:):
You are right, undershield, Fearia is very young and she doesn't have any real means of protecting herself. I tried to make this story as realistic as I could with quite a bit of the actual game element taken out.
Also, Sans hasn't even begun to learn the meaning of "overtime" yet. lol
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Throw the Switch!
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Reappearing with a pop of blue magic, Sans attempted to adjust the machine just a little more before they arrived. However, hearing their approach, he knew he was out of time. Why had he helped them again? Now all he could do was wait as he watched the two enter the cave.
"BEHOLD, HUMAN! ..." Pausing his introduction, Papyrus turned to the small child. "Please Wait Right Here."
Walking across the tiled floor, he then turned back to the child once more. "BEHOLD, HUMAN!" Papyrus restarted his introduction with even more vigor! "THIS PUZZLE WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT!" He beamed happily.
A doubtful expression crossed Fearia's face, but she patiently waited for the taller skeleton to finish his speech. They were inside a cave now and Papyrus' voice echoed loudly off the stone walls. The floor, unlike the walls, was not stone, instead it looked like it was made of some kind of grayish-tan colored ice; it was very shiny.
"YOU SEE THESE TILES!?" Papyrus asked, gesturing to the floor as he walked over to a strange machine. "ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!" He explained with excitement only a child could possess. That is, a child who actually LIKED puzzles...
Fearia frowned down at the floor as she listened to the explanation. She already didn't like the sound of this.
Across the room, standing next to his brother, Sans had his hands stuffed back into his pockets. If he was nervous, he didn't visibly show it. His usual toothy smile in place, he waited for the impending signature 'Papyrus' style explanation.
"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! Blue Tiles Are Water Tiles. Swim Through If You Like, But... If You Smell Like Oranges. THE PIRAHNAS WILL BITE YOU! ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! However, The Slippery Soap... SMELLS LIKE LEMONS! WHICH PIRAHNAS DO NOT LIKE! Purple And Blue Are OK." Taking a much needed illogical breath, Papyrus wrapped up his explanation. "Finally, Pink Tiles. They Don't Do Anything. Step On Them If You Like. HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND?
Sans watched as the little girl tearfully shook her head. He really hoped he was able to disable this damn thing. If he hadn't, well, ...all of them were gonna have a really bad time.
Seeing as the human hadn't understood his lengthy explanation, Papyrus sighed in disappointment. "Okay... I Guess I'll Repeat Myself... Red Tiles Are Impassable. Yellow Tiles Are Electric And Dangerous. Blue Tiles Make You Fight A Monster. Green Tiles Are Water Tiles. Orange Tiles Are Orange Scented. If You Step On Orange, Don't Step On Green. Brown Tiles Are..." The tall skeleton trailed off before angrily catching his own mistake. "WAIT! There Are No Brown Tiles..." Recovering quickly, he continued. "Purple Tiles Smell Like Lemons..." Confused, he pondered aloud, looking pensive. "Why Don't The Yellow Ones Smell Lemony? Umm... WAIT!" He glared. "DID I MIX UP THE GREEN AND BLUE!? THE BLUE ONES ARE WATER ONES!" Papyrus trailed off confused. "Pink Tiles... I Don't... REMEMBER? WAIT! Those Ones Don't Do Anything." Finishing his explanation yet again he smiled over to the human. "OKAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW!?"
"I think I understand it even less!" Fearia admitted truthfully. This was an absolute nightmare of a puzzle! Whoever this "Dr. Alphys" was, they must be truly terrifying!
Papyrus stared at the human long and hard, frustration building. Why couldn't they understand? He explained it perfectly! "Ok, You Know What? How About... You Just... Do The Puzzle... On Your Own... I'll Leave The Instructions... Just Read Them. Then When You Understand It... YOU Can Throw The Switch. And Do It At Your Own Pace. Good Luck."
Sans felt himself slouch against his will as relief washed over him. What a lucky break.
Hearing the disappointment in the taller skeleton's voice, Fearia fidgeted. He'd been really excited about this puzzle. Now it just felt like she was letting him down, and in truth, she didn't really know why she cared. Any rational person probably would've accept this outcome. But now she just felt guilty! For whatever reason, she just did! "Wait!" Fearia called out to the departing skeleton. "I'll try your puzzle. Flip the switch!"
"wait, what?" Sans stared at the little kid in disbelief. Was she freakin' serious?
"GREAT!" Papyrus exclaimed rushing back to the machine. "Then There's One Last Thing. THIS PUZZLE IS ENTIRERLY RANDOM! When I Pull This Switch, It Will Make A Puzzle That has Never Been Seen Before! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION!
"GET READY!" With a happy 'Nyeh Heh Heh' he flipped the switch.
