:):

Thank you for all of the awesome reviews!

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I hope the title of this chapter delivers! :)

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The Pit of Doom

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Sticking close to the shining human, Sans followed Frisk into a new area. This room, just like the other, was crumbling in places and there were more vines this time. Staying near the center, the two avoided the numerous pitfalls that had become congested with the deadly plants.

Thankfully that last room hadn't posed any real challenge, and neither did the one beyond it, which was simply a long hallway scattered with smaller vines. So far so good. It seemed like things were starting to go their way for once. Unfortunately, after exiting yet another area devoid of difficulties, it appeared like their luck had finally run out.

Silently, the two stared out at the dark expanse of apparent nothingness. This room was large and it appeared like most of the floor had already collapsed leaving only a thin, questionably stable pathway that winded meanderingly to the opposite side of the area. Peering down, they found at least a three story drop. The ground below was padded with more of those red leaves, however, the rubble that had fallen from overhead completely destroyed the possibility of a soft landing.

As if to make everything exponentially worse, this room was cluttered with vines. They were creeping up the walls and some of them were even hanging from the ceiling. The majority, though, had amassed down in the pit amongst the leaves and debris.

Wonderful... Sans thought sarcastically. If they took one wrong step anywhere up here, then they'd end up down there in that mess. He didn't have to be a pessimist to know how that'd turn out. If they weren't careful, this could easily be game over for them.

Holding the Sunstone to her chest in worry, Frisk was thinking the same exact thing as she stared down at the death trap below. Those vines hadn't been there before, but it had always been dangerous. The fall alone was usually damaging enough to force her to rewind time. But she didn't want to do that. Not now. Not after everything that's happened today. She just couldn't bare it! And giving up wasn't an option either. Fearia's life depended on their success. For her little sister's sake, they just had to get past this somehow.

They were almost there...

Gazing over at the brooding skeleton, Frisk gave him a look of subtle determination before timidly holding her hand out. She hoped this didn't come off as weird, but she wanted him to stay close to her. It was safer that way, especially with all of those vines.

Looking down at the offered hand, Sans raised an eyebrow bone before grinning in dark humor. "are you sure? y'know, if something were to happen out there, we might end up dragging each other down this way." he warned as he slowly removed his hand from his pocket.

Ignoring the skeleton's cynical outlook, Frisk reached over and carefully took his hand. *It's safer together.* She explained silently as she gave her friend a small smile.

"heh, if you say so." Sans replied, shrugging slightly. "but if i fall, just make sure to drop my boney ass before i take you down with me, alright?" He was really only half joking. Feeling her grip tighten, though, it was obvious that she didn't agree.

Stepping out onto the crumbling ledge, Frisk felt herself start to sweat as she forced herself not to look down. Keeping the runestone close to her chest, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she led the way. Staying as far away from the edge as she could, the mute girl pressed her back to the stone wall as she made room for her friend to join her.

Smile lessened considerably, Sans kept hold of the human's hand as he followed her onto the unstable ledge. Honestly, he didn't like the idea of her going first like this, but he had to admit it made the most sense. She had the dumb stone after all, not to mention she was notably lighter than he was. If there was a weak spot up ahead, she'd find it before he did and that could prevent an accident before it happened. Still... he couldn't seem to shake this bad feeling he had.

Coming to the nearest corner of the room, Frisk paused for a moment as she looked out at the suspended portion of floor ahead of them. Being on a ledge was one thing, but there would soon be nothing for them to brace themselves against. This was it. There would be no turning back once they started crossing.

Turning her head, she glanced up at her friend with poorly concealed apprehension. She'd done this by herself countless times, but she'd never had to go in the opposite direct before and never with anyone else. This was surprisingly more nerve-racking than usual. If she messed up and took a wrong step anywhere up here, she wouldn't be the only one hurt this time. Sans could get hurt... or worse. That thought alone was enough to make her hesitate.

