Deep in the forest of Snowdin, an old purple door slowly creaked open. The door, worn and broken from time's footprint, led to the Ruins: the only area humans ever came from when they fell into the Underground.
The area that human had come from a few years ago.
The human was a child, appearing to be ten or so years old. Nobody ever found out their name, or if they did, they never shared. They'd managed to plunge the kingdom into deeper despair than it'd ever been.
Because they were scared.
They were a sweet kid, really. They used [MERCY] whenever possible. However...there were instances in which [MERCY] was not an option. And in those instances they had panicked, and they would [FIGHT].
In one night, the Underground had lost their king, their long-missing queen, their scientist, their star, and their hero. All to one child.
But that human was not the one taking her first step into the cold snow of the icy region. No, this one was much older, clearly in her twenties. Her wavy ginger hair fell to her shoulders, framing her pale, freckled face. Silver-blue eyes looked around in awe at the landscape before them - a winter wonderland in the middle of June, underground no less. Bree O'Connor, an Irish girl of 26, hugged her fluffy cyan jacket close and shivered. "Is this snow...? Underground...?" She stopped, bending down to pick up a handful. It appeared to be perfectly normal, as if it'd fallen from the sky. She could even see the little snowflakes that made it up. "This place is insane..." She murmured, before dropping the snow and continuing down the path.
As she walked, she came across a large tree branch, about as big around as a grapefruit. It was too large to pick up and use as a hiking stick (though she'd love to have had one), but it was still small enough to walk over. Bree looked up at the trees above, trying to identify which of the evergreens had dropped it. Though, none of them seemed to be missing any branches...Shaking off the curiosity, the Irish woman continued down the path.
*SNAP*
Bree whirled around in alarm. She could see nothing, however, except that branch-
-which had been snapped in half as if it were nothing.
She looked around warily. What could have caused that...? However, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Giving the branch another glance, she hurried onward.
*crunch...crunch...crunch...*
At the sound of crunching snow, she turned around again. Yet, still she couldn't see anyone or anything. Was it another one of those...monster things? The ones in the Ruins? She pulled her jacket closer to her body. "Hello? Anyone there?" She called.
But nobody came.
Bree tried to think