#bittyreaders

           By the time she managed to sit up, wincing as her bruised tail hit the leg of the table, half the Sans were gone, as were all the Readers from the table and most of the front wall of the shelter. Gray monsters, seeming oddly dim in the sputtering fluorescents clinging to the ceiling, danced about, firing bullets and snarling at the remaining skeleton monsters. There were at least a dozen of the beasts, all trying to get into the shelter, only to be held back by walls and waves of bones. Behind them, slightly obscured by the smoke and dust, were three tall figures

           Rivet used the table to get to her feet, freezing when a syringe-shaped bullet whizzed over her head. Alpha Sans and Orange were dancing around the gray monsters, pulling each other out of the way while dodging bullets before landing their own blows. To the right, among the ruins of the small shop-center, the terrifying duo of Edge and Red were tearing into another group of Grays, drawing far more dust than their counterparts as they fought off the imposers. To the left, closest to the pen, Mobsy and Death were using their combined power to keep a fence of bones (some dark and cracked, some black as ebony but lacking any shine) up.

           Behind the pen, part of the wall had fallen on top of the short shelves and doll houses, and Rivet's stomach lurched as she remembered, quite clearly, seeing some of the quiet Readers peeking out from the windows when she first came in. The quiet, the timid, the shy – the few that hadn't wanted to engage with the boisterous poker game were in one of the houses, the one closest to the wall, the one beginning to crumble beneath the weight of the drywall.

           Without conscious thought, the deer threw herself forward, scrambling beneath a barrage of more syringe-shaped bullets and tripping over the low wall around the pen. She landed on her front, hard, and wanted to curl up and cry – the explosion had definitely bruised some of her ribs. Ignoring the pain, she army-crawled toward the crumbling doll house. Inside, there were flashes of blues and greens as the quiet, timid, and shy Readers recovered from the shock of the explosion and battled with the question: which was safer? Inside the disintegrating dollhouse or outside among the warring skeletons?

           "Out!" Rivet barked when she reached the house, tearing the little wooden front door off its hinges. "Quick!" Eight Readers obediently tumbled over themselves to escape the house, running into Rivet's arms and clinging to her sweater. Just before she pulled away to scoop them up, away from the danger, the deer was certain she saw an acid-green halo of magic around the bit of wall hanging from the studs. It vanished before she could be sure, and the wall collapsed, squishing the dollhouse flat. The Readers in her arms cringed, and she made sure they were pressed firmly against her chest with her arms as she stood.

           "Hart!" Mobsy stepped back, allowing Death to summon his odd chained-scythes and take a smack at the gray monsters, "Get out of here!" He scowled at the Readers in her arm.

           "But-"

           "Protect them!" He snarled, jabbing a finger at the back of the shelter, where beyond her private room was a back door, before turning to rejoin the fray. Rivet really, really didn't want to listen – this was her home, her livelihood. The shelter was supposed to be a safe space for monster and Reader alike, and these Grays had ruined it. She wanted to throw around a few of her own bullets, but one of the Readers – the one closest to her hand – bit her thumb.

           "Hey-"

           "He said run!" Sweets - dear sweet Asgore, SWEETS?! – had bitten her, and was cradling little Spice against her chest. In all the confusion, Rivet hadn't even realized she'd been one of the eight in the dollhouse. The glare on the mother's face put Mobsy's angry expression to shame, and Rivet immediately charged towards the backroom, holding the little ones tight. She channeled her rage into her bullets, spinny pink spirals of sharp antler-like discs, and destroyed the door before she was within a foot. The bullets just as easily cut through the back door, letting in a rush of cool night air and an outlet for the growing smoke.

           The back yard had been, thankfully, spared. The enclosed space had a brick patio extending into a wild tangle of grass and wild flowers. Along the sides of the privacy fence were more organized flower beds and bushes, and in the far corner a tower tree covered nearly half the yard with its heavy branches. To the left of the shelter was a large gate, which led to the alley that backed all the shops and stores on the street. Rivet, thanking her deer-monster genes, took a running start and leapt gracefully over the gate, then landed on the side of her hoof and had to turn and land on her back to avoid squishing the Readers in her arms. They cried out in alarm when she squeezed them a bit, but none of them seemed hurt.

