It's been nearly a whole year.
Grillby could barely grasp just how fast time has flown. His days had become routine in a way, and blended together. Not that it was a bad thing at all: he just found it strange how easy it was for things to become normal again after the 'incident'.
Months before, his adoptive children suffered terribly at the hands of one of the most prominent scientists in the underground. Dr. Gaster was now dead, his dust consumed by the molten foundation of the CORE. He might be dead, but it didn't mean that he still didn't affect his victims. Nightmares and anxiety were common for his children and still would be for some time. But...life goes on, and he could honestly tell that they were happy and healing.
In a way, isn't that the best revenge? Despite everything Gaster tried to do, he failed. He was dead, and both Sans and Papyrus would grow and live. They had their whole lives ahead of them where they could experience all the love and happiness that they should have gotten at the very beginning. They both already had friends and more family than they could count in the good people of Snowdin. They could be whoever and whatever they want to be. Grillby would be sure to give them everything they could ever ask for.
Gaster would be forever remembered for his crimes and reviled for it. There was nobody to mourn him. In time, his presence would fade, and he would only exist in a textbook. In time, the scars he inflicted on both children would fade, and he would have no more presence in the world that really matters.
Sounds of scraping claws and giggling snapped Grillby from his thoughts.
"i'ma get ya!" Sans could be heard, stomping around as loud as he could. "gonna get ya!"
"AAAAAAAAAAA!" Papyrus' yelling interrupted the stomping. Grillby could hear him running as fast as he could around the living room, claws catching on the carpet.
Grillby opened the oven to take a quick peek at the item baking inside. He decided it could use five or so more minutes, and closed the door again. He moved away from the oven to the kitchen door, peeking in to see just what his kids where up to.
Indeed, it seemed they were playing some sort of chasing game. It seemed a little one-sided, but they were having fun despite it. Sans never quite got back up to speed after his injuries healed. Being blind on his right side made him more cautious in his movements, especially after bruising his face a few times running into furniture he couldn't see. He seemed to tire very quickly and napped often. Dr. Frank, their doctor, decided to give Sans a few more months to see if his energy levels would pick up again. Sans had the hardest time out of both of them. Constant night terrors and bouts of panic meant more than one sleepless night for all of them. But Grillby could see the joy and happiness on the little skeleton's face as he slowly stomped after his little brother.
Papyrus, on the other hand, seemed to recover rapidly. He still had bad dreams and instances where he would just cry for hours at a time. Sometimes he would just be completely silent and nervous, but time helped immensely with that. Unlike his brother, he wasn't physically injured in the incident, so he was free to focus on growing, and grow he did. Grillby imagined he put on at least three pounds of weight in the last few months, and that was a lot for a skeleton monster. For now, the little monster was running about in his canine form, yelling as he zipped around. It seemed like the game was that he would run between Sans' legs and around him while Sans tried to catch him in a very dramatic way.
Sans eventually 'gave up', flopping to the floor where he lay on his back. He remained sill enough that Papyrus grew curious, creeping closer to his older brother. Once he was in range, Sans grabbed up the pup in his hands and began to mercilessly tickle him.
"gotcha! haha!"
"AAAAAAA!"
Papyrus could not escape despite all his wiggling, so he resorted to yelling. Yelling, perhaps, was one of his greatest strengths, as he was perhaps the loudest toddler in the whole town.
Grillby couldn't help but start laughing when the pup finally yelled loud enough to make Sans drop him.
"owie." Sans rubbed the sides of his head, looking up when he heard the laughing. His grin spread across his face when he saw who it was. "hi dad."
"Hello Sans, what kind of game were you two playing?" Grillby would forever be warmed by the sight of Sans' smile. It was once a rare event becoming more common as time wore on.
"we were chasin'. but pap cheats." Sans rubbed the sides of his head where his ear holes were.
"Ah, how can he cheat if you never told him the rules to the game?" Grillby folded his arms with a grin.
Sans went to respond, but before he could say a word, his little brother slammed into him from behind. This time Papyrus traded paws for hands, so he could wrap himself around his older brother and cling like glue.
"GOT CHU!" He yelled proudly.
