Horrortale - Back to the beginning [eng]

Chapter 10

I spent the afternoon with Aliza, again.  Sans had to go to his post in Hotland, and Papyrus hadn't come back until then.  I hoped he was fine.

The girl drew in a crumpled notebook, and she was sitting on the couch, facing me, not letting me see the drawing.  I asked some times what she was doing, and she always answered with one "Not yet!"

She had a concentrated expression, and used chalks of different colors, always changing them.

The day passed quickly, and before I knew it, Sans and Papyrus were back.  I smiled at them, Papyrus returned the smile, but Sans looked more tired than he had lately.

"Sans? Is everything right?" I asked, worried

He ignored the question and went upstairs.  He ran his hand over his left wrist, as if he had hurt it.

Aliza ran and hugged Papyrus, who hugged her back.

"How was it with the puzzles?" Aliza asked him.

"VERY WELL!  I FIXED ONE OF MY THORN PUZZLES! UNDYNE WON'T NEED TO CAL FOR MY ATTENTION ANYMORE!"

The poor guy still had to deal with Undyne's wickedness.  I was going to change that.

I heard the sound of Sans' bedroom door being closed, and thought about going to see him.  So I went up and knocked on your door.

"Sans?"

No answer.  I wanted to give him privacy, so I moved away from the door when I heard something.

"It's opened..." His voice was muffled, and low.

I opened the door gently and saw him lying on his mattress, facing the wall.  I closed the door, walked slowly over to him, and sat on the edge of the mattress, hugging my legs.

"Is there something bothering you?"

He was silent, but I waited.  I was looking around the room, until he decided to answer me.

"It's nothing."

That wasn't the answer I wanted to hear, but I knew he wouldn't say anything else.  He was very close to the wall, I saw that there was a space next to him and without thinking twice, I laid down.  With my belly up and my arm over my eyes.

Why did I do that?  I don't know either, it was on impulse.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

I felt him move a little, and when I turned my head, he was on his back too, with his hands on his chest.

"Thanks."

We looked at each other, and I smiled, trying to cheer him up, which was worth it, as he smirked.  My heart warmed.

"You want to hear a joke?" I asked smiling, looking at him.

"Sure." he looked back at the ceiling.

I thought a little.

"Do you know why the frog took the bus to work today?"

"Why?"

"Because his car got toad away" I held on to keep from laughing, he seemed to think about the joke, until he laughed out loud, which made me smile.

We spent a while telling jokes, until my eyes started to weigh and I fell asleep, right there.

Sans pov

She hadn't insisted on asking what was wrong, but she still tried to cheer me up, and it worked.

Now she sleeping peacefully by my side. She looked tired, just like I was.  If I got up, I would probably wake her up, and I didn't want that.  So I left her there, and fell asleep.

Worst possible decision.

I ended up having a nightmare that I would like to erase from my memory forever.

It was me, Frisk and Undyne, in the throne room.  The air was heavy, I held Frisk in my arms, kneeling on the floor, while mumbling over and over.

A spear went through her abdomen, and her eyes had lost focus.

"No ... no no no- it can't be, hey kid, wake up ... please- i- i can't lose you again, please come back ... kiddo ..."

I looked up, looking Undyne in the eye.  I had never felt so much hatred and anger in my life.  I felt tears going down my face.

"YOU KILLED HER!!"

"YOU ARE A TRAITOR! YOU HELPED HER, YOU DESERVE TO DIE AS MUCH!!" Undyne replied.

"She came here to help!  Came here to redeem yourself!  TO HAVE A TALK WITH YOU, BUT YOU HAD TO KILL IT WITHOUT HESITATING!"

My body was on fire, I just wanted to end it right there.

"SHE WAS YOUR FRIEND, UNDYNE!  YOU ARE AS CRAZY AS ANYONE HERE!  YOU'RE SICK!  NOW WON'T LEAVE HERE, THANKS TO YOU!"

I saw her face contort in an expression of hate.

"Stop..." she forced her fists closed, trying to contain herself.

"And to think we took Toriel off the throne for this ..."

"STOP!!"

Undyne summoned one of her spears and threw it towards me.  I hugged Frisk's body, and then-

"SANS!"

I woke up desperately, looking everywhere, trying to find the voice, I felt someone holding my face.

"My God what happened??"

I was panting, my heart racing and my vision blurred.  I held the hands over my face as soon as I saw they were Frisk's.  She looked worried, her golden eyes were open.  They were beautiful.

"Are you okay?? Was it a nightmare?"

I sighed.

"Yes, but it was nothing big ..."

"How come 'it was nothing too much' ??" she interrupted me. "don't you want to talk about it?"

She looked at me, she knew I couldn't escape it.

"I'm just kinda ... worried, about your meeting with Undyne." I felt my pulse quicken, and I started to get nervous "I couldn't help but think about the worst that could happen, but I'm fine ..."

Frisk wrapped me in a tight hug, I felt her face sink into my shoulder.  I didn't know how to return the action, but I hugged it again, and gradually I felt comfortable.

"I promise, I promise not to leave until I get you out of here.  Until I see you happy on the surface.  I promise."

We were silent, until she yawned.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"2 in the morning."

"Ah."

She lay down again, closing her eyes.  She looked very tired, and sleepy.

"My bad."

"What?"

"For waking you up."

"Ah, it wasn't your fault, it's normal to have nightmares. Don't worry."

She signed for me to lay down again and so I did.

"It's okay, I'll be fine, okay?" she kissed my forehead and fell asleep.

I watched her for a few moments.  I had lost sleep, temporarily, and watching her rest brought me peace, as if she brought a more peaceful golden age.  She always had this effect, ever since we met.

I fell asleep soon after, beside her, and I had no more nightmares.