The Final Save

by Stars-Shine-Bright

Also posted on Ao3. When Mt Ebott opened up and the Monsters returned to the world, nobody was quite prepared for it. Madison Taylor grew up with tales of magic so when the call went out for hosts she signed up immediately. Now she's rooming with a pair of magical skeletons and her whole life has turned on its head.

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: In Which We Wonder How Skeletons Play Brass

The call came later than she would have liked but it was nice to have some notice. As it was the sound of her phone ringing shocked her out of a sound sleep. She jolted upright, scrabbling for the phone.

"Ah...hello?" She managed. Yay, coherent at...okay it's one… who is calling me at one in the morning?

"Mizz Daylor?" Came the stuffy voice from the other end of the line. "Iz Jenny Carol from Ebod Elebendary."

Ebott Elementary, Maddie translated. Jenny Carol; early forties, greying blonde hair, taught fourth grade. "Hey Jenny. You don't sound so hot."

"I'b sorry to wake you ub like dis bud would you be able to take by class tomorrow?"

"Sure," she answered, running one hand distractedly through the tangle of her hair. She could spend a day or two with the fourth-graders. They were just so cute at that age! "You squared it with the principal?"

"Yeah. Left a message on his machine. I'll ebail you da curriculum for da day."

"Thanks Jenny. Feel better."

"Please God…"

Maddie sighed, hanging up the phone. Well, the advantage of running her own business is she could pick her own hours and take a day away from it if she chose, something she often did when she got called in to substitute teach. She didn't mind it. Actually she loved teaching, just not enough to do it full-time, and staying on the sub list help supplement her income and even add a bit to her vacation fund.

Well… so much for sleeping in, she thought, setting an alarm to wake her up in time to get ready for class the next morning.

Good Morning Maddie,

Thank you again for taking my class today. I've attached the curriculum for the next couple of days, in case I am not able to come in tomorrow.

Also I thought I should let you know that I do have a child in the class, Frisk Dreemurr, who communicates predominantly through ASL. They are a very sweet and intelligent child and are a favourite among their classmates. You should have no problems from them but I thought I would let you know.

Thanks again!

Jenny

Frisk Dreemurr, Maddie mused. The name sounded familiar. Where had she heard that name before? Frowning, she looked up the class register. The pictures showed a sweet-faced child with page cut brown hair. Oh this face she certainly new.

As it turned out, Frisk Dreemurr was the ambassador to the Monsters, the adopted child of the Queen.

Couldn't have mentioned that at any point, could you Jenny?

Smiling wryly, Maddie shook her head. Well, this was going to be an interesting day.

The class was a motley bunch. That was to be expected with a school that had the Queen of Monsters as its assistant principal. Twenty-odd human children of about eight years of age sat in a room with a handful of Monster children. There was a sweet little bunny girl named Daisy, a green-skinned boy called Beech (a dryad or something? Were male dryads a thing?), and a tiny reptilian creature with no arms whose name was, no kidding, MonsterKid. His friends called him MK.

No points for creativity awarded there.

And in the center of it all was Frisk. Quiet - of course they were, they didn't speak - but far from withdrawn. Quite the contrary, in fact. They signed enthusiastically to their classmates, who seemed in general to understand what they were trying to say. What a great group of kids was this to learn signs so they could communicate. And there was no division to be seen between the human children and the monsters. Idiocy like that was reserved for closed-minded adults.

When the bell rang the children scattered to their desks. Maddie gave the sleeve of her russet-coloured jacket an absent tug then took her place in front of them.

"Good morning, class," she said with a bright smile. "My name is Miss Taylor." God, it still felt weird to call herself that. She was happier being just 'Maddie'. "Mrs Carol is out sick so I will be taking over the class today. Now, she tells me you guys are working on your times tables."

Oh they were just so cute with their bright, shiny faces and gap-toothed smiles and scraped knees. Maddie just wanted to snuggle all of them. And it was just so fascinating to watch them work. Heads bowed over their papers, pencils clutched in their little hands - or mouths, in MK's case - as they worked on the timed challenges that Maddie had printed off for them. So determined.

This was why she loved subbing in elementary schools. This was where it all started, the years where the identity of the child began to solidify into the people that they would eventually become. Where they discovered the passions that would drive them. The little boy sketching figures in the sand with a stick might be the next star of the art world. The little girl standing up to the playground bully might become a police officer.

