Papyrus rested his back against a tree as he fought to catch his breath, his throat burning from the frigid air. His legs shook wearily from how far he'd run, his knees almost threatening to give out from under him. A shaking hand clutched at the side of his abdomen where a long slice had been made in his coat. Hesitantly, he willed himself to look, lifting the dark fabric with a deep feeling of dread. The slash seemed to have gone through the coat alone, the white sweater underneath left seemingly untouched. He let out a small sigh of relief between panting breaths. Good, so he'd managed to dodge in time after all. The stabbing pain in his side must have just been from running, then.

He flinched as he felt a particularly hard kick of protest from his unborn son. He rubbed lightly at his belly, feeling a bit bad for the child after the impromptu marathon he'd had to run. The poor little thing was probably so confused, wondering just what the hell his mother was up to out there. After all, Papyrus couldn't imagine something like that would be terribly comfortable for the baby. Unfortunately, it didn't look like his running was over just yet.

The skeleton practically held his breath as he heard the tell-tale crunch of feet stalking through snow. For what was possibly the first time in his life, Papyrus waited patiently. He listened carefully to the footsteps, his hands shaking as he could hear them getting closer and closer, and he waited for them to fade away. He couldn't help but wonder if he was even properly hidden at all. Were he not pregnant, he'd have easily been able to hide his twig of a body behind the tree he rested against. Of course, were he not pregnant, there wouldn't have been a reason for him to hide at all. He could have fought back without guilt, without risk to anyone but himself.

Finally, the footsteps started getting a little too close for comfort. Papyrus darted out from behind the tree, taking off as fast as he could still manage, weaving through the thinning trees. He was rapidly running out of places to hide, and his normally infinite supply of stamina was beginning to fail him. He cursed to himself. He knew sitting around these past several months would turn him into a lazybones! He was already out of shape!

Suddenly, the tree cover gave way entirely, and Papyrus found himself running across a barren white field. With nowhere left to hide, his hope gave out at about the same time his legs did. The skeleton collapsed onto his hands and knees in utter exhaustion. It was all he could do to keep himself propped up even like that, his arms and legs shaking beneath him, his vision beginning to blur. He shook his head to clear the encroaching fog from it, but that only served to make him dizzier than he had already become.

The distant sound of footsteps crunching through snow pulled Papyrus from the edge of passing out. He hastily flipped over onto his backside, partially because he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold himself up like that, but mostly so he could keep an eye on the creature stalking him. The human had just emerged from the tree line and was making its way towards him, walking as calmly as ever. He couldn't help but remember something he'd read in one of the books in the library – one of the actual human history books, not one of Alphys's comics. This was how humans used to hunt their prey; they would simply walk after the animal they stalked, making it run off in fright. Then, they would find it again, and the creature would run. They would keep doing this for miles on end until the creature they were hunting finally died of exhaustion, essentially making their prey do their work for them. That's what this was; a hunt. And Papyrus was the prey.

He scrambled backwards in the snow as best he could as the human approached, unable to take his eyes off of the dust-coated blade in its hand. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't run anymore. Hell, he doubted if he'd be able to stand up at the moment, much less resume fleeing. And this child – no, this little demon – didn't look as though he would spare him at the last second. Then, apparently seeing an easy victory in sight, the human finally broke out into a run towards him, its wide grin like that of a wolf bearing its teeth, that knife held high, ready to sink it deep into its victim. Papyrus let out a terrified shriek, holding his hand up in a feeble attempt at a defense, calling out to the first person he could think of to save him.

"SAAANS!"

Sans was currently running through the vastness of Snowdin Forest, covering whole meters in single 'shortcut' steps. He fought to stay relatively calm, fought to keep himself from panicking. Of all the times for a human to show up, why did it have to be now? And why did it have to set its sights on his brother of all monsters? And why out here? He wasn't sure how far Papyrus could have run in his condition, but at least he had a general path to follow. He'd eventually found a set of footprints that looked as though they could have been from the taller skeleton's boots. He tried to keep close to it, but that meant he had to make his shortcuts a little shorter than he might have liked.

