Part 2: Happy days
Sans still remembers that fateful Tuesday when he arrived home from work, only to find Papyrus uncharacteristically gone. Although Sans has a job in an unlicensed hotdog stand, his brother didn't really have any job to speak of, or that many friends to hang out with in general, so there wasn't really any good reason for him to be away for so long. Hence Sans' surprise when he arrived home on that day during his self-scheduled break, only for no one to greet him. At first, he assumed that Papyrus was simply in his room, too busy doing his daily exercises, cleaning and/or web browsing, but when Sans went to look, his room was completely empty. After that, Sans' looked in the kitchen, the basement, under the sofa, and even checked his own room which Papyrus knew never enter without permission. In the end, the only trace Sans' could find of his little brother in the house was his phone. Sans was starting to be concerned, because even if there was a good reason for him to leave, why didn't he take his phone with him. And if that wasn't possible for some reason, why didn't he at least leave a note.
Sans was starting to head out and look for questions, but as he put on the jacket, he glanced at the kitchen and noticed something that made Sans feel like the biggest idiot in the underground. If he hadn't, he would most likely have spent all day wandering around the underground completely clueless, because, under the kitchen table, there was a note with something scribbled on it. All the windows were open, which meant that the heavy wind that was earlier that day must have blown it away to its current location. Sans couldn't believe it. He was in such a panicked state that he somehow didn't think about looking under the table.
Sans gave a type of sigh that was a mix of relief and annoyance and then headed to the kitchen. He picked up the note and began reading. It said:
Dear Sans (unless the one reading this really isn't Sans, which in that case, what in the blimey naysayers are you doing in our home? There are only two people who live in this house and I definitely can't think of any reason why future me would want to read this (but if this really is future me, then I just have to say: I can't wait to be you).
Are you a burglar of some sort? If so, have you no shame? Do you want to spend the rest of your life like this, burgling others monsters hard work? Just because you have no real morals doesn't mean that its right to break the law like that. And (wait, is it really a new sentence if you start it with "and"?) besides the fact that we are literally the richest people in Snowdin with countless valuables to speak of, why would you bother with our house when there are countless other houses in town just ripe for burgling (don't actually rob another house though, this was just an example). Well, either way, my brother Sans would be coming home soon and he will definitely teach you a lesson. Shame on you.
But if you are just somebody that accidentally wandered into the wrong house and just happened to own a key of similar shape, then sorry for the misunderstanding)
I kind of forgot what I was about to write about. I think some strange creature entered my ear hole and began toying with my mind. It may have OH WAIT. I remember now. The creatures must have very regretful and returned the memories.
So anyway, you are probably wondering where I am at this time (if you really are Sans that is, but if not, then why did you bother reading this far?) but I have finally gotten the courage. Today is a big day not just for me, but for us. It's a day above all other days. Today, I am finally going to-
But as Sans was reading it, he was bothered by a loud noise that came out of the blue. Somewhere behind him, there came a loud bang like the front door was being blown off its hinges and with it, came an even louder voice that was overly familiar to Sans, that shouted:
"SANS, I DID IT."
It was the voice of his brother, Papyrus, and when Sans heard it, he was filled with relief.
"Gee, you scared me," he said. "If I had a heart, it would now be on parole for physical assault."
"Sans, you dumb, dumb," said Papyrus. "Hearts don't know the concept of legality. Also, hearts can't physically attack- OH GOD DAMMIT SANS. NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR JOKES AND TOMFOOLERY. THIS VERY IMPORTANT."
"Woah, sorry bro," said Sans. "Didn't realize you lost your funny bone."
"SANS, I SWEAR TO…"
Papyrus was suddenly silent.
"You know as much as it hurts me," he began. "I'm gonna let this one slide because I have incredible news. Something spectacular just happened."
Even before he answered, Sans knew what had happened. There were very few things that could have made his brother happy, and with a quick process of elimination, there was one possibility remaining. But he also wanted his brother to have his moment, so Sans decided to play dumb.
"All right," he began. "What happened?"
Papyrus now looked like he was on the verge on the verge of tears, happy tears in fact.
"I did it," he said.
"Did what?" asked Sans.
Papyrus then took a deep breath, and shouted:
"I HAVE BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL HUNT."
Sans smiled. Not only did he called it, but it was also something he hoped what was happening.
"Wow," he said. "That's amazing news."
"I did it, Sans," said Papyrus as he began walking in back and forth. "I did it, do you know what it means brother? It's finally happening Sans, IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING. I am going to become a hero now. People will adore and faint over me. I am going to spoken about amongst the greats down here. I'll be as famous as Gerson, Undyne and Mickey and hell, maybe even as famous King Asgore himself. I am going to become popular Sans. POPULAR."
And then Papyrus ran into his room faster than Sans could react. He sat down on his desk and began frantically typing on his computer.
"I must tell everyone online about this," he said as if Sans was in the room with him. "The whole underground must know that there is a new hero coming soon."
"Hang on, soon?" asked Sans who was now suddenly in the room. "Don't you mean right now?"
Papyrus was slightly spooked. He hadn't heard Sans enter the room. Not to mention, he was downstairs in the living room only a few seconds before. However, as strange as it sounds, this wasn't that unusual or even that unexpected. Nor was it something that bothered him, because as long as he could remember, Sans always seemed to have the strange ability to seemingly warp to places in what seemed like an instant. Whenever anyone asked him about this bizarre and powerful talent, Sans always just claims that he "used a shortcut". To do this day, no monsters except for maybe Sans and his father knew what he meant by that.
The thing that did bother Papyrus, however, was that Sans' question. It made him realize that he may have not been entirely truthful to his big brother.
He turned his chair around so that he faced his brother. He looked at the floor in slight shame and began to scratch the back of his skull with his bony fingers.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention," he said. "I may or may not have been one hundred per cent honest with you."
He now turned his head, so that his eye sockets were meeting his brothers. Sans excitement began turning into worry.
"Y'see, there is a test on Saturday. At least I think its a test, I'm not really sure. Mickey wasn't very clear on that. But it's all right, the test will be easy-peasy."
"Oh," replied Sans. He tried his best to not sound disappointed, even though he obviously somewhat was.
"Now I don't want to be a downer," he continued. "But don't you think this is a bit of a premature celebration? Now don't mistake me, I'm sure you can pass the test and whatever it holds with ease, but shouldn't you save this energy for, y'know, after you pass it, when you have officially become a member? That way, you have even more reasons to celebrate, because then it will be written down, and everyone will know it."
