A/N: Hi there. Yes, I have deleted the old version of this story. I thought I would give it another shot with a clean slate so to speak. If you have read the old version, there are not many changes from that version, but I will definitely try to give more foreshadowing and such this go around. Anywho, this is the important part. This story is my original AU, CivilTale (I don't think this name has been taken). I decided to go a different route than many AUs. The universe is different, but the characters personalities match their canon counterparts. R&R.
I don't own Undertale or its characters. I do own any OCs.
A roar. That's the normal description. Sans never understood the reasoning behind the word choice before, but he did now. The crowd roared like a beast baying for blood and dust. Sans shuddered looking at the cheering crowd that were seated in the bleachers. The monsters' varying shapes and colors filled the silver seating. It was a full house; the monsters from New Home and the Capital were ruthless. Sans lowered his skull, looking up at the faraway monsters with narrowed eye-sockets. The monster making the sound were far away, the monsters near him were as silent as he was. Just a small pocket of silence in a sea of twitching fingers and tapping feet, the anxiety was palpable as the magic emmiteding from the monsters prickled nervously. Sans had to push past the tension or risk making himself making his own fear get out of control. He looked down from his seat to the cleared arena. The red dirt that was so common for the Hotland region was packed down with thousands of footsteps. He was close enough to see specks of gray, leftover dust that was forgotten. He chuckled humorlessly to himself; wasn't it kind for the crown to give family front row seats. Close enough to run and collect dust, but too far to interfere.
The skeleton looked up at the Royal Seating box. There were six wooden seats; two were the largest and most ornate. King Asgore sat proudly in one such seat, his large frame filling the entire wooden structure. His gold and purple cape was spread majestically. His white paws rested on the arm rest, claws outstretched. The seat to his left was empty allowing the carving of the delta rune to be seen.
The boss monster leaned to his right to whisper something to the armored fish monster at his side. She wasn't wearing her helmet, so he could see her earfrills twitch. Sans narrowed his sockets at the relaxed stance of the Royal Guard's Captain. His phalanges curled into fists as she smiled with her wide sharp smile. The fish straightened her golden bracers. She then in turn looked to the empty seat beside her. It was reserved for the Royal Scientist and was empty; not an unusual occurrence. The Royal Scientist and Healer never came to these events, those cowards.
"Beauties and Gentlebeauties, Welcome once again," the flamboyant voice of the Royal Entertainer/Spokesman boomed through the hidden speakers. There was slight static background, but "We have quite the line up today. Let's hear some excitement," the robot said coming into view. His singular wheel creating a single tire trail in the red soil. The rectangular robot waved at the crowd with his golden gloves. He blew a couple of kisses into the crowd. He spun around to look at each group of monsters.
The crowd cheered and Sans could feel his non-existent stomach flip. If he had eaten anything this morning, he probably would have saw it again. The robot spun once to give a bow to the king before he spoke again. Mettaton started to call out names, but none mattered to Sans. Although tragic, the monsters held no importance to the skeleton. There was only one name he dreaded to hear; only one monster that he wished wasn't about to enter the arena. "And from the snowy village of Snowdin, Papyrus," Mettaton announced and Sans grabbed the armrests of his chair as he straighten his spine to look over the slime monster in front of him.
Sans watched as his brother walked into the center of the arena with the other monsters. Papyrus's gait was confident and sure. If he didn't know any better, he would be terrified of the tall skeleton, but his brother knew that Papyrus was dreading what will happen next. He saw his brother pacing this morning if only for a second before Papyrus noticed. Sans knew that Papyrus was merciful and kind; traits that could very well get him killed. Sans threaded his phalanges in front of him to steady his shaking hands. If he had a lip he would be chewing on it.
" You all know the rules, but I will repeat them once again. The rules are simple. You can tap out anytime with a simple bullet to the sky. There is absolutely no shame in backing out like a coward. No dirty moves and the last monster standing wins," Mettaton announced before rocketing to his own seat in the Royal Box. Sans noted that there wasn't a rule against dusting another monster.
