A quiet rustle echoes in the cave travelling out with the wind into a field outside. The young girl knew that sound too well, her head bolted up and, moving away from the cliff she was leaning against, she sat on her knees in front of a wide crack. Her heart jumped with joy when she spotted him in front of her. A wide smile placed itself on her lips as she opened her mouth to speak, but not a sound could be heard. Something felt off, very off.
An eerie aura surrounded him, his usual smile seemed dreadful, strange dust was visible on sleeves of his jacket, his shirt, shorts and slippers, some was stuck in the fur of his hood that was covering his eyes with a looming shadow.
" ****…" – She called his name. It came out as a low screeching noise, yet she didn't seem to notice – "what's wrong, where's Papyrus?" – She asked without looking around, she knew he wasn't there.
A low mocking chuckle escaped his throat and in an instant he was right in front of her – "wanna see?"
His rough voice sounded as he shrugged moving his arm to his left as if allowing her to pass.

" ****…" – another trembling screech sounded as she fought tears that were blurring his image. She hated seeing him like that. Whatever happened scared her, she wanted it to go away. Her heart ached at thought of him or Papyrus getting hurt and this… this was a clue of something even more terrifying.
Her arm reached into the cave, her palm gently tracing his cheek, as she desperately tried to comfort him. It felt like he'd break if she didn't. But her hand jolted back for a moment when she saw his grin widen in a twisted, creepy way and felt his gaze on her more intensely before a cold hand wrapped itself around her wrist. In a split second she was pulled forward with an incredible force, but her body never made contact with the ground, like she thought it would, instead her back crushed into an uneven stone sending waves of strong pain through her body. Opening her eyes she found herself locked between a cavern wall and him, his hands resting calmly on her either sides.

"I wonder, what will happen if I take a human Soul now?" – He asked calmly, his gaze fixed on her, yet distant as if he was talking to himself.
She looked up to meet what his hood was successfully hiding before. In dark vastness two scarlet lights with a hint of purple in one, stared back at her smaller, trembling self. What had happened to him? What could she do to make things better? Questions clouded her mind and before she realized it her body moved on its own. Slowly raising her arms she carefully held his head pulling him closer, he raised a brow curiously examining her movements, but didn't stop her in any way.
"Whatever happened, tell me, I'll help with anything I can…" – she spoke gathering her thoughts – "just please, please come back to me" – her weak voice whispered making warm tears fall faster.
"Anything?" – He repeated wrapping his arms around her frame – "thank you"

Her body arched back as a sharp pain pierced her waist and neck, her grip tightening on soft fabric. Her eyes moved in a quickened pace as panic overwhelmed her senses and she tried to find something familiar before locking with scarlet orbs once again. Her mouth opened up as she tried to speak, but only a quiet whimper found its way out.

Her vision blurred slowly until finally darkness swallowed her. Far in the distance a quiet laughter echoed.

Casey's eyes shot open as she gasped for air.
"Nightmare?" – She half-whispered – "such a vivid one…"
She scratched the back of her head snuggling more comfortably in her blanket. A soft breeze gashing through a half open window casted all the bad thoughts away. Chirping of few birds could be heard so close to her, if felt peaceful and calm, exactly what she needed. She closed her eyes relaxing her muscles, strangely enough she could still feel where she was stabbed in the nightmare. A weird sensation she knew her mind made up.

"Honey, are you awake?" – Her mom's voice sounded from the other side of the room's door after a loud knock.
"Yeah, mom. What's up?"
"The ceiling" – the woman answered growing silent right after, waiting for a response. After a short pause she heard her daughter sigh.
After few more seconds footsteps echoed and the door opened revealing half-asleep Casey: nightmare of a bird's nest for her hair, her pajama was a clutter of unidentified matter revealing both her belly and shoulder. She looked at her mother with half-closed dead eyes, lazily scratching her butt.
"Oh my, you look like a homeless lady that ran away from a nuclear blast, honey"
"Thanks"
"So I'm going to the town for a while, you want anything"
"Tea, please"
"Ok, but that's not why I came here"
"Mhmm" – Casey muttered. Of course it wasn't.
"Please take care of the house while I'm gone, we're going to have guests today" – her voice was gradually getting further and quieter as she walked towards the front door.
"Will do… Wait guests? When?"
"Evening, around seven or eight. Bye-bye"

