Tuesday, 16th of May, 2023; A Town Near The Dungeon on the 21st Floor

Lights blinded his vision, but a few seconds later Sans could see again. He had arrived in an unfamiliar town square that was bustling with life, however that wasn't what caught his attention.

Sans stood motionless as he tried to remember the feeling of teleportation; the feeling of how your body felt strangely lighter and how it felt like when your body shattered into millions of pixels before getting stitched back together in an instant. Sure, he had teleported before (how did you think he came to the other floors without having to go through the dungeons and possibly getting himself killed?) but it had been a long time since he did; around three months.

Well, it wasn't like he was adventurous. He had a guild home to take care of and his situation to deal with, so he never really went anywhere besides the towns on the 7th floor ever since he moved in with the Final Seekers.

…Or was that just a poor excuse for being a shut-in?

Heh, probably not; emphasize on probably.

"Oooooi, Sans! Have you finished daydreaming yet?" PoH snapped him out of his thoughts.

Sans sighed. Oh well, he could think of learning on how to teleport again some other time; he already had so much to deal with today.

"heh, yea, sorry 'bout that. it happens."

"Yes, I noticed it..." PoH replied. "Are you sure you want to come? It's not too late to go back."

"nah, i told you i'm fine. 'sides, it'd do me well to get out of floor 7 every once in a while." Sans shook his head. "welp, lead the way."

"Alright… let's go."

As the group of seven was walking down the street toward the dungeon, Raul asked.

"So, Sans, why are you deciding to come now? Why didn't you join us to the dungeon much, much earlier?"

Sans fell silent for a few moment as he observed him closely. According to his facial muscles, body language, and eye movements, he determined that he was indeed asking the question out of pure curiosity and not a single trace of malice; just like how curious he was yesterday.

PoH was about to tell him to keep his mouth shut, but Sans calmly answered his question.

"i'll be honest with you, i'm pretty bad in fighting with swords… or spears. or maces. or rapiers. well, you get the point."

"Wait, that's it? That's the reason you never fought?" Raul frowned in disbelief.

He chuckled as he looked sideways nonchalantly, "it's also partially because i'm afraid, but… heh, it sounds pretty dumb when you think about it huh?"

Raul went quiet when he heard Sans said that he was afraid. So was that the real reason he never fought? He thought to himself.

"O-Oh, I… see…"

Tanya noticed the sudden gloomy change on Raul's expression and tried to ask a question that might lift everyone's mood up.

"Anyway, you said that it's been a while since you went to the other floors, since when exactly?"

"hm… around three months ago?"

"Three months… wait, isn't that the time when you joined us?"

"yup."

"Wait, you haven't gone anywhere since that day?"
"…uh, yea, why?"

"I didn't know you were such a shut-in! No wonder you're such a chubby cutie pie~!" She pinches on his cheek as she, intentionally or unintentionally, insulted him.

But, since he and everyone had gotten used to it, they all laughed; unfortunately, the twins remained indifferent.

The walk to the dungeon was a little longer than expected and during that time everyone asked Sans a lot of unimportant questions like what were his hobbies, did he have a girlfriend, and etc. There was a time when the questions got really personal like when they asked about his life or family, but being mentally prepared, he dodged those questions with half-assed nonchalant answers like, "eh, it was pretty normal life/family. nothing worth mentioning."

Lily and Milly noticed these attempts to dodge questions more than anyone though.

Eventually they arrived at the entrance to the dungeon and PoH spoke in a serious and analytical tone that Sans rarely heard.

"Alright, the dungeon is right in front of us and before we enter let's discuss about our positions for today." He continued, "Lily, Milly, you two are, as usual, our scouts. Your job is to scout the way and regroup if the way ahead of us splits into multiple routes or filled with monsters. I know that you two would be capable enough to defeat the monsters, but this time I'd like you two not to engage if there are any monsters ahead because we're not doing a full party today."

The twins and the others, except for Sans, were a little surprised.

"What? Not doing a full party? Then what are we going to do?" Milly asked, frowning in confusion.

PoH turned toward Sans who nodded and took a deep breath before answering Milly's question.

"Sans has a very… low level."

Everybody went quiet in confusion.

