, that’s okay. Varian’s hurting right now, but he’s a smart kid. He knows that you love him, and he loves you. You went about things the wrong way, now all that’s left to do is try to fix it.”

Rapunzel paused, thinking it through. They needed to move, they didn’t have time to waste. Not while her brother was wandering the world by himself, not while people were still trying to hunt him down.

“We have to find Varian,” Rapunzel said, leaning into the touch. “I need to apologize for the yelling… but the note, I was just trying to-”

“You were trying to protect him.” Eugene said softly, “And I get that, really I do. You think I don’t want the kid wrapped in bubble wrap all the time? But he’s getting older, and we’re not always going to be there.”

Rapunzel sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not going to end well,” she said, her tone miserable. “It can’t…”

“We have two options,” Eugene finally sighed, after a beat of too long silence. “We either follow him and don’t get in his way,” he arched a brow at her at the last point, “Or, we go back to the city. Take Merrick down, and then wait for Varian to come home- if he ever does.”

Rapunzel flinched at the thought, shaking her head. “We’re going after him,” she said, her tone firm. “Whether he likes it or not, he can’t be out here all by himself.” She started to move again, this time brushing past Eugene without protest. They’d wasted enough time, she had to find her brother. Eugene watched her go, before finally sighing. He followed his wife, shaking his head.

Neither of them noticed that Cerise, left behind, was beginning to stir.

[morethanaprincess-a]

@tyraunt​ said:  ✿ “𝚁𝚎𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚎”

Language of Flowers meme

She should’ve learned by now not to meddle. Even if she was sure, so sure this time, that she could help and instead of the clouds that perpetually lingered over her family that only the brightest sun would shine, it had still been a rather spectacular failure.

Sonia had noticed upon her completion of university and returning home to work full-time that her absence had worsened her parents’ already precarious relationship. It was the best kept secret of the Royal Family: the smiles and sweet words the King and Queen put on in front of the public and cameras were exactly that: something they only temporarily donned. Behind the closed doors of Novoselic Castle, or their various other properties and vehicles and anywhere they were relatively safe from being recorded and reported on, their false-kindness evaporated to reveal who they truly were to one another underneath.

Adversaries, if not strangers.

Two people who disagreed on nearly everything that didn’t involve putting the people first. On topics of policy, they found common ground. It was everything else that raised two tempers no one wanted to contend with, bitterness and hatred spilling from their lips where, if movies had taught her anything, only love and joy should have come instead.

The dinner she’d planned at Boudry House was no different. Sonia had taken the proper precautions: asked the head chef at Novoselic Castle to assist the Boudry team for the evening in order to have both parents’ favorite dishes present, plenty of wine, no other invited family and guests, and a promise on both parents’ parts to relinquish their mobile phones before sitting down. This was her home now, her dinner party, and even though the King still was seated at the head of the table this was Sonia’s show. Outside of Novoselic Castle, Sonia felt so sure, her parents could put aside their differences and for once, for once in her entire goddamn life, they would eat dinner as a family and treat each other with decency despite an absence of prying ears and eyes and most importantly, cameras.

Sonia knew it had begun with her mother’s complaint of her father’s lack of concern for the next charity gala, retorted by his insinuation of her inability to understand how many other priorities took place first and not everyone chose to find solace in the arms of another. At least they’d managed to wait until the beef course, though the cheese, fruit, and dessert that followed were far more tense and far less sweet than she wanted.

Both parents refused coffee, tea, brandy, and port, choosing to firmly, coldly, thank their daughter for the meal before sweeping out two separate doors, into two separate cars, to return to two separate wings of their ancestral home.

Separate. Everything was always separate, unless they needed to play the role of happy, loving couple and family.

Sonia had pushed past the shocked faces of maids and footmen, the Boudry staff mostly unaccustomed to how much the King and Queen did not get on. No matter if their colleagues at Novoselic Castle briefed them on days off (talking to the press or public would get one immediately fired, if not sued for libel, but staff across the Royal Family properties were allowed to be made privy to the inner workings of the family), nothing quite prepared them for the shouting and screaming match Sonia found herself in the middle of.

Nothing had quite prepared Sonia for it, either. Years of studying abroad had made her all the more sensitive to it all, and everything had felt stifling: the air in the room, the richness of the brandy, the pearl choker she’d worn around her neck for the occasion. Taking the stairs two at a time, she’d nearly ripped it off if she hadn’t found the clasp in time. The coordinating pearl and diamond earrings followed, alongside the pair of suede stilettos she left haphazardly in the third floor hallway, strewn over the rug. It was far too difficult to climb into the linen closet with them on.

