:):

Thank you for the reviews. :)

That last chapter was pretty horrible, I know, but everything will turn out just fine. I promise!

...

This is the beginning of the Soul Arc~

I think I should warn everyone right now, things are gonna get very Dark.

Literally...

xxx

The Living Doll

xxx

With a sudden pulse of blue flames, Sans appeared back inside his room cradling the small child in his arms. Leaning his back against the door, the skeleton listened carefully for any sounds he could hear from within the house. Nothing could be heard save for the nearly inaudible humming coming from the new heating system. Papyrus must have gone out for a little awhile. That was good, because Sans needed the downstairs bathroom and he didn't want to have to explain anything to his little brother. In all honesty, that was a conversation he'd rather avoid for as long as possible...

Looking down, Sans forced a sad smile onto his skull as he brushed some of the messy hair away from the child's now closed eyes. With her even breaths and serene expression, she appeared to be merely sleeping, but he knew better. This was a slumber from which she might never awake. Not wanting to even consider that horrible possibility, Sans pushed those thoughts away as he held the child a bit closer. "come on, kiddo, let's get ya cleaned up."

Once inside the bathroom, Sans quickly locked the door before walking over to the tub. With the gentleness one would use while handling an infant, the skeleton leaned the tiny human against the cool porcelain. Holding back a slight grimace, Sans attempted to remove the sticky shirt that now clung to the child's small form. It was surprisingly more difficult without her cooperation, but with enough patience, he was finally able to slip her out of the wet clothing.

Placing the stained shirt in the sink, Sans caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. The large crack on the side of his skull was the first thing he noticed, before his eye lights were drawn to the deep red stains covering his front. He stared for a moment before looking down at his damp clothes. If he had a stomach, he would have been sick to it by now. Forcing himself not to think about how much blood the tiny child had lost, Sans reached down and tugged off his own shirt as well.

After retrieving a clean washcloth from the nearby closet, Sans knelt down next to the bathtub and turned the faucet on. He didn't have a temperature gauge with him so he had to judge how warm the water was by touch alone, which was something he wasn't very good at. The skeleton decided that if he could just barely feel the warmth himself, then it was probably an acceptable temperature for the child. Any warmer and it might be too hot.

Soaking the cloth, Sans began the unpleasant task of washing away all of the sticky blood that was covering the tiny human. The water quickly turned a pinkish red as it circled the drain. A few minutes past by in silence as the skeleton gently dabbed and wiped at the small child's delicate skin. Once her chest was cleaned well enough, Sans could clearly see a subtle discoloration of her natural complexion. Right where one of the vines had pierced through her, a small circular patch of pale skin had formed. Looking a little lower, he easily found the second one. All of the other times, the stars had been able to heal her without leaving even the trace of a scar, but this time, perhaps the damage had been too great to avoid a lasting reminder.

For Sans, these circular scars were just a horrible reminder of how badly he had failed her. Why hadn't he just teleported them away when he had had the chance? He messed up big time letting his guard down around that damn flower. Now the kid's Soul was gone and he only had himself to blame. So far, he'd really done a lousy job protecting her...

Even so, Fearia was still alive. Against all odds, her tiny body had somehow survived that attack. All she was missing was her Soul. Sans really didn't know much about human souls - only what he'd been told. They said that the souls of humans were supposed to persist for a period of time after the death of their bodies. But how long would a human soul persist if their body wasn't gone? Could a detached soul last a little longer if there was the possibility of returning it to its body? All Sans could do was hope that this was the case.

With her front now cleaned, Sans attempted to lean the child forward only to find that her back had become slightly stuck to the side of the tub. Cringing, he carefully peeled her skin away from the smooth porcelain, leaving behind a sticky red smudge. Holding back choice words, Sans noticed that there was still so much more to clean. Her back was caked with dried blood and her hair was matted with it.

Releasing an exhausted sigh, Sans peered up at the shower nozzle. That might actually be quicker... Vowing never to tell anyone about this, the skeleton gently lifted the wet child and stepped into the tub, himself. Leaning her small chest against his bare ribcage, he supported her with one arm as he grabbed the slightly stained washcloth and turned on the shower. Using some of the soap he had bought at the Tem Shop, Sans carefully began the delicate task of trying to detangle the little girl's hair.

Before long, both he and the tiny human were now rinsed of soap and clean. Stepping out of the shower, Sans grabbed a towel from the cabinet and wrapped the small child snuggly in its folds before teleporting them back to his room. Not two seconds later, the sound of joyful barking rose up from downstairs. Flinching slightly, the nervous skeleton turned to look towards his door as he listened. Papyrus was home and Poff was with him.

He wasn't ready for them, yet!

...

Closing the front door, Papyrus tilted his skull as he watched as the tiny ball of fluff made a beeline straight for the bathroom. Sitting down in front of the shut door, the furry monster pawed at it expectantly. Was his brother home already? That was fast! He had expected them to be gone at least until dinner time, but it was not even noon yet. Maybe this was a good sign.

With a hopeful smile on his skull, Papyrus walked over to the small dog. Noticing light coming from underneath the bathroom door, the taller skeleton felt his curiosity grow. Why would anyone be in there? Had Miss Fearia gotten dirty again? With her youthful tendencies, it was entirely possible.

"Sans, Are You In There?" Papyrus asked after giving the door a polite knock. From inside the small room, he heard frantic shuffling and the sink being turned on on full blast. What in the world was he doing? "Sans?"

"gimme just a minute, bro." Came his older bother's voice from over the sound of rushing water.

Papyrus waited as patiently as he could until the door finally opened. "What Was All That Noise Just Now?" He asked as he stared down at his strangely acting brother. The shorter skeleton was devoid of a shirt and his shorts were sopping wet. There was a dripping wad of cloth under one arm and a damp towel draped over his skull in a lazy manner. Very suspicious... "Were You Taking A Shower? In Your Clothes?"