And some...some started on their paths earlier than others. What would Frisk become, Maddie wondered, glancing up from her phone timer. Just eight years old and already the ambassador between the humans and monsters. Would they always consider to be so? Where might that take them as monsters integrated throughout the world? What might they have done with their lives if their path had not taken them up the mountain?

It was a curious thing how the decisions of one small child had changed the face of the entire world. Something to remember when she was feeling alone and insignificant.

Her phone let out a cheerful beep. "Alright everyone, pencils down. That means you, Mark. Now trade with your desk partner. For every ten questions you get right…" She paused, pulling a bag of hard candies from her purse. "You get one of these."

A cheer went out across the class. Maddie grinned. The same tactics had worked brilliantly on her own classes when she was a kid. It was nice to see some things did not change.

"Okay, ready? Question one-"

The advantage to owning your own business, Maddie often thought, was that you could choose your own hours. That often worked against her as often as it worked for her, particularly when she was working on a commission deadline. This time, however, it meant that she could take a day off when she wanted to. When she received the confirmation regarding her new roommates she decided to take the day to help them move in.

Sans and Papyrus… I wonder what kind of people they are. She thought to herself as she made her way down the stairs. The information she had been given was… pretty useless, actually. She wasn't sure if it was because nobody asked any questions or the brothers refused to answer them. All she knew is that they were skeletons, and that one of them was really fond of pasta. Not exactly helpful, except in terms of her initial grocery run.

They wouldn't even given her a contact phone number. God forbid she actually get to know these people before they came to live with her.

Too late now. At least if the snappy red convertible that pulled up in front of the building was any indication.

"BROTHER, LOOK! THAT MUST BE THE HUMAN!"

"Looks like." She was the only person standing outside and this was the correct address. He wasn't entirely sure what he had expected. They weren't exactly given much in the way of information. Actually they were given nothing but the address and a name; Madison Taylor.

She was...kind of tall? Tall enough for a human girl - woman? A couple of inches taller than him anyway, he thought. Her bright copper hair was tied back in a long, loosely curling tail that trailed over the shoulder of her russet-coloured tee-shirt. She looked….normal.

Papyrus pulled into the parking stall across from the door and turned off the ignition. The girl approached them as they opened the doors.

"Ah...hey!" She smiled, jogging up to them. "Sans and Papyrus, right? I'm Maddie. It's nice to meet you."

"IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, HUMAN!" Papyrus declared, shaking her hand enthusiastically. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM HONOURED THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO SHARE YOUR HOME WITH US!"

"It's my pleasure, Papyrus. I only wish it had been under better circumstances." Geez he was tall, easily six feet. A giant skeleton towering over her should have been intimidating, even if he was wearing a crop top and small shorts… Sure it was only September but it wasn't that warm out… But he was the farthest thing from it, more like an excited golden retriever than the big scary monster her mom was envisioning.

"You and me both, kid." Sans shrugged, fighting a grin as he took the hand she offered. The moment their hands clasped a flatulent sound filled the parking lot and he howled with laughter as his brother let out a sound of dismay.

"SANS, DO NOT PLAY SUCH JOKES ON OUR HOST!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist," he shrugged, displaying the joke device strapped to his bony hand. "But it is a classic."

"No problem," Maddie grinned back. "I found it pretty humerus."

The shorter skeleton stared as his brother groaned. "Was that-?"

"Ah...maybe?" A deep blush rose in her cheeks, dark enough to conceal the smattering of freckles dusted across them. "Sorry, that was probably… Kinda rude. Sorry."

"No worries," Sans chuckled. "Nice to see I'm not the only one here with a funny bone."

"NO MORE PUNS, PLEASE BROTHER!"

"Sorry bro."

Maddie snickered. Life with these guys for roommates was going to be fun. "So, ah… Moving in. Is the truck coming or - oh, was your unit one of the ones that burned? I'm sorry. They wouldn't give me any information so I didn't know if I should track down any extra furniture or-"

"Nah, we got lucky. Little smoke damage was all." Thank the heavens. They'd taken what they could from the house in Snowdin. It wasn't that much he supposed but they were attached to what they had. "Truck was behind us but got caught at the train on fifth. They'll call when they're close."

"Oh thank goodness," she sighed in relief. "While we wait… Want to see the apartment?"

"YES! LEAD ON, KIND HUMAN!"

Playing along Maddie executed a theatrical bow. "Right this way, good sirs."

