Chapter Text
Nights were usually quiet, a time for night owls to enjoy their drink of choice and relax while enjoying the peace.
That was why the scream that night was so far out of the ordinary. And why the household responded to the scream like an overturned anthill with everyone rushing to the source.
Problem was, it was Comic's voice that was screaming.
No one had ever heard Comic raise his voice, let alone scream so brokenly.
Morgue had already been awake (she was starting to develop something the older brothers were calling 'somniphobia'), but the Fell brothers, accustomed to their combat-heavy universe, were hard on her heels as she rushed to Comic's room. Red peeled off to cover Rus' room- no one wanted the innocent skeleton to see his brother in the amount of distress that screamed had conveyed, and if there was danger, everyone in the house wanted him protected. Blue was quickly diverted to Rus' room as 'emotional support' for similar reasons. So it was that Morgue entered Comic's room with only Edge and Stretch as back-up- and promptly froze at what she was seeing.
Comic thrashed on his bed, one eye ablaze, hands scrabbling for purchase against the sheets, the wall, his skull... And, as if that wasn't enough, his magic was running rampant with apparent free reign, floating objects combining with bone constructs to create a very dangerous whirlwind in the room. It was a small blessing, but from the looks of it they were lucky no blasters had summoned themselves, either. They still had to get through the storm to Sans though- between magic depletion and the rents he was busy giving himself in the throes of his night-terror, it was a toss up for which would damage his hp first.
Both Papyruses and Morgue were highly capable at dodging however, so they headed into the tempest regardless. They didn't have a choice- they had to get to Sans before he actually did damage himself. Watching each other's backs, they made it to Sans' bedside, where the clutter of flying objects was lessened closer to its' source. Stretch focused on the thrashing skeleton.
"so now what? not like we can just grab hi-"
"WATCH IT!"
Edge grabbed the orange-clad skeleton and blocked an incoming bone with his own summoned construct, his battle-trained reflexes protecting both him and Stretch without a single scratch. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't expecting Comic - who had awoken to the sound of their voice but was still trapped within his night-terror - to chuck a construct at them personally.
There wasn't enough time for the two to dodge.
Stretch had 1 hp, Edge had high love, and Comic had Karmic Retribution and dealt one damage.
Morgue didn't even think, she just moved, intercepting the path of the construct while simultaneously moving to move all three of them out its' path.
Unfortunately, she wasn't quite quick enough, and she hissed as the bone grazed the back of her hand on its' way by. She felt the dull burn of Karmic Retribution starting to work its' way through her body and knew she had just been put on a short timer.
"what the hell emm!" Edge merely snarled his displeasure at the abrupt move.
"Sorry, couldn't chance a hit." With no way of knowing how long it would take for Comic to come back to himself, and with not time to spare, she teleported herself behind him and pinned his hands against his ribcage, his back pressed against her chest. It badly freaked him out, but it kept him from attacking the other two and Morgue was running out of time.
"Comic Sans. You are scaring your brother. Papyrus is safe. He's here. Breathe. Blue is safe and here. Breathe. Edge is safe and here. Breathe. Red is safe and here. Breathe. Stretch is safe and here. Breathe. Comic Sans, you are safe. Breathe." Morgue repeated herself as evenly and calmly as she could, even through the knowledge that what she had done was dangerous and risky as hell, that the skeleton in her arms was likely going to react viciously to the perceived attack-
She hid her face in the shoulder of Comic's t-shirt and hoped for the best, keeping her voice and tone as even and calm as possible as she repeated that he was safe and named everyone by name when she said they were safe, too. She just hoped this worked.
"Comic Sans, you-"
"more?" His voice, hesitant and unsure as it was, relieved her so much she allowed herself to be weak just this once and hug him tightly while burying her face deep into his shoulder.
"uh, emm? i know you're glad to see Comic safe and sound, but y'think you could mind letting him go? You're freaking him out a little." It took her a moment to make herself comply, but after a deep breath she let go and sat back with a muttered apology. Comic just shook his head. Morgue took another deep breath. She had to keep this moving, because she was running out of time, and this was about Comic, not her.
