God of Lost Stories

#3 Horrific Appetite

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A low growl rumbles in Sans's throat as he trudges through Snowdin. It's not from his stomach, as that would be a sign of weakness, but a warning of death to anyone who might try to steal his catch. Snowdin is a generally safer area than the forest. Most monsters don't want others to witness them kill one of their own even though everybody does it. Sans doesn't care much anymore, but he'll respect the safe zone for what it can do for his brother. Shit still happens despite that. A bunny was killed in the streets last week over a food ration. They didn't come this week. Sans carries a bloody bird wing over his shoulder because it's the only thing he and his brother will eat. Not many humans fall down in the cold season.

The snow beneath his feet isn't exactly white anymore. It's a dirty gray from being mixed with bits of monster dust that couldn't be salvaged. The first time anyone attacked another monster was shortly after Queen Undyne gave him the massive hole in his skull. It should've killed him. What it did do is knock the last few screws loose. Sans doesn't give a damn anymore about anything except for his brother. He will do anything for him.

"Papyrus?" Sans calls out once he opens the door to their home. He sets his dirty axe against the doorframe. The Core went down a long time ago, so the house is dark. It takes Sans's eyes a few momments to adjust to the scene inside. The already decrepit couch has been torn to shreds. The table is flipped upsidown, and all the upstairs doors hang wide open. Papyrus is nowhere to be seen.

"Paps? This isn't funny! Where are you?" Sans shouts, dropping the bird wing. He's beginning to panic. Paps hardly ever leaves home, and never without Sans. The older brother begins to completely tear the house apart. He's hoping for a sign, anything, that points away from what he's afraid has happened. Sans freezes when he finds it. A fine bit of dust is spread over the tiles in one corner of the kitchen. It's not enough for an entire monster, but only what another missed when hastily scooping it up. The clothes are gone, but Sans knows who it is. The skeleton's scream is so full of grief, rage, and insanity that it seems to make all of Snowdin shudder.

Nightmare, the King of Negativity, enters the AU a few days later. It's been reeking of sorrow, anger, and insanity. Most AUs have their days, but this isn't getting any less potent. Nightmare would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy walking through Snowdin's forest. The force of the negativity makes him feel incredibly strong. Nightmare follows the source until he arrives in town. "Well, isn't this place just horrible? I love it! This doesn't look a thing like Undertale even though it's labeled as a copy."

Sans growls when he hears a voice in the distance, his madness simmering back up to the surface. No one in Snowdin has left there houses since he started attacking anything that moved. Nearly a dozen piles of Monster dust lay around the main street alone. No one dares go out to salvage it. The starvation had been making the monsters angrier and more ill-tempered, but Papyrus's death snapped Sans's sanity. He hasn't spoken a single word since the genocide began. He's too far gone for that. When he hears the voice, he uncurls from where he had been sleeping in the snow like an animal. His blood-covered hands leave a trail in the snow as he walks on all fours.

Nightmare pauses his leisurely walk when he sees the crazed monster. Something in him winces at the sight. Sans's growl grows more menacing as he plans to spring. He doesn't care what he kills, as long as they suffer for...... for...... he can't remember. Sans still attacks, wanting to rip at the stranger with sharped claws and bite chucks out of them. Nightmare snatches the monster out of the air with one tendril and holds him out of arm's reach. Sans howls and screeches, bitting and tearing at anything he can reach.

"Your AU has broken you as well?" Nightmare hums, deep in thought. It wasn't so long ago that he himself was in the same condition. "Come along then. I'll have to see about giving you a proper name. Killer and Dust never complained, so I must not be terrible at it."