Grillby and the boys ended up staying for a week in the hospital. Of course, he didn't blame the doctors for being very careful. Sans's injuries were severe enough that they were reluctant to release him for home care. Of course Frank had to talk to them, and as soon as Sans was well enough to travel, they relented. Sans was bundled up and the small family carefully traveled back home, where Sans could wake up in familiar surroundings.
Grillby made sure to put him in his star themed bed. Thankfully he didn't have to worry about IV tubes getting ripped out in case of a panic attack. He tucked him in along side his brother, hoping at least that the familiar smells would provide some comfort. Now all that was left to do was to let the sedatives wear off. Once Sans was awake and conscious, Grillby could then access his mental state.
Judging by how Papyrus screamed at every little instance of separation from his brother, he was sure that both of them were in need of comfort. Papyrus had refused to be removed from Sans's bed while his bandages were changed, even going so far as attempting to bite people for it. He only calmed down when he was allowed to be next to his brother again, so the doctors and nurses just left him there. Perhaps he would take Asgore up on his offer, if there was a therapist equipped to deal with children so young, he would like to know about it. Papyrus, it seemed, was just in need of help, as Sans was. Even now Papryus was under the covers, holding on to his brother with his little arms, dozing in and out of sleep.
Now all he had to do was pull up a chair besides the bed and wait, looking over a newspaper to pass the time.
Of course word of what happened spread across the underground, and there were whispers here and there. For most of the monster population, they had no idea that Sans and Papyrus were the victims talked about in the newspapers, and Grillby was happy to keep it that way. For now, only the royal guard and a few close friends knew the truth behind the matter, and he was confident that they wouldn't blab. Gaster's name had gone down in Monster history as a cautionary tale of hubris and the act of pushing ethics aside. The ends justifying the means was no longer an excuse, and the scientific community found themselves being scrutinized harder than before.
It would all go down in the history books for sure. It'd be taught to future students and repeated in books and newspapers. Gaster, in the end, achieved immortality in a way, but perhaps it was not what he had in mind. At least the nightmare was over for two little children, and would never come back.
As for their less fortunate siblings, King Asgore has ordered all the malformed children in the tubes to be allowed to pass peacefully. It was still unsure of how much they were aware of their surroundings, but they would no longer have to suffer. Once they had dusted, they were spread among the trees in the Capital park. Fitting, as they never had a chance to see the outside world, and now they can rest, no longer confined. It was a very bitter affair that affected everyone. Last time he checked with Frank, Gnash has ordered everyone involved in the case to take mandatory therapy. At least then, everyone can be able to move on.
From what Grillby had been told, everything in that lab was destroyed and sterilized, and was now a robotics lab. Still scientists were uncomfortable working there, as if there were whispers and feelings trapped in the very walls. Thankfully, most of the current scientists worked on bringing the CORE online. The fight had nearly destroyed the entire command hub, but in a couple weeks and round-the-clock shifts, everything should be up and running soon. Everyone was getting sick of the random blackouts.
Grillby was interrupted in his reading by a soft shuffling noise. Looking over to his left, he could see Sans moving his limbs slowly under the covers. It seems like the sedative was wearing off finally, and he was free to sniff the surrounding smells. Papyrus held on to his brother and chirped encouragingly as Sans moved a little more. Sans took a deep shuddering breath and opened his good eye socket slightly, the other bandaged over. He blinked a few times, his eye light hazy and unfocused as it drifted around the room.
Finally, he looked at Grillby with a blink…and then stiffened. For a moment, his eye light constricted in fright as he struggled to separate the past from the present. He stared for a few moments, as his surroundings eventually began to soothe him. He relaxed back into the pillows and blankets, drawing enough breath to utter as soft 'boof'.
"Hello Sans." Grillby bent down and offered his hand slowly to not startle him. "You have been sleeping for a while."
