AN: Welcome to chapter five! As I mentioned in the notes of the last chapter, I decided to go with shorter updates so I can do so more frequently. I know its been a bit since the last chapter and doesn't SEEM much faster, but just take into account that you still wouldn't be getting an update if I were doing longer chapters, sooo... 8'D
Anyways, do PLEASE leave a review if you enjoy the chapter! They only take a few moments of your time, and they mean the absolute world to me, the person who has spent literally hundreds of hours of her limited free time to bring you this story free of charge -sweats-
Angels in the Underground
Chapter Five: Still Waters
It was several yards before Sans found his stride, but when he did the landscape flew past; a blur of tall lavender grass and the occasional streamlet to be vaulted. The seraphim's shoulder throbbed with every step as he carried Frisk, but he ignored it for as long as he could in favor of putting distance between them and the uproar they had mistakenly caused among the echo flowers.
When they came to a river they could not so easily jump, Sans finally stopped, a little out of breath and achy, but glad to be away. He put Frisk down on her feet and watched as Dog sprinted right into the shallows of the river and proceeded to thrust its snout into the water and drink deeply.
"How far did we go?" Frisk asked curiously as she gained her feet and straightened her tutu, then her crown of flowers.
The seraphim glanced back they way they had come and hazarded a guess. "few miles?"
"What?" the girl said, startled. She laughed and grinned, then added, "You're just like the Flash!"
"the who?" he asked, brow quirked in amusement at her delighted smile while Dog waddled out of the water and shook itself off. Luckily it did so well away from them before returning to plop itself down at Frisk's feet, tongue hanging out of its mouth.
"The Flash!" she repeated. "He's super fast! Also, he's friends with Superman and Wonder Woman and Batman and-"
"i think i get the drift," Sans cut in with a chuckle, and while the girl continued to ramble on, wondering how he didn't know about the Justice League when they'd been around for 'like a hundred years', he turned his gaze back they way they had come.
Was a few miles far enough if Undyne did indeed overhear and decide to investigate? Probably, but it would still be best to keep moving and add to that margin of distance just to be safe. Still, the river was far too wide here for him to jump with Frisk, Dog, and a bad wing. That meant they needed to find a bridge.
"-Wonder Woman's my favorite, but Hawk Girl is super cool too," Frisk rambled on, unaware of Sans' drifting attention. "The Avengers have Captain America, though; he was Grandma's favorite. He fought Nazis and space aliens."
"pretty impressive resume for one guy," Sans admitted, slipping seamlessly back into the conversation. "let's keep walking, princess. we're gonna have to find a bridge to get over this river."
"Which way?" Frisk asked, turning her head this way and that, apparently disoriented after their mad dash which, admittedly, hadn't exactly been in a straight line. Sans set her facing the right way and all three started off together once Dog bounded to its feet and trotted on ahead, sniffing here and there for sticks, but finding none so far from any trees.
"that was a pretty nice song back there with the flowers, kiddo," the seraphim remarked conversationally after awhile once Frisk had exhausted her impressively large array of superhero factoids and lapsed into silence. "what's it called?"
"Um," the girl began thoughtfully, a small frown tugging at her lips. "I don't remember what it's called, but it's from my favorite Tinkerbell movie," she explained, brightening a little. "It was the part from the end when when all the fairies make a nice place for the Neverbeast to sleep," Frisk recalled. Her smile went a little sad when she added, "It was Grandma's favorite song too, even though that part of the movie always made her almost cry. It made me sad too, because the Neverbeast saved all the fairies, but it still had to go back to sleep at the end even though everyone wanted it to stay."
"sounds sad," Sans agreed. Indeed, the song the girl had sung back among the echo flowers had definitely had a melancholy air to it. It did make him wonder when kids movies started getting so serious, though. Granted, not many human films had made it into the underground for a long time, granted, their invention of 'DVDs' and their sturdy cases had resulted in a recent uptick in variety. They offered a small, peculiar window into what life had become on the surface, though it was hard to tell just how close to the truth they might be.
The seraphim glanced sidelong at Frisk, who had one hand alternatingly resting on Dog's head or hanging at her side while the other swept her stick back and forth before her. Her expression had gone somber, no doubt thanks to her mention of her grandmother. Or perhaps she was simply thinking of Cassiel and the alarming situation they had just escaped.
Sans bumped his shoulder lightly against hers and asked, "tell me about your grandma?"
Frisk tilted her head towards him and seemed to hesitate a moment before a smile spread across her features and she nodded. "She always smelled really nice," the girl said with a wistful sigh, "and her skin was wrinkly but, like, so soft. She had a pretty singing voice too. She liked to sing in the shower, and when she was cooking, or cleaning-"
"pretty much all the time then?" Sans mused with a chuckle, grinning at the girl's description. It was interesting to hear the difference in how the blind child described her grandparent compared to how most would. Were he to describe someone, he'd immediately think of their hair, eyes, or skin color. Forced to rely on other senses, Frisk's description painted a unique portrait of the woman who had raised her.
"Yeah," the child agreed, smile widening. "I remember from when I was really young, before I got sick, that she had lots of white hair. White like snow, and she always wore it up in a bun," Frisk said, gesturing to the back of her own head with her free hand to indicate the style. "I stuck flowers in it sometimes," she added with an impish smile. It began to falter, and Sans would have changed the subject had Frisk not done so herself. "What's your mom like, Sans?"
Ther seraphim blinked, wrong-footed by the question. "I-" he began, then shut his mouth, brow furrowed.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna," Frisk hurried to say when he hesitated. She reached out towards him and patted the angel lightly on the shoulder in what she clearly hoped was a reassuring manner.
A huff of amusement rushed out of the skeleton and he shot her a rueful smile. "It's alright, princess," he mused. They walked in silence for a minute, the only sound that of the Annoying Dog's foraging in the long grass and the rush of the river to their right. "she's a skeleton like me and pap," he said eventually, refusing to speak of his mother in the past tense. "not quite as tall as him, but a lot taller than me."
"Is she pretty?" Frisk asked with a smile, clearly happy to be learning more about her peculiar friend.
"dad definitely thought so," he answered with laugh. "she's scary smart too; taught me everything i know about magic."
"Is she a seraphim too?"
Sans shook his head. "nah. mom's a throne, dad's an archangel like pap."
Frisk nodded thoughtfully at this revelation. "When you were sleeping the other day, Pap told me he used to work for Asgore in the angel army," she said out of the blue, once again taking the seraphim off guard with the sudden change in subject. Conversation with Frisk, Sans was coming to learn, was a bit like drunken darts: you never knew what you'd land on next.
It was bit of a oversimplification, but it accurately summed things up in a way a human child could understand, so he said, "yeah. he about died when he got the news he'd made it into the commander's unit," Sans mused with a snort, recalling his little brother's raptures when he'd found out all those years ago. The seraphim pointedly pushed aside thoughts of what had eventually come after, and how Papyrus might still be in Heaven rather than trapped down here with him if not for that assignment…
"So what was your job? You know...before?" Frisk asked, sounding a little hesitant to broach the subject, but curious enough to dare.
"i, uh," Sans began, then paused awkwardly as he rubbed the vertebrae at the base of his skull absently and debated on his answer. His failure to stop Asgore's rampage as gate guardian was something the seraphim was loathe to discuss, so he skipped it in favor of a different, though still truthful, answer. "well, i was high judge of the heavenly host," he admitted reluctantly.
Frisk blinked and raised her brows. "A judge? Like...in court with criminals and lawyers and stuff?"
