Blueberry couldn't help his grin as they returned to his Snowdin. He loved his new broach and he had an amazing day! He knew this day was going to be MAGNEFICENT!
"So… think your bro's at home or asleep at his station?"
"Probably his station," Blueberry sighed a bit. "But, at least he's there, right?" he grinned, leading the way.
"You know, I could just teleport us there."
"Nonsense! We should work off the food we ate!"
"You're just saying that so your brother doesn't realize you ate three pieces of cake."
Blueberry sweated a little. "Y-yeah…"
"Surprised you're handling the sugar as much as you are."
"Well, you helped with that," he grinned. "I got really excited about this broach!"
Jewel held her soft smile. "I'm really glad you like it, Blue."
"Of course! Too bad my brother doesn't like blue too much. You could make him one too!"
"Well, I can always make him a red one. Just because they're created from negative emotions, doesn't mean they have to represent that, ya know? You can be angry for good reasons. Like your friends being hurt and wanting to protect them."
"Wouldn't that technically qualify for purple then?" he asked, blinking.
"It'd create both. Anger is still classified as negative, even if it's for good reasons. Just like fire's dangerous whether it's in a fireplace, a stove, or used to hurt someone."
"I suppose that's true. A useful tool but dangerous if misused."
"Same can be said for negative emotions. Sadness is seen as negative too, but without it, how could you process the others?"
Blueberry tilted his head as he thought about it. "Wowzers, I never really thought about it like that. I mean, I know it's natural to be sad, angry and all of that… but I never really thought about how everything was so…"
"Black and white?"
"Yeah. I mean, if you're angry for a good reason, shouldn't that be good then?"
"Well, there is a thing called righteous fury," she chuckled. "But as far my powers are concerned, no. It's labeled pretty clearly. But mixed emotions like that are why the colored crystals exist at all."
"I'm confused."
Jewel chuckled. "It's okay. More of my crazy magic and their rules. I don't think it applies to anyone besides me."
It only took a moment longer to reach Papyrus' station, where he was, indeed, asleep. He leaned on his desk, his arms folded with his head lazily resting on them. Blueberry huffed a little and walked over.
"PAPY!" he shouted in his brother's ear, but it didn't seem to work. He put the drink and bag down before trying to pull at him. Nothing seemed to be working.
Jewel chuckled a little. "Hey, let me try something," she said with a bit of a wink.
"Good luck," Blueberry sighed.
Jewel put her drink down in the snow, might as well keep it cold, before picking up a bunch of the white powder in her hands. She walked behind the sentry stand and dumped it, and some more, into Papyrus' hood. She then, with a wink, quickly pulled it forward.
"Holy fuck!" Papyrus barked as he shot up, hitting his head atop of his station as the snow fell down his face, in his sockets and down his back.
His eye instantly started instantly glowing orange as he turned onto his assailant, grabbing Jewel's soul without realizing with his magic, but he felt his magic shatter almost instantly as she simply stood there. He reacted in a second, grabbing her by her shirt and pinning her against a tree behind his station.
"Brother!" he heard a familiar scolding voice and he glanced back, seeing Blueberry standing there, disapproving with his hands on his hips. "How rude! She was just waking you up for me!"
Papyrus' head was spinning as he glanced back to the human… he had barely noticed she was anything but, his mind flashing to the genocide run version of Chara… she didn't look too far off, if not older.
"Ice to meet you," she grinned at him. "I'm Jewel! Snow sorry about the wake-up call, but your brother was having a flurry of a time trying to rise you."
Papyrus couldn't help the smirk and snicker that started to come across his face as Blueberry groaned.
"I thought you said you didn't normally pun!" he protested.
"I don't, but I couldn't pass that up!" Jewel laughed.
"Ugh, fine, but only because you're laughing," Blueberry pouted.
Papyrus slowly let her go, the puns won him over for the moment. "Sorry about the cold reception," smirking at his brother's groan, "But who exactly are you? And why the hell am I covered in snow?" he asked as he shook his hoodie out.
