Core Issues

by Nicolle

Disclaimer: Undertale is copyright to Toby Fox. Gaster!Sans is the creation of Borurou. Underfell is a community creation. Fase is from Technotale. The story is copyright to me.

Special Disclaimer: Yes. The ringtones are Markiplier references.

1. The end is near! I will make a guide that will occupy the 13th chapter slot and talk about the characters and the writing process for the fic. If you have any questions about the story or the characters, please hit me up with a PM or put them in a review and I'll add them to the FAQ at the end of the guide.

2. This story is rated T for language, suggestive jokes/themes, and violence. Red makes an appearance in this episode so, yeah, language.

3. I got a review and a few PM's asking for this, so here ya go: Army!Frisk is this episode's narrator.

Ep. 11 - Retailation

"Thanks for helping me change the music in the jukebox," Bones said as he slipped the last LP into place and connected the wires.

I let the shiver his uncanny voice easily sent through me rush along my skin. We were alone. No one to see it but him. "You're welcome."

Bones closed the cabinet and stood, giving me that cocky smirk of his. He flipped through the new music list and hit play. Sinatra crooned "It Had to Be You" through the speakers. He took my hand and pulled me close, placing my left on his shoulder and taking my right in his. His left hand pressed against my back, leading. Oh hell. I was blushing like an idiot, wasn't I?

"So," he said as he slowly lead me around the garage, "we have the whole afternoon to ourselves. What would you like to do? It's been ages since we've gone skating. We could hit the movies. We could go on a pickin' trip. Or we could head out to the park to go camping. No matter what we do, I'm stealing you away for star gazing tonight. I finally have the Hornet in working order and I believe I said you get the first ride."

He twirled me around and back again, before crushing me against his chest.

"So what'll it be, Sunflower?"

There was a gleam in his white eye. The contemplation of a few unmentioned options hidden behind his eternal smirk. I laid my hand on the side of his skull and he dropped his head toward mine.

There was an insistent knock on the door and Dragon Sans poked his head into the garage. "*Have you seen Frisk?"

Bones, without letting go, pointed at me.

"What do you need, D?"

He sighed, annoyed with himself. "*Sorry. Wasn't specific enough. Have you seen Red's Frisk? She asked me to look over her last chemistry exam with her, but hasn't shown yet."

"How long has it been since she was supposed to be here?"

He stepped into the garage. "*Thirty."

I stepped away from Bones. "C? Check the facility."

"On it."

I pulled out my phone and called her. The call went directly to voice mail. I called Red.

"*hey, sugar plum. did the mission we've been waiting for come along?"

"When did Frisk leave for the Foundation?"

"*the kiddo left an hour ago."

"She's not on premises," C said.

Oh no. "Call her, Sans."

Red hung up on me and appeared next to me a minute later, both eyes flickering crimson. "*voice mail and she isn't answering texts. frisk never turns off her phone."

Bones pulled out his phone and dialed. "Fase? I need you to scan for Red's Frisk."

My stomach bottomed out. "Come on," I said. I headed out of the garage for the equipment room. "I don't think the mission we're waiting for is going to come." Red, D, and Bones followed me down the hall. One of Bone's GBs floated toward us, happily slinging back and forth. I grabbed the bottom of it's jaw and pulled it along. It happily knocked against my shoulder while I opened the door to the equipment room.

"Any word from Fase?"

Bones shook his head. "Nothing yet."

Frisk suddenly appeared in front of us, bloody, and holding onto a small boy with all her might. Flowey was wrapped around the boy, panting with pain, his vines covered in deep cuts. He'd taken the brunt of an attack for the child.

"It's okay! You're safe now! You're safe now!" She rocked the boy back and forth while he cried. "He can't hurt you here."

Red knelt next to her, touching her head. "*what happened, sweetheart?"

She looked up at us and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry!"

"*why?"

"I solved for Prime!" Tears streamed down her eyes. "I couldn't let him get hurt." The boy, a very young Frisk, clutched at her tightly.

I knelt in front of her as Red pulled her into his arms. "Tell us what happened."

