#so these three have a chance to talk--though undyne's still keeping her eye on the situation just in case :>

[undertalethingems]

Unexpected Guests Chapter Ten, Act Two: Page 12

First / Previous / Next

Finally, a chance to strategize and something to show for it--now it only remains to be seen if Frisk's hunch is right.

It was nice to draw more character expressions for this update! Alphys and Undyne are always fun :>

Since the normal 2-week schedule would put the next update on the day after my birthday this year, and i want to take that week pretty easy, it'll be a 3-week wait this time. Look for the next update on Feb. 22nd! See you then!

[jamestrmtx]

Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]

[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]

Chapter Twenty Two | Another Medium (Part 2 of 4)

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

"Hurry, ren. We're gonna be late!"

You smile down at Frisk and watch as they tug at the edge of your shirt to try pulling you along with them.

The door's left open, and even though those meant to pick you up for the event aren't here yet, they still urge you to go outside and wait.

"It's only seven, honey." Your thoughts drift back to your video call and Sans's most recent text message, letting you know half an hour later that he'd be here soon. "We've got a few minutes left." You grab their hand and put a stop to their energy, facing their eyes. "Are you that excited about starting school?"

They nod and grin wide. "Even more, if you're gonna be working there, too!"

Your smile falls as you remember the folder Sans had given you. It had been thrown into the farthest corner of your bookshelf that same day, and you'd been too reluctant to look at it any more ever since. You didn't want to take their kindness and help for granted, just as much as you didn't want to forget about your reasons for learning more about monsters. Your godmother was right in terms of you needing to understand them more, so you've established it upon yourself to bring that up during your first, official date night with the skeleton. Understanding the changes being made to the Underground could aid you with the slim chance of finding a way to either halt or delay it from becoming a big tourist attraction, and you could finally be more clear and upfront about your feelings related to the dream -- even if all of that was easier said than done. Not only had you crossed far too many boundaries with him already, but you were still keeping your dubious relationship with him, all while continuing to be wary of him and everyone else for their past. The subtle but no less irate light to his gaze when having your aunt bring up the the Judgement Hall had been more than sufficient for you to try something -- or at least, assist him and every other monster with that process.

In short, hypocrisy's absorbing you bit by bit, and today's your very first attempt at trying to break free from that. Whether you succeed or not doesn't matter. Giving it a shot, on the contrary, does. Even the slightest amount of closure achieved with your research could help in setting your thoughts straight, and -- perhaps -- to finally stop yourself from comparing monsterkind with Jerry.

To put it this way: you couldn't allow yourself one thing if you were allowing the other to continue happening.

After all, why were you willing to engage in a relationship with someone like Sans, when you were still far from forgiving and much less forgetting Jerry over abandoning Frisk for so many years?

Why were you willing to befriend someone like Alphys, who'd been close to ending up in jail due to the failed experiments made on those of her own kind?

Why were you willing to book a night at Mettaton's hotel, knowing he'd once set Frisk into danger greater than any other monster you knew had -- Undyne being a close second?

Even someone like Papyrus brought harm to them once!

"Ren," Frisk calls out, tugging your hand. "You look angry. Are... Are you okay?"

You nod and let out a breath, composing yourself. "I'm fine, honey."

"Are you still thinking about avenging me?"

Your eyes shoot wide open at that, and you can't avoid suspecting they might have the capability of reading your mind.

Regardless of their word choice, you were -- in a sense -- wanting to avenge them from anyone who'd once caused them harm, be it Jerry, the monsters, or the loud and nosy neighbour from next door wondering why Frisk enjoyed playing with action figures just as much as they did playing with princesses.

"Ren!"

Hearing their whine of concern, you snap out of it and look down to see they've let go of your hand, both their arms now outstretched and in wait for your embrace.

"Do you want a hug?"

Your smile returns at that, albeit a bit more melancholic compared to the first time. You get down to their height and pull them in for a hug, sighing when you have them safe in your hold; it feels right to have them close and in your care, no matter how much your mind insists otherwise. The question you brought up back at the Judgement Hall still feels like the most subconscious part of your mind had possessed you, insisting you turn back to how you used to be after Frisk's fall.

"You don't need to protect me that much!" they say, letting go. "I... I know all the monsters well, so I'd tell you if any one of them's bugging me. You don't need to hate them for my sake, and you don't have to compare them to dad, either." Without a doubt, if humans still had the capability of using magic and spells, you would label them a mind reader. "You should get to know them on your own first, and not just based on who they are to me. Because if that's really all up to me, then the only one I don't really like much is..."

At that, they stop; they bring a finger to their chin and tap it twice, delving deep in their thoughts along the way.

"Huh..." Frisk taps their chin again and their gaze turns furrowed, scrunching up the more they think about it. "I mean, I don't really know if I dislike any of them... I just know I wanna have friends!"

You're compelled -- if not, urged -- to argue against that, though your heart stops you from spilling any of those thoughts out. Still, your mind attempts to push through it. Personal feelings couldn't cloud your judgement, if that meant it could bring harm to your child.

"Even if they-"

Hearing the engine rumbling as Papyrus parks close by the sidewalk is a blessing in and of itself; the aforementioned date night with his brother can't get here any sooner. You need to sort your thoughts out once and for all. Almost half a year of waltzing with the seemingly never-ending issue of Frisk's journey and the bonds they made through it was far too much. If you were slowly making friends with those same people too, then you needed to stop this at once. No matter how much you wanted to avoid said confrontation, that had to be done -- for both CPS and reasons beyond.

"You're right." You huff, bring a hand to your forehead, and go lower to massage the brim of your nose. Not a moment after, you fix your glasses, look back to their side, and form a smile. "Thank you, dear."

• • •

You close your eyes just before the monster presses a damp cotton ball to your wound.

Isopropyl makes it sting immediately, yet you're too busy with your thoughts to care about it that much.

"You okay?" Sans asks, meeting your eyes when you open them. "You've been quiet since we got 'ere."

"I'm okay, but..." You think back to how you greeted him with a wave, right as you did with his brother. While the monster before you didn't seem to mind it, you can't avoid the thought of how you used to be with Jerry. It was easier to be more affectionate back then, and it was easier still greeting him with a kiss -- be it a simple one on the cheek or a quick one on the lips. Now, you can't so much as imagine the prospect of doing that with your new partner without overthinking or feeling stressed about it. "I was wondering if we... if we should maybe keep our relationship private -- f- for now?"

He finishes wrapping the bandages and fixes them tight before replying with, "That's fine with me. Did you watch the video?"

"No, I'm..." You grow short of breath at the thought of how many people have likely seen it by now -- how many times it's been shared, and how many more discussions and heated arguments have revolved around it. "I'm too scared to."

You can't bring yourself to look at him any longer, so his expression falls unknown as he suggests watching it together, a question you answer to with a quiet and mumbled 'sure'.

Sans proceeds with a nod and stores all the items used back into the first aid kit before taking out his phone, settling down in bed, and holding your hand with his free one. "Really sure?" he asks, squeezing it once. You reply with an even quieter 'yes' and watch in silence as he clicks on the link sent by what you assume is several people, based on how Undyne, Brenda, and even the man from the train station -- now his friend and your co-worker -- have messaged him the same information, all three left unread. The one he chooses is farther back and dated with yesterday, this one sent by Jerry.

It plays in an instant and the first thing to appear is Asgore's garden, while murmurs are what compose the audio as the one filming shows himself around a field of trampled flowers, these now a mess of broken pots, thrashed earth, and missing rocks. A few others make him company and engage in small talk, though it ends quickly when one of them shouts for everyone to 'get over here quick'. The group does as told, leading for the cameraman to rush along with them out of the garden and into the Judgement Hall. The audio grows quiet as he ventures further, steps and voices now discreet as he films a fuzzy image of two people sitting at one of the benches laid around, with the exception that one sits on top and has their arms wrapped firm and tight around the other. Multiple people urge the cameraman to approach the scene more, making him show you and Sans kissing, albeit of a blurry quality with how much he has to zoom in so as to not be caught. Even the noise is recorded with how silent everything else is, this one mostly composed of hitched breaths and clothing shuffling against each other as you hug him closer. Thankfully, no kissing noises are recorded, something you assume is due to him having a shapeable skull rather than lips, along with how slow and careful your actions are.

The video ends when the kiss does, and it leaves you in the same silence created right before clicking on it.

Regardless, Sans opens up the page it was posted on to reveal more information about the creator.

'Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this stuff? This is the future that awaits us, if we continue to act as if we can live peacefully with these people. Opposing these changes is necessary, if we wish to keep our normalcy. Casual make outs with a being so far from human shouldn't be the norm of our world', reads the caption.

Below, some of the replies read from ones saying the poster isn't the only one who shares those thoughts, to ones who've taken the time to write an entire paragraph about the situation.

'🤢🤮'

'Absolutely not.'

'No, you're not. This is outright hideous.'

'Click here to see my 👄 HOT 🔥 noods 🍝: www.uhohspaghettios.xd'

'Wow, this is just like 1984.'

'Next thing you know, we'll be the ones living in the Underground.'

'I need eye bleach ASAP!!! 😱'

'Yeah, no. Hard pass on whatever the hell I just watched. Why did you even film this?'

'That skeleman is nothing but a closeted cradle-robber. Anyone who's met (Y/N) knows how naïve and childish they are, and them dating someone like that screams bad news. Forget that he's a monster, people! What's more important here's how he's got a liking for them despite that gap -- both mentally AND physically. He should be ashamed for bringing their reputation even further down with this video. At this point, I have trouble believing they'll ever recover from all this.'

'...Ok, but...... Am I the only one who finds this kinda.................. Hot? 👀💦'

'Of course, even a monster would try to have his way with someone like them. Look at how they're dressed!'

'To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand how wrong this stuff is. The degeneracy infesting the Surface nowadays is extremely subtle, and without a solid knowledge of social sciences, most of the immorality will go over a typical person's head. There's also the skeleton's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation -- his personal philosophy draws heavily from George Orwell literature, for instance. People like us understand this stuff; we have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these social rejects, to realise that they're not just ridiculous -- they say something deep about LIFE and SOCIETY. As a consequence, people who see nothing wrong with this truly ARE idiots -- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in the skeleton's existential catchphrase "Genocide is wrong", which itself is a cryptic reference to Er*n Yeag*r from Att*ck on Tit*n. I'm smirking right now, just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as our fight against this backwards evolution unfolds itself on their phone screens. What fools... How I pity anyone who disagrees with you and tries to defend this behaviour. 😂'

At the bottom of it all, a neglected comment reads:

'Not only are you and your companions trespassing in an unsafe location, but your recording shows clear evidence you were damaging former King Asgore Dreemurr's property. You have also chosen to film these people without their knowledge despite them being in a private area, and uploaded the footage to a massive social media platform, as well. This is punishable by law, and I will not hesitate to stand for these people, if they decide to file a lawsuit against you.'

What stands out the most goes beyond the commenter's name, as his profile picture is what captures your attention first, regardless of how well-dressed he appears in the image and how small it is without clicking on it. Sans seems to share the same thought as you, as he clicks on the man's account without thinking twice. It takes some time to load, but when it does, your mouth gapes and you find yourself at a complete loss for words.

'Gerardo "Jerry" Gonzalez Gutierrez del Valle. Family practice lawyer since 20XX. Co-founder of the first Alcohol and Smoking Helpline for monsters. Former quarterback for Ebott U's Football League,' his bio reads.

You're overcome by what feels like an hour of silence before you can process what you've read. The age-old experience of reviewing material from your textbook at three thirty in the morning arrives when you try to read through his profile a second time, then a third. Even his pictures are difficult to process, these a variety of him posing with his co-workers at the newly-opened helpline building, screenshots of his progress with quitting alcohol and his strike of days and months sober, images of him in different suits, and -- last but not least -- a couple of Throwback Thursdays from his glory days, featuring both high school and college memories. It's hard to decide which feeling out of multiple is stronger than the rest, as jealousy combines with the slightest thing you expect out of this discovery: being reminded of the good ol' days. Guilt arrives next when growing aware of your current relationship with the one sitting next to you, even if it's only the thought of how happy you used to be with the man in those pictures before everything went haywire.

"You're... You're seeing this too, right?"

You hear him chuckle and see him agree with a nod, though you can't exactly fall back down to Earth again; were this a dream, you would accept it as such.

"Yeah." The monster looks you over once before adding, "And am I imagining it, or did I catch you smilin' at 'im just now?" He winks.

"So you're telling me you're really not surprised by this, at all?"

"...Touché."

You stand up and give your back to him, irked by his assumption despite him being nothing close to serious about it. "But, please don't think I still like him." Your hands turn into fists at the thought of going back with someone like him, no matter his current intentions. "I still haven't forgiven him, and I still..." Bile rises to your throat as your stomach churns wildly. "I still hate him." Then, you take a pause to gather strength. "And maybe that's a strong word, b- but... It's hard for me to forget that's the same man who once accused me for every little thing that wasn't 'normal' with Frisk, from them running away the first time, to them refusing to call him dad -- even when I never prevented them from visiting him, and e- even when he stopped visiting them first." Your chest shakes as you huff. "I... I still dislike him, and I really hate that I remembered good things about him just now."

Your mouth refuses to shut up and makes you continue on with, "So if I still can't forgive him, how can I make a decision for CPS with so many of you and in so short of a time? I still can't decide what to do, no... no matter how much I've learnt about everyone else." Your throat turns dry, and you find it difficult to swallow. "Hell, it was only yesterday I finally gave into one of my doubts. I thought it twice before asking if you wanted to kiss, but it'd been in my mind for a long while before that."

"You're sayin' the kiss was you decidin' to trust me?"

"Yes."

He scoots closer to your side and furrows his gaze.

"Even after that dream, and even though I started it?"

"Y... Yes." You do the same as him and smile. "I trust you, and... And I know the dream's likely just me overthinking this. One thing's spilling the truth when you're drunk, and one thing's getting... too caught up in your fears -- to the point where you have these warped dreams about someone else, no matter how much they mean to you."

His irises soften in their light, and a hint of culpability seems to fall on him. "Then I'm sorry for bringin' your ex into this." You sit back down with him and hold his hand again. "It wasn't right."

"It's okay."

"Doesn't look that way."

Before you know it, you're held by your lower back, pulled close, and brought down in bed.

He stays on top, gaze focused on yours rather than on your lips or anywhere else suggesting something more.

"Have you found that help yet? Counseling, I mean." His gaze remains the same despite having changed topics so abruptly. "How're ya doin', puddin'?"

"Bubbles and Brenda suggested two recently, but I... I still haven't gotten around to calling either one of them."

"Want me to make you company while you try that now? We've got time."

"...Kiss me first, please?"

He lowers more and presses his teeth to your neck.

"Gladly."

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

• • •

Tag List (Comment or message me if you want to be added to [or removed from] it!)

@the-simp-express

@nektotersh

@disastrous-l0vebug

@therealchickenjoe

@mintyflakes025

@pandaquick

@timelock97

@candle-creeps

@paperb9gs

@merak0

@homesickinvader

[a-snow-decahedron]

A Flower's Guide for Happy Endings - Chapter One

Spanish version: coming soon

Summary:

Flowey witnesses the aftermath of the human's journey across the Underground, and tries to make sense of his life now that he's not in control of the timeline. Will it last? Or will he take desperate measures?

Words: 3892

Read on AO3: Link here!

Flowey was still processing the last moments of his life as he left the human's side and watched them cross the Barrier, leaving the Underground behind. The child had chosen to give him mercy, time and time again. The nonsense of this action was so overwhelming, he fled. He didn't pay attention to his surroundings as he moved through the hallways of the King's Castle in New Home. He just kept going, emerging at times to look at a certain turn or wait for the right time to move his roots to another surface. It was almost a matter of reflexes to him. After so many resets, he felt like he could wander across the Underground with his eyes closed and he would know exactly where he was. Environments were something he wasn't able to change, at least not by himself. He didn't find the idea appealing, either. People were much more interesting to interact with... Until they weren't.

There was a wide range of things that could happen at any time in the Underground, and he had done pretty much everything. Some things never changed, though. The Amalgamates were never freed; it was more likely for Alphys to give up than for the truth inside the Lab to come out. Toriel never left the Ruins, no matter what you told her, or what happened outside the closed doors. Asgore never let him see the human souls, no matter how much he insisted. All his efforts were futile in a way, as none of it amounted to anything significant. All could be undone by his will, but not even those things he did held much meaning after a while. It was like watching the same simulation over and over again.

Flowey usually spent about a month or two at most messing around before resetting. In this timeline he had settled for waiting and not being an intervention as much as possible, until new days came by. It was incredibly boring, sadly. So he decided to do meaningless things to pass the time. Nothing much, not like pestering some Moldsmals ever achieved anything. He didn't kill, since that usually meant trouble, and the whole point of this was seeing a world without him. He also watched people he knew. Toriel carried on with her day; sometimes she fell asleep on her reading chair, with one too many cups of wine. Flowey may have given her some water one time, without a reason, simply to make an insignificant difference. Papyrus, a skeleton in Snowdin he had encountered after spying on the Royal Guard, was also an interesting monster to visit. He always had a remark or an anecdote for every place. He was full of such nonsense and contradictions, Flowey always got a laugh or two from his conversations. It was impossible not to play some tricks on him. Every once in a while he dropped predictions in their conversations, which the skeleton seemed to take very seriously at times.

And just when the timeline was starting to get too monotonous, he heard a loud noise on the Ruins, shortly after he had left checking on the flowers. That place.... it always reminded him of his sibling. Golden Flowers were their favorite. That day, at the Ruins, life took an unexpected turn: a human had fallen down, and with them, his control. Needless to say, he freaked out. Not only was this child a fallen human, they were just so much like them— but they couldn't be, could they? In the end. Flowey did what he knew best: got to know this human, acted nice, and then tested their reaction when he betrayed them. The stupid kid fell for his tricks, but Toriel stopped his movements, and took the child with her. The soulless monster, frustrated, tried to go back to his save point, yet he failed: another force was overwriting his mark in spacetime. From then, he decided to follow the human. and see what they did. Soon enough, he found out that the human was the one in control of the timeline, using it to get their way. Through the Ruins, the Snowdin cold, the dark Waterfall and the steaming Hotland, Flowey followed them, catching glimpses of their journey.

What came after the human spared King Asgore was a blur. His determination flowed in a chaotic way when he tried to reminisce about his attempt to take the human souls. It felt so good to have something within that wasn't just willpower fuel. He felt so good, so intense, so alive. That human kid was about to face his true power, to see what he was capable of doing. He had never met someone that could remember overwritten timelines like him, and he wasn't wasting his chance to make the most of it. But human souls are determined and that includes the six within him. They turned against him, and took him back to zero in moments. And then... well. He simply couldn't understand. His control was lost again. The human just needed one blow to finish him off, but they refused and crossed the Barrier. Why not even try? Why not give him the same pain? Why does it matter if he lives or not, anyways?

He was back in Snowdin town by the time his inner monologue had gone full circle, all caused by the human who’d come and gone in what felt like a mere blink. By the time he got to the town it was early night, the time many monsters had dinner. Snowdin had a system of streetlights that was usually too high for non-flying monsters to reach. They were powered by the CORE, and to tell apart day and night, they had set a gradual energy-saving mode that reduced the amount of lights during the night, synchronized with the time on the Surface. The lights were said to resemble stars. Real stars were prettier, but it did the job well enough for the thousands of monsters that had never seen the Surface.

Flowey was standing on a residential street, still muttering to himself, looking at the houses' windows filled with light and the smell of homemade food. He wasn't quick enough to hide after hearing a muffled voice and a door being bumped open. A yellow striped kid, holding a bag of trash with their mouth and on their way to the trashcan, gasped at Flowey and dropped the bag on the snow.