The door shut closed and Casey was left alone in the house. She shook her head getting back into her room and sat down on the bed. Unfolding a piece of paper from her nightstand she stared at it, rereading the small note scribbled on it in a messy handwriting.
"In two days" – she mumbled under her breath – "and why did Papyrus have to choose today? Or why did the guests have to choose today? Whoever they are I hope they wouldn't be too upset if I'm late"

After zoning out for a little bit more Casey finally got up. Changing her appearance from a deformed witch to a regular human being didn't take long: taking a shower she put on a red plaid sleeveless hoodie and dark blue slim pants. Soon after she was in front of her PC in a company with her breakfast and a random movie she found online.
The entirely of next couple of hours she, unwillingly and lazily, dedicated to feeding the few animals they had in their little farm and cleaning the house, which, to her great delight, was already mainly clean and neat.

As the sun made its way through the sky, wind carried few stray clouds along, casting shadowy forms among the green of the earth. Bathing in warm rays of gold a young girl made her way to high cliffs of Mt. Ebott, excited to meet her new friend once again. There was so much she wanted to ask and double as much to tell: if he's never seen the world she wanted to show him. Thinking back at his excited rambling made a warm smile appear on her face.
It's been little over a week and, although she met Papyrus only once, she already missed him. Maybe it simply was the childish side within her waking up with a thrill of meeting someone new. She didn't know for sure, but was happy they met.

A quiet hum escaped her small smile, muted by the gushing wind. It soon grew to none when far, barely audible voices reached the girl's ears. One was too familiar and unique to ever mistake for any other: Papyrus, the other she recognized as the deep voice from her first visit. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Papyrus sounded annoyed, while the other guy was laughing his ass off. That kind of sounded nice: the laughter.
Papyrus told her a bit about him, his only brother and family. According to him his brother was kind, caring, liked to joke a lot, which for some reason Papyrus hated and, above all, was very lazy. Casey never said how much she related to that last part, never wanted to break his nonexistent heart.

"Stop it!" – Papyrus' voice sounded a lot clearer – "she can be here any minute, what if she heard you?"
"You mean herd?"
"That's not even funny!" – A desperate cry echoed.
"pfff" – Casey couldn't help herself. His reaction alone was worth telling every joke that existed, no matter how bad.
But she quickly took a more serious expression – "I shouldn't laugh, Papyrus wouldn't like it. Well he is with his older brother, so I guess I'll show that I don't dislike his jokes. Yeah I'll act like an adult, that would be good for the first meeting"
"What's that sound?" – Papyrus' voice broke her from her thoughts and she got off of her horse to continue her way on foot, in a quickened pace.
A bright smile covered her lips when her eyes rested on her friend – "That's Cinis, my close friend" – she said holding her arm out to the side that was soon covered by a large grey head as the girl rubbed its neck – "you wanna pet him? He's really gentle"
"I… I can't" – a response followed, Papyrus' voice quiet.
"Don't worry, he's harmless" – she smiled looking back at him. She cooed he head to the side in curiosity when the skeleton seemed discouraged – "Papyrus, what's wrong?"
"You see, there's a barrier around this place" – he said reaching out to the crack.
He didn't move it beyond one point, a weak trembling was barely noticeable when he tried to push, air shaking violently around his palm – "anything can come through, but nothing can leave"

A short silence fell between them, Casey couldn't help but feel guilty for asking. It felt like she made him sad, even though she knew that wasn't true.
"Hold on" – she smiled once again when an idea came to mind. Turning around she disappeared between the trees, soon after that the sound of her footsteps vanished too leaving complete emptiness behind.
It was, at least, ten minutes before she was back, breathing somewhat heavy, a handful of herbs and flowers in her grasp. When in front of the gap she called for her companion, once at his full attention she waved the treat above her head then sticking her arm through the opening stretched it as far as she could. Within few moments the creature's head was already past the point of the barrier, nipping on the herbs slowly.
"Now you can" – Casey breathed out watching Papyrus' shocked expression – "what are you waiting for? Pet him while he's eating"
"Are you sure it's safe?" – Asked the deep voice somewhere from darkness.
"I'm sure. Cinis is the nicest horse you'll see, there's absolutely no danger. Besides Papyrus is literally made of bones, there's no way for him to bite or hurt your brother in any way"

Hesitantly the tall skeleton took a step forward placing his large hand on the animal. While he stoked the creature in complete awe, Casey tried her best to spot the mysterious brother Papyrus was talking so much of, but despite her best effort couldn't find the guy anywhere.

