Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

“Uhm. Hello? Who the fuck are you?” You squinted your eyes. “Wait… Sans, right?”

This weird skeleton monster, which popped in the middle of your living room while you were watching TV in your apartment, looked mildly bashful but unapologetic. “Oops! Sorry, just wanted to drop by this universe! Didn't know I'll be trespassing, hehe.” He was clad in… too much brown, definitely not in the jacket and shorts you know of.

“Who are you, again?” You blinked. “What did you say?” Did you hear that right?

“I’m—Well, honestly, not that important, I’m never gonna see you again—” He paused. “Wait, is that Season 3 of My Husband is a Mafia Boss?”

“…Yes?”

The skeleton scratched the back of his skull before deciding upon himself to make you scoot over from the couch and sit down. “I haven’t caught up, yet! The last season ended in a cliffhanger.”

You honestly don’t give a lot of fucks, but you were looking forward to your alone time for tonight so his appearance was frankly, not appreciated.

“Ehem, Sans…”

“Call me Ink!” he chirped happily, already tuned in to the TV and eating your chips.

“Okay, Ink. Why are you in my home? Without permission?” You tried not to be too judgy as you looked him up and down. “And do you just go barefoot anywhere?”

“SHUSHH!” He shushed you, almost covering your mouth, like you had the audacity to disturb him over this.

Well, he doesn’t seem dangerous. Monsters were never a danger here in your hometown.

It’s been a few years since the barrier broke. They’ve been integrating well and everything was peaceful. You’ve met Sans once; your company had required its employees to attend one of the monster’s Welcome Parties in the middle of town. He had cracked some jokes when he saw you stuffing your mouth with cinnamon-butterscotch pie, made by one of the monsters.

 Apparently, none of the humans have yet to touch monster food; you were the first one.

And then, that was it. You haven’t really bumped into him again and you were sure he hadn’t remembered you. But your first interaction with a monster left quite an impression on you so you thought of it fondly.

Something else happened that overlapped with the freedom of monsterkind. Some of the humans suddenly gained magic. Yours haven’t developed yet, but they said it could pop out randomly when you need it the most.

Honestly, do you really want superpowers right now? Your life was fairly simple and you had been accustomed to living alone.

There was a quick commercial break which you took as a chance to bombard Ink.

“So, how did you get in my apartment?”

“I teleported in,” he said in a duh tone. “Just let me finish the episode and I’ll go on my merry way. You’ll let me stay; you’re a Kindness soul. That’s like, your whole deal.”

You tried not to make a face. What does that mean, you were a Kindness soul? That doesn’t give him the right to just barge in and make himself at home.

Fortunately for you, Ink did leave after finishing the episode. He didn’t say goodbye or acknowledge you, just blipped out of existence. And puked some black, inky substance that was a hell to clean up. Which was… irksome. You usually don’t insult monsters but this was the first time you encountered one who irritated you and you hoped never to see him again.

Thankfully, you had the pleasure of not meeting him again.

But you did meet someone else who literally started the downward spiral that you called your life.

Months have passed since that incident. You’ve actually met Sans again at another company event and he remembered you briefly. You asked him if he could teleport. He seemed a bit miffed by your knowledge but said yes. You then asked him if he knew an Ink and he said no.

Well, that was the end of your research.

Both of you looked weirded out and decided to avoid each other for the rest of the event.

One night, you got home late because of overtime at work. You felt the tiredness in your bones and just wanted to scurry into your warm, comfy bed and doomscroll. Once you had arrived at your apartment, you switched on the lights…

…Only to find you weren’t alone.

You saw only the feet at first. They were bigger than you thought, and you didn’t even think those were feet upon first glance. Then the rest of the body.

It was another one of those skeleton monsters. Why did Sans say he and Papyrus were the only skeleton monsters when they keep popping up in your apartment?

He seemed to be asleep; loud snores came from the monster as his chest heaved up and down.

Your eyes were drawn to your kitchen. He had apparently raided all of your food as trash was strewn everywhere. You could see your leftover pizza box from last night already empty!

You could feel frustration once again bubble up inside of you as another trespasser dared to be entitled to your own home.

You were about to give him a piece of your mind when you suddenly saw the large gaping hole in his head. Shit, is he dead?!

You dropped to your knees, your hands immediately hovering over the hole as you tried to apply what you’ve been learning in Magic Training Class. You’ve only done a few sessions; you applied as soon as you realized you could heal yourself when you had cut your finger on accident once.

You weren’t a pro yet… you were considered an apprentice. But surely, you can try to give him basic first aid, or magic aid, right? You were not letting a monster dust in your home; that was your worst fear.

Your hands glowed green, trying to focus on your magic that was still unstable for usage, especially for you. Nonetheless, you had to try.

The skeleton chuckled, slow and deep. “hehe, i don’t think the most powerful mage can even… close that hole, human.”

You shrieked in surprise, dragging yourself back as the skeleton sat up. He was even bigger when he wasn’t lying down. “You scared the bejeezus out of me!” You paused. “…What do you mean, the hole is permanent?”

You shook your head, remembering that this was a trespasser. “How the hell did you get in my apartment? What do you want?”

The skeleton stood up, popping his back. “erm… i was just supposed to get intel on why… wait, why am i explaining to you?”

“This is my apartment. I deserve an explanation!”

You were sure monsters weren’t supposed to be… murder-y. But this one certainly does. He casually swung an axe over his shoulder, an axe that just appeared on sight and you froze in your position on the floor.

“seen a skeleton with a paintbrush ‘round here?”

Your brows furrowed. “Was that your friend? Could you tell him his puke is still stuck to my carpet and he needs to pay for cleani—”

The skeleton tilted his head, his grin growing taut. Your words died in your throat. Even amalgamates looked friendlier than him!

“he was here,” he muttered. “th’ boss would be happy to hear confirmation.”

You tried to find strength in your voice because there was no way in hell that you were going to let this monster leave just like that when you just finished grocery shopping a day ago. You don’t have a lot of money to spare! “H-hey, are you just gonna leave? After raiding my kitchen? You can’t just—”

He tsk-ed and in the next moment, he had swung his axe towards you, probably in an attempt to shut you up.

You screamed, immediately putting your hands up in defense and squeezing your eyes shut.

…

Was it done?

Were you bleeding on your apartment floor and killed by a monster with a soul made of love, hope, and compassion?

You peeked open one eye, only to find the skeleton a bit more annoyed now since you had just produced a green, translucent shield and the axe had hit the middle of it. He growled, surely about to pull out the axe and swing again but then his axe… disappeared. Poof. Gone. Nada.

You were more surprised with the shield actually, since you have never once been able to conjure one. It was discussed that it could be a possibility, given you were a Kindness soul, and it was one of the options you may have, depending on your magic.

“where’s my axe?” The monster grumbled, his eyelight distressingly focused on you.