Sans blinked again and just laid still, looking quite sleepy. He was however, awake enough to smell the hand offered to him. He sighed and released the tension in his body, fully intent on using the warm fiery hand as a pillow. Grillby used his other hand to gently pet the uninjured part of his head. Sans crooned softly and relaxed, closing his eye socket. Grillby was now trapped under the pups. It seems he will be stuck there all night.
That was one worry off the bartender's mind. He had fully expected Sans to panic upon waking up. Perhaps the smells helped him unconsciously? The settings? He can't know for sure until Sans was well enough to shift and speak again. With broken bones and a crushed skull, that might be for a while.
Papyrus squealed happily and pressed skelekiss after skelekiss on the uninjured portion of Sans's skull. By the way the covers began to move further down the bed, it was clear that a tail was being wagged, slowly at least. Sans can just bask in the love of his family, without fear.
Sans isn't stupid. He KNEW what he did. But he wasn't quite sure if his tormentor was gone for good. He coughed and croaked a few confused noises at his father, hoping for an explanation. All the while, being pestered by his very happy younger brother.
After spending time with them, of course Grillby could recognize the various noises they spoke while in their more feral form. It was a question being asked, and Sans was most likely very confused with what happened.
"You have been asleep for over a week," He explained. "You are very injured but you will recover. Gaster is dead, he will trouble you and your brother no longer. You have nothing to fear anymore. It is safe now."
Grillby continued petting the little pup's skull as Sans sighed in relief. He yawned and quickly fell asleep again with his little brother nuzzling up close.
Things after that fell into a routine.
With Sans injured and Papyrus having severe separation anxiety, Grillby could no longer keep the bar running. He only left the house just long enough to put up a sign that the bar would be closed until further notice because of a family matter. Of course by then, the Snowdin regulars understood just why the establishment will remain closed for quite a while. No doubt the Canine Unit has told everyone to not worry, and to understand that his kids were recovering. Nobody complained at least.
After that, Grillby began to receive so many casseroles and pies from concerned townsfolk that he scarcely had room to put them all. Still, it was quite helpful, and most of the food was given to Papyrus to devour. The batches of soup he received went right to Sans.
Sans was too weak and injured to eat on his own. His jaw had been fractured from the CORE, but was knitting together well. Grillby took the time to sit and spoon-feed his eldest kid until he regained enough strength to eat on his own. Grillby's whole world revolved around the children, and he devoted himself fully to their recovery. He was especially happy when Sans could eat by himself, so now the never ending casseroles were eaten rather quickly. However the townsfolk took it to be that the kids were just VERY hungry, so they sent twice the amount.
Grillby was sure at this point that he would never have to cook again, as he struggled to fit yet another pie into an overflowing fridge.
Of course, he had lots of help caring for the kids. Frank came by every day the first week to check on both children. Soon, he was able to taper off visits as Sans healed. By that time, both Papyrus and Sans were eager to see the doctor. Who knew that a doctor could be that entertaining? Sans watched a hundred times, but still could not figure out where Dr. Frank was pulling lollipops from. Sans at this point was eager to take any entertainment he could get. He began to put up with the doctor visits, as long as he could get bad puns and magic tricks out of it.
The Canine Unit often stopped by as well, giving Grillby much needed breaks once in a while to rest. Sometimes they stayed for a few days at a time, each member taking shifts to keep the pups company. Despite knowing that Gaster is dead and gone forever, the children still had night terrors. They especially loved Greater Dog, who would guard the door for them as they slept. They have been more than helpful as well, to translate Sans' speech into something Grillby could understand.
It was a month later when their friends were allowed to visit.
Of course, Alphys visited first, worrying over her dear friends. She was quite disturbed about what happened, and perhaps she would need therapy as well. Still, she sat with the pups and read them manga comics. For a while, they could escape to a world of mechas and magical princesses, and not have to worry about their own problems.
Undyne, Frank and Gnash's daughter, also became a frequent visitor. She was rather loud and brash and opted to play with Papyrus. In the end, it helped Papyrus overcome a bit of his separation anxiety, and became okay with being in a different room than his brother. While the two chased each other around and broke a lamp or two, Sans took the time to burrow under the pillows and take an extra long nap. It wasn't good for Papyrus to continue to lay around with his brother, as sweet as it was. No doubt, he was full of energy that wasn't being expressed. With Undyne's help, he would be thoroughly worn out enough where he could sleep through the night.
