Chapter Text
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C-3 awakes. His bones are shuddering. It seems he is a small skeleton. He whimpers, body being overwhelmed in a drowning darkness. Coughing, black sludge sputters out of his non-existent lungs. He can hear shuffling and murmurs just out of earshot. Suddenly, his body is overwhelmed with a freezing breeze and bright light. C-3 is on a doorstep, snow streaming gently from the sky.
"wh.. what.." he mumbles, eyesocket's burning in the soft sunlight.
"shit." a voice whispers, a skeleton over twice his size hovers over his weak form. It comes closer, C-3 doesn't care to move in fear; he doesn't care to move at all honestly. If this is how his short pitiful life ends, so be it. He is lifted into the air, body laying limp in the stranger's arms, a warmth beginning to consume his aching bones. Another voice is heard, but C-3 cannot make out what is being said. Closing his eyes, a wave of peace flows over his body.
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W.D.G C-3 wakes up on a couch. Not exactly knowing where he is. The last thing he remembers is... is.. uh.. how about we get back to that later?
His eyelight's gaze around the room, shifting from side to side; nobody to be seen.
"BROTHER, WHAT IS GOING ON." cooper overhears a voice from another room; pitchy and loud. Perhaps arrogant?
"i.. i dont quite know paps." the second voice is lower, more calming.
"THERE IS A CHILD ON OUR COUCH SANS! WHERE DID IT COME FROM?" The voice is loud, grating against his small skull.
"maybe we should ask them." He can hear the exhaustion in "sans" voice. The pitter patter of feet makes his soul pound in fear. Two skeletons appear infront of C-3, his bones quiver. The taller skeleton kneels before him, placing a gloved hand on his skull.
"SMALL SKELETON." He seems more hushed. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"
He sits up, throat tightening; he gazes at the metal plate screwed into his left carpals.
"C-3.." he mutters, the larger skeleton's eyes widen; they look at each other.
"SANS.."
"i know, paps. this is.. sudden."
the shorter skeleton grabs at his hand, his thumb grazing over the plate.
"cooper." sans mumbles. "your name is cooper."
Cooper gazes at the skeleton as Sans continues to look him over, distals running over every scar on his bones. Sans reaches for his sternum, a clear-cut line is centered methodically; the deepest and freshest scar he has. He shutters, small hands gripping at sans' tightly; heterochromatic eyelights flickering.
Cooper summons his soul, whispering for sans to be gentle. His soul is a bit worse for wear than usual, not that the usual is any good; being shattered and sewn back together. Sans huffs, green glow emanating from his distals. Cooper can feel a warmth envelop his soul, HoPe rising.
"no LV, no EXP." Sans looks to his brother. "he's.. new." sans looks to Cooper again, "how old are you?" Cooper wracks his brain for a moment, trying to remember anything past waking on the couch.
"mm.. i think... a year? maybe two?" sans nods, mumbling to himself.
"YOU LOOK MUCH OLDER THAN THAT.." Papyrus questions, his hands fidgeting in his lap.
"paps, he does that on purpose." sans' eyelights disintegrating.
"he?" Cooper's soul sinks back into his ribcage.
"our creator. dr. gaster." papyrus grips his brother's hand, his eyelights shaking. The name is familiar to him, but not in a good way. The only thing filling Cooper's skull is screaming, he can feel his mind slip away.
"SANS, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT HIM?" papyrus stands, adjusting his scarf.
"well. we have an extra room, right?" sans rests his hand on the back of his neck. "he's our brother after all."