Level 15

Papyrus wondered if he was insane.

Here he was, in the middle of some giant machine over a bed of lava, running at an almost fully armored green parrot with a yellow Mohawk. It was honestly something he wasn't eager to achieve in his life.

But there was no backing out now from the fight he had caused, and while it seemed like a good idea to begin with…ok, this wasn't a good idea. Still, even if he was badly injured or worse, Papyrus knew if they wanted a chance to live peacefully underground, they had to go through Sagiv first.

Before the fight began, Papyrus wondered if telling Sagiv they wanted to stay would have made a difference. Would he have dropped his bow and welcomed them with open arms? Papyrus liked to believe so, but for the moment a sense of reality was cast over his mind, and grimly he surmised that no, Sagiv wouldn't care. He might be confused for a second, but in the end he would harvest their souls.

And that's what he had to stop.

Papyrus gave out a battle cry much like the one he had heard Undyne shout; hoping that it would pump the adrenaline faster through his veins and make him a fighting machine. The moment he got into proximity with Sagiv though the parrot seized his raised arm and delivered a blow to the stomach, much like he did with Sans.

Papyrus felt the air in his lungs escape while the fiery sensation of pain burst through his chest, but he didn't get a moment to breathe before Sagiv punched him in the stomach again. And again.

"Papyrus!" Sans had sat himself as close to the fence of arrows without being cut by them as possible, but now he was fighting back the urge to throw himself at it just to try and get inside the ring. Half a minute hadn't even gone by and already Sagiv had Papyrus in his hold, using him as a personal punching bag by delivering low jabs to his stomach and sides.

Every punch Papyrus took Sans responded with a flinch of his own, every yelp of pain the anger inside of him rose. Sagiv wasn't taking them seriously at all; to him this was a fight between a bull and a snail.

"Come now human, I thought you were going to stop me." Sagiv teased, lifting Papyrus up by the arm he held him with before tossing him to the other side of the ring like a ragdoll.

Papyrus crashed into the ground before rolling dangerously close to the gated fence. He let out a few ragged coughs, arms shaking as he tried to rise to his feet.

Luckily for Sans Papyrus had fallen near him, the bars big enough for Sans to reach out a hand and place it on his brother's shaking form. "Papyrus, listen. Mary and Carrie said that humans are dangerous to monsters because our souls are stronger than theirs. Sagiv wants you to feel weak but you are strong, you can beat him. You just have to be and stay determined."

"Of-of course I'm stronger than him." Papyrus stuttered while he balanced himself on his knees. He gazed back at Sans, pain eminent in his features. "I-I'm the Great Papyrus, remember? Nothing beats me."

His false confidence ebbed away when he took a good look at the both of them. How ragged and tangled their hair was, how dirty and blood-stained their clothes were, how patches of dirt was caked on their skin and how their shoes threatened to rip apart any moment. "God, we look terrible."

Sans falsely smiled. "Heh, guess you could say we look like 'cavemen'."

Instead of getting angry Papyrus chuckled, throwing Sans off for the moment. He saw his older brother smile sweetly to him. "Good one. But maybe put a bit more 'backbone' into the next." Before rising to his feet to face Sagiv once more.

"Are you two done saying your goodbyes?" Sagiv taunted, giving Papyrus the time to slowly walk back to the center of the ring.

He cocked an eyebrow at Sans. "I'm surprised you're still moving, tubby."

Sans narrowed his eyes, but lessoned them when going back to watching Papyrus. His brother was trying to get his breathing under control, fingers twitching for some action. Even when going up against Sagiv Sans couldn't see any anger or murderous intent in his posture.

It was like he couldn't muster any the harder he tried.

Teeth clenched, Papyrus ran at Sagiv once more, pulling back a fist in an attempt to strike Sagiv in the stomach. The old bird simply scoffed before back-handing Papyrus, sending him to crash onto the ground on the right.

Papyrus fought the will to just lay down and let Sagiv kill him, rising to his elbows and knees. Sagiv had strolled over to where Papyrus was attempting to stand up; giving a rough kick onto his side and sending him back down.

Sans bit into his tongue again as he sat there, watching Sagiv kick Papyrus back down every time he tried to get up. His left eye burned with the desire to enter the ring, but Sans stopped himself from wishing it so. If he had blinked into the ring like he did earlier, it would only distract Papyrus and make things worse.

