Summary:
The children experience the wonders of having a home, but of course happiness doesn't last for very long.
TRIGGER WARNING: THIS IS A REALLY DARK CHAPTER. BE WARNED FOR INSTANCES OF SELF HARM, CHILD ABUSE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA.
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After eating, it was more than evident on the children's need for a bath. Papyrus had once again, managed to cover himself in bits of food. Sans kept himself cleaner for the most part, but Papyrus had to come over to hug him, getting his brother dirtier as well.
Grillby looked into the dresser to find it filled with children's clothes. Again, the generosity of the royal guard seemed too much to him, but he wasn't about to make a fuss about it. It was, after all, about the children, not him. He found some clothing that he believed would fit them both, thick pants and sweaters, more than enough to keep them warm as they both recovered. With Sans being still unable to walk properly, he simply picked both wiggly bone monsters up and carried them to the washroom.
"Come now, you both need a bath."
He only got confused looks from both as they were carried to the guest washroom.
Being a fire monster, Grillby had no real use for a bathtub. It had been there when he had moved in and never bothered to remove it. It did serve some function, it made an excellent place to soak large troublesome pots and pans overnight if need be. But for the most part, it was left alone. For now it seemed it would be able to perform its intended function. Grillby set the children down on the floor, getting some soap and towels from a cabinet. He'd have to shop later for some proper bath supplies, but for now simple soap would do. He'd especially need to stock up on arm-length rubber gloves, pulling on his last pair then and there.
Giving the children a bath proved to be a...challenge. They seemed to have no clue exactly what a bath is. Trying to get them both undressed proved to equally hard, as they seemed almost afraid of the water. Sans outright refused to remove the bandage covering the barcode on his arm. In the end he only removed it because Grillby promised a fresh clean bandage afterward. Even then he was shy about it, trying to not let Grillby look at it even more than he had too.
In the end though they seemed to enjoy it. Judging by the dirt in the water, it'd been a long time since they had a bath...if they ever even had one at all. Without being covered by clothing, their actual physical condition could be assessed...and it didn't look good. Both their arms had a network of dented pockmarks up and down their bones. Sans had the worst of it, old healed cracks and tool marks marred some of his bones, especially in more delicate places like his ribs and spine. Papyrus had some old healed injuries, but not nearly to the degree of his brother.
Grillby made a note to call a doctor the next day.
In the end, the two children were clean, their bones a sparkling white. He helped them dry off and dress, leaving them both to marvel over their new clothing. Sans looked over at his hoodie sitting in a pile with the rest of their old clothing.
"Don't worry Sans, I'm going to wash and repair it for you. You will get it back later."
This seemed to put the older child at ease. They both just sat with each other, grinning to themselves, enjoying the simple feeling of being clean with new clothes.
It made Grillby's heart ache, but he was happy they were happy.
Putting them to bed proved to be another experience to them. Being tucked in on a soft bed seemed like such a foreign concept to them. In the end they allowed themselves to drift to sleep after being read a bedtime story. Of course every single book the guards had donated were about dogs, but they enjoyed it none the less.
He let them sleep peacefully, leaving their door open just in case they called for him. He settled down in his own bed, not releasing how tired he was.
It felt like only a blink before it was the next day. 8Am, like usual. It was Saturday, the last day the bar would be open before it would be closed for Sunday. The first thing he did was get up to check on the children, only to find an empty bed.
At first he wanted to panic, only to find the edge of covers peeking out from under the bed. He crouched down to look, to see both Sans and Papyrus wedged into the corner. Sometime during the night, they had dragged the covers and pillows under the bed and made a nest of them. They both were in their alternate forms, curled around each other in sleep. Sans had his back facing outwards, wrapped around his brother protectively.
He wondered why they decided to sleep under the bed and not on it, but well, as long as they were comfortable he didn't see any reason for alarm.
He woke them up as gently as he could. Thankfully Sans wasn't frightened like yesterday, but it seemed to take him a little bit to remember where they were. At the promise of breakfast, he nudged his brother awake and they crawled out from under the bed, shifting to stand on two legs.