Papyrus didn't answer for a while, and instead, he put one of his hands under his jaw and presumed his thinking position.
"Hmmm," he said. "Those are some pretty good points. Hadn't considered them for some reason."
If Sans was being truthful, the actual reason he said those things was because he wasn't completely certain that his brother would pass. He wasn't proud of these thoughts, so he kept them to himself.
Papyrus put his hands away from his jaw, which signified that he had stopped thinking for the moment.
"Yeah I guess you're right," he said. "But either way, I might as well celebrate now, because I'm practically already a member. All I have to do is join them for two days, how hard can it be?"
Most of Sans worries went away when he heard that. His brother wasn't exaggerating when he said that he would beat it in no time. This "test" sounded incredibly easy for Papyrus.
"Oh wow, that's it?" asked Sans.
"Indeed," said his brother. "Joining them for two days? I guess they don't know that I have joined them for weeks and months, simply in my dreams and my imaginary battle scapes."
"I mean if that's all it takes bro," said Sans. "Then you are right, you might as well have already passed it."
"That is correct, good to know that we are on the same mindset brother."
But as he was leaving, Sans realized something. Something important.
"Hang on," said Sans "Why didn't you take your phone with you?"
Papyrus made a move as if to answer but then paused in apparent realization. Then he began to frantically check all his pockets.
"I… uhh… I."
When he saw his phone laying on his desk, he stopped checking.
"I didn't take it with me because… uhh," he began. "uhh… the reason was… that I didn't want anyone to interrupt me. You see…um, bargaining is a very hard technique to master. Anyone can do it, but you need to put your utmost concentration in it to perfect it."
Sans didn't buy that.
"You forgot your phone, didn't you?"
"What? Pfffft, no," said Papyrus. "I am the great Papyrus, and I never forget things… ok, sometimes I forget things, like reasons for things… and uhh... math. Like I am sure there was a good reason for me not to take my phone with me, I just need to think hard and the answer will come back to me."
"Well, either way," said Sans. "I am proud of you,"
Papyrus looked happy when he heard that. He knew his brother truly meant it.
"Anyway I need some privacy now," he said. "Because I, the great and soon to be Royal Huntsman Papyrus have work to do. I must go on the web and let the world know to expect greatness."
With that said, he turned his chair back around and he began to type away. Sans then proceeded to leave.
"Close the door brother," said Papyrus. "Writing on the web is like mastering bargaining. It requires immense concentration."
"Yeah, yeah," said Sans and closed the door.
As he wandered down to the kitchen to make dinner, he thought a lot about what lay ahead of them, and he began to realize that his worry was maybe somewhat unnecessary. Papyrus was very powerful, and such a test was easy for someone like him.
Now Sans was not the type of monster who tried to make everything about himself, who tried to make every tragedy or success to somehow relate back to him, but for the first time in years, Sans was truly happy.
...
For the next couple of days, until Saturday of course, their house was a whirlpool of energy. Every morning on their dinner table, Papyrus would go on and on about his plans for the big day, how he would impress Mickey and the rest, and how they would praise him immensely. He also didn't forget to mention what he planned to do after the test when he was a royal guard, and most of these stories involved massive fantasies of fame and fortune. Sans had most of the time just woken up during these long storytelling hours, so he could barely listen and so he just nodded in reply most of the time. When Sans was at work or at Grillby's, Papyrus would spend be in his room, exercising, drinking milk, fancying himself in the mirror while talking to himself, and last but not least, browse the monster web where he seemed to have suddenly gained a large influx of followers after revealing his invite into The Royal Hunt. During the nights where he managed to sleep, he dreamt of heroic deeds and the wailing of fangirls. He would always be angry at Sans for waking him up while he was on the verge of being drowned in kisses.
But now the big had finally come. It was now Saturday morning, and the energy in the house couldn't have been higher. Sans was dead tired like usual, only now he wasn't the sleepiest monster in the house. Papyrus took the prize this time. He hadn't slept at all last night, as one tends to do when overwhelmed by an abundance of excitement.
But in a way, Sans suspected it would happen. Ever since Papyrus returned home after that fateful meeting on Tuesday he had been so happy and full of excitement that Sans was almost certain that such a high amount of energy would culminate to such an incredibly high extent in the last night before the big event that it would be almost as powerful as him being drunk on a few gallons worth of energy drinks. Sans, of course, tried to convince him in taking sleeping medicine, or at least something that could calm his metaphysical nerves, but Papyrus was so stubborn that he refused any type of medicine Sans offered, claiming on multiple occasions that they would "poisons his passion."
Sans once considered for a moment to sneak some pills in his brother's dinner, but then quickly changed his mind after realizing that it would be kind of a dick move, and would probably put a damper on their relationship.
But overall, Sans was proud to see his little brother be so glad. The last time he had seen his brother be close to this kind of level of overjoyed was when he found out that the Royal Guard was returning in a way, although under new leadership and with a couple of changes, most notably the name. However, that frenzy of joy for Papyrus was a follow up to his years of depression and sadness, so in a way, that day was more of an ending to his accumulated grief than anything else.
Papyrus had spent years preparing for this day, and Sans tried his best to support him all the way through. This was his dream, and it was closer than ever in coming to was only one challenge remaining, one remaining test, and Sans was more than certain that his brother would pass it.
"SANS!" shouted Papyrus from his upstairs bedroom."WHERE IS MY SPECIAL ATTACK!?"
Currently, Papyrus was frantically looking for his "Special attack", which was the name of his favourite pile of magical bone weapons. These bones were gifted to him by his grandfather before the old skeleton moved to a farm and isolated himself from the rest of the underground. Meanwhile Sans was downstairs in the living room, laying on the couch, eating a leftover quiche slice, while watching whatever was on the telly
"I dunno, have you checked your drawers yet?" he replied.
Even though it was his brother's big day, he was still too lazy to move from his couch. He was never really the most organized or hard working person, but Papyrus was like the opposite in that he always managed to finish his preparations no matter the schedule. The most productive things Sans did was to wake up on time and remember to wake up his brother, only to discover that he had been awake all night.
"SANS," yelled Papyrus when he left his room saw that his brother was on the couch "STOP BEING A LAZY BONE AND HELP ME FIND IT. THEY COULD ARRIVE AT ANY MOMENT AND I NEED MY SPECIAL ATTACK READY."
