Sans was running, from or towards, he wasn't sure. All he knew was he had to run. He came across a clearing and fell to his knees. There, right in front of him, was his brother. Sans felt tears falling down his skull. That's what he had been running towards.

He took another step forward, reaching out for his brother. Papyrus must have heard Sans approaching, for he turned around ever so slowly.

Sans stopped dead. His brother's face was streaked with tears. The tinted tears stained the scarf around his neck. He was holding something in his arms. Sans recognized the form. It was the Kid… but you weren't moving.

"Pap…"

"Brother, it seems my friendship was not enough for the Human…"

"Papyrus what happened?" Sans moved forward, but he never got any closer to his brother and the motionless human.

"She… she will not wake up…" A sob shook the taller skeleton's frame. Sans felt his chest constrict. He tried running faster, but it was almost like Papyrus was actually moving farther and farther away.

"Bro she'll be fine…"

"This is all my fault… I was not a good enough friend for the human. I am the reasons he will not wake up." Papyrus was no longer holding the human, but a glowing bone.

"Papyrus please…" Sans felt tears pouring down his face. Not him too.

"This is all my fault." With a strangled cry, Papyrus shoved the bone through his chest and collapsed, turning to dust before his knees even hit the snow.

"PAPYRUS NO!"

Sans woke up screaming. His breathing was so ragged his vision started going black around the edges. Tears were dripping down his face and into his open mouth, choking him slightly. He shot up from his bed, getting tangled in the sheets and falling on his face.

Curling up on his side, he ignored the pounding in his chest and the image of Papyrus branded in his skull. The carpeting scratched his exposed bones and he sobbed painfully.

His nightmares had been getting worse and worse. You decided to take a break your adventure, turning around right before getting to the throne room and coming back to Snowdin. You tried staying at the inn, but when Papyrus heard you had spent every piece of gold you had on a room, he insisted you stay with them.

Sans contemplated which nightmare he would rather have, this one or the one where he walks in to find the world turned to ash. There were a few others, but those were the two main ones that haunted him.

As his sobs slowed, he tried to recall the last time he was able to sleep through the night. It was way before the human came to stay with them. Maybe a few months since he got a solid night's sleep. His brother always got on his case, but Sans couldn't help it.

He was falling asleep more and more during the day, but not for long. Each nap ended with tears and a cry. Sans purposely made sure to sleep away from his brother and the human. He didn't want to worry either of them.

Sans was finally able to peel himself from his bedroom floor and toss his blanket back into the bed. He slipped on his hoodie and slippers, taking one last shuddering breath before opening his door and heading downstairs.

Papyrus had left already, always the early bird. Sans used to try to keep up with his brother, back when they were still little skeletons, but quickly gave up. Sans glanced over and saw the blanket on the couch was neatly folded. The Kid must have gone with Papyrus today.

You had been staying with the Skeleton Brothers for about two weeks now. You didn't show any signs of leaving anytime soon, and everyone in Snowdin was more than okay with that. Sans, on the other hand, kind of wanted to just get this whole resetting thing over with.

Running a boney hand over his fatigued face, Sans walking into the kitchen. It was meticulous, as usual. The human seemed to have a knack for cleaning, and put your talents to good use around the house. You even cleaned up the sock Sans had left in the living room.

Opening up the fridge, Sans saw a small container with his name on it. Leftovers from last night's dinner, which he wasn't in the mood to eat. There were various ingredients and containers from previous meals, along with some pitchers of drinks.

He reached into the fridge and went to grab the pitcher or iced tea, but something caught his eye. Last time the human went shopping, you restocked the ketchup supply. Sans had found out ages ago though drunken confusion that the red liquid worked just as well as any human alcohol to keep the dreams at bay.

Sans had been sitting at Grillby's, as usual. The bartender was about thirty seconds from cutting the skeleton off when he realized Sans had grabbed the ketchup from his fries instead of the bottle of human beer. Sans didn't seem to notice the difference at first, seeing how as long as it made him drunk he didn't care what it was.

Since then, Sans liked to drink the ketchup during the day, partially for the comedy factor, partially because it was cheaper than actual booze, and partially because Papyrus wouldn't think he was drinking during the day even if he was.

He snagged a bottle of the red gold and popped the lid off with practiced ease. Taking a large sip, Sans retreated to the living room. He had about an hour before he was supposed to be by his telescope, so he decided to try forget about his dream in the safety of his own home.

