"Pap! PAPYRUS! Come on, little guy, call back ta me!" Sans called out, frantically looking through the trees in Snowdin to spot his lost brother. He was becoming more terrified by the moment. The longer Papyrus stays lost, the more chance there is of him getting attacked by a bigger Monster. Or worse, killed. A single blue tear ran down Sans's cheekbone before he shook it off, he couldn't fall to panic, now! That's when he finally heard it. "SANS! SAAAAAAAANS, WHERE ARE YOU?!" The faint wailing of his little brother. He wasn't too terribly far away! "PAPY, I HEAR YA! KEEP YELLIN', BABY BROTHER, I'M ON MY WAY! BIG BROTHER'S ON HIS WAY!" "SANS, I'M SCARED, PLEASE HURRY!" "STAY WHERE YA ARE AND KEEP YELLIN' FOR ME!" The older Skeleton shouted, damn near sprinting through the snow-covered wood to get to his brother. Papyrus is the only thing that matters, now. Not the stinging cold, the bitter wind, just having his little brother in his arms was important over all else. Finally, he saw it. Among the white, there was a little red cape draped around a thin, tiny, sobbing Skelly. "PAPY, I SEE YA! I SEE YA!" Sans cried out, sprinting right up to him and scooping him up.
Papyrus began to sob louder and harder, but at least his big brother found him. "SANS!" He sobbed, but the older Monster just hushed him as he sat on a nearby log for a moment. "Shhh, shh, Papy, shh... Stop cryin', now, I gotcha. Hush up, little guy... Big brother's here now." He rumbled, drying his brother's glowing, scarlet tears before setting off back towards the house. Sans was cradling the younger Skeleton in his arms, wrapping his blue coat around him as he began the walk back. Thankfully, he knew these woods like the backs of his hands, so there was no longer a risk of getting lost. "I-I'm sorry, S-Sans..." "Noooo, no, no, Papy, don't be sorry..." "I should h-have stayed... O-Out of the forest..." "I know, but you're gettin' to be such a big, smart Skeleton! And smart Skeletons like you get real curious. I knew you'd wanna explore the woods some day. Just, next time, take me with ya. I know this entire forest by heart, and I can show ya all the cool spots!" "R-Really...?" Papyrus asked, his crying finally quieting down the more his big brother and his hero talked to him. "Oh, yeah! And these spots, they're only for cool Skeletons like me an' you!"
Arguments happen. Especially between siblings. Sans had accidentally let it slip just three short hours before his shift that he's been having night terrors, which is why he sleeps at all random times during the day and appears to be so lazy. Of course, his stubborn brother just absolutely refuses to let things like this go, so fights start. "Sans, you have to tell me what's going on! I cannot help you, if you do not talk to me!" He all but growled, and Sans had to do everything in his power to keep his eyes from going aglow with his magic. Papyrus can never, ever know... "Boss, I dunno whatcha want me ta say." "I want you to tell me what these nightmares are about! This is not healthy, Sans!" Papyrus argued, towering over his older brother as they argued. To any other Monster, Papyrus's height would have been a great intimidation factor. Yet, to Sans, it did nothing. Karma clinched his fists, his hands shaking from his grip, and that's when it happened. An hour of arguing and yelling would take its toll on even the calmest of Monsters. Sans looked up at Papyrus with glowing pastel blue eyes, and a pastel blue bone was summoned to his hand.
Papyrus paused and stepped back a pace, regarding Sans with a nervous expression as the Skeleton spoke. There was a slight echo in his voice as his Magic flared and gathered around him, and he doesn't seem to notice it. "It's about the damn Asriel fight, okay?!" Sans said firmly, shaking softly in anger. Papyrus made a motion like he was swallowing thickly, as Sans continued talking, finally giving the younger Skeleton what he wanted, but his true nature, his secret, was coming out. "Everytime I close my damn eyes, I see it. Asriel has control of me, forcin' me ta tell the kid ta give up, that nothin' matters, and I remember seein' you limp an' under his control!" Sans snapped, and the blue of his Magic began to grow darker. Papyrus darted forward and gripped his hands. "Sans, no, snap out of it, I am here! I am here and I am okay!" He said hurriedly, and the older Skeleton looked down at his hands. He saw the bone, the glowing Magic Essence around his hands, and his breath became fast. "No, no, no...!" "Sans, please-" "Dammit, no, you weren't supposed to see this!" "Sans!" Papyrus gasped, actually scooping his older brother up and holding him close. The roles were revered, but it was still reminiscent of a time so long ago.
