Sorry for delay. Keep forgetting to upload, so here's the rest. It was all on AO3 before here. Sorry...
Chapter 2: Middle
Clocks ticked in his head as Sans opened his eyes. He was in his room again. His cell phone alarm wasn't going off.
He rolled out of bed, pulling his coat and slippers on. Then he checked his phone. Just after noon. The date was the same as…
Papyrus going to befriend the human. The knife. Dust. Kill or be killed.
Sans frowned. Coincidence. He just had another rotten dream, that's all. Nothing to panic over.
The sky was dark. Snow was falling gently. It was just the same as every other day in Snowdin.
Then why was it so eerily similar to his dreams? Nightmares?
"SANS! GET UP! YOU HAVE SENTRY DUTY TODAY!"
Sans let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Papyrus was okay. Just a dream. Everything was fine.
He went through the usual motions that came with getting up. He wandered downstairs, had breakfast—Papyrus insisted it was lunchtime, NOT breakfast—and headed out to his sentry station near the ruins with his bro. The same things he did every day.
The same things he did in his dreams.
"—THINK EVERYONE DESERVES A FRIEND. PERHAPS THEN THE HUMAN WILL BE MORE FRIENDLY TOWARD US."
Sans jolted at that. Wait! Had Papyrus just said what he'd thought Papyrus said? The same conversation from—
"SEE YOU LATER, BROT—"
"wait!"
Sans reached out, catching Papyrus' elbow joint before the taller could dart away. He was nearly dragged over the counter of his station but Papyrus managed to stop before succeeding in that.
"uh… i got a better idea. i'm up for some of the exercise you do in the mornings. the, uh…"
"BUT THE HUMAN—"
"can wait until later. look at me, bro. i need the exercise. come on, humor me."
This was stupid. He was letting some messed up dreams get the better of him. But…it had been so realistic. If anything ever happened to Papyrus, especially something like that, Sans would never forgive himself.
He was an older brother. Sue him for playing in his sibling's best interest.
Even if it was fueled by dreams.
"YOU…REALLY WANT TO EXERCISE WITH ME?"
"yeah. sure. let's just…wait on the human thing. they aren't going anywhere."
"…OKAY!"
So they jogged. Well, Papyrus sprinted. Sans jogged at the start…and slowed to a crawl near the cliffs. Sweat ran down his skull.
maybe going for exercise as an excuse wasn't smart. i'm out of shape, Sans decided, wheezing.
"SANS! LOOK!"
"huh?"
Sans looked up to see Papyrus up ahead. He was pointing excitedly at something. Sans pushed his legs to keep moving until he reached his sibling.
There was the table and the microwave and the plate of frozen spaghetti. All a distraction crafted by Papyrus for the human. A distraction that the human did not go for.
"THERE'S A NOTE! I BET IT'S FROM A FAN!" Papyrus declared, scooping up the plate and the sheet of paper tucked under it.
"sweet, bro. told you that you had some," Sans smiled, wandering over to the unplugged microwave.
"OOOOH! SANS, LISTEN! WHOEVER WROTE THIS IS VERY SWEET INDEED! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM SO VERY HAPPY!"
Sans smiled, fingering the chilly cord. "i bet, bro. told you that people loved you. you're the coolest, after all."
"LISTEN TO THIS!" Papyrus gushed, "DEAR THE GREAT PAPYRUS—THEY CALLED ME THE GREAT PAPYRUS!—I HAVE LEFT THIS SPAGHETTI FOR YOU AS A TOKEN OF OUR FRIENDSHIP. PLEASE ACCEPT IT. FORGIVE MY SHYNESS. I HOPE WE CAN BE THE CLOSEST OF FRIENDS ONE DAY. LOVE, A FAN. DID YOU HEAR THAT, SANS? THEY PUT 'LOVE' AT THE END!"
"told you, bro. you got fans all ov—"
Sans turned to see a small frame dart from the trees. The glint of metal caught his eye first.
A knife. The human.
NO!
"pap—"
And just like that, in the span of a second, the one he treasured most was taken away…again.
Slashes and stabs tore through Papyrus' battle body and scarf, exposing bones to be broken and dusted. The plate of spaghetti fell to the snow and the note was pulled away by the wind.
A trap. The kid set a trap! But how? What did they want with Papyrus? How did they know he'd bring Papyrus here?
…Unless the dream hadn't been a dream…
Papyrus fell, reduced to dust once again. Red, glaring eyes smiled at the destruction. Sans froze before lunging. Maybe if he kept all the dust, Alphys could bring Papyrus back!
The child smiled, stepping in Sans' path. Thrusting a hand forward, they caught Sans' shirt collar and yanked him sideways. Sans coughed, trying to lurch away. He was too caught up in his disbelief that the kid's words cut through him like a knife.
"You can't escape this never-ending nightmare, Sans."
Never ending? Then the dreams had been real?
Was this going to happen every time he woke up now? Was he going to have to watch Papyrus die every day? How? Why?
The child shoved Sans backward, sending the skeleton crashing into the snow. The world seemed to turn black around them. A glowing box appeared before the child. They pressed a hand to it.
"Let's RESET and do this again! Just like at Judgment Hall! Only I'll be winning, not you!"
Reset? Again? No!
Sans wasn't going to let this happen again. Not this cruel fate. Not to Papyrus!
He'd stop this kid. Somehow. Someway. He'd save Papyrus. Save everyone!
Somehow…
Someday…