Sans inhaled sharply as the monsters in the arena attacked each other. He kept his eye-lights focused on his brother. Papyrus sent waves of bone attacks to the monsters closest to him. The monsters jumped back shocked; only a couple of the attacks actually hit. Papyrus was quick to dodge, separating himself from the bulk of the fighting monsters. Magic was flying through the air as the majority of the monsters battled each other one on one in the center of the arena. A white bullet was shot into the air and the lizard monster Papyrus was fighting limped away. Sans released a breath he didn't know he was holding. The tall skeleton looked up and Sans gave his brother a thumbs up. The short skeleton was glad that the taller was so far away and couldn't see his shaking hands.
Papyrus grinned; one would think that he forgotten he was in a fight. A monster to Sans' right gasped. The skeleton's attention turned back to the arena where the crowd of monsters backed away from a settling pile of dust. Sans could feel his non-existent stomach flip and his SOUL clench. His eye-lights darted up to the Royal Box waiting for a comment. If the monsters were startled, they didn't show it. Sans grit his teeth together as the King and his entourage looked down at the dust. The skeleton wanted at least one to act to stop this fight, but he knew better this was hardly a rare occurrence.
It took only a singular second of pause before the battling monsters struck up again. Magic flying as Sans kept an eye on his brother. He flinched when a slime monster's bullet struck Papyrus's skull. He narrowed his eye sockets frustrated that he couldn't CHECK from the distance. Papyrus remained standing turning the monster's SOUL blue before the slime monster crashed into the ground. A bullet into the sky and they left the field.
Sans breathed a sigh of relief in time with the monster in front of him. The slime monster turned around to face him using their slimy appendages to sign 'thank you'. They rose from their seat to meet their family member. The skeleton nodded distractedly as he watched Papyrus pull a small bunny monster away from a tsunderplane. The plane's bullets barely missed and the small rabbit monster fired one of their own into the sky before leaving. The Tsunderplane followed suit after a blow from a large dragon monster. Sans held his breath as he realized that it was only his brother and the dragon monster. The reptilian monster turned to Papyrus and the skeleton turned to give Sans a thumbs up.
UT~UT~UT~
Toriel padded through the silent hall. The golden walls mimicked the Surface's sunlight. The sight should have been a comforting one for the monster one familiar to her , but it filled her with dread. Her paw-like feet didn't make a single sound as she looked at the stain glass windows that lined one side of the hall. The boss monster paused in front of the second window, clasping her paw-like hands together. The artificial light shone through the colored glass as she tried not to cry. The window showed a human child in cyan stripes laying in a snowy landscape. Knowing that the small child froze to death sent a chill through her. She remembered her; she was so patient with the monsters in the Ruins. She would pretend to cook with her plastic knife before she lost it.
Toriel stepped to the next window. This one had another child, one that was older with his fists raised, orange boxing gloves on his hands . A dog monster stood heroically in front of the human, a battle ax in his paws. She remembered the child and his proud demeanor. The boss monster hurried to the next desperate to see how her other children met their ends. Her brown eyes were tearing up as she saw the next just knowing that the snake-like monster monster depicted had killed the human. Her run to the fourth window was stopped when she bumped into something solid. A noise between a clatter and a metallic ring filled the hall.
The former queen looked down to see a skeleton monster almost the color of dust in armor picking themselves up off of the golden tiles. Toriel hadn't seen many skeletons since the war; it was comforting to know that the species survived. It was a sense of familiarity at the empty sockets. "My apologies. I was not looking where I was going. Are you injured?," Toriel apologized to the shorter monster who was now standing at her full height. The top of the skeleton's head didn't quite reach the former queen's shoulders, so she had to lean forward slightly. She silently blamed her towering height for their collision.
