Sans had little experience with human combatants, outside of the one that killed him more times than he could remember. That had been one hell of a fight, but the fact that it had been a mere child didn't really occur to him until he saw the foundation troops. These were humans with a purpose, armed to the teeth and armored to take some serious damage.
At the moment, the soldiers were making a hasty bridge across a waterway, the bridges and bridge flowers having been either destroyed or replanted somewhere else to make traveling over the water just that little bit more difficult. Sans and 3177 watched from a safe distance, occasionally moving tools and supplies when the soldiers weren't looking to slow their efforts.
"More Telekill armor." 3177 murmured. "Still, that just stops us from moving them. Guns aren't a problem … well, for us anyway. Basic magic field could probably repel them, however. Probably pretty determined; good thing that won't come into play unless we're fighting them hand to hand."
"Definitely not a good idea." Sans said. He could feel quite a bit of LOVE coming from the soldiers; they certainly wouldn't hesitate to kill if they had to.
He noticed many of the soldiers wore uniforms bearing the name 'MTF Zeta-9', the meaning of which was lost on him. They carried quite a lot of climbing gear, leading Sans to believe they were used to traversing caverns.
"Right." 3177 said, bones materializing in both hands. "Let's do this."
Sans grabbed 3177 and pulled him back behind cover before any of the soldiers saw him. "Are you nuts?"
"We can't let them get to Snowdin." 3177 said. "Better to take them out now while they aren't expecting it."
"Yeah? And what if they aren't even here to fight?"
"Then they're collecting information to prepare for a fight. These bastards have been pushing us since the barrier fell."
"If they're scouts we could use that to plant false information and screw with their plans."
"We don't even know what their plans are!"
"Exactly!"
3177 stared at Sans a moment longer before letting out a sigh. "Okay, fine. We'll try it your way."
Sans glanced around the corner, his eyes quickly spotting a rock on the soldier's side of the chamber that would be more than big enough to hide him, provided none of them got too curious. Nodding at 3177, he quickly jumped to the spot via shortcut.
"… creepy place like this." Said one of the nearby soldiers in a soft tone.
"I hear ya, man." Said another soldier, patting the first on the shoulder. "Look at the bright side; they could've sent us to SCP 1730."
"Ain't that the truth." The first soldier said. "Still can't believe we lost the whole squad, especially Randall."
The second soldier chuckled. "Yeah, me either. Randall's survived so much shit, I was gettin' worried they'd classify him as an SCP sooner or later. Nah, compared to Site 13, this place is practically paradise."
"All right, you two." Said a third soldier, causing the first two to snap to attention. "Enough jabbering. We've got a mission to do. Eddings?"
"Almost there, sir." Replied a female soldier crouched beside the cavern wall.
Sans peeked out from the rocks as much as he dared to see what the soldier was doing. He watched until she stood and returned to her superior, but she didn't leave anything behind.
"We're ready to move on." She said.
If anything, the soldiers appeared more nervous at this news. None spoke, however, as the team left the cavern, heading away from Snowdin much to Sans's surprise. Careful to wait until they were all facing away from him, Sans slowly stood and looked back to 3177. His other self shrugged before pointing a thumb at the departing soldiers. Sans nodded and followed the group, 3177 soon catching up to him.
The soldiers moved extremely slowly. Sans thought this might be out of fear, but the soldiers didn't appear to be overly agitated. Nervous, yes, but not paranoid to the point that would explain their snail's pace. Even more peculiar was the fact that every time Sans and 3177 slowed down to put more space between them and the soldiers, the soldiers would inevitably slow down a few moments later.
They stopped again, this time on the wooden walkway that led to the settlement in the center of Waterfall. Sans was beginning to share 3177's growing impatience, but still didn't want to attack. Whatever the soldiers were doing was undoubtedly important, otherwise why would they be heading away from Snowdin?
Following on the walkway was tricky, as the old boards were rickety and creaked under all but the lightest step. Sans and 3177 compensated for this by walking beneath the walkway, matching their footsteps to those of the soldiers. The soldiers' heavy boots were more than enough to drown out the light steps of Sans and 3177.
The group stopped again, the female soldier again fiddling with something out of Sans's line of sight before turning to her commander. "Still good."
