Nuttopia

Adoption Day 27

"There is a way to tell nightmares from reality," said Miss Toriel Ma'am. "Forget that nonsense about looking into mirrors or trying to read something[8]. Monsters like us have one guaranteed method to tell."

Both brothers sat and waited. Papyrus's mouth was agape.

"It is called Soul Calling. Almost everyone does it unconsciously, but there are times when they can be deliberate. But the reply is always automatic. Watch." Miss Toriel Ma'am closed her eyes and appeared to be concentrating. Her soul glowed brightly inside her and... {pwm}... sent out a wave of pure light. As it washed through the brothers, they felt their own souls twitch in response.

It felt... like love.

"Wowie," Papyrus whispered. "And we can do that too?"

"Oh yes," Miss Toriel Ma'am had her eyes open again. "You will have to let go of your brother, though."

Papyrus reluctantly did so, just as Sans reluctantly let go of him. As an extra measure, they scooted away from each other. One of the very few times they let themselves stay out of easy hugging range.

"Now. Papyrus. Close your eyes and think about how much you love your brother and how much you want to hold him. If you wish, you can pre--"

{PWM!}

The light even reached through his closed eyes. And he felt a response. An echo. It felt like Sans. Papyrus opened his eyes to see his brother laughing at him.

"...that almost knocked me over, bro."

"Soul calling is usually not a physical force," Miss Toriel Ma'am allowed. "You have an extraordinary amount of love in you, Papyrus."

"Of course," he said. "There is lots to love about my brother."

*

"Your turn, Sans."

Ah crap. "...can i try tomorrow?" he managed. "...i -uh- need some recovery time from paps..."

Tori looked sad. He didn't like it when she was sad. "Please try," she said. "It is not difficult."

"I believe in you, brother," said Paps. "You can do it. You're strong."

He knew he was going to fail. He always failed at the raw magic stuff. Without KR, he couldn't do _anything_. But to make them both happy, he had to give it a shot. He closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. And gave it everything he had.

...he could feel it go, and the echo from his brother... and then it all went black...

Sans opened his eyes and found the ceiling. There was a feeling that some time had passed. "...d'd i knock m'self out tryin' too hard?" he mumbled.

"Brother! You are well! I told you that you could do it! You _did_ knock me over! Your love is so strong that there is a dent in the wall!" Pap pointed out the Papyrus-shaped silhouette of a dent in the wall near the table. "I told you that you are magnificent!" Pap had nothing but hugs for him.

And now that he was aware of what it was, he could feel tiny pings between their souls. It meant that his brother was real. That this wasn't a dream.

"...didn't hurt'cha did i?"

"Of course not. Love is never hurtful. Even if it is a bit forceful."

Tori gave him one of her potions. She made it taste like hot dogs. Just for him. "Next time," she said. "Do not give _everything_ to your call. You could reach all of the Undergound, and half of the whole world with that much power."

That... just didn't make sense. "...but... i'm weak... i'm disappointing..."

She gently caressed his skull. "Don't you believe a _word_ that man said," she instructed. "He is a liar. A base and despicable liar."

Sans made a note to look up 'despicable' in the house dictionary. Later. Lots and lots of time later. He had some important resting to do.

[8] This humble author has seen reflections _and_ the written word in dreams