"All right, fine, I'll help you look for it," said Sans. He stood up turned off the tv with the remote. "Boring show anyway."
Normally, he would simply ignore his brother's request and keep on lazing, but since this was a big day, he decided to make an exception.
"Well, where did you last put it?" Sans asked.
"I dunno," replied Papyrus as he entered the kitchen. "Do you expect me to remember where I put everything I own."
"Didn't you say a few days ago that you remember everything except for something like concepts and math?"
"Did I?" asked Papyrus in bewilderment. "Well, that's just silly."
"So what you are saying is you admit that you forgot your phone?"
"Sans what are you… OH NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT ARGUMENT AGAIN."
Papyrus, full of frustration, quickly opened up the immensely tall sink drawer in the kitchen and before he could react, piles and piles of bones began flooding out and consumed the entire kitchen floor, including the tall, frustrated skeleton.
"NO, NOT MY BONE COLLECTION," he shouted. "IT TOOK AGES TO ORGANIZE THEM."
He had been collecting bones that he would find in the underground as a hobby for a long time. He refused to have them in his room, so he instead put them in the sink. When his collection grew too large, he simply made the sink taller. When it was full again, he simply had it made taller again and so on, until the sink had become so tall, that you would need either a ladder or a big chair to use it.
"Wow," said Sans. "It looks like you're boned."
"SANS, I, uh…wait, what?" said Papyrus. "I don't get it."
"Eh, you'll get it when you're older."
As Papyrus rose up from the pile and looked around the mess that had been made, he noticed that a few of the bones stood out by a slightly different colour scheme, which to the brothers meant only one thing.
"AHA, FOUND YOU," he shouted. "Thought you could hide and run away from me? Well, not today my special attack."
With that, he brought out a paper bag and began put every bone with the odd colour scheme in a big pile.
"What were they doing there anyway?" wondered Sans.
"Don't know," said Papyrus. "And I don't care."
"Gee, you are sounding a bit grumpy today," said Sans.
"And I have every reason to be," replied Papyrus while going through the bones. "This is the biggest day of my life and everything needs to be perfect."
After Papyrus had finished putting the distinctive bones in a pile, he opened his bag wide and showed them all in, then counted them. When he was certain he had all of them, he took a deep breath and began to think.
"Ok," he began. "I've got my special attack, I've got my regular attacks, I am wearing my "battle body", and I have my books and comics in my backpack right here. Is there anything I'm missing? And before you ask, yes I remember my phone."
"Well, I am not omnipotent or whatever," replied his brother. "But I think you got everything."
Then, as if that sentence was a signal, there came a loud knock on the front door, and with it, a voice with a strange accent that was very familiar to Papyrus, that shouted.
"Wakie, wakie, you boneheads. We are here. You have 10 minutes. If you are not out by then, we will leave without you as we agreed."
It was if a massive pit had suddenly formed Papyrus' metaphysical stomach.
"He's here," he said anxiously. "Oh, my gods. Mickey is here, in Snowdin. And at… our… house."
He then rushed to Sans, put his hands on his shoulders and stared him straight into his eye sockets.
"Oh gods, this feeling, it's too much," he said and began to shake. "I can't do this. The pressure is too much."
Sans had no real idea of how to calm someone on the verge of freaking out, but he tried to do his best for his little brother.
"All right bro, just calm down," he said. "Just breathe in and relax."
"Oh gods I can't take it," said Papyrus. "Can you go answer the door? I'll just stay here and wait."
"Bro, if the pressure is getting to you, we can open it together ok?"
There was another knock on the door, and the same voice shouted:
"Hey, what's the fucking hold up. I know you are awake. I can hear your voices."
Papyrus then looked at the front door and took a deep breath.
"Y'know what," he began. "No. This is my day, and I will open the door alone."
And so, Papyrus began to conquer his pressure and headed towards the door. Then he put his hands on the knob and paused for a moment. He then heard another voice talking behind the door.
"What if he's not coming?" asked the new voice.
"Oh, he will," said the familiar voice. "Trust me."
With that, Papyrus braved himself and thrust open the door, and was then greeted by a marvellous sight. In front of him stood 2 monsters clad in the official armour of The Royal Hunt. The armours had a certain aspect to them that made them stand out immensely among the crowds. To Papyrus and most monsters, they looked like black angels that came from far above. The platemail looked very expensive and master crafted, and was almost completely black, which meant that it would be hard to spot them in the dark. Complementing the black colour scheme were dark brown leather gloves with black fur, and they were covered by metal platings on top. The boots followed a similar suit, in that they were made of the same type of leather and black fur with some metal plaitings on top. There was also a large black hood, to cover up their head. There were also multiple runes and symbols carved in incredible detail on every plate and leather, the most notable which was the carving of The Royal Hunt insignia that was painted on the chestplate.
But the most notable thing about the set, which was considered iconic by many monsters, was the helmets. Or masks, as they are more rightly called. They appeared to be made of solid black metal and featured a very detailed sculpture of the blank looking expression of a creature that resembled a monkey, with small lips, angry looking eyebrows, and cold, dead looking eyes. The only holes on the masks were the ones for the eyes, nose and mouth of the wearer. These masks were said to be a reflection of humanity, as a constant reminder to every monster of their true enemy.
The 2 monsters that were dressed in the aforementioned armour were of similar height, but they had completely different builds so that it was easy to tell them apart. Not only that, the skinny one had a hairy tail, dangling from his back end. The one that was slightly taller and more muscular was obviously Mickey, as he had the build larger than life aura as Papyrus had seen before. On the other hand, the one with the tail was very skinny and hunched over. Papyrus knew who he was, as he knew the names and look of almost every member of The Royal Hunt. He was an ape monster like Mickey and a powerful sorcerer. He was a very quiet person and had very rarely spoken a word in public, hence why no one knew what his real name was except for maybe other members of The Royal hunt, and so he was dubbed by the public as "Quiet Willy." There were theories that he was a mute, but since there was no other person around that could have possibly been chatting with Mickey, Papyrus was certain that this theory was now put to rest.
Papyrus was shaking. He couldn't believe it, but right in front of him stood 2 famous warriors that he was a massive fan of. This was too good to be true, and he almost believed he was dreaming. If this was a dream, then he did not want to wake up. Not in hundreds of years.
"Ahh, you're awake," said Mickey. "Good, that's very good indeed."
Papyrus was stunned, and could barely utter a word.
