Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

           “My client has full right to this house, your honor. We have clear evidence of her ownership, the mortgage is paid by her family, and she has shown her capabilities in homeownership, including employment. The only objection the prosecutor has on his side is her size, and as far as I know, that wasn’t grounds for denial of civil rights.”

            I listened proudly as Megan gave her speech before the judge. She was the leading DA in bitty and monster cases, fighting for their disability rights across the country. As a former bitty currently going to school with the same goal, I had eagerly applied as her paralegal, and she began training me in the art of being a lawyer for when I graduated.

            Our client was standing on the table in front of me, dressed smartly in a suit and skirt. She had been working hard with the two of us for the past several months to keep her house, which they threatened to take away after the death of her grandparents left it in her care. She had been calm and professional during the process, confident in winning her case.

            I was confident too. Megan was a miracle worker, and I worked hard to make sure she had everything she needed.

            We were finally dismissed while the judge retired for contemplation, promising to have his decision by the end of the week. The client rode on my shoulder as we headed back to the office. Our car was fitted with a console-sized carrier that contained a comfortable seat and safety belt for her size, and we gave her a lift back to her home.

            Once the client was dropped off, Megan drove us back to the office, and we were both feeling victorious.

            “Good work finding that rights resource for rock monsters,” Megan said.

            “That was genius,” I said, “did you see the judge’s face? ‘If we can provide accommodations for talking rocks, we can do so for bitties’,” I mimicked Megan’s speech. She smirked proudly.

            “Damn right we can. Alright, it’s been a long day, head home, Bunny, you did good today.”

            I smiled to myself as I unlocked and got on my bike and strapped on a helmet. Megan headed back into the office, but I was happy to be dismissed. I did do good today, in fact I had been doing good for a long time. Things were looking up for bitties and monsters thanks to people like Megan, and I was happy to be on the front lines.

            Now it was time to get home to my favorite skeletons. My evening class had been cancelled so I actually had a night off. No doubt Papyrus would be trying a new pasta dish for dinner, and Sans would have some interesting tales from the university where he was currently doing research. I couldn’t wait to –

            I felt the impact on my back tire and screamed as I was thrown from my bike onto the hard sidewalk. I felt the grind of my helmet scraping against the concrete and the pain in my knees and palms as my skin was torn. I turned over, seeing my bike crumpled under the front wheels of a black car. I was too shocked to move, just staring as the driver’s door opened and someone in a ski mask stepped out, holding something in their hand, pointing it at me . . .

            Gun.

            I raised my hands to my face as if that would do anything to shield me. All I could see was that pointing barrel as the rest of the world blurred.

            What’s going on? What do I do? Why is this happening?

            Before my assailant could complete his dreadful business, a swarm of bugs suddenly flew upon him, encasing his head and attacking his body. The man panicked, flailing his arms and stumbling back. When the bugs didn’t relent, he retreated back to his car, closing the door and revving away, tires squealing. My poor bike clanked as it was freed, the metal all tied up in knots.

            I turned my head and saw a froggit standing next to me, summoning the bugs back to him. He placed a webbed hand on my forehead.

            “Are you hurt?”

            “Not too badly I don’t think,” I said. I felt sore, and my skin bled where it had met asphalt, but nothing felt broken.

            “I saw what happened from my shop,” the froggit nodded to a small monster supply store, “my coworker called 911.”

            “Thank you. Yo-you saved. . . that man was gonna . . .” realizing the severity of the situation, I started to cry.

            “Do you have a cell phone? Is there anyone you can call?” the froggit asked.

            I nodded and quickly pulled out my phone, instantly finding the number for my roommates.

            Papyrus picked up on the first ring.

            “Bunny! I hope you’re not working late again, I –”

            “P-Papy . . .” my voice cracked and whimpered.

            “Where are you?” His tone dropped.

            I was crying too hard to answer. The froggit took my phone and gave Papyrus the address. I heard sirens in the distance as authorities arrived.

            “I’m calling Sans, then I’m on my way, okay, Bunny? I’ll be there before you know it.”

            “O-okay . . .”

            The phone went silent.

            A minute later I felt the familiar disturbance of air as someone teleported nearby. Bone softly stroke my cheek. I opened my eyes and looked up into a pair of friendly eyelights.

            “Heya, kiddo.”

            Sans.

            The police questioned me at the hospital, working to get a description of the car that hit me. I told them about the mask and gun. Papyrus gasped, and Sans squeezed my hand a little harder. They were each sitting on either side of the hospital bed where the doctor insisted I rest while the police did their work.

            “You’re the other lawyer that works on bitty cases right? You used to be a bitty?” One of the officers asked.

            “Paralegal, and yes,” I said. My own story as a bitty who became a human again was fairly well known and had been in the news for almost a year after it was reported. It had gained enough traction for Sans to get a research grant at his university so that he could study bitty energy.

            “Then this might not be an accident,” the officer said, “we’ve actually gotten reports of other attacks on monster advocates. This might be the work of an anti-monster organization.”

            My eyes widened. “Like that bitty center attack that happened last week?”

            It had been all over the news that a bomb had gone off near a monster-run bitty center. Luckily no one was hurt, but it had sent shockwaves through the community.

            “Yes, we’ve connected the bombing to other attacks happening in Ebott. All monster and bitty related,” the officer said.

            “This is terrible!” Papyrus said, “are you saying that there’s an anti-monster group out there, and they attacked Bunny because she helps bitties?!”

            “I’m afraid that might be the case.”

            “I have to call Megan!” I said, “she’ll be in danger too.”

            “Your boss? Megan Connely?” The officer asked. She was clearly familiar with the famous lawyer.

            “Yes! She just went back to the office this evening.”

            “If you can give us her number and address I’ll send a car to escort her someplace safe. In the meantime, you also need to go into protective custody.”

            “You . . . you think they’ll come after me again?” My hands trembled.

            “Officer, my brother is part of the Monster Guard,” Sans said, “can you release her into Papyrus’s custody? We can keep her safe.”

            “Great idea, brother!” Papyrus shot to his feet, posing proudly. “I will not let anything happen to Bunny!”

            “Yes, that should be fine,” the officer agreed, “but I highly recommend staying someplace you’re not associated with for the next few weeks. See if you can get funding for a hotel or a safe house.”

            “We can stay at the university I work at,” Sans said, “it’s safe, lots of security. No one should be able to find her there.”

            The officer nodded. I gave her Megan’s contact information. An armed officer stayed outside the room while we waited for the doctor to give me the all-clear.

            “I can’t believe this,” I groaned, “I can’t believe I got attacked.”

            “I know that this is very distressing,” Papyrus said, “but rest assured that you are perfectly safe with Sans and myself!”

            “I know, I just . . . if that froggit hadn’t been there . . .” I hugged my knees, feeling them tremble.

            “Hey, kid, you’re alright.” Sans placed a boney hand on my back and rubbed gentle circles between my shoulders. “Don’t froggit, you’ve got the best monster guard on all the surface. Would I fly to you? He’s got –”

            “Sans, stooop!” Papyrus groaned.

            I smiled a little.

            “Lay back and rest a bit, okay? Lets see what TV we can find on here.”

            I did as instructed, lying down and pulling the blanket up to my chin. I wasn’t hurt, but it was relaxing. Sans flipped through the television until the doctor finally returned and discharged me.

            The boys didn’t waste any time with my protection. We loaded into Papyrus’s beautiful red car and they immediately drove me to the university. Sans called Toriel, asking her to go to the house and pack a bag for me and Paps.

            “I’m sorry Bunny, but you’re under my protection, that means no stops and no going home.”

            I fiddled with my sleeves nervously. “Can you ask Toriel to grab Cucumber then?”

            “I’ll text her,” Sans volunteered, knowing how important the little caterpillar was to me.

            The rest of the drive went quietly until we arrived at the university. I followed Sans into the science building while Papyrus walked behind me. He was in work mode now, head rotating to keep watch, hand at his hip, ready to summon bone. My fun-loving friend suddenly seemed so stoic and it scared me a little.

            I saw a bit of Edge in him when he had that expression.

            God, I hadn’t even thought of Pap’s darker alternate in such a long time. I still had his scarf, and I asked Sans to tell Tori to bring that too. Between school and working at the law firm I hadn’t had much time to miss my multiverse friends, which was good. There was no way to contact them or see them, and I preferred to distract myself from that.

            “We’ll keep you in my office for now,” Sans said, “got a bunk in there for all my break times.” He gave me a wink. “We can find something more permanent later if necessary. Hey, while we’re waiting on Tori, why don’t I take you to the lab and show you what I’ve been working on?”

            “Yeah, I’d love that!”

            “That okay, Pap?”

            “Hmm, yes, that should be fine! I’m a bit curious about your progress as well.”

            Papyrus stayed close to my side while Sans led us down the hall. His research had been focused on bitties and recently he had made significant discoveries.

            Thanks to some samples I had volunteered, Sans was able to deduct that bitties were caused by a unique gene in humans. People who became bitties had magic lineage – meaning that their ancestors were probably mages at one point. Their souls were made up of more magic than a normal human, so when the barrier fell that magic was disrupted and effected their physical forms.

            With this knowledge the next step was finding a way to reverse the effects.

            “We’ve been making good progress,” Sans said, “I’ve been working on a machine that could provide stable magic to bitties, like what Gaster did for you. Need some volunteer magic donors and we can start preliminary testing soon.”

            “That’s so cool, Sans. If this works you might put me out of business! Which I’m totally fine with.”

            “Heh, don’t worry, we still need good people like you watching out for monster rights.”

            Sans slid his ID card through the scanner and a door unlocked, letting us into a large, clean laboratory. There were several tables covered in tools, and another set filled with computers. On the other side was a variety of machinery, one of which seemed very familiar . . .

            “Hey, isn’t that the mulit-universe thingy majig?” I asked.

            “That is the official term for it,” Sans chuckled.

            “I though you trashed that, brother?” Papyrus said, walking up to the machine that had first brought their alternative selves into our universe.

            “I was going to, but I thought I could recycle the parts here. Hey, at least it’s out of the basement, right?”

            “Yes, the treadmill that you never use is SO much better,” Papyrus rolled his eyes.

            I walked up to the machine, looking it over fondly.

            I hoped everyone was well.

            Sans’s phone dinged with a text message. He checked it. “Tori’s here, I’ll go let her in, you guys stay here.”

            Papyrus nodded dutifully and placed his hands on my shoulders. I squeezed his gloved fingers and smiled up at him gratefully.

            “Thanks for doing this, Paps. I feel safer with you.”

            “Nyeh, nyeh! Of course, Bunny! You’re always safe with the great Papyrus!”

            “So . . . do you really think Sans was going to recycle the parts, or do you think he’s been working on the machine again?” It seemed very clean and well-maintained for something that was going to be scrapped.

            Papyrus rolled his eyes. “Sans has his secrets. He thinks I don’t notice.”

            “Why would he keep it a secret though?”

            “That’s just how he is.”

            The door dinged, sliding open as Sans walked in.

            “Ah, brother, did you find –?” Papyrus’s question was cut off when he noticed the man standing behind Sans.

            A man in a ski mask, pointing a gun at the back of Sans’s skull. Next, Toriel walked in. She had a backpack clutched nervously in her hands, no doubt containing my things. She had a gunman at her back as well.

            I gasped and Papyrus stepped firmly in front of me. I felt the crackle of magic in the air and both the gunmen suddenly collapsed, falling to the floor with cries of surprise.

            “Nyeh! You’re blue now!”

            Toriel ran and Sans spun around, but though the assailants had fallen, they still had their guns. One raised his pistol and pointed it at Sans. I screamed as a shot was fired, but in a blink Sans had teleported a few feet away, winking at his attacker.

            “Missed me.”

            Papyrus spun around and grabbed me as the shooter tried to fire another shot at Sans, who dodged with ease. He carried me to the multiverse machine, pulled the curved door open, and shoved me inside. I smelled fire and looked over his shoulder to see that Toriel had summoned her fire magic.

            “Stay in here! The metal will shield you!” Papyrus shut the door on me, and I sank down into a ball, hugging my knees in terror.

            Please be alright, please be alright . . .

            I could hear Sans’s quips and Papyrus’s ‘nyeh’s of victory, and I knew they were safe. A horrible TWANG echoed through my chamber and I realized that a bullet must have hit the machine. I gasped and kept myself ducked down as low as I could.

            A large force struck the machine, making it shake. I looked around as lights suddenly came on and a harsh beeping filled my ears.

            “Paps?!” I called worriedly.

            “The machine!” I heard Sans’s muffled cry. “Paps, get her out of there!”

            “I can- gah!” That was Toriel’s voice, cut off by a cry of pain. There was another shudder as something hit the machine. The lights were going crazy, and a loud whirring filled my ears. I pushed against the door, but it wouldn’t open.

            “Sans! Help!” I shouted.

            Lights flashed, the taste of smoke filled my mouth, and when I rammed for the door again I felt nothing but air. I opened my eyes but saw only blackness. I tried to scream, but no sound came out.

            Then I was falling, and falling . . .

            Cold air hit my skin, light blinded me, and I hit something icy and hard.

            I remained still and waited for the world to stop spinning.

Chapter Text

            “Tori, are you okay?” Sans helped the goat monster to her feet, and she dusted off her dress.

            “Yes, I’m fine. Thank goodness the security guards showed up when they did. I’m so sorry, Sans, this is all my fault.”

            “Tori, no . . .”

            “I didn’t even think to check if I was being followed. They must have been watching the house this whole time.”

            “It’s not your fault, we should have just had an officer pick up her stuff.” Sans sighed and rubbed his skull, looking over at Papyrus who was staring at the machine sadly, as if waiting for Bunny to reappear.

            “Go talk to your brother, I’m going to see if the police have found anything in the attacker’s car,” Toriel said, patting the skeleton’s shoulder.

            “Thanks.” Sans approached Papyrus and smiled up at him. “We’ll get her back, Paps, don’t worry.”

            Papyrus sighed. “I’m supposed to be her guard, and now she’s out stars-know where all alone!”

            “She won’t be alone, there are other versions of us out there, she might even end up with someone we already know.”

            “Do you really think so, Sans?” Papyrus asked eagerly, wringing his hands together.

            “Yeah, pal, Bunny’s going to be fine. In the meantime I’m not going to rest until I track her down and bring her back.”

            “I believe in you, Sans!”

            “Thanks. And we might even be able to do something more . . .” Sans pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number. “Hey, Alphys? You got those phone upgrades we were talking about? I need you to bring them to the lab right now, we’ve got some test calls to make.”

            I tested out my body, stretching my limbs until I was brave enough to sit up. Nothing seemed to be broken, so that was good –

            Wait, where were my clothes?

            I screamed when I looked around and realized that I was sitting among my clothes, which were far too big for me.

            I was small again. About five inches tall and stark naked. My strawberry blonde hair was puffed out around my head, the ponytail holder discarded at my side.

            “Oh god, no,” I moaned and grabbed the collar of my shirt, wrapping it around myself. The machine must have taken away the magic energy from Gaster, and now I was a bitty again! This couldn’t be happening!

            But that wasn’t the worst part.

            I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

            The lab was gone, and I was outside in a snowy woodland. My oversized clothes kept me safe from the icy snow, but I was still shivering.

            Where had that machine sent me?!

            “Damn it, Sans,” I gritted my teeth in frustration.

            An eerie chuckle answered my curse, and I looked up, gasping in fright. In the darkness of the tree branches above, I saw a pair of white eyelights staring down at me.

            “I was going to ask if you knew how to greet a new pal,” a familiar voice said, “but it seems we might not be ‘new’ after all.” From the branches slinked a plump white cat with blue stripes running over its body. I blinked in surprise. His white eyelights glowed down at me, and his permanent smile was instantly recognizable.

            “Sans?”

            The cat rested his cheek on his paw, tail making a spiral as he lounged lazily on a low branch.

            “That’s me, but you’re still a stranger.”

            “It’s . . . I’m . . .” I shook my head, completely bewildered, “I think I’m going mad.”

            His grin widened. “You may have noticed, I’m not all there myself.” As he spoke, his body began to disappear, starting at the tail and warping up his white fur, leaving behind the blue stripes and his floating eyes. I gasped in surprise. I was used to Sans’s teleportation technique but had never seen parts of him left behind. Eventually the stripes and eyes disappeared as well, and his voice spoke up behind me instead.

            “Never let anyone drive you crazy; it is nearby anyway and the walk is good for you.”

            I spun around, clutching my shirt tightly. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

            He only smiled, gazing down at me curiously. As he looked, his head began to tilt, going completely sideways, then turning almost upside down.

            I cried out in shock, backing away. Sans caught the side of his head in his paw and pushed it back into place.

            “Oops, can’t afford to lose my head.”

            “Sans, please,” I whimpered and tried to keep my tears back. “I’m really scared and lost. You don’t know me, but I know you from another universe, and we’re friends, so please . . .”

            I pressed my face into the fabric of my shirt, taking deep breaths. Stars it had been a stressful day, but I had to keep my wits, stay patient, I could do this.

            “Please help me.”

            CatSans’s expression didn’t betray his thoughts one way or another, but he stood on all four legs and stretched lazily, pushing his front paws forward and arching his hindquarters into the air.

            “Well, it so happens that I’m supposed to keep a look out for humans, though I didn’t think you guys came so small.”

            I shrugged in answer.

            “Fair warning - Papyrus is a bit of a human-hunting fanatic.”

            “Paps is here? Is he a cat too?”

            “Nooo . . ?”

            “Oh.” What kind of place was this? With the other universes we had found a bit of a pattern in their personalities, but this wasn’t making any sense.

            “Where you trying to get to, kiddo?”

            “I don’t know . . . I’m not even sure where I am.”

            “Then I guess it doesn’t really matter where you go. But don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye socket on ya.” He winked.

            “O-okay.” I felt some relief, then looked down at my clothes. “I need to figure out something to wear.”

            “Your options are coming up short,” CatSans teased.

            I glared at him, then turned my attention back to my problem. The only thing small enough to work with was one of my socks. One had a hole forming in the toe, so I worked from that, widening it large enough to fit my head through. A bit more tearing and making holes gave me two arm holes. I put my ponytail holder around my waist like a belt, and bit some frayed string off the sock to tie my hair up. I felt ridiculous wearing a sock, but it was better than being naked. CatSans kept his back to me while I dressed.

            Now I had to figure out what to do with the rest of my clothes. Luckily my cell phone was equipped with a dimensional box, so I was able to store everything in there. The only thing left was my phone.

            “Here, kid, I’ll put that away for you. It’s about as big as you are.” CatSans stretched out his tail, wrapping it around the phone like a snake. When he unwrapped it, the phone was gone.

            “Thank you,” I said with relief.

            “Here, hop on.” CatSans kneeled down low enough that I could mount his shoulders behind his head.

            “Are you sure?” I asked, grabbing his fur and pulling myself up.

            “No sweat, I know a shortcut. Just hang on.”

            I did so, leaning down into his warm fur while CatSans walked through the snow. We passed behind a tree, and the next thing I knew we were in a different part of the forest. I blinked, surprised that things weren’t as dark, and there was a clearing before us.

            In the clearing was a long table set up with plates of food and tea cups, all of varying patterns and shapes.

            Sitting at the table was Papyrus.

            I beamed, but noticed something different about him that made my smile waiver. He wasn’t in his usual battle body, but a long tailcoat and a top hat with a tag sticking out of the brim. He was serving tea to the other occupants of the party. One was a short mouse monster with a scarf so big it hid the bottom of his face. A blue rabbit monster in a red petticoat sat on the other side. Spiders scurried across the table serving donuts and cake.

            Oh boy.

            This was . . . this was Wonderland. It made sense now. Sans had taken on the role of the Cheshire cat, and Papyrus was obviously the Mad Hatter. I wasn’t sure about the mouse monster, but I did recognize the rabbit, (the march hare?) he sold nice cream in the park.

            “Sans, what is this place?” I asked as we approached the table.

            “This is the Wunderground, we monsters have been trapped down here for . . . well, a very long time.”

            “Is everyone . . . mad?”

            “I’m not mad, my reality is just different than yours. Hang on.” I barely had time to wrap my arms around his neck before Sans jumped straight up onto the table.

            “Ah! Sans!” Papyrus called out cheerfully, “so nice of you to join us for tea!”

            “Heya, Paps. I brought a guest.” Sans laid down so that I could slip off his back. My feet hit the table top and I stumbled a bit, feeling nervous with all eyes suddenly on me.

            Papyrus the hatter leaned forward, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he stared at me. Then he suddenly jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over. “Oh my god!”

            I jumped in shock.

            Papyrus leaned over conspiratorially toward the nice cream bunny. “Is that a human?”

            The rabbit frowned. “Seems a bit small.”

            “Oh, yes, of course. Too small to be a human!” Papyrus declared, picking his chair back up. He grabbed a teapot and poured a generous amount into a cup – half of which was broken. Somehow the tea didn’t come spilling out, and he pushed it toward me. I stared at it.

            “What’s the matter, my dear? Don’t care for tea?”

            “Oh, no. I don’t think –”

            “Then you shouldn’t speak!” Papyrus raised a finger pretentiously, “people who don’t think shouldn’t speak.”

            I looked at Sans for help, but he had tucked his paws rather adorably under his chest and was simply watching the exchange with that trademark smile.

            Okay, stay calm. Sure, he’s a little . . . strange, but I know Papyrus. I can talk to him.

            “Um, Papyrus, do you like puzzles?”

            “Oh yes indeed! I have several you can try out. I’ve also been working on a riddle! How is a raven like a writing desk?”

            “Uh . . . they both have something to do with Edgar Allen Poe?” I ventured.

            “Do they? Egad, you learn something new every day. Make a note of that, Marchy!” Papyrus said to the rabbit monster.

            Marchy nodded. “‘That’. Don’t forget now!”

            “Nyeh, nyeh!”

            I sighed, feeling very tired. I stepped up to the teacup Papyrus had given me and took a sip like someone bobbing for apples. I wasn’t big on tea, but it was refreshing and calming. A spider came up to me, pushing a plate that contained a slice of cake. I jumped at the sight of the spider, but it quickly went on its way after the pastry was served. I used my hand to scoop up a chunk of cake and ate it. I felt a little better.

            As I licked icing from my fingers I turned back to Cheshire Sans. “Do you think you could help me get home?”

            “Probably not,” Cheshire said casually, “we’re trapped wunderground by a magical barrier. Only a human soul can set us free.”

            “Right, right,” I mumbled. It was just like my universe’s underground, trapped until a Frisk (or in this case, would it be Alice?) came and set them free. Was I stuck here too? In this mad world? Was I ever going to see my home again? I hugged myself, fighting back the trembling as a panic attack began to creep up.

            “Kid? You ok –?”

            He was cut off by a melody playing in the air. Everyone looked up, searching for the source of the song.

            “That’s my phone!” I cried.

            Cheshire raised his paw and pulled my cell phone out of thin air. I ran for it and eagerly slapped at the answer button. I saw Sans’s name on the caller ID.

            “Sans?!” I answered desperately.

            “Why is she calling for Sans when he’s right there?” Hatter Papyrus wondered aloud.

            “Hello? Bunny?” Sans’s voice came through the phone. It sounded like he was talking to me from the end of a tunnel, but it was him, and he could hear me.

            “Sans!” Tears burst from my eyes, “Sans I’m here! How did you call me?”

            “Heh, had some help from doctor Alphys. She was helping me create a phone that can call out to other universes parallel to ours. It was going to be a birthday present so that you could call our alternates, but it’s getting an early reveal.”

            “Oh my stars, thank goodness it works, I thought I was going to be stuck here forever.”

            “Nah, I wouldn’t leave you hanging. Where are you anyway?”

            “In the underground, but everything is like Alice in Wonderland. You’re a cat.”

            “Fur real? That sounds pretty inpawsable.”

            “Please take this seriously,” I groaned, rubbing at the space between my eyes.

            “Alright, we’re going to try and warp you home.”

            “Bunny! It is I, the great Papyrus! Are you hurt?” Papyrus’s voice rang out at me. Hatter glared down at the phone, crossing his arms.

            “Who is this imposter and why does he sound like me?”

            “I’m not hurt,” I said, ignoring Hatter, “but . . . I shrank. I’m a bitty again.”

            “What?!” Papyrus’s shout made me wince, “you’re tiny and out there in another universe?! By yourself?! Sans, you must turn the machine on now!”

            “On it, bro. Bunny, hang on to your phone and stay still, this might get weird.”

            I hugged the phone tightly. The other monsters had surrounded me, staring in anticipation.

            “I’m going home now,” I explained. It seemed rude to disappear without saying anything. “Thank you for the tea.”

            “Goodbye tiny person! I don’t understand a thing you’re talking about,” Hatter said.

            Cheshire smirked softly. “Alice in Wonderland, huh?”

            I smiled sheepishly. “Good luck.”

            “Alright, Bunny,” Sans said from the phone, “here we go.”

            I felt a tingling sensation rush through my body. I hugged the phone and shut my eyes tight. The tingling increased, as if all my limbs had fallen asleep. The cold slipped away, along with all sounds.

            And I was falling again.

Chapter Text

            I didn’t open my eyes until I felt solid ground beneath my knees. I found myself inside, kneeling on top of a small, round table. It was covered in cards and a couple of ashtrays with smoldering cigar nubs crushed inside them. The rest of the room was dark, with only a couple of lamps on. It seemed to be some sort of break room, there was a couch against the wall, a mini fridge, and an overflowing trash can.

            Was I back home? Was this a random room at the university?

            I looked down at my cell phone, but it seemed that the call with Sans had been dropped. I pressed his number in my recent calls list. A busy signal beeped back at me.

            I heard a creak behind me and turned to look over my shoulder. I only got a brief glimpse of a cat monster before he slammed a fedora hat down on top of me, trapping me inside. I screamed in fright and tried to scramble out from underneath it. A clawed hand shot in after me and snatched me up. I screamed and struggled against him, pounding my tiny fists on his furry fingers.

            “Let me go!”

            “How’d you get in here?” The cat monster demanded, lifted me up to eye level. “Who do you work for?” He picked up my cellphone and studied it.

            “No one! I’m trying to find Sans.”

            His eyes narrowed. “You know Sans?”

            “Yes, he’s my friend.”

            He smirked at that. “Sans doesn’t have friends. But sure, I’ll take you to him. He has no mercy for liars.”

            What was he talking about? Was this not my home? What kind of Sans lived in this place? I was trembling as the cat monster carried me out of the room, heading down a hall toward a door at the end. He knocked softly.

            “Boss? Got someone here to see ya.”

            “Whadya want, BP?”

            “Apparently you’ve got a dear friend here come to pay a visit,” the monster – BP – grinned down at me nastily.

            There was a click, and the door opened.

            I immediately recognized the gold tooth and sharp teeth of the skeleton standing before us, but I was unsure as I had never seen my old friend wearing a suit and tie before.

            Was this Red?

            The skeleton blinked at me in surprise.

            “Found her in the breakroom, she had this,” BP held up my cellphone and handed it over, “thought she might be a spy.”

            Sans frowned, then held his free hand out. “Give ‘er here.”

            BP handed me over, dropping me into Sans’s hand. His phalanges wrapped around me tightly, pinning my arms in place.

            “I’ll give my ‘friend’ a quick interrogation,” he said, giving BP a wink. The cat chuckled and nodded, turning away.

            Sans shut the door.

            Once it was locked, his fingers released me so that I could sit on his flat palm. He looked down at me, eyelights growing large so that his face was bewildered and friendly.

            “Bunny?”

            I squealed with pleasure and jumped to my feet. “Red! It is you!”

            “Stars above kid, what are you doing here?” Red quickly set my phone down on a desk. This seemed to be his office. Red cupped his hands around my body like he was trying to hold water. He held me to his chest in an attempted hug.

            “I ended up inside Sans’s machine, it transported me to a different universe, just like it did with you guys.”

            “You still have that thing? I knew that boring version of me wouldn’t get rid of it.” Red placed me on the desk and sat down, studying me. “Stars, what happened to ya, doll?”

            “This isn’t the first universe I’ve been to,” I said sadly, looking down at my sock dress. “I shrank after the first transport.”

            “Must’ve jostled the magic in yer soul. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of ya, sweetheart. Red won’t let anything happen to you.”

            I smiled, tears stinging my eyes. I hugged Red’s hand and he squeezed me in return, running his finger tip through my hair. “Let’s get ya some clothes and then I’ll take ya to see boss,” Red chuckled, “wait ‘til he sees you.”

            “What is this place, Red? Are we on the surface?”

            “Sure are.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and began texting on it. “Freed about a year ago. Boss and I . . . well, I won’t split hairs with you, it’s a monster mob, we run it.”

            “A mob? Red!” My voice rose an octave, scolding.

