Disclaimer- I don't own Undertale
Many Thanks to TheFlameRose for Beta-ing
Thanks also extended to the guest reviewer who pointed out that the formating flipped out on me TT
*Frustrated screaming over FF's formating*
Chapter 1
Sans sighed, running a hand over his skull as he leaned against the wood of his sentry station. Something about today just felt off, and it was setting the skeleton on edge. It made him want to track his brother down just to be sure that Papyrus was safe. He yawned, deciding that he was just tired and that a nap would be all he needed to get rid of his anxiety.
He was just dozing off when a branch broke nearby, snapping him to attention. He slowly straightened, knowing that it was probably just a member of the canine unit, but not really believing it. Undyne had started to send the entire unit into the area claiming it as training, but Sans had a feeling that there was more to it than that. He had a theory, and the minute it looked like it would be confirmed, he was grabbing Papyrus and making a break for it-
-Or moving to Undyne's house. The search for Gaster had died down as people began to assume the ex-Royal Scientist had fallen down, but as Undyne met Papyrus and learned what had happened….. Well. The Captain of the Royal Guard was going to see the monster's dust herself before she let up on the search. She probably hated the man more than Sans did at this point. Watching Papyrus wake up from nightmares had only made it worse.
But since Sans didn't know for a fact that it was Gaster they were looking for, and he trusted Undyne to tell them if there were any developments, he was trying not to worry too much.
Another branch snapped, this time followed by muted cursing, and Sans sat up straighter. He tried to reason it off as a Moldsmal or the Snowdrake that he had seen wandering around the forest, but he found himself standing anyways. He teleported in the direction of the sounds so that he didn't alert whoever it was by walking through the snow.
He appeared on a tree branch nearby, and almost fell out of it as he caught sight of a small human tugging another one along. They looked like twins, with brown hair though the one in front's was slightly curlier. The one in front walked with a noticeable limp, but was still moving faster than the second one. They were dressed in familiar green gowns that had Sans reaching out to hold onto the tree trunk to steady himself.
The second human stumbled, and the one pulling them along froze, turning back to look at them.
"Come on Frisk," they said urgently, "We have to keep moving, please."
The second human, Frisk (?) didn't respond and the first one growled under their breath, tugging them to a tree and pushing them into a sitting position gently.
"Your arm," they demanded, and Frisk held their right arm out. Sans felt bark snap under his hand as he caught a glimpse of the mess of scars and bandages on their palm.
The first human was muttering to the second one, "You're not going to get full mobility from that again are you?"
There was no response, and they sighed.
"Frisk, please," the human pleaded, "We're free. You don't- It's not- We can-" They growled, gripping at the snow beneath their hands. They took a shuddery breath. "We're safe. You're safe. I'll keep you safe. I promise. Please Frisk, please." They broke down sobbing, curling into themself. Slowly, the second human looked up, and Sans's breath caught. Their brown eyes were empty, dead.
Carefully, Frisk reached out, and laid their good hand on the other human's arm. The first human surged forward gathering them up in their arms. Sans hesitated as they calmed down. He doubted that his usual approach of humor would help in this situation. He shifted as he thought, knocking some of the snow and ice from the tree he was on.
Both humans' eyes snapped up to look at him and he winced. Red eyes glared at him with all the heat they could muster as they shoved Frisk back, spreading their arms out to protect them.
"Back off!" they shouted, baring their teeth.
Sans jumped out of the tree, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "that's not very n-ice. only a really cold monster would leave two children alone without help."
The human stared at him, blinking at the puns, and Sans felt his smile grow just slightly at the reaction. Surprise was better than anger in his opinion.
The human wiped the look from their face. "We don't need help. We don't want help!" They tugged on their companion's arm. "Just leave us alone."
"hey," he said taking a step forward. Red eyes snapped back to his face and harden in a way that made a chill go down Sans back.
"Take another step closer and I'll kill you," the child said quietly. Their body tensed, ready to move at the slightest provocation, and Sans raised his hands slowly into the air as a gesture of peace. Their eyes locked onto the metal plate drilled into his left hand and grabbed the other human's hand breaking into a run.