"There he goes…" – Casey muttered almost to herself after her hand was empty and she let her horse roam.
"Wowie, I've never seen anything like that before. Thank you, human Casey" – Papyrus said a bit louder than usually and, before getting any kind of response, turned his head to the shadows – "see? I told you she was nice"
"Yap, sorry I didn't believe you, bro" – the voice stated getting closer slowly – "guess I should introduce myself, eh? The name's Sans, Sans the skeleton"
The guy, now bathing in warm golden sunlight, winked at her. Though it made Casey slightly uncomfortable, she didn't avert her gaze and took this chance to examine him thoroughly.

He had an average height, though his body looked larger than of most humans she'd met. His head war round, with a wide, calm grin that seemingly never faded. In the middle of his eye sockets calmly floated bright white pins, like fireflies.
He was wearing a plain black shirt underneath a cozy looking sky-blue jacket with fur lined hood, black pants and pink fluffy slippers. Strange enough he looked chubby, not exactly typical for a skeleton, but a fact she couldn't overlook.

She stared at him for a bit, her mind rapidly trying to force the fading vision unveil. Her instincts we demanding to stay away from him as her memories flooded her consciousness.


The deed was done, the last monster fell: a small price to pay for so much power, there was no need to feel bad to begin with.
"What do ya say we do now, Pap?" – A cheery voice echoed in complete emptiness of the waterfall and the voice in his head answered him.
"Casey will be waiting for us today, we shouldn't miss our meeting. She's a weak human, but she'll prove useful"
His smile widened and a playful chuckle erupted from his chest. For a moment he stopped, his magic glowing brightly in his left eye was in constant battle with the newfound LOVE and determination for domination. Blue and red were flashing in order, overlapping each other or swirling like a storm, unable to stop. Until finally it calmed glowing faint purple, allowing him to regain control over his magic: taking a step forward he moved to where she was.

Moments later he saw her smaller figure. Her form was covered in haze, yet he could see her cheerful smile, bright like the sunlight surrounding her. Her faded voice soon shifted to confusion then worry as she called his name.
"Where's Papyrus?" – She asked.
"Hear that, bro?" – His mind questioned in amusement – "she wants to see you"
"Then let's show her" – the voice in his head responded.
He chuckled taking a shortcut to her – "wanna see?" – He bowed his head slightly, guiding the way with a stretched out arm.
Another dim echo of his name sounded as she reached inside, her fingers tracing his features.
"Now's your chance" – the voice whispered to him – "she's vulnerable"
What a naïve girl

Grabbing her wrist he took a step back and pulled. With almost no resistance her Soul was inside the barrier, within his grasp. A drop of blood caught his eye in a fresh wound that, probably, a sharp rock opened. So exciting.
Catching her mid-air with his free hand he slammed her body against a wall. Now she was closer to him than ever, entirely at his mercy, he liked that feeling. He calmly observed as her hands moved up, pulling him closer to her neck.
"Whatever happened, tell me, I'll help with anything I can… Just please, please come back to me" – her voice, weaker than ever pleaded making his Soul sting for a split second.
"Anything?" – He repeated wrapping his arms around her waist and the voice in his head laughed.
"Thank you" – he whispered in her ear watching a pure white bone form in front of him.

