Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Your vision comes to you abruptly as you’re yanked from the depths of sleep by an unknown figure, a firm grip on your arm pulling you into consciousness. Startling awake, you found yourself struggling to discern the silhouette currently moving you from the safety of your bed and across the room with haste. The urgency of their voice cutting through your haze of sleep riddled confusion, calling out your name and demanding your immediate attention.

“Get up, quickly! We don’t have much time!”

Recognising the voice, the figure stops you in front of the door and frantically inputs the code combination to unlock your containment cell, only for their face to contort with panic when the keypad makes a beep to indicate an incorrect code. 

“Shit!” They swear under their breath, their brows furrowing with determination as they deftly attempt another input into the control panel.

Blinking until your blurry vision clears, you’re struck by the sight of their dishevelled appearance, a stark departure from their usually immaculate demeanour. Her ember-hued hair, typically tied back neatly, now falls in disarray around her face. The pristine white of her lab coat married by scuffs and splatters of vivid red, the same red that adorned her face and glasses.

“D-Dr. Philips?” Your voice trembles with uncertainty, trying to figure out if you are still asleep or not. “What’s going on?”

Unfortunately your question goes unanswered as the wall panel beeps again, followed by the cell door sliding open to allow your exit. Wasting no time, Dr. Philips pulls you with swift efficiency down a long, white panelled corridor containing many other cells like your own.

Your eyes struggled with the brightness illuminating the corridor, a huge change to the darkness of your cell, forcing your pupils to slit with uncomfortable speed in order to adjust to the amount of light assaulting them. You now hear the blaring sound of the facility alarms, no longer muffled by your soundproof cell. It's loud and hurts your ears as they flatten, making your tail swish agitatedly.

The woman you know as Dr. Philips is practically running you down several winding hallways and corridors, you’re unsure of what’s going on but then a surge of panic grips you as the thought that she might be leading you back to his cell crosses your mind. However those thoughts are quickly dismissed when you start passing by the mass of dead bodies that littered the ground. Shock washes over you as you spot the faces of doctors and scientists, now lying motionless in pools of their own blood. Among them are familiar faces, colleagues to your own Dr. Philips who had contributed to your development, now victims of an unknown tragedy. Surprisingly, said doctor doesn’t even spare them a glance as she continues to urgently hurry you along.

“Once I get you through these upcoming security doors, turn left and run straight down the hall until you reach the end,” Philips’ instructs with unwavering authority. “You should see an air vent. Climb through it till you reach the back of the building; it’ll drop you outside into the woodland area.” Her directives are clear despite the look of bewilderment on your face. “I’ve disabled all the cameras and the electric fence but they’ll get them up and running soon. Still, the dense trees should give you enough cover to get through unspotted.”

As Dr. Philips hurriedly outlines her plan for your escape, you’re left struggling to comprehend her words with the chaos currently unfolding around you. Amidst the confusion, the distant shouts of approaching facility guards only serves to heighten the severity of the situation.

“What do you mean get through unspotted?” You question with desperation, trying to understand what’s going on.

Reaching said security doors, Dr. Philips swiftly scans her clearance card dangling around her neck and pushes you through as the doors open. Once on the other side, she inputs into the control panel a series of codes. Casting a quick glance down the hallway you just came from, you can feel your heart lurch as you spot several heavily armoured guards rounding the corner, their weapons raising in alarm at the sight of you and the doctor. Before they can react, the doors slam shut in front of you, sealing off the pursuing threat.

‘LOCKDOWN MODE ACTIVATED’ reads the message on the control panel.

“There, I bought us some time.” Dr. Philips breathes out, her words laced with fatigue. “It’ll take them a while to override my admin but it won’t be long till they get them open again. Nothing can penetrate these doors till then though.” 

Despite her attempts to appear composed, you can see how tired she is, her normally warm and caring smile replaced with a tight expression and laboured breathing. Although she’s trying to keep it together, you can sense her fear. You don’t like this.

“P-Please tell me what’s going on.. I’m scared. Why are they chasing you?” You manage to choke out the words, your voice trembling with fear and confusion as you reach out to Dr. Philips, your hand seeking reassurance in the midst of the chaos. You can feel the tears welling in your eyes as you implore her for answers to make sense of the nightmare unfolding around you.

However, you jump and pull your hand back to your chest when you hear banging on the doors in front of you forcing both of you to back away, the angry shouting louder than ever and the blaring alarms ever disorienting. You don’t know what to do, you can’t even hear yourself think.

Finally, Dr. Philips looks at you for the first time since you woke from this ordeal. You can see the sadness behind her serious expression as she leans down and grips you by your arms, your eyes widening as she begins addressing you.

“I’m sorry…” her voice is tinged with regret. “I don’t have time to explain, I know you don’t understand what’s going on but you need to trust me. You can’t stay here anymore,” she continues, her tone firm, “it’s not safe for you.”

You stare at her, wishing she’d just explain clearly for once, wishing she’d give you something but you knew better than to ask questions you weren’t going to get the answer to, so instead you remain silent as she presses on.

“Once you get past the fence, you’ll find a street. When you get to it, run. Run as fast as you can for as long as you can. Get somewhere with lots of people, somewhere you can hide. Someone will help you.”

You watch as she reaches into her coat and pulls out a hoodie that was tied around her waist before she hands it to you. As you take it, a wave of warmth and familiarity washes over you, the fabric imbued with her comforting scent, it must belong to her.

“Put this on. It will provide you some concealment when they send the guards to look for you.” 

“Are you not coming with me?..” you ask weakly, your voice trembling as you look up at the tall woman with desperation in your eyes. You can feel the tears threatening to fall as you fear you know the answer.

With a sigh, she tenderly cups your face, her thumb wiping away a delicate tear that had begun running down your cheek. Her familiar smile struggles to soothe your quivering nerves as she gazes at you softly.

“I wish I could honey…” she murmurs, “but I have to hold them back so you can escape. You’d have a better chance without me slowing you down.” She hushes you gently while drawing you into a comforting embrace. You can feel her hand stroking the back of your hair as you cling to her and sob quickly against her.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way..” she laments sadly.

Unfortunately the moment ends all too quickly as the beeping of the panel starts to signal as it’s override. Swiftly, Dr. Philips releases you and manoeuvres you behind her, positioning herself between you and the metal door.

“Quickly! You’re running out of time!” She shouts, before whipping out a pistol you hadn’t noticed she had concealed to her body and aiming it straight at the door, ready to shoot anyone that comes through.

“If for any reason you feel you’re in immediate danger and you’re absolutely sure there’s no way you can escape, promise me you’ll use your magic to get you out of it.” She said firmly, not turning away from the door.

You perk up at this, shocked by her statement.

“B-But you said I’m not supposed to use my magic for any reason unless explicitly told to by you o-or..”

“Well I’m telling you now!” She shouts sternly. Her head turning slightly to you but her eyes never leaving the door. You can’t help startling at her outburst, never once has she raised her voice at you.

“Use your magic if there is no way you can escape… please ”. You finally hear her voice break, her plea for you to survive so evident that it breaks your heart and you can’t stop the choked sob that wretches itself from your throat as the tears flow from you again.

The lach of the door makes a noise as it begins to open, making both your heads whip towards it. The shouts from the guards now louder than ever.

“Go! Now!

But you don’t. 

You’re frozen.

“NOW!” She screams as she begins open firing, the loud gunshots now jolting you out of your shock as your instincts take over and you bolt to the left and down the corridor.

All you can hear now is the deafening sounds of sirens and multiple gun fire, then suddenly, the scent of blood that smelt familiar.

Chapter Text

You jolted back to reality as the blaring alarms from your memory had followed, now in the form of police sirens as their cars zip past the alleyway you’re currently hiding in. Tucked away behind a dumpster, you tug the hoodie around you more and take deep breaths, breathing in the familiar scent to try and calm you.

You had managed to escape. Throwing on Dr. Philips’ hoodie as you ran, you found the air vent she described and all but ripped the cover off its hinges and crawled through it like your life depended on it, only for it to literally drop you straight outside the back of the building. Fortunately your speed and nimble reflexes got you through the woods and over the fence before they could turn their security measures back on. You ran practically forever until you were too exhausted to keep going. You didn’t realise how close the secluded facility was to what you thought must have been a city but used it to your advantage by pulling your hood up and blending in once you reached the heavily populated areas. 

Just like Dr. Philips said, they had sent their guards and officials after you, their armoured militants equipped with heavy set weapons and black vans had chased you down. Despite their relentless pursuit, you managed to evade being captured thus far. However, the surge of adrenaline used to aid in your escape was beginning to decline and fatigue was quickly setting in. You didn’t know how long you could keep this up and with nowhere to go, it was only a matter of time before they captured you and brought you back to the compound.

The sound of more police cars racing through the alley fills your ears, their sirens growing louder before fading as they speed past . So many have passed you by now, their echoes lingering in the distance, far but not gone. You had been hiding in the alley for a while now, and it had been a long time since you last spotted one of the ominous black heavy-duty trucks patrolling the area.

‘Why are there so many though?’ You pondered, they couldn’t possibly be after you as well. Chancing a cautious peek from behind the dumpster, your attention is caught by the sheer number of people that rushed past the alley as though they were running away from something. Now that you thought about it, you swore you could also hear people screaming.

“What do we have here then?” A voice calls out to you.

Your head whips round behind you, startled by the sudden voice as you realise you’re not alone anymore.

There, down the far side of the dark passageway, stood a figure that to you resembles a human skeleton, except this skeleton is wearing clothes and talking like a person. But that can’t be right, from what you were taught, a skeleton was an external framework of bone meant to support the human body under its skin. It wasn’t alive per say, but this one had no skin, like no human you’d ever seen. However, judging by the buzzing magic that swirled around him, you figured he might not be a human at all, but instead a monster.

You’ve encountered a few monsters during your time at the facility, being part one yourself, you were taught about them and their souls and magic that make up their entire being. Dr. Philips said that monsters were kind but powerful beings, and that you needed to know about them if you were to understand yourself and how your magic worked. However, the information provided to you was limited, Dr. Philips only ever teaching you about the basics. Other than that, no one at the facility ever told you anything else, only that the magic you possessed was dangerous and was only to be used under the guidance of classified personnel with proper clearance and solely within the designated testing rooms. Severe repercussions would be issued if you ever disobeyed, not that you ever did though, you had always been good. Well, except for today…

Staring at the monster in front of you, it—or rather, he, judging by the voice— cocks his head as he can see you’re lost in thought, the smile on his face widening but you didn’t feel it was in a friendly way. He was wearing a black top under a blue furred hoodie and white shorts that had black stripes on either side. What caught your attention though was the eerie, black substance oozing out of where his eyes should be. It looked like he was staring at you, he could clearly see you but you didn’t know how without eyes.

Even more peculiar was a set of glowing red rings centred on the outside of his chest. You had never see anything like it before and—

“My sockets are up here, human.” 

Your eyes shoot back up to his face. Realising your mistake, you feel you should apologise but don’t get a chance as he starts to speak.

“Ya know, as thrilling as it is to create all this suspense. I’ve done it like what? A million times now? It gets old after you’ve done it to the 857th human you catch alone down a cold, dark alley. But hey, who’s counting?” He shrugs as he starts stepping towards you.

You feel the magic in the air surrounding him begin to pulse menacingly, causing your instincts to be on high alert and your hairs to stand on end from the threatening aura he's now displaying.

“If it’s all good with you, I’m gonna get to the fun bit now. It was ‘ knife ’ meeting you.” He chuckles, voice deep as he materialises a knife out of thin air, then out of nowhere, he’s in front of you, knife raised to strike you.

Within seconds, your dilated eyes contract into slits as you shoot yourself up and out of the way, narrowly evading the trajectory of his knife. The metallic clash of blade meeting dumpster reverberates painfully in your ears, the sheer force of his strike splitting the unsuspecting metal in two. Without a moment's hesitation, you make a wild dash for the alley's exit, the ominous chuckle of the skeleton echoing menacingly behind you.

“Huh, humans got some moves. Well then, why don’t you take a ‘stab’ at this?”

His puns are lost on you as your mind is now focussed on making a quick escape. You can sense his magic manifest and condense in several incoming spots in front of you, anticipating where it’s about to materialise, several red spikes resembling bone shards shoot up out of the ground intending to impale you, but your agility allows you to easily weave in and out of them, dodging them without slowing a beat in your momentum.

“The fuck?” You hear him curse behind you.

You’re about to make it out of the alley, the light getting closer to you with each step as a small spark of hope fills your beating chest.

“Yeah no, I don’t think so.”

In a sudden swirl of red magic, the skeleton materialises in front of you, positioning himself between you and the exit. With a raise of his hand, a formidable wall of razor-sharp crimson bones emerges from the ground, stretching high and completely blocking your path to escape.

“Well aren’t you a slippery little thing?” He sneers. “Unfortunately I have a ‘ bone ’ ta’ pick with ya’, so you’re not going a n y w h e r e ”.

His deep, threatening voice sends a chill down your spine, as the air pressure around you grows heavy. With your blood running cold, the urgency to escape intensifies. You need to get out of here, now !

Feeling like he finally has you cornered, he raises a hand towards you, conjuring a barrage of sharp, red bones before sending them flying straight towards you. Despite your best efforts, you dodge most of them, but a few manage to graze your side and leg. You hiss as the pain stings your skin however you have no time to stop as your assailant uses his magic to appear in front of you once more, his knife poised to come down on you with grim determination.

In a split second decision, you summon your claws bolt straight up the alley wall to your right, swiftly manoeuvring on all fours. Managing to catch the skeleton completely off guard, his knife comes down on the ground, narrowly missing your body. His head turns in surprise as he watches you run up towards the alley exit, heading directly for the bone wall he still had summoned. With each step, you climb higher and higher till you’re high enough to jump up and over the wall. With a graceful thud, you land on the other side before breaking into a sprint down the street, swiftly disappearing into the city.

“…”

“What the actual fuck..”

The skeleton kneels there for a moment, trying to comprehend what he just witnessed.

“Pffft—having trouble there, Killer?” 

This time it’s Killer’s turn to whirl his head to see two of his dark alternates, their chuckles grating on Killer's nerves as he growls at their amusement over his missed kill.

“A small set back, nothing I can’t fix.” He replies agitatedly before pushing himself off the ground. Knowing Dust, he won’t let him live this down and will definitely spread this shit to the others.

“I dunno Killer, kinda looks like you’re losing your ‘ edge’ .” Dust teases as he inspects his own knife, coated in the blood of a fresh kill as if taunting him.

“The fuck kinda human runs up walls on all fours?! As if I’m gonna anticipate for that!” Killer snaps back, gesturing to the alley wall behind him. 

This time his larger alternate speaks up.

“The kind that… has a tail…apparently..” Horror adds, watching Killer’s expression go from pissed to confused and pissed.

“A tail? Humans don’t have tails. That holes not letting you see straight.”

“It’s true, I saw it too.” Dust cuts in.

“Seriously?” He asks in disbelief.

Dust tilts his head, his smile widening and his cyan and red heterochromia eyes narrow mischievously.

“What’s the matter, Killer? I thought you’d be the first to notice considering how much you like to check out the backside of your victims before ripping them a new one. You sure you’re feeling okay?” Dust continues to wind up Killer, watching his patience wear thin and his anger rise.

“Well excuse me for not being distracted by ass! I was too busy trying ta’ figure out how the hell she knew how to intercept my magic!” Killer explodes, his frustration evident and Dust's relentless prodding managing to make slip how hurt Killer’s pride really was.

“Well, she couldn’t of gotten far. I can see you got a few nicks in her.” Dust gestures to the few drops of blood on the floor where Killer’s bones had managed to cut you.

“I can… track her down.. if ya want?” Horror offers as his lone red eye large watches Killer’s emotional outburst.

“No. I ain’t no fucking baby bones, I can track her myself.” Killer snaps back.

Dust rolls his eyes. “Just leave it Killer, it’s not worth it. Get over it and find someone else to maim”.

Killer raises his hand towards the wall of bones still blocking the alley exit, dismissing them with a wave, watching as they slowly disintegrate down to nothing.

“No one gets away unless I decide they do..” he declares, his smile widening menacingly as his expression becomes dark, his sockets leaking another stream of fresh hate.

“And besides... this has now become p e r s o n a l. ” 

Chapter Text

Your heart pounds in your chest as you continue to run, your instincts screaming at you to use your magic to protect yourself despite no longer sensing the strange, drippy skeleton anymore. Glancing behind you, it didn’t seem like he was pursuing you and you’re certain you’ve put enough distance between him and you.

Finally slowing down, you feel your soul buzz with tension. Taking a moment to catch your breath, it is then you finally notice the sting in your side and leg. Pausing to inspect yourself, you can see that one of his attacks had left a slash on the left side of your waist, cutting through your white dress mandated by the facility and staining it red with blood. Though not deep, it throbs with pain. Similarly, a cut mars your exposed lower leg, also trickling blood. Yet, knowing your magic's ability to heal, you're relieved by the fact that the injuries could have been far worse.

Taking note of your surroundings, you come to the sudden realisation that there is nobody around you, the once bustling streets now eerily deserted, devoid of both people or any moving vehicles. In fact, you’re alone and completely exposed now, there aren’t even any crowds you can hide in. Desperately scanning for any potential hiding spots, a deafening loud bang shatters the silence, quickly followed by an excruciating surge of pain that shoots up your arm. You screech and stumble to your knees, clutching the source of agony, only to discover an open bullet wound oozing blood. Wincing inwardly, you swiftly apply pressure with your free hand in an attempt to stop the bleeding and quell the intense pain.

Your ears perk as you catch the sound of movement behind you. To your dismay, you spot a group of military guards, comprising both human and monster, their weapons trained on you with lethal intent. Among them, one holds a communication device, relaying urgent messages through it with a sense of purpose.

“Experiment 42-6 is in sight. Location between ____ and ____ street. Shots have been fired. Target is down. Holding fire. Requesting backup to surround and secure the perimeter.”

As the guard continues to relay your coordinates, fear grips you like a vice. Your thoughts whirl in a frenzy, your breath quickening with each passing moment. How could they have found you already? The realisation hits you like a physical blow—you hadn't even detected their approach. Distracted and unguarded, you're consumed by the terror of being apprehended. It can’t end like this, it just can’t! They’ll take you back! Put you back in that room with him ! You can’t go back! Everything Dr. Philips did would have been for…  

You shake your head trying to get a grip. You’re panicking as you desperately try to think of what to do. You can’t think straight when you panic. You can’t control yourself when you panic. Your soul is louder than ever, it’s magic rising up in your throat, desperate to break free as you try to force it back down. Not yet. Please, not yet. People get hurt when you use your magic, you get hurt. You’re not supposed to, even if Dr. Philips told you too..

“Target is locked. Preparing the tranq.” 

You’re snapped out of your spiralling and turn to look at the guards again. In the distance, a fleet of black trucks hurtles down the road towards you, their numbers multiplying by the second.

“Tranq set. Ready.”

Your eyes go wide. 

Dr. Philips’ words echo in your head. 

“Go! Now!”

“Aim.”

You don’t even notice your pitch black magic crawling up your arms and legs, hands and feet becoming claw-like.

“ NOW!”

“FIRE.”

Your eyes slit again as your instincts take over. 

In a flash, you’re sprinting down the street on all fours with a speed unmatched by anything you've ever achieved before. Each push off the ground propels you forward with the force of a speeding car, the tranq darts having no chance of hitting you. 

The guards scramble to their vehicles, while other black vans whiz past in relentless pursuit. Amidst the chaos, the guard with the talkie fumbles at his belt to pull it out, finally able to grab it and shoves it to his ear quickly.

“ALL UNITS TO _______! EXPERIMENT 42-6 IS ON THE MOVE. REPEAT. EXPERIMENT 42-6 IS ON THE MOVE! CODE RED! SUBJECT IS USING MAGIC AND IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS! THIS HAS UPGRADED TO AN A1 CLASS SITUATION! PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!” The guard shouts down the phone before buckling in and quickly speeds off to join the rest of the units in hot pursuit after you. 

~~ ~~~

Speeding down the road, the wind blows your hood back to reveal your ears fully now. Everything’s going past in a blur. You’re on fight or flight as your brain is trying to make split second decisions on which directions to take. The vans behind are far but steadily getting closer, you can hear the loud bangs from their weapons as they try shooting at you. When you’re about to turn down one road, you’re countered by several more trucks as they come straight towards you to join the chase, forcing you to go in another direction.

Unbeknownst to you, a dark entity looms high above a city building, his ebony tentacles writhing as he watches you with interest. A crescent smile stretches across his face, relishing the unusual spectacle unfolding before him.

“ Hmm…. ” His low, rumbling voice murmurs, filled with ominous contemplation.

Next to him, he feels the pressure change as one of his subordinates appears in a puff of purple magic. 

“The targets’ been taken care of. It took a while since Dust, Horror and Killer are literally nowhere to be seen. They always leave me to do the actual work.” The subordinate huffs in annoyance. “Do you know how hard it is to get a target when you’ve got the police on your ass? I coulda used their help.” 

The dark being remains silent, his single teal eye glued to your moving being until you’re out of sight while his underling continues completely oblivious. 

“There were also all these military people driving around. I thought they were coming for us, but they just drove straight past, they didn’t even care about bodies lying around—” 

“ Cross .” 

The monochrome skeleton startles slightly at the interruption.

“Uh, yes Nightmare?”

Nightmare pauses a breath before speaking, his cheshire grin growing uncomfortably wide as he turns to look at Cross, his tentacles twisting in anticipation.

“ There’s been a change of plan. ” 

~~ ~~~

You, on the other hand, were not gonna hold out much longer. Every turn you take leaves you intercepted by facility militants, darting you down a different way. Your muscles are burning and your magic is depleting quickly along with your adrenaline. Both your physical body and magic reserves have been pushed to their absolute limits, and you can feel yourself slowing down. 

Unfortunately your luck finally runs out when you make a wrong turn and are forced to stop at a blind T junction. The left and right roads have already been blocked off by barricades of vehicles, military blockades and armoured personnel, their guns locked and loaded onto you.

Looking around frantically, you turn to the road you just came from but the vehicles already chasing you were quick to catch up, their wheels screeching to a halt in rapid succession and their guards piling out before taking aim at you.

One of the guard officials in front speaks to you using a voice amplifying device. 

“Experiment 42-6, we have you surrounded. Come with us willingly or we will be forced to shoot!”

You frantically look around you, practically gasping for air as you cling to your wounded arm. The surge of magic that acted as additional adrenaline is already receding from your arms and legs, causing the throb in your arm to come back tenfold. Your legs tremble, muscles undoubtedly torn from the massive exertion your magic forced your body to go through, clearly not able to handle it. You can feel your vision start to blur, and with nowhere else to go…

You were truly trapped.

“Experiment 42-6 if you do not come with us now, we will shoot!” The guard official declares again.

Desperately, you try to think of a way to escape the dire situation you find yourself in. You can already feel the magic in your soul thrashing against the confines of your body, crying to be unleashed.

With no other option, you close your eyes.

The world around you going silent as the guards wait with bated breath.

You take a deep breath.

“FIRE NOW! NOW NOW!”

But it’s too late.

You..

Scream.

.

.

.

What happens next is what can only be described as something one would see in a disaster movie.

Finally letting forth the magic contained in your very being that was your soul. It rises up your throat and out your mouth in the form of ear-piercing, glass shattering banshee shriek that bellowed a force so powerful it sent everything within its range hurdling violently away from you. 

Cars went flying, their windows smashing and alarms being set off in chaotic unison as they barrel in all sorts of directions. Some collide into buildings, others with each other, and a few even strike down the militants themselves, many crushed by the weight of the hurling projectiles.

The guards were also thrown back violently, the sheer volume of your voice so loud it ruptured the ear drums of every human within range. Those, not already dead from the push back and flying cars, were left writhing on the ground, crying out in pain as their hands clawed at their bleeding ears in a pitiful attempt to block out the assaulting magic

Now, the monster guards faced a far worse fate. Your magic was designed to completely disrupt the flow of all other magical beings. It’s powerful vibration stopping the natural flow of magic that monsters needed to keep them alive. Essentially, monsters would suffocate if they hadn’t already dusted on the spot. 

Some of the more resilient but unlucky souls could be seen convulsing on the ground, their mouths frothing as their bodies spasmed and thrashed violently, their magic trying desperately to circulate around their bodies, fighting to keep them alive. Unable to, their bodies slowly disintegrated. The pain must be beyond anything you can imagine, dying instantly would have been far kinder than this kind of prolonged suffering to an inevitable death.

You were also not spared from punishment.

“GHK—”

You feel your throat constrict, your scream coming to an abrupt stop as your gag reflex is triggered and your throat forces up an ungodly amount of blood. 

You fall to your hands and knees, gagging and spluttering as you cough up the rest of the blood, hearing it splatter on the ground. 

Your throat and vocal chords have definitely been ripped to shreds. You’d know cause this happened the last time they tested your scream. You couldn’t talk for several months, even after all the medical treatment and green magic they gave you. You were lucky your voice came back at all, though with how little you spoke to begin with, it didn’t inconvenience you too much.

Raising your heavy head, you scan the devastation that lay around you. Your eyes are blurring and you can feel yourself about the pass out. But you can’t yet. You need to escape before they send more back up. However, your body won’t listen to you anymore.

With no more left in you, you collapse to the ground. 

Your vision starts to go black but just before you lose consciousness, you feel a shadow loom over you. Lifting your head weakly behind you, you see the form of a black figure with four dark tendrils sprouting from behind it. 

Making contact with its lone teal eye, its piercing gaze scrutinises your feeble state as you feel a profound weight in its presence.

With that, you’re finally consumed by the dark, your eyes slowly close and your head hits the ground. The memory of his foreboding, pearly grin lingers, the final image etched in your mind before everything fades to black.

Chapter Text

Observing most of the chase from the heights of numerous city buildings and skyscrapers—keeping up with you had certainty proved to be quite the challenge—you finally came to a stop in the middle of the cross roads, cornered by the armoured forces, their weapons all pointed at you, ready to shoot as you looked around desperately for an escape. Nightmare watched the entire interaction play out with great interest.

Cross, on the other hand, remained puzzled by Nightmare's mention of a 'change of plans.' Questioning only led to being told to ’shut up' and to ‘follow him,' as Nightmare led the way, taking several shortcuts across a significant portion of the city.

Finally catching up with him, Cross was left puffing and out of breath, bent over with his hands on his knees. “Stars Nightmare, what the fucks gotten into you? Can’t you at least tell me what the heck’s going o—”

“Silence.” Nightmare commanded.

Cross quickly looked up at Nightmare to see him standing at the edge of the building they were currently on, looking down over it. He huffs and straightens up before walking over to see what all the fuss was about. Casting his eye lights down, he finally spies the commotion that Nightmare had him running across the city over.

Down in the street, surrounded by an unreasonable amount of military enforcements, even by his standards, was a small, human female that looked weak and badly injured. 

Cross raised a brow bone, his expression sceptical. This is what Nightmare had dragged him across the city over? He was about to open his mouth to comment when he finally heard it.

The ungodly demon screech that blasted from your tiny body, obliterating everything in its path. His eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the destruction you left before you. The effect you had to make the cars go flying and humans scream in pain were impressive enough, but the monsters, that was a whole other kind of horrific. He watched as the ones that hadn’t already dusted on immediate impact were sezuring and convulsing violently, their magic sent haywire. Their bodies dusting at different rates while the magic within fought to keep them alive.

He watched in horror, thinking he had already experienced the full force of your magic until he felt it. A wave of intense vibration surged towards him from your scream, even from his lofty vantage point, causing him to stumble and clutch his chest where his soul resided. Gasping for air, it felt as though his soul had skipped a beat. He could feel his soul racing, struggling to restore its normal rhythm. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as he took deep breaths. You were truly terrifying.

“D-Did you SEE that?”

Turning his head to his leader, his eyes go wide to the absolute ecstatic expression Nightmare has in his face right now. His grin uncomfortably wide and sharp, he’s never seen Nightmare look so… happy, it was almost manic. His tentacles were writhing excitedly as Nightmare drank up the chaotic, negative energy the small human had provided.

“I think the better question is, did you feel that?”

Turning, Cross sees the rest of his comrades, who had finally decided to show up.

“How could you not?” he huffs in response to Dust's statement before managing to regain himself. The rest of the gang peer over the ledge to watch the madness unfold.

“That’s some…crazy dangerous…magic she’s got.” Horror mumbles, his large, lone red eye light enlarging as he watches you use magic he’s never seen before.

“Definitely would not wanna be in direct range of a blast like that, we could feel the vibration several blocks away.” Dust adds in agreement.

“Ah, so that’s where the pest ran off to. I see what you meant about the tail now.” Killer remarks, swanning up to Cross and leaning a deliberately heavy elbow on his shoulder, making him stumble with a grunt, still not quite steady from the second hand blast of your scream as he shoves Killer off of him with an annoyed ‘get off’.

“She’s got…ears too…like a kitty.” Horror chimes in. “Pretty sure you… like those…don’t cha?” he teases, nudging Killer with his large elbow. 

Killer’s smile becomes strained as he grits his teeth. Unfortunately, his love for cats does not extend to you, especially after evading him the way you did. His pride is far too big to be damaged by some weird mew mew kissy cutie look-alike, even with your crazy magic blocking powers. 

“Oh sure, but I’d love to get a closer look. Although my curiosity might ‘kill’ this cat.” Killer snickers to himself as he summons his knife, a fresh stream of liquid hate pouring from his eye sockets again.

“That will not be necessary.”

All heads turn to Nightmare as he finally breaks his silence. The calculating look on his face leaves the rest of them puzzled by his statement, especially Killer, until his dark eye sockets widen and his face drops as he comes to a realisation.

“No. No, no no you can’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking! There’s no way!” 

Nightmare's smile merely widens more, relishing the disbelief emanating from his subordinate. Eyes never leaving your form, he watches as your scream stops abruptly, falling to your hands and knees as you proceed to cough up a large amount of blood.

“I believe the show is ending. It is time for the grand finale.” Nightmare chuckles darkly to himself as shadows form around him to teleport down below.

“No no wait!— aw motherFUCKER!” Killer swears before turning and throwing his arms up in frustration. Nightmare is already gone, having appeared down below by your collapsed body. Dust and Horror snicker at his misery. 

“Did I miss something?” Cross questions the remaining three, clearly not understanding the inside joke between them.

“I’ll tell you…on the way down.” Horror cracks a wide grin, placing a large hand on Cross’s shoulder before hitching a ride on his shortcut.

The two skeletons teleport down by their bosses' side. Dust is next to go, his magic surrounding him as he prepares a shortcut but not before making one more dig to the last grumbling skeleton.

“Aww, what’s the matter Killer? ‘Cat’ got your tongue? I didn’t know you were gonna be such a ‘pussy’ about thi—”

Within seconds, Killer turns and launches the knife still in his hand towards Dust in a burst of rage, but his efforts are futile as Dust teleports away seconds before it hits him, the knife cutting through the wisps of red and blue magic that linger in his place as it slowly fades away in the air. The knife tumbling down into the city below.

“…”

