Archive of Our Own

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If one knew of the multiverse, then one knew of the Handplates AU.
A twisted world where Doctor Gaster created Sans and Papyrus and treated them like lab rats.
The same could be said about the Underswap!Handplates. But with the river person as the royal scientist.
Underfell!Handplates had a major difference; Gaster had made Sans and Papyrus into living weapons, they could shift into forms that resembled gaster blasters.
Swapfell!Handplates was just the same, but with the river person, like Swap.
There are many other dark AUs, possibly with much more horrible conditions. However many find Handplates’ level of child abuse to be far too sinister.
But this story does not just tell the tale of the Handplates AUs, it also involves the four basic Undertale AUs. Undertale, Underswap, Underfell, and Swapfell.
And we should all know that when those four AUs get together, there will never be a dull moment. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
This story begins in an Undertale AU, where monsters have been free, living on the surface, and slowly integrating into human society for ten years.
In the forest of Ebott; far from the cities busy streets and crowded neighborhoods, a large portion of the land is owned by a writer, who lives alone in a large house she had inherited. Her name was Yin Kazumi. She was a normal human, a normal genius human.
At sixteen she was already taking her college courses, when she turned eighteen she had graduated college, and was already a world-wide famous writer. She wrote something in every genre of reading, making her infamous to every bookworm in existence.
Despite all her fame, Yin was not the kind of person to wave her ego around. She preferred to be left alone, especially after the incident.
Like any young lady, Yin had fallen in love shortly after she graduated. But it did not last, the man had tricked and used her, only caring about her fame and money.
Her heart was greatly scarred, even more so, because they had broken up five months into her pregnancy. Not only that, but the baby had also passed away, leaving her alone with no one to love. It has been five years since then and Yin has not let any into her heart, other than her family who would visit or call from time to time.
Yin has become an important monster supporter, changing people’s view on monsters by writing many documents online. Her words often move the hearts of her viewers and they change their ways, forgetting their fears.
But despite all the kindness she gave to others, she never let herself become too attached to anyone.
Yin often felt more like a failure, as any women who lost their child would.
But she distracted herself from the depression, spending hours writing, reading, cleaning, sewing, gardening, and anything to keep her sadness at bay.
Unknown to her, the life of solitude she had accustomed to would change. In a most unexpected way.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been raining for days, Yin had not left the house in forever. She was still at her desk writing her next book and planning her next document.
She had a bit of a double life, online she was the ‘Peacekeeper’, the biggest supporter of monster’s rights. And her pen name was Ying Harmony, a name known by every reader and library worldwide.
But all that did not change how lonely she really was.
‘Maybe Mom was right. I am a hermit.’
Of course, her family had told her constantly not to seclude herself, but who listens to their parents when they’re twenty-six years old.
Yin could remember every word from every person who gave her the same ‘important’ talk.
‘You have to stop hurting yourself, make some friends and get out in the world.’
‘There are oceans you haven’t crossed yet. Travel a bit, take a hike, live life to the fullest! You’re not getting any younger.’

‘If you live under a rock for too long, you’ll become a rock yourself.’

‘Being alone for too long can make you crazy. It’s been scientifically proven you know.’

Yes, they all worried about her. But Yin was fine, she never let herself get too depressed. Though she may work until she was exhausted.
Other than that, Yin saw herself as perfectly healthy. She grew her own vegetables, some fruit, and even nuts. She had a well, so she was never short on water, and avoided all chemical pesticides. Yin had done her own research and found out that many herbs can also be used to keep certain bugs away.
Despite her depression, Yin never even tasted any alcohol, touched a cigarette, or even seen weed. She was stubborn and refused to sink so low as to drink her problems away.
Instead, she found a much more healthy option; teas. It turns out that certain plants can relieve stress and boost morale, she discovered it when she was researching for her herbs. Because of that, she became addicted to herbal teas, they took the place of her coffee and sodas. Whenever she was sad or overworking, she brewed a cup and worked.
Which is what she was doing right now, working like a mad woman while sipping her tea on a rainy day.‘Man, what is this rain trying to prove? The worst thing is I need to get this done and delivered to my editor by the end of the week.’
A writer's greatest enemy was the deadline, the harbinger of evil to creativity and imagination.
‘Ella is gonna kill me… ’
Yin’s editor was a nice person; positive attitude, smiles, the kind of person who sees a glass as half full. But she had her limits, like when Yin is given four months to finish the last chapter of her latest book and still doesn’t have it done. Yeah, that’s when Ella will snap and give a good lecture on proper timing, planning things out, and the importance of not holding something off until the last minute.
Needless to say, Yin was finding herself in a real pinch. One that she put herself in.
‘That’s it… I’m gonna die… all because I can’t get my work done… why am I so lazy when it comes to the last chapter?’
As though to respond to her question, a loud crash of thunder echoed through Ebott forest.
‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don’t have to tell me… wait… ’
That last noise was not thunder, she had heard thunder in these parts hundreds of times. That sound was odd, it was more like a really loud tear.
“What is going on out there?”
Yin knew she was too far out for anyone to be hiking, there were no bike trails, and the roads had been cut off for three days because of the rain flooding the dirt streets.
She turned her head to the nearest window, the rain was still pouring but the wind had died down some. The forest could be seen through the cold droplets, as well as something else deep in the trees.
‘Someone is out there? In this weather?’
Yin knew better than to go out in the forest during the rainy season, but her integrity always overpowered her better judgment in these situations.
She rushed downstairs, grabbed her raincoat and boots, and when out the backdoor. She ran through her soaked garden and proceeded into the woods.‘Whoever is out there is gonna need help.’
Yin knew the forest better than anyone at this point, she had ventured into them so often that she could tell every tree apart.
She went deeper in, keeping an eye out for anyone that may be lost.
“Hello! Is anyone there?!”
Her words barely echoed through the rain, but she managed to find the faintest sound of rustling. Someone was there and they were likely lost.
“Don’t worry! I’m here to help! Just hang on and I’ll find you!”
More rustling, they were close. Just a little farther and she’d find them. Yin clawed through some bushes, now following the sound of whimpering. The closer she got the more it sounded like multiple whimpers, it even sounded like children.
‘What parent in their right mind would let their children out in this weather? Or did these kids get lost? Or ran away?’
She dreaded the thought of kids being separated from their parents, especially when she lost hers.
Yin pushed away the last of the wild shrubbery that stood in her way. What she saw astonished, saddened, and confused her. Just as she feared, she saw lost children in front of her, and they were skeleton monsters. Yin knew how protective monsters were to their children, the chances of kids being too far out of reach from their guardians was extremely rare. There were eight kids total, four of them were taller than the other four and they all had green sleeveless hospital gowns. But what sickened her was the metal she saw on their hands; they appeared to be drilled on.
The children were shaking as though scared of her. They likely were, after all, they were lost in the forest in the middle of a storm. And judging by the kids' appearances, they had been through a lot.
Old habits kicking in, she took off her raincoat and lifted it over the small monsters; shielding them from the pouring rain. Some curled themselves, as though expecting an attack, the others stood their ground and made growling noises.
“Don’t be scared, I’m here to help. I’ll get you out of here, safe and sound.”Yin spoke gently, trying not to sound threatening. The brave ones looked at her confused like they had had not expected her words. The ones that had shielded themselves peeked from their limbs with hopeful expressions.
“My home is not far, let's get you kids out of this rain before it gets worst.”
Mother nature made a point in Yin’s words, thunder crashed after a bright flash of lighting. The children cringed and cried at the sound, almost like they had never heard thunder before.
“It’s ok. I’m here, you’re gonna be alright. Please let me help.”
The courageous ones hesitated but looked at the terrified monsters behind them and made a decision. They each took a scared bundle of bones and slowly came closer to Yin.
“Alright, now stay close, we only have a little way to walk and we’ll be fine. Just stick to me, you’ll be out off here in no time.”
Yin continued to give encouraging words as she led her little group through the forest. She counted each head every few minutes, making sure not to lose anyone along the way.
When they reached the sight of her back garden, a flash of lightning startled the little ones.
“It’s ok, we’re almost there. Just a little further.”
They cut through the garden quickly, some kids glanced at the growing plants as they made it to the porch. Yin headed for the door and opened it as she turned to the little skeletons, she saw that they looked at her and the house confusingly. The expressions on their faces made it seem like they had never even seen a house before.
“You can come in, I’ll get some towels so we can dry off.”
Half of the group seemed weary, the other half looked tempted to enter.
“It will get dark soon, the weather around these parts becomes quite cold at night, and it’s still raining, it will be much safer in here.”
Once again, nature added it’s own words and a loud roar of thunder echoed the forest.
Scared and unsure, the kids looked at each other. They seemed to be debating whether it was ok to go in. One skeleton, one of the scared ones, started inching toward Yin slowly.
Yin looked at the tall child who was obviously terrified and knelt down to his level, opening her arms as an offer for comfort. The skeleton’s eye sockets widened, surprised and disbelieving of Yin’s gesture, before running into her and clinging for dear life. The kid shook so much that his bones could be heard rattling uncontrollably.
“Hey, hey… it’s alright. Everything is okay. You’re gonna be fine.”
The shaking skelly was crying, it pulled at Yin’s heartstrings to see a kid so distressed. The other children began to move closer to Yin, each had their own expression of disbelief, astonishment, uncertainty, or hope.
Yin lifted the skeleton in her arms and faced the doorway.
“Now, let’s get you all inside and out of this cold rain. I’ll even make some warm milk, would you like that?”
All the kids looked momentarily confused before slowly stepping over the threshold and entered the house.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After all the children came into the house, Yin put the skeleton she was holding down, closed the back door, and turned to the back coat closet.
Keeping towels close to the backyard was something she did after multiple occasions. Like the time she took a hike on a clear sunny day and had to run home after an unexpected shower. Or during the winter when she tended to her garden and accidentally left trails of snow in the kitchen.
Yin grabbed all the towels in the closet and handed them out to the small skeletons. She laid one towel on the floor to mop up the water and returned her raincoat to the closet.
She turned back around, only to find the kids staring at the cloth they were given. This began to stir up theories in her head and none of them were pleasant.
What the kids were wearing was enough to clue what these children had likely been through. But looking at them in the light and seeing their expressions added up to rather displeasing results.
Taking one of the kid’s towels, the same child she hugged, she slowly draped the fluffy cloth over his head and softly rubbed with it to gather the water on his bones.
“These are towels. They’re used to dry off. Just do what I do, okay?”
All the kids looked at Yin and what she was doing before drying themselves. They all covered their heads and rubbed their skulls through the soft fabric before proceeding to dry the rest of their bones.
While they were drying off, Yin took a good look at them. She did not know why, but something told her that all of these kids were boys. They were only bones, so it was hard to be sure just by looking.
The kid she was drying was one of the four tall children. She could see his soft, hesitant expression intertwined with hope. His cheekbones had a faint shade of orange, it reminded her of the paprika she liked to season curry with. But his hand had drawn the most of her attention. As she had suspected, the small metal plate had been drilled on.
Close to him was one of the small skeletons. Yin could feel him staring at her as if watching for anything that might hurt the one in her arms. His eye sockets were wider, with small dots of white in the center. She looked at his own hand, he too had a drilled plate.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw all of the remaining skeletons paired up. One tall skeleton would be close to a smaller skeleton. Each pair seemed close like an invisible bond tied them together. They each had a drilled plate on their hands.Realizing that the small skeleton close to her was likely not coming closer to his tall partner because of her, she moved away to take off her boots. Glancing back at them, she saw the two move closer together, almost touching at their arms.
Yin got back up and headed to the stove, she grabbed a small pot and placed it on a back burner. She took the milk out of the refrigerator and poured a large amount into the pot to begin heating.
She pulled out sugar, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, and placed them to the side. She had a special recipe for warm milk, one that always made her feel happy on gloomy days. She figured the kids would need something to cheer them up.
Yin turned back to face the kids and saw that they had finished drying.
“You can sit at the table and wait if you want. This will take a few minutes to be ready.”
They hesitated, looking at the large table past the bar counter and to Yin. They slowly moved to the table and climbed into the chairs. Each pair sat right next to each other, one would be weary and the other would be curious.
A few minutes after, Yin mixed in the sweeteners until they dissolved. She took the milk and poured some into nine mugs, placed said mugs on a large serving tray, and carried them to the table.
“These are a little hot, so be careful when you sip them. Don’t drink it too fast or you might burn yourselves.”
Yin passed a mug to each skeleton then took her seat at the head of the table. Four skeletons on her right and four on her left. They all hesitated to drink first, so she took a large sip from her own mug. The warm, sweet, creamy drink made her smile and relax.
“It’s really good, this is one of my favorite drinks you know.”
All of the children stared at her for a moment before two skeletons tried the milk. When they tasted it, they seemed to have literal stars in their eye sockets. And Yin finally heard them speak.
“BROTHER, IT’S REALLY GOOD!”
“THIS IS REALLY GOOD, BROTHER!”The young monsters told their respective brothers how good the drink was and Yin processed this new information.
‘So, they come in pairs and when they each told the skeleton next to them that it was good, they called that skeleton ‘brother’. But didn’t say anything to the whole group. No ‘hey brothers this is good’. Just, ‘brother it’s good’. Does that mean they’re not all related?’
As the last two skeletons on her left were trying the milk, she looked over to her right. Two of the four were extremely nervous, the other two were eyeing the milk then looking across the table. It was obvious that they were debating whether or not it was okay to drink the milk.
‘For a child to be that weary of a drink… these boys must have gone through quite a lot.’
Yin knew that was an understatement. She could tell by the way they had stared at her house, these skeletons had been through absolute hell.
The weary two boys on her right had finally decided to drink the milk after seeing the last two on her left continue to drink after a sip. The nervous skeletons followed them shortly after and did not stop until the mugs were empty.
“I’m glad that you all seem to like it. Would you like some more?”
That question caused all of them to freeze. Were these boys not ever given seconds?
“... CAN WE REALLY HAVE MORE?”
Yin looked at the questioning skeleton, he was one of the small skeletons with smooth round cheeks that could almost resemble baby fat. His cheekbones had the faintest hue of blue, the color reminded her of the oceans at beach houses she used to visit with her family.
“Of course, you can have as much as you like.”
The kids remained silent at Yin’s response, that gave her more hints on just what these boys had gone through. And she wanted the person who did this to suffer.
“... why?”
The question snapped Yin out of her thoughts, turning to one of the tall skeletons. He seemed tired like his energy had been sapped straight out of him.
“Why, what?”
“... why are you so nice? we’ve never been treated like this before… so why are you?”That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Under no circumstances was a child ever to ask why they would be treated nicely by others.
Without another thought, Yin stood up from her chair and walked over to the skeleton. The others watched her with slight fear in their eye sockets. She knelt next to the skeleton who asked and looked in right in his eye sockets.
“I may not know what you have all been through, but I do know this; you all deserve to be treated nicely. Wherever you came from, you are not there anymore. Here, children are protected and given care. Whatever or whoever made you think that you didn’t deserve to be shown kindness was wrong. You are children and children are always taken good care of. They must always be cared for, shown love and kindness, and not be mistreated like they are not living beings. Whatever you were told in the past was nothing but lies from a criminal, the worst kind of person in all the world.”
Somewhere during her speech, Yin placed her hands on the boy’s shoulders. He was now looking at her with disbelief and fascination. She reluctantly turned her head to see the others. They all had the same look, they seemed to be having a hard time believing what they were being told.
“All of you deserve kindness. From here on, never forget that. You are all worthy of kindness.”
She turned back to the tall, now blushing skeleton. Like the one she had hugged, he too had an orange hue to his bone cheeks, though brighter than the others. The color made Yin think of oranges, she gave him a warm smile.
“Well, don’t you have a cute orange color.”
Said skeleton blushed even more at those words and tried to hide behind his hands. They did not hide his growing blush well.
“Now let’s try that one more time. Would you like some more milk?”
All of them had given her affirmative nods, she gathered the mugs and went to refill them. Yin knew this was just the beginning of something special.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After serving the boys seconds and even thirds, they eventually became full and they all were much calmer than they were before. Yin had seen a smile on each of their faces, she counted that as a victory.
Now it was time for introductions.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what are your names?”
All eight boys looked at Yin with confusion.
“what’s a ‘name’?”
Yin could have sworn she heard her mind snap at that question. She turned to face the skeleton on her left. He was the one paired up with the paprika orange skeleton.
“... A name is something others call you by.” Yin answered very slowly.
“WELL I CALL HIM BROTHER, SO HE’S BROTHER!”
“AND I CALL MY BROTHER, BROTHER! SO ARE THEY BOTH BROTHER?”
Yin’s heart was crumbling at this point, how had these boys lived before coming here?
“I’m sorry boys, but a ‘brother’ is what you call someone closely related to you. What do those who are not related to you, call you by?”
“OH, WELL… HE CALLED US THIS.”
The small ocean blue skeleton brought out his hand, Yin could see the plate much better in the light. She took his hand and examined the handplate. Carved in the metal was some kind of code; RP - 2-S.
“Do all of you have something written on your… handplates?”
Yin stressed the last word, having great difficulty just speaking of the horrible things.
All the others nodded their heads and showed their own hands. The oceans blue’s brother had a similar code, but the last two digits were 1-P.
Yin moved over to the paprika orange skeleton and his brother. Theirs were different; WDG - 1-S and WDG - 2-P.She took a deep breath before moving to the other side of the table and kneeling before the last four skeletons. They were weary and nervous again, so Yin gave them her gentlest smile and softest voice.
“May I please see your hands? I promise, I only want to look.”
Their eye sockets widened, were they not used to being asked permission?
Surprisingly, it was one of the nervous skeletons who reached out first. He was one of the small four, he had a bright red blush on his cheekbones and what seemed like red sweat on his skull.
‘What a beautiful blazing color.’ she thought fondly.
Yin gently took his hand into her own and softly rubbed the bones to calm him. It seemed to work as his blush lessened and his tense stature softened.
She looked at the written code; WDG - 1-S, just like paprika’s brother. She was starting to see a pattern.
She turned to the tall skeleton next to him, he looked at Yin calculatively before sticking out his hand. She gave him a smile and examined the code; WDG - 2-P.
Yin had to steel herself for the last two, this was becoming far too much for her kind soul.
She smiled as the tall, red-orange blushing, nervous skeleton cautiously gave her his hand; RP - 1-P. The last short skeleton hovered his hand next to his brothers. He had the faintest hint of purple in his cheekbones as Yin took his hand; RP - 2-S.
Yin took a good look at the four skeletons in front of her and the ones on the opposite side of the table. While they had matching handplates, there was a big difference in their appearances.
The first four she had examined seemed more innocent, softer, and open. The boys in front of her had a much more dangerous appearance. Their teeth were sharp, almost like fangs, they had a harness in their faces, and very closed off.
‘Whoever did this is gonna die, when I get my hands on them.’
“Well, you see, none of these are names. These are just letters and numbers. A name defines you, its what you call yourself and what others call you. Do you not have something like that?”
The children looked at her then at each other before looking back. They all shook their heads, no.Yin took a very deep breath to calm herself, right about now, she wanted to kill the person or persons responsible for neglecting these sweet, scared, innocent boys.
“Well, if you don’t have names, I guess I’ll have to give you them. Would that be alright with you?”
All of them were silent, for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
“... ya really want ta name us?”