"All right." The captain said. "Let's press on."
Sans moved to follow the soldiers, only for 3177 to grab his arm. He glanced meaningfully back the way they'd came. Sans shook his head, pointing a thumb in the direction of the departing soldiers. 3177 shook his head as well. Sans wasn't sure how to respond, when he heard the female soldier say, "Sir!"
The boards creaked as the captain walked to the soldier. After a few moments, he said, "Everyone stay put."
They stood there, the guards above and the Sanses beneath, for five, ten, fifteen, as long as thirty minutes without so much as a word any way. Sans didn't dare speak; the cavern was simply too silent for even the softest-spoken words to go unheard from either group.
Remembering his phone, Sans carefully pulled it from his pocket and held down the volume button until the mute symbol appeared on the screen. He quickly tapped out the words, "What now?" before handing it to 3177. 3177 was quick with the reply.
"Think we could use our telekinesis to float out of here?"
"We're just about halfway. Frankly, I don't think I could make it either way."
"We could just kill them."
"Seriously? What is it with you and killing everything?
"What choice do we have? We can't just sit here forever!"
As if to exemplify this point, one of the soldier's radios went off. The soldier quickly turned the volume down, but not before Sans heard the message, "Our attack is underway. Keep an eye on the …"
"Copy that." Came the whispered reply. "We have our objective in sight."
3177 grabbed Sans's phone. "We have to get back!"
"If we start running, they'll be on us in a second."
"They'll be after one of us, you mean."
"What?"
"Get back to Snowdin." As soon as the phone was in 3177's hands, the skeleton took off running toward the other side of waterfall.
"He's moving!" The female soldier said suddenly, making Sans's eyes widen.
The sounds of heavy-booted footfalls soon filled the air as the soldiers gave chase. Sans waited a good minute before peeking over the edge of the walkway. There was no sign of the soldiers.
"That was … odd." Sans said, thinking of the female soldier's reaction. She'd said 'he's' moving. Just what the heck were they doing?
A distant 'pop-pop-pop' sound broke through Sans's thoughts. He shook his head and used his telekinesis to pull himself onto the top of the path before heading back for town.
3177 raced through waterfall, the sounds of the soldiers' footsteps echoing madly around him. He wasn't worried, of course; he simply needed to get some distance from himself. The other Sans was a nice enough fellow, but 3177 wanted some answers that would likely require a more heavy-handed persuasion … and, of course, eliminating most of them in a swift, decisive manner.
The first of the bones slammed through the chest-plate of the first officer. The rest if the group came to an immediate halt, the one with the radio screaming for backup only for another bone fly past him and shatter his communications device.
3177 burst through the walkway, knocking another of the soldiers off balance and into the waters below.
Two of the remaining soldiers raised their guns, only to be blasted into dust by a single Gaster Blaster. As the giant skulls faded, 3177 used a shortcut to appear right in front of the final soldier.
The last soldier turned to run, only for 3177 to catch him with his telekinesis and sent him flying into a large stalactite., smashing off the point before collapsing to the ground. The soldier tried to stand as 3177 slowly approached him, only for 3177 to grip him with his telekinesis and slam him against the nearest wall.
"Nice try." 3177 said, blue eye gleaming. "Thought you'd just come and finish us off, huh? Oh, stop it with the terrified look; I ain't gonna kill you."
3177 paused to wave his other hand absently behind him. A bone materialized in mid-air and slammed into the chest of one of the soldiers who'd climbed out of the water and was now reaching for his weapon. The bone carried the poor soldier across the cavern and pinned him to the stone wall, where he gurgled for a few moments before finally going limp.
"As I was saying," Sans said as though he'd merely paused to check a text on his phone, "I ain't gonna kill you. I need you to take a little message to your superiors. Overseers, site-director, whatever. Tell them-"
3177 was cut off by a burst of static from the last soldier's earpiece. Before the soldier could react, 3177 yanked the device from the man's ear and held it to his skull.
"Zeta-9, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?" Said a vaguely feminine voice. "What is the status of your mission?"
"Not well, I'd imagine." 3177 said casually, twirling a magic bone between his fingers as the soldier watched with wide eyes.
There was a pause before the woman replied, "Is the target still following you?"
