Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sans was happily wrapped up in his medusa mate's coils in the late afternoon. They had just had a nice, relaxing nap next to their beloved egg. He was pretty sure Red was awake now, too, just enjoying the peace and quiet of their forest home together. "you know, love," Sans began, gently stroking Red's scaly tail. "when the baby is born, we won't have much opportunity to ... you know ..." Sans swirled his finger gently. "have 'quality time' together."

"why not?! that's the best time!" Red said in a panic.

"babies need lots of attention," Sans said, pressing a kiss to whatever body part was closest to his mouth. It felt like bone but he wasn't sure since he couldn't see it. "and i hear in the beginning they don't sleep much."

"maybe i should just turn them into stone for fun and sleep time and turn them back after," Red said, pulling Sans up to kiss his skull. Kids were going to be harder than he thought.

"you can't stonify your own child!" Sans said, pretending to be appalled. "hmm, will the baby be a medusa like you?" Sans asked.

"i hope not. i want them to be cute like ya," Red said, squeezing Sans like he was hugging him.

Sans giggled (actually giggled like a joyful child, a sound he doesn't remember ever making before) - his fearsome, cantankerous, wonderful, wonderful mate makes him so happy. He perked up and cocked his head to the side. "you hear that?" He asked.

Red looked around "who’ssss there?!" He hissed. The snakes on his head went from sleepily drooping to attention in an instant. Who would come into their nest unannounced?

"it sounds ... big." Sans said, sitting up regretfully (he really wanted to have a little fun with Red, but maybe it's best to save that for the privacy of nightfall anyway). "smells like -" Sans was cut off when a hot blast of air blew against him. "... farts," Sans finished.

"Oh, this cave is inhabited," a very deep voice said.

Red put down Sans and slithered up to their 'guest.' "ya, this is my territory, buddy. who do ya think ya are? can't ya see my marks everywhere?!"

"Territory marks?" The stranger said with an unimpressed tone. "No, I guess they're a little too close to the ground for me to see. And I thought that smell was just a dead chipmunk or something. Not very pleasant."

"says the burnt food. this is my territory; from here and past the river that way." Red pointed. "where the stone people are - that's my sun-basking spot. and to the hill that way. i don't like climbing hills, so ya can go there."

"Hmm," Sans heard the stranger hum, or maybe it was a growl, then a moment of quiet.

"what ya lookin’ for?" Red made a shooing gesture with his hands. "get going and don't touch my stuff."

"You even got anything of value here?"

"you bet yer flaming hot ass! my mate is the best treasure and ya touch him or even breathe on him and i'll make ya sorry!" Red warned.

Sans got a weird feeling when there was no reply to that. He had expected the other to argue back or scoff at Red's attitude but he was just ... silent. Sans could at least tell now that the stranger wasn't a human, otherwise Red wouldn't have said he could live on the hill (but then again if he were human he would be stone so that observation was moot). Regardless, going by Red's comment and the fact that Sans could smell brimstone, Sans was pretty sure he knew what this creature was. "let's not let this introduction drag on," he joked. "name's sans, and this is red. you moving into the neighborhood?"

"not here! this is my area!" Red snarled.

"Orm," the dragon replied, raising his head proudly. He towered over the couple. His many spikes glinted black and purple in the sunlight. "Are there caves on that hill? I need a big one. A bigger cave than this one for my many possessions."

"i'm not sure," Sans replied. "i've never been over there ..."

"I'll check it out," Orm said. "Would you like to come with me? Dragons love treasure."

Red and all the snakes on his head hissed. "ya don't touch my mate!"

"he's teasing, red," Sans said confidently. "besides, the greatest treasure of all is our precious egg."

"ya and our egg," Red said, wrapping his tail around the egg protectively. "ya can leave, dragn'. i have the best treasures here."

Sans felt his cheeks get warm and he smiled. Orm looked at the egg. "Pfft, it's not even gold," he said and flew off. Sans didn't care, he was more interested in his mate. "i love you," he said.

"me too," Red chuckled, pulling Sans in his coils. "let's mark our territory. with smell." He took Sans to mark the outside of the cave.

"well i don't really have scent glands," Sans said, happy to let Red carry him along. "but i'll go with you."

"oh, ya do have a scent." The tip of Red's tall caressed Sans’s tailbone then slowly squeezed it. "we are going to leave our scents on here nice and strong."

"Aw, so passionate," an amused voice said, startling Sans. It sounded familiar, though.

"hello, again," Sans said. He knew that voice, but he realized he never learned the name of the being that owned it.

"we're busy here." Red waved his hand like it was the most obvious thing in the world to wait until they were done.

"Don't you want to be there when your egg hatches?" The tall goat woman said. "It's going to happen very soon."

Red looked torn. He really, really wanted sex (his new favorite thing to do with his mate). But he really wanted to know what was inside their egg.

"Hello again, my child," Toriel said to Sans. "I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself. I'm Toriel. And I have some guests!" With that the goat goddess walked toward the cave opening to set up her pot to cook some food for the party.

"hi, egg lady," Red said lamely. "sans, there’s faires are all over our cave!"

"i never got to meet any fairies last time," Sans said, happier about this situation than his mate obviously was. His smile dropped however a moment later and he stiffened. "red, i 'see' a red soul. is it a human?"

"oh, that's Frisk. she lives with the fairies. that razz guy loves her."

"THAT’S KING RAZZ OF THE FAIRIES, YOU PEASANT!" The tiny king said, offended for Fisk.

"it's nice to meet you, your highness," Sans said. "and frisk." His voice wavered a little but he still smiled cordially.

Frisk waved at Sans and Red with a smile to get their attention. [You know signs?] they asked with their hands.

"they’re waving their hands around," Red told Sans unhelpfully.

"FRISK DOESN’T TALK WITH WORDS, SHE TALKS WITH HER HANDS. IMBECILE.” Razz raked his hand down his face. "SERVANTS, GET THE BOOZE! I NEED IT IF I’M STAYING HERE FOR A WHILE,” Razz demand.

"i'm sorry, human, but i can't hear your hands," Sans said. Frisk came a little closer and waved her hand in front of his face, coming to the understanding that Sans's eye lights don't work. They shrugged and grabbed Sans's hand, pulling him out of Red's coils and taking off with him toward the cave. He had no choice but to stumble along behind them.