Yin turned her head to the small red skeleton, he was sweating again and tried not to look at her eyes.
“Yes, I do.”
That made all of them stare at Yin. Did they not think she would want to name them? A very old instinct from long ago stirred in Yin. She remembered feeling like this when she was naming her fallen child.
Yin pushed those thoughts aside, right now, she had an important job to do.
The writer took a good look at the children before her and thought hard. Monsters often had unusual and unique names, she had heard of a few in the past but never thought much of them. However, these kids deserved names that made them stand out, they deserved the best after what they had likely been through.
Turning back to the nervous, small, red skelly, an idea came to her.
‘I had said that names define a person. Maybe I can use words based on what I’ve seen from them to name them.’
She glanced over the child, he was small in height, nervous, and had a red blush.
‘He’s almost like a flame… wait a minute!’
“Ok sweety, how about I call you Blaze? That blush of yours reminds me of a warm flame.”
Blaze blushed more at Yin’s words and ducked his head in an attempt to hide in his hospital gown. He still nodded in acceptance of the new name.
‘One down, seven to go.’
Yin turned to Blaze’s brother, he had a scowling look that was laced with displeasure.
“IF YOU PLAN ON GIVING ME A NAME, I SUGGEST IT NOT TO BE A PATHETIC ONE.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to give you a name that you dislike.”
The faintest hint of dark red could be seen on his cheekbones, but he kept up the look he thought was scary.
‘All he would need is a black robe and he could be a little reaper with that look. Oh! I know!’
“Okay, listen, there's a story of a ferocious skeleton who is feared by everyone. He’s called the Grim Reaper and his job to reap the souls of the dead. So, why don’t I call you Grim? I think the name suits your own ferociousness.”
Grim’s eye sockets widened, apparently surprised by the consideration of such a name.
“Well? What do you think?”
Gim snapped out of his astonishment, closed his eye sockets, and crossed his arms.
“IT WILL DO.”

Yin counted that as a win, six more to go.
She looked over the last two skeletons in front of her. The smaller one had a pale violet color tinting his cheekbones, the taller one had a reddish-orange blush that could be seen growing.
‘There are names for those particular shades of color. What were they again? I remember!’
“How about Mauve for you, dear?” she asked the short skeleton.
Mauve’s blush grew but he responded with a mellow tone, “IT’S FINE.”
Yin smiled sweetly as she turned to face Mauve’s brother, “And for you, how about Vermillion? It’s a bit long, so we can call you Ver for short.”
Vermillion’s blush also grew, Yin noticed that it even seemed to glow. Questions ran through her head, she chose to save them for later. The kid was getting shy, but he responded with a soft, “i like it.”
‘Half way there. Just hope I can keep this up.’Yin walked back over to the other side of the table and stood before the last four skeletons. She turned to the pair on her right and thought of the perfect names.
‘Their blushes reminded me of oranges and the ocean, but they need more unique names. What else is there?’
Yin thought back to her tropical family vacations to beaches and islands. She remembered the delicious taste of tropical citrus and the lovely shades of blue on the beaches.
‘Hold on, I think I’ve got it.’
“I think I’ll name you Azul and you can be Citrus.” She pointed to the short skelly first then the taller one. “You see, Azul is the Spanish word for blue and citrus is a name for sweet, juicy fruit. I think they match your gentle and sweet personalities to a T.”
Both of the said skeleton boys blushed, but Azul was the only one to voice their happiness.
“WOWIE! WE LOVE THEM! BROTHER! BROTHER! ISN’T GREAT WE HAVE REAL NAMES!”
Oh, that little ball of adorableness was going to be the end of Yin. Azul was just so cute!
“heh, i think citrus likes his name so much he’s speechless.”
Yin turned to her left to see the last short skeleton without a name smile like a Cheshire cat.
‘So under the protective and cautious outer shell, he’s got a mischievous grin. Bet he even has a funny bone. Hold on… ’
“I think I’ll call you Jester. Something tells me you have a ‘humerus’ personality.”
Jester’s eye sockets widened and he finally blushed as he tried to look at anything but Yin. She saw his blue blush was a bit darker than Azul’s but just as cute. She turned to the last skeleton and knew just what she wanted to name him.
“Can I call you Paprika? That dark orange blush of yours reminds me of my favorite spice.”
Paprika blushed like crazy then jumped into Yin, causing them both to fall on the floor. He hugged her with all his might.
“THANK YOU! I WILL TREASURE THIS NEW NAME! THANK YOU!”
Yin returned Paprika’s hug and did not let go until he was satisfied. These kids had her wrapped around their little boney fingers.“My name is Yin Kazumi, boys. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After Paprika had finished his hug, Yin noticed the time.
“Goodness, it’s already 8:30. How about we get ready for bedtime?”
“WHAT’S ‘BEDTIME’?” Azul asked, confused.
“Bedtime is when people generally get into their beds and go to sleep.”
“SO IT’S LIKE ‘LIGHTS OUT’? WE JUST GO TO SLEEP?”
“Yes Paprika, everyone needs at least eight hours of sleep so they can be energized and ready for the next day.”
“but what do we do to ‘get ready’ for ‘bedtime’?” Yin turned to Jester then looked at all the kids’ confused expressions. She noticed that they would also need a change of clothes since the gowns they were wearing were a bit torn and dirty.
“Well first, kids like you take a bath to clean themselves. Then they get into clothes for sleeping in, often called pajamas. After that, they brush their teeth and get into their beds.”
The children just looked at Yin even more confusingly.
“what’s a ‘bath’?”
“PAJAMAS?”
“BRUSH TEETH?”
Vermillion, Grim, and Paprika asked questions that made Yin question just how they were raised.
‘When I find the person who did this, they’ll be sorry.’
“How about I show you all what to do as we get ready?”
They hesitated for a split moment before nodding their heads in unison.
“Alright then, follow me and we’ll start with your bath.”
As Yin headed for the stairs four pairs of brothers followed close behind her to the second floor. Yin’s house consisted of ten rooms, a large kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a basement-turned-cave, a library, a music room, a fitness room, laundry room, and an attic. She had more than enough space for the kids, especially since all the bedrooms had a California king size bed and a personal bathroom.Yin chose the first bedroom next to the stairway and led the group through to the bathroom. All the bedroom baths had large tubs big enough to fit all the kids and still have a bit of room.
Yin went to the tub, turned on the water, closed the drain, and added bubble bath soap. She turned back to face the kids, who were looking around the bathroom in fascination and curiosity.
“Okay, the bath is getting filled so let’s get you guys ready.”
As expected, they all looked at her with confusion.
“You need to take off your… clothes… and get inside the tub so you can get clean.”
She really did not believe those green medical robes were clothes, but she had a sinking suspicion that the boys did not know what hospital gowns were for.
They stared at her for a few seconds before pulling the fabric over their heads. Yin turned off the water once it was high enough and held a hand out.
“Now come here and I’ll show you how to clean up.”
Unsurprisingly, Azul and Paprika were the first to come up to the tub. Yin gently lifted them, one by one, and put them in the warm, bubbly water.
“WOWIE! THIS WATER IS WARM! IT’S MUCH BETTER THAN THE COLD WATER OUTSIDE!”
“WHAT ARE THESE LITTLE THINGS FLOATING IN HERE?”
Yin felt bad that Azul did not know that water could be warm, but she was heartbroken that Paprika had never seen bubbles before.
“They’re called bubbles, sweetie. They help clean you and their fun to play with in a bath.”
Yin grabbed some rags from a towel rack on a wall, she dipped one in the water and added some bubbly soap to it. She lathered the rag until it was completely covered on suds, then took Azul’s arm and rubbed the soap in.
“Just take a rag and rub the soap and bubbles on your bones. This will help make them clean and shiny, like this.”
She showed Azul’s clean arm, which was becoming a nice snowy white color once the traces of dirt had left. Yin handed the rag to Azul who continues to rub his bones and turned to the other six skeletons behind her.“Now let’s get the rest of you in here. You all need a nice bubble bath before bed.”
At those words, the kids lined up to be lifted into the tub and were all given soapy rags. Each pair of brothers helped each other to rub the soap into their spines since it was hard to reach by themselves.
Once all the boys had gotten halfway through washing themselves, Yin looked back at their ‘clothes’ and decided that they would not sleep in those green nightmares. She gathered the eight pieces of cloth and turned back to the kids, who were now watching her.
“I’m gonna find you boys some better clothes to sleep in. When I come back, we’ll wash off the soap and get you dried up. Stay here and finish washing, I’ll be right back, okay?”
They all seemed worried for a moment before nodding and washing once again. Yin left the doors open as she walked out of the bathroom and bedroom. Some part of her just said that closing the door on them would cause trouble. She headed to her room and pulled out an old box, put the green robs in it, closed the box, and put said box in a corner.
Then, she went to her closet and grabbed a box that said ‘large & x-large t’s’. There was a mistake in a delivery one time and she ended up with a box full of single colored t-shirts that she figured might come in handy if someone needed them. Yin opened the box and pulled out a couple of blue, a red, and purple large t-shirts for Azul, Jester, Blaze, and Mauve. For Citrus, Paprika, Grim, and Vermillion she grabbed three orange extra large t-shirts and single black.
They were going to be large on the boys, but this way they can sleep comfortably until she could venture the attic or order something online; worst case scenario she would have to go to town to buy them some clothes.
Once she got all the shirts, she hurried back to the boys. They had finished washing and were sitting patiently in the tub.
“Sorry for making you wait. I got you some better clothes, so let’s get you all dried and dressed.”
Putting the shirts to one side, Yin pulled the drainage plug and reached for some towels. She then turned on the shower head, rinsed the soapy suds of the boys, and lifted each skeleton out of the tub, wrapping them in the fluffy cloth, letting them dry off before handing each child their respective ‘night gown’.
“THESE ARE NICE. THEY’RE SOFTER THAN OUR OLD ONES.”
“I LIKE THE COLORS!”Yin overlooked each skelly at Paprika and Azul’s words. Their night attire went down to just above their ankles, making it seem like they were all wearing dresses. If they were normal boys they would have put up more of a fuss over how they looked, but they did not seem to care, these boys were more fascinated with how soft the fabric was.
Yin then opened the cabinets under the bathroom sink and pulled out eight spare toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste.
‘And everyone told me that planning ahead of time was a waste of money. Look at what my foresight has helped me with now.’
Luckily, the toothbrushes came in different colors, so Yin gave each boy their own signature color toothbrush that matched their shirts with the exception of Grim who had to use a red toothbrush rather than black. She showed them how to brush (they admitted to never brushing once in their life, apparently never even heard of it before) and led them back to the bedroom.
“Alrighty, it’s about 9 o’clock, let’s get you to bed. Would you like individual rooms or would you prefer to have, like, a sleepover?”
Once again, they all looked at Yin with absolute confusion.
“Right, so a sleepover is when you sleep with a lot of people you're close too and you sleep together in one room. If you don’t want to, I have plenty of other rooms.”
The boys turned to each other, likely having another mental debate on what to do. Everything that Yin had helped them with had been completely new to them. Yin had asked many questions to herself about what had happened to these boys, but she knew those were questions for another time.
“CAN WE SLEEP WITH YOU?”
Yin looked to her right to see Paprika wringing his hands and looking at the ground shyly.
“... if you're here when we wake up… then this won’t be a dream.”
She turned to her left, seeing Vermillion copy Paprika but with his bones slightly rattling.
‘They really want this to be real. They’re worried that when they wake up in the morning, they’ll be back in… wherever they came from.’
Driven by old instincts, Yin embraced Paprika and Vermillion in a warm, soothing hug. She turned to look at the other boys, who were watching her, waiting for her response.“When you boys wake up, you’ll still be in this room. When you open your eyes, your brothers will be right by your side. When you wander this house and get used to your new environment, I’ll still be on this property. In the morning I’ll make you breakfast, get you new clothes, and help you from here on out. I promise.”
Yin looked each skeleton in the eye sockets, taking in their tired and hopeful expressions. She carried the two boys in her arms to the bed, their brothers following close by. She placed her cuddlers on the side of the bed then pulled the covers back enough so the kids could climb in under the warm blankets.
Once all the little monsters were placed in the bed next to their respective brothers, Yin brought the ends of the covers to their chins, making sure they were completely covered. Each pair of brothers cuddled close to each other, both clinging to the other like they would disappear if they let go.
But even as they yawned every few seconds, they struggled to keep their eyes open. Their fears overruled them, even at night.
‘They need their rest, what can I do to help them sleep, to know that they’re safe and sound?’
An idea can to Yin, one she had not thought of for almost five years. Yin debated with herself, could her scarred heart handle it? Would it even work?
Glancing back at the row of tired bones, she made up her mind. Leaning on the bedrest, she started to hum a song long forgotten. The song Yin had sung just for her unborn girl.
Yin hummed gently, with the softest hint of long lost love.
Unknown to anyone, the song made her aquamarine soul glow brighter and the cracks from lost HOPE healed ever so slightly. Not only that, but the human soul clung to the auras of the small monster souls, making a bond they all had long needed.
Yin continued humming as she saw that it helped the boys close their eye sockets. She followed the old melody and harmonized with the tune. Seeing the last eye lights flicker out, she sang the last line…
“And you’ll always be in my heart~”
When she finished the song, she looked over the skeletons. Once she was sure they were asleep, she headed out of the room but left the door cracked so when they woke up, they could find her.Yin headed back to her room, put up her work, and grabbed her cell phone. Closing the door behind her, she headed to the living room, so as to not wake up the children.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yin entered the living room and took her favorite spot in the large love seat. Taking her cell phone, she contacted her editor and best friend.She and Ella went way back, like, childhood friends way back. Other than Yin’s family, Ella was the only other person she could trust in the world. Even if she had her moments, like giving lectures or acting like Yin’s mother.
The grandfather clock read 9:45, three rings later, Ella answered.
“Girl, you better have a good excuse to call me a few minutes after I just knocked out. ‘Cause if you don’t, I will find a way to hurt you.”