"Sha-shall, we go now?" was all he could mutter.
Mickey chuckled in reply.
"Relax, relax," said Mickey. "Don't get hasty now ok? The hunt won't officially start until later today. We have plenty of time to wait."
Sans stood in the living room and listened curiously to this conversation.
"Hey I was thinking," said Mickey. "Since we have some time, could you invite us in? It's cold out here, and there's nothing to do. Besides, you have plenty of space, right?"
Papyrus froze even harder.
"I...uhh...I-" he muttered.
"Sure, come on in," said Sans. Even though Papyrus would normally be annoyed in his brother answering for him, this time, he was more than grateful.
"Great," said Mickey and then looked at his silent compatriot.
"Hey, Wills?" Mickey said to him. "Stay outside and watch my back. If you see anyone acting suspiciously then, well... do whatever you want with them."
With that, Mickey went inside and closed the door, leaving the silent monkey outside.
"Isn't it kind of a dick move to leave him out alone in the cold like that?" asked Sans.
"Nah, it's fine," said Mickey. "His ancestors lived in tundras and high upon mountain peaks. Cold is in their blood. Besides, he's used to worse things."
"He seemed kind of annoyed though."
"That's his thing. He's always annoyed."
"Well, if he's ok with it, then fine by me," said Sans. "By the by, you can stay here as long as you need. Just… don't let me catch you being up to some funny monkey business, all right?"
Mickey did not laugh at Sans' attempt at a "joke". He looked somewhat insulted, despite being covered head to toe in armour. Then he squatted by the small skeleton so that the masks dead looking eyes stared deep into Sans' eye sockets.
"So," said Mickey. "I'm guessing you're the funny one, huh?"
He leaned in closer and his mask was now almost touching Sans.
"Geez," said Sans. "You're getting a little personal here don't ya think?"
Sans starting to feel uncomfortable, and he was certain that if Mickey didn't have a mask on, he would be able to feel his breath.
But then Mickey chuckled lightly and put his hand on Sans' shoulder like a gentle father educating his child.
"Nah, it's okay, its okay," he said calmly. "Humor is a good thing. Especially in these grim times."
Then he let go of Sans shoulder and stood up.
"Nice place you got here," he said. "Looks much better than the glorified piles of wood outside at least."
As he said that, Mickey pulled down his hood and removed his mask, meaning that Sans became one of the few monsters to glance at his ape-like face.
"No offence," said Mickey, who sounded more relaxed. "But, why the hell did you move to this shitpile of a town anyway, considering you are the son of, y'know?"
"Ehh, the rents cheap," said Sans.
Mickey appeared somewhat doubtful.
"Hmmm, yeah," he said and then turned to face Papyrus. "All right Pappy. You've got anything to say or are you just going to be like my old mum who does nothing but stare at a wall all day?"
With that, Papyrus finally woke from his daze like a hypnotist had released him from his spell.
"Oh, I uh," was all he could mutter..
"Good, you're still with us it seems," said Mickey.
"Umm, I… Uh just wanted to say that uh."
Suddenly, it was like a burst of energy filled every bone and crevice within the excited skeleton as countless questions and sentences filled his mind.
"OH MY GOD. YOU ACTUALLY CAME HERE. WOWIE. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I MEAN I CAN BELIEVE IT SINCE I EXPECTED IT, BUT THE FACT THAT IT'S HAPPENING IS SO AMAZING. AND WAS THAT WILLY. IS HE REALLY MUTE? I MEAN OF COURSE I KNOW HE ISN'T CAUSE I HEARD YOU TALKING WITH HIM, BUT CAN I AT LEAST SPEAK TO H-."
"Y'know, just shut up for a bit ok?" Mickey said softly. "Save these questions for the trip."
Papyrus would normally want to know the answers right away, but since Mickey was someone he respected a lot, he decided to comply.
"All right," said Papyrus. "But I am just so excited that I can't keep it in. How long should I have to wait? Can't we just go now? Please?"
"Yeah, sure why not."
"Wait," said Sans. "Didn't you just say that it wouldn't start until later today?"
"Yeah I did, so?" asked Mickey. "Did you really think I was going to stay here all morning? I just wanted to see the house is all. Besides, the other members are waiting in camp way down in the woods and they must be getting cold and restless."
While that reply made Sans somewhat suspicious, it mad Papyrus' metaphysical heart skip a beat.
"Wait, other members?" he asked. So it wasn't just him, Mickey and Willy on this hunt?
"Yeah, you heard right," said Mickey smiling.
"Oh my god," said Papyrus audibly. He was going to meet the other members of The Royal Hunt. This day was getting better and better.
"Anyway bonehead," began Mickey. "You've got everything ready? Because we are not coming back until Monday morning."
"Oh right, just let me check," said Papyrus as he began to scramble through his backpack and pockets. "All right let me see. I have my special attack ready, no thanks to you SANS, I gave my books, my comics, my phone, and-"
"Oh right, I forgot to mention," said Mickey, interrupting Papyrus. "You should leave your phone behind."
"Why not?" asked Sans. If he had eyebrow he would raise one in confusion.
Mickey shrugged.
"Just safety precautions is all," he said. "Never know when you might be tracked or something."
"Isn't that a bit too paranoid?" asked Sans.
"Maybe," said Mickey. "But it's better to be safe than sorry."
"But what if I wanna call my brother to inform him of our quest?" asked Papyrus.
"I dunno," said Mickey. "Just borrow one from a hobo or something. Practically everyone has phones these days. Wouldn't be hard to find someone willing to lend for a while."
Sans wasn't sure about this anymore. A hunch told him that something was off.
"All right," he said. "I guess you are the boss after all. You must know what's best after all."
Mickey looked at him for a while, like he was analyzing something.
"Yeah that's right," he said with a tinge of authority in his voice.
There was an awkward silence for a while, and the trio just stood there staring at each other. It wasn't until after about 10 seconds passed when Papyrus decided to break the silence.
"Ok, can we go now?" he asked. "This is starting to get a bit weird."
"Yeah, sure," said Mickey. "Don't want to keep the others waiting."
Mickey then headed to the front door, while Papyrus reluctantly put his phone on the living room table, next to Sans book of jokes.
"Y'know," said Sans who was now standing by the front door. "Is it really a good idea to shave so much of your fur like that? If it wasn't for those tentacles, I would have assumed you were a human."
