Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I've been sitting on Bitty Dust's backstory for a few weeks... Originally I wanted to post in order of when they join the Nightmare gang. I have 1/4 of Killer's backstory written, 10% of Horror's written. But for some reason Dust's backstory was so easy for me to write. So I decided to post out of order. To make events make sense, here is the timeline. I may edit the chapters later to be in order, as long as I don't lose comments. I love reading your comments!

Remember that these Bitties will have background stories that have a similar feel to their 'original Sans'. For example death will be in the chapters, I would say it's the level of "darkness" as a teen rated tv show or less. It's one of the reasons why I have the origin stories for the Bitties in a different chapter story, than the main "Sir These are Bitties," It would throw off the 'cute' feel of it. There are good reasons why all the Bitties are loyal to Nightmare, he saved them all from their horrible AUs...
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Timeline:

* Nightmare and Dream in Dreamtale. Then "the apple incident."

* Nightmare living by himself and living in his one room library.

* Killer joins, then the castle is built.

* Orange Peal joins.

* About the same time Science Sans is recruited as a technician/doctor. Ccino meets Killer and Orange Peal, and Nightmare learns cats need veterinary care. Ccino suggests the Vet he uses. Nightmare is a good boss and provides health care to all his employees.

* Dust joins.

* Error meets Nightmare and his Gang.

* Horror joins, and the Bitty colony moves into the land surrounding Nightmare's castle. Their village is built. Over time other Bitty rescues join the population.

* Ink becomes a problem.

* Cross joins.

Chapter Text

It was snowing. Not the gentle fluffy flakes, but the snow that felt more like tiny hail. It pelted harshly. Slowly it filled the sad cardboard box on the sidewalk.

Two tiny skeleton Bitties huddled together. The smaller asleep in the arms of the older one. The crunching sounds crashed the silence. The Bitty's eyes darted around, trying to locate the sound. A shadow loomed over the box.

"Oh my goodness! Who would do this?" Giant white fluffy hands slowly came in. "Are you alright? Let me help you..."

The Bitty bared his teeth.

"It's ok dear, I want to help." The hand paused. "Let me get you both somewhere safe and warm. You both look so cold." The Bitty relaxed and allowed the Monster to pick him and his brother up. "There now, I'm going to take you home. You're safe now." The Bitty tried to stay awake for the journey, but after watching the sad cardboard box growing smaller in the distance, he fell asleep.

When he awoke, he was surrounded by a warm blanket, with his brother tucked in next to him. The Bitty pretended to still be asleep, and quietly observed his surroundings. They were inside a basket, that was probably a pet bed. The air was warm and carried the scent of pastries.

"Little one, are you awake?" A soft voice asked. "If you are, I have breakfast ready."

The Bitty sat up. No sense in pretending to be asleep. Food was more important.

"Good morning little one. My name is Toriel. What is your name?" She had the warmest smile.

"We don't have names...the breeder didn't see a point." His shoulders slumped.

"Oh my! That won't do! Um...let me help you out with names. Everyone deserves a name!"

The noise woke up the smaller Bitty. "BROTHER! WHERE ARE WE? DID WE GET ADOPTED?" A booming voice came from the little Bitty. He stretched and yawned. "HELLO! YOU'RE SO FLUFFY!" He greeted.

"Oh my! Hello little one." She giggled.

The little Bitty untangled himself from the blanket. He rushed up to the edge of the basket and grabbed the edge. "HELLO! YOU HAVE A NICE VOICE! YOU'RE ACTUALLY TALKING TO US!" He bounced in excitement. "YOU'RE NOT IGNORING US!"

Toriel's face slipped into concern. "Well, I promise to take care of you two from now on. Don't worry anymore little ones." She tried to shift to positivity. "I have breakfast ready. You must be hungry!" She brought out the breakfast she prepped. Cut fruit, dry cereal, pancakes and juice.

Both Bitties mouths started to water. Toriel gently took them out of the basket and placed them onto the table. The older Bitty went over with caution and sniffed the food and examined further. The smaller one waiting patiently for the verdict. He took a small bite out of the fruit and chewed carefully. "Ok, bro, it's good." The other one started to dig in.

Toriel watched on. She felt relief that they trusted her enough to eat. She wondered if it was selfish that she was glad to not be alone anymore.

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The newly named Bitties were enjoying the tour of Toriel's home. Sans held protectively onto Papyrus, as they sat in Toriel's hand.

They were shown the living room and kitchen with no issues. They passed by a closed door and continued into the backyard.

"WHAT ABOUT THAT ROOM? WHAT'S IN THERE?" Papyrus asked.

Toriel paused and choked down an emotion. "...I'll show you that later. Just, just give me some time."

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Life was peaceful at Toriel's home. The Bitties we're growing, both in size and personalities. Sans was very curious about how the world worked and Papyrus was fascinated with puzzles. Toriel was more than happy to encourage their thirst for knowledge.

Sans was happy, but couldn't keep the feeling that Toriel was hiding secrets. One night after Papyrus went to sleep, he just asked.

"Who are the other Monsters in the photographs? The big one and the little one?"

Toriel dropped the book she was reading. "Oh...I guess I should tell you." She took off her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes. "They are-were my family. My husband and son." She looked out the window. "We were so happy. But life can just throw a curve ball." She took a deep breath. "One night, we were driving home. My son had a school play...he was the cutest little daisy...he was so happy that he remembered all his lines for the play. My husband was driving." She started to cry and Sans was regretting asking. "A drunk driver was on the road. It turned out he had so much anger and rage. His intent to harm made things so much worse. I lost my family that night. I don't know how l survived, I often ask myself why." She looked at Sans. "But then I remember I can still make the world a little better for those still in my life. You give me hope. I want you to know that I love you and your brother. You are my family now." She reassured Sans.

Sans hugged her hand. "We love you too."

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For their first Gytmas together Toriel gave them tiny presents to unwrap. It was confusing for the Bitties, they enjoyed it all the same.

Papyrus was very excited about the red ribbon used on his present. It was soft and durable. "THANK YOU! I LOVE IT!" He wrapped it around his neck. "THE COLOR IS PRETTY!"

"Oh my!" Toriel giggles. "That wasn't the present... But it does look amazing on you! Please look inside the box dear." She smiled

"OK! WOWIE! A CAR I CAN DRIVE! THANK YOU!" Papyrus was beyond happy.

Sans ate a holiday cookie with his tea. This was an amazing home.

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Life became better, Toriel's heart became lighter, the Bitties grew up to be healthy and happy.

Sans and Papyrus took training classes to become service Bitties, so that they could help the aging Monster in her daily activities and accompany her into stores. Preforming tasks such as note taking, visual assistance and so on.

One day Sans discovered he had gravity magic.

Toriel slipped on some ice. Before she could fall and hurt herself, she was engulfed in blue magic and was gently set to the ground.

"Sans! How? That's amazing! Such a rare gift!" She was both shocked and thankful.

"WOW BROTHER! THAT'S SO COOL!" Papyrus beamed.

Unknown to them at the time, they had a witness.

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Shortly after the discovery the little family was resting at home. Dinner was amazing as always. Sans and Toriel read a book while Papyrus worked on a puzzle book.

A knock on the door boomed.

"I wonder who that could be? Oh dear, it's late. I hope they're not freezing." She got up from her arm chair.

"Toriel, I don't think it's a good idea. Why would anyone be out right now? Anyone with their right mind would be home. It's too cold to bother being out." Sans said.

"BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE IN TROUBLE AND NEED HELP? WE SHOULD GO AND SEE!" Papyrus offered.

Sans sighed. He seemed to be outnumbered. "Fine, but if it turns out to be a salesman, then you owe me ketchup."

Toriel walked to the door and opened it slowly. "Hello! How are-" the door slammed into her. A human loomed over her. A crazed smile carved into his face. Sans tried to use his gravity magic on the human, but he threw the knife into Toriel. She dusted. Her remains scattered around the floor like snow. The human stepped into her remains. Spreading the dust into the carpet.

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Sans woke up in hell.

His brother cried over him. Hugging his form to seek any comfort.

They were trapped in a cold empty pet carrier. It slid back and forth in the back of a vehicle.

Sans caught a better look at the man that killed their new family. Some details caught from the driver's mirror. Brown hair in a bobbed haircut, red eyes and a green sweater.

It seemed like they drove forever. The car clock indicated it was two am, but there was no guarantee that it was the correct time. Sans did his best to comfort his brother, but it felt hopeless.

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The man carried the Bitties into a lone abandoned building surrounded by dead trees and weeds. The concrete walls leaked in water and ice. Nature was slowly reclaiming it's territory. In a decade or so the walls would collapse. The footsteps echoed.

"What ya got there Chara? Anything interesting this time?" A rough looking middle aged man asked. "We need to keep the audience's attention."

"Oh I think I do."

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Sans and Papyrus fell into a blindingly bright pit. They took a moment to get their barring. Other Bitties surrounded them. All sorts of variations, cats, rabbits, honestly more species than either Sans or Papyrus had seen in person. They all looked scared and injured.

A booming voice over an Intercom bellowed out. It's goal to drive up the hype of the cruel event. "Place your bets now! How many Bitties will survive the full ten minutes?"

Before the brothers could ask what was happening, a mechanical door clanked opened. A terrible rumble seeped throughout the pit. A large dog prowled into the light. It's fur matted, it's teeth long and yellow and piercing eyes focused on it's prey.

It growled, opening it's jaws. Barking. The animal charges.

Sans ran in front of the terrified crowd. His eye glowed and reached out his hand. The blue magic engulfed the dog. The animal slowed down, as if it was running under water. It's determination for carnage was greater than Sans control over his newly discovered ability.

The intercom blazed with excitement. "The new comer has displayed a unique ability! Folks this is the encounter of the decade!" The Bitties ran in terror to the other side of the pit. "Eight more minutes!"

Sans was feeling weak.

"Six more minutes!"

He fell to his knees.

"Three more minutes!"

Sans lost conscience. Papyrus swooped in and carried his brother away. The dog was now lose and out of control. The screams echoed. Dust scattered about. So much so that the dog lost footing and slide around.

"That's a record folks! Only twenty bitties bit the dust!"

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Sans lost track of how many times he and the other Bitties went into the pit. New faces replaced the dust. Some Bitties saw Sans as a hero, some viewed him as a failure. Only Papyrus viewed him as a regular Bitty.

"BROTHER, WHEN DO YOU THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO LEAVE?" Papyrus was still hopeful. No matter how many times Sans failed to save everyone, he was the anchor to hope.

"Don't know."

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Sans tried so hard just to hold the dogs in place. He couldn't bring himself to hurt them. Until one night.

That night they released two dogs. The second dog pinned down Papyrus by his scarf. The drool dripped down onto the floor.

The last shred of Mercy snapped. He unlocked a new ability. A sharp bone attack pierced the canine's heart. He swiveled around and tore the other dog to shreds with multiple bones.

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Over and over.

The loop just continued.

The audience grew bored.

They changed the rules.

The group of bitties waited in the pit.

Sans walked towards the doors. He wanted to get this over with. He wanted sleep. The doors opened. But there was no footsteps.

A whirling sound buzzed.

From the shadows emerged an armored battle robot with a saw attached to a robotic arm. It was the size of a medium dog.

It took too many bone attacks to take down the thing, but no one was hurt. Sans thought it was over. He felt exhausted. He started to walk towards his brother when he heard the door open again. This time there were two robots.

"Will any bitties survive the full hour! Place your bets!"

The Bitties panicked.

"PLEASE CALM DOWN!"

"Easy for you to say! Your brother always looks out for you! That demon is no Bitty! No Bitty is that freakishly strong!"

"Shut up!"

"Why can't he just break us out?"

"This is his fault!"

"EVERYONE PLEASE! THIS ISN'T HELPING! WE MUST STICK TOGETHER! THIS IS A ROBOT! THERE SHOULD BE NO MORAL DILEMMA FOR ATTACKING IT! IF EVERYONE ATTACKS ONE, AND MY BROTHER ATTACKS THE OTHER ONE, WE SHOULD BE FINE!" Papyrus tried to reason.

A third robot was released.

There was no way Sans level was near high enough to survive an hour against these odds. He gained no experience points from destroying the last robot.

A creeping thought came to him. 'they just replace the other Bitties...'.

"He's a freak! Why can't he just get us out?"

"PLEASE CALM DOWN! EITHER JOIN ME IN FIGHTING OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Papyrus picked up one of Sans's bone attacks.

A terrified Bitty grew crazed from fear. A robot saw came in close. The Bitty picked up Papyrus, to use him as a shield. Sans shot that Bitty done with a bone attack. Papyrus fell down into the dust. His eyes wide in disbelief.

"BROTHER! WHAT IN THE WORLD?"

Sans continued to slaughter the other Bitties. Once he was done the robots were no issue.

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"BROTHER... DON'T YOU THINK YOU HAVE ENOUGH? CANT WE FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON ESCAPE?" They were in their own cell.

"I tried. There's a barrier. I don't know how the humans go in and out. Maybe they have a pass or something."

"BROTHER, SANS...YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU. DON'T GIVE UP." Papyrus hugged his brother.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He felt hope leave him.