"yeah bro you did!" Sans could only mumble through the carpet. Papyrus was fast enough that he knocked Sans clean over. "good job."
Grillby clapped, which made the youngest skeleton beam with happiness.
"T'ANKS! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus rolled off his brother and onto the floor. He had begun picking up new words here and there. Grillby was sure it wouldn't be too long before he could begin stringing together full sentences. His volume control, however, was unlikely to change.
Grillby was about to walk over to check on them when the door began to shudder from pounding knocks. Spooked, the boys immediately rushed to hide behind the couch, as they did with most loud sudden noises. But then a familiar voice began to yell from outside: "HEY! HEY NERDS! MISTER GRILLBY? HEY!"
The loud rough voice of a little girl accented the pounding, making a terrible racket. Grillby had to rush over quickly to save his door from being dented. He opened it up and narrowly dodged a fist coming at his leg as the owner prepared to knock again.
"Oh...hello, Undyne. Alphys."
Before him were the kid's two best friends. Undyne, Gnash and Frank's daughter, was bundled up in a coat and wearing a hat to cover her fins. She was the spitting image of Gnash, being a fish monster, but inherited the blue and red coloration of her other father. Being more like Gnash, this was a really rough-and-tumble kid. He was opposed to her playing with his children unsupervised at first, due to their condition. But she proved to know her own limits and could be surprisingly gentle, despite her brash nature. He figured that since one of her parents was a doctor she could recognize when someone wasn't able to handle her rough style of play. After all, she was brought along to the house with Frank several times during the boys' checkups, so she had seen what state they were in.
"Heya Mister G! Can Sans and Pap come out to play?" Undyne flashed Grillby an incredibly sharp grin.
"If...if that's okay that is!" Alphys nervously fidgeted with her claws. Well, as much as she was able too. She was bundled up with so many coats and scarves that she could scarcely move her arms. Grillby wondered whether could even get up again if she fell down: she'd be like a turtle on their back due to all the bundling.
"I will ask them." Grillby turned and opened his mouth to call for them, but the boys already were attempting to get out the door around his legs.
"hey guys!" Sans seemed happy to see his friends. Papyrus just yelled with enthusiasm as per his usual greeting.
"Coats first, then you may go out and play." Grillby caught them before they could outright run into the snow, helping both kids get into their coats and scarves. He had long since given up on giving them hats and mittens. They tended to always lose them. There must be at least ten hats and a handful of mittens scattered throughout Snowdin. The boys could scarcely stand still enough for the last of their coat buttons to be fastened. With that, their father turned them loose.
Once freed they both rushed out of the door to tackle their friends, laughing and tussling in the snow.
"Be back at four o'clock." Grillby told them. "Stay away from the river, and be sure to stay close to town." It was the same thing he always told them when they went off to play. This time, he'd let them stay out for an hour longer than usual.
"thanks dad! we will!" Sans grinned and grabbed up his brother, who was floundering around in the fresh snow.
"Come on! Let's go sledding!" Undyne had already brought a sled with her.
"yeah! i'll grab ours!" Sans was quick to grab the ropes to his own sled, putting Papyrus snugly on it. With that, all three children rushed off into the snow, Papyrus laughing from his spot on his sled all the way. Grillby watched them as they vanished around the corner, heading to the hill next to the Bunny shop. It was safe there: the store owner tended to keep an eye on the kids who went to sled. Squashing down a lingering worry, he shut the door.
It was something King Asgore told him before: "As a father, you'll always worry, even if there is nothing to worry about." Grillby trusted the girls, as he had seen them interact with the boys when they were at their worst. They'd be fine. The whole village would be there.
He wouldn't spoil their fun because of his paranoia.
Once he was sure they were gone, he headed back into the kitchen. Only a few minutes had passed, and he opened the oven door to warm heat and sweet smells. He had no need for oven mitts, so he reached in to grab the pan, setting it on the counter to cool.
It was quite a nice marble cake. He wasn't too sure if the boys would prefer vanilla or chocolate, so he decided to mix them both. He opened his cell phone and dialed in a number, holding it to his head as he started grabbing bowls.
It only took a few rings before the other end picked up with a click.
