AN: And here it comes! The next chapter in the series! Now that everything is set up (almost) exactly the way I want it, we can move forward with the rest of the story! YAAYY!
Buckle up, because things are about to go DOWN!
Chapter 14
Patience
Sans awoke several hours later, the room was still dark and the area was quiet and still.
Already, something felt off. It was a little too quiet . . . a little too still.
He rolled over onto his other side to look across the way. He'd been on the bed before, having completely passed out there. Squinting through the dark, however, he wasn't able to make anything out . . . there was nothing . . . not even a figure shaped like a person.
"Hey . . . Corbel?" Sans called. After all, there was a chance that he was still around somewhere and had just gotten up for a moment, "Corbel . . . ? You there, buddy?"
He was greeted by silence and nothing more.
He let out another breath, looking around. His pants, shoes, armbands, and vest were all missing as well . . . and it didn't look like he'd had any of his water.
So he really was gone . . . he must've left in the middle of the night . . .
With a sigh, Sans looked back up to the ceiling . . .
Well, if anything, he hoped Corbel made it home safely. For now, though . . . he still needed to catch up on the sleep he missed out on the day before . . . He was still pretty out of it and he fully intended to spend the day in bed, recovering.
May as well, lie down in his actual bed, though.
It was as he was shuffling between the couch and the bed that he noticed it.
A burnt-orange scrap of fabric that had been cut and sewn down to the size of a hand towel . . . Corbel's bandana! It even had his initials sewn into the underside. He must have left it behind when he snuck out last night . . .
With that thought in mind, Sans collapsed and rolled over on his bed. He fell back to sleep almost immediately, clutching tightly onto the bandana.
It wasn't even until the next morning that he felt like himself again. Just like he'd planned, he'd spent the previous day pretty much in bed fading in and out of sleep and only getting up to dig through whatever food he had around. In other words, completely uneventful.
A few times, however, he found his eyes landing back to Corbel's bandana and he wondered how the boy was holding up. He hadn't heard anything at all from him. He hadn't called to find the bandana and Sans hadn't called him to tell him he had it.
Oh well. They'd see each other later that day. They were supposed to go out on assignment together once Corbel came from his class.
In the meantime, Sans kept it safe in his pocket as he worked on his other assignments. He found that throughout the day, he kept looking at the clock and every time he looked, it was as if time slowed down just a little more. Corbel was supposed to be there by three . . .
"How is it JUST now turning 11:00 . . . ?" He grumbled to himself. "His class barely started thirty minutes ago . . ."
It was going to be a long day . . .
Sans swore time dragged on at a slug's pace just for him and while he did get a lot done in what was apparently a short amount of time, nothing he did seemed to make the day go by any faster. His main assignment couldn't even begin yet.
"Hey there, Sans." Said a voice behind him. It shocked him out of his thoughts and demanded his attention immediately.
"Oh, hey, Corbel!" He replied. Once again, he checked the clock. 3:45. "Finally made it, huh?"
"Well, I went home to change first . . . plus I had to eat something today. It's been a long day."
"Heh, tell me about it."
"Well, I could, but shouldn't we get going?"
Sans cracked a tiny smile. "Yeah, gotta make up for lost time. Baelin and Maltez should be getting back soon from their survey around Hotland, And Ruddard and Gaine should be well on their way in Waterfall. We have the latest start time and the furthest to go."
"You think we'll be able to hit up Snowdin and the Ruins today?" Corbel mused, grabbing his own lab coat from the closet in the back of the room. He buttoned up the outer coat enough for it to provide the protective coverage it was meant to.
"If we hurry," Sans shrugged, his hands in his lab coat, "But before we go, you wanna drop in on your old man first? Let him know you're here?"
Corbel shot a look to the elevator and gave a quick shrug of his own. "I will when we get back. He'll still be here."
"Alrighty then. Let's get going!" Sans nearly cheered, turning to grab the folder they'd need for their survey.
They were supposed to be running an update and maintenance check on the CORE today, going out and testing how far its energy was spread and document any hiccups or delays so Gaster could figure out how to fix them and make the whole thing work more efficiently. All in all, it shouldn't take too long once they were out there. They just needed to get the energy readings from all of the different checkpoints in their designated area. But still, since they did have the furthest to go, most of their time would be spent traveling.
The two left the lab and from then on, it was . . . surprisingly quiet . . . Almost like all conversation between the two died as soon as the doors to the lab closed. However, neither of them were uncomfortable with the silence and they didn't need conversation in order to fill the space between them. It was the familiar quiet between friends that could only come with years of experience together. Each of them stayed within their own thoughts for quite a while, until Sans let out a sudden "So . . ." effectively pulling Corbel from his thoughts as well.
"What happened to you the other night, bud?" He asked. Maybe the silence had gotten to him a bit. "When I woke up yesterday, you were gone and I didn't hear from you at all."
"Oh," Corbel answered quietly, his eyes staring downward at the road in front of them. Okay, now it was getting a little awkward. "I had to get home. I mean, thanks for letting me crash at your place and all, but I was kinda missing my own bed, you know?"
"Hmm." Sans answered, and Corbel hoped that he couldn't see through the parts in his explanation that were just pulled from his ass. "I guess that makes sense, but still. I said I'd take you home in the morning after we'd had a chance to kinda unwind after the club. Were you that impatient?"