"This is Jewel! The human friend of Ink's I told you about!"
"The one you went to help?"
"Yup," Jewel smiled. "I really owed your little bro for the assist, so I came to try and show him how much I appreciated the help. We just got back from lunch, a squirrel nabbed his."
"Look, brother!" Blueberry grinned as he picked up the drink and the take-out bag. "I brought you some peach tea and some cake! Well, Jewel paid for it, I just carried it, mwehhehheh!"
"Peach tea?" he rose a brow.
"It's like normal sweet tea, but with peach flavor. I figured Blue would like it but he wanted to share with you so he brought his refill back with him."
"It's really sweet, and since you have a sweet tooth, I thought you would enjoy something we don't get down here!"
"…down here?" Papyrus quickly caught on, glancing back at Jewel.
"We went to an AU where the monsters are human instead," she told him. "Pacifist run, don't worry. And we were far enough away from "Snowdin" that we didn't risk running into other versions of you. I like to go there to think, and I like the food."
"And no one said anything? Monster in a human world?" his voice got dark.
"Nope," Jewel smiled. "Blue's too cute, a single line about him being an actor and poof~ Magic disguise," she chuckled.
Papyrus seemed to calm down just a bit, though he didn't know if he liked this. His brother went to AUs plenty with Dream, but that was Dream. He knew Dream could take care of him…
"Brother, it was amazing! You should go with us next time! The sun and sky are beautiful!"
Papyrus' soul sunk as his little brother now had a memory that always drove him crazy. "Can I talk to you?" Papyrus grabbed Jewel's arm and pulled her down and away from Blueberry.
Jewel noticed Blueberry didn't follow. "You do this a lot in front of him, huh? Not even a flinch that you suddenly wanna talk private."
Papyrus tensed up, glaring at her. "I don't know what your game is… but torturing my brother with thoughts of the surface when..!"
"Dude, chill," Jewel pulled her arm from him. "It's not torture. It's a dream for him. It's only bad for you because you remember the resets. And it's not like it's unattainable. The only reason he hasn't gone before is because, well, duh, more than one monster at a time on the surface is kind of sketchy. Not everyone is as fast thinking as you. But I'm human, I know what flies."
"It's still dangerous!"
"Not really." She teleported behind him, making him jump and turn to face her. "I'm like you and the rest of the Sanses. No blasters or nothing, but I'm no slouch. Besides, ask your bro, not the first time I've helped you. Not that you're my favorite Papyrus or anything," she teased.
He couldn't tell if she was being serious or messing around. Fuck, she was like him. "Where the fuck did you come from?"
"Eh, a world that no longer exists," she shrugged, getting his attention.
"So… Error got to your world, too?"
"Nope. Something else. I'm not sure what. But I know it wasn't Error."
"How? He's the only one who can… right?"
"That we know of. And I'm pretty sure he didn't exist by that point, so…"
"Wait… what are you saying?"
"Eh, don't worry about it, my backstory isn't important. But you can ask Blue about a few details if you want later. Why don't you go enjoy the snacks Blue brought you?"
"I don't know if I trust you…"
Jewel shrugged. "Don't really need you to," she said softly. "You're not the one who wants to be my friend," she said as she glanced back at Blueberry, just waiting. "I'm sure he'd like it, but I'm sure you don't like any of his friends that take him out of your line of sight. Even Dream."
"He told you about me, huh?" He was unamused.
"Nope. Only thing we really talked about you was the fact you drink honey, not ketchup." She turned back to him. "I was an older sibling once upon a time. The over-protective kind. But, ya know, my world doesn't exist, so…"
Papyrus froze for a moment. He had lost his brother before… too many times to count… and almost in that way.
"Blue's my friend now," she said softly. "Just… so ya know, I take those very seriously. Serious enough that there was a Sans who was abused by his Papyrus… that Papyrus did not win that fight. For that Sans' sake, I didn't do anything that couldn't be taken care of with a quick bit of healing… but the point had to be made."
