A dark figure slunk through the quiet neighborhoods of Ebott. They avoided the sidewalk with its luminescent streetlights, opting to move from lawn to lawn instead. They stopped beneath one window and listened.

Silence.

With a frustrated sigh, they moved along to the next house, repeating the process again and again.

The figure had been doing this for nearly two hours now. So far they had found no luck. There had been a few hopefuls, but nothing was quite right. For example, they had stumbled upon a house with a young girl and a seemingly female fire monster. The girl herself was a solid candidate; it was the monster who was the problem. Sure, the monster could potentially work; the problem was that they weren't equipped to use someone made entirely out of fire. For this job, they needed someone more...solid.

The figure looked up at the next house. There was a dim light streaming out of the far ground-floor window. So, not the overhead light, but perhaps a table lamp. No visible curtains obstructing the view, either. They grinned, their smile glinting in the darkness. Looking good.

Slinking along, the figure paused underneath the window, straining their ears. There were two voices: one male, one female, both quiet. The female's in particular had a youthful quality to it. The male's was deeper, but still young as well, though older sounding than the female. The two didn't seem to be right by the window, maybe closer to the center of the room. So far so good.

Now it was the moment of truth. The figure slowly stood to the side of the window, careful not to let any part of their body be shown, and pulled out a small mirror. Angling it with the care and finesse of someone who'd done this many times before, they looked into the mirror, spying upon the unknowing pair just mere feet away.

The female was a human, very young looking, perhaps eighteen? Small, skinny, white, pretty. Body language read as closed off, not confident, vulnerable. Perfect.

Now for the monster. Small, in fact slightly smaller. Not enough to really matter in the grand scheme of things, though. A skeleton? Hm. That was interesting. Not what they'd had in mind, but it could work. Little white glowing eyes. Not sure how that worked. Mouth didn't seem to be changing much in shape. Was it stuck in a perma-grin? If so, that was a plus. Shoulders were tense, appeared stressed, frustrated even.

Quickly but stealthily, the figure retreated to the side of the house and took a knee. Hurriedly, they pulled out a pen and notepad and scribbled down the address and details. Yes, this would do nicely. Was it ideal? No, no, it could be better. But for all intents and purposes, this would suit their needs just fine. Of course, they were still going to stay on the hunt in case they found a much better match, but should they not, then they at least had a solid back-up plan.

With haste, the figure capped the pen and replaced it along with the notepad and mirror into their pocket. Taking one last look around for good measure, they darted off into the darkness, vanishing from sight.

The quiet monster street remained as quiet as before, as if the dark figure had never even been there.

"MILLIE! WAKE UP!"

Millie shot bolt upright in bed, sheets clutched to her chest in alarm. Her heart was hammering at a painful rate. What was going on? Was there some sort of trouble?

Papyrus had slammed open her door and was standing in the doorway, eye sockets huge (how was that even possible?). "Ah good! You are awake now!" Millie's sleepy brain bit back a retort. "Now quickly come join us in the living room!"

Millie rubbed her head, glancing at the bedside clock. It was five till eight. Ugh, this was too early for her. And it was especially too early for Papyrus's uncomfortably loud voice. "Um, okay? Why? What's...what's going on?"

"Frisk is about to give an important announcement on the television!"

Millie blinked sleepily, head cocked. "Frisk…?"

Papyrus ogled at her as though Millie were brain dead. Which, truth be told, she kind of was at the moment. "You know….Frisk!" he repeated, waving his arms for emphasis.

It took a moment for Millie's brain to piece the bits of information together. Her eyes grew wide with realization. "Oh! The Ambassador!"

"YES! FRISK!"

Millie hastily stumbled out of bed. If the Ambassador was making an announcement, it must be important. She certainly didn't want to miss whatever they had to say.

Millie's body shivered as her bare feet made contact with the wooden floorboards. Oh gosh, it was cold in here. Was Papyrus aware of how chilly it was? He didn't have skin or flesh, but then again that didn't stop him and Sans from doing things like blink and sweat, so maybe? Shaking her head, Millie grabbed her mint green bathrobe from her closet, quickly putting it on. There. That was slightly better, at least. "Alright, alright, I'm coming," she mumbled, shuffling out the bedroom.

