But summer has to come to an end sometime

[sansational]

Ever since S-4 talked Sans into sharing a room with him and Sans-Serif, sleep really has come a little easier. Not much - he still has bad dreams, they all do. But every little bit helps, especially when help is within arm's reach instead of on the other side of a door. Ever since hearing from Tauriel that the two babybones are also still suffering from bad dreams, Sans has been trying to find ways to help. But it's a problem that's stymied him for years to the point of giving up, so privately, he doesn't hold out too much hope.

It's been a relatively ordinary night - he read them both their story, tucked them in, and then curled up on the other side of S-4 from where Sans-Serif lay. Sleep came as quickly as it ever did. But whatever dreams Sans had, they were chased immediately from his head by the agony that awoke him, accompanied by the sharp crack of bone.

The pain jolts him upright, his hands scrabbling all over himself, searching for signs of damage. They finally come to rest on his own skull, and realize that it hasn't broken. It's just...shifted.

"no..."

More cracks like breaking twigs and shattered branches echo throughout the room. His fingers start to sharpen, he can feel his ribs expanding, each one accompanied by a gasp and a cry of pain from the skeleton. His marrow is on fire and burning him up from the inside out and no no no he has to get out of here...

Eventually, Sans makes it into the woods. But all that really does is ensure that he has enough room to finish transforming. By rights, it probably only takes a few hours, just like last time. But it's painful enough to feel as though it takes a lifetime. All he can do is lay on the ground and whimper and twitch, or else drag himself along in a futile attempt to escape the pain. All he can do is wait for it to finish happening.

Useless regrets and pointless despair chase themselves around his increasingly malformed skull. it's not fair, everything was supposed to be okay now, i was trying to be better, i promise i was...

Until even that level of thought is beyond him and he's reduced to begging senselessly. make it stop, please make it stop, i don't want to do this anymore, i made a mistake, please, Gaster...

At one point, he hears a voice in his head - a delusion, or a memory. it sounds like Frisk's voice, except not like their voice at all. Too late. Too late.


The forest has a new inhabitant, the next morning. The giant monster is something like a bear and something like a horse with a skull that more closely resembles that of a wolf. It's too big to go that deep into the trees, but it creeps around the edges of things. It keeps its distance from the castle, it treads carefully around any flowerbeds, but it's big enough to be easily noticed from a distance. Mostly, it can be found curled up in an apparent attempt to sleep, wherever the ground is clear enough for it to find room. Though whenever anyone approaches, one eyesocket opens to reveal a glowing blue orb of light within, and the creature lets out a wary growl. 

Otherwise, it can mostly be found trying to eat. The fruit trees in particular will find themselves frequently raided, with some of them picked entirely clean. Hopefully no one was in the mood for lemons this week. The creature barely has to stretch its neck to gobble fruit whole off the branches. 

This puts it somewhat at odds with the local birds, but even the most ornery peacock will beat a retreat whenever the beast parts its jaws just enough to let blue light bloom between its fangs. 

Comments

I can at least make this easier on you by throwing two of my dorks together

[dr_awesome]

Insomnia is a bitch.

Watts has been pretty insistent on that fact. He was a night owl ever since his early years and his love affair with caffeine, and adding on the recent string of nightmares plus his withdrawal symptoms, even though he's been bedridden there hasn't been a lot of actually going to bed.

Thankfully, it looks like a good half the castle put together a schedule to keep an eye on him. Kind of annoying, but it's helpful, since it means he has someone to talk to on sleepless nights. Tonight it's been some weird kid named Ryoji keeping him company. Kind of gullible and naive, but friendly enough, and a pretty good conversation partner, especially when he found out the kid frequented an arcade in his world.

The two of them have been going on about their favourite video games when the commotion gets their attention. Cracking, sickening crunches, and then that scream and Watts is out of bed in a second.

"Sans? Hey, Sans! That you?"

He'll be right out the door, but with his condition, he won't get to the woods for a few minutes.

