Chapter Text
THE UNDERGROUND WAS NEVER SILENT. Brutal battles commenced among monster-kind, as an endless war had plagued their lives longer than they dared to realise. The beings turned crazed with bloodlust, vengeance, and especially desperation. There had been no human appearances for a full decade now, and monsters had gotten impatient with their king's long wait for the final human to show face.
It started off as a slight nuisance. A countless number of humans used to fall and probably die down that singular hole at the mountain's entrance, and the keeper of the ruins wouldn't let them pass.
Rumour had it she killed them herself and used their souls to escape by her lonesome or with the monsters that resided there, since it was dead silent behind that massive, rotting door. Though, in a miraculous off-chance, a few six humans had managed to traverse the underground ten years ago.
All of them were killed by the hands of the king, luckily, obtaining the six necessary souls to use to grasp freedom.
Then they stopped coming.
And the underground grew restless.
Monsters at Hotlands and onwards had unreasonably grown angry at the Snowdin and Waterfall dwellers for 'not letting the humans through' to the king, believing they had captured humans for themselves in secret since everyone assumed the ruins-keeper was long gone by now.
Of course, those at Snowdin and Waterfall were utterly aghast at the notion that the others thought they were conspiring against the rest of the underground!
"What reason do we have to keep the damn things if they even show up in the first place?!" They argued. "We want out just as much as you do! That last soul would've been handed on a silver plate to His Majesty himself the minute we'd find it!"
"Exactly," The Hotlands civilians sneered. "You want to use the last soul secretly to abandon everyone else down here."
The monsters at the Core were far from all this drama between the lower masses, their attention on their king instead. "We can't wait any longer! This isn't patience, this is straight up moping around!"
Their concerns fell on fluffy, but deaf ears, no matter how much they banged on the castle doors or tried to scream at the top of their lungs. The king always kept his doors shut tight. It's been years since he had shown face. No one could tell if he was dead or alive anymore, and when the entire underground realised they were a lawless land, the world erupted in on itself.
Wars and battles erupted left and right. Borders began going up. Leaders stepped up to represent their areas. Monsters fought for control over the souls, and distrust was thrown around like the dust they spilled everyday.
Sans was devastated to see the entire underground collapse because that pesky last human never showed up.
He hated seeing Papyrus becoming so snappy and pointed after Undyne finally screamed in his face he would never be able to join the royal guard because it no longer existed.
He hated seeing Undyne closing the the border to Hotlands to the monsters of Waterfall and Snowdin because, according to 'General Hardcore', they were 'far too soft and greedy' after the rumours reached her fishy ears.
Even he had to get involved, and he hated getting involved in things.
"we're not keeping any souls hidden, undyne, damn it! Not a single human showed up since the last one!" He snapped at her as he watched along with the others her breaking the bridge from Waterfall to Hotlands - the only connector between both lands.
Undyne, dressed in her sharpest armour, cold and bitter, simply squinted her glowing eyes at him distrustfully, spearing her previous friendship that had been so dear to Papyrus (and by extension, Sans) for the rest of time.
Sans turned to Alphys, who'd joined forces with Undyne because the General had seen intelligent value in the social recluse. "IF THERE ISN'T A ROYAL GUARD BUT AN ARMY OF YOUR FOLLOWERS, WHY WON'T YOU LET US JOIN? LET ME JOIN? YOU KNOW HOW HARD I'VE TRAINED FOR THIS, UNDYNE! WHY WON'T YOU BE REASOANBLE?!" Papyrus screeched at his traitorous friend.
Nobody responded. Undyne's guarded face dipped, the fierce glow under her guise dimming if only for a fracture of a breath. The skeleton brothers didn't realise what a blessing ignorance would've been until she finally told him the truth.
"Your naivety would fail the whole underground, Papyrus."
The monsters that used their powers to destroy the bridge collectively thrust their traps to permanently stay at the in-between gape that remained once the bridge was demolished; a permanent reminder of the trust that was broken and the consequences one should receive if they dared cross the lines they drew.
Of course, the difference between monsters and humans was that monsters did not hold their tongues if their prides were challenged. Barriers were crossed for vengeance and justice, and almost everywhere after the first breaches had become a massive no-man's-land after that.
Since then, those at Waterfall and Snowdin killed any monster from Hotlands and the Core that landed in sight, and the same from Hotlands and the Core to those before their area.
It's been a long time since anyone remembered why they used to be united in the first place.
· · ─── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ─── · ·
On an unassuming day where Sans was wandering through the thickest parts of the forest nearer to the abandoned Ruins to avoid the constant barrage of explosions, screams, and the rotten smell of dust, he found himself having tripped on a particularly large lump of snow on his walk.
Large and firm.
And Sans knew himself to be extremely aware of his surroundings. It's hard to miss the soul of a monster if it's hiding somewhere in the bushes or the ground or even the sky, so this was certainly an unpleasant surprise for him.
Also, snow is not firm.
He clicked the roof of his mouth as he lifted his weight off the ground, dusting the cold off of his black puffer jacket and frowning down at the lump. What even was this thing? How did he miss it? "there's no way i'm losing my edge, right...?" he grumbled to himself doubtfully.
Cautiously, Sans flicked away some snow from the top of the pile. There was what seemed like frozen fabric beneath. He raised a suspicious brow, and continued shovelling snow away with his mittens.
His heart dropped as silent as the thicket around him.
Open, blue lips.
His hands began to shake.
Skin that didn't belong to any monster.
His lungs felt tight.
Lashes covering two darkened under-eyes.
His vision blurred.
Twitching fingers.
Sans froze despite himself.
Human. Fingers.
That was a human collapsed in the snow.
That was a human collapsed in the snow.
That. Was a human. Collapsed. In the snow.