Fuku awoke to find herself caught in the branches of a large pine tree. Her mind raced to piece together her last waking thoughts as she stared at the snow below her. Sans called her to meet him at Alphys's workshop, and when she got there … something happened.
A familiar chuckle broke through her thoughts.
"Sans?" She asked, carefully untangling her clothes from the branches and twigs. "Sans, are you okay?"
"I could use a hand."
"Thank goodness! Hold on, I'll be there soon!"
She landed at the base of the tree, glad she'd worn her work shoes and not heels. Steadying herself agaisnt the tree, she looked around until she spotted Sans sitting in the snow a short distance away, his back to her. She hurried over to him, only to recoil in horror as he turned to face her.
"See?" He said, a dazed look on his skull as he lifted the four inches of bone that remained of his right arm. "I need a hand … and most of an arm."
"Oh, Sans!" She whispered, sinking to her knees beside him despite the bitter cold of the snow. "I'm so-"
"Now don't go starting that, Fuku." He said, rubbing her cheek with his remaining hand and smiling kindly at her. "It was an accident."
"But … your arm …"
"I know it looks bad, but no worries; we get back, and I can pop it right back on." He chuckled again and shook his head. "Help me up, sweet flame, and let's see if we can't figure out where we ended up this time."
They looked around, but all either could see was snow and trees.
"Maybe when it gets light out-" Sans said.
On a sudden whim, Fuku shot a ball of flame straight up. It shot high in the air before bursting into a firework explosion, revealing the stalactites high above them.
"We're underground … or Underground." Fuku glanced around again before saying, "And these trees … I think we're in the woods near Snowden."
"Cool." Sans said as Fuku helped him to his feet. "At least we're close to familiar territory. All we need now is to figure out what reality we're in, and then find a way back."
"Oh, is that all?" Fuku said, smiling despite their situation.
Fuku stayed near Sans as they walked through the snow-covered woods. Despite his assurances that he was fine, the loss of his arm worried her. It was true he was stronger than he used to be, and she was certain he'd actually grown a few inches in height somehow, but losing an arm wasn't the sort of thing that could be shrugged off … or at least, Fuku didn't think so.
Whatever he was feeling, it didn't take long for Sans to bring them to the path going through Snowden.
"Here we go." He said, gesturing with his remaining arm. "One way to the old ruins, the other leads straight to Snowdin. Whaddya think? Left or right? I'd decide, but … well, let's face it. It'd have to be left, wouldn't it?"
Fuku looked both ways, but as her eyes swept over the trees, she felt a shudder pass through her.
"Fuku?" Sans asked, sounding concerned now. "What's wrong, sweet flame?"
"This place feels … off." She said, hugging her arms to her chest.
"Dead, more like." Sans said. He gestured to a nearby tree; a small branch broke away with a crack and fell to the ground, making Sans jump.
"Just meant to get a leaf," He said as he walked over to the branch. He picked it up and stared at it for a few moments before handing it to her. "It's dead."
Fuku took the branch and looked at it. Sure enough, the wood was brittle and dry. The snow sloughed off the needles, revealing them to be brown and dry. Another look at the nearby trees showed they were all dead husks, partially covered by snow.
"Not likin' this one bit." Sans said. "Still have to make a choice though."
Fuku looked both ways again before saying, "Left, then."
They moved more slowly now, both on the alert for incoming trouble. The strange emptiness grew the further they went, leaving Fuku feeling a kind of cold that had nothing to do with ice and snow.
The sight of one of Sans's old posts did much to cheer them up.
"Aha!" Sans said, hurrying to the post. "If things here are like they were back home, we should be near the Ruins. If we're lucky, Tori could be there."
"Good." Fuku said, rubbing her arms. "It'd be nice to get some info from a friendly face. What are you doing over there?"
"Seeing if my counterpart left anything useful. Aha! Check it out!"
"Aha!" Sans rose from behind the counter of the little guard post, a bright red bottle in hand. "Just what the doctor ordered."
He tossed his head back and poured the red liquid into his mouth, only to stop immediately, double over, and make a retching noise.
"Sans!" Fuku hurried over to him and held his shoulders as the contents of the bottle spilled from his mouth.
Sans wiped his mouth before looking at the bottle with disgust. "What the hell is this crap?"
Fuku took the bottle and smelled the opening. There was no hint of tomato; just a strange coppery scent that made her feel a little queasy.
"Ugh. Not likin' this reality much." Sans said as Fuku handed him the bottle. He tossed it at a nearby tree with his remaining arm. The bottle burst, coating the dead wood with the crimson liquid.
Fuku checked behind the counter of the sentry station. Aside from about a dozen more bottles, one mostly empty bottle of what appeared to be mustard, and an empty container marked 'relish', there didn't appear to be anything … unless …
She reached behind the ketchup bottles, feeling around for something hidden behind the bottles. Her fingers closed on something firm. When she pulled the object out, however, she felt anything but relieved.
"Uh, Sans?" She asked, holding up the object. "Do you usually keep a spare?"
"Huh?" Sans's eye-sockets widened slightly at the sight of the skeletal arm in Fuku's hand. "Now that's creepy."
"Can we use it?" Fuku asked, "You know … for your arm?"
Sans took it from her and stared at it for a few moments before shaking his head. "Nah, there's no magic in this … oh."
Something about the way Sans said 'oh' made Fuku ask, "What's wrong?"
He shook his head and put the arm down. "C'mon; we should keep moving."
"Sans, what is it?" Fuku persisted.
Sans let out a sigh. "Look … if it was the arm of a skeleton, it'd turn to ash the moment the magic left it."