"(Hello Grillby!)"
"Hello Dogaressa. The boys are gone." He grabbed some sugar and some butter, intent on making some icing.
"(Oh! Where are they now?)"
"They went sledding with their friends. I told them to come home at four."
"(We'll have some time then. I'll send Greater to keep an eye on them.)" Barking broke out in the background, which was quickly shushed. "(We'll bring over the supplies right away.)"
"Thank you, the door is open. See you shortly."
With a click, the call ended, leaving him alone again. Soon everyone would arrive, and things could really get started.
He smiled as he worked a little faster.
Now...where did he put those candles again?
Snow crunched under boots as the kids marched on through the fresh snow. Papyrus rode on the sled, being pulled along behind them. Alphys stuck close. She wasn't a big fan of the ice and snow, but she put up with it all the same. Sans felt grateful for that. He would miss her if she couldn't visit as often as she did.
"Hey, ya know what we should do first?" Undyne was grinning as she looked back at her friends.
"yeah?" Sans was curious on what she might want to do.
"We should build totally awesome snowmonsters! Like...right down at the hill where everyone can see them!"
"But, wouldn't that get in the way of the sleds?" Alphys piped up from the back. She was dragging along the second sled.
"That's the point! We're gonna crash into them!"
"We can't do that! Sans 'n Pap are s-"
"it's fine." Sans cut Alphys off with a small smile. "really. we're fine now."
"Of COURSE they're fine!" Undyne threw up her hands, eyes shining. "They have my papa as their doctor! And he's the BEST! See?"
She balled up her fist and landed a punch on Sans' arm, before she yelped in pain. "OW!"
"come on, i'm a skeleton. you knew you'd be punchin' solid bone." Sans couldn't help but flinch at the action, but after the initial scare, he was amused. He was right, hitting solid bone couldn't feel all that great.
"Undyne!" Alphys scolded the fish monster, who was rubbing a hand that was sure to bruise. "You scared him! Don't hit them like that!"
"Nuh-uh! He's fine! He hurt me worse." Undyne snorted, "Right Sans?"
Sans just shrugged. "it wasn't my idea to punch bone. technically, you hurt yourself." To be honest, it was a little scary. But, not as scary as before. He knew Undyne wasn't going to hurt him, but sometimes the act itself spooked him. The more she roughhoused with them, the more things became...okay. Less scary. Not everything had to end in pain.
"NYEH!" Papyrus grumped from the sled. He was wondering why everything stopped. He wanted to play, not stand around. He pounded his fists on the sides of the sled to make a racket. "NYEEH!"
"You heard the lil' nerd! Let's get movin'!" Undyne shook out her hand and broke off into a run.
The kids quickly ran after their friend, chasing her through the light snow. Footprints of other monsters began to criss-cross their path, and it wasn't too long before they approached the hill. The hill itself wasn't a dramatic slope. It was gentle enough for little kids, but steep enough to still give a bit of a thrill. There were already sled tracks packed down into the snow. Several other kids were around with their parents, playing or sculpting snow. A few adults stood about or sat on benches, keeping an eye on everything going on.
It made Sans feel a little safer.
Undyne frowned. "Darn...looks like we won't be able to crash into stuff. There's too many adults around."
"Yes, what a shame that we can't do dangerous things." Alphys snarked back. Sans giggled in agreement. Undyne opened her mouth to reply, when someone made it clear he was tired of doing nothing.
"NYEH!"
Papyrus had enough with sitting, and so decided for everyone what to do. The snow was packed up enough where he could toddle around without sinking, so he rolled himself off the sled. He then broke off into a run, intending on rolling himself over the edge of the hill before Sans scooped him up. Papyrus kicked in his older brother's grip.
"sorry pap, can't do that."
"NO! AAA!" Papyrus wiggled, wanting to go down the hill. He could see other kids sledding or just rolling down the hill. It looked tons of fun to him, so he fussed even louder about it.
"no bro, not like that. like this, see?" The older brother carried the younger, kicking and yelling, back to the sled. He settled down with Papyrus safely held in front of him, securing them both on the sled. "look, we sit here. it's safer like this. you're still a baby bones."
