Chapter Ten
In a deeper part of the forest, Curtain and the child had been launched downward and broke a few tree branches as those, though painful, slowed their descent into the snow. The snow here was layered enough for the fall to not kill them, as they laid separate on the ground when they landed. Curtain's wings disappeared as she returned to her more normal state on her back, while the child laid on her side in the snow. Slowly the child regained consciousness as she could barely see from the dizziness and pain. She trembled and tried to move to get up, but she had to do so slowly as the pain hurt with each movement. Her eyes that were blurred became more clear as she saw red splats where she laid and when she coughed.
As the child rose up, Curtain started moving as her face scrunched up from the pain and she slowly rose up, while her hair was loose and fell down since the tie on it broke. She shook her head slowly to ease her blurred vision to clarity, and then held her side tight, noticing how warm it felt. She looked down at her hand that was holding her side and noticed purple blood on it. Knowing it was her own, Curtain looked at her wound and saw how cut up it was, realizing after a moment it was a worse version of what happened to the kid's hand since it was deeper and bleeding.
Kid.
She turned to see the child sitting up on her knees, as the child looked towards her with red blood dripping from her lip and a smaller wound on her side.
"… Thank… Thank goodness… you didn't get hit fully with that attack… she would have really got ya if she did," Curtain said, easing her lips into a smile the best she could.
"Curtain… you're hurt. Really hurt," The child mustered, and she rose up and slowly staggered to Curtain.
"Hey, no. You're hurt already and now more too. Don't walk alone," Curtain said as she rose up and walked to the kid.
The child took out the apron she carried and wrapped it on Curtain's side tight, although Curtain protested, but then Curtain took the manly bandana the kid had and wrapped the child's side.
"We need… to get out of here. She might come," Curtain said, and the child nodded.
They held onto one another and walked, as Curtain took more weight so that child wouldn't have such a hard time. After passing a few trees, Curtain took some snow from the floor and put it on the side of child's head since she noticed it was very hot and bruised, as tears came down from the child's eye since it hurt but she was appreciative of Curtain still trying to take care of her.
"… I'm sorry. I wish… I was stronger, but for now, we NEED to survive," Curtain said.
"… I'm sorry too. I wish the same," The child said, as they continued walking.
Curtain stopped them from walking when she felt something appear nearby. She turned quickly to see Sans appear from behind a tree as his eyesockets stood fixed on them and their wounds.
"S-Sans…" Curtain said, her eyes filling with light to see him.
That bit of light from her eyes hit Sans in a way that seemed to make the light in his pupils reappear since it was gone the moment he saw their injuries. He quickly appeared between them as he picked up the child in one arm and held Curtain with his other arm up from under hers.
"Sans… you really came, you lazybones," The child said with a smile as she held onto him with whatever strength she could muster around his neck.
"You came…" Curtain said with a smile as her eyes watered.
"heh. someone has to keep an eyesocket out for you two, and i'm just the lazybones to do it," Sans said, keeping his smile on for their sakes as he walked with them along to get back on the trail.
As they walked, Sans kept his eyes especially sharp for any sudden movements around them, and ready to end whatever red-eyed demon he saw. As they returned back to the trail, Papyrus and Undyne came running to them.
"SANS WE DIDN'T FIND THE DARK ONE BESIDES BITS AND PIECES OF I- OH MY GOSH! HUMAN! HUMAN'S FRIEND!"
"What. The. HELL! THEY ARE FREAKING WRECKED!"
Papyrus took the human and picked her up, as Undyne took Curtain and carried her.
"WE HAVE TO SAVE THEM! WE NEED A DOCTOR OR SOMETHING!" Papyrus panicked.
"We need Alphys then! Isn't she a doctor?! Or someone here?!" Undyne suggested.
"no, take them to the house. i'll take care of them. besides, we can't risk anyone traveling while we don't know if that dragon thing is truly dead. maybe hurt, but not confirmed dead… yet," Sans said as he whispered the last part of which Curtain only heard.
"OKAY THEN BROTHER! I'LL LEAVE THEM IN YOUR CARE!" Papyrus nodded.
"Are you sure you'll be able to, Sans?!" Undyne asked to confirm.
