Hello, hello ! Here's the last nice chapter before you're all starting hating me :') Enjoy !

Chapter 12 : Against the rest of the world

Sans swept away the tears that flew continuously along his face with the back of his sleeve. He wanted to be brave for Papyrus, not scare him right away. There had to be a way to make his father change his mind. He knew he could still do something to prevent this.

One thing at a time. First, he had to find his brother. A nice royal guard told him he saw the Queen and the children heading towards the middle of the camp. The tiny skeleton wandered for a long time between passers-by, hoping to come across them. It was pretty difficult. He was small and no one cared about him. He got jostled several times by tall monsters who didn't notice him. Sans wasn't angry. Everyone had something important to do here, and with the war so close from here, every second was crucial.

A familiar happy shout naturally showed him the way. He pushed a heavy purple tent canvas, where Sans found Toriel, who was sitting in a big armchair, and Undyne and Papyrus, swaggering in front of a mirror dressed with brand new uniforms. His brother's one was black with copper-colored shoulder pads. A "M" from the same colour had been wove on his back. Undyne was wearing the same outfit, with a small mail bag hanging from her shoulder. Sans felt his soul hurt. Both of them were far too enthusiastic about this. They were so young they couldn't understand how dangerous the envoy's job was.

"Sans! Look at my outfit!" screamed Papyrus.

"Yeah, it's cool, bro."

Sans forced a smile, but his heart was clearly no there. Papyrus noticed immediately. The older one turned his head to avoid his eyes. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and froze. Dark creases from crying too much had traced on his face. Well, discretion was a pitiful fail. No wonder his little brother looked so worried. Fortunately, Papyrus said nothing and went back to the fitting room with Undyne with a last stare that meant "We're talking about this after".

But Papyrus was not the only one who noticed. Toriel did too. She invited the skeleton to sit next to her on the bench. She took a tissue out and wiped his face gently.

"What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"No!" answered Sans a bit too abruptly. "It's… It's just complicated. You can't understand."

"Sans… Remember that you can talk to me if you need to. I will not judge you, I promise."

Toriel waited for him to say something, but there was nothing to say. Sans stayed silent. He didn't want to talk about this with her. Not now. But he appreciated the Queen's concern. Instead, she put a hand on his shoulder and dragged him against her for a hug. Surprised, Sans froze in her hands in shock. Tears ran down his face again and he hid his face into Toriel's chest.

"You are such a good child, Sans. Don't forget you are far too young to hold everything on your shoulders. Let the difficult things to adults, alright? Here, let me clean you before they get out."

It comforted him a little. He let Toriel wipe his face once again and attempted to smile. It was not really convincing, but it was a little better than before.

Papyrus got out soon after. He was this time dressed with a white leather armour where the Deltarune, symbol of the Dreemur's dynasty, was printed coupled with red scarf-cape, gloves and boots. He looked so proud in his tiny outfit Sans' soul jumped with happiness. It was the perfect outfit, and with no surprise, it's the one Papyrus chose. Undyne prefered the black first outfit, since it made it easier for her to camouflage. Skeletons couldn't really do that, since they were a bright shiny white bone colour.

Toriel signed the paperwork and packed the uniforms carefully. They would be delivered the next day in their room.

"Now let's go home, said Toriel kindly."

"Actually, can I go with Sans on a walk?" asked Papyrus. "I want a nicecream and I saw a monster who was selling some not far away."

"Yeah, good idea, bro." answered Sans, entering in his little game. "We will not be late for lunch. Can we go, please?"

Toriel looked at the both of them. She was not gullible, she clearly understood why they wanted to be alone. She smiled and nodded. She asked them to be really back for lunch though and even gave them some money so they could buy their ice cream. The two children thanked her and left the tent to explore the camp a little.

They stopped next to the traveling nice creams salesman and bought two vanillas flavoured ones. His little brother ate it immediately as they were heading for a more peaceful place. They found a nice little spot, right in front of a small river that cut the camp in two. They sat down on a big rock and ate a few minutes in silent until Papyrus, couldn't hold himself anymore, asked his first question.