"Not for long I think." Undyne snorted and got behind the sled. "You guys ready?"
"yeah!"
With that, Undyne shoved the sled down over the hill, laughing when Papyrus, for once, was shocked into silence. As soon as they were at the bottom, he was demanding another go. Thus began a long session of sledding. Sometimes they crammed themselves all on one sled. Sometimes they raced other kids. They might have been scolded a few times by the adults around, but it came with the territory. One kid lent them a bowl-shaped sled that went a little too fast for Sans' comfort, but Undyne loved it all the same. When they got tired of trekking up the hill, they stayed near the bottom.
"Hey Sans?" Alphys asked while they took a break. It didn't take long for them to find a bench to sit on, watching the other kids sled down the hill. Papyrus was busy sitting in the snow, making shapes that only really made sense to him.
"yeah?"
"Do you think you could pull a sled?"
Undyne perked up her fins from under her hat. "Yeah! That sounds awesome! Can you?"
Sans could only shrug. "i never tried...and i dunno if can pull everyone at once." He rubbed at the arm that was previously broken only months before.
"You could pull Pap." Undyne pointed out. "He's a weenie. He weighs practically nothing."
"but then you guys will be left out."
"Maybe it would be best to wait until you get bigger." Alphys suggested. "Um...you're kinda..small. I just...thought it would be neat."
"No worries, Sans!" Undyne slung an arm around the skeleton's shoulder. "You won't be shrimpy forever! Heck, you might even get huge, wouldn't that be cool?"
"um…" He coughed when she tightened her grip, pulling him into a stronger hug.
"Naw I'm serious! With the way your dad feeds ya, you'll be HUGE!"
Sans shook his head with a snort. "i don't think so. i'm shorter than you guys."
Before Undyne could retort, one of the bunny children ran up to the group.
"Hey! We're gonna get a snowball war together! You guys wanna join up?"
The look on Undyne's face was quite unnerving at that. She lived for competition in all forms. "Yesss." She clenched her fists together and gave the poor bunny a truly terrifying look.
"As long as we can be on her team." Sans shrugged. Alphys nodded along with that. Papyrus was still busy making a snow tower and thus couldn't care less about what was going on.
"Uhh...okay. We get ten minutes to prepare. My mom is gonna let us know when to start." The bunny backed away a little from the terror child.
"Then you better get hurrying cause we're gonna cream you nerds!" Undyne popped up from her seat already, already gathering snow.
To his credit, the kid took off running back to his group before Undyne could dunk him with snow. Sans and Alphys snorted.
"Well if there's going to be a whole war, we need to get our fort up before everyone else." Alphys tootled off her seat, waddling over to what looked like a good spot. "See? We got the high ground!"
"We do! Great thinking Alph!" Undyne scooped up an armful of snow and hurried over to their spot. Sans lifted up Papyrus and carried him over to the growing snowpile.
Together, they began to build.
"How does this look to you?"
Dogamy had just finished stringing up a large paper banner marked 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'. He had to twist around his wife, who was hanging up streamers at the same time. It made them bump into each other quite a few times, but knowing them, they were doing it on purpose.
"It looks good." Grillby looked it over where it was positioned on the living room wall. Once the children had gone out to play, all the dads and dogs had gathered together to prepare for a party.
A birthday party, in fact, for the boys.
There were detailed records about them, but it was hard to tell what exactly counted as their birthday. Was it the day they were taken out of the tubes? How does one really measure a birthday for someone with a radically different way of being born? So, he compromised, and picked the clearest date he could figure. Sans and Papyrus never did anything without the other, so it made sense to celebrate them both on the same day.
The Dogs, Gash, Frank, and Bertram were all helping out. They were doing everything from hanging up decorations to moving furniture around. With the kids being a little skittish still, the party was going to be very small and as low-key as possible. Still, they could have decorations and the like, but since the kids have never experienced a party before...it was going to be for the best to not overwhelm them.
Bertram fussed. "They aren't going to try and eat the paper, are they?" The dinosaur eyed the tissue paper streamers taped just about everywhere.
"They're skeletons my dude. It's not like they can actually eat them." Gnash frowned as he struggled to keep balloons tied down so they don't float away.
