Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Sans's bones itched with magic as he watched Dings hoist Papyrus into his arms and continue observing the other scientists at work as they all toiled on The Procedure. The Procedure always took a lot of preparation and it always hurt. Sans would know, seeing as he himself have gone through The Procedure dozens of times, always modified, always with varying amounts of Determination.

His eye burned under its newly applied bandage at the very thought of it. Were they really thinking of putting Sans through it again? So soon after his eye?

He shook the thought aside and tugged on his green hospital gown and watched Papyrus warily. Papyrus was smiling at Dings, The Doctor, and Sans breathed in sharply as he watched Dings return that smile. Sans's back crawled with disgust; The Doctor did not deserve something as precious as little Papyrus's smile. He clenched his fist but waited patiently.

"Dr. Gaster," Dr. June interrupted the silence, looking up from her notes and turning to him to show him her notes. "I think I found the perfect dosage for both procedures."

Both? Sans definitely did not like the sound of that. Especially when Gaster's cracked face spread into that satisfied, smug, bastard of expressions. The one that was followed closely by pain and terror.

Gaster turned away from the woman and looked almost fondly down at Papyrus, bouncing the four year old child against his chest. Sans hated when he did that, when he looked so happy to have Papyrus, like Papyrus wasn't made for spare parts. "Hey, there, Papyrus. How would you like to do something to help me today?"

The little skeleton's eyes lit up with excitement, once again easily tricked. "What do you need help with?"

"Dings," Sans growled, stepping forward as his fingers again sizzled with magic.

The Doctor turned on him instantly, eyes flaring with blood red magic and Sans jolted backwards at the sight, his body cowering instinctively. The three other scientists continued their work impassively. "Yes, Sans?" his voice taking on a threatening tenor.

"You…" Sans started to say but he didn't know how much he could say without making it worse for Papyrus. "The surgeries. They're for me, right?"

"No, Sans," Dings said, as if talking to small child. "These procedures are for Papyrus. He's going to be my little helper today, aren't you?" He said, tilting his head down at the toddler in his hands.

In all of Sans's eight years of life, he had never been more afraid than this moment. Papyrus had never been touched with pure Determination before, only the diluted versions to allow Papyrus to slowly get used to the sensation. But Sans could see the full vials in Dr. June's hands and he knew that it wasn't going to be that way anymore.

"He's only four," Sans growled out, standing his ground. As much as his body shook, he would do anything for his brother, including taking on another surgery right after the one to his eye. "Use me."

"You started when you were two," Dings reminded, lifting Papyrus onto the operating table that Sans usually laid. "And no, you are still recovering. Besides we need to test out this procedure before we do anything on you. We don't know if it's safe."

"What?" Sans cried out, coming closer to the operating table, tempted to pull his brother away.

"I'm going to help!" Papyrus told Sans, sitting up on silver table to look down at Sans. God, he looked so small sitting there.

Tears sprung to Sans's eyes. "You can't do this!"

Dings pushed Papyrus back down on the table and Dr. June began strapping the little squirming body down. Sans shook. "Dr. Himby," Dings commanded, waving a hand at Sans.

Dr. Himby was by Sans in an instant, clamping an anti-magic device to Sans's wrist and dragging Sans away the arm. Sans pulled against his restrainer, panicking as he watched Dr. June dip a syringe into the vial of Determination and filled the rest with some blue liquid. "Papyrus!" Sans called.

The realization of what was happening must have finally dawned on the smaller child and his eyes went wide at the sight of the size of the syringe. "S-Sans?" he called, utterly terrified.

"You can't!" Sans pleaded at Dings again. But it was too late, he was already being yanked through the door, which slammed shut behind him and the scientist with a loud, echoing bang. Moments later, Sans heard Papyrus's scream for the first time, muffled by the several walls between them.

Sans was going crazy. He rocked backwards in a rhythm in the center of the bed, letting his head thump against the concrete wall. He clutched the threadbare blanket to him like a lifeline.

After what seemed like hours, and probably was, the sounds of The Procedure stifled and Sans didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified. He continued to rock back and forth, but a little faster, a little impatiently.

Suddenly the door opened with a clang. Sans was off the bed in an instant, eagerly waiting for Papyrus to walk through. But instead, what they released into the room was a very small skeleton puppy. The puppy staggered on its feet and collapsed instantly a few feet from the door. There was bandage over its left eye, mirroring Sans's right.

The door closed behind the puppy and the puppy yelped in fright at the loud sound and it bounded up onto its unsteady legs and launched itself underneath the narrow space underneath the bed, barely fitting.

Sans stood in shock. That creature couldn't be…?

Sans turned to the observation window, anger flaring through him, his bandaged eye heating and stinging. "What did you do to him?" he hissed, glaring at Dings who he knew would be there, watching them like always. The grin was decorated on his face again.

The puppy under the bed yelped with a flare of orange magic and the yelps turned into a very Papyrus moan. Sans threw himself down next to the bed, unable to reach his tiny brother underneath the small expanse, but was forced to watch as the puppy's bones morphed and popped into the shape of the little skeleton. When the transformation finished, Papyrus was laying there, completely silent with eyes squeezed shut.

"Paps?" Sans whispered, trying his best to reach under the bed to him. His arm was just too damn short. "Paps, you okay?"

Papyrus finally opened his eyes, the other still hidden by the bandage. "I don't want to be a helper anymore," Papyrus whined.

Sans's heart broke. He was on his feet in an instant. He tore the bandage of his face, feeling his eye bursting with dangerous heat. Turning on Dings, he winced as his clamped bracelet attempted to smother the magic building inside of him. But it didn't stop him. Somehow, the magic coursed through him, overcoming the anti-magic device and suddenly he had teleported the few feet to the observatory window to glare up at The Doctor.

Sans could see the strange image of himself in the reflection from the window- grinning wildly, surrounded by blue magic, pupils gone but in its place was a flare of blue magic in the center of his right eye. He was not afraid.

Dings looked absolutely pleased by Sans's reaction. He only leaned on the windowsill and said, "Looks like we'll have to increase the power on those bracelets." He left a moment after, leaving Sans to be drained of his magic by the mentioned wristlet until he fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Sans?" Hot breath wisped across Sans's face and he awoke with a start to find the room was dark.

"Papyrus?" Sans countered, reaching out to get a hold of the smaller skeleton. He grabbed onto Papyrus's wrist but Papyrus flinched and moved out of Sans's grasp.

There was a pause and then, "I tried to get you on the bed, but you're… you're too heavy."

Sans snorted out a humorless laugh, overcome with disbelief. Papyrus was trying to help him? After all he had just been through? Sans couldn't move for days after those procedures.

"Are you okay, Paps?" Sans whispered back into the darkness. He could see the outline of his brother in the soft glow of the machines beyond the observation window.

Another pause. "I'm okay," he replied, his voice small, shaky. Papyrus sniffed.

"You are not okay," Sans said, attempting to move forward to hug his brother, but once again Papyrus jumped backwards. The action stung. He was not used to his brother being afraid of much of anything, especially him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm fine!" Papyrus said, a little more forceful and overly cheery. "I'm smiling, see?"

"I can't see you in the dark, you dork," Sans reminded.

Papyrus sniffed again. "Good because you would just be jealous of how happy I look."

"I'm sure I would, bro," Sans said, reaching out one last time and finally coming in contact with the top of the younger skeleton's skull. He pressed the little guy to his chest and smiled sadly when Papyrus finally allowed himself to collapse into Sans. His tiny bones shook.

"Someday I'll get us outta here," Sans said quietly, squeezing his brother a little closer.

Papyrus stiffened, as if he had not considered that to be an option. "Out where?"

"Ya know, outside. Beyond the lab."

"What's out there?"

Sans frowned, considering. "Hmm, stars I guess? Nature? I'll show you the book tomorrow." Sans didn't really know what was out there either. He just knew the things he read about in one of the story books they had.

Eventually, Papyrus's breathing evened out and Sans was left with his brother, half his size, sleeping against him in utter and total exhaustion. Sans picked Papyrus up delicately and moved them both into the bed that Papyrus had somehow dragged him next to. He settled down in the familiar sheets, pulling his brother closer when he moaned in pain through his sleep.

Hurting Papyrus was the last straw. He was going to find a way out of here, even if it killed him.

Chapter Text

Days went by tortuously slow and Sans still had not figured a plan for escape. It was hard when there was someone always watching them, following their every move. It also did not help that Sans was exhausted from the anti-magic bracelet still on his arm, increased in power. Besides, Papyrus already seemed to have forgotten Sans's promise.

Several days later found Sans opening his eyes weakly when the morning lights snapped on, his left eye still burning and aching. He laid still, feeling himself sink into a state of melancholy, wishing that he could lie there forever. His thoughts were distracted when he caught sight of Papyrus sitting upright in the bed, back set against the wall, clutching his legs to him. The green gown hung loosely on Papyrus's bones.

The thing about Papyrus was that he was usually a happy, innocent child who never seemed to realize the situation they were in. Papyrus was not yet in the in the age that he was aware that it is not normal to live in one room your whole life, only coming out to be used as a plaything for The Doctor.

But today, days after The Procedure, Sans knew that his brother was starting to change. The way he stared straight forward, unmoving, seemingly unaware that his brother was now awake and staring at him, was not a normal response for him. "Papyrus?" Sans whispered warily as he sat up to look at the four year old.

Papyrus flinched slightly and his face morphed with recognition, turning into a smile. "Hey, Sans," he said, unusually quiet.

"How long have you been up?"

"Since they started watching," Papyrus said. Sans turned his head to find one of the scientists standing at the observation window, writing on a clipboard. "And my bones hurt," he said a little quieter.

Sans remember the burning and agonizing pain that came for the next few days after The Procedure, but he couldn't imagine what it was like for Papyrus, knowing that Dings had changed his body to have the ability to change into that puppy. Sans moved closer to his brother and moved the younger skeleton to lay his lap. He rubbed a soothing hand across his brother's serial number on his wrist and continued until the younger boy had fallen asleep.