Lime green eye-lights shone out of dark eye sockets darting up to meet her own brown eyes. "That was obvious," the skeleton replied her - Toriel determined that between the tone of voice and the style of the armor that the skeleton was indeed female - voice was devoid of emotion each word measured. There wasn't even a hint of aggravation or anger on the skull of the monster. With that, the skeleton side-stepped the boss monster and marched down the hall, brown gloved hands clasped behind her back. The skeleton's heeled boots broke the previous silence, making the boss monster wonder how she didn't hear the other approach her.
Toriel's shock at the erupt end to the conversation wore off and she turned to stop the skeleton. "Excuse me. Do you have time to speak?" She called out politely. She took a couple of steps toward the retreating skeleton.
The skeleton pivoted, the golden drapery hanging on her hips swirled and her armor caught the light. "I have exactly five minutes to spare. If you have something to say, do it briefly," her flat voice said, her sockets trained on her. Toriel didn't know if she should be offended that the monster neither recognize her or couldn't be bothered to be polite.
"Of course, you must be very busy and I would hate to make you late to your appointment," Toriel said politely, her upbringing overtaking any frustration.
"You now have four minutes and forty-five seconds. I suggest not to waste any time."
Toriel blinked surprised at the comment. "My name is Toriel," the boss monster began hoping to redirect the conversation. The skeleton didn't say a word and didn't change out of her stance, still stiff and unmoving. "And yours is.."
"Avenir," the skeleton replied briskly. There was no change in facial expressions. There was no pleasantries.
"It is very nice to meet you," the boss monster said although she was starting to regret speaking to the skeleton. There was something cold and empty about her sockets. "Are you part of the Royal Guard?" she asked, looking at the monster's breast plate with the delta rune engraved into its shiny surface.
"A member of those imbeciles? No, I'm the Royal Healer, a much more respectable position," the skeleton answered, her voice still devoid of emotion as if she was just stating a fact. Even the insult against the guard held no heat.
Avenir pointed to a bronze plate at her hip bearing a symbol resembling a cross between the delta ruin and caduceus. The symbol probably indicated her position. The boss monster wondered why a healer needed to be clothed in armor. What could threaten one who helped others?
"Then you must know where King Asgore is. Could you tell me where he is at? I deeply desire to speak with him." Toriel asked, hopefully while ignoring the comment about the Royal Guard and her own question about the healer's armor.
"It's Friday," Avenir answered as if it was obvious, as if those words were sufficient. Toriel gave the skeleton a confused look. "He's at the Coliseum. Two minutes left."
"Coliseum? When was that added? What is he is doing there?" Toriel asked now feeling the pressure of the time limit. Her voice becoming more demanding, commanding.
"Every Friday and Saturday, Games are scheduled at the Coliseum," Avenir stated, green eye-lights darting to the stain glass as if she could see him. "He is currently presiding over the events."
Toriel could sense something sinister in the way she said 'games'; skeletons had a strange knack of pronouncing words. "What sort of games?"
"A competition of might, normally it is non-lethal. Combatants gain favor with the public and the crown in the hopes in earning their way to the Surface once the seventh human falls," Avenir answered her bland tone making the grim news even eerier. If the skeleton saw anything wrong with that, her face and voice didn't show it.
Toriel could feel a chill travel down her spine. "Normally? Are there monsters right now killing each other?"
"Perhaps, some monsters might be... overzealous, but that is why I am there to heal," Avenir stated and without another word pivoted and walked down the hall.
"Wait, Please," Toriel called out to the retreating form. "I can talk to him. I am sure he would change this policy."
The skeleton paused but didn't turned around. "You will die. His anger has corrupted what he once was. If he doesn't kill you for speaking out, his Guard would. It has happened before." Avenir turned to face the boss monster. " He has many who are loyal to him and believe in his plan. However, some can see the faults in this course of action."
"You?" Toriel asked, hoping that she was reading in between the lines enough.
"Treason would mean death. It would be illogical for one as myself to risk my life on a risky endeavor," the skeleton replied but she made no motion to leave. Toriel wondered what the other wanted from her.