"The talking flower's real?!" They opened their eyes wide, like they had seen the surface. As Flowey tried to curl underground to leave, the monster child spoke. "Yo, don't leave! Papyrus told me about you!"

At the mention of the name, the soulless flower hesitated, then turned around "Howdy! I'm Flowey the flower.” He forced a grin. "And just what has he told you?" he asked, slightly squinting.

"Well..." The kid stared at a point beyond Flowey, thinking of their answer. "We just met today! I mean, I've seen him before, but we never, like, talked. I was on my way back to Snowdin after I left the human in Water— yo, did you hear a human showed up in town today? It's crazy!" They hopped excitedly, shaking their tail happily.

Flowey raised a brow and waved with one of the roots he pulled from the ground, signaling the kid to keep talking. He supposed hearing some gossip was good enough for now, until he figured out what to do now, or found a way to gain his control of the timeline again.

"I didn't know they were human at first, but man, they were so nice! I showed them some caverns in Waterfall on our way. I was so excited to see Undyne fight bad guys! But it turns out they, uhm, were the bad guy Undyne was going after?" They trailed off, looking for a way to follow their story. "She told me that the human was bad, that i could get hurt. And she tried to attack them! But they saved me so they can’t be bad! I had to show her! Yo I dunno what came over me, it felt like my heart was pounding out of my chest. But I told her, s-she would not. I was really scared, but I think it worked! And then I... left them to go home because my parents would worry if I was out late", they mumbled the last part, feeling their rush of energy decrease.

Flowey shot them an impatient glance. "Ok, got you. But when does Papyrus show up in all this?"

"Oh yeah! Right! We met when I was on my way to Snowdin. He said some things about using friendship for his duties as a future royal guardsman, and then we talked about Undyne. He said she is training him to be part of the guard- it sounds so cool! I wanna be just like him one day!" They hopped on one foot. "Then... I asked him about the friend stuff he said, and he told me he didn't have many friends, but Undyne was really close. And then he spoke of a talking flower, that had like, prediction powers. He said you gave encouragement, advice and stuff. I didn't think you were real, but man, was I wrong."

"Is that it?" Flowey raised a brow, getting tired of the kid's chatter. Maybe someone else would have liked talkative friends, but he had enough for that day, and frankly he just wanted to get healed. All the talking was making him dizzy.

"Yeah! It has to be you, right? Man, if we become friends I would break my friend-making record. Three people in one day! Yo this is so great." Their tail moved from side to side.

Flowey yawned, feigning sleepiness "Hey kid, it's nice talking, but don't you have anything better to do?" He pointed to the trashbag with his body.

"Oh right! I forgot. Thanks dude!" they said, picking up the bag with their teeth and walking to the trashcan on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, you don't want to get in trouble, right? I don't think your parents are very happy you went too far into Waterfall on your own with some stranger."

Flowey shrank a bit to appear smaller as the child walked towards him. "Before you leave, I need something. Do it for your new friend, wontcha? Can you get me a snack? I got in a friendly fight and my HP isn't the best right now. I could use some help." He pulled the most innocent smile he could, which was always convincing.

"Ok! Be right back, yo!" They dashed to their house and came out a minute later, pulling two cinnamon bunnies from their inventory and almost dropping them on the floor.

Flowey picked them up with his roots and saved them on his own inventory with a poof. "Thanks, kid!"

"Yeah, no problem Flowey!" They paused and then added "Yo, I forgot to tell you my name, it's M—" Before they had finished their sentence, the flower was gone, like it was never there.

As Flowey moved under the snow, he didn't notice the recent footsteps or the furry monster that made them as they made their way towards the Riverperson place.

Flowey emerged at the side of the skeleton brothers’ house, careful not to be seen. He took a cinnamon bunny, took a bite, and then tried to rest. Sleeping as a flower wasn't easy. It wasn't like laying down in a bed. He technically didn't need to sleep, as long as he had energy from the lights around him or food. As a plant, the most he could do was fold his petals on his face, and find a place where the wind wouldn't bother him and nobody would step on him by accident. Despite this, if he wanted to recover from his injuries, he needed to rest in order to restore his HP.

Flowey was making himself comfortable —as much as he could in a town like Snowdin—, when he heard a door shut strongly on the second floor of the house. It seemed people were at home. He moved closer to eavesdrop on them, but it wasn't necessary, as the speakers were loud enough on their own.

"So... I'm staying here tonight, right? Until I fix my house."

"YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO STAY HERE, BUT YES, WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE HOUSE TOMORROW!"

"When do you think the human's coming back? Do you think they'll stay at the inn?

"IT'S WHAT I EXPECT, BUT MAYBE THEY WENT TO NEW HOME AND FOUND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO SLEEP? THEY HAVEN'T CALLED SINCE THEY GOT TO THE CORE."

"They better not be hanging outside late or they'll get in trouble with me."

"WHAT IF THE HUMAN'S NOCTURNAL?”

"Who knows? Not ME at least. Anime says all kinds of things that don't make sense when you put them together, like in some of them, some humans have cat ears, but in others that's not possible. At least they should have something cooler, like fins!"

"OR BONES! HMM, BUT WE CAN ONLY GUESS. PERHAPS THEY ARE NOCTURNAL, I HEARD HUMANS HAVE SOMETHING CALLED TIMEZONES. MY BROTHER TOLD ME ABOUT IT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SUN..."

At that point Flowey stopped listening. Those two went over several topics, and whenever they didn't know something, they made it up with their theories. It was amusing in the first dozen resets, but by now Flowey had exhausted all possible topics with each of them...

Suddenly, he heard something that was new to him.

"SO UNDYNE, I SEE YOU ARE CARRYING A LETTER? IS IT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL?" Papyrus inquired, teasingly.

A letter? Flowey had seen many letters. Several had been addressed to Dr. Alphys. He wondered why the fish monster would have one too.

"WHAT? Well, I don't want it to get damaged in case I burn down the house on accident again— BUT NOT FOR ANY SPECIAL REASON, it's just a silly thing I keep with me."

"WHO IS IT ADDRESSED TO, THEN?"

"Uh...."

"WILL YOU LET ME READ IT?"

"Absolutely NOT! It's personal!"

"SO IS IT FOR ALPHYS..." A pause. "YOU DID NOT DENY IT. SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST CALL HER, DELIVER IT, AND SEE HER REACTION?" There was the sound of a phone being unlocked. "I'LL DO THE PHONE CALL!"

"Papyrus, no! I need to rewrite it, it's not done yet! Give me the phone, darn it!" There was another pause. "Ok, thanks. Besides, she's probably busy fixing Mettaton right now. Did you see his new body? And BEFORE you make any remark on how hot or handsome he is, DON'T." Nyeh-heh-heh’s were heard in response. "Anyways, she must be busy, and I don't think I can just show her this letter. I'm afraid things could go wrong— I wouldn't know what to do!"

"FINE, BUT IF YOU EVER NEED ADVICE, LISTEN TO ME. YOU NEED THAT KIND OF BRAVERY IN YOUR LIFE" A clicking noise like a wink was heard.

"NGAAAH- shut up!" She lowered her voice. "Hey, if you don't mind, can you leave while I change my clothes?"

"OF COURSE, I STILL HAVE SOME OF YOUR CLOTHES FROM THE LAST TIME YOUR HOUSE BURNT DOWN. I'LL GIVE YOU PRIVACY."

"Thank you, now GET OUT." The door was closed. Strong pacing could be heard for a few minutes, before the window opened with a harsh movement and small shreds of paper were dropped one by one, “I really can't do it,”she muttered “It's too much. I'll make a better one soon. That will be the one.”

The humidity of the snow would soon leak into the remains of the letter and erase its message, never to be read by anyone. Well, not anyone who was meant to read it anyways. Flowey leaned closer and used a root to pick up a part of the letter. It took him five endearment terms and three uses of the verb love to know it was an excessively corny confession directed at the Royal Scientist.

It seemed almost atypical for the fish monster. However, Flowey knew better. During some of his runs he had experimented with the Royal Guard, testing their strengths and weaknesses. Undyne was a particularly difficult monster to deal with. Once you became her enemy, she would strike you down no matter what. Her green soul magic forced any monster under its effect to stay still and only use its own magic bullets as protection. Flowey, being soulless, was not affected by this kind of magic, but that still didn't make fleeing much easier. He had killed her the first time they faced each other, after dying to her several times. That had been the first timeline he decided to kill, throwing bullets at some of the weakest known monsters. Undyne had been furious, and decided to find the culprit and bring them to justice. When Flowey did manage to kill her, though, she resisted. With her last breaths, she kept on fighting, refusing to die. Her last words were dedicated to every monster in the Underground she swore to protect, and as she melted, she regretted never "telling it to Alphys". He had figured out what it was by other sources. The letter was just further confirmation.

No other monster had shown such determination to keep going, and those words rang in Flowey's head. Somehow, the possibility of making someone be honest about their feelings towards something —or someone else— made him particularly curious. He had tried to help her, more than once, but no attempt had been successful. He kept trying for a few more runs. Undyne's resilience reminded him of his own sibling. He thought that maybe staying determined and reaching, helping, and fixing things would... do something. Perhaps he had to be more like them, more like Chara. But he was hopeless now. Nothing he did ever lasted, nothing he did made him feel right.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Some things never change. She writes letters but she will never do anything with them." He dropped the letter and went back to rest for what was left of the night, hoping to restore his HP.

* * *

The "Riverperson'' was never just one monster. There were three of them. Their family had been passionate about sailing for decades; some said they had the reputation even before the war, and ever since monsters found a stream that connected all areas, the River family had dedicated itself to provide quick travel to everyone in the Underground. When it was nighttime, and most monsters outside were nocturnal creatures, only one of them was around. They gazed at the Snowdin port. All three siblings had great intuition, and that night, they agreed, was bound to be interesting.

"Greetings. Would it be possible to make use of your service tonight?" a soft voice asked.

The river monster turned to face the source of the voice and saw a tall white furry monster. They resembled most inhabitants of the small town, with a thick layer of fur covering their features. But something about their presence radiated a sense of grace. A good River monster made no distinction among their travelers, so they simply pointed to the empty space on their boat.

"Tri li li, where would you like to go?"

"Take me to Hotland, please,” the monster said calmly

The Riverperson took off with their only passenger for that ride.

It was late, but despite the time, a few nocturnal monsters could always be found wandering the streets, among the low-glowing lights. The sight of the new monster immediately sparked rumors, catching the attention of the few awake. From the forest, a Whimsun flew, carrying news from the Ruins. The great door deep in Snowdin forest had been opened, and its caretaker was making their way to the capital. Young monsters were perplexed by the story, but older, wiser ones knew this meant great incoming change for the whole kingdom. Nobody knew for certain what had become of Queen Toriel after the deaths of her children, but it seemed that the words carried by the small flying monster could be the solution to the century old mystery. Soon enough, word was spread in the snowy town among the elders. They were careful and cautious, not to make quick assumptions, but staying alert.

The ride across the cave system had not been long, but it certainly felt like eternity, even for a monster with such a long life as Toriel. She was worried sick, wondering whether the human child had been harmed. As she set foot on Hotland, and waved the Riverperson farewell, the feeling of unease only increased. She did not know where the child had gone. All the monsters she had spoken to had little to no information, seeing as they weren't awake during the day, and therefore hadn't seen anything worth noting. However, as Toriel walked through the dry roads, she noticed flyers, all related to a human kid that had been spotted in Hotland, as a guest on the Underground's greatest celebrity's shows. She walked faster, hoping to reach New Home soon. Time felt so slow, each step lasting a small eternity in her anxious mind.

By the time she had reached the castle, the artificial lights were starting to get brighter. She was determined to reach her destination. She could not allow Asgore to take another soul, and she was going to stop him herself if she had to. She would not let another child be hurt by him. Her steps covered longer distances, as she walked across the familiar hallways. Her breathing was fast, and her paws felt heated with anxiety, small fire bullets dancing around her fingers. She paid no mind to the monsters that walked around her, except to ask about the king once: a tall catlike monster indicated that the king was last seen at the throne room last evening, but was not seen leaving the place ever since. As she approached the throne room, an odd feeling made her magic shiver. There was no sight of the King.

She walked in, careful not to step on the golden flowers that decorated the room. In a way, both of them had remembered their children using those flowers. She shook the thought out of her mind, and she went across the room to a smaller entrance. That room had a single orifice at the ceiling, letting the first rays of the morning sun go through. No sign of the King, either.

She feared the worst.

She prepared her fire attacks.

She breathed deeply.

She stepped into the room that led to the Barrier.

She dropped her attacks, which disappeared in an instant.

Before her was a crown, and an armor covered in a purple cape. Dust on the floor, and an ear-ringing silence. A gardening knife was a few feet away.

This was the day the Underground's King had perished.

This was the day a human made it out of the monsters' world alive.

This was the day things would change forever for their kind.

The Queen took the crown. Her expression was solemn, and she braced herself to make the announcement known to everyone in the Underground.

"King Asgore has died."

[the-river-person]

Falling Down Around You

Sans had been helping the Guard. His shortcuts were one of the most useful things he could provide to the Underground. It was why he’d kept his job as a messenger and mail carrier despite being the Judge, despite being a practicing psychiatrist. He could jump around the Underground in a few minutes, a journey which might take several days depending on which areas you needed to go through. The fastest road might take you from Old Home to the Castle in New Home in a few hours if you ran the whole way and didn’t stop to talk to anyone. But even the Human had originally taken a few weeks to make the whole trip, because they’d been stopped by numerous puzzles, Monsters who wanted to fight them, and even things like buying things at a shop or getting a room at the Inn. A closed down elevator or a blocked tunnel could delay you even longer, and what if you kept being forced down side routes? So if someone needed a message delivered right then and there, they could either send a text or call. But what happened when you needed to deliver something? Or someone? What happened when the person you’re trying to reach wouldn’t answer? The answer was simple. Call someone who can go there in a flash. And of course he’d been happy enough to do it all. Kept things interesting, let him hear news. Occasionally important things would go through from Gaster or the Royals. He’d be the first to hear about Mettaton’s newest shows. It was he who’d been able to congratulate Undyne on her first ever action film even before Alphys could. All the best Undertube videos, the most interesting articles on the Undernet, even plans for new puzzles. He heard about all of it as he zipped back and forth. Tonight however, he’d taken more shortcuts than ever before. First the King and Queen to Snowdin for Isa, then he’d taken them back to the Palace and immediately began transporting to the furthest areas of the Underground. Looking for the most obscure and hidden Monsters to let them know about the King’s order for evacuation. And he’d even helped special cases out for the guard, transporting fire Monsters who couldn’t enter in through the Waterfall Area, or various Monsters from Old Home who couldn’t easily pass through Snowdin Caverns. Then a Guard had asked him to go down to the Lower Waterfall City in the Cliffs and the Outpost below in the Depths to help transport people out so the elevators would be freed up a little. He had to pause and crouch down, his skull nearly level with his knees. Dizziness was making his head feel fuzzy, but he didn’t want to spend too long recovering from it. A real break would be needed soon or he’d regret it. When he had enough strength back he took a shortcut to Gaster’s cave. Asgore and Toriel were up on the platform with Gaster. He headed that way. “Hey Tori,” he said, and she turned with...well... not quite a smile, but more of a flicker of polite recognition. “Have you seen Papyrus?” She shook her head. “I haven’t, but Gaster said he went to inspect the ship, I think he is still on board.” Sans gave a small sigh of relief. Really there hadn’t been too much to worry about. They were trying to hurry with the evacuation because they wanted as much time as possible in case something went wrong or some Monster was missing. And there wasn’t anyone that could really do his bro any harm, or would even want to. But he’d still felt the icy chill of panic throughout this whole thing. Over near the catwalk, Seamus was packing up the last of the recording equipment, with his husband Evan helping him. Mettaton was nowhere to be seen, and Sans decided that the robot had probably either already boarded the ship or was in line somewhere. Or maybe searching for Napstablook. Over the years the two had had a strange friendship, though neither had ever really said how it came about. And the ghost had become somewhat less self depreciating and a little more confident in their abilities. Really their music had been in the top musical hits chart for over a hundred years now, even the newer albums were popular. Even so, Napstablook was still somewhat gloomy, and that was alright. Nobody could ever match the constant energy that Papyrus had. If Napstablook wanted to be a little gloomy and enjoy long periods of solitude, that was their right. Still working at the computers in the section of the cave that served as Gaster’s lab was one of his assistants. Tertia, who was bird-like and hunched over. She poked at the keys in manner that might have seemed like boredom to anyone else, but Sans knew it was just her way. All four of Gaster’s assistants were very strange Monsters. Suddenly the cave shook.  Lights flickered as the very roof of the cave trembled, screams and gasps came from the lines of Monsters waiting to board the ships. Alarms began blaring loudly and little red lights began flashing all over the cave. Gaster whirled round. “What is it? What’s happening?” he demanded of his assistant who was now typing frantically away at the keyboard, trying to find the source. Down below the Monsters were beginning to panic and the Guard was having to step in to keep things from getting out of hand. Tertia gasped, her grey eyes going wide, the most expressive face he’d ever seen on any of the assistants. “It’s the Core! It’s experiencing an overload! It’ll go down in just a few minutes!” Gaster’s mouth fell open in shock. It was only for half a second that he stood there, but with everyone staring at him, waiting for him to carefully explain to them what that meant exactly and what they should do, it seemed like an eternity of waiting. When he finally did move it was neither carefully nor calmly. The scientist threw himself forward towards the ledge looking down on the ship, grabbing the rails to push himself up so that he was right above where the Guards were. “GET EVERYONE ON THE SHIP NOW! DON’T COUNT THEM! JUST BOARD!” Pandemonium ensued. Monsters surged towards the doors of the ship, climbing aboard with the assistance of the Royal Guards, who were doing their best to keep smaller Monsters from being trampled in the chaos. Gaster was halted by Toriel and Asgore who were demanding to know what was happening. But he had no patience for careful explanations. He dove past them and started grabbing files and notebooks off his desk and stuffing everything haphazardly into a briefcase. “It’s the core!” he screeched, almost in hysterics. “If it falls the entire grid will go down. It won’t be enough to kill anyone as long as they aren’t in the machine itself, but the shock wave will be enough to reach this cave. The ship is programmed to open a Rift in the event of an apocalyptic emergency, and it will think this is one!” Glancing behind and seeing their blank expressions he growled in frustration. “Don’t you get it?! If we don’t get on board the ship will leave without us!” That did it, horrified understanding dawned in the eyes of the two Monarchs and they ran for the stairways along with the rest of the crowds. But the lines still stretched out through Waterfall, there were still over 600 Monsters who hadn’t gotten the chance to board yet. Feeling sick to his stomach, Sans wondered for a second what he should do. Shortcuts. He could save some people. Seamus and Evan were making for the stairs as well and he ran to catch up with them. Grabbing their arms he used a shortcut to tear all three of them from their current position in space and onto the ship, where he left them confused and disoriented, and took a shortcut back. Next was Tertia, who was sitting, not moving, in her chair, staring blankly at the computer screen in shock. She didn’t thank him as he handed her over to the Guards in the ship’s hold. He’d gone back for Gaster when he spotted Realis enter the cave looking frantic. Running that way instead he brought the prince into the ship as well. Monsters outside were desperately pushing relatives, especially younger ones, forward. Though there were no real children left after three hundred years, many still appeared to be children, and their parents lifted them high, ignoring their protests, and practically handed them to the Guards, who took them into the ship. Cousins, lovers, and friends were shoved forward, and other Monsters who only had themselves to worry about pushed their way to the front. He saw Papyrus pull a Froggit as well as both Bratty and Catty into the ship all at the same time. Even Monster Kid had leaned back as far as he could to take the tiny Cinnamon with the curl of his tail while Goner helped Cinnamon’s older Sister, Lapina, climb up using his tail.  A tiny yellow bird who had once carried people across a disproportionately small gap was clinging to her fur, terrified out of its mind. Where had Gaster gone to? He spotted Gaster fiddling with the computers, Sans appeared behind him and saw the little storage chip he’d plugged into slot. The Scientist was trying to copy over his research. “Doc! Come on! There’s no time!” And there wasn’t time. The surge from the collapsing Core hit and the cavern shook again and the lights went out, leaving only the ship and it’s power system separate from the main grid still lighting the space. Screaming and panicked shouting rang out and the Monsters nearest to the ship were forced back. The Rift had begun to open up underneath the floor of the cave. Papyrus was looking frantically around the cave, pushing against his own guards as they tried to close the doors for their fall into the Void. “SANS!!!” he screamed. Sans was only a few steps from the edge of the platform, right over the ship. He didn’t think, he only moved. He was already in the air when he realized that Gaster was with him,  having tried to stop him from making the jump and fallen with him. To all those still in the cave it appeared as if a gigantic flat disk of nothingness you couldn’t describe that had no color to speak of but wasn’t black or white and could be seen even in the dark despite not giving off any light had opened up where the floor was supposed to be. The Ship and the pair of falling Monsters seemed to slow and freeze in place, then slowly... without moving, they simply began to fade away as if they had never been. And with them went the strange grey disk that made up the Rift. From San’s point of view the world around him began to warp and twist as if it were being turned inside out. He could still see the Monsters in Gaster’s cave, but instead of the cave being all around him, it was as if the space around him had been turned inside out and shaped into an orb, leaving only the Void around him as he fell away from the orb. It got smaller and smaller until it was gone, and so was the ship. He and Gaster were adrift in the Void.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Snowdrifts ch.5 (spicyhoney)

Summary:  Sorry so quiet, it's been a rough week. Not as rough as Edge's first day into parenthood, he's ready for some time off...isn't he?