“That was my favourite fucking knife.”

~~~ ~~

Down below, Nightmare stood over your crumpled figure, ignoring the chaos around him as he was able to study you closer now. You were small and frail for an adult human female. How could so much destruction be unleashed from someone so weak? Covered in blood and scrapes, your long, messy hair was splayed on the ground and around your face. Your attire, a simple white dress now stained with blood, dirt and scuffs was overshadowed by a hoodie that seemed large for you. You definitely look like just another pathetic human he encounters on his trips to whatever AU he’s decided to terrorise. The only difference being the feline ears and tail you have and the unusual magic signature buzzing from inside your soul. You could be a human mage, that wouldn’t be unheard of, but there’s something strange emanating from you that he can’t quite put his finger on.

“Fascinating,” is all he says as both Cross and Horror appear behind him. 

“And then she…ran up the wall… and jumped over… before Killer could…do anything.” Horror snickered as he recounted Cross with the events from earlier.

“Ah, perfect timing.” Nightmare says coolly as one of his thick tentacles scoops you up.

“Hold this.” He says when he all but shoves you into Cross’s arms in a disregarding manner, the poor skeleton squawking as he struggles to catch you and distribute your prone weight properly. Not that you weighed much at all, the sudden gesture just caught him off guard.

“The heck?! W-Wait a minute!” Cross looks from Nightmare to you then back to Nightmare. “Y-You can’t just!—”

“Take her back to the castle. ” Nightmare interrupts. It was clear he enjoyed using his authority to shut down any form of back talk.  “ The rest of us will join you shortly.”

“What!! You can’t be serious!?” Cross panics at the thought of being left alone with a human that can cause so much devastation. “You’re gonna leave me alone with her?! What if she wakes up? How and I gonna—“

Cross’ complaints stop short when he looks down at you, holding you princess style as your head rests against his chest. Now getting a better look of you, he could see the soft, feminine features of your face as you breathe gently. His eye lights study your facial features for a moment before he groans and lets about a begrudging ‘Fine.’

“Good. ” Nightmare waves a hand nonchalantly, summoning a swirling, black portal leading back to his castle. “ Judging by the physical and magical exertion her body just went through, I don’t think she’ll be waking up for a while. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I can…take her…if you want.” Horror offers as he looms in for a closer look at you, his red eye light dilating as a large, blue tongue slithers out his mouth and slowly licks his teeth.

Cross cringes and turns away from him. “Gross, put that thing away. Boss wants to keep her, not eat her. I’ll be fine.” He affirms before heading towards the portal with you in his arms.

“D-Don’t move...” 

All three skeletons turn their attention towards the unfamiliar voice until they spot the same guard official that was speaking to you before. Somehow still alive, though barely. His ears were bleeding and he had cuts and bruises already forming from the push back of your scream. His gun was held pointing at them.

“Y-You can’t take her. She’s property of Bradfords Magic and Medicine Research Facility and the M&HIA. Drop her now o-or I’ll be forced to shoot. The officer struggles to suppress his quivering voice, trying to stand to his feet but his legs are too wobbly, causing him to fall on one knee, grunting in pain.

“I-I’ve already called for backup. Get down on the ground and put your hands b-behind your back.”

Nightmare's smile widens dangerously, his chuckle dark and foreboding while his thick tentacles move behind him eagerly. He proceeds to walk towards the officer with slow, heavy footsteps, his hands nestled in the pockets of his hoodie. 

“Is that so?” He ponders, tilting his head to the side, his single sharp eye light piercing into the eyes of the man knelt before him. As he gets closer to the guard, the man's shaking hands keep the gun pointed towards him. Nightmare's dark figure casts a looming shadow over him with each step.

“Well, as of today, we will be relieving her from your care.” 

An ominous pressure hangs over the man as his heart drops, the monster, no, entity before him instilling a deep, all consuming feeling of dread. Shaking, he breathes heavily, too frozen with fear to pull the trigger even with Nightmare standing right in front of him.

In a flash, a tentacle grabs the guard, wrapping around his neck and pulling him up towards the immortal demigod. The guard's fate is sealed when he drops his gun to claw at the slick, black appendage coiling tighter around his neck—a very grave mistake that would cost him dearly.

Unfazed by the man's pathetic attempts to escape, Nightmare watches the guard try desperately to free himself from his grasp, guttural, choking noises sputtering from him as he struggles for air. The guard's eyes widen, full of desperation, as he stares into the face of death. His fear is delicious.

Pulling him closer. Nightmare spoke calmly, completely unaffected by the man’s turmoil.

“She is no longer your concern.”

And with that, Nightmare snaps the man’s neck with a quick crack and the man falls limp.

With that out of the way, Nightmare discards the guard's body with a simple flick of his tentacle and turns to the other two skeletons that observed the interaction, just in time to see Dust appear shortly before Killer who was inspecting the knife he threw for dents and scratches.

“Aw, did we miss the party already?” Killer teases as he catches the tail end of Nightmare tossing the guard's body to the ground. Dust looks to Cross and sees him continuing to the portal with you in his arms.

“Looks like you’re not the only one with a pet kitten anymore, eh Killer?”

Looking up from his knife, Killer catches Cross just as he travels through the portal with you. His smile strains and his dark eye sockets narrow.

Dust leans into Killer, his smile becoming crooked and manic as he whispers in a soft but condescending voice. “Might have some competition now, not even you can compete with magic like that.”

Killer growls a low threat to Dust, his grip tightening around the knife. God he wants to slash the stupid grin off Dust's skull. But there will be time for that when they get back home.

“Fortunately for you, it seems the ‘party’ has just begun.” Nightmare gestures to the incoming wave of more black vans before turning to face them. His tentacles spreading out as they moved agitatedly, making Nightmare appear bigger.

Killer shoves past Dust's shoulder, twirling the knife in his hand. “Great cause I’ve been itching to sink my knife into someone all day and I could use the stress relief.” He says as he squares himself next to Nightmare.

“Show those guys who's really losing their ‘edge’” . Killer adds, addressing no one in particular. However, in his dark sockets, a single white eye light shines faintly, glaring deep into Dust as his sockets narrow.

Dust merely shrugs as he and Horror join Nightmare's other side, ready to take on this wave of incoming enemies. His red and blue heterochromia eyes stare down into Killer’s, a silent sign of challenge.

Oh yeah. Dust is so dead when we get back.

“Perfect. Time to show these flesh bags what a real ‘nightmare’ looks like.”

~~ ~~~

The phone rings upon a dark mahogany desk situated in a pristine, luxurious office. Through the large glass window behind his plush ornate chair, a breathtaking view unfolds. Picking it up, the man hears the young voice of his secretary; her usual soft and professional tone has been replaced with something shaky and uncertain.

“Speak.”

“S-Sir, I’ve got the secondary chief in command of security at the facility on the line for you. He’s speaking rather frantically, insisting it’s urgent and that he needs to speak to you at once. Shall I connect him through?”

The man emits a deep, gruffled sigh, running a hand down his aged, scowling face before making a grunt of approval. He hears the beep on the line as it connects to the caller. Immediately his ears are assaulted with the chaotic sounds of gunfire, along with the shouts and cries of men and a strange blasting sound followed by more screams.

“S-Sir, this is Lieutenant James Downing from security.” The young man’s voice rushes down the phone, his breathing rapid while he tries to relay the message as quickly as possible. “Experiment 42-6 has escaped the facility b-but we were able to track down her whereabouts to Ebbot city. Our men managed to injure her but she has already used her magic to take out about 50% of our mercenaries.”

Another loud explosion can be heard then what sounds like the phone being dropped, followed by the scrambling swears of James as his voice seems further away before he’s put back on the phone. 

The man is upright in his seat now, his hand tightening around the phone.

“Is that her?! If she’s already used her scream she should be out of commission! How is she still fighting back?! What are you fucking imbeciles doing out there?! We give you tranquillisers for a reason, goddamnit!” The man shouts down the phone.

“M-Mr Bradford she is! It’s not her! She’s GAH— s-she’s been captured by what looks like a group of rogue skeleton monsters?” James' panicked voice takes a questioning tone at the end; even he doesn’t know what’s going on.”

Mr. Bradford doesn’t speak. The sound of destruction echoes down the phone as his free hand tightens against the arm of his chair.

“P-Please Sir, we’re being massacred out here, you need to send out Experiment 41—WAIT NO NO NO!” The young lieutenant's words are cut short as he suddenly screams and the line goes dead.

“…”

The air is thick with silence as Mr. Bradford remains in his chair, unmoving. The phone still held to his ear echoes with disconnected dial tone in the quiet room before he gradually lowers it.

Several minutes pass before he slowly stands to his feet, turning to the large glass window that presents the scenic view.

Suddenly, he roars with anger, hurling the phone through the window as the large panels smash to pieces, glass shattering everywhere. His breathing is ragged, seething with anger as he hears the rushing sound of heels clicking down the hallway and the door opening.

“Sir, are you alright? I heard the sound of- Oh my gosh! What happened?” 

Turning with rage in his eyes, he stared at his secretary. She stands motionless, staring back at him with a shocked expression, waiting for him to say something.

“…”

“Get me my driver. I need to head to the research facility. NOW.” He demands. 

The poor girl jolts before blurting out a quick “Yes sir, right away” before dashing down the hallway to do as instructed.

Chapter Text

“A monster's soul, much like a humans, is heart shaped. The distinction between the two being that while a human soul is upright, displaying the bright colour of its main soul trait, a monster’s soul is white and inverted.”

Dr. Philips continues to read from the textbook at the desk you two were seated at. Your little child legs far too short for the adult chair, swinging them as you listen intently and follow along the pages while she reads.”

“While human souls can have a variety of colours to signify the various traits a person might have, a monster's traits are instead reflected in the colour of their magic.” She points to the two diagrams, a monster and a human, to show the differences between them.

“What colour is my soul?” You ask eagerly, peering up at your teacher. “Is my soul like a human or a monster? Is it white or do I have a coloured soul? When can I use magic!” You exclaim, enthusiasm building with each question.

Dr. Philips chuckles at you. “Woah slow down, that’s a lot of questions there.” She says, placing a hand on your head between your ears, gently stroking to calm down your excitement. You let out a soft purr, enjoying the so rarely given affection as you nuzzle into her hand.

“I just wanna know!” Your eyes sparkled with innocent wonder. It was hard to contain your energy, you truly loved when you were taught new things.

Dr. Philips smiled, you reminded her so much of herself when she was little. The desire to understand how the world worked around you, eager in your pursuit of knowledge. She bet you could have been a wonderful little scholar.

“I know you do, but there’s still so much even we are learning about you. You’ll have to be patient, all questions will be answered in time.” She answers, hoping that’s enough to tide you over.

Deflating slightly, you huff out an exaggerated “oookay” as she guides you back to the book to continue your studies. Time goes by as you listen to her read in comfortable silence, though after a while you feel one more question bubble up inside you. One that you’ve been wanting to ask for a while.

“Dr. Philips.. what am I?”

Stopping mid sentence, Dr. Philips’ looks down at you with a shocked expression, as though she was not expecting such a question from you.

You continue to stare back at her worriedly, eyes desperate for an actual answer this time. Maybe you shouldn’t have asked that. She said she’d answer your questions eventually, but this has been eating away at you for so long. Maybe just once she could just tell you.

You watch as her mouth opens to say something but as she does, the world around you warbles and distorts, her voice becoming a fading mumble as a static rings in your ears.

“Yo-ou ar-eee ——”

The world around you shifts, looking around frantically you blink and suddenly you’re not with the Doctor anymore. The soft, cosy atmosphere of your time studying together was replaced with something foreboding. You feel a hot breath at your neck when you realise you're on your back and he’s on top of you again. Back in the stark, empty room with him, his weight crushing you down and claws sinking into your skin. Your panic immediately spikes and you thrash to throw him off of you, eyes darting around you until spot the observers in the other room, watching you with cold, lifeless eyes. You cry out for help, tears running down your face but unsurprisingly they do nothing but stare. He leans in close to your ear, heated breath puffing against the side of your face making you cringe away.

“Yo-ou’re-e m-mi-in-ne-”

You flail while the world around you shifts again, melting away as you close your eyes and use all your strength to push him off of you with a hard shove. Once you open them you’re back in the facility hallway. Breathing hard and entirely confused, you spot Dr. Philips in front of you, gun pointed toward the security door as the armoured guards on the other side were about to get it open.

You remember this, this was the last time you saw her.

“Go! Now!” She shouts, head not turning away from the door as it starts to slide open.

“Dr.Philips! W-Wait!”

“NOW!” She screams at you and begins open firing. Before you're able to comprehend what’s happening your legs take off on their own, an action you weren’t in control of.

Running down the hall, everything passes by you quickly in a blur, the shouts and sound of gunfire echoing in the distance. Your sensitive nose picking up the sudden heavy scent of blood making more tears spill from your eyes. You shake your head trying not to think about who’s it might belong to. The halls seem endless as you keep running, on and on with no end in sight, your heart thumps hard in your chest and your soul rages within you, crying out for its release. It’s too loud, everything is too loud. The ringing in your ears is disorienting. As you run, you pass by an unfamiliar shadowy mass that sends a chill up your spine. That wasn’t there when this all happened and staring at it only made your vision fuzz and the world around you go static. The ringing rises in intensity till it hits its peak, your hands fly up to your ears to try and shut it out making you barely able to make out the voice under all the noise.

“Truly fascinating.”

~~ ~~~

You awake. Eyes shooting open as your lungs kick into action. Gasping you take a deep, dragging breath like you had been holding it for an eternity. You lay there for a moment, still, save for the rising and falling of your chest. Recollecting, you gather your hazy thoughts, trying to soften your breathing and lower your elevated heart rate.

‘A dream?’ You question mentally, mind running over the events you had seen. Thinking for a moment, you take one final deep breath, closing your eyes and letting it out with a calm, slow sigh. You were dreaming. It was just a dream.

You open your blurry eyes, blinking a couple of times until they settle on the stoned ceiling above you. Focusing, you realise you don't recognise it.

Wait. Where were you?

Immediately you’re alert and your heart rate elevates again. Scared that perhaps the facility had caught you and taken you back. That all your efforts, all the Doctor’s efforts, had been for nothing.

You try to sit up but the first thing you notice is the severe muscle ache coming from your arms and legs, forcing you to fall back down with a thud. You have zero strength in your limbs, they felt so sore and wobbly. Your left arm hurt especially, inspecting it showed that the bullet hole was still there, though your magic had already knitted the skin back together for the most part. It took a while but after you fought yourself into an upright position, you looked down to see you’ve been placed on a bare mattress in the corner of a room you’ve never been in before. With difficulty, you scoot yourself back to lean against the grey, bricked wall, puffing from just a little bit of movement.

Now upright, you were finally able to see your surroundings.

You seemed to have been placed in a cell, the floors, walls and ceiling made up of cold, grey bricks. In front of you was a metal door which you presumed was locked. Other than that, there was nothing else in the room with you. Tilting your head up to the wall you were leaning against, you see a single, square hole that allowed in the light with three metal bars protruding from it, preventing escape to the outside.

Closing your eyes, you sniff at the cool breeze coming in. The scent was crisp and natural, soothing unlike the polluted air of the city or the clinical smell of the facility. You allowed it to wash over you, comforted by the sensation. It meant you were alive.

Your moment of solace didn’t last long however when you hear the metal door creak. The hinges old and rusty from disuse as it swings open to reveal another skeleton?

He walks in uninterested until his eye lights clock your form and he startles slightly, realising you had moved from the state you were in since he last checked on you.

“Ah. You’re awake.” Is all he says.

Coming in completely albeit a bit more cautiously this time. You’re able to get a better look at him.

Unlike the other one you encountered, this skeleton was dressed in black and white, his unusual clothing crisscrossing over his body. It looked like he wore a caped coat with a fluffy hood and black shorts but there was so much fabric you felt his outfit was more complicated than that. Looking up to his face, you could see a red scar that zigzagged under his right cheek. His white eye lights regarded you with uncertainty.

“So uh,” he pauses. “You um, feeling okay?” He asks awkwardly as he rubs the back of his neck, feeling a little out of his depth.

There is a moment of silence while his question hangs in the air. You stare at him, not really sure how to answer, this whole situation is really peculiar. Though you suppose you should say something when you see the skeleton start to sweat? Little drops of purple liquid form on his skull the longer you don’t answer. How strange. You wonder how he did that.

However the moment your vocal cords vibrate to speak, you’re thrown back by the harsh sting that hits you hard followed by a heated throb in your throat. Your aching arm comes up to your neck as you remember the events that led up to this, predominantly your use of your scream that’s resulted in your current condition. You must not have realised sooner since you’ve been asleep which allowed your vocal cords to rest from disuse. But now that you’ve made an attempt to talk, the pain hits you at full force.

You swallow only to jolt at the excruciating pain, not helping that your mouth is also dry.

“Oh uh, I’ve put some food and water there for you.”

You look next to you and do indeed see a tray containing a plate of food and a glass of water. How did you miss that earlier?

Without hesitation, you grab the glass with a shaky arm and rush it to your face, downing the contents. Your throat pains as you gulp it down but the coolness helps soothe the sting. Once finished, you take a big breath of air. You were grateful for the water but it was nowhere near enough. God, how long had you been asleep for? You can feel your stomach churning in on itself.

Looking to the plate of food, you recognise it to be a sandwich. You’ve had them many times at the facility, the contents often differing though this one appeared to be a meat sandwich, probably ham. Weakly reaching for it and placing it on your lap, you’re careful this time to actually check if it’s edible or possibly been tampered with. Inspecting it with a sniff.

“Oh uh, it’s not poisoned.” The monochrome skeleton interjects. “It’s monster food so it should help with the pain.” He says sheepishly, gesturing to yourself. “The food is also fresh.” He adds the last statement. Though with how hungry you are, you doubt you really would have cared if it was fresh or not.

Satisfied with your inspection, you take a bite and chew. You can feel the magic tingling on your tongue, dissolving a little quicker than human food which you were grateful for. It meant less contents you had to squeeze down your aching throat. Coating the food thoroughly with your saliva, you swallow and only cringe slightly as it slides down. Letting out a sigh, you could feel your stomach was happy to finally be filled with something.

Continuing to munch away, you feel the pains in your arms and legs slowly ebb away to a dull but bearable ache. Some strength coming back to your muscles as you finally finish the last piece.

The skeleton before you didn’t leave however, he just looked around the room trying not to stare at you while you ate. Seeming particularly interested in a crack in the wall.

Once finished, you flexed your arms and your legs. Testing the state of condition now that you have some healing magic in you. The cuts and scrapes had thankfully closed up and the hole in your arm was healed completely now. You tuck your legs under yourself while your hand reaches for your throat. Letting out a vibrating hum, the sharp sting comes back again, the healing magic within the food having barely touched it.

Ah, just as you thought. It’s gonna be a long while before you can use your scream again, or talk for that matter. That’s gonna make communicating and defending yourself difficult, though you knew the consequences that came with using your scream and you did it anyway.

You sigh and look up at the skeleton, his attention now back on you. Swallowing a few times, you take a breath.

“Thank you..” you quietly breathe out your gratitude, soft and airy like a feather.

His sockets widened a fraction and you thought you could see the faintest dusting of purple over his cheeks. Though you feel you must have been seeing things as he looks away quickly.

“You’re welcome.” He rushes out.

With that said the two of you remain in silence until the skeleton perks up.

“Oh, I better go tell Nightmare you’re awake.”

“That will not be necessary, I already know.”

The monochrome skeleton jumps, his face forming a silent scream but the only thing coming from him is a high pitch squeak. He flings his body to the side to reveal something that made your heart drop.

Behind him standing in the doorway was a being like nothing you had ever seen. The only familiarity being that it also looked like a skeleton, though this one was covered head to toe in a dark, inky substance that even coated the entirety of his clothing. It looked slick and oily, coating his bones in a black, tar like sludge. His clothing was simple enough being that of a hoodie, jumper, shorts and some kind of fuzzy slip ons. Though the main focus of your attention were the four massive tentacles sprouting from his back, twisting lazily behind him, and the unsettling pressure that exuded from him. He wore a wide, crescent smile that looked anything but friendly. The moment he steps into the room, you have to fight the urge to cower before him. Now that you think about it, both skeletons were so much bigger and taller than you.

“I see you are not dead. That is good.” He states with a calm arrogance, his deep baritone resonating through your body, lone cyan eye light staring into yours. You’re unable to look away, both frightened and mesmerised by his piercing gaze. You notice his other eye is covered by the same substance covering the rest of his body.

Managing to pull your eyes away, you flick them to the other skeleton in the room, almost looking for reassurance that you’re not in any danger but find none when you see him with his hand on the wall, taking breaths as he tries to recover from being startled, more purple sweat forming on his brow. Not very reassuring in the slightest.

The being you remember being referred to as Nightmare follows your glance to the other skeleton and rolls his eye light.

“You really are pathetic if you can’t even handle when I make an entrance. You need more spatial awareness, pull yourself together.” He scoffs at the poor skeleton.

The monochrome skeleton growls lowly in response, mumbling under his breath. “You’re doing it on purpose...”

Nightmare merely ignores the statement and turns his attention back to you, leaving the other skeleton to grumble miserably.

“Can you stand?”

Eyes shooting back to Nightmare, you realise he is engaging with you directly now and has asked you a question. You glance down at your legs that are still tucked under you.

Well, only one way to find out.

Purchasing your hands against the wall, you use it as leverage to slowly pull yourself to your feet. The ache in your arms and legs coming back a little harder now that you were using them to get up but thankfully it was manageable, you’d hate to imagine how much it would have hurt if you hadn’t eaten the monster food.

Once successfully up, you look back at Nightmare. He hums in approval, replying with a curt “Good” before turning his attention back to the other skeleton.

“Escort her to my study. And make sure you don’t keep me waiting.”

Without waiting for a reply Nightmare sinks through the ground, swallowed by a pool of inky darkness and vanishes. You stare at the spot in awe, mouth agape and looking completely baffled leaving the skeleton that’s left to groan audibly.

“God, he’s such a pretentious ass.” He says running his hand down his face, he already felt exhausted. Wanting to get this over with, he turns back to you, only to realise you’re much closer now to the spot Nightmare was standing in, crouched back on the ground on all fours patting the ground fervently with your hands like you’re trying to get it to spit him back out.

You look up at him, noticing he’s staring at you and you stop, like a deer caught in the headlights. Heat rushes to your face as you stare back at him in silence.

There was a long, pregnant pause.

“Pfft-” is the sound you hear from him followed by a pleasant chuckle. You watch him close his eyes and lift the back of his hand to his mouth, trying to stifle his amusement. His masculine laugh brings colour to your already flushed face as you move to stand quickly, embarrassed to be caught you rub your arms and look down at the ground, your ears dropping a little. You got a little carried away there.

Managing to compose himself he finally looks back at you with a genuine smile on his face, seeming to have cheered him up a little.

“Heh c’mon, let’s go.” He says, walking toward and out the door. You follow along but not before you stop in the entrance way. Looking back, you glance at the spot Nightmare had disappeared from for a moment before continuing to walk through, allowing the skeleton to close the creaky door behind you.

Chapter Text

The walk to… wherever you were going was, for the most part, silent. Now outside the cell, looking around you could see that place you were in was absolutely massive. The hallway you walked along was long and ornate, made of large, white brick that was decorated with fine tapestries and elegant paintings. All of which you stared at in awe, admiring their beautiful craftsmanship as you walked along. You truly had never seen anything like it and you wished you could take your time admiring each one but as you slowed down, the skeleton in front would remind you to keep up.

The building you were in reminded you of the ones you had read in the picture books Dr. Philips had given you at the facility when you were a child. Stories of princes and princesses in beautiful castles. Perhaps that is where you were right now. Your soul fluttered at the thought.

“My name's Cross, by the way.”

Dragging your attention away from the wall decor, you look back to the skeleton in front, seeing him peeking over his shoulder slightly to look at you.

Cross? Unusual name. But that explained his outfit you suppose.

Unable to talk, you nod your head at him and watch as he looks back ahead seeming satisfied with your acknowledgement.

The rest of the walk was quiet, though you didn’t mind. It gave you a chance to admire your surroundings as you travelled through to a large entrance hall, then up a flight of stairs and another hallway, all of which were decorated with classy furniture and more wonderful art pieces before finally stopping outside a door.

Cross raised his hand towards the solid oak and knocked twice.

“Enter.”

With permission, he goes to open the door though you take a step back suddenly feeling very nervous. You can feel an exuding pressure even from outside the door. He looks back at you, noticing the anxious expression on your face.

“He won’t hurt you.” Cross tries to reassure you, though you stare at him unconvinced. He was honestly unconvinced himself.

“J-Just don’t annoy him.” He rushes out and opens the door, gesturing for you to enter.

You hesitate for a moment , though reluctantly you do as he asks and walk through, Cross following in close behind.

Once inside you indeed realise you’re in a study. The room was large and spacious, bookshelves lining the walls, filled with a plethora of literature that made your ears perk up. At the end of the room, Nightmare himself was seated at a massive, wooden desk with piles of paperwork scattered around him. To the side of the room, next to yet another bookshelf, was a seating area that included a sofa, a low table and a plush armchair. Tying it all together was a large, thick rug in the middle of the room.

The room was silent, save for the scribbling sound coming from Nightmare as he wrote at his desk, an inked pen with a large feather protruding from the end of it held in his grasp.

You and Cross stand there for a moment, you can feel the atmosphere weighing down on you more now that you were inside. It was tangibly heavy and seemed to zap all the life out of you. You felt it when you first saw Nightmare, it was coming from him, this foreboding presence he omitted making your instincts scream that he was highly dangerous and that you needed to be very careful.

The two of you waited until it seemed Cross couldn’t take it anymore, feeling the need to announce himself by coughing awkwardly.

“Uh, I’ve brought the human.”

You wait for his reply, though Nightmare continues to write, scribbling along the page.

“I can see that.” His tone was sarcastic, ironically not once lifting his gaze from his work.

You glance at Cross seeing he’s looking annoyed again. You go to rub your arms for comfort, starting to get antsy from the suspense. Picking up on that in his peripheral, Nightmare sighs, a hint of annoyance in his tone as one of his thick tentacles makes a move, slowly stretching to the side of the room behind a bookshelf.

You watch its movement, both intrigued and wary as it pulls back, a wooden chair in its grasp as it brings it round to the front of his desk and plops it down with a loud bang. The sound makes both of you jump.

“Sit.”

His command was authoritative and unnegotiable. You knew it was directed at you. Looking to Cross with a fearful expression, you hope he’ll give you some sign of reassurance. Why you keep looking to him for reassurance when clearly he’s not good at giving it, you’ll never know. Probably because he’s been the only non hostile being you’ve encountered since escaping. Unfortunately he just stares back at you with knowing sympathy, he understands your fear but there is nothing he can do except gesture for you to do as Nightmare asked.

Not wanting to anger the dark skeleton by dawdling, you move towards him hesitantly and take a seat in the offered chair, sinking down into its large frame.

At least Cross is still in the room with you.

“Cross you may leave.”

Ok nevermind.

“Oh, um, do you not need me for anything.” He asks, almost like he’s making an excuse to stay. Glancing to you he can see you’re sweating bullets and look like you’re on the verge of a panic attack.

Nightmare’s writing abruptly stops. Picking up on the unusual behaviour, he hadn’t expected Cross to want to stay any longer than necessary, especially for the comfort of some human. He’ll have to keep an eye on that. No matter.

“Actually, yes. There is one thing.” He states going back to his writing. “Go and fetch Killer. Also, make sure he and Dust haven’t been fighting again. I’m not prepared to find another part of my castle half destroyed from their belligerent quibbling, otherwise I’ll be throwing both their coccyxes into solitary confinement.”

Cross shudders at the mention of the punishment. Turning to follow said orders, he stills briefly, looking to you one last time. Your eyes plead with him to stay but he can’t disobey Nightmare’s orders. You’ll be fine. Nightmare wouldn’t have brought you back just to kill you. He’ll just.. have to hurry to get Killer.

Wait, why did he care so much? Ugh whatever.

He shakes his head and proceeds to walk out, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

…

Left alone with Nightmare, the ominous pressure in the room increased tenfold now that your only lifeline had exited the room. It was stifling and you could feel your heartbeat pound within your chest.

Looking at you for the first time since you entered the room, Nightmare’s bright eye light bore into yours. You were unable to keep eye contact this time. Eyes shooting back to your lap as your ears pulled down, shrinking in your seat, you try to appear smaller under his intimidating gaze.

Nightmare’s ever present grin rose slightly, feeling smug.

Ah. You were scared of him. Good. You should be.

He drank in the anxiety that wafted from you like a delicious nectar. Sweet and satisfying, a rare treat to the usual negativity he fed off of.

Looking back to his work, he comes to the end of the page, taking and placing it onto the pile of papers next to him before reaching for a new sheet to start writing again.

“So.” He starts, “It seems you are being pursued.”

You look back to him, noticing he’s not staring at you anymore. You nod before he continues.

“And it is my understanding that you have nowhere to go. Am I correct?”

You pause. Thinking for a moment before nodding again, slowly this time.

He hums.

His tentacles float around him until one moves to his side, opening a desk drawer and fetching out what looked like a document. His appendage places it on the desk and slides it over to you.

“You are literate, are you not?”

You tilt your head at him. Not understanding the word.

He rolls his eyes.

“Can you read and write?”

Oh. That’s what he meant. You can read, certainly, you were given books for entertainment at the facility thank heavens, or you probably would have gone mad with boredom. Writing however was a different matter. Dr. Philips taught you when you were young though without much opportunity or need for it your penmanship had become a little rusty. How were you supposed to explain that to him though?

Attempting to answer met you with another sharp pain from your throat making you grimace in discomfort. Nightmare, feeling the negative spike coming from you, huffs at the inconvenience your inability to speak is causing.

“I’ll get the point. I am offering you the opportunity to work for me. In return, I will take care of all of your needs, including food, shelter, a place to sleep and anything else you may require within reason.” He speaks with cool uninterest.

Work? He wants you to work for him? Why? What on earth could you possibly offer him?

“In addition, I will also offer the protection of myself and my subordinates. No harm will come to you if I can help it, so long as you follow my orders.” He states, tone dipping dangerously at the end.

His eye light looks back to you now. His entire focus on you to emphasise his point.

“Failure to do so will result in severe consequences.” He threatens, voice deep and promising.

You shudder in your seat, nodding quickly to show you fully understand the gravity of the situation should you ever disobey.

Seeming content with your response, he goes back to his work allowing you to release a breath you didn’t know you were holding. God your nerves can’t take much more of this.

Picking up the document, you read through it. It felt like you were making a deal with the devil. Something didn’t seem right but what did you have to lose? You had no home, no shelter, no one to turn to. You were already on the verge of being captured until he stepped in to save you. If you declined, would he take you back? Drop you right where he found you for you to just get captured again? You didn’t even know where you were right now. You can’t even use your scream to protect you this time. You really didn’t have much of an option.

Plus he was promising you protection. You’d never have to go back to the facility again.

Scanning the document, you don’t see it say what type of work would be required of you. You wanted to ask but honestly, it really didn’t matter. It was this or back to the facility.

And you were not going back.

Looking to the bottom of the paper, you see it had a space for you to sign. But you couldn’t even remember how to spell your name let alone write it, it had been that long. Unsure how to sign, you remember you had learnt about fingerprints when the facility took a scan of yours. How each one is unique to every individual and that no one was ever the same as another. Your print was yours and solely yours.

Raising your thumb, you open your mouth and press it into your sharp fang, now garnering the attention of Nightmare as he stops writing to watch what you’re doing, a brow bone raising with mild confusion.

Pressing it in, you feel the sting as your fang pierces the skin causing a bead of blood to form.

Nightmares eyes widen as he watches you. For once, he didn’t know how to react.

Once satisfied that there is enough blood on your thumb, you bring it away from your mouth, licking the blood away from your fang and press it down on the signature line. Keeping it there so the blood spreads thoroughly across your thumb before pulling it away, revealing a beautifully printed red thumb print.

That should do it, right? Now it has your blood and thumb print. Unique to you and only you. That should count as a signature.

You look back to Nightmare as you slide the document over to him only to stop when you catch his face.

His expression was unreadable. Though his eye socket was definitely staring at you a little wider than before. What was new was the barely visible teal tinting his cheekbones, however the moment you blink the colour is already gone. You must be seeing things again.

His tentacles were writhing with a bit more enthusiasm now though. One of which reached for the document you signed and brought it to his hand. He takes it and scans the end, eyeing your creatively printed signature.

His grin widens. Oh she will fit right in.

You watch as he stares at the document, waiting for him to say something. You hope this was a good idea though it’s not like you could take it back now.

At that moment, there was a hasty knock at the door. You turn in your chair just in time to see Cross enter, this time having not waited for permission like he wanted to come back as quickly as possible for some reason.

“I’ve brought Killer.” He huffs out. He looked a little out of breath.

Behind him trailed a familiar drippy skeleton that looked quite bothered. Both skeletons clock you immediately.

Oh god, this was a terrible idea.

Chapter Text

Head swinging back to Nightmare with the hope you have a chance to possibly reconsider, his long tentacle is already stretched across the room, pulling out a file from a work shelf near the desk.

Both skeletons seem to recognise the file. Cross perking up, seeming to make a small sigh of relief while the drippy skeleton looks mortified. Like you had just kicked his puppy.

“Oh COME ON! You are not seriously considering hiring her, are you?!”

Nightmare opens the file smoothly, his black metacarpals flicking through the pages to find the right section.

“There is nothing to consider. She has already signed the contract.” He states coolly, finding the right section and slipping the document into its allocated spot before letting his tentacle slip it back into the shelf.

The drippy skeleton known as Killer makes a loud, strangled noise, hands flying up behind his head to grip the back of his skull, gritting out a succession of swears and profanities as he starts pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

“AGH! Son of a-”

“Jeez man, let it go already. It’s not that big a’ deal.” Cross interrupts the seething skeleton. Why Killer was so mad at the human was beyond him. “It was one missed kill. It happens to all of us, plus it worked out if the Boss is willing to hire her.”

Killer’s head turns to you, his glare full of hate even without eye lights, making you shrink.

“It doesn’t happen to me..” he growls out low through gritted teeth. His usual smile looked strained and spiteful.

“Well maybe you’re just not the ‘Killer’ you thought you wer-”

Turning Killer slams his fist into the wall next to him with such velocity it made the bookshelves against it rumble. The force causing several books to tumble, banging loudly in succession as they hit the ground.

You stand immediately, the spike in hostility and memories from your last interaction making your instincts flare into action should you need to fight or flee.

“CEASE THAT AT ONCE!” Nightmare commands, his voice bellowing like thunder, frightening the life out of you. The only reason you don’t take off running was because you were frozen with fear from the sudden suffocating pressure he’s exuding. His voice was so powerful it made your sensitive ears ring.

Even Cross and Killer jumped. Well Cross mostly, Killer just twitched though whether that was caused by Nightmare or by irritation, you don’t know. Other than that he remained deathly still.

“I will be having none of your childish outbursts in my office! Make a fool of yourself in your own quarters but do not cause disruption here, especially in my presence! Do I make myself clear?” He threatens as he stared Killer down, tone deep and commanding, allowing no room for back talk. His black tentacles that once moved languidly were now writhing with aggression and hostility. Poised like they were ready to strike at any moment.

The last thing Nightmare needs is Killer scaring the human into using any other kind of unknown powerful magic that they might not be prepared to handle. Whatever animosity Killer has with the human ends now.

Killer remained facing the wall, his punch still connected to the brickwork as he made no plan to move. His blank sockets made it difficult to tell where he was looking but judging by the black liquid starting to seep from his sockets you assumed he was looking at Nightmare, you swear you could make out a faint white eye light in his dark socket.

“K i l l e r…” Nightmare’s voice warns dangerously as he rises from his seat. His socket had now gone dark. His single teal eye light was gone, making his unchanging expression even more frightening. You could feel the static energy of magic in the air that made the hairs on your tail stand on end, you just wanted to run away and hide but you made no move to do so, worried any sudden movements would set things off.

Glancing to Cross you could see he looked equally worried and made no attempt to move either. His eye lights glancing between the two skeletons nervously. Unsure how to de-escalate the situation.

Killer’s faint eyelight was still there when you glanced back at him, holding his gaze steady into Nightmares almost defiantly. You swear you notice it flick to you before going back to Nightmare. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. His sockets back to an empty darkness.

“Whatever…” Killer pulls his hand away and pockets it in his hoodie, revealing a sizable dent in the wall, cracks ebbing from the inside out and a few pieces of broken stone fall to the ground. His punch was powerful if it could leave a hole like that in stone, he must be strong. You realise you were very lucky you got away before.

The atmosphere was still tense though you could feel the prickling magic floating in the air slowly begin to fade.

“You are lucky I’m in a pleasant mood or you would be punished for such insolence.” Nightmare snaps as he sinks back into his chair.

The room fell silent again. Killer said nothing as he stared at the floor.

“Well, with that ridiculous temper tantrum out the way. I have a job for the two of you.” He addresses the two skeletons.

“Cross, since you already seem so fond of the human I’m appointing you as her main caretaker. Anything she may need will come from you if I am unavailable.”

“W-Wait a minute! I’m not fon-” Cross bristles, a purple blush lighting his face as Killer makes a loud snort, trying to hold in his cackling laughter.

“It will be your job to keep her safe and secure until she has fully settled in. That also means if anything happens to her it will be your responsibility.” Nightmare interrupts the flustering skeleton, his serious tone making it quite clear he will be in a world of pain if anything happened to you.

Cross stands there at a loss for words that you had been dumped on him to take care of. Killer not being able to hold it in any longer, bursts out laughing, crumpling to the floor in a pile of bones giggling manically.

Not acknowledging Killer's antics, Nightmare continues.

“Take the human and find a suitable room for her to settle into, then go out and retrieve any necessities a human female may need.”

He glances over to you, his critical eyelight giving you a once over.

“Get her an array of new clothing, and make sure she gets cleaned up. She looks…filthy.” He adds, sneering with mild disgust. Ouch.

Looking down at yourself you can’t help but feel a little insecure. Oof yeah you are looking a little worse for wear. Your dress was all bloodied and scuffed up with dirt and scratches. Your bare feet were also dirtied and rough looking and you can’t imagine what your face and hair looked like. You could do with a wash.

While looking yourself over, Killer manages to get ahold of his laughter long enough to form a sentence.

“You—you say I’m not a killer heh heh, but what does that make you? A glorified babysitter? Ey, ol’ Criss-Crossy.” He snickers before bursting out in a fit of laughs again while Cross growls grumpily.

“I'm glad you are finding it so amusing considering you’ll be going with him.”

Immediately Killer stops laughing.

“What?” Both he and Cross say in unison.

Now feeling a little smug himself having wiped the stupid smile off Killer's face, Nightmare explains.

“You will be accompanying Cross to acquire the human’s things. He will need your assistance since human females require more for their upkeep. I trust you have no issues with this?” Nightmare addressed them both, though his gaze lingers on Killer, watching the subtle changes in his facial bones that indicate he was very much displeased as he stands to his feet.

“No, Sir.”

“None whatsoever…”

They reply, both huffing in defeat.

“Good. All three of you are dismissed.”

You perk up at that. Looking around the room, you see Nightmare has gone back to his work, seemingly done with you and Cross and Killer both looked tired. You stand where you are until Cross finally looks at you.

“C’mon, let’s go…” he breathes out. You felt sorry for him. You look back to a Nightmare just to be sure before following Cross out the room, careful as you pass by Killer, half expecting to do something but he does nothing as you hurry after Cross.

After you both exit, Killer goes to leave himself when the door magically slams shut.

“Ugh.. what now?” He mutters under his breath.

The atmosphere suddenly fills with the same dangerous tension from earlier. Magic buzzing threateningly in the air around him.

“Killer..” Nightmares' foreboding voice summons but Killer makes no move to turn to face him.

“This goes without being said but I am going to say it anyway because if I don’t I know you will find some loophole or way around it but let me make one thing perfectly clear…” Nightmare punctuates his words venomously.

“If you so much as lay a single cut on her I will personally drag you to solitary confinement myself and subject to horrors so unimaginable you’ll be driven to the brink of insanity, only for me to pull you back just before you dust so I have the great pleasure of doing it all again.” His growl so deep it reverberates within Killer’s core.

“Whatever issues you have with her ends now.”

Killer stands there motionless, body still facing the door.

“Do you understand?”

“…”

Letting out a sudden laugh, Killer turns around.

“Aw c’mon boss don’t be like that. Do you really think so low of me?” He fakes like his feelings are hurt.

“Yes.”

Well that was quick.

“I do have some self control yanno.”

Nightmare glances at the smashed dent in the wall and raises a brow bone.

Killer groans, slumping like a petulant child.

“Fineeee I’ll play nice with your new pet.” He spits out the word ‘pet.’

“Good. Now get out. You’ve caused enough disturbance as is.”

“Sure thing, Boss.” His smile widens menacingly and his ringed soul glows. No cuts on the girl. Okay, he can do that. Doesn’t mean he can’t rough her up a bit though. After all, there are more than one ways to skin a cat.

And with that he vanishes, his red magic left behind, swirling in the space around where he once stood.

Now seemingly left alone Nightmare groans and pinches the bridge of his nasal cavity. God they are all such a pain to deal with, Killer especially.

“How long do you plan on observing? You’ll have to do better than that if you want to eavesdrop unnoticed, Dust.”

From behind one of the bookshelves Dust emerges, his hands in his pockets and grey hood over his head. His two toned eye lights fall on Nightmare as he strolls out lazily.

“Man, you were laying it thick on ol’ Killer. Go easy on him, his pride is still hurt that the girlie got away from him before you snapped her up.” His grin was wide with satisfaction, amused that Killer was still butthurt.

“I am fully aware of his gripe with the human and it does not help that you keep provoking him but we have more pressing matters to attend to than his damaged ego.” He drags his palm down his face as he leans back in his seat, one leg crossing over the other.

“Yeah that’s what I wanted to ask you about, why exactly have you adopted the stray?” Dust had an idea, though he just wanted to confirm.

“Her power is exactly what we need to end those star idiots. Her ability to disable any magic user will be the key in bringing them down.” He explains with dark enthusiasm, his mind whirling at the possibilities.

“She’ll need to heal first and receive some training, but once she’s ready we’ll be able to destroy my brother and his infernal friends once and for all.” His cheshire grin grows manically wide at the thought of finally being rid of the guardian of positivity that is his brother.

“That is unless Killer fucks it up by killing her or getting himself killed by her.” He grumbles already exasperated merely by the thought of Killer messing things up.

“Aaah I’m sure it’ll be fine, after all you have got Cross acting as her own personal guard dog now. I don’t think he’ll let anything happen to her, especially if his life is on the line heh heh.” Dust chuckles out.

Mmm, yes this is true. That is why he picked Cross after all. His time as a royal guard would have made him ideal in keeping you safe. That and his affinity for humans meant he was less likely than the rest of his gang to want to murder you. Plus it was obvious he had already taken a liking to you.

“Be that as it may, the same statement applies to you also. You are not to harm her whatsoever without reason, and even then you are only to subdue her. I know you have less issue with her but your sense of self control can be as questionable as Killer’s at times. I do not want to find out she has been killed due to one of your manic episodes so it would do you well to stay away from her should you feel tempted.”

Dust strolled towards the door, unconcerned by his boss's warning and already losing interest.

“Yeah, yeah I get it. You want nothing happenin’ to your precious kitten. Cause if anything did that would surely be a cat-astrophy.” He snickers.

“God just leave already.” Nightmare was already done. “And inform Horror, I don’t want him eating the human should he bump into her while Cross isn’t around.”

“Yeah that would be just paw-ful, fur real. I better get right on that, have a mice day.” He says with a wink before shortcuting away.

Now that he was truly alone, Nightmare slumps.

He needed a cup of tea.

Scanning the large hole still in the wall and the array of books that lay cluttered on the floor around it, Nightmare lets out a long, aggravated sigh.

He needed several cups of tea.

Chapter Text

Now that you were out of Nightmare’s office, you felt like you could finally breathe again. You could tell Cross was feeling the same way judging by the way his tight posture began to relax as you walked down the hallway.

“That was pretty intense, huh?”

You nod, sighing in relief to be out of there.

“Heh, yeah that happens sometimes, you’ll get used to it. Just keep your head down and you’ll be fine.” Great, real reassuring.

”Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you—cause you know if I did, Nightmare will literally grind my bones to dust and turn me into bone meal.” He adds, hurrying the last part of his sentence while his cheekbones flush a light purple. His face seemed to glow a lot, you’ve been wondering how he did that.

Watching the poor, flustering skeleton, you can’t help but feel bad that he was now responsible for you. That you could possibly be the reason he gets in trouble, he must be worried for his well being if you ended up causing a problem for him. You wished you weren’t burdening him like this. Reaching up, you hesitate for a moment, thinking about reconsidering before deciding to commit and gently hold his hand.

He startles from the contact and shoots to look at you, but thankfully doesn’t pull away. Trying to reassure him as best as you can, you give him a soft smile and rub your thumb along the top of his hand, soothing the rough ridges of his bones. Your action is gentle as you try to convey your intent to comfort. It was hard communicating without being able to talk.

Your action stops him in his tracks, him staring at you with wide sockets. You thought maybe what you did was a mistake until his face lights up again but much brighter this time. Still, you release his hand and go to draw it back to you just in case it was making him uncomfortable, only for him to prevent you by grabbing your hand back and pulling you along to start walking again, albeit much more briskly this time.

“C-C’mon!” His face turns back ahead, refusing to look at you now.

Well, at least he wasn’t stressed anymore. You think?

~~ ~~~

Just how big was the castle? You had been walking for at least a solid 10 minutes, passing by doors that looked identical to one another, you wondered how Cross knew where he was going. You’d probably get lost if you decided to explore the castle by yourself.

Eventually you assume you reached your destination, Cross stopping you outside an unidentifiable door.

“Here, you can have this room. It’s probably best if you have a room near mine in case you need anything.”

Still holding your hand, Cross realises and quickly lets go, pulling it away like you had stung him and he rushes to open the door. The flush is quick to return to his face but he’s relieved you don’t notice as you go to peek inside your new room.

Inside was small but quaint. Simple, it had a bed, a large chest of drawers, a long mirror, a small bedside cabinet with a lamp, a wardrobe and a large, curtained window that revealed the outside to you.

Deciding to enter fully, you take in the space around you. The air was light and freeing as the light from outside filtered into the room. It was nothing like your room at the facility. It was so much better.

Walking over to the window, you looked out and gazed upon a landscape of florshing woodland pine trees, stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful, you never had a room or a view like this back home, if you could even call it home.

Your cell was exactly that. Four walls of pure confinement that had no windows to even let in the light of the outside world, only consisting of the bare necessities. All your life you had lived behind the confines of the facility, a creature created by their hands you always felt you had no right to question or want for anything. You were taught to accept what was given without a fuss or there would be consequences, because at the end of the day, you were only property and the only person who ever treated you as anything more was now gone.

Your hands come up and tighten around your hoodie at the thought. You were at a loss for words when you felt a drop fall on your hand, looking down you saw it was coming from you.

When did you start crying?

“Your bathroom is over here.”

Quickly wiping your tears with your hand, you didn’t want Cross to see how you were feeling as you turned and saw him standing by another door in your room. Opening it for you, you walk over and peer in.

Inside was a pristine, luxurious bathroom paved with white tiles and decorated wall lighting. It looked far too nice for you. Stepping in you see there was a place to shower as well as a bathtub, a sink with a mirror and a toilet. There was also a shelf filled with fluffy bath towels that looked so soft, much nicer than the ones you were used to using.

“Ah you’re going to need something to change into after you’ve showered. I’ll be right back.” Going to leave, Cross disappears out of your room while you inspect the bathroom. Clocking the mirror, you go over and finally get a look at yourself. God you looked awful.

Looking at your face you could see the dried blood and dirt that caked your skin. Your hair was thick and matted, greased with sweat and dust. Ugh you smelt bad too. You can’t wait to get clean. Your clothing was in tatters, you definitely don’t think you can wear the dress anymore but the hoody was okay. Unfortunately the left arm was stained with blood and had a hole from where you were shot, but it wasn’t too bad. You could still wear it. It still had the doctor's scent, though a little fainter now that it was mixed with your own. How long before it’s gone completely?…

Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear a knock at the door. Cross must be back with some fresh clothing. Leaving the bathroom, you go to open your bedroom door but the minute you do so, a hand comes flying at you, grabbing you by the collar of your dress before yanking you out into the hallway. Immediately you’re slammed against the wall, the action disorientating you momentarily till you get a hold of yourself to realise who’s pinning you.

“Heya Princess, you enjoy checking out your lovely little bed chamber?”

You see Killer, his body close to yours as he pinned you to the wall, one hand had slammed by your head while the other was scrunching the collar of your dress. His menacing grin was ever present but you knew fully well he was not happy, especially judging by the dark look he was giving you in those empty sockets, his face casting an eerie shadow.

Your hands scramble at the wall behind you, trying to press into it to make space between the two of you. Your eyes darted around frantically, searching for anything that might help you until his voice brings your attention back to him.

“Listen, I wanna make one thing perfectly clear”. He speaks, tone hushed but dripping with venom. “I do not like you. I will never like you. The only reason you’re alive is because the boss is interested in whatever freak magic you got going on in that lil’ soul of yours.” He practically spits at you, using the hand not pinning you to jab his pointed finger into your chest right above your soul.

Your heart beat races as he’s practically nasal cavity to nose with you, his breath puffing against your face despite not actually moving his jaw to talk. You can’t even call Cross for help! Where is he?!

“The moment he gets bored of you or I get an opportunity, I will come for you and finish what I started back in that alleyway. You know why? Because no one gets away from me. No. One.” He punctuates the last two words by whipping out his knife, shoving the tip just under your chin making you lean your head back into the wall to avoid it cutting you.

“Ya get the ‘point’?” He chuckles darkly.

You stare up at him, your mind racing as you try to figure out what to do. Luckily you hear the click of the door from the room down from yours, barely able to tilt your head you manage to see Cross exiting what you assumed was his room. Hope fills your chest but before you can even try to say something you’re suddenly lifted up, arms wrapping around your waist as you’re spun around. You squeak from the sudden motion, trying to push away from Killer but he's completely unmovable as he holds you in his death grip, his knife having vanished miraculously. Holy hell he really is strong.

“And that’s why we’re gonna be the bestest of friends!” He sings while swinging you around like a doll, garnering the attention of Cross.

His face drops into a weird state of confusion as he spots the two of you.

“Hey! What are you doing?! Put her down!” He rushes over to you just in time for Killer to stop spinning you around, the motion was starting to make you feel dizzy.

“Whaaaat? I’m just getting to know our new friend here!” He presses the side of his face into yours, his black tears sticking to the side of your check making a shiver run up your spine. “Right? Kitten?” He addresses you with hidden aggression in tone.

You hesitate but immediately nod your head when you feel Killer's strong grip tighten around you painfully as Cross watches, his sockets narrowing at Killer seemingly unconvinced.

“Yeah right… anyway put her down. We need to head out now to get her things.”

“Sure thing~” Suddenly Killer releases you. Unprepared you fall, your legs unable to catch you in time as you crumple to the ground with a ‘thud’ landing sorely on your butt.

“Killer!”

“Oopsie~ Here, let me help you there.”

Before your brain could even register the fall, Killer is already grabbing you by the arm to yank you to your feet, the sudden jolt causing pain in your joint making you wince. His face is now close enough to the side of yours to be able to whisper unnoticed.

“And don’t think your knight in shining armour over there will be able to keep you safe forever. He won’t always be there and stars forbid if something were to happen and he isn’t around to save you.” He warns, his promise foreboding making you want to pull your hand away from his touch.

Fortunately you didn’t have to, Cross was already grabbing him by the shoulder and dragging him away from you.

“That’s enough, get your creepy ass away from her.” Now stepping in between the two of you.

“Skeletons don’t have asses.” Killer says, waggling his brow bones at Cross.

“Ugh, whatever.” Turning back to you, Cross holds up the reason he had left you alone in the first place.

“Here, take this. It’s all I’ve got that will fit without probably falling off you.” He hands you a plain white t-shirt, the right size for him but it’s definitely going to swamp your petite frame. Still, you could wear it like a dress.

“It’s just until we get you some actual clothes, we’ll be back in about an hour or two. Stay in your room till then, okay?”

You nod, taking the shirt while you glance at Killer nervously. He just stands there waiting for Cross to be finished with you like he hadn’t just threatened to potentially end your life.

