I gasped awake. For a moment, everything was dark and blurry; all I could see was the harsh blue glow from my magic, lighting up something wrapped around my face. I was crumpled up, fists clenched tightly, arms pinned at my sides, my legs tangled in something. Panicky, I flailed, throwing my weight to the side—and suddenly fell, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Thrashing, I burst from the suffocating prison... to see sheets fluttering to the ground around me.
I had been wrapped up in blankets. My blankets. I was in my bed. Well, beside it, now. Wide-eyed, I stared in disbelief at the clutter around me. Memories of pain flashed through my mind; I grasped at my chest—I was still in one piece. wha… what? but, but how—Before I could even begin to process all this—
"SANS!" My soul stuttered. It couldn't be. Thundering knocking ensued. "SANS, GET UP YOU LAZYBONES! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE—"
In an instant, I shot up, bounded across the wasteland called my floor, flung the door open, and with a cry of "papyrus!" tackled my brother in the biggest hug in the history of my existence. It was so sudden and unexpected that it knocked him down.
"SANS, WHAT ON EARTH—" he went silent as a sob shook my body. Crying, I buried my face in the orange scarf, his scarf, and started blubbering like a baby, my words muffled in the bright fabric.
"papyrus, oh my goodness, you're here, bro you're here… i'm sorry, i'm so sorry, i can't believe… i never thought—" Papyrus seemed to shake away the stars circling his head and sat up. I clung tighter, sure that if I let go he would disappear. "please, i'm so sorry, it's all my fault, i never should have left, i—" Papyrus quietly shushed me, returning the hug.
"SANS," he said gently, "CALM DOWN. IT'S ALRIGHT NOW. IT WAS JUST A BAD DREAM."
"but you were dead! i lost you, it was all my fault—" Papyrus managed to pry me off him.
"LOOK AT ME," Papyrus insisted. Reluctant to let go, I tried to grab him again, but he held me just out of range. Finally, rubbing the tears from my eyes, I tried to focus on him. "IT WAS A DREAM. EVERYONE IS ALRIGHT. IT WAS ONLY A NIGHTMARE."
I was about to argue when I realized—Papyrus was right. He had to be. He was here, wasn't he? And so was I. Here we were, in our home, alive and together. Already, details began to fade. A demonic, red eyed human killed my brother? With a single hit from a toy knife? Well, there were no humans in the underground, only monsters; and a human hadn't fallen from the mountain since half an eternity ago. And, that was silly; Papyrus had lots of HP. One hit wouldn't hurt him. The whole ordeal seemed like a distant, obscure memory. A dream. it was just a nightmare.
"only a nightmare," I repeated hoarsely. Papyrus beamed, pulling me close for a hug once more.
"YES! AND YOU'RE AWAKE NOW! SO THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" Tears filled my eyes once more, but this time, they were tears of joy. "NOW!" Papyrus exclaimed happily, "WE'VE GOT A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US! COME ALONG, BREAKFAST IS READY!"
And with that, he sprang up, grabbed my hand, and hauled me along. I scurried to keep up, skipping every other stair in attempt to match Papyrus's pace. I felt like laughing; I knew I'd done something like this every day of my life, but in that moment, I couldn't imagine anything more amazing.
Breakfast on the couch was just as spectacular. Even though Mettaton's morning show felt strangely predictable, it captured my attention like never before. Every single crazy idea of Papyrus's seemed plausible and worth trying. And the food! Even though the spaghetti was hard to swallow, I decided I'd never tasted anything so amazing. I ate every last bite.
Afterwards, I walked all the way to my sentry station. I'd forgotten how friendly the people of Snowdin were. Despite being trapped under a stony ceiling, the "sky" was bright and beautiful. The trees down here were such a deep green. Even my little watch-box seemed cleverly crafted and comfortable. The world was so quiet and calm.
Watching the soft snowflakes drift lazily down, I realized something. perhaps you have to lose everything you love—even if only in a dream—to finally love everything you have. Blinking in surprise, I chuckled to myself. That was a deep thought for such an early hour.
Pulling my hood up, I rested my head on the wooden surface of the sentry station, and slowly, fell into a peaceful sleep…
BANG!
My eyes snapped open. the ruin doors. The innocent happiness I had felt suddenly seemed to be mocking me. Teleporting from my sentry station into the thick treeline near the overgrown path, I peered out from the shadows. I feared I was about to find out if magical skeletons could barf; I felt like all my breakfast spaghetti was going to make a re-appearance.
There was the human. They held a dusty knife. Their eyes were red. All the memories snapped back into place. And I realized… it wasn't a dream.