At home, it had been in one of the cupboards under one of the flights of stairs meant for the staff. When she’d been younger, she’d squeezed her eyes tight and imagined she was some sort of witch or sorceress who could recite a spell and make everything okay. Or, even better, a kind person with magic powers would visit her to whisk her away to a normal life. Did fairy godmothers grant that? In the stories kept in the hardbound book beside her bed, they made ballgowns and glass slippers materialize out of thin air but not happiness, or at least an escape.

At Boudry House, hiding in the linen closet would have to do. It was ridiculous and Sonia knew it, a 24-year-old woman, a Princess of a country and one day a Queen, hiding in the linen closet of her own home served by an entire household staff who would likely stumble upon their employer there.

To make matters even worse, that member of staff ended up being Kaleb. Her demon friend-turned-bodyguard when she couldn’t figure out how to send him home (a problem she was still trying to riddle out to no avail), the very last someone she wanted to find her huddled atop several folded blankets and towels, her cocktail dress well and truly wrinkled with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Raising her head to meet his gaze, the princess gulped and sniffled, trying her best to hold back the tears that had already spilled down her cheeks, causing her makeup to run. And throughout it all, her body shook, raked with convulsions as she felt the onset of several large sobs.

“I’m...I’m sorry you had to hear that,” She choked out, rubbing at her left eye with the back of her hand. Of course, this only worsened the state of her makeup, her eyeliner and mascara now spreading across her face instead of just rolling down her cheeks. It had been a very long time since Sonia had felt so small. “I suppose the rest of the staff needs direction from me...for the leftovers and if I need anything...” Maybe if she didn’t speak of her sorry state, Kaleb would be polite enough not to notice, or even care. The less she was caught sobbing like a child, the better.

[formdrop]

Leather and feathers

Reborntale belongs to @reborntale 18+ and @skellyhell​ the original creator. Warning: may have gore and sexual themes.

Main Reborntale fanfic by @purrfecktlysinful called ‘sunlight and shadow’. Recommended read.

Chapter 5: Judgement

Sans keep following Papy as he had no idea where he was going. They were in another hallway. A little more fixed up but still another hallway. It was shorter though. As they entered another door-way with just a metal frame, Sans found himself in an area with buttons which is called a ….. elevator, that’s right. Sans wasn’t enjoying the fact that some words and knowledge was taking it's time for him to remember or realise. Papy pressed a button and the doors closed as the elevator started to vibrate. It took a little while.

Sans heard Papyrus start to mumble, "reset after reset. The child keeps going. All this killing. I have to wonder why. When will it get bored? Over a hundred entries in my workshop describe the child being good at the start and only killing a few. Then they just went on an all-out genocide. Over and over. I've done multiple calculations in the past timelines. Yet they still continue. It's like something else is pushing them to do it. The shadow that hangs over them. The way their movements seemed almost jittery. *sigh* I don't know how to break this cycle. I've noticed I have never mentioned Sans though. Like this run, I must not go back. Maybe the first few times I went back but like me in this run I saw how many there were and stop bothering. It's just a cycle like this, and I just accept it. Just being a bunch of lazy bones…."

Sans saw Papys face start to leak tears, actual physical tears, he was finally breaking down, the mask was off now he was alone. Sans wanted to comfort, "It's alright Papy. I'm sure you will see him someday. I believe you will." Sans placed a wing over Papy in comfort. He seemed conflicted to cry more or calm down. Sans was worried. He swapped it for his hand like before but it had the same result.

Sans grew worried until Papy cried, "I can almost feel Sans here. Encouraging me on. That he is being the great big brother he always is." He covered his face as more tears flowed down. Sans smiled, Papy felt his presence but thought it was his Sans. His Sans must be great like himself. He wished he could meet this other Sans someday. He seems like a great guy.

