Undyne swung her spear in a wide arc, aimed to hit both Frisk and Sans. The blue light seared through the air as she swung, and Sans grabbed Frisk's hand, pulling them out of the way. "You two are going to die anyways, so what's the point? Surrender now, and I might just end your puny lives painlessly!"
"but what's the fun in killing someone if you don't have fun with it?" Sans said, pulling Frisk aside again. He was still too weak from his injury to use a blaster to get them both out of there, but he was still lightning fast. Undyne gritted her teeth, once again feeling completely and totally disgusted with the skeleton. Papyrus was a hard working soldier, and he was ruthless. Yet, the difference between him and Sans, was that he had honor... But Sans. Sans was lazy. He didn't even try. Royal Scientists should stay Royal Scientists, instead of going off into the war and wasting everyone's time. Undyne would be doing everyone a favor by disposing of this traitorous bag of bones. She lifted her hand into the air, and blue lights flashed around her, before condensing into spears, which sped at them. The water they were standing in parted as they sped by, until one hit Sans, who was unable to make both him and Frisk fast enough to dodge the spears. He gritted his teeth, before beginning to run past Undyne, who quickly sent out a wave of green magic, rooting them to the spot. Undyne clearly wasn't going to show any mercy, as more spears pummeled the companions. Undyne began to laugh in triumph, clearly thinking that she had them now.
Frisk was losing health fast, and Sans was beginning to be overwhelmed by the amount of spears coming for them. As one spear shattered, three more would take its place, and they couldn't keep this up for long. The expression of pure happiness on Undyne's face only grew as she continued to attack them. Sans lifted his hand, and bones rose out of the ground under Undyne, who took it like it was nothing at all. Undyne swung her spear again, hitting both of them with a wave of red magic. Sans, taking advantage of not being rooted anymore, lifted both of his hands, and a white beam seared out of the maw of a blaster that looked like it was about to fall apart at any time. Undyne, taken off guard by the sheer speed of the blast, was hit. Sans quickly found Frisk, and they splashed past Undyne, who had been blinded by the light for just a few moments. When Undyne could see again, she realized that they had ran for it, and snarled. "Get back here you little punks!" She yelled, before chasing after them, her heavy armor weighing her down. "You're going to pay for all of this!"
"kid, listen to me, keep running, and don't look back, alright? i'll join up with you. trust me!" Sans called to Frisk over the sound of the spears splashing into the water. Frisk nodded, thought part of them wondered what Sans was going to do. Sans let go of their hand, letting them run free, before sliding to a stop. Frisk bolted off into the water, the water weighing them down and slowing their steps, taking their stick out of their pack, and swinging it to parry a spear that sped towards them. Twigs are the main killers of spears, kids. Sans faced Undyne fearlessly, the usually cheerful look he had on his face replaced with one of pure malice and determination. "i didn't want to have to do this, undyne, but it looks like you've given me no choice." Sans growled, staring at her as she ran through the water. "do you know how close we are to the abyss?" Undyne slid to a stop, a sneer on her face as she stared at Sans. A beam of white light spilled out of her one pitch black eye, and her yellow one appeared to be gleaming in the half-light of blue spears.
"I should be the one asking you that, you smiley trashbag! And what are you going to do to stop me?! Huh? Use one of your stupid, annoying jokes?! You're a pathetic excuse for a monster! You're weak! I don't know why the hell they moved you to the army, but I'm going to fix their mistake! You damn nerds should stay locked up in that lab!" She snarled, the spear glowing in her hand as she pointed it at Sans.
That was when Sans' expression switched back to pure glee, and he began to laugh at Undyne, who gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her spear. His laughter wasn't one of happiness, no, Undyne knew that. "wow, and i... i guess these 'nerds' also include alphys, huh? you're brutal..." Sans howled with laughter. He was faced with death, and he was laughing... "I don't like it when someone like you messes with my friends." Sans said, a more serious and darker tone to his voice despite his laughter.
"You... Sans! You're fucking insane!" Undyne stammered, taking a step back in panic.