"hey! sans is mine!" Red followed them.

~~ A few hours later ~~

Toriel and the fairies had put together a nice buffet using natural ingredients from both this and King Razz's forests. The foods from there tasted different from what Sans was used to, but he actually really liked the way the Razz's herbs and spices blended with their own local vegetables and meats. These were flavors that no one had ever tasted before and probably never will again, which made the day even more special.

"Now, this egg of yours is quite unique," Toriel was saying, looking at it proudly. "It’s my most brilliant creation. It's going to need your help to hatch properly."

"why? is it a plain skeleton?" That would explain it in Red's mind. Sans needed help, too.

"skeletons don't come from eggs," Sans said, his tongue a little looser than how he usually speaks. This fairy wine was great!

"Ya that's why it need help." Red couldn't see any other reason. "medusa’s could get out of an egg with their egg claws." He held up his hands, so Sans could see them. He was tipsy too. "see i had them. but they fell off." He looked on the floor for them.

“It’s because it was created by magic,” Toriel said, she was also slurring her speech a bit, too.

"has a medusa and a skeleton ever made a baby before?" Sans asked, having no idea what Red was looking around on the floor for something that he will never find.

"No!" Toriel answered with a delighted smile. "It's not possible, that's why I gave you two a hand."

The fairies had all been in the air and dancing only a few minutes ago, but they were slowing down and a few had even dropped to the ground like overripe figs.

"so how do we do it?" Red said, forgetting about his egg claws.

Sans closed his sockets, his lids feeling very heavy and his head dizzy. Toriel's words seemed to smear together as his head slowly sunk until it was resting on the table. Soon, he was snoring.

Red wasn't too far behind him.

Some time later (it felt like much, much later) Sans woke up. Reluctantly. He groaned before he even moved an inch, his head hurt. He was in the nest; someone had put them in. Sans didn't hear anything but Red's snoring next to him. The party must be over and everyone gone home.

Sans didn't need to conjure his tongue to know that it would be dry as sandpaper, he wanted some water. He tried to lift his head, but the pain spiked and so he just kinda rolled over bonelessly to reach the water pouch they kept next to the nest for convenience. He drank a few sips before his stomach churned dangerously, so he closed it and put it back. After a few seconds of waiting unsurely, it settled enough that he flopped back down, this time on top of Red.

Red let out a grunt. A clawed hand patted down Sans bones and pulled him close. "i think the fairy food was poisoned," he grumbled.

"but it was so tasty," Sans mumbled, completely limp on Red's chest.

"yeah, but i feel dead. i think ya do too."

"ya, i died after my third cup of that wine," Sans said. "we got any willow bark left to chew on?"

"yah, it's across the room. in the box." Red pointed in a direction that wasn't helpful to Sans at all.

Sans was hurting enough that he got up and stumbled toward the food storage area. He knew there were some boxes there where Red kept some things, it was logical. Along the way he knew he passed where they kept the egg all wrapped up in a blanket and he patted the table looking for it - he just wanted to tell the baby good morning and let it know that he and Red would be a-ok in just a few minutes and then he would sing to it. But there was nothing on the table. "red?" Sans asked calmly. "did things get moved around last night?"

"don't know." Red got up with a moan and looked around. "a little but, hey.... where's our egg?" Red started to search the house he ended up looking everywhere but no egg. "what the fuck? who would take our egg?"

"w-what?" Sans asked, patting the table a little harder and faster, desperately searching. "are you sure it's not just ... on another table? or in the nest? check the nest!"

"i did. it's gone!" Red went back to the nest. "i'm going to stone all the fairies!"

Sans dropped onto his knees, crawling across the floor and searching with his hands. It had to be here! “they wouldn’t take it, why would they?”

Red came over and pulled him up. “well, it's not here. come on, we are going to look for it! maybe the fairies dropped it outside."

"okay," Sans said, taking a deep, grounding breath.

Red grabbed some bark on their way out and gave it to Sans. They searched and searched and after a long time they ended on the hill where the dragon was now living.

Chapter Text

"do you really think orm took our egg?" Sans asked while they followed their noses. He hadn’t expected the journey to take this long, the hill really was quite far away from Red’s cave and very tall. It made him wonder just how much of the land Red had laid claim to.

"well we don’t got it, do we?" Red grumbled. He was slithering quickly over charred earth, not even noticing the ashes coating his tail. Normally that would be enough to deter him - he hated how the powdery substance caked in between his scutes and made him look dull, but he was a snake on a mission. “it’s gotta be somewhere.”

"i thought he was just joking when he said he wanted me to live with him, but he did say he loves treasure ..." Sans said with a regretful sigh. "and i said the egg is our greatest treasure of all." He closed his eyes and just trudged behind Red, it made no difference to him if he had his sockets open or not.

"if he took it I'm going to bite him. i'd stone him if my magic worked on mythical monsters." He hissed.

"i could ‘see’ the greed in his soul, but i never would have anticipated he’d be a kidnapper," Sans was saying, lost in his grief and guilt. "is he planning on raising the baby when it hatches? or, eating it ...?" Sans's head snapped up. "wait, toriel said we have to help it hatch. if we aren't there to do it, does that mean it won't? will the baby die inside the shell?!"

"don't think that!” Red admonished. “we are going to find it. it's my egg and i won't lose it!"

Sans could tell that they had arrived when he felt a huge gust of hot, stinky air blow against his entire body, ruffling the fur on his hoodie. Orm was deep inside the cave, but Sans could hear happy humming echoing off the stone walls - the dragon sounded pretty happy about something.

"where is our egg!" Red growled, heading into the cave.

"Hmmm?" Orm said. "Oh, Medusa. Did you forget that this is my territory now? I left marks all over the area," he said mockingly.

"guess i didn't see them, they must be up on the tree tops. now where is our egg!?"

"Are you insinuating that I stole your property?" Orm asked mildly. "I can't help it if you lost something. You won't find your egg here." Orm was talking to Red, but looking at Sans.

"then where is it? did you see anyone with an egg?" Red asked.

"I didn't see anyone with your egg," Orm said, tapping his claws on the ground. The sound made Sans's teeth hurt. "But I hear werewolves like omelets."

"they better not eat my egg!" Red wrapped his tail around Sans, picking him up to leave.

“My offer still stands, Sans,” Orm with a sly smile. “You are welcome to move in any time, I’d be a better keeper than that waste of scales.”