            “Hey, cut me some slack, it hasn’t been an easy transition for us monstas. We’re discriminated against on all fronts – living conditions, cops, school. Our ‘organization’ makes sure every monster is safe, has a place to live, and has some money in their pocket.”

            “Oh man, is it really that bad?” I asked, disappointed once again with humanity.

            “Eh, we make it work. Life was a lot tougher underground, trust me. At least this way we’re not over crowded, there’s plenty of resources, and we’ve got the sun on our faces every day.” Red set his phone down and grinned at me. “I’ve got a lead on some clothes for you, shouldn’t be long. Man, it’s good ta see ya, sweetheart.”

            “You too, Red. I’ve missed you a lot.”

            “Yeah? How long has it been?” He leaned forward, resting his head on the desk. He reached for me and took a lock of my hair between his fingertips.

            “About two years.”

            “Same here. No bitties in this world, and the surface is a bit rougher around the edges, but then again, so is everything in this universe compared to yours.”

            “Have you been well though? Keeping out of trouble?” I teased taking his index finger between my hands. He nudged my cheek.

            “You know me.”

            “That’s not very reassuring.”

            He chuckled and winked. A knock at the door cut off our conversation. Red answered it, accepting the package that was delivered. It was a brown bag containing a variety of tiny doll clothes.

            “Let’s see if any of these work for you. I knew Frisk had some dolls they play with, so I had one of my guys go over to Tori’s place and pick them up.” He handed the garments over. Most were frilly and covered in sequence and glitter, but I found a decent dress with a peter pan collar. It wouldn’t be the perfect fit, but it would be way better than the sock.

            I motioned at Red to turn around.

            “Aw, come on dollface, don’t you trust me?” His gold tooth gleamed and his red eyes widened.

            “You haven’t changed at all,” I grinned, “now turn around.”

            “Fine, fine,” he held his hands up in surrender and gave me some privacy to change. The dress was tight around the waist, but the length was good.

            “Hey, not bad,” Red said, turning around.

            “Thanks, I’m going to put an extra one in my dimensional box in case I need to change,” I said, going to my phone. As soon as I touched the screen it started ringing. “It’s Sans!” I gasped, pressing the answer button.

            “Bunny? I’m so sorry, kid, we had to recalibrate the phone to get your signal, are you okay?”

            “Yes, I’m fine, I’m with Red, I’m in their world.”

            Sans sighed in relief. “At least you’re with someone we know.”

            Red picked up the phone and held it to his head. “Hey, Vanilla, what’s the big idea letting Bunny get close to that machine? What the hell did you do?”

            I couldn’t hear Sans’s response on the other line, but I assumed he was explaining everything as there was a long silence from Red.

            “Whatever,” Red rolled his eyes, “what are you doing to get Bunny home?” He put the phone down and put it on speaker.

            “I’m triangulating her location based on a map of the multiverse I’ve been building.”

            “Uh huh, so it’s just random, eh?” Red scoffed. “Look pal, I’m you so I know you don’t really know how that machine works. You can’t just be throwing Bunny all over the multiverse!”

            “I’m trying,” Sans said, sounding tired, “making a direct path back to our universe is proving difficult.”

            “Then Bunny needs to stay here until you figure it out. Me and boss can take care of her.”

            “I feel better putting more time into it knowing she’s safe,” Sans admitted.

            “Can’t you use my DNA like you did with Gaster?” I asked.

            “I am, but Gaster was in the Void, it was easier to pull him out that way. Don’t worry, Bunny, I’ll get you home.”

            “That a promise, Vanilla?” Red smirked.

            “Cannit, Red.”

            “I believe in you Sans,” I said confidently. “Will you call me later and let me know how it’s going?”

            “Sure thing. I wish you could call us, but we never put multidimensional minutes on your plan.”

            “Haha,” I said humorlessly.

            “I’ll call you back soon. Keep her safe, Red.”

            “Ain’t nothing gonna happen to her while she’s with me,” Red said. The call ended. Red put the phone in his pocket. “I’ll hang on to this for you. Ready to go see Boss?”

            I nodded eagerly. Red scooped me up and opened his jacket.

            “No bitties in this world, so you’ll have to keep a low profile,” He explained as he slid me into an inside pocket. “How’s that?”

            “It’s fine.”

            “Comfy?”

            “For the most part.”

            “Alright, strap in.” I hunkered down in the pocket, sitting with my knees pulled in as Red left the office. The coat swayed to his walk. It was strange being small enough to fit in a pocket again, and dread filled my stomach, wondering if I would be stuck like this permanently.

            “Where’s my brother?” I heard Red ask.

            “In the garage, sir.”

            The walk resumed. I stayed quiet though I wanted to ask questions and peek out on this new world. Soon the quiet office was replaced with the sound of machinery – drills and men talking. The smell of oil filled the air.

            “Hey, boss!” Red called, “gotta talk to you!”

            “Can it wait, Sans?!” That was Edge’s voice! I bounced happily in the pocket and felt Red’s hand come up and press me against his chest to still me.

            “No, it can’t wait, come on.”

            I heard a door shut and the sounds were muffled.

            “Got a surprise for ya, Pap.”

            “Honestly, Sans, this better not be one of your tricks!”

            “Hehe, you’ll like this one.” Red opened his coat, revealing that we were in a backroom of the garage. There were some filing cabinets and broken tools on the walls. Standing above us was Edge, dressed sharply in a black suit with a red ascot tucked into the collar. I beamed up at him as Red pulled me out of the pocket.

            “Edge!” I held my arms out to him, and Edge, eyes widened in surprise, took me from Red.

            “Bunny? You should not be here! Nor should you be tiny!” His shoulders went rigid and tense.

            “Our dust bunny had an accident with Vanilla’s machine,” Red explained, “she’s going to stay with us until he can get ‘er back.”

            “Unacceptable!” Edge squawked, “that machine should have been destroyed!”

            Red shrugged.

            Edge gritted his teeth, but got ahold of himself, clearing his throat. He held me aloft in the palm of one hand while the other rested smartly on his hip.

            “Bunny, you once made me promise to protect you if you ever shrank again, and the great and terrible Papyrus always keeps his promises! You’ll be happy to know that my brother and I have a powerful reputation on the surface and can keep you safe.”

            “Yeah, Red was telling me. I can’t believe you guys joined a mob.”

            “We did not join anything! We established it!”

            “You guys don’t hurt people, do you?”

            “Relax, sweetheart,” Red waved his hand nonchalantly, “we might rough some guys up a bit now and then, but we follow a strict mercy policy.”

            “Yes,” Edge agreed, “we have learned a lot from Frisk. And you, incidentally.”

            I smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Just a shame the surface wasn’t more friendly.”

            “Ha! The surface is like a church compared to the underground!” Edge said. “I will show you just what kind of operation we run here.”

            “Eh, boss, maybe we should let Bunny rest before the tour,” Red interjected, “she’s had a rough day. You hungry, Buns?”

            “Starving,” I said.

            “Very well, then I shall cook for you. You must have been in misery living without my culinary expertise!”

            “It was definitely hard without you Edge,” I said fondly.

            He smirked proudly, chest puffing out as he opened his jacket and slipped me into the inside pocket. I slid down his fingertips into the opening. It was a little bigger than Red’s, so I had more room to get comfortable.

            “Come, Sans! We’ll leave early for the day.”

            “Hey, now you’re talking.”

            The sounds of the garage disappeared, and I risked peeking out of Edge’s jacket so see what kind of place this was. It looked just like my universe, though we were clearly in a rougher part of town. The streets were narrow, and the buildings old. I didn’t see any humans, but plenty of monsters. Some sitting on their porches, chatting, while kids played kickball in the road.

            It was a short walk to Sans’s and Papyrus’s apartment. The outside seemed dated, but the inside was well maintained.

            “A lot of monsters couldn’t get a place to live because of discrimination,” Red told me, spotting my head as I leaned further out of the pocket. “Paps and I bought this place and some of the nearby houses with some of our gold so that they could get a place to live. A lot of them can’t pay the full rent, so we maintain it with the money we make stealing cars and selling monster food – very big market for that, black of course.”

            “Really? Selling monster food? That doesn’t sound so bad.”

            “Yes, the government outlawed it, but many humans will pay a hefty price for its restorative properties,” Edge said, “and while our businesses might not be ‘legal’,” he scoffed, “they are not entirely immoral. All the money goes to housing, medical treatment, bail . . .”

            “Damn cops,” Red growled, “ya can’t leave a monster in a jail overnight, they’ll just be a pile of dust the next morning with no investigation.”

            “Oh my god,” I felt sick thinking of it.

            “Yes, an unfortunate part of our jobs,” Edge agreed, “but we’ve become quite efficient at releasing monsters and getting them lawyers.”

            “That’s . . . wow. I’m proud of you guys for putting this together and keeping monsters safe.”

            They both smiled proudly, Edge practically preening. We reached the end of the hall and Sans unlocked the door, letting us into a modest but nice apartment. The dining and living rooms were open, with a galley kitchen off to the side. Edge pulled me out of his pocket and set me on the kitchen table where I could see into the kitchen. Sans wandered down the hallway – assumedly to the bedroom.

            “What’s on the menu, Edge?” I asked, sitting cross legged. The tall skeleton took off his suit jacket and hung it on a chair, then rolled up the sleeves of his button-up shirt to reveal the thick bones of his forearms.

            “I prepared a lasagna this morning,” Edge said, opening the fridge and pulling out a covered casserole dish. He poked some holes in the tinfoil and slid it into the oven. Red reappeared then, now dressed in shorts and his favorite hoodie.

            “Hey, there’s the Red I know.” I teased.

            “Monkey suit keeps people from messing with us too bad,” Red said, leaning back in his chair. “Boss’s idea.”

            “It’s a new kind of battle body for the surface,” Edge said, “it’s how all the mob bosses in the movies dress!”

            “Did you guys just watch a bunch of mobster movies to figure out how to start your own?” I giggled.

            “We might have gotten some inspiration from Scorsese.” Red winked.

            “They provided excellent research material!”

            “So, do you guys run into trouble with other mobs? Human ones?” I asked.

            “We don’t deal in drugs or weapons, so they don’t have reason to mess with us,” Red said.

            “Mmm,” Edge grumbled a bit, “except for those . . . what do they call themselves?”

            “Oh, the Knives.” Red rolled his eyelights. “Very creative.”

            “Yes, they’ve been poking around again, trying to weasel ‘protection’ money from monsters in the neighborhood.”

            “Heh, they’re going to need someone to protect them.”

            “My thoughts exactly!”

            The oven dinged and Edge pulled the lasagna out, removing the foil so that steam rolled off the cheesy pasta. My mouth watered at the smell. Plates were laid out, and Sans found a soda bottle cap to use as a cup for me.

            I fell into the meal eagerly, using a toothpick to stab and pick up bites. I happily praised Edge for his cooking skills.

            “Of course! I was pleased when I learned that mobsters in movies were pasta connoisseurs like myself. It only goes to show that I was born for this sort of life.”

            “You’re the coolest, bro,” Red said fondly.

            “Nyeh! Tell us about your exploits, Bunny!” Edge insisted, “have you returned to school?”

            “Yep, getting my bachelor’s right now. I go to school in the evenings, and I was lucky enough to get a paralegal job with one of the top monster lawyers in Ebott.”

            “What about your memories? Didja ever remember your life before becoming a bitty?” Red asked.

            Right. My memories.

            I sighed, drawing in the red sauce with my toothpick. “That’s been a touchy subject. The short answer is no. I have dreams of people and events, I once had a dream I was at a barbeque with all these people, but I didn’t know any of their names, couldn’t remember who they were. I still can’t even remember my name. It literally says ‘Bunny’ on my driver’s license.”

            “And no one’s shown up to claim ya?”

            “No, we tried that when I first went to the bitty center, and we cross referenced it with any missing person reports, but nothing came up. Whoever my family are . . . well, they obviously never bothered looking for me.”

            Edge pounded his fist on the table like a judge with a gavel. The table shuddered, making me drop my utensil in surprise.

            “I will not allow such talk! If your previous family gave up so easily then they are not worthy of your time! I forbid you from any self-pity!”

            I chuckled bashfully. “Funny, my Papyrus said the same thing.”

            Red grinned, gold tooth flashing. “He’s right, sweetheart. You took care of yourself just fine, even before we came along. It sucks that you can’t remember, but, eh, you never know, it might be better that way.”

            I shrugged. “Honestly, it’s not a big deal. Frustrating, but life goes on.”

            We continued the meal with small talk about our lives from the past two years until I was too stuffed to sit up straight.

            With a full tummy I was ready to pass out, the stress of the day sitting heavily on my eyelids and shoulders. Red picked me up and cradled me in his hands, carrying me to the living room and laying me down on a pillow.

            “Thanks guys,” I murmured, “missed you.”

            “Missed you too, sweetheart.”

            I felt his finger on my cheek and sighed happily, nuzzling down into the softness of the pillow.

            It felt like I was woken only minutes later. The apartment was dark and silent except for the pat of feet on the floor. I blinked my eyes open and jumped in fear when I spotted a pair of large, unblinking eyes staring at me.

            “Hoi! I’m Temmie!”

            “Holy-!” I jumped and clutched my chest, trying to catch my breath. “You scared me!”

            “Tem has message for skelie!” the temmie said. She turned away from me and pranced down the hallway.

            “Edge?” I called, not wanting him to be startled by the uninvited guest. I heard a door creak, followed by muffled voices.

            “Sans! Get up!” I heard Edge bang on Red’s door. The tall skeleton appeared in the living room, pulling on a shirt. Red followed shortly after, looking very grumpy and disheveled.

            “What’s going on?” I asked.

            “The temmies run recon for us,” Red grumbled, “probably the Knives messing around again.”

            “Yes, meaning there is no time to waste! Do get your wits about you and teleport us, lazy bones!”

            “Yeah, yeah,” Red grabbed Edge’s arm, fighting back a yawn. “Sit tight, sweetheart, we’ll be right back.”

            Then they disappeared.

            “Hoi!”

            “Gah!” I spun around to see the tem sitting on the floor staring up at me, pupils slowly traveling to stare in opposite directions.

            “Tem like tiny hooman!”

            “Uh, thanks, Tem, I like you too.” I slipped off the pillow onto the couch. The tem jumped up to join me. “Do you know what’s going on?”

            “Tem saw hoomans at bunny house,” Tem explained, “they were trying to get in, so Tem come to Skelie’s place, now Tem get Tem flakes!”

            “Oh, man, I hope they’ll be okay.” I knew the skeleton brothers were powerful, but humans were dangerous.

            “They’ll be okay!” Tem assured me. “You know me the tem flakes?”

            “Oh, um, no I don’t know where they keep the –”

            BANG

            I screamed as the front door shuddered on its hinges from a force on the other side. Another bang quickly followed, and the wood around the lock began to splinter.

            “Hoid!”

            I did so, jumping onto the floor and darting under the couch just as a third collision snapped the door off the lock. I saw three pairs of feet stomp across the floor, followed by the sounds of things breaking and shattering.

            “Don’t leave anything standing, boys,” a voice ordered, “want these freaks to know that we ain’t messing around.”

            The others laughed manically in response, and the carnage continued.

            Okay, just stay calm, I would be fine if I didn’t panic. They wouldn’t find me unless they started flipping furniture, right?

            “Hoi!”

            No! Temmie!

            “Damn! Catch it!” Someone yelled. There was a commotion and a struggle, then a cry of pain from Temmie as one of the humans cried out in victory. “Gotcha, you little shit.”

            “Kill it. A pile of dust will send our message home.”

            With barely a thought, I ran out from under the couch. There was plenty of broken glass on the floor from a shattered lamp, so I grabbed a piece and charged at the man holding Temmie by the scruff of her neck. I drove the shard into the assailant’s ankle, drawing blood.

            The man howled with pain and dropped Temmie to fall to his knees and grab his injured ankle. The others startled, looking around the floor to find what had injured their partner. Luckily the apartment was dark, it gave me just enough time to duck out of the way as Temmie came running.

            “Hop on, hoomin!” Temmie said, sliding onto her stomach like a baseball player sliding home so that I could scramble onto her back.

            Then we were going up.

            I yelped and grabbed tufts of Temmie’s fur as her legs began to grow sporadically, making her tall enough to brush the ceiling. She swung one of her newly elongated legs into the chest of the second man and sent him flying across the room.

            “Run, Temmie!” I cried, “find Sans and Papyrus!”

            Temmie shuffled forward, ducking down to get through the door and started galloping down the hallway. I held on as tightly as I could, but the speed made me tilt dangerously to the side. There were shouts behind us as the men pursued.

            I heard a door slam open and risked turning my head to look behind. Even in this alternate universe I recognized Doggo as he came sprinting out of his apartment, knives drawn. He blocked the hall, halting the three men chasing us.

            “Don’t move a muscle,” Doggo growled.

            Temmie turned a corner, cutting off my sight. We entered the lobby and Temmie headbutted the door open, sprinting outside. I heard tires squeal and saw the flash of headlights as Temmie went running across the street. I screamed in fright, but the sound was cut short as Temmie jumped the curve.

            That was the final jolt. I lost my grip and went falling, hitting a bush and tumbling down through the twigs and leaves before getting caught in a fork in the branches and coming to a rough stop.

            I struggled to lift myself up, but all the close calls left my limbs trembling and weak. I sighed and collapsed, letting the branches support me. At least I was fairly safe in this bush, so I gave myself a moment to catch my breath and collect my thoughts.

            Alright, everything was okay, if I could get across the street I could get back inside the apartment and be safe.

            Just had to get out of this bush first.

            I wiggled and managed to push myself up. The branch tipped, making me roll onto my stomach, the forked branches catching my waist. I struggled, causing some leaves to fall.

            Ş̶̛͇̳̭̖͓̝̞͈̜̳̜̫̅̔̐͊͘c̷̨̹͈̩̬̫̺͍̰̱̣̑r̶͕̝͎̮̞̱̓͋͑e̵͔̪͚̭̋͋̑́͝ḙ̴͕̩͔͚̼̥̍̃̃̌̈́͐̋͊̋̅͠ę̸͎̱̟̳͉̞̉̐̍̂̒̃é̷͈̘̻̣̪̩͚̻̻̲͛̎̈́̉̃͐͒̑͆̃ͅ

            . . .      

            What was that?

            I shook my head. I must be seeing things. It was like the whole world around me had just . . .

            Glitched.

            I gasped as a white noise texture flickered around me, briefly making the world go white, then back to normal. The leaves in front of me crackled and fizzed.

            “Red?! Temmie?!” Did I hit my head? What was happening?

            “W̴h̷a̶t̸ ̴a̴r̷e̴ ̷y̴o̴u̵ ̴d̶o̴i̷n̵g̸ ̶h̵e̷r̴e̸?̷”

            I screamed as a large red eye socket filled my vision, staring down at me.

            “G̸͕͚̈́̋̄̏͛e̴̙̤̣̲̞͚̳͖̦̰̼̓̃̉͌̇͆ͅt̸̡̢̝͓͔͖͕̖̘̮̝̳̥̳̰͕̺̮̜͎̞͙͛͌̑͂̅̈͐́̈́̾́̀͆̇͊̂̍̃͜͝ͅ ̵̨̢̢͎̫̻͖͉̟͔͕͚̥͈̖̮̫̘̣̣̞̠͔̳̙͐̌̈́͌͗̕O̴̡̜͕̞̺͓̜̠̩̦̙͉͇̗͓̞̦̩̩̰͙͕͉̼̣͂̑͋̐̽̽̋͂̓͊̽̿͂̽͌̂͌̈̾͒͊ų̵̨̧̩̟̻̪̳̫͈͙̼͉͉̽̇͑̽͒͛͜T̷̳̳͓͎̫͕̺̲̠̣͉͖̝̥̹̰̍̉͐͛͐͐̇͑̈́͗͒̑̊͗͆̑̎͜”

            My hands slipped from the branch as I pushed myself back from the giant eye, I fell from the forked branch and toppled to the ground, a leaf landing on my head.

            I looked up, searching for the thing that had been staring at me, but I didn’t see anyone. The strange static had disappeared as well.

            I shuddered and found my bearings, getting to my feet and pushing my way out of the bush. The shrubbery was in a grassy area between the sidewalk and what appeared to be a park. I could see the apartment across the street and sighed with relief.

            I took my time crossing the road, making sure there were absolutely no cars heading my way before dashing across as fast as I could. I reached the other side, pulled myself back up onto the sidewalk, and approached the building.

            Now I just had to figure out how to open the door.

            “Bunny!”
            I spun around, recognizing Red’s deep voice. He and Edge were jogging down the sidewalk toward me with Temmie – now normal sized – at their side. Edge reached me first and scooped me up.

            “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

            “No, no, I’m fine,” I waved my hands casually. “Just kicking butt and taking names.”

            “Looks like you had a bit of a tumble,” Red noted, reaching up and pulling a small twig from my hair.

            “No harm done,” I insisted. “Did Temmie tell you what happened? Three guys broke into your apartment. Last I saw, Doggo had them.”

            “Good, at least they didn’t get away!” Edge said. He handed me to Red. “Take her to get some monster food while I help Doggo take out the trash,” he grinded his fist into the palm of his hand.

            “You got it, boss.” Red held me to his chest and headed down the sidewalk while Edge went inside. Temmie pattered along at Red’s feet.

            “You’re really alright though? Were you scared?”

            “Um, yeah I was scared!” I threw my arms in the air, “those guys just broke in, they were going to kill Temmie. It was a good thing one of them broke your lamp or I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

            “Lamp? What? Whatja do with the lamp?”

            “I stabbed one of them in the ankle with it.”

            Red burst into laughter. “That’s my girl.”

            In the dark I recognized the sign for Grillby’s glowing in neon on a bar front. Red took us inside and found an empty seat at the bar. It was pretty easy since the establishment was empty, except for a couple of monsters hanging out in a booth in the corner.

            A flame monster covered in purple fire stepped out from the kitchen, this world’s Grillby no doubt. Red set me on the bar counter and got Grillby’s attention with a rise of his finger.

            “Couple of fries, Grillbz, put it on my tab.”

            The fire monster complied silently. I took a seat, crossing my legs and turning to face Red. Temmie also sat on a bar stool, little paws folded neatly on the counter.

            “So what happened on your end?” I asked, “Temmie said some Knives had broken into a monster’s house?”

            “Yeah, the bunny that runs the bakery. We thought it was them trying to scare up some protection money, but it was obviously a red herring to get us out of the apartment while they trashed the place. Luckily we caught ‘em all. Undyne’s got the first group, and Pap’ll put the fear of monsters in the other.” As he spoke, Red pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it. A stream of red-tinged smoke bellowed out of his nostrils.

            “Aw, Red, you picked up smoking? That’s bad for you.”

            He shrugged. “I only do it on nights like this, sweetheart.”

            “I guess it must get pretty stressful.”

            “Sometimes, but someday things won’t be like this. Someday things will get sorted out for monsters and we won’t have to do this no more, get to retire.”

            “Get a Lay-Z-Boy, eh?” I teased.

            “Aw yeah, cup holder and everything.”

            Grillby brought the fries out and we dug in. Red drenched his in mustard and I shared the second plate with Temmie, enjoying the warm, deep-fried potato. The magic tingled throughout my body, making me feel better. All was quiet and relaxed until a familiar ring tone filled the bar.

            “That’s mine!” I said, jumping to my feet.

            Red pulled the phone from his pocket and answered, putting it on speaker.

            “Hello?”

            “Hi, Sans!” I said.

            “Hey, Bunny, how’re you doing?”

            “I’m good. Red is here too, we’re at Grillby’s.”

            “At least that world has good taste,” Sans said.

            “What’s the word, Vanilla?” Red asked.

            “Ready to try warping her home again, been working all night.”

            “Yeah, no kidding. Do you know what time it is?” I asked.

            “Oh, uh . . .” there was a sheepish pause, “ah, no, I lost track of time.”

            “You sure it’s working right?” Red asked, “that was awfully fast.”

            “He might be right, Sans,” I agreed, “maybe you should get some sleep then double check everything in the morning. I’m perfectly safe with Red and Edge.”

            “Eh, alright,” Sans agreed reluctantly. “I guess I’ll call you back in the morning, but everything should be good.”

            “Alright, I’ll talk to you then. Go home and get some sleep. Send my love to Papyrus.”

            “Will do, kiddo.”

            I hung up and snagged another fry. Red looked at the phone dubiously.

            “I still think you ought to stay a bit longer,” he said, “it doesn’t seem like he’s had enough time to really work the kinks out.”

            “Title of your sex tape?” I grinned.

            “You’ve gotten a lot more sassy, lil miss.”

            I giggled and munched. “We can talk to him about it more tomorrow. I’m ready for actual sleep now.”

            “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s head back.”

            Red cradled me to his chest, and I hammoked myself in his palm, resting my head on his fingertips. We didn’t even make it back to the apartment before I fell asleep again.

***Bonus Smut Chapter***

            When I woke up again the sun was up, and Edge was working in the kitchen making breakfast. I sighed and rolled over, happy to just enjoy a sleep-in. I was sore from my fall into the bush, and a pillow was a lot different than an actual bed. I stretched until my back made a tiny pop, then stood and hopped off the couch.

            The apartment was already cleaned up of all the items that had been broken. Edge must have stayed up all night. I walked across the floor until I got to the kitchen and shouted my good morning.

            “Yes, good morning,” Edge said. He plucked me up unceremoniously and set me on the table. I didn’t protest, instead accepting the little plate of eggs and toast he had made for me.

            “Thank you, how are you feeling?” I asked.

            “Irritated, but otherwise fine.” He poured a cup of coffee for himself and sat down, enjoying his own plate of food.

            “What happened after we left?” I asked.

            “Doggo had captured the humans that broke in. I taught them a lesson and sent them back to their boss.”

            “Do you think they’ll come back?”

            “Only if they’re very stupid,” Edge said confidently, “but I think they understand now that this is our territory and it’s well protected.”

            I nodded and rubbed my toast against a stick of butter, finishing off my breakfast. Edge offered assistance to the bathroom and I accepted. I rubbed toothpaste in my mouth, gave myself a spit bath with some warm water and soap, and tied my hair up in a ponytail since I couldn’t comb it.

            As I put my dress on, I noticed something weird in the mirror. Frowning, I looked down at my hands and noticed a strange static surrounding them. I closed my eyes and shook me head. When I opened them, the static was gone.

            What was that? It was the same thing that happened last night. What did it mean?

            I jumped down from the counter and left the bathroom. I met Red in the hallway on my way back to the living room. He had my phone in his hand.

            “Red! Down here!”

            “Eh? Oh good,” he said, spotting me, “answer yer phone, keeps waking me up.” He handed over the device and I dragged it with me. Edge was sitting on the couch reading the paper, he scolded Red for sleeping so late, but his brother ignored him in favor of coffee.

            I sat down, phone in front of me. I didn’t have to wait long for it to ring.

            “Hi, Sans. Did you get some sleep?”

            “Yep,” Sans answered, “Paps practically kept guard over me the rest of the night. First time he’s actually wanted me to sleep.”

            “How is Papyrus?” I asked worriedly.

            “Eh, he’s worried about you, though he tries to hide it.”

            “I figured he would be,” I said, “but hopefully not for much longer. How’s the machine looking?”

            “It’s fine, but I’m thinking of reworking these calculations. Are you okay staying with Red a bit longer? Has anything weird been happening?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Just what I say – has anything weird been going on? Anything at all?”

            “Well, there was something last night, actually . . .” I twisted the hem of my dress. “There was . . . it’s hard to explain. It’s like the world glitched around me. Like it fuzzed out, then turned white, then went back to normal. I thought I heard a voice too.”

            “Oh boy, I was worried about that,” Sans said, “your presence must be causing glitches in the universe.”

            “How? I’ve only been here for a day! The others were in our world for a year and nothing liked that happened.”

            “Yeah, but that’s because they were pulled in by my machine which stabilized things for the most part. You’ve been thrown out into the unknown with nothing to stabilize you, that’s going to cause problems.”

            “What will happen?”

            “I’d rather not find out. In fact, I need to try another warp right away, staying any longer could have dangerous consequences.”

            My heart pounded fearfully. “But, like what? What if it doesn’t work and I end up in another world?”

            “That will at least reset the process somewhat and give us more time,” Sans said, “I’m sorry, I know it’s scary, but I can’t risk it, Bunny. The universe is trying to reject you because it knows you don’t belong. You could disappear.”

            I realized my hands were trembling, and I hugged myself to cease the shaking. A felt a gentle touch on my back and looked up to see Edge on his knee, his usually sharp eyes soft and concerned.

            Wow, the surface really had changed him.