The elevator had finished and the doors opened with a ding. Papy wiped his eyes with his hoodie to remove the snot and tears off. Sans grimaced at the sight of the mess on Papys sleeve. Sans wished he could lecture Papy about not doing that but he was already out and he wouldn’t be able to hear him anyway. Though Sans was a bit unsure why he does. Sans sighed as he followed Papy and their adventure continues. They were in a calm purple brick hall where it went left. Sans could hear shouting and many frightening sounds. Sans forgot Papy for the moment and rushed ahead. He skidded left then right with the short hall way. A quick glance to the left revealed another elevator and the right hall way made him stop. it looked like there was a large battle finishing between angels and a few demons, Sans guessed there was more.

A demon hissed at one, it was Frisk. Frisk had some damage like cuts but they didn’t show it. The demon got into a battle stance and yelled, "you have noticed more of these grounders dying! Their dust spread everywhere and either an angel or demon rises! The odd grounder that is doing this has outweighed the balance, more demons are rising! We believe it is time us demons control things! You have no right to keep us back! Now all you angels should clear off!" his deep tone vibrating around the area.

The angels there laughed, but with one wave of a hand from frisk they stopped. Frisk stood tall and looked at the demon, "we have kept the balance for many centuries and we will keep doing so. Just because there are more demons doesn’t mean they rule this plane or the grounders. Now back off demon." Frisk sounded calm and that went to the other angels as they seem calm. Sans looked at the scene more closely, both sides had weapons, some looked like magic, and the demons had more beated-up looking ones. There seem to be more angels and not as many injuries like the remaining demons as they were bleeding bad.

The demons started to retreat which the angels responded by flying off, they didn’t seem to notice Sans standing there almost paralysed. The conversation going through his head. the dust meant monsters dying and there were many which was why Papy avoided them and it made sense to see Alphys becoming an angel. And that meant, he was the Sans that was that dust. The dust of his brother became him. But angel Sans was his own monster now, not the old one. More things clicked the more he thought. When a monster gets 'reborn' into either a angel or demon, that is a new person. He didn’t have any memories of his other life so that Sans is dead. Why Papy reacted like that in the elevator when Sans tried to encourage him. Why he had instincts with Papy as they were the other Sans instincts of when he was alive. Sans covered his mouth out of shock at the new information, tears running down his face. His wings drooped so they touched the ground. His legs wobbled. He was seeing how cruel the world was. Then Sans shook his head, no, he made friends like angel Alphys. And he has to stay with his grounder.

...

...

HIS GROUNDER! He totally forgot about Papy in that thought process. Sans was about to run off when he saw Papy had decided to stop and lean against the wall that looked over the big city to the left. He must have come and stopped to do whatever he was doing. He had a white thing in his mouth with smoke coming off it. It was a smoke. Sans frowned as he almost felt insulted, the old Sans must not have liked them. It was disappearing quick as the ash kept falling off. He finished it quick and took out the packet, it was empty. He scrunched it up and threw it into the city, basically littering. Papy smiled and looked over the city, "heh. Guess I can't stall this any longer. I finished my last packet and I'm finally going to meet my end. I'll see you soon bro. Save me a spot there in heaven yeah?" he gave an emotionless chuckle and stood up. He began to walk along the path. They turn left and continued to follow the path. Soo the reached a house this light purple bricks at the front.

Papyrus began to walk through like he has done this so many times. Inside was a very clean house with a feint smell of butterscotch pie. It smelled nice to Sans. Suddenly Papyrus began to mumble, as if this was rehearsed, "A long time ago, a human fell into the RUINS.

 Injured by its fall, the human called out for help.

ASRIEL, the queens's son, heard the human's call.

He brought the human back to the castle.

Over time, ASRIEL and the human became like siblings.

The King and Queen treated the human child as their own.

The underground was full of hope.

Then... One day...

The children went missing.

All searched high and low for the children but they went to be found.

The next day..

The human came back.

But different.

They had dust all over them and tears down their face.

They had changed as well.

The human and the prince had tried to find a way to absorb another's soul without harm.

But is had gone wrong.

The human had absorbed the princes' soul and had stumbled into the throne room and collapsed.

The human turned to dust right in front of the kings and queens' eyes,

Their dust spread over the throne room

Their dust spread across the garden.

The kingdom fell into despair.

The king and queen had lost two children in one day.

The humans had once again taken everything from us.

The queen decided it was time to end our suffering.

Every human who falls down here must die.

With enough souls, we can shatter the barrier forever.

It's not long now.

Queen TORIEL will let us go.

Queen TORIEL will give us hope.

