Chapter Text
The room is silent as the three skeletons stare at each other. Nightmare and Killer stand across the coffee table while ‘Horror’, as Killer mentally dubbed him, takes up almost the entire couch by himself. His hand still stuffed deep into his dead socket and his living eyelight's pupil a pinprick.
Horror doesn't know how he ended up on the couch. Doesn't know how these people got into his little safe haven. Doesn’t know what they told Papyrus to come in and be handed water. Doesn't know what they're planning or when.
He's scared.
Scared for his brother, for the few people who still care about him. Scared of what will happen if he can't protect the little good left in his life.
And so here he is, sitting on his couch in front of two people who wear his face like a disgusting and morbid mask.
Nightmare breaks the silence first, as always. “Sans, we're here to offer you a chance to get out of this… Place.” He struggles to find a nicer word than ‘shit-hole’ or ‘dead end universe’.
Horror lets out a guttural growl, staring Nightmare down. “No.” He says flatly. “Won't leave… Brother.”
Nightmare's face shifts into what he hoped was a more gentle smile than the one he normally wore. “Oh, I know. I extend this offer to him too, in a different form that is.”
At that, Horror perks up a little, grip on his socket and clothing loosening just a tad.
“In exchange for you working for me, your brother will be placed in a safe place with everything he could ever need. Food, housing, warmth.” He prattles off, eyeing the way Horror seems more and more interested in what Nightmare was saying.
“What… do I have…” Horror takes a small breath. “What do I… have to do..?” He asks, almost hopeful.
Nightmare's grin sharpens. “You will be working as my subordinate. Doing what I ask when I ask with no questions. You seem rather adept at killing, and we will put that to good use.”
Horror's face twists into a sneer as Nightmare speaks, clearly rather opposed to what he was being asked of.
“But your brother will have anything he could ever ask for, and more. He'll be placed in a safe haven, a Verse for refugees and people with nowhere else to go. You can visit whenever you want, to prove that Papyrus is doing well.”
“What about… Me?” Horror asks.
“Oh, well you will live with me. You’ll have your own room, own kitchen and can do as you please during downtime.”
Horror stares at the abyssal skeleton. “Promise?” He asks hesitantly.
“I don't do ‘promises’ anymore.” Nightmare rolls his good eye.
The sneer that Horror gives Nightmare makes him smirk.
“Oh, but you haven't let me finish. I don't do promises, anymore, however, I will make this an exception; and better than a pathetic verbal contract.”
Horror's eye rakes over Nightmare, eye socket narrowed. “What do… What do you mean…”
Nightmare says nothing as he offers his hand to the large skeleton. A beat passes and the room grows a little dark. Dark, muddy and almost black teal licks at Nightmare's hand, a flame on wood.
“How about a SOUL-bound promise? While I don't have a SOUL in the technical sense, a SOUL-binding promise affects me the same way.”
Horror looks him up and down. “Where's… your SOUL?” He asks.
Nightmare can't help but to laugh a little at that. “You know neither of us like to show off our SOULS.”
“Got me there..” Horror’s own hand lights up in a hard to see cyan, tinting his bones the faintest shade of blue.
Hands clasp and magic pulses through the room. and within seconds, the colors of their magic being forced together. The colors bend and warp, almost refusing to take to each other until Horror's grip tightens and forces the last of his magic pool into his hand. With the magic taken and their promise bound, they let their hands fall to their sides again.
“Let me tell… Paps.” He pulls his other hand out of his socket as he begins making his way to the kitchen where papyrus had been softly humming to himself.
Nightmare turns to Killer. “He will be quite the valuable asset. You will treat him as you would me.” Nightmare orders.
“But look at him! He's a freak!” Killer whispers at his boss.
“Aren't we all?”
Killer clicks his tongue, rolling his head in lue of his lack of eyelights. He picks at lint and dust clinging to his jacket as the faint sounds of Horror and his brother slowly come to a close.
The two brothers walk out of the living room, Papyrus on the verge of tears as he smiles widely at Nightmare and Killer.
“THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THIS.” He kneels down in front of Nightmare to try to be more eye level with him. “PLEASE TREAT MY DEAR BROTHER KINDLY. HE CAN GET STRESSED VERY EASILY, AND WHEN HE GETS STRESSED HE HAS TROUBLE SPEAKING AND HE CAN'T REMEMBER A LOT OF WHAT HAPPENED BACK BEFORE ALL OF THIS-” Papyrus is cut off when Horror places his hand on his shoulder, smiling gently at him.
Papyrus gives him a gentle nod, looking back at Nightmare. “PLEASE, KEEP HIM SAFE. HE IS… ALL I HAVE LEFT.” Papyrus says softly then stands up, dusting himself off before taking his place behind his brother, tucking his hands behind his back. They stand off to the side, backs to the wall of the house they once called home.
“Shall we make way, then?” Nightmare asks, nodding to the two giant skeletons.
Horror pulls Papyrus’ hand into his own, squeezing it gently. Papyrus glances down at him, smiling widely and squeezes back. A silent promise between the two, one that says they’re going to be alright, one that says they’re finally saved. One that says they’ll protect each other; just like they always do.