When Cross walks over to Killer to get ready to leave, Killer takes the opportunity to drape his arm over Cross’s shoulder all friendly like, before he addresses you.

“Can’t wait to get to know you better. See ya real soon~” he winks at you.

Cross goes to open his mouth but Killer shortcuts them both before he gets to speak. Your eyes widen as they vanish before your eyes, Killer’s red magic being all that’s left, swirling in the air like smoke.

You’d be more interested if you weren’t still absolutely petrified from your encounter with Killer just now. Looking around the hallway you make sure they’re definitely gone before making a dash back to your room, closing the door and locking it with haste.

You leave your hand on the doorknob, standing there breathing heavily while you try to process what just happened before turning your back to the door and sliding down it till you were seated on the floor. Placing your head in your hands, you let out a long, exhausted sigh.

Of all the alleyways you could have hidden in, you had to hide the one harbouring an angry, drippy, murder skeleton that takes it personal when his victim runs away and now he has it out for you BUT ALSO happens to work for another drippy skeleton that you sell your soul to! You couldn’t make this up if you tried.

You could go tell Nightmare, he did say he’d protect you but you didn’t want to risk the possibility of getting Cross in trouble. He had been so good to you and you couldn’t bear the thought of him getting punished because of you.

You could tell Cross instead but you didn’t want to think of how mad that might make Killer if Cross confronts him, you might end up making things worse for yourself but you might have to tell him anyway if things get out of hand. That, or you’re gonna have to fight back but don’t think you’d be so lucky to get away a second time. You also don’t think Nightmare would be too happy if you hurt one of his subordinates…

Killer really was living up to that name of his but you were sure he wouldn’t straight up kill you should he want to feel the wrath of Nightmare. You’d just have to be careful and make sure you weren’t alone with him, stick close to Cross whenever you can. He did only live a room away from you. Though with that teleporting thing he just did, he could always just come into your room when you’re alone and vulnerable…

Ugh, you were getting a headache with all this worrying. You felt so drained.

Lifting your head from your hands and letting it bump against the door behind you, you look up to the window, not really focusing on anything.

You think it’s time for a shower, hopefully that’ll take your mind off things.

Peeling yourself off the floor, you head into the bathroom. Placing the shirt Cross had given you over the closed toilet seat, you see an empty drinking cup placed by the sink and decide to pour yourself several cups of water from the tap. With everything that had been happening you had forgotten how thirsty you were. Downing several cups, your parched throat was soothed by the cool water though the sting was there.

Now that your thirst was sated, it was time to get cleaned up.

Pulling off your hoodie along with your dress and plain, white panties, you catch the large scar on your left arm from the gunshot. You run your fingers along the sensitive skin feeling the way the puffy texture differed compared to the rest of your body. Sure you had suffered many wounds of all shapes and sizes from your time at the lab but your regenerative magic always healed you back up, it amazed you how magic worked. Despite the severity of the puncture, eventually the scar would fade.

Just like all the others had.

Done with your reflection you proceed to step into the shower, using the knobs to get the temperature to a comfortable warmth, you sighed letting the soothing water wash over you. The previous tribulations washing away as you stand there and just let yourself be.

Steam fills the room as you glance around and notice several small guest bottles of simply scented soap, shampoo and conditioner. Using all three to scrub away the grit from your hair, ears, tail and body, you ponder why skeleton monsters that lack hair would need shampoo or conditioner, or a toilet for that matter. They had no organs needed to use it. Heck, you don’t even need to use it really, only if you were fed human food.

You had found out that being a half human and half monster meant you could get your nutrients from either type of food. The scientists allocated to you once conducted an experiment to see how your body would react when subjected to eating only one type of food for a prolonged period of time. They found that while human food changed nothing though studies showed your magic levels were lower than usual, eating purely monster food not only kept your magic levels above normal but you had stopped needing to use the toilet since your body absorbed 100% of the food. They concluded in feeding you a mixture of both just to keep both your physical and magic health in check.

Perhaps the rooms were for guests who stayed over. Though who would stay over with a murder skeleton on the premises, you have no idea.

Satisfied with your level of cleanliness, you turn off the stream of running water and step out, grabbing a fluffy towel from the shelf to towel dry your hair and body.

Ooooo these towels really were soft.

Once thoroughly clean and dry, you go to the toilet and slip on your panties and the top Cross had given you. With it on your body, you could definitely see it was a little big for you, reaching as far as your upper thigh, though you didn’t mind. It smelt clean and fresh with a hint of something you couldn’t quite make out. Something cool. Whatever it was, you liked it.

Checking yourself in the mirror you looked so much better now. No longer dirty, your skin had a healthy glow, hair clean and shiny from the conditioner and you had a pleasant floral smell wafting from you.

Yep this was much better.

Picking up your hoodie and your scuffed dress, you exit into the bedroom and lay your clothing down on the bed. With nothing else to do, you decide it’s probably best to have a nap. Slipping onto the bed, you lay your weary head on the plush feather pillows and sigh.

This is actually really nice.

You may have traded in once life of servitude for another but this one was already far better, even with the possibility of being murdered on the table.

It’s not like that wasn’t a possibility at the facility either.

Feeling your eyelids become heavy, the fatigue of today finally catching up with you, you allow your eyes to close. Drifting off into dreamless sleep.

~~ ~~~

Watching you from the corner of the room, Dust observed you while you slept. His one red and blue eye light the only thing visually in the dark of his hood.

He had watched you leave the bathroom and get into bed, a little surprised you didn’t sense his presence but even if you did he would of shortcutted away before you’d spot him. Once he was sure you were fast asleep, he decided to get a closer look at you, slowly stepping up to the side of your bed. You definitely looked better now that you were clean. One could say you were cute, maybe even his type if things had turned out differently for him.

“SHE DOESN'T LOOK VERY SCARY IF YOU ASK ME.” The disembodied head of his brother interrupts his thoughts, appearing over his shoulder, floating towards you to get a good look of you.

“Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving paps.”

“YES, YOU WOULD KNOW ALL ABOUT THAT WOULDN'T YOU, BROTHER?”

Dust remained silent. Haunted by the ghost of his brother, his hallucinations were a constant reminder of what he had done, a punishment he fully accepted.

“AND WHY EXACTLY HAVEN'T YOU KILLED HER ALREADY?”

“Cant. Boss wants her alive.”

“YES I KNOW THAT YOU LAZYBONES, I WAS THERE. I MEAN, WHY DONT YOU KILL HER ANYWAY?” Papyrus suggests, floating back to his brother's side to whisper in his non-existent ear. A voice of temptation to get Dust to give in to his urges. To feed the LV within him that wanted more.

Dust stood over you for a while, a manic smile slowly etching its way onto his face the more he listened to brother’s dark whisperings. He could feel the heated throb of LV coursing through him slowly beginning to rise. His bones itching as he began to spiral, his sanity slowly slipping away being replaced by his insatiable bloodlust. He had already summoned his knife into his hand. He could make it quick. No one would know. It would make Papyrus happy. He always knew best. He was such a good bro. You were just a human after all. Nightmare would get over it. You would look so pretty covered in your own blood. Would you die like a human or dust like a monster? He would love to find out.

“—iss? Are you in there?” Cross’s voice travelled through the outside of the door, snapping him out of his manic spiralling as the door knob began to jiggle.

He saw that you were also beginning to stir, moving to turn onto your side as you cuddled your pillow.

Not wasting any time, Dust shortcutted away.

Nightmare was right, trying not to kill you is gonna be tougher than he thought.

Chapter Text

Bringing Killer along had been a mistake.

The whole time spent collecting your things, Killer had been nothing but a pure annoyance the entire time. Constantly needling him about being a nanny to you or all around just being a complete nuisance.

They had picked a random neutral au to steal your things from, choosing to appear in a mall that was already locked down for the night allowing them to run around picking out things to their heart's content.

The only good thing about bringing Killer was that he said he somehow knew your size in clothing.

Having written out a list of this to get, Cross had gotten most of the bathroom and beauty items while Killer insisted on grabbing your clothes.

Running off with glee only to come back with two armfuls worth of clothing he had no doubtedly picked out and shoving them in the shopping bags Cross was holding.

“Killer we just need necessities, what is all this?”

Cross had already taken the liberty to pick out a few essential clothing items for you such as tops, leggings, bottoms, some shoes and socks (he blushed picking those out) though he had to guess your size on that one. He didn’t know how much he trusted Killer to be appropriate, not that he really trusted him at all.

“These are necessities! The kitten needs underwear right? Unless you want her to go commando.” He teases. “Hey, you know I don’t mind but I thought better of you, Crossy.”

A flush of lavender spread across his cheeks as he stammered at the accusation.

Wha?—of course she needs underwear! I’m not—what are yo—oh nevermind just shove it in.” He caves, giving up even bothering to try and defend himself, opening the bags wider to get everything in.

“Don’t worry Criss-Cross, I picked out some things I know you’d like too.” He tone dips suggestively while he shoves in the rest of the clothing making Cross blush more, though before he could even question what he possibly meant, Killer rummages in the bags and miraculously pulls out the item he wanted, holding a pair of black and white cow patterned panties up to Cross’s face.

“Like this-”

Immediately Cross slaps the article out of his hand like it offended him, sending it flying away.

Killer watches the underwear fly out of sight before turning his head back to Cross.
The flush that was on his face was gone, replaced by a serious expression staring him down.

Killer’s smile widens, not at all intimidated. “Hey I was just cowing around. No need tan my hide—hey where ya goin?”

Walking away, Cross was pretty sure he’s got everything he needs, he could always come back later if he needed anything else. Next time without Killer.

Maybe he could bring you along.

Summoning his knife, he cuts a rift through the air.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t ignore me! You gotta admit that was pretty amoosing heh heh.” Killer laughs as he runs to catch up, Cross groaning in response as the two of them step through, portalling them just outside your room.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being you?” Cross questions, annoyance clear on his face as he knocks on your door, making Killer swell with pride being able to get a rise out of him.

“I dunno, you tell me. You are me after all.” He shot back smugly, though his smile drops slightly when he notices Cross’s attention isn’t fully on him. Seeing Cross knock on the door again having not been answered by you.

“Uh, Miss? Are you in there?” Cross calls but hears no answer from you.

“Maybe she’s in the shower, we could always sneak a peak.” Killer teases though Cross isn’t taking the bait when he reaches for the door handle and jiggles it, unable to get it open.

“The door’s locked. You don’t think she’s made a runner, do you?” His voice lit with a hint of panic.

“Only one way to find out.”

“Wait Killer don’t!” Cross grabs him before he teleports in, both appearing by the foot of your bed. They scan the room till they notice that you’re asleep, curled up on your side on the bed, nuzzling into your pillow as you snooze softly.

Cross’s top lay haphazardly around your form, having ridden up slightly from turning in your sleep to reveal the soft curve of your hips and your slender legs.

Both skeletons stare at you for a moment, the respective colour of their magic colouring their cheeks as they watch you.

Killer lets out a low whistle and nudges Cross out of the daze he’s now in. “Kitten cleans up nice, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah…” Cross answers dreamily. Oof Cross has it bad Killer thought.

A moment of silence goes by as the two admire you.

“Hey. Let’s play with her.” Killer says suddenly, his tone dipping low and seductive.

Immediately Cross snaps out of it, blush hitting at full force as he drops the bags.

“P-PLAY?!” He splutters, mind racing at what he could possibly mean by that.

“W-What do you mean?! Hey!—what are you doing?! Get back here!” He shout-whispers as he watches Killer start to inch on the bed towards you.

Grabbing him by the ankle, Cross drags him back towards him and away from you.

“Woah hey now! Getting a little handy there, aren’t we? Don’t worry we can both take turns. Sharing is caring, after all.” He says suggestively, turning back to head towards you again but Cross grabs him before he could get away.

“Don’t you dare! Keep your nasty ass away from her dude!” Cross grapples him, hoping to get him out of the room without waking you. Though he doesn’t know what good that’ll do if he can just teleport back in.

Killer laughs, enjoying having riled him up this much. He wouldn’t have actually done anything, though if you were interested…

“Heh again, skeletons don’t have asses. Though I wouldn’t mind checking out hers.” Killer purrs only to be lifted and chucked on the ground with a loud ‘thud’.

You were already starting to stir, the final noise waking you up being Killer’s contact with the ground.

Blinking your eyes open, you move onto your back and stretch your limbs out like a cat, making your top ride up a little more. Yawing, you flash your sharp fangs before sitting up and spotting the two skeletons now on the floor. Cross on top of Killer, hands locked with one another, Cross using his strength to keep him down while Killer uses his to keep Cross off him.

Killer is the first to notice you’re awake, deciding to teleport away from Cross to appear at the foot of the bed which startled you, making Cross to fall flat on his face now that Killer wasn’t there to keep him upright.

“Heya Kitten, sleep well?” He asks, his voice a much lower rumble than it usually is which was strange.

Getting to his feet, Cross grumbles as he hobbles over to you. Rubbing his face while picking up bags of shopping.

“We’re back.” He says tiredly. “We knocked but you had locked the door…”

Oh no! You had forgotten to unlock it before you fell asleep. Glancing at Killer you notice he’s giving you a weird look. So much for the lock keeping him out.

You give Cross an apologetic look as he drops the bags on your lap making your ears perk up, curious at what he got you.

Rummaging through one of the bags, you notice a variety of tops and bottoms, some dresses, shoes and socks, some fluffy shoes that looked similar to what nightmare was wearing but grey and some other bits. Some of the dresses looked really pretty, you’d have to try them on later. You also read some of the labels on the non-clothing items. Lotion, facial wash, tooth brush and toothpaste, more shampoo, pet shampoo? A flea brush?? Was that a collar? You were starting to think they really did see you as a pet.

You could also see there was one more thing.

Pulling it out revealed it to be a brown stuffed teddy bear with a red bow tie. Your eyes dilate as you hold it, one hand coming up to stroke the fur of its face gently like it was alive.

“Pfft- really Cross?”

“W-What? I saw it and just threw it in with the rest of the things.” He defends, eyes looking away from the two of you then down to the floor, before slowly bringing it back to you, watching the way your hands gently held and stroked the toy.

“I thought she might like it.” He says more quietly this time.

Hearing that makes you lift your head to him, his eyes staring into yours for a moment. He had got this for you? As a gift? You couldn’t understand the look he was giving you but it made heat rise to your face and a weird fluttering in your tummy. His face also seems to be flushing purple again.

Killer smiled dipped as he watched the interaction. This was starting to get way out of territory he was comfortable being in.

“Okay! Time to look in my bags!” He says, shoving the bags that had what he picked out into your lap and successfully distracting you. Cross turned his head away to cough into his hand and compose himself.

Killer’s bag contained a LOT of undergarments, most of which you’d never even seen before. A lot of them didn’t even seem practical you thought as you pulled one out to hold up. This one was just a pile of strings!

Turning his head back, Cross gawfs at the sight of the thong and shoots his head straight to Killer.

“What the hell, dude??”

“What? That’s what women wear!”

“She doesn’t even know what it is!” He gestures to you as you’re pulling at the strings, trying to figure out how it works.

“Well, you could always show her.” Killer teases, waggling his brow bones.

Cross grumbles as he watches you pull at the strings of the thongs, you had clearly never seen one before so trying to explain it to you was gonna be a pain, hopefully you’d figure it out on your own.

“Don’t worry, there’s other bits in there too.”

Deciding to figure it out later, you put the strings back in the bag and dig around some more. Finding something else that catches your eye, you pull it out revealing a red, lacy top? You think? It was very decorative and had two main pieces of round fabric with several straps protruding from it. You could already hear Cross yelling at Killer about this one too but you actually didn’t mind it, you just didn’t know what it was or how to put it on.

Holding it up to get both of their attention, you give them a questioning look to try and communicate your confusion. Killer clocks what you’re trying to say and leers leterously.

“Aw, you don’t know how a bra works. C’mere kitten and let daddy show yo-.”

Killer is immediately met with a hard slap to the back of his head throwing him forward a little.

OW! Fuck man—jeez! What the eff? Don’t take it out on me just cause you’re too chicken to show her yourself.” Killer growls, rubbing the back of his head and turning back to give Cross a glare.

“You shouldn’t be taking advantage of her by getting clothing like this! She clearly doesn’t understand!”

“She’s gonna need some bras, isn’t she? Besides, it doesn't hurt getting her ones we can ALL enjoy.”

Your expression goes flat as you watch the two begin to argue, realising you’re not going to be getting any answers out of them so you put the red top away. You think you’re done searching through for now till you find something in one of the other bags Killer had given you.

Pulling this one out, you realise that it's actually really pretty. It looks like a short black dress with a white frilly apron and a matching frilly head dress. It also came with long white socks that would probably go up to your thigh and some black smart shoes.

You suddenly hear a loud strangled sound as you turn your head to the source. Cross’s entire face is now completely purple, he seemed to have stopped mid sentence as he stared at the dress, beads of purple sweat forming on his skull.

“Told you I picked you out something you’d like.” Killer said smugly, his grin returning to his face as Cross stood there frozen, his eye lights flickering between the dress and you. He then got an idea.

“Hey, Kitten. You wanna try it on?”

Cross jolted, his eye lights now completely gone. You looked from him to the dress and smiled, nodding as you got off the bed and stood. Laying out your dress, you grab the hem of your top and lift it, getting as high as your navel when you hear a high pitch screech and a pair of hands grab yours, preventing you from continuing.

“What are you doing!!?” Cross practically screams at you, his face glowing brightly as he stares at you with wide sockets, his eyelights having now come back. Why is he breathing so heavily?

You look at him confused, turning your head to the dress then back to him.

“Y-You can’t wear that and you can’t get changed in front of us!!”

“Oh yes she can.” Killer purrs, he had now moved to laying on the bed, his body closer to you as he licks his fangs, ready to enjoy the show. You eyed his tongue with surprise, shocked to see he even had one. The way gelatinous muscle moved and the look Killer was currently giving you made you feel…uncomfortable. You wondered how he had one being a literal skeleton. Chalking it down to magic, you assumed that was the same reason Cross’s face lit up with colour sometimes.

“Oi! No! You! Off the bed!” Cross lets go of your hands and points to Killer, making a ‘get off’ gesture.

“And you! Don’t change in front of others!” He says turning back to you, your attention also snapping away from Killer to him. He can’t believe he’s even having to explain these things to the two of you. He can’t take much more of this.

You tilt your head at him, clearly not seeing a problem. You've had to change in front of the doctors many times for your physical check ups and such. You were used to changing in front of others, it was perfectly normal. Also the dress was nice! You didn’t see what the issue was.

Cross makes an exasperated noise, trying to get a hold of his flying emotions.

“Look! I don’t care how it was at the lab place or whatever. You just… you can’t strip down in front of others, okay? Especially not us.

“Unless it’s in front of Cross.”

“Yes, unless it’s in front of—no wait! Ugh SHUT UP KILLER!”

Killer was barely able to hold in his cackles. Cross was reaching his breaking point and Killer loved every second of the poor skeletons' misery. He wondered if Nightmare could feel all these crazy emotions right now. Heh he bet he was so confused.

Still, it was interesting to know how clearly you lacked self awareness when it came to nudity around others, that’s definitely something he could take advantage of.

“Hey, personally I think that dress is ‘maid’ for her.

Cross felt it.

His single thread of sanity snapping.

“Ok. Time to go.”

“Wait, what?” Killer said as he felt Cross grab him by the scruff, then grab the maid outfit before trudging over to the door.

You raise a hand like you wanted to say something but bring it back to your chest when Cross’s head snaps to you.

“Dinner is in an hour, I’ll come pick you up then.” He says blankly before literally kicking the door open.

“Heh, see ya Kitten.” Killer waves at you with a wink, not even bothering to attempt to fight back, before Cross drags him out and slams the door shut.

…

…

What just happened?

Chapter Text

After that strange interaction, you decided to get dressed. Sifting through the bags you saw you had quite a few options, you opted to wear a dark grey top with straps and some black stretchy bottoms, the fabric was comfy and hugged your form. It was different from the flowy, airy dresses you were used to wearing but you had more options now so you wanted to try something different. Looking at the label it read ‘leggings’, you guessed that’s what they were called though you could only pull them up just under where your tail connected to your lower back, settling the leggings just on your lower hip.

You had also managed to find some suitable panties that weren’t just strings thank goodness and also slipped on the grey fluffy slippers. They felt weird in your feet, you weren’t exactly used to wearing shoes or socks but they were pretty soft so you surmised you could use these to get used to wearing things on your feet.

With some time to kill you searched through the bags some more and found a normal hairbrush which you were pleased to have. Brushing the knots out, you prided in how soft your hair was, running your fingers through it now that it was clean.

After checking out everything and putting your clothes and items away, which took some time, you slumped back on the bed. You didn’t know how long it had been or what time it was, your room didn’t have a clock but you assumed Cross would come back to pick you up for dinner soon.

Looking to the teddy bear next to you, you stared at it, it was really sweet Cross had got it for you. You didn’t have many toys at the facility, even when you were a child. It was mainly books and your education that kept you preoccupied. What few toys you did have were taken away as you got older so you never really had anything that was truly yours.

Reaching out, you grab the sweet teddy and press it to your chest, cuddling into it as you let out a purr, rubbing your face into the soft fur. Some time goes by as you wait while you lay there, you feel like you’re about to doze off again when you catch a whiff of something.

Twitching your nose, you open your eyes and push yourself up, sniffing at the air you can smell something good. An aroma that makes your stomach gurgle and your mouth salivate. Placing your teddy back on the bed, you walk over and open the door, peering out to get a better whiff. The smell was coming from down the hallway, the scent much stronger now you had come out of your room. Wait, when did you start walking? Eh, oh well, a quick peek to see where that delightful smell was coming from won’t hurt. You’ll make it back before Cross comes to get you, you told yourself.

Already walking down the hall you let your nose be your guide as you ventured around by yourself for the first time. You passed by a few paintings here and there, stopping at some of them to admire before continuing on. Some were beautifully detailed though some were very strange, one for example being a painting of a single bone on a plain, green background. A bit simple and it contrasted with the fine elegance of the rest of the decour but who were you to judge art.

After about 10 minutes, the scent grew stronger eventually leading you into a large and very spacious cooking area, a kitchen you believe it was called.

There was a lot of counter space for cooking that ran all along the wall and plenty of overhead cupboards to store things as well as several large metal machinery you presumed aided in cooking. There was also a long dining table and two giant metal food storage containers standing near a cooking pot which you could tell was where the smell was originating.

Eyes on the pot, you slowly walk over to it, the fire burning the base below making the contents bubble through the clear lid you were looking though. You could see the condensation forming on the underside of the lid, carefully lifting it let a puff of steam and moisture hit your face along with an absolutely delicious fragrance. The food looked like a soup with chunks of meat and vegetables in it, you could smell the well added seasonings and spices delighting your nose as you took a big inhale.

Food at the facility was nothing like this. Often high in nutrients but low in flavour and very tasteless. They never tried making your meals appealing for you, just giving you bland, basic food needed to keep you healthy. Though at this moment, you had never smelt food so appetising, you bet it would taste even better. Maybe you could try a bit.

You’re taken out of you thoughts when you feel a presence behind you casting a large shadow over you.

Freezing, you slowly place the lid back on the pot and turn your head over your shoulder before quickly pivoting round, your mouth drops and your eyes widen at the absolute mammoth of a skeleton now standing behind you.

The gargantuan beast of a monster that stared you down was beyond terrifying. For one thing, he was huge! Standing way taller than the rest of the skeletons you had met, this one towered over your form. His bones were thicker and bulkier too. It took everything within you to not startle from the sudden closeness of his body. From what you could see, he wore a white t-shirt under a blue, clearly worn out and rough looking hoodie with a fur trimmed hood and a pair of black shorts. He also wore slip on that were a weird coppery colour, like that wasn’t the original colour but had faded from constant use, even the fuzz was dull and matted.

He had a single red eyelight in his left socket that stared into yours intensely, not blinking once while the other remained empty. There was a wild, almost carnal aura about him. Like you were staring into the eyes of a predator, hungry to devour some helpless prey. He also had a nasty open hole in his skull, like it had been smashed in with brute force. Sharp, rigid teeth pulled back in a grin, he had the same kinda smile like the rest of the skeletons though this one looked more feral, you hoped the look he was giving you now was just his neutral expression.

Does this one work for Nightmare too?

The two of you just stand there, him staring at you in silence for an uncomfortably long amount of time. You can feel yourself slowly begin to cower, ears dropping as you try to make yourself appear as small and non threatening as possible.

His single eyelight constricts and dilates as he regards you, his focus flicking to the bubbling pot then back to you.

“Ya hungry?…”

You don’t say anything, you’re currently registering how unbelievably deep and gruff his voice is. He spoke slowly, each word deliberate with short pauses every few words, you felt the low rolling rumble of his voice vibrating in your chest.

He continued to stare at you waiting for an answer. Should you lie? Would he be mad if you told him you were? Opting to be truthful and hoping for the best, you just barely nod you head, your instincts telling you not to make too much movement should you trigger the possible hostile in front of you.

He hums in response, saying nothing else. More silence permeates around you and it was really starting to get to you now. You were already starting to sweat, the fear of the unknown and the heat from the stove behind you making you overheat.

“Sit…over there…” he raises his hand, pointing to a seat at the table. You glance over to where he’s pointing, not wanting to possibly anger him, and carefully slink away from him, considering for just a moment to make a wild dash for the exit but think better of it when you see his bloated eyelight watching your every move.

Pulling a chair for yourself, you sit and wait, looking down in your lap as your hands wring nervously. Are you in trouble? Did you upset him? Maybe he’s mad you were gonna try some of his food? You don’t wanna make another enemy. One angry skeleton was enough.

You wait for a painfully long time as you hear him shuffle around while you begin to worry yourself into a tizzy. The suspense was killing you until you heard slow, heavy footsteps trudging towards you. Oh god, here it comes. You close your eyes and brace for impact.

…

Only to find that nothing happens, except you now feel a wafting heat under your chin. Opening your eyes you see a bowl of steaming food placed in front of you, you stare at it in confusion while the hulking skeleton proceeds to take a seat in the chair next to yours.

“It wasn’t ready yet… gotta be patient… lil treat...”

Staring at the food in front of you, you give the bowl a sniff to check that maybe he’s poisoned it, not that you’d know if he had. It still smelt really good though.

“You gotta…give it a sec…an’ let it cool down…”

He’s right, cupping the bowl lightly you could feel it was piping hot and it would surely burn your sensitive tongue.

“The names’ Horror…” He casually introduces himself in his rough baritone.

His name’s a Horror? Wait no, his name IS Horror! What kind of names do these skeletons have? You thought Killer was bad enough but assumed it might be an alias or nickname of some kind. Clearly not.

You glimpse at him and nod sheepishly in greeting.

He tilts his large head at you, his single eye light roaming to your ears then down to your tail.

“Heh…you really do…look like a kitty...” He says with a deep chuckle. You feel something touching your tail and looking makes you see he’s holding it with his large, very rough looking hand, running it along as his thumb smooths down the fur of your tail.

“Never seen a human…look like you before...”

You immediately grab your tail and bring it to you, holding it away from him as you try to give him an intimidating stare, the tip of your tail flicks agitatedly from being
touched.

“Heh heh…don’t worry…Nightmare said you’re… one of us now. I ain’t…gonna hurt ya…” He takes his large hand and drops it on your head, the majority of it engulfing you as he ruffles your hair and ears making you yelp and try to push him off your face.

He laughs more at your antics, your little hands scrambling to get away from under his massive one. Though his attention is diverted when he feels a shift in the air.

“Didn’t anyone tell you not to feed the strays?”

Turning Horror spots Dust having just shortcutted into the kitchen. He could see his magic still floating in the air around him.

“She was hungry… ain’t gonna turn away…a hungry mouth ta’ feed...” The mere thought of denying someone food made his soul twist painfully and he had to suppress the growl that wanted to come out.

“Yeah well here’s another one, I’m starving. I can smell the food wafting into my room. What you makin?”

“Vegetable and… water sausage stew.” He says finally taking his hand off your face. Your hair is now a mess and you’re miffed as you try to fix it.

Horror gets up to fix him a bowl while Dust goes and sits himself in the chair furthest away from you at the table, on the opposite side facing Horror’s seat and doesn’t really acknowledge you. That’s fine by you, you’ve had your fill of skeletons for a while now.

As you fix yourself, you manage to get a look of the new skeleton. He was actually dressed almost identically to Horror, also wearing the same white shirt, hoodie and black shorts but the hood was grey and lacked the white fur trim. His clothes seemed kind of shimmery, there was a grey powdery substance that coated his clothing, seeming to flitter off of him whenever he moved. He also wore a long red scarf which wrapped around his neck, draping down behind him. It was difficult to see his face hiding in the deep shadow of his hood but the one thing you could see were his piercing red eyelights, one of which had a ring of cyan in his left socket. He gave off a weird vibe overall, there was something eerie and unsettling about him that made the fur on your tail prickle. Actually they all gave off that feeling. Something was strange about the group of skeletons you had met, you should really find out what job they do…

You thought you could hear him muttering to someone next to his shoulder, focusing your eyes you swore you could see the figure of something translucent hovering next to him. As your eyes dilate you can see that he’s talking to… a floating skeleton? Well, the head of one at least. This one had two red gloved hands that floated near him and a red scarf similar to what the other one was wearing. His skull shape was a little longer than the other skeletons you had met and he was also whispering something inaudible back to the hooded one. You go to open your mouth to say something when—

“Hey gang what’s cookin, oh hey Kitten. Great to see you managed to dress yourself, let me know if you need help next time m’kay?”

Oh great, not him again.

Killer is quick to sit in the seat next to yours while Horror starts dishing up the food. The shit eating grin he’s giving you makes you narrow your eyes. God what is with him? You didn’t know why he kept engaging with you. He clearly didn’t like you, he literally said he didn’t but here he was being all chummy. His constant 180 in attitude towards you was giving you whiplash though judging by that subtle dark look in his sockets he was clearly putting it all on as an act, you’d have to keep on your toes around him.

You scoot away from him when Horror comes along and lifts Killer out of his seat and literally drops him on the floor. What was with him and the floor today?

“Hey I was sitting there!”

“No…I was sitting there...sit somewhere else...” Horror takes his seat back next to you having finished plating the food at the table.

“Why should I?”

“Because... I said so...”

Killer grumbled, pulling himself off the floor and dusting himself down. “Jeez, who died and made you ruler?”

“My kitchen…my rules…” Horror emphasises slowly, opting to just ignore the pouting skeleton.

Hearing the commotion, Nightmare enters the kitchen holding what appears to be a paper newspaper, he also has a pair of reading glasses taped to his face. It looked odd though you supposed with the lack of ears to keep them in place it makes sense to use tape.

“Killer, I've told you before not to make a scene in the kitchen.” He says, not even looking up from his paper, managing to easily find his seat at the head of the table next to Dust and Horror despite not looking where he was going.

“Oi Boss! Tell im’ to let me sit next to Kitten.” He says pointing to you and Horror like Nightmare was a parent needing to sort out a fight between his kids.

Reluctantly Nightmare glances up at the three of you. His gaze immediately shoots to you, taking in your new attire. You certainly looked much better now that you were cleaned up properly. The tank top and leggings you were wearing showed off your subtle curves now that you weren’t wearing such loose clothing. His eyelights lingered on your body for a moment before shooting up to your face.

He could see the way you stared at him with wide eyes, subtly shaking your head at him to communicate your displeasure to sit next to Killer. He could feel your panic and he mentally sighed before going back to his newspaper.

“His kitchen, his rules.”

Killer groaned, letting his head loll to the side like a stroppy teenager while Horror chuckled and you breathed out in relief. You almost missed the way Cross ran into the kitchen in a full blown panic.

“Guys I can’t find the human, she was in her room but now she’s gone, oh god Nightmare’s gonna kill—!” He stops mid sentence when she spots you at the table. You can see him visibly relax but then tense again when he also sees Nightmare giving him an unimpressed look.

“Uhhhh, I mean, there you are! R-Right where I left you...”

Rounding the table, Cross is quick to take the last available seat next to yours at the other head of the table, you gave him an apologetic look for wandering off without telling him but he didn’t seem too upset thankfully.

That left Killer to sit between Cross and Dust, much to your relief and his annoyance.

You watched everyone begin to dig in, it was so weird seeing everyone eating together. Despite some of the hostility you had seen, everyone seemed to be getting on rather well for the most part. It was a huge contrast to what happened in Nightmare’s study. Maybe Cross was right, maybe all that was pretty normal. Not that you would know what normal was like. You never got to eat your meals with anyone, especially not in a group like this so this was all a new experience for you.

Looking down at your food, you surmised it has cooled down enough by now. Taking your spoon you scoop up the contents and take your first mouthful.

Your pupils immediately blow wide. The flavour was unlike anything you’d ever tasted before. So many rich seasonings and spices delighted your tongue. Sweet but savoury with all sorts of wonderful textures that melted in your mouth. You didn’t know food could taste so good! You’d be happy if you never ate anything else ever again.

Without wasting any time you begin wolfing down your food. The cutlery eventually no longer being efficient enough so you decide to forgo the spoon, just picking up the bowl and slurping it down. The noises coming from you were ravenous and you miraculously managed to avoid making a mess over yourself. You didn’t realise how hungry you were, you could feel how high the concentration of magic was in the food and your body screamed for more, feeling warm and tingly with the sudden high amount of magic you’re practically shoving into your body.

Coming to the end of your bowl, you finally put your plate down letting out a satisfied “aaah” sound as you lick the remaining residue off your lips. You realise everything had gone quiet and looking around you saw that everyone was staring at you with a mixture of different expressions.

Killer was snickering badly, barely able to hold in his laughter. Dust huffed though he had an amused grin on his face while the floating head next to him looked disturbed. Cross looked concerned, probably because your reaction made him think he didn’t feed you enough back in the cell and Nightmare just looked disgusted. Horror however had the biggest grin on his face, his eye light blown out and a blue colour dusting his face.

Oof you lost control of yourself there. You suddenly felt very self conscious with all their eyelights on you and you looked down in your lap, a small embarrassed blush colouring your cheeks.

“Heh.. I like her…” Horror was very much happy to find someone with a big appetite like him.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that. It’s bad enough when Horror does it and— oh stars Horror why are you like this? Can’t you just eat like a normal, civilised monster?”

Mid-sentence Horror had picked up his bowl, deciding to follow your example he cracked open his maw and chucked back the contents in one gulp, the food disappearing in the black void of his mouth. You caught a glimpse of his sharp, gagged teeth before a blue tongue slithered out to lick at them with a satisfied huff.

“This is how…normal monsters eat….” He looks at you and gives you a wink. “ain’t that… right, cupcake?”

Was he… trying to make you feel better? You let out a little giggle, ringing as softly as a bell making Horror smile widen more. “Ya want seconds?…”

You nod at him, you could feel your body still craving more and hand him your plate. He takes it and goes to fill up yours and his.

Killer watches the interaction after having managed to calm down his snickering, though his expression seemed to be far less cheerful than it was a second ago after the way he saw Horror smile at you, his own was looking unusually strained.

“Kitten’s pretty cute, huh?” Dust mumbles just in earshot to Killer.

“Yeah well don’t get too attached, she ain’t gonna be around for very long.” Killer grumbles back quietly, not looking up from his plate as he pushes the food around with his spoon. He suddenly wasn’t feeling very hungry anymore.

“Nightmare’s not gonna like it if you do anything to her, you know. Don’t you think you should let this one go?”

Killer scoffs.

“Says the guy who was watching her while she slept, don’t think that I didn't notice you were in her room earlier, I could see the magic leftover from your shortcut. Having an LV spike already? Damn, those voices in your head really are getting to ya.”

Dust growled, annoyed that Killer had caught him, he could be surprisingly perceptive at times. He should have teleported away sooner, his magic would have had more time to dissipate if he had done but his manic episodes can distract him sometimes making him less aware of his surroundings. It had been getting worse as of late, his LV surges were occurring more frequently. Maybe he needed to ask Nightmare to send him out to ‘relieve some stress’.

“Just make sure you don’t get any funny ideas, the only one that’s gonna take her life is me.” Killer hisses low in warning.

“Whatever… it’s your funeral.” Is all Dust adds before the two continue to eat in silence.

“What are you guys talking about?” Cross interrupts, butting in on their conversation having noticed how weirdly hushed they’re being.

“We’re talking about the maid outfit you got for Kitten.” Killer answers loudly, his expression completely flipping back to cheerful as he gets the attention of the whole table.

“You got her a maid outfit?” Dust questions looking actually kinda shocked by this making Cross’s face flash bright purple.

“WHAT?! No I didn’t! Killer that was yo—”

“Yeah you were really insistent about it too, shame on you Crossy. You shouldn’t be taking advantage of Kitten like that.” He was laying it on really thick.

“N-No wait! It wasn’t—” Cross was now looking around the table like he’s hoping someone was gonna defend his integrity.

“Wow…that’s a shock…coming from you Cross...” Horror chimes in placing your second helping in front of you.

“Why am I not surprised? I don’t even want to know.”

“I didn’t!—it wasn’t!!—ARGH KILLER I'M GONNA MURDER YOU!!”

Suddenly Cross summons the biggest knife you’ve ever seen and starts swinging it at Killer. Killer just grins and teleports around the kitchen as Cross chases him. You looked worried for the poor skeleton but everyone at the table didn’t seem concerned, Dust and Horror chuckling away while Nightmare just sighed looking done with the situation and turned the page of his paper to continue reading, he seemed used to this sort of thing.

Exhaling, you resign yourself to let it be and picked up your spoon, hoping to eat more civically this time.

Just enjoy the great food and even greater (but considerably questionable) company.

~~ ~~~

The black Rolls Royce pulled up outside the building, screeching to a stop before the chauffeur rushed out the driver seat to the passenger side. He was just barely able to crack the door before Mr. Bradford slammed it wide open, knocking the poor man over.

Trudging to the facility entrance, there was already security waiting to escort him though. Several team members rushed him, talking over one another about the events that happened over the course of a few days but he just ignored them and kept going, the scowl on his face tightening the longer it took him to get to his destination.

“Is he up?” The suited man gruffed.

“I, uh, yes Sir—but we haven’t told him what happened yet! You may want to let one of us inform him b-before you—”

Bradford trudged faster, leaving the facility members to rush after him as he made his way deeper into the less public and more classified part of the building.

Navigating his way through, he finally makes it to the lab, specifically the experiment cells and testing rooms. There he was met by several scientists that rallied around him, almost blocking his path to dissuade his current course of action.

“M-Mr. Bradford please I would highly recommend you reconsider. Experiment 41 has been extremely volatile as of late. It would be too dangerous for you to enter his—”

Unfortunately the scientist's warning was left unheeded as Bradford reached his destination. Stopping outside a cell he turns to the entourage that had been tailing him since he arrived.

“You two.” He points a thick, ringed finger to the security guards, “Wait outside, be ready if I need you.” He turns to the rest of the group. “The rest of you fuck off, do not interrupt us.” He snapped before using his clearance card to enter the cell.

“Sir, wait!—”

The door beeps closed and locks, all outside noise now gone. He can see the room has been absolutely trashed with what little was already in it. Narrowing his wrinkled eyes he spots the person he was seeking out sitting in the corner with his back facing him, his black ears and tail not moving once since Bradford had entered.

“The fuck is all this?” He gestures to the pit surrounding them. “You’re throwing tantrums now? Like you have anything to be mad about!?” He starts off already yelling. “I handed you that girl and you know what you did? You fucked it up, that’s what!”

The man just continues to face the wall, saying nothing.

“You had one job! ONE FUCKING JOB!! And now thanks to that prissy-bitch, redhead caretaker of hers, she’s upped and ran.

“What?…” The silvery sound of the young man’s voice replied, quiet but tense like he spoke through gritted teeth. Bradford could see that his hunched posture was starting to become ridgid, his tail beginning to spike and a low growl rumbled from him.

“You heard me! That hell-cat of yours escaped the facility and now some rogue monsters have up and nabbed her. They’re probably all taking turns fucking her in ways you couldn—”

Bradford was immediately silenced by the way the man roared, now on his feet and proceeding to throw and trash anything he could get his hands on. His fangs snarling and claws ripping into the already broken furniture.

Bradford would never admit the small shock that ran through him as he backed against the door slightly. He was quick to push it down as his hand reached into his pocket for the remote should he need it.

“Oh will you be fucking quiet! This is your own damn fault! We’re not making you another one, do you no how fucking expensive it is to create one of you freaks?! Fucking millions! You could of saved us a fortune if you could of just got your limp dick out your a—”

In an instant the experiment's head snapped towards Bradford before he launched at him, Bradford was able to clock the deep scar etched across his face, seconds before pulling out the remote and pressing the button

Immediately the man screeched and crumpled to the floor, spasming and screaming as his black claws scratched at the centre of his chest.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you unless you want to rip your own soul.” Bradford laughs cruelly. Feeling confident he was now no longer a threat, he stepped closer to his creation with arrogance.

“We took the opportunity to plant a soul shocking chip in you while your little mate had you knocked out.” He spoke casually as if there wasn’t someone currently screaming in pain in front of him.

“Unfortunately the team hadn’t had enough time to implant one in her before she escaped, that would have made capturing her so much easier.” He ground out bitterly.”

He watched as the man writhed in agony before ending his pain by releasing his thumb from the button. The poor creature slumped on the floor, gasping for air.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t do that because fortunately for you, you’re gonna bring her back.”

The being on the floor starred as he breathed heavily, his striking yellow eyes filled with hate behind his shaggy hair while Bradford rummaged around in his pockets.

Finding what he was looking for, he pulled it out revealing a ripped and scuffed looking piece of white cloth.

“This was found at her last location before she disappeared.”

Kneeling down, he dangles the cloth, swinging it condescendingly in front of the man’s face. “Now you’re gonna be a good doggy and use that nose of yours to track her down, capiche?”

Silence befell the two of them, the only sound being Experiment 41’s ragged breaths. The two seemed to stare each other down before the man’s eyes fell on the cloth.

Bradford watched as he stared at the rag, seeing the cogs turning in the creature's head before he leaned forward and took a long, deep sniff.

Chapter Text

You awoke feeling refreshed and well rested for the first time in a while. Your bed was the comfiest you’ve ever been in and you really needed a good sleep, your last one being in the cell they had put you in for god knows how long you were knocked out for. Staring up at the ceiling you recalled the events from yesterday evening.

Once you had finished Dinner with everyone, Cross had walked you back to your room since it was next to his. Horror also tagged along much to your surprise, seemingly eager to spend more time with you. Despite his initial appearance he was actually very friendly. The three of you ended up chatting in your room for a while, though it was mostly you just listening to them while they told you about the fun things they get up to, some of which you didn’t fully understand. Something about a trash tornado that ended up in Nightmare’s office once? It apparently got so big it sucked up most of the library and a lot of Nightmare’s important documents. I think Cross also ended up getting sucked in and they couldn’t get him out much to his dismay. It took Nightmare ages to rearrange everything after that incident and apparently they all got heavy lashings. You didn’t know.

Cross also mentioned he had got you a phone. Retrieving it from his room, having forgotten to give it to you earlier, he had shown you what the basic functions were and how to call from any universe (whatever that meant) and had already added everyone’s number into your phone for you. You were very curious about the little device, having never been given any technology for the most part; it was going to take you a while to get used to using it.

Horror took the opportunity to use your phone to take a selfie of the three of you, wanting to commemorate your ‘first day’ on the team. He squished you all together so you were in shot before saving it as your phone wallpaper and sending it to both their phones as well. You were amazed at the picture and couldn’t wait to take more.

Once they had said their goodbyes and left you for the night, you spent the rest of your time testing out your phone before falling asleep.

Reaching for your phone, the screen lit up and you saw the photo taken from yesterday. Cross had the purple colour on his cheeks again and Horror had a big relaxed grin on his face. You really did love this photo, it was your first one ever afterall. Checking the time you saw it was roughly ten o’clock and now was as good as any to start the day.

After emerging from your shower, teeth freshly cleaned and hair brushed neatly, you decided to pick what you were going to wear for today. You were excited to have a choice for once, eager to decide in what ways to express yourself. You opted to wear a pretty blue and white floral dress and some ballerina type pumps. Glancing in the mirror, you loved the way the dress looked, turning left and right to see the way it twirled.

It was then you felt your stomach rumbling. Wondering if someone was going to come and collect you, you decided to text Cross, luckily he had shown you how to last night, to see if he wanted to have breakfast with you, though not hearing a reply you guessed he must still be sleeping. Not wanting to wake him, you decide to make the journey to the kitchen by yourself, this time letting him know by texting him again saying you’re heading to breakfast.

Making your way down the castle hallway, you had made sure you paid close attention when Cross and Horror walked you back, luckily managing to memorise most of the turns and corners as well as some memorable hall marks like the weird bone painting, you felt fairly confident you knew where you were going. You realise that’s probably why the castle has so many art pieces, they acted as mark points, as well as lovely decor, that’s probably why the skeletons knew where they were going.

You were rewarded when you successfully made it back to the kitchen. However now you were met with another problem. You didn’t know how to cook. The facility obviously had never shown you how, considering all your meals were already prepared and cooked and you certainly were not going to attempt cooking now. You would have no idea how to begin or where to start, so instead you decided to find something that didn’t require cooking.

Opening one of the large metal containers, you saw a variety of food types. Cold meats, raw meats, fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk, some dairy items you think and a bunch of other items you had never seen before. Some fruit sounded good! You grabbed yourself a couple of bananas, closing the container and turning—only to yelp in surprise when you bump straight into Horror, almost dropping the fruit.

Horror looked down at you, chuckling, having caught you off guard again.

“Good morning…to you too…lil treat…”

Watching you as you catch your breath, he takes in your form, namely your outfit as he blushes.

“You’re looking…real pretty…today cupcake…”

Looking up at him, you’re surprised at the sudden complement. You can feel yourself getting shy, not used to nice words being directed your way, a small blush paints your own face as you nod your thanks to him.

He makes a pleased purr, you really were a cute little thing. He already found himself feeling quite fond of you. He did always have a thing for humans, or beings that looked like humans? But given his line of work it’s not like he’s ever had the chance to find a possible mate. Maybe that might change…

He’s taken out of his train of thought when he glances at the bananas in your hand and tilts his head.

“That all you… having for breakfast?…” He asks.

Looking at the fruit then up at him, you nod giving him a questioning look like you’re asking what’s wrong with them.

“Jus’ doesn’t look… very apeeling s’all…” He chuckles to himself again. You just shrug in reply and go to move around him.

“Oh no…ya don’t…that’s not a real breakfast…”

He stops you by placing his hands on your waist and easily lifts you up off the ground like you weighed nothing at all. You squeak, startled by the sudden action as he starts walking to the cooking station. As if he’s gonna allow you to only eat fruit for breakfast he thinks before placing you down on the counter next to the stove. You watch him shocked as he starts to move around again, grabbing several pots and pans as well as several cooking ingredients.

“I’ll show you…what a real breakfast…looks like...” He winks at you before getting to work.

You begin to watch as he actually starts cooking in front of you! You were mesmerised at how deftly he moved, cracking eggs with one hand into the pan along with several rashers of bacon. The sizzling sound was so satisfying and the smell was heavenly. He also brought out some vegetables you had never seen before, going to wash them before coming back to chop them in front of you. He could see how intently you were watching him, making his grin widen.

You picked up one that was round and red, it felt squishy yet firm in your hand and had no scent when you gave it a sniff. Horror chuckled, watching the way you inspected the veggie. Taking it out of your hand, he chops off a little bit of it and offers it back to you. Taking it from him, you can see the inside is watery and kinda squelchy. Looking at him he gives you a nod to try it so you shrug and pop it in your mouth. It had a weird flavour, it was tangy and a little bitter and squelched with juices when you chewed on it. You made a weird face and Horror laughed.

“Don’t like…the tomato, huh?…”

You gave him a look and shock your head but swallowed anyway. A tomato? So that’s what it’s called.

Horror began chopping the tomato as well as another vegetable. Staring at that one too, Horror could see you hadn’t been deterred and wanted to try it which pleased him. Food was a blessing and you should never turn it away should you lose it forever...

Cutting you a piece and offering it to you, you take it eagerly and plop it in your mouth. Chewing on it, this one had a spongy texture and didn’t really taste of anything. It would probably taste better when cooked though.

While you pondered the food item in your mouth, Horror lifted his hand and placed it on your head, much more gently this time and stroked your hair.

“That’s a…good girl…”

Your blush hit you hard, stopping you mid chew. You can feel the way his large hand strokes the top of your head between your ears. However before you’re even able to enjoy being pet, Horror’s already taken his hand off to continue chopping. It had been so long since you've been pet. You wouldn’t mind if he did it again…

“That’s called…a mushroom…”

Ah! You’ve heard of that! It’s a type of plant that reproduces with spores and likes moist dark areas to grow in. You remember that while some were dangerous to eat there were some that are actually edible. What you just had must have been the edible kind, you hoped at least.

Horror continued chopping before adding the vegetables to a separate pan. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you watched him cook, learning while enjoying each other's company. You hoped maybe one day you could try cooking for yourself, maybe Horror would even show you how.

~~ ~~~

Killer was pleasantly surprised by the smell that greeted him as he walked down the hallway. It had been a while since Horror had cooked breakfast, this was due to the fact that none of them were morning people usually, except for Nightmare but he didn’t need to sleep. So breakfast was usually forgone in favour of a big lunch and dinner.

Changing his destination, Killer headed for the kitchen only to spot the two of you. You were sitting on the kitchen counter next to Horror while he cooked. He noticed you were wearing a dress that wasn’t one of his, it must have been one Cross picked out for you. It was a blue and white flowery pattern that came up just above your knee, though with the way you were sitting it was coming up a little higher showing off more of your slender legs.

While Killer did hate humans, he had to admit he liked the way they looked physically. Their warm and soft skin filled with pumping blood just itching for him to sink his phalanges and knives into, what’s not to like?

He would have enjoyed the sight if it weren’t ruined by the way Horror was clearly gushing around you. Cutting off a piece of bacon to feed to you, watching the way you accepted being fed as you bit into the succulent meat and pulled it off the offered fork. Ugh, Gross.

He stood there in the door archway for a while, just watching Horror feed you pieces here and there while he cooked. Each time you gladly accepted. It was sickly sweet and made him want to gag. One little human comes along and they all turn to mush. She hadn’t even been here longer than a day and she already had Cross, and now Horror, wrapped around her finger. This was gonna make things so much more difficult.

“Aww, you never feed me like that Horror. What? Don’t you like me anymore?” He moans fakely, getting the attention of the two off you. He can see the way you tense seeing him. Good.

“Kitten’s hungry…” Horror huffs, now feeling sour that Killer’s come to wreck the mood.

“But I’m hungry toooo.” He skips over, clearly trying to get a rise out of him. You just watch him with mixed emotions, now doubt confused by his weird way of behaving. He liked that you found him confusing, it meant he couldn’t be sussed out, that he was unpredictable and thus difficult to find any weakness or read in a fight.

Miraculously Horror procures a plate of steaming food containing eggs, bacon, sausages, mushroom, beans, cooked tomatoes and buttered toast. A fry up basically, shoving it into Killer’s chest making him pout as he grabs the plate.

“But Horror, I want you to feed me too—mmph!

Quickly Horror stuffs a sausage in his mouth, ending his incessant whining. You giggle but quickly shut up when Killer gives you a dirty look.

“There…I’ve fed ya…now go eat your breakfast…at the table…like a good babybones…”

What? So he can keep watching the two of you make goo goo eyes at each other. Fuck that.

He spits the sausage onto his plate, managing to not send any of it flying.

“Nah, I’d rather not stick around in case I end up catching you sticking your sausage in ‘er too.” He says, tilting his head towards you. You suddenly hear the clanging of a pan being dropped startling you slightly, fortunately you see the pan was empty but Horror’s face is now completely blue. He growls, turning quickly to face Killer but Killer disappears in a puff of wispy magic. You look at the place Killer once stood before turning to Horror tilting your head at him in confusion. Horror seemed to only blush more from your stare, stumbling with his words before telling you not to worry about it, going back to his cooking before serving his and your plate and ushering you to the table.

Taking your seats, you didn’t really understand that interaction just now. Something about sausages? You guessed it didn’t matter now that Horror was back to normal, his blue colouring had disappeared and his usual grin was on his face, though it looked a little strained.

Placing your hand on the top of his, you gently give it a soothing stroke, trying to reassure him not to let Killer get under his metaphorical skin.