“Why are you asking me? I thought you poofed it away?” Your voice was small. He seemed so angry about it that maybe he hadn’t poofed it away.

You could see he was trying to summon it but nothing was coming out. He glowered at you. “you have it. give it back.”

“Look, y’see, maybe I have it, maybe I don’t. I don’t know yet! I’m still developing my magical abilities and I don’t know if I have the power to make a giant killing axe disappear— Hey, calm down!”

You could see him getting ready to charge at you and you were sure that your shield might not be able to protect you that much. But it did appease you a bit since you have conjured another one at the height of your fear. “I’ll try to take it out. If I ever manage to figure it out. But I’m not yet well versed in magic & I might have to call someone—”

You tried to hide behind your couch when he started to walk towards you. “Stop doing that! Don’t kill me!        Or your axe might be gone forever!”

This made him pause and think. “…i don’t have time for this.”

You let out a shrill shriek, grabbing the nearest item you could find -a remote - and chucked it at him. It bounced off him as he blinked at you.

There was an awkward pause.

“you do zero damage.”

You took personal offense to that. “What?! Is it because I’m a healer? That’s so messed up. Healers can have a bit of offense and defense; I’ve seen it in films and games!”

He shook his head. “you don’t have the intent.”

“Oh.”

He started going after you again, but he seemed more… calm this time? Less murder-y? You still, of course, tried to evade him with your heart pounding in your throat.

“Stop chasing me and get out of my apartment! Or I’ll call the police! Or the Mages Association!”

All your running was futile because, first of all, you were already tired. Second of all, you don’t work out. Thirdly, he looked to have infinitely more energy than you. He had scooped you up on his arms like you weighed nothing and then slung you over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

Your stomach hurt at the impact but you were too busy trying to wriggle out of his iron grip. You could barely move an inch and hitting his wide back with your fists wasn’t doing much.

You were being kidnapped! By a fucking monster!!

“Where the hell are you taking me?! Put me down—mffggfg!” Your mouth suddenly closed on its own and you couldn’t take control of it.

“sorry, human. i'll take you… to my boss. he'll get my axe back.” He turned slightly towards you. “if you don’t want to break a bone or two, i suggest you don’t move.”

He exited to the main street, your vision swimming a little bit due to being upside down. Unfortunately for you, there were no other humans around.

Two pairs of feet suddenly came up into view and you had a rush of hope, trying your hardest to signal for help.

“whoa there, buddy. i didn’t know you were the type to be interested in humans, horror.” Is Horror his actual name?!

“they took my axe.”

“what? how'd they do that?”

You stopped struggling. Oh gods, there were three of them! One of them bent upside down to face you, and you were… mildly unsurprised when another skeleton monster came into view. Black streaks of… tears? Were falling from his empty sockets.

“aw, i think the human is a bit tongue-tied,” he mused.

You glared at him.

He giggled. “i think they’re mad, horror. you wanna play, human?”

“don’t touch the human,” Horror hissed. “if you break a bone and my axe is gone, i'm gonna dust you myself.”

“i thought boss said we can’t have any more human playthings!” The tear-streak skeleton pouted.

“why do you even want a human pet when they’re so easy to get everywhere? it's a mess to clean up.” The third of them finally spoke and came into view. And gee golly, another skeleton! He looked a bit similar to the second one, but he had his hood up, obscuring most of his face. Red eyelights bore onto you.

“i know. that’s why we stopped, remember? also they get so boring too fast, always trying to escape.”

Just hearing their conversation was enough for you to shut your eyes and think this is a dream, this is a dream, thisisadreamthisisadream

You were absolutely gonna fucking die if you let them take you to a second location.

You struggled even harder, panic in your bloodstream as your fear took on a new height. You tried to willed your magic to do something. Anything.

“they’re shaking like a worm,” the tear-streak monster said.

“killer… you scared them,” Horror pointed out, unamused.

Killer shrugged playfully, subtly waving his knife around. Knife?! Oh my god, you were gonna die. This was your last day.

 You were not aware you were doing it but you had managed to form a shield around yourself, expanding it a little for you to slip out of Horror’s hands and onto the cement. You dropped with an oof, feeling scrapes on your palm and knees as it took most of the fall.

You tried to stand up and run, only to fail miserably when a foot painfully stepped on your back, pushing you back down on the ground. Your jaw was still locked, unable to scream for help.

“tsk tsk, pal. you have my buddy’s axe. you don’t think we’re just gonna let you run away with it, right?” Killer taunted you from up above you, his knife gleaming at your peripheral vision.

He was pushed off, surprisingly, by Horror. “hands. off.” He picked you up once again, this time just carrying you like a suitcase, under his arm. “i don’t know if they can get my axe back if they’re damaged.”

Killer sighed a bit too dramatically. “you’re bein’ too careful. humans don’t break that easily!”

“yes, they do,” the third skeleton said.

“you should know when to take my side, dusty,” Killer cooed.

Dusty?

They have horrible cringe-ass names.

‘Dusty’ rolled his eyelights. “let’s just go. i’m done with this.” He laid one hand on Horror’s back and then the world lurched.

You passed out.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

You woke up in a bed. You blinked up at the unfamiliar ceiling with the large chandelier before your memory of a while ago flooded you. You sat up so quickly that you gave yourself a headache.

“Ow!” You rubbed the side of your head and looked down at where you were. You were on a massive king-sized bed. There might have been two of the mattresses stacked together.

Your feet were several feet in the air as you tried to get off, eyes wandering around the room. It was nothing too special; it was mahogany-gothic styled. Everything looked old-fashioned and rustic. There weren’t many personal things in here.

You saw a snow globe, a bright, red scarf on top of a dresser. And several socks were littered about. Mismatched.

You noticed your palm, it had been bandaged haphazardly, and when you unraveled it, some kind of antiseptic was slathered on it. Huh. You began to heal yourself, the scrapes disappearing completely.

You took a minute to get your bearings before hitting the floor. Oh, crap. Where were your crocs? Whatever, you can run barefoot.

First things first, you have to get out of here.

You didn’t bother looking around more. There were two doors in this room. One led to a bathroom with a massive tub, and the other, the exit!

You creaked it open slightly, looked around, and then booked it.

You were walking at first, then the next minute, you were running for your life, heart beating in your chest.

You ran down a pretty long and dark hallway, lit up only with sconces. You followed the long-ass rug that came along with it, your heavy footsteps echoing around. You believe your breathing was too loud.

There!

Gigantic doors were opened, the entrance to this… What is this place?

You were halfway to the exit, the light from it looked almost angelic compared to the rest of the gloomy hallway, when you heard something that sent a chill down your spine. There was a second set of footsteps right behind you.

You tried hard not to look back, but alas, your curiosity was a killer. Literally.

“Why are you chasing me?!” you almost screamed, fear taking over you.

“why are you running?” Killer asked. You think he’s going faster as he sped up. Oh no nononono. “you’re triggering my predator instincts.”