But this… this was inhumane.

"Peh, pathetic." Sagiv commented, having kicked his boot into Papyrus' side for the 8th time only to watch him go down again. Papyrus' body shook uncontrollably now, coughing up a few morsels of blood from all the internal bleeding.

He figured by now Papyrus would have stayed down; perhaps beg for his life like any beaten animal would. But still Papyrus kept his mouth shut and moved to pick himself up again. It was almost saddening, really.

Sagiv took a step back to allow Papyrus the room to get up, but he figured from how beaten he was he wouldn't even get to his feet. He crossed his arms, watching Papyrus stumble only to face-plant onto the floor, yet still try again. "You still think you can beat me? Look at you, you can't even stand."

Papyrus didn't respond back, simply trying again to get onto his feet. He had made it half way onto his knees before letting out a whimper, falling back onto his hands to steady his shaking body.

Sagiv shook his head. "You humans have fallen far from when I last battled your kind. I thought you would pose a real challenge."

He waited until Papyrus was finally able to muster the strength to get to his feet, though he rocked back and forth as if he was in a battle with his own balance. Sagiv figured he should have knocked him back down, but felt a change of heart when he saw how pained Papyrus was.

He clicked his beak. "Tell you what; I'll give you a free hit if you can walk over here."

In between Papyrus' heavy breathing he gave Sagiv a questionable stare, one that he shot back with a cock of an eyebrow. "I mean it. If you can walk over here, you can get a free hit in. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I took your soul from such a pathetic fight. So make your only hit count."

Sans couldn't believe what he was hearing, his teeth grinding up against one another. First he throws Papyrus around like complete garbage, then has the audacity to play him a fool and pity him? His right hand clenched his pant pocket as he felt the knife inside, murder lining his every feature.

Papyrus, however, felt hope swell in his chest. There was the real possibility that yes, Sagiv would kill him right after his free hit, but the fact that Sagiv was giving him a chance to prove himself was very nice of him.

His head turned slowly to look at Sans, noticing how angry his brother was. He understood, it must have been hard for him to watch his older brother go down so easily without a fight. But with this free hit, Papyrus could show Sagiv what he was made of. With it, he would protect Sans.

Sagiv was surprised to see Papyrus walk over to where he stood, his limp and shakes starting to disappear. Papyrus felt like he was on fire, but not in the burning, agonizing way. No, it was warm and comforting, like his pain and aches were gone. He felt powerful… and he would use it to keep his loved ones safe.

Papyrus stopped walking when he was two feet in front of Sagiv. An electric, tingling sensation coursed through his bones, but all Papyrus could feel for the moment was himself pulling back his left arm for his punch.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Papyrus threw his fist into Sagiv's stomach with all the strength and power he had left in him. Sagiv went flying backwards and smashed back-first onto the ground before tumbling over himself. Sans was paralyzed by what he had seen, his hand hovering over his pant pocket.

Papyrus panted heavily before straightening his stance, about to shout in joy from how strong he was. But then something else caught his field of vision.

Turning his head, Papyrus found himself in the middle of two long, giant bones, which were angled and stopped exactly where his fist had gone. He turned to Sans in confusion before looking to his fist, then back at the bones. "Did I…"

Lifting his hand up, his shock increased when the bones slowly slid into the ground as he lowered his hand, as if they had been commanded to come out of the ground earlier. Papyrus opened his mouth to gasp, but instead he lightly chuckled in disbelief. "I-I did-!"

Papyrus forgot the rest of his words when he doubled over, a waterfall of blood falling from his mouth and crashing onto the ground. Sans' fingers tensed like he was trying to grab some of the ground to steady himself, hearing Papyrus' weak moans and watching him stumble before finding his footing again.

He puked blood.

Thoughts zapped into Sans' mind, trying to decipher why this had happened. The blink, then he puked, now Papyrus summoned some bones and he does the same. Did it happen when they tapped into their magic? But if so, then Papyrus should have puked when he floated back up from the lava.