Months later of good food, care, and cheer, Sans finally had his casts and bandages taken off. With him getting treatment right away, he healed very well. Grillby had to squint and look hard to see the small, tiny lines that were once hideous fractures, but they thankfully didn't scar much. Before, little Sans's head was nearly caved in on the right side, but had healed with a fresh layer of new calcium. Frank however, confirmed the worst with a vision test. Sans was now blind in his right eye. His regular white pupil was there, but he could not see with it. When drawing in his magic, both eye sockets no longer glowed with yellow and blue light. One socket was permanently dark.
At first, Grillby worried how Sans would take this sudden handicap. No doubt, it would be extremely difficult to adjust to. But Sans proved to be resourceful enough. After bumping into chairs and doors a few times, he managed to figure out a way to move around without much trouble. Papyrus began to act like a guide, yelling at Sans to alert him if he was about to run into something. Putting some padding on the sharp edges of tables and corners no doubt prevented some injuries as well.
It took Sans a while to be able to move at all. Nearly three months of lying in bed had done a number on him, and he wobbled around like a newborn. Shape-shifting didn't help at all, and two legs were just as wobbly as four. Sans had become used to being lazy and being carried around, but now he would have to get around on his own. Papyrus would NEVER leave him alone after that, begging for play or a tussle. Slowly, but surely, things became better, and it was like the CORE event never happened. Sans, however, continued to take advantage of being carried around. He learned quickly that if he just laid about, someone would pick him up and take him where he needed to go. Grillby knows that Sans is smart, but he can sometimes prove just how cunning he is, tricking his caretaker into carrying him about if he was just too tired or lazy to walk.
Nightmares and panic attacks were something to deal with, but somehow they both knew that Gaster was gone, and could not hurt them. It was still frightening to witness, and Grillby tentatively brought up the idea of therapy. Sans was reluctant about it, so Grillby resolved to wait a few months and see if he would be open to the idea then.
Not only did the family settle down, but so did the rest of the Underground. The CORE was repaired and there were no longer rolling blackouts. A new royal scientist was reported. Grillby didn't quite catch his name, but apparently he was interested in agriculture and increasing production of magic food. This gave great relief to everyone involved with the CORE incident. Unless the new scientist decided to grow monster-eating killer tomatoes or the sort, they had nothing to worry about.
In time, the bar was re-opened and things went back to normal. Customers came and went with their gossip. Sans and Papyrus stayed in the back room to play, unless the guard dogs were in. Then, they managed enough courage to leave the room and sit with the dogs. Perhaps it might take a while for them to become completely comfortable with strangers, but the dogs provided a safe buffer. There, nobody could bother and hurt them, and Grillby was grateful that they had begun to trust other people to protect them.
Imagine their surprise when one day, the King decided to visit.
Grillby knew something was up when the bar went silent. He was in the back at the moment, fetching some clean glasses, when the hustle and bustle of the bar cut out. Curious, he returned to the front counter of the bar, to find the King himself seated on one of the stools.
"It's alright, it's a casual day for me." He smiled at the other patrons. Of course, he wasn't quite dressed to be 'kingly' at that moment. Just some pants and a quite ugly knitted sweater was all he wore, save for the little crown nestled between his long horns. "No need to stop on my account!"
At their king's command, everyone began talking and eating again. Once in a while, the King would go among the monsters to random establishments. To the King, it was a way to remain in touch with his subjects, and present himself as a kind king that the people could go to with their problems. It isn't often these days that people would go to court, but sometimes people felt better bringing their concerns up to him in a casual and friendly setting.
Today, everyone just seemed happy to eat and have their drinks, leaving the King alone to perch on a bar stool that was, perhaps, a little too small. "Hello Grillby."
"Hello, your Majesty." Grillby politely polished up a fresh glass. "What can I get for you today?"
