:):

This story's about to start getting kinda emotional, I hope you're all ready for it.

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Flicker

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Still holding the child's hand, Sans led them straight down the center of the puzzle, summoning enough bones to form a stable non-slippery extension bridge over the ice. Once on the other side, he was quickly and harshly called out on his cheating. Grin still in place, Sans was just surprised the kid didn't seem alarmed at his blatant use of magic.

The last area of the Snowdin wilderness, was a wide open tundra-like area covered in deep snow and filled with Snow Poffs. The harsh winds whipping over the landscape easily made this the coldest place before town. Fearia hadn't even made it a quarter of the way before she had to stop, the waist deep snow proving too difficult for her to traverse.

Seeing the sorry state of the child, Sans did something he never in his life thought he'd do. Taking off his warm winter jacket, he knelt down in front of the little girl and draped it over her shoulders, he then turned and gestured to his back. "get on kid, you're so tiny this place'll swallow you up."

Poking her small arms through the poofy sleeves, Fearia frowned slightly. "mmnot tiny..." she grumbled quietly but nonetheless numbly clambered onto the skeleton's offered back. He had a shirt on, but even so, he was still notably bony. Right now however, the little girl couldn't care less because at least now she was out of the snow. Wrapping her arms around his cervical spine, she clung to him as tightly as she could.

Sans said nothing more as he gripped the tiny human under her legs to keep her from slipping, then proceeded through the wintery terrain. A few times he had considered just teleporting them into town, but each time he rejected the idea. He didn't know what a burst of magic and a disorientating trans-spatial trip would do to an already weakened human. Besides, they were almost there.

Just a short ten minute long trudge through shinbone high snow and Sans was finally nearing the long, questionably stable, extension bridge connecting the Snowdin wilderness to the small town of Snowdin. Home sweet home.

The kid had been unusually quiet the whole way there. Sans would have easily welcomed the silence over her pestering questions and childish ridicule that he had come to expect from the tiny human, but now he just felt worried. Earlier he had seen her shaking, and she had been rubbing her arms and blowing steam into her hands. It didn't take a scientist to understand that this was probably what humans did to keep themselves warm. It was only when she had gotten wet that those actions seemed to taper off.

Not once since she had climbed onto his back did he feel her shiver. Was that because she was finally warming up? Judging by the fact that she now felt like an icy weight on his back, Sans came to a more grim conclusion. Her body had probably just given up on trying to get warm and was now shutting down. His usual grin becoming lackluster, Sans clearly understood the urgency. The kid's situation was getting more dire by the second. He had to hurry.

"Bwooff!"

Standing between the skeleton and the extension bridge was the Greater Dog. The strongest and most impressive out of all the Royal Guard Dog squad. His shiny armor loomed over Sans, as extended spear barred passage.

"hey, buddy." Sans greeted the massive armored dog. "mind letting me through?"

"Bwooff, Bwooff!" The Greater Dog panted happily, recognizing his friend. He then, as Sans had worried, started sniffing the air, catching a whiff of something unusual.

Closing an eye socket, Sans snapped his phalanges and a large bone appeared before him. Seeing this, the dog gave a quick bark and panted excitedly, his armor shaking as it tried its hardest to contain the wiggling monster.

"you want it?" Sans teased as his left eye started to glow with blue light. Wrapping his magic around the bone, he waved it back and forth, getting the dog monster more and more excited. With one quick motion, he sent the bone flying as far as he could send it. "go get it!"

Unable to contain the beast, the armor clattered to the snow as a white dog leapt from his metal casing and gave chase, barking happily. The head of the Royal Guard Dog unit thoroughly dealt with, Sans resituated the small child and proceeded to the bridge.

...

Tightening some ropes and fastening some cables in place, Papyrus finished up his new and most deadly trap yet. It had to be, after all, this was the final location between here and town. He had no idea trying to capture a human would be so much fun! Would they like his new trap? Would they be both impressed and struck with fear by its bold and dastardly design? He hoped so.