"Are you threatening me?" Papyrus growled, his eye flaring again.
"Nope. I know you won't lay a hand on your bro. Just stating the facts. My friends… I'll die for them. Protect them from anything. Even their own families. Because it's the worst feeling in the world when the people who are supposed to love you are the ones that hurt you the most."
His eye stopped glowing as he let out a sigh. "You're hard to read," he muttered.
"Eh, that could be because you can't see my soul," she grinned at him, which took him aback. "I know, kind of sucks. Would solve a lot of my problems if I could show it, then you could judge me and blow me up and I wouldn't have to worry about anything," she laughed.
Papyrus didn't know what to make of her dark humor, but he didn't like this. He watched as she went back to Blueberry. He really, really didn't like the idea of his brother hanging around this psychopath. But when she came back to him, the way he beamed and the way she smiled back at him made him question what he was seeing. She looked… genuine when smiling at his brother.
"I should get going, Blue," Jewel spoke up.
"Aw, so soon?" he pouted.
She laughed softly, "Blue, you've had me for over two hours now. You're starting to slack."
"No, I'm not! It's my job to keep an eye out for humans and you're human!" he said proudly, as if he was the first time he had thought of this loophole. Papyrus sweated, it was not the first time he had said it.
"So, whatcha gonna do? Turn me in to Alphys?"
Both brothers blinked at this.
"No, of course not!" Blueberry protested.
"Well, it's gonna happen sooner or later if I stay, Blue. Especially out in the open. I know she mostly patrols in Waterfall, but doesn't Undyne have cameras everywhere?"
Blueberry paled a little. "O-oh… right…"
Jewel smiled a bit and stroked his skull, again, if he had hair… "Remember, I'll come back. I promised we'd cook together."
He couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his jaw. He was sad she was going, they had only just started to get to know one another. "Right, you promised. No more not eating, okay?"
"Heh, if I don't need to, that shouldn't be a thing you can put on me," she teased. "Remember, time doesn't flow outside of the AUs."
"That's not fair! You shouldn't be neglecting meals because of that! Especially with your diet! Or lack thereof!"
Papyrus stared at them. How much did they share in those two hours? Blueberry was obviously worried. What was she up to?
"But the need to eat is negated," she chuckled. "Saves food. But I promised to come visit. And you know if I go visit Classic, his Papyrus will feed me too, he's just like you," she grinned.
"But it's not me," he pouted.
"Well, I can always come get you, the two of you could join forces. Be a tornado in the kitchen," she chuckled. "Make spaghetti tacos."
Papyrus paled and Blueberry's eyes lit up as stars. "That's BRILLIANT! THE MAGNIFICENT SANS APPROVES!"
Jewel noticed Papyrus' face and she laughed. "It's better than it sounds. I've made it before."
"You have?" Blueberry blinked.
"Yup," she grinned. "I'll show you both."
"I can't wait!" Blueberry beamed. "Please don't keep me waiting too long for this!"
"I won't, promise. But I do need to make up with Sans, eventually."
"Make up?" Papyrus spoke up. This sounded like something he needed to hear.
"We had a fight before all of this. He was pretty harsh and I had to put my foot down on a few things, though I'm not blameless either. He was just worried about me. Still not used to someone trying to be my brother, let alone big brother," she chuckled softly. "I'm used to being the big sister."
"Well… he can't be your elder sibling, right? You're way older than him," Blueberry questioned.
"Exactly!" she laughed. "That's what I said."
"Really?" Papyrus rose a brow. "And how old are you?"
"Oh, she's over a hundred!" Blueberry grinned.
Papyrus would have spit out anything, or inhaled a cigarette at that, if he had it. "W-what?"
"Time doesn't flow outside of the AUs," she reminded with a smile.
Papyrus stared at her. Then again, how old was he really with all the resets?
