Chapter Text
Sans took a step and stared from his place in the shadows, watching the child face his brother. His brother had insisted on this face-off, knowing full well the consequences of the possible results. Sans' eyes focused on two, his sharp eyes catching every movement, his eagle-like hearing not missing a single sound. His eye lights flickered over first the features of Papyrus. His gaze gentle and caring, the cape billowing out behind him like a flag. It was the face of someone who, with every fiber of his being, wished to prove himself. The face of a person who, despite the assignment he was tasked with, had chosen not to capture this human just yet, despite his many opportunities to. and it was the face of someone who, despite everything, was always true to who he was, his BRAVERY shining brighter than any other now, or ever before.
Then there was the child. His eyelights traveled over the opposing human, growing dim. This was the one of the prophecy; he knew it was. Their ever-blank stare was always rather unsettling whenever he saw them. However, he had tried hard not to let it get to him, showing the human what life could be like, using puns and wordplay while keeping an eye on them the entire time. He wanted to give that human a choice; and with every step, they had come closer and closer to this moment, which would determine how he would treat the child from now on. He watched on as the fake fog quickly rolled in, and Papyrus began his speech. He hoped to the Angel that this would turn out okay, like his brother had said it would.
"HALT, HUMAN!" The human, with their normal blank stare, took a step forward despite his words. "HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY. FIRST: YOU´RE A FREAKING WEIRDO! NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES. BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE… THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER. IT FEELS… LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH. HOWEVER! I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY! AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!" The human, a red glint in their eye, took yet another step forward.
Sans watched on, uneasiness building with every step that 'child' took. His left eye glowed blues for only a moment before Sans forced himself to remain calm. He may not trust that demon standing before his brother, but he trusted Papyrus with every fiber of his being. Papyrus, the one person who recognized first that he was so depressed and started encouraging him to get out and talk to people more. Papyrus, who, despite his lack of tact, was always trying his best to be strong for the both of them. He trusted that skeleton above all others. He *trusted* his brother to succeed in changing the human's path. It was Papyrus' time to show Sans that he could be a wonderful Royal Guardsman, just like he already knew his brother could be. He just needed to remain calm, allowing things to flow naturally.
"HEY, QUIT MOVING! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW! BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS… WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!!" The human, looking rather menacing with their tough gloves, took three steps forward this time. "I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!! I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!" And with that, the battle area glowed, causing the human's soul to appear outside their chest.
Sans watched the two face each other, time seeming to freeze for a moment. Papyrus, a smile on his face, showed that he was no threat; that he wanted to SPARE the human, despite everything they had done. But as they stood there, Sans' eyelights disappeared as he saw the eyes of the creature glow red, their cheeks flashing with a rosey color as they smiled. With only a moment's warning, there was no time to rescue his brother before suddenly the sound of that weapon on his bones rang and cracked the silence in the air. Sans' soul skipped a few beats as he watched his brother's body dust before his head, leaving Papyrus to say his final words before he was gone. But Sans didn't hear anything anymore. His eye lights were focused on the face of that head, which was still smiling despite the actions the other had inflicted upon him. He watched, as the head drifted into dust, and the demon walked on, stepping in the remains left behind as though they didn't care for them at all. It wasn't until the human had already disappeared into Waterfall that the big-boned skeleton even stepped out.
He stopped before the remains, only a single fragment of that red scarf left behind. Sans slowly kneeled, his hands shaking as he pulled out that torn fragment, covered in the dust of a monster that had meant everything to him. Who was everything to him. He stared at it, and at the pile, his eye lights missing. After a moment, the world became blurry and cyan droplets fell from the skeleton's eye sockets as he sat there. And after another moment, he looked up, along the path that demon had taken, his mind breaking, causing him to lose the last bit of his HoPe, knocking him to 1. He slowly stood, slipping the red fragment into his pocket. He then pulled his hood up, then slid his hands into his pockets, feeling such complete emptiness which he didn't ever remember feeling before. He needed to keep up. He still had a job to do, after all... but after seeing his brother fall... he knew there was no room left for them to become friends. He would no longer put on that facade.... he was done being friendly. And with that in mind, he shortcut.
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After a minute, he found the demon. He stayed hidden above the human, being sure they couldn't see him, but always watching. He kept that hood up, watching carefully as that armored fish, Undyne, chased the demon through Waterfall. He stuck to the shadows, biding his time. He knew that if the human spared even one person, there was hope. but that proved to be a meaningless hope as, one by one, any and all monsters the destroyer came across fell. He noticed a lack of certain residents, which he approved of. He knew that the only way for his friends to survive this tragedy was for them to go into hiding. The underground monsters were slowly making their way to Alphys, who had called everyone to the lab in order to protect them deep in the Underground.