"Oh, just a butterscotch soda. I dropped by to ask you how the children were doing."
Grillby began mixing the drink, handing the tall glass over to the King. "They are fine. They are somewhere around here."
"And the injured one? Is he better?" Asgore took the drink and took a sip. Ah…soda! Always good after a long day.
"Yes, he has healed just fine. Let me see if I can find them, they may be with the dogs."
"No need. From what I remembered with my children, they often appear by themselves, at the most inconvenient of times. Why, we just need to engage in discussion and they should be along to interrupt us."
"Is that so?" Grillby chuckled, the sound like the pops of a fire place.
"Yes. I'm sure you will discover such things on your own." The King sipped his soda with a large smile.
Grillby thought for a moment, before voicing a question. "How do you know….if what you are doing is right in parenting?"
Grillby was only a parent for a bare three months or so. Deep down, there was the ever lurking fear that he wasn't equipped or able to help Sans and Papyrus completely. Everyone is afraid to 's worse though, when there are two lives that depend on you completely. One wrong move could undo everything that took so long to build.
"Well," Asgore set his drink down for a moment. "Are the children happy?"
"Yes. They smile more now."
"Then you're doing everything right." Asgore winked. "I can't tell you how to be a parent, it's different for everyone. As long as your children feel safe and loved, you are doing everything right. Second guessing yourself, old friend?"
"A little," Grillby admitted. "I just….want them to be happy."
"And you are doing a fine job of it! When…Asriel was born…I was terrified. I was terrified of doing everything wrong that I forgot to just….savor the little moments." The King smiled sadly. "Don't let those little insecurities stop you from enjoying parenthood."
For a moment, Grillby was quiet in thought. "I am not looking forward to PTA meetings."
That earned a loud guffaw from the king. "Oh I hated them too!"
At that moment, Asgore felt tiny fingers touch the fur on his arm. Puzzled, he looked down to see a little skeleton with a scarf longer than himself. Papyrus's eye sockets were wide as he petted the white fluffy fur on the King's arm. Sans was not too far away, close enough to watch his brother but far away enough to not get grabbed. He watched the King with a calm and almost tired expression.
"Why hello there! I was hoping I would see the both of you!" Asgore dropped his arm lower so that Papyrus could properly pet the fur there.
"Heeeeheee…HI." This was….a LOUD skeleton.
"Hello!" Asgore echoed back .
"HI!"
"Hello!"
"HI!"
This could go on forever, so Agore chuckled in defeat. "My goodness, look at him! What a cheerful little skeleton."
"Yes…it's almost unreal how much the both of them changed. He must remember you from the hospital."
"He probably does." Asgore reached down a paw and gently patted the child on the head. He looked over to Sans who was still watching them. "And what about you? Are you doing alright?"
Sans just nodded silently and yawned. He didn't get close, but he at least tolerated someone in his space.
"As you can see, they are doing quite well. In fact, I think it's time for them to nap for a bit. Would you like that Sans?"
Sans nodded with a genuine smile on his skull. He took Papyrus by the hand and began to lead him behind the counter and off to the back room. Papyrus waved to the king as he was led along.
"BUH BYE!"
Asgore waved with a stifled giggle until both children vanished into the back room.
"Grillby old friend, they are adorable."
Grillby smiled warmly, his flames picking up a soft yellow hue. "Indeed, they are. I am very interested to see what kind of people they will grow up into."
"Well, with you guiding them, I'm sure they will be good people."
Grillby 'blushed', pleased at the praise as he went back to polishing glasses.
It was only a few weeks later when a knock came at the front door. By then, Sans and Papyrus had calmed down enough that they didn't immediately hide after a door-knock. Instead they simply stopped what they were doing to look to the door. Grillby was also quite curious. It was rather late at night and the children had just finished dinner, it wasn't a time that monsters usually came to visit.
He opened the door to reveal the entire Canine Unit, visibly wiggling with excitement.