“Ella, you know me better than anyone. I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important. But to be honest, it might get ugly.”
“What kind of illegal stuff have you been poking around in? It better not involve jail time.”

“Oh, jail would be a mercy, compared to what I want to do to the bastard or bastards who did this.”
There was a long deafening silence between them.
“... … I was just joking around, but you’re serious.”

“Oh yeah. And right now, I am holding back a lot of killing intent and anger.”
“Ok, first, do NOT kill anybody. Second, tell me what happened to make you this mad.”

“Where do you want me to start? The part about major child neglect, likely experimentation, the drilled handplates, the not knowing what a bath or bubbles are, the asking why I was nice and kind, or the hesitance to even drink milk?”
“Woah, Woah, hold on! Back that up and go slower. No, better yet, start from the beginning."

“I noticed someone outside in the storm while I was working on the last chapter. I dropped everything and ran out to help and found eight skeleton monsters lost in the forest and they’re all kids!”
“Skeleton MONSTERS? Monster CHILDREN? Where are their parents? Monsters are relentless when it comes to their kids, seriously, one dog monster almost bit me when I found their lost kid. She thought I was kidnapping them and apologized after, but still!”
“That's the thing, I don’t think they have actual parents. Ella, all eight of them have metal plates drilled into the bones of their hands. Drilled, Ella! I think someone experimented on them, they even had these weird green gowns that looked like the kind you find in hospitals.”
“What!?! Who would do such a thing? Are they alright? Do you need a doctor? I can be there in an hour.”

“No, no, they seem okay for now. I gave them some of my favorite milk, bathed them, and put them to bed. They finally went to sleep after forever, I’m pretty sure they think my saving them is all a dream.”
“If what you’re suggesting happened to them did happen, then you’re likely right. But what are you gonna do now? You called me at this hour, so do you need help?”

“Yeah, sorry, I need to ask a few things from you. You’re the only one I know who can get it done smoothly.”
“Don’t be sorry, this is an emergency and you know literally no one else in the outside world.”

“Hey, that's not true! I have family out there too!”
“Relatives don’t count. But back to business, what do you need, how should it be done, and when do you need it?”

“Well first, I need a healer or a doctor who knows how to help skeleton monsters. But they have to be someone who can keep their mouth shut so this doesn’t become a national problem.”
“I think I have a person in mind. Would you like to schedule some kind of appointment or do you want me to bring ‘em there?”

“Here would be a good place, I really don’t want to overwork them too much.”
“Got it, medical help that can stay quiet, bring it to the middle of nowhere, anything else?”

“Can you look up any lost child reports and anything that might be connected to illegal experimentation? I really want to know just what’s going on.”
“Won’t rest until justice is served, huh? Okay, I’ll handle it. I’ll call ya when I got something, OK girl?”

“Yeah, talk to you later then.”
“Make sure you go ta bed too. You’re only human and working yourself over this is not gonna make anything go faster.”

“I know. I’ll go to sleep, but call me the second you find something, got it?”
“You got it. See ya.”

Ella ended the call, Yin sat in her seat for a bit longer. Questions kept racing through her head, her desire to hurt someone grew. But she stayed quiet, those boys upstairs needed their sleep.
It just seemed so unfair to her, those boys had been so innocent but at the same time extremely cautious of everything around them. She knew it was because everything was new to them; from the milk to the names, to the bath, to the shirts, they even looked at the bed like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
‘They were never given a childhood. They were robbed of their most important youth.’
Yin could only imagine what Paprika and Azul went through and they were still bundles of energy. Not to mention Blaze and Vermillion, who were the shyest kids she had ever met.
Yin had not felt such care for another since… since she lost her baby girl.
‘It’s amazing… I was never a true mother, but I’m acting like my mom would in this situation.’
As Yin walked back up the stairs to her bedroom, she thought about her life so far.
She remembered the day all her problems began. One Sunday evening, five months in her pregnancy, when she found a hidden letter, from her love’s true fiance. It was a message, demanding that he get all the money from Yin’s account and return to her so they could be rich.
She had called the police and immediately changed her bank account so he could not take anything from it. When he returned from his job that night, he was arrested for attempted theft, she remembered his face, shouting at her that he was so close to getting away scot-free. His fiance was located and arrested as well for being his partner in crime. After some investigating, it was discovered that they had both been wanted for multiple crimes, all of them involving a man or women they would trick into loving them and steal all their money.
The trial had been in Yin’s seventh month of pregnancy, she remembered when both her ex-lover and his fiance were sentenced to life in prison. She remembered them being taken away and the mix of relief and despair that enveloped her. He had never loved Yin, but he had been her first love, yet, he had loved someone else.Yin remembered the weeks that followed, every talk she had with the child in her belly. She still wanted the child, she wanted to give the baby her whole heart and watch the child grow up, to be a better person than her ex. But her hopes and dreams never came to be.
Yin had gone to the hospital in her final month of pregnancy. She had been so excited to meet her baby girl, she had even found the perfect name for her. But when the nurse was checking her baby, something had been wrong. The women told Yin not to panic and that she was going to get the doctor. Yin had waited for what felt to her like hours, she had been terrified that something was wrong with her baby. Then the contractions started, those bursts of pain that kept getting closer and closer. She had screamed for help and after that, everything had blurred together. Somehow, she had gotten to a delivery room, her mother was by her side, and soon, she had been in labor for thirty-six hours.
She remembered every sound that day, the orders from the doctors, the nurses communicating, her mother’s soft words, but she never heard the sound she was searching for; her baby’s cry. She had felt the pressure and weight leave her body, she heard the clipping of the scissors cutting the cord, but no sound of crying. She knew what that meant, her baby was dead.
When she woke up the next day, her mother was still at her side, along with her grandmother, father, and gramps. Some of her siblings and their families were on their way, but she did not care. She demanded to know where her baby was. A doctor and nurse had come in with a crib. The man said that they had done and analysis on the child while she had been recovering and discovered that during the final stages of Yin’s pregnancy, the baby’s heart had stopped. They were not able to find out why.
Yin felt her heart break into pieces, the world seemed to shatter around her, she could have sworn she heard the sound of glass breaking. She asked if she could hold her baby and they let her. She had cradled the lifeless body gently, gathering and thinking over their little time together. She did not remember what happened during that day, she had shut the world out completely.
Yin had a small funeral set up, giving her baby a place next to her great, great grandmother. She named her little girl Hope Faith Kazumi. It was poetic, Yin had named her Hope in her faith that she would have a bright future with her. But she lost her Hope before their future even began. A part of Yin also died that day.
She threw herself onto her bed, thinking over how unfit she was to be a good caretaker.
‘I’ll find someone to take them in, maybe even a skeleton family. They deserve better than what I can offer.’
She did not want to admit it, but those boys had already grown on her.‘It’ll be sad to see them go, but I’m sure they’ll have a better future.’
She fell asleep, still thinking about those boys and their cute blushes.
A few hours later, her cell phone alarm woke her up, mostly because it was on vibrate and in her pants pocket.
‘Six o’clock. I have time to shower then watch the sunrise.’
Yin had always loved seeing the sun rise over the mountains. It had always given her a bit of joy to see the dawn of a new day.
She got out of the shower, dressed, and went to the kitchen to start breakfast.
‘Huh, I’ll need enough to feed eight more today… maybe a quiche? Or a bacon and egg pan pie?’
Yin was distracted by her train of thought as sunlight hit her eyes and she turned to look out the kitchen window. The sun was a bright golden color, the sky had turned orange and red, and the shadows of the forest trees made the whole thing look like an artistic masterpiece.
‘Looks like the rain has finally stopped. After a week and a half, it stopped.’
Yin decided to take that as a good omen, it felt like things were going to be fine.
‘It’s a new day for them, so they can choose.’
Yin when to her refrigerator and grabbed the eggs, cheese, some ham, a bit of spinach, and leftover smoked bacon from yesterday’s lunch.
‘I’ll add ham and spinach to the quiche to add some extra flavor. I’m sure I had a deep pie dish. And for the bacon and egg pie, I can use the wide cast iron pan. Maybe I could put some shredded hashbrowns on top.’
Yin knew those boys were likely going to sleep in a bit, so she took time making both dishes. She wanted this breakfast to really help them see they were safe. Unknown to her, the cracks in her aquamarine soul healed slightly as she cooked for the eight souls upstairs.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Jester started to wake up, he snuggled closer into his brother as he felt warmth surround them.
‘wait... warmth? where did that come from?’
Jester reluctantly opened his eyes, he looked up to see his brother sleeping comfortably on a large pillow, arms still wrapped around him in a hug. Looking down, he saw the source of the warmth, a large blanket covered them up to their shoulders, keeping the cold away.
Confused, he slowly lifted his head and looked around. He noticed the different shades of brown on the blanket, pillows, and walls. Different kinds of tables were pressed against the walls and on both sides of the big, comfy bed they were in.
‘what... oh… that’s right. we aren’t there… some human found us.’
Slowly sitting up, not waking his brother, he looked at how different the room was compared to what he was used to. The walls had pictures on them, the beds were soft, and everything seemed much warmer, safer.
He turned his head to look behind him, there was some kind of cloth dangling against the wall. Curious, he carefully moved closer and pushed it to one side. A bright light blinded him and he lifted his other hand to block it from his eye sockets, a few seconds later, his sight adjusted and he stared in awe.
There was no wall behind the cloth, just clear glass that showed the outside world. Jester took in the warm colors that lit the world he had never seen before.
“bro, bro! wake up! you need to see this!” Jester turned to shake his brother awake, startling the others in the bed as well.
“BROTHER? WHAT’S WRONG? IS IT TIME TO GET UP?”
“no, well, maybe, but that’s not why. look out there!”
Paprika rubbed his eye sockets as he turned to where Jester was pointing. Paprika’s eye sockets widened as he looked through the glass. The other skeletons turned to see as well, they all were speechless as they gazed over the colorful world.
All eight of them sat there on the bed, watching as the warm colors faded to new ones slowly. Darker shadows becoming lighter with green, the yellow sphere remaining and moving gently above everything they could see.
They kept staring at the forest and mountains for a few minutes before Citrus broke the silence.“we’re really out.”
No one replied, instead they chose to look around the room they had slept in. Some of the more adventurous skeletons got off the bed and walked around.
“THIS PLACE IS SO COLORFUL.” Azul said as he walked around in fascination.
“it’s warmer than the cells.” Blaze whispered as he snuggled back into the warm blankets.
“IT SEEMS HE WAS WRONG ABOUT HUMANS.” Paprika said while he moved closer to the window.
All of the kids froze at that statement. They had been told, for as long as they could remember, that humans were dangerous and unmerciful. But one had just given them safety and warmth in just a couple hours of meeting them.
“PERHAPS, EVERYTHING WE WERE TOLD ABOUT HUMANS WERE LIES.”

Seven skeletons turned to Mauve, who had his head down and his fists shaking. Vermillion stood next to him silently, not knowing what to say or do.
“ARE YOU STUPID? THEY HAD TO BE RIGHT. THEY ALWAYS WERE.”

Now everyone faced Grim, who was livid at Mauve’s words.
“BUT, THE HUMAN IS SO NICE AND KIND AND WARM! HE HAS TO BE WRONG. IF HE WAS NOT, THEN WHY WAS THE HUMAN NICE?”
Paprika looked at Grim with confusion laced in his expression.
“ARE YOU REALLY THAT DUMB?! DID YOU ALREADY FORGET EVERYTHING WE WENT THROUGH? WHAT WAS THE POINT IN ALL OF THAT IF THEY WERE WRONG? WHAT WERE THESE FOR!?!”

Grim shouted as he showed his hand, the plate facing the skeletons watching him. They tried to look away, but they all had one on their own hands.
“but... they were wrong.”

All eye sockets were on Vermillion now, who was hiding slightly behind Mauve.
“they said that humans were scary… the human was kind. they said that humans knew no mercy… the human helped us. maybe they were always wrong. this human is nice and warm. maybe the real dangerous people were them… and they just lied to make us believe them.”

