twin-stars-continuum

[twin-stars-continuum]

WHEEL YOURSELF A DRAGON!

First take this classic dragon shape

Second, take this wheel and spin it 5, 7, or 10 times to modify the dragon!

Lastly, bask in your wonderful new child I ended up with a basilisk looking creature after spinning 7 times

[twin-stars-continuum]

I hope we all make it

[twin-stars-continuum]

Good for neck scritches! 🐊💚💚💚

most important part of any gator/crocodile design

[twin-stars-continuum]

doodling me some self indulgent Ramona in these trying times

Look at these SICK FREAKS i hope they explode and die /pos

[twin-stars-continuum]

[twin-stars-continuum]

Of Men and Monsters--Ch 6

"Do They Always Lie?"

SURPRISE! I lied...Doey is waking up now....There's a bit of a time skip between this chapter and the last one.

Ya know what...WE DON'T DO SLOW-BURN IN THIS HOUSE! Have some Doey angst and fluff ya'll!

READ ON AO3

His head pounded. Too many thoughts all at once

… my fault, all my fault…I wanna go home…they hurt you! Hurt them back! He couldn’t make sense of everything…What happened?

Poppy came back…she brought a former employee…but…they helped us right? So…they’re our friend…then why did we attack them?  

He remembered the smell of fire and red smoke…he remembered stinging pain from freezing traps…and the horrible pain of saws cutting through his frozen dough…

Why did they attack me?

He could hear something…someone…what were they saying? He couldn’t make it out…they continued speaking softly, it was…nice…soothing…gentle–

The voice was suddenly drowned out with a rumbling crash, the floor below him shaking slightly…

No…the Safe Haven…It was…No…it couldn’t be! We’ve worked so hard! Protected it for so long…It can’t really be gone, can it?

His eyes slowly opened, trying to take in the surroundings. He was laying on his stomach on some sort of mat on the floor. The room didn’t look like any he remembered seeing in the factory. There were bookshelves against the wall, some filled with binders, others with books, some even looked like they held a few plants. 

He couldn’t really tell what color anything was…the whole room seemed to be bathed in a soft green light. His gaze wandered to the light source…it was a fireplace…green flames danced on the logs inside…fireplaces weren’t normally green right? They’re supposed to be like…orange…or red…or maybe yellow? It had been a long time since he had seen a real fireplace.

Across the room from the fireplace was a small desk. He couldn’t see what was on it from where he was, but he could see a small window above the desk’s surface.

Are we in an observation room? Why would they have a desk INSIDE the room they’re observing…there aren’t even any scientists here anymore…How did I even GET here?

He saw movement from the corner of his eye, just to his left…a white coat…a labcoat…

No… His eyes were barely open, perhaps they hadn’t seen him open them. Maybe if he stayed still they would leave, and he could–

Their hand reached towards him…

NO! NOT THIS TIME!

In an instant he heaved himself onto his hands and knees, swinging his head around to snarl at the scientist with his needle-sharp red teeth. He formed his fingers into claws, digging into the material below him, as the dough on his back rippled and sharpened into spines. 

The scientist yelped in alarm and stumbled away from him, nearly losing their footing as they did. Doey let out a deep, low growl as the scientist raised her hands placatingly…It was a woman, an adult but still rather young despite the white patches in her otherwise brown hair. She looked older than any of the kids in playcare but younger than any of the scientists he could remember. She didn’t look familiar…

They sent her in here…unarmed…alone…are they stupid? Or is she?

The expression on the woman’s face morphed from shock and alarm to one of concern…but not like she was concerned for herself or her safety…like…she was worried…about him? There was a tense pause as they stood frozen, neither wanting to be the first to move. But then she spoke…

“Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…I hadn’t even realized you were awake.”

That was…not what he expected her to say…He looked at her…shifting himself slightly to face her more directly, claws pricking at the material below him. She lowered her hands slowly and—STEPPED CLOSER TO HIM?! He growled again, this time much louder and meaner. She seemed to get the message, taking a few steps back. 

“Sorry! Sorry…I won’t get any closer…Are—are you okay? Any pain? Dizziness? Nausea?” 

Yeesh! She sounds like Medic. Why does she care if we feel okay? He did feel rather dizzy though, and his head was throbbing…but she didn’t need to know that. He stayed quiet as she waited for an answer. 

Eventually realizing she wasn’t going to get one, she opened her mouth to say something else–but then that horrible noise happened again!The room’s soft lighting was suddenly overtaken by a blinding flash of white followed almost immediately by the head-pounding crash. The floor rumbled and even the tools by the fireplace rattled slightly in their holders.  

He clapped hands over the sides of his head instinctively, even though he knew it did nothing to muffle sounds for him, and curled into himself trying to stay calm.

Too loud…TOO LOUD…TOO LOUD! MAKE IT STOP! NO! WE NEED TO STAY CALM! CAN’T LET THEM SEE US LIKE THIS! IT’S SCARY! I WANNA GO HOME! 

His breathing came in panicked gulps of air…he felt like he was drowning…desperately trying to fill his lungs with air only for them to fill with hot dough…

“MAKE IT STOP! TOO LOUD! TOO LOUD!”

And suddenly as it started…it stopped. The rumbling was gone, replaced by a faint tune that sounded like a music box. The green light was gone too. He barely opened his eyes…The room had gone dark…very dark…almost pure black apart from the faint silhouette of the room’s shape. He looked back towards the scientist…she stood exactly where she was before…but she was colorless? 

She looked like she had stepped out of a black and white movie. Her brows were pinched in concern and she seemed to be fighting the urge to move closer. A small glance at his arms told him he was devoid of color too…what happened? Did that flash make him colorblind?

“Sorry…” the scientist said, unprompted, “I wasn’t sure how else to drown out the noise without moving closer…” She was wringing her hands anxiously. “Weather can be pretty rough around here, but I guess you haven’t really heard any thunderstorms in quite a while have you.”

She did this? What did she do? How did it make the noise stop?

She seemed to read the confusion on his face, “Oh…it’s–uh…I don’t really know how to explain it…I can sorta just–” she waved her hands like she was trying to think of a way to explain it… “It’s like making a small private room out of thin air…it sorta blocks everything else out. It’s mostly used for combat but you can use it for other interactions too.”

I guess that sorta makes sense, still don’t get how she did it.

“Are you okay?” she asked again. Not really… But he wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead, he asked a question of his own.

“Who–” he croaked, his voice raspy from disuse…when was the last time he spoke? “Who are you?”

Realization flashed across her face, “Right! Sorry…introductions…” She gave a small curtsy, bowing her head. “My name is Daisy…I am a servant of Nightmare.” She looked back up and saw his hesitant expression, “I know…his name is kinda unsettling, but he’s actually really nice. He’s a guardian…”

“A–guardian?”

She nodded, “The guardian of Negativity…or negative emotions…something like that.” She looked at him expectantly, but she hadn’t asked anything. Did she want him to ask something?

“Where…am I?”

“The castle–I mean…Nightmare’s castle…In the lower west study. We wanted you to have some space while you recovered…You were in rough shape when they brought you here.”

A castle? So…we aren’t in the factory anymore…but…how did they move us to a castle? Transporting a nine-hundred-pound monster can’t be easy…

“You’re safe though, I promise…I know this place can be a little spooky at night, but you kinda get used to it.” 

She got a weird look on her face for a moment, she looked down as if there was a table in front of her…even though there was nothing there. Her hands moved as though she were moving something or pressing buttons, she almost looked like she was using an arcade machine…only without the machine. 

Her gaze focused back on him, “I’m glad you’re feeling better…I hadn’t expected you to bounce back so quickly. I’m happy though! The others are going to be so excited!”

Who? The other scientists? Was that employee sent by playtime to trick us? To destroy the smaller toys and capture or kill the big ones? Is that why they froze us and crushed us instead of just running away?

His gaze hardened, frowning at her and letting out a low quiet growl. But she didn’t look scared or angry…she looked…sad.

“I know it’s scary right now…You don’t know me and frankly…I don’t know you. But I’m telling the truth when I say I just want to help…”

She's lying...the gentle voices always lie!

“If I had wanted to hurt you, why would I have healed you first?”

He thought for a moment… “I dunno…so you can use us for some sick experiment or something.” Her face twisted into a shocked, sad, disgusted expression. She looked so hurt he almost felt bad about the jab.

“No!” She said, sounding shocked and slightly offended, “We don’t—Wait…Do you…do you think we’re with Playtime?”

She’s not? “Aren’t you?”

“BY THE ANGEL! NO!”

Okay, guess that answers that.

“PLAYTIME is a DESPICABLE organization run by power hungry mad-men! They’re—they’re—DEMAGOLKA!”

“Day-ma-what?”

“Demagolka…It’s—It means someone who commits atrocities…you know...a-" she gave a frustrated sigh, "-ugh stars above, I hate using the term like this...a 'monster.'" drawing air-quotes as she said it, "A detestable horrible abomination of a person!”

“Oh…”

She took a deep breath and calmed herself, “Sorry…they’re just—They’re bad people. I would never associate with them. Honestly…I’m pretty sure if any of us had the opportunity…they’d get quite the beat-down…assuming they survived the encounter at all…”

Well she SEEMS sincere in her hatred of Playtime…but that doesn’t mean she can be trusted…Poppy hated Playtime too…We can’t trust her.

“If you’re not with Playtime…then who are you with? What do you want from us?”

Her expressions became softer again, “Like I said, I am a servant of Nightmare. We often help people and worlds that have been abandoned by others…He helped me save my home, and more importantly, my friends. From what I've been told, he was informed of your situation and sent in someone to help.”

“But WHY? What does he have to gain from helping us? What does he want us for?”

She fidgeted with the cuff of her sleeve, “I don’t know if I would say he ‘wants you’ for anything really…I think the goal was more like…rescue, I guess. Someone above him asked him to help and he did...probably would have either way once he found out."