"You . . . said that? Heh, I don't remember that at all."
"I sure did. Several times over. But then again, you were pretty far gone at that point in the night. You seemed . . . you were on your last leg there . . . which is kinda why I wanted to make sure you made it home safely. You . . . did make it home alright, didn't you?"
"Aww, Sans." Corbel poked with a grin, "I didn't know you cared so much!"
"Tch, well, you were kinda my responsibility . . . plus I kinda made a promise to Undyne that I would take care of you until you got home."
Corbel scoffed, "I swear, Red . . ." he muttered under his breath. "She hovers more than my real parents."
"Eh, she's just looking out for you." Sans said softly, "That's all."
Corbel gave Sans a sidelong glare, trying to size him up.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Sans? Last I checked, you and Undyne couldn't stand each other."
For a short moment, Sans went quiet, remembering the conversation they'd had that night and just why Undyne was so overprotective of her friend. "Yeah, well. We got to talking while you were busy flirting it up with that fox chick."
Corbel frowned thinking it over, "You mean Kit?"
"Was that her name? You must've failed to mention that with all your swooning over how hot she was."
"I-I did what?"
"Geez, man. What do you remember from that night?"
"Most of it, actually." Corbel protested, "The drinks, your act, the performance, Kit. It just gets a little fuzzy at the end. The next thing I remember is waking up at your place. And then grabbing my stuff and leaving and then waking up again in my dorm room."
"Heh, 'a little fuzzy'." Sans repeated incredulously, "You have complete blackout moments! You don't remember leaving the bar? Or the walk back over to my apartment? Or the . . ."
The kiss. He didn't remember kissing him in that moment before going inside. And with the way he'd been acting until now, that should have been obvious. There had been no mention of it or reaction to seeing him that suggested something like that was anywhere in his mind. That memory was gone.
"The . . . the way you were complaining about how hot it was."
Corbel hesitated, "I do remember feeling incredibly hot and I remember that it was a side effect of the alcohol . . ." But he also knew that the alcohol wasn't the only factor in that. Feeling that hot was a common symptom in Skeletons whenever . . . those feelings and certain physical desires almost literally boiled to the surface, but of course, he couldn't say that out loud to him.
"Do you remember stripping down to your drawers and laying siege to my bed?"
Corbel's eyes went wide for a moment before turning his gaze away, a bit of his blush from that night returning to the surface.
"No . . . I don't remember that part . . . I-I'm sorry I did that." Though that did explain why he woke up practically naked . . . in Sans' bed. He'd done that himself and it seems without Sans knowledge or consent until after the fact. So that's why he'd been sleeping on the couch when he got up to leave.
"Eh, whatever." Sans shrugged again, "No harm, no foul. But the important thing is. You had a good night and you got home safely. As long as those two factors are there, then we can call the night a success!"
A soft smile spread across Corbel's face and that blush didn't seem to want to go anywhere. "It really was a great night." He answered, "Thanks."
"Hey, don't mention it, kid."
They reached Snowdin without any difficulty and they collected their readings with even less difficulty. There were a few places near the river banks of the town that had either just gotten CORE energy to replace their water based systems or refused to convert over just yet, but that was their decisions and counted as outliers in their numbers.
They were near the edge of the Snowy forest when they stopped again.
"Whad'ya think?" Sans asked, looking over the rock bridge leading over to the other side. "Do we have time to do the Ruins today?"
Corbel checked his pocket watch, tilting his head back and forth, "We can and then ask the Riverperson for a lift when we get back to Snowdin . . . but that's really the only way."
"And why didn't we ask the Riverperson for a lift here?"
Corbel shrugged, ". . . surveillance . . . ?"
"That started IN Snowdin. We could've taken the boat and started in the town sooner."
"Well, it was a nice walk anyway. So . . . Ruins?"
"Yeah, let's just get it over with."
They made their way through the Snowy forest, again with little difficulty, but since it was an area not often traveled, it did take a little longer than they were hoping. But at least they would be able to take the shortcut through Home and get to the city to check the CORE's reach from there.
It was as they were approaching the large door that they heard it.
Squealing and screaming children running in their direction. Three of them, all rabbits. They were coming from the Ruins.
At first they thought that maybe they'd come out from there in order to play in the snow for a while before heading home for dinner, but the closer they looked at their faces, the more it became clear that fun was the last thing on their minds.
With a quick glance at each other. Corbel and Sans rushed forward to meet the children.
"Hey. Hey! What's wrong there, kiddo?" Sans asked as one of them ran face-first into his chest. "What happened?"
"The-The Ruins! There's- there's something in the Ruins!"
"Well, there are all kinds of things in the Ruins." Corbel reminded them, dropping down to one knee to look the kids eye-to-eye. "What did you see that scared you so much?"
"It's a HUMAN!" Another one of the children nearly screamed.
"Nu-uh!" Said the third, "You don't even know what humans look like!"
"Well, it ain't a monster!" The second spouted in contest, "Monsters know better than to go into that part of the Ruins. Everyone knows it's all old and fallin apart over there! It's gotta be a human!"
"Did you see it!?" Sans asked urgently, "What did they look like?"