Tags: Spicyhoney, Violence, Rescued Child, Medical Experimentation, Babybones, First Time Parenthood, Idiots to Lovers

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

For a first day, all Edge had to say about it was that it could have gone worse.

He’d spent most of his day with Snow bound to him like squirmy little wormy, but there was no arguing that it worked. With a bit of experimenting, he found that he could have her facing outward while still being tied securely against him. She’d like that quite a bit and the only downside was having her tiny hands trying to assist in any of his tasks at hand. He could only hope Blue didn’t notice that the towels in the bathroom cupboard were folded somewhat…uniquely.

Not that there was any time for that when Blue came home from sentry duty. He’d barely taken off his boots and jacket before swarming over to steal Snow away. Edge wasn’t even entirely sure how Blue slipped her so neatly out of her sling, unless Stretch wasn’t the only family member who could bends the laws of physics.

“Aww, there’s a little wishbone!” Blue cooed. He swung her around as if he were about to make that nickname a truth. Edge only bit his tongue and said nothing. Snow was by no means hurt and Blue was already settling her on his hip as he bounced her gently.

Snow was somewhat doubtful over her new mode of conveyance. She looked at Edge, who tried to smile encouragingly. He was afraid that it was not one of his best efforts, but then, she was a baby, perhaps she didn’t yet know the difference between a smile and a grimace.

“I bet you’ve been cooped up all day, Edge,” Blue said happily, “Why don’t you go out and get some fresh air and I’ll look after our little Snow Monster?”

A little fresh air did sound nice. He was more accustomed to spending most his day outdoors, walking his traplines, not trapped behind four walls.

Still, Edge hesitated. “Well. I suppose I could go out for an hour.”

“That’s the spirit!” Blue said. He plopped down on the sofa, Snow in his lap. “Go out, meet some people! I, Master Babysitter Sans, will watch Snow for you!”

Well, meeting people was out of the question, Edge wasn’t about to enroll in a popularity contest on his first day, but there was at least one thing he wanted to do. “There are some bottles pre-made in the refrigerator. She likes it if you hold her outward so she can see. If she—"

“Edge,” Blue interrupted with gentle patience. “I’ve got this.”

“All right,” Edge still didn’t move. It was only when Snow began to tentatively explore Blue’s face with her little hands that he retrieved his boots. By the time he had them buckled, Snow was trying with some enthusiasm to poke her little fists into Blue’s wide eye sockets, something he was laughingly avoiding. It was ridiculous to linger any longer and Edge only took a last chance to say before he went out the front door, “I’ll be back soon.”

The moment the door closed behind him, he could hear a muffled wail coming right through it. He hunched down and struggled against the urge to go right back inside.

Stretch and his brother were right, he shouldn’t be the only one to care for her. Blue would simply have to learn the same way he was, the hard way. He wouldn’t be gone long, and she was perfectly safe, warm and dry, well-fed and well-cuddled.

So, despite his soul threatening to crack right in half listening to those bereft wails, Edge forced himself to turn away, boots crunching in the snow as he walked out of earshot.

It took him a moment to orient himself to the backwards layout of Underswap, but once he did, Edge headed off in the direction of the librarby. Despite his brother’s scoffing, a book on childrearing would surely turn out to be useful. Red certainly hadn’t been bitching about the worthlessness of booklearning when Edge found one full of recipes back in Underfell and began using it instead of relying on Undyne’s vigorous but dubious technique.

Once he was there, though, he stood in wonderment, briefly forgetting what brought him here in the first place. In Underfell, there was a librarby, well, a lib-arby, one of the ‘r’ had been stolen years ago, and why couldn’t those fools have taken the extra ‘b’ instead?. What few books were in it tended to have pages torn loose and trying to glean any information from them was something like scooping up water with a sieve. Most of the books Edge had—

(had, books he’d had, those treasured few books lost to him and never mind that he could recite them all by heart, they were forever gone, probably destroyed)

--were scavenged from the dump, days spent carefully drying them out. Perhaps if Red saw this librarby he’d be less doubtful of its usefulness because its shelves were burgeoning with volumes, every shelf filled and more stacked on the tables and front desk, so many books, and he itched to get his claws on every one of them, some underused literacy fragment of his soul woke and cried out for something to read.

Edge quashed it ruthlessly. He was here for books on childcare, not any of the ridiculous (wonderful) science fiction stories he’d sometimes found.

There were other Monsters sitting in twos and threes around the room, but aside from a curious glance or two, none seemed concerned about his presence. Edge lifted his chin and walked to the shelves as if he belonged here and began to peruse the selection. A little searching found him not one, but two books, one for new parents and another for the toddler years. He took them both, better to be prepared, and as he turned from the shelf, another book caught his eye.

A slender book titled ‘Pattycake with Pokey Puppy’. Obviously a child’s book and looking at the brightly painted cover suffused him with a sudden wave of nostalgia, a memory of curling up with his brother beneath a threadbare blanket in one of the back-alleys in New Home. The aching cold and constant gnawing hunger faded as he listened to Red softly read to him about Fluffy Bunny from a tattered old book, the front cover torn and filthy but so much like the one on the shelf.

Snow was entirely too young to appreciate being read a story. He already had two books, an entire townful of people needed to use this librarby, and it was a town he didn’t even truly belong in. He shouldn’t be greedy, he shouldn’t, and guilt was tight in his throat as he snatched that book up and added it to the other two, carrying all of them up to the front desk.

If the Bird working at the counter was appalled at his selfishness, they gave no sign of it. By all rights, they should have been looking at him in fear and given him the books in the hopes he would leave quickly. Edge knew very well the reactions that his appearance could cause, cultivated it in Underfell, and never let the way other Monsters cringed away bother him. If they were afraid of him, they would obey him, and their lives were more important than any petty wish to be admired.

Dressed as he was in one of Stretch’s rumpled sweatshirts, complete with formula stains and crushed up bits of cereal ground into the front, it seemed his threat level had decreased all the way down to acceptable Underswap levels. The Bird only smiled and stamped his books before handing them back over. He supposed the books themselves were also partly to blame for her lack of concern over having him in their quiet little librarby. Anyone checking out ‘Toddler Years: Surviving with your Sanity’ and ‘The Big Book About Little Monsters’ probably wasn’t going to go into a dust-crazed frenzy.

Books in hand, Edge started back to the Swap brothers’ house and he only took two steps in the wrong direction before he sighed and turned around. He’d get the hang of this Snowdin soon enough, at least no one was around to see him stop in his tracks and head back the other way—

“Sir!”

Edge paused warily, turning in the direction of that voice even as he struggled not to ready an attack, just in case. It was easier to dismiss the urge when he saw a young Bun dressed in bright purple stripes running towards him, carrying a large paper sack.

“Sir!” she panted as she skidded to a stop, kicking up slush and snow. “You’re Papyrus’s friend, aren’t you?”

It took him a moment to realize she was speaking of Stretch. “Yes?” he agreed cautiously. If this were about some sort of debt or prank—

The child only beamed happily and thrust the bag towards him. “My mama found some more baby stuff for you! Said for you to take whatever you need and give back anything you don’t!”

“I…” Edge reached out automatically before he caught himself, hesitating. “I’m afraid I don’t have any G.”

His confusion transferred to the child, “G? Oh, no, mama doesn’t want G! Our baby is walking and talking now, he don’t need it anymore!”

She thrust the bag into his arms and Edge took it, briefly too overwhelmed to speak. The people of this Snowdin had already been so generous, for them to offer even more was bewildering him past the point of gratitude. It reminded him of Blue who’d so often pressed them to take leftovers after dinner, bullying and cajoling until Edge found himself in his own universe with a bag in hand, so similar to the bag he held now. He didn’t understand it then and didn’t now, didn’t even know how to explain to them that it wasn’t supposed to be this way, not in his experience, not in his world.

But this wasn’t his world, was it.

The child was still standing in front of him, her hands clasped behind her back as she bounced on her toes. “Can I come see the baby sometime?” she asked hopefully. “Papyrus said she’s really cute!”

“She is.” Edge managed, trying to recover enough from his confusion to at least keep from acting like an ungrateful fool. He pulled out his phone and held it out for the child to see the background picture of Snow and her attempts to eat noodles. Even with the cracked screen, she was obviously as adorable as advertised and from the way the child cooed happily, she very much agreed.

“Aww, she’s so cute! I can’t wait to meet her!” A faint voice cut through the stillness, a name being called from one of the nearby homes, and the child looked in that direction briefly before turning back to Edge. “You should ask Papyrus to fix your phone, he’s real good at that stuff. I gotta go. Bye!”

He kept a close watch on the child to make sure she made it back to her home all right before turning back to his own path, bag in one hand and books in the other. Their house was soon in sight and Edge was half-afraid he’d still hear wails coming through the door.

But there was only the silently twinkling Gyftmas lights and Edge stifled his near-disappointment and headed inside.

Blue and Snow were on the sofa where she was currently squealing happily as she bounced on Blue’s knee and truly, Edge should be above his brief surge of triumph when he noted that Blue seemed more than a trifle weary. There was an empty bowl and a mostly empty bottle on the side table, proof that Snow’s appetite hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Blue’s scarf had a damp spot on it as if an infant chose to use it as their next gnawing target, and there was a smeary handprint right on his cheekbone that looked suspiciously like smashed peas, the green trail of it leading downward and freckled across the front of his shirt.

The baby looked over as he walked inside, and the moment she caught sight of Edge, her chortling glee faded. In an instant, her sparkling eye lights switched to a waterfall of tears and she began to squall, holding out both little arms to him.

Edge hastily deposited the bag and books on the coffee table and took her, cuddling her close until those tears faded again into happy giggles.

Blue only sagged back on the sofa, slinging an arm over his eye sockets as he groaned out, “How can someone so small be so tiring? You were only gone an hour and I’ve gone from magnificent to mediocre!”

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Edge admitted. He snagged his scarf with his free hand, readying Snow to return to her beloved binding. He noted Blue watching intently with approval. Not that he ever thought Blue wouldn’t take his duties seriously, but it was good to have it confirmed.

“Well! I need to get off to Alphys’s,” Blues struggled to his feet, chuckling as he shook his head. “I never expected to see the day I’d consider training to be the less exhausting option. Papy should be home soon.”

“I have her, go,” Edge said, “but…you may want to wash your face first.”

One gloved hand flew up to Blue’s cheekbone. Pity it was the wrong one, “What? Why?”

“Better that you just go wash.”

Blue dashed for the stairs and Edge sat down in his place on the sofa, adjusting the sling so that Snow was comfortable against him. He reached for the first book, hesitating over the one on caring for an infant. His hand detoured instead to ‘Pattycake with Pokey Puppy’, flipping to the first page as Snow, already sucking on her fingers, looked up at him with large eye lights.

“I’m going to read you a story, little one,” Edge told her, “I think you’ll like it. I hope you will.” He began to read, “One little puppy, sitting by a fence—”

He was quite sure Snow couldn’t really understand him, but she still seemed to listen contentedly as he read. She snuggled deeper into his scarf and his arms, and didn’t react at all when Blue’s voice carried downstairs in a wail, “How did she even get it all the way in there…?”

Edge didn’t ask. He only kept reading to Snow about the adventures in patty cake for a poky puppy and his friends. He hoped she didn’t fall asleep too quickly. He wanted to see how it ended.

tbc

[owlheartt]

Star Sanses Extended, Chapter 2: Underfell

Dream continues training Papyrus until Ink prompts them to stop for lunch. And then do not end up at the timeline Dream and Papyrus wanted to. (link to Chapter 1 on AO3)

Dream continued coaching Papyrus for the next few hours, with Ink interrupting at random moments. Sometimes he gave good advice, like stick with the group no matter what lure-tactics are used. But most of the time, Ink just prattled on about random things. Dream, on the other hand, was focused. He had a set mind and layed out goals and lists. He showed Papyrus how his magic worked and even prompted Ink to give an example. Ink just drew a tree. Admittedly, Ink’s tree came to life, and it was identical to a real one (the neon coloring being an exception).

Dream’s magic was the embodiment of joy, and it enchanted Papyrus.

“IT’S SO BRIGHT!” Papyrus exclaimed. He couldn’t help gushing over the glowing gold. The magic itself made Papyrus happy, and he wanted to be near it forever.

“Yea. My… Nightmare hates it.” Dream said. He looked a little distant.

“NIGHTMARE IS THE LEADER OF THE BAD SANSES, CORRECT?” Papyrus had been working very hard on memorizing what Dream had been explaining, and it felt good to be able to connect the dots like that.

“Yes! He’s my opposite, and his magic embodies negativity.” Dream said. Papyrus didn’t like how sad the yellow skeleton looked. Despite the joy Dream represented, he hardly ever looked happy himself. At least, he hadn’t in the few hours Papyrus had known him. Maybe today was just long. It must be stressful to switch out one of his team mates. Maybe he was worried that Papyrus would trip them up.

“HAVE NO FEAR! I CAN HANDLE IT. ESPECIALLY WITH THE JOY YOU BRING!” Papyrus placed his hands on his hips, and stood boldly. It was his hero pose that he practiced every morning in the mirror. Sans didn’t know that of course, and just thought that Papyrus came that great.

“I-” Dream cut himself off and squinted a little at Papyrus. “Thanks. This feels a lot like when I met Blue for the first time.” Dream smiled (genuinely, this time), and Papyrus got a taste of how much Dream loved his friends. It felt a lot like how much he loved Sans and Undyne. Maybe… maybe someday Dream would love him the same way.

“YOU’RE WELCOME! NOW, YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT YOUR MAGIC?” Papyrus said.

“Oh, right! I can also spread-” Dream began.

“Hiiiiiss HAPPY BUBBLE!!!” Ink exclaimed, slamming into Dream and wrapping an arm around him. Dream yelped as he was squashed against his considerably smaller friend.

“HAPPY BUBBLE?” Papyrus loved listening to all of Dream’s carefully worded explanations. None of it was ever condescending or confusing, and as the day had gone on it became easier and easier to ask questions.

“I have an aura I can spread.” Dream sat down, forcing the still-attached Ink to plop down with him. Papyrus followed, hitting the soft ground. The grass bent beneath him, and it felt itchy even through his clothes. “It makes the beings near me feel better. Ink calls it my Happy Bubble. The larger the bubble, the more effort it takes to upkeep. Mine tend to extend 7 feet, tops. It makes me nervous to use more magic than that.”

“AH, I SEE. CAN NIGHTMARE DO THE SAME?” Papyrus asked. Dream nodded.

“He doesn’t do it often though, it doesn’t benefit him. We both draw magic from nearby emotions, and artificially made ones don’t do anything for us.”

“Hey, I’m hungry!” Ink said, drawing away from Dream.

“Not now, Ink. Paper and I are busy.” Dream said, sighing.

“No like, it’s past noon. We haven’t had lunch.” Ink said, frowning. He switched to a playful grin and threw his hand over his head dramatically before adding, “We’re going to waste away!!”

“I INVITE YOU ALL TO MY HOUSE. I’M SURE THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE FRIDGE WE COULD HAVE!!” Papyrus said, standing right back up. He didn’t like sitting for long. Or, sitting at all, really. Felt… lazy. “OR IF WE NEED TO STAY HERE..?”

“No, not at all! We can keep tabs on the Multiverse from wherever. Ink, if you wouldn’t mind,” Dream turned toward Ink who had already splashed, well, ink all over the ground. Oddly enough, it looked more like a slab. It didn’t have single pieces of grass sticking up and out of it, and the surface was flat. Ink snached Papyrus and Dream’s hands with a little more urgency than Papyrus thought necessary. Of course, with how unpredictable Ink was, there was the chance it was just him being him.

Traveling through one of Ink’s shortcuts was different from Dream’s. The yellow magic was more like a snap, quick and efficient. Ink’s was… more leisurely. Just by a little bit, but it was still noticeable. Rather than the distinct tug on his SOUL, when he transitioned from the orange place to the new timeline it felt more like he had slid down a slide. He was pulled, but in a rather inviting way.

Looking up and around, Papyrus noticed that they were standing in Hotland, not far from Alphys’s lab. Except it felt as off-putting as when he had met Blueberry for the first time. It was Hotland… but not quite. Papyrus decided to give it the benefit of the doubt though, especially as it looked roughly the same as his Hotland, and he didn’t want to be rude.

“...AH, MY HOME IS THIS WAY.” Papyrus said, and began to march off toward Waterfell.

“Your home? Why does that matter?” Ink said. Papyrus turned around to see him tilting his head.

“Ink, don’t tell me you took us to the wrong timeline.” Dream said. From his expression, Papyrus could guess that this had happened before.

“Wrong timeline? For what?” The most frustrating part about this (in Papyrus’s fantastic opinion), was that it was impossible to tell if Ink was genuinely asking.

“FOR LUNCH. I WAS BRINGING YOU ALL TO MY HOUSE.” Papyrus said, as calmly as he could muster. Ink thought a bit before responding.

“Oh cool! Lunch sounds good. If we could take care of Error first though that’d be great.” Ink said it nonchalantly, but Dream’s eye sockets went wide open.

“...Error?” Dream said.

“Yea why?”

“WHO’S ERROR?” Papyrus didn’t like being kept in the dark.

“Error... is another destroyer of timelines.” Dream said slowly, and Papyrus could see how much effort he was putting into keeping a level tone. “He’s Ink’s nemesis, you could say. He doesn’t really work with the Bad Sanses, but he poses roughly the same threat.” Between the gritted teeth and the vibrating eye lights Papyrus got the general sense that Dream was Not Ok. So he took the one obvious solution and scooped his two new friends up.

“WHERE TO?” Papyrus said, determined. He was going to go and make sure that Error didn’t hurt anyone.

“Why, did you, pick us, up?!?” Dream said breathily, sounding enormously alarmed.

“WOO!! Free ride!” Ink said over him. He wiggled out of Papyrus’s grip and scrambled up him, clinging onto Papyrus like a baby Koala. “That way!!” Ink pointed directly to Alphys’s lab, where Papyrus could hear some banging and clashing now that he was focusing on it.

