Triggers: detailed descriptions of explosions, death, blood, verbal abuse, and self-hate

Thank you StarBee24 for reviewing last chapter and thank you all who followed and faved this story! It truly means a lot when I know people are liking this! I apologize for the late chapter... this one didn't want to be written. I swear I've rewritten parts of this at least five times... So please review! Love hearing from you guys!

Chapter theme: Goodbye Blue Sky by Pink Floyd (I recommend you listen to this while reading.)

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. We will be in contact shortly."

"Have a safe drive back Agent Wallace. Agent Abbott. I am just thankful you did not arrest Lynn. She really does not have anything to do with this murder."

"We'll see."

With that the agents both clambered into their car and drove back the way they came, leaving a plume of dust in their wake. Lynn didn't care to see them off, turning instead to walk silently into Toriel's house.

She hadn't said a word since she'd been forced to show everyone her 'dungeon'. The werewolf was mortified when everyone had been curious to see the inside of the cabin. She was thankful that the agents had forbidden it, saying that it was 'part of a crime scene'. That didn't stop some of the monsters from looking through the cracks of the boarded up windows though.

Lynn trod down the familiar hallway, turned into her room and quietly shut the door behind her. The tired woman immediately shuffled to the closet and dug around in the neat stacks of boxes until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a beat up shoebox with such reverence one would think she was holding a deeply sacred object.

She held the slowly disintegrating cardboard box close to her as she shuffled back towards the bed and plopped herself unceremoniously onto the floor. The lid was lifted to reveal dozens and dozens of photographs and small composition books laying in haphazard stacks. She picked up the topmost one, coincidentally the largest one in the box, off of a battered composition book and scrutinized it for a long time.

With a disgusted sigh she tossed it away and moved onto the other photos, eventually spreading the captured memories onto the floor before her. So absorbed in her memories was she that she never heard the gentle knock on the door or noticed it when Toriel and Papyrus filed in. Their unique scents and the sound of gentle shuffling brought their presence to her attention.

Lynn was unwilling to discuss what needed to be discussed and gently picked up a picture from her spread. A soft smile brushed over her chapped lips as she examined the four people staring merrily up at her, drinks in their hands.

"This is me with my dearest friends," she informed them, turning the photo so they could see it. "The ginger's name was Corporal Keen, Pacey Keen. The pretty brunette was Lance Corporal Anita Sadler, and my commanding officer is the big buff guy, Major Ravid Franz. They were all like me... werewolves."

Her smile turned sad as she turned the photo back towards her. "Anita was bit right before she came back from leave and was the most inexperienced one out of all of us. Keen, we called him by his last name, had been living with this about as long as I had, about a year and a half at the time. Major was the one that had it the longest; roughly fifteen years. I dunno how he hid it from 'is wife for so long; I heard that they were getting a divorce before—"

She bit off the end of her sentence as an explosion echoed in her ears. Her breath hitched and her eyes clenched shut as she shook her head to clear it out.

"I dunno why we were assigned the same freakin' Humvee. All I know is that a suicide bomber threw herself onto Major and blew us sky-high. It was coincidental that Anita, Keen, and I were in the blast radius, or so they say." A scoff interrupted her narrative and she shook her head in disgust. "Hell, I don't even remember why I had my pack off at the time. I guess it's not important now; They're dead and I'm left with the scars of my failure!"

Lynn's features twisted in a snarl and she angrily swiped her arm across the photos, scattering them further away. One of them landed near Papyrus and he quietly picked it up. His eyes widened slightly as he took in a younger, darker Lynn in her full dress uniform, gazing at the camera with bright brown eyes. Her hair, the colour of roasted walnuts, was pulled back in a simple yet neat bun at the back of her head. There were fewer pale scars running across her face. The most notable feature were her eyes, the same colour of the earth, and they burned with pride. It lit up her whole face and made her seem that much younger.