[notsogrimreaper]

And Ryoji, of course, is right behind him, trying his best to grab Watts' arm and support him, even if the doctor keeps shoving him away. Eventually, they get separated in the darkness of the forest, and Ryoji can only blindly stumble through the trees, calling out with increasing worry.

"Watts-san, please! You're going to hurt something and-"

He's cut off when he bumps into something, and he's relieved to discover it's Watts, but as he looks over the man's shoulder, that relief quickly disappears. Something is out here. A... monster. Something not unlike the thing he was when he first got here. He shivers and pushes in front of Watts, taking a protective stance. He can't afford to let someone get attacked by this thing, but he's still hesitant. At least he hasn't transformed yet.

"Hello...? Can you hear me?"

[sansational]

The creature has come to a stop just a couple of yards away from Watts. It's hard to get a good look at what shape it's in, mostly because the shape it's in appears to be shifting, morphing. It's standing unsteadily on two clawed feet, one hand braced against the tree, one digging and scratching at its shifting skull. The tattered, shredded remnants of what might be clothes hang off of it.

When Ryoji calls out to it, the monster lifts its head sharply to regard the two of them with two bright blue eyelights in narrowed eyesockets. It makes as though to move towards them, but a crack from somewhere in its spine makes it arch instead, letting out a howl of fresh pain. By that point, the creature has grown noticeably bigger than Sans. Even hunched over as it is, it's about as tall as Watts. If it could stand up, it would be even taller, but it seems to be in too much agony to manage that much.

But when the fresh wave of pain starts to fade, other details filter in. There's a human here, and something...almost human. Kill, it has to kill, it's the human's fault this happened, it's the human's fault he's like this...

It staggers a few steps towards Watts, looking straight through Ryoji to the scientist. One clawed hand - or maybe it's a paw at this point - swipes shakily through the air, but doesn't even come close to connecting with the human.

[notsogrimreaper]

Ryoji knows what this is. He knows what his own transformation was like, and he knows how painful the transition can be. It's causing him to shake as he remembers, even as he still stands his ground, and that skull being turned towards him makes him flinch just slightly, but more in sympathy than in any fear.

"Please... calm down. I know this is hard, but you have to stay calm, or it will only hurt more." Ryoji's voice, for his part, is as soothing as he can make it, even as he brings Thanatos into the back of his mind, just in case.

It turns out that was a wise decision, as the next time the monster looks properly at them, it looks like it's determined its foe. The claw won't connect, but Ryoji still reacts immediately, raising a hand and creating a slight distortion in the air, a shimmering swirling of wind that surrounds Watts and himself like a force field. When he speaks again, his voice is more firm.

"You will not hurt anyone. I know you're suffering, but that's no excuse. You have to calm down."

[dr_awesome]

Watts, meanwhile, is more preoccupied with studying the creature. Even if it's terrifying to be in front of, even if part of him wants to try to run away, there's the analytical side of him that refuses to leave this unanswered. Who is this guy? Where did Sans go? Why does he have scraps of clothing on him, in that same faded blue like...

Oh. Oh, shit.

Now Watts knows why that thing tried to attack.

"What the fuck...?" he can't help but whisper under his breath, looking into the creature's eyesockets and searching for any hope of his friend behind this mutation he caused. He should have asked what was in that stupid formula...

"Sans? Sans, buddy, can you hear me? Is that... is that you?"

Ryoji looks behind him in shock, and Watts winces, but says nothing.

[sansational]

Even if he doesn't come into direct contact with the forcefield, Sans can feel the energy pushing back against him. It's enough to make it stagger back again. Then, after swaying on the spot for a dizzying moment, it collapses down to four paws instead of two. Just as well - it increasingly looks as though it was built for standing that way.

calm down. It shudders, whimpers, pants for breath. calm down. It shakes its head forcibly as though to chase away an unwanted thought.

He will not hurt anyone he doesn't want to hurt anyone but that's what he's for, he has to except no, he doesn't, isn't that what you told...