Looking at you, a small blush comes back to his cheeks and his smile widens, no longer looking so strained. Turning his hand so yours is resting in his, you can see the massive difference in size as he gently closes his hand over yours, careful not to hurt you.

“Heh…thanks Kitten…”

You smile and nod as he releases you, allowing you to both enjoy breakfast in peace.

~~ ~~~

Breakfast was delicious. You couldn't believe how much you had been missing out on when it came to food. Horror talked to you about all sorts of food and cooking recipes while you ate. He seemed like a real food enthusiast and you could see why. Good cooking could enhance the flavour of any food with the right spices and seasonings, it really was an art, you even enjoyed the tomato once it was cooked but maybe that was just because Horror was such an amazing cook.

The skeleton with the mismatched eyes also came in while you were eating—you believed his name was Dust, he must have smelt the promise of a fry up wafting out the kitchen. Horror had gotten up to make him a plate while he took a seat, still at the spot furthest away from you. While you kept eating you couldn’t help but notice how rough he was looking today, he was sweating and looked like he hadn’t slept all night. There were dark rings under his socket and he was staring off into space, twitching and occasionally muttering incoherently while his phalanges drummed restlessly against the table.

Glancing next to him you could see the floating skeletal head much clearer now. It was whispering pretty aggressively to him and when it caught you staring it immediately stopped. The floating head looked at you a little wide eyed then narrowed its sockets at you before again whispering something to Dust. Dust immediately shot at look in your direction, his expression looking almost surprised. Your eyes flicker between the two, which Dust clearly noticed, both their focus on you before you quickly ducked your head down to keep eating. It looked like Dust wanted to say something but Horror had already come back over and handed him his plate.

Dust stared at the food before his eye lights went back to you, you tried your best not to look at him before he stood. Picking up his food he mumbled a quiet “thanks…” before vanishing.

Once you had finished and helped him clean up, Horror asked what you planned on doing next. You actually wanted to go and see Nightmare unfortunately, you still didn’t know what your job role was now that you were working for him and wanted to go ask. You tried to communicate this to him. With a series of hand motions and gestures, Horror managed to eventually figure out what you wanted. He had stared at you blankly with his large eyelight for a while before commenting, finally figuring out what you were trying to say.

“Heh heh…well why didn’t…you say so?…” he rasped.

You huffed, tired from trying to explain before you squeak as Horror scoops you up with one arm, holding you to his chest so you were sitting in the crook of his arm.

“Let’s get going then…hold on tight…lil treat…” he grins at you. You’re not sure what he means when suddenly everything goes black and you’re enveloped by a cold darkness. You feel your stomach lurch as a wave of vertigo rushes over you and your sense of gravity is completely gone. Immediately you cling to Horror, burying your face in his shoulder and closing your eyes tight. You didn’t know what was happening but you could hear Horror’s deep chuckling.

As quickly as it occurred, the darkness had ended and you could feel gravity again. The cold chill of the emptiness vanished and the light came back from behind your eyelids.

“You can open…your eyes now, cupcake…”

Still too scared to do so, you slowly peek out of one eye before opening them fully. Looking around you could see you were now out in the hallway outside a wooden door. You recognised it to be Nightmare’s study. Wait, how did you get here??

You were frantically looking around making sure you were definitely where you thought you were, making Horror laugh.

“Hope you enjoyed…the ride…but I gotta…get goin’” he says, gently putting you down. “Cross hasn’t had breakfast…gotta make sure he eats…or else…”

You’re still bewildered at what you just experienced, not really listening to Horror when you remembered that some of the skeletons could teleport. Is that what happened?? Did he just teleport with you?!

“Catch ya later…Kitten…” he waves before shortcutting away, leaving you staring with your mouth agape.

He did! He just teleported you right outside Nightmare’s office!! Despite the trip being unpleasant you were left buzzing having gotten to experience what it was like to teleport. With the little bit of adrenaline still left in you, you confidently knocked on the door and waited.

“Come in.”

With permission, you gently creak the door open and step inside, spotting Nightmare at his desk yet again working on…whatever it is he does.

The heavy atmosphere falls on you again, though a little less oppressive this time, it still manages to suck all the short lived confidence out of you. You hoped that you’d get used to it the more time you came into contact with Nightmare.

“Ah, Pet. What can I do for you?”

He seemed in a good mood today.

Lingering by the door, you twiddled your fingers not really sure how to explain your presence. You noticed that the hole in the wall that Killer made was fixed, that’s good.

Picking up on your hesitance, Nightmare glances at you, his eye light lingers momentarily, carefully looking you up and down and lets out a low hum before going back to his work.

“If you are reporting for work then there is simply no need. There is nothing I require from you until you have fully healed.”

Oh. Really? But you already felt fine for the most part, safe for your throat you were sure you were physically able to do whatever was required of you.

As if reading your mind, or maybe you were just that obvious, Nightmare continued.

“If you’re already feeling able then we can consider starting with some physical training. While your magic is indeed powerful it seems your physicality in terms of fighting is lacking. We will need to bring you up to an acceptable standard before we can start taking you out on missions.”

Missions? Now you were really curious what kind of work they did. Considering the need for a certain physical level you assumed it must be something strenuous and labouring.

“We can start you off tomorrow, Cross will be your sparring partner.” He speaks matter of factly. “Regarding your…” he winds his hand trying to find the right words. “Internal magic. I suggest you figure out a way to train your throat tolerance to handle the intensity of your magic so you’re not left defenceless and vulnerable. It will do you no favours if you can only use it once before you are out of commission.”

This was true. You could only ever use your scream once before months of intense healing and medical treatment. Even the facility struggled to fully test its capabilities since they could only engage in an experiment using it at the very earliest every few months if that.

“I would suggest some vocal exercises and perhaps some low humming to get your vocal chords used to the vibration to start with.” He states, going back to his work. You wait for him to say anything else but he seems to have finished having sufficiently explained your tasks.

“You may leave.”

Ah. You were being dismissed. That was fast. Nightmare really doesn’t waste any time, does he? Your questions were answered though, sort of. You didn’t really have any reason to linger about and take up any more of this time.

You nod at him and turn to leave, spying the bookshelves, you wonder if Nightmare would let you read them some time. You’ll ask him at a later date.

Exiting his study you decide to go back to your room, maybe even go see if Cross is awake. You’ve been wondering if he might give you a tour of the castle to get familiarised with everything.

Wandering down the hallway, you start to notice some art pieces you’d never seen before. Strange, you swear this was the way back to the entrance hall, maybe you took a wrong turn somewhere.

After about 10 mins you realise you do not recognise where you are at all. Looking around, the hallways and rooms all look the same, the only distinguishable features being the decor but since you didn’t recognise any of the ones around you right now you just didn’t know where to go. You think about using your phone only to call someone but realise you’ve left it back in your room! Ugh! If you could just get back to the main hall you’d be able to navigate yourself from there.

“Human…”

You jump at the sudden voice addressing you. Ears twitching behind you towards the direction of the sound, you turn, eyes falling onto one, no, two familiar skeletons.

“Do you wanna have a b a d t i m e?”

Chapter Text

Dust stood in front of you, dead centre in the middle of the wide hallway, the ghostly head of his companion floating by his side.

Taking a step back you feel a chill crawl down your spine with the way his eyelights locked with yours, like your life’s sins were being pulled forth for judgement.

“You just keep coming back don’t cha?” He asks, taking a matching step towards you, his grin stretching uncomfortably wide.

Something was wrong, he seemed even worse than earlier. His breathing was ragged and heavy while his eye lights were brighter than you’ve ever seen them. They looked unfocused, like he wasn’t really seeing you.

There was something haunting emanating from him, much like Nightmare but not quite the same. No, this was something more manic. More…unhinged. You could feel a prickling in the air of spiking magic that felt different compared to the time in the alley with Killer. This felt more powerful, like a crackling fog of poison permeating the air. It was suffocating and making your instincts scream that you were in danger.

“I guess you didn’t learn your lesson, how’s about a quick reminder for ol’ times sake?”

You could feel yourself positioning to start running, eyes never leaving his while you try and keep your breathing steady. Your black magic was already climbing up your arms and legs, shaping your hands and feet into clawed talons. You really didn’t want to fight, you honestly doubted you’d make it out alive if you did. You could clearly see he was far more powerful than you, your best chance of survival would be to flee and find one of the other skeletons, Nightmare ideally.

He raised a shaky hand, hesitating almost like he was conflicted when the flash of his skeleton companion appeared, hovering closer to him. He places his red ghostly glove on Dust’s shoulder and whispers with a damning smile on his face. You thought you could actually hear a voice this time but you couldn’t make out the words. Whatever they were, they clearly didn’t bode well for you when the magic surrounding Dust hits a peak like it was preparing to attack and whatever hesitance he had vanished.

“You’re right, I’m doing this for you paps.”

You were unprepared when you suddenly felt stinging magic strangle your soul. Dust’s hand flung forward and you felt your soul forcefully being pulled behind you, followed by your body. You ended up being sent flying down the hallway at full speed. Everything went past you so quickly before your back meets the wall at the end, the back of your head slamming against it making you see stars.

A terrible throb hurts your head as it lolled to the side limply. Dazed, you groan and you reach up to touch the injured area, feeling a wetness pooling there. Pulling your hand back you’re blearily able to see the blood coating your fingers.

“Heh heh…aw did that hurt? Don’t pass out now, I want you awake while I take a ‘crack’ at ya.”

Forcing your shifting vision to focus you can make out Dust slowly approaching you from a distance. With a wave of his hand a barrage of sharp purple bones were summoned to his side and all around him, all of which were pointed straight at you.

“Gee you don’t look so good buddy. You’re starting to look a little ‘impailed’ heheheheheh.”

Dust bursts into maniacal laughter as he sends the bones hurling towards you. Your vision barely clears as you force yourself to dodge. You take off running albeit a little clumsily before gaining momentum, bolting to your left down another hallway as the bones embed themselves into the wall in succession where you were.

Running on all fours, your mind races. Why is he attacking you?! He seemed fine yesterday and you can’t remember doing anything that might have upset him. You haven’t even really interacted with him so why was he doing this? You go as fast as you can but not as fast as the last time you were chased, you couldn’t afford ripping all your muscles again. Everything was going past you so quickly and you didn’t want to risk hiding in one of the rooms should it lead to a dead end. You hoped if you made enough turns you would be able to loop back round and head back to Nightmare’s study.

You sense magic condescending ahead of you and realise he must be about to appear there. Reading yourself, you manage to skirt around him just as he appears catching him off guard as he completely misses you, another cluster of bones flying where he anticipated you were gonna be.

“I see you’ve got some new tricks, kid. How’s about you throw me a ‘bone’ here?”

Turning Dust takes off after you, summoning more bones to head in your direction. You can’t see them coming from behind but you’re able to sense when they get close enough for you to barely duck without losing momentum. You manage to do it as you watch the bones now flying past ahead of you, only for them to stop, turn around and come flying back towards you. Oh give me a break!

Another corner was coming up on your right, deciding to take it you make a swift turn as the bones pass and now head towards Dust. He growls and dismisses them before they hit him as he rounds the corner after you.

It was just a hunch but maybe he wasn’t in control of himself, he was talking to you as if you were someone else. Maybe it had something to do with his floating friend? Earlier he was hesitating until that ghostly head said something to him.

“Why are you running?! Come and fight me like you always do! Like you fought everyone else!!”

You suddenly feel intense magic form along the ground below you. Realising he’s about to summon something again you pick up speed and quickly leap onto the wall just as the floor fills with purple spikes trailing all the way down. Yeah there’s no way you could have outrun that without being impaled.

Running along the wall was much harder but with your magically formed claws you’re able to fight gravity to keep you there, though you were knocking down every painting and wall decoration that hung there. Sorry Nightmare!

“What’s the matter? You afraid you’ll ‘break a leg’?”

You can feel him prepare the same attack again as the magic condenses but this time along the wall you’re on. The bones along the floor dissipate and you jump back just as the bones pierce out from the wall. This goes on for a while as you run, he can only seem to summon the bones on one surface at a time, so you continue to leap from wall to floor to wall, narrowly avoiding being impaled while Dust gets more and more frustrated.”

The barrage of bones eventually stops but you can feel the flecks of his magic as he’s about to grab at your soul again. Knowing what to expect this time, you immediately start zig-zagging at high speed, bouncing all over the walls and even the ceiling. He can’t grab you if you’re not in one spot long enough.

“What the hell? What are you doing you crazy freak?! Hold still!!”

He keeps trying to grab at you with his magic but you’re moving too erratically for him to predict your movements. You eventually come to a staircase and you fling yourself down them and start heading back in the direction you came.

He keeps up with his attacks switching between them as he chases you though miraculously you manage to keep avoiding them. Your head is thumping with all your jolting movements but your soul fills with hope when you recognise you approaching the entrance hall.

You didn't know if it was your feeling of hope or your throbbing head that distracted you but Dust seemed to anticipate your plan to head to Nightmare’s office. Heading for the main stairs Dust teleported to appear before you, blocking your path. You tried to dodge him but you were a second too late as he used his magic to grip at your soul and send you flying into a pillar, the brick work smashing as you landed on the tiled floor with ‘thump’.

Brick debris and dust fell around you as you groaned weakly. Dust’s silhouette slowly emerged from the cloud of particles, his crazed eyes glowing as he watched you with manic glee. You can see his ghostly companion has appeared over his shoulder again, also smiling with excitement as he claps his two gloved hands.

“WELL DONE SANS! SHE WAS A SLIPPERY THING BUT YOU MANAGED SUCCESSFULLY SUBDUE HER! GOOD JOB!” His long face pulled into a creepy smile while his red eyelights bore into you.

“Heh…thanks pap…”

Walking down the steps, he stops at the last one and casts a cruel look over your crumpled form.

“This was fun, kid. You were really ‘ribbing’ me there but we both know you can never escape from me. It always ends the same way...”

You watched through weak eyelids as Dust summoned his final attack. You can see what appears to be a giant skull of some kind of animal appear over his head, so massive it could swallow your body hole. You watch as it slowly opens its maw to reveal the sparking of pure magic, condensing into blinding light that builds in intensity. You can feel your hairs stand on end and your soul screeching within you to use your magic. It’s already pushing itself up into your throat so harsh it stings but you can’t. Your body wouldn’t be able to handle it, you’re already too weak it would probably rip your throat apart if you tried to use your scream again.

It looked like this was the end.

“With you B U R N I N G  I N  H E L L.”

You hear a high pitch zapping sound as the skull’s bright light shoots out towards you. You prepare for impact but in a split second you see a flash of something blocking your vision and grabbing you before you feel a familiar darkness wash over you.

You thought you were dead but you could feel the cold emptiness soothing your thumping head. It felt like you were in there an eternity when flashes of light and colour start filling your vision again and you realise you’re now back in the entrance hall but not where you were originally crumpled up on the floor.

You see you’re now behind dust at the top of the central stairs, the giant skull is still there, its jaws closing having finished zapping where you had been. The area where you once laid was completely disintegrated, the tiled floor blackened and the wall now gone leaving a massive hole to the outside.

You could feel yourself being placed on the ground. Looking up you’re shocked to see who was the one that saved you.

“Didn’t I tell you that no one was gonna end her life but me? Don’t you know better than to go around breaking other people's toys, Dusty?”

Killer put his arms up behind his head casually as you stared up at him in weak shock. You must have really hurt your head.

Dust swivelled round and growled, spotting the two of you, he summoned more bones as the animal skull started preparing another beam.

Before Dust has a chance to say anything he is immediately shoved to the ground, the action causing the bones and animal skull to disappear as he starts struggling to get himself free. Behind him stood a very angry looking Nightmare, his blazing eye locking with Dust before switching to you and Killer. His tentacles were whipping themselves into a frenzy behind him while one held down the manic skeleton.

You never thought you’d be so glad to see Nightmare, or Killer for that fact but the rush of relief you felt was wonderful, even though Nightmare looked absolutely furious.

“Hey! Are you alright?!” You heard a familiar voice incoming on your right. There you saw Cross running towards you followed by a very determined looking Horror chasing him down.

The first thing you noticed was that he was absolutely covered in food. Food stains littered his clothing and were smeared all over his face, he looked out of breath like he had been running for a while but when the two of them spotted you they immediately rushed to you and saw the devastation of your fight.

“What…happened?…” Horror asked with worry, he was also covered in food but nowhere near as badly as Cross.

Now all congregated on the stairs, everyone fell silent like they had been forgetting something when they felt the increasing feeling of doom. As you all slowly turned your head to look at Nightmare, his expression was that of fury and complete bafflement. His eyes scanned your clearly hurt form, then to Cross and Horror covered in food, then down to Dust clearly having another manic episode then finally the partly destroyed pillar and massive, gaping hole in the wall.

…

Nightmare took a deep breath.

“Would anyone care to explain what the FUCK IS GOING ON!?”

Chapter Text

Nightmare’s morning had been pleasantly productive. Enjoying a rare moment of peace in his study, working at his desk it had come to his attention that several new negative AUs had recently popped up, ripe and ready for devouring and seemingly untouched even by his wretched brother. Those Star Sanses were usually quick to swoop in to protect a new neutral or positive AU but negative ones weren’t detected as quickly. This meant he had a chance to send in his crew to wreck some havoc before they’d notice.

He had also taken the liberty to look up your AU. You apparently came from a recently surfaced undertale AU, nothing particularly unique. Though from his research it seemed that there was an unusual amount of animosity between the humans and monsters. Racism and segregation against monsters was rampant and most had already separated themselves from each other. Of course there were advocates that wanted to unite the two species but it looked like it would take a very long time for that to happen, especially after the killing spree he and his crew went on. The humans were clearly not in favour of monsters to begin with and their little visit had only added to their disdain for monsters. The AU was teetering on becoming a negative one and Nightmare was definitely going to tip those scales in his favour.

That also brought you into question. You were something he’d never seen before, clearly a human that possessed magic but you weren’t a mage. Your magic signature was too similar to a monsters and your feline features clearly indicated you were not completely human.

Thinking back he remembered the guard that so foolishly tried to stand up to him. He had mentioned you being property of something called Bradford’s Magic and Medicine Research Facility, he believes he remembered correctly. That and the M&HIA? He’d need to do a little more research, maybe even send one of his boys to check out this facility and see what info they can gather about you. The more information he had on you the better he could utilise your magic to his benefit.

While he pondered this it was then he felt a mix of emotions emanating from outside the office door. He could hear the deep muffled voice of one of his subordinates, judging by the slowness of the speech it must have been Horror, along with a rising feeling of confusion which then turned into buzzing excitement. The feeling was unpleasant but did little to sour his mood when he heard a gentle knock at the door.

“Come in.”

He heard the click of the door as you entered the room. He didn’t need to look up from his work to know it was you, especially from the way your short lived excitement quickly died into nervousness. He felt smug.

“Ah, Pet. What can I do for you?”

A short silence fell when he remembered you still couldn’t talk, glancing at you he could see your hesitance or perhaps you didn’t know how to explain yourself. Waiting he took the time to take in your appearance, he noticed the elegant dress you were wearing and hummed to himself in approval. You did indeed look nice today. Your graceful attire was definitely a pleasant change from the usual casual and often messy clothing he saw the rest of his gang wearing most days. You were refreshing to look at, he’d have to commend Cross for his wardrobe choice since it clearly wasn’t picked by Killer. No, you’d be wearing something far more revealing and unchaste if that were the case. A brief thought popped into his mind where he wondered what you may look like if Killer had dressed you but he quickly dashes those preposterous ideas.

“If you are reporting for work then there is simply no need. There is nothing I require from you until you have fully healed.” He said going back to his work, assuming that that’s what you were here for.

The expression you gave him within his peripheral vision was that of surprise. Despite being mute you were pretty expressive and easy to read. That worked out because even with his upbeat mood, trying to decipher what you’re trying to say was getting old quickly and he had no patience for guessing games.

“If you’re already feeling able then we can consider starting with some physical training. While your magic is indeed powerful it seems your physicality in terms of fighting is lacking. We will need to bring you up to an acceptable standard before we can start taking you out on missions.”

You were clearly pondering his words but he just continued.

“We can start you off tomorrow, Cross will be your sparring partner.” He spoke matter of factly. “Regarding your…” he wound his hand trying to find the right words. “Internal magic. I suggest you figure out a way to train your throat’s tolerance to handle the intensity of your magic so you’re not left defenceless and vulnerable. It will do you no favours if you can only use it once before you are out of commission.”

He glances at you to make sure you’re still paying attention, which you were. You seemed to be lost in thought as you considered his words.

You definitely needed some vocal training if he wanted you to use your magic more frequently without being rendered useless afterwards. You were like a glass cannon, powerful but easy to take down. This needed to be fixed.

“I would suggest some vocal exercises and perhaps some low humming to get your vocal chords used to the vibration to start with.”

He was no expert on human anatomy, especially something so trivial like the voice but he figured humming was the least you could do to get your voice used to being used more frequently. He already knew so little about you let alone your magic so trying to train your magic in that area was going to be difficult, that’s why getting more info about you was going to be crucial. He may need to read up on human anatomy again, if it even applied to you.

Going back to his work, he senses you’re still standing there, most likely waiting for him to add anything else to say. No, he was done with you. He had much work to do, strategies to plan and much to research.

“You may leave.”

You paused in thought before nodding at him and turned to leave, he picked up on the way you momentarily glanced at the books on his bookshelf before leaving.

Curious, were you able to read?

The brief thought vanishes when the door finally clicks shut signalling your exit. Now that he was alone again, Nightmare continued to work at his desk in peaceful silence. He managed to get in a solid 10 minutes of uninterrupted work before he started to feel a variety of emotions building from different points within the castle.

He felt the way Dust was moving about restlessly, his LV levels had been progressively increasing for the past couple of days, leaving him simmering with bloodlust that was about to overflow. This was a pretty normal occurrence for Dust, due to the high amount of LV in his soul, he was prone to manic episodes which Nightmare would occasionally have to intervene. Either by sending Dust to let off some steam in some poor, forsaken AU which was not always ideal considering the sheer amount of destruction he could cause in this state, he did not want to garner the attention of his brother, or by dragging him away and absorbing his negativity to calm him down.

Unfortunately this was easier said than done as Dust clearly was not keen on being fed from. Nightmare shared the same sentiments as although Dust was a great source of energy when in this state, the flavour of the LV coated negativity was bitter and not the most pleasant tasting, that and Dust was never cooperative which was going to be a pain to deal with.

Usually Dust would just lock himself away and deal with it until his LV spike was under control which suited Nightmare just fine.

He could also feel your faint confusion, but he quickly lost interest when he felt Cross’s spike in distress and a feral need to hunt coming from Horror.

Nightmare just rolled his eye light and continued to work. Whatever those two idiots were up to were none of his concern.

It was then his attention was drawn back to you when your feeling of confusion began to increase before it quickly changed into fear.

He stopped writing, now focusing on your emotions. For a brief moment he thought maybe you were in danger but he had specifically instructed his men not to harm you in any way unless absolutely necessary.

Before he even had a chance to decipher your feelings, his tentacles stiffened as a jolt ran through him. He felt an intense pain come from you followed by a huge spike of LV coming from Dust now in the same area where you were.

So much for his good mood and moment of peace.

Groaning he quickly allowed his form to dissolve into an inky sludge, sinking into the floor to navigate around the castle. Clearly Dust was having another episode and you were the unlucky target, he realised that perhaps he should have tracked Dust down earlier and dealt with his little problem now that they had a human running around. That was definitely an error in foresight, especially knowing how triggering a human is when Dust is in this condition.

He tried to pinpoint your location but the two of you were now moving around the castle so rapidly it was making it difficult to catch up to the two of you.

Eventually he managed to locate you when you abruptly stopped in the entrance hall. Reforming himself there, he managed to appear just behind Dust who had clearly done some damage judging by your dishevelled appearance next to Killer when he clocks you on the staircase and the- oh for FUCK SAKE!

He instantly spots the GAPING HOLE IN HIS CASTLE, I mean how could he miss it? This, along with the destroyed stone pillar, debris and dust coating the air and floor, and the blackened scorch marks staining his once elegant floor tiles. He could also see down one of the hallways all the damaged art pieces and furniture, now doubt being the one the two of you had just come from.

Immediately Nightmare’s head snaps to Dust as one of his tentacles crashes down on him before he’s able to make another attack as his other tentacles whip behind him in a frenzy. The action caused Dust to grunt in pain and start to struggle making all his summons disappear.

Nightmare was absolutely livid, his teal eye light was blaring with fury but before he could even utter a word the situation only became more ridiculous when he saw Cross run in to check on you completely covered head to toe in food, followed by a far less food covered Horror.

“Hey! Are you alright?!”

“What…happened?…”

Nightmare was honestly stunned silent for a moment. The sheer stupidity of what he was dealing with right now left him momentarily more baffled than angry but his fury quickly set in again when he took one more look at all the destruction. It was then everyone could finally feel his rising anger before they noticed him, all slowly turning their heads towards him when he managed to find the words to speak.

…

He took a deep breath.

“Would anyone care to explain what the FUCK IS GOING ON!?”

He watched as his subordinates flinched in various degrees from his booming voice. Damn right. He was pissed and he wanted answers.

His sharp eyelight snapped to you which made you duck your head down and fret under his gaze, you were clearly injured judging by the blood dripping from your head and your ruined clothing.

His eyelight then flicked to Killer who continued to stand nonchalantly with his hands behind his head, his ever present grin unwavering.

“Well?!” He directed at Killer now. He was growing impatient as his tentacle wrapped around the skeleton struggling on the floor.

Killer responded by just shoving his party gloved hands in his pocket.

“It’s what it looks like, Dusty had another episode and Kitten here was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He shrugs though Nightmare could see the drippy skeleton was enjoying this.

Nightmare narrowed his eyelight at him in warning, making Killer huff.

“What? I didn’t do this. You know it was Dust, I mean look at him.” He gestures to the crazed skeleton trying desperately to untangle himself from Nightmare’s tendril as it slowly coiled around him.

Nightmare flicks his eyelight down to Dust as the skeleton starts to laugh maniacally and babble incoherently to himself. He had already started to siphon off Dust’s excess energy from the LV. He grimaced at the sour taste that seemed to linger at the back of his throat as the energy flowed through him.

“I'll have you know, I actually saved your precious pet here, she’d have been turned into fried pussy cat if it weren’t for me, you should be thanking me.” Killer puffs out his chest proudly while you gave him an incredulous look despite how tired you were.

“If anything…you should be mad at Cross. Didn’t ya say he’s responsible for ‘er?”
Killer says, subtly tilting his head towards Cross with a dark, mischievous expression on his skull. Immediately Cross jolts and begins to sweat bullets, Nightmare watches as he shrinks under his intense gaze, not daring to look him in the eyes.

Nightmare began to approach them up the stairs, dragging a crazed Dust behind him as his head boinked on each step.

It was blatantly obvious Killer was just trying to cause more shit, but he was right. He had deducted earlier that Dust's episode must have been triggered from seeing you. You must have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and he did say Cross was responsible for you.

Reaching Cross and Horror, both of them were looking down but Cross was looking increasingly panicked. Taking in both their ridiculous state, Nightmare didn’t even wanna know but had concluded that what he felt from Cross earlier had to do with Horror and his fixation with food. He knew Cross wouldn’t deliberately leave you in any danger, especially if it meant his coccyx was on the line.

He looked up to Horror who was also starting to sweat.

Clearly Cross had been…distracted.

Walking past the two to the central staircase, he stopped in the middle where the stairs split left and right.

His eyes wandered back down to you, gauging your status. For the most part you seemed relatively unscathed -this was certainly no small feat for someone going up against an LV-crazed Dust. You were lucky you only came away with an injured head and a tattered dress.

“Horror. Take Pet and tend to her wounds, give her something to stop the bleeding.”

Horror nodded, not wanting to waste any time and tick off Nightmare further he hurried to gently scooped you up, being careful not to hurt you.

“C’mon…lil treat…let’s get you…cleaned up…”

“As for you…” Nightmare turned his head to Cross making the messy skeleton jump.

He let the silence hang in the air, really dragging out Cross’ panic before speaking. There was food smeared all around his mouth and some even dripping from his sockets. Disgusting.

He could also feel the way Killer was buzzing with anticipation for Cross’s punishment.

“…Clean up this mess. I want it spotless by the end of the day.”

Killer visibly deflated as Cross let out a breath of relief having been let off from what could have been a really serious punishment.

“That’s it? That’s all he’s getting!?” Killer questions in disbelief.

“Ah, yes. L-Let me just get clean-”.

“No.”

Cross stops in his tracks as he was about to move, a confused look on his face.

“You can get cleaned up after you clean everything else. And don’t get a single bit of that muck on anything or there will be consequences.”

Cross doesn’t even bother arguing, it was his turn to deflate at the thought of letting the sticky food currently coating him linger and dry on him all day, because that’s honestly how long it was gonna take for him to fix the mess.

Killer just pouts quietly to himself, disappointed that Cross isn’t receiving a harsher punishment, though he supposed knowing Cross will have to clean covered in filth would have to be satisfying enough.

“Killer.”

“Ya boss?”

Nightmare turns to Killer who’s clearly not as intimidated as he should be like the rest of his gang.

“Did you honestly prevent Pet from being fatally harmed?”

He found it difficult to believe Killer would willingly prevent you from being killed let alone saving you himself. It was obvious how much disdain he held for you. That and Killer was never one to save, well, anyone so it wasn't shocking how hard it was to believe. Killer would never miss an opportunity to watch someone be vaporised by a gaster blaster, especially if that person was you.

“Yeh, of course. You said you wanted ‘er kept alive, so that’s what I did. You’re welcome!” He grins cheekily.

You startled slightly when Nightmare turned his attention to you. He was looking at you like he wanted confirmation that what Killer was saying was true. You hesitated, honestly confused yourself but you slowly nodded, Killer had indeed saved your life.

“See, told ya.” Killer goads, drawing back the attention of Nightmare.

Nightmare narrowed his eyes at him, the two staring each other down for a moment. His stare was intense, searching for any signs of deception but Killer held his ground, his ever present smile widening slightly knowing fully well he hadn’t caused any trouble this time.

This carries on for a moment more while the group around them wait with baited breath before Nightmare eventually sighs and turns away.

“Good job.”

Nightmare says nothing more as he prepares to take Dust away. He mentally groans at the task waiting for him knowing Dust is not going to make draining his LV spike easy for him. Dust really should have come to him before it got this bad so things could have been easier for the both of them.

“Heh, thanks boss.” Killer cooly played off the compliment though Nightmare could feel how much Killer enjoyed the praise.

Nightmare just hummed lowly in acknowledgment before sinking into the ground, taking the still writhing skeleton trapped in his tentacles with him and completely vanishing.

…

All was quiet for a second when Killer broke the silence by turning to Cross and opening his mouth.

“Jeez, what happened to you?”

Cross deadpanned at Killer before deciding to just ignore him and walk down the steps to begin the clean up.

Killer chased after him while Horror was now walking off with you in his arms to get you healed but you looked up at him with the same question on your mind that Killer had asked.

Horror simply chuckled.

“Like I told ya before…Cross skipped breakfast…can’t have anyone skipping meals…or else they’ll be in for a b a d t i m e.”

You gulped in his arms, making a mentally reminder never to miss a meal…

Chapter Text

After that exciting turn of events, Horror had carried you the entire way to the kitchen to get you healed up. You in the meanwhile were trying to handle the throbbing pain in your head that had returned with a vengeance, no doubt due to the adrenaline wearing off.

Now sitting at the kitchen table, Horror gave you some paper towels to hold to the back of your head to absorb the blood while you waited for him as he moved around, opening cupboards to grab several items. You had accumulated quite the pile of bloodied tissues but you felt the bleeding was finally starting to stop. Looking down, you saw your once lovely dress was now ruined with debris dust and spots of blood that had dripped onto it, while you hoped the stains might be removable you knew the dress was a goner when you saw the multitude of rips and tears it had sustained. Dust’s flying bones had managed to nick you after all.

You huffed sadly when Horror had come back over to you, having seemingly found what he wanted. The main thing you noticed was the brightly coloured bag containing several small round balls, also varying in colour, that he handed straight to you.

“Here…have these…it’s monster candy…” 

Accepting the bag you give it a once over before opening it up and are met with a puff of sweet scented air. 

Horror takes the opportunity to move behind you while you examine a piece of candy, he removes your hand holding the tissue to your head and took a look at the wound, careful as he spreads your hair apart to see the damage.

You pop the little sweet in your mouth and were delighted by the pleasant flavour that hits you. Rolling the hard candy around, you let out a happy “Mmm!” sound as the magic fizzes and dissolves against your tongue. You waste no time popping several more into your mouth. 

Horror lets out a small chuckle at your antics as he sees the candy already working its magic, slowly knitting the skin back together till you’d barely know there was a cut there at all.

“There ya go…magic works wonders…dun it?” He hums approvingly while you make a noise in agreement.

“Still…I better apply some balm…just to be sure…” You watch as Horror reaches for a small tin he had placed on the table. Popping open the lid,  you spot what looks like a green gelatinous substance inside. Horror explains that it’s made of green magic which you knew was specifically used for healing.

You shivered at the coldness of it when you felt Horror apply a generous amount to your scalp, making sure to coat the injured area and let it sink in.

Sitting in comfortable silence, you munched away on the candy as Horror soothed the balm in. Thankfully your throbbing headache had ebbed away, completely gone now and you didn’t feel as exhausted as you once did.

“Don’t be too hard…on ol’ Dusty…he can’t help when…he has an episode…” Horror breaks the silence as you hear his deep rumble behind you.

Perking up at this, you tilt your head back to look at him wanting to know what he meant.

“Dust has an extremely high amount...of LV in his soul…makes him want to attack…anything he sees…when it flares up…”

Staring at Horror, you can see his expression is a little sad under his usual grin, you ponder his words as he lifts your head back to face forward again so he can continue working in the balm.

You know what LV is. You had seen a LV crazed lesser monster at the facility, another experiment this time conducted to see how high levels of LV affect monsters. The poor thing was a mess, once a sweet and docile froggit had turned deranged but what was most sad of all…was how much pain it was in. Forcing the monster to repetitively kill another went against its very being. A soul made of love was never meant to kill another, especially not so repetitively and forcing one to do so came with very dire consequences. 

The creature didn’t last very long. Its little body couldn’t handle the LV. You could only imagine how much pain Dust must be in if he had frequent episodes. You certainly didn’t fault him for what happened, though that did leave you to wonder how he acquired such high LV…

You hadn’t noticed when Horror finished applying the balm, clearly lost in thought but you realised you were already feeling tons better. Turning in your seat to thank him, you stop when your eyes fall on him, or better yet, what he’s doing.

In one hand he had grabbed all the blood soaked paper towels, somehow without you even noticing, while he had the other raised above his head about to drop one of the tissues into his black, bottomless pit of a maw.

He had stopped as you spotted him, his single, bloated, red eye light frozen on yours. You looked absolutely mortified as you stared at him wide eyed. He was not eating your bloodied tissues…

The both of you stared, neither moving an inch until Horror released the tissue still held in his grasp above him, allowing it to drop into his mouth.

Oh my stars, he WAS!

Instantly you fly out of your seat to snatch away the rest of the tissues. You absolutely could not just sit by and allow him to eat something so unsanitary, it wasn’t even food!

Horror of course was not going to allow that as he started jumping back away from you as you advanced on him, you ended up chasing him around the room but he was surprisingly good at evading you despite his large size. 

He seemed to be having a good time as he popped another one in his mouth which made you let out an indescribable squark and only double your efforts to stop him. 

It all came to a head when you thought you had him cornered, only for him to leap onto the countertop then onto the metal storage unit —rather nimbly you might add— way out of your reach.

Stamping your foot in frustration, you dared not attempt to climb up after him since he seemed sooo insistent on consuming the bundle of scrunched up towels. So you just watched in horror as he started stuffing his mouth with the tainted tissues like some sort of gremlin. 

Once he was done, he eventually hopped down with the biggest grin on his face while you had a look of disgust on yours. You didn’t even know where to start though it’s not like you could ask right now even if you wanted to.

The final nail in the coffin was when he let out a loud, vibrating belch and licked his teeth with that blue tongue of his.

“Mmm…tasty…”

…

Turning on your heel, you marched straight out the kitchen. Nope. You are not dealing with that. You’ve had enough weirdness for today. 

Horror let out a deep, bellied laugh and chased after you. “Aww c’mon Cupcake…heh heh…it’s not that bad…it would have been a waste…if I had just thrown it away...”

Waste ?! What does he mean waste?? Of course he should have thrown it away! I mean, who even does that? Is that normal??

You quickly picked up speed, walking more briskly as Horror watched your tail swish agitatedly behind you which just made him chuckle more.

On your way back to your room, Horror manages to calm you down though he gives you no explanation for that little interaction earlier. Fine, you didn’t  want to know anyway.

You could definitely do with another shower though, the blood stuck to your hair was starting to dry and the dust from the broken pillar was making your skin itch. 

Luckily your room was now in sight and you were quick to approach it, eager to be inside as you start fiddling with the door knob.

Briefly your mind went to Cross and all the mess he was having to clean up now thanks to you. How was he even meant to fix the pillar and the hole in the wall? You felt bad for him and mentally beat yourself up for causing him such trouble, you should have just waited for him to wake up so you could have gone to breakfast together, then none of this would have happened.

Sensing your sudden dip in mood, Horror speaks up.

“Yanno…if you really wanted to have some…I coulda shared ‘em with ya…”

Taken out of your thoughts, you look up at him, confused what he’s talking about but when you realise that he meant about the bloodied tissues again, you were quick to look appalled at what he was suggesting while he looked clearly unabashed. 

You turned back and fiddled with the door knob harder now while he chuckled some more, you really were fun to tease but he was glad you weren’t looking so sad anymore.

Finally getting the door open you rushed inside and slammed it shut before Horror could follow you in.

“Heh heh…I’ll bring you something to eat…a little later…just chill out…for the rest of the day…” you hear him say from behind the door.

Just as he turned to leave, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning back he saw you had opened the door again, though only slightly this time, your arm stretched out through the crack holding onto him. Peeking through, you gave him a shy nod thanking him for his help treating you.

“No problem…sweet cheeks…anytime…” He winks over his shoulder as you release him, satisfied he has accepted your gratitude before slowly closing the door.

Now back inside your room you decide to take that much needed shower. Stripping off your dress where you stood, you dumped it by the foot of your bed and proceeded to wash today's fight away.

It felt good washing off the debris and blood, touching the back of your head you could feel the sensitive skin that had knitted back together. In a day or two your own body’s magic would have healed it but it was nice to enjoy the monster candy and the healing balm Horror applied for you. 

Once you finished and towelled yourself off, you proceeded to change into some comfier clothing and opted to take a short nap. Despite now being cleaned and healed up, today's events left you mentally exhausted and you just wanted to pass out for a while.

~~ ~~~

You later awoke to the sound of knocking at your door. Yawning, you reached over to your bedside cabinet and checked the time on your phone to see you had been asleep for a couple of hours, oof so much for a short nap. 

Dragging yourself out of bed and slowly making your way over to the door, you opened it to see Cross was now standing in front of you, his fist raised as though he was about to knock again but jolted slightly when you opened it before he was able to.

Groggily rubbing your eye, you notice he’s not wearing his white coat, having opted to tie it around his waist. Judging by the food stains still on his outfit he must have just come from finishing his cleaning and had not gone to change yet. His face wasn’t as covered in food as it was earlier, most of it having been wiped off now sans for a few smudges that still remained.

One thing that caught your eye was his bare arms. All the skeletons had their arms covered by their hoodies so you had never seen them bare before. Despite being made of bone, it didn’t look exactly like the arms you had seen on a human skeleton. His upper arm bones were thick and fused in such a way it looked like muscle. Actually now that you could see, Cross had quite a sturdy looking chest under his black, sleeveless turtleneck.

It made you feel that weird fluttering in your tummy again.

Looking up to his face, you could also see he was checking out your outfit as well. You were just wearing a tank top and pj shorts, nothing fancy. Though you could see he had a light purple dusting his cheeks again. 

Once you caught him staring, he quickly coughed into his fist.

“Uh, hey. I just wanted to check on you and see if you were okay. You looked pretty beat up earlier, how’s the head?”

You waved him off and turned to show how your cut had healed up. While the impact with the wall was earlier was violent, you were actually pretty sturdy and would have healed fine with or without the healing magic Horror had given you.

“Ah, that’s good…”. Is all he replied. 

The two of you stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment. You wondered if that was all he wanted to ask when you noticed the way Cross was fidgeting, like he had something else he wanted to say but didn’t know how to. You would have tried to ask but Cross managed to find his words, finally spitting it out.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened earlier. It was my fault you got caught up in Dust’s episode, I should have woken up earlier to take you to breakfast.” He replied guiltily, his expression downtrodden like he had failed you. 

You were kinda surprised to hear this. You actually thought he might be upset at you for wandering off again but here he was beating himself up like you were earlier.

“I didn’t even have a chance to check in on you cause I was woken up to Horror literally shoving food down my throat…” he recounts as you see him visibly shudder from the unpleasant memory.

You snort at the mental imagery which in turn makes Cross let out a small laugh.

“Heh, yeah…I’m sure Horror has already told you, but just in case, try not to skip any meals. Horror doesn’t like it if we don’t eat enough throughout the day. He came from a place where food was scarce so it can trigger him if you miss a meal.” His light tone dips slightly as he reveals this information to you.

Oh…poor Horror... Now you felt bad for being angry at him earlier. That explained him eating your bloodied tissues, sort of? Even though it wasn’t even food. Still, that must have been really hard for him. You’re glad he's not in that situation anymore.

“We don’t normally have breakfast since a lot of us have irregular sleeping patterns and like to sleep in but I guess he decided today was an exception. Wish he would have told me first though…” Cross grumbles at the end.

Ah. That may have been your fault. Horror had cooked for you since he didn’t want you to only eat fruit for breakfast, which honestly you would have been fine with but you get why he did it now.

You gave Cross an apologetic look when you notice now he’s looking past you into your room, following his gaze you see that he’s spotted the dress on the floor you had worn earlier.

You sigh as your ears droop, having been reminded of the once lovely dress now lying in tatters. 

Picking up on this, Cross tries to lift your spirits. “Hey, don’t worry. I can um, always get you another one.”

Your ears perk up hearing this and look back to him, eyes a little wide.

“Heh, yeah I know where I got it from. I can just go back and get you another one, if they still have it in stock, I mean.”

Wait, let me get this straight. So after having been dumped on him as his responsibility, having his well being threatened if you got hurt and having to clean up your mess that he didn’t even cause, he’s still offering to go out to get you a dress that you didn’t even really need, just because it would make you happy?

“You could even come with me —i-if you want to of course…” he mumbles the last bit out quietly though you still managed to hear him.

He reaches up to scratch the back of his head as he shuffles on his feet awkwardly, looking away from you. 

“I’d have to ask Nightmare and there’s a good chance he’d say no. But it’s always worth a shot…” he proceeds to ramble but stops abruptly when he feels you hugging him around his torso all of a sudden.

Caught off guard, the colour rapidly rises to his face again as he hovers his arms above you, not really knowing what to do.

You nuzzled into his chest feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude for his kindness, for all their kindness. Even with the threats and injuries you’ve received —mainly from Killer and Dust— you’re still so happy to be here. You’ve already experienced more freedom in one day than all your years being alive and you will always be eternally grateful for that.

Cross is still for a moment, struggling with several conflicting thoughts on what to do before mentally saying ‘fuck it’. He quickly looks over both shoulders, seeing that the coast is clear before hesitantly allowing his arms to wrap around you, hugging you back.

Now that he’s holding you closer, you can smell his fresh, crisp scent again, though it’s mainly hidden under the smell of bacon and stale egg. You feel his warm breath puff against the top of your head as he breathes you in. His hold on you tightens a fraction before he quickly lets go and holds you at a distance, ending the sweet moment all too quickly.

“I u-um, better get going. I need to get cleaned up and I don’t wanna get you all dirty.” He tries to excuse himself, he was now looking anywhere but at you.

A little disappointed that the hug couldn’t last longer, you accept that Cross must be tired and eager to get himself clean. You nod at him confirming you understood.

“I’m glad you’re okay, I’ll catch you later.” He waves at you, you in turn wave back before finally closing the door.

“How sentimental.”

You jolt, startled by the sudden voice, head whipping round you immediately spot none other than Killer who’s lying back on your bed holding the teddy Cross had got you out above him with two hands as he examines the stuffed animal. You had no idea how long he had been there.

“Man he’s real smitten for you, ain’t he Kitten? I mean, did you see the look on his face when you hugged him? His eye lights turned into hearts an’ everythin!” Killer snickers with cruel amusement.

“The faithful knight and his precious princess, stars it’s so cheesy it makes me wanna barf.” He comments in mild disgust as several streaks of black liquid run down his face, thankfully not dripping onto your bed sheets.

You’re not really paying attention to what he’s saying, much too concerned with why he’s here in your room again. You could already feel your heart start to pace as you remember the thinly veiled threats he had whispered to you before.

He seemed to pick up on this, opting to sit up now as he loses interest in teddy and drops it haphazardly somewhere on the bed. 

“Relaaaaax, it shouldn’t be that surprising to see me, you do owe me now after all.” He declares casually as he gets up and starts making his way towards you.

His feeble attempt to reassure you does nothing as you immediately start backing up, wanting to make space between the two of you. How does he always seem to know exactly when you’re alone!?

Unfortunately, the available space quickly disappears as your back soon meets the wall, trapping you as he advances. 

Your pankied mind races, only now do his words register. Owe him? What reason could you possibly owe him?

You can see he’s relishing in your confusion, his permagrin spreading a little wider into his empty sockets. 

“Have you forgotten already? I guess Dusty really did do a number on ya.” His voice lits playfully.

“How’s about a reminder …”

Step after confident step he closes the distance, slow and steady like a predator cornering his prey.

“I saved your life. I could have just let Dust vaporise you, it would of been ‘no skin off my nose’ heh heh.” He chuckles darkly to himself.

You begin to look around desperately, trying to figure out a way of escape. Is that why he was here? To finish the job?

“Buuuut where’s the fun in that?” Killer continues. “I did say I was gonna be the one to kill you, but maybe having you owe me would be better…”

Now in front of you he reaches and tilts your chin up to look at him and places his other hand on the wall to the side of your head, ultimately boxing you in. 

“Ey Kitten?” 

So that was his game? Saving you only to have you indebted to him? You should have known. You honestly couldn’t tell which is worse, maybe he should have left you for Dust. You can’t imagine what being indebted to someone as unhinged as him is going to be like and you’d rather not find out. I mean, what could you possibly offer him? You have nothing of value except for the things he and Cross have given you but even then you knew there’s nothing there he would want, anything you had he could always just go out and get himself. 

You nearly miss the faint glow of a single white eyelight as it roams your form. So he does have eyelights… The way he’s looking over you makes your hairs stand on end uncomfortably and you feel the need to cover yourself. You can’t help moving to hold your arms as your tail curls around your leg. 

The aura emanating from him is similar to his…

You try to turn your head away from him but his grasp on your chin is immovable and did little to calm your nerves. You have no choice but to keep facing him.

He watches you for a moment, as if trying to read you. Turning your chin left and right to get a good look at you, he ends up keeping your head turned to the side as he stares at your neck, now bared to him. He watched the way your chest rose and fell as you took deep, quiet breaths to keep your composure. He could see how anxious you were but was surprised at how obedient you were being, not that he minded at all. In fact, he liked it…

  A lot .

“Good girl…” he voice dips lowly. Gently his other hand traces a finger down your neck, feeling the way the vein pulsed with fresh blood. He mentally chuckled at the way your body jumped from the contact. Heh, so sensitive. He didn’t often get to observe humans so closely, usually just killing them and moving on, and relished in how soft and warm your skin was.

He’d love to feel more of it.

You watched the way his hand lingered near your neck, your panic was increasing at the way his hands seemed to itch to wrap around your neck. You contemplated making a runner but didn’t get the chance to make a decision when he stepped back away from you and put his hands in his hoodie pocket, taking a relaxed stance.

“I’m glad we have an understanding. I’ll be back when I want something from you.” Is all he says as he turns to leave.

You watched from where you were, a little shocked but relieved to see him leaving only for the feeling to be short lived when he stopped just before the door. 

“Oh, and I wouldn’t go trying to tell Cross or anyone about this, you’ve caused him enough trouble, dontcha think?”

Turning back he watches your hurt expression having been made to feel responsible for all of Cross’ troubles. He almost felt guilty but he was quick to push those feelings down.

“Let’s just keep this between you an’ me, see you around Kitten .” He emphasises your nickname before vanishing in a whisp of red magic. 

You stand there for a while, not daring to move as you try to digest the information just thrown at you. You had no idea what all that was about but it left your heart racing and a confusing feeling twist in the pit of your stomach.

Eventually you manage to pry yourself off the wall and slowly drag yourself to the bed. You end up flopping onto it face first and make a long aggravated exhale, muffled by the bedding before turning to face the sealing. You stared up at it for a long time, lifting your hand up you gently traced the area on your neck where Killer had touched.

What are you going to do?…

Chapter Text

After that confusing interaction with Killer, you tried to ignore what happened by spending the rest of your evening scrolling through your phone. Your phone had a variety of basic applications (apps you were told they were called) but Cross had said you could add more such as games and other things. 

One app that you were particularly interested in was the radio. You realised it played music and you found yourself listening to it for hours. You never got to listen to music at the facility, it was practically unheard of save for a rare instance you heard it coming from Dr. Philips’ phone when someone was calling her. Music always evoked a strange feeling in your soul and you found yourself trying to hum to the music despite how much it hurt your throat. 

You could barely get a sound out without wincing in pain but Nightmare had said you were supposed to strengthen your throat somehow, so for the rest of the evening you just hummed as gently and quietly as your voice would allow, letting the melody wash over you as you listened to the words of each song, some happy and upbeat and some sad and heartfelt, each evoking strong emotion out of you.

At some point Horror had brought you some Dinner, you couldn’t help but notice the way he lingered behind the door, seeming to be listening to your quiet humming before knocking once you stopped. You thanked him and enjoyed the meal before turning in for the night and had another dreamless sleep.

~~ ~~~

The next morning Cross actually came to greet you bright and early. You hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet which he apologised for but you figured after yesterday’s incident he didn’t want to take any chances. 

He waited outside for you to finish your morning routine before you joined him out in the hallway, you opted to wear a baggy jumper and black leggings with your grey fluffy slippers.

On your way to breakfast, he informed you that Nightmare had instructed him to demonstrate sparring in front of you today. While you were supposed to actually have your first set of training, due to yesterday's incident he had decided against it and to have you just observe Cross spar with someone else.

As you entered the entrance hall, you couldn’t help but notice how immaculate Cross had managed to clean everything up. The floor was back to a gleaming shine, no longer covered by blacked scorch marks and debris dust and both the stone pillar and the hole in the wall had been miraculously fixed. You were honestly impressed that he had managed to fix it all in a day. Your amazement was clear on your face as Cross chuckled bashfully.

“Heh heh, you impressed?” He asked and you nodded your head vigorously, fully checking out the areas that once had the most damage. You could also see the hallway you had previously ran down was now all tidy, the furniture and art pieces back in their places from the looks of things; anything left broken was now fixed. It was like that whole ordeal never even happened.