"trust me, as a sentry i had time to learn a few things. just hurry up and get the things i ask for so we can help them recover. as far as i know, blood has a limit," Sans said, and Undyne and Papyrus nodded in unison as they quickly ran to the house.
Sans was there already as the sofa and table was set up as beds near each other.
"… Dang you're faster then I thought!" Undyne commented as they entered.
"thanks. lay them down but sit them up," Sans said, and the two did as instructed.
Sans looked over them as Curtain said, "Please, help her first. She was beaten up before Corruption hurt us both."
"CORRUPTION? IS THAT THAT FLYING CREATURE?" Papyrus asked, and Curtain nodded.
"keep talking while i check the kid then. Pap, don't let her sleep if she tries. keep her talking," Sans said as he waved for Undyne to come closer to himself.
"VERY WELL! CURTAIN IS YOUR NAME RIGHT? I'M GLAD TO MEET YOU! THOUGH THESE CIRCUMSTANCE AREN'T GREAT, BUT YOU'RE BOTH ALIVE AND I'M GLAD! THOUGH I MUST ASK CURTAIN, DO YOU KNOW WHY THAT CORRUPTION WAS CHASING YOU TWO?" Papyrus asked, as he sat by her bedside though still leaving her room.
"It's a pretty long story, but I do need to stay awake… okay, I'll speak for both of us…" Curtain said and began explaining when they had first encountered Corruption and how she attacked Theodan and then the child to kill them.
Meanwhile, Sans was addressing the wound on the child's side as he asked Undyne for various items from the kitchen and from the store in Snowdin as she did so in posthaste. When she would be collecting items, he would disappear for a moment in this room and return with a new item such as an ace bandage and antiseptic. Undyne would bring a trashcan, clean cloths, food, wraps and medical tape that was acutally regular tape but not sticky enough that it could still be used as medical tape. Sans also used some magic towards the wound, since a form of magic seemed to be preventing it from healing well. When he did so the wound seemed to grow darker as the hold on it broke off a bit. He cleaned it up and covered it as he made sure Undyne kept the child's shirt still on her chest enough for privacy. Undyne looked at the child and would cringe when she noticed the child face scrunch up in pain and anguish. Finally sealing up the wound, Sans lowered the shirt and gently petted the kid.
"there, that will help stabilize that. you have other wounds, but they aren't super serious so I'm going to help curtain real quick, kay?" Sans asked, and the child showed him a thumbs up.
Sans walked around to next help Curtain, as she just finished explaining what happened to Papyrus as
Sans and Undyne were also listening.
"THAT CORRUPTION GIVES OFF VERY BAD STALKER VIBES! AND ANGER! HOPEFULLY SHE WON'T BOTHER YOU TWO AGAIN IF THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!"
"Thanks Papyrus. I know we'll be safe with you here," Curtain said with a smile, as Papyrus nodded back confidently.
"hey bro, want to help the kid with her cuts? just a patch job will do," Sans asked.
"NO PROBLEM BROTHER! I WAS WATCHING AS YOU TREATED THAT GASH SO I'M SURE I CAN DO THE OTHERS!" Papyrus said as he traded places with Sans to treat the minor wounds on the human.
Sans checked the wound on Curtain as Undyne also held her shirt on her chest, and he noticed there were three gashes instead of one.
"… i knew i should have treated yours first, you're worse and she only had one," Sans whispered to her.
"It's okay, I was treating it a bit to at least stop some of the bleeding with my magic. And as long as she is okay, I can handle it," Curtain whispered back.
Sans put the antiseptic as Curtain hissed from the pain, while Undyne winced.
"… it's hard to say that to not get hurt since you are protecting someone… but if you could avoid it for the both of you, that would be the better option. wouldn't want to not be around if something like this ever happened again, you know?" Sans whispered to her.
"I know what you mean. Thank you Sans. And thank you Undyne and Papyrus. Thank you for saving us," Curtain said.
"NOT AT ALL! YOU ARE OUR FRIENDS!" Papyrus said.
"Yeah! Don't sweat it! That's what friends are for! 'Undyne said.
"you're welcome," Sans said, as he used his magic to break the delay healing curse.
Sans patched up Curtain's wound as he fixed her shirt down.
"alrighty curtain, looks like those nasty gashes are nice and covered up. do you have a wound anywhere el-" Sans noticed a purple streak falling down Curtain's forehead.
