To Save a Life

by Infernity Zero

Greetings

The first thing Sunset noticed was that she wasn't cold anymore. The wetness of her clothes and the chill of the winter breeze no longer pulled her down. And yet, she was still face-down in the snow. The skeleton from before was still there too, looking down at her with an expression that was both concerned and amused.

"so kid. how long do ya plan on sleeping here?"

"How long was I out...again?"

Sans shrugged. "eh, six minutes, six hours, six days, six months. i wasn't really keepin' track."

At that, Sunset scowled. "But you apparently had it in you to just stand there and watch me? What if I froze to death or something?"

Sans shrugged again. "something tells me that really wouldn't be much of an issue for you. right?"

The scowl turned into a stare as Sunset hoisted herself up again. "Guess you're just hoping for another skeleton to play with or something. Whatever. If you're gonna stand there, could you at least help me out and tell me where I am?"

"sure," the two of them started walking while they talked. "this is snowdin forest. our king named it that because it has--get this--snow, in the forest. yeah, as great as the king is, he's pretty lousy at names."

Sunset was about to ask him how there could possibly be snow underground but then thought better of it, lest he reveal that the stuff they were walking in was something other than snow. "So what were you doing here anyway?"

Sans scratched his head. "i'm a sentry here. it's my job to watch for humans and capture them along with my brother."

Sunset chuckled and held up her hands in mock surrender. "Well congratulations. You caught me."

"nah. don't worry about it. hunting for humans is boring. i'd rather just practice my jokes. my brother's the one you want to worry about. he's a human hunting fanatic. anyway, so i'm out here practicing and decide to take a stroll. and who should i find but a brown-haired human in a striped shirt walking through the snow?"

Sunset jerked straight up. "Wait a minute. BROWN-haired?" The skeleton kept rambling on about introductory pranks, but she wasn't listening anymore. She needed a mirror. Or a reflective surface, anything. By now, the two had come to a fork in the road; her ears caught the sound of flowing water. "Would you excuse me a moment, please?"

"all right." Sans sat down to wait. "hurry back." Sure enough, the path to the north led to a rushing river. Getting as close as she could without falling in, Sunset examined her reflection.

"No. N-no, it can't be." But it was. Her hair had changed color and length. The formerly red and yellow locks were now straight brown and the wavy strands that had once reached her shoulders now barely touched her neck. That combined with her new clothes made her look like a completely different person.

What's...happening...to me?

Thankfully, her eyes were still their same green. But how long would that last? What had changed her in the first place? What came after hair and clothes?

"And why does the Underground give me three new questions for every one I get answered?!" Before the constant questions made her brain explode, she decided to return to Sans.

"hey. find what you were looking for?"

She put her hand behind her head. "You could say that."

He kept smiling. "good to hear. hey, we'll be meeting my brother soon. i'll put in a good word for you."

"Wonderful." The next area held more trees and a wooden shack a few yards ahead. Sunset started to move forward but was stopped by San's arm on her shoulder.

"hold on, kiddo. do me a favor and stand next to that rock over there."

"The rock?" She tensed up in spite of herself. "Why?"

"just trust me." With no other choice, she did so. Sans moved in front of her right as another skeleton entered the area. "hey bro."

"DO NOT 'hey bro' ME, SANS." The new arrival was much taller than Sans and a lot more lanky. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES. WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?" He gestured to himself. "HOW WILL I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAPTURE A HUMAN FOR UNDYNE WITHOUT PERFECTLY PLACED PUZZLES?" He paused for a moment before finally looking at Sunset. "EGAD. WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?"

"um, i think that's a rock."

"OH." For a moment, the taller skeleton looked crestfallen.

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Exposed, Sunset gave a tiny smile and wave. "Hiiii."

"OH MY GOODNESS." Papyrus put his hands on his cheeks. "A HUMAN! AT LAST, A REAL, LIVE HUMAN. NOW, I CAN CAPTURE IT AND FINALLY OBTAIN THE PROSPERITY THAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE." He turned to address Sunset. "ATTENTION HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU. I WILL THEN SEND YOU TO UNDYNE WHO WILL THEN...." He paused. "WELL, I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE WHAT COMES AFTER THAT, BUT YOU STILL WILL NOT PASS."

