(Gore and violence warning.)

One o'clock in the morning. Almost witching hour, for some, but it is.......tart of a new opportunity for those .................te shift at the HOLOMAKER factory. Lucky souls from bot.........er and underground are welco...........oin the force that....

.... You were lined up with a group of humans, armed to the teeth with weapons and blunt objects. The factory was dark and the machines were dead as the night outside of the building. One of the humans turned to you, tongue licking their teeth and eyes hungry for blood.

"Find them all." It growled, the voice splitting into some strange demonic gargle. "Let's make some fucking powder."

They all ran into different directions, and you stood there, awestruck and nailed bat in hand, as you heard the shrieks, roars, and screams of monsters ring through the factory floor. You ran to the far right corner and hid away from the massacre, and in the corner you felt something brush up against you. Turning you saw Frisk, eyes wide and lips trembling.

"I told her I wouldn't do it." She whispered through large tears. "I promised I would never hurt a soul."

The way she spoke- desperate, shaky, mindless- forced you away and soon you were running for the warehouse.

"Sans." You heard yourself hiss out loud. "I have to find him. I have to find him."

Something yanked you into an open box of parts, and it was a face you could barely recognize.

-Are you human?-

It asked with an urgent tone, then disappeared as the shouting of more men and women came flooding toward you. You shrank further into the pile of plastic benches, feeling your head go light as you started to hyperventilate, chest beating wildly as they stepped closer and closer to you. You felt something grow hot, and you looked down to see your hand burning with its magical flame.

"Monster!" A man was standing just outside the box and was staring at you with white, glowing eyes. He reached in as you screamed, taking your burning hand and yanking it toward him. You flew out of the box and he held you down, licking his lips and breathing heavily over you. You kicked and shrieked as more circled you, groping and handling their choice of arms and licking the dust off of their hands with a senseless lust.

"Stop! I'm not a monster... I'm not a monster..." Your sight went hazy as you started to faint, still flailing your legs to keep them at bay. They started to swing, hitting you and smashing the bones under the flesh. Your screams rasped your voice until it was nothing more than a wheezing sob as they continued to beat your body down, ignoring the blood spitting on their faces from the open wounds. Seeing the muscle tissue being torn and the bone splinters protruding from your chest, you shut your eyes tight to the violent madness.

They know I'm bleeding. Why can't they see?

I'm.. I'm not a monster...

"I'm not a monster anymore...."

You opened your eyes to darkness, body returned to its original state, and not a soul in sight. You stood up and tried to find something- someone- to no avail, until the same ghostly figure appeared again.

-(y/n).-

The name left you winded, and you stumbled back. "What... Name is that?"

-It was yours.- The figure seemed somber, like he had done something or said something he deeply regretted. -It was yours when your family came to the caverns for safety.-

"My family." The scenery changed suddenly, to a cavern with waterfalls and a ceiling speckled with glowing crystals resembling stars. An older human man, two monsters, and a small sleeping boy were hiding in a large hole behind a wall of water. Both of the monsters were big eyed, furry creatures with claws as long as four inches. The larger monster was humming to herself, and seemed to be making an attempt at cooking over a fire. The smaller monster had a more humanoid figure, with (h/c) fur and bright (e/c) eyes. Its padded paws held the hand of the boy sleeping on a rock covered in blankets and clothing, lightly stroking his skin and watching close.

"Dad." The little monster said quietly. "Will the doctor's medicine help Danny?"

"Danny." You breathed and quickly went to the body, looking at his pale body that was moist with cold sweat.

"Daniel will be alright (y/n), so long as we cooperate with him."

You gasped and looked at the monster again. Your fur was thick from the cold of the water spraying into the cave, and you had a tired expression. Daniel lay motionless on the bed, and you turned back to look at the figure, with tears in your eyes.

"I was..." Your voice was a whisper. "I..."

-I'm sorry for what happened to you. To your brother.- Gaster's name finally appeared in your head, and he looked on to the scene before you. -He kept you alive far longer than you were intended to last, hoping you would outlive the cage the humans had created.-

"So then, tell me." You said, your lungs feeling tight. "Tell me what you did to me. Tell me what my father did to me."