All three of them watched as the tiles on the floor lit up and began to randomly change colors. Papyrus looked thrilled. Fearia looked scared. And Sans... well, he just looked sick.
The tiles changed rapidly for a few seconds before finally coming to a stop. A heavy silence filled the cavern as everyone stared down at the floor, before Papyrus, in total unspeakable disgust, silently left his brother and the human behind, departing the cave through the back exit. Words simply could not express his mood right now.
With great apprehension, Fearia looked over to Sans. "What do the pink ones do again?" She asked, unwilling to touch the tiles until she knew.
"they're safe..." Sans replied. "but just to be sure. stay right there, kid." Walking over to the good Dr.'s death machine, he reach down and pulled the plug. The floor of solid pink tiles faded back to a grayish-tan once more. "ok, now they're really safe."
...
As he led the way forward into the next area, Sans couldn't help but shoot the girl a passive-aggressive smile for all the trouble she'd caused him in such a short amount of time. She just didn't know how freakin' lucky she'd been with that last puzzle. There was really no telling if his tampering had been enough to recalibrate the randomization of the machine's outcomes. Of course, there had been no way for her to know that. Still, Papyrus had given her an out. Why hadn't she just taken it?
Arms wrapped snugly around herself, Fearia's shivers wracked her small body. "H-how m-m-many more puzzles are left?" She stuttered, looking up to the shorter of the skeleton brothers. The little girl wasn't sure how much more she could take. She was losing feeling in her extremities and her movements were becoming sluggish and unsteady. If she had been thinking properly, she might even have surrendered herself for capture if it meant finally getting out of the cold.
"uh... just one more i think." Sans shrugged. "i'm surprised you made it this far, kid. you're tougher than you look."
"R-really?" A happy smile brightened her face.
"don't let that go to your head, squirt." Sans teased. "that's not really saying much. you're still tiny."
"Hmph!" Visibly pouting now, Fearia trudged past the obnoxious skeleton. "Yeah? W-well... compared to your b-brother, you're tiny too!" With that sick burn, she left him behind.
Sans stumbled to a stop, eye lights going out completely for a moment. Oooh...! That kid... She got him good. That was something he'd rather not be reminded of, like, ever.
"well played, twerp..."
Broken and crumbling remnants of Snowdog attempts littered the next area. It was like a forest of elongated and twisted snow sculptures all in the likeness of an overexcited Lesser Dog. The scene was beautiful really, if you were a particular fan of chaos.
Wandering around the area, Fearia marveled at the half-made, half-broken sculptures. Sans had to admit, he had never actually seen anything like this either. Who knew that the Lesser Dog was an actual bona fide artist? ...kinda.
Stepping over to the pair, a faun in warm winter clothing who had previously also been admiring the artistic display, decided to chat. "A dog just rushed in here, filled with inspiration." They explained. "It kept trying to build a snowdog that expressed its own emotions..." Looking again at the wreckage, they sighed. "But, as it built, it kept getting more excited about the sculpture. Its neck got longer and longer, and it added more and more snow, until..." The faun monster cringed slightly. "It was rather sad to watch, but I couldn't turn away."
"I s-saw a dog that looked j-j-just like this!" Fearia revealed with a fond smile. "His n-neck got r-really long. Like that over there!" Pointing at a tall upright pillar of snow, her feet numbly followed.
"Curious child." The faun commented as they watched her walk off. "I don't think I've seen them around before."
Sans merely shrugged in reply. "she's new here."
"Is she a friend of yours?"
"i wouldn't go that far." The skeleton denied. "i'm just watchin' out for the kid."
The faun nodded in understanding then frowned down at him with uncertainty. "In that case... I'm not sure if you skeletons realize this or not, but fleshy creatures like myself and that child over there... We need to stay warm. It's dangerous for our bodies to get too cold. If you are really seeing to her well being, then perhaps she would benefit from some warmer clothing." The helpful stranger gave him a meaningful look before walking away. "Just a suggestion..."
Sans was silent for a moment as he let his eye lights travel back to the tiny human. She was standing next to the Lesser Dog's unmanned sentry station. Her hands were cupped in front of her mouth as she breathed into them, visible steam escaping into the air. Was it really that cold out here? He hadn't really considered it. It wasn't like he had actual body heat to keep him going. He didn't need it after all. The only source of warmth, which was very slight, came from the magic keeping him together.
Honestly, Sans didn't know much about humans. Sure, he knew that they were violent and fearful creatures driven solely by determination, or so he'd been told, but he didn't actually know how they worked. Humans weren't magical like monsters were and that was really the extent of his knowledge.
Watching the kid hop from one foot to the other, Sans sighed. He probably should take that faun's advice and hurry this along. "hey, runt." Looking up, the little girl glared. "come on, let's go."
"D-don't call me that!" Fearia hissed.