Red hissed and stuck his tongue out, "i'll be sure to bite you when i have some time to waste."

All of Red’s snakes stuck their tongues out with Red - as far as they were concerned, Sans was their mate, too. “no thanks, orm,” Sans said as he was swept away by Red. “i’m ‘kept’ very well already.”

"yeah, tell him, sweetheart," Red said.

They headed toward the abandoned farm at the border of Red's territory, now claimed by the local werewolves.

Chapter Text

Red was rushing through the forest. He had Sans in his tail coiled and mostly safe from branches. The smell of smoke slowly giving away to manure of cattle and copper. Blood. There was blood spilled here.

The coils on Sans waist got tighter as Red lifted his love up higher. Damn, he was getting too much of a workout today.

Sans could feel Red’s growing alarm as they raced away from the hill. It wasn’t the first time Red had carried him when they were in a hurry (the larger snake monster could move faster than Sans could on his unsure, stubby legs) but it had never been this graceless - Red’s movements were jerky and frantic instead of the fluid, confident slither he usually had.

“we’ll find it,” Sans said, just as much to himself as to Red. He patted Red’s coils reassuringly; he could feel the muscles under the scales straining as they moved along faster than he ever had before. “and we’ll be home in our nice, safe cave in no time.”

Red was trying to stay cool. He was so scared and worried about their egg, though. He didn't see the ugly little creature lying dead on the ground drained of all it's blood until he was almost on top of it.

“ooooooooo!” Red tried to stop before touching the disgusting corpse. His head of snakes hissed, “that’s not even edible!” He told them.

“what?” Sans yelped, hyper-alert to anything Red said or did. “what is it?”

“there is something strange on the ground,” Red grabbed a stick. He quickly tried to get it out of the path.

“hiissssss!” one snake on the back of Red’s head hissed loudly.

“what is it, ziggy?” Sans asked. He had named all the snakes on his lover’s head. He loved to feel and pet them when Red was asleep. This one always had a kink in its body from being slept on.

“huh-?!” Red yelled in surprise as something big pounced on him, knocking him over. He dropped Sans.

A large, hideous, dog-like creature was standing at least 4 feet tall had tackled him to the ground. It growled and snapped at the snakes on Red’s head. All Red could see was a mess of deep brown and gray fur. No wonder it had blended seamlessly into the shadows of the dimly lit forest.

“wha- what’s going on? is that a werewolf?” Sans asked patting around blindly trying to find Red. “are you okay?” He said, picking up a stick then frowned. He hoped that wasn't a bone.

Sharp claws scraped along Red’s skull and razor sharp teeth snapped and bit at his snakes. The snakes hissed and struck back at the beast. Red blinked a few times, getting his bearings as he pushed and shoved at the strange dog creature.

“stay back, sansy!” Red spread his claws and dug them into his attacker. He grabbed the skull and made it looked at him and with a flash of magic in his sockets the creature was turned to stone. “i got it stoned.” Red pushed at the stone statue. But exhaustion overcame him and he found himself in a strange position. “it’s fucking heavy.”

Sans followed Red’s voice, crawling over to him. He found the smooth, cold scales of Red’s tail and followed it until he felt something very hard and porous that didn’t belong there. He pushed at it. “werewolf?” He asked, realizing that this statue was really heavy. Like really heavy.

“no, it’s a dumb chupacabra. It must have sucked the blood out of that thing in the road.”

One snake on Red’s head hissed.

“why should I thank you? you didn’t stop it,” Red groused.

The snake hissed at Red, upset.

“same to you. ya live on me, ya know,” Red grumped and laid back. “sansy i need ya to hide and i’ll change it back to get it off, then stone it again.”

“red, you should be more thankful to ziggy - he tried to warn us,” Sans said sympathetically. “but hide where? i don’t even know where we are ... i’m gonna try to get if off.” Sans put a hand on the gritty rock and pushed magic into it, trying to lift it off of his love, but it barely wiggled. It was just too heavy.

“how are ya going to do that? it is almost as tall as y'are and it weighs a ton,” Red complained. “i wish razz and his dumb fairies never came to our cave. this is all his fault! how the fuck did they get here, anyway? they were in a different world.”

“tori is a goddess, she blessed us with our egg," Sans said. "she brought them over for the party.”

Sans reached in his pocket and pulled out the tiny sleeping brown snake friend that was basically his seeing eye snake. It seemed to love his warm hoody pocket. “scout, can you help me find some strong vines?” Sans asked.

Scout hissed and slithered up Sans arm to his shoulder. Tapping left or right to let Sans know where to go. After about 10 minutes, he had enough vines to lace through the tree closest to Red and made a makeshift pulley from the roots and branches. “okay redy, when i say 3, you try to get out fast. i don’t know how long i can hold it.”

“got it, sweetheart.”

“1, 2, 3.” Sans pulled with all his strength. It wasn’t much but with a bit of magic to make himself heavier, he pulled it up a few inches.

Red shuffled and skulked himself out from under the rock just before it went crashing to the ground, shattering into pieces.

“red! Are you okay? i couldn’t hold it anymore. red…” Sans dropped to the ground, feeling for his lover’s body and fearing to find dust.

“i’m all good, sweatheart.” Red came over and grabbed Sans hands, pulling him up into his embrace. “yer so strong.” He kissed Sans deeply. The snakes hissed and tried to caress Sans skull in thanks. "if we weren’t in a hurry, i would show you just how thankful i am to have ya as my mate.”

Sans blushed and wrapped his arms around Red. “you can do just that once our little egg is safe.”

Red’s tail wrapped around Sans, and they headed off to the werewolf’s den.

Chapter Text

It was getting late into the night. The lack of warmth was making Red a bit slow. But they are now at the old farm. Sans and Red could smell eggs cooking from the house.

"r-red, do you smell that?" Sans said, his voice small.

"yesss," Red said, his eye lights flashing in anger. Some little stone bugs fell to the floor like rain falling from the sky. Red hurried to the house and tried the door. It wasn't locked - who in their right mind would barge into a werewolf house? Red threw the door open and hurried toward the smell. "get the fuck away from my egg!" he yelled.

Several wolves jumped in surprise at the sudden entrance of a (very loud) uninvited guest. Especially when they saw who it was. They had all been sitting around a large table, enjoying a dinner of what looked like egg dishes; scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, pickled eggs, deviled eggs, and a plate of artfully arranged meringue cookies and divinity.

