Smile Dog, for once, felt nervous. Nervous was an odd feeling. He felt disdain before. Fear. Horror. Happiness. All from different situations.

But this was one of those times he was truly nervous. The people he cared about all had a sense of control if they were in danger. Jeff, while a child, was capable of taking care of himself. He had control.

The petal sat obviously on the counter. A singular petal that Smile Dog had noticed when he got Jane's response. It was Jeff who picked it up, one of the few people immune to such a power, with a look of disgust and horror crossing across his face, tinted with recognition none of them wanted to experience.

This was a situation that felt rather nerve-racking. The type that made everyone work in silent tension throughout the night. The one with a child - a literal baby under one year old - missing. And with a skeleton, they all had grown to appreciate in their ways also gone. With a single threatening photo and rose petal to remain.

Laughing Jack was just gone. Sometimes it was easy to forget how much love that clown had for Sans. It was a weird, unusual romance no film or show ever captured before. Who would expect a nine-foot clown to fall so harshly for the short skeleton? But there were times, certain occasions, where the feelings became obvious. And this day had one of those. When Laughing Jack returned to the home at the same time Ben and Smile Dog did, staring at the petal even he couldn't dare to touch barehanded. His stare was empty, nose flaring with a sharp exhale as his thick boots pounded against the ground to approach the red-colored rose petal before he stared at the image of his daughter with a knife pointed towards her frail body.

For a moment, he stood. Just... stood. In silence, lips pressed thin and eyes narrowing. Sans was gone. Taken to the night. Bean was gone.

And in that silence, Smile Dog realized so many things. He wasn't worried for Jane, who had left the moment she discovered Sans was gone to see if the kidnapper left any trial for her to track. No, he doubted he could ever worry about her in the same way she could never truly worry about Jeff. Jeff hurt her, she hurt Smile Dog. The three of them were always bound for misunderstandings and resentment, so he wasn't particularly worried if she found trouble outside. Yet he was worried for Sans. The skeleton he met behind bars, the skeleton that looked at him as more than a dog, more than a lot of other people looked at him. The skeleton that he met, bunched up in a blanket with terrified eye sockets, freed him and healed him without any questions asked. And the skeleton who was now gone, awful puns nowhere to be found and the crushing silence consuming every inch of the house, bit by bit.

And then he realized while looking at Laughing Jack's face, what this man just lost. He loved Sans with every fiber of his being. Gave him love and gave him a family when he had none to call his own. Laughing Jack didn't have anything before Sans and Bean. And there he stood, in that kitchen with a horrible frown, likely realizing that once again, everything he cared about was taken away from him.

And then he was gone. One puff of smoke, and that was that. Ben tried to call out to Laughing Jack, and make a plan to search and find them, but he disappeared too fast.

That was earlier this night. Laughing Jack had yet to return. So did Jane. Laughing Jack had no phone to call his own so messaging him was out of the option. Jane only gave brief, curt responses that gave very minimal information. The trail was running cold.

They were experienced.

It was Sally that sobbed. Loud, choking sobs. Clutching her bear with matted fur and crying. Zero was the one assigned to take care of her, self-assigned since she didn't have any emotions towards Sans, so she was the only one clear in her mind. Clockwork had just gone after Jane to try and help her. She did care about Jane, after all. Not extremely close with Sans, but Sans was important to Jane and that's all that mattered to her. So she too was gone, checking another direction to see if Jane missed anything.

"There's no fucking sightings, no reports, no camera footage, just... jack all!"

Ben sat at his computer, face sagging with stress as he frantically clicked on the mousepad. When the computer didn't move slightly faster than he wanted it to, he growled, slamming it shut and burying his head in his hands.

"No trail. No footage. No footprints anywhere near the house. They managed to get Bean and Sans. And they left behind... that." Smile Dog eyed the rose petal as he spoke, as if nervous to be within the same room of it. He'd be immune too. Yet it still scared him, of who it implied walked through this house. "I think we all have to deal with who we think it is."

Toby, from the other side of the room, grimaced.

"You have the most experience with him," Smile Dog said, turning towards the brown-haired man. "Do you have any idea why he would have taken Sans and where he would have taken him to?"