Corbel looked upward to Sans and the fire that seemed to ignite in him. He'd never seen that level of energy in him before.
"Well, I didn't get a real good look at them. The first child began, "but they sure were crying a whole lot . . . and they were really small . . ."
"And pale!" Chimed the third.
"And they had long yellow fur coming off of their head, but not anywhere else . . ." Added the second.
"Yeah, the rest of them looked really squishy like a toad or a slug."
"'Cept slugs are slimy and this thing wasn't slimy."
"Sounds like all of you together got a pretty good look alright." Corbel spoke. "That was a pretty good description."
He turned his attention back to Sans. He'd seen humans before. He said so back when they first met.
"What do you think, Sans?" He asked quietly, "Sound about right?"
Sans had gone silent, his eyes trained somewhere on the ground.
"Alright. You kids get far away from here, got it." He ordered sternly, "Let us handle this, okay?"
All three children nodded simultaneously.
"Thanks for your help." Corbel added, guiding the children away. Once they were gone, he stood completely, moving to be beside Sans. He still hadn't looked up from where he glared into the ground.
"Sans . . . ?" He questioned. "Sans, Are you okay? Tell me what's going on."
"It's definitely a human." Sans muttered his answer, "A little girl from the sound of it. I'm gonna go check it out."
"Wha-Sans! No! Don't be stupid! Don't you remember what happened last time you saw the humans!? No, we should go get the Guard! Tell them about her! Let them handle things, but we should . . . Definitely stay away from humans!"
"I'm going." Sans repeated solidly and darkly. He wasn't looking for suggestions or second opinions.
Corbel studied Sans' expression and the sheer determination in his eyes. There was no talking him out of this.
"Fine . . . Th-then, I'm going too. What are we gonna do when we get there?"
"We're gonna save her."
"SAVE her!?" Corbel exclaimed, "Sans . . . Are you crazy!? That's not a good idea! The area around that section of the Ruins is not stable. What if something happens? And-and this is a human we're talking about! An actual human! What if they attack!? What if they're-"
"No one's asking you to come, Corbel!" Sans all but snapped, "In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't. Fuck it. Stay here if you're scared! Or go get the Guard! Do what you want! But I'm going in! There's a scared little girl in there and I'm not gonna let that slide! Not without doing everything I can!"
Corbel was stricken and for several seconds, he stood dumbfounded, staring at Sans and taking in his words and the intensity behind him. It actually startled him a bit.
"N-No . . ." He finally answered in a soft almost defeated tone. He shifted to look away in the direction of the Ruins, "No. You're right. I-I . . . If you're going, then I'm going too . . . y-you're my partner, Sans . . . I can't just leave you alone . . . S-so, let's go save your human."
Wordlessly, Sans stepped forward toward the Ruins and Corbel followed behind, being sure to stay a few steps behind him.
They traveled through the old hallways, past Home and into the sections of the Ruins that were less frequently traversed. Those older sections of the Ruins felt a lot colder and emptier . . . more dreary and more foreboding.
Throughout their trek, the two remained silent. Corbel stayed a few steps behind Sans so the elder of the two wouldn't see his lasting sour expression. Something about the change in Sans really struck a chord with him and though he couldn't explain exactly why, it just completely rubbed him the wrong way.
Sans must have picked up on the bitterness emanating from him, because as they were carefully stepping through the fourth flipped version of the same room, he chanced a look back.
"Hey . . . Corbel." He said tentatively, "You know that I didn't mean to-"
"Whatever." Came Corbel's terse response.
Sans halted, "You don't even know what I was gonna say. I just wanted to-"
"It doesn't matter." Corbel cut him off again, "I don't care. Let's just get the human and get out."
Sans hummed. Maybe this was one of those things that he just needed to leave alone for a while and let Corbel steam. He'll come around eventually. Until then, they would do what they came to do.
Finally making it through the last version of the room, they approached something different. The ground here didn't look quite as stable and there were visible sections where the floor had already given way or was about to give way. It was in this room where they heard the unmistakable sounds of a crying child.
"She's here." Sans said, quietly as he stepped forward. Corbel followed behind without a word.
Focusing on the sound, Sans followed it to the far end of the room, being careful not to disturb the ground too much and trigger another shift or make another hole in the ground. Trying to find stable footing and a solid spot, Sans called into the large pit.
"Hey down there, kiddo!"
Immediately, the child made a sharp hic and looked upward and what she saw was a smiling skull looking down at her. She screamed.
"Hey, hey!" Sans tried again, moving to be just a little bit closer to the edge. "It's okay! It's okay, kid! Okay? Look, we're not gonna hurt you. In fact, we wanna help. We wanna get you out of there!"
The girl continued to cry in a higher pitched squeal. She cried for her mommy and her daddy to come to save her and how she should have just stayed in the cave like she was supposed to.
Sans let out a breath, lowering his voice and his body to be right at the pit's edge.
Watching him, Corbel's eyes widened in concern, but he didn't speak.
"Hey, look." Sans started again, "I understand exactly what you mean . . . it wasn't all that long ago that I was in the exact same situation you're in. I fell in a hole a lot like this one and I waited for a long time for someone to help . . . and at first, no one came. I was cold and tired and hungry and completely alone. I didn't have friends or family who would come look for me. I thought I was done for, but right when I was about to give up hope, someone came and said she would find help for me. She was a very nice old lady . . ."