"Sans, please calm down... Please... It's okay." He whispered, moving to sit on the couch with the distraught monster on his lap. "You weren't supposed to see that, you weren't supposed to know..." Sans muttered, blinking as Papyrus rested his forehead to the top of his own head. "Hush, Sans. Please, just hush." He whispered, smiling as the ethereal bone and the glow of Sans's Magic dimmed out and vanished. "Why did you fight telling me? If you are still suffering because of that fight, I could have been there to comfort you. If you needed me, I could have helped you..." "You don't need me..." Sans whispered brokenly, and he gently gripped Papyrus's cape. That same cape, now more of a shawl to the tall Skeleton, it was one of a few things that were still familiar. "You... Y-You're doin' what you love, Papy, what you're supposed ta be doin'. Workin' with the Guard, protectin' Snowdin... You're right where ya ought ta be. Me? I'm an Anomaly..." The older Monster whispered, and Papyrus frowned as best as a Skeleton could. "What? Sans, you make no sense..." "I'M NOT A NORMAL MONSTER, PAPYRUS!" Came that echoed voice again, loud and pained, but the Guard-in-training just kept hold of his brother. "..." He was silent, waiting for the smaller one to continue, and blue tears fell from Karma's eyes.
"Papy, I... I'm... I'm an Anomaly. I ain't supposed ta be here. I am Karma. Literally Karma. All I was supposed ta do, was make sure ya lived ta be whatcha wanted ta be, but I went an' got attached- You're the only thing in my existence that matters, Pap-" "Sans, I know." Papyrus whispered, a steady and gentle hand cupping the back of the Anomaly's head. "You're not the only one who spoke to Gaster, Sans..." He whispered, and Karma gasped as he felt a small burst of Magic envelope Papyrus's hand. The older brother leaned back and quickly gripped the younger's wrist, looking terrified at the pale orange Magic swirling around the younger one's hand. "P-PAPY, WHAT?! WHEN?! H-How are ya feelin', ya ain't power hungry are ya?!" "SANS, please slow down!" Papyrus said firmly, and the Sans regarded him with a nervous and almost devastated expression. "I am still me, Sans." "How often have ya used your Magic, Papy? I need ta know." "I have never used it. Ever. I never had to, until now. It was a gift from Gaster, he warned me about the Human. He... He did not know of the little Human's intentions, and so he gave me Magic to defend myself." The Guard admitted, clinching his fist to extinguish the small swirl of Magic. "I never had to use it, Sans. It has been here since a month before the Human arrived, I have felt it, but I have never felt different." Papyrus whispered, giving Sans a gentle look.
"I am still The Great Papyrus that you know. I am still your brother, Sans. Gaster told me about you." "YOU KNEW?! Why didn't you ever say anything?!" The older Skelly huffed, and the younger one chuckled. "Gaster told me not to. We had to see how the Human was going to act." He whispered, and Sans made a broken, yet relieved sound before just bursting into tears. Papyrus held his brother close, letting him cry out his fear and pain, knowing he had no choice but to let Sans carry the burden he had to carry for so long, and alone. But, now that Frisk had been proven to be a friend and the Timeline was Passive, he and Sans could finally relax. "... Do you remember when I got lost in the woods, Sans? You do not have to answer, just listen. I was so scared, and I was crying so hard... But, when I heard your voice calling out to me through the snow and the trees... I knew I was going to be alright. You do not have to be so strong all the time, Sans. I am here for you, just as you were here for me." The younger of the two whispered, lightly patting Sans's back as his soft hiccupping and crying settled down just slightly. They'd sit like that for awhile, Sans holding on to Papyrus while Papyrus kept Sans close.
"I... I remember that. When ya got lost in the woods... I was so damn scared, Papy... You're everything important in my life... The only thing that matters. The Timeline could go Genocidal in the next second, and I would let everything burn, just as long as I was able ta keep you." Sans whispered, blinking as Papyrus took his cape off and draped it over Sans's shoulders. "I know, Sans, I know. And you get to keep me! Because the Timeline isn't going to go Genocidal. Asriel finally passed on, the Human is happy with Queen Toriel and King Asgore, and everything is calm between the Undergound and the Surface. You can let it all go now, Sans." Papy whispered, and Sans nodded softly, tiredly. "Y-Yeah. I guess I can." "... I am going to take us both off the schedule for tomorrow, Sans. How can I help you sleep?" Papyrus asked, and Karma sighed slowly. "... Lemme read with ya. It... It helps me calm down." "Really? Alright! And if you have more nightmares, I will be here for you." The Guard-in-training said confidently, and all Sans could do was chuckle.
He knew it was the truth. Papyrus would always be there, no matter how much they bickered and grumbled. As they picked out their books and settled into a comfortable silence, Sans found the while argument and result ironic. He's always been there for Papyrus, protected and rescued him when things were too scary or too difficult, but. Now, the tables had turned. Papyrus was the one offering the comfort, and Sans was on the other side of the coin. His own aspect was finally giving him the reward he was due, a reprieve from being Karma. He no longer had to return the sins of a Genocidal Timeline, at least. Not this Sans. There could be multiple Timelines, multiple dimensions, and more than one Sans. There could be a Sans fighting his final battle, right now, before his own Timeline resets to find a happier ending like this one has. Right now, he doesn't care about any of it. Finally, he can sleep.