"and you know why?" Sans said, the comically large smile on his face only widening. "i have nothing to lose. and there's nothing more dangerous than a person with nothing to lose, isn't there? now, let me show you exactly what i do to dirty people like you who pick on kids like them!" Sans laughed, raising his hand. Cracked blasters filled the air, and Undyne's face immediately fell to dread, as she was faced with uncountable amounts of blasters, and the mental skeleton behind them. Frisk, nearly out of the room, stopped, staring back at them, where, in the distance, they could see the firing line of blasters, Sans, and Undyne... With an eardrum shattering boom, the blasters fired off rays of white light, all at Undyne, who took the raw force of the attack. It wasn't a quick blast, however, as the lasers continued to spill out of the blaster's maws. Undyne used as many spears as possible, attempting to block the blast, but she was beginning to be pushed back in the water. The current into the abyss, and the force from Sans' blasters was too much. "DIE!" Sans yelled repeatedly over the sound of the blasters, and Frisk, shaking, turned, running into the next room. They had a feeling that they shouldn't have seen that.
They slid to a stop, gasping for breath. More explosions followed, followed by a screech, and they quickly sped forward, terrified. Frisk trusted Sans, but he was volatile, from what they knew. Who knew if he was suddenly going to turn on them? Frisk kept moving, determined to make sure Sans thought that they hadn't been watching. From farther off came more explosions, as Frisk splashed through the rivers of Waterfall. Every part of Frisk ached and hurt from the several injuries that they had experienced. Falling on the boardwalk, being manhandled by that weird octopus thing, and almost speared through by Undyne several times were just a small list of what had happened. Frisk groaned, slowing their pace. Sans would take care of Undyne, and maybe then they could rest. But the fact that Sans would kill Undyne just to protect them... It was almost disturbing. Frisk bit their lip hard, taking another step into the murky water, trying to ignore the various human trash that was floating around them. Mere feet away, was the Abyss, and Frisk tried not to think about what would happen if they fell down there. A bright red cooler floating in the current caught their eye, and Frisk glanced around, before pushing it to safety behind a sturdy rock wall. They weren't going to fall here. Probably.
Frisk opened the lid to the cooler, wondering what was in there. They had been lucky enough to survive this long, so why should their luck stop now? Frisk knew that monster food could heal, so it was their best chance. Frisk peered in, and raised an eyebrow upon seeing a completely untouched hot cat in there. Another explosion came from the distance, and Frisk jumped, taking the hot cat and looking around. "cool, looks like ya found that before it fell into the abyss." A calm voice said, and Frisk spotted Sans, who was rubbing his left eye until the blue and yellow glow from it disappeared. Frisk bit their lip, glancing back at where they had run from. "oh. undyne, right... if she's even still alive... she's in the abyss. and she's never getting out through all of the crap that's floated down there." Frisk opened their mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. They felt guilty about Undyne, but she was attempting to kill them both. So why did they have any sympathy towards her? Frisk shook their head, trying not to think about the scream they had heard earlier, as Sans led them deeper into Waterfall. Here, piles of human garbage were clumped into mountains, and Frisk tried to avoid touching any of it, despite the fact that they were stepping in the water that this stuff had been soaking in. Frisk recognized a few brands, but they saw nothing useful. Sans, however, leaned over to a pile of trash, plucking out something round, and causing the majority of it to fall into the water. "keep an eye out kiddo. there's good stuff in here. like this human tech." Sans said, holding up something that Frisk recognized... As a grenade?! "man, i do not know why you throw this stuff away! It's a blast!"