From further away, Corbel listened to the story. Sans never talked about his life from the time before they met. He always thought it was because it was too painful. But here he was just spouting it off to some little human girl? When had this been!? What did he mean!? Why hadn't he said anything about it before?
But at the very least, the girl stopped crying as she listened to his story.
"The old lady came back the next day with some other guys who promised to help me if I helped them . . . So . . ." Sans hesitated, shooting a look back toward Corbel as if trying to gauge how he should say what he wanted. "I agreed to help them. But after I did . . . they betrayed me and they tried to blow me up."
The little girl gasped. "You're not gonna blow me up, are you!?"
"No! No!" Sans answered with a smile, his efforts of calming down the child working rather well. "We're not like those mean people. We just want to make sure you get out of here."
"Why?" She questioned, "You're a monster! Don't monsters eat humans? That's what the stories say! I bet you just want me to come up there so you and . . . whoever else is up there with you can kill me and eat me!"
Corbel grimaced at the idea. But still, what the heck were those humans teaching their kids if that's what she thought?
"No!" Sans laughed, trying to keep her relaxed, "No one's gonna eat you. I wanna help you, 'cause . . . well, we're the same."
"No we're not!" The girl fought back.
"Yes we are, see?" Sans argued reaching his hand out a little to show the girl. For a second, afterward, he flinched and his hand became a loose fist. "I-I mean, look. We both have two hands and two feet, right? And our hands have five fingers? And our feet have five toes, right? And I'll bet you have bones that look just like this inside of you, don't you?"
The girl was quiet.
Corbel, from his spot, where he still refused to move, took a look down at one of his own hands, moving his fingers . . . he let out a long breath.
"Yeah . . ." The girl answered.
"See, we already have so much in common! Why would I want to hurt you?"
"Then . . . if you can help me out of here, can you take me to my mommy and daddy!?"
Sans hesitated. " . . . Let's just focus on getting you out of that hole first. Hey, what's your name, kid? Mine's Sans. Sans the Skeleton. And my buddy over here is Corbel. You wanna say hi to the little girl, Corbel?"
"Don't bring me into this." Corbel muttered.
"But we don't want to be strangers anymore, right? If we're friends then she'll know we won't hurt her."
"Friends . . ." Corbel scoffed.
"Corbel's a little shy." Sans excused, "But he's a good guy. So how 'bout it, kid? What's your name?"
The girl looked up to Sans, her eyes still wet, but it seemed her tears had passed for the moment.
"I . . . I'm Alia."
"Nice to meet you, Alia. You know, you're supposed to shake hands when you meet a new pal, but you're still way down there."
The girl smiled. "How do I get out?"
Sans hummed and looked down into the hole. It looked like quite a long way down, actually and he couldn't see very far in any other direction down there. "Well, first tell me something. When you fell, did you get hurt?"
"Nu-uh." Alia answered, "There was a pile of leaves here and I landed on that."
"Heh, lucky break. Now, how about around you? What do you see?"
The human girl went quiet as she took in her surroundings. Trying to find things that stood out to her.
"It's really dark down here . . . but it looks like there's some sort of cave."
Sans looked around as well. There were a few vines here and there, crawling up the walls, but they didn't look strong enough to climb.
"Hang on right there, Alia. I'm gonna come down to you, okay?"
Okay, that was just a whole new level of stupid. Corbel stepped forward.
"Sans!" He called, crossing to catch up to him, "A word?"
"Ah, there's Corbel! Alright!"
"Sans!" He repeated, "Now."
"Hold on, Alia. I'm gonna be right back."
Sans shifted again, carefully standing on the more solid ground where Corbel was waiting for him.
"Seriously, What the hell? What are you even thinking right now? Are you thinking right now!?"
"What do you mean? This is going perfectly. I just need to see what's down there for myself and if there's no other way, then I'll send her up using Blue magic."
"You're gonna trap yourself in a pit with a human!? What if she-"
"You're not still on that, are you? We're all friends now after all!"
"Sans, you're being idiotic."
"Plus she's only a little girl! Like those Rabbit kids we saw coming in. If they were stuck down there, wouldn't you want to help them?"
"That's different!"
"How!? How is it any different than helping this little girl?"
"Because she's human! They've been our mortal enemy since the war! And they've proven not to have changed at all since then! They're all the same, no matter what! I don't know how many times I need to say it before it gets through your thick skull!"
Sans hesitated then, staring almost blankly at Corbel as if something suddenly dawned on him.
". . . she's your mortal enemy, huh?" Sans answered with a dark sound Corbel had never heard from him before. "you know, not all humans are the same . . ." He turned back toward the hole. " . . . and if you don't look for the differences, you won't see any. this girl is harmless. and as decent people, we should try to save her. regardless of whether she's a human or a monster."
Again, Corbel was stunned into silence and he could only watch as Sans approached the hole once again.
Sans situated himself at the edge of the opening and gauged the landing.
"Alrighty, Alia. I'm coming down! Watch out!"
With that, Sans leaped from his perch with an almost playful, "Geronimo!" As if he were jumping into a swimming pool.
Instantly, something inside of Corbel seized as he watched Sans disappear. He gasped, running several steps forward.