Hearing him say that, Mickey turned around and faced Sans, while looking even more insulted. But then he chuckled and just smiled.
"Yeah," he said. "Everyone says that to me."
"Well," said Sans. "If it's any consolation, I won't tell anyone about your look."
"Yeah, that's good," said Mickey and then he put the metal mask back on and then he pulled the black hood over his head and tentacles. "Very good indeed."
"All right," began Sans. "Hope you have fun in your gorilla warfare."
Mickey chuckled in response to his awful "joke".
"God that's awful," he said and then pointed at Sans. "I'm gonna get you for that one day, y'know?"
"Can't wait," replied Sans jokingly
"All right Papyrus you sack of bones," shouted Mickey. "You ready?"
"Of course," said Papyrus and then headed to the front door. "I have been ready my whole life."
"Great, I guess we are going now."
Mickey then opened the front door and he and Papyrus went outside. Willy still stood there, almost trembling. Then they began their walk while Sans stood outside and watched from afar.
"All right, have fun bro!" shouted Sans when his brother was a bit far away.
"I WILL," Papyrus shouted back. "WHEN YOU SEE ME AGAIN ON MONDAY, YOU WILL BE GLANCING NOT ONLY UPON YOUR BROTHER BUT ON A HERO AS WELL."
"Looking forward to it," shouted Sans.
Papyrus smiled, turned around, and they continued their walk.
"I am so excited for this," he said to Mickey. "This is going to be one amazing weekend."
Mickey laughed.
"I promise you," he said confidently. "This is going to be a hunt to remember".
"Yeah," said Papyrus then looked at Willy.
"I know you don't speak much," he began. "But my gods, I have so many questions. When did you join The Royal Hunt? Is your name actually Willy? Is it true that you beat Vissie using only a-"
When the group had walked into the forest, Sans lost sight of them and so he headed back into the house. After he closed the front door, the house was filled with dead silence. Something that was normally unusual at this time of the hour.
"Something feels off," Sans said to himself. Then he headed to his room and began his research.
…
Many hours had passed, and Sans was home alone, sitting on the couch, watching whatever was on tv. He had previously spent about an hour researching The Royal Hunt online but in the end, he was relieved when he found nothing online that indicated anything malicious about this group. If anything, everything he found showed the complete opposite. Monsters seemed to love this group, almost as much as The Royal Hunt in fact. There were articles, fan sites, and pages and pages of comments saying nothing but positive things about them.
So in the end, Sans came to the conclusion that he was just paranoid. Mickey may have been rude and vulgar, but that doesn't make one necessarily evil. Besides, there wouldn't be any good reason for King Asgore himself to give this group his support and blessing if there wasn't anything good about it.
In other words, for one of the few times in his life, Sans was happy to be wrong. He was anxious for a while that he may have unintentionally encouraged his brother to join some sort of glorified bandit group, but if he couldn't find anything vicious about them online, then that most likely meant that there wasn't anything vicious to report.
After that relieving revelation, he headed back to his job at his hotdog stand with great delight. Some of his regular customers noticed his increased enthusiasm from normal, but none of them questioned him about it. Mostly because they had places to be, or that they considered what free time they had from their difficult job too short to waste on idle chit-chat.
When it was afternoon, he called it enough for today and returned home. This was the first time he had ever spent an entire evening home alone in this house without his brother.
There was barely anything interesting to watch on the TV, just reruns of old shows and boring movies about the robot Mettaton.
"Gods, this is boring," Sans said to himself.
After a while, he had enough and reached for the remote and turned off the TV. Sans realized that he wasn't going to waste his first night alone on doing something so mundane and uninteresting.
"Alrighty then," he said to himself. "What to do, what to do…"
Sans thought long and hard for a few seconds on what to do next. He had this evening and an entire day to do whatever he wanted without having to worry about his brother much. When he came up blank, he gave up and just decided what he usually did when he had free time and extra cash.
"Screw this, I'm going to Grillby's," he announced to himself.
He then stood up and headed to the front door.
"Papyrus, you want anything?" he asked as he opened the door. There was no reply, unsurprisingly.
"Oh right," said Sans feeling like a moron, and then headed outside.
…
Snowdin was one of the few towns and settlements that suffered the worst after the war. A lot of money that was used in it came from Snowdin, and about a half of the adult citizens in Snowdin either took some part in the fighting, or a had a relative who fought on either side. Before the war, Snowdin was a quaint and peaceful little town that stood in the edge of the cold and frozen part of the underground kingdom. It still stands there but is now a hollow husk of its former self. Most of the stores have been closed down, and the school has barely enough cash or staff to support it. Many of the houses have been broken down and essentially replaced by a pile of woods, while many that still stood had become crumbling relics of a passing age. The only house that still stood as it did in the olden days was the one on the edge of town that belonged to Sans and his brother. It belonged to their father, before he became the Royal Scientist and moved to the Capital, hence why there was an apparent extra care put into preserving this house by the Royal Court, much to the jealousy of other townsfolk, so that this 2 story house, which looked like most other houses in the Capital, was like a fancy mansion compared to the rest.
But besides his obviously fatherly relation to it, Sans wasn't completely sure himself as to why he decided to move here of all places with his brother after they could no longer stand living with their father. He mostly guessed that it was possibly due to the fact that he wanted to live somewhere that was both cheap and practical, and since monster that took over after their father moved died of a sudden stroke, it was if there arrived the perfect opportunity to have the place that held all those qualities, and also a good way to make a final insult to their distant and uncaring father before moving out. They still had to pay rent of course, and Sans was still mad at his father for not leaving them with any of his plentiful cash before moving out, but in such a poor town, rent was fortunately very cheap, and he could mostly pay it with the pocket money he got from his unlicensed hot dog stand.
Whatever excess cash he had left, he would sometimes waste on some books for his brother or computer stuff for himself, but mostly, he used on food to buy food from Grillby's, the only restaurant and bar that still stood in town, for him and his brother. It is true that skeleton monsters don't need food to survive, but eating is still a pleasure to some of them, and it is a good way to lose any leftovers since every food that enters a skeleton mouth seems to completely evaporate from the face of the earth.
…
Normally, Sans wouldn't bother walking to his location and instead, he would his "shortcut" ability and teleport to his location. Tonight, however, he was in a good mood, and it wasn't like Grillby's place was far away. Besides, he thought it a good idea to have a little exercise as a change of pace.
