The glowing mushrooms whizzed past Sans as he followed Fuku, Eliza, and his other self through the black-dirt fields of underground. There was a burst of light behind him, followed by a nearby mushroom exploding into a thousand glowing bits that rained through the air. The Mettaton of that dimension had seen numerous upgrades to both armor and weaponry, though the mushrooms of the field provided Sans and company some cover from the energy blasts.
The other Sans led the chase, weaving through the field while urging the others on. Sans remained in the back, doing his best to block the incoming blasts with his own magic. The bones bounced off Mettaton's sleek black metal armor, only serving to deepen the cruel smile on the robot's face.
"You can't run forever, darling," Mettaton called out in a sing-song voice.
"Won't stop me from trying," the Other Sans shouted back. "Tell Alphys I'll take a rain-check."
Sans didn't speak; it was taking all his focus to keep up with the others, and even then, what was left of his left arm was throbbing from the effort. He had a rough idea of where they were in Waterfall, but that was hardly comforting; if Hotland was their destination, they still had a good ways to go.
"Hang on," Other Sans called back, "We're almost there!"
"What are …" Sans looked ahead, his eye-sockets widening. The cavern ahead was pitch black. The moment they stepped through the passage, darkness fell over them like a curtain. Sans knew the place, even though he usually took a shortcut around it to avoid the headache. The chamber had an artificial darkness enchantment over it that could only be displaced by the light of several strategically placed mushroom patches. Even Fuku's flames, usually bright enough to provide light in the darkest situations, seemed to have been snuffed out, if only in a visual sense.
"Sans!" Fuku's voice called out ahead of Sans.
"It's all right!" Sans said, running in the direction of her voice. "There should be a mushroom patch right-"
Light flared ahead of them … for only a few moments. Sans caught sight of his other self swinging a knife at the mushrooms before darkness fell over the room again.
"Run all you want," Mettaton said, his voice uncomfortably close, "I'll still find you, darling."
Sans jumped at the sound of energy blasts being fired, and again as the blasts hit somewhere close enough to send bits of dirt and stone in the air. He ran forward blindly in the direction he'd heard Fuku's voice only to bump straight into the wall. He fumbled around the wall with his remaining hand, scrambling to find the proper passage ahead as the steady thuds of Mettaton's footsteps grew louder behind him. He had to fight the urge to let out a triumphant cry when his hand found an open corridor, and wasted no time in hurrying through it.
He kept moving, feeling his way along the passage until finding an opening until Mettaton's footsteps vanished into the distance. Breathing a sigh of relief, he whispered, "I think he's gone."
There was no response. Trying not to panic, he whispered, "Fuku? Eliza?"
Still hearing no answer, he moved away from the wall and felt along the ground until his hand touched the stalk of a mushroom. The entire patch of mushrooms lit up instantly, illuminated the cavern around him and revealing that he was completely alone.
"Dammit," Sans swore. The dark cavern was a maze, filled with redundant corridors, looping paths, and dead ends. Even if he could find the others, Mettaton was no doubt still stomping around somewhere, looking for them. Then again, if he stayed there, who knows what would come and find him.
"HOI!"
Sans let out a shriek that echoed through the caverns before turning and seeing the smiling face of a single Temmie. The cat-like creature seemed thin and had bags under its eyes, yet had lost little of the cheerfulness for which Temmie-kind was known.
"Whoa there!" Sans said, kneeling down to look the Temmie in the eyes. "You scared the heck outta me, little … er, Temmie."
"Bob," the Temmie said. "Tem'm Bob's really cool!"
"Bob it is then," Sans glanced around and said, "I lost my friends … a fire elemental and a little girl. Have you seen them?"
"Tem'm sorry. Tem Bob lost frends too. Haven't seen fire lady or little hooman."
Seeing the little fellow so downcast hit Sans right in his feels. He ruffled Bob's hair and said, "S'okay. It was a long shot."
Temmie Bob sniffed. At first, Sans thought the little fellow was crying, but when he continued sniffing, Sans realized the Temmie was gradually turning toward his fake arm.