           On the far side of the building, chaos was erupting. Smoke and dust curled above the flat roof, obscuring the street lights and casting odd shadows. Bright lights of every color created a rainbow of miniature fireworks as bullets collided and dissipated in excess magic. Yells and swears filled the street, most of them coming from the two Fells.

Cradling the bitty creatures in her arms (and wishing she had sixteen spare hands to cover their ears), Rivet scrambled to her feet and ran in the opposite direction. After sprinting past Muffet's Cafe and Miss Buns Bunnery, she steered towards the street, hoping to find one of her neighbors curious about the noise and poking their heads out.

Surprisingly, she found the entirety of the streets Grillby's peeking out, half-sloshed monsters wondering about the noise and lights. The bartender himself was standing close to the front doors, making sure none of his tipsy customers decided to try and 'help.' Beside him was his husband, Gaster (cheerfully nicknamed 'Dadster' by his friends), who was holding one of their newly adopted sons in his arms. The other was clinging to his leg, glaring at the noise. On his shoulder, dressed in an identical blue hoodie with soft fur trim, was their Reader, Silver.

           The couple seemed surprised to see the deer emerge, covered in soot and cradling eight shell-shocked bitties and one itty-bitty baby that was, somehow, fast asleep. The deer, however, was ecstatic.

           "Grillby! Oh thank stars!"

           Before he could say anything, Rivet began passing him the shy, quiet, and timid Readers, helped by Sweets, who juggled her baby and helping the others transfer arms as best she could. The bartender went rigid, drawing his arms close to his chest so the Readers could stand or sit on them and hold onto his vest for balance.

           "Miss Hart, what in the world is going on?" Gaster demanded, shifting Papyrus onto one hip. The little one immediately made grabby hands at Sweets, who allowed herself to be handed over to the child. The little adopted skeletons were frequent visitors at the shelter, always happy to play with the Readers as Rivet and their fathers spoke about boring, grown-up science-y stuff.

           "Not sure yet," Rivet made sure Grillby had a firm hold of her charges, then turned and ran back down the street, towards the battle at the far end, only to nearly be run over by a row of Royal Guard cruisers.

           The silver SUVs, trimmed with purple, slid to a screeching halt near the cloud of dust hovering around the shelter. Armored guards leapt from the vehicles, everyone from Undyne (both Alpha and Fell), Swap Alphys, and a host of dogs with wagging tails and heavy-duty armor. The smoke and dust around the half-demolished building seemed to pause for a moment; even the lights slowed to a stop as attacks were halted.

           Alpha Undyne barked an order to a wispy-looking officer, who in turn rose his arms and created a complicated pattern with his hands. A wave of air rushed down the street, rattling windows and shop signs as it went. The smoke and dust around the shelter was blown away, leaving only the half-destroyed building and six panting Sans in its wake.

           "Where's the prick?" Edge demanded loudly, jumping about like a hare about to throw down with a cheating tortoise. Beside him, Red prodded at his teeth, frowning when his gold one wiggled a bit too much. Sans and Orange leaned against each other, both sweating and looking exhausted, though their eyes were sharp as ever. As the last of the smoke cleared Mobsy whipped out his cell phone and began to speak rapidly to someone on the other end in an odd, clicking language. Beside the remnants of the pen, Death summoned his scythe, leaned on it, and got out his phone to check his Facebook.

           "Alright, which one of you punks is to blame?" Undyne demanded as she strode up, removing her helmet and posing dramatically. Her good eye immediately slid over to examine the two Fells, who bristled at the obvious profiling.

           "It wasn't them, Undyne," Sans straightened some, and pulled a miniature bottle of ketchup from his jacket pocket. He downed half of it in one gulp before continuing. "Hard to believe, I know." With a lazy motion he ducked the red-tined bone thrown at his head. "It was that Insane Doctor Gaster and a bunch of his followers."

           The fish's lips curled in distaste. "Him again?" She sneered, then peered past him at the destruction. "Shit. Are the Readers okay?"

           "Yeah," Sans reassured her, "Luckily we were having a poker night."

           "We?"

           "The Sanses." Orange leaned on Sans, easily able to rest his arm on the shorter skeletons head. "You missed a real party, it was Sansational."

