Head Bonks

Head Bonks

Two small leviathans swam through the sun-warmed water close to the surface. They were created together, twins, brothers. Dream, a warm, fiery goldfish with the power to boil entire seas. And Nightmare, a chaotic and dark entity who could smash boats and seaside towns with little to no effort with monstrous waves, all for his own amusement. Though neither had turned against each other. Not yet. They merely explored this new world they resided in, not remembering exactly how they came into existence. Dream laughed as he swam around his brother, trying to tempt him into a game of tag. When the octopus mer finally gave in, Dream darted away, an expert at avoiding his brother. Something that he couldn't see the true importance of. And wouldn't, for years.

When the two were finally done chasing each other around, they laid to rest. And Dream, ever so carefully, bonked his brother's forehead with his own. Nightmare let out an amused huff and threw a tentacle over Dream, wrapping him up in a gentle embrace.

-------------

Nightmare was big. He knew that. He hated his tinier, weaker form. Ever since the incident, he avoided being in it if he could, but- Horror and Dream were curled up together, enjoying each others company. And Nightmare was envious that he too, couldn't be wrapped up in Horror's strong arms. So, for the first time in a long time, Nightmare allowed himself to be small. He approached his brother and the shark they had claimed as their own.

"Night-" Dream started before Horror scooped up the leviathan and brought him into the cuddle. The Great White pressed his skull to Nightmare's and gave off a deep rumble of a purr. He did the same to Dream and the trio drifted off into a calm slumber, Nightmare feeling safe enough to be so helpless since he received his injury.

---------

Evening had fallen, the Trench was dark as always. Two sharks and a goldfish were all snuggled together, seemingly asleep. A large figure watched over them. Nightmare was also in a half-resting state. Yet he noticed when the newest addition to their shiver- that's what Horror had called it anyway, stirred. As did the previously mentioned Great White. They were speaking to each other. About what, Nightmare couldn't make out. He scooped up the conversing duo and gently brought them towards him, leaving his brother to sleep on his lonesome. Not that he noticed.

"Are you alright?" Dust had tears in his eyes and pressed his forehead to Horror's, almost as if both seeking comfort and hiding. "It's alright. Nothing can harm you down here," Nightmare said as softly as he could. The tip of one of his tentacles stroked the distressed mer until tears no longer flowed from his sockets.

"Thanks," Dust said in a barely audible whisper, before swimming up and bonking Nightmare's large head with his tiny one. Nightmare returned them to Dream, who was still deep in the firm hold of sleep.

------

Killer was wild, his energy and speed only matched by Dream's own. He was chaotic and loud, but a welcome addition to the shiver. Unlike the previous and quiet shared moments Nightmare had with the others, Killer's own moment with the leviathan was just as loud and unexpected as the shark himself. It had been after a semi-successful hunt. The trio of sharks had gone after a giant squid, resulting in a few injuries. And a large meal for the shiver to share. Killer had returned with the most harm done to him, and the twins were glad that the things that did that was already dead. Lest their powers once again wreak havoc on the poor, unsuspecting oceans.

Dream was busy cleaning up Killer's wounds whilst settled in his brother's palm when Killer gave him a bonk. Dream let out a surprised squeak.

"Thanks for patchin' me up Dreamy~" Killer said smoothly before worming his way out of the shocked goldfish's grasp. "And you too Night," He said, delivered another bonk to Nightmare- And promptly swimming off. Both twins sat in silence for a moment before Dream jolted up like he had been caught on a fishing line.

"Get back here!" He screeched, darting off in the direction Killer had swam off to. "I'm not done with the bandages!" Nightmare held back a laugh until he was certain his brother was out of earshot.

-------

How two ancient leviathans kept collecting sharks was a complete mystery to Nightmare. He honestly thought they were done. But no. Dream and Killer just had to find and bring back the oddest, strangest, most silly little mortal being and drag him into the Depths. Cross didn't know how to act, barely knew how to hunt, and was completely abysmal when it came to navigation. He didn't purr, or growl. He never growled, not as a warning, not even when facing down a confused Nightmare. And Cross also didn't give any of the others head bonks. Which made sense. He had only been with the shiver for a few months, but-

Nightmare slipped into his small form and swam up to where Cross was sitting, near motionless, by the entrance to the Depths.

