Steelcode asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)
Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I only own Rachel.
A/N: This story is the prequel to the chapter "Wanting Cuddles" from my Undertale Oneshots.
Sticks And Stones Hurt, But A True Family Heals Wounds
The fourteen-year-old quietly stepped out of the house, taking care to not make a sound, her side sore from being punched the night before. If she could just get down the steps, she could make it before she had to endure more abuse before school.
She breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she finally made it to the sidewalk and glanced back before quickly moving, wincing as her side hurt from moving so quickly, but she had to hurry to catch the bus and she didn't want to be caught by her family. They had her go to school, but they didn't think her to be smart. Worst, people could plainly see that she was abused, but no one would ask her how she was doing or if she was alright. The school bus driver gave her a look of sympathy when he pulled up and she boarded the bus. "Good morning, Rachel," he said gently.
"Good morning, sir," she replied politely.
That was one part of her day that she looked forward to. The bus driver always greeted her and that at least helped the morning to start somewhat right. She looked at her homework that she had been up for a while into the night doing and checked to see she had her lunch. Nodding, she sat back, resting herself as the bus drove the fifteen-minute ride to the school.
The day went mostly alright, thankfully, but Rachel was quiet the whole day. The teacher glanced at her questioningly, but the fourteen-year-old didn't say a word. At the end of the day, when the bus arrived, she got on it, but was afraid because she knew her family would be waiting for her. They always were.
She opened the door, but the house was empty. That surprised her as that almost never happened, but she quickly took advantage of it by running upstairs and putting her backpack in her room and getting some pizza ready for her family, knowing they'd be wanting dinner when they returned. Her side ached and she finally decided that she had a chance to escape for good, if she hurried.
Going back to her practically bare room, she grabbed her backpack and put her one other change of clothes in it, the one book she owned, and her phone. That was all she owned and she picked up her backpack and quickly moved outside, going around the side of the house, but then saw her family coming up and quickly started running before they saw her.
"Where is the brat?!" She heard her father ask.
Her uncle searched the house. "She's not inside, but she was here," he said. "She got the food ready, but no drinks."
"Her room's empty too," said her older brother.
"Find her!" Her mother said.
Rachel paced herself and managed to get around the corner and far enough ahead to where she had a good head start, but she didn't stop running, following the sidewalk to her school. By running, she managed to make it, but just as she got there, she heard a car and saw her family glaring at her. Gasping, she ran faster, running into the woods behind the school, seeing that the sun was nearly set and it was getting dark. She moved fast, running over leaves and pine needles and finding a hiding spot in some thick brush. Checking to see that it was clear of bugs or other dangers, she slipped inside it, seeing that it was a big bush that would hide her completely and no one would find her. Her side throbbed in pain again and she tried to calm her breathing down, listening for her family and hoping they wouldn't find her.
Not too far away, Sans and Papyrus were enjoying an evening walk. "Never thought I'd say this, but this forest is more amazing than the one in Snowdin," Sans said.
"I agree," said Papyrus. "Look at how tall some of these trees are. I could hide behind one and no one would see me."
"True enough," Sans replied until he heard voices. "And now's your chance to. Humans are approaching."
The tall skeleton would have protested that he wanted to meet the humans, but hearing the angry voices that could now be heard, he decided against it and quickly hid behind a tree while Sans crouched behind some nearby bushes, wondering what the humans were so angry about.
"Where is the brat?!" A feminine voice said.
"Come out, you little brat!" A male voice said and a whip cracked in the air.
"Ungrateful girl," said another male.
"Stupid girl," said a younger male voice. "You were right, Dad. She is stupid. She'll never be smart, no matter how much she goes to school."
"Which is why she's wasting her time with that," said the first male voice.
Rachel, hearing them close, checked from her hiding place and saw they were near and checking bushes. She contemplated whether to stay put or move and finally decided to move and try climbing a tree. Moving slowly so they wouldn't see her, she moved rapidly away, hiding in between running so they wouldn't see her.
The skeletons saw her and saw her hold her side. "Brother," Papyrus said quietly. "I think she's hurt."
"And I think that's her family and they're abusing her," the shorter skeleton replied.
That was confirmed when one of the males spotted Rachel. "There she is!" He said.
Rachel instantly began running and they went to follow, but got held up with some branches that were in the way. Sans cocked a brow bone and chuckled. The girl had done that to hide her tracks and gain some ground. He saw her coming toward them and she quickly ducked behind a tree before crawling along the ground, hidden and coming to tree with a hollow trunk that was hanging off the edge of another tree and was dangerous climbing.
Risking her neck, Rachel climbed up and looked to find the tree was empty and quickly climbed inside, hiding very carefully as her family struggled to catch up. Sans saw that he and his brother were the only ones between the young girl and her abusive family. "Pap, we need to scare those creeps off," he said. "Are you with me?"
The tall skeleton nodded. "Sans, why would they abuse her?" He asked.
"Frisk had the same issues," the shorter skeleton said. "I guess some humans just don't care and these people certainly don't care about that girl."
The humans looked everywhere and soon faced both skeletons, who had bones ready in their hands, their eyes glowing with their magics. "Hope you don't mind, but we thought we would tell you that you're trespassing," Sans said to them. "This is monster territory."