The sound of Sagiv grunting resulted in Sans having to solve this conundrum later, turning to look at the parrot. Sagiv pushed himself back up, alarmed and confused as to what hit him. He watched the last bits of bone sink into the ground, his beady eyes switching over to Papyrus in shock, who was reluctantly wiping the blood off of his chin. "Did you just…cast magic?"

With a hefty shove Sagiv stood once more, eyeing Papyrus. Something had seemed off to him ever since the chase in waterfall, but it was clear now what it was.

Sans' kept eying Sagiv, who looked as though he were contemplating the situation at hand. His gauntlet rested beneath his beak and he looked strained like he was choosing a path to take.

With a deep growl Sagiv lowered his hand, slowly walking towards Papyrus. "This changes nothing. I'll still defeat you before you can learn how to use your newfound magic."

Papyrus responded by raising his hands to his chest while taking steps back from the advancing Sagiv. His eyes glanced nervously to Sans as if he were asking him what to do, before suddenly switching them back to the field when Sagiv moved to sprint.

Frightened by the hulk of a parrot coming towards him, Papyrus turned tail and ran, remembering what happened the last time he let Sagiv grab him.

"Papyrus, use your bones!" Sans shouted, his body leaning towards Papyrus while he ran past him followed by Sagiv.

"R-right!" Papyrus turned and planted his feet, but barely had time to think before a fist was in his face. Sans winced while watching Papyrus fly backwards and back into the circle ring, while Sagiv charged towards him.

Papyrus quickly rose to his feet, feeling small trickles of blood come from his nose and run down his chin just as Sagiv was upon him once more. In a fit of fear Papyrus threw up his arms to cover his head, unleashing a wave of bones to spike up from the floor. Sagiv barely knew what happened as he was flung upwards and several feet away, landing on his elbows first and head second.

The bones slid back into the ground just as Papyrus opened his eyes and saw what had happened. He looked to his hands once more, fingers slowly curling into fists as a soft, knowing smile grew on his face. Standing confidently, he waited for Sagiv to get back up, his eyes blazing orange.

Running back for Papyrus, the teen merely slid his foot back before angling his hands up. The ground before Sagiv exploded with a long, lone bone, but Sagiv was quick to dodge and continue towards his goal. Papyrus bent his knees and tried once, twice, thrice as bones split up from the ground only for Sagiv to curve around them in time.

"Papyrus!" Sans yelled, watching as Sagiv was close enough to snatch for Papyrus. The dirty, yellow polo slid out of Sagiv's open hands just as Papyrus jumped backwards, much higher than any human could jump. Two bones came up from the ground just as Papyrus landed atop of them, wobbling to get control of his balance before crouching down and placing his hands on his knees.

Sagiv growled when Papyrus decided to bellow out his signature laugh. "The Head of the Royal Guard has no chance at beating the Great Papyrus! You might have gotten the upper hand before, but now I shall dictate this fight!"

"Like hell you will!" Sagiv shouted, his body shaking in anger. His eyes darted back for his bow just beside the ring, turning quickly on his heels towards it.

Papyrus clicked his tongue while playfully shaking his head. "The Great Papyrus doesn't feel like playing with arrows!"

With a mighty shove of his hands Sagiv was thrown up into the air, landing roughly back to where he once stood. Papyrus nimbly jumped off of his platform just as Sagiv was getting on his hands and knees.

With a ditty laugh Papyrus walked over to where Sagiv was, throwing an air-punch while the bones shot up and smashed into Sagiv's side. The old parrot let out a pained squawk before falling to the ground, with Papyrus waiting close-by for him to try again.

"You think this is just a game, don't you?" Sagiv growled, his hand reaching underneath his body while angrily staring at Papyrus.

Papyrus lost his smile. "Just giving you a taste of what you dished me."

Sagiv moved his head like he was about to get up again. "Sorry, but I'm not hungry for the main course."

With a quick shove Sagiv rose to his knees, just as Papyrus threw his arms up and Sagiv threw his down. An explosion of rainbow colors exploded from the scene, with Sans thrown onto his back from fright. He scrambled to get back to his knees, remembering all too well that cloud of rainbows. "Papyrus!"

Inside Papyrus was having a hard time breathing, his orange eyes blazing like stars. The ground around him was in a frenzy of bones shooting up and down, moving alongside Papyrus as he broadened his stance.