Actually, Sans was quite surprised by how boring the last few days had been. Dr. Gaster had not come from them once and the other scientists only came by occasionally to feed them and to observe them silently.

Papyrus had been doing a ton of sleeping which his body's way of adjusting to the change in magic, structure and Determination. Several times Papyrus had involuntarily changed into the puppy, screaming and crying as the transformation started. The scientists always showed up for that part and then usually left when Papyrus crawled underneath the bed whimpering, ignoring Sans's cries.

Sans stroked Papyrus again and held still, happy to serve as his pillow. It was the least he could do, seeing as this was all Sans's fault. Sans closed his eyes in frustration and leaned back against the wall.

Honestly, the only reason Sans existed was to break the barrier. This was his sole reason for creation. But Sans was too weak. He had come out of the cryo tube as a small toddler and that's when they discovered that their creation had fragile defenses and pitiful magic. After that, they started to inject him with the Determination. It had helped but it wasn't enough.

So they made Papyrus.

They had left Papyrus in the cryo tube much longer. Sans did not remember when his brother had come into his life, since life in the lab moved slowly and in a blur, but he knew that it wasn't long ago. Papyrus was still actually quite new to life.

Sans still didn't know what would happen to them, if Gaster was planning to keep both of them or combine them. It was a thought that chilled Sans to his core.

The door opened suddenly and Sans jerked in surprise, waking Papyrus in the process. Dr. June leaned into the door. "Both of you, we're going to the training room."

Sans nodded wordlessly, shaking Papyrus further awake. The younger brother came to attention easily, used to the sudden summons.

Leading Papyrus by the hand, Sans walked behind the scientist. They were met by Dr. Gaster in the training room, which was a wide open expanse with magic proof walls, as to not be damaged by the skeleton brothers' training. Sometimes there were props or obstacles for them to try out but today there was nothing.

Dr. Gaster was wearing his usual black robe and he wore his usual unsettling smile.

"Hello Sans, Papyrus," he said in turn.

Papyrus, the ever polite one, stepped closer to Sans, looked down at his bare feet, and said, "Hello, Mr. Gaster."

"Ah, no need to be shy, Papyrus," Gaster said, taking a step forward.

The look on Papyrus's face had turned to hopeful. Sans hated it and wished it wasn't true, but Papyrus liked Dings. But Papyrus still had a lot of stuff to learn, like you shouldn't like people who hurt you on purpose.

Dr. Gaster held his arms open and Papyrus shifted as if to go the man but Sans grabbed his shoulder to hold him back. "So what are we doing today, Dings?"

Dr. Gaster dropped his arms but stayed in his crouched position. "Today we are going to test out Papyrus's power."

"My power?" Papyrus spoke up. "Is it magic like Sans?"

"Yes. Your magic has increased and it even may be more powerful than Sans at the moment."

Sans frowned. He has gone through years of Determination injections, so he knew his magic was much more powerful than Papyrus's. There was no question about it. So there must have been something about the way they changed Papyrus that made him more dangerous. Surely turning into a puppy wasn't considered dangerous?

Gaster approached them and yanked them apart harshly. He pushed Papyrus to the right side of the room while Dr. June moved Sans to the other, taking off his bracelet. Dr. Gaster looked down at his notes and barked out his order, "Today you will fight each other." He passed the paperwork back to Dr. June. "There will be NO holding back. Got it?" His eyes flashing red for a split second, causing Sans to gulp. That was a threat to do it right or go under The Procedure.

As soon as the two left the room, Sans allowed his magic to flare up in his hand. He felt the magic burn in his left eye and he watched as Papyrus's eye, not covered by his bandage, widened at the sight. "Sans, your eye!" Papyrus cried out.

"Yeah, isn't it cool, bro?" he called back, trying to lighten the mood for his brother. "Now why don't you summon your magic and we can play?"

By the weary look on Papyrus's face, Papyrus knew that this wasn't going to be playtime. In very few instances had the brothers been turned on each other, but they were brutal nonetheless. They usually were forced to practice their magic on dummies and rodents and the other scientists. Sans couldn't count how many rodents he had been forced to kill. Papyrus was still innocent of killing though. If Sans didn't know better, he would say that Dings actually liked Papyrus, favored him. It always seemed like he was letting his brother get away with not killing.

Papyrus raised a hand and his orange magic came to life, taking the physical form of a floating bone. Bone magic was the little Papyrus knew so far.

"En garde!" Sans yelled, summoning his own bone and throwing it in Papyrus's direction.

The child yelped and spun on the way, throwing a series bones in Sans's direction, which he easily dodged. Sans threw a barrier of bones up against Papyrus as he tried to send out another bone attack. The bones deflected into Papyrus, who cried out as one caught him in the arm.

Sans breathed in sharply and he turned his head to the observation window, afraid. Gaster was smiling widely, the empty look present in his eyes. He nodded once at Sans and then Sans knew he would have to attack his little brother with he had. Bad things would happen to both of them if he didn't.

"You have to try really hard not to get hit!" Sans yelled out desperately to his little brother.

Papyrus was clutching at his injured arm but there was renewed resolve on his face. "I'll beat you Sans!" He let go of his arm and bones crashed upwards from the floor, ringing around Sans, trapping him inside a cage.

Sans allowed his magic to burst in an explosion, tearing his cage apart and he spun, avoiding another attack and then threw a wave of bones across the entire length of the room, crashing over Papyrus, who just narrowly avoided damage by throwing up his bone barrier at the last second.

Papyrus was left on the defense for the next desperate bone attacks Sans threw at him. With each one Papyrus blocked, Sans became even more surprised. His brother's magic truly was stronger. His brother had strong blocks and his bone magic wasn't crumbling like normal.

Just how much Determination did they give him?

But he knew what his purpose was. He had to try to get a hit on his brother or else Dr. Gaster would punish them. He cried out, increasing the magic flaring around him so blue flames surrounded him. He blasted Papyrus with his magic, throwing his little body to the wall with a loud crash, and he held him there, stuck against the wall. Without thinking, he sent his bones in at Papyrus at full force, waves on both sides, threating to crush his brother.

His little brother managed to use his magic to slide out of the way just in time but again Sans swung his arm so Papyrus crashed into the furthest wall away from their observers. He swallowed down his screaming emotions, forcing himself to go numb as he approached his brother, sending bone attacks in, aimed to injure severely.

Papyrus continued to deflect but a bone got past, stabbing Papyrus right in the shoulder. Papyrus screeched, struggling against the wall.

Sans halted his attack, his bones falling to the floor with a clatter when he realized what he had just done. He felt sick as Papyrus's soul revealed itself, the HP sinking from 20 to 17.

But something happened that Sans had never expected. Papyrus continued to scream while the orange magic grew from Papyrus's hand crawled across his entire body, just like Sans's own magic. Papyrus opened his eyes and orange was flaring visibly behind the bandage.

Before Sans had time to think about it, he was dodging a barrage of bone attacks from his brother. Papyrus raised an arm and twisted his hand, sending Sans hurtling to the ground with sudden sensation of being frozen. His soul came forth, revealing itself. It had turned blue! What…?

Sans's body shook at the unfamiliar soul sensation of captivity and suddenly he was lost in fright, fighting back at his brother with his most brutal of attacks but now unable to move out of the way of the continued wave of bones. His body took each attack, sending his HP down from his low normal of 10, slowly until he was at a 3.

He felt his magic swell frantically and suddenly he shimmered out of existence, escaping his confines, and appeared behind Papyrus and pummeled the younger skeleton with all of the strength that he had.

Papyrus screamed and suddenly the younger boy was down on the ground, bones sticking out of him at all angles.

Sans couldn't believe he did that! Why? His eyes flooded tears as he backed away.

Papyrus was screamed still but his body was cracking and morphing. Sans knew immediately what was happening. He looked over at Gaster and he shivered at the sight. He had never seen a more twisted and frightening smile on the cracked skeleton's face.

The screams morphed into a howl. The puppy, glowing bright orange, looked more threatening than any other times that Sans had seen his brother transform.

The Puppy turned on him and he just had a second to transport before an unimaginable amount of magic channeled through the puppy's mouth in one single blast of concentrated energy.

When Sans reappeared, he was left staring at the burning scorch mark on the wall that had somehow burned through an anti-magic barrier.

The little puppy staggered after the release of energy and collapse with a thud. The magic snuffed out, leaving Papyrus worse for wear. His soul pulsing at a mere 1 out of 20.

"Papyrus!" Sans cried out, collapsing at his brother's side, who was still in dog form.

The scientists rushed and grabbed Sans, slapping the anti-magic bracelet on as Sans struggled to stay by his brother. He was terrified. "He's almost dead!" he yelled at them. Why was no one helping his brother?

It took all three scientists to hold Sans back at that moment as he bucked and twisted against them, still managing to use a bit of his magic to try to repel them away. But then Gaster stepped into his view, bending down over Papyrus. "Don't touch him!"

Dr. Gaster paid no mind as he scooped the limp puppy up and looked at the unconscious child with glee. "It's incredible."

A scientist jabbed and injected a sedative into the side of Sans's neck and his bones instantly turned to jelly. He wobbled and then went down under the weight of the three scientists. He watched helplessly as Gaster carried his brother from the room with his ever present smile.

Chapter Text

Sans didn't see Papyrus for days after that and not seeing his little brother was putting him on edge. He couldn't even think of what they could be doing his brother, what they should be doing to Sans instead. They shouldn't be trying this stuff on Papyrus just because they wanted to make sure it was safe for Sans! It sickened him to his core.

"Sans," Dr. June said.

He had been staring blankly at the white ceiling from the safety of his and Papyrus's bed, so he hadn't even noticed the scientist open the door. "Come," she beckoned.

Paying her no mind, he continued to stare at the ceiling. Ever since they had taken Paps away, there was no point in doing anything, no point in caring what any of them did to him. No one would tell him where his brother was or what had happened to him. It had been days, maybe even weeks; he'd given up on counting how many times the lights went out in his room for the night. Because after 10 nights, his bones crawled more and more with self-hatred.

