There was a babble. A high-pitched, intelligent babble. From right in front of him. A slight grip on his arm, tugging on his ulna bone. Little hands pawing at him for his attention, and despite the urgency with which those touches demanded it, Sans' mind was slowly coming around. Almost as if booting up. The fog that clouded his mind finally cleared, and with a rough cough, he found his bones clattering as he finally peeled open his eye sockets.

"Bean?" He asked, his voice slightly sore and his pelvis and legs aching.

"Bah! Bahbah!" Bean wined, slapping one hand against his radius bone as the other tugged. She blinked a few times before she crawled forward, practically humming with joy. A droplet of blood dribbled from her body onto the ground.

"Oh shit, Bean!"

Sans picked her up in an instant, cradling his daughter to his chest as he sat up. She gurgled random syllables, clinging to Sans as he checked her health. No cuts or bruises. The only blood was on her teeth, and it seemed to only coat the ends of them. He carefully held her mouth open, shoulders sagging with relief when he saw she was fully clear of any injuries. However, in that movement, he noticed that thick rings of metal were firmly locked around his arm and her leg.

Magic restraints. God fucking damn it.

Sans was going to have a stern talking to for whatever knucklehead decided to put a magical restraint on a baby. That could seriously mess with the development of little Bean's magic if left on for too long.

Bean cooed in his hold, looking rather satisfied with herself now that she was with her skeleton father again. Unaware of the situation they both were now in.

Looks like some sort of greenhouse. He glanced up towards the glass ceiling, watching rain pelt down across the dusty top. The pitter-patter of that water was muffled, along with the slight whisper of wind pressing against the building. Old vines crept along the walls, even wrapping up towards the ceiling in a corner of the small and crowded room.

As far as he knew, there was no greenhouse anywhere in his town. That meant he was at least a fifteen-minute walk from his house. Likely more. The entire trip here was foggy and distant. Could have been longer. Probably was longer. Jane shouldn't have taken too long to notice he was gone and he doubted the others would be far behind on the news. So, at the very least, someone was looking for him. A lot of someone. And those someones weren't caring about the law.

"Oh goodie. You're awake."

There he was. The man that kidnapped Sans and his daughter. Walking into the room with his back hunched and hands nonchalantly shoved into his pockets. He tilted his head when he saw Sans, and only offered a shrug when he frowned.

"Hey, I kept my promise. Didn't hurt her. Though she bites like a bitch," He said.

"Yeah, no shit. You kidnapped her," Sans snapped back, tugging her closer in his embrace.

"Honestly, not really. She's the one that teleported inside of my arms. I was originally going to wait longer before grabbing her."

Of course she did.

"Well, dude, don't put a magic restraint on a kid. That can fuck them up." Sans frowned at him.

"Does it? Shit, didn't know that. I just snagged them after this one restaurant went out of business and tossed them. Didn't look up anything specific about them." Absentmindedly, the man scratched the side of his face as he glanced away. "Alright, yeah, I'll take it off of her. You're keeping yours though."

Sans didn't bother to try and fight him when he approached and grabbed Bean's leg. When his arm tilted, he saw exactly where Bean attacked, as several blood stains coated his arm in a row of what seemed to be teeth marks. No second key. Looks like he was planning on removing Bean's anyways.

Bean gurgled when her magic was returned, babbling in Sans' hands. The man straightened afterward, taking a few steps back while eyeing Bean.

"Okay, so -" The man sucked in a breath, pointing towards Sans. "You need to come with me. You can bring the kid."

"Why?" Sans asked.

"I'm going to introduce you to someone."

Sans didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Without magic and with a very frail small baby, he didn't want to take any chances. But Bean was safe and in his arms. That's what mattered. The man kept his word, and his daughter was now okay. And also she attacked him. A fact that made him far more proud than he should be. No, fuck that, she tried to defend herself while being kidnapped. Even though her teleporting got her into this mess in the first place.

Sans awkwardly shuffled behind the man as they walked, glancing around the hallway they entered into. Looked like a massive abandoned greenhouse. There seemed to be an exit down the other side of the hallway, but he doubted his kidnapper would let him walk out. So he followed, keeping a mental note of where it was as the man led him deeper into the hallways of plush plants and hanging dim lights.

The other man seemed to almost be set up on a display. The bed he was on, while old, was pressed against a large and open glass window where rain peppered down from above. A blanket was wrapped around his head, long and deary as if he was to be hidden away. And from that display he peeked out, blue eyes staring across the room towards the two people who just walked in. Sans stared at the new man, realizing his fears of this guy being someone of authority were very wrong.

"Again?" The man across the room asked.

The one next to him sighed. "Yes. This is Comic Sans. Sans, this is Helen. He's your new boyfriend."

Sans turned, sputtering on his breath. "He's what now?"

Bean giggled and gurgled from his arms.

The man only replied with a pat on the back before he was exiting, leaving a soft "good luck" to both of them before the door shut and locked. Sans stared at that door, mouth agape before he slowly turned towards Helen.

"Don't worry, he doesn't mean it," Helen spoke softly, brushing aside strands of black hair as he wrapped the blanket closer around his chest. "He's just trying to set me up with someone. After a few days, he'll take you back to your home when it doesn't work out and you won't remember any of this. Like the others."

"Oh." Sans stared, letting Bean tug on the front of his shirt. "So uh... I just need to stay here for a few days and I'll be fine?"

"Yeah. He's the one behind all of those girls going missing for a few days. So you'll be like them and be fine."