They all considered Vermillion’s words, it was true that Yin had been nothing like the humans they had been told about. They really liked her, she had given them more kindness in one night than they had ever gotten in their whole lives.
“... the human did leave the door open… ” Blaze said hesitantly.
Everyone turned to the door and as Blaze said, it was open. The door was not wide open, but a good crack was made between the door and the wall. They could see the hallway clearly and were tempted to leave.
“... BEFORE, THE HUMAN DID SAY ‘WHEN’ WE WANDER THE HOUSE… ” Azul said answering the unspoken question; could they leave the room?
“why not? let’s go, bro.” Cirtus said as he climbed off the bed.
“COME BROTHER.” Mauve told the taller skeleton behind him.
“COME ON BROTHER! THIS COULD BE FUN!” Paprika grabbed Jester’s arm and dragged him to the door.
Mauve opened the door slowly and was followed out by his brother, Paprika and Jester, and Azul and Citrus. Grim and Blaze followed them into the hall not long after. Blaze clinging to the back of Grim’s shirt and Grim having a conflicted expression with his arms crossed.
All the other doors were closed, they were all subconsciously scared to open them without permission, so they headed towards the stairs. When they reached the bottom, they were amazed by all the colorful furniture and bright open windows.
But what really caught their attention was the smell. All of them could smell the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Tempted and curious, they headed for the kitchen where they saw Yin take out a beautiful golden yellow quiche from the oven. She placed in on a cooling rack on the bar counter and bent back down to reach for the black iron pan, the cover topped with golden brown hashbrowns.
The children were so captured by the smell, their non-existing stomachs growled in hunger. Hearing the sound, Yin turned around to see eight colorful children standing in the entrance of the dining room and kitchen. She smiled sweetly to them as she put the pan down.
“Good morning boys. Did you sleep well?”Suprised by the question, they all blushed and mumbled their own versions of ‘yes’.
“That’s good. Now, how would you all like some breakfast? I made plenty.”
Yin brought the fresh quiche over to the table and placed it in the center, followed by the pan pie. The table had already been set, so she took a chilled pitcher of milk and poured some into each glass.
“I made you boys a ham and spinach quiche and an egg and bacon pie topped with hashbrowns. You can choose one or the other, or if you’re really hungry, you can have both if you want.”
The kids looked at Yin, then the food, then back again before coming over to the table and taking their seats.
“CAN I TRY THAT ONE?” Azul asked, pointing to the quiche.
“Sure, Azul.” She smiled as she cut a ninth of the quiche and placed it on Azul’s plate.
“can i have the other one?” Citrus quietly mumbled.
“Of course.” Yin sweetly replied as she gave a slice of bacon and egg pie to the taller skelly.
“i… want that one too.” Vermillion shyly said, ducking his head to hide his small blush.
“yeah... me too.” Blaze added, copying Vermillion but his blush enveloped his entire face.
“Three slices of bacon and egg pie, coming right up.” Yin felt happy as she handed out the slices to each little skeleton.
“I WANT THE ‘QUICHE’ THING.” Mauve said as he eyed the dish.
“... I GUESS I WILL HAVE SOME TOO.” Grim crossed his arms as he spoke.
“I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO TRY QUICHE!” Paprika said all too happily.
“guess i’ll try the pie.” Jester lazily grinned as he watched Yin pass out the food to each skeleton.
After Yin handed out the food, the skeletons had attempted to use their hands, but Yin taught them how to use a fork and they managed to learn quickly, eating breakfast with only little mess.After the boys finished their first helping, they hesitantly asked if they could try the other dish. Yin gladly handed out the rest of the food and soon, eight skeletons had full ‘stomachs’.
“I’m going to do the dishes, how about you boys play in the living room for now? I think I still have puzzles and games in there.”
“YOU HAVE PUZZLES?!” Both Azul and Paprika exclaimed with stars in their eye sockets.
“Uh, yes dears. Lots of kinds. Why don’t we go to the living room and I’ll pull them out?”
Needless to say, Yin expected this morning to be quite an interesting one as she guided the boys back to the living room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yin was pulling out a lot of old, dusty puzzles from her game closet, managing to do so without sneezing.
‘Maybe dusting in here every once in a while isn’t such a bad idea.’
She pulled out some boxes and placed them on the large coffee table.
“Ok, let’s see… I have plain puzzles, but also jigsaw puzzles, 3-D puzzles, wood puzzles, metal puzzles, some Rubix cubes… take your pick there's plenty.”
Paprika, Azul, Mauve, and even Grim had stars in their eyes as they saw the small mountain of different puzzles.
“WOWIE! THERE ARE KINDS I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!” Azul exclaimed as he pulled out a 3-D crystal bird puzzle.
“HUH, ‘ONE THOUSAND PIECES, A CHALLENGE TO THE AVERAGE PLAYER’. INTERESTING.” Grim studied a 2-D puzzle box with calculative eye sockets.
“NYEH, HEH, HEH, THESE PUZZLES ARE SO INTERESTING! BROTHER, LOOK!” Paprika held up the boxes that held the 3-D wooden lion and bull.
“WHAT DOES THIS MEAN BY, ‘BRAIN TEASER’?” Mauve asked. He held the large box containing the wooden 3-D brain teaser puzzles.
“It just means that you have to think a bit more into the puzzles to solve them. These kinds of puzzles are often hard for a lot of people to solve.”
‘I should know, I tried to solve those and it took me a week just to put together one.’
“what does ‘sudoku’ mean?”
Yin turned around to see Jester looking at a box filled with sudoku puzzles. A completely untouched set of them.
Citrus, Blaze, and Vermillion also went over to see the box full of number puzzle books.
“Oh, I must have grabbed those by mistake. Sudoku puzzles focus more on numbers, they’re popular with people who love math, but they can get difficult.”
Yin opened the box, showing a neat row of never used sudoku puzzle books, which came with their own mechanical pencils.“I used to solve these all the time when I was your age. Even took some with me whenever I traveled. I must have bought these and forgot about them a while ago, they are pretty dusty. As for your question, ‘Sudoku’ can mean either ‘number only’ or ‘number single’ in Japanese. Surprisingly, the game itself wasn’t invented in Japan, it came from Switzerland and then was shared with Japan by America.”
Yin remembered when she was younger, solving the number puzzles just about everywhere she went, even in the car; then she got car sick after.
“how do you play?” Citrus asked as he pulled out a book and flipped through the pages.
“Well, for the most part, its a process of elimination. Most of the spaces are blank, those are the spots you're trying to solve. But there can’t be two of the same number in a column, row, or group. For example these here-”
Yin spent the next few minutes explaining the rules of sudoku to the four boys. They listened to her every word and even asked questions as she told them.
“i get it.” Jester said with a smile.
“ya, me too.” Blaze mumbled as he ducked his head.
“can we try them?” Vermillion was obviously trying to whisper, but Yin still heard him.
“If you want to, go right ahead.” Yin smiled as she watched all four of them reach for a mechanical pencil and a sudoku book.
Turning around, she saw the other four already in the process of solving their chosen puzzles. Knowing they would be fine, she headed back to the dining room, gathered the dishes, and went to the kitchen to start cleaning.
‘Now I’ve really become my mother, she used to go clean whenever me and my siblings would play in the living room.’
Yin drifted down memory lane as she washed the dishes. Thinking of fond times during her childhood.
‘All I’d need is a nineteen twenty’s house apron and I’d be exactly like Mom. Oh, if she saw me like this I’d never hear the end of it.’
Yin smiled as she thought of old family vacations, holiday gatherings, even playground picnics.
‘I hope these boys can have a childhood that’s just as happy as mine. Maybe even more.’A couple of hours later, she was done with the kitchen and dining room. She chose to check on the skeletons, moving back to the living room to see all eight of them completely distracted by the puzzles.
Grim had gotten about halfway through his one thousand piece puzzle.
Paprika had finished the 3-D bull and was working on the lion.
Azul had finished the crystal bird puzzle and had grabbed the crystal green apple puzzle to work on.
Mauve had finished a few of the wooden brain teasers; the sphere, a checkered cube, and a pyramid.
‘It took me a week just to solve the sphere, these boys are very smart.’
Yin looked over to the couches and coffee table, where Blaze, Jester, Citrus, and Vermillion were all pages into their sudoku books.
‘No, scratch that. These boys are geniuses for their age.’
Yin remembered when she was young and used to try sharing her Sudoku puzzles to other kids her age. But all of them could only do the easy ones, no one else could take the more challenging puzzles.
‘Where did these kids learn to be so intelligent?’
Yin looked over all eight of them and the plates were always the first thing her eyes caught.
‘Oh, that’s where… ’
Labs can also test intellect as well, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to guess that they were tested on for their mental abilities too.
‘It’s a real shame, even if they would want to forget where they came from, those plates will always be seen. Wait a minute… ’
An idea came to her and she walked further into the living room with a smile, she had all eight pairs of eye sockets on her now.
“Say, how about we do something to cover those… plates… you all have?”All the boys stopped what they were doing and looked at her confused.
“I’m sure I have some gloves stored in the attic, we can find some pairs for you and you can cover your hands. No one will see the metal that’s under, not even you.”
“WHAT IS AN ‘ATTIC’?”
“what’s a ‘glove’?”
Azul and Blaze asked Yin those questions at the same time and it pulled her heart strings.
“An attic is a room in the ceiling of a house and a glove is a type of clothing that goes over your hand. I can show you all… if you want to that is.”
The eight skeletons looked at each other before putting down their puzzles and standing up.
“Just follow me and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.” Yin headed up the stairs with eight colorful skeletons right behind her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yin had reached the second floor with the eight boys following her. She went to the center of the hall and reached for the pull string hanging from the attic ladder door. She pulled the string and reached for the metal pullout ladder. Locking the ladder in position, she turned to see the boys staring at her in amazement.
“WOWIE! THAT IS SO AMAZING!”
“HUH, HOW INTERESTING.”

“BROTHER, DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT THING JUST CAME OUT OF THE CEILING!”
Paprika, Grim, and Azul were the only ones to voice their fascination, the rest were looking at the ladder with interest.
“Well, this kind of attic entrance is pretty common, but it can be a bit scary for newbies. I’ll help you boys up first, so you don’t fall. Then I’ll climb up myself. So, who wants to go first?”
Azul and Paprika were all too thrilled to go first, they had no fear as they climbed the ladder up to the third floor.
“OH! IT’S SO BIG IN HERE!”
“WHAT IS ALL THIS STUFF?”
“It’s just items from long ago. Don’t wander too far until I get there, ok?”
“OKAY!” they both exclaimed as they waited for the others.
“Who’s next?”
Grim and Mauve went next, also having no fear of heights. After them were Jester and Citrus, who took their time analyzing every bit of metal that made the ladder. Last were Blaze and Vermillion, they were nervous but made it up with little problem.
Once all eight of them were up, Yin climbed the ladder herself and looked around.
The place was dustier than the last time she was there, some light was coming through the small windows but not enough. Yin found the light switch and turned it on, revealing everything hidden in shadows.
“Welcome to my attic, the place is filled with so much stuff that not even I can remember everything that was put in here.”
It was the truth, the attic was filled with stuff from almost every member of the family. Everything from clothes, antiques, decorations, toys, and even parts from machines were up here. The attic was also historical because some things had been there since the nineteen hundreds.
“Take a look around if you want, just don’t break anything. I’ll look for the gloves. I’m sure there was a whole box full of them around here.”
The skeletons scattered in different directions, looking at everything they could see and touch. Yin was headed deeper into the stacked boxes looking for the ones with winter clothes in them.
‘I know there was a box here. I saw it not even a month ago. Where is it?’
“HUMAN YIN! HUMAN YIN! WHAT IS THIS THING?”
Yin turned around, seeing Azul hold up a blue stuffed monkey from her childhood. It was a bit dusty but in good condition.
“Oh! You found Indigo! I used to have him when I was not much bigger than you.”
“REALLY?!” Azul’s eye lights had little hearts and stars in them as he hugged the toy close.
“Yes, I used to play with him all the time. Say… would you like to have him?”
“ME?! REALLY?!” Azul was blushing so much, Yin had to fight back a squeal.
‘OMG! He’s so cute!’
“Yes, dear. He could use a new playmate. I’ll just have to clean him up, then he’ll be yours.”
“WOWIE! THANK YOU!” Azul hugged the monkey close and rubbed his skull against it in joy.
Yin smiled at Azul’s happiness, then something caught the corner of her eye.
“Ah, ha! Here we are… Winter Clothes. These should have them.”
Yin pulled out some stacked boxes and opened them. The ones that did not have gloves were closed back up and placed back. During this time, all of the seven exploring skeletons surrounded her and watched as she searched for the right box.
“Here we go!”
Yin opened two boxes full of hats and gloves.“Some of these are bound to fit you, let’s try them out.”
The next few minutes were spent trying on different sized gloves; some too big, others too small, some were uncomfortable, and others snagged on the handplates. They eventually found good pairs.
Paprika got a red leather pair with white on the tips. Azul found some blue gloves that were actually part of an old costume. Mauve found some dark purple grip gloves with black between the fingers. Grim grabbed the black leather biking gloves, they suited him perfectly.
Jester, Citrus, Vermillion, and Blaze all got fingerless gloves with closed backs so the plates could not be seen. Jester’s were a dark, navy blue, Citrus’s were bright orange, Vermillion’s had a tan brown base with a dark orange along the sides, and Blaze’s were a red color that matched his blush.
“WOWIE! WE CAN’T SEE THE PLATES ANYMORE!” Paprika said as he and the others flexed their fingers in the new gloves.
As the excitement of the gloves wore off, the boys scattered once again to explore the attic until it was time to leave. Yin was returning the boxes to their proper places when she saw Vermillion reach for something out of the corner of her eye.
“What did you find, Ver?”
Vermillion jumped slightly at Yin’s question, but stuck out his hand and uncurled his fist. In his palm was a ring. Yin carefully took it and examined the outer design, which happened to be words.
“Huh… ‘always have hope and confidence’... looks to be pretty old. Do you want it?”
Vermillion’s eye sockets widened slightly before he shyly nodded his skull.
Yin began to give the ring back to Vermillion when she noticed the ring’s size was meant for an adult. She took a good look at Vermillion’s hands and saw that even with the gloves, the ring was too big.
‘He wants it, but can’t wear it. Huh, this is a problem… what can we do about this? Oh, wait!’
Yin hurried to a chest off to the side and dug through it until she found a thin silver chain.
‘Perfect!’
She then put the chain through the ring and closed the clasp.“Here, Ver. The ring is a bit large for you to wear on your finger, so this way you can still have it on you wherever you go.”
Yin presented the new accessory to Vermillion before placing it around his neck. Vermillion was silent and wide-eyed as he touched the small, thin metal around his neck.
“... thank you… ” he whispered as he held the ring in the cup of his hands.
Yin smiled at the quiet skeleton and left to search for the others. Moving around some boxes, she saw Blaze pulling something out of a box and rubbing it.
“Whatcha got there, Blaze?”
Blaze immediately stopped what he was doing, dropped the item, and put his hands behind his back with his head down. Yin could see a bit of red sweat form on his skull.
“Hey, hey, don’t worry. I was just curious and so were you. I’m not mad, so you don’t have to be scared. Can I see what you found?”
The small red skeleton hesitated for a moment before he grabbed the fallen item and held it up. It was a bright red fleece blanket that looked rather soft. Along the edges were small flames in darker red and orange.
Yin knew Blaze wanted it from the way he was ducking his head behind the soft fabric.
“That’s a really nice blanket. All it needs is a good wash to get out the dust and it’ll be good as new. Would you like to keep it?”
Blaze stared at Yin then hugged the blanket close while lowering his head and stared at the floor instead. He covered the lower region of his face with the blanket as he nodded his head. Though the front of Blaze’s face was covered, a bright glowing red could be seen extending to the sides of his skull.
“Great! Let’s get back downstairs and I’ll wash it. Then it’ll be all yours, okay?”
Blaze’s eye lights gazed up for only a moment as he nodded, Yin could have sworn she saw little hearts in his eye sockets for a second.
“... thanks… ” Blaze had tried to whisper his gratitude, but he failed as Yin smiled to him.
“Your welcome, darling.”Yin called the rest of the skeletons to the attic door, helped them down, and closed the entrance. Everyone headed back down to the first floor and Yin showed them her laundry room. There, she washed and dried their new gloves, the monkey Indigo, and Blaze’s blanket.
The kids went back to their puzzles to pass the time. Yin showed Vermillion how to polish his new ring and told him all she knew about keeping jewelry clean. She had also put on a movie in the living room, an ocean wildlife documentary to be exact. The boys were so fascinated by the film that most of them abandoned their puzzles to sit on the couches and watch.
Yin eventually brought back the items from the dryer and passed them back out. Azul was more than happy to watch the rest of the movie with Indigo, especially since they had just gotten to the part on colorful coral reefs. Blaze seemed to relax more once he held the blanket close to him.
‘Perhaps he feels comfortable or safe with it?’ Yin decided not to ask Blaze about it. He was happy and that’s what mattered to Yin most.
Yin decided to join them for the rest of the movie as well, taking her laptop with her. While the eight skeletons watched the show, Yin went online and ordered proper clothes for all of them. Including some different gloves so they could have more of a variety. She ordered clothes matching each skeleton’s signature colors and some shoes for when they would go outside.
‘Kids will be kids after all, whether monster or human, they always want to go outside eventually.’
Yin looked up from her computer and gazed over the scene in her living room. Eight skeleton boys were watching a movie, completely captivated by the moving pictures and colors.
They all deserved this and so much more, and Yin was going to see to it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yin was currently straightening up the living room.
After she had made lunch, which was a broccoli, chicken, cheese, and rice casserole that the boys devoured, she asked if the little skeletons would like to see her library. They, expectedly, were confused and asked what a library was. Yin led them to the double doors nearby the stairs and showed them. All eight skeletons were fascinated by the large room filled with books and almost immediately started reading them.
Jester, Citrus, Vermillion, and Blaze all seemed interested in math and science books, but they also found the joke books fascinating as well. Needless to say, they soon taped into their ‘funny bones’ and their brothers were not happy.
Paprika, Azul, Mauve, and Grim loved the mystery stories. They considered the stories as puzzles for some reason. They enjoyed gathering the clues and finding the answers hidden in the pages.
Despite finding a common interest, they did have their differences.
Paprika liked fantasy books with magical creatures, dragons, wizards, and kights.
Azul preferred adventure books with legends, myths, and hidden treasure.
Citrus and Jester found their own interest in science fiction novels, they were most interested in the space theories and aliens.
Blaze had found the books on mechanical engineering, Yin thought it was a bit strange for a kid to be learning how to fix a car, but said nothing.
Vermillion liked the western genre, he found some excitement in the stories, finding thrill in the confidence of the characters.
Mauve was into war stories, she thought they might have been a bit much for a child, but Mauve was really interested and seemed unaffected, so she let him read.
Surprisingly, Grim was into dark romance, the kind with demons, vampires, and dark magic.
As they had been in the library for some time, Yin thought it was a good idea to put up the puzzles and clean. Dusting the game closet was a hassle, but she managed.
‘That’s what I get for skipping the dusting for two months.’
As Yin finished, she checked the order she placed online. It would only take five or six days for the new clothes to get there.
‘Can’t wait to see their expressions when they see the colors I got.’
She sat in her favorite love seat and switched on the news as she looked over everything on her computer. Including the final chapter she still had to finish.
‘Might as well pass the time, those boys will likely be in there for a while.’
After finishing some pages, a reporter on the television caught her attention.
“-as the wait goes on for thousands of monsters, who are patiently awaiting permission to enter the city. Royal families are coming and going, all speaking with the authorities on the current situation. King Asgore, the ruler of monsters from Mount Ebott, has been helping these new monsters in getting integrated with surface civilization. All of the underground monsters are being asked to remain at the bottom of the mountains they had been trapped in for hundreds of years. Local civilians, both monster and human alike, have helped them to temporarily settle down until they get the all clear to enter the city and towns within the vicinity.”
The reporter was a cat monster, she was broadcasting live in front of one of the many mountains in Ebott. Behind her and the line of tape, cars, and volunteer workers, were hundreds of monsters, humans, built tents, and a few campfires and grills passing out food.
Yin was shocked, while she was taking care of lost monster children, another mountain had opened up and revealed another underground civilization.
Another reporter, a human, was following up a conversation with the cat reporter from a different location.
“Cat, the same situation is over here as well, hundreds of people are coming in, handing out blankets, drinks, food, even toys for the kids. I’m telling you, it’s a completely different scenario compared to what happened when the largest mountain in Ebbot, Mount Ebott, cracked open and hundreds of monsters flooded Ebott forest. The mountain you’re at, Cat, Mount Ebaad, is only two mountains over from where I am, Mount Ebbett. And all the other mountains are also being flooded with imprisoned monsters and volunteers. Compared to the first time, when monsters were completely closed off from any human contact, I’d say things may work out for the better this time around.”
‘What, more than one mountain opened up? How am I just now hearing about this? … oh, right… because I locked myself in my room to work without distraction.’
Cat the reporter reappeared on screen, the two locations dividing the TV.
“Yes, Darld, it is looking much better than last time. Thanks to the hard work of so many over the last ten years, people are more welcoming to the newly freed monsters from so many mountains. On that note, Carol, Clammy, do you guys have any idea how many of these mountains have opened up?”
The reporters Cat and Darld were put to the side as the flat screen showed a human and a clam monster in a studio. The human, Carol, spoke first.
“Reports are still coming in Cat, but we have confirmed that mountains Abbott, Ebbot, Ebaad, and Debbot all opened roughly a week ago at the beginning of the big storm we just had. It’s believed that Mount Wyatt and Anett opened only four or five days ago. Reports are still coming in, claiming that both Mount Elliott and Ebbitt opened just last night.”
‘Eight mountains opened? Over the last week?’
Yin was staring at the TV slack-jawed. It came to her that the children she was housing could have come from any one of those mountains. She had heard of certain monsters taking experiments in the Underground, to resist falling down.
‘If that's what one Underground will do to survive, what will others go through?’
It was then that the clam monster, Clammy, spoke up.
“Not only that guys, but there are four other mountains that caved in during the storm. Mount Emmett, Everett, Bennett, and Beckett. Whether or not these mountains had Undergrounds in them is still unconfirmed. The authorities have cut off all routes connected to those mountains until they are deemed stable. Plans are already being made to excavate the mountains in search of any signs of civilization under the rubble or even survivers.”
Yin’s hear froze at her words. Four entire civilizations could likely be dust. The boys could even be the only survivors of those mountains.
‘What just happened this week?’
Yin blocked out the rest of the program, she was too busy thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened to the skeleton kids if she had not found them.
‘They could’ve been dead… they could even be from the caved in mountains… I might not have ever met them… ’
Yin thought over how the last few hours had been. She was happy having them around, they kept her company, her home did not feel lonely, they made her smile with happiness. It felt nice to cook for more than one person, to shop online for someone else, to think of another's face when they will get a surprise.
‘Those boys have grown on me in less than a day.’
Yin did not want to admit it at first, but she loved the kids. They were filling an empty part of her heart just by being near her. Her entire being was feeling lighter with them around.
She wanted them to stay, she loved them sitting at the table during meals, watching them solve puzzles around the living room, seeing their blushing faces glow, and overall, everything about them.
Yin knew it was selfish to want them there with her. She lived so deep in the forest that there was no actual road, just a large dirt clearing that can fit two cars. Those boys deserved to go to playgrounds, amusement parks, shopping centers, and school. They needed to see the world, enjoy their freedom.
But her chest ached at the thought of separating from them. It felt like when she lost her daughter, but worse.
‘Let’s wait for the doctor to get here and see what they say. Then we can cross that emotional bridge when we get there. I’ll see what they think of the situation and if they want to leave, I’ll find them the best family.’
Yin looked over to the library door, she could hear the boys talking, laughing, and some displeased groaning, like some of them had gotten annoyed at something.
‘I’ll wait… until then, I’ll enjoy the time I have with them.’