"fuck! this is taking too long!" he cursed to himself. Papyrus couldn't have lasted long this late in his pregnancy. For all he knew, his brother and his nephew were already… He shook the thought from his head before it had a chance to finish itself. No, he couldn't let himself think that! Papyrus was going to be okay! The baby was going to be okay! He would find them soon! He had to!

"SAAANS!"

The shout rang out through the trees, filling Sans with a sense of relief and dread all at once. Papyrus was still alive, at least, but he sounded as though he was still in very deep trouble. The shorter skeleton decided to chance a longer shortcut in the direction of the shout, desperate to find his brother before it was too late. He wound up standing at the edge of the trees, staring out across a vast white clearing. He spotted them instantly; a very expectant skeleton collapsed in the snow, a human child dashing forward on the attack, a knife raised high.

"no!" Sans shouted. He was at his brother's side in half a step, turning to glare at the approaching human with a single, glowing blue eye, his hand flying out on the attack. In an instant, what appeared to be a giant canine skull materialized between the human and Papyrus, effectively shielding the helpless mother-to-be. The human barely had time to skid to a stop in the snow before the ghastly skull opened its mouth wide, a torrent of magical energy bursting forth and slamming into the demon-child's body with the force of a freight train.

When the flurry of snow kicked up from the blast died down, the human was nowhere to be seen. A huge trench was all that was left where the creature had previously stood, a trench that extended all the way to the trees, and then some. The canine skull faded into nothingness, and Sans was left there, staring with wide eyes at the destruction before him, his hand only half extended. That was a Gaster Blaster. They were the cornerstone of his best attacks. There was only one problem; that wasn't his Gaster Blaster.

He then looked down to Papyrus, half in concern, half in shock. The taller skeleton still had a shaking hand raised up in defense, his eyes snapped shut as though he couldn't bring himself to watch what had happened. After a moment in which he realized he hadn't met a painful, violent end, he peeked open his right eye a bit. Sans just barely stifled a gasp as he watched a flicker of blue fade from his brother's eye.

"I-IS IT G-GONE..?" Papyrus asked hesitantly. Sans couldn't find the words to answer right away. All he could do was stare down at his younger brother. Had he really…? No that was impossible! Papyrus had never even seen a Gaster Blaster before in his life, and he sure as hell didn't know how to summon one! Of course, the alternative answer to this mystery seemed even more impossible. After all, the only two monsters who could summon such weapons were himself and his father. His eyes shifted down to his brother's largely swollen abdomen. He knew that unborn babies could sometimes use their magic while still inside their mothers, but it usually amounted to amusing little things like remote controls flying across the room, not this.

"W-WOWIE! D-DID I DO THAT?!" Papyrus exclaimed suddenly, effectively pulling Sans from his reverie. Finally, he gave his brother a half-smile.

"u-uhhh… ya sure did, bro. good job!"

A weary smile spread across Papyrus's face, but it flicked away almost instantly. Sans had to trace his brother's gaze to see what was the matter; there was a figure running towards them from the tree line. He froze. Could the human really have survived after taking a blast like that? Then, as the figure got closer, he let out a sigh of relief. Even from here, that bulky steel armor and bright red ponytail were unmistakable.

"don't worry, it's just undyne. i called her on the way here. i figured we might need back-up."

Of course, the instant Undyne reached them, she set right into her mother hen routine.

"What happened?! Papyrus, are you okay?! Where's that li'l human punk?! I swear, I'll tear 'em limb from limb for this!"

"don't worry about the human. it's all taken care of." Sans replied, slipping his hands into his hoodie pockets. "look, undyne, can ya do me a favor? i need you to take papy out to alphys. have her look him over and make sure he isn't hurt. i'll catch up with you later."

Undyne didn't need to be told twice. Hell, by the looks of her, she'd probably been getting ready to take him on her own initiative if Sans hadn't said anything. She slipped an arm under Papyrus's legs and braced his back with the other, carefully hoisting his flimsy weight up out of the snow.

