Corruption (OLD)

...And Straight Into Trouble

First thing you noticed when you left the ruins? It was cold. You were suddenly grateful that you snagged boots and extra clothes. Flowey shivered, now moving from your arm to gently sling himself around your neck, both for your warmth and to keep himself warm in your hair. There was a path set in a thick forest, the trees black and tall on both sides of the path. You walked down the path, feeling a bit at ease. It was peaceful right now. The snow was falling softly, making the somewhat creepy forest look beautiful. "Have you been out here before, Flowey?" You spoke up curiously, breaking the silence.

He looked at you with a tiny smile. "Well, the Ruins have been my home for a very long time, because I don't like to fight, nor do I want to hurt anyone. That will get you killed in this world. So, when I figured that out I went to the place where no monsters can enter from. The Ruins. I got in by travelling through the grounds." Noticing your confused look, he elaborated. "When I'm planted in the ground, I can sort of sink into the ground and pop up other places. That's what I did. I did visit here. It was pretty, but the monsters were ruthless like everyone else. I left quickly, and... The Ruins became my home." He shrugged-well, rather, moved his leaves up and down. You nodded in thought as you stepped over a massive branch on the ground.

"Would you like a flower pot or maybe a shoe to travel in? I can fill it with dirt, if that would be better for you." You offered your flower friend with a smile. He shook his petal-lined head.

"No, I like traveling like this, if you don't mind." He said cheerfully. It grew quiet, and then there was a loud SNAP. You whipped around quickly, and noticed the branch from earlier had been shattered.

"What...? How did that happen?" You wondered aloud. Flowey shrugged his leaves again.

"Let's keep going, Frisk." He said. "I-I've got a bad feeling." You nodded again and turned around to continue walking. You suddenly froze, a red aura surrounding you. You heard a low, dark chuckle from behind you. Slowly, ever so slowly, you turned around, but not by your own will. It's like the red aura was controlling you. You were nervous, but not quite scared.

Okay. Seeing who-rather, what was behind you made you more scared. It was a short, somewhat bulky skeleton. Yes, that's right. A skeleton. His teeth looked sharp and dangerous, and one of them was gold. He had on a wide, sinister smirk. He was wearing a black, fluffy-looking jacket, with a red turtleneck under that, and black shorts. In this cold? One eye was flaming red, with the same red aura-you guessed it was magic?-that was surrounding your body. "Well, well. I'm surprised. A human? Heh. I should just kill you now. It would be so easy, you humans are so weak." At this, the magic around you seemed to tighten, and it became hard to breathe. "Eh. Then it's not as fun." He dropped the magic, his eye (eye socket?) stopped glowing red, and you fell back, stumbling to the ground.

"Don't hurt her!" Flowey snapped. "Frisk, are you alright?" He asked in concern. You nodded, scrambling backwards away from the skeleton.

"Wh-Who are you?" You asked. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets casually, his menacing smirk still on his face.

"Name's Sans. Surprised that you're here, the old hag in the Ruins would never let a kid leave. Either they die, or she keeps 'em. Didya kill her?" He seemed... excited by the aspect of death. You shook your head quickly.

"No! Of course not. Why would I ever kill anyone or anything? That's horrible." You responded rather quickly. Sans' grin widened.

"You'll never make it in this world if you have that mentality. Maybe I will kill you, take your soul... Then it would be merciful, in a sense. I can make it quick... Painless." He took a few steps towards you, and in response you took a few steps back.

"I-I don't think you should." You said nervously, backing up as he continued to come forward. He backed you up to a gate that was closed.

"You should thank me, human. If you got through this gate, you'd reach my brother. He's a human-hunting fanatic. He'd kill you in an instant, take your soul, and use it to uproot Undyne, taking his place as the leader of the Royal Guard." He chuckled darkly. "Isn't my brother cruel?" Suddenly, he shoved you to the side and unlocked the gate. "Actually, let's make this fun." He roughly grabbed your arm, dragging you through. You shook with fear at this point. He let go of you, shoving you so you hit the ground. The cold snow seeped through your clothes, making you shiver a little. He leaned over you, his one eye flaring red again. "Are you scared, human? Then run."

You shot up, and ran into the trees. Branches and bushes scratched you up, but you were wasting no time here. "Better run, kiddo!" Kiddo? You weren't a kid anymore. You were well into your teens. "I will find you! The hunt makes it more fun." His dark laughter seemed to fill the quiet air of the forest. Thinking fast, you dived into a nearby bush. Flowey squealed a little in discomfort, but you shushed him quickly. Listening intently, you realized you couldn't hear the skeleton anymore. Staying hidden in the forest, you travel along. You could see the path from where you were in the woods, as you weren't too awfully far from it. Travelling through the woods carefully and slowly, you chatted quietly to Flowey. He didn't seem to know Sans personally, or who his brother was, but he had heard about the Skeleton Brothers. They were strong, and were sentries, looking for humans to capture or even kill if it came to that. This made you nervous, scared even. Hearing about his brother made you certain you did not want to meet them again.

"BROTHER! You saw a human, and yet you did not capture them?" A rather loud voice was heard in the silence. Freezing, you slowly looked around and bit your lip worriedly. There! You spotted the owner of the voice. He was a taller, skinnier skeleton. He was wearing some kind of battle armor that was all black, with a red ripped scarf. He also had sharp teeth, much like Sans did. His skull had a few cracks on it. Perhaps the equivalent to scars on someone with flesh?

"Look, bro, they slipped. I let them run because I wanted to give chase, and I lost them." Sans spoke up. "'m sorry. Look, now you have a chance to go after them too. It's a girl, I think. Not a kid kid, not an adult." He shrugged, hands shoved into his pockets again. "They weren't even alone. They had some kind of weird yellow flower thing with them."

"You should be stronger, brother! This wouldn't happen if you were stronger!" The taller skeleton must have been Sans' brother, you assumed.

"i'm strong enough, bro." His eye flared red for a moment or two. "You weren't exactly luckier than me."

Flowey tugged on your hair with his leaves, still draped around your neck. "Let's go. They want to kill us, Frisk. We gotta go." You nodded slowly as the silence came back. As you slowly moved through the trees, to draw little attention to yourself, the taller skeleton suddenly looked in your direction with narrowed eye-sockets. You froze and Flowey covered his face with his leaves. The skeleton shook his head with a frown, turning back to Sans.

"If you see the human again, Sans, capture them. Bring them to me, immediately." He said before turning and leaving, his scarf billowing out behind him. You let out a heavy sigh of relief. You were safe. For now.