Chapter Text
Papyrus was driving as fast as he could within the speed limit, Sans watching the landscape as they passed storm damaged houses and trees. There had been a tornado late last night, and they had received word that a very special building was damaged.
“Looks like this area got hit pretty hard.” Sans grimaced seeing some houses that had been completely ripped from their foundations. There were already enough issues with downed trees and power lines blocking roadways, not to mention any displaced families. Luckily the monsters’ housing community had only suffered some flooding and minor damages, but the same couldn’t be said for this place.
“Don’t remind me! I’m nervous enough already!” Papyrus whined tapping his phalanges against the steering wheel.
“Nyeh!” A little Papyrus look alike poked its head out of Sans’ hood.
“See, even Mini-me is worried!”
“Sorry little dude.” Sans reached back and gave the Bitty monster a reassuring pat on the head. “I’m sure all our friends made it out just fine.”
It was hard news for all of them. Two years ago the skeletons and their other dimensional alternates had accidentally created several thousand tiny clones of themselves at Alphy’s lab. That day the Bitty Monsters were born, and the lab was completely destroyed. Despite being just as intelligent as their larger counterparts they proved to be quite destructive, though they were also open to diplomacy. Sure, one of the little Bosses decided to try a world takeover plot by creating a Communist Russia inspired Bitty army and using the building as their home base, but he eventually decided to stop with some extra persuasion. Thankfully peace was soon brought between all of the Bitty infighting, and a lot of work had gone into creating a special home for them all. Now it could have all been destroyed in one fell swoop.
Thankfully it didn’t take too much longer to get there. They finally arrived at the entrance for the Bitty Sanctuary, seeing some of the downed trees along the path had already been moved. There wasn’t much issue pulling back to the main building, but seeing the extra activity Rus parked farther back.
“Oh stars!” Papyrus gasped finally getting a good look at the building. The Bitty Sanctuary had been heavily hit by the twister that came through. Though the main brick building only showed signs of some ripped up shingles and water damage, the greenhouse in the back was completely destroyed.
“Looks like they’ve already started taking head counts.” Sans murmured. Undyne was on scene, rescuing any trapped Bitties in the rubble of the greenhouse portion. Frisk was there too, helping Asgore and Toriel sort the skeletons as Alphy’s went through a checklist.
“We came as soon as we could, and the others are on their way!” Papyrus yelled, jogging over to help Undyne. Sans was careful to step around any Bitties standing around. Though most were calm, it was clear many of the Slims, Ruses and Baby Blues were shaken by the whole experience. Some little skeletons were crying out in search of their brothers and housemates, while the Bosses and Razzes were trying to keep everyone separated in their designated groups.
“What’s the damage so far Alphys?” Sans asked.
“W-Well, the worst damage had been done to the greenhouse. Thankfully most of the Bitties made it downstairs before the t-twister hit.”
”The keyword being most.” Sans looked over to see Rus pulling out two Bitties trapped under a glass pane.
“Doctor Alphy’s.” One of the Boss Bitties, Pointy, soluted. “We have ninety-seven percent of the Bitties accounted for.”
“T-that’s good, and there are still Bitties trapped in the greenhouse.”
“Let’s hope they’re all okay then.” The group went back to work, cleaning through as much of the greenhouse as possible. More monsters and humans soon arrived. Grillby and Muffet brought food to help feed the safe Bitties, while Gerson was helping to check over any injured ones.
“Good news everyone.” Toriel announced after hanging up her phone. “The local middle school will allow the Bitties to stay in their gymnasium until the Sanctuary is repaired.
“Why that’s excellent news!” Papyrus smiled. “We should start moving them soon. Most of them are very tired.” He looked down to a group of Sansies and Lil Bro’s that were completely out cold.
“T-That should make head counting easier too.” Alphas agreed. “W-we’ll move them in groups of one hundred.”
“We Bosses aren’t going anywhere!” They all looked down to see two little Skeleton glaring up at them.
“And neither are we Razzes!” The other one added. “We will help with the search efforts! You can move everyone else while we work!”
“I’m sorry little ones, but it is far too dangerous for you to be crawling through all that rubble. You could get hurt.” Toriel explained taking a knee to be closer to them.
“Tell that to the ones that already started.” Grumpy pointed over his shoulder. Indeed, the Razzes and Bosses were working together to move smaller bits of rubble like an assembly line. They passed pieces of wood and glass until they reached the Bitties at the end where the trash was swiftly sorted into piles. Even the Ruses and Baby Blues were getting involved. Working in teams of six to lift bricks and other larger pieces out of the way.
“Huh. Really taking initiative aren’t they?” Sans scratched the side of his skull and chuckled.
“Of course! We are the greatest skeletons in the world!”
“And the most magnificent!” Both Fell Bitties posed triumphantly.