"kinda," Sans replied with a grimace. He'd always had a gift for magic and crafting holy relics, but being Judge had been his job in the host before he'd requested assignment down on Earth. It was a job only a seraphim could perform, and his soul sight had been sharper than most's. Luckily, Toriel had been looking for reassignment at the same time, so it had worked out neatly for the both of them. Sans glanced at Frisk and could tell by the cant of her head that she was waiting for him to continue, so he sighed a little and did so. "if angels had a disagreement they couldn't solve amongst themselves, they would come to me and i would mediate as an impartial third party. if an angel committed a crime, i would pass judgement and decide their punishment."
"Angels commit crimes?" Frisk asked, eyes going wide with such disbelief that Sans had to laugh.
"yeah, kid, they do," he said. The seraphim snorted disdainfully and as an afterthought, added, "some of us like to act like we're perfect and above that petty shi-... garbage, but we're not."
"Wow," the child murmured, mind clearly boggled by this revelation, making Sans wonder just what they were teaching in human schools these days.
Angels were, of course, less inclined to killing one another than humans, but that didn't mean they never committed crimes or had arguments. His job had been easier than a human judge's in many ways, though. He didn't have to deal with lawyers for one. Using soul sight to see the truth of a matter had cut through many cases with ease, though others had remained tricky regardless. If a person genuinely believed what they told him, after all, it showed as truth in their heart, and when you had two plaintiffs doing as much, things quickly became muddy.
He'd been eager to leave the job for just that reason. It had been emotionally exhausting, and Sans had never been a people person, even among his own kind. He had gladly handed the reigns over to Toriel in favor of taking her place as gate guardian down on Earth. Life on the mountain had been quiet and uncomplicated after years spent in the courts of Heaven…
Well, until he'd met Ellie, anyways. Even after everything that happened, though, Sans knew he would do it all again in a heartbeat, fall and all.
Sans, Frisk, and the Annoying Dog continued walking for some time. When they eventually came across a bridge that spanned the river they had been walking alongside, the seraphim scouted ahead, leaving child and dog behind to wait for the all clear. Undyne proved absent from that particular crossing, so Sans hurried them across and deviated from the path once more. This made for slower going, but they all felt the safer for it.
Eventually, Frisk began to lag behind, and the skeleton decided to call it a day after the girl's third jaw-popping yawn in as many minutes.
"we'll camp out here," he said when he spotted a small, cave-like crevice in the mighty rock formation they had been walking along for some time. With trees being few and far between in this stretch of Waterfall, it was the most cover they were likely to find for some time.
"Finally," Frisk said as she heaved a sigh of relief then dropped to the ground where she stood and flopped over backwards so she sprawled in the grass. She wasn't given long to rest before Dog took advantage and proceeded to wash her face with its tongue. "Ew! No, bad Dog!" she complained and pushed at the creature half-heartedly.
Sans rolled his eyes and said, "i didn't mean here here, princess. over this way." He nudged her with the point of his shoe before he turned and headed over to the rock face. He dropped their backpack and sat down with his back to the stone, then opened it and fished around inside it.
"But I'm tired," the girl complained with another hearty sigh.
"I'll just give your dinner to dog, then," Sans threatened lightly as he pulled out a few sandwiches and a bottle of water. Dog immediately perked up at this news and bounded over with a bark. The seraphim's brows went up and he laughed when the creature settled primly at his feet, tail wagging excitedly, jaw dropped in a houndish grin.
"Noooo!" the child whined, though didn't quite muster the energy to move.
Dog sat up on its hind legs and lifted one forepaw in a manner even Sans had to admit was adorable. "damn, kid, better hurry, he's begging like a pro. dog's got moves; not sure how long i can resist."
"Ugh, you are the worst, Sans!" Frisk said and finally hauled herself to her feet with the help of her walking stick and moved to join them.
"maybe," the skeleton agreed smugly as Frisk plopped down next to him, "but i'm also the one with the sandwiches."
The little girl sighed again and put her stick down before accepting a saran wrapped sandwich from Sans and digging in without further complaint. When she was halfway through, though, an impish smile crossed her round features and she asked, "Hey, Sans, did you make these?"
"nah, pap did," the seraphim answered. Lacking much of an appetite, he fed the other half of his sandwich to dog rather than finish it himself. The creature gulped it down and licked its chops, making Sans wonder if Dog had even tasted it.
"Oh, that's too bad," the girl replied, making him quirk a brow at her as he took a sip of water. He didn't have to wait long, though, as she continued, "cuz if you had, it'd be a sans-wich."
The seraphim had to struggle not to choke on his mouthful of water, and Frisk beamed proudly, looking a little smug at her successful play on words.
"good one, kid," he said, ruffling her hair proudly and making her giggle. "i'll have to remember that one."
Frisk straightened her crown and took another bite of her food. An idea seemed to occur to her while she chewed as she swallowed hurriedly and said, "The cafe serves sandwiches! I'll name one after you. I'll call it 'the sanswich' and it'll have like...ten toppings!"
The seraphim's eyes widened at her earnest proclamation, and his soul tightened a little in his chest. He wouldn't be sad when she left (or so he tried to tell himself). He'd be happy, and perhaps relieved of some small measure of his guilt if he were successful in helping Frisk on her way back to the surface. He'd be happy knowing that this wayward child had escaped to live the life she was meant to have back among her own people, even if none of the angels ever would.
Sans would carry her memory in his heart right alongside Ellie's, he knew now, and he would never forget. When she was dust and the last of her descendants had vanished from the face of the Earth, Sans would still remember her just as she was in this moment: smiling, golden crown off kilter, and radiating happiness.
Frisk would likely never know it, but in that moment, she achieved a kind of immortality that only Sans' own death would spell the end of.
The seraphim managed to breathe again, and he said, "oh yeah?" his voice a little rough, but he hoped the child would put it down to his choking a moment before. "better make it at least fifteen toppings if you want to do me any sort of justice," he teased lightly.
"That's way too many!" she objected with an incredulous laugh before finishing off the last of her sandwich and feeding the crusts to Dog who scarfed them down just as quickly as it had Sans' offering. "No one would ever order it."
"you're probably right," Sans mused. "humans just can't stomach a sandwich awesome enough to be named after me, i guess."
Frisk scoffed and smiled. After a moment, she suggested, "What about twelve? Maybe they'd order twelve if they were really good toppings."
Sans pretended to mull this over for some moment before grinning and saying, "yeah, alright then, twelve it is."
The child's own smile widened in return as she absently stroked Dog's head where it lay between them. "I like it when you smile," she admitted out of the blue. Before Sans could muster a reply, she continued, "It makes your voice go all nice and warm."
The seraphim stared at her, taken aback by the peculiar compliment he'd just been paid. Had he been able, he probably would have blushed. "O-oh yeah?" he remarked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Yeah," Frisk replied with a bob of her head. "Hey, Sans?" Still a little off kilter, the skeleton grunted in answer and the girl took that as a sign to continue. "Can I… can I touch your face? You know, so I can tell what you look like?"
Sans' brow quirked at this, mouth twisting into a rueful smile. "thought we already established that i'm a skeleton?"
Frisk huffed. "Yeah, but not all skeletons look the same, right?" she asked. Then, almost as though she hoped to guilt him into a yes, she continued, "Pap let me do him when you were sleeping yesterday."
The seraphim hummed noncommittally and watched Frisk closely as she waited for his answer. She had sat up quite straight, hand slowing in its gentle petting of Dog's ears before coming to rest on its back. The animal seemed to have drifted off to sleep, though, so it didn't complain at the lapse. Frisk herself didn't seem anxious at his silence, but she did worry at her bottom lip with her teeth, and it occurred to Sans that the act of reaching out to a person in that way likely meant quite a lot to a girl who could not see.
Finally, he sighed and said, "alright, fine."