You tripped unceremoniously just as Killer leapt, his grin wide and manic and his knife pointed at you. He missed you slightly.

You were right in front of the exit. You could see a garden just outside the doors and a cloudy sky.

Killer lunged once again and you conjured a shield to counter him. Hoping a little bit that your magic will also eat up his weapon like you did with Horror’s.

As expected, his knife disappeared.

“It worked!” you said, a little too happy, with your murderer right in front of you.

Killer looked amused before he materialized another one of his knives and your smile dropped. “hehe, knife to meet you, human. now die.”

“W-what? I thought—” Killer swung down again, and you blocked with your shield. “Why can you conjure back a knife and the other guy can’t summon his axe?”

This made him pause, pressing the knife to his chin. “hm… you’re right.”

“It’s because Horror’s axe is not made of magic.” A new voice popped out of nowhere. Both of you turned to him, the monster who stepped in from outside. He closed both the doors with his tentacles, smushing your fire of hope. You wouldn’t have gotten out anyway if he had been outside this entire time. “Killer, get off our guest. I thought I told you that they’re off limits.”

Killer shrugged before rolling off you, his knife disappearing from his hand. “’m just havin’ fun. i wasn’t actually gonna kill them, boss.”

“What’s happening?” you asked, horrified by the new character and also Killer. He stopped attacking you so maybe that’s a plus.

“We will try to get my subordinate’s axe after breakfast,” the scary, goopy skeleton told you.

“Uhm… who are you again?”

“Ah, forgive my lapses. You can call me Nightmare.” He… talked like a respectable monster. “I am the master of the castle.” Castle?

You gulped. “And… you can order Killer not to kill me?” Killer huffed in indignation.

“Yes,” Nightmare sent him a pointed look. “He has orders not to kill you.”

“but—”

“—Or torment you,” Nightmare added.

He groaned, muttering, “no fun” as he walked off.

“Follow me, human. You must be starving.” Nightmare began to walk in the direction deeper into the castle. “We can exchange some words during breakfast.”

You looked towards the door, your gut telling you to run.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. We are not in your world. Exiting the grounds means you encounter other living… monsters that would not hesitate to eat you.”

“You mean I’m stuck here?” you asked blankly.

“Precisely.”

As much as you wanted to believe him to be lying, you also didn’t want to die horribly. And if this guy was able to pacify Killer, then maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to stick close to him.

You followed along, but your guard remained up as you observed around. You were starting to believe this really was a castle.

“You said we’re not in my world. What does that mean?”

“We are not in your universe. This is an alternate universe that is only accessible by specific individuals.”

“Alternate universe? Like… a different dimension?”

“Mayhaps.”

You think you get the gist of it. Somehow. “And you guys have that kind of superpower?”

“It’s the same with magic,” Nightmare responded.

“Okay. So, you guys are monsters. Like from the Underground.” You then remembered the question you’ve always wanted to ask. “You’re Sans, right?”

Nightmare hummed. “Perceptive, human. But it is not that simple. I am not from the usual Underground story, although my subordinates are alternate versions of Sans.”

“So, you’re different. But the others I’ve met are Sans.”

“Yes.”

You shook your head. “I’m going crazy.” You took a moment to process things, but honestly, at this point, with the emergence of monsters and you developing magic, this wasn’t too far off. And you’ve watched Spider-Man: No Way Home before. This was kinda like that, right?

You’ve been walking for several minutes, but you don’t think you'll stop any time soon.

“Am I going to be killed? I just want to know, since we’re on the topic of my many, many questions.”

“No.”

“Great. I should be relieved but I honestly do not feel relieved at all.” You tried to shake off your nerves. “Also, I really don’t know how I managed to make the axe disappear. I have yet to control my magic; all I really know how to do is heal. Maybe it’s not with me, maybe he left it at my world?”

Nightmare turned slightly to make eye contact with you. “It is with you, human. But you have sent it off to a pocket dimension that only you could reach.”

You opened your mouth to argue, only to then close it because you have no arguments whatsoever. “Oh.” You swallowed a thick lump in your throat. “There are only three of them, right? Killer, Horror, Dusty?”

“Dust,” he corrected. “Yes, only the three. I sometimes am able to recruit temporary members, but the three are the main core.”

You do not want to know who else. “And… what do they do?”

Nightmare tutted. “So many questions. It is irrelevant, human. It is better you do not know.”

You crossed your arms, hope flitting away. “Judging from their names, they’re likely killing. Monsters? Humans? …Yeah, you’re right, I don’t want to know. Maybe it’s better if I don’t know anything. Especially once you return me to my world.” You paused. “You are returning me, right…?”

“Of course, I am not uncivilized. I will see to it that you return home once you return Horror’s axe. He is deeply sentimental about it.”

After walking for what felt like miles, you were taken to a room with a huge dining table. Another chandelier was the only light source and there was a kitchen nearby, separated by a divider wall.

The three monsters were already sitting on their chairs; Horror was watching you expectantly, Killer had his feet up on the table and was picking his teeth with the knife, and Dust was turned away and hidden under his hood, but you could hear him muttering by himself.

You looked back at Nightmare.

Great team.

You weren’t judging.

Okay, only just a little bit.

Nightmare looked unbothered as he took his seat, pouring himself a mug of coffee with his tentacles. “Sit, human.”

“I have a name, y’know.”

“we don’t care,” Killer said.

You had to bite your own tongue so you wouldn’t snap at him. You instead looked around for available seats. There was one in between Nightmare and Horror. Or Dust and Killer. You don’t want to be anywhere near Killer right now or you’ll strangle him.

“Hey, big guy. Don’t kill me.” You tried not to flinch when you saw Horror’s big open crack again. “We’re on a truce, right?” you confirmed with Nightmare.

Nightmare was busy reading a book. “Yes.”

“sorry for… attacking you,” he apologized. He apologized?! “i was in a hurry.”

 “And so you thought… killing me was the correct thing?”

“not correct, but fastest.” He didn’t seem remorseful at all. Chilling.

There was food already served on the table. As much as it looked appetizing, you didn’t have much of an appetite. Being surrounded by murder skeletons does that. Horror surprised you by pushing a plate of scrambled eggs to you. You didn’t want to be rude, so you scooped just a few on your plate.

“just be glad y’er still alive, pet,” Killer taunted.

You scrunched your eyebrows. “Pet? Really? I am not your pet.”

“definitely not the first one,” he sang. “but you are different. nobody has breakfast with us on the first day. congrats!”

“If you must remember, I did try to escape.” You looked down at your feet. “Anyone knows where my shoes are?”

“Horror, please get their shoes,” Nightmare ordered. Horror left the table without any complaints. The other two skeletons began to serve themselves, gorging on food.

“I heard you ran into Ink in your universe,” Nightmare started.

You fought a grimace, but you were pretty sure you couldn’t stop it. “Oh. Yeah. I had hoped never to run into him again but—wait, is he part of your crew?”