Sans didn't bother to reply as he turned and gestured for her to follow. Scowling, the little girl did indeed follow, if only for her complaints to be better heard by the rude skeleton. Sans just smiled in amusement. It would seem, no matter what he called her, she always responded, though with varying degrees of disapproval.
The next and last puzzle was made up of pressure plates that needed to be triggered in a specific order to activate the bridge thereby solving the puzzle. To make it more difficult, they had frozen the floor to make it slippery to anyone who attempted it. And to make it deadly, they had placed the puzzle on a high ledge so that anyone who slid too far would fall off. Come to think of it now... this might have been a bit much...
"This is the last puzzle?" Fearia asked. She was hopeful but a little disillusioned. If this was the last one, shouldn't it be more impressive? Where was the grand finale? Walking over to a pressure plate, she frowned. "It doesn't look that har-!"
Sans inwardly groaned as he watched the free-sliding human speed towards the edge. Seriously, Kid? Lifting his hand from out of his pocket, the exasperated skeleton's left eye light began to glow a bright blue as he remotely wrapped his cool magic around the tiny human's golden Soul. Effortlessly lifting her small body from the ice before she could careen off the side, Sans pulled her back towards him and plopped her gently into the snow at his side. "ever gone ice skating, kid?"
"No..." Fearia answered, her mind still trying to process what had just happened. Sitting in the snow, she looked up to the mysterious skeleton.
Sans shrugged and closed an eye socket. "neither have i, but i'm pretty sure you're not supposed to use your butt."
Shooting him a glare, the little girl stood back on her wobbly legs and faced him. "That was j-just an accident." She defended.
"was it... a small slip-up?'" Sans smirked.
"No! ...yes?" Fearia's brows creased slightly. "J-just be quiet." She demanded tiredly. She was having a real hard time concentrating right now and he wasn't helping. Frowning she gave the skeleton a curious look as she studied him. "How d-did you do that?" She asked. "You did that before t-too, right? At the bridge. How are you doing it?"
"it's a secret." Sans replied simply, eye socket closed and grin wider than usual. "i don't think a human like you would understand."
Scowling, Fearia turned away from him in a huff. "Fine! keep your secrets!" She said that, but there was literally no way she would be dropping this. She'd figure out his dumb secret. Later... For now she just needed to get past this stupid slippery puzzle.
Five minutes later and Sans had had enough of watching the tiny human slide around on the ice, getting nowhere. She hadn't slid towards the edge again but she also hadn't made any real progress either, and with every new try, she seemed to be getting even more clumsy.
Sliding back towards Sans, Fearia hit the snowbank and took another faceplant into the soft snow. That had been the second time that that had happened and her already tattered clothing was now wet and clinging to her here and there. Hearing the crunch of footsteps walking up to her, she looked up from the snow to see Sans. His ever-present grin looked slightly tired as he held out a bony hand.
"alright, kid, that's enough." Sans said. He'd noticed something and he wasn't sure what it meant but it probably wasn't a good thing. The little girl's skin had lost a lot of color and he had a feeling that that wasn't what a healthy human should look like. "we need to go."
"I can do it... I c-can."Fearia insisted as she pushed herself from the snow. When did it get so hard to move? "Five more minutes?"
Staring down at the stubborn human, Sans was reminded yet again that this wasn't just a human, this was a child. A child just like any other monster child who didn't know what was good for them or when to call it quits. The only difference was, this kid didn't have anyone to protect her from her own foolishness. If what that faun had said was true, and it probably was, then he needed to get this kid out of the cold as soon as possible.
"how bout this," Sans started. He couldn't believe he had to try to convince a human to do what was best for themselves. It seemed rather counter productive in the grand scheme of things, but... a promise was a promise. Luckily for him, he knew all the tricks after raising Papyrus from a little baby bones. Actually... those same tricks still worked on him sometimes... Either way. "let's get out of this snow for awhile and get warmed up. we can stop by this great place i know and grab a nice hot meal. after that, if you still want to come back and finish this puzzle, i can bring you back here. how's that sound, kid?"
Fearia stared at the skeleton in a brand new light as a shaky smile appeared on her face. Did he just offer free food? A hot meal and some place to warm up? The little girl felt her empty stomach growl quietly, trying to accept this guy's offer before her pride could stupidly reject it. Her stomach won.
Taking the generous skeleton's bony hand, Fearia beamed up at him. "That sounds good."
Sans held back a chuckle at the tiny human's expense. She really was just like a little puppy after all. Offering her free food and a warm place to stay was really all it took to change her mind. Resisting the strong urge to use his preferred nickname for the child, Sans simply nodded and smiled. "i hope you like greasy food."
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mmm, free food. :)
...
In the next chapter, Sans discovers just how fragile human children really are.
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Thanks for reading!
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Sheii Bae~