"I was on my way here when D's brother grabbed me. His Frisk threatened to hurt the little guy if I didn't finish the equations to get them onto the Prime world."

"How did you get away?"

Frisk sniffed. "After the equations were confirmed, D's brother distracted him long enough for us to get away." Her head dropped and she hugged the boy in her arms. "I'm so sorry."

"*You have no reason to be sorry," D said.

She looked at us through her tears. "Why? Why threaten someone else? Why not just torture it out of me?"

Red frowned. "*you're my frisk." He pulled her head to his rib cage, petting her hair. "*if he knew even a little about you, he knew that you would never give in the same way you never gave up on me. but you would cave to threats against someone else. even someone you didn't know."

"I'm so sorry."

"*you did the right thing. never be sorry for that."

"We need to get to Prime," Bones said. "Can you give us the equations?"

She nodded and pulled up her sleeve. Her arm was covered in numbers and wrapped in clear tape to keep it from smudging. Bones pulled out his phone and took a picture of the equations.

"D? Call White so he can work his magic on the kids and get them to the lab. Flowey's in bad shape." I stood. "Bones. Red. We have to book it."

D grabbed my hand, yellow eye glowing. "*Let me come with you!"

I squeezed his hand. "You're the Ace up my sleeve. I need you to stay hidden. Stick with the kids for now. They need you."

He nodded. Letting go of me, he easily scooped up both of the kids and hurried down the hall toward Asriel's lab.

I went into the equipment room, pulling my dress up over my head. Bones tossed me my uniform from the shelf.

"*looks like our plans have gone to shit. this is serious escalation." Red's eyes were burning a deep and calculating vermilion. I'd never seen him this intensely angry before and it was awe inspiring to watch him channel it.

"It's retaliation," Bone said. "We destroyed a large chunk of their forces with the mass resets."

"He showed us his hand, so he has to move fast if he wants to win with his resources dwindling." I finished buttoning my uniform shirt and pulled on my jacket. I grabbed my bag. "Let's go."

Red grabbed the GB's mandible while Bones put his arm around me. We landed outside a large building with the Delta Rune over the door under a starry sky. Everything was quiet and nothing looked the worse for wear. I shrugged at the guys and knocked on the door.

"*come in."

I pulled the door open and we stepped into a huge, gallery style lobby with balconies off the second floor. Blue was sitting behind a large circular desk with his feet up on the counter, arms behind his head.

Red eyed him suspiciously. "*for someone who's kept his world locked down, you don't seem all that surprised to see us."

Blue shrugged. "*you were going to get here one day. it's just a little sooner than i expected." He stood. "*everyone's gone for the night. well, alphys is probably still around. dings is definitely still working away in the lab."

"Midnight Collapse is coming," I said.

He nodded. "*i know. i've been preparing for them to arrive for a very long time. i knew they'd eventually get here. that they'd figure it out or force someone to figure it out for them." He looked at Red and flinched. "*i take it your kiddo was the one they forced."

White came in the door. "Oh good. Not too late. What's the plan?"

Blue hit a button and the front doors suddenly locked and barred. "*i've been letting you guys do all the work. so why don't you take a load off?"

"You aren't concerned in the least," I said. "We have no idea how many people MC has left and if they get their hands on the Prime Frisk-"

The door shuddered under a massive impact, the glass in it breaking.

"Ten hostiles outside," C said. "They're ramming the door with a truck."

"*take a seat, kids. i've got this." He snapped his fingers, turning us all blue and putting us behind the desk.

"*what's the big idea, asshole?!" Red struggled against the hold. I could see everyone attempting to cut through the magic to no avail. I motioned for the guys to calm down and wait.

Another impact rocked the building and the front of the truck came through the doors. It pulled back and several Chara's poured in.

"*well, why don't you just let yourselves in." Blue leisurely walked over to face them.

"Oh look. Just one smiley trash bag!"

"He won't last long."

Blue shrugged, still smiling. "*it's going to be a beautiful day outside. birds will be singing. flowers blooming. but on a starry night like this, kids like you..."

