Chapter Text
It only took a game of hide-and-seek to bring out more of the small subject’s magic. Their markings were too bright to allow them to hide well in the shadows, but through some subconscious message to not be approached they glowed brighter in a nearly intimidating way, mesmerizing Sci long enough for them to scurry away. The scientist had compared it to a butterfly’s markings confusing predators, despite—or perhaps with the help of—being more… dazzling, with complex patterns and bright colors such as their own.
They were overjoyed with the comparison—despite Sci swatting them and calling them a “feral cat mixed with a demented butterfly” when they shifted their facial markings to the bug in question and perched on the bookshelf in the main room, scaring the lights out of him. That just made it better in their opinion.
“don't, don't make your face look like that. don't make me get the spray bottle.” Unfortunately, Inqui had learned how to use their magic to climb on the ceiling and leered down at Sci, eyes and freckles glinting bright in the shadows. They got sprayed and hissed back, scampering across the ceiling with their tail flicking behind them.
It didn't take much more practice for them to learn how to do the opposite: hide their markings. The aura of binary codes, cracks along their mana, facial patternings and even the more glittery freckles faded from sight, leaving only the swirling black “tattoos” and more natural freckles and scars on the gradient of their bones.
Sci caught them staring in the mirror in the deepest concentration he’d ever seen them in. After a few blinks both their eyelights softened, but weren’t unfocused. A few more and they sharpened again into more defined shapes, more static than usual. They turned to the scientist with a satisfied expression, and Sci could see that their soul eyelight had turned into a yellow-gold star.
“how the hell—heck did you do that? can that eye see any better?” They furrowed their brow and covered one eye and then the other, before shaking their head with a note of disappointment. “still cool. does it change too?” They looked in the mirror and blinked again, lighting up when they saw them change to a green sun and pink diamond. They laughed and blinked a few more times, eyelights changing every time they did. Sci took a quick video and they made some silly faces at the camera.
“you got some pretty cool magic, kid,” Sci said, rubbing their skull. They made a sound of indignation but didn’t shove his hands away, even subtly leaning into the touch with a light rainbow blush. They reminded Sci of a puppy, but he wisely held his tongue.
They weren’t happy to hear it was already lunchtime, as they knew Sci planned another full examination immediately after. But they were clearly tired from practicing so much magic, and he promised them they could take a nap with their new fluffy blanket when they were done. So they tried to hold still as he weighed them and checked their eyesight and balance.
“Again?” his little patient said with a pout, untying their medical gown so Sci could take his notes and photos. He nodded as he removed their leg brace.
“sorry kid, but goofy videos aren't gonna help me study your bones. it's good for your health to track any changes and progress, like with your leg.” They sighed and clutched their gown over their lap as Sci checked their reflexes and measured the various patterns on their legs, having released their cloaking magic.
They were particularly stubborn when it came to their tail, burying their burning face in their arms with a whine. “still sensitive, hm?” The stuttery gasp and twitch was answer enough, and Sci began to wonder exactly how sensitive their tail was to touch.
“alrighty kiddo, you can get dressed now. i’ve got your blanket freshly washed so it's warm from the dryer.” The little subject made him turn around so they could change (it's not like he hadn't seen everything already though) quickly pleading for the soft pink fabric when they were done, making grabby hands for it. Sci handed it to them and they looked tempted to nest in it right then and there, instead wrapping themself in it so it wouldn't trail on the ground as they headed to their room. It reminded Sci of those Russian grandmas… babushkas? He added another picture to his growing photo library. For science, obviously.
“kid? you okay?” Sci peeked into the darkened bedroom and saw a familiar puddle with a bony tail peeking out, curled in the corner with a picture book. The page was opened to an anatomy comparison between human skeletons and the monster race.
Blue-green and violet eyelights flitted up to the larger skeleton, halfheartedly trying to hide the book below them. They’d cloaked their markings again, but their eyes were more expressive than ever.
They shrugged and looked away, shrinking into themself and curling their tail under the blanket. They looked small in the pile of pink, and not just because of their size. Their expression and posture were what made them so, so small as they tried to cover all their bones and avoided eye contact.
Sci sat next to the blanket-dwelling monster, tilting his head as they burrowed further into it. “whatcha hiding, got something you wanna tell me?”
They shook their head (probably), whining a little. “‘M fine. ‘M just weird.” Sci scooted closer and gently pulled the blanket back from the smaller skeleton’s face. They pouted and finally looked at him, slightly flushed with an extra shine to their eye sockets.
“weird how?” They slid him the book, turning the page to photos taken of various skeleton families across the multiverse. There was a wide variety, and not all Sanses or even Papyri and Gasters had family left. But all of them had someone like them, at least one in another photo, and most Sanses had a similar look about them, a pattern of Fells, Outers, Swaps and Classics. Somewhere to belong.
“Can't find any skeles like me,” they murmured, removing the blanket from their head and dropping their magic. They brushed over the photos of Sanses without worlds or brothers, often lost to genocide timelines or their own choices. “Am…am I bad? ‘S that why no one wants me?”
Sci closed the book with a sigh, tugging the child over into a sideways hug. “no, you're not bad. i don't know where you came from or why you don't remember, but you have to have a world or someone out there, everybody comes from somewhere.”
They glanced at their tail with a bitter look, tears welling in their sockets. “Ev’ybody isn't weird like me.” They put their head in their arms and Sci almost didn't catch the last part. “...I'm gross.”
Sci frowned at them. “where did you get that idea, who told you that?” Inqui winced and rubbed their face on the blanket, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘outside’. Sci frowned deeper, though he clutched them tighter, letting them put their skull on his chest.
“you don't have to worry about what's outside. you know you're safe here, right?” They sniffled a little, moving their face when Sci tried to wipe a stray tear from their cheek.
