Branches On A Tree

The Fall

A loud boom burst from the gorge below Lesser Dog's sentry station. Within seconds, Undyne came flying up the ledge. She frowned when she noticed Papyrus, and quickly proceeded to pick up Frisk under her arm. She threw a stern glance at the tall skeleton.

"We have to go, now!" she yelled.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Papyrus asked. He could barely finish his question before Undyne grabbed his arm with her free hand and dragged him along.

"What about Sans?" asked Frisk, but their question was immediately answered when the beast dragged himself up on the cliff. His claws left big marks on the ground, but despite his efforts, he couldn't quite seem to pull himself up. A mechanical hand was pressed against his head, ignited with a faint blue light in its palm. He roared loudly and gritted his teeth at them.

"Gaster must have known where we were. He came out of nowhere, I-I didn't even see him before it was too late." Undyne's voice shook as she spoke, despite her effort to come off as confident. The thought of those hands made her feel kinda skittish. She sighed deeply, trying to gather her thoughts. She would never let her own fear stop her. Nothing could stop her, she would just have to put her fears aside and fight. First, she needed to get Frisk and Papyrus to safety. Then she'd get that hand off of Sans, find Gaster, and maim him.
"THAT'S SANS..?" asked Papyrus when he turned his head back. He was moving way too slow and if it weren't for her tight grasp around his arm, he probably would have even stopped. "WHY ARE WE RUNNING FROM HIM?!"

The charge of magical energy filled the air, and Undyne made a sharp turn to avoid the sudden blast. It had brushed her when she was still down in the gorge. Even though it wasn't a direct hit, it still hurt like hell and took more HP from her than such a light touch should have. The fact that he was capable of such magic had taken her completely by surprise, but it was her own fault for letting her guard down.

"Because of that," she told Papyrus, who stared wide-eyed towards the beast that was his brother. "I'll explain later."

Undyne grabbed them both harder in her grasp as she smoothly glided over the ice and passed the trees. Sans was still not even close, in fact, she wasn't even sure if he managed to climb up the ledge at all yet.

There wasn't a sound behind them, save for the rustling in the trees. No footsteps or anything. They stopped right in front of the bridge to Snowdin.

"UNDYNE, YOU NEED TO TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENING. WAS THAT REALLY SANS BACK THERE?" begged Papyrus, as he made a pointing gesture towards the forest.

"Papyrus, here," replied Undyne, ignoring his question. She abruptly threw Frisk over to him. "Get Frisk to Alphys's lab. I'm gonna go back for Sans. Frisk can explain everything to you as you go, alright?"

"But Undyne, what if Gaster gets you again? Then both you AND Sans would be trying to get us," Frisk added cautiously.

"BESIDES, YOU CAN'T FIGHT SANS! I MEAN, YOU MIGHT HURT HIM!" Somehow Papyrus's face seemed paler than normal, and his jaw trembled ever so slightly.

"Don't worry, Paps. I'm not gonna fight him. All I'm gonna do is try to get close enough to snatch the hand off of his face. That way he'll be fine. I'll be careful, I promise."

"The other monster I told you about said that he can manipulate monsters by hurting them," Frisk added, their big eyes aimed at the lanky skeleton. "That's what he's doing to Sans. He's forcing him to obey by hurting him."

"B-BUT THAT'S AWFUL..!"

"Yeah, that was... really bad. He did the same thing to me. But as soon as the hand fell off my face I managed to get back to my senses. Now that I know what he can do, I know to be more careful."