While walking to Grillby's, Sans began to ponder what happens to the food he ate. After he failed to come up with a decent hypothesis, he decided to abandon such a difficult question for the time being, and instead put his brain power and energy into taking in the Snowdin atmosphere for one. One thing he admired about the Snowdin monsters, was that despite how hard things could get, most of them weren't afraid to look on the bright side. Even after this town went to the litter, you could still find everyday kids and adults just living their lives and making the best of a bad situation. There were currently child monsters dressed in tattered clothes happily playing in the snowy streets while an old widow wearing the only clothes she could afford watched them and smiled, and every adult Sans passed gave him a polite greeting. Sans and his brother were known by most of the townsfolk, and despite the envy some of them, there was still much attempt to be courteous and kind whenever they arrived.
He was now by the tiny wooden house that stood near his home, and he stopped to examine it. He rarely ever looked at this house up close, since he always just teleported past it. In the garden of this quaint little house, there were two small blue slime blobs with tattered hats playing with wooden sticks.
"Stand back Undyne!" said the one with the torn cap who had a boyish voice. "I am the great Mickey, and you cannot hope to defeat me!"
"You think so?" said the other one, who sounded girlish and had a pink cap. "I am Undyne, The Spear of Justice, and I have to come to take back what is mine."
"Try my, fish lady."
And then two small blobs began their epic battle and fought playfully with their wooden sticks.
"Heh, kids," Sans said to himself and continued his way to Grillby's.
After about few minutes, he had arrived at the Grillby's. Like most buildings in towns, this restaurant slash bar had seen better days. The sign on the outside wall was broken, and a couple of letters were missing so that it said GR LL Y. The walls seemed like they were slowly crumbling, and the windows were boarded up with wooden planks, as the owner clearly couldn't afford to fix their broken windows. Before Sans went inside, he happened to glance at a malnourished bear monster who sat inside a broken tent in the alley on the side of Grillby's. He was dressed in tattered clothes and was currently drinking from a bottle of whiskey. Sans had heard of this poor old bear before. His name was Ferdinand and was perhaps the most unfortunate person in this unfortunate town. He had recently lost all his family and belongings, and so had to result to begging. Sans had also heard in passing, that apparently the townsfolk had nicknamed him as "Politics Bear". Sans had no idea why, and like most things, he didn't bother finding it out.
"Ey ey, uh what," Sans heard Ferdinand say in the empty air, who was clearly drunk and unable to comprehend anything around him.
Sans felt pity for this poor monster and wanted to make it up for him somehow. He headed towards him.
"Ey, hey you," slobbered up Ferdinand when he noticed Sans nearing his tent. "Don't come near my house you. Just don't."
When Sans had arrived in front of him, he reached into his pocket and took out some shiny coins.
"Here," he said. "Keep the change."
But as soon as Sans put out his hand to drop the coins in Ferdinand's tiny coin bucket, the drunk bear quickly seized the wrist of the skeleton's bony arm.
"Live your life while you can, young man," said Ferdinand, and Sans could smell his whiskey induced breath. "The dogs, they're gonna hunt us down, and then they'll eat us alive."
"Let go of me," commanded Sans while trying to tear his arm away.
"They'll eat us," said the bear. "They'll eat you."
After a while, Sans managed to rip his hand from the bear's grasp.
"Geez dude," said Sans. "I was just trying to do a nice thing for you."
Ferdinand laughed in response.
"That nicety will tear you apart sooner than the others," he said. "It'll lure the dogs to ya."
Sans didn't know what to make of this, so he just shrugged.
"Well," he said. "Have it your way then."
Sans then turned around and headed towards the entrance of the bar.
"They'll eat ya!" the bear shouted after him. "They'll tear you apart like woods in a grinder."
"Yeah, yeah," said Sans as he headed inside.
The interior of the building was not too fancy either. The walls were filled with tearing old wallpapers, and they were dirty and filled with food stains. The wooden floor looked rotting, and every step gave out a loud creaking sound. Tables and chairs were also made of pure wood, but they were very unpolished and could easily give of a splinter. The air was thick and putrid, with a heavy concentration of grease. Many would count it a blessing that the windows were broken, otherwise, the heat and heavy air would have most likely been completely unbearable.
The bar was filled with the usual customers that Sans would have expected to see at this time of the hour.
"Evening Sans!" they all almost shouted in unison, like they almost always did when they saw him arrive.
"Hi fellas!" Sans shouted back like he always did.
On a chair by the counter sat another regular visitor. She wasn't a customer per say, but Sans had still seen her in the bar here and there. The monster was a green little fire elemental named Fuku, and she couldn't have been older than 13. She was Grillby's daughter, and Sans had no idea who the mother was if she had any. Grillby couldn't afford to get her into a proper school, so instead, she had to be homeschooled. Grillby also needed to focus on his job, so the Fuku could be seen daily on the counter, scribbling down on papers and her notebook. Grillby was currently standing behind the counter, cleaning a dirty glass with an almost equally dirty napkin.
Sans went to the counter and sat down on his favourite chair.
"Evening Sans," said the orange fire elemental. "I'm guessing the usual?"
"Yes and no," said Sans. "This time just make it a single order."
"So just a single cheeseburger, single packet of ketchup and single batch of fries then?"
"You know me so well."
With that, Grillby went into the kitchen and began cooking.
"Damm," said Sans as he was checking his pockets. "Forgot my phone."
Deciding not to bother wasting his energy on teleporting, he decided to instead do something else to bide his time. Fortunately for him, Grillby was never too long with his usual orders, and since it was split in half today, he would be faster than usual.
The bar was filled with the sounds of monsters chatting with each other. A couple of them sat on a table that was close enough to Sans so that he could hear their conversation.
"-and I'm telling you," said a monster that looked like a donkey. "It's the only thing that makes sense."
"That King Asgore has lost it?" asked a female monster that looked like a hare.
"I know it sounds crazy," continued the donkey. "But why else would he seemingly not care that everything has gone to shit? He has lost not just both his children, but his wife as well. Do have any idea what that high amount of grief can do to a monster."
"He has not lost it," said an old bird monster who sat nearby. The donkey and the hare turned around to look at him.
"Why not," asked the donkey.
The old bird chuckled.
"It's true that grief can massively change a monster," said the bird. "But Asgore was just not any monster."
The bird then paused to take a swig from his glass of beer.
"I remember him very well," he continued. "He was a kind monster, and incredibly strong-willed. Even after many tragedies, Asgore would stand strong not just for himself, but for us as well."
