The Shattered Hourglass

Chapter 4: A Changed World

Starring up at Gaster, I remembered fragments of that day when he came and saved me from the other children's abuse. Smiling wearily up at Gaster, I watched as he looked at me with a faint smile and turned back to Sans and Papyrus.

Glancing over at the other two, I could see Papyrus was sad as he looked at me with a frown on his face. Looking over at Sans, I found myself locking eyes with him as he frowned back at me.

"How could they do that to her, what did she do to them to deserve that?" Papyrus asked, his voice seeming to get quieter as he spoke softly. Turning my head back at Gaster, I watched quietly as he took in a deep breathe and sighed heavily.

"That's the problem, she did absolutely nothing to them. Even so, she was still a human and because of that she was treated like one." Gaster said, clenching his fists as he spoke. Reaching over towards Gaster, I took his fist in my hand and held it softly as I tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault.

Turning his head towards me, Gaster smiled at me and softly squeezed my hand back. I hated to see him like this as children and even now it hurts me, especially since I couldn't remember anything.

"Brother, what about the war? W-what happened to our home?" I asked quietly, as I stared back at Gaster. He looked down at me with uncertainty in his eyes.

"Alright Yume, we'll tell you." Gaster said, succumbing to my pleading eyes. Smiling up him, I let go of his hand and rested mine on the table.

"Can I please tell her?" Papyrus asked, smiling at us as he leaned forward in his seat. Looking at papyrus then back at Gaster, I watched as he nodded back to Papyrus and rested his hands in his lap.

"Thank you Gaster!" Papyrus said cheerfully, "Yume, long ago humans and Monsters lived among another in peace but, one day a rumor had sprung. The rumor told about a monster who killed a humans family and took their souls." Papyrus said, pausing to add dramatics.

"After many weeks, humans began to believe these rumors and came to fear monsters, because of this monsters were driven out of their homes and were cast out. Soon war broke out between our King and the Humans warrior, when the battle ended, the humans won." Papyrus said, as he held his fist up in the air pointing towards the ceiling.

"They sent us underground and sealed off the entrance with a powerful barrier that could only be broken by seven human souls." Papyrus said, glancing back at us as he set his hand back down on the table.

"Very good Papyrus, I'm glad you remembered your lessons." Gaster said, smiling softly at papyrus in approval. Nodding my head gently, I smiled back at Papyrus as well seeing him beam with pride.

"When did this happen?" I asked, watching as Gaster scooted himself out and stood up. Looking back at Papyrus, I could see he was having a hard time trying to remember.

"The war started long after you disappeared so suddenly," Gaster said, as he began to pick up the dirty dishes off the table.

"It didn't end until I was in my early twenties. At that time I was fighting along side all the others. Grillby was there too, and we both were fighting for the same reason." Gaster said, as he walked over to the sink and put the dishes in it.

"Grillby?" I asked, trying to remember who it could've been as Gaster finished putting everything away.

"Really? I never thought Grillbz would be there." Sans said, slightly surprised at hearing what Gaster had said.

"Do you mean the bartender at that place you always go to?" Papyrus said, as he too scooted himself out of his chair and stood up.

"Yeah that's the one. Maybe we can hit that place later and get lunch." Sans suggested, as he too got out of his seat. Looking at all of them, I became more and more confused about who Grillby was.

"Yes I suppose we can, but first we need to get a few things for Yume so she has what she needs." Gaster said walking over to me as he pulled out my chair for me. Standing up, I turned towards Gaster and grabbed his lab coat gently.

"Brother, who is this Grillby that you keep mentioning?" I asked staring up at him for an answer. For a short moment Gaster looked at me with a thoughtful expression on his face, but it soon turned into a slight frown.

"You don't remember him either, do you?" Gaster asked, as his eyes locked with mine. Nodding my head slightly, I looked away from gasters eyes and frowned deeply.

"He's an old friend of ours from when we were children, and he would be very happy to see you even if you don't remember him." Gaster said softly, as he took my hand and smiled.

"Really?" I asked, staring back at Gaster as he lead me to the living room with Sans and papyrus following us. Smiling down at me, Gaster nodded as we entered the living room and went towards the couch.

"Yes of course, he would be thrilled to see you after so long. Now, we must go get you a couple of things before we go and see him. Sans can you bring me your boots, I do believe they should fit her." Gaster said, looking at Sans as he stopped  and turned to face him.

"Yeah sure I'll go get them." Sans said, as he turned to the stairs and started walking off. He seemed much nicer than before, I wonder what made him change his personality towards me.

"Papyrus, can you please bring me one of your scarves so that she doesn't catch a cold?" Gaster asked, as he turned towards Papyrus.

"f course, I shall be right back." Papyrus said, as he too marched off to the stairs. Looking at Gaster, I watched quietly as he went over to another doorway that was a few feet away from the couch and disappeared. Looking around, I waited quietly as Gaster came back with a blue coat in his arms.

"Here you go, it might be a bit big on you but don't worry, we'll get you a proper one here soon." Gaster said, as he stood behind me and held the coat up me. Turning my head to look behind me, I slipped my arms into the sleeves of the baggy coat and zipped it up.

"Hey, I got the boots."Sans said, startling me at his sudden appearance. In his hands were a pair of blue boots with white fluff sown into the top. Watching him walk towards me, he stopped in front of me and held the boots out for me to take.

Grabbing the boots out of his hands, I blushed slightly and smiled at him. He seemed happy at my reaction and smiled too as he stepped backwards and shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

Hearing footsteps coming closer, I looked up to see Papyrus walking down the stairs towards us with a red scarf in hand. Keeping my eyes on him, I watched as he walked over to me and held out the clean crimson scarf.

"Here you go little Yume, I hope it keeps you warm." Papyrus said, letting out a short Nyeh as Gaster took the scarf and wrapped it around my neck. Placing the boots on the ground, I slipped my feet into them and smiled up at everyone.

"Thank you very much!" I said, as I held my hands up to my face and blushed a pale pink. Taking a deep breathe, I could smell a faint fragrance of vanilla beaming off of the big coat like a gentle breeze that soothed my soul.

"Your welcome Yume, now lets get going shall we?" Gaster asked as he held out his hand for me to take. Smiling up at him I nodded and took his hand. Following Gasters lead we went over to the doorway he came back from and went through.

Looking ahead of us, I could see a brown door with two windows on each side of it and another door a few feet away on the left side of the hall. Feeling Gaster let go of my hand, he went over and opened the door for us. Once the door was open, a cold breeze washed over us and sent chills down my spine as I walked towards its blinding light.