Chapter 8: Suspicions and Caution

Sans watched the older human as she reached behind her for something. Is she going to kill him? He couldn't exactly win against her with her kind of STATs. He waited for the worst. He blinked. He didn't exactly expect her to freeze up. He looked into her eyes and leaned back in surprise. He had seen the kid touch the SAVE point before, but their eyes never glowed completely white. That or their eyes were shut when they do it. He watched as he waved his hand in front of her face for a reaction. Nothing. Might as well make a call while they're conked out, he pulled out his phone to call Alphys.

"H-hello, Sans, is that, uh, is that you?"

"yeah, I need a favor. i'm sure you noticed that another human fell."

"I-I did! Are y-you alright?! I saw what-what happened!"

Sans took a moment to wiggle his phalanges on the hand this human had griped. Just their grip alone almost killed him. His HP fell to a quarter when they had finally let go. It was controlled kind of strength. He is going to need to eat some of his wares to recover.

"i'll be alright. it seems this human is looking for the kid. said they were hers. look, before we continue this chitchat, I need you to look up all we have on souls."

Sans glanced at the human to see if they were waking anytime soon. The glow in their eyes is dimming quickly.

"O-okay, I-I can do that."

"thanks"

Sans quickly ended the call and stuffed the device into his pocket. The human blinked before their yellow gray eyes focused on him. They raised an eyebrow. He just leaned back again on his slippers, glancing around. He looked back to them as he noticed movement. She pulled out a glass bottle. The bell on her wrist chimed. She reached it towards him. He raised his brow ridge, growing anxious. Had she heard his conversation? He glanced at her face. The bland look she gave him was proof enough. He shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

"you know it's rude to listen in on people's conversations."

"And I'm trying to apologize for hurting you without meaning to. I learned that food and drinks down here have healing properties. Besides, you are quite literally in front of me. It's kind of hard not to listen to you."

He glanced at her. She didn't mean to? She appearently saw the look he had in his eye sockets and sighed. She pulled back her hand to rest it on top of the bag.

"No, I didn't mean to hurt you. I only wanted to get my point across."

"alright then, so what was that all about?"

He accepted the bottle of water. She gave him a puzzle look. He took a discrete sniff through his nasal cavity before taking a swig. His health restored. He gave the empty bottle back.

"you froze, and your eyes were glowing white."

Her face cleared as she put her bottle away. She shrugged in return and started to walk. He followed behind a bit after. The SAVE point was gone. A shiver rattled his spine as he watched the human up head check the fishing spot with the lone fishing pole. She encountered Snowdrake. Sans watched in tense silence as she BATTLEd the other comedian. He winced when he saw her SOUL again. What could have happened for it to be banged up that bad?

Something changed. A bit ago, the human had shifted in a stance of some sort, dodging the projectiles skillfully. Now, she dropped that stance and just stood there, stepping to avoid the bird monster's attack. During their fight, she never dropped that stance until the fight was completely over. Sans shifted to get a better look. Sans couldn't breathe, not that he had the lungs for it. The red essence that dripped from her SOUL had turned aqua, a trait for PATIENCE. She smiled softly and giggled. Snowdrake seemed happy and left.

Relief drained his bones that the human didn't kill the other comedian. He studied her SOUL as it flouted back into its host. Its color returned to normal. The dripping essence changed a total of three colors by his count. Does she know that this happens? Was this a human thing? The kid's SOUL was fine though.

She came back with her arms surrounding her. A faint shiver was barely visible. She smiled weakly when she spotted him. He furrowed his brow bones. It doesn't seem like she is aware it happens or she knows it to be natural.

"Before I explain to the best of my ability, my name is Kia."

Sans blinked. Kia waved awkwardly before rubbing the back of her neck. She sighed, the puff of heated air evaporating into the air. Sans stared back into her eyes. It was like being under a microscope, being observed by her eyes. They softened. This human is complicated.

"It's sort of like a vision. As soon as I touch an orb of light that seems to be everywhere so far, my eyesight becomes overcome by white. Don't really know how I could tell, but when I look up at the ceiling, a large dollop of something a pearlier white falls towards me before disappearing into me. It leaves me feeling more alive than before."

Sans stopped. Kia stopped too in confusion. The implications and possibilities of what she just said could complicate everything he knew about humans. What she said and the disappearance of the SAVE point, it could be that she is absorbing magic. The Underground or the Barrier's magic, Sans wasn't sure, and from the way she described it, she didn't even know what she was doing. This could affect the entire Underground.

Kia's face became resigned and sad, like she realized what she was doing was wrong. She shivered more and tightened the hold on herself. She looked off to the side. She saw the cardboard station Papyrus crafted. She walked up to the note pasted to the front.

'YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER, I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN (NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GAURDSMAN.)'

