It was around 2:00 in the morning when Papyrus came downstairs. Both Sans and Sora were asleep on the couch and the tv was playing a movie, probably as background noise.
   "Typical Sans. Doesn't even bother to turn the tv off before he goes to bed," the skeleton chuckled as he went to shut it off.
   He glanced outside, just to see if there was anything out there. He wasn't surprised when he saw nothing. There was no way that the beasts could have made it to Snowdin yet. Undyne wouldn't let them through.
Still, he found himself doubting his own safety. Sans's words from a few weeks ago echoed endlessly through his head.
   "Undyne's probably gonna be one of the first ones to get infected outside of the Lab."
Papyrus kept denying it, but he knew Sans was right. Still... If he could just check on her, even if he didn't get a chance to talk to her...
"That's wishful thinking though..." he mumbled softly, shaking his head solemnly.
He hoped that Undyne was still safe. He almost wished she would just give up on fighting the beasts back and come to stay with him, but he knew that she was needed.
He glanced out the window again, his expression vacant. It was snowing again, which wasn't surprising, considering Snowdin's climate. It was actually quite beautiful.
No one had bothered to turn off the Christmas lights strewn across town, so the gently falling snowflakes were illuminated with various colored light. They almost seemed to glow in the lingering darkness of night.
Papyrus sighed, eventually turning his head away. He decided to go back to sleep, since it wasn't even close to the break of dawn yet.
He silently climbed up the stairs, taking one last look at his brother and Sora before disappearing into his room.
**************************************************
   Sans awoke to the sound of Papyrus cursing, his voice muffled through the door of his room, but still audible anyway.
   The skeleton rubbed his eyes and yawned, careful not to wake Sora up as he did so. He eventually got off the couch, moving slowly as not to knock the sleeping dragon next to him onto the floor.
   Once he was finally up, he slunk up the stairs and made his way to his brother's room. Once there, he could finally distinguish what he was saying.
   "-Dammit! Answer your phone!"
   There were a few quiet beeping sounds as Papyrus presumably dialed in the number once more. There was a moment of silence as the line rung.
   "Undyne! It's me, Papyrus. Do me a favor and ANSWER YOUR GOSH DARN PHONE!!"
   Sans snickered slightly before being cut off as something slammed into the door. Papyrus grumbled something that Sans couldn't quite make out, but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't positive.
   The smaller skeleton knocked lightly on the door. "Bro? You okay?"
   "Sans? O-Oh yes! I'm fine," Papyrus answered almost immediately, the angry tone quickly leaving his normally cheerful voice.
   "Just checkin'. You sounded a little pissed off a few moments ago. What's up?" Sans asked.
   "Oh nothing. Undyne just isn't answering her phone," the taller skeleton responded, clearly still annoyed about the whole thing.
   "She's probably just busy right now. She'll call ya back later. Guaranteed," Sans reassured his younger brother.
   There was a muffled sigh on the other side of the door. "Yeah, yeah... You're right. I shouldn't worry so much."
"There ya go. That's the Great Papyrus that I'm used to," Sans responded, chucking softly.
   Silence fell over the two brothers until finally, Papyrus opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, his expression vaguely grim for a moment. Sans shot him a look of concern, which the taller skeleton immediately noticed and managed to mask it with a cheery smile.
"There's no reason why we can't just pretend everything's okay. The disease isn't close to us yet," Papyrus said softly, patting his brother on the shoulder.
   Sans sighed, turning his gaze away from his brother. "Yeah... I dunno... Y'know me, always freaking out about little things..."
   Papyrus narrowed his eyes. "Well, this isn't some 'little thing'. It could change our lives entirely. So, while I do believe avoiding it is the best decision, I don't think we should be on lockdown just yet."
   Sans shrugged. "Eh. Better safe than sorry, in my opinion."
   "The infected monsters are still only in Hotland. We still have Waterfall between here and there. Besides, Undyne and the guard have it under control," Papyrus insisted.
   Sans opened his mouth to respond, but quickly decided against it. He didn't need to hurt his brother more by telling him what was on his mind.
   What if they don't though, Papyrus? Even someone as strong as Undyne herself can't hold out forever against those things...
   The smaller skeleton shook his head to clear his thoughts. Papyrus tilted his head to the side, as if asking an unsaid question. Sans chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry 'bout it, bro. My mind's just been a complete train wreck lately. I'm just letting all this get to me."
   Papyrus nodded slowly, averting his gaze from his brother. The look in his eyes grew distant as he fell back into his thoughts, his grin faltering for a moment. "I hope this gets resolved soon. I just want to go back to a normal life."
   Sans's grin fell, and he walked over to his his brother, hugging him in an attempt to comfort him. "You're not the only one, Pap. We all want this to be over. We just gotta endure it while it's here. It'll all be fine."
   Papyrus sighed. "I know... I just want it to end now... I don't want to have to keep hiding out in the house, afraid for my life, and the lives of everyone I know and love..."
   Sans looked up at his brother, a look of determination crossing his face. "Hey. Don't give up hope. You're the Great Papyrus. And the Great Papyrus never gives up, no matter what. Right?"
   Papyrus chuckled half-heartedly, reaching down and patting his brother on the shoulder. "You're right, brother. I shouldn't be so glum about this whole thing. I just need to stay positive and focus on making the best of this time!"
   "There ya go! That's the Great Papyrus I know!"
   "Nyeh! Thanks brother!" Papyrus exclaimed cheerfully, a wide grin on his face.
   Sans snickered softly as his brother left him, heading downstairs, presumably to make breakfast for the three of them. But as soon as he was alone, his darkest fears began to resurface.

   Would they all truly get out of this alive? Or were they just destined to fall victim to the feral beasts that prowled in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a move on their prey?

   It was in times of such uncertainty that Sans was made so weary; even more so than he usually was.