"What happened with Dad? Is he angry because of… because of what I did in the house? I'm so sorry Sans, I didn't want to get you in trouble. I was so scared that you hurt yourself."

"That's not your fault. I was too stupid. Don't worry about that anymore. Dad wanted to see me, because he wants to… start your training."

"Wowie! Will I learn to use my magic like you? That's awesome! I will teleport, and throw bones, and hit bad guys! And then, I… Sans? Sans, are you crying?"

"N… No."

The older one tried to wipe away the tears, still refusing to be like this in front of his little brother. How could he possibly explain to him what that training was? If only it was just to help them control their magic like other normal parents did. But no, their father had to toy with them when they were younger and now nothing was normal about them anymore. Their magic was too powerful to even use it with other kids without risking an accident. Sans hated that. He hated the fact no one even ask him if he wanted that.

He took Papyrus arms. The little skeleton looked at him, still worry.

"Hey, Papyrus. You know I love you right? That I'll always be here for you, even if…"

"Of course I know that! Why would you even say that for? You're weird today."

"Please, listen to me closely. Dad… Dad is not a kind person. He never had been. Do you know why we need to be trained so much?"

"Is it not something every parents do? Undyne told me her mom teach her to use her magic."

"Yes, well… It can't be apply to us. You see… My magic, and yours, it's not like it should be. When we were just baby, Dad injected something called determination in our souls. It's… It's a human thing. With that, their souls can survive a little longer after death than monsters do. Determination is normally very dangerous and mortal to monsters. The reason why it's not affecting us the same way, is because Dad injected us determination since we were born. It made us stronger in a way, but it can also hurt us very badly. If that determination suddenly stopped working, it could kill us. It can also produce… secondary effects, mutations that are new to our kind and so very difficult to understand and control. That's why I can teleport. I should not be able to do this. Just like you're not supposed to have such a destructive magic at your age. You understand?"

Papyrus nodded, but his expression told Sans he was still assimilating everything he just said. It was complicated for him. Usually, Papyrus needed graphics to decrypt things. He had a visual memory. Sans patiently waited for him to be focused again to continue.

"When I started to develop my powers, Dad wanted to see how far I could push them. But the more I use them, the less I can control them. And the less I can control them, the more it hurts. The problem is that Dad is not doing that only to help us control better. He's doing that because he wants something of us. Something he won't tell us. It's something bigger than just us. But we shouldn't be forced to do it. I don't want him to do to you what he did to me."

"What did he do to you? Is that why you were always screaming in the cave?"

"Y...Yes." answered Sans, troubled he noticed. "The powers you have right now are a fraction of what you can really do. To extend them, to control yourself better, you have to experience what he calls a psychological shock. For me, it was when Mom… And he took advantage of that."

Sans took a deep breath. What he was going to announce him now was probably the harder part. He knew it would be very complicated for Papyrus after this.

"You and me, we developed a very strong bond, Papyrus. When I don't feel good, for example, you can guess it right away, and it's the same thing for me. It's something that's happening right there, in our souls." he said, pointing at Papyrus chest. "That's something we reinforced over the years, and I don't regret it. I love you Papyrus, with all my soul. And that's why Dad will try to break our bond so your powers can extend. He… He knew that link is making you weaker and it's holding your powers back. But… I would rather die than accept this. Papyrus, you need to defend yourself. Don't let him hurt you like he hurt me. I can take it for the both of us. He doesn't need you and you don't have to accept this. You understand?"

Papyrus stayed silent for a few seconds, then threw himself in his brother's arms. Sans hugged him back. Their two souls shined a little more when their chests met. The younger one refused to let go before several minutes, then he lifted his head towards his brother, with big sad eyes.

"Sans, why didn't you talk to me about this before? Maybe I could have helped… So you didn't feel all alone in this."

"It's not that easy, little bro. You are still so young, you shouldn't have to deal with any of this. I want you to feel safe. To be safe. And even if I… had ever talked to you, you take things with heart only, and I was too afraid you would have tried to intervene. You can't intervene, even if I'm hurt, even if it's hard. I'm tough. I can bear all of it by myself."

Papyrus squeezed a little more his ribcage.

"I love you too, Sans. Please promise me you'll be careful."