"That may be so but things should not continue like this. Monsters should not be killing other monsters, especially for sport," Toriel countered. "I, for one, will not stand by it." The skeleton didn't looked moved by her speech. "Though it is something I cannot do alone." The skeleton seemed to straighten her stance a little.
"It appears that we have something in common," Avenir stated. "There is a large possibility that we are not the only ones."
"Exactly, if we gather all those who oppose him, he is bound to listen," Toriel stated feeling a little lighter about the situation.
"And if not, we will have the strength to dethrone him."
The deadpan statement made the boss monster stop. "I-I suppose if there is no other way."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the skeleton said lowering herself into a curtsy. Toriel was stunned at the sudden respectful gesture. "I am at your disposal."
"Please get up. I am not the queen anymore," the boss monster pleaded, reaching out to pick the other up.
The skeleton straighten her spine to look up at the boss monster. "Then my loyalty isn't free," she responded plainly.
"What can I offer you?"
"A favor," the skeleton replied. Toriel almost shivered at the cold vague answer. "I can promise that it will not harm anyone if that is your concern."
"I accept. If you help me, I will give you whatever favor you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone," Toriel responded before she regretted it.
"We'll see each other soon then, Your Majesty," Avenir stated, pivoting once again and marching down the hall. Toriel watched the monster disappear down the hall. The former queen stood stunned, looking back to the stained glass.
UT~UT~UT
Sans sighed in relief as the dragon monster shot a single bullet into the sky before stumbling out of the arena. The skeleton was a little afraid that his brother would have to dust the other monster. Papyrus stood rather proudly as Mettaton rolled onto the stage once again. "Congratulations, contestant. Like the end of every Game, you have the opportunity to challenge one of the lovely monsters in that box up there. If you win, fame and glory is yours for the taking," the robot purred, pointing to the box that held the Royal caste. Undyne leaned forward eager to fight while Asgore leaned back waiting for the response. Sans knew Papyrus's response and was already getting to his feet to meet his brother.
"NO THANK YOU. I AM SURE YOU ARE ALL TIRED OF CHALLENGES," the taller skeleton answered, bowing to the king before leaving the arena. Sans could hear his younger brother's response as he shuffled to meet him.
The atrium was pretty empty, but there were a handful of monsters muttering in hushed tones. Sans could catch the sight of a purple monster holding onto a loose pouch covered in silvery dust. They tried to comfort a teenage girl with a skateboard in her hands. The short skeleton looked away The combatants were easy to spot with their strained smiles and slouched posture. "SANS," Papyrus's voice cut through the mutterings of the crowd. The shorter skeleton braced himself as the taller came into view. He gave his younger brother a wide grin as the taller skeleton hurried toward him. He stopped in time before colliding with his shorter brother.
"hey pap, good job out there," Sans greeted the taller skeleton tilting his head to look at the other in the eye-sockets.
"NYEH-HEH, THANKS BROTHER. I DO PRIDE MYSELF IN MY COMBAT ABILITIES," Papyrus cheered smiling brightly. "WE SHOULD GO HOME BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE FOR DINNER. A PROPER SCHEDULE IS IMPORTANT TO ONE AS GREAT AS I AM." Sans just shrugged.
"sounds good. i'm just skin and bones here," he joked giving his brother a wink with his left eye. The taller skeleton groaned loudly. Sans chuckled at the reaction. "hey bro, did you need to stick around to see the healer? You took a couple of bullets there," The older brother gave his brother a once over looking for any serious injury. There was a slight tear on the other's black long-sleeved shirt, but that was it.
"NO, I AM WELL AND WOULD HATE TO WASTE THE HEALER'S TIME," Papyrus responded, leading the two away from the crowd of monsters waiting for the Royal Healer who was running late. Sans didn't know if this was normal as both skeletons have never participating in these 'games' before. Papyrus used his height to find the reward desk pretty easily; pointing it out with a shout.
