Chapter XI
Hold on
Waterfall: a big wet place full of tunnels. Not especially the most attractive region of the Underground, and definitely not the safest either. The description they had from Grillby was everything but helping finding the blue landscape beautiful, even though it was. They had been walking for hours now, avoiding every monster who could have crossed their path, but they were still far from being out of the area. And, just like a ghost, she appeared. On the top of a peak she stood, looking at them with great hate. No, looking at him. And then: everything went very fast.
Sans told Papyrus to hide, as she thought he had abducted the little skeleton, and he tried not to panic. They had managed a royal guard once — No, Myriad had. Not them, not him. And she had died in the process! What could he do?
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I'm screwed.
Definitely.
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But… He could not give up. Not like this! Not when Papyrus was counting on him! So, he prepared to fight. To face what was coming for him. Who was coming for him. And he would not give up!
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He realized his mistake too late.
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oOo
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He was exhausted. Dodging every single attack was becoming impossible, but going on the offensive wasn't an option: he was stuck.
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'Look, I gave you a spear so this could be a fair fight: but you're not even FIGHTING! Just. Stop. DODGING.'
'And stand here… huff... to take the hit? Thanks, but no thanks!'
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Provoking her might not have been the best idea, but he was just hoping that, by doing so, she would forget about Papyrus. Which worked… A bit too well. And by a bit too well, he meant way too well: she wasn't thinking about the little skeleton anymore at all. No, she was thinking about beating the crap out of him. Which already was what she had been trying to do for the past fifteen minutes, but now it was in a worse way.
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'JUST DIE ALREADY!'
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I'm offishially dead.
Heh…
It's been a long time.
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Oh wait…
I'll regret it.
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'Y'know what? Maybe, we cod be friends! I'm sure it would be fintastic!'
'I'll NEVER take mercy from a human!'
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He didn't see her attack coming.
Sans barely dodged it, stepping back at the last moment to avoid a spear which would have taken his life. But he already was on the edge of a cliff: the young boy didn't realize he was falling, all he knew was that it hurt.
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oOo
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His fall eventually stopped on a ledge. His whole body was burning in pain; any movement was impossible. But she came after him. He tried to look at her: all he saw was fuzzy. He tried to listen to her: all he heard was fuzzy. He tried to think about an escape: all his thoughts were fuzzy. But one was not. One essential thought:
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I'm gonna die.
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'Please stop!' a child's voice shouted. 'Don't hurt him!'
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Paps…
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'Humans are dangerous! I'm protecting everyone by taking his life.'
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He knew she was going to stab him: he could feel it. But it never happened.
All of a sudden, Papyrus slid along the cliff to the ledge and got between them. Surprised, she broke off with her spear less than four inches away from the young skeleton's chest and stepped back. And she fell. Sans thought he heard her falling in the water below, but he wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was that he was dying. His body was covered with wounds and blood, each breath was like a stab, and his life was slowly slipping away from him. His right eye was blind since her spear had almost sliced it, and so would be his other eye when unconsciousness would take him. And then, it would all be over.
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I'm sorry, Paps…
I couldn't keep that promise…
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And his vision faded to darkness.
However, a crying voice echoed in his mind before he closed his eyes:
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'Hold on, Sans. I'll… I'll fix your soul. Just… Hold on, please.'