"wait! kid!" he called, and teleported in front to them. They skidded to a stop, alarm clear on their face. They shoved the other kid in another direction.
"Run Frisk! Go!" they snarled as Frisk hesitated. Sans thought that his eyes flickered black at the reminder of when he had done the same thing for Papyrus.
"run pap! go!" Sans snarled, placing himself between the fire monster and his brother.
"BUT BROTHE-" Papyrus tried to protest, hesitating.
"no," Sans said sharply, "i'll be fine."
The small pattering of feet behind him was the skeleton's only way of knowing that his brother had left. Sans glared at the monster in front of him just daring him to try and go after the younger one. The adult raised his hands in a symbol of surrender, his eyes flickering between Sans and the fleeing Papyrus.
"I only wish to help," the monster said.
"and what do you want for it?" Sans shot back.
"Nothing," came the steady, patient reply.
"liar!" Sans yelled, clenching his fists, and he readied his magic in case the monster tried to do anything. A small body collided with his back, and he flinched.
"PLEASE BROTHER," Papyrus said, "IT CAN- THERE CAN BE NICE MONSTERS AS WELL."
Sans closed his eyes, and when he opened them he glared at the monster in front of them. "fine," he bit out. But the minute it looked like something was going wrong, they were leaving.
"look, kid," he tried, his eyes flickering between the two humans. "i don't want to hurt ya. i just-"
"Shut up!" they shouted, "You look like him!" Sans twitched at the reminder. "And you have that plate. You're probably just going to take us back to him! I'd rather kill everyone down here than go through that."
Sans blinked, trying to work through why that phrase was weird to him. Most monsters would have said that they'd rather die. Maybe they thought killing was worse than dying? But that would contradict their statement earlier and the ease that they had threatened him with.
"i don't want to fight," Sans tried again.
"I won't." They both startled at the sudden quiet voice. It was scratchy from disuse, and the first human whirled around to look at Frisk. Frisk's expression hadn't changed, their eyes still dull, but there were a couple of tears rolling down their cheeks.
Something in the other human seemed to break, and they reached out to wipe the tears away. "You don't have to Frisk. We're free. You never have to fight-."
"I won't." Sans started as the human repeated their statement again.
Red eyes stared into brown. "I'm right here Frisk. Why won't you come back from wherever you are?"
There was no reply, and the human started, whirling to face him again. Anger flashed in their eyes, but drained away as quickly as it had appeared.
"If you're going to take us back, let's just get it over with," they muttered.
"what's your name kiddo?" Sans asked, wanting to steer the topic away from Gaster altogether.
"Subject F," the second human said, almost like it was automatic and without thought.
The second human flinched before staring up at him with determined defiance. "Chara. And Frisk."
"well, uh chara. you look like you could use some food," Sans offered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "you two want a couple of hot dogs?"
Chara's face gave way into confusion. "Hot...dog?" Then they looked at him with a triumphant sort of anger. "You think we would eat something made out of dog monster? Maybe you want to see how we'd react? Well too bad, we're not moving from this spot."
Sans felt a flash of anger at Gaster, and tried to keep it from showing on his face. The scientist just couldn't leave others alone, just couldn't stop messing with people's heads. Sans forced himself to shrug. "offers open if you ever want it. just stop by my station." He waved a hand in the direction of his sentry station. "and you should keep an eye out for the traps and puzzles in the area."
He wondered if this frustrated feeling of helplessness was how Grillby had felt the first time that he'd had met the skeleton brothers. The humans weren't just going to follow him home, and trying to force them to do anything would be counter productive. They had to trust someone before they could get any help, and trust would take time.
Time that Sans wasn't sure they had.
He mentally noted that he would have to inform Grillby and Papyrus about the humans, and probably Undyne as well. The skeleton winked at the humans before turning to go.
"What-? Where are you going?" Chara asked distrustfully.
"my station," Sans said mildly.
"You said it was in the other direction!"
"shortcut," Sans replied cheerfully before walking away and teleporting as soon as he was out of sight. There were things he had to do.
