I'm not one of you <Frans>

CHAPTER 58: Sit down

Time: Inevitable
Location: Waterfall
Time is ticking.

Frisk had grown increasingly thin and frail since my first encounter with her, she was starting to breathe heavy and it had seemed that every step was wearing her out more and more. I tried to hide the look of concern on my face when we had crossed through the water, taking a short-cut and cutting through a longer route of the Waterfall caverns. Though, if my opinion, I thought she would have rather enjoyed it. "You good?" I asked her, as she kept her head low, trudging slowly in the knee-deep water. I was wondering how her legs could even support her body.

"I-I'm okay.." She said, breathing heavily and waving her arms around to maintain her balance when taking her entire leg out of the water, only to place it back inside to move at a snail's pace. "I'ts just taking a lot longer than expected.." She trailed off, not meeting me in the eyes. She looked rather ponderous of the luminescent water.

I hummed in response, and looked forward again, moving through the water with no struggle, since my body wasn't as much of a driving force against the denseness of the water. Of course, there was a small amount of resistance when moving in the water, however, it was very little compared to what she was probably experiencing due to her being human. I stuffed my hands inside my pockets, as if i didn't have a clue what was going on with her, but in reality, my thoughts were swarming like crazy.

What is happening to her? I didn't know the bodily functions of a human! How was I supposed to know the genetic make-up? I studied physics and magic, the library in Snowdin didn't offer books on humans. My mind trailed off to a different subject rather quickly, trying to tune out her harsh breaths to get through the water. I didn't understand why I felt like this. Why I felt like I needed to protect her and care for her.

Shaking my head, I only remembered what Colonel Jackson said to me back at the small camp. "She can enjoy the little amount of freedom she has for now, and because of you, it won't last long. She'll be killed the minute she shows her face on the surface world. She's a traitor."

It made me feel helpless when I thought back to when she talked about re-creating the crystals back in her home, like a normal person. but in reality, she will never be normal again. It wasn't because of me, I knew that, but was it Chara? They said her name when trying to arrest Frisk.

"Sans.." Frisk huffed, once I stepped out of the water. I turned around and saw her hunched over in a pathetic ball, holding her stomach, and extending her frail hand, "Could you... lend me a hand?" She huffed, as if just walking through the water immediately took away all of her energy. "Please?" She pleaded, when I didn't give her an immediate response.

I hesitated, feeling the ripple of my breaths as I held my hand back. I was reluctant to help her, only because I knew we were getting closer, and I didn't know how I felt about that. And about that dream I had prior to this moment. Despite it all, I let out a huff, and held out my hand, and pulled her out. "Fine." I said, as if two different sides in my head were clashing. She was surprisingly light, too light. She didn't weigh this much a few days ago.

"Thank you." She said, stepping onto the soft soil with a few fumbles in her steps. She looked even worse than before, exerting so much energy at once.

"You don't look too good." I said, almost as a joke, but I was serious. Her sweater didn't fit her anymore, it was practically two sizes too big fro her, and it was really shown with the ripped sleeve and her regular sleeve. Her pants were baggy, and she constantly needed to pull them up, it was obvious she had lost some eight. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked her, as she evaded my eyes once more.

I felt as if I were being too pushy with the whole thing. I didn't really like it myself, honestly. Caring about someone for what it seemed like the first time in forever. Well, not caring, but enjoy talking to, or something. I didn't like that word...'Caring'.. it made me feel sick. "I'm..." She began to say to me, as if to say her were fine, however, she just placed her hand on the side of the cave wall, and took a deep breath.

"Hey, whoa, What's going on?" I asked, getting way too protective for my liking too. Does everyone feel this way when 'befriending' someone? I can't even imagine what it was like for her when I had completely gone mad, how long had I lost my sanity for?

"I just need to sit down..." She said, looking down and sliding down to the ground as if she couldn't see the ground straight. "Just for a while, okay?" She huffed, coughing slightly. "Just for..." She trailed off, "Just for a moment." she said, repeating herself. "W-Where's the nearest settlement?" She asked, rather bluntly.

"Quite a bit from here. There are a few houses, however, nothing 'settlement' worthy." I said, "Why?" I narrowed my eyes, as she struggled to breathe. "What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"Sans.." She breathed out, laying her head on the side of the cave wall to rest it, as if that alone was too much energy to waste for her. "You see, we humans need certain things to live.." She said, rolling her head over to face be as I just stood there, completely helpless. "And the average human can survive up to three weeks without food and water." She said, chuckling slightly.

"I'm starving to death." She chuckled, quietly and sadly.

My eyes slightly widened at the realization of the duration of her stay, prolonging the stages of her illness. My shoulders dropped as I couldn't help but think of what an overbearing idiot I had been to miss such an important factor for the life of a human. It just didn't cross my mind, and a part of me said just leave her there, but the other part of me said help her.