Maybe we would have believed you once…but we’ve been hurt too many times to take ‘selfless’ acts of ‘kindness’ at face value.

He pushed himself onto his feet and stood at his full height, towering over the small woman.

“If you think we’re gonna fall for that, pal ,” he spat the word, stepping close, “you’re in for a rude--” His vision began to blur and he felt like the room was spinning.

He tried to take another step but wobbled with vertigo. His ears started ringing as he heard his name being called faintly. He tried to reply but the room was suddenly turned on his side and he went with it, hearing a muffled “baa” sound before losing consciousness. ________________________________________________

Well that could have gone better…

Daisy lay on the floor, pinned from the chest-down by the enormous mass of now-unconscious dough. The encounter was dismissed as soon as he fainted, leaving the room as it had been before, except for the fireplace which was no longer filled with her healing flames, but regular ones, casting a warm glow around the room. She wiggled in place, trying to work her arms out from under the unconscious monster.

Managing to free one, she gently tapped the side of his head, trying to rouse him.

“Doey? Wake up…please? I can’t move…” She had said it rather softly, but she didn’t want to risk startling him again. He was already pretty agitated before he had fainted. Had that been what caused him to faint? Or had he just gotten light-headed from standing up too quickly?

Can a creature without blood get light-headed? Well…the skeletons can so I guess he could too…

She heard footsteps on the stone stairs of the entryway, they crossed the room and approached the study, rather urgent from the sound of them. The door flew open, a slightly breathless skeleton standing against the doorframe, his mismatched red and white eyelights wide as he scanned the room.

“Hullo Cross.” she said, cheerilly from the floor. “Fancy meeting you here…”

He stared at her in confusion for a moment before walking closer to stand over her. From her position on the floor, his face appeared upside down to her. 

“Uh…” He said, glancing between her and the impromptu weighted blanket she has unwillingly acquired. “I–heard something from upstairs…thought you might be in trouble…”

“An astute observation…”

“Yeah…” he said, tilting his head at the bizarre scene. “What–uh…what happened here?”

“Well…” she used her free hand to brush her hair out of her face, “I was doing the regular healing session and checking him, but he seemed like the thunder was upsetting him so I went to try to calm him down, but I guess he was already awake and he sorta…growled at me…I think I might have scared him.”

The monochrome skeleton chuckled, “That would be something…a giant dough monster being scared of the most timid, sweet little ewe in the multiverse.”

“Oh please…” she waved a hand flippantly, “I’m anything BUT timid.”

“Uh-huh…sure.” He glanced between her and her predicament, moving closer hooking his arms under her shoulders. He leaned back, trying to pull her out, “So you scared him–” another tug, “Then what happened?”

“I tried to ask if he was okay but he didn’t answer, I was gonna try to explain where he was but the storm really picked up and the thunder and lightning really seemed to freak him out.” Cross had managed to move her out by a few inches, colorful dough clinging to her cardigan and dress. He continued to try and pull her out, but the progress seemed to have halted. “I used an RPG to try and block out the noise and stuff…I think it sorta worked cuz he calmed down enough to ask a few questions before he passed out again.”

“So he just–” Cross leaned back, trying to use his own weight to pull her free…unfortunately for him though, skeletons weigh significantly less than dough-men. “He just asked a few questions and passed out again?”

She looked sheepish (sorry...I had to, Cross is a Sans after all.) for a moment, “Well, not exactly…I was trying to explain that Nightmare wanted to help but he sorta got…mad…or something. He stood up really fast and passed out almost right afterwards…He thought we were with Playtime, and I guess I can see why he’d assume that…but I tried telling him we weren’t…”

“I take it THAT went well…”

“Swimmingly…” she muttered.

They had managed to get her other arm out, and her grip was locked around Cross’s. But no matter how hard he tried, they couldn’t seem to make any further progress. Cross huffed and panted, hands resting on his knees as the human lay on the floor looking up at him.

“Have you tried waking him up again?”

“Sorta…” her face seemed to indicate otherwise, “I just–He’s already been through so much, I don’t wanna stress him out more or scare him.”

“And I’d prefer if you didn’t become a human pancake…and yet–here we are…”

She frowned at the skeleton, but he wasn’t wrong. She knew he wasn’t going to be able to move without Doey getting up, or at least moving a bit.

I just don’t want to upset him more…he looked so pitiful when the thunder scared him…

“Fine…just–try and wake him gently…I don’t want to startle him.”

________________________________________________

Something hard and smooth was poking him. Why couldn’t they let him sleep? Surely they could handle whatever it was on their own. 

They need me…We gotta wake up…

It didn’t feel like a critter’s paw, or a mini huggy or kissy. It didn’t feel like a boogie bot either…especially not since they could apparently reach the top of his head, and none of them could do that without climbing on him.

I don’t FEEL anyone climbing on us…but…there is something under our shoulder…did we fall asleep on something they need or–DID WE FALL ON SOMEONE?!

His eyes snapped open to see what was wrong…only to find—

Oh…right…the Safe Haven…it’s gone…and so are–

He sniffed trying to hold back a sob, when a male voice to his side abruptly interjected, “Are you crying?”

“CROSS!” a female voice chided.

“What? It was just a question.”

His gaze flicked to where the male voice was. Standing beside him, just a little more than an arm’s length away was–

A…skeleton?

The skeleton had his hands planted on his hips and looked rather annoyed. He wasn’t looking at Doey, he was staring at the scientist…

Oh…I forgot about her…

He shifted his elbows and pushed himself up into a sitting position, freeing the scientist from under his shoulder. She sat up herself before getting back on her feet with the skeleton’s help. Her coat and forearms were smeared with blue and yellow dough, presumably from her attempts to free herself. She was attempting to brush herself off when he realized the coat she was wearing wasn’t actually a lab coat as he had initially thought.

It was some sort of soft, long sweater…a cardigan? He thought that was what they were called…it had been a while since he had seen many coats besides lab coats, but they were always white, and this one was actually a light green. He hadn't realized it before with the green lighting. The coat had dozens of small shapes and pictures lining the collar, bottom, and sleeves. Flowers, animals, and different bones seemed the most common ones. There was a pocket on the top left side of her coat that had several larger images on it: A cracked skull, a knife, a target, a scarf, a black apple, an eye, a sharp-toothed smile, and the sun being cradled by skeletal hands. 

His gaze wandered back up and he realized they were both staring at him. The skeleton seemed tense, as though he expected Doey to lash out at any moment. The scientist–

Or…I guess maybe she isn’t a scientist…What is she then?

–The woman looked a bit tense too, but despite how he had reacted before fainting, she still looked worried about him, maybe even more so than before.

“I–” he began, “uh…sorry…” he gently touched the edge of the coat and the multicolored streaks pulled themselves off and into his hand. He did the same for her arms, gently grabbing her hands and watching the dough rejoin his own mass. Her hands were so tiny compared to his, but they were strangely warm, not clammy or feverish, but warm like sunshine. He almost didn’t want to let go, but he also didn’t want to alarm her more than she already was. 

“It’s fine…I’m not hurt or anything…” she assured him, “Are… you hurt? You sorta…fainted or something.”

“No,” he mumbled, “I’m not hurt…just…” he tried to swallow back the sobs threatening to slip through. He could feel tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He tried to hold them back…the images of the burning ruins of Safe Haven were too vivid in his mind. The knowledge that he had failed to protect his friends.

“...my friends…he killed my friends…” the floodgates opened and the tears flowed uncontrollably. The thoughts came flowing, unable to stop…

My fault! All my fault! I wanna go home! I’ll kill you! You Ruined everything! Not smart enough! Not good enough! YOU DID THIS!

He could barely breathe through his sobs, dark blue-black dough running down his face and staining his arms where he covered his face with them. He could hear more rumbling thunder, but he was already so distraught it barely made a difference, only causing him to flinch and curl up tighter into himself. As the tears continued to flow, he heard a small tapping that sounded almost like knocking. He tried to ignore it, but the woman spoke to him,

“Doey? I…I’m going to come a little closer…if that’s okay…”

He hiccuped, “I…HIC…don’t…HIC…Care anymore…” 

The dark stains on his face and arms continued to grow as a soft clicking sound approached him. Through tears he could barely make out the woman’s feet, standing a few steps away from him. He would have simply ignored it and continued crying, but the sight was so surprising he paused for a moment…She had hooves.

She noticed the brief reprieve in his anguish and spoke calmly and gently to him,

“Doey…Your friends are not dead…They’re fine.”

He tilted his head up, unburying his face from his arms. He looked at her face, only a few paces from his. She had crouched down, making herself level with him as he cried.

He sniffled, “w–what?”

“They’re fine…they’re all alive,” she repeated. “The haven was destroyed but no one died in the explosion. We have Codie to thank for that…”

He blinked slowly, tears still flowing but not as fast as before.

That can’t be true, can it? We saw the haven ourselves…there was blood and fire and smoke…how could anyone survive something like that? And who the heck is Codie?!

“No…no! You’re trying to trick me!” he shook his head burying his face in his arms once again.

“I’m not, love.” came the soft reply, “I know you don’t believe me, and I can’t blame you for that. I just sent Cross to go see if anyone is awake so they can tell you themselves that they are all safe and unharmed.” She made a pensive face, “I guess not entirely unharmed, there were some cuts, burns, and bruises, but given the severity of the explosion, it’s all pretty minor. They’re already well on their way to being good as new!”

How cruel to give us hope…she’s as bad as playtime…it's only a matter of time before she hurts us! Hurt her first! But what if she is telling the truth? What if we hurt her and her boss hurts them!? How can we know who to trust anymore?