"Oh they can, dear." Frank took the balloons from his husband and tied them to a chair. "But it's not going to really hurt them."
"Well, consider me corrected then."
Lesser Dog barked from his position on the couch. He had finished filling up a bone shaped piñata with candy, holding it up to show everyone.
"Nice, gonna hang it up?" Gnash eyed it. It was decently sized for four kids, with plenty of the 'good' candy. No fruit packs or pretzels, just straight-up sugar.
"(You don't hang up piñatas for pups.)" Dogaressa laughed. "(You put it on the floor so they can rip it up!)"
"That's actually pretty badass." The Captain grinned, impressed.
"Well it's also because mixing sticks with pups never go over too well." Dogamy added. "It stops becoming a piñata party and more of a fight over who gets the stick."
Grillby merely hummed, looking everything over. He glanced over at the present pile. The pile was, on second glance, more like a present mountain. When he called everyone and explained his plan for a nice, quiet birthday party, they all decided to go for broke. Everyone had a soft spot for the little skeletons, and were determined to make their very first birthday party a memorable one. That included spoiling them rotten. The pile of presents were stacked as well as they could be without getting stepped on. He went over a checklist in his mind as everyone added the finishing touches.
Enchanted balloons that wouldn't pop and thus frighten the boys? Check.
Decorations that weren't too overwhelming and could stand some nibbling? Check.
Cake? Check.
A piñata and enough candy for four kids? Check.
A mop and bucket at the ready for Papyrus? Check.
A pillow fort prepared in their room just in case things got too overwhelming? Check.
He checked off other things in his mind, checking and double-checking. A white paw on his shoulder stopped him before he could run through the checklist a fourth time.
"(Relax Grillby, you look like a hen with all that fussing you're doing!")
Grillby took a moment to collect himself, his flames tingeing a soft pink in embarrassment. "I just...want it to be special."
"(And it is. These are little kids, not the King himself! It's not like they need perfection, just love and validation. That's what this day is all about, right?") Dogaressa winked at the flustered father and withdrew her paw. ("You don't need to worry so much, just let things happen naturally. Trust me.)"
Grillby took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. The flames of his head were wild with worry for a time, but the once again became the usual, gentle, fireplace-like flame. A thousand things could go wrong and the last thing he wanted was for them to associate bad things with birthdays. Or even parties all together. The kids were skittish enough as it was with new things. A birthday for them would certainly be new.
He glanced back over at the other adults. They all were standing back and admiring their own handiwork. Of course, everything was bone-themed. Bone-themed tablecloth. Little bone-patterned plates. Even little dog treats were scattered about, which the dogs insisted upon.
"I think it's done," He finally said. "What time is it?"
Frank checked his watch. "Around three-thirtyish. Should we go out and get them?"
"Nah, I'll call Greater. He was sent over to keep an eye on them. He'll be able to herd them all back." Dogamy flipped open his phone, and exited to the kitchen to place his call.
"Are we going to hide and yell 'SURPRISE' and all that?" Doggo squinted. His sight was too bad to help with decorations, so he elected to be the one to guard the presents. He took the job very seriously, knives and all.
"No." Grillby shook his head. "They don't like to be startled like that. I will stop them at the door and explain."
"That's a good idea." Frank agreed. "Let's all sit and rest a spell. I doubt all of us standing around will be good for their nerves."
Mutters of agreement echoed through the group, all of them taking seats and being as non-threatening as they could. The boys were still very young and had yet to start therapy. Frank was the one that suggested they all be careful and mindful of their actions. So far, it had prevented what could be a perpetual state of anxiety for the kids.
Grillby fussed one last time over everything.
He still had yet to find the candles.
The snowball war ended in mutually-assured destruction.
It was an hour-long fight and the kids went all out on it. Snow trenches were dug. Forts were made. Snowballs were stockpiled up. Everyone hunkered down with their team until the signal was given.
"Alright y'all, let's have a clean fight!", one of the parents shouted. "Ready? GO!"
The air quickly became white with snowballs. Snow was flinging everywhere, even hitting some of the parents who were unfortunate enough to get caught in the cross-fire. It was madness.