Papyrus ran straight for the lab, throwing out a foot to smash open the door. Quite a grand entrance if he could say so himself. The room he had burst into, on the other hand, was a mess. There was an assortment of computer bits strewn across the floor, and there was a big computer that had fallen over. Papyrus believed that his Alphys had a similar computer. Undyne had mentioned it once or twice. Of course, it was safe to assume Alphys’s was upright, but he had never been in Alphys’s lab before.

Speaking of Alphys, she was standing in a crouched position near the computer. She had her hands thrown out, as if she had hoped to stop the chaos happening but couldn’t figure out how. Her head was flipping from side to side, looking all around the room desperately, throwing her glasses half off her face. Papyrus had seen a picture of Alphys and Undyne together, and was sure that Alphys looked nothing like this. This Alphys had foggy, spiral glasses, and her outfit under the lab coat was a vibrant red and black.

There were three other monsters in the room, having a stand off in the middle of the debris. Undyne, Mettaton, and… oh dear goodness, was that Sans? Undyne and Mettaton were styled similarly to Alphys, in bright reds and pitch blacks, and they both looked… well, a lot edgier. And stronger. Then there was this Sans. He was a lot more committed to the, ah, black look. His bones themselves were a solid black, to the point that the dim, flickering lights in the lab were just absorbed into him, like a black hole. His eyelights were different sizes and colors, and he looked like he needed someone to talk to. There were glitches all along him, some just as rectangles, others saying ERROR. This Sans felt… surreal. And like he was hurting.

It took all of Papyrus’s willpower to focus on what Dream had been telling him, and not prepare a speech for this Sans. He had to trust that Blueberry knew what he was doing, and had already tried. Well, maybe not for this Sans. Maybe Dream would let him-

Ink launched himself off of Papyrus, rolling along the floor before leaping up and skidding to a halt in front of the glitching Sans.

“Ink?!” Even this Sans’s voice was glitching.

“Heya Glitchy!! Aww, come on! Were you seriously attacking these poor monsters?” Ink sounded completely unphased, barely throwing a glance at said ‘poor monsters.’

“WHAT?” The Undyne roared. She looked mean, and mad. “He killed Papyrus, so this damn fight is mine, I already need robotics over here to leave, don’t make me force you out too!” Killed… him? Papyrus? No wonder Undyne was mad. Oh, what about Sans? Papyrus knew that Sans was going through things, and he needed Papyrus to help make sure he kept going. Had this Papyrus made it into the guard? Or were his life long dreams gone? Maybe he didn’t dream of being a Royal Guardsman. What had he dreamed of? Did he ever make it? What was he leaving behind? As if sensing his thoughts, Dream snapped in front of his face, bringing him back.

“Hey- Paper! If we can stop this fight and convince Error to leave, then we can RESET the timeline! I can’t explain right now, but just know that we can undo what Error has done.” Dream said. “Also please-put-me-down-I-have-to-go-help-Ink-because-he-will-get-himself-killed,” the golden skeleton added in a rush. Papyrus set Dream down before glancing around the room again. The angry triad of monsters all seemed to be getting more aggressive with Ink himself, but Alphys just looked conflicted. With Dream heading to Ink, Papyrus felt inclined to go help Alphys. She was having a smaller problem, but smaller problems tend to get overlooked. If the Great Papyrus didn’t help her, then who would? Undyne might, but she was busy right then.

“ALPHYS?” Papyrus asked her, as gently as he could. “ARE YOU HURT?” Alphys jerked, finally sending her glasses flying. She glared at Papyrus, with small, squinting eyes.

“I’m f-fine, th-tha-thank you-ou. F-fuck o-off.” She growled. Did she just- no matter. Papyrus was ok being the bigger monster (especially because he literally was), and he could move past it. When Alphys turned to start feeling through the debri for her glasses, Papyrus took one big step and picked them up, calmly and maturely handing them to her. “I d-d-don’t need-d h-help!!! I t-t-told y-you, fuck. Off.” She said, adjusting her glasses so that she could see again. Then her jaw dropped open.

“IS THAT BETTER, FRIEND?” Papyrus tried placing an emphasis on ‘friend,’ hoping that Alphys would understand that he only wanted to help.

“P-P-Pap-Papyrus?” Alphys’s stutter only seemed to be getting worse.

“YES, THAT’S ME!! BUT YOU CAN CALL ME PAPER.” Papyrus added, remembering that this timeline had a Papyrus already… it also began to dawn on him that this timeline’s Papyrus had died. Died, what an unsettling concept.

“B-b-b-but,” Alphys said, her eyes wide. “B-b-but y-you-you’re d-d-dust..?”

“I’M… NOT YOUR PAPYRUS.” Papyrus smiled gently. “I’M SORRY.” He added.

“I- th-then wh-wh-who a-are y-you?” Alphys tried to organize herself, her eyes flitting around the room nervously.

“CALL ME PAPER. I’M HERE TO HELP! I’M STILL LEARNING WHAT TO DO THOUGH, SO MY FRIENDS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE REALLY GOING TO HELP!” Papyrus was really good at admitting when he didn’t know enough. Not knowing was frustrating, but no one could know everything. And if you can’t admit that you need help, how could you get better?

“W-we d-d-don’t n-need he-help.” Alphys said, her voice regaining the steely tone she had used earlier. She narrowed her eyes at Papyrus, and the only hint that she was nervous was the way she fiddled with her hands.

“EVERYONE NEEDS HELP, IT’S OK TO ACCEPT IT.” Papyrus said, trying his hardest to sound the exact opposite of the red Alphys. It was hard to figure out if this was just what Alphys was like, or if it was the whole Universe. If Undyne’s stories were anything to go off of, it was the Universe.

“Y-you r-really ar-aren’t P-P-Papyrus.” Alphys said with an accusatory tone. Her words helped solidify the idea that it was the Universe itself.

“ARE YOU OK?” Papyrus decided to skip over all the bickering. He was sure Dream and Ink could use his help, but no matter how Alphys was acting it was important not to leave her hanging.

“I-I-I’m fine.” She said, scowling.

“JUST IN CASE, MAY I CHECK YOUR SOUL?” Papyrus said, almost certain of her answer.

“N-no, g-g-go a-away.” Alphys said.

“AH, ALRIGHT. PLEASE STAY BACK HERE, I DON’T WANT YOU GETTING HURT.” Papyrus said, turning. Alphys seemed even more offended by his statement, but Papyrus couldn’t figure out why. He was just caring for her, after all.

“I-I’m st-staying b-b-back here b-but o-only because I w-want to!!!” Alphys said, raising her voice a little and scrunching up her eyes. Papyrus nodded absently, turning himself towards the battle he had been ignoring.

Undyne’s spears littered the wall and floor, one with it’s sharp point missing. Ink was tied up in blue strings high above the floor, his brush hanging precariously. Papyrus would go and help, but Ink was too high up to reach. Dream’s clothes were a little torn, and he had a bow with a yellow arrow nocked. His aim was switching around the circle, which gave Papyrus the impression that everyone was a threat. Maybe… maybe if he talked to Undyne she would be willing to step back.

“Where’s your blue friend, dreamy?” Error said. His words were as glitchy as his body, and they seemed to have a background noise of static. He had an edge to his voice not unlike the Alphys of this timeline, but it sounded cockier. Error’s eyelights flitted to Papyrus, and his superior grin swapped to a frown before he smiled cruelly again. “What, is this your replacement?” Error cackled, throwing his head back.

Dream stole a quick glance at Papyrus, seemingly involuntary. Undyne and Mettaton stayed focused on the others. Papyrus crept up to Undyne, and tapped her shoulder just as she seemed to brace herself to throw another spear. She whipped around, her irritation etched across her face.

“WHA-” Undyne stopped half-turn, seeing who had tapped her. Her half-formed spear dropped, shattering on the tiled floor. Sounding a lot smaller and a bit sad, she whispered. “Papyrus?”

“HELLO FRIEND. I AM NOT YOUR PAPYRUS.” Papyrus said, reaching up to wrap his hand around her shoulder, trying to be as comforting as he could. Papyrus caught Dream’s eye socket, and saw him smile gratefully before shifting back to Error. Undyne, on the other hand, quickly switched her expression. Her face snapped into a snarl, and she reached up to smack Papyrus’s hand away.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!!” She yelled at him, spears forming above her head. At first glance, they looked strong and dangerous. But when Papyrus looked closer, he could see how thin the magic looked. Undyne didn’t want to fight him. “YOU’RE NOT PAPYRUS, AND PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER BE WEAK ENOUGH TO SHOW AFFECTION.” Undyne put emphasis on ‘affection’ like it was something evil, unwanted. How wrong that felt.

“LOVE IS NOT WEAK. AND I’M NOT YOUR PAPYRUS. PLEASE WAIT FOR ME TO EXPLAIN.” Papyrus kept his voice level, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. Undyne just made more spears.

“Not my Papyrus?! HA!! How dumb do you think I AM?!?! There’s only ONE Papyrus, and you sure as hell aren’t him!” Undyne sneered. The spears came down, and Papyrus had to throw up a bone shield. More spears missed his shield than he would’ve expected to, although he knew Undyne’s control was never as good as Papyrus’s (his was far too good to live up to).

“PLEASE WAIT FOR AN EXPLANATION!!” Papyrus turned his bones blue so that he could see Undyne. She was still growling, her brow deeply furrowed.

“Why should I speak to you?! It doesn’t matter who you are, just that you’re IMPERSONATING MY-” Undyne cut herself off. She hesitated, spears pausing and angry mask barely breaking.

“YOUR FRIEND?” Papyrus offered. Friends were important. Just like family. Papyrus knew that Undyne was important to him and vice versa in his universe, so it would make sense that it would be the same in this one, despite everyone’s bizarre personality.

“NO!!! Friends are WEAK and PATHETIC. I was GOING TO SAY my BEST GUARD!” Undyne shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. Papyrus removed his shield, and brought up blue bones around Undyne, close enough that she couldn’t use her hands to help her summon magic. Papyrus saw her eyes shoot open with shock and he saw her reach to move.

“BLUE MEANS STOP.” He said calmly. “LET ME HELP FIX WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE, AND WE CAN MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER.”

[thegreatpapersandwich]

Happy Holidays!!!

Salutations @remaining-head-spirits, I am happy to inform you that I am your Secret Santa for the @secretsantafrans @venelona event!!! The drawing will be included in a separate post, but for now, I wish to give you a little something Underfell-themed, and I really hope you like it!! (o゜▽゜)o☆

Autumn had always been Frisk’s favorite season: the copious, crisp orange and crimson leaves carpeting the ground in a golden-vermilion glow, all the soft and fluffy sweaters and socks, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla intoxicating passers-by to coffee shops and restaurants, the soft, brisk breeze of the encroaching winter...

Unfortunately, she was on a high-risk mission, and would not have time to bask in the season’s bestowal.

Especially given the fact she was embarking on this mission with Sans... The one monster that no matter how hard she tried to be kind, was absolutely and completely...

Intolerable. 

Approximately three years back, the monsters had surfaced, and Frisk, despite having saved them, had politely declined to be the Ambassador. The monsters all had rough edges, due to having lived in such a harsh environment for who-knows-how-long, and the only way Frisk had survived was through pure Determination and an open heart. Sadly, she never really got the chance to truly get to know them, despite having tried countless times, but the silver-lining was that each of them had, for a split moment, shown their true colors, and it was those moments that had given her a glimpse into who they truly were. 

Frisk had taken it upon herself to spend time and, should they accept her, dig a little deeper into the monsters she had met in hopes of calling them “friends” some day. That was until she tried to achieve such a feat with Sans. Papyrus, his brother, had been a tough nut to crack, but eventually, through the power of Italian cuisine and patience, they had bonded quite nicely, even so far as to Papyrus reaching out to her for cooking sessions and friendly chatter.

Alphys and Undyne had been quite the hard case for Frisk, given the tumultuous start of their first meeting. But again, just like with the others, Frisk not only proved herself through combat, but through her headstrong personality to give them all a chance, they deserve it, she had thought.

But Sans?

Every time Frisk so much as showed a smidgen of kindness, Sans would make sure to transform it into anger, and boy did it work. In spite of it all, she refused to give up, and time and time again, was met with animosity from this angry and self-deprecating skeleton. So much so, that Frisk truly began to question if anything would ever change for him? The others were beginning to adjust quite nicely to life in the surface, and even though he didn’t really show it much, Sans was still on edge, his guard never dropping, and his walls as high as they had been in the Underground, possibly even more so now given how humans were stronger and a threat to their existence. It was a shaky truce, but a truce nonetheless, and Frisk was only a bit relieved. Certainly not satisfied, not until monsters could be truly at peace.

Frisk high-risk mission arose when Lady Toriel had inexplicably gone missing, and Asgore had gone berserk, immediately blaming humans and threatining to declare war once again. Of course, Frisk had intervened and decided to not only be the voice of reason, but volunteered to find her and prove that humans, with all their flaws, were still worth something.

 Frisk didn’t notice then, but Sans had been staring intently at the little fiery human that was now desperately trying to prevent a war between the races, and the way her expression was pleading, but not begging, anguished, but not pitiful, Determined, but not pushy. He had always assumed she was honey-potting them, or simply marinating them before she stabbed them in the back and fed them to the wolves, yet there she had stood, fists balled-up and head held high, standing face-to-face with their king, insisting on going out to find Toriel. Sans knew humans had to have been behind all this, but stayed quiet. He felt as if a lighting bolt struck his spine when the king actually conceded and not only was willing to fund her little mission, but encouraged a monster to accompany her.

This was going to be... Interesting...

Now they walked quietly down the leaf-encrusted streets, asking for any information on Toriel they could gather, and retraced her steps before she had gone missing. There was a little flower shop near her home, where Frisk decided to do some snooping. Sans stood at the entrance, eyeing the place warily, so he decided, then and there, to conduct a little experiment,

“hey doll, I think you’d better come see this, it certainly arose some questions,” he chuckled.

Frisk rolled her eyes, fighting down a laugh with all her might, “What did you find, Sans?”

Despite him having used the evidence as a test for her reaction to his puns, there really was a clue to Toriel’s disappearance.

And it was macabre, to say the least...

“A piece of her dress... with some fur still on it. A hefty chunk at that...” Frisk could feel her eyes sting, and her stomach churn. What if she had been taken for ransom? What if someone had kidnapped the once-queen to incite more hatred between the species? And... what if she was already...

“FRISK!” Sans shouted.

She whipped her head to look at him, and just as Sans was about to call her out for spacing out, the way she was clutching at the little piece of torn cloth, her expression...

“ya spaced out fer a bit, y’need to keep it together doll, we should ask the shopkeeper some questions,” Sans mumbled, making his way to the man behind the counter.

Frisk’s eyes went wide with disbelief: had he just shown... restraint?

With no luck and empty stomachs, they headed to a little mom and pop sandwich shop a few streets down, despite much protest from Sans,

“why can’t we just hit up a fast food joint? it’d be quicker and taste better too!” he had pressed.

So much for the restraint, huh? Frisk thought tiredly, “Supporting local businesses is important, and either way it’s a lot closer to our next stop than the next burger place, but you’re more than welcome to go. I’m gonna use all the daylight to my advantage.”

Sans gave a curt and dry laugh, “y’know what? i will head over that way, see ya when i see ya.” He took the quickest shortcut she had ever seen him pull, leaving her alone and frustrated.

Frisk could guess why he was so distrustful, but she was doing everything she possibly could to prove she wasn’t a bad person, but then again, the hardest nuts to crack sometimes yielded the best flavors. Maybe.

A few hours rolled by with Frisk checking stores, hotel rooms and their records, undetected, and parks. Her only lead was the cloth from her dress and a hotel record of her having stayed there less than a day, where, upon further questioning, the receptionist had seen her with someone else, and they were apparently in a rush to someplace downtown, but didn’t catch the name or location of their destination.

So there she sat, cloth in hand, eyes welling up with cold, bitter tears that felt thick and left salt-saturated streaks along her face. Her sobs were quiet, but they rocked her body into painful little shudders. Frisk had finally achieved significant progress with Toriel, even so far as to talking about her deceased children over a cup of tea and shedding a tear or two during their conversation. Toriel had been carrying such an agonizing and heavy burden for so long, no wonder she had lost her mind, or nearly had since she seemed to have recovered well-enough to adjust. Deep down, however, Frisk knew that the grief of a parent was powerful and would never truly dissipate, that was why she was completely heart-wrenched at the thought that she was put through even more pain, and possibly suffered before-

“i don’t think yer gonna find Toriel by sitting on a bench and crying yer ass off...” Sans mused.

Great, this was just what she needed: an angry, emotionally-constipated, selfish, crude, ill-mannered skeleton to come and-

He sat next to her, and gave her something in a wrapper.

“What’s this...?” Frisk took it and turned it over in her hands.

“i didn’t mean t’spy on ya, but i take it yer not dealing with this any better than us, so just take that and let’s find a place t’crash,” Sans mumbled.

Confused, but intrigued, Frisk removed the wrapping and found a little deck of cards still neatly tucked in their little box. It had a note on it:

“Stop yer whinin’ and take yer mind off’a things. after all, you were just dealt a bad hand.”

Frisk looked up and smiled at him, “Thank you Sans, this means a lot-”

“yeah, yeah, c’mon, i scouted out a few hotels and there should be one a few blocks away, let’s get goin’” Sans practically bolted from the bench, 

Frisk looked back down at the cards and felt her smile soften, “I knew he was a good guy...”

Sans had arrived at the hotel before Frisk, but when she walked in, Sans was irate and making threats at the lady behind the counter,

“I RESERVED THAT ROOM AND YOU JUST GAVE IT AWAY TO A BUNCH OF ASSHOLES AND THEIR SNOT-NOSED BRATS!!?? I SWEAR I’LL FUCKING DRAG THEM OUTTA THERE AND BEAT-”

“SANS! I’m so sorry ma’am! What seems to be the issue?” Frisk shoved Sans away from the counter,

“Y-yes, well, a-a family came in with nowhere else to stay, so the room this... individual had taken was the last large room we had...” the lady’s voice trembled slightly.

“Oh... So there are no more rooms then...” Frisk slumped.

“No ma’am, we actually do have one room left, but...” the lady looked at Sans.

“But... what?” Frisk pressed, arcing a brow.

Sans growled, “there’s only one bed.” 

[hoodie-lover]

Be Prepared Nightmare Edition

Horrortale!Sans was standing next to his brother and Undyne. While the Empress wouldn’t be able to step within ten feet of the brother normally, this was a special occasion. They had gotten a job offer from a man named Nightmare, kill the target and he would deliver food to the Underground. Desperate and starving, they accepted. However they underestimated the strength of the target, and had their asses handed to them.

“Man, that lousy Dream. I won’t be able to sit for a week.” Sans said, and Undyne burst into laughter.

“It’s not funny Undyne.” Sans said, and she only laughed harder.

“Hey, shut up!” Sans screamed, and he tackled her.

They punched and tried to tear into each other until Papyrus stepped in.

“Will you knock it off?” Papyrus said, dragging the two off each other.

“Well, she started it.” Sans said, pointing to the growling fish monster as he bared her teeth and snarled.

“Look at you guys. No wonder we’re dangling at the verge of starvation.” Papyrus said, he was exhausted.

“Man, I hate dangling.” Sans said, he had to work non-stop to keep himself and Paps from starving, and even more so to stop himself from getting killed by other starving monsters.

“Yeah? If it weren’t for those humans, we’d be living like kings.” Undyne said, growling at the memory of Frisk.

“Man I hate humans.” Sans said, and Papyrus nodded slightly.

“So pushy.” Undyne grumbled.

“And sadistic.” Sans said, he was itching for a kill at this point.