"what the fuck?!" One finally said, standing up after a moment to let his heart stop racing a mile a minute.

"i'm never going to eat another egg for the rest of my life," Sans said, overwhelmed by the smells that he once considered to be delicious. Now he just wanted to vomit.

"which one of you fuckers took our egg?!" Red yelled. The snakes on his head standing on end, making him look very scary and dangerous.

"it's about this big," Sans said, cupping his hands as if he were holding it (something he wished he could do right now). His hands were shaking a bit. "it's white with red and blue spots, and sometimes the spots overlap and there it's purple." Sans didn't know what those colors looked like. He was just describing it as Red had described it to him.

"What's all the commotion?" A female werewolf asked and came out of the kitchen. She was wearing an apron and chef's hat and had a whisk in her paw.

"our egg! it's missing and ya eat lots of eggs!" Red said, coming to the table and throwing a handful of eggs. "give it back or I will turn every last one of ya to stone!" Red bared his fangs. it was the scariest Sans had ever heard him.

"Of course we eat eggs, they're delicious and nutritious," the female said, pointing to a small table next to the larger one where a few pups were sitting. They were looking at Red with wide, confused eyes. "But we don't eat the eggs of other mythological creatures. Just our own chickens out back and forest birds if we find a nest. There are lots of glades in the forest where quails lay.”

The snakes on Red's head backed down, hissing sadly. "it has to be ya … who else could it be?!" Red said, angry, tried and confused.

"Look buddy," one wolf said. "We don't have it. Where did you last see it?"

"we've been searching all day!" Sans said. "a whole day without knowing where our baby is. it was taken right out of our cave ... the dragon said you may have it."

"There was a party last night and it was gone when we woke up," Red said, squeezing Sans in his tail tightly as if hugging him.

"Maybe try at the lake. If it rolled away or was dropped, it could have ended up there. The mers have eggs too so they could have taken it in?" The cook said. Red waited to see if Sans could tell if they were lying.

Sans sighed. He was very relieved the werewolves didn't have their egg, but also disappointed. It was ... complicated. "do you think it would be okay if it's underwater?"

"I'm not sure. It's not breathing,” she answered. “I would think for a while, but the shell might get soft."

Red set Sans on the floor but didn't let him go.

"thanks for the assistance," Sans said. "you think you could keep a lookout for it?"

“Sure. If we go to your territory, you won't stone us?" The cook said, pointing her whisk at Red.

"yah, yah. i won't if you bring our kid back,” Sans noticed that Red’s voice had less power and conviction than it normally did.

"Why don't ya sleep here tonight?" one wolf asked, noticing the parents' dejected state.

"th-that would be ... really nice ..." Sans said, starting to tear up. He truly had believed they would have found it by now. There was no scenario he had imagined in his head where they didn't.

Red pulled Sans into his arms. He hated seeing sans sad, "we'll find it."

"i want to keep looking ..." Sans said, but he was really tired. And now that the adrenalin had worn off into such deep disappointment, he was falling asleep.

"We'll get you in a room. You can leave when your mate wakes up," Chef said.

"thanks. sorry about all this," Red said, cuddling Sans. Sans never said these wolves were lying. So he would take them up on the offer. They were so far from their nest and they were both tired. He would have to tell his snakes to take turns watching the door so they could get a bit of rest.

Chapter Text

"red, darling," Sans said gently. They were on the move again early the next morning, the sun barely above the horizon. "i know you're upset, i am too, but maybe when we talk to the mermaids you can be a little less ... accusatory? we don't know if they have the egg."

"but it wasn't the dragon or the wolves, so it has to be them," Red said. "they have to have it." Red didn't want to believe they would never find their egg.

"i just mean to try to be a little more ... diplomatic?" Sans tried.

"what's that?" Red asked, confused. He had never heard that word before.

"oh, well ... uh," Sans faltered. "like being calm and respectful, yet still strong and sure of yourself ... i think."

"so don't yell them ‘give you us the egg’. tell them nicely to give it back ... that don't seem right. they took it," Red insisted.

"well, how about i talk to them this time?" Sans offered.

"uuummmm," Red wasn’t so sure. “ok but if they get mean, i'm taking over again."

"ya, ok," Sans said, giving Red's tail a hug. He was happy that Red would give him a chance. "thanks."

Red blushed. "no problem, sweetheart." They made their way through the forest, the wind coming through the trees in cold blasts.

Sans had been hearing the distinct sound of a waterfall getting louder for a while, but now he picked up the smell of water on the breeze. They must be close. "we must be close," he said.

Red pulled Sans close to his body, one arm around his mate. "it's so cold here." Red snakes were coiled tightly around his head.

"i can't imagine living in such cold water," Sans said, remembering when he had slipped into the creek near their cave, which began his and Red's friendship (which evolved into the loving relationship they were enjoying today). "hello?" He called out.

"Heellooo."

"Hello," beautiful voices sung in the air.

Sans blinked. The voices were so soothing and pleasant. "hi, we're looking for our egg. it disappeared two nights ago - do you maybe know where it is?"

Red saw the two very beautiful mermaids sunbathing on the rocks near the waterfall. One had brown hair with a yellow tail that had fins of orange. The other’s hair was blonde with a pink tail that glimmered teal and gold when the light hit it just right.

"Come in."

"Come see," the mermaids sang. Red hissed happily at the melodious voices.

"you have it?! is it okay?" Sans asked, overjoyed. "let's go red!"

"okay." Red slithered toward the water.

Sans plucked Scout out of his pocket and set her on the bank of the river. "we'll be right back," he told her.

The mermaids happily dove into the water with the two skeleton parents following behind.

Sans’s skull filled with frigid water as they went deeper and deeper. He couldn't hear very well here so he had to just clutch onto Red and trust that he would be able to find the egg, so he tried to be patient. But it was really hard to do that and he ended up restlessly tapping his fingers on Red's tail.

The encompassing coldness made it hard for Red to move. He was cold magic after all. Only Sans’s shivering bones making heat helped him stay awake. The mermaids circled them like colorful sharks.

Sans noticed that they had stopped, were they there? Where was the egg? He noticed that Red's tail was ice cold so he rubbed his hands over it trying to push some warmth into it. He was expecting to get out any second now with their baby safely in their arms again. Any second now ...