Undyne made snow boulders instead of snowballs, and took great delight at being a one-girl siege engine. Many walls crumbled to her wrath. Many kids were buried under piles of snow. It was pure devastation.
Sans and Alphys were just happy to make the ultimate fort. Sans didn't know all that much about playing war, but Alphys was more than happy to help. Soon they were hunkered down, weathering incoming fire and dealing it back just as quickly. At one point they ran out of snow, and Sans had to sneak out under fire to get more.
Papyrus ran out to chase all the snowballs, borking all the way. Small kids were were under a mutual agreement of protection. Nobody threw snowballs at them and they were herded away from the more intense part of the war. Papyrus might be too small to really participate, but he was more than happy to chase the snowballs that flew past him. He was joined with some other small kids who just happily rolled around in the snow, not really caring that much about the war around them.
In the end, the fighting was too intense, and there wasn't a single fort or trench left standing. The kids lay where they were felled in the snow, too worn out to continue. Nobody won, but it wasn't like they were playing for wins anyway. It was at the time the other parents started to collect their kids. It was time to come in from the cold, and one by one, Sans watched the other kids leave.
"I got Pap!" Alphys waddled through the snow, holding a surprisingly still pup. Papyrus' eye lights were crossed as he shivered. He made a loud sharp gurgle and tilted his head straight up in the air, muzzle open wide.
"what happened?" Sans was instantly on edge, rushing over to examine his little brother
"Hey, no need to worry he just um...ate a snowball or two." Alphys giggled. "He got a brain freeze."
"...brain freeze?" Sans looked at this brother again, who was clacking his jaws together.
"Yeah, it's when you eat cold stuff too fast and it gives you a weird feeling in your head."
To show he was alright, Papyrus eventually shook his head and wagged his tail, normal again. "NYEH!"
Sans relaxed. It seemed his little bro was alright. "phew…"
Undyne stomped over, laughing. "Heh, did you see that great big snow boulder I made? It took out a whole fort!"
"yeah, but then everyone within range hit you at once." Sans smirked. Undyne frowned. Her coat and hat were covered in snow. It wouldn't be long before everything would start to melt and make everything chilly and damp.
They were just gathering their sleds and brushing themselves off when a white dog bounded over the snow and skidded to a stop in front of the children.
"Hello children!" Greater Dog barked a greeting and wagged his fluffy tail. He was without his armor for now, it seemed, and it was honestly a little difficult to tell him apart from the snow without it. He was practically two black eyes and a nose floating above the snow.
"hi greater." Sans smiled. "what are you doing here? I thought you had guard stuff to do."
"I have off today!" Greater shook his coat free of some snowflakes. "I am here to bring you all home!"
Undyne and Alphys watched the interaction, giving each other looks. It was still weird to them that Sans could just... understand the dogs like he could. Not that it was anything more different than talking to someone else with a different language, but Dog was very hard to learn by non-dogs. They tended to not think too hard about it. They had more important stuff to worry about, such as when dinner time was.
"i guess we were out here a long time." Sans rubbed his fingers together. Now that playing was over with, the cold and damp was starting to seep in, causing him to shiver. It wasn't as bad a chill as when he and his brother were homeless: now, he had the warmest coat that his father could get for him. He felt worn out a little, eager to go back indoors, and he could expect there to be hot cocoa waiting when they got back.
"Yeah! I don't even know what time it is!" Alphys struggled to get out her phone, but couldn't bend her arms down enough to open her pockets. Undyne took the pup from her, and laughed as Alphys flailed around for a few seconds.
Greater dog barked and started hopping through the snow, waiting for them all to catch up. Thus began the cold and tired trek back to the house. Papyrus was thoroughly worn out, so he was content to be carried. Sans was slower, as always, so everyone took time to match his pace. The snow had been packed down as they left, so the walk home was easier.
The hill wasn't too far away from home, and soon the group arrived back at the house. To the boys' surprise, their dad was out on the porch waiting for them.
"Hello, did you all have fun?" The fire dad smiled. Greater barked a greeting and slipped past them all and into the house.