A night of sleep did wonders for Sans's walking. He still stumbled, but managed to walk somewhat normally. Grillby carried them both down the stairs, not wanting to risk either of them falling down it. That was the last thing they needed.
He fixed some oatmeal for breakfast for them. He still didn't want to give them something too rich or heavy, not until he spoke to a doctor. They were puzzled, it seemed everything he does for them is some entirely new experience. Sans this time managed to clean his bowl, but not before Papyrus, who ate like a champ. Papyrus slowed down enough to not make a complete mess, perhaps now he understood that food was going to be a regular occurrence to him, and he didn't need to rush?
Once finished, he brought them over to the bar, to open as usual. This time he was armed with some puzzles and books, to keep the children entertained as he served customers. Until they were old enough for school, he resolved to keep them in the bar with him. Hopefully, it will help them both with their shyness and open up a little. They kept to themselves for the most part, enjoying a particularly tough jigsaw puzzle. Grillby could hear Sans through the door, trying to convince his brother to stop trying to eat the pieces as they worked on it.
Just hearing them enjoying something put a warm feeling in the bartender's heart.
The guards were there waiting when he opened for business. He wanted to speak with them all personally and it seemed they wanted the same. Grillby followed the pack to their usual tables, taking a seat with them.
"I want to thank you all for what you have done. I am truly grateful, and the children are too."
"Aw shucks Grillby, it wasn't a problem at all." Dogamy smiled. Lesser and Greater Dog all gave the fire monster a thumbs up, their jaws open in a happy doggy grin.
("How were the children last night? Any troubles?")
Grillby sighed. "Well, they didn't know what a bed was, or a bath. I found them asleep under the bed this morning instead of on it."
Doggo, the youngest member of the group, sucked in a breath through his lit doggy treat. "Oh wow."
The Dogs all nodded agreeingly.
"But they seem to be settling in." he continued. "Have any of you made any progress yet?"
("Not yet, we've alerted other guards in Hotland and Waterfall. They have their eyes peeled for anything strange.") Dogeressa leaned against her husband.
"It's not going to take long before word of this gets to the King." Dogamy added. "Heaven help those responsible once he finds out."
All present shared a knowing nod. Once other customers started to come in Grillby thanked the guards again and moved to his post behind the counter.
The guards left soon after eating, seemingly eager to get back to work, not that he blamed them. He took care of customers until after the lunch rush, where he took the time to make an appointment with an on-call doctor from Waterfall. He knew just the one, a particularly jovial fish monster by the name of Dr. Sphyrae. He had treated Grillby before for water burns, and his insufferable jokes and puns he believed would put his charges at ease. Usually doctors don't work on Sunday, but when Grillby explained their physical condition, he agreed to come over anyway.
The day went by as usual. People came in went, ordering food and sitting to drink some troubles away. Sans and Papyrus stayed quiet in the back room, enthralled by the jigsaw puzzles they were given. Together they had solved one, and were working on another when Grillby entered to bring them lunch. They way they looked up at him with adoration made him feel warm inside. Perhaps this was what he was missing in his life, the chance to actually nurture something and let go of his past of destruction. He had punished himself long enough.
Of course, there are setbacks.
The day was over and Grillby locked up and taken the children home. They seemed to have more energy to them before, the extra meals were obviously helping. When home they had dragged most of their toys downstairs to play in the more larger and open living room. There they amused themselves, playing with each in turn and only stopping for dinner. It was amusing to watch them play, and Grillby found himself sitting on the couch and just watching. Their joy was infectious, smiling as he watched them play with one new thing after another.
However when Sans reached over and picked up a innocent look rubber bone toy, things went downhill fast.
He squeezed it and it let out a loud shrill squeak.
Both children froze at the noise. Sans experimentally squeezed it again, as though to confirm the noise it made. When it squeaked again, Papyrus instantly began to cry and wedged himself under the couch.
Sans stared at the toy in his hands, his expression blank and empty. The normal large white pupils of his eyes were gone, leaving just empty eye sockets staring straight ahead, as though seeing something nobody else could.