"TEMMIE smells FOOB! u have FOOB for tEMMIE?"
"I don't …" Sans paused, looking at the fake arm. The bone was gnawed, but unbroken. Skeleton bones were just bones, but Sans knew Human bones had marrow … not an optimal food source, but for someone who was starving, it was something.
"Sure thing, little guy." Sans untied the fake arm bones and offered the humerus to Bob. The Temmie snatched the bone away and went to work on it with surprisingly sharp little teeth. In a matter of moments, he'd broken through the bone.
Sans watched for a few moments as the little monster cat made short work of the bone. Shaking his head at the sad sight, he looked around for a few moments before grabbing the longest of the mushrooms and using it as a replacement for the humerous. It was a bit more wobbly than the bone, but looked okay with the coat covering it.
He turned back to see the Temmie staring at him.
"Dat not U real arm. U lost arm?" Bob asked.
"Yeah. Long story," Sans said, glancing at his stump again. Another inch gone … barely enough to tie on his fake arm. Shaking his head, he said, "How about you? Things must be pretty bad in Temmie village."
"Tem village iz very bad. No foob, except weak temmie. Dat's y Bob left tem village." Bob shook his head. "Tem dont want tu be da weak temmie."
"You mean they eat …" Sans shuddered. "Feral Temmies. Wonderful. This place gets better and better."
"More foob for tem?" Bob asked hopefully.
"Tell you what," Sans said, "Help me get back on the path to Hotland, and I'll give you the rest of this fake arm, and tell you where you can get some more." As grisly as it was, neither Grillby nor the remains of the humans he'd cooked were likely to complain.
"Really? wow! You got a deal! Hold Bob's tail, and Bob will show you tha way!"
Sans gingerly took hold of the black tip of the temmie's tail, and was promptly yanked forward as the invigorated temmie leapt into motion. Darkness surrounded Sans as the bouncing temmie Bob pulled him through the caverns, occasionally switching direction without warning. Sans nearly lost his grip.
Eventually, one bounce pulled him from the dark cavern. He stared at the field of mushrooms, cave grass, and echo flowers for a moment before Bob's next bounce jerked him forward once again. They were half-way across the field when Bob suddenly came to a halt.
"Thanks for that," Sans said, glad of the chance to rest for a moment. "Fuku's been on me to get more exercise, but no need to overdo it, eh?"
Bob didn't respond. It was then Sans realized that the little Temmie was shaking all over.
"Bad temmie," he whimpered, backing against Sans's leg.
"No, you're a good temmie," Sans told him. "A very good temmie, and …"
He stopped at the sound of a low growl. It started off in one direction, only to quickly be joined by others until they were surrounded by the low uncomfortable noise. Sans spun about, looking for the source of the growling but only seeing eyes … dozens of pairs in the tall grass staring directly at them.
"Temmie Bob bring dinner?" asked a small voice barely louder than the growling.
"What?" Sans said, sockets widening in horror. "Bob … you didn't …"
"No!" Temmie Bob said, still quivering. "Temmie Bob helping friend Sanes … will get dinner after. Good bones! Sanes tell where they are!"
This apparently was not the response the voices wanted. "Temmie Bob not bring dinner … then Temmie Bob is dinner."
A chorus of dark giggles and growling answered this remark, causing Temmie Bob to shrink back eve further.
"Hey now," Sans said, "Bob's with me."
"Dinner … Temmie Bob … dinner … Sanes …"
Sans could see the temmies now; at least a dozen surrounding them, and while Bob was much like the temmies of Sans's universe, these temmies looked far more threatening. Sharp teeth and glinting black eyes, coupled with a thin physique brought about by near-starvation, these temmies might as well have been a pack of wolves.
"Oh, come on, guys," Sans said, raising his hands. "You don't wanna eat us. You'll get a temmie-ache."
The temmies continued growling and carefully padding closer.
Sighing, Sans quickly considered his options. He was strong, but a whole pack of hungry temmies was going to be a bit much for him, especially considering his bad arm.
