CHAPTER SEVEN: Who are you…?

Sans.

Something happened to sans.

Gasters hand drifts up to his melted, darkened excuse for a chest, and rests there- right above where his soul is, pulsing within his melting body. And, Through barriers of static, he can feel two other souls, one tainted orange and the other tainted blue…his sons. His wonderful sons…

His soul went dark. I felt it go out, for a few moments I thought…I thought he was dead, but then…then I felt him again. Stronger. So much stronger…his soul was glowing so brightly…I felt it even here. What happened? I…I'm glad I can still feel their souls, that means they're definitely alive, and hopefully reasonably safe…they have managed to stay safe, even …without me, but what happened to…?

Gaster has stayed by the door, stayed by the one connection to reality that he still has. He has stayed, waiting for whoever…that was. The one that sang. He thinks. He wonders. He even does math, making problems for himself to solve, simply to do something while he waits. He's been talking to the door as well, but mostly he just thinks at it, treating it like his old audio logs from years ago. Many years ago.

I felt strong emotions from both of them. For sans, rage and then pain… which for him would be deadly…

He shudders at the thought. Ever since he had found out about sans's HP so long ago, he had focused on both protecting him and teaching him to protect himself. Teleportation was especially important to master… he smiles to himself at the warm memory of sans managing his first teleport…he was so happy…

For papyrus, fear and then…very, very strong grief, mixed with fury…which would be uncharacteristic- i think. I haven't seen them in so long…

he wonders if papyrus is still that upbeat-optimistic-ball-of-confidence that he was, so long ago…He misses them so, so much…He would give anything to see them again. He can still remember papyrus leaping off cupboards and wardrobes, trying to learn to fly, which had driven Gaster up the wall- until he found his energetic, overjoyed son levitating a foot off the ground. He misses them both so much…he would pay any price to see those brilliant smiles of theirs again.

Then I felt Sans's soul light up again, so much stronger, and after a few minutes, a wave of relief from papyrus… Then, when sans woke, there was a wave of disbelief, and i think the strongest font of emotion i've ever felt from him.…so, it at least worked out well. Whatever happened…

He wonders what could possibly have happened for sans to feel so strongly, so fully and intensely, it would echo even to his battered and shattered soul. What kind of revelation could reforge a shattered connection between souls, even across time and space?

"Tra La La …what's my name? …it doesn't really matter…"

There, there it is again! Gaster goes pole straight, his roiling, melted darkness flashing rigid as he listens intently. The voice, it came back! He wasn't hallucinating, it was real, really-

"Have you found the Key, Tra La?"

Gaster freezes in place, his mind racing, trying to formulate some sort of plan or anything helpful as the voice whistles and winds through the door.

It's definitely real.

I- I have to respond-

Talk, come on- just talk, TALK, it's not that hard-!

Talktalktalktalktalktalktalktalktalk-

TALKTALKTALKTALKTALKTALKTALKTALK-

GOD DAMN IT, GASTER YOU OLD FOOL TALK-!

"Tra La La, The Water Is Busy Toda-"

" ✍ ✌ ? ✋? ?¬レミ?¬リワ ❄ ✍✏"

Gaster abruptly shouts through the door, finally getting the words out in a hiss of WingDings static, pole straight and keeping himself completely still as he listens intently for any response. His voice creaks like old hinges, rough and cracked from an innumerable time of disuse. Doctor Gaster waits, internally muttering to himself like a frightened child. Please, please be real…please…

"Oh? Hello, Hello, I did not know the door had a Who…"

The voice pauses, as Gaster reels in shock. He's… talking to someone. After so long, after so, so long…someone can hear him, someone…someone can help him! He can get back, he-

"If you are who your font forgets, than it must be You….Tra La La~"

I…they hear me…i…i can't believe it…I…I am heard, I am…I'm real…I'm real, I'm here, somehow, and- Emotions rush through the mangled, melting and shadowed skeleton, his one working eye welling up with tears as he rests his melting skull against the gray, solid door, trying to get himself together and respond.

" ?¬ワᄀ ❄ ✌ ? ✡ ? ✌ ✌ ✏ ✡ ? ✌ ✌?¬ント?¬ワフ ✡ ✌ ✏"

He manages to shout through the rock-hard wood, in hope and disbelief and almost in fear, but the voice cuts him off.

"Your words are but hiss and click, but I know a quick fix…tra la la, time to visit a friend…"

Oh…of course. They…they cannot possibly understand me, I was a fool to- Wait. But… a fix…? Do they mean a way to understand me? That's impossible. Only my fa- only my sons can understand my particular cipher font. And they cannot see me sign through the door, so, how would they…? Unless… someone made…a code…? A keycode, yes I had heard of such things for cypher fonts, but…only skeletons can see words and fonts, so how…?

"Tra La La, I will be back when the day shows its face, friend…"

Wait, WHAT?! NO, NO DON'T-

A distant rush of water. And then he is alone. Again. He missed his chance, they're gone, they'll never- He shouts, hisses in his static font again and again for the stranger to come back, not to leave him alone, not again, but hears only the rush of water in return.

The sounds of water…?

He presses his skull harder against the rock hard wood, and listens intently, and faintly, he begins to hear…The whisper of reeds in a distant current, the burble and rush and roar of a powerful river, the drip of stalactites slowly growing, the pitter-patter of underground rain…Rain. He missed that sound…is this room in waterfall…? That was one of his favorite places in the underground… before all this. Before his fall. And now, here he is again, so much later, hearing that same sound…

He draws his hands inwards in frustration, and bangs on the door, and desperately tries to open it, not caring what could happen if he does, tugging and pulling and scraping, but…

Locked, and solid. Solid, when I am not.