“I–hic–don’t believe you…hic…You just want to hurt us more…”

“I don’t, Doey.” She sat down in front of him, only an arm’s length away. “I don’t blame you for not believing me…I probably wouldn’t believe me either in your place.” She held her hand out towards him, close but not touching him. “But I’m going to keep trying to help anyway. Whatever it takes.”

She seems so genuine, so kind, her eyes and voice are full of love and warmth. She reminds us of someone…what was their name? And who were they?

Tentatively, as though he were afraid of being burned, he reached out, placing his hand into her outstretched palm. His hand was massive compared to hers, but it felt strong. Her other hand gently rested on top of his, she gently brushed her thumb over the surface of his hand, humming the same tune the dark “room” had played. 

He wanted to believe her…he wanted to believe so badly that he was wrong, and that his friends would come through that door as if nothing ever happened…but he couldn’t. Trusting others had cost him too much. He couldn’t do it again. He pulled his hand away, curling into himself more. She didn’t try to hold it when he pulled back. She continued humming quietly. Sitting within reach of him, but not moving closer or reaching for him.

He felt his tears streaming once again, though his sobs were much quieter now, and he could breathe better. The room was quiet apart from her soft humming and the crackle of the fireplace. The crashing from the sky had subsided, now only soft rumbles off in the distance. It was so quiet he could hear something beyond the door. He couldn’t quite tell what, but it sounded like something falling down a set of stairs.

The woman stopped humming and looked up, apparently having heard the noise too. She grunted slightly as she stood up. The clatter had stopped and was replaced with muffled speech. One voice…sounded like the skeleton…

Cross? That’s what she had called him, right? Who is he talking to?

He listened carefully. There were two other voices, the three seemed to be bickering over something, boney footsteps approached the door, followed closely but much larger, heavier footsteps. There was a small knock on the door before it swung open. It was the same skeleton as before. His red and white eyes flicked between him and the woman.

A slightly nervous smile on his face, he greeted them, “Heya, Daisy…Doey…I brought some visitors…” He looked down towards his feet, opening the door wider. Peaking around the other door…

“Izzy?” his voice full of disbelief, “Is that really–”

“DOEY!” Izzy cried darting across the room and throwing herself onto his arms, wrapping her tiny plush paws around him as much as she could. “You finally woke up!” she exclaimed, “We’ve been so worried about you!”

Doey sat up, gently lifting the small bear to his face, tears still running down his face. “You’re here…you’re really alive…” he held her close, so afraid he would suddenly wake up to find her gone again. “But…the Safe Haven…it was destroyed…how did you manage–”

A green boogie bot, Scout, rolled into the room after Izzy, her treads occasionally causing her to spin in a circle before continuing. He reached out, scooping her up too. 

“Scout! You’re here too! I can’t–Are the others really…” 

Scout nodded emphatically, “It was definitely a close call, but everyone is safe. No significant injuries from the explosion. Mostly just left everyone a little shaken.”

The heavy but soft thumps came closer, he turned to see Kissy Missy, crouching to avoid scraping her head on the ceiling, but very much alive, and actually looking far better than she had the last time he saw her. Her cuts and scrapes were clean and covered by proper bandages. Her eyelid looked somewhat better, not fully recovered but better than it had been. She looked much better off except for…

“KISSY!? YOUR ARM!” He stood up in alarm, immediately regretting it as his head began to reel again. Kissy stepped closer quickly, using her remaining arm to ease him back down. He looked at the bandaged shoulder. There wasn’t even a stump left.

“What happened? How did you—are you alright?!”

Kissy nodded, her hand still resting on his shoulder. She leaned in and squeezed him tightly with her one arm. He stretched his own arm around her, holding the four of them all in a relieved exhausted embrace. 

The woman stood by the skeleton, her eyes looking misty as though the reunion were about to make her cry as well. 

"You really were telling the truth..." he said breathlessly, his heart and head reeling from the sudden rush of emotions. 

She smiled, "Yeah...I tend to do that..." 

"I just don't understand...how did any of you survive?" 

Izzy's tail began wagging excitedly and her eyes sparkled with excitement, "OOH! It was amazing! We were all in Safe Haven when Ollie told us the prototype was trying to get in so we waited for you to get back but then Poppy and Kissy left to go talk to Ollie and then she didn't come back either and--"

"Uh, Izzy?" the skeleton interjected, "Maybe slow down a little...you're confusing me and I've already heard the story from three other people."

"Oh alright..." she sighed, sounding annoyed. "When you and the employee and Poppy all left, we didn't know what to do so we stayed put...but then the haven started filling with red smoke--"

"WHAT?! How did the prototype-"

Scout answered, "The vents, he must have created an opening and redirected it...With the smoke he only needed a single mining charge to light the whole place up!"

"--BUT THEN CODIE SAVED US!" Izzy cried, raising her paws excitedly.

"Codie..." He turned to the woman, Daisy..."You mentioned him before, didn't you?"

She nodded, "He went into the factory with Thomas, that's who Nightmare sent, and another friend of his named Alex. They're the ones who got your friends out safely, saved you too."

"But how did he--"

"With MAGIC!" Izzy said, voice filled with wonder and excitement.

"Izzy--"

Scout interrupted him, "She's serious, Doey." 

Doey's eyes widened in shock, "Wait--really?"

Everyone in the room nodded. 

Oookay...so magic is real I guess... "So...what? He magically teleported you all out of the haven before it was destroyed?"

"Not exactly," Scout explained. "He actually was hiding in the vents when Prototype used them to fill the haven with smoke. While he was trying to get away from it, he stumbled into the haven all confused and stuff from the smoke."

Izzy took over again, "Then we all heard a beeping sound and he freaked out and yelled at everyone to take cover--Except he didn't wait for us to do that...he shot out a bunch of vines--Oh, he has a plant arm by the way, it has an angry flower living in it!--and he pulled everyone together and made like...like a big shield or something with the vines."

Doey was both amazed, and horrified that the kids had been so close to the explosion. "And it worked?!"

"Pretty much," Scout shrugged, "Our ears hurt for hours afterwards, and the room got super hot and stuffy...plus there was a bunch of dust and stuff, but his shield thing kept us safe from the blast and the rubble."

"I think...I think we could hear you at one point." Izzy said, in a voice much more subdued and quieter than she had used since he saw her last, "You sounded...really upset..." Her ears were drooping and Kissy reached out and gently patted her back to comfort her.

Scout looked anxious at the topic, "Uh...yeah...We tried to call out to you, but I think there was too much blocking it cuz it got quiet again after a while. We were stuck there for a while afterwards, Mr. Codie tried to push the rubble away, but he couldn't without letting go of the shield and he was worried if he did that, then we'd all just get crushed by the rubble. Mr. Alex found us a little while afterwards."

The mention of this Alex seemed to cheer Izzy up a bit, "Oh yeah...when he found the haven he heard us in there and he dug us out but get this--he wasn't alone! He found other toys too...and he TAMED YARNABY!"

That was news..."YARNABY?! Wait I thought the employee killed him while trying to get to the doctor?"

The kids shrugged and Daisy spoke up, "He wasn't in great shape when Alex found him, but he apparently managed to put out the fire before it killed him. Alex said he was sort of hostile at first but he warmed up to him once Alex gave him a monster candy to help heal his burns."

"Yeah..." Izzy giggled, "He's bald now!"

"Don't make fun of him," Daisy chided.

Doey made a mental note to ask what the heck 'monster candy' was as they moved on.

"So, what happened after he dug you out?"

"They had Maggie track their friend Thomas since he was trying to find you..." Scout informed, "We found both of you in the crusher room by the mines."

Izzy became subdued again, "You were hurt really bad...he was crying when we found him...he said he had been too slow to save you." She looked down at her paws, "He looked so sad..."

It was quiet for a moment as Doey took in the idea that a stranger he had never met had been weeping over not saving him...

Why did he care? Had he expected to be punished for failing?

"But it was okay," Scout said, breaking the tension, "Mr. Alex had something that is supposed to like...save your life if you're super close to dying...I don't really know what it was--"

The skeleton piped up this time, "Determination...You'd be surprised how much it can get you through...Right Daisy?" He elbowed the woman and she elbowed him back.

"Deter--how does that--" Scout seemed a bit incredulous at the skeleton's explanation...or lack thereof...but carried on, "Whatever...the stuff worked and you were breathing again and they started trying to figure out how to get everyone out of there when Kissy showed back up missing an arm and Poppy...She had a tiny skeleton though...he said we needed to get out of there immediately cuz the prototype was coming."

"Wait...Poppy's missing again?" He couldn't believe this...That doll ditched them for five years, shows up with one of their captors claiming they'll save everyone, and proceeds to nearly get the entirety of safe haven killed and then vanishes without a trace! "Figures she'd ditch us like she did last time..." he muttered darkly.

Izzy, Scout, and Kissy all looked a bit upset at the memory of Poppy abandoning them. "Uh...so how did they get everyone out? Me especially? I'm not sure if everyone from Safe Haven could have moved me while I was out..."

Cross scoffed and chuckled, "That was when everyone got 'magically teleported to safety!'" 

"He means that they called Nightmare and told him they needed to be rescued immediately." Daisy explained, "Nightmare used his magic to portal to them, fend off the prototype, and then teleport everyone back here. After that it was just a matter of moving you into the study--skeletons tend to be really good with gravity magic so it wasn't too hard--and having me work on healing your injuries."

Doey felt overwhelmed. Not only was HE not dead, but his friends were also alive, they are all safe and out of the factory, and now there's a bunch of magic skeletons who are just like...helping them?

He rubbed his face with his hand, "This is a lot to take in..."

Daisy nodded sympathetically, "I know...and I'm sure you have more questions...but they can wait...at least till morning..." She glanced at the wall where a clock showed it was somewhere around three in the morning..."You all ought to get some rest."

"Awww..." Izzy, Scout, and Kissy looked disappointed, "But he just woke up!"