Gaster smiled faintly. -If you truly wanted to know, you would've opened the journal.- He held the tattered notebook hovering in his gaping hand. -You'll need to discover the rest of your past for yoursel- -

"Y-you.."

You both looked to the left of the family setting and saw Sans slowly appearing from the darkness, eyes wide and leaking bright blue tears. Gaster stepped back slowly.

-Sans... Please, go back.-

You stared dumbly, realizing the similar white faces and black, hollowed eyes between these two figures.

"I... I tried." Sans fell to his knees, suddenly wearing a white lab coat. "I tried to fix it.. I'm so sorry..."

Gaster's face held a heavy sorrow, then his strange hands reached for Sans and weakly embraced him in blackness.

-Stop torturing yourself... for my sake...-

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Sans shook with sobs, desperately trying to hold Gaster close to him, but only grabbing dusty smoke with his arms. Finally they dropped to his sides, his head hung low, and he continued to cry deeply. The bleakness of it felt so unnatural, so disturbing, that you felt your own eyes water as you watched them kneel before each other.

"Who is Sans to you?" You asked finally, your voice shaking. "Gaster.... What is Sans to you?"

Gaster slowly turned to you, fading away in the darkness, and with black streaking his face, you heard a whisper that sounded inches from your ear.

-They are e v e r y t h i n g t o m e ...-

He was gone, and Sans sat still in the dark. You slowly stepped toward him, knelt down, and touched his shoulder lightly.

"Sans?"

His head rose, and he looked at you with confusion.

"Do... I know you?"

"Sans... It's me... Kalia?"

His brow furrowed, and he looked at you up and down.

"You're not..."

You glanced at your hand, and realized a furry paw was placed on his shoulder. You jumped back and frantically felt yourself and checked your body. Fur, claws, horns. You looked back and saw a tall, solemn figure standing over you, with a glowing syringe.

"Never forget that I love you." He raised his fist clutching the needle and plunged it hard into your chest. You gasped and cried out.

"NO!"

You fell to your knees, feeling something burning inside you like white-hot fire. Despite the heat, you shivered violently and rubbed your shoulders, only to feel chunks of fur fall to either side of you. Your claws felt loose. You looked up at your father with pain and hate as you started to fall apart.

"Why?" You whispered.

He knelt down, stroking your head lovingly. "You're going to fall asleep soon, dear. Even if the barrier is never broken, you have the power now. Get to the capital the moment you wake. Never look back. Don't try to find your mother, or me. You and your brother must prove my success to the world... No matter how long it takes."

"I... I don't like these tests anymore.. I want to see mom."

"I'm sorry, darling. You'll never see her again."

I want to see mom.

I miss Daniel.

i dont want to remember i dont want to remember i wont remember i wont wont wONT

WONT

WONT

Your body plunged into what felt like a cold body of water, but there was nothing but dead, empty air around you.

You heard a voice call your name. "Kalia?"

Your eyes opened, and Sans was looking down at you with a tired, mildly concerned look. The sun shone on the two of you, and turning to look at the clock you saw it was nearing late afternoon.

"Sans?" Your voice was muddled by a long stretch of your arms, and you started to rise. "What's wrong?"

"You were a little restless for a while. Bad dream?"

You tried to remember the contents of the dream, but your mind shut it tight from your recollection. You shrugged, "it might have been, but I barely remember it. How about you?"

He blushed a little and looked away. "It was alright." He looked out the window at the fresh blanket of snow. "Looks like the snow piled on pretty high."

"Did it? Aren't Frisk and Toriel coming over today?"

"Yeah, for cookies."

"Guess I better get the butter out to thaw." You pulled the blanket off of you and stepped lazily out of bed, readjusting the dress and taking the sash off. Feeling sore, you pressed against the muscles on your back with a frustrated grumble. Sans stayed sitting up on the bed, leaning against the right wall and closing his eyes to the bright sunlight hitting the window. You reached over to your old gloves and pulled them on, though in your head you calculated a few more weeks before the scars would heal completely.

You went downstairs and headed into the kitchen, and you saw Papyrus sitting in a messy pile of papers. You picked one up and saw they were all half-finished word jumble puzzles. He had a look of defeat, and you felt a strong pity for the sad skeleton.

