One World: Many Souls

Chapter 38: Racism At Its Best

Angel's Point of View:

I rushed down the hallway as quickly as I could the second I burst through the front doors. I hardly paid any mind to the secretary in the office there who needed me to sign some god-awful paperwork to be within these pristine walls and particular place. I remembered the layout of the school like the back of my hand since I was a child, going there myself.

I barely even glanced at my phone when Sans texted me back after I'd left him quite the worrying voice mail on his phone. Be there asap was all that was written. I could feel through my soul just how unsettled he was with this turn of events. Papyrus and Lilly were racing back as fast as possible, but late afternoon lunch time was going on and they couldn't escape the restaurant. I was the only one close enough to make it within five minutes time.

I closed in on the principal's office in a matter of a minute to see my two eldest children and my only nephew sitting in a small huddled corner together. Impact and Eras were sporting bruises all over their faces and arms, trying not to cry, while Arial had some lightly marred knuckles and an annoyed look on her face. The children were barely five compared to the older children across the room who also were covered in their own wounds. I ignored them as I rushed over to where my own flesh and blood were.

"Oh, my goodness!" I nearly slid on the floor as I kneeled before the three of them to make sure there was nothing more amiss than what I could see. Already their souls felt lighter than before once I was there. "Eras! Arial! Impact! My baby bones, are you alright?"

It was more a redundant question, but an opportunity for them to talk to me. I'd never seen my eager and playful children so quiet and withdrawn before, it truly frightened me.

"Mommy!" Arial was the first to bound up from her chair and into my arms. "They were hurting Impact and Eras! They were good Mommy! They didn't do anything wrong but those bullies kept hitting them! I tried to call for help like you said, tried to get a teacher, but no one would listen! I had to do something!"

"It's okay baby bone, I know. I'm not mad at you. You were very brave." I stroked her hair, kissed her forehead before turning to the two boys to make sure they were alright. "Eras? Impact? Say something… it's okay… I'm not mad, you boys didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah right…"

My nostrils flared and an incredibly potent aura of anger flooded around me to make everyone flinch in the room. The child who spoke instantly shut up and looked away, the whites of their eyes glowing in fear as they saw my pupils glow a darker blood red color.

"You have something to say, you pathetic whelp?" Standing up from my children's side, I stormed over to the child that quickly began to back away from how overpowering my own soul was. "You better remember to follow up with whatever stupidity that forms in your mind. Either way I'm gonna swat your ass if you make another comment to my children-"

"Mrs. Teirans, that's enough!" My eyes flared to the principal of the time, Mrs. Louise Backster, the same woman who was my teacher and principal when I was a student there, as well as when my sister attended before our disappearance. She hadn't changed much over the years, other than her hair turning the same shade as my own and her skin on her narrow frame and face forming wrinkles, she dressed and appeared no differently than any other time. "Do not intimidate my students. I am currently working with that boy's parents as well as you for both sides of this argument."

"This is an outrage!" One mother cried from behind the boys across the room. "That demon child beats up my Timothy and your about to let them go scott free?!"

"Demon child?" The mother instantly regretted her words when my darkening thoughts passed from the sons to her. "Go on, say something else, piss me off even more you-"

"Mrs. Teirans!" Principal Backster chided me. "Please, everyone calm down so that we can go over this together from what the children have expressed. I've had time to discuss with both sets of students to see what's happened and it seems I have two stories that seemed to come to a head. From your children, Mrs. Teirans, I was told that the three of them were playing on their own before Timothy, Elias and Paul walked over and antagonized them. After a few minutes of trying to defuse the situation, it turned violent, with Impact and Eras bruised. Arial was the only one not hurt, but countered back and defended her family with… magic. On the other hand, Mrs. Gonzalez, I was told a very similar story by the boys, but that it was the other way around, the three of them being ambushed and attacked by Arial, Eras, and Impact. Only Arial escaped being wounded with how physically strong she is-"

The disbelief was growing on my face by the second. "Do you even hear yourself? My five-year-old daughter was physically strong enough to escape being beaten while her brother and cousin were not? Does that even make any sense?! Those children are much older than her!"

"Well, your brats aren't babies either!" Mrs. Gonzalez snarled back. "I wouldn't put it past any monster children to be more violent with such an aggressive mother."

