Ed, Al, and Sans arrived back at Central not too long after their short stay at Ebott Town. Ed and Al almost immediately dismissed themselves, heading towards their apartment. The boys had accumulated quite a large amount of monster snackfoods. Chisps, donuts, whatever they could get their hands on. All for Alphonse, of course. Despite that relief, they were still eager to find a way to regain what they lost. So after they rest up, they were heading straight to the library.

Sans waved them off, once again donning his disguise. Once they were out of sight, he allowed himself a bit of a sigh.

"the one time i wanted a RESET, hm…." Sans muttered to himself. He rolled his shoulders back, satisfied in hearing them crack.

He'll admit, he was relieved in a way.

Sans thought to himself as he strolled through Central City, only half paying attention to everything going on around him.

RESETs was still a thing he dreaded, but he'll admit he had hoped for one. He confronted Frisk after Papyrus had gone missing, demanding to know why the kid hadn't gone back. 'Don't you care for him?' he had demanded. The child started to tear up as they choked out two words.

"I can't."

Edward had said that too. He downright refused to go back. Admirable in its own way, clearly the boy was uneasy about this power he didn't even know he had. Or maybe he just didn't think he could go that far back?

Let's see…. Frisk was eight when they all got out of the underground. That was three years ago. Three years ago for Ed was when he was….eleven? What was what triggered his DETERMINATION then?

Sans shook his head. That was a stupid question. Of course it was his brother losing his body.

"Sans." said a familiar voice, snapping the skeleton out of his thoughts. Sans turned to see Roy standing there, his black coat on his shoulders, arms crossed across his chest, looking eerily serious.

" 'sup, roy boy?" Sans chirped.

"I need to talk to you." Roy said, not acknowledging the nickname. "Somewhere private."

"eh? alright then." Sans muttered, scratching the side of his face "lead the way."

Roy lead him through back alleys and roads, weaving in between dumpsters and ducking under clotheslines. Going through broken fences and stepping over garbage cans. Eventually, they came across a small, run-down looking shed.

Roy beckoned Sans inside. Once the door was shut behind him, Roy said:

"We found him."

Sans would've choked had he a throat "...you found Papyrus!?"

Roy nodded "It took some interrogating, but we found him. We had assumed he'd be kept in a lab were he in military custody, but it turns out he was being kept in one of the Warehouses."

"Which one?" Sans demanded, his left eye flickering blue.

"Easy, Sans." Roy said "You can't just walk in-"

"Yes I can." Sans interrupted. "I'll ask again- WHICH. ONE."

"Sans, get a hold of yourself!" Roy snapped, glowering down at him "Okay, maybe YOU can. But can your brother just walk out?"

"I can warp him out!"

"...Warp?" Roy blinked.

"Yeah. Teleport. I can do that." Sans snarled.

"Hm." Roy frowned, crossing his arms "That makes things a lot easier as to getting him out."

"So what Warehouse is he in?" Sans said again.

"Okay, easy." Roy said "I got some other things to say."

"EASY!?" Sans quoted, his voice breaking out of its usual monotone "I found my brother after THREE FUCKING YEARS, and you're telling me to go EASY!?"

"Yes." Roy said flatly. "Listen, Sans, I get you want to get him out. But if you charge in, you'll only make things worse. Listen to me."

Sans reluctantly obliged, smothering the blue flame that was burning out his eye socket. "All right, what things do I need to keep in mind?"

"One." Roy said, holding up a finger "If you go in how you are now, you'll draw the blame to me. If that happens, my plans are busted. And if my plans are busted, then you can say goodbye to the idea of monsters being able to live peacefully. Two" he held up another finger "If you just charge in as your normal self, people are going to have an even stronger fear of monsters."

"...which means more trouble for them." Sans sighed, rubbing at his face "okay, i getcha. So….how do we get Papyrus out?"

"I got a plan." Roy said "Firstly, I'll stop by for an 'inspection'. That way I can comb through the building to find out where exactly Papyrus is in it. Then, a distraction."