When Papyrus looked back down at the broken woman at his feet, he was alarmed to see her with her head in between her hands. She gently rocked back and forth and his soul ached to go to her. He struggled to keep himself rooted though, as he sensed that she had more things to get off her chest.

"I was so goddamned proud that I was serving my country," she rambled, more to herself than to the two silent monsters in the room. "I was so full of life and hope and, god, I was so naive to the horrors of life. We were trained that the Marines are the toughest, strongest branch in the US military. We trained harder, we are the first to be called to battle, and we were the hardest to kill. So why am I so goddamned weak?"

Her voice never rose but the intensity of the emotions that suffused it took his breath away. Her fingers curled into her hair and threatened to rip the strands right out of her skull. The photo shook in his grasp as he longed to throw himself down beside her and hold her until she was better.

"I can't even recognize an abusive relationship when it was staring me in the face! I allowed myself to get beaten and raped and berated. What happened to me ? Where did my pride go? My self-respect? I had so much potential so how did I end up like this?"

"STOP," Papyrus pleaded, dropping the photo in his hand and picking his way around the photos. Before the woman could make a sound of protest he dropped down beside her and scooped her into his arms. Lynn stiffened in his grasp and, for a second, he was afraid she would shove him off. After a moment or two of uncertainty she gave in with a soft sob and buried her face into his chest.

"YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH." Papyrus felt desperate fingers claw at his shirt and he tightened his grip a little. "IT'S OKAY TO FEEL SAD AND ANGRY AND LOST. BUT THE ONLY THING I WILL NOT ALLOW IS FOR ANYONE TO TALK BADLY ABOUT MY FRIEND, INCLUDING YOURSELF."

Lynn stiffened in his grasp again but he plowed on regardless. "YOU ARE A GREAT, HARDWORKING PERSON THAT TRIES SO HARD. YOUR SENSE OF HUMOUR NEEDS WORK THOUGH... TOO MANY PUNS..."

A strangled noise, perhaps a cross between a sob and a laugh, escaped the woman and Papyrus grinned in victory.

"WHO YOU WERE BEFORE AND WHO YOU ARE NOW ARE NOT THE SAME. YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO WHO YOU WERE BEFORE BUT YOU CAN MAKE YOUR WAY FORWARD AND FIND YOUR PRIDE AGAIN."

The skeleton was met with silence, though the good kind that meant that she was absorbing all the information he spouted. After a minute or two she wiped her eyes and drew back, a tiny, watery smile of gratitude on her lips.

"Thank you Pap," she murmured, sniffling. She took a moment to survey the scattered photos. "I don't deserve your kindness."

He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off with a gentle peck on his cheekbone. Amusement lit her eyes up as, somehow, his cheeks started to glow red. She shook her head in amazement.

"I don't deserve your kindness, but I will do my damnedest to earn it. I have been slowly earning the others' trust over this past month and I won't let this get in the way." Lynn turned puffy eyes to the other monster in the room, who had patiently been waiting for her to calm, and gave her a small smile. "I'm sure you two came in here to get my opinion on something and not listen to my sob story. What do you need?"

Toriel quickly dabbed at the corners of her eyes and cleared her throat a few times before she spoke. "I-I am not certain if I should ask you now. You clearly need time to—"

"Toriel," Lynn sighed, "I'm trying to earn everyone's trust. The best way is to help you guys get out of this mess."

The goat monster gave her a searching look. Lynn matched her stare evenly, not backing down from her request. After a moment of intense staring the motherly monster gave in, glancing away and narrowing her lips.

"The other monsters and I think it is best to have our own investigation," Toriel informed her coolly. "They also think that you would be a great asset to have in the investigation."

"Ah." Lynn sat back, brow furrowed in contemplation. "Makes sense. It's unlikely the FBI would be willing to share what they dig up."

"It would seem so."

Lynn hummed in agreement. "Also, I could possibly be a greater ally than you think."