"Where's Sans?" came a soft, familiar voice from the hallway and suddenly Sans was bolting upright, soul thudding.

"Papyrus?" he called desperately, stumbling off the bed, falling in the process but he was up just as quickly. He practically bolted past Ms. June and into the room beyond, the one with the machines.

The sight that he came face to face with stunned Sans into silence. Papyrus was in his usual green outfit, sitting in a chair pulled up to the table where the scientists usually did their studies. Papyrus had his mouth stuffed full of Nicecream, chewing happily.

Gaster and the other scientists paid the littlest skeleton no mind as they bustled about, working on something or other.

Papyus spotted him immediately and squealed through his full mouth, throwing his hands in the air. He struggled to calm down and not choke on his Nicecream, and swallowed hard before he yelled, "Sans, we got Nicecream!"

"Yeah, it's really cool," he said with a forced grin, pacing closer and throwing his arms around the smaller boy. He soul finally stilled at their contact, making him finally feel at ease. He quickly checked his brother's soul and sighed with utter relief to find it at a full 20 again.

He pulled away and Papyrus was handing him a Nicecream with a huge grin, eyes glowing brighter than Sans had seen them in a long time. "Thanks, bro," Sans said, taking the bar and peeling back the paper and licking it tentatively. Cold, sugary flavor burst in Sans's mouth and he found himself scarfing down the rest. When was the last time they had something so different from the usual bland sludge they were fed?

"I knew you'd like it!" Papyrus declared proudly. "Mr. Gaster said it was a treat for being so good lately!"

"Oh yeah? And what have you been doing?"

Papyrus wilted considerably at Sans's question, his eyes flicking over at the scientists and Dr. Gaster nervously. "Uh, sleeping!" Papyrus piped up, grinning forcefully.

Sans did a quick sweep over his brother and took his appearance in. Papyrus looked relatively normal actually, except for the Nicecream mess down the front of Papyrus's green hospital gown. The more Sans stared, the more Papyrus seemed to curl into himself. He cradled his arms inwards by his chest.

He leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on Papyrus's, to pull the child's arm away. Papyrus let him turn his arm over and Sans gasped. There were marks all the way down his right arms bone from different injection sites and he could see several spots where the bone had been mended messily from a fracture. The lights went out in his eyes.

"I'm okay!" Papyrus said loudly, taking his arm away. "Mr. Gaster said I'm helping make everything safe for you!"

"That's right, Papyrus. Everything you do for us makes sure Sans is okay," Dings said, looking up from his work. His eyes skimmed over Sans and his smile twisted.

"And that's why we get the treats!"

"You're right again," Gaster said.

Sans felt sick. He wanted to tell Papyrus that this was wrong, that they shouldn't have to do this. But he didn't want Gaster twisting his words, making him the bad guy. This definitely wasn't the place. He would do it when they were safely tucked back in the bed in the dead of night. He didn't know if they listened in on them, but he figured it would be safest then, when the lab was deserted.

Gaster seem to see the emotions flicking through Sans. "It appears Sans isn't feeling well. Why don't we take him to the clinic?" He turned to the other three scientists. "Dr. Himby, Dr. Yosh, why don't you take Papyrus? It's time for bed."

Papyrus looked devastated. His color paled visibly and he sat ramrod straight in his chair. Sans turned a glare on all of them. "Why does he has to go to bed? It's morning!"

His words snapped Papyrus out of his daze and he smiled, jumping off the chair to stand next to Sans. Papyrus was half Sans's size, only making it up to Sans waist. The little skeleton grinned up at him with utter determination. "It's okay, Sans! I've just been sleeping a lot, like I told you! To be as great as you, I have to sleep twice as long as your lazybones!"

"Paps, you're already a hundred times cooler than I am," Sans said fondly. He couldn't help but indulge the small child when he had that look on his face.

"No way! That's impossible!" Papyrus said and he stamped his foot, frowning.

"You better believe it, bro."

"Run along now, Papyrus," Dr. Gaster told Papyrus, his voice edging something dangerous, not that Papyrus noticed.

But Sans did. He glanced at the monster before patting Papyrus affectionately. "See ya later?"

"Later, Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed and he trotted off to follow the other scientists.

Sans watched, his soul thudding as Papyrus was led in the opposite direction of their room. It was clear that they planned to keep them further separated. Sans turned on Gaster. "What are you doing to him?"

Dings tilted his head. "Come. Let's talk about it in the clinic room."

Sans had no choice to follow The Doctor down the hallway and away from his brother.

As soon as Sans was out of sight, Papyrus let his happy smile fall. He didn't feel too good but he didn't want his big brother to know. Sans would feel sad and Papyrus didn't like when he was like that because sometimes bad things happened…

He remembered when he first met his brother. He didn't know know a lot things back then and he didn't know many words or about experiments yet but he knew that Sans was mad to see him there. Sans did the scary thing where his eyes were gone and his magic got big and mean and scary! He had gotten Mr. Gaster right in the face! That's where he got his scary scars.

Sans had told him later that it wasn't because he didn't like Papyrus. It was just that mad that they had Papyrus here at the lab. Sans was weird, Papyrus believed. Why would he be mad that he got a brother?

Papyrus was shook from his thoughts when the giant doors to his new room opened. He watched with wide eyes at the tall scientists walked in and stood by the bed that was higher up than Sans. If he fell off of that, he would die, wouldn't he?! He hadn't thought of that before!

"When do I get to see Sans again?" Papyrus chirped to the scientists as he followed them obediently inside. He lifted his arms up to allow one of the men to scoop him up and put him on the bed, which was… more like a table.

When neither answered and just started strapping him down, he continued, "My brother will be lonely without me!"

Dr. Yosh glanced at him as he strapped another buckle. "You know that you aren't actually his brother, right?" he asked softly.

Papyrus liked this scientist but he really hated when he said mean things. "Yeah, he is!" Papyrus shot back, holding still so they could finish. "Mr. Gaster said we are both made of his soul, so that would make us family!"

The scientist shrugged and continued his work. Papyrus felt satisfied, he was glad he made the scientist realize the truth.

Dr. Himby rolled the IV drip over to the table with the little plastic bag filled with liquefied Determination. It was bright red.

Papyrus wiggled in his bindings a little when they inserted the IV into his arm, wincing at the prick. "Do you think I'll be as strong as Sans soon?"

Dr. Yosh glanced at him again as he released the Determination and the liquid slowly ran its way through the plastic tube, heading towards Papyus's arm. "At this rate, we'll be able to fuse your soul with his sooner than we planned."

There was no time to ask the scientist what he meant. The Determination entered his body and his body convulsed against the restraints immediately as the fire soaked into the marrow of his bones and crawled its way across his body like searing lava. Like last time, Papyrus's body was so shocked, that he wasn't even able to scream. His body fought to reject it, to keep it from tainting his magic and affecting his soul but the Determination was steadily pumped into his body without relent.

"His body is still rejecting it," Dr. Himby called from his monitoring machines on the far side of the room.

"That's not good. He needs more Determination in his magic supply if we are to make the transformations into his blaster form completely painless."

"Put him under," Dr. Himby decided.

And with that, they injected the stuff that Papyrus didn't like. It was that injection that made him almost asleep but he could only feel pain and have nightmares.

He was plunged into darkness.

Sans followed Gaster into the observatory clinic with Dr. June right behind him. He climbed up onto the table and sat angrily. Dr. June took out her small vial of Determination and started to prepare it while Dr. Gaster stopped to stand in front of Sans, looking at him in deliberation. "You have questions?"

"What are you doing to him?" Sans spat out.

"So unruly," Dings sighed. "Don't forget who created you." He lifted his hands to force Sans to look at the holes in his hands, the ones Dings had gotten when he had torn his own soul into three to make Sans and, as Sans later found out, Papyrus.

Sans looked down at his feet, glaring. It was true that Sans wouldn't be alive without Gaster but he never really cared about that. In fact, it probably would have been better if he hadn't been created at all. But… he couldn't hate Gaster for creating Papyrus.

"We are trying to make things better for Papyrus," Dr. Gaster said. "It appears that his transformation into his blaster form cannot be sustained without a high level of Determination. So we are trying to increase his levels quickly because if he attempts the change again without it, he could very well kill himself."

Sans jumped to his feet, shocked. "What?"

"That is why it is good we discovered this now, so that we can increase your Determination levels before we do The Procedure on you. We must make sure every side affect is accounted for before we proceed, since your HP levels are so much lower than his."

"Just do it to me now! I don't care what the side effects are!" He wanted Paps to be safe, to not be used as a guinea pig in Sans's place. He wanted all of the hurt and pain to stop.

"We will not risk both projects," Dr. Gaster told. "Besides, be patient and soon you will have your turn. Then you will be reunited with little Papyrus."

"What?" Sans said. He winced when a needle pricked him; he hadn't noticed Dr. June beside him, inserting the single injection of Determination into his shoulder. "How long will that be?" He couldn't stand the thought of Papyrus being alone for much longer. How would he keep his promise to his brother?

Dr. Gaster said nothing but turned and left the room, not sparing him a glance back. Sans let out a cry, mixed with pain and frustration. He needed to think of a way to get them out of there and fast.

Chapter Text

Gasping, Sans clutched at his arm when he appeared back into existence from across the room. His bones felt as they were being burned from the anti-magic bracelet but he forced himself to keep practicing the magic of teleportation, no matter how much it hurt or burned or whatever. The bracelet sizzled against him and Sans silently hoped that the stupid thing would give out or overheat or something so he could get rid of it.

He'd been practicing his teleportation for a good ten minutes today and it was becoming more rushed and forced as time went on. He had seen all of the scientists hurry past his room moments ago, hurrying to where he knew they kept Paps. An avalanche of fear threatened to bury him alive as he practiced a second time to teleport further across the room, but he only made it a few feet, his magic fizzling tiredly against the smothering effects of the bracelet.