The first impression they had was one of space. The living room was wide and open, with an L-shaped black leather couch and loveseat forming a seating area that faced the entertainment center. The mottled red brickwork was visible against the far and left-hand walls, pristine enough for him to pick out that it was a design feature instead of a sign of disrepair. Three tall bar stools faced the kitchen island, the dining table tucked just under the nearby window. Though the furniture itself was dark woods and metals, she had brightened it up with jewel coloured curtains and a couple of richly patterned throws to contrast with the cream of the remaining walls.

"The bedrooms are on the left," Maddie was explaining. ""I've got the master. I tend to do most of my work in there but sometimes I do bring stuff out into the living room when I need the space."

"So uh...what is it that you do?"

"Seamstress," she answered in an offhand voice. "I run my own business here. Mostly accessories, sometimes costumes for cosplayers or SCA buddies. The occasional substitute teaching job on the side. You guys want something to drink while we wait for the truck? Got about a hundred different kinds of tea, orange juice… no coffee I'm afraid."

"OH TEA PLEASE!" Papyrus burst out. "I LOVE TEA! I DRINK IT ALL THE TIME AFTER MY COOKING LESSONS WITH UNDYNE!"

"You cook? Well that's going to make life a lot easier." Especially as she wasn't really looking forward to suddenly cooking for three all the time. "We can make arrangements regarding that later. Tea's in the top cupboard on the left." She gestured vaguely. "Mugs are on the right by the stove. Help yourselves to whatever. If we run out of something, there's a notepad on the fridge, so just add it to the list. I tend to go once a week but if you happen to go on your own, keep the receipts and we can tally up rent costs at the end of the month."

As Papyrus ooh'ed and ah'd over the tea selection Sans kept an eye on their host. She bustled around the kitchen, filling the kettle and chattering on about the apartment. Nerves? It could be. Most people in town were leery about accepting one monster into their home, let alone two, but she had invited them to stay and didn't seem to be regretting it so far.

Why are you doing this?

"Pardon?"

Crap, he'd said it aloud. Well, might as well get it out of the way before the unpacking started. Sans cleared his throat, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. "Why invite us to stay?"

"Sans! You are being rude!" His brother hissed.

Blue eyes blinked in surprise, then she smiled. "Because you needed it. I know they had you put up at a hotel but you'd have been out of your place for months before they could assess and repair the damage. That's hardly any way to live."

There were worse ways. "Most people would be a little hesitant about letting a couple of monsters stay with them."

Maddie shrugged. "I don't know about most people, but I don't see the problem. Monster or human, blood and bone or magic and whatever, we're all still people. And frankly anyone who does have a problem with it can get stuffed."

Sans snorted. It was a nice sentiment. Maybe a little naive, but nice. "That's it?"

"That's it." She leaned back against the counter, hooking her thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans. "Given the asshats out there, I don't blame you for being suspicious, but let me tell you a few things about me: I'm twenty-seven years old. Until recently I lived with roommates, but then they decided to get married and a couple of months ago they put a down payment on a small house. I've lived on my own since then and haven't really enjoyed it. I like being around people so living on my own is kind of a bummer. I was about to start the search for new roomies when the call went out about hosts. I don't care that you're monsters. Honestly I think it's awesome - and not in the 'holy crap let's stare at the oddity' kind of way. And sure some people are going to have issues with it -" Her family included. "-but I have spent too much of my life worrying what idiots think. It's my life and I'll live it the way I want to."

She chuckled, running one hand sheepishly through her sun-bronzed hair. "Sorry about the speech. I just… wanted to you to know that I don't have any ulterior motive. I'd like you to feel at home here. And I'd like to be friends."

"I'd like that too." For as long as it lasted.

"WE SHALL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!" Papyrus declared, sweeping the girl up in an enthusiastic hug. 'Up' being the operative word as her feet no longer touched the ground.

Still she laughed, returning the hug. "I hope so. It's a lot more fun living with friends."

The truck arrived a few minutes later, driven by…. a large bipedal dog of some kind. Okay, sure, why not. Whomever they were they and their dragon-y-looking cohort appeared to be friends with the brothers, stopping to chat with them for a while before lifting the cargo door of the truck.

There wasn't a lot of furniture. Two bed frames - one of them in the shape of a race car - two mattresses still in factory packaging, a desk and chair, and a pair of bookshelves. All the rest had been too smoke-damaged to keep. There were a few boxes of books and a couple more of kitchen supplies. Three boxes were labeled 'THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S BATTLE FIGURES'. What they had for clothing fit into a couple of suitcases.

