I can't really tell who those loyal fans are reading all of my chapters but I applaud them and those who took the time to find my story and read the over 20,000 word story all in one sitting. I can't imagine anyone finding it just today and just binge reading it all, but then I realize I do that too. Well, here goes another chapter. If you leave a comment or question I will try to answer it, and I don't mind if you comment just to talk to me. I'm boring, sarcastic, nerdy, pathetic, but friendly!
Chapter 10: The Side Quest
The group of monsters you were following set up camp a little after noon. You believed you counted around twenty monsters which didn't include your friends. You knew you were going to be setting traps for some knights at one of their camps but it didn't make sense to stop again after only an hour of walking.
"I thought we were supposed to keep moving to meet up with the knight's camp by nightfall," you reminded Sans who recently stopped behind Papyrus.
"In order to do this secretly, we need to wait till night before we progress any further. Safer to get the job done that way," Papyrus answered instead. "We should all try to rest before tonight, especially you Charlie." You stopped asking anymore questions when Papyrus patted your head. Sans nudged you in the arm and told you to help him set up the tent. While working together with Sans, you were trying to not show intimate signs of affection but but it was uncomfortable to do so. You couldn't let your mind wander to what almost happened in that tent this morning, it would only be make it harder to act like nothing happened.
After setting up the tent, Undyne returned with firewood and Papyrus was placing the food and supplies inside the tent. You awkwardly stood next to the tent, secretly hoping Sans would suggest that the both of you should sleep together. Sans walked up to you after everything was set up, and stood in front of you with an uncomfortable face.
"What's wrong," you were showing a little concern in your tone. He gave you a long look, clearly unsatisfied about something.
"Pap said it wouldn't be best if we laid together, would cause a whole lot of unwanted attention," he spoke calmly with a hint of irritation. "I couldn't care less about what the other monsters think, so just say the word and I'll come inside the tent." You wanted him to come in, but it would cause trouble for anyone who supported you which included Papyrus, Undyne, and even Toriel. You couldn't have that on your conscious. You looked down at the ground miserably and then leaned your head into San's chest. You didn't make any other displays of affection and hoped Papyrus wouldn't get upset over this small gesture. His ribs supported you and the coat Sans wore actually made your head comfortable. Eventually you lifted it off of him but still gave the ground a black stare.
"I understand why Pap would say that, I know he has me in his best interests. But I'll see you tonight," you asked hopefully.
"Absolutely," he reassured. You never looked at his face but then turned around and stepped inside the tent. The moment you were inside, Sans zipped up the door.
"That sucked," you whined. You looked around and noticed your sleeping bag in one of the corners already laid out. You crawled over to it and tried to snuggle yourself in for warmth but the cold made it impossible to be comfortable. You could still see your foggy breath in the cold air that was still trapped inside the tent.
No matter how you rolled, your body wasn't pleased. You tried to roll left, right, even your stomach but nothing was comfortable. While still inside the bag you sat up and tried to nuzzle yourself inside one of the corners of the tent so it supported your back. You would probably have to sit here for hours, frozen and miserable but it was in everyone's best interest to stay in here alone. You were fiddling your thumbs waiting for your body heat to properly diffuse inside the bag when you heard someone approaching the tent. They didn't open the door to come inside but instead walked over to where you were situated from the outside and sat right next to you. Your back was against theirs now and you were confused, but also curious.
"Sans, is that you?" There was caution in your voice.
"The one and only," he responded.
"Thank god," you let out a laugh, "I was gonna lose my shit if a random monster was sitting right next to my tent."
"I didn't feel like sharing stories around a campfire, and since we're keeping an eye on you anyway, I don't think anyone would argue if I just sat outside your tent."
"That's good, do you wanna share campfire stories," you asked sarcastically. Sans leaned back into the tent and began squishing you. "Stop it, you butt." You tried to push him back by leaning backwards but he was too heavy. Sans let out a chuckle.