Frisk lit up at his answer and immediately shifted so she was seated on her knees facing him. Sans followed her lead, though he sat cross-legged once he had turned towards her, smiling a little at her excitement and glad he'd decided to indulge her.
Sans had never been the type to like being touched overmuch throughout his life. Immediate family such as Papyrus and his parents had been exempt from this unwritten rule, and even then, it was rarely instigated on his part. Ellie had been the only exception; it was her touch he had craved like a drug (and still did). His general aversion to touch was something that had only intensified after the fall when even casual contact could bring on intense pain if experienced unexpectedly.
"carefully, please," he told Frisk once she had scooted in so her knees brushed his crossed legs and she reached out toward him. He gently caught her wrists and guided her hands towards his face so she wouldn't grab his shoulder by mistake.
"Not like I haven't done this before," the girl grumbled half-heartedly, though allowed herself to be guided. When her fingertips brushed over his cheekbones, Sans released his hold on her and sat quite still as she carefully mapped his features. "You're rounder than Papyrus," she observed, smiling a little to herself at this discovery.
"you trying to call me fat, princess?" the seraphim joked lightly.
"How can you be fat? You're a skeleton," Frisk said and laughed, making her fingers slip and accidentally jab directly into Sans' nasal cavity.
The skeleton sputtered and snorted as he jerked back in surprise at the sudden intrusion. "hey, come on!" he complained, rubbing fitfully at the area with the back of his hand, torn between laughter and discomfort. "i know you're nosey, but you don't have to literally stick your fingers up my nose."
"Sorry! Sorry!" the girl said as she laughed, though the furrow to her brow bespoke true contrition, no matter how funny her slip up might have been. "Sorry," she repeated, "Most people have a nose there."
"yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't you?" he groused. He saw Frisk hesitate to touch him again and sighed, but reached out to guide her hands in once more. "just...try to keep your fingers out of my eye sockets at least, huh?"
Frisk grimaced but nodded readily in agreement as her fingers trailed, feather light, along the line of his jaw, up to his temples, and across his brow. Sans studied her own face as she worked, amused by the way the child's brow knit in concentration while she, he assumed, committed her findings to memory. Frisk's hands drifted briefly over the back of his skull, then down to the vertebrae at its base before coming to a stop at his shoulders. "Can I-" she began, then stopped as she let her hands drop into her lap and pulled back a little, teeth worrying her bottom lip again.
Worried she might chew it raw at this rate, Sans poked her in the cheek to make her stop. "can you what?" he asked.
Frisk grimaced, but stopped biting her lip. "Can I, um..." she seemed to shrink in on herself as her voice dropped to something only just barely louder than a whisper. "Can I touch your wings?"
Sans had to bite his own lip to keep the immediate and emphatic 'no' that wanted to escape him under wraps. The apprehension Frisk obviously felt at even daring to ask gave him the strength not to crush her fragile hopes. It had taken a lot of guts to ask, he could tell, and after all, he was the one who had insisted she speak after she had apparently decided against it.
The seraphim shifted uncomfortably where he sat as the silence stretched on between them, the little girl seeming to shrink a little more with every moment that passed without his answer. Sans didn't mind her touching his good wing, she already had multiple times before now and he was comfortable enough with the child to allow it; instigate it, even. He knew that wasn't what she was really asking, though. What Frisk wanted was to touch his left wing, to run her fingers over charred feather and ruined flesh…
Sans shuddered at the thought and might have broken out in a sweat if he'd had skin as the half a sandwich he'd eaten threatened to make a reappearance. No one touched his bad wing, not even him. Sans refused to so much as look at it if he could at all manage.
A small voice somewhere in the depths of his soul that sounded suspiciously like Ellie suggested the exercise might be good for the child. How else was she to fully understand what anyone else could plainly see? Another part of him, the selfish part that relished the trust Frisk had in him and the fact that she looked to him for protection was repulsed by the idea. The thought of her small hands mapping out the extent of the scars that catalogued his failures in a macabre tapestry stitched into his flesh made his soul ache.
"I-it's alright, forget I asked," Frisk said, shoulders practically up around her ears.
A sense of relief washed over Sans at her words, though it was quickly followed by a surge of guilt and a sense that something important was threatening to pass them by.
'If you never take the risk and open yourself up, you'll never learn to love anyone, and no one will have the chance to love you.'
Ellie's words returned to haunt him for the second time since meeting Frisk, and once again he wondered at his wife's insight. It used to drive him up the wall, the way she could cut straight to the heart of a matter, no matter how he might try to avoid it. She'd spent so very little time on Earth and yet he'd still swear she saw so much clearer than he did. Sans knew that if she were here now, Ellie would probably lecture him for being 'emotionally constipated' or something before gently talking him through his lingering hang-ups about his injury. Granted, if his wife were here, he'd never have become this way in the first place…
"kid, wait," the seraphim finally said, breaking down and bringing Frisk up short before she could move away from him. The child turned towards him, still frowning, but seeming less distressed than a moment before. "just- " he began, then paused before forcing himself to continue, mouth dry, "just… gently."
Normally the girl might have made a retort of some kind, especially after his first warning about his eyes, but there was a raw note in the seraphim's voice that even someone as young as she could pick up on. It struck a sympathetic chord in her, communicating in a way mere words never could just how much trust he was placing in her by giving in to her request.
"Okay," she agreed solemnly as their hands met once more and Sans helped Frisk to her feet while he himself remained seated.
The seraphim gave his shoulders a reluctant roll and unveiled his wings. He stretched them experimentally, and while the right was able to extend with ease, the left began to shake before it reached the halfway point as pain burned along the damaged nerves and ravaged muscle. Sans bit back a grunt and let the limb relax to a more comfortable position that kept it significantly closer to his body. The length of the feathers on his good wing (and those few that remained on his left) forced him to hold both at an angle, though his pinions dragged across the grass regardless.
Frisk stood very still for a moment, seeming content to allow Sans to make himself comfortable before reaching out once more. "I'll do the right first," she said with unusual insight for one so young.
Sans only grunted, though he did appreciate her forethought. Maybe easing into things would make the exercise more bearable.
Frisk started at his shoulder and allowed her hands to trace the leading edge of his wing. The small feathers that covered his powerful muscles were impossibly soft and fine under her sensitive fingertips, drawing a smile of delight to her lips. The expression faded a little and was replaced by awe when she was forced to take several steps along before she so much as reached the elbow of the massive limb, let alone its end.
"They're huge!" she exclaimed incredulously as she kept going, and going, and going… Eventually she reached the end of the actual limb, and continued out along the longest of Sans' pinions. Having been forced from a young age to gauge distance in steps, Frisk knew her friend's wing was nearly twenty feet long. She'd known they were big, after all, she'd been wrapped in them more than once, but she'd never realized just how big until that moment. "Sans, you're amazing!" she declared brightly as she hurried back to where she'd started and ducked under his wing to trace her fingers along the larger, though equally soft, feathers there.
The seraphim cracked an eye to watch the girl, having let them drift shut as she scurried here and there around him. Her steady, careful hand on his wing had proved soothing, and he managed a smile for her in turn. "Not really," he mused with a shrug that nearly swept Frisk off her feet. Instinctively, he folded his wing and caught the girl before she could take a tumble, allowing her to steady herself on the vast swath of luminous white feathers before using it to herd her in closer. Frisk giggled as she was nearly swamped by all that warm softness, but pushed her way free before Sans was able to drag her in against his side.
"Yeah-huh," she insisted.
"nuh-uh," he countered lightly with a snort of amusement. "it's how i was born is all."
Frisk scoffed. "Well, I still think it's cool," she said, then allowed the subject to drop as she turned in the general direction of his left wing.