"WHAT ARE YOU APOLOGIZING FOR?"

"I should of never let Toriel open the door."

"THERE IS NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR, IF ANYTHING ITS MORE MY FAULT. I ENCOURAGED HER." He hugged his brother. Papyrus got lost in thought. "BROTHER, PLEASE PROMISE ME YOU WONT GIVE UP. EVEN IF I DUST...I DON'T WANT YOU TO FALL DOWN. I KNOW THINGS ARE DIRE...I WANT BOTH OF US TO ESCAPE THIS TORMENT. BUT IF ONE OF US SHOULD DUST...I WANT THE SURVIVOR TO DO EVERYTHING TO ESCAPE AND LIVE FOR BOTH OF US." He turned Sans to look at him in the face. "PROMISE ME, YOU WONT GIVE UP! ONE OF NEEDS TO GET OUT OF HERE AND SEE THE SUN AGAIN!"

"Paps..."

"PROMISE ME!"

"I promise...I promise at least one of us will get out of this hellhole." Sans leaned more into the hug.

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One day the doors of the pit opened. No dogs, no robots, but a lanky human in a green sweater walked through. He held a long knife.

"To demonstrate our new program, here's Chara! For a small payment, you too can slaughter to your hearts content!"

Sans tried to pin down the human with his magic, but the human dodged. He kept dodging, Sans realized he must of watched previous events and knew his pattern. He summoned bone attacks. The human was quick.

Chara started to kill the random Bitties. Sans checked Chara's Stats. It was beyond Sans, that did not surprise the Bitty one bit.

Sans started his own slaughter. The Love rush clouded his judgement. He became consumed with the rage.

Papyrus was hit with the chilling clarity. He knew he would dust that night. He didn't want his death to benefit the Human at all. He wanted to help his brother one last time.

"BROTHER! I WANT TO HELP YOU! REMEMBER WHAT YOU PROMISED? THAT ONE OF US WILL SEE THE SUN AGAIN?"

"Little busy here Paps!" He doged the knife.

"TAKE MY POINTS! IT SHOULD GIVE YOU THE EDGE YOU NEED! ONE OF US NEEDS TO LIVE! YOU'RE THE LOGICAL CHOICE! I CAN'T DO WHAT YOU CAN! IM CLEVER! BUT NO WAY CAN THAT TRAIT ALONE DEFEAT THAT DEMON!"

"No! I'm not going to kill you Paps! I can't! There's still other Bitties to harvest! Easier EXP!" He dusted one to prove a point. All the Bitties have been scared and terrified. Running around the pit to avoid Sans and Chara, some hid behind Papyrus. "You're the only thing I have left!" Frustrated tears came forth.

Papyrus glanced at the dust covered ground. A forgotten bone laid on the ground. He picked it up. Swinging it, testing it's use as a club. He took a shaky breath. Papyrus spun and dusted the group of Bitties huddled behind him.

He fell to his knees in pain from leveling up.

"Papyrus!"

"Well... Isn't that interesting!" Chara says. His attention was drawn to the other skeleton Bitty. He tossed his knife in the air and caught it.

Sans caught on. Papyrus was the next target. He ran to his brother's side.

"SANS! YOU WONT LET ME DOWN! YOU WILL SEE THE SUN AGAIN!" He placed his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Paps! I love you bro..."

"AND I LOVE YOU AS WELL BROTHER." He summoned his soul and cupped it in his red gloves hands. Making it an easy target. Sans killed his brother quick and clean. He never felt more numb. He picked up his brother's red ribbon and tied it around his neck.

"After all this time! You killed your brother! Geez I wonder who won that betting pool?" Chara cackled. He whipped some dust off his pants.

Sans opened his eyes. No longer were they white, but now one was red and the other red and blue.

He charged at the human. He was faster, he was stronger than he ever felt before. He was able to summon more bones than he ever could before.

But it wasn't enough.

The buzzer went off. Chara escaped the pit. Sans was left completely alone.

Covered in his brother's scarf and dust.

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Plenty of humans came into the pit to play. Some didn't make it out alive.

It was a while before Chara came back.

Sans vowed he wouldn't escape again.

Sans fingers ran through the scarf ribbon. The smoothness was now rougher with the dust in it's fibers.

"DON'T LET MY EXP GO TO WASTE BROTHER! YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR PROMISE!" The phantom hovered around.

"Don't worry Papy... we'll see the sun again. Just got to kill Chara first."

Chara stepped through the doors.

"We'll see if you got any better itty-bitty..." He dashed forward. Weaving in-between the bone attacks. Avoiding the gravity magic.

It wasn't Sans's skill that brought down Chara. It was chance. He tripped and lost his grip on his knife. Sans used his magic to take the knife and plunged it into Chara's chest. He watched enough movies to know to continue his attack until the Human's exposed heart stopped beating.

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Sans didn't feel like Sans anymore.

He couldn't find a way out of the pit. He tried to get out the door, but it would not budge.

"HOW CAN YOU NOT ESCAPE! THERE'S NO ONE LEFT TO TRY TO KILL YOU! HOW CAN YOU NOT FIND A WAY OUT?"

"Sorry Paps...you placed your bets on the wrong Bitty."

"NO! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NOT WRONG! YOU WILL GET OUT! MY DEATH WILL NOT BE IN VAIN! YOU LAZY BONES! FIND A WAY OUT!" The phantom huffed.

Over time Sans figured out how the door worked and forced it open. He walked the long dark hall. He didn't look back. Why would he? All that was left back there was a corpse.

He made his way to the main building. The same abandoned building he remembered entering with his brother. The sky light showed clear skys... Was this enough to count? Did he keep his promise to his brother?

"OF COURSE NOT YOU INVINCIBLE! YOU KNOW WHAT I MENT!" The phantom was irritated. "YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE UP!"

Sans searched the building. He found vending machines and abandoned food.

For as old and unmaintained the building was, the walls and doors are solid enough to keep a Bitty inside.

His rage and self loathing bubbled up. He kept attacking a wall. In hopes of destroying it.

On the third day Sans broke down and cried. He was so close to the outside, but he couldn't make it past the last barrier to freedom.

He gazed at the ceiling skylight. He still didn't feel like himself. He asked the Papyrus Phantom if he could figure out a way up through the skylight.

A strange magic crackled on the other side of the room. The Bitty took notice. A portal opened and revealed a regular sized Skeleton Monster.

The goopy black skeleton found the Bitty.

"You're the source of the negativity. So much pain, regret, and loneliness. " He sounded impressed and concerned.

The Bitty attacked. He used his bones to shoot at the Skeleton. The goopy Monster used a tentacle to deflect the attack. They exchanged attacks for a while.

The dark skeleton grinned.

"The fuck you smiling about asshole!" The Bitty barked.

"There's potential." He grabbed the Bitty with a tentacle. The tiny monster struggled in his grip. "I'd like to offer you a deal. Work for me. I could use a Monster like you in my group. So much negativity, so much fighting potential."

"The fuck? You're actually offering me a job?"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT BROTHER? A JOB SOUNDS GREAT! TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE! IT GETS YOU OUT OF HERE AND HELPS YOU NOT BE A LAZY BONES!"

"Yes. My name is Nightmare. I'm the Guardian of Negativity. I have use for Monsters such as yourself." He stated without any hint of condensation.

"Sure...why the fuck not?" He paused and added, "call me Dust."

"Well Dust, I think you'll fit in just fine."

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Author's Notes:

* Phantom Papyrus might seem too out of character, but my logic is Bitty Papyrus witnessed all the crap that went down. He made the choice to become EXP for his brother. He acts more like a "harsh life coach." Still mostly positive...but will insult you along the way.

Chapter Text

In the deep dark, untamed forest, a young skeleton child was tucking his younger brother into bed. The room was decorated with stuffed toys, wooden figurines and plenty of books. The bed was cozy with fluffy blankets.

"BROTHER! PLEASE TELL ME A STORY!" The younger toddler brother chirped.

"Sure thing little bro, what would you like? Adventure? Maybe something from the Grimm story collection?" The older brother was looking around at the books on the small bookshelf.

"I WANT THE STORY OF THE QUEEN AND KING! I HEAR THEY'LL HAVE A BABY SOON! I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE QUEEN AND KING!"

"Oh, I bet you heard from father huh? Sure why not? Their union is pretty much a FAIRY Tale." He chuckled at his own reference.

The younger brother groaned at the reference, that could be a pun.

"Well, once upon a time, when the Queen was newly crowned, she had no one to become her husband. All her suitors were not up to the royal standard." The older brother sat on the foot of the bed. "One day, she decided to patrol the fog border to clear her head. She held no fear, because she had the strongest magic in the Queendom."

The little brother sat up straighter, to listen more closely. "Just as she was about to return home, she heard a crash! A huge Monster rushed past her to get to the stream! He began to drink and drink! The Queen saw the Monster wore expensive clothing, but they were dirty and torn."

The older brother did his best storytelling voice acting, "Oh my! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

In the little brother's imagination, he envisioned a terrible creature, fresh from battle, and the Queen either being the most noble ruler in offering help, or was about to engage in battle. The young skeleton kept listening to his brother's story.
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"I'm sorry for my appearance! We just had a battle against the Humans and I was separated from my soldiers. If I could bother you with help getting back...." The Monster turned around, expecting to see a fellow Monster. Fear gripped him, when he couldn't spot the owner of the sweet voice.

"Over here Mr. Monster!" The voice rang again. A warm light became brighter. "Let me introduce myself. I am the Queen of the Fairies." A beautiful miniature goat monster with dragonfly wings hovered near the Monster's face. She was so small, she'd fit comfortably in his palm.

"Oh!" The Monster fumbled for words. "I am..."

"My apologies for cutting you off, but exchanging names with a fairy can be dangerous. We can use those to make contracts. If either party fails, their soul is forfeit." The Queen warned.

"Since you used your title, I assume I can use mine?" The Queen nodded her head. He gulped, but kept speaking. "I am the king of the Monsters of the mountains! We were chased off our homelands by the humans of this country." He knelt down on one knee. "Queen of the Fairies, may I ask for a favor, as a fellow ruler? Please help me find my people. I am unfamiliar with this forest."

"King of the Monsters, I shall guide you back to your people. I have a feeling you are partly lost due to the magic fog. Which makes me partly responsible. The fog was created to keep humans out, but I fear Monsters are affected by it as well." When the king lifted his head, the Queen she observed the Monster was a goat with golden hair. A small blush spread across the Queen's face. "Let me get you back to your people, I'm sure they are worried."

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The journey was oddly friendly.

"Fairy Queen, you seem tired, you may rest on my shoulder if you please." The goat Monster King offered.

The Queen blushed more, "Would that be inappropriate? As a King, do you not have a spouse?"

The king chuckled, "Sadly I do not have a wife. There wasn't enough time to either court a wife for myself or have the advisors interview for one. The war with the Humans takes too much of my time sadly." A thought emerged in his head. "Oh! I'm sorry! That offer was a bit bold! You're a Queen, you must have a husband or a consort!" He blushed from embarrassment. "Of course you'd be married! You are very beautiful!"

"Thank you! You are handsome yourself! But I am unwed as well. It has been too chaotic for me to find a spouse, I do hope to find one soon though...."

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The older skeleton brother drank some water and set the cup down on the desk. "The Monster King and the Fairy Queen found the Monsters. Without treaties or a Contact, the Queen kept returning, day after day with supplies to the Monsters. She and the King talked for hours. They fell in love."

"BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! THE FAIRY KING IS NOT A MONSTER!" The little brother interrupted.

"I'm getting to that detail little brother...." He coughed to clear his voice. "One day the Queen returned home and cried to her magic advisor."

"OUR FATHER!" the little one squeaked.

"Yes, our father," he rolled his eye lights. "She begged for a spell to help her situation. She wanted the Monsters to be safe from the humans, but the magic barrier would not be large enough for an entire population of large Monsters. Plus the fact Monsters eat much more than Fairies. Our father revealed a new spell, that could shrink down a human or Monster to the size of a fairy."

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"That's wonderful news! But Gaster, why do you have such a spell?" The Queen asked.

"It was designed as a defense spell, in case the Humans somehow entered our territory." The lanky skeleton fairy replied. "But I do warn you, there is no cure. Once a Monster or Human becomes small, they can not return to their original size."

"Gaster... How do you know?" The Queen inquired.

"Foolish Humans that dared enter a contract with me...after I witnessed them murdering a Monster family. Disgusting creatures really." A twisted smile formed. "I did keep my end of the contract, 'a mountain of gold', just to listen to my 'little song'. Well that mountain of gold is just a sack of gold a hundred times their size...after they shrank down to our size ... And I dropped the bags of gold on their heads." He cackled.

"Do I have to make it a royal order to not experiment on our new potential citizens?" The Queen sighed.

"No...they'd be protected, your mother made me sign a contract to not experiment on the Queendom's citizens." He smiled.

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"Soon afterwards, the Monsters joined the Queendom. Finally safe from the Humans that stole their lands. The Monster King became the Queen's husband, the new Fairy King. They have been ruling the Queendom together ever since. The end."

