The Anomalous Town [A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. x Deltarune Fanfic]

A "Soft" Start

Everything ached for Strelok.

His eyes slowly opened as the feeling of pain washed over him. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster. Adrenaline pumped into him, and almost immediately, he got up.

The first thing he noticed was the ground. It was lumpy and resembled a fabric-like material. Crouching down, he placed a palm and felt the soft material on his fingertips. He then looked at the dark sky looming over him, void of any stars yet feeling so illuminated. Finally, he noticed the clothing he is currently wearing. It somewhat resembled the Sunrise Suit he used to wear, with padded armor covering almost every limb. However, the whole coat seemed to cover every part of him, even his legs. Only Strelok's head was still visible as the coat's hood was left hanging.

"What the...?" he muttered, more shocked than anything.

He recalled entering the home when he found the door open, right before falling into an abyss of darkness. But if he's alive, that would mean one thing.

The others are or could still be alive as well.

Strelok knew he shouldn't celebrate just yet. He needed to find them first, after all. His eyes wandered and soon caught a pathway leading to somewhere. Squinting his eyes, he soon noticed silhouettes of large structures, with one of them emitting smoke out of a chimney.

If the Zone, or life in general, taught him anything, it's that if there's smoke, it's a sign that there are at least people nearby. And if there are people, that would mean they are there too. With that in mind, he began walking down the path toward the unknown settlement.

On his way to the settlement, he spotted a group of humanoid creatures resembling old cartoon characters in suits and bowler hats, surrounding a red-hair monster in armor. Seeing this, he immediately dove onto a nearby "rock" formation, hiding in plain sight. Strelok pulled out his phone before using the camera app to zoom in onto the group. He noticed how they had no other distinct color aside from black and white. He also noted that they were holding an assortment of firearms that were pointing toward the red-hair monster.

He then remembered that he brought a weapon with him. He delved through his coat before pulling out his pistol, which somewhat resembled a miniaturized crossbow. Strelok then lay the weapon on the "rock" as he aimed at one of the goons.

'Maybe I could put a bullet or two on all those guys,' he contemplated on the thought before shaking his head. 'No...no kill shots.'

He knew better than to immediately go for the kill, especially in a place unknown to him. For all he knew, those goons could probably be the place's equivalent to Duty Stalkers or something similar. So he chose the next option.

He moved his weapon and aimed it at the goon's hand, which was holding a pistol of their own...

..And then fired.

---/-/---

Earlier

'This is so bullshit!' Undyne thought as she got surrounded by freaking guys with guns.

Earlier, she received a call from Toriel, saying that someone was lurking near the home and slashed her car's tires. Of course, she would've gotten there much faster if it weren't for the damned "Wet-Nosed Bandits" getting away.

When she finally got there, she was greeted by a dark room, followed by falling into an abyss before waking up in this strange world wearing fantasy armor and a spear in hand.

And to top it all off, she was surrounded by a group of black-and-white masked men who aimed their guns at her.

"Not a single step, missy!" one of them shouted as they aimed their Thompson at her.