"let's get goin', buttercup." Sans barked as he made his way down the short set of snowy steps. "i ain't got all day."

Anna suppressed a low growl. "I don't know if you've noticed, shit-for-brains, but this is a little hard for me ok?"

"pfft." he snorted, "we ain't even started yet. 10G says you don't make it three minutes in waterfall."

"Keep this up and I'll bet 20 bucks you don't make it three steps." she snarled, stomping loudly behind him.

Flowey sighed from his bag. "This is going to be a looong trip."

After around 10 minutes of trudging through the snow in a strained and bitter muteness, Anna started to feel a noticeable shift in temperature. The air was warming, bringing with it a damp mist. The soft snow underfoot was slowly giving way to dewy stone, and the bright whiteness of Snowdin was melting away to a hazy blue aura. For the first time since leaving the ruins, Anna was reminded that she was very much trapped in a series of caves and tunnels deep beneath the earth.

High, encompassing stone walls started to close in on them, each speckled with glittering blue and silver stones and trickling with droplets of clear water. Every now and again, glowing, iridescent pools of crisp blue liquid would flow up to the pathways, allowing equally blue flora and long, dense fauna to thrive along the muddy grounds. If it weren't for the eerie silence that hung in the air, this place would be breath-taking. This was the place. The first marker on the journey – Waterfall.

Soon after entering the cave, they came across another empty sentry station. Sans held his left hand up. "wait here a sec," he commanded, "i gotta get somethin'."

Anna watched him ducking behind the walls of the wooden hut and begin scavenging through a rattling mess of clutter. This station also seemed to belong to him – or at least, someone equally as untidy. As she waited, she took the time to look around, quickly landing her eyes on a bright, sparkling, cyan flower standing tall by the station. Taken in by its beauty, she slowly approached it, admiring its dazzling colours and gently running a finger down one of its petals. Just then, the flower lightly shook its plumage, "One day, I'm gonna be just like her!" It whispered.

Anna jerked back slightly at the unfamiliar voice, and was about to apologise for rubbing this poor creature's face when Sans spoke up. "it's an echo flower." he stated bluntly, leaning on his counter and slowly removing the seal from a bottle of ketchup. "it listens when ya touch it and repeats whatever ya say."

"Huh," she said, quizzically, before prodding at a petal again and leaning in close. "Sans is an ass-hole."

The flower shook again and Anna could not keep the smug smile from her face when her voice sang "Sans is an ass-hole" from somewhere within it. Sans scowled.

"cute, princess." he grumbled. She grinned triumphantly. Was that petty? Maybe. Childish? Oh, absolutely. But damn if it didn't feel good to steal that obnoxious smile from his skull.

But at that moment, an evil glint sparked in his socket, before he locked his gaze on her, took several steps forward and slowly opened his mouth. A long, red and translucent tongue slid out from the dark chasm between his teeth. Anna's eyes widened. "Wha... what are you doing?" She sputtered, trying to maintain eye-contact but being incredibly distracted by whatever the hell was now hanging from his mouth.

"ain't it obvious?" He purred, "i'm hungry. and i got my eye on a hellova snack..."

She wasn't sure whether to be confused or disgusted. Everything quickly made more sense however when he – maintaining eye-contact – lifted the ketchup bottle and squirted a great dollop on his tongue, before sliding it into his mouth with a slurp.

She visibly cringed. "Did you just drink that?" She practically shrieked.

Sans only shrugged, content to have his shit-eating grin back where it belonged. He turned from her and moved on, draining the ketchup bottle and discarding it at his station as he passed.

"Creep." She muttered half-heartedly under her breath before following once more.

"ya say somethin there, buttercup?"

"You're a creep." She repeated loudly.

Flowey, sensing the argument rising, ducked into the backpack and fastened the lid.

"aww, i just knew we'd get along." Sans hummed.

"I hate you."

He froze. Feeling she had struck a nerve and wanting very much to continue until the nerve was in tatters, Anna continued, but far more smugly. She removed her backpack, nodding to Flowey to hide again, and strode towards him. "Quite honestly, I don't think anyone has ever irritated me so much so fast that I can wholeheartedly tell them I hate them within one day of meeting them. You however-" She was stopped by Sans's cold hand slamming across her mouth.

Her hand shot to his to rip it from her personal bubble, and possibly from his arm, but Sans quickly flung his other arm around her waist and tackled her into the nearby weeds. She squeaked in protest as she fell onto her right side. She tried to push up but Sans's weight was holding her down on the cold, wet ground. She growled from under his metacarpals and scowled deeply at him. He, however, simply help a finger to his mouth for a moment, before pointing up.