At Toriel's raised eyebrows her lip twitched in bitter amusement. "Us surface monsters can sense each other. Well, within a limited range. That's how we find each other and form sort of a community. Quite often it's among the same 'species'. Ya know, werewolves and werewolves, vampires and vampires, excreta, excreta."

"Really?" Toriel asked, impressed. Lynn nodded, ran a hand through her hair, and pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"If it is a surface monster, then it had to have been created within the last month. I sensed no one like me before I came here and I'm too far away from the city to sense them now."

Lynn tiled her head to one side and bit her lip. After another moment she nodded once and set to gathering the scattered photographs.

"I'll do it. Pap, go find Undyne; we're going into town in my truck."

"My child, do you think it is wise to do this right now?"
Lynn glanced up at the monster, an unintelligible emotion burning in her dark eyes.

"The sooner the better."

Fifteen minutes later the werewolf, skeleton, and fish monster squeezed themselves into Lynn's single cabin truck and puttered down the highway towards the human city. As the miles passed Lynn got more and more tense, knuckles tightening on the steering wheel until they were as white as Papyrus's bones. The skeleton seemed to sense this and struck up a loud conversation about the music playing on the radio, giving each song his own personal rating. He succeeded in drawing Lynn out of her dark thoughts and she put in her own input, even correcting Papyrus whenever he mistitled a song or band name.

Her tension returned when they drove into the city proper. They turned off onto one of the packed city streets and began making their way around the perimeter of the city. Papyrus and Undyne were quieter now, opting to ogle at the city and its tall buildings.

"NYEH! LYNN LOOK! THAT CAR LOOKS JUST LIKE MY BED!"

Lynn flinched as a bony arm shot past her face and pointed out the window at a scarlet Corvette stuck beside them. The Corvette's passenger, a haughty looking blonde woman wearing huge sunglasses, turned her head at the enthusiastic shout. She wrinkled her nose at the three monsters and promptly rolled up her window.

"Bitch," Lynn huffed, glaring at the window and shaking her head.

"Punk!" Undyne agreed, crossing her arms before a huge sign caught her eye. Her head whipped around so fast that Lynn was concerned she would get whiplash. The fish monster's fist connected with Papyrus's shoulder and pointed at it with a clawed finger.

"HEY! Isn't that whats-his-face? Alphys's friend!"

"I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU UNDYNE! THAT IS OBVIOUSLY METTATON!"

"What's he doing up there?"

Lynn chuckled and automatically switched lanes in preparation to turn off. "Didn't you guys know? He's gettin' quite popular on the music scene. Especially among the anime crowd."

Papyrus was practically bouncing in his seat in excitement and his eyes glittered in joy. "WOWIE! THAT IS ALMOST AS GOOD AS ME BECOMING A ROYAL GUARD!"

"I would imagine so," Lynn laughed and nudged him with her elbow. A soft tingling nagged at the back of her mind, familiar only to her, and was getting stronger by the mile.

"Hey punk?" Undyne asked after a few more minutes, craning her neck to look at the woman. "Where are we?!"

"THAT'S WHAT I'M WONDERING! BIG HUMAN, WHERE ARE WE?"

Lynn looked around herself and tightened her grip on the steering wheel when she recognized their surroundings. "I-I'm following what my senses are telling me. It so happens that I'm where I used to live..."

Sure enough the her old apartment complex rolled into sight. Her heart spasmed in her chest. Her chest tightened around her lungs. Fear and dread, acid on her tongue, burned her throat. Her stomach turned to lead and she felt the urge to vomit.

"LYNN!" she flinched at the loud voice and almost gave into the instinct to shove herself away from it. The smell of bones and sushi brought her back to herself and found that they were stopped in the middle of the street. The woman turned around in her seat, saw that the apartments were behind them, and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"'M fine Pap. Sorry for scaring you guys." Lynn took her foot off the brake and they continued puttering down the road. "Had a...a flashback."