The kids crowded close, eager to steal a little heat from a literal fire-person. "We did!" Undyne was first to talk, throwing up her arms. "We played so much! And there was a snowball fight! And Pap ate a snowball!"
"Did he now?" Grillby reached down to pat the little pup on the head. "I bet it didn't taste very nice."
Papyrus transformed with a soft click, allowing him to speak again. "NO! EW." The toddler made a dramatic face. Truth be told, the snow tasted like nothing. But the cold was something he wasn't too fond of. He held up his arms and 'nyeh'd' at his father until he was picked up and held in the fiery warmth.
"Undyne, Alphys...how about you both go inside and get warm? I have to explain something to the boys."
"Sure!" Both girls shuffled past, stashing the sleds on the porch and eagerly shedding coats and scarves inside the warm house.
Sans was puzzled. "explain what?"
"Well," Grillby sat down on the bench on the porch. He had it installed not too long ago, so he could have somewhere safe to sit while he watched the boys play outside. Sans jumped up along with him to sit, wondering. "Do you remember when I explained what a birthday was?"
Sans thought for a moment, before nodding. "yeah, it's when you get a party on the day you were born."
"That is quite right." Grillby smiled widely. "Do you know what today is?"
"uhhh….." Sans tilted his head back in thought. "um...is it Alphys' birthday?" He fiddled with his fingers.
Grillby laughed lightly. "Oh no, it's your birthday."
Sans's eye lights went wide in his sockets. "really?"
"Yes really. Today is for both you and your brother. I wanted to tell you both outside, so you did not get spooked once we go inside. There's a party for the both of you."
Sans' eyelights were practically stars for how bright they were. "for us?"
"Yes, for you both."
Sans looked like he was about to ask something, before he shook his head and smiled up at his father.
Grillby stood, moving Papyrus to one arm and holding out the other hand to Sans. "They should be all ready now. If you get overwhelmed, your bedroom has a hiding spot I set up. Leave whenever you need to, okay? Everyone will understand."
Sans took the offered hand and hopped over to his feet. "thanks dad!"
"Of course, son." With that, he lead Sans to the door and pushed it open.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" "(Awoooo!)"
Sans couldn't help but jump a little at the sudden noise, but relaxed once he saw who caused it. The Dog Guard, Alphys, Undyne, and their parents were there, all wearing paper hats and grinning. His eye sockets were wide as he took everything in. The decoration. The big pile of presents. The enormous cake on the table. It was just...so much!
Undyne took another paper hat and sat it down on Sans' head. "Here ya go birthday boy."
Sans could only beam with happiness.
"Come along, we'll have some cake and cocoa to warm up first." Grillby gently nudged the boy forward, which seemed to jump-start him. It was a struggle to throw off his coat so he could run off and look at everything. Papyrus was set on the couch and helped out of his own coat. He too regarded everything with wide eye sockets and a wide smile. Still tuckered out a little, it seemed that he was going to make his father carry him everywhere.
To Papyrus' surprise, he was carried over to the table and set in his high chair. In front of him was a huge frosted cake. Papyrus indeed knew what cake was, and wiggled in excitement. He gnawed on his fingers and drooled, eyeing the cake. Sans was set next to him on his own chair. On front of the cake were some candles, and 'Happy Birthday Sans and Papyrus!' written in icing. Grillby simply had to touch the candles to have them lit.
"Now, before we begin, there is a birthday tradition." Grillby explained. Sans was looking at him in confusion over the candles. "On someone's birthday, they make a secret wish, and then blow out the candles. It's said that the wish will come true."
Sans took a moment to ponder about it. Grillby could immediately see the confusion and thought on his face, and then, a quick flicker of sadness. The nature of wishes was something difficult for them both to grasp. How many times did they lay in their cages, wishing for freedom, only for it to not come true? He had it in mind to skip it, but Dogaressa convinced him to go on with it.
Thankfully, she stepped in. "(These wishes only happen during birthdays, and you need the candles too. Wishes may not have worked before, but they will now. We can all promise that.)"
The group nodded along to that.
"Go ahead son. Make a wish." Grillby gently encouraged him. "You too Papyrus."
Papyrus was too busy wiggling to pay attention, his eyelights firmly locked in on the cake.
