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#Post#: 127--------------------------------------------------
Re: Handplates to Freedom
By: InterNutter Date: August 12, 2016, 6:30 am
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Adoption Day 12
Papyrus loved to help in the kitchen. Possibly more than he
loved training. Miss Toriel Ma'am was so gentle and kind about
unlocking his abilities. She even made him feel better about
things he was jealous of, like the blaster skulls. They were
keyed, she said, to intense rage. And Papyrus had no reasons to
feel angry.
There were other things Sans was good at, like Karma magic. In
fact, he was brilliant at it. Karma could amplify effects over
time, depending on how good or... otherwise... a soul was.
Someone as innocent and trusting as Papyrus could be revived
from near death with a Karma beam. And someone like Him... would
find his HP ebbing according to his misdeeds.
He could never understand why learning about it made Sans grumpy
for an entire day. But then, there were lots of things that
seemingly sailed right over his head.
And there was one day when Miss Toriel Ma'am kept trying to
explain fractions and maths with fractions to him. She wore
herself out trying to show him how they worked, even to the
point of chopping an apple into halves and quarters and
eighths... until they were both crying from frustration. He was
much happier in the kitchen, where the halves and thirds and
whatnot were clearly labeled and not threatening to multiply or
divide each other.
Sans was only interested in the eating part. He slept a lot
more, now that he had unlocked a secret to getting higher HP. It
was a cheat, in a way, but it was better than living in constant
fear of accidental death.
He woke up at the smell of fresh cookies, of course. Miss Toriel
Ma'am cooled them in her hands before allowing the brothers to
take one each.
"I have been meaning to ask, my children. When is your birthday?
There is a recipe I want to try that would be perfect for such
an occasion..."
"...what's a birthday?" murmured Sans.
"That is the day you were born."
"What's a day?" said Papyrus. He'd heard Miss Toriel Ma'am use
terms like 'morning' and 'evening' and 'good night'. And of
course, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Back in the bad place,
there was lights on and lights out, which came without reason.
"Oh dear," sighed Miss Toriel Ma'am. "I need a little time.
Excuse me." The instant she was out of sight, Papyrus could hear
her running. There was some distant cursing[6] as some things
overturned, and then she came running back. "This, my children,
is a calendar. Each square represents a day. And a day is
twenty-four hours long."
Aha. He knew hours. That came in handy with cooking times.
Twenty-four of them was a really long time.
Miss Toriel Ma'am explained weeks and months and years (a year
was three hundred and sixty-five days long three times out of
four, and on the fourth year, February got an extra day! So
_much_ time...) "And here is the day I found the both of you."
It was almost a month gone.
"Oh. I see," Papyrus said. "So... can that be our birthday,
then?" He did his best not to flinch, but it was still hard not
to cower when asking for things. Miss Toriel Ma'am's seemingly
unending kindness was still a jarring change from the bad place.
"Yes, of course," she cooed, and patted him on the head (he
still jumped a tiny bit at the contact, much to his regret)
"Although, I think that means you are both overdue for a
celebration."
That was a word they had to look up while Miss Toriel Ma'am was
busy in the kitchen. Something really amazing was coming. And
they were not disappointed.
The cake dominated half of the table. It was as tall as Papyrus,
and was made out of three parts. And there were... colours on
it. And shiny lights. There were so many new words there.
Sparklers. Icing. Sugar flowers. It seemed a shame to cut into
it and eat it but-- the _flavours_ that cake could be. Both
brothers ate themselves silly.
This was the best of anything ever! Better than being rescued.
Better than having a home. Better than his fabulous red scarf,
which was his favourite thing in the world right next to Sans.
And when it was their real birthday (eleven months to go! He
could hardly wait!) there would be presents! And singing! And
_more cake_!
He dozed in between his turns at reading, that night. Too much
cake settling into his body and making him drowsy. Sans was
naturally drowsy, though. And he was better at waking up on
time...
Sleep... dragged him away...
[6] Toriel doesn't use very strong words, so imagine 'darn' or
'bother' or 'drat' used with as much impetus as possible.
#Post#: 128--------------------------------------------------
Re: Handplates to Freedom
By: InterNutter Date: August 13, 2016, 5:34 am
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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.
#Post#: 129--------------------------------------------------
Re: Handplates to Freedom
By: InterNutter Date: August 13, 2016, 9:17 pm
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Adoption Day 26
Toriel eased herself slowly out of the bed. Sans allowed her out
without rousing, but Papyrus opened one eye and murmured,
"Nyeh?"