He cried out angrily, throwing his arm against the wall in an attempt to break the device with a loud bang. But the stupid thing was durable; the impact did nothing.

Sans panted heavily, pressed his skull up against the cool wall, and let his body shake. Why was he such a failure? How long was it now since he had seen Paps? Ever since that day with the Nicecream, Sans had kept track of how many days it had been: 43 days since he'd last seen his brother. Would he never be able to save them from this Hell?

"Sans!" the door banged open and Sans jumped in fright, spinning quickly. His eye had turned the threatening blue as he finally took in the sight of Dr. June standing with the door wide open, hair frazzled, and her face completely pale and gaunt. "You need to come with us immediately."

He finally noticed Dr. Himby behind her who pushed past her, grabbing onto Sans's wrist and yanked him to the door. "Is it Papyrus?" Sans asked desperately, his mind racing through the thousands of horrible possibilities of what could be happening.

"We have to move quickly," Dr. June was saying to Dr. Himby, completely ignoring Sans. "We cannot let the project fail."

"Is this really going to work?" Dr. Himby asked, yanking Sans into the hallway and down the hallway. As they approached the doors on the end, a whining sound slowly became more apparent.

Then it hit Sans as they stopped in front of the Operation room. He knew before they even opened the door. He knew that that whining sound was Papyrus and something bad was about to happen.

The door opened and Sans was assaulted with the strange distorted sound of Papyrus crying and somehow whining at the same time. Sans didn't even have any time to look around as they lifted him immediately onto the operating table, being strapped down as tight as they could get him. They took the bracelet off his wrist.

The scientists were bustling around him wildly but next to him stood a very still Dr. Gaster, watching him with narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry we have to do this so soon," Dings said solemnly, looking like he actually might be sorry. "But we have to do it before Papyrus falls."

"Falls?" Sans repeated, his whole being freezing. His soul wrenched painfully as Gaster stepped to the right, revealing the source of the god-awful sound.

It was Papyrus. He was surrounded by orange magic, swirling around him madly like a raging fire. His body was convulsing, straining, fighting against the straps holding him down. His screams shook Sans to the core and he swore he would never sleep another night without this image in his mind. Papyrus's soul was hovering above his rib cage, currently at 8/20 HP. A few seconds later it dropped to 7.

"I'm afraid we overdosed him on Determination. So we will have to speed up the process," Gaster explained all too calmly in front of the crying child. He stepped back into Sans view, blocking Papyrus. "We need to give you the same powers as Papyrus immediately in order for your souls to be compatible. Then we will complete the process and merge your souls."

"You're going to merge us? You sick bastard!" Sans shouted, straining against his binding.

"Don't worry, you are still stronger than Papyrus, despite it all. You will absorb him and be all the more powerful. You shouldn't even feel that different aside from the increased magic."

Sans was speechless, watching in shock as Gaster grinned widely at him before turning again to observe Papyrus who had dropped now to 6/20. Sans didn't know what to do. Was this really going to be the end of them?

He yanked his arms at the straps, trying the best to free himself, to no avail. He reached out for his magic, which was slowly replenishing itself from the portion he had wasted on transportation process. If only he hadn't done that today! What was he thinking?

"Papyrus!" he called out. He wanted to tell his brother that everything would be okay, that he would figure it out, but even in his head it sounded like a lie. He didn't have the answers, he wasn't even sure how to save himself anymore.

Dr. June was standing over him suddenly with the vial of blue liquid, which into she poured Determination. Sans's widened, his blue eye flaring wildly. His magic was starting to build rapidly with his fear and hate.

"As soon as the agent is in his body, we need to merge them. His soul will morph to accommodate the change, which will be ideal to mesh the souls, while his is already transforming."

Sans struggled, soul thudding and threatening to jump out of his rib cage. "I will kill all of you!" he hollered, eyes darting across the lot of them. If Paps really did die or merge, he would make sure not even a scrap of their souls survived. He would shred them.

"Hold him down," Dr. June commanded. The other two scientists clamped down on Sans's shoulders and hips, caging him further.

As he watched Dr. June approach him, he felt his magic pulse faster with his adrenaline. His breathing was almost choked as she tipped the needle, full of the poisonous mixture down at his bones. "PAPYRUS!" he screamed one last time. The needle bit into his arm and the injection was released in a fury of violent fire and numbing, blinding, paralyzing pain.

He squeezed his eyes shut as it rushed into his body, which convulsed against his restraints, attempting to reject the liquid. His magic flared wildly around him and his bones rattled around him. No longer could he hear Papyrus, not over his own sobbing screams of terror. This is what death felt like, it had to be. This was the end.

Suddenly something soothing wrapped its clutches around Sans's soul, kicking the pain into the backseat. His eyes flew open as his blue magic built around him. But the blue magic was being meshed with orange and he finally realized what they intended to do.

They had rolled Papyrus's table right next to Sans. Gaster was the one that held Papyrus's little soul, forcing it away from Papyrus's body and into Sans's. Papyrus's body had gone limp.

"NO!" Sans screamed, feeling Papyrus's soul being meshed even further into his own. This warmth, this love, he didn't want it! Not if it meant killing Papyrus!

Sans's magic roared around him, his mind filling with the rushing, blazing sound of magic all around him. It crackled around the room.

"His magic is out of control!" Dr. June cried, coming forward with an anti-magic bracelet.

"Control it!" Gaster yelled back.

Sans pulled magic from the depths of his soul and allowed it to build around him, making his body heat, fighting the union of souls. He felt the first strand of the souls connect and it pulsed with a thud, making him choke as he felt a presence he could only describe as Papyrus.

Help me, Sans! A tiny voice floated across his consciousness.

That's what caused Sans to boil over. Just as the anti-magic bracelet clamped down on his arm, he let his whole being shatter, forcing his magic outward.

It blasted wildly across the room, throwing the scientists and Dings against the walls. The boom echoed in the room as his bracelet shattered and his restraints burned through.

He was free!

He groaned in pain as he forced his still changing body upwards into a sitting position, still surrounded by wild blue and orange light. Papyrus's soul was still meshing itself with him.

"No, no, no, no," Sans said wildly grabbing onto each heart and pulling them opposite directions.

"It won't work," Gaster said, grabbing onto the wall to stand slowly. "You two are made of the same soul. It will never willingly divide itself now."

"You tore your soul apart before. I will do it again!" Sans yelled. His eyes were watering from the pain that was becoming too much, but that didn't stop him. He did the only thing he could think of: He forced his magic into the binding soul and pushed, scratched and tore at the soul, trying to force Papyrus back out of him.

His magic smashed against the souls, tearing it open and he screamed. It was more painful than anything he had ever imagined, more than the Determination, more than the experiments. It was indescribable. But he wrenched them apart, flinging the larger part back at Papyrus and his shriveled tiny portion sunk into him.

He knew his magic was depleted now. He would not be able to hold the scientists back anymore or stop Gaster from touching Papyrus, but he could do one last thing for them.

With the last of his strength, he reached over and grabbed onto Papyrus's arm and transported.

They landed hard in their new location, causing Sans to let go of his brother and tumble into a trembling heap several feet away. His body felt raw and chopped up. His magic, his whole body was failing and he didn't know if he was about to fall or not.

He opened his eyes and he beheld the most amazing and terrifying sight he had ever witnessed. Before him was a storming, swirling energy that radiated heat. Was… was this the core? Had he gotten them out of the lab? Where were they?

"Paps," he rasped. He tried to lift his head and he found that he couldn't. He started to panic. Was Papyrus okay? "Paps?"

"You insolent creature."

Sans jumped at the voice and his eyes found Gaster who was standing right before him now, shadowed by the impossible light of the core. He smirked at Sans mockingly. "I'm sure you didn't know that I can teleport as well." He stepped closer to Sans.

Everything felt as if it was crashing down around him, everything he'd done to get them to this moment was shattering as if it were nothing. He'd failed. Gaster was going to take them back and make sure they never escaped again.

"Don't worry," Gaster chuckled at him. "I'll make sure you and your brother are better soon. Maybe I will join you with Papyrus instead and we will use him as our weapon! He was certainly more obedient!"

Gaster reached down and pressed his cold fingers to Sans's cheekbone. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him while you're gone."

Sans trembled, tears springing to his eyes. His hate was all he could feel.

"Ah, don't cry." He reached to touch his eye.

Suddenly a burst of bones blasted into Gaster, sending him flying, his body rolling dangerously to the edge of the core.

Sans turned his head and sucked in a breath, spotting his little brother standing shakily. His orange eye was blazing madly and magic danced around his outstretched hand. He stepped forward and sent another blast of bones at Gaster and it threw The Doctor's body farther, closer to the drop.

Gaster pushed himself up, grinning wildly, his red magic flaring. He shot his own thick barrage of bones back at Papyrus who just in time blocked with a heavy wall of bones.

The kid looked absolutely ragged, like he would collapse any second but his orange magic burst as he roared. The transformation was faster than it had ever been, throwing Papyrus into Blaster in seconds. The little puppy stood angrily and bounded over to stand in front Sans protectively.

"Incredible!" Gaster said as he watched the puppy plant its feet, its jaw opening as pure white magic building with a whirring sound. "We can defeat the humans easily with this power! Come with me children and we shall be free!"

Papyrus let his blast go, the magic burst into Gaster, sending the skeleton over the edge into the core. The entire room shook at the impact of The Doctor in the pure energy core. The light burst, threatening to overtake and ruin anything in the path of its inevitable explosion.

Sans mustered the last of his magic and threw his hand out to grab onto his brother and used to transport them away one last time.

Chapter Text

Papyrus blinked awake in a scary, dark place. After a second of struggling to his feet, he realized that his body was still in puppy form. He whimpered into the dark as he glanced around, trying to get used to his dark surroundings. With a flare of magic, he allowed his eye to glow orange, wincing as his body ached with the lack of magic in his system. But it was just enough light to look around him. He yipped anxiously when he found Sans lying still a few feet away… and he didn't look too good.