           "Yeah, up until Gaster decided to be an ass-ter and blow it all sky high." Sans spoke through his forced chuckles.

           "Can it, bonehead," Undyne paused, then pressed her teeth together. "Ssss. Bonehead-s." She looked at the other officers, most of whom were securing a perimeter or sniffing for clues. "Is it worth starting a search for this guy, or does he do that teleporting thing most of you do?" She eyed Alpha Sans wearily.

           "He's long gone by now," Mobsy answered instead, shutting off his phone and shoving it back in his pants pocket. In his breast pocket, Indigo hissed and clutched her scalpel to her chest. Undyne raised an appreciative brow, smirking, before sobering.

           "Great. You guys sit tight – I'll need to get your statements before you leave. Was anybody else here?" Undyne pulled her smartphone from her pocket, along with a thin-tipped stylus for writing.

           "Yeah, six other Sanses," Orange grinned, "Like I said, it was a real party." He knocked on Sans head, making a hollow echo like a too-tight drum.

           Undyne rolled her eye and opened a notepad app. "Right. What Clans?"

           Mobsy swept in before the others could begin making puns again. "Dance, Outer, Lust, After from Geno, and both Error Sans and Fresh Sans."

           Undyne jotted down the names, the skin above where her nose would be wrinkling. "Right, I'll get people out to question them."

           "Don't bother," Mobsy waved a hand in her direction, "I have to see them all later today, I'll ask if they saw anything different than what we tell you."

           Swap Alphys, who had been listening in from a few feet away, snorted. She wasn't a fan of the Mob Clan – saw them as vigilante interlopers out to steal the glory that rightfully belonged to the Royal Guard. "What, can't stay away from your boyfriends that long?" She asked, raising a brow.

           Mobsy gave her a wide grin, making sure his fangs were clearly visible. "No. The others risked their lives to save the Readers. Rivet and I will have to go collect them." He nodded over the officers' shoulders, to a spot a few yards from the building, where Rivet stood.

           The deer was gob smacked – she gazed at the ruined remains of her home, jaw agape and ears drooped as low as they could go. One of the officers accidentally bumped into her as he passed, and she didn't even acknowledge him – she only had eyes for the destruction.

           "She hit her head pretty hard," Red mentioned, eying her from the side as he continued to wiggle at his loose tooth. "Probably has a concussion." He mused. Beside him, Edgy nodded as he examined his own battle scars.

           "Saw the bitch take a tumble outside too," the heavily-injured skeleton chuckled, "jumped right over the fence but couldn't stick the landing."

           They all watched thoughtfully as the wind monster from before escorted the shocked deer to the ambulance that had just screeched up. The deer resisted for a moment, before a stronger monster firmly suggested she come with them for some healing magic.

           "Now what?" Orange asked when the ambulance screeched away. He had pulled out a cigarette and was puffing away at it, eyeing the destruction with weary eyes.

           "I ain't a fucking maid." Edge growled. "Damn deer doesn't even like me." He vanished in a flash of red magic. Red shrugged at the others before vanishing as well.

           "I've got to get back to work," Death flicked through his phone, "Dead souls aren't going to collect themselves." He disappeared without an ostentatious flash, simply vanishing like a whisper of wind.

           As Undyne turned to create a game plan with Alphys, the three remaining Sans turned to each other.

           "Brothers?" Orange asked, eying the mess.

           "Brothers." Sans confirmed, feeling the Sloth of Laziness cling to his back as he looked around at the disaster. "Pizza?"

           "Pizza," Mobsy agreed. "Then we find this son of a bitch and tear his damn throat out."

           In his pocket, Indigo made a noise of agreement, waving the scalpel and glaring at the destruction of Rivet Hart's Itty Bitty Reader Shelter.

Part two of hopefully three! Struggled a bit with how to write this one - had three different openings written, but I like this one the best. I hope you all enjoyed!

The next chapter: Sans Clan Shenanigans!

Cheers, all you lovely lovely people! Thanks for the kudos and comments! :D

(Also, I was officially accepted into the Student Teacher program, so after this spring I'll be a full fledged teacher! Tremble in fear, middle school social studies students! Mwahahaha - *cough* I mean, I'm so happy!)