Noticing the mute girl's worried expression, Sans gave her a reassuring smile. "don't worry, if it hasn't fallen yet, chances are it's probably pretty stable." Unfortunately, that was pure conjecture on his part. He didn't really know how stable that pathway was, but he did know, that if they didn't keep going, they were never going to get anywhere. They had no choice but to take their chances. "just go slowly and try not to look down."

Nodding, Frisk drew in a breath and placed her foot down on the thin portion of suspended stone. A few tiny pebbles cracked from the sides, but for the most part, it stayed strong beneath her weight. Releasing a shaky breath, she secured her hold on her friend's skeletal hand before taking another step, and then another.

Keeping a steady pace, the two safely made it to the other side of the room. Leaning their backs against the stone wall next to a forgotten plaque, they silently looked over the empty space to the solid ground on the far side near the exit. They were half way there now, all they had to do was cross two more bridges and they'd be out of this damn room.

With a bit more confidence this time, Frisk gave her friend a small nod indicating that she was ready when he was. Silently returning the gesture, Sans allowed the mute girl to lead them out onto the second narrow pathway. This one was notably less stable than the first as there were cracks visibly apparent in the stone. Pausing a few times to test a certain area before they put their full weight down, the duo finally made it back to the other side of the room.

Leaning against the far wall once more, Sans let out a nearly inaudible breath as his eye lights stared down the homestretch of this obstacle course of death. They were almost there. Unfortunately, he could see an obvious problem waiting for them right smack dab in the middle of the last land bridge.

Hanging down from the ceiling, a large blackened vine had lazily coiled itself around the narrow stone path, very much like a snake would. This wasn't the first vine they'd come across. There had been others, smaller ones that had been dangling above their heads or creeping up the sides of the walls, but they had all been easily dissuaded by the light. This one, though... was much larger.

He didn't doubt that Frisk could move it, no, that wasn't what concerned him. What really worried him was the damage it might cause when it finally decided to move. The bridge might be broken in the process... If that happened, then he would have to think of something fast.

Standing beside her friend, Frisk had more or less the same concerns as she stared at the obnoxious obstacle. The location of that vine couldn't be any more precarious. She was going to have to be extremely delicate with the removal process. If she tried to move it too fast by making the stone too bright, she might end up accidentally startling it. That could be dangerous. With the very real threat of redoing the entire day hanging over her head, she knew she had to get this right the first time.

As the mute girl stepped out onto the last bridge, Sans felt his sense of unease grow a little as he followed. Maybe it was just him, but he just couldn't seem to shake this foreboding feeling he had - like something was about to go very wrong.

Stopping a few feet from the nearest coil, Frisk took a moment to assess how much magic would be needed to convince the vine to leave. Extending her hand, she held the Sunstone out and began to very slowly channel her magic into it. The sharp crystalline thorns glimmered in the soft glow as the large coil twitched under the slight irritation of the light. Pooling more magic into the flat stone, Frisk gave the stubborn vine a bit more incentive.

Unable to withstand the annoyance any longer, the large blackened tendril slowly began to uncoil from around the narrow portion of stone. The path crumbled slightly as the weight of the vine gradually lifted. Fortunately, the suspended pathway remained relatively stable as the plant released its stranglehold on the bridge.

With the vine still looming ominously overhead, Frisk tightened her grip on her friend's hand as she inched a bit closer in order to give it further encouragement. Convulsing in agitation, the blackened tendril finally began retracting itself back up into the ceiling. Watching it go, the mute girl released a slow, shaky breath as she unconsciously dimmed her stone. Everything seemed to be going smoothly so far. Drawing her eyes from the disappearing vine, she looked at the empty path. It was a clear shot to the exit now. It looks like they could finally lea-

Crack!

Looking up in alarm, both the monster and the human felt a stab of dread pierce straight through them.

Before Frisk even realized what was happening, she felt herself being pulled back just as a large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down in front of her. In an instant, the majority of the bridge was taken out. Bracing herself against her friend, the startled human paled as a strong gust of wind threatened to knock them off of the remainder of the narrow stone path.