"Sans?"
Sans didn't respond, but his hands began to tremble around the toy. Grillby could hear the soft shaky sobs of Papyrus, muffled under layers of foam and fabric. Sans was beginning to breathe heavily in response, as though further aggravated by his brother's cries.
Something was terribly wrong here.
"Sans? I'm going to take that away, okay? Easy now." Grillby knelt down and carefully reached for the toy. He found that Sans's trembling hands had made a vice-like grip around the toy. Grillby tried to remove the toy from the unresponsive skeleton, but Sans was holding it too tightly. He managed to pull it out of the child's hand, but the pressure caused the toy to let out another loud shrill squeak. Sans abruptly crumbled to the floor, clutching his skull and began screaming.
Everything seemed to melt for Sans. He couldn't hear. He couldn't breathe. All there was was an ever reaching expanse of black in his vision. He couldn't register Papyrus's cries or Grillby's panicked words anymore. There was a pressure in the back of his mind that stung his brain and made everything go numb and distant.
Despite Grillby's efforts to bring him back to reality, Sans slipped away.
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{ "Beginning blaster test on number E2 – 001 – S." }
A cold voice rang out in the bare room, echoing in Sans's skull.
Sans laid on a table, strapped firmly down with leather straps. There was some slack in it, as though it were meant for a monster of a different shape. Electrodes were attached to his head and scattered throughout his skeleton. The air hummed with the idle sounds of machines and the smell of ozone was thick and heavy. The room was nothing but a wide expanse of white walls and metal floors. It was cold in more ways than one here. His head was forced in alignment with a metal box on a pillar, a scant few feet away. There was a sound of shuffling in the box.
There was a sharp beeping noise and a flash of red as his barcode was scanned. He could hear the whirring of the computers, beeping quietly as lines of data appeared on the screens.
He was afraid. He tried to move, but couldn't. The only comforting thought that it was him on the table now, and not little Papyrus.
{ " The purpose of this test to study the effects of the blaster on living, non-monster tissue, as well as measure output data and strength." } The voice moved, Sans couldn't see where they were walking, but could hear their footsteps on the floor. { "Unfortunately, trials on human tissue are not able to be made at this time, we will have to make due with inferior subjects, for now." }
There was a sound of fingers on keys, hard and sharp just like their owners voice. A few imputed commands and the metal box began to lift.
There, strapped down like Sans, was a large white lab rat. It was orientated vertically, exposing as much as its body to Sans's line of sight. It's red eyes bulged in fear and it began to squeak relentlessly in discomfort. The sound of it's terrified noises echoed around the room as it struggled against it's own bonds. Its efforts were futile.
{ "001, Shift now." }
Sans refused. He wouldn't. He couldn't. This wasn't right. He had begun to put the pieces of the situation together, and he did not like the outcome.
There was a sigh.
{ "001, you make this harder on yourself than what it needs to be. Last chance. Shift. Now." }
Sans refused again, despite knowing the consequences. He would fight to the bitter end.
There was another sigh.
{" For King and Monster Kind"}
Sans jerked against the bonds as the trigger phrase seared across his mind. He tried to scream, to make any sort of sound or movement, but the ability was stolen from him. It was agony to shift against his will, each pop and stretch of bone caused pain to dance across his mind and body. A horrible thick buzzing haze settled over his thoughts. He tried to breath, tried to think, but he was trapped. He was outside himself.
Powerless.
It was futile to fight years of conditioning and carefully crafted neural pathways hardwired directly into his skull.
His alternate form fit the straps perfectly. The only thing free was his jaws, lines up towards the helpless rodent on the other side of the room. He screamed in his head, but nobody heard him.
{ "Kill it." }
Without his consent, the familiar build of white and blue energy gathered in the back of his throat. Like always, it burned. He tried everything in his power to stop but it was useless. The energy built with a ominous hum, bathing the room in a bright light, washing out the features of the terrified rodent. All he could do was cry. Large tears dripped from his eye-sockets and dropped to the table below.