Keeping one eye open, the thick smoke before Papyrus gave way to a torrent of arrows flying at him from every direction. Papyrus yelped and summoned forth a wall of bones, hearing the arrows pierce the bone and a few crack while several arrows flew past him from beyond the wall.

In the middle of the chaos Papyrus grabbed one of the bones from the wall, letting the wall sink back into the ground when the arrows seemed to have stopped. When the wall was far enough down that Papyrus could see, he was greeted with the image of Sagiv bursting through the smoke with his bow in hand, an arrow lined for a shot.

Papyrus sucked in a breath of air and leapt backwards, the arrow slicing the ground beneath his feet. Sagiv landed near Papyrus, throwing the arm with the bow at him while Papyrus moved his head away. Sagiv took another step forward, throwing another punch while Papyrus took the bone he had saved and swiftly moved it to block the blow.

The cloud of magic was dispelling when Papyrus and Sagiv leapt out, with Sagiv leading the chase. Papyrus summoned forth his bones to land on, bounding from one structure to another while Sagiv took a stance and fired several shots. Arrows shot up into the room and pierced metal frames and wires, eventually hitting one of the corner wires. A surge of electricity ripped through the room before the lights went from being solid to breaking and blinking like lightning.

Sans had a hard time following Papyrus in this new lighting, the fight playing out before him like shuffling through pictures. Sometimes though Sans could have sworn he saw a skeleton leaping from the bones before switching back to Papyrus.

"You're only making a fool of yourself!" Sagiv lined three shots before firing where Papyrus once was, unable to keep up with where the teen was going to jump next in the flickering light. The constant black and white was hurting his head, dropping his bow for a second to shut his eyes and hold his head. "You think you will win? You are nothing without your magic!"

"You're wrong!" Sagiv opened his eyes, turning his head where he heard Papyrus' voice only to have a column of bones smash into his chest.

Sagiv was sent backwards but placed a foot back to keep him from falling, watching Papyrus leap from his tower of bones and straight at him with his bone raised above his head. "We're stronger than you!"

Sagiv brought up his bow to defend himself as Papyrus came down with his bone, landing on his feet and pushing forward. Sagiv pushed back, surprised that Papyrus was keeping his ground and wasn't moving.

Their faces were mere inches away from each other, both eyes ignited with the spirit of the fight.

Placing a foot back Papyrus let up on his push, allowing Sagiv to fall towards him only to crack the bone into Sagiv's stomach. The old parrot was sent skidding back, while Papyrus glanced at his broken bone, summoning another one from the ground just as Sagiv ran back at him.

Like a coordinated dance, Sans watched Papyrus parry and block each one of Sagiv's swipes and strikes, who used his bow like a sword. For every blow Papyrus blocked Sagiv did the same, with both moving each other back and forth in the center of the ring.

Papyrus was sweating profusely from how strenuous the fight had become, but noticed an opening in Sagiv's stance. Dropping his bone, Papyrus ducked Sagiv's latest swing only to drop his body to the ground. Sans' eyes widened as the world felt it was going slow, with Papyrus jumping up and landing on his hands. Sagiv only realized what Papyrus was doing just as the teen used his upper body strength to swing his feet into his stance, throwing him to the ground.

Papyrus hopped back onto his feet just as Sagiv's back smashed to the floor, but Papyrus didn't let him rest. Throwing his arms up, Sagiv was hit into the air only for a row of bones from the ceiling to hit him back down.

Papyrus kept moving his arms wildly as Sagiv was thrown up into the air, then back down, to the side, the other side, up, down, left, right, left, down, up, right. It was almost maddening, this type of power that Papyrus now held. The magic, the power, and thrill of the fight, it desensitized him from what was actually happening and made this battle to the death a mere child's game. Laughter bubbled up as Papyrus couldn't help a made grin overtake his lips, letting his laugh bellow into an insane cackle.

Delight shone bright on his face when Sagiv's bow clattered to the ground near his feet, innocently picking it up while Sagiv was still tossed around. With a simple hum Papyrus broke the bow over his knee, throwing it to the ground. "Oopsie."

Sans' eyes begged for Papyrus to finish the fight, his grin maddening while watching Sagiv being thrown around like a ragdoll. "Finish him!"