The little brother was finally asleep. "Good night little bro." The small skeleton fairy with shimmering wings flutters out of the room.

Chapter Text

Sans prepped his teaching materials. Today was the first time he'd be tutoring the young prince. His father thought it was a good time to apply some of his studies. Sans was a tween, but was advanced in his studies, but lacking in proper royal court protocols.

The Queen offered the unofficial tutoring position. As it would be the perfect excuse to bring Papyrus along too. Prince Asriel didn't have too many opportunities to interact with children.

"SANS! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE! YOU CAN'T KEEP ROYALTY WAITING!!!!" Papyrus whined.

"You're just excited because your friend Undyne is going to be there." Sans rolled his eye lights.

"SHE'S TRAINING TO BE A ROYAL GUARD! I WANT TO TOO!" He pouts.

"Father thinks you'd be better as a researcher. Spells are basically puzzles. You love puzzles." Sans sighed, "But maybe I could convince our father that you'd be interested in military magic. That way you can train with the guards."

"YOU'RE THE BEST BIG BROTHER!" Papyrus cheered.

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Asriel, Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys sat near each other in the royal library. The chairs delicately decorated with gold foil and the finest fabrics. Sans stood next to an elaborate chalkboard, that could flip to use the other side.

"So, I know some of you were dragged away from your own training to sit through this tutoring session, but the adults figured someone about your age would be better suited for this single lesson in 'Introduction of Contract Magic basics'." Sans glanced at Alphys, his father's new student, roughly his age. He knew she'd report how he held today's lesson.

"Um... I'm sure you'll do f-fine Sans." Alphys tried to assure.

"Why do we gotta do this? I want to go out building muscles!" The tween fish girl groaned. Her wings flicked in irritation.

"Eh, we're the first generation of Monster and Fairy intermarriage." Sans began. "We're at the age when we can start making Contracts." His tone became more serious. "Undyne, if you become a Royal Guard, you'll probably meet a full sized Monster or Human. Even an accidental contract can Dust you. Leaving your comrades behind, defenseless."

The young prince raised his hand. "Sans, I have a question!"

"Ask away Asriel." Sans said casually.

"Why is it that Fairies can use other Fairies names without entering a contract? Why is it, when a Full sized Monster or Human gives their name, does it make a contract?" His face scrunches up in confusion. "From what my mother and father tell me, my father was once a Full Sized Monster. But we can say my father's name without a contract."

"Very good question. Born Fairies and shrunk down Monsters can freely use each other's names because our natural state is connected to fairy magic. It places us on even footing. The ancient magic recognized Fairies to be more vulnerable to larger species. It gave us wings to store our Contract Magic." Sans wrote what he was saying on the chalkboard. "To exchange names with a Human or Full sized Monster, activates a contract. It can be as simple or as complex as you construct. But the most important thing, is to fulfill the wording of the contract. A failure to do so, results in a penalty. If the penalty isn't clearly written in the contract, the default penalty is death."

Papyrus raised his hand, "I remember a story that had the penalty being cutting off all the hair off a woman's head. The Fairy wanted to make a statement against her vanity. Is that a good example of a written contract penalty?"

"That's a great example Paps! See some Faires want to teach lessons or cause chaos. One example I can think of was something like dancing like an idiot for twenty days whenever a rooster crows. Or else he'd forfeits his house." Sans laughed.

Sans turned his attention back to the chalkboard. "A contract needs these basic elements to form a contract." He wrote on the board:

1) True Name exchange.
2) The item, or task desired.
3) Deadline
4) Penalty.
5) Beware the defaults.
* Wording is key. "Genie Wish Rules" go BOTH WAYS. As long as it fulfills the wording.
* Time Limit: Until the Task is completed.
*Failure: Death
* Servitude/loyalty: lifetime
Work both ways.

Sans coughed to get his students attention. "I'll show you an easy template for a Contract, there are more complicated versions, that are more job oriented, such as battlefield, negotiations, medical and so on." Sans placed a hand on his chest. And summoned his Gaster Blaster. "My summon will pretend to be the other person, since he is my summon and we use fake names, the contract is not going to engage."

Sans faced his Blaster, "Greetings, I, Axe Handle, would like to form a contract."

The Gaster Blaster opened its mouth, Sans preformed some silly voice acting to be his Blaster. "*I Big Eyes, agree to make a Contract.*" Papyrus and Asriel giggled.

Sans bowed, "I desire your gold Big Eyes, ask for anything and it will be yours."

The Gaster Blaster bobbed itself in the air. "* To get my gold, you must defeat the dragon in the mountains of evil, next door to the diamond tree! If you do not complete your task in two years, your life is forfeit!!! Do you understand?*" The silly voice was entertaining the two youngest fairies.

"Yes I understand! I shall defeat the Dragon! Within the time limit!" Sans unsummoned the Gaster Blaster, "that's a basic contract."

"The contract doesn't have to be preformed in order, sometimes the smart Humans or full sized Monsters, will negotiate what penalty they want. Such as Gold, land, food or whatever they'd prefer over death." Sans smirked, "Most of the humans assume they have no negotiation power and blindly accept any penalty offered. Which is why most Fairies don't have to risk their own lives as often in their side of the penalty."

The Prince raised his hand again, "Does that mean a human can negotiate death onto a fairy if they fail? I always wondered why Fairies seemed safer in a contract."

"Very good question. Usually a Fairy will only agree to a contract if they word it to their favor and are confident they can succeed. It's pretty easy if you already have the item the human wants. But if it's a task, that's where things get more challenging. For example, a human challenges you to a race. Most Fairies can out fly a human running speed, but a strong gust of wind could bash you against a tree." Sans folded his arms. "Which is why it's best to include another penalty for a task or challenge. Humans often challenge each other in one on one duels to cut down on full battles between armies." Sans looked directly at Undyne, "Sometimes a Human will show Mercy and not kill their dueling opponent, but if the contract is set to default, then death is the only ending." His eye lights narrowed. "So remember to have another option set in the Contract. Gold, loyalty, anything you can actually be able to accomplish, because failed payment is death."

"Woah, that's heavy." Undyne muttered. "But a Contract duel sounds so cool!" There was a passion in her eyes.

Sans gave her another exasperated look, "Another thing to remember, having loyalty or servitude as a penalty, defaults to lifetime. Yours or the other person. So please set a goal or time limit. Such as *I'll serve you until we defeat the evil king,* or * I'll be your servant for one full year.*"

"WOOWIE BROTHER! THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE ADVENTURE STORIES YOU READ ME! KNIGHTS PLEDGING THEIR LOYALTY! KEEPING EVIL OUT OF THE KINGDOM! LIKE KING AUTHOR AND HIS ROUND TABLE!" Papyrus loved hearing epic tales at bedtime. "I CAN'T WAIT TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE! AND SEEING THE WORLD! CONTRACTS SOUND LIKE A SAFE WAY TO INTERACT WITH HUMANS! I'M CLEVER ENOUGH TO REMEMBER NONLETHAL PENALTIES!" The younger skeleton was brimming with pride.

Sans gave a small laugh, "Well be prepared for how you word the contract. Puns, double entendres, riddles and so on can also be a challenge too in contracts." The skeleton wrote on the chalkboard, The Genie Wish. "The Genie Wish, is a term that means fulfilling the wish, but not in the spirit of the original wish. It can be used as a joke, or as a way to escape losing something important. You could enter a contract and take it at face value, or twist the meaning around, without breaking the contract. For example, someone could wish to own a hill. The person most likely is thinking of an actual hill they can live on, but the Genie could give the person an Ant Hill. Because the person didn't specify enough that he wanted a hill he could live on."

"So genies are sneaky jerks...got it." Undyne rolled her eyes.

"Undyne, that's racist...but since Genies are just a myth, I'll let it slide." Sans teased. "A combination of wish fulfillment fantasy and a tool used in Contract morality tales."

"Really? Puns? I need to use puns?" Papyrus complained, his focus was on his annoyance of puns. His wings drifted downwards in disappointment.

"You don't have to use them, but you need to think about the possibility of the other person using it to their advantage. Cheating you out of a contract." Sans warned.

"That's why I'm trying to form a task group to gather the new words the Humans are making! Especially for their new machines!" Squealed Alphys.

Sans laughed, "I hear you want to get those penny novels, like Robinhood or the romance novels."

Alphys blushed, "S-still g-good for research!" The Miniature Monster got easily flustered. "That's probably all I can do, I'm the only one here with two Miniature Monster parents. But there is a small possibility of the original shrinking spell to infuse me with some Fairy magic. But I won't know for certain until I'm out of puberty."

"Is that why you don't have wings?" The Prince asked. He quickly covered his mouth. "I'm sorry that was rude of me!" His wings folded downwards.

"N-no problem your Highness! You're still young and this is a classroom. W-what better place to learn?" The Miniature Dinosaur Monster waved it off. "I'm not completely without magic, Monsters have their own magic system. Summoning weapons is a common one, such as His Highness Trident, the Skeleton family and their bones, and Undyne's spears."

"Wow! I wonder if I'll summon a Trident like my father? My magic tutors say I have a healthy mixture of magic types." The Prince wondered.

The rest of the session went over general questions and to Papyrus's annoyance, puns.

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Chapter Text

The Royal Magic advisor was currently breaking the Queendom's law. He was outside the Magic Fog Barrier, alone, without Royal blessing.

He sensed a Magic he hadn't felt in centuries. A Monster Judge Magic. A horrifically strong Magic, that only one Monster a generation could wield. A battle between Monsters and Humans torn into the outside meadows. Gaster only held a glimpse of the Judge Magic, but the Monster was slain by an arrow. The Monster's dust scattered in the wind.

"How disappointing... I wish I could have observed more. Pity." Gaster's black wings fluttered in annoyance. He started to distract himself with observing the Human weaponry, it had improved in the last hundred years.

Suddenly a summoned bone flew past his line of sight. "I haven't seen a Skeleton in fifty years, Fairy or Monster..." He muttered to himself. He flew to the source of the bone attack.

At the edge of the Monsters line of defense, a group of Skeletons huddled together. Two adult Skeletons defended the children. One of the adults appeared to be a young maiden, her magic a strong blue, her bones as white as fresh snow.

Gaster would later be embarrassed how enchanted he was with her beauty. It distracted him from the attack that killed the children and the other adult. Something snapped in Gaster, he cast a spell that instantly killed the nearby humans.

The Skeleton maiden fainted from the shock waves of the spell. But was unharmed otherwise. Gaster acted on impulse and used his Magic to teleport her further behind the defense lines.

Gaster checked on her status every day for months. Spying on her. He did not self reflect if it was out of guilt for not saving the skeleton family, or his obsession with her beauty.

The Skeleton maiden, Gaster later found out was the eldest child of the skeleton family, the skeletons that died that day were her siblings. A sweet caring and hard working maiden. He observed her clever fingers mend clothes, he swooned hearing her sing to the children to calm them down. Her smile warmed his soul. A bright shining gem in a battlefield of dust.

His Magic research was now purely based on bringing her closer to him. Shrinking her to Fairy size.

One day he perfected the spell. The battle between Monsters and Humans still raged on. He came across two Human soldiers, dusting a defenseless Bunny Monster family. The perfect test subjects.

"Greetings Humans!" A false smile appeared on Gaster's face.

"Well you look at that! A tiny Monster?" One of the soldiers raised a club up.

"I'm no Monster, I'm a Fairy. And I would love to make a deal with you!" His tone musical. "I want to test out a new song, to hopefully impress a fair maiden. To win her love. But I want an honest opinion before I sing to her." Gaster summoned a large bag of gold coins. "Give me your names, hear my song, and this gold will be given to you!" He purred out.

"How about we just kill you and get the gold!" Barked one of the soldiers.

"Nah! Look at him! Have you ever tried to kill a fly? Those bastards dodge!" Said the second soldier. "I'm not going to work harder for free gold! My name is Jonathan of the capital city!" He elbowed his fellow soldier.

"Fine, I'm Tom of the Eastern Farmlands." He grunted.

"And do you both agree to the terms?" Gaster asked.

"We do!" They both said.

"I, Gaster, am glad we agree..." He began to sing the spell. Magic began to swirl around the two soldiers, suddenly a bright flash envelopes them both. In their place are two Fairy sized Humans. Their confusion clear as day.

Gaster's true malicious smile sliced across his face as he dropped the heavy gold bag on the tiny Humans heads. Blood soaked the ground.

Everything was falling into place. His Queen and her soft heart, was already making an alliance with the Monster King. Winter was coming soon, and from his sources, it would be a harsh winter. Without the aid of the Queendom, the Monsters would probably be wiped out.

Soon Gaster will finally court his lovely Skeleton maiden.

Chapter Text

There was a cloud of dread hanging over Gaster's head. His Queen's soft heart will kill them all. Her husband is just as soft, just as foolish. The Skeleton Fairy looked out his tower's window, he could observe their downfall, and he couldn't do a thing.

A Human child laughed and played with the Prince. The Human, Chara's cheeks blushed in the heat of the sun. They said they were abandoned by their parents... But Gaster didn't believe the child.

