#like why was she given fire powers from the merge and also where the heck did she even come from with that robot nanny

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Aight fellas finally saw Dragons Rising

Few notes: WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED THERE XDDDDD

I’m excited to see more episodes mostly because I NEED ANSWERS

Anyway 9/10 season, very entertaining and deffo one of the best Ninjago seasons in a while. It was actually amazing, especially compared to previous seasons that were lacking a little ya know?

The reason it isn’t 10/10 is because of Lloyd’s flashback. I think they should’ve brought his original VA back for that, because it ruined the immersion for me

Other than that little detail though I loved it all and I’m looking forward to S2 of this funky little sequel series

Spoilery opinions in the tags

[dascarecrow]

Death Battle - Oscar Pine

Wiz- Since humanity’s earliest age the world of Remnant has been plagued by the creatures of Grimm. 

Boomstick- AKA a cheap rip off of the Heartless. These bad boys are destruction incarnate which sounds awesome at first but it really just means they live to ruin your day. 

Wiz- Yet for as long as the Grimm have haunted humanity they have been protected by the elite warriors known as Huntsmen. 

Boomstick- These kick ass fighters are the best of the best and the baddest of the bad. They also wield some of the most awesome weapons ever made. Because nearly all of them? Are also a gun. 

Wiz- Huntsmen are trained at combat academies across the world. And the greatest of them are trained at the main academies of each major kingdom. Shade Academy in Vacuo, Haven Academy in Mistral, Atlas Academy in Atlas- 

Boomstick- Real original there. 

Wiz- And Beacon Academy in Vale. 

Boomstick- Man a school where you learn how to beat the snot out of people, hunt evil monsters and build cool weapons? If they had that kind of curriculum when I was in high school I definitely would have paid more attention. At least try to get a B+ on something instead of all those Fs and Cs. 

Wiz- Unknown to the public however is that the headmasters of each Academy are part of a secret alliance dedicated to protecting the people of Remnant and ensuring their prosperity led by the headmaster Beacon Academy, Ozpin. 

Boomstick- And like any good conspiracy the Ozluminati knows a whole bunch of secrets. Like the true origin of Dust and who faked the moon breaking. 

Wiz- One of the greatest secrets that they have kept is existence of magic in Remnant. 

Boomstick- Like actual wave your hand and make stuff happen magic. Which I don’t really get keeping hidden. I mean Huntsmen can do a whole bunch of stuff that’s pretty much magic anyways. And even stuff that magic doesn’t do. So why hide it from people?

Wiz- That’s actually because of the prospective dangers that magic could bring. 

Boomstick- Oh yeah like what? 

*Scenes play of Raven, Penny and Fria using their magic and devastating their enemies* 

Boomstick- Never mind. I’ll take being able to call up hurricanes whenever I want over a scythe that turns into a rifle. 

Wiz- Ozpin led the other headmasters and select other agents in keeping several secrets, including magic, hidden away because he feared the turmoil and destruction that would result if they were ever discovered. 

Boomstick- And it actually went pretty well. Remnant had it’s problems but it was actually looking pretty good. Until some crazy fire lady *a picture of Cinder appears* found out about magic, went “I want me some of that”, teamed up with a terrorist organization and decided to get her hands on the nearest available bit of magic. Which was hidden under Beacon Academy. 

Wiz- Dark forces would attack in the tragedy that would become known as the Fall of Beacon. The school would be devastated, the students harmed and traumatized beyond measure and Ozpin himself would fall during the battle. But this would not be the end for Ozpin. 

Boomstick- Yeah turns out Dumbledore here actually had quite a few secrets of his own. One of which is that he was at this job a lot longer than anyone ever knew. 

Wiz- In ancient times the Gods of Light and Darkness who had created Remnant saw the trials humanity endured to survive with each passing day and sought to give their creation a chance at salvation. They reached into the afterlife and returned to Remnant the greatest warrior to ever walk its surface, a mage knight known as Ozma.  

Boomstick- Of course because Gods are kind of jerks they gave the Wizard of Oz a skewed deal.  

Wiz- The Gods tasked Ozma with uniting humanity together and calling them to return to Remnant so they may pass judgement. Should humanity be in harmony upon their return the Gods would walk alongside them once more and grant to humanity grand gifts as reward. 

Boomstick- Not a bad deal really. Everyone plays all nice and you get some sweet magic powers out of it. Why wouldn’t you want to do that? 

Wiz- But if the Gods returned to find humanity divided and selfishly demanding that which was never theirs then it would be final day Remnant would ever see for humanity would be destroyed. 