Sans. Someone says its his name, and it's like a lighthouse shining through the fog. He's not lost yet. Someone says his name, and he knows the name of the one who said it...

Sans lifts his head again, but this time, the glow in his eyesockets is much less wild. It looks first to Ryoji, and then to...

"watts...?" Speaking already sounds like it hurts, but there's a little bit of Sans' voice still evident over the grinding of bone and the growl of the beast.

[dr_awesome]

Watts is getting more worked up by the second, his breathing starting to get hoarse again and no he can't start getting sick, Tauriel will kill him if he starts spitting up blood again, and honestly, he nearly bolts when he sees Sans drop down to four limbs. There's a voice in the back of his mind, harshly insistent, that he's the cause of this. He tries to keep it away, but he should have asked more questions, he shouldn't have agreed so easily, even if he's a scientist at heart, and even if Sans seemed sure of himself...

Thankfully, moments later, Sans seems to come back to himself, just slightly. Watts looks up at him, laughs with relief and just a hint of hysteria.

"Oh, god, Sans, you're okay! What the hell happened to you?" He tries to step forward, but Ryoji holds out an arm to block his path.

[notsogrimreaper]

As glad as Ryoji is to know this creature is actually a friend, not something inherently dangerous, he can't let Watts out of the force field. One wrong step, and either Sans or Watts could get hurt. He can tell that much from the violent nature of the transformation. So Ryoji has to find a way to settle Sans down first...

He lowers his arm, tries to look non-threatening, now that he knows any attacks won't be intentional, and fights to keep a level tone.

"Sans, don't be scared. I know you don't think you know me, but... I'm Thanatos. I changed back, so I know you can too. You just need to relax in the meantime. Breathe, okay?"

[sansational]

The grin that lights up Sans' skull as Neil speaks is a sickly and twisted thing. He dissolves into what might become apparent after a moment is equally hysterical laughter along with his fellow sceintist. Is he okay? Neil, more than anyone, should know what happened to him.

But even that bitter resignation fades into shock when Ryoji speaks. Sans' head snaps up, his eyelights flickering with shock. Thanatos? The human who helped Mettaton run the party was the masked, winged monster who smashed up the castle? How did he change back? How did he change in the first place?

Everything still hurts, but that thread of hope is enough to let Sans carry on speaking, sounding a little more coherent or at least a little more aware.

"I...I can't change back. Not alone." OR at least, he couldn't last time. Sans shakes his head frantically, only to stumble a step away from them with a pained yelp as his skull cracks again, growing just a bit more angular and bestial. His voice, when he speaks again, is undercut with a low whine of pain. It hurts to focus, but no moreso than everything else hurts right now. "I, I-I don't know how. No Gaster. No pods. No lab." He wasn't exactly in a position to notice how his brother fixed him last time.

[dr_awesome]

His own laughter fades away, and he clears his throat. "Yeah, okay. God, what a question to ask. No one would be okay with this..."

He tries to listen as Sans fights to speak, and even if it's painful to hear his friend struggling like this, it gives him some hope to hear that Sans still has the mind to string together sentences, short as they are and punctuated by growling.

"Not alone, huh?"

Well, that's an easy thing to fix. Sans is still in the process of transforming. Watts helped him get like this, so there has to be a way to get him back.

"Well, lucky you've got me. We'll figure it out together."

Ryoji still holds his arm as he tries to walk through the force field, and god this kid is getting annoying, but he stills enough for Ryoji to respond.

[notsogrimreaper]

"We definitely don't have a lab here, but there must be a way to fix this. If I was to be honest, you have a better chance of changing back than I ever did, yet here I am. We just need to slow down and figure this out."

He finally, finally moves forward, slowly, yet confidently. He passes through the force field easily, and carefully reaches out to the skeleton.

"First... I think we need to heal you. This seems like it hurts, am I right? I don't have the ability to heal myself, but I know Tauriel-san does. We could call her for you."