"maybe?" Sans shrugged lazily as he closed an eye socket with a grin. "beats doing laundry."

"Unbelievable!" Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets critically. Were there no limits to his brother's laziness? "At Least Dry Off First. You're Going To Track Water Everywhere!"

Ignoring both of the skeletons, Poff eagerly slipped between his friend's legs and into the humid bathroom. Wagging his tail happily, the small dog monster sniffed around before peeking into the tub. She was here, he knew it, but now she wasn't.

"Is Miss Fearia In There, Too?" Papyrus asked as he easily looked over his brother's head.

"nope." Sans replied casually as he pushed the door open wider, revealing an empty bathroom. "just me."

Frowning ever so slightly, Papyrus felt a slight unease come over him. "Where Is She...? Did She Not Come Back With You?"

Eye lights wandering away from his little brother, Sans tried to think of the best way to word his response. He didn't want to lie to his bro, but at the same time he couldn't just tell him the truth either. He knew he shielded Papyrus a little too much when it came to the sorrows of life, but this time it truly was warranted. "the kid's taking a little vacation. might be for a few days." Sans explained, skirting the truth as he did. "the king offered to take care of her for a little while. turns out, he actually knew the kid's mother from a long time ago. small world, huh?"

"Wowie!" Papyrus smiled. "So Miss Fearia Isn't Going To Be Sent Back To The Surface? She Can Stay?"

"looks that way." Sans gave a small tilt of his skull. "asgore granted her sanctuary and everything."

Overjoyed by the fortunate turn of events, the taller skeleton practically beamed. "This Is Great News! When Little Fearia Comes Back Home, We're Going To Have A Celebration!"

"that's a great idea, bro." Sans agreed sedately, not quite able to muster up the same enthusiasm. "i'm sure she'll really love that."

Following the shorter skeleton up the stairs, Poff stared up at him intently. His friend was acting strange right now. He wasn't exuding his typical lazy humor. The small dog couldn't sense even an iota of mirth within the skeleton, instead he just seemed worn down and depressed.

Stopping at his door, Sans looked down at the little furball. Whining, Poff paid no heed to the superficial flames as he pawed at the door impatiently. Guess he couldn't hide this from everyone. Crouching down, Sans reached out and gave the dog a light pat on the head to get his attention. "i'll let you in," he started with a hushed voice. "but you gotta stay quiet, okay?"

Poff tilted his head before giving a small whisper bark of compliance.

Sans smiled slightly as he gave the little white dog monster another pat on the head. "thanks, bud."

Once the door was opened, Poff zoomed inside the skeleton's messy room and began sniffing around. Easily locating the familiar scent, the little fluffball hopped up onto the unmade bed and greeted the tiny human. After a few seconds of getting zero response from the child, the dog's happy tail wagging slowed considerably before finally drooping in sadness. Crouching down next to the little girl's face, Poff lightly nudged her in the cheek with his nose. Whining, he repeated the gesture once more before laying down next to her.

Not having the heart to watch the small monster's reaction, Sans had instead walked over to his dresser. After setting down the balled up towel concealing the two half-washed bloody shirts, he began changing into a dry pair of baggy black sweatpants. They were a bit longer than he normally wore, but they still had the same distinct white stripe down the front of both legs, ironically creating the illusion of bone.

That done, he reached into a different drawer and pulled out a freshly washed shirt. Staring down at the pinkish fabric, the skeleton gave a dispirited sigh. "i... i wanted to give this to you, kid." Sans said as he looked over to the sleeping child. "i accidentally made the mistake of washing some of my clothes with your snow bunny outfit and surprise, surprise, now some of my clothes are pink too." He chuckled, trying his hardest to brighten the mood. "figured you'd probably like it, since you seem to like this color..."

Poff sat up as his friend walked over to the bed. Giving the skeleton some space, the small dog watched quietly as the tiny human was unwrapped from the damp towel and propped up against the balled up bed sheets. Then, with an astonishing amount of care, the skeleton gently maneuvered the small unresponsive child into the large loose fitting pink shirt.

Once she was properly clothed, Sans lifted the little girl up and cradled her in the crook of one arm. "gonna need you to move for a moment, pal." He said to the white dog as he reached for the mound of wrinkled bedsheets. "i need to actually make this for once."

Vacating the bed, Poff watched with amazement as the sheets were finally tucked into place and the soft comforter was laid out like it was supposed to be. When the long neglected pillow that had been smushed between the mattress and the wall had been recovered and returned to the head of the bed, Poff had bounced back up to investigate. Sniffing around, the small dog noted with satisfaction that everything felt softer now.

Pulling back the covers, Sans gently laid the little girl down on the cool sheets. After making sure her head was resting comfortably on the pillow, he brushed a few strands of auburn hair away from her face before reaching down and taking hold of the warm comforter. Once the soulless child was tucked in safe and sound, Sans sat down quietly beside her.

"i'm so sorry, fearia..." The forlorn skeleton began, before his eye lights wandered away from the little girl, more in favor of studying the unvacuumed carpet. "i never wanted anything like this to happen to you. looks like i really messed up, huh?" he gave a humorless chuckle in spite of himself.

"i'm gonna make it up to ya, kid." Sans vowed, his eye lights coming back to stare intently at the sleeping child. "i'm gonna get you your soul back. no matter what it takes, i'll get it back for you."

"i promise..."

xxx

In the next chapter, Sans searches tirelessly for Fearia's stolen Soul.

xxx

Thanks for reading!

If you are enjoying this story, why not take the time to leave me a friendly review?

Sheii Bae~