Boomstick- Oh right. How is that supposed to work then? I mean the gods come back and they see some guys arguing over their favorite sports team and they just go “Your no good. Gonna kill you all”. I mean I get the appeal of having magic powers but does that really outweigh complete genocide? Huntsmen have their own personal superpowers and Dust is as good as magic anyway.  

Wiz- Regardless Ozma agreed to the gods request, motivated by his sense of justice and belief in the inherent good of humanity. 

Boomstick- And the chance to see his ex again. *Picture of Salem appears* Can’t forget about that. 

Wiz- Indeed. Of course the Gods recognized that the work they tasked Ozma with could take quite some time so they made arrangements which resulted in a rather unusual return for him. 

Boomstick- The Gods kind of have a thing against full blown resurrection so they didn’t just zap their newest employee back to Remnant. No they decided to stuff Ozzy Osbourne’s soul into some random sucker so he could get to work. 

Wiz- The Gods did not wish Ozma to bear the burden of his work alone so they made it that he would return in the body of another, which carried a like minded soul that his own would merge with. In the course of his work Ozma would discover that death was no longer the same for him. 

Boomstick- The Gods basically made him the Avatar. *Shows picture of Aang* Whenever Willy Wonka wound up biting it his soul would crop up again in some other schmuck and merge with whatever soul was already living there. Rinse and repeat for the next few thousand years. 

Wiz- The man known as Ozpin would wind up being the latest in this long line of reincarnations, continuing his past lives work in uniting the people of Remnant so they may pass the Gods Judgement.  

Boomstick- And once Gandalf here was down for the count it was time for another round of musical souls. Where he stops who the heck knows. 

Wiz- Ozpin’s would wind up reincarnating in a young farmhand known as Oscar Pine, who would find himself continuing the work that Ozma had began millennia ago and the inheritor of his countless lives knowledge and power. 

Boomstick- Man I don’t know who to feel worse for. Pinecone for having an old dude stuck in his head that can see all of his private thoughts. Or the Clockwork Wizard for being stuck in the head of a kid that’s just starting puberty.  

Wiz- As a result of this merger of souls Oscar would inherit Ozpin’s memories and more importantly his fighting skill and powers. 

Boomstick- As the headmaster of a school for hunting literal soulless monsters Ozpin knew how to throw down with the best of them and Oscar got everything the old professor knew downloaded straight to his brain, none of that pesky learning stuff the hard way needed. He would even be given Ozpin’s own personal weapon... a cane. A cane. That was seriously this guys weapon? He fights for thousands of years to protect humanity, counter hordes of dark mosters and try to make it so the Gods give Remnant a passing grade and his personal way of beating people up was with a walking stick. Starting to see why it took him so long to get people up to snuff. 

Wiz- Don’t be so quick to judge Boomstick. Ozpin was supremely gifted with his weapon, often using it like a rapier to rapidly jab at enemies and wear them down faster then they could respond. *Scenes of Ozpin’s fight with Cinder* And because he has Ozpin’s memories Oscar can do this just as well. *Scenes of Oscar’s fight with Hazel* However Oscar has chosen to focus on his own fighting style instead of simply repeating Ozpin’s. Oscar’s own personal style has a greater emphasis on striking power than  speed, being centered around strong, focused blows instead of the rapid fire technique Ozpin preferred. 

Boomstick- Finally someone who gets that the best way of doing things is by hitting the crap out of them as hard as possible. And it works pretty well for the farm boy. He was able to one shot a Sabyr, which was about two and a half times his size. And keep in mind Grimm are pretty much all bulk. Oscar pretty much killed that thing by stabbing it with a blunt object. Not to mention that he was able to smack someone so hard that they tumbled down the stairs and made Hazel stagger back a few feet when they collided with him. Hazel, who was able to catch the mini wrecking ball that is Magnhild and was stabbed through his stomach by a giant ice wasp and got back up like it was nothing.  

Wiz- Given the loss of energy that would have resulted from rolling down the steps and Hazel’s own notable durability then we can safely say that Oscar used an extreme amount of force in this one attack. 

Boomstick- And if Alpine gets tired of trying to whack people with a overhyped brake lever than he has some decent hand to hand skill as well. He was able to round a corner, close the distance and punch Neo so hard that she went flying down the hallway, all faster than she could react. And Neo’s whole thing is that she can literally dance around just about anyone like they’re moving in slow motion. Oscar was able to outpace her a few times during their fight and that’s immediately after he’d already taken some bad hits. She’d have done even worse if he’d been starting fresh. Not bad for a farm hand. 

Wiz- Oscar’s impressive performance is probably helped by his Aura. 

Boomstick- You mean that rip off of the force from Pokemon? Wait do Pokemon live on Remnant? Are the Grimm actually Pokemon and they’re what happens when humanity doesn’t learn how to make Pokeballs? Does this mean animal slavery is actually perfectly justified? 