Sans' eyes slowly opened, but he didn't move: another nightmare. He groaned mentally, feeling sick of these constant ordeals. It would've helped if he remembered more than only few of them. Rising his hand above his head he stared as it trembled softly.
"The hell did I see?" – He muttered under his breath – "it was a human wasn't it? Why is it always a human? They don't even scare me"

Letting out a sigh he closed his eyes again. Even if for a short while he wanted to sleep again or, at least, rest his mind, before Papyrus forces him to travel all the way to the gap. Normally he wouldn't mind, but to go there for a human didn't excite him in the slightest, becoming friends with one wasn't on his bucket list either.
"What's so great about her anyway?" – He groaned – "just another selfish asshole that will stab us in the back" – his mumbling continued for a while longer, before a voice from downstairs yelling something about breakfast.
He wasn't really hungry, so lying a while longer wouldn't hurt or change much. Shifting in bed he found a comfortable position and doze off.

"..ns? Sans!" – Papyrus' voice sounded in the small room echoing from walls – "spaghetti's already getting cold, you should eat before we go. The human will be waiting for us"
"Ok, ok, I'm up" – Sans grumbled as he sat up, his legs dangling from the edge of the bed – "Just let me change and we'll spagett going"
His brother only sighed rubbing his nose, or the area where it should've been, earning a quiet chuckle from him.
"By the way" – he continued taking a more serious tone – "what do you mean "she'll be waiting for us"? I'm not sticking around a human and, frankly, you shouldn't either"
"Yes you are, brother. And I'm telling you, that human is my friend, she would never hurt me"
"How many humans have you seen before?" – Sans' voice turned serious and, in a way, scolding. He preferred not to talk to Papyrus that way, but this time the situation was dangerous. If Sans could convince him to stay away, it was worth it.
"Only Casey" – the tall skeleton answered, tilting his head in confusion.
"In that case, since when do you know how humans behave?"
"You don't either" – Papyrus said quietly – "you haven't seen one yourself"

Silence hung over them and after a while Papyrus exited the room saying he'll wait downstairs. Sans had no idea how to argue with that. He has seen humans before, he had met few, he had killed few and he hated all of them. Selfish, egotistical creatures with a façade of kindness that disappeared in a flash once their opponent was deceived, some were cruel, others killed calling it a self-defense: those were the humans and Sans knew better than to trust any of them.
He knew all that, yet couldn't tell anything to his brother. He had no other choice, but to find another way to deal with the situation.

In a short while they stepped into the town. It was currently empty with only one guy around, as the massive ice cubes floating down the river evidenced. Once far enough in Waterfall caverns Sans stopped looking up at his brother.
"Ready?" – He asked holding out his hand. As soon as he felt a gloved hand in his own he looked ahead taking a step forward.
For a moment everything went black, all sounds died away: the water, the wind, his own breath were nothing but dead silence. As the moment passed and the scenery changed they found themselves in yet another cave, dark and empty. Narrow black path in front of them, deep dark water behind. Only few feet away bright golden light poured in. The moment his gaze rested on warm rays his Soul calmed as if was waiting for it.

Without thinking about it he took few steps and sat down under sunlight, leaning against a cavern wall and his smile widened slightly.

"You really like it here" – Papyrus' voice spoke as he sat down next to his brother – "and to think you refused to come"
"Hey, I like the sun, what I don't like is your 'friend'. You might think that humans have changed, but they're still the same, even after all these years"
"Still demons without mercy" – he continued in his mind.
"You're exaggerating, Sans. I'm sure you'll like Casey when you meet her"
"I wish I was and I highly doubt it"
He looked outside as he muttered those words, though Papyrus didn't seem to have heard and kept rambling about the human, Undyne and the Royal Guard. Sans blocked most of it letting himself get completely absorbed in sensations still not familiar to him.
Strange sweet scent gushed in with the wind, fading in a heartbeat. He could see few trees in the distance, their leaves moving slowly in gentle wind. Through branches he saw the sun: a beautiful golden orb far in the sky. For reasons unknown to him it made him feel helpless and small, but he didn't hate it, subconsciously he welcomed it as part of something greater and infinitely stronger then himself.