Once she was clear of the doorway, Papyrus sped past Millie down the hallway and leaped straight onto the seat of the armchair. The sudden rush of him taking off nearly sent her flying to the floor, but with some frantic arm waving, she was able to save herself. Tripping and falling on her face. Now that would definitely not have been a good way to start off the morning.

As she approached the couch, Millie spotted Sans seated on the far end, looking equally tired. No surprise there. Half asleep, she plopped down next to him. "Papyrus get you up too?" she asked in a lifeless monotone, focusing on the TV in front of them.

Sans stared straight ahead as well, his usual grin looking particularly ingenuine. "Eeyup."

Millie looked over at him. "You look as dead as I feel."

Sans let out a single small laugh. A moment later, several more laughs escaped him, though this time much louder. He then let out one final laugh that sounded more like a sob than anything else, sinking into the couch as he did so. "I'm so fucking tired…" he moaned pitifully, covering his face with his arms.

Papyrus gave him a scowl. "Sans! Watch your mouth!"

Sans's reply was muffled by his arms.

"What was that?"

"I said I can't do that, bro," Sans repeated, shifting his arms upwards so they still covered his eye sockets yet left his mouth unobstructed. "My mouth's on m'face. Can't see it. Can't watch whatcha can't see."

Papyrus merely stared at Sans for a moment before burying his face in his hands, moaning, "I give up."

Millie giggled sleepily. Three things were growing increasingly apparent. One, monsters really were just as human as...well, humans. Two, Sans was most certainly not a fan of early mornings. And three, Papyrus could only handle so much of Sans's shenanigans.

Millie sighed. Since it would seem that there would be no returning to the world of dreams, she might as well try to make the most of being awake. Blinking drowsily, she turned to Papyrus. "So...Ambassador Frisk is giving a speech or something?" she asked.

Papyrus nodded, looking up at her. He looked grateful to have a distraction from his brother's joking. "Yes! It must be something very important! Frisk doesn't make announcements very often."

"Really?" For some reason, this fact surprised Millie. Then again, now that she thought about it, it wasn't as if the President gave public addresses every week, so why should the Ambassador be any different?

"Yep," replied Sans, finally uncovering his face. He glanced at her. "Kid ain't the biggest fan of talking. Not exactly helpful when you're, you know, the Ambassador and it's kind of your job, but what can you do?"

Millie blinked in surprise raising her eyebrows. "Oh wow, really? But, that speech they gave to us when I first got here! It was amazing!" Just thinking about the way they had spoken with such passion was enough to give her chills even now.

Sans let out a laugh. "I said the kid wasn't a fan of talking, not that they couldn't. Kiddo's pretty good at knowing how to win people over. How else do you think they made it through the Underground?"

"I suppose you have a point there," Millie admitted.

Sans's statement gave her pause, though. How did the Ambassador make it through the Underground? The way Sans had said it seemed to imply that they had been in some sort of danger. But...that didn't make any sense. All of the monsters were so nice! Millie couldn't recall seeing or hearing anything about monster acts of violence. And she certainly hadn't run into a mean-spirited monster yet. So, where was the danger?

Truth be told, no one really knew the exact events that took place in the Underground leading up to Ambassador Frisk freeing all the monsters. They had remained quiet on the matter, leaving many to speculate what sort of odyssey the child had been on. Millie could only imagine what their journey must have been like.

Still, the Ambassador must've known what they were doing when bringing the monsters to the surface. Surely they wouldn't unleash some kind of threat on humanity, or at least not knowingly. And they certainly wouldn't approve of humans living with monsters if there were a reason to believe it was dangerous.

So why would they have needed to know how to win people over? What sort of opposition had they faced?

Something wasn't adding up.

"Hey...you okay?"

Millie blinked back to reality. God, she really needed to get a better handle on her thoughts; it was far too often that she found herself trapped in her own head. Sans was giving her an odd look. Why would that be? With a jolt, Millie realized that she must have been making faces while thinking. The thought made her insides squirm. "Yeah! I'm fine!" she answered, perhaps a bit too hurriedly.

Sans nodded but didn't say anything. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before turning back to the TV. Millie could only guess what he had seen there. Hopefully nothing that would threaten the fragile friendship they had only just formed.