"Then how do you explain all this then?" asked the donkey.
The bird did not respond just yet.
"He's dead," he finally said after a while and took another swig. The donkey looked perplexed by this suggestion.
"Don't you think we would have known by now if that were the case?"
The old bird shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "Maybe there's a reason for it. Maybe they don't want us to give up hope."
"Then who the hell is ruling over us."
The bird shrugged again.
Maybe the Royal court," he suggested. "Maybe some secret heir we haven't heard about. What I am absolutely certain is that Asgore was not someone who would easily fall into madness."
After that, the bird, donkey and hare began a large back and forth argument, and Sans lost interest. Shortly after, Grillby arrived from the kitchen with a plate with dirty burger and fries.
He then placed it on the counter and began to carefully pack it in. While doing it, Grillby looked at Sans with a proud expression.
"You seem happier than usual," noted the flaming bartender.
"Ehh it's nothing special," replied Sans. "You seem just as cool as well, no pun intended."
Grillby smiled.
"I just meant that I haven't seen you this happy before," said Grillby. "I assume something good just happened?"
Sans wasn't planning on staying here for long, but he thought that he might as well share what happened.
"Well, don't mean to brag but yeah something great just happened," he began. "My brother just got his dream job."
"Oh well that's great," said Grillby. "Good to hear."
"Yeah and get this."
Sans the raised his voice so that the entire bar would hear him.
"You may have been wondering why a couple of Royal Huntsmen were in town earlier. Well, that's because Papyrus is joining them. My brother is going to become a Royal Huntsman."
After he said that, something happened that Sans did not expect in the least. It was if time had suddenly stopped, because all of the commotions and loud noises coming from all around him immediately came to a halt, and before he knew it, every monster in the bar had stopped at what they were doing and began looking in horror and shock in his direction.
"Oh," said Grillby, sounding disappointed. "Ok then."
Sans was very confused. He expected a reply that was something more along the lines of "wow really?" or "you're brothers a Royal Huntsman? That's awesome" and if not, at least some sort of lacklustre praise from Grillby or other monsters pretending to care. Instead, the reply he got from not just Grillby, but everyone around him was mostly silence. Complete and utter silence.
Sans looked around the bar to look for any hint of sanity and the only thing he got was faces of sadness, surprise and fear like he had just informed everyone that they were all going to die.
"Did I say something wrong?" he asked.
Then there were murmurs and whispers that the monsters began making amongst themselves. Sans managed to only catch a couple of them. They said:
"They have another one? And him of all monsters?"
"It such a shame. I always thought he was such a good kid."
"If they have got him on their side then that's bad. Real bad."
This was all making Sans feel incredibly uncomfortable, so he decided to do something about it.
"Geez, is this a funeral?" he jokingly asked. "You guys should lighten up more. Like Grillby and his kid."
Still, there was no response.
"Uhh, should I leave?" he said. "If that's what you want then that's all right. Hell, I am a skeleton. I don't really need any food."
Suddenly, Sans felt like something odd was happening behind him where Grillby stood. He looked back at the counter and saw Grillby hurryingly packing down Sans' order like he had only a few seconds to spare.
"Are you ok big guy," asked Sans while looking back at Grillby. "You look a little heated."
Hearing that, Grillby began to laugh uncontrollably in a panicked voice, like he was in immense danger and it was the funniest joke in the world.
"Gee," said Sans. "It wasn't that funny."
Grillby chuckled nervously.
"No really," said Grillby in a panicky voice. "This was a really funny joke is all. Really funny. Your funniest joke yet."
"Well, thanks then."
Sans looked around and noticed that every monster was still looking at him.
"Uhh Grills?" he asked worryingly. "What's going on?"
But before Sans could get out another word, Grillby had finished with his burger and fries and then he let it slide across the table to Sans.
"Just take it," said Grillby, still panicking. "You don't have to pay for it, just take it. Also, forget about paying your tab as well. In fact, you no longer have to pay me anything from here on out"
"Well, gee thanks," Said Sans. At least there is some silver lining to all this weirdness, he thought to himself. But still, this type of charity was pretty out of character for Grillby, a monster who is so normally strict and serious about paying back.
"Grills?" asked Sans. "Don't you think you are going a bit too far?"
"Too far?" asked Grillby. "Nonsense. Do you want anything to drink as well? You can pick whatever you want from the shelf. Want this expensive bourbon that's over 80 years old? Absolutely, go ahead. In fact, I'll even allow you to take the entire shelf if you want.
"I-I don't want anything to drink," said Sans. "Grillby are you sure you're ok?"
"Great, if you have decided that you have everything you want, then you have everything you want."
"Ok, I think I am going to leave now-"
"Great, come back whenever you want. Grillby's is always open for any member or close relative of a member of The Royal Hunt. Gods bless those brave and heroic men and women."
Confused and somewhat frightened, Sans picked up his order and headed outside, while the eyes of every monster watched him go outside.
When Sans left the bar and the greasy atmosphere from inside was replaced by the cold and chilly Snowdin air, he looked inside the window and saw Grillby give a sigh of relief while comforting his daughter who looked almost as scared as him.
"What the hell just happened?" Sans asked himself.
With that, he decided to head home. He was immensely bothered by what happened in the bar. All of that craziness happened after he had told them his brother was joining The Royal Hunt. Did something happen with that group that he didn't know about?
On his way home, he looked back on the small house where the two slime kids were playing earlier. They were still there but now an even bigger slime with a fake moustache had arrived towards them
"Kids!" said the big slime sounding extremely worried. "What the hell do you think you are you doing?"
"We are just playing a game dad," said boyish slime. "We were just playing as Mickey and-"
"Don't!" said the big slime. "Don't ever use his name for games and such, and don't let anyone ever hear you speak any ill of him. In fact, from here on out, you two don't speak about him at all."
"But dad…"
"DON'T. If I see you use his name in vain ever again, I am sending you to your room."
With that said, the big slime hurried inside the house while his kids looked somewhat annoyed.
"Geez, what's his problem?" Sans asked himself and continued on his way. But there was one thing about that strange situation which bothered him almost as much as what happened at Grillby's earlier. It was the tone of voice that came from the father slime. It wasn't one of insult in a "how dare you to speak ill of this holy name" kind of way. But rather, the tone was that of worry and fear, like his kids were on the verge of almost falling off a cliff. Then again, Sans does remember jokingly insulting Mickey a few times when he was at their house earlier today and he wasn't that angry about it. Or at least, that's how it seemed like.
