Warped Perception of Reality

The Sorting

You step out of the room, Dr. Cohan staying behind. The door slides shut smoothly. You take another moment to adjust. It was much brighter in here than it was than in the previous room.

Soft chatter wafts through the room. Many monsters with various forms and figures standing around. It seems some of them have already figured out how to speak, seeing as some were murmuring quietly and making small talk.

You nervously walk around, catching the eyes of some of the others. Most monsters looked different, but there were no other skeleton monsters. There was one who had colorful feathers that still looked a bit damp from that solution you all were born in. There was another who was slightly slimy looking, with a large and shiny brown shell. Pretty.

You can't exactly form words yet, so you can't exactly apologize when you bump into a yellow lizard monster half a foot taller than your height. She lets out a grunt of surprise, turning around to face you. You had stumbled backwards and fallen flat on your butt. Ouch, much more painful than when you had cushioning to protect the bones down there. This was definitely a great first impression to the second person you've interacted with in this new life.

"Wh... oh." She says slowly. She doesn't immediately help you up, eyes sliding up and down your figure slowly. You all were about the size of adolescent children; 13-14, if you compared it to your (rapidly dissapearing) memories about human children. She then offers you a hand, which you take, and she lifts you to your feet again.

Her hand is a little cold, just like yours... she must be 'cold-blooded', like a normal lizard. You didn't have any body heat since you were a skeleton now. The lizard monster grins at you, rubbing at the crown of golden frills on her head. "You... have to be more careful. Watch where you're going."

"s...s...'ry." You grate out. Damn it! How were you supposed to speak without a tongue?! It just felt like the inside of your skull vibrated along with your vertebrae. However, the smart lizard monster had already figured out how to speak, and quickly deduced you hadn't.

"You can't speak yet? Ah, that's fine. I think I only saw you come out of that guy's room a moment ago." She said, and you nod. She stares at you for another moment. This monster seemed to be a very analytical person. But then she slaps you on the back before pulling you close. "Y'know what? I'll protect you, seeing how fragile you look! We'll stick together and be the coolest and best buds this batch has to offer."

She looks proud, sharp teeth gleaming along with her scales as she grinned brightly at you. "What do you say, little buddy?"

Your eyelights sparkle, and you nod. You distantly remember her from somewhere in your past life. Part of that... game? Show? How are you forgetting all of this so fast? It's like the memories of your past are melting and slipping through your fingers like ice. However, you knew she was cool. How couldn't she be? She practically offered to take you under her wing after a minute of knowing her.

You check her arm. The number, in black and bold, says C-5873. It has a symbol on it, which is a star. Everyone in this crowd has the same one above their serial number and on the back of their shirt. What did it represent?

You find yourself nodding excitably at the lizard's proposal. You smile back, and she grins. She decides to try and talk to you while you wait for the rest of the batch to emerge from their capsules.

When it's finally done, the two of you were sitting on the ground, 5873 with her arms around you protectively. You leaned against her, slowly humming while you tried to figure out how speech would work for you. It was going well so far, since you could easily pronounce vowels now. Maybe you'd ask Alphys for help later.

Alphys...? No, that wasn't the Lizard's name. Was it? How did you know this? She didn't tell you that. Besides, none of you had names yet. The Lizard was examining herself right now. Her scales were quite pretty and shiny, and your own bones were almost shiny with how clean they were.