Killer spat his drink, comically wiping his tears. “ink? part of our crew? now, that’s somethin’ i would love to see.”

You squinted your eyes at him. “Given his overdramatic reaction, Ink is not a part of your crew.”

“No,” Nightmare answered simply.

“But he also does not come from the Underground. Or from my world.”

“Correct.” Nightmare tilted his head. “How did you figure that out?”

“Erm, maybe cause your ‘subordinates’ are all wearing the same jacket that my Sans- my world’s Sans, I mean- is wearing. Ink wasn’t. And you’re,” slimy? gooey? gloppy? “Actually, now that I look closer, you are wearing the same jacket.”

“we’re all from the same base code,” Killer provided.

“I don’t know what that means,” you pointed out. “But I may, possibly, probably understand just a teeny bit.”

“The three of them came from an ‘Underground,” Nightmare explained, “but I don’t.”

“Where’d you come from, then?”

Nightmare went back to reading. “Irrelevant, human.”

You rolled your eyes. “Okay. Not dropping the mysterious act. Sure. So why does it matter if Ink ‘ran’ into my universe? Never mind the ‘ran into’, he practically appeared in the middle of my apartment—ehem, anyway. Is it a bad thing? Why are you gathering intel on that?”

“so many questions!” Killer complained, which you ignored completely.

“We were supposed to—”
“—call dibs on it first!” Killer interrupted.

Nightmare shot him a glare. “Yes, call ‘dibs’. His appearance doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but… Ink’s crew might protect it from being raided.”

“by us,” Killer added once again, drinking his coffee in one gulp.

“Yeah, I got that,” you told Killer. “Okay, so you guys ‘raid’ universes. And Ink’s crew ‘protects’. Raid for what? Protect from whom?”

“Irrelevant,” Nightmare once again concluded.

You pinched the bridge of your nose and then went ahead to pour yourself a cup of coffee. Maybe you were just insane. Or going insane at this point.

Horror returned with pink slippers.

“Uh. These aren’t mine.”

“yeah, it’s from the human before you,” Killer said, mouth full of pancakes.

“How many humans exactly were here before… me?” You blinked at Horror, who laid the slippers in front of you. “And why were they here?”

“we wanted a playmate!” Killer answered gleefully. “it was getting boring, i wanted something new.”

“didn’t last long,” Horror added. “they were scared out of their wits.”

“i bet boss thinks their fear was delicious though, so at least one of us had fun,” Killer grunted. “they’re usually shit-scared. always crying to go home. not fun at all.”

You tried not to let Killer’s words get to you. The slippers were a little big on you. “Where did my shoes go?”

“you dropped it,” Horror said, “when we took you here.”

You sighed. “Okay. I’ll probably regret asking. But what happened to the other humans?”

“They’re dead,” Nightmare answered for you. “Nobody lasts that long in here.”

“Stupid question. How did they die?”

“weeeeeell…” Killer was about to answer very specific incidents in detail when Nightmare held a tentacle up over his face.

“It’s best if you don’t know, human. Nothing you have to worry over since you are not staying here for long.” He gestured to the outside. “But a few had been eaten once they escaped to the outside.”

“Right. Outside.” You could barely stomach a spoonful of eggs. Even if it was melty, buttery, and flavorful, you couldn’t enjoy it. “I can only get out of here with your permission.”

Nightmare finished his meal and closed his book. “I will meet you outside in the courtyard at 2 pm. Whoever’s in charge of dishes, clean up.”

“W-wait!” You stood up. “You’re leaving me alone with them?”

Nightmare’s grin curled upwards. “They won’t bite.” He left the room.

Killer shook his head, “i can’t believe you wanted to stay with him more than us.”

“he’s more dangerous,” Horror supplied as he started stacking up the pile of dirty dishes. Seeing the murder skeletons do chores was… a sight, and you went along since you wanted to feel normal. Even if it was weird.

“At least he’s polite!”

“right. you felt safe from the god of negativity because he’s polite.” Dust had finally joined the conversation.

Killer slung an arm over his shoulder and squeezed tight. “dusty, my friend! you’re back!”

Dust pushed him away in irritation. “i wasn’t anywhere else.”

“You don’t talk much, do you?” you asked him to which he completely ignored you.

“he’s insane. delusional. suffers from visual and auditory hallucinations,” Killer said too excitedly. He gestured to Horror. “guess what this guy suffers from?”

You looked at Horror, who was watching you. “Uhm… amnesia?”

“yeah! short-term memory loss, mood swings, ya know the drift.” He pointed to himself proudly. “thank the stars i'm the only normal one.”

You don’t agree.

“you can go back to my room and wait until 2 pm. we'll wrap up here,” Horror said. “i'll call you when it’s time.”

“I don’t know how to get back to your room. This place is ridiculously huge and I’m bad with directions.”

Horror had left for the kitchen sink to wash the dishes. You followed behind him because, out of all three, you felt safer with him. Funny because he tried to kill you first. And Killer unfortunately followed behind you. Geez, this guy was really interested in the new shiny thing.

You offered to help him with the dishes. Horror declined. “nightmare will get mad.”

“By me washing dishes?” you asked, confused.

“by a guest washing dishes,” Killer corrected. “he takes his hosting capabilities seriously.”

Priorities. “He’s not being a very good host if I’m left here with you guys,” you murmured.

Killer snapped his fingers. “it’s ink’s fault you got pulled into this shit. you should beat him up when you see him again.”

“I just said I never wanted to see him again. What makes you think he will?”

Horror was less scary with gloves on and soap suds while washing the dishes. “he will. come and get you. they’ve had enough humans die in this place already.”

“That asshole is the reason why I’m here. Why did he appear at my apartment anyway?”

“yeah, that’s the spirit!” Killer sounded pleased. “beat the shit out of him!”

“And for the record, Horror, I did not steal your axe. I have no control over my magic yet.”

“…i know.”

You gaped at him. “You know?! And you tried to kill me anyway?!”

“hey, there’s no reasoning for killin’, y’know,” Killer responded. “if you get the urge, ya just do it.”

Horror took all the plates and put them on a rack to dry. “i was hungry & you took too long comin’ back.”

“That’s why you wanted to kill me? Because you’re grumpy on an empty stomach?”

They both quieted, as if you said something wrong. You felt guilty, like you’ve offended him somehow, but also remembered he tried to kill you.

“all the more reason to just spill your guts,” Killer spoke up first, still with his playful grin. “not very many humans survive horror’s attack. so you get a point from me.”

“I don’t need your points,” you told him. “I’ll get your axe back, Horror. So, I can go home and sleep this off. Live the rest of my life as a normal person and pretend this was a bad dream.”

“yeah, a real nightmare,” Killer said, snickering.

“that’s a bad one,” Horror gave feedback. You nodded along to Horror, judging Killer’s bad pun.

