Bite Sized - Tumblr Posts
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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.
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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."
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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.
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"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."
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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.
Bite-Sized: Lost Part 1
Sans was hungry. He had been for some time. Whenever he told Papy, the older fixed up a meal and Sans was starting to feel guilty because Papy never made anything for himself. So the young skeleton tried to focus on something other than his hunger. And that something just so happened to be the pain he felt in his skull. Sans had asked Papy about it, but the older always got really quiet and a bit teary-eyed, so he just stopped asking. The pain could be anywhere from a dull ache to a sharp sting. It was unpleasant and a constant bother.
It didn't take long to find a partial solution to this, of course. Being that Sans lived in Snowdin and the very thing that helped was snow. Or, anything cold really. But he didn't particularly fancy sticking his head into the far too empty fridge. Just as he was about to step outside, the voice of his brother sounded from just upstairs.
"AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Papyrus asked. Sans sighed and closed the door.
"i wanna go outside,"
"THAT IS ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT YOU SHOULD BUNDLE UP." Papy strode down the stairs and scooped up his brother who squirmed in his hold. "DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT SCARF?" Oh. The scarf. Sans had it, yes. But he didn't know why. It was longer than he was tall, likely because it was torn off of Papy's scarf. If he thinks about it enough, Sans vaguely remembers being wrapped up in the red cloth, picking at the now torn edges, while his brother was panicking about something. Sans suspects he did something wrong. But nothing ever seems to come to mind.
"yeah, can i get it?" Papyrus gives a wide smile showing his teeth, a few of which have chipped or cracked.
"OH COURSE! YOU GO DO THAT WHILE I GET YOUR SNOW JACKET," The taller chirped happily. He set his wiggly brother down and watched as he ran into his room.
The scarf was easy to find. It was lying next to his pillow as Sans often used it as a blanket more often than a scarf. His bed was very simple, just a mattress really, but Papy got him a bed tent that had all sorts of neat stars on it. Neither of them had seen real stars, but Sans loved pulling his brother underneath and pointing out fun shapes he saw in them. But, scarf acquired, he headed back to Papyrus.
"i got the scarf!" Sans said to- not to his brother, Papy was in his own room, grabbing what appeared to be a small pair of pink snow boots. Oh no. Sans didn't like those boots at all, they made his feet hurt, he liked to wander in just his slippers if he could.
"GOOD JOB SANS! NOW, COME OVER HERE AND I'LL GET YOU AS SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG,"
"without the boots?" Papyrus shot his brother a look. "okayyy" Sans said, mumbling his complaints as he shuffled over to his brother. Papyrus made quick work of helping his brother slip into his blue puffy jacket and swiftly tying the scarf into a fashionably, yet snug, bow to keep the long tails from dragging. Then, the little skeleton was helped onto the racecar bed, sitting with his socked feet dangling over the edge. A faint embarrassed blush crawled up his cheeks. Even though he was six, Sans could never quite remember how to tie his shoes, so Papy always helped him. Sans tried to focus on what his brother was doing, making a loop with one lace and doing something with the other but...
"THERE WE GO! NOW YOU'RE READY TO GO OUT AND EXPLORE! DON'T GO TOO FAR, AND MAKE SURE TO BE BACK BY DINNER,"
"okay!" Sans agreed. Papyrus smiled and gave his brother a small pat on the head. He got a weird look on his face when he did so, but Sans ignored it and racing into the eternal winter that was his home. His boots left small footprints in the snow, a trail for Papy to find him should he fall asleep in the snow too long.
It was a short walk to Sans' favorite spot in all the Underground. This place was close-ish to home, but Papy disagreed. It was also a ways away from this giant door that Sans had no way of opening. Trees surrounded it and shielded the spot from anyone who didn't know where to look. There was a hollowed out stump covered with a tarp that held some joke books and coloring supplies. But that wasn't what Sans was here for, not this time. As soon as the skeleton arrived to his spot, he promptly fell backwards into the snow and let the cold numb his skull just a bit. A small hum of happiness escaped the little one. It was a welcome relief to the aching he had been feeling. A little nap in the cold comfort of the snow wouldn't hurt. . . And that was Sans's last coherent thought before he fell asleep.
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"Alrighty! Let's see here!" Sans groaned, burying his skull deeper into the snow. "Yep! This does seem like Horror..." Whatever the voice was saying, the sleepy skeleton did not hear the rest of it as he pushed the snow over his skull in an attempt to sleep just a bit longer. "Mhmm. A weird variation if you ask me. It's been a while since I've seen an older brother Papyrus," A bleary eyelight flickered to life and glared at the snow. This was supposed to be his quiet spot. Not for loud, noisy strangers to talk to themselves. Having enough of this blatant disrespect, tiny arms pushed the small body out of the snow. And then he saw it.
