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

Adoption Day 25

He opened his eyes in the darkness. The bed by his side was empty and cold. And there was a shadowy figure standing in the open doorway. A terrifyingly familiar figure. Clipboard and all. Just standing, and taking notes.

He wanted to shout, "How did you find us? Where is my brother?" but no sound came out. He tried to move, and couldn't. He could feel the straps. The pins. No.

Papyrus had never left the lab. It had all been a dream. And the device in front of him was building up power...

He opened his eyes in the darkness. No pain. No cold. Sans safe and sleeping soundly by his side, lit by the glow from Papyrus' eyes. Everything was okay. Relieved, he rolled over to wrap his brother in his arms and hold him tight...

...only to feel him crumble to dust the instant he touched him.

Papyrus could not scream. He heard Miss Toriel Ma'am at the door. She sounded... sad. "Ah," she said. "It is over, then. I am sorry."

And then He appeared in the portal. Cold and blank as always.

"It is time for you to go back," she said.

Papyrus could feel His grip on his soul, taking him away from all that remained of his brother. He was crying and screaming, demanding to know why Miss Toriel Ma'am had done this. He had loved her! They had both trusted her! Why? WHY?

He opened his eyes in the darkness. Stabbing fear gripping his chest. Papyrus had never been happier to hear his brother's snoring. But he dared not touch him. Papyrus huddled up into a ball and cried a little. But not for long. Miss Toriel Ma'am opened the door. "Are you all right, my child?"

"I don't know," he said. "This is the third time I've woken up and I don't know what's real..."

"Oh my," said Miss Toriel Ma'am. She sat by him and hugged him close. "Tell me everything."

He started with the waking up and finding Sans gone, and Him watching over him... and being in the bad place again. And never having been here with her.

Whenever he stopped to breathe or sob, there was a scratching sound. Distracted by it, he peeked past Miss Toriel Ma'am's shoulder and... there He was. Scribbling things down onto his clipboard...

He opened his eyes in the darkness. Jumped out of bed and summoned some bones as he went. "Come on out," he called. "I dare you! I know how to fight, now!"

Movement behind him! He whirled and set his attacks flying...

Only to see Miss Toriel Ma'am's face in an expression of utter betrayal before her form crumbled away into dust.

He opened his eyes in the darkness. Papyrus covered his eyes and screamed, and screamed, and screamed.

"...bro... bro, wake up."

Papyrus opened his eyes to see Sans' one true eye glowing blue in the gloom.

"You were having a nightmare," Sans said.

"Please don't die," begged Papyrus. "Please tell me that He isn't here?"

"...sshhh... you need t' stay quiet."

And the human came through their door. Covered in dust and looking monstrous. "There you are," it said.

He opened his eyes in the darkness. Papyrus gibbered a little and curled himself up tight. His glow was so bright that it filled the entire room. He didn't know where to go or who to talk to or what to do, because a frightening monster kept turning up and he'd wake up again. A vision stood in the doorway. Another human. It was wearing pink and blue in stripes, and a gross bandage. All it had with it was a stick.

But it was a _human_! Another frightening monster.

"Go away! Go away! I don't wanna wake up any more! Go away... I don't want any more nightmares..."

The lights turned on. And Miss Toriel Ma'am was there. "What is all this noise?"

"Please don't let Him get us? Please don't let the humans come? Please don't die? Please don't let Sans die? Please be re-he-heal..." a shuddering gasp of a sob. "Please be real this time..."

Miss Toriel Ma'am scooped him up in her arms, cradling his whole body and feeling his skull with tender care. "Oh dear. You have a fever. I am not very good with fevers." She took him out to the dining room and sat him on the big soft chair. She let him have a pillow to hug and made up a bag full of ice  to press wherever he felt uncomfortable.

Which was everywhere. His joints felt scratchy and he couldn't really get comfortable. And everything was really, really miserable.