Killer crossed his arms. “everyone’s a critic.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

“I’m scared.”

You met up with Nightmare in the courtyard. Killer and Horror were also here. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was hidden beneath clouds, the ominous sound of crickets filled the background, and the trees swayed in the passing breeze.  

You pulled your clothes tighter. “I understand why Horror’s here, but why is Killer here?” you asked Nightmare. Horror stood there with a watchful eye while Killer waved his knife.

Nightmare gestured for Killer to stand in front of you. “Killer will trigger an Encounter. He needs the practice.”

“i still know how to trigger an encounter!” Killer said defensively. He moved toward the position in front of you.

“And I did mention you need practice.”

You raised a hand. “Stupid question. What’s an Encounter?”

The three of them looked at you like you’ve grown an extra head.

Nightmare crossed his arms. “They didn’t teach you this?”

You tapped your chin. It sounded familiar. “Well, I think I was supposed to learn it on my next lesson with a Mage but Horror kidnapped me.”

Killer’s smile looked awfully excited. “this is gonna be sooo fun.” There was a subtle signal from Nightmare before you felt something was off in the next second, the world falling away and covered in jet black darkness.

You and Killer faced off, with Nightmare and Horror off to the side and watching. You tried to keep your cool. “Uhm, is this an Encounter?” Geez, no warning or something?

“welcome to your first encounter!” Killer announced like an instructor. “if you look down, there are four buttons you may press. these are the battle buttons.”

“Battle buttons?” you repeated. You looked down. FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, MERCY.

“you can press ACT, pet.”

You ignored Killer’s name-calling. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Killer shrugged with his mocking grin. “you just have to.”

“Nightmare?” you called out.

Killer bit back his laughter. “he’s not gonna do anything. just press some buttons, damn.”

You pressed ACT. Your options were CHECK, THREATEN, COMPLIMENT, and FLIRT. You pressed CHECK.

*KILLER 1 ATK 1 DEF
*Preparing to attack

“Why does it say you’re prepar—” As soon as you lifted your head, Killer charged at you with his knife.

Your heart leapt in your throat, pure instinct creating a shield as you sidestepped as far as you could. He still hit your shield but not directly, with you flinching at the heavy hit. “You’re insane!”

Killer backed off again, shrugging as if he was just trying to play tag. “careful, i’ll think you’re comin’ on to me,” he teased.

“Why did you attack me?” You saw you’ve taken a bit of damage. “Oh my god, I can die in here?”

“duh,” Killer said as if you were supposed to know this. “i also let you have the first turn by checking me. no thank yous?”

“And then you attacked me on your turn?” you confirmed. “You’re messed up.”

“hey! i was just checking your reaction time.” Killer nodded like he was agreeing. “not bad.”

“I don’t want your compliments,” you spat.

“c’mon, attack me, too. aren't you curious?” he taunted. “i won’t be mad. promise.”

“That’s a fucked up thing to promise,” you murmured. “I don’t think I have a weapon. I’m a KINDNESS soul, remember?”

Killer snapped his fingers, and a knife suddenly appeared in your hand. “try it!”

Holding a knife felt wrong, like you weren’t supposed to have any weapons at all. You were the healer of a crew; you didn’t need to attack. “I don’t know…”

“oh, c’mon, stop bein’ a pussy and just try it. you’re not gonna kill me,” Killer said with displeasure. “it would be funny if you think you can harm me, though.”

It still feels wrong. But Killer did say you wouldn’t be able to harm him. You are curious.

You gave in, choosing ATTACK this time. Before you know it, you have taken a stance and drawn your arm back, building momentum. And then you threw the knife at him like a dart. He dodged it easily, the knife landing on the grass behind him. You released a breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding.

You clasped your hands together. You felt exhilarated. “That was fun!”

“that was lame!” If he had eyes, he would be rolling them right now. “you’re a long-range user, the lamest.”   

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” you defended.

“it’s lame,” he repeated, emphasizing the word. “it’s so lame that i have to ATTACK you again.”

“What?!”

Nightmare finally stepped in. “Killer, just do a CHECK and skip your turn.”

“but-!” He couldn’t argue; just crossed his arms and did a quick CHECK on you. “y/n. 0 atk, 10 def. they want to end the encounter badly.”

“Sounds about right,” you agreed.

Nightmare spoke again. “It should be your turn again, human. Please choose ITEMS.”

You followed Nightmare, chose ITEMS, and there it was! ‘Horror’s Axe’! You selected the axe, and then it materialized in your hand. It fell to the ground with a thump because that shit was damn heavy and you might’ve hurt your wrist.

“FLEE, Killer.”

“ugh!”

You watched Killer end the Encounter completely and the world’s colors burned your eyes. You were back in the courtyard and hearing the rustle of the trees finally made you feel relieved. “That was… educational.”

Horror looked to be skipping as he grabbed his axe. “thanks, little lamb.” He seemed so happy to be reunited with his axe.

“No problem?” you said, unsure. “Okay. I’m beat. I didn’t know that Encounters could drain your energy.”

“nah, i think that’s just nightmare,” Killer said dismissively.

Nightmare stepped closer to you, hands behind his back. “We’ll have dinner at 5. Would you like to stay? Horror will bring you back after dinner as promised if you decide to stay.”

“i'll make you something good for dinner,” Horror said, his red eye unblinking. “as sorry. and thanks.”

“That’s terribly… polite.” You might be questioning your decision-making skills. It’s not like Killer hasn’t had multiple attempts at killing you. But he hasn’t actually hit you yet, and you think you were capable of defending & healing yourself. Plus, hanging out with them wasn’t so bad. Maybe you can stay a couple more hours since you won’t see them again after today.

“Sure, why not?”

Nightmare locked himself in his office while you were free to roam the castle. Horror and Dust went to get groceries. So, you were stuck with, you guessed it, Killer.

“I don’t know why you have to follow me around.”

“hey, i don’t know either. who cares if you walked into a random room and got swallowed up by it? it’s not like we’re responsible for your life.”

You wanted to argue but, “What the hell do you mean I can get swallowed up by a random room?”

“do you wanna take your chances?” he playfully asked.

“No. I don’t trust you.”

“you hurt my feelings.” He pouted. “oh! d'you wanna know about the other pets we’ve had?”

“No,” you said, “I think I got enough information to know that they all died horrible deaths. And I don’t wanna know your death count.”

“eh, i don’t know my death count either.” He dismissed the thought as he waved a hand in the air. “stopped counting after ten.” He took one look at you and he quirked a browbone. “you wanna ask how many i killed, no?”

“It’s the first question that popped into my mind!” you said in defense. “Of course, I’m curious. But I still wanna sleep at night so let’s let it stay hypothetical.”

“can’t blame ya. i've been killin’ for nightmare for a long time, i probably have missing memories about it. sometimes it’s just autopilot.”

He said it like he had just read the morning newspaper. You shuddered. He was already desensitized to it. “Aren’t you… guilty?”