"That's right, just try to move my fat ass. You should probably give up," he snickered.
"I'm just as stubborn as you, mister skeleton," you retorted, still trying to push him back.
"That's sir skeleton," he corrected.
"Oh, my bad, didn't know you were Mr. Fancy Pants." You were grunting in an attempt to actually move him but it was hopeless. Sans stopped leaning on the tent and you sat upright against his back again. Neither of you said anything else for what felt like a while, you just sat close together with only a thin sheet of tarp separating you.
"Hey Sans."
"Yeah."
"If we managed to get out of this war in one piece, do you want to come with me?" There was a long pause outside the tent, you knew it might of been an inappropriate question but it shouldn't hurt to ask.
"Why?"
"Why would I want you to come? Well that's easy, above ground we have," your mind went blank and you were embarrassed to admit that you didn't really love life above ground. You paused for a long time before continuing. "I'm just going to be honest, it's not perfect up there, but it's defiantly not hell like it is down here. At least not most of the time." He still didn't reply. "Well, the truth is I would probably just be lonely again if I went back. Maybe if things settled down here, I could stay instead. And I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, I would be content living here as long as you guys stayed my friends at least."
"A lot of people down here don't have friends or family. I'm damn lucky I still have Pap around. Asriel trained both him and Undyne very well, even though he's younger than us by a little. That's why I respect him to a degree, it's probably because of him that Pap and Undyne are still alive."
"You helped too bonehead," you replied. "You may hate doing work and being a leader, but your a good brother and friend to Undyne."
"We've killed so many monsters though," he calmly stated. Even though the conversation was turning serious, you weren't afraid to keep talking. "We can kill so easily now, but I think that's because we know those knights are evil."
"Undyne told me they have no souls, that they lack the ability to feel."
"What Undyne says is true, and you really shouldn't be caught up in this shit."
"Well, I think it's too late to protect me anymore from the truth. But I appreciate the gesture." You both stopped talking for a while and listened to the chatter of the other monsters not to far away from your tent. You actually yawned while sitting down, and your eyes began to feel heavy.
"I don't think I can go back to my old life, even if this war ended," Sans replied as if he was simply stating a fact and nothing more. You knew that's what he honestly believed, and you couldn't blame him. Who could go back to anything after this hell?
"Yeah, I don't know what to say. You've been through a lot of shit and I know I can't guarantee you happiness but maybe I could at least be your companion. I'm just a human, but I got pretty sweet moves if I do say so myself." You were trying to lighten the mood, and it must of work because you heard Sans laugh behind you, outside the tent. You would of laughed as well but then you suddenly shivered aggressively to get rid of some cold chills.
"You cold?" Sans asked.
"No, I'll be fine," you insisted.
"Charlie, you'll get sick if you stay cold," he warned.
"I know Sans, but if you lay with me, we'll get the others in trouble."
"I got an idea, but you might not like it, but then again I'm not sure what your into," he chuckled.
"I don't care, does it involve being warm?"
"Yup, I'll be back." You heard him walk away from the tent and you wondered if he was meaning to sneak inside the tent himself.
It wasn't long before you heard someone approaching the tent again, you were very curious to see who it was but as they opened the tent and popped their head in, you were a little confused.
"Hiya," Undyne announced with a big dumb smile, "Sans said you were a pop-sickle, so I came to help."
"How exactly? These sleeping bags don't work worth a shit." Undyne just laughed at your remark and then tumbled inside the tent, which was unnecessary to you but apparently crucial for her to do. She must of really enjoyed girl time, you thought. Undyne sat Indian style and then started unzipping her coat. You really didn't know where this was going. She left her coat unzipped and then looked at you while patting her legs, motioning for you to sit on her lap. "What, I'm not a kid Undyne, I don't sit in adult laps anymore," you laughed.
"But your cold, and I don't have a problem staying warm, so get your ass over here," she ordered while smirking.
