Author's Note: Bitty quirks!
Bitty monster types show increased sensitivity to emotions, in themselves, and in reaction to others emotional states…
Surprisingly far reaching where beings might experience synchronization. At times, this effect may even influence the emotional state of these counterparts.
Blue didn't know what had gotten into his brother today, but Orange, slouching on the sofa looking every bit the carelessly relaxed, chilled out lazybones doing coding for his job mid morning like usual, wasn't fooling him. To an outsider, there was nothing to give away his wretched state right now.
"oh hey bro- " He grinned up from his work laptop nonchalantly. He couldn't explain his anxiety, but he was relieved to see his brother right now even though everything was fine. Everything was fine.
"PAPY!" Blue stood with his fists on his hipbones, wearing his morning jogging gear of black t-shirt and dark blue jogging pants. He didn't wait for his brother to respond, and instead, two densely boned skeletal hands leading to sweatbands shot forward to grab the hoody of the startled sibling. "THAT CAN WAIT."
A laptop found itself abandoned on an empty couch.
As Orange found himself carried triumphantly overhead like a barbell, out of the door to the crisp fresh air of the sunny garden for what turned out to be an urgent session of helping rake a 'huge mess' of leaves, which his brother admonished him for somehow having encouraged to accumulate, his grin relaxed into something more genuine.
Blue. Sans. Hadn't tackled him like that for a while.
Tiny fists banging on the unyielding wooden wall fell weaker and weaker against the surface, until they finally dropped helplessly to his sides where he knelt in the waves of blanketing fabric. His voice already hoarse from trying to call out for help when he had woken up imprisoned here, finding he could barely raise his volume as it was in the unlit and muffled room.
He had tried to shortcut out, shortcut home, anywhere, but it didn't work. He tried to clamber over the room full of blankets like a strange warehouse, summoning glowing bones to see by as he looked for a way out, tried to break out with his magic, until he was exhausted, the meager light around him shrinking as the amber glow of his eyes faded to tired sockets and he resigned himself to wait for what mercy he might have. Hoping there was some mistake.
The whole world had shaken with a colossal bang to jolt him awake later, like a building had come crashing down. He was terrified. As his bones rattled he thought he heard muffled cheering, then other voices, so he tried desperately again to pound his fists on the wall. But it was almost soundless, and no-one came.
He curled up and sobbed alone in the dark.
As cats are sometimes known to do, Red went from appearing fairly content going about his workday in the warehouse, to suddenly jumping a foot in the air. Unfortunately Red wasn't a cat, and unfortunately, his relationship with his co-workers had gone from that cautious sort of politeness towards a new monster co-worker, to affectionate comradery and friendly teasing banter he pretended to be aloof about, but secretly reveled in. He couldn't even figure out what shocked him like that, and from the barely contained looks of wicked glee on the faces around him, he knew with a black socketed grimace and a wry grin that he wasn't gonna live it down for a while.
The four pairs of bitty eyelights peered out, dots of light wavering from under the bed as the dust and floating down streamers of yarn settled. A tennis ball rolled by to no reaction; a random passerby if not an invited participant in their work.
It belatedly felt like a safer spot considering the dangerous stunt. They had known with budding excitement that the rigged behemoth of furnishing was getting closer and closer to falling at the impassable door as planned, as it reached critical leverage where gravity favored it being on its side instead of standing as Mabel preferred it.
When they discovered they were trapped in the room they woke in this morning, Red had mainly been the one to engineer everything while Blue, Papyrus and Fell provided conflicting directions all at once, but still all worked seamlessly together.
They raided the room and the inside of the wardrobe excitedly to build with what they could use once the chestnut door was heaved from the bottom to click open to reward them with, among other items; the game changing yarn supply. It all took a lot of effort. Even opening drawers and climbing in and out of the plastic storage tubs took teamwork. The heaviest items took the combined blue magic of all of them to gravity lift the short distances. Everything in this room was so huge.
If it was some sort of prank, it must have taken an absurd amount of effort to work on creating. Red begrudgingly appreciated the possibility despite the amount of work this had made for him to escape, and the worry of what intentions were behind - surely kidnapping the four of them? He had ran the boney digits of his hand down his face and almost groaned at the idea that one other explanation could be another universe with someone like a giant Sans activating a damn machine. Or if someone was messing with them… Well, they were gonna regret it.
He wasn't afraid… He'd whoop giant Sans big boney ass. Yeah… Dammit.
He felt small.
No. He felt irritated. Pride wouldn't let him dwell on those thoughts right now, so he puffed up the furred collar of his jacket round his ear-holes by setting his shoulders and crossing his arms in a surly pose, and knuckled down to think and plan. He didn't notice his brother turn approvingly from this sight to carry on scouting for items and leave him to think.