Two Royal Guards sat in small chairs that they barely fit in, both were clothed in their silver armor with a single orange band tied around their upper arm. They shifted uncomfortably as they tried to fit their mass on the furniture. "GREETINGS," Papyrus called out waving a red-gloved hand at the two guards as he marched forward.
"Hi, I guess. You are Papyrus, right?" the rabbit-monster on the left asked, his voice bored.
"YES, IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS. I WAS THE VICTOR OF THE LAST BOUT," the taller skeleton answered, proudly putting his hand on his chest in a heroic pose. The red scarf around his neck fluttered in the nonexistent wind.
"Good job. Here's your Gold," the rabbit monster replied, unamused. He held out a large bag of gold coins dropping it into Papyrus's outstretched hands. The money jangled quietly before the taller skeleton thanked the guard.
Sans narrowed his eye sockets at the bag and was about to suggest that the taller recounted the money. A rough force pushed the two skeletons apart as the dragon monster from before stomping to the table as well. Sans grit his teeth at the rude display as his brow bone furrowed. "that was a bit hot-headed, dontcha think?" Papyrus groaned that the horrible pun, but the reaction didn't make the shorter smile.
The dragon looked over his shoulder and growled. "Can it, shorty," he grumbled, bearing his teeth.
"Guys, fighting stays in the arena," the rabbit guard chided half-heartedly. The dragon didn't listen continuing to glare at the pair of skeletons.
"There you are, you really shouldn't be wandering off," a female voice chirped as a mauve ghost with an orange nurse hat floated to the dragon. She frowned, "If you don't get a move on, she is going to be really upset or well, maybe not upset since she doesn't really do the 'feelings' thing. At the very least, she will be very disappointed. She's a pain when she is disappointed." The ghost floated left to right as she rambled. "Well, I guess I could have a worst boss." The dragon looked truly uncomfortable as the ghost started a lecture. "Sure, some of the other nurses call her SOULless, but that isn't true. She is a good person, uh, somewhere."
"well, this conversation will 'dragon' for a little longer and we are already late. see you," Sans said to the dragon giving him a cheeky wave. Papyrus groaned and apologized to the dragon before following after his shorter brother. The ghost's chatter becoming quieter as they walked away.
The two skeletons were silent as they exited the Coliseum. The crowd was a lot quieter from here which was a relief. The heat hit the two as they walked across the red path. Sans unzipped his blue jacket even if it did little to alleviate the scorching heat. Sans looked at his brother who seemed to be lost in thought.
"hey pap, you okay?" he asked concerned at the abnormal silence.
"A MONSTER DIED, SANS," Papyrus responded quietly. The rush from the fight must have worn out and he was finally able to process what happened. He shuffled his bag of gold in his hands. The shorter skeleton sighed.
"yea, i know," Sans replied, "but it wasn't your fault, pap." He reached out to put a hand on the taller's humerus. It was a small reassurance; it didn't make a bit of difference.
"I KNOW BUT I SHOULD HAVE SAVED THEM LIKE THE RABBIT MONSTER. THE OTHERS WERE JUST A LITTLE TOO ROUGH. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I AM SURE. I AM SURE THAT WHOEVER DID IT REGRETS IT." Papyrus looked down at the bag in his hand.
"not everyone is as great as you, bro," Sans replied looking up at the taller skeleton. He couldn't bring himself to tell the other that the monster was killed for EXP. That the murderer would probably be rewarded. Asgore wanted an army after all, mercy wasn't exactly what he was looking for. The two entered the silvery elevator. The doors closed with a soft thud before dropping slowly.
The brothers rode the elevator down to the first level of Hotland. The doors opened and the overbearing heat leaked into the elevator. "WELL, I BELIEVE THAT MONSTERS SHOULD BE MORE CONSIDERATE WITH THEIR MAGIC. WE DON'T WANT ANY ONE ELSE TO GET HURT."