He placed a clothe on the blood before it could reach her eye and brushed his hand over her hair to see a small cut on her head.
"there is one," he said as he cleaned it up and covered it.
"Hehe. Thanks. I could do any other ones. I can at least move my arms," Curtain said.
"let me do it for you. you shouldn't be moving much anyway," Sans said.
"It's alright. You've done so much already," Curtain said, reaching forward for the clothe but recoiling back as she held her side.
"Curtain, you're going to make it worse, and it's no prob. where else?" Sans asked.
"… here," Curtain said, showing her arm as a cut could be clearly seen when she turned it over.
Sans started cleaning and patching the wound, as Papyrus finished up the human's wounds.
"THERE WE GO! NICE AND CLEANED UP! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE SOME FOOD, TINY HUMAN?" Papyrus asked, and the child nodded slowly.
Papyrus and Undyne showed the human a random assortment of food, as Sans was finishing up Curtain's wounds on her hands.
"there we go, Curtain. all done. you're going to need plenty of rest, but i'm sure you know that already," Sans said.
"Yeah, I figured. It's pretty painful, even staying still," Curtain said.
"heh. glad you two are okay though. you really saved the human back there. you got some guts," Sans said.
"Thanks, even a beast like that won't stop me from protecting my friends," Curtain said as she looked towards the human.
"… or kin," Sans said, his eyes narrowing a little.
"… I didn't only save them because of that. Besides, considering I'm half… that would include everyone," Curtain said in a more serious low tone, as Sans' eyesockets widened to hear that.
"then, you actually came from…?" Sans asked as he pointed upward, and Curtain nodded.
"wow, I didn't expect there were some monsters still up there. so your mom… then your dad is the human. Heh. By the looks of it, it seems like he was a cool dude, huh?" Sans asked.
Curtain took the picture out from her inner jean jacket, unfolded it, and showed Sans the picture as he saw a ruby-haired tanned man with clear glasses and a black shirt with jean pants and burgendy eyes sitting next to Curtain's mother, while a young Curtain with a full head of blue hair sat between them. All three were smiling together, as Curtain and her father were smiling the same way with big grins.
"They meant the world to me… Both of them," Curtain said.
"… i'm glad to hear it. heh, you got his smile. that's sweet," Sans complimented.
Curtain smiled as she put the picture away, while Undyne and Papyrus overhearing this were shocked, as the human nodded when they asked for her confirmation.
"well, guess it's time for you two to rest. come on guys, let's leave them to it," Sans said as he left.
"INDEED! YOU TWO ARE MORE THEN WELCOME TO STAY HERE AND SLEEP WHILE YOU HEAL!" Papyrus said.
"Yeah, punks! I'll be here if you need anything, so give me a call! Or any of us!" Undyne said.
Curtain and the child nodded, as the three left. They looked towards one another, exchanged smiles, and both collapsed on the beds. Undyne led search parties to find Corruption with the guard dogs as they checked the forest, while Papyrus would guard the house, and Sans would be on the lookout as well. He wanted to find Corruption the most.
One week later:
"HUMAN! CURTAIN! I BRING YOU TWO THE FINEST PLATES OF GOURMET SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus said, as he served the two who were sitting at the table with Sans' pet rock.
"Thanks Papyrus, we appreciate it," Curtain said with a smile, as the child did as well.
"YOU'RE VERY WELCOME TO YOU TWO! OH! AND SANS WANTED ME TO GIVE YOU TWO HIS OWN DISHES SINCE HE SAID YOU TWO NEED EXTRA ENERGY!" Papyrus said as he ran back into the kitchen.
Curtain and the child quickly poured the spaghetti in the trash can nearby that Sans left for them, since Papyrus cooking was getting better but still inedible.
"HERE YOU TWO ARE! OH WOWIE! THAT WAS FAST!" Papyrus placed two more plates in front of them while taking the other empty ones that had soup and a breadloaf near each.
The girls happily ate, as Undyne came in and quickly threw out the trash before Papyrus came out again. She held a sack with ingredients from the store.
"Hey, punks! I got some more stuff for you girls and for Papyrus' cooking lessons. Hopefully he gets better enough for the food to be you know… not hazardous," Undyne said, a few sweat drops pouring down her forehead.