"Hello," He greeted. His voice the same, yet also different. Smaller. Cross gave only a glance. Nightmare huffed before cupping the thresher's skull in his hands. Cross gave a confused sound before Nightmare gently knocked their foreheads together. They stayed like that for a few moments before Cross leaned back. "It's a bonk. An affectionate gesture." Nightmare explained. Cross took a small breath and repeated what Nightmare had done to him. A small purr escaped the octopus. Cross tried to mimic the noise and found that it wasn't hard at all.

---------

Nightmare had met Kelp before on numerous occasions, but this was the first time the two were meeting on the surface. Horror and Dust had accompanied him in his smaller form. They were both there more to quell his anxiety than for any actual protection. Even as small as he was Nightmare was ferocious and strong.

Kelp was waiting on the dock, feet in the water, when they arrived. He and Horror chatted for a bit, before Nightmare pulled himself up to sit next to the fisherman.

"Hi," He said, waving a tentacle as both his hands were fidgeting with each other. Kelp gasped.

"Hello Nightmare. I'm glad you trust me enough to show me your smaller side," Nightmare only gave a nod in response. Kelp used one hand to turn Nightmare's face towards him and gave the other a bonk, much like the ones Horror and Dust gave to him.

Scales

The coming of winter didn't really affect the chill of the Depths. It was always took cold for comfort. It was why Dream was such a vital source of heat for the shiver. But it was quite unfortunate that there was only one of him. And that he rarely liked to stay still. The shiver tried to take measures to keep Dream close whenever the water was too frigid, and Dream was usually more than happy to oblige. But there were times when he couldn't. If Dream himself needed to be somewhere, or if the shiver split up... So they all sat around, each curled up in one of Nightmare's tentacles, ready to brainstorm ways to keep warm when the living heat source wasn't present.

"I say, Dream turns into his leviathan form and we all just cuddle him like that," Killer said, almost like he believed it was a good idea.

"Uh-huh, I hear you, but I'd rather not be boiled alive." Dust replied. Cross murmured his agreements.

"Wellll, we could just go up to the surface to soak up the sun. Or, I could. Just me. Y'know-" A large tentacle pinned Dream down mid-sentence. He huffed and got himself comfortable. His brother and the shiver were determined to solve this problem before Dream left to explore the reef. Which was quite unfortunate for the goldfish, as they had been discussing this topic for the better part of an hour.

"If it wasn't so time consuming, we could bring back the heated rocks..." A gigantic hand scooped some rocks and pressed them to the trapped mer. "It always worked when we were younger," Dream shoved the rocks away.

"But we're not. And cuddling with rocks  is sooo uncomfortable brother. Besides, I would need to heat them back up a lot more than the ones you used. It's colder down here,"

"Couldn't we just... use your scales?" Horror spoke up for the first time in a while. The shiver fell silent.

"A moment, please," Nightmare said before dragging Dream deeper into the trench. The sharks all gave each other questioning looks before curling up into a purring pile. Whilst nestled together, the water heated up considerably.

"𝒮𝒯𝒪𝒫 𝐼𝒯! 𝒢𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝓅𝒾𝒹 𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻𝒻 𝓂𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊-" Dream's screeching could be heard from wherever he took Dream.

"Stay still. I know for a fact that this doesn't hurt."

"𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝑒! 𝐿𝑒𝓉 𝑔𝑜! 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂!" The sharks approached the place they last saw the leviathan twins and looked into the deeper darkness. The water was almost unbearably hot when they reached the edge of the trench.

"That is the worst lie I've heard all century," Nightmare deadpanned from the abyss. Loud, incomprehensible screeching words could be heard as the water started to cool once more. Nightmare emerged with his much smaller brother at his side and five glowing objects in his hand. He placed one by each of the shiver and gave a wide grin like he hadn't just plucked off what were clearly Dream's scales in his larger form. There were a few inquisitive noises from the sharks until they realized just how warm the scales were.