"I know..." Daisy said gently, "But he is still recovering, and you are too. You all need sleep."

Doey began to feel anxious at the thought of his friends leaving again, he felt like if they left his sight, they'd be gone for good! 

"Can't they stay here?" He gave Daisy a pleading look. "Please?"

She looked a bit surprised but her expression softened as she looked to the other toys, "If you all want to stay for the night, that is fine." She put on a fake stern voice, "But you better get some sleep! Can't have you all dozing off all day tomorrow." 

The skeleton in the room stretched and yawned, "If that's the case then, I am heading back to bed too...G'night kiddos!" He turned and exited to a chorus of 'goodnight's from the rest. 

Looking back at Daisy, Doey saw her opening a cabinet and pulling several blankets out from it. "I figured you might need these."

"Thank you, Miss Daisy!" Izzy and Scout said and Kissy nodded in thanks as well.

She made her way to the door, looking back before leaving, "I will be sleeping in the living room. Just wake me if you need anything..." Doey wasn't really sure where the living room was but the others nodded so they probably did. "Goodnight, my children..." she said in a very soft and loving tone. "Sweet dreams!" With that she closed the door. 

Doey and the other toys all huddled together on the mat, turning into a nest of pillows and blankets. With his friends surrounding him and the sky no longer crashing, the room actually felt rather cozy...welcoming almost. But he couldn't shake the feeling in the back of his mind that he would wake up again back in the factory, surrounded by nothing but death, destruction, and starvation. Izzy snuggled up beside his head, leaning against him as she settled into a peaceful sleep...

At least if this is a dream...it's a good one...I really hope it isn't though...

Wow...okay, that's a hefty one. Sorry it took so long to get this up...I was planning to do two more chapters before this one to set up dynamics and stuff, but I can't deal with slow-burn right now...my son needs comfort! You'll all get to see the dynamics as he discovers them himself. The "sound of something falling down the stairs" was actually Scout, who got too excited to wait for Cross to carry her down and tried to go down on her own, followed by him lecturing her about safety...he was a big brother once too. Daisy also really hates the term "monster" being used to describe terrible people, I kinda do too TBH. I like so many "monster" characters and frankly people can be pretty awful sometimes. That's why I love the mando'a term for a horrible person, that's also why Daisy likes it.

Previous <- Chapter 6 -> next

[twin-stars-continuum]

Sorry to say this, but ch 6 won't be out until probably Wednesday or Thursday. Life got busy but things should settle down soon.

[twin-stars-continuum]

Stray Souls: Of Men and Monsters

Ch 5: "What Happened to You?"

While letting Izzy check on Doey, Thomas is finally able to fill Daisy in on what he's been up to over the last three days.

Sorry if this chapter is a little messy. My life is kinda busy right now with a summer class and packing. When I am back home, I should be able to dedicate a little more time to cleaning the chapters up before posting them.

READ ON AO3

Thomas opened the door to the study, as he had called it. Izzy didn’t really know what a study was, but it looked sorta like an office. There were bookshelves and a desk, a small couch against one wall, and a fireplace against another wall. Doey was laying on some sort of mat on the ground in the middle of the room. His body was so long that his head didn’t even fit on the mat and was instead supported by a pile of pillows.

To her relief, she could hear his deep, steady breathing. It didn’t sound as pained as it had when he had first rescued him from the crusher, but it still didn’t sound…normal. But maybe that was because he almost never used this form.

Izzy had only seen Doey like this once before. It was not long after Safe Haven was established, many of the defenses they had before its destruction had not been built yet. The prototype had nearly gotten in. It was terrifying, hearing him pounding on the door, clawing at it and trying to pry it open. Doey had been shielding the others but when the prototype managed to create a small gap in the doors, Doey had rushed him, his body bubbling and growing, sprouting extra arms and sharp teeth.

Izzy didn’t know how long the fight lasted, but eventually the prototype gave up and retreated. Doey had reentered safe haven, exhausted and shaking from the fear and adrenaline. He had collapsed on the floor in the center of the room, looking much the same as he did now. Some of the other toys said they had seen Doey look like that before…during the Hour of Joy…Izzy hadn’t seen him then, but she was probably better off that way.

The same soft voice that had answered when they knocked spoke again,

“Hullo, Thomas.” It came from the woman who had greeted them when they first arrived in the castle. Thomas had said her name was Daisy. She was sitting on the floor beside Doey, gently stroking his side.

She looked a bit odd. Most of her skin was a darkish tan color, but there were splotches of skin that were so pale they looked like she spilled white paint on herself. Her hair was similar, being mostly brown, but with a few white areas around her hairline and one of her…

Does she have horns? Why does she have those? I thought Thomas said she was a human...

“Heya, Daisy.” Thomas greeted her and nodded towards the bear in his arms, “This is Izzy, she's one of Doey's friends. She wanted to check on him before she went to bed.”

The woman pushed herself up from where she sat on the floor and walked over to them. She sounded like she was wearing high heels, but when Izzy looked, she wasn’t wearing shoes at all. Instead, she had hooves, one brown, and one white.

Oh! Maybe she’s like that creature from the Narnia book? What were they called again?

She stopped a foot or two from Thomas and squinted up at his face.

“Did you get all your injuries treated?” she asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice, earning a small chuckle from Thomas.

“Yes, ma’am…I did. We all did.” he gently lowered Izzy to the ground. “Alex and Codie went home a while ago. Said they’ll be back in a few days to check in again.”

“That’s good.” she said, lowering herself to Izzy’s level and holding out a white-spotted hand for her to shake, “Hullo, Izzy. My name is Daisy Pines.”

Izzy tentatively held out her paw to shake Daisy’s hand. She seemed very gentle, and her smile was so soft and kind, not at all like the ones the scientists and executives had had in Playtime. Izzy looked over at Doey.

“Is he doing any better?”

Daisy Followed her gaze, “I think so. His injuries are healing much faster than I expected. I think he’s mostly just exhausted.”

Izzy nodded, “He was really tired last time he did this too…and that was before food had started running out.”

The woman looked at Izzy quizzically, “Last time he did what?”

“Last time he used his big, scary form. He doesn’t use it very often, only when he really needs to.” Daisy looked surprised.

“This isn’t his normal form?”

“Nope…I’ve only seen him do this once before, and that was when the Prototype almost got into Safe Haven.”

“The Prototype?”

“Yeah…Experiment…uh…100–uh…6 I think…he’s…he’s not like the other experiments…he’s mean…and scary…and–” She shuddered at the memory of the metallic legs and needle-sharp claws rushing towards them. “He said he would help us…set us free…but he didn’t…he just trapped us down there…and tried to hunt us down.”

Daisy’s face looked deeply concerned. She looked up and met Thomas’s eyes, an unspoken question hanging between them. He sighed and sank into the couch.

“You might wanna get comfortable…It’s a long story…”

***************************

Thomas sat back against the cushions of the couch rubbing his face as he tried to collect his thoughts. Daisy sat across from him, hand still resting on her patient, a faint greenish glow surrounding them both. The small red bear was sitting beside Daisy, her black eyes reflecting the green healing flames as she watched Daisy work, completely mesmerized by the magic.

“Alright,” Thomas said, “So three days ago Night woke me up and said he wanted to see me in his office. I sorta thought I was in trouble but when I got down there he said he had a job for me. He said someone…one of his ‘higher ups’ had told him about people surviving in an abandoned factory…and he wanted me to go in and check it out, do some scouting and whatnot so he could get a plan together to evacuate them–”

“Higher ups?” Daisy interrupted, sounding confused, “You mean the multiverse council?”

Thomas scoffed, “Nah, not those Bozos…I dunno who exactly they are but Night said she ranks higher than Ink or Error so–”

“Oh!” She interrupted again, “You mean Dream.”

Now it was Thomas’s turn to be confused, “Uh…No…Nightmare called them ‘she’ and Dream doesn’t outrank Ink or Error…”

“No…not him…the other Dream. Dream Catcher…She’s–” Daisy searched for the words but couldn’t seem to find them, “Nevermind…I just–I’ve met her before. She doesn’t usually get involved directly though…why now?”

Thomas shrugged, “I dunno…I didn’t even know what her name was…Nightmare didn’t tell me. Just said she gave him some info, a job to do, and dipped.”

Daisy nodded, “Sounds about right. So Nightmare sent you to scout for survivors…why were there people in an abandoned factory?”

Thomas shrugged again, “Didn’t really have anywhere else to go…Plus most of them were being kept down there by the prototype…”

“The…experiment Izzy mentioned?”

“That’s the one…”

“Okay…but…how did people get down there to begin with?”

Izzy interrupted this time, “We were already down there when the hour of joy happened and they abandoned the factory…”

Daisy looked even more confused than before. “The…what? Why were you all–” She turned to Thomas looking somewhat exasperated, “I feel like there is some critical piece of information I am missing here!”

“We were in the Playcare first before the doctor experimented on us.” Izzy volunteered helpfully. “It was an orphanage–”

Thomas huffed, “They called it an orphanage…” a growl slipping into his voice, “but it was nothing but a proving ground for them to evaluate children as test subjects.”

Daisy’s face was morphing from confusion to dawning horror as she looked at the little bear beside her, “Were…you…a test subject?”

Izzy said nothing but nodded, and Daisy’s face paled in horror.

“You—You're a kid? And they experimented on you!? What kind of–I just—Gah!” She stood and began pacing. Her indignant anger causing the flames in the fireplace to grow and glow brilliant yellow. “Some people—thinking they can just do whatever to someone just cuz they’re not human–”

“We ARE human…”

Daisy froze, slowly turning back to look at the bear sitting beside her patient.

“Or…we were…before they made us…like this…” she gestured to herself and Doey.