It didn't take long to bring everything upstairs. The biggest challenge was getting the mattresses and race car bed up the narrow stairwell. But the movers were professionals and through some miracle managed to get everything installed in the rooms without a single dent on the walls. Both chose to have their beds set up against the wall under the window. Even if the view was only of the parking lot and the houses across the street, it was nice to be able to see the sky.

"I'll, ah, leave you guys to settle in," Maddie said as she heaved the box of kitchen stuff onto the counter. "What do you guys feel like for supper? I could order pizza or something."

"I SHALL MAKE US FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus suggested enthusiastically.

Ah okay so he was the pasta lover. "I can make spaghetti. I think I've got the makings for homemade sauce too."

"WONDERFUL! WE CAN CRUSH THE TOMATOES AS IF THEY ARE OUR ENEMIES!"

"Ah...come again?"

Sans shook his head. "Maybe we shouldn't destroy the kitchen our first night here, bro. Papyrus went to the Undyne school of cooking. She's...a little overzealous sometimes."

"Okay. Ah...any objection to me using an immersion blender?" She asked, pulling the tool out of one of the drawers.

Papyrus eyed it with fascination, from the plastic grip to the small curved propeller at the end. "WHAT IS THIS STRANGE WEAPON?"

"Immersion blender," she repeated, offering it for him to examine. "Like a normal blender but with the spinny-choppy bit on a stick. Good for making single-serving stuff or minimizing the amount of cleanup after. Just plug it in, submerge the propeller end into whatever you want to chop up, and press the button."

"THIS WOULD BE A GREAT TOOL TO ADD TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S COOKING ARSENAL!"

"It is a pretty handy little gadget. If you want to help me out with dinner you can give it a shot if you want."

The skeleton's eyes lit with delight. "CAN I REALLY?"

"Sure. Mi kitchen es su kitchen, and all that. You guys go settle in. I'm going to get a bit of work done. I'll call you when I'm going to start supper."

"THANK YOU, HUMAN! I WILL BEGIN ORGANIZING MY BATTLE FIGURES!" Putting the immersion blender back on the counter, Papyrus skipped off to his room to unpack.

"He's fun," Maddie decided, turning to pour herself a glass of water.

"Yeah, my bro's a pretty cool guy." Sans agreed, tucking his hands casually into his pockets. "Thanks for being cool with him."

"I like him," she shrugged. "Like I said, he's fun and I'd like us to be friends. All of us."

"Friends." He offered his hand again, chuckling when she gave it a suspicious glance. "No tricks this time." But if anything ever happened to his brother… well, a little practical joke would be the least of her worries.

Papyrus was...not exactly a disaster in the kitchen but his enthusiasm had flecks of tomato spattered all over the counter… and himself. In an attempt to save his clothing Maddie disappeared into her room, returning a moment later with a pink and black frilled apron that she tied onto him with a grin.

"There! You're beautiful." She declared, watching curiously as an orange glow rose over his bony cheeks. Was that… a blush? Completely ignoring how someone with neither skin nor blood could blush to begin with, it was completely adorable.

"I DO LOOK QUITE CHARMING." He agreed, posing dramatically with the blender. Sure the apron was way too short, the waistband not quite reaching the bottom of his ribcage, but Papyrus did not seem to care. Quite the contrary, he was quite pleased to be wearing it. He felt like a real chef!

With the tomato sauce base ready on the stove Maddie spooned a bit of pesto in from a jar in the fridge, just enough to add flavour. She gave it a stir, held the spoon out for her sous-chef to taste. "How's that?"

"WOWIE! THAT TASTES GOOD! WHAT DID YOU ADD?"

"Pesto. Chopped basil, lemon, garlic… few other things," she answered. "Also really good on burgers."

"SANS, YOU MUST TRY THIS!" Papyrus dipped the spoon in the pot, then turned and ran it to his brother's room, shedding a few drips on the floor.

"Pretty good, bro," came the muffled reply. "Not ketchup but pretty darn good."

Maddie chuckled, tearing off some paper towel to wipe the sauce from the floors. Ketchup? So he was one of those, the kind that put ketchup on everything. Her sister was the same way with ranch dressing. Some days she swore Alexis would drink it if she could.

So it turns out Sans actually was 'one of those'. And in fact he actually did drink ketchup. Literally drank. Out of the bottle. How exactly that worked Maddie had no idea. It just went into his mouth and disappeared, same as the spaghetti.