“Nah, I just tidied things and cleaned up a little. Nightmare was actually the one that fixed the wall and the pillar, there’s no way I could have done that, especially not in one day.” 

Nightmare fixed all this? How on earth did it do that? Surely fixing things like stone and brick would take weeks, months even. You figured it was just like the dent Killer left in the wall in Nightmare’s office. You had so many questions but you figured you wouldn’t find out any time soon, you thought it was best to just chalk it up to ‘magic’ and leave it at that.

Reaching the kitchen you saw everyone was already there for the most part, Killer and Nightmare were already seated at the table while Horror was cooking away, pouring what looked like a cream coloured batter into the pan before flipping it and piling it onto a plate that had stacks of the same cooked batter. You guessed breakfast was becoming a thing now.

“Looks like it’s pancakes today, nice.” Cross comments as you both take a seat next to each other.

You nervously glanced at Killer, still feeling a little apprehensive after yesterday's weird interaction but he was acting as if the whole thing never happened. His usual unreadable smile on his face as he barely acknowledged you.

Killer had already been served his stack of pancakes and was currently pouring a ridiculous amount of syrupy goo onto it.

“Dude, have you got enough pancake on your syrup?” Cross questioned in mild disgust at the sheer volume of syrup coating the now soaking batter. “Save some for the rest of us!”

Killer paid him no mind, feeling satisfied with the amount he poured and placed the already half empty syrup bottle back on the table.

“What? I’m gonna need the energy, especially when I kick your ass in front of your new girlfriend after this.”

You watch as Cross bristles and a faint lavender colours in his face. 

“She’s not my girlfriend!” He quickly retorts which catches you off guard. Does Cross not consider you his friend? You had hoped he did since you considered him yours, but maybe he didn’t like you that way. You were just work colleagues you supposed, maybe that’s all he saw you as. Still, you can’t help but feel a little sad that he doesn’t consider you his friend.

Nightmare seems to feel you sudden sadness, lowering the newspaper he was reading slightly to raise a brow bone at you.

Killer also picks up in the way you deflate in your seat, his face lighting up with an idea. Stars this was just too easy , he thought.

“Aw look at what you did Crossy, now you’ve gone and made Kitten sad. You’re such a meanie~” Killer teased his fake sympathy for you.

Confused, Cross turns to you and sees your hurt expression causing his confusion to increase tenfold as his blush doubles in intensity. W-Wait, there's no way! Was she?…

Nightmare cringed at the hope blooming from Cross. He had already figured out what you thought the word ‘girlfriend’ meant and so did Killer judging by the way he was barely containing his laughter. Cross really was thick as shit sometimes. Rolling his eye light, Nightmare took pity on the love stricken fool and decided to end his misery if it meant he ceased the disgusting feeling he was currently emanating. 

“She clearly thinks you’re saying you’re not her friend, Cross.” Nightmare states as he goes back to his paper, turning the page while Killer pouts having ruined his fun.

It took Cross a couple of seconds before Nightmare’s words register and realisation hits him, his face immediately glowing bright purple with embarrassment. No longer being able to hold it in, Killer bursts out with hysterical laughter and can barely keep himself from falling out his seat as Cross starts flustering at the situation.

“Killer! UGRH! you son of a!—”.

He wanted to start arguing but his attention was drawn back to you when he saw you were still looking hurt.

“Aah! Wait no! W-We are friends! I didn’t mean that!” He starts stuttering as he tries to reassure you. You look up at him as he fumbles with his words. Killer had already collapsed to the floor, curling into himself as he was dying with laughter.

“You didn’t mean that?…So she is your girlfriend then?…” Horror joins in from his spot at the stove, his input only adding fuel to the fire.

“No wait! I did mean that! But not in the way you think!! Y-You’re a girl who’s my friend, but you’re not my ‘girlfriend’, does that make sens— Killer will you SHUT UP?!” He practically screeches at Killer over the rising volume of his laughter while Cross panics to explain things to you. You tilt your head at him and give him a confused look, not understanding what on earth he’s saying, which only made him groan and run his hands down his face exasperatedly.

“Look, I'll explain later! All you need to know is that I promise you we are friends, okay?” He exclaims, practically begging for your understanding so the conversation could just end. You supposed with how desperate he was right now you should just accept his word, which you do, nodding as you watch him sigh in relief before his attention is dragged back to Killer, who’s still snickering away but manages to crawl back into his seat. 

Killer hadn’t laughed like that in ages, stars Cross was so much fun to rile up and he always fell for it. They way Cross got his hopes up like an excited puppy was absolutely priceless, maybe having you around wasn’t gonna be such a bad thing after all. Especially if it meant he could provoke Cross like this.

You watched as the two began to bicker but was relieved that Cross did consider you his friend. You didn’t have any friends at the facility, (for obvious reasons), except for Dr. Philips but you knew deep down your relationship with her was more on the nurturing side than on the friendly but was equally as special in your eyes. Though the difference between a ‘girl friend’ and a ‘girlfriend’ was beyond you, you figured you’d ask Cross about it later.

You couldn’t help but notice that Dust hadn’t joined for breakfast today and you wondered if he was okay. He didn’t seem to be doing well when Nightmare dragged him away yesterday and hoped he didn’t get into too much trouble.

“Dust has already taken his plate. Do not fret, his absence has nothing to do with you. He has a tendency to hunker away somewhere during and after an episode.” Nightmare informs as he sips his coffee. He must have seen you notice Dust's absence.

Now that you mention it, Nightmare wasn’t looking too good today either, he was looking grumpy and considerably more tired than yesterday. You wondered if that had anything to do with Dust after he took him away.

You didn’t ponder it much further when a plate of steaming pancakes topped with fruit was placed in front of you and Cross.

“Eat up…Cupcake…” Horror smiled down at you as he handed you the maple syrup. “Try it with this… it’s good…”

Accepting the bottle, you pour the sweet smelling liquid onto your pancakes, nowhere near as much as Killer but a reasonable amount before passing it to Cross so he could add his own. You weren’t as hesitant accepting food from them anymore, if they wanted to poison you you’re sure they would have done so by now.

Cutting a piece of the coated batter, you pop it into your mouth and your taste buds explode with delight at the flavour. The syrup was sweet and complimented the fluffiness of the pancakes well, the fruit were also a nice touch and decorated the pancakes so beautifully you felt bad for eating it.

“Ugh, are you going to be like this every time Horror cooks for you?”  

You had just placed another mouthful into your mouth as you looked over to Nightmare. He’s giving you an annoyed look behind the glances tapped to his head. Unsure of what he meant, you meekly chew and swallow, allowing your excitement to calm when you realise Nightmare has no plate placed in front of him. Was he not having breakfast? Or maybe he’s had some already.

“I don’t not derive the same sustenance from your earthly food. It provides nothing for me.”

You cock your head at him confused and he let out a long-suffering sigh like everything was set on troubling him today.

“I am not in the mood to explain the full extent of my being but to put it simply for your feeble human mind, I am the guardian of negativity and I derive my nutrients from the negative emotions and feelings given off by humans and monsters across the Multiverse.” He declares without batting an eye.

You stared at him completely blank as everything he said flew over your head. That was putting it simply? He gauges your reaction, expecting something, anything but when he gets nothing except your usual tilt of the head he lets out a groan and rolls his eye light.

“I should have known a human would struggle to comprehend the matters of higher beings. ” He mentally chastises himself. “ Will one of you buffoons kindly explain in such a way her primitive mind can understand?”

Horror now takes his seat across from you, placing his plate of pancakes that were stacked impossibly high in front of him. How was he able to balance them all you had no idea but it was certainly impressive to look at.

“He eats…bad feelings…” Horror replies simply as he stabs his fork into the stack and eats several pancakes whole without even chewing, the fried batter seeming to slide off the fork into the abyss of his mouth.

He eats bad feelings? How does that even work? You’ve never known a monster that didn’t need regular food, but he said he was a guardian. Maybe that was something different.

“Yeah, feelings like this—.” Killer announces then proceeds to demonstrate by kicking Cross from under the table, making the monochrome skeleton yelp in pain.

“OW! Dude, what the heck?!—” Cross yells back, he in turn tries to kick Killer’s legs away as the two end up playing an aggressive game of footsie under the table. Horror watches in amusement as he shoves another stack into his mouth while you glance over to Nightmare.

The goopy skeleton is seen pinching the bridge his nose, already done with the constant childish behaviour coming from his subordinates. He could already feel a headache coming on.

Nightmare then noticed the stare you were giving him was pretty intense, like you were waiting for him to demonstrate how he ate these negative feelings. He just stared back unimpressed but he had to admit, the way you were looking at him expectantly with wonder, like he was about to manifest the negative feelings into a physical object for him to consume was ignorantly adorable.

“Yum.” He replied flatly.

Oh. Was that it?

He was amused by the way you sulked, disappointed when he hadn’t given you the outcome you expected. His tentacle came round to pat you on the head rather condescendingly. The action surprised you as you felt the limb weigh heavy on your head as it petted you and you resisted the urge to swat away the offending appendage. Your hair stuck uncomfortably to its slick coating but luckily you felt no residue left behind in your hair when he removed himself.

Having seemed to have filled up on whatever strange sustenance he said he supposedly requires; Nightmare stood, excusing him from the table and went to make his exit.

“You two, enough. Finish up quickly and head to the training hall for Pet’s sparring demonstration. I will meet you down there shortly.” He addressed the two rowdier skeletons, his patience having worn thin as the two ceased whatever they were quibbling about and begrudgingly went to finish their breakfast.

You watched as Nightmare began to sink through the ground, the same inky darkness pooling around him until he was completely gone, it always amazed you how he did that.

Once you had all finished, Horror took your plates to go wash up. Killer made a few final taunts before disappearing which just left you and Cross. 

“Normally I’d walk you to the training hall but it’s a little bit of a journey from here and Nightmare was already looking pretty pissed off.” Cross explains as the two of you gather yourselves from the table. “It will probably be easier if we shortcut there…” he trails off slightly as he rubs the back of his head. He glances at you shyly when you realise that he meant he was gonna teleport with you again which made you brighten excitedly. 

“If you don’t mind…” he holds his hand out to you. Ah, of course! He needs to be holding onto you. Eagerly you accept his hand but you’re surprised when he gently pulls you in, slipping his arms around your waist. You didn’t expect the gesture but definitely didn’t find it unwelcoming. 

“I-I should really hold onto you, in case I accidentally lose you in the void.”

That must be that dark spot between the two destinations, you thought to yourself.

You allow yourself to wrap your arms around his torso, despite being a skeleton he actually felt pretty solid. You were shocked you found some resistance and that your arms didn’t just go right through him.

You let your fingers cling to him as his familiar scent filled your nose, you couldn’t help pressing your face into his chest again.

Cross watched the way you pressed into him, he liked being close to you. Your scent was pleasant and made him feel some type of way he couldn’t really understand. He wanted to reach down and bury his face in your hair between your ears, he could already feel himself about to do so when something caught his eye.

Looking up behind you, he jolts when he sees Horror at the sink, peeking over his shoulder at the two of you with the biggest shit eating grin, his brow bones wiggling at him in a knowing manner.

Cross’ blush comes back at full force having forgotten Horror was still here. Not wanting to be the spectacle of embarrassment any longer, he quickly shortcuts away. He felt the way you hold on him tightens, having been given no warning of his incoming shortcut, but as quickly as it started it was over. The two of you now appearing in the training hall.

He was slow to release you, reluctant to let you go but when he saw Killer raising a brow bone at him he knew he’d be in for more ridicule if he didn’t.

“You ready to have your butt handed to ya, Crossy? Don’t think I’m gonna go easy just cause your Princess is watching.” Killer called out from the further side of the hall, having already positioned himself and was waiting for the two of you to arrive. He was twirling his knife between his fingers, antsy to get the party started.

Cross doesn’t even bother rebuking the princess comment, moving to the opposite side of the hall from Killer, he readies his stance. Briefly he glances over to you, the way your soft eyes watch him he can’t help the bubbling need to demonstrate himself for you, to prove himself. Why he felt this way, he didn’t know. It was probably to make Killer eat his words, but he felt more determined than ever to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

With a wave of his hand, he summons his massive blade. Wisps of purple magic floating air around him as he takes position.

“I don’t expect you to.”

Chapter Text

After Cross had teleported you, you found yourself in a large room, long and wide and predominantly empty save for a few benches that skirted the edges. In the centre were lines marking out the parameters of a court and where you assumed marked the boundaries of today's spar.

Taking a seat at one of the outlining benches you spotted Killer at one side of the room having already taken position. His usual grin was etched on his face but he seemed far more excited than usual, practically vibrating for today’s demonstration.

“You ready to have your butt handed to ya, Crossy? Don’t think I’m gonna go easy just cause your princess is watching.”

Cross was now making his way to the opposite side of the court before getting in position. You see he briefly glances at you, his expression unreadable before you manage to catch the look of determination that crosses his face.

You watch as he waves his hand and the massive blade you saw before appears in his grasp before answering Killer back.

“I don’t expect you to.”

Shifting your gaze back to Killer, you didn't like the dark look in his sockets. You had a nagging feeling he had something planned and whatever it was, it wasn’t gonna be good.

“You don’t mind starting without Nightmare, right Criss Cross?” 

Cross narrowed his sockets at this, really Nightmare should be here to witness but he could be a while…

Killer seems to pick up on Cross’ hesitation to start without Nightmare’s supervision. “What? Ya scared I’m gonna be too rough if Nightmare’ not there ta babysit?” Killer teased as he juggled several summoned knives.

Cross growled under his breath. “Ugh fine but just to make things clear, there will be no gaster blasters and no use of gravity magic to grab anyone. This is a basic demonstration to help Miss learn how to defend herself, not an excuse to beat the crap out each other.”

Killer was bouncing where he stood, raring to get things going. “Alright, alright now c’mon! Are we gonna fight or are you gonna keep stallin’?” He was already getting impatient.

Cross sighed and held his sword out in front of him, readying his stance.

“I’m ready.”

“Great.” Without missing a beat, Killer’s hand shot up and a wave of bones erupted out of the ground, their jagged ends rushing at Cross at lightning speed.

Cross was taken off guard but thankfully was quick to jump out the way as they rushed past, colliding with the wall behind him. Looking back to Killer, Cross could see he was nowhere to be found. 

The only thing warning him was the quiet crackle of Killer’s magic as he reappears in the air above him.

Cross turned to face him just in time to see the barrage of red knives shooting straight towards him. Instantly Cross pushed off the ground, dodging the knives as they embedded themselves into the floor in rapid succession after him.

“Where ya goin Cross? I thought you wanted to demonstrate to Kitten how to spar.” He taunts with manic glee, landing as he sends another wave of magically summoned knives in Cross’ direction. He was already starting off pretty hard.

The sheer amount of knives hurling at Cross forced him to dart all around the court as he’s pushed further and further away. Every time he tried to get closer, Killer would either teleport or send him ducking back with more bones and knives. 

He wanted to avoid using too much magic, since he didn’t know what your abilities were he felt it was best to stick to physical close combat for you to learn how to attack and defend yourself with, that is if he could get close enough to Killer to actually show you any manoeuvres.

However it was becoming abundantly clear with the way Killer had him darting around the room he had no intention of you actually learning anything useful and was just trying to sabotage the training session which was starting to tick him off.

“Well, how am I supposed to do that if you’re so far AWAY—”. Having enough of Killer’s fooling around, Cross decides to shortcut and appear right in front of Killer, sword held high as he swings it down on him.

You covered your eyes, not wanting to see the impact but you opened them again when you heard the ‘ shing’ sound of two metals colliding as Killer held his knife up just in time to block the impact of the incoming sword.

Cross was gritting his teeth as Killer chuckled with strained amusement. “Heh heh, you’re taking this awfully serious Crossy. You wouldn’t happen to be trying to impress little miss princess over there, would you?” Killer’s grin widens knowingly as Cross tries to ignore him.

The two were evenly matched in strength as they pushed their weapons into each other, but the ever sneaky Killer had another trick up his sleeve.

“I couldn’t help but notice you looked pretty happy all snuggled up to her yesterday outside her room.” He leans in, whispering as a blush forms on Cross’ cheeks, his eyes widening in mortification that he had been seen, and by Killer no less. 

“It didn’t look like just a normal hug either, if I didn’t know any better I would say you had feelings for the human, maybe even in love with her—”. The expression on Cross’ face as the realisation dawns on him was just the distraction Killer needed. In a flash Killer swept his leg under Cross' and took it out, causing the skeleton to fall to the floor with a grunt.

Stars, this was too easy. Killer had to admit that Cross was a good little fighter but he was so easily manipulated, a taunt and couple choice words to rile the skeleton up was enough to get him unfocused and lead to his downfall. He never learned.

Killer loomed over Cross, his expression smug as he had his knife pointed down at the pinned skelly. “Hey I could be wrong, I might have misinterpreted the whole thing. Of course you wouldn’t be trying to impress her so how’s about you concede and we can all laugh about it over a bottle of ketchup.” 

Cross sockets widened at what Killer was suggesting, it wasn’t like him to want someone to give up. Usually he’d want the fight to keep going till someone was half dead and physically couldn’t move anymore.

“Besides…if you’re really not interested in her, you wouldn’t mind if I took a ‘crack’ at her, right ?” Cross caught a glimpse of Killer’s eye light shining down at him as more liquid hate spewed from his sockets.

He now realised what game Killer was playing. If he didn’t concede he’d be admitting he had some feelings for you, but if he did he’d be making himself out to be the weaker monster and possibly opening up the chance for Killer to pursue you. He doubted Killer was actually interested in you and was saying that just to get him to give up but did he really want to take that chance? He growled at the thought of Killer possibly pursuing you, he was in a lose lose situation no matter what he chose.

He scowled as he looked away from Killer while the drippy skeleton was smiling wide enough that his fangs were showing, he could be a real sick, twisted bastard when he played these mind games.

“Well, Cross. What’s it gonna be?”

Cross chanced a glance to you, he saw your soft expression, concerned for his well being. The way you held your delicate hands to your chest and your glossy eyes—Ah damnit he really did like you! Fuck!…

…

Welp. Now that he knows, he sure as hell wasn't about to give up so easily.

Growling, he glared up at Killer. “I wouldn’t underestimate me so quickly…” Cross’ voice dips as the drippy skeleton raises a brow bone, in an instant he disarms the knife out of Killer's hand, the action distracting him long enough to summon back the sword he had dropped and make a swipe at Killer. His weapon barely grazes Killer’s cheek as he shortcutted back out the way.

As Cross got to his feet, Killer raised a hand to feel where Cross had nicked him to find that the area was bleeding slightly. 

“There, now we match.” Cross comments smugly, referring to the red scar on his own cheek.

Killer looked down at the blood in his hand for a moment before looking at Cross with a dark, angry scowl.

“ Now you’ve gone and done it… ”

Cross returned with a glare of his own as Killer straightened himself with cocky assurance.

“Fine…you wanna spar? Let’s spar.”

Immediately Killer appears in front of Cross and starts striking him with a summoned knife as the two begin engaging in close combat. Killer assaults him with a flurry of attacks as Cross uses his sword to deftly block them all. Their moves are fast and precise down to the very last detail, moving so quickly that all you can see is a blur of movement. Clearly all semblance of you learning anything has gone out the window in favour of them duking it out.

You watched on from the sidelines with worry, you hadn’t witnessed a fight demonstration before but this seemed much more than that. You could see how heated they were both getting, but you had to admit, it was incredibly impressive watching the two. Both were clearly avid fighters and highly skilled and you wondered if this was the kind of level you were going to be expected to fight at.

The two eventually separate, getting nowhere with close combat and start hurling projectiles at each other, Killer’s red knives clashing with Cross’ white bones. Though from the looks of things, it seemed Cross had the upper hand, the nick he inflicted on Killer earlier giving him a confidence boost which Killer did not seem to appreciate.

It was Killer’s turn to start dodging the incoming projectiles as he bounced around the room, it was clear he wasn't getting anywhere now that his words weren’t getting to him. 

Time for a different strategy.

Dodging across the court, Killer stopped just a short distance from Cross as the monochrome skeleton prepared for another set of attacks.

“This is your last chance Crossy, are you sure you don’t want to concede? There’s no shame in being the weaker monster.” Killer offered with a lit in his voice.

Cross gave a breathy laugh, feeling confident he could win the fight. “Heh heh, are you kidding? I’ll show you who’s the weaker monster!” Unfortunately he saw the sinister smile on Killer’s face a little too late as he sent another set of bones in Killer’s direction.

Heh, big mistake.

“Alright, you asked for it.” With that Killer vanished revealing you sitting just behind him, his figure having blocked out your form before Cross realised you were there.

The bones were coming at you too fast before you realised. Your face dropped as Cross cried out to you.

You were barely even able to summon your magic as you raised your arms and braced for impact…

Except none came.

Daring to open your eyes, you clock a dark form to your side, its outstretched tentacle in front of you holding a number of sharp, white bones in its grasp.

Blinking, you see it’s none other than Nightmare having appeared just in time to catch the bones before they hit you. His crescent smile was pulled down and his face was scrunched in a deep scowl. Oof he did not look happy.

“ This is the precise reason I said I was going to supervise today's spar… ” Nightmare rumbled deep and slowly through gritted teeth.

Immediately both Cross and Killer halt all movements. Cross looking absolutely mortified while Killer looked amused.

“ So why, pray tell, have I arrived to see Pet here about to be impaled by a magic bone attack when she’s supposed to be observing basic combat? ”

Nightmare's deadly glare turned to Cross as the poor skeleton was now sweating buckets of little purple droplets. He wanted to explain himself but all he could do was start stammering having nearly hurt you and even worse having it been witnessed by Nightmare.

Getting no answer from him, Nightmare turned his attention to Killer who wasn’t even trying to hide the shit eating grin on his face as he watched the monochrome skeleton panic. It was blatantly obvious Killer had something to do with this. Cross was usually very aware of his surroundings and would never make such a blunder unless Killer had been deliberately messing with him.

Clearly he thought he was being clever by tricking Cross into accidentally attacking you.

Expecting Cross to be punished, Killer was surprised when one of Nightmare's tentacles shot out and encased him in a bruising grip. He was barely able to say a word before Nightmare began talking over him.

“ It seems I made a mistake when I asked you to be Cross’ sparring partner. I think another talk is in order. ” Nightmare's back was turned to you but judging by the menacing aura he was eminagung and the look on Killer’s face you could tell he was very much angry.

“ The fight is over. Cross, take pet back to her room. ” 

Cross didn’t waste any time as he rushed to you to check you over, desperate to see if he had hurt you. He looked so worried as he fawned over you and it took a lot of patting and swatting away his wandering hands to get his attention long enough to communicate you were okay.

Cross then quickly ushered you out of the room when he saw the way Nightmare bristled when Killer started to back chat about ‘technically not hurting you’. Boy Killer was gonna be in a world of pain, he never learnt.

You looked at him confused as to why he was moving you so quickly.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna stick around for this…” was all he said as you quickly exited the training hall and walked far enough Cross was sure you wouldn’t hear anything concerning.

Once you were far enough for Cross’ liking he eventually slowed down to a stop. Turning to check on him, you were surprised when he quickly filled your vision, his arms wrapping around you and hugging you tightly as he buried his face into the top of your head between your ears.

“God I’m so sorry!” He blurts out. “I should have been paying more attention, I got so carried away all because I let Killer get in my head again a-and I could have hurt you…” his voice wavers and you could physically hear the guilt eating away at him.

His sudden embrace took you off guard. This was the first time he had willingly hugged you and you were a little unsure of what to do. You tried to look up at him but he was holding you so tightly you weren’t able to, so instead you gently wrapped your arms around him and hugged him back. Reaching up behind him, you started rubbing the small of his back trying to reassure him that you really were okay.

The two of you just held each other for a moment. Cross had yet to let you go and you could feel him bury into your hair and take deep breaths of your scent. You must have really worried him…

You wished you could talk so you could reassure him and tell him you’d never hold him responsible if you got hurt.

Wiggling in his hold a little, Cross reluctantly loosened his grip on you just enough for you to look up at him, you reached up and gently cupped his face, the gesture startling him as he looked at you with wide sockets. You were careful as your thumb caressed the bone of his scarred cheek just under his eye socket, feeling the way the mark was etched into his skull and gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

His eyes looked into yours for a moment, he almost looked conflicted but whatever battle was going on his mind finally came to a conclusion when he let himself melt into you, placing his hand gently over yours on his cheek as he nuzzled into your palm.

The action made a warmth bloom in your soul as you smiled sweetly up at him. Cross couldn’t help but chuckle and be encouraged to do the same.

“Heh…thanks Princess…” he smiles, now slowly releasing you but doesn’t let go of your hand.

Heat rises to your face when you hear him call you Princess. You’ve heard Killer refer to you as that before when he’s spoken to Cross but for some reason it made a funny feeling occur in your chest when Cross said it. Princesses were beautiful and elegant like in the stories you read as a child, was that what Cross was calling you?

Cross watched the bright blush that crawled its way onto your face, you were probably surprised that he called you that straight from his own mouth and not Killer’s.

Cross had only intended to call you that as a joke, since Killer always teased him for being a royal guard and kept referring to you as that to get at him. However from the way you were now blushing so brightly, his eyes widened and he couldn’t help but wonder…

Did you like being called Princess?

He couldn’t help the smile he was making as he watched you blush and look away from him shyly, it was nice seeing you fluster and it not being him for once.

“Heh c’mon, let’s get going before Nightmare finds us and gives us all a whooping.” He chuckles and slowly pulls you along to get the two of you moving again, guiding you as the two of you walk hand in hand.

Well, Killer was right about one thing. If you were the Princess, then he was the knight.

And he'd do anything to protect you.

Chapter Text

The walk from the training hall back to your room was certainly longer than your usual walk around the castle.

The two of you leisurely made your way back, his hand still holding yours as Cross talked about basic sparring techniques and close combat manoeuvres, all the things he had wanted to show you during the demonstration but unfortunately couldn’t no thanks to Killer.

He mentioned how it would probably be best next time to work one on one in order to train you without any more problems which you definitely agreed with.

As you reached the entrance hall, Cross began to head down the hallway leading back to your rooms but you stopped him. He gave you a questioning look and you pointed up the central stairs in the direction of Nightmare’s office. 

“You want to see Nightmare? Why?”

Placing your hands together, you opened and closed them making a ‘book’ gesture. You didn't really have anything in the form of entertainment in your room, sure you had your phone but you loved reading and had been wanting to explore the plethora of books Nightmare had in his study for a while now. Surely Nightmare wouldn’t mind you borrowing one or two. 

Thankfully Cross seemed to understand what you were trying to say. “Ah, okay sure. I don’t know if he’s back in his office yet but we can see.” He replies, you noticed the way he took your hand again and led you up the stairs to the office. He seemed less averse to physically touching you now, keen even. Not that you minded, you actually really enjoyed the closeness, his hand in yours making a comforting warmth bloom in your chest.

Before you knew it, you were outside Nightmare’s study.

“You’ve got your phone right?” He asks and you nod, pulling it out from where you had it tucked against the waistband of your leggings. It was a shame your leggings didn’t have pockets but keeping it tucked against your skin worked just fine as well.

“Good, give me a text when you’re ready and I’ll come pick you up.”

You give another affirmative nod but notice that he doesn’t let go of your hand. Looking up to him you could see he looks hesitant but determined to say something.

“Listen, I just wanted to say…thanks, for earlier. You didn’t have to comfort me, I’m the one that screwed up… but you still did, so thank you.”

You were surprised he was thanking you, you didn’t think you had done anything worth thanking. It’s normal to comfort someone when they are upset, right? Though from what you’ve noticed it looked like comfort and reassurance wasn’t common practice amongst these angsty group of skellies, especially not if their leader thrives on ‘bad feelings’.

Squeezing his hand, you gave him another assuring smile. He gave you a bashful chuckle in return, appreciating your kindness and acceptance.

“ Are you two quite done? Either come inside and state your business or leave and canoodle elsewhere but do not do it outside my door!”

The two of you jump as Nightmare's annoyed voice snaps from behind the oak door.

“A-Aah I better let you get going!” He stutters and you nod fevently in agreement. However before you’re able to open the door, Cross had already begun lifting your hand still held in his. Leaning down, he places his teeth to your knuckles. You can feel a weird buzzing sensation as he lingers there, almost like he was nuzzling your hand but not quite. 

Light colour rises to your face as you stare down at him but you don’t know why.

“See you later, Princess.” He says, his voice suddenly low and deep as he gives you a wink before he vanishes. You’re left completely baffled by the exchange, face now red and eyes blinking in shock for a moment before you lift your hand and look at the place he had just nuzzled. 

You weren’t able to ponder it long though when you heard the door begin to rumble on its hinges and a menacing aura radiated from inside. You squeak and quickly open it, entering as you spot Nightmare sat at his desk again. His eye light narrowed at you dangerously making a shiver run down your spine. He looked even more ticked off than earlier, maybe coming here was a bad idea.

“You have some nerve producing such disgusting emotions, outside my door no less.” His deep, vibrating voice hisses at you. “If you have come because of Killer’s actions then take your leave. He has already been dealt with and I am in no mood to be dealing with anymore problems those blundering idiots may have caused.” 

You had to resist the urge to cower from the way Nightmare snapped at you, you could see the way his tentacles were writhing with irritation and his crescent smile was pulled down into a tight frown. He really was scary when he was angry and the tangibly heavy atmosphere he was creating was weighing down on you, sucking all the positivity and confidence out of you.

Not wanting to risk angering him any further, you got to the point of your visit, with a shaky hand you pointed to the bookshelves.

His sharp eye light flicked to where you had pointed and you swore you saw his tense frame relax a fraction. 

“ You want to borrow a book from my collection? ” He questioned, almost surprised that that was all you were here for.

Hesitantly you nod your head, his eye light bores into you and you can feel yourself shrinking under his intimidating gaze. This was such a bad idea, you should have come another time when Nightmare wasn’t so angry.

The silence that follows stretches on for what feels like an eternity before Nightmare eventually sighs and relaxes slightly.

“ Fine. You may browse. But do not disturb me from my work or I will have you immediately expelled from the study.” His single eye light glowers at you in a silent threat.

You can feel the pressure he’s exuding lessen but not by much, with tense nerves you nod your understanding and carefully make your way over to the book shelves. Resisting the urge to let your gaze wander back to the dark guardian sitting at the desk, you kept your focus on the books, your attention slowly being captured by the array of literature that stood before you. You didn’t notice the cyan eye that kept close tabs on you as you wandered through the shelves with curiosity.

There were so many books of varying sizes and thickness, many were old and worn from use, weathered by time but there were some modern ones too, their covers still glossy and brand new. You yourself had only ever got to read from a handful of children’s story books as a kid and some educational textbooks during your studies. Not that you were complaining, you loved learning about new things and were grateful for the few reading materials you had but you wished you were given more to expand your knowledge and keep you entertained when you were at the facility.

A lot of the shelves contained what looked like general theories and textbooks on souls and magic. You perked up seeing these, you had a keen interest when it came to these two subjects since the facility had deemed it imperative to keep any information regarding the two a secret from you. Why? You never really knew but maybe this was your chance to start understanding the inner mechanisms of your magic and soul.

You also saw some shelves that housed books about advanced quantum physics and astrophysics? You didn’t know what those were but they sounded technical, you assumed Nightmare must be quite educated if he had such books in his possession. The next set of shelves had medical textbooks for both monster and human biology, they reminded you of the ones you used to read during your studies but there were so many and they seemed far more in-depth than the one you used to read from, you wondered briefly if there might be a textbook on skeleton monsters.

Allowing yourself to glance back to Nightmare, you swore you caught his gaze on you for a split second before it quickly went back to his work. You stared, but he made no point to look at you again so you went back to browsing.

You took your time going through the shelves, picking up a few books here and there to sift through them as you had a brief read of their contents. Nightmare had gone back to his work fully by now, occasionally glancing at you to keep track of your movement but otherwise left you to your own devices.

Nightmare also has a section of shelves that contained novels of fiction. There were so many genres to choose from you didn’t know which one to start with! 

After much thought and perusing, you managed to narrow your options down to three books. Not knowing which one to pick, you decided to take all three, piling them into your hands as you juggled not to drop them.

With your chosen reading material in hand, you emerged from behind the shelves, and were faced with another dilemma. 

Where were you going to read? 

You thought about possibly reading here in the study but questioned whether your prolonged presence would irritate Nightmare further. You contemplated taking the books to read in your room instead but were worried about the possibility of needing to make the journey back should you change your mind or want a different book. You didn’t think Nightmare would be keen on you constantly interrupting him by coming in and out of his office. It would be easier for you to read here so you could swap or choose another book without any inconvenience or interruption.

Glancing back to Nightmare, he seemed thoroughly engrossed in his work and was not paying attention to you in the slightest. You supposed he wouldn’t mind…

With that, you decided to just…plonk yourself on the floor. Falling to the ground on your bum as gracefully as a newborn giraffe, your legs splaying out awkwardly as you tried to manoeuvre yourself to be sat cross legged, all while you juggled the books in your arms as you tried not to drop them around you.

Your action seemed to startle Nightmare as your unceremonious drop to the floor snapped his attention to you. He gave you a weird look as you straightened yourself and began scooting yourself back to lean against the edge of one of the shelves while you laid your books on the ground in front of you.

He didn’t expect you to want to read here but he guessed he didn’t find any issue with it. You had been quiet thus far so he supposed he could grant you the privilege of reading in his presence, though he was confused why you had decided to sit on the floor instead of the seating area provided. Surely that would be a much comfier spot to read on. 

He observed as you chose a book and opened it up to begin reading. Deciding not to waste his time questioning your choice of reading space, he went back to his work. The two of you sat in silence, time ticking on slowly as the sound of pen writing on paper and the occasional turning of a page filled the quiet.

“ What book have you got there? ” Nightmare broke the silence suddenly, you looked up from your book and saw that he was looking down at his desk, still writing. You stared, thinking that you may be hearing things but when he glanced at you expectantly and waited for your answer, you realised you did hear him correctly.

Lifting your book, you held up the cover clearly for him to read. 

“ Ah, ‘The Science Of Space and its Ever Expanding Vastness’ by Hugh Macklemore, a good choice. His depictions of celestial bodies are both informative and captivating though his theories on dark matter are a bit lacklustre and could do with more thorough research, but still it should be an enjoyable read.” 

Nightmare’s tone seemed far less hostile now as he gave his personal opinion, in fact he almost seemed interested in discussing the book with you. The threatening aura he was once exuding having ebbed away till it was barely noticeable.

You blinked at him as you processed his words, not expecting his sudden input in your book choice. You were surprised he even commented at all, he had even complimented you! Now that was unusual. 

Still, you didn’t know how to answer him. He had already gone back to his work and didn’t look like he had anything else to add so you slowly put your head down and went back to reading.

Not thirty seconds went by before the silence was interrupted again.

“ If you are enjoying it, I would recommend his other books in the space collection. I have them in the astrophysics section, they take a deeper dive into space theory and the multiverse thought I would avoid volume seven, it’s an absolute load of dribble . ”

Your attention was taken back to him as Nightmare began to speak of some of the author's other works that he had read, giving his unprompted critique and opinion on several detailed subjects discussed in the collection.

He went on for a solid few minutes before stopping abruptly. Realising he had been rambling, he looked to you as and saw you were listening and blinked at him curiously when he stopped. He quickly cleared his throat, the subtle colour of cyan colouring his cheeks as he tried to catch himself.

“ Ahem, my apologies, pet. It seems I got carried away. Please ignore me and continue your reading. ”

You didn’t mind honestly, he seemed very knowledgeable and you were interested in what he was saying. You wished he would have continued but he was now going back to his work and seemed adamant to finish without any more interruptions.

Deciding it best to go back to your own reading, several pages in you realised that there were a few words you didn’t understand, actually there were a lot of words you didn’t understand and feared you may have picked a book that was a little too advanced for you. The book was clearly written with the intention that the reader knew the definition of most subjects and went into explaining them in more detail. 

Furrowing your brows you couldn’t make head nor tail of most sentences and it was hindering your ability to learn. You glanced to Nightmare for a moment, watching as he wrote quietly while you contemplated what to do.

Nightmare caught the way you got up and gingerly started approaching him, book held close to your chest as you made your way to his side, head lowered and ears tilted down in subtle submission.

“ What is it, pet? ” He asked, not looking up from his work.

Turning your book around, you held it open to the page you were on and pointed to a word as you looked at him curiously.

He took a look at the word and stared at it for a moment before flicking his eyes to you. You tapped the word with your finger and tilted your head when Nightmare understood what you wanted. “ Meteor, it’s a small body of matter from outer space that enters Earth’s atmosphere and appears in the sky like a streak of light. ” His deep voice informs you coolly as he goes back to work, his definition practically textbook perfect.

You turn the book back round to face you, looking at the word and contemplating his words before you go back to sit down. However, five minutes later you’re back to his side, book opened wide as you pointed to another word as Nightmare glanced at it again. “ Atmosphere is the area of air and gas that envelopes Earth and other astronomical objects. ” He answers again, this time more quickly.

This goes on several more times, you asking him to explain a word and Nightmare doing so before you’re back a few minutes later doing the same again. Eventually Nightmare’s patience wears thin as you hurry over to him with yet another word you were eager to get the definition of.

“ Enough! ”

You immediately stop just short of his desk and stare at him wide eyed as he glares at you with irritation. “ I am trying to work, pet! I have told you once already if you disturb me I will have you removed from my office. Do not make me repeat myself a second time. ”

Your ears dropped, your excitement that was building quickly vanished as you looked down to the ground sadly. You didn’t mean to get carried away, you just didn’t understand most of the words and wanted to learn.

Nightmare felt your saddened emotions and watched the way you deflated from being told off. He understood your eagerness for knowledge and was caught off guard by the pang of guilt he felt from seeing you look so disheartened. Groaning, he ran a skeletal hand down his face exasperatedly as his tentacle began to move, making its way into the bookshelves near you. You watched the long, inky tendril stretch as it scoured the shelves till it found what it was looking for.

Peeling a book out from the shelf, it brought it over and dropped it in your hands, the weight of it nearly taking you down to the floor with it. It was thick and heavy and you struggled to hold it.

“ There, use this and cease bothering me so incessantly. ” He sneered, though his words didn’t seem to hold as much venom now.

You looked down at the book in your hands then back up to Nightmare who just rolled his eye at you.

“ It’s a dictionary, it’s a book that explains the definition of most words so now you can stop asking me .”

Looking back down at the book again, you opened it up and had a skim through before your face immediately lit up, this is exactly what you needed!

Nightmare soured at the positive feelings you were giving off but didn’t have a chance to say anything when you were already running off to sit back at your spot on the floor. Finally some peace, he thought.

Going back to his work for what felt like the hundredth time now, he stopped briefly as he glanced back over to you. You had the space book and the dictionary both opened on the floor, reading through the astronomy book then going to the dictionary to flick through and find the definition of the word you were looking for. Your expression was eager and willing, hungry to expand your knowledge and Nightmare didn’t notice his scowling expression softening as he watched you.

He thought for a moment before he allowed his tentacle to move again, stretching above your head past you as it fetched another book before bringing it to you, this time handing it to you more gently as he allowed you to take it from his grasp. You looked at him curiously before reading the title. The book read ‘Space Encyclopaedia’.

“ Here, this is what you should be starting off with. It’ll have a glossary of most space definitions if you can’t find them in the dictionary. ” He informs you, his earlier anger no longer there as he now spoke with calm resolve.

You looked down at the book in your hands for a moment. Satisfied, Nightmare began retracting his tentacle before feeling a small tug, preventing him from doing so. 

His attention immediately went back to you as he saw you had the tip of his tendril held in your small grasp. Your sudden boldness surprising him but his eye widened when you gave the appendage a gentle squeeze and smiled warmly at him. It felt tacky in your hand but didn’t stop you from conveying your gratitude for his help.

He stared at you in bewilderment, but made no movement to yank his tendril out from your hold, almost too shocked to do so. He studied you for a moment but when he found nothing but genuine gratitude in your expression he turned away, almost shyly as you swore you saw the subtle colour of aquamarine colouring his cheeks beneath the black of his face.

“ You’re welcome… ” 

You nearly missed the softly spoken words as he began retracting his tendril again and you quickly let go. You watched as it went back to his side with the others that moved about languidly behind him. 

Now that you had everything you needed, you read with no more interruptions for either of you, the two of you working away in the peaceful presence of each other's company

~~ ~~~

Nightmare was just finishing up his report on a newly created au when he glanced at the clock on the wall. It had been a couple of hours since you had first entered the study and it was coming up to 2:00pm, lunch was about to be ready soon. He knew Horror would start hunting for you if you didn’t show up soon, which he knew was something no one wanted to deal with. He was about to inform you of the time when he saw that you were asleep, leant back against the shelf with the dictionary in your lap and books scattered all around you.

After a certain point you had started to read the dictionary on its own, reading through to learn the definitions of words you didn’t know or hadn’t heard of before no doubt. He couldn’t imagine anyone reading through a dictionary for a prolonged period of time without succumbing to falling asleep so he wasn’t too surprised by your state.

Still, this left him in a predicament he wasn’t quite sure how to handle.

He stretched his tentacle over to you with the intention to wake you up but stopped just short of you. Now that you were asleep, he was able to study you a little more closely. Your long hair cascaded down, framing your soft features as you snoozed quietly, watching the way your chest gently rose and fell as you breathed slow and rhythmically. His tentacle hovered hesitantly near you as he observed you. 

After a moment, his tentacle began moving again but instead of nudging you awake, it was joined by its three others. Gently you were scooped up by two tendrils while the third removed the dictionary from your lap and began tidying the books you had collected into a neat pile out of the way. As the two tendrils holding you brought you over to the couch and carefully laid you down, the forth moved to open a drawer at his desk and pulled out a blanket before bringing it over and laying it over you carefully.

You stirred slightly which made Nightmare and his tendrils immediately halt, but when you made no more movements and carried on your slumber his tentacles began retracting back to their original length behind him.

Thankfully he had finished putting you in a comfier spot to sleep just in time before Dust teleported into his study. His red and blue magic swirling in the air around him as it mixed into a light purple before fading away.

“You wanted to see me?” Dust asked gruffly.

Nightmare narrowed his sockets at the hooded skeleton. “ Dust, what have I told you about entering my office without knocking ?

Dust just shrugged lethargically. He was looking tired and far worse for wear. The dark circles under his sockets were etched deeper than usual, clearly from the lack of sleep but he was much calmer now since Nightmare had drained him of his mania. Dust had really put up a fight after he took him away which left both him and Nightmare exhausted. 

Nightmare huffed at Dust's dismissive answer but let it slide, not wanting to create any more unnecessary problems for him to deal with.

Dust noticed you asleep on the couch, staring at you for a moment before raising his brow bone at Nightmare. Nightmare made no attempt to acknowledge the look Dust was currently giving him or to explain your presence as he finished up his report.

“You wanna explain why the kid’s currently sleeping on your couch, Boss?” His strained grin widening a little more genuinely now. “You never let us snooze in your office.”

“ That’s because I can’t trust you lot to leave my office in one piece when you're done. ” He snaps dismissively. “ Now never mind that, I have a job for you. ” Nightmare quickly changes subject.

Dust wasn’t stupid, he saw Nightmare’s reluctance to explain your presence but thought better to question or tease him on it. He was too tired to possibly face his wrath so he just let it be. Still, he couldn’t help casting one more glance over to you, watching your form as you slept. 

His smile became strained again as he thought back to the fight he had with you and he stepped away, almost walking around you in avoidance as he approached Nightmare’s desk.

“What you got?” He asks, now trying to distract himself from you.

Finishing the last of the report, Nightmare piles the papers into a stack and places them neatly to the side before pulling out a file from the desk.

“ I took the liberty of doing some research on our little pet over there, specifically on this so called Bradford's Magic and Medicine Research Facility. ” He speaks as he slides the file across the desk over to Dust.

“ From what I’ve found, magic and medicine research is not all they do. ”

Dust takes the folder and has a read of the contents inside, it has information on the Bradford facility such as its location and what the facility does on the surface level but also contains reports and accusations of illegal human and monster experimentation. All of which reports say were quickly swept under the rug or paid off.

“ I want you to scout the facility, watch how it’s operated and see if you can find some unguarded entry points. I would surmise that such a facility would be heavily surveillanced so it would be wise to locate any cameras so they may be disabled in order to gain entry and garner any more information on our new pet undetected. ”

Dust sockets widen at the report's details, his discoloured eyelights quickly shifting as he scans through the reports. His shocked expression manages to slip through the mask he always wears for a split second before he reigns it back in, his expression back to neutral again. 

“ This is a stealth mission, I know you’ve just had an episode but try not to kill anyone. Stay hidden and gather as much information as you can. ”

Dust just stared down at the file, his expression unreadable behind the permagrin he and all his counterparts always wore.

He glances at you briefly as he contemplates the accusations he just read within the report before looking back to the file.

“Sure thing, Boss...”

Chapter Text

You awoke to the sound of aggressive whispers and the feeling of something touching your cheek. Slowly opening your eyes, your vision comes into focus to see Horror and Cross standing over you, the two bickering with hushed voices but stop when they see you yawn and blink the sleep out your eyes.

“See, look what you’ve done. Now you’ve woken her up! You should of let her slee—hey are you listening?!” Cross huffed while Horror ignored him and chuckled at your sleepiness.

“Heya cupcake…time to wake up…lunch is ready…” he greets you softly, his deep, gravelly voice pleasant on your ears as his boney finger gently brushes the side of your cheek, coaxing you from sleep.

Looking around blearily, you realised you were still in Nightmare’s study, having evidently dozed off while engrossed in your reading. However, you weren't in your place on the floor anymore; instead, you found yourself nestled on the couch in the reading area, someone had even put a blanket over you and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was Nightmare who did that. As you pondered, Cross mentioned he hadn't received a text from you, prompting him to check on you, while Horror had come to fetch you for lunch as you hadn't shown up. Upon seeing your state, the two had begun arguing on whether to let you sleep or wake you and bring you for lunch.

As the two began to bicker again, you noticed Nightmare was not in the office anymore. While you were thankful you hadn’t been kicked out, you decided it was best to not overstay your welcome, especially since hunger began to gnaw at you, your stomach emitting an audible growl. This caught the attention of Cross and particularly Horror, who snapped his head to you upon hearing your stomach’s cry for food. Immediately, he picked you up and began trudging you out the door to go have lunch, much to the surprise of Cross and yourself.

You hung on to him the entire way, while Cross ran along behind, persistently arguing with Horror to put you down, to which Horror refused. At one point, Horror made the point of nuzzling his face against your cheek, just for the satisfaction of watching the flash of jealousy in Cross’ expression, prompting him to sputter and demand more fervently for your release, only for Horror to call him a ‘jelly skelly’.

Once more, you experienced that peculiar buzzing sensation as Horror's teeth lightly grazed your cheek, reminiscent of when Cross had nuzzled your hand. Heat flooded your cheeks involuntarily, and you couldn't help but wonder about the meaning behind this curious gesture.

Upon returning to the kitchen, you found Killer seated alone at the table. You were taken aback by the sight of the substantial crack running over his socket that he was currently nursing with an ice pack. He noticed the three of you enter but you felt his attention was mainly on you.

“Heh, heya Kitten, ya come ta lick my wounds?” Killer quipped flirtatiously as Horror finally set you down. His empty socket seemed to wink at you, or at least you assumed it did, considering the other eye was concealed by the ice pack. He was still acting as weird as always but he was definitely more subdued than usual, especially when you caught the way he flinched, most likely from the pain of his socket. Despite the trouble he's caused you, you couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him.

“No…but I can…” Horror advances towards Killer, his long, blue tongue stretching out his mouth, wet and extra drippy with the threat to slobber all over him.Instantly, Killer’s sultry expression pails as he begins pushing Horror away from him and leans back to avoid being slobbered on. “Aw, man no—c’mon get that thing away from me! Ugh sto—you’re drooling all over me!”

The two messed around when Cross entered your vision, holding a plate containing a thick, toasted bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Cross was already holding his, munching away into it as he handed you yours.

“Horror already made lunch, it’s a BLT.” You didn’t know what a BLT was but you took it anyway, staring down at it before returning your attention to Horror and Killer. By now, Horror had ceased his antics with Killer and was now tending to the crack on his skull with the same green balm he had used on you.

Your ears dropped as you felt responsible for his current injury, mentally chastising yourself for not being more vigilant. Maybe you could have saved him the suffering if you were paying attention more during the spar demonstration, then you would have been able to move out of the way in time without Nightmare having to save you.

You’re taken out of your thoughts when you feel Cross place his hand on your shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up, he did this to himself.” He comments quietly. “We’re used to the punishments anyway, it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

For some reason, that doesn’t reassure you as you look down at the sandwich in your hand, starting to get lost in thought again but are prevented from doing so when Cross taps you on the shoulder. “Uh, Miss…you may wanna start eating now.” 

You notice Cross is now sweating slightly as he directs your attention to Horror, who currently has his head turned directly at you. His bloated eyelight stares intensely, sending a shiver down your spine. It seems his patience for you not having had lunch yet was starting to wear thin judging by the threatening aura he was currently giving off and you swore you could hear a low growl coming from him. 

Startled, you quickly take a large bite of the sandwich, the delicious taste momentarily distracting you from your nervousness. You hum in appreciation, only now realising how hungry you were, and eagerly take another bite, munching away. As you eat, you notice Horror visibly relax back to his usual demeanour. Turning your attention back to Killer, you observe Horror's hand, which had been applying the balm, now curled into Killer's socket. Killer, frozen in place, is also sweating profusely, a clear sign of discomfort.

“H-Hey pal…ya wanna ease up on the ol’ socket before ya rip me a new one?…” Killer joked nervously. 

Cross barks with laughter at the sight before him. It was a rare occurrence seeing Killer put in a compromising situation, so Cross relished in the few opportunities he got to see Killer get some payback for all the teasing. The way his usual cocky attitude was being humbled, trying to play it off coolly despite the amount of red sweat he was now producing, you also couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out.

“Heh…my bad…” Horror laughs as he slowly releases his grip and pulls away, amused by the way Killer lets out a shaky exhale.

“I think I’ll apply my own balm, thank you very much.” Killer grumbles as he snatches the balm away from Horror. 

The conversation transitioned into comfortable banter as you polished off your lunch. You listened as the three engaged in lively chatter, teasing each other intermittently while you enjoyed your sandwich. Briefly, your thoughts drifted to the crack on Killer’s skull, wondering what might have transpired between him and Nightmare after the spar demonstration to result in such an injury, what Nightmare must have done…

You quickly shook your head, not wanting to think about it and knowing it would do you no good worrying, so instead you just tried to distract yourself and simply enjoy the cosy atmosphere and good company instead.

~~ ~~~

Following lunch, you finally asked Cross to give you that much needed tour of the castle, you were tired of not knowing where you were going and constantly needing to be chaperoned. While you enjoyed Cross’ company, you knew there were going to be times where he wasn’t around and you couldn’t rely on him forever. Thankfully, he agreed to show you around.

It took the rest of the day to explore the castle, the building was huge so of course it would take a while to see everything. While most rooms were just bedrooms, you were briefly introduced to new ones such as Nightmare’s throne room, a living room, a games room, a laundry room, a dining hall and a ballroom as well as the training hall, kitchen and study but you already knew about those. 

Cross also mentioned the lower floors that contained the dungeon and the cells that you were kept in when you were first brought here. Despite your curiosity, Cross urged you to refrain from exploring those areas. He explained there wasn’t much to see but judging by the anxious look on his face, you could tell going further made him uncomfortable for some reason. You decided not to push it and let him take you back to the kitchen, informing you it was time for dinner anyway.