"Why didn't we do this sooner?" Killer asked, practically drooling as he cuddled the scale that was almost too large for him.

"Because it requires me being in my leviathan form. And Nightmare harassing me. Apparently."

Request for varian and the seven kingdoms! Fic where Hugo gets turned into a dog accidentally, probably by some wierd alchemy fail, and the group struggles to turn him back

The day had been peaceful and calm. Nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing was chaotic or crazy. Varian had sent Nuru and the others to go shopping for some chemicals he would need for an experiment leaving the Coronan alchemist alone.

Ruddiger, of course, was also there, helping and making sure Varian didn't do anything dangerous or accidentally forget a step in whatever new project he was working on. Everything was in order. Varian smiled to himself as he pulled his goggles over his eyes, ready to try and stabilize his new compound. Just as he was about to add a single drop of stabilizer-

"VARIAN!" The alchemist dropped the pipette but quickly caught it before it fell to the ground. Nuru burst into the tent, her expression rather flustered, with Yong right behind her.

"Nuru? What's wrong?"

"THAT! THAT IS WHAT'S WRONG VARIAN!" Nuru pointed harshly at a golden retriever that trailed in behind Yong. Varian raised an eyebrow, an unamused expression crossing his face.

"Yong found an animal sidekick and you're mad there's three of them now?" Varian asked. Yong giggled while Nuru glared.

"That's not a dog, Varian," The princess was seething as she tried to calmly explain the situation.

"Pretty sure it is- Wait. Where's Hugo?" Nuru motioned over to the dog. "No. Nuh-uh. Do not believe you,"

"Well you better. We were out getting everything on that list you gave us and went to this little apothecary. Hugo tried to steal something and it turns out the owner knew magic," Nuru said, the exasperation in her tone clear.

"Did you try to get them to turn him back?"

"They kicked us out right after. Didn't even let us say sorry," Yong spoke up, one hand stroking Hugo's silky fur. Hugo huffed and brought a paw up to stop Yong from petting him. "Aww, sorry, but you're just so soft!" The pyrophiliac exclaimed before bending down and throwing his arms around the dog. Hugo gave up and just allowed it to happen.

Varian sighed and started putting away his current project. Nuru stopped Yong from suffocating Hugo and then proceeded to drag the dog outside by the scruff of his neck. When she came back in, Varian had completely cleaned up the tent. Ruddiger was now perched on the boy's shoulder, chittering happily.

There was little talking on the way back to the apothecary. Prometheus was pulling the cart. Nuru, Yong, Varian, and Olivia all sat inside. Hugo was forced to walk, an extended punishment. Normally, Varian would take pity on the thief, but the quicker they left, the sooner they would be at the next kingdom. Something that was going to take even longer because now, one of their party members was a canine.

Yong was looking over Varian’s shoulder as the Coronan was swiftly jotting down details about Hugo’s condition. It was easy to conclude that whoever did this was in no mood to undo it, so they had to find an different way to turn the thief back into a human. Nuru was looking at the map, occasionally glancing over to the miserable Ingvarrian. If there was a way to fix Hugo and begin their journey to the next kingdom, she was determined to find the quickest route.

There was a snap and Varian groaned. The pencil tip broke and he was too agitated to keep writing. He threw the pencil and opted for looking over what he had written so far. Nothing that would be of use. Hugo was completely dog, excluding his mind. He couldn’t talk, couldn’t write, he couldn’t even walk on two legs! Olivia climbed up Varian’s arm and grabbed the snapped pencil tip. She proceeded to draw a handful of vials filled with liquids of varying shades of gray, not that the pencil had any other color.

“What’s that?“ Varian asked the mouse. Yong gasped and started digging in his pocket for something. Nuru looked over.

“That’s- That’s what Hugo stole,“ She said confused. Yong had found what he was looking for and pulled out several multi colored vials.

“I got ’em! Hugo had them when he got turned into a dog so I kept them!” Varian’s eyes widened.

