Hey, all! just got back from a night of sushi, and buying my cat so many toys... feelin good! enjoy this next chapter! more suspense to come...

He couldn't remember how long he ran for, but eventually, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving, and his eye glowing bright blue in a panic. There was no way in hell that what he had just witnessed was real. Sure, he'd heard of the kid doing ridiculous things in the past, demonstrating their power, but this? This was beyond his reach. Mind control? Or possession? Both? Either way, if they had been trying to scare the white off of his bones, then they'd done a pretty decent job. His heart was still drumming against his rib cage, and wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

They had gotten control of Undyne… the only monster in the history of the underground to possess determination all on her own. Her fighting was beast-like, and her will-power was legendary. Yet, she had been turned into a sick puppet. If they had taken her that easily… there was no telling what else they could be capable of. He sat back on the snowy landscape, and gazed ahead toward the direction of town.

How many more had they claimed already? What if he'd been too late? He felt his head spin, and he shut his eyes tight, trying to get a grip. He had to get back, had to warn the others, or at least save as many as he could. With a zap, he found himself in his house in Snowdin, and began a quick search for his brother. The house was empty of course, and he soon realized why. He had sent Papyrus out to find Undyne.

Oh, no…

He ran out of the house as fast as he could, and he felt panicked when he realized the streets were even more desolate than they had been this morning. He noticed a monster on the road, and jogged toward him.

"Hey, man… you gotta g-get…" he began, out of breath, when all of a sudden, he was sent flying back with a violent shove. He luckily tumbled into a soft snow poff, not having the time to dodge, and he watched in horror as the monster turned around, his head tilting, and those same vines creeping along his shoulders as he inched closer.

They had been here already… the damage was done… but how badly? Had they gotten Pap? His heart began to race once more. He quickly got to his feet. He grabbed the approaching monster with a surge of blue magic, and sent him gently to a safe distance before teleporting away. At the edge of Snowdin, he decided to continue his search. He had to get to the bottom of this. Step one, find Papyrus. Step two? Try not to lose it completely… yet.

"Papyrus!?" he called, wincing as he caught the attention of two more monsters a few yards away. They were almost like zombies, their eyes vacant, and their muzzles twisted up in a permanent glare as they stumbled and creeped forward, vines clinging tightly to their chests, legs, shoulders, even heads.

He quickened his pace, and silently prayed that Alphys hadn't been changed as well. She was good at hiding, but Undyne was good at fighting, and he'd seen how well that turned out. As he tore through the snow, narrowly avoiding the grabbing hands and attacks of all its villagers, he began to miss the days when his old concerns were how many bottles of ketchup he could drink. Man, he'd take being apathetic every day of the week over this hell…

This was a nightmare. Everyone was trying to hurt him at once, and he felt his heart break as he spotted every single one of his friends under their hand. They all gazed at him with hatred, and murderous intent. He growled in anger. Why was the kid so determined to make him suffer? Yeah, he'd caused them RESETS, but only when they decided to make half the underground disappear. At this rate, they were pretty much even, so why keep going?

Then again, he learned not to ask so many questions. Nothing about this kid, or that flower was logical, so he was wasting his breath. He quickly crossed the old bridge, and hoped he would cut Papyrus off before he reached waterfall, or Hotland. If the kid hadn't gotten to Alphys yet, he would bet his entire tab at Grillby's that they were headed there next. He pulled his hoodie around himself tighter, and he entered waterfall, passing a few echo flowers on his way, hoping to get a few clues.

"UNDYNE!?" one echo flower called, and three others answered the same thing back. Sans felt his chest swell with hope. Papyrus had come through here! Maybe he wasn't too late! He jogged forward, looking around.

"Hey, Pap!? You out here?" the flowers called back to him, and he continued on his current path. He cast his eyes up ahead, and a genuine grin split across his face as he caught sight of his brother, his wonderful, amazing, vine-free brother trying to climb the rocks beside the waterfall.

"PAPYRUS!" he called, and Papyrus hopped down from the rocks at once, spinning around, and smiling widely as he caught sight of Sans. Sans waved at him quickly, and went running toward him. Papyrus did the same, and they met in the middle.

"BROTHER! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU! I THOUGHT FOR SURE YOU HAD BECOME LIKE THE OTHERS IN TOWN!" he reached down, picking Sans up into a hug. Sans returned the hold, feeling so tired, but relieved in his brother's arms. He patted his back, and nodded.

"Figured the same happened to you too, buddy…" he made a noise of concern as he felt some cuts and bruises along Papyrus's body. Papyrus sighed.

"I WASN'T ABLE TO REALIZE HOW DANGEROUS THEY WERE UNTIL THEY ATTACKED… I MANAGED TO ESCAPE… THANKFULLY."

He took a seat on the ground, letting Sans down gently. He lay back against a rock with a yawn, and Sans joined him, taking a seat right beside him, and leaning against his side. He rested his head on the taller skeleton's shoulder, and let his eyes fall closed. He too, was too exhausted to move anymore today.

"Undyne… she's like them, Pap… they got her too…" Papyrus shut his eyes tightly, and slammed his fist into the dirt beside them with frustration. Sans reached out, holding onto his arm in a lazy display of comfort. Papyrus slumped over, resting his skull against his older brother's. He blinked sadly.

"WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO, BROTHER? EVERYONE WE KNOW IS… NOT THEMSELVES… UNDYNE AS WELL…."

Sans took a deep breath.

"I dunno, Pap…. I… I just don't know…"

Papyrus looked down at him.

"IM AT LEAST GLAD THAT I HAVE YOU… YOU ALWAYS KNOW HOW TO FIX THINGS…" Sans had to resist a bitter laugh. A fine job he was doing at that, now. He settled for giving his brother's arm a squeeze.

"I'm glad I got you too, Pal… it aint so bad when you're with someone."

"ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT SOMEONE IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH!" he laughed, giving Sans a playful shove with his shoulder. Despite the graveness of their situation, Sans smiled. Man, he was so glad he had Papyrus in times like these. Always so optimistic, caring… he wished he could be half the monster his little brother was.

"You got that right." He said with a wink, before staring down at his old ratty slippers. He tried to go through possible solutions in his mind, but every time he tried, he came up empty. He sighed, tracing his finger in the dust absentmindedly. He sat there quietly, leaning against his brother for what seemed like hours before Papyrus spoke again.

"WE CAN DO IT, SANS… WE CAN SAVE OUR FRIENDS!" he patted his older brother's head reassuringly. "WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE PUT OUR MINDS TO… NOTHING CAN STOP A COOL BROTHER… WITH HIS EVEN COOLER OLDER BROTHER BACKING HIM UP!"

Sans couldn't help but smile.

"Heh… you think so?"

Papyrus grinned.

"I KNOW SO! EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT! BY THE TIME WE'RE DONE WITH THEM, THE HUMAN WILL NEVER WANT TO BOTHER US AGAIN!" He nodded to himself before a tired yawn extinguished his excitement, and he leaned back against Sans, his eyes slipping closed.

"One of these days, you're gonna get so excited that you just fly to the barrier, and break it yourself, Pap…" Sans murmured to himself before moving closer to his earlier position. He kept his head on Papyrus's shoulder, and closed his eyes as well. He just needed to rest a bit…

Little did he know, it would be the worst mistake he'd ever made.