Clicking on the television, Sans passed by three different Mettaton shows before coming across some human channel. Sometimes the human channels can be picked up down in the Underground, and the skeleton would have rather watched some human trash than monster trash.

His bottle of ketchup was empty too soon, and the clocked chimed noon. Sans peeled himself off of the couch and threw the bottle in the trash, not bothering to clean up the splatter of red that specked the floor when it hit the rim of the can.

Sans contemplated changing into sneakers, but decided it was too much work and teleported right to his telescope.

Waterfall was one of Sans' favorite places to be. The sound of the music box statue floated through the caves, lulling him into a comfortable relaxed state. Almost nothing got him to relax after a nightmare.

Sans settled down next to the telescope, leaning up against the cave wall with his legs spread out in front of him. He let the lights in his eyes fade as he listened to the dripping water and echoing tune. Without meaning to, Sans felt his consciousness slipping away.

The human approached again, your knife clenched tightly in your hand. All of your wounds had closed after resetting for the umpteenth time, and Sans prepared to fight again. He could see from the look in your eye that you wasn't the real human.

It was something else, using the body to kill everyone. Sans summoned his magic and let the Gaster Blasters form behind him. He shot a beam of magic at the human, and you dodged it easily. You fell to one knee and tried to stand again, but the second beam nicked your shoulder.

You stumbled back, clutching your arm in pain, the knife discarded a few feet away. A third beam shot at you, but you dodged again. You stayed down, calling to Sans.

"Please… please spare me… I don't want to fight anymore." Your eyes were back to normal, and Sans felt a stab of pity go through him.

"Oh Kid…" Sans reached a hand out to help you up. With a rapid movement, Sans used his magic to stop the knife about to slam into his chest. You had grabbed it back when you dodged the last time, and tried to betray him. "You think you can trick me?"

Sans let his magic surround the human, ignoring your cries of pain and fear.

"You sick little bitch. You killed my brother, you killed all my friends, you tried to kill me… you even killed the real human." Your eyes widened with shock. "Oh you thought you could trick me? Nah, I'm too smart for that. I know you aren't the same human that fell down here. You took over somehow and used her to kill everyone."

"Sans please… let me explain!"

"Explain this, freak." Sans dunked you hard, your soft body cracking the decorated tiling of the hall.

"S-sans!"

"Be quiet you awful creature!"

"Sans!" the skeleton woke up with a jolt. He sucked in a breath and tried to steady his rapid soul beat. He was on the edge of hyperventilating. Tears streaked down his face, and by the wetness in the collar of his jacket, Sans would say he had been crying for some time before he woke up. Looking around dazedly, Sans saw who called his name.

You were standing there, eyebrows furrowed in concern and a hand placed on a reddening cheek. With a sinking feeling, Sans realized he must have lashed out in his sleep and struck your face. He gave a trembling chuckle and stood, his knees giving out a little. He grabbed the wall for support, straightening his legs fully

"Hehe sorry Kid. Didn't mean to fall asleep on you. Wanna try my telescope-"

"Sans why didn't you tell me you were having nightmares?" You were hurt that he didn't trust you with his nightmares, but understood why he did it. Sans rubbed a boney hand over his face, scrubbing away the tear streaks and the sleep from his eye sockets.

"Eh, it's nothing too bad. Don't get your panties in a twist over it, kay kid?"

"Sans, this is no time for underwear related humor."

"Every time is a good time for underwear humor." Sans gave a tight chuckle.

"I'm serious!"

"Hey Serious. I'm Sans." Sans gave a more genuine chuckle as he saw the frustration in your face grow.

"SANS!" You yell at him, your patience all gone. "You hit me just now! You haven't been sleeping, you haven't been eating. Something is obviously wrong here, and you keep pushing everyone away!"

Sans was shocked to say the least. You had never blown up at anyone before, not even when you and Alphys got into a fight over which character in Kissy Kissy Mew Mew was the most well-developed.

"Wow kid… didn't know you had it in you to yell..."

"Seriously Sans…" Sans could tell by the look in your eyes that you were past jokes. He signed and slumped to the ground again, not caring if the rocks jutting from the walls dug into his ribcage.