"W-WAIT!" Papyrus protested even as he shivered against Undyne's breastplate. "WH-WHAT ABOUT THE HUMAN'S SOUL?! I STILL HAVE TO FIND IT AND BRING IT TO THE KING!"

"Hell no!" Undyne retorted forcefully. "I'm not lettin' you come out here anymore! You're officially on maternity leave, starting right now!"

"AWW, BUT UNDYNE–!"

"don't worry about it, bro." Sans interjected, giving his brother a reassuring smile. "i'll go see if i can find it. i'll even save it so you can give it to the king yourself, okay? we'll make sure he knows you were the one that got it for him."

That much seemed to satisfy Papyrus for now, and he finally let Undyne carry him off. Once alone, Sans turned a glowing eye back towards the shattered tree line where the human's body had been thrown after being hit full-force by the Gaster Blaster. He still wasn't sure if it had been Papyrus or the baby that had conjured the weapon, or even some odd combination of the both of them, but the result was rather typical of his younger brother. He never could bring himself to finish the job, always leaving his opponents with at least one good hit left in them. Sans, on the other hand, wasn't so innocent and caring. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and the way he was feeling right now, he was more than happy to paint the entire forest red.

The human child, battered and broken, lay in a heap at the base of a shattered tree. Still, they were not dead. By sheer force of determination, the child rose, their hand still gripping the hilt of the toy knife. They wiped the trickle of blood from their lip and shambled forward, down the path of broken and fallen trees that marked out where the Gaster Blaster had thrown them. This was but an insult, one that they fully intended to repay a thousand fold.

"i gotta admit, yer tougher than ya look, kid."

The child whirled around when they heard the voice addressing them from behind. There, standing right where they had landed a moment ago, was a short skeleton wearing a blue hoodie. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his eyes closed, a serene smile on his face.

"y'know, i'm just gonna be straight with ya; if you woulda come here a year ago, i'd have just let ya go on yer way, watched how you handled things from this point on. i'd have given you a chance. 'cause, y'know, s'like my brother always says; even the worst people have some good in 'em. i'd have liked ta see if you had any good in you, if for no other reason than ta humor papy, but…" the skeleton paused, finally opening his eyes. His left eye socket burned with a fiery blue glow. "… i'm afraid ya caught me at a bad time."

The human wasn't given the chance to retort before Sans pulled a hand from his pocket, a blue aura already blazing around it. The child's arms were immediately constricted against their body as though a giant invisible hand held them in its grasp. The skeleton then swiped his arm forcefully to one side. The child was sent flying, slamming into the trunk of a tree so hard that some of the roots began to rip from the ground.

"and y'know what? i honestly don't think a fuckin' coward like you deserves a second chance like that." he growled out through gritted teeth, slamming the human into tree after tree until the toy knife finally flew from their hand. Only then did he raise them high into the air, bringing them crashing down to the ground with such force that it left a crater in the snow. But, even after all that, the child refused to stay down. They climbed shakily to their feet once more and, though their right arm hung in a mangled, lifeless mess at their side, their eyes still burned with determination, and they stepped defiantly towards Sans.

"how in the hell can anyone with a soul think to attack someone who has no chance of fighting back? how can you live with yourself knowing you wouldn't hesitate to murder someone who's carrying a goddamned baby?!"

Sans's hand was held high once more. The human flinched, fully expecting to be thrown in the air once more. When nothing seemed to happen, they looked up. At that moment, over a dozen huge, glowing blue bones came crashing down around them, forming a cage around them, the gaps between the bones too narrow for even the young human to slip through. The skeleton approached the cage slowly, never taking his eye off the creature within as he conjured more bones above. These ones were white, though they looked like they'd been broken in half, their jagged, spear-like ends aimed down at the captive human below.

"burn in hell, kid."

And the bones converged downwards.

It wasn't too long before Sans made it to the Royal Lab in Hotland, having come straight there after 'dealing' with the human. He probably should have stopped by the house first to clean up a bit, but he was too worried about Papyrus to waste another second on himself. As soon as he walked into the lab, he spotted his brother sitting in Alphys's computer chair, a warm blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Undyne, having abandoned her armor to keep from passing out in the heat of Hotland, was hovering over the pregnant skeleton as usual, Alphys standing nearby. Papyrus seemed to instantly perk up when he spotted his brother at the door.

