"But Daddy, I want to come!"

The Capital was bustling with families walking down the sidewalk, children tagging along after their parents as the evening approached. Streets in the main part of the Underground tended to be quite crowded, it was a familiar sight. If Sans strained his eye sockets and stood on his tippy toes, letting his little skull peek over from their porch, he could see the people from his more secluded house, hidden away in a corner of town where none would suspect a family to be at.

There Sans was, straining to see the town down the hill through the trees. Their house really was a steal, perfect for a family to raise their children away from the dangers of society. Monsters were still getting used to the Underground, and the two skeleton parents had quickly taken advantage of the confusion and claimed a good clump of land for themselves, having their beloved house and children hidden away. In order to find their house, a monster would have to be aware a house even was here, on the corner of the Capital and of the Underground itself.

Sans didn't stomp his feet, but he did pout. It was so unfair! Sans never got to go out, he wanted to see the Capital! They were on the edge of the biggest city Underground, full of monsters and newly born children, ready to explore the depths of their new prison in the mountain, yet Sans was never allowed to go and visit! He had no friends! Well, unless he counted the family members that always visited.

Behind him they lingered, as always. They did that quite often whenever they showed up, hovering about them, ready to his whims and needs. Sans didn't dislike them, no, he had gotten quite used to his external family making frequent visits. Sometimes they bought toys for him, and this time was no different. A coloring book with a new set of markets sat on the dining room table inside, visible as the front door had yet to be closed due to the blockage of Sans himself.

His parents looked over at him, understanding smiles given for his desperation to leave. Confining a child to a house, hidden away from society was no way to live. There were no other children to play with! Sure, he had all of his "family members" who constantly showed up, but Sans was a smart child. They weren't related, as none of their visitors were actually skeletons like him. Not to mention how he suddenly gained new family members out of the blue, always new adults he never met before, proclaiming they heard so much about him before they would squeeze his cheekbone and give him a pat on the head.

"Come on, Sans," His Mother spoke, voice soft and flowing as she kneeled down in front of her son. "We've talked about this, Mommy and Daddy are having a date night."

Of course they talked about it. This came up every time they tried to leave. Sans didn't mind hanging out with his many Aunts and Uncles, it was quite the opposite. Sans had long associated them to fun and toys, as they always came to the house with his interests in mind. Everyone who came treated him like he was the prized jewel of the family, receiving toys, hugs, and praise. And no one ever got bored of him, either. They would sit down and play with Sans for hours, listening to him rant about his new T.V show he had watched. But they also understood he was a more reserved child, and never pushed him to hang out when sometimes, he wanted to play alone.

But that never stopped Sans from wanting to go past their family property, to finally meet someone his age, finally have a younger friend. Maybe that was why his family treated him and his younger brother like gems, because they were the only children in the family.

"When can I go out?" Sans asked.

"When the time comes," His Mother assured. Her pink, transparent magical hair moved when she ran a hand through it.

Jandle was his Mother's name, but to him she was Mommy. It was rather obvious Sans was going to be moving out of calling her that, he was a quick child, he'd be moving onto a simple 'Mom' soon. Both of his parents didn't mind if he shorted their nicknames, though, they were rather understanding about him growing up. Except for letting him leave, they never liked that.

"Sans, I know it's hard," Gaster, Sans' Father added, kneeling down next to his wife. "But we can't have our precious little gem go out and risk getting hurt."

He swiped out a hand, gently capturing the side of Sans' face before he ran his thumb down the curve of his round cheekbone.

Sans took more after his Mother, with a rounder skull. But even her skull was more thin than his, and her eye sockets were less curved than his oval ones. While their skulls were less curvy, Sans' was made of round curves, displaying large eye sockets with the only eyelights in the family. He was the "epitomy of adorable", as his parents tended to call him. Papyrus, the babybones that he was, took more after Gaster, with a long and thin, stern skull. Yet his teeth were more firm, giving a large goofy smile at Sans everytime he went to go play with his baby brother.

"One day, you'll go on dates just like ours," Jandle said.

Sans made a face, scrunching up with disgust. Making out like his parents? Ew, no.

They both chuckled at his face, Gaster's hand moving to the back of his son to draw him in for a short hug.

"Aw, come on," Uncle Jay had said, resting a clawed, scaly hand onto his shoulder gently. "We'll have fun! You haven't even gotten to try out the new coloring book we got you, it's about stars. We know you like stars."