"Pap, are all of these yours?" You asked, trying to sort them out and get them off the floor.

"I'VE LOST MY PUZZLE SKILLS, IT SEEMS." His voice almost broke, "I CAN'T SEEM TO GET THE SAME JOY OUT OF MAKING OR SOLVING THEM. OH, WHAT IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO DO NOW?"

"Pap, these are all the same Junior Jumble. You just need something new."

"I JUST DON'T HAVE THE WILL TO FIND ANYTHING NEW." He sighed and lay his chin on the table.

You looked at him, heartbroken that such a bright spirit would flicker out so close to Christmas. Finally, with a sigh, you went to the door and pulled a small box from the red tote, and returned to him.

"I wanted to save this for under the tree, but... Well, here." You set the box in front of him, and he lifted his head to look at it. "Merry Christmas, Papyrus."

He took the box with interest and lifted the lid to reveal a braided tube of thin, colored bamboo. He held it in his hands for a while, then looked at you, confused.

"HUMAN, WHAT IS THIS?"

"It's called a 'finger-trap'. You put your two fingers here and here." You helped him stick his index finger bones into each end of the tube. "Now, pull"

He slowly pulled, and his fingers were caught in the tube as it tightened. He tried pushing his fingers back together, then pulling, and it happened again; the bamboo tube constricted as they pulled apart. He turned his head to you, then the trap, with mixed expressions of surprise, concern, then finally glee as he shot up from his seat and stared incredulously at the pink and green contraption.

"HUMAN! THIS IS AMAZING! THIS PUZZLE IS TRULY ONE OF GREAT CALIBER, PERFECT FOR ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He ran out of the kitchen. "SANS! QUICKLY! BEHOLD THIS AMAZING PUZZLE!"

You seized the opportunity to gather all the papers and set them in the designated drawer closest to the door, which barely had room left for the puzzles. Shoving them in and pushing the drawer shut, you headed to the fridge and pulled the butter out of the freezer and set it on the counter to thaw. Next, you started taking the dry ingredients and measuring them for the batch, sorting the sugars in one bowl with the flour, baking soda, and salt in another. You stood there for a minute, thinking of what to do next.

This place could use some music...

Getting an idea, you quickly scribbled a note, threw on your jacket, and jogged out the door to the nearest commuter stop. There were a couple of large monsters with large wings, and you moved up to one that resembled a fish-like dragon. It looked at you with a tired gaze.

"Where ya headed?" It asked, its voice gruff.

"Shopping District, North End." You climbed onto its extended wing and held on as it took flight, high above the houses and toward the busy part of the city.

"Not a lot of people takin' rides these days." The monster commented.

"It's a little cold for some." You replied, taking in the sudden gusts of fresh air. "Me, I prefer getting out of the smog for a bit."

"Do you young folk some good. Too many monsters sick from living underground for so long, and it looks like the humans have it the same way with all this smoke."

"At least we can all suffer together, now."

It chuckled. "Which store you goin to first?"

"Oh, the Musical Emporium, thank you."

"You got it, sweetheart."

The monster landed on the corner where the store entrance was closest, and you handed him the fare plus tip. Heading in, the first floor of the shop was pleasantly warm from the electric fireplace set in the center with a few couches and sets of headphones connected to scanning devices. You headed to a section heavily decorated in reds and greens, sifting through albums of pop singers and country. You came across one that was a mix of holiday hits and soft jazz. You plopped down on a couch and scanned the code on the back, while putting the headphones on. The music was pleasantly soothing and cheerful. You settled into the chair, letting the warm heater toast your feet as the music mellowed your mind. You almost didn't mind hearing the other music playing over your own:

My days have been so wondrous free...

You froze, then pulled off the headphones quickly to try to find the source.

The little birds that fly

With careless ease from tree to tree

were but as blest as I,

were but as blest as I.

You wandered all the way to an early-century section of the music floor, standing in front of a ad rack that plays songs from select CDs displayed on the shelf. You stared at the disc that was being played, and listened to the lyrics, feeling someone holding you close as it ended.

"Come now, my little birds. To bed."

"HEY! KALIA!"

You jumped and fumbled the CD in your hand. A brute force tackled you to the ground, and you looked up to see Undyne grinning with her intimidating chompers, and Alphys was close behind her.