            I turned around and hugged Edge’s hand. I could hear Sans calling my name from the phone, but I didn’t respond, too busy trying not to panic and cry. Edge picked up the phone and held it to his head.

            “What do we need to do?” he asked. He moved his thumb up and down my arm, and I slowly calmed down while Sans explained the situation. I finally relaxed and ended the hug, only for Edge to pick me up and carry me to the table. He set me and the phone down, putting it on speaker.

            Red glanced in from the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

            “I’m afraid it’s imperative that Bunny leave right away,” Edge said. I could hear the disappointment hidden in his voice. “Her Sans says that staying here is causing her to ‘glitch’, and it’s unsafe. He needs to try warping her home again.”

            Red glared at the phone. “Oh yeah? And how do you know it’ll work this time?”

            “I have to risk it,” Sans answered, “if I don’t, she could glitch out of your universe entirely. At least this way I can keep tracking her.”

            “That ain’t good enough!”

            “Red, stop! It’s okay,” I smiled at him and flexed one of my arms. “I’m a big girl, remember? I’ll be just fine.”

            “You better!” Red grabbed my phone and started typing in it. “I’m putting in my number, once you get back you call me, yeah?”

            “I promise,” I crossed my heart.

            “I have no doubt that you will find your way safely back!” Edge said, “my brother, though he is lazy, is also very intelligent, and this is just another version of him. I know he will figure it out.”

            Red stared at Edge, eyelights growing large. “Really, Paps?”
            “Of course!” Edge smirked, “you really should believe in yourself, brother.”

            Red snickered and shook his head. “And you get onto me for the bad jokes.”

            “Machine is up and running,” Sans said from the phone, “let me know when you’re ready.”

            “Comere, tiny,” Red picked me up and pressed his teeth to the top of my head in a pseudo kiss.

            “Honestly, I’m just so glad I got to see you guys again,” I said, planting a smooch on Red’s chin. He blushed. “It’s such a comfort to know that you’re safe and on the surface.”

            Edge held out his hand to me and I stepped onto his palm. He lifted me up to eye-level. “We are also happy for the visit!” He looked a little awkward, unsure what else to say. I held my arms out, flexing my fingers in a silent request for a hug. Edge rolled his eyes and reluctantly brought me to his cheek. I wrapped my arms around his face and gave him a kiss.

            “I’ll call you guys!” I promised, jumping back to the table and picking up the phone. “Alright Sans, I’m ready. Get me out of here before I start crying.”

            Red reached out and squeezed my tiny hand between his fingertips, getting in one last touch.

            My body began to tingle, and the world started to fade, going dark. I gave the two skeletons my biggest smile before they disappeared completely, and I started to fall.

Chapter Text

            I landed on my back, hitting something soft and letting out an “oomph!” as the wind was knocked out of me.

            I opened my eyes and winced at the ray of sunlight that touched my face. I rolled over carefully, checking for injuries, and let my eyes adjust to the new place.

            I was sitting in a patch of yellow flowers, the only things growing. Looking around further, I realized that I was in a cavern, and the sunlight was coming from a small opening high above. Everything else was dark, but I spotted a large double door in the cavern wall.

            Well, I didn’t appear to be home – or at least, no where at home I had ever seen before. I stood up and brushed off my –

            Where was my dress?!

            Once again, I found myself completely naked. I gasped and looked around for my phone, finding it lying just next to me. I grabbed it and –

            Oh stars I was big! I was big again!

            With a giddy laugh I jumped up and cheered in victory. The dress Red had gotten for me was in tatters around the flower bed, having been shredded when I grew. The trip must have jolted my magic in the other direction this time. Thank goodness.

            I opened up the dimensional box from my phone to access my big clothes. Everything was there, sans one sock.

            Hehe, sans.

            As I pulled my pants on I heard a creak from the doorway and looked up, startled. I saw movement as the door was pushed open.

            “Ah!” I tried to turn and cover myself but ended up tripping on my pants and fell over. I yanked them up as fast as I could.

            “Hello? I someone there?” A deep, quiet voice called out.

            I gasped as someone stepped through the door. Oh no, who was it? What kind of world was this? I turned and covered up my chest, too nervous to look.

            “Oh dear,” the person said.

            Then something soft and warm hit my back, wrapping around my shoulders.

            I looked up over my shoulder.

            It was Sans.

            He had placed a black and blue robe around me, he himself only wearing a shirt and baggy pants. His eyes were full of concern, and he was the tallest Sans I had ever seen, not counting G. G was a mix of a Sans and a Gaster, this was obviously just a Sans.

            “Don’t be scared, kiddo,” he said gently, “I won’t harm you. My name is Sans, caretaker of the ruins. I come here every day to check for fallen humans.”

            His smile was unlike any other Sans’s, it was so gentle and kind, lacking mischief or malice. And his voice was so deep and calming. He held his hand out to me and I took it, letting him guide me to my feet.

            “I see you do have some clothes, don’t worry, I won’t look, but keep the robe, the ruins can get very cold.” He turned his back to me and I quickly pulled my shirt on. I took his advice and slipped the robe over my head as well.

            “Th-thank you,” I said, “I’m Bunny.”

            “A pleasure to meet you, Bunny,” Sans turned back to me, “come with me, the ruins aren’t a safe place. I will guide you through and you can rest at my house.”

            This story was sounding familiar . . . living in the ruins, watching for fallen humans. That’s what Toriel did when she was underground. Were they switched in this world? But then . . .

            “Do you live here alone?” I asked.

            “Yes, though there are other monsters about. Froggits and Whimsums. I’ll introduce you as we go.”

            “Oh, that seems kind of lonely. I figured you’d have a . . . sibling, or something.”

            Sans hesitated for only a millisecond in his walk, then resumed his normal pace. “Do you have siblings, Bunny?”

            “Not that I know of.” Judging by this Sans’s reaction, I knew a Papyrus had to be in this world, but if everyone was switched . . . then where did that leave Papyrus? I tried to remember Toriel’s relationships. I knew she used to be married to the king.

            Was Papyrus king in this world?

            Walking through the ruins revealed crumbling hallways, climbing vines, and some puzzles. Sans solved a switch-based one, but when we came upon a bridge of spikes he insisted on holding my hand and guiding me as we crossed. The spikes fell as we walked a specific pattern.

            At one point he ran ahead of me, making me walk down a long hallway by myself, only to reveal that he had been hiding behind a pillar the whole time.

            “Alright, I’m glad to see that you can handle yourself,” Sans said proudly. I felt a bit patronized. “Since that’s the case, I wonder if you wouldn’t mind waiting here? I need to take care of something at home really quick, I’m afraid it’s a terrible mess.”

            “That’s really not necessary,” I said.

            “I’ll only be a minute and I’ll come right back for you,” Sans promised. He turned away then paused. “By the way, which do you like better, cinnamon or butterscotch?”

            “Um, I love both,” I said.

            Sans beamed and nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

            Well now what?

            I sure as hell wasn’t just going to stand around here. We were obviously in the underground, this was my chance to explore.

            My phone rang as I walked down the hall, I answered it as I entered the next room – empty except for some columns and switches.

            “Bunny!” It wasn’t Sans’s voice this time, but Papyrus. My heart leapt. “Are you alright? Where are you now?! I’m sorry it took so long, Sans had to recalibrate the phone!”

            “Hi Paps! Don’t worry, I’m safe,” I quickly assured him. “I’m in the underground, in the ruins I think? There’s a Sans here, he says he’s caretaker of the ruins.”

            “Well that’s strange!” Papyrus said, “Sans has never even been to the ruins.”

            “He’s definitely not like our Sans,” I said, “he’s tall and is all dad-like.”

            “Nyeh! It’s odd imagining my brother as a father,” Papyrus admitted. “But you’re alright? There’s no need to be scared, Sans is working very hard on the machine and will have you home soon, I know it!”

            “I’m okay, so far all these worlds have been kind.”

            “I’m glad to hear our alternate counterparts are being hospitable!”

            “Oh, and I grew again! I’m my normal size!”

            “That’s wonderful! A big weight off my shoulders, I was very concerned about you wandering about being tiny.”

            “Me too,” I admitted.

            “I want you to know that I am keeping a safeguard over your stuffed caterpillar!” Paps said proudly. “I found him in the bag Toriel brought. I asked Sans if he could send it to you, but he said the machine isn’t accurate enough for that.” Papyrus’s voice dipped into sadness before perking up again. “But! He will be here for you when you get home!”

            “Thank you, Papyrus, that makes me feel a lot better, knowing that he’s safe with you.” My voice quivered, threatening tears. I cleared my throat. “Is Sans there?”

            “Oh, yes! I seem to have taken the phone right of his hands!”

            “’sup, buttercup?” Sans’s care-free voice came over the speaker, making me smile.

            “I’m okay, but Papyrus sounds a little strained.”

            “Yeah, we both slept here last night. He’s keeping ahold of Cucumber for you.”

            “When are you going to try again?”

            “Soon. I’ll call you in a few hours to check the status of any glitches or dangers you’re experiencing. If there’s nothing then we’ll give it another overnight, but if there is, I want to try again.”

            “Okay.”

            “Are you safe? I heard you were in the ruins with a Sans.”

            “Yeah, hard to explain, but it seems like a good Sans, so I’m safe.”

            “Okay. I’m going to get back to work then.”

            “Okay, can I talk to Papyrus some more?”

            “Um, how much battery do you have?”

            “Oh, crap!” I hadn’t even thought about that. I looked at my phone’s display and saw I had a little more than half a battery. I reported my findings.

            “We’d better save it then, sorry.”

            “No, you’re right, can’t risk the phone dying. You’ll call me back in a few hours?”

            “Of course.”

            “Promise?” I knew Sans wasn’t big on promises, and normally I didn’t require it of him.

            “You promise you’ll be there?”

            “You needed to chill your drinks at the end-of-school dance?”

            “What?”

            “You need prom ice.”

            But I was alone and scared, and the fact that I couldn’t just sit and talk to Papyrus really struck home how isolated I was from the people I loved and trusted. I needed to hear Sans say that I would come home.

            “Please promise me,” I said quietly.

            There was a silent pause from Sans before I heard him whisper back, “I promise, Bunny.”

            “Thank you.” I could feel my voice cracking again, so I quickly hung up. I had to stay strong. Panic would only make things worse.

            Sans promised.

            I took a deep breath and continued.

            The rooms I walked through were filled with puzzles, but they were fairly simple. I read the plaques on the walls and those were enough to tip me off to the answers. There were some monsters, as CaretakerSans had said. The shy whimsums avoided me, and the froggits, though suspicious, were easily appeased by a compliment, and they let me pass.

            Then I met a rock while trying to pick them up for a puzzle.

            “Whoa there, partner! You think you can just push me around?”

            “Oh!” I gasped and dropped him, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize . . . um, would you mind moving over onto that switch for me?”

            “Why, sure, pumpkin!” The rock obliged and moved onto the switch, lowering a set of spikes up ahead. Before I could step across, they shot back up.

            “Ah! Um, excuse me, Mx. Rock? Could you stay on the switch?”

            “Oh? Stay? You’re really giving me a workout!” The rock moved back to the switch and I quickly crossed.

            At one point I found a bowl of candy and helped myself to a piece, chewing as I went down another hallway. This led me to a balcony that overlooked an entire cityscape.

            “Wow,” I whispered, staring out at the sight. I had seen pictures of the underground from my world, but it was cut off from the public. They promised to open it one day after archeologists finished their study of the strange underground world.

            Seeing it for myself was something else.

            I heard a ribbit behind me and spun around. A froggit had approached in curiosity, but my sudden movement scared it. It startled and sent a wave of bugs at me. I cried out, waving my hands and running away from the attack, taking a few stings to my arms for the trouble.

            I didn’t stop running, turning down another hallway. This took me to a small house which had – of all things – a tree growing in front of it.

            CaretakerSans was there.

            “Oh! Kid, I’m sorry I left you for so long. You weren’t scared, were you?” He came up to me and noticed the stings on my arms. “Poor thing, I shouldn’t have left you. Come inside, I have a surprise for you.”

            Caretaker took my hand and guided me to the house. I found myself squeezing his hand back tightly. The house was warm and comforting. There were golden flowers in vases, a cozy fireplace, and the smell of cinnamon in the air . . .

            “Surprise,” Caretaker smiled proudly, “I made butterscotch cinnamon pie. I also prepared a room for you.” He waved for me to follow and he took me to a bedroom with a freshly made bed, clothes, and even some stuffed animals.

            “Feel free to freshen up while the pie cools,” Caretaker said, “take your time.”

            “Th-thank you.”

            “. . . Are you okay?” Caretaker touched my shoulder, hearing my choked-up voice. I crumbled at the touch, bursting into tears and spinning around to grab him in a hug.

            “Kiddo, please don’t be upset –”

            “I want to go home . . .” I warbled. I couldn’t hold it back anymore. My arms hurt from the attack, I was scared and homesick, and this Sans was so warm and paternal, it was hard not to spill everything to him.

            I felt his boney phalanges comb through my hair while his other hand patted my back. “It’s alright, I’ll take care of you. Come on, I’ll cut us some pie.” Caretaker put an arm around my shoulders and guided me to the living room.

            “You just sit down here by the fire, I’ll get the pie.” Caretaker hurried to the kitchen while I sank to the floor, wiping my face with the sleeve of the robe. The fire was warm, so I slipped it off and left it around my shoulders like a blanket.

            Caretaker returned with a plate containing a large, steaming piece of pie. I took it, sniffling and trying to clear the mucus from my throat. I scooped up a small bite with the fork and set it on my tongue.

            My eyes went wide.

            “How is it?”

            “S-so good!” I said, surprised. The only thing I had seen Sans cook was a quiche. It had been good, but this was a whole other level.

            Caretaker smiled, pleased. “I’m glad. A dear friend of mine gave me the recipe. I never really baked a pie before. Have as much as you want.”

            A dear friend? Toriel . . .?

            “I want you to know that you are safe here with me, and I will take care of you,” Caretaker said, “I’ll show you my favorite frog-hunting spots. They enjoy a good game of tag. Actually, how about I read to you from one of my frog fact books? They’re ribbit-ing.”

            I stopped, another bite frozen mid-air. “Did you just-?”

            He winked.

            Some things never change.

            Sans hung up the phone with a tired sigh. Bunny had sounded so scared and stressed, how could he refuse the promise? He had to get her home, even if he warped her through a thousand worlds, he couldn’t give up.

            Papyrus was stressed as well, he had Cucumber the caterpillar tucked in his pocket, insisting that he had to keep it safe until Bunny got back. He had also been distracting himself with the investigation behind the anti-monster organization. Luckily, the men they had caught had provided a much-needed lead.

            “Well!” Papyrus said, standing up straight and putting on a brave pose, “since you have work to do, I will go report to Undyne then secure us some lunch! I’ll be back in time for your next phone call.”

            “Alright, bro, I’ll see you in a little bit,” Sans said distractedly, staring at the phone.

            “I know you’ll figure it out, Sans. I believe in you!”

            Sans’s eyes softened. “Thanks, Pap.”

            After Papyrus left, Sans scrolled through his contact list thoughtfully. He could do it, this was true, but it would take time, and a lot of trial and error.

            He needed someone who knew the machine literally inside and out.

            He needed a Gaster.

            Sans clicked the contact on his phone and waited through the rings. Eventually, someone answered.

            “G here.”

            “It’s Sans. There’s an emergency, and I need your help. Bunny needs your help.”

            “Bunny?” G sounded equal parts suspicious and concerned. “What happened?”

            “I’ll explain, but can you come? How far away are you?”

            “Is this a trick, Sans? You trying to send me back?”

            “As much as I would like to, no. Bunny got pulled into the machine and sent to an alternate universe. I need your Gaster side on this to figure out how to get her back.”

            “. . .”

            “You can talk to Papyrus if you don’t believe me.”

            “Yeah, I think I will, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and start heading that way. I’m about twelve hours out.”

            “Come as fast as you can.”

            “Alright, I’ll call when I’m in town, then I want to hear from Papyrus.”

            They hung up. Sans got back to work.

            The frog slipped out of my hands as I tried to carefully grab it, hopping away without a care in the world. Caretaker chuckled as he watched, he currently had two frogs in each hand, and one on his head.

            I had returned his robe and eaten my fill of butterscotch-cinnamon pie. Caretaker had insisted I take a nap. He was right, after I woke, I felt much better and up for more exploring. There was a spot around the house where water dripped from the cavern. The frogs lived there, and we had spent a couple of hours now watching tadpoles and catching the hoppy creatures, only to let them go again.

            As we played, I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. I turned my head and noticed a strange flower in the corner, growing between the stones. It had a white center and black pedals. I had never seen anything like it before.

            “Hey, what kind of flower is–?” but when I turned to point it out, it was gone.

            “Hm?” Caretaker looked up curiously from frog petting.

            “Oh, I just . . . must have been my imagination.”

            “Would you like to go back inside now? You are welcome to read while I make dinner.”

            “Yeah, that sounds good. What are you going to make?”

            “Hmm, I was thinking . . .” Caretaker held up the frog in his hands, “frog hot pockets?”

            I could practically feel my face turn green as my stomach dropped. Caretaker’s face split into a grin and he laughed.

            “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! Pepperoni or ham and cheese?”

            I sighed with relief. “Pepperoni, please.”

            “Off we go then.”

            We returned to the house. In the corner of my eye I thought I saw black pedals again, but when I turned my head there was nothing there.

            Caretaker held the door open for me, but I hesitated, curiosity spiking. “I’ll be right in,” I said, “I need a leaf . . . for a bookmark.”

            “Oh, good idea, I’ll just be in the kitchen.” Caretaker waved and stepped inside.

            I walked up to the big tree, searching the ground at the fallen red leaves. I kept pausing and looking around the courtyard. I had spent years as a bitty dodging mice and spiders, I knew the feeling of being watched.

            “Howdy!”

            I jumped in surprise, turning to see the black flower had popped up behind me. It had large black eyes and a thin smile.

            “I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower, you must be new to the underground, huh?”

            I kneeled down to get a better look at the strange monster, resting on one knee.

            “Well, let me tell you how things work around here, since you’re so stupid you’ll trust any monster,” the flower gave me a patronizing expression.

            “Excuse me?”

            “You think the old man is your friend? Down here, human, it’s kill or be killed.”

            “Sans isn’t like that,” I said with conviction.

            “No? Why don’t you ask him if you can leave the ruins? Hm? Go ahead, just ask to step outside, see what happens. The exit is in the basement.”

            I frowned. “Who are you? Why are you telling me this?”

            “Trust me, I’m the good Samaritan in this,” Flowey said coolly, “Try to go outside. You’ll see.”

            Then he slipped down into the dirt, disappearing. A red leaf rested on the spot he left.

            I picked it up and slowly walked back to the house. Inside I could smell food cooking. Caretaker called to me from the kitchen. “Bunny? It’s almost done.”

            “’k-‘kay.” I swallowed, staring at the stairs directly across from the door.

            The basement.

            I looked toward the kitchen door, listening to the sounds of rattling cutlery. Was Caretaker hiding something? What did Flowey care if I went to the basement?

            Okay, just a peek.

            My bare feet didn’t make any noise on the stairs as I walked down them. All I saw was a long hallway, so I followed it, quickly looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being followed.

            The hallway made a turn (what kind of basement was this?) and finally ended at a tall door, arched, with the delta rune symbol stamped upon the stone. I approached it carefully until I was able to touch it.

            Nothing happened.

            I frowned and tilted my head. This was obviously the way out, but so what? There were no traps, no tricks of any kind. What was Flowey trying to show me?

            Knock knock.

            I gasped as the knock echoed down the hall, filling up the whole basement. I stared at the door in shock.

            “H-hello?”

            “You’re supposed to say ‘who’s there?’” a female voice chastised me.

            “Oh, uh, who’s there?” I asked.

            “Broken pencil.”

            “Broken pencil who?”

            “Eh, forget it, it’s pointless.”

            A soft giggle slipped out of my nervous throat. I pressed my ear to the door to hear better. “Good one.”

            “So, either the old man got a voice change, or I’m talking to someone new,” the voice said.

            “Y-yeah. I’m Bunny. Do you want me to let him know you’re here?”

            “Eh, don’t trouble yourself.”

            “No, it’s okay. Here, why don’t you just come in? I’m sure he won’t mind . . .” I pushed against the door and it groaned like it hadn’t been opened in a hundred years. I struggled against it, pressing my back against the stone and digging my heels in until it was wide enough for someone to pass through.

            “Whew, here you go. Want to come in? Sans was just making food.” I looked outside and recognized the goat monster before me, though this Toriel was much shorter, even shorter than me, wearing a dress and a dark purple hoodie. She had her eyebrows raised in surprise.

            “Kid? Kiddo!” I heard Caretaker calling and turned around to see him running down the hall. “Kid, get away from there!”

            I froze. What was wrong? Toriel wouldn’t hurt me, would she?

            Caretaker grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him, blocking me from Toriel. I saw his eyes glow blue as he looked sternly down at her.

            “Heh, you gotta be kidding me, you’re full of surprises today, old man,” Toriel said with a wink, “Bunny here was just inviting me in for food, and you know me, goat to have that free grub.”

            The blue glow died down, and Caretaker relaxed his grip on my arm. “I hope I can trust you too keep some discretion, my friend.”

            Toriel grinned. “You feed me whatever smells so good and my mouth will be too full to talk about anything ever again.”

            Caretaker relaxed fully and placed a hand on my shoulder instead. I stared up at him. “I’m really sorry, it sounded like you guys were friends, so I thought I should invite her in . . .”

            “It’s alright kiddo, we are friends, aren’t we . . .?”

            “Tori,” the goat monster held out her hand and Caretaker reached out to take it.

            “And I am –”

            Thlump.

            “Haha!” Tori giggled, “the ‘ol whipped cream in the hand trick, it’s always funny.” She winked and walked ahead of use while Caretaker wiped his hand off on his robe.

            “So, you know each other, but you’ve never actually met?” I asked. Caretaker went to the door and pulled it closed once again.

            “We heard each other by happenstance. She knocked on the door, I answered, she told a joke, and that’s what it’s been.”

            “Because you didn’t want her to know who you were?”

            Caretaker smiled. “I like my privacy.” As we walked back up the hallway, his voice became more serious. “Why did you come down here, kid?”

            I was curious? You didn’t say I couldn’t? I knew better than to lie to Sans, even if it wasn’t my Sans.

            “A flower told me to.”

            He frowned. “A flower.”

            “With black pedals. He said I should try to leave and see what you would do. He said that in this place it’s kill or be killed, I wanted to prove him wrong.”

            Caretaker looked at me with a soft expression, then he stopped. “I can’t let you leave, kiddo.”

            Up ahead, Tori paused and glanced over her shoulder.

            “What?” I blinked at him.

            “Listen, you can stay here, I can take care of you. If you go out there . . . he- Papyrus will kill you.”

            I gasped. Papyrus wouldn’t do that! He would never kill anyone!

            “Not to take sides here,” Tori said, “but it would be dangerous for a human. I could keep an eye out for you, but my brother, Asgore, he’s a human hunting fanatic.”

            “No,” I said firmly, glaring at both of them, “you’re wrong, this isn’t a bad place, and monsters are –” I was going to say ‘good’, but I remembered the stings on my arms where the froggit had attacked me without provocation.

            I was underground. On the surface that same froggit might have saved my life, but here and now I was the key to their freedom. Papyrus was king here, that meant it was his job to . . .

            It couldn’t be true could it? My sweet Papyrus killing kids?

            “’lil child? You alright?” Tori asked.

            I was trembling. The world was getting fuzzy around me. I looked up and saw Tori disappear in a wave of pixels.

            Uh oh.

            “Kid?!” That was Caretaker, “kid what’s happening?”

            I looked down and saw that my hands were glitching out of sight. When I looked up again, Caretaker’s house was gone, and I was standing in a white nothingness.

            I blinked and was back in the ruins.

            My legs were shaking now. I felt Caretaker’s hands slip under my arms and hold me up as I began to slump.

            “Are you okay?”

            I shook my head.

            Caretaker picked me up, lifting me into his arms and swiftly carrying me back upstairs. Tori followed behind.

            “”M sorry,” I mumbled, “I just . . .”

            “It’s okay, this must be really hard on you, but you’re safe here, I promise.”

            Heh. Promises.

            Caretaker took me to the bedroom and set me on the bed. “Do you want something to drink?” He sat on the bedside and placed his hand on mine.

            It was comforting, but this wasn’t my Sans. I wanted to go home. I turned away, rolling over onto my side. “I’m going to try and sleep a bit.”

            “Okay, I’ll save you a hot pocket.” He patted my thigh and left the room. I could hear his and Tori’s voices, muffled

            “You know, when you asked me to make that promise . . .”

            “I thought if I could save one human . . .”

            “I see you tried the recipe . . .”

            Their conversation faded as I gratefully fell asleep.

            My cell phone woke me.

            I scrambled for it in the dark, pulling it out of my pocket and quickly answering. “Hello? Hello?”

            “Hey, kiddo, can I telephone you a joke?”

            “Sans,” I laughed and curled up, holding the phone close to my ear. “Tell me all the jokes.”

            “Eh, I can’t do it, I don’t have the guts.”

            I giggled harder than the joke deserved.

            “So good news, I’ve got G in route, he’s going to help with the machine, so finding you will go much faster.”

            “Oh man, I haven’t seen G in forever,” I said.

            “How are things there? Any glitching?”

            “Yeah,” I said sadly, “I glitched out and saw white.”

            Sans hummed. “Well that’s fun. Guess we better warp you again.”

            “Are you sure? I’m pretty safe here, can we wait until G gets there?”

            “He’ll be another day or two. I don’t like it either, but can’t risk you glitching out of existence.”

            “Alright, let me say goodbye then. One sec.” I stood up and found a hot pocket sitting on the floor. I smiled and picked it up, putting it in my dimensional box for later.

            The house was quiet and dark. It seemed that Tori had left, but Caretaker was in the living room, reading a book by the fireplace.

            “Oh! Kid, how’re you feeling?” He started at the sight of me and stood up.

            “I’m better, thank you. And thank you for taking such good care of me.”

            “Of course. My home is your home.”

            “Thank you. And thank you for reminding me that . . . monsters are good.”

            Caretaker raised his bonebrows, slightly confused.

            “You all have tough decisions to make down here, and sometimes we have to do things that don’t seem right, but keep some forgiveness in your heart, okay? He is your brother after all.” I smiled.

            “How did you know–?”

            I lifted the phone again. “I’m ready.”

            “Hold tight.”

            The world began to turn and fade. Caretaker reached for me, and I waved to him until he disappeared and I started to fall.

Chapter Text

            My shivering brought me too, and I woke up in the snow. Trembling, I carefully pushed myself up and looked around. Looked like I was back in the woods outside of Snowdin, which I recognized from Wunderground.

            I went to my knees, then my feet, looking around.

            It was quiet here. Eerily quiet. I gulped nervously and started walking down the path between the trees, hugging my arms. My bare feet became numb, and my teeth chattered.

             I stepped on a stick lying in the snow, and its snap echoed hauntingly through the woods. I quickened my pace and hurried toward the bridge.

            What kind of place was this? What kind of monsters would I meet here?

            The bridge appeared after what seemed like far too long and I jogged the rest of the way. Would Sans be here?

            I stopped at the edge of the little bridge, hands fidgeting against my chest.

            “Heh, back already, Chara? What is this? Somewhere in the four hundreds? But who can keep count anymore?”

            I spun around at the voice, spotting a shadowed figure walking toward me. They were short, like a Sans, but their voice was different. It sounded familiar.

            A blue eyelight blinked at me as the skeleton stepped forward into the light. “Are you ready to face me now? There’s no one left but . . .” He stopped, eyes widening in surprise. It was a Sans, one I recognized.

            “Bunny?”

            “Blue!” My cry was a happy echo in the silent woods. I ran toward my long-lost friend. In the time it took me to reach him, I noticed that his wardrobe had changed. He still wore his signature bandana, but it was tattered and frayed. He had long pants and combat boots. A strip of orange fabric tied around his thigh caught my eye.

            I crashed into him, swooping him up in my arms. He was just short enough that I could get his feet off the ground. “Blue, it’s you!”

            “Bunny?! B-but, how did you . . . how are you here?!”

            I paused my spin and set him down. Blue’s eyelights wobbled, taking on star shapes.

            “It’s a long story, but I got pulled into Sans’s machine and have been hopping through AUs. Oh Blue, it’s so good to see you.” The relief at finding someone I knew made my stomach flip.

            Blue reached up, cupping his gloved hands around my face tenderly. I grabbed his hands and squeezed them against my cheeks.

            “Bunny . . . I can’t believe it. I missed you so much.”