“And tasty.” Papyrus finished and the two had a laugh.

“And, man, are they” Sans began.

“Ugly!” They cheered, Papyrus joining in on the laugh.

“Oh, surely those humans are not all that bad.” A deep and velvety voice said, and a dark yet short figure emerged from the shadows, the trees rustling as he walked past them, causing them to wilt.

“Oh.” Undyne said, rolling her eye.

“Oh, Nightmare. It’s just you.” Sans said, he kinda liked the guy, aside from his handsome face, he was a ruthless hunter and didn’t waste time.

“We were afraid it was somebody important.” Undyne spat, smirking.

“Yeah you know, like Dream.” Sans said, Papyrus was looking at the two as he took a generous step back. He had seen Nightmare mad once, he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of death.

“Yeah.” Undyne said, chuckling as Nightmare grimaced.

“I see.” Nightmare said, his own devilish smirk appearing on his face,

“Now that’s power.” Sans said, looking at Undyne.

“Tell me about it.” Undyne said, recalling her beat down.

“I’m surrounded by idiots.” Nightmare said, looking at their bruises and scars from recent and past fights.

“Now you, Nightmare, I mean, you’re one of us. I mean, you’re our pal.” Undyne said, grinning wider at Nightmare’s disgust and discomfort.

“Charmed.” He said glaring at her.

“Oh, I like that. He’s no emperor, but he’s still so proper.” Undyne said, giving a small giggle as Sans snickered, Papyrus still praying for their safety.

“Yeah. Hey, did you bring us anything to eat, Nightmare, old buddy, old pal? Huh? Did ya, did ya, did ya?” Sans said, getting close to him as he did puppy-dog eyes.

“I don’t think you really deserve this.” Nightmare said opening a viewing portal to a buffet of food, cooked to perfection. It made the trio’s mouths water.

“I practically gift-wrapped those skeletons for you, and you couldn’t even dispose of them.” Nightmare said, sighing in disappointment as he opened the portal and Undyne began to collect the food to disperse.

“Well, you know, it wasn’t exactly like they were alone, Nightmare.” Undyne said, counting off the plates as servants came and carried the food off to be rationed.

“Yeah what were we supposed to do? Kill Dream?” Sans said, taking a bite of a chicken leg, chewing on the bone. Papyrus gagged at the sight.

“Precisely.” Nightmare said, bringing the trio to Undyne’s balcony in New Home.

“I know that your powers of retention,” Nightmare said, walking around the group. “are as wet as the dark riverbed.”

“But thick as you are, pay attention!” Nightmare said, smacking the bone out of Sans’ grasp, he whined as he lost the bone as there were still scraps of meat on it.

“My words are a matter of pride.” Nightmare said, running his fingers on Sans’ skull.

“It's clear from your vacant expressions,” Nightmare waving a hand in front of Sans’ eyes. “the lights are not all on upstairs.” Nightmare pouted as he flicked Sans’ nose hole.

“But we're talking kings and successions! Even you can't be caught unawares!” Nightmare said, using his tentacles to propel him onto the roof.

“So, prepare for the chance of a lifetime. Be prepared for sensational news~!” Nightmare said, announcing his words to the crowd.

“A shining, new era, is tiptoeing nearer.”

“And where do we feature?” Undyne asked, and Nightmare laughed.

“Just listen to teacher.” He said, using a tentacle to pet her head.

“I know it sounds sordid, but you'll be rewarded.” Nightmare declared, making illusions of food from all walks of life, fresh and ripe. The crowd’s mouths water as their hands fly through the illusions.

“When at last, I am given my dues. And injustice deliciously squared.” The Lord of Darkness announced, raising his hands as the crowd looked at him in awe.

“Be prepared!” He cried out with the crowd, smiling darkly as he rejoined Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus on the balcony.

“Yeah, be prepared! We'll be prepared! For what?” Papyrus said, earning him a glare from Undyne.

“For the death of Dream!” Nightmare cried out, snarling.

“Why? Is he sick?” Undyne said, making her voice high pitched and innocent as she sneered.

“No, fool, we're gonna kill him. And Ink, too.” Nightmare said, his smile demonic.

“Great idea! Who needs joy?” Undyne said, hypocritically as she did agree to attack him.

“Idiots! Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry again!” Nightmare screamed to the crowd Everyone cheered and praised Nightmare. “Yay! All right! Long live Nightmare! Long live Nightmare! Long live Nightmare!”

“Nightmare, Nightmare, Nightmare, Nightmare, Nightmare, Nightmare! It's great that we'll soon be connected,” They cheered as Nightmare propelled himself above the crowd, dragging Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus along with him by their waists.

“With a king who'll be all time adored!” They cheered, a dark grin on Nightmare’s face.

“Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected,” He said, resting on top of a large building, resting the three people behind him on their knees.

“To take certain duties on board.” Nightmare drew a line across his neck as he gave a sadistic grin to the trio of former friends.

“The future is littered with prizes,” Nightmare illusions of food appearing over the starving monsters. “And though I'm the main addressee,” Most came over to him but they didn’t care, what they got looked so good.

“The point that I must emphasize is,” He snapped his fingers.

“You won't get a sniff without me!!!” The food turned to knives as they nearly hit the crowd, vanishing before they hit.

“So prepare for the coup of the century!” He said, beckoning the crowd to chant.

“Be prepared for the murkiest scam!”

“Oooh... la, la, la!” The crows sang, Undyne, Sans, and Papyrus now huddling together.

“Meticulous planning!”

“We'll have food!” The crowd cheered, many crying.

“Tenacity spanning!” Nightmare lifted himself higher above the crowd, nearing the top of the cave.

“Lots of food!” The crowd announced

“Decades of denial.”

“We repeat!” They were cheering.

Is simply why I'll "Hyena Clan: Endless meat!"

“Be king undisputed,” Nightmare was smiling widely.

“Respected, saluted,” He was cackling.

“And seen for the wonder I am!” Nightmare was uncontrollably laughing.

“Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared.”

“Be prepared!”

“Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared!” He said in unison with the crowd.

“Be prepared!” They all screamed, Undyne regretting meeting Nightmare.

BE PREPARED!!

I love this song.

[undertalethingies]

The Third Worst Day

Loosely inspired by the ninth chapter of @undertalethingems Unexpected Guests comic, and by the end of John Mulaney’s Delta Airlines bit. (“In fact, we’re gonna frame you for MURDER! [...] ~Because we’re Delta Airlines, and life is a fucking nightmare~”)

Sans was not having the shittiest day of his life, because everyone was on the surface and Frisk was being nice this timeline. 

The second shittiest day, though- well, no, not that either, technically speaking. Nothing was on fire except maybe Undyne’s house underground, and that just because no one could be bothered to put it out when everyone was moving to the surface anyway. (Please don’t ask about the second shittiest day of Sans’ life, he will not tell you and will instead have flashbacks)

Ugh, it was really indicative that this BS only ranked third.

So, the curtain opens on the third shittiest day of Sans’ life, and maybe, like, the eighth worst thing to ever happen to him.

What could be bad enough to rank on Sans’ top ten worst days list, though? (which is a list he actually made once, as a joke, and then he looked at it and kind of wanted to cry, before laughing instead because that’s just how Sans copes with things)

Well, you see, he was being framed for murder.

Flowey, specifically, was currently attempting to frame him for the death of the old royal scientist, W.D Gaster, who Sans had met maybe once in his entire life.

Admittedly, the fact that he actually remembered said meeting, and that there had been a previous royal scientist at all, was highly unusual.

He didn’t remember for anywhere close to the reasons Flowey was insinuating, though. No, the reason Sans remembered the old royal scientist had very little to do with the scientist himself and a lot more to do with how remembering across timelines was triggered in the first place.

Cross-timeline memory retention (which are the Official Science Words for it) was triggered by high levels of Determination. No more, no less. And Sans had very high DT levels for a monster. It was pretty much the only reason he’d managed to make it to adulthood with just a single point of HP to his name. (Undyne remembered a bit too, he suspected, though he’d never called her on it)

So the reason Sans remembered the existence of Gaster was the same reason he had what little knowledge he did of the RESETs, though he remembered far less of those, due to having fewer triggers for the memories to resurface. (The fact that no one knew who had built the CORE had been enough for Sans’ mind to fill in the blanks)

Flowey was saying that Sans remembered because he’d known the guy, which was just flat out wrong. The weed was insinuating that Sans couldn’t possibly due the things he did without being a scientist, which was partially true, and finally accusing him of killing Gaster, either to steal his research or because Sans was the Judge, (Nice of Flowey to out him, the little shit) which was blatant slander.

Sans could see that the others (excluding Alphys, who knew the story was bullshit) didn’t want to believe what Flowey was saying, but he could also see that, despite that fact, he was still convincing them.

Flowey, after all, was a very skilled liar. Especially when it came to convincing people of crazy backstories he’d concocted on the spot. It made sense, since he’d had rather a lot of practice.

As Flowey finished his story, Sans looked at Alphys. He texted her a question about an old promise he’d made to her that was suddenly not one he was sure he should keep. (He’d do it anyway, if she asked, but breaking it would make disproving Flowey’s allegations that much easier.)

“And that’s why- are you on your PHONE?” Flowey interrupted himself, looking hilariously offended for someone who was actively framing a guy for murder.

“Is that how little you care? You killed him and you can’t even be bothered to hear out the allegation?” Oh, so that’s how he was playing it. Sans narrowed his eyes, just a bit, before responding.

“eh, you looked like you were having fun. wouldn’t want to interrupt, ya know?” Earlier in the conversation, when Sans was still actively participating, Flowey had interrupted him several times. Alphys snickered at his jab, and hit the send button on her phone.

Sans checked the text, and inwardly sighed in relief. Seemed like he could take the easy way out here.

“Sans, please put away your phone. This is a serious conversation,” Toriel said. Sans supposed he had to agree to disagree on that one. This wasn’t much of a conversation at all as much as it was Flowey using his knowledge to manipulate the room in a way that allowed him to frame Sans for murder.

“yeah, don’t worry, tori. it was relevant,” She looked as if she doubted that, but she didn’t say anything. Sans sent Alphys a quick thank-you and stuck the offending device back in his pocket. He turned to look at Flowey, who probably would have shrunk from the ice in his gaze if Flowey had ever bothered to figure out how to read his expressions.

“so, you done, pal?” There were several winces around the room at the vitriol present in his tone, but none of them belonged to Flowey.

“Yeah, I think I’ve made my point pretty clear!” Flowey looked positively cheerful at the thought.

“good, ‘cause i’m getting pretty tired of hearing you speak. don’t want a repeat of the last time you tried something like this, right?” Last time Flowey had attempted something like this with Sans present, the weed had still been in control of the timeline. Sans had killed him before he could even finish his speech.

“Ha! You wouldn’t dare! Not when Frisk is-” Flowey cut himself off before he could dig all three of them (four of them?) into a hole they really wouldn’t be able to talk their way out of. Frisk shot him a glare, with an expression that said they’d probably kill Flowey themselves, if he didn’t shut his trap. The weed gulped audibly.

“A-anyway! Are you gonna explain yourself, trashbag?” Papyrus made the same pinched expression he always did when Flowey used that particular moniker.

“heh. sure, why not,” Sans’ grin turned predatory. 

“i’m not gonna bother asking you to back your claims with evidence, since we both know you don’t actually have any,” Flowey narrowed his eyes, probably thinking of a thousand ways to justify that, but Sans continued without giving a chance.

“you’re right that i used to be a scientist, so kudos for that, i guess. my leaving the field had nothing to do with gaster, though. it actually happened quite a while after that,” Sans preferred not to talk about this, but with Flowey forcing his hand, it seemed like the simplest solution.

“my leaving had nothing to do with gaster, and everything to do with the experiments that got alph fired,”

--

When Sans had been younger and more optimistic, he’d wanted to be a scientist more than anything in the world. He’d spend hours combing through the dump for old textbooks, and the few he found, he’d pore over until he had them practically memorized.

So when an ad went out saying that the new royal scientist was looking for an assistant, he’d jumped at the opportunity. Sans had spent hours studying for the required tests, barely even eating in his complete dedication to the task before him.

Sans didn’t know whether he’d had the highest score, or if he’d been selected for his blue magic, (a rare ability that was extremely useful for engineering) or if had simply been because he lived so close to the lab at the time, but he got the job. He’d celebrated for a day straight, and would probably have irritated the hell out of Papyrus if they’d been living together at the time. (Sans was in that young adult phase where he lived alone in a shitty apartment because he was trying to be independent)

When he’d first met Alphys, he was not ashamed to admit to having geeked out a bit. She was considered one of the greatest minds of their generation, after all. 

He’d tried to keep it to a minimum, though, (correctly) figuring that she wouldn’t have much use for him as an assistant if he was too busy with hero worship to contribute anything.

Though they’d been awkward together at first, they’d quickly warmed up to each other, and soon at least half of the new innovations exiting the lab had their roots in Sans’ ideas as much as Alph’s.

Quickly enough, they’d become best friends.

And then…

Then had come the Determination experiments.

Both Alphys and Sans had agreed it would be best not to allow the amalgamates out of the True Lab. Alphys had confined herself to her workplace, moving in a bed and her anime collection so she’d only have to leave for the occasional grocery run.

Sans had kept his status as her assistant under wraps, though, so he didn’t have to worry about being cornered by the victims’ families like she did. Papyrus had mentioned recently that he was looking for someone to go in halfsies with him on a housing lease in Snowdin, so Sans did what he did best, and ran away from his problems, packing his stuff and moving just about as far from Hotland as it was possible to get without entering the Ruins.

He and Alph stayed friends, though. When you’re the only two people who know about a catastrophic disaster like that, it kinda brings you together.

--

Sans finished his explanation with a nod to Alphys, before saying,

“and as for gaster, the only connection i’ve got to the guy is that i named an attack after him in honor of his scientific prowess,”

The room was silent for a few moments as everyone thought through his words. Suddenly, Flowey said,

“Yeah, that’s all well and good, but how did you even know about him? Everyone else forgot he ever existed!” Sans smiled secretively.

“probably the same way you do, asriel,” Let no one say he couldn’t give as good as he got. If Sans had to share his backstory, well.

Might as well take the flower down with him.

[undertalethingems]

Bark at the Moon, Chapter 8: Local Cryptid

<Previous / Next>

Or read on my Ao3>

Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon

Chapter Warnings: None

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

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

"What's going on?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

The dogs exchanged looks.

"Well..." Dogamy started.

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

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

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

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

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

The table considered her words somberly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The fire elemental paused to nod.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Oh, my god."

"I'm not wrong." He beamed.

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

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

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

"Really?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"But what?"

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

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

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

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

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

"I will. Goodnight, Undyne."

"G'night."

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

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

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

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

[jamestrmtx]

Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]

[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]

Chapter Twelve | Danger Mystery (Part 2 of 2)

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

To those who read the previous chapter part before I fixed an issue with it:

I forgot to change the title from Chapter Eleven | Premonition to Chapter Twelve | Danger Mystery (Part 1 of 2) when copy-pasting the header format, and didn't notice until an hour of posting.

Apologies for any confusion I might've caused with that!

• • •

"Cool braids," Jerry says, smiling at Frisk. "Did you make them yourself?"

The one questioned seems less than enthused by him, though there's no denying how their face lights up at the compliment. "Toriel made them for me," they sign, going back to their bored expression afterwards. Their attitude is distant and shows how they aren’t ready to confront the past yet. They stand up and look away from him, a frown etched deep in their expression all the while. "I have to finish my homework now."

"Bring it here." Jerry tries to be cheerful, but fails horribly, smile and tone both coming off forced and awkward as he tries to hype up the situation as best as he can. "I can help you!"

Though they try to hide it from everyone else in the room, Sans can see how Frisk rolls their eyes, pouts, and then mutters something under their breath. "It's fine. I don't need any help with what's left."

They almost mimic (Y/N) in character and tone, acting just as stern and cold, if not more with how hard it is for them to pretend the opposite.

"I'd still like to know how you're doing in school." Jerry's tone changes, paired up with his expression: eyebrows creased, eyes glaring, and smile gone. "You're... You're the only one left who can tell me how things are going lately, now that (Y/N) won't answer my messages anymore."

"Why don't you ask that guy, then? You're friends, as far as I know."

Their angry gaze points at Sans as they sign the words: "Why are you friends with him?" with the most annoyed gestures possible, and quick enough for Jerry not to notice what they're doing or saying. Then, they look at their father again, seemingly running thin and out of patience with the way they look at him, a look so frigid it could put an ice skating rink to shame. "You haven't answered my question yet."

"Believe me, Frisk." Jerry huffs. "I've tried, but he refuses to tell me anything -- says it's not in his place to tell me about you and all that stuff."

"Cool," is Frisk's only reaction as they spare a look at their surroundings. "It's better that way."

The child sighs and walks away, not once looking back -- and not even as their father calls out for them by their full name.

"Come back here," he demands, standing up and glaring at the hallway Frisk passes through. "Or I'll have to ask why you've got such awful manners today. What's (Y/N) been teaching you these days, huh? You've never been like this before!"

"People change," they snap, stopping for a second to look at him. "So…" Their voice trembles as they take a second to ball their hands and direct their angry look at the floor. "So stop blaming (mom/dad) for everything, if you really want to talk to me."

They're gone for good after that, giving Jerry no chance to talk or ask questions any longer.

He's left fuming, and when he catches Sans's gaze, his anger augments.

"What the hell have you taught Frisk since I was gone? They- They were never like this with me before!”

"Never?" Sans asks, facing up at Jerry when he joins his side. "Hadn't you seen them since last Christmas before today? Ten months are enough for someone to grow and change."

"That's still too big of a change." He scoffs. "Now tell me what you did -- I deserve that much, at least."

"Nothin'." He pauses, shrugging to ignore the glare Jerry continues to direct at him. "We've been here for only two months -- three, at most. You've been gone ten."

Appearing caught in a dead-end, he sees Jerry's eyes wander from Toriel preparing some documents and Papyrus helping her out, to the hallway Frisk had walked through, and -- finally -- to the kitchen, where the clinking of cutlery’s heard as (Y/N) sets up the dinner table, while Undyne keeps an eye out for the stove and Alphys holds out a fire extinguisher near the scene. Sans has a hunch as to what Jerry's planning simply by the dour look on his face alone, so he holds the man back by the arm, saying, "Don't bring 'em into this." He's faced with a sharper glare, though he doesn't brush his hand away. "The kid's mad at you by default. Nobody else's told 'em to treat you that way."

"And how would you know?" Jerry shoves him off. "You're just some guy with a crush on someone else's spouse!"

"Ex-spouse." Sans sneers. "They aren't tied to you anymore."

"But they still have a kid to be responsible for."

"So do you."

Jerry tries to say something back, yet he falls short and stutters before giving up. "I- I'm gonna go help them out, then."

He sees the man look back to the kitchen again, longing visible in his eyes. 

"Knock yourself out, bud. Just don't go pressurin' 'em too much." The two spare a look at each other, a silent battle forming in Jerry's gaze while the monster remains stern but nonchalant. "You know what happened back at that bus. They need their time to rest."

A more empathic look softens up Jerry's visage as he nods, finally cracking a smile with it. "I know." He sighs. "But I have no clue how I didn't notice it was them you liked with how many damn comments there were about it on those videos."

"That's 'cuz we were barely gettin' to know each other back then." His confession's abrupt and appears to catch Jerry by surprise. "Wasn't until some time later that I realized what I was feelin' whenever they were around."

Jerry keeps quiet for what has to be a solid minute; it's a miracle based on how much he's wanted to communicate today, and in so short of a time. He sighs and his glare fades. A more serene look replaces his anger as he then relaxes his posture, completing a calmer self, much more refreshing to see in comparison to his previous attitude. "I promise I won't bother them too much today, but I still need to talk."