By the time you were done with dinner, it was already evening and all that walking had left you tired. Heading back to your respective rooms, Cross bided you a good night before turning in. 

Entering your own room, you had your usual shower, drying your hair, ears and tail before wrapping a towel around yourself. Stepping out of the bathroom you were startled when you saw Killer sitting at the foot of your bed, positioned as though he had been waiting for you.

“Hey Kitten, have a nice shower?” 

You stare, taken aback by his presence in your room once again, observing as his trademark grin widens slightly upon noticing you. You can’t see his eye light this time but from the way his sockets lid you can tell he’s definitely looking at you.

You really weren’t in the mood for his games today; tired and craving relaxation, all you wanted was to get into bed. Choosing to ignore him, you head to your drawers and start fishing out some pyjamas, all while his head follows your every movement. 

With your back turned to him, you opened your towel and began to lower it to get changed, but stopped just short of your lower back. The memory of Cross adamantly informing you not to change in front of others flashed in your mind, causing you to pause and reconsider.

Hastily, you closed the towel around yourself again and peeked over your shoulder, only to startle and swivel round completely when you see Killer is now right in front of you, uncomfortably close and practically cornering you between himself and the wooden chest of drawers.

“Ya need some help changing there, Kitten ?” His lowered voice practically purrs at you.

He was too close. You instinctively backed up but being already so close to the drawers you ended up bashing your back against it and flinched from the bruising pain. You didn’t even hear him move!

“Heh heh, chill out. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” he laughs at your skittish demeanour, stepping back and choosing to sit on the bed again in front of you. Meanwhile, you reach behind yourself to massage your aching back.

“Nightmare asked me to give ya these.” Killer says, twisting his hand to indicate the stack of books on your bedside cabinet—the ones you had left in the study when Horror and Cross took you to lunch.

You forgot you had left them there and were kind of surprised Nightmare even bothered sending someone to bring them to you, though you wished that someone was anyone but Killer…

“Besides, it gave me the perfect opportunity for you to take care of me.”

Snapping your head back to him, you shot Killer a confused look, having no idea what he was talking about. Killer’s grin only grew more smug. “I got this beauty cause of you,” He stated, pointing to the crack running down his socket. “Nightmare seemed to think it was my fault Cross nearly hurt you, even though I saved you before. That doesn’t seem very fair if you ask me. So, I thought, seeing as you owe me, don’t you think you should take responsibility and take care of me, nurse?

You stared at him a little bewildered. He wanted you to take care of him? What were you supposed to do? Horror had already applied some healing balm so you figured the crack would heal in a couple of days.

You looked down to the floor apologetically, while you weren’t sure how to help him, you really were sorry for the injury Nightmare had given him.

He hummed, taking your bowing of the head as a sign of acceptance, grinning he waved his hand in a “come here” motion.

“So come and take care of me.”

You tensed when you felt his magic encase your soul, dragging your body forward until you stood directly in front of him. He leaned back slightly on his hands, spreading his legs casually. He knew you were oblivious to his sexual innuendos and suggestive comments, yet he couldn't resist teasing and pushing you into uncomfortable situations, curious to see your reactions.

Stopping you just inches away from him, he paused, waiting for you to make the first step. After all, he couldn’t get in trouble if you were the one doing things to him. 

You stared at him, nervous and unsure of what he was really asking from you. Still, you knew he wouldn’t leave if you didn’t do something.  So, begrudgingly, you stepped forward, now standing between his spread legs while Killer raised his brow bone in amusement. He had a shit eating grin on his face while you stared at him, annoyed, but you pushed past it. 

With one hand holding your towel securely around you, you raised the other and slowly placed it under his chin, tilting his face up to meet yours. Now that you were closer, you could see the deep webbing etched into his skull, starting from his brow bone, cascading down across his socket, and ending just above his cheekbone. It was evident that a considerable amount of force must have occurred to create such a break, and even you could see it must hurt a lot.

Killer watched you intently as your hand gently cupped his cheek, careful not to cause him any discomfort as your fingers traced the lower part of the crack. His smug grin was starting to falter as he watched you with building confusion, your current actions not being what he had anticipated.

You hesitated for a moment, questioning whether what you were about to do was the best course of action, but with no other plan, you decided to go for it. With caution, you leaned in, pressing yourself gently against the crack that stretched from his upper socket to his brow bone. You weren't entirely sure of what you were doing, but you recalled the way Cross and Horror had nuzzled you before, feeling the comforting buzz against your skin. You assumed this was a way skeleton monsters showed affection.

It was a complete shot in the dark but you were hoping to repeat that action to convey your apology and wish for a speedy recovery. While you didn’t know what caused the buzzing sensation, you opted to instead hum softly, hoping the vibration of your voice would somehow replicate it.

Killer’s sockets widened when it dawned on him what you were doing. Were you giving him a skeleton kiss?? He’d be laughing right now if he wasn’t completely in shock. Out of everything that could be happening right now, this was the last thing he was expecting. 

He could feel the way your thumb caressed the lower crack while you gently nuzzled into the space under his brow bone. Unsure of how to react, he could feel himself begin to sweat nervously from the unexpected tenderness of your gesture. Your caring intent was pouring into him, and it was his turn to feel uncomfortable, until he suddenly felt it—the wave of warmth emanating from your hand and mouth, that was undoubtedly magic.

He panicked briefly when he realised you were using magic on him, but his emotions quickly calmed when he felt no pain. Instead, a soothing warmth enveloped him as the vibrating magic coming from your hum washed over him and into the injured crack. 

He could feel his sockets lid as your magic quelled the pain and ragging emotions deep within his soul. He hadn’t even realised he was leaning into you until he quickly grabbed your hand cupping his cheek and removed it, pulling himself away from you as you blinked at him.

You stared down at him, startled that had leaned away from you so suddenly, but what was more surprising was the nervous expression on his face and the slight red dusting his cheeks. He wouldn’t look at you, despite still holding your wrist in his grasp.

You waited for him to say something, but he did nothing but sit there in silence with his grin now looking strained, that weird black liquid starting to pour from his eyes again which you realised happened when he was feeling some sort of negative emotion. Gently, you removed your wrist from his hold and carefully turned his face to look at you, your expression giving him a soft, concerned look that made his non-existent stomach flip. Did you hurt him? 

It was hard to tell where he was looking when his eye light wasn’t there, but your attention was brought down to his chest when you saw the way the red target was glowing brighter than usual and beginning to warble into a weird shape.

His sockets immediately widened when he realised what you were staring at, and he abruptly stood up, causing you to jump back away from him.

“Uh, thanks,” was all he said before he vanished, leaving you to stare at the wisps of red magic that floated in the air where he once was.

You stood there for a moment, trying to replay what just happened to make him so jumpy all of a sudden. Did you communicate wrong, or maybe you inadvertently offended him? Whatever you did, it must have spooked him real bad. You had never seen him act like that before.

Extending your hand, you reached out and touched the magic still lingering in the air, watching the way it twisted around your fingers before dissipating.

You couldn't help but notice how Killer looked so conflicted, so troubled and you didn’t know why. 

Unfortunately, there was not much you could do about it now and you got him to leave which is what you wanted. Now that you were alone, you continued to change into your pyjamas and got into bed. 

Feeling uninterested in reading, you opted to listen to music on your phone instead. Humming along to the songs, you continued to strengthen your throat before eventually drifting off to sleep.

~~ ~~~

Killer appeared in his room, the familiarity of its darkness and clutter comforting him now that he was back in a place that made him feel ‘safe’. It was ‘a mess as usual’ so Cross would say, but to him it was organised chaos—exactly the way he liked it. It was the perfect reflection of himself: an all-over-the-place mess to any outsider, but completely decipherable and navigable to him and him alone.

As he moved across the room, Killer could hear the various cries emanating from his wardrobe. Opening the door, he allowed the sea of cats, each of varying colours and sizes, to spill out. They mewed and rushed around him, clearly pleased to see him and relieved to be out of the confines of the wardrobe, which was no place to hide so many cats.

“Yes, yes I’m here. Daddy’ll feed you just give me a sec,” he tries to soothe them before stepping past them into the bathroom. 

Turning the tap, he quickly splashes cold water on his face to calm his nerves, the nerves he shouldn’t even have right now. He didn’t get nervous—why was he nervous?! His anger was rising as he placed his hands on the porcelain sink, watching the way the water dripped off of him, mixing with the black of his liquid hate that now washed away down the drain. 

Glancing up in the mirror, his eyes widened when he caught sight of his cracked socket that was previously hidden under the black streaks—or better yet, the lack of crack. Leaning in closer, he turned his head and inspected the previously injured area to see that the break was now completely gone, the bone now healed back together.

“No frickin’ way…” he mumbled out in disbelief, noticing not even a scar was left behind. The shock had caused his eye light to return, and as he backed up, his attention was now being caught by something even more troubling.

Looking down in the mirror, Killer stared when he saw his soul had changed. No longer in its usual target shape, now it had morphed into an upside-down heart—the same shape that all monsters' souls had.

All monsters except him.

Upon seeing the heart shape of his soul, an uncontrollable rage rose within him.

Without hesitation, he swung his fist straight into the mirror. The force of his punch instantly smashing the panel on impact, causing shattered pieces of broken glass to fly and fall to the bathroom floor around his feet.

He was breathing heavily now as he heard the cats behind him scatter from the loud crash. He mentally chastised himself for scaring his babies and slowly pulled his fist away from the mirror. His knuckles were bleeding now, several small shards embedding into them. His image in the mirror was distorted, cracked and broken—just like he was. He couldn’t see the shape of his soul reflected anymore. Having punched that exact part looking back at him, the image was barely tangible but it looked like his soul was back to its usual shape.

He stared at his broken reflection, brows furrowing as he finally let the mask slip, his usual grin pulling down into a frown for once.

“Shit!”

Chapter Text

Over the next several days, a routine emerged. You would wake up at a reasonable hour and start your morning hygiene routine in the bathroom before Cross would knock and wait patiently outside your door to take you to breakfast. Occasionally, Horror or Killer would be waiting on your bed when you emerged, though mainly it was Killer who appeared, usually saying something about wanting to see you in your ‘birthday suit’ before Cross would quickly drag him out for you to change in privacy. 

Speaking of Killer, after the most recent incident in your bedroom, he had actually stayed away from you for a while. At first, you were grateful for the peace and quiet, however you were soon beginning to worry that maybe you had done something to upset him. Whatever the issue was, he managed to get over it because he was back, a few days later, popping into your room unannounced to bother you as usual. Fortunately, you saw that the crack had healed up completely, which you were relieved to see.

After breakfast, Cross would take you to the training hall to learn self-defence and proper attack manoeuvres. You were surprised by his detailed explanations and his extensive knowledge of fighting. He mentioned that he used to be part of a royal guard, which you found impressive, and his teaching style made it easy for you to pick things up quickly.

Once you were finished, the two of you would head to lunch before dropping you off at Nightmare’s study so you could read. Thankfully, Nightmare didn’t seem to mind your presence and allowed you to spend your time reading while he worked on his ‘reports on the multiverses’ or ‘battle strategies’ so he told you, before you were dragged away hours later by Horror to have Dinner. 

Sometimes, Horror would bring you a little earlier to have you actually help him prepare the meal, which you were more than happy to do. Eager to learn how to cook, you mostly handled the food prep while you watched him do the actual cooking. Either way, you didn’t mind and were happy to watch as he explained his cooking techniques and the recipes to you.

After dinner, you’d spend your time helping Horror clean up or by helping Cross with whatever chores he might be doing. Killer would sometimes join—but not to help, only to be a pain and torment you whenever he could.

It had been a while since you had seen Dust. After your little altercation, it was like he had become a ghost, practically avoiding you like the plague. You barely saw him at all, and on the rare instances you did, he would teleport away immediately. Nightmare informed you he’s been out of the castle on a mission most of the time, but that didn’t explain why he always disappears whenever you were around. You couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that he was avoiding you for some reason making you wonder if there was something more to his behaviour than just the aftermath of your confrontation.

At the end of the day, you would return to your room and indulge in some more reading or strengthen your throat by humming along to the music on your phone before drifting off to sleep. Occasionally, you would wake up sensing the presence of someone else in the room, but it would quickly vanish, and your fatigue would prevent you from questioning it further before pulling you back into slumber.

 All in all, your days with the group of skeletons was pleasant and you found solace in the familiarity of your routine, gradually becoming accustomed to the curious occurrences within the confines of the castle, giving you a newfound sense of living.

~~ ~~~

Your lower stomach contracted painfully as you sat in the infirmary, the doctors moving around quickly as they took several blood samples and tapped away at their computer desks.

Perched on the medical bed, you watched as Dr. Philips entered the room, her demeanour as composed as ever, yet subtle twinges in her expression betrayed her underlying concern. 

“What’s wrong with her? Why is she in the infirmary?” She demanded with experienced authority.

“Experiment 42-6 is experiencing a series of stomach pains that have been reported to be increasing in intensity, she informed one of the nurses this morning when she was brought breakfast.” The doctor processing your blood test relayed the information as Dr. Philips walked over to you to check your condition.

“ How are you feeling?” She asked, her tone softer when addressing you.

“My stomach is hurting, I keep feeling waves of pain that have been getting worse since this mor—ngh!” Just as you were explaining, you cringed as another wave of pain ripped through you and you clenched at your lower stomach.

Dr. Philips watched you with concern before turning to one of her nurses. “Bring the ultrasound over.”

“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse responded promptly, rolling a machine on wheels with a screen over the bed.

As the equipment was positioned, you began scooting back on the bed, you were well-acquainted with medical procedures, having undergone numerous ultrasounds, MRI scans, and various other tests in the past. Without the doctors even asking, you knew what was expected of you.

“Do you need me to take my dress off?” You asked softly.

Dr. Philips was now gloving her hands and preparing the machine. “No, dear. Just lift it up to your belly button, if you please.” 

You heard a scoff from one of the other medical practitioners, your acute hearing making you look their way before they quickly went back to their work. You could see the other doctor’s disdain for the way Dr. Phillips treated you so politely. Like they questioned why she bothered talking to you with patience despite how obedient you always were. You never gave them any grief and kept you yourself mostly so you never knew why they sneered at you with disgust behind their cold professionalism.

Laying back, you do as she asks, lifting your dress up to your navel as she smears the cold, clear gel on your lower stomach. The sensation of the cool, slick makes you flinch slightly, but you remain still as she gently places the scanner on your stomach, guiding it until the image displays on the screen.

The two of you watched the screen in silence as the image materialised. Eyes fixated on the shifting images, Dr. Philips expertly manoeuvred the ultrasound probe, her brows furrowing in concentration as she analysed the results. You didn’t really know what you were looking at but you couldn't miss the fleeting flash of concern that crossed your doctor's face before she regained her composure.

“Her endometrial lining is unusually thick, it’s never been like this before…” she begins, her voice tinged with a hint of confusion as she stares at the screen intensely.

“It’s almost like she’s—” Dr. Philips starts but her words are cut short when you cried out in pain and turned onto your side, the action cutting away the connection to the screen.

“What’s wrong? Do you need to stand up?” Dr. Philips asks urgently, her tone laced with concern as she attempts to help you up. A flicker of realisation crosses her face, hinting at a troubling suspicion she dares not voice aloud. Deep down, she dearly hopes her assessment is mistaken.

“S-Somethings coming out!” You panicked as the moment she got you back to your feet, you felt a weird sensation and a warmth come out of you. Dr. Philips's eyes widen in alarm, her expression mirroring the shock that ripples through the medical staff surrounding her. Murmurs and gasps fill the air as the realisation of what is happening begins to sink in, sending a ripple of urgency through the room.

You watched as the blood trickled down your legs, now staining your once-white underwear crimson as it dripped onto the floor. Your eyes widened with fear and you looked up to your doctor with pure panic in your eyes.

“W-What’s happening?!” You pleaded with her as she looked at you with an almost pained expression.

“You’ve started yo-our——”

“What?” You didn’t hear her. Her voice was starting to warble and the world around you began fading away as a familiar darkness began to swallow everything around you.

“Y-o-o-u-ve s-s-ta-rt-t y-o-ou-r p—”

~~ ~~~

You awoke with far less grace and decorum than usual as a knocking at your door roused you from your sleep. Wrenching your eyes open, you groaned and refused to extract yourself from under the warmth of the covers. With sluggish and uncoordinated movements, you reached your arm out and began slapping the bedside drawer, your hand blindly fumbling to find your phone as your groggy mind struggled to fully awaken from its slumber. 

Finally seizing the device, you quickly pulled it under the sheets with you and winced as the bright screen blared in your face, displaying the time under the darkness of the covers. 

Blinking against the harshness of the bright light, you realised it was far later than when you usually woke up—which was strange for you—your internal body clock was normally reliable and always woke you at a reasonable hour. Another thing that was strange was how lethargic you were feeling, but you weren’t able to question it when there was another rap at the door accompanied by Cross’ voice calling out to you.

“Uh, Miss. Are you ready to head to breakfast?”

Begrudgingly, you emerged from the covers and forced yourself to sit up, only to be instantly awake when a painful clench wrecked you from your stomach, followed by an alien yet uncomfortably familiar sensation to flow out from your lower half.

Quickly lifting the covers, you paled at the sight before you. No, no no not again! You thought before shoving the covers back down when you saw the door knob begin to jiggle. 

“Miss, I haven’t heard anything so I’m gonna come in.” Cross’ voice sounded from the other side of the door.

You began to panic, you wanted to cry out and tell him not to enter but your voice wasn’t ready for speech yet, the only thing coming out of you being a pathetic squark of a sound.

Quickly, you tried to reach for your phone, intending to send a frantic text message to Cross, pleading with him not to enter. But in your haste, you accidentally knocked it off the bed, causing it to fall to the floor with a loud crash. 

The sound ended up alerting Cross, now entering the room and closing the door behind him as he looked around for you. “Miss, are you alright? I heard somethi—” He stopped when he caught sight of you and your panicked expression. His face looked concerned, but then you saw the way his eye lights shrank the moment the smell hit him.

Immediately, he came rushing to you and you waved your hands at him in some measly attempt to assure you were okay but he knew better. Grabbing your bed cover, he lifted it to reveal the pool of blood staining the sheets between your legs.

“Shit!” He swore, the smell hitting him much harder now as he examined the damage while your hands flew between your legs in an attempt to hide your stained underwear and sheets. You looked absolutely mortified and mentally kicked yourself for not wearing any pj bottoms last night. 

He turned to you, eye lights shrunken into pinpricks as he struggled to compose himself. “You’re not hurt, are you?” He asked, voice tight with barely concealed panic. 

You shook your head, struggling to contain the tears threatening to spill as Cross quickly puts the covers back over you. He wanted to assume the worst but had a feeling he knew what was happening.

“We need to get you cleaned up before—” The door slammed open before Cross could even finish his sentence as Horror stood in the doorway, his hulking frame tense with raw power as his head snapped to the two of you. You both jolted from the loud bang of the door slamming against the wall as you saw the way Horror was staring at you intensely, his manic grin stretched uncomfortably wide. 

“N-Now hold on a minute, Horror. Just stay calm…” Cross began, holding his hands out in front of him in a futile attempt to diffuse the escalating tension. But the moment Horror took a sniff, his blazing red eye light dilated instantly, consuming the entirety of his socket in a fiery glow.

Before anyone could react, Horror lunged forward with frightening speed, his massive form barreling towards you with a primal intensity. In a swift and powerful motion, he seized Cross by the front of his neck, effortlessly tossing him aside like a rag doll. Cross tumbled to the floor, his body landing headfirst with an undignified grunt, momentarily stunned by the sudden and brutal assault.

You could do nothing to stop him as Horror forcefully threw the covers off you, revealing the same pool of blood that Cross had seen moments before. His eye light instantly constricted in shock as he stared down at the crimson stain soaking into the sheets.

Standing completely frozen in place, the sight of you shivering with fear and the tears welling in your eyes made his soul clench painfully. He was overcome with a sense of helplessness, the knowledge that you had been hurt and he hadn’t been there to stop it weighing on him heavily. 

“C-Cupcake?…” his voice choked painfully as he looked at you now, the expression on his face breaking your heart.

You needed to try and tell him you weren’t injured, but before you could do anything, Horror was suddenly on you. His towering frame loomed over you as he frantically pawed and pulled at your body, desperately searching for the point of injury. You made a strangled cry, attempting to push him away, the sudden closeness invoking a conditioned fear within you as you tried to push down the rising panic of having someone on top of you.

As your mind raced, you wanted to rationalise his actions, to remind yourself that he was just concerned you were hurt, but it was proving hard to keep your instincts in check, especially with the way his claws yanked at your tank top to reveal your stomach. You yelped in protest and fought to push his head away when he pressed it into your tummy, his massive chest heaving with urgency as he started sniffing you frantically in between his animalistic growls and babbles about “failing to keep you safe” and assurances to “fix you”.

His head began to move lower as he squeezed the flesh of your hips and let out a frustrated growl when he couldn’t find where you were bleeding from. You kicked and flailed to get him off of you, but it was no use, he was too big; his sheer size and weight kept you pinned beneath him in his relentless assault to find the source of the bleeding.

“Y-Yer fine cupcake…just gotta find the wound…I’ll heal ya…you’ll be g-good as new…you’ll be fine…” he began babbling in a stream of incoherent reassurances between the constant growl rumbling in his rib cage. However, judging by the desperation in his actions, it was like he was reassuring himself more than anything else.

He was too focused on finding the wound that he wasn’t responding to your attempts to calm him down. Horror batted away your efforts to pry him off you, his hands now moving to squeeze the flesh under your thighs. You could feel yourself reaching your breaking point, your magic flaring within you in an instinctual response to the overwhelming situation and threatening to lash out when you saw both Killer and surprisingly Dust appear in your room behind Horror. 

“The fuck is going on in here? Breakfast is gonna burn if you don't—” Killer's voice trails off when he and Dust spot Horror on top of you, their faces dropping before taking on the expression of genuine shock as they took in the scene before them.

“Horror, the fuck are you doing, man?” Dust asked, unsettled by what he’s witnessing while Killer’s gaze landed on Cross, who was currently groaning in pain on the floor.

It was then another painful contraction wracked your stomach, and the familiar wetness flowed once more. You watched as both Killer and Dust jolted at the scent of fresh blood, their noses wrinkling as they sniffed the air. But it was when Horror finally caught wind of the scent and located the source of the bleeding that the situation came to a head. With a swift movement, he shoved his head between your legs and inhaled deeply, that action being the final straw.

You felt your control snap as your eyes contracted into slits and you looked down at Horror before letting forth the loudest roar your throat could physically muster without injury. All skeletons in the room startle at you outburst, even Horror who seemed to be snapped out of his frenzy but before he could fully remove himself from you he felt both Killer and Dust’s magic wrap around his soul and fling him to the wall away from you.

Now that Horror was off you, they could see the pool of blood that had formed beneath you but any attempts to move closer to you was met with another warning snarl from you, informing them to kindly back off .

They watched in astonishment as you bared your sharp fangs at them, your nose wrinkling as you hissed in agitation. Your ears were pulled back, and your tail swished furiously behind you. They had never seen you like this before, and they didn’t know how to react to this unfamiliar display of aggression.

“What did you do?…” Horror growled, suddenly appearing in front of them. A chill running down both their spines as Horror’s eye light focused on them, his pupil shrunken down to a point in his bloated red eyelight.

“Huh?” They both replied in unison, completely dumbfounded.

“What do you mean ‘what did we do’ , what did you do?! You were the one on top of her!” Killer immediately bristled at the accusation.

Horror began stepping forward as the two backed up, his claw creeping into his empty socket and scraping at the bone inside. “It’s gotta be…one a’ you two…that did this to her…” he trudged forward, essentially trapping the two smaller skeletons. They began to sweat nervously under his intense intimidation.

“Look man, we really didn’t do anything.” Dust defended, his voice tinged with a hint of panic.

“You’re the one looking like you were mauling her, ya friggin cannibal!” Killer retorted, his own anxiety manifesting as aggression.

Horror wasn’t hearing any of it, his mind lost in the whirling thoughts of what had possibly happened to you as his axe summoned itself into his hand. “When I find out… which one a’ ya did this…I’m gonna…

“You’re going to what, pray tell?” 

All three skeletons turned to see Nightmare in your bedroom doorway as he slowly entered the room, his presence commanded attention while his expression remained unreadable as he surveyed the scene before him. “I just so happen to be on my way to join you all for breakfast to find the kitchen completely empty and whatever was cooking on the stove burnt to a crisp.”

Horror visibly winced, his anger calming a fraction having been reminded that he had indeed been in the middle of cooking when he caught the whiff of your blood before bolting to you, knowing whatever was left on the stove had certainly burned. He hated wasting food. 

“So, not only do I find my stove a mess and kitchen covered in smoke, but I see you all are fighting again .” His searing eyelight glared at them disapprovingly. 

“One a’ these two…did something…ta Cupcake…” Horror growled, pointing his sharpened axe between Dust and Killer before keeping it settled on Killer. “Bet it was you…you’ve had a problem with her…since she first got here…”

“I didn’t do nothing!” Killer immediately defended, genuinely innocent in this situation for once as he turned to Nightmare to clear his name. “We were in the kitchen with Horror when he stopped making breakfast all of a sudden before running out the room like a madman!

“Then we follow him to see he’s on top of the kid eating her!” Dust added, equally confused by the distressing situation.

“I wasn’t eating her!!…” Horror snarled, his red eye light flashing with warning knowing fully well they knew how much that was a sore spot for him. “It was one of you two who—”

“None of you did anything.” Nightmare interrupted, his tone strangely calm and collected as he disregarded the accusations flying between the skeletons. With deliberate steps, he walked past the three of them, his gaze fixed on you.

They watched with growing confusion as Nightmare approached you, your growls intensifying as he drew near. Hissing a warning, you demanded that he stay back, but he remained unfazed by your aggression.

“Calm yourself, pet.” His deep voice rumbled, its soothing timbre attempting to ease the situation as he sat on the bed, careful to avoid the blood, and slowly extended his skeletal hand out to you.

With your knees tucked under you and your back pressed against the wall, you attempted to hide away from them, thoroughly shaken by the events of the morning. Baring your fangs at him, you felt him gently cup your hand and you snarled at him from the contact. You were about to snatch your hand away, but as his cyan eye light stared into yours, the swirling darkness behind the piercing light of his eye casted a weird sense of calm to wash over you, as if all the fear and anxiety were being drawn out of you. 

“Breathe.” He commanded, his tone firm but surprisingly gentle.

Nightmare watched as he absorbed the sweet flavour of your fear, your slit pupils gradually dilating back to their normal size and your snarling expression relaxing. Looking down at his hand on yours, you stared at it for a moment before taking a shuddering breath and allowed him to hold your hand properly, turning it so your hand sat comfortably in his before exhaling slowly.

“That’s a good girl.” He praised you, his crescent smile appearing a little more genuine as you offered a weak smile of your own. 

“Have you calmed now, pet?” He asked, and you nodded shyly before casting your gaze down to your lap, feeling a sense of shame wash over you. 

He hummed in acknowledgment, holding your hand for a moment longer before releasing it and standing back up, giving you space to gather yourself.

“There is nothing wrong with her.” Nightmare states simply, watching the way Horror bristles with anger.

“Tha fuck do ya mean…there’s nothing wrong with her…she’s literally bleeding everywh—”

“Which is exactly what a matured human female is meant to do during the beginning of her menstrual cycle,” he interrupts as one of his tentacles reaches out and lays the bed covers back over you to give you some modesty.

There was a long pause.

“Her what?”

Nightmare sighed. “Her menstrual cycle, it’s the monthly series of changes a human female goes through to prepare for pregnancy. I took the liberty of re-reading some books on human biology, specifically the excerpts on the female sex. Good thing I did,” he mentally praised himself for his foresight.

“That still doesn’t explain why she’s bleeding.” Horror growled, still not entirely convinced.

“Pet is currently at the beginning of her menstrual cycle, a period I believe it’s called? ” He questions, turning to you for confirmation. You nod solemnly, not really wanting to look him or anyone in the eye while he continues. “ When a human female is fertile, the walls of her uterus will thicken with blood and nutrients to help sustain her offspring. But if she doesn’t have any, the lining is shed and expelled out from her body.

Dust tilted his head. “What’s a uterus?”

“It’s where the baby grows.”

“So…if she’s not hurt, where’s the blood coming out from?” Killer asks.

Nightmare didn’t verbally explain this once, instead he merely raised a brow bone at them till it dawned on all of them where exactly the blood was coming from. Each now forming a different expression on their face.

Dust looked uncomfortable, his expression shifting to blankness as he processed the information.

Killer appeared mildly perturbed, his usual demeanour slightly unsettled by the revelation

As for Horror…well…after the initial shock of thinking you had been hurt wore off, he almost looked like he was vibrating with some unknown emotion. His threatening aura had gone and was replaced with…excitement?

“Either way, she’s perfectly fine. Isn’t that right, Cross?” Nightmare addressed the seemingly forgotten skeleton as he was now slowly stumbling to his feet, his hand on his head as he swayed slightly.

“Ugh…yeah, that’s right.” He grumbled out deliriously, still recovering from being tossed aside by Horror earlier.

“You mean she was fine…the whole time…and you didn’t tell me?…” Horror asked, his attention turning to Cross now.

“Hey, I was trying to before you sent me flying over your shoulder!” 

“Oh yeah…” Horror thought back, he may have jumped the gun a little. “Heh…sorry…” he apologised lamely, causing Cross to growl under his breath while he rubbed the point on his skull he had landed on.

“So, she’s just gonna bleed out her cunt every month? And she won’t, like, die from it?” Killer asked rather crudely for Nightmare’s liking.

“Yes, Killer. She won’t die from it.” Nightmare was starting to become exasperated with the conversation and their clear lack of intellect.

“Is that it…for this month?…” Horror asked, his eyelight fixated on your hidden lap. Glancing up at him, you could have sworn he was salivating.

Cross chimed in to answer this one. “Ah, no. I think she’ll be bleeding for a couple of days, give or take.” He racked his skull for whatever bits of knowledge he had on periods while Horror’s eyelight fuzzed over slightly, seeming exceptionally pleased by the information.

Dust, however, was unusually quiet, his skull tucked away in the darkness of his hoodie as he refused to look at you. His head was turned away from you, hiding his mismatched eye lights from view as Killer began to speak again. “Gross, so she’s gonna be walking around bleeding everywhere all week—”

That was Dust’s cue leave, blipping out of existence to get back to his ‘mission’ before any more talk of blood triggered anything.

The others didn’t seem to question his sudden exit, but you certainly did. It only reaffirmed that he must be avoiding you. You felt hurt and wondered if he found your current state disgusting enough that he had to remove himself.

You buried your head in your knees, wishing you could just disappear, while Nightmare continued.

“No, I do believe that there are sanitary products available for this exact situation. I believe Cross procured them when he first went out for pet’s necessities.” Nightmare turned his attention back to Cross, who now fumbled to remember what items he had brought you.

“Yes! Ah, wait. No, actually I think I completely forgot about those eheh…” Cross laughed nervously. “B-But I can go get some now!” He quickly retorted.

Nightmare just rolled his eye light. “Very well, Cross will retrieve the necessary products and clean the bed sheets when he returns while pet gets cleaned up,” he ordered with an air of arrogance, watching the way Cross pulls out his phone to research the items he needs to get before turning to Killer and Horror.

“You two, I suggest you follow Dust’s example and find something better to do,” Nightmare addresses them, though his glowing cyan eye was fixated pointedly on Horror. The hulking skeleton was oblivious to his Boss’ glare, still staring avidly at you and breathing heavily. Nightmare narrowed his eye. “ Killer. Remove Horror from the room.”

“Sure thing, Boss.” Killer was more than happy for the excuse to remove himself from this dumpster fire of a morning. With a wave of his hand, his magic encased Horror’s soul. “C’mon big guy, you heard the boss.” Horror whined in protest but didn’t bother fighting it as Killer levitated him out the room behind him. His eye light not leaving your form till the door closed shut between you.

You finally felt yourself relax a little, no longer under the scrutiny of the others, though you still felt intense shame. Embarrassed that everyone had witnessed you in your unfortunate circumstance, you hated this was happening to you, that this was going to happen to you every month .

Nightmare could feel the humiliation rolling off of you in delectable waves, his earlier irritation alleviated by the negativity now flowing through him. He watched your sullen expression before turning to Cross and stopped him before he teleported away. “Before you leave, assist pet into the bathroom so she may clean herself,” 

He instructed before turning back to address you. “Don't fret too much, pet. As inconvenient as it is, what you’re experiencing is completely normal and a necessary part of life. Do not be ashamed of yourself for your body doing what it needs to keep you healthy.”

You looked up at Nightmare as Cross came over to you to help you out of bed. You looked between the two of them, hesitant to get up and let them see you in your current state but Cross reassured you. “It’s just blood, stars know we’re all used to seeing that by now,” he laughed to himself. You didn’t know what exactly he meant by that, but you knew you couldn’t hide in the bed forever, the blood was starting to feel uncomfortable against your skin anyway.

With reluctance, you took his outstretched hand and allowed him to guide you out of bed to the bathroom. Passing Nightmare, you gave him a sollum smile of appreciation, thankful for his kind words before hurrying into the room. Unbeknownst to you, his cheekbones glowed with a hint of cyan as he watched you go. “If you need anything else, Cross will be around to assist you,” he stated before vanishing in a puff of wispy black magic—a rare change to his usual way of disappearing through the floor.

“I'll leave your clothes and whatever I find on the sink for you.” Cross said before he clicks the door shut behind you.

Finally alone, you stood in the emptiness of the bathroom, your mind going over the events of the morning that led to this moment. Looking down at yourself, you cringed at the dried blood that had accumulated on your legs and underwear. Wasting no time, you quickly stripped yourself down and hopped in the shower, eager to wash away the physical symbolism of your fertility and the embarrassment it brought with it. 

As the water washed over you, you stared blankly, watching the way the blood melted off your body and flowed down the drain. You felt dirty, still feeling shameful despite what Nightmare had told you.

“Do not be ashamed of yourself for your body doing what it needs to keep you healthy.”

You pondered his words, finding it difficult to really accept what was happening to you.

“ Breathe. ” 

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes and allowing the warmth of the water to wash over you like a comforting blanket. When you opened your eyes again, you exhaled slowly. Looking down, you could see that there was no more blood, the majority of it having now washed away.

Okay.

You’ll try.

Chapter Text

You remained in the shower for quite some time, just gathering your thoughts and feelings from the chaotic morning so far. You had already cleaned yourself thoroughly and were now simply enjoying the sound of the rushing water and the warmth it provided, soothing your soul. You were unaware of the footsteps that snuck around the bathroom, the sound being drowned out by the flow of the water. Feeling like you had spent enough time in the shower, you decided to turn it off and opened the curtain to step out, only to stop when you saw Cross at the sink, placing down the period products he had retrieved for you. His head whips to you, and the two of you froze.

His eyes locked with yours for several seconds before you caught the way it quickly flicked down your body and his face immediately burst with colour. His hands quickly slapped across his eyes before he turned away from you and began flustering.

“I-I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!” he yelled, desperately trying to explain his presence in your bathroom. “I-I was just gonna put your stuff by the sink for you! I was gonna be in and out, I s-swear!”

You tilted your head, confused by his outburst and sudden nervous demeanour. Fully stepping out of the shower, you grabbed a towel and wrapped it around yourself before walking over to Cross, who continued to stutter incoherently. You saw he had brought a change of clothes for you as well as retrieved the necessary products for your period.

You saw two small boxes, one larger and one smaller. Picking up the larger one, it read ‘Ultra soft period pads’. Figuring that this must be what was used to help with your periods, you tapped Cross on the shoulder and watched as he literally shrieked, startling you, before he turned around, lowering his hands hesitantly till he saw you were no longer nude but he still looked nervous.

You held up the box to him as he tried to compose himself enough for physical speech. “O-Oh, uh, that’s what the pharmacist recommended. Sorry, there were so many I didn’t know which to c-chose.” He still wasn’t really looking at you, his head almost turned away,  like he couldn’t decide where to look as long as it wasn’t directly at you.

His posture remained rigid as you opened the box. Pulling out some of its contents, you realised that you recognised what these were. Thankfully, the doctors had given you similar ones during your last period. They went into your underwear to collect the blood and you’d need to change them out regularly, but otherwise it was fairly straight forward.

Picking up the second box, the label read ‘Ibuprofen fast acting painkillers’. You could already feel yourself nauseating at the thought of taking them. Out of everything you put up with, taking medicine was the one thing you really despised doing. It was always so bitter and left a nasty taste at the back of your throat that made you want to gag. Thankfully, you didn’t have to take it often, but when you did, it was always difficult to stomach.

Cross couldn’t help but steal glances at you while you examined the painkillers. Even with a towel wrapped around you, he was painfully aware of your nudity underneath. Watching the way the droplets of water cascaded down your soft skin, having yet to dry yourself properly, and the subtle curves of your petite body made him begin to sweat and gulp nervously.

“U-Uh, if you don’t need me for anything else, I’m gonna go strip you—I MEAN your bed sheets now!” he stammered, blushing furiously. Without waiting for a response, he practically bolted out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him with a little too much conviction.

Now outside the bathroom, Cross had his back pressed against the door, trying to calm his heavy breathing and quell the magic swirling within him. His face remained a deep shade of purple as he struggled to erase the image of your naked body from his mind. He could feel his magic pulse, but forced it to stay put. Fortunately, any sort of arousal that was trying to emerge was quickly doused, his eyelights narrowing and expression taking on a look of confused disgust when he spotted Horror on your bed.

The slamming of the bathroom door startled Horror, causing him to shoot up from your bed. Cross was appalled to see that your bloodied sheets were stuffed in his fucking mouth!  

“Horror, dude—what the fuck man—”

Horror’s eyelight was still blown wide and fuzzy, holding still as he stared back at Cross, regarding him before he gave an audible suck on the sheets. Cross was aghast and immediately stormed over to retrieve the sheets but, of course, Horror wasn’t gonna give them up without a fight.

~~ ~~~

You watched with confusion as Cross ran out. At this point, you weren’t really questioning his antics anymore, simply chalking it up to another weird skeleton behaviour and left it at that. 

As you dried yourself off, you slipped on your clean underwear and took out one of the pads. After removing its packaging, you gave it a quick examination and confirmed that it was indeed like the ones you had used before. Peeling off the backing, you placed it into your panties like you were shown before pulling your underwear up.

It was then you could hear yelling and what seemed like a commotion going on just in the other room. Quickly, you got dressed and exited the bathroom, only to find Cross tugging on your bed sheets, trying to pry them out of Horror’s mouth, who of which was currently growling at him and shaking the sheets in his mouth like a wild dog.

“For fucks sake Horror you blood crazied lunatic—drop it! I need to wash her sheets!”  

You stared in disbelief as Horror held the blood-soaked part of the sheets in his mouth, too preoccupied with growling at Cross to notice you. However, when he finally did, he immediately stopped. His eyelight fuzzed upon spotting you, and from the expression on your face, he could tell you were not pleased. Meanwhile, Cross continued to try to tug the sheets out of his mouth. Not wanting to upset you further, Horror opened his maw just as Cross gave another hard tug, sending him flying backwards onto his ass.

“H-Hey Cupcake…” he greeted you sheepishly. You just stared blankly at him, the awkward silence permeating in the air around you. Unsure of how to even process what you just witnessed, you decided to turn on your heel and briskly walk out the door, just like you had done before in the kitchen. Quickly, Horror stumbled off the bed after you, trying not to tangle himself in the sheets while leaving poor Cross to grumble on the floor and clean up the mess.

Horror was quick to catch up to you, but you completely ignored him. “C’mon Cupcake…it ain’t that ba—” he started, but was cut off when you swiftly turned around and glared angrily at him. You didn’t usually get angry, but for some reason, you were feeling particularly irritable and you were still mad at him for what he had done to you earlier. Ooo if you could talk right now, you’d really give him a piece of your mind.

He stopped and stared down at you, he didn't find your glare threatening in the slightest. In fact, he thought you were adorable with the way your ears pinned back and your tail swished agitatedly. However, the fact you were so mad at him made his usual smile pull down slightly, and he began to sweat nervously.

“C’mon lil treat…I didn’t mean to scare ya earlier…I was jus’ worried you were hurt…” he mumbled, but you weren’t having it. Turning around, you continued your journey, deciding to head to the kitchen. You had yet to have breakfast, and you were starting to get hungry. Unfortunately, Horror didn’t get the hint, deciding to tail close behind you.

“I’m sorry, Cupcake…what can I do ta make it up to ya?…I’ll try not to eat your bloodied things anymore…” he offered, as if that would make everything better. He wasn’t supposed to be doing that in the first place, even if he came from a place where food was scarce.

Horror followed you all the way to the kitchen, the whole time trying to apologise and get you not to be mad at him anymore. Upon reaching  the kitchen, you were hit with a dreadful smell, causing you to cover your sensitive nose. The scent of burnt food and plastic filled the air. Horror also wrinkled his nose in disgust and winced at the state of the stove. Thankfully, Nightmare had turned it off, but the remnants of burnt food and melted plastic of the saucepan handle was still there and needed to be dealt with.

You, however, were already by the fridge, taking out a banana for breakfast. You could already hear Horror’s complaints about it not being a ‘proper breakfast’, but you didn’t want to hear it. The kitchen smelt awful, and the stove was a mess, so you just wanted to grab something and get in and out as quickly as possible. 

Horror still trailed closely behind you as you stomped out the kitchen and down the hallway, stuffing the banana into your mouth rather ungracefully. “C’mon, Cupcake…don’t be mad at me…you’re breaking my…non existent heart here…” he joked nervously. “I’ll make ya whatever ya like…jus’ let me make it up to ya…” he began pleading. You were starting to feel guilty. Peeking over your shoulder, you could see looked like a hurt puppy, but you were just too mad at him to forgive him right now.

After some time, you finally stopped outside Nightmare’s study. Horror questioned why you would stop here, but when you turned to face him, his soul briefly filled with hope that you were not going to ignore him anymore, only for it to deflate when you shoved the leftover banana peel into his hand. Then, without a word, you opened the door and entered the study without even knocking, leaving him standing in the hallway, banana peel in hand, feeling dejected and bewildered.

To your surprise, Nightmare wasn't seated at his usual spot behind the desk. Instead, he was settled in the large, plush armchair situated at the side of the couch. A book rested in his lap while his head was propped up by his arm on the armrest. His attention was instantly on you when you suddenly opened the door and began trudging into the room, before plopping yourself down on the floor by his feet.

Nightmare started down at you, taken aback by your sudden brash intrusion before glancing up at the doorway to find Horror looking wounded. He didn’t even need to ask before Horror began speaking.

“Cupcake’s mad at me…”

Nightmare raised a brow bone at him before returning his gaze to you. You sat close to him, holding your knees to your chest with an angry expression on your face, refusing to look at Horror as waves of irritation rolled off you. “ Mm, yes I can see that. ”

“She hasn’t really…eaten anything…and she won’t let me…make her any food…” Horror practically whimpered, and you could feel your heart paining at the sound.

Nightmare thought for a moment as he couldn’t help enjoying the tasty treat your negativity was offering him. “ Have you actually cleaned up the stove already? ” Nightmare questioned, watching the way Horror’s face dropped slightly.

“Uh, well…no…not exactly...”

“ Then don’t you think you should do that if you want to be able to cook for her? ”

Horror shuffled on his feet, “Well, yeah…but…” he trails off, looking down at the ground before looking back up to you.

Nightmare sighed. “ Leave pet with me and let her calm down, you can return after you’ve cleaned the kitchen and prepared her something. ” 

“But—” Horror began to protest, but it quickly died in his throat when he caught the promise of something horrible in the look Nightmare currently was giving him. He cast one more glance down at your spot on the floor, but when he saw you weren’t budging, he sighed in defeat. “Okay…” he mumbled, tossing the banana peel you had given him into his mouth before slowly closing the door to go clean the kitchen.

Now that he had left, you finally released the breath you were holding. You didn’t like seeing Horror look so downtrodden, you really didn’t, but you were just so angry at him right now—almost unreasonably so, and you didn’t know why. You just wanted to get away from him for a moment to calm down, and seeing as Nightmare eats bad feelings, you figured someone should benefit from how you’re feeling right now.

Your idea was not lost on Nightmare. “ While I recognise your plan to offer your negativity to me, you can’t simply barge in unannounced just because you’ve let your anger get the better of you,” his deep baritone voiced his disapproval at you.

You knew that; you didn’t mean to barge in. You just…ugh you didn’t know! You were just feeling so emotional for some reason. While you knew why Horror acted the way he did, it was still too much for you to handle. His body on top of yours, his hands pulling and grabbing at you before they started going lower while he refused to get off of you… you shuddered at the memories it brought back. That, and catching him eating your bloodied things AGAIN, it was just too much.

Nightmare fed off of your conflicting emotions, knowing fully well they’re being heightened by your changing hormones. He watched as your head gently bumped into his leg, leaning against him for some form of comfort. 

You almost jumped when you felt something warm and slick wrap around your wrist. Startled, you looked down in alarm to see one of his tentacles coiling around you, gliding along the smoothness of your skin with an alien sensation of slime, yet surprisingly left no residue behind.

You watched the tentacle settle, emanating a strange warmth as it pulsed against your skin. You were intrigued by the appendage and couldn’t help yourself from stroking it, feeling its unusual slick yet tacky texture. You hadn’t really had a chance to properly inspect it before, and felt now was your chance to do so.

Nightmare observed you with his cyan eyelight, his attempts to continue reading stopping the moment he felt you touching him. He watched the way your fingers delicately explored the flesh of the dark feeler, noting your careful yet curious movements. Were you not disgusted by it? His eye widened in surprise at the way you seemed to almost pet it, your fingers stroking it leisurely while you chose to rest your other hand against it.

You sat in silence while you carrased the slick tentacle. Briefly, you wondered if this was how he fed from you, when suddenly you felt Nightmare place his hand on top of your head. “You were wise to come to me, I suppose,” You heard him speak. “That’s more than what the other idiots would do. They are not the best at managing their emotions either, and I can understand yours are heightened due to the fluctuating hormones of your period. Well done for seeking me out.”

You were shocked by his praise; he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Yet, what shocked you more was when you felt him petting you. Your eyes widened when his hand smoothed over the top of your hair, his fingers softly stroking the silky strands. It had been years since you’d been properly petted and you couldn’t stop the soft rumbling purr that came out of you as you leaned back against his hand for more.

Nightmare paused momentarily, your reaction surprising him but when he felt the wave of sadness that rolled off of you because he stopped, he couldn’t help the deep chuckle that escaped him before he continued his ministrations.

“ Only this once will I indulge you. Do not make a habit out of this, I will only reward good behaviour and you, my pet, will have to earn yours. ”

But you remained lost in the sensation. With your eyes closed, you leaned against him as he continued to pet you, purring softly while he returned to his reading.

~~ ~~~

It wasn’t long before Horror was back, a fresh plate of food in his hand as he knocked on the door. He could barely wait for permission to enter, already coming in the moment Nightmare called out to him.

“Kitchens clean…but it still smells…might wanna let it air out…before going in there…” Horror explained, he seemed caught off guard slightly when he noticed Nightmare playing with your hair, but regained himself before turning his attention to you. “I made you…some food, Cupcake…you wanna come watch tv…while you eat?…” You could see the hint of desperation behind Horror’s hopeful smile. Looking up at Nightmare, you felt both his hand and tentacle unfortunately retracting themselves from you, but you didn’t want to go just yet. 

“ Go on pet, I’ve spoiled you enough and have fed a sufficient amount of negativity from you. It’s time you have a proper meal as well, off you go now. ”

Not daring to argue, you sighed and heaved yourself up from the floor. You were already feeling a lot better—still irritable, but definitely far less so than earlier. You felt calm, like something—or someone—had sucked all the anger out of you. Guess Nightmare really does eat bad feelings.

Reluctantly, you made your way over to Horror, who smiled down at you with a genuinely apologetic expression. It was hard to stay mad at him. As you exited, he closed the study door behind you and handed you the plate.

“I made you a…ham and cheese omelette…” 

Looking down at the plate, you noticed the food had some sort of red substance squeezed on top that looked an awful lot like blood. You gave him a face, and he was quick to reassure you that it definitely wasn’t blood.

“I-It’s just ketchup…it’s a type of tomato sauce…” Horror stammered, clearly he didn’t think that through as he watched you sigh in relief.

“Sorry it’s not very ‘ eggciting’… I just wanted to put a ‘ smile’ on your face…” he chuckled. However, when he saw you just staring at the plate, he began to sweat nervously again. “I’m not a very good drawer…I guess that was a little ‘ cheesy ’…”

Giving the omelette a better look, you noticed that the ketchup ‘smile’ was drawn in a zig-zag pattern, and looked kind of like Horror’s spiky teeth, with one blob you figured was supposed to be his single eyelight. It took you a moment, but when you realised it was indeed meant to be a smiley face, you snorted and looked up at Horror with an incredulous smile on your face. Did he really do this to try and cheer you up?

Horror blinked, then chucked a little more genuinely, relieved to see you not so mad at him anymore. “Heh heh…glad you like it…cause it’s ‘ happy ’ to see you too…” he said with a wink. When you actually giggled at his pun, he couldn’t help the flush that rose to his zygomatic arches, his expression beaming from the soft ringing of your laughter.

As you began taking small bites of the omlette, the two of you started walking, with him sticking close. He made jokes to keep the mood light,  sneaking subtle whiffs of your scent as he led the way.

~~ ~~~

After your brief chuckle session, Horror continued to tell you puns—some you understood and some you didn’t. Either way, his humour helped eased the tension from the morning as you walked together toward your destination.

The living room, or "TV room" as Horror liked to call it, was a spacious area dominated by one of the largest screens you'd ever seen. Mounted on the central wall, it was surrounded by a collection of well-worn couches and recliners that had clearly seen better days. In front of the seating area was a large, low coffee table cluttered with empty cans and food packets, evidence of the gang's lax housekeeping. Below the TV, a tangle of wires connected various gadgets and electronic devices, adding to the room's chaotic charm.

Horror ushered you to take a seat, and in doing so, you saw Killer situated at the far side of the couch while you took up the other end. He seemed to be using a small hand device to control the tv, using it to flick through different images while he grumbled about there being ‘nothing to watch’. He didn’t really acknowledge your presence, so you began eating while you watched the screen. Eventually, Killer landed on something that caught his interest and stopped scrolling.

“Hope ya like violent cooking shows,” he states, presumably to you. You didn’t know what a cooking show was, let alone a violent one, but it became pretty self explanatory when a robot came on screen, looking like it was in a kitchen, demonstrating a recipe. Suddenly, it began blasting projectile missiles at what appeared to be a small child? You had never watched tv before, but hoped this wasn’t what all shows were like.

As you ate, your attention drifted from the strange show, and you noticed Horror hadn't taken a seat. Suddenly, you felt a breath against the back of your neck and realised Horror was leaning over the back of the couch, his skull so close that you could feel his breath against you.

You froze, not really knowing what to do, before glancing at Killer, hoping maybe he’d give you an explanation or maybe, you know, make Horror stop. But of course, Killer acted completely unaware, leaving you to deal with whatever Horror was doing right now. 

You hesitantly kept eating, trying to ignore Horror and pretend he wasn’t there. Thankfully,  Cross entered the room and was scanning around until he spotted you on the couch.

“Okay, I’ve washed your bed sheets and now they’re in the dryer. They’ll be done in a few minutes before I put them back on your bed. I’ve also got extras if you—” Cross began, only to stop when he saw the way Horror was pressed into the back of you behind the couch, inhaling deeply.

“Uhhhh, Horror…you okay there dude?”

“Yep…just peachy…” he answered, his eyelight fuzzy and placid, appearing completely relaxed.

Cross glanced at you, and you shrugged your shoulders, equally confused and a little bit uncomfortable. Cross seemed to pick up on this while you placed your now empty plate on the coffee table.

“Horror, I don’t think she likes what you’re doing. You wanna maybe sit on the couch like a civilised monster?” he asked, crossing his arms disapprovingly.

It was then you felt another painful squeeze come from your tummy, and another flow came out of you. You saw the way everyone around you reacted, their noses twitching and trying to play it off like they hadn’t noticed. Goodness, they had a very strong sense of smell.

“Ugh, she’s not gonna get blood on the couch, is she?” Killer groaned, his nose wrinkled from the scent. Before Cross could say anything, Horror was instantly up. “I got this!…” he declared, swiftly rounding the couch. You squeaked in surprise when he suddenly lifted you up and plonked himself down in your spot before placing you back down in his lap.