"Fine, but don't rock me like a baby, or rub me the wrong way," you sarcastically joked. You then heard someone laughing their ass off outside. "Fuck you Sans, figured you'd be listening in you turd." He couldn't breath from laughing too hard, he must of lost balance and fell down into the snow.
"Undyne, you need to rub her the wrong way," he replied still laughing.
"I'll beat the shit out of you Sans," you threatened. Undyne started snorting, you couldn't help but smile. At least Sans didn't see your face.
"I told you guys were dumb," she snickered. While he was still calming down from the laughing fit, you snugly situated yourself on Undyne's lap to where you were both facing the same way. Her warmth was different from Sans but her small breasts made a nice cushion for your head and her smooth skin helped you relax. Undyne then zipped up her coat with you inside, she stopped zipping at your neck. "This really is comfortable, but I'd feel bad if I feel asleep like this, shouldn't you be getting rest too?"
"I'll be fine, I slept in late this morning anyway. But you really should try to sleep, it'll take your mind off," she coaxed.
"Hey Sans, I forgot to ask, but where's Toriel? I haven't heard her speak the entire time." You forgot to tell Sans that you told Undyne about Toriel, but he didn't sound shocked when you asked. Maybe he thought Undyne had figured it out already.
"She chilling with Papyrus, now go to bed." You sighed again but then lowered your head back onto Undyne's chest, she didn't mind. Undyne kept her eyes closed and breathed deeply in and out. It felt like she was meditating so you tried to keep quiet. The warmth and smooth skin calmed your cold nerves and you drifted off to sleep.
The sound of Undyne snoring woke you up, the tent was much darker now, it must be night time already. You looked up at Undyne, she apparently fell asleep while sitting up and you were still inside her coat. You tried to unzip the coat by grabbing the zipper from the inside but doing that somehow caused both of you to fall over. Undyne didn't wake up from the fall. With Undyne now being the bigger spoon, you unzipped the coat while laying sideways now. You really hoped she didn't wake up or freak out.
When you finally unzipped the coat, you tried to roll away but then Undyne lifted an arm around your waist while still asleep and then pulled you closer with a death grip. "This really isn't what I had in mind," you sighed while trying ease off her grip. Your struggling unfortunately triggered her to pull the other arm under neath you and then grapple your chest. "Come on Undyne," you silently yelled. She was making it very difficult to escape but at least she was warm. You eventually gave up the battle and just laid there, being groped by a fish lady who was probably thinking you were her lover in a dream or something. This must be what defeat felt like.
Someone was unzipping the tent and you tired to escape but then realized how stupid you'd look doing so. Of course it had to be Sans sticking his face in the door with a smug grin.
"I didn't know you were into women," he whispered while still grinning.
"You know what, I'm not even going to bother explaining myself to you right now," you retorted. The noise slightly startled Undyne who began groping one of your boobs. You looked at Sans desperately and prayed he took pity on you.
"Please help me," you mouthed to him. Sans shook his head at first but then reached inside the tent with one arm and firmly grabbed Undyne's wrist that grappled your waist. The sudden touch of something else on her triggered a reflex and Undyne immediately threw her head up and bit down on Sans's arm. When she realized it was bone, she quickly released her grip.
"Sans," she yawned, "you know better than to grab me."
"It's not like it hurt, and your kinda molesting my stuff," he spoke like a smart ass. Undyne noticed one of her hands was still groping one of your breasts. Instead of apologizing or even looking remotely sorry she just let go and calmly stepped out of the tent.
"Thank you," you told Sans.
"I'm more jealous than anything, but come on, it's time to move again." Sans tried to look for his brother outside but then his eyes caught something else entirely. "You've got to be shitting me, no fucking way!" He happily shouted and then took off running. "Charlie, hop to it, there's someone here." You had to take time to dress. The pants slide on fairly fast but you had to undo the knots in your shoe stings and that took a couple of minutes. You tried to look cool by jumping out of the tent and doing a tumble but no one was around to notice. You shook it off like nothing happened but then jogged over to you friends.