"Go back to sleep," she whispered. "All is well. I just need to
stretch." A bed made for two skeletons was not meant for a sound
sleep for someone of Toriel's dimensions. Besides, she could
catch a few hours' sleep in her own bed before resuming her
daily duties.
Well. That was the plan.
She hadn't gone three steps towards her own room before the icy
grip of terrors past threatened to shatter her breastbone. She
could feel her heart racing like it wanted to get out. Tears
flooded her eyes and there was not enough air. There was never
enough air! She fell to her knees, clutching at her chest. Every
time she closed her eyes, she saw Chara dying slowly and
horribly[7]. Saw Asriel falling into dust at her feet. Saw the
nightmares she had been having about these children dying, too.
Toriel tried her utmost to keep her noise to a minimum, gulping
back ugly sobs that would have woken them. They both needed
their sleep. She would recover from this in time. All she had to
do was get through it _silently_. And the problem with that is
that she had a vivid imagination and had already read about
everything that could possibly go wrong.
And the worst thing, the most hideous thing, was the newest of
her books was by Doctor Gaster. His most advanced chapters
frequently referenced 'experiments with cloned material'.
Experiments that the brothers had been subject to. It made her
sick to use that book, but... there were things in there that
could save lives. _Had_, in fact, saved Papyrus' life.
But that small mercy didn't change the fact that she wanted to
throw up everything she had ever eaten until the evil inside her
was purged as well. And all that would come out of her was tears
and silent howls of abject misery.
Toriel never heard their door open. The first she knew about it
was a strong, golden glow and two sets of skeletal hands trying
to comfort her. Sans had fetched a slice of cake. Papyrus had a
glass of milk with him. Two things that they thought could
possibly help. Giggles and sobs fought and came out in an ugly
mess of sound, but the tearing panic faded away from her. She
took them gently into her arms.
"Oh, my children..." she managed. "You are far too good, and I
am glad you are well."
They did insist on plying her with cake and milk. And they
tucked her into bed. They promised they would check for humans
who had fallen down, and they would keep each other safe.
She believed them, and believed in them. Their abilities were
beyond phenomenal. They would be fine.
But that would never stop her worrying when one of them fell
ill.
[7] Apparently, poisoning by buttercups leads to some really
gross side-effects. Look them up only if you're brave.
#Post#: 130--------------------------------------------------
Re: Handplates to Freedom
By: InterNutter Date: August 23, 2016, 11:30 pm
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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 :D
#Post#: 131--------------------------------------------------
Re: Handplates to Freedom
By: InterNutter Date: September 3, 2016, 5:49 am
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Adoption day 34
3AM.
Control. They really needed to learn control. This was the sixth
night in a row that they had pushed her out of bed with their
Calls. Toriel picked herself up and stumbled to their room,
turning on lights as she went.
"I am here, my children," she yawned.
Papyrus was in full, panicked, babble mode.
"TherewasahumanandtheyhadaknifeandtheykilledyouandSansandtheywer
egonnakilleveryoneand--"
"All is well. It was just a dream, was it not?"
Sans, always the quieter of the two, rubbed at his eye sockets.
"...paps and i were facing him down with everything we had," he
said. "...it didn't go well."
Toriel sat on their bed and held them in her arms. "Name five
things you can see."
"You, my brother, the bed, the lamp, and... the door."
"Good. Now four things you can hear."
"Your heart. Sans breathing. The fire in the dining room. The
froggit down the hall... he's snoring."
That earned a laugh. "Very good. Three things you can touch."
"You. Sans. The bed."
"Two things you can smell."
"Cinnamon butterscotch pie. And Sans needs a bath."
"...nightmares make sweat, bro."
"And now... one thing you can taste."
Papyrus smacked his jaws. "Sleep funk," he said. "Euw."
It worked. He was calm and headed back to his usual cheerful
demeanor. "Those things are real. Dreams are just dreams."
He eased back into sleep, but his brother was still wide awake.
"...i know why you're lying to us," he said.
"You are both still very young," Toriel soothed her paw over his
skull. "You need to feel safe. You need to be happy."
"...that's pretty hard when we know what's going to happen."
"Now, Sans. You can not be certain that the things you see are
certainties. I am sure that--"
"...you die, tori... you take in a human kid and you love them
and you die... and then we die."
Toriel reflexively held him tighter, as if that could help drive
away the evil he had seen. "You said yourself that the seventh
child made things... vague."
"...yeah... i did... but that's one of the things i keep
seeing."
There was no magic to stop that kind of nightmare. No potion
that would give him ease. Toriel just held him close and loved
him as hard as she could.
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