He slams against it in frustration, making frustrated vowel sounds in a way that might remind some of papyrus, his melted form dripping against the gray as he slowly bumps his skull against the door in defeat. At least now, he knows they will return… right? With whatever they think will help them understand him…But what comfort is that…? They can't understand him, no matter what they try…But he can still make noise, he can still communicate 'yes' and 'No' in some way…But again, what comfort is that? He sits by the door, a broken and melted shadow of who he should be. his melted skull rests against the door, his eyes dripping impossibly downwards as he sighs. At least he has the sound of rain. A chaotic, peaceful music of a kind he has not heard in years…but still. He's alone… He wonders, will that ever change…?

Will he ever…

He sighs, too tired to think.

And so, as he has done again and again for a very long time, he closes his melted eyesockets…

And sleeps.

…But now, distantly, whether he realizes it or not, he has hope. Hope of being heard. And maybe, just maybe, hope of freedom.

…Rain falls, still, somewhere else…


Meanwhile, snow falls far away, in a shining gyftmas town…

The human sits, still all bundled up in one of sans's jackets, watching the skeleton brothers spar for- and this is hard to think about without scrunching up your face- the first time. Papyrus is constantly shouting words of disbelief at sans's ability or words of vibrant encouragement whenever sans makes a rare mistake.

"THIS IS AMAZING BROTHER! HOW DID YOU LEARN ALL THIS WITHOUT- YOU KNOW - DYING?!"

"uhh, i, dunno?"

"BROTHER! CONCENTRATE! I NEARLY HIT YOU!"

"heh, is nearly all ya got?"

"NO! THIS IS JUST YOUR FIRST-"

"c'mon bro! I can take it!"

"ONLY IF YOU START ATTACKING!"

"uhg, fine paps, but don't hold back."

"NYEH HEH HE- OOF! SANS! THAT WAS BACKHANDED!"

"Pfft, c'mon, you aren't even tryin-"

Papyrus, apparently provoked by sans's comment, steps it up a notch. the sparring goes on a whole new level, papyrus's attacks coming faster and harder, but sans just gives a nonchalant "heh" And dodges faster, dancing around papyrus's blows with ease, grinning all the while. Bell watches with wide eyes, entranced by the blurring magical attacks. Ever since she fell, she's been fascinated with monsters, especially their incredible magic… She watches sans dodge, and thinks to herself;

It's almost graceful, how he winds around them…kind of like a cat on super fast forward or something!…he'd be the Cheshire Cat.

She giggles to herself, proud of the surprisingly accurate comparison. Then she starts wondering if there are cat monsters, like the nice dog monsters she met at grillbys! That would be amazing…she loves cats. She remembers feeding strays back home, before- she catches herself with a shiver. She doesn't like to think about that. Then, as Bell watches in amazement, sans begins summoning bones of his own. Papyrus also dodges, pretty well actually, but both brothers are seemingly going all out now, taking turns in wild blurs of motion and magic.

…but sans has only just begun attacking.

Suddenly, sans's previously basic attacks begin to spiral dizzyingly, swirling around and around in a whirlwind instead of following the box-like restrictions of most… well, most normal monsters. It's a dazzling display, bones crawling up trees and over rocks, a dizzying display of intertwined patterns and masterful control as sans orchestrates it all, one eye burning a brilliant blue that hurts her eyes.

It's beautiful.

The brothers started sparring only a few hours after the incident, undyne having gone home to recover, not paying any mind to Bell as she shakily stumbled in the direction of waterfall, papyrus glaring after her. Papyrus had been hesitant towards the idea of sparring, but once sans had adequately assured his brother he was fine, Papyrus agreed to it. Not right away of course, but sans had seemed surprisingly eager to try it, experimentally hitting his brother with a few bones to prove it. Papyrus had, of course, instinctively still been very nervous about it once they begun, but as sans dodged blow after blow, he slowly grew bolder and bolder.

Papyrus has to dodge rather impressively to keep up with the complicated corkscrew shape of his brothers admittedly very impressive attack, but mostly just stares at sans in disbelief and awe before finally gasping out, on his turn,

"NYEH? BROTHER, HOW DID YOU-"

But sans only winks at his brother, his smile growing an infinitesimal bit wider. He seems to enjoy impressing his brother for once. Then, with a grunt of effort, papyrus makes his own corkscrew. It's…slightly squarer, and there are less bones, but it is nonetheless impressive.

That's another thing I love about monsters, they take turns in battle! They wait for you to finish attacking before they attack you, like fair play.

Bell thinks, but suddenly, feathers brush against her, and bell looks up in surprise to see a feathery, bird-like monster that's shaped roughly like a snowflake watching in awe beside her. Bell looks around, suddenly realizing other monsters are gathering to watch the two brothers leap around each other's attacks, whispering and sometimes even cheering. Bell starts to cheer as well, but alternates between sans and papyrus, so as not to pick favorites.

"NYEH HEH HEH, BROTHER! I DID NOT KNOW WE COULD DO THAT! HOWEVER DID YOU KNOW?"

Sans shrugs mid air, in the middle of leaping over some of his brothers attacks.

"the river person told me."

Papyrus summons blue bones at impressive speed, the attacks flying past him and tearing up the snow.

"NYEH? THE RIVER WHAT NOW?"

Sans stays stock still as the attacks pass, then dodges to the side to avoid two small normal bones in an impressive lightning fast dodge.

"y'know, that guy- or gal- who ferries people up n'down the river for free sometimes? you've never met 'em?"

*Papyrus and sans don't seem to notice the crowd…

"NYEH? NO I DONT- OW, SANS! BACKHANDED TRICKS AGAIN!"

Bell giggles from the crowd as sans winks at his brother, the skeleton brothers continuing to spar- but suddenly, bell goes still. She turns her head, staring behind her into the crowd, listening intently. She hears a young voice shrieking from nearby, indignantly protesting at…something. The voice is nearly unintelligible- she can't make out the words over the exited chatter of the crowd, but whoever it is sounds upset… whatever is the matter, maybe she can help? she hops down from the log she was sitting on and heads towards the voice, which sounds as young as her own, wriggling through the crowd with ease. She's used to crowds, though with monsters, you have to watch out for tails and wings and all manner of oddities on top of the usual maze of arms and legs. Suddenly, as she squeaks past a dog guard cheering for papyrus, she catches sight of the source of the voice, which finally rings out above the din.