"Thank you Undyne. Glad to see Papyrus is getting better," The child said,
"Fuhuhu! Of course! He has the best teacher!" Undyne said and went into the kitchen.
After eating, Curtain and the child laid on their beds next to each other as the tv seemed to turn on by itself.
"hey you two. How's my favorite two of three doing?" Sans asked as he appeared on the foot of Curtain's bed but with his legs laying on the child's bed.
"Much better actually. The pain is going down," Curtain said.
"I can walk better too," The child said.
"good to hear. figured you two would like to see what's been happening lately on the news, but it seems mettaton has been keeping everyone busy for you to come back, kid," Sans said.
"Ah… yeah, I'll have to head back there soon," the child said.
"… Interesting how he knows to do so," Curtain said.
"… don't be so hard on them, Curtain. They're just… doing what they think is right," Sans said to calm her.
"Manipulation with someone's life isn't usually right…" Curtain commented, as Sans looked downward, considering her words.
"… I still want to give them a chance. Even though Mettaon has been trying to kill me… but then again Undyne did so and now she's taking care of me… I can only assume the desperation is because I'm the final key," the child said.
"Don't… say it like that. Like you're just a key," Curtain said, her eyes narrowing downward.
"… I'm sorry. It's just that… Corruption's words… it's because they aren't a lie that it's hard to ignore," the child said.
"… kid, you don't have to go over there though, ya know? if you don't, it's not like they'll stop you, or come for you here," Sans said.
"… I know… but… I just don't feel right. I feel like there's things I have to do. Things I have to know… maybe even fix. I can't explain it because I'm discovering myself every step I take, but I can't stop now. I feel like I'm close to the end," the child said.
"…alright, i'll keep watching out for ya…" Sans said, and then he turned towards Curtain.
With a wink and a kind smile he added, "and for you too, Curtain."
Sans got up and left, saying he was going to Grillby's and asking Papyrus if he wanted anything, though Papyrus declined.
The child watched Sans leave and then looked towards Curtain as she noticed a smile on her face as she was still looking towards where Sans left from.
"… Curtain?" the child asked to wake her up.
"Hm? Oh! Sorry! You need something?" Curtain asked, as the child looked at her suspiciously.
The child then caught on as she chuckled.
"Huh? What are you laughing about?" Curtain asked with a head tilt.
"Oh nothing… just seems like you and Sans really like each other."
"E-Eh? Well yeah, as friends, you know," Curtain said while rubbing the back of her head with a small blush.
The child raised a brow with a smile, and Curtain sighed and said, "I mean… He's a really cool guy, you know? Levelheaded, laidback, caring, honest… hehe, I guess in a way he reminds me of my mom, except she wasn't a lazybones, but… he's not totally one after all he did to help us."
"Yeah, though…" the child points at the sock laying in the living room.
They both started to laugh as Curtain said it wasn't so bad and the child kept laughing.
"… You still like him though?"
"… yeah. He's grown on me. Don't tell anyone, especially not him. I want to if I get the chance."
"Okay."
Outside while leaning near the window, Sans chuckled and spoke, though no one else heard him,
"i like you too, Curtain."
Another week later:
The child along with Papyrus and Undyne just returned from buying food and went to the kitchen to cook while following a recipe Curtain gave them that came from a friend. The child instructed the two as they prepared the ingredients together, while the child made sure they wouldn't burn the house down.
Meanwhile Curtain showed Sans where Theodan's study was and explained the situation that happened with him more thoroughly since she wasn't able to go there and show him earlier. As they looked around, nothing really caught their eyes until Sans found a hidden book.
"huh. this looks promising," Sans said as he flipped through a few pages.
"H-How did you even find that?" Curtain asked, seeing that the desk had a hidden compartment.
"eh, i know a thing or two when it comes to keeping something secret or safe," Sans said.
"… what secrets are you keeping, Sans?" Curtain asked, with a small pout of intrigue and narrowed eyes of suspicion.
"… h-heh, come on, Curtain. don't call me out like that. even i have a skele-ton in my closet, but its more for privacy," Sans said, a bluish blush creeping on his face from her expression that he found to be cute.
Curtain chuckled, "Alright, alright. So what did you find there?"