She hesitated, suddenly consumed by doubt on the wisdom of what she was about to do. Frisk knew Sans' wing was sensitive, knew she'd hurt him badly the last time she'd touched it by mistake. Her body threatened to begin shaking at the memory of the animal noise that had torn from the angel's throat when she'd laid hands on him; she didn't think she'd ever forget it for as long as she lived.
Just as she was about to chicken out, his hand on hers brought her back to the present. The seraphim's strong fingers lead her gently forward until he shifted his hold down to her wrist so he could bring her hand to rest, palm down, at the base of his left wing.
The difference between the limbs was obvious as soon as Frisk began to move her hand with the utmost care she could manage. While the feathers of one had been impossibly soft, those of the other had a strange brittleness to them that made Frisk feel they might shatter beneath even her light touch. She could hear Sans' breathing change as he forced himself to take deep, steadying breaths, and could only trust that he would say something if he became too uncomfortable.
The difference between the angel's wings lay not just in the feathers, Frisk realized as she made her way towards the first joint, but in the muscle as well. It felt wasted and weak, and was racked by the occasional tremor that made her pause in concern every time. When she reached the 'elbow' of the left wing, the girl's hand was forced to go up in an attempt to follow the limb further. She wondered why, then realized it must pain him to stretch it out fully as he had with the other. Knowing she could go no further in that direction, she ducked down very carefully and shuffled underneath, her fingers still trailing lightly over the strangely brittle feathers until an intense network of scars brought her up short.
The extent of them made her wince in sympathy, and the severity churned her stomach. The flesh had long since healed, though badly; the scars were thick and rigid, pulling what skin remained painfully taut between them. Many of the smaller feathers that made up the wing's plumage still remained, but only in patches thanks to the network of scars. Almost all of the primary and secondary feathers were gone however, with only a few remaining to give Sans' left wing a ragged look. These felt charred beneath her fingers, and to her horror, one threatened to crumble when she touched it, making Frisk snatch her hand away hurriedly.
Deciding she'd had enough, the child crawled out from under the ravaged limb, face contorted into an unhappy frown. Sans watched her closely and waited for her to ask him what had happened to cause such extensive damage. To his surprise, though, after a moment's hesitation, Frisk simply moved back to his right side and sat down next to him.
When she pressed up against his side and insinuated herself beneath his arm, the seraphim realized she was trembling.
"you alright, frisk?" he asked eventually when the girl continued quiet. The skeleton allowed his bad wing to relax more fully into a position less likely to worsen its ache, and dropped his good one so it trailed across the grass and folded around the child.
Frisk took a breath and seemed to search for the words she wanted before finally saying in a low, fervent voice, "I don't understand why someone would do that to you."
Sans' eyes widened in surprise at this response. It certainly wasn't what he'd expected her to say. A huff of wry amusement escaped the seraphim. "i'm glad you don't," he said simply.
The girl shifted at his side and plucked absently at her tutu for a minute, no doubt debating on what to say next. Eventually, she sighed a little and let her head drop onto his shoulder, making Sans wonder just what was going through her mind, even if he didn't quite dare ask. Frisk reached out and stroked the portion of wing nearest her in the same absent way she had pet Dog minutes before, then asked, "What color are your wings, Sans?"
"white," he answered, then hesitated and added in a tight voice, "well, mostly. The… left one… parts of it are black."
Frisk nodded thoughtfully. "White," she repeated with a soft smile. "That seems right."
"what?" Sans asked, confused but entertained by this turn in the conversation.
"Well, Grandma told me that colors have meanings sometimes," the girl explained. "Like, red is for determination and passion and love and stuff. Blue is..." she paused, frowning a little as she tried to recall the appropriate words. "Integrity? Yeah, integrity and wisdom, I think." Frisk smiled a little when a huff of amusement escaped the skeleton at her side and continued, "Anyways, she said white meant purity, safety, and faith."
Sans huffed again, though the amusement behind the noise held a bitter note this time. "kid, i think i lost all three of those things a long time ago," he admitted thoughtlessly, and immediately regretted it. Frisk didn't need his angst tainting her view of the world.
Before he could make some joke to lighten the mood and cover his faux pas though, the girl admitted, "Well… I know you make me feel safe. And, like… I have faith in you." Embarrassment seem to take over, then, and she turned her face slightly to bury it in the fabric of his jacket.
Once again Frisk had managed to render him speechless, and all Sans could do for some moments was stare down at the crown of her head where it rested against his shoulder. His hands threatened to start shaking at her innocent words and he wondered if she knew the weight they carried. Surely she couldn't, not at such a young age.
An old, familiar saying came to mind again as he watched her: out of the mouths of babes oft times come gems…
Frisk's words were both a balm and a wound to the seraphim's soul, but he did not have the energy to examine why. So, instead, he asked, "tell me more about your grandma?"
The girl turned her face up to him again and blinked, distracted from her embarrassment by his unexpected request. "How come?" she asked.
Sans shrugged. "because i'm nosey?"
"But you don't have a nose," Frisk pointed out for the second time that day with a grin.
The seraphim rolled his eyes and poked her own nose in response. "lemme borrow yours then."
Frisk swatted his hand away, still smiling. "Okay, okay," she said when he threatened to do it again. Sans relented and the girl let her head drop to his shoulder once more before yawning and saying, "She was really nice; everyone loved her, not just me." The fond smile that had taken over the girl's face twisted into a little something wicked however when she added, "Well, almost everyone. She used to get in fights with the family across the street that had this cat they didn't take very good care of. She hated that, and one day she just went over there and stole it."
An incredulous laugh escaped Sans, "what?"
"Yeah!" Frisk said, giggling at the memory. "It took three whole days for those people to notice so Grandma called animal control and reported them." The little girl frowned some and said, "Poor kitty was really thin, and grandma had to give it a flea bath. She was so mad. I wanted to keep it but we couldn't cuz I'm allergic to cats."
The child's disappointed tone threatened to make Sans laugh, but he restrained himself and patted her shoulder consolingly instead. "what else?" he asked encouragingly.
"She was really funny," Frisk added after a moment's thought. She turned her face up towards his again, a smile lighting her features as she shyly admitted, "You remind me of her when you joke. She was kinda the same way."
"oh?" Sans asked, one brow arching as his smile widened, "woman after my own heart then," he mused lightly.
"She'd have liked you," the girl murmured and dropped her head again, her arm slipping through his as though to anchor herself.
Wanting to keep the conversation light, Sans steered her away from potentially dark alleys of thought by asking, "what'd you guys do for fun? you ever actually work in that cafe of yours?"
"We'd watch movies sometimes," Frisk answered, but was forced to cover her mouth when another yawn overtook her. "Well, Grandma would watch movies and describe what was happening for me," she amended. "I didn't help out in the cafe much, though," she admitted. "But I'd do my homework there after school while Grandma finished up work in the office. The barista always made me hot chocolate with raspberry syrup," she said with a wistful smile for days past. It was a look Sans knew all too well.
"sounds good," he replied, and she nodded.
"Sometimes I got to help make the cookies we sold," Frisk added, definitely starting to drift off now.
A smile tugged at Sans' mouth as he veiled his wings and carefully disentangled himself from her grip so he could get into their backpack. Strapped to the top of it was a sleeping bag Papyrus had managed to roll impossibly thin. It practically exploded out into its full size when the seraphim untied it, making him snatch at it before it flew away of its own volition.
"what kind of cookie's your favorite?" he prompted Frisk when she yawned yet again while he laid out the sleeping bag in the small cave behind them. It was more of a hollow in the rock face, but it'd do to keep the child out of sight from anyone who happened to be passing.
Frisk made a thoughtful little noise that turned into a sleepy grunt when Sans carefully scooped her up in his arms with only a small twinge from his left shoulder. "White chocolate raspberry macadamia nut," she answered, at which he scoffed.