"Ooh! It's starting!" Papyrus cried out, causing Millie's head to whip back to the television screen.

Sure enough, there on the screen was Ambassador Frisk. They were seated behind a desk and staring straight into the camera. Unlike the last time Millie saw them, though, they looked quite serious and tired. That air of confidence and joy seemed to be gone completely. She felt a tinge of pity for the kid. Whatever was going on had to be taking a pretty heavy toll on them, especially for one so young.

"Good morning, citizens of Ebott," Ambassador Frisk began. "I hope all of your day's have been going well so far."

They took a deep breath. "Yesterday, as you are all aware, the emergency sirens went off." Everyone in the living room sat up a little straighter. It was looking like they were going to be getting some answers. "Security discovered that a large gap had been made in the town's outer perimeter fence, a gap big enough for someone or something to get through. It was discovered early yesterday morning, however, we believe it was made sometime during the night prior. Unfortunately, it seems that key video cameras were rendered useless at the time, meaning we lack any footage of the perpetrator."

"Shit," Sans muttered, shaking his head. Papyrus kept his eye sockets glued to the screen, wringing his hands together. Millie grimaced. Whoever they were dealing with was definitely bad news.

"Yesterday afternoon," Ambassador Frisk continued, "You all were visited by a member of our security team. Their results showed all monsters and humans were accounted for, meaning no one was missing.

"So, at the current moment, it appears we are dealing with one of two scenarios. The first is that someone within the town, human or monster, either attempted to or successfully snuck out of Ebott two nights ago and returned in time before they could be caught. The second is that someone or something from the outside broke in and entered our town without anyone knowing.

"If it is the first, then let me make something abundantly clear." The Ambassador leaned forward and looked into the camera with eyes full of sympathy. "I do not want to press criminal charges against anyone, monster or human. If this was your doing, I am giving you until midnight tonight to come forward and turn yourself in. All charges will be lifted and you will be free to go." Their eyes narrowed. "However, should you not come forward and we discover that you are in fact responsible, you will be held accountable and you will be arrested. So please, don't make this any harder than it has to be."

The Ambassador sighed. "If on the other hand, it is the latter scenario, if someone has indeed invaded our town, then I ask that all of you listen carefully. Keep an eye out for anything or anyone. Listen, watch, pay attention. If you find something, anything, inform security immediately. It doesn't matter how small or insignificant the detail may seem, just please report it. Above all, though, I ask all of you to stay safe. Don't go anywhere by yourself; make sure you either always have someone with you or that you are at least in a public place where others can see you. The soldiers stationed here as well as our own security team have been alerted of the situation and are on guard. They are here to protect you, and protect you they will. Just please, don't make that job any harder on them than it has to be."

Ambassador Frisk put on the strongest looking smile they could. "I know this is a bit of a scary situation, but rest assured, we are doing everything we can to sort this out. So in the meantime, I ask that you all stay determined to live your lives as normally as possible. We will keep you informed on any updates that we make.

"Thank you for your time. I hope you all have a wonderful day."

The feed cut. Papyrus turned the television off.

Sans shook his head, running a hand over his skull. "Geez, this is worse than I thought."

"And poor Frisk looked so tired," Papyrus added glumly. "Ever since we got here, they're always working. I so desperately wish to give them a break, perhaps play some games or solve some puzzles together, just like old times."

"Kid shouldn't have to deal with this sort of stuff," Sans agreed, his own tone somber as well.

Millie shook her head, bringing her legs up close to her chest and hugging them. "This is insane. This isn't what I signed up for." Her third day in Ebott had barely begun, and now she was learning that there may be someone with ill-intentions lurking in the town. Just what might they be planning? Was her life possibly at stake? What about Sans and Papyrus? What about Bellatrice? What about anyone? She shivered. "Ambassador Frisk said we'd be safe here," Millie murmured, "But every day I feel less and less so."

Sans snorted, causing Millie to snap her head over to look at him. Did he really find her fear amusing? "Oh come on, Mills," he drawled casually. "You sayin' you don't trust us to keep you safe? Tibia honest, I take personal offense to that."

Millie narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm not sure what you're getting at. I mean, of course I trust you guys! Why wouldn't I?"