Wiz- No. On all acccounts. 

Boomstick (disappointed)- Aaaaah. 

Aura 

- Grants shielding 

- Empowers strikes 

- Environmental Protection 

- Heightened Awareness 

- Enhances Healing 

Wiz- Aura is the soul made manifest, the user’s essence rendered into tangible form. 

Boomstick- Is that supposed to be arousing or the complete opposite? 

Wiz- Aura grants anyone who possesses it a great many benefits, primarily in terms of defense. Anyone with an active Aura automatically receives a shield that protects them from harm and damage. Oscar was able to take hits from flaming boulders and barely showed any hint that he even felt the attack. 

Boomstick- Wait, wait, wait. You mean that if someone gets this Aura stuff they automatically become invulnerable to being hurt? Wiz I’m calling in three of the favors you owe me to give me some of that stuff. 

Wiz- Aura doesn’t just prevent users from coming to harm though. It can also enhance striking power, be channeled through weaponry to increase it’s power, protect the user from harsh environmental factors like extreme cold, give someone heightened awareness of their surrounding to the point they can detect approaching enemies and even boost one’s healing. 

Boomstick- Alright Wiz I’ll make it seven favors and I’ll use Jocelyn’s credit card the next time I get drunk and come up with an awesome idea. Man thousands of years of of combat experience and a personal force field that increases strength and healing? This kid must kick all sorts of- 

*Montage of Oscar getting attacked by Ruby, Qrow, Jaune, the Hound and ends with him being shot by Ironwood* 

Boomstick- *now depressed* Oh right. Aura kind of sucks. 

Wiz- While Aura is formidable it does have it’s limits. Every blow it takes will cause one’s Aura to wear down and deplete. The stronger the hit the more damage Aura will take from it. And even those gifted with extraordinary amounts can’t maintain it indefinitely. 

Boomstick- Yep. Take it from me folks it doesn’t matter how big the bottle is. If you keep drinking from it, sooner or later you’re going to run out. 

Wiz- And once it’s completely depleted Aura will break, leaving the user vulnerable. 

Boomstick- How the heck does that work? I mean it’s your soul. You always have it. So shouldn’t this Aura stuff always be going? And if it breaks shouldn’t you I don’t know die or something? 

Wiz- To be exact Aura isn’t actually the user’s soul, but rather a type of energy harnessed from it. So it’s depletion and breaking isn’t actually fatal to the user. It also isn’t something that runs automatically. Aura has to be consciously activated and dismissed by the user. So it is possible for someone to be caught off guard because they don’t their Aura running. 

Boomstick- Figures. You find a super cool energy that can give everyone super powers and it turns out to suck eggs. 

Wiz- Well just because your Aura runs out doesn’t mean it’s the end of fight. It does recover over time and trained users can speed up how fast it rebuilds with just a bit of focus and willpower. Oscar’s teammate Jaune has shown the ability to restore his Aura after focusing for a brief moment. And given Ozpin’s countless lifetimes of experience it stands to reason that Oscar has the ability to do this as well.  

Boomstick- And even if Oscar’s Aura does wind up failing him he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Magic ones. Remember Ozma wasn’t just a highly skilled warrior he was also gifted mage. So his whole conga line of souls also gets cool magic powers. 

Magic 

Controls the elements (fire, ice, wind , lightning, etc.) 

Energy blasts 

Creates shields 

Telekinetic movement 

Wiz- Quite right Boomstick among all the denizens of Remnant, Oscar is one of the rare few gifted with magic in the current age. While the exact abilities Oscar can use are nebulous we can infer some details going by what other magic users have done. He can unleash streams of pure power as an attack. 

Boomstick- And these emerald streamers pack a punch. Salem was able to shrug off Hazel literally splattering her all over the ground and returned the beating without missing a beat. 

Wiz- While Salem can regenerate from any damage done to her she still feels pain and can be hurt, even if the damage is undone. 

Boomstick- Oscar brought her to her knees with one blast of his magic, which also left her in visible pain. So it’s safe to say he hit her way harder than Hazel was able to. And that guy dropped a friggin meteor on top of her. *Shows clip of Hazel doing just that* 

Wiz- We have also seen magic be shaped into different forms so presumably Oscar can do this as well. His past lives have been seen creating fields of magic that can move others in a telekinetic fashion and there’s no reason to believe Oscar can’t still do so in present day, albeit not quite on the scale Ozma was once able to. 