"is that a cookie or a shopping list?"
"It's good!" she objected as he laid her down on the open face of the sleeping bag and proceeded to zip it up around her.
He chuckled low in his chest and carefully removed her crown of flowers and placed it on the ground next to her before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "sure, princess."
"It is," she grumbled half heartedly and settled in with a sigh. Sans got to his feet but before he could leave the cave, Frisk added, "You're getting better."
"at what?" the seraphim asked and glanced back over his shoulder at her, one brow arched in question.
"Tucking me in," she replied in the wake of another jaw cracking yawn.
Sans chuckled again. "night, kiddo."
"Night, Sans."
The skeleton stepped out of the little cave and stood there for a time, examining the crystal formations that loomed overhead in the dark as he listened to the gradual shift in Frisk's breathing that told him she had finally drifted off into a deep sleep.
He glanced back at her again and noted the gentle rise and fall of her chest before digging in the pocket of his jacket and pulling out his cellphone. He was a little surprised to see that he didn't have any missed calls or texts. Sans had half expected Papyrus to have blown up his phone by that point; the fact that he hadn't was vaguely worrying, especially considering the company he knew his brother was keeping.
As though summoned, the phone in Sans' hand lit up and began to vibrate as a call came in. The seraphim fumbled it in his surprise, but picked up immediately when he saw Papyrus' name on the incoming call list.
"yo," Sans said casually, as though he hadn't just been fretting over the angel on the other end of the line.
"SANS! YOU BROUGHT YOUR PHONE LIKE I ASKED!" the archangel exclaimed delightedly. "I'M SURPRISED-"
"you've reached sans, resident cool guy and punster extraordinaire. leave a message after the beep."
"DAMMIT SANS, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU-"
Sans struggled not to laugh. It was the little things in life, after all. "beeeeeeeep."
A deep, put upon sigh echoed over the line. "SANS, IT'S PAPYRUS, I TOLD YOU TO-"
"gotcha," the seraphim said and laughed. "what's up?"
Papyrus made a sound of disgust. "QUIT BOONDOGGLING, SANS! NOW, WHERE-"
"gotcha again! leave a message after the beep. beeeeeeeep."
The groan his brother released could have shaken mountain ranges. "YOUR VOICE MAIL MESSAGES ARE NOT FUNNY, SANS. I HATE THIS. I AM GOING TO HANG UP AND-"
"kidding! kidding!" Sans hurriedly said as he fought back laughter both for his brother's sake and Frisk's. There was silence on the other end of the line and the seraphim continued, "it's really me, pap," and chuckled. "i just put frisk to bed. or sleeping bag, i guess..."
"YOUR JOKES ARE BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD, SANS," Papyrus said eventually.
"probably," Sans agreed with a smile as he pushed his free hand into the pocket of his jacket. "where are you?" he asked after a moment, tone turning serious.
There was another pause from the other end of the line, and the sound of a door closing. "I'M IN WATERFALL," Papyrus answered evasively.
"you're still with undyne?" Sans guessed. His brother's silence only confirmed his suspicion and the seraphim sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued, "you won't convince her, pap."
"I MIGHT," the skeleton replied sullenly, though judging by the tone of his voice Sans knew Papyrus was fully aware of just how unlikely this was. Sans also knew there no point in arguing with his brother. Let him try to convince the headstrong Undyne if it made him feel better; maybe it would buy him and Frisk a little extra time to make it to Hotland.
"SHE KNOWS THAT SOMEONE IS HELPING FRISK, SANS," Papyrus continued, breaking the silence that had begun to stretch between them.
San's brow immediately pulled down into a frown. "does she know who?" he asked.
"NO," the archangel replied, and Sans' worry eased a little. If Undyne didn't know it was him helping the human trial goer, then his presence here in Waterfall wouldn't necessarily draw her attention if he was able to get Frisk under cover quickly enough. "I WON'T TELL," Papyrus added. It was unnecessary, but it made Sans smile anyways.
"thanks, bro," he said.
"BE CAREFUL, SANS," the archangel added with a soft sigh of concern, and Sans could vividly imagine the slump of Papyrus' shoulders as he spoke the words. "I'LL TRY TO WARN YOU IF SHE SPOTS YOU, BUT-"
"i know," the seraphim said quickly before his brother could try to promise more. If Undyne figured out Papyrus was trying to interfere in her trial… "thanks," Sans repeated.
"I HAVE TO GO," Papyrus said abruptly, and Sans could hear the sound of a door opening from the other end of the line.
"Who you talkin' to out here?"
"NO ONE. I WAS JUST LEAVING SANS A MESSAGE, YOU KNOW HOW HE NEVER-"
The line went dead, and Sans flinched; that had definitely been Undyne's voice. The seraphim closed his flip phone with a quiet snap and slipped it back into his jacket pocket. He sighed again and pushed absently at the crease between his brows with the flat of his thumb, as though making it go away would banish his worries as well.
"be careful you big doof," he mumbled absently to himself. A small noise from behind him drew the seraphim's attention back to Frisk, worried he had woken her.
The girl only rolled over and soon slipped back into a deep slumber, though, allowing Sans to relax a little. Deciding that fretting over his brother wouldn't do any good, the seraphim made his way over to the little cave and settled himself down at the entrance.
He knew sleep would evade him as surely as he knew Papyrus was going to get himself neck deep in trouble, but he tried all the same. After a moment, Sans was surprised to find himself joined by Dog. The animal flopped to the ground at his side with a sigh with the demeanor of a creature pretending their presence there together was mere coincidence. The seraphim chuckled and reached out to stroke the dog's back as he dropped his head back against the stone wall behind him.
"fancy meeting you here," he mused.
Dog huffed.
XXXX
"So, where are we going anyways?" Frisk asked out of the blue. "Where's Undyne's trial?"
Sans gave the little girl a sidelong look and weighed his options for a moment before answering. "technically we're in the thick of it. just getting through waterfall is her trial. normally trial goers follow the path, but we're taking the round about way that'll get us to hotland without being noticed if we're careful."
"So I won't have to fight Undyne?" the girl asked hopefully.
"not if I've got anything to say about it," the seraphim said grimly. In a lighter tone he added, "i'd hardly be protecting you if i threw you to the shark like that."
Frisk's brow furrowed quizzically as she deftly avoided a dip in the ground thanks to her constantly tapping stick. "Shark?"
Sans snorted a little, realizing she wouldn't get his joke because she'd never met Undyne. "undyne's an angel, but just like pap and i are skeletons with wings, well… she's basically a fish woman with wings."
The little girl's mouth dropped open. "Like a… Like a mermaid?!"
The mental image of Undyne as a proper mermaid nearly made Sans double over with laughter. "no, not really," he wheezed a little as he caught his breath. "she's nearly as tall as pap for one. for another, she's got legs. she's just… she has gills, is blue, and has teeth like a shark." He paused thoughtfully for a moment as he thought of the archangel's golden teeth and their alarming sharpness. "worse than a shark's, maybe," he corrected.
Frisk deflated a little, seeming disappointed. "Oh."
"let down?" he asked, mouth quirking with amusement.
"I was just thinking it'd be neat if she was like Ariel from The Little Mermaid," Frisk said with a wistful sigh.
Sans snorted but made no reply, distracted as he was by the shift in the terrain. There was water ahead, a lot of it, which meant…
"the boardwalk… " he grumbled under his breath as they came in sight of the river at last. They'd crossed over several smaller tributaries so far, but none of them compared to the one they now approached. It was huge, the far shore lost to sight somewhere in the distance through the murk of mist and low light.