As he watched the human, however, he suddenly realized something; there was a black door in a place where it shouldn't be. He narrowed his eye sockets at the door, stopping at the curious thing. His eyes slowly examined what he could only describe as a creepy, yet rather fancy door. Atop the frame stood three humans, holding their hands beside each other. Just below the ledge where they stood was an intricate design of thorny vines which creeped across the top. On a second ledge, centered just above the door was another human male sitting atop a throne with many people gathered behind him. throughout the rest, the door was littered with both male and female humans who seemed to be half melded into the flowing design, most of which seemed to lack proper attire. Sans glared at this abomination, his distrust for this random appearance causing him unease. He took a slow, deep breath, then let it out.
He made a mental note to himself to take a closer look at the door later. For some reason, it felt important, but he didn't quite understand why. He couldn't leave this human to be left to their own devices. He continued to stalk slowly behind the kid, keeping up easily with them. Monster after monster this demon killed, and they wouldn't give up even when Undyne chased them off a bridge. Sans was distraught. He couldn't let the demon continue as they were. Oh... the dummy... he sighed and sat in a pile of garbage, just watching from afar. That guy always made him laugh... He waited to see what the kid would do, the sound of the waterfall thundering in the background.
However, suddenly and without warning, the sound stopped. Sans blinked, looking around, confused at the lack of noise. He froze, his soul beat stopping. The door was standing in a place it shouldn't be... again. He stared at it, then slowly slid off the pile, landing on.... the water. He blinked, looking down. The surface of the water was cool to the touch. It didn't move when he did, as it should, almost as though it were ice. He furrowed his bone brow, then looked back toward the fight... which had also frozen. He waited a moment before turning back to the door. It now had his full attention. He slowly began walking toward that creepy door, pulling out a handheld device. He pressed a few keys on the pad, then scanned the door.... it read back as a stone wall. His eyes widened and he looked back at the door. He hesitated, then reached out to touch it. He jumped back when he felt... the door. "...."
He turned his device off and paused, looking back once again at the demon behind him. He guessed... that it really didn't matter at this point if he went in or not. He turned back to the door, taking a slow breath, then letting it out. With that, he opened the door slowly, slipping in, then let the door shut behind him.
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He stopped, frozen, beside the door. What he saw before him was... frankly, not what he expected at all. He found himself face-to-face with a beautiful marble room, intricately designed and practically glowing with cleanliness and care. To either side along the walls were grand staircases leading up to a grand crystal chandelier. Below the chandelier was a fountain of a fancy design, the figure on top in mid-dance. Beyond the fountain was what looked like a cafe, and beyond that was a common room. Off to either side were other rooms which he couldn't see into. In front of him, however, not too far from the door, was a desk. On the desk was both a sign and a bell. He took one more look around, seeing people moving beyond the foyer. He then slowly stepped up to the desk to read the sign.
Welcome to The Bone Club. Please Ring Bell for Service.
The Bone Club? What sort of club? And why was this "Club's " door stalking him? He stood there for a few minutes, not moving. why was this place so... bright? And fancy? There was somehow a rather... relaxing... air to the place. Was this a trick? Or maybe.... He placed a hand on his head, trying to clear his mind. 'calm down, bud... just take a step back...' He took a few moments to get his bearings. His eyes traveled over the sign, then stopped at the bell. Welp... only one way to find out what was going on. With that thought in mind, he rang the bell.
-ding
Almost as if they had been waiting, someone appeared from the top of the stairs. They straightened their fancy blue-violet suit, their purple ascot tie fluffed out rather nicely. The pants he wore were a rather deep purple, almost black, and the shoes upon his feet shone brightly like they were freshly polished. The skeleton, for it was a skeleton, seemed to practically glide down the stairs, a pleasant smile on his face. He came to a stop before Sans, who's eyelights had disappeared. "Welcome to The Bone Club," The skeleton said politely. His manner, while fancy, was also rather relaxed in nature, the other's gentle face attempting to allow only good vibes from him. "My name is Grape," the other continued, seemingly somewhat amused but the shocked appearance of the guest before him. "How may I help you?"
Sans stared at the other for at least three minutes solid, his expression slowly going from shock, to horror, to disbelief. All the while, the other waited patiently and politely, almost as though they were used to such reactions. When Sans finally got his voice back, it was with great difficulty what he said his next words. "How.... but I...." He stepped back away from the imposter before him, his left eye flaring to life. ".... P... Papyrus...?"
Indeed... the one standing before Sans... was none other than his brother, Papyrus.