"…Hello?" By now it wasn't all that unusual for the dogs to drop by, as they had forged a very tight bond with the children and were helping them learn social skills. But still? This late at night? "…Can I help you?"
"Yes!" Dogamy held his wife's paw in his. "We want to borrow the puppies!"
Grillby quirked an eyebrow. "…borrow them? For what?"
( "Dog things!" ) Dogaressa chimed in. ( "We're going on a howl!" )
They must have picked up on the elementals confused expression, so they chose to elaborate.
( "A howl is where dogs gather and yell at the sky!" ) Of course, that would mean yelling at the cavern ceiling for now.
"….but….why?" Yell at the sky? What?
Dogamy borked a laugh. "It's a social thing, for dogs! At least, all the good dogs."
At the mention of GOOD DOGS had Greater, Lesser, and Doggo wiggling even FASTER with excitement.
Grillby turned and looked back to his two children. Sans and Papyrus were obviously listening and looked quite excited about it. Briefly, a flash of protectiveness and panic washed over him at the very thought of letting them out of his sight. But…he couldn't stifle them. They had to have room to grow after all. Hovering over them at all times would be detrimental in their social skills development. Sans and Papyrus looked at him with smiles and wide eyes, and he came to a decision.
"They will need to be back here by ten PM. That is their bedtime." He couldn't help but relent. Of course this caused both kids to run around yelling, and it took the help of the dogs to catch them and get them into winter clothes. Thankfully, the local tailor could weave enchantments into clothing. For both boys, their clothing would warp and vanish to fit new anatomy every time they shape-shifted. He didn't want any of them catching a cold, regardless of the form they were in.
Both of the Dogi had a wiggling pup/child in their arms, smiling. "Thank you Grillby!" ( "They'll be back in time for bed!" ) "BORK!" "boof!" "…yeah thanks."
Grillby chuckled silently. "Have fun."
Taking that as permission the dogs (and kids) vanished into the dark edge of the wood and leaving paw prints behind. Grillby watched for a moment, letting stray snow flakes melt in his fire before he closed the door.
He took a seat in his easy chair and pulled out a catalog book. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. According to Gaster's notes, it was soon approaching their birthday. Of course, the scientist didn't care for such things, and only used the date to measure years instead of a celebration. Even though they weren't born by conventional means, they still deserved to have their birth celebrated. He wasn't sure if they even knew what a birthday is.
It was only a few days apart from each other, even if there was four year age gap. He decided he would just roll everything into one big birthday to compensate. Now that the kids were occupied, he could scheme without spoiling anything. He took a while, just going though the book and circling what he thought the kids would like.
But then a chorus of howls broke through the quiet chilly air. It was followed by a small, but eerie howl, no doubt belonging to Sans. Not to be outdone was Papyrus's sudden cheerful and loud scream of "DOGGEH" shattering the night. It must have been a rather powerful yell, because Grillby could hear snow falling off some of the nearby tree limbs.
He just snorted and went back to trying to decide what flavor of cake to make.
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Gaster gasped, awake and dizzy. He was falling, but standing still. The intense feeling of vertigo spun his mind around to the point where he no longer knew what was up or what was down. He had tried to move his arms out to grasp for an anchor, but they felt….wrong….weak. It was intensely cold, much like a deep freezer. He had tried opening his eye sockets, but it was so dark that he couldn't make out any features.
How long has he been falling?
All it felt, was nothing. He felt biting cold, but that was the only sensation he had. Sight, touch, hearing, and taste were all taken from him. He had tried to touch his face, but he felt only a cold numbness, like his limbs were disconnected from his body. He had long given up screaming. In the end, was he really screaming? He couldn't tell.
It felt like month. Years. Eons. For all he knew, the universe could have compressed and exploded again. He had no way of telling.
It gave him plenty of time to think, however.
Once he got used to the nothingness, it was easy to pull inwards and ignore it as much as he could. There was always the instinctual feeling of wrongness from a body he wasn't sure he had anymore, but he could think.
He remembered a fight. Lights. Heat.
His subjects turned against him, and the last thing he saw was 1-S's beam pushing him over a ledge.