At first glance the river did not look particularly fast or dangerous, but Sans was familiar with its deceptive appearance and knew its currents ran far swifter and deeper than they appeared.
"This one's bigger than the others, isn't it?" Frisk hazarded a guess, her head tilting first one way and then the other as she analyzed the sounds that reached her sensitive ears, stick clutched tight in one hand.
"a lot bigger," Sans answered with a frown. "the boardwalk's a bit of a maze too. it branches off and doubles back on itself just to make people's lives difficult."
"Why?" the girl asked with a grimace. "That sounds like a silly way to build a river crossing. Did Undyne make it that way?"
"no, actually," the seraphim said as he took a breath and activated his soul sight. For as far as the powerful, though admittedly limited, magic could reach, he saw no sign of anyone else. "there used to be a settlement here. there's plenty of angels like undyne that like the water, and they lived here for a long time. their market was pretty good too."
"What happened?" Frisk asked with a frown up at the skeleton.
Sans blinked and his sight returned to normal. "there must've been a bad flash flood up on the surface, or wherever the river originates, because a big tidal wave swept downriver one day and washed away all the houses before anyone even knew what was happening. only the boardwalk was left."
"Oh," the girl murmured sadly, brow furrowed at the thought of so many homes destroyed.
The seraphim only grunted. "i don't see anyone, we should go now before undyne shows up," he said and took her hand in his.
Frisk nodded, then turned and whistled quietly, "Dog, come on!"
The Annoying Dog bounded out of a nearby patch of reeds and matched stride with them as they made a bee-line for the start of the boardwalk. Flanked on either side by her companions, Frisk picked her stick up and allowed Sans to guide them rather than feel the way herself. There was a tension to his voice he probably didn't even realize was there telling her just how worried the skeleton really was.
"Stay close, Dog," she murmured to the animal and patted his head, smiling a little when the animal licked it in response.
Once they hit the rough wooden planking of the boardwalk they picked up their pace to something just shy of a trot. Sans might have had them all run, but he didn't want to tire Frisk too soon, especially since he had no idea where he was going. Even when Rivertown had still been there, he'd only visited a handful of times, and never long enough to commit the series of walkways to memory.
It wasn't long before they made their first wrong turn and arrived at a dead end, forcing them to double back and making Sans seriously consider using magic to speed their way. He reigned in the urge, though, knowing very well that doing so might attract unwanted attention. Some angels were quite sensitive to the flow of magic around them, and the seraphim found himself unable to recall if Undyne was one of them.
No, best to play it safe for the time being.
"Maybe Undyne left because she got board," Frisk joked as time wore on and they found themselves at the midpoint of the river.
"water you talking about, kid-" Sans countered with a distracted grin before he was interrupted by the buzz of the phone in his pocket. "hang on," he said and brought them up short as he fished the thing out and flipped it open. "yo, pap, what's-"
"SANS, SHE'S SPOTTED YOU," Papyrus gasped into the receiver before the line cut out and a jolt of horror shot directly up Sans' vertebrae, sending him into overdrive.
"shit," he swore with such vehemence that Frisk blanched, knowing immediately that they were in trouble.
"Wh-" she began, but was cut off when the seraphim grabbed her roughly in one arm and dog in the other before breaking into a sprint that took the girl's breath away. She clung tight to the skeleton, ears straining for sound of pursuit.
Sans hit a straight away and pushed himself to the limit, ignoring the pain that shrieked in his left shoulder even as it narrowed his field of vision. They were only halfway across, surrounded on all sides by rushing water with zero room to maneuver and-
The boardwalk ahead of them heaved unnaturally before it exploded in a burst of cyan as spears of light erupted from the river below, forcing Sans to skid to a halt just shy of the new gap. He took several sharp steps back, then turned to face the way they had come just in time to see Undyne drop from the mist filled darkness overhead to land in a crouch a few yards away.
Their gazes met and the archangel's single golden eye went wide while Sans' narrowed, their lights shrinking sharply.
It was all of a moment before Undyne had taken in not only him, but the child he had tucked gracelessly under his right arm. The dog hanging from his left barely merited a glance despite the way it growled and bared its teeth in her direction.
"You?" she said finally as she pushed herself to her feet, broad, midnight blue wings fanning the air briefly before vanishing. "You're the one helping the human?"
She sounded incredulous, and Sans wasn't surprised. Until now it had been a long, long time since he'd ventured from the forests of Snowdin. To not only find him here now, but interfering with a trial, was unexpected to say the least.
"we need to talk," Sans said flatly as he straightened, though he maintained his tight hold on both Frisk and the Annoying Dog, the former of whom rested tense and waiting in his grip without so much as a peep.
A sharp bark of laughter escaped Undyne. "About what, old man? Have you finally lost your damn mind?!"
"about the fact that this child is under my protection," the seraphim answered, ignoring the lesser angel's jab. His stance shifted subtly and he adjusted his grip on his companions as he continued, "she's not fighting you, undyne. she's not fighting anyone. i'm taking her to the capital and pushing her through the barrier myself if i have to."
Undyne was laughing now, so much so that she doubled over and was forced to plant her hands on her knees to keep upright. "Your… your protection?" she wheezed breathlessly. "First human down here in ages, our first chance to escape in ages, and you want to protect her? Just… just let her go?"
Sans lifted his chin and glared coldly at the archangel. "yes," he answered simply.
Undyne finally got herself under control and straightened once more, wiping absently at cheeks stained by tears of mirth. "Damn," she said. "Damn." The archangel raked her long fingers back through her long red hair, a wry smile pulling at full lips to expose frightening rows of golden teeth. "No wonder Papyrus was trying to slow me down, going on about how this human is different. He was protecting you."
The seraphim's jaw tightened at the mention of his brother. "what did you do to him?"
"Y-You better not have hurt him!" Frisk interjected, finally speaking up at the thought of Papyrus having been hurt because of her.
Undyne's full attention went to the child for the first time, and Sans was forced to fight the urge to unveil his wings to shield Frisk from her sight. "Whatcha gonna do if I did, human? Gonna fight me?" she asked and bared her teeth in a vicious grin at the girl. As she spoke, she plunged one hand into the void and drew forth a silver spear with a flourish. It shone even in that dim light, and though it was of simple design, there was a sharpness to its entire being that felt as though it might cut the air itself.
"no," Sans said before Frisk could speak again, voice gone hard and icy at the archangel's taunt. "but i will."
"You?" She exclaimed, laughing again. "You may be a seraphim, Sans, but face it: you're broken. You really think you can keep up with me?"
Sans smiled wide and dangerous. "how about we find out the fun way, fish face?"
Undyne threw her head back and laughed once more. "Have it your way, old man," she said. The archangel twirled her spear once, then lunged, closing the distance between them with terrifying speed.
The skeleton was ready, though, and in one fluid movement he spun and hurled Frisk and the Annoying Dog bodily across the gap in the boardwalk. The child screamed and hit the planks on the far side with a thud Sans couldn't afford to worry over. Dog landed rolling and scrambled up onto its paws in a flash before rushing to Frisk where it washed her face worriedly.
His hands free and able to focus on the fight he now faced on the human girl's behalf, Sans sidestepped Undyne's attack and leaped in the direction she had just come from to buy himself room to maneuver. The archangel narrowly avoided going over the edge into the river, the soles of her red boots barely affording her the purchase she so desperately needed.
She'd never been a chatty fighter back on the surface once she got down to business, and Sans could see that that much hadn't changed over the centuries they'd been stuck in the Underground. Undyne didn't waste time reorienting herself to face him, one good eye narrowed as she studied him carefully should he be so foolish as to telegraph his next move.
He wasn't, of course, and Sans simply stood and watched her in turn until the other angel grew impatient and closed in once more. This time, however, she took several long strides and leaped high into the air, granting her the height she needed to flip and dive directly at him spear first.
