Cold. A cold that sunk into your very bones and clung on like a poison, was what they awoke to.

That was the first true sensation to hit them without warning. A broken wet gasp escaping their mouth, that failed to make any noise. Everything was dark but the newsensation was something they latched onto with a fervour of a man dying of thirst.

The sound of rattling filled their senses next, the sound too loud and they wanted it to stop.

But sadly things only got worse with reality itself seemingly uncaring at how stressed they were.

After they realised that they were cold and the world was loud, it was like an invitation for the world to throw everything at them at once. A sharp chirp like noise left their mouth, overwhelmed and scared as their senses came online with zero care of being gentle.

The strange noise kept escaping their mouth until something warm was laid across their form, which abruptly cut the sound off. Growing silent when something new and far less scary was felt.

A thumping noise which they instinctively leaned closer towards for comfort from all the new things. Not noticing the solid form holding them trembling and only focusing on the soothing noise that made everything feel less alarming. Fingers weakly clenching into the white fabric that was too rough but the thought of letting go made the odd whine build up in their throat again.

The new SOUL fell into a half doze at the rocking, sniffles escaping their form every so often.

One SOUL in the room calmed, while another one raced in a rather concerning manner.

"Ahhh....well, i'm dead"

Sci barely held back a hysterical laugh, eyelights wobbling in an uncontrolled manner in a way they hadn't since he was a babybones himself and hadn't learned to control his magic. He had to bite back a sob when the consequences of what he just did played in his mind like a horror film. Eyes desperately darting around the room as if it would make what had just happened, make any more sense.

Sadly nothing made it better. Not his messy work bench, nor the broken vials on the ground which were the cause of this entire mess.

He had freaked out when he had been kidnapped and brought to Nightmares Castle. Even more so when a dangerously brittle Ink was placed on the bench and he was told to 'fix it'.

This had been far out of his pay grade and he was still too young for this!

He just got his degree, just discovered that a multiverse existed and learned that he was apparently a 'copy' of a Sci type. That had been unsettling to hear and had brought on an existential crisis. Although in hindsight it had made many of the unexplained instances of his life, that went far too well for him, make a depressing amount of sense.

The reason why his crazy research project about 'Healing SOULS' had been so well funded by 'anonymous donors', that he had assumed had been the royals despite how they hadn't funded a project in centuries.

Apparently other 'Sans' had been watching him like some sort of science experiment and were waiting until he was showing results, until talking to him.

He had never felt so exposed with his sense of privacy non-existent. Creeped out when a monster who looked like him but sharper, had casually mentioned him being the most successful Sci copy and someone to likely help 'turn things around', whatever that meant.

He wasn't a hero! He enjoyed his lab and to research to his heart's content without having to socialise.

That he was kidnapped by the apparent 'enemy' and told to heal what he vaguely recognised from pictures shown as the Creator, only made everything worse.

That his frantic examination had led to nowhere, dust dripping off the monster's form like rain, who was eerily smiling and laughing like this was all a joke. Which certainly hadn't helped his mood.

He had been close to tears the entire time!

He didn't know what 'paints' were exactly and not hearing a healthy SOUL beat from the dusting chest had made him have a much needed breakdown. His own SOUL beat had to be through the roof when he had turned away for a minute to grab a drink, when the sound of smashing filled his skull.

The dying monster. Ink, had recklessly drunk his very experimental potions, that had been brought along with him.

Which had brought him to the most horrifying moment of his life. Watching a monster dust...and then see the pile of dust twitch like a horror movie with the sound of a child's cry filling the air.

He knew how children were born and this wasn't it. His SOUL raced even faster when he saw the pure white eyelights wobble and simply acted on instinct. Scooping them up in the one clean blanket in the room, trying to soothe them before they could attract any attention.

It was a miracle he rarely had to meet his hosts with food and water appearing by the latch in the door periodically. He rarely saw any of the other monsters living here after the first time. Likely due to fainting when he saw a strange goopy monster, too stressed to feel any embarrassment about it.

A gurgle from his chest reminded him to focus. He had a far more important issue right now. A tiny bonelette who likely needed feeding...something he couldn't quite remember how to do. It was a good thing he was allowed to access the Undernet, forgetting about the fact all his search results were being monitored and that it would attract the attention of his captors rather quickly.

The whining sound from the tiny body was all warning he got before a more demanding chirp filled the air. Like a foghorn to his instincts, his body locking up in stress as he stared wide eyed at the tiny creature making a noise far too loud for something that small.

He didn't even notice the door opening, too busy sobbing while huddled in the corner of the room. Cobbling up a rough looking feeding bottle filled with paints and his own magic, in a moment of pure desperation.

Shattered had tried to stay away, he truly did but the emotions wafting off the lab had drawn him like a moth to a flame. Getting rid of the original Sci had felt so therapeutic and even though he hated that monster with his entire SOUL, they had been intelligent. A genius who could solve issues even if the methods were questionable.

He was reminded by the fact he wasn't all powerful and even if he had his brother's support now and a much closer family unit, he still needed others much to his annoyance. Especially when Ink had started to get ill, when they couldn't even leave the bed and only manically laughed with far too much joy for a monster dangerously sick.

He didn't like it. His instincts screaming something was wrong and yet the solution and reason, was out of reach. He had mixed feelings for Ink but he didn't want them dead, so a Sci had to be brought in. A newer copy that had only recently popped up, one not poisoned by the other Sans or overly influenced.

He had expected many things, Ink to be somewhat stabilised or in some sort of stasis, as he had read in this Sci's research.

This version of the monster was a breath of fresh air with an almost innocent air to them that calmed him greatly. That they didn't sound like the past Sci either, was calming and helped him to differentiate them from the last one, although he might suggest a name change at some point.

"Sci.~ How are things going-"

He choked on his words at the sight. Staring wide eyed at not only the dust but the literal baby in the lab with Sci sobbing in the corner like an overwhelmed parent.

...maybe he should have grabbed a more experienced Sci, his tentacles stilling even as he sensed his twin rushing closer, likely due to his emotions going wild.

He just wanted to heal Ink, how did things end up like this?!

~~~~~~

OC: *Shivering mess and looking like a kicked puppy*

Sci: *Sweating like crazy as he knows he has messed up* I am so dead when Shattered finds out...

-

Sci: *Confident and bright eyed and oblivious of the multiverse* Oh boy, I can't wait to work in a job that brings me so much joy!

Alternative Sans: *Nodding together and about to ruin this whole mans life* This one will do

Nightmare's gang: *Ready to ruin Sci's life further*

Sci: *Feeling a shiver run down his spine*...why do I feel like I should regret every decision in my life?

-

Shattered: *Walking into the lab* So, how is everything going-

*Entire lab a mess, dust on the table and Sci looking sleep depressed while trying to feed a fussy bonelette*

Shattered: *Speechless*

Nightmare: *Peaking in and getting a headache*...I am so tired...