Both of his eyes turned blue, the power streaking over him. He rose in the air on a cloud of blue magic, throwing a mass volley. While the Chara's dodged, eight GBs flew out of nowhere, grabbing the badges from their jackets. A strike rose out of the floor, impaling all of the Chara's, leaving them completely exposed to a round of GB blasts.

"*should be burning in hell."

The Chara behind the wheel of the truck hit the gas and sped toward Blue. He snapped his fingers and the truck froze in place. He flung it backward out of the building.

"Where is your Frisk?!" I looked up at a balcony on the right and saw the Coward.

Blue winked his right eye at him. "*i'm sure if you look hard enough, you'll find 'em. i mean, they've got to be around here somewhere, right?" A red human soul encased in a white monster soul glowed in front of him.

The Coward's Papyrus panicked and teleported his Frisk away. Blue's magic let go of us. He gathered up the badges and tossed them to White.

"*that was a bit lack luster for a fight." He shrugged. "*oh well. it was a desperate move. i'm sure he's figured out that by taking red's kiddo they gave away their position. gotta go protect the home base, right?"

I shook, staring at Blue. "What did you do?"

He sighed, hands shoved in his pockets. "*my frisk died a very, very long time ago." His eyes were watering, tears threatening to break. "they were 102 years old. pretty good for a human, huh? i knew when it was time and i begged the kiddo not to leave. to reset. just reset."

He wiped the tears from his eyes. "*and they told me that they had. thousands upon thousands of times. every variation, every tiny addition or subtraction, every way things could have possibly gone, they'd seen. and that knowledge combined with their ultimate determination was their gift to me. to guide me in fixing all the anomalies."

He pulled up his turtle neck revealing a red soul resting within his white one. "*so, they're still here. it's been several hundred years since then and they sleep more often than they used too, but, at least i get to keep 'em."

He pulled his shirt back down. "*i was so mad at them for so many of the resets. whether the memories were vague or sharp, they were still painful. it wasn't until i had absorbed the kiddo's soul that i realized that they'd been looking for the perfect ending. the right combination of factors to that one perfect place for all the people they loved. and when they'd found it, they stayed there, patiently waiting for the day they gave it all to me."

He touched my forehead with one phalanges. "*a few years back, the kiddo showed me you. we needed your sans and your sans needed you. you needed to fall and i orchestrated it."

"You were the one who offered me the money to investigate the disappearances on Mt. Ebott."

Blue nodded. "*and you did a bang up job."

"Every time you bowed your head to think about something, you were talking to your Frisk," White said.

"*yep."

"HE'S SO CUTE! HE SHOULD GO TO HELL AND DIE, HE'S SO CUTE!" My voice screamed from Red's pocket.

I stiffened and turned bright red as Red pulled out his cellphone.

"Sans, did you make a ringtone out of me yelling at a video game?"

Red smiled and put an arm around me. "*of course not, sugar puss! i made several ring tones out of you swearing at a video game. Paps asked for the 'poem.'"

"And so the true cost of agreeing to a deal with Black sets in," Bones chuckled.

"Keep that up and we'll turn today's mission into a round of 'Hunt the Sans-es,'" I gritted out.

White pointed to Red. "Today on Frisk's DIY, she's going to show you how to make an attractive corpse."

"*not until i've had the chance to make some attractive corpses out of the assholes who kidnapped my little sister." Red's smile turned big and mean. He punched Blue in the arm. "*bastard."

Blue smiled. "*have your kiddo give fase the equations so she can get us the lay of the land."

Red looked at his cell and then grabbed my arm, holding up his phone. "*we need to head back to the foundation. the fucktards are attacking there."

All our phones went off at once.

"*i'll round up some help and meet you there," Blue said. He disappeared.

Bones put his arms around me. "One of you grab my GB for me, please." We fell into the void and landed directly in the armory, behind the hidden door. I could hear running in the hallway outside. When I tried to step away, his grip on me tightened.

I looked up at his face.

"Promise me that you'll keep your LV under wraps."