"... Comic? Are you gonna be okay talking this one over with Edge and Stretch? Red is keeping Blue and Rus in Rus' room." She scooted around to the side in order to see his expression better just in time for him to hide his face behind his hands.
". . . can i not?" The other three in the room almost couldn't understand him around his metacarpals.
"YOU SCREAMED." Bless Edge, always bluntly succinct when it mattered.
". . ." He lowered his hands. "shit."
"yeah. luckily neither Rus nor Blue really heard it- it woke them up, but they didn't really hear it, if you get my meaning." Morgue scooted off the bed.
"Here. I'll go reassure them all is safe and well. You three talk things over."
"MORGUE?" Edge called as she was crossing the room to make her escape the door, forcing her to stop.
"Yeah?"
"CAN YOU GET MY BROTHER? PERHAPS IF HE SAT IN ON THIS CONVERSATION HE'D GET ENOUGH SLEEP TO STOP BEING A LAZY ASS." Well, that was one way to confirm that Red indeed suffered the Sans curse of night-terrors.
"Sure thing, Edge." She said, continuing on her way to the door. "I'll just go do that."
She made it to the door.
She made it through the door, and shut it behind her, 'to give them privacy'.
Two steps away from the door, her knee gave out, forcing her to go to the wall for support, only to slide down it as her legs refused to support her. She was terribly exposed in the hall, but she'd run out of time. She was glad, she thought as she watched her health deplete to zero, that she had been able to make it out of that room.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When she came to, every muscle in her physical body ached as the Karmic Retribution ran rampant through her magic and soul. She sat up, rubbing the back of her neck to try and ease some of the tension there. What had she been doing...? Oh yes, she had been on her way to reassure Blue and Rus and retrieve Red. She tried standing, but her body didn't want to respond and the pain made her groan quietly. Still, she was slowly making her way vertic-
". . . MORGAINE?" Her head snapped up. Edge was standing at Comic's open door, staring at her in confusion and slight worry.
"..... Aw hell. Yeah Edge?" The uncertain look was covered up by a look of irritation so convincing that if she hadn't seen it, Morgue wouldn't have thought the original expression ever existed.
"YOU WERE TAKING TOO LONG SO THE OTHER TWO GOT... WORRIED. I WAS SENT TO CHECK." Morgue's suspicion that the story had suffered a little... judicious editing of the exact events was supported by two almost identical snorts from inside the room. Well, at least Comic was feeling well enough to laugh.
"Sorry Edge, my body decided to take an impromptu nap right here and now. Don't worry over my being lazy- I'll go get your brother now and the four of you can have a good long talk." She pushed herself up the wall, only to bite back a yelp as Edge caught her when her knees buckled again.
"I AM NOT RUS, MORGUE- I KNOW WHEN I AM BEING LIED TO." He said, striding back into Comic's room and shutting the door behind him. "BESIDES, THAT EXCUSE HAS BEEN OVER-USED BY MY BROTHER. NOR SHOULD YOU THINK THAT I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT YOU FAILED TO INCLUDE YOURSELF WHEN CALMING COMIC AND SPEAKING TO US." FUCK. Morgue glared up at the scarred skeleton.
"Y'know, you really notice way more than you should."
"I AM WELL AWARE OF THAT FACT, MORGUE. COINCIDENTALLY, I HAVE ALSO NOTICED YOU ARE TRYING TO AVOID THIS TOPIC. CEASE, AND TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON." DOUBLE FUCK. Comic and Stretch were sitting on the bed watching curiously as Edge cradled her in his arms, but their sockets widened as they realized the thing that Edge had already noticed. Morgue watched in trepidation as the two older brothers got over their 'eureka' moment and their sockets narrowed, gaze honing in on her intently. She recognized that look. She dropped her head back in resignation.