Seconds turned into minutes. Red was getting colder and colder. The mermaids had slowed down in their circling, seeming confused.

Red looked and looked but didn't see any eggs. He went back to the land. "what the fuck?! it's not down there!" He told sans, flicking beads of water off of his claws.

"what?" Sans said, completely blindsided. He shook his head to help the water drain from his eye sockets. It took a moment for him to realize, and then accept, that they had been duped. "why would they say it was?"

"You two, get back in that water!" A deep, though still female-sounding voice screeched out. Another mermaid they hadn’t encountered yet had swum up close to the land. She had an impressive mane of black curls and a tail to match, but there were streaks of a dark, dusty green in her hair and the tips of her fins.

"why should we? yer liars!" Red grabbed a rock and chucked it at her.

The mermaid dodged but her crown of fresh water plants and stones was knocked askew on her head. She gave them a glare while she straightened it. "You were supposed to drown!" She revealed in her anger.

"skeletons don't breathe," Sans said. Red grabbed more rocks to throw at them.

"yah, ya fuckers!" He yelled.

The new mer was seething but paused for a second. “Oh …” she said and tried to swim away from the angry medusa.

"yer a fat, ugly fish!" Red yelled. She turned to yell at him, but when her eyes met his, Red's eyes flashed with power and her human half turned to statue of a very pissed off woman.

The magical, shiny fish tail flopped and flapped uselessly, sticking up out of the water while her stone upper half sank to the bottom of the shallows. The other mers screamed - it was a horrible skull-splitting sound.

“what’s going on?” Sans said.

Red was hurrying away from the water. "i turned the bitch to stone."

Normally Sans felt bad for the creatures that Red did that to, even when he did it to Aaron (who almost killed Sans), but this time he was glad. “good!” He said.

“Turn her back!” One of the mermaids yelled.

“She’s our queen!” The other screeched.

“NOOOOO!” Several new voices lamented as more mers arrived due to the commotion. They were all different sizes and colors. Their voices couldn’t help but harmonize together and ring out like a mournful choir.

"she tried to kill us and didn't even have our egg. so no." Red said, still slithering away from the mermaids who were screaming and cursing them in revenge.

Sans started to ring his hoodie out slowly, not really knowing what else to do. The crushing disappointment after being so excited was the worst feeling in the world, but it wasn’t the first time he had felt it. It reminded him of how he felt when his precious brother Papyrus had gone into the forest to find their missing parents … and never come back out. None of them came back out. The townsfolk were always cold to Sans because he was different, but it got worse when Sans started taking trips into the enchanted forest to find his family (or end up with them - either way it would end his loneliness). When he came back over and over the villagers had said Sans was cursed; he must have made a pact with a devil. How else could a blind person not be hurt or killed by the medusa in the forest? So they shunned him. He had been so alone. Was he doomed to never have a family? Maybe the villagers were right ... maybe he was cursed. He took a shaky breath and clutched onto Red, afraid bad luck would tear him away from Sans next.

“r-red, can we just go home?” Sans said. “i don’t want to stop looking, i just … need a little time to …” he started to sob.

Red pulled Sans into his arms hugging him. "yah." his own voice cracked with emotions.

Chapter Text

--- two days ago ---

Aello had waited in the trees while the fairies, skeletons and goat deity had partied. The smell of sweet, pungent fairy wine saturated the forest while it flowed freely. Aello shook out her feathers a bit, stretched out one leg, then the other, and started to preen. She knew where this was headed and she was a very patient harpy. She could wait.

The egg was laying in its place of honor; a warm nest of blankets made by Sans. All the fairies had kissed it and blessed it with magic. Toriel had asked Frisk and Razz to help bless the area around the nest with magic to help it hatch - it needed a lot of natural magic to do that. Now it just needed one last thing to crack open and free the life within. Toriel pet the egg, "I'm s-so proud of Sans and Red," she said a bit tipsy, and left the parents a note so they would know what to do when they woke up. Red never had alcohol before and Sans being a mortal couldn't withstand the magical brew. She smiled at the two. "Congratulations." she whispered then left.

The coast was clear. Aello squawked quietly to her sister Cela and took off. In a swirl of wind that made Sans cling tighter to Red for warmth in his sleep, she scooped up the egg in her talons and flew off with it.

Red's tongue flickered and he dreamed of eating a nice juicy chicken

The two harpies headed straight toward the hill where the new dragon had moved in. He was kind of a jerk, but he had made them an offer they couldn't refuse in exchange for this treasure. Aello was kind of surprised that this egg didn't look like the other riches in his cave - things that were shiny and covered in gemstones. She looked at Cela, tapping her talon on the shell questioningly and holding it up for her sister to see as they flew.

The egg was warm in her hands. She could feel something rocking and moving around in it. Life was inside it.

They landed at the entrance of Orm's cave but paused before entering. This was a real egg, not some kind of tender or bauble. They hadn't expected that. Aello held it up to the rising sun, assuming it must be a dragon egg. Both harpies looked at it closely.

Harpies aren't exactly known for their intelligence, but if this was a dragon egg and Orm just wanted to get his child back, why hadn't he just told them? Or, why hadn't he just gotten it himself - he could take on two skeletons, even if one was a medusa. Something was strange.

All they could really see was a big mass all squished up inside, but there appeared to be a little skinny thing wiggling around in one part. Actually, there were a couple of them. Tentacles? Aello turned it around in the light. It didn’t look like it had spikes or wings or anything that would indicate it was a baby dragon.

Cela gave Aello a curious look - she didn't seem to think anything was unusual.

"Elf," she rasped, eager to get their reward. Neither had tasted the sweet meat of an elf since they were hatchlings, the creatures were so rare now.

The life in the egg settled down against the warmer area of the harpy’s grip, away from the cold wind.

Orm was waiting in his cave for the egg, soon he would have revenge on that medusa and have his treasure added to his own. Sans would come and stay for the egg. He was almost dancing with excitement.

Cela nudged her sister and hopped into the cave. Well, guess it was decided. Aello followed. The cave was warm, which is good for eggs. Aello approved. The thing inside must be a dragon, that's the only thing that made sense to her. They would have helped the dragon to get his baby back for free, but she'll happily accept a reward for their service. She whistled a little bit in her eagerness. Cela answered with her own happy chirp, which also served to announce their presence to the cave’s owner.