"Er...Sans. You may have to make a wish for Papyrus too."
"i can do that!" Sans closed his eye sockets, looking like he was trying to solve the most challenging of math problems. He finally opened them up, and with a determined look, blew out the candles.
"Very good!"
Everyone clapped as an embarrassed-looking Sans sank a little lower in his chair. Embarrassed, but pleased at the attention. It was a strange feeling to get used to, liking attention.
"Okay, then, it is time for cake. Everyone get a plate." Grillby took up his cake knife and prepared to cut the cake.
Papyrus, however, had other plans.
"CAKE!" He yelled, and then slammed his head face first into the cake. Frosting flew up and splattered the ones closest to the carnage as he seemed determined to eat his way through the cake. Afraid that his son could possibly drown in cake, Grillby quickly pulled him away and lifted up his head.
Papyrus just beamed through a mask of crumbs and frosting. He pulled fistfulls of cake off his face and shoved them into his mouth. "IS GUD!"
Sans broke the silence by cracking up so hard, he almost fell out of his chair. "it does look good pap!"
That earned another laugh, as Grillby looked over the portion of cake that wasn't destroyed. Well, he could work with this. It wasn't the worst cake-related disaster he'd ever seen.
After all, he's a bartender. He'd seen much worse.
Interesting….
Very, very interesting…
Somewhere outside the realm of reality, a shape began to pull itself out of the ground. But it was not really a true ground: up and down did not exist here. Nor was front or back.
Regardless, the shape came from somewhere, oozing outwards like black bubbling tar.
The partygoers couldn't see it. Not where they were. But on this side, the blackness infected the space around them and sucked away all the color. Almost like static, a perfectly normal, happy birthday party became something unreal. It was like looking at a show from the TV with the gains incorrect. Pieces of lines and shapes were just a smidge out of place; not enough to be noticeable unless one had a lot of time on one's hands.
For the disgraced W.D Gaster, he had more than enough time.
After his first manifestation with some semblance of sanity, he spent time trying to understand the hell he was in. There was no heat and no cold, just a numbness that went on forever. He could touch himself with his hands, but he felt nothing. He had tried to pull his soul out to see if it was still there, but all that came of it was a black stringy mess that he couldn't see through. It was still unclear whether his soul was in that mess or not.
He tried screaming, but all that resulted was more static.
He also found his limitations.
He had found himself forever chained to his creations.
It was quite maddening. Once, he saw his subjects napping on the couch like the animals they were. Bored of the sight, Gaster tried to leave, only to find that he destabilized as soon as he crossed the house threshold. Seeing himself fall apart was quite frightening, and it took what felt like hours to pull himself together enough to have rational thought again.
When not together, thoughts slipped in and out like oil. He could try to grab them, make sense of them. But they slipped out of his grasp to warp and stretch across the void. Concepts, words, and even semblances of self flew just out of reach: close enough to have a ghosly memory, but too far away to truly remember everything.
He had only tried to leave their space thrice, and he wasn't keen to do so again.
Experiments showed that as long as he was within a few meters or two, he could manifest. He could think again. Even if he couldn't physically feel it, he felt like himself. When he cared not to look at his killer anymore, he could simply just stop existing for a little while. Once he thought it would be for the best to stop existing, and he tried to simply be nothing. But without fail, he would find himself back here, around them.
It didn't happen too often, but it was enough to be extremely annoying.
He was annoyed now, watching the creatures, creatures he made with his own two hands to kill humans, eating cake. It was sickening. He had made them to mimic monsters well enough that they could fool a human. But fooling other monsters? That wasn't something he intended.
So much waste.
They were the best work he had ever done, and now they would sit around opening presents like real children. What a waste. So much work for nothing. He had hoped that even in death, someone would see reason and continue the project. But it seemed like his brilliance died with him.
He hadn't been to the lab or the CORE since his fall. He had no idea what was happening there, but he could be sure that he wouldn't like it.
He had nothing better to do, and he was a scientist. He could continue his work, and once he could figure a way out of this place, he could resume it.
But getting out?
That would be the hardest part.
But...
He already had a few ideas.