Chapter 21: Survivor

Lying in the mud, Sans struggled to get a grip on himself. The fall had been rough and hurtful. If he managed to limit the damage to his fragile health, he was unsure he had enough force to stand up again.

His skull and spine were painful, like some hammer was hitting him from inside his bones. He leaned on his elbow, then pushed his back against a big rock to sit down. Several of his bones were striating with cracks, which he chose to ignore for now. His hand brushed slightly behind his skull, which creaked horribly. That was probably not a good sign.

He had a close shave. That unfortunate encounter at least reminded him he was not as strong as he thought he was. He didn't know yet how he could go back to the cabin, but he hoped he would be there before his father deduced where it was. His stupid mistake just compromised Papyrus' life. If his brother caught his brother before he had a chance to get there, Sans knew he would have no other choice but to surrender. He couldn't stand Gaster hurting him to force him to come back.

A noise above him alerted him. A black armor was looming above the crack he fell in, nose on the floor. A royal guard dog. He had been followed after all.

Scared, Sans crawled deeper into the cave, as silently as he could, to find a better hiding space.

"I know you're there, little skeleton." A masculine voice boomed, near. "What's your name again? Sans, right? Listen, Sans, you have nowhere to go now. I'm going to get down and you're going to come with me, alright?"

Sans didn't answer and stayed hidden. He heard the dog scratching the stone to find a way to get to him. The skeleton had to find a way out, and quickly. He knew he couldn't compete with its strength.

"Little guy, there's no way out. If you're going to fight me, know that I can fight too. You're maybe powerful, but you're still a kid who doesn't have any idea what you're doing. You could get really hurt. I don't want that, but I won't hesitate if you're pissing me off more."

In an adrenaline rush, Sans pushed on his febrile legs to stand up. He was shaking hard, but he couldn't take the time to worry about it. He looked around him. The cave went deep into the darkness and seemed to narrow farther away. He could probably use that to his advantage and manage to lose the royal guard, but for how long? If he walked right through a dead end, the soldier would flush him out like a rabbit.

That was not like he had any other choice anyway. He prayed for some luck and staggered towards the dark gorge, trying to ignore that the guard was getting closer.

As he suspected, the passage soon narrowed down, becoming barely traversable, even for him. He heard his bones squeal against the rock as he tried to crawl out of reach.

Relief, however, was at the end of the track. The cave led back to the forest. The light gave him the bravery to struggle harder. If he reached it, he could finally run and put some distance between the royal guard and him.

A hand suddenly grabbed his ankle.

"Gotcha!" The dog said, triomphally.

Sans panicked as the guard tried to pull him back through the hole. He held for dear life to a big rock and kicked behind him as strongly as he could. He couldn't fail now. Not so close! He didn't want to even think about what his father would do to him.

The skeleton took a deep breath and focused his magic. He threw a salve of sharp bones behind him, surprising the dog enough to let go a few seconds. Sans pushed on his hands to get through the opening in front of him, bruising his knees and elbows.

"Come back here this moment, Sans! You're doing a huge mistake!"

A raging paw tried to get to him, but Sans was already out of reach. The skeleton sent another attack to distract him, then pushed one big time on his legs. He extricated himself with difficulty out of the cave and rolled down a muddy slope.

Free. He was finally free.

Out of breath, he knew he didn't have a lot of time before the dog came after him. He stood up quickly and started to run like the wind. Sans clumsily tried to remember Toriel's pieces of advice to hide his track in the snow, even if the wet mud he was leaving behind didn't help to do that.

He zigzagged between the trees, focusing to recognize the places he went to. He quickly managed to find the part of the forest where he fought his dad and the humans, still riddled with bones and bullets. He stopped a few seconds, hesitating, and chose to go west, where he thought he was coming for.

If he walked straight, could he find the cabin back? Maybe with luck, Toriel was looking for him too and he would find each other. Or there was another way. Sans closed his eyes and made his soul shine with how little strength he still had, hoping his brother would feel that and answer back to guide him. At first, he felt nothing, but a small presence soon screamed for him, far away. He trusted his instinct and followed it.