"Low? Just how low are we talking about here?" Raul asked. "What does Sans being a 'low-level' have to do with splitting our—?"

"Shut up!" PoH suddenly cut him off, putting on a rare cold and serious face. He realized what he did and saw the shocked faces of his guild's members. "I-I'm sorry… I know this probably doesn't make sense to you, but please just… listen to me."

Raul was still taken aback by PoH's sudden reaction, but sighed and replied, "…Alright. Go on."

PoH nodded and kept his composure, "As I was saying, I need each and every one of you to pay attention to what I'm going to tell you."

A silence full of tension filled the air around them.

"Look, Sans has an incredibly low level… and before you ask again how low it is, then let's just say that a few hits from the monsters inside the dungeon would instantly kill him off."

heh, 'a few hits' is a major overstatement, tho. Sans smiled as he always does.

Raul and the rest of the group widened their eyes at the information as PoH continued.

"Therefore, our top priority today is protecting and letting Sans level up by leeching off EXPs from us, which is why we need to split into smaller parties. The smaller the number, the bigger the EXPs are divided among the party members, hence why I'm going to put Sans, Milly and Lily into one party, while the rest of us form another party."

Lily then protested, "Wait, why do we have to be in a party with him? We can't be his babysitter all the time—!"

"One, it's because you guys deals the most damage thus you two are more capable on last-hitting the monsters to gain the EXPs, two: Even if we split into two parties, we won't be too far off from each other so you're not going to be his only 'babysitter', and lastly, three:…" PoH paused then frowned at them as he began speaking in a cold monotonous tone, "I've had enough of your complaints. You were the ones that complained about him never fighting in the dungeons in the first place and now that he's finally here to fight, why are you still complaining?"

Milly and Lily flinched, not daring to say another word.

"…As you wish, Guild Leader."

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Milly asked her leader in an annoyed tone.

"Only one last thing, the reason why I want you to come back if you see any monster is so that we can fight together and the rest of us will tank the damage as we reduce their HP for you to deliver the killing blow. This way, you can avoid needless loss of health or excessive use of health potions, so you can grind EXPs more effectively and efficiently."

"…I see."

Silence fell between the seven players, but then PoH decided that it was time.

"So, does anyone else have any other question? No? Then stick to the plan and let's make sure no one dies today, understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone replied in unison, except for Sans.

"Alright, then…"

And with that, he readied his sword with a determined look.

"…It's show time."

The conversation wasn't so bad. With his enhanced hearings, not even standing a few meters away from them could prevent him from overhearing their conversation.

He pretended not to hear anything and just let them solve their conflict, but then something suddenly caught his attention. He overheard PoH last words, before he readied his sword to lead the guild into the dungeon.

It was only a spur of a moment, but in that very moment, Sans felt a sudden shock. It was that same strange feeling again that kept nagging on the back of his mind that was telling him that something was very familiar. "It's show time"…

…Where had he heard that phrase before?

"Hey…"

"…"

"Hey."

"…"

"Hey, smiley trash bag! Are you going to join the party or what?"

Milly snapped him out of his thoughts with an incredibly annoyed tone. Sans then realized that there was a floating chat box right in front of him, which reads, 'Accept party invitation? YES/NO'

However, Sans didn't press the button seeing that he was too engrossed in his thoughts when another realization dawned upon him.

"…what did you just call me?"

"What? Do you have a problem, smiley trash bag?"

"heh… heheheheh hahaha!"

"…What's so funny?" Lily looked at him suspiciously.

"hehehe, nothing. it's just… out of all names that you can call me with, you chose 'smiley trash bag'. heh, what are the odds."

Sans pressed the YES button and joined the party as the twins blinked at his strange comment.

"…What are you talking about?" they spoke in unison.

Sans shook his head and smiled a little wider.

"nah, don't worry about it. let's go." then he started walking pass them to follow the others, leaving the twins in a confused state.

"O… kay?"

Sans on the other hand was in deep thoughts, trying to remember what was on his mind before the two brunettes interrupted his thoughts. He sighed and gave up when he realized that he couldn't remember what it was. Whatever it was that was bothering him, it was gone… for now.