"H-hey! You lemme go, you- you- you turd!"

A young yellow reptilian monster shrieks, sounding furious as he's held aloft by a mean-looking bird monster who's cackling with glee as he holds the small monster upside down in the air. The bird monster has a tight grip on the monster kid's tail, and Bell can see that they don't have any arms. The monster child is still wriggling madly though, kicking his stubby legs up at the bird's wing, but the other monster just laughs cruelly, his sharp yellow eyes glinting with amusement. Bell stares in shock, and suddenly has a flashback- her mind dredging up a memory of something similar that happened to her. That terrible, mean flower, holding her in the air with vines that dug into her skin and drew blood as he cackled, right before toriel…Suddenly, Bell realizes, her golden eyes widening.

she has to be toriel here.

but…she won't (and can't) use attack magic, and she certainly won't try and send the bird flying…that would be even meaner than what he's doing to the monster kid! And she doesn't want to be mean, not like this bird. As she watches the bird monster cackle at the monster kid's efforts, she remembers the philosophy she holds to. Only hurt people, hurt people. taking a deep breath, Bell gathers her courage, and nervously steps out, flinching as the bird monster whips his head over to stare at her, his beak twisting into a hostile grimace as he catches sight of her. They stay there for a long moment, just staring at each other, the crowd cheering around them, before Bell finally speaks.

"Uh…you…you know that's probably hurting him, r-right…?"

She asks tentatively, looking over at the monster kid who sways a little in the air, still hanging upside down, having given up, panting. The bird monster- who apparently took that as an insult- sneers at her, bristling as he snaps:

"Of course I do! That's the point! Whaddya think I am, stupid?!"

He squawks, and Bell shakes her head rapidly, her curls bouncing, and looks up at the bird monster that stands a full head and a half taller than her. His blue and white feathers bristle as snow swirls lazily down, one wing still holding the monster kid in the air by his tail as bell replies:

"No! Of course not. I just…w-why are you doing that?"

She asks, and the bird monster growls at her, before the monster kid suddenly shrieks;

"Cuz he's a JERK that's why!"

The bird snorts and shakes the kid roughly in the air, making him yelp, shooting bell a glare as he barks triumphantly;

"No, cuz this little BUG was being a pest- again."

He growls, and Bell looks up at him with fear- but also her genuine pity, knowing that this monster is most likely just…sad, somewhere deep down inside. That's what she knows to be true, that nobody is mean without a reason, regardless of whether or not that reason is your fault. Only hurt people hurt people.

"I…hm. You seem pretty mad that he was being, uh, annoying,"

She observes cautiously, edging a little closer to the bird monster.

"Could you…tell me what he did that made you so upset…?"

She asks, the monster kid yelping in indignation as he cries incredulously, swinging where he hangs upside down in the air;

"What I did?! He's the one who-"

But the bird interrupts him, snapping at Bell with an annoyed look on his beak, jostling the monster kid again as he does so.

"What do you care, brat?!"

He shoots, but Bell takes a deep breath, and doesn't react. She just steps a little closer, and replies gently;

"…because you seem upset about it. I just want to know why you were upset...I don't want you to be upset."

The bird blinks in surprise, and narrows his yellow eyes, eventually responding;

"Hrmf…he stepped all over my tail feathers. Some of them snapped. Happy now?"

He shoots, but with a little less hostility. Bell glances at the ruffs of feathers trailing behind him, and sees that a couple long ones are bent at odd angles. So that's why he's acting this way… She looks over at the monster kid who still hangs upside down, then turns back to the bird, asking hopefully;

"Im…I'm sure he's very sorry about that! Could you maybe….put him down now?"

The bird goes as if to snap at her as the monster kid splutters in indignation, but Bell hurriedly continues, pulling sans's jacket tighter around herself as she does so.

"I- I mean, I'm sure he regrets it very much now! He'll uh- watch where he steps now of course, right?"

She glances pointedly at the monster kid, who's large eyes widen as he realizes what she's trying to do. He hurriedly begins nodding, yelping out;

"Uh- y-yeah I guess! Sorry dude! Haha!"

He manages, and the bird begins to look satisfied, the larger monster unceremoniously dropping the little reptilian monster onto the snow.

"You better be sorry, you little bug."

The bird growls, dusting off his wings and huffing as the reptilian monster pushes himself up with his face and scrambles over to where Bell still stands nervously in the snow, the crowd still whispering and cheering and laughing around them as the sparring match goes on nearby. Bell quietly sighs with relief, and flashes the bird a nervous smile, before promptly grabbing a handful of the monster kid's sweater and tugging him along as she goes racing off through the crowd back towards her spot on the log, the small reptilian child in tow.

she winds skillfully through the crowd, the monster kid jogging along behind her, until she finally screeches to a stop, huffing a little. She releases the monster kid, quickly brushing snow off her hair before looking up at him.

"Y-yo dude! That was so smart!"

He immediately exclaims, his face covered with snow as he beams at Bell, who finally gets a good look at him. He's small, barely as tall as Bell herself, but wiry- he looks fast, and his scales glisten a cheerful sunshine yellow. His eyes are big and bright, and there's a blob of darker coloured scales over one of them that makes him look like he eternally has a black eye, a row of triangular spikes running down his back and growing smaller as they go down his long tail. He's wearing a fluffy brown-and-yellow striped wool jumper that doesn't have any sleeves- probably cuz he has no arms- and brown trousers that seem too big for him, with no shoes.

He looks…friendly, actually.

Bell gives him a smile, and sits back down on the log, patting the bark beside her as she responds;

"I still can't really believe I did it! But I guess I couldn't just leave you there, that'd be mean."

