Red Echoes - Undertale (12+)

Chapter Fifteen

Sans padded slowly home through the scorching place that he once called home. He had attended school today, for the first time in almost three weeks. There had been so many people crowding around him asking where he'd been that he'd had a headache within the first 30 minutes. And he didn't really blame them for asking; he almost never missed a day of school. Usually, he only stayed home when he was extremely ill; if his throat was too sore to even talk, or if he was throwing up, for example.

(I just want to throw this out here: before you all get mad at me saying skeletons can't vomit, I want to clarify something. Personally, I think it would make sense, because when they eat it is converted into magic that provides nutrients. But, skeleton bodies make use of internal magic a lot more than normal monsters, because they have less physical matter to work with. So, it would make sense for them to be able to vomit just as other creatures would, however it would be made mostly out of magic and very little physical matter. This is just my personal opinion.)

Of course, Sans hadn't told any of them what was really going on. He had just made up the classic excuse that he was really sick, and surprisingly, no one really questioned it.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps in front of him, and to his horror, his bullies stood in front of them. He thought he had finally gotten away from them. But of course, they would find him again. All it took was just one day, and now all of a sudden here they were. He took a few steps back, not anticipating whatever they were about to do.

"Hey, Skeleton-Boy." One of them said mockingly, stepping forward. "So, you thought you could hide from us, huh?" He lurched forward, grabbing Sans by the collar of his shirt and pulling him up to his level. "Well, looks like somebody thought wrong." The bully grinned, revealing a row of foul yellow teeth. He pulled back a fist, aimed directly at Sans' face.

Sans squinted his eyes shut, wanting to just get this over with. He wished he could just be out of this bully's grasp. He wished he could just disappear. . . and be somewhere else. He wished. . . he. . . he-

All of a sudden, Sans felt like his soul was whizzing through the air. It felt like it lasted an eternity, but it only lasted a fraction of a second. He opened his eyes and realized with shock that he was no longer being held by the bully, but standing several feet away. Instead of hitting his target, the bully's fist moved through empty air, causing the bully to fall forward. His three companions in the background laughed as he got up slowly.

How did I do that?! Sans thought. Did I just. . . teleport? Now this was new. He had bones and Gaster-Blasters, he could move things without touching them, and apparently now he could teleport. Had he always been able to teleport? If so, why had he only learned of it now?

The bully stood up, a look of rage on his face as he brushed the dirt off his shirt. He turned slowly to face Sans. "Why, you little!" Sans immediately turned and ran, with the bully following close behind. But, the bully was faster, and it wouldn't be long before he caught up.

Sans closed his eyes, trying to teleport again. Come on, come on. . . but nothing happened. He started to open his eyes, but all of a sudden tripped on a rock and was sent sprawling into the dust. If this bully punched Sans even once. . . he would die.

The bully yanked him off the ground, grinning maliciously. Please teleport, please. . . Sans thought, trying desperately to teleport again.

"H-h-hey! L-leave him al-l-lone!"

Sans looked up at the sound of another voice, and saw a short yellow lizard monster standing in front of him. She looked about a year or so younger than him, and she was wearing big, round glasses. She was also wearing a dress with a lab coat pattern on it. She even carried around a little notebook to write down information in. She probably wanted to be a scientist herself when she grew up.

"Oh? What have we here?" The bully asked, turning his attention away from Sans. "So, you wanted to join our little party, huh? Well, come on in! All guests are welcome." The bully let go of Sans, walking up to the girl, who still stood bravely in front of him. But as the bully got closer, her expression slowly changed, and she took a few steps back.

"Aw, look who else is a little scaredy!"

She pulled off her glasses and held them up in the air, fumbling around with them a bit. The bully reached out for her, but just as he did so, she found what she was looking for.

"Destroyer Beam, go!" She cried suddenly, as her glasses met a beam of light reflecting from one of Hotland's lava pools. The light met one of the bully's big black eyes, and he screamed, backing away. "Go!" The girl called out. "R-run while y-you still can!"

Sans turned and vanished around the corner, casting one last glance behind him. The girl was still fending off the bully; clearly she was very resourceful. But for now, Sans had to get to Papyrus' school and take him home. He would find her again another time.