Despite already being a skeleton, 3177 felt a cold feeling rush over him. "The target?"
"Is 3177 still tailing you? Mobile Task Force Upsilon and Yamato are about to begin their assault."
"What?!" 3177 said, making the soldier flinch. Quickly catching himself, 3177 coughed and said, "Sorry, a bit of interference. The other mobile task forces are in position? Where exactly?"
There was another pause before the operator said, "Identify yourself."
3177 crushed the earpiece in his hand before glaring down at the last soldier. "A distraction." He said, sockets narrowing. "You knew we'd come looking at the obvious place, and you knew I wouldn't resist the urge to get a little payback."
"I was only following orders." The soldier whimpered.
3177 stared at the human for a few moments before turning away and walking toward Snowdin. The soldier scrambled to his feet and ran. He didn't make it four feet before the bone slammed into the base of his skull with enough force to shear it off. 3177 started to run as the soldier's head rolled off the platform and fell into the water below.
Sans heard the gunfire before he reached the final cavern of Waterfall. He quickened his pace, but came to a halt just outside the cavern entrance. There were piles of ash scattered about fallen clothing, sad little gray mounds that made Sans's soul ache. The bodies of a few soldiers lay on the ground, littered with remnants of magic, but from the state of the barricades, it was clear that the Foundation soldiers were strong or plentiful enough to simply roll on through. The only consolation was Sans didn't see Fuku's clothes among those left as a grim reminder of now-dead monsters.
Hearing more gunfire from the western side of town, Sans continued running. As much as he hated the ideas of the other monsters dying, all he could think was 'please be okay, Fuku, please be okay'.
He spotted the first soldiers outside of Grillbys, where they had the barkeep/restaurant owner and his wife contained in some kind of energy bubble. Their flames were already low, likely due to the limited air inside the bubble.
"I hope this is as simple as it seems." Sans murmured before sending a bone flying at the bubble. To his surprise and amazement, it worked; the bone pierced the bubble, shattering it into remnant magical energy. The soldiers turned in surprise, only to find a vengeful Mister and Missus Grillby. Fire lashed outward at the three soldiers, quickly spreading across their armor and weapons as though they'd been doused in gasoline. The soldiers ran in all directions, some attempting to roll in the snow only to find Grillby's flames surprisingly resilient.
Grillby jerked back as something hit his shoulder. Sans spotted the soldier, a sniper hiding on the Snowed Inn. His telekinesis might not work on their armor, but it didn't stop Sans from yanking the sign off Grillby's restaurant and swatting the human off the roof.
"Grillz," Sans said, hurrying over the the fire elementals. "You okay?"
Grillby nodded, looking more bemused than anything as he rubbed the bullet hole. "Not to bright, are these humans?"
"Not the time, dear." Missus Grillby said before turning to Sans. "They came ouf of nowhere. We tried to stop them, but there were so many!"
"Did they capture anyone else?" Sans asked, eyes still searching for possible threats.
Grillby said, "They grabbed as many as they could and hauled them back toward Waterfall. Anyone who put up too much of a fight was executed. The rest of the soldiers headed toward the Ruins."
"What about Fuku?" Sans asked.
The bright points that were Mister and Missus Grillby's eyes went wide. "O-our daughter?"
"Er, sorry, she's from another reality like me."
"But she's here." Missus Grillby insisted. Grillby put his hand on her shoulder, but she ignored it, her eyes on Sans, who nodded. "Then she must have escaped to the Ruins with everybody else."
"Right." Sans said, nodding before hurrying toward the western side of town. Grillby caught his shoulder before he could get far.
"Taking them on would be suicide, Sans." Grillby told him.
"So what should we do?" Sans asked. "Just hang around here and wait for them to go back? Go hide in Waterfall? They haven't exactly left much room for you to spread your flames, Grillby."
"But …" Grillby let out a sigh. "You're going no matter what I say, aren't you?"
"You know me, Grillby; thickest skull in the Underground." Sans said with a chuckle. "Besides, I got a flame of my own. She can take care of herself, but I wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if I didn't help now, would I?"
Mister and Missus Grillby exchanged glances before nodding in unison.
"We're going with you." Grillby said, his wife finishing, "Like you said; there's nowhere else for monsters to go."