            “Let’s go into Snowdin!” I said, “we’ll get Stretch and I’ll tell you guys everything that’s happened.”

            Blue blinked and the stars in his eyes faded back to circles. “I uh . . . Stretch isn’t here, Bunny.”

            “What?”

            “My universe has . . . well, bad things have happened, and he’s gone. Everyone’s gone.”

            “I don’t understand, they can’t just be gone.” I was baffled by what he was saying.

            Blue sighed. “It isn’t safe here, let’s go and I’ll tell you more.” He grabbed my hand and took the lead, guiding me down the path.

            “Blue, what do you mean they’re gone? Everyone? In the whole underground?”

            “Yeah.”

            “But . . .”

            “I’ll explain, but let me get us through my traps first. I had to up the ante on them so they’re more complicated.”

            “Why?”

            He sighed sadly. “It’s not safe here anymore.”

            He meant what he said by ‘up the ante’. Papyrus had told me about his traps underground and they had sounded fun and challenging. This was . . . scary. Blue’s traps were difficult, made to hinder and harm. He kept me close as he guided me through, dodging a flamethrower and spikes buried under the snow.

            “Bl-Blue . . .” I was bewildered as we ducked under a swinging mace. “Did something attack? The others aren’t . . . oh god, they aren’t dead, are they?”

            “No, no. Something did attack us, but they’re not dead.” Blue punched a button, dropping a wall of spikes. We finally made it to a small village, but the main road was filled with blockades of wood, spikes, and barbed wire. Blue showed me the safe way through.

            I could sense his relief when we finally got into town. A sign wrapped in holiday lights said ‘Welcome to Snowdin.’

            So this was Snowdin. My Sans and Papyrus had told me all about it – and I had always pictured a charming snow-covered village.

            This was quiet and empty. The only lights were from a Gyftmas tree in the middle of town square. Blue kept a firm hold on my hand as we made our way to his house.

            The town was so lovely, how could this have happened? Everyone was supposed to get a happy ending, how could Blue and Stretch of all people end up in something horrible like this?

            When we got to the house, the door was covered in locks. Blue unlatched them one by one then ushered me inside. As he relocked the door I took in the house. This at least seemed normal. There was a couch and a table with a rock sitting on it, the television was off.

            Blue seemed at ease now that we were behind closed doors. He smiled and gave me a big hug. “I can’t believe you’re here! Are you sure you’re real?”

            “I promise I am,” I said, giving his forehead a kiss to drive my point home. Blue blushed. “So, what’s going on?” I asked more seriously.

            Blue sighed and sat on the couch. I sat next to him, taking one of his gloved hands in mine.

            “Did Sans ever tell you about . . . resets?”

            I shook my head.

            Blue smirked. “No, he wouldn’t. Even my brother didn’t tell me, not until I started to remember.” He paused to take a breath. “So, a human fell, Chara. But, they were not very nice. They came through and started murdering monsters. Apparently, they even murdered me . . .”

            I frowned. What was he talking about?

            Blue grinned apologetically. “Sorry. This is hard to explain. You see, Chara has the ability to reset the world after they’re done with it, or if they die.”

            “Wh-what, like, Groundhog Day?”

            “I . . . don’t know what that is,” Blue said, “you know how if you die in a video game you can start again? It’s like that for Chara. They can do fights over and over until they win, they can start back at the beginning and do everything all over again, and none of us remember. At least, not at first.

            “I noticed when Papy started to become depressed and lethargic. It wasn’t just his usual laziness, he was miserable. Smoked all the time, didn’t talk to anyone, just slept as much as he could. I think at that point Chara had reset the world a couple hundred times.”

            My jaw fell open in horror.

            “That’s when I started to remember the resets too. I always thought the human seemed familiar, but then I started to realize that we were repeating the same day, fighting the same fight. When Chara found out I could remember they seemed overjoyed. They reset a lot after that, always wanting to talk to me. Sometimes they killed me, sometimes they spared, but they kept resetting and trying different things, even when I begged them to stop. It got to the point where all they would do was kill . . .

            “And that’s when . . . everyone started disappearing.

            “The monsters would start to glitch and fade, until they were gone completely. It was like every time Chara reset it had a negative effect on the world, and they did it so much and killed so often that . . . well, that was Papy’s theory anyway. That all the resets were messing with the fabric of our world.”

            “And Stretch, he . . . he disappeared too?” I whispered. I looked down at the orange fabric around his thigh, the same orange as Stretch’s hoodie. I felt sick to my stomach.

            Blue nodded. “He and Chara fought a lot. I think he was their favorite. That’s why they killed everyone so often, because Papy wouldn’t fight them otherwise. Papy is so kind and peaceful, he never wanted to hurt anyone, not even Chara . . . So I refused to kill them! Even after everyone disappeared I told Chara that they could make things right, reset and bring everyone back, but they refused. They wanted to see if they could . . . break me, see if I would disappear too.”

            “Blue, oh my god . . .”

            Blue smiled at me calmly, a confident smirk that showed more strength than I had ever seen on a person.

            “But I haven’t disappeared yet, and I’m not giving up! I’ll get through to Chara, and I’ll bring everyone back!”

            I launched forward and wrapped my arms tight around his neck. Blue patted my back. “Mweh, mweh, it is good to see you, Bunny.”

            “You too, Blue. Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m not leaving until this Chara person is stopped.”

            “Heh, thanks Bunny, but it’s too dangerous to face them, and you’re not part of this world. I don’t know if you would come back if they killed you and reset.”

            “Then I won’t get killed,” I said firmly.

            “But –”

            “Blue, there is no way in hell I’m leaving you to face that human alone. I’m helping you.” My tone left no room for argument.

            Blue grinned. “How did you end up here?”

            I told him my story, and we talked while Blue decided to make some food. He seemed so excited to be able to make tacos for someone.

            How long had he been alone like this? When we first ran into each other he said something about the four hundreds . . .

            Who would possibly do this? Torturing someone for so long? To my friend.

            I clenched my fist, the thought filled me with anger.

            “Bunny . . .” I didn’t realize Blue had stepped up to me, as I had been glaring at the floor. He took my fist, gently unfolding my fingers. “I know, trust me, I know. I’m angry too, but that’s how Chara wins. The best thing you can do to help me? Be a reminder of how powerful kindness is. Anyone can be a good person if they just try.”

            I blinked at him. “You really believe that, don’t you, Blue?”

            He bopped my nose. “I learned from the best.” Then he winked and turned back to the meal.

            We ate our tacos, trying to talk of lighter things. I caught Blue up on my life, doing most of the talking. Blue listened casually, smiling and laughing. He had become more somber since we had parted ways, he seemed older to me, and I suppose that was the pain he was in.

            But that spark was still there, the joy and conviction that made Blue, Blue.

            I wouldn’t let Chara put that spark out.

            “Do you know when Chara will come?” I asked.

            “It doesn’t take long after I ‘wake up’,” Blue said, “I went to the woods to intercept them, since they usually come out of the ruins.”

            “What if we just hid from them? Like stayed in the house until they got bored?”

            “I tried that already,” Blue shrugged, “got through about forty resets until it got to be too much though.”

            I lowered my gaze sadly. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all this.”

            “Thanks. It hasn’t been easy, but, I can’t give up until I get my brother back.” Blue stood up and stretched.

            “Are you going to go look for Chara?”

            “No, I think I’m just going to enjoy your company for the night,” Blue beamed, planting his fists on his hips. “I’m afraid we don’t have TV anymore, but I can scrounge up some VHS tapes and cinnabunnies!”

            “Sounds good.”

            Blue found a working tape and put it in while I settled on the couch with our snacks. Blue sat next to me, pulling a blanket across our laps. Watching the film, I almost didn’t hear the sound of someone calling from outside.

            “Saaaans . . . come out come out wherever you are . . .”

            I started to turn my head to the window but Blue put his arm across my shoulders and pulled me down against him. He rested his head on mine and turned up the volume.

            “They can’t get in, just ignore it.”

            I heard the doorknob rattle. Blue tightened his grip on me.

            “I know you’re in there, come on out, Sans.”

            Blue didn’t answer.

            “You know if I get too bored I’ll just keep resetting.”

            At this Blue stiffened, holding me closer.

            “You think about that. I’ll be back,” Chara cackled, and their laughter faded as they walked away.

            Blue sighed. “I can’t risk them resetting if you’re here,” he murmured.

            I took his hand. “Then we’ll just face them together.”

            Blue shook his head.

            “What choice do we have? Either they get bored and reset, fight you and reset, or we catch their interest with something new – me. It’ll buy us time.”

            “They’ll try and kill you.”

            “But first they must catch me.” I winked. Blue chuckled through his nose.

            My phone rang.

            “It’s my Sans!” I gasped happily. Blue’s bone brows shot up as I answered.

            “Heya, kiddo. Where are you now?” Sans’s voice came through the speaker.

            “I’m with Blue!”

            “Thank the stars, at least you’re safe.”

            “I am so not safe.”

            “Come again?”

            “Hey, Classic,” Blue spoke up. He relayed the predicament we were in, explaining Chara and the resets.

            “If that’s the case,” Sans said, “then I need to warp Bunny again. It’s too dangerous for her to stay there.”

            “I’m not going anywhere,” I said sharply, “there’s no way I’m leaving Blue alone.”

            “Chara has the power to reset. You can’t beat them in a fight. If they die, they come right back.”

            “Then we’ll find another way.”

            “Bunny –”

            “What if it was Papyrus, Sans?” I said gently. “What if it was Papyrus stuck all alone in a loop?”

            “Low blow, kid. But . . . you made your point. Not much I can do to stop you anyway. And you’re okay with this, Blue?”

            “I would never let anything happen to Bunny!”

            “And what happens when you start to glitch?”

            “Glitch?” Blue frowned.

            I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m not leaving Blue.”

            Then I hung up.

            “Wait, what did he mean by glitching? Bunny?”

            I didn’t answer. I was tired, and scared, and heartbroken for Blue. I stood up and wandered upstairs. Blue followed behind me. I found his room, clearly labeled, and went inside. There was a rocket ship bed and table of action figures.

            “Are you tired?” He asked.

            I nodded.

            “Sure, yeah, take a nap. I can sleep on –”

            I grabbed his hand and shook my head, pulling him toward the bed with me.

            “Oh, okay.”

            So we laid down together. Blue, in a show of gentlemanly concern, stayed above the covers while I got under them, but he held on to me tightly. I laid on my side, face against his chest.

            Blue’s hands trembled on my shoulders.

            “Blue? What’s wrong?”

            “I’ve been alone for such a long time,” Blue murmured, face pressed into the top of my head. “I’m really glad you’re here. I know that’s selfish but . . .”          

            I shushed him and patted his head playfully. “You’re the least selfish person ever. We’re going to get everyone back, together.”

            Blue nodded. “Together.”

            I gave him comforting back rubs, feeling the bumps of his ribs and spine under the clothes. He settled in to lie down on his stomach, and over his shoulder I caught the sight of something orange floating in the air.

            My eyes shot up, and for a brief moment I saw a skeleton in an orange hoodie looking out at us from a flickering outline, like the pixels of a video game. I gasped and sat up, but then he was gone.

            “I see him too sometimes,” Blue said, “their glitches still come through.”

            Glitches . . .

            What if . . .

            But I didn’t finish my thought, instead I drifted off the sleep.

***Bonus Smut Chapter***

             I was woken by the feeling of static in my head. I opened my eyes and saw the world flickering around me. I lifted my hands and saw them glitching in and out of existence.

            Then, everything went back to normal.

            I sighed and dropped my hands, sinking back into the mattress. Blue slept lightly beside me, humming inquisitively. I patted his hand in reassurance and slipped out of bed in search of something to drink.

            The kitchen sink was obnoxiously tall, but there were cups of water in the fridge, so I helped myself, washing the taste of sleep out of my mouth.

            Glitching already, that meant I didn’t have much time.

            I heard a creak on the stairs and stepped out of the kitchen to find Blue, he seemed wide awake, bandana straight and a fresh shirt on.

            “Hi, Bunny! Do you feel better?”

            “Yeah, much.”

            “So, are you going to tell me what Classic was talking about with that ‘glitch’ talk?”

            Before I could answer, the glitch answered for me. I felt it like white noise all over the side of my head. One of my eyes went blind so that I only saw white, but the other still saw Blue.

            “Gah!” I shut my eyes and shook my head. When I opened my eyes again everything was back to normal. Blue stared at me in shock.

            “The universe is trying to reject me,” I said, “I don’t know how much time I have.”

            “Bunny, you should have told me. You can’t stay here if –”

            “I’m fine,” I insisted, “I promised.”

            Blue opened his mouth to object, but was interrupted by a voice yelling from outside.

            “Saaaans!” Chara’s voice rang faintly from outside, making us both look up. “There’s no one else to play with, Sans. Just you and me.”

            Blue sighed and sat up. “Can’t put it off anymore.”

            I stood up and took his hand. “Then let’s go.”

            I could practically feel my soul hardening, patience turning into defiance as we walked to the door and stepped outside into the snow.

            Chara was . . . they were just a kid, though I had no idea what their age was. A wicked smile slashed across their face, their eyelids wide so that too much of the whites were showing. They held a knife in their hand. When they saw me, they gasped and giggled excitedly, manically.

            “I knew it! I knew something else would change! A whole new character? This is awesome!”

            Crazy. They were crazy. Completely mad from all the resets and deaths.

            How many times? How many times had they killed Stretch and Blue just to bring them back and do it again?

            I wanted to hate them, I did hate them, but I also remembered what Blue had said to me. Be a reminder of how powerful kindness is.

            “Bunny isn’t part of this world,” Blue warned, “if you hurt her or reset she won’t come back, then you’ll lose your new novelty.”

            I had never heard Blue speak so candidly before. He stood tall with his arms crossed, eyes glowing blue and orange with magic, staring Chara down warningly.

            “Come on, Chara,” Blue continued, “I know you’re just as lonely as I am. Let’s put an end to this and bring the others back.”

            Chara’s grin only widened. “Can’t bring them back, Sans! That’s not how it works, we keep going forward. That’s how you play the game.”

            “I didn’t come here to play your game. I came here to ruin it.”

            Then Blue unleashed his attack.

            I stared in shock as a barrage of bones shot toward Chara, there were so many I didn’t know how she was able to dodge any of them. After the bones, a pair of gaster blasters shot beams from their mouths, then Blue’s eye glowed even brighter, encasing Chara in a blue glow and sent them flying through a chasm of bones that she tried to dodge, flailing through the air.

            Then it was over, so chaotic and fast. Blue lowered his hand and the glow of his eyes dimmed. From the cloud of scattered snowflakes, Chara appeared, covered in bruises and scratches, hair frazzled, and panting for air.

            “That was . . . a good one . . .” they huffed.

            Then they raised her knife and charged.

            I barely had time to react as they arched the blade in a downward slice. I jumped back, watching the tip fly past my nose and hit the snow instead.

            They looked up at me with an angry glare.

            “You don’t train with the best royal guard in the universe and don’t learn how to dodge,” I quipped, thankful for mine and Papyrus’s exercise routine.

            I raised my leg and kicked them squarely in the stomach. Chara stumbled back and was forced to the ground as Blue sent another barrage of bones over their head.

            Chara was quick to retaliate, summersaulting backwards and coming for me again. Blue raised a shield of bones to block their attack.

            “Enough, Chara,” Blue’s eyes were glowing hotly, one orange, one blue. “You can’t keep going on like this.”

            Chara rolled their eyes. “You know, that speech gets boring after a while.”

            “It’s going to get a lot more boring once I’m gone and you’re left with nothing.”

            “There’s always something new,” they said, “your friend proves that. You became more powerful once your brother was gone. Maybe when you’re gone the grey monsters will appear . . .”

            I flinched as I felt a glitch shoot through my body, making me jitter.

            Chara frowned, but I realized they weren’t looking at me. I checked over my shoulder, my eye caught a flash of orange.

            Blue attacked again. His eyes flashed and rows of orange and blue bones shot toward Chara. They rolled and danced through the orange then froze in place as the blue ones went through their body. One low orange hit them squarely in the shin, making them fall to their knee. I saw an opportunity and ran forward.

            “Bunny!” Blue called out warningly, but I did not heed it. I tackled Chara before they could get back up, throwing us both into the snow. I pinned the wrist holding the knife while pushing my knee into their stomach. Chara snarled and struggled against me.

            I felt another glitch hit me, making my arm go numb and briefly disappear then come back. When it did, I saw the pixels it created effect Chara too.

            Yes, this is it, this is how . . .

            “Bunny, you’re –!”

            Another glitch wracked through me, deafening Blue’s voice. As the glitch reached my eyes I saw a pair of flip-flops with skeleton feet standing before us. I looked up and saw an orange hoodie and lazy skeleton smile.

            “Get off me!” Chara screamed.

            Instead, I let go of their wrist and wrapped my arms and legs around them, hugging tightly. This left my back exposed and I felt cold steel cut through my clothes and skin.

            I screamed.

            Another glitch shot through me and everything went white.

            I let go of Chara and we rolled away from each other, and that’s when I realized there wasn’t any snow. I winced as my back touched the ‘ground’, making the injury flare.

            White. Everything was just white. There were no walls, there didn’t even appear to be a floor, though Chara and I were clearly on something.

            My head spun, dizzy from not being able to settle my eyes on anything. I focused on Chara and their green shirt to keep myself grounded.

            They looked up at me, raising their blood-stained knife.

            Please work, I begged whatever in the universe might be listening, glitch again!

            Chara charged toward me, blade raised.

            I screamed and held up my arms.

            Clang!

            I heard the knife connect against something hard and solid. When I opened my eyes, I saw a wall of bones between me and Chara. The blade was embedded in the bone, and they were trying to wiggle their weapon free.

            I turned and looked up. Standing over me was Stretch, hands sitting casually in his pockets. He winked down at me.

            “Hey, kiddo.”

            “Stretch!”

            “Gah!” Chara yanked their knife free and the bones disappeared. They glared at us and tried to attack again, but with a flick of his wrist, Stretch turned them blue and sent them flying several feet into the whiteness.

            Stretch kneeled down and placed his hand on my shoulder. “However you got here, do the opposite now.”

            “I can’t exactly control it,” I said, scrambling to turn and look at him. I put my arms around his neck.

            Behind us, Chara got up and started running back.

            Come on, come on!

            I felt my fingertips tingle.

            Please, please . . .

            I flinched as Stretch put his arms around me and pulled us back, dodging as Chara came at us with the knife.

            Take me back to Blue!

            I felt my stomach drop as another glitch hit, making my whole body jerk. It encased Stretch and myself, and suddenly the white nothing was gone, replaced with cold snow and the smell of pine.

            Panting, I looked up and saw that we were back in Snowdin, and Stretch was still in my arms. I released him and quickly looked around, but Chara was gone.

            There was only Blue, staring at us with tear-filled eyes, the blue of his eyelights shimmering.

            Stretch chuckled, leaning back in the snow. “’Sup, bro?”

            “Papy!” Blue wailed and ran forward, tackling Stretch in a tight embrace. Tears tinged the corners of Stretch’s eyesockets as he wrapped his brother up in his arms.

            “I’m here, Sans. I’m here.”

            “I missed you so muuuuch!” Blue continued to cry, and in that moment I saw the real Blue coming out from under all that pain and stoic facade. I smiled at them, trembling, unable to stop my own crying.

            My fingers were still tingling as if they were asleep. I looked down and saw that they were in a constant glitch now, static surrounded them so they came in and out of sight.

            But that didn’t matter. The only sight I cared about was the two skeleton brothers reunited before me.

            Stretch looked at me from over Blue’s head and smiled at me lazily. “I don’t know what you two have been up to, but I owe you one, kid.”

            I laughed loudly and ran my sleeve over my eyes. “Shut up, Stretch. I’m just so glad . . . god I thought . . .”

            “You did it, Bunny,” Blue’s eyes were warbling stars. He let go of Stretch and reached for me. I quickly stepped back.

            “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m still –” I cut off when I saw someone behind Blue and Stretch, and my heart skipped a beat.

            No no, did Chara . . ?

            Blue and Stretch noticed me looking and turned. We all blinked in surprise as a white rabbit monster came into view, looking around in confusion. Then, stepping out of the fog, there was a bear monster, then from behind a house, a mouse with a too-long scarf appeared. They all seemed confused but unharmed.

            Blue gasped. “It’s the village! They’re back! You’re all back!”

            Stretch stared at me. “Bunny, how did you-?”

            “I have no idea,” I said shaking my head. “I guess my glitch reversed yours . . ?” I held out my hands to look at the static surrounding them.

            “Bunny . . .”

            Stretch and Blue were staring at me with concern. I smiled. “I’m okay, really, but . . .”

            “You need to call Sans,” Blue insisted. “He needs to warp you and stop the glitch.”

            My hands trembled. “I can’t leave you guys here. You’re still stuck underground. I can’t leave without –”

            “Bunny, we can get to the surface,” Blue said, “Chara is gone. My brother is back. You need to get to safety.”

            Tears ran down my cheeks. “I can’t leave you. Not without knowing that you’re safe . . .”

            Blue stepped up to me and held out his hand. Stretch followed behind. “Give me your phone.”

            I reached into my pocket, but the phone glitched right out of my hand. Blue quickly caught it before it hit the ground and opened it up. His thumbs swept across the screen.

            “There, now my number is in your phone. Call me every night, and then you’ll know when we get to the surface.”

            I sniffed and took the device back, nodding. “Every night,” I promised.

            “She really has to go?” Stretch asked, disappointed. “Barely got to see you, kid.”

            I nodded.

            “She could disappear like you if she doesn’t go,” Blue said, “I’ll explain later, but there’s no time now.”

            “I can’t go until Sans calls and teleports me,” I said. “Until then, I just want to be with you guys.”

            They both agreed and we all went back into their house with the promise that they would go check on the other monsters when I was gone. Blue went to the kitchen to find some monster food for my wound.

            “Do you know where we were, Stretch? That white place?”

            “Barely remember it myself,” Stretch said with a shrug. “I just remember bits and pieces of this world, it was like dreaming.”

            “It sounds scary,” Blue said, returning to the living room with some candy in hand, “is that where Chara is now?”

            “I think so. It was just a theory, but I remembered seeing that white place before, so I was hoping I could get Chara caught in my glitch. Once we arrived and I glitched again they didn’t come because I wasn’t touching them, but Stretch did, so I assume they’re still in that white place . . . and hopefully that’s where thEY’ll st---Ay.”

            The boys winced as the glitch hit my voice, making me stutter like a skipping CD. I swallowed, shaking it off.

            I started crying again.

            “Bunny! Are you hurt?!” Blue dropped the candy and grabbed my hands, pulling me to the couch.

            “I j-just missed you guys so much!” I sobbed. Blue untied his bandana and handed it to me so I could wipe my cheeks. “And you’re okay, and you’re safe . . .”

            “Aw, come on, kid, you’re tearing me apart here,” Stretch teased.

            I sniffed and handed back the bandana. “Sorry, things have been really emotional lately.”

            Stretch placed a comforting hand on my hair and leaned down, planting a pseudo kiss on the top of my head. I blushed.

            “Thanks, Stretch.”

            “I have a kiss for you too, Bunny!” Blue put his arms around my neck and smushed his smooth teeth against my cheek. I giggled and hid my face in my hands. The glitch on my fingers swarmed over my head so I quickly pulled away.

            “Better not make any more physical contact, Blue.” Stretch warned. “Don’t want you to get caught in that glitch.”

            “Classic better call soon!” Blue pouted, crossing his arms. “He should have –”

            As if summoned, my phone started to ring.

            I smiled at them. “That’s my ride,” I said, pulling the phone out, this time able to keep it in my grip. I clicked answer.

            “Hello?”

            “Hang on tight.”

            Then, before I could say goodbye, the world around me disappeared, and everything went black.

            Error frowned at the two humans fighting in his anti-void.

            And the one with the strawberry-blonde hair . . . he had seen her before. How did she keep ending up here?

            Dirty glitch . . .

            He considered intervening, but it didn’t take long for the human glitch to leave the anti-void again.

            Only this time, she left her trash . . .

            When the Chara saw him their first instinct was to attack, but Error didn’t bother with an encounter. With a wave of his hand he opened a portal beneath their feet and sent them falling into some random, empty AU. The product of a genocide run. Core had already taken the survivors to the Omega timeline, so the Chara could just live in solitude for eternity.

            He had bigger fish to fry. To start off with, a dirty glitch that was messing with his anti-void.

            Glitches needed to be eliminated.

Chapter Text

            I whimpered, finding myself lying in a pile of clothes in a snowy wilderness.

            I was still underground, and I was tiny again.

            I heaved a tired sigh, pushing myself up to my knees and looking at my hands. The glitching was gone at least, so I had bought myself some more time.

            I looked up at the world around me, so much bigger and more frightening than before. It felt darker here, and the trees seemed thicker. I seemed to be in the forest outside of Snowdin, but there wasn’t a friendly trail like before, just thick trees and tangled branches.

            I sniffed, fearful and already missing Blue and Stretch. I didn’t even get to say goodbye properly. I hugged my knees and reminded myself of the little kisses they had given me, that they were safe and that was all that mattered.

            Shivering, I went to my phone and quickly opened my dimensional box, switching out my too-big clothes for the second outfit I had gotten from Red. It was a long sweater and a skirt, but the skirt was way too tiny. I didn’t have a Barbie-doll waist after all. Giving up, I tossed the skirt and pulled the sweater down over my thighs. The snow was cold on my bare feet and legs, so I left my last sock out so I and the cell phone had something to sit on.

            I was still in a lot of pain from the slash on my back, so I brought out the hot pocket Caretaker had given me – now huge. I pushed my fingers into the crust, breaking it open to get to the meaty insides.

            Then I heard a sound like a sniffing dog, but much bigger. I looked up and saw the shadow of something very big coming toward me between the trees. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a Sans or Papyrus. It was on all fours, and I saw the whip of a tail.

            It must have smelled my food. I moved quickly, grabbing the phone and jumping to my feet. I tried to dash through the snow, but, due to my size, the snow came up to my chest, leaving me to wade through the ice with painful slowness.

            Behind me I heard the sniffing come to a stop, followed by a loud gulp.

            Then the sniffing resumed, much louder and more frantic.

            It found me.

            I whimpered and made a lunge for some tree roots, grabbing the bark and pulling myself out of the snow. My entire body trembled from the cold and fear. I felt hot hair hit my head and turned around to face my pursuer.

            It was a skeleton creature, about the size of a horse with the head of a Gaster Blaster. It had teeth half my size and unreadable white eyelights. Its torso was hidden under a blue jacket with a fur collar that surrounded its neck.

            It towered over me, clawed paws digging into the earth. I screamed and turned away, curling up into a ball and covering my head with my arms. What else could I do? Running was laughable and hiding wouldn’t do any good.

            “Get away!” I screamed, feeling the rush of breath as it leaned down and sniffed me closely. I pulled myself in tighter.

            Then I felt the teeth on my back.

            I screamed and scrambled to make a break for it, but the monster bit down on my sweater and lifted me up like a kitten by the scruff of the neck. Dizzy from adrenaline, I went limp. I was exhausted and hurting, and if I slipped out of my sweater then I would freeze to death.

            I was at this monster’s mercy.

            “Please . . .” I whimpered, “don’t hurt me . . .”

            The thing didn’t respond, but started to walk, its great feet crunching in the snow.

            “No, no!” I struggled weakly, “my phone . . .” I pointed and wiggled. There was no way I could leave my phone, it was the only way to contact Sans and get out of this world.

            To my surprise the creature paused and turned back to the tree where my phone lay. It sat back on its haunches and carefully scooped the device up in its claws.

            Did it understand me?

            I watched as it moved the phone into a pocket on its clothes, and now that I had calmed down a bit, the blue garment did seem familiar.

            Could it be . . ?

            “Sans?” I whispered.

            There was no answer but a snort as a puff of air hit my hair. The monster - maybe a beast version of Sans? - resumed his walk with me dangling from his mouth.

            I could feel the warm air from its nostrils hit my head, and it made my body shiver. Goosebumps ran up and down my legs, and I pulled them into myself to rub and keep my toes from going numb.

            There was no friendly town this time, instead we soon came across some vistas and rock formations. The beast Sans climbed up the rocks to a secret cave opening I hadn’t even noticed.

            When we went inside the warmth hit me immediately and I groaned in relief. It wasn’t like other caves, dark and dripping, but warm and homey.

            There was a fireplace built into the cave wall, and two large ‘nests’ of blankets and pillows. There were lots of random items tucked into the corners as well – toys and books, clothes, electronics, and other assortments of things.

            I was carried toward the fireplace and BeastSans set me gently down on the hearth. My body began to violently tremble at the sudden temperature change and I sank to the floor, curling up into the fetal position.