"No, I... I don't. He isn't - feck - someone who would use a hostage. And Bean was - whoop - with us just half an hour ago, that means -" His shoulder jerked out in a way that looked painful. "That -"

"Toby," Zero said quietly, from the corner of the room. She rocked Sally back and forth, giving him a long stare. "Remember what Clockie said."

He nodded. A slow, steady nod indicated he heard her, but didn't really at the same time.

Things were fine. They were all having a decent time in the park. Didn't have to worry about being seen. All just spending the time to do random shit where they were safe. Arm wrestling, races, that stuff. Bean had been enjoying her company with them. Eating candy Laughing Jack wasn't supposed to eat, crawling from her Father to Jack to Toby, and then back to her Father once more. Then she missed Sans, a lot, and started teleporting. A lot. Each time more and more difficult to find her. She got better at hiding. Quick learner.

Then they couldn't find her. That was when things took a horrible turn. When Bean went missing, it became so easy to avoid anxious thoughts when she always went missing due to her magic. So they didn't fret as they searched, peeking behind trees and into bushes. It became a worry when they searched the whole area, and when they realized she was nowhere to be found.

"I..." Once Toby barely managed to calm himself slightly, he stared towards the floor. "His type is small and helpless, so... so Sans would look like his typ - feck - typical victim." A hand reached up, slightly shaking. "But he'd take - whooooop - his victims without a hostage. And most of the time he takes them - like takes them - in their... their own bed. Sense of power for him."

Jeff groaned from the couch, his usual sarcastic attitude much more muted. "Ew."

"Cameras are out of the option. We can't find jack. And if Jane can't either it probably just means they teleported," Ben muttered. His fingers swept across the keys once more. "I can uh, try to... see if I can get into the mansion. His mansion. He has cameras. His magic blocks me so I can't get in but if Smile Dog and I bruce force it..."

"It's a possibility." Smile Dog glanced back towards the screen. Odd how much he and Ben were working together recently. They worked against one another before. "But we have to try Offendermans. We don't want to anger his brother."

Jeff growled, hands gripping each other until his scarred knuckles turned whiter than his body usually was.

"I don't..." Toby paused, sucking in a breath. "This doesn't... doesn't sound like Offender. He doesn't target anyone near CreepyPasta and - feck - doesn't like to be around children."

"He's the only lead we have right now, though," Jeff said, voice strained. "I'll do a look around after Jane but with the teleporting and the petal that's all we have."

Toby frowned, glancing away. He was right. This wasn't normal behavior from Offenderman. Smile Dog could agree to that. But there weren't many other options. This could be framed for all they knew but what else could they chase? Bean in the photo was set on a single plain blanket that anyone could own. The knife was a basic kitchen knife. No hand in sight. Nothing. A basic photo that they didn't care if they left behind, because it couldn't be traced back to them. The petal was all that they had. And if that trail went completely dry, well...

"Come on Ben, we should be quick," Smile Dog said, moving forward to climb into the computer.

Jane arrived later. Way later. With the rain now pelting down on their front lawn. She walked in, one hand dripping a thick red dribble of blood while her now wet hair flopped down and clung to her skin in little strands. Clockwork was behind her, similarly soaked, pulling out the first aid kit stored in the living room to quickly wrap up her hand.

"Did you get into a fight with them?" Jeff asked, standing quickly. "Who did you fight."

"A tree." Jane stared at him, her snap and force gone from her voice. Replaced with a dry, somber tone. "I punched a tree."

Jeff stared. "Oh."

The two women walked forward, settling onto the couch without a care for the stains they'd leave behind. Jane glanced down at her bare legs before sighing. She wasn't wearing too much. Guess he was taken after their activities and she didn't bother to throw on pants before chasing him down.

"There were only footsteps outside of the window to open it. After that, nothing. They probably teleported." Clockwork spoke nervously as she worked on Jane's hand, wrapping it up to stop the flow of blood. "We're thinking Slenderman. He did have his proxies watch Sans a bit before and he wouldn't be above using hostages if needed."

"Well, your guess is close to what we were thinking of," Zero said, motioning towards the counter as Sally sniffed in her arms. "Wanker dude left behind a petal."

"Oh." Jane glanced over, and her face hardened at the evidence she overlooked earlier in her haste. "Oh."