Gaster wanted to wait until his sons were fully grown, to teach them the shrinking spell. Sans was in his late teens, and Papyrus just became a tween. But now he was planning the best way to convince his oldest son the spell and pass off the shrinking of the human child as an accident.

The Queen and King had forbidden Gaster from preforming the spell. The Queen used the Royal Contract to bind Gaster to the order. Their logic was the child might want to return to the humans after they reach adulthood. Gaster couldn't directly go against Royal Contract, even Fairies are bound to it. But he could bend them. Of his son "just so happened to practice the spell and it shrank the human..." Was the working plan.

He wrote the spell into his son's personal lesson book. Sans was lazy with chores, but he was a sponge for knowledge. Always curious, always dependable when it came to his study hours.
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Even the best laid plans from geniuses can fail. The Queendom mourned his disappearance. He was presumed dead, his most dangerous research to date destroyed his personal research tower. A majority of his research was lost in the fire.

In the chaos, Chara disappeared.

A season passed and the humans attacked. It had been a century since the Fairy Queendom interacted with the outside world. They were no match for the modern weapons and tackle gear.

King Asgore and his guards defended their home as best they could. Their Magic and attacks became rusty over the couple of centuries of peace. They were slaughtered.

The Royal guards in training barely survived. Many lost limbs. Undyne lost her eye.

The rest of the population were captured.

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The population were placed into cages in a sterile white room. The lighting blinded their sensitive eyes. Families huddled together inside the clear plastic containers lined with iron, the metal that blocked Fairy magic.

That's when the true terror started.

One by one, the Fairy Wings were harvested. Some Fairies died in the spot from the pain and magic loss.

"Why are they doing this Mom? I'm scared." The young prince quivered in Mother's arms.

"There was rumors in the past of Humans harvesting Fairy Magic through their wings. That's the only reason I can see for ... This...." The Queen was on the brink of dusting from the pain of losing her husband, but her son was still her anchor.

Queen Toriel was weakened from the attack, her legs broken, she tried to ignore it, to hold her son and not frighten him further.

Later that day, every single pair of wings were collected. And the Prince died.

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Over time, the survivors were used as test subjects to the scientists. Their Hope slipping away day by day.

The Queen lost most of her sense of time. The only thing keeping her grounded were the surviving children. She had failed her own family, but there were still children that depended on her.

One day she observed the laboratory door opening, and a familiar face walked through. It was Chara, all grown up. They held a tiny book in their hand, Toriel recognized it as one of Gaster's.

"Long time no see... Mother." They snickered. "Aw don't look so sad. I did learn a lot from you and Dad when I lived with you. And I did apply everything I learned, you should be proud of me!" The smile was the most disturbing one Toriel had seen in centuries. "Aw don't be like that Mom! I got good news for you, your new home is finally ready! You and the rest can finally see the sun again!"

"Are you going to release us..." A shimmer of hope took root in Toriel.

"Not exactly... No, no, not at all really." Chara laughed. "Ever heard of a zoo? A lovely collection of endangered animals on display! For human entertainment and ... Breeding programs!" Chara took glee in the look of horror on their adopted mother. "The investors loved the results from the wings! So many wonderful uses... But we need more! And from past research from Monsters... Being indoors significantly cuts down on reproduction! Plus making a secure outdoor encounter is expensive... So you'll be making money in a high security zoo!"

"Why, just why did you do all of this Chara! We loved you! Your betrayal killed your father and brother!" Toriel cried out. Her guilt eating her alive.

"Well mom, I always wanted to see how things really work. What better way, than examining everything under a microscope?" Chara laughed as they left the laboratory room.

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Zoo life was degrading. Their enclosure had them all labeled Mini Monsters. Their lives constantly under human observation, the human children throwing junk food down into the enclosure was soul crushing. The zoo had the highest level barrier magic. Unless an individual had a magic pass card, there was no escape.

The only silver lining was the fact the Fairies and Mini Monsters could be in contact with living plants and see the sun.

Toriel tried to remain a figure for her people. She kept her full royal name a secret, she didn't want their captors the complete satisfaction of knowing her full name. Her people adopted other names to cope. Their Fairy dignity of guarding their names was one of the few things keeping them sane.

Sugar, formally known as Papyrus walked over to the Queen. "YOUR MAJESTY, PLEASE TRY OUT THIS CREATION OF MINE! I'M LEARNING HOW TO COOK FROM SPEAR! SHE SAYS I'M IMPROVING." Spear, formally known as Undyne, was determined to get the population back in order.

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Time passed in the zoo. There were a couple of Mini Monsters that started families. They believed their children would be safe, because they wouldn't inherit the wings. It was agreed that it would be too suspicious, not to have any children born. It would hopefully buy the population time to regain their strength.

Life was still degrading, but it was vastly better than the laboratory.

Then a thunderous boom rattled the entire zoo. Ash fell from the sky. The humans began to panic. Screaming out their theories on what happened. A foreign country dropping a bomb? A volcano? The zoo became a hot spot for humans fighting each other.

Arguments erupted over the food in the vending machines, on whether or not to eat the animals like the petting zoo sheep.

Spear took over the command of the population. Organizing the watch towers they constructed from empty soda cans. She took the advice of her Date Mate, Lizzie, formally known as Alphys. The population creates hidden bunkers for the weaker civilians to hide in.

Humans became more desperate, they invaded the enclosure. Their territory was the best set up for makeshift farming, with all the plants in the enclosure edible for humans.

The Mini Monsters that had any chance of a fight, were the ones that had Mini Monster heritage, their magic was mostly intact. Thankfully the Humans in the zoo were not warriors...or in shape. But they still had their rage and determination. Every last human surviving, drenched in SIN.

During an attack, a rock was thrown towards Sugar and Horror's Judgment power awoken. His eye lights glowed blue and bright yellow. He judged them all guilty. The humans died.

It was a shock that Horror inherited the role of Judge, but it was a major advantage to defeating the Humans in the Zoo.

Resources were scarce, and the human remains were taking up space. The population ate well off the human flesh for weeks.

_________________________________

It had been a few years since the humans disappeared. The zoo was now eerily quiet. All the other animals in the enclosures were long dead. The only animals they encountered were the rats and other wild animals that come inside the barrier encased zoo. And each animal looked diseased.

They stopped their population growth, food was too hard to come by. The soil wasn't as fertile as they had hoped. The zoo relied too much on importing plants and not enough on soil health. Since the "Event," the rain became a rare event.

The Colony eventually gained access out of their enclosure, but could not escape the Zoo's barrier.

Horror, Lizzie and a couple of others tried to reverse engineer human technology to help with their living situation. They knew how to use the various tech, like the security cameras, sprinklers and so on, but it was an issue of power.

Spear and Lizzie snuggled up together in their private shelter. Spear was desperate to figure out a way to keep the Colony going. The retired Queen took up healing duties after her guilt became too much to lead.

"Lizzie, if we got a power source, could we break the barrier? Or at least get the sprinkler system to work again?" She hugged her Date Mate. Spear felt Lizzie stiffen in her arms. "You got an idea?"

"T-there is the possibility...no it's crazy." She hide her face in her girlfriend's chest.

"Babe please, we're out of ideas. We could run out of food completely if nothing changes." She spoke uncharacteristically soft. "You're the brains here, please."

"W-well we could harvest the Judgement Magic from Horror. I remember reading about it before Gaster died. His first hand accounts of Judgement Magic implies it could be powerful enough to power the zoo. But... Spear, that would mean dusting our friend! We've known him since we were children! He saved us! We can't just betray him!" Lizzie blurted out.

But it was too late, Spear decided on the next course of action.

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Spear and Horror were alone in the abandoned security room.

"So nerd, you think you can restart any of the equipment?" Spear talked to lure Horror into a false sense of security. Horror's body was turned away from the fish Mini Monster. Completely trusting his childhood friend.

"Everything is in working order, but we can't do anything without power. Sorry Sp-" a quick attack of summoned weapons drove into Horror's skull. Long clawed fingers encased in magic containment materials, dug the blue and yellow magic right out of the cavity.

"Lizzie did a great job recycling those damned magic containment gloves the zoo keepers wore." She looked down at Horror, "Thanks for your service...Sans." She walked away, not noticing that Horror was still alive.
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Horror couldn't speak or move. His vision faded. When he woke up, he was surrounded by his brother and the former Queen. The skeleton recognized the ceiling, it was Tori's hut.

"Stay calm, and stay silent. You've been unconscious for a week. Spear and Lizzie restarted the equipment. Everyone thinks you're dead." Toriel's soft voice calmed Horror, but the information was dire.

Sugar, spoke in his bold tone, but somehow converted it to a whisper. "BROTHER, I FOUND YOU WHILE I TRIED TO INVESTIGATE THE SECURITY ROOM, I KNOW I CANT FIX MACHINES LIKE YOU, BUT I WANTED TO READ THE MANUALS. I RUSHED YOU TO TORI AS FAST AS I COULD." He sobbed into his hands. "I SHOULD HAD STAYED WITH YOU, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAD HAPPENED IF I WERE MORE USEFUL!"

"Hey bro, you did good...so cool." Horror's voice was raspy from lack of use. His skull was pounding. His hand went to touch his head, his finger tips found nothing.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't heal your wounds. I didn't have the reserves to even come close to closing the gap. I had to use the only healing spell not connected to my Fairy Magic. Honestly it's a miracle you're alive at all."

"What now?" Horror asked. He looked lost.

"This is my fault, I was a coward. I wallowed in my misery for far too long. My people are suffering because Spear needed a solution and sacrificed you. I failed you, and I failed her. She needed guidance as a new leader, and I gave her none." A fire burned in her eyes.

"I'M WITH YOU MY QUEEN!" Sugar said.

"Me too..." Horror said through the pain. "As much as I hate to say it, Spear and Lizzie bought us time. They should be able to restart the farms."

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The skeleton brothers retreated to the edge of the barrier. None of them could escape, but the random rats, cockroaches and other critters could enter. Horror slowly regained his strength. Both of the brothers gathered the materials from their hunts. Furs, shells and anything else. One day they were lucky and got a pigeon. The beak and claws were useful.

Toriel remained with the rest of the Fairies and Mini Monsters. She was their intelligence gatherer. And even with her lack of Fairy Magic Toriel held the largest knowledge of medical plants and basic healing techniques that required no magic.

The population was ecstatic at first with the generator being restored. But Spear became more paranoid and controlling. She overworked the colony to exhaustion. Her excuse was "We need to make up for lost time! Hurry up!"

Lizzie stayed out of the public eye.

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"Tomorrow Spear and Lizzie are moving the eye to the secondary generator that is in charge of the West side of the Zoo, Lizzie is going to use the eye to help her fix the solar panels." She sighed, "It will be the best chance we have to retrieve your eye and take down Spear." She sighed. "Hopefully either you two can take her on in battle, or I can try to convince Spear or her workers to peacefully give up the eye. It might be underhanded, but keeping her off balance with both attacks and reasoning can get to her."

"Sounds like a plan Tori, let's beat some sense into the fish." Horror held his makeshift axe.

____________________

Spear kept watch over the barrier in the skyline. It wasn't common, but predatory birds still were spotted. Even the scavengers appeared more desperate. The crew led by Lizzie, carefully moved the eye to the main electrical box of the solar panels.

The blue fish warrior instinctually dodged. A makeshift weapon made from a bird beak flew past her head. Her enemy aimed for her blindspot.

She summoned her spears and launched them at the direction of the attack. Sugar and Horror jumped out of their cover. Both used their hand made spears, tipped with claws and beaks. They threw her off balance. She landed on her back, but quickly picked up a scrap metal piece and swung it at Sugar's legs.

Knocking Sugar over, his body almost lands in Horror. Horror dodged and grabbed his eye from the transport crew. He could feel it pulsing in recognition. The skeleton almost placed it in his eye socket when Spear snatched it away.

Toriel appeared from the makeshift staircase. "Spear, enough! We cannot fight one another! We can forgive your actions, we can make things right! The humans are gone. We need to become civilized once more. There is no need to force our people to work to the point of collapse!" She looked into the crowd of the workers and fighters. "Please, can we have a rational discussion on the ground? The generator is up, we lived off the land and we can do it again without the humans dirty machines." She tried to reason with Spear. Her elegant speeches were rusty, but her passion in her voice almost reached Spear.

An ear piercing screech tore through everyone's focus. Dull yellow talons ensnared Spear. It flew off just as quickly. All them were too shocked to understand what happened.

"Spear! No! N-no! The eye! The eye must have enough power to escape the barrier! Spear!" Lizzie cried out.

"What? Are you saying you think Spear and that falcon escaped the barrier because of the eye?" One of the workers sounded pissed. "We fucking had the key to getting out of here, and now it's fucking gone!"

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Chapter Text

The Colony had mixed feelings with their Queen and Horror. Some resented the Queen for retiring in the first place, some felt anger over her actions leading to the main power source being lost. Others were happy to have Horror back, without him, the humans would had killed them long ago. Others thought him selfish for trying to get his eye back.

Overall, the group consensus agreed that Spear added to the blood on their hands. Continuing to use Horror's eye was not the answer.

Their lives were still hell, famine claiming the weakest. Mainly the generation born in the zoo. The lack of nutrition. The silver lining, Toriel was calm, gentle and didn't terrorize the population. Better to die in the minor comfort they can get.