"My arm," he murmured, an idea forming in his mind. He popped the skeletal hand off his forearm and held it up for everyone to see.
"You hungry?" he asked as he saw the sparkling black eyes all focused on him, "Good! Go Fetch!"
The Temmies leapt after the hand the moment it left Sans's actual hand. The grass rustled as they surrounded the fallen bones, the sound of crunching soon filling the air.
Sans picked up Bob with his remaining arm and ran. Now that they were out of the dark cavern, he had a pretty good idea which way to go. He knew that the small finger bones wouldn't last long among the ravenous temmies, and sure enough, he heard sounds of many small bodies rushing through the grass behind him.
Part of him wanted to cry out in joy when his sneakered foot came down on the path. Spinning on his heel, he turned his sights toward Hotland. Temmies leapt at him, but he'd evaded far worse than even them before; anywhere a feral Temmie fell with fangs and claws ready to tear into them would become suddenly empty as Sans seemed to vanish and reappear just a few feet away.
Still, Sans knew he couldn't keep it up forever. He hoped the Temmies wouldn't follow him into Hotland, a hope that he realized was futile as they passed the giant marquee (non-functioning, of course) on the very border of Hotland. He'd gained some ground on them, but the Temmies were still behind him, mouths frothing in anticipation of their next meal.
A blast of heat hit Sans's skull as he dashed into the first magma-filled cavern, only to skid to a halt; ahead of him was the bridge to Hotland. Fuku and the Other Sans were hurriedly running across the bridge, Other Sans looking as pained as Sans felt at so much exertion. That wasn't what made Sans stop, however; just before the bridge stood Mettaton, weapons aimed at the retreating monsters ahead … no, Sans realized Mettaton wasn't aiming for them. He didn't have to; all he had to do was hit the bridge.
Hearing the yipping behind him growing closer, Sans suddenly had a wild idea. Dropping Bob at his feet, Sans yanked out the final arm bone and held it up for the Temmie's to see. They all came to a halt, their eyes on the potential food.
"Hungry?" Sans asked, "Then go get it!"
He flung the bone at Mettaton. Mettaton spun about and caught it with one hand, fixing Sans with an evil glare that quickly faltered as the horde of ravenous temmies raced past Sans and Bob and leapt onto the robot.
"Get off me!" Mettaton screeched, swatting fruitlessly at the Temmies, but they just kept clawing and biting at the automaton, their sharp teeth wearing through the metal in moments.
Still shrieking, Mettaton took a step back, only for the ground to crumble beneath his feet. He fell from the platform, screaming as he and a cloud of feral Temmies fell to their doom. Sans watched until they were nothing more than a speck.
"Sans!"
Sans looked up in time to catch Fuku with his remaining arm. She kissed him as the Other Sans approached, an impressed look on his skull.
"I'm impressed," he said, clapping his bony hands together. "I thought you were a goner when we lost you in the cavern. No one lost in there makes it long, not with … well, you saw the temmies."
"Yeah. Oh, right," Sans gestured to Bob. "This is Temmie Bob; he got me back on track."
Fuku knelt by the still-trembling little cat creature and gave it a hug. "Thank you for looking after my fiance."
"Nice lady have foob?" Bob asked hopefully.
"Um, no," She said, looking to Sans.
Nodding, Sans knelt beside Bob as well. "You know Grillbys over in Snowdin? He's got a bunch more bones. Tell him I sent ya, and there won't be no problem."
"Really?" Bob asked, hope flooding into his eyes. Seeing Fuku nod, he let out a whoop and sang, "Thankuu Sanes! Thankuu 4evaar!"
With that, Temmie Bob took off running back to Waterfall.
Sans let out a sigh as he watched him depart. "Y'know, I think I'm gonna miss the little guy."
"Bah. Pests," Other Sans said, "We'll have enough trouble getting into Alphys's lab without a Temmie muckin' things up. C'mon; we're almost there."
Sans watched as his alternate self continued across the bridge, grumbling beneath his breath. "Bunch of fun, that one," he remarked, earning a giggle from Fuku.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