"… and Undyne specifically said beans" – Paprus' voice echoed slightly louder bringing Sans back to reality – "but you know I don't like them, so now I don't know what to use instead"
"Ya know, I've bean thinking about it, but carrot come up with any replacement"
"Sans, please…"
"Lettuce think about it when we're home"
"Sans!"
"What? You sound like you don't wanna figure out the pearfect recipe"
"Sans, I swear"
"Bro, this is your one in a melon chance to impress Undyne. Ya don't wanna miss it"
"Stop it!" – Papyrus' eye twitched as he yelled – "she can get here any minute, what if she heard?"
Sans didn't even try to hide his amusement, laughing harder with each word.
"You mean herd?" – He breathed out between little chuckles wiping away tears just for new ones to fall.
"That's not even funny!" – His brother yelled burying his face in his palms in defeat.

Their voices got quitter then vanished when a strange sound became clearer, a clattering noise Sans thought he had heard before, but couldn't recall: too soft for metal, too heavy for footsteps, yet rhythmical like a human's heartbeat. He stared outside, waiting to get a glimpse of whatever it was.
"What's that sound?" – His brother asked as they both stood up.
Papyrus stepped closer to the gap, while Sans walked back into the shadow, his hand hanging by his side ready to unleash the suppressed magic if danger was to bestow upon his brother.
Sans saw the tall skeleton's face light up and heard a voice. A crystal clear, soft voice of, evidently, young woman. He heard her talk, but the words weren't clear as he concentrated solely on her voice waiting for it to hint at her ill intent, but it remained innocent and beautiful.
It suddenly stopped snapping Sans out of his daze. Regaining his senses he opened his eyes looking forward: Papyrus looked down, sad even.
"The hell did she tell him?" – Sans' mind raged, his eyes darkening.
He wanted to talk to his brother, but held himself back. If this goes on long enough it might work in his favor, he might be able to finally convince Papyrus to stay away from that human, to prove that they don't possess anything positive.

But what came next startled him enough for all those thoughts to disappear. He jumped back a little when a delicate looking arm entered the dark cave. Green plants, as well as few white, purple and yellow flowers in the stretched out hand were long past the barrier. Soon after a large grey head of an animal followed inside.
"Kinda looks like Aaron…" – he thought raising a brow bone.
"Now you can" – her soft voice echoed again – "what are you standing there for? Pet him while he's eating"
"Wait, pet that thing? Is she insane?" – Sans thought.
"Are you sure it's safe?" – He scoffed staring at the animal. It looked dangerous, the sheer size of it couldn't let him trust any movement it made.
No wonder humans get along so well with something like that.

"I'm sure. Cinis is the nicest horse you'll see, there's absolutely no danger. Besides Papyrus is literally made of bones, there's no way for him to bite or hurt your brother in any way" – her voice answered. He could tell she was smiling.
Sans watched carefully as his brother stepped closer and reached out to the thing, it didn't flinch at the touch. Strangely enough he thought the creature was watching him instead.
When it was over and, both the creature and the human's arm, were out he heard his brother's excited voice, before he looked at Sans.
"See, I told you she was nice" – he yelled looking proud of his friend.
"Yep, sorry I didn't believe you, bro" – he said calmly shifting his gaze to the crack as he began walking towards it in an arc – "guess I should introduce myself, eh? The name's Sans, Sans the skeleton"
He winked at the girl as he stood in the light, but she only stared at him. He took the time to examine her in turn.

She was a couple of inches shorter then himself, around 5'3" with slightly plump hour-glass figure. Her skin was of olive color, her short, wavy chocolate hair shone with gold under bright rays. But what interested him the most were her eyes, he took a step closer to take a better look: she had a pair of large almond shaped hazel eyes with a large brown spot in her left one. He'd never seen anything like that before, needless to say it piqued his curiosity quite a bit.
With another step he noticed her eyes traveling in all directions before resting on him once more. Sans chuckled under his breath at the thought of her feeling uncomfortable. Plump lips on her small mouth curved a small smile at his approach, but he only raised a brow at that not even trying to hide his annoyance.
She sat down watching him with no visible fear or concern and that pissed him off even more, but he knew he couldn't do anything, not while Papyrus was around. But that was fine, for now he could use her. He could get rid of her weak Soul after she had nothing left to offer.

Just like in that dream.

A/N
I intended this to be a cute, innocent story. Just saying