Black and Blue

Written by: Wings of the Nightingale

(Disclaimer: Undertale and all of it's characters belong to Toby Fox. I do not own anything.)

Chapter 1: One Eye

Sans slumped lazily on the couch as he rubbed his bony head, recalling the events of a very miserable night. He didn't quite remember how, or why. All he knew was that he woke up screaming. For some reason, whatever he had dreamed about was so terrifying, it left him wide awake in his bed, thinking he was still in the horrid nightmare. Thankfully, Papyrus heard his cries, and was able to shake him from his shock. Looking back on the night's events, Sans felt like an idiot. He did everything in his power not to let Papyrus see him that upset. He could fake a smile, mask his anxiety, and crack a joke in his worst moments. But he let it all slip because of a stupid bad dream? And one he couldn't remember no less. You'd think something like that would be hard to forget. That aside, he wished he could have changed what had happened that night. He didn't want his brother to carry the burden of worrying about him, but he knew he couldn't change that. Papyrus had always been that way, acting as though he were the big brother. He cared about Sans very much, and would stop at nothing to make sure he was happy and healthy. If he was having a nightmare that he wouldn't remember the next morning, then the great Papyrus would be there to support him! Though, now that he thought of it, there was one thing he did remember about his dream… it was different. He couldn't remember why, he just knew it was different. Different from all the dreams he had had before. On a 'normal' night, he would have the same, recurring nightmare, about the human and his brother. But not this one. What was it that made this one nightmare so different from the others? He strained his memory, trying to recall at least one detail from the dream, but to no avail. Sans sat back, growing exhausted from all the questions racing in his head. Maybe he would remember later.

[Earlier that night…]

Sans opened his eyes and looked around. The room was very dark, almost pitch-black, but there was enough dim light that he could just barely see where he was going. There were patches of glitched pixels everywhere he looked. He began to walk further and further. The room continued on endlessly, the glitches stretching for miles in every direction, almost like a fog. An unfamiliar chill ran down his spine. Was someone… Before he could finish his thought, Sans felt himself slip, and he began to plunge into the dark abyss. He began to fall faster and faster, violently swinging his arms and legs, twisting his body in all directions. After merely a few seconds, Sans hit the floor, his chest flat on the ground, and his face buried in his arms. He groaned in pain as he attempted to push himself back up on to his feet. He stood hunched over for a moment, clutching his stomach as he looked up and squinted his eyes. "Where am I?", he thought. From what he could tell, he was in some sort of lab. Though, seeing as the room was once again completely dark, his only indications were the large glass casings which were illuminated from the inside. An eerie feeling crept up his back. His only comfort was the soft sound of the strange, blue liquid gently stirring within the life-sized tubes.

Sans began to walk, but as soon as he stepped down, a sharp pain shot up his right leg. He quickly grasped it, shutting his eyes tightly and clenching his teeth. He had sprained his ankle. Feeling as though he had to keep moving forward, Sans stood back up and began limping down the ghostly hall. As he continued on, the hall seemed once again to be endless. Longing for a change in scenery, he decided to take a left and squeeze between the glass containers. Sans was surprised to find a large maze of the same containers laid out before him. Realizing he had made a mistake, he decided to head back on the path. But, when he turned around, all he could see were endless rows of the same glass containers. He began to grow more frightened, unsure of what was happening. Then, without warning, he heard something in the distance. "Sans!" it echoed softly. "Sans!" it grew louder. "Sans!" louder and louder every moment! Until... "SANS!" the sound was so clear, it was almost as if someone had shouted the name in his ear! And, that voice... Finally, realization struck. It was Papyrus. Sans grew frantic, running in every direction to try and find his brother. "PAPYRUS!" he called out in mad desperation. With every step, his leg pulsed in agonizing pain, but this did not vex him. The only thing he cared about was finding his brother, for it was clear by the sound of his voice, that he was in danger. "SANS!" he called out once more. Sans turned around and froze. Every glass casing had disappeared, and there Papyrus stood, about ten yards from him, with a terrified expression across his face. Sans began to run toward his brother, when two large, skeleton-like hands flew swiftly over his head and landed sharply in front of him. The oversized hands acted as a wall, which was much too massive for him to even attempt to climb. Luckily, there was a large hole in the palm of each hand. But, to his surprise, they were sealed off by some sort of magic barrier. He looked through the openings at Papyrus. A black, smokey substance crept up and grabbed him from behind. "SANS!" he cried once more, before he was enveloped in darkness. The last thing Sans saw, was his brother's dust, carried off by the wind. "PAPYRUS! NO!" Sans shouted, a look of terror swept clear across his face... Silence. His breath was the only sound that could be heard, and before he could call to his brother again, a voice crept from the darkness to his ear and whispered, "You're next".

[In the waking world…]

Sans shot up in his bed and screamed in horror. Papyrus had heard the terrifying sound and rushed to his room to see what was wrong. He swung open the door to find Sans grabbing at his skull and shaking violently. His left eye glowed a bright blue color. It burned and blazed so much, it seemed to light up the entire room. It took about 3 minutes of Papyrus calling his name before Sans finally snapped back into reality. "Papyrus?" he asked shakily. "Yes, it's me Sans." he replied, worry apparent in his voice. Sans found himself at a loss for words and was soon overcome with grief. He wrapped his arms tightly around Papyrus and began to sob uncontrollably into his chest. Papyrus held his brother closer and did his best to comfort him.

At this point, Sans's eye had stopped glowing. Papyrus worried about Sans, knowing that he could only glow one eye. He couldn't quite remember how he lost the ability to glow both eyes. He was very young when it happened, after all. Either way, it was all the more reason for Papyrus to protect him. "Shhh. It's okay Sans. I'm here."

~Present Day~

Sans sat back, the couch sinking with his weight as he stared intently at the clock. The house was dead silent. The only sound that could be heard was the constant ticking, which seemed to bounce of the walls, leaving a ringing in his ears. "What is taking him so long?" he thought. Papyrus was usually home at this time. Knowing that his brother was very late on a normal day made Sans a nervous wreck. He tried to calm himself, but something just didn't feel right. He twisted his body around, attempting to get comfortable, but his efforts were futile. There was no point in trying to rest when his chest ached so much. Finally, Sans couldn't take it anymore. He swung himself off the couch, and began to limp out the door.

When memories never seem to last,

We find ourselves forgetting the past.

Only in dreams will we recall,

The memories of things that made us fall.

-End of Chapter 1-