"About time," Orm said, a little puff of smoke escaping him. "Give me the treasure," he said holding out a claw.

Aello held it out but Cela rushed in between the two before Orm took it. "Elf!" She said. "Deal!"

"Oh, yes." Orm reached behind a mountain of gold and pulled out a skinned pig that was missing it’s snout, he dropped it in front of them feeling pleased with his plan. Elves were hard to find after all. He was sure this would fool the dumb monsters. "See it's ears? it's an elf. I got it a few hours ago,” he assured them.

Aello and Cela looked at the carcass. Something looked ... off. They came a little closer, noting the short legs and plump tummy. Is this what elves looked like? They kind of didn't remember ... hey, wait! This thing has hooves and Aello was pretty sure that elves had hands and feet like humans - she remembered fighting with her sisters for the fingers and toes when they were little. She squawked loudly, noticing that her sister had also come to the realization that this was a fake. They both backed out of the cave, clutching tightly to the egg that had begun to shake vigorously, and tried to take it back to their territory. They could figure out what to do with it later.

"Hey, that's mine!" Orm yelled, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. He hurried after them. "Give it to me!" He roared.

The harpies burst out of the hill like two bats out of hell, followed by the glow of hellfire and heat of smoke from within. They tried their best to out-maneuver the larger dragon as he gave chase, passing the egg between them and cutting back and forth around him in sharper turns than he could with his larger wings.

Orm had something they didn't; fire and smoke. He launched fire ball after fire ball at them.

The sisters realized that they couldn't shake the beast, and they couldn’t go home with him following - they had their own eggs that were about ready to hatch, the angry swindler might hurt them. So they turned back the way they came, maybe they could just give the egg back to the skeletons and they could deal with it.

Orm swung toward them as they turned back and blew smoke in their faces. Then he flicked his tail into the smoke.

Cela made a sound like "YACK!" And dropped the egg. With all the smoke and confusion of feathers and fire neither of the harpies were able to catch it and it plummeted back down to the ground.

Time seemed to slow as it fell, the ground rushing up to meet it. The little life inside braced for something even though it didn't know what - the feeling of falling was new to it. But instead of the hard ground, it landed softly on a thick bed of leaves, nestled among the branches of a sturdy tree. It felt the gentle sway of the branches and was soothed, the rustling leaves whispering comfort. Only Cela saw it land safely. Orm was still circling the smoke looking for the two feathered beasts.

It rolled off the branches, tumbling into the underbrush. The forest was alive with sounds - the chirping of birds, the rustle of small creatures waking up for the day. It rolled along, feeling the moist earth beneath its smooth shell and the warmth of sunlight filtering through the canopy. Each movement was a new thrill for the life within, a dance of freedom after the chaos above. As it continued its journey, there was something shimmering up ahead - a portal, glowing with enchanting colors, nestled between two ancient oaks. Portals were always random in the powerful magic of the forest. It pulsed with colors, beckoning all living things closer.

The egg was caught up in the pull of the portal, whisking it away into another realm.

Orm saw the harpies flying away, neither one had the egg. He growled angrily and tried to fly just above the treetops, scanning the floor for his treasure, but the canopy in this area was very thick and he couldn’t see anything so he had to land. After a few hours of searching (knowing he was back in Red’s territory but not caring) he realized he wasn’t going to find it, so he returned to his cave grumpily. “Probably squished,” he said to himself then shrugged. “Well if I can’t have it, no one can.”

It was a few hours later when Sans and Red came to his cave searching for their smashed egg. Orm was entirely truthful when he told them they wouldn’t find it there.

---present---

Sans was asleep in Red's arms. He was so upset. The last time Sans lost anyone was his brother. Red knew that and understood why Sans was inconsolable; he had cried in Red's arms until he fell asleep. Red was crushed, too. He just wanted to sleep in their cave and hold Sans and never let him go again.

By the time Scout made it home the two skeletons were asleep and it was dark. She had taken her time, playing with the bugs and frogs she found along the way (before eating them). She was happy to be home, and that Sans’s hoodie was laid out on a rock next to the fire to dry. She slithered up to her favorite pocket only to find it was inside out. With a hiss she went to the other one to see that something was already there, blocking her from getting down to the very bottom where she liked to curl up. It was very thin and rolled up, faintly smelling of animal skin. She knocked it out onto the floor and settled in for the night.

Chapter Text

Sans woke up feeling foggy - falling asleep after an intense bout of crying always did that to him. He sniffled to try and clear his clogged nose, a gross wet sound that was barely effective, and got up from their cozy nest. He shuffled over to his hoodie dejectedly but stopped when he heard a quiet rustling sound under his foot. Sans had memorized every inch of that cave and Red knew never to move anything without telling him, so whatever was there shouldn't be. So he lifted his foot then knelt down to pick it up. It was soft like velvet as he ran his fingers over it and he held it up to his nose to smell it - it reminded him of his brother, who loved to read to him. "parchment," he murmured to himself.

Red was snoring on the bed, a bit of drool running down his face.

"red?" Sans called, standing back up. He brought it back to the nest hopefully. "i found something."

"no, tori we didn't eat it …" Red mumbled in his sleep. Then let out a big snore. “the snails ate... your pie."

Sans shook Red's shoulder. "love?" Red snored loudly again so Sans shook him a little harder.

"but i like the crunch - huh?" Red said waking up confused. "wh-what's wrong?" He said rubbing his sockets.

"is this a note?" Sans asked carefully. He was running his fingers over it, pretty sure it had letters on it - he could feel subtle indents as if someone had pressed a pen into it to write on it. He really hoped he wasn't just feeling that because he really, really wanted to.

"what's a note?" Red asked.

"oh. do you know what writing is?" Sans asked.

"no." He took the paper. “but there are markings all over this."

"ya, that's writing!" Sans said. "not like pictures of things, right? just symbols?"

"ya, there’re lines and curves and dots," Red said. "what does it mean?”

"i think someone left us a message!" Sans said, spirits lifting. "it could be about the egg - maybe someone found it and tried to bring it back but we weren't here, so they left this. we have to find someone who can read it!"

"but the townsfolks'r asses," Red said. “who else around here can read?"