Boomstick- Yeah one of the lives of Doctor Who did something kind of dumb. A bunch of sisters came by his house and were all “hope, joy and love” and he decided to give them almost all of his magic because of good vibes or something. I mean why would you give up actual magic powers that made you such a kick ass knight in the first place?  

Wiz- (annoyed) Anyways... Oscar lacks the reserves of magic power that Ozma once held and while we don’t have an exact measure we’re going to go with about a rate of 5 to 10 percent remaining. Fortunately for Oscar magic doesn’t deplete the way Aura does so he can use it almost without limit. And the power of the Maidens, that is the sisters he gave his magic to, gives us a view of what Oscar can accomplish. Namely the power of the elements 

Elemental Magic 

Fire  

Ice 

Lightning 

Wind 

Plant life 

Boomstick- Most folks on Remnant can do stuff like throw around fireballs or lightning bolts with the use of Dust. But magic lets you do that stuff all on your own and with no limit either. 

Wiz- Mind you Oscar’s lesser reserves mean he can’t do anything on the scale of the Maidens but he does still have the capacity to control the elements, just to a lesser degree than most magic users.  But the greatest asset magic grants Oscar is his shield. 

Boomstick- Don’t let the fact that it looks like a glass bubble fool you, this mystical barrier is actually pretty sturdy. It’s stood up to the full power of the Fall Maiden, allowed Oscar to survive a several miles long fall without any injury whatsoever and is so strong that it let him crash right through the bottom of Atlas and keep on going with no problem. 

Wiz- Actually Boomstick that last feat wasn’t a result of Oscar’s magic. 

Boomstick- Oh? I guess you’re going to tell me that glorified bike handle of his did it. 

Wiz- It did as a matter of fact. 

Boomstick- Wait what? How is that possible? It’s a cane for crying out loud. It’s something old people use for getting around and whupping the young, not the tool of a seasoned warrior and mage. 

Wiz- Oscar’s cane, much like it’s holder, far more than it appears and has quite a few surprises. 

Boomstick- Oh this should be good. 

The Long Memory 

Oscar’s personal weapon 

Once wielded by Ozpin 

Incredibly durable 

Focus for magic 

Stores kinetic energy 

Wiz- Oscar’s weapon, known as the Long Memory, is a collapsible cane that he carries at almost all times. The cane itself is highly durable, able to take hits from a Dust empowered Hazel without any sign of strain or damage. Hazel boasted immense physical strength on his lonesome and the benefit of Dust significantly increased his damage output.  

Boomstick- Okay so it’s a pretty strong cane. But it’s still just a cane. 

Wiz- The Long Memory is also a channel and focus for Oscar’s magic, enabling him to use it on a higher scale than he would be able to on his own merits. 

Boomstick- Oh like a magic wand. 

Wiz- More like a scepter. 

Boomstick- Like a magic staff? 

Wiz- Scepter. 

Boomstick- I get you, it’s like a magic rod. 

Wiz- Boomstick I swear if I have to get the shock collar again... 

Boomstick- Geez calm down Wiz I’m just funning ya. So this walking stick is pretty much a *Wiz glares at Boomstick* “magic scepter” that lets pine tree use magic better than he can by himself. That’s kind of cool actually but why make it something that looks like an emergency brake? 

Wiz- The Long Memory has one more special trick, completely separate from Aura and magic. It can store and carry kinetic energy. 

Boomstick- I’m sorry what kind of energy? 

Wiz- *exasperated* Stuff that make bullets go shoot. 

Boomstick- I know what it is Wiz. No need to get snippy. Man you are so juvenile. Anyways why is that so special? 

Wiz- *trying to be professional* With each passing moment and every blow struck The Long Memory accumulates kinetic energy and having been crafted centuries ago it has quite a reservoir of power to access. Oscar can access this stored up energy whenever he wishes, unleashing bolts and waves sheer power. This allowed him to blast a hole through the bottom of Atlas when he was sent plummeting to his doom in the Vault of the Winter Maiden. 

Boomstick- Huh. Not a bad parlor trick I’ll admit but how much damage can he really do with that thin- 

*Scene of Oscar destroying Monstra plays* 

Boomstick stares in open mouthed shock while Wiz looks on with a smug grin.  

Wiz- You were saying? 

Boomstick- HOLY MOTHERF*BLEEP*ING S*BLEEP*T!  Did that kid just fire off a magic nuke?  

Wiz-To be fair Oscar can’t throw around attacks like that too often. This particular instance used up the majority of stored up power that the Long Memory had available. And that power was gathered across several lifetimes if not centuries. He definitely wouldn’t be able to use an attack on this level repeatedly. He would be able to recover some of the kinetic energy however because the Long Memory gathers and stores it away automatically. Smaller expenditures may not necessarily be reclaimed but the cane would definitely avoid running completely out of power with this aspect of it’s abilities. Anything you’d like to add Boomstick?