Spotting someone at the other end of the bridge, Papyrus let out a quick illogical gasp before scrambling to the opposite side and striking an impressive pose. Hands on his hips, he began the new speech he'd prepared for this very moment.

"HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DEADLY CHALLENGE!" Grinning widely, he puffed out his white breastplate. "BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY... ... ... Sans!?" His well rehearsed speech completely derailed as he squinted at his big brother. So that's where he was. He'd been wondering. "Where's The Human?"

"right here." Sans answered simply as he continued carefully across the narrow bridge.

"What Do You Mean?" Papyrus asked in confusion. "I Don't See The Human."

"we've got a bit of a problem, paps." Sans said as he walked past his little brother, not stopping to explain. "the kid's not feeling too good right now. we need to get her warmed up and fast."

Sans was legitimately concerned now. He'd been routinely checking up on the child every minute or so to hear how she was doing, but a little while ago she had just stopped replying. He couldn't get her to say anything. Not only that, but her grip had loosened considerably to the point where he had to hunch over to keep her from falling off his back.

Setting his disappointment aside, Papyrus followed after his brother. Curious black eye sockets stared down at the small lump on his back, hidden almost entirely beneath his pale blue jacket. "Why Does The Human Need To Be Warmed Up?"

Not at all bothered by the innocent question, Sans gave his brother the same explanation that the faun monster had given him earlier. "it's dangerous for fleshy creatures to get too cold. i think she was out in the snow for too long."

"I Had No Idea Humans Were So Fragile!" Papyrus exclaimed, absorbing this new information. His brother knew so many things!

"you and me both, bro." Sans replied as they walked past the Snowdin Shop and Inn. Unbeknownst to either skeleton, they were also walking past a glowing star that could have easily helped the small human. If only they could have seen it. Alas, the magical stars were hidden from monster eyes.

"How Are We Going To Get The Human Warmed Up?" Papyrus asked loudly.

Sans winced as he saw a couple Snowdin rabbits look over to them curiously. "pap, maybe it's best not to say the "h" word in town. for now at least." He warned his over-exuberant brother. "and i have a plan. we need to be sneaky about it though."

"OH!" Papyrus exclaimed before lowering his loud voice as much as he possibly could. "Right." Squinting his eye sockets, he looked at the Snowdin residents suspiciously, in turn making himself, and his brother by association, look even more suspicious.

Sans gave a tired sigh as he led his brother behind Grillby's. The small diner was bustling as usual as the smell of good food and the sounds of jovial laughter wafted from the occasionally opened front door. He would have loved to just have a normal day right about now. He'd be sitting in his usual spot with a bottle of ketchup and everything would be fine. Thanks a lot, old lady... He silently cursed the Ruins Keeper once more as he tilted his skull to look back at the small child. He felt the cold lump of responsibility weigh heavily on his back. Well, as heavy as a tiny half frozen human child could be. Which wasn't much.

"What are we doing back here?" Papyrus asked, feeling slightly out of place. He'd never been back here before. Were they even allowed back here?

"paps, i need you to take the human for a moment." Sans said as he carefully slid the small child off his back and into his arms. Truthfully, he didn't even want to look at her but he forced himself to look anyway. As he expected, she looked bad. Her complexion had paled even further and her lips had an unhealthy bluish tint. He didn't need to know what that meant to know that it meant something bad.

"Is the human sleeping?" Papyrus asked as the tiny child was transferred into his arms. He gently cradled the small bundle of human and jacket, as he stared down at the still form in confusion. Were they about to turn to dust? The only noise coming from the human was quiet raspy breathing. "Sans?" He asked again, feeling a growing unease build inside his bones. A closing door was his only reply as he was left outside behind the diner.

The uncomfortable silence only lasted a few minutes before the door opened again producing both his brother and a more or less agitated fire elemental. Crossing his arms over his sharply dressed chest, the bartender crackled in question once Sans brought him over to his brother.