In a cruel twist of fate, Lizzie had enough love for Spear and is carrying a souling. Toriel placed Lizzie and the souling under her protection.
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Horror went on patrol with his brother. Lately the animals and bugs coming through the barrier became... disfigured, mutated and stronger. Thankfully, Horror and his brother became stronger as well. Maybe because of the environment changing the living, maybe because they're Mini Monster and Fairy hybrids, or maybe the consumption of human flesh years ago catching up and giving them a boost. Whatever the reason, they are the heavy hitters.

It was routine to hunt down cockroaches the size of a medium sized dog. They didn't taste great, but a meal is a meal.

Suddenly a swirl of magic opened in the air. A small figure popped through, quickly followed by a much larger figure. Bones flew in both directions.

The full sized Monster was a skeleton wearing brown and white and holding a huge paintbrush. The other skeleton was a Mini Monster in a blue hoodie and red scarf. Despite the size difference, the Mini Monster was holding his own.

Horror was stunned by the other's grace as he dodged the normal sized Monster's attacks. The magic reserves to teleport and magic attacks on top of it.

"HELLO! SORRY TO INTERRUPT! BUT ITS RUDE TO CRASH INTO SOMEONE'S HOME AND ATTACK EACH OTHER!!! I DEMAND YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!!!" It had been years since he read a magic book, but Sugar recognized a Magic Portal. "PLEASE DON'T CLOSE THE PORTAL! THERE'S A MAGIC BARRIER!"

It dawned on Horror that Sugar had a point. This could be their only chance to get everyone out of this hellhole. "My bros got a point! Hey! Don't close the portal!"

The Mini Monster's eye lights widened. He lifted his hand to give the portal more power to stay open. "Is this a Bitty Fighting Ring?" He growled.

"No! An abandoned Zoo! We can't get out!" Horror yelled back.

"Fuck... Hey Ink! Back the fuck up! Do you want to get stuck here?" The Miniature Monster roared at the Skeleton named Ink. The small Monster dodged another attack. "Didn't you hear me you over sized moron!"

"Look at what you and Nightmare did to this place? So ... Negative !" Ink swings his brush again.

"We didn't do this! This place was a shit hole when we BOTH got here! Fuck you regular sized Monsters! You never listen!" The Mini Monster drew a knife from his inventory.

Horror couldn't let this opportunity of escaping the zoo slip his hands. Both are strangers, but the Mini Monster operated the Portal and actually listened. He looked towards his brother, they made eye contact and silently agreed to attack Ink.

Sugar summoned his own bone attacks while Horror rushed in with his hunting axe. The bones hit the regular sized skeleton and Horror knocked the brush out of his hands. The unknown Miniature Monster finished Ink off with a bone attack to the head. The Monster splattered into a black puddle.

"Wait... He didn't dust?" Horror was confused.

"That idiot isn't a normal Monster, long story short, we only have a few minutes to get out of here. I'll keep the portal open." He turned around to look at the brothers. "Are there any other survivors of this ... Zoo?"

"YES! THE WHOLE COLONY! I THINK THEY'LL BE DELIGHTED TO MEET YOU... WHAT'S YOUR NAME? MINE IS SUGAR!" Horror notes that his brother used his new name. Even without Fairy wings and Contracts, he had the sense to use the new name with a stranger.

"The name is Dust." It was then Horror noticed Dust's blue and red eyes. "Huh a whole colony... Whichever of you is faster, go get all of them. The other one, stay here and keep attacking the puddle." Dust gestured to the inky black sludge.

"I SHALL GO! I HAVE I'M QUICKER ON MY FEET!" Sugar dashed off without a second thought.

Horror slammed his axe into the puddle. "... Thanks."

"...what?" Dust said in a bored tone.

"You took a risk listening to us. It's been so long since I've seen another Mini Monster." Horror said.

"Mini Monster? Is that what you guys call Bitties in this AU?" Dust stabbed the puddle.

"Bitties, a strange name, but I guess so? And what's an AU?" Horror asked.

"AU stands for Alternate Universe. Another world basically. Got to be honest, this is the first AU that calls Bitties 'Mini Monsters'. But I can't say I'm surprised. Makes sense as far as naming goes." Dust stabbed Ink again. "How many Bitties are in your colony?"

"Last I checked, 145, but I'm not sure if any died from starvation since we went patrolling this morning." Horror replied.

"Wow... I've never seen a colony that big, and that's after loosing some...uh sorry, not used to groups bigger than five."

"Five? How does that work? How do you have a community? Jobs, trade? Anything?" Horror was shocked.

"Wait, this is a zoo, does that mean you're wild Bitties? Not pet store or Bitty shelters? You're actually not domesticated?" Shock and disbelief shifted on Dust's face.

Before the two skeletons could exchange more information, Sugar and the rest of the colony arrived. Hope finally on their faces after years of humiliation and famine.

"Greetings, Dust, I am Toriel, the Queen of this colony of Mini Monsters. Thank you for our rescue. We will be forever in your debt." Even in rags, the Queen held an aura of grace.

"Eh hold your thanks, I'm taking you to my Boss, he'd be the one to figure out where the hell you'll be staying at." Dust's eyes darted to the side. "You're the Queen, I think my Boss will want to talk to you."

As the colony left the zoo, Dust looked over his shoulder and stabbed Ink's puddle again. The goo rippled in anger.
_____________________________________________

Dust opened another portal to Nightmare's Castle. Dust came through first, he scanned the courtyard. Nothing but clear skys and the forest. He gestured the colony to follow him. After the last Bitty came through, an orange cat trotted towards them.

A Bitty popped out of the mass of fur. "Hey Dust Bin! What did you do? Rob a pet store!" Killer teased Dust.

"No... I robbed a zoo." Dust said in the most deadpan way possible. "Where's the Boss? We got royalty here." He gestured with a head nod at Toriel.

________________________________________

Toriel and Horror sat in miniature chairs on Nightmare's desk.

"I apologize, I wasn't expecting guests, I'll grab more supplies after our meeting." Nightmare said. "Am I correct, that you're the leader of this group of Bitties? Queen Toriel?"

"Yes I am the Queen, but I'm not familiar with the term Bitty. And my people are Miniature Monsters and the Fairies." Toriel expressed her confusion. "Is Bitty what you call Miniature Monsters? From how Sugar described the mighty battle between Dust and the Ink, his attacks are like a Miniature Monster and not a Fairy."

"Fascinating... I've only read of the Fairy species, in all my travels, I have not come across your kind." Nightmare's interest rose.

"We were a mighty race long ago, but we were captured, our wings stolen. Then forced into a zoo for humiliation. Now, I'm afraid, we are only fascinating because of how far we fell from glory." The Queen lamented.

Nightmare held up a hand to have her pause. "Queen Toriel, we can go over the details of your people's history later, but now we need to discuss where you will be staying." He took a breath, "From the details of your home AU, your home world is barren. There is nothing to return to."

Toriel remained stoic as Horror flinched. "What are our options? We have no gold, my people are weak from hunger. Surely you want something in return?" The Queen asked.

Nightmare glanced at Horror. "I heard from Dust you have a proper society, with jobs and trades. My employees, Killer and Dust lack both social interaction with other Bitties, but also need supplies in their size. " He focused back to the Queen. "I want to offer a deal, I'll provide land and shelter for you and your people to live in. And in return, you provide goods for my employees to use. Don't worry, I won't treat you as slaves, you will be paid for your work, your privacy will be respected and I'll provide medical care." He paused, "If that isn't a desirable offer, I will try my best to find you and your people a new AU to live in."

"Before I give you my answer, please tell me who you are. I may lack my wings, but I can sense you are not an ordinary Monster. I hear a forest within you." Queen Toriel felt ancient magic in Nightmare.

"Impressive, very well. I am Nightmare, the Multiverse Guardian of Negativity. If you can believe it, my mother was a tree." He smirked.

"That brings me comfort. It maybe foolish, but with all the tragedy in our history starting with being separated from our forest, being offered a home by a Tree is a sign of good fortune. May this be the start of a long alliance." The Queen said.

"Excellent, tonight everyone can stay in the castle, we'll start construction of your new town after we agree on a town layout and pick a location." Nightmare faced Horror. "Dust was impressed with your participation in the battle, he's never impressed. Knocking Ink's brush out of his hands, that takes strength. I want to offer you a job. Join my employees, I think you'll be a marvelous fit. You'll help me with my duties of keeping Multiverse balance."

"I can see my brother any time right?" Horror asked.

"Of course, what you do on your days off is up to you. And the new town will be in my territory in walking distance. Do we have a deal?"

"Sure thing Boss!"

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Chapter Text

<p>Author's Notes: This is Killer's backstory, but in a Bitty setting. Since bitties are primarily used as pets, there will be story elements close to, or are animal abuse inspired. This is meant to be a hard pill to swallow. One, because it's a story about a version of Killer's backstory, and two because of the animal abuse angle. 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

The Skeleton Bitty brothers played together in the Bitty tank in the pet store. They laughed carefree with the energy only the young have. Their fun was interrupted when the tank shook with a deafening sound. They turned around to see a child tapping on the glass. 

"HELLO HUMAN! ARE YOU GOING TO ADOPT US?" The smaller skeleton Bitty asked. "PLEASE ADOPT US BOTH! WE'RE BROTHERS!" He waved while giving the most sincere smile. 

"Paps..." The other Bitty hugged from behind. "Yeah it would be awesome to be adopted together but, it's not up to us."

"IT CANT HURT TO ASK!" The younger brother stated. The child smiled. It was a smile Sans didn't trust.

 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

They got adopted. The child carried the two Bitties in a clear plastic container. They placed the Bitties on the dresser. Sans looked around the room. Hoping to find a larger enclosure. The room was sterile. Not a misplaced sock in sight. No toys. 

"Hey kiddo, what's your name? Ya haven't introduced yourself..." Sans was trying to break the ice.

 "YES HUMAN! ITS THE PROPER THING TO DO! " He placed his hands on his hips. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME HUMAN?" 

"...Frisk." There was no emotion in the child's voice. 

"FRISK! THAT'S A GOOD NAME! WELL FRISK, I THINK WE WILL BE GREAT FRIENDS!" Papyrus beamed. 

"...So noisy." Frisk left the room. 

"DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?" Papyrus asked. 

"Naw, I'm sure the kid just needs a break. Maybe Frisk needs to do homework or whatever human children do." Sans hugged his brother.

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Sans had heard horror stories from Bitties that had been returned to the pet shop. The best case scenarios happened when a loving family had to return the Bitty because of financial hardship or the owner died. The worst stories came from the Bitties that had been abused. They both continued to live in the tiny enclosure. It was rare that they were let outside and roam Frisk's bedroom. The Bitty noticed the food was much less than what was given to them from the store. Sans gave most of his share to his brother. Sans told himself it wasn't that bad. They had a home. The cage was clean, and even though the food was meager, it was consistent. It wasn't nearly as bad as the stories he heard from some of the Bitties that were returned. He had his brother. 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

It was a hot summer day and school was out. The child was bored and unsupervised. Frisk grabbed Sans out of the cage and held him tightly. 

"HUMAN FRISK! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Papyrus was left behind. He pounded his tiny fist against the clear wall. "PLEASE TAKE ME ALONG TOO!"

 "Hey Paps! It'll be ok!" Sans wasn't sure if he would be alright. Papyrus pressed his face against the wall. The sunlight blinded the Bitty. Frisk's hold on Sans made it impossible for the Bitty to use his hands to shield his eyes. He turned off his eye lights, his other senses heightened, he smelled the freshly cut lawns, the feeling of the warmth of the sun, the click clack of the sprinkler systems and the sounds of the cars. 

After an unknown amount of time he felt the temperature drop ever so slightly. The smell was disgusting, much worse than the trash bins. It made Sans choke. Sans turned his eyes on. The scenery was grim. Rotten wood floors, rusty metal walls and unknown piles of moldy shapes littered the ground. Sans could not tell if this was a proper building or a shed. Frisk gave an odd smile. 

"Hey kiddo...what's up? We gonna explore or something?" Sans didn't like the feeling in the pit of his soul. The feeling of dread prey animals have before the predator bites down. Without a word, Frisk took Sans to the far back corner. There was an old table with a cage on top. Frisk stood on their tiptoes and lifted the lid up. Unceremoniously dropped the Bitty into the cage. Waiting inside the cage was a full grown rat. It did not look like any pet rat Sans had seen. The thing looked wild and hungry. The pet rats Sans had seen before were large, but this thing looked larger than some toy dog breeds.

 "You have to fight. If you die...I'll just have the other one fight instead." The child's smile sliced through their face.

 "What?" Sans tried climbing up the clear walls. Never making any traction. His breathing erratic, mind racing and sheer panic took over. The rat lunged towards the Bitty. Sans narrowly dodges it. He had to out-smart the rat, it was too large and fast for him to beat it in a fair fight. But this wasn't fair fight. Sans flicked off his hoodie and held for dear life onto the cuff of the sleeve. The rat pounced and Sans jumped up, when the rat's momentum left the neck exposed, he used his hoodie as a rope and started to choke the vermin. The rat bucked and thrashed side to side trying to dislodge the Bitty off its neck. Sans held on tighter, he had to live, he couldn't let Papyrus into this mess. The rat's struggle slowly faded. Sans released his hoodie when the animal stopped. The Bitty was exhausted, he struggled to get off the rat's back. He walked to the cage's wall. 