This intruder was someone he had never seen before. And with the Underground as small and closed off as it is, that was definitely something. And, this stranger was a skeleton. Papy said there wasn't any other skeletons left but here someone was. Their eyelights were two different colors and shapes, though the color and shape of each changed just about every time they blinked. A black mark stained their cheek, it looked like paint, or even ink. Their outfit showcased almost no color other than browns, but a sash held colorful vials of what the small skeleton was certain were paint. An absolutely enormous brush was attached to their sash on the back, and the skeleton startled when stranger removed it and held it in their hands.
"Welp, time to go, Dream's probably waiting for me to get back," The skeleton said to no one in particular, as he had yet to notice the child watching him with one red eyelight. The brush swiped across the ground leaving a wide black streak in the snow. The stranger jumped in and disappeared.
Unbeknownst to him, the tiny, toddling six-year-old decided it would be fun to fall in too.
Bite-Sized: Lost Part 2
I forgot to post this on tumblr!! I'm so sorryyyy 😭😭😭
I'm planning on updating Bite-Sized some time soon, so I knew I had to catch it up on my tumblr
Here's the final part of B-S: Lost
Everything was white. Now, that wasn't an unusual statement, given that the brothers lived in Snowdin, but the white here felt... aggressive. Like it was waiting to each the child whole. Papy wasn't here either. The child gripped the tails of his scarf after he stumbled to his feet. He was wearing those dumb pink boots and feeling more than a bit foolish. The Underground was very small and it wasn't easy to get lost. Unless you got to close to Temmie Village. He always got lost around Temmie Village. Luckily, there was a very simple trick for finding your way around Snowdin. Just walk! Eventually you'll hit a path, or tree, or monster, or even the walls of the Underground! Or wind up outside of Snowdin, but it wasn't that hard to just go back in.
So the small skeleton child started to wander. Deeper and deeper he went into the nothingness. He didn't know how much time was passing, or even if it was. The more he walked, the more he feared he had left the Underground entirely. If worst came to worst, Papy would find him and he'd be grounded until the barrier was broken. The boy shook his head and continued forward. No, he'd find his way back home. He'd done it hundreds of times before.
--
"dude. i'm telling you, boss speaks in capitals. he's totally the papyrus of him and dream."
"the hell? no he doesn't. both him and dream just have normal monster speak. they don't even have specific fonts." Dust cuffed Killer on the head.
"dream said that he didn't speak like that until after ink found him. so nighty is the paps," The Sans puffed out his chest as if he had just spilled some great secret of the multiverse. Dust groaned.
"you don't even talk to dream,"
"well, dream told ink, and ink told error. error told me."
"ink's memory cannot be trusted." Dust growled out. The two stopped walking when they came across a splash of black in an otherwise barren wasteland of white. "speaking of ink," Killer stared at the spot of paint that had clearly once been a portal. "where do you think he went?"
"knowing him? probably off on some adventure with "broomie" or some shit." That got a laugh out of Dust. "hey, you think he's still around?" Dust shrugged. "if he is and i catch him-"
"no."
"but-"
"no." Dust sighed. "last time i made a bet with you, i was doing your chores for a month," The shorter skeleton glared. Killer wore a too-wide grin that promised only mischief.
"it'll be different this time, honest," He held one hand over his heart and another in the air. Dust huffed and shoved past him. "if i find him, you owe me a set of knives from that market au, the one with the giants. and if i don't, i hop over to that little alchemist au you like so much and get you... um..."
"if it's the ingredients for napalm, again, i'm torching your room,"
"i'll get you the stuff for those smoke bombs you're always making crossy," Killer stuck his hand out. Dust looked at it warily before finally deciding to shake it. Killer whooped and ran off. Dust shook his head. Missions with Killer were always something. He was loud and obnoxious, but also highly effective in battle. Though he has a horrible habit of not looking before he leaps. Cross and Nightmare were both far better mission partners, and Epic when the guy was around. But because Nightmare was a literal deity and Cross himself was a highly trained guard, as well as an out code, they went on solo missions more often than not.
--
Killer hadn't expected Dust to follow him. He was probably the laziest of the Sanses that Nightmare kept around. If he could avoid walking, he would. And it wasn't like Dust was the one looking for Ink.
Staring down at the small child, Killer was kind of wishing he had dragged Dust with him.