Boomstick- *still in shock* I-, Yeah not really, my mind is going to be stuck on that nuke thing for a while. 

Wiz- *shrugging it off* Okay then. Come back in a few days where we’ll cover Oscar’s opponent, Izuku Midoriya. 

[seliipi]

S6 Thoughts - What we know and where we go from here Plot/World

Sendak’s still on the loose, amassing power under an extremist faction known as the Fire of Purification. They were going around attacking Galrans siding with Lotor. As Lotor is now gone, their tactics may change but whatever they plan is sure to be violent.

Haggar has gained new knowledge from Oriande and has a fleet on her side. She is also aware of a planet full of Alteans through Shiro’s clone and may attempt to merge Lotor’s experiments with her ongoing projects. Might start harvesting people for that special quintessence or devise a new weapon in her pursuit of knowledge.   

Lotor is still in the Quintessence Field. He’s not confirmed as dead, but he was born in the Rift and could potentially still be alive and getting warped beyond imagining. He could make his way to the Alternate Reality and marry the Empress Allura there thus fulfilling his dreams for an Altean Empire. Could possibly make a return, though Word of God states Lotor’s arc has ended.

With Lotor gone(?), another Kral Zera might be held to crown the next emperor/empress. Only Team Voltron knows he’s gone, but once he fails to make an appearance it’s likely word will get around. Potential factions loyal to Lotor may target Voltron as the cause for his disappearance. Either way, as Haggar said, “The Empire is no more.” 

Earth is possibly being brought into the fray. If Commander Holt made a safe landing, they might be leveling up their technology with the information he’s brought, or locking him up somewhere so as to not cause mass panic. Since he did bring messages back to the Paladins’ families, there’s a potential for a media storm once Voltron arrives. We’ll get cute family reunions and domestic Sheith life. Hopefully we learn more about Shiro’s past here and how he met Keith as we don’t really know much about him compared to the others. 

Without warpholes, Team Voltron’s trip to Earth will be slow-going. They'll probably use this time to exchange information with allies and get everyone up-to-date. Pidge will likely pick up Matt on the way or remember him last minute haha sorry Matt ilu

The Quintessence Field strangely lacked any rift creatures unlike in Honerva’s time. They could make a reappearance as the True Big Bad. Haggar is potentially possessed by them and could become the Big Bad once she has an agenda.

Keith and Krolia still need to report to Kolivan on the current state of affairs. They’ve discovered the source of the strange quintessence so the Blade of Marmora has one question answered. I don’t think Keith will be able to run a BoM mission for a time as he's Voltron’s current leader while Shiro recovers. Krolia will likely take an extended maternity leave unless Kolivan can convince her otherwise. Would be cute if the new mission Kolivan gives her is to keep Voltron’s leader safe.

Characters

Druids: We still don’t know anything about them, just that they’re loyal to Haggar and use corrupted magic. Are there any left? Does Haggar create them from people with potential? We might learn more about them given Oriande!Haggar.

Blade of Marmora: Hopefully some more information on their history unlikely as that is. If not I will settle for what the heck luxite does and how many utilities those blades actually have. Why are they the Voltron-universe version of Swiss army knives.

Keith had a LOT of the questions surrounding him answered in S6 and has emerged with a great deal of maturity and confidence in himself. However, his quintessence-sensitivity has yet to be addressed. Krolia and Kogane found the Blue Lion likely through data from her downed ship. Keith just follows the call of a strange energy. I kind of wonder if the wolf is related to this in any way. I need to make an update to that quintessence post. ALSO he now has Galran traits that appear when under great duress. Really hope we get more info on that. Also more sightings because hot damn. 

Shiro has to adapt to having a physical form again. He has a new body, is missing an entire arm, and is sprouting white hair at the young age of 25/26. He might get a new Altean/Olkarion prosthetic of Team Punk design. Will we see what the side effects are of living in the Astral Plane for literally 4 seasons?

What Romelle brings to the group as a third Altean. She doesn’t appear to be a princess or related to Allura this time around, but she’s definitely ready to fight for a good cause. She and Allura hopefully become fast friends. Matt will likely also have an embarrassing reaction to her.

Had the theory before, but Axca is definitely not related to Keith OR Krolia. She’s definitely a person of interest though. Not sure if her or the other generals will have any backstory revealed, but they’ll likely pop up again. 