I sighed, looking away. "I'm sorry you feel the need to ask." I took his skull in my hands and stood on my toes to kiss his nasal bone. "I promise."

He let go and we both turned to the shelves. We grabbed our favorite toys.

"Give us the situation, C."

"We have fifteen hostiles on premises. They're spread out across the building. Give me a sec to tap into their comms." He paused. "They're looking for Red's Frisk."

"Where is she?" Bones asked.

"Asriel has her and the boy hidden off the nature trail. Looks like Az got wind of their target really fast and moved her right away."

"Casualties?" I asked.

"None so far. Just injuries. Visual data shows that when the alarms triggered, Dragon Sans started moving anyone in harms way to safe places. Damn! He's fast! Everyone else has evacuated or hidden."

"Best place for us to start from?" Bones asked as he put his arm around me.

"Front doors."

Bones short cut us to the front doors.

"Hostiles just dropped from fifteen to ten," C said.

"Blue's here, huh?" Bones asked.

"Yes, but that was all Red. And I was not aware that there was a Ninja Sans. Why isn't she on our team?!"

"We can ask her when we're finished. Start giving us directions." A movement caught my eye and I looked out the door. The Coward was heading toward the nature trail. I spun on my heel and ran out the door.

"Frisk!"

I ignored C's cursing in my head.

"Stop screaming and start tracking. He's heading for the nature trail," I said.

C quieted and a map of the area appeared in my head, the Coward glowing like a beacon ahead of me. He was too fast for a foot race. I made a sharp turn and headed for the woods, taking my own kind of short cut toward the trail through the mossy sections of the forest in order to cut him off as quickly and quietly as possible. At this rate, I would run into him just as he got to where Asriel and the Frisks were hidden.

"Shit, you're really banging on the door to the basement in your head," C said.

"Tell her to sit her ass down on the stairs. I don't need her to beat this cockroach."

I could see C's smile behind my eyes. "Trail in 50 feet."

I pulled the gun with foam core.

"Trail in thirty."

I rounded a felled tree and came to a dead stop by a huge oak. The glowing beacon in my head closed on my position. I aimed carefully and fired twice, catching him in the chest and legs with foam core. He hit the ground, skidding to a stop.

"OMG! You are such an amateur sometimes!" the hologram projecting from his collar mocked.

I heard the popping hiss of dissolvent as I came out of the tree line and the Coward muscled out of the foam. He jumped to his feet and stepped back to avoid getting my knee to jammed into his sternum. I kicked again and he moved back again. I rounded to sweep his legs and he jumped.

"So, what is this exactly?" his Chara asked. "Are you going to fight her or what? I mean, I already know you'd hit a girl. Hell, you murdered the one you were fucking in cold blood."

"Shut up, Chara."

C's voice ran through my head. "Wow. Asshole."

He jumped with a kick and I leaned backwards to dodge. He came down with two quick punches and got my cheek with a left hook. I stepped back and brought on another kick. He blocked it with one of his own and I hopped back. His next kick caught me in the face. I dropped my guard and a punch caught me in the sternum.

"That's better. For a second there, I thought you were going to choke again."

I ducked his next two swings and came up, catching him hard in the chin and knocking him on his back.

"Oh wait. Never mind."

The Coward gritted his teeth. "Either shut up or help, Chara!"

"Help? I give you far too much as it is. Maybe if you carry your own weight for a bit, I'll give you some pointers."

C hissed. "Why is replica me such a douche bag?!" C's attention was drawn to something. "We're gonna have company in about a minute. Let's show these idiots how it's done." C pulled a lock somewhere in my head and everything felt a little warmer, a little more present. Behind my eyes, a grid appeared over the Coward pointing out weak spots and holes in his armor along with a read out of suggested weapons.

I pulled the self extending metal staff from under my jacket and flicked it open. When the Coward stood, I swung, cracking him full across the face and sending him back to the ground.

"Useless!" His Chara disappeared and he stood. New information flowed along C's grid. The A.I. was taking him over.