He let out a bark of laughter. “i stopped feelin’ anything years ago.”

You guess that made sense. “To be fair, something must’ve happened to make you… like this.” He used to be Sans, right? You can’t imagine what Sans had to go through to become him, Killer. But it must’ve really traumatized him.

“are you… empathizing with a mass murderer?”

You gave him a pointed look, your empathy suddenly dropping to zero. “Now that you say it like that, I can’t see the appeal.”

“you’re fun. i like you!” he chirped.   

“I think you just like harassing me.”

“yeah! you give out very entertaining reactions. and you haven’t cried or begged not be killed yet.” He twirled his knife at the tip of his finger. “humans always resort to begging. when they do that, they just suck out all of the fun.”

You looked down at your hand, closing your fist. “I think it helps with my mental knowing I can heal and put a shield up to protect myself.”

“stay with us! it's gonna get sooo boring when you’re gone again.”

“Buddy, I’ve been here for less than a day,” you said, putting a hand on your hip. “You’ll get bored with me as well and probably kill me in my sleep.”

“probably,” he echoed. “but it’ll be fun!”

“Not for me.”

“aw, c’mon. we’ll make it fun for you!”

“No, thank you. Also, I think it’s Nightmare’s call, not yours.”

“boss usually says yes. he just changed his mind because he hates changing furniture when blood gets on them.”

“That’s not reassuring.” You reached an intersection with stairs going down. “What’s downstairs?”

“i dunno. hallways change every hour.” Killer peered down at the dark abyss under the staircase.

“…What does that even mean?”

“magic castle. keep up.”

“What happens if I get lost and I’m not connected to the main castle anymore?”

“you get lost forever.”

There was an existential pit at the bottom of your stomach. To try and deviate the subject, you asked, “What’s the deal with Ink anyway?”

Killer had conjured another knife. Now, he’s holding two knives and was juggling them. “that is the guardian asshole of the universes.”

“I… have no idea what that means. Is there like… a constant threat he has to protect universes from?”

“us?” Killer supplied.

“Oh.”

“but we don’t end universes, that’s error’s job. we just create chaos.”

Who’s Error? “Why?”

He finally looked irritated with all your questions. “ugh! ask nightmare! we only work for him.” The two of you found yourselves standing outside once again. There was a large gate surrounding the perimeter of the area and the forest outside the main gates looked like it went on forever.

You looked around. Everything looked well-maintained, surprisingly. “Who takes care of the garden?”

“not me, that’s for sure.”

Does Nightmare do it? It was hard to imagine the guardian of negativity doing something mundane, like gardening. “Are you guys the only living things in this universe?”

“what the fuck does that even mean—” Killer turned around to see what you were looking at.

Lo and behold, there were two other Sanses who had walked right up the gates. One wore blue, the other yellow. You were sure they weren’t Ink, though.

“Our sources were right! A human is in danger!” the yellow Sans said, immediately equipping himself with a bow and arrow.

“FEAR NOT, HUMAN! WE ARE HERE TO RETRIEVE YOU!” the blue one exclaimed, opening the unlocked gate.

“Do you guys not lock that gate?” you asked Killer, unconsciously moving behind him to use him as a shield.

“locking the gate is unnecessary if they could just teleport in,” Killer grumbled, getting ready for an attack as he pulled out his knives. “hey dream. i haven’t seen you set foot in here for forever.”

“I am not here to confront my brother, only to save the human,” the yellow one, Dream, replied. He drew back an arrow, one eye closing as he aimed. Unfortunately, you were also in his line of sight.

“I don’t think I need saving—” A new set of hands wrapped around your waist. “Killer!” You reached out to him for help before the floor disappeared from underneath you.

Killer was barely able to turn around before he vanished from your sight.

Or you vanished from his sight.

When you opened your eyes, you were in the middle of a sidewalk. The sun was up and shining, not the same gloomy environment of Nightmare’s castle. “Where are we?”

“I TOOK YOU TO MY UNIVERSE FOR NOW!” It was the blue guy who had snatched you, meaning Killer had been left to deal with Dream. “YOU MUST HAVE BEEN SO SCARED. I APOLOGIZE IF THEY’D INDUCED ANY TRAUMA TO YOU, HUMAN.”

You frowned. “Not… really. They weren’t that bad.”

He looked surprised. “REALLY? THEY DIDN’T HURT YOU OR ANYTHING?”

“Well, they tried to kill me.” He looked sorry for you. “But I’m alive. So, they practically failed.”

“I AM GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE.” He reached out a hand for a handshake. “SORRY, I’M BLUE. YOU ARE?”

“Y/N.” Finally, someone asked you your name. “Your name’s Blue?”

“YES!” Blue posed, “YOU CAN’T FORGET IT.” He gestured to his outfit, “VERY EASY TO REMEMBER.”

You snorted. “I take it you’re from Ink’s crew?”

“THE STAR SANSES, YES!” His eyes formed into stars as he vibrated in excitement. “YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT US?”

Star Sanses? What the hell kinda name is that? “From Nightmare, yes.”

He deflated. “NIGHTMARE TOLD YOU. ABOUT US?”

“Yes, I asked and he answered nicely.”

He shook his head, worry evident on his face. “NIGHTMARE’S FAR FROM NICE, HUMAN. ARE YOU SURE YOU WEREN’T… HURT OR BRAINWASHED?”

You raised an eyebrow. You decided to play it safe. “Yes, I am quite sure. He also promised to bring me back home, actually. So, there was no need to save me.”

“YOU DON’T KNOW THAT, Y/N. NIGHTMARE IS A VERY GOOD LIAR.” Blue offered a reassuring smile. “LET ME TAKE YOU BACK HOME. I BELIEVE INK TOLD ME YOUR COORDINATES.”

“Wait, are we gonna do the teleporting act again?”

“YES. WHY? DOES IT BOTHER YOU?”

You nodded. “Yep, I feel kinda queasy.”

“THEN YOU CAN PROBABLY TAKE ONE MORE TRIP. HOLD YOUR BREATH, HUMAN!”

You didn’t have many chances to prepare when Blue had a tight grip around you again and your vision started swimming.

When you opened your eyes, you were in front of your apartment. “Oh! I’m exactly back home. Uhm, thanks.”

“THERE IS A VERY HIGH CHANCE THEY’LL COME AFTER YOU AGAIN, Y/N. BUT THEY COULD ALSO JUST FORGET ABOUT YOU AND MOVE ON. YOU WEREN’T THE FIRST HUMAN WE SAVED FROM THE CASTLE. NONETHELESS, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF NEEDED.” He handed you a business card.

You nodded your head as you took the card from him. “Sure. Wait. If you’re from a different universe, how will I reach you?”

“MY PHONE WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE IT. IT’S BEEN OPTIMIZED,” Blue chuckled, his sockets crinkling. “STAY SAFE, HUMAN! REMEMBER THAT GOOD TRIUMPHS EVIL!”

