Best Frienemy?
"I still don't see why you let him follow us around..."
"He's not attacking us, and he isn't getting in the way. So I don't see the problem here."
"The problem is that he wants you dead Salem. I don't trust him one bit."
"i can hear you ya talking weed. i never said i wouldn't kill you..."
This seemed to shut up Flowey as he hid in Salem's hoodie. Solving the puzzles were easy, but fighting monsters was a pain in the ass. Salem managed to SPARE them all and got quite a bit of gold out of it. While she wouldn't admit it, she was kind of grinding. Money was always something handy to have. Seeing a stand in the distance, Salem gave a thoughtful pout and ran towards the nice cream vendor. Sans watched in a mix of amusement and disgust as Salem bought a nice cream. Rolling his eyes, Sans stood next to Salem and glowered down at her.
"getting hungry there honey?"
"I really hate that nickname... And no... Dying tends to kill my appetite..."
"the why the hell did ya-"
"Shut up and take your fucking nice cream you ass..."
Shoving the treat into Sans hands, Salem stomped off, leaving Sans in a stunned silence.
"what the hell? w-why did ya-"
"Would you just be quiet and take the free food? I'll gladly take it back. I could use it for later..."
"but... why did ya give me..."
"You're hungry aren't you? You've been walking as long as I have, so ya need food..."
"that's not what i meant..."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth buddy... Take the food and stop talking about it..."
Finally shutting up, Sans opened the wrapper and ate his nice cream. After that, he looked at Salem rather strangely until they finally made it to Snowdin. Making a SAVE, Salem looked over to Sans and waved him off. She assumed that since they were in town, he would skedaddle. But he just stayed put.
"We're in town now, just go home. I'll be here a while. Go get some sleep or something..."
But Sans didn't move. Instead he looked away awkwardly when Salem stared at him. Raising a brow, Salem walked over to Sans and placed her hands on her hips.
"I'm fine ya know. I won't leave today. I need sleep too... Besides, I doubt you'd lose me. You have a stand in Waterfall and Hotland... So don't worry about-"
"i'm not worried, ya brat!"
"Then go home and rest."
Sans continued to stand there, now shuffling about uncomfortably. With a sigh, Salem rubbed her face. She had an idea as to why he was sticking around, and frankly, the thought bothered her.
"You don't owe me for the nice cream... It was a thank you for not murdering me on sight. So you don't owe me anything, got it? Scoot yur patoot already... Ya don't want to be seen with a weak human, do ya?"
"the towns people will attack ya-"
"Then they attack me. Like that won't happen anyway? Move your boney butt. I know you're tired. Go sleep. I don't want to carry you around like an infant."
This seemed to piss off Sans enough to get him to leave. With a sigh, Salem walked over to the INN and paid for a room. She spent the rest of the day talking to Flowey and counting her money. She really had no plans for getting out of the underground. Then again, neither did Flowey.
"Heh, so I guess I'm trapped here with you guys. Not too bad really. It's cool here..."
"Cool?! Are you an idiot?! Don't you want to go home? What about your family?!"
"Yes I'm retarded! Don't rub it in... As for my family... I really don't want to think about it... I'm ending this conversation."
"Salem... You have to do something..."
"I can plant you..."
"Why would you-"
"Well, for one, you'd be safer. You'd be able to get your planty nutrients, and even stay warmer. You also wouldn't have to watch me die every ten minutes while I derp about. We don't have a plan, so until then, I need to learn what I can. You can help with that too. You can be a spy ninja or something... If you hear something useful, you can come tell me. See? It's a better option in general really. Now I don't have to worry about you getting hurt because of me."
Letting out a sigh, Flowey shook his head and looked up at the human girl. She had a point, but he really didn't want to leave her alone in this place. It was dangerous and scary; wouldn't any child want a friend in a place like this? But Salem wasn't a normal child.
"You aren't going to change your mind about this are you?"
"Nope~"
"Then I guess I'll do it. If you ever need my help just shout my name. Okay?"
"Deal. Thanks Asriel... You're a good friend."
"Heh, no problem Salem..."