He swung at me and I blocked it with the staff, turning to crack him with the back end. When he stumbled, I brought the staff up between his legs. He screamed in pain, but the A.I. still had control. He swung at me on unsteady legs. I cracked him in the side twice, before shoving the end of the staff into his stomach, and pushing him to the ground.

"He was doing better on his own," I said. I rested my staff on my shoulder. "He was trained to be an elite operative with superb fighting skills. Just how much of his skill have you squandered with your incessant yapping?" I lifted my staff. "This ends here."

I felt the bullet hit my right shoulder before I'd heard the shot. The second one caught me in the back, passing through a lung. I hit the ground, landing on the wounded shoulder. I gritted my teeth and worked on keeping my breathing even and slowing down my heart so I wouldn't bleed out.

"DAMMIT!" C yelled. "Bones! Red! Anyone! Get here before Frisk needs to access her save!"

The Coward rose, eyes red, and waved off the sniper. Chara's voice fell from his lips. "I want her alive. Has anyone found the Fell girl yet?"

A Chara came out of the tree line, a rifle slung over his shoulder. "She's somewhere around here. We need to eliminate her fast. The Prime Sans is here and he brought friends. Sans-es we've never seen before."

A Chaos Saber sliced the sniper in half. Asriel put himself between me and the Coward. His eyes were strange and his horns appeared longer. He certainly looked bigger. I felt cold and very thirsty.

The Coward froze, staring up at Az. One of his eyes turned blue.

"NO! NO!" The Coward's voice came back. He fell to his knees, holding onto his head. "I won't do it! I won't let you kill him again!"

His Papyrus appeared, grabbed his collar, and disappeared.

Someone was wrapping a blanket around me. I couldn't lift my head to get a proper look. All I saw was a set of boney fingers.

Asriel knelt next to me and touched my head gently. "Status, C." His voice sounded strange. Far more kingly than it ever had before.

"With the exception of their leader and his Papyrus, all hostiles have been eliminated."

"I meant my sister."

"Right scapula, clavicle, and ribs three and four on the right are broken. Right lung punctured and significant blood loss. She's in shock and keeps thinking about how cold and thirsty she is."

Asriel looked at whoever was touching me. Was it Bones? I couldn't see if the boney hands had holes in them or not. "Get her to the lab and start talking to her. Don't stop until I need you out of the way. C? Tell Alphys to prep for surgery."

That voice which was equal parts ethereal and earthly wrapped around me. Bones lifted me and I shivered. I couldn't make out what anyone was saying anymore, vision blurry. I could still hear his voice, though not the actual words. I stared at the fur collar on his jacket just to have something to focus on. I wasn't sure how much time passed before I saw Alphys hand and an oxygen mask coming toward my face. I felt a needle in my arm and I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a room off the lab in a medical bed. Bones was gently holding my right hand. He was sleeping on the two seater next to the bed. Mom was sleeping next to him, head on his shoulder. I knew from experience she'd regret that later. Boney shoulders did not make good pillows. My copy of Vandermeer's Annihilation was in his lap. It's a short book, especially for a fast reader like him. I was sure he'd finished it.

C was asleep in his room in my head, curled up with his waifu pillow of a scantily clad, generic anime girl. He'd made it specifically to annoy me just after implantation when we were still getting used to sharing the same head. Now it was just another thing we both giggled about.

I used my left hand to lift the blankets covering me and winced. Asriel was an amazing surgeon, but this injury was going to leave a mark even after eating some monster food. Maybe, when everything was said and done, I'd take Red up on the tattoo idea.

I looked at the clock on the wall. Four in the morning. I attempted to sit up and immediately wished I hadn't.

D was suddenly standing next to the bed, gently laying me back down. "*Woah there," he whispered. "*Asriel didn't think you'd be awake this soon."

I stopped myself from shrugging, which would have been very painful. "Not the first time I've taken a bullet."

He smiled a little. "*I guess not." He sat on the edge of the bed. "*I'd get you something to eat, but Asriel was very clear that you didn't eat anything until he cleared it."

I nodded. "Do you mind if I ask you a question or two about your Frisk?"