"H-hey, Kalia." Alphys stuttered, fidgeting nervously with her hands. "Are you, um, shopping for gifts, too?"

"I... ugh.. I'm getting music." You struggled to breathe under the mass of pure muscle and aggression. She took notice and got up, dragging you up with her by your left fingers.

"Music? What kind?" Undyne looked at the display, and growled. "What? This softy crap?! C'mon, Kalia, get some music with POWER, like THIS!" She held up a Karaoke CD that had a mix of new and classic rock songs.

"You're buying Karaoke discs?"

"Yeah! Um, Frisk told us how it all works, so we're, uh, g-gonna get the set for her. The machine and everything! I've a-almost finished making it myself.."

"Then we can all use it when she opens it! A huge X-mas blowout!" Undyne pumped her fist in a rage (but it could've been excitement). "RAAGH! I'm so STOKED!"

"Wh-what about you, Kali? Frisk is kinda, um, hard to shop for huh?"

"She asked me for something in particular, actually." You said.

You had put away the last bowl of the ten that Papyrus had used to make spaghetti. Frisk was standing in the doorway and you almost didn't notice until she spoke.

"Kali, I know what I want for Christmas."

You jumped and spun around, catching your breath.

"Jesus, Frisk! Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, I just wanted to tell you what I want for Christmas."

Finally. You had been trying to get an answer from her for the last week, since after the sales weekend had passed. She insisted there was no toy she had her eye on, but she promised she would decide before you went shopping.

"Alright, kiddo. I'm all ears. What's your pick?"

"I want something from you that you had at my age."

You froze. "Something... That I had? What do you mean?"

"Sans always talks about how you don't talk about your past very often. So, I figured, I could use my Christmas gift to learn about you- It's kinda for the both of us, me n' Sans."

You sighed. "Listen, Frisk, that's a great idea. I'd love to share something like that with you, but I don't really have much that I remember from then. I don't even think I really had anything of value, other than my brother."

She pondered with her hand on her chin, deep in thought. Then she shrugged. "Well, whatever you can find so we can share some kind of memory. I just think I'd like to learn more about you, since we're friends and Sans likes you so much."

"Well sure- Wait, Sans 'likes' me?"

But she had already scampered away to the safety of Toriel's side, asking about pie recipes.

"Wow. Easy enough for you, then." Undyne grumbled. "It took us three days to get some kinda hint outta that kid."

"H-hey, Kali: You're gonna sing too, right? Sans said you can sing, and there are a couple songs on these CD's I, um, think you'll l-like?"

Sans once again exploited your secrets. You smiled. "Yeah, I don't think I would have a choice anyways."

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Undyne grabbed your head and twisted her knuckles hard on your head. "Well, we're gonna keep looking for more CD's and movies! Later!"

"Later."

They headed to the stairs leading to the second floor, and you grabbed the second disc and headed to the checkout counter. You paid with cash and walked outside, checking your watch.

"Three o'clock. Should still be open."

You started down the street, past the many stores blaring ads about holiday sales and maddening discounts. There was one last shop on the third block from where you started, with bright red and gold decorations bordering the doorway, and you stepped inside. A man with a large burly beard greeted you with a roar of joyful laughter, offering displays of various trinkets and toys. You inquired about something in particular, and his face changed.

"So you are here, then." His smile shifted from bright to longing. "She said you had sent her a letter, but I did not think you would come to the shop to pick this up."

"I thought she might be here." You replied softly.

"Ah, no. She is busy this year, making her house clean for guests. A real Babushka, eh?"

"Oh. That's too bad."

"Tell me, then, doch." The endearing term felt nostalgic as he reached under his counter for the package. "She'll ask about you, ya? How have you settled in this city?"

"I've met some friends this year. They all took me in after just a few weeks, and it's been quite the change for me... But.." You smiled. "It's the first time I've felt home since she found me... I miss her."

"Da. Me too, child." He sighed and swiped the dust from the little box. "She hates the city; 'Too much smoke' she says, in her tone, da? Always so firm in her ways. Beautiful. I'm sure she would be so glad to hear you've found your way child. She loves when she is right about people."

"I'll make sure to make her proud, sir."