After a long nights rest, Salem got up and quickly planted Flowey in the ground. He buried away and was off to god knows where to start learning whatever he could. Feeling almost instantly lonely, Salem hugged Mercy to her chest and sighed. She would get over it. She always did. Her default mode was loneliness anyway. So this wasn't that big of a deal. Being sure to ration what money she had left, Salem managed to buy some food with only mild difficulty. She avoided Grillby's altogether, knowing full well that UF!Grillby would jump at a chance to capture a human. She'd rather avoid that whole situation honestly.
Leaving the shop, Salem was surprised to see Sans a little ways off. But it all made more sense when she spotted Papyrus next to him. He was shouting as usual, but what Salem didn't expect was for him to full out attack Sans. Wincing, Salem took a step back to get out of sight. But Papyrus didn't stop after one simple hit. He kept hurting his brother, causing Salem to scowl a bit. No one even spared a second glance as Sans got his ass handed to him. Scowling, Salem picked up a decently sized rock and chucked it at Papyrus. To her utter surprise, it actually hit him. Though her victory was short lived, as this turned the tall skeleton's attention onto her.
"A HUMAN?! SANS! YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT. YOU COULDN'T EVEN STOP A SINGLE HUMAN."
"You complete ass hole! Don't talk to him that way. I don't care if you're his brother. You can't treat him like that! The fuck is wrong with you?! I won't let you do this!"
"THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS HUMAN. BUT SINCE YOU SEEM EAGER TO DEFEND THIS WORTHLESS TRASH, YOU WON'T MIND TAKING A BEATING FOR HIM."
Still glowering, Salem crouched down, preparing for a fight. Her soul burst from her body, an oddly dull and translucent soul the color of grey. But it was steady and very mobile. Holding Mercy in front of her, Salem watched as a series of bones launched towards her. Dodging them, Salem leaped towards Papyrus and hit him with Mercy. It dealt quite a bit of damage, as if the doll was the thing gaining EXP and LV, not Salem. But the girl paid this no mind. She once again dodged to the side as another attack rushed her. She wouldn't be able to beat Papyrus. Salem knew that. But she wasn't going to sit back at watch Sans get hurt. What could she say, he was her favorite character.
"NYEHEHEH. YOU ARE QUITE A QUICK LITTLE PEST. BUT CAN YOU DODGE WITHOUT THE USE OF YOUR LEGS?"
Salem's eyes widened as she realized too late that Papyrus sent an attack from behind towards her legs. Getting hit, Salem fell to the ground with a scream. Struggling to get on her hands and knees, Salem noticed almost all of her health was gone. In fact, she never had much HP to begin with. She only had eight HP... That's less than half of what Frisk had!
"What the actual fuck? I get it, I don't have any hope but seriously?! HACKZ!"
"YOU'RE WEAK. HOW DID YOU EVEN LAST THIS LONG? HMPF, I'LL BE TAKING YOUR SOUL NOW HUMAN."
"Like you even could... Heh... See ya Sans. Hey Pap, wanna know a secret?"
Papyrus tilted his head in an annoyed yet cautious manner. Salem was far from being able to get up, let alone fight back. Sans widened his eyes as he remembered what Salem did the last time she was almost caught.
"oh jeeze kid... what are ya gonna-"
"Heh, actually, it's not even a secret. Papyrus... You're WEAK. A complete and utter fool that can't even ki-"
In a furious movement, Papyrus summoned a bone like sword and pointed it at Salem. Neither Sans nor Salem could say a thing before the sword speared the girl though her head. Salem was once again outside the INN, completely unharmed and looking at the spot she had just let Flowey burrow into. Clenching her jaw, Salem hugged Mercy tightly and marched to the shop to repurchase her items. Immediately leaving, Salem made her way to where she saw Sans getting hurt earlier. To no surprise, the skelebros were there, and Sans was still getting his ass whooped. Unfortunately, he saw her first and called out.
"the hell kid? just run! i don't need yur damned help..."
"HELP? WHO WOULD HELP YOU? NO ONE WOULD BE STUPID ENOUGH TO- A HUMAN?! SANS! DON'T TELL ME YOU LET THIS PEST LIVE! AND ASKING IT FOR HELP? I TAUGHT YOU BETTER 'BROTHER'. SEEMS I NEED TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESS ONCE AGAIN. WORTHLESS."
With surprising speed, Papyrus threw an attack at Salem. She dodged easily, but it was only a distraction as another attack was right behind it. She wouldn't be able to dodge it at all. She was going to die again. Well fuck.