Papyrus gave Sans a delighted smile. "With pleasure!" Before throwing his hands down to hit Sagiv in the direction of the floor.

Though when Sagiv was coming back down, with Papyrus gleefully waiting for him to get close to the ground so that his bones could pierce his suit, it was then when Papyrus saw it. The pain evident on his face, the fear overtaking his irises.

Papyrus' fun blossomed into horror.

Hands retracting, Papyrus stepped back while Sagiv hit the ground. The old parrot let out a few raspy coughs, body shaking to try and sit up. His proud suit of armor had been dented and reduced to a sad state, one of his gauntlets thrown off and laid off to the side. His exposed chest was most likely bruised and bloodied from the dark spots that formed on his tank top, and one of his eyes refused to open.

Disgustingly Sagiv turned his head to look at Papyrus, who was terrified of the scene before him. "What game are you playing… human? Going to let me… suffer more before killing me?"

"I-I wouldn't-kill-" Papyrus' voice was soft and weak, watching Sagiv shakily gain ground.

He lumbered over to where Papyrus stood, and for a moment the two males just stood there. Then, Sagiv punched Papyrus in his cheek, knocking him down. Papyrus could hear the desperation in Sans' voice to get back up and fight, but all he could do was stare at the broken bow that laid near him, eyes shifting upwards to Sagiv.

The parrot had raised his foot, ready to crack Papyrus' skull open. There was murder in his eye and something else, something faint. Remorse. "This is for Petro."

Gritting his teeth, Papyrus threw up his arms just as Sagiv let out a squawk and slammed his foot down. Papyrus' didn't flinch as his bones conformed around him and held Sagiv's foot up and away from his head. With a light shove Sagiv was sent hopping backwards on one foot before ultimately falling, with Papyrus lifting his head.

Sagiv tried to get back up as well, but Papyrus manipulating his bones to curve around Sagiv's arms and legs, holding him back from getting up. The parrot's mild irritation grew into loud squawking and yelling, using all of his strength to fight his restraints, yet ultimately failing.

His eye was trained on Papyrus as the young man wobbled onto his knees, taking steps over to Sagiv. He furrowed his eyebrows, continuing to shout. "Well? What are you waiting for?! Are you going to continue to make me suffer?! Be a human and kill me!"

Sagiv continued to struggle the closer Papyrus got, his shouts more inhumane and monstrous. But his voice soon left him when Papyrus dropped shakily to his knees, bent over, and hugged Sagiv.

Sans nor Sagiv knew why Papyrus was hugging the old parrot, his body soon shaking with sobs. Sagiv stared down at Papyrus, who buried his face in his chest, his grip frighteningly tight. "Please, no more. I don't want to do this anymore…"

Mustering the will to lift his head, Papyrus allowed Sagiv see the flow of orange down his cheeks. His eyes pleaded, oh how innocent they shone. "W-We never hurt a soul; we just wanted to get through the Underground quietly. I-I know you have a job to do, but if we keep fighting like this, one of us will die! And-and I can't-"

Papyrus gritted his teeth, clenching his eyes shut. "I can't do it! I won't kill you! No matter how much pain you brought us, even if you're going to ki-kill us…I can't… I just-I just can't…"

Softly shaking his head, Papyrus drew in a deep breath. "I don't know why you hate humans so much. I don't think I'll ever understand… But please, Mr. Sagiv… please, let us go."

Sans didn't understand what was going on, his mind empty as he listened to his brother beg to their enemy. "I promise you'll never see us again, and if you do we'll stay out of your way. We just…"

Papyrus sucked in his lower lip, eyelashes fluttering from how wet his eyes were. "We just want to be free… We want another chance at life…"

Sans' fear jumped when Papyrus allowed the restraints around Sagiv's arms and legs to slide back into the ground, allowing the old parrot to sit up. Papyrus didn't move back or flinch when he did so, he only retracted his hug.

Sagiv gazed down at Papyrus, who hung his head in shame. "I-I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for everything… Just let us go…."

Papyrus didn't look up to see if Sagiv was contemplating what he had said. He only watched the small puddle of orange tears continue to grow beneath him. Then, the sound of metal clinking alerted Papyrus to the fact that Sagiv was getting up, but to do what he did not know. And he wouldn't look.