"And we promise one day, we'll take you out to town," Jandle said, "Right now, it's too dangerous. Monsters are still getting used to being under here, and we don't want our precious little boy to become a victim to bad people."

"You promise to take me out one day?" Sans asked.

"Of course we promise, sweetie." Jandle gave him a soft smile. "But for now, you're too young."

"... Fine," Sans groaned, "Because you promised."

"That's our sweet little Starlight," Gaster said, poking the tip of Sans' nose cavity. "But bed by nine, and I mean it."

"We'll make sure he's in bed by then," Auntie Lyra said, her wings fluttering as she moved to go grab the door behind Sans. "You two have fun, and don't get into too much trouble."

Sans was led inside after a goodbye from his parents, settling down at the dining room table as the T.V was turned on. The rumbling of their car engine sparked to life, Sans pulling out the blue marker as he listened to them drive away. He couldn't wait to go out, but his parents promised, so he had to trust them.

~~~~~~

A car softly curved around the corner, continuing down the path to the less populated area of the Capital. Streetlights lightly flowed past as they drove, the worn, overused map of the Underground pulled up on Jandle's lap. Lights flashed across the tattered paper, firm hands gripping the edges.

"There's a gas station up ahead," She hummed.

"You think that will work?" Gaster asked, looking over at his wife.

"It could," Jandle said, looking up. "Wait, there's a person."

Her husband followed the woman's gaze, the car slowing as a result of the sight. There, on the road, walked a lone person, stumbling slightly. Probably drunk, if he were to guess.

"Should we offer them a ride?" Jandle asked.

Gaster gave her a smile. "We should."

The car slowed to a stop before Jandle and Gaster were climbing out, beckoning the drunk monsters attention. Jandle folded the map, tucking it into the back of her jeans as she approached.

"Are you alright?" Jandle asked, "You need a ride?"

The drunken bunny before them stumbled, the man blinking a few times. He then gave a soft nod, moving forward.

"Here, let me help you." Gaster wrapped a hand around his shoulders, steadying the unfortunate, drunken man.

The ride itself wasn't any more comfortable. Drunken speech slurred up to them, mumbling random things to the couple on their date. Gaster shared a look with his wife, pressing on the gas to quickly get this car ride over. Streetlights continued to pass by, light sprinkling in at any given opportunity.

"Hey," He slurred, a shaking hand reaching to grab the drivers shoulder. "Can weee... stop? I gotta... p... pee."

Jandle looked over, catching a glimpse of bloodied knuckles on the man. Gaster didn't notice, looking up in the mirror to see his face.

"Too much to drink in the bar? We can stop here, we don't want you to go in your pants," Gaster chuckled.

Jandle gave her own soft chuckle, uncomfortable with the sight of blood on the man's knuckles. Imagine if they hadn't enforced the home rule, if Sans had been out and about with people like him.

"Here we go," Gaster said, pulling over into a dirt road.

Clicking open, the car door was pushed as the man stumbled towards a tree. Both skeletons looked away, and he assumed they at least understood the social conventions to turn away when someone would need to release their bladder.

Unfortunately for him, it was quite the opposite. If he had been sober enough, he likely would have noticed the headlights up the hill, evidence that there was a house hidden away, and that the skeleton couple had actually been driving him to that location. After all, the Capital was a bustling city, and they had driven him to the more reserved side of town where more wealthier monsters had bought more land to have secluded houses. And if he had decided not to have that last drink that led to a bar fight, he would have noticed the skeletons pulling out masks from under their seats.

Or perhaps he would have noticed that they had long left the car by now, and were stalking towards him.

He did hear the footsteps when he was fishing up his pants closed, and had slowly turned to catch sight of the two skeletons, approaching him with creepy face masks on. They looked to be homemade, with black holes colored over where their eye sockets were. Creepy.

"Those are so... so creep... y," He hiccupped, snorting at how close they were, drunk brain unable to process what was going on.

"Don't try to run," Jandle said, tilting a weapon in her hand.

"You won't get far," Her husband finished.

With that, a sudden thump of a weapon was swung against his head. The drunk man went down in a heartbeat, dropping against the dirt, unconscious.

"Get the sack, dear," Gaster told his wife, wiping the small blood splatter off of his blunt weapon. "We should start soon."