Anna, for the first time since he stopped moving, saw a taller path above them housing a tall, dark figure. This figure seemed to be surveying the weeds below, holding a glowing blue spear in its hand. The glow of the weapon illuminated just enough for Anna to make out this monster's height and basic structure. It was huge, about the same size as Papyrus, and seemed clad in dark, metal armour. Simply judging by it's imposing stance and Sans's want to avoid it, Anna could only guess that this was a more dangerous monster than what she had faced so far.

An eternal minute of tense silence slowly and stiffly passed before the monster finally lowered it's weapon and quietly walked away. Anna let out a breath but Sans did not move. He seemed to be listening. Anna struggled beneath him, but he shushed her once more.

After another moment she could hear rustling from deeper within the patch of tall weeds they were hidden in, followed by rushed and clumsy footsteps. She tried to look ahead to see the source, but to no avail. Once those were far enough away Anna felt the weight above her disappear in a literal instant. When she looked up again Sans was on his feet adjusting his jacket and picking grass from his hood. Anna huffed and clambered to her feet, dusting herself off and throwing her bag back over her shoulder.

"You gonna tell me what that was about then?"

"Th-that was Undyne." Flowey squeaked from under the cover of the bag. "The Captain of the R-royal Guard."

Sans nodded. "yeah, i'd rather not mess with her unless i gotta."

Anna giggled. "Oh my god, are you scared of her?"

Sans glowered at her. "no." he spat. "i just owe her like 30G and she aint one for tabs."

"Whatever." She laughed. "So who else was in the grass with us?" She asked.

Sans shrugged. "dunno, just some weird kid that follows undyne around. i knew if she was patrolling he was prolly somewhere near by."

"Fine. But just for the record, you could have at least warned me or something before you threw me like that." She said, folding her arms and scowling again.

He put his hands back in his pockets and started to walk on. "might wanna get used to it sweetheart," he called over his shoulder, "undyne's gonna be hanging around here for a while, and she's got a hellova sense of hearin'. so, unless you wanna get speared, you'll just have to let me throw ya."

Anna looked to Flowey for support, but he solemnly shrugged from the bag. She rolled her eyes. "Great."

She followed on silently, still taking in the sights. As they walked deeper and lower, the climbing cave ceilings slowly started to sparkle. Anna stopped, looking intensely at the stones in the cave's skies. After a moment, Sans glanced over his shoulder and stopped as he noticed how far behind she had fallen.

"what?" he barked.

"What are those?" She asked quietly, head still craned upwards.

His eyes lazily followed her gaze for just a second before coldly stating, "they're stones."

Her head shot back down to glare at him. "I know they're stones, I just..." She trailed off as she found herself somewhat hypnotised by the stones again.

Sans raised a brow as he watched her. Her eyes glistened as she stared, her mouth hanging ever so slightly open. Her body stood relaxed, as her hair spilled gently down her back. While she was mesmerised Sans was, for once, since she was unconscious on his couch, able to see Anna with her guard down. Her blue eyes where always cold, but at this moment, they were soft and gentle. Her lips curled slightly at the edges. It was a... strange sight, to say the least.

He sighed. "we call 'em wishin' stones. they're the closest things we got to stars down here, you guys wish on stars, right? well, we wish on the stones in the roof. some people say they sparkle like that 'cause they're full of peoples wishes, but... whatever."

Anna nodded. "They're beautiful."

"eh." He shrugged. "bet the real things are better. now, we goin' or what?" He turned once more and headed onwards.

Anna shook herself from her trance and jogged back to him. Her eyes still wandered back to the rocks as she walked, causing her to think. Imagine never seeing the stars. Stars are stunning, they light the sky, they tell stories and they lead lost souls home. They've been an important staple in human history, and yet they are something we tend to take for granted. How often do any of us stop to truly admire the stars anymore? Not enough. If all the stars were to go out tomorrow, humanity would be lost. Some may laugh at the idea of wishing on rocks, but is it really so strange to search desperately for a replacement?

It was hard to think of a whole civilisation of people locked away from the stars, the moon, the sun. There children would never have seen them. Anna knew that this was going to weigh on her conscience for a long time.

With a heavy heart, she swallowed down the feelings of guilt and empathy to focus on one thing – Getting Frisk home, to see those stars again.