The monster kid immediately plops himself down beside her, responding cheerfully as he brushes snow off his face with his tail, still beaming ear to ear (if he has them?) with a mouthful of sharp white teeth.

"But like! You totally ruled! You're awesome at getting people to not beat you up, haha!"

bell giggles, and wraps herself tighter in the jacket, snow swirling lazily around them as the brothers spar on.

"Well, I guess it helped I didn't insult him! Most things can be solved by seeing all the sides to them- My name is Misericordia, by the way! What's yours?"

She asks, and the monster kid perks up, somehow grinning wider as his tail wags a bit behind him.

"Wow! Nobody ever asks my name!"

Bell raises one eyebrow curiously, why would that be…? The monster kid excitedly holds out his tail as if to shake, still grinning as he exclaims proudly;

"My name's Michal!"

Bell smiles and grabs his tail with one hand, Michal still beaming as he shakes her hand, his long tail bobbing as attacks flash by nearby, the brothers still going strong through the mild snowstorm.

"But my friends call me MK! So you can do that too!"

He adds, and bell beams. Her first friend her age (she thinks) in the whole underground! She releases his tail, putting her hands on her hips and puffing up her chest before exclaiming more confidently:

"Well my friends call me Bell- so you can call me that!"

MK giggles, and puffs up his chest as if to mimic her, his cheeks puffing up as well, making Bell squeal with delight at the face he pulls. Loving the reaction, he sticks out his tongue and makes a raspberry, Bell's laughter only intensifying as she giggles madly. Next it's bells turn- the small human crossing her eyes and rolling her tongue, Michal snorting with laughter before breaking into all-out giggles when bell ruffles her hair so it puffs up like a mane, the small human also loving the reaction from her new friend.

After calming down, the two children begin to talk- Mk chattering on enthusiastically about how amazing papyrus is as Bell adds her own observations on how great Papy is. Mk explains all the different kinds of attacks to her, and Bell asks tons of questions, genuinely curious about monsters and their fascinating culture. Eventually, Mk nervously asks if she's really a human like his mum said, And Bell of course tells the truth, simply nodding hastily before immediately launching into a giant explanation of how she doesn't wanna hurt anybody, she promises, can they please still be friends? After a small moment of thought, Mk decides his mum must mean a different human, and responds yes, they can.

After this they go back to pulling funny faces, because face it- they're just kids. They don't care about differences, just about who's a jerk and who's not, who's fun to play with, who's nice. Kids have far better priorities than adults. But, their fun is eventually interrupted by the oddest of voices- The disembodied voice that's a part of the underground, telling monsters how they feel, or what they are thinking, from time to time. Bell finds it comforting, the mysterious voice that tells her things sometimes, it means she never feels alone...But now everyone, including her new friend, hears this one.

"*SANS IS PREPARING HIS KIND-OF-SPECIAL-ATTACK!"

It says from…wherever it's from, and MK turns to her, looking beyond excited at the words, bouncing a little on the log in anticipation.

"Yo, dude, did you hear that?! We're gonna see a special attack!"

He exclaims excitedly, his eyes shining. Bell tilts her head to one side, confused.

"Special attack…?"

She asks, as Mk bounces up and down on the log excitedly, his tail swishing behind him.

"Yeah! A super powerful type of attack that only BOSS MONSTERS can use!"

He exclaims, beaming with excitement, as papyrus suddenly calls out in his loud and exuberant voice;

"NYEH, BROTHER!? YOU HAVE ONE TOO? WELL, WE SHALL SEE WHOSE IS STRONGER, SHANT WE!"

Papyrus cackles, bracing himself and furrowing his brow as sans's eye flickers blue and yellow, while papyrus's flickers a bright orange with the barest hints of yellow deep inside. Bell and MK are on the edge of their seats- well, on the edge of their log- with excitement and anticipation, their eyes wide as they watch intently. Mk especially seems completely entranced by papyrus, a true superfan of the tall skeleton, who poses in the swirling snow.

"*PAPYRUS IS PREPARING HIS SPECIAL ATTACK…?"

This time, the mysterious voice sounds slightly questioning, and Bell wonders briefly from her snowy log if it's just some random race of invisible monsters. But soon, her attention is once again drawn to the sparring skeletons.

Suddenly, from behind sans comes a low

RRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRrrRrRRRRRrrRrrRRRRR…

And from behind the triumphant papyrus comes a similar

MMMMMMmmmmRRRRRGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRrrrRRRRr…

The crowd of monsters gasp, as they take in the two gigantic floating animal skulls that have appeared behind each skeleton. MK squeals with excitement, staring at papyrus's impressively shed-sized attack, as Bell watches with stars in her eyes. Those attacks are absolutely terrifying and she loves them. As the brothers stand, facing off in the snow, the crowd of monsters watch intently. Sans is breathing heavily, as is papyrus, but they seem to have just enough left in them to…

"WELL, WHOSE IS BIGGER?"

"Mmmm….i think it's yours."

Sans is right, papyrus's skull…things, are definitely bigger, they're the size of sheds, while sanses are about the size of outhouses- but what does that have to do with sparring? Sans's are certainly much smaller, and look kind of like…wolf skulls maybe? While papyrus's seem to be bear skulls, but with the most ridiculous googly eyes bell has ever seen, the small human giggling a little despite herself at the oversized glowing eyes of papyrus's attack. The brothers are scrutinizing eachothers skull-things, Sans's apparently winning in the 'intimidation factor' (they do have a lot more teeth) but papyrus getting the 'highest score,' whatever that means.

Mk is quietly adding up the points under his breath, but Bell still can't tell why….oh, that's what they mean! They aren't going to 'deploy' or 'fire' them or anything- thank goodness. Bell had secretly been worried they were gonna hurt each other by mistake…

"NYEH HEH HEH! ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH H- OH! CROWD OF UNFAMILIAR MONSTERS! HAVE YOU BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME?"

"oh. heya. Isn't my bro cool?"