Bony fingers squeezed her upper arm comfortingly and her lips twitched in gratitude. It was when they found themselves back on the main road did Undyne break the silence that had fallen in the truck.

"So, did ya think they were there?"

Lynn jumped as the monster's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. It took her a second to process Undyne's question and shrugged.

"I dunno... I couldn't sense much above my... flashback. I was drawn there for a reason, but I dunno if it's related to our case..."

Lynn shook her head and contented herself on focusing on the road. A loud WHOOP and the flash of red and blue behind her dashed that idea and she groaned in annoyance.

"Fuckin' hell," she muttered as she pulled over onto the side of the road and leaned to open her glovebox. "Undyne, could you move your leg some?"

There was a rapt knock on the window as Lynn closed the glovebox and she moved to roll it down. Recognition flashed in her eyes when she got a full look at the officer and a tentative smile flickered on her lips.

"Officer Harlow. Long time no see."

"Same to you Lynn," he replied, his friendly smile not quite reaching his eyes. He leaned down and stared at the monsters beside her, who waved tentatively at him, and then scrutinized her. "Heard you and Tommy broke it off."

Lynn's smile melted and her hands fidgeted a little. "Yeah... It was... pretty bad."

Officer Harlow hummed noncommittally, his light brown eyes narrowed in thought. "He's pretty broken up about it, 'cha know? He was telling everyone how you were 'the One' an' how he was plannin' the weddin'. Even showed me th' ring an' everything."

Lynn's throat was as tight as her fingers on the steering wheel. "O-oh..."

"Oh is right." Harlow gave her a piercing look and stood up again. "Just thought you should know how badly you shattered the poor man's heart."

Lynn didn't know how to respond to the barely concealed scorn and simply hummed. The officer shook his head and rapped on the truck's roof.

"I'll tell him that you look okay. You should've let him know at least that."

Harlow spun on his heel before Lynn could get a word in and marched back to his car. She watched as he backed up and, with a final scornful glance, peeled out of there. As soon as his car was out of sight Lynn dropped her head into her hands and strangled down the urge to scream.

"Lynn..?"

She jumped as bony arms pulled her into an awkward hug. The woman exhaled a shaky breath and rested her head against Papyrus's ribs. As soon as her thoughts were clear enough to continue on she tapped on the skeleton's arm and he pulled away.

"I-I'm okay now," Lynn quietly reassured her friends and, after a few failed attempts, started the truck up again. They puttered back onto the road and it was silent all the way home, save for the radio.

"Lynn, buddy! Long time no see!"

"Ell! Come have a drink with us! We gotta catch up!"

"Sargent Otaktay, git yer ass over 'ere!"

Lynn's breath hitched and tears pricked the edges of her eyes. It had been a long time she heard the voices she knew so intimately. She turned away from the darkness and found her friend's faces.

"Come on over!" Keen shouted once again, waving his mug of beer and spilling most of it onto the dingy floor. "Tell us what's happening with you!"

Joy lifted her heart and lips and she took a hopping step forward. Her foot landed with a faint thunk.

Her friend's bright faces, the icy eyes that seemed to melt with her, the hunter eyes that shone a shade lighter, and the doe eyes that danced, was the last thing she glimpsed before a blast tore them away. The flying shrapnel and dust, none of which ever touched her, swallowed her wordless scream of horror.

"Look at what you've done." A silky voice murmured into her ear. The weight of His hand was warm and almost comforting if not for the cool apathy in his voice.

"I've done NOTHING!"

Lynn spun around to face him, teeth bared as if she would tear his very soul out. A sharp stab of ice in her belly stopped her cold. Something hot and sticky flowed out around the bolt of ice. Numb knees hit the floor.

Glowing warm adoration lifted faintly pink lips and smooth pale cheeks into a loving smile. His straw brows relaxed and lifted, completing the expression. Frostbitten eyes stared down at her, a malicious sort of pride frozen in their depths.