Oh well, it probably wasn't important, anyway.

Just… what was this feeling?

The light-brown haired twins wondered. For a few years, they had been playing many other games with PoH and the rest of them. Sure, they weren't one to trust others quickly, but… for them, Sans was different. There was just something about him that didn't add up, they thought to themselves.

A few months ago, on the day where this death game had begun, they had been trying to survive. The twins had no one other than themselves and looked out for each other for quite some time as they searched for their friends, PoH, Raul, Tanya, and Z, but alas they couldn't find them anywhere.

Back in those days, they were still on the first floor and when they couldn't find the others the two thought that the worst had happened to all of them. Lily and Milly truly felt despair and stayed back at the Town of Beginning; completely giving up on fighting or trying to find their friends.

However, when they heard the news that first floor's boss was defeated, the two felt something that they never would have thought to feel again.

Hope.

Setting out from the Town of Beginning, the twins began their journey. They fought together, got stronger together, survived together for more than a month until eventually they finally found the others; or rather the others found them.

It was another day of grinding. The twin sisters fought a group of monsters, but then they got ambushed by more monsters on their way back; it was a trap. They kept on fighting and tried to survive, but there were just too much and they found themselves getting cornered.

And when all hope seemed lost, PoH suddenly came to their aid. It was a miracle, really. It turned out that PoH had looked all over the place and found Raul, Z and Tanya all by himself. And as if it was the work of fate, he was passing by a nearby forest when he heard Lily's and Milly's scream. He never could've guessed that it came from the two people he was looking for since weeks ago, but he wouldn't have it any other way; after all, he came just in time to save them and they were all together again like they used to and that is all that matters.

That's right, he was the reason everyone was together. It all started from a simple curiosity in an MMORPG Forum, but it had turned into a strong bond of friendship. And this was all thanks to their happy-go-lucky leader.

It was a touching reunion. After all, the two of them never thought that they'd see each other again. And so, everything was peaceful.

…

…But it all changed, when he came.

One day, PoH brought a stranger home; Sans. At first, they thought that he was annoying and, admittedly, funny, but overtime… something just felt… off.

For some odd reason, PoH seemed to be too attached to Sans. Sure, maybe it simply meant that they became great friends, but they couldn't help but notice that something about Sans was rather… suspicious.

He joined the guild, but his name was never on the guild's member list. He acted lazy and laid-back all the time, but they knew that he was very observant; after all, he could tell Lily and Milly apart which was not small feat; even their parents in real life had trouble telling them apart. They noticed others things too like how he usually dodge personal questions with a joke or dismissed it as nothing important, how he seemed like he know more than he let on, and, of course, his dimple smile façade.

However, despite his suspicious behavior, they too noticed the good traits that he had. They noticed that Sans worked hard in learning what the others like for their meals. They noticed that he worked hard in keeping the house tidy behind their backs, despite it constantly being messed up over and over again. They also noticed that he genuinely cared for everyone in the guild. All the jokes he made, all the laughs he shared, they could tell that those weren't an act. Sans was truly a good person.

…But if so, then why? Why did they feel this way? Just what was this feeling? They wanted to trust Sans and be his friends, but they just… couldn't. They didn't know why they couldn't and this frustrated them.

Maybe this was all a bunch of nonsense. Maybe they were simply being paranoid and portrayed Sans as a bad guy to justify their suspicions. However, there was one thing that they did know for sure: the guild knew far too little about him compared to how much he knew about them.

PoH suddenly interrupted their thoughts,

"Alright, we've reached the first checkpoint according to the map that the Clearers shared with us and so far we haven't seen any monsters yet. The route branches out into two on the next checkpoint and we're going to go left from there to explore the part of the dungeon that hasn't been explored yet." He turned toward the twins and said, "Lily, Milly, scout ahead and see if there are monsters ahead. Be careful for ambushes or traps."

The twins nodded hesitantly, clearly not happy about today. Nevertheless they proceeded with caution.

"HAAAAAA!"

PoH slashed at the monster in front of him, causing it to stumble backward.

"Lily! Switch!"

"Understood."

Lily ran forward and lunged at the monster's neck with her trusty knife, killing it and destroying it into pixels.