Queen TORIEL will save us all." It sounded more than rehearsed to Sans but he didn’t say anything. Sans sent his positive energy towards Papy in hopes to make this easier. It did as he seems to go slightly faster. They had gone through the house quick and gone down the stairs and down a hall. They had passed a small section that viewed the city but Papyrus didn’t stop this time. He entered though some golden doors to the right which was right across some elevators.

In the other side of the doors were what could be described as pure light. Everything was gold and light brightened up the room. The only light coming from the glass windows that were on the left side when looking down the golden hall. On the other side of the wall seemed to be pictures.

The first was a place with blue ceilings and white fluffy looking things attached and green ground, like moss, and like the trees but not glowing and these strange grounders that weren’t monsters as well as monsters. Sans kept beside Papy as they both looked at the pictures on the walls. Both walked along to the next one. There were two sides. The non-monster grounders and the monster grounders. There were weapons and attacks. The next one was monster mostly gone with dust in the air and the other grounders chasing the monsters into a large mountain.

The next was monsters building houses in a small space and not looking happy. The next one was the area bigger and building more and looking happy. The next one was of a family of monsters. One looked like the angel with large horns but no wings or halo. Then there was a female one with small horns and they were smiling with a baby between them. They all looked happy.

The next one was a non-monster falling down in a dark place with a spot light. With a spot of the green stuff. The next one was what Papy chanted, the what could be a human coming back changed, from the other one with them falling, and dying in from of the horn monsters. It almost looked like the Frisk angel. Was that them? The one who died in the fail attempt of the soul thing?

Sans moved on to see the next few were the humans with different souls and different clothing dying and a heart thing, their soul being taken, always in the hands of the small horned monster with a…. crown. Always on the side, reaching for the soul of the dying human. Each of the humans dying had a shadow face and feature almost intentionally not there. But the rest of wall space was blank, as if there was space for more. Sans went back and counted the humans dying….. six, six humans died.

Sans sighed and looked for Papy. He was leaning against a pillar. As Sans got close he realized they couldn’t see the door they went through. They waited for a bit as Sans had sat down and waited. Papy seemed to calm. Sans could feel something bad was going to happen. But Papy looked too calm. Sans looked closer and saw he was crying again, without tears. Sans sighed and was about to help Papy when the sound of a door opening. Sans bolted up, while Papy closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. The human went to the middle of the other wall. They glitched a bit and Sans almost seemed to be dizzy at the same time. The human turned with a blank expression with dull red eyes and yellow looking with squinting eyes and straight mouth. They seem to almost drag themselves forward. As they got close to where Papy was, they seem to slow down and stand. Sans looked where Papy was leaning but found him gone. Sans looked around widely and saw Papy was standing in the middle. Sans went against the wall and waited. Though he didn’t want the outcome he knew was coming.

Papy stood stiff, "Hmm. that expression... that's the expression of someone who's died eleven times in a row. Well, give or take. There's nuance to this stuff. Don't think I'll be able to count very well from here. So, let's just get to the point." That confused Sans as he was sure died means permanently not coming back. Sans didn't question it because it was hurting his skull to try to make sense.

The battle started, Sans had never seen a monster battle. Papys left eye started to flame orange and yellow and his stance stiff. His hands at the ready for something and his feet in a wide stance but stable. Papy started off with, "It's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you..." suddenly bones appear around Papy and came out of the ground as they flew fast at the human. Papy and the area around was black and white, it didn’t reach Sans though, ended just before him. Sans looked left to see a sick looking red soul, it was different colour than the other ones on the wall. But Sans was sure they weren’t meant to look soo… soo… soo sick. It didn't look right and Sans could see what Papy meant about the shadow over them. Sans saw it in the battle. A square outline had the human boxed in as the bones seemed more solid inside the box as the human dodged the attacks. Suddenly large cat crossed dragon skulls appeared and start shooting beams of orange light at the human and the human dodged the beams and more attacks with ease. After they seem to stop Papy said, "S h o u l d   b e   b u r n i n g   i n   h e l l ." that sounded dark and powerful.