And he kept Seeing the human. More than one of them. Sometimes, five at once. And not one of them listened to him telling them to go away. He complained to Miss Toriel Ma'am, but he only got her to respond once in a while. And sometimes, he would pick the wrong one to talk to. He could tell when she was touching him, and the world was slightly more comfortable in her arms.

But it was still a very bad morning.

*

Sans opened his eyes in the darkness. Aware that something was wrong. The space by his side was cool and empty. He turned on the light and gave the sheets a panicked examination for dust. And then he fled the bed to see what had happened to him. Someone was humming, in the dining room. Tori. He raced to find her and found Papyrus as well.

He wasn't looking too great. Sans couldn't remember the last time he had seen Papyrus this... floppy. Wait. No. He could. Every time he had a nightmare. Papyrus, skull nearly broken and broken limbs bound, flopping on the floor and unable to speak because He had hurt him so bad. Sans could feel his eye flare. "PAP! BRO!"

Papyrus reached out. "...are you real this time? Come'n hold my hand... can't tell 'less y'r touching me..."

Sans didn't need to be told twice. Clinging to his hand as if he could hold his soul onto living for one more minute. "...right here, bro... it's okay."

Tori was looking tear-streaked and weary. Worried and scared. "I am afraid your brother has caught an illness."

Flashback to the bad place. Feeling horrible despite being healed. Feeling his brother flooding him with healing magic and not feeling it working. Feeling the pull of Him lifting him around by his soul. Cruel prodding. A cold announcement. "Sick," He had said. "Useless." And then He hauled him away from his frantic brother and put him in one of the tubes.

Sans knew that Tori didn't have any such thing. "...so what'cha gonna do with him?"

Papyrus moaned and shifted the placement of a large-ish bag against his body. Letting it rest on his rib cage.

Tori sighed. "I will do all I can," she said. "There are medicines that work for everyone. I may have to find a library that has books on skeleton medicine... But I can keep him comfortable and soothe his woes, for now. I fear he is sicker than I think. He is... hallucinating, perhaps?"

"...go 'way," Papyrus mumbled. "...darn humans..."

Humans? Plural? Sans opened up his Sight and Looked. Oh. So many humans coming through this house. All at different times... "...no, tori... his _sight_ is going haywire," he explained. "...he's _seeing_ everything at once."

Tori breathed easier. "Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried it was a grave illness." She hugged Papyrus briefly, and only relaxed her grip when he loosed a complaining whimper. "I still think it might be wise to find those books. I do not like not knowing how to help you."

Sans peeked into the immediate possibilities. "...you can go now... i'll be fine lookin' after my bro while you're gone." It was not the first time he had spent some time cradling his brother. But it was the first one where he _knew_ that help would be coming. That made everything else a lot easier.

When Tori returned, she came with great armloads of things. Three thick and heavy volumes about medicine. Container after container of things that could help. None of them looked like anything He had used at all. Sans watched in fascination as Tori read passages from the books and mixed up things to try to get Paps to ingest. Only to wait for a time, watching the clock, and start again with something else.

Finally, after hours of this, Paps' hot bones began to cool. Tori announced that his fever had broken and the best thing for him was sleep. Sans wasn't even sure how it happened that way, but that night, they all snuggled together in one shared bed. Holding each other safe against the terrors of the night.

Adoption Day 10

Sans couldn't remember the last time he actually slept. Not the cat-napping he usually did when weariness caught up with him and bludgeoned watchful wariness with a sneak attack. Not the kind of sleep he got back in the bad place, where he fell unconscious from pain, or when he had his senses open for any sign of His approach. But this time... right after Toriel tucked them both in to their shared bed, he fell deep down into sleep so pure that he actually felt... rested.

Something had unlocked. Not anywhere physical, just... within himself.

Sans opened his eyes. Same friendly ceiling. Same soft bed. Same collection of toys and... same best brother ever, waiting for him and practicing his blue magic on a particularly light teddy bear.

"Finally," said Papyrus. "I thought you would be napping forever, brother. Miss Toriel Ma'am has been keeping breakfast warm for hours."