Frisk smiled the entire time. Then the child's smile grew wider. Sans felt dread. The rat got up. It struggled up and made it's way to Sans. Frisk tossed in a plastic sword into the cage. The tiny flimsy swords for cocktails drinks. Sans grabbed it, it had decent range, but a one shot weapon at best. The bright plastic sword was his only hope. It all happened so fast, the rat now dead on the floor. The tip of the sword stuck out of the neck, the sword handle was still in Sans's hands.

 "We are going to have so much fun Sans." Sans missed Frisk's old emotionless face. Frisk was a demon of cruelty. 

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

For a week Frisk forced Sans to fight against rats. Sometimes Frisk would give him a flimsy toy weapon at the start, sometimes they would give him one much later. Sans started to hate his life. It wasn't good before, but this was becoming hell. Papyrus was oblivious to all of this. Sure he was worried about being left behind and wondered what happened during his outings. But Papyrus had no idea how much Sans sacrificed to keep him from this hell.

 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 Frisk changed their routine. They went out after dark. Sans didn't know how the child hadn't gotten caught by their parents, but they might not care. There was another abandoned building. The wall's paint chipped off in brittle weak areas. Spiders made a large city for themselves. It was illuminated with toy lanterns and flashlights. Sans spotted other human children with Bitties. The age range seemed to be between seven and mid teens. Some of the Bitties trembled in fear, while others foamed at the mouth. Frisk walked up to the oldest teen. 

"I got the money and a Bitty... I'm ready." The teen looked down at both of them.

 "Sure whatever, remember, we don't hold back. First few rounds are timed. The rest are to the death. You good? Because you can't go crying to your mommy." He flicked his toothpick down. "If your toy gets broken it stays broken. No refunds."

 "It's ok. If this one dies, I got another one at home." Frisk answered a matter of factly. Sans metaphorical blood ran cold. He had to survive in order to protect his brother. Frisk gave Sans a small jewellery charm. It was silver in color, at one end was a whole to attach to a necklace. The item was a pure metal, knife charm, it fit perfectly in his small Bitty hands. It has actual weight, and felt durable. It had an edge, but it was dull. But worlds better than the brittle plastic sword. 

"Ok Sans, do your best...I don't want to train Papyrus, such an annoying voice. But I don't want to waste my allowance on buying another Bitty." Frisk coldly informed the Bitty. 

His grip on the knife charm tightened. Sans breath shook as Frisk placed him in the crudely made battle pit. Globs of glue and chalk randomly covered the pit walls and floor along the seems of thick plastic, wood planks and scrap metal. Nails added another trip hazard. May of the nails and screws were nowhere near flush to the surfaces.

 On the other side of the battle pit stood a large lizard Bitty. Tall for a Bitty, muscular, with long sharp claws. The long thick tail rhythmicaly hits the ground. The lizard bared his razor teeth. It was clear to Sans, this was not the lizard Bitty's first fight. He oozed confidence. The bell rang. The lizard pounced in front of Sans l, throwing the skeleton Bitty off balance. Sans screamed in pain as the thick lizard tail hits both legs. The lizard punched Sans in the face. In a flash Sans saw Papyrus's smiling face dust in front of him. The terrifying dread washed over Sans. If Sans died here, Papyrus would suffer the same fate. The skeleton Bitty threw an uppercut at the lizard. It caused the lizard to collapse on the ground. Sans used the knife charm as a heavy bat. The bell rang. Sans didn't notice, but he felt the tug on his hoodie. He was torn away from the lizard Bitty. Sans noticed the lizard twitching. 

"Not bad...this is going to be fun Sans...." Frisk carelessly held Sans, the Bitty swung back and forth from his shirt. 

__________________________________ 

Sans glanced at the digital timer/clock. It was nearing 1 am. The skeleton Bitty is almost asleep on his feet. He went through three rounds of timed matches and won each of them. It was too deafening to nap. Sans witnessed all the other matches. Most of the other matches, both Bitties survived... But a couple dusted. 

Now it was time for the true death battles. The lizard Bitty Sans fought the first round was his first death battles match up. The lizard gained LVs from his other battles of the night. Rage and magic buzzed around him.

 "No more playtime shrimp! You're going to pay for earlier tonight!" He roared.

 "Don't think so pal... Tomorrow's forecast is going to be a beautiful day out. I'm going to share it with my bro..." Sans tried to hype himself up. 

The lizard laughed. "Don't think so punk! Ya think even if you survive, your brother won't smell the dust on you?" He rushed forward and kicked Sans in the ribs. Sans landed on a half nailed in nail. There was a sickening crack.

"You're nothing but Experience Points!" Sans coughed up magic. It dripped down his chin. Thankfully the nails missed his soul. He ignored his pain and stood up. The skeleton took off his hoodie, and tied the knife charm with the sleeve. The necklace hole made it easy. He began to spin his makeshift weapon. Changing the directions when the charm's momentum allowed it.

 "Gimmicks ain't going to save you kid..." The lizard grunted. Sans ignored him. He swung the knife charm at the lizard's head, the bigger Bitty dodged. The skeleton ducked down and aimed for the legs. The weight of the charm made the hoodie wrap around the lizard's legs. Trapping the larger Bitty. Sans took the opportunity and retrieved a loose nail from the ground and stabbed the lizard in the chest. The dust exploded around him as the crowd roared in excitement. 

______________________________________________ 

The battle pit became San's life for a year. At the end of every tournament, Sans was dunked into freezing water fully clothed. Frisk agitated the Bitty in the water until the dust was no longer visible. The human child always dropped Sans in the Bitty tank still drenched in cold water. The sawdust did little to dry the Bitty off. 

Two thirds into the year, Sans developed black tar like tear stains. That particular night was torcher. Frisk tried and tried to get rid of the goop. They had to give up after an hour. Papyrus tried to cheer up his brother. But over time Sans became either zoned out numb or snapping in anger.

 "SANS... PLEASE EAT. YOUR MAGIC SEEMS OFF. MAYBE A MEAL WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER?" The taller skeleton offered.

 "...stay the fuck away from me ..." Sans LV levels crackeled around him. Papyrus stayed quiet, he assumed Sans had a headache, Sans moods got worse after the tear marks appeared. The taller Bitty had no clue it was due to LVs rushing through his brother. Sans calmed down and plopped next to his brother. Papyrus wanted to talk, but he heard his brother snoring. The taller Bitty smiled, it had been weeks since Sans looked remotely peaceful in his sleep. He wrapped his arms around the smaller Bitty in a gentle hug.

 ___________________________________________ 

One day Frisk left Sans in the shed with rabid rats in a tank. The child went back inside the house. To their room. "You love your brother right?" Frisk asked with a smirk. They saw Papyrus brighten up at them. 

"OF COURSE! " He beamed. "ID DO ANYTHING FOR HIM!" 

"Well you must have noticed that he's been getting more distant lately, more moody?" Frisk asked. "I'm sure that a game will cheer him up!"

 "WHAT KIND OF GAME?" Papyrus shouted.

 "A trust game...you think your brother is a good Bitty right?" The cat like grin etched into Frisk's face.

 "OF COURSE! HE'S THR BEST!" "Sans is doubting himself, thinks himself a terrible thing ... I think he needs a reminder. I'm going to take both of you out tonight. You're going to wear a disguise and prove to your brother that he's a good little bitty..." They laughed. "A game of tag. You hug him, you win, he tags you, his confidence falls further down." Frisk hands the Bitty a tiny sack with eye holes cut out and an outfit that would completely cover his whole body, from the neck down to his wrists and ankles. 

__________________________________________ 

A lanky human teenager shouted out a loud speaker. "We have a special event tonight! LV Tag! Our previous champions will hunt down house pets for easy XP in a battle royal! Afterwards the survivors will split the prize money!" The pit was filled with scared house pet Bitties. So many weak and vulnerable pets. Fresh pups, old lap dog Bitties. Sans and four other champions looked at their prey. Each trying to strategize who to pick off first. The house pets, or the other LV filled Bitties. They were dropped into the pit in different sections. "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!" Yelled the teen. 

A tall Bitty wore a sack over it's head, the body language actively rotating to take in their surroundings. All the other house pet Bitties openly expressed their fear and confusion. The masked ran towards Sans, awkwardly dodging the much shorter Bitties. 

"SANS! WHAT IS GOING ON? FRISK TOLD ME-" The tall Bitty rolled to avoid a Champion. "TOLD ME THAT WE'RE GOING TO PLAY TAG!" As sheltered as Papyrus was, he knew this wasn't right. The pit smelt of dust and blood. "BUT I CAN TELL FRISK SET US UP!" The skeleton tried to pull the mask off, but failed, the awkward gloves Frisk tied on his wrists made it useless. 

Sans used his newer weapon of choice, the knife charm, tied to the end of his hoodie drawstring. Swinging it at long distance, or using it as a close quarters combat was his best strategy. He was in the zone of killing the weakest of the Champions. A slow brute that left his back completely open. 

The dust cleared and Sans heard a familiar voice. He turned and saw a Bitty just as tall as his brother. He witnessed his brother stabbed in the back. The clumsy attack tore the mask off. His brother's face pained. Etched in innocent horror. The wound fatal but slow. Sans dusted the attacker. He struggled to keep the LV rush under control. His bones buzzed and crackled with the surge of power. 

Sans held his brother. "Paps....what happened? How? Why are you here?" Sans cried as he cradled his brother.

 "FRISK SAID I COULD HELP BY HUGGING YOU IN TAG ..." Papyrus coughed up dust. "I JUST WANTED TO HELP..." all Papyrus could feel is pain. His soul cracked in half. Even with the best healer Papyrus couldn't survive. If left alone, it would take hours to die. The older brother hugged his wounded brother. The LV rush took over his ability to speak. Sans ended Papyrus's pain with a swift stab in his soul. 

There was a brief look of relief on Papyrus's face as he became dust. Sans killed every single living creature in the fighting pit and viewing arena. Frisk tried to defend themselves, with a rusty pipe, they even begged for forgiveness. Sans had nothing left in his soul but rage. Frisk's body was the legal definition of overkill. 

His soul shifted and wobbled into a red and white target. His brother he tried to protect, died by his own hands as a mercy killing. Frisk used them both as disposable toys. His rage flared up in a volcano of anger, but simmered down to numbness. Sans had nothing left. 

He was a destroyer, a killer. He stabbed the walls of the pathic shell of the fighting pit the children played in. He experienced an endless cycle of numbness and anger. He murdered the humans investigating the disappearance of the children and teens. Sans became nothing but a Killer. He lost his reason to follow Frisk. His reason for living. Papyrus was innocent and vulnerable. 

The shift of numbness and anger became faster. Sans couldn't call himself Sans anymore. All he is, is a Killer. Killer learned a new technique. He learned to summon knives. It was useful to dispose of the cops. The LV buzzed in his bones. 

--------_____________________________________

 An unknown amount of time passed when a portal opened. A dark skeleton walked out of the portal. He searched the area for the source of the negativity. Nightmare dodged an attack from his blindspot, narrowly being missed by a tiny thrown knife. 

The Negative Guardian barely spotted a tiny figure dart off. Nightmare grinned. "Interesting..." He purred out. Between sensing the Negativity and his own vision, the tiny creature was still difficult to track in the abandoned building. Trash, debris and human bones made spotting a small opponent difficult, but adding in the speed... Nightmare was impressed. The blur of tiny creature rushed Nightmare. 

The dark skeleton finally had the opportunity to catch the creature. The tentacle actually struggled to hold the furious little attacker. "Impressive... What an interesting little Monster. Tell me, what is your name?" Nightmare's expression hovered between a smile and smirk.

 "The fuck are you? Let me go!" The little creature squawked.

 "Fair enough, I'm Nightmare. Guardian of Negativity." He moved his tentacle closer to his face. "I'm in charge of keeping the balance of the Multiverse." Nightmare finally got a good look at the small Monster in his grasp. A tiny white skeleton, lacking eye lights, tar like tears streaking his face. "Recent developments made me realize that I require employees to help keep the balance. Are you interested?" 

"I'm..." He hesitated. He didn't feel like 'Sans' anymore. The name didn't fit right anymore. It was very common for Bitties to get renamed after getting a new owner. A fresh name, a fresh start. "Killer, my name is Killer!" A confident smirk appeared. "What's the job description?"

 "If you accept this job offer, you'll go on missions. Anything from assassination, arson, robbery, mass destruction and anything else I deem necessary for bringing back enough negativity for proper balance ," Nightmare explained.

 "Sign me up Boss!" Killer wiggled his arm out of Nightmare's grasp. "Shake on it!" Nightmare shook the small hand in triumph. He finally found someone to help him in his duties that wasn't afraid.</p>

Chapter Text

It was a rare event for Error. Error was bored with his favorite AUs to steal chocolate from. He was still craving chocolate, but wanted something new. Hopping from AU to AU...and leaving them intact. It would just waste time. Chocolate was more important.