"Today only?" Sans remarks, quirking an eye socket. "So you're goin' back to zero after that?"

"Don't be stupid. I just mean I won't be as persistent today -- I know they need to rest."

The monster decides to let it go, aware he's going nowhere with how much more obstinate Jerry is. 

He sees him enter the kitchen and immediately seek after their ex, an attitude that makes him appear similar to that of a rambunctious puppy still looking for attention even after being told to back off. Sans chuckles at that thought and shakes his head, surprising even himself with how much he's becoming concerned with matters that weren't exactly his own. It’s knowing (Y/N) was tied to the situation along with Frisk what makes him want to try and intervene a bit more, though he knows better than that, taking into account how strained his relationship with the both of them still is. It's a miracle he even managed to befriend Jerry with how obnoxious and insistent he could be at certain times -- even more than Sans was himself.

...Was that why (Y/N) hadn't outright rejected him yet?

Did he resemble Jerry in attitude, somewhat?

Sans brushes that thought aside and proceeds to walk off to the hallway; the faint sounds of someone crying are heard nearby, prompting him to search for who it is.

He passes by a bedroom, a mini office, then a bathroom, until reaching the middle of the hallway. The person's crying sounds louder when he reaches Toriel's bedroom, though based on how young the voice is and that Toriel's still working with some documents back in the living room, he discards her as a possibility. He hears a few sniffles before the crying controls itself a bit more, making it seem as if the one behind that door heard his footsteps and chose not to be found out. Still, they carry on crying after some time, sniffles changing into sobs and sobs changing into loud and shuddering hiccups.

"...Frisk?" he calls out, knocking on the door twice.

The crying stops almost abruptly.

"Who's there?" they ask.

Weren't this such a pressing situation, he wouldn't hesitate so much in responding as he usually did to that type of question. He sighs and rests a hand against the door, drumming his fingers until he replies with, "Sans."

"...Sans who?"

"Sans ta permission, je ne peux pas passer."

He can't avoid the chuckle that follows when he hears them huff -- dramatically so. Soft footsteps and a click are the two sounds that lead before the door opens, revealing a tired Frisk with puffy, red eyes and an equally reddish, runny nose. Their hair's a messy bob, and the hair ties and ribbons Toriel used to keep the braids in place are no longer being worn.

"What do you want?"

"I wanna talk."

"No."

They almost shut the door right on his face, though he backs away on time, and -- as if seeming to trigger an unlisted superpower in (Y/N) -- they appear behind him, nearly giving him a soul attack.

"What's wrong?" they ask, peering over his shoulder. It's an evident, purposeful act on their part to tease him further and pay back at him, as they're already aware of how far his crush on them's gone. Still, they know their personal space and step back after that, leading him to turn his back on the door and face them instead. "...Was that Frisk? Wh- Why are they crying? And why are their braids gone? I swear if Jerry did something I-"

"He didn't say anything about that," Sans intervenes, calming them down by pulling them along with him next to the door and lowering his voice for only them to hear. "He, uh... tried to talk with Frisk, but they're still angry at him -- understandably. But they still don't wanna talk about it."

"Let me try, then," they say, sighing. "I think it's about time they told me at least something about what's bothering them -- Not just hide away like this every chance they get."

"So they always do that?"

They nod. "Whenever I try to talk about Jerry, mostly.” A subtle scowl accompanies the frustration in their tone. “But when it's about them telling me what happened to them at the Underground, they ignore my question by doing pretty much anything else that doesn't have to do with that." A tremble shows in their body as they take a second to breathe. "But today needs to be a different story -- They can’t keep running from this."

"No!"

Sans sees (Y/N)'s patience fade from their eyes at that sound, somewhat muffled by the door, but still an evident shout from Frisk.

"Sans is friends with Jerry, and- And now you're talking with him like that means nothing to you!"

The human narrows their eyes at the door as they stand in front of it. "Sans and Jerry being friends has nothing to do with any of this." They huff. "Did you really think they would be enemies right from the start?"

"Yes! Just like how Prince Charmin Ultra Strong gets defeated by Shrenk!"

Surprisingly, they don't get any angrier and -- on the contrary -- smile at that comparison. They bite their lip to hold it back, though they still fail when they reply with, "Does that suggest Jerry's mom is gonna be a bigger villain later?"

Some silence passes. "I mean, yeah. Don't you remember how sad and angry she was when Jerry tried proposing again, but then you rejected him?"

At that, the monster's grin shows up and he finds himself blurting out, "He tried it again?"

"Yes." The moment they spare to answer his question ends as they look back at the door and say, "Of course, I remember, but you still shouldn't have those expectations, dear. This isn't a good versus evil situation -- There's a lot more to it than that." They bump their forehead against the door, seemingly giving up their strong and stern facade as they press their lips tight and try to suck up some sadness by sniffling and looking at the floor. "You- You must've realized that, too, right? Some of your new friends hurt you at one point, didn't they? And then you still try to defend me despite all the bad choices I've made in the past. I… I know Jerry screwed up-"

"-a lot," they interrupt, making (Y/N) sigh.

"-but that still doesn't mean you should compare like that."

"But what if he's a villain in my eyes, (mom/dad)?" they ask, though it's more of a statement than the former. "The only good thing he's done today is compliment my hair -- That's it! And I'm pretty sure you haven't even used any of that support money he gives you, so it's not like we really owe him anything, either."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm not dumb. That's the reason why you worked so much in the past, isn't it? You... You just sent that child support money back to him, and kept some only for emergencies."

"That-"

"You tell me not to see him as a bad guy, but you still do that by refusing any help and doing everything by yourself."

"That still doesn't mean you'll owe him any of those funds, dear. In the end, we chose to (have/adopt) you, so you'll never owe us any of that money we provide for raising you."

"So why did you reject his part of the responsibility, then?"

The kid could be a lawyer with how quickly that question corners (Y/N) in place. Their once firm, narrowed eyes turn wide and a guilty look makes their forehead wrinkle and mouth form a grimace. They don't say anything as they reach out for the doorknob and try to turn it around. "Open the door. We can't keep talking like this."

"Answer my question first," Frisk says, voice faltering midway. "Please?"

(Y/N) gives in with an exhale, chest shuddering in the process. "I…” They clench their hand and hesitate. “I didn't want to owe him anything." They rest their forehead against the door again, looking more defeated than before when they close their eyes and fight their frown away. "That's why."

Quiet remains after their response.

The door doesn't click or budge, signaling for the one waiting outside to give up for now. They walk back to the monster's side and sit on the floor; their gaze looks left and right, observing the hallway with a distinctive boredom only sadness can bring upon someone. They're almost a mirror of Frisk back when he caught the two of them dancing: knees pressed right to their chest as they hug themselves tight.

Though it takes him a while to do anything, Sans soon settles on the thought that doing something is much better than nothing right now, so he tries to accompany them by the floor. He sits next to them and offers a literal shoulder for them to lay on, the softness of his jacket helping numb the hardness of his bones. They rest their head there and close their eyes, breaths steadying the longer they stay that way. "You kinda smell like Old Spicy," they comment, chuckling. "Like my aunt's new boyfriend’s cologne." They sniff a few times and scooch a bit closer to his side. "...Sorry. That was weird."

He laughs. "Guess I'll have to try a different kind next ti-"

Click.

Followed by the door being unlocked is Frisk opening it and leaving the room. They then look at him and (Y/N) with the most appalled expression possible, similar to a scrungy cat. "You two are mushier than a bag of marshmallows left under the sun.”

Saying that, they turn around and take their leave, adding, “I’m gonna go talk with Jerry now,” before their other parent can say anything as an objection.

“Still not gonna call him dad?” they ask, though it comes off more teasing than demanding.

“Not until he earns it.” Frisk looks at the skeleton with sharp, judging eyes. “Because right now, even Skeletor’s brother is a better candidate for that.”

They’re gone in a flash after that comment, leaving Sans to process the heavy weight of those words and for the human next to him to stand up, gape, and look to where their child ran off to.

“W- Watch your words Frisk (L/N),” they shout at the empty hallway, voice masking their embarrassment by being loud. "You're on thin ice!"

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

• • •

Tag List (Comment or message me if you want to be added to [or removed from] it!)

@the-simp-express

@nektotersh

@disastrous-l0vebug

@therealchickenjoe

@mintyflakes025

@pandaquick

@timelock97

[pacifistofpatience]

So this is all underground. Ht and Uf skelebros reacting to a (future) SO that like...turns out they have a power where they can build a sheild out of a magic that's the color of their soul (it's like a dome around them). How do those skele boys end up falling for the SO?

((Sorry I went a little off the deep end

But you did ask how they fell in love))

Horrotale

Jupiter

Partof him wants it to be an excuse, but he cant let it be

Worksthe hardest to break your shield and when it doesn’t let up he cuts his lossesand goes off, he’s not about to waste magic on something that cant be broken 

Onceyour sure you’re safe you continue on words, past the others.   Exhausted and starvingyou make it through Snowdin, you show kindness to those you pass. And theybreak under it. No one can ever land the killing blow- too tired, too weak, orjust too soft

Youbefriend a different skeleton; he offers you a home, but you refuse

Youcontinue. Past the place of wailing flowers and to some dump where acreature is crying loud enough you have to cover your ears to not be overcomewith grief. You find an empty home, you find three empty homes

Theworld waits with bated breath, what little you do see of the monsters that stillexist in the underground give you a wide birth. They whisper, they look behindyou in fear

(there’ssomething there, right out of your line of vision. You don’t know what it isbut they haven’t tried to kill you yet so you leave it be

Sometimes, when you’re alone, you talk to them)

Youpass a lab, you dig deeper, you learn somethings that were supposed to die withtheir creator but live on

Youforgive them anyway

(He made the right choice, stars he finally did somethingright)

Youmeet him again, at the end of a long, broken hall. He’s not there to judge you,for it’s no longer his right, but he lets you go with a parting warning

(There’s something in his words

A plea, maybe. If you could forgive them.But he doesn’t ask it out loud. He doesn’t deserve that much

You say it anyway, You promise them all- him- another chance)

Theshield is your only ally when you go up against the Queen- so full of seethingrage for the humans that came before you and believing you no better- shefights with all her strength. Her arrows coated with a burning red determinationthat is ripping her apart at the seems. You try to stop it- for the softness ofyour heart will not allow you to see another die- but she goes anyway, sheleaves her soul for you to take

Thebarrier breaks, and the rising sun calls to all of the Undergound.

(He’sthe first to greet you at the cliff. It occurs to you that, during the fight, you were never in any real danger, not when he was watching over you

Hethinks, in time, he could be ready for your love)

--

(Inany other scenario, if this wasn’t a wish fulfillment sort of thing, the shieldwould shatter. As fragile things against his ever-growing power do, and he wouldstill. For a moment he would break, feeling all the regret weigh on him.

Hewould wait, for a second, hoping that maybe you could do it again. That if hepaused like the stupid/slow/lazy fool he was you’d be able to gatheryourself again and put it back up. And he would be able to come to theconclusion that it wasn’t worth the little magic he had left and leave youthere to find easier pray

Butyou don’t. He thinks about the others back at Snowdin. Depending on him, whatlittle hope they have left bearing down on him.

Itmakes the next swing easier, almost as if the others are with him

Theonly Love he finds is in the form of gained EXP and another soul for thebarrier)

Mars

Hefeels something sick in himself when he first finds you

You’dbe the first working human he met face to face (other than the child that’sjust a far off memory now) and he… he can’t stand the thought of hurting another-monster or human

(Evenwhen others are starving, struggling, he can’t bring himself to be the one todo it. Like a coward he hides behind his brother who brings them food, and henever outright says how he found the humans – already dead or alive-  but the increasing LV his brother has only confirmsthe worst.

Hecan’t hurt you, he can’t)

Onlyfinds out about your ability after bringing you to his home in secret, when Jupitercomes back and almost kills you right there in a panic

Whenyour shield appears, he thinks about how lucky the two of them became

Hateshimself for it, but is very insistent you hone these skills. He says its tostay safe, but he also knows its so maybe one day it can come in handy for thetwo of them

It’sa long road from there, keeping you hidden from the Queen, and from othermonsters as well. And then keeping you alive as well, but he does it!

(Andmaybe, in the end, you became a little bit of the sunshine he was losing sightof in that dark and dreary world)

Underfell

Red

Meetsyou while your defending yourself from a few monsters right outside of Snowdin.Chases off the other monsters and tries to coax you out of it so he can get theyour soul all for himself… but is actually kind of proud of you when he seesthat you don’t let your guard down instantly

Triesto see if he can roll you around in the dome. When you get pissy he laughs, andmaybe starts to think a cute little human like you shouldn’t be out here all ontheir own

Eventuallystarts to talk to you and, like the secretly soft dumbass he is, gets attached

Oncehe gets close to you though he’s … kind of relieved

Youhave a way to protect yourself! you have a way to protect yourself and itjust makes him feel that much better about everything! He hides you away, andeventually convinces Boss to collar you in a desperate attempt to keep you outof harm’s way

(Itdoesn’t take as much convincing as he thinks it does, Boss had already made hismind up after the first plea but he refused to acknowledge it)

Youtwo spend a lot of time together, hiding away in the underground mostly at theirhome (that will, in time, become your home as well) and welcoming him with awarm smile each time he wanders in

He’sharsh, but it eventually fades out. Unable to really be angry at someone whojust is… so soft to him. Despite Boss’ reprimands, he starts to fall into thissort of domestic bliss when you’re around

Hepulls you into hugs more often, spends days around you away from his duties andnights just talking to you with the TV at low volume

(Whichis dangerous in the Underground. Boss can’t have his brother going Softlike that when there’s still so much that can happen. When one moment ofweakness could be the last he ever sees of Red

Youbetter make yourself useful soon, least you become anther soul in the Kings castle)

Boss

Hefinds you and is the first to make an attempt at your life, but quickly learns justhow hard that is when you use your shield!

Pitchesa fit and starts kicking at your soul dome, absolutely pissed off that you evendare to! Not! Let him!! Kill you!!

(butsomething inside him is so GD’d relieved, so happy that this time he has an excuse)

Eventuallythe dome goes down, either because of exhaustion or something else, and when hegets to you he…

…Hedoesn’t (Can’t) kill you

Youwake up in some weird shed and a Boss hovering right outside of these bars youcould totally slip through if you wanted to and he demands your enteral allianceto him because you’re the perfect ally! With you’re shield your more of a useto him then most of the vermin of the Underground

It’slike a fighting duo! You be the shield and he’ll be the sword! You Just have totrain a little bit more!

(Littlestars pop in his sockets for a moment, there’s this far off look in his eyelights you don’t have time to figure out. Like he’s remembering something)

Thetraining us grueling, from dusk till dawn you work hard and use all your magicreserves

But,its all worth it when you create a shield to hold both you and Boss in. Onethat lets him attack but also will not allow any attacks in. The praise you receiveis heart fluttering

Yougrow close, over time, and his brother warms up to you and your wit easily. Youget collared, you find a home…

Andyou’re reported

Someone,some fucking snitch, went to the Royal Guard without any of you knowing. And Undynecomes with a warning; give them the human or be become an enemy of the kingdom

(“Youhave an hour to make up your mind, Solider. I’ll be the only onestanding guard outside your house so don’t even try to escape There’s noway you can sneak out the back while I’m the one standing guard”)

Youthree are long gone when she finally breaks down the door

[morethanithoughtofficialblog]

Chapter 7: As useless as a broken mirror

In which you realize your life is crap... 

for now

*Your POV*

Talking with someone yesterday was good, I guess. I normally talk about work topics only, so it feels weird to have a casual conversation about... anything. And it was weirder, considering Sans was the one talking.

It would be today, though, the day where we would see each other again in order to discuss... more terms. They all deserve to know and I also need a few papers for them in order to get them into society. I just need the basics, though- report cards, previous jobs on the Underground, and I will put them some tests in order to see which educational level fits better each of them. But that will be later.

So there I was, waking up and trying to french kiss the morning as Bon Jovi does. And failing miserably, just as always.

I tried my best to keep a smile on my face. It didn't work out, either. I groaned loudly, realizing that it was four in the morning. So yeah, I just can't french kiss the morning when it isn't morning, you know. And so I felt stupid and went back to sleep...

...

Except I didn't.

No matter how many positions I tried or how many different pillows I took, I just couldn't get my head together. I was thinking about everything and, at the same time, about nothing at all. I felt numb yet desperate to be a normal person and fall sleep immediately, considering how freaking tired I actually was.

I sat on my bed silently and put on the lights. Bad idea, but I still do it every night like this.

I frowned remarkably and stood there until my eyes got accustomed to the light. And then I started to question what the hell was I doing, as usual.

I looked at my annoying digital clock again: 4:11 am.

Great, guess I'll stay like this until the day officially starts... or until I pass out, that is.

Maybe a good drink would have been great to forget it all. Then I remembered that I had work and that, besides, I don't drink. I groaned again.

I felt like crying, like screaming or like to go outside and let a fucking weirdo kill me or make me disappear forever...

That's the worst idea I've ever had.

I wanted to punch something; maybe a mirror, maybe that elegant flower vase with a dead daisy on it, or the TV. All of those were great options, honestly. But I wasn't up to clean the mess or to deal with angry neighbors, so I didn't move.

I shoot a glance at one of my bureaus, that only had an old book on its top. Maybe I could read. I tried to stretch my hand and get it, but I ended up falling out of the bed, making my head hurt like hell. Ouch. Maybe I couldn't, after all.

I, unsurprisingly, groaned again. If I had a cent for every time I have groaned in my life, I could probably have a car instead of taking that goddamn subway. Or I could get a house. Or a life...

Nah. That's way too expensive.

I eventually got up and stared at my drawer. Then, without thinking, I opened it. My heart sank when it did.

Medicines here, medicines there. Medicines FUCKING EVERYWHERE! There was barely any space left for even a fricking pill. This is not the first time I have seen this, though, but it still hurts to see how pathetic I am. This is just a small proof. There's more, that's for sure.

I stood there silently, anxiety consuming me over. I could even make a fucking drug store out of this drawer...

Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.

I shook my head, resisting the urge to be sarcastic to myself... again.

But, yes, I had such a huge variety I could make a store out of it. Do you have anxiety? Well, Zoloft for you, that is! Are you depressed like me? Well here, took a Prozac pill! Come here and get your problems away...

And contribute to mine.

Oh my god, just end my suffering.

Thanks to my wonderful boss and work partners (including college and the monsters' case, of course), I forgot that I had emotional problems as well. And that means that I haven't been following my treatment. For months.

Shit.

Then I started to wonder when I had to see my psychiatrist again. I probably missed the date he gave me. Just wonderful, right?

I sighed and closed the drawer, feeling worse than before. I went to the bathroom to see my wound but there wasn't anything there. Thank God.

I ended up looking at my face, slightly frowning. People have said that I'm pretty, yes, but I think that's just out of sympathy. Therefore, I haven't been comfortable with my looks since... a long time ago.

My (e/c) eyes looked paler than when I was a kiddo. Ah, childhood. It was wonderful in its own way. No problems, no low self-esteem, no nothing. Just laughs and friends, videogames and nights playing Dungeons and Dragons with my dorky dad and my aunt. Those were good days.

I remember that I received a lot of comments, telling me that I would have a brilliant future. Hard to believe in that now, looking at what was happening.

I work in Congress and I am finishing my studies to finally become a biochemist. Being a scientist has been my dream, and I'm just a few steps before I can call myself "Dr. (Y/N)". And I'm just twenty.

When I was little, my dad took me to a neurologist in order to see my IQ. She said, in a few words, that I was super smart and super talented. I believed it but never used it as an excuse to think of me better than anyone else. Right then, I thought everyone had talents and intelligence. Now... I'm seriously doubting all those encouraging words were true. Because, even if I was a nerd, that never meant my future would be brighter.