And then he was gone.

You went back to your apartment, saving Blue’s contact on your phone. When you looked up, you remembered how much of a mess it was left in when Horror kidnapped you yesterday.

But now, everything was cleaned up. You checked your pantry and refrigerator, and it was full of different stocks of food. Even the expensive ones. You gasped lightly, a stack of green grapes and mangoes!

“Ok, Horror. I forgive you,” you said to no one in particular.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

A month has officially passed since you were kidnapped. You were feeling kinda neglected, you don’t know why you thought that they’d drop by to visit you. It was just a short while, but they were your first monster friends. That also tried to kill you.

You get attached too fast.

Blue may be right, though. Maybe they’ve moved on after you. Maybe Killer’s taunting another human in your place.

You sighed. You’ve never had many friends growing up. So, no matter how messed up it was, they were the closest thing you could call friends.

Yep, the mass murderers.

Your friends.

And getting whisked to another universe was the most interesting and exciting thing that happened in your existence.

Get a grip, Y/N.

You continued with the Magic Training Classes, and eventually you learned from official sources on how to start Encounters and what to expect. But you already knew what to expect.

You also were able to practice and focus more on healing and setting up your shield on command. It was still difficult, and you relied more on your instinct and feeling of fear at the moment than anything else. Which the mages said were bad. You had to take control of them whenever you wanted to.

You were provided a list of monster food you need to eat more of to supply your magic. They also introduced a type of diluted liquid magic that you could use in your cooking to make it ‘monster food’.

So, it was just a lot of learning for the past month while trying not to think about the murder skeletons.

You had a run-in with Sans again. He was manning a random coffee booth outside your office one time and he remembered you again. He struck up small talk with you while making your coffee.

He seemed nice. And normal. He talked about Papyrus, his brother, whom you’ve never seen before, but he mentioned was the cool monster ambassador alongside the angel of monsterkind.

You do see him being the past version of the murder skeletons. It was still actually kinda far off but if you try hard enough, you could see it. The grin, the gestures, the body language. He was just less… murder-y.

You didn’t see him again after that.

You debated texting Blue to let him know you were okay. But then scrapped it altogether. You didn’t want to bother him if you weren’t ‘in trouble’.

When another two peaceful weeks passed, you were starting to believe that your life had gone back to normal. And that you should probably try making friends harder so you don’t end up wishing that Killer and the others were doing okay and alive.

You had just changed into your pajamas and were preparing to sleep when you exited the bathroom and heard a loud crash in your living room.

And maybe all your wishful thinking came true because, surprise, surprise, there were two bloody skeletons on the floor.

“What the fuck?” You froze in fear as you saw Killer and Dust’s familiar faces, both covered in blood and you don’t wanna know what else.

“’m fine,” Killer said, leaving Dust on the floor and grabbing you on your forearm, blood streaks marking your newly worn pajamas. “help him.”

You moved without hesitation, kneeling beside Dust and placing your hands on top of his chest where the bleeding was. “Did you just crash in my apartment like I’m an on-call healer?”

Killer looked rough. “yeah, yeah, less yappin’, more healin’.”

You tried your best, but Dust’s injury seemed deep and you had never once attempted to heal an injury this severe.

“What the hell even happened?”

Killer rubbed your head like you were a cat. You stared back at him when you saw his hands were dripping with blood and he just rubbed your head with it. After you’d had your shower. “d’you have any monster food?” He began to search the pantry without waiting for your answer.

You think you were halfway closing Dust’s wound, but you could feel your magic draining fast. You were already on the verge of burning out if you kept going. You couldn’t see the state of his wound with all the clothes.

You attempted to remove it, only for Dust to grab your hand so tightly that he could almost break it, and an ugly scowl formed on his face.

Oops. First lesson in healing magic. Always say what you were about to do out loud. “I need more info on your injury, Dust. I need to move your clothes. Is that okay?”

“let the healer pull your clothes off, pal!” Killer shouted from the kitchen with his mouth full.

Dust’s eyes burned red but eventually loosened his grip on you, his chest heaving up and down.

You moved his clothes again, this time letting him know step-by-step what you were doing. You finally have vision of the injury. It had stopped bleeding but there was a crack underneath that you didn’t know if was an old injury or a new one.

You continued to pour healing magic over him, although you felt yourself slipping and getting tired fast. You could see you only needed a little bit more…

Killer grabbed your hands, effectively stopping your magic. “you’re gonna burn yourself out, pet.” Before you could argue, he pushed a muffin from Muffet’s into your mouth. “eat.”

As you grunted and began chewing the food, Killer knelt beside Dust, inspecting his injury. “you did well here. great job, team!” Killer raised a hand out to you for a high-five.

You ignored him, chewing and then swallowing what was in your mouth. “What even happened to you guys?”

Killer high-fived himself after you left him hanging. “we were out on a mission. and we got our ass beaten.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Am I supposed to expect any of you three crashing in my apartment when you need my healing?”

“well what good is it to have you as a healer if you can’t heal us?”

“I’m not your healer,” you stressed out. “What do I get from helping you guys?”

You didn’t notice it but Killer had taken out his knife and pointed its tip at your cheek. You froze in your spot. “how about not gettin’ killed?” Black tar poured out more out of his sockets.

All your instincts were screaming at you to run. But you didn’t. “You enjoy my company too much to kill me.”

Killer looked stunned and then barked out a laugh. “hah! you're funny. you're really banking your life on that?”

“You could go to any other healer in the hundreds of universes you can visit. But you went to me. And I know you could’ve come back and killed me any time you wanted. But you didn’t.”

Yeah… he was right, you were totally bluffing. You were trying to imply that these murder skeletons didn’t want to kill you because they liked you. For now, at least.

He stared at you for a full minute. Before his knife disappeared and he put his hands inside his pockets. “i'll play with you, little ladybug. what do you want in exchange of your services?”

You stopped holding your breath. “If you don’t kill me, I might die from a heart attack.”

“oh ho ho, i'm not giving you permission to die unless it’s in my hands.”

“Romantic,” you said in disdain. “I want a full pantry every week.”

Killer scoffed. “every week? we don’t even know if we’ll come here that often.”

“Okay, how about for the next 5 days on the day you came? Please, these groceries will save me money.”

Killer thought about it for a second before giving in. “okay. deal.”

“I also want more treats from Muffet’s and monster food. Oh, and mangoes.”

“now you’re just stretchin’ it.”

After checking if Dust was stable, he had passed out on your floor. And Killer looked like he’d eaten half of your magic food. Those were expensive as fuck!

You let it go, placating yourself that you have his word that he’ll replace it. Then you went to get a second shower because damn him, your hair was sticking everywhere and there was some random person’s blood on you.

After the shower, you went to check on them in the living room. Killer had been running around the place because there were literally bloody footsteps and dust all over your apartment.

