The Littlest Bitty

Chapter 12: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the (Curious) Fire

"THAT IS TRUE..." Blue says disappointedly...

"THAT MAY BE TRUE," Papyrus speaks up, "BUT THAT DOESN'T NECCESSARILY MEAN SHE DEFINATELY WON'T BE THERE! PLUS, IT WOULDN'T HURT TO CHECK."

"ALWAYS THE OPTIMIST..." I mutter.

"WHY THANK YOU EDGY ME!" Papyrus beams.

"THAT WASN'T-"

"COME ON! THE MULBERRY TREE ISN'T TOO FAR AHEAD." Papyrus points out, "WE CAN STOP BY THERE TO HAVE A QUICK LOOK. LET'S GO!"

.

.

.

True to Papyrus' word, it only took us a few minutes to reach the mulberry tree, and everyone was trying to look over all the branches to see if they saw any signs of a Bitty.

"UGH, I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING." Blue says, "DO YOU SEE THEM PAPYRUS?"

"NO, BUT I DIDN'T REALLY SEE THEM THE FIRST FEW TIME WE RAN BY HERE," Papyrus considered, "[Y/N]!? ARE YOU THERE?"

There wasn't any response, but I could sense a soul there. And it wasn't the soul of an animal, it was much more complicated, and it was terrified.

"SOMEONE'S UP THERE," I speak up, "I CAN SENSE THEIR SOUL, BUT SOMETHINGS NOT RIGHT..."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'SOMETHINGS NOT RIGHT'?" Razz presses.

"I SENSE AN ABNORMALLY STRONG AMOUNT OF FEAR IN THEIR SOUL..." I answer.

"YOU DON'T THINK IT'S ANOTHER SQUIRREL, DO YOU?" Papyrus asks.

Blue takes a deep breathe, "I'M GONNA GO HAVE A LOOK. EDGE, WHICH BRANCH ARE YOU SENSING THEM FROM?"

"ONE OF THE LOWER BRANCHES." I answer as I point directly where I'm sensing the soul from.

Blue climbs up the trunk of the tree to the branch I had pointed out. He almost looks like those creatures humans call koalas while hanging on to it, as he searches through the leaves.

"OH HEY, I FOUND SOMETHING," He calls out, "I THINK IT'S ALVIN. HEY ALVIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

There was suddenly a tiny shriek, and Alvin came tumbling out of the branch! Fortunately, Blue has great reflexes and was able to catch the little guy before he got too far.

"WHOA! CALM DOWN!" Blue tries to tell the Bitty as he jumps out of the tree, "IT'S US! DON'T YOU REMEMBER? WE WON'T HURT YOU."

The Bitty remains curled up in the palm of Blue's hand, crying and gasping for breathe.

"OH MY GOODNESS! IS HE ALRIGHT!?" Papyrus asks with worry.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Razz demands.

"I-I DON'T KNOW." Blue responds as he uses a finger to rub the Bitty's back in comfort, "IT'S OKAY... IT'S OKAY... EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY."

"Noooooooo!" Alvin wails, "No it's nooooooot! It's NOT okay!"

"OH DEAR..." was all Blue said to that.

"OH NO, ARE YOU HURT LITTLE BITTY?" Papyrus asks, "JUST SAY THE WORD AND WE'LL TRY OUR BEST TO HEAL YOU."

"MORE IMPORTANTLY," Razz butts in, "WHY ARE YOU OUT HERE ALONE AGAIN? WHY ISN'T [Y/N] WITH YOU?"

"She's gooooooonne!" The Bitty wailed louder, "They t-t-took her! She's gone! The giant took her, and now she's GONE!!!"

Everybody was shocked into silence upon hearing this. I felt a cold chill run down my spine...