"Good! Off with you now, then. Get that package home. The box is fragile!"

You nodded and set back out onto the street, putting the little cardboard box gently into the bag with the music, then hailing a taxi for home.

***

You made it back a few minutes before Toriel arrived in her mini SUV with Frisk and Asgore. They stepped in as you cracked the last egg into the sugar mixture, and Frisk ran into the kitchen wearing an apron that looked hand stitched. She looked at the set up, awestruck and giddy, and Toriel smiled and giggled softly.

"She's been very excited to make these." She said. "I'm much better at pies, but I think a new teacher who doesn't involve violence in their cooking is a refreshing change."

"Works for me." You responded, smiling back. "I haven't been able to bake in here for a while, and these are an easy classic."

"Well, I'll let you two go at it, then." With that, she stepped into the living room, greeting Sans and Papyrus, then asking about a paper tube on his fingers.

"I'll need your help pouring the flour into the wet mixture." You told Frisk, and she nodded while grabbing the small bowl. As you stirred, Frisk slowly pushed portions of the ingredients into the larger bowl, and slowly the dough began to stiffen and take proper shape. Once it was the texture of soft clay, you rolled it into a ball and then stuck it into the fridge. "We're gonna let this sit for a couple hours," you explained, "The cut-outs will take better shapes if the dough starts cold in the oven."

Frisk nodded again, and you both sat at the table. For a while, she had a strange gaze fixated on you, and you lightly tapped the table to try and stay casual. Finally, she spoke.

"So when are you and Sans getting married?"

"Ah!?" Your eyes went wide in shock, then you let out a laugh "Frisk!! Who on Earth told you that?!"

"Alphys talks about it all the time, and about how cute your babies are gonna be, and how he-"

"Jeez, quiet down Frisk!" You hissed and waved your hand up and down to try to settle the conversation. "You.. You really need to stop listening to everything Alphys says. She's got a whole mess of imagination, but it's not always a good thing."

"So... You don't wanna marry Sans?"

"I... That's..." You paused, then slumped in your chair. "You know, I never even thought of getting married to anyone. I never thought I'd have to think about it."

"Can't you just tell me yes or no?"

"Hey! Don't ten-year-old's have better things to worry about than a couple of old beans getting married??"

She giggled. "You're not a bean."

"I'm about to."

"How?"

"Because I'm gonna be-an another room to escape this interrogation!" You shot out of your chair and ran through the doorway, dodging Undyne and Papyrus as she began to suplex his entire body in an attempt to remove the finger trap. Frisk was laughing and chasing after you as you bolted up the stairs and ran down the hallway.

"You're gonna get cornered!" She chanted with menace. "You'll have to tell me!!"

"We'll see about that!" You spun around when you reached the door to the guest bedroom, scopped her whole body tight in your arms and pushed the door open. Using a small amount of magic you quickly tossed her on the bed and wrapped her body in the blanket like a tight burrito. She shrieked and giggled, her legs kicking in the open space at the bottom, and you stood over your masterpiece victoriously.

"Looks like that's a wrap." You laughed maniacally as she writhed in the constricting comforter.

"Is it just me," you turned to see Sans leaning on the doorway, "or does it seem like you're trying to cover something?"

"Sans lemme out and I'll tell you-"

You took the pillow and lightly shoved it over Frisk's face, and you could hear her protests through the down feathers. You slowly turned to Sans with a twisted expression, which he immediately recognized.

"No witnesses." You hissed, slowly stalking your new prey.

"Kal, babe, go easy on me." He put his hands up in surrender. "I only got one HP, so ya gotta-" and he was gone, taking off back toward the stairs. You gave chase, grabbing onto the doorway to swing around and gain velocity toward the bony victim. He stopped at the top of the stairs, seeing Asgore blocking the way as he helped set up the tree Undyne had carried in with Alphys. Sans turned to see you heading straight for him, and you bent down and lunged at full speed, anticipating his next move. He waved his hand out with his eye glowing, and you felt yourself get pushed suddenly into the door on the right, landing hard onto the bed. You were held there, and Sans came in, still with his hand raised, and shut the door behind him.

"Your reign of tyranny's over, toots." He used a similar voice from an old mafia movie.

