Apocalyptic (Feralapocalypse Reader Insert)

Encounter

It's been a few years since the apocalypse had started and the survivors retreated Underground. Both 'the Ruins' and 'the exit' were sealed off, apparently the Ruins had some giant hole that the feral could drop through and if they did survive, that cause problems for the remaining humans and monsters. The Underground had nearly everything that any civilization needed for daily living. Growing crops, medicine, power. But humans and monsters were different and thus on occasion small teams were sent out to brave the city and collect human food and medicine, sometimes clothes too if the team could get it. Sometimes, if lucky, the entire team would make it back safely. Most times we lost a couple members. The ferals were pack runners. Smart. Very sensitive to noise and scent. They could tell if you were feral or not based by scent. The survivors typically combated their sense of smell through the use of the dead's blood or the dust of monsters. Close range weapons became a daily occurrence rather than loud guns. Still, the feral were to be killed on sight. If extremely lucky, some feral were brought in for Dr. Alphys and the other scientists to study, hoping to find a cure.

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You were part of the next team going out with Captain Grillby and a few other humans. The human to monster ratio was always like this, that way if a monster was bit, the humans could take it out rather than getting taken out or getting overwhelmed by multiple monsters within the team. "[Y/N], head in the game, don't need you to end up dead or worse." One of the humans barked, making you snap to attention. "Yes sir!" You replied quickly. This was admittedly your first time on the field since you got here. You were the 'runt' of the survival unit, the newest member. It was actually started by that Skeleton, Papyrus. It had originally been a small group of people looking for his lost brother. Papyrus had wanted closure, he wanted to see if Sans had gotten away or not, but instead they'd come back with supply for the humans. More joined his little group and eventually his focus had to shift from finding Sans to getting people back alive. He was a really good General and Grillby was very proud of him. Apparently the flame Elemental had been his mentor in the pre-apocalypse days. "Let's move out!" You were snapped out of your thoughts once more by the order.

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You grabbed as much medicine as you could as your team combed the hospital. It was completely untouched by the ferals, having been chained up by someone who apparently didn't want people touching it. They were likely dead now though, meaning finders keepers. You kept getting this feeling like you were being watched though. Something was lurking in the shadows, staring you down, but everytime you looked back, nobody was there. Until you got to the sedatives. As soon as you picked one up, you nearly dropped it again as you heard a deep growl from right behind you. Oh stars. You grabbed your army knife, supplied when you started survival force training, and whirled on the creature. It jumped away, landing on all fours a good distance from you. He was a Skeleton, like Papyrus. Much smaller actually, but he was a Skeleton with the distinct slit eyes ( eyelights?) of a feral monster. Sans growled again and you decided not to stick around to find out what he was capable of.

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"What do you mean you lost the bag?!" You sputtered for an answer, but honestly, you didn't know either. The bag had been secure in your survival pack, it couldn't have fallen out. All the medicine you'd acquired, gone. "M-maybe it tumbled out when the feral attacked? Did he actually attack? He growled sure, but something seemed off, like other than trying to hurt you, he just wanted you gone. "There was NO ferals, [Y/N]! They are PACK creatures. They don't go alone! Nobody else had seen a single one during the mission! You were the only one who fail-"
"But I really did see him! The Skeleton!" The Lieutenant's lip curled and he opened his mouth to deny your words, but the General spoke up. "SKELETON, PRIVATE?" You nodded quickly. "Yes sir, a small feral Skeleton in a blue jacket and shorts, if I recall correctly." Out of everyone, Papyrus probably changed the most over the years. He was still friendly and loud, but he wasn't niave. Even now he stared you down with a calculative gaze, trying to determine if your words were true or not. Papyrus nodded firmly. "I SEE. VERY WELL THAN, PRIVATE. YOU ARE DISMISSED... AND NEXT TIME, TRY NOT TO LOSE OUR SUPPLY OR I WILL BE FORCED TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE SUVIVAL UNIT." You stuttered a quick "Y-yes sir." before you left.

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Meanwhile

"dirty thieves. did they not care that i had this place on lockdown? now i'll have to get the stray ferals outta here so i can get back to work.." Sans sighed as he put the medicine that the female had rudely taken from him back. He needed this stuff for his research. On the bright side, now he could get more magic samples from the stray ferals that had wandered in.. he grumbled quietly about the ache in his soul. It was clearly not happy that he'd growled at her and scared her off, the pulling had been... startling say the least. But he really couldn't be going after his soulmate. Not in this state, not when the feral were a major threat to both man and monster. He sighed, pinching his nasalbone. This just got a hell of a lot more complicated. Now whenever she was near, his soul would want him to go to her and his instincts were already difficult to keep under wraps. It wasn't that he wanted to bite or whatever, sure it was a whisper in the back of his mind, but there were other instincts that he struggled with when he had to be focusing on his research. Like hunting, or protecting his 'territory'. Hell, even his reproductive needs. The ferals do still get heats and ruts after all. Reproduction was still a possibility. Sans groaned. "stars help me... this human will be the death of us all.."