The bitter wind is biting into his exposed bone, numbing him to the cold. The piles of snow he plods through are only disturbed by one other trail. These prints are accompanied by a slow trail of leaking blood.

Horror wished it were his. All he can do is follow along and watch. Horror is a big monster, with a frightening appearance and hunched shoulders. His one working eye light is a bright red. The gaping hole on one side of his head says enough about what happened to his other eye. The edge of the axe on his back is coated in a rusty red color. These features usually keep others from approaching him. It's suiting him well enough now. Most other monsters are taking one look at him, a glance at who he's following, and run.

The smaller monster in front of him stumbles, and Horror almost reaches out to steady them before pulling back. They won't let anyone touch them. Horror cringes at how ill-equipped they are for this weather. They both have a certain tolerance to the cold, but they must feel it if Horror can. The other wears a purple-pink vest with only a thin tank top underneath. The fluff around the edges of the vest's collar are becoming stained in blood. Horror has been following Hearts from AU to AU for days now. Hearts isn't actually strong enough to open portals in his condition, but Horror is afraid that a True Reset might harm him. Whenever he feels one coming, Horror opens a portal right in Heart's path.

Horror doesn't eat or sleep. He only sits down when Hearts succumbs to exhaustion for a few hours. Horror has stopped trying to talk to him. Hearts never responds. He only continues this meandering death march. Horror has tried everything he could think of to get Hearts help. He's probably opened portals to more than twenty versions of the Ruins, seeking a Toriel's healing magic. Horror has even walked Hearts through Medictale a few times. That AU is generally hostile to him. Anyone who tried to help Hearts ran into the same problem: he won't let anyone get close to him.

The first Toriel that approached caused Hearts to absolutely loose it. Horror even tried to hold him down that time. Hearts screeched and wailed and flailed so violently that Toriel could never touch him. When Hearts purposefully bashed his skull against the stone floor, Horror let go. He thought Hearts had killed himself right there. It might have been better if he had. It might have been better if he died immediately to his injuries. It would be better if Horror had taken the blow that was meant for himself.

Hearts, still referred to as Lust back then, ran the first time he saw Horror in his AU. That was the normal reaction. Horror had the odd tendency to wind up in Lusttale after escaping from a battle with the Star Sanses. Horror and the group that took him in are hated by most of the Multiverse. Horror is no god or even close to it like Nightmare. He'd often get injured since he has the least combat experience of the group. After a particularly nasty spat, part of his upper arm was nearly crushed. The mess of fractures bled and stained his whole coat sleeve. Horror only planned to rest in Lusttale just for a little while before heading home.

He was half asleep when Lust stumbled upon him. Lust didn't run that time. When Horror later asked why, Lust just replied with "You were hurt". Lust patched him up in silence, and Horror left soon after. They were just friends at first. More and more, Horror found himself in Lusttale whenever he could give Nightmare the slip. Horror wouldn't go into town. He would stay out in the forest, hoping that Lust was around that day. Horror didn't want any other residents of the AU to know that he was hanging around. It was during one of these little meet ups that Lust confessed to hating his name.

Hearts is a very gentle monster. Horror had a hard time understanding him at first. Everyone in the gang is all hard edges and wicked smiles. Hearts is very different from anyone he had ever met before. Hearts enjoys the small moments of joy that life brings. Horror had simply never seen those moments for what they are. How can anything be joyous after his bother was killed? Hearts thought to point out these instances to him: the way a pond shimmers in the sunlight, the chirping of nighttime insects, or even the bright smile of a friend. That last one became easy for Horror to understand. He likes it when Hearts smiles at him.

Horror nearly lost it when Nightmare ordered him and the gang into Lusttale. Their boss grew stronger with negative emotions, and their job was to terrorize the AU and even kill off a few monsters to make the others more afraid. Horror did not do that. He broke away from the others as soon as he could and went to find Hearts. Horror told him to hide.

"Stay away. Hide," Horror said. His words have always been choppy ever since he got a hole blown into his skull. "Don't let anyone find you. Don't let me find you." Nightmare would certainly make Horror or another member of the gang attack Hearts if they crossed paths. The Sanses of AUs are popular enough to cause much grief to many different monsters.

Halfway through Lusttale's destruction, they met opposition. Horror was glad. The Star Sanses would kick them around a bit before they had to retreat. Horror could go find Hearts after. There were only three Star Sanses and five Bad Sanses, but two of the Stars are gods. One is Nightmare's opposite and brother, Dream. The other is the Creator of AUs, Ink. Both of them are far too strong for a regular Sans to take on by themselves. The third Star is a small monster from Underswap. Blue is a fierce fighter in his own right.

Nightmare, of course, has no qualms about attacking his brother. That left Horror and the others to deal with Ink and Blue. Lately when they meet, Dust seems to favor going after Blue. Horror ends up standing with Cross and Killer to take on Ink. His two allies are good fighters, but Horror has doubts about his own skills. Years of starvation has made his magic unstable. All it's good for is portals, and even then the location is unpredictable. Horror must rely on weapons, such as his axe, and on his physical strength.