"Precisely, my love." His toothy smile was borderline hostile as he kneeled down to her level, one knee touching the bloodstained floor. "I have done nothing but give to you. I gave you a home! Gave you the tools to get over whatever the hell is wrong with you! And this is the THANKS I GET?!"

Long pale fingers shoved themselves inside one of his pockets and withdrew something small. He regarded it for a moment, boiling anger melting the ice in his eyes, and he threw it at the ground. The gold ring bounced once and rolled into the blood pooling at her knees.

"I loved you! I cherished you! The only thing I asked from you was to abide by my rules!"

Another length of cold steel was in his fingers and he gripped it with white knuckles. His other hand flew behind her and yanked her head back with a painful jerk of her hair. A wordless gurgle flew out of her lips.

"You tore my heart to shreds! Now you will feel an inkling of my pain!"

Steel, colder than any ice, buried itself to the hilt precisely between her third and fourth ribs. An unearthly scream tore out of her throat. Her heart fluttered wildly and then-!

Lynn bolted up, scream just behind her teeth. Something crunched and flittered just out of her field of vision and she instinctively scrambled away from it. The feel of falling and the jarring impact of the floor jolted her out of her mindless panic. Panicked hands groped the cloth over her heart and stomach, searching for any trace of her blood leaking out from her. When she found nothing but unbroken skin she gasped in relief and succumbed to bitter tears.

"O-oh god... Oh Go-od why?"

The memory of those eyes, her friends' welcoming eyes, swam to the front of her mind and her breath burst out in a pitiful sob.

"God, why me?! Why me? Why me-e-e..?"

Desperate, grieving sobs gave way to whimpers and harsh breathing. Her chest felt too tight and her head felt light. Tremors ran up and down her aching body. Vaguely, music started to filter through the ringing in her ears. It sounded familiar and she tried so hard to focus on discerning the lyrics.

As she focused on listening to the music—Pink Floyd; she'd forgotten that she'd put in his album—she felt her body slowly relax. By the time a few songs had played she was steady enough to slowly get to her feet and examine her surroundings.

Her blankets were twisted and pulled half off the bed, which would explain why she couldn't get free right away, and papers were strewn over the bed and floor. It took her a moment to remember why they had been stacked there of all places; she had been reading over the plans for a school that Toriel had given her. That was her next big project after New Grilbys.

The discordant music set her nerves on edge and, before she realized what she was doing, she'd slipped out of her room and was on her way out of the house. The cool night air dried the remainder of her tears and relief flooded her being. Dirt crunched softly under her bare feet as she padded along in a random direction. Belatedly, Lynn realized that she was only dressed in her night clothes; a steel grey camisole and loose sage green pajama pants.

The woman stared at the ground and allowed her mind to drift, not even paying attention to where her feet were taking her. Had she been paying attention she would've known that there was one other occupant watching her carefully from the shadows. Eventually the overwhelming feeling of being observed slowed her pace some. The werewolf closed her eyes and allowed her other senses take over. They felt like they belonged in the quaint town so she wasn't overly worried. The faint click clack of bones cemented the identity of her stalker and the knowledge made her lips twitch.

"Bonely Sans?" she called out softly, caution underlying the humour in her voice. "Yer gonna have to put more backbone into keepin' quiet if yer gonna stalk me."

She felt a rush of magic in the air—much like a tingling pressure wave—and his presence was suddenly a short ways from her. Lynn opened her eyes and found Sans leaning lazily against a tree a few yards from her. His grin was amused but the white pinpricks that were his pupils radiated caution.

"what'dda doin' out here this time of night?" he asked easily, his pupils flickering to the waning gibbous still high in the sky. "don't'ya know that most people are sleepin'?"

Lynn shrugged, mood souring some as lingering feelings from her dream surfaced again. "Decided to take a walk."

His eyes flicked back at her guarded tone and he scrutinized her face, as if searching for something in her expression. Something of her inner feelings must've showed on her face because the caution bled out of his eyes and was replaced with understanding.