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been six days since the skeleton kids had been rescued. Overall, their time there was not boring.
They eventually learned about the music room and each fell in love with their own instruments. All the boys taught themselves from the old learning books Yin had kept and played until they got the lessons down.
Paprika and Azul both learned the piano, taking turns with Yin’s grand and electric pianos. While they played, their eccentric energy seemed to lessen.
Jester chose the trumpet, while Citrus followed choosing the clarinet, often the two of them made the most music puns out of everyone. But how they played without lips was beyond Yin’s understanding.
Blaze decided on the ukulele and Vermilion took the guitar, apparently, they liked the different sounds the strings made and often experimented with music.
Mauve went with the cello, and even though the instrument was twice his size he was determined to master it.
Grim had surprisingly chosen the violin, playing it seemed to make him relax, it was only when he played that he looked gentle and calm.
Yin sometimes played music with them, either on her flute or her hang/handpan. Those were both her favorite, she was a master of both and the boys seemed to like it when she played.
Yin had offered each of them to have their own individual rooms, but each pair of brothers insisted on sleeping together. So every two skeletons slept in one room, though they all claimed one room as their ‘own’. Each pair of skeletons would sleep in one brother’s room and the next they would sleep in the other brother’s room.
Thankfully Yin had enough t-shirts for the boys until their clothes came. When the boxes arrived, the skeletons were even more excited and amazed than she had expected. Half had stars in their eye sockets and half were speechless.
Paprika had gotten clothes in various shades of orange and red, his shoes were red with dark orange laces, and his extra gloves were in wonderful colors of paprika.
Azul’s clothes were in different shades of bright blue, his shoes were a lovely ocean color with foam white laces, and his gloves were a blue that matched his blush.
Mauve had outfits in dark and pale purples, his shoes were a dark mauve with black laces, and his gloves were deep violet some with black accents.
Grim’s were mostly black with reds here and there, his shoes were a midnight black with blood-red laces, and his gloves were all leather black with different styled ends.
Jester was given clothes in darker blues, his shoes were a navy blue color with gray laces, and his gloves were fingerless with a simple Prussian blue color.
Citrus got clothes in dark yellows and bright oranges, his shoes were a fruity orange color with lemon yellow laces, his gloves were also fingerless in yellow-orange colors.
Vermillion’s were dark orange with some hints of light brown, his shoes were vermillion orange with tan laces, and his fingerless gloves were also a nice vermillion color.
Blaze’s clothes were in dark red colors with bits of yellow and orange, his shoes were a fiery red with orange laces, and his fingerless gloves were a bright red that matched his own blush.
They had all gotten two pairs of long and short-sleeved button top pajama sets. Each kid’s nightwear had their name’s first initial sewn on the chest pocket. Yin made sure they had long sleeves, short sleeves, pants, jeans, shorts, and everything they could possibly need.
They had all expressed their gratitude, even Grim had given Yin a hug of appreciation. They were happy and she was glad she could be the one to make them smile.
It was the day after the delivery arrived that Yin finally heard back from Ella.
All nine of them were having dinner, the skeletons beamed at the taste of Yin’s family’s signature chicken celery stew, then her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. The boys were startled at first but calmed down when Yin reassured them that it was just her phone. She told them she would be taking the call to the living room and she would be back shortly.
“Hello? Ella?”
“Yin! Sorry, it took so long to get back to you. With all the ruckus going on in the city, it was hard to find someone with the time to see people in secret.”

“No, it’s fine. I figured that it would with all the new monsters showing up.”
“You knew about that? Normally you don’t ever turn on your TV unless someone tells you.”

“I do watch the news, I’m not a savage animal you know. But that’s beside the point. Who did you find? Can they come over soon?”
“Yeah, I managed to track down an acquaintance of mine. She’s nice, is a healer, has kids of her own, and a good reputation with keeping secrets. She’s got some spare time tomorrow, so I’m bringing her over before lunch.”

“That’s great, thank you. I’ll make some honey madeleines for when you come over.”
“OOOH~ girl you know just what I like. By the way, did you finish the last chapter?”

“Surprisingly, yes. I’ll give it to you when you get here.”
“Hallelujah! There’s good luck coming soon! You finished within the third deadline! It normally takes you five!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t get used to it. See you tomorrow, Ella.”
“Ok, girl. But you better not forget those madeleines.”

“I won’t. Bye!”
Yin ended the call and reentered the dining room. All eye sockets were on her as she sat back down.
“who was that?” Jester, in his navy blue collared t-shirt, was the first to ask questions this time.
“A friend of mine, her name is Ella and she’ll be coming over here with a healer tomorrow.”
“what’s a… healer?” Blaze asked as he squeezed his blanket close to him, the fleece blended in with his red turtleneck.
“A healer is someone who works to make others, who are sick or in pain, to feel better. She’s going to help find out how to help you all and hopefully tell us whether or not your… plates… can be removed without hurting you.”
“is that even possible?” Citrus asked plainly, his blank yet doubtful expression did not fit with his dark lemon t-shirt with two orange vertical lines going down his right shoulder.
“That’s what we’re going to find out. I know meeting someone new might be scary for you all, but please give these people a chance.”
“CAN THEY BE TRUSTED?”

Yin turned to face Grim, his face was displeased with his arms crossed. He and Mauve were both wearing black turtlenecks, the only difference was that Mauve’s had dark violet strips across his chest.
“My friend made sure that they could be. You don’t have to worry and I’ll be with you while they’re here.”
“WE CAN AT LEAST MEET THEM. AND MAYBE WE CAN BE FRIENDS!”
Yin smiled as she looked over to Azul, he was wearing a bright blue collared t-shirt with white strips around his chest. He smiled as he hugged Indigo close.
Paprika nodded in agreement with Azul, he had a simple paprika orange t-shirt that matched him to a T.
She gazed over to her last skeleton, Vermillion. He was wearing a plain dark orange long-sleeved shirt, his polished ring standing out on his chest. He nodded as a sign of agreement.
“Then it’s settled, we’ll see Ella and the healer tomorrow.”
After dinner, the boys all took a bath, changed, and went to their chosen beds. Vermilion in Mauve’s room, Jester in Paprika’s, Citrus in Azul’s, and Blaze in Grim’s. Yin left the doors open at night, to help them relax and as a sign of reassurance that they were safe.
“... can you sing again?”