"Yeah. Laughing Jack's gone too. Since he's the only one that can teleport full on, we think he went to confront him." With a sigh, Jeff's foot tapped fast against the ground.

Tip tap, tip tap.

"So if it is him, we can't do anything at all?" Jane hissed, "If it is him, do you realize what he's probably doing to Sans?"

Sally sobbed harder. Smile Dog grimaced at the sound. If anyone knew what hell Sans was in for, it was her. They all just had to desperately hope the rose wasn't from who it likely was from.

"We can't do anything yet. Ben and Smile... Smile Dog are hacking the computer," Toby said. One of his eyebrows twitched.

"So we have to sit here and wait?" Jeff hissed, voice raising. The tip taps continued. "What do you think is happening to Sans while we sit idly by?"

"We're trying our best, asshole!" Ben said.

"You can hack into the fucking government but you can't hack into a rapist's computer?" Jeff hissed.

Ben dragged himself halfway out of the computer, jabbing a finger at Jeff. "I can hack into basic government shit! I can falsify documents sent to them and edit documents in storage over shit. There's a difference between basic passwords and major fucking firewalls with levels of security I can't crack for shit. And all of those tall, faceless motherfuckers have weird powers like literally breaking electronics!" He huffed, shoulders hunched and eyebrows furrowed. "It's not what you think it is! Smile Dog and I can fake Sally being a citizen because that's just adding a new document in a system with basic protection. We can't go through a computer if the computer is fucked up! It's like trying to walk down a hallway that doesn't exist! First, we have to get past the levels of walls made of pure fucking magic, then we have to fix that damn computer without even having access to it. Do you know how fucking hard that is?" Ben sucked in a breath, blinking a few times. His voice went quiet. "We're... we're trying, Jeff. We know what's happening with Sans right now if it is Offenderman. We know. Just... we know."

Ben didn't say much after that. He gave a long, empty look toward Jeff before he turned around and went back into the screen.

"I hate this. I hate... this." Jane outstretched her arms as she spoke, a scowl coating her face. "Being powerless. When someone I care about is in danger."

"That's one thing we can agree on," Jeff mumbled.

"Says the one who - no no, not right now. We all can't fight right now." Jane settled back into the couch, squeezing her injured fist despite Clockwork's glare. "I... I'm going to get a cold again. We should go take a bath, Clockwork. I can't get a cold when Sans is..."

Her thoughts trailed off as her eyes wandered. Whatever thoughts plagued her mind must have been rather bothersome and graphic. Because she quickly stood up, shaking her head to keep control of herself before she stalked off to take a shower. Before she became more of a nuisance than a help. Clockwork followed, glancing back towards the group and staring for a moment at Toby.

"Go," He said, gesturing with his head towards the hallway. "You can't be s... sick either."

For a moment, Clockwork gave a smile. She wasn't as close to Sans as anyone was. He was nice, they were okay with living together. That was it. But this was Jane's boyfriend. That changed things for her and put his ex-girlfriend and best friend in a very tough situation.

Toby himself wasn't sure how to feel about this. Seeing the petal made him feel sick. Hearing Sans was kidnapped with a baby as a hostage felt vile. But this was CreepyPasta. These sorts of acts were what he ran away from. Only for them to come hurdling back into his life without any option to run. And it affected the lives of people he cared about once again.

Sans was nice. A weird nice. Toby still wasn't sure how he felt about him. He gave him a home, gave him food. Talked to him. Toby knew a lot about Sans because of that brunch. He was a nice guy with a decent heart for the people he cared about but was rather disinterested in society's problems as a whole. Preferred personal connections over politics. A trustworthy man who kept his word, and when he gave a promise, it was the most sacred promise anyone could give. Toby respected the hell out of that.

"Are you doing okay?" Clockwork asked.

"What do you... you mean?" Toby asked.

She smiled. A warm, melting smile. The clock in her eye gleamed under the warm living room lights. "You're an idiot, Toby."

And she was gone, just like that. Leaving the rest of the people to sit in silence as the computer buzzed with Ben's and Smile Dog's activities. Everyone was only able to wait and hold their breaths to see if they could find Sans.

Toby felt sick. He stared at the petal until he felt like curling into a ball and dying. He felt sick thinking about what could be happening.