I do not own the rights to Undertale.
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The backstreets of Hotland were unforgiving in the sweltering heat this time of year. Not that it ever WAS pleasant, but it was usually more tolerable.
It had been many years since The War, in which the monsters had been driven from the surface. A few generations had come and gone, but King Asgore Dreemurr still led his people in this dark, trying time. Upon the death of Princes Asriel and Chara, the King had once again declared war on the humans, and declared it law that any humans found in the Underground were to be captured by the Royal Guard and their souls collected for breaking the barrier that kept the monsters imprisoned in the Underground. It wasn't long after that that Queen Toriel disappeared into the Snowdin Forest. Nobody really knew the details, but everyone assumed that Princess Chara had something to do with the whole situation.
The Royal Guard was out in force in the recent weeks. Another human had been spotted in the Underground. Sightings were reported around the Snowdin Forest, near the Ruins, but all of the Underground was on alert. This was the third human to enter the Underground since the Princes died. Many monsters were hopeful that very soon, they would have all seven souls, and be able to return to the surface after so many years.
But for the most part, there was much suffering and despair in the kingdom. People did their best to stay happy and live their lives, but there wasn't much sunshine in their hearts in the Underground. Especially miserable at the time were two young boys. Brothers.
Leaning against a wall, the older brother laid there, his boney chest exposed. His bleach bones perspiring, despite the apparent lack of sweat glands. He wasn't well.
He looked up to the roof of the caverns, thinking. Not about anything in particular, no. He was pretty carefree and unfocused, for the most part. As he weakly laid against the wall, he cracked a small smile, and chuckled. " Heh. That's a good one," he said to himself. "I'll have to tell Pap that one."
"SANS!" cried a voice from around the corner. Sans turned his head.
Another skeleton, maybe a year or two younger than Sans, and a head taller, appeared ran around the corner with a cup of water. He wore a red scarf, despite the heat, and a baseball cap on his head. He had a look of urgency and worry on his face. "Sans! I got some water! Drink!"
The taller skeleton moved the cup towards Sans' mouth. Sans weakly opened his jaw, and the other poured the water into Sans' mouth.
"Ah…," Sans breathed upon finishing, "thanks, bro." He flashed a weak smile.
"Do you feel better?" asked the other, tilting his head.
"I'm fine, Papyrus…," Sans said, obviously not fine.
Papyrus frowned. "We can't stay here, Sans!" he exclaimed, "We need to go somewhere else! Like Waterfall!"
"Too far," Sans said, smiling. "Wouldn't make it."
"Don't talk like that! You'll be fine! No matter what, you'll be fine!"
Sans closed his eyes, and patted his brother on the head. "You worry a ton, ya know. A…"
Papyrus narrowed his eyes. "Saaaaaaans!"
"…skele-ton."
Papyrus groaned and scowled, narrowing his eyes. He moved over and sat down next to his brother, then looked up at the stalactites above.
"I saw Captain Flamesman by the water fountain," he said, "along with that fish girl."
"Oh?" Sans asked softly.
"I'm going to be there one day, too, Sans," Papyrus continued.
"At the fountain? You were just there."
"No! I'm going to join the Royal Guard. I'm going to be a famous Guardsman, and I'm going to capture humans so we can leave the Underground!"
Sans smiled. This had been Papyrus' dream for the past few years. Ever since Captain Scorch Flamesman had tossed a hush puppy into Papyrus' hat while they were out begging. The only person to ever give them food, let alone enough to eat. Sure, with enough spare change they'd be able to go get something, but it took time. They brothers were lucky if they ate every day. But Captain Flamesman's act made Papyrus idolize the Royal Guardsmen, viewing them as paragons of nobility in this otherwise cruel world they lived in. Honestly, that was just Sans' cynicism speaking. Papyrus didn't see the world as cruel. He had a cheery, sunny disposition, and an optimistic outlook on everything. Even so, he still knew it needed improvement, and he planned to make a difference as part of the Royal Guard.
"I'm sure you will, bro," Sans said as he patted his brother on the shoulder. "I'm sure you will."
A few hours went by. Sans was feeling weak again, and it showed on his face. Papyrus took notice.
"Sans! What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Sans replied, "Just hungry."
"We almost have enough for one of those hot dogs you like! I can go ask for some more money! Will you be all right by yourself?"
"Yeah…," Sans answered weakly, "Yeah, I'll be okay. Go, bro."
Papyrus frowned and hugged his brother. "I'll be back soon," he assured Sans. He let go and took off.
It was worrisome, seeing Sans in such a weak state. He was sick, but two urchins didn't exactly have money to go and seek treatment. They barely had enough to buy anything to eat. Even so, Papyrus didn't lose heart. He couldn't. Sans had once told him that the day they stop caring is the day everything starts to fall apart. And while there were days he couldn't really tell just how much Sans cared, Papyrus made sure he would never stop. There was a happy ending to all of this, he knew it. And he'd find it.
He walked around the roads with his cap in his outstretched hand, asking for spare change. A lot of people would just shrug him off, but there were some who tossed him a coin here and there. And he was grateful.
He stopped for a moment and counted out the change. It took a moment for him to remember which numbers came after which, but after persistent trying, he arrived at 27G. Not enough. He frowned. He needed three more pieces. He stood up without looking where he was going, and bumped into someone. They both fell to the ground with a thud, and Papyrus' money scattered. He dove for it, trying to pick up every last cent. Picking up as much as he could, he turned to the person he'd bumped into.