"sooo," Killer started, grabbing the kid's attention. His face was... off-putting, to say the least. The gaping hole on top and glowing red eyelight was starting to freak Killer out, just a little bit. Not that he'd ever tell anyone. Besides, this was a kid, what's the worst that could happen. The kid looked up, tilting his head in a puppy-like manner. "whatcha doin' out here on your own?" The kid fiddled with his scarf tails. Oh man. Killer really hoped he hadn't lost his Papyrus. "lookin' for your bro?" The child regarded the question for a moment before nodding. "cool. cool." There was a moment of silence. "you got a name?" No response. "know how you got here?" Still nothing. Killer was betting on the bugger having fallen through Ink's portal. Or maybe he was just an outcode. At least he was on the right track. Maybe. Killer was sorely tempted to abandon the child, a perfect set of knives was on the line here. Worst came to worst, he could just pick the child up on his way back. So he left without any moral qualms.
Dust, on the other hand, had been slowly following Killer, not trusting him to not do something stupid. He was far behind the target-souled Sans, but Killer stopped long enough for Dust to have nearly caught up. Which means he saw the idiot up and leave the kid. Dust quickened his pace and approached the child.
"hey buddy," Dust said softly, kneeling to be on the child's level. "you doing okay?" The kid looked back to where Killer had gone. "don't mind him. i'm dust." Dust stuck out a hand. The kid shook it. His hands were so small and felt fragile and flaky, almost like he had been starved. "what's your name?" There was a moment of silence.
"h-horror?" The kid, Horror, sounded uncertain. Dust couldn't correct the kid, he didn't know if his name was Sans or even something else entirely.
"well horror, do you mind if i pick you up? i gotta catch up to my friend before he goes and does something dumb," Horror giggled and nodded. Dust gently scooped the child into his arms and tried to ignore just how light he was. Horror yawned and snuggled into Dust's scarf, eyes fluttering shut. Dust smiled at the kid before turning to where Killer had disappeared to and frowned. That bastard had a lot to answer for.
Bite-Sized: Meet the Gang
More Bite-Sized content I forgot to post...
Cross was sitting outside the palace sharpening his blades. The day was unusually nice for this forgotten AU, the sky a brilliant blue with the local wildlife roaming around. Far too often the place was practically flooding with how much it rained. The sun might as well have not existed for how little it was seen. But today was nice and calm. Or it was.
"why are you mad at me?!" Killer's whiny voice broke the illusion of peace. Cross sighed and sheathed his dagger, he was not putting up with this.
"you abandoned a child, killer!!" Cross froze in his tracks. What?
"i did not abandon him. i was gonna come back!" A smack rang out. Ohhhh, Dust was pissed. Usually, when upset, Dust would simmer slowly, working up some plan to get revenge, which often resulted in humiliation for the unfortunate party. But for him to lash out right away? Cross shivered. Dust was stronger than most people realized, magically and physically, which meant Killer would be feeling that for the foreseeable future.
"dude! what the f-" Another slap. Cross winced. Maybe he should go break that up.
"language." Dust growled. The royal guard slowly made his way to the voices, but that turned out to be unnecessary, as the two bickering skeletons appeared from the trees only moments later. Killer was sporting a bruise on his face roughly the shape and size of Dust's hand. Dust, meanwhile, looked perfectly unharmed, but had a small child in his arms. The kid looked far more injured than the two adults they were with, a jagged hole in their skull and a far too thin frame. They looked warm, however, with a puffy blue snow jacket and pink boots. There was also a red scarf tied in a neat bow. Cross's soul sunk. That meant the kid was a Sans, one who had likely lost their Papyrus.
Dust spotted Cross and waved him over. The guard was a bit hesitant, but eventually joined his teammates.
"we found traces of ink during our patrol. just outside of ccino's au. no idea if he stuck around, but he somehow managed to bring a child with him. we think." Cross nodded as Dust gave the report. This would typically be given to Nightmare, but- Cross stared at the kid.
"We have leftover soup in the fridge. Since Killer's been with you, the kitchen's still in one piece." Dust nodded and hurried into the palace. Killer stayed behind.
"what do ya think boss is gonna say?" Cross tilted his head in consideration.
"Chances are he's going to try and find the kid's AU. If he can't..." He allows a moment to get his point across. Killer sucks in a breath. "He's totally giving your room to the kid." Killer lets out an offended squawk as Cross teleports up to Nightmare's study, ready to give Dust's report.
--
Why was it that even the simplest tasks were made difficult by the absolute idiots that lived in this palace? Nightmare stared at Dust, who was heating up soup on the stove. A common sight, as no one really knew how to make much more that soups and sandwiches. What was different was the child balanced on Dust's hip, fast asleep. Dust turned and saw Nightmare, who probably looked like he crawled out of a bog.
