Lost Soul

Chapter Four

Sans wakes up with the reassuring press of solid weight all around him. The claustrophobia faded long ago after this small hiding space saved Sans many times over. His joints are stiff and sore from sleeping in such an awkward manner, but Sans doesn't dare move. He sits quietly until he's sure that no one is in the house. Only then does he shove a heavy box forwards out of the cramped space. Sans then wiggles out through the narrow tunnel.

A long time ago, some older and stronger monster flipped over the couch when they were searching for Sans. The couch is ripped and stained, not worth the trouble to steal. The couch is now upside down and pushed against the wall. It makes a little tent just wide enough for Sans to crawl into each night. He pulls a box of broken dishes and tarnished silverware into the gap so that he can sleep with a small shred of safety. Useless trash litters the area, and Sans is careful not to disturb any of it.

A broken mirror is hung up across the room from where Sans has emerged. He catches a glimpse of his eyes in the broken reflection and freezes. This.... isn't right. Sans shakes his head back and forth. He forgot again that this form isn't his own. Sans looks down at his hands and outfit, confusion evident on his face. He steps closer to the mirror while avoiding the glass on the rotting floor.

Sans is a young skeleton no older than seven. His baggy jacket and pants are dirty and ripped in places. He's barefoot. The soles of his feet are stained a dirty brown. Sans's eyes are rather unusual. One is a pastel red, almost pink, while the other is closer to an Undertale Sans's 'bad time' eye light. A small crack runs horizontally across Sans's cheek. The injury never healed correctly and is now a permanent scar. Sans can't figure out what AU he's in until he feels the weakness waying down every part of him.

Some AU copies can vary wildly from one another. This copy has a few select monsters remaining as children. The human is also younger than in other worlds. This particular AU is nicknamed 'Little Horrors'. It's copy #37 of Horrortale. Sans's stomach growls as he wakes up, and the little monster folds in his arms at some attempt at comfort.

Monster bodies work differently than human ones. They can survive much longer without food. Monster food is made mostly from magic. A monster's soul also produces magic, but only barely enough to survive. A monster can't starve to death. What does happen is a weakening of the manic they can summon. Their bodies start to weaken soon after. Sans has heard of monsters who became so weak that they couldn't move at all. Those monsters quickly become prey for stronger ones.

Sans tries to sleep as much as he can to preserve his magic. On a rare occasion, he might even be able to gain a little extra magic. Surviving in the Underground is hard, especially when you're trying to do it alone. Sans doesn't have anyone left to rely on. His parents were killed long ago, and he lost his brother more recently when their rotting shack of a house was invaded. Sans has learned how to keep his head down in order to survive.

An easy meal doesn't come often, but Sans had been doing fairly alright until now. Some plants in the Underground began developing their own magic after being in close proximity to the monsters for so long. The echo flowers are one of these. They were the first to be ravaged and driven to extinction. It's too dangerous to travel into Waterfall these days, but it's impossible that any of the flowers still exist in those dark caves. Sans had stumbled upon a small crevice in a rock wall some distance West of the old Waterfall entrance. Inside, he found a small patch of echo flowers growing beside a warm pool. The water is funneled in from some underground river. The cave provides just enough shelter for the flowers to grow. Eating them made Sans nauseous and sick, but he would go to them when he got desperate. A few days ago, when Sans went to the hidden cave, he found all the flowers uprooted and stolen. Sans had always been careful so that more plants would grow, but whatever monster had found his sanctuary was clearly too starved for rational thought.