Sans dragged himself out of bed. He felt a lot better than he had since... since he couldn't remember. How was it that getting a full night's sleep was exhausting? He shuffled into the googly-eye slippers and made his way to the dining room. "...thanks for waiting for me," he mumbled. "...dunno why i'm so tired, i actually got to sleep."

Toriel was impressed by something. Scooped him up in a hug and danced with him. Laughing all the time and congratulating him.

It took four tries at understanding her before she spelled it out:

A good sleep can raise someone's HP above their usual limits.

And now all he wanted to do was sleep. That, and eat. He was starving.

More at last!

====8<====

Adoption Day 7

Sans had got used to Toriel carrying him back to their cosy little home. Training was tiring for him, and whether they trained in the long hall with the column or the long hall that was their cellar, he finished every day absolutely exhausted.

It didn't matter if he got hit. Tori threw healing magic for them to train with. He learned to block and dodge really quickly. And it was a good thing that most battles didn't last for very long before a monster didn't want to fight. Showing mercy was important. Tremendously important.

And after they got to know everyone in the ruins, it wasn't as if they got into many fights.

He relaxed in her arms. Carried around like a baby. Like he had never been carried.

_Dim memories from the edge of consciousness. A lot of pain. A green light, and Him swearing and yelling the word 'no' over and over again. Feeling his body being hoisted up into a grip very similar to the one Tori was using now..._

Sans didn't want to run away. For a start, he was way too tired. But he would have given anything to be in his bed and hiding under the covers from that memory.

{POP}

He dropped about an inch onto the surface of the big bed he shared with Paps. So worn out that he was getting tunnel vision. He could hear Tori and Paps screaming. And he could barely keep his eyes open.

_I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm okay. Just... come... find..._ and sleep swallowed him whole.

*

Two of the scariest things had happened. First and foremost was that Sans vanished from her arms. Not a trace. Not a shower of ash (that nightmare still woke her up in the wee small hours). Not a wisp of smoke. Nothing but a brief 'pop' like a balloon meeting something sharp.

Of course she screamed. Which made Papyrus scream. She ran back to the cellar hall where they had started. She tried to hear him through the door.

And then Papyrus announced. "We'll find him in our room."

The eeriest thing was how he said it with complete calm. He had one eye closed and the other was... squinting. Toriel got the feeling that he wasn't looking into the here and now.

She scooped him up and ran all the way to their room and, indeed, he was right there on top of the quilt. And out cold.

Toriel didn't put Papyrus down. There was plenty of room for them both in her arms.

*

Sans was okay. Sans was fine. He'd just found a brand new ability and it had knocked him sideways.

Papyrus held his brother until he, too, fell asleep.

And woke up sometime in the early morning. Facing Sans, who was also awake. Miss Toriel Ma'am had not let either of them go.

"...she copies the books into your font so you can read them," said Sans. "...don't think she sleeps much."

"Sometimes I wake in the night," said Papyrus, trying to whisper. "And she's feeding you healing magic. I know she doesn't sleep much."

That seemed to decide it. "...we gotta do something nice for her."

But what?

====8<====

more when inspiration strikes.

====8<====

Abduction Day 6Adoption Day 1

Papyrus could feel the tension in the air. All those un-asked questions filled him up with an unpleasant tickly sensation. And Miss Toriel Ma'am was upset. He could see it. All her smiles had gone away and there was a slump to her shoulders. And she moved slowly. Like his brother did when... when He had hurt them.

Papyrus knew from rough experience that not all hurts went away with healing.

But those prickly, tickly questions kept bothering him.

Sans was being a lot nicer to Miss Toriel Ma'am. Helping out, where she let him, or trying a few weak jokes. None of his usual... anger... was coming out. And it was good to see him being like that for someone, but...

One of the questions escaped. "What _was_ that thing?"

"...half-past breakfast," murmured Sans. "...didn't think you'd last this long."