She sized him up. The goofball looked harmless enough, but so had Flowey. Out of habit, her hands went to the knife. But that proved unnecessary as he continued.

"YES, ON THIS DAY, A HUMAN WILL BE MINE. CONTINUE ONLY IF YOU DARE. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" He then ran ahead of them. Sunset felt compelled to shake her head and grin.

"Soooo, that's your brother?" She turned back to Sans.

This time his smile stretched across his whole face. "yep. isn't he awesome?"

Before she could answer, Sans ran off after Papyrus. Sunset watched him go, waited a few minutes, and then walked after him. The next area had another shack. She moved closer to examine it and froze when something popped out. The creature looked like a bipedal dog. It sniffed the air and stared right at her.

"Did something move?" It asked with a growl. "I can only see moving things. If something was moving, say for example, a human," it jumped in front of where Sunset was standing. "I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!"

She had just enough time to pull out the knife before the dog attacked, swinging a pair of blue swords directly at her. She tried to block, but his weapons simply passed through her own. A stinging pain raced through her body as a crack appeared on her SOUL.

"Ah-ha! Something WAS moving. Now to confirm my suspicions." He swung his swords again; but this time, her body locked up before she could dodge. To her surprise, the swords passed through her harmlessly. "Wait. Now it's not moving. I can't see it. Where'd it go?" As he tried a third attack, Sunset waited until he'd passed again before reaching up and petting him on the head. "What? I've been pet. Pet, pot, put, pat, pit." He tried one more time but still found nothing. So he returned to his shack. "Something pet me. Something that isn't moving. I'm gonna need some treats for this." After a moment, he sank back down.

Sunset waited a few seconds after he'd gone before walking off.

"First a goat, then two skeletons, now a dog? What's next, a walking fish?"

Author's Note:

SOOOOO sorry for making you guys wait half a year!

So yeah, this chapter actually went through three separate rewrites. First, it was a perspective switch to Twilight (which ended up spoiling too much), then it was an attempt at writing a backstory for Chara (only for me to get overwhelmed by too many possibilities), and finally, I ended up with what you see here. Sunset progresses further, encounters Sans and Papyrus, and fights her first dog. I may or may not end up skipping to Snowdin town next. Depends on how far I can stretch the remaining dogs without turning into filler.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Comments

[HB_DS2013]

So, Sunset's turning into Frisk and I'm dreading the time when she'll take on Papyrus' spaghetti.

[overlord-flinx]

Yo, I'll allow it. It's good.

[Emtu]

Aw, you can't skip the dogs, they're the best part of the leadup to Snowdin (besides Papy's adorably awful attempts at puzzles.)

[calinjc]

7826571
Yeah.... Frisk

[calinjc]

BTW It's great to see you back Zero.

[HB_DS2013]

7827248 ...Yep.

[00RaiserGundam]

7826571 Makes me wonder what the Rainbooms' reactions to the transformation are gonna be if and when they meet up.

[ShadwSonic]

Eh, I'm not too worried about Sunset's transformation... the barrier may be enforcing normal Earth rules, and bacon colored hair isn't normal for that. Now, if her eyes change color, THEN something more troubling is going on.

[Infernity Zero]

I forgot to put this in the author's note. Question(s) of the Day: Which Undertale character would you link each of the Mane 6 to? Which soul quality would each of them represent?

[Infernity Zero]

7829172 No Abridged videos in the comments section please.

[Infernity Zero]

7826633 Well if the rest of your comments are as detailed as this one, I'll be looking forward to them.

And yes, the whole suicide thing wasn't just something I scrounged up for some cheap drama. I simply took the events of Anon-a-Miss to their logical conclusion. After falling from grace, working her way back up, and then falling even further, her mindset wouldn't be very high. Trust me, I've been suicidal myself, so I would never treat it with anything less than absolute seriousness.

[Jake Witt]

Stuff like this happens. At least it isn't a three year hiatus.

[Nova Blaze]

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm good with filler. Might actually be a good way For Sunset to discover the Resets. Especially so she can meet Asriel.

[Infernity Zero]

8053268 If only it was that easy.

[MurderP0n7]

"First a goat, then two skeletons, now a dog? What's next, a walking fish?"

I don't know Fri- errr, I mean, Sunset, it looks like it will happen

PS: it's a reference to the "I don't know rick, it seems fake" meme from the story price