He hit…something. Hard but soft, and he flew into a million pieces. It was like being scattered everywhere, but there was no cohesion. There was just drifting as pieces of him screamed in horror of it all.
It all must have come together again. Falling in place. Motion without motion. Finally, he could string thoughts together without the echoing screams inside his head.
He must have died somewhere along the way, he couldn't be sure when.
There was just blackness. The only screams he heard was in himself, but perhaps he had gone mad and was hallucinating such things? Lack of stimulation is quite detrimental to ones health, he studied that intently in the E-1 series. All of them dusted, they no longer had any will to live after only a month of isolation in a box with no sound, smell, or light.
Perhaps, if there is an afterlife, then this is his punishment?
He couldn't understand why he was being punished. He may have done less-than-stellar things, but in the end it was all for the good of monster kind.
Wasn't it?
He couldn't tell for sure. All he wanted to do was figure out what went wrong with 1-S and 2-P. He focused, trying to figure out the details he missed.
When suddenly, he hit something with a wet SPLAT. Instantly, light and noise assaulted senses that became used to nothingness. He had to close his eyes for a second, the light too bright and intense for him to deal with. He could only lie there, stunned, as the constant vertigo finally began to wear off. He was still cold, however, and felt terribly weak.
"Heehee! Come on, Pap!"
He struggled to raise his head from the floor as he heard something rather familiar.
"You can do it! Just put the- no! Don't put it in your mouth!"
At this point, Gaster had become acclimated enough to open his eyes, and the first thing he did was to look down at his body.
He wish he hadn't, a thin static-like scream ripping through his ruined mouth. He was little more than a melting mass of black goop. It was so dark, it seemed to absorb all the color around it until it was so black, it hurt to look at. He raised his arm, well, he thought it was his arm. What managed to rise was a bent thick noodly appendage with a clump of knobs on the ends as a mockery of fingers. It all dripped and warped, but the circular hole in his hands remained crisp and clean despite it.
He was, simply, a literal mess.
It took several tries for him to get up and find out where he is. To his surprise, he was in a living room, purple carpet and pale yellow walls. He looked around, and spotted his two subjects, sitting in the middle of the floor. 1-S was showing 2-P how to put things together to make a wooden model dinosaur, with mixed results. They were both dressed in sweaters and warm pants, sitting around like there wasn't a care in the world. They were….happy?
Gaster was more than a little shocked. He only ever saw fear and obedience from them, but…they could laugh? How interesting.
He reached out a dripping hand to touch them, to see if they were real, but his hand phased right through 2-P's skull. He tried to grab him, which failed. He tried to touch the carpet, and that only gave him a flat surface with no tactile sensation. He tried screaming, threatening, even using the trigger word, but nothing happened. All that fell from his deformed skull was a bout of white noise. Both subjects continued to play and laugh despite it all, infuriating the fallen scientist to no end.
In a rage he tried to call up his magic, but there was nothing. Nothing at all. He was a visitor in a world that didn't belong to him anymore. There was no influence he could have now.
It took a while to accept it, 'sitting' down in the corner, watching. It was horrifying. Much like Tantalus, there was life right in front of him, but he couldn't touch or experience it.
He was briefly interrupted in his thoughts when that elemental bartender arrived, bringing a plate of peanut butter carrots. Both subjects took a couple, giggling as they popped the veggies in their mouths to chew. He could smell it, but he knew he could not taste or touch it. He just watched as his two creations interacted with the fire elemental in a domestic way. He supposed he couldn't be all that surprised, they were designed to pack bond. But…something was different.
There was a brief nagging thought that…perhaps his subjects were not what they seemed, but he shook it aside. He'll deal with one madness at a time, thank you very much.
Soon, the lights and sounds became muted again. His small grip on reality was fading away, and no matter how he grasped it, it slipped through his malformed fingers like sand. He was once again, dragged back into the nothingness…the void.
But the brief glimpse he had…it makes him feel curious.
After all he is a scientist.
And he has all the time in the world.