A lot of my school partners and friends are being way happier than I am, having a perfect balance between emotions, college, and work. Me, who 'has it all' to become an important person, somehow has three mental breakdowns (at least) in one day, and it's struggling between having or not new friends, afraid of screwing up.

Is this what my parents would have wanted? For me to be a coward?

Well, surprise surprise. Your daughter is such a disappointment of a kid.

I'm a genius. That's what experts told me. They also said that this high IQ thingy may include problems socializing and, well, even mental illnesses. To be honest, I prefer being normal and not having these things than being a Leonardo Da Vinci and die internally every five seconds.

Then I noticed a warm feeling on my cheeks.

Oh crap.

I snapped back to reality and saw myself in front of the mirror, crying as if my life depended on it. Well, it kinda does, but that's not the point.

I tried to wipe them as quickly as possible, trying to banish that feeling instantly. But instead, I cried harder. And harder. And I felt more miserable than before, if that was possible.

My legs felt like jello and my eyes turned all red and puffy. My mouth was shaking, trying to transform itself into a smile. Why was I crying, again? Oh yeah, because I hate myself so much. I look awful, I'm just full of myself, lonely, and easily replaceable. There's nothing I can do about it.

I will finish my dream career, but all for what? To be more stressed? I don't know if I can quit at the Congress since I kind of accepted to be the ambassador of the monsters. Wow. I should have left someone more capable than I am to do the job. Now I'm going to disappoint them as well, whenever they see how weak I am. I mean, I'm crying while I'm looking at myself in the night... again. This is isn't new. But it just feels worst every time.

I gasped for air, almost forgetting how to breathe thanks to all that crying. I blinked a couple of times and took long breaths until I calmed down. When my vision wasn't blurry anymore, I saw my face again. All red and uglier than before. I looked like a baby losing its toy, like a child whining, or like a teenager who has an impossible crush.

I frowned, knowing I wasn't any of them. I was an adult, for God's sake.

Can this get more frustrating?

Can I be more pathetic?

I closed my fist and punched the mirror until my fingers went numb and my blood painted my whole hand...

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

*Frisk's POV*

I woke up later than usual, rubbing my eyes at the incoming sunlight. I groaned at the clock, seeing it was 10 am. But deep down I knew that Toriel would come for me, and so I got up.

I took a quick shower and put into more presentable clothes. I colocated a cute ribbon on my brown hair, feeling quite silly yet pretty. I stared at the mirror and saw my look with satisfaction. I was looking great! I even made some silly faces and giggled a little before coming out, interrupted by an angry skeleton who wanted to take a shower.

"kid, just fucking get out of there! what're you doin'? takin' a trip to narnia?"

"Sans, behave yourself!!!"

"...sorry ari-mom..."

I contained my laughter, knowing that Sans would be really angry if he heard me, and I walked out of the bathroom. Just a second passed before a quick flash of white ran into the room and locked the door. Oh, Sans, since when are you this desperate to take a shower?

The ones who hadn't showered groaned impatiently. I would have too since Sans lasts a long time in the shower. One time I swear I heard him singing a popular rock song (so popular I don't remember its name) and then eventually creating a song of how much he loved ketchup...

...I must admit I feel worried about his future...

Eh... let's just hope for the best.

After a bunch of complainings towards him and more people showering, we could finally take breakfast together. Thank God they were pancakes, or else Undyne or Papyrus would be trying to find out the best egg combination (which, according to them, hasn't been found yet). At first, it is fun to hear their crazy ideas, but then it turns into a competition that I get somehow dragged into it. Most of the time voluntarily, though.

However, I was too excited to let all my energy be drowned into an egg fight. Today we will be seeing (Y/N) again, and honestly, I was looking for it! She's nice, and I've been waiting to be friends with her all this time. So now that everything was, well, settled, this was my chance!

We all ate rather quickly and head out of the house. However, Asgore stopped us before we could go running to... anywhere, actually.

"Let's wait here a moment, ok?" he smiled eagerly, making me suspicious.

So we waited there for five minutes or so until a simple-looking taxi made its way towards the house. Then a 5'5 feet tall woman got out of there, who I recognized immediately.

"(Y/N)!!!!!" Papyrus screamed unearthly loud, hugging (Y/N) immediately. She looked a little bit startled by such a sudden move but hugged back shortly after him.

"Hello, Papyrus. It is good to see you again...!" she tried her best to sound enthusiastic, but she felt somehow... different. Why, though?

"Oh, (Y/N) sweetie, I'm so glad you could make it!" Goat mom added with a smile, which (Y/N) returned it kindly. Maybe I was just imagining things, after all "But, hey, come in! We want you to see where we have been living all this time!"

Sans looked a bit tense but quickly relaxed. He must have forgotten for a second that Papyrus was his roommate. Therefore, there was NO WAY his room could be dirty. Since when he cares about that, though?

And so we gave (Y/N) a small tour through the small house. She behaved as always; shy, anxious, not wanting to intrude or sound rude, making small compliments and comments in amusement. She was just super nice! I think she's one of my favorite humans.

After making her laugh a bit and answer some of her own doubts about the Underground, we all headed off to the Congress, talking about the simplest of topics.

"Oh! I remember hearing a song called 'Imagine' one day!" I told (Y/N), keeping up with the musical topic (at Sans's petition).

"You have? Well, I mean... which artist are you talking about?"

"I think it was Marshmello"

"...then no, I haven't heard that one"

"Is there another song called 'Imagine'?" Alphys asked, curious about our conversation.

"well, there's john lennon's, y' know..." Sans added, smiling lazily.

(Y/N) seemed perplexed for a second, then smiled widely.

"Yep, John Lennon's 'Imagine' is my kind of... 'Imagine', you know"

Throughout all the way we all were talking about music. (Y/N) turns out to be a Rock N' Roll and Indie listener, similar to Sans's taste. She is kind of a music nerd, actually. She would give a casual comment of something history-related to music. I think Sans felt like he was on his own mind, opening up strangely. Then I realized he was just another music nerd, and that both of them were never given the chance to talk about this with others so freely.

However, I noticed an unusual expression on Sans's face. Not a good one, I must say. He wasn't suspicious or anything- by any chance, I think he was worried...

but of what?

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

*Sans's POV*

It feels good to have someone to talk about these things. I mean, someone that at least can say who Slash is.

While I was talking to (Y/N), however, I noticed a wound on her right fist. Not to be rude, but she is a bit taller than I am, and I didn't want to look at a... private part of her body. Therefore, I ended up noticing a serious-looking injury on her fingers.

Should I ask?

I saw how happy she looked, talking about when she started to hear Rock N' Roll and watch concerts on TV.

Eh, I'll do it later...

Still, my mind wandered about that topic the rest of the road. And so, I didn't talk anymore, focusing on other things. Well, can you blame me? That looked like some serious shit happened.

When we arrived at the Congress, I noticed different looks from her work partners. I recognized one of the feelings on their looks: shame. They probably felt ashamed after hearing that we succeed. My smile grew wider, at least a bit, after thinking that.

We discussed a few things in her office like it was any day. Except it wasn't.

The human president made a public announcement on TV, radio, and social media, saying that monsters would be finally released and be accepted as legal citizens. Despite everything, I felt a bit uneasy. He might have been nice, but the others are clearly not like him. I just don't want to put Papy's security on risk.

We ended up leaving sooner than I thought, and for the first time in our lives, we used public transport. We received some glances, but in between, there were also kind smiles. Just like (Y/N)'s, just less dorky...

Did I just call the ambassador a dork?

I mentally groaned and took a seat, never erasing my apparently permanent smile. I felt like I was forgetting something, so I made a quick rewind on my head. But what would I have forgo- oh.

Oh.

You forgot to ask her, you idiot.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Beneath an Aurora Sky (Ch. 9)

Summary: The South Pole Station is equipped for research and Edge has always made sure things run smoothly for the inhabitants. His charges are meant to follow his rules and regulations, and in turn, he makes sure they survive in the arctic temperatures. It takes plenty of hard work and determination and Edge, along with his crew, can handle both.

He wasn’t counting on one of the newest researchers. He wasn’t expecting Rus.

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Arctic AU, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: So, bourbon came up with an amazing AU and did some lovely art for it: please look at it and love it.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Read Chapter 9 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Walking back to the station was quiet, their boots crunching on the hard-packed snow. The sudden flare of a lighter in the darkness made Edge wince and look away, but the smell that wafted to him wasn't the harshness of the cigars his brother occasionally smoked. Only a hint of tobacco and some bitter spice, cloves, perhaps? The traces of it on the cold wind wasn't entirely unpleasant.

"Don't leave the butts on the ground," Edge cautioned. The lights around the station formed a series of linked rings, illuminating them as they stepped into one. From here they were close enough to see the mellow lights from the narrow windows. Most were darkened, covered in heavy curtains. The kitchen alone was brightly lit, shadows of Bonnie moving as she prepared the evening meal.

His cigarette glowed brighter as Rus took a long draw on it, exhaling smoke and steamy breath with words. "you seen a single one?"

"I haven't. But you'll need to excuse my caution. It's too cold here for decomposition. Any trash left out stays until someone picks it up."

Rus’s smile was unoffended, eye lights mostly hidden behind his goggles. "i know, edgelord, don't worry. i'll leave the chilly side of paradise as pretty as i found it. had problems in the past?” Rus shook his head, frowning unhappily even as he took another drag. “you'd think scientists of all people would know better."

"It's been my experience that they do know better,” Edge said, sourly. “They simply don’t care.” He’d been aghast to learn that truth after their very first session. Implementing a fine into the contracts helped somewhat; few of their researchers could afford to be casual litterbugs on top of what they were already paying. It still occurred with disturbing frequency and there was always a day scheduled after a session ended to search the station grounds and the various research posts for any carelessly left garbage.

"what do you guys do with the trash here, anyway?” Rus crouched and his cigarette sizzled out as he touched it to the snow. He took a small tin out of his pocket that used to hold mints and dropped the butt into it, then hurriedly pulled the mitten-tip back over his glove. “send it off on vacation with the next ship?"

Edge hesitated. Station functions weren't precisely secrets and yet— "It feeds into the Core. The power generated is minimal, but it absorbs without a pollutant affect. Trash, human waste products, there's little that it can't transfer into energy."

The next question would be why there weren't Core facilities on every street corner, why they weren't working to mass produce, to sell, sell, sell, and Edge braced himself to endure it.

But Rus only nodded. "cool."

The main station door was looming ahead. Before Edge could open it, Rus caught his arm, stopping him. He set down his gear, not quite haphazardly, gingerly reaching out to push Edge’s goggles up, then his own. "hey, wait. lemme try something?"

Edge waited, warily curious.

He did not expect a gloved hand beneath his chin, tilting his skull up. Nor did he expect the gently eager mouth against his own, though perhaps he should have, tasting cloves and underlying sweetness. Their drawn-up hoods almost met along the edges, creating a pocket of warmth, a private world where he could sigh softly and meet that mouth with his own. It should concern him, perhaps, how quickly he was growing accustomed to this, but instead he only accepted it greedily, meeting Rus’s eagerness, the damp, delicate touch of his carefully exploring tongue.

There was only the hush around them, the artificial light an island in the darkness. A low moan caught in Rus’s throat, dissolving into a shaky breath shared between them.

“there." Rus drew back with a satisfied sigh. "needed a refill. now, what do you need my help with?”

His soul was pounding and for a moment, Edge was tempted to lead him to his quarters and ask for favors of another sort. But no, his brother was long overdue to see Alphys and the machine, and he knew today Undyne wasn’t going to be at dinner, performing maintenance at one of the outer research posts. Red would be less wary if it was only him, or if he believed it was. "Come with me and I'll show you."

“c’mon, just tell me!” Rus tried, but he was starting to look visibly cold, blinking too hard, and teeth barely chattering. That was enough for Edge to hustle him through the door. Explanations could wait until they were out of the elements.

They stripped out of their gear and Rus was nearly as quick as Edge, shoving his feet into untied shoes while Edge finished lacing his own. By the time their coats and boots were properly stowed, Rus was vibrating with impatience.

“You can leave your equipment here for the moment,” Edge unlocked one of the storage lockers and held it open, stowing the long telescope case. “Don’t get used to it, but it’s already close to dinner and I don’t want to miss our chance.”

“our chance for what?” Rus whined, hastily setting his bags into the locker. Normally, Edge would find that sort of tone grating, but somehow coupled with Rus’s obvious eagerness it was almost…adorable. If a seven-foot-tall skeleton could be adorable, something that Rus managed with surprising regularity.

Still, Edge waited until they were walking down the hallway, drawing out that impatience simply to enjoy it, before he finally said, low, “I need you to go into the dining hall and talk with Red.”

“that’s it?” Rus asked, his expression a comical mix of skepticism and disappointment. “you want me to get chatty with the sawtooth goblin, while you--?”

Edge forcibly did not smile at that description of his brother, but it was a close thing. They stopped outside of the door and he could hear the chatter from within, smell the hearty food that Bonnie was already dishing up. “There’s no way for me to go into the dining hall without him seeing me. Only two entrances, this one and the one from the kitchen and Red sits so that he can easily see both.”

Edge knew it was foolish to assume that just because Red didn’t appear to be looking, it somehow meant he wasn’t watching with that disturbing perception of his.

“guess you can't,” Rus said slowly, metaphorical wheels turning in his skull.

“So, what I need from you is a distraction. We’ll go in together, but I’m going to go speak with the two geologists about the equipment request they made yesterday. You go talk to Red. Tell him that one of the sno-cats was acting strangely, making odd sounds, something to that effect. If you can keep his attention, I may be able to get close to him without him noticing.”

“uh huh.” Rus crossed his arms and rocked on his heels. The thermal shirt he was wearing was one that Edge had given him, and Edge forced himself to look away before it became a distraction. “i get the plan, but you wanna tell me why we’re playing tag with red?”

Discussing his brother’s health issues with an outsider was out of the question, and yet, it was reasonable to ask. “Because he needs to pay a visit to Alphys and he’s proven reluctant to do so. Can you trust me on that?”

There wasn’t so much as a pause, no hesitation as Rus said, “yeah. i trust you.”

Simple words but they sent a tingle of odd warmth through him.

Carefully, Edge peered through the narrow window to pinpoint their targets without being seen. “All right, everyone is in place. Are you ready?”

“yeah, jason bourne, let’s do this.”

All heads rose when Edge pushed open the door and walked in, except his brother, whose stocking cap was pulled low on his skull where it was pillowed on his folded arms. Sunglasses were concealing his sockets, but they were likely tracking him as Edge walked over to the geologists, who were chatting softly while sharing a notebook between them.

The Humans’ eyes went wide as he walked up to them, their faces falling into lines of concern. Good. “Excuse me,” Edge said crisply, “I have a question about your equipment request for tomorrow.”

“Is there a problem?” the younger one asked anxiously, biting her lip and probably worrying about the hours they’d waste tomorrow trying to do without.

“Not at all,” he reassured them hastily. No need to panic them for his own selfish purposes. “I only wanted to confirm something.” They relaxed visibly, but out the corner of his socket, he watched Rus straddling the bench across from Red, knocking on the table with his knuckles. His brother didn’t raise his head so much as turn it slightly in Rus’s direction.

It didn’t stop Rus from launching into what was surely a convoluted explanation. They were too far away for him to hear, but he could see the moment Red caught interest in what Rus was saying. Rus was talking animatedly with his hands, those slim fingers flashing, and it was half simple gestures, half a jumble of signed words.

Such clever hands, how would they feel ghosting over bone, how would they look clenched into bedsheets while their owner moaned and—

“Boss?”

Edge blinked and looked back down at the perplexed scientists. “Never mind, everything should be fine. If you’ll excuse me?”

“But—”

He ignored the confused protest, walking around the table to skirt the wall as closely as he could get. As he approached, the conversation became clearer.

"…nah, not a rucka-ka-ka sound, it's more like a kachuga, kachuga, you know?"

"kachuga, got it.” Red steepled his fingers, pressing them to his teeth absently as he considered. “comin’ from underneath, you think, or the engine? ‘cause a tread coming loose is noisy as fuck but it's more of a, thunkita thunkita sound."

"yeah, no, it was seriously a kachuga.”

Ridiculous as their conversation was, it nearly worked. Edge was almost within reach when he saw Red’s eye lights flicker towards him through the side of the dark lenses, his sockets widening.

Fuck.

Edge lunged but Red was on his feet in a blur, already moving out of reach – and then squawking with outrage as he fell to the floor with a crash. It was enough of a delay for Edge to catch hold of his wrist, holding tightly, but Red made no attempt to squirm free. Instead, he rolled over, looking down in disbelief at his feet where his shoelaces were tied to the bench.

The collection of scientists standing on the other side of the table took in the scene with varying expression of mute awe, and Edge was close to the same. When had Rus possibly had a chance to…?

Only Rus was still sitting, helping himself to the breadbasket. He said unrepentantly around a mouthful of biscuit. “sorry, pal. the boss said he needed you.”

Slowly, Red reached out with his free hand to pick up his sunglasses. One lens was cracked from him breaking his fall with his face, and the frame was bent. Edge tightened his grip on his brother’s wrist but the sharp anger and outrage in his expression melted quickly into grudging admiration, “not bad, fashion victim.”

“i have my moments.”

“yeah,” Red licked his teeth obscenely and Edge would have given him a smack if he were able to let go of him, “and i bet my bro is enjoying a front row seat to ‘em.”

That made Rus pause mid-chew. “wait, you guys are brothers?”

“yeah, don’t ya see the resemblance?”

“weird,” Rus said almost under his breath, but he shook his head. “well, if edge had shared out some of the height when they were passing it out, i might’ve guessed. You both have the rugged look going, but last i knew, cracks weren’t hereditary.”

“they ain’t,” Red’s grin bordered on vicious, “how about i give you one to match—”

And that was quite enough of that; even if Red was annoyed about his sunglasses, he had several pairs.

“If we’re finished with the impromptu stand-up comedy?” Edge said, low. He reached down with one hand and plucked Red’s laces free, never letting go of him. “You need to go in for your treatment and you’re going now. You can walk and maintain what few shreds of dignity you have, or I can drag you through the station. I’ll leave the choice up to you.”

Red considered that, glancing where all the scientists were watching with great interest. Then he sagged back to the floor as if attempting to become one with the tiles. "you want me there, you can carry me." He paused, then drawled out deliberately, “boss.”

Of course his brother would choose the least dignified route. If he thought a few stares were going to stop Edge, then he was woefully mistaken. "I'll remind you that this was your choice.”

Edge crouched, scooping Red’s deadweight up with a grunt and let him flop loosely over his shoulder as Edge carried him from the room. The conversation swelled as the door swung shut, not that Edge cared. They could speculate all they wanted, none of them could possibly guess the truth.

Footsteps behind him made him pause and Edge looked sharply back to see Rus at their heels.

His grin was equal parts hopeful and pleading. “well, i’m invested now. how can i go on if i don’t see how the movie ends?”

He couldn’t see his brother’s face, but Red came to life from where he was hanging like a bag of dirty laundry, twisting so that one elbow dug painfully into Edge’s spine, and Edge could easily picture his scowl, “aw, no, no way, this ain’t no party and you can shove your investment up your—”

Edge turned around abruptly to face Rus, leaving Red swearing at the wall. Those pale eye lights begged silently, Rus bouncing lightly on his toes.

“All right,” Edge said at last and Rus’s little squeal was overshadowed by the sharp increase in volume from Red. He gave his brother a slap on the pelvis in retribution for a particularly vulgar turn of phrase. “Again, I’d like to remind you that I offered to let you walk.”

“fuck both of ya,” Red grumbled, but he subsided, hanging sullenly as Rus hastily moved to walk next to Edge instead of behind him. Probably a wise choice; with the way Red was swearing, he might catch fire.

