Author's Notes: I haven't written a fanfic in a long freaking time. That being said I know there are some grammar mistakes, so in the meantime just ignore them. I might eventually fix'em.
I don't own any of the characters expect mine and borrowed the title from Blue October.
Chapter One
"Thanks again for all your help and I'm really sorry. If there is any thing you need just ask. Okay?" Crystal smiled softly as she awkwardly hugged the taller woman, careful not to wake the small child in her arms.
"Don't worry about it. Tell Jake to have fun with the new digs," Tara replied with a forced smile, though the other didn't seem to catch it. Gently she ruffled the little girl's red hair. The five year old stirred slightly, but didn't wake up.
Watching quietly, Crystal wanted to say more words of encouragement, but didn't. Instead she gave Tara a small wave goodbye as she left the studio apartment.
Once the blonde was gone Tara sank down onto her worn couch. Her hands were starting to shake and she felt the all too familiar ache creep back into her body. Hands still trembling, she managed to pull the bottle of pain pills from her jacket pocket. God she hated this. This being her chronic pain. Her own personal hell of sorts. Now that Crystal and Jake were moving out of town, she was no longer needed to watch "Nugget." Her soul reason for hanging around so long. But now...
A groaned passed her lips as she studied the white ovals. Six in total and hopefully enough.
Closing her fingers around the orange bottle she willed herself up. Joints cracking and buckling in protest, the young woman made her way into her kitchen. Bracing her left hip on the fridge door she opened the freezer and grabbed the bottle of Jack that Jake bought over last new years.
The coldness of the bottle started to turn her fingers purple, but she didn't care. They wouldn't be like that for much longer. Limping back to the living room she popped the bottle open and took a deep drink. The carmel colored liquid burned her throat, but she didn't care. With the next drink she had popped open the orange container and brought it to her eager lips.
In less than an hour, Tara felt more alive than she had in the past couple of years. The cool air felt amazing on her face and she took a deep breath of the crisp autumn night air.
"I'm sorry kiddo, but aunt Tara is tired..." She slurred as she kept waking down the quiet street.
Thankfully there wasn't a lot of foot traffic as she could hear chattering coming from the nearby bar Grillby's. Tara grinned slightly as she realized that she had entered the monster side of town, affectionately called "Monster Town." She wasn't too surprised, considering that she lived a few blocks away.
It had been about five years since the barrier fell and the child called Frisk became ambassador to the monsters. Ever since then there had been tension between both species. Tara didn't hate monsters exactly. To her they were just like humans. Some were good, others complex, but most importantly both races annoyed the hell out of her.
Ever since the pain took over her body, Tara found herself becoming more and more introverted. She embraced her anger as it seemed easier than faking a smile all the time. Sarcasm became her second language as so called loved ones left her behind. Expect Jake, Crystal and their daughter Lisa. The couple had been her friends since high school and maybe it was because of pity, but they had kept in touch.
When Nugget came around, Tara found a reason to keep fighting the darkness that threaten to consume her. But now, Jake had landed her dream job, running his own restaurant and the void came rushing back.
Tears burned in the twenty seven year old's eyes. "Fuck it and fuck them," she thought bitterly taking another drink. Her mind was made up and it was too late to back out now.
As she pounded down the last bit of whiskey, Tara felt numb. Spotting the alley behind the bar her drugged brain figured it was the best place to kick it. After all she felt like trash.
Slumping down between some trash cans, Tara threw the empty bottle against the wall in front of her. The action caused her shoulder to pop out of it's socket, but she was too far gone to give a shit. Fumbling in her pockets she pulled out her cellphone. She had barely made it to her contacts when she suddenly vomited burning bile and white chunks of pill all over herself.
"No...Fuck! Stay down," she weakly protested. Trying to clean off the phone seemed impossible, as her limbs suddenly felt so heavy. Allowing herself to give up, the young woman closed her eyes.
Inside of Grillby's was packed mostly with monsters, however there was the occasional odd human. The owner didn't seem to mind, much. But he could feel the urge for a much needed cigarette break. Glancing over to make sure everyone was content, he decided to leave his two waitresses in charge, a cat and a alligator. Annoying best friends, but surprisingly hard workers. Knowing it might be a mistake, but he could feel the sweet call of nicotine beckoning him.
"Damn addiction," he thought bitterly.
"Like totally take your time," Bratty winked. The alligator covered her mouth as she giggled.
"Like it's totally fine. We got this," Catty smiled as she winked as well.
Grillby sighed internally as the girls giggled most likely taking in the view of his backside, but he quickly retreated out of the fire exit before he could hear any of their comments. As he entered the alley the fire elemental smiled to himself. It was a nice night out and the sounds from inside was perfect background noise. Pulling a pack of cigarettes from his vest pocket, he stopped just before lighting as something caught his attention. A purple converse poking out behind some trash cans. Upon farther inspection he noticed the limb attached wasn't moving.
Bitting down on the cigarette, Grillby cautiously made his way over. Not expecting to find that the shoe belonged to a human. A human who appeared dead. The flames on top of his head crackled in worry as he bent down to check the human's pulse. He was careful not to burn their skin. A sigh of relief escaped him as he realized that they still had a pulse. It was weak, but still there.
"Thank goodness," he thought. That was all he needed, the media going crazy because of a dead human found in monster town. Behind his bar at that. Needless to say it wouldn't be a good thing for the ex-general.
Biting down harder on the cigarette, the flame monster carefully picked the human up. Surprisingly they were light and as his flames illuminated their face, he realized that they was actually a she. Smelling the booze and seeing the chunks of bile over the young woman, Grillby quickly headed back inside. He was careful not to run into anyone as he made his way to the basement.
Lucky for the woman, Doctor Gaster had setup a lab slash make shift hospital under the bar. Grillby disliked the idea at first, but he had eventually caved. Mostly because of Alphys, who along with her girlfriend, pitched in their help on occasion. Plus it made it easier to keep watch over the "good" doctor. Truth be told, the elemental hated the skeleton like creature.
As Grillby rushed down the stairs he could feel that there was something off about the young woman in his arms. Looking down at her, he felt his heat drop. The human's soul had came out of her body and though she wasn't dead yet, the poor thing appeared like it.
The heart shaped object was a sickly grey and the parts that weren't missing, were cracked beyond repair. A sudden breeze could have finished it off. Unsure of what to do, Grillby quicken his pace, but stopped dead in his tracks as his own soul started to float out of his chest. His was quite larger and like him set ablaze with various shades of red and orange. However it's flame seemed weaker than the rest of him.
Gently his soul touched hers and a green fire quickly consumed both souls. The woman let out a loud shriek of pain as Grillby held back his own grunt of pain. Her shriek quickly subbsided as he heard her soul pulsating softly. He noticed that her's now looked more alive now. It was still grey, but not sickly so. Suddenly the bartender felt weaker as he collapsed to his knees with a loud thud.
"What is the meaning of all this ruckus?" A deep baritone rung out from the darkness below. Soon enough a skeletal figure emerged into Grillby's line of sight. He could barely make out the strange font floating next to the other male.
"...Help..." The elemental weakly requested before blacking out.
Ending Notes: If you enjoyed and more importantly if you want, leave a comment with your thoughts. I'll probably update every few days or so no matter what.