"Fuuuuuuuuck." There was no avoiding it now. Picking her head back up, she speared Comic with her gaze. "First off, I want to emphasize the fact that by no means will you be using interest in my problems to avoid talking about yours." Morgue watched Comic's gaze stutter, his skull paling as he realized that the other two skeletons in the room agreed with her. She didn't have time to make him agree, though- she could feel her health dropping still. "Edge, please put me down and go sit with Comic and Stretch." The tall skeleton made a sound that suspiciously sounded like his brother's 'fuck that' snort. "Put. Me. Down, Edge. I don't have time to argue." Sighing, the skeleton placed her on the ground amid the rubble before retreating under her relentless gaze to go sit with the two other skeletons, leaving her alone in the middle of the room like she wanted. She was such a liar.
"Before we start, I need you guys to understand that I have very limited time right now, so I can't stop and let you interrupt... and that I would never harm any of you as long as I stay sane." She ignored their looks of confusion and consternation at her odd choice of wording. "I want to say that none of you were supposed to know this... interesting quirk about me. I mentioned it to you and Edge before, though, that day when you came home early and found me in the tub Comic... And Edge showed us that horrid movie." Neither skeleton took interest in her half-attempted joke, and Stretch just looked lost. Taking a deep breath, Morgue continued.
"What is about to happen is not a Reset or Load- it can't mess with your time or your perception of your time. No, I cannot Save, Load, or Reset, even if I wanted to. I lost those abilities... a long time ago, and good fucking riddance." Stretch and Comic both looked like they wanted to interrupt furiously (it was Edge's turn to look lost), but Morgue continued. She could feel her health draining. "If you don't believe me, check with Edge- you both know he doesn't remember Loads or Resets. It's... Not going to look like a normal save star, either... It's black. Being dead won't last long for me... It never does." She noted the look on Comic's face... and the matching one on Stretch's, but her consciousness started to slip before she could say anything about it. "Fucking... hell..s......" She slipped back into unconsciousness, unaware of the three very alarmed skeletons.
"Morgue!"
The first thing she was aware of was that everything hurt.
The second was a voice, saying her name, over and over.
"...orgue....more....mo..GUE....MORGUE!"
"...nnnnnnn..... whaaaaaaa...." Her tongue felt thick and heavy. Stars, what was wrong with her? Her whole body was in pain, like she had pulled all her muscles, and her head felt fuzzy... Worried, she checked her stats, remembering her little problem but feeling relieved when she saw that the Karmic Retribution wasn't going to kill her a third time.
She would rather have her stats reset than be left more than half-dead, but hey- she had at least three (probably four, when Red found out there would be hell to pay) skeletons to talk with and calm down.
"...MORGUE?"
"Yeah Ehdge, 'm still here... giive mee a momennnt, tha' lasst wasss ruffffff..." She shuddered, trying to get her unruly tongue under enough control that she could stop slurring. Cracking her eyes open, she looked around, but she couldn't see much- everything was blurry and her eyes refused to focus. "te-essst..... teesssst..... tessst... test- ah, thar we go... ish."
"... you okay, kid?" Stretch's voice wasn't overtly hostile, but it seemed...reluctant, like Stretch hadn't wanted to inquire after her health. Like he wasn't sure he wanted her in the same house as them, let alone the same room. Morgue still lacked control over her body and couldn't control her flinch.
"... yeah, i'm 'kay. body won' listen t'me, tongue feels like s'wrapped ina sweater, 'n my eyes won' focus- s'no problem. it hurts, but s'alright. i'll deal. jus' ask yer questions... i know y'have 'em." Finally, finally she got her eyes working again.
Comic, Stretch, and Edge were all standing across the room. Stretch was holding onto an irritated-looking Edge- it looked like the edgiest skeleton wanted to come closer to help. Stretch himself was looking... slightly confused, but his highly distrustful gaze was trained on her. And Comic... While Stretch still seemed confused over why this was happening, Comic looked like he had figured it out. There weren't any lights in his sockets. That... wasn't a good sign.
"why."
"yer gonna hav' t'be a li'l more exact."
"why did you die." She grinned up at Comic.
"Comic already knows~" she trilled with false happiness. God, she felt punch-drunk as the Karmic Retribution finally finished and left her health low and her body aching.
