I don't like this place.
Rust shuffled past the large screen as the heat finally started to dissipate.
God this is horrible. How can anyone stand this?
The air was hot. The floor was scorching, Everything about Hotland was miserable. He was surprised to see other monsters Alive here. Then to find out those same monsters actually Liked to Live in such a place. Man, this place must be small if monsters were still here.
Different world, you may be right. Go in that door.
Rust could feel the wants of the other, urging him forward to the door. Normally he wouldn't go anywhere alone, yet the other continued to insist; putting more and more dark and frustrated intent through their forced bond.
He grunted in displeasure as they made their way forward, sparing each other any communication as yet another elevator started to descend.
On day one, they had learned that this underground was significantly smaller than their own home. Hotland, the Most uncomfortable place in existence, abruptly stops on the border of Waterfall. At first it was odd, everything from the air to the color had instantly changed. His urge to explore was always redirected to move forward. They couldn't stay in one place for long, unless they wanted to be found.
Day two was a bit tricky, Rust had taken a small nap in a cave earlier, yet as he dragged himself toward the colder climate he wished they had let him rest a bit more.
By the time he shuffled into Snowdin he was cold and numb. His body was tired but the spirit inside him was eager. He had run into an abandoned nice cream cart and stuffed every pocket full of the cold treats, leaving any coins he had left in the mini freezer.
Day three was… scary. By now other monsters would glance at Rust with concern. Some would report seeing him, gaining the alternates' attention.
He was being hunted.
Day four through six, Rust spent his time running from the hunters, sleeping in tall trees or buried in snow. He was slowly running out of Nice creams, and the thought terrified him.
They would stop pestering him about going into the ruins. Even if it was to glance around for just a moment. Yet the fear of being caught…
What if he angered them when he ran?
What if he was deemed unfit for the surface?
What if they lock him away?
…
Would he ever see the sky?
These questions kept him up through the night.
Day seven, it's officially been a week. He has just two and a half Nice Creams left. Yet this place was barren. The sounds of the few townspeople had begun dying down. They were moving out. To the surface.
This left empty shops and houses free. Rust made sure never to stay for long. A few hours here, warming his bones. Another there, for a warm shower and maybe a nice nap in the closet. And every now and again, a scrap of food. Free for the taking.
He would thank the empty house and whomever used to live there before stuffing the nutrients in his pockets.
Day eight, he was spotted. He had finally worked up the courage to peak around the empty "Grilby's" He had checked the perimeter once, twice, three times before scraping of the frost from the back window. "hey, you ok there?"
It took days to find this kid. And now, he's caught 'em'. Right in the middle of breaking into the town restaurant. Yet as he watched the monster stumble through the snow he couldn't help but be concerned.
The alternate looked thoroughly disturbed, recoiling from his voice. Sockets wide, the taller monster whipped toward him. His stance immediately turned defensive, expression settled to a neutral grimace.
Yet he could see it in the way he stood, he could feel it in the otherwise empty air.
This kid was fuckin' terrified.
"listen man,if you haven't noticed, nobody has passed through here for a while…"
Rust didn't move, yet no fighting magic presented itself.
Sans considered it a good sign.
"you've been missing for days, kid."
…
Nothing happened.
"well… i'm here to bring you back, so-"
There it was, the flare of magic, the resistance. This kid would rather fight.
Sans called upon his own magic, ready to pin down or doge if need be… but…
Rust did nothing. He just sat there and shook.
If this kid wanted to fight so bad, why was he just… standing there?
Well. if he was just gonna sit there and make it easy for him, may as well end it early.
Check
Sans cringed when the action made the other nearly jump out of his bones (heh.)
Rust
LV 4
HP 999/5
AT: /NA/ EXP:/NA/
DF: /NA/ NEXT: /NA/
What the fuck are those stats!
AT Not available? Defence! Not available!? And what the hell is up with the HP.
Sans saved the weird stats for later, he continued the Check.
-Defencive Magic: Blocked. Offence Magic: Blocked.
For the love of god, help.
"Are… you ok?"
"... I… Y-eah. Must've ... I dunno, just…Yeah I'm g-ood."
Rust was still locked in place, slightly shaking from the encounter.
"so, um. Surface?"
"...Surface?"
"Yee. sooo… we're on the surface in this world, you wanna?"
The other gestured back the way he just came from.
"I-I don't know if I can..?
Rust finally moved. As shuffled in place, his eyes never looked up. Instead his face was pointed to the floor, like he was in a deep battle with himself. _
When the other looked up, sans was able to see what they had to deal with. The Check let him know that the guy was...unstable, most likely needed some sort of medical help as well. Judging from the shaking and discoloration.
Only one small problem. Human drugs from this universe could straight-up dust a monster due to the saturation, their different anatomy affects everything. From simple over the counter medication to pain meds doctors use in emergency situations, everything given to a monster had to be diluted or given in extremely small doses. Often given in long intervals to make sure nobody accidentally dies.
Then again, this kid is from a different universe. Hell, he Looks the part too. The only other skeleton he's seen so tall is…
Dear Asgore, please don't tell me this kid eats humans.
He knows he could be overreacting, but not even was that dang tall.
Maybe?... It's been a long time.
"Lets head back, there's someone waiting for you out there."
When sans walked, he followed, three paces back and just slightly to the left.
"So... you've talked to the king yet?"
Rust wobbled more than he walked, but his long strides were able to keep him within a good distance.
"...About?"
Unfortunately for both of them, conversation didn't seem to be either of each other's forte. This left a lot of awkward gaps and unanswered questions in their "conversation." If you could even call it that.
"Our relation with humans?"
"Yeah,bit rough."
"heh. understatement."
The majority of the walk continued in awkward silence.
The alternate wasn't so bad though.
get his name.
…
"What's your name?"
The alternate seemed shocked that he had just asked his Name. Though maybe it was just to be polite.
"Sans."
"So, Sans. how do you think all… this happened?"
By the time they got to the elevator the alternate was rambling on about multiverses. The alternate- sans- went from giving small details to having a full blown conversation with himself.
"-at least that's what i think happened. It's a possibility, but I never really knew what the machine was actually built for- by the way, I've wanted to ask. What's with the get-up?"
Considering the past few minutes were filled with rants about the space time continuum and theories about the purpose of the machine and soul-signatures; having sans ask him about Clothes threw him off a bit.
"I-uh-what?"
"The, well. That."
…
"... but you just gestured to all of me."
"Yeah...so, what's up with that?"
Rust sighed, the alternate sans was not very subtle.
"My last home, before here, was the Great lake-
"Great Lake?"
"-Yeah. Anyway, I actually...found these when I arrived there. So I took them."
"So you were on the surface before you came through."
He had to hold back a scoff at that question, humans were arrogant, evil creatures whose only communication was through violence. Why would anyone stick around those things?
Rude
"Gods no. We've tried that before. Caused too many problems, too many wars. When our numbers dropped under the hundreds, the survivors fled underground."
Sans sat with that information as they walked down the golden hall. It seemed like the others left. Along with the Doctor.
"Were you there."
"Huh?"
He felt a headache forming, he could tell he was getting dehydrated, shaky and Yet, somehow, the conversation helped take his mind off the upcoming symptoms.
"Were you there? During the wars?"
"Oh- nah. I was...born? Created? Way later. Don't exactly know when."
Sans' voice suddenly got colder.
"What do you mean 'born/created question mark'."
Hmmm. so this isn't a nice friendly conversation. It was an interrogation.
Should've known. Don't tell him shit.
Rust put on a colder air of his own, staring down at the shorter skeleton.
"I think that's a conversation for another day."