~~~~~~

A high pitched sound between a giggle and a coo was given, Sans snorting at the sound. The marker in his hand was drawn over another pristine white bone, swirling the color into a spiral on his brothers arm. Seeing decorations on bones were something that oddly satisfied Sans, like a blank canvas to be used. Sans was no artist, far from it, his skills mostly laid in the knowledge department. That didn't mean Sans found designs displeasing, he liked coloring his brothers bones. Papyrus was adorable in his own way, and playing with markers always made his brother laugh. It was a win-win situation for them both, really. Sans got to play with Papyrus and make him look silly, and Papyrus got to giggle.

Sans never understood why siblings on the shows he watched seemed to hate sharing rooms. He loved it. His parents never did like the siblings relationships from the television, either. They were family supporters, which was why Sans and Papyrus shared a room. Family always came first.

Sounds echoed from downstairs, distinctly being the voices of his parents, making Sans perk up. Yeah, he was supposed to be in bed, but he wasn't very tired. A first, as Sans loved sleeping and taking naps. He gave a grin, picking up Papyrus and placing him back into his crib. Usually, Sans was asleep by this point, whenever his parents went out on date nights he was put to bed before they got home. But this time, it would be different! Sans was going to surprise his parents, welcome them back and show him what cool designs he drew on his brother!

The little boy scampered out of his room, a soft grin on his face as he peaked over the banister of their second floor, looking down past the chandelier decorating the front of their house. However, he quickly ducked down behind the white wooden bars, letting his unmarked bones blend into the environment around him as he spotted what was happening below.

There were his parents, the same people who had given him soft looks of love, and the same people who had played tag and tickled him just that morning. They were now the same people who were dragging in the body of an unconscious monster, a sack thrown over their head to cover their face. Sans had heard other family members arrive before, but he hadn't expected them all to be down there. Nor did he expect them to be helping his parents move the man towards their basement door, opening it as everyone started to shuffle downstairs. A long, deep trail of blood followed them.

"Where were you?" Auntie Lyra said, looking over at the door. "It took longer than normal."

"Sorry, we didn't want to risk being near cameras," Gaster said, "But we're here now."

"Is Sans asleep?" Jandle asked, pulling aside her mask.

"We made sure to put him to bed, like always," Uncle Jay said.

Like always. That was true, Whenever they went out on date nights, one of his Aunts or Uncles had put him to bed. They always watched him whenever his parents went out, and always made sure he was sleeping before his parents arrived.

Was this what they did every date night? Why did they have a man with a bag over his head, why were they taking him to their basement?

Sans waited until they were all out of sight before he crept along the railing, quietly letting his slippers hit the carpeted floor. The small child stopped in the front of their home, gagging at the sight of the blood droplets that had just been obtained, tainting their carpet. Whoever had been kidnapped wasn't dusted, they were still alive.

This was a prank, right? Surely this was! His parents knew Sans liked jokes, but... he didn't like when jokes went too far. They knew that. So why...

Despite being just a child, he closed his eye sockets, wishing desperately that he wasn't as bright as he was. It was too easy to piece together. They had just dragged an unconscious, tied up, bagged man downstairs to their basement. His knuckles were bloody, did he fight back?

And why did his parents let him watch all of those crime shows? He was still young, but he wasn't naive and stupid. He knew a crime when he saw one.

The fear was evident, that was very clear. He could feel it, piercing his soul to make his knees shake. Sans didn't like this, not in the slightest. Yet he couldn't calm his curiosity, the flames to know burning more than the fear. As much as Sans would like to obtain his parents good image, if he went back to his shared room now, the memory would still be there when he woke up. Then he'd have to ask his parents about it, ask why their basement was always cleaned constantly, despite never being used. Ask why they did that, to an innocent man.

That's why he couldn't turn back, he knew he wouldn't want to eat breakfast the next day with that on his mind. He had to look.

The small chance this was all a misunderstanding was utterly destroyed when he reached the bottom of the stairs, his light bones and combination of slippers not creating a creak. Sans knew they stored chairs in the basement, and he knew they stored other things like ropes, bags, the basic gardening materials they used to keep the front hedges and flowers. While innocent on the surface, seeing them being used for this was truly unraveling to his childhood.

There sat his family, or what his parents called his family. There were a little over ten, each wearing the same masks. The masks all appeared homemade, with black scribbled over where their eyes would be. His parents were in the front, their own masks pulled down, standing on either side of the now awake and struggling man. His bag was off, but a gag had been forced under his buck teeth, effectively silencing him. The door was off to the side, letting Sans remain hidden as he watched.

"We are a family," Gaster was saying when Sans arrived, his hands moving as he talked, just like they always did. "We are each important and trusted."