"From who?" Sans blinked "If it's me, that'll draw attention back to you. Or if it's me, it'll make more animosity towards monsters."

"Well, attention will be drawn to someone. But it's not either of us." Roy hummed "In short, we figured out one or more of those hijackers from the train you and the Elrics were on may be in that Warehouse. If so….well, we're going to bring Edward and if he sees one of them…"

Sans grinned, chuckling "You're using ED as the distraction?"

"Well, yes." Roy shrugged. He sighed "But we can't tell him the reason for it. If I drag him into a random inspection, that'll get his temper up already. If we tell him the reason, he'll probably take it too seriously for one of his tantrums to be too distracting. Once Ed's raving like an idiot, you come in, get your brother, and get out of the building….. How far can you teleport?"

"Pretty far if I'm by myself." Sans said "With Papyrus…..well, I can get a few blocks away easily."

"Noted. I'll tell the Lieutenant to wait further away. She'll be there with a car you and Papyrus can hop into, then she'll take you somewhere safe. Papyrus will have to lie low for a while, until the mess is sorted out. Then we'll smuggle him out of the city. From there, you'll have to take him to Mount Ebott."

Sans nodded "Alright."

It was a jarring few days before they could put the plan to action. Sans was uncharacteristically restless, pacing and fidgeting the entire time. He barely even slept. The cue for the plan to start was one day when Roy said to Ed….

"By the way, today you'll be coming with me to inspect Warehouse Seven."

"WHAT!?" Ed snapped "C'mon, Mustang! I got shit to do!"

"And you'll have to do it AFTERWARDS, Edward." Roy snapped back "It'll be quick, just shut up and let's go."

"Wait, right now?" Al asked.

Roy nodded. "Yes, pretty much."

"Leave it to Colonel Jackass to bring this up last minute…" Ed muttered.

"Alphonse, I need you to stay behind for this." Roy said.

"WHAT!?"

"Brother, calm down." Al said. He nodded his helmet "Alright, Colonel. Ed, I'll be at the apartment."

Ed pout "Fine."

And away they went. Sans made an excuse to leave, following the small group from a distance. When they got to the warehouse, he watched from outside. Quickly, he changed his coat from the military jacket to a simple brown jacket, and the pants he switched out for casual sweatpants. He flipped the hood up of his jacket to cover his head. This way, at a passing glance, no one could tell who he was.

He heard the next cue, which was, in short, Ed yelling. So he quickly warped in and tracked down Roy, who subtly motioned which direction to go in. Quickly and quietly, Sans made his way down the maze of stone halls. Down a flight of stairs into an even danker hallway, and through what seemed to be a cellar. He scowled at the thought of someone keeping his brother in these conditions.

His SOUL lightened at the familiar sound of ridiculously loud humming.

"Papyrus!" Sans grinned, warping the short distance between them.

"SANS!?" Papyrus gasped, scooping his brother up quickly into a near-strangling hug. "HELLO BROTHER! IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE, HASN'T IT!?"

"H-heh heh!" Sans sputtered, returning the hug "too long, bro!"

Papyrus grinned happily as he placed Sans back down on his feet. He tilted his skull.

"WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?"

Sans grinned "clothes."

Papyrus groaned. Sans's grin grew wider. After three years of who-knows-what, Papyrus still stayed the same. Sans offered his hand.

"'Kay bro, let's go-GAH!" Sans was cut off by being knocked over the head with a thick slab of wood.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus yelped, catching the small skeleton as he collapsed like a load of bricks. He held the elder brother close to his chest, staring up at the man who had hit him. A flash of anger crossed Papyrus's face. "PHYLLIS! THAT WAS INCREDIBLY RUDE!"

"Whatever." Phyllis snorted "So your brother came for you, hm….? What timing…." Papyrus's eye sockets darted to stare behind the man as he muttered to himself. Phyllis had left to door slightly open in his haste to knock Sans out.