Kova might make a reappearance once Honerva remembers to feed her cat

[stripestheboar]

Stagnant Decay Chapter 2

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When Sans had first gotten a grasp on where he was, the world had terrified him. Humans were everywhere. They mingled with monsters he remembered sweeping away years ago. They all looked at him oddly and spoke muffled words he couldn't hear. Everything was just too cloudy. He'll admit: he had panicked a few times and caused a few accidents, but it's not like he couldn't help himself. Free EXP was just walking around everywhere, but with this many humans, he couldn't afford to be so reckless. However, he couldn't control himself during these times. Usually Papyrus would be here to help and comfort him, as he always did. But Papyrus was gone.

"Maggie, let's go! Come on!" Fuku called, running to catch up with Blaine. "Okay okay, hold on!" the young Vulkin called after her, trying her hardest to keep up with the two. It wasn't exactly fair that Blaine had a skateboard and Maggie was about half both of their sizes, but damn it if she didn't at least try. She had four legs and a whole lot of determination, but it still wasn't enough. While she was able to gain a bit of ground, she had to stop at the crosswalk once traffic started up again. She swore when she realized that her friends had made it over just in time. She tried to peer over the rushing cars to see if her friends were waiting for her, but to no avail. She was going to wait it out, but the movie was going to start in five minutes. She had no time. Maybe there was a way to get there faster? That's when a familiar blue and gray caught her eyes. "Hmm? Oh! Sans!" she called over, running to the hooded frame of the skeleton. She didn't know the skeleton too well, but he had once given her a shortcut to school as an add-on to a pretty expensive hotdog (50G if you could believe it). Sans was turned away from her, in his usual jacket and shorts as always with his arms crossed in a stiff manner. This time, he had his gray hood over his skull. He seemed to jolt slightly when he heard his name called and briskly began to walk away. Maggie frowned at this, but just shrugged it off and walked after him. "Sans, hey, can I ask for a reeeaaallly big favor?" she panted, already tired from all that running. Sans didn't answer. She just took it as him listening. "Okay, so I need to get to the cinema, but the movie starts in five minutes," she began to explain. "You know a shortcut, right? You always know a shortcut. It's just the theater down the block. Can you help me out? I'll buy another hotdog! Heck, I'll buy you a movie ticket if you want! I just need to get there! I-.... Sans?" About halfway through her little speech, she  stopped when Sans entered an alleyway. She was a bit confused when she saw the dead end, but that's when she realized it must be another one of his shortcuts. She ran in after him, but was forced to halt once again upon seeing him stop as well. "Sans?" she huffed, bewildered by the monster's strange behavior. "Sans, are you feeling okay?" she asked, trotting up in front of him and facing him. Sans had his head tilted downwards to where the shadows of the alley and his hood covered his skull, though she could still see that grin he was so well-know for. His hands slowly rose to embrace himself, the bones in his hands tightly clutching his arms. It was something you would see scared or deeply troubled monsters and humans do. Those who had arms, of course, which was something the Vulkin knew all too well. A shudder seemed to overtake him, something that Maggie didn't think skinless skeletons really did; however, the sudden movement did cause her to realize that something was falling from Sans' coat. It was particles, floating through the air like flour or something of the like. It was a very fine substance, and after a quick, more detailed look at Sans' jacket, she realized what the thin, easily breathable, deathly gray powder was. This wasn't Sans. This wasn't Sans at all. She began to finally feel the raw evil power, almost pungent in the air with its aura. What had she gotten herself into? Maggie's eyes began to well with fear as she slowly started to back away further into the alley, watching Sans' every move. She finally noticed the now sporadic movements he made, as well the way he seemed to get closer to her with each time she looked away, even if she was blinking. "Sans, stay back," she warned, already beginning to feel her magma begin to bubble up inside her, getting ready to erupt at the slightest sound. "I'm warning you! I don't want to hurt you! Don't make me, okay?" She heard the low chuckle coming from Sans. Oh god, that laugh sounded so unnatural, almost as unnatural as the way Sans' already wide smile seemed to only be getting bigger and bigger by the second. Another shudder tore through the skeleton, and he took another step forward, getting closer to the backing-up Maggie. That's when Sans began to lift his skull some, his sockets coming up to look at the young, too young, Vulkin. That expression. That expression terrified her. It was something she could only hope to see in her deepest nightmares. She felt her hope go out the window as her magic died down with fear. She backed up more, but she quickly hit the brick wall of a dead end. Sans was blocking the way, and he was only getting closer. Out of pure instinct, she let out a scream, just she saw the sharp bones spear up from the ground.

