{Handplates chapter reference: looking forward}

Was this what death felt like?
Or was this something else?

You couldn't remember how you got here but it was as if your mind was swimming in darkness and you could not move.

Not feel.

Not think.

You were just...there.

Watching.

Sometimes the darkness split open, and you were able to catch a few glimpses of a world that you were no longer part of.

You saw scenarios, unfamiliar faces and strange situations and the moment that window closed again, it felt as if all memories about those things were gone. You were forced back into the state that you were in, which somewhat felt as if you were in a coma.

And then something unimaginable happened.

Suddenly, you stood in the middle of a darkened hallway.

There was a bright blue illuminating the space and before you could guess or understand what happened, you felt a pair of eyes on you.

And there, he was.

That small skeleton, pressed against his brother's chest as he slept. His eyes bore into you as if he tried to figure out what you are or how you got here.

Neither question could be answered so you just smiled at him, the way he looked at you making you want to comfort him and ease his fear.

And then, it was all dark again.

It was just the blink of an eye before you were pulled back again into the darkness and there you remained.

.

.

.

Until now.

Something had changed.

The two skeleton brothers sat on the bunk bed. The "seeing" sessions that Gaster had set up for 2-P have increasingly become more successful and, of course, 2-P taught everything he learned and discovered to 1-S when the lights were out and Gaster left the lab.

"CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE?"

"that's what i told him.", answered 1-S casually.
"I WANT TO TRY."

"cmon bro, i am tired."

"BROTHER."

"ok, ok."

2-P extended his hand: "TAKE MY HAND."

"why?"

"I THINK IT WILL HELP."

1-S chuckled and took 2-P's hand. "heh, alright if you say so." They both closed they eyes and took deep breaths in to concentrate.

"WHAT DO YOU SEE? WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU SEE?", 2-P asks after a moment of silence.
1-S remained silent, focusing on the image that appeared to him. It slowly started to unblur.

"red...and gold.." There was a golden checkered floor. Two skeletal hands with blue sleeves and red staining their hands. Whatever that meant.

"what about you?" 2-P took another small breath, trying to focus on his own vision: "WHITE...AND PINK, AND BLUE.."
There was fog. It slowly started to clear and it revealed something, or someone wearing a blue shirt with pink stripes.

Both skeletons slowly open their eyes again and 2-P speaks up: "BROTHER YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?"
He took 1-S's face into his hands, looking into his eyes with excitement and hope.

"BROTHER, WE'RE NOT HERE. SOMEDAY WE'RE GOING TO GET OUT OF HERE! SOMEDAY WE'RE GOING TO BE FREE!"

1-S squinted his eyes, his heart aching at the thought of finally being free. He started tearing up slightly.

"i hope so."

1-S broke down, burying his face in his hands as he scooted closer to his brother to seek comfort. 2-P immediately responded, glowing in a comforting warm orange and stroking his skull as his other arm wrapped around his small body.

"...god, i hope so.."

.
.
.

Whatever it was, your connection to that world had grown stronger.

You felt different emotions.
Flickers of hope and despair. Kindness and cruelty. Trust and Suspicion. Warmth and Coldness.

All these different feelings rushed through you and before you knew it, you found yourself standing in a small dark room.

The walls were a monotonous green-ish color and the rest of the room was pretty much empty except for the small bunk bed, a couple of bones and a color cube.

2-P's eyes were still glowing as he stared at you, but his expression quickly changed to fear and confusion.

"BROTHER! THERE IS- SOMETHING!" The smaller skeleton in his arms stopped sniffing, wiping away his tears and turned around.
His eye sockets widened in disbelief: "...it's that creature, that thing i saw one night!"

2-P pointed at you: "THAT IS WHAT YOU SAW?"

You blinked in confusion, not sure how you ended up in this situation. Or, existing at all.

You heard the panicked tone of their voices, but you could not understand a single word of what they said. It was clear that they were alarmed.

So you raised your hands as an attempt to signal them that you meant no harm: "It's okay. I don't want to hurt you. I just...I have no idea how I got here..."

1-S slowly scurried onto his feet, his brows furrowed. Was this one of Gaster's tests or experiments? Whatever it was, he would not let it hurt his brother.

"BROTHER I THINK IT IS TRYING TO TALK."

You look at the taller skeleton in confusion: "That is Wingdings...isn't it? It sounds similar to what Gaster sounds like..."

You crouched down to be more on their eye level and to hopefully appear at least a little less intimidating. Both skeletons mustered you quietly, their eyes fixed onto your lips as you talk.

"CAN YOU HEAR IT?"
1-S just shrugged: "nope. maybe that's not how it talks?"

"NONESENSE. HOW ELSE IS IT SUPPOSED TO TALK?"

You brought your hand to your chin. This was a problem. You couldn't understand them and they seemed to be either entirely ignoring what you said or they couldn't understand either.

One last try.

You put up your hands, using sign language instead.

Surely if they speak Wingdings they should know ciphers, right?

'Do you two hear me..?'

They just looked at your hands, entirely dumbfounded. You could literally feel their confusion.

"Well, I guess the last thing I can do is try to show what I want to say..", you mumble to yourself.

"Can you...", you point at them, "hear", you point at your ears "me?", then at yourself.

1-S lowered his guard a little. That thing seemed to be just as confused about the situation as them.

Did they make it appear? Was that their doing?

"bro, i think it asks if we can hear it."

"THEN WE SHOULD TELL IT WE DON'T."

2-P was already taking a breath, preparing to speak before realization hit him: "WHAT IF IT CAN'T HEAR US EITHER?"

"good point. try it like them."

Subject 1 was watching the interaction between you and his brother closely, trying to ensure that you really were no threat.