If I wasn't pissed before, I was infuriated then. "Spoken like a true bitch to that bastard child."

The woman's face turned white as a sheet before roaring ugly red in retaliation. "Excuse me!?"

"Exactly." I quickly turned away from her and turned my attention back to the kids. "Arial? Take the boys and head out into the hallway, I need to speak to the principal and these… ladies alone."

"I'm not done with them Mrs. Teirans," Principal Backster said swiftly. "We're not done with this conversation."

I narrowed my eyes as I turned back to the woman I thought would help me with this ridiculous situation. "I'm not, no, but they are." Turning back to the children, I pointed them out the door once more. "Can you do that for me, love?"

"Yes Mommy." Arial quickly was off her chair and pulling the two small boys with her out of the room, but not before Eras pulled from her grip and hugged me tightly, sobbing his little heart out in my arms. It broke my heart as I held him that I couldn't protect him from this ugliness of the world.

"Mommy… I'm so sorry…"

"Baby bone, there's nothing to be sorry for, you didn't do anything wrong." I kissed his forehead before turning him around. "Now go with Arial and Impact. Stay together, I'll be out as soon as I can. Your dad's on his way too."

"Great, another monster to deal with…"

It took everything in me not to summon my chains. Sans could feel it too, even as he was so far away, he was struggling to help keep me from losing control.

"Go." My children did not need to be told another time before they slipped out through the door. Once they were gone from sight, I whipped back around at the pathetic excuse for a mother. "How dare you?!"

"How dare I?" She seethed back. "How dare you?! You infected this prime school with monsters, you married one as well! You've disgraced your family's name as well as ruined this school. Those children should be sent back under the mountain where they belong!"

I'd never been faced with such ignorance from humans before, this was one of the few that truly would grate under my skin. No one had dared say anything to my face beforehand, due to my status as head of house and grandmother as head of houses.

Ignoring those facts, I sucked in a breath as I prepared to deal with a critic that both verbally lashed at my children and my husband for just being what they were. And I certainly was going to make them pay for that.

"That's never going to happen, you paranoid freak." I tried to keep my anger simmering so my comments were cold as ice, but my anger still came forth. "It appalls me that you actually dare to say those things to the family who brought our two worlds together. Monsters have been a great welcome to society and have been far more forgiving than most humans I know."

I then removed the glove I always had on my hand when I went out in public to reveal the magical bone attachment Wingdings had given me all those years ago. The mother screamed as she saw my hand, the other parents behind her trembling with the boys who caused so much disturbance. The bone was still as bright white as when it was made, it made my old principal flinch at the oddity.

"They saved me when I lay dying from my own accident. I lost my arm to their environment and they gave me another. No strings attached. How can you call them demons? Simply because they don't look like you or I? Am I now a monster too? Because let me tell you, the only 'monster' I see here is you."

"Angel, please, that's enough." I dared look over at Principal Backster who also looked a bit unsettled by the moving appendage that was held together by my magic. "I think you have made your point."

I narrowed my eyes. "It seems I have. I'll be taking my children along with Impact and leaving then."

"Angel, there's still one more thing that must be done." I sighed and turned back, pulling the long glove back over my white bone hand to face the others. Principal Backster stood then and stepped between the two of us in front of her desk. "The school board has asked that both parties involved in this ordeal to apologize to each other to settle this ordeal-"

I felt everything just freeze then as her words passed over me, even my anger had simmer at that moment before blinding rage over took me. Sans I could feel off in the distance trying to calm me, but it was having little effect.

"You expect…" I sucked in a breath that came out more heated than I normally would let it. "My children…" My eyes were glowing red and I could feel it overtake my vision. "To apologize?"

"That is what the board has requested," Principal Backster replied smoothly back in an attempt to keep me calm. "It is in the attempt to make one student feel like they are not above the other-"

"MY CHILDREN WERE BEATEN!" The explosion that came from me was one that shook the school. All parties flew back from me against the walls to escape other than the principal who steeled her nerves. I knew she was only doing her job, but… "You expect them to apologize to the very pathetic children who beat them?! That's what they want? For them to submit to the bullying and teach them that it's okay to be beaten up?"

