Book 1: The First Fallen Human

A Bitter Taste

The candy skeleton hopped his way through the forest. That sweet smell always made him happy. Snowdin. Known for its weather of powdered sugar. He chuckled softly, the bright pink frosting that perpetually rested on his head, dripping and sprinkles were dropping around him. He lifted one apple-green eye, smiling widely.

His turquoise hoodie flapped in the cold breeze. His baggy yellow hood almost kept blowing up to cover his head. He giggled. A perfect day.
The skeleton stopped and sighed. He blinked as his skeletal fingers brushed the button in his pocket. This... person... that Ink had told him about. He hadn't even met her and he was sure that he already didn't like her. He sighed again. The wind around him blew quietly. He walked down the chocolate path towards the Ruins.
He slowed to a stop as he reached his sentry post, staring past it at the bridge his brother had built from a few thick candy canes and a firm piece of peanut brittle.

The bridge was usually a bright, toffee color. Now, it was green and... He stopped. It was moldy. Never in any of the RESETS had the bridge been moldy. He shakily approached it and leaned down next to it. He couldn't allow the fungus to spread anywhere. He'd have to get rid of the bridge. He stood up before freezing.

The sweet smell was becoming sour. He blinked and looked up in alarm. The candy skeleton froze. His grip tightened on the button inside of his pocket. He was all there was right now. His AU wasn't fully developed yet. The AU Creator was still creating concept characters. Taffy Sans was the only one that had remained consistent.

Taffy blinked and stood up. His bright sneakers sank into the sugary snow. "Ah..." He spoke with a sweet puff of air. "Are... you Scooter?" The figure was older, female, and definitely a human. So many layers of clothes and trinkets covered her body. She was pale and freckled with the deadest grey eyes Taffy had ever seen on any creature. Her fingertips glowed red. The air was silent and the pressure had become heavy around them.

Even a happy-go-lucky AU like Candytale was affected heavily by Scooter's presence. The human blinked slowly at him, not even breathing. It had to be her. Taffy remembered Ink describing her as a moving corpse. That's exactly what he was seeing. The body itself was moving, but there was no spirit. No gleam of life in its eyes. He moved back a step. "Did you do this to the bridge?" There was another moment of silence between them before Scooter inhaled shakily.

"I... did not mean for it to rot..."

Her voice was emotionless and without any bit of soul. Taffy felt a horrified chill go down his spine. He continued to smile uneasily, unable to stop himself from doing so. "How did you do that?" Scooter blinked at him.

"It... didn't like me touching it..."

This casual conversation made Taffy feel off. She didn't seem like a bad person. But the problem was, she didn't even seem like a person. She didn't seem like anything but something that should not have existed. He stopped as she spoke again, drawing in another rattling breath.

"Ink has told you of me..."

Taffy blinked at her before nodding quietly. What was he supposed to do? He wasn't supposed to kill her. Even if he'd heard that she wasn't able to die. Could he incapacitate her?? He gulped. "I... don't wanna cause any TRUFFLE, but, ah... I kinda have to capture you..." He smiled nervously. Scooter blinked at him.

"Do you actually wish to try?"

Taffy stared at her. What did that mean?? "What... what do you mean?" He asked quietly. Scooter blinked at him before inhaling deeply and her voice rasped as she spoke again.

"None of the others have... truly tried to capture me..."

Her voice was soft, yet somehow still as monotonous as ever. Taffy felt a shiver go down his spine and his candy bones made a soft rattling noise. Her dull eyes suddenly seemed to focus and move past him. He blinked and turned, his own eye sockets widening in alarm at the sight of the mold beginning to climb its way through the sugary snow.

He quickly raised one shaking, skeletal hand before freezing. Even if he was the only real character, what if a concept human came through?? The bridge would be destroyed and there would be no way for them to get through!! He paused, his face clearly dismayed. Finally, he heard Scooter take in another shaking breath.

"You worry too much..."

Taffy turned to her in confusion. "But-"

"You're the only consistency."

Taffy blinked at her. He was quivering now. But what if this time... he wasn't...? What if this time, he would be alone only because he'd destroyed the way for the human to advance?? Scooter's dull eyes slid and focused on him.

"Do you really think they'll come this time?"

Her voice, despite being completely monotonous, cane off as eerily scornful. He stopped and stared at her. He gulped. "Even if they don't, they could come next time."

Scooter blinked and for a moment, there was a fizzle. A faint red outline behind her own. Her eyes held a faint dot of red before she ducked her head and sighed, a red-tinted cloud billowing from her mouth. Finally, after a few moments of silence, she looked up at him.

"Why... are you so hopeful?"

The question took Taffy by surprise. Scooter seemed slightly distressed in her body language now, her pale fingers shaking as she gripped her shoulder. She suddenly seemed so tired.

"I'm ready to try."

Taffy blinked in confusion as Scooted gestured to him and sank to the ground. He blinked and lifted his hand, awkwardly trapping her in a circle of bones. He pulled out the button with his other hand. His skeletal finger drifted over the button for a moment as he stared before pressing it.

There was a loud ping as the button lit up gold and disappeared. Taffy felt a sudden sinking feeling in his chest and was taken back. He'd done the right thing... right? Why did he feel like that? Why did he feel... guilty?

He turned back to the bridge and snapped his fingers, materializing a gaster blaster before using it to destroy the bridge and keep the mold from spreading. The blaster disappeared and he sank down to sit crisscross.

Taffy didn't like that aching in his chest. He blinked and looked up at Scooter. The way she looked just... hurt him. He approached her. "Do you want anything before they come get you?"

Scooter didn't move and inhaled shakily. She shook her head and her silence hurt Taffy even more. What had he done?