It was like putting together the most ambitious puzzle to solve how to break out of this strange place. Stranger too, the feeling that they might have gotten easily distracted by the fun to be had in the giant room, and not been so bothered about getting out if it weren't for them all feeling a little hungry. And that door barring their way like an affront to them personally. Heh, probably came down to a long history of being stuck behind barriers in their worlds.
The skeletons a few houses away would have been scratching their skulls to understand the resulting chaotic lever and pulley system, yet the bitty versions of them automatically worked out their method to tip, turn, and aim their weaponized armoire perfectly.
Funnily enough, not one of them cared to give the much more easily breakable window the esteem of being their target. They were going through the door.
The gradual heaving of pulleys orchestrated by Red with Blue, straining of gravity magic shared between all, and manoeuvring to lift each almost car sized book under the raised corner by Fell and Papyrus, was repeated until finally the wardrobe took the hint and carried on with sudden enthusiasm in the direction they'd been inching it all day.
The strength of any exclamations about this thrilling victory were damped down by the exhausting effort it had taken, followed by blind panic caused by the impact somehow feeling unexpected, like a child popping a balloon then wondering where it went. As one they shared the fright of their lives and a frantic, inelegant burst of speed to scramble to safety with phalanges scraping the floorboards and sneakers skidding after its impact tossed them in the air. And so it was that they ended up under the bed.
Fell was the first to move now as the dust settled, the barest turn of his skull and a slow pat on the fluff of his brother's jacket collar which had poofed out. "I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD JUMP THAT HIGH BROTHER. YOU'RE NOT HIDING SOME ATHLETIC TENDENCY ALL THIS TIME ARE YOU?"
"..."
Red's eyelights were tiny and staring in vacant shock still, so Fell let him be and surveyed the room.
The door was open.
What was left of it.
Papyrus and Blue stepped forward together from under the bed excitedly, somehow finding the energy to punch the air and pose victoriously. As Fell stepped out they were both giving each other a high five, before Blue picked up Papyrus in a bone-crushing hug and they laughed a muted "Mweh!" and "Nyeh!" breathlessly. He was too dignified to join in such things. He didn't feel left out… unwanted… Turning his skull away he folded his arms with a self-conscious sniff of disdain, to pretend to be in deep thought about more important things.
They noticed him step out and both struck a dynamic high five pose each at him without hesitation.
Oh. Well, he… supposed he could give them the honor. A good Captain recognizes the job well done of subordinates, or allies. Making sure that his shirt sleeves were still rolled up securely, he raised his arm and, keeping his expression a neutral mask over internal delight, wondered why he was almost having to fight down giddy joy at such a silly expression of fun, and put his soul into two impressive (superior) high fives.
Dignity intact, he-
"Nyeh!" Papyrus had grabbed him in a huge hug now and he spluttered indignantly in the grip of the happy skeleton, before being put down again to gather back his composure and turn his blushing skull away, as Blue ran to the door.
All four of them came to be looking up at the fallen monolith. Blue pulled the edge of a dangling striped sweater sleeve taut and rappelled up using the fabric to the side-now-top. Papyrus followed as Fell stood with hands on hips waiting for them to make it like an instructor safekeeping students. Then he watched his brother tiredly walk around instead, to sidestep through the gap between the wardrobe and broken door-frame, before Fell climbed up to join the other two.
It was another huge space, less cluttered than the room apart from their contribution. What looked like a hallway in a home just like the bedroom.
They each stood looking in different directions from their platform. The view sweeping to the left revealing more rooms on both sides with three open doors and two shut to the left, and a grand window at the end presenting half blue sky and half red brickwork of another house between the open curtains. A fancy half moon console table with a wooden box and shiny white sleeping cat ornament sat below this window, with a pot plant spreading out green fern on its base.
In a recess in the wall between the furthest open and closed doors could just be seen sat a one-third wall height bookcase, facing a pair of comparatively small multicolor upholstered reading chairs in a matching recess opposite. The wall next to the last closed door facing the escaped bitties ended, to open up to white painted railing, which Red had strolled forward to look out through.
As he walked up with a scowl and hands in pockets like it was an everyday stroll, his eyelights slid along the polished wooden top of the railing, taking in the height it reached, following to the right past another couple of closed doors facing it, until it started to curve downwards over stairs.
He could see from here that an arched window set hung just below and central over what must be an entrance-hall door, and a long cable almost within reach was leading from the high ceiling to the top of a light fixture. Red was still taking this all in as his hands reached and held the thick bars tentatively, when he immediately flinched as he looked down.
The others saw him freeze at what he saw below which had made sudden shuffling movement noises the moment he got there. Someone or something was down there.
As Red leapt backwards, Papyrus, Blue, and Fell sat on the edge of their platform, dropped down and gathered to him questioningly. Blue looked past him for a moment as if about to just run past to see for himself, but turned his gaze back for a moment.