She smiled softly down at Blueberry. She started petting his skull again, about to say goodbye for real this time before a chill was sent down her spine. She whipped around, eyes scanning, narrowed.
"What's with you?"
"Jewel?" Blueberry looked up at her, confused.
There was no time to explain. Her eyes flashed that bluish-white and in an instant her barrier was up around the three of them, just in time for black tentacles slammed into it, being blasted back by the white energy.
"Nightmare!" Blueberry's eyes narrowed as he summoned a bone spear in his hand and got closer to Jewel.
"Take it you know this guy, Sans?" Papyrus muttered softly, his eye starting to glow.
Nightmare was stunned on the ground, feeling the white energy that encased him. It was positive energy! No, positive emotion! His eye shot up, the only thing he could move at the moment his head. That was a hard hit… he'd have to be careful with that barrier… He couldn't even get contact long enough to try and melt it with his magic… But his eye narrowed as he recognized the person inside between the two skeletons. Confusion hit him at first. He couldn't sense any positivity here… well, from the Sans, but that was always the case. He was around his brother enough after all. But more than that… he couldn't feel the negativity he felt earlier.
"Well, it seems you learned some new tricks since last we met…" Nightmare glowered. His best bet was to stall until this wore off.
"That's Nightmare, Dream's brother. The one I told you about," Blueberry's eyes focused on him.
"What the hell is he doing here?"
"I'm right here, you know," he looked rather offended. "My plan was to capture this Sans to try and lure out my brother… but it seems both of my targets are fond of him."
"Both?" Papyrus questioned before glancing at Jewel. "The hell does he want you for?"
"Heh, negativity buffet," Jewel shrugged a little. "Self-hate goes a long way with someone like him."
"So, I see they've told you about me," Nightmare smirked.
"Little bit," Jewel said softly. "Not enough to actually care, mind you."
"You sure know how to try and hit a guy when he's down. Too bad for you I never come without backup."
"What?" Papyrus' eyes narrowed, starting to scan around.
Jewel didn't even flinch, smirking. "Oh, you mean Dust?"
Nightmare, Papyrus and Blueberry all shared the same surprised expression.
"Dude sucks at hiding his intent," she chuckled. "He's in the third tree behind and to the right, about… what, four meters off the ground? He's waiting for your signal, which I'm guessing that was. I mean, he can try, but he ain't gonna do shit."
"Wanna bet?" a malice voice spoke from behind, as close to the barrier as he could. A blaster was point blank at them from the outside.
Blueberry couldn't help his flinch as the blaster went off. He was expecting pain, but instead he felt something on him. He opened his eyes to see Papyrus having jumped in front of him, not expecting the barrier to hold, while Jewel had placed a hand on his upper arm, holding him back.
Surprise was rampant among the skeletons, Dust and Nightmare in disbelieve the barrier took that much damage head on and didn't even flicker out.
"Told you," Jewel smirked, her eyes flickering with white magic as the barrier around them crackled and then sent a shockwave outward, knocking even Dust several feet back, slamming into a tree, and much to Nightmare's dismay, hitting him with another wave of positivity.
"Wow, I didn't think you-" Papyrus started before he noticed Jewel's throat flex, as if she was trying to keep something down. "Human?"
"Jewel?" Blueberry called, worried.
"Forgot," she spoke, very carefully, but the small sight of blood coating her teeth wasn't missed by Papyrus as she tried to keep it hidden from Blueberry, "About the karma damage…"
Papyrus' eye was lit to its fullest. "How bad?" he asked.
"He's Level 20," she said, glancing back at Papyrus, who paled a bit at the knowledge. "He's a Sans… who…"
"I get it," he muttered.
"You do have a slight advantage, Papyrus," she said, still keeping her mouth from moving too much. "Sanses all start off the same. One stats, all over the board. Leveling made him stronger… but you start off with better stats and have all that judgment karma of yours. You'd have a much better chance than Classic… but still, don't let him hit you. You can take more damage than Classic, but that karma bite he's got will really widdle you down."