Nightmare gives Killer a nod, letting his bodyguard step forward. With a grin on his face and his beloved knife in hand he slashes it through the air, warping the fabric of reality against the edge of his blade. The sound of clothing tearing chimes out as a portal is opened.
“Come, let’s get your brother settled in first.” Nightmare offers to let the two of them go first, but with clear hesitance he nods in understanding. “Follow me then.”
Killer takes the first step through the portal, followed by Nightmare and after a short second, Horror and Papyrus hesitantly make their own way through.
They weren’t sure what to expect. Perhaps a bottomless pit, maybe a worse version of their own universe, or even just being outright slaughtered.
What they don’t expect is the surface. A surface, definitely not their own. A beautiful neighborhood surrounds them, all kinds of different versions of people they know litter the well maintained roads and sidewalks. The bright sun hurts Horror’s head and eye, causing him to squint.
A couple of the people around them stop, staring at them and begin to whisper to each other. Horror can see his brother shrinking into himself, hunching lower and lower to make himself as small as possible. A hand comes up to rub his arm as he looks at the ground.
Horror’s eye looks around, glaring down and sneering at the people looking but they don’t make any change in their actions.
“I Don’t Like That They’re Staring At Ue…” Papyrus says quietly, sounding like he’s on the verge of tears. He knows he’s scary, knows that he’s not the same charming skeleton he used to be ten years ago.
“They’re not, don’t worry.” Nightmare says matter of factly. “While this universe is a safe haven for anyone, it’s a rare and uncomfortable sight to see someone like me here.” Nightmare begins walking down the street.
“Why’s That?” Papyrus asks, following him with the other two in tow.
Nightmare chuckles. “I destroy universes. I’m one of the reasons this place exists.” The group falls quiet, festering an uncomfortable silence around the skeletons.
The crunching of their shoes on the rocks beneath them muddy the tension between them. A loud knock completely breaks it.
Horror and Papyrus’ heads snap up to see a large sign above a door that reads “WELCOME COMMITTEE" in careful handwriting. Along with it seem to see balloons, and party streamers. Horror's eye sockets narrow at it, distrusting of any of this. Voices talk to each other and the sound of excited running interrupts Horror's thoughts as the door is all but swung open.
“Hey! Glad to see you.” A voice chimes.
A ping of recognition forces Horror's eye down at the person in front of them. A young human- one that couldn’t be older than seventeen stands in the open doorway. A blue sweater with a single pink stripe is tied around their waist. They wear a plain white tank top and a pair of shorts.
Horror's hands twitch at his sides for reasons he can't understand. A careful hand is placed on his shoulder and he looks at it to see the dirty orange glove of his brother.
Papyrus’s face is soaked in worry, eyeing his older brother. Horror understands that his brother knows something he himself didn’t. There's a look in his narrow sockets that tells Horror he doesn't need to know. Horror places his hand over Papyrus’.
“You must be our new neighbor. Papyrus, right?” The human asks, offering their hand out to him.
“Y-Yes. I Am Papyrus.” He crouches down, even still dwarfing the human as he ever so carefully takes their hand, shaking it.
They look over him, their almost reddish brown eyes analyzing him. Humming, they smile widely.
“Nice to meet you! I'm Frisk, I'm the lead of the welcome committee in this sector. It's nice to finally meet you.” From behind Frisk, two more skeletons show themselves.
“WOWIE! YOU'RE BIGGER THAN WE EXPECTED. WE'LL NEED TO MAKE SOME RENOVATIONS TO YOUR HOUSE.” A smaller, more put together version of Papyrus greets.
“careful with your words there, paps. he might be a little nerve-ous.” Yet another familiar voice chimes, causing the other Papyrus to groan.
Frisk shakes their head a little. “Don't mind them. They're both from incomplete verses and are still getting used to themselves. Why don't I show you your new home?” Frisk asks, stepping outside the door and closes it gently behind them.
Horror winces at a foggy, painful memory of something he couldn't quite place. Clutching his skull, he forces it out of his head, hand now resting in his socket.
“Do I… Do I Stand Out Too Much?” Papyrus asks, voice shaking as he hunches in on himself even more than before, pulling his tattered scarf over his mouth to try to hide the bloodied and mangled teeth.
Frisk places a hand on his arm, smiling up at the skeleton reassuringly. “Not at all. We have such a variety of universes here that you'll fit right in, even if you're a little different than some of our neighbors.” Their voice is soft, sympathy and understanding coating their voice. “We made this place for anyone to have a home to come back to. Coded it so carefully that even the duplicates we have don't combine and fuse. That was hard, though.”
They can tell their words aren't quite making it through to him, so they change angles. “How about I introduce you to someone you might have a lot in common with?”
Papyrus only nods, continuing to hold the scarf over his mouth, eyeing the ground beneath them.
“Wonderful. Let's get you to your house, then.” With a turn, they begin walking to the street, the group following in tow once more.