It was hard to tell who they were surrounding but the fire did illuminate their face in the dark. You could of sworn he was human with short-black unruly hair but then a closer view suggested there was something you missed. His face was metal? His outfit matched Papyrus's but instead of bones, four metal arms shaped similar to a human were situated on his hips and thighs. "Is he a robot," you asked yourself. You were almost happy to greet the newcomer but then saw Undyne fall down to the ground sobbing. You suddenly felt your heart drop as you ran to Undyne and tried to comfort her.
"What the fuck happened," Undyne screamed at this metal man's feet. He wore a grimacing look but then knelt down to her. Sans was standing close to Papyrus and both of them looked depressed and very worried. "Mettaton, where is she.." she spoke through sobs.
"What's going on?" You were so confused and no one so much as looked at you but then Sans knelt down into the snow next to you two.
"Mettaton was stationed in Snowdin to give us updates on Chara's operations if ever possible. He must of ran here as fast as he could because the king gave an announcement just a few hours ago." He took a slow inhale. "Tomorrow morning there will be a public execution."
"What? Why? Who are they executing?" Your blood started to boil but you were scared for Undyne.
"Who do you think," he was serious, you both knew who it was.
"Not Alphys," Undyne cried, "we got to save her, I need to go." Undyne tried to get up but Mettaton held her down. "Don't you fucking touch me, I'm going!" She slapped his arm but he didn't budge.
"How are you going to get in the castle Undyne? Being sneaky will only get you so far, but how would you even get Alphys out," Mettaton coaxed. His voice was almost robotic but still human. It chose a slightly deeper and reassuring voice while speaking to her.
You heard footsteps racing behind you in the snow, you didn't care who it was but they stopped abruptly and placed a hand on your back. Asriel was panting, breathing heavily and was using you as a sturdy surface to catch his breath.
"I heard about Alphys from some of our members in Snowdin." He was gasping for more air. "I came as soon as I heard." Instead of holding on to you he just fell right on his butt. "I have a plan though to get inside the castle." Everyone's eyes were on Asriel, waiting for their king to give the final orders.
"I'm more than ready to storm the castle but what about this current mission," Papyrus asked, slightly concerned.
"Mettaton will stay behind and lead the men to carry out the mission. Running for that long must of really pulled something, and I'm surprised he made it this far in such a short about of time."
"I'll stay, it's the least I could do," Mettaton calmly added. Mettaton stood up and then walked over to the larger group of monsters surrounding a bonfire and informed them about some recent changes. Asriel turned his attention back to you guys but he didn't pay you any mind.
"Alright, you three will-," he began but you interrupted.
"What? I'm going too!"
"No, your not," Sans snapped. He glared at you inches from your face and he wasn't going to back down from this decision.
"Sans I'm going, I want to help," you argued, "I know there's someway I can help."
"Sans is right Charlie, it's too risky letting you go along. Your not as fast as the others and if we lose you, we just might lose this war," Asriel spoke with an authoritative tone.
"That doesn't make any fucking sense Asriel," you shouted at him and stood up. You stared desperately at everyone surrounding you. "You all keep calling me a weak human, you keep saying how I'm not strong or fast or even smart. But at the same time, you act like I'm the only chance you have against this other human, Chara."
"My orders stand Charlie, you're not going," Asriel barked. You looked at Sans but he purposefully turned his head to not look at you. You kicked the snow as hard as you could and then stormed over to the tent. You unzipped it and went inside.
"Fucking bullshit," you spat. You started packing your backpack with supplies for a long hike. "I'll go there myself if I have to." You then stepped out of the tent and Asriel was standing in front of you, disapproving of your actions as if he knew what you were planning.