"Well, you got me." You sat next to him, watching his reactions as he spoke. "They've been getting worse, Kid. They started out not super bad. Just a few scares here and there. But they started getting worse a few months ago. By now it's almost every night. The only time I can sleep through the night is if I'm drunk."

"What are your nightmares about?" You voice was soft and supportive, and the tone reached Sans down to is core.

"Sometimes its memories of our battle," Sans didn't miss how you flinched. "But lately I've been having one that's even worse than that… I walk into a clearing and I see Papyrus holding something. When I see what he's holding, I realize it's you, but you're not moving and Papyrus is crying. I try to get closer but I can't get any closer.

"P-pap starts saying stuff like how his friendship wasn't enough to keep you with us, and how you won't wake up and how it's his fault you won't wake up because he was a bad friend. He brings his special attack out and when I try to run at him I seem to get farther and farther away. And then you're gone but Papyrus still has the attack out and he stabs h-himself and he turns to d-dust but there's n-nothing I can do to stop it!" Sans was sobbing by the end, and you didn't know what to do with what he just told you.

Sans knew you sometimes thought about killing yourself. The two of you had a heart to heart a few weeks ago, when you first started staying with the skeletons.

"Sans… sometimes I don't want to be around anymore." You were sitting on the roof of the house, watching the snow fall from the dark sky. You long gave up trying to figure out Underground weather. Sans was leaning on the roof next to you. The two of you were sharing a large blanket.

"What do you mean Kid?" He looks over at you, eye lights bright in the darkness.

"I mean, sometimes it all seems like too much for me… like this whole thing is too big for someone like me. Like I was thrown into this huge puzzle but I was never meant to be the one to solve it. Sometimes I just want to… give up. Just give up and not wake up anymore."

"I know what you mean…" Sans sighed and looked across the town. You felt a twinge in your chest when you realized what he meant by that.

"What do you mean?" A breeze blew across the town, causing you to shiver and snuggle closer to Sans, who was warmer than any blanket. He chuckled hollowly and pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulders.

"These timeline resets have been happening long before you fell. The other humans would reset, but their powers were not as strong as yours. They could go back a SAVE or two, but that was it. It was so disorienting to be sent back ten minutes in time every minute.

"Bad things would happen all the time, and no matter how many times it was reset, I was never able to save them… Asgore always got to them in the end… By the fifth child, I had just given up. I couldn't be bothered trying to save them. After I heard that the fifth human had been killed, I went to Hotlands and stood on the edge of the walk way.

"I was so tired… so tired of everything. I had given up. I almost threw myself into the lava right then and there, but I knew it would be reset as soon as the next human fell down. I decided it would have destroyed me mentally to finally die only to be brought back, and I stepped away from the edge."

You had tears running down your face. You never would have guessed Sans, Sans who always smiled and told jokes and was there to make you feel better, almost killed himself. You felt a heaviness in your chest as you buried your face in his jacket under the blanket.

"I'm so sorry you went through that…" You didn't know what to say, but part of you was thankful that you had someone that understood what you were going through.

"I'm so sorry you're going through this now."

"Thanks you Sans."

"Anytime Kiddo."

"Sans, I'm not going anywhere and neither is Papyrus."

"Yeah… I know Kiddo. It's just… the fear never really goes away, you know?" Sans scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He never wanted you to find out. He figured that if he hid it long enough, you would just move on with your adventure.

"Yeah, I know what you mean… Sometimes I still have those thoughts, but I've met so many people down here. I couldn't bear to leave them. Yeah, thoughts like that almost never go away, and nightmares never really go away, but being able to talk about them is the best way to handle them and be able to move on."

"When did you grow up?" Sans' voice was soft.

"When you were pushing everyone away."

"I didn't realize it was that obvious…" Sans chuckled sadly.

"Wasn't obvious that my best friend decided not to be my best friend anymore?"

"Well when you put it that way." Sans smiled again, more genuine this time. You smiled too, happy that you were finally getting your best friend back.

Sans was standing on the roof of the house. Snow was falling softly, but he wasn't alone. You were there too, standing on the edge of the roof, looking over to the ground. Sans felt a twinge in his chest but he couldn't speak. He tried calling after you, but nothing came out.

"I can't believe I was such an idiot! Of course no one would care…" You wobble on the edge of the roof. Your voice was trembling. Sans tried calling out again, but he had no voice.