Something's wrong with Ink. He doesn't hesitate to use some of his most powerful attacks, lashing out with burning red paint. Horror nearly takes it to the face before ducking. Ink usually isn't this aggressive. These kinds of attacks are usually reserved for Error, the Destroyer of AUs. Ink's eyes aren't the colorful shapes Horror has come to expect. One is red target, and there's no eye light at all in the other. Ink is a soulless monster. He has to drink vials of paint to feel emotions, and every once in a while, he gets the proportions wrong. Today there must be too much anger. And today, Nightmare decided to piss Ink off.

Killer goes down first. He gets clipped by a series of bullets made from orange paint. They tear through Killer's shoulder and leave him gasping in pain, injured, but alive. The bullets could have killed him if he hadn't dodged the worst of them. Ink leaves him alone once Killer doesn't get up right away. At that moment, Cross swings his massive blade towards Ink's head. The Creator only sees it at the last moment, swinging his brush around to block it. Horror lunges at Ink's other side with his axe. Ink can't use his brush to defend when he's still locked with Cross. Thinking quickly, Ink morphs his entire body into paint and falls into a puddle. Cross stumbles when he hits nothing. Ink reforms in an instant and whacks Cross with his brush, sending the Monster flying back a dozen feet.

Ink turns to face Horror right as he tries to skid to a stop. Again, Ink practices baseball with his brush. It slams into Horror's head, knocking him silly. He falls back into the snow after stumbling a back a few feet. There's blood running into his eyes from the new cracks on his skull. A few shards of bone break off from his previous injury and dust in the snow. Horror's vision is still blurry when he looks up. Ink, still in a rage, summons a long and sharp bone to launch after Horror. The wounded monster's breath hitches. In his blurry vision, the bone turns into a glowing blue spear.

He's frozen in place at the sight. That spear marked the turning point of Horror's entire life. Perhaps it was all preordained. Horror should have died long ago to that very same spear. He still can't help but close his eyes and wait for the end. Something with a smaller frame abruptly launches itself onto him, clinging tightly to Horror's shoulders. He opens up his eyes again and sees something in a blurry purple. Then he hears the sickening crack of shattering bone. Hearst falls limp on Horror's chest, his thin arms wrapped around the other's neck.

Ink is frozen now, still with one arm raised. The sight before him has snuffed out any anger he could have been feeling. Hearts had thrown himself on top of Horror, protecting him from Ink's attack. It had hit the back of Heart's skull, breaking it open with a hole smaller than Horror's, but bleeding profusely. Hearts is now limp and unresponsive.

Both Dream and Nightmare freeze when the storm of negative emotions crashes into them. Dream's knees nearly buckle. They both look over to see what's going on. Dust and Blue are exhausted. Killer is bleeding on the ground while Cross is slowly getting up. Ink is stuck staring at a dying monster sitting in Horror's lap.

"Fall back!" Nightmare orders. Immediately, the Bad Sanses are scrambling up to their feet and converging on their Boss. Dream and Blue are too worried about Ink to bother continuing the fight. Ink is crying now, still staring at the scene with an expression of terrible regret and guilt. In shock, Horror slowly stands up, cradling Hearts to his chest. Blood soaks Horror's shirt and jacket.

"Horror, let's go," Nightmare snaps, becoming impatient. Horror's gaze shifts up to him. Nightmare will kill Hearts without a second thought if Horror tries to bring him back to their base. Does it matter if Hearts is already dying? Yes, Horror decides quickly. Yes, it matters very much. A low, rumbling growl rises in his throat. Horror picks his axe up and widens his feet, brandishing the weapon in a defensive stance. Nightmare's rage is almost visible. Everything Horror has is because Nightmare showed him mercy. The King of Negativity almost closes the portal, intent on dragging Horror home even if it's against its will, but recoils when a golden arrow sinks into his side. Nightmare hisses and glares at Horror before diving into the portal.

Dream is the only Star who's coherent enough to pay attention to their enemies, as Blue is preoccupied with Ink's meltdown. When he saw Horror cradle Heart's broken body, and refuse to follow Nightmare, Dream fired an arrow at his brother so that Nightmare would be forced to leave. This could be a chance to redeem Horror! No one is all bad, but Nightmare tends to bring out the worst in people. Dream intends to one day save his brother, too. The Creator's paint brush is forgotten on the ground. Ink is crying and mumbling incoherent apologies, eyes still locked on Heart's bleeding skull.

"Horror?" Dream says gently, taking a small step towards the other monster. Dream let's his bow disappear in the hope to appear more unthreatening. When Horror hears his name, his head snaps away from where the portal disappeared. He lets out another low growl when Dream takes another step.

"Horror, I won't hurt you," Dream tries, "I can try to heal Lust if you let me." The Guardian let's his hands warm with green magic as he takes another step.