"want a cup of tea, boss?" Nightmare only nodded before leaving the kitchen. He sat down at the ridiculously large dining table and planted his face into the smooth wood. This week had been harder than most. The balance was teetering dangerously over the edge, Dream and Ink having decided to work overtime. Error was finally taking a break, actually sleeping in his bed for once, rather than stringing up a hammock to prevent any of the gang from bothering him. Not that anyone would do so, the poor outcode was so very, very tired.
A few minutes later, a teacup and bowl were set next to Nightmare's head. He turned to face Dust, who was settling the child into a chair. The guardian reached for his cup and sipped at it slowly. Dust roused the child. Now that they weren't nestled in Dust's arm, it was easy to see they were a Sans of some kind. Nightmare's attention was instantly drawn to the old head wound that took up most of the child's skull. Bleary sockets opened, revealing a singular glowing red eyelight, much larger than what was standard.
"horror? you up buddy?" The child gave a weak nod. Dust pushed the soup into his hands. "wanna eat?" Horror seemed to wake up more at that, gently taking the bowl, careful not to spill. Once the child was occupied with his food, Dust turned to Nightmare. "found him wandering the anti-void. likely slipped through ink's portal," Nightmare gave a tired nod.
"Any idea where he's from?" Dust shook his head. Nightmare sighed and pulled himself up from his seat. "I shall prepare him a room." The guardian looked thoughtful. "Cross has your report, does he not?" Dust flushed purple. "Very well. I will have to hunt him down. You see to it that the child is tended to,"
As it turns out, Nightmare was able to complete both tasks with ease, having crossed paths with Cross on his way to find a room. The report was brief, as expected, and gave little insight on the situation. Ink was prone to forgetting why he was in an AU and hopping across the multiverse to enter another one. Which meant the child could be from anywhere. With luck, Error would be able to narrow it down.
Most of the rooms in the palace were, in many ways, childproof. At the same time, they were also quite dangerous. The rooms next to Dust's and the lab were remarkably clean, free of sharp objects, uneven furniture, and any visible electrical outlets, wires or the like. But most of them had been exposed to any number of hazardous material and one of them was missing a wall. Closer to Killer's suite, the rooms were rigged with all manner of failed pranks. But were otherwise perfectly harmless. Error's wing was the safest, the Sans being a bit of a neat freak. However, Error did not like people. Unfortunate for Horror, he was a people. Nightmare would prefer the child stay away from his own end of the palace as his negative aura might impact them.
Cross, on the other hand, had a room next to his that was not only clean, but intact and out of harm's way. Nightmare had little regard for what Cross himself might think. And with that, the prince started moving things to the new room.
--
Dust hadn't taken his eyes off of Horror. The kid was eating like he had been starved. Which, wasn't as unlikely as Dust would've hoped. He'd seen the Multiverse, he'd visited some of the worst universes. The poor kid could have been from one of those.
Once the bowl was clean, he reached a hand out to Dust. He made a little grabby fist that had Phantom cooing over Dust's shoulder.
"papy! i'm done!" Dust froze. That was. That sure wasn't the name Dust gave Horror earlier. Phantom looked over his brother, the still living skeleton having turned a strange pale color.
"my- my name's dust, remember?" Horror tilted his head like a confused puppy and nodded. "you're done, right?" He nodded again. "'aight. then lets go see what room nightmare's picked out for you," Dust scooped the kid in his arms and made his way upstairs. Nightmare had hung a small, basic sign that had Horror's name on it in glittery calligraphy. Dust didn't even know Boss had glitter pens. He'd have to steal those later.
Dust rapped on the door. Nightmare opened it, revealing the room. It was large, as all the guest rooms were, but had been hastily decorated with a bookshelf, desk, soft crimson bed sheets, and matching curtains. A few of Error's crochet creatures sat on the bed next to puffy pillows. A shark onesie was laid out as well. Glow-in-the-dark stars dotted the ceiling and Dust had to wonder where Nightmare got all these things. Because there also happened to be a small basket of toys, none of which were in the palace prior. There were dinosaurs and cars and dolls, as well as an unusual amount of sharks, Dust would ask about that later.
"look at this!" Dust swept his arm in a grand gesture, hoping to draw all of Horror's attention to the room. "it's all for you!" He set the kid down and turned to leave the room immediately. Nightmare snagged him by the shoulder, shooting the Sans a questioning glance. They both looked at Horror, who had toddled over to the bed, gently gathering the plushies into his arms. "i just... need a minute boss," And with that, Dust left.