“There…now she won't get…any blood on the couch…” he said smugly, while both Killer and Cross stared, shocked by his sudden course of action. You could see Cross immediately bristle, while Killer's smile widened, now far more interested in what was going on than with the TV.

“Horror, put her down. She won’t get blood anywhere; she’s using the products I gave her!” 

Still startled by being placed in Horror's lap, you felt his arms snake around your waist as he buried his face into the back of your head, breathing in your scent as a deep rumble emanated from his chest.

“Nah…I’ll keep her on my lap…better to be safe than sorry…” he said, chuckling to himself. Your scent was so relaxing, and he especially loved the way you smelled on your periard, period? He couldn’t remember what it was called.

A small flush tinted Cross’ face as he stomped his way over to you. It almost seemed like he wanted to yank you out of Horror’s lap, judging by how ruffled he was looking, but he clearly thought better of it when Horror’s grip instinctively tightened around your waist. Meanwhile, Killer’s grin only grew as he watched Cross bicker for you to be released, while Horror throughly ignored him, seemingly too busy enjoying the weight of you against his bones and how soft you were.

"Come on, dude, can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?" Cross's voice broke the tension, and everyone's eyes turned to you, waiting for your reaction. Were you uncomfortable? Horror's initial placement of you on his lap did startle you, and you were still wary of him after this morning's incident. But you couldn't deny how comfortable it felt in his lap. His large body was surprisingly soft, and you could feel some resistance against your back, some invisible force acting as his tummy. His arms hugging around you strangely made you feel safe; he was just so big and invoked a peculiar sense of security. The longer their eyes were on you, the more you felt yourself flush, and the silence weighed heavily. You looked down into your lap, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

“Guess she isn’t as uncomfortable as you’d like her to be, Cross?” Killer teased the monochrome skeleton, watching as Cross’ eyes widened in disbelief.

Horror’s smile stretched when you didn’t make any signs of discomfort, and he could feel his soul thrumming excitedly in his chest. “You don’t mind…being in my lap…right, Cupcake?…” his deep rumble practically purred into your ear as his hand crept up and scratched you under the chin. 

The shock that came over the three of them when you closed your eyes and tilted your head back slightly to give Horror better access was unexpected, especially when they heard the small purr that erupted blissfully from you as he tickled you under the chin like an actual cat. Being pet twice in one day? Clearly things were turning around for you.

Both Cross’ and Killer’s sockets widened while they watched how willingly you accepted Horror’s ministrations. Killer noted the jealousy crawl onto Cross’ face, his flush only deepened as he began to stammer, clearly caught off guard by your reaction and uncertain how to respond.

“Hey, let me pet her too,” Killer suddenly voiced, beginning to reach out, only for Cross to quickly slap his hand away.

“Oh no you don’t, I’m not having you touch her too! She shouldn’t even be in his lap to begin with!” Cross snapped, and immediately went to remove you. Horror felt the instinct to growl protectively, but before he could react, the ding of Cross' phone chimed, signalling that your sheets in the dryer were now done. This stopped Cross in his tracks. Killer could see Cross' uncertainty as he pulled out his phone, looking between it and you, conflicted on what to do. He needed to go fit your sheets back on the bed, but he clearly didn't want to leave you alone with the two of them.

“Go on, Crossy, your precious princess will be here when you get back…hopefully,” Killer teased, giving Cross a suggestive look.

Cross glared at Killer before his gaze returned to you. You were clearly loving the way Horror was petting you, your head tilted into him as his hand moved to scratch behind your ear, getting at a particularly good spot. You purred at full force now, clearly revelling in the affection.

Cross grumbled enviously. “Fine! But she better be sitting on the couch by the time I get back!” With that, he began storming off, hurrying to get the sheets on your bed and be return as quickly as possible.

Now that Cross was gone, Killer returned his attention to you, watching as Horror pet you. You wear clearly loving the way he stroked and scratched you, judging by the way you had your eyes closed in contentment.

“Hey, let me—“

“No.” Horror instantly shut him down.

“What? Why not!?”

“Thought you didn’t like… this particular kitten…” Horror retorted, raising a brow bone at him. Horror got him there. But it wasn’t his fault you looked so much like a cat right now, and he just happened to really like cats. It’s not like he wanted to pet you anyway.

“Ugh, whatever.” Killer threw himself to sit back in his seat and pouted, small rivets of black trickling down his face as he began shifting through the channels again rather aggressively.

Eventually, Killer found something to watch, again and the three of you fell quiet, save for the noise coming from the tv and the soft rumbling of your purr as Horror gently pet and scratched you. After some time, Cross also returned and was quick to try and get you off of Horror’s lap again. However, after Horror adamantly refused to let you go, Cross ended up huffing and resigned himself to sit next to you between Horror and Killer. 

After watching TV for a while, Killer decided to switch things up and suggested playing some ‘video games’, challenging Cross to ‘smash some bros’? You saw Killer fiddle with the gadgets plugged in under the TV, grabbing two controllers and handing on to Cross.

You watched as the two began to play their game, both being loud and rambunctious as each of their chosen characters battled it out. Horror had stopped petting you now but was still holding you close, his head resting atop yours while you were sat back comfortably in his lap. Occasionally, you caught Cross glancing at you, but when he did, Killer was quick to take the opportunity to throw Cross’ character off the platform while he wasn’t looking, prompting the poor skeleton to argue while Killer teased him about being ‘distracted’.

However, it was soon approaching dinner time, and Horror had yet to get up, or release you for that fact.

“Isn’t it getting pretty close to dinner? Aren’t you hungry?” Cross asked, checking the time on his phone while Killer searched through the character selection screen to start another match.

“Nah…” Horror answered, his eyes closed and nasal ridge pressing into the back of your head as he breathed you in and sighed happily.

Immediately, the game paused as both Killer and Cross looked at Horror. Horror was always hungry—you must be smelling pretty darn good if he was willing to forgo cooking dinner just to keep hanging around you.

Cross narrowed his eyes at the dreamy expression on Horror’s face before a devious look came over him. “Don’t you think Miss might be starting to get hungry? You wouldn’t want to let her miss dinner, right?”

Horror’s eyes shot open, his eye light shrinking as he considered this conundrum. No doubt he wanted to continue holding you in his lap, but there was no way he could allow someone to go hungry. You could feel the low rumbling now starting in his ribs behind you.

“Yeah…I should probably start dinner…” You heard him say, his arms around you slowly retracting as you took that as your cue to get off him. Cross couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself for his clever thinking as you slowly got off of him and stood. However, being the pain Killer was, he had to go and open his fucking mouth.

“How’s about we get takeout instead?” Killer spoke, watching the way Cross’ head whipped around to him, his expression telling him to shut up , but Killer’s grin just widened knowingly as he ignored him and addressed Horror mostly. “The kitchen still stinks pretty bad, I’m sure you wouldn’t wanna cook in there and none of us are gonna wanna eat in there, so let’s just order in. You okay with that, Horror?” He asked, waving his phone readying to put in an order.

“W-Well I don’t think—” Cross began in defence but was interrupted when he heard you squeak as Horror quickly snatched you from your standing position and put you back in his lap, his arms once again wrapped around you as he buried his head in your hair, taking a deep whiff. “Nah…I don’t mind…” he answered, and you couldn’t help giggling as the action tickled you while a purring rumble started in Horror’s chest again. 

Cross groaned and gave Killer an irritated glare while he just smiled back mischievously “Great! I’ll get right on that now.”

Chapter Text

Dinner was fun. You got to try something called Chinese takeout and ate in the large dining room for the first time, while the kitchen was still ventilating the awful smell of burnt plastic and regret. Cross seemed pretty put out, and Killer was unusually chipper, but otherwise, things were pretty good. Even Dust had decided to join you. Sure, he was sitting at the furthest possible seat from you at the unreasonably long dining room table, but still, you considered that far better than him avoiding you completely.

Horror, however, remained persistently close to you, and unfortunately, that didn’t change even after you went to bed. Cross managed to shoo him away long enough for you to shower and complete your nightly routine in the bathroom alone. But as soon as you got into bed and settled in for the night, you felt a presence followed by the familiar warmth of breath on the back of your neck.

Groaning, you rolled over and flicked your bedside lamp back on, letting out a sigh when you saw Horror sitting on the floor beside you. His hulking frame loomed close, his crimson eyes fixed intently on you. You were growing tired of his antics now; he had been with you all day, following you wherever you went and sticking unnecessarily close to you. While you hadn't minded it at first, his constant need to be near you was quickly wearing thin.

“Can I sleep here…with you?…”

You blinked, taken aback slightly by the unusual request. He wanted to sleep in here? With you? It wasn't lost on you how Horror had been strangely clingy today, likely because he felt bad for scaring you in the morning. But you had never shared a bed with someone before, and you didn't really know how to answer.

Part of you felt inclined to refuse. While his persistent need to be near you proved to be a bit irritating, you couldn't deny that some part of you enjoyed the closeness today—his gentle petting and close embraces stirring a strange warmth in your chest. Still, you couldn’t shake off your lingering apprehension. Sitting in his lap in the presence of others was one thing, but having him lie in the same bed where he had pinned you earlier this morning, alone... You weren’t sure if you were comfortable with that idea.

Horror tilted his head at you while you thought, waiting patiently for your answer. The anxiety clear as your features gave away your nervousness at the idea.

“Please?…” Horror’s voice called out to you softly, hoping to sway your decision. 

After some mental back and forth, you reluctantly resigned yourself. With a quiet huff, you began slowly scooting back to make room for him. His large eyelight fuzzed momentarily as he quickly hefted himself off the floor and onto your bed. Briefly, you wondered if this was a mistake when you heard the bed creak under his weight and felt his large frame occupy most of the space. However, once he settled on his side, it wasn’t too bad, and you still had some room to sleep comfortably.

That is, until he started wiggling again. You glanced over, wondering what he was doing, and chuckled when he reached beneath him and pulled out the teddy Cross had given you with a grunt, before grumbling and dropping it somewhere on the bed.

Reaching around, he managed to find the switch to your lamp and turned it off, plunging the room into darkness once more.

With a little awkwardness, you shifted to lie stiffly on your side, your back turned to him, acutely aware of his presence beside you. It felt strange to have someone lying in bed next to you; for as long as you could remember, you had always slept alone, and this new change was completely foreign. Even though you were turned away, you could still feel his warmth, sense his deep, steady breathing behind you, and detect the faint buzz of magic emanating from his soul. These sensations became starkly apparent in the close darkness of the bed you now shared together. You questioned whether you could truly find rest with him lying just a few inches away from you.

As time passed, however, you felt your tiredness outweighing your unease, and you slowly began to drift off to sleep.

That is, you would have drifted off if you hadn’t been startled awake again by the feeling of arms starting to slip around your form. Instinctively, you tensed and began to panic, your mind instantly recalling the events of the morning. You were about to shove yourself away, but the thought halted when you felt Horror gently pulling you closer. Your back pressed against him as you felt his head carefully rest atop yours.

You remained still, waiting, your soul thrumming with nervous energy... but nothing else came.

“M’ sorry…for this morning…” his deep voice mumbled quietly behind you. “Jus’ got worried…somethin’ happened to ya…” You felt him languidly rub your arms, trying to ease your nerves. “I didn’t mean to scare you…”

As you lay there, held by him and feeling his gentle strokes on your arms, you pondered the sincerity of his words. You waited to see if he would say more, but as time passed, he remained silent. His soothing touch continued, gradually coaxing your tense body to relax as you slowly willed your nervousness to calm.

Summoning a little courage, you pushed your remaining nerves out through your breath and turned in his arms to face him. As your eyes met his, you saw his glowing eye light look down at you with genuine regret. He really was truly sorry for his actions, and in that moment, you finally felt the animosity you had built up from the morning melt away. 

With no ill feelings remaining, you smiled up at him and gently moved closer, snuggling into his embrace, finally able to relax and accept his apology. Horror swiftly wrapped his arms around you, holding you close as a contented rumble emanated from his chest. You giggled as he once again buried his face in your hair, feeling the warm puffs of his breath against you. With closed eyes, he happily savoured your scent.

You had to admit, cuddling up to someone while you slept was pretty nice, and you couldn't help the soft purr that escaped you as the two of you settled into each other.

Shutting your eyes, you briefly caught Horror’s words wishing you ‘sweet dreams…’ as you allowed the warmth of his embrace and the deep rumble from his chest lull you back to sleep.

~~ ~~~

Dust couldn’t sleep. Just like most, if not every, sleepless night since your arrival, he found himself teleporting into your room. Despite Nightmare's warning to stay away from you, the literal altercation with you, and being caught in your room before, he still, for some reason, could not will himself to stop appearing to you most nights.

Despite everything that had happened, he found solace in watching you sleep. If he couldn’t sleep himself, he found watching you do so was the next best thing. Your sleeping presence created a strange calm that washed over his raging soul. As long as he maintained his distance and stayed on the far side of the room from you, he managed to control himself and resist giving in to his bloodlust.

Today, however, he knew he should have especially stayed away. With the scent of blood mixing with your natural musk that permeated around you, there was a significantly higher risk of you triggering him, and he should have been doing everything he could to avoid being near you in your… current condition . Despite his better judgement, he still took a chance and teleported into your room. However, he was completely unprepared for what he saw the moment he appeared.

In your bed, Dust saw Horror, his arms wrapped around you while you nestled into his chest, the two of you embracing while you slept. Dust couldn’t hide the look of disbelief that crossed his face, all his previous worries suddenly irrelevant. For a moment, he wasn’t sure how to react. You were both fully clothed, so he assumed nothing questionable had happened. However, thinking back how clingy Horror had been at dinner, Dust concluded that Horror was just being obsessed with your smell.

Still, he thought best not to linger. He definitely didn’t wanna get caught aga—

“You thought her…scent was enticing…too, Dusty?” Horror’s deep voice whispered from across the room.

Fuck, too late.

“Heh, yeah… but not for the same reason as you.” Dust whispered back, trying to play his sudden appearance off casually.

Dust could see Horror’s haunting red eye light glowing at him through the darkness, casting eerie crimson shadows to form over his skull.

“What you doing… in here, Dust?…” Horror questioned, a hint of underlying suspicion in his tone.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“She smells… too good.” Horror emphasises the statement by pulling you closer and taking a huff of your scent. Dust looked away, feigning uninterest by the display. “What about you?…Shouldn’t you be…staying away…cause of her period?…”

"Can't sleep. Watching her makes me feel less restless," Dust answered bluntly, while Horror hummed in thought. Horror was no stranger to sleepless nights, and he knew Dust suffered from them the worst. But, he had to admit, being close to you did give him a sense of peace that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. He understood Dust’s reasoning to be near you.

A moment of silence enveloped them in the darkness. Both of their glowing eyes turned towards you as you stirred slightly, shifting to snuggle closer to Horror before falling still once more. Dust could just about make out the goofy grin on Horror’s face and had to refrain himself from rolling his eyelights. It was a good thing that your face was hidden away from them; otherwise, the glow from their eyes might have woken you.

“Don’t you think what you’re doing is a bad idea?” Dust broke the silence, referring to the fact Horror was taking advantage, being all snuggled up to you in your bed.

"Don’t you think... you’re one to talk?…" Oof, touché. Dust couldn’t really complain, considering he too was coming in uninvited and watching you like some stalker. He turned away and remained silent, having the decency to look a little guilty when Horror continued.

“You don’t think…I’m only in here…cause of her smell right?…” 

Dust immediately turned to look at Horror and was taken aback by the sudden intense, almost threatening stare Horror was giving him. It caught him off guard; he hadn’t expected this subtle, accusatory implication and Dust found himself at a loss for words.

“WHY SO SHOCKED, SANS? YOU KNOW DEEP DOWN YOU WERE TEMPTED BY THE SCENT OF BLOOD COMING FROM HER. DON'T ACT LIKE THE THOUGHT OF ENDING HER WHILE SHE SLEEPS DIDN'T COME INTO YOUR MIND.” Papyrus’ voice echoed somewhere in the darkness beside him.

Dust shook his head, trying to dismiss his brother's words. “I wasn’t gonna do anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.” 

“I know…but I plan on staying in here with her…till her period is over…” Horror stated. “I don’t want to…risk any…temptation…especially after the scare…from this morning…”

Dust growled to himself. He didn’t appreciate being accused like he had been that morning, but he understood Horror’s suspicion. It could very well have been him who did something to you. Heck, even after everything that had happened, he still found himself coming to you at night when you were alone and vulnerable. Deep down, he knew that if he had another episode and ended up attacking you in your sleep, it would be entirely his fault.

“IF YOU HAD JUST KILLED HER BEFORE THEN WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING TO DEAL WITH ANY OF THIS! YOU WERE SO CLOSE BUT YOU HAD TO GO AND DISAPPOINT ME, NOW SHE'S TAUNTING YOU BY PURPOSELY BLEEDING FROM HER BABY CANAL!” Papyrus’ ghostly form exclaimed, completely exasperated by Dust’s missed opportunity to kill you. Dust was already used to disappointing his brother by now, choosing to zone him out as he rambled about your ‘tricks’ and ‘womanly wiles’ to avoid death thus far.

“She’s been really… worried about you…you know?” Horror's words interrupt his deep thoughts, bringing his attention back to Horror. “I keep catching her…looking at you…she gets really sad…when you run away from her…

"I’m not running away; Nightmares’ got me on this mission. I’ve been busy," Dust huffed, feeling irritated at the reminder of the tedious and admittedly boring mission he was currently on. It was no fun being tasked with a mission where he couldn’t kill anyone.

“That doesn’t explain…why you keep disappearing…the moment she’s around…or why you sit…the furthest away from her…”

“Jus’ don’t want Nightmare to beat my ass if my knife wanders from my plate at meal times, heh heh,” Dust laughed, but when he finds Horror for once being oddly serious and not sharing in his humour, his laugh dies and he lets out a low sigh.

"Look, I just don’t want to end up hurting her, okay? I’ve already done that once, I don’t want it to happen again," he said honestly, feeling a little uncomfortable to be showing his true feelings so openly. "She’s a good kid…” Dust whispered softly.

Silence fell between them again, Dust's words lingering in the air before Horror reached over you and tapped the bed, signaling for Dust to come closer.

“LOOK, NOW SHE'S GOT THE LARGE ONE TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE YOU FRATERNISE WITH THE ENEMY! DON'T BE FOOLED SANS!” Papyrus whisper-shouted, hovering close to Dust as if he were easily swayed.

"Nah, it’s better I stay over here... don’t wanna be tempted," Dust immediately declined.

“You'll be fine…I won’t let anything…happen to her…or you…” Horror adds the last bit, watching the way Dust’s sockets slowly widen at Horror’s surprisingly tender words.

For some reason, Dust found himself actually considering Horror’s offer. He weighed his options and contemplated the potential for things to go horribly wrong. His eyelights wandered to you, observing your form sleeping peacefully, before returning to Horror. Horror’s previously threatening gaze had softened into his usual, yet surprisingly warm smile as he tapped the bed again. After some initial hesitation, Dust reluctantly caves and slowly wanders over.

“WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? SANS? SANS!”

Ignoring his brother, Dust seated himself on the floor, leaning his back against your side of the bed. He could smell your blood, but thankfully it wasn't as strong as earlier, mostly washed away by your natural scent and the smell of newly washed bed sheets.

Dust listened to your soft breathing and felt the soothing buzz of your soul now that he was closer. He already felt calmer.

“You should… give er’ a chance Dusty…, she’s more resilient… than you think…”

For once, Dust felt himself growing sleepy. He heard Papyrus grumbling away at him, but he ignored it. He noticed you shifting, and everyone fell silent as you seemed to turn in your sleep, facing away from Horror, your arm dangling over the side of the bed near Dust's head. He watched it for a moment before gently slipping his hand into yours.

“Yeah…” 

~~ ~~~

You had a weird night last night. Not only did Horror request to sleep with you, but you also swore you felt that strange presence in your room again, accompanied by what you thought were several voices as you drifted in and out of sleep. At one point, you even swore you felt someone holding your hand as you slept.

However, in this current moment, you couldn't dwell on it much as a sudden intense pain ripped you from your sleep. Condensing in your lower stomach, you found that your cramps were much worse today. Before, they were a light, tickling ache, but now they felt like a punch to the gut of intense agony —as if someone were reaching straight into your body and squeezing your uterus like a vice! You wondered how your body could hate you so much as you lay curled up in the fetal position, head buried under the pillows, arms wrapped around your screaming abdomen.

You had actually been awake for quite a while now, the pain having woken you hours earlier, though it was only a fraction of the intensity it is now. You didn’t want to get up to take any painkillers since they were still in the bathroom, and you'd do anything to avoid taking the vile medication. While you hoped the pain would subside on its own, it only intensified as time went on, preventing you from falling back to sleep properly and making you regret not fetching the painkillers earlier. Now, here you were, regretting your decisions.

Peeking out from under the pillows, you could see it was still very early, the sun barely beginning to rise. Pulling yourself out from under the pillows, you turned the other way and found Horror lying on his back, snoring away happily with a relaxed grin.

While you were glad he was sleeping so well, you were in pain and couldn’t bear the thought of getting out of bed, even just to cross the short distance to grab the painkillers. You reached out, intending to tap him awake, when another painful contraction wracked you. Your hands shot back to your stomach as you groaned in discomfort, followed by fresh blood flowing out of you.

Fortunately, you didn’t have to wake him as Horror began to rouse from his sleep, his nasal ridge wrinkling as he sniffed the air, seeming to pick up the scent of fresh blood that had managed to stay put inside you until now. Suddenly, he was awake, eyes snapping open and body shooting forward to sit upright.

“Cupcake!?…” he exclaimed quickly, looking around for you before his eyes fell on you beside him. He appeared alarmed but slowly relaxed when he saw you unharmed but in pain.

"What’s wrong, cupcake?" he asked, his fuzzy eyelight still adjusting from the sudden wake-up. He noticed that Dust had already disappeared, probably before you woke, as his eyes fell on the way you breathed heavily and curled in on yourself. The tantalizing smell of blood had intensified since the day before, accompanied by what looked like sharp abdominal pain.

You were unable to answer him, only managing a muffled whimper as you pointed towards your bathroom.

“Do you want me…to take you to…the bathroom?…” he asked gently, watching the way you shook your head and groaned in pain as another contraction ripped through your body. Among all the skeletons, he struggled the most to understand your gestures and noises when you tried to communicate with him. It was moments like these he cursed the blasted hole in his head.

Unsure of what you were asking for or how to help, Horror quickly got up and rushed out a quick "one sec!" before hurrying over to your door and out the room, returning half a minute later dragging a disgruntled and equally tired Cross, dressed only in a white t-shirt and boxers as though he had been ripped from his own bed.

“Dude—what the fucks gotten into you!? I was aslee—!”

"Something's wrong with Cupcake!…” Horror stated urgently as he plopped Cross, albeit a bit heavily, by your bedside. Instantly, all previous confusion and aggression disappeared, his attention focused on your crumpled form, clutching your stomach and clearly suffering from pain.

"Is it your period?" Cross asked softly, and you nodded in response. "Did you take your painkillers?" You shook your head. "Where are they?" He prompted, and you pointed towards the bathroom where Cross had left them yesterday.

Following your direction, Cross went into your bathroom to retrieve your painkillers, returning with an additional cup of water to help you wash them down.

"What's that?…" Horror asked, pointing to the small box in Cross's hand as he walked back over to you.

“It’s painkillers, they’re supposed to stop the period pain,” Cross answered tiredly, pulling a sheet of pills from the packaging. He had dark rings etched under his sockets, indicating he also hadn’t slept well. You were sure Horror’s rude awakening hadn’t helped no doubt, and you’d feel bad for the poor skelly if you weren’t in so much pain right now. “It says you should take two every four to six hours to help keep the pain at bay, don’t take more than eight per day,” he informed you, reading the instructions off the back of the box.

You try to maneuver yourself into a sitting position as Cross pops out two pills and hands them to you. Hesitantly, you reach out and let Cross drop the medicine into your palm, then bring it back to grimace at the little pills. You really don’t want to take them; they taste absolutely vile, and you can already feel yourself preparing to gag.

“Go on, Miss. You’ll feel better afterward,” Cross tries to coax you, but Horror’s low growl fills the room as he watches your displeasure.

“She doesn’t…want to take ‘em…” Horror grumbled. “I’ll get her something to eat…and some more…healing balm instead…”

Cross groaned, feeling too tired to argue. “Horror, she doesn’t need any more healing balm. She’s not injured. The balm won’t touch the pain, same for monster food. She needs painkillers.” 

“Maybe a nice stew…she liked the vegetable…and water sausage before…” Horror thought to himself, completely ignoring Cross’ statement which only made the tired skelly growl more in anger, cranky from being woken too early.

“She doesn’t need a stew! She needs painkillers!” 

You watch as the two begin to bicker like always, hoping their argument might distract you enough to avoid taking the painkillers. However, another painful clench of your stomach makes your decision for you. Begrudgingly, you throw the two pills into your mouth and start to chew. The immediate bitterness contorts your face, and you wretch at the disgusting taste, already feeling youself wanting to vomit which draws the attention of both skeletons.

Cross’s eyes widen in shock. “What are you doing?! You’re not supposed to chew them! You’re supposed to swallow them!” he exclaims, genuinely baffled by the fact you are chewing the painkillers!!

“Here, drink this quickly!” Cross rushes the drink into your hands. You gulp down the contents quickly, desperatly trying to wash away the awful taste.

“What did you give her!?…” Horror snaps, his anger quickly rising as his deep rooted instincts kick in, fearing Cross had poisoned you and telling him to protect you. 

“I didn’t give her anything, for dudes sake! It’s painkillers gah!—she was just supposed to swallow them!” If Cross had blood vessels, he’d swear the one in his head was about to burst. 

Once you finished the water, Cross was quick to take your cup and refill it for you, returning to your side while he watched Horror fawn over you like some concerned mother.

You eagerly downed the second cup, finally washing away enough of the bitter taste to make it bearable, though it still lingered faintly. Exhausted from the pain and lack of sleep, you groaned and slumped back against the bed. Horror watched you intently, waiting for the painkillers to kick in. But when your hands moved to your lower abdomen and you made another pained expression, his head snapped uncomfortably fast to Cross.

“It isn’t working…why isn’t it working…?” Horror's glowing red eye light flared menacingly. Cross groaned, exasperated, and ran a hand down his face.

“It’s not gonna work instantly, Horror. It’s not made of magic. It’ll take about 30 mins to kick in.”

Cross watched as Horror begrudgingly relaxed, clearly not happy that it would take so long for the pain to stop but at least his threatening aura was dissipating back to normal. Cross sighed quietly, this was not how he wanted to start his morning.

Speaking of morning…

“Horror, why are you even in Miss’ room so early?

“Oh…I slept here last night…”

“Ah, righ—You WHAT?!”

Chapter Text

After pitching a fit at Horror and giving you a lecture about letting strange skeletons into your bed, Cross finally left, dragging Horror along with him now that your painkillers were starting to take effect. It was pretty comical watching Cross drag Horror by the back of the scuff while the hulking skeleton seemed to reluctantly allow it. This scene was becoming a bit of a routine, the only thing differing being which skeleton was being dragged away, and you couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all before settling back down for a little more sleep.

With Horror gone, you now had the bed to yourself again, but strangely you noted how uncomfortably empty it felt with his absence. You reached for your teddy bear, which had somehow become tangled in the bedsheets, and pulled it close. Holding it tight, you allowed yourself to drift back to sleep, trying to fill the sudden emptiness with its familiar comfort.

Some time later, you found yourself being woken by Cross, who was now fully dressed and standing by your bedside, having uncharacteristically skipped his usual routine of knocking and waiting outside the door. He seemed a little more tired than usual, if the dark rings under his sockets were anything to go by, and you figured it was probably due to being dragged out of bed by Horror earlier that morning.

"Ahem, sorry to wake you, Miss," he said, his voice softer than usual. "I just wanted to check on you and see if you're feeling any better."

Yawning, you sit up and realise with relief that the painful cramps have finally subsided. As you rub your eyes and settle into an upright position, your attention is drawn to the basket in Cross' hands, filled with an assortment of items. You catch him blushing slightly when he notices your gaze.

"I, uh, did some research online about periods," he admits, a bit sheepishly, "and I found a list of things that might help." He sets the basket down beside you, his awkwardness only making the gesture more endearing.

“I went out and got these while you were sleeping,” he continues, sifting through the items. Noticing the curious, albeit still a little sleepy, look on your face, Cross begins to explain what each item is for, figuring you might not be familiar with them.

Picking up a few items, the first chosen was a strangely shaped, floppy object. "This is a hot water bottle," he said, handing it to you. "It’s pretty self-explanatory—but you fill it with hot water and you’re supposed to put it on your stomach." You take the fabric-covered rubber, intrigued as you begin flexing and fiddling with the flimsy object.

"Apparently, heat on your stomach is good for reducing pain," he continued before reaching into the basket again. "Oh, and I got you a candle! It’s vanilla!" He handed it to you with a bit more enthusiasm. "I wasn’t sure which scent you’d like, so I went with something basic."

As you took the candle, you opened the lid and gave it a sniff. The scent was pleasant, with a hint of sweetness. You weren’t sure how it was supposed to help with your period, but Cross explained that lighting it would fill the room with the smell, which was supposed to help you relax? You had never heard of such a thing but you’d be curious to try it.

While you enjoyed the candle’s scent, Cross also handed you a small box and a bottle of liquid. Setting aside the items you were already holding, you accepted the new additions. Examining the box first, you saw the label read ‘Herbal Tea Assortment’, and you caught the aroma of something earthy with a hint of fruitiness emanating from it.

"I’m not sure if you’ve had tea before, but it’s a type of warm drink that's good for the body," Cross informed. "Nightmare has a stash in the kitchen, but I thought you might like your own."

As you inspected the small box, Cross continued explaining the different types of tea and briefly how to make them. Though this time his enthusiasm didn’t seem to be coming from any sort of love of the beverage, but more from a place of disdain. He described how Nightmare often expected one of his underlings to bring him a perfectly brewed cup of tea to his study, a task that unfortunately fell to Cross more often than not.

He elaborated that teleporting with a cup of tea was practically impossible without spilling it—something about the lack of gravity and the void making the tea taste weird apparently—so whoever was assigned the task had to endure a long, tedious walk from the kitchen to the study. Nightmare, it seemed, was notoriously particular about his tea and had no qualms about sending it back for remaking if it didn’t meet his exacting standards.

As Cross ranted about the time he had to remake Nightmare’s tea five times, you heard him suddenly fall silent when he noticed your attention move to the small bottle. The label read ‘Massage Oil’ and Cross audibly gulped. 

“U-Uh, I also read that massages can be good to relax you during your period," he stammered. "I thought I’d, you know, get some oil in case you wanted one." He cleared his throat awkwardly, avoiding eye contact while you inspected the bottle.

You knew what a massage was, many a time you had the displeasure of easing your aching muscles after the facility would put you through a particularly gruelling workout. But where were you supposed to massage for period pain? And how was the oil going to help? Even with all these swirling questions, you supposed it would be good to have on hand in case it was needed.

Quickly changing subject, Cross searched the basket for something else to give you but his nervousness only seemed to intensify when he grabbed a bar of something and practically thrusted into your hand, making you drop the items you were already holding. You barely managed to catch the item from being abruptly shoved into you. After steading it in your grip, you saw that the packaging read ‘CHOCOLATE’ in big, bold letters.

"I, uh, got you some chocolate," Cross said, his voice tinged with anxious laughter. "I mean, who doesn’t love chocolate, right? H-Heh heh..." Sweat now began to bead on his brow as he continued, "I’d suggest eating it all today, though—unless you want someone to steal it. And, um, don’t let Nightmare catch you with it."

Looking up at him, you couldn’t help but notice his overtly nervous demeanour, leaving you tilting your head at his sudden apprehension and questioning the need to keep the bar hidden. Little did you know, chocolate was actually banned from the castle, largely because of Cross’s inability to resist it. He loved the stuff; more often than not, Cross found himself unable to control himself and would end up gorging on the sugary goodness before falling comatose and regretting his life’s choices. 

Moreover, chocolate had a tendency to attract… unwanted pests , which was why Nightmare had enforced the ban. But as long as you ate it by today, Cross was sure It would be fine this once.

While Cross lost himself in thought, you examined the small bar of chocolate. Though you had heard of chocolate before, you’d never had the opportunity to try it yourself. Even through the packaging, your keen sense of smell picked up the sweet aroma of cocoa, and you felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of finally tasting it.

Cross, noticing your reaction and now also eyeing the bar with a mix of want and restraint, felt the familiar, growing urge to consume the milky treat. Thankfully, your inspection of the chocolate didn’t last long, having decided to tuck it under your pillow to enjoy later.

But just to avoid temptation, Cross had already begun backing up, inching his way closer to the door now that he had shown you everything. He knew he couldn’t trust himself, so it was better he left now before he gave in to his urges and made a mess of things.

"W-Well, since that’s everything, I better get going. I’ll let Horror know to save your breakfast—just grab it when you’re ready," Cross says, turning to leave as you start placing your items back in the basket. As you do, you notice something tucked away in the corner that Cross had missed. Pulling it out, you find yourself holding a small bouquet of flowers.

Cross stopped in his tracks as he caught you pulling out the nearly forgotten bouquet, all earlier nervousness regarding the chocolate fading away. “Oh…right. I also got you some flowers,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing down at the floor, wondering how he could have possibly missed that as a faint flush of purple returned to his cheeks. "I thought it might make you feel better."

Stealing a glance back at you, Cross notices your eyes widening, your attention completely enraptured by the colourful flora. Your fingers gently traced over one of the delicate petals, careful as if you were frightened it might shatter from the slightest touch. If Cross didn’t know any better, he’d think you’d never seen real flowers before.

And he’d be right.

Your gaze remained riveted on the bouquet, marvelling at the varied colours and shapes of the different flowers. You had never had the chance to see real flowers up close before—only ever reading about them in textbooks, and even then what few illustrations you saw could never capture their true beauty. Even during the rare occasions you were taken outside for training, you never encountered any flowers. The grounds were barren of such things, except for the woodlands and dense foliage that surrounded the compound, but you were never permitted to venture that far out.

You brought the bouquet to your nose, savouring the pleasant scent that you recalled reading about. However, a bit of pollen tickled your nose, causing you to sneeze unexpectedly. Cross chuckled at the sight and walked back over to you.

"Would you like me to put these in a vase with some water for you?" he offered. You responded with a delighted nod, your smile radiant and full of gratitude as you looked up at him.

Handing him the bouquet, you expected Cross to leave but surprisingly he lingered. Tilting your head at him curiously, his expression seemed to be conflicted. You wondered if everything was alright when you saw he began to lift his free hand, hovering it in the air, fingers twitching with indecision. 

You stared, not really knowing what was going on, but after a moment of internal debate, Cross finally placed his hand gently on top of your head, giving you a hesitant pat. 

The unexpected gesture took you by surprise, but it was certainly a welcomed one. You closed your eyes and began to purr softly as his hand tensely brushed through your hair. Though his touch was somewhat clumsy and lacked the confidence that Horror had shown the day before, you leaned in, thoroughly enjoying the sensation. Gradually, his movements grew more assured.

As his hand moved to scratch behind your ear, you opened your eyes and were taken back by look on his face. Cross’s sockets were half-lidded, and a gentle smile spread across his face as he looked at you with a tender, almost adoring gaze.

A peculiar thump echoed in your chest, and your face grew warm as Cross withdrew his hand. “I’ll be right back with that vase,” he said, his smile sincere. Turning, he left the room, carrying your bouquet with him.

As the door closed behind him, you placed a hand on your flushed cheek, puzzled by the sudden warmth in your face. Why was your face so hot all of a sudden? Were you ill? You considered it a possibility but that seemed rather unlikely, given that you rarely fall ill and had felt fine just moments earlier. It was also worth considering whether hormonal fluctuations from your period could affect your body temperature, although this did not fully explain the unusual feeling in your chest.

Moving your hand lower, you felt your heart beating at its regular rhythm and deeper in sensed your soul buzzing with its usual magical hum. Everything seemed normal, so what was this strange fluttering you were feeling?

Deciding it was likely nothing to worry about, you sighed and decided it was time to get up. You figured that when Cross returned, you could both head to breakfast, so it was best to get ready.

Climbing out of bed, you stretched deeply, appreciating how much better you felt thanks to the painkillers. Lesson learned: next time, you’d just swallow them and definitely not chew them. With that thought in mind, you made your way to the bathroom to shower and begin your morning routine.

~~ ~~~

After some time, you emerge from the bathroom, freshly washed, with a towel wrapped around your body and your pyjamas draped over your arm. Though the moment you re-enter your bedroom, you freeze mid-step. By your bedside, you spot a dark figure rummaging through your things—a figure that was definitely not one of the skeletons you had come to expect seeing when leaving the bathroom.

The figure clearly hadn't noticed you yet, seemingly too focused on rummaging through the hamper Cross had given you. When it couldn’t find what it was looking for, it doubled its efforts only to release a weird, distorted growl of frustration before abandoning the basket and shifted its attention to the area around your bed, continuing its frantic search.

“Ugh, it’s got to be here somewh—”

As the figure turned, it stopped mid-sentence, its glowing red sockets with mismatched red and yellow eyes—well, eyelights—finally locking onto you. Your breath hitched as a sense of dread settled over you, raising the hairs on the back of your neck. Now that he was facing you, you could see it was another skeleton. However, this one was just as alien and radiated a similarly dangerous aura to Nightmare. His bones were a deep, dark black, contrasting with the striking yellow tips of his phalanges.

He seemed to be wearing black shorts and some sort of long black jacket with blue stitches near the ends, layered over a red jumper. A long blue scarf dangled low to the ground, and his feet were encased in open-toed slip-ons. His leg bones, you now noticed, were a deep red, adding to his bizarre appearance. His unusual colour palette was disorienting, but what truly unsettled you were the weird "ERROR " signs that popped up around him, completely out of place in the world around you. Everything about him felt wrong, almost unnatural , and the peculiar aura he radiated had you on edge.

The multicoloured skeleton‘s eyes narrowed at you. “Nightmare’s entertaining guests now? That’d be a first. He not getting enough negativity that he’s having to kidnap people? That’s pathetic.”

You stared at him, his statement flying right over you due to the fact you were utterly bewildered by how crazy his voice sounded. It was like he had multiple voices, distorting and clashing over each other, creating a jarring, almost painful echo that bounced around the room. You had never heard anything like it, and it only served to emphasise how this was definitely no normal monster. Like Nightmare, he was clearly some sort of powerful being, and it was only now hitting you how much danger you were possibly in. 

Completely oblivious to the inner turmoil currently going on within you, the skeleton continued when you didn’t answer. “I thought he hated humans. So what's the deal with you?” He pressed, rather aggressively in an accusatory fashion.

You made no move to answer, only standing deathly still and struggling to determine what to do in this situation. Although you had been regularly training with Cross, you were nowhere near ready for a real fight and had no idea how powerful this person might be. While you began to feel your soul bubble with the need to protect you, you fought back the urge to do anything rash and make your current predicament any worse. Who knows, maybe he’s friendly?

Either way, the person before you seemed to take your silence as a personal attack and only angered the already ticked-off skeleton further. “What? You too good to talk to me?” He sneered, growling with a deep baritone that seemed to glitch and reverberate painfully in your ears as he started approaching you. “Who do you think you are, human?”

This seemed to snap you out of your frozen state. Nope, definitely not friendly, your mind concluded and you finally decided that you should flee. You quickly dropped the clothes you were holding and made a dash for the door. However, the skeleton seemed to have anticipated your move. With a swift motion, his sharp phalanges extended towards his sockets and drew out what looked like blue strings, which he sent hurtling in your direction.

Unfortunately, the suddenness of the attack caught you off guard, and you couldn’t react in time. The blue strings snaked around your wrists, yanking your arms up above your head before securing themselves to the ceiling. Suspended awkwardly on your tiptoes, you felt a sharp discomfort as the strings bound your ankles to the ground, rendering you completely immobile.

Your heart pounded in your chest as you struggled against the restraints, but the strings were impossibly strong, pinning you in place. What kind of magic was this?!

“As if I’m gonna let you run and alert one of those anomalies, ” he practically spits at you. As he drew closer, his towering presence practically loomed over you—he was so tall! Why we’re all these skeletons so tall!? Looking up at him, you could see now he had these long blue lines running down his sockets that almost looked like tears. You might have felt concerned for him if you weren’t scared for your life right now.

“I should just rip your soul apart right now for—” He suddenly halted, his eyes widening in surprise as he took in your cat-like ears and tail up close. His previous anger shifted to confusion, and he looked almost dumbfounded that he hadn’t noticed them sooner. “Huh? What the— What the heck are you?” He took a cautious step back, his mismatched eyes darting over your form before locking onto your face, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Realising that your earlier silence had irritated him, you opened your mouth to try to speak, but all that came out was a horse, painful croak that still stung your throat. The skeleton watched as you winced in discomfort, his sockets squinting at you sceptically. “What, you can’t talk or something?” His voice snapped at you. You shook your head, looking up at him imploringly that you weren’t trying to be rude by your silence.

Thankfully, he seemed to understand as he huffed and turned his head away from you. “Whatever, as if I care what some weird freak has to say anyway.” You felt his words stung at your heart and your soul clenched painfully, you weren’t a freak… were you ? This seemed to catch the attention of the skeleton again as his eyes quickly shot down to your chest, he could physically feel the way your soul contracted, hurt by his words. Actually now that he was closer, he could sense an unusual magic signature coming from your soul that was unlike any human or monster.

“The fuck is going on with your magic?” he snapped, his voice louder now that he was so close, making you flinch.

Your magic was strange, even to a being like him. It buzzed and swirled within you, a chaotic energy that alternated between surging and calming. Worse still, it seemed to leak out of you, as if you didn’t know how to contain it. Most monsters could keep their magic in check, but yours spilled out. It felt raw, untrained, like you were either inexperienced or had never been taught how to control it. The more he scrutinised you, the more uncertain he became—he couldn’t even tell if you were a monster.

He could pull your soul out and see what’s really going on.

“If you want to have a look at her tits, Error, you should really pull the towel off.”

Both you and the multicoloured skeleton startle at the voice. Your heads whip round to find Killer lounging casually at the foot of your bed, watching the whole scene unfold with an amused smirk, clearly enjoying the tension.

Error immediately stepped back, bracing himself for a possible fight before Killer's words finally registered. “The fuck? I’m not looking at her—towel? What towel?!” He turned back to you, only to now notice that you were, in fact, dressed in nothing but a bath towel.

Error’s eyes widened in shock, his face flushing a deep, dark blue as he awkwardly stammered, backing away even further. “WHUH? I-I wasn’t trying to—I'm not interested in this pathetic—human— thing !” he spluttered, tripping over his words, clearly flustered and struggling to articulate exactly what you were.

For once, you were happy to see Killer, your face lighting up at the possibility that he was here to help you. But Killer, of course, had different ideas.

“Oh don’t mind me, Error. Just continue with what you were doing. Pretend I’m not even here,” he grins devilishly, delighting in the way your expression falls from hopeful to confused. 

Error also seemed confused by this. “Wait, aren’t you going to help her? Isn't she part of your group or something?”

Killer's grin widened. "Oh, she is," he replied casually, "but I’m more interested in seeing what you were gonna do to her." His expression turned lecherous as fresh liquid hate spills from his sockets.

Error made a face of disgust, his defensive stance lowering.

“Some fucking help you are,” he muttered, clearly voicing your own sentiment judging by the incredulous look on your face that had now changed to annoyance. Of course he wouldn’t help you, you should have known better, you mentally grumbled to yourself. 

Not wanting to get involved, Error leaves you seething, still suspended by his blue threads. He turned his attention to searching for the chocolate he knew was stashed somewhere nearby, having concluded that Killer was unlikely to interfere—given his lack of action so far—Error decided to focus on his own quest.

“Weren’t you gonna pull out her soul?” Killer’s voice cut through the silence from behind him.

Error stopped and turned back to face Killer, the question hanging in the air. He had indeed been considering that earlier before he was interrupted. You, meanwhile, perked up at the mention of your soul. Your eyes widened as you looked at Killer then back to him, a mix of disbelief and almost… hope crossing your face. 

Error huffed irritatedly. “If you’re so interested, why don’t you pull it out?” 

Killer tapped a single finger against his chin as he looked up in thought. “Hm, I coooould, but then I’d risk getting in trouble. Less chance of that happening if you do it,” he concludes, sending a wink Error’s way like he thought he was being cute.

Error growled at the audacity. “Fuck off, asshole. As if I care whether you get in trouble or not. I’m not interested in being your scapegoat, do it yourself.” He snapped angrily, before storming back to your bed. He seemed to take his frustration out as he threw the covers and the hamper, scattering all its contents to the floor. Not at all bothered by the mess he was making, he doubled his efforts to find the hidden chocolate. 

You however, we’re left reeling by this information. They could pull out your soul?! For real?? As in, you could finally see what it looks like! This…this was huge! Finally you could see its shape, its colour—everything you had ever wondered about!

You could finally see what it was you were supposed to be…

You began wiggling against your restraints again, desperate to get the binds off you. You just had to get one of them to pull out your soul! 

“You sure you don’t wanna take a peek at her tits?” Killer grinned in amusement as he watched you try to free yourself, making no move to help you. His hidden eyelight roamed your form as he heard Error make a glitched splutter and begin yelling at him.

“NO! You sick pervert, I said I’m not—”

“Oop, wait no need,” Killer cut him off. “Her towels’ already slipping off.”

“Wait, what?” Turning, Error’s attention snapped back to you only to see that the towel, loosened from your constant wriggling, was indeed threatening to peel off you.

You went still, hoping if you stopped moving the towel would still cover you, but it was too late. You could feel the towel falling away when you suddenly heard a garbled screech. In an unexpected burst of motion, Error flew back to your side, grabbing the escaping towel with urgency. Before you could even process what was happening, Error was already frantically tying the towel tight around your front, making sure it wouldn’t slip again.

You blinked in surprise as Error was huffing and sweating profusely. He seemed to be glitching, large “ERROR” signs popping around him. You looked up at him, offering a sheepish nod of thanks, making Error’s cheeks flush with an unexpected shade of colour.

“Boo, you ruined the fun…”

“SHUT UP!!” Error screeched at Killer, finally reaching his breaking point. But before he could say more, the sudden sound of glass shattering snapped all three of you to attention.

Your heads whipped toward the doorway to find Cross standing there, his expression frozen in shock. He had dropped the vase he’d gone to retrieve, the glass and water now shattered at his feet, flowers scattered across the floor. His expression had completely changed—his once cheerful demeanour gone, eyelights extinguished as he stared at the scene before him. Error stood over you, your body pinned with your arms stretched suggestively above your head, his hands gripping the towel that clung to your form. To make things worse, your discarded pyjamas lay strewn across the floor. Cross’s smile strained into something far more dangerous, a threatening aura radiating from him.

“Oh, hai Cross! Look who dropped by for a visit!” Killer chirped in greeting, not at all concerned by the ominous purple miasma of magic now radiating from Cross. Error, on the other hand, was sweating profusely. Despite being the literal guardian of destruction, he felt a wave of anxiety wash over him as he realised just how compromising the situation looked.

Error's hands shot away from you as if you’d burned him, and he quickly stepped back. “L-Look, I didn’t do anything! I just came for the chocolate!” he stammered defensively, clearly panicked but not afraid to fight if it came down to it.

Chocolate? You thought in disbelief. That’s all he was here for—your chocolate bar? You couldn’t help but mentally question the absurdity of it all.

“Yeah, chocolates’ not all he was after from the looks of things,” Killer chimed in suggestively from his spot on your bed. 

Error growled in response, his anger beginning to rise again but before he could start yelling, Cross cut in, his voice low and trembling with barely restrained fury. “I have been gone for no longer than several minutes… and not only are you back trying to steal our chocolate again , but you’d go so far as to try to…to defile the sanctity of Miss’ maidenhood?”

“Maidenhood??” Error parroted, completely confused by the nonsense Cross was sprouting.

“I think you’ve been watching too many period dramas, Crossy,” Killer quipped, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

But Cross pressed on, ignoring their interruptions. “I could overlook the other times—the countless bars of chocolate you’ve stolen from us. But this…” He gestured towards you, still restrained. “This is a new low, even for you, Error.” His voice was filled with disgust and disappointment.

Cross’ last comment clearly struck a nerve with Error, who seemed genuinely appalled by the accusation. “First off, fuck you! I just said I wasn’t doing anything to your weird human pet. And second, I’ll take whatever the hell I want! If you don’t like it, why don’t you come over here and make me leave?” His eyes glowed with a manic, threatening light.

Cross’s response was immediate; he snarled and summoned his twin blades, the air crackling with tension. “Gladly,” he spat, his voice cold and resolute.

You watched helplessly as Cross lunged at Error, his twin blades swiping through the air with deadly precision. Error danced backward with surprising agility, deftly evading the onslaught while reaching for his sockets to pull out those strange blue strings once more. Killer having teleported away from the bed to a safe distance, observed the chaos unfold with a detached interest as you struggled to free yourself.

Desperation etched across your face, you looked at Killer, silently pleading for him to intervene. It took a moment, but when Killer finally met your gaze, the realisation of your silent plea seemed to dawn on him.

“I know! I’ll go get Nightmare!” Killer declared to himself, then proceeded to casually stroll out the door—yes, not teleport, stroll —like you weren’t currently tied up while a fight was going on in the middle of your bedroom!

As he reached the door, he paused, turning back with a nonchalant grin. “Oh, and—” he said, lingering for a moment. “Try not to die.” He winked at you before closing the door behind him.

You hung there, gobsmacked, as Error hurled blue strings at Cross, who darted around the room with impressive agility. It was a miracle they hadn’t knocked over or broken anything—not that you had much in your room to begin with. However, the sound of a smashing picture frame and your bedside lamp knocking over signalled that things might not stay that way for long. Your attention was quickly drawn back to the fight when some of Error’s strings narrowly missed you, making you flinch. 

It was clear that the two were so absorbed in their fight that they had completely forgotten about you. Realising you were at risk of being seriously injured or worse if you stayed where you were, you doubled your efforts to free yourself. Desperate to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, you awkwardly worked your fingers to try loosening the strings around your wrist while the two skeletons clashed before you.

“How dare you try to take advantage of Miss like that, you bastard!” Cross roared, his blades slicing through the strings as Error’s laughter echoed maniacally.

“You really think I’d be interested in some disgusting human?” Error taunted, his voice dripping with contempt. “What even is she? A weapon? A plaything? You lot must be pretty pathetic to keep something like that to get your rocks off, sick perverts.” He sneered, sending another volley of strings towards Cross.

As the two continued their heated exchange, you perked when the strings around your wrists began to loosen slightly. However, fate had other plans. You suddenly felt a contraction and a familiar warmth begin to seep out of you, making you pause. Thankfully, you were still wearing the panties you’d had on when you went into the bathroom, and you had already changed out your pad for a fresh one.

While Cross was used to the scent of your monthly flow, Error was not . His head whipped in your direction the moment his nose wrinkled at the smell of blood, his eyes widening in shock.

“What the fu—” Error began, but his words were cut short when Cross’s blade struck the side of his head. The unexpected distraction of your period gave Cross the opening he needed to land a solid hit. Error crashed to the ground with a thud, and the strings he was controlling went slack. As a result, the restraints binding you fell loose, and unprepared, you tumbled to the floor with a heavy thud.

You grumbled as you rubbed your sore backside from the fall, while Cross landed himself in front of the door, effectively blocking the exit. “She’s not a plaything! You know nothing about her, so keep your mouth SHUT!” Cross growled, his voice full of fury as Error groaned on the other side of the room.

Cross then turned his attention to you, his expression softening with concern. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, wincing slightly as you massaged your bruised butt. Aside from that, you hadn’t sustained any serious injuries. Looking over at Error though, he appeared far worse for wear. The blow to his head had clearly left him in pain as he sat up, hissing from the throbbing ache. Was all of this commotion really over a bar of chocolate?

“You’re part of the reason I don’t get to bring home any fucking chocolate anymore!” Cross shouted, his frustration evident. “You could rip open any universe to steal it from, but you alway steal it from us! For once, can you just not be an asshole and piss off?!”

You watched as Error remained silent for a moment, a strange expression crossing his face. If you didn’t know better, you might have sworn he looked... hurt. But just as quickly as it appeared, the look was gone. Replaced with a sneer, Error let out a bitter chuckle. “Maybe I just like messing with you,” he spits, his words only deepening Cross's irritation.

“I should just dust you for ever touching my prin—” Cross began, but his threat was abruptly cut off when several heavy stomps approached the room. The door was suddenly ripped off its hinges and slammed down onto Cross, flattening him to the floor as Horror stormed in.