"So...I gotta ask," she started, twirling up another forkful of spaghetti. "And I'm sorry if this is out of line because the curiosity is killing me. One of you guys plays the trombone."

Sans gave a small salute with the ketchup bottle. "That would be me."

"How does that work exactly?"

"Uh….put it to your mouth and blow into it? The air travels through the mouthpiece and the tube and makes a sound?"

"Funny guy. I was in music all the way through school. I know how brass instruments work. In fact I tried for like an hour to try to get a sound out of one of those mouthpieces and all I got out of it was a headache. So, and again sorry if this is really rude, but how do you play the trombone when you don't have lips?"

"Same as anything else we do." The skeleton grinned, twinkled his fingers. "Magic."

She snorted, taking a sip from her glass.

"You seem pretty cool with the idea."

Maddie shrugged. "On the outside I'm cool. On the inside… I'm screaming rainbows."

"HUMANS CAN DO THAT? SANS WHY WERE WE NOT TOLD THIS?"

Maddie giggled. "No, no, not literal rainbows. It just means I'm excited. Magic...it wasn't real for us for so long. Long enough that most of humanity relegated its existence to fairy tales. So knowing it's real… it's awesome. And like I said, I want you to feel at home here so… yeah, I want you to feel comfortable using magic if you want to."

"You sure about that?"

"Screaming rainbows, remember?" She shrugged, deliberately casual as she forked up another bite of spaghetti.

Sans eyed her speculatively for a moment before he came to a decision. An electric blue glow flickered in his left eye. A matching aura surrounded his brother's plate, lifting it a few inches off the table then depositing it in front of the shorter skeleton, who took a smug forkful of spaghetti.

"SANS! I WAS NOT FINISHED WITH THAT!" Papyrus protested. "YOU HAVE YOUR OWN SPAGHETTI!"

"Sorry bro," he grinned. "Yours just tastes better."

"THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!"

Maddie just stared. "That...was...awesome!"

Sans chuckled. That was just a parlour trick. He had the feeling that if she ever saw them pull out the big stuff her head might just explode.

She was pretty close already. Dozens of questions buzzed in her mind. How did that work? Where did the magic come from? Was there any kind of special training involved? What did it feel like? What else could he do? All a little much for only an afternoon's acquaintance so instead she turned to Papyrus. "Can you do that too?"

He shook his head. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN DO MANY THINGS! Just...not that…" He admitted as he stole his plate back from his brother.

"But you do make some pretty awesome puzzles," Sans pointed out, gesturing with the ketchup bottle.

"THAT IS TRUE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS AN EXCELLENT PUZZLE DESIGNER!" Papyrus agreed.

"What kind of puzzles?"

"ALL KINDS!" He declared enthusiastically.

"Designed some pretty wicked ones in the underground," Sans told her. "Obstacle courses and stuff." He deliberately omitted the swinging axes, flame-throwers and electrified floor panels.

"YES, I DESIGNED MANY INGENIOUS TRAPS FOR THE...humans…." He turned away, an orange glow rising in his cheeks.

Humans? Maddie blinked. Why would they want to trap humans?

"To be fair," Sans cut in quickly. "You never did catch one. Actually you made friends with the first one you ever met."

"SA - WELL-" Papyrus frowned, not entirely sure whether he should be protesting or not.

"Wait, wait," Maddie cut in. "You mean Frisk, right? The ambassador?" Both brothers turned to stare at her. "What? Everyone knows their name." She paused, took another casual bite of food. "And I substitute-taught their class last week."

"WHAT?! YOU KNOW THE SMALL HUMAN?"

'I know many small humans," she quipped. "But yeah, their teacher was sick last week so she called me in. They are a total sweetheart."

"Yeah, Frisk's a good kid." Most of the time. When they weren't possessed and on a psychotic murder spree.

"WE SHOULD HAVE THEM OVER FOR DINNER!"

"Bro, we just moved in…"

"What part of 'I want you to feel at home here' wasn't clear earlier?" Maddie asked mildly. "I'd love to meet your friends and I'd love to see Frisk again. Maybe we can arrange a movie night next weekend."

"REALLY?"

"Sure!" She grinned. "I can make dinner. Anything in particular they'd like?"

"SPAGHETTI!"

She snickered. "Okay, spaghetti it is." And maybe a couple other things. Human cannot live on carbs alone.

Papyrus let out a cheer, zipping his empty plate over to the dishwasher as he expounded on the virtues of the 'super cool friends of the Great Papyrus'.