"NYEH HEH HEH I AM VERY- WAIT. WAS THAT A-"

"yeah, we sure had a nice time, huh?"

"SANS! NO! NOT IN PUBLIC!"

Suddenly, a different, fluffier bird monster pipes up from the crowd, squawking out in a high voice as MK and bell giggle madly;

"aw come on papyrus, it's snow problem!"

"ayyyyy, good one snowy- keep on practicin' bud."

"NYEHHHHH! SANS! HAVE YOU MULTIPLIED?!"

"naw, you know me papyrus…i'm a special little-"

"DON'T YOU DARE."

"snowflake. heh."

"SANS I CAN AND WILL HIT YOU NOW!"

"heh, just you try-"

"GUYS!"

Bell's voice rings out from the crowd, bell having gotten up on MK's shoulders to be heard above the crowd, the reptilian monster beaming in pride at being able to help as bell balances precariously.

"It's getting late! And neither of you have eaten anything yet!"

She shouts over at the brothers, and makes a pouting face, glaring at the two skeletons, while still balanced on MKs shoulders. The brothers both blink a little in mild surprise, since neither of them know MK that well, and seeing bell on the shoulders of any monster that wasn't paps was a bit of a surprise in its own right, but they both quickly relented under Bell's glare. The brothers quickly begin unsummoning all their leftover attacks, the crowd of monsters dissipating into little huddles of chatting friends as Bell attempts to clamber down from her perch on MK without hurting him, which is proving difficult. Sans appears first, papyrus still clearing up bones, and chuckles, lifting Bell down and glancing curiously at MK while asking with a raised non-eyebrow;

"so, uh, you certainly made a new pal, huh kid? you had fun while we were doin' our thing?"

Bell grins up at him from where she now stands in the snow, and waves one hand to MK, exclaiming excitedly;

"Yeah! His name is Michal but I get to call him MK cuz he's my friend! I saved him from a mean bird guy by talking at him and then he made me laugh and I like him lots!"

She yammers excitedly, sounding almost the happiest he's ever heard her. Sans looks curiously at Mk, not knowing him all that well, but knowing he's a pretty good kid at the least, a bit hyper, but good. Still, doesn't he adore Undyne or something? Why would he make friends with a human? Papyrus finally runs up, having finished clearing up his attacks, just as Mk was about to speak, but the monster child shuts his mouth with a click when he sees papyrus.

"NYEH HEH HEH! HUMAN! YOU HAVE MADE A NEW FRIEND?!"

He exclaims in excitement, bending over to get a good look at MK, who appears to be staring at the skeleton in awe with wide eyes, rendered speechless as sans watches in amusement, bell still standing beside him and smiling knowingly. She saw the stars in MK's eyes when he was watching papyrus.

"WELL, ANY FRIEND OF BELL IS A FRIEND OF MINE! WHAT IS YOUR NAME, NEW FRIEND OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS?"

Papyrus asks exuberantly, as bell grins and sans chuckles. Mk just stutters a bit, dumbfounded, before finally getting the words out;

"Y-you…I'm- uh, I mean, uh, I'm MK! Haha!"

He manages, laughing awkwardly and cringing, but papyrus only chuckles warmly, offering out his hand to the small monster with a confident smile.

"HELLO MK! I AM THE GRRRREAT PAPYRUS!"

he exclaims brightly, rolling the 'r', and MK stares down at his hand in awe before shaking it hard with his tail and grinning all the while, literally bouncing up and down as he does.

"You! Are! So! AWESOME!"

He suddenly squeals, apparently unable to keep it in anymore, and sans's eye sockets widen in surprise as papyrus stutters for a moment, bell grinning so wide it looks like her face might fall off. Sans chuckles. finally someone else notices, heh. Mk is still beaming up to papyrus in admiration and excitement, who blinks and suddenly begins to 'nyeh heh heh' proudly, putting a hand to his chest and proclaiming:

"Y-YOU ARE CERTAINLY CORRECT YOUNG MONSTER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS CERTAINLY VERY AMAZING!"

He exclaims, and MK squeals with excitement, hopping from foot to foot in the snow as the two begin to chat excitedly, bell suddenly yawning where she stands next to sans. The smaller skeleton looks over at her, surprised, seeing her rubbing her eyes- apparently exhausted. He then glances down at the beaten up watch strung around one of his wrists, and his eye sockets widen.

"Shhhhhhhhhugar fudge cake-"

He groans, barely catching himself. It's late- too late. Bell is practically falling asleep where she stands, the little human occasionally bumping into him as they drift from side to side in fatigue. He waves over at his brother, catching his attention, and points to his watch.

"hey, pap- it's like nine, that kid's probably gotta go home now."

He suggests, and both MK and papyrus groan.

"BUT SANS! WE HAVE BARELY BEGUN TALKING! SURELY IT CANNOT BE THAT LATE!"

Papyrus exclaims, and sans holds up his watch as proof, shrugging as both his brother and the monster child groan again, this time louder. then, Papyrus perks up, turning back to Mk, asking him;

"MK! WHERE DO YOU LIVE? I COULD GIVE YOU A RIDE!"

papyrus suggests with glee, and MK's eyes get wide as dinnerplates as the monster kid whispers in awe at the idea:

"A…ride…?"

Papyrus puts his hands on his hips triumphantly, puffing out his ribcage and explaining proudly:

"NYES! A RIDE! ME AND BELL DID ALL DAY YESTERDAY!"

he suddenly picks up Mk and sets the monster child on his shoulders, still smiling confidently as he does so.

"HERE, LIKE THIS!"

He exclaims, Mk sitting perched with his tail wound around papyrus's neck vertebrae to keep himself in place as the young monster squeals in excitement. Papyrus turns to Sans, who sighs goodnaturedly as bell rubs her eyes, the smaller skeleton winking at his brother by way of permission. Papyrus perks up immediately, Mk blurting out an address through his squeals of joy, and the two race off into the snow, giggling as they blur by bewildered townsfolk, the mean bird from earlier getting chewed out by his parents nearby for staying out so late.