Frisk didn't know why humans would throw away something like that either. Sans merely put it into one of his jacket pockets, and Frisk uneasily began to eat the hot cat as they walked. Hopefully the pin on that thing wouldn't go off. They continued walking, completely and totally unopposed, even when they passed through a mountain, split perfectly down the middle to create a ravine rising out of the Abyss. In the distance, Frisk could barely see the white palace they had seen before, and assumed that that was their destination. "hey kid, if you got anything really heavy on you, might wanna take it off." Sans said. "hotland is just as hot as it sounds. exposed lava and such?" He explained to them, and Frisk pointed to his own jacket, which they had noticed had turned a dark blue to match Waterfall. Guess they were too busy almost dying to notice something like that. Sans shrugged. "makes me look badass, doesn't it?" Frisk couldn't argue with that. As they walked through the ravine, Sans hummed to himself cheerfully as he walked, as if he hadn't just killed one of the Underground's most ruthless soldiers. Frisk bit their lip, seeing the dark stain of blood on the back of his jacket, but the uneasy flickering of bright lights made them look up. A bright sign, which appeared to be barely working, had a few letters missing. 'W-LC-ME T- H-TL-D!' was all they could make out. The electric lights were flickering off and on, and Frisk wondered how it was still functioning. It was obviously not built to last.
"welcome to hotland, kiddo. seriously, i'm not joking when i say that there's exposed lava, fire, and did i mention the lava? watch your step. oh yeah, i almost forgot. steam geysers. you would say, oh, steam's nice, you know... if you talked n' all, but that stuff hurts. not a good thing. this place is also nice to sell hot dogs and cats at. to be honest, some of those volcano shaped monsters kinda scare me sometimes. i have to put the hot dogs into their heads, and they react... really weird." Sans talked as they passed by the electric sign. Despite everything that had happened, Frisk was smiling, amused by the skeleton who appeared to not have a care in the world. "well, here we are." Sans said, stopping. "after you, kiddo. lava's real bright. did i mention that there's lava?" Frisk walked past Sans out of the cave, and gasped, realizing that they were walking out on to a rock formation much like a bridge, connecting to various islands of rocks sticking out stubbornly among the lava, which bubbled and ate away at the rocks that they would never be able to fell. Frisk swore it was calling their name. "i told you there was lava. why are you so surprised? let's get moving. oh yeah. don't look down."
Frisk bit their lip, scrambling over the bridge to the first island of rock. "don't worry, we won't be on these things for too long, alright? just wait until we get to the co- never mind there's an abyss there too." Frisk passed by a water tank set up on the edge of it, running past the bridge with Sans following close behind. In the distance, they could see a white building, standing out sorely from the red stones of Hotland. Its sides shown orange in the glow of the lava below, and Frisk slowed down, staring at it. "cool. guess we caught the guards out of their rotation. that building over there is the lab. yup, that's where i used to work! pretty cool, huh?" Frisk nodded slowly. Sans sighed. "... man... i said i would visit al... haven't done that yet... yo, kid? follow me. we're gonna meet a friend." He said, before taking the lead. Frisk noticed that the blue of his jacket was slowly turning from purple to red, just like Hotlands. Frisk followed behind him, trying not to think about the lava below them. Did they mention there was lava-
Sans walked straight up to the lab, before pulling one of his black gloves off and putting his hand on a panel next to the door. It slid open, and Sans leaned against the door frame. "after you." He said, and Frisk walked in, marveling at how clean and organized everything looked. An escalator that wasn't running led up to a second floor, and Frisk could see several computers and work tables. Frisk noticed one folder that was so full that it looked like it was about to rip set on one of the desks next to a computer. The pattering of feet came from upstairs, and the escalator activated.
"I-I'll be there in a second! Ouch- Okay, s-sorry, one second, one second!" A nervous voice called to them. A yellow, reptilian monster with goggles, a brown jacket, with shorts and a large belt filled with various tools. She appeared to be extremely flustered. "A-Are you guys here about the orders?" She stared down at the steps of the escalator as she descended, her hands held to her chest. "I'm, v-very sorry about that. I, uhm, I don't have any hel-..." She looked up, a shocked expression appearing on her face. "Sans? Oh my god- It's you! I almost thought you were dead you were gone for so long! How long has it been?"
"a year tops?" Sans said, shrugging.
"I-It's been that long? Wow, I, I, uhm, h-how has your work been?" She asked him nervously.