“‘M not baby…”
“even so, i think you should forget about the outside world, especially the surface and especially this surface. you're right, you're different from most other monsters. and i don't want you to get hurt because people can't understand that.”
The tiny monster curled up against him hiccuped, still crying and clearly upset at Sci himself, though they didn't pull away.
He let them cry themself to sleep before depositing them in their bed and tucking them in with their blanket.
“sit still and stop using your magic, you're gonna wear yourself out.” The little skeleton sighed, scrunching their face and tugging down the hem of their dress again, still squirming in their seat. “something wrong with your clothes?”
Inqui shook their head, staring at their feet and then Sci’s. “Why’re ma legs n’ like you’s?” Oh is that what they were worried about.
“i dunno kid, something wrong with your legs?” They shook their head again, still tugging their dress down like they could cover their whole legs. “well why don't you focus on your school then, okay? no more disruptions.” They huffed at him.
This behavior had been continuing for a while, worse since they'd been looking at the science and social studies books. They were doing fine at their schoolwork, great even, so Sci wasn't really sure how to treat it like a problem. But… this was a bit more than some teenage insecurity, they were nearly scared to look so different. Had something happened?
“is someone bullying you?” Inqui raised a brow, looking around as if to indicate no one else was there. “don't get sassy with me, you know what i meant.”
They huffed again and looked away with a shrug, eventually shaking their head. They're lying, but clearly it wasn't recently so what was Sci to do?
The little student scurried away to the top of a bookshelf, avoiding the rest of their homework in favor of the book clutched in their hands. They hadn't seen most of these bone attacks before, mainly the blue and soul magic Sci and others had used around them.
But what interested them the most were the skeletal dragon creatures—Gaster Blasters, Sci called them. (They could tell people thought they were scary, but they didn't agree.) Some of them were just floating skulls and some had entire bodies, some could be either. Either, huh?
They called it shifting. Shifting looked… difficult, however. It usually involved a powerful soul, and that was going to be a problem. While they weren't sure what their situation there was, they knew they'd need more magic. More of their magic.
Brain going a million miles a minute and also nowhere at all, they stashed away their book and scampered off to the collected items hiding under their bed. They pulled out a couple old bottles and the corks they could find (most of them chewed on) matching together four small vials. But how were they supposed to get their magic in them?
Luckily for them, Sci was too focused making a grocery list to notice the tiny intruder on his ceiling crawling into his office. Unfortunately, the drawers of his desk didn't yield anything useful but a key, which they now had to find the lock for. Maybe it was by the exam tables?
Colored in nervous orange and purple, the subject peeked into the cabinets of the chill, open area. Nothing, but the key opened a lower section in one of the medical fridges with black vials in it, tiny messy handwriting scrawled across their labels. Was this the blood the scientists had taken from them?
That probably counted as magic, so they took two from the back. Hopefully he wouldn't notice, they didn't want to be poked for more again.
Back in their room with their own vials they carefully split the blood between the six, plenty of room left over inside. With only a bit of effort they summoned their magic, frowning when it came out the black inky kind.
It didn't feel like it had as much… them in it, it was more physical, like the bone attacks. Maybe their rainbow magic would be better? They squinted in concentration as they tried to summon it, only making a few weird bubbles. They poked one cautiously and it rippled an aqua blue, they poked another and it swirled with shades of pink and red like oil on water.
They squeaked when the next one they poked popped, sparks of warm amber spilling into the vial it floated over. They watched with fascination as the liquid changed to a molten gold, bubbling up to fill two-thirds of the bottle. A quick sniff told them it wasn't even close to blood anymore, so they hesitantly took a sip.
It had a tangy, almost sharp edge to it, like a tart orange or the smell of lemongrass. Nothing seemed to change, however, though they felt the warmth it left behind like a hot spoon. They guided a fourth bubble over another vial and popped that one too, a verdant green filling the glass this time. They took a sip. This one was more bitter, like a crisp morning breeze or a potent mint that clears your head. They felt… focused.
Into the others went an amethyst purple, bright blue, the tones of a sunset, and a vivid rose. And into the curious monster’s mouth followed the tastes of grape medicine, chalky conversation hearts, something salty like the sea, and one that… kinda did taste like blood. Yucky.
Having replaced the caps on all of them, they sat back and waited to see what would happen—besides the mildly upset stomach from ingesting weird substances. A wave of dizziness hit them so strong they lost their breath, placing their hands on the floor so they wouldn't faceplant. They stood up once the stars in their vision were blinked away, still feeling off kilter.
The little skeleton shuddered as a surge of magic ran through them, the unbalanced feeling strengthening. They glanced behind them when they accidentally kicked a vial and almost screamed, slapping a hand over their mouth before it could escape.
Their tail. Their tail was gone. Where was their tail? Their legs looked different too—in fact, they actually looked… less weird. They scrambled to the mirror and climbed on the counter to stare at their reflection. And stare. And stare.
A normal skeleton stared back at them, they were even taller! Well, they were still pretty small. They slipped off their dress to make sure. No tail. Straight legs. Five toes. All their markings were still there, but the shapes of the bones were all normal. Even their teeth! No more sharps!
They had an idea and cloaked their markings like they'd already done, it came more naturally than ever before. No more sparkles. No more bands of binary. No more cracks or eye markings or lashes. Just freckles, some of the tattoos, regular scars, and most of the darkened bones. Oh, and the splattered spot on their cheek. That wouldn't be something they could hide.
They buzzed with so much excited energy they spat up black magic, which they (somehow) managed to float into the sink next to them. Eyes flashing yellow and orange stars they nearly fell off the counter as they dressed and ran to show Sci what they'd done.