Sans's elation faltered when he realized the truth of that - they would NEVER help him. He hadn't even been back there since Red stoned Aaron in the forest. He was sure he'd be blamed for that. Toriel could probably read, but he didn't know how to contact her - he'd have to ask her the next time she chose to visit them. "um ..." he racked his brain desperately before he remembered one creature they had met before who was known for being clever. "what about the sphinx?" He said carefully, knowing that Red wouldn't like that option.

"that guy in the portal?" Red said, cleaning his ear hole with his pinky. "the one who talks in riddles?"

"ya, i think he might be our best bet," Sans said. "or we could try the werewolves, but we'd have to wait for the next full moon unless you want to ask h-humans?"

"nah, we can try the riddle guy. we can tell him some puns," Red said.

"ok ya!" Sans said, getting up again and grabbing his hoodie. He swung it over his shoulders and held out his hand for Red before he remembered ... "wait, didn't you say the portal to his realm disappeared? how will we find him?"

"there are portals all over the place - they keep popping up," Red said getting up.

Sans patted his pockets gently, making sure Scout was where she usually was (she was in his pocket but in the opposite one as usual for some reason - he let her be) and he was ready to go. They didn't even eat breakfast before the two were on the move again.

Red did have a dried fish hin his inventory and he offered to Sans as they walked. "ya need to keep yer strength up, sansy. eat."

Sans bit the head off (the best part) and crunched it up easily.

"good boy." Red patted Sans head as they wandered the older area of the forest. It only took about an hour before Red called out: "hey look, a portal!"

"let's go!" Sans said eagerly, turning in a random direction.

Red steered him the right way to the portal and after making sure Sans was tightly wrapped in his tail, went through the magic gate.

Upon their appearance, the sphinx immediately became aware of the presence of two others in his realm and smiled - he knew exactly who it was (he remembered them clearly). He would love to be able to tease the medusa and make him wander around for a while before greeting them, but he recalled his skeleton mate was sensitive to the heat and he didn't want the mortal to die. So he vanished from reality and re-appeared before the skeleton couple.

The familiar form of a large blue lion with a skeleton head (much like Sans's) and a knowing grin floated before them, though it's wings never flapped (too much work). "hello," he said with a purr.

"knock knock" Red said.

"oh! who's there?" The sphinx asked happily - he loved jokes and riddles but it was very rare that anyone ever told any to him. It was usually the other way around.

"paper," Red replied.

"paper who?" The cat-like creature asked.

"we're ripping to know who, too." Red held up the paper. "sans says this has words on it."

“it does,” the sphinx said before cocking his head. The note disappeared from Red's grasp before reappearing in the sphinx's paw. He took a moment to read it. "well, that’s interesting," he said and the parchment vanished in a flash of fire and smoke (just for effect). "i have a riddle for you," the sphinx said.

"ah come on, we have had a bad few days. just tell us," Red whined.

"can you read it?" Sans said, getting antsy.

"all about, i can be felt. i can be heard and even smelt. i whisper and scream, beneath the wings, but you will never see me. what is it?" The sphinx said as if they hadn’t said anything.

"tch, come on. at least make it punny," Red complained. "is it air? wind?"

"wind, yes!" The sphinx said, pleased. "do you know what they say about someone who has suddenly disappeared?"

Sans perked up. "what? what do they say?!" He asked.

"that they were taken by 'the wind'," the sphinx said, making little quotation gestures with his paws. "i’d say more the personification of the wind. storm wind, maybe? that's a little fun fact for you."

Sans frowned - it sounded like the sphinx knew something, but he always spoke in riddles so maybe he didn't and was just messing with them.

"don't worry, parents - i'm your friend," he assured them with a grin - like the cat that got the cream. "how about another?"

Red felt proud he solved the riddle, but the feeling didn't last. "what does any of this have to do with the reading?" Red said grumpily. "we lost our egg. we just want to go look for it. we’re hoping the reading paper says where it is. now do the reading!" Red hissed.

“you know, just a little while ago something fell from the sky and hit me on the head,” the sphinx told them. “strangest thing. here it is: i can take you to places unseen, yet i remain where i have always been … until i don’t. what is it?”

“the portal!” Sans cried out. “it’s here, red!”

"It is?!" Red started looking around. "where is it. where is our egg?!"

“such fun. time for another riddle!” The sphinx began.

“sphinx, no more,” Sans implored. “if you know where the egg is, please tell us. it’s really close to hatching now and we don’t want to miss it.”

“just one more - as you know, the best things come in threes!” The sphinx said.

Sans nodded, he’ll do anything at this point.

“guarded by a fortress, but not of stone. inside a treasure three times has grown. not of gold, but just as precious,” the sphinx recited, his tone more serious than before.

"come on! give us our egg!" Red yelled.

The sphinx’s ears flicked in joy! “yes, it’s your egg!” He held it up for Red to see.

Red's sockets felt with tears of relief. "oh fucking stars!"

The egg shook in the sphinx’s grip, then tumbled out. “oops,” he said as it fell into the sand.

CRACK!

“r-red, what was that sound?” Sans asked fearfully.

"he dropped it!" Red's eye-lights were flashing with magic that didn't work on the powerful mythical monster. Red's tail wrapped around the egg protectively.

"that's what the note said to do: drop in sand," the sphinx said innocently. "you said you wanted to know."

The shell of the egg crumbled away into dust, revealing a little snake ball. There were several tails winding around a confusing jumble of bones.

"it hatched!" Red stopped his magic and pulled the snake ball to himself. "there are 3 babies," he said, carefully untangling them. "here is a blue one." He put it in Sam's arms.

Sans’s hands shook as he gently held his goop-covered baby. He touched the scrunched up face, much to the hatchlings dismay. Sans felt his own features in miniature and knew this one took after him. The baby started to cry.

"oh shit, don't cry." Red said. Then the other two did the same.

“can i feel the others?” Sans asked, reaching out one hand and holding the blue baby close to himself with the other. He didn’t care about the noise - it meant the babies were alive.

"yah, these two have sharp teeth like me. this one is red." He put the squirmy baby in Sans’s arms. "let me take the other so ya can feel him proper.”

Sans’s first instinct was to hold the baby closer and never let anyone else have it, but he could trust Red - he was their mother after all. Sans chuckled after the exchange. “this one is bigger than the other,” he said, stroking his hand down the pudgier tail. When he cupped the small head it felt different than the other one. “red, this one has … are these little snakes on his head?” The little squirmy things nudged his finger tips. They must be hungry.