“Killer, you shit, go take a shower and stop making a mess of my place! I just cleaned up!”

Killer was sitting on the counter and biting an apple. He chucked the half-bitten apple at you.

“Shower. Now.”

“you’re so fussy.”

“I’d like my place clean of evidence, please. And you’re smearing it all over the place.”

You hand him a towel as he begrudgingly walked to your bathroom. While he was in there, you tried to clean the place up as best you could, ignoring the dust sticking on your palm or how many times you needed to wipe down a bloodstain.

Dust hasn’t moved; his jacket and t-shirt were tattered. You probably have an extra shirt that fits him. You found a graphic T-shirt that he could use. And also, another one for Killer.

When Killer exited the bathroom, you saw he had discarded his shirt somewhere but was still holding on to his jacket. You didn’t know what you expected from a skeleton monster but… yep, he’s all skeleton, ribs and all.

You handed him the t-shirt, and he looked dumbfounded that you were doing a nice thing for him. “I don’t use it anymore. It’s basically a rag now.”

He gave you a look, taking the shirt.

You pointed to Dust. “Do you think he’s able to take a bath?”

Killer snorted. “sure, if you don’t value your life.”

“Okay. Fine. I won’t touch him.” You settled on placing the extra shirt near him. “Is Horror not with you?”

“he went ahead first to inform nightmare ‘bout the mission. they know where we are.” Killer sat down on your couch. “lemme crash here, i'll wait for dust to come to. he throws a little tantrum if you touch him without permission.”

He had a sinister grin on his face. “you might even get blasted away.”

Okay, that sounded like a warning.

You sat down next to him. Unexpectedly, you snatched his hand. “what the— d’you wanna die?”

“Don’t be dramatic.”  You saw he had a big scratch on his forearm. “You’re injured, too.”

“’m fine, i'm not gonna bleed to death on your carpet.”

Before he could complain any further, you were already healing him.

“you’re out of magic,” he stated, mellowed down from his usual demeanor.

“I can still do this.” The crack only halfway closed when he pulled his arm, gently pushing your hands away.

“’m fine, you’re not taking magic burnout seriously. you're gonna feel it in your bones,” he said. “go eat some more monster food.”

You huffed. “I can handle a weeny injury.” You stood up, only for you to suddenly feel lightheaded.

Killer’s cackle was annoying, “told ya. eat some monster food or you’ll regret it in the morning.”

You yawned. “Mkay. I’m gonna sleep. Don’t kill me.”

“no promises~”

When you woke up the next morning, they were already gone. And your kitchen was fully stocked.

Thank God for murder skeletons doing your groceries.

When you came home that day, you were not expecting to see Killer and Horror lounging about in your apartment.

“If you had told me you guys were here, I would’ve prepared something.”

Horror walked up to you, his red eyelight dilated. He raised his large hand to you and you… took it? It was heavy.

“What is it?”

“he wants you to heal his boo-boo,” Killer stated.

You looked to Horror who was watching you eagerly. You checked his hand and forearm, and then flipped his hand. Oh. There was a small gash on his palm. You narrowed your eyes at him. “Monster food can heal this.”

Horror was still watching you.

You did so without any complaints. It was healed in no time. “Good as new!”

“thank you.”

At least someone knew how to say thank you. “No problem! Sorry for disappearing from your dinner, Horror. I was actually looking forward to it. But the ‘Star Sanses’ whisked me away, without permission.”

“they ruined our dinner,” Horror muttered. “i prepared roast beef.”

“it was delicious,” Killer added. “too bad you didn’t get any. more for me.”

“How’d yours and Dream’s fight go?”

Killer jumped on your counter and crossed his legs while playing with the knives. “it’s barely a fight. they just distracted me long enough to get you.”

“What? So, there wasn’t a fight and I missed Horror’s dinner.” You shook your head. “Bummer.”

You went to the kitchen to look for something to serve them when you realized that something was already cooking. “Who’s cooking?”

“horror.” Killer pointed to him with the tip of his knife. “it’s been going on for forever, i'm so hungry.”

“still needs 15 minutes,” Horror said.

“You made me dinner?” you cooed. “Because I missed it the first time?”

“he made us dinner,” Killer interrupted.

You completely ignored Killer. “You didn’t have to, Horror. But thank you, it smells good!” Even though your survival instinct was screaming at you not to eat it, you didn’t want to be rude. Plus, you had already tried some food at the castle. If they wanted to poison you, they should’ve already.

Horror looked pleased as he went to check on his cooking.

“Where’s Dust?”

“still recovering,” Killer answered. “says ‘thank you’ by the way.”

“No, he did not,” you said with a scoff. “Horror’s the only one who thanks me properly.”

Killer leaned backward. “being polite does not mean they wouldn’t kill you.”

“Well, at least they’re being polite even if they’ll kill me!”

Killer crossed his arms and started grumbling under his breath.

“….Fine. You did say thank you indirectly. I’ll take it.”

“see? did you have to throw a fit about it first?”

You glared at him as you strangled him in your mind. You felt a little bit better.

Horror served the food and you prepared the plates and utensils. You even had to ask Killer a dozen times before he jumped off the counter to make space for food.

Dinner for today was, cue drumroll, hotpot!

You and Horror sat on one side of the counter with Killer on the other.

Your mouth was already watering as you waited for Horror to serve himself. Only to give his bowl to you, AWWW.

“Thank you!” you beamed. Killer looked annoyed that you looked so happy.

“ugh, your excitement is a sore eye.”

“Hey, you’re the only one ruining this dinner, Killer. Horror and I are enjoying ourselves plenty. Also, you don’t have eyes.”

“does, too!”

“Does not.”

“does, too! just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there!”

You turned to Horror. “How about you, big guy? Your other eye is missing, right?”

Horror simply replied, “yes.”

“See!”

Killer sneered. “we’re different!”

You were deliberately obtuse, “I thought you’re both a Sans?”

Horror started chuckling low.

Killer waved his knife at you, narrowing his sockets. “you make me sick.”

You took the win, promptly enjoying your hotpot for the next minute.

You’ve been having meals all by yourself your whole life. Even with your questionable company, you felt warm and full.

“I have a weird question.”

“all your questions are weird questions,” Killer pointed out.

“Why are you hanging out with me?”

“you’re flattering yourself. who said we wanted to hang out with you? we just need your healing magic.”

You scrunched your brows. “You didn’t come here for my services, though.”

“what d’you mean? you healed horror’s wound.” You looked at Horror. Killer leaned on his fist against the counter. “he just wants to be included.”

“it’s a good thing i didn’t kill you,” Horror spoke up, his tone sounding happier than usual. “it would’ve been a waste.”

“pfft, we’ve survived all this time without them. you're a drama king.”

Horror’s grin didn’t change as he swung up his axe that appeared out of nowhere and deftly pushed Killer off his high chair using the edge of the axe.