"... karmic retribution." The sound of Comic's voice - his voice - abruptly returned her senses to her. She sighed, dropping the false happiness.
"Yeah. And yes, I do have an entirely unhealthy amount of LOVE to make it affect me that drastically." She raised her hand and showed them the fading purple glow of the Karmic Retribution where she had been grazed by the construct, not missing how two of the three skeletons had reacted defensively. She sprawled spread-eagle on her back (the least offensive position possible) to try and ease the tension and closed her eyes in resignation. "I simply ask that you wait to kill me until this conversation is over. Otherwise, we'll never get anywhere, and by this time your brothers must be getting anxious. So. The reason for my high LOVE- I felt that there was only one way out of the hell I was in. I lost the Save/Load ability, so every time I died, I Reset. On top of that, my LOVE never Resets with the rest of me- it's entirely cumulative." She sighed again. "Unfortunately, I failed to find a way out of my hell. My world is gone, but I am still here... I can not die. Or rather, I can't stay dead." It was rather quiet in the room now, she mused absently. "... As soon as I can move again, I'll leave and none of you will ever have to see me again," she finished quietly. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the skeletons' reactions.
A loud snort broke the silence in the room, startling Morgue's eyes open.
"ALL OF YOU ARE BEING RIDICULOUS." He ripped his arm out of Stretch's grasp and walked over. "CEASE WITH THIS FOOLISH THOUGHT OF LEAVING. IF HAVING A HIGH LOVE WAS A PROBLEM, THEN I WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED NEAR THIS HOUSE EITHER. YOU HAVE GIVEN US AMPLE PROOF OF YOUR INTENT, AND NOT ONE IOTA OF IT HAS WISHED US ILL." She stared dully up at him as she felt him check her. "AND IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY IDIOTIC TO EVEN LEAVE THIS HOUSE WHEN YOUR HEALTH IS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS." A noise drew her attention back to the two older brothers in the room.
Comic looked resigned, while Stretch looked grumpy, but neither protested when Edge picked up Morgue and cradled her against his chest.
"THANK YOU." The comment, entirely unexpected, made Morgue whip her head around in surprised confusion. "FOR OPENING UP TO US. I UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE YOU ARE OPENING UP TO DO NOT TRUST YOU, BUT YOU DID IT ANYWAY, SO THANK YOU." Morgue didn't really know how to deal with his (inexplicable) gratitude, so she ended up wriggling uncomfortably in his grasp as he turned to the others. Gods, she hoped she wasn't actually blushing. "AS FOR THE TWO OF YOU- DO NOT THINK I HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT THE TWO OF YOU - AND RED - NEED TO TALK ABOUT THOSE NIGHT-TERRORS YOU OLDER BROTHERS SEEM TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO." He placed Morgue at the foot of Comic's bed (where she promptly propped herself in a sitting position up against the wall) and turned to the door. "I WILL GO RETRIEVE MY BROTHER AND REASSURE YOURS." And with that, he stalked out the door. To be fair though, he seemed to stalk everywhere.
Comic sat down on the bed. If Morgue had any self-preservation instincts at all, she would have gotten worried. As it was though, she had none, so she didn't.
"y'know... edgelord is right." That was entirely unexpected, and snapped her attention up to his eyesockets. He snorted at her expression. "it's the truth! unusual, but true. you already said it- you did what you thought you had to do. doesn't mean it was right..." He looked away, seeming to contemplate something for a moment, before turning back "...i've already seen the results of it, haven't i?" It was Morgue's turn to look away.
"... Partially... yeah, that's one of the reasons." Gentle phalanges turned her head back, although his expression wasn't particularly gentle.
"then why?"
"If you're asking because you're worried it will happen again- don't be. It was a one-time thing. As for why-"
She was saved from answering as Edge re-entered the room with a spluttering, struggling Red slung over one shoulder.
"NOW WE WILL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT NIGHT-TERRORS." Morgue completely approved of that statement. Not so much his following one. "INCLUDING YOURS, MORGUE."
Only judicious use of blue magic stopped all four of them from teleporting to freedom.