"Seems like it's taken its toll on you too," he noticed, glancing her over. Yet, despite it, he couldn't see her soul…
Jewel watched as Dust started to get back up. "Definitely can't take a hit like that again… barrier's an extension of my magic, absorbs the karmic damage like a towel in water."
"So what do we do?" Blueberry asked, concern as they backed in together.
"I detest it… but I can switch magic. I don't think I have a choice. And as much as I would rather not risk you fighting Dust, neither of you can handle Nightmare."
"Only Dream really can," Blueberry agreed. "But we don't have a choice here."
"Sure we do, let me blast him," Papyrus growled.
"He's immune to any kind of attack, brother," Blueberry explained, noticing Dust going over to help Nightmare, who was not thrilled, "His body deflects magic and nothing physical can get past it either, he just dissolves it. Dream's positivity arrows are the only thing… and Jewel's barrier seems to do something…"
"Yeah, but with Dust around I can't. Karmic damage goes right to the soul. I can handle a lot, but I'm still weak from before, Blue. I can't afford to go into a state like that again. I don't know if you and Dream can get me out this time."
"Well, you're obviously not freaking out," Papyrus noticed her calm and collected exterior. "I hope you have a plan."
"Yeah, and I hate it…"
"The fuck was that, Dust?!" Nightmare shouted as his companion came over to try and help him up, but he was still partially paralyzed from the strength of that blast. His tentacles weren't responding.
"Heh, sorry boss," he lazily replied, no real hint of remorse in his voice. However, he glanced back over at the group, noticing them talking quietly amongst themselves. "How much you wanna bet they're trying to figure out how to get Dream?"
"Don't be so quick to dismiss a human. You of all people should understand that."
"Pfft, with that kind of karma? She's hurtin' boss. Just like the rest of them goodie two-shoes."
"Maybe… but something is severely wrong," Nightmare's eye narrowed as he focused on her.
"Like what?"
"I can't feel the positivity in her, unless I touch that barrier. But more than that… the negativity I felt before is gone."
"Maybe she's feelin' better."
"No, Dust. You don't just "get better" from that kind of self-loathing… something else is going on here. I don't care what you do with the skeletons, but I want her alive, got it?"
"Fine," he sighed. "Can you imagine how much LV I'd get from her though?"
"Dust," Nightmare's voice lowered dangerously.
"Okay, jeez," he muttered before stepping back, getting a blaster ready. "Well… I doubt that barrier can take another hit," he held a malicious grin.
Blueberry swallowed thickly as Dust prepared another attack. "Jewel, I don't like this."
"Just remember what I told you. Stay with Papyrus, watch his back, and most importantly, don't let each other get hit. You're the Magnificent Sans, after all. I believe in you, Blue."
The tiny skeleton settled his nerves, deciding to focus on doing the very best he could. "Right! We've got this!"
"Heh, wish I had your confidence," Papyrus rolled off his tongue.
"You're just too lazy," Jewel smirked a bit, taking a steadying breath. "On my three. One," she watched Dust get closer, "two," the blaster started to open its maw, "Three!"
Papyrus grabbed Sans and they teleported away the second the barrier dropped and the laser fired, Jewel doing the same. Dust was taken aback, his eyes scanning around him before he felt something right in front of him.
"Peekaboo~" Jewel smirked, her eyes blood red as she slammed her fist into the blaster, shattering it and the ground directly under them.
Dust barely managed to teleport out of the way as his blaster exploded, the energy in it still volatile. When he looked back, his eyes widened at the giant crater that now adorned the forest scenery. His eyes widened further as this crazy chick suddenly started running for him. He teleported out of the way, before realizing it was a feint and she was going after Nightmare! He was about to turn and go after her when he felt his soul grow heavy and cold. His eyes widened as he turned, seeing both skeleton brothers focusing their magic on him.
"You're blue now!" Blueberry triumphantly announced.