Sans eyed her. "So, uh, what's the problem?"

"Well, I mean, you guys can only do so much," Millie replied with a helpless shrug. "I'm not trying to sound rude, I promise! It's just...there's some unknown threat out there right now. We don't know who or even what it is. They could be planning...pretty much anything! A bomb! An assasination! Anything! And you guys, well, you can't protect me from everything."

Papyrus frowned, rubbing his chin. "That is a very valid point, Millie. Even two individuals as amazing as my brother and I can't be a completely unstoppable force against the evils of the world." He perked up. "But! We can certainly try! We shall do everything in our power to ensure your safety during your stay in Ebott! Right, Sans?"

Sans winked at Millie. "Yeah, don't sweat it, Mills. We've got your back, kay?"

Oddly enough, Millie found herself believing them. She really, honestly believed that these two were going to look out for her. Her own skeleton bodyguards. The thought made her insides glow with warmth. Millie smiled at them. "You two are literally the best, you know that?"

Papyrus nodded knowingly. "I did, but Sans could stand to hear it a bit more."

Sans shrugged. "Eh. I'd argue that there's better, but thanks anyways."

"Oh shush, you totally are," Millie told him, giving him a playful shove. She swore she saw his grin grow a little bigger. "Really though, you guys are honestly the best hosts I could've asked for. I know my mom would feel-"

Wait.

Millie's eyes widened.

Oh no.

Sans and Papyrus shared a look of confusion. "Umm, Mills?" asked Sans. "You, uh, gonna finish that sentence?"

"My mom."

"...Yeah?"

Millie's whole body had gone stock still, her eyes round like a deer in headlights. She was staring straight ahead, her gaze unfocused. "I gotta call my mom," she murmured in a barely audible tone.

Sans raised a brow-bone. "Um, what?"

Millie's head whipped to the side to face Sans so fast it looked like it could've gone flying off, causing him to jump back a little. "I gotta call my mom."

Sans glanced to Papyrus for help. He merely offered a shrug. "Umm, okay? So, uh, call her? Maybe?"

"I GOTTA CALL MY MOM!" Millie yelled at a volume neither of the skeleton brothers had thought she was capable of. In a flash, she had lept off the couch and taken off in the direction of her bedroom. However, in her haste, one of her feet caught on the bottom of her bathrobe, causing Millie to fly to the ground and land with a splat, face down.

Well, so much for a good way to start off the morning.

"Oh geez!"

"Millie!"

Sans and Papyrus scrambled over to her, crouching beside her fallen form.

"Millie, are you hurt?"

"You okay, Mills?"

Millie, still face down, took in a deep breath of air. "I…I…"

In the blink of an eye, Millie was back on her feet and full on sprinting down the hall, practically screaming, "I GOTTA CAALLL MYYY MOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Sans and Papyrus merely stared with wide eyes at the room she had disappeared into, stunned into disbelief. That had been unexpected, to say the least. "Heh," Sans laughed at last. "Kid's kind of a freak, isn't she?"

"Sans, don't sa…" Papyrus drifted off. He glanced down at his brother, a faint smile on his face. "...maybe just a bit."

Abruptly, Millie slid out of the bedroom, her every feature screaming with panic. "My phone's not working!"

Sans cocked his head. "Um, what do you mean?"

"I mean MY PHONE'S NOT WORKING!" Millie yelled back, gripping her hair. "There's no signal! No bars, nothing! I can't call my mom!" She paused, and the color seemed to drain from her face. Her breathing became rapid. "Oh God. That means my mom hasn't been able to contact me. Ohhh my gosh, I'm dead. I am so dead, I am so very very dead. I am deader than the deadest thing in existence. Dead dead dead dead-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there, buddy," Sans said, going over to her. "Slow down, okay? Deep breaths. In and out, nice and slow and easy." Maintaining eye contact with him, Millie managed to steady her breathing. "You okay?"

With a giant gulp of air, Millie nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she replied earnestly, still a bit frazzled. Sans seemed to be really good at keeping her grounded. He just sort of radiated this air of composure and relaxation, and Millie found herself absorbing it appreciatively. Knowing how frequently and easily she could go into panic-mode, the thought that she'd have someone who could bring her back to a functioning state of being was definitely reassuring.