“Well… if you insist.” Toriel sighed in defeat. “Just be vocal so the other volunteers know you're there.” Both Bitties soluted and rushed to join their brethren. “In the meantime, Sans, Alphys and I will work on transporting the Bitties to their temporary home.” A tug at her sleeve made her pause, looking down to see Frisk with several little Bitties on their head and shoulders. “Of course my child. We shall need your help too.”
The two groups got to work with their designated task. Many trips were made to and from the Sanctuary as the Bitties were carried to their temporary home, while the other volunteers kept working on searching the greenhouse. It was a massive operation, but thanks to all the volunteer workers they managed to sort through a good chunk of the building before sunset.
“We’ll have to stop soon. It’s getting dark.” Asgore sighed, wiping some sweat from his brow.
“But we’re still missing some of the Bitties!” Papyrus added nervously. “We can’t just leave them buried.”
“It’s not safe to work in this rubble when we can’t see though. Frisk also needs to rest.” The goat monster motioned to an exhausted Frisk sleeping against a tree. The Bitties that hadn’t been moved to the school yet were either hanging around them or still trying to help search the greenhouse. Everyone was hungry, exhausted, and filthy. They couldn’t continue for much longer.
“Don’t worry Bro. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning.” Sans yawned, cracking his soar spine. “And we can’t let the little guys get lost in the dark. They all need a safe place to rest.”
“I-I suppose you have a point.” Papyrus conceded.
“Alright Punks! We’re packing it up!” Undyne ordered. The volunteers trudged their way out of the debri, some of them carrying tired Bitties or salvageable items. The Bosses and Razzes all congregated around the cars waiting to be taken to the school, while a few of the others did final checks to make sure none of the Bitties had wandered or fallen asleep somewhere.
“Excuse me!” Papyrus looked down to see one of the Bitties being loaded into his convertible. It was a Baby Blue, and they were filthy from the search efforts.
“D-did you find my brother?” The little Baby Blue asked worriedly. “He didn’t make it to the basement level last night, and I couldn’t find him in the transport groups.”
“I’m sorry little friend, but everyone we found is either in the cars or at the school.” Papyrus answered, but tried to recover when the Bitty started tearing up. “B-but we will be searching again first thing in the morning! I promise we will find him!”
“Yes we will!” Mini agreed, jumping off of Rus’ shoulder and comforting the Baby Blue. His efforts helped a little bit, the Baby Blue wiping back his tears and joining Mini with some others in a basket. The larger monster couldn’t help but look at the darkening rubble as the sun finally set. He hoped any more trapped Bitties would be able to survive the night. It was genuinely difficult to leave now, but they had to help who they could.
Sans hoped in the front passenger seat as Papyrus started his car, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry Bro. I have a feeling the missing Bitties will be fine for a few hours. They're pretty tough after all.”
“I hope you’re right Sans. I really do.”
XxxxxxxxxxxX
“Stars dammit!” The little Edgy cursed trying to move the broken piece of ceiling trapping him in a closet, the Bitty he was with still unconscious but in one piece.
It had been pure chaos. Once those storm sirens went off all the Razzes and Bosses rallied the others into action. They had to make sure the Bitties in the greenhouse made it downstairs safely. There were storm warnings on the news, but never a mention of tornadoes. Hell, he didn’t even know they happened in this country!
Last night he was helping to evacuate some of the dollhouses when the twister hit. He and the little Sansy he was with both wedged themselves into the tiny closet when the nails started ripping. The little wooden structure was launched into the air and went flying to who knows where. Everyone was screaming, he and the Sansy were clutching each other for dear life when they finally hit something hard. It was horrible, pitch black except for the flashes of lightning once the rains started again. They must have been caught in a tree because the damn dollhouse kept rocking from the wind and rain throughout the night.
He never thought it would end, and at one point the Sansy went slack in his arms. He was afraid, helpless, and the thought of this little Bitty dusting with him was too much to bear. He was rattling and screaming against the winds until his cries finally started to overpower the dying gale. After an eternity the storm had stopped, and now daylight was finally seeping through the door cracks.
Now the Edgy was doing his best to break his way through the door without harming the Sansy. It was exhausting work, trying to use little bone attacks to destroy the hinges. He finally got the door loose but there was something else blocking him from breaking through.
“Screw it!” He kicked the wood before collapsing onto the floor with the other Bitty. If he knew the other room was intact he would have just teleported the two to safety, but with the door blocked that probably meant major damage to the rest of the house. He could teleport
them both inside a broken segment or wall without knowing the new layout, and the thought of dying inside a wall was too scary to consider.
They were trapped.
“Sorry bud.” He chuckled dryly to his unconscious companion. “I couldn’t get us out safely.” He sat there in silence for who knew how long, dozing off occasionally only to snap awake still trapped in the closet.