"yup, we don't want to 'river-t' to primitives," Sans replied as the two reached the river. He pointed to it giving another wink. The bubbling noise the water made was overpowered by Papyrus's groan.
"THAT WAS HORRIBLE AND RIVER IS NO WHERE CLOSE TO REVERT," the taller complained as the two stepped into the empty boat. It bobbed a little with the added weight. The Riverperson greeted with a tra-la-la. "HELLO, RIVERPERSON. I APOLOGIZE FOR MY BROTHER'S HORRIBLE PUN."
The cloaked figure tilted their head. "Care for a ride?" They seemed unaffected by the conversation.
"YES, WE WILL LIKE TO GO TO SNOWDIN," Papyrus answered. The boat driver nodded before the boat sped toward the snowy region.
The captain of the vessel sung a strange tune, word loss in the splashing of the river. The pair of skeletons were silent not wanting to interrupt the singing river monster. The trip was quick with water lightly misting the two skeletons in the boat. "tra-la-la. Beware the soulless for they drive hard bargains," the river person said as they pulled the boat toward the dock. Something about the words made Sans's soul skip a beat.
"HOW CAN A MONSTER BE SOULLESS? THEY WOULD BE DUST. YOU NEVER MAKE ANY SENSE," Papyrus complained as the boat slowed to a stop bumping the dock slightly.
"hey pap, let's leave the monster alone," Sans interrupted staring at the riverperson as his non-existent stomach flipped. They stared a bit too intently at him as he stepped off the bobbing boat and onto the snowy dock. Papyrus stepped off next to him as they said good-bye to the Riverperson.
Papyrus took the lead once again, his longer strides easily outpacing Sans's shorter ones. The skeleton marched through the small town waving at the monsters lining the streets. Sans breathed a sigh of relief when the pair finally got into the little worn down house that they came to call home.
Sans dragged himself to the couch and plopped himself down. "LAZY BONES, AREN'T YOU GOING TO HELP ME COOK?" Papyrus asked stomping to the shorter skeleton and tapping his foot.
"nah, bro. I don't think that's pasta-ble," Sans said his eye-lights looking at the taller expectantly. Papyrus shouted on time stomping to the kitchen with a complaint to cook. The shorter skeleton yawned and closed his eyes.
"WE NEED TO GO TO THE STORE TOMORROW," Papyrus commented from the kitchen. "WITH THIS MONEY WE CAN GET ENOUGH FOOD TO LAST AT LEAST A COUPLE MORE WEEKS."
"yea, sounds good. but i don't really want this to become a habit," Sans admitted softly.
"NEITHER DO I. I DO NOT ENJOY FIGHTING MY FELLOW MONSTERS. SOMEONE COULD GET HURT," Papyrus said stepping to the doorway from the kitchen to the living room. Sans's eye-light darted to see him and grinned wider. The taller skeleton was wearing the apron that his brother had bought. The pun made the shorter chuckle, but it was touching that the younger skeleton had kept it. "LUCKILY, I ,THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM WELL VERSE IN THE ART OF MAGIC AND AM ABLE TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE."
"yea bro, you're great," Sans replied honestly. The taller skeleton laughed his trademark Nyeh. A firm knocking came from the front door causing both skeletons to look at it. Sans sat up to wait for another knock.
"CAN YOU GET THAT SANS? I DON'T WANT TO BURN THE SPAGHETTI," Papyrus asked going back into the kitchen. Sans groaned but got to his slippered feet and shuffled to the door.
He pulled the door opened ready to tell the monster that they had the wrong house. A body pushed their way past him. "You took an entire minute to open the door," a female voice pointed out matter-of-factly.
"sure. come right in. make yourself at home," Sans replied sarcastically before turning to see who the stranger was that was trespassing. The short skeleton froze as he saw the trespasser. His eye-lights disappeared. What was the Royal Healer doing in his home?
A/N: Hi Chilly here again. I hope you enjoyed or are at least interested in more. Please leave an review. Reviews really encourage me to continue.