His Father started to walk around, each masked person following his body. No one noticed Sans, so the skeleton remained, large eye sockets closely watching the scene. His gaze didn't miss the knives that were held in each persons hands.

"We give each other purpose, and we introduce chaos into the world which has been corrupt by greed and distrust to make aware what is truly important." He stopped behind the tied up bunny, resting two summoned hands on his shoulders to hold him down. "And that which is important is family. And as families do, we grow. Today, we have one more."

A monster from the front row stood up, a knife in their hand as Jandle ushered them forward. Sans could tell they were a spider monster, with six arms and purple hair. They looked to be a young adult. Not that it mattered, monster aging was different than humans.

"To usher in new blood, old blood must be spilled," Gaster continued, "For you cannot take what you cannot give. Muffet, please."

The spider monster moved behind the monster, a knife in one of her hands. The mask gave no emotions from her face, sending a feeling of unease down Sans' spine.

"So let us rise as a group," Gaster raised his arm, causing all of the seated to stand up, "And let us support our new sister."

Muffet placed her hands on the man's body, steadying him before she prepared her blade. Sans widened his eye sockets, hands gripping the edge of the door as he slightly leaned back. No, no, he didn't like where this was going.

And the knife was slit across his throat.

The sound of a monster dusting was lost as Sans stumbled backwards, thumping into the wall behind him. Everyone jerked their heads towards the new sound, finding the image of dear old Sans having fallen back onto the floor, eye sockets peeled back wide with utter fear and surprise.

"Sans?" Jandle asked, dropping her knife before she started to move towards him.

No time was wasted before Sans was scurrying up the stairs, ignoring his parents and families shouts as he ran away. Jandle and Gaster both trailed after him, reaching the top of the basement stairs to see Sans already having made more progress in his fear prompted flee, his own room door slamming shut, followed by the sound of a small tick.

"Oh no, Sansy," Jandle whispered.

The two soon reached his room on the second floor, knocking quietly. No need to try his doorknob, they knew it was locked.

"Sans, Starlight, we can explain!" Gaster said against the door, following his beloved in her knocking.

They could hear the rustling of sheets behind the door, Gaster looking sadly at the white wood. Poor Sans. Whenever he got too scared, he would curl into his sheets and hide from the world, too afraid to admit his emotions. Papyrus, while a baby, always cried loudly, reaching out for the nearest person to be helped. He was open about his emotions, while Sans shut himself off to deal with them on his own. His precious Starlight, scared, running away from his own family.

"Go get the lockpick," Gaster whispered to Jandle, his wife giving a nod before she walked off towards their bedroom.

Gaster closed his eye sockets, facing back at the door. He could almost see Sans huddling under his blanket, bones rattling against one another as he would tuck in on himself, unable to understand what he just witnessed.

"Sans, my little Starlight," Gaster said, "We aren't going to hurt you. We never intended to, and we never will, no matter what. We're a family, all of us. Everyone you saw down there, they want to protect you, keep you safe. Keep both you and Papyrus safe."

Sans and Papyrus were close, that was rather obvious. The moment Sans had set his sights on Papyrus, his eye sockets had sparkled, and had become so close with his baby brother. Perhaps he was hugging Papyrus on the other side of the door, using him for love when he felt like he couldn't trust his parents.

That aspect of this situation hurt Gasters soul, as it did everyone else's. Little Sans was scared, scared of them. He'd understand soon enough, if only he'd open the door. They were a family, after all.

"We get rid of bad people, to protect you and your brother," Gaster said, "You both are the light of our lives, of our family. When I call you Starlight, it isn't a lie. We all love you so much. What you saw was us gaining another family member. Muffet loves you too, she's your new Aunt. But for now you have to keep this a secret, alright?"

Silence. Sans was likely using a pillow to muffle his crying, poor boy did that when he got scared too harshly.

Jandle was soon back with the lockpick, crouching down to get into his room. It only took a few seconds before they could hear the lock click, Jandle pushing open the door.

The room was empty.

As was the bed, the sheets void of ever being present, leaving a bare mattress. And so was Papyrus' crib, one of Sans' dresser drawers thrown open. His bookbag was missing.

"Starlight?" Gaster yelled.

"Sans?" Jandle yelled.

They both ran to the open window, looking down. Dangling out of the window were his bed sheets, tied together to create an escape route. The two parents looked down at the ground, watching the sheets flutter in the wind.

Sans was gone.

And he took Papyrus.