The mismatched eyes slowly wandered back to his blue ones as she looked at him in a silent plea to say she had misunderstood…that she was mistaken and that the tragedy she was slowly coming to terms with wasn’t truly the case.

He sighed, his heart feeling heavy as he explained to her, “They would test the orphans…evaluate their minds and bodies, and pick ones to turn into…” He sighed with deep sadness and anger, “–Living toys…”

“But–” her hands were clutching at her head, “Why would they DO that? What on earth could they possibly have to gain?!”

“Free labor for one thing…” Thomas said, folding his arms over his chest before grimacing and quickly moving them as the pain reminded him of his injury. “That’s what they used the ‘bigger bodies’ for…the big toys, I mean…” he flicked his tail towards Doey, “the ones like him…

“I think some of them were meant to just evaluate the physical limits of the process…Might have been meant as some sorta search for immortality…I don’t really know to be honest…None of it could ever justify what they did.”

Daisy had turned away from them again. She stared into the fireplace, her gaze glassy and distant.

A small, suppressed sob instantly drew their attention back. Izzy was trying to hold back tears, her small frame shaking. Daisy was beside her before Thomas could even stand.

“Oh, my child…” she gently cupped the small plush face in her hand, her voice soft and motherly, a tone Thomas recognized as the one Toriel used when speaking to children.

“I am so sorry for what they did to you…” Izzy was crying into Daisy’s hand now, and she seemed to be at a loss for what to say to comfort her.

“Would…would you like to be held?” Daisy asked uncertainly. The sobs continued but the small bear nodded and reached for her. Carefully, Daisy lifted the child-turned-toy into her arms.

The sobs were slightly muffled as she cried into Daisy’s shoulder. Daisy gently rubbed her back and kept whispering soft reassurances to the child that she was safe now, and that they would protect her.

Thomas felt grateful once again that Nightmare had not sent the tenderhearted Daisy into the factory. If even hearing about the least of the horrors hurt her heart so deeply, he could only imagine how distraught she would have been had she seen the true extent of their crimes.

A faint scent of apples and wine reached him, coming from the hall outside.

Nightmare must have felt the negativity and come to make sure we’re alright…

Daisy continued to sooth the child whose sobs slowly started to fade as she cried herself to sleep, held in a warm, gentle embrace. The apple scent faded after a bit, meaning Nightmare must have left after Izzy fell asleep, hopefully indicating she was sleeping peacefully. Thomas pulled one of the smaller blankets from the couch and held his arms out to take Izzy from Daisy.

She seemed hesitant to let go but gently passed her to Thomas anyway.

“Are you gonna take her to bed?” Daisy asked softly.

“In a moment…I still have a few more things to tell you.”

Her brows pinched in worry as she waited for him to continue. She had repositioned herself beside Doey and was using healing flames once again. Instead of sitting back on the couch, he sat on the floor beside Daisy.

“So…” he said, keeping his voice soft and low so as to not wake Izzy, “Playtime, the company who did this to them, did more than just…this. They tested the kids, seeing what they could physically and psychologically handle. It was…inhumane…”

Daisy said nothing, but he could hear her swallow back a sob as she listened.

“The prototype…he told the kids he would save them…set them free. It was a rebellion of sorts…they called it ‘the hour of joy’...it was a massacre on both sides…The kids attacking any adult they saw. It didn’t matter who they were…Scientists, doctors, caretakers, janitors, even visitors who knew nothing of the horrors below…They were all slaughtered.

“They thought things would be better with the employees gone…but they got worse…”

He heard a sharp intake of breath from Daisy as she clenched the hand resting on her knee. Holding out his own, he offered it to her, and she gripped it as he ran his thumb on the back of her hand trying to soothe her as much as he could while telling her of that awful place.

“The prototype had a great deal of influence over many of the larger and more dangerous experiments…the kids…He used that influence to threaten the rest and keep them trapped down in the lower levels. Even–” He took a deep breath to settle himself,

“Even having many of the ones who opposed him killed by those who served him. Bit by bit he’s been thinning their numbers, killing off their leaders, the ones who took charge and protected the others…like Doey…”

Daisy interrupted his thoughts, “Is he a child too?”

Thomas nodded in affirmation before realizing she hadn’t looked up at him. “Yeah…they all are…least that I know of…thing is…they shouldn’t still be…” He looked at the unconscious dough-man, his heart aching for the child who had been forced into the role of protector and caretaker...the child forced to be the adult even though he would never get the chance to grow up...

She looked at him this time, her eyes close to tears and barely holding back. He sighed before explaining,

“Whatever they did to ‘em…To make ‘em like this…” he nodded at Doey, “It messed with something…I don’t think…I don’t think they’re ever gonna really grow up…Or if they are, it’s gonna be way slower than any human ages.”

“So…” Daisy said, collecting her thoughts aloud, “Dream told Nightmare about this place…and Nightmare sent you to find a way to rescue the kids…so why didn’t you just do the scouting Nightmare told you to do and then come get us? Why drag Codie and Alex into this?”

“Someone…came back. An employee. They were trying to find all their colleagues who went missing all those years ago. But they’re gone…another kid, or...maybe the prototype...I dunno, tricked 'em into coming back. The employee got roped into another kid's plan...They wanted him to take out the prototype’s supporters…Clear the way for them…and destroy the factory.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“It would be…if that didn’t involve killing other kids and leaving the rest to die in the factory when it got destroyed.”

Her silence was deafening as she processed what the employee’s intention had been.

“Needless to say…I wasn’t gonna let that happen. I went to Codie and Alex cuz I know the way their team operates…They do a lot of rescue missions…and,” he chuckled slightly, “They are a bit more subtle than a pack of skeletons with PTSD and poor coping skills...better with kids too.”

His tone became a bit more serious, “But I specifically wanted Alex for this…he’s…he’s good with kids…and with his job…he’s probably the best qualified to handle these guys.” Daisy nodded in agreement.

“So you decided to just go ahead with the rescue instead of waiting on Nightmare…and you recruited Alex and Codie to help you…what then?”

“Well…we got separated pretty shortly after entering the factory…Turns out the structural stability of that place is...questionable at best…and straight up non-existent in some areas. Luckily, I had given Alex the gist of what we were doing before we lost track of him. And from what he’s told me and what I’ve seen…He actually did pretty good on his own down there. Most of the kids he managed to rescue were ones I was worried I wouldn’t be able to save. They were aggressive and distrustful when I tried before, no clue how he did it, not sure he knows either.”

Daisy gave a small giggle between her soft sobs.

“Anyway, I–I tried to talk to some of the prototype’s supporters…Warn ‘em about the employee at least, so they wouldn’t get hurt…But I failed…he wouldn’t listen…

“But I thought I could at least save him…” Thomas said, looking at Doey. “But…I was too late again…the employee…” he took a deep breath, “Something went down with the plan to destroy the factory…I don’t know exactly what happened, but it led to Doey’s home, ‘Safe Haven’ being destroyed…and he thought his friends died in the explosion. So, he went after the employee…he was just…confused, and scared, and angry, and–I tried to catch up to them, to stop him before the employee hurt him trying to get away. But I was too late…

“By mere seconds…I was too late…I was so furious I almost killed the employee myself…he got lucky…I wasn’t up to a fight at that point…I didn’t know that Codie had saved the kids from Safe Haven either so I thought I had failed all of them…that I hadn’t managed to rescue a single kid. So, I just…stayed with him…I couldn’t bring myself to just leave him.

“That was where Alex found me. Him, Codie, and all the kids HE managed to rescue. It’s thanks to him we were able to move the crusher the employee used on Doey, and thanks to him that Doey survived…”

“How?”

“Determination…Alphys gave him some sort of...injector for it as a last resort to use on any injured humans in case he ever needed it–”

Daisy lit up as she made the connection, “And since the kids are technically human, it worked?”

“Yup…Just after that, the prototype realized we were there and started going after us…we realized it was time to leave so we called Night for an emergency evac…Lucky for us he draws strength from Negativity…I dunno if he’d have been able to portal all of us at once if he wasn’t.”

“And that’s when you all got home?”

“That’s when we got home.”

She inhaled deeply, trying to steady her shaking breath. “You’re a good man, Thomas.”

“Heh, I dunno about that…but at least I make a half-decent monster.”

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you got home safely…and I’m glad you brought them.” She gazed fondly at the children. He rested his own head against the top of hers, a low rumbling purr escaping him.

“Me too…” He straightened up, “I’d better get this one to bed…” he said, gesturing to Izzy.

Daisy nodded in agreement. As he stood up and made for the door, she called him.

“Thomas?”

“Yes, Daisy?”

“Take my room tonight…I’m going to be down here healing him so I won’t need it. Plus, if the kids need anything it’ll be easier to find you.”

He nodded and opened the door to the hall, “Goodnight, Daisy.”

“Goodnight, Thomas.”

The door clicked shut, and Daisy returned her focus to healing the child in her care.

Daisy finds out these guys are kids and mom-mode is instantly activated. (She doesn't consciously imitate Toriel, that's just the tone she associates with comforting children.) Hope you guys enjoyed this one...Don't worry...we're gonna get conscious Doey soon. Probably within the next 2-3 chapters. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

Previous <- Chapter 5 -> next

[twin-stars-continuum]

Not sure what MLP or Steven King have to do with Internet Technicians, but I'll give it a shot: So, Internet Technicians (or IT) are like the guys who help troubleshoot computer systems in companies in stuff. From what I understand, they are DEEPLY suspicious of technology and rather superstitious. Hope this helps!

Poorly explain IT to me

[twin-stars-continuum]

Welcome to the Twin Star Continuum

This is my writing Blog where I post my fics and OC writing. Since all the stories that are created by me (regardless of fandom) sorta exist within a nebulous web of interconnected stories, I use the term "Continuum" to refer to the multiverse MY stories exist in. These are self-indulgent fan-works that I am making for my own enjoyment. But I wanted to share them in case someone else enjoys them too.