"Oh, we've heard all about that," said the father with a sneer. "But we've come for the brat."
"She is not a brat," Papyrus said firmly. "But you are monsters."
As the incensed humans charged, the skeletons launched bone attacks, startling their foes and stopping them cold. "Come after the girl again and you'll face our king," Sans warned them.
"Let the monsters have her!" The female said in an uncaring voice. "Why should we care about the ungrateful brat?"
The four then left and Sans called up a couple Gaster Blasters, which chased the four and scared them witless so that they wouldn't return. Nodding, he turned. "Alright, let's find that kid."
Rachel listened and heard nothing, but then a shadow appeared at the entrance of her hiding spot and she scooted back, hoping she wouldn't be found. "She's in here, bro," she heard a deep voice say. "Can you reach her?"
A skeleton came into view, his eyes glowing orange, but instead of a harsh orange like in battle, it was a softer orange and it showed her clearly trying to back away. "Wait," he said, making her look up at him. "It's alright. My brother and I won't hurt you."
He reached a hand in, offering to help her. She looked up at him and went to reach for his hand, but then grunted as her side hurt again. "Hang on, kid," the first voice said and something warm surrounded her before she felt like she was being lifted. A blue glow surrounded her, courtesy of a short skeleton in a blue hoodie. She swallowed hard and then felt two strong arms catch her gently and hold her bridal style.
"Sans?" The tall skeleton asked.
"You got her, Pap?" Sans asked and his brother nodded. "Okay, let's get her to Gaster. She might have more injures than just a sore side."
Rachel hung onto the tall skeleton as he carried her away and followed Sans. They reached a house and entered. "Gaster, she needs you," Sans said.
A tall skeleton cloaked in black came up to them and his gaze softened as he saw Rachel. "She's so young," he said, gently accepting her from his younger brother. "What happened?"
"Abusive family," the short skeleton said.
That was all Gaster needed to hear. "Let me get her to my lab," he said, quickly moving towards his lab. Rachel felt fatigue set in and she fell asleep, her head resting against Gaster's shoulder. He looked at her with sympathy. "Hold on, young one. You'll be out of pain soon."
When Rachel woke up again, she was in less pain, but still had some small pain and saw the tall skeleton beside her and he smiled at her kindly. "Ah, you're awake," he said. "Are you feeling better?"
She nodded before wincing a little and holding her side. He nodded. "You were fortunate. Only bruised ribs, but still painful," he said. "You also had a few cuts and scrapes on your legs and arms, no doubt from running into the forest."
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I am Dr. Gaster," he replied. "Do you remember the two that saved you?"
Rachel took a couple deep breaths. "Skeletons," she said. "One was short and had a deep voice. The other was tall, but he sounded young. They didn't hurt me."
Gaster shook his head. "My brothers wouldn't hurt a child," he said gently.
Just then, a knock sounded and both skeletons came in. The tall skeleton beamed at seeing Rachel was awake and he went over to her. She sat up, managing to get comfortable just in time as he surprised her with a warm hug. A second later, she returned the hug. "Thank you," she said to him with a smile of her own.
"How's she doing, Gaster?" The short skeleton asked.
"She's doing better, Sans," Gaster replied, smiling. "She still has some pain, but it seems to be a bit more bearable now."
Rachel nodded before looking thoughtful. "What is today?" She asked.
"It's Friday," Sans answered. "You were in and out of unconsciousness for about three days."
She looked a bit surprised. "I…I vaguely recall that time," she said. "I would hear voices before being fed."
The skeleton hugging her nodded. "You were very hungry," he said. "And I'm making a big plate of pasta tonight so you can eat as much as you want."
The teenager was touched by his kindness. "What is your name?" She asked.
"Papyrus," he said. "And you already know my older brothers, Sans and Gaster."
"How about you, kid?" Sans asked. "You have a name?"
She nodded. "Rachel," she replied. "Though, only my grandparents used my name, but that was before they died."
"Your family never used your name?" Gaster asked, looking worried.
"They stopped caring after I turned ten years old," she said. "That was when all four of my grandparents died. That's when things got worse. They didn't care before, but the hitting didn't begin until after that."
The three skeletons looked at each other and then came up to her, their hands glowing green and they placed their hands on her shoulders, head, and arms. Rachel began to feel rejuvenated and looked at them, seeing them smile at her. "You've been through a lot, kid," Sans said.
"But you don't have to worry anymore," Papyrus said. "King Asgore has granted that you can stay with us."
Rachel looked surprised. "What?" She asked.
"In other words, if you're alright with it, we'd love to have you in our family," Gaster said.
She was stunned. "You'd…You'd take in a complete stranger into your family?"
"Not a complete stranger," Sans said, gently pinching the left side of her face in affection. "A new little sister."
Tears came to her eyes and she looked at the three of them. "If…If you'd like that," Papyrus said softly.
Rachel smiled at them. "Going from a family who doesn't want me to a family who's willing to accept me and love me as a family should?" She said. "I'd love that."
A couple weeks passed by and the fourteen year old had improved under the care of her three older brothers as the three healed the deep wounds within her with love that a true family had.
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GoldGuardian2418