His fuzzy slippers landed in predictable snow, in an average looking Snowden. Something was off to the destroyer. He could sense life, this should be a variation of a SwapTale, but he could not spot a single Monster.

"#A-a 'vanilla' SwapTale shouldn't be this quiet...#" Error muttered to himself. The multi colored skeleton was about to leave, when he smelt something good. He followed the scent. It led him to the Skeleton Brothers house. He started walking there when he stepped on something hard. "#F-fuck was that!?#" he looked down at his at his slipper and found a tiny mailbox. "#Stupid kids leaving their toys around.#" he complained.

Error went around the house and couldn't find a trace of either skeleton. "# Weird.... #" with a frustrated sigh he opened a portal back to the Anti Void. But unknown to him, a small individual scurried to his slipper and caught a ride.

The destroyer plopped down on his bean bag and sighed. He felt like he was in a slump. Aimless for a few days. He went to take off his slippers to switch to socks, when he noticed something unexpected.

"HELLO! WOOWIE!!!! YOU'RE HUGE! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE SO BIG! SORRY THAT'S RUDE OF ME! I'M SANS THE MAGNIFICENT! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" Attached to his slipper was a very loud Bitty. A SwapTale version to be more specific.

"# What are you doing on my slipper! Don't touch me!#" Error roared.

"SORRY! I WANTED TO SAY HI AT MY HOUSE, BUT I GOT CAUGHT IN YOUR SLIPPER'S FUZZINESS." The Bitty hopped off the footwear. "I GOT EXCITED! SORRY! BUT YOU'RE PROOF! YOU'RE ACTUAL PROOF THAT WE DID BUILD THE UNDERGROUND!"

"# What are you talking about shrimp!? #" Error had no idea what the Bitty was going on about.

"ACCORDING TO THE OLDER MONSTERS, WE WEREN'T ALWAYS OUR SIZE! WE WERE MUCH BIGGER IN THE PAST, BUT THEN EVERYONE SHRANK DOWN! I THINK I CAN REMEMBER THE BUILDINGS BEING 'SMALLER'" The tiny Monster moving his pointer finger and thumb closer together, "AND THEN BECOMING BIGGER, WHEN MY BROTHER WAS A BABBYBONES! " His tiny arms spread as far as they could go to empathize growth. "SOME MONSTERS THOUGHT WE SHRANK BECAUSE THE UNDERGROUND IS CURSED! SOME OF THE YOUNGER MONSTERS, LIKE MY BROTHER THINK THE BUILDINGS WERE ALWAYS HUGE!" The Bitty waved his arms in excitement.

"# Wait... So you're saying that the whole population of the Underground shrank down? How is that possible? #" Error's face scrunched up. He did a quick analysis of Mini Swap... His code was reading as "Monster" and not "Bitty"... "# Well damn, you are a shrunken down Monster...I guess I should call you a Mini Monster and not a Bitty...#""

The Mini Swap straighten up. "OH I ALMOST FORGOT!" He grabbed a few items from his inventory. "I WANT YOU TO HAVE THESE! I MADE THEM EARLIER TODAY! CHOCO TACOS! AN ICE CREAM, WITH A WAFFLE CONE, IN THE SHAPE OF A TACO! YOU SEEM HUNGRY!" 

Error eyed the dessert, each choco taco was the size of an M&M. He shrugged, chocolate is chocolate. Be it M&Ms or a giant chocolate cake, he'd eat it. The Mini Monster got excited when Error placed his hand near him. The Mini Swap Sans gleefully dropped each choco-taco into the large hand. Error sniffed the chocolate, then plopped them in his mouth.

His eye lights sparkled. "# These are fucking good! #"

"LANGUAGE! BUT THANK YOU!" Mini Swap was very proud.

Error glanced down at the Mini Monster. "#Thanks for the chocolate, I guess your AU is unique enough to exist, I'm going to send you home.#" the Destroyer was about to open the portal when the Mini Monster spoke up.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY AU? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN TO *EXIST?*" The Mini Monster stood on his tip toes.

Error glared at the tiny Swap. "#Long story SHORT,#" he let a small laugh out, "#Alternate Universes, same old Underground, but with differences and#"

"OH! LIKE IN COMIC BOOKS! AND MOVIE REBOOTS!" Tiny Swap interrupted.

"#Yeah. Just like with movies, there's "bad reboots", that 'Box Office Bombs', and that's the end of the series.#" Error shrugs. He didn't know entirely what happened with bad reboots or the movie making business, but he overheard Nightmare's employees complaining about terrible reboots. Error didn't want to overburden the Mini Monster with the Multiverse business. It didn't seem like an AU that Nightmare or his Bitty employees would attack. 

It was pretty neutral for a SwapTale variation. And Error doubted Nightmare would make his boys attack a full Bitty AU.

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Error came and visited the strange AU every so often for the choco-tacos. They were small, but tasty, and no other treat hit the same spot. The Destroyer observed the AU followed the same template as a regular SwapTale. Chara would drop on by and have their "adventures" and RESET. 

Mini Swap didn't seem to remember the Resets, which was normal for a SwapTale. Error avoided the Papyrus. Eventually he'll remember the Resets, and Error just wanted the tiny choco-tacos without a hassle.

____________________________________________

The balance of the Multiverse tilted dangerously to overcrowding and Toxic Positivity. Ink recruited Dream, the Guardian of Positivity to his illogical need to produce endless and unstable copies.

Nightmare and his Gang were working overtime to trim down the fat of the over-bloated Multiverse. 

Currently, it was just Horror and Killer on a tracking mission. Suddenly they felt the ground shake! Killer looked towards the origin of the boom. The smoke cleared, revealing a Bitty sized skeleton wearing blue and holding a mallet the size of an average Sans. 

"We finally got ourselves our own overpowered Bitty! Introducing Blue Berry!" Ink proclaimed. 

"Ink! Blue isn't a pet! He's our teammate! And he prefers Blue!" Dream tried to correct the crazed artist.

Blue proclaimed, "PLEASE LEAVE THIS AU ALONE! THE PEOPLE HERE DID NOTHING WRONG!" He straightened his posture to look more authoritative.

The Bitty Blue did an impressive job handling himself against Horror. Giant Mallet against Horror's axe.

Killer ordered a retreat. The new addition to the Star Sans was not part of the calculated risks. Dust would tear him limb from limb if Horror got even slightly injured. There was also the fact the Bitty felt "off."

Horror sensed a familiar magic signature, but he couldn't place what it was. Ever since the famine at the abandoned Zoo, Horror's ability to sense magic was damaged.

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*********************************
A few weeks before Blue's introduction into the Multiverse fighting.
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"Ack! How can Nightmare get fans? How is this happening? He is the embodiment of Negativity! How can the human and Monster civilians cheer him on in our battles?" Ink wailed to his teammate. The artist's eye lights shifted rapidly.

"... It might be partly due to the fact two full grown Monsters attacking tiny Bitties... They're powerful, and ruthless, but they are... adorable. I almost feel like I'm bullying a child..." Dream confessed. He recalled a small Monster bunny girl begging him not to 'hurt the injured baby!' referring to Horror. The Positive Guardian felt guilty for taking back the stolen food. The same little Bunny Monster cried that the ,'poor baby needed the food.'

"That's it! Nightmare collected those tiny terrors on purpose! That evil genius!" Ink growled. "What we need is our own over powered Bitty."

"Ink, I don't think we should recruit based off of species. There should be other factors to round out our team." Dream tried to reason with Ink.

It was too late, Ink had a hair braided idea planted firmly into his skull.

----------

Ink jump from AU to AU. He kept finding normal Bitties. House pets, and other unremarkable creatures. The artist was no strategist, but he understood Dream worked better with happy and Positive creatures. Ink focused on getting the perfect mascot. A Bitty to recharge Dream, a cute face that the public will adore, and most importantly, another creature to fight Nightmare's pets.

His scarf had notes scribbled on it, of the various quotes from the thankless Humans and Monsters.

* Are we sure they're the good guys? Those Bitties are so small...*

* Why are the Skeletons attacking baby Monsters?* - clearly that was asked by a clueless human. 

Ink wanted to bring the Multiverse endless art! Protect the AUs that he and the Creators, created!Give the whole Multiverse something to remember... A slight irony with Ink's goldfish memory.

The God of Creativity landed in a strangely quiet SwapTale. The color scheme gave away the AU type. Ink walked in the snow. The crunching echoed in the air.

He heard the crashes before he noticed the battle. A Bitty Swap smiled as he sparred with Swap Alphys. Their punches and kicks made the ground shake. Ink crouched down to get a better look. The Bitty Swap summoned bone attacks and a giant mallet! The artist has only witnessed Nightmare's pets of such strength and ability.

A demonic smile without eye lights took over Ink's face. He found his team's mascot, their pet. The perfect countermeasure to Nightmare's hoard of pets.

______________________________________________

"Hey Dreamy! Look at this I found! This little fella was all alone!" Ink held the tiny creature in his  cupped hands.

"Ink... You just can't take random creatures off the street. What if it's someone's pet? Or service Bitty?" Dream scolded as he kneeled closer to get a better look. Ink opened his hands wider to reveal the Swap Bitty. "Oh! Hello there. Did Ink kidnap you? Would you like me to return you to your home?" Dream was smitten with Swap Bitty.

"I CAN'T REMEMBER... WHAT HAPPENED, I WAS OUT SPARING WITH ALPHYS... OH NO! MY BROTHER IS GOING TO BE SO WORRIED!" The Bitty started to panic. "HOW ARE YOU TWO SO BIG? HOW ARE WE OUT OF THE UNDERGROUND?"

"Ink! What did you do?" Dream asked as he glared at his teammate.

"I don't know, you know me... My memory isn't the best. But isn't he cute! Can we keep him?" Ink tried to charm Dream.

Dream sighed. "I'm sorry for my friend here," He apologized to the Bitty. "Wait, you said Underground, so your AU is an AU with pet Bitties trapped in the Underground with the Monsters?"

"NO, ITS JUST US... WE'RE THE MONSTERS, YOU'RE THE GIANTS!" Swap Bitty said. 

"The human probably killed all the Monsters and left the Bitties behind." Ink offered his thoughts. 

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? THERE HASN'T BEEN A HUMAN IN THE UNDERGROUND IN YEARS! NOT SINCE THE KING AND QUEEN ADOPTED ONE! AND THEY'RE LONG DEAD!" Swap felt like he was being ignored. Suddenly the Bitty felt a gentle touch on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out, and we'll get you home. I promise you." Dream gently smiled. "You can stay with me..." The Positivity Guardian didn't voice his concerns that Ink would forget to feed him. 

The Bitty relaxed a little with Dream's smile. He felt a small flutter in his soul.

"I think we should name him Blueberry! He's so small and blue!" Ink ruined the mood.

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME! I'M SANS THE MAGNIFICENT! I'M TRAINING TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARDSMEN!" the Bitty snapped.

Dream interfered and explained about the Multiverse and multiple copies of 'Sans' gets confusing.

"FINE, I'LL USE THE CODENAME BLUE! NOT BLUEBERRY! I'M NOT FOOD!" He huffed out.

_______________________________
*************************************

After their first battle with Blue at their side, the Star Sans's popularity began to grow again. With the addition of Blue, the overall public began to view them as heroes again. A force for justice.

Blue enjoyed his adventures. Felt pride in defending the weak. He adored Dream's company... But he still hadn't been home in months. He missed his brother and friends.

Meanwhile Ink enjoyed his plan working out, he had the AU "address" Written down in his scarf. Just in case they needed a replacement Bitty.

Chapter Text

Error rudely portaled into Nightmare's office. Irritated error messages buzzed around.

"What do I owe the pleasure Error?" Nightmare hid his irritation. "Normally you enter my domain in the courtyard..."

"# I don't want your gang to ease drop! Look the ,'Star Sans' are not 'playing nice' with a certain AU.#" Error grunted out. " # It's a unique AU, I've never seen one like it... I don't want your 'boys' to jump to conclusions!#" Error rubbed his temples.

"Well you have my attention..." Nightmare folded his hands. "Why do you care?"

"# It's an entire Underground that has been shrunk down to Bitty size! Their code still reads as *Monster*, I call them Mini Monsters. It's a SwapTale AU, and they still have their human Resetting their 'play-runs', problem is, your brother and the inkblot stole that AU's Sans!#" Error began to pace in the office. "# The AU is becoming unstable! The human is resetting as soon as they realize there is no 'Sans!' That Mini Monster needs to be returned!" Error huffed.

"That explains their new recruit Blue... He did seem impressively strong... Tell me Error why do you care? It seems out of character." Nightmare sat up straighter. 

"#... Choco-tacos, the Mini Swap Sans makes choco-tacos, and even though he forgets about me every Reset, he always offers them.#" Error did his best not to sound like he cared. "# Sometimes its nice not to fight for good chocolate.#" the Glitchy God placed his hands in his pockets. 

"I'm going to call over my employees, this does concern them, trust me." Nightmare pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Killer, Horror, Dust, I'm ordering an emergency meeting in my office."