Yin stood in the hall gazing over the open doors, she faced Mauve’s room at Vermillion’s request.
She smiled and replied, “If that’s what you want.”
She could hear the rustling of blankets as they got comfortable.
Yin hummed the lullaby, the tune echoed in the hall, adding to the sound as she harmonized with the melody. She put her emotion into the song, lulling the kids to sleep in their rooms as they heard it clearly.
At the end of the final verse, Yin looked over the rooms. She watched as the final eye lights, Jester’s, went dark. With a loving smile, she sang the last two lines.
“No mountains will keep us apart~
And you will always be in my heart~”
Yin headed back to her room after she finished, her thoughts racing with the possibilities of tomorrow.
‘What will we learn? What can we do? Will they be able to have a normal life?... Ugh! Writing about complicated situations is one thing, but being in a complicated situation is another…’
All of Yin’s experience in writing never prepared her for this. Despite her novels being a hit, she never experienced the situations she wrote herself. And she was always in control of her character’s fate. This was the first time she had no idea how to make things go her way.
Worry consumed her as she fell asleep, anxious for tomorrow to come.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next morning was mostly silent, Yin made omelets for breakfast and afterward, she began to make the madeleines. The boys chose to spend the morning in the music room, practicing a song they had liked yesterday.
All of them were nervous to meet the guests that were coming. The skeletons especially so, because they had no idea what to expect.
It was at eleven-thirty that the doorbell rang.
“Yin! I’m here and I brought company!”
“Coming! Just give me a sec.”
Yin went to the music room to check on the boys. When she got there, they all stared at her, clearly nervous and slightly scared.
“Don’t worry, it’s just the people I told you about yesterday. Let’s get into the living room and greet them, ok?”
They hesitated but followed her, after they sat down on the sofas she opened the door.
Ella was smiling like she always was; twenty-four seven, seven days a week.
“About time, I was starting to think you got lost in your mansion.”
Yin sighed, “For the last time, it’s just a house. Not a mansion.”
“Yeah, right. You got your own library and music room in there. It’s a mansion no matter how you look at it. Anyway, this is Mrs. Canine, she and I met a while back and kept touch.”
Yin looked at the person behind Ella. She was a tall, dark-furred dog monster, similar to a German shepherd. She was wearing a blue doctor’s robe with little bones sewn on the side pockets, in her hand was a large blue doctor’s bag. She had bright blue eyes and a kind smile that just told Yin that Mrs. Canine could be trusted.
“Pleasure to meet you, dear. Ella has told me you found some lost pups. May I see them?”
Yin was glad the first question from the healer’s mouth was about the boys. ‘Oh yeah,’ she thought, ‘she’s good in my books.’
“They’re just in the living room. But I have to warn you, they can be quite shy.”
Mrs. Canine giggled, “Then I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m an expert with shy little puppies.”
Yin guided her guests to the living room where all eye sockets were immediately on them. Paprika and Azul were guarded by Jester and Citrus. Blaze and Vermillion were hiding behind Grim and Mauve, who were putting on stone faces met to be threatening.
“Oh, hi little guys! My name is Ella and I’ve known Yin since we were your age. My, aren’t you all just the cutest things!”
Many of them blushed at Ella’s compliment. After reading a few books, they all eventually learned what ‘cute’ meant and started to find it embarrassing.
‘Good, they’re distracted. That should help them be less tense for Ms. Canine.’
Yin turned her head to see the said dog monster. Needless to say, the women knew there was something off about them. Whether she found it by a mother’s instincts or her extreme sense of smell, she did not know.
When the boys started to face the healer, she gave them a gentle smile.
“Hello, I’m Mrs. Canine. My job is to help people who need medical attention. I’ve been told that you were all found in the woods, did any of you get hurt when you were lost?”
All eight of them shook their heads ‘no’. After a second, the older monster asked more questions.
“Well then, is there anything that hurts you? Like an old wound or a scar?”
At first, the boys hesitated before nodding slightly. Jester was the first to speak.
“they don’t hurt… but we do have… these… ”
Jester was the first to remove his glove. He did it so slowly like he did not really want to see it again. But, who would?
Jester showed his hand to the healer, who was already looking at it. She had a good poker face, not revealing any emotion as she carefully took his had and looked over every inch of it.
“You’re positive this no longer hurts?” Mrs. Canine looked Jester in his eye sockets as he replied.
“no... they don’t… only when we try to pull them, they do… ” he was slow to respond, so Yin gently squeezed his shoulder, which helped him relax.
The healer looked over to the others, “Do all of you have one of these?”
The rest of the kids nodded and slowly pulled off their own gloves.
Mrs. Canine was careful as she overlooked each of their plated hands. Keeping her poker face as she saw each one.
When she finished, she smiled sweetly at them, acting like what she saw did not faze her.
“Well, if you say they don’t hurt, I believe you. But, if it’s ok with you, I’d like you all to visit my clinic and we can determine if we can take them off.”
All of the children hesitantly nodded, not one hundred percent sure about going to a new place.
“Alright then, now I’d like to give you boys a quick checkup. Will that be okay?”
Again all eight of them looked confused, but Mrs. Canine was quick to explain.
“A checkup is something a healer like me does to make sure a person is a hundred percent healthy. I check to see that there are no lasting effects from things that may have hurt you in the past.”
For the next two hours, she carefully explained what she was doing and why. When she reached for tools in her bag, she explained with incredible detail what each object did and even how they did it. Mrs. Canine had incredible patience and answered every question the boys asked, often instructing them on how to use the tools on herself.
“Now, one last thing, I’m going to be checking your souls.” The healer said as she reached for a long tablet-like object with handles and some kind of camera lens on the back.
“This lets me see your souls without summoning them, but I’m afraid that it can only read two souls at a time. So you’ll have to pair up.”
Each pair of brothers quickly sat next to each other and sat still on the couches. They were calmer and much more trusting thanks to the healer’s patience and explanations over the last couple of hours.
Mrs. Canine started with Jester and Paprika, a camera clicking sound could be heard as she scanned them. For a brief moment, her blue eyes widened at the screen before she smiled at them.
“Well, it looks like you two have been recovering nicely. You both have full HP.”
She turned to Azul and Citrus, scanned them, and each time she had a brief moment of disbelief before giving them a similar response.
She repeated the same procedure with Blaze and Grim, then Mauve and Vermillion. Yin could tell the older monster had something on her mind but did not point it out yet.
“Well, I have to say you eight have been, by far, my greatest patients. How would you like some candy?”
Azul and Paprika were thrilled to get sweets and were the first to rush over to get some lollipops. The others followed them not long after, with smiles on their faces as they sucked on the lollies.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you some questions about your past. Will that be alright?”
The skeletons were silent at Mrs. Canine’s request but nodded when Yin sat between the eight of them. Azul, Citrus, Jester, and Paprika to her left and Vermillion, Mauve, Grim, and Blaze to her right.
“Ok, let’s start with something simple. Where did you live before coming here?”
They tensed at the question and remained silent as Citrus answered.
“we all came from four different places… but they were the same kind… after reading in the library, we found out they’re called ‘labs’.”
Yin squeezed Azul and Blaze close. It was just as she feared.
The healer had a poker face as she wrote something down on a clipboard she pulled from her bag, but she smiled with encouragement to the boys as she continued.
“... Alright, then, who took care of you in there?”
Seven of them remained silent as Jester answered.
“... we never called them by name, they never told us… but the person who… cared for… me an’ my bro looked like the person that grim and blaze were with… azul and citrus’... caretaker… was like mauve and vermillion’s… ”
Jester struggled to address the people that hurt them, that was to be expected, after all, all of them probably wanted to forget about their past lives entirely.
The healer was doing quite well taking in this information, but Ella had started heading for the backyard. If Yin knew Ella, then there was no doubt she was heading to the forest to punch a tree in her anger. Ella always hated hearing about people getting mistreated with a passion.
Mrs. Canine continued the questions, discovering the kinds of tests the children were put under. Their bones sometimes broken, separated for long periods of time, forced to kill living animals, the list went on. Yin was barely holding all of the skeletons in her arms, she tried to comfort them, but it only helped so much.
By the time the healer was done asking questions, it was already lunch, but no one was hungry for a meal. Yin decided to break out the honey madeleines, which brought Ella back inside anger free, so the boys could have something to eat while they distracted themselves with puzzles. Though Citrus kept trying to get more madeleines, apparently finding the flavor amazing.
As the boys got deeper into their puzzles, the last few hours almost forgotten to them, Mrs. Canine announced that she was leaving. All the boys said their own goodbyes as she headed for the door. Yin and Ella followed her out for a private conversation.
All three of the grown women stood by Ella’s car and Mrs. Canine’s van. The monster mother was the first to speak.
“Well, it’s a good thing you found them when you did, Ms. Yin. Their past seems to be much darker than anything I have even heard of. But, I’m afraid that is not all the bad news I’ve learned today.”
Yin looked to Mrs. Calince with concern, “What did you find out?”
The healer closed her eyes and frowned as she replied, “Jester, Citrus, Blaze, and Vermillion all have a base HP of 1. It would only take a single hit, with the intent to kill, to dust them.”
Yin stiffened at that reply. She had heard that certain monsters were considered weak and frail because of their HP, which in human terms meant their health. When she became a monster supporter, she looked up everything she could on monsters and their culture. The fact that some of them could easily die had startled her and now four of the weakest and most defenseless monsters possible were under her care. Not only that, but they had been tortured at such a young age, not knowing what it meant to be safe.
As Yin thought, Mrs. Canine continued talking, “Their brothers are all healthy 20 HP monsters. But they have many small scars that are too precise to be accidents. They may not know it, but those pups have a long way to go before they can even interact with others. They know too little about themselves and how they should be treated. As a mother to three pups myself, this is beyond any sickening thing I have ever seen or heard of.”
Yin had to steady her breathing as the dog monster kept talking. Thousands of questions and emotions coursed through her. She could not help feeling so angry for them; they were just kids and they went through more pain than anyone could ever imagine.
“But, they can recover. Those pups have shown signs of a good recovery. I believe their souls bonding with yours might be a direct cause of it.”
Yin snapped her head up to face Mrs. Canine at that statement. “What do you mean, ‘souls bonding to mine’? I haven’t even seen their souls.”
The canine giggled, “Well, you don’t have to see their souls to bond with them. Especially in your case. You see, those puppies’ souls see your soul as their caretaker. Whether or not they consciously know it, you are their mother now.”
The writer froze. Did the boys really see her as their mother? Could she even be their mother? They were monsters after all and there had to be things only monsters could teach them. Yin did not see herself as a proper guardian for them in any way.
“Me? Their mom? No offense Mrs. Canine, but you have to be mistaken. There is no way I could be the best choice for them. I literally live in the middle of nowhere. And they're kids! Don’t they need lessons on magic, souls, and monster culture? I probably know less about monsters than they do. I can’t be the best choice for them, they deserve better.”
Mrs. Canine only smiled, “Oh, believe me, being a mother to monsters is difficult. But I know a good parent when I see one. Sure, you may not know about monster ways, but is that really a big issue now? Everything you ever need to know about monsters is online. And the fact you live so far away from others is a good thing. They will need much time to themselves first before they venture the cities. If you are confused about some things, you just call me.” She handed Yin a card with a hospital’s address and her number.
Ella was smiling good-naturedly as she watched Yin and the healer talk, “You need the company girl. Besides, you seem to be the only one they trust right now. If we put them in an orphanage now, they’d flip. You are the best choice. And you once said you wanted to be a mom, don’t you want to take this chance?”
Yin thought it over, she had wanted to be a mother a long time ago. The boys had been growing on her, even though they had only known each other for a few days. And, would it really be so bad? She did care about them, she wanted them to stay, so, could she claim them as her kids?
“What about after they recover? People will ask what a human is doing with a group of monster kids out in public… ”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get all of this covered for you. I know a guy who works in the mayor’s office. We can make them Kazumi’s in all but blood within a few days.” Ella spoke, quick to reassure Yin of her doubts.
Yin thought for a minute before looking up and smiling to Ella and Mrs. Canine, “Alright, if they want me as their mother, I’ll adopt them. But if they don’t we’ll find the best family for them.”
Mrs. Canine smiled as she shook her head, “They will accept you, it’s so easy to see.”
Ella chuckled a bit as she replied, “You are so stubborn. Ok girl, if they say, for an absolute fact, that they do not want to live with you, I’ll find the best. But the chances of them saying that is low.”
The three women said their farewells and Yin watched the two cars leave her property before heading back inside.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yin went back inside after Ella and Mrs. Canine left. When she entered the living room, she saw the skeletons had gotten their puzzles completed and had the TV on to the science channel, they were watching a documentary on African Elephants and their environment.
She walked over to her love seat to join them. Vermillion and Blaze quickly moved to sit on her lap while Azul and Paprika chose to sit on the floor leaning on her legs. All the others scooted on the couches so they were as close to her as possible, doing so without looking directly at her, but they did briefly glance in her direction.
Yin decided to ask the kids what they thought. She needed to hear from them whether or not they did see her as their mother.
“Boys, can I ask you something?”
All the skeletons faced Yin, some a bit nervous but others more curious. They all nodded in unison before she spoke again.
“So, I was wondering, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but… ” Yin was a bit embarrassed and unsure as she spoke. Partly because she was worried about a negative answer, but also because she hoped what Mrs. Canine had said was true. “... do you see me as… maybe… your… mom?”
The room was silent, save for the TV. Yin was getting more nervous as the seconds ticked by. Did they not? Was the Mrs. Canine wrong? Did they want someone else?
“... can we think of you like that? our mother?” Vermillion spoke barely above a whisper, but everyone heard him.
A spark lit up in her chest, “If you want to. I don’t mind… and maybe you could be… my kids… ” She was getting quieter but also more hopeful as she replied.
“YOU WOULD REALLY WANT US?” Grim was hesitant to ask, his voice had bits of doubt and fear that could be heard.
Oh, sweet lord, these skeletons were pulling her heartstrings, “Of course I would, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t, and… I… I really would like it if you did want me to be your mom.” Yin was blushing a storm now, a bit too nervous to look at any of them in the eye(socket).
There was a moment of silence before Azul and Paprika jumped on Yin, tackling her into a hug as they cried in happiness.
“I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU AS MY MOMMY!” Paprika was hugging Yin’s left side with all his might, clearly overjoyed.
Azul was copying Paprika but on her right side, squashing Indigo in the hug as well, “AND I ALSO WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU AS MY MUMMY!”
Jester and Citrus climbed Yin’s loveseat’s arms and joined their brothers in the group hug.
“if ya don’t mind, can i call ya ma?” Jester asked, his voice was quiet, but it was obvious he was crying slightly.
“an’ could i call ya mum?” Citrus was also crying like Jester as he spoke.
“You boys can call me whatever you want. You’re my family now.” Yin had tears in her eyes now. It made her so happy that they did see her as their mother, just as she had hoped.
“... so… i can call ya mama?” Blaze gripped his red blanket, moving closer to Yin with a hopeful look in his red teary eye sockets.
Yin wrapped her arms around the skeleton and added him to the ones that sat on her, “Yes, Blaze. You can.” she said simply through her tears.
“... mammy…?” Yin turned her attention to Vermillion, who was holding his ring in a fist over his chest, he too had tears in his eye sockets.
“Yes…” her voice was low as she hugged the skeletons closer.
“I SHALL CALL YOU MOM FROM NOW ON.” Yin felt Mauve climb into her lap and join the hug. She heard the slight wavering and low volume in his voice when he declared his title for her.
“YOU BETTER NOT MAKE ME REGRET THIS… MOTHER.” Grim’s voice was quiet as he moved to the right side of the seat, grabbing Yin’s arm in a comforting grip.
Yin was overwhelmed with happiness, she could hardly catch her breath as she held on to them. They were hers now, her boys, her little skeletons. She had not been this happy in so long, not even her ex’s proposal topped this joyous moment.
“I promise, I’ll be the best mother I can for you boys. You’re my family from now on and nothing is going to change that, not now, and not ever.” She vowed as she closed her eyes and hugged them closer to her.
Unknown to them, the eight monster souls glowed brighter in sync with Yin’s aquamarine soul. The bond grew and became a permanent part of them, making it impossible for anyone to deny their happiness. The nine souls in the room were more than eight monster souls with a human’s, they were the souls of eight sons and a mother.
The rest of the day was a bit of a blur for Yin. After they all stopped crying, Yin made a teriyaki chicken dinner with rice to introduce the boys to the flavors of her family. Yin’s father was Japanese and American while her mother was an odd mix of Native American, Chinese, Australian, and Italian, so she had a lot of different tastes to introduce the skeletons too. Before the boys went to bed, she told them of her family tree and even told stories from her childhood with her siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
She talked as the boys went to bed, putting them to sleep with the many different tales, some having funny and memorable moments of her youth, others embarrassing for herself or her siblings. After all of them fell asleep, Yin headed to her room to think.
‘They think of me as their mom. I’m their mother now. They’re my kids. I have kids.’
Her emotions overpowered her mind. There was so much to be done now. She would need to redecorate the rooms to make them suit the boys. Get the paperwork so she could adopt them. Tell her family she was adopting. Her mom was going to flip when she heard this. They were going to be Kazumi's in all but blood soon.
She eventually calmed down enough to think things over. Mentally, she planned for what lied ahead for them. Getting paperwork, redecorating, their education, introduction to her large and perhaps a bit too overwhelming family, among other things they were going to need to get done.
‘Oh… if they’re gonna be Kazumi's, then they’ll need middle names too.’
It was an old family tradition for members of the Kazumi family to have a middle name. If a child grew up and did not like their first name, there was a chance they could use their middle name instead. The boys were still young and seemed to like their names for now, but you never know how a kid will feel when they grow up.
Yin headed for her desk and pulled out a blank journal and started brainstorming middle names for them. She would call her mother later to inform her of the new members and Yin would be prepared when her mother asked what middle names she gave them. Her mother tended to get a bit eccentric when there was a new addition to the family, adding eight would likely make her bounce off the walls.
Yin spent some time thinking names over, trying to find ones that suited the boys. She filled the journal full of names that did not suit the boys at all, failing to find any good ones with just her own mind. Eventually, she broke out her computer to search the web for names. Almost all of her creativity was mostly gone by now, given she was staying up later than usual and was already pretty tired before she even started.
After hours of searching she came up with the perfect names for each of them:
Jester Blu Kazumi
Paprika Andrew Kazumi
Citrus Alani Kazumi
Azul Leon Kazumi
Grim Griffin Kazumi
Blaze Roux Kazumi
Mauve Duke Kazumi
Vermillion Jacinth Kazumi
Every name seemed to fit them perfectly to Yin. She did know that these were names not typically given to monsters, but they were her kids now so they deserved to be unique. If anyone gave the boys problems about it, they would have to go through Yin personally.
Noticing she had stayed up past midnight searching for names, Yin headed for bed and passed out before her head hit the pillow. Her mind was thinking of the future to come for them. They were going to be an unusual family of nine.
She was unsure what the future would hold for her and the boys, but she knew that things would never be the same again.