"Brother," Papyrus chided. "This is important. I can feel it."

Miss Toriel Ma'am put her fork down. She'd only been poking her food around, anyway. "That... creature... was a human. They... They are the species that put monsters like us underground. They are the species that put up the barrier. And the barrier keeps us down here."

"...so we'd all be better off if humans didn't exist, right?" said Sans.

Miss Toriel Ma'am shut her eyes and got very, very still. He could almost see a halo of sadness around her. "I loved a human child as if they were my own, once."

"...aaah," Sans growled to himself. "...failure... stupid..."

"They were not a child of my body and soul, but a child of my heart," said Miss Toriel Ma'am. She hadn't heard Sans. "My husband and I... loved them. Just as we loved the child who did come from our souls[5]. They grew together as siblings. And for a little time, everything seemed... better."

It was not a happy story. Stories about happenings in the Underground never seemed to end happily. The human fell sick. Dangerously sick. No magic could help them. No amount of medicines or spells or potions worked. The human was fading away, and they only had one request. To see the flowers from their village one final time.

Miss Toriel Ma'am's monster-child took the human's soul. And then the humans body. Together, they crossed the barrier and Miss Toriel Ma'am's son tried to fulfil their sibling's last wish. It didn't end well. The monster child had just enough time to tell their story before they fell down and turned into dust.

"...sorry," said Sans. "...didn't know."

"Humans have choices," said Miss Toriel Ma'am. "The one that you saw chose to be a murderer. And I... I chose to contain them behind the door in the cellar. Unfortunately... when you healed me, Papyrus, I... I accidentally let them go on to the greater Underground." She hurried to soothe him. "It was not your fault, my child. It was mine. I should have... I should have..."

"...hey, it's okay," said Sans, reaching out to comfort her. "...maybe that thing an' _him_ will get together... they deserve each other, don'cha think?"

*

Welp. That went over like... something designed to sink. He dropped the subject and let Papyrus ask all the questions and say all the things.

"Why was that one so mean?"

"How did they make the barrier?"

"Why did they make the barrier?"

"How can we be ready?"

Sans surfaced from his self-blame for that one. Already, Paps was thinking ahead for the next time. Paps was real clever about that sort of thing and He never figured it out. Paps planned. He didn't always plan all the way, because some things just didn't work out all the way. But he always had some really good ideas. Lots of them very nearly worked.

"I can... teach some methods," Toriel allowed. "And I have some books. It has become clear that you will need to defend yourselves. It is usually a long time between the days when children fall. We will have time."

*

(Excerpts from Toriel's journal)

It is regrettable, but I must teach these children how to fight. The smaller of the two, Sans, will not benefit from traditional armour, so I have taken the liberty of adding speed spells to his clothing. He will have to dodge, and dodge quickly, if he has any hope for survival.

Papyrus is far more able to withstand hurt, but I will do what I can for him to allow his clothing to protect him from harm.

Their first lesson is how to use their magic to deflect an attack from another. The hallway of my cellar seems to be the best place to practice. Not even ghosts come there. But I cannot help but feel a terrible foreboding. Am I training more innocents to die? Am I training more murderers?

I know not which action is for the best. I can only protect what lives I can.

[5] Ask me about my whack theories on Monster reproduction!

====8<====

I figure in this timeline, Gaster becomes a boss monster who's out to capture Pap and Sans before anyone in authority finds out. Pacifist runs convince both him and Alphys to come clean about their abominations of science.

I can finally write some more! [NB for last post, this forum does not like the word c-r-a-c-k. Go figure]

====8<====

(WDG-1S)

The crying was done with, and he'd eaten slightly more than his fill. It was hard to remember that Toriel was not Him, and would not withhold food to see what happened next. With her around, there had never been a moment of hunger. And now, with a slightly unpleasant feeling just under his ribs, One would have much rather cuddled up in the pillow pile and slept it off.

No such luck. She insisted on going for another walk into the chamber of flowers.