[sansational]

Neil sounds remarkably confident, for someone who still looks half dead on his feet and might have been more dead on his feet if not for Ryoji. Sans finds himself nodding along, even during those seconds where Neil's words fade into static and then back again.

He stumbles back to his four feet. The beginnings of a tail behind him begins to swish a little in agitation.

"I s-still have a lab. Just...just not enough. And can't remember where." At least, not right at this second and not from out here. Later on, he'll understand that it's his grasp of spacetime fading. For now, Sans just blames the pain. He can at least still remember that it's in a tower, and he's not at all sure he'll be able to fit back into the castle once he's done transforming.

But if Neil can find it, maybe Neil can do something with it.

"Find S-4. Find Sans-Serif." More than a few of his notes are written in a language that Neil won't easily be able to decipher on his own.

Then Ryoji brings up another point. Healing. Tauriel. Sans hesitates noticeably, at this.

"...can't stop it. Just slow it." She could reduce the pain, but prolong its existence. Sans doesn't quite see where it matters much to him, at this point.

[dr_awesome]

He sounds confident. Honestly, he's used to pushing aside his pain to keep working. He's been doing it for ages back with the clients and Sigmund. This is just a bit more personal, and it makes him just a bit more determined to do this, no matter how badly he might hurt himself while pushing through that.

"It's a good start. I might be able to find it, since I went to help you enough."

He avoids eye contact with anyone except Sans. He'd rather not look to see how disapproving Ryoji is of his part in this mess.

"You mean those kids that are terrified of me? That might be harder. But I'll talk to them."

He takes a minute to catch his breath. So much stumbling around and yelling drained the little portion of energy he had, but that's fine. He's used to pushing on.

"I promise, buddy, I'm going to help you. You aren't going to get stuck like this b-because of my stupid mistakes, okay?"

[notsogrimreaper]

Ryoji does give Neil a slight look, but it's more concern than condemnation. He has a feeling the two of them got involved in something that caused this mess, but he doubts it was intentional, unlike the disaster some of the scientists with the Kirijo Group had desired.

"I can talk to them," he offers. "Sans-Serif is my friend, so he deserves to hear about this from someone he trusts."

That said, he's not as confident as Neil that this will be an easy fix.

"If... healing doesn't help, we might simply have to wait this out. I could stay with you, if you'd like. I know how this works, and there isn't a chance of you hurting me." Not with Moonless Gown.

He wishes he could do more, but the few things he can offer is really all he has.

[sansational]

Confusion is at least a distraction from pain, and Sans looks confused, lost. This conversation has taken a turn he most certainly did not expect. The two of them are making plans, talking about things that should be impossible, but talking with such confidence that Sans catches himself hoping before he ruthlessly quashes that spark back down.

"Can't wait it out." Talking is getting harder, his jaw audibly grinding with the effort of forcing out speech. But this isn't something that will go away, not without help. Especially since another problem arises the longer they even try to wait. "I'll start forgetting."

They need to know this. Not least because, in a little while, they'll both have other people to worry about, and he'll be the thing making them worry.

[dr_awesome]

Watts quickly turns back to Sans, and cringes to hear the sound of bones scraping together. Whatever's happening, it must be getting a lot worse. God, he feels sick. He should have asked more before he injected that stupid thing.

"Start forgetting? Sans, what are you talking about? You can't forget everyone here. I mean, you've got family here!"

After all the stuff they've gone through together, is Sans really just going to wipe their friendship from his memory?

[notsogrimreaper]

Ryoji, on the other hand, knows exactly what Sans is talking about, and he forces himself not to shiver.

"Regardless of what you forget, you don't need to worry. I can stop you from attacking anyone you may have forgotten about. I understand how scared you are, but you have to trust us, Sans. We want to help you, and we need you to believe in us."

Ryoji knows they can do this. Minato was able to save the world, Tauriel was able to revert him back to this form, and Watts will be able to find a cure for Sans' transformation. Hope is more powerful than he could have ever imagined.