"I don't …" Fuku's eyes widened as she caught his meaning. "You mean that's from-"
"A human, yeah." Sans shook his head. "I'm getting' a bad feelin' about this place. C'mon; let's get to the ruins.
The uneasy feeling the air only grew stronger the longer they walked through the woods. Fuku kept her arm around Sans, her eyes flashing between the trees. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Perhaps it was the trees; perhaps it was her imagination, or because she knew they were either dead or dying, but she swore she could see gnarled faces twisted in expressions of pain within the wood. Even the air seemed strangely dead.
"Wait!" Sans said, stopping suddenly. He looked at Fuku and asked, "You hear that?"
Fuku listened. She started to reply that she couldn't hear anything, but then she caught it; the faint sound of sobbing coming from nearby.
"Hello?" Fuku said, approaching the source of the noise, only for Sans to pull her back.
"Careful, Fuku," He said, "The rest of this place hasn't exactly been welcoming so far."
The crying stopped, replaced instead with the occasional sniffle. Sans and Fuku listened for a few moments before Sans sighed and said, "All right … we'll check it together."
They moved toward the sound slowly, bodies tense as they drew nearer the tree that seemed to be the source of the sound. As they stepped around the trunk, something purple dashed away to hide further in the forest.
"Wait!" Fuku said before hurrying forward. "We're not going to hurt you!"
"Yeah, kid." Sans said, ducking under a low-hanging branch. "Just lookin' for directions."
The purple figure continued to run, obscured by the low branches and trees of the forest until it abruptly fell into the snow with a small cry of pain. Sans and Fuku hurried forward to see a small human girl wearing a tattered purple dress, her foot caught on a particularly gnarled root. She stared at them like a deer caught in a pair of headlights, her pale blue eyes wide and her mouth trembling.
"Easy there!" Fuku said, kneeling beside the girl. "Oh, you poor dear … Sans, look at her! She's starving."
"No kidding." Sans said, "I can see her bones better than mine."
The girl shrank away from them, her face filled with nothing short of complete terror.
"Easy!" Fuku said, carefully pulling her foot from the roots. "You've given it a nasty twist."
"I got this." Sans said, raising his hand. "Us skeletons have a way with bones."
"NO!" The little girl broke free of Fuku's grasp and tried to run. Unfortunately, a nasty-sounding crack shot through the air when she brought her injured foot down. Shrieking in pain, she fell to the ground once again, blood dotting the snow beneath her foot where bits of bone poked out.
The child tried to crawl away despite her injury, her small hands clawing at the snow in a desperate attempt to get away.
Sighing, Sans gestured at her. Blue magic lifted her from the ground and brought her back to Sans and Fuku.
"Look, kid." Sans said, "You ain't gonna make it far with that foot. I don't know what's got you so spooked, but I ain't here to hurt ya … and neither is Fuku. All right?"
The little girl slowly nodded, a fearful look still in her eye.
"All right then. I'm gonna set you down; you need to stay still so I can fix your bones, and then Fuku here will heal you up. You wanna run after that, then we won't chase ya … but if not, we'd really appreciate it if you'd tell us just what the heck's goin' on around here. Okay?"
The girl nodded again, still fearful but slightly less so. Nodding back, Sans gently lowered her to the ground. Fuku watched as the child's bones slowly slid back into place. The girl bore it well, though it was clear from her clenched fist and rapid breathing she was in a lot of pain. Fuku sealed the wound, willing her energy to mend the child's broken skin and muscle tissue.
"There." Sans said, rubbing his remaining hand against his empty sleeve. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
The girl tested her foot cautiously, shooting glances at Sans and Fuku all the while. Once it was clear she was healed, she hugged her thin arms to her chest.
"What you need," Sans said, digging in his pockets, "Is somethin' to eat. I'm sure I got a candy bar or somethin' here … ha!"
Pulling out a slightly misshapen candy bar, he barely had time to hold it out to her before she snatched it from his hand and tore the wrapper open. Fuku expected her to wolf it down, which made it that much more surprising when she carefully sniffed the chocolate and licked it once. Apparently satisfied that it was not poison, she proceeded to wolf down the candy.
"Easy there," Sans said, taking a seat on a nearby fallen tree. "Gonna give yourself a stomachache like that."
Once the candy bar was gone, the little girl whispered, "Thank you."
"Null problem, kid." Sans said, stifling a yawn. "Tell ya what, kid; I'm feelin' a nap come on. Been up for at least … three hours, and as you can see, I got a little careless when giving someone a hand. Let's take a little break before we do anything, yeah?"
Seeing her small nod, Fuku sat beside Sans, who promptly lay his head on her lap. She rubbed his skull, slowly drifting off herself until she felt something brush against her leg. The little girl was curled up into a ball on the patch of dirt now warm and dry from Fuku's presence. She rested against Fuku's legs, clearly savoring their warmth.
"Come here, little one." Fuku said, patting the log beside her.646Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIndJziU3M8
The little girl did so after a moment's hesitation.
"Don't worry," Fuku said, gently pulling the child against her side. "My fire won't hurt you. I'm Fuku, and this bone-head is Sans."
"Hey." Sans said, raising his stub in a sort of impromptu wave.
"What's your name, sweetie?" Fuku asked, rubbing the little girl's arm.
"A-aliza." The girl whispered, resting her head against Fuku's side.
"Alize." Fuku repeated. "Well, don't worry, Aliza; you'll be safe with us."
The three sat there, Sans resting on Fuku's lap and little Aliza holding Fuku's side for warmth. It didn't take long for Sans's gentle snoring to intermingle with the soft breathing of Aliza.
"Aliza … what a pretty name," Fuku thought moments before she too drifted off to sleep.