The team was exhausted and took a moment to take catch their breath.

"Well… that's the last of them."

"…Geez… These guys are probably weaker than level five, but their numbers are insane!" Raul ranted.

"I know right." Z replied.

Sans stood a little further away at the group of six that have fought together in a perfect show of teamwork and he smiled. However, for that reason too, it was extremely hard for him to keep a smile on his face when all he wanted to do was breakdown in tears at how bad he feels to be useless at times like these.

He shook his head and regained his composure; this wasn't the time to be depressed. Sans then opened up his menu and pulled out something out of his inventory box.

"so… anyone hungry?"

Four out of the six players widened their eyes and expressed their surprise. They thanked Sans for bringing his cooking to the dungeon and immediately wolfed down their meals. Sans chuckled in amusement and commented,

"heh, you guys look like you've worked yourselves down to the bone."

"Hahaha, of course we did," PoH laughed at the pun, "But anyway, how's your level?"

And that got him. Sans didn't know what to say… this was the fifth time he asked that question and even after killing so many monsters, Sans was still a level one. He wanted to tell everyone that it was no use, but… with most of them trying to help him, he didn't dare to tell them the truth.

Sans bit his tongue, but smiled as he as always did.

"it's… coming along great thanks to you guys."

"Really?! Did you hear that guys? It's working!"

"Is that so? Well, that's great!" Tanya and Z sighed in relief. "Like killing two birds with one stone, we get to explore the dungeon and we get to help Sans level up!"

Raul then said, "Alright! High-five!"

Sans watched them high-fived and laughed a little before he eventually fell silent; it hurt him to hide the truth from them, but it was for the best.

… Or at least he thinks so.

He could feel the guilt of hiding the truth crawl up his spine, but he knew that he mustn't stop now. That's right. All that he had to do was wait for a few more hours, tell them that he felt a little stronger, and return home safe and sound where he wouldn't have to become a dead weight for them again.

Alas, fate had a different plan and Milly finally lost her patience.

"Enough…" Milly spoke lowly.

PoH noticed her sudden change of tone. "What?"

"I said, 'I had enough'! Both Lily and I can fight these monsters just fine if Sans wasn't being such a dead weight for us!"

Sans flinched; even Lily was surprised at her sister's blunt insult.

"B-Big sis!"

"Milly, that's enough—" PoH seriously replied, but was cut off by the light-brown haired assassin.

"NO! I won't listen to you anymore! Lily let's go!"

Z stood up and said "H-Hey, Milly! Lily! Let's just calm—!" But before he could even finish, the two ran away.

PoH shouted their names, but the twins didn't listen and kept on running deeper into the uncharted area of the dungeon. The rest of the group ran forward to catch up to them, but the two assassins were simply too fast for them.

"What are you two doing?!"

"Come back here!"

"Stop, you two!"

Sans felt a painful stab in his heart. How could he be so stupid to believe that he could stay with them? Watching them fight over a nobody like him brought him a sense of happiness… however it also brought him great guilt. He was watching what could be the breaking of a bond people call friendship and what's worse was the fact that he was the cause of this happening.

Calling them was no use. Every second passed, the distance between them grew further apart. They ran and ran and ran until eventually—

"Huh?"

—it was the end.

"MILLY! LILY! LOOK OUT!"

The two twins stopped dead on their tracks as they looked above them. Giant rocks and boulders fell from the dungeon's ceiling and they were right below it with no way to dodge it in time.

Time seemed to slow down as the world around them turned into a slow motion. Everybody knew that it was too late. Everybody knew that they would get crushed under those heavy rocks and debris and none of them could do anything about it. Everybody knew…

That those two were going to die.

This was it. This was the end. The dungeon was caving in closer and closer and—

Sans' eye flashed and the whole dungeon shook.

Author's Note:

Yo! I'm still alive! Well to be honest I was having such a terrible writer's block and had to take some time to think before writing this... plus the business I have IRL is also taking too much of a time for me to actually write something...

Nevertheless here it is. It might be great, it might suck, etc, etc, but I did my best despite my situations. The story is far from over so bear with me just a while longer.

Welp, thanks for everything and see ya next chapt, Capt!

:v /