There is silence for a moment, before sans comments with amusement:

"…I think paps just hijacked your new pal."

Bell giggles a little, mumbling tiredly:

"I…don't mind. Papy'll bring him back somehow…he's nice like that…"

She mumbles, smiling a little, and sans chuckles. The kid hit the bullseye with that one…And so, the pair returned to the cabin, trudging through the snow as the far above lights dimmed in a mimicry of the descent from day into night. They walked in a comfortable near-silence, sans humming a tune under his breath, but the human stopped at the door, seemingly reluctant to come in, her eyes still tired even as she hesitates by the doorway. Sans turns, and waits for a long second before speaking, raising one non-eyebrow at the hesitant human child that stands in the doorway, snow swirling behind her where she stands.

"kid, me and my brother's hospitality ain't runnin dry any day soon. get in here you dork."

Bell looks surprised at his words, then grateful, smiling in relief and stepping inside before running over to the couch for some much needed sleep, but before she does-

"kid- wait. we…uh…we need to talk."

Bell turns, worried, and finds sans already leaning against the arm of the couch, his expression- though always grinning, somehow unreadable. Bell stays silent, shuffling nervously, seemingly in the dark about what he means. Sans sighs.

"I…I don't wanna spoil yer fun, kiddo, and I know you're tired, but…"

Sans rubs the back of his skull, his eye lights flickering on and off in uncertainty, the skeleton really not wanting to pursue this but knowing he has to.

"It's just two things I need to know, a'right kiddo? one, how ya did…"

Sans waves down at himself- not dead, and not particularly tired, even after sparring.

"this, and two, exactly what ya did to me. thats all, m'kay?"

Bell looks up at him and gives a nervous nod, looking both worried and tired, her voice shaking slightly when she finally speaks.

"Alright….but, I don't really know exactly what I really did to you, exactly..so just, uh…maybe tell me whats different?"

Sans blinks. Seems reasonable enough, though he expected more resistance from them on this… Maybe she's had this conversation before…? And why doesn't she know what she did? This seems strange, even for a human…he heard stories of mages, humans with abnormally powerful souls on top of their own base power, able to use a strange, warped but more definitely more powerful version of magic. Magic that mages pulled from the earth itself, using their souls to cast it out of the very air and into whatever or whoever they wanted, in blessings and curses alike. But what she did… it didn't feel like magic she cast. It felt raw. Almost…like soul magic. Almost…

…familiar…?

He shakes off the feeling, sighing as he responds.

"well, for one thing, you saw that…outside, I mean. I just fought against my brother, and actually did decent. That ain't normal for me, kiddo…"

Sans sighs again and sits down next to Bell, who looks concerned and worried- on multiple levels and on multiple subjects, but Sans meets her gaze anyway and waves an ungloved hand at himself.

"and, yeah, I know my HP is up- somehow- but it ain't just that. somethin's…different, about me. I dunno kid, but…"

Sans's eyes go dark and his smile grows hollow.

"I've fought before. mostly only in emergencies, cuz of well…you know. and it always leaves me drained for weeks."

He looks over at Bell, his eyesockets still unlit, his frozen expression as worried and conflicted as it can be, his grin seeming hollow and forced.

"so care telling me why I can suddenly just…walk off fine?"

He takes a breath, looking away from the concerned, tired, impossibly powerful human child that sits before him.

"Cause…it's startin' to scare me."

He looks down at his own hands, and clenches them, feeling magic flow through his bones with a vibrance he thought was impossible from him. It doesn't feel like it should be his, this…ability. he's too lazy to just…naturally have such power, right? He's never fought for his life before, only warded off basic threats, mostly when he was a kid, so why does he…? How did he know how to fight like that? And why was it so…familiar?

Suddenly, he feels a hand rest on his shoulder. It's small, and…He begins to feel…odd. Somethings wrong, what's- he looks over, and freezes in place. It's Bell. She's sitting there, perfectly still, her eyes glazed over and her hand…

It's awash with green flame.

Sans jerks back, his eye sockets going wide as Bell recoils, fear written on her face as she snaps out of her trance-

"i'm sorry i- i just wanted to- to- w-when i-"

She curls rapidly into a ball, sans's jacket still around her, mumbling in a terrified voice;

"Im sorry, i'm so sorry-"

Sans just stares at her in shock, his eyelights slowly returning to their normal size as Bell quivers in fear, scrunched up into a tiny ball on the couch as she whispers apologies over and over. Sans blinks, staring down at her, surprised at how…fearful she is. Why is she so afraid?

"hey…hey c'mon, kid, i'm not mad- I promise. just maybe warn a guy before ya use…whatever that is, on him, eh? nothin to be scared of, I was just surprised."

Bell seems to calm down a little. She nods quickly, uncurling slightly.

"So uh… you were just tryin to help?"

another rapid nod, the small human still seeming terrified that he might be angry with her, and sans looks down at her in concern. Geeze, this kid…must still be shaken up from undyne, right? …I hope that's all this is…Sans stares at the child, who slowly uncurles, obviously still afraid that sans is mad. His expression softens, at least as much as a skeleton can, and he ruffles the kids' hair, chuckling.

"I really aint mad, ya just caught me off guard, I swear."

Bell looks up at him, and seeing he means it, gives a small, nervous smile. Jeez, what happened to this kid…? Nothing good, he knows that much. His eyes begin to flicker dark again, as he remembers, and he looks away.

"So… do you know why i-"

Bell interrupts him, touching his arm lightly.

"There's- there's nothing wrong sans."

She meets his gaze, her expression complicated and conflicted, her voice hesitant when she next speaks.

"I…i think it's because you're really, really used to having 1HP? I think the 'being fine' is just how you experience a normal, uh, whatever that thing is you monsters have you call HP. I mean, uh, after so long of having an…er…weak one, it'd be strange, right…?"