Papyrus let the magic fall from his eyes and he trotted closer to Sans, nudging him with his nose. Sans didn't move. Maybe it was because this puppy body made him look scary, so he was playing dead? Yeah, that had to be it!

He nudged Sans again to assure him that he would be himself in a second and then they could talk and play some games maybe. He took a few steps away and then thought really hard about being Papyrus again. Tensing his body, he growled as he tried to force his body to change.

After a moment, he stopped, panting and frustrated. He dig a jig impatiently on his four legs and then spun a circle, trying to remember what Mr. Gaster had said to do when he wanted to change.

Papyrus froze and a flash of a memory flitted through his mind. Was Mr. Gaster okay? Papyrus was pretty sure he had been very mad and had thrown Mr. Gaster into a glowy light… He would have to say sorry when he saw him next.

He sat back on his haunches, considering what he would say when he saw Mr. Gaster and how he would say it without making Mr. Gaster too mad. When The Doctor was very angry, he liked to not feed him or he liked to make him sleep… and Papyrus didn't want to do those things anymore.

Papyrus shook his head, pretending he hadn't thought about Mr. Gaster and instead focused on changing. What were the words Mr. Gaster used? Take a deep breath and force your bones to break and tear away. Papyrus was not a fan of breaking anything but he scrunched everything up and told it, NO MORE PUPPY!

His body responded and crunched as his body curled into itself, moving bones away and reformed other pieces. His body glowed orange as he transformed. He whimpered, biting back his cries as he turned. He didn't want anyone to see him and be scared, but it hurt so bad. Tears sprung to his eyes as his legs gave out and dropped to the floor with a thud as his limbs snapped and cracked with the rippling magic.

It started to hurt more than normal as the magic drained from his soul. The changes, as Mr. Gaster said, sucked the soul-sustaining magic away from him and it could kill him!

Papyrus cried as his body continued to change. He couldn't stop it now, so he pulled his soul forward to watch its bar go down. It was already low, even as it continued to steadily drop down. Oh he wished he knew how to read so he could tell how close it was!

When the last bone snapped into place, Papyrus was exhausted. He continued to cry to himself and curled up into his naked body, his whole being aching and the Determination running through his bones burned mutedly.

He was so tired, he wished he could sleep… but he didn't want to go to sleep. Bad things happened in his sleep so he was never going to sleep again.

Turning his head, he caught sight of Sans lying on the floor, still in the same position, and he pulled himself to his shaky arms and crawled weakly over to his brother. He collapsed, grabbing onto the familiar fabric of Sans's hospital gown, and shook Sans lightly. "Sans, you can get up now!" he called to his brother.

Sans didn't wake up but continued to lie there.

"Sans, you have to get up now."

Again, his brother didn't move.

Pausing, Papyrus looked at his brother. He looked like maybe he really was sleeping. Maybe he was really tired from The Procedure?

Papyrus tapped his chin, looking him around him, trying to remember what had happened during The Procedure but he couldn't. The images were all mixed around with pain and crying.

"It's okay!" Papyrus told him, scooting closer and nestling in so he crouching right over Sans's sleeping face. "Even though you are sleeping, I will tell you my bedtime story!"

There was no reaction from Sans. He didn't even scrunch up his face like he usually did.

"You better listen to it!" Papyrus told him, poking him once. "Okay, so it starts with you and me and we are sitting in our room. Mr. Gaster comes in and he says, 'Hey, you kids need to stop being happy all the time.' And then you say, 'We don't care, we will tell stories all night.' And then I say, 'Hey no fighting when we are supposed to be…'" He trailed off, his eyes welling with tears. He nudged Sans a little rougher than before. "No, Sans! That's when you were supposed to say I'm bad at stories and you tell me a really good story!"

He let himself cry for a moment over Sans, so confused to why he wouldn't wake up. Why was his brother being so mean and just lying there?

A few minutes passed and then he got an idea. Maybe because Papyrus's HP was so low, maybe Sans's was too!

He pulled Sans's heart forward and looked at it. It looked smaller than before and but the tiny little bar was full. But it didn't look right at all! Papyrus didn't know what to do. His body felt like it would collapse at any time, but he forced himself to stay awake. He needed to figure out what to do about Sans.

After a moment of staring at Sans's weird soul, Papyrus brought out his own to compare. The amount of HP was very similar in size but Papyrus's HP bar was much longer. Papyrus frowned, recognizing that it wasn't right.

A distant giggle startled Papyrus into forcing their souls away, hiding them anyone that might want to hurt them. Papyrus crouched in front of his brother, waiting to see if whoever it was coming this way. He stared around his surroundings to investigate.

They were somewhere that was warm, but not as hot as it had been when they were by the big glowy light. Everything was dark, except for a small glow of light to the left of where he and Sans were. There was a wall or building of some sort nearby, but other than that, Papyrus had no idea where they could be. After all, he had never been outside the lab before.

"I'm going to go look," Papyrus whispered to Sans. "You stay here, okay?"

Sans seemed to agree because he didn't move.

Papyrus started to get up but his legs gave out instantly. His whole body was still itchy from the Determination and it was drained from all of the magic he had used. After a minute or two of struggling, Papyrus staggered his way to the wall and used the wall to help him walk.

It was a long wall and Papyrus got more and more afraid and tired as it kept going. What if he couldn't find his way back? What if he couldn't find Sans?

But Papyrus finally reached the edge of the wall and he looked around it and found a dark alleyway. Two weird looking girl monsters were leaning up against the wall, who looked a little bit older than Sans. Papyrus stared. He had never seen such colorful clothing before.

"Do you think the whole underground is going to cave in?" the shorter, purple one asked.

The green one, shook her head. "I don't know…" she trailed off. "What do you think it was?"

"Whatever it was, it wasn't good!" the first one giggled. "Mom is going to kill me if she finds out where we went."

"Well if the underground caves in, we won't have to worry about it."

Papyrus ignored them as soon as he noticed what was sitting at their feet. It was a box of all sorts of things but Papyrus could see bags of what looked like food! That's what he needed! He needed to get some of that to help Sans.

He considered asking the girls for it but… he was scared. They were big and weird and he didn't know what they could do. What if they wanted to make him sleep?

Turning back into the darkness, Papyrus sat down, letting his shaky, exhausted legs rest. Maybe he could wait until they went away. He continued to crouch there, listening to them talk about things Papyrus didn't understand.

After a while, Papyrus began to grow more tired and hungrier and the girls were just standing there and talking. Finally, he came up with a plan! He would turn into a puppy, run in and grab some food and run back to Sans really quick.

He went further into the darkness to get further away from the girls and he wrapped his arms around himself, preparing himself for the pain. It was just as hard to turn into a puppy as it was to turn back from one. Mr Gaster had gotten mad at him so many times because he couldn't do it. Even now, Papyrus stomped his foot, getting frustrated when his body didn't respond to his forceful wishes.

Curling his hands into fists, he first summoned all of the magic he had left in his body and then—

Nothing.

The only thing it did was make everything hurt all over and his little body dropped to the floor. He laid there, unmoving for a long time after that. Any move he tried to make burned painfully, so he decided to just lay there until something happened.

Nothing really happened for a long time though and Papyrus stayed where he was, refusing to sleep, until he finally heard the girls' voices fade away. But Papyrus still laid there a long time after that, too scared to feel the pain.

But after a while, it got boring and lonely and scary without Sans, so Papyrus struggled to his shaky legs and limped slowly to where the girls had been. They were no longer there, but the box was still in its place.

Papyrus approached it and looked inside. There was a lot of things, but Papyrus just took the first bag off the top. He felt bad. Dr. June had always told him to not touch anything that wasn't his. He hoped he didn't get in trouble for this later.

He hugged the crinkly bag to his chest and hurried away, following the wall into the darkness again for a long time. "Sans?" he called, starting to panic when he couldn't remember where his brother was.

Sans, of course, did not reply.

He left the wall and felt around. When that didn't work, he painfully let magic back into his eye and followed the orange glow, looking for his sleeping brother. "Sans!"

Sans's body was lying in the same spot, unmoved, when Papyrus spotted him but Papyrus crouched over him to check if he was awake. He wasn't.

So Papyrus struggled open the bag of food and gasped at the rich smell that came with it. There were chips inside and Papyrus instantly ate one, grinning at the delicious flavor. He took the second one and opened Sans's mouth and set it in there, just in case Sans wanted to eat it. Papyrus kept eating them but eventually stopped when the bag was half eaten, saving the rest for his brother.

He put the bag aside and stared at Sans. How could he make his brother wake up? He decided to take out their souls again and looked at them. Papyrus's had grown a bit with the food, but it still wasn't a lot.

"Here, I know what will help you," he told Sans. He took his HP and ripped most of it away, his whole body shuddering as he did so and he forced it into Sans's heart. While Papyrus's soul dimmed significantly, Sans's brightened and grew with magic. Papyrus winced at the horrible sinking tiredness ripped at his soul, but smiled when Sans's soul went back into his body, turning everything blue with the rejuvenated magic.

"Sans?" Papyrus managed to say, his vision going black for a moment but he managed to stay upright. He would never go to sleep again, no matter how much it hurt.

His brother finally moved, just a little bit. It was a twitch of the hand but it was enough to reassure Papyrus. So he laid down to stare at his brother until he woke up and he definitely, definitely was not going to sleep.

Chapter Text

Sans snapped into reality all at once with a single crunch as his mouth clamped down on what appeared to be several cheese flavored chips. He spat them out, coughing and turning on his side to dispel them from his dry mouth. As he leaned over the smooth ground, Sans felt his arms tremble underneath him and his soul thrummed with instantaneous fear.

Wherever he was, it was completely dark, and he couldn't see much except for faint outlines of things around him. Where was… "Paps?" he croaked out, struggling against his coughing fit in order to find his brother. Was he okay? What happened?

"Sans," a quiet voice replied.