She smiled gently. Sans watched as she glanced over the crude structure with (fond?) amusement. She reached to touch it, but she stopped and pulled back her hand. She seemed to wilt. Sans hadn't even noticed they had come this far.

"Hey, could you tell me how they are doing."

Sans barely heard her as she whispered. Sans wanted to smack himself. Right, she heard the entire conversation on his side of the phone. Playing dumb won't do any good.

"last I saw them, they were doing fine. with the pace they were going, they should being nearing Snowdin. It's the town here in this area."

"Okay"

Sans shifted, uncomfortable. Why isn't she questioning him? She was so adamant earlier about finding and protecting her kid. What is she thinking? Sans just couldn't understand.

He heard her take a deep shaky breath. When she turned, Sans had a moment of actually seeing how worn she really is. She was about as white as the snow with bruises similar to his own under her eyes. She was visibly shivering now, and she held herself tighter for warmth. The light cloth jacket she had on not doing much in terms of insulating the body heat much. Looking at her taut hands, one looks like it had a thin stretch of gray skin covering the bones instead of the muscle that function it between them.

She ignored Ice Cap and walked away from the ice monster's BATTLE. The most powerful human to ever fall into the Underground ignored the FIGHT button. If she is usually like this, then how did she rack up that much LEVEL OF VOILENCE? Is it actually an act? Who is she?

"If you have something to ask me, just ask me. Staring isn't going to pry answers from my mind."

"alright, how did you end up down here? you know of the other human's disappearances, so why did you guys climb up the mountain?"

She stiffened. She didn't look at him as she walked on ahead.

"i wouldn't walk further unless you want to be attacked by a member of the royal guard. the only why i can help you is if you help me understand what you want."

She stopped but didn't turn around.

"I want to find my child."

Sans could have rolled his eyes if he wasn't too frustrated by this conundrum in front of him. He already knows that she wants to find the kid. He wants to know about how far she is going to go to do so.

"what kind of measures are you going to use to find the kid?"

She whirled around and glared death at him. Oh shit, he was so dead. He readied himself for the worst. Magic flared in his eye, ready to fight or flight. What actually stopped him from doing either were the glowing red tears trailing down her disintegrating cheeks. He took a step back when she marched right up to him and reached out with one skeletal hand and one hand on its way to being the same. She lifted his stout frame by his jacket. It surprised him that, even though they were roughly the same height, such a slight frame could be so physically strong. Did it have something to do with her LV? Did it have something to do with being human?

He watched wide eyed with shock as her face crumbled to soft bone features of a skeleton with glowing crimson eyes glaring into his own magical eyes. Her tears looking like blood trails over her cheekbones. He winced when she started to shout through croaks and cracks in her voice. The screams from her SOUL were making him feel sick.

"I know! I know what I can do. I know what I am capable of! I just want to find Frisk! I won't hurt anyone, but if anyone gets in my way, I can't say what I will do, won't be regrettable.

"I just want Frisk safe. I don't know anyone down here except you and Toriel, and she can't do much right now inside of The Ruins. You are the only one I know, and I don't know if I can trust you, but you are the only one that can help me…"

Kia's strength seems to have faded as Sans was able to stand. Sans didn't know what to do. He just stood there. Kia's head was bowed and almost touching his clavicle. Tears dripped onto the snow, melting the once ever present fluffy water.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, but if Frisk is not safe, I don't know what will happen. I'm dying. I-I don't have much time, and I feel that, that if I don't find Frisk something even worst might happen to them. I just want them safe."

Sans stood there with darkened eye sockets, watching the breaking SOUL in front of him sadly. Kia had sunk to her knees letting the tears flow as she stared, dazed. Despite his worries about her outright confession of killing any monster getting in her way, he felt bad about pushing her so far. He snapped out of his thoughts and uncomfortable feelings when the abnormal human tipped over and face planted into the ground.

He reached for her, but hesitated. He could just get Doggo or Lesser Dog over here to take her away to Asgore while she is at her perceived weakest. Suddenly, he thought of Papyrus.

"I heard voices, but I can't see anything moving. Whoever spoke move now! But if you are human, I'll make sure you never move or speak again!"

Sans froze. It was Doggo. He was at the beginning of the other path towards his station. The dog treat smoker scanned the area around Sans and Kia, completely missing both. The Royal Guard pulled a drag from his treat before stomping back to his station. Sans relaxed. He knew he was going to regret this, but if he can get this woman to the kid, things could turn out right. He just needs to keep anyone from wanting to confront her for the kid away from her. Kia's SOUL was in no state to use for the barrier, but her kid's SOUL was fine.

Undyne was at the top of his list people to avoid. Sans laid a hand on Kia's clavicle, and shortcut out of Snowdin Forest.