"Alright, you got me!" You wrestled against his magic, straining to keep your own from activating out of instinct. "Now put me down!"

"Nah, I think you'll look perfect as the angel on the tree." He winked.

"What? After I dressed Frisk so nicely?"

"Hm... Yep, you've got a point." He set you free, and you stretched your arms and stood.

"Hah, I'm gonna check on the dough while I can catch a breath-"

Sans was in front of you suddenly, and he pulled you back onto the bed with him. His eyes were shifting to different places in the room, and finally he looked at you.

"Wait."

You waited, watching him as he seemed to struggle with himself.

"Can I... Try something?" He looked away for a minute, a hue flushing to his face.

You blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure. What is it?"

He took a deep breath, and brought his face inches from yours. You looked into his eyes, and he pulled away slightly.

"Jesus, your eyes are so intense." His laugh was a little shaky. "Just... Just close 'em okay? I promise, no jokes."

You hesitated, then you slowly closed your eyes. Something pressed against your lips that was smooth and a little cold. You felt his hand graze your thigh and you gasped, and the moment your lips parted something warm and wet slithered into your mouth and caressed your tongue. You felt your cheeks burn hot as your tongue wrestled with the alien object, and when it pulled away you opened your eyes to see a blue tongue disappear into San's mouth.

"Sans.." You fought to catch what little breath he took from you. "You.. You kissed me?"

"I've been practicing all week, trying to find the right time.. Then last night." He shrugged with a hand scratching the back of his skull. "You sorta seized the opportunity from me."

"I didn't even think you could... I mean, it's a tongue!"

"Oh no."

Sans suddenly started to sweat, pointing to your face.

"What?" You touched your hand to it to check for whatever he was staring at. "What? What's wrong?"

"Your whole mouth is blue."

"WHAT" You ran to the mirror on the closet door and opened your mouth to see everything glowing inside. You slapped your hand on it and looked at Sans, who was belly-laughing and rolling off the bed.

"Sans! Dammit, this isn't funny!" You tried wiping your tongue on your sleeve, but the glowing residue stayed put. "I can't go downstairs like this!"

"Just.... Ha.. Say it's.... candy?"

"Right, Alphys would definitely buy that one."

"C'mon, it's not so bad." He gestured for you. "I'll try to fix it. C'mere."

You sulked and sat on the bed, and he put a gently-glowing hand to your lips. You watched him as he put his fingers on your tongue, and a feeling like cold soda tickled your mouth. The blue on his cheeks got deeper, and in a few short moments he pulled his hand away.

"Well, I took care of most of it." He said, nerves causing his smirk to waver. "Guess you're free to go."

"Not quite." You reached under your folded pile of clothes and pulled out a small, black box. "I gave Pap an early Christmas present, so I wanted to give you this."

He took the little box in his hands. "You don't have to do that, babe."

"I do." Your tone was firm and caught his attention. "I wanted to give you this in private... Because I need to explain it to you and I just want you to share this with me. Since we're alone right now... I guess it's as good a time as any."

He lifted the lid off the box, and pulled the fine tissue away.

Sometimes, you could call him to you, simply by remembering his name.

"Are you there, Gaster?"

Though he never usually formed a full body, even if it was distorted, you could see his shadow against the wall.

"Sans remembers you, doesn't he?" You looked at the shadow as it twitched and shrank. "Are you his brother? A father, or maybe mother? Should I trust you near his mind?"

The shadow vibrated and slowly formed a face that smiled at you.

-∟♫◄¶.... I once wondered the same... about you...-

"If I asked Sans-"

-Don't. Please. He is so fragile.-

The sad thing sighed, and the whole room swayed in a strange wave of sorrow.

-Sans... Is as lost in time... As we are...-

Sans stared inside the box, then slowly reached down and pulled the silver chain, revealing a plated pocket watch.

"A clock?" He inquired.

"Time is relative. I know it feels like it's the one thing we can't control, but it's better to think of it as something that exists however we see it. You could set that watch to any time you wanted, and somewhere on this planet that time would be true." You smiled and stood up, walking to the door. "We all have our own control of time. Even you, Sans. Don't waste it."

You left him in his room as you quickly stepped out, shutting the door behind you.

**

"Mettaton, no."