"I'm not letting you go," he snapped. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans running towards some woods before dispersing completely in the dark. You were waiting for him to keep talking before making your move. "I know you hate my guts-," he continued.
You took off while he was in the middle of speaking but then you felt him tackle you from behind and you both fell into the snow.
"Get off Asriel," you threatened. Asriel grabbed both of your arms and pulled them behind your back. He wasn't giving you any room to wiggle free from his grasp.
"Not until you promise me you won't take off again, I won't play this game with you Charlie," he demanded. His soft hands slowly let go, and he lifted himself a little to relieve some of his weight on you. You were on your stomach but then you rolled around. Ariel was right on top of you, still glaring at you, waiting for your answer. You wanted to fight and kick and scream, anything if it meant you can go with the others. Instead you just looked away from Asriel, pissed off.
"Fine," you answered, aggravated.
"I'm sorry Charlie," he apologize sincerely. He pushed himself up and after standing, he held a hand down to you. You grabbed it and he pulled up up and onto your feet.
"I can't believe they left me, again." You were upset and you knew why they left you. They actually cared deeply but it's because of that reason that you wanted to go help them.
"I know the feeling, but we all have our orders and I must stay here to protect my people." You knew why Asriel was their leader, it wasn't just because of his blood. His authority demanded respect among others and he was fair if you followed his rules.
"You just wanted to keep me here for yourself," you barked to his face, you instantly regretted saying it. Asriel kept composed the entire time but then lost his cool after your remark. He shoved you back into the snow and you fell flat on your back, he stood on top you and glared down at you laying in the snow. He then crouched down of top of you and softly moved some hair strands out of your face tenderly.
"You know what, your right. I do want you to myself, but unlike Sans, " he slid warm fingers down your left cheek, "I can hold myself back." He got back up and dusted himself off. "Think before you speak next time," he was smiling at your flustered face and held out his hand a second time. All the emotions in you were spiraling out of control. "Dammit," you groaned in defeat. You took his hand and stood up next to him. There was no longer any doubt how Asriel felt about you but you couldn't return the feelings because you still longed for Sans. You must of had a thing for assholes, you sarcastically told yourself. "We should head back to our base camp, Mettaton will take over things from here on."
"Fine," you replied and kicked the snow underneath you. You began walking in the direction of the base camp with Asriel but you felt like you were forgetting something.
"Shit, fuck!" You started to run back to the tent. Asriel tackled you again into the snow. "Goddammit Asriel, get off, I need to find Flower."
"Oh," Ariel sounded embarrassed and immediately let go.
"God I'm such a shitty friend," you murmured as you started racing again back towards the tent. Asriel just followed you and kept pace. You unzipped the tent and curled into a small circle like a dog, was Toriel. "Thank god," you let out a sigh and climbed into the tent. You rubbed Toriel, "Come on, get up, time to go buddy."
"Huh," Toriel let out an extended yawn and looked sleepily at you. "What's going on? Where's the others?"
"They left us for dead, now come on, let's go," you casually spoke.
"What!"
"Kidding Flower, now let's go," you held out both of your arms and she was actually pissed off at you for a change.
"Not funny Charlie," she spoke like a disapproving mother. You shrugged and she climbed back onto your shoulders and then into your coat. After she was firmly grappled to your chest inside the coat, you zipped up the tent and was then greeted by Asriel.
"You good?"
"Yes, let's go," you replied. Toriel then popped her head out and still didn't notice the others.
"Where is everyone?" You didn't want to lie about the mission they were set out to accomplish, but you needed to say something.
"I've assigned them to a different mission, Charlie was instead assigned to return with me back to the camp," Asriel answered instead. You were thankful he interjected because you didn't want to bring up Alphys.
"Oh, well I hope they stay safe."
"Me too," you patted her on the head, "me too." You both kept a quick pace back towards the base camp. You were going to try to escape again when the opportunity presented itself, hopefully when Asriel was asleep.