After an hour of struggle, Sans slowed down, exhausted by his magic, the cold, his injuries. The guard seemed to have lost his track. Papyrus' magic print seemed closer, and he had the feeling he was coming towards him as well. He hoped he would find him soon because Sans wasn't sure how long he could still keep going like this. His legs were weak and a big headache held him from focusing anymore. His wet and holed clothes let the freezing cold pass right through his bones, and he couldn't stop shivering.

And yet, he forced himself to walk, refusing to give up.

His ordeal thankfully didn't last more than another hour. As it was starting to snow hard again, Sans saw a figure in the distance. He kept his distance at first, wary, but quickly recognized the small silhouette walking behind the first one. The small monster gasped loudly, then pointed at him, gathering the bigger one attention.

"Sans!"

Papyrus let go of Toriel's hand and ran towards him, arms wide open. Sans felt tears run down his cheek and fell on his knees to catch him. The small skeleton threw himself against him, hiccupping loudly, head buried in his chest. Sans couldn't hold it anymore. He burst into tears as well, hugging Papyrus with all he has.

"I'm sorry." He cried. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I won't let you alone again, I promise. I'm sorry. I was so stupid. I'm so sorry, Papyrus."

The queen quickly joined them, before freezing in shock. She put a horrified hand in front of her mouth. Sans concluded his state was worst than he thought. She took down her scarf and gently wrapped it around his neck.

"My poor child… What even happened to you?" She whispered, very concerned.

Sans jerked up. "The Royal Guard!" He yelped, panicked. "Gaster found me, they chased me. They're going to come here, I know they will. He will find a way. I messed up everything! I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" He cried again. "I don't know why I did this, and now everyone is in danger because of me! I'm messed up, what is wrong with me? Why can't I just be normal? Why?!"

Toriel kneeled in front of him and put his warm paws on his shoulders.

"Sans, dear, there is nothing wrong with you. You're young. You inherited of a powerful magic you don't know how to control yet. But look at you. You're here. You made it, you survived. Never apologize for surviving."

"But…"

She picked him up in one hand, letting Papyrus climb in her back.

"Listen to me, Sans. Nothing is your fault. You did not do any mistakes. You should have not found yourself in this situation in the first place. You are just a child. We will figure this out. I will figure this out."

She smiled gently, and gently brushed his tears away.

"And above all of that, please have a little faith in me, my child. I will not let them get to you. As long as I am watching, you are safe."

Sans stayed silent. He wanted to. He really wanted to. But he knew that not even Toriel could prevent his father to find him.

The comforting sight of the cabin filled Sans' soul with joy. Toriel gently pushed the door and came in. She dropped off the skeleton brothers on the couch where Undyne, the face devastated by too many tears, welcomed him with a big hug, relieved.

Toriel apologized and left the house hastily, promising to come back soon to heal him properly.

Sans nodded and hugged Undyne back, then his brother, in lack of affection, who came to hold him as his life depended on it. On the other side of the room, Charlie, silent, simply gave him a little sign to tell they were happy to see him again.

"I thought you were gone forever." Papyrus whined. "Never do that again."

"Like he said." Undyne approved, shaking.

"I won't, I promise. I'm so sorry… I don't know why I did that. I just…"

"I don't care." Papyrus said. "Just… Don't do it again. Please."

Sans rubbed his brother's skull to comfort him.

A huge roar made them all jump. They looked everywhere around them in utter panic. Suddenly, a gigantic translucent wall spread across the room, passing through their bodies. The children all screamed in fear, but it only kept going, crossing the walls and spreading far around the cabin. It stopped at the edge of the forest and stayed there. A few minutes later, Toriel walked back in.

"With that old shield up, they can still try to come." She fiercely said, a bit of anger in the voice turned towards whatever was threatening them outside of the newly formed dome. "We're safe for now, do not worry. If they want to get you, they will have to pass over my own body."

Sans smiled to not scare the other children, but he highly doubted that. Gaster invented most of the protection systems their people were using. It would take him less than a few minutes to find a way to break this one.