For the first time in years, she felt happy and content. Her kind, patient, and integrate soul began to heal small cracks in her sleep. With a new bond strengthening her soul, inner traumas began to fade slowly. The pains of her past were weakening as she thought of the days ahead.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Time passed for Yin and her new children, the skeleton boys had fully accepted Yin as their mother, addressing her only by their chosen names for her. They hardly ever left her sight, clinging to her like koala cubs.Yin had called Mrs. Canine asking about monster foods and if it was necessary to their diet. But the dog mother quickly reassured her that monsters converted everything they ate into magic, absorbing the magic already in food as soon as it entered their mouths. The healer stated that organic foods actually held more magical energy than processed human foods, so it was still recommended that monsters ate healthily. That was good news to Yin because she had already been eating a naturally healthy lifestyle and diet, growing her own vegetables, some fruit, only buying organic eggs and meat from the grocery stores, and she even had a Flow Hive which gave her natural and unprocessed honey from her backyard. Unsurprisingly, the little skeletons grew interested in gardening and even helped her with the work, often asking questions about how they grew and when the food was okay to eat. Citrus in particular practically fell in love with honey when they harvested some from the hive. He immediately declared it his favorite as soon as he tried it, the light blush he had when he said it was adorable in Yin’s opinion.After a few days, Ella called saying that she had set up an appointment for them, for their paperwork. A friend of hers actually worked at city hall and was also a monster’s rights activist. The day the paperwork was filled out, Mrs. Canine had accompanied them as well. She gave him the medical report with the information she was able to gather from their check-up to fully convince Mr. Harold, Ella’s acquaintance in city hall, to fully place Yin as the boys’ legal mother. He thankfully agreed but did say that he would be calling them back after the new monster societies integrating finished getting their legal rights. It was necessary that they find out which mountains they came from and who exactly harmed them; so the criminals could be properly brought to justice. Yin filled out the paperwork and told the boys their new middle names, which they questioned at first but accepted them once they heard it was Yin’s family tradition.The next few days after that were spent making the boys feel at home in Yin’s house. Their chosen rooms were redecorated according to their likes. Yin had the neutral-colored rooms completely changed just for the boys. They kept the beds but Yin ordered new blanket sets in colors fitting to the boys.Jester’s room was painted a pale royal blue, the dresser was painted snow white, and his door now had a sign with his full name painted in white within space. The new curtains were a space blue with white stars littered all over. When the sunlight shined through them, it seemed like a part of outer space was in the room. His bed consisted of many different shades of dark blue with some pillows that had rockets, meteors, and stars.Paprika had his room painted a paprika orange color, his dresser was left alone, and his door sign had his full name in black on a paprika red convertible. His curtains were orange with many different types of sports cars printed on, all in red or orange colors. His bed was mostly orange with red sheets and pillows with race cars printed on them.Citrus had his room painted a honey yellow color, the dresser was painted pale orange, and his bedroom door sign was a honeycomb shape with his full name written in black. The curtains were a citrus yellow with oranges, lemons, and limes printed all over. The large bed had different shades of orange and yellow colors, with honey and oranges printed on some pillows.Azul’s room was painted a beachside ocean blue, his dresser was painted white, and the door hanging was a blue boat with his name full name written in seafoam white. His curtains were blue with an ocean pattern that made the whole room look like it was underwater when the curtains were closed and the sun was out. His bed had many different ocean blues, mostly light but also some dark colors, and some of his pillows had boats and waves printed on them.Blaze had his room painted fire red, his dresser was left the same wood color, and his door sign was a campfire shape with his full name written in black over the fire. The curtains were dark red with little orange and yellow flames printed them. The bed was mainly red with fire orange sheets and pillows with candle and campfire flames printed on some pillows.Grim, unsurprisingly, had his room’s ceiling painted crimson red while his walls were painted black. His dresser was also painted dark black, with the knobs painted red, and his door sign had his full name written in blood-red with two reaper scythes behind it. The curtains were black with a large red scythe printed on each one. His bed was mostly black with red sheets and pillows with cool weapons printed on them.Vermillion’s room was painted vermillion orange, his dresser was left alone, and his door sign was an orange-brown guitar with his full name written in black. His curtains were vermillion red with two guitars crossed at the necks on each one. The bed had vermillion red and orange shades with some pillows that had guitars and music designs.Mauve had his ceiling painted black with his walls painted mauve violet, his dresser was black with dark purple knobs, and the door hanging was a black cello with his full name written in deep plum. The curtains were periwinkle with black music notes printed them, you could almost hear the music when the sun shined through them. His bed was mostly purple, ranging from colors like purple lilac to raisin, his pillows had music note designs; some in black while others were white.Yin did not care about the bill she had to pay for all the decorating. She was rich thanks to her writing, so if she wanted to spend a few thousand dollars on her boys’ rooms, she could. After all, she had a lot of spare cash since she did not have an electric bill (she covered her roof with solar panels), she never had to pay for air conditioning (she used geothermal energy) and got some extra cash for recycling bottles (Ebott had bottle bills). And since the boys had joined her life, she was finding more inspiration to write her books, finishing much faster than she ever did before.Over time, she was able to help them understand things they had never seen or heard of before. They were quick learners, adjusting to opening doors with knobs, having free range to explore the house, helping in the kitchen, changing the channel on the TV, among other things. Yin was patient with them as they learned and adapted to their new home, often feeling a bit upset and angry at their past torturers for raising them so poorly.They learned more about themselves as well. Yin nearly had a heart attack when Jester went missing, only to be found in the basement-turned-cave. The door was always left locked in the past and she forgot to unlock it after the boys moved in. But somehow, Jester was able to teleport through the door and decided to search the area down the stairs in his curiosity. After Yin found him, which was roughly two and a half hours Jester spent messing with the TV, searching the closet full of old games, and opening every cabinet in the small bar area (mostly filled with water and canned goods), Jester showed his brothers what he could do. Sadly, only Blaze, Vermillion, and Citrus were able to learn how to teleport, much to the displeasure of the others.They demonstrated their magic to Yin, their blasters ranged from cool to cute, but when they mentioned blue magic they were more scared of it. She later learned that blue magic was used on them to scare them into obeying. Yin decided that defense training would be the best way to help them overcome their fear. She took some self-defense classes in her youth and taught them what she could and encouraged them to use all of their abilities. After a few tries, they began to recover from their fears and started sparring with each other, Grim and Mauve were the most determined to be the strongest and most skilled.However Blaze, Grim, Mauve, and Vermillion all had an extra and unusual ability. After the first few days of training, they told Yin of their shifting. She was confused at first, not knowing what they meant by shifting, but she quickly understood when they demonstrated for her. To say the writer was shocked would be an understatement. When the four of them finished changing they looked more animal, almost dog-like. Once they turned back to their normal forms, she could immediately tell that shifting had hurt them in some way. Yin called Mrs. Canine to come check them and what she discovered was unreal. Apparently, those canine forms transformed the boys into living weapons, they admitted being able to fire beams just like their blasters to confirm the doctor's analysis. It was also discovered that shifting drained a lot of magic, hence why it hurt them. Yin then insisted that they never shift again, with the exception of using it to get out of danger but only as a last resort. Thankfully the boys did not argue with the new rule and were happy to never have to shift again.Their education was actually quite advanced. Jester, Citrus, Blaze, and Vermillion could all do college-level mathematics while their brothers were smarter than most high schoolers. Yin had to get them online school courses in order to give them any kind of challenge. Her bachelor's degree allowed her to help in teaching them, but they absorbed the information like a sponge, she could hardly keep up with them. When they were introduced to science, she focused their attention on things like chemistry and environmental sciences, doing her best to avoid anything that might have been even slightly related to their past ‘experimentation’.Yin introduced them to the area around her home once they had adapted to the house. She took them on hikes and picnics in the woods, teaching them how to navigate and avoid getting lost. They were hesitant at first, but soon found interest in the flora and fauna. When she showed them beautiful views higher up the mountain, they were astonished. Both because they never knew the world could be so big and because it was a gorgeous sight to see the forest, town, and city.Over time, their personalities started to show more, their likes and interests became clearer as they started to be less afraid. Grim, Mauve, Azul, and Paprika liked to help in the kitchen, becoming her little chefs in training. Blaze, Vermillion, Citrus, and Jester started to nap more, their brothers said it was normal and that it was hard for them to rest ‘back there’ when they would be taken to their ‘tests’. She also learned of their insomnia and helped them when she could at night, whether it was with a song or simply holding them until the relaxed and fell asleep again, in her arms.But despite the similarities they had, there were differences.Mauve and Grim were more inclined to argue than all the others. Mostly over which instrument was better or who was stronger. Both wanted to be right all the time, claiming their way or choice was better. Soon there were shouting matches on a weekly basis, but they quieted down when Yin stepped in and offered a compromise.Mauve was an orchestra music lover, he often spent longer in the music room than all of the other skeletons. He was determined to master the cello, despite his current height. His confidence grew more as he got better and wrote his own music, he also grew a small ego as well.Grim was a bit more demanding than Mauve. Yin took it as a defense of sorts since he needed to be strong in the past. It was a fact: he was going to be an ‘edgy’ teen when he grew up, his current taste in style proved that much.Jester was fascinated by astronomy and became addicted to the stars. He could hardly go one day without talking about outer space. Or the fact that people might be able to live on Mars in another few decades.Citrus was deeply in love with honey and as a result, he became a bee lover as well. Often he asked if there was anything Yin could make with honey for breakfast or dessert. Yin decided to introduce him to her herbal teas, now he always joined her and had his with honey and lemon.Azul found passion in the ocean when Yin told him how she chose his name. Now he wanted to go on treasure hunting adventures across the seven seas in a pirate ship. Often he asked if they could visit a beach in search of buried gold. She made promises to him, telling the blue boy of her adventures during family vacations.Paprika loved race cars, he soon picked his favorite; a convertible. He switched the TV to a racing match whenever he could, or he simply put on a movie about racing cars. Yin had to promise him that when he was bigger, she would get him one of his very own.Vermillion wanted to be a guitarist, he fell in love with music and played whenever he could. Sometimes Yin would find him on the back porch, playing a soft tune to himself with a smile. Though he would get embarrassed when he noticed her; he was still a bit shy.Blaze actually found interest in firefighters and mechanics. He loved fire and soon wanted to learn how to ‘tame’ it, leading him to learn everything about fire and the work of a firefighter. The skelly also fell in love with mobile machines and would talk about how fascinating it was that so many little parts can make something work like magic. He still lacked confidence in himself, but Yin knew he would gain some in time.Informing the rest of Yin’s family was easy, she just had to call her mother, tell her the news, and then the rest of the family would get a call from the excited grandma who now had eight new grandsons. Everyone and anyone could picture how those calls went.Yin’s two brothers and their wives were happy to congratulate her, but she had the sinking suspicion her brothers were glad she did not get married again. Her two sisters would not stop asking questions or offering stuff for the boys. But once Yin explained the original ‘home’ the boys came from, they understood when she declined offers to family parties. Yin wanted to get the boys used to their new lives slowly, she did not want to overwhelm them with her large family in one place. Yin’s father lived in Japan, helping his parents and siblings as her grandmother and grandfather got older. He called her late that night to give his blessing and offered a free trip over to Japan when the boys were ready.A few days after that, her mother sent a package with hooded scarves just for the boys. It was another thing in her family to have a scarf, though they did not remember where it came from. The scarves were handmade by Yin’s mother, in colors and designs that fit the boys; she had called Yin constantly to ask what kind of colors and designs they liked on a daily basis. The fabric used to make them was soft, and not too thick, so they were perfect to wear year-round.Jester’s scarf was short, it was a nice Prussian blue color with some star constellations embroidered in white.Paprika’s was long, it had a paprika red color with black tire marks embroidered on the ends.Azul got a medium length hooded scarf in sea blue with white foam embroidered on the edges.Citrus got a short one in an orange citrus color with a honeybee and a honeycomb embroidered on each end.Grim got a long, black hooded scarf with ends that faded into a dark red.Blaze’s was short and red with small candle flames embroidered in orange and yellow on the ends.Mauve got a medium length scarf in a dark mauve color that faded into a light pastel purple at the ends.Vermillion got a small scarf in an orange vermillion color, at each end was an embroidered brown guitar.The first initial of their first, middle, and last names were embroidered on each of their scarves for identification. Yin showed the boys her scarf, which was a long hooded scarf in a gentle aquamarine color that faded to sky blue at the ends, with waves embroidered in sea green along the edges.By the time summer rolled in, the boys were able to go into an in-bulk store with Yin during her shopping days. They gradually came out of their shells and learned to not be afraid of new things. They were not yet ready to enter the city’s busy streets or the bumping towns, but they were adapting fast. Yin was a bit worried when July came, but it turned out that the sound of fireworks did not affect them as she feared. Rather, they loved seeing the colors mix with the stars and lighting sparklers in the yard.In autumn, the boys were able to sleep in their own rooms. They still insisted on a lullaby before bed, but Yin was happy to sing for them. They were her boys now, so if she wanted to baby them, she could.Yin introduced them to Halloween, but not to trick or treating, deciding to save that for when the boys were less shy. She did teach them the art of pumpkin carving, using pumpkins she grew in her garden. They all found a love for candy, like any kid, and Halloween snacks. The family of nine had their own little Halloween party with homemade treats and movies. Thanksgiving was a holiday the skeletons really appreciated. When Yin told them it was a day to be thankful, they took it to heart. Yin set up their own Thanksgiving dinner, getting help from her boys. They lent a hand in the kitchen, harvesting from the garden, and setting the table. All eight of the skeleton boys voiced their thanks for finding Yin, having a good home, being a large family, and most of all, finding their freedom. That Thanksgiving turned out to be the happiest dinner they ever had.Fall became winter, and Yin introduced her boys to snow. It pained her that they had never seen it before, but she was quick to educate them. On everything: snowmen, snow sculptures, igloos, forts, hot chocolate and Christmas. Her lazy bones turned into expert snow angel makers while the energetic ones started daily wars of snowball fights. At first, Yin was worried they may catch colds staying outside too long, but a quick call to Mrs. Canine assured her that skeleton monsters were unaffected by cold weather. Still, Yin insisted the skeletons bundled up before going outside. For their first Christmas, Yin took them all to a Christmas tree lot to pick out the best one. Then she bought a bunch of arts and crafts supplies so they could make their own ornaments. The tree turned out perfect, with all the creative and fun decorations and colorful strings of lights. Yin had their presents delivered at night and secretly wrapped and hid them from the boys until Christmas day. The looks on their skulls when they saw all the colorful boxes were priceless to Yin. Their joy and happiness on that day and the days after were immeasurable. Yin spoiled them with new books, clothes, advanced puzzles, mystery games, puzzle games, and movies of full documentaries about space, the ocean, wildlife, and more. When New Years came, Yin made a promise to keep her new family safe and happy forever, while her boys wished that their new lives would last forever.Every day that passed healed the little skeletons and Yin’s soul healed with their mother-sons bond. Now, only small cracks could be seen on her aquamarine soul and its glow was much more healthy. If one were to look at her soul, the thin grey cracks would seem faded. Yin was truly happy, and so were her boys. Now that she had the skeleton boys, she felt good about the days to come.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was now the eighteenth month since the skeleton kids had been saved. By this time they were practically normal boys. Parts of Yin’s family came over with their kids and slowly the boys started getting used to them. Mrs. Canine was officially the boys’ doctor and came over every once in a while with her kids to check on them. They were in perfect health, safe for Jester, Blaze, Citrus, and Vermillion who still only had 1 HP. The skeletons soon became more adventurous; they loved hiking, picnics, and going with their mother to the store. They often even helped with adding up the bill total before Yin even got to the register. They did not shy away from people at the store anymore, in fact, the energetic boys even talked up storms with the store clerks. The workers did not mind, thankfully, the boys actually made them happy. But one day, things were different.Yin was driving up to the nearest in-bulk store with the boys in her grey eight-passenger van. Jester and Citrus were working together on a sudoku puzzle in the middle seats with Vermillion to Citrus’ left looking out the window. Grim had called shotgun and was listening to music on his black headphones and MP3 player Yin had got him on Christmas. Paprika, Azul with his Indigo, and Mauve were working on a wooden star-like brain teaser in the farthest back seats. Blaze was directly behind Vermillion with the ‘puzzle masters’ also gazing out a window, holding his blanket close. For a three hour drive to the store, her kids were very well behaved.They were all wearing gloves to cover their hands, the sleepy bones having fingerless gloves while the other four had their hands fully covered. Yin had also learned from Mrs. Canine that monster kids wear stripes out in public so people could tell which monsters were kids and which were just naturally short.It was the middle of August, so they all had long-sleeved shirts on that matched their representative blushes, save for Grim who had a black shirt. Jester and Citrus’ shirts had two white stripes that went down from their right shoulders to the bottom of their shirts. Paprika and Azul’s shirts had three white stripes going across their chests. Blaze and Vermillion had two brown stripes going across their midsection. Mauve had a black stripe across his chest while Grim had a red one.All of them, including Yin, had their hooded scarves on, only Vermillion and Blaze had their hoods up. All the little skeletons tended to disappear in the fabric whenever they got embarrassed, scared, or just nervous. Their mother considered it cute and adorable and when they blushed whenever she said that to them, it just made them even more precious.Yin pulled up in the store’s driveway, the boys unbuckled, Grim grabbed Yin’s reusable grocery bags and containers, and they stayed close to Yin as they walked through the sliding doors. The lively ones turned their skulls in every direction, taking note of the new stock and unfamiliar items. The boys tended to wander around more often, interested in new merchandise, so Yin now let them help with the shopping to satisfy their curiosity. The store was mostly in-bulk items with a separate section for people to drop their recyclables. All the packaged goods that it did have came in recyclable and eco-friendly material, and the store sold healthy, organic foods only; safe some sweets and snacks. Grim placed the bags in their shopping cart as Yin headed for the dry and bulk items first.She reached for one bag that held her storage jars and handed different sizes to her four kitchen helpers.“Ok, Grim, you’re on pasta. We need spaghetti, elbow, penne, and lasagna noodles. Mauve, you get the flour, sugar, wheat, and the salt and pepper. Paprika, get three kinds of cereal, some oats, and rice. Azul, come with me for the rest. Fill the jars to the top and weight the amount, got it?”