            BeastSans laid down flat on the floor, head resting between his paws and looking at me with concern. A low whine rumbled from his throat and he stood up again, going to one of the nests and grabbing a small piece of fabric in his mouth. He brought it to me and let it drop, falling over me. I eagerly wrapped myself in it and my trembling began to quell.

            “Th-th-thank you,” I whispered.

            BeastSans made a soft trill sound in acknowledgement.

            “Can you un-understand me?” I asked. He made a rumbling sound in the back of his throat, leaning forward curiously to sniff at me some more. We didn’t seem to speak the same language, but he was definitely intelligent and we could communicate.

            I reached my hand forward as he smelled, and I rested my tiny palm on his nose, flexing my fingers in a petting motion. Beastly purred at this and tilted his head up so that I could scratch more under his chin. I obliged with a shy chuckle. When I lowered my hand, he resumed smelling me, nosing me over with his mussel and pulling at the fabric that separated him from my back.

            He must smell the blood.

            I lowered my blanket nervously, keeping it around my waist. He pushed the sweater up, making me wince. Then I felt something warm and damp run over my wound. I yelped in surprise and tried to pull away, but a large claw came forward. He rested the arch of the claw over the back of my neck, pinning me flat to the ground while his tongue ran over my back. I squealed and considered telling him off but . . . it actually felt good, soothing the angry cut. Eventually I relaxed, feeling tired and stressed. Slowly the pain faded, filling me with relief. I even felt the tongue taste my hair, as if wanting to groom me completely.

            The ring of my phone cut through the silence, making Beasty snarl in surprise. I looked up as he pulled the device out of his pocket.

            “It’s my friend!” I explained quickly, pulling my sweater back down. Beasty placed the phone next to me and I slapped my palm on the answer button.

            “Bunny? You alright?” Sans’s voice came through the speaker. Beasty growled softly and bent down to sniff it.

            “I, um, I think so,” I said pulling my blanket up around my shoulders.

            “You mad at me?”

            “No, Sans, of course not.” My nose tingled and my eyes stung as tears built up. “No, you saved me. I was starting to glitch really bad.”

            “Hey, it’s alright, don’t cry. What happened to Blue?”

            “He’s okay.” I sniffed, smiling as I remembered his smiling face. “He and his brother both. We got them back, Sans.”

            “Heh, I knew you could do it, kiddo.”

            I was now crying heartily. Beastly whined and nudged gently at my head.

            “You got a dog out there?”

            I chuckled weakly. “It’s you, actually. Like an animal version of you.”

            “You safe?”

            “Yeah, he’s good,” I smiled up at my host. Seeing my reassurance, Beastly relaxed.

            “Okay, good.”

            “Is Papyrus there? I know we have to save battery but I really want to talk to him.”

            “Sorry, Bun, he went outside to wait for G, but I’ll have him here when I call back.”

            “Okay.”

            “Anymore glitching now?”

            “No, it went away.”

            “Good, good, gives us more time then. It’s going to be okay, Bunny. G will be here soon to help me, and we’ll have you home in no time.”

            “Okay,” the tears resumed with the promise of home. I dabbed at them with my sleeve. It would be nice seeing G again. He had only visited once after the others were sent home, and it had been in secret so that Sans didn’t try and send him back.

            “Hang in there just a little longer, kiddo, you’re doing great, and I know it’s hard.”

            “I got this,” I said, not convincing even myself. My voice broke over the words.

            “I’ll stay on with you a little longer.”

            “No, no, it’s okay. I actually really need some sleep, but when you call back . . .”

            “Will do. Talk to you soon.”

            “Bye.”

            I hung up and broke down, crying into my hands. Beastly cooed at me and nudged me with his nose. The sweet sound was inviting, and I pressed my tear-soaked face against his cheek. He rested his head on the floor so that I could hug and lean against him. One of his paws came around, cupping itself against my back.

            Slowly the tears subsided, and I caught my breath, melting into Beastly’s warm embrace. As I caught my breath and began to relax, I heard something enter the cave, footsteps echoing against the walls. Beastly lifted his head and sat up, lifting me in his paws.   

            The footsteps paused, replaced with the sound of loud sniffing, then the clatter of boney feet on stone floor. I looked toward the source of the excited squeals and saw another skeleton animal come around the corner and run toward us. He had a makeshift bag in his mouth, but dropped it when he spotted me. He approached, eyes wide and smile big.

            I jumped in shock and grabbed the fabric of Beastly’s shirt. The newcomer, wearing a white shawl and red scarf sniffed at me eagerly, boney tail wagging.

            This was obviously Papyrus, and I nicknamed him ‘Pup’ in my head. His behavior made it appropriate. He was even bigger than his brother, which made me nervous. He darted around us in his excitement, and I made a note not to be on the ground when he was in the cave.

            Beastly made a trilling noise at Pup, and Pup responded by stopping his run-around and cooing at me softly. I kept my grip on Beastly’s shirt.

            Pup approached, sniffing at me carefully, though I could tell by the tremor in his body that he was trying to suppress his excitement. I held my hand out carefully and patted my palm against his nose. Pup yipped happily and did a spin. I giggled.

             A sharp pang shot through my stomach and I winced in pain. Beastly trilled at me questioningly.

            “I’m so hungry,” I whimpered.

            Pup was on it. He ran to his bag and began rummaging in it like he was bobbing for apples. He came back up with an unopened package of beef jerky and presented it to me. I nodded and reached out for it eagerly. Pup opened it with a tug of his teeth and fished out a small piece for me. I ate quickly, eager to soften the pain in my stomach.

            Beastly kept ahold of me, even as I ate. Pup seemed very eager to feed me, presenting me with other things he had found, including a single pack of gummy fruits, a half-empty bag of stale pretzels, and a jar of maraschino cherries. I had a feeling he probably scavenged these from the dump, but I didn’t care, I ate a bit of everything until I was satisfied.

            As I began to wonder what they would eat, Pup brought a couple of large, dead birds out of the bag and carried them over to the fireplace. I gasped and turned away, not wanting to watch. Beastly seemed to sense my apprehension and carried me into a corner where a portion of their collection was stored.

            He placed me on an old teddy bear and began sorting through items, showing me toys and interesting rocks, then gauging my reaction. I smiled politely, taking anything that wasn’t too big to look at it then set it aside. Eventually he set a children’s book before me, and I slid off the bear to get a closer look.

            I smiled fondly. Peek-a-Boo with Fluffy Bunny, of course.

            I opened it, recognizing the familiar illustrations that Papyrus loved so much. Once I got home, I would have Sans read it to us.

            “Once upon a time in a large forest, there lived a very fluffy bunny . . .” I read the first line. At the sound of my voice, Pup perked up from his work, tail wagging. He galloped over to us and stuck his head down between me and the book, sniffing.

            “Do you like stories?” I asked.

            He just seemed happy that I was talking to him, so I read some more, and he curled up all around me so that I was completely surrounded by skeleton. His head rested on the floor in front of me, watching attentively as I read and showed him the pictures.

            Beastly gave his brother’s head an affectionate lick and walked to the fireplace. I heard eating sounds as he dug into one of the birds. Pup followed suit, carefully stepping over me to have dinner.

            I followed him, walking across the cave floor back to the fireplace. Pup tore a strip of bird meat in his claws and offered it to me. I didn’t know what it was, but the slightly burned food was steaming and smelled so good. I accepted and ate the whole thing. Pup seemed extremely pleased by this, chirping and trilling loudly, offering more until I was stuffed.

            I waved my arms. “No, thank you, I’m full, really!”

            Pup tilted his head then leaned forward and sniffed at me. I was hit by his giant orange tongue as he made to clean the grease off my hands and cheeks. I squealed, tipping over on my back and trying to push him with my feet, all the while giggling uncontrollably.

            Sans rumbled gently and Papyrus pulled his head away, letting me up. I used my makeshift blanket to wipe the drool off my body, then, feeling tired, I wandered over to Beastly who had curled up in his nest. I pulled myself up on his arm to seat myself in the crook of his elbow. He looked down and sniffed my head.

            “Thank you for feeding me, and taking me in,” I said. “Why did you, anyway?”

            Beastly couldn’t answer. Maybe he felt bad about eating my hot pocket or saw how small and helpless I was. Or maybe they had ‘captured’ me and planned on using my soul. Was that even a thing here? It didn’t really matter, even in this world Sans was a lazy bones and Papyrus was too sweet to actually hurt anyone. I was safe.

            Beastly heaved a big yawn, and I stared up at his open jaws in awe. He settled his head down on the soft blankets and tucked his arm under his chin so that I slipped snuggly into the crook of his elbow against his head. I leaned against the warm bones there, running my hand over the smooth texture.

            Pup seemed to want in on the cuddle session as well, crawling up into Beastly’s bed and hunkering himself down around his brother. His back legs hung out of the blankets, but he didn’t seem to care. He laid his head right next to Beastly’s so that he could look at me with those big, happy eyes. I waved to him and he nudged himself closer until we were close enough for me to pat his face.

            I was so grateful to sleep that I stayed awake just to enjoy the sensation – the cozy blankets, body heat, and soft snores of the monsters. I didn’t last very long and passed right out.

            I woke to the clack of claws on the floor and opened my eyes to see Pup flitting around the cave. He seemed angsty, like he wanted us up but didn’t want to wake us.

            Sans hadn’t moved at all, and I was still safely tucked between his elbow and head, content to stay there for the whole day, but Pup noticed me stirring and approached eagerly, sniffing at my hair.

            Beastly sighed and looked up, giving his brother a soft trill. Pup went to the fireplace, which had died down in the night, and motioned to a leaf covered in berries and nuts. The prospect of food was enough to get me moving, so I pushed myself up and fell over Beastly’s paw onto the soft pile of pillows. Seeing me struggle to clamor over the soft material, Beastly grabbed the back of my sweater with his teeth and lifted me up, placing me on the floor.

            I pattered to the fireplace and looked up at Pup for confirmation. “Are these for me?”

            He nosed a wild strawberry toward me, and I went to my knees, taking the fruit in my hands. Eating the strawberry was like eating a watermelon, and I came up with my cheeks covered in juice.

            “Thank you!” I said. Pup wagged his tail happily. He must have gotten up very early to forage for the food, but that was a Papyrus for you – loved feeding people.

            Beastly stood up, stretching his front paws out like a cat, then straightening up. He wandered over to us and sat down, eyes half-lidded. Pup bumped his head against his jaw and licked the underside of his chin, then walked circles around the smaller monster.

            When I was done with my food, Beastly plucked me up in his claws and placed me on his head.

            “Whoa- where are we going?” I asked as he went to the cave entrance. Pup ran ahead, taking the lead. There was nothing to hold onto on Beastly’s smooth skull, but he walked slowly so that I wasn’t jostled.

            The bright outdoors made my eyes dilate painfully, but I soon adjusted and took in the strange, wild underground. 

            The snowy woods went on for a while, not giving way to Snowdin town. I spotted a couple of other monsters in the trees, including large snowdrakes up in the trees, and a beautiful white wolf who stretched his neck a disturbing amount to get a look at us as we passed.

            Soon the snow disappeared, the trees thinned, and the air warmed as we left the forest and entered a cavern filled with blue light. I could hear water running in the distance.

            I held onto one of Beastly’s horns as we came up to a stream and he lowered his head to the ground so that I could hop off.

            “What is this place?” I wondered to myself as I took in the soft light and glittering gems in the rock walls that surrounded us. Pup and Beastly went to the stream and were taking long drinks. I joined them, and cupped my hands in the water, picking it up for a drink. It was refreshing and not too cold. I splashed my face next, doing my best to clean up.

            Pup cooed at me and motioned his head toward some beautiful flowers floating in the water. Their leaves were like lily pads, hosting pink flowers.

            “So pretty!” I gave him an approving smile and he reached out, carefully picking the flower out of the water. I watched as it folded in on itself once it was air born, then bloom again when he put it back on the water’s surface, placing it right in front of me so I could get a good look.

            “Oh, cool . . .” curious, I placed my bare foot on the leaf. It seemed sturdy, so I shifted my weight and stepped fully onto the flower. I giggled and turned back to Pup, spreading my arms. “Look! It’s like a little boat!”

            Pup crouched down and pushed the flower with his nose, making it float across the stream. I gasped and fell over at the movement, but laughed as I was carried across and settled safely on the other side.

            Beastly, with this great size, simply stepped across and reached for me. I raised my hand to meet him, and saw a glitch run over my arm, making it briefly disappear in a flash of static. I yanked my arm back and Beastly hesitated.

            I smiled apologetically. My arm tingled and flickered, then came back to normal. I sighed. “Do you have my phone?” I asked, pointing to Beastly’s pocket. He pulled out my cell and showed it to me. He tried to hand it over but I shook my head. “It’s okay, hang on to it for me, just gotta make sure it’s on in case –” I gasped, cut off as the glitch hit my legs and sent me toppling over.

            Pup jumped over the stream and studied me with concern. They sniffed at the strange pixilation that surrounded my legs. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, willing the glitch to go away.

            “Ḩ̛̹͑̋͢ḝ͈͇͔̏͊̿ḧ̢̤͙̥̤́̋̀̋̕e͙̺̻̿̊̈́,̬͋ ̙̎t͈̒h̖͖͇̱͈͆̿̆͞͠e̩̗̎ȑ͙͖̹̄̓é͔ ͓̗͔͊̏̉y̝̗̰͆̔͒o͔͖͌͠u̢̫͐̏̋ͅ ̗̝̻͊͂̔a͔͍̞̱͑̐̅͋̾͟r͕̅ȩ̗̣̊͗̃.”

            The monsters both tensed and shot their heads up at the sound of the distorted voice. I whipped my head around, trying to pick out the source from the echoes.

            “Y̢͉̱̙͋͆̀̈́̌͜o͉̖̘͔͂̊͊̍ü̖͇̗͇̓̓͡'͎̖̽͘ṿ̰̙͓̜̓̌̓̀̄ẻ̢ ̘͇̓̑been busy, ̭̻̍͑h̡̥̼͖̾̎͐͘u̲̯̘̽̉͘͝ͅh̜̔?͈̮͆̂”

            I turned and saw him then, a skeleton with the height and stature of Sans. The similarities ended there. His bones were black and red, and blue lines streaked down his cheeks from his red eye sockets. The air around him glitched just like me, and once in a while an error sign would blink in and out.

            Pup stepped forward and growled, standing tall and chest puffed out to bring himself to his full height. Beastly meanwhile was watching the newcomer with empty eye sockets.

            “No one is allowed through M̞̄Y ̧̘̔͛ấ̢̗̟̿̐͜nt̾͜ǐ̛̳̖̤͑̂͟-̧̟̞͒͘͠vo̲̦̺͒͆͝id͓̱̻͕̗̍̀̏́,” the skeleton snapped, “dí̻̀̉ͅͅṙ̤̩̅̚͜͢͝t̼̮͗͞y̤̻̲̖͒͛̔̚ ̺̘͌̆͜͠g͖͔̳͋̈̈́l̝͙̔́ì̛̘̻̭̋͜͞t͍͖̉̐͟͞c͎̯͎̅͒̍͘͢ḣ̫ę̛͎͔̍̍͌͢ş̜̪̅͡͡ ̫like you need to be d̳͉̜̎̈̔ẽ̱͉̉s̫̆t̻͝r̨̡̹͊͘ö̢͍͓̹̑̾̕ỳ̢͕̄̕͢e͎̙͖̿͒̈d͙̈́͗͢.”

            I felt panic began to rise. “I-I- I didn’t mean to!” I stammered, “I’m sorry!”

            “Yŏ̩̣͂ȗ̝̦̬̓̒'̗̭̟̳̐̇̒͗r̻͌̓͟e̩̟͂͑̂ͅ ̠̺̜̒̄̔going to be.” The skeleton grinned with a manic aura that made me tremble. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly a red bone shot out of the ground right between my legs. I screamed and scrambled backward, splashing into the water.

            Pup jumped forward, opening his mouth and summoning a white beam to fire at the skeleton. Beastly spun and snatched me up in his mouth, fangs resting carefully around my middle. He ran for it, back the way we came.

            We had barely made it a few feet when the erroring skeleton appeared in front of us, waving his finger at us in a scolding manner. Beastly stopped and growled.

            “He can teleport!” I said.

            “I can do mo̢̡̝̣͕̽̈́̆̿r͎̖͚̟̻̎̌̂̕͞e̡̛͖̯̦̽̃̕ ̡͍͌̎t̫̻̞̦̋̏̅͝h̯̓a̠̲̬̽̈̏n͚̈̄͟ ͚̱̲̪͔͆̌̚͘͡t̖̩͖̪̓̊̾̔h̬̻̭̫̓͛͋̑͟͡ḁ̛̛̲̜̒̏͟t.” ErrorSans grinned and reached into his eyesocket, withdrawing four blue strings from his eye. I blanched at the sight.

            “Wait!” I begged, shooting my hands out, “please, this is a mistake, I didn’t mean to go into your void- anti-void. I can’t help it. I’m just trying to get home!”

            “You think I care?͓͌” ErrorSans smirked and stepped forward. “I’m just here to an̥̻͉̂̀͂͋͜n̰͗ih͉̒͒͜i̘̍̊͢l͔̆ā̧̡̲̓̐t͚̳̘̽̄̚ę̧̳̃̊̚ ̙̕a̙͇̟̓̃͠ ̠̹͊̓͂͜g̢̃lḭ͇̙̹̂̏͂̂ṭ͕̝͎͆̔̑͠c̜̣̞̊͝ẖ̛̯͒̍̓͢͟.”

            He drew his arm back and threw the strings forward. They shot toward us like bullets and I screamed. Beastly dropped me from his mouth and I fell hard to the ground. I looked up and watched him snatch the strings in his mouth and yank them so that Error was pulled forward.

            With a hiss of annoyance, Error threw two more strings, these aimed at me. I tried to run but my glitching legs gave out and the strings wrapped themselves around my body, pinning my arms to my sides.

            Beastly opened his mouth wide and fired a beam onto the strings. They broke, going loose around me, and my legs finally came back to normal.

            Without a moment’s hesitation I jumped up and ran under Beastly, dodging his feet as he fired another beam to hold Error back. Up ahead was Pup, looking confused and worried. He ran to me and leaned down, checking me over with his nose.

            “We gotta run!” I said grabbing his giant paw in my arms. Pup whined and looked up to where his brother was fighting. I turned to look as well.

            Only, they weren’t fighting.

            Beastly had gone still, and Error was standing casually with a couple of strings in his hand. They led straight to Beastly with the ends wrapped around . . .

            Wait, was that his soul?

            The little upside-down heart couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. That was a monster soul, and the strings had it captive.

            “No!” I yelled, “let him go!”

            Pup growled and stepped forward warningly. Error made a warbling, stuttering laugh sound and, with the flick of his wrist, sent two more strings flying toward Pup. The monster froze as the strings shot into his chest and yanked out his soul, now firmly wrapped up in blue string.

            Their eyes went black, and they turned on me.

            “G-guys?” I stepped back. What was going on? “S-stop it! What are you doing to them?!”

            “They’re my ṗ̨up̡̖̫̟̱̊̈̋̈́̿p̺͠ets͈̃͊͐͟͟ ̜͔̦̆́͡now,” Error chuckled. “G̩͙̿̃e̡̘̳̜͑͊̑̐t͙̂ ̡̟̤͑̾̓h͕͞eř̨̢̮͚̝̌̊͑̕.”

            Pup was closest, and he leaped forward to pounce me. I shot away as his claws came down on the spot I had been standing. I ran as fast as I could toward the cavern wall. I couldn’t outrun them, I had to find a place to hide, something small where they couldn’t get to me.

            A wall of bones flew past me, and I came to a halt to avoid running into them. The pause was all Pup needed to catch me. I looked up just as his open jaws came down and closed around me.

            I was too frozen to scream, completely paralyzed. Pup had taken my entire body in his mouth, and I now rested on his tongue, surrounded by sharp pointed teeth.

            “Please . . . please . . .” my voice was barely more than a whisper. I felt Pup’s head began to tilt and I began to slide backward. I tried to get a hold of something, but it was all slippery with saliva. His tongue lifted to give me the final push down his long dark throat –

            “W͓̠̎̑â̢̦̘̻̞͑̏̏̈́î̢̹̮̾̚͡ͅt̠͐.”

            Pup stopped and lowered his head again, this time pushing me toward his teeth. His mouth opened and I gasped as I was dropped onto the ground. I tried to curl up and hide, but a clawed hand pushed me onto my back, holding me down.

            My eyes stung with tears as I looked up into Beastly’s empty face. He held me down while Pup stepped back to the side. He was whimpering pathetically and keeping his head lowered. It seemed he was himself again, but still trapped by the string and unable to help. He whined and shifted, trying to fight it.

            Error placed a foot on either side of me and kneeled down, glaring. “First I need to know where you came from a̧̤̙͂̍̽n̘̘̖͖͐͋̏͂͂͜d͔̋ ̱̰̞̘̐̏̂̎s̤̟̱̼͋̾͂͂t̨̢̖͇͑̆̊͛o̡͇̺͌͒͆p ͔̺̿͒anymore glitches from generating.” He summoned a single, sharpened bone in his hand and pointed it at my face. “S͞ͅo̘̘̫͂͗̌ ̞͈͍͚͊͊͠i͓͍̣̞̿͊͒̑ḟ̖͈͡ ̫̠̥̣̿̃̓͡ý̛̥͕̔͢o̻͎̿̑u͓̱̅̐ want a few more minutes of your useless life, start talking.”

            “L-l-let them go first!” I demanded, summoning what little courage I had left.

            Error chuckled. “Trust me, you’re not in a position to ma̡̚k͓̾͊ͅe ͉̳̿͜͝de̡̥͒͑ȁ̳͕̱͡l̹͙̣̓͛s̯̐̇ͅ.”

            Beastly began to press his paw down onto me, and the sensation of the weight was enough to break me. “No! No! Stop! I’ll tell you!”

            “W͓̰̥̽̔̚e͖͗l̛̟̥̹̇̎͒͟l̢͑?͙̺̈͊”

            Then the phone rang.

            Error’s head shot up to look at Beastly’s vibrating pocket. “W̷h̴a̶t̸ ̴t̵h̶e̶ ̶h̷e̴l̷l̸ ̴i̶s̷ ̵t̷h̵a̴t̷?̸”

            “N-nothing!” My panicking brain somehow formulated enough of a plan to know that if I wanted that phone answered I needed Error to think that I didn’t want him to answer it.

            He smirked and gave his string a small tug. Beastly reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, showing it to Error.

            “No! Don’t!”

            Error reached forward and pressed the answer button.

            I screamed.

            I don’t know how much control Error had over Beastly, if my scream was enough to startle him and give Beastly the edge, or if he was just that strong, but somehow, Beastly turned his paw just a bit, enough that the phone slid out of his grasp and landed on the ground next to me.

            I shot my hand out and grabbed the edge of the device.

            Then everything went dark.

Chapter Text

            Papyrus sat on the stairs outside of the science building of Sans’s university looking at his cell phone to distract himself. He had been working nonstop, talking to Undyne and the human police to work on the anti-monster organization case.

            The men that had attacked them in the lab had been arrested and interrogated, earning them valuable information. Papyrus had been praised for his ability to capture the assailants alive and keep everyone in the lab safe.

            He sighed. Almost everyone.

            He hadn’t slept in days. He spent his nights decoding where the anti-monster organization was going to meet next and worrying about Bunny. The worry was constant.

            But that was okay! Because G was coming, and he would be able to help Sans.

            Bunny would be home soon. He just had to believe.

            The rumble of a motorcycle brought his head up from his work. Someone in a short, black jacket rode up on a bike. When the rider pulled off his helmet, Papyrus immediately recognized the unique face of G.

            “Heya, Paps,” G greeted him with a handshake.

            “G! I’m so glad you’re here, did you have any trouble?”

            “Nah, smooth sailing.”

            They chatted lightly as Papyrus took G to the lab. Security guards were stationed in the halls now, and they questioned them before they were allowed in.

            Sans was sitting on the floor with his laptop in his lap, connected to the machine. He had been running calculations all night, trying to find the right algorithm that would bring Bunny home. Papyrus could see how tired his brother was, but he knew neither of them would be sleeping well until their friend was back home.

            “You two look a little worse for wear,” G commented as he walked up to the machine, studying it.

            “Thanks for coming,” Sans said, not looking up. “I’m at my wits end.”

            “Yeah, no problem. So where is Bunny now?”

            “Here’s the dimensional quadrants,” Sans said, handing G a piece of paper covered in numbers Papyrus couldn’t understand.

            G nodded thoughtfully. “So you’ve got a physical location and a communicator. What exactly is blocking the return?”

            “The other universes aren’t laid out like stars in the sky,” Sans said, “they’re more side-by-side, like slices of bread. Instead of pulling her through the slices back to ours, she keeps getting dropped in each one.”

            “What if we try –”

            G was cut off by an alarm. Sans held up his hand and went to a phone on the table that was set up with a giant antenna and special wiring. “It’s time to call Bunny again. I set the alarm to collaborate with her glitching.”

            “Come again?”

            “I’ll explain in a sec. Let’s give her a call, she’ll be happy to hear from you.”

            “Oh, yes! I am eager to talk to Bunny as well!” Papyrus said, running forward.

            Sans pressed a button and listened as the phone rang.

            And rang.

            He frowned.

            It shouldn’t take her this long to answer. She should always have her phone on her . . .

            There was a click as the phone was answered and Sans relaxed. Before he could give his greeting, however, a scream echoed through the receiver, and all three skeletons went rigid.

            “She’s in danger!” Papyrus jolted.

            Sans dropped the phone on the table and teleported to the machine. With quick hands he punched in the coordinates and threw the switch.

            The screaming stopped.

            Everyone stared at the phone, then looked at Sans. With a deep frown, G pushed the sleeves of his jacket up his forearm and grabbed a pair of goggles.

            “We need to get her home, now.”

            I was holding the phone so hard my hand hurt. I couldn’t stop shaking, and I hadn’t opened my eyes yet. All I focused on was my breathing, taking deep inhales to calm down.

            I felt a drop of water hit my leg and finally opened my eyes.

            I was in Waterfall still, but it was definitely a different Waterfall. Error, Pup, and Beastly were gone. I hoped they would be okay and reassured myself with the reminder that Error was after me, and would probably leave the other two be.

            This place seemed less wild than the last. I was on a clearly set road, and the cavern walls were smooth, with crystals and mushrooms glowing all around me. There was a different hue to them as well, as if this whole place was a different color.

            I sighed and heaved myself up. I was going to need a long spa day after this. I got to my feet and picked up my phone, wrapping my arms around it as best I could. I didn’t know where to go, so I opted to just find a place to hide and rest, wait for Sans to call me back.

            I walked for a short distance, dragging the phone next to me, and soon came upon a small outpost. It wasn’t much, just a counter and an awning. Looked more like a road-side produce stand than anything. It would do.

            I went behind the station and sat down, well hidden from any passersby. I could hear water dripping, and little else. Maybe I could just have peace for a while.

            And what about Error? Could he jump between dimensions? He had shown up last time when I started glitching, so maybe he couldn’t find me otherwise? I hoped so, it would give me a little time. I leaned back against the wood and watched my phone.

            Luckily, this time I didn’t have to wait long.

            The phone barely got past the first ring before I answered. “Sans?”

            “Thank the stars.” I heard Sans’s tired voice on the other end, followed loudly by Papyrus’s.

            “Bunny! Are you hurt? Why were you screaming?”

            “I was attacked by . . . I don’t even know who it was. The strangest Sans I had ever seen. He had black bones and was all glitchy and errored out. He said I was a glitch and that he had to destroy me.”

            “I don’t understand, you said that world was safe? That it was an animal version of me?”

            “ErrorSans wasn’t from that world. He just appeared. He said something about his anti-void, and . . . I don’t even know.”

            “Could this guy be some sort of dimension jumper?” A new voice entered the conversation and I perked up.

            “G? Is that you?”

            “In the uh, flesh, kitten,” G chuckled.

            “That’s right!” Papyrus said happily, “he and Sans are already hard at work!”

            “What else can you tell us about this Error guy?” Sans asked.

            “He showed up right as I started glitching, and he’s really powerful. He could control the other monsters with these weird blue strings and make them attack me.”

            “That’s awful,” Papyrus gasped.

            “Where are you now?”

            “I’m not sure. I’m underground in Waterfall, but I haven’t seen anybody yet.”

            “Well, with G here the next warp won’t take as long to calibrate, and will hopefully be the last one,” Sans said, “I suggest you stay hidden, don’t talk to anyone, just get a good hiding spot and wait it out until I call you back.”

            “Okay, I can do that.”