Horror's growl turns into a roar. "Stay away!" He tenses his body, whether to run or fight, he doesn't know. Horror uses one arm to keep Hearts supported against his chest. He's getting heavy. Dream has hurt Horror in the past. The fact that Dream used Heart's old name is another red flag. Hearts never trusted Dream enough to know. Horror's vision is still slightly blurry. He's in no condition to fight. He's survived worse.

"What have I done!?" Ink gasps, words suddenly clear, "I-I can fix this. I can fix it." He shakily leans down and picks up his brush, and takes a few steps towards the pair.

The growl in Horror's throat turns into roar. He sees red at the sight of Ink coming closer. Ink did this. Horror might have attacked him right there, Horror's own weakness be damned, but Hearts let's out a whimper of pain right at that moment. Horror hisses a warning to the Stars before turning and bolting into the woods. Dream shouts at him to stop, and extra footsteps are pounding in the snow. Horror's magic refuses to take spark for several long moments. It's been weeks since he used it. When the magic finally does take, a shaky portal opens up directly in front of Horror. He stumbles on the unexpected tarain and falls. He curls himself around Hearts to take the brunt of the fall as the portal snaps closed.

For a few long minutes, Horror lays there on the ground, panting. What now? It's been a very long time since Horror has worked under his own authority. In a way, it was easier to take orders from Nightmare. He didn't have to think so much for himself, and Horror's mind always turns dark when left alone. He doesn't have anything thing or anywhere to go. Returning to his AU is not an option. Horror promised himself long ago that he would never return. Does he regret it? No.

Horror slowly sits up, Hearts still clutched tightly in his arms. The bleeding from Horror's skull is finally slowing, and his vision is getting clearer. Horrortale monsters may look frail and sometimes act like animals, but the ones that survive are very resilient. Horror can shake off injuries that may temporarily cripple another monster. That doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. Horror's injuries take a long time to heal with his unstable magic.

Hearts shudders in his grasp, and Horror's attention instantly snaps to him. The bleeding from the small whole on the back of Hearts skull is slowing. Despite his protective actions, Horror has been expecting Hearts to dust at any moment. Skeletons aren't built for this kind of injury. Horror runs a hand along the edge of the gaping hole in his own head, trying to get his scattered thoughts to think.

Horror's home AU is not an Original. It's not even an AU. Rather, it's an Alternate Timeline that takes place in a copy of the original Undertale; one where Frisk takes the neutral route and never resets. Horror is a copy of the original Sans, but would snap at anyone for mentioning it. If he survived a hole being blasted into his head, couldn't others also have that slim chance?

And if Hearts does somehow wake up, what then? Horror remembers very little from the first week after Undyne had injured him. What Horror does know is that it took the best parts of him with it. Horror cared about very little besides his own and his brother's survival. Horror has killed many humans without judging them. He's killed other Monsters, too. And he doesn't mourn or feel guilt for their deaths. The hole in his head leaves Horror with his bad speech, scattered thoughts and the tendency to react violently to any threat like an animal.

Hearts reminds him of the good parts that Horror lost. Even if Hearts survives, he might not be the same. Hearts might not even be able to go back to his own AU after being spotted with Horror. Would that matter? Would Horror have been better off if he followed Nighttime? No, Horror decides, it doesn't matter. No, he'd rather be here than have the protection Nightmare offers. Whether Hearts dies or lives, Horror abruptly realizes that he would rather be here. Tomorrow doesn't matter. Right now is too important.

When Hearts regained consciousness hours later, his eyes were unfocused, and Horror instantly knew that Hearts was not really there. It was much the same for Horror when he got his hole. Hearts is confused and hurting, unable to comprehend his surroundings after such severe damage to his head. Hearts panics and pushes away from Horror after realizing that something is touching him. After a moment of his struggles becoming more frantic, Horror reluctantly lets him go. Hearts falls into the snow before shooting back up into a sitting position. Horror tries to be quiet so that the other doesn't get more scared.

Now that he's awake, Horror can see that something is wrong with Heart's eye lights. One is completely gone while the other is dull and occasionally flickers. Horror himself is permanently missing an eyelight. He doubts that Hearts can see much of anything at the moment. Hearts flinches and whimpers, lightly laying one hand over the hole on the back of his head. Horror tries to move closer to him to see the damage better. Heat hears the snow crunch and lurches away, clumsily getting to his feet. He stumbles and nearly falls over. Ever since his brother was killed, Horror has never experienced kindness. Nightmare and his group are all cold-hearted and cruel. The Star Sanses have hurt him ever since he stepped out of his AU. And then Hearts decided to stay and help instead of run.

When Hearts stumbles, Horror jumps up to steady him. It's what Hearts would have done if their roles were reversed. Hearts flinches again and pulls away as soon as he's steady enough. He's scared of being touched when he's severely injured and can't see who it is. Hearts takes a few steps back before turning and hurrying off in the other direction. He's running more on instinct than rational thought, fleeing from an enemy that's not there. Horror has no choice but to follow.