“What if we returned them?“ Yong carefully handed over the chemicals sloshing around in the glass. “Maybe, whoever it was will turn Hugo back,“ Varian mumbled a couple of things to himself before having Nuru lead them back to the apothecary.

Varian was the only one who walked into the store. Inside was a young person of maybe 14. They sat behind a counter counting the few coins they had gotten over the day.

“Excuse me?“ Varian said as he approached the counter. The person looked up, curious green eyes meeting Varian’s blue ones. “I- uh, would like the purchase these for my friend,“ They eyed the vials Varian placed on the counter warrily.

“Your friend is a dog?“ Varian nodded sheepishly. “Alright. Once you pay for these, he’ll be back to normal,“

Varian walked out of the apothecary to see Hugo hugged his very human body and the smallest bit of a floppy dog ear disappearing. Olivia was squeaking happily, snug in her human’s pocket.

“You bought the vials?“ Nuru asked. Varian shrugged.

“We needed them. And look, Hugo’s back,“

“I can’t pet him anymore,“ Yong said sadly. Hugo pat the boy on the head and started towards the cart.

“Sorry Firecracker. But lets not stay here too long,“ 

“He’s one to talk,“ Varian grumbled before following after the thief.

Bite-Sized: Prologue

So, this is a bit of a prologue. The story before it starts. Because really, every story has to start somewhere. And this one starts, not at the beginning, but at, technically, an end. The end of a normal life, the end of calm, the end of quiet. And it begins again in pain and loss. But don't take to much at once. It's small, bite-sized, if you will. So let us begin. Or end, whichever you see fit to describe this.

---------------------

Papyrus had been dreading this day ever since the core failed. Why would he not? The people of the Underground had been slowly starving for years now. There was no one who could get enough food to properly sustain themselves. No one, except one. It wasn't Sans's fault that Papyrus never let him go hungry. He was only six, it would be wrong to deny him even a snack. Of course, now, that had all backfired.

"NO."

"Papyrus, I'm not asking anymore."

"I KNOW THAT AND I DON'T CARE. " The tall skeleton remained in front of the door, blocking the Emperess.

"Do you understand how dire the situation has gotten?"

"YES. I'M ONE OF THE MONSTERS LIVING THROUGH IT. BUT I REFUSE TO HAVE SANS SUFFER WITH US."

"That's not what I'm-"

"NO, WHAT YOU WANT IS FAR WORSE, UNDYNE." She sighed.

"papy? what's going on?"

"GO BACK INSIDE SANS, UNDYNE AND I ARE JUST HAVING A CHAT,"

"Papyrus..."

"whatcha talkin' 'bout?"

"UNDYNE-"

"We need someone with really strong magic to help start the Core back up,"

"and you need papy?"

"YES! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT UNDYNE NEEDS! A MAGNIFICENT SKELETON SUCH AS YOUR BROTHER! THAT'S WHY SHE'S COME, TO ASK FOR MY ASSISTANCE!" Papyrus knew it sounded forced. But he also knew that his baby brother was unlikely to notice.

"so cool papy!!" Sans cried out giving his brother a hug around his legs before running back inside and shutting the door.

"You can't keep doing this forever Paps,"

"I'LL DO IT AS LONG AS I NEED TO. I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE." Undyne exhaled loudly and made her leave, bothering only with a wave and spoke no farewell. Papyrus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and entered his house.

"did you help her?" Papyrus smiled.

"AS MUCH AS I COULD, SANS. BUT WORRY NOT, EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE."

----------------------

Everything was not fine, Sans realized, if a bit too late. He shouldn't have gone alone. But he wanted to make sure that it really would be alright, that his brother really did help with the Core.

"p...papy?" His head hurt. It felt like it had been spiked through by a spear. And that wasn't an entirely incorrect statement. He couldn't see. All Sans knew was the pain blossoming through his skull. And that he was missing something important. What, he couldn't tell. But Undyne had been there. And now she wasn't. He thinks he might have seen her holding his eye, but also, that didn't seem right. His vision blacked out when it was forcefully torn from his socket, how could he still see?