“Stars dammit…” He grumbled tiredly, eventually jumping at a sudden massive cracking noise. Spinning around he heard the wood being snapped and torn apart. It was only a few minutes until the culprit ripped the door off. He was a tall familiar Boss Bitty that everyone was well acquainted with. The former leader of the Boss Army, Big Boss.
“Name?” Big Boss questioned seeing the conscious Bitty was okay.
“Jaws.” The Edgy answered. Jaws went through the doorway seeing that a large part of the living room was partially smashed into a tree trunk with sticks and branches poking through the windows.
“Who is this Sansy?” Big Boss asked next, checking the little skeleton’s cracked skull and broken collarbone.
“Not sure. I was just tryin’ ta get him downstairs when shit hit the fan.” The Boss Bitty nodded in understanding, carefully scooping up the Sansy and carrying him through the front door.
“Watch your step.” He ordered before jumping to an adjacent branch. Jaws looked outside to see they were indeed high up in a tree. They had to be at least ten feet off the ground and the house wasn’t too stable between the branch and tree trunk it was wedged in. He teleported to the branch with Big Boss, seeing they weren’t alone. Two Slim Bitties were also there, both looking tired and beat up after the storm. One of them had a chip in the side of their skull, and the other was just muddy.
“Where’d ya guys come from?” Jaws questioned looking at their small group of oddballs.
“We were helping evacuate when the twister hit.” The muddy Slim explained. “We took cover in one of the houses, but we got flung pretty far.”
“I spotted your house not far from where we landed. Course we weren’t in a tree.” The other Slim shrugged pointing in the direction they came from.
“Were there any other Bitties in the house?” Big Boss asked getting right back to the point.
“I think I heard a Rus screamin’ when we went flyin’, but nothin’ since.” Jaws scratched the back of his skull nervously. Stars, he hoped that Rus was alright.
“There wasn’t anyone else in the house when I searched.” Big Boss said thoughtfully. “Courier, stay with the Sansy.” The Slim with the chipped skull nodded. “Bandit, Jaws and I will search the immediate area. I’ll take the ground while you two the tree.” The Fellverse Bitties quickly split up, Jaws taking the southern half of the upper limbs while Bandit took the north.
It was a mess that’s for sure. Branches were broken and bent in all sorts of directions. He could see some rogue roof shingles and debri littering the ground below too. There weren’t too many other trees in the immediate area thankfully, so spotting a little skeleton in a bright red scarf wouldn’t be too hard.
At least that’s what he thought until he spent the next two hour looking around the tree and the landscape. This wasn’t good. If they couldn’t find the little Rus his chances of actually surviving were low. How could a Rus be this hard to find?!
“Jaws, we’re ending the search.” He turned to see Big Boss not far away. He looked grim.
“Why?” His question was answered when Big Boss pulled out a tattered wet scarf from his inventory. “I found it in a thorn bush to the east.”
“So he's dead?” Jaws growled already feeling his soul drop.
“Most likely. It was tangled in the twigs, so I believe something big was chasing him, and the dust I found confirmed it.” Jaws just cursed under his breath. If he wouldn’t have been trapped in the closet then maybe he could have saved that Rus. He didn’t like this one bit, and Big Boss’ odd level of calm was really unsettling. In the two years of their existence Jaws had never seen him not yelling or fighting for attention.
Then again, it was hard to stand out in a world where literally hundreds of the same clones lived together every day, all of them with the same voice and ego.
“Come on. I’ll go find Bandit.” He passed the scarf to Jaws and proceeded to jump through the wood jungle with ease. Jaws just teleported back to Courier and the unconscious Sansy. Courier’s sockets widened at seeing the ownerless scarf.
“I-is that-“
“Yeah... He’s gone.” Jaws sighed tucking the scarf away. Stars this would be hard news to break when this Sansy woke up.
If he woke up. That crack across his skull looked really serious. The two sat in silence, Courier picking at the ulna nervously while the minutes ticked by.
“Would you stop that! It’s annoyin’.” Jaws snarled. That only got a nervous whimper from the other Bitty.
“W-what are we gonna do?” Courier whispered. “We’re going to die out here aren’t we? Just like that Rus!”
“Would you shut up-“
“I should have stayed at Stretch’s house… Why did I have to spend the weekend at the Sanctuary?!” The little Slim cried.
“Pull yourself together!” Jaws hissed, slapping him upside the head. “We can’t afford ta panic right now!” Courier nodded shakily, still clearly upset but trying to get on Jaw’s level of calm.
“Well, Bandit decided he'd do some more surveillance. It would seem home is out of sight.” Big Boss jumped down from the top of the tree to join the others on their branch.
“So which way is home then? Do you even know?” Jaws questioned. Big Boss scoffed in response.