With a solid thud and a low groan, it was obvious that Sans had reached the bottom. Seconds later, light laughter could be heard as Alia met up with Sans as well.
"That was funny, huh?" Sans groaned again, shifting to sit up. "I give it an 8/10. There could've been more splash on that entry."
He was okay . . . thank goodness he was okay . . . and on top of that, the human stayed her hand . . . she didn't look like she was going to attack him. In fact, the broad smile on her face said the complete opposite.
She reached out toward Sans, a little hesitant at first, but when Sans looked to her with a smile of his own, she became more confident. Sans reached out to shake her hand and as soon as she took his hand, there was a slight pause as a flatulent roar and a long high-pitched squeak filled the otherwise empty cavern.
Corbel facepalmed.
"Eww!" The girl laughed again, "Your hand farted!"
"Whoopie cushion!" Sans corrected with a laugh as well. "Just you wait, kid. It'll be a classic one day! Better than hand buzzers!"
"Yeah, in your dreams!" Corbel called down, finally inserting himself into the conversation.
"Ah! There you are!" Sans acknowledged, "See, Alia. Even Corbel believes in my dreams. You guys should introduce yourselves! I think you guys can be great friends."
Alia looked upward to the opening of the hole and to the other Skeleton who now watched from above. She turned back down to Sans to whisper to him.
"He doesn't like me." She sighed.
"Nonsense!" Sans insisted, "Corbel likes everyone, right, buddy?"
God, did he wish that Sans didn't do that . . . but still . . . this girl was lost and alone and scared and if he were in that situation at her age, he would feel better to have a few new friends.
"Yeah . . ." Corbel tried putting on a little bit of a smile for the girl and for Sans, "Corbel Gaster. Nice to meet you, Alia!"
The girl waved with a tiny smile, but she didn't speak. She seemed a little shy.
"Okay, Sans, now what?" Corbel asked.
"Now, we find a way to get out of this hole in the ground!"
"How specific."
After a moment, Sans stood, looking around to get his bearings. There really wasn't a whole lot in that hole except for that cave thing Alia mentioned before . . . but who knew where that went?
May as well check it out.
"There's a cave here!" Sans announced, "We may be able to use it to get out!"
"Sans . . . you don't even know where that goes!" Corbel reminded, "You could end up getting more lost in there and we really don't have that kind of time right now . . . especially when we're trying to help a . . . tiny human."
"Don't worry. If this doesn't work out, then I'll just lift her up with Blue magic."
"Why not just lift her up now!?"
"Then, how would I get up?"
Corbel glared down at the other Skeleton as he traipsed off toward where he assumed the cave mouth was. "Um, HELLOOOO! I'm here too, you know!"
"You use Blue magic too?"
"Um, yeah! I-I . . . I mean, I'm not that great at it, but still . . ."
Sans hummed. "Well that's good to know. And if this cave thing doesn't work out, I'll be sure to keep that in mind!"
"Sans! You're not seriously going to go IN the cave are you!?" Corbel called in an almost nagging voice.
"Well, yeah! Now, I'm curious!"
"SANS!"
"CORBEL!" Sans retorted, playfully mimicking his tone.
Corbel hesitated, something feeling a little off. "Saaaaans!?"
"Coooorbeeelll!" Sans called back.
There it was again.
"Hey, Sans, do you hear that!?"
"Hear what!?"
"That echo."
"Well we are in a cave, you know!"
"Shut up and LISTEN, will you!? Say something. Call something into the cave!"
From below, Sans flashed a bit of a grin behind him toward the human girl, giving her a bit of a wink as well.
"I'M A STUPID DOO-DOO BUTT!" Sans yelled into the mouth of the cave.
Again, the human squealed in laughter.
Again, Corbel facepalmed.
"Wow, Sans," He answered, "That's really childish."
Still, he listened for the reverberation he'd been waiting for. And now that he wasn't looking, he could hear that the reverberation was coming from somewhere other than the area beneath him where Sans and the human were.
"As childish as it sounds, it is working! Keep going . . . I guess!"
Sans laughed again and even the sound of that floated on in a way that allowed Corbel to follow it.
On top of the sound, he could feel that there was a light breeze coming from somewhere behind him.
"Okay, Sans! Say something else!"
"Woaahh . . ." Sans said from his side, having heard Corbel's voice through the cave.
"I'M THE LEGENDARY FARTMASTER!" He cried triumphantly, knowing that his voice would carry through.
"Sounds like there's a straight shot back up to this room!" Corbel called back, "So, what do you think!? Wanna give it a shot!? Or are we doing the Blue magic thing?"
"Oh, what's the fun in taking the boring way out?" He turned back to the human, "Wha'd'ya say, kiddo? You wanna go on an adventure?"
"Sans!?" Corbel called again, "If you're gonna go through the cave, I need you to let me know your progress somehow. Sound travels well through here. Just keep talking and making noise. Let me know where you are. We don't know anything about this cave, so . . ."
"Aww, you hear that, Alia? Corbel's worried about us! We should probably not make him worry so much. What do you think?"
"Okay!" The girl chirped, darting forward toward where Sans waited for her at the mouth of the cave. When she reached his side, she immediately took his hand and called into the cave.