Papyrus hummed to himself happily as he made his way home, the bags of varying pasta noodles and other ingredients hanging taut from his ulnas. He had to admit, while it was a beautiful day outside, Papyrus didn't particularly feel all too sunny. It felt weird, just wandering the town of mostly humans without his brother there to crack a few one-liners. Sans hadn't accompanied him on the trip this time, saying something about needing to catch up with a friend. Papyrus knew it had something to do with the phone calls Sans had been getting, which were getting more and more frequent. He was constantly stopping in the middle of conversations to start a new one on his phone. And then it would be off to Grillby's for a few rounds of ketchup. It was quite annoying, if Papyrus was to be honest, but it was also quite worrying. What was keeping Sans away? Papyrus looked up at the sun, taking a moment to admire it. It seemed to be in the middle of the sky, not too late for a quick stop by someplace to maybe greet a few former residents of the Underground. Muffet's was always a good place to stop by, and her spiders sure did seem to like him, but Sans had asked him to stop going there after coming back with pretty much no money each time. He felt that visiting Onionsan at the beach would be a fun time, but after the little sinking incident a few months back, he was rather hesitant now. So why not the always best choice: Frisk and their family? Miss Toriel was always happy to have him, and Frisk just loved telling him all about school, as well as listening to him talk about his daily life. Of course, he could also go see Undyne and Aphys and possibly get to see Mettaton, but they have been strangely busy over the past few days. It would make sense, though, with the both of them performing their royal duties and such (not-so-royal for Undyne, seeing as the Guard had merged with the human’s police force into just being two different units).

So it was settled then: Papyrus would go out to see his bestest friends, Frisk. He pulled to the outer edge of the sidewalk, leaning against a building as he took out his phone and searched for the human’s number in his large library of five numbers.

Just as Papyrus had found Frisk’s number, he heard a scream pierce the air over the sound of passing cars. He blinked his sockets in surprise and looked up at the direction the cry, which was quickly cut short by a sound he couldn’t quite describe. It was a mix between tearing and stone breaking, and then a sudden silence. His Royal Guard in-training instincts kicked in, and seeing as the sidewalk was almost empty save for a sleeping Knight Knight on a bench, he went to investigate.

Papyrus put his phone away and rounded the corner, nearly dropping his bags at who he saw. It was his brother, Sans, standing with his back facing him and his hood up. Papyrus was rather surprised, as Sans had said he would be at Grillby’s for the rest of the evening. What was he doing in such a dingy alley like this? He hesitantly set the bags on his arms down, approaching his brother. “Brother? What are you doing here in such an unsanitary place?” he spoke, approaching Sans from behind.

Sans suddenly jolted as if being touched with a fire poker, spinning around at a faster speed than Papyrus even thought possible for him. The smaller skeleton raised a hand, as if he was about to summon an attack, but he seemed to catch himself. Strange; Sans hadn’t used an attack on anyone in years. This immediately worried the younger brother, who took a step back in surprise upon seeing how Sans so harshly readied his magic. There was anger in those movements. Hate and fear and desperation, and so much of them at that. Papyrus’ soul grew heavy from it. But that wasn’t all that was wrong with Sans.

With the exception of having his hood up, everything about Sans just seemed wrong. His hand was kept frozen in the air, his fingers twitching, almost uncontrolled. The jacket he usually wore was strangely faded and even a bit worn, with a couple of tears and stains visible in the fabric. He was wearing white shirt as well, something that tipped Papyrus off as being extremely wrong, as Sans had left wearing a red shirt with a terrible pun as its print. However, what really knocked hard on the skeleton’s skull was Sans’ face. That awful, petrifying look that Papyrus had never thought he’d ever see on his older brother. His eye sockets were wide open, the eyelights inside almost pinpricks. Speaking of the eyelights, those were fairly unnatural looking as well. The right socket had the glowing white light ringed with red, almost the same color as the scarf that was currently draped around the taller one’s cervical vertebrae. The left socket had the same blue that Papyrus was used to seeing within their magic and during some of Sans’ more unpleasant moments. Around the blue iris, though, was another red ring.

And that expression. Several emotions were clearly spread across Sans’ face: fear, anger, panic, confusion, and desperation. But Papyrus saw something that disturbed him. Something that he never wanted to see on Sans again.

Sans looked tired. He looked so tired, and it wasn’t the kind his own brother had before a long nap; it seemed as if his brother- no, not-brother- hadn’t slept in months. The way the tops of his sockets sagged, unable to move any higher, and how his eyelights moved in a slow and lethargic fashion; he looked to be just tired and confused. He even seemed to have trouble-

“Papyrus?”

Papyrus’ train of thought was suddenly broken when his not-brother spoke. It had surprised him so much, as his voice sounded so unnatural;it was so rough, as if Sans had not spoken in many years. But why had he said his name so suddenly?

“P-Papyrus?” the Sans repeated. There was his name again. “Sans? Are you…. are you okay?” he replied, despite already knowing that whoever this monster was, it wasn’t his Sans.