The energy built to a crescendo, and then released. A crackling white hot beam of energy escaped his muzzle and lanced forth, striking the poor rat. He could hear it scream, the squeaks reaching a high pitched wail of pain and agony. There was the smell of something burning and he was forced to watch as its skin and muscle disintegrate into the bright beam. All that remained after a few seconds was charred broken bones and a few wisps of ashes. The buzzing in his skull grew higher and higher in pitched as he tried in vain to fight the mental bonds trapping his rational mind.
The voice behind him made a pleased noise.
{ "Good job, 001" }
Sans screamed.
B u t n o b o d y c a m e
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Sans's bones jerked, kicking out at nothing as a loud noise assaulted his ears. Everything seemed to hurt at once, especially his limbs, which twitch and trembled on their own accord. He was aware of being held by something soft and warm, something not a cold metal table. Occasionally a point of gentle heat passed over his skull, as though trying to comfort him. He was confused and scared. Wasn't he still strapped down? He had no idea and it made his fear worse. He struggled briefly, a keening wail seemed to come from everywhere, making his skull throb in agony. At first he didn't understand where the noise was coming from, but he knew he wanted it to stop.
The burning in his throat alerted him to the fact the screaming was coming from him. He took a large gasp of breath, and then another. The screaming stopped, leaving a loud ring in his inner ears from the volume of the sound. He took in deep raspy gulps of air, his limbs twitching and aching. He could barely see through his own tears but he tried. He could make out a blurry shift of orange and yellow in his vision.
"Sans?" asked a familiar voice.
It took Sans a moment to figure out who it was. The edges of reality were blurred and he didn't know what was real and what was in the past. He blinked rapidly, attempting to clear his sight. Slowly a familiar fire monster came into view, looking down at him with concern.
Awareness crept into his aching brain as Grillby came into focus. Sans was confused by the angle, only to discover that they were both on the armchair. He was being held closely to the fire monster's chest. Papyrus was also there, teary eyed and patting Sans with a shaky hand.
"'Anns?" Papyrus sniffed back tears.
Seeing his brother in such a state was sobering. Sans couldn't stop his trembling, but he could focus on his own ragged breathing. He tried to say something, but it came out as an agonized moan. His throat hurt. His head hurt. There were lines of pain across his skull and he didn't know where they came from.
"Sans, are you here?" Grillby asked, smoothing a hand over his skull. Sans shook and nodded.
Yes, he was here. It took Sans looking out and about, seeing the yellow walls and purple carpet, before the truth was before him. He was home. He wasn't in the labs. He was here. Grillby promised that nothing will happen to them.
He was still afraid, making quiet raspy noises. He had shifted and didn't remember doing so. Things hurt and he didn't understand why. As if sensing his dark mood, Papyrus climbed over to wrap his small arms around Sans's neck and gave him a big hug. Sans struggled to reign in his emotions, he didn't want Pap being sad over him. He gave Papyrus a nuzzle in return and for a while, they just sat together, holding each other the best they could.
Grillby just held both of them as though they were fragile pieces of glass. The whole situation was terrifying. He knew Sans had one terror of a flashback, he recognized the symptoms on his own self. Still it was a powerless feeling, to watch his adopted child transform seemingly against his will and attempt to dig his own skull open. When scratching deep furrows in his own skull did nothing to pull him out of whatever mental hell he was in, he turned to trying to gnaw at his arm, the spot Grillby knew the barcode was etched in. There was no recognition in Sans's eyes and all Grillby could do was try to restrain him from attempting to hurt himself worse.
He looked over at a small smoking hole punched into his wall. There was also THAT to deal with. He wasn't prepared to see laser beam come out of the transformed child, but it happened. He was glad his muzzle wasn't pointed at him at the time.
He was relieved to see that Sans was calming down, taking pained gulps of air. His tremors were dying down under the fierce hugs of his younger brother. Just being near each other seemed to be soothing to them. For nearly an hour Grillby held them both, humming what he thought to a soothing tune. It seemed to work as the children grew quiet and still, Sans seeming having run out of tears to shed.