The relief that collapsed around Sans was devastating and suddenly he realized how much this dark place reminded him of the first night he had suffered the loss of Papyrus's presence, the first time Papyrus had gone under The Procedure.

A sudden orange glow engulfed the darkness and Sans found himself staring at the little silhouette of his baby brother who was standing over him, holding a bag of chips. The magic was flickering in and out his eye, making the light unsteady.

"I tried to make you better," Papyrus told him, holding out the bag, "but you wouldn't eat them. I guess you didn't like them."

Sans took the bag, forcing a smile, and replied, "No, I do like them." He dug one of the chips out and plopped it into his mouth despite the dryness.

He chewed slowly, watching as Papyrus gingerly sat back down on the ground, moving way too slow for his usual level of energy. Sans frowned, knowing that were both feeling drained from the horrific events but there was something very off.

Papyrus seemed to wilt under his gaze and he let the magic drop from his eye, plunging them back into darkness. "Do you think Mr. Gaster will be mad at me?" Papyrus asked.

Sans froze, finally realizing and remembering the events not too long ago. Papyrus was the one who had pushed Gaster into the Core and that kind of exposure very well could have killed the scientist. Sans no idea how that could affect the mind of a little four year old.

Sans was suddenly thankful for the dark and wound his hands together nervously, looking away from the shadow of his brother. "I don't think we have to worry about him for a while," Sans said, honestly believing his words. No one could recover from something like that any time soon.

"But he'll be mad," Papyrus said, suddenly sniffing. "I took it when I shouldn't have. I know it was bad but I was hungry and you were hurt—"

"Wait," Sans stopped him. "What are you talking about?"

"The chips were someone else's and I know Dr. June said never to touch anything unless we are told to but—"

Sans grabbed Papyrus into a hug and held him tight. Papyrus just seemed to accept the hug as it was and held Sans back. Honestly, Sans couldn't believe how innocent Papyrus had stayed after all of the things they had just experienced. There wasn't a cynical bone in the kid's body.

"I don't like it here," Papyrus told him after a while. "It's too dark and everything hurts."

Sans dropped the hug immediately in surprise. His own eye ignited in blue light and he caught sight of his baby brother, the tiny little baby bones who looked worse than when he had laid the operating table across from him. Wasting no time, Sans pulled Papyrus's soul forward and found the HP at 1/29. He sucked in a breath, terrified by the stats.

"Why were you giving me chips, Paps?" he asked desperately, releasing his soul and grabbing the chips and taking out a handful to feed his brother. "You are the one who needs it more than me!" Sans could say that he felt fine, besides the heavy weakness and low radiating residual pain. He would say his pain was only at a 3 or 4 out of a ten when you compared it to The procedure. But Papyrus, he looked like he would pass out at any moment.

Papyrus took a chip slowly from Sans. "But your soul looked so weird…" He trailed off to munch on the chip.

Sans put the chips down by Papyrus and hurriedly summoned his own soul forward. He stared at what appeared. His soul looked smaller from The Procedure but what was odd was that his soul's color was blue with a bleeding haze of orange wrapping around the edges of the heart. His HP was 11/1. How as that possible?

"It was different before," Papyrus said, "before I gave you some of mine."

Sans frowned, looking back at his brother. The amount of energy to transfer your HP to another monster was almost impossible to muster without killing yourself. The only explanation that Sans could think of was of their nearly merged souls. Papyrus carried part of his soul now, clearly by the slightly increased HP level and San's minimal bar, so it could be very possible for Papyrus to do. However, it couldn't have been done without significant pain.

Sans had been close to falling, he knew that. His magic had been completely depleted before he had transported them to this place. But now his body only ached and he could feel the magic there. His brother had saved his life without realizing it, without realizing he had put himself equally on the brink of death to do so.

For a moment, Sans watched his brother eat the chips silently, his movements slow and sluggish. Sans began to grow worried as the seconds moved on. For the amount of chips Papyrus was eating, his HP had only increased to 2/29. This wasn't something food was going to cure. Papyurs needed rest, but they needed to get away from this place to somewhere that didn't frighten his little brother. He could see the way his small bones shook slightly with fright… or possibly cold.

He would need to get something for Papyrus to wear.

Sans stood, although it ached to do so, and let his magic disappear from his eye, plunging them back into darkness. "Papyrus, stay here."

"Where are you going?" he asked, voice panicky as he stood too.

"I'm going to get us some clothes."

"Don't leave me here," Papyrus whined.

Sans put his hand on Papyrus's shoulder and guided him to sit back down. Papyrus sank down tiredly. "I won't be long. I'll be back before you finish your chips."

Papyrus was quiet. "Okay."

"Good," Sans said, letting the little magic that he had regained from Papyrus fill his body. The magic poured over himself like a warm bath and he blinked out of existence, aiming for anywhere that wasn't the lab. Sans had no idea where to find clothes out here, but he allowed himself to appear at random. The first place that he had appears was also dark but smelled musty and he could hear running water. No clothes.

He teleported again and reappeared in a low-lit cave. Sans only took a brief look around, shivering at the silence and utter loneliness of this place and then blinked away instantly.

Next he found himself in a cold, white expanse. Sans had never been truly cold until this moment and he wrapped his arms around himself, looking wide-eyed out at the never-ending rows of real-trees. He breathed out, marveling at the rise of his breath and that fresh scent of air. He had only read about this in books.

His feet were shin-deep in the cold, white stuff and the wind cut through him, howling as it blew his green hospital gown around him. He only stood for a moment more before disappearing again.

Finally he found himself in what he assumed was the royal city. There were tall structures and bustling monsters in the streets. He stood, dazed in the alleyway, watching the precarious sight from a distance. His magic was strained as he stood, his vision faltering for a second. He breathed deeply and looked at the buildings towering over him. He felt displaced, way out of his depths in this place. Well, maybe he would just find something for Paps to wear and get back. He would be fine in his gown, but Paps had ruined his when he had transformed into the puppy form.

He looked around, not spotting anything, and teleported a few streets down, in another alleyway. Again, he found nothing and he was growing woozy and tired. His body still had not recovered completely from the events and he was starting to ache from overuse.

He tried one more time and appeared by something he could finally use. There was a cord attached from one side of the balcony to another and clothes were attached to it, hanging stagnant in the musty air.

Sans teleported up there and surveyed the clothes. They were all adult sized, none of these would fit him or Papyrus, but he grabbed the smallest shirt on the line and tucked it protectively to his chest, disappearing again as he imagined the place where Papyrus was.

The magic he had left was not cooperating, depleting quickly, causing Sans to reappear in the city again, only in a new area. Sans inhaled sharply, starting to panic. If his magic didn't work, if he didn't get back, his brother would be alone and vulnerable.

Gritting his teeth, he imagined his location again and sparked out of existence and then reappeared. Relief settled over him as he found himself in the dark again. He glinted blue magic into his eye and looked around. "Paps?"

He walked in the dark, knowing he was in the right place but not knowing exactly where he was in comparison to Papyrus. He walked for a while until he came upon a small body lying in the dark. His blue light illuminated the child and Sans approached with dread.

Papyrus was still awake, watching Sans approach. The chips bag laid next to him empty. Kneeling down, Sans pulled Papyrus's soul forward and noted that the health was still the same as he had left him. "How do you feel?" he asked his brother.

"I'm okay, Sans," he replied, even though he was clearly not fine.

"I'm going to sit you up," Sans said, scooping up his light bones into a sitting position. Papyrus leaned his head on Sans's shoulder as he unwrapped the gray shirt. He threw the shirt over Papyrus and slung his little arms through the holes. The shirt was as long as hospital gown on Papyrus, but not as close fitting. Sans figured it was better than nothing.

He watched his brother blink slowly but not close his eyes to sleep. Papyrus must really be afraid of this place to not even close his eyes. Sans had to do something to make his brother better and quickly. He needed to find them more food and a nice, safe place to stay, somewhere away from monsters that could hurt them.

"I'm going to give you a piggy back," Sans told him.

Normally Papyrus would have been delighted but the kid just nodded slowly, forcing himself to sit up by himself so Sans could arrange himself. Sans put himself in a crouching position and held his arms out behind him. Papyrus was less than half his size, so he could carry his brother no problem if it came to it, but he would prefer to have his hands free just in case.

Papyrus stood shaking and wrapped his arms around Sans's shoulders and neck, pressing his skull into the back of his hospital gown. Sans stood, cupping the little legs in his hands. "You get some sleep up there, okay?"

"I'm not tired," Papyrus told him.

Sans knew that was 100% not true but he let it be, knowing that Papyrus would lull himself to sleep as he walked.

Taking a deep breath, Sans walked on shaky, recovering legs in the direction of the faint light, leaving the chip bag behind in their wake. He had no idea where they could go or how things worked outside the lab, but it had to be better than anything than anything they had experienced right? How hard could it be?

"You want to hear a story, Paps?"

Papyrus nodded against Sans's shoulder.

"Okay, what should it be about?"

"A skeleton monster," Papyrus responded.

"Well this one will be about the Great Papyrus knight."

"No, it can't be about me!"

Sans grinned, finally hearing Papyrus's normal self bleeding through. "Well then should I tell one about the Amazing Sans?"

"No," Papyrus said shortly.

Sans laughed. "Okay, there once was a brave skeleton knight not named Papyrus."

"Sans…"

"Okay, okay," Sans said, walking further into the never-ending darkness. "His name was… Papyro."

"Sans!"

"Okay, okay," he laughed, his voice echoing as they continued to walk. The rest of his story drifted as they walked, not even sure that Paps was still awake but it soother Sans's nerves. It felt in this moment, that they were safe.

Chapter Text

They wandered after that. Sans knew he had to find shelter for them and food but it was difficult when he was spending their first day free avoiding any monster in sight. Every time Sans saw anyone, he got the panicky feeling in his soul he got when he had The Procedure. His hands would tremble against Papyrus's little feet and Papyrus would ask him what's wrong. But how could he tell his little brother that he was afraid of what would happen to them if anyone would find them, learn what they were? He couldn't scare his brother like that.