The skeleton's eyelights followed his opponent's every move, and in doing so knew he would not win; not unarmed, and certainly not crippled as he was now.
Sans took a breath, and for a moment it felt as though time slowed to a crawl. The world went quiet around the seraphim as he watched Undyne's deadly descent from on high, her spear, the spear he had crafted for her, shining like a star in her dark hands. Magic surged up from the deepest reaches of his soul, intent on pouring out into the world to wreak havoc on those who would threaten him and his. This time, though, Sans did not channel the power into a spell. Instead, he let it fill every fiber of his physical being until he felt as though he were made of light. Magic seared through his marrow like liquid gold, burning away two hundred years of pain until he felt only that sweet golden heat that made him want to sing...
In that lingering moment before time reasserted itself, Sans saw Undyne's eye widen as she registered the change in the way he stood; no longer hunched, but straight, and proud, and oh so very dangerous.
Grinning, the seraphim shifted his stance, and in a movement that was too fast for even Undyne to follow, punched her in the face with a left straight that made her entire body snap around so her back slammed into the ground at Sans' feet with force enough to splinter the wood of the boardwalk.
"let me be clear, archangel," Sans said in a soft voice that did not mask the steel behind his words. "i may be damaged goods, but i am not broken."
Undyne choked and gasped, winded and bleeding from the blow. It didn't keep her down long, however, as she rolled back over her shoulder and sprang nimbly to her feet in one fluid movement. "We'll see about that," the archangel snapped furiously before unleashing a flurry of pinpoint strikes with her spear the casual observer would have been hard pressed to follow.
Sans, magic still thrumming strong and heady through him, tracked her attack with ease, shifting by only the slimmest margin to avoid being hit until he tired of the exercise and caught Undyne's spear one-handed, its point inches from his chest. The archangel's eye went wide in surprise, then narrowed in fury as she realized he was playing with her.
Undyne's lightning fast punch blindsided Sans and made him release her weapon as he spun with the force of it. His distraction bought her time to jump away, broad, midnight blue wings catching the air with a mighty clap and lifting her well out of his reach. The seraphim recovered quickly, one hand absently cradling his abused jaw as his eyelights traced her progress through the air.
The archangel's wings were shorter than his own, but significantly broader than Papyrus', built more for stealth than speed or endurance. There was no tell tale whisper of wind through her pinions as she moved effortlessly through the air, and for a moment Sans feared she might leave him behind and go straight for Frisk. Even now the child remained at the far edge of the boardwalk with the Annoying Dog, stick clutched tight in her small hands.
He should have told her to run.
As soon as the thought crossed the seraphim's mind it was driven right back out again when Undyne unleashed her next attack. Light bloomed ominously under Sans' feet, and the skeleton threw himself backward a millisecond before spears of magic burst through the wood planking and nearly cast him into the river below.
The seraphim broke into a run, weaving a spell that made the air around him reek of burning ozone. Destruction chased after him, demolishing section after section of the boardwalk until Sans found himself at a dead end that ran parallel to another stretch of yet untouched walkway. He threw himself into the air with a mighty leap towards safety just before the remaining planks fell out from under him. The rubber soles of his sneakers skid across the rough surface of the wood and shrieked in protest when the seraphim spun 180 degrees mid-slide so he faced Undyne head on once more.
Sans gathered himself and spoke one final, crackling word of Enochian before he pointed at his opponent and unleashed a bolt of lightning that cut through the dark like a hot knife.
Swearing violently, Undyne veiled her wings and dropped into the river below with a graceful dive that saved her from destruction by a hair's breadth. When she vanished from sight beneath the surface of the dark, turbulent waters, Sans retreated to the center of the boardwalk and waited for her to reappear.
She didn't take long. The archangel erupted from the river fifty yards away down the stretch of boardwalk Sans stood on, and landed on it with a magically enhanced impact that made the wood ripple unnaturally so it formed a growing wave that threatened to buck the skeleton from its surface. Sans readied himself and watched it come, riding it up as it heaved under his feet, then allowed it to throw him high into the air.
The seraphim flipped when he arrived at the zenith of his meteoric rise and repeated the trigger word of his spell, unleashing another arc of lightning on Undyne. Rather than dodge, this time the archangel lifted her spear and roared a spell that forced the water below them to surge up to counter his attack as though it were being fired from a massive hose somewhere beneath the river surface.
Attracted by the nearer, more conductive material, Sans' lightning met Undyne's water blast with a whipcrack and a brilliant flash that momentarily illuminated the river for a hundred yards around. The entire exchange took only a second, and neither angel noticed the stunned fishes that bobbed up from the depths before being swept away out of sight as Sans dropped out of the air and barrelled headfirst at Undyne. The archangel took her stance and raised her spear, ready for him with a grin that bared her terrifying teeth until her opponent spoke a word that made him drop straight down out of the air and land in a crouch well short of where he should have.
Taking advantage of the other angel's surprise at this sudden change, Sans dashed forward the last few feet and used Undyne's own knee as a step to launch himself into a jump kick that caught her in the jaw and snapped her head back with a frightening crack. The seraphim's momentum carried him through a full flip that bore him several feet back where he landed in a sliding crouch, fingers of his left hand gouging deep tracts in the wood of the boardwalk to slow his progress.
Undyne went ragdoll and hit the planks like a sack of rocks. Sans knew she'd blacked out when her spear vanished, returning to the void until summoned once more. A lesser angel's neck would have broken with the force behind the seraphim's kick, but even that wasn't enough to keep the archangel down long. She stirred almost immediately and swore as Sans stood and slipped his hands back into the pockets of his jacket.
"stay down, archangel," he growled low in his chest as Undyne struggled to push herself upright by degrees, shaking her head occasionally in an attempt to clear it.
Undyne laughed raggedly, "Shut up, traitor."
Sans canted his head to one side as he watched the other angel with narrowed eyes. "there's an old woman buried topside that'd call me hero for protecting her kid," he remarked in a deceptively casual tone. The seraphim automatically sought out Frisk with his eyes as he spoke, and was relieved to see her standing once more on the stretch of boardwalk he'd left her on a few minutes before. The course of his fight with Undyne had brought them full circle until they wound up only a few hundred feet from where they'd begun.
The sound of steel singing through the air snapped San's attention back to his opponent just in time for him to slap Undyne's spear out of the air and send it spinning away into the river.
"Don't ignore your host, it's rude," the archangel said with a bitter smile from where she still sat in the wake of her last ditch attempt to defeat him. Sans released a quiet huff of amusement in spite of himself. "Why are you protecting her, Sans? Just hand her over and I can take her to Asgore. Who knows, maybe we'll finally get out of this hell hole, huh?"
"you know i want out of here worse than most," the seraphim replied flatly. "but our freedom isn't worth that innocent child's life, undyne." His expression darkened. "it wasn't worth the lives of the six that came before her, either."
Undyne stared at him for a long moment, cat like in her cool observation of him while they stared one another down, each seeming to wait for the other boot to drop.
"Right," she said eventually, seeming resigned. "That's too bad."
Finding her strength once more, Undyne pushed herself to her feet as Sans warned, "you won't win; don't test my resolve in this."
A wry, almost tired smile tugged at the archangel's mouth and she said, "I know. It was pretty fun while it lasted, though."
Sans' brow furrowed as he stepped forward, intent on stopping Undyne before she could do… whatever it was she had apparently resigned herself to. He didn't make it more than a pace before she began to speak, Enochian pouring out of her with the force of an ocean tide to put the seraphim in his place.