"DON'T WORRY, MR. CORBEL! ME AND SANS WILL BE BACK SOON! THANK YOU FOR WORRYING ABOUT US!"
To keep the time as well as to keep Corbel at ease, Sans and Alia traveled through the cave, being careful about where they went and where they stepped, telling each other knock-knock jokes and laughing at whatever they found funny. From the end of the cavern, Corbel paced back and forth, listening in and unable to stop the smirk that spread across his face as he listened to the two of them. A part of Corbel was genuinely impressed with how good Sans had been with this kid. They'd been going through this as if they'd been friends since the very beginning. Not only had Sans been able to see through the stigma of her humanity, but he'd been able to befriend this little human girl and charm her. She didn't seem like she was going to attack him . . . and she already trusted him so well. Interesting.
Their travels continued for quite a while. A good thirty minutes or so. And the two of them continued to chat and laugh and bring Corbel into the conversation.
Sometime later, however, the conversation went quiet. There was no laughter and no conversation. There was a bit of a shriek.
"Alia!" Sans called, "You okay, kiddo? How's your ankle?"
The girl was slightly shaken, but otherwise okay. She thanked Sans and they continued onward as if nothing was wrong.
It happened not even a full minute afterward.
There was a sound that stopped all of them in their tracks. A rumbling that shook the walls and a groaning that filled the air.
From the end of the cave, Corbel continued to pace, and right away, he could sense the shift in the energy. Something was wrong. Inside the cave, the two had gone quiet once again. They were being way too quiet. And on top of that, there was an almost violent rumbling that started up. Something was very very wrong.
"Sans!?" Corbel called into the cavern, hoping against everything else that he was okay. Just about every move he'd made so far had been against Corbel's better judgment, going into the cave instead of using Blue magic being one of the bigger of those judgments. And right away, he began to regret not being more adamant about how strongly he'd actually been feeling it! He knew that he just wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Sans and he'd had the opportunity to do something about it.
The shaking intensified and Sans still hadn't answered.
Corbel was becoming very nervous.
Suddenly, the sound of screams filled the empty area and with those screams were Sans' urgent yells for the child to stay close to him no matter what.
"Damn it!" Corbel spat, rushing forward into the cave. If the way was still clear for them, he could still lead them out and they could save everyone . . . And if the way wasn't clear, then he'd just have to clear it for them! He had to get them out!
Corbel shot forward as quickly as he possibly could and listened intently for the sounds of the other two. They had to be okay.
"Sans!" He called out, "Sans! Alia!? Someone answer me! Please!"
"Corbel!?" Said a tiny voice. The human! But what happened to-
"Corbel!" Said the other of the two voices. "We're . . . We're here!"
"Sans is hurt!" The human called.
"WHAT!?"
"I'm okay!" Sans called back, but there was something in his voice that instantly gave him away, a certain strain he normally didn't have. "I just messed up my leg a little. I can still . . ." he hissed in pain.
"Where are you!? I'm coming to get you!"
"You're close! I can hear you close by! Just . . . Ggghh!"
"Hang on, Sans! I'm coming! Hey, Alia? I'm gonna need you to do something. Keep making noise for me so I can follow it, okay? What's your favorite song!?"
"Umm . . ." The girl thought it over for a moment. Several moments. Too many moments. Time was running out!
"C'mon. I need you to work with me!" Corbel continued impatiently, "Tell me a story! List your favorite foods in order of color. Just please keep talking!"
"Ummmm . . ." The girl sounded nervous now, trying to think of something on the spot.
"This little light of mine . . ." She began to sing, "I'm gonna let it shine . . ."
"Perfect!" Corbel answered, "Just like that! Keep it up!"
Her voice was so small and timid, but it was enough to follow. If he could use that sound to locate them . . . then he could help them out.
The rumbling continued.
"This . . . little light of mine. I'm gonna let it shine."
The girl screamed again.
"Corbel!" Sans called, "We gotta get out of here, now!"
"No shit!"
"This place is caving in!" Sans continued, the urgency in his voice escalating. "We gotta go now!"
"Damn iiiiit!"
Corbel shook out his hands and his wrists. He had to act NOW! Something . . . something that'll help them . . . how could he save them if he didn't know-
"Corbel!"
"Look! There he is!" Cried the little girl, "Over here!"
Corbel's head whipped around, toward the voice, but could only see rock. Was this what that quake had been before . . . their escape route being blocked!?
Sticking out of a small gap in the rock wall was a tiny human hand as the child waved through to get his attention. "Over here!" She repeated.
Sans spoke up as well, yelling for the child to move back before the rocks shifted again and she got crushed.
"Hang on! I'll get you out!" Corbel called back, approaching the rock wall, "Sans! How are you holding up? Are you okay!?"
"Corbel. How the heck are you gonna move all this!? It's impossible. IMPASSIBLE!"
"I-I'm not gonna move it." He answered with the only solution he could think of in a situation like this, "You're gonna move through it!"
"What the hell!?"
"Stand back as far as you can!" Corbel called, "You'll know when it's safe to go."
Again, Corbel shook out his hands, taking several deep breaths as he called on his magic. What he was planning to do called for quite a bit . . . more than he'd ever had to use at once . . . ever! Plus he hadn't been training with it for quite a while. Much less, like this.