With that done, Toriel gently unhooked Papyrus and Undyne from him to inspect his skull. As soon as she brushed the big crack behind it, Sans doubled over, wincing in pain. Papyrus put his two hands on his mouth, horrified.

"Sans can't get hurt!" He immediately panicked.

"Do not worry, my child." Toriel answered peacefully. "Your brother is tougher than he looks."

She affixed the hand behind his skull and, soon, a nice green repairing light started to erase the consequences of his dangerous getaway. Sans sighed with relief, unlike Papyrus who stared at him intensely like he was going to dust any second. The healing spell helped his HP to come back to one and he immediately felt better. The goat monster then focused on the minor injuries.

"What happened?" Toriel asked in a soft voice. "Why did you run away?"

"I… I got scared." He confessed in a whisper. "I lost control and my magic is dangerous. I was so scared to hurt someone, I didn't want to scare anyone… After that, I got lost in the forest. I tried to go back, but then I got stuck in a meeting between humans, the King, my dad, and royal guards."

"A meeting? About what?" She asked, tensing slightly.

"I didn't understand everything, but the humans seemed unhappy monsters didn't deliver m-me to them? Then a human saw me, and everyone started to scream. I tried to escape, but Dad caught me. I… I shot him, I think." He whispered, ashamed. "I managed to flee as the humans attacked them, but a royal guard followed me. I fell into a cave, then I escaped and searched for Papyrus' soul. That's how I found you."

Toriel stayed silent after his story, but Sans could tell she was holding her breath. Papyrus and Undyne, though, were staring at him in bewilderment.

"You escaped humans and the royal guard?" Undyne screamed, excited. "That's super cool! Papyrus, your brother is so cool!" She said, elbowing the little skeleton.

"I know, I know." Papyrus answered, puffing his chest. "My brother is the strongest of all monsters."

Sans blushed a bit, embarrassed. He was flattered, but he was also the one who ran headfirst into trouble. He mainly had a lot of luck getting out of this with only a few bruises and a crack in the skull. He was not ready to repeat the experience any time soon.

Toriel backed away to make sure all injuries were gone, then nodded, satisfied.

"They are right, Sans. You were very brave. But let's avoid this situation in the future, right? You scared us a lot. Now, you need to rest and eat, to help your health to recover. If, as you predicted, they're on their way here, you will need to be able to use your magic. But before that, children, follow me."

They all obeyed and followed her in the corridor leading to the rooms. She pushed a vase filled with golden flowers disposed on a table at the end of it. A secret passage opened in the wall, revealing a staircase sinking into darkness.

"If the events turn wrong, if they managed to pass the magic shield, escape by this exit. This tunnel leads outside of the dome. Once outside, take the west or south and avoid the north at all costs. There's a human camp very near here. I don't know its size or its precise localization, so be careful."

"And then what?" Sans asked, nervous.

"Go hide in the woods. I gave a protective necklace to Charlie, it will help me find you."

The human child took a pendant out from under their shirt and showed them. Sans nodded and Toriel locked the passage again.

"Another thing: they probably won't be fooled by this a second time. You might have to fight. I'll show you some helpful spells." She explained calmly. "I worked on several magic orbs as well, they're in your rooms. Throw them on the floor, and an electric shield will protect you for approximately three minutes. Nothing will be able to get in. As long as you are together, you will be alright."

"Thank you, lady Asgore." Papyrus said sweetly.

"Toriel, dear." She corrected. "Sans, I know I am asking a lot of you, but I don't believe in coincidences. If you made it so far, it's because you are a survivor. I have faith you will know what to do when the time will come."

"I'll try my best." The skeleton approved.

She smiled at him with affection, before walking back towards the living room.

"In that case, let's stop thinking about all of this for a few hours, shall we? I baked a mushroom pie last evening. I believe there is still leftover spaghetti as well. Let's go eat."

Papyrus ran past her towards the kitchen, dragging his brother by the hand, excited. Sans chuckled, thanked Toriel one last time, and followed him.