Millie rubbed her arms. "I still need to call my mom though," she told them anxiously after she'd calmed down a bit more. "I was supposed to call her when I got here, but I didn't, and it's been three days!"

"Oh dear, that's not good at all!" said Papyrus, wearing a worried frown.

Millie nodded. "She's all I have," she explained, "And I'm all she has. She's probably tried calling at least fifty times by now and is freaking out."

"Like you?" questioned Sans.

"Yes! Exactly like me! Except times seventeen!"

Sans whistled. "Seventeen, huh? That's a pretty high rate of worry."

Millie gave him an exasperated frown. "Sans, please don't act like that. I just really really need to let her know I'm okay."

"Well," Papyrus spoke up, "You are free to borrow my phone to make this ever important phone call!"

Millie clutched her hands together, eyes watering. "Oh my gosh, really? Thank you so so much, Papyrus, I love you so much right now."

Papyrus's cheekbones flushed a bit at this, and although Millie didn't notice it, Sans stiffened a little behind her. "I...care a lot about you too, Millie!" He struck a heroic pose, momentary embarrassment gone. "Of course I would offer my services to a friend in need! Why, to not do so would make me a horrible friend indeed! In fact, I wouldn't be a friend at all! I'd be some kind of a big mean phone-hogger!"

Millie giggled. "Well thank you for not being that."

Papyrus beamed. "You're welcome!" He whipped his phone out of his pocket in an over-the-top manner. "Now, what's your mother's number?"

Relieved, Millie rattled off the phone number. Gosh, she didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have the two skeletons. Silently, she sent a thank you to whoever paired her with them.

Hopefully, her mother wouldn't be too mad at her. Millie's mother had always been extremely overprotective, which was why it was such a surprise that she had been so supportive of Millie being selected for the Ebott program. If everything went well, her mother would just be relieved and glad that everything was going well with no problems or yelling or scolding or anything.

However, after Papyrus had dialed the number, rather than hand the phone over to Millie, he held it up to his own skull. Millie's face twisted in confusion. Wait, what? What was he doing?

Someone picked up after the second ring. Papyrus grinned amiably. "Hello, ma'am! I am the Great Papyrus! I'm calling because my good friend Millie-"

There seemed to be an increase in volume on the other end. Papyrus nodded. "Yes! Yes! Millie! So you are her mother then!How wonderful! Well, I-"

The person on the other end, Millie's mother, was shouting now, though Millie couldn't understand what was being said. Oh dear, this didn't look good. Papyrus's face screwed up a little. "What? What have I done with her? Why, I've welcomed her with big skeletal arms! Under my superior care, she has been well fed and accommodated for! Even yesterday, when she found herself ill due to the day's troubling events, my brother and I helped her make a speedy rec-"

Millie's mother's voice went hysterical. Finally, Millie couldn't take it any more. "Papyrus, please give me the phone!" she begged.

Making a face at the screeching phone, Papyrus hastily handed the device to her, wringing his hands. Behind her, Millie heard Sans snicker quietly. She shot him a dirty look before holding the phone up to her ear.

"-OW YOU BETTER NOT HURT ONE HAIR ON MY BABY'S HEAD OR SO HELP ME I WILL-"

"Mom! Mom! It's me, Millie! Calm down!"

"...Millie?"

Millie breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! Yes, it's me. Hi."

Suddenly, sobbing could be heard on the other end. "Oh my gosh! Millie! I've been worried sick! Why didn't you call me?! Why haven't you been answering your phone?! Are you okay?! Who's phone are you using?! Where are-"

"Mom! Mom! Please, please, hang on! Everything's okay!" Millie gave Sans and Papyrus a helpless look and whispered, "I'll be back, sorry."

Papyrus nodded, still looking a bit disappointed that his phone conversation had taken such a drastic turn southward. Sans simply gave her a thumbs up, smiling that ever-present smile of his.

Hastily, Millie spun around and went into her room, closing the door behind her.

"So you have no signal?"

Millie shook her head, then, realizing her mother couldn't see her, said, "No, and I don't know why. I'm sure once the Ambassador finds out about this, they'll do something to fix it, or something. Hopefully."