Hitting the floor below with such force, the heavy debris caused the entire room to shake, further destabilizing the stone beneath their feet. Cursing, Sans tried to back off of the suspended portion of rock as quickly as he could. He only got a couple of feet, however, before the rock beneath the teenaged girl crumbled.

Gasping, Frisk felt gravity take ahold of her for a second before the hand that she was attached to pulled back. Feet dangling in the air above the pit of death, the frightened human felt her heart hammer in her chest as she slowly lowered her gaze. Her hazel eyes widened in horror as she beheld the writhing mass of vines directly below her.

"don't look down." Sans ordered as he tightened his grip on the human's hand. "just keep your eyes on me, sweetheart. you're gonna be fine."

Forcing herself to look back up at her friend, Frisk tried hard to stay calm as she attempted to focus solely on him.

Crouching down on his patella's, Sans gripped the side of the stone bridge with one hand as he held tightly to the human with the other. Wincing, he tried to ignore the pain radiating from his broken clavicle. This was really freakin' bad! He just knew something like this was going to happen. He could just feel it! They needed to teleport. Right. Now.

Lifting his gaze, the skeleton took a quick glance over to the exit. What he saw, was discouraging to say the least. As if sensing the disturbance, more vines had begun creeping into the area and were now feeling around the ground where the other side of the bridge had been.

"damnit..." Sans cursed under his nonexistent breath as he looked back to the human. She stared up at him helplessly as the Sunstone that she still held tightly in her other hand flared erratically. At least she hadn't dropped it. Yet. He'd better hurry before the last vestiges of their luck truly ran out. "make that thing as bright as you can, darlin'. i'm gonna teleport us."

Nodding stiffly, Frisk raised her other hand and placed the stone to her chest. Trying her damnedest to concentrate under these conditions, she began to channel her magic as steadily as she could. As if in time with her heartbeats, the Sunstone pulsed rapidly as the light grew brighter and brighter.

Even though the light wasn't entirely consistent, Sans knew that this was no time to be picky. As soon as that rock was at lethal levels to the vines, he was gonna roll the dice and hope they somehow made it out of here alive. Unfortunately, before he even had that chance, the unexpected happened.

Catching him very much by surprise, the remainder of the damaged bridge beneath the crouching skeleton suddenly gave way. Feeling the incorporeal hands of gravity latch onto him this time, Sans barely had enough sense of mind to grab the side of the rocky ledge. Eye lights completely out, he was only vaguely aware of the pain shooting through his humerus and up into his scapula. It was only when he felt his jacket pull against his cervical spine, did he finally regain some sense of himself.

Looking down, the skeleton's eye sockets widened when he saw the scared girl hanging onto the end of his jacket sleeve. Had he lost his grip on her? How? The answer came quickly when he tried to move his arm. He couldn't. Somehow he had lost any and all motor control in that limb - it was just dangling there uselessly.

Oh hell, Sans thought as he stared down at her. She wasn't physically attached to him anymore. He couldn't teleport her. With his arm like this, he couldn't reach out to grab her either. Hearing the ripping of fabric, Sans knew that they were nearly out of time.

"frisk, grab onto my hand." Sans urged as he watched the dangling human. "hurry!"

Lifting her gaze from the death pit below, Frisk slowly frowned as she looked up to her friend. Feeling the sleeve of his jacket begin to tear, she knew it was too late. If she had to redo this whole day over again then so be it, but she wasn't about to drag him down with her. That was something she would never allow. With a sad smile, Frisk silently apologized before releasing her hold on his sleeve.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Sans' metaphorical heart dropped into his metaphorical stomach. Eye lights going dark, he watched numbly as the mute girl fell.

no...

Without any form of conscious thought, Sans let go of the side of the ledge and dove after her. Not quite aware of what he was doing, the skeleton's focus was solely on one thing. Saving the falling human.

Gravity was, for once, on his side as his lack of wind resistance and slightly heavier weight accelerated his fall. Catching up to the girl once they were about two stories down, Sans reached out and quickly wrapped his good arm around her waist. Pulling her close, he teleported them seconds before impact.