He hoped he could pull it off.
No! He HAD to pull it off! If he couldn't then . . . Sans would . . . and the human . . .
He squeezed his eyes shut and placed both of his hands on the rock surface, concentrating as hard as he possibly could on the rocks and the feel of his magic. He tapped his fingers, trying to feel through the rocks and send his magic out into it in waves. The taps became more forceful as more and more magic was expelled.
He wouldn't have been able to see it with eyes closed, but starting from his hands, waves of orange started to coat the wall and turn everything his magic touched an almost semi-translucent glowing orange as well.
Still, the area around them rumbled. Still, the human screamed. Still, she and Sans were in danger!
Still, he continued his work.
"C'mon!" He groaned to himself, knowing that the moment his magic let up, all of his work would be for nothing. He had to keep this constant flow of energy going until they could both pass through and they were safe. "C'mon! C'mon! You can do this! You have to do this! C'mon! C'MON!"
The orange magic spread out to make a pathway about as large as a door.
He chanced a look to see.
"Alright, guys!" Corbel strained, "Get moving! C'mon, hurry! I can't keep this up for long!"
The human hesitated, unsure of what to do or if it was safe.
"Come ON! Run through! HURRY! But you have to keep moving or else it will hurt! RUN!"
Breathing shallowly and with tightened fists, the human looked back toward Sans.
"Go on, kid!" Sans urged. Already, the stability of the edges of the portal was beginning to waver.
Another deep breath and the girl ran for it, darting through the rather thick wall as if it was nothing at all. Within seconds, the girl was on the same side as Corbel and she stood close to him.
"Alright, Sans." Corbel grunted, "Your turn. Can you . . . Can you walk?"
"Yeah." Sans nodded, trying to stand straight. Just doing that seemed to be a struggle for him and Corbel could see the section in his khakis that was ripped to shreds. Sans' leg beyond that was fractured!
Sans attempted a step forward, but when it came to putting pressure on that leg, he nearly collapsed.
"Shit . . ."
Lifting that leg instead, Sans made a hop for it. Every time he had to stop and prepare his next jump, his HP was shaved down a little, but eventually, he was able to make his way through, actually collapsing with another hiss when he'd made it.
Immediately, Corbel released his magic, leaning forward with his hands to his knees.
"Is . . . is everyone okay?" He huffed.
"I'm okay." The girl answered.
"I've been better, but I'm good." Sans groaned, trying to situate himself. Around them, the area continued to quake. "We're not in the clear yet. We still need to get out of here!"
"Y-yeah . . ." Corbel answered, still breathless as he stood fully to make his way over to Sans. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
He dipped down, to try to help Sans stand. It took some effort, but in the end, he was able to get under one of his arms and help support him on his weaker side.
"You guys know the way, right?" The girl asked timidly, "I'll follow you."
"That's the idea." Corbel answered, "Let's go!"
"Just stay close, okay?" Sans instructed.
From then on, they were in mission mode. At the very least, the had to make it out of the cave. The human seemed to be holding up pretty well, staying like a little dog to Corbel's side.
Sans, on the other hand . . .
He tried not to let on, but he was in quite a bit of pain. Walking was a chore and with every step, he ran the risk of falling. Though Corbel did his best to keep him standing, he wasn't in the best shape himself. That trick with the wall really took a lot out of him. As a result, their movement was slow and causing them precious time they did not have.
"This will go faster once you let me carry you." Corbel pointed out.
For a second, Sans seemed to consider it. He looked at his situation and toward Corbel.
"Is that even physically possible?"
"Don't insult me. I'm a lot stronger than you give me credit for!"
Sans frowned a moment, looking again between them. "Only as a last resort. I'd rather keep a little bit of my dignity if I can."
"Oh, it's not a choice. I'm carrying you out. You're 'keeping your dignity' by riding on my back. I could carry you bridal style . . . or over my shoulder like luggage."
With that, Corbel shifted their positions so that Sans was being carried piggyback. Of course Sans didn't go without some grumbling. And he made the human child swear not to tell anyone that he had to get a piggyback ride. The child agreed through her laughter.
Well, at least someone was in high spirits.
They continued through the rumbling cave at a much faster pace than before. Sans' injured leg had been slowing them down. But still, from where they were, it was an uphill climb to get back to that room and having someone on his back made it a bit more difficult for Corbel to accomplish.
A little while into the climb, Sans could hear the strain in Corbel's breathing. He was wheezing and an almost harsh rasp could be heard as he struggled. Again, Sans was reminded of what Undyne said about Corbel's health.
"Hey, Corbel . . . ?"
"We-we're almost back up." He answered through his heavy breathing, his concentration uninhibited, "Just hold-hold on a little longer, okay?"
" . . . Okay." Sans answered, fitting his arms around Corbel's shoulders where before he'd been grabbing onto the fabric of his lab coat.
Finally! The end of the cavern was in sight. They'd made it back to the top room!
"When we get through, we still need to watch our step. The floor is still pretty unstab-"
The rumbling became even more intense and their footing was compromised for a moment. It was as if the cave-in was following them!
"The whole cavern's coming down!" Sans exclaimed, "We gotta go!"
At once, the human girl ran ahead and Corbel followed. As long as he kept her in his sights and Sans on his back, they could still make it out of here in one piece.
