Chapter 1
At first glance, most people wouldn’t see anything in the dark shadows around the industrial blocks. The workers themselves having all gone home for the day and left the place nearly empty, save for the odd security guard. But even those ‘highly trained professionals’ saw nothing lurking in the darkness, doing their rounds as quickly as they could so they could return to the warm guard shack and out of the chilly air.
They were wrong though, and once there was no more movement near them two skeleton monsters stepped into the light, their previously darkened pupils glowing slightly. The taller one made his way towards a nearby door quickly, the shorter keeping lookout while lighting a cigar in his mandible. As miss-matched the pair were in size, they were also in sharp contrast to their surroundings. Both were wearing well tailored suits, the lanky skeleton in a light grey Italian cut, complete with a long, wide blood-red tie and matching pocket square, while the shorter of the two sported a pinstripe English cut with a cobalt blue batwing bow-tie, his jacket open and cummerbund showing.
“hey Pap, you just about done with that lock yet? i could do it faster with my eyes closed.” The stout monster asked, flicking the ash from his cigar. It was true, he would have simply blasted the lock open with either his magic or one of his twin Colt Pythons that were tucked securely at his lower back. They were going for stealth here though, so he wasn’t the best tool for this job.
“NO YOU COULD NOT SANS. THERE IS A PADLOCK AND A DEADBOLT, BOTH ARE VERY RUSTY.” Papyrus quipped back, careful to keep his normally loud voice to a manageable level. He was in fact nearly done the second lock when his companion had spoken, and soon opened the door with a flourish.
“AFTER YOU, BROTHER.” His voice was sarcastic and he gave a mocking bow, but held the door open politely. Sans nodded gently, snubbing his cigar out on the brick wall before heading inside. The duo wasted no time, both setting out in different directions and checking over the contents of the building. Intel had been that someone was storing a lot of DT, the street form of a drug called Determination, and the brothers wanted their hands on it. Not all of it, as that would get them some unwanted heat from whichever gang they happened to be stealing from, but enough to make some ends meet.
It took some searching, obviously the good stuff was hidden at the back of the stupid massive building, hiding in the shadows just like it’s would be stealer's were moments earlier. The darkness didn’t bother either of the skelebros, both calling a bit of their magic to their eyes and lit their sight with a soft glow. Their dim lights wouldn’t be enough to be seen from outside, though Papyrus’ orange magic was much more noticeable than his brothers blue, and only lit a few feet in front of them at a time.
“jackpot!” Sans whisper-yelled, pulling a crowbar from seemingly nowhere and getting to work on the large wooden crate in front of him. The label on the box read ‘window cleaner’ but the monster knew better. He could feel the energy pulsing from the box, was able to picture the little vials of red liquid in his mind's eye. He gave himself a mental shake as he got the lid off, reaching in and pulling out a couple of the carefully wrapped bundles. This would be enough for the brothers to last a couple months, maybe even get them a new couch. Sans set the packages on the ground before re-attaching the lid.
Papyrus, in the meantime, had stood guard and continued to scan the nearby crates. Opening a giant wooden box wasn’t very quiet, though the brothers tried, so they needed to be quick before someone heard the ruckus. While scanning ahead, his light slipped over a small crate, looking around, before darting back. He was sure the box had moved. The lean skeleton called on his magic, pulling a long bone from his breast pocket. The impossibility of the size difference was lost on him as he took a hesitant step towards the source of his confusion.
“SANS. I THINK THIS ONE MOVED.” Keeping his voice low, Papyrus checked over the box carefully. It had small holes drilled in it around the top, letting his eye-light shine in through the gaps but were too small for him to see in. He circled it warily, keeping his weapon raised and ignoring the disgruntled sigh from his brother.
“sure you don’t have something in your eyes?” Sans joked with a shrug, winking his lit left pupil to make his point clear. The soft, pained groan from his brother was music to his no-ears, his grin becoming cheeky as he left the crate he was working on and followed his brother. The holes piqued his interest, so he once again hefted his crowbar and went to work pulling off the front. The crate had no markings and was at the bottom of a very large pile, so he went carefully.
Papyrus had come behind him, ready to protect his older-though-shorter brother, and the two shared a gasp as the front fell off with a clatter. The floor of the crate was covered with a thin layer of straw, and huddled in the back corner was a small shape. Sans recognized what it was immediately, a shiver racing up his spine. Papyrus, however, was curious.
“IS … IS THAT…?” Papyrus stopped, scratching the side of his cranium with his bone. “ACTUALLY … I’M NOT SURE WHAT THAT IS… ” He revealed, looking at his brother. Sans reached out with a shaking hand, forgetting for a minute that his brother was even with him.
He had seen humans before, though never one as young as this one seemed to be. They were a rarity now, after the war that had happened, and what remained of the population kept themselves hidden away. Sans knew there were those monsters who coveted humans as a rare, though completely useless, pet, but the idea gave him the heebie-jeebies. This one didn’t seem like a pet though. They were dressed in a ratty purple wool sweater, the long hem coming down past their knees and bare, scratched legs and feet peeked out. They had a short bob-ish style hair cut, and their face, though marked by cuts and bruises, was actually pretty adorable and they looked quite young. Around their neck was what Sans was going for, and he almost missed the child flinch as he grabbed it.
“....... dog tag?” He mumbled to himself, brightening up his light to get a better look. There were words engraved on the plain silver tag and he read them to himself.
‘F risk
02-004-0153
D-Test”
“DOG TAG?” Asked Papyrus, unperturbed by his brothers silence. “DOES THAT MEAN IT’S A DOG?” There were practically stars in his eyes as he looked over the shivering form in the crate.
“.........it’s still a kid.......” Sans spoke quietly, dropping the tag. The kid, Frisk apparently, quickly tucked it into their sweater. They looked at Sans through their bangs, eyes half closed. Sans couldn’t tell if it was out of fear or tiredness.
“SO A PUPPY THEN?” Papyrus ignored his brothers quiet hmmm, instead dropping to his knees in front of the crate. “I’VE ALWAYS WANTED A PUPPY! WE’RE TAKING IT WITH US!!!” The excited skeleton exclaimed, reaching into the dark box and carefully picking up the ‘puppy’. He brought it to his chest, his already large smile becoming a beaming one as the child reached out and grabbed onto his shoulders.
“.........what?” That seemed to rouse Sans from his musings, and he looked up at his brother in shock. That smile was something he just wasn’t able to say no to, not that he was given the time to.
A shout sounded from behind them, the lazy security guards having actually been doing their work and noticed the open door. Flash lights were trained on the skeletons, but they wasted no time before running in different directions. Papyrus, still holding the child safely to his chest, ran deeper into the warehouse and started climbing a pile of boxes near a window. Sans, on the other hand, ran straight towards the guards, using his magic to lift the nearly forgotten goods they had come for in the first place. He gave a soft chuckle as his sudden movement caught the pair of slime monsters guards off-guard before running towards the door they had come through.
Papyrus was already out the window by the time he made it to the door, and Sans felt the familiar warmth of his brothers magic as rows of bones shot up from the ground, blocking the guards giving chase. The brothers, and their respective packages, met up at the side of the building and disappeared into the night.