Then the human stopped and the square disappeared. Options seem to come up. It didn’t hesitate to slam on fight. Suddenly the body of the human launched and with a knife tried to slice at Papy. Sans shot up afraid that it got Papy but Papy slide to the side and said, "what? you think I'm just gonna stand there and take it?" Papy had a cocky smile. One of pain and anger. One that anyone seeing it should be afraid. Sans shivered and sat back down. The human retreated with a blank face as the box was around them again. Papy mumbled, "Our reports showed a massive anomaly in the time-space continuum. Timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..." and the attacks were on again but their soul went blue and was forced to the side at the back. Bones started to again and little platforms the human was forced to use as they seem to climb up. It finished and the options went again and again it was fight, Papy side stepped again, "until suddenly, everything ends." And the process would repeat. But this time the human was thrown around in the box. Dialogs keep going as Papyrus kept going about it’s the human fault and they don’t understand how it feels. Neither does Sans.

Things repeated with Papy keeping on dodging the attacks and the human dodging his. At one point Papyrus said, "ugh... that being said... you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh? ... listen. I know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there. I can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? c'mon, buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening... let's forget all of this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and... well, my job will be a lot easier." The human didn’t listen and attack. Papy sighed. "well, it was worth a shot. guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?" and it continued. Sans saw Papy was starting to sweat and looked tired. Sans mustered up his positive energy and sent it to Papy. He looked a bit better as the fight continued. But this time Papy said about how the human might have stopped with all the good things and that pain coming to an end and that the resets would end. About other hims. Sans was getting worried with this odd talk.

Soon he mentioned his special attack and seemed to be trying to scare the human off with fright but it didn’t seem to work. The human looked ragged now. cuts and bruises by the latest attacks. At first it was easy for them to dodge but as time went on it seemed that they were almost like they were trying to remember Papys' moves but that was impossible since this was the first time fighting. Sans looked at Papy and saw he was more than tired now and Sans was out of energy. He himself needed to rest. Then it was time to use the special attack. Papy smiled a tired smile as almost whispered, "huff... puff... all right. that's it. it's time for my special attack. are you ready? here goes nothing."

. . . . . .  nothing was happening, Papy was just standing there. It almost seemed that the human was waiting.

"yep. that's right. it's literally nothing. and it's not going to be anything, either. heh heh heh... ya get it? I know I can't beat you. One of your turns... you're just gonna kill me. so, uh. I've decided... it's not gonna BE your turn. ever. I'm just gonna keep having MY turn until you give up. Even if it means we have to stand here until the end of time. Capiche?"

. . . more time went and Sans wasn’t any better with his energy, Papy was getting worse.

"you'll get bored here. If you haven't gotten bored already, I mean. And then, you'll finally quit."

. . . Papy seemed so proud of himself. That he had won. The human was still. It didn’t seem to be breathing with it just standing there.

"I know your type. you're, uh, very determined, aren't you? You'll never give up, even if there's, uh... absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever. If I can make that clear. No matter what, you'll just keep going. Not out of any desire for good or evil... but just because you think you can. and because you 'can'... ... you 'have to'."

. . . Sans grew worried as he slowly raised. The human had a smirk. Papy was starting to close his eyes a bit. He started to slump as his smile went and a frown appeared.

"but now, you've reached the end. There is nothing left for you now. so, uh, in my personal opinion... the most 'determined' thing you can do here? Is to, uh, completely give up. and... (yawn) do literally anything else."

Papy finally fell asleep. Sans manage to bolt up and run into the battle. He felt odd entering and he found that he couldn’t even see himself. He rushed to Papy and tried to wake him. But he couldn’t touch him. No matter how much he concentrated. He couldn’t touch Papy while he was in a battle. Sans looked at the human to see that they were pushing the box to an option of fight which would attack Papy. Sans resorted to yelling, hoping he could be heard, "WAKE UP YOU LAZY BONES. THIS IS NO TIME TO BE SLEEPING! YOU ARE IN A FIGHT." At that moment, the human reached fight and pressed it and was running towards Papy with the knife held ready. Papy woke up and had just missed the knife as it swung. Sans gave a sigh of relief and a scowl that Papy went to sleep.

"Heh, did you really think you would be able-" he didn’t get to finish as the human attacked a second time and it landed. Sans covered his mouth in shock as blood began to trickle down Papys' teeth, bottom jaw and onto his hoodie, a massive slash over his chest. "... ... ... so... guess that's it, huh? ... just... don't say I didn't warn you. Well, I'm going to Muffets'. Sans, do you want anything?"

Sans answered anyway, "no brother. I don’t." he might not be his Sans but he was sure Papy heard it as he smiled and leaned forward as the battle ended.

{1} {2} {3} {4} ]5[ {6} {7} {8}