Sans felt his voice trying to jump out of his mouth, fully expecting Sagiv to grab him and throw him, or punch him or kill him without a second thought. This was the Sagiv he knew.

But apparently he didn't know him as good as he thought.

With a simple turn, Sagiv limped over to where his bow had been broken; cradling the long, black wood in his hands before standing back up. He then moved over for his chest plate, reattaching it to his suit to complete his ensemble once more. The only solid metal in a mass of dents.

He limped back over to where Papyrus kept his head, and Papyrus started to shake the closer he heard Sagiv's footsteps. The hairs on his head tingled when he felt the cool metal just centimeters above his head, swallowing a lot of saliva while biting his lower lip.

"Idiot."

But there was no connection. Sagiv merely limped over to where Sans sat, allowing the ring of arrows to disappear into little flutters of light. He disregarded Sans as he passed by him, the door behind him opening up before closing behind the old parrot with a light swish.

Papyrus angled his head up when he heard Sagiv leave the room, baffled and perplexed on what had just occurred. Sans rose to his feet, fast-walking over to where his brother sat. "Pap!"

"I'm ok, Sans." It was obvious Papyrus was not ok, coughing lightly to get some saliva out of his throat.

When Sans had come close enough Papyrus reached out and received his brother and embraced him in a hug. "Sans, I-I did it…"

Sans loosened his hug to see tears of joy trickle down Papyrus' cheeks, his smile golden. "I did it! We don't have to worry anymore!"

Sans returned the golden smile with his own grin, feeling the same, happy tears fall from his eyes. "You did it, bro. I couldn't be prouder of you."

Papyrus let himself sob for a second before changing into his signature laugh. "You can't, can you? For I, the Great Papyrus, shall ne-"

A few coughs stopped Papyrus from finishing his speech, but they slowly turned harsher and more powerful. Sans watched Papyrus turn his head away as he fought the onslaught of coughs, trying to finish what he was saying, "Th-The Great Pa-Papyrus shall ne-never let any-o-ne-"

Without warning Sans was let go, dropping him to the ground as Papyrus clutched his chest, his coughs shaking his body. Alarmed Sans sat up on his knees, hands hesitantly floating around Papyrus' body. "Papyrus?"

Every time Papyrus tried to breathe his coughs got worse, to the point where breathing seemed impossible. His body gave out, collapsing upon itself as his face slammed onto the cool, metal floor, his fit of coughs unending.

Sans' eyes grew large before grabbing Papyrus' shoulder, lightly shaking him and patting his back in an attempt to help him breathe. "Papyrus, it'll be ok. Yo-you're going to be ok…"

"S-Sa-sans…" Papyrus weakly murmured through his ragged breathing, his eyes trying to open once more from all the coughing. They shut closed when Papyrus turned his head and puked again, his blood pooling onto the ground.

Sans flinched back upon seeing the crimson color as Papyrus took another breath before he excreted more. All the blood gave Sans the urge to puke himself, feeling his head become light again from what was happening before him.

Stubborn and angry Sans pushed back his illness as he paid attention to Papyrus, grabbing his body and moving him away from the puddle of blood that started to spread on the ground. His grin was plastered on his face, eyes pleading. "It'll be ok Pap just trust me you'll live through this it's just a phase you-!"

Sans incoherent mumbles were silenced when Papyrus laid a clammy hand upon his, turning his head up to look at his brother. His frown was pained and worried with one eye barely open while he continued to cough. "Sa-sans… the ro-room… it-it's so c-cold…"

"You're cold?" It was the only thing Sans could hear himself say while his body moved on its own. He had readily taken off his blue jacket, throwing it over Papyrus while starting to stuff part of it beneath him to wrap him around it. "Heh, don't worry, bro. I got you covered, things will be ok. I-I will take care of you, you will-"

But as Sans talked Papyrus lurched forward, his blood spilling out and drenching Sans' hands. Upon feeling the warm, sticky substance Sans yelped and threw himself backwards, stumbling onto his feet for a second before falling on his back.

His first sight was Papyrus before him, shivering and shaking, before he slowly brought his hands to his eyes. There was blood in every crevice of his skin, shaking uncontrollably as did his irises. Only one thing registered in his mind at that point.

Papyrus was dying.