            “You alright, kitten? That Error guy didn’t hurt you, did he?”

            “No, I’m alright,” I said, “just scared.”

            “Don’t be scared, Bunny!” Papyrus declared, “I know you can do this!”

            I smiled. “Thanks, Paps.”

            “I’m with him, Bunny,” G said, “you just keep fighting and we’ll get you home.”

            “Okay,” I nodded.

            “Alright, kiddo, hiding place, and wait for my call. Okay?”

            “Got it. I’ll talk to you guys soon.”

            I patted the hang up button with a deep sigh. There had to be a hole or cave in Waterfall I could use, this station wouldn’t work as a hiding place. Anyone could come along and –

            “Done with your phone call?” A rough voice made me gasp. I jumped and spun around to see a yellow lizard monster staring down at me with a sharp, wicked grin.

            Wait, was this . . . Alphys? She was tall and buff, and had scars on her body. There was no way that this was the meek, anime-loving Alphys I knew. She wore dark clothes that looked like that had been ripped up when she flexed.

            I tried to grab my phone and run, but in doing so made it easy for Alphys to snatch me up. Her scaly skin and sharp claws dug into me warningly as I struggled. She picked up my phone as well and studied it.

            “Came to look for that lazy bone’s Papyrus and found some free exp instead,” Alphys chuckled holding me up for a better look. I couldn’t stop my body from shaking like the last leaf on a branch, even as I glared her in the eye. Alphys smirked at that.

            “Never seen a monster like you before, and I guess I never will again.” She gave me a tormenting squeeze and I began to flail and struggle.

            “You damn bully, let me go!” I screamed.

            “Bully?!”

            “You think you can mess with me because I’m small? What’s the matter, can’t take on the big guys so gotta make yourself feel big and important with me instead?”

            “You little –!”

            I opened my mouth wide and chomped down onto her finger as hard as I could. She flung me away, and I felt my stomach drop as I went airborn, I shut my eyes as the ground came up to meet me.

            Then I stopped, hanging in midair. I opened my eyes, finding myself floating a few inches from what would have been a painful impact, then went flying again, this time being pulled back up and into someone’s hand.

            “What’s the matter, Alphys? Can’t handle a little brat like this?”

            Bone phalanges wrapped around me, pinning my arms down with a strange gentleness. I looked up into my rescuer’s face and had to catch myself from crying out in happiness.

            It was Razz.

            “Bite me, bone man,” Alphys growled.

            “Looks like she already did,” Razz taunted.

            Alphys shook her hand out, and I saw that I had at least broken the skin. “Hand it over.”

            “Hm,” Razz looked at me casually, mischief and malice in his eyes. He was just acting, right? He remembered me? Please remember me . . .

            Razz gave me a toss in the air, making me scream and flail before falling back into his palm. “Nah, I think I’ll keep this one. Might be fun to have a pet.”

            “The mutt not enough for ya?” Alphys smirked.

            “Hehe,” Razz cackled, making me shiver, “speaking of the mutt, I bet he would like a nice little treat.” He grabbed me around the legs and held me aloft upside down. My head spun as the world shifted.

            “Fine, have your fun. But I’m taking this.”

            I craned to look around and saw that Alphys had my phone. “No!”

            “What is that?” Razz demanded.

            “Some phone that thing had. I’m going to take it to Undyne and see what she can make of it. Get back to work and find that damn brother of yours. He’s not at his post.”

            “Of course, Captain.”

            Alphys nodded, then turned and marched off. Razz turned the other way, leaving me to dangle upside down at his side. I pulled myself up, grabbing at his hand to get his attention, but he ignored me.

            Please, please remember me. Say something!

            Once we were around the corner, Razz checked over his shoulder, then darted into some tall grass just off the trail. He lifted me up and laid me down on his palms, shutting his eyes ruefully.

            “I’m sorry I had to do that. Are you hurt?”

            I was so relieved tears burst from my eyes. “Razz . . . y-you scared me.”

            He pulled me toward his chest in a gentle hug, patting my back with a fingertip. “I’m afraid that’s what this underground requires, but I assure you I won’t let anything happen. We may have to keep the act up when others are around, but I promise you won’t come to any harm.”

            He stood up and checked the area, then ducked back down again.

            “How are you even here?” he asked, keeping his voice down.

            “Long story, basically: Sans’s machine went haywire.”

            “Tsk.” Razz grinded his teeth. “Typical.”

            “I need my phone back to get home,” I said, “can you get it back from Alphys?”

            “If she’s taking it to Undyne I should be able to sneak into the lab and steal it back, but first I need to get you somewhere safe.”

            He straightened up again and opened his bandana, holding me up to his collarbone. I climbed on, hunkering down as he pulled the bandana up again to keep me hidden.

            “Hang on.”

            Razz’s body shifted steadily as he began walking. I held on tight to the fabric of his shirt while semi-sitting on his collarbone. I was curious to see Razz’s world, but knew better than to poke my head out. I was far too frightened to risk it.

            The warmth of Waterfall faded into cold, and I knew we must be in Snowdin now. I could hear the crunch of snow under Razz’s boots, and the quiet murmurs of monsters that he passed.

            Then the walk became quiet, and we finally came to a stop.

            “Papyrus, wake up!”

            “”M am awake.” That was Rus’s voice! I pulled myself up and was met by Razz’s hand. He pulled me out of the bandana and presented me to his brother. Rus had his head resting on the counter of another wooden station, with a furry hood pulled up over his head. He raised his head, and his tired, bored eyes began to widen, a spark of orange glimmered in his black sockets.

            “Bunny . . .”

            “Yes, she’s here,” Razz said with a sigh.

            Rus jumped over his counter and cupped his hands around me, bringing me up to his face. “Holy stars, darlin’, what are you doing here?”

            I was close enough to touch his face. I stood up and placed my hands on his cheeks, resting my forehead on his nose. “I missed you guys.”

            “Heh, came all this way just for a visit, eh?”

            “It was an accident, actually,” I said, pulling away, “but it’s worth it to see you again.”

            “When I found her, Alphys had her,” Razz said, arms crossed. I felt Rus’s hands stiffen beneath me and he pulled me against his chest.

            “Rus, I’m fine.”

            “I need to get Bunny’s phone back, Alphys took it to Undyne. Take her home and watch over her until I get back.”

            “You got it, bro.”

            Razz nodded. “I shouldn’t be long, Bunny. I’ll see you back at the house.”

            “Thank you, be careful, okay?”

            “Ha!” was Razz’s response before he turned and started marching back toward Snowdin. I looked up at Rus and felt myself blush as he beamed down at me.

            “I can’t believe you’re here.” He pressed me to his chest and cupped his hand around me. I could feel the soothing warmth of his soul flutter in his chest. It had been a long time since I had affected anyone with my bitty soul, I had forgotten how nice it felt.

            “Come on, let’s get you out of the cold.”

            I felt the familiar nothingness of the void as Rus teleported, and a second later we were standing in a house. It looked just like Stretch’s and Blue’s, though with the décor a little rougher and darker.

            “You don’t have any pants, darlin’.”

            I groaned and covered my face. “It’s been a crazy ride, Rus.”

            “I’ll see what I can find for you. Hungry?”

            “Yes.”

            Rus carried me into the kitchen and set me on his shoulder while he went through cabinets. I held on to the fur of his hood. He produced a can and held it up for me to see.

            “Tomato soup?”

            Something warm and simple sounded perfect and I nodded. Rus popped it open and dumped the contents into a pot on the stove.

            “I was hoping I might find you guys on the surface,” I said.

            “Well, it may not be too long now,” Rus said, “a kid fell down, and they’ve been making their way to the queen. Actually, they might be in Hotland by now . . .”

            Rus went back to the living room and turned on the TV. The screen lit up with what looked like a crazy music video. Lights were flashing, and a robot with blue accessories and records set up in front of him was creating music - a light dubstep that was actually pretty catchy. I almost didn’t notice the human child dancing on the stage in front of the robot, dodging lasers.

            The kid looked familiar. Was that Chara? It must have been, this world’s Chara anyway. They were dressed differently and lacked the murderous gleam in their eye. In fact, they almost looked like they were having fun.

            “What’s going on?” I asked.

            “The kid is trying to get past Napstaton,” Rus explained, sitting on the couch to watch the show.

            Napstaton? That must be this world’s Mettaton. The robot had become very popular in my world.

            “He’s not . . . trying to hurt them, is he?”

            “Well, yeah, that’s what Napstaton was originally built for, to stop humans. Though he prefers his musical career now.”

            “But . . .”

            “Relax, Bunny, Chara’s got a special trick up their sleeve. They’ll be alright.” Rus gave me a wink, but I wasn’t sure what to think. Napstaton was shooting projectiles at Chara as they danced, posed, and dodged. When they got hurt, they pulled out some monster food, ate it, and went back to their task with amazing accuracy. I watched in awe as they fired upon Napstaton with their phone, destroying his limbs until he couldn’t play music anymore.

            We watched with bated breath as Chara brought down Napstaton completely, leaving him vulnerable . . . and spared him.

            The show ended.

            “See? Told ya,” Rus said.

            I sniffed the air, which suddenly had the scent of burning. “The soup!”

            Rus jumped up and ran back to the kitchen, taking the boiling pot off the stove. He poured some of it into a bowl and grabbed a sleeve of saltine crackers. We returned to the couch and I jumped down into his lap to eat. On the television, a Napstaton music show was playing, and Rus explained that it was a rerun. He brought up spoonfuls of soup for me, holding it patiently as I took small sips. We shared in the crackers, dipping them in the warm tomato broth until they were soft.

            “Feel better?”

            “Much better,” I sighed. “Things have been so crazy, Rus. I’ve been through so many worlds already . . .”

            “You have? This isn’t the first?”

            “No, I actually saw Red, Edge, Blue, and Stretch too.”

            “How have you been traveling?”

            “Sans has been teleporting me with my cell phone,” I said, “that’s why I need it back.”

            “Aw, you don’t want to stay with us for a while?”

            “Dude, I would love to, but . . .” I sighed, “I can’t stay long or I start glitching, and that’s not all, there’s a Sans after me. He attacked me in the last world, just appeared out of no where saying I was a glitch and had to be destroyed.”

            “What?” Rus’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no way. He can follow you through other dimensions?”

            “I think so, and when I start glitching he’ll find me again.”

            Rus’s hands folded up around me protectively. “If he comes here we’ll-”

            “He’s not like the other Sanses,” I interrupted, grabbing his thumb, “he’s powerful and scary! I saw him control other monsters with his powers, it was terrifying! If he comes, just run. Teleport and run away.”

            He nudged the thumb in my hands under my chin, giving me a lazy smile. “Don’t worry, darlin’.”

            Suddenly, Rus froze, his smile disappearing and his eyes darting to the door. I had no time to react as the door opened and he grabbed me.

            Razz and Alphys stepped inside, and Rus dropped me into the soup bowl. I gasped in surprise and sputtered as I was covered in red sauce.

            Razz seemed poised and composed, while Alphys was suspicious. Rus greeted them casually and leaned back into the couch. “Sup, Cap?”

            Alphys wrinkled her nose at him. “I see you’re enjoying your new ‘pet’.”

            “Oh yeah, she’s real sweet.” Rus grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt and lifted me out of the bowl. He stuck his tongue out and, starting at my feet, ran the organ all the way up my body, lapping up the soup. I winced and turned my face away, having flashbacks of being in Pup’s mouth. “She’s a lot quieter now that it’s not boiling,” the disappointment in his voice sounded very real and made me shiver.

            “As you can see, my brother is lazing about here,” Razz said stiffly.

            “He needs to be working,” Alphys snarled, “not playing around. If that thing is going to be a distraction . . .” she took a threatening step forward, and Rus pulled me closer.

            “I am working.”

            “I’d love to hear how.”

            “Just saw the human finish up Napstaton. Knew they’d be there and wanted to be fresh on their location. But I guess if you want to run around Hotland like a chicken with its head cut off, be my guest.”

            Alphys clenched her fists angrily.

            “But now that I know where they are, I’ll be heading to the castle,” Rus said with a shrug. He dropped me unceremoniously back into the bowl and set it on the coffee table. “Put her in the fridge for me, will ya, bro?” Then with a wink, he disappeared.

            Alphys growled impatiently. “Get back to Hotland now!” She snapped at Razz, then stomped out the door.

            Razz didn’t even flinch. He quietly closed the door, sighed, and walked up to me. “I fear this hasn’t been a pleasant visit for you, Bunny.”

            “I’ve had worse,” I said, standing up and flicking soup off my hands.

            “That hardly makes it better,” Razz scowled. “Come, I’ll draw you a bath.” Razz fetched a hand towel from the kitchen and wrapped me in it, carrying me upstairs to the bathroom. He filled the sink with soap and warm water, letting it bubble up invitingly.

            “Make yourself at home, I need to catch up with my brother. Alphys caught me before I could get to Undyne’s lab, and I need his help to sneak in and get your phone. You lived by yourself as a bitty for quite a while so I assume you’ll be alright?”

            I nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

            “Alright, we’ll be back soon.” He left, leaving the door open a crack. I eagerly stripped off my dirty sweater and jumped into the water, scrubbing and soaking with relief. Once I was clean I drained the dirty water then filled it up again so I could relax in the warm water.

            Alright, I was clean and fed, now I needed clothes.

            I left the water and, keeping myself wrapped in a hand towel, jumped from the sink and wandered into the hallway. The house was huge around me, but I found myself almost naturally going back into my bitty survival instincts.

            There were a couple more doors in the hallway. The first one was firmly shut, but the second had a loose knob and slipped open when I pushed it forward. The light from the hallway illuminated the bedroom, which I assumed was Rus’s. It was messy, with a mattress on the floor and clothes littered everywhere. Next to the bed was a row of little wooden carvings, and I smiled, remembering the whittling hobby Rus had picked up while he was in my world. I was happy to see that he was keeping it up.

            After a brief search through the discarded clothes, I found a single, fingerless glove on the floor. I pushed my head through the middle finger, my arms through the ring and index, and then tied the thumb and ring around my waist.

            Clean clothes: Check.

            Feeling better, I jogged back down the hall and made my way down the stairs, clamoring down each one carefully until I made it to the living room. The TV was still on, thankfully, so I climbed up the couch and settled in to relax and enjoy the show. Napstaton’s music was actually pretty cool. The soup bowl was gone but the sleeve of saltines was still out, so I jumped onto the coffee table and grabbed one to munch on.

            As I ate and watched the show, I felt a disturbance in the air, then Rus appeared, standing casually in the middle of the living room.

            “Rus!”

            “Ah, Bunny, I’m sorry about that, darlin’.” Rus sat down next to me. “I sensed Alphys coming and I panicked . . .”

            “I’m okay, Rus,” I assured him.

            “You sure?”

            “Yeah, Razz drew me a bath.”

            “I see that. And what are you wearing there?”

            “I stole one of your gloves, hope you don’t mind.”

            “Looks way better on you.” Rus winked then reached into his pocket, producing my cell phone.

            I cheered. “You got it!” I reached out for it eagerly and Rus handed it over.

            “Yep. Sans distracted Undyne so I could teleport in and grab it. No missed calls, luckily.”

            “Good.” I hugged the phone then set it down next to me.

            “I also ran into Chara,” Rus said, leaning back into the couch, “they’re going to be taking a break for a while, so don’t have to worry about them.”

            “That’s good. Are they safe?”

            “Oh yeah, in fact they mentioned meeting up with Alphys and Sans later so, hehe, we’ll see how that goes.”

            “They want to meet Alphys? The same monster who tried to kill me?”

            “Mm, Alphys isn’t as murdery as she wants people to think. Scare ‘em sure, she’s the captain of the royal guard, she needs people to be afraid of her, all of us do, but Chara got passed her without a scratch, and it’s really shaking things up in the underground.”

            “Really?”

            “Yep, it’s making everyone question the whole ‘kill or be killed’ mindset.”

            “What about you and Razz?”

            Rus raised a bone brow. “What about us?”

            “Have you been . . . okay? Since you got back?”

            He smiled and reached into his coat pocket, bringing out a familiar little knife.

            “Oh hey, it’s the whittling knife I got you!”

            “Mmhm, it’s gotten me through a lot of boring days at the sentry station. Some of the kids in Snowdin were interested in what I was making. Never seen a weapon used to create instead of kill. Sans and I keep up the facade of cold-blooded killers, but, if I can walk away from a fight without hurting the other person too bad, I do. Funny thing is . . .” he opened the blade of the knife, then folded it again and tucked it away. He held his hand out to me, and I stepped onto his palm. “The funny thing is, the more people I spared, the less they wanted to fight me. I was even giving people my little carvings.”

            Rus set me on his chest, and I settled in right over his soul, feeling the comforting flow of our soul link as my bitty magic ran its course. Rus sighed. “You were right. I gave a little bit, and it made the world just a little softer.”

            I smiled and laid down so that he could lay his hand over my body. “I’m really glad I got to see you again, Rus. Before I forget, will you put your number in my phone? I might be able to call you guys when I get back.”

            “Sure thing,” Rus grabbed the cell and punched his number in. “Call any time, as often as you can.”

            “I will.”

            I heard the click of the door and jumped in fright, but Rus patted me reassuringly. It was Razz. Once the door was shut and locked his shoulders sagged and he heaved a deep sigh. “Well that was an annoyance and a half,” he grumbled, “I hope you two have had fun while I run around appeasing Alphys.”

            “I’m sorry, Razz,” I said, sitting up, “do you want some soul cuddles?”

            “Of course not! I want you two to stay out of my way while I cook dinner!”

            I smiled. Razz finally seemed like himself again.

            “Papyrus, make yourself useful and find something for Bunny to eat with. She needs utensils and a cup!”

            “You got it, m’lord.”

            “Don’t call me that!”

            I giggled and held on to Rus’s shirt as he sat up and followed his brother into the kitchen. He set me down on the counter, and I watched as Razz gathered up his ingredients, while Rus started going through drawers with disinterest.

            “What are we having, Razz?” I asked.

            “Burritos,” Razz said, turning on the stove. “That was one good thing about being in your world, it gave me the opportunity to learn many cooking tricks.”

            “Really? That’s the only good thing?” I teased, nudging his arm.

            “I suppose the company was tolerable.”

            I giggled.

            “Rus! Stop that clattering!”

            “I can’t find anythiiiing,” Rus groaned, slumping his head onto the table.

            “Then go to the shop and see if they have anything.”

            “Oh! Can I come?” I asked, “I haven’t really gotten to see Snowdin.”

            “Sure,” Rus picked me up and twisted his arm so that I dropped into the hood of his jacket. I snuggled in, safe and warm.

            “Keep her out of sight,” Razz warned.

            Rus gave him a two-finger salute and headed for the door. Outside I breathed in the cool air and poked my head out to really see the town. Despite the rough exterior, it was still nice, and there was a decorated tree set up in the street just like Blue’s home.

            We arrived at the shop and I ducked down again, listening as Rus talked to the shop owner. She had some small cutlery that shorter monsters used, and lent those to him.

            “Thanks, Rus,” I said as we left the store.

            “No problem. How’re you feeling? Any glitchiness?”

            “No, I should be okay through the night.”

            “Good, good. I think that . . . the hell are you looking at, Dogmay?”

            The sudden change in Rus’s tone startled me. I risked a look through the fur of his hoodie and saw a large, white dog in a black robe.

            “Smell something funny,” Dogmay growled, leaning toward the skeleton, his nose looking big and intimidating. I shrank down.

            “You want to think real hard about getting any closer to me,” Rus warned. I saw the fur of his hood stand up straight as his magic flowed like static electricity.

            “Doesn’t smell like monster,” Dogmay said suspiciously.

            “You trying to insult me? NTT cologne isn’t that bad.”

            Dogmay glared at him, and Rus actually laughed in his face. “What? I’m not going to tell you what the smell is, so what’s your next move, mutt?”

            Dogmay growled but stepped away. Apparently, the source of the smell wasn’t worth the fight.

            Rus walked passed him and I made sure to sink down deep into the hood. “Sorry ‘bout that,” Rus whispered to me, his voice gentle once again.

            It was surreal seeing him react with someone else in such a threatening manner, and it reminded me of the first night we met, when Razz had ordered him to take me prisoner. It was weird seeing him have to fake his intimidation like that in this world, then go back to the sweet, lazy, attention-loving skeleton that I knew he really was.

            “I hope you guys are free soon,” I whispered back, “I hate that you have to deal with that.”

            “Eh, that’s just life.” Rus shrugged.

***Bonus Smut Chapter***

We walked on without interruption back to the house, where dinner was ready. Razz had gone to the trouble of rolling up a tiny burrito for me, and I thanked him profusely.

            “Yes, yes, I’m very great, now eat.”

            We did so, exchanging updates about our lives, though I kept mine short, too tired to talk much. Rus must have noticed as sleepiness hit me hard once my stomach was filled. He asked if I wanted to turn in early and I did.

            “Then I will see you in the morning,” Razz said, standing up straight. “Keep her with you, Papyrus.”

            “Thanks, Razz. Night night.”

            “What’s he got to do with anything?”

            “What?”

            “Oh, nevermind!”

            Rus scooped me up and carried me upstairs to his bedroom. With a big ‘flop’ he collapsed onto his bed, making me giggle, and set me on his chest with a happy sigh.

            “You comfy? I don’t really have any pajamas . . .”

            “I’ll be fine,” I assured him, settling in, “thanks for taking care of me. Do you still have my phone?”

            “I’ll put it right here on the mattress so we don’t miss it.”

            “I figured they would have called by now,” I said, “I hope everything’s okay.”

            “I’m sure it is, don’t worry.” Rus ran his fingertips against my back, making me melt against him. I could feel the shape of his bones under his shirt and traced the edge of his ribs. He playfully twirled my pony tail.

            “If you start feeling glitchy, let me know, okay?”

            “Oh, for sure,” I said, “I’ll just smack you in the face . . . with my body.”

            “I don’t sleep that deep.”

            “Can’t be too careful,” I teased.

            “Go on to sleep, ‘lil darlin’.”

            “’Night, Rus.”

            Error stepped into the darkened room and stared down at the little human sleeping peacefully on the skeleton’s chest.

            No mistakes this time.

            With the flick of his wrist he sent a blue string flying and snagged the bitty, her glitching body flinching at the touch.

            On the bed, the Papyrus’s eyes snapped open, glowing brightly with orange magic.

            Error gave the string a tug and disappeared.

            I woke up caught in a spiderweb of blue string, floating in a horrible white void. My wrists and ankles were tightly bound, and additional strings crisscrossed against my body.

            Error stood before me, his dark face filling up my vision. I trembled as he leaned forward, studying me closely.

            “P-please, please don’t –”

            “S̛͍̞̽̍͢h̛̳̩͍̑̊͛͟ȕ̦̤̹̅̚t̊͢ ͎̜̾̋u̺͎̓͡p̡̯̈́͞.” He leaned back and summoned a small, sharpened red bone.

            “I just want to go home!”

            “Ă̢̠̝͑̎n͇͕̍͘ḓ͔̮̜̓̓͂̚ where would t̫̞̽͐ȟ̙̫͇̜͓̌͒̅͞ā͢ṯ̼̃̔͆͢ b͚̱̬̝͖͆̇͗̀͠e̟͕͊̈́?̧͐̉͜.” He posed the pointed end under my chin.

            I winced and turned my head away. “I don’t know! It’s just my Sans. Just regular Sans and Papyrus!”

            “And humans ar̥̃e ̛̥͓̖̞̲̌̂͠͠sḿ̭̻̤̹̿̌̾a͖͘l͓͈̩̎̇͘l͕̭̩͑̾̔̚ͅ ̰̣̲̞̑̈́̋ṱ͍͂̔h̨͕̍̒́͜er̬̱̙͉͗̕͝ȇ̖̫͠?͈͖̣̿̀͡”

            “N-not all of them, just some.”

            “A̩̘̲͛̕͠ ̛̤͓͇̆̀b̝͉͉̤̫̆̈́̓̄̕i̙͑ṭ̆ţ̠͉͍͚͌͌̑͡y̺̕ ̧̖̹̣̋̈́Ä̩́U̜͗ ̦̜̆͛̉͟t̢̲͕̟̒̐̃͞h̫͛ͅȩ̜̖̦̈͂͗̒͞ͅn̢̨̩̯̎͆̿͘ ̤̘̦̟̃̋̂̽.̫͕̇̒͜͡ ͇͖̓̓. ̤̫̔͊.̢̫̬͚̮̒̉̃͋͡” He muttered.

            “Please let me gooooo-!” I cried out as he grabbed a handful of strings and pulled me forward so that I dangled in front of him, arms forced up over my head.

            “Explain how you lef̬̲͐̓t ̱͉̄̏ý̡̪̇o̟͔̔͌ur Ǎ͖Ŭ̟!”

            “Let me go!” I screamed, kicking my legs and struggling. “I know you’re a Sans, so why are you doing this?! I’m not a glitch, I’m your friend!”

            “W̢͛ḛ̅'̠̫̍̕r̹̝͊́e̹͕͂̈ ̱͒n͔̽o̡͚͌̃t̮̿ ̢̝͛͡f̖̈r̡̽iė͈̞ñ͔d̛̫̞͝ş̻̔̑!̨͓̂͠”  He gave the strings a shake, and I cried out as I was swung through the air. “And I’m sure as hell not your Sa̢̠̎͞n̪̆s̮̬̉̋. ͖̿Ă̤n̨̎ḑ͓͡ ̢̇if you’re not going tő̙̠̿ ̹t̛̠͎̄ạ̢͐̿l̺͓̐̃k͙̫̽̑ . . .” He held up his bone, “Then it’s time to er̗̊ȧ̢d̳͎̆͋ĭ̖̠̃c̫͡ă̤te̜̠̒ ͎̏y͕͆o̪͒ŭ̦.”

***Bonus Smut Chapter***

           My body flickered and I suddenly fell through the strings onto the strange non-floor. Error snarled in frustration and raised his foot to slam it down on me. I darted out of the way as it came down. With a jolt, I glitched and suddenly the white world was replaced with Rus’s bedroom.

            Rus was sitting on the bed messing with my phone, but when I appeared, he looked up and made a lunged for me.

            I glitched again.

            Before Rus could grab me, I was back in the anti-void with Error towering over me. I screamed and ran as he sent a barrage of bones down on me. I dodged, proving to be too small a target.

            Once I was clear of his bones, Error teleported right in front of me, and brought his foot down once again.

            This time, I wasn’t fast enough.

            The slippered shoe came crushing down and the force flattened me to the floor, air knocked from my lungs and pain shooting through my entire body. Whimpering, I tried to look up and crawl away, but any movement made the pain double. Tears pouring down my face, I looked up at Error.

            You’re a Sans . . . please . . . have mercy . . .

            He raised his foot again, sadistic smile stretched across his face.

            The anti-void disappeared as I glitched once again, and I found I was on a real floor. Rus was crouched over me, eyes wide in terror.

            “Bunny . . .” He tried to pick me up, but even the careful brush of his fingers made me cry out in pain. It felt like everything was broken. “Don’t worry, don’t worry . . . you’re getting out of here.” Rus pressed the oversized phone to my chest and forced me to wrap my arms around it, despite my moans of pain. “I’ll see you again, darlin’.” He whispered, stroking my cheek with the gentlest touch.

            I tried to protest. I didn’t want to leave. Everything hurt. I was scared.

            “Get her out of here, Sans.”

            “Right.” I heard Sans’s voice from the phone.

            Then I was falling.

Chapter Text

            So cold, so dark, my body hurt so bad. Snow was flying around me, and the trees filled the world with shadow. I was sobbing, unable to move.

            “Saaaans!” I wailed.

            I didn’t even care. Please, just someone, help me . . .

            I heard the crunch of snow and carefully turned my head. There were the familiar pink slippers, dirty with dust. I looked up at the giant form of a Sans. The hood of his jacket was drawn, and from the darkness I could see a blue/red eye glowing down at me.

            “Well, well,” the Sans spoke, and his voice was as cold as the snow I lied in. “Never seen you before.”

            He kneeled down, eyes glowing brightly. He pinched the back of my shirt in his fingers and lifted me up.  I clutched my phone and continued to cry.

            “You might just be the bit of exp I need to give me an edge.” Then he pulled a knife out of his pocket and pointed it right at my neck.

            “No!”

            The phone vibrated.

            The snow disappeared and darkness surrounded me. I fell and fell until a new world materialized and I landed in grass. There was sunshine, and a bird singing in the distance.

            What happened? Did I get transported again? The machine must have done something different, G was there so maybe . . .

            God, what was that last place? Sans had tried to . . . I shook my head. It didn’t matter, I was out and from the looks of things, this was the surface.

            And . . . I was naked. Again.