A large section of the ceiling fell not too far behind them, shaking their footing and tossing them unceremoniously forward where they tumbled to the ground. Sans was thrown from Corbel's back and he slid a few feet away. The human was also thrown forward and she skidded, tearing her dress at the knees.
"Corbel?" Sans called, pulling himself up to his knees. "Corbel, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He answered instinctively, though as he did a quick body check, he couldn't be sure that was the complete truth. He'd been having trouble situating himself and had only been able to pull himself up to his hands and knees. Doing more than that was actually a bit challenging.
"Alia? You still okay, kiddo?"
There were soft sounds of the girl actively trying to stifle her pain and keep from crying. Her knees had been badly scraped and were beginning to bleed. Her palms were a very similar state, bits of skin having been shaved off and were dangling from her hands in thin ribbons..
"Damn it . . ." Sans hissed. He shifted the tone of his voice when he addressed the child again, "Hey, it's okay. I know it hurts right now, but we're gonna get out of here, okay, and we're gonna get some help. But we gotta keep moving, okay?"
Alia turned her eyes up toward Sans as he fought to climb to a standing position once again. When she saw him, she nodded, though her lip quivered as she tried to suck up her pain. She saw the two monsters in front of her, trying so hard and fighting through their own pain in order to help her . . . she should be able to do that much.
"O-okay." She stammered.
"Good girl." Sans smiled.
They were torn from their conversation as all around, they could hear the creaking of shifting rocks behind them. Right away, the danger became even more imminent.
"That's our cue." Sans began again, "You good to go, Corbel?"
Even though the younger Skeleton nodded, something caught in the back of his throat and he tried to clear it. It became a series of coughs and soon he had to lower himself to his elbows, tilting his head downward to suppress them.
"Okay . . ." Corbel tried, still completely breathless, "Okay . . . We can still- we can still do this."
The coughing only got worse.
"Corbel . . . ?" Sans asked again cautiously, trying to get over to him. Through the pain in his leg, he dragged himself the few feet over. He noticed, as Corbel fought against himself now, that there were a few small puffs of dust that escaped with his coughing. He curled in on himself to hide it.
Sans' eyes went wide. "Corbel!?"
Corbel, shifted again, reaching for something in the pocket of his lab coat . . . that wasn't there. He checked the other pocket and then both pants pockets, unable to find what he was looking for. He gasped deeply, trying to find a decent breath. He would have to fight this out.
The problem was time!
Sans extended his hand, reaching out hesitantly.
"C'mon, buddy. Hang in there! We're almost in the clear!"
Corbel continued to cough, struggling to catch a breath. These coughing fits could take 15-20 minutes to sort out even with his inhaler . . . and now that he didn't have it . . . there was no telling what was going to happen.
They were going to run out of time. They were going to die in this cave while he sat there trying to catch his breath. That was what was going to happen!
From Sans' side, as he stood over Corbel with absolutely no idea how to help, there was a slight tug on his coat and he turned to find the little girl, staring.
"Is . . . Is he okay?" The little girl asked just as cautiously.
His mind reeling now, Sans' eyes cycled through Corbel's struggling, the girl's tears, and their way out . . . This wasn't good . . . And if Corbel was out of commission . . .
This was impossible . . .
"I . . . I'm not sure." He answered softly.
"We can't carry him out?"
Sans shook his head.
"And you can't walk . . ."
Sans frowned.
The girl paused, her own breath becoming shallow once again.
"Mr. Skeleton . . . are we going to die?"
Again, Sans weighed the options "We have to get out of here." He answered, trying to find another way. "Somehow, we're all getting out of here!"
"You-you're not going- to die." Corbel huffed. His voice sounded terrible. Like he was trying to speak through a throat full of asphalt and he was still fighting to try to breathe. "I-I won't- let that happen."
"Corbel . . . ?" Sans tried again, tentatively.
"S-Sans . . ." Corbel answered, waving the other closer to him. For this to work, he had to do everything he could to help. No, he couldn't heal bone, so he couldn't do anything about Sans' fracture. But he could do something about the pain.
Calling forth a little bit of his magic, Corbel touched Sans' shin, a faint green glow covering the fractured area for a moment. Immediately, Sans was able to feel the difference and he shifted his weight to make it more even between his two legs.
"Wha . . . Corbel, what about . . . Here. Let me help you up."
In that same moment, before either of them could move, dust having nothing to do with Corbel's struggle fell around them. The rumbling had caught up to them and they could hear the rocks shifting right on top of them. They were caught. There was no more time.
"Sans . . ." Corbel nearly whispered, speaking in the only way that was comfortable.
When Sans looked back down to the Skeleton, his expression was torn, and there was a great amount of fear and pain and sadness in his eyes.
"Corbel?"
"I'm sorry, Sans. I'm so sorry."
In the next moment, Corbel's hand was coated in blue. Right away, Sans felt a seizing in his soul as it was caught in that magic. He looked down to see the faint glow in his chest. Behind him. The girl made a slight squeak as the magic took her soul as well.
"No! Corbel!"
Without another word, both Sans and the human were tossed backward through the mouth of the cavern and into the next room.
The two narrowly missed the cascade of massive boulders and heavy rocks of the cave-in as the entrance was completely sealed.