"yes! he is the only one that has snakes," Red said proudly.

This baby quieted and fell asleep while Sans explored his features with his fingers. “oh red,” Sans said, tearing up with joy. “he looks just like you! he’s beautiful!” He delicately felt the points of the baby's needle-sharp teeth.

"yah, poor kid," Red said, holding blue and purple ones under his arms like sacks. "do ya want to hold the purple one?" Red asked, the two babies still crying. "the blue one keeps sucking on my fingers."

“yes!” Sans said, giving the red baby a hug and offering him to Red. “we gotta feed them. what do baby medusas eat?” Sans asked.

"mice, bugs, frogs. oooh I loved slugs as a kid," Red said as he handed the purple baby to Sans and scooped up the sleeping medusa. The little purple baby slithered all over Sans's lap.

Sans fumbled a little bit trying to get his hands on the hatchling while it refused to stay still. “this one is so tiny! he doesn’t really look like either of us, does he?” Sans asked when he was able to touch the baby’s face. It felt a little slimmer and his eye sockets were more almond-shaped.

"he looks more like a blend of ya and me than the others," Red said.

The purple baby bit down on the finger in his face, shaving off 0.01 of Sans’s HP. He started to suck the magic happily.

“ouch!” Sans yelped then laughed. “okay, we need to go hunt some mice or something for these little angels before i get eaten for lunch.”

"hey, only i get to suck on sans," Red said and lightly tapped the purple baby on the head. It hissed at Red. Red laughed and tapped the baby again on the head. "he reminds me of my baby brother,” he said fondly.

Sans laughed again.

"you two seem to be new at this, so i'll help you out. no riddles," the sphinx said, breaking up the family moment. "the little medusa can be raised as any medusa can. the other two are lamias, they do not exist in your dimension at this time, but they exist here. so they will be new to your forest - won't that be fun? little purple can eat bugs and slugs like his big brother, but little blue-boy is going to need to suckle."

"suckle? suckle what?" Red asked.

"skeleton mothers make constructs that produce magic milk for their babies to drink," Sans explained, remembering when his brother was a babybones. "c-can you do that?"

"i don't think so." Red said not sure how he would.

"why don't you try, sans?" The sphinx suggested.

"oh, uh ok," he agreed, holding the purple baby out to Red when he sought out another finger, preparing to bite again. Sans was very good at forming his ecto-body, and he was particularly proud of his ecto-cock (he felt like a genius that he could make something that Red enjoyed without having any reference. Possibly nothing else in nature looked quite like it, but it made Red happy and that's all Sans cared about). But he hadn't tried to form anything new since he was a teenager.

His ecto-body formed, filling out his shirt and shorts. "um .... i don't know what they should look like. no one's ever let me feel theirs," he said awkwardly.

"let me help you." The sphinx tapped Sans forehead with its tail and suddenly he knew what they should feel like and how they worked.

It only took a moment for Sans to figure out how to reconfigure his magic. He put his hands on his chest, feeling the new lumps. They were like two pillows that perfectly fit in his cupped hands and felt a little sensitive. For some reason, he blushed unsurely. "are they ok?" He asked his mate, seeking reassurance.

Red reached out and touched them. "they are soft."

"they are food for the baby. it will suckle them," the sphinx said.

"let's see if he likes them," Sans said.

The purple and red babies were sleeping. Red gave Sans the blue baby. He watched closely.

Sans took the wiggly bundle. "heh, lil squirmy-wormy," he said quietly and held his baby against his body with one arm while he worked his shirt up. He expected it to feel weird to do this, but when he brought the tiny head close to his new constructs it just felt natural. But would he be able to make milk if he wasn't the one who give birth to the egg? He really hoped so.

The baby latched on and sucked. It was a little painful at first but the milk came and it then it was fine.

"i want to try that!" Red said.

"and with that, the you two can go home," the sphinx told them.

Sans felt a gush of wind and it was suddenly several degrees cooler. He also felt hard stone under his bottom instead of sand. "are we home?"

"yes." Red put the two sleeping noodles in the playpen Sans had him make a while ago. He came back over to Sans and settled down beside him. "i'm so happy we all got home."

Sans hummed quietly for a few minutes, gently stroking his finger down the baby's face. "red?" He finally said.

"ya sweetheart?"

"can our babies see?" He asked quietly.

"i don't know. medusa’s eyes are hazy until we can eat and travel on our own, then they clear up and the mother sends us out. i chose to stay with my brother and we came here. it will be a few months until we know for sure." Red paused, looking at his children one by one. "the red one has light behind the haze but the other two.... i didn't see anythin' but fog."

Sans heard Red say he wasn't sure, but Sans has had such bad luck he really didn't know how to be optimistic. He supposed he should be grateful that maybe the red one will be able to see when he gets a little bigger (thanks to Red). But as for the other two ... "i'm sorry."

"for what?" Red asked, confused.

"it's my fault," Sans said bitterly. "you gave me such wonderful children and i cursed them."

"hold it now, sweetheart," Red said, pulling Sans into his lap. "if anything, i cursed the red one. yer strong and clever and i'm so happy two of our babies are like ya."

Sans could hear the love in Red's voice, and feel it in his soul. It made his own soul squeeze in his chest. "you aren't cursed, reddy," he said. "these children are blessed to have you as a mother."

Red leaned his head on Sanns shoulders. "and they’re blessed to have ya as a father. "

Sans was quiet for a moment then, enjoying the moment with his family. He chuckled softly. "i didn't expect to have three," he said. "we need to think of so many names now. how about sans junior, red junior and .... purple junior?" he joked.

"nah, their colors look like the berries ya found in the thicket. how about, razzberry, blueberry and cherry?" Red suggested.

"i assume this one is blueberry," Sans said. "what color are raspberries and cherries?" He asked curiously.

"cherries'r red and raspberries'r purple,” Red replied.

"i think razzberry is gonna be a handful," Sans predicted. Blueberry had stopped suckling and was now breathing peacefully and evenly. Sans gently patted his back until he heard a tiny, snakey burp.

"cherry and razz are sleeping but they will need to eat soon, too." Red kissed Sans’s cheek. "but before that, i want to try these!" Red cupped Sans boobies and laughed.