            At least it was because I was big again. Thank goodness. I couldn’t believe Error had stepped on me. It hurt so much.

            I remained on the ground for a while, waiting to see if the pain would abate. Eventually it did, but my left arm and ribs were particularly sore. I looked down as saw that my body was riddled with nasty bruises.

            With a deep sigh and a firm resolve, I tested my body and carefully pushed myself up to a sitting position. I opened my phone and accessed my dimensional box, pulling out my clothes and getting dressed. My left arm protested any movement, so I just put on my long-sleeve tunic shirt and used my leggings as a sling, tying them around my arm and neck. Whatever, I had gone without pants for this long.

            Once that was done, I stood up. At least my legs were okay and I could walk without issue. I was in a forest, and the cool air and color-turning leaves told me it was autumn. Leaves rustled under my feet as I walked.

            I heard a snap and screamed as I was lifted into the air. A net surrounded me, hoisting me up into the trees. I screamed and thrashed. I tried to reach through the net and find the knot to release me, but with only one arm it was useless.

            Below me, I heard someone walking through the leaves. I looked down and gasped. “Sugar?”

            The lanky skeleton – the tallest of the Papyrus I had seen – stared up at me in shock. He wasn’t wearing his battle body anymore, instead he had an old flannel shirt, thin, torn up jeans and a fishing vest full of pockets. He was different, but I recognized the crooked teeth and soft eyes behind a pair of glasses.

            “Hello human, no one has called me that in a while.”

            “Sugar, it’s me, it’s Bunny!”

            He frowned and tilted his head.

            “Remember? I was small, I won that blue rabbit for you.”

            Sugar’s face lit up with recognition and he beamed. “Bunny! Of course! I thought it looked like you, but I knew that surely you wouldn’t be in this world.”

            “There was an accident with the machine,” I explained. “Sugar, can you get me down? Is this your trap?”

            “Certainly! This forest is full of my traps!” Sugar stepped forward and grabbed a rope at the other end of the net. He untied it and carefully lowered me to the ground. “It’s so nice of you to come for a visit but you’ll have to tell me next time! I would have met you and led you safely through the woods!”

            “It wasn’t exactly planned,” I said, “though I am glad to see you.”

            “And I’m happy to see you!” He said opening the net. He frowned. “I don’t think that’s where your pants are supposed to be,” he said, noting my makeshift sling.

            “I think my arm is broken,” I said.

            “Oh, dear!” Sugar kneeled down and took a look. “Do not fear, Bunny! I have monster food at the house that will heal you.” With great gentleness, he put his arms under my knees and around my shoulders and lifted me up. I finally felt safe and leaned into him, going limp as he carried me.

            “Is Sans there too?”

            “Yes indeed! That lazy bones hardly ever leaves the house!”

            “And this is the surface?” I asked, “you guys finally made it?”

            “We did! The provisions your Sans sent to us was very helpful and kept the monsters alive so that we didn’t have to eat Aliza! I’m very glad for that because we are very good friends.”

            “She broke the barrier?” I asked.

            “Well, not exactly . . . I’m not sure what she did, no one does, and she doesn’t talk about it. There was an earthquake, and it took the mountain down!”

            “What?” I was shocked.

            “Yep! Unfortunately, a lot of monsters died, but those that survived were able to escape. The barrier is actually still there, but only in that one exit.”

            We broke out of the trees, entering a lovely clearing bordering a lake. The valley was filled with log cabins, in fact the whole area looked like a summer camp. Monsters were milling about, tending to campfires, washing clothes, and fishing. Children ran around, playing.

            “Sugar, what is this place?”

            “It’s Winnebago Village! Formerly known as Camp Winnebago. It was a summer camp a long time ago, but the humans don’t use it anymore, so we fixed up the cabins!”

            “Do all the monster’s live here?”

            “I think so. After the mountain fell it was hard for us to integrate with humans after everything that happened. Aliza was a bit too . . . traumatized to be our ambassador, so we decided to make our own monster community in the woods. The humans even made this place special for us! They call it a ‘reservation’, just like for a fancy restaurant.”

            “Well, it seems very nice,” I said, “do the humans bother you?”

            “No, we prefer to keep to ourselves. Though there is this lovely metal knight community nearby that visit.”

            “You mean ‘Mennonites’?”

            “Yes! The Metal Knights gave us some tips on hunting and gardening and fixing houses.”

            “Wow, so you built all this . . . and you’re free.”

            “Yes! We are indeed.” Sugar carried me through the valley past the lake toward the trees again. There were several trails and we followed one through the forest until we reached a small but sturdy cabin. A sign on the door said ‘Head Counselor Cabin’ but the ‘head counselor’ part had been crossed out and ‘Sans and Papyrus’ had been written with paint instead.

            “This is our home!” Sugar declared, “Sans didn’t want to be too close to the others, so we took this building.”

            He used his foot to push the door open and carried me inside. The cabin was brightly lit and very warm. The décor was sparse, but there was cozy furniture, blankets, a shelf full of books, a television, and a lovely kitchenette.

            And there, snoozing on the couch, was Axe.

            I called his name and the skeleton jerked awake, blinking up at us.

            “Brother! Look what I found!”

            “Can’t be hunting humans anymore, Paps,” Axe mumbled, rubbing at his eye. The hole in his head seemed to have gotten bigger since the last time I saw him.

            “Don’t be silly, brother, Bunny here got caught in one of my traps and I saved her!”

            “For stars sake, Pap, it’s not a bunny that’s a –” Axe stopped, finally seeming to see me. He blinked in surprise. “Bunny . . .”

            I smiled, and Sugar leaned down to deposit me on the couch. Axe scooted over to make room, staring at me hard. I put my good arm around his neck and hugged him tight.

            “It’s so good to see you, Axe.”

            “Heh, damn kid, I thought I was losing my mind.”

            “Nope, it’s really me.” I pulled away, smiling big.

            “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

            “Are your eyes sore, Sans?” Sugar asked.

            “Nah, Pap, just an expression. What’s wrong with your arm, pumpkin?”

            “Oh! Yes! You need monster food!” Sugar suddenly remembered and ran to the kitchen.

            “It’s a long story,” I said to Axe. “I hope you don’t mind if I tell it to you later.”

            “Alright,” he leaned back against the arm of the couch, “well don’t worry, we’ll get you patched up. Have you seen the village?”

            “I did! Sugar showed me when we walked through. It’s beautiful, and I’m so glad that you guys are on the surface.”

            Axe nodded. “Yeah, me too. Plenty of food and fresh air. Paps has a vegetable garden and hunts animals for the town, though we’ve personally gone vegetarian.”

            “I can imagine.” What else had they changed? Who had died in the mountain collapse? And how much bigger had his hole gotten?

            Sugar jogged back in from the kitchen and presented me with a donut and a glass of milk. “Here you go, Bunny! Muffet bakes lots of yummy goodies! Sans always keeps a stash of junk food and thinks I don’t know about it!”

            “Hey . . .”

            “And this is goat milk from our goats!”

            “You guys raise goats? That’s awesome,” I said accepting the food. The donut was delicious but the milk was really rich and I couldn’t drink it all. I could practically feel my body healing as I ate, and when I was done the pain in my arm and ribs was gone. I sighed with relief and handed the plate back.

            “Thank you, I feel much better.” I untied the leggings from my neck and tested my arm. All healed.

            “Wonderful! I am sorry to have caught you in my trap. It is meant for catching wild animals.”

            “It’s okay, it wasn’t the trap that hurt me.” I stood up and slipped the leggings on. Sugar blushed and looked pointedly at the ceiling.

            “Let me guess, something happened with your Sans’s machine?” Axe said.

            “Nailed it.” I held up my cell phone. “Luckily I’m still in contact with them, and they’re working on getting me home.”

            “Well, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.”

            Sugar gasped. “Will you be staying with us, Bunny? That will be so much fun! I’ll make a delicious spaghetti for you and we’ll watch movies. We don’t get television out here, but I have an extensive collection of DVDs.”

            “Sounds good, Sugar.” I raised my arms and wrapped them around his chest for a proper hug. “Stars, I’ve missed you guys.”

            Sugar hugged me back tight enough that my spine popped.

            “Easy, big guy,” Axe warned.

            “Oh, Bunny! Would you like to see my garden?”

            “Yes, please.”

            It was a beautiful day outside, the autumn air was cool and fresh against a flawless blue sky. Sugar eagerly ran ahead while Axe lagged along beside me, hands in his hoodie pockets. There was a small clearing with no trees where the freshly-tilled soil gave way to a variety of vegetables, including pumpkins.

            “This is my pride and joy!” Sugar said striking a pose. “We share everything with the other monsters, and anything we don’t eat we sell at the farmer’s market!”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah, people like the novelty of monster food,” Axe said, “Muffet sells her pastries and we sell whatever’s seasonal.”

            “That’s wonderful, I guess it’s hard for you guys to get jobs out here.”

            “We do what we can. Government gives us some subsidies too, so that helps,” Axe said. He reached up and scratched at the area around the hole in his head. I caught myself staring and turned away.

            Sugar grabbed my hand and started pulling me through the trees. “This way, Bunny! There’s a secret place I want to show you!”

            “What is it?”

            “You’ll see!”

            I looked over my shoulder and waved at Axe who shrugged and continued to walk along slowly. We would definitely lose him at this rate. Sugar continued to hold my hand, leading me through the forest. We soon came upon a creek where a lot of the soil had eroded away, showing off the thick roots of the trees. One of these trees had been built upon haphazardly, utilizing the hollowed trunk to make what appeared to be a little playhouse.

            “Look! I discovered this secret base last year. Do you think someone lived here?”

            “It was probably kids from the camp,” I said, bending down to peer inside, “they probably snuck out and built it.” The contents confirmed my theory. I saw some muddied comic books, initials carved into the tree, and some crumpled Coke cans.

            “I see, a secret club then!”

            “Yep, looks like it.”

            “I wonder what conspiracies unfolded here!”

            I smiled. Probably just hiding from the counselors to eat junk food and tell ghost stories, but I let Sugar use his imagination.

            “Why don’t we head back and find your brother?” I suggested straightening up again. “I think we lost him.”

            “Ah! Yes, he is a slow mover these days. Let’s go!” Sugar ran ahead. I was not strong enough to run after him, so I kept a steady pace while keeping him in my sight.

            I heard a twig snap behind me and turned.

            There was a flash of blue and I screamed as a series of bones flew down on me, knocking me over and piercing through my clothes into the earth. Through some miracle - or amazing aim - none of the bones hit my skin.

            I looked up in shock as Axe approached me, his one good eye wide and red. He reached up, dug his fingers into his empty eye socket and tugged the edge as if he could break it off. I winced.

            “A-Ax- Sans . . .”

            “Heh, bad luck, human. You don’t get through our forest unscathed.”

            “Sans!” Sugar’s voice snapped Axe to attention and he looked up, startled. His red eye quivered, then shrank, he slowly removed the fingers from his eye socket.

            “Oh, shit.”

            The bones disappeared. Axe shook his head violently. “I’m so sorry kid, I don’t . . .”

            “Sans! You were doing so much better, too!” Sugar said, disappointed. He stood pointedly between me and his brother, hands on his hips. Axe hunched his shoulders and looked down at his feet.

            “This has happened before?” I asked nervously, sitting up.

            “I’m afraid Sans sometimes forgets that we’re on the surface,” Sugar said apologetically. “Sometimes he wakes up at night thinking we have to go hunting. I suppose seeing an actual human wandering alone in the woods triggered him.”

            Axe pressed his face into his hands, not looking up.

            “Axe, when was the last time you saw a doctor?” I asked. I stood up and approached him carefully. Sugar shifted so that he remained in front of me.

            “Heh, don’t have doctors in the village, kid,” Axe grumbled. He lowered his hands and looked away from me.

            “A human doctor then?”

            He shook his head.

            I crossed my arms. “Then you’re going, today. Right now, in fact.”

            Sugar perked up. “Oh, are we going to the human city?”

            “I know that hole in your head has gotten bigger since I saw you last. PTSD is one thing, but you almost killed me, do you hallucinate?”

            Axe turned his head away, not answering.

            “That’s what I thought. Sugar, do you guys have a car?”

            “As a matter of fact, Muffet has a truck we use for the farmer’s market!”

            “Go borrow it from her then, we’re taking Sans to the doctor. And you too, did you ever get your eyes checked since you came here? Or your teeth?”

            “Er, no . . .”

            “Then there’s no time to lose.” I shooed Sugar off to get the car and took Axe’s arm in mine, leading him back to the cabin.

            “This really isn’t necessary, kid . . .”

            “Shut up, yes it is. Is there a doctor we can go to that knows about monsters?”

            “Yeah, there’s a clinic the other monsters take their kids to.”

            “Perfect.”

            We met Sugar back at the lake. It took him some convincing to get Muffet to loan her precious vehicle, but a lecture from Sugar was enough to make anyone yield. The truck was a clunker, smelling faintly of cigarettes, and still had rolling handles to roll down the windows.

            Sugar seemed happy to go for a drive, but Axe grumbled as he climbed in. From his hoodie pocket he brought out a beanie and put it on his head.

            “Hey, that’s the hat I got you for Gyftmas,” I said.

            Axe nodded. “’S a good hat.”

            “I’m glad.”

            While we drove, I asked Sugar to catch me up on the events of the past two years, and he happily obliged, telling me about all the things they had seen since coming to the surface. They went star gazing every night, and each year they held a big party to celebrate their freedom.

            “It’s become a week-long celebration!” Sugar said. “We feast, and set off fireworks, and play music. It’s my favorite time of year! You should come back and visit us then, it’s a lot of fun.”

            “If it’s at all possible, I would love to,” I said.

            We arrived at the clinic and Axe sank down in the chair, sulking. Sugar pulled him out of the car and we entered the facility. The receptionist didn’t seem surprised to see monsters, but some of the humans in the waiting room appeared nervous, staring openly.

            The receptionist handed over paperwork for financial assistance, which she assured me the monsters would receive. The rest was typical doctor information, and I helped Sugar fill it out. Axe merely grumbled.

            “Axe, you have to cooperate with the doctor,” I warned him as we were called back.

            “What good is it going to do?” he muttered.

            “Might do a lot,” I said.

            Sugar stayed back in the lobby to wait his turn while we were escorted to an exam room. A nurse came in and used some specialized equipment to test Axe’s magic levels.

            “So, what are we being seen for today?” he asked.

            “This,” Axe pulled off his hat.

            The nurse’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a doozy, how old is that wound?”

            “Dunno, few years.”

            “Alright. Doctor will be in in just a moment.”

            Then he left.

            Axe sighed. “Sorry to seem ungrateful, kid. I just . . . just didn’t want to deal with this,” he motioned to his head, “didn’t want to be told there was nothing they could do.”

            “There’s always something, Axe. Even if it’s just to keep it from getting worse.”

            The door opened and the doctor walked in. “Alright then, so we’ve got a hole in our head, eh?” She asked, putting on a pleasant smile.

            “Just me, doc.”

            “So I see, hop up on the table for me.”

            Axe did so, paper crinkling under his weight. The doctor took a look, shining a flashlight inside his skull and measuring the hole.

            “So, you got this a few years ago, has it gotten bigger? Is there pain?”

            “Yeah, I’ve been picking at the edges and they break off. Hurts but I’ve gotten use to it.”

            “I see. What other symptoms?”

            “Eh . . .”

            “He hallucinates and has nightmares and flashbacks,” I cut in.

            “Mmhm, well, some of that will be PTSD, I see a lot of that in the monsters that come in. We can set you up with a therapy appointment. As for the injury, the hole is causing unstable levels of magic, which I’m sure you’ve noticed given your eye. Good news is we can put a plate on your head and get you stabilized. I’ll also prescribe a special medication that’s been showing strong results for pain relief in monsters. We’ll set up an appointment to get a cast made, but for now I’m going to give you a healing salve and wrap your head up. Sound good?”

            Axe blinked. “That’s it?”

            “That’s it.”

            “Oh. Uh, yeah, uh . . . and you’re going to put a plate on my head?”

            “Yep, reinforced plastic fitted to your skull. A mild surgery at most.”

            “That easy, huh?”

            “That easy.”

            “Alright then.”

            “Great! I’ll have my nurse come back, he’ll wrap up your head and get you the pain killer prescription. Talk to the receptionist before you leave, and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

            And that was that. The nurse patched up Axe’s head with instructions for changing the wrapping and applying the salve. Sugar went next, getting a new glasses prescription and an appointment to get his teeth looked at.

            “The doctor says I will need braces, Sans!”

            “Well, we’ll have to brace ourselves for that,” Axe said, pulling the beanie over his bandanged head as we left the clinic.

            “Gah!” Sugar shook his head and started the car.

            “I say after we get your medicine at the pharmacy we celebrate with ice cream or something,” I said.

            “That sounds like fun!” Sugar agreed.

            “Ice dream of ice cream every night,” Axe said, making Sugar swat at him.

            His mood had improved tenfold, and there seemed to be an actual smile in that permeant grin. I reached over and patted Axe’s hand as Sugar drove us down the street.

            Axe looked down at my hand, then up at me. After a moment he looked back out the window and spoke, “I found you here.”

            I frowned, confused. “You found me?”

            “This timeline’s version of you.”

            My heart skipped a beat. “Oh.”

            “Turns out this timeline is almost a mirror of yours, except in this one Frisk never came back to the underground. When we reached the surface, I was curious if you existed here, and you do.”

            That made sense, after all, they all had alternatives of themselves, why not me?

            “Only, in this world, the barrier never fell, so bitties were never created.”

            “What does that mean?”

            “It means you never shrank, kiddo. Never lost your memories. You’re here in town living out your normal life.”

            I realized a lump had formed in my throat, and I tried to swallow it. “Why are you telling me this?”

            He looked at me, red eye bright. “To give you the option to see for yourself . . . did you ever get your memories back after you grew?”

            “No.”

            He shrugged. “Well, this is your chance to find out then. If you want to.”

            Sugar looked over at us. “Are we making a pit stop?”

            Axe stared at me, waiting for me to answer.

            I clenched my fists and took a deep breath. “Where is she?”

            I felt like a tourist in an aquarium, staring at strange things through glass. Except instead of fish I was looking at my alternative self. The me of this world worked in a pet store. Her hair was shorter, and her style much different, but it was undoubtably me.

            Is this how the boys felt when they met their alternate selves? It was so surreal. I knew it was me, but at the same time my brain still translated it as a different person rather than ‘looking in a mirror’.

            Axe and Sugar stood at my sides, waiting for me to make the first move.

            I was nervous, but this was finally my chance to find out about my life before being a bitty. I had to take it.

            I stepped inside with the ring of the bell, catching the attention of alternate me who was setting clearance stickers for dog toys on a nearby shelf.

            “Hi, can I help you with anything?”

            My eyes darted down to her chest and my breath caught in my throat. It was her name tag. Her name. My name.

            “Are you okay?” other me asked. She didn’t seem to notice that we were doppelgangers, or maybe she did and was ignoring it as coincidence.

            I looked up at her again. She hadn’t been through as much as I had, hadn’t shrunk and been forced to survived, hadn’t met the skeletons. She wasn’t even friends with Axe and Sugar who – I confirmed with a quick glance over my shoulder – were still outside, watching me through the window. There was a bubbliness to her personality that I lacked, smoother skin, time for makeup and hairspray.

            “I, uh, I just moved to town,” I started.

            “Oh, and do you have a pet?”

            “N-no . . .”

            “Thinking of getting one then?”

            “Yeah . . . yeah! My new apartment . . . it lets me have pets, so . . .”

            “Oh, great! I’d love to help you find a new friend. What kind were you thinking?”

            “I’m not sure, what kind do you have?”

            She beamed, seeming happy to talk about it. “I have a kitty named Tiny Tim. He’s super small and has a bad leg just like in A Christmas Carol.”

            I chuckled at that. “Cats are nice. Is he a lot of work?”

            “A little bit since he’s a rescue and has special needs, but most cats are very independent so you wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of one all the time like a dog.”

            “Is this area good for dogs? Do you live here?”

            “Yep, moved to Ebbott when I turned eighteen.”

            So, I hadn’t always lived in Ebbot. “Where did you use to live?”

            “All over the place, I moved around a lot.”

            “O-oh? Military family?”

            “Foster care.”

            Foster care? I was an orphan? “You- I- Oh . . . I’m sorry to hear that.”

            She shrugged. “No biggie. My parents were drug addicts and ended up in jail when I was really young. I was with my grandparents for a while but after they passed away I had to be put in foster care.”

            So that’s why they never found me . . . I probably had never even seen or spoken to my parents since they went to jail. Were they even still alive?

            And at this point, did it really matter? “That sounds rough.”

            “I made the best of it – actually made a lot of good friends and families along the way. I’m actually living with some other foster kids I grew up with now, and we have lots of fun. We’re a bunch of poor college students, but we make it work.”

            “What are you going to school for?”

            “Majoring in English. How about you?”

            “Uh, criminal justice.”

            “That’s awesome! Man, I could never do something like that, I’m not smart enough.”

            I laughed out loud at that. “I doubt it.”

            I noticed that she was glancing over my shoulder and turned to look. Sugar and Axe were still watching us pretty intently. They were not subtle at all.

            “Maybe we should move to the back?” Other me suggested.

            “Oh, it’s okay. They’re my friends.”

            She raised an eyebrow. “Really? How?”

            “Just happenstance,” I said, “you should meet them, they’re really nice.”

            “Oh, no, that’s okay. I uh . . . I know it’s not PC to say so, but monsters scare me.”

            “What?”

            “Well, yeah, I just . . . there’s rumors that they ate humans, and I know, I know, I’m sure they’re just rumors but . . . they’re still scary.”

            I looked back at the skeletons and felt my heart ache. I couldn’t imagine a world where I wasn’t friends with Sans and Papyrus, yet here it was.

            “I shouldn’t leave them waiting,” I said, “thanks so much for talking to me.”

            “Oh, yeah! Sorry, I’ve been rambling on and we didn’t even figure out a pet for you.”

            “No, no, it’s okay, you’ve . . . given me a lot to think about.”

            I waved goodbye and stepped back outside. My heart was hammering, and I suddenly felt very tired.

            “You okay?” Axe asked. Sugar placed a large hand on my shoulder.

            I nodded. “Just . . . a bit overwhelmed.”

            “What did you learn? Do you have any family? What’s your real name?”

            At that I smirked a bit. I placed my hand over Sugar’s and nodded. “Yeah, I have a family.”

            “What is the other you’s name?” Sugar asked.

            “Doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’m Bunny. My real name is Bunny.”

            “Sugar, this spaghetti is so good!” I declared, making myself a second plate.

            “Nyeh, nyeh! Of course! The great Papyrus is a master spaghettitor! I made the sauce from the very tomatoes in the garden, and it’s all topped with goat cheese.”

            “Well, it’s delicious.” We were all seated at their tiny dining table while the fireplace crackled. There was a forgotten jigsaw puzzle on the floor that we had played with before dinner. The TV had remained off since we had gotten too wrapped up on conversation to watch anything. I had finally gotten around to telling them what had really happened to me, including how my arm broke. They both promised to keep me safe.

            “Paps learned a lot of cooking techniques from our Mennonite neighbors,” Axe said.

            “Indeed! They are very clever!”

            “I’m glad you guys have made some human friends.”

            The ring of my cell phone made us all jump. I had completely forgotten about it. I answered and put it on speaker, placing it in the middle of the table.

            “Sans?”

            “Yeah, kiddo, I’m here.”

            “Me too,” the voice of G came through.

            “Where have you guys been? You haven’t called all day!”

            “I know, I’m sorry,” Sans’s voice was riddled with guilt, “G updated the machine and caused a double jump so it took us longer to calibrate the signal on the phone.”

            “Are you okay, kitten?” G asked, “are you somewhere safe?”

            “I am now,” I said, “I’m with Axe and Sugar, and they’re on the surface!”

            “Thank the stars,” Sans sighed.

            I suddenly heard shouting on the line and Papyrus’s voice came on the phone.

            “- you said you would wake me! Bunny?! Bunny, are you okay?” Papyrus sounded completely frazzled and my heart went out to him.

            “I’m okay, Papy, honest, everything’s okay.”

            “I- I knew that! The g-g-great Papyrus wasn’t worried!”

            Oh no, now he was crying.

            “It’s alright, other me! Don’t cry!” Sugar said, “Bunny is in safe hands!”

            “I am glad she is with you two, on the surface,” Papyrus said. I heard him blow his nose.

            “Go get some water, Paps, it’s okay,” Sans said, “Bunny, G and I have been working on the machine all day and I think we’ve got it working now, we should be able to warp you straight home.”

            “Are you sure?” I asked.

            “Trust me, kitten, Gaster was the one that built the machine, and I’m half Gaster,” G said.

            “I trust you.”

            “We actually want to run one more test to make sure there are no kinks,” Sans said, “but then we’ll call you back, okay?”

            “Alright, just don’t take too long, Error could find me at any time.”

            “Don’t worry, we’ll be quick,” G said.

            “I can’t wait to see you, Bunny!” Papyrus cried, “you’ll be happy to know that we’ve caught the assailants that attacked you! The entire organization was arrested last night when we found them conspiring against monsters!”

            “That’s wonderful, Papyrus!”

            “Yes, so everything is safe for when you get home.”

            “I’m proud of you, Paps, I knew you could do it.”

            “Of course! If I can’t protect you where you are, then I can make home safe for you.”

            “You’re the coolest, bro,” Sans said.

            “Alright, I’ll talk to you guys soon.”

            “Watch over her, Axe,” Sans said.

            “Heh, so far she’s been taken care of us,” Axe said, scratching at the bandages on his head. Sugar waved his hand away.

            “Bye.”

            I sighed and leaned back in my chair. “I hope this works. All this world-jumping has been killing me.” In some cases, almost literally.

            I briefly remembered the blue/red-eyed Sans with the knife and shivered.

            “It’s a shame you’ll be leaving so soon,” Sugar said, “I’ve enjoyed having you over.”

            “Me too,” I said, “oh! But . . .” I pulled up the contacts on my phone, “here, add your number, you have a cell phone, right?”

            “We do indeed!” Sugar entered the number and passed it back to me. “Be careful, your battery is yellow!”

            “Shoot, is it?” The battery percentage had indeed gotten low. I would have to be careful. I made sure no apps were open and put it away.

            Once dinner was done, Sugar stepped outside to check on the garden and animals, leaving Axe and myself to sit on the couch.

            “So, after I leave you going to take care of yourself? Go to your therapy sessions and have yearly doctor visits?”

            “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that, Paps will keep me in line.”

            “So, I wanted to ask, how did you find me in this world?”

            “I was actually looking for Frisk. I wanted to know what happened to them, why they never came back to the underground. During my search I kept an eye out for you too. Got lucky in that regard.”

            “What about Frisk?”

            “They died,” Axe sighed, “guess they got really sick. All these years I thought they had abandoned us.”

            “I’m sorry. What about Aliza? What happened to her?”

            He looked down shamefully. “Once Pap and I got back from your world . . . it was almost too late. She didn’t trust me, even though I decided to give her a chance. I kept an eye on her, kept her safe. I don’t know what she did to bring the mountain down, but once we were free, she stayed away, moved somewhere by the ocean. Hope she’s doing better.”

            “Maybe you should write her?” I suggested, “get some closure.”

            “Nah, I don’t think that’d be a good idea. I think it’s best to leave things as they are and move on with our lives. Kid’s had it hard enough, and I sure as hell didn’t make it easy on her in the underground. Honestly . . .” He started to reach up for his eye socket, but I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He sighed. “Honestly, if it hadn’t been for you, and your Sans sending us food, I don’t know if she would have survived. If any of us would have.”

            He looked down at his boney hands, mine wrapped in his. “She was the key to our freedom and I tried to . . .”

            “A- Sans,” I touched his face and turned his head toward me. His eyelight had shrunk, and there were tears threatening to fall. “It’s okay.”

            “’M not a good person, Bunny.”

            “It’s okay, Sans, even if you don’t feel like a good person, keep trying to be.”

            A puff of air came out of his nose as he smirked. “That easy, huh?”

            I shrugged. “All you can really do.” I let go of his hand and chin and pulled him in for a hug. Axe leaned into it, and I kissed the top of his head.

            “It’ll be okay, I promise. Just keep trying, okay?”

            “Okay.”

            “Promise you’ll keep trying?”

            “I know you know I don’t like making promises.”

            “I know. But this is important. Please? Can you promise that you’ll keep trying even when everything feels horrible and you feel like you can never make up for the things you’ve done, will you try again?”

            “. . . Alright, Bun. I promise.”

            “Thank you.” I gave him a squeeze then let him go, but Axe remained leaning against me, so I sat back so that his body could rest against mine.