2-P pointed to his own ear canal openings, then at you and shook his head.

You heart dropped a little: "So, they don't hear me...that is tough.. There is no way we can properly communicate like this."

You fully sat down on the floor now, thinking to yourself.

How did you even get into this situation? What happened before you got here? You tried to think about it as much as you could but it was as if something blocked you from thinking of where you originally came from..

You knew your name and everything that happened the past centuries. You could recall the times of the war and everything after that but...not where you just came from?

Something was wrong.

Something was off.

You were so distracted by your own thoughts that you did not notice Subject 2 coming closer.
He took small and careful steps towards you, eventually trying to reach out.

"bro, what are you doin? don't touch it! we don't know what it can do-"

"AH, RELAX BROTHER. IT SEEMS REALLY NICE."

Without another thought, he reached out but his hand glid right through you.

You blinked as you felt...something as his hand made impact with your body. It didn't feel like a touch, more as if a small surge of energy coursed through you.

Out of reflex you turned your head, finding yourself facing the taller skeleton. You smiled a little before you caught something in the corner of your eye and you looked down at his chest.

His soul was glowing gently, but not fully.

No, it was as if only particles, small bits of [s/c] color were responding as Subject 2 made contact with you.

Your eyes widened, immediately feeling the familiarity.

"Is that...?"

You carefully scooted closer, kneeling in front of the skeleton: "Me..? How is that possible.."

There was silence for a moment as you tried to gather your thoughts. Realization hit you as you watched the glow slowly die down again.

"...Did you guys bring me here..?"

2-P's eyes started to glow faintly in the same color as you seemed to be positively responding to it and he carefully scanned your face.

It had roughly the same structure of a skeleton's but there were so many extra things. There were no sharp edges and no hard surfaces, but soft curves and other things that he wasn't familiar with.

"careful, bro...", said 1-S with a hint of urgency. 2-P's eyes remained on your face for a moment before he turned to his brother: "LOOK AT IT! IT LOOKS SO STRANGE BUT KIND OF....COOL?"

2-P beamed in excitement and jumped around a little. The sight of it made you chuckle. This young skeleton was very lively and energetic. It was adorable.

You carefully lifted up your hand. 2-P studied your palm curiously before putting his own hand against yours.

His hand was so much smaller than yours and you could feel that energy once again tickle between the two of you.

1-S finally decided to let his guard down, carefully stepping up to you as well.

"...do they feel kind of familiar to you?", 1-S asked, circling around you as he tried to size you up.

2-P tilted his head in response: "A LITTLE, YEAH. I FEEL LIKE AS IF WE...KNOW EACH OTHER..." You just silently watched the two as they talked.

Only now you had time to actually gather your thoughts. This place, it was cold and sterile. It was no place for children so what the hell were they doing here? What happened?

You felt your stomach chirm as you thought of the different answers. The robes that they were wearing didn't exactly make it better.

A faint light reflection caught your eye and you noticed that there were handplates attached to both of their hands.

You got back onto your feet, walking up to the taller skeleton. He immediately froze and watched you as you approached.

His eyes followed your gaze as you stood in front of him and he lifted his hand: "OH, ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT THAT?"

2-P lifted up his hand, showing the nameplate to you: WDG-2P.

WDG..? Was that..?

You felt your stomach twist and your heart pound wildly as your thoughts spiraled further down.

"No... no, it can't be. He- He wouldn't do that, right?"

2-P turned to his brother: "ARE THEY OKAY?"

"i dunno. seems kind of terrified, maybe disturbed. maybe they know what it is or the same happened to them."

"OH I HOPE IT DIDN'T. NO ONE BE HURT LIKE THAT."

There were so many questions, so many things that didn't make sense. How did things turn so drastically? And why are you here?

Gaster- You needed to find Gaster. Maybe if you got to talk to him, all of it would make sense. And all of it would have a plausible explanation.

Frantically, you headed towards the exit. Both of the skeletons were shouting at you in fear from behind but you ignored their calls.

You extended your hand, carefully reaching for the laser and just like you suspected, your hand phased right through it.

There was stunned silence behind you and you gathered your courage to push through the lasers entirely and suddenly-

1-S's eyes widened as the figure in front of them disappeared.

"are they gone? where did they go?"

"I DON'T SEE THEM ANYMORE. DO YOU THINK THEY DISAPPEARED?"

1-S brought his hand up to his chin as he thought: "it would...maybe make sense. whatever it is, they seem to be some kind of vision? like a ghost? a phantom?"

"IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?"

"...maybe?"

"DO YOU THINK IT WILL COME BACK..?"

1-S was silent for a moment. This situation was strange. This creature was an unknown variable.

Something that seemed to be the product of their vision but not entirely.

It appeared to be an entity of and by itself and out of their control.

Whatever it was, it changed the game entirely.
Maybe...they could help them somehow.
Maybe there was hope afterall.

But it was dangerous to cling to something like this.

1-S turned towards the bunk bed and climbed onto it, not daring to say out the words that were in his head.

"i'm tired. let's go to sleep."

{A/N: I am so so so sorry for that super long world building etc (I hope it wasn't too boring to read) but the reader couldn't return "just like that" so a lot of things needed to happen before that. I hope you guys aren't disappointed about your comeback T^T

Also just to clear this up again: You are basically a muted ghost as this new version of yourself, because the skeleton brothers have only gotten seeing abilities. And you obviously cannot understand them because Gaster has been talking in Wingdings with them constantly. I could've just added the signs again like I did in the beginning but I thought for the long term it would get a little too complicated so I left it as it is.

But yeah, again, I hope you guys aren't too disappointed with the return of the reader but I thought it would be a pretty cool plot.}