Sans sits there, his eyes dark as he thinks. It makes sense, of course it does. He was just…hoping that the human would give him a different answer…But, nope. They accidentally over-healed pretty much everything that was broken in him, including that wound, probably using a souped up version of monster healing magic on human soul steroids, and…Well, a lot of him must've been broken.

So…before…well, whatever must've gone wrong with my general existence, 200 woulda been my maximum. Nice. i dont suck as much as I thought. But still…they obviously don't have a handle on it. When they touched me…i don't think they meant to activate their magic. And that expression on their face…the blank eyes…didn't look like they were in there at all.

uhg…they're too young to be doin this sorta stuff.

What is wrong with humans? For a child to have this kinda power right off the bat…? Somethin must've happened to activate it…Somethin bad.

Sans sighs, and turns back to Bell, who is looking up at him with a nervous concern, her honey-brass eyes wide. Time for the hard bit.

"Alright then, second question, kiddo... How."

He asks with a sigh, and Bell looks away, then down at her hands, which are trembling, her voice shaking when she speaks.

"I-I don't know. I've always…been able to, but I've only ever used it once before…before I came here."

Sans looks at her, and sees her shaking slightly, her eyes welling up with tears as she draws her hands inwards to her chest, clutching them tight against her heart.

"Kid…what happened? you said you- wait, oh god, kid, Is that how you…"

Bell nods, her eyes still clouded by tears, but she still begins her tale in a shaky voice as sans's eye sockets widen in shock;

"I- I come from a town at the base of the mountain."

She whispers, and sans's eye sockets widen farther. The same town that Asriel must've…oh. Oh wow. The stories this kid must've heard about monsters…and yet here she is, a little kid…telling him, a monster, her story. This kid has some serious guts.

"My family…they tended the clocktower, at the center of town. We…my parents, they're gone…dad never came back after mom died and…My brothers, Oliver, and…and Benjamin, they took over the work. but, one day, someone from the council said Oliver was too young, and…"

She pauses, trembling, tears gathered in her eyes. Sans wants to tell her to stop, but she keeps going anyway- She just keeps on talking, cutting off his sentence before it even begins, her voice trembling as her story spills out of her word after word, as if a dam has broken within her, sat beside a monster far below the places where these events took place, far below the hard cold streets…

"They threw us out. We didn't have anywhere to go, so we wandered…but, th-they didn't like that, so we went to the woods- to hide, and my brothers- they were always trying to protect me, and one day, B-Benjamin, he…he…"

Tears finally spill down her cheeks, but she screws her eyes shut against them, curling inwards slightly as she speaks- voice quivering- sans simply staring in horror as the human pours out her story as if she can no longer stop.

"He was j-just trying to find food, and, h-he got shot. It was just an accident, people were hunting, b-but-"

Bell looks up at sans with an indescribable pain in those gold eyes of hers, tears blurring her gaze, and sans returns it with only a shell shocked horror. So that's what happened to this kid. Sans can only imagine what kind of stuff went through her head when her brother….well, he knows what he'd do if someone shot papyrus. And it wouldn't be pretty.

"…I…Benjamin was, was the only one left who made sure I had food, Oliver, he- h-he'd already- and I, I just, I couldn't let him die, I was just so full of pain, and fear, and- and-"

Sans still stares down at her, and she's shaking, lost in the memory. Her eyes stare into the distance, and sans can see green sparks flitting around her twitching hands as the small child shakes there, but still stubbornly telling her story even as she remembers the worst part of her young life. Still stubbornly refusing to keep it in anymore, the words pouring out like a tidal wave.

"And I was just so full of wanting him to be better, and, I just, I would've done anything to make him better, and then my hands, and this huge pillar of fire, and then everything went white and…"

Sans finishes for her, his voice quiet as he guesses what comes next.

"…an' then your magic healed him…?"

Bell trembles, her soul pulsing out waves of remembered emotion that Sans can feel crashing against his own silvered soul, a terrible mixture of fear and confusion and distant hope as Bell remembers the events with a small, shaky nod, the words continuing to come as fast as her tears.

"I- at first, I was so happy, because- he sat up and hugged me and everything, but the hunting party, they took me away, they said- they said I was a witch, and that i- i- I had to be… cast out, and…the mountain, and…"

Sans stares at her in horror, at the crying, trembling child that has seen so much. Who would say that to a Child? That sounds like something only story-book humans would do. The kinds of things that he would have expected Bell to be capable of, if he didn't know her, if she hadn't trusted him even when he'd just scared her half to death…

"And I- they, t-took me up the mountain…because no one ever came back from the mountain, and…"

Tears roll in thick rivers.

"I fell…"

Bell looks up at him suddenly, and meets his gaze with her own that's heavy with tears, some falling, some still hanging in her golden-brass eyes.

"a-and then I met you."

Silence falls. Sans stares at her, horrified at what this kid has gone through. What she's felt- she should never have had to feel that. What kinda hell must the surface be for a human kid to trust monsters more than her own kind? To trust him, a monster who literally looks like the remains of a dead human even after he scared her half to death? What other horrors had this kid seen, on the streets of a city where they would cast out children from the only home they'd ever known?

"And- a-and papyrus, and grillby, and the d-dogs, and Mk and…."

She begins to cry again, and green sparks begin to flit through the air, emotion crashing out from her soul in waves, sans's own soul pulsing weakly in response. It glows as best it can in response to Bell's blazing green soul, pulsing in its mimicry of a heartbeat as he leans over, doing the only thing he really knows how to do when someone cries; wrap his arms around them and just…be there.

That's what he'd done for papyrus, through all of his younger brother's painful days- whether it was a bad day at school or just a normal failure, letting his brother know he was the best until he believed in it himself. And so he rests his skull on the child's head, and is there. He's there, as she shakes with memories. She healed him, she poured out her soul to save his life, and she gave him so much more than just a second chance.