Walking so far exhausted him. What he wouldn't give for a short cut. An easier way to get around.

Toriel stopped for rests, often. Let him get his breath back before they journeyed onwards. And maybe that was why...

He wanted to blame himself. Everything bad that had happened with Him seemed to happen because of something One had done. Blaming himself came as a reflex. If he hadn't made Toriel cry. If he had just tried to go back to sleep. If he had woken Two and let him help. If he had kept the function of the handplate to himself...

Then maybe...

(Toriel)

They met the human in the room with the long hallway and the single column. She was already dusty from murders. She wore some kind of fancy skirt that stuck out sideways and carried... a pair of shoes? She used them as a weapon. Swung them around.

"Fear not, my child," she began, but got no further. This child wanted to fight. And they were aiming at Little Brother. _NO!_ It barely took a thought. She dived between the human and the smaller skeleton. Shielding him from harm with her own body. "Run! Run and hide!" she urged. The skeletons fled.

Toriel blocked the human's way. All she had to do was stay in her way long enough and then flee. With luck, this child might not find her again. And Toriel had pockets loaded with treats. She could heal herself if necessary. But if this little girl found Little Brother again...

She used her showiest attacks, intending to frighten rather than harm. And it worked. After a long and arduous battle, the child fled. Toriel let her go, gave herself just long enough to recover her breath and then... went searching for the skeleton brothers. She dared not call out, very loud. Not at first. More time was needed to give the murderous child space.

She found their arms in a nook behind the column. Their right forearms. A misdirection that might have worked on their former tormentor. Toriel channeled her healing energy into the arms, knowing they would feel it. _ I am alive, dear ones. Have courage._ They could not hear her thoughts, but they would know she was still able to help them. She held their arms close to her heart and willed all of her protective magic at them.

And then she searched. Every room. The candy room. Wept at the rooms drifting with dust. Searched down every hole, in every linking corridor between hidden places.

She could feel the murderous child hammering at the door between the ruins and the rest of the underground. Toriel debated whether to let her through.

If the human child went on, she would kill more monsters. And Asgore would surely end her if nobody else did. If she remained... she would backtrack. Hunt down any living monster that had managed to avoid her. Two lives that were so very precious to her versus the whole of the underground. The life of a human child... who may not know any better.

Toriel increased her pace, not knowing what to do. Her imagination was quick to supply horrors. Both arms in her grasp, crumbling and turning into dust. One arm at a time doing the same. And worst of all, only one arm crumbling in her hands. And her, helpless to stop it.

She let the first door open. Felt the child slip through. Closed it again. Now the little murderess was trapped between two doors. Everyone was, however temporarily, safe.

But she could not find the brothers. She knew they were alive, yes, but she could not find them. They could be trapped. If they were hurt, they would not be hurt for long. What if they were allergic to something? Would healing magic work against allergies? What if they'd caught a sickness? What if some other creature of the underground was menacing them? What if they'd become lost?

Now her imagination pictured them somewhere dark and cold, lost and alone, separated in their flight. And each of them falling ill.

It was no surprise that she was nearly in a blind panic by the time she reached her little home. The fire had gone out. Half the food was missing. The cushion nest that Little Brother preferred to lounge in was knocked askew. She knew the murdering child could not reach them, at least. Only now did she dare call for them. "Little Brother! Big Brother! Where are you?"

"Miss Toriel Ma'am," came a distant voice. Big Brother! "Is it safe?"

"Keep calling," shouted Toriel. "I am coming for you. Is Little Brother with you?"

"Yes, Miss Toriel Ma'am. We hid good! And we stayed hid no matter what that creature did. What was that creature, Miss Toriel Ma'am?"

They were in her bedroom! Of all the sights that made her soul feel its best, it was the sight of four little glowing eyes staring up at her from under that bed. "It is safe, my children. It is safe..." She all but fell to the floor, arms open wide and hands offering the brothers their arms back. "The bad one is... contained... for now."