"great. in fact, i have a friend. say hello, kid." Sans said, looking down to Frisk, who had been hiding behind Sans. Frisk edged nervously out of his shadow, and the monster's expression slid from happiness to pure shock. "kid, this is alphys. she's pretty cool, and she's the main force behind the tech monsters use to fight humans. but i wouldn't blast you with one of them..." Sans explained to Frisk, who waved at Alphys. Alphys seemed completely and totally terrified.
"S-Sans? ... W... Why do you have a human with you?" She asked him, her hands shaking.
"oh, they're just a friend, like I said. queen's orders, anyways." Sans said, surprising Alphys.
"But... I thought you were on sentry work in Snowdin?" Alphys asked, and Sans' expression changed to looking shocked. He fell silent, and Alphys took a step towards them. "Sans? What... W-What are you really doing?"
Sans sighed heavily, crossing his arms and staring at Alphys. "Listen Alphys. I'm not exactly what you would call the most typical monster. I slipped up with my words. So... Might as well. I'm not a sentry. Well, I am- But it's on the side. Do you think that I would get pulled out of being a Royal Scientist just to sit around Snowdin's forests waiting for a human that would never come? Nope. I'm not a sentry, I'm an assassin."
"S-So... Sans... W... Why is that human still alive?" She asked him nervously, and Sans shrugged.
"queen's orders, like i said. i don't care about the money i'll get from it anymore. i made a promise, y'know? but, believe me." Sans put his hands on Frisk's shoulders. "If she hadn't told me to, I would have killed them before they reached Snowdin." He said, and Alphys bit her lip.
"... Sans? Are you alright?" Alphys asked him, and he snorted.
"peachy. in fact, i should tell you everything that's ha-" The doors to the lab slammed open, and Frisk jumped, clinging to Sans, who stared at the doors. Many, many guards stood in the doorway, with two fully armored monsters taking the lead.
"Those guys, they're, like, the traitors Undyne told us about! Get them!" One of the fully armored monsters said. The barks of several dog guards rang out, and Sans picked up Frisk, bolting through the lab. There wasn't a door at the end of the lab, so Sans opened a door in the side of the wall with a yellow sign in it.
"trust me, i know what i'm doing kid. you'll thank me later." He said, punching in a number into it. "hold on tight!" He yelled, as the entire room they were standing in began to descend, and Frisk realized that Sans had led them into an elevator that was slowly descending into the depths of Hotland...
"Cut the ropes!" The same guard's voice yelled.
"Wait, no no-" Someone else said, and with a groan and a snap,, the elevator began to fall, faster and faster. Frisk clung to Sans in terror, shutting their eyes and trying to ignore the creaks and groans coming from the elevator as it fell. But then, suddenly, a second later, everything stopped, and Frisk and Sans nearly bounced off of the ground of the elevator. Frisk breathed heavily, panic started to take over them, while Sans stared around at where they were, trying to comfort Frisk as best as he could.
"well then... guess we're in the old lab." Sans whispered, before standing up, putting down Frisk, who was shaking in their boots. A bone appeared in Sans' hands, which he used to pry open the doors of the elevator. The entire thing was a wreck, and now they needed to find a way out. "everything's going to be just fine, alright kiddo? trust your pal sans." But Frisk sniffed, tears appearing in their eyes. They were just a child, and they wanted to be anywhere but this. Frisk began to sob, having a breakdown. Sans quickly sit down in front of them, putting his hands on their shoulders. "everything's going to be fine... i made a promise to protect you, and i'm not letting you die. got that?" Frisk covered their face in their hands, trying not to be loud. They were panicking, and didn't know what to do...
Frisk suddenly felt themselves in his embrace, and they looked up at him, confused. Sans gave them a small smile. "... I don't understand..." They whispered, surprising Sans. "Why? Why are you doing this for me?" They asked him. "I'm a human..." Sans let them go, smiling hugely despite their situation.
"this isn't just about the promise kid. i trust you'll do the right thing. so you should trust me, alright? i know what i'm doing, and we're going to get out of here." Sans said, patting their head.
"stay determined for me, alright?"