"SANS? SANS, WHERE ARE YOU? IT'S DINNER TIME!" Dinner sounded nice. Papy always made tasty dinners but didn't eat much himself. Sans always gave him some of his snacks. His big brother wasn't the best at self-care after all. "S-SANS?" Sans tilted his skull towards his brother's voice.

"papy? i'm okay..."

"YOU ARE- VERY... NOT OKAY. GIVE ME A MOMENT BROTHER." Long, lanky arms scooped up the small body of the six-year-old and carried him in a gentle hold. They were walking, where? Sans couldn't see. They walked for a long time, and then, Papyrus set the babybones down, still as gentle as can be. "STAY HERE FOR A MOMENT, OKAY?" Sans only hummed his agreement before starting to doze off.

----------------------

"Papyrus-"

"UNDYNE. YOU KNOW THE SAYING."

"What saying? Paps, look, I'm real sorry it had to come to this, but your brother was the only one left in the Underground with enough magic to-" She didn't see the bone attack until it had pierced through her face.

"AN EYE FOR AN EYE, ISN'T IT?" Papyrus wanted to do more, he should have done more. But he didn't. He had a brother to get back to. Before leaving Undyne to her pain, Papyrus knelt down and picked up something round and squishy from where it landed after his attack. "YOURS FOR HIS. YOU DON'T NEED THIS."

----------------------

When Sans awoke, he could see again. Looking around, because he could do that, he could see he was at home. He didn't know how he got his sight back, or how he got home, but here he was, vision and all. Maybe it had all been a nightmare? He really hoped so. But it all felt so real...

"SANS! YOU'RE UP!" Papyrus chirped cheerfully. "HOW DID YOU SLEEP?"

"pretty good. but i had a nightmare..."

"THAT IS NO GOOD. LETS SEE IF SOME FOOD WILL HELP YOU FEEL BETTER," Papyrus lifted his brother into his arms and marched them off to the kitchen.

And if he stopped by Alphys' lab later that night to question why she had directed Undyne to Sans? Well, that was nobody's business but his own.

So what if he had to stay up late to scrub the bits of brains out of his bones and off the shower floor.

Look at this!! I can draw!!

Shamura just trying to document their baby bro when the worm decides to take matter into his own hands. I love him so much💙

Seaweed Nest

Cross was running his hand over the soft nest that he and the shiver had been sleeping in since he arrived. It was soft and plush, warm and safe. But it was starting to fall apart. He would have repaired it himself. If he knew how. There were quite a few nests hidden in the Trench. At times Cross saw the others working on theirs. It was amazing how everyone, everyone except him, knew how to weave these special nests that were all so comfortable. He wasn't jealous per se, but he certainly would love to learn.

"Whatcha doing Cross?" Dream swam up and curled himself around the thresher. He gave a small hum at the warmth.

"Just thinking," Cross received a bonk for his response. "How do you all make these nests?" The leviathan gave a squeal and darted away from Cross. Had... had he said something wrong. Just as the poor mer was about to leave, Dream swam back in, kelp in hand. He dumped the seaweed on Cross and sat next to him.

"Ooh, I've been wanting to teach you this!!" 

------

"Baha, oh my gosh Crossy-" A certain bull shark mer burst out laughing at the sight before him.

"Shut up," The mer glared at Killer for even thinking about teasing him. "It's Dream's fault."

"Don't blame me! I was just trying to-"

"Brother, you don't even know how to make a nest,"

"I do! It's just... Different is all," The goldfish pouted. Nightmare allowed himself to fall into his smaller form. Once a reasonable size, he untangled his brother and mate from the mess of seaweed they had made.

"Don't do this again. Horror will be happy to teach you both," He gave both of them a pat before leaving to dispose of the knot of kelp.

------

"This is nice," Cross murmured as he sunk deeper into the newly made nest. Horror only purred in response. Dream was still off sulking somewhere, though, it was likely Dust was with him as the whitetip had mysteriously vanished some time ago. "Thanks for the lesson," Cross got a kiss for his words.