She gave him so much more than she probably knows.

All his life, he's known that if he gets hit once, makes one misstep, says the wrong thing to the wrong person just once…he'd die. All his life, he's been the weakest monster in the underground. All his life, he's been on guard, ready to run at the drop of a hat. all his life, he's slept with one eye open, never able to rest. All his life he's been afraid.

She gave him so much more than a second chance at living.

In a way? She gave him his first chance.

Heck, he's sparred with his brother- he took a punch to the face even! He doesn't have to be afraid. He doesn't have to keep one eye open anymore- he doesn't have to dodge every hit, his life no longer hangs in the balance of everything he does. He's free.

And she gave him that.

And so, he's there for her.

He's there, as Bell, the human who healed- sobs into him desperately, the dam finally breaking as the small child finally lets herself remember, finally lets herself grieve.

She sobs, finally letting herself remember the screams of 'witch!' And the horses that pounded the ground, the hands that dragged her from her brother, the baying of dogs, the blood from her brothers shirt caked on her hands and the men that dragged him away kicking and screaming- she sobs. She sobs and shakes, her breath coming in choked, shallow gasps, and sans can feel her gasp for air as the child sobs hysterically into him, her small body quivering under the racking sobs.

"H-hey…kid, look at me, breathe, ok? Breathe."

sans mutters quietly, shifting himself slightly, trying to catch Bells gaze as she shakes hysterically, the child shuddering as she gasps for air.

"Hey, look, I'm- im sorry, kiddo, I shouldn'tve-"

Bell's eyes go wild as she looks up at him and shakes her head furiously, still gasping for air even as she rejects his apology- or attempted apology- with all the strength she has left, her wild chocolate brown hair bouncing as sans tries to calm her, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to stop shaking as he still feels emotion rolling off her soul.

"Kid, no, stop- kid just- just stop-"

Bell keeps trying to shake her head, even though sans is trying to get her to stop, she's gasping and crying and this kid is still trying to tell him it's not his fault- What did the world do to this kid? Why did something so terrible happen to someone so…so kind? Is the world really that unfair?

well. Fate or whatever can go jump into the core for all I care- this poor kid deserves nothing that's happened to her. She deserved to be happy up there, and instead, she was tortured for something she couldn't control…

Eventually Sans just gives up, pulling the shuddering child into a bear hug and just letting them sob into his shirt, which is beginning to stick to his ribs with her tears of pain. Sans can still feel his soul trying to shoulder the emotion rolling off the human's soul, but he just can't- there's too much, too fast.

And they stay that way, a monster holding a human close as she sobs and sobs with the cruelty of her own kind.

…you'd think it'd be the other way around, considering the history…but no. Sometimes, things are just like that. Twisted, cruelly and kindly alike. Slowly, Bell calms, the memories finally relenting as she dissolves into sniffles. Sans pats her curly hair and lets out a sigh, shaking himself a little as his soul recovers from the powerful waves of emotion that have been crashing down on it.

"Hey there, kiddo. You're safe, ok? You're safe. It's okay. You're okay."

Sans says, his words punctuated properly as they rarely are, as his mind reels and the child trembles.

"O-ok…"

Comes the whisper, and sans draws back a little, the human wiping their eyes on the sleeve of his jacket, still shaking. Then she looks up, meeting his worried gaze with her own brassy-golden eyes, that still shine with unfallen tears.

"Th-thank you…"

She murmurs, trying to muster a smile as she finally catches her breath. Sans looks at her and sighs heavily, his frozen expression tired and sad- sad for them. this kid…This poor, poor, kid. They've been through so much, at the hands of their own kind. And for what? Why were they cast out? Because the humans were scared of a child? Because they didn't understand her power? Then, suddenly, as Bell wipes her face dry and sniffles, he realizes.

Or because it's tradition.

Six human children, each with powerful souls…Driven up a mountain by threats of worse fates. And how many children didn't go up the mountain…? Sans shudders in horror. Humans…when they do bad, or good- though that's probably just bell- they do them fully. To the extreme. If he ever gets to the surface… Well. Someone's gonna have a bad time.

"Hey, look, kiddo... I'm sorry for makin' you remember, i-"

Bell looks up at him sharply, shaking her head hard, her curls bouncing as she does so.

"D-Don't you dare apologize, I- that was the first time I…"

Bell trails off, sniffling, the green sparks dying down as she shakes slightly where she sits.

"…i let myself be sad about it, I needed to c-cry about it, I….I needed to …"

Sans nods, making sure she knows he understands.

She shouldn't have to talk any more. Not because of him. This poor kid…She squeezes him one last time, then draws the blankets around her tightly, sniffling, as sans looks down at her with concern. He doesn't know much about humans, but he knows that they probably aren't meant to cry so much in such a short time, especially not such a small one…

Especially not a kid…

"…you want some water…?"

Sans asks, tilting his head and trying to sound comforting, his mind still reeling from the small human's terrible story.

"You kinda….made a lot of it, so…"

Bell blinks, staring at his near-soaked shirt, then… laughs. It's a laugh choked by tears, shaky, but it's a laugh all the same, as she wipes her eyes. She can see the soft glow of his soul through his shirt, and it calms her slightly.

"Y-you're…glowing!"

She giggles shakily, face still wet with tears, as Sans looks down at his soaked shirt and chuckles, his silver soul pulsing gently inside his ribcage, the faint upside-down heart showing through his tear soaked shirt.

"yeah kid…guess I am."

sans replies, some warmth coming back into his frozen smile as bell finally wipes her eyes dry and gives him a familiar wobbly smile.

"Now, howzabout that water, huh?"

Sans asks, tilting his skull to the side as bell rubs her eyes, exhausted.

"Y-yes please, sans…"

She mutters, her tiredness catching up to her. Sans nods, shortcutting to the kitchen as Bell almost melts into the blankets around her, completely drained.

When sans returns, she's fast asleep.