Papyrus's figurative heart sank at the thought of Sans being kept here. He swallowed nervously.

"SORRY, PHYLLIS!" he said, swiftly kneeing Phyllis in the stomach. The man keeled over, spitting out saliva as he collapsed to the ground. Papyrus jumped over the man, practically kicking down the door as he sprinted out carrying Sans.

Papyrus heard yelling coming from upstairs. And though he'd rather not run into anyone else here, he couldn't see any other way out. So up the stairs he went, going up the steps by twos, and he broke into the upper level of the building. There, he saw a small child yelling angrily, which was cut short as his eyes darted over to them.

"What the hell….?" Ed said, staring.

"Shit." Roy muttered quietly. He nudged Ed, who quickly clapped his hands, throwing them onto the ground. Lightning and dust swirled about, obscuring the vision of anyone in the room. Papyrus squinted, struggling to see when he felt a hand grip his arm.

Still holding Sans close to him, he followed the lead of whoever was dragging him. And another clap, a creaking of a door, and they were outside!

"WOWIE! HELLO SUN!" Papyrus grinned "LONG TIME NO SEE- OH WHERE ARE WE GOING!?"

Edward had Papyrus by the arm, dragging him along. "Hush! Keep quiet!"

"OH- Er...okay!" Papyrus chirped. He then blinked "Where are we going?"

"No clue." Ed frowned. "Listen, you got to be quiet, and we got to stay hidden, all right?" His yellow eyes darted to the unconscious Sans, then to Papyrus "...You're Papyrus, right?"

"Oh, yes I am! I see you are a fan." Papyrus hummed happily.

"A….fan?" Ed blinked. He shook it off "No, listen, Sans told me about you. I'm going to keep you safe, alright? Just do as I say."

"Yessir, Mr. Person Sir!" Papyrus said "So, you know Sans?"

"Yeah."

"I am sorry that you had to hear his jokes."

Ed chortled, slapping a hand over his mouth to keep quiet. "Alright, alright. Just follow me. And stay quiet."

Papyrus did. And they made their way silently through town. Eventually though, they came to a dead end with all the alley ways they were going through. And behind them was the stomping of boots.

Ed clapped his hands, drawing his arm out into a blade. "Papyrus, get behind me."

"Yessir!" Papyrus chirped, doing as he was told. Ed glared at the approaching footsteps. And as it turned out, he had no reason to worry at all.

"Colonel!" Ed grinned, for once happy to see the man.

"FullMetal." Roy said, he looked up at Papyrus "Papyrus, right?"

"Wowie! I have so many fans." Papyrus smiled.

"Fans…?"

"Don't question it." Ed waved him off. His expression then melted to a pout "Wait….did you just use me as a decoy?"

"Pretty much." Roy nodded "You did a good job too."

"Decoy?" Papyrus blinked "Decoy for what?"

"To get you out." Roy explained, as Ed fumed in silent rage "Your brother was really worried about you."

"I know." Papyrus sighed, hugging Sans to him "Um….Phyllis hit him over the head, is he going to be okay?"

"Oh….uh….let me see." Roy said. Papyrus nodded, gently laying Sans on the ground. Roy carefully unwrapped the bandages from the monster's skull. After a quick inspection, Roy gave a short nod "I think he'll be okay."

"That's a relief!" Papyrus chirped, hugging Sans tightly. The hug apparently was so tight, it woke the small skeleton up. Groggily, he blinked his eye sockets a few times. And stared.

"...P….Papyrus?"

"YES, BROTHER!" Papyrus went back to his usual volume all of a sudden "IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRU- BROTHER, YOU'RE CRYING!"

Blue tears streaked down Sans's face, although his grin was wide and seemed genuine. He threw his arms around his brother, drawing him in close.

"i missed you, bro."

Papyrus hugged him back.

"I MISSED YOU TOO."

A/N

The End!

Just kidding, there's a lot of things that're gonna happen still. Hope you're looking forward to it! And leave a review if ya got the time, please!