“Papyrus, is that you?” this other version of his brother spoke, sounding so shaky, as though one wrong word would dust him on the spot. The skeleton in question was frozen to where he stood, not knowing what to do. Without waiting for an answer, his not-brother began to approach him, his steps seeming to be so heavy and dragging that you would have thought he had large weights tied to his tibias. Papyrus found that the ability to run away had returned to him, but he didn’t turn around. He couldn’t. Not when this Sans looked so troubled and distressed.

The twitchy Sans stopped in front of the taller monster, looking up at him with constricted lights and shaking bones. He reached forward, his phalanges stretching to grab hold of something on Papyrus, or perhaps just hoping to touch Papyrus himself. However, the hand stopped just before they could make contact, beginning to shake as if  it was scared of what would happen if contact was indeed made. So the hand was dropped, leaving the false Sans to just stare up at Papyrus from behind heavy sockets.

The two stood in complete silence, a silence that drowned out the rushing of the cars outside of the alley. Papyrus needed to break the silence, for this Sans didn’t seem all too like his brother, and not in the good way. He noticed the smaller skeleton’s lights shift down to Papyrus’ scarf, staring at it as if it was some crown jewel. And that’s when it hit him like a ton of bricks. He now knew why this Sans shook the way he did, and why his movements were so slow and lethargic, why he wore his hood over his skull, or even why he was so sporadic in his movements: Sans was cold.

It all made sense now. Of course, the colored eyelights still needed to be explained, but he would ask about that later. It was rather cold out, and being dressed in casual clothing fitting the weather, Papyrus was happy to lend over an article of warmth. Seeing as Sans already had on a jacket, he didn’t remove his own light coat, but instead slid his red scarf off from around his vertebrae. He honestly felt a bit silly now, thinking that his own bone and marrow brother was some odd imposter. His imagination really did get the best of him sometimes. “Here you go, brother!” Papyrus cheered, his jovial tone of voice returning as he reached down and slipped the scarf around the older’s cervical vertebrae, making sure it was secure. “You won’t have to feel cold anymore.” Sans immediately jolted at the contact and his rose about a fraction of an inch, but the other hand quickly grabbed that arm and held it down, as if restraining himself.

Sans stared up at Papyrus, sockets now wide in shock and disbelief. However, his expression quickly melted into one that seemed to convey joy, but contained a large amount of sadness. He looked ready to cry, but no tears fell. “Oh my god,” he heard Sans whisper. “It’s you. It’s really you. Oh god, you’re back.” Papyrus was taken aback when he suddenly had his waist embraced by his brother. “Back? What do you-?”

“I’m sorry,” was what cut Papyrus off. Sans pulled away for only a moment, but it was just to tug Papyrus down to his level to embrace him once again. “I’m so sorry,” Sans repeated, his voice cracking. He sounded so close to sobs, but nothing fell. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. I-I know…. I know you must…. I didn’t want to- oh god, you’re really back.” Sentences were started but never finished. Sobs were choked back, but never released. Sans just kept whispering how sorry he was. How Papyrus had finally come back.

Papyrus stared forward, his mind reeling. He had been right: this was no Sans of his. Or, at least, this wasn’t the Sans he knew and loved. This one just seemed so lost. He seemed broken. Papyrus’ arm slowly rose to wrap around him and return the embrace. The Sans jolted at his touch, but ended up just hugging him tighter. Papyrus continued to stare forward at the cold, stone ground in front of him.

There was a pile of gray dust, spread carelessly over the gray concrete, almost blending in had it not been for the fact that some much of it was gathered into one spot. Circling around the dust jutted out large bones, all angled inwardly. They had such sharp, jagged points, clearly summoned with the intention to hurt. The strangest part was that all the bones were a distinct purple shade, almost like a lilac. Such a soft color shouldn't be speckled with sprays of a dead gray. He had never seen magic like that. It was unknown to him. As much as his mind tried to deny what the powder was, the bones only confirmed his belief.

His thoughts dominating over the sound of Sans’ cries, morbid curiosity got the best of Papyrus. He slowly rubbed his gloved hands over the back of Sans’ jacket, getting a few good strokes in before shakily lifting his hand to peek at the palm. The entire palm and inner fingers of the red gloved were covered in a gray dusty powder. Sans was absolutely covered in it, hence the fade of the clothing.

Sans was covered in dust.

Papyrus’ mind went blank for a moment, every fiber in his being screaming for him to get away from the monster he was embracing, but he just couldn’t.

Sans wouldn’t stop mumbling his apologies. He sounded so broken.

Papyrus gave a slow nod to the apologies, wrapping his arms tighter around Sans.