"No. Nonnonononononono." Sans grabbed for his T-shirt to try and calm his rapid heart, but tore himself away when he saw Papyrus' blood smear on his black shirt.

Climbing back onto his knees Sans hurried back over to Papyrus, whose coughs had died down but so had his spirit. His brother shook like he was buried in snow, his skin covered in sweat. Sans used the back of his hand to feel his forehead, which had grown incredibly hot and fatal for any human being. Papyrus didn't seem to register Sans' touching him, as there was no response or indication that he knew what was going on.

Sans shook his head lightly, before grabbing his knees roughly and lowering his head. "This can't be happening…This shouldn't-this should have never-you-you-can't-"

He threw his head up to look at Papyrus, his once happy tears having been replaced with ones of horror and depression. "PAPYRUS!"

Throwing himself upon his brother, Sans buried his face in his blue jacket as he sobbed, holding onto his brother as tightly as he could. What should he do? What could he do? His brother was on the verge of death, yet there wasn't a single thing Sans could think of to save him.

The surface.

Head rising, Sans' allowed the thought to take hold of his mind. Yes, the surface. If he could get across the barrier, then he could take Papyrus to a hospital. They could save him. Papyrus would live.

With his new plan Sans lifted himself off of Papyrus. His bloodied hands moved around his brother, helping his arms through the sleeves of the blue jacket and zipping it up for him before then sitting him up. Crouching down, Sans used all of his strength to lift Papyrus onto his back, using the extra-long sleeves to pull him up and over his shoulders.

Sans wheezed and his legs shook under the weight of his brother, threatening to give away and smash both onto the ground. But Sans fought his weakness with the intensity of his anger, willing himself to stand and successfully pull his brother onto his back.

He could feel Papyrus' shallow breaths on his neck from his head resting on his left shoulder while he tied the blue jacket's sleeves around his neck to keep him from falling. He then crouched down and acquired Papyrus' legs, lifting them up and into his hands to carry so that his brother didn't literally drag behind him.

With heavy breaths Sans forced himself to move, wobbling over to the door that would bring him further into the Core. He remembered the mysterious creature telling him that Asgore's castle laid just beyond the Core, and if he could make it then he still had a chance at saving Papyrus' life.

But oh, how weak Sans was. After taking a few more steps he already felt his body ready to fall out of exhaustion, his weight and little muscle working against him.

Sans gritted his teeth and willed himself to continue, but alas, his legs would not obey. He knew if he tried to shift all this weight onto one foot just to step he would smash onto the ground and never get up.

But this couldn't be the end. This couldn't!

I know this feeling.

Sans stepped back from his raw anger to this new voice. He turned his head every which way, trying to find the source of this childish voice. "Who's there?"

Yes, I know this feeling all too well…

When the voice did not address itself Sans felt himself get angry again, furrowing his eyebrows. "Show yourself!"

Sadly, I cannot. But you do not need to see me in order for me to help you.

Sans was able to locate where the voice was coming from, a twinge of fear overtaking his heart when he realized that the voice came from within his mind. "Help me?"

You sound skeptical, but that is to be expected. You want to save your brother, yes?

The splash of fear transformed into a beast which snatched at Sans' heart, making him nod his head. "More than life itself."

Then let me help you. I can give you the strength you need to continue onward. I can be your guiding hand.

Sans didn't register one of his hands dropping Papyrus' leg, how it slowly moved for the knife in his pocket.

Together, we can make sure nothing stops us. We can dispose of anyone who tries to interfere.

"Yes…" Sans mind went numb, his mouth speaking from the heart. He could not see the knife he held in his hand, how he was suddenly walking towards the exit to the room.

The lights still flickered on and off as Sans idly turned his head to the light wires alongside the doorframe. His right arm moved, and with it the knife pierced through the metal and severed the cord.

The room was thrown into darkness, but still the door worked as it opened itself to let Sans through. When he stepped from the darkness however his features weren't the same, sprouting his signature grin and walking like a crazed man. His left eye was engulfed in a sea of black, with his blue iris billowing blue light upwards into the sky, while his right eye had a red glow to it, though it still retained his brown hue.

Sans was the only one to hear the childish giggle.

I already know you'll make a wonderful partner…

Greetings.