"Seraphim Sans, Keeper of the Sixth Trial, Guardian of the Gate, once and future Lord High Judge of the Court of Heaven," Undyne said as she swept a hand out and re-summoned her spear from the depths of the river. "I bind you."
Panic roared through Sans from head to toes, burning away the cool confidence his magical augmentation had granted him as he lunged for Undyne's throat, intent on silencing her.
Before he could get within five feet of her, though, a chain of golden light erupted from the air and wound its way around his throat, drawing him up short like a dog on a leash. Stars burst in the seraphim's vision, but rather than drop to his knees, his hands flew to the hinderance at his neck and pulled. Fury sparked and seared away Sans' panic as he fought the binding chain, ignoring the burning agony it inflicted on his hands for his resistance.
"you dare-" he rasped, but she continued, heedless of his righteous indignation.
"I bind you with words and with deed."
Two more chains appeared and latched onto the seraphim's wrists, hauling them away from his neck as easily as he might do the same to Frisk. With a roar of effort, Sans threw the full force of his physical and magical strength against his bindings, twisting in an attempt to shatter their hold on him. He could feel them strain and spark as they fought to hold him in place. Just a little more, and-
"I bind you with the oath you took to uphold these holy trials when first they were forged and agreed upon by the angels of the Underground."
All three chains drew down tight in unison in an attempt to pin him to the ground, but Sans dropped to one knee instead. Every fiber of his being strained in unison as he attempted to break free; the seraphim's wings unveiled themselves and flared wide, fanning the air in an attempt to steady him and forcing Undyne to take several steps back as the final words of the spell fell from her lips.
"I adjure you to submit and interfere with the duty assigned me by our Lord Commander, Asgore, no longer!"
Half a dozen more chains burst into being with a mighty flash of light to tangle themselves around Sans' wings and slam him face down into the boardwalk. An inhuman shriek of agony escaped the skeleton as pain erupted from his ruined limb before he blacked out. While he might have used magic to augment his body, his wings had remained vulnerable and now proved his undoing.
The same desperation that had once driven Sans to throw himself bodily against the magical barrier between the surface and the Underground until he had been rendered permanently flightless returned now, temporarily granting him strength enough to regain consciousness and shout, "frisk, run!"
"Sans!" the child cried out in the distance as Undyne turned from her defeated foe to the prize she felt she had rightfully won.
"run, dammit!" he screamed as his vision began to go dark once more. His fingers scrambled in vain for purchase on the wood surface of the boardwalk and he fought for breath against the chain wound tight around his throat. "she'll kill you! just… just-"
Frisk's heart beat fast and panicky in her chest as Sans' familiar voice petered out and went silent, leaving only the sound of Dog's furious barking and the soft tread of Undyne's approach.
"Come on, kid, give it up and come quietly," Undyne said, suddenly sounding so much closer after a brief moment of silence that Frisk actually startled backwards. She would have sworn the angel was still on the distant section of boardwalk on which she could no longer hear Sans. Her wings were so quiet she hadn't even heard them carry the angel across the water…
The Annoying Dog retreated a few steps and pressed its furry body up against her leg, though Frisk wasn't sure if it was trying to protect her or urge her away. The child's hand found its head and rested there for a moment as she came to a decision.
"You hurt Sans!" she accused the archangel furiously, free hand tightening almost painfully around the now familiar wood of her walking stick. Magic, warm and familiar, pulsed beneath her palm, making tears spring to the child's eyes as she thought of the angel who had crafted it for her. Frisk took a breath and shouted, "You hurt Sans, there's no way I'm going to make things easy for you, you evil fish face!"
With that, the girl spun on heel and broke into a run across the boardwalk, stick moving in quick, practiced arcs in front of her to guide her way. Dog sprang to her side with a yap of approval, and when they reached the first turn, it shepherded her in the right direction to keep her from the river. Realizing what the creature was doing, Frisk grinned frantically and put her fate in the paws of newest, furriest friend.
"C'mon, Dog!" she gasped as they ran helter-skelter through the maze of what had once been Rivertown. "Good dog! You-"
There was a loud thud from a few feet in front of them and Frisk skidded to a sharp halt. The fact that Dog started snarling again told her all she needed to know.
"Nice try, kid," Undyne drawled, sounding bored now as she reached for the child. Frisk took a step back, frowning fiercely as she struggled to weigh her options. There was a gentle but firm pulse from her staff and the child, acting on instinct, swung it up as hard as she could to strike the angel's hand with a sizzle and flash of potent magic. The archangel snatched her hand back with a hiss. "Sonovabitch!" she swore vehemently, so taken off guard by the unexpected attack that she didn't notice the way her prey cocked her head and listened to something approaching from the distance.
By the time Undyne caught the telltale flash of crimson feathers, it was too late. Papyrus cannoned into his fellow archangel with the force of a freight train to slam her into the nearby cliff that loomed over the river.
"Pap!" Frisk cried tearfully, reaching skyward for her friend where she could hear him hovering overhead. "Pap she hurt Sans! I don't know what happened; he told me to run, and-"
"KEEP RUNNING, FRISK," Papyrus instructed her as he watched Undyne extricate herself from the cliff face with slow, purposeful movements that warned her friend of the fury that boiled just beneath her calm exterior. "I'LL SEE TO SANS AFTER THIS AND THEN WE WILL-"
"Don't get cocky, numskull!" Undyne roared as she unveiled her midnight blue wings and threw herself at Papyrus with every ounce of her strength and forced him into the river below with an explosion of water that left Frisk and Dog soaked.
Tears streaming down her face, Frisk forced herself to start moving again, dog at her side. 'Please let them be okay,' she prayed silently as they ran. 'Please let them be okay! Let them be okay and I'll be good forever, I swear! I'll never lie about doing my homework and eating my vegetables, or throw rocks at the stupid neighbor's car ever again!'
The water to the right of the boardwalk heaved and burst, showering Frisk with water once more as Undyne and Papyrus reappeared, rapier and spear clashing with the sharp knell of steel on steel. The child yelped and nearly lost her footing as one of the angels crashed to the walkway somewhere behind her with enough force to crack the sturdy planking. There was a second, lighter impact as the other angel arrived and closed the distance between them.
Papyrus' voice rang out clear, bright, and sharp as a winter wind as he unleashed a wave of magic Undyne countered with a spell of her own that forced the river to surge up around all four of them to pull powerfully at their legs. Frisk struggled to keep her feet, but as the river continued to rise, she found herself up to her waist, and then her chest, until she was lifted off her feet all together to flail helplessly against the current.
The spell ended as Papyrus found some way to counter it, and the water dropped, dragging Frisk off the walkway and into the river with a startled gasp. She grabbed wildly for the boardwalk, but her fingers found nothing but more water as she was dragged beneath the surface and swept away by the merciless current.
Having managed to keep its paws up on the planking, the Annoying Dog let out a panicked bark as it watched its friend disappear. The creature turned towards Papyrus and Undyne, yapping its very loudest, but was ignored as the keeper of the third trial knocked the keeper of the second onto his back and bore down on him with her full weight. Papyrus struggled against her, rapier out of reach and both hands wrapped tight around the shaft of Undyne's spear to keep it from piercing his shoulder while he batted ineffectively at her with his wings.
Realizing no help was coming, Dog whined as it spun once, twice, and then a third time in place while Frisk was carried further and further down river. Finally, the animal threw itself into the current, disappearing briefly beneath the waves before bobbing back to the surface to paddle frantically after its friend.
AN: Thanks so much for reading! Please remember to leave a review! Your delightful comments telling me what you enjoyed about the chapter is literally all the payment I am asking for in return for hundreds of hours of effort on my part, so please do your part to may my muse! XD
But man, that cliffhanger tho! Brutal, I know. Lots of fun drama coming next chapter, so look forward to it ;D