"seems to have some information about monsters… your people included," Sans said as he showed her the pages labeled of the Aecans.
"Gasp! Oh my gosh… this is exactly what I was looking for! Though I flew I still want to know if there's other things I don't know…" Curtain said, as Sans handed her the book.
"i'm sure Theodan would be happy to know you got this. you can keep it of course since it belonged to an aecan, might as well pass it on to the next one," Sans said.
"… thank you," Curtain said as she hugged Sans with watery eyes from remembering Theodan.
"n...n-no prob, Curtain," Sans said as he gently pat her back.
Remember who she's speaking to, Curtain quickly backed away from Sans with a purple blush dusting her cheeks as she said,
"Got a bit carried away. S-Sorry about that."
"heh. It's no big deal," Sans said with a wink, and Curtain smiled sheepishly.
The two left Waterfall as they headed back to the house in Snowdin for dinner. For once, Papyrus' spaghetti had finally become edible, and although it wasn't as good as her friend made it, everyone still ate it with delight, though no one was more delighted then Papyrus to see everyone eating his food together.
Two days later:
With no sightings of Corruption, the search parties lead by Undyne came to a steady halt, but they were still kept on guard in Snowdin and especially the forest. The child was preparing herself with her wounds fully healed and stocking up on food while Papyrus accompanied her. Curtain's wounds were also fully healed as she was sitting on the rooftop with Sans while she was brushing her hair to fix it up in a new scrunchie Undyne gave her. While she did so, Sans and her were just talking but unbeknownst to Curtain since she was watching her hair and brush, Sans' eyes were completely fixed on her. Although her hair had been down for a while, seeing her brush her hair with a gentle smile and expression no longer strained from pain made Sans feel happy too.
"… your hair is longer then i thought," Sans said.
"Oh, yeah, you know I put it in a pretty high ponytail since it's easier to lay down, and keeps it under control," Curtain said.
"i see. i'm going to miss your hair being down though. it's prettier that way, though I guess… you're pretty no matter what," Sans complimented, and Curtain blushed a little as she looked up towards him.
"O-Oh, thank you… so since we're alone anyway, do you mind if…" Curtain's words faded as she looked away from Sans to contemplate.
"hm? what's on your mind, Curtain?"
"… nevermind."
"… are you sure about that? i mean, tomorrow you're going on ahead with the kid… i'm not sure when we'll get this moment to talk again."
"… It's hard to say… but Sans, I just wanted to know if you liked me… like really liked me because… if the kid can't escape passed the King then we were thinking to possibly return to the Ruins and see if the lady behind the door would let us go that way… then I can fly her out of here from where we came," Curtain said as she placed her hand with the brush facedown.
"…" Sans grew silent.
"So I just wanted to know if… if I should come back if we leav-" Curtain stopped talking when Sans placed his boney hand over hers.
He caressed her hand with his thumb as Curtain watched patiently.
"… i never want you to leave, to be honest" Sans said, as Curtain could sense his dejection.
Curtain let go of the brush as she turned her hand over to grasp his hand. They made eye contact as instinctively the two lightly blushed.
"… I like you."
"heh. i like you too."
"A lot?"
"yeah."
"Me too."
They smiled at one another sweetly.
"If we have to escape from the Ruins… I'll come back to you," Curtain said.
"i'll hold you to it, Curtain. i'll be waiting for you," Sans said, his hand gripping hers.
"BROTHER! CURTAIN! ARE YOU TWO UP THERE?! WE'RE BACK!" Papyrus called out as he and the child returned from the store.
They instinctively released hands as Sans walked over to look down, while Curtain quickly fixed her hair in a ponytail.
"yeah, we're here bro. we're coming down to ya," Sans replied with a wave of his hand.
"NYEH HEH HEH! PERFECT TIMING! AS USUAL BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
Papyrus and the child entered the house as Sans lead Curtain down with a quick shortcut to the kitchen. As the child showed Curtain the stuff she bought, Papyrus stood next to Sans.
"You know, from my height, it seemed like you and Curtain were bonding from the roof. Is that how people who like each other do so from where Curtain is from?" Papyrus asked in a lower voice for Curtain and the child not to hear.
"… hehehehe. seems like it, bro," Sans replied.
Yee