“It doesn’t matter! I will get us back in one piece.”
“Will ya? Cuz last time ya tried ta lead somethin’ your entire plans were foiled by Asgore in a Santa suit!”
“Shut up!” Big Boss snarled, nearly knocking Jaws from the branch. “I said I’ll handle it!”
“We really are gonna die!” Courier cried curling up into a small ball.
“W-would ya be quiet…” Everyone stopped at hearing a weak voice. They all looked down seeing the injured Sansy was finally stirring.
“We‘ll continue this later.” Big Boss growled stepping towards the main trunk and leaning against it.
“W-what happened?” The little Sansy groaned.
“Good mornin’ sleepin’ beauty.” Jaws greeted. The Sansy just sat up with a groan, lifting a hand to the massive crack in his skull before pulling away from the pain. “Storm hit us dead center last night. Afraid we weren’t lucky enough ta get ya downstairs.” He just glanced around the group questioningly.
“What’s your name?” Courier started.
“... Joker.”
“Well at least he’s coherent.” Jaws sighed. That was a small relief in this huge mess.
“W-where’s my bro?”
Jaws and Courier both grimaced at the question.
“We… searched the area for him, but this was all we found.” Jaws presented the dirty red scarf to Joker. His eyelights went out at the sight.
“Y-you're joking with me… right? My bro can’t be…” His voice broke at the last word, and all he could do was clutch the scarf tightly to his face. Courier leaned over and rubbed Joker’s shoulder in an effort to comfort him, but it wasn’t helping much.
Jaws and Big Boss looked away, both feeling disappointed and angry in themselves. They had tried to get as many Bitties as they could out, but some of them got trapped in the houses when the tornado hit. Now they were miles away from home with who knew how many dead Bitties that they couldn’t help in time.
“We can’t stay here.” Big Boss decided. “It’s time to get moving.”
“B-but Jokers hurt.” Courier whimpered. “Is he safe to move?” The Sansy in question didn’t even react, just pulling his hood up and wrapping the scarf around his neck.
“We don’t have much choice. It won’t be safe once the sun sets.”
“Which way should we even go? We’re in the middle of nowhere!” Jaws kicked the tree’s main trunk in frustration. Everyone was quiet for a moment, only for Bandit to teleport onto the branch. He was panting trying to catch his breath.
“Report.” Big Boss ordered. The little Slim quickly soluted.
“Sir! I’ve located another lost dollhouse about three hundred feet west from here. There appear to be survivors.”
“Then we know our next move.” Big Boss glanced at everyone expectantly, his eyelights pausing on Joker. He walked closer and looked down at him, his straight face masking any emotion he was feeling.
“Can you walk?” His question didn’t get a verbal answer, only a small shake of his head. Big Boss didn’t say anything, simply bending down and offering his back to him. It took a minute but Joker eventually crawled on, Big Boss standing up straighter and making sure the Sansy was secure. He nodded to his fellow Fell Bitties, the three all teleporting to the tall grass below while Bigs slowly rode a blaster so Joker wouldn’t be too shaken. Upon landing his attention fell to Courier and Bandit.
“I’ll need you two to help guide us. The grass is too tall to see over.” The Slims both nodded, each summoning a blaster and using them to lead the way. Everyone walked in silence, sometimes needing to climb over some downed branches or teleport around bodies of water that the taller monsters would call puddles. Everything was bigger when under six inches in height, and a lot more dangerous too. This was not a good place to be, and all the other Bitties clearly felt the same.
As they made their way closer to the downed dollhouse, they could feel the air getting heavier.
Bitties were crying.
They broke through a thick patch of tall grass finding their target. It was a hard sight to look at.
There was a one armed Lil Bro with his face buried in the jacket of an absent Edgy, while a Boss with a large scrape up the side of his jaw tried treating the wound. The heartbreaking cries were coming from inside the dollhouse.
The others went to check with the Bitties outside while Jaws approached the house cautiously. It was a Baby Blue crying, and the sound was enough to twist his soul.
“What happened?” Bandit asked nervously.
“They're… dead. They’re all dead!” The Stretch broke down crying even harder while Bandit got a hard glare from the other Boss Bitty. Joker tapped Big Boss’ shoulder to get his attention, giving him a tired nod. Big Boss set him down on the other side of the Lil Bro leaning into him and quietly crying himself. The two hugged and mourned together, which was more than Jaws could handle. It couldn’t be worse then what was happening inside.
Jaws peeked through what was once the door frame, finding a Razz Bitty standing a few inches away from the crying Baby Blue. He glanced back to Jaws tiredly, motioning to a thick branch that pierced through the plastic wall. Underneath it a good amount of dust was scattered about the floor. The Baby Blue was sobbing inconsolably into an orange hoodie.
Stars dammit.
They were all boned.