D's skull took on that strange half frown I'd seen on every one of his variation of Sans. "*Well, yes. But I don't get the luxury of not answering, so ask away."

"He's been trying to kidnap me and when his A.I. had the chance to kill me, it said it wanted me alive. What's going on there?"

That half frown graced his skull again. "*You called Frisk a coward. He doesn't like to be seen as weak in the same way that you don't like to ask for help. It maybe that he's trying to kidnap you so he can convince you he isn't a coward. When he's flustered about something, he always falls back on wanting to explain how the situation was not the way you saw it. As for the A.I., I don't know. That thing was never right."

"Was it always so antagonistic to him?"

D shook his head. "*That grew over time. After I tried to make a reset that would give Frisk the memory erasure he so desperately wants, it became severely frustrated with him. The A.I. was the one searching out the other Frisk's with his past to start. When Frisk and Paps would come back from meeting one of you, Frisk would be worse and the A.I. would be quiet for a while. It never lasted long. As soon as a new version was found, the A.I. would again be abusive until after the meeting."

"As far as you know, did the other versions of me have A.I. implants?"

"*Some did. Some didn't."

And idea struck me. "Based on what you've seen in dragon form, would you say that Frisk's A.I. was more abusive after encounters with me?"

D's eyes narrowed. "*Now that I know you are the female Paps and Frisk spoke about on several occasions, yes."

I sank into the pillow, staring at the ceiling. "And your brother indicated that all the other versions of me encountered were dead." I closed my eyes for a minute, putting the puzzle together. I looked at him. "The A.I. wants a new host." I tried to sit up again and hissed at the pain, before laying back down.

I felt Bones squeeze my right hand, but kept looking at D. "I didn't know they had a sniper in their ranks until I ended up bleeding on the ground. That means the A.I. has been keeping the truly skilled Frisks and Charas in reserve while waiting to find a new host. Who made the badges?"

D shook his head. "*I don't know. I cannot imagine that my brother would do such a thing. But, like your Sans and Papyrus, we are effected by a Gaster that has been dispersed. The world their holed up on might have a version of my father that was truly evil." He looked down. "I don't like to think about that. I miss my father and it's hard to think of him in that light especially when I live with his memories."

I squeezed his hand again and gave him a smile. "Thank you for helping us yesterday."

He grinned with a sheepish blush and rubbed the back of his skull. "*You're welcome!" He looked at me seriously for a moment. "*I would have helped even if I hadn't owed you all." He patted my hand. "*I'll go see if Asriel is up yet. The sooner you have some monster food the sooner you'll be on your feet. Red and his brother are waiting to talk to you."

I nodded and watched him go. Bones squeezed my right hand again and I looked at him.

"Hey, Beautiful. How ya, feeling?"

"The pain meds are starting to wear off. So, not so great. How much of that did you catch?"

Bones stood and touched my face. "I've been awake since D came into the room."

"Hands to yourself, Sans."

Bones looked at my mother and gave her a big smirk. He moved one boney hand to cover my face and put the other on my stomach. "Good morning, Grace!"

Mom rolled her eyes and came to stand next to him. She swatted at him with a smile and he went back to holding my hand. She pulled the blanket back to look at the injury and flinched. "Will you please stop trying to do impressions of your father? Dying heroically is not a competition."

Bones pointed at my mom. "I'm with her on that one."

She shooed him along. "Shoo! Give me a minute with my only child."

He gave her a bright smile and a mock bow. "Yes, ma'am." He leaned in and nuzzled my cheek. I gave him a quick peck on his jaw bone before he headed out the door.

Mom sighed, watching him go, a soft smile on her face. "He sat here reading that book to you while you slept."

"I was wondering why Bones had it."

"He said he does that whenever you're recovering from an injury in the lab. It's a good book. Your dad would have loved it." Mom hopped up to sit on the edge of the bed. "Stop scaring Sans like that. I made peace with the inevitability of you suffering horrific injury and death when your father told me you'd been selected to be a Viper. Sans is not prepared for that. I understand that you have some special ability to go backwards in time and cheat death, but that ability does not erase his memory. I know that you've died in his arms at least once. Your training taught you to be self reliant, but this is not the same thing. You can rely on Sans."