"Oh come now, where's the fun in-"

"NO."

You had your arms crossed, looking at the figurine made by almost all of the cookie dough. Mettaton huffed. "I can't just destroy it. It's too beautiful."

"I can give you a list of reasons why I'm destroying it." You held your fingers up to count. "It's too big for the oven; I still have a dozen cookies to make; it's not even... anatomically (robotically?) accurate, or appropriate; it's going to fall apart in the oven anyways." You pointed to the rolling pin. "Now take it down."

"I'LL DO IT!" Undyne grabbed a spear and charged for the cookie model, Mettaton backing out of the way with a fearful cry. She stabbed it into a chunky mess, and stood proudly with her weapon of choice.

"Thank you, Undyne." You said slowly. "I'll make a smaller, more decent cookie, Mettaton. Just, all of you wait in the living room, alright?"

They stepped out, and you finished crafting the special batch of cookies; you had made a shield for Undyne, a little plate of spaghetti for Papyrus, Mettaton's face, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie for Alphys, and so on for each guest in the house. You threw those in the oven and set the first timer, then looked at Frisk, who was sitting at the table, with the next lump of dough in hand.

"Ready to cut these up?"

"Yeah!" She grabbed the little box of cookie cutters and ran to the counter, dumping them all next to the area lightly dusted in flour. She picked out some cutters while you flattened the dough, and once it was even you let her cut away snowflakes and snowmen and little trees. She giggled and hummed, which made you smile, then you saw something watching from the doorway.

Sans? You almost called to him but the black surrounding the figure stopped you. It quickly faded away, and you felt helpless and sad at the being trapped between worlds.

"He does it a lot during the holidays."

You stared at Frisk, who was looking back at you with a passive look.

"Frisk-"

"I wouldn't talk about it here, Kali. Maybe later."

She set back to her work, humming again, and you slowly followed her lead. Once those cookies were in the oven, you set the second timer and wandered into the living room, where everyone had found a place on the couches and chairs in front of the television. Sans pushed over in his seat, leaving you an open space to sit, and Frisk got a running start jumping onto your lap. You felt something slide from behind you and grip your right side, and you reached for the bony hand with your own, holding it gently. The movie playing was a stop-motion film about an outcast monster with glowing horns, who ends up lighting the way for Santa's sleigh during a horrible storm. At the end of the movie, everyone started singing along to the famous song, and Undyne and Papyrus competed for the louder voice which caused laughter throughout the group.

The next movie started playing as you took the cookies out of the oven to cool, and as you grabbed the second pan a loud voice came from behind you.

"HUMAN, HAVE YOU SEEN-"

The sudden noise made you lump, sending the pan and cookies flying in the air, and amidst the panic you had forgotten Papyrus standing in the kitchen as you flung a glove onto the floor and froze the disaster in the air with your hand. A bright pink glow surrounded the pan and levitating cookies, and you quickly set it all on the counter and whipped your head to Papyrus, who was staring at the scene.

"MY... MY LUCKY..."

He lost his words, and you stood frozen, hand now searing from the magic energy. You very carefully bent down, took the glove, and slid it back onto your torn appendage.

"Pap... Just.." You winced at the pain but tried to sound calm. "I know this looks really weird... But please just.. Stay quiet. Okay?"

He looked down at your hand, then back to you, then at the hand again. "Human.... Do you require first aid?" His voice was soft and shaken. "I can heal you."

You stepped toward him and slowly took off the glove, and he put his hands- still stuck in the finger trap- around yours, letting his magic heal the wounds. Your burns fought against the alien energy, but eventually the skin had reattached and the damage was mostly reduced.

"Does my brother know about this? About your magic?"

"No... I don't think he knows, anyways. I don't use it enough for it... to be a big deal."

"So that night, when he brought you home?"

"I used it at its full power... Yeah." You waved your hand. "This is the result of it; my body just can't handle the energy."

"... Human, I will not tell Sans about your magic... But.." He seemed uneasy. "I don't think you should keep it from him much longer."

"I know, Pap." You sighed and put the glove back on. "I just need the right moment. I promise, Papyrus, I'll explain it as soon as I'm ready."

He nodded, then left the room while you put the remaining cookies on the wire rack.

Shit.