There was clearly something bad about, The Royal Hunt, something he missed, and he was going to find out what.
…
When he got home, he spent the next couple of hours to once again look up everywhere on the monster web about The Royal Hunt and its members. He was certain he missed something but not only did it seem near impossible to find out what, but what he found even stranger, was that he discovered that there was unusually little info he could find about The Royal Hunt in general. It wasn't that strange that a group so high up would keep some things classified, but you would think that with such a highly esteemed group that had existed for years and were akin to celebrities, would have tons of info online regardless, even on just a single member. But as it stood, most of what he found were articles and other internet stuff that was just praising the group and going on and on about their heroism and greatness.
"This makes no sense," Sans said to himself.
He looked at the time. It was the middle of the night here in Snowdin. Normally he would be asleep at this point, but he decided to forgo his laziness for tonight because he was certain that something was wrong, and he was worried that he might have sent his brother somewhere without proper precursors.
There has to be something, he thought to himself. No group can possibly have people this scared unless something bad has happened.
But then, something just clicked with him. It was a theory, that although stretching it, would explain the lack of info, the secrecy, and the dissonance between what he read online versus how every monster seemed to react to simply hearing their names.
Most of the things he found and read sounded suspiciously similar to… propaganda. What if it was?
What if the reason he could find so little about this group, was because most of the info about them online was deleted and censored?
What if... everything he knew and heard about The Royal Hunt… was a lie?
As Sans began considering this possibility, there was a knock on his door. The sudden noise completely blew him off his train of thought. It was the middle of the night. Who in the world would want to visit him at this time of the hour?
"Who's there!" shouted Sans.
There was no reply, and after a while, there was another knock.
Maybe he didn't hear me, Sans thought to himself.
He then stood up from his chair and left his room. When was by the stairs, there was another knock.
"All right, who's there?" he again shouted. Once again there was no reply, besides another knock on the door. This one was harder and louder than the last two.
"Calm down, I'm coming," shouted Sans.
Sans slowly walked down the stairs, while knocking kept getting louder and harder. When he stood by the entrance, he could hear what sounded like soft crying behind the door.
"Who's there," he asked anxiously. There came another knock, and this one was so hard, Sans swore that the door almost fell off its hinges.
"Ok whoever you are," said Sans. "You are being very rude."
Sans then opened the door to see who was on the other side.
"You are lucky I was awake. You could have woken me… up….you ... know?"
Sans was in shock at to whom he saw. Behind the door stood Papyrus. Or… rather someone who looked like Papyrus. He was dressed in Papyrus' battle body, and he even had the same build and height, but the aura he gave was like the complete opposite of the cherry and excited skeleton Sans had gotten used to the past couple of days. Instead, this skeleton's face was filled with complete shock and disbelief. He might as well have been an empty husk.
"Papyrus?" said Sans. "Did I accidentally oversleep for 2 days? I thought you wouldn't come home until Monday morning."
The figure did not reply, and instead, he walked quietly inside, seemingly unable to notice his brother.
"Papy?"
Sans was starting to get incredibly worried. He had never seen his brother like this. In fact, he had never seen anyone like this. For maybe the first time in a long while, Sans was at a complete loss as to what to do.
When he was inside, Papyrus proceded to removed his gauntlets and just let them fall unceremoniously on the floor.
"Papyrus did something happen?" asked Sans. Once again there was no response. The stranger that looked like his brother then began walking up the steps while at the same time tearing of his breastplate.
"Papyrus what happened?"
Something was clearly wrong, and Sans was now incredibly worried.
"What's happened? Were you rejected? Did you fail the test?"
For the first time, this stranger seemed to acknowledge Sans' presence. Halfway up the stairs, he stopped. He turned around, and looked at his brother, and spoke for the first time.
"I…I don't know…," was all he said.
Then he turned back around and took off his breastplate. He then let it fall on the stairs like it was garbage he had lost complete interest. He then headed up the stairs, while proceeding to unbuckle his belt. Sans began following him up the stairs. But then he stopped to examine the breastplate after he glanced at something strange about it.
There's a bunch snow on it, he thought.
But then he took a closer look and was terribly shocked by what he discovered. It wasn't snow. It was dust. The breastplate… was covered in dust.
No, Sans thought to himself. He couldn't have.
He hurryingly went after his brother who was currently in his room.
"Papyrus what happened?"
He refused to believe it. He refused to believe that his brother had actually done something so heinous. There had to be another explanation for this. He believed that his brother didn't have the heart for it.
When he finally arrived upstairs, he saw his brother just standing in his room, completely naked, while his armoured boots and pants, and the black wool bodysuit that he had underneath his battle body, lay disorganized all over the floor the floor.
"Bro?"
There was no response.
"Bro it's ok," said Sans. "Just talk to me ok? You are kind of freaking me out."
Papyrus head jerked a bit, and Sans heard a strange sound coming from him.
"Papyrus?"
Sans slowly walked up to his brother, while carefully attempting to not step on any of the discarded armour pieces.
"It's ok bro," he said while reaching to touch his brother. "It's just… you are acting kind of weird. If you won't tell me anything, then I'm not sure if I can help-"
Suddenly, the tall skeleton quickly turned around and stared down at his brother.
Papyrus' eye sockets were filled with water, that leaked out and ran down his bony cheeks. He was crying.
"Oh Papyrus," said Sans. "What the hell happened back t-"
Before he finished his sentence, Papyrus launched himself at him and embraced his brother in a big hug. He started sobbing again, and Sans felt the tears run down his back.
"Bro it's ok, its ok," he said.
Papyrus did not reply, and instead just continued crying. When about half a minute of embrace had passed, Papyrus let go of his brother, and silently walked over to his car-bed. Then he slowly laid down, and then pulled his blanket over his skeletal body.
"Ok," said Sans. "We'll talk about this tomorrow ok?"
Papyrus didn't respond. Sans then headed outside and closed the door.
Sans wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but his brother seemed to want to be alone, so he left him to rest undisturbed.
Sans spent the rest of the night looking as much as he could online but once again, he came up blank. After a while, he gave up and laid down on his bed.
His mind was filled with many worrying thoughts that night, and whenever managed press them away for a bit, he would notice the sounds of his brother sobbing in the next room, like a constant reminder of his terrible mistakes.