Reappearing a few feet above the floor near the exit, the two fell hard onto solid ground. Plumes of smoldering dust particles exploded into the air as the vines unfortunate enough to be in their vicinity were instantly incinerated by the light of the Sunstone. Seconds ticked by in silence as the dust lazily settled down around them.

Laying there momentarily stunned by the pain in his shoulder, Sans was only vaguely aware that his skull was resting on something soft and warm as he unconsciously listened to an odd erratic thumping noise. As if for its own dark amusement, his mind kept replaying those last few moments over and over again for him to re-watch. Maybe it was just trying to pinpoint the exact moment when he'd lost his damn mind. Sure he acted impulsively on occasion, but that was just crazy. Even for him.

Still...

The skeleton's mind was effectively distracted when he felt something light slide over his uninjured shoulder. For a fraction of a second, his metaphorical skin began to crawl before a warm hand pressed softly against the side of his smooth parietal bone. More than a little surprised by this, he froze for a moment before lifting his skull ever so slightly to peer up at the silent human. Honestly, he hadn't been entirely aware that he was laying on top of her.

Staring back at him awkwardly, Frisk looked rightfully shell shocked by the whole thing. Seeing her face, though, and knowing that she hadn't dusted... the relief that he felt was indescribable.

Even so... he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit irritated with her, too.

Carefully releasing his hold from around her waist, Sans placed his good hand to the stone floor and slowly lifted his aching body. Pulling a patella underneath him, he crouched unsteadily above the human. "what were you thinking, letting go like that?" he frowned, finally venting his frustrations.

Staring up at her friend, Frisk was struck by just how upset he looked. Upset and worried. She must have really scared him by what she had done. Feeling instantly regretful, the teenager silently lifted her free hand and carefully placed it to the side of his skull. She'd been so focused on his safety, that she hadn't even considered that he could be hurt in a different way. The guilt that she was feeling was undeniable, but at the very same time, she was so incredibly grateful for his actions.

Seeing a stray tear leak from the remorseful girl's eye, Sans felt his temper waver under her soft touch. He didn't know what he had been expecting, really. An argument? Maybe an apology? Whatever it was, this wasn't it. From her expression, though, it was clear that she felt bad. And now, for some strange reason, he felt bad too.

With a barely audible groan, Sans pulled away from the human and sat back on his patella's. Watching her as she propped herself up onto her elbows, he gave the girl a rather lackluster smile before holding his hand out. "here." he offered.

Accepting his help easily, Frisk placed her hand in his and allowed herself to be pulled up into a sitting position. Once there, though, she was slightly surprised when he didn't release her hand as expected. A little confused by this, Frisk lifted her gaze to give him a questioning look. The skeleton's eye lights stared back at her for a brief moment before drifting off to the side.

"next time... no matter what happens," Sans started quietly as his eye lights were drawn back to her face. "how about putting a bit more trust in me. alright, darlin'?"

Nodding, Frisk felt her eyes begin to tear up slightly as she silently agreed to his request. Then, without giving her friend time to draw away again, she reached out and gently wrapped her arms around the skeleton's cervical spine, pulling him down into an unexpected hug. If she could speak, she would have thanked him a million times by now.

Feeling his body tense up in surprise, Sans was momentarily lost for words as the mute girl held him close. Eye lights staring down at her awkwardly, he didn't quite know what he was supposed to do. It was only when he began to feel her shuttering breaths, though, did he finally understand.

With a quiet sigh, Sans allowed his bones to relax a little as he slumped in her arms. She must have been so scared and all he had done so far was chastise her. Why? Why hadn't he taken her feelings into account? He should have seen how upset she was... Once again feeling like total garbage, the regretful skeleton lifted his good hand and placed it gently to the trembling human's back.

He really was such a bonehead...

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so. much. dramaaaa.

It's difficult to write lol

(Author's note: Due to her inability to communicate verbally, Frisk will often try to communicate physically. - i.e. face touching.)

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In the next chapter, Frisk is determined to help heal her new friend, but Sans insists on being a stubborn patient.

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