"That's not what I-"

"I don't care what you meant!" With my decision solidified in my mind, I stormed from them, heading toward the door before turning back to face the woman who I'd always held respect for, but couldn't in that moment due to policies. "My children and Impact will no longer go to school here, but mark my words; this school will be ripped of its title and thrown to the hounds!"

I slammed the door open then to see my children and Impact waiting outside the room. They all looked at me nervously and I tried to calm myself. My soul was too potent for my own good when my emotions got the better of me.

"Come on, let's go home."

The children followed behind me nervously, all of them worriedly wondering if they should speak or not to me. Just as I stepped outside of the building, Sans appeared with a worn expression on his face. The second he saw me, he walked close, our foreheads touching and felt me with his own soul. He could feel my rage, but my concern for getting our children away from such a poisonous property was greater in desire.

"Hey kids." He lowered himself to the ground to meet them all at eye level. Eras wasted no time running into his father's arms, sobbing loudly. Impact was right after him, hugging closely to me while he cried into my dress. I reached down to pick him up, holding him close while my free hand was used to hold onto Arial. She silently took my hand before reaching out for her father's. Sans sighed and picked up his only son while holding onto his eldest daughter's hand.

Once all of us were connected, Sans teleported us home.

Later That Afternoon:

It was five minutes or so later that I was able to finally let go of some of the anger (right after I found a pillow to muffle my screams in for that time) and I returned from my room to greet the others. Sans, the wonderful husband he was, pulled away the younger children while I dragged the eldest to the kitchen in hopes of bringing up their spirts.

"Alright, let's do something fun!" I quickly pulled out my dishes and ingredients to bake. "I say we go ahead and do some baking today and then play some games, maybe watch a movie or two. What do you kids say?"

"We can Mommy?" Arial was eager as soon as she heard that, my little girl had always been a foodie like her aunt. "What are we making?"

I smiled down at her, she was really trying to be happy like I was for her brother and cousin to boost their spirits. "I was thinking we could make a whole bunch of things! I've got some brown bananas to make some banana bread, I thought we could make some snickerdoodles, maybe some cupcakes… and I could use some help making dinner a bit later tonight." I looked over at Impact. "I know you love to make spaghetti Impact, I was wondering if you could teach me the secret recipe?"

Impact's eye sockets widened in surprised, they were still red edged from crying after we brought everyone home, he at least was crying for another reason that was much more positive then. "Really?"

"Yes!" I happily hurried over to him to kneel by him and Eras. "Your parents are going be joining us tonight, so we're gonna need a big meal for all those hungry mouths. And you know," I wiggled my eye brows at him. "You know just how much your dad loves spaghetti."

"Yeah!" The young skeleton child agreed with glee and he hurried over to the station with me. Only Eras was still downcast about everything, though he wasn't as distraught as before. His tears had dried, eyes were bloodshot, but a small smile was starting to appear with all the love and attention surrounding him.

I just hoped I could make him feel better soon…

"Come on Eras!" Arial hurried over to where her brother sat and dragged him over to where we stood. "You love baking with Mommy! And I love eating! Let's make them really tasty and cool looking! Mommy even pulled out the colored sprinkles!"

"She did?" Eras seemed to come to then, almost waking up from the haze that was held over his eyes from today.

"Yeah!" Arial pointed to where I already had out some colors for us to roll the dough of the cookies in. "Look at all the colors! Mom has spring colors! There's your favorite color green too!"

The children looked between all the dishes of colorful candies I had out with pink, green and blue being the most obvious, but I also had some purple tucked to the side. I found some yellow that was in the back for Arial so I had plenty of colors for the kids to make lots of choices with. Eras always loved baking with me in the kitchen and often helped me with any cooking, enjoying it a lot more than some of the other things to do around the house.

"See Eras? I need some help with all of this baking." I pouted over at him. "Can't I have my favorite helper helping me?"

"…" Eras was quiet for a moment before he came to my side, plopped up on a chair, ready to assist me. "Thanks Mommy."

"Of course, baby bone." I nuzzled the side of his head, which he tried to wiggle away from me on. "Now which one do you want to start with?"

"Why not the banana bread?" he questioned me. "While it cooks, we can make the cookies. Banana bread takes longer to cook, doesn't it?"

"It does, especially with my recipe." I gently pushed the open dishes of colored crystals to the side while I pulled over the very ripe bananas that were browner then yellow. "You wanna peal those for me and get them mashed while I have the others grabbing the other things we need?"