No way in hell was it supposed to be this easy, Papyrus knew better. He watched as this version of his brother summoned bones and blasters.
"Sans!" he barked, and instantly Sans and he both summoned bones and blasters to counter his, the two of them working in tandem to hold Dust back. It was a stalemate, for the moment. Dust had a lot of LV, but together they were stronger… though Papyrus knew this wouldn't last. Their magic was divided between too many different types.
Nightmare stared at the female as she approached, his gooey lips turning into a grin as she did. She stopped a decent way from him.
"So… we meet again," he spoke first. "Learned your lesson this time?"
"Oh, sure," she smirked. "Underneath all that goo you're still a fragile little skeleton with easily breakable bones~"
Nightmare's gaze faltered just a second. The ill intent he felt in her previously wasn't there, but neither was anything else. She learned a few tricks, it seemed. But this confident persona… well… "If you can make it through. You think you're the only one prepared this time?"
"Oh hardy, har~," her smile faded and was replaced with a seriousness even Nightmare knew not to underestimate. "I've met Dream. I'm here with Blueberry. You really think they didn't tell me all about your little quirks? Whereas you…" she laughed, "You ain't got shit on me, unless I give it to you. Which, I'll admit, I'm giving you a lot more than I'm comfortable with. So… let's get this over with."
Nightmare's eye widened as her arms coated themselves in blackness, the black steam he had seen before coating around in a tangible layer. He remembered the flakes he saw before. They had appeared too late, after she had already entered his form. It protected her, if he recalled. She could really do some damage if she got deep enough and he still couldn't feel his tentacles. Normally he would have recovered by now, what was the deal?! Dream's positivity never stunned him like this. Weakened him, sure, but stunned?
In a split second, he felt himself get pinned in the snow. He tried to fight with his hands, his legs, tried to force his tentacles to move, but despite everything, he was a tiny skeleton against this large human woman. His normal defense was useless as he felt her hand penetrate his chest. He fought with everything he had, trying to will his body to move, to get away from her in any form, but it was like his magic was paralyzed! He could feel it try and burn her, that was at least still working, still resisting penetration, but he could feel her fingers getting deeper in his chest.
"Dust!" he shouted, trying not to sound desperate. He was not used to being out of control, he was always in control!
Dust spared a glance as he was gaining on the two brothers, and his sockets grew dark as he saw Nightmare being overpowered. A wave of determination came over him and he pushed the brothers back, Papyrus just grabbing Blueberry in time to teleport away from the attacks. Dust rushed the human, climbing on her back with a jagged bone to shove through her shoulder. She didn't even flinch when he literally stabbed her in the back. Instead, her gaze silently turned over her shoulder.
"Get her off of me!" Nightmare struggled, feeling those fingertips getting too close..!
That's what surprised him though. She touched his soul, he felt it. She touched the black apple in his chest. Then stopped. As soon as she touched him, she turned and focused on Dust, who was about to stab her again. Did he do enough damage to stop her when she was so close? Either way, he didn't care, that had been too close for his own comfort!
Dust tried to teleport away, but she managed to follow him. She managed to grab hold of his sleeve before he did and he saw those black hands, the ones that went through Nightmare, go for his chest. He had blaster in her face, but she managed to sock him in the soul before he could even get it firing! He was winded, holding his chest, the sternum and several ribs broken and shattered on the ground.
"D-damn," he muttered. He slowly stood. Broken chest or not, he could still fight. He had worse from the human of his world.
Jewel's red eyes focused on Dust as she ran at him, only to have Nightmare come back, at least one of his tentacles work as he held up as a shield to absorb the impact, but she simply smirked. Nightmare saw the look in eye as instead, she grabbed him, going through his tentacle and then grabbed Dust and in a second, they were gone.
Papyrus let out a sigh. "She did it. Your friend is something, Sans," he said as a weight lifted off his shoulders. When he heard nothing, he turned, looking at his brother who stood there, shaking, tears in his eyes. "Sans!"