Fell might have made a show of shouting confidently at Red at times like this in the familiar territory of their Underground, but even there, there were times when making an allowance for stealth was the wiser tactic. Even if 'stealth' for him only tended to amount to not shouting, while he'd still insist on striding through confidently, if quietly. He had at least learned to appreciate the unexpected benefit of hostile monsters changing their tune when the captain of the guard was suddenly stood there, letting those familiar with his usual posturing falter as imaginations leapt to fill the deadly silence. He could admit that part was very satisfying.
Papyrus and Blue though, they hadn't known a dangerous underground like his, and it was a matter of moments before 'stealth' against an unknown potential captor was a wishful thought as the spirited duo recovered from their exertions. They were already all vulnerable thanks to depleted magic levels right now.
He made eye contact with his brother, red eyelights to red in a dark look, and both understood the same.
In sync they acted. Fell turned and raised both hands as Red vanished and reappeared in front of the farthest two doorways, taking a quick glance inside one. Even with the element of surprise there was a chance the move would be thwarted. After all, Papyrus was his own name, and where this Papyrus, as well as Blue, lacked the careful, battle-hardened experience, they could make up for it with surprising un-burdened tenacity in a fight, as he knew from some surprisingly challenging sparring sessions.
But it seemed luck was on his side this time, as both hesitated (did he want another high-five?), with only a misguided slight hand raise in reaction before his gravity magic pinged its grip onto both and sent them flying backwards, where Red grabbed them in a fluid motion sideways into the room, their shocked shouts muffled in time.
Fell strode after them, glancing towards the railings but not falling for curiosity for now. He was loathe to admit it but he was really exhausted from taxing his magic reserves so much. He must have taken more than his share of the strain overdoing the gravity magic earlier.
At least it was nice to not be on the receiving end of that last one for a change, he mused with a small smirk. It was Undyne who had thrown him a similar distance to his brother to foil him stomping into danger as a youth when he'd been naively over-keen to prove himself. He'd absolutely grown out of that now…
Fell arrived in the new room with just enough time to see the three astoundingly still silent, but locked in what appeared like a three-way wrestling match they'd forgotten they started. His brother still just about had hold of Papyrus's black t-shirt sleeve, causing the lanky skeleton to be awkwardly imbalanced backwards in an almost limbo, one red gloved hand blindly shoved in Red's face, while Blue was also in a currently abandoned escape squashed in the middle, leaning forward with one foot planted on the floor and the other wedged in Red's side, with Red hanging onto the blue scarf.
All three faces were inclined upwards and staring at… Holy shit it was Asgore.
Being the last in the room, Fell took his own turn with stalled thoughts and a slack jawed expression as he processed that he was staring at a life size door-stop smiling merrily at them, while his housemates slowly released each other.
In the interests of fostering good publicity and positive engagement with monster-kind following their integration into the human dominated world, the monster king had for a period of time given the go-ahead to quite a mixed bag of merchandise. The doorstops had been one of the items discontinued once oversight of this had been pried out of his indulgent fluffy paws and passed to a more discerning team away from the king's allowance of hundreds of whimsical suggestions.
Papyrus perked up and was going to be the first to break the silence, but the doorbell beat him to it, as 'Ding-Dong!' chimed through the house.
"Mabel!" Came the thudding on the front door and enquiries of a familiar voice. The skeletons all recognised both voices. Two of the neighbors? They listened as the door opened and the conversation downstairs took place, and Red took the chance to hurriedly fill the three in on what he saw.
"th' human's huge it's not just th' house, think it's our neighbors but those old humans are five foot not fifty so it's either another universe we got dragged to or.
… or we got, shrunk somehow" He finally dared to voice that chastening thought.
While Fell stood scowling with his arms folded, Papyrus and Blue looked at each other, and the taller skeleton picked back up his delayed turn to speak, looking from Blue to Red. "Ah… Well that does explain things."
With the rapidly hissed explanation out, Red had paused in anticipation in the desperate stance he had taken, looking between the powder-keg of readily uproarious companions surrounding him from three angles. He looked tensely between each to gauge their reactions, his legs set apart and arms held out palm-outwards in a 'wait' motion like a tamer of beasts.
It was Blue, in the center of the group who took the initiative. Whether it was out of a desire to support the bone-tired looking Red, or in recognition of the hard work the normally dead lazy, sweary, edgy version of him had done leading them to freedom, his pride in his discipline from Royal Guard training and exceptional friend-skills won over his urge to leap out and give the maybe-new human the benefit of meeting him.
Plus they were in her house and he didn't remember being invited, so meeting the trespassing Magnificent Sans might not come over as well.
"So... It sounds like we had better disguise our presence and lie in wait to observe the human!" He offered.
"no! That's not a-
-oh, i mean yeah."
"Do we have disguises?"
End Note:
If you want to know what the doorstop Asgore looks like, picture Fat Chocobo.
Tumblr-link in my profile if you want for questions, requests, and anything