Sans wakes up with the reassuring press of solid weight all around him. The claustrophobia faded long ago after this small hiding space saved Sans many times over. His joints are stiff and sore from sleeping in such an awkward manner, but Sans doesn't dare move. He sits quietly until he's sure that no one is in the house. Only then does he shove a heavy box forwards out of the cramped space. Sans then wiggles out through the narrow tunnel.

A long time ago, some older and stronger monster flipped over the couch when they were searching for Sans. The couch is ripped and stained, not worth the trouble to steal. The couch is now upside down and pushed against the wall. It makes a little tent just wide enough for Sans to crawl into each night. He pulls a box of broken dishes and tarnished silverware into the gap so that he can sleep with a small shred of safety. Useless trash litters the area, and Sans is careful not to disturb any of it.

A broken mirror is hung up across the room from where Sans has emerged. He catches a glimpse of his eyes in the broken reflection and freezes. This.... isn't right. Sans shakes his head back and forth. He forgot again that this form isn't his own. Sans looks down at his hands and outfit, confusion evident on his face. He steps closer to the mirror while avoiding the glass on the rotting floor.

Sans is a young skeleton no older than seven. His baggy jacket and pants are dirty and ripped in places. He's barefoot. The soles of his feet are stained a dirty brown. Sans's eyes are rather unusual. One is a pastel red, almost pink, while the other is closer to an Undertale Sans's 'bad time' eye light. A small crack runs horizontally across Sans's cheek. The injury never healed correctly and is now a permanent scar. Sans can't figure out what AU he's in until he feels the weakness waying down every part of him.

Some AU copies can vary wildly from one another. This copy has a few select monsters remaining as children. The human is also younger than in other worlds. This particular AU is nicknamed 'Little Horrors'. It's copy #37 of Horrortale. Sans's stomach growls as he wakes up, and the little monster folds in his arms at some attempt at comfort.

Monster bodies work differently than human ones. They can survive much longer without food. Monster food is made mostly from magic. A monster's soul also produces magic, but only barely enough to survive. A monster can't starve to death. What does happen is a weakening of the manic they can summon. Their bodies start to weaken soon after. Sans has heard of monsters who became so weak that they couldn't move at all. Those monsters quickly become prey for stronger ones.

Sans tries to sleep as much as he can to preserve his magic. On a rare occasion, he might even be able to gain a little extra magic. Surviving in the Underground is hard, especially when you're trying to do it alone. Sans doesn't have anyone left to rely on. His parents were killed long ago, and he lost his brother more recently when their rotting shack of a house was invaded. Sans has learned how to keep his head down in order to survive.

An easy meal doesn't come often, but Sans had been doing fairly alright until now. Some plants in the Underground began developing their own magic after being in close proximity to the monsters for so long. The echo flowers are one of these. They were the first to be ravaged and driven to extinction. It's too dangerous to travel into Waterfall these days, but it's impossible that any of the flowers still exist in those dark caves. Sans had stumbled upon a small crevice in a rock wall some distance West of the old Waterfall entrance. Inside, he found a small patch of echo flowers growing beside a warm pool. The water is funneled in from some underground river. The cave provides just enough shelter for the flowers to grow. Eating them made Sans nauseous and sick, but he would go to them when he got desperate. A few days ago, when Sans went to the hidden cave, he found all the flowers uprooted and stolen. Sans had always been careful so that more plants would grow, but whatever monster had found his sanctuary was clearly too starved for rational thought.

Life has gotten harder ever since Sans's safety net was pulled out from under him. He feels more sluggish with each passing day as the hunger worsens. But today is special. Sans perks up once he remembers this fact. He walks quietly through the house before ducking out of a hole in one of the back walls. He looks around, relieved to find that there's no one to see him exit. Sans doesn't want anyone to know where he's sleeping. He quickly darts into the forest to walk around the town and come in at a different angle.

Sans doesn't walk into the townsquare, but hides around the corner of a building to watch. Several monsters are already gathering in the square to wait. Today is special because it's one of the few times a month that Queen Undyne has promised to distribute food rations. Only the strongest monsters dare to stand out in the open. Most of the others, like Sans, are hiding nearby. The stronger monsters will chase the others away if they show themselves. The Royal Guard, who deliver the rations, are only obligated to help if a fight breaks out right in front of them. Even then, they might let it play out.

Pretty soon, the distant squeaking of old wagon wheels begin to grow louder and louder. The monsters twitch and shuffle around with their impatience. Abruptly, Sans sees a small bunny monster dart out from cover and try to join the mingling crowd. A large dog monster notices her, and turns around to snap at her. Some monsters have an advantage over others with their physical features or strength. As a skeleton, Sans's strong magic is meant to be his main defense. It's useless with how weak he's become. The dog monster's sharp teeth sink into the bunny girl's shoulder, and she screams. The dog shakes his head violently and tosses the girl against a building, where she crumpled into a heap on the ground. The dog almost goes after her again, but that's when the ration cart comes into view.

This is when Sans finally abandons his hiding place. He's unfazed by the brutal display of violence. As long as it isn't him, Sans can't afford to care. He stands apart from the crowd and resists trying to shove his way to the front. There are never enough rations to go around, but it's not safe for him to challenge the other monsters. The Royal Guards aren't against attacking anyone who gets too 'excited'. Armor coats the guards' bodies and covers most of their sleek fur or skin. Muscle bulges underneath. The Royal Guards are some of the only monsters in the Underground to be well-fed.

Monsters crowd around the cart in a semi-circle once it stops. This initial wave of aggression is always beaten back by the guards. There's been a few occasions where the Guards deem the Monsters of Snowdin as 'too hostile' and leave without giving out any food. Sans's hunger brings him closer to the wild crowd. They're settling down slightly with the guards' threats hanging over them.