            By the time Sugar came back, Axe was asleep, head resting on my shoulder. Sugar quietly put in a movie for us to watch, and I smiled as some Disney cartoon characters came on screen. I remembered Sugar’s love for ‘Ratatouille’, and this time it was ‘Princess and the Frog’.

            “You know, Sugar, you should cook for people at the farmers’ market,” I said, “I bet they would love your food.”

            “Do you think so?” Sugar asked. “I’ve seen others cooking at the market but . . . a grill would be expensive . . .”

            “You should go for it anyway,” I said, “your cooking is amazing. You could start out with a small grill – maybe get a used one, then maybe someday you could work your way up to a food truck, even your own restaurant.”

            At this point, Sugar’s eyes were practically shinning. “You really think so?”

            “Heck yeah.”

            “Nyeh! You’re right, the great Papyrus can do anything! I will ask Muffet to help. Perhaps I can even salvage the grill from Grillby’s old restaurant.”

            I smiled and nodded.

***Bonus Smut Chapter***

            We spent the rest of the evening watching movies and shooting food ideas back and forth at each other until we were too tired to talk, and I began to conk out. Papyrus wasn’t far behind, stretching out with his legs across mine and Axe’s lap and laying his head on the arm of the couch.

            I couldn’t sleep though. I knew what happened the last time I had fallen asleep. And I was still waiting for the call from Sans and G. What was taking so long? Had something gone wrong with their test?

            I felt a numbness in my arm and slipped it out from under Axe’s neck. I carefully stood up so as not to wake them and stepped outside onto the cabin porch. The air was chilly, and the crickets were loud. I sat down and looked at my hands, watching as they began to become fuzzy, like white noise.

            I squeezed my fists tight and took a deep breath.

            When I looked up, Error was standing there in the darkness, his red eyes glowing at me from the shadows, body glitching erratically.

            I stood up and glared at him. “You stepped on me.”

            “That’s what you do with b̢̘̟̻͌̌̕͞ù͚g̳̭̗̉̈́̾s͈̱͙̀͑̀.” He produced a blue string and twirled it between his fingers threateningly. I couldn’t call for Axe and Sugar, he would just take control of them.

            “Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything to you.”

            It’s m̬̉ÿ̢̢͓͎́̅͆͡ ̟͕̓̈́ǰ̟ơ̢̻͇̤͚͐̔̈́b͚͍̥͗̿͡ to destroy dirty glitches like you.”

            “Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

            That pissed him off. He threw the string toward me and it shot forward, straight as an arrow. I was ready and dodged, somersaulting off the porch and into the leaves. Red bones shot up around me but I jumped over them, leaping to my feet and running into the trees.

            I pulled the cell phone out of my pocket as I ran, looking at the screen desperately. Why hadn’t Sans called me back?! He said he would call!

            I gasped as something hit my foot and sent me sprawling to the ground. I looked over and saw two crossed bones sticking out of the leaves, the perfect tripping mechanism.

            Error’s warped chuckle echoed in the darkness. I started to stand and run but realized the phone had slipped from my hand. I began pawing through the leaves. Where was it?!

            “No more r̡̟̼̬͆͂̽̏u̦̬͊̊n͙͊n͍͒í̯͐͟n̳̳͊̓g̛̫, you pest.”

            I turned, crying out as Error closed in on me, a bone in his hand raised for a killing blow.

            A wall of rib-like bones suddenly shot up from the earth, separating me and Error. His red bone shattered as it made contact with the wall and he looked around in frustration.

            “Sorry, bub,” Axe’s voice echoed from the darkness, “but that’s my human you’re messing with.”

            With an angry snarl, Error sent an attack at the shadows where the voice was coming from. I took my chance to resume the search for my phone. I could hear the fight going on behind me – the ping of blue magic, followed by the thwump of something hitting magic bone. Finally my hand bumped against metal and I seized the little rectangle.

            Before I could stand, I felt a disturbance in the air from someone teleporting, and looked up, almost screaming at the sight of Axe’s engorged red eye staring down at me.

            A blue string was wrapped around his soul.

            I gasped and scrambled back as Axe summoned a large bone in his hand. He raised it up and slammed it down, just barely missing. I rolled to all fours and got to my feet, barely dodging the next blow as he slammed the club down.

            Error watched from a distance. He waved his yellow-tinted fingers at me teasingly as I ran and gave the string a tug.

            Axe threw relentless attacks at me, but none hit their mark. I wasn’t sure if I was just that fast, if the darkness was on my side, or if Axe was fighting Error’s control. I felt it might be the latter, because I had the distinct feeling that I was being steered in a particular direction. Bones would shoot up and force me to turn, Axe would teleport into my peripheral vision and swing at me.

            Even if he was holding back, I wouldn’t last much longer. I was running on fear and adrenaline and every part of my body was begging me to stop.

            I could hear Error following us, laughing sadistically as Axe shepherded me through the woods. My heart was hammering and I couldn’t breathe in air fast enough.

            A wall of bones blocked my path and I collapsed, coughing and gasping. Axe stepped forward and raised his bone club, but a tug of the blue string made him stop.

            “That’s ḛ̝̬͖̈́̌͠͝no̧̡͙̫̓̈́̅͋̾͢u̪͊̑ͅg̫̑̇̅͢͜ḩ̮̻̀͐̏, I’ll take care of t̢̥̪̓̈́͂̔͘͟ͅḥ̺͕͒̓̕i͎͟͡͞s̯̄ ̜̗̫̽͋̎õ̢n̢̙͖̩̓̽͂͌e,” Error said.

            I tried to crawl away, but the cage of ribs kept me trapped.

            Error summoned a gaster blaster above his head and took a step forward.

            “So long gli- gah!” The gaster blaster dissipated as Error was suddenly thrown into the air upside down. I looked up in shock and saw a thick piece of rope lassoed around his ankle, suspending him from a tree.

            It was one of Sugar’s traps! Axe must have known, that’s why he led me in this direction.

            “What the f̡̧̡̧͇̫͇̻̮̬̫̯̭̦̭̂͛̀͆̿͛͂̃͛̂̈́͌̒̕͞ư̧̢̛̛̩̩̥͇͓̱̼̱̬̩̤͍͖͉̖͍͓̖̼̖̩͍̟͖̣͈̲̯̜͓͉̺̲̱̱̟̱̓̄̿̅̋̏̿̅̂̏͆̄̂̓͒̏͋͌̄͛̅͋̈́̆͗̌̄̍͐̒́͆͂̽̅̂̚̕̚͢͜͢͟͟͝͠͞ͅͅͅc̡̧̛̝͕̹̗̼͚͇͍̭͚̦̗̙̔̎̊̊͂͛̊͗̊̒̄̒̅͐̆͟ķ̨̧̡͎͔̗̻͈̲͙̺͓͕̟͖̖̻̺̬̼̩͈̪̱͇̰̬̺͕̜̦͚̪̣͐̀͊̑̇̅̓̅̈́̉̍͑̽͆̆͌̆͐͐̂̏͗̽͒̒̋̈̕͢͢͞͞͝͞͡͝͡͝ͅ!” Error spun as he tried to reach for his captive leg. “G̛͓ě͎̩̖̍͝ẗ͚̞̬̰́̾́̐ ͉͑ṃ̧̢͉͌͆͌̓e̺̽̔͟ ͚̻̒̕ḓ̂ō͚w̘̱̭̄̚̚͜͝ń͙̯͖͕̈͆͆͟͝!”

            I saw my chance and jumped up, summoning the last of my strength to reach Axe and grab the string that held his soul hostage. I bit down as hard as I could, pulling until the magic snapped under the force of my teeth.

            Axe’s red eye shimmered then shrank. He dropped his club, letting it disappear, and shook his head.

            “Are you o-o-okay?” I panted, grabbing his hands. My legs were shaking and I couldn’t stay upright. Axe grabbed me and held me close. My body trembled and glitched.

            “Why hasn’t Vanilla called you?” Axe demanded. I showed him my phone and saw in horror that the battery was in the red. My hand glitched and the phone fell from my grip. Axe  caught it in midair and handed it back.

            “H̲̜̦̜͗̽͆̇e͚̱̤̔̿̕h̥̆e̢͔̯̅̄̎̌ͅh͍̿e̘͑,” Error cackled like radio static.

            Axe glared at him. “Shut your mouth.”

            “No reason to f̡͐ï̧͙̪̀g̞̰̈́͋ḩ̢̛̫̅̀t̩̔ you,” Error said, “looks like she’ll be coming to m̳̻̼̱͖̪̈́̃́̏̄̚͟͠ë͙̲͎̖̹̼͖͎́̇̈́̍̍̃͂͞.” Error summoned a bone and shot it into the rope that held him. When he fell it wasn’t the ground that broke his fall, instead a white, flickering portal appeared and he fell into it, disappearing.

            I groaned and felt my knees buckle. Axe scooped me up into his arms and made a fast pace for the cabin. My body flickered.

            “Axe, something’s wrong, it hurts . . .”

            “What the-?!”

            I winced as a bolt of pain shot through me. When I opened my eyes I was no longer in Axe’s arms, but his hands. I had shrunk again. I found myself tangled up in my shirt while the rest of my clothes fell to the ground.

            “What’s happening to you?!”

            “My bitty magic is all haywire,” I groaned, “I’ve been shrinking and growing with each warp.”

            Axe bent down and grabbed my fallen phone. We made it back to the cabin and he kicked the door open, startling Sugar awake.

            “Brother? Where is . . .” Sugar spotted me in his brother’s palms and gasped. “Bunny, you are tiny again! And you’re . . . you look like the TV when we get some reception.”

            “Stay back Paps,” Axe warned. He placed me on a pillow and I kept my shirt wrapped around me. He glared at my phone.

            “Come on you lazy bones, call, ring.”

            As if responding to his command, the phone vibrated. Axe quickly answered. “About time! Why haven’t you called?”

            “The test failed, we had to make a repair,” Sans’s voice explained. “Is she alright?”

            “Barely. Time to warp her out of here.”

            Axe handed me the phone. I tucked the shirt fabric under my arms to keep my chest hidden and took the device.

            “Goodbye, Bunny! I will miss you!” Sugar said.

            I smiled at him and hugged the phone to my chest, waiting for the world to disappear.

            Nothing happened.

            I frowned and looked down at the screen. It was blank. The phone was dead.

            I looked up at Axe in horror. The world around me was skipping and becoming fuzzy, like a bad DVD.

            Axe reached for me and I stretched my hand out for him. Before we could touch, the world stuttered and I found myself sitting in the vast whiteness of the anti-void.

Chapter Text

            Axe’s concerned face was replaced with the sadistic grin of Error, and I began to tremble, tears filling my eyes.

            “Ǎ̫̮̦͂̈w̢͚̥͐̐̌̾͢ẅ͔̜̝̞́̈́̃̽, we’re they too late, little glitch?” He reached forward and plucked the phone from my arms. He waved it at me then tossed it away. I reached for it pathetically. It was useless, my last chance, gone. Tears streamed down my face.

            “So, what’s it gó̹͉̟̹̆̒͡i̺͈̟̖͒͋͗͞n̢̙̭͖̓̿͒̆͢g̨̛͍̺̞̘͌̈́̍͘ ͇̼̖̗͂̍̓t̲͈̃̒ŏ̼͉̤̱̇͠ ͎̥͗͝b̛͎̰̽e̞̟̭̊͝͠?” Error taunted, “bone through the chest? My foot? Or should I just s̲͔͛͞h͎͞a̘̲̝̗͉͗́͂̕͞t̪̘͂̂ț̜̝͌̿e̤͓͊͝r͚͇͡ ̩̯̪͋̿̓̆ͅy̟͈̐̃o̺̕u̧̳͙̺̓̔̔̕r̗͑̏͢ ̩̱̝͛̌͛s̱͒o͖͂u̙̗̠͐̓l?” He produced a string from his eye and dangled it in front

of me. His magical pupils dilated manically. I ducked, covering myself with my arms and curling up into the fetal position.

            I just wanted to go home . . .

            I felt the crackle of magic, like hot air from a campfire, and whimpered.

            “Hey, Error! Did you drop this? Is it your phone?” A new voice suddenly spoke up in the void, and everything froze.

            “Get ö̖́ǘ̦̼̥͖̕͠͡t̮̼͂͒ ͉͎̬̤͛̉̓õ̂͜͢f̛͎̱͙͗͐͡ͅ ͚̗̥͙̌͊̋̚h̰̮̆̀ë͈́re, Ink!” Error snapped.

            “What’s that? Why are you pointing a gaster blaster at a shirt?”

            “Ṉ̣̂͡õ̮̺̗̆̒̈́͜ṋ͎̙̔̇͠é̜̠̖͊̔ of your business!” He sounded annoyed, like a big brother yelling at his sibling.

            I lowered one of my arms and tried to peek up at the newcomer. All I could see were a pair of tan sneakers standing before me.

            “Um, it’s absolutely my business, we had a truce!”

            “I’m not destroying AUs!” Error said, “I’m taking care of a d̛͓̦̔i͙̹̦̱͋͊̓̂͠ͅr͚͇̹̫͒̋̉́t̻̅y͚̑ ̛̤̞̥̤̊̌̓g͇̣̣̈́̏̚lí̱̦͉̐̓ṭ̇ĉ̲̩̔h͚̲̟̒́͘͢͡.”

            I turned my head up, following a pair of skeletal legs into a pair of shorts and a familiar hoodie tied around a waist. From there I saw a long brown scarf and a cross-chest strap containing several colorful vials. The face of Sans looked down at me, but this one was very different from the others I had met. He had a splash of black ink stained on his cheek, and with each blink, his eyelights changed shape and colors, from stars, to exclamation points, to diamonds. He had a giant paint brush strapped to his back and was staring down at me with curiosity.

            “A human bitty?” He said, surprised, “how’d she end up outside her AU?”

            “How should I know? I’m just tr̻͒͢͞y̧͍͗͗̇͟i̜̞̚͞n̼̱͗͌g͍͍͙̉̊͘ ̿ͅt̡̮͎͆̾̕o̩͌ ͇̩̦̗̌̌̆̄ clean up the mess!”

            Ink grabbed a green vial from his sash, popped the top off with this thumb, and drank it down. He bent down and smile at me gently. “Aw, Error, it’s just a little bitty. She’s cute!”

            “An a̹̰͚͎̔͐͑̐̕ͅb̛͕͈̀ǫ̟̱́̔̃̒ͅm͙̆ȉ̱̖͌ń̬a̺͞ẗ͔͈̭̾͝i̹̎ó͉̙͔̯̒̽n̹͇͗̀ more like,” Error grumbled.

            Ink gathered me up, keeping me wrapped in the shirt, and cradled me in his hands. I trembled, scared and tired.

            “Aw, you scared her.”

            “Good!”

            “Don’t worry bitty, he’s just a grumpy skele,” Ink grinned and stuck a rainbow-colored tongue out at Error. I was shocked at how candid and lighthearted he was around this powerful monster.

            “I’ll sh̠̜̤͋͞͞ö̘͍́͂͜͞w̢̛̘̏̀ͅ ͓͎́̕y̛͖̪̌o̦̔u ̤̻͛̚g͈̔ru̲͍͛̓m̰̫͉̘͍̃͐̔̔͐p̙̔̆͟ȳ͉!” Error shouted, grabbing two handfuls of strings from his eyes. I squeaked and ducked, but Ink didn’t even flinch.

            Reaching up behind his head, Ink grabbed the paint brush from his back and brought it down on Error, painting him from head to toe in bright pink paint.

            “Hey!”

            The paint suddenly transformed, rising off of Error and taking on the shape of rope. The ropes clamped into place, binding Error completely, even gagging him. He fell over and struggled, his body glitching violently in anger.

            “Don’t worry about him,” Ink said, giving his paint brush a spin. “Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable, I’m sure you want to go home.” He slapped the brush against the ground, making a splatter of pink paint, and jumped into it.

            Instead of landing we began to sink as if he had jumped into a pool. I screamed and held my breath as we fell, but before I could even register what had happened the white void was gone, and we stood in a beautiful golden room filled with papers that hung from the ceiling. When I looked up I couldn’t see an end to it.

            “Welcome to the Doodle Sphere!” Ink said proudly. “It’s kind of like the Grand Central Station to all the AUs, and I watch over them!”

            I was too shocked to speak. Just visiting all the AUs was overwhelming, but that there was a Sans that watched over them all . . . and he had a magic paint brush . . .

            “You alright? Oh, hey, it’s okay, I know it’s a lot to take in.” Ink patted my head with the tip of his finger and adjusted me so that I was comfortably situated in the crook of his elbow, still wrapped up to the point where I could barely move.

            “So, tell me about your AU, what kind of Sans do you have?”

            “I- I don’t know,” I said shyly, “he has a blue hoodie, he works at the university . . .”

            “Alright,” Ink hummed, “classic Sans then, sounds like you’re on the surface with human bitties . . .” as he spoke, he waved his hand in the air and papers began to spin. Some were pictures, others the written word. Some were single pages while others were as thick as novels. They went by so fast I couldn’t tell what they contained. Finally, a few stopped in front of us, floating in the air.

            “Ah, only a few of those, lucky you . . . let’s see . . . ah hah! This is the one!”

            I blinked and leaned forward, trying to see the paper he grabbed. Before I could get a look though, he threw it and it went back into the air. Ink grabbed his paint brush and created a new puddle of paint.

            “That’s . . . home?” I asked.

            “Yep! I’m pretty sure anyway. Wait, do you guys sleep together? You and the skeletons?”

            “What?!”

            “Does it get kinky?”

            “N-no!”

            “Oh. Oops, hang on.” With a swing of the brush the paint was gone and a new paper came down into Ink’s hand. He studied it, tossed it back, and made a new puddle. “Okay, here you go, definitely got it right this time.”

            “Are you sure?”
            “Hm?”

            “You’re sure you got it right?”

            “Got what-? Oh! Yeah, for sure.”

            Oh boy . . .

            “Th-thank you. You saved my life.”

            His eyes turned into stars and he smiled. “You’re welcome! It was nice to meet you.” He hesitated, staring down at the paint puddle. “I’m forgetting something.”

            I stared at him silently, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought.

            “Oh! That’s right!” He reached into his pocket and produced a cell phone, “Error doesn’t have a cell phone, so I’m guessing this is yours.”

            “Yes! Thank you,” I said. I wiggled my arms out of the shirt fabric and accepted the device with relief.

            “Alright, good luck!” Ink held me out over the puddle like Rafiki presenting Simba to the animal kingdom, and dropped me.

            I squealed as my body hit paint and passed through. I felt a jolt shoot through my body like a bolt of lightning, then I hit something and landed in a pair of hands.

            “What the-!”

            “It’s Bunny!”

            “Uh, Paps, we’re going to need a –”

            I knew those voices!

            I opened my eyes and found that I was in Sans’s lab at the university. Sans and Papyrus stood before me, looking shocked, and holding my tiny form was . . .

            “That’s quite a reunion, kitten. Glad you could drop in.”

            “G!” I beamed and studied all the faces around me. It was my friends. I was home. I burst into tears.

            G patted my back, bemused. Sans approached us, usual smile full of relief. “Glad to have you back, kiddo.”

            “Bunny!” Papyrus’s eyes were also filled with tears, “I-I-I’m so gla-a-ad you’re hoooome.” He began to wail and G handed me over so that the weeping skeleton could hug me to his face.

            “I’m okay, Paps, everything’s okay,” I sniffled and patted his boney cheek. His tears rolled down onto my body, soaking me.

            “Here, bro, I’ll take her. You go wipe your face.”

            Papyrus nodded and handed me to Sans.

            “Well, looks like we came up a little short there, Bunny.”

            “Sans . . . you stupid. . . stars I missed you.” I hugged his thumb, too happy about being back to be mad. Sans chuckled and rubbed at my back with one of his free phalanges. 

            “You hurt, kitten? Need some monster candy?” G asked.

            “I need candy, and to sleep for a week,” I said, “but I’m not hurt.”

            “Don’t worry about being small again, kiddo,” Sans reassured me, “you can help me test out the bitty machine.”

            “No, no more machines, no more testing!” I waved my arms dramatically then remembered my clothing situation and put them back down, making sure I was well-covered.

            Sans chuckled and G stepped forward. “Don’t worry, I’ll be overseeing that one as well.”

            I smiled and wiped my cheeks on my shirt. “I’m just so glad to see you guys, you have no idea.”

            “I mean, technically you’ve been seeing us all over the place,” Sans winked.

            “Yeah, but it’s not you guys, there’s no one like you.”

            Sans hugged me tight and I breathed a sigh of relief.

            It was good to be home.

Chapter Text

            “Sans!” My voice was filled with rage as I glared down at the now-tiny skeletons before me.

            Yep, I had gone from one extreme to another. After using Sans’s machine to boost my magic and bring me back to my regular size, I now found myself the size of a bulldozer, just barely fitting inside the lab with my legs tucked up against my chest to hide my nude form.

            Papyrus was blushing like Rudolph’s nose, hands over his face. G was desperately typing at the computer to see what went wrong, and Sans . . . Sans was standing there with that dumb smile about to tell me another horrible pun.

            I reached down and pinched his hoodie between my fingers, lifting him up so that my stern expression was eye-level. Sans dangled in front of me, raising his arms in a shrug.

            “Oops.”

            “Don’t. You. Dare.”

            “Looks like we’ve got a –”

            “Sans.”

            “Big problem.”

            I fumed, reminding myself that throwing him across the room would probably kill him.

            “Easy, kitten,” G said, “it’s just some excess magic from the machine, it should wear off in just a few minutes.”

            I set Sans back down, perhaps a bit too roughly, since he tottered over and fell to a seated position.

            “Bunny! Do not fear!” Papyrus yelled, still keeping his eyes covered, “at least no one can step on you this way!”

            “Always looking on the bright side, eh, Paps? Really seeing the big picture.” Sans grinned.

            “Yes! I am just like that song by that band with the unfortunate name!”

            “Whoaaaa-!” I cried out as my body quaked. I felt my stomach drop as if I was in an elevator that suddenly went down.

            G ran over and quickly put a white lab coat on my now normal form. I wrapped the front over myself and stood up straight, my legs trembling. G placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

            “See? All good.”

            I sighed with relief. “Thank the stars.”

            Papyrus peeked through his fingers and lowered his hands once he saw that I was decent. “It worked! Does this mean we can help all the other bitties too?”

            “Yep,” Sans nodded, “I want to monitor Bunny’s health for a few weeks, but if things remain stable then we can start bringing bitties back to their true sizes.”

            “That’s wonderful news!” Papyrus clapped his hands.

            “How do you feel, Bunny?” G asked me.

            “I’m okay, a little wobbily.”

            “You know, G,” Sans stepped up to us, “you’ve been a big help with these projects. I could really use your expertise around here, since you’re not keen on going back to your world.”

            “This a trick, comedian?”

            “Nah, you helped get Bunny back, and I owe you for that. Why don’t you stay for a while and work with me here? It'd be nice to have a partner in the lab again.”

            “Hm, yeah, might be nice to settle down for a bit.”

            “That’s great,” I said, beaming, “it’ll be so nice to have you stay with us!”

            “Yes! You can live with us, G!” Papyrus said, “it’ll be like having another brother!”

            G nodded. “Sounds pretty good.”

            “Alright, why don’t we take Bunny home so you can get some rest?” Sans suggested.

            “Actually . . .” I looked over at the special telephone on the other side of the room, wired up and connected to a large antennae, “I want to stay here. There are some phone calls I need to make . . .”

            “Hey darlin’,” Rus smiled at me from the video feed on the cell phone screen. Papyrus and Sans leaned over my shoulders, checking to see if it would work.

            “Rus! I’m back, I made it home!”

            “Glad to hear it, Bunny, my bro will be relieved too.”

            “Where is he?”

            “He’s a bit busy at the moment, he’s got a lot of work to do with the humans.”

            “The humans? Does that mean . . .?”

            “Yep, we made it to the surface. Chara set us free.”

            I cheered and beamed. Sans patted my shoulder and stepped away, but Papyrus remained, eager to hear about his counterpart’s adventures.

            “I’m so happy for you guys, that’s such a relief.”

            “Yep, I missed being up top. Been enjoying the sunshine and starlight.”

            I smiled, remembering how much Rus enjoyed napping outside when he lived with us. “I’m so glad, Rus. I’ll call you guys back later so you and Razz can tell me all about it.”

            “Looking forward to it, darlin’.”

            “Bunny! You’re alright! You made it home!”

            “Yeah, it was a rough ride, but I’m finally back.”

            “Thank goodness. Papy! It’s Bunny on the phone!”

            It warmed my heart to hear Blue’s voice so full of pomp and circumstance again. His eyes turned to stars on my video feed when he saw me. Stretch shortly joined him.

            “Hey, Bun, good to see you, kiddo.”

            “You too, Stretch, we barely got to talk when I was there.”

            “Well now you can call us every night!” Blue said.

            “I definitely will. How are things on your end?”

            “Things have been quiet,” Stretch said, “I don’t know what that Error Sans did to Chara, but they haven’t returned and there hasn’t been a reset.”

            “That’s good, but I’m sorry you guys are still underground, I wish I had time to free you.”

            “Don’t worry about us, Bunny! I’m just glad to have Papy and all the other monsters back! We’ll find our way to the surface someday.”

            “Until then you’ll have to keep us up to speed on things on your end,” Stretch said.

            “I will. I actually have a few more phone calls to make, but I will call you guys again tomorrow night, okay?”

            “Okay, we’ll be waiting, so don’t forget!” Blue said.

            “I could never forget you guys.”

            As I hung up I heard Stretch wonder why I was wearing a lab coat, and giggled.

            “Aw, sweetheart, yer a sight for sore eyes, we haven’t heard from you and thought something bad had happened.”

            “I’m fine, Red. It was a bumpy ride but I made it home in one piece.”

            “Yer one tough human, doll. Back to your regular size?”

            “Yep! Where’s Edge?”

            “Heh, boss is hardly ever not working. He’s really got a thing for human cars, so he spends a lot of time in the garage learning about them.” Red always had a special expression when he talked about his brother, a glint of pride in his eyes and his smile just a little bigger. It was wonderful being able to see his face again. He appeared to be relaxing at home.

            “That’s really cool, I’ll have to ask him about it.”

            “He’ll talk yer ear off. But, how are you? What happened after you were warped?”

            “I actually ended up in a bunch of other AUs and met other versions of you and Paps. I’ll tell you all about it later, I just wanted to check in and tell you that I was safe.”

            “I appreciate it. You’ll have to tell me your story next time, sounds like a good one.”

            “I will, but for now I need some rest.”

            “Alright, glad you’re alright, sweetheart.” He winked, and his golden tooth gleamed.

            I smiled back. “Me too.”

            “Stars, Bunny, I thought we’d lost you.”

            Axe looked pretty shaken up, and I noticed a tremor to the screen. The video shifted as Sugar took the phone from his hands and sat next to him so that I could see them both.

            “Hello, Bunny! You disappeared on us!”

            “I know, but I’m okay now, I got home.”

            “You did? That’s wonderful!”

            “I thought you had glitched out of existence, or that other Sans got you,” Axe said.

            “It’ll take more than a murderous rampage skeleton to keep me down,” I said.

            “I’m not sure what you two are talking about, but I’m happy you’re okay, Bunny,” Sugar said.

            “Don’t worry about it, Paps, it’s a long story.”

            “One that I will tell you guys when I call you again,” I said. I yawned and rubbed my eye. “I’m getting really tired, but I wanted to call and let you know that I was alright.”

            “Glad ya did,” Axe said.

            “Yes, we were so pleased to see you. Come back any time and I will cook spaghetti for you!”

            “Thank you, Sugar. I do hope I can visit again some day.”

            “We look forward to it. Take care of yourself, Bunny.”

            “I will, good luck at your doctor appointments. Oh, and Axe?”

            He raised a brow at me. I noticed that his working eye didn’t seem as red, but had faded into a pink, more gentle. Healing.

            “Thank you for showing me who I really am.”

            He shut his eyes in a calming smile. “Anytime, kiddo.”

            Papyrus - my Papyrus - wrapped me up in his arms, carrying me when I was too tired to walk. Sans teleported us back home, and I was grateful to see our cozy farmhouse and my bedroom.

            “Alright, kiddo, you get some sleep,” Sans said as Papyrus laid me down on the bed. I felt boney fingers run through my hair soothingly.

            “Yes, I shall warm up some cinnabunnies for you when you wake up,” Papyrus whispered (in as much as he could pull off a whisper).

            “Thank you, guys. I’m so glad to be home,” I murmured, snuggling down into the sheets.

            “I’m glad you got to see everyone again and say your goodbyes.”

            “Nah, no goodbyes,” I smiled, “only ‘see you laters’.”