I smiled. "Are you saying you like my boyfriend, Mom?"

Mom pointed at me. "You're trying to change the subject. Stop." She frowned. "And don't call him your boyfriend. That's not even close to describing your relationship. It's not intimate enough." She leaned in and kissed my forehead. "From what Red is working on in your office, I'm pretty sure that this is it for the people who have worked so hard to kill us all. The last stand. Don't let it become the moment so intense that Sans walks away because it's easier to be without you than to be near you waiting for the moment you disappear on him for good."

I covered my face with my left hand, eyes closed for a moment. When I opened them, I noticed the edge of a boot next to the window wall. Bones hadn't left. He'd just moved out of sight. I sank back into the pillow again. "I won't."

"Good." She hopped off the bed.

Asriel came in the room with a tray. "You're up way too early." He set the tray down and I spied a piece of his special cinnamon-butterscotch pie.

My mouth started watering. "Can I have the pie now?"

"After I check my work. And I'd rather you sleep instead." He pulled the blanket away and carefully inspected the exit wounds on my shoulder and underneath my breast. Helping me sit up, he looked at the entry wounds on my back. He frowned and sighed. "I did my best, but even after I give you the pie, you'll still have scarring."

"I figured that would be the case."

He pulled the rolling table over and put pie in front of me. "Here you go. Fresh from the oven."

I smiled and dug in. The boot edge wasn't in sight anymore. I sighed and chewed thoughtfully while Mom talked with Asriel. The pie finished, I could feel my insides completely knit back together. I rolled my right shoulder. I was stiff, but otherwise good.

Bones appeared in the door with my uniform in his arm. "Ready to feel normal again?" He handed me the uniform.

Mom huffed. "If you equate her uniform with normal I'll smack you."

I pulled on my pants. "Be nice to him or he might not let you borrow the Camaro anymore."

Bones shrugged. Mom reached into his pocket, quick a snake, and grabbed the keys to the garage. He snatched them back just as quick.

My jaw dropped. "Are you trying to steal from Bones?"

"I'm trying, but he's not making it easy."

He winked at her with his left eye.

I chuckled and buttoned my shirt. After pulling on my socks and shoes, I stood. "Time to see what Red and his brother have cooked up."

"I hope you don't mean that literally, because I'm pretty sure Papyrus uses his cooking as a form of torture," Asriel said, wincing.

"That bad, huh?" Mom asked.

I left the room and Bones followed. I'd taken two steps passed the door when he put his arm around me and short cut us to my apartment. I turned to look at him. He was so tired, his eye didn't have it's typical white glow.

I touched the side of his skull. "You need more sleep."

"Not as much as I need you." He nuzzled my neck, his tongue sliding under my collar.

Oh God. He... He was never this bold. How badly had I scared him?

I sighed when his boney hands came up under my dress shirt. I ran my fingers along his rib cage, earning a satisfied hum.

"You know I'm not going to abandon you, don't you?" he whispered. One of his hands slid down my back while the other came up my side.

I wrapped a hand around his spine, gently caressing the vertebrae. He put my back to the wall and claimed my mouth when I gasped.

The room suddenly felt crowded. A deep exasperation passed over Bones. I looked around him and saw Red and King Chara sitting on my couch.

"Oh, don't stop on our account. Looks like you two were getting to the good part," Chara said. He smiled, hands behind his head, one leg propped up on the other.

I glared at him.

Chara chuckled. "Oh please. It's not our fault if we go looking for you after you both disappear from the lab."

"*sorry, sugar plum. if it were any other time, i'd let ya be. but we can't wait on this one." Red stood. "*are you feelin' all right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He frowned the way he always did when he wanted to talk and didn't have the time too. "*paps is waiting. you need to see the info fase pulled for us."

xxx

Author's Note: Vandermeer's Annihilation is one of my fav sci-fi books. It's a short read and a good stand alone if you aren't interested in the reading the trilogy. Be prepared to never see lighthouses in the same way again.