“CUPCAAAAAAAKE!!” Horror roared, his voice echoing through the room. His single eye light, shrunken to a pin-prick, darted around frantically until it locked onto you. Ignoring the door now crushing Cross, Horror hurried over, his gaze fixed on you with a single-minded focus. He scooped you up into his arms, his concern evident as he fussed over you, his eye never leaving your face. Cross let out a pained squawk from beneath the door as Horror stepped on it to get to you, but Horror remained oblivious, solely focused on making sure you were okay.

“Jeez, Horror, you didn’t have to bulldoze the door down. I only said Error had Kitten tied bondage style, not that she was enjoying it,” Killer chuckled, strolling in behind the massive skeleton. He glanced at you, his black sockets narrowing suggestively. “Or were you?” he added with a smirk, clearly amused.

You glared back at him, your ears flattening in irritation. Anger bubbled up inside you, not just at Killer’s suggestion but at his role in leaving you tied up in the first place.

With Horror out of the way, the rest of the skeletons began to file into the room, each deliberately stepping on the door as Cross grunted in pain beneath it.

“You doing okay down there, Cross?” Dust’s voice rang out with a hint of mischief. “They always say not to let the door hit you on the way out, but I guess nobody mentioned what happens when it hits you on the way in, huh?” He chuckled to himself, clearly enjoying the irony of the situation.

“W-Why didn’t you all just shortcut in?” Cross wheezed, as Dust moved off the door for Cross to try getting up, only for him to fall back to the floor with an ‘oof’ as Nightmare stepped on the door, his weight pushing Cross back down. 

“Because putting ourselves in the middle of a potential crossfire in a small, cramped bedroom would be rather foolish, now wouldn't it?” Nightmare’s voice dripped with condescending arrogance as he was the final one to enter, his imposing presence filling the room. Deciding that was enough of Cross’s suffering, Nightmare stepped off the door and allowed the trapped skelly to struggle out from under it. With a display of dominance, Nightmare’s large tentacles unfurled around him, casting a long, dark shadow. His piercing gaze settled on Error, who was now attempting to regain his footing.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our old pal Error,” Nightmare drawled, his eye light glowing with an eerie light. “Paying us a visit I see, you do know so very well how I dislike it when you drop in unannounced .” His crescent grin stretched tight, the dangerous edge unmistakable.

Error glared back, his stance immediately bristling with defiance. “As if I give a shit, ya goopy bastard.” He hissed, already squaring his shoulders for whatever might happen. His gaze briefly flickered to you, watching as you finally swatted Horror away from his relentless fussing before he reluctantly set you down.

"Are you alright, pet?" Nightmare's voice broke through the tension, and when you glanced over, you saw his gaze was on you. You gave a small nod, still a bit rattled, and he responded with a satisfied hum.

“Ugh, she really is a pet. That’s pretty sick, even for you Nightmare.” Error sneered with disgust.

“We all have our hobbies, not that mine are any of your business.” 

Error's frown deepened, his confusion quickly turning to irritation. “Yeah but, what even is she? And why the fuck is she bleeding?”

Your face flushed with embarrassment as you shifted awkwardly, looking down at the floor, the mention of your period making you uncomfortable. Nightmare, however, only chuckled darkly, clearly amused by Error’s ignorance. 

“I think you should be less concerned about her, and more concerned about your own well being.” The air thickened instantly, infused with raw, crackling magic making the hairs on your skin prickle. You glanced at the others, each of them now radiating malicious intent, their eyes glowing dangerously. Nightmare’s words seemed to be the cue, their weapons materialising in hand as low growls reverberated around the room.

The sheer level of threat was overwhelming. Not missing a beat, Error raised his hands, preparing to launch his signature string attack, his gaze locked on the others as he braced for the inevitable fight.

“Whatever, thought I’d sate my curiosity before I rip all your souls to shreds!” he snarled, voice glitching and distorting as his manic grin stretched across his skull.

Nightmare’s smile darkened, eyes flashing with challenge. “I would love to see you try,” he sneered, his tentacles twitching, ready for battle. His subordinates, weapons drawn, mirrored his eagerness.

But before the chaos could erupt, you darted in front of Nightmare, throwing your hands up. The room fell silent, Nightmare freezing mid-motion, his tentacles halting as confusion flickered across his face. The others exchanged baffled glances, their murderous intent momentarily paused by your unexpected intervention.

“Cupcake?…”

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

“What ya doing, kid?”

“Ooo drama.”

Their voices murmured over each other, confused by your sudden interference before all eyes turned to Nightmare. Even Error looked shocked as Nightmare stared down at you. His expression which was that of brief surprise, caught off guard by your sudden outburst, quickly regained itself and morphed into an intense glare. A heavy sense of dread fell on you, making you begin to sweat nervously at the danger you were now putting yourself in.

“Stand aside, pet.” His deep voice ordered, absolute in its warning.

Breathing heavily, you trembled as you stared back into the black abyss of his socket. Nightmare’s eyelight sharpened as it stared back, a promise of something dark waiting for you if you continued to disobey. Your soul thrashed within you, yelling at you to stop whatever act of defiance you were doing right now. You could feel him exuding a threatening pressure as he stared down at you.

You knew there would be no telling you a second time…

You quickly glanced over your shoulder, your mind racing on what to do as you saw Error watching you with a mix of bewilderment and curiosity. Although you didn’t know much about him, you had to believe he couldn’t be entirely bad. Sure, he was pretty aggressive, but if he wanted to hurt you, wouldn’t he have done so already? He had even rushed to stop your towel from falling off; he didn’t have to do that, but he did. So, surely he couldn’t be all bad, right?

With no time left to decide, you made up your mind. Accepting whatever punishment may come as a result of this, you puffed out your chest in defiance and stood your ground. Resolute, you stared Nightmare in the eye despite the way he bristled at your disobedience. 

“Bad idea, Kitten,” Killer voiced, but his opinion was the last thing you wanted to hear right now. There was just no way you were gonna let a fight break out over a bar of chocolate.

Speaking of, it was then an idea sparked in your mind. Rushing over to your bedside, the rest of the skeletons watched your movement as you began rummaging under your pillows, which had somehow managed to remain on your bed. After a few tense moments, you finally found what you were looking for.

With item in hand, you hurried back to Error, who instinctively jumped back at your quick approach. Without missing a beat, you extended the chocolate bar toward him.

“Huh?” Error mouthed dumbly, staring down at the chocolate bar before coming back to you, your unexpected gesture throwing him for a loop.

“Hey! Don’t give him that!” You heard Cross yell from behind you, but you ignored it. Instead, you continued to offer the chocolate bar, gently nudging it closer to Error. There was no sense in having a huge, drawn out fight over something as small as a bar of chocolate. Sure, you were looking forward to trying it, but honestly, it wasn’t worth it if people were just gonna fight over it.

Error’s expression was a mix of disbelief and skepticism, but you payed it no mind as you offered him a gentle, reassuring smile, hoping to convey your sincerity. Despite his doubt, Error eventually snatched the bar from your hand, scrutinizing it closely before meeting your gaze again.

“You’re pretty stupid,” he remarked flatly.

You didn’t respond, instead tilting your head slightly, puzzled by his comment.

Error rolled his eyes at your obliviousness before looking down at the chocolate one last time. His sockets narrowed as he seemed to think. This was definitely what he was after, works just as well for him he didn’t need to fight for it.

“Whatever, I’m leaving,” he grumbled after a moment before unravelling a portal behind him, much to the surprise of the rest of your group.

Shoving the chocolate bar into his pocket, Error took one last look at you before huffing. Having got what he came here for, he stepped through. His figure disappearing as rift closed behind him, leaving the room to fall into a heavy silence.

…

“Well, that was anticlimactic.” Killer blurted out.

You let out a relieved sighed. Phew, crisis averted— or so you thought—until you turned back around and were startled to see Nightmare suddenly in front of you. His tentacles whipped aggressively behind him, and he exuded a stifling pressure that sucked all the short lived positivity out of you. Oh god, what have you done? You could feel yourself cowering, you hadn’t felt this frightened since he first had you in his office. He looked furious .

Clearly, it wasn’t just you who felt the weight of Nightmare’s impending fury; the rest of the gang visibly paled at the aura radiating from him.

“Boss, I don’t think she meant—”

"The rest of you. Leave. Now." Nightmare's voice cut through the room like a whip, making Dust immediately shut up. You could see the others wanted to protest. Except for Killer, he looked positively ecstatic, clearly relishing to see you get in trouble for once. Dust had to physically drag him out, not wanting to escalate the situation and making things any worse for you. You had made your choice and were gonna have to accept the consequences, even if none of them liked it. Cross and Horror though were distraught with worry. They hesitated, clearly reluctant to abandon you but unwilling to defy Nightmare.

“P-Please don’t do this, Nightmare!” Cross’ voice wavered, looking like he wanted to step in.

“Cupcake…didn’t mean…”

Their pleas tried to defend you, but they were abruptly cut off as Nightmare’s teal magic enveloped them, forcefully pushing them out of the room. The door, still lying broken on the floor, suddenly lifted from the ground before being magically shoved back into place and slamming shut behind them.

You watched the door in stunned silence before slowly turning your gaze back to Nightmare, a heavy weight of dread settling in your chest at the stern look on his face.

“Pet. We need to have a word.”

Chapter Text

You were startled by the sudden aggression as you watched Cross and Horror being forcibly removed from the room by Nightmare’s magic. Jolting when the door slammed shut with a loud bang, you felt yourself begin to sweat as it dawned on you just how much trouble you were really in.

With the gang gone, there was no one left to protect you interfere, and the air around you felt suffocating in the tense silence that followed. You didn’t dare look back at Nightmare; the sheer anger radiating from him was palpable, making your fear for your safety intensify with every passing second.

With great hesitation, you slowly turned your head back towards Nightmare. His usual grin had now twisted into a livid scowl, and a deep furrow was etched into his brow. “ What exactly do you think you were doing?” he snapped at you, his voice sharp and unforgiving.

Your shoulders hunched at the bite of his tone, and your head dipped shamefully to the ground. You were unable to explain yourself—there was no point in even trying. If only you could speak, then maybe you could justify your actions, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Nightmare had made it very clear from the start that his orders were absolute. Any form of defiance would be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. Why should it be any different for you?

Eyes fixed to the floor, your ears pulled down as you instinctively tried to make yourself smaller, hoping to avoid further angering him. But it wasn’t enough. In an instant, Nightmare’s hand shot out, grabbing your face with a bruising grip. The suddenness of it made you squeak in surprise as he yanked your head up, forcing you to meet his furious gaze.

Pulled onto your tiptoes, your eyes widened in fear as you stared into his scowling face. Behind him, the image of his tentacles whipped violently through the air, threatening to lash out at any moment. Panic set in, and instinctively your hands flew up to his, trying desperately to pry his bruising grip from your face. But he was immovable, and your struggle only made him squeeze harder, as if daring you to resist further.

“How dare you disobey me! ” Nightmare’s booming voice snarled at you, making you quake deep in your bones. “ I ordered you to stand aside, and you deliberately refused. When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it without hesitation. Do I make myself clear?!” You winced as his phalanges tighten painfully into your skin, and you struggled to nod your understanding.

“You have no idea who that was, do you? How dangerous of a situation you were in! ” Nightmare continued, yelling down at you like a petulant child. “ Error is the guardian of destruction, he is a powerful and extremely dangerous entity! You have no idea what he is capable of and you went waltzing straight up to him! He could have pulled your soul out and ripped it to shreds in a matter of seconds and there would be nothing I could do about it!”

You had closed your eyes tight as Nightmare yelled at you, his bellowing voice shaking you to your core. You didn’t know! You weren’t trying to be disobedient, you just didn’t want anymore fighting! 

“You have been getting far too comfortable, pet. Clearly that is my fault for spoiling you, but that does not mean that you may do as you please and that you are exempt from punishment.”

Nightmare’s eye narrowed at you, his piercing gaze glowing brightly with an intense magic. “I will not tolerate such disobedience. Do not forget, pet, I own you! And I will make an example out of you if that is what it takes to keep you in line. Learn your place,” he spat venomously at you. He was about to continue his tirade when a soft sound escaped from you, causing him to pause.

“Sss…m’s-….s-sorry…” you breathed out in a struggled whimper, throat straining to get the word out despite the awkward angle in which you were held in.

Nightmare’s single teal eye widened when he heard your voice. It was soft yet husky, barely a sound and weak from disuse, but even so, it was enough to douse the raging inferno of his anger. He watched as tears began to flow from you, your quiet sobs wrecking you as your small form quivered. The negativity radiating from you was intoxicating, but Nightmare found it bittersweet; to his surprise, he was shocked by how displeased he felt seeing you cry.

You sobbed, eyes squeezed shut as you braced yourself for him to continue yelling, but it never came. Time seemed to stand still until, slowly, he lowered you back down, allowing your feet to be planted more firmly on the ground. He finally released his grip, and the room fell silent, save for your small, choked sobs that you struggled to contain.

“Don’t you ever stand in my way again,” Nightmare spoke, refusing to look at you. His deep voice was devoid of any anger but now replaced with a calm, cold bitterness. “Next time, I might not be so merciful…” Then, without another word, he vanished, leaving behind only the dark tendrils of his magic, which lingered momentarily before fading away.

You refused to move, standing in your spot as you tried to get a hold over your tears. You had never seen Nightmare so angry—well, actually you had, but it was never directed at you. You had never been yelled at so aggressively, not even at the facility. You had always been obedient and never once stepped out of line, so there had never been any reason for it, except for a few rare instances in your childhood when you acted up. But even then it happened only rarely, and never to this extent.

Nightmare looked furious, he looked like he wanted to hurt you. You didn’t even realise how long you had been standing there when you heard the click of the door opening.

Cross sheepishly poked his head into the room, followed by Horror who, more clumsily, tried to peek in over him. The smaller skeleton grumbled quietly at his companion’s heavy-handedness as they both took a chance to see what was going on now that the yelling had stopped.

When they saw that Nightmare was gone and you were left standing alone with tears streaming down your face, they opened the door fully and rushed toward you. You were surprised that they had waited outside your room, looking up at them through bleary eyes as they quickly approached and began checking on you.

“Are you… okay? Did Nightmare… hurt you?…” Horror asked, his voice laced with deep worry as he took the lead in inspecting you for injuries. You noticed Dust and Killer following in behind the first two; Dust had the consideration to look at least a little concerned, while Killer walked in rather eagerly, a wide grin spread across his face.

“Oooo, I bet Nightmare roughed her up real good after that little display! What did he do? Did he give her a lash? Or maybe threw her around a bit?” he asked gleefully as he came over, wanting to see the damage.

Cross glared at Killer as you shook your head in response to Horror’s question, who continued his frantic inspection of you until he concluded you hadn’t been hurt. The group seemed to collectively sigh in relief, though Killer’s excited expression dropped to a sulky pout over the fact that you hadn’t been punished, grumbling about “favouritism.”

“Miss, that was a really bad idea to stand up to Nightmare like that,” Cross voiced his disapproval, his tone serious. “You were very lucky Nightmare didn’t punish you or that Error didn’t attack you. I know we’ve been training, but you’re nowhere near ready to risk facing someone as powerful as him.” Horror hummed in agreement, and you dipped your head, feeling bad that you had caused all of them—well, almost all of them— to worry because of your actions.

“Hey, don’t look so down, kid. Crossy boy’s just upset ‘cause you handed over the chocolate goods,” Dust said with a teasing grin, prompting you to glance back up and notice the way Cross bristled at the comment.

“He’s always stealing our chocolate!” Cross outbursts. “I’m sick of having to gorge the lot on the rare opportunity I actually get to have any!”

“Cross, you’d gorge the lot even if Error wasn’t a threat to steal any.” Dust laughed, making the monochrome skeleton growl and the others chuckle in amusement.

You, however, didn’t share in their laughter. You still felt low and thoroughly shaken after Nightmare's scolding. Had you really done something so terrible by offering your chocolate to him? It seemed like that was all he was there for—he even had the decency to stop your towel falling from you and showed some concern about your period. Was what you did really that bad?

You stood there deep in thought as the others’ laughter gradually died down. Noticing your sad expression while you wiped away the last of your tears, they all seemed uncertain about how to lift your spirits, and the weight of what had happened settled heavily on them once more.

Killer, sensing the sombre atmosphere, tapped his foot in a nervous twitch. When the silence became too unbearable, he let out a loud, drawn-out groan. “Ughhhhh, c’mon, guys! She’s fine, you’re fine, everything’s fine! Can we please move on before the kitten's towel has a chance to unravel again?”

That caught everyone’s attention, including yours. You suddenly remembered that you were still standing in just a bath towel, and as you glanced around, you saw that everyone was now staring at you, their faces glowing in their respective colours. A wave of discomfort washed over you under their gaze.

You should really get dressed now; you had been in a towel long enough. Yet, none of them seemed to make an effort to leave. Their eye lights remained fixed on you, each reflecting varying degrees of something that you didn’t really understand. Feeling your cheeks flush, you awkwardly coughed into your fist, hoping they would take the hint.

Dust and Cross snapped out of their daze quickly, with Dust hastily hiding himself in his hood. Cross, on the other hand, had the decency to look away when he noticed Killer grinning at him with that infuriating shit-eating grin, waggling his brow bones suggestively. Cross’s flush deepened in response to Killer's wordless teasing, prompting him to storm out of the room.

“Ugh, come on,” he groaned as Killer followed closely behind, chuckling to himself. The two of them paused, however, when Dust spoke up.

“Uh, guys, aren’t we forgetting someone?…”

Turning back around, the two of them spotted Horror standing over you, his body uncomfortably close as he stared intensely. His eyelight was bloated in its socket, raking over your much smaller form, and he was breathing heavily, a vivid blue blush spreading across his face. It seemed he had no intention of moving, even as you waved your hand in front of his face; he appeared hyper-focused on your towel.

Cross and Killer exchanged glances, Cross uncertain about how to coax Horror away, while Killer simply shrugged, unwilling to deal with the hassle. Dust rolled his eyelights at the two of them before turning back to you and Horror, casually pocketing his hands in his hoodie.

“Yo, Horror, the kid's probably hungry. Don’t you think you should finish up breakfast?” Dust said coolly, snapping Horror out of his trance and wandering thoughts. The mention of your hunger reminded him that he hadn’t finished cooking breakfast, and thankfully, he had remembered to turn off the stove when Killer informed them that Error was in your room.

“Breakfast!…”was all he said before, as quick as a whip, he dashed out of the room. His large frame stepped on the shattered glass left from the vase Cross had dropped, his mind too preoccupied with thoughts of making food to notice. The glass made an audible crunch under his weight, but he didn’t seem to notice as he swiftly exited the room.

That was one problem taken care of, but now that brought attention to the problem of your messed up room. Your bed sheets and pillows lay strewn along the floor from Error's search for your chocolate, while your clothes and the hamper Cross had got you were tossed about, its items spilling everywhere. By the entrance, water and shards of broken glass littered all around the door from the vase that Cross had dropped, and the flowers it once held now lay crumpled and wilted.

“Hey, at least the door is fix—”, Dust began, but just then, as if on que, the door fell from its broken hinges, toppling to the floor with a loud bang.

“Ah…nevermind…” 

You sighed at the mess before you, this was gonna take a while to clean up. 

Crouching down, you picked up one of the flowers that lay haphazardly on the floor. The poor thing was wilted, its stem broken and had clearly been stepped on by multiple feet. You felt a wave of disappointment wash over you as you realised that your lovely bouquet had been ruined.

“Ah, please don’t fret, Miss! I can always pick you up another one!” Cross said, his voice brightening the mood slightly. You glanced at him and noticed that the front of his clothes was damp, flecks of glass sticking in the folds of his outfit, occasionally dropping to the floor after being trapped under the fallen door. You felt a twinge of guilt; he had really been through a lot, having been woken in the early hours of the morning, then finding himself trapped under a door amidst broken glass and water.

Noticing the concern on your face, Cross quickly waved off your worry. “I’m fine, really!” he insisted, brushing some of the broken glass off his front. “Don’t worry; we’ll get this cleaned up,” he reassured, but Killer was not convinced .

“We? What do you mean, we? I’m not—oof!” Killer began to protest, but he was swiftly whacked in the non-existent stomach and then grabbed by the front of his shirt, yanked into Cross’s face.

“You are going to help me clean up this mess. I haven’t had any sleep, and I’m not fixing all this by myself. Am I clear?” Cross’s eye lights narrowed, his uncharacteristically threatening tone taking Killer by surprise.

“Yo, chill, Crossy,” Killer replied, his smile widening as he raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll help ya out,” he added, and Cross released his grip. Killer straightened himself up, grinning mischievously. “Hey, I kinda like it when you get all aggressive. You should do it more often.” Cross groaned in exasperation at the comment.

Meanwhile, Dust had quietly moved across the room, skillfully avoiding the shards of glass as he began rummaging through your drawers. He pulled out whatever he could find that you could wear, not caring about what he grabbed as long as it did the job. After a moment, he returned to your side, arms full of clothes.

“Here, why don’t you go get changed while we a- dress the situation, heh heh.” Dust chuckled to himself as you gratefully accepted the clothes. Looking back up, you noticed that the wispy skeleton was back, hovering over Dust's shoulder with a sour look on his face.

“YOU KNOW, IF YOU’RE REALLY INSISTING ON KEEPING HER AS A PET, YOU SHOULD AT LEAST PICK OUT SOMETHING MORE TASTEFUL FOR HER TO WEAR—LIKE A BATTLE BODY. AT LEAST THEN SHE’D BE FASHIONABLE AND READY TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH.”

You saw the way Dust huffed but made no move to reply. However, he definitely caught the way your eyes glanced over his shoulder, as if you were looking at his ghostly brother. Papyrus had also noticed, and both of them were now staring at you. But before Dust could say anything, you had already turned and began walking away to change.

Clothes in hand, you made your way to the bathroom, careful to avoid the shards of glass as Dust and Papyrus watched you in silence. Once you closed the door to change, the atmosphere shifted, and Killer's voice rang out.

“Yo, I’m not gonna be the only one helping Cross clean! Get your coxxyx over here!” he grumbled, using his magic to lift the door off the floor. Meanwhile, Cross had vanished to fetch a broom and something to wipe up the water.

Dust ignored Killer, his gaze lingering on the bathroom door you had entered for a moment before glancing over his shoulder to find that Papyrus was now gone. He had long stopped questioning whether the apparition of his dead brother was real or not; the constant uncertainty had driven him further into madness. He had resigned himself to the fact that his LV was fueling his delusions.

But you had definitely looked at him—at Papyrus. There was no one else you could have been looking at, and it certainly wasn’t him.

“Hurry up!” Killer shouted impatiently. 

Without much time to question it, Dust sighed, “Alright geez…”

He’ll just have to corner you later and figure out what was really going on, once and for all.

~~ ~~~

The rest of the day was a blur. After you got dressed, Cross ushered you away to go have some breakfast while he and the others tidied up for you. Once in the kitchen, Horror did his best to cheer you up, but you couldn’t shake the heaviness that lingered after your encounter with Nightmare. You picked at your food, your appetite having vanished entirely.

Horror suggested watching some TV together, but you simply didn’t feel up to it. Typically, you would spend your mornings reading in Nightmare's office after breakfast, but you knew better than to step foot in there after what had happened. Thankfully, the boys managed to clean your room fairly quickly. When you returned, it was as if nothing had happened; everything was in its rightful place. They had done such a great job that for a moment, you questioned whether the morning’s chaos had really happened.

However, when you were later called to dinner and realised Nightmare wouldn’t be joining, the reality of the situation hit you hard. It only deepened your sense of despair, making it painfully clear that he was definitely avoiding you.

Now back in your room, having washed and changed into your pyjamas, you walked over to your bed and slumped onto it, a heavy sigh escaping your lips. You felt awful. 

As you lay there, you recounted the events from earlier, wondering how everything escalated so quickly. It wasn’t like you meant to disobey Nightmare—you just didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Error didn’t seem all bad. Sure, he was rather aggressive and a little hostile, but despite all that, he hadn’t actually attacked you. In fact, he’d gone out of his way to stop your towel from falling off. He didn’t have to do that, but he did. If all he wanted was chocolate, what was the harm in giving it to him if it avoided a violent confrontation?

You also couldn’t shake the memory of that lonely look in Error’s eyes… something deeper than aggression had flickered there, and it stirred a strange sympathy within you.

But seeing how furious it had made Nightmare, maybe you should have just listened and stepped aside. Tears began welling up in your eyes again, and you sniffled, rubbing them away with the back of your hand. Emotionally drained and physically exhausted, you just wanted this miserable day to end.

Scooting up the bed, you crawled beneath the blankets, reaching over to switch off the light before settling in. Lying on your side, you tucked your arm beneath the pillow, trying to get comfortable—until your fingers brushed against something rough and crinkly. Frowning, you sat up, curiosity replacing your fatigue, and switched the bedside lamp back on. In your hand, you pulled out a crumpled wrapper, the edges creased from having been stuffed under your pillow.

 Scrutinising the crumpled wrapper, you quickly recognised it to be the remains of the chocolate bar you had given to Error. The treat had clearly been consumed, but why had the wrapper ended up under your pillow?

A frown tugged at your lips as your thoughts darkened. Had Error come back? Maybe he’d eaten the chocolate and left the wrapper under your pillow as some sort of twisted taunt, to throw your kindness back in your face despite what that small act had cost you. The thought made your chest tighten, an ache blooming in your heart.

Maybe Nightmare was right after all. Maybe Error really was just as awful as Nightmare had warned, and you should’ve kept your nose out of it.

Sighing, you moved to drop the wrapper on your bedside table, ready to forget about it and just turn in for the night. But when the packaging hit the surface, it made an unexpected thunk —not at all the sound of something that was empty .

Grabbing your attention again, you picked the wrapper back up, smoothing out the crinkled plastic. To your surprise, nestled inside was a single, unassuming square of chocolate.

Picking up the square, you examined the small chocolate, turning it over in your fingers. Did Error forget there was a piece still left? You questioned how he could have possibly missed it, but as you stared at the last remnant of the treat, a different thought crossed your mind and a small flicker of hope sparked in your chest.

Perhaps he didn’t miss it .

A soft smile tugged at your lips as you popped the chocolate into your mouth. The creamy sweetness melted on your tongue, bringing a quiet hum of contentment.

Maybe what you did wasn’t such a bad thing after all…

Chapter Text

Days pass since the altercation with Error, and while your period finally came to an end, the emotional distance between you and Nightmare unfortunately had not. Although Nightmare resumed joining for group meals just a day after everything had happened, an awkward tension hung between the two of you, making every interaction feel strained and uncomfortable. Because of this, you felt it was best to stay out of his way and avoid him whenever possible, keeping your interactions to the bare minimum. However, it had been quite some time since you had really talked, and you could sense that the persistent tension was beginning to affect the other skeletons, who seemed uncertain about how to handle the situation between you and Nightmare.

More than that, you found yourself missing the time you used to spend in his study, and if you were honest with yourself, you missed the companionship you once shared with him too.

That’s why today, you decided things were gonna change. Determined to break the ice, you remebered how Cross had once mentioned that Nightmare enjoyed a cup of tea while working in his study. Hoping this small gesture could help mend the animosity between you, you found yourself standing in the kitchen, carefully reading over the instructions on a box of assorted teas that Cross had given you.

Although Cross had mentioned that Nightmare had his own personal tea stash, you couldn’t seem to find it anywhere in the kitchen. Not wanting to waste any more time searching, you settled on using your own tea, hoping it would still do the trick.

‘Add boiled water from the kettle to a cup, place in the tea bag, then add milk and serve.’ Hm, that seemed simple enough! Fortunately, you'd seen Horror use the kettle plenty of times, so you had a good idea of what to do. Moving over to the kettle, you filled it with just the right amount of water from the kitchen sink, then placed it back on its stand. With a flick of the switch, the water began to boil, and you decided to read over the instructions again while you waited.

Now, you were fairly certain the instructions mentioned milk. As you double-checked the tea box, your focus entirely on getting everything right, you failed to notice a certain drippy skeleton that had quietly teleported behind you.

“You makin’ tea for Nightmare? That’s cute.”

You startle at the unexpected voice, nearly dropping the box as you fumble to catch it. Just as you manage to steady it, you turn around to find Killer standing behind you, his signature grin stretched a little wider than usual as he watches you regain your composure. You shoot him an unimpressed look, annoyance clear on your face. You hated it when he sneaked up on you like that.

“Aw, did I make you jump? Careful now—wouldn’t want you doing that while holding a cup of scolding tea. You might hurt yourself.” Killer teased, his voice dripping with feigned concern. You merely huffed in response, not in the mood for his antics today. You still hadn’t forgiven him for leaving you with Error, so instead you decided to just ignore him. 

“You’re not still mad at me for leavin’ you, are ya kitten?” Killer cooed, watching you step around him. His head followed your determined stride as you made your way towards the fridge. “You should have more faith in me, I knew nothing was gonna happen to ya—probably,” he added, mumbling the last part a little too casually. “Besides, I came back with help, didn’t I? You should be thanking me!”

Pfft—yeah right, you rolled your eyes as you opened the fridge to retrieve the milk the instructions called for. You knew better than to trust Killer's words; he was likely half-hoping, if not more, to find you injured—or worse. The fact that he hadn’t immediately shortcutted to get help still left you feeling bitter, and now here he was, trying to brush it off like it hadn’t been a big deal.

With a playful smirk still lingering on his face, Killer moved to lean back against the kitchen counter, making himself comfortable as he watched you. “Boy, Nightmare’s been in a pretty foul mood since you tried to get all buddy-buddy with Error,” Killer changed the subject, a subtle lilt to his voice. “I’ve never seen him avoid someone like this. Usually, when we piss him off, he’s back to his old self the next day, but it’s been daaaaaays now.” He stretched out the last word dramatically, relishing the opportunity to emphasise how much Nightmare was avoiding you.

You tried to tune him out, knowing he was just trying to provoke you. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he got under your skin, but your body betrayed you—your ears instinctively pulled back, and your tail flicked in irritation. Killer noticed, and took great pleasure in your reaction.

“I told ya before that what you did was a bad idea, but does anyone ever listen to me? Nope!” Killer said with an infuriatingly smug tone, his voice oozing with the satisfaction of an ‘I told you so.’ You had to resist the urge to growl under your breath.

Just ignore him, just ignore him , you told yourself as you scanned the fridge for the milk, but try as you might, you couldn’t help but listen, especially when he made an exaggerated sigh behind you. “But what can a guy do? Still I expected better, especially from you , Kitten.” He crossed his arms, shaking his head disapprovingly.

With a little too much force, you shoved the fridge door shut. Killer watched with delight as you trudged back over to the counter beside him, milk in hand, clearly very much irritated.

He expected better from you?! How dare he say that! He’s the one that left you there! Stars, you wanted to just—

Killer’s grin widened in amusement as he watched the tirade of mental profanities going off in your head, chuckling to himself. Stars, this was just too easy . It was almost adorable that you thought you could ignore him; all the others had learned that didn’t work with him. No matter what, he always found a way to rile someone up.

Shifting, Killer leaned his elbow on the counter and rested his head in one hand as he watched you. You were trying—rather unsuccessfully—to distract yourself by reading the tea box instructions for what had to be the third time now. Black, inky streaks trickled from his sockets, a sure sign he was enjoying this far too much.

"Aw, kitten. Don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all ticked the boss off before, no biggie," he said, attempting to wave away your worry with a dismissive hand gesture. Then, with a slight turn of his head, he mumbled under his breath—just loud enough for you to hear, "Just so happens you’ve ticked him off the worst."

Your grip tightened on the tea box, the cardboard creasing as anger flared inside you. Killer had to bite back a snort of laughter, clearly taking delight in how easily he could wind you up.

You shoved the box back into the counter and began opening the cupboards, probably looking for a cup. Your expressions were great, Killer thought, and your cat-like features did nothing to hide your growing frustrations—if the way your tail was flicking so aggressively was anything to go by. Still, Killer couldn’t resist pushing further. He was tempted to see just how much it would take before you finally snapped.

“Man, whatever you did must have really upset him. He’s never been mad this long, even with me .” Killer twisted the metaphorical knife, eagerly waiting for your reaction. He expected that to be the final straw—perhaps you’d lash out, shoot him an angry glare, or even want to pick a fight. Anything to add to the already existing tension and create more drama, but to his surprise, you did none of those things. Instead, he watched as you slowly deflated, the fire he had seen building within you extinguishing. Your ears drooped, and your expression shifted to something a bit more sorrowful than you’d like.

As you continued to search through the cupboards, albeit with less aggression than before, Killer remained uncharacteristically silent. Good. Maybe he could finally keep quiet for once and just leave you alone, since all he seemed to want to do was push your buttons and get you into trouble…

The room remained quiet, save for the soft rustling of you rummaging through the cupboards. Then, without warning, Killer broke the silence.

"Or maybe he just doesn’t know how to make up with you and misses hanging out with you…" Killer stood back up and shrugged, turning his head away as if the thought didn’t really matter to him. You paused just as you found where the cups were, ready to give him a sceptical look for the odd statement, but before you could, you noticed he had suddenly moved closer—much closer. Now standing right behind you, he reached up into the cupboard you had just opened, his front almost brushing against your back. You froze at the sudden proximity.

Killer leaned in slowly, plucking a cup from the shelf, and set it down on the counter in front of you. "Here, use this. It’s Nightmare’s favourite," he said, his breath brushing the shell of your sensitive ear, sending an involuntary shiver down your spine.

You didn’t like how close he was, the way he hovered just behind you, but you decided not to give him the satisfaction of reacting. So instead, you refocused and turned your attention to the mug. Picking it up, you inspected the writing on the side, raising an eyebrow. This was Nightmare’s favourite mug? You tilted it in your hands, you couldn’t see why, but at this point, you were willing to try anything that might help patch things up with him. You sighed softly, almost forgetting Killer was still behind you—until his voice came again, just as close, reminding you of his presence.

“Hey, don’t look so down, Kitten. I bet he’ll find your tea tea- rrific , no butts about it.” 

You were about to roll your eyes at his terrible pun, completely uninterested in his fake reassurances, when suddenly you felt his hand squeeze the curve of your ass. A startled squeak escaped you, your body jolting in shock. Instinctively, you spun around, mug in hand, fully prepared to knock him upside the head. But before you could make contact, he was already gone—red flecks of magic swirling in the air like usual whenever he’d disappear. 

You stared, face flushed and ears pinned back as you scanned the room, but he was definitely gone. Grumbling under your breath, you rubbed the spot where he'd grabbed you, completely bewildered. What the heck was that about? Killer had always been strange, but this was a new level.

When you were sure he was gone, you turned back to the counter, your tail swishing agitatedly behind you. Well, at least you weren’t sad anymore. Killer had one thing going for him, it was that he was a professional at making people angry, you’d give him that. 

A quick thought crossed your mind—maybe Killer was trying to cheer you up in his own twisted way—but you quickly dismissed the ridiculous notion. Still, what he’d said about Nightmare wanting to make up with you had caught you off guard. That kind of statement was very uncharacteristic for Killer and left you wondering whether Nightmare truly missed spending time with you but just didn’t know how to reach out.  Or was Killer just toying with your emotions, giving you false hope?

You sighed, feeling exhausted by his endless games, but quickly snapped yourself out of it. No! You weren't going to let him get into your head. Slapping your hands against your cheeks, you banished Killer’s words from your mind. Right now, your focus was on one thing—making Nightmare’s tea.

With everything you needed in hand, you opened the box of assorted teas, and a blend of earthy and fruity scents wafted up to meet you. Unsure which one Nightmare would prefer, you picked the one that smelled the nicest and dropped the tea bag into his mug. Grabbing the kettle, you carefully poured the hot water, mindful not to burn yourself. As the water filled the cup, you paused, realising you weren’t quite sure how much water and milk to use. Deciding to play it safe, you went with an even 50/50 split. Once the cup was half full, you added the milk.

You stared at the tea, tilting your head in doubt. Was that really it? Something felt off, like you were missing a step. Thinking back, you remembered Cross mentioning something about sugar. Ah, that’s it! It needs sugar! You reached for the cupboard where you’d last seen it, grabbed the container, and poured a generous amount into the cup. Satisfied, you put the sugar away and took a moment to survey your work.

The tea was ready. Now, all that was left was to take it to Nightmare.

After putting all your ingredients away, you began your long trek to Nightmares study. Carefully you held the hot beverage, walking slowly so you didn't spill any as you made your way through the hallways. The journey definitely ended up taking much longer than usual, but eventually, you ended up at your destination.

Standing outside Nightmare’s study, you suddenly felt yourself becoming apprehensive as you stared up at the dark oak door. What if he doesn’t want to see you? He could be really busy right now and you coming in might make things worse! What if he doesn’t like the tea?? Argh, none of these thoughts were helping! You shook your head, trying to dash them away. No, you had to do this. 

Taking a deep breath, you raised your hand and knocked three times on the door, hoping to project confidence. But as the first knock echoed, your nervousness crept back in, causing the last two knocks to be much lighter than intended.

You stood there in silence, the air thick with tension as you anxiously awaited his response, but strangely, none came. You began to wonder if he was even in his study, but just as you were about to knock again, his deep voice called out to you, making you jump slightly.

"Enter," his deep voice echoed from within. Gulping, you carefully opened the door, the hinges creaking as you slowly stepped inside.

Nightmare was, as usual, seated at his desk, a mountain of paperwork surrounding him as his quilled pen scratched quickly at the desk. His brows were furrowed, likely due to the overwhelming amount of work, but when he looked up and saw you standing there, his sockets widened just a fraction before returning to their usual stoic expression.

“ What is it, pet? ” Nightmare asked coldly, returning his attention to the stacks of paperwork before him. “ As you can see, I am quite busy, hurry up with whatever it is you want. ”  

His tone was sharp and laced with agitation, clearly indicating that he had far more work than usual today. This didn’t bode well for your hopes of making amends, and you felt your heart sink a little. Maybe now wasn’t the best time. But you had already made the tea and brought it all the way here, so turning back wasn’t an option. You steeled yourself, deciding that you would simply give him the tea and get out of his metaphorical hair as quickly as possible.

Timidly, you made your way over to his desk, taking slow, steady steps as you observed the way his tentacles moved with unusual conviction. When you reached the front of his desk, you paused, waiting for him to finish what he was doing. Finally, he looked up at you, scowling and opening his mouth as if he was about to snap at you—likely to tell you to hurry up and stop wasting his time. But his words died when he noticed the cup in your hand, and his expression shifted.

Carefully, you offered the steaming mug, making sure not to spill any on his paperwork. Nightmare glanced at the beverage in confusion, his brow furrowing further before looking back up at you. “What is this?” he asked sceptically, though it sounded more like a question directed at himself than to you.

All you could do was dip your head, your ears pulling down in sincere apology for going against his orders and upsetting him before.

His intense, cyan eyelight scanned your face, searching for something but you weren’t sure what. When he didn’t find what he was looking for—only genuine regret reflected in your expression—his tight scowl relaxed just a fraction. Setting his pen down, Nightmare gestured you forward, “Fine, then. Bring it here.”

Perking up at his permission, you quickly approached, carefully rounding his desk to avoid spilling tea on his paperwork. Stopping by the arm of his chair, Nightmare took the proffered mug, gazing into its murky depths with mild curiosity. However, his expression quickly darkened when he noticed the words on the mug that read: "Blow me, I'm hot."

He shot you an unamused look, raising a brow bone in clear disapproval. When you only tilted your head in innocent confusion, completely unaware of the innuendo, he huffed and decided to let it go. Clearly, you didn’t understand the hidden meaning behind the mugs wording.

“ Did someone put you up to this? ” Nightmare suddenly asked, his tone carrying suspicion. You blinked, confused. He thought someone else was making you bring him tea? Why? 

Remembering that Cross had mentioned he or one of the others usually handled this, it made a bit more sense why Nightmare might assume that. But no, this was entirely your decision. You shook your head, pointing first to the cup and then to yourself, silently indicating that you had made it all on your own. Sure, Killer may have chosen the mug, but everything else was your effort.

You couldn't help but notice the genuine surprise flicker across Nightmare's face, as though he hadn't expected you to go out of your way for him.

Nightmare gazed back into the tea, humming thoughtfully to himself. After a moment, he lifted the cup to his mouth and took a tentative sip. He froze almost instantly, his cyan eyelight vanishing into the blackness of his sockets. For a moment, he was utterly still—even his tentacles were frozen in place—and you began to worry if everything was alright. Then, after a beat, you heard a quiet but audible gulp as he swallowed the first sip.

The silence stretched as you held your breath, anticipation buzzing through your soul with nervous excitement.

His eyelight slowly reappeared, and he lowered the cup, staring into it more intently, his expression unreadable. Then, he shifted his gaze to you, the silence thick with an unspoken verdict.

“ Did you stir this? ” 

Huh? You blinked, your excitement came to an abrupt halt. Did I stir it? You mentally parroted, confused by his question.

“With a spoon,” he clarified, his tone as unreadable as his expression. “Did you adequately stir the tea to make sure the milk mixes properly and the sugar dissolves?” 

A sinking feeling settled in your stomach as you realised your mistake. Slowly, you shook your head. No, no, I didn’t...

Nightmare huffed, raising his head at the tea in his hand. “ You need to make sure you stir the tea so everything mixes together evenly. I would think that much is obvious,” he remarked, scrutinising your handiwork. “ Also do refrain from using such large mugs, especially ones of this…novelty,” he scrunched his nasal bone at the wording on the mug, “it dilutes the flavour of the tea. A small, refined tea cup is more appropriate.”  

You were confused. Killer had said that was his favourite cup, but judging by the look of distaste on his face, you realised Killer had duped you again. Your shoulders slumped as Nightmare continued to pull apart everything that was wrong with the tea you had made him. You didn’t realise something as simple as making tea could be so complicated, and you could see now why the others hated the task. 

“Speaking of flavour,” Nightmare continued, swirling the tea with a frown, “you’ve clearly used a herbal tea bag. Herbal tea only requires hot water, and I do not take sugar in my tea—especially the amount you’ve added. One would think you’re trying to give me an overdose.”

Ugh, could you have made this any worse? You briefly remembered Cross mentioning something about different types of tea, but it had clearly gone over your head. And the sugar... you had no clue how much was too much. Your head dipped to the floor in shame. So much for making amends…

Nightmare watched you in silence, his gaze unreadable. After a moment, he sighed, as if weighing his next words, then, much to your surprise, he brought the cup back up to his teeth and took another sip. “Though…” he began, his tone softer than before, “I suppose this makes a nice change from what I usually have…”

Immediately you looked back up at him, watching in disbelief as he sipped the tea. He... he was still going to drink it? You could’ve sworn you caught a brief grimace flash across his face, followed by a faint flush creeping onto his features before he turned away, but otherwise, he maintained an air of indifference.

“Ahem, anyway,” he coughed, regaining his composure. “Regardless, I have a particular standard for my tea, and since you’ve taken it upon yourself to make it…” He placed the mug back on the desk with an air of arrogance. “I’ll just have to have you prepare it regularly until you can make it properly.”

There it was, his usual haughty tone, but something about it seemed... less sharp. Almost as if the prospect of you making his tea wasn’t entirely unappealing to him. 

You were still reeling from the unexpected turn of events. He wants you to make his tea regularly? That was... doable, you supposed. But wait—did this mean he wasn’t mad at you anymore? Hope flickered inside you as you glanced at him, trying to read his expression.

As if on cue, Nightmare’s tentacles stretched toward a small wooden drawer near the couch. With fluid ease, he pulled it open and retrieved an electric kettle along with a box of what looked like his preferred tea, setting them neatly on top of the drawer. Ah, so that’s where he kept his stash, you thought. It all made sense now.

"You can use my personal collection," Nightmare said, gesturing to the tea and kettle he’d set out. "While I like to make the others prepare my tea, it's mostly for the satisfaction of feeding off their frustration. Their actual tea-making skills leave much to be desired, so if I want a cup done right, I usually have to brew it myself."

He paused, casting you a devilish smirk. "Don’t tell them that, though."

Goodness, he was downright wicked, but the mischievous glint in his eye made you chuckle despite yourself. The tension between you finally seemed to ease, the heavy air of animosity lifting at last. You felt a weight fall from your shoulders as relief washed over you—he wasn’t angry with you anymore.

Still, you didn’t want to push your luck. You had completed your task and quickly remembered that he had a mountain of work to return to. Bowing your head politely, you hurried to leave. But just as you reached the doorknob, his voice interrupted you from behind.

“Are you... not staying?”

You paused, slowly turning back to face Nightmare, surprise clear on your. He looked just as taken aback by his own words, but instead of retracting them, he held your gaze, waiting for your response. Did he…actually want you to stay? A flutter of hope ignited in your chest at the thought that perhaps he had missed spending time with you, too. He appeared almost unsure, but when you offered him a soft smile and nodded, his posture seemed to ease slightly as you stepped back into the room. 

Eagerly, you wandered over to the bookshelves, scanning them before selecting a book. You practically skipped over to the couch, plopping yourself down onto it and snuggled into its familiar softness. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you opened the book and began to read. Stars, you’d missed this.

Nightmare had already turned back to his work, his quill scratching against the parchment, but every so often, you felt the weight of his gaze shift toward you. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth—a rare, genuine one. The tension that had once thickened the air was gone, replaced by a quiet peace that neither of you had realised you needed.

~~ ~~~

Dust observed silently from his vantage point, hidden among the dense leaves of a tall tree. His hood was pulled low over his face, blending him in with the foliage as he surveyed the facility you had come from. For just under two weeks, he had been gathering intel, meticulously studying the layout and routines. By now, he had a near-perfect mental map of the place: the placement of security cameras, entry points, and the guard patrols.

Through his patient observation, Dust had pinpointed the weakest window of opportunity—between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. This was when security was at its lightest, offering the best chance to slip in unnoticed. 

“WHY DOES THE GOOPY ONE INSIST ON YOU WASTING YOUR TIME HIDING IN THE SHRUBBERY WHEN YOU COULD BE OUT THERE, KILLING THEM ALL RIGHT NOW?” Papyrus floated near him, holding his ghostly, gloved hands like binoculars as if that would somehow help him see better. “SURELY THAT WOULD BE THE EASIEST AND MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO GATHER THE INTELL HE REQUIRES?”

“Trust me paps, if I could I would. But it’s Nightmare’s orders. Can’t go in gasters blazing when we don’t know where the kids' info is stored.” He sighed, having also had enough of this tedious, and admittedly boring mission.

The two sat there in silence, watching the more secluded, restricted entrance of the facility. Only a few scientists and guards passed through occasionally, either switching shifts or moving on to other duties, but otherwise, there wasn’t much action. Dust’s patience was wearing thin, the slow pace of the mission grating on his nerves.

Papyrus, having also had enough of the dull waiting, suddenly floated out in front of Dust, his spectral figure blocking the view. “WELL, SINCE YOU'RE FAR TOO LAZY TO MAKE USE OF YOURSELF, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STEALTHILY INFILTRATE AND RETRIEVE THIS ULTRA-SPECIAL, TOP-SECRET INFORMATION FOR YOU!” he declared, raising one hand dramatically while his signature scarf fluttered in an imaginary breeze.

Dust huffed, but there was a smirk tugging at his expression. Of course, Papyrus would try to take matters into his own ghostly hands. “Not sure you can call it stealth when you’re already invisible, bro.”

Papyrus puffed out his non-existent ghostly chest, completely ignoring the jab. “YES, I KNOW! MY MASTERFUL SKILLS AND LIGHTNING-QUICK REFLEXES ARE QUITE THE TRAITS TO BE ADMIRED! NONE SHALL DETECT MY PRESENCE! I’LL BE IN AND OUT LIKE A GHOST WITHOUT A TRACE!”

Dust raised a brow bone, amused. “Paps… you are a ghost.”

“SHUT UP, SANS!” Papyrus shouted, throwing his hands up and stomping his feet—if he had any to stomp. “STOP RUINING MY HEROIC MOMENT!”

Dust let out a soft, bittersweet chuckle. “Heh... okay thanks, Paps. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Papyrus huffed in response, before floating off toward the facility. Dust watched as his brother drifted closer, passing by the guards completely unnoticed before fading through the walls like a shadow. Once Papyrus disappeared from view, Dust leaned back against the tree trunk, letting his head rest against the rough bark.

With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment. The brief distraction from his brother’s antics had brought a flicker of comfort, but now, alone again, the weight of the mission settled back on his shoulders. It was always like this—quiet moments that let his mind wander.

Was all of this really worth it? Dust couldn’t help but question the effort they were putting into gathering information about you. Sure, the facility might have something, but was it worth all the trouble just because Nightmare had some master plan involving you? A plan to use you against Dream and his team, of all things? It seemed far-fetched. Aside from that insane, bone-chilling scream of yours, you didn’t seem to have much else going for you.

Yeah, you’d managed to evade both him and Killer—a feat that was pretty impressive, he had to admit—but that wouldn’t be enough if Nightmare expected you to fight. You were just... a regular human girl, really. Dust still found it strange that Nightmare hadn’t just killed you outright. Instead, he wanted to bring you into their twisted little crew, and that made no sense. You weren’t like them. You weren’t broken.

Dust leaned further into his hood as doubts crept in. He couldn’t shake the feeling that all of this was a lost cause. But there was something about you, wasn’t there? Something that made him hesitate. Even outside of Nightmare’s convoluted schemes, you had a certain charm—something pure, untainted. You had this strange ability to calm him, and he knew the others felt it too. You were a bright, innocent light in the swirling darkness of their miserable existence.

But for how long? How long could someone like you stay uncorrupted? You didn’t know the truth about what they did for Nightmare, what they were. It was only a matter of time before you found out… and Dust couldn’t help but wonder what would become of that light when you did.

Dust wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the familiar screech of tires snapped him out of his thoughts. A black, sleek vehicle pulled up to the facility’s entrance—one he’d seen several times before. Each time, the same angry, suited man emerged, always barking orders and yelling at the staff like they were beneath him. The man appeared to be in his late fifties, his thinning hair combed back in a futile attempt to appear younger, and he carried an air of self-importance Dust couldn’t stand.

What intrigued Dust more wasn’t the man himself, but the person he had recently started leaving the facility with. After the suited man stormed into the building, he returned about 20 minutes later, accompanied by the same figure that had caught Dust’s attention on previous visits.

This person was striking in their own way—tall, human-looking at first glance, with a mop of dark, wavy hair that fell messily over their eyes. They couldn’t have been more than their early twenties, dressed in a plain white top and bottoms. The outfit reminded Dust of what you had been wearing when Nightmare’s crew first found you. 

But what really made Dust sit up and take notice was something else. He was certain he wasn’t imagining it—the subtle movement of wolf-like ears poking through the figure’s hair, and a tail that swished lazily behind him as he walked. 

Dust immediately straightened, preparing himself for what was becoming an all-too-familiar routine. Ever since this new person had started accompanying the suited man, Dust had noticed a strange pattern—one that was beginning to wear on his nerves. Like clockwork, as soon as the younger man stepped outside, his head would tilt slightly, nostrils flaring as if he were sniffing the air. Then, without fail, his gaze would snap in Dust’s direction, pinpointing his location with unsettling accuracy.

Today was no different. As the suited man stomped out of the building, the younger man followed close behind, his steps almost silent in comparison. Just as expected, the man’s head lifted, his wolf-like ears twitching subtly as he sniffed the air. Dust didn’t wait for the inevitable. The moment the man's gaze began to shift toward him, Dust shortcutted away—reappearing at a more distant vantage point, further cloaked in shadow.

The suited man had already climbed into the car, the door held open by his chauffeur as he settled in, his impatient gaze flicking toward the wolf-eared figure still lingering outside. Dust watched from his hidden vantage point, narrowing his sockets as he observed the younger man standing motionless, his head slowly scanning the area. From where Dust sat, he could just barely make out the faint gleam of piercing yellow eyes beneath a mop of dark, unruly hair.

He’s not human, Dust thought, his grip on the tree branch tightening slightly. Whoever this guy was, his senses were sharp—too sharp. Dust had to teleport out of his line of sight almost every time. He made a mental note to include this detail in his report. Nightmare would want to know.

The man continued to stand there, sniffing the air as if still searching for something—maybe even him. But before he could act, the suited man’s angry shouts echoed from inside the car, clearly ordering him to hurry up. The younger man huffed in frustration, casting one last glance around the area before finally moving. He climbed into the car with an almost reluctant pace, his wolf-like ears twitching one last time before the chauffeur shut the door behind him.

Dust kept his eyes on the vehicle until it vanished from sight, his mind racing with thoughts. That young man had looked strikingly similar to you, with his animal-like ears and tail. Could there be more creatures like you in that facility? The possibility sent a chill down his spine. If you were created there, it stood to reason that others could be as well.

The idea of a group of beings possessing the same formidable magic as you—a power that could unleash a devastating scream—made his soul plummet. 

You could wipe out entire civilizations with an army of beings like you, monster and human alike. The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying.

It was then, Dust spotted Papyrus returning, floating toward him with a sense of purpose. A wave of relief washed over him; grateful to have something else to focus on. However, as Papyrus drew near, he leaned in close and began to whisper into the side of Dust's skull, relaying the details of his findings.

Dust’s sockets widened in surprise as he listened intently, and once Papyrus finished relaying the information, Dust nodded in understanding. He had gathered enough intel on the facility, and with Papyrus’s revelation about where your information was stored, he could finally go home and put an end to this mission, once and for all. 

Thank fuck for that.