"You know I hate making promises."

"Sans…"

"Alright… I promise."

Sans lowered his head to cross Papyrus' eyes. The little skeleton still looked anxious, but seemed to trust his words. The older one gently tap the top of his skull and smiled, frankly this time.

"We should head back to the Queen's house now. Miss Toriel and Undyne must be waiting for us."

"Yeah! I promised Undyne I would play with her tonight. We found some weird dolls in a box under her bed."

"You like her a lot, do you? That's cute."

"I'm not cute!" claimed Papyrus, flustered. "She is just really nice. She said that when we'll grow up, she will teach me how to fight, and then we'll both enter in the Royal Guard and show everyone how cool we are. Then I'll be stronger enough to stop Dad from hurting you."

"Slow down, soldier." tempered his brother. "You have time to think about this. And you need to grow up a little for this, you're small."

"Undyne's Mom said that drinking soup can help for that. You'll do soup for me? Like tomato soup. With loads of spaghettis in it. Spaghettis are the best part."

"Yeah, I figured spaghettis were missing somewhere. It's becoming an addiction, you know."

"Say my big brother who's drinking ketchup at the bottle."

"Shut up, that's not true!" growled the skeleton, amused, pushing him back gently.

Papyrus chuckled, then got back on his feet. He offered his hand to his brother and helped him to stand up. They finished their ice creams quickly, then headed towards their makeshift housing. Sans felt better than when he got out of the lab, but that sword of Damocles above Papyrus' head kept compressing his soul. That little heart to heart talking had however calm down his fears for now. Gaster thought that Papyrus was weak, but it was far from true. He was nice and a bit naive sometimes, but he was also optimistic, brave and faithful. Sans couldn't see how his dad could break that. Even if Papyrus got injected determination, it was a natural soul trait for him. He was a warrior. His little warrior.

When they passed next to the entry, an orange spot caught their eyes. A monster was struggling with his cart, circled by royal guards who were helping them to unload what seemed like medical supplies. It took a few seconds to the skeletons to recognise him, but they froze when they did. The monster noticed them too. His face turned pale and he glanced at the guards nervously.

"Still alive, uh?" spited out Sans, disgusted.

"What? You know him?" asked one of the royal guard to the kid. "He refused to tell us where he's coming from."

"I never saw these kids of my life." growled the chaman that abandoned them back in Toryne's camp. "You know how kids are. They're probably playing or something."

"Liar!" screamed Papyrus.

"He abandoned us behind in the forest." explained Sans. "It's his fault if Undyne's mom is dead. He said he would prefer sacrificing my brother than himself."

"You mean Toryne?" asked the guard.

"Yes."

The royal guard lifted her helmet. It was a green-lizard lady. She turned towards the chaman, very angry.

"Listen to me, you piece of shit. Toryne was my sister in arms and my captain, we passed the exam to become royal guards together. And because of how fucking coward you were, I'll never be able to tell her how badly I love her. You're going to follow me, bastard. I'll make sure your trial will not go in your favour."

She grabbed his arms routhly and dragged him behind her towards the camp. Sans watched them go, unaffected. Some monsters weren't worth more than humans. The chaman's daughter, Alphys, stayed close to the cart, panicked. She screamed after her father, tears running down her cheeks. Empathic, Papyrus tried to walk to her, but Sans stopped him.

"We can't help her, bro. Don't worry, royal guards will take care of her, she'll be fine. She deserved better anyways."

"But…"

"He was beating her, Papyrus. You see those blue marks on her arms? Those are not love marks. She will be fine in the end, trust me. Let's go home now."

Papyrus resisted a little when he pulled his hand, but complied eventually, regretfully. He followed his brother silently for a while. In front of Toriel's house, however, he stopped.

"How do you know her dad hit her? She might have fell or something."

Sans touched his own arm, nervously. His eye sockets darkened a little. Papyrus gasped when he understood. He took his brother's arms, silent again.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"That's ok, bro."

Papyrus smiled at him.

"We'll be always together now, right? It's us against the rest of the world." he claimed, proudly.

Sans pushed the door. He was right. He smiled back at him.

"You and I against the rest of the world."