The man had risen to his feet already. He was tall. Very tall. Nearly twice Papyrus' height. His shoes had been recently shined, Papyrus could see his reflection in them. He wore a long black coat down to his ankles, with the collar pointing out to the side. Inside the coat, he was wearing a white turtleneck. His face was a skull, like Sans and Papyrus. His white eyes and serious expression put a small scare into Papyrus. He had seen this man a few times before, walking towards the laboratory in east Hotland, but had never spoken to him.
The man held out his hand toward Papyrus. The young boy looked down and saw the man's boney hands holding a gold coin, just above a hole in his palm.
"You missed one," the man said, not changing or relaxing his expression.
"Oh, uh…" Papyrus stammered, "y-yes, thanks!" He took the coin sheepishly, and began to turn away.
"Why are you begging?" the man asked.
Papyrus stopped in his tracks.
"Why are you begging?" the man repeated. Papyrus slowly turned back around.
"I, uh... I have to get some money to buy food! My brother is—"
"So you're an urchin," the man cut him off.
Papyrus didn't answer.
After a brief silence, the man spoke again. "Where's your brother?"
"Uh… Sans is just over that way," Papyrus said, pointing in the direction where he'd left Sans.
"Why isn't he with you?" the man asked, his stone face still unchanged.
"He's sick, so I'm—"
"Take me to him."
Papyrus swallowed. "I don't know if—"
"I'm a doctor," the man interrupted. "I can help him."
Papyrus' fear of the man vanished. He felt hope for a moment, and ran towards Sans, beckoning the man to follow him. After a bit of walking, they reached Sans, asleep against the same wall.
"Sans!" Papyrus called, "Sans! Wake up! I found a doctor!"
Sans slowly opened his eyes. "A doctor?" he asked. "Papyrus, we-"
"He said he'd help you! I know you're sick, so I-"
Papyrus quieted himself as the man knelt down besides Sans. He just looked Sans over briefly before standing back up. "I know what's wrong with you," he said. "You've got a defect. You're weak."
Papyrus' eyes widened. "Hey! You said—"
The man extended his arm towards Papyrus, signaling him to be quiet. "How long have you two been urchins?"
Papyrus wasn't afraid at this point. The man's apparent callousness only angered him. "What? What does that—"
"How long," the man repeated himself, "have you two been urchins?"
"As long as we can remember," Sans said after a brief silence.
"You don't have anyone else?" the man asked.
Papyrus looked at the ground. "No," he answered.
The man knelt down again. He picked up Sans into his arms and rose to his feet.
Papyrus began to protest. "Hey, what are you-"
"My name is Dr. W.D. Gaster," the man said. "I'm placing both of you in my care from now on."
"Wha-what?" Papyrus asked in disbelief. Sans stared at the man as well.
"Your brother is sick," Gaster said to Papyrus. "He won't last much longer living in these conditions."
"So you're just—"
"I'm going to do my duty," Gaster interrupted, his face still stern. "I'm taking your brother to a better place. Whether or not you come with him is your choice. Follow me if you want to."
The trio walked through Hotland, Sans still in Gaster's arms, Papyrus quick on his heels. They arrived at a tall metal building. "ROYAL SCIENCE CORPS." was written above the steel door.
"What is this place?" Papyrus asked.
"It's where I work," Gaster responded. "It's where you'll stay."
"You're… you're really gonna take us in?" Sans asked weakly.
"You'll be given food and shelter here," Gaster answered. He set Sans down on a metal table. "My assistants will help you boys clean up and provide a change of clothes for you. You'll be provided for."
The brothers were in disbelief. This man just came out of nowhere and suddenly, he's taking them in and providing for them. It seemed too good to be true. Sans began to cry. Papyrus joined in not long after.
"Thank you, Mr. Gaster!" Papyrus said, attempting to embrace the tall man.
Gaster extended his long arm and held Papyrus away. He clearly wasn't the touchy-feely type.
"Don't thank me," he said. "As I said, I'm doing my duty."
The doctor walked over to the edge of the table, and pressed a button on the intercom. The next words out of his mouth were in a strange language that the brothers didn't understand.
Upon finishing, Gaster let go of the button and turned to the brothers. "There's one thing you two need to know as you stay here."
The two brothers looked attentively at him.
"You will follow instructions, or there will be consequences. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," both brothers responded.
"Wonderful," Gaster said. "My assistants will be up here in a moment. You'll both stay downstairs."
Gaster turned his back towards the boys and walked over to the stairs. As he went up, two pale men emerged from a nearby elevator. They took the boys' hands and took them back into the elevator. They pressed a button and the doors closed again. The elevator began to move.
"Sans…," Papyrus said, "can you believe it?! We have a home!"
Sans only smiled and wiped a tear from his eye.
WILL THE DAY EVER COME WHEN I LEARN TO JUST FINISH A STORY I ALREADY STARTED BEFORE WRITING A NEW ONE DAMMIT?!
Funny thing is, I've actually laid down brief plots for a lot of stories I haven't published because MY BRAIN WON'T SHUT UP.
This story isn't exactly high on my list of priorities to update, but I'll still try. Currently, my top three are Souls, Swords, and Courage, Forged, and War On All Sides. But I'll try and work on this one too. I may not update again for a while. It's finals week, and next is Christmas, so we'll see.
Honestly, I'm not too proud of this one. Seems kind of Mary Sue-ish to me. Real out-of-nowhere type event with Gaster showing up and taking them in. But I couldn't think of a way to make it any better.
So, what did you think? Why do you think that? Let me know in a review.