Fortunately, once Millie had been able to actually talk to her mother and explain the situation, things had calmed down considerably. It was moments like these where Millie could easily see where her high anxiety came from.

"But right now you're using...Pepper's…?"

"Papyrus, Mom," Millie giggled. "And yes, I'm using his phone. I can't use it all the time though, because, well, it's his phone. He kinda needs it, you know? That would be rather rude."

"And you said they were skeletons?"

"Yep! Pretty crazy, huh?"

"Yeah, that's pretty crazy alright. Isn't it...a little bit creepy though?"

Millie paused and thought for a moment. "Not really, no," she replied at last. "I mean, it was kind of weird at first, definitely. And sometimes it still kind of is. But I don't really find myself thinking about it too much. Like, I can clearly see by looking at them that they're skeletons, but I've just sort of accepted it. That's just who they are. They're just people, except minus the skin and organs and stuff."

Her mom laughed. "Well, I have to say I'm proud of you. I know I could never do what you're doing now."

Millie smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I...I really miss you."

"I miss you too, baby. It's so quiet around here, I've been going insane!"

"It's been the exact opposite here," Millie said with a laugh. "There's hardly been any peace and quiet at all!"

"Well, I won't keep you any longer, I'm sure those boys are eager to go on some adventure or another with you."

"Ha, you're probably right." Millie grinned to herself. She had to admit, she had been enjoying spending time with Sans and Papyrus. She found herself hoping that they had some sort of plans for today. Or at least, plans that included her.

"Alright, well, just keep me updated, okay? I understand you can't exactly call as often as I'd like, but just let me know how you're doing from time to time. Please?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

"And I don't care whether you want to or not, if either of them tries anything, you call me instantly, understand?"

Millie's face transformed into a tomato. "Mom!"

"I mean it, Millie!"

"Okay! Okay, jeez! Just...stop. Augh!"

Her mother sighed. "Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. Talk to you soon."

Millie clicked the phone off with a sigh, wiping away the tears that had started to bubble forth.

Much to her surprise, when Millie opened the door, she found Papyrus and Sans there waiting for her. Sans's grin seemed abnormally large. "Um, hi?" said Millie, glancing between the two of them, unsure of what to make of the scene. Had they been listening? Judging by the fact that they weren't acting like they had been caught in the act, she figured not, but still. If not that, then why were they hovering outside her door?

"Everything go okay with your mom?" Sans asked casually.

"Uh, yes? Oh!" Hastily, Millie handed the phone back to Papyrus. "Thank you again so much for letting me use it, Papyrus."

Papyrus merely waved a hand in dismissal. "It was no trouble at all! I'm just glad your mother has nothing to worry about now! Because she was very worried! And that made ME worried! I was worried because of how much SHE was worried!"

"Heh, yeah. That's my mom." Millie rubbed her arms, smiling awkwardly. Why were they still just standing there? Were they really both just waiting for Papyrus's cell phone? No, they must want something. But what? "So, um, what's up?"

"Well," drawled Sans, "It's been such a crazy morning, Paps and I were wondering if you wanted to hit up Grillby's. For uh, lunch. Or brunch. I dunno, whatever floats your goat."

Millie looked up at Papyrus. "But I thought you said you didn't like it there?"

Papyrus glanced away. "Well, I can't say I'm too fond of it, no. But, while you were on the phone, Sans brought it up to me, mentioning how you had expressed interest in seeing your friend. So I decided that I would in fact go, if only to meet your friend! Because any friend of yours is a friend of mine!"

Millie's face lit up. She looked at Sans. This was his idea? She couldn't believe it. Just two days ago, he hadn't shown any interest in hanging out with her. And now he was offering to take her to Grillby's. It would seem he really was trying to be friends with her. Now she just had to make sure she didn't do anything to screw this up.

Sans gave her a wink. "So, whaddya say? Howzaboutit?"

Millie smiled eagerly. "Yes! Totally!"

(( Hey guys! Sorry for the super long wait on this one!

Prompt featured in this chapter: Millie tripping

Want to submit a writing prompt of your own? Check out my Tumblr! Just look up generalfabulous and send a prompt my way!

See you guys in the next chapter! It's time to go see Bellatrice again!))