Resilience (Undertale: Sans x OC)

Ch10-Waterfall

     Amelia is nearing tears as she wanders through waterfall, refusing to let them escape. She's sobbed enough over the past few weeks, she doesn't want to give into pitiful crying again. She feels utterly defeated. Not only is she at a standstill with Sans, but the Royal Guard is after her soul. Eventually she can't bring herself to walk anymore. She drags her feet to a nearby wall, leaning against it as she looks down at her phone. She lets out an exasperated sigh as she pulls up Dina's contact, fighting a battle between pride and desperation within her mind.

     Her dream told her to move on from Dina, but that's easier said than done. She used to go to Dina for everything. For every victory, every worry, whatever it was, Dina was always there. She lets out an aggravated groan as she can't come to a decision. She slams her forehead into her phone out of frustration, which is quickly replaced by a wave of regret as she hears a voicemail prompt. She accidentally called Dina, but their call couldn't connect because they are separated by the underground. She feels stupid for even thinking that calling her was an option, just because she can connect to the phone service in the underground doesn't mean it could magically reach the surface.

     Then she hears the beep. Amelia knows she should hang up. It's very possible the voicemail would send if she ever made it to the surface again, and with Dina and Amelia currently going no contact that isn't a good idea. But at the same time, a part of her feels the need to speak.

     "Hey, Dina. I have no idea if you'll ever get this. It's probably best you don't actually." She pauses for a moment, trying to conceal the shakiness in her voice. "I- uh... I climbed up Mount Ebott. That's a long story I can get to at another time- well... If there's another time. My dad kicked me out and well, I made a stupid decision in the moment." Unbearable guilt hits her. Dina has probably heard she's gone missing by now. She has to think she's dead. That's something Amelia hasn't really thought about until now. Her mind has been occupied with so many other things, she forgot that life is passing by her on the surface.

     "Well, if you ever end up getting this message, that means that I made it back to the surface. Er... God that's another long story. I'll cut it short, you know the myth about monsters being on Mount Ebott? Turns out they are real. And they aren't on Mount Ebott, they're under it. This place I'm in, it's called the underground. I'm stuck here for now."

     "Oh shoot, I should probably mention... The monsters aren't scary or anything, they are actually really nice. Well, except for the ones trying to kill me." She chuckles a little at herself. She's awful at talking. "But I'm sure I'll win them over. The monsters are pretty easy to talk out of fighting. And yeah, they can talk. English surprisingly, which is really convenient." She is fighting a losing battle to the sting of emotion in her throat. Her eyes fill with water, she shuts them in an attempt to trap her tears.

     "I know things ended really badly between us, but I miss you a lot. God, I wish you were down here with me. I know you would love it here." She smiles at the thought of Dina mingling with Toriel and Papyrus. "I- I really hope we can at least be friends again if I ever make it back. I just wanna see you again." With a shaky breath, she ends the voicemail that Dina will likely never receive. But it's nice to get those words off her chest. She slips her phone back into her pocket and continues onward. Though what she didn't know was that Sans was listening, hiding just out of her view.

     She strolls down the road throughout waterfall, with no clear objective in mind. She isn't in a rush to get to the surface, in fact she dreads the thought of going there again. The only reason she even considers it is for Dina, and Dina may not even want to see her.

     She makes it to a room with an abundance of echo flowers, along with glowing blue stones that paint the cave's jagged ceiling above. A steady stream of water fills the cave with ambient noise. A calming tranquility eases her mind, this is exactly what she needed. She stands there for a moment, soaking in the relaxing peace and quiet.

     Out of curiosity, she decides to listen to some of the echo flowers. She kneels down beside one, running her finger along its petal.

"If I tell you my wish, you have to promise not to laugh. Ok?" Amelia quickly realizes this is a deep and private conversation, and feels a shred of shame for delving into it... But her curiosity is stronger. She decides to keep listening.

"Ok, I promise." She listens to the next echo flower along the path.

"I wish that one day we will all make it to the surface, where we can be happy." The next echo flower she listens to is just simply laughing.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh."

"Sorry, it's just funny. That's my wish too."

That last sentence floods her with guilt. Everyone's hopes, everyone's dreams. She's standing in the way of it. She tries to remember what her mother told her within her dream. That she should live for herself and not let other's wishes get in the way of it. But it's difficult to uphold her mother's words when she sees the pain it brings first hand.

With a sigh, she continues on, curious to see what else she will find in waterfall. To her surprise, she finds Sans not too far ahead. He's standing next to a telescope. Reluctantly, she decides to approach him, wondering what he's up to.

"I've been thinking about getting into the telescope business. It's normally 50000 gold to use this premium telescope. But, since I can't stand you. It'll be 100000 gold." She's taken aback by how blunt he is, but she shouldn't be surprised after their previous argument.

"...Then no."

"Just kidding. I'll let you use it for free." Amelia squints her eyes at him noticing that his grin has widened. She has a feeling this is a trick, but goes along with it anyway. She presses her eye against the telescope, and all she can see is red.

"Well. That was disappointing." She comments as she backs away from the telescope.

"Huh, you aren't satisfied? Don't worry. I'll give you a full refund." He winks at her with a chuckle. She isn't used to seeing Sans so giddy around her, he must be up to something. Then the realization hits her. She walks over to the flowing water and catches a glimpse of her reflection, spotting a red circle around her eye. She looks over to Sans in disappointment, though she can't help but smile at how silly his prank was.

"Honestly, I red you like a book. I knew you were gonna pull a trick on me." She makes a quick quip with a proud grin. Her joke catches Sans off guard, and he lets out a genuine laugh.

"Circling back to that, why'd you go through with it then?" He makes a pun of his own, earning a laugh out of Amelia. She shrugs in response.

"I dunno, I just felt like it." Amelia is enjoying the playful banter between her and Sans, though she feels like he's just putting up his charismatic facade again. Regardless, she'll take this over an argument any day. She turns back to the water and washes the red marker off of her eye, before getting up to head on her way. "Well, I should get going. Catch you later." She walks away from Sans with a wave, wanting to leave things on a good note. If she stayed any longer, a quarrel might have broken out between them again.