"Are you two feeling better now?" Grillby asked. They both nodded quietly. Grillby peered down at the now exhausted bone monster. "Do you want to talk about it Sans?"
Sans opened and closed his jaws, a harsh rasp escaping from them. It seemed to distress the poor skeleton, seemingly forgetting the inability to speak in this form.
"I'm sorry Sans, do you feel well enough to change back?"
Sans seemed to think for a moment and screwed his eyes shut. He trembled and began to change. Something was wrong though. Sans breathed heavily as he slowly changed. It wasn't like the smooth action Grillby was used to seeing from the skeletons. This seemed like it was hurting him again, fresh tears and trembling causing the fire monster to worry. Before he could voice his concerns, Sans finished with a pained gasp.
Well, not entirely finished. He seemed to be stuck halfway through the transformation. He still had a tail and hind legs. His head was slightly bumpy with a slight muzzle and semi sharp teeth. He had hands again, a bit sharper with claws, and was using them to clutch the fabric of Grillby's vest.
"ah...owwwww...." Sans grimaced. His voice sounded rough and painful, no doubt hurt from all the screaming earlier. There was a distorted growling undertone to his voice, but his words were at least understandable. It seemed this current form was as far as he could go, judging how how limbs once again began to tremble with exhaustion.
"Sans..." Grillby gently stroked the child's bumpy skull. He almost wanted to just put them all to bed, and let them rest. But he needed to know what had set both children off so badly to prevent it from happening again. He knew a flashback when he saw one and he wanted to lessen to suffering the children still seemed to have.
"What happened?"
"nnng...i...." Sans swallowed. "i wassss back in..rrrr...in the bad place..."
Grillby raised an eyebrow, but continued to soothe the skeleton. "The bad place? Is that where you and your brother came from?"
Sans nodded sadly. "yeahhhh...."
"What was bad about the place?" Grillby almost didn't want to know, but he knew any information he could get would be one step closer to bringing whoever was responsible to justice.
"th—the people innnn wh-white coats." Sans stuttered, eyes wide. He tried to keep the growling out of his words, but they dissolved for a moment in terrified whines. It took a few moments for him to compose himself and speak actual words again. Grillby patiently soothed him, encouraging him to try to talk more.
"they hu-hurt ussss." Sans said miserably. "whhyyyyyyy?"
Grillby's heart clenched painfully. "I don't know." he admitted. "But I can promise, you don't have to worry about them ever again. It's safe here."
Sans sniffed and rubbed at his eyes, wincing as the fabric of his sweater brushed across the fresh scratches on his face.
"What about the toy made you believe you were back there?" Grillby asked quietly. He didn't want to push Sans but he really needed to know.
Sans took a raspy breath. "th-the n-noise...."
"The noise?" Grillby echoed.
"sounded like....sounded like....." Sans was once again getting a faraway look in his eyes. "s-sounded l-l-l-l..."
"No Sans. Stay here. Don't go back." Grillby said firmly. He doubted that Sans could handle two flashbacks in a row. His voice seemed to shock Sans back to reality again. He sniffled miserably.
"they mah-made me hurt themmm...." Sans's face looked so pained and miserable.
Grillby was silent, rubbing the partially changed child's back encouragingly. Despite this Sans began to cry again.
"little rrrr-white rats." he admitted, as though confessing some terrible sin. "they died."
The horrors of this statement shook Grillby down to his core. No wonder. No wonder why Sans was the way he is. The poor kid.
Grillby's silence only made Sans cry harder. "'msorry i-im b-badddddd." he bawled, degenerating into sad pained noises. Grillby hugged him and his brother close to his chest. Papyrus just hugged Sans tighter, refusing to let go.
"No, No Sans....you aren't bad. The people who hurt you, they were the ones that are bad, not you." He tried to soothe the skeleton, but he cried harder.
"Sans, if you believe that makes you bad, than that would make me bad too."
Sans sniffed, confused. "wha?"
"Yes." Grillby nodded. "A long time ago, I was in the war between monsters and humans. You know what that was, right?"