"i know you're busy," Sans replied to the crackle. "but this is important. don't mean to sound dramatic but it's an actual matter of life or death." With visible relief, Papyrus relinquished the small human back to his brother's beckoning hands. Holding back a wince, Sans carefully held the child then turned back to the fire element. He didn't know if this would work but it was the kid's best chance, he just hoped his friend would be as understanding.

Upon seeing the human bundled in the smaller skeleton's arms, the bartender flickered in shock.

"i know it's a human, i know." Sans said, trying to placate the quickly flaring fire element. "but she's just a baby-bones and she's freezing to dust."

Grillby fizzled slightly as he peered down at the child once more. Flames slowly dimming, the bartender uncrossed his arms, his shoulders drooping slightly. Underneath all of his fiery bravado, he was a real softy at heart and the damn skeleton knew it. Dimming even more, until he was a safe temperature, the fire element held out his arms in acceptance.

Grin widening, Sans thankfully transferred the tiny human to the bartender's waiting arms. He hadn't been certain that his friend would agree but he had a pretty good hunch. For a favor this big, he'd actually have to pay his tab. Maybe...

Grillby held the cold child close, warming her with the gentle heat that comprised his entire being. He then gave the skeletons a pointed look, demanding a good explanation. Humans were supposed to be captured on sight and taken directly to Asgore, not coddled like a fledgling ember. Though, he'd willingly admit he'd never seen a human so small and defenseless before. Not ever. Could he truthfully say that he would have acted any differently?

"i found her outside of the ruins door." Sans explained. "kid looked like she had been toasted on her way out. no offense." He smirked at his friend.

Grillby flickered slightly in response before looking down at the tiny bundle. From what little he could see, her auburn hair did look a little frizzled and burnt here and there. Who would attack something so small and obviously weak?

"She Came From The Ruins?" Papyrus asked baffled. "How Did She Get Past My Bridge Gate?"

"uh..." Sans closed an eye socket at the memory. "with great difficulty?"

"As Expected!" The taller skeleton replied moodily. "But It Appears I Will Still Need To Reinforce It!"

Smirking at his brother, Sans shrugged slightly. "you do that, bro" He wasn't going tell him that the kid hadn't even crossed the bridge, though it wouldn't have made much of a difference either way. Catching a soft crackle, Sans chuckled quietly. "you wouldn't believe it, kid has a way with dogs."

Papyrus looked offended by the very thought. "How Unpleasant. I Don't Understand What The Human Sees In Them!"

Fearia unconsciously cringed at the loud noise and turned away, trying to snuggle deeper into the much needed heat source. Wrapping her small hand into silky fabric, she tugged not only the kind bartender's vest but everyone's attention to her as well.

Silence fell over the group as the fire elemental peered down at the tiny human. After a moment had passed and no further movement occurred, he very carefully turned the child in order to check on her condition. The little girl's round cheeks now had a touch of color to them and she had started to shiver in his arms. Was this good or bad? Looking over to his friend, he flickered nervously in question.

Sans, who had already come over without need of being asked, smiled fondly at the tiny human before sighing as relief washed over him. "well, look at that." The shorter skeleton marveled before grinning up to his fiery friend. "grillbz, you're a bona fide life saver. i think she's gonna be okay."

"Oh, Thank Goodness!" Papyrus exclaimed, his trepidation subsiding. This had all been a bit much for him to take. He didn't know why, but the thought of the small human potentially turning to dust really bothered him for some reason. Sure, he had wanted to capture them at first, but then he found out that they were actually really nice, for a human at least. Seeing them so unwell didn't sit right with him.

Flickering softly, Grillby gave the sleeping child a small smile of his own as he resituated her back into a more comfortable position. Cradling the tiny human protectively, he gave both skeletons a pointed question in the form of a quick crackle. They'd better have a good answer.

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I like to think that Grillby has a kind parental side to him. :)

(I mean, shouldn't he?)

...

In the next chapter, Sans and Papyrus acquire a new pint-sized houseguest.

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Thanks for reading!

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Sheii Bae~