"Sure." Eras went right to work on that task while I gave objectives to the other children. They buzzed around my kitchen grabbing me ingredients as we needed them.

Later That Evening:

Time quickly passed and in the span of three hours, I managed to bring the children all back into better spirits with banana bread, cookies and a large dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread and some buttercup squash.

Papyrus and Lilly had called us a time or two to let them know where they were at. They raced through the day in order to make it back for Impact after I had called them before walking into the principal's office. Sans had since called them back and let them know we had Impact and we would talk more in person once they were home. They'd been with their restaurant since early morning, it was a Friday when all of this went down and one of their busiest days. Of course, it had to happen on a Friday…

Just as the young ones were setting the table for me, I hear a knock at the door. I was arm deep in some dishes so I wasn't able to get it at that moment. I called out for one of the kids to get it for me while Sans was putting down our youngest children in their high chairs.

"Mommy!" I turned my head to look around the corner as Impact raced from the kitchen and ran for the door. "Daddy!"

"Ah there you are, baby bone!" Lilly hurried in to hug him tightly. "Oh, it's so good to see you again! And… have you gotten taller?!"

Impact simply giggled at his mother, hugging her tightly before reaching back to grab at his father.

"Papy, love!" Lilly held her son rightly, while turning to her husband. "He's getting so big! He's going to be as tall as you before we know it!"

"What a glorious achievement!" Papyrus laughed as he closed the door behind him and the eldest twins gathered around him. "Nothing could be greater than my son surpassing me in height- oh my! Is that spaghetti?"

I laughed. "You have a nose hole like no other Papy! Come on in. I'm just setting the table."

"Ah! Sister!" Papyrus came into the kitchen with three children hanging from him in various ways. "How wonderful to see you again! I was anticipating a call to tell us that you were going to make us an uncle and aunt again!"

"Not quite there yet," I looked down to my swollen belly that held my fifth child, the first that wouldn't be a set off twins coming out of me. Thank goodness… "I still have another month before the due date."

"But you weren't on time with any of the others!" Papyrus snorted. "Your children certainly take after their father."

"N' that's a bad thin'?" Sans came from around the hallway and slid in next to me, laying his hand gently on our unborn child. "Besides, we gotta switch it up every now n' then Pap."

I could feel the light-heartedness in my husband's soul. He was getting quite the kick out of teasing his younger brother, even after all these years. It was good to see that had never changed.

"Uncle Papy!" Arial quickly jumped up to pull at Papyrus harder. "Come try our food! Impact made dinner and Eras made the deserts with Mommy!"

"My son cooked dinner?!" Papyrus looked so utterly happy that he nearly melted to the floor. His voice hit octaves I never thought he could reach. "I'm so proud right now!"

"Good, then you can help us eat it." I turned to my husband who still was rubbing my belly. "Can you put the pot on the table, Darling?"

"No, no, I can do it! You rest your tired feet, dear sister." Papyrus hurried over into the kitchen, children attached to him and all, not once breaking a sweat. "You rest your tired feet, lord knows you've probably been on then all day, even against Doctor Alyphys' orders…"

"Yeah, Precious, he's right." My husband led me to the table to where I normally sat. "Come on, go sit down."

"But-" yet, I was already pushed to sit down by him. I pouted when I was sat, but I would never admit it felt amazing to be off my feet. I simply rubbed my abdomen while I waited for Sans to fill up my plate of food for me. He set it down moments later with steamed vegetables and a large helping of spaghetti. "Thanks Darling."

"Do not worry, Sister. You will have that fifth child of yours before long." Papyrus sat at the other end of the table with the young children between us, finally taking their seats and leaving their uncle or father alone. "Have you gone to see what the baby's gender is yet?"

"I'll laugh if it's another girl, Angel." Lilly threw her own two cents in.

"Ain't gonna complain either way." Sans shrugged before sitting down to eat his own first bite. "Angel thinks it's gonna be a boy though."

"Truly?" Papyrus exclaimed. "How can you tell?"

"I can't quite say why Papy, but it's just a feeling I have." I ate a bite at the meatballs on my plate, craving meat in that moment. "Every pregnancy is different, just like every child is different."