Sans nodded, snuggling in close.
"I was a soldier. I had to hurt many humans. I didn't want to do it, but it happened." Grillby continued, deciding not to go into details. Sans didn't need to hear about that now. He thought about how to put what he was saying into words a small child can understand. "I thought I was bad too, for a long time. But then, I realized that I am not."
This got Sans's attention. He looked up at Grillby with large eyes.
"The experience hurt me badly. Sometimes, things would make me think I was back there, with the bad things. I thought I was hurting people again, but it was only in my mind. It wasn't real. Does that sound like what happened to you today?"
Sans nodded. He grumbled a bit, trying to find words again. "h-how does it nnnn....go awayyy?"
"With time. If you allow me, I will do my best to help you through this."
Sans sniffed and leaned against the fire monster's chest. "'ank youuuu."
For a while all three sat in the recliner, resting from the ordeal. Eventually Sans had regained enough energy to transform back to his child state, but it still sounded too painful to be normal. So they all sat together, just comforting each other. Later, Grillby didn't like the sound of Sans's raspy breathing, so went to get up to fix up something for it. However both children had refused to let go, and Grillby was forced to carry them both with him to the kitchen. With years of practice behind him, he managed to make a cup of lemon tea with his hands full, adding some honey to it. He carried all three upstairs to their room, managing to get both children to detach from him.
He helped Sans drink the tea, he knew for a fact it would help soothe his throat. He was very glad he had called Dr. Sphyrae earlier, he would probably have something for the scratches as well.
Grillby tucked the children in and read them a story. Sans was incredibly exhausted from the day's events and didn't take long to drift to sleep. Papyrus stayed up just long enough to hear the end of the story before he too was out like a light. Grillby watched over them long enough to make sure they were resting comfortably, before leaving the room and turning off the lights. He left the door open, so he could hear in case Sans had another episode. He doubted he'd be sleeping at all tonight, the protectiveness he felt would certainly not allow it. He needed to be vigilant, the children had suffered enough in their past. They deserved to feel protected and safe now.
He stepped out into the hallway, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. It was an old thing, but it was reliable. He quickly dialed a number and waited with anticipation for the receiver to pick up.
("Hello?"), came the tired voice of Dogeressa.
Grillby sighed. "Dogeressa, I have some information for you, about the children."
He could hear over the phone the sound of shuffling as she raced to grab a paper and pencil. ("Tell me")
"Sans said the people that hurt him and his brother wore white coats."
("That sounds like a doctor, or a scientist. One of them smart professions."), she hummed over the phone, edges of sleepiness vanishing from her voice. ("They are the ones who wear coats like that. Did he say anything else about it?")
"He remembers white rats as well."
("That narrows things down quite a bit, it's definitely either a scientific or medical thing here. The two major centers for medicine and science is Hot Land and the Capital. What made them tell you this?")
"Sans...had a flashback." Grillby winced.
("Oh god, is he okay? What happened?")
"One of the squeaky toys set him and Papyrus off. And before you even think it, it is not you or the rest of the Dog's fault this happened. He and his brother are asleep now, I have a doctor coming to check on them tomorrow."
("I'll make sure to tell everyone else to not bring them toys that squeak anymore, at least for now.") Dogeressa sounded regretful. ("I'm glad they are both alright now.")
"I am too."
("Well I'm going to call up the rest of the guard to pass this information on. I promise, we'll get whoever did this.")
"I know you all will."
They exchanged goodbyes and hung up. He looked back to the dark bedroom, and slowly stepped inside. To his relief, both children were still asleep, holding each other comfortingly. He pulled up a chair and sat in the corner, it didn't feel right leaving them alone tonight. He knew from personal experience just how bad a flashback can affect you.
He had full faith in the guard, they would find out whoever was responsible for this. Hopefully they would bring that person, or persons to justice.
Cause Grillby knew if he found them first, there wouldn't be anything left of them.
One way or another, the boys would get their justice.
© @SpaceGate on Tumblr
@KeetahSpaceCat on AO3
(They're the same person)
Word Count: 5179