"Idiot… idiot… idiot…" You were screaming across the town. Sans tried to reach out to you, but he was frozen in place. He watched in horror as you tipped over the edge, falling down off the roof. He was finally unfrozen, but when he ran to the side, there was no body on the ground.

"Sans…" He spun around and came face to face with you, but you were different. Your eyes were completely black and your sin was white as the snow surrounding you. "Why did you let me fall Sans?"

"I-I didn't!"

"You left me… you forgot about me." You took a step towards him.

"I would never leave you Kid…"

"You did though. You left me alone for weeks…"

"I'm so sorry Kiddo. I'll be here for you now." Sans was getting desperate.
"It's too late Sans. I'm already dead."

Sans woke up with a start. Sweat was covering his pillow, either sweat or tears. Maybe a combination of the two. He gasped for breath, sobbing as the remnants of the dream caused his skull to pound.

"Sans!" You had heard his cries and ran to his room. The door was locked, as usual, but you learned quite a few things during your time on the Aboveground. Opening the door, you rushed over to his side.

He was sitting up in the bed, his sheets tangled up in his legs and tears glowing in the dark room. His breathing was the only sound in the room.

"K-kiddo?" His voice was trembling. You rushed to his side and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm here Sans. I'm here for you." He wrapped his arms around you tightly, sobbing into your shoulder.

"Oh god you're okay… You're o-okay."

"Sans you have to talk to me okay? What was your dream about?" You rubbed his back, trying to get his breathing to regulate just a little.

"W-we were on the r-roof, but I couldn't move! A-and you jumped" His sobbing increased. "B-but you weren't on the ground. Y-you were behind me, but your eyes were all black… you said it was m-my fault you j-jumped… my fault, because I wasn't t-there for you…"

You were shocked. You never would have guessed that was what he was dreaming about.

"S-sans… Sans I'm not going anywhere. And there's nothing to blame yourself for. You're my best friend." You held him closer, letting him cry himself out.

"W-why are you awake so early?" Sans sniffled, finally calmed down.

"I…" You looked away sheepishly. "I had my own nightmare actually."

"What?" Sans shot a concerned look at you. His face was still stained with tears, but his skull wasn't snow white anymore. You nodded sadly and he patted the bed next to him. You stood and sat next to him, snuggling up under the blanket

"I was in Asgore's throne room, but Asgore wasn't there. There was just a giant pile of ash in the middle of the room. When I tried leaving, the door slammed shut behind me. She was there Sans… Chara slammed the door shut, locking me in the room with the ashes… She cornered me and tied me to the throne. She used her knife to cut designs into my arms…" You shudder. You refused to cry, but remembering it made your stomach heave.

"Oh Kiddo… I'll protect you." His arm wrapped around you tighter and you fell into the embrace. This was what you missed. This was what you needed the most.

"Thanks Sans."

"For what kid?"

"For being my best friend again." You smiled and rested your head on his shoulder.

"I never stopped Kiddo."

I've had a few requests for Nightmares Sans, but I wasn't initially sure how I wanted to portray it. I've read a few myself where Sans has nightmares about Papyrus being killed, but I wanted to shake it up a little bit.

I'd like to thank everyone for your support. I know I say it every chapter, but it really does mean a lot to me! The fact that everyone is so supportive of not only my writing, but also me as a person.

I kind of want to do a chapter based off this headcannon I saw on Tumblr a few days ago. It was about the whole thing with Papyrus' call to you after the date in the Dump. I don't know it word for word but I can paraphrase it.

So the call from Papyrus seemed really forced and awkward, which wasn't normal for Papyrus. They went on to talk about how it's speculated hos Alphys kills herself in some of the neutral endings, which makes sense because of some of the comments she makes during the game. SO the point of this was maybe when Papyrus and Alphys were on their run, she made some comments that made Papyrus worry so he sent her home and called you, maybe to make sure she doesn't do anything bad.

But how would Papyrus know the signs that Alphys was showing? Well maybe it's because Papyrus lived with someone who showed the same symptoms as Alphys…

Anyway, it wouldn't be hurt/comfort with the reader, but with Papyrus and Alphys. If anyone knows that headcannon thing, or would be interested in seeing this as a chapter, please let me know! I might type it up for fun, but if people are interested I'll try really hard!

If anyone has any questions, comments, requests… send a message or a review!

Until next time

~Starlight