Neon Tears

Chapter 27

-Balance Castle Small Dining Room-

Bane didn't know what he was expecting this morning, but this wasn't it. It wasn't the breakfast served buffet style, or the half asleep Sanses that surprised him. It wasn't even the relatively subdued Papyruses. No it was the kid sitting at the table and arguing with himself about breakfast.

"Bru I want pop tarts. No we are not eating that flavorless trash we will end up with a sugar headache again. Lucky Charms cereal! Oatmeal or the granola made here. How many times do I have to tell you if we are eating it won't be trash!" Fresh 404 ended up stubbornly sitting there arms folded glaring at the table with one of Fresh's tentacles squirming out of his right socket.

Static watched the drama while getting a pancake with chocolate syrup before shaking his head and sitting down.

Bane sighs, getting two bowls of oatmeal and adding a swirl of cream to each followed by fruit, nuts, and honey. "404 is right he probably takes after Nightmare. We were originally nature spirits. Large amounts of refined sugar can cause migraines among other problems." Grinning, he sets one of the bowls in front of Fresh 404 before sitting with Static.

Having gotten used to the morning arguments everyone gives Bane startled looks.

"Is that why they are always fighting about sugar?" Edge leans on the table having turned his attention from his sausage and bacon to Bane.

"How would I know? I know nothing about Fresh's dietary needs and limits. I don't even know if Nightmare and Dream are the same as Solar and I." Bane stirs the fruit, honey, nuts, and cream into his oatmeal and starts eating.

"yOu dOn'T eAT mUcH reD mEaT EiTHer." Static tilted his head watching Bane while eating his pancake.

Fresh 404 stirred his oatmeal following Bane's lead as Fresh settled down and pulled his tentacle in. "Agnis is good about keeping red meats from being too greasy and using lots of vegetables but red meat doesn't set great with us either. Fish, seafood, and poultry are good though."

Edge frowns looking at Fresh 404, "you know I don't think I have ever heard of different AU having different dietary needs. Sure we all like different stuff like Classic and any AU that split directly from UnderTale having a thing for ketchup, and me liking mustard. But never heard of some foods being hard on any skeleton before."

Dream keeps his sockets closed listening to the conversation, he had always worried why he had trouble with some foods.

"Edge dad and Dream are not exactly normal skeleton monsters. An avatar of Feelings named Nim was the original guardian of the tree of feelings, she was mortally wounded in that duty. She had to fuse with the tree to keep it from dying. Before she did she used the trees energy to form Dream and Nightmare. She first tried to put them in human vessels but they couldn't contain the magic and burst. Running out of time she searched the multiverse for a form that could contain the magic. What she found was a Sans. We are not sure which one but likely a swap because Dream and Nightmare both had high stamina, but unlike swaps dad was tall like mom. On the other hand Dream is about the same height as Razz who is about average for a swap so maybe." Fresh 404 shrugs, "anyway during the apple incident Dream and Nightmare both moved from being nature spirits to having souls becoming fully bonded to their forms. That is how they survived without the tree and took its place in the balance of positive and negative. So in that sense they are closer to skeleton dryads."

"Huh skeletons can eat anything that has magic, even metal so long as there is some magic. Is how Peace and I lasted longer than others without resorting to less pleasant options. Also let us stock up on something no one else would steal or fight for because they couldn't eat it." Hatchet and Peace both concentrated on their oatmeal.