“nah, i’ve only got so many fucks to give,” Rus said cheerily, “they don’t grow on trees, you know, can’t be sharing them with everybody.”

“bet you could find a few extras growing in my bro’s pa—ouch, damn it, boss! quit it before you add a broke pelvis to my list!”

“Both of you, be quiet,” Edge said tersely. Red muttered something beneath his breath and Rus mimed pulling a zipper across his teeth. But his grin was a sly one, his eye lights dipping to the front of Edge’s trousers as if in search of one of the extras his brother spoke about.

This was going to end up being a terrible mistake, Edge decided, but he’d made his bed, hadn’t he. His own eye lights strayed as Rus wandered a couple paces ahead of him. His pelvis was concealed beneath layers of clothes, but Edge could make out the outline as his hips swayed slightly with each step. When that had become such a temptation, he didn’t know, but it was and his hands itched to touch, to learn those gentle curves.

Not exactly thoughts he was comfortable having while carrying his brother. He strode on determinedly, putting Rus next to him again and shielding himself from that view. For now, anyway.

He’d made his bed, yes, but perhaps when he was finally forced to lie in it, he wouldn’t be alone.

-tbc-

[deathrattlebeat]

By Shade of Night: Chapter Three

Written by: DeathRattleBeat

Written for: Zeragii, because she likes angsty stories with Sans and Undyne interacting (as do i) and, like, none exist dammit! Warnings for this chapter: Swearing, Descriptions of Severe Injuries, Blood, Angst, Necessary Nudity, Hurt/Comfort, Talk of Attempted Murder, Abuse, Undyne POV

The moment Sans’s bloody, beaten little body touched the water, the skeleton gave an aborted shriek. Undyne and Alphys both winced, souls pained by the sound, and rushed to shush and sooth him, knowing that further agony was necessary in order to help him recover.

Sans shivered and shuddered in Undyne’s grasp as she lowered him the rest of the way into the tub. The water instantly clouded with a mix of blood and dust. Alphys had been careful to make the water warm but not hot, in an effort to be easier on Sans. It did little good however, as Sans’s bruised and battered spine arched slightly, his head tossing back in a strange sort of convulsion. Alphys managed to catch the back of his skull before he could crack it against the tub’s ceramic side.

Eventually, Sans stopped moving, falling limp out of exhaustion and pain. He looked up at them with hazy eyes, pleading for them to stop hurting him, pleading for them to help him, not realizing that the two went hand in hand.

Undyne carefully shifted her hold until she was able to keep him upright (with Alphys assistance) while also having one hand free. “Okay, Sans, listen...This is going to hurt, but we gotta do it, okay? Alphys and I are right here, and Papyrus is on the way. But we gotta take care of these injuries now. Do I have your consent?”

Though, in all honesty, consent or no this needed to be done. But Undyne was only thinking of her training; on the importance of ensuring another monster’s trust and safety.

Sans whimpered out something unintelligible, before he sobbed out. “y-yes, y-yes! j-just make i-it s-st-stop-hnn!”

That was all the two female monsters needed. Undyne grabbed a washcloth that Alphys had already thoughtfully prepared with soap, wincing in sympathy as she reached forward to start gently scrubbing at Sans’s injuries.

There were a lot of them. Several of the skeleton’s ribs appeared to be badly cracked, the sight most unsettling. It even went so far as to splinter up toward his sternum and collarbone. His wrists and ankles were scratched, extra brusing suggesting he had been struggling while being held down. The bruises seemed to cover every inch of him, heaviest around his spine, shoulders, and skull. And the of course there was that angry red line dragged over the top edge of his pelvis.

Sans whimpered and gritted his teeth in agony as Undyne began washing away the blood and dust. Every few minutes she had to pause, afraid that he would pass out.

Alphys did her best to keep him distracted, asking him simple questions, silly ones really, but ones that kept him conscious and talking, however faintly in between groans of pain.

They were almost finished when Papyrus, still dressed in a tux from his night out with his friends, came skidding around the corner and into the bathroom. His eyes were wide in guilty horror, and Undyne immediately stood up and hustled him out into the livingroom before he could upset Sans any further. He struggled halfheartedly the whole way, craning his neck, trying to regain his view of his poor brother.

“Undyne, I’m so sorry, my phone wasn’t on and I didn’t check my messages until I was leaving the restaurant and then I had to get gas in order to make it here and-”

“Pap, BREATHE,” Undyne commanded in her best captain’s voice. The skeleton automatically followed her words, taking one deep breath and then another, continuing until Undyne deemed it safe to speak. “I don’t want you getting Sans anymore worked up than he already is. He’s in bad shape, I won’t lie, and if he’s going to make it we’re going to all have to keep calm and keep our heads. Got it?”

Papyrus nodded harshly, tears leaking from the corners of his sockets. “Who did this?” he murmured in a much more even tone. His gaze had settled on the spot Sans’s body had been found, at the stains on the rug. “Who would-”

“I can’t be sure for certain, but I think it’s safe to say it’s one of the hate groups from the other side of town. I thought I had a handle on their activities, but...Guess I was wrong, and Sans paid for it.”

Papyrus swallowed. “How bad is he?”

Undyne shook her head sadly. “From what I can see, at least four cracked ribs, a cracked sternum, and what sort of looks like a fracture in his collarbone. He’s covered in bruises, almost from head to toe, his wrists and ankles are fucked up, and...Well, it looks like someone was fooling around with his pelvis.”

Papyrus’s eyes widened in horror, to which Undyne quickly added, “N-Not like THAT! I mean, there’s a cut at the top, like someone was threatening him. Threatening to do...THAT. Or worse. But it looks like they stopped before they had the chance. I’m thinking maybe Toriel and Frisk...interrupted them.”

Papyrus nodded solemnly. “But why Sans? He never hurt anyone, Why Sans?”

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find the hell out.” Her anger dropped after a moment, and she reached forward to place a hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. “Now. If you think you can keep it quiet, you can come help me and Alphys get Sans fixed up. And then I want both of you to come stay with me and Alphys. Like hell are we leaving the two of you here alone tonight.”

Papyrus merely nodded weakly, following as Undyne led the way back to the bathroom.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

[stripestheboar]

Ooooh my stars can you do more PTA Sans scenes?! I absolutely adore that AU!!

Sorry this took so long. Weeks of sickness is getting to me. Not to mention making up jokes can take hours.

Anyways…. PART 3 OF THE PTA SANS COLLECTION!

ENJOY

~Undertale~

Sans: *comes in* okay, what’s going on? Frisk has been late to five doctor’s appointments because the teachers won’t let them leave until i come get them.

Helen: *motions for him to sit down* I’m afraid we just can’t trust your child to leave the class anymore. He keeps writing fake notes just to get out.

Sans: *blinks and sits down* fake notes? whoa whoa, what? that doesn’t sound like them.

Helen: *nods* Yes, he’s quite the troublemaker. Not being her father, it’s clear you don’t know him as much as you thought. He makes fake doctor’s notes, clearly written by him.

Sans: well, how do you know? I always write their notes since Tori’s teaching.

Helen: Well, for one, it’s all types up lowercase. Probably so we don’t recognize her handwriting (he doesn’t seem too bright).  

Sans:… typed?

Helen: Mmhmm. Typed up on a flimsy piece of paper. All lowercase and with bad spelling and grammar. And in Comic Sans no less! *slowly coming to realization* If he really thinks the teacher and…. I are dumb enough to let… that… pass…. *blinks*

Sans:…..  

Helen:….

Sans: *sighs* y’know, it’s pretty hard being a married working mother when you’re single, unemployed, a skeleton, and most importantly a dude, but damn it, Helen…. Frisk and i donated fifty cans to the food drive. i think we deserve some respect here.

Helen: Well I’m head of the PTA, so there really is no-

Sans: how many cans did you donate, Helen?

Helen: That doesn’t really matter-

Sans: how many, Helen?

Helen:….. *looks down* Four.

Sans: really? wow. i would’ve though you would’ve had the time to donate more with how much time you spend bitching about my kid.

~Underfell~

Sans: *hands Frisk money* here’s twenty g. vending machine is around the corner. don’t go around spending it all in one fuckin’ place. now run along, ya little shithead.

Frisk: *snatches up money and runs off*

Daniel: *walking when Frisk suddenly races past him* Hey, watch where you’re going. *sighs* Little shithead.

Sans: *suddenly next to him* uh, what the fuck did you just call my kid?

Daniel: What? You call them that all the time!

Sans: yeah, it’s okay when i say it because they know i still fucking love them. when you say it, you actually fucking mean it.

Daniel: then maybe you shouldn’t speak to your child that way.

Sans: then maybe you should mind your own fucking business or else!

Daniel: Or else what? It’s your fault you don’t love your child enough!

Sans: *stops* oh… you fucker… *chuckles evilly* i’ll show you love, asshole. *disappears*

The Next Saturday 

Daniel: *helping his young son onto his bike* Alright, Cody, today’s the day you’re going to learn to ride like all of your friends. *hands him his helmet* Now, it may be scary at first, and you may fall down a few times, but remember that I will be here to help you-

Cody: *puts on helmet* It’s okay, dad! I already know how! *rides off on his bike perfectly with a smile*

Daniel: *shocked* What? How did he-? When did he-?!

Sans: *rides by on his tricycle* ha ha asshole! i taught your kid how to ride a bike! you’re never gonna get that back! *rides off into the sunset*

~Underswap~

Sans: *finishes checking off the last name* AND DONE! THAT’S EVERYONE! *grins* GOOD WORK, EVERYBODY! THIS FUNDRAISER WILL MORE THAN HELP THE BAND GET NEW EQUIPMENT! SINCE MARIA’S CHILDREN RAISED THE MOST, THEY GET TOP PRIZES. *walks over and hands Maria a bone* HERE! A TOKEN OF MY ETERNAL GRATITUDE!

Maria: *smiles and takes it, shaking off how weird it is* Aw, thanks, Sans. I really appreciate it. Cindy had fun selling to all her friends.

Sans: WELL CINDY IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB! HERE, A BONE FOR HER AS WELL. *hands her a smaller bone* TELL HER THE PRIZES WILL BE HERE IN A WEEK.

Linda: Bones? Don’t you think that’s kind of weird?

Sans: *tilts head* I’M JUST SHOWING MY GRATITUDE. DO HUMANS NOT LIKE THAT?

Linda: It’s just kinda weird with all the bones. What’s with you monsters and your obsessions with bones? Or is that just a skeleton thing?

Sans: *thinks hard* I’M ACTUALLY NOT SURE, LINDA! I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD THAT YOU HUMANS LIKE TO GET MARRIED THREE TIMES AND PULL THEIR CHILD INTO THEIR DIVORCE BATTLES THUS DRASTICALLY AFFECTING THEIR SCHOOL WORK AND MOTIVATION TO DO THE ACTIVITIES THEY LOVE SUCH AS BAND. OR IS THAT JUST A LINDA THING?

~Swapfell~

Sans: AS HEAD BOOSTER MOM-

Gloria: *aside to her friend* As you’ve proclaimed fifty times this meeting.

Sans: - I AM THOROUGHLY SATISFIED BY THE RATE AT WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO HELP FUND ADEQUATE  EQUIPMENT FOR OUR CHILDREN. NOW THAT ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN SETTLED, LET US DISCUSS SETTING UP THE STAGE ON THURSDAY TO GET READY FOR THE SHOW. I ASSUME IT MAY TAKE US A GOOD SIX HOURS TO GET IT READY.

Gloria: Wait- what?

Sans: WE NEED TO SET THE STAGE FOR OUR CHILDREN. WE MUST MAKE IT PERFECT; OUR CHILDREN SHALL ACCEPT NOTHING LESS.

Gloria: Six hours of setting up? Look, I don’t have time for that.

Sans: IT WILL BE IN THE AFTERNOON. YOU CAN’T SPARE YOUR TIME FOR AN HOUR?

Gloria: I still can’t make it. I have a busy schedule. Can’t we use some of the money from the fundraiser to hire a few people to do that.

Sans: THAT MONEY IS FOR THE EQUIPMENT! FINE. I SHALL TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE PERFORMANCE AS WELL.

Gloria: E-excuse me?!  

Sans: IF YOUR SCHEDULE IS SO BUSY TO WHERE YOU CAN’T MAKE IT EVEN FOR AN HOUR, YOU WILL SUEELY BE TOO EXHAUSTED TO TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE PERFORMANCE THE NEXT MORNING. DO NOT DESPAIR. MY MUTT CAN EASILY TRANSPORT YOUR CHILD.

Gloria: You are not touching my son. Look, my schedule is packed tight and there’s nothing I can do about it.  

San: GLORIA, YOU’RE A STAY-AT-HOME MOTHER RAISING ONE CHILD. I COULD GET CANCER AND DIE OF IT IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU SPEND WATCHING “THE REAL HOUSEWIVES” IN A SINGLE DAY. IF YOU CAN’T SPARE A SINGLE HOUR, WHY ARE YOU IN THE PTA AND BOOSTER CLUB TO BEGIN WITH?

~Horrortale~

Sans: *sits down in front of the desk* so what’s the deal, Suzanne?  

Suzanne: *folds her hands* I’m afraid it’s about Aliza.  

Sans: what’d she do this time?

Suzanne: *pulls out a hand-drawn picture of King Asgore getting stabbed by a little kid* The teacher showed me this. Aliza drew it in her spare time; she’s starting to really scare the other children.

Sans: *looks at it and laughs* ha, that’s just Asgore, the former king, being slain by a human who condemned us to rot in the Underground and starve to death.

Suzanne: Why would she draw such a thing?!

Sans: the kid’s growin’ up. soon she’ll be old enough to follow the last one’s footsteps and slay the Undyne. i think it’s kinda her dream at this point. little rascal. kids, amaraite?

Suzanne: You-you actually encourage your child this to do this?!

Sans: hey hey, calm down. don’t worry, Tori and i have already sat her down and had the talk with her.

Sans: college comes first.

~Altertale~

Lillian: Oh, hey, Sans. How’s Kate doing in class?

Sans: *smiles* she’s doing very well. however, i have a few… concerns.

Lillian: *sits down* Concerns? What’s wrong? Is she misbehaving?

Sans: well… somewhat. she’s been spreading around very foul language as of late. swear words and the like. do you know where she could be hearing these words?

Lillian: Oh dear! I have no idea where she could have picked this language up. I’ll give her a grounding when she gets home. How bad is it?

Sans: she’s been saying these words every chance she gets. *turns around* Katie? can you come in, dear?

Kate: *pokes her head in and giggles* Fuck!

Lillian: Hey! Watch your fucking mouth!

Sans: *silent*…..

Lillian: What?

Sans: Lillian do you even have ears?

~Underlust~

Karen: Did I hear right? You’re signing up to be the Sexual Education teacher.

Sans: you heard right, babe. i thought that if it should be anyone, it should be someone with tons of experience and a scientific background.

Karen: That’s….. extremely problematic.

Sans: i kinda get where you’re coming from; you don’t want someone like me teaching your children. trust me, they’re in no better hands than mine.

Karen: Says the one with dozens of past sex partners and only one boyfriend.

Sans: says the one with three marriages and four children and yet somehow clearly not getting enough sex in her life.

Karen:……

Sans: and pfft. “dozens?” you underestimate me. smh, boo, smh.  

~Echotale~

Martha: My child just had a cold, is all.

G: no, he has the flu. he needs to stay home. i thought i told you to get him vaccinated.

Martha: Oh what do you know?

G: *hands her his PhD*

Martha: *tears it up*  

G: *pulls out another* i know what i’m talking about, Martha.

Martha: Wha- *tears that up as well*

G: *pulls another PhD out* i’ve won this game before, and i’ll win it again.

Martha: *snatches it up and crumples it* How do you have so many?!

G: i made sure to print, like, fifty before i got here. *pulls out two more*

Martha: *smacks them away* You’re insane!

G: *pulls out four more* you can’t fight the inevitable, Martha.

Martha: *backs away* What are you doing?!

G: *pulls out thirty more* *PhDs are all she can see* i’m gonna vaccinate the fuck out of your kids Martha, and they will live a healthy life.

~Outertale~

Anna: -and that’s why I believe every child should be given gluten-free lunches. This is what we should be spending our funds on, not a play about peace between humans and space monsters. It has good intent, yes, but these lunches are far more important!

Sans: *has been silent this whole ten minute period*

Anna: Sans? Are you even listening to me?

Sans: of course.

Anna: Your thoughts?

Sans: just missing the sounds of the cold vacuum of space. that’s all.

~Reapertale~

Elizabeth: *lying in bed, asleep* *eyes shoot open when she hears a creak*

Sans: *slowly rises from the ground and out of the darkness* greetings human mortal. my faithful messenger, Frisk, has told me of your ways. what is it you desire, human mortal?

Elizabeth: *eyes wide, shaking and sweating in fear* M-more coin f-for the schoolhouse? A-and a new writing slate?

Sans: very well. the contract has been sealed. you have five.

Elizabeth: F-five? Five what?!

Sans: no��� make it four. *slowly sinks back into the darkness* *appears next to Frisk* this is probably the best thing i’ve done in centuries. alright, who’s next on the list?

~Dancetale~

Beatrice: *grabbing some brownies from the food table* *turns around and shrieks in surprise and drops her paper plate*

Sans: *breakdancing right in front of her*

Beatrice: *sternly* Sans, for the last time, I’m not changing my mind. We’re not wasting our funds on a dance club when they’ll never use it as a future skill.

Sans: *continues breakdancing*

Beatrice: Sans, you can’t keep doing this every time I refuse-

Sans: *breakdancing harder*

Beatrice: S-Sans, I-

Sans: *breakdancing intensifies*

Beatrice: S-stay away from my family-!

Sans: *just breakdancing* *only breakdancing*

~Aftertale~  

Frisk: *made a science project featuring Geno and Sans, and how their existence proved the theory of multiple timelines*

Geno: *hops off the table once the science fair ends, pulling sticky notes off of himself*

Sans: *doing the same* first place, kiddo. we’re proud of ya.

Frisk: *smiles proudly*

Helen: *approaches and crosses her arms* Well it’s quite and achievement for an idea so absurd.

Geno: *pulls the last sticky note off of him* Excuse me?

Helen: *turns her head* I just believe Frisk is too much of an… overachiever. We already know he’s saved the world. Why should he rub it in everyone’s faces when he clearly has an advantage over everyone else.

Geno:… lady, i stand here as living proof of the existence of both multiple timelines and universes. i spent countless lifetimes within the Void in endless loneliness and agony, only to be released by this special kid right here. they deserve every award they get, especially when second place was an airplane model built by you, not your kid.

Helen: *cheeks turn red* What?! These are just harmful accusations!

Geno: Helen, i’m a firm believer that people truly can change, but we saw you double dip with Maria’s salsa at the meeting. we know you’re that kind of person.

~Machinatale~

Sans: *looks through the plans* Wait… we’re getting rid of the computer lab? Why?

Sharon: *looks over* Hmm? Oh, that’s just a request for now. We need it approved by the administrators. Children need to tear their eyes away from a screen and hold something real.

Sans: How else are they going to get all the information they need? They’re too young to earn smartphones.

Sharon: The library, of course.

Sans: Okay, yeah, but kids are only allowed to check out two books at a time. Why should they spend so much time trying to find a book with the information they need when the world’s database is at their fingertips?  

Sharon: *sighs* They don’t need a screen to figure things out. They spend too much time on the internet.

Sans: They need computers to do the proper research from multiple sources, as well as print out papers. Research could be conducted within minutes, not hours.

Sharon: She can do that at the library. *scoffs* Of course you would be all over technology. You’re a robot. What makes you think you’re smarter than a loving parent?

Sans: Sharon, I have more processing power than modern day’s best calculators, and yet, somehow your bullshit still isn’t adding up.