There are a few universes that are important to my stories, but the only two that are really relevant for my current writings are Diamondtale and Nightmare's Realm (feel free to send an ask about them if you feel like it, or about any of my OCs or writings).

I am currently working on a fic that takes place in a three-part series called "Stray Souls," the current part being titled "Of Men and Monsters." You can find my work on AO3 under the username ADHDream_1409. I will have a link to my works as well as my primary blog for anyone interested in checking out my other projects. My AO3

My Primary Blog

Stray Souls: "Of Men and Monsters"

READ ON AO3

Horrortale Frisk (better known by friends and family as "Daisy") suddenly has the responsibility of several dozen living toys thrust upon her. And those toys are actually children! Her heart bleeds for these lost and broken souls, and she will do everything in her power to help them. After all, she was once a lost child wandering alone in the Undergound. With help from Nightmare's gang, some friends from other AUs, and her dear friend, Thomas, they will work to ensure that these stray souls are always loved and cared for.

[twin-stars-continuum]

Stray Souls: Of Men and Monsters

Ch 4: "Patching Things Up"

Thomas gets to work getting the kids settled in their new home...and offers reassurance to one of the toys who is particularly worried about Doey.

I've decided to re-number the chapters and count the prologue as chapter 1 so that the numbering system is consistent on my tumblr and AO3, so no...there wasn't a secret chapter drop...it's just homogenizing the numbering system of the chapters.

READ ON AO3

Thomas watched as Daisy disappeared down the hall after Nightmare. He was still pretty shaken by everything he had just gone through, but the kiss she had planted on his cheek was slowly working to settle his nerves and slow his heart. He glanced at Alex, who had helped Codie to the ground and was now counting the children. He frowned slightly.

“Who’s missing?”

Thomas’s ears stood up in alarm, “What?!”

“We had thirty-four before we left, and I only count thirty-three now.”

Panic began to resurface as his mind raced, trying desperately to think of where the child might be…angel forbid the kid had been left behind in the factory…He couldn’t have left one, did he?! His mind swirled with horrible thoughts of what may have become of them before one of the Boogie Bots, the green one, spoke up.

“Did you count Doey?”

Alex’s eyes widened and he facepalmed, growing red with embarrassment,

“Nope–I completely forgot I counted him the first time and not the second…that’s–that’s on me, my bad guys.”

Thomas breathed a sigh of relief. As his heart was finally able to slow down, his limbs felt heavier than they had in ages. His fur felt sticky from blood and sweat clinging to his body. He winced as each step sent a jolt of pain up his leg. And all of that paled in comparison to the agonizing pain the wound on his chest gave him. But the pain he could handle, he’d recover in time. He didn’t even care about the new scars that would inevitably form. He already had a bunch, and his fur covered them for the most part anyway. What hurt most was knowing that he hadn’t saved them all.

He hadn’t come soon enough to save Huggy or Mommy. Both of them were killed by the former employee before Thomas had even had the chance to try to rescue them. The blood from both victims left a bitter scent in his nose that wouldn't leave. His mind kept replaying his last interaction with Catnap.

The red smoke billowed through the room, overwhelming his senses with the smell of poppies and lavender. The thudding of the giant plush paws against the creaking floor. The rasping cries of “HERETIC” as Catnap swiped at him with enormous claws. He had pleaded with the critter, begging him to see reason and at least hide from the player, but he refused. Eventually managing to swat Thomas across the room, sending him down a large hole in the floor. His last sight being the eyes of Catnap looming at the edge of the hole.

“Mr. Thomas?” a small voice interrupted his thoughts, he looked down to see a small red bear looking back at him with concern in her dark eyes. The pendant on her zipper was slightly chipped and had a small streak of teal blue paint on it, a convenient way to tell her apart from the other Bobbies.

“Yes, Izzy?”

“Is Doey gonna be okay?”

He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry. Daisy’s the best. If anyone can heal him, it’s her.” Her eyes turned away as she rubbed the top of her paw. She didn’t seem entirely convinced. He gave her a gentle tap with the tip of his tail and she looked back up at him.

“Tell ya what…as soon as we get you and your friends taken care of, we can go check on Doey. It’ll give Daisy some time to work on healing him so you can see how much better he is by then, okay?” The permanent smile on her face finally seemed to reach her eyes as her small tail wagged in excitement.

“Okay!” Then she dashed towards him and wrapped her tiny arms around his leg (fortunately not the one that was hurting), “Thank you Mr. Thomas…”

Thomas gave a small chuckle as he scooped the plush bear into his arms and set her on his shoulder. “Heh…you’re welcome kid. And you can just call me ‘Thomas,’ ‘mister’ makes me sound like an old man.”

She giggled, “You are an old man! All your hair is gray!”

“I’m 28, that’s not that old…besides…Nightmare’s the REAL old man here.”

“How old is he?”

“Eh…five-hundred twenty-somthin’...I forget the exact number.”

Her eyes widened in astonishment, “That IS old!” Her brow furrowed slightly, “Is nightmare the black skeleton? The one with the tentacles on his back?”

Thomas nodded, as she pondered a new question, “Who are the other ones?”

“Well,” he said, trying to recall the order they appeared in when Thomas and his gaggle of toys had arrived, “The big one, the one with the big hole in his head, that’s Horror.”

“Horror?”

“Yeah…Most of em have sorta…creepy names, but honestly…he’s a great big teddy bear.” Izzy snorted and giggled at his joke and Chief cackled loudly at the overheard pun.

“The one who teleported away is Cross. He’s got red and white eyelights and a small scar under his right eye.”

“He can teleport?” She looked amazed.

“Most of em can…Horror can’t…lost that ability a long time ago, but Cross probably teleports the most out of em. I used one of his knives to make a portal to the factory to rescue you guys.” Izzy’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Why didn’t we use that to come here then?”

“Not big enough…I couldn't risk leaving any of you behind, you’d be left vulnerable with the prototype so close…plus there’s no way we were getting Doey out of there on our own. Even with Kissy, PJ, and Yarnaby.” Reminded of the larger toys, he scanned the group to see where they were.

Yarnaby was, as expected, following directly behind Alex, barely giving him any space, Bunzo had moved around so he was on Alex’s front, shielded from the yarn lion. The way Alex was carrying him reminded him of someone carrying a tired toddler. PJ was following beside Alex, Codie draped across his back, not that he seemed to mind…or notice…Thomas had the feeling that PJ was generally quite agreeable as long as he felt included.

“Who was the crying skeleton?”

“Crying?” He tried to remember if anyone had cried during his arrival…but apart from himself, he didn’t remember seeing any tears–OH!

“You mean the one without lights in his sockets?”

“Yeah!”

“That’s Killer…He’s…” Thomas searched for a more polite way to put it, “He’s not always good with kids…So if you need anything, it’s better to ask someone else.” She had looked a bit disconcerted with the name,

“Is he dangerous?”

“Nah…well…technically yes but not to you guys. He might tease you some but that’s just how he shows affection.” Thomas chuckled, “He grows on you. If you can tolerate him long enough.”

“What’s the last one’s name? The one with the hoodie?”

“That’s Dust. He’s chill…eh…most of the time.” He pinned his ears back as he recalled some of the instances where Dust had been less-than-chill. “He’s…been through some stuff…before Nightmare found him. He still has some PTSD from it, but he’s normally fine, just stay out of his room and you’ll be good.”

“Why’s he called Dust?”

Thomas grimaced slightly, “It’s uh…it’s a long story…not anything you should be bothered with right now.”

She nodded and fell silent, snuggling up closer to his neck as the crowd made their way down the halls. With her sitting on his shoulder, he could make out the scent of roses she had been made to have, even through the haze of smoke and blood. It helped clear his head of the dizzying scent of the red smoke and death that had filled his lungs these last three days.

A minute later they finally reached the med room. It was originally a large, fancy guest room with an attached bathroom for visitors, but since the castle didn’t really have many of those, Nightmare had converted it to a makeshift nurse’s office to patch up his boys whenever they got injured in training or on missions.

The large four-poster bed that originally occupied the room had been disassembled and stored away in the upper floors, Thomas recalled seeing it leaning against one of the walls in his room. It had been replaced with two twin mattresses on simple metal frames in case someone needed to be monitored for an extended period. Dressers and bookshelves had been replaced with countertops and cabinets stocked with bandages, medications, monster candy, hp boosters, suture kits, and anything else Nightmare had thought to stock for his gang.

The bathroom had been renovated as well. The old tub ripped out and replaced with a walk-in shower, a small bench attached to the wall to prevent slips or falls while someone recovered. The actual toilet had gone long unused, so long most of the gang had forgotten it was even in there, mistaking the door for an extra closet, but with the addition of two humans, Nightmare had deemed it worth his time to ensure the bathroom still functioned as a–well…bathroom.

As the group filed into the room Thomas once again did a headcount, this time turning up the full thirty-three kids. With a small sigh of relief, Thomas propped the door open and everyone filed inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later Thomas sat at the long table in the dining room, the cuts across his legs and chest sewn up, the blood and ash washed off, and all the children happily scarfing down their food. Despite the small army he had collected being extremely chatty once they had gotten a bit more used to the skeletons, the room was near silent save for the sounds of eating.

The minute Horror learned that the children had been starving in that cursed place, he had booked it out of the room and started preparing a large meal for them. He was watching them now, his red eye slowly scanning the room, offering more to kids who had finished theirs and reassuring them that there was plenty. It warmed Thomas’s heart to see the children so happy and content, Horror was also happier than Thomas had seen him in ages. Nothing made that monster happier than feeding others.