Error narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but stayed silent.

The door opened and Orange Peel the cat walked in with the three Bitties on his back.

"What's up Boss? The last time you pulled an emergency meeting, was when some of the Bitty Stripes got lost." Killer asked. The cat jumped up on the desk.

"Error here, has informed me that the newest addition to the Star Sans, 'Blue' is a Mini Monster... I believe it is connected to a string of unexplained magic anomalies across the Multiverse."

"I thought I was imagining things... Thought I sensed Fairy magic, but I wasn't sure ..." Horror said.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Dust asked his mate as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ever since my wings got torn off, my magic sensing has been damaged." Horror replied. 

"# Wait Fairy Magic? What's going on?#" Error was lost in the conversation.

"My AU don't have Bitties, just Fairies and Mini Monsters. Didn't tell ya cause it didn't matter." Horror answered.

"# Are you saying some crazy Fairy shrank an entire Underground for the 'lols'?#" Error said in disbelief.

"It's possible that our wings were turned into magic items. Maybe one was made to shrink down Monsters?" Horror gave his theory. "Can't be sure, the only Fairies left alive that can figure it out are the Queen and Lizzie. And both of them would need access to the AU."

"# That's going to be an issue soon, the AU is getting unstable, Mini Swap or Blue- whatever needs to be returned. The AU is in 'active human mode'. Unlike most AU traveling Monsters, Blue didn't *Finish the Main Storyline* or invented an AU traveling device or gained godly power or whatever, the way Blue was taken makes the AU unstable. He needs to be returned before it collapses." Error explained.

"After Blue is returned, would the AU be stable enough to investigate? It's concerning that there could be individuals using Fairy Magic items, performing experiments." Nightmare asked.

"# The AU will start to stabilize after Blue returns. After some time, Blue could travel the Multiverse again. Mentioning that, in case ...#" Error shuddered, "# we need to 'reason' the Star Sans or whatever.#"

"Hell, if Blue is as Boy Scout, good boy as he seems, he might go home willingly!" Killer said. "My bet is either Ink or Dream didn't think about Blue's home life. Thought him nothing but just another Bitty to adopt."

"Blue is strong, but I haven't witnessed any transportation or portal abilities, seems like he's stuck with Dream and Ink for his AU travel." Dust added.

"I came to that conclusion as well. AU solo travel is extremely rare in Bitties." Nightmare said. He looked at his employees. Only Dust could open his own portals and teleport. Killer and Horror had to rely on Nightmare and Dust for travel.

"Boss!" Killer's smile spreads across his face. "I got an idea!"

"Did it hurt?" Dust asked sarcastically.

Killer ignored him, "Remember when I first joined and my easy missions were exposing two faced politicians?"

"Yes, some of those missions still produce negativity to this very day. A slow burn, source." Nightmare replied.

"There's an AU I just spotted on an information gathering mission. A politician funneled cash meant for a Bitty shelter. The place is a mess. It's the perfect slow burn negativity for exposing the Asshole, but if we tweak the exposure to the public, it could bring in the Star Dorks." Killer paused, "If we did a *good deed* and the Stars just attack us anyway, Blue might come with us easier."

"That's actually not a bad idea. The initial rush of Negativity will confuse the Star Sans, and if they blindly attack us, while we're doing something *positive*, will be a good way to mess with their reputation. And hopefully confuse them enough to not notice us taking Blue back to his home." Dust said.

Nightmare gave a proud smirk to his employees. "That is the perfect idea." 

_________________________________________

************************************

The Star Sans portaled into a Surface AU. They were alerted to a sudden spike in negativity. It was chaos. Humans and Monsters holding protester signs while the debris from the collapsed building mixed into the air.

A Mettaton dressed in a professional three piece suit held a microphone. They ordered the camera man to aim the camera towards the center of the collapsed building. 

"We're live at the NewHome Bitty Adoption Center! Myself and my new crew were about to enter the adoption center for a special interview, when it suddenly collapsed!" The local Mettaton pulled out his cellphone, he gave an irritated look to his filming crew. "Fine if no one is going to call the fire department! I will! Hello? Operator? The Bitty Adoption Center just collapsed!"

Dream scanned the area for signs of attackers, but found none. He ran towards the rubble and used his natural extreme strength to move large cement blocks and iron bars away. 

Blue ran towards the rubble to help out. Ink looked bored.

In the center of the collapsed building a blast of magic erupted. It flung debris towards the protesters. Ink used his giant brush to defend the crowd. A black and red Gaster Blaster emerged from the rubble.

"That's Error's Blaster! What's he doing here?" Dream grabbed Blue and retreated back. The Bitty frustrated about being picked up, but was still grateful for the attention.

Error emerged annoyed. He shielded Bitties with both his blue strings and the second Gaster Blaster. A flood of Bitties escaped the rubble. They ran towards the streets.

"Oh my! Seems as though the black skeleton saved the Bitties!" The local Mettaton stated to both his camera crew and the emergency services on the phone.

"Error! What are you doing here?" Dream yelled out.

"# I was here for the Bitties... Their shelter wasn't up to code!#" Error explained. 

"Lier!!! You never care! You just reck things!" Ink bellowed out. "You just destroy!"

"# No! I delete the unstable! This shelter, this AU would be stable if we make it!#" Error argued. 

Nightmare oozed out of the rubble as he held one of the Monster Shelter employees. Dust, Horror and Killer emerged out of the rubble to help the local Bitties. Horror carried a group of elderly Bitties, while Killer and Dust helped the young.

The protesters gathered up the local Bitties. The select few performed healing magic to the Bitties.

"This didn't turned out as planned." Nightmare shrugged as he set the Shelter employee down on the ground. He turned his attention towards the local Mettaton. "Mettaton, this is the employee I was referring to, the one helping the local politician funnel the tax payers money into illegal gambling. Causing the shelter to be neglected..."

"Nightmare, what is going on here? Are you stopping your-" Dream was cut off.

"No, there is always need of my work. There are so many fine details you miss in our duties as Guardians." Nightmare stated. "Details such as responsible recruitment of employees!" Nightmare turned his attention towards Blue. "Did you know that Blue's home AU is on the verge of collapse!" Nightmare growled.

"What? No...no... How?" Dream questioned. 

"# Blue is HIS AU's Sans! His human is still resetting! If the child is allowed to continue resetting, without the AU's Sans, it will collapse! #" Error entered the conversation. "# Blue is a Swap Sans, just ... Bitty sized. Check his stats if you don't believe me! #"

Dream slowly turned his attention to Blue, the Bitty still in his grasp. 

_______________________________

                       * STATS:

                           SANS THE SKELETON, ALSO KNOWN AS SANS THE MAGNIFICENT. IN TRAINING FOR THE ROYAL Guard...

_______________________________

Dream continued to read the Stats in disbelief. 

"Ink... What did you do!" Dream barked at his teammate.

"What? We needed an over powered Bitty of our own! And I found one! The people were forgetting that we're the good guys. Blue was needed to keep Nightmare's pets busy!" Ink said coldly.

"WAIT, IF MY AU WAS RESETTING, AND THE AU SANS IS SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER THE RESETS, WHY DON'T I REMEMBER THEM?" Blue demanded to know.

"# Because you're a Swap Sans. Your brother remembers instead. #" Error states.

Blue turned his attention to Error, "YOU SEEM FAMILIAR..." He put a hand to his head, as a pulse of pain shot through his skull.

"# You made the best Choco-tacos, you always offered them whenever I visited. You'd forget because of the Resets. I called you Mini Swap, because-#"

"BECAUSE I WASN'T A NORMAL BITTY..." Blue cuts Error off. "WHY AM I REMEMBERING YOU NOW?" he questioned.

"# Probably because how weak your connection to your Home AU is. You need to go home to stabilize your Home AU. #" he gave Blue a sympathetic look. "# I know by this point your brother misses you. #"

"PAPS... OH STARS MY BROTHER! I WANTED TO WORK WITH THE STARS SANS TO KEEP HIM SAFE!" Blue started to cry. "INK SAID HE COULDN'T REMEMBER WHERE I CAME FROM ..."

"# I know where your Home AU is. I can get you home before it's too late. #" Error said gently.

"Wait, how do we know Error is telling the truth? He could be lying to get rid of our Bitty!" Ink stomped his foot.

"# You hypocrite, whatever happened to not interfering with the *script?* #" Error growled.

"What script includes a Bitty as a plot point? Bitties are just background art!" He realized what he said, and covered his mouth.

Nightmare looked at Dream with sympathy. The Positive Guardian's look of shock was sending off ripples of Negativity that left a bitter taste in Nightmare's mouth. 

"Dream," Nightmare gently addressed his brother. "Error theorized that after Blue has spent enough time in his Home AU, it should be stable enough for Blue to go on missions every so often." Dream gave his brother a confused look, "It seems as though you care for your employee, and I know how difficult it can be to hire good help. But if I find out you or Ink abuse or harm your employee again, I will put a stop to it." He hissed.

"He's not an employee, he's a teammate and my friend...How long does Blue need to remain in his AU?" Dream reluctantly asked.

"# Two months! Don't you dare visit! Any interference will delay the AU's recovery! And IF he works for you again, he needs to go straight home after a mission!#" Error cuts in. He opens a portal. "# Arg! Enough chit chatting! Blue needs to go home now! #"

"DREAM... I...PLEASE DON'T FIRE ME, I WANT TO STILL BE A STARS SANS..." Blue started to tear up. "DREAM, THERE'S SO MUCH I WANT TO DO FOR THE MULTIVERSE, FOR YOU! PROMISE ME THAT IF I FORGET BECAUSE OF THE RESETS, YOU'LL STILL COME FOR ME!" Blue hugged Dream's hand. He was drowning in all the things he didn't confess to Dream. He was grateful for their friendship, but too many things went unsaid.

"I promise I'll come get you, even if you forget, we can just restart our friendship..." Dream started to cry.

Nightmare looked on in a mix of sympathy and annoyance. Each and every one of his employees, were irreplaceable. But the Negative Guardian made it a point to properly recruit them. As Nightmare thought about their teams, he made a mental note to aim to recruit another individual with AU travel capabilities.

______________________________

Mettaton and his crew continued to film and broadcast the chaos. The mix of the Gods and Guardian magic signatures help send the radio waves across the Multiverse. Much like radio waves into space. Invisible to the naked eye, but with the proper equipment, it could be detected.

Off in a distant AU, a Gaster was listening in with glee. The camera man showed Nightmare and his Bad Bitties.

One in particular peeked his interest. The one with the single red eye and hole in his skull.

"Finally found you..." His grin sliced through his face.

Chapter Text

Maybe it "runs in the family " But Dream grew attached to his Bitty companion. Blue understood him, more than any Monster on the Positive side. Blue made him smile, recharged his positivity batteries faster and more consistently than anyone else.

The Positive Guardian sighed. Dream had reflected on why he felt alone, even surrounded by other Monsters. Everyone wanted something. Apples, help, an alliance and his positive energy. But Blue...just wanted his friendship.

Ink suggested "getting" other Bitties, but it wouldn't work. Blue was his...Blue was his friend.

Dream glanced at the calendar. Error estimated Blue's Home AU would stabilize in two months. Even Science Sans was dragged into the calculations for his second opinion. No one was allowed to enter Blue's AU.

Each side agreed to let Blue's AU heal the two months, and each side chose a Neutral AU to be included into their territory. It did not surprise Dream that Nightmare chose an AU known for high quality Bitty merchandise.

There will be the normal battles, but, Dream was still happy for any truce.

Dream wanted to pick one of Blue's favorites. A quiet surface AU, by the coastline. But Ink rushed in and claimed a busy AU focused on music. Dream didn't fight it. He didn't know what to think of Ink anymore. His reckless behavior almost destroyed an innocent AU, but it also introduced Dream to Blue.

The Positivity Guardian should count this as a small victory. There was a truce between the two Gods and the two Guardians. Dream could only guess the motivations on preserving Blue's AU for Nightmare and Error.

Dream hoped that Ink could be redirected to acting more carefully. They were in this mess because Ink assumed that Blue was a normal Bitty. That he didn't have a script.

The Skeleton walked over to the freezer and opened it. He cradled an almost empty freezer bag. Carefully he opened it to retrieve one little Choco-taco. With a mix of hesitation and grace, Dream placed it in his mouth. He could feel the warm intent. Blue often made the ice cream treat for his friends.

He closed the bag and placed it gently into the freezer. Dream wanted to have the treats last until he could meet up with his dear friend again.

Dream mumbled, "I hope Blue is doing well...that his human isn't being cruel." He looked down at his hands, "I hope he remembers me... Stars that sounds selfish of me... "

For a brief moment, he was jealous of his brother. Surrounded by his "employees," But Dream knew better. He could feel how each Bitty made Nightmare more calm. There is a new peace within Nightmare. Dream regrets not understanding Nightmare better as children, before the Apple Incident.

The entire history of the Multiverse would be different if Dream was a better brother, or if Nightmare had his Bitties. Either way, it did Dream no good to dwell for too long on the past. He needed to find a way to stop the fighting. Maybe, the Bitties are the key.