"I see…" Papyrus muttered.

"I hope it's a little brother," Eras pouted at his spot. "I have too many sisters…"

"I know little man, we're quite outnumbered, ain't we?" Sans chuckled and reached over to ruffle our son's hair, which he whined at.

"Daddy!"

"What's wrong with girls?" Arial scowled at that. "I love Cali and Connie."

Eras huffed at his twin. "It's not that I don't love them, but it's hard being the only boy…"

Sans snickered. "You mean you don't like being the center of attention with all the ladies, baby bone?"

Eras flushed red at that. "Don't call me that, Daddy!"

"Settle down boys, we're at the dinner table remember." Lilly reminded them from her spot. She smirked as she ate some of the food while watching the three children that sat with us adults.

I rolled my eyes at my best friend attempting to keep the dinner table calm.

However, with our children going through this ordeal, it was very likely that we'd both be on the same war path after the children went to bed.

Late at Night:

"This is an outrage!" Lilly hissed when all the of the children had left off to watch some TV in Sans' and my room. Once the children were happily away and distracted, we could all congregate together to discuss what would be taking place afterward. "Our children were bullied and beaten and they wanted them to apologize?! Why the very thought of that is so ludicrous that it makes me want to laugh, if it wasn't for how infuriated I am!"

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual." The words came out like slowly pouring venom from a flask; smooth, slow and deadly.

It normally would have caused our husbands to flinch at the tone, but due to the situation, they were both angry as well. The look in Sans' eye was quite deadly, reminding me of some of those nights in the past when there was a fight and he had to participate to keep the peace. Papyrus as well who normally was such a giddy fellow. Both of them were trying to hold back their frustration and anger for their children as their eye lights attempted to glow with color. I hardly cared if mine had.

"We must do something then, I will not sit by while our son, niece and nephew had to suffer through so much." Papyrus normally would have stunned me with how upset he was. It wasn't like him to get angry. It was rare, unheard of unless the worst had come to happen, such as his brother had been hurt in the past. Things had changed after he had his son. He was much more willing to be harsher now that he had a son who depended on him so.

"Oh, we will." Sans commented with hands drawn into his pockets like he always did when becoming aggressive or defensive. It was very rare to see it otherwise unless the weather was frigid. "With Angel's connections thought the family, and yer business Pap, we can spread the word about that school. It will bring about a lot o'negative attention ta that damn place."

"Yes, I've already sent word to Frisk and Undyne, so that we can pull funding as well as pull Zakhar, Maxim and Valeriya from the preschool along with our own. Most likely other human children as well, at least those that agree with us, which have grown in numbers since our first arrival to the surface."

"It won't be long before this spreads. I'm hitting social media about this first thing in the morning!" Lilly sighed before she lost some of her frustration. "Once I put up some posts to the restaurant's website, I'm going to see if Impact wants to play a game before bed, and then I'd love some sleep… Papy and I were slammed today…"

"That sounds like a splendid idea Lilly," Papyrus turned to hug his wife before turning back to us. "We never did thank you two for what you did today. Thank you, Sister, Brother."

"Don't worry about it Pap," Sans bowed his head slightly before his arm was wrapped around me. "Family gotta stay together, right?"

"That's right, and we would have done it even if only Impact was involved, he and the others mean everything to us." I took a calming breath to try and ease my emotions, knowing that it would be bad for the baby. I already had been more than frustrated enough for the day, I had to keep calm before my fifth child was born.

Papyrus' eye sockets began to water then. Before Sans and I knew it, we were massively hugged. Though our little brother hugged us softly, as to not hurt the baby I carried. "You two are the most amazing siblings a cool skeleton could ask for!"

"I'll say, Love." Lilly joined her husband quickly and hugged the three of us with extending her arms to wrap around all of us the best she could. "Now it's probably best if we get some rest. Tomorrow will be quite the day we'll have to face."

"Yep, and it's about time ta put ya under a-rest, Precious."

Papyrus quickly pulled back from our hug and pouted at his brother. "Sans! You ruined the moment!"

"Nah Bro, look how happy it made Angel." Sans wiggled the edges of his eye sockets, as if he had brows. "She loves m'puns."

Sans had always been right; it was very hard to ignore and not laugh at them. Giggles escaped me, but I was becoming too tired to keep up with the antics. I rubbed my belly and let out a tired chuckle.