"Sans," Papryus said for the 30th time since they had left the dark place. Sans wasn't even sure Papyrus had slept. "Where are we going?"

Sans had no way of answering that. They had slipped out from behind a building of an old hotel and had started walking the grounds of the Hotlands. The only way Sans knew he was going the right direction was the trembling, blazing hot core that stood behind them. He knew he had to get away from the lab as soon as possible. But it was difficult and slow-moving, mostly because there weren't many places to hide in the narrow walkways and elevators that led through the sweltering heat.

Never in Sans's life had he felt so hot and tired. Some of that was because of how often he had to teleport to avoid the other monsters and skip the harder puzzles, no matter how much Papyrus wanted to try them. His magic was almost depleted and he couldn't keep this up much longer.

"We're going somewhere safe," he told his brother.

"Somewhere Safe," Papyrus muttered sleepily.

Pausing, Sans ducked into one of the puzzle rooms and put his brother down. They needed to rest. But first he pressed a hand to Papyrus's forehead, feeling the warmth there, but he wasn't sure if that was due to the heat or Papyrus's still extremely low HP bar. "How do you feel, kid?"

Papyrus smiled a toothy grin that touched his eyes, convincing Sans for a good solid second, but he knew how resilient Papyrus was, even when he was suffering. The babybones acted older than he should for his age.

A scuffle outside their little nook caused Sans to turn on his heal, splaying his hands out in front of Papyrus, his eye already glowing with magic. There was no one there but he could hear them just beyond the door.

Sans glanced back at Papyrus, who had lowered himself into a crouch, frowning. They were both shaking from the movement but Sans knew he had to be the brave one, he had to check who was out there. Turning back to the door, which was just cracked to let light filter in, Sans approached it, picking up voices as he got closer.

They looked like they did some sort of work in the Hotlands, Sans recognized from their matching metal outfits, but he didn't know what they could be. They were holding sharp objects that ran a shiver down his spine, reminding him of many things of his past.

He watched as they talked, their volume increased as they got closer. Sans tensed, at the ready, just in case they got too close, he could zip himself and Papyrus away from here.

"The accident was pretty nasty and I heard that he might actually survive. Isn't that crazy?" the first, taller worker said.

"Did they ever say how he fell in?"

Sans stilled. They had to be talking about Dings.

"They haven't said yet. But I'm really wondering what the guy was doing with the two missing kids in the core anyway."

"Well, they are The Scientists kids, right? Maybe he was showing them around?"

"But now they're missing. Why do you think that is? Isn't that weird?"

The second one shrugged. "I never knew The Scientist had kids… but I hope they find them. Who knows what kind of trouble they are in!"

"With the whole Underground under alert I'm sure it should be easy."

Sans sucked in a gasp, stumbling away from the door. Everyone would look for them? His body shook with fear and panic as he imagined going back to that place, back to where Dings would kill Papyrus just to make Sans into a weapon.

He whipped around to look at his brother. Papyrus was sitting on the ground, knees drawn up to his chest, large shirt pooling around him. He stared up Sans with wide eyes that held so much trust, so much faith… Sans suddenly felt the enormity of what they have done crash down around him, his soul feeling like a weight.

Where the hell would they go? Where could they possibly be safe?

His eyes watered and he looked away from his brother, to look back at the other monsters. They were still talking, only a few paces away from the door. They would be trapped inside if they came in, there was no way to go around them without being caught.

Sans's whole being trembled as he sucked in another breath. He would have to teleport again, despite his low magic level. And it would likely knock off some HP to do it… But when he looked again at Papyrus, he knew it had to be done.

He reached out to his brother, holding out his hand and giving him a slight smile. Papyrus reached out immediately to take the hand, his bones wrapping around Sans in a tight grip.

And away they went.

They were in a dark place again but different. And Sans was sleeping again. And Papyrus didn't like it one bit.

"Sans, you lazy bones!" Papyrus shouted at his brother when his brother collapsed again after they teleported to this new place. He had landed face down in a puddle, so Papyrus splashed over to him and shoved him really hard to make him flip over.

Sans's hospital gown was completely soaked through and the bottom of Papyrus's shirt was just as bad. Papyrus began to feel soggy and cold. He glanced around them, noticing it was not completely pitch black with light filtering in through a small entrance from which cold air flowed steadily. He and Sans were in the puddle side of the little cave, but to his left was a dry patch of rock.

He leaned over Sans, whispering, "Sans I'm gonna help you over here so you can be comfy."

It was quiet, no response.

So Papyrus stood and stomping his foot in frustration but was immediately distracted by the splash and rippling of the water around him. He had had seen this much water in their baths but he wasn't allowed to splash. That wasn't proper, Dr. June had said.

Papyrus stomped his foot again, harder, splashing really hard that it sent a wave over his brother. Papyrus laughed but felt really bad. He was supposed to help his brother, not make him colder.

He steeled himself with determination, pulling up his sleeves, which only slid back down his little arms. He grabbed onto Sans by his shoulders, pulling him with all his might as the water flowed coldly around his unprotected feet. It was slow work, Sans was too heavy, like way heavy. Papyrus guessed that he weighted like a bajillion pounds.

Finally, with Papyrus's arms aching, he finally gotten his brother safely out of the puddle. Immediately he checked his older brother's soul anxiously. When it was pulled forward, it revealed itself to be the same as before and Papyrus smiled. "You used too much magic again, Sans."

Knowing he wasn't going to reply, Papyrus's tired eyes flicked around their small little cave. He stared curiously at the water again. He stared a long time while he listened to the quite breathing of his brother. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and stood, bracing himself. Taking a running start, Papyrus jumped with all his might and splashed into the puddle, laughing giddy laughs of delight at the sounds of the water sloshing everywhere. It almost made Papyrus forget how tired and pained he was. Papyrus jumped and waded around in the water a long time. No one was there to tell him to stop or stop making noise and that made it more fun!

He laughed again, but cut off in fright when he heard something move behind him, his whole body jolting at the sound. "Paps?" Papyrus wilted with relief and turned to where his brother was sitting up, rubbing at his eyes. "What are you doing?"

A guilty expression crossed his face. "Um, playing."

Sans nodded sleepily but did not tell him to stop. He just scooted up against the wall and propped himself against it stiffly. Papyrus splashed through the water, breathing in the musty air as he trudged onto the dry ground and put his hands on his hips. "You should be sleeping, Sans. You need to get your magic back, right?"

"Yeah," Sans yawned. "But we need to get Somewhere Safe."

Papyrus nodded seriously. "We can go Somewhere Safe tomorrow because this cave is tiny and no one will find us here."

Sans was quiet, breathing in slowly. "Sure, bro. Let's sleep."

"I'm not tired," Papyrus told him, ignoring the aches in his soul. "I slept earlier."

"You should get some more," Sans told him, laying down, tucking his arm under his skull. Sans was practically sleeping as he said the words.

Naturally Papyrus could see this and he said, "Okay!"

But Sans was already sleeping.

Papyrus went back to splashing. Papyrus splashed closer to the cave entrance and then stopped at the sliver of what beyond their little haven. There were little lights everywhere. Papyrus went closer, hands trailed against the stone walls and paused at the slim opening, gasping at what was out there. The lights twinkle across the dark expanse above them and allow the walls. There were glowing plants, flowers, they were called as Papyrus recalled a similar image from Sans's books.

Taking a step closer, Papyrus shivered as more wind gusted through the entrance of their cave. He wanted to go out there, but he hesitated, scared. He didn't want to leave Sans alone and he should probably wait until Sans was awake so they could go together, but he couldn't hold back the excitement.

He pushed his achy bones to move forward against his fear and squeezed through the entrance that Sans would probably only barely make it through and squealed with delight at all of the glowing wonder. There was a little path that made its way through the lights and disappeared into the darkness and in the distance he could hear the rush of water.

Wasting no time, Papyrus splashed into the nearest puddle and then jumped into the next. Zigzagging between the flowers. It was beautiful, amazing, like nothing Papyrus had ever expected to see in his whole life. He made sure not to wander too far from the cave and stayed within sight of it the whole time, softly jumping from puddle to puddle, marveling at the sights.

"Wait till Sans sees!" He yelled.

"Wait till Sans sees-sees-sees!" The words echoed all around Papyrus like a wave.

Papyrus froze, splaying his hands out from his sides to protect himself from the hidden people. His eyes were wide as the echoes continued in almost a disturbing whisper. Papyrus's eyes watered as he spun, looking all around him for who it could be but he couldn't find anyone except more glowing flowers.

"W-who's there?" Papyus asked.

"Who's there-there-there-there…" the echoing continued.

Papyrus spun one more time and his eyes landed on something that moved out in the dark. Gasping, he spun and ran, splashing through the puddles as he dashed desperately back to his cave. At the entrance he practically dove in, splashing the wall as he turned and pressed his back to the wall, breathing harshly.

He couldn't see anything through the small entrance, nothing was coming, but who knows what would happen if whatever it was found them? What if it ate Sans?

The thought terrified him enough to push his body away from the wall and he splashed over to Sans, who was still sleeping. Papyrus curled up next to Sans, resting his skull on Sans's shoulder. He crouched behind Sans but watched the entrance. If anything came in on his watch, he would make sure they didn't hurt Sans.

Chapter Text

Sans once again woke from restless, magic-exhausted sleep and he was sadly starting to get used to the sensation. Waking up this way left his limbs heavy like lead and his mind groggy and pulsing. He grunted as he moved his bones against the cold stone, taking in the quiet trickling of water, the musty cool air and the soft breathing against his right ear.

He moved his head, slowly opening his eyes. "Papyrus?" he called softly as he looked at the smaller body sitting upright beside him. Papyrus was watching the entrance of the cave with squinted eyes and he looked dead tired. "What's going on, bro?"