They emerged at last. Big Brother went straight for a hug, and Little Brother hung back as he reattached his arm. "...uh... why's there red comin' outta you?"

She hadn't even realised she'd been injured. "Oh dear. That child must have hurt me..."

Big Brother lit up like a city, healing magic flooding his body so hard that it flared out of him like a bonfire. The sheer power of it made Toriel gasp. He healed her in less than a minute and would not relax his power until she said, "Enough. Enough. I am well. All is well. We are all fine, are we not?" She felt her grip on the Greater Underground door slip, just for a moment, and the human child slid through.

_I am sorry. I am so, so sorry..._

(WDG-2P)

Two let himself relax against Miss Toriel Ma'am. Safe. Well. They were good words. Warm words. Happy words. Healing made him feel sleepy and weak. And out of breath. "We are," he panted. "Thank you, Miss Toriel Ma'am."

And then, a small miracle. One slunk into her lap (another warm and happy word) and murmured, "...i don't mind bein' called sans no more." He must have caught Two's expression because he added, "...yeah, bro... you can be papyrus if you like, too."

Papyrus had been waiting for a chance to say it. "My brother, Sans," he cheered. "You are amazing!"

He laughed. "...maybe... i'm kind'a glad all that healing stopped, though... your magic gets toasty after a while, Toriel."

She squeezed them against her and laid her lips against each of their skulls with a little squeaky noise. "I am so glad that you are well. I am so glad that you are safe."

He had so many questions that they couldn't come out. Papyrus didn't know which one to ask first. Why couldn't she heal herself? What was that bad creature? Where did all the dust come from? Why had the bad creature made red come out of Miss Toriel Ma'am? Why was it called a child? And what did Miss Toriel mean by 'contained for now'?

Questions for another day. Hugs and healing were too important.

====8<====

More whenever I can.

MOAR!

====8<====

Abduction Day 5
(technically)
(WDG-1S)

Nightmares plagued him. Every time he closed his eyes, He was there. Either in the cell, in the experimental arenas, or, most worryingly, in places almost like Toriel's house. Only... nightmarishly twisted into hybrids of the house and the lab.

Two was out of it. Sleeping the sleep of the innocent by his side. He did not respond to One's clinging grip by squeezing in return. He didn't even wake when One slid from his arms altogether. One sidled away from his brother and surveyed the room they shared from the vantage of the bed they shared.

Toriel had placed both beds together, and rearranged the room around that.

One had no fears of monsters under the bed. He had had plenty of just one monster, coming for them whenever He liked. The dark shadows under the bed held nothing more threatening than dust bunnies and the occasional forgotten toy or misplaced slipper. What he feared was real. And it could be happening any time. One ran his phalanges over the plate on his right hand. Feeling the letters in the dark.

_Running for somewhere to hide. Desperate to find a place where He wouldn't find them. Suspecting, and then knowing, that it was the hand plates that allowed Him to find them._

Marked as a thing. Property. Experimental creations, with no more rights than lab mice. And tagged with tracking devices.

_I will always find you, no matter how far you run, and no matter where you hide._

One popped his right hand off, just to watch it fall limp. And popped it back on. He knew that wouldn't work.

_Watching in utter helplessness as He snapped Two's arm for no good reason. Hearing his brother scream the instant that the bone ****. Knowing in an instant that He could do that to any limb He found._

And he'd been having nightmares about watching Two's face as One turned to dust.

There was nothing for it. He had to tell Miss Toriel.

One slid out of bed, shuffling into soft, plush slippers that had ridiculous googly eyes on them. He liked them because they made Two laugh. Pulled on a soft, oversized coat that Miss Toriel said were only for bedtimes and for when he wasn't feeling well. Well, he certainly wasn't feeling that great right now. One shuffled out of the bedroom and went looking for her.

She wasn't in her room. She wasn't in the hall. She wasn't in the room with the stairs that lead down into the cellar. She was in the dining room. Sitting at the table with a book weighed open and paper sheets under her immense hands. Her eyes were closed and she was sitting up, and there was a pen in one of her hands.

