shining like a shooting star

The Nightmare

~Nobody's pov~

Night. Darkness. Loneliness. Sleep.

It's something we all need, even if we're afraid of it.

Outside, the Underground had dimmed for the night; it's all part of Undyne's Simulated Daylight Program. Blue glowstones on the rocky ceiling twinkle down at the slumbering world below them. The snow blankets the ground, silencing any stray sounds. Everything is calm and quiet.

Inside the skeleton brothers' house, a certain blue skeleton is having a nightmare. Sans, otherwise known as Blueberry to the other AUs, curls up on his race car bed, his brow furrowed in distress. A bead of sweat drips down his forehead and he clutches his pillow closer to him.

Snow is falling in the small town of Snowdin. Monster dust is mixed into it all. Monsters stay inside to avoid joining those that have already fallen. Something's gone wrong with the fallen human and now monsters are dusting left and right. Somebody has to stop them, and that somebody is the Magnificent Sans!

He looks down at his blue-gloved hands, trying to still the rattling in his bones. He can do this. He has to! For the sake of everyone else, he can defeat the human! He believes in them! They can do better, he just knows it! He closes his eyes and clenches his hands into a fist, determination set in his soul. For everyone else, for the human, and for Paps.

He marches out to where he planned on meeting the human to capture them, but now he has a different plan. He shall spare the human, and, that way, nobody has to get hurt! The human will see that there's no reason to attack him, and they'll stop hurting everyone.

...

Who is he kidding? If this fails, he'll be dusted. He wishes he could have said goodbye to Paps, or at least told him he loves him one last time, but all he left was a note that said he was going to confront the human. He takes a deep breath as he hears the crunch of footsteps in fresh snow.

He turns around to face the human, dressed in their green shirt with an expressionless face. Sans gives them his speech, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He clutches his bandana for comfort to steady his nerves. "I believe in you, human. We don't have to fight."

The human continues their slow shambling walk towards the small skeleton. He can see the sharp glint of the artificial light reflecting off of a blade. He gulps, swallowing his fear and continuing. "This town needs a hero, and I'm here to protect them. But.. I also want to protect you, human. There's no need for all this violence."

The human raises their knife, the intention clear, yet Sans stands his ground. He knows this is the end, but he still believes in the human. They can turn this around. He knows they can. He opens his arms to accept his fate with a smile on his face.

In a flash of orange and red, the human brings their weapon down on Papyrus, tearing the neck fabric. Sans's eyes widen in horror. "P-Paps..?"

The taller skeleton turns to his older brother with a small smile on his face, his body slowly disintegrating. Sans almost can't believe what's happening. "Papyrus, what- no... No, no, no, you can't-" His voice hitches. He can't bring himself to say it. "You can't do this..."