Papyrus flicked his eyes down at him and then back again. "There's someone out there," he whispered. His words sent a chill up his spine and he scrambled into a sitting position, wincing when he felt Papyrus's wet, cold clothes against his arm.

"What do you mean?"

Papyrus looked up at him seriously but looked away with a twinge of guilt on his face. "I went exploring when you were sleeping and I was splashing and yelling and then a lot of voices started copying me. They said things that I said and they kept going!"

An echo, Sans's mind supplied at his brother's description.

"And there was something moving out there," Papyrus told him.

"Moving?" Sans asked, his soul twisting with fear.

Papyrus wound his hands together. "I didn't see what it was but it wasn't tall, I think. It was too dark!"

Sans frowned. Then it couldn't be an adult or someone looking for them, right? It could've just been a wild animal… He had to check for himself, to see if they would have to move again. Plus… Sans moved his arms to clutch at his stomach. He was super hungry.

Looking down at his brother, he smiled, trying to reassure him. "It's okay. I don't think we're in danger in here… but we have to go out and look for food. Do you think you can handle it?"

Papyrus puffed up his chest bravely. "Yeah. Together we can defeat anything." He raised his fist to emphasize.

Worry gnawed at Sans as he watched Papyrus's limbs shake with the movement. Quickly, he checked Papyrus's HP, only to find it still at 2/29. He checked his own: it was at 11/1 and his magic was starting to replenish from sleep. But why was Papyrus having trouble recovering?

He stood and Papyrus stood with him, taking Sans's hand, which he gripped tightly and shakily. "Will take this slow, okay?"

Papyrus nodded with a small smile. "You'll get to see all of the pretty flowers."

"Flowers, huh?" he said, stepping into the water and wading through with Papyrus close behind. He pushed narrowly through the tiny entrance and then he stopped, gasping. The flowers, they were glowing! And the ceiling! It was glowing too! Were those stars? "Wow!"

"Wow," his word echoed.

Sans jumped, magic flaring his eye as he spun to look at the source while Papyrus pressed himself into Sans's side in fright. He stared at the flower next to him. There was no other place it could have come from. All was behind the flower was a rocky wall. So, with a hand pressed into Papryus's shoulder just in case, he took a step forward and ever so slowly, he reached out at the flower and poked one of its petals. "Wow!" his own voice came from the flower.

Sans jumped back, shocked. Papyrus, pressed himself closer still, shaking. "Sans, I don't like this," he said.

"Sans, I don't like this," the flower echoed back Papyrus's voice this time.

Papyrus started crying and his cries echoed in the flower.

Oh, that's an echo flower, Sans realized. He had only read about them. But of course Papyrus had no idea and he continued to cry, covering his face with his little hands to hide from the perceived danger. Sans hugged and knelt down by him, taking some time to pry his hands away. "It's okay, Paps. It's just an echo flower," he told him confidently, trying to comfort him. "They repeat anything you say."

Papyrus's soft sobs stopped, the tear stains still glistening on his cheeks, and he looked at Sans in the utmost seriousness. "You don't think they will repeat everything you say, do you?"

"Actually I think they do," Sans told him.

"Even mean stuff?" Papyrus questioned, looking utterly shocked by the prospect.

"Yeah, I think so," Sans laughed.

Papyrus pried himself away from Sans and approached the flower cautiously. He leaned forward, wincing when he brushed it and it again said, "Wow!" Papyrus recovered quickly though and cupped his hands and said something into the flower. A second later, it repeated, "Sans sleeps too much!"

Sans laughed, pushing his brother playfully. Papyrus giggled, swatting him away.

"Let's go visit all of the flowers and tell them all sorts of stuff to say!" he exclaimed as he was already darting away to the next patch of flowers.

"Sure thing, bro," Sans laughed, following slowly as he watch his brother flit from flower to flower.

Sans splashed through some of the puddles and then sat down on the path as he watched his brother run wild. He had no idea how Papyrus had the energy but he guessed that was just Papyrus's personality. After a while he felt comfortable enough to take his eyes off his brother to glance up at the twinkling lights above. He wasn't sure if they were stars or something else. They glowed the same blue-green of the flowers and somehow that had to mean they weren't stars. The stars in his books had been described as yellow, so…

Out of the corner of his eyes, something moved and his head shot in that direction, frozen in fear. What was that? Oh god, what if Papyrus was right and there was something out here?

Suddenly, the last thing Sans had wanted hear, Papyrus's scream, echoed menacingly around the flowers. Sans shot to his feet, breathing in sharply as he tried to spot his brother. Where was he?!

"Papyrus!" he called, running through the puddles into the direction he had last seen his brother. He couldn't see Papyrus over the tall flowers! "Papyrus!"

The flowers echoed his voice and Sans grit his teeth in fear, magic roaring to life in his eye. "Papyrus!"

"Hi, I'm Temmie!" A sudden voice appeared beside him.

Sans screamed, jumping backwards, only to come face to face to several small monsters, shaped a lot like puppies. "Where's Papyrus?"

"Oh," the first one said, "he's with my friend Temmie!" The Temmie looked behind him at where Papyrus was sitting in the water, staring, completely shocked at a Temmie in his lap. "I think Temmie scared him. Temmied just wanted to give him Temmie flakes sample for his rumbly tummy."

Sans felt as equally shocked as his brother. "Temmie flakes?"

"Yeah, they're a homemade recipe! Do you want to have some?"

Sans frowned, still shocked and a little confused. "Is it food?" he asked, feeling his own hunger.

"Yeah, yeah, a Temmie specialty!" Temmie exclaimed. "We'll get you some! Temmie!"

Another hopped up with several packets in its mouth, holding it out to Sans. Sans took them gingerly, glancing at Papyrus who was accepting his own. "Uh, thanks," Sans told the Temmie after he took the three packets.

The first Temmie grinned. "Feel free to come by the Temmie Village any time for full size Temmie flakes for only 2G!"

"Yeah, maybe we will," Sans said looking down at the packet warily. He glanced at his brother again, trying to gage if he was okay.

"What's 2G?" Papyrus asked loudly.

The Temmies laughed. First Temmie said, "Cute skeleton, have another Temmie Flakes for free!" A Temmie placed the packet on stack of three already in his hands. "We must go Temmies!" The Temmie announced to the group, and then added to the skeletons, "We have more samples to give out."

The Temmie jumped off Papyrus's lap and the group bounce away and down the path into the flowers. Sans stepped a little closer to Papyrus.

Papyrus was looking at his packets for a long moment and then after a beat, "What's money, Sans?"

Sans frowned. "I don't really know."

Papyrus stumbled to his feet and placed three packets under his arm while he struggled to open the fourth pouch of Temmie Flakes. Sans opened his own and took a few to pop them into his mouth. His expression soured at the taste but he choked it back, swallowing heavily. "Bleh," he gasped.

On Papyrus's face was a similar expression. "Is outside food worse than the lab food?"

Sans nodded in agreement. "I didn't know food could be this bad," he said, taking more anyway because he was hungry. The two continued to eat the bad food until it was all gone. Sans's empty stomach still felt unsatisfied but it had made at least a small difference.

He took a moment to check Papyrus's HP, which had only gone up to 3/29. Sans groaned in frustration as he put it away, trying to figure out what to do. Papyrus must be really hurting for it be going up this slowly, not that he showed it based off the way he raced off to talk to more flowers.

They took some time to wander, to see more of the sights beyond their little cave, to see if there was anywhere they could gather food or something. They walked along the path a ways, taking caution just in case anyone else decided to come down the path. Eventually they came upon a sign that said, "Dump." And there was arrow pointing straight ahead. Sans decided that they would go that way, just to see what was there.

They kept walking. Eventually they came upon a flowing river that a bridge crossed over. The water was very shallow and wide and it disappeared into blackness over the cliff.

Papyrus stopped and gaped at it. "What is down there?"

"I don't know," Sans said, looking at the drop warily.

"Let's go check!" Papyrus said, jumping from the bridge into the water that came up to his waist, and splashed and waded away from Sans.

Sans jumped into the water after him, eyebrows drawn together as he fought to catch up. "Be careful, Paps. It could be a huge…." They came to the edge which seemed to go down and down and down. "Drop," Sans finished.

"It would hurt to fall down there," Papyrus said, leaning a little closer to the edge.

"Yeah, that's why you should come away from there." But to Sans's absolute horror, Papyrus was leaning closer and further over the edge. "Paps, don't!" he yelled fearfully.

"Huh?" Papyrus turned in surprise at Sans's shout and suddenly Sans was watching as his four year old brother teetered over the waterfall drop. His arms went up, flailing, but it was already too late. Papyrus's feet left the ground and he was falling, eyes blown wide.

His scream was what snapped Sans out of his shock and he did the only thing he could do. With a snap of sudden magic, he teleported, appearing at Papyrus's side in the freefall. His soul shuddered at the sensation of falling and turned in the air, searching blurrily for Paps. "Papyrus!" he shouted, reaching out to his brother.

Their hands connected and as soon as Sans had a firm grasp, he teleported again. They reappeared with a splash at the top of the waterfall. They both gasped for air, holding onto to each other for dear life.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Papyrus cried while he hyperventilated. "I didn't mean to!"

Sans was still breathing harshly. "Papyrus, you can't do that!" Sans shouted. "What if you-?" His voice cracked. "What if you'd died? What would I have done without you?" His eyes were welling with tears. Sans would have hated himself forever if his brother had died by falling off a cliff after two days of being free of the lab. Then it would have been no better than if Dings had merged them anyway. Papyrus would be dead. Sans sucked in another terrified breath, shaking wildly.

Papyrus wrapped his arms around Sans. "I'm sorry, Sans! It's my fault!"

"It's okay," Sans said, returning the hug. "It's okay, we're going to be okay."

"Hey, is everything alright over there?" A voice called. "Do you need help?"

The two shot apart, San's soul pounding wildly. He stared up at an old turtle monster who stood on the middle of the bridge. The old turtle's eyes had a bit of a crazy edge to it but he looked friendly nonetheless.

But Sans was still afraid.