"you get 'em too..?" Both the soft, vulnerable tone and the fact that he pinpointed what was wrong stunned Lynn into silence. She blinked a few times in rapid succession as the question processed in her mind.

"A-are you talkin' about... 'bout the nightmares..?"

His pupils darted away at the question but that was all the answer she needed. A disbelieving huff escaped her lips and she tilted her head back. A mob of questions swarmed her mind but she refrained from asking any of them, getting the feeling that they would stray too close for comfort for the both of them.

"Do..." Sans's voice jolted her from her thoughts and she open an eye to regard him. His white pupils seemed to be locked on something behind her though they flickered to her face occasionally. The skeleton seemed to be very uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

"Do...?" Lynn prompted, lowering her chin to look a him properly. She had a feeling about what he wanted to ask.

He seemed to struggle with the words. Finally, Sans took a deep breath and stared at the ground in front of him.

"do...do you.. wanna talk... about it..?"

The hesitation in his voice made her want to smile. As the werewolf considered his words a soft smile did lift her lips; It was his way of extending the olive branch.

But did she want to share the horror of her dream?

Lynn bit her lip briefly, showing her own hesitation, before she wordlessly approached Sans. He stiffened and she slowed her pace, allowing his posture to relax some before she plopped down under a tree across from his. A slow blink of what she assumed was surprised—she wasn't too good at deciphering his expressions yet; she was used to Papyrus's exaggerated ones—before he slid down the trunk and settled himself onto the ground.

"so..." Sans started, letting the word hang between them for a handful of beats. "wha's eatin' you?"

Lynn huffed out an amused breath, chewing on her lip as she wrestled with finding the right words. She could feel that she had his undivided attention and her cheeks warmed a bit.

"I... I dreamed of them. My friends from the military. They.. they were like a family to me. I would lay down my life for any of them.

"Anyway, they were in a bar, one of those dinky ass places where the beer is cheap and the food even cheaper. They... they invited me to their table... just like old times... and catch up. They... wanted to know what I was up to..."

Lynn took a deep breath as the familiar ache surrounded her heart. The sound of Keen's boisterous laughter, Anita's cheerful giggles and Major's exasperated yet amused sighs echoed in her ears and she shoved them away from the front of her mind.

"I was so fuckin' happy to see them. It had been so long since I had heard their voices and seen their smiles. I wanted nothing more than to run to them and hug them and never let them go."

The werewolf clenched her eyes shut and leaned her head back, hitting the trunk of the tree with a soft thunk.

"Th' bar exploded as soon as I took a step. It was like seeing them die all over again... The smoke, th' debris, the smell of death, all of it the same. M-my ex, Tommy, showed up then, telling me that it was my fault they were dead.

"He stabbed me when I faced him... He told me that all he did was give to me... A home... Love... Affection..."

A soft sob escaped her then, hot tears trickling down her cheeks despite the fact that she was tired of them. Sans hadn't said a word since she started talking and she was very thankful for that.

"D-did ya know he wanted to marry me?! I learned that in town today. H-he took out the ring and threw it at my feet. He also told me that I broke his heart and now I was gonna feel an inkling of his pain. He stabbed me again, this time in my heart and... that's when I woke up..."

Lynn covered her face with her hands and struggled to get ahold of herself. Self-loathing and hot shame coursed through her like a fast acting venom.

"That's not even the most fucked up part," she whispered, bitterness dripping with every syllable. "The most fucked up part is that I still love him."

A note of near hysterical laughter escaped her throat and she dropped her hands to clench in her lap.

"I still love the seductive, abusive, cruel, manipulating, controlling, motherfucking bastard..! How fucked am I, right?!"

Lynn's fingernails dug into the skin of her palm and small streams of blood flowed down the abused skin. She welcomed the pain; that's what she deserved for being so goddamned sick, right?

"So what's eatin' you? Surely you didn't wait up all night just to listen to my sob story."