"SANS! THERE YOU ARE! DID YOU FIND THE HUMAN'S SOUL?" he asked eagerly, though his smile seemed to falter when he got a good look at the shorter skeleton. "IS THAT KETCHUP ALL OVER YOUR SHIRT?! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO BE SO MESSY WHEN YOU EAT?! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE TRYING TO GET KETCHUP STAINS OUT OF WHITE CLOTHING!"

Papyrus then made a move as though he was going to get up, presumably to demand Sans's clothes so he could wash them, but Undyne's firm hand on his shoulder kept him seated. Sans looked down at himself, at the red splatters peppering his clothing. Ketchup. Yeah. That worked. He cast a quick glance up at Undyne, who was staring down at him without humor in her face. She wasn't fooled, but she didn't intend to break the illusion for Papyrus either.

"yeah, about the soul, papy… sorry, i couldn't find anything." He replied apologetically, to which Papyrus looked absolutely distraught.

"W-WHAT?! B-BUT..!" he began to protest, and for a moment it looked as though the poor guy would start crying out of sheer frustration. Sans couldn't help but cringe a bit at that. He always felt so bad when Papyrus started getting emotional like this. He never knew what to do when he just started crying for little to no reason.

"h-hey, it'll be okay, bro. i don't think that was really a human anyway." He assured, giving his brother's forearm a light, reassuring pat. Papyrus looked down at him in confusion, though tears still held a lingering threat at the corners of his eyes.

"I-IT… IT WASN'T..?"

"nah. i think it was just some soulless creature pretendin' to be human. it's not your fault, papy. hell, i fell for it, too. but i'm sure another will show up. it's… it's not the end of the world or anything."

But, judging from the look on Papyrus's face, it must have seemed like it to him. After all, even he knew that humans didn't fall down into the Underground very often. It would be years before another came, meaning there was virtually no chance of him having his baby up on the surface. After a long moment, the younger skeleton let out a sigh.

"LET'S JUST GO HOME, SANS… I'M… I'M TIRED…"

Sans took Papyrus home after that and made sure he went right up to bed. Alphys had said that both he and the baby seemed to be fine, but he was physically exhausted from the experience. That much was obvious, especially if Papyrus had been worn down enough to actually admit to being tired. He would be okay, but he needed to rest. That suited Sans just fine, especially since he still had one last thing to check up on after the chaos that day had brought. He waited until he was sure his brother was fast asleep, changed out into clean clothes, and headed out to Snowdin Forest once more.

Sans stood in the dimly-lit cavern where he'd often met with his mysterious friend from the Ruins, his hands in his pockets, his eyes staring at the floor. He almost couldn't bear to look at that worn wooden door, almost didn't dare to speak. He knew the child had come from the Ruins, knew who must have surely found them and tried to help them, knew…

No…. No, he refused to believe it until he had some solid proof. All he really needed to get that proof was to say two little words. The problem was, he wasn't sure if he wanted proof. He didn't know if he could handle it. He'd been so close to losing so much today, he didn't need another heartache on top of it all. But what was the alternative? Never talking to her again for fear of confirming that he can never talk to her again? That was utter foolishness. Finally, he took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever answer he would receive.

"knock knock."

He waited. Minutes passed, but he received no answer. But… perhaps she hadn't heard? Yes, that was it. He would try a little louder this time.

"kn-knock knock!" he called out, but again, nothing. This time he stepped forward, reaching up and physically knocking against the door, trying to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. Still, nothing but silence greeted him on the other end. This time he pounded with his fist, hearing the echo of the impact ring out against the stone walls on the other side of the door. Still nothing. He slowly fell down to his knees, resting his forehead against the cold surface of the door as the tears began streaming down his cheeks. He continued to knock desperately, though the strength of his knocks gradually became weaker and weaker. Finally, all he had the heart for was one last plea.

"p-please… please answer me, lady… knock knock…"

But nobody came.