Right, Sans noticed that on the news. Lots of women his age going missing. They disappear for a few days before being found again, always without any memory of how they got there and without any injuries. Didn't think he'd become a victim of this.

"Cool. Cool." He and Bean were going to be safe and fine. That's good. That's very, very good. Normally he wouldn't trust someone's word right off the bat, but the guy had a record of leaving girls alive. The restraint, though, left some lingering anxiety. Sans didn't like to be powerless. He felt like a little ant that could be squashed at any possible moment. It was the type of feeling that left his fingertips cold and his posture stiff. Feeling helpless was the worst feeling possible. "Okay, yeah, cool."

"Sorry, this happened to you. Once he gets an idea he's set on it. Can't believe he kidnapped a child, though... is she okay?" Helen asked, glancing toward Bean. "He wouldn't intentionally hurt her but I'm not very knowledgeable on monsters."

"She's good. She bit him, though."

"Heh, yeah, I saw that. It was after he put on the magic restraint. She didn't really like that."

"No monster does. It'd be like constantly walking around in handcuffs around your wrists and ankles. Not very fun."

Helen eyed the restraint still around Sans' wrist. He then paused, glancing down towards Sans' legs.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked.

"What... oh."

Sans forgot a tiny little detail about his outfit. Sans didn't wear pajamas. He wore basic light t-shirts and some random old shorts. Though most of the time he just went out in underwear. However, last night was a 'bonding' night between him and Jane. Which meant that the underwear was lacking. Leaving Sans in a t-shirt that dragged just barely past his pelvis and bare legs. Realizing exactly what he was wearing, Sans' face burned with heat as he jerked his head back up towards Helen.

"Uh - fuck. I was about to go to bed when he grabbed me." Sans felt like curling into a fetal position and decaying away, right then and there. Helen's gaze on him made his face brighten even more. "I swear, I don't usually go around butt naked. Not a hobby."

"I figured." Helen finally moved fully, managing to drag his body out of the bed and let his blanket flutter to the mattress behind him. A hand reached out to pat the blanket for a moment as if saddened to be apart before he stood fully. "I think I might have some spare clothes in the back room." He narrowed his eyes, lips settling into a frown. "Uh... none from me. I don't have any other pairs of clothing. But there might be something else you can wear."

"Oh." Sans blinked, watching as Helen motioned for him to follow. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. I don't think you'll enjoy any of the clothes that are back there."

And he didn't. Sans preferred shorts. Everyone knew this. Long pants tended to sag and pool near his ankles, making him look small and ridiculous. Shorts were a decent length that looked like average-sized pants when they were just meant as shorts for taller people. And long pants typically were wider, which made them slide down his legs entirely without a decent buckle.

So no, Sans didn't like long pants. There was only one thing he didn't enjoy more, and that was skirts.

Which was all there was.

He peeled back one brightly colored skirt, looking down at the one below it. For what little outfits there were, the selection was the same. White skirts with either a white or yellow top. Mostly white. Faded, sure, but still bright. Kept safe from stains.

"I understand why you don't think I'd like it," Sans said, holding up a skirt meant for a person with a waist he certainly didn't have. At this point, it'd be a hula hoop for him.

"Sorry," Helen spoke from somewhere behind him, voice quiet and almost timid.

"Nah, it's fine. Neither of us was anticipating me arriving half nude. Not exactly a situation to be prepared for."

Looks like he only had a few clothes in case a girl needed to change. Sans didn't bother to ask why he didn't have any clothes for himself, but he had several pairs of skirts and shirts for a woman. Not his problem. No, his problem was Bean, who sat in his arms, playing with one of his hands gently. He just had to keep his (and her) head low and try to get through these days without any intense actions that could warrant his death.

They had a history of returning people alive. He should be fine. And he also had two dates that likely noticed his disappearance by now, so that quickly reassured him. They'd find him. Hell, Sans had a mini serial killer army behind his belt now. And they knew how CreepyPasta would think. Finding him should be a breeze.

He had to trust them. And hopefully, that would be enough.

"It's fine, I'll just... keep myself pantless." Sans stared down at the unwearable clothes, with no belts or smaller skirts in sight. Not like he had many other choices. These wouldn't fit at all.

"Sorry, I didn't expect him to kidnap a half-naked person. I'll find something."

Helen only shuffled forward, like a quiet little withdrawn bug. If Sans stuck out his leg, Helen would probably trip and then apologize to Sans despite it being his fault. He looked so... sad. Timid. Made of glass already chipped.

Sans could feel that. And he could feel the comfort of the blanket when Helen wrapped it around his shoulders as Sans had previously done.

"Here. It'll help. Sorry again."

Sans gently laid a hand on the blanket now draped on his body, close enough to fully observe Helen's face. His eyes carried a defeated tone to them, the once intense gaze now nothing but a broken and hollow shell.

And for a moment, Sans realized he was looking up at himself. Last year, before he met Smile Dog and his life changed forever. Sans used to hide in his blankets as Helen did. Sans used to have that empty husk of an expression. And it felt almost painful, to look up and see a copy of himself in his past. To understand fully how much this man was hurting despite not fully knowing the reason for his damage.

A hand reached up, gently cupping the man's face. Normally Sans didn't know how to help people like this. But this was something he was familiar with. Something he faced, and sometimes still faced nowadays.

And he asked that same question he had desperately wanted someone else to ask him before.

"Are you okay?"