He knew it would be a while before the kids grew accustomed to having food readily available, the transition from scarcity to plenty was an awkward one that both he and Chief had gone through when they had joined the gang. It was difficult to believe that there was always going to be food when they needed it when he had spent so many years barely scraping by. Horror had been a big help getting him through that adjustment period. Watching him comfort and reassure the kids now, Thomas felt confident that he would be just as pivotal to them as he was to himself.

Alex had already gone home along with Codie. Neither of them had realized just how long they had been gone and upon getting cell signal again, Alex found a substantial number of harried voicemail messages from his mom and friends. The kids were anxious about him leaving, especially Bunzo, who seemed to be a bit clingy, but Alex comforted them, promising to be back within the week.

“Assuming my mom ever lets me out of her sight again…” he had chuckled.

Codie had collected a large number of various documents and papers from the factory while he had explored. They had been handed off to Nightmare for him to sort through and see whether the information was worth keeping. The hope was that the childrens’ former identities might be found or any conditions and maladies they may suffer from be revealed to make their healing process easier.

As Thomas finished off his own meal, he noticed the yawns that seemed to be sweeping through the room. Drowsiness kicking in now that adrenaline and hunger were fading.

“You guys getting tired?” he asked. A few heads that had been drooping snapped up as murmured affirmative answers echoed in the long room. “Alright, guess we should figure out sleeping arrangements.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turns out that was easier said than done.

Something Thomas had failed to account for (and was metaphorically kicking himself for) was the distrust between the different groups of survivors. He felt he ought to have seen it coming, given the fact that many of the toys had wound up resorting to eating each other, but it still proved a somewhat persistent obstacle. The Safe Haven kids wouldn’t sleep in the room with the Playcare kids, the Playcare kids wouldn’t sleep in the room with the Game Station kids, and none of the kids wanted to sleep anywhere near Yarnaby or the two nightmare critters Alex had managed to win over.

The first three groups were relatively easy to sort out. Each group had been assigned to their own room without the other two in it. The wandering toys who hadn’t been with any groups tucked themselves into the corners of a fourth room. To his surprise, they had been the least adamant about being separated from the others, even agreeing to let the two nightmare critters stay with them.

They probably all seem like equal threats to them…They don’t trust anyone, so they don’t care where they go…

Yarnaby had proven a more difficult placement. Although he had been fed, he still acted rather hostile towards the small toys and Kissy. At first, Thomas was worried that Yarnaby would have to be isolated for the safety of the others, but he hated that idea. Isolation had been the tool the Doctor used to make Yarnaby dependent on him and him alone. Getting the lion properly socialized was going to be critical to his healing process, but with him being so much bigger than many of the other toys, Thomas wasn’t comfortable letting him stay with them unsupervised. Fortunately for both of them, a solution presented itself quite quickly.

Each time Yarnaby started growling at the smaller toys, PJ started putting himself between the little toys and the lion. At first this seemed to annoy Yarnaby, him swatting PJ on the face several times like an annoyed cat, but before long he was purring and rubbing his head along the pug-a-pillar’s side. Thomas wasn’t sure whether it was because of how lonely he had been, whether it was because PJ was big enough that Yarnaby didn’t consider him prey, or if the two kids may have known each other back in the Playcare.

Whatever the case, the bond was a blessing for all of them. The last thing Thomas wanted to do was isolate the poor kid like the doctor had. Thanks to PJ, it seemed they wouldn’t need to. Still, Thomas decided to lock the door to their room, just to make sure Yarnaby wouldn’t slip out and start chasing any of the littles overnight.

As the last of the kids was settled into their rooms, Thomas slowly and carefully stepped back into the hall, the door left just slightly cracked so the kids could open it if they needed anything. A small voice sounded behind him as he eased the door closed.

“Thomas? Can we go check on Doey now?” The small red paws rubbed together nervously.

“Sure thing kiddo…This way.” he said, pointing to the long stairway that led to the lower floors. “Eh…do you…want me to carry you? It’s a bit of a walk for someone with tiny legs…”

Izzy crossed her arms. “My legs are not that small! Chief has much smaller legs than me!”

“And Chief rarely walks anywhere in the castle outside of our room…Normally he just rides in my hood or calls Merry or Pippin to get him where he needs to go.” Thomas said, crouching down to her level. “So?” He offered a hand.

“Okay…” she held onto his paw-like hand as he lifted her and had her tucked into the crook of his arm. They set off to check on the Dough-man, passing by the second floor and seeing the last of the skeletons retreating back to their own rooms to resume the night’s rest. She watched the hooded skeleton disappear into his room and she looked up at Thomas’s face.

“Where do you sleep?”

“The attic…”

“The attic?”

“Well, I guess it isn’t technically an attic…It’s just one of the old rooms on the top floor that Nightmare used to store junk in…now I sleep in there.”

“Why don’t you stay in one of the rooms on the third floor?”

His ears folded back and his tail flicked in embarrassment. “Well…I uh…Daisy sleeps on the third floor and…I used to sorta…be…scared of her.”

The little bear’s face filled with confusion.

“I was kinda…shy…when I first came here…especially around humans…”

“I thought you said you were a human…”

“I am…but I don’t really…think of myself as one…and I used to be really scared of them. I didn’t have many positive experiences with them when I was younger…so she made me a little…nervous.”

Izzy looked a little concerned.

“But she’s fine…I promise. I just…I didn’t know her when I first came here, and I sorta figured she’d act like most of the humans I had met at that point. But she’s nothing like them…” his voice and eyes softened. “Her kindness and gentleness helped me learn to trust others, and I am very lucky to call her my friend.”

The bear tilted her head, “She’s not your girlfriend?”

Thomas was enormously grateful that his face was covered by dense fur at that moment, because he was certain his cheeks would have been bright red otherwise. “Uh…no…no Daisy and I are not dating.”

“Is she your wife then?”

He gave a small nervous laugh. “No…Daisy and I are not romantically involved with each other…or anyone that I know of…I know I’m not dating anyone anyways.” He dropped his voice a bit as they entered the foyer so it wouldn't echo as much (and hopefully Daisy wouldn’t hear). “She is a wonderful person, but I don’t think she sees me that way. Which is fine. I’m fine just being her friend.”

Izzy didn’t look entirely convinced, but fortunately, he had a convenient distraction for her. “Oh look, here we are…the study…” His efforts paid off as the bear’s attention was redirected to the room where her injured friend was resting. She leaned forward slightly with her ears tilted up and her little tail wagging excitedly. He softly rapped his knuckles on the door, entering as a soft voice answered,

“Come in.”

And so, they did...

Well that took longer than I hoped. But it's done now. The kids are (almost) all tucked in and sleeping soundly, the skellys are back in their own beds, and Thomas has just one more task before bed. Hopefully seeing Doey's progress will help little Izzy get some peace of mind.

Previous <- Chapter 4 -> next

[twin-stars-continuum]

Fic Updates

I'm gonna try to update Of Men and Monsters (OMM) later today, but if it doesn't happen, I will try to get it out tomorrow. This chapter has been giving me a bit of trouble so it may be a slightly shorter one.

[twin-stars-continuum]

Stray Souls: Of Men and Monsters

Ch 3: "Warmth and Love"

As Doey is settled into his temporary room for Daisy to heal him, she questions how he got into this state to begin with.

I was too excited to wait a full week to post the next chapter, so you get another one early. My goal is to try to update this fic every two weeks (with occasional weekly updates). I'm not really used to sharing my story ideas outside of my immediate friend group, so I'll try my best to make sure I am giving enough context without it being overwhelming or boring. Let me know what you guys think of it! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

READ ON AO3

Daisy trotted after the skeletons; her mind filled with questions. Who were these creatures? Why had Thomas brought them all here? Wasn’t the Omega timeline better equipped to help them? Why had Nightmare even sent Thomas to scout the area at all? Was this part of the council’s “discipline”? A way to make up for past crimes?

As she entered the study, she saw Nightmare and Dust adjusting the mats from the training room, using some pillows to prop up his head. Or at least she assumed it was his head...He really was such a bizarre creature she really wasn’t sure. Horror was busy lighting the fireplace which would hopefully warm up the study quickly and help him thaw out. Killer was standing in the corner twirling a butterfly knife between his fingers, clearly not trusting the cre–Doey…Not trusting Doey to not attack his allies. Cross was placing a stack of quilts down on the small couch next to several more pillows. He caught Daisy’s eye as he looked up, she gave him a quick nod of thanks before turning to Nightmare.

“I think I can handle it from here…You guys should see if the others need any help…especially Thomas…and Codie.”

The other skeletons looked to their boss for confirmation and he gave a small nod. With a small pop Dust, Killer, and Cross were gone and Horror got back to his feet. He stopped in front of Daisy, placing his large boney hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes very seriously,

“You let us know if anything happens…Thomas said…he had shown some aggression towards a former ally…Don’t know the full story, but…it sounds like he got betrayed… might still be disoriented when he wakes up.”

She wrapped her arms around the large skeleton’s middle, and after a beat, he returned the gesture.

“I’ll be fine Horror. Go help the others.”

His single red eye bored into her own for a minute as he studied her face, then he nodded and made his way out of the room. Nightmare remained however, frowning in concentration. It was a look she recognized. He would make the same face when one of the gang was having a particularly bad day. Even if no one else seemed to notice, Nightmare always would. This did not bode well for Doey’s emotional state, especially with Nightmare’s tentacles writhing like they were, being charged with the negativity that must be flowing off of the poor creature.

She stood quietly beside Nightmare, waiting for him to speak, to give any insight or advice on healing the creature. But he didn’t. Nightmare stayed silent, watching Doey and not even acknowledging Daisy’s presence. She was just about to ask if she should start healing when he kneeled down, reaching a cyan-tinted hand toward the creature’s presumed head.

Ah…He was going to help heal. That made more sense. With two healers the process should go much faster. But to her surprise, the moment his hand touched the creature’s skin(?), he immediately recoiled and made a pained groaning sound. Nightmare pulled his hand back in surprise but Daisy rushed closer.