“ALRIGHT MOTHER.”

“YES, MOM.”
“YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, MOMMY!”“OKAY, MUMMY!”Yin smiled as three of her boys moved to their assigned item’s aisle, followed by their respective brothers. Knowing they would be fine, she moved over to get the remaining items. Azul and Citrus helped her bag the fruit they were unable to grow in her backyard; apples, pears, mangos, peaches, grapes, and cranberries. The two skeletons assisted in picking out different types of meat; chicken, pork, salmon, shrimp, and some beef. Citrus never missed an opportunity to say a pun the whole way, making Azul protest at his annoying humor. Azul got to talk to the dairy vendor as the man got their cheese and milk, engaging in a conversation about the ocean since the vendor was actually a sailor in the past. Citrus handled getting the eggs during the wait, expertly getting the best ones and carefully storing them in Yin’s reusable egg cartons.Grim and Blaze were the first ones back, already having the total cost of the pasta. Paprika and Jester found them shortly after with rice, cornflake, and vanilla wheat cereals, as well as the rice and oats. Jester gave the total cost to Yin as Mauve and Vermillion finally arrived with their load. They gave the item’s total and Yin added it to the list of different prices. The mathematical geniuses took over and added the list in their heads as she tried to add everything up on a calculator. The boys got the total first and Yin let them get their reward; snacks.Whenever the boys managed to finish adding the total grocery bill before Yin (which was often) she let them pick out snacks that they could have or try out. She handed them some smaller storage jars and they moved over to the bulk snacks. Each skelly got to pick out one type of item and fill their jar to the top if they wished. Paprika took the banana chips, Azul claimed the snickerdoodle cookies, Edge went for the pretzel sticks, and Mauve got raisins. Jester chose to get some whole wheat crackers, Citrus took the honey roasted peanuts, Blaze got some salted sunflower seeds, and Vermillion acquired a variety mix of jerky. They each measured their own snacks and added it to the main lists total. Not one punny skeleton missed the smallest opening for a pun, adding to the active skeletons’ disliking for ‘horrible’ puns.Yin was talking to the register lady as she weighed and totaled their items and most of her boys joined in the conversation. Azul was listening to the conversation when he realized he did not have Indigo. He decided to retrace his steps and went back to the snack aisle to search for his monkey, thinking he would be back before the cashier finished. When he got to the aisle, Azul could not see Indigo anywhere. He searched for a bit, looking high and low but to no avail. Azul got worried and tears started forming in his eye sockets.‘HOW COULD I HAVE LOST INDIGO? HE WAS A GIFT FROM MUMMY AND I LOST HIM!’ Azul thought as he began to whimper slightly, he felt ashamed of himself for losing something so important.A moment later, Azul heard a voice behind him. “Hey, now. Don’t cry, little guy. I think I have what you’re lookin’ for.”The small blue skeleton glanced behind him, but he jumped and backed away from the stranger as soon as he saw his hands. Azul remembered how Jester and Grim had described their captors, how their hands had holes and their skulls had cracks. The person Azul was now facing was clearly a skeleton with a furred short leather jacket, a turtle neck, black pants, and boots. His skull did have one crack going up the top of his right eye socket and another going down his left, his hands did have holes in them, and a part of Azul’s mind screamed for him to run. But the older skeleton did not have a threatening aura, rather, he seemed laid back and relaxed, not dark like his past tormentor.The taller skeleton tilted his head at Azul studied him, thinking that the kid must have been told of ‘stranger danger’ and was probably debating on running from him.The older skeleton decided to break the ice, “Look, kid, I’m not gonna hurt ya. Sorry if I rattled ya there for a minute, it’s a bad habit of mine.”Azul snapped out of his train of thought when he heard the pun and puffed his cheekbones, “NO! NOT ANOTHER PUN! I HEAR ENOUGH OF THOSE FROM MY BROTHERS!”The taller skeleton smiled as he crouched down to Azul’s level, trying to make himself seem less threatening, “Oh, ya already heard that one, huh? Sounds like your bros are pretty humerus.”Azul puffed his cheekbones more as he glared at the skeleton, “NO! NO MORE PUNS!”“Come on, don’t be so blue, I’m just monkeying around.” The skeleton pulled out Indigo from behind his back and waved one of its arms to Azul.Azul’s eye sockets widened at the sight of his lost toy, he quickly snatched it out of the strange skeleton’s hands and hugged it with all his might, “INDIGO!”“So that’s his name. I was wonderin’ what he was doin’ by the cookies since bananas are usually a monkey’s favorite.”Azul looked at the other skeleton as he loosened his grip, “OH, I MUST HAVE LEFT HIM THERE WHEN MUMMY LET ME GET THE SNICKERDOODLES.”“So you’re the cookie monster?” The skeleton asked with a playful smile on his skull.Once again, Azul puffed up, “NO! NOT AGAIN!”The punning skeleton chuckled at Azul’s reaction, reining himself in after a moment, “Ok, ok. I’ll stop. But seriously, where's your family? Ya really shouldn’t wander off on your own, ya know.”“OH, WELL, I NOTICED INDIGO WAS MISSING. HE’S A GIFT FROM MY MUMMY, SO HE’S REALLY IMPORTANT. I THOUGHT I’D BE ABLE TO GET BACK BEFORE-”“Azul?! Where are you baby?!”“bro, this is not funny!”“AZUL?”“azzy?”“AZUL!”“az?”“A!”“azul?”Yin’s call interrupted Azul’s explanation, followed by Citrus and a chorus of Paprika, Jester, Grim, Blaze, Mauve, and Vermillion.“OVER HERE, MUMMY!” Azul called back.Not even a second later, Yin and seven skeletons rushed around the corner and headed straight for Azul. Jester, Blaze, Citrus, and Vermillion teleported, immediately surrounding Azul. Yin broke their circle as she took Azul in her arms and hugged him with all her might.“Don’t ever scare me like that again! I was so worried! Please, don’t leave without telling me, I feared the worst when you weren’t with us!”“I’M SORRY. I LOST INDIGO. I THOUGHT I’D BE BACK BEFORE IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE.” Azul said as he returned Yin’s hug.“... who are you?”Jester’s question made Yin look up at the skeleton her son was with. Her eyes momentarily widened before she stood up and put on her poker face.“I’m sorry. I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before,” she said in an emotionless voice, “I am Yin and these are my children. Who might you be?”The tall skeleton in question had kept up his own poker face at the transformation the woman before him took. One moment she was a worried mother, the next she almost seemed like a soulless creature.“Yer right, I’m new around here. Name’s G.” he responded with a smile as he stuck out his hand.Yin momentarily ignored the hand as she looked over G. He was clearly a laid back person, but his eye sockets showed he was also a curious soul. His physical appearance did slightly match the description of Grim, Blaze, Paprika, and Jester’s captors. However, the ‘vibe’ he gave was not like a person of danger. Rather, he seemed more like a lazy biker from one of her books. Still, Yin was a mother and she was going to stay on guard around this man.After she finished her observation, she took the extended hand slowly, “Interesting name, Mr. G.”“Just G is fine. An’ I get that a lot, but I can say the same for that little guy.” He said, gesturing his head at Azul, who was surrounded by all his brothers, with Jester and Grim being the most hostile out of everyone.Yin said nothing on the topic, “Is this your first time here?”“Yeah, actually. I was lookin’ for somethin’ for my bro an’ had to come out here ta find it. Ya wouldn’t happen to know where I can get organic pasta flour?”Surprisingly it was Grim who responded, “AISLE FIVE, NEXT TO THE WHEAT FLOUR AND ABOVE THE RICE FLOUR. YOU CAN NOT MISS IT.”G looked at Grim, who was still on guard, then he smiled and nodded his skull, “Thanks, little man.”With that, G headed for aisle five, but not before looking over the strange skeleton family one more time before disappearing among the aisles.Yin escorted her boys out the store a bit quick, she loaded the groceries into the trunk, did a headcount one last time in the van, then drove back home. The drive back was quieter than it had ever been.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Time passed in a blur when the Kazumi family finally made it home. Yin practically put all the groceries up in record time, seeing as she rushed to finish before going to the living room to talk to her kids. 
 
The boys were all huddled in a cuddle pile on the largest couch; Paprika, Jester, Grim, and Blaze were closer to the center while Citrus, Azul, Vermillion, and Mauve surrounded them in an outer ring offering comfort to their brothers. 
 
Yin wasted no time getting into the group hug. Reaching for the four skeletons in the center, the outer ring of skeletons moved so she could embrace them. The human mother of eight lifted four of them into her arms and sat in their place on the couch. The other four quickly got the idea and surrounded their distraught brothers again, this time with Yin adding her own comfort. 
 
The bone monsters’ mother could feel just how much seeing that new skeleton had upset her boys. Blaze was squeezing his blanket as if his life depended on it. Grim’s skull showed no emotion, but his eye sockets were pitch black, his normal deep red eye lights gone. Paprika tried to be still, but he could not stop fidgeting, his fingers kept brushing against his right glove; the one that hid his handplate. Jester looked the most unsettled; his eye sockets were dark and his smile was gone, replaced with a conflicting and frustrated expression. 
 
Azul, Citrus, Mauve, and Vermillion were not as distressed as their other four brothers, but they were still a bit troubled. Yin could see the worry on their faces, whether it was for their brothers or the fact that their own tormentors could show up at any time was anyone's guess. Though knowing them as well as she did, Yin was willing to bet it was a bit of both. 
 
The nine of them stayed on the couch like that for what felt like forever, but in reality, it was only three hours. Yin eventually started asking questions. 
 
“... Was that man one of the ones that hurt any of you before?” She had to ask. While the skeleton monster did not seem dangerous, there was always the possibility that he could be. 
 
“... no… the one that hurt me an’ my bro was taller… an’ he talked differently… ” Jester spoke slowly, Yin gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. 
 
“THE ONE THAT… HURT BLAZE AND I… WAS ALSO TALLER… AND HE WAS MUCH MORE INTIMIDATING… WITH RED EYE LIGHTS… HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AS LAID BACK AND RELAXED AS THAT… G PERSON.”
Grim spoke it as low a voice as he could, his mother rubbed his back as he spoke. 
 
Paprika and Blaze nodded in agreement with their brothers, calming down slightly as Yin kissed their skulls. 
 
“Well, I’m glad G wasn’t either of them. But his appearance did startle you, didn’t it?” Yin pulled her boys closer as she asked, trying to comfort all of them at once. 
 
None of them said anything, but they did nod their skulls. 
 
‘After all this time, over a year, they’re still affected by their past. Today just brought back many painful memories, it may take a while for them to get over it.’
 
Yin remembered their birthday in March. Since none of them were sure when their real birthdays were, much less what a birthday was, they decided to make the day Yin found them their birthday. It was a nice little party with just the nine of them. They got to pick what they wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They even got to choose the decoration on their cake. Yin had gifts ordered for them, which the boys loved, and took a lot of photos. Adding them to the others she took over the months they spent together. It was more like a celebration of their freedom, but it counted as a birthday to Yin. 
 
She remembered their second fourth of July, summer hikes, trips to nearby lakes and rivers for swimming, and even all the gardening they did together over time. Almost eighteen months of time and memories and her boys were genuinely happy. Then the past reminds them of where they came from, and all that happened to them haunts them, even now. 
 
The writer should not have been surprised. According to the news, a lot of monsters leaving their Undergrounds had strikingly close resemblances. Yin even heard that some of them had to change their names because there were a lot of monsters with the same names, despite living under completely different mountains. So there was always a chance that there could be some monsters that looked like the skeletons’ past ‘caretakers’. Still, it seemed this G skeleton unintentionally stirred up a painful reminder. 
 
‘This won’t do. It took months for them to stop thinking about… their past… now this could make them scared all over again.’
 
They needed to stop thinking about the past, they needed something fun and exciting to take their minds off of this. But Halloween was still over a month away, and there were not any special holidays at the end of August or in September. Unless… 
 
“Say, why don’t we visit my father in Japan? Mid-September is close, so we can get there in time for the Moon Festival.”
 
At once, all eight skeletons lifted their skulls and looked at their mother in confusion. 
 
“what’s the… moon festival?”
Vermillion questioned. 
 
“It’s a holiday in Japan, where they honor the autumn moon. Over in Japan, it’s called ‘Tsukimi’, meaning ‘moon-viewing’. The main purpose of this holiday is to celebrate the mid-autumn moon and express gratitude to the moon god. It’s a really old tradition in Japan, but it’s really fun too. People set up stands and you can buy tasty food, see cool lanterns, and get a great view of the moon. Plus, my father does want to meet you, and you can meet some of our family’s relatives in Japan. It’ll be really fun, so…?” 
 
The boys glanced at each other, almost like they had some quick psychic link, after a few minutes they nodded. 
 
“yeah, it sounds fun, mum.” Citrus said with a small smile
 
“I WOULD LOVE TO MEET YOUR FATHER, MOMMY!” Paprika wrapped his arms around Yin’s neck in a hug. 
 
“ME TOO, MUMMY!” Azul exclaimed, following Paprika’s example and also hugging Yin. 
 
“sure, sounds interesting, ma.” Jester said, a bit of his original smile returning. 
 
“i guess, going somewhere new would be… fun.”
Blaze sounded slightly unsure but also a bit excited. 
 
“I SUPPOSE, GOING TO THIS ‘MOON FESTIVAL’ WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO BE INTRODUCED TO OUR GRANDFATHER’S SIDE OF THE FAMILY TREE.”
Grim said while crossing his arms, trying to make the trip seem like it was beneath him. 
 
“I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO FORMALLY MEET YOUR FATHER, MOM.”
Mauve looked up at Yin as he strengthened his grip on the hug. 
 
“i’d like to go too, mammy.”
Vermillion took her left hand and held it tight, a signal that he wanted to go, even if he was still a bit afraid to be so far from home. 
 
Yin smiled at her boys, proud they wanted to take such a trip even though they barely get outside of their home as it was. 
 
“All right, the first thing we need to do is get you boys at least some lessons on Japanese and its writing before we head out there.” 
 
All the skeletons faced her with confused expressions, so she continued with an elaboration, “Japan uses a different language for writing and all natives speak Japanese, so it might be confusing for you all if we went there and you couldn’t understand a thing people were saying or what’s written on signs.” 
 
Yin chuckled as all her boys made various ‘oooh’ sounds. They were too adorable in her opinion. 
 
“I can teach you as much as I can before we head over. Once you meet my father’s family, the language should be easy enough to pick up on. Trust me, Ojiichan and Obaachan speak Japanese all the time so you’ll all have someone to practice speaking with.” 
 
“who’s ‘ojiichan’?” 
 
“WHO IS ‘OBAACHAN’?” 
 
Citrus and Paprika ask at the same time, making Yin chuckle more, “Ojiichan means grandfather in Japanese, and Obaachan means grandmother. They’re my grandparents from my father’s side, your great-grandparents. You’ll understand some more basic words soon enough.” 
 
And they did, over the next week, the boys practiced their Grandfather’s native language with interest and passion. Yin often spoke to them in fluent Japanese so they would learn faster and helped teach them how to read and write in the language. 
 
Like with all their previous studies, the boys learned exponentially fast. The ones that struggled the most were Paprika, Azul, Grim, and Mauve but with help from their brothers, they caught up. 
 
They didn’t master the language, but Yin suspected after some time with her father and his family, they were going to be fluent if it was the last thing her Ojiichan and Obaachan would do.

*ring~* *ring~* *rin-*

“hey, g, been a while.”

G smirked, “Yeah, happens when you move farther out of town.” 
 
The person on the other end of the line chuckled,

“so, how’re things over there? you and aster settled in alright?”

G leaned back on his porch chair and huffed out a puff of smoke, “Yeah, everything went smoothly, not a single problem with anyone.”

“guess ya got lucky over there.”

“That’s what I thought too… until I ran into the local monsters.”

“... … i didn’t know anyone moved out there before you guys.”

“Me neither. But that’s not why I called.”

“something wrong?”

G put out his cigarette in the ashtray and sighed, “The local monsters are eight brothers. Skeleton kids.”

“... … … are they…?”

“Yup, four Sans’ and four Papyrus’. And that’s not even the strangest part.”

“what’s stranger than eight kid versions of us?”

G took a deep breath, “They have a parent, a mother, that’s human.”

“... you sure?”

“Oh, yeah,” G rubbed a hand down his skull, “ran into them at the grocery store farther out. The kid I talked to called her ‘Mummy’. He also said ‘brothers’ rather than ‘brother’, all of them consider each other brothers. And get this, that kid wasn’t goin’ by ‘Sans’, his mom and brothers called him ‘Azul’.”

“that might help with finding their flies. did you get the human’s name?”

“Yeah, and that brings me to another thing,” G squinted his eyes at the ground, “when that woman saw me, she did a 180 on me. Went from sweet worried mother to stone stiff. I couldn’t get a read on her when she did that. She had that good of a poker face.”

“did you get a glance at her soul?”

“Couldn’t risk it with how the other seven kids were watching me. But I got this much: she’s protective of them, they’re protective of her. I think they might have a soul bond, they were pretty close.”

“don’t know if i should be amazed or worried.”

“Be both. The locals out here call them the ‘Kazumis’, which is their family name, and Yin’s been livin’ out here for years, but the kids showed up a bit over a year ago. If I had to guess, around the time all the others showed up.”

“that’d make sense, everyone popped up around that time. you think they’re safe with the human?”

“Oh yeah, her eyes gave enough of a hint that she’d of dusted me if I was a threat. Reminded me a lot of the Toriels when they’re in Mama Bear Mode.” 
 
A sigh was heard over the other line,

“think they’d be interested in a fellow skeleton visiting a distant relative?”

G groaned, “Nope, cause that brings us to the last thing… those kids were scared of me. Azul looked ready to run when he saw me and some of the others looked downright terrified. I don’t know for sure if it was my marks or if they haven’t seen another skeleton before other than themselves. But my money’s on the marks. They were eyeing my hands and cracks mostly.”

“... man, that’s not good.”

“What that means for your ‘visit’, or what that implies?”

“both.”