One climbed a chair to look. Miss Toriel had been copying from one of her books. Copying common script into the Papyrus font. So Two could read the books.

He gently slid the pen out of her fuzzy fingers...

And nearly died of fright when she snorted awake.

"Oh my goodness. Little Brother. Are you unwell?"

"...nightmares," he said, trying to imitate her precise way of speaking. He didn't much care how well either brother spoke. Just so long as He could understand them. Miss Toriel cared about everything they did or didn't do. So this time, he offered her his hand plate as if he were going to pet her lovely white fur. "...these... let _him_ track us... been scared he's gonna find us."

The rest, he left unsaid. He was pretty sure Miss Toriel knew most of what had happened down there. And if she didn't... she had some pretty good guesses.

Miss Toriel yawned. "My apologies, Little Brother. May I show you something? You may hold my hand if you wish."

He clung to it as if it were his last chance. As if it were Two's last chance. As if she could protect them both from Him and all His experiments.

Clinging tightly to her, One let Miss Toriel take him to the forbidden cellar, and down the long hall to... a purple door?

"This is the only door to the rest of the Underground. I have sealed it and warded it such that it will not open unless I will it to. Your tormenter may know that you are beyond this door, but he will not be able to move past it."

"...idunno... he's got some pretty big equipment... what if--?" he couldn't speak beyond those words. His head filled with pictures. And all of them with Him as the central player.

"Well, to be safe, I suppose we must have a closer look at those things. May I?"

He was eager to nod. So worn out from worry that he let her carry him back upstairs. She was kind and did not know how horrible He was. He shivered in Miss Toriel's arms, dreading the thought of her in His custody.

(Toriel)

She didn't want to tell Little Brother that she was only up because of similar nightmares. That scientist may have had good reason for doing what he did, but torturing children was not justifyable, no matter his imagined ends. Not even with the greater good argument. Yes, thousands of skeletons had perished when that child had come through, guns blazing... But that did not mean he had good reason for torturing innocent monsters.

And he would never be torturing these innocents if _she_ had any say in things.

Once upstairs, she had to find a magnifying glass and the right kind of lamp single-handedly. Abandoning Little Brother to a cushion or a soft chair would not help his terrors to ebb at all. So she held him against her hip as if he were any other scared child who needed comfort. Only once all her equipment was together did she sit him at the table so she could peer at the fixtures on his hand.

Rivets. He had used rivets to fasten the plates onto these children. "In order to remove these, I would have to drill--" she covered her mouth and shook her head. Hot tears filled her eyes. She'd have to hurt them in order to free them.

"...it's okay," said Little Brother. "...the drilling part don't hurt nearly as much as hot rivets."

(WDG-2P)

It was a very strange morning. Firstly, his brother was awake before him. Secondly, Miss Toriel Ma'am was tired and worried. And she had put on an extravaganza of a feast. There was barely room for the placemats, there was so much food.

"...it's bad news, bro," said One.

Miss Toriel Ma'am sat on the floor, and her face looked like it was only taking a brief break between cries. "I have looked at your brother's hand plate," she said. "The bad man fixed them on the both of you with riv--*" her voice **** and stopped. A few tears leaked down her fur. "In order to remove them, I would have to dri--*" she broke down into sobs.

Two tried petting her shoulder. He didn't know if he was allowed to hug her when she wasn't hugging him. "It will be all right, Miss Toriel Ma'am. I know you won't be _trying_ to hurt us."

That made it worse. Oh no. He'd broken her. And she was so kind and gentle and everything. And He would be coming and--

Two didn't remember going to the corner, but One was there with him and holding him and repeating, "...it's okay, it's okay... she's been like that all morning, it ain't your fault, it's okay..." over and over again.

It was a very bad morning. But not nearly so bad as the rest of the day.

====8<====

More later Toodles!