Food starts to be passed into eager hands. Sans tries to get closer to the cart as soon as he realizes this. His small size is an advantage in this. Sans squeezes in between two monsters. He's hit hard in the head by somebody's elbow, and someone else manages to shove him to the ground with a growled threat. Sans just barely avoids being stomped on.

The small skeleton is scared and at the mercy of this crowd. He pants hard. His vision is slightly dizzy from the hit to the head, but hunger urges him on. The roaring voices around Sans are deafening. For a moment, he forgets which direction he's going in. Someone's much bigger and heavier body slams into his and pins him against another monster. The two of them hardly notice Sans and start to grab at each other. Fights are starting to break out as the available food dwindles.

A Royal Guard fires an attack at one of the monsters on top of Sans, sending them howling back with pain. Sans stumbles out of the fray and falls at the guard's feet. He looks up, a spike of fear coursing through him at the sight of the guard. He sits up and scrambles to back up. The Royal Guards aren't afraid to attack any monster who gets too close, and any injury can be fatal if you don't have enough magic to heal.

The Guard tightens their grip on their weapon as Sans cowers in front of them. They quickly decide that disciplining the mangy skeleton child is simply not worth their time. Turning to the cart, they grab a plastic-wrapped ration and toss it to the ground. The sooner this task is complete, the better. The guard quickly turns back to the crowd.

As much as Sans feared the guard, it all vanished when the ration dropped. Hunger has dug its viscous talons into all these monsters. Sans pounces on the ration, partially squishing the dense, bread-like substance in his hands. He's not the only monster who goes for it. The cart empties as the guards throw out the last few rations and then start to push back on the crowd to leave. Sans got one of the last unclaimed rations. The monsters farther back in the crowd begin to grow more aggravated and hostile. Someone grabs onto Sans's arm and yanks him backwards into the raging crowd. Wild hands tear at the ration that he's tucked tight to his chest.

"Let go!" Sans shouts, his voice rough from disuse. Not many of the monsters in Snowdin bother to have conversations when a growl gets the point across well enough. Flailing wildly, Sans turns and sinks his teeth into the furred arm holding onto him. His canine teeth have sharpened in these harsh conditions. He tastes blood, and the other monster abruptly drops him. Nobody knows who does and who doesn't have food in the chaos. It's a mad feeding frenzy that has turned into a bloody brawl now that the guards have left.

Sans is pushed and battered by the larger bodies. He can hardly move on his own with the chaotic noise and movement. His senses are completely overwhelmed. The fear is all consuming- but below his hunger- of course. Sans gets shoved to the ground again before someone steps on him. The blow shoves the breath from his lungs. Gasping for air, Sans uses one arm to keep the ration tucked to his body while he crawls between a monster's legs.

With an extreme stroke of luck, Sans finds himself at the edge of the crowd. He quickly gets to his feet and takes off running with his prize. Others are doing the same. It's not safe to eat anywhere close to town since so many monsters will not have been so lucky as to get a ration. With all the noise from town, it takes Sans a few minutes of running to realize that he's being followed into the forest. Fear sends a tremor through him. He thought that he had been fast enough to avoid being spotted, but he was wrong.

Sans zigzags through the trees in a futile attempt to lose his pursuers. Each time he hears them come too close, he veers in a different direction. Sans figures out the game too late. There are multiple monsters following him, and worse, they're herding him towards one of the cave walls that enclose the massive cavern. Blind panic sets in. The stress and fear is too much for him. Sans' clumsiness makes an appearance at the worst possible moment. He was paying little attention to where he was putting his feet, and Sans accidentally catches his foot under a tree root. He goes flying as his foot is wrenched into a painful direction. He hits the ground hard and bruises his forearms and chest. The thin snow offers little cushion.

Still in a panic, the small skeleton immediately tries to get back up. He collapses back to his knees as soon as he puts weight on his foot. If it's not broken, he's sprained it very badly. The shooting pain brings tears to his eyes. He refuses to cry out, biting his tongue. Sans has managed to keep a hold of the food ration through all of this. It's very squished from his fall.

The sound of foliage cracking underfoot soon overtakes the sound of Sans' labored breathing. He tries to stifle his breath, but there's no point. The other monsters know exactly where he is. Slowly, shapes appear out of the trees. Sans twists around and tries to look in every direction at once, fighting whimpers when he jostles his ankle. The first monster he recognizes is a large dog. It's the same one that savaged the bunny girl in town. Two smaller dogs accompany it. Sans shouldn't be surprised. Dogs always hunt in packs.

"Give it", the lead dog growls in a gruff voice. Previously on all fours, they stand up now to loom over the smaller monster.

Sans can practically see the hungry bloodlust in their eyes. He steals quick glances at the other two dogs that are staring him down with teeth bared. They want him to refuse so that they have a free excuse to tear him apart. Sans wants to refuse, too. He risked a lot to get this ration. It's not fair that someone else can take away his survival and hope like this. Sans can feel himself weakening by the day. It won't be long before the other monsters notice, and then they'll see it as a good time to rid of another hungry mouth.

Die now, or die later? Sans can't challenge these other monsters with any degree of success. Still on the ground, Sans reluctantly brings up his arm and holds out the ration. Living is painful, but he doesn't want to die. He's not just living for himself. When Papyrus died, he made Sans promise not to give up. Who will care to remember his energetic and kindhearted brother if Sans gives up? Tomorrow will be another day.

Sans holds out the ration and lets the dog monster take it, turning his head away in an animal-like show of submission. He doesn't fight when the precious resource is yanked from his hand. Sans tries to pull his arm away, but the other Monster grabs his forearm. Sans whips his head around just in time to see his arm be crushed under the other's grip.