"Darling, I'm tired."

I hated to admit it, but I was worn from all the audacious things that transpired hours ago in the day. I was losing the battle to stay awake with my child drinking up all my energy.

"Yep, time for bed." Sans was quick to place his hands on my body to gently steer me to the bedroom. "Welp, night guys. We'll send Impact yer way in a sec."

Sans hurried me back to our room where the eldest children lay sprawled out on the bed while watching their favorite cartoons. Sans waved to them, but I saw him hold a finger to his mouth to keep them hushed. The children quickly scampered as I was guided to bed and laid down. The television was turned off and all that was left to hear was the quiet whispers and the fan gently flowing, the purpose of white noise to assist me with falling asleep.

I felt Sans nuzzle the side of my head goodnight as he led the kids out of the room. It was at that point where the exhaustion took over and I allowed myself to fall into the land of dreams.

Witch's Note:

Oh yikes, what a chapter! That is something that no one wants to deal with. A mother to her children being beaten, and this set up is horrible. Who do you feel bad for in that situation? For Angel and the kids? The principal for only doing her job? For the uneducated kids who were only parroting a horrid set of parents?

I for one am always in Angel's corner. But it does make you think with this one, even if just for a moment. If I had the power to do so, I'd shut down a school for that kind of reason...

But onto better news! We find out that Angel is having only a single child this time around. And it looks like the family is hoping for a boy! At least, part of them are. Some don't seem to care about gender so long as they're healthy. Granted, we'll have to see how it goes.

But let's do something else, shall we? Reviews sound good to me!

Thechoasmaster: Cavities huh? I just got one drilled this last week... but that doesn't stop me from making sweet moments that make our knees buckle or teeth rot!

But I'm kinda happy a Christmas chapter fell in the rough time period for Christmas. Though I'm sorry you're forced to listen to the music for so long and sick of it already. If it makes you feel any better, it's the same over here, the Christmas channel on the radio in the office I work in and it's been hooked up to Christmas music... I honestly think just before the holiday, if not that same week. But because the guys can be so loud behind me, I don't hear it unless I walk back or I normally have headphones in to listen to my own music or shows.

Mystic Girl: I agree with Witch and you Chaos, I hear the music the day after thanksgiving until after New Years eve. I almost pulled my hair out form how often I heard it.

Me: But back to the chapter! In our own way, it feels like Papyrus has finally had something wonderful happen to him. Finally, he gets a lovely lady to partner with and a wonderful mother to his son who's been without one since before birth.

Would I say that Papyrus' own growth arc is finally coming to an end? Maybe? I don't know if that's proper to say or not.

At least for the time being... XD

Shadown8Phantom: I love hearing the guesses from you Shadow, sadly this time I took that away from you. Only a single babe that the family is hoping for a boy with. They do have three girls already, so that does make sense.

I'm glad you enjoyed the way that Papyrus was trying to prepare the life for him, Lilly and Impact together. With a home being built, a life together, it truly is wonderful to see it. And it wouldn't be unlike Sans and Angel to help their little brother out with doing something like this. Even if they didn't like Mettaton before all that happened and everything we know now, they still helped with the proposal and what not back then.

Though I do understand the sadness with not seeing more of the Christmas party. I do have another one planned later in this story. It won't be for a while, but I plan on really showing off the entire family, and all branches of it as best as I can at that time. So hopefully that will give you something to look forward to in the future.

Not A Shady Guy: Yes! So many things happened here! Isn't it great?! Engagement, soon to mother and everything being amazing! Everything so sweet, and sadly we don't know when the bad guys are at the moment… who knows when we'll see them?

But now as we come to the end of this chapter, we're in for a riot next time. One of our favorite chapters are coming up, so you all better be there! Mystic Girl and I have to review it multiple times since we love it so much. And due to it being a favorite, Mystic Girl is going to yank herself from her busy schedule to be the one responding to your reviews next time.

(While I'm typing this, I can hear a crowd cheering from below the trap door hidden in my floor. I could only shake my head as I waited for them to settle down before continuing.)

So, with that all in mind, look forward to a great chapter next time. And I'm rather excited to see what happens next time!

Love you all and see you next week!

Halloween Witch and Mystic Girl