“What’s wrong? Is he okay? What did you do?”

Nightmare stared at his own palm in confusion, looking between it and Doey, who had relaxed slightly but was still making a low whimpering sound.

“I–don’t know…All I did was concentrate healing magic into my hand and touched him with it. I don’t understand why he reacted so poorly to it.”

Daisy’s gaze wandered back across Doey’s half-frozen form, laced with cuts and gouges from an unknown assailant…She knew she could probably do just fine on her own but what if he reacted poorly to her own healing magic? Was it something like how some undead creatures are harmed by healing spells in video games? Or was it the negativity? For all she knew, he just might not like to be touched.

Her hand trembling slightly, she allowed the magic to flow down her arm, concentrating on her hand and flowing out from it in green flames. She very slowly and gently reached towards him…his side twitched where her hand touched it, but he did not recoil this time. Instead, it felt almost like he was leaning into her hand slightly, letting out another low sound…a familiar one…a low purr.

She released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and channeled her magic through her other arm and hand as well, placing it along his back near a patch of ice. The warmth from the fiery magic slowly spread from the spot, making him look almost as though he were on fire. But he wasn’t. She watched the icy patches start to slowly dissolve, the cuts and dents slowly filling themselves back in as green magic did its job.

“Hmmm…” Nightmare said, “Strange how he reacts differently to your magic than to mine.”

Daisy gave him a small smile, “I’m just glad he accepted any healing…”

“...yes…” He sounded distracted.

“You should go check on the others. They looked in rough shape…especially Codie.”

“I suppose you’re right. Do you need anything before I go?”

“No. I’m fine. Just make sure Thomas gets better.”

The dark skeleton nodded, stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

The room was quiet again, nearly as quiet as her own room had been only moments ago. The only sounds disrupting the quiet were the soft patter of rain on the windows, the crackling of the fireplace and her own magic, and the deep, slow breathing of the creature Thomas had entrusted into her care.

She pulled one of the pillows from the couch, placed it on the floor beside his large head and sat down placing herself between his head and body, gently directing her magic over him to melt the frozen areas and heal his injuries. In the peaceful silence of the room, she was finally able to study him.

He wasn’t like any monster she had seen before. His shape sort of reminded her of how some slime monsters looked, but drier. His skin had a slightly waxy texture, a bit like the plasticine clay Cross had brought home for Atlas and Apollo the other day. When she moved her hand a bit, she could see a slight impression of where she had placed her palm, but the indent quickly filled itself in.

She looked to his back…a mess of arms and hands. Scrapes and gravel seemed to be stuck in the material on his belly, as if he had been dragging himself along the ground. She suspected he had. Holding one hand hovering over his neck and back, continuing to warm him, she directed her magic to heal his belly too. Soon the pebbles began to dislodge themselves and the scrapes filled back in.

As she watched the healing progress, she felt something bump against her other hand. Looking back she saw that he had shifted his head, trying to move closer to the source of the warmth, like a newborn kitten or puppy might do. She returned her hand back to resting on his head and he let out a sound that seemed to be a contented sigh. She gave a soft smile as he seemed to almost melt into her touch.

She studied his face, two holes that appeared to be his eyes, only slightly visible due to the raised material around them. His mouth took up most of his head. Wide, flexible, frog-like jaws set with red teeth that looked almost like shards of glass. His tongue appeared to be a dark blue, very large, and rather lumpy. She likely would have ignored this if she hadn’t noticed a small appendage resting at the corner of his mouth.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she gently raised the edge of his mouth and peered inside, gasping in shock at the sight of three humanoid figures sprouting from the back of his throat. That had CERTAINLY not been what she expected to see. The figures had rounded heads with very little features on them, just a pair of eyes each, all closed and apparently sleeping.

The middle figure had its arms draped over the two at its sides, looking rather protective. The smallest one, on her left, was curled into the embrace of the middle one, face twitching slightly as though he were dreaming. The one on her right, however, looked…mad…not mad crazy…just–-angry. There were some lines running across his left eye that didn’t seem to be filling in like most of the other cuts.

Still holding his mouth open, she reached in and gently cupped the figure’s face in her other hand. The figure jolted slightly at the contact, pulling back and covering its face with its arms. Realizing she had overstepped, she didn’t reach again, instead glazing over the other two to see if they appeared to have any injuries. They didn’t seem to, so she gently lowered the mouth, careful not to let the teeth scratch any of them.

She wasn’t really sure which part of his face was his face anymore. She had met multi-headed monsters before, but none that had faces…inside their faces. As she watched his sides rise and fall, she peered at the slightly open mouth at the three sleeping figures. The angry one had settled back down, arms ending in slightly clawed paws resting on the edge of the mouth. The teeth that had been there apparently retracted. It was kind of…cute…in a strange sorta way. It reminded her of reef fish hiding their babies in their mouths or crocodiles carrying their hatchlings between their jaws.

Her magic continued to flow over him, most of the visible ice gone now, and the crater on his back slowly filling in. Reaching into her soul, she checked him.

“DOEY THE DOUGHMAN”

LV 10 HP 3/56

AT 18(0) EXP: 1345 DF 2(0) NEXT: 355

WEAPON:NONE ARMOR:NONE

GOLD: 0 KILLS:52

“THE GENTLE VOICES LIE”

His HP was very very low…dangerously low, but very slowly creeping back up as her magic repaired his injuries. The rest of his stats…not terribly unusual for large monsters to have some kills, particularly with older ones who had been around when the humans were still fighting them. In fact, most of the monsters in her home universe had at least a few kills, most humans did too. Daisy was the odd man out, having none. She ignored the LV and EXP...turning her attention to the last part: “The gentle voices lie…” What does that mean?

She decided to shake it off and put her focus back into healing him as quickly as possible. He still leaned into her warm touch, and she found herself gently stroking his head. The poor creature...

What happened to you? Who hurt you and lied to you?

He wasn’t wrong, gentle voices can be liars...But she wasn't. She quietly spoke out loud to him,

“I am sorry that you were lied to…but you can trust us. I am here to help you…we’re going to take care of you. You are safe now...”

He let out a deep sigh and seemed to relax slightly, and she wished on all the stars that he would believe her.

Previous <- Chapter 3 -> next

[twin-stars-continuum]

This is Alex (these illustrations are from before his work accident; he has a number of scars now). The folks in the pics with the purple background are his uncle and grandmother who raised him (those are drawn on bases by @mellon-soup, check them out! Their stuff is pretty awesome!)

And here is Codie. Don't have a good fullbody of him yet, but I'll get around to it one of these days. These were just the drawings I had already made of the characters in Ch 1 to help you guys visualize them.

If you're curious about them or their stories, feel free to send me an ask! Have a great day everyone!

Diamondtale Bios:

Diamondtale is the primary or "Central" AU that all my other variants branched off from. Although is technically central in the continuum, and the AU that the Playtime Factory is in is Diamondtale, the majority of events will not take place there. Thus, some short bios for my two Diamonds who are featured early in "Stray Souls": Codie and Alex **Side note that I probably should have added to the first Bio post: Some characters are described as the "_____ of (insert AU)." These are essentially titles I have made up for characters who serve as counterparts to each other in their respective AUs. Some are a work in progress and are subject to change if I find a better one.

Alex Schmidt-Alverez: The "Machinist" of Diamondtale and Second-in-command of his team.

A mechanically gifted ADHD guy. He grew up in NY for his entire life. Like almost every other counterpart of his, Alex has NO powers or supernatural abilities. His uncle was a mechanic and taught him everything he knew. Alex went on to learn from other great inventors such as Ironman, Mr. Fantastic, and Hank McCoy. Unfortunately, a medical scare for his grandmother (who raised him alongside his uncle) and the resulting financial issues ended up causing them to have a fall-out ending with Alex moving into a trailer on a friend's property. While Alex remains in close contact with his grandmother, he and his uncle are not on speaking terms.

He used to regularly go on missions with his team, but his family's financial trouble took priority leading him to take a rather dangerous night job that resulted in a severe, near-fatal injury. While he has mostly recovered, has lost a lot of his mobility in his lower body. He rarely goes on missions anymore, but when on missions, he operates a mech-suit that looks like a bear and is named "Axle." He is 26 years old at the start of "Stray Souls."

Relevant Fandoms: Marvel & FNAF

Codie Rogers The "Soldier" of Diamondtale.

A clone of Captain America, made to infiltrate the avengers, but was discovered and recued before it could happen.

All the same abilities as post-serum Steve Rogers, except for depth perception as his right eye is blind from an injury a few years prior to his rescue. Also has a magic plant-monster embedded in his back and shoulder due to a near-fatal accident that cost him his right arm, and both of his legs, a little above the knees. (Think Venom and Eddie, but Venom is Flowey and Eddie is Cap).

Due to his upbringing and general personality, he has very poor social skills. He greatly fears harming anyone he cares about or being perceived as dangerous, which tends to clash with Flowey's "Kill or be killed" mentality. He is also rather nervous around fire and loud noises. He is 26 years old at the start of "Stray Souls."

Relevant Fandoms: Marvel & Undertale

[twin-stars-continuum]

DOEY & JANET ANIMATIC BASED ON A CLIP OF DOEY'S VA DOING SOME VOICE LINES IN A STREAM.

(I'm pretty sure he was doing voice line requests or something like that, but I can't be sure since I just found the stream clip on Twitter)

[twin-stars-continuum]

reblog if you have skilled writer friends and you're damn proud of them

[twin-stars-continuum]

Chapter 1 is up on AO3 and Tumblr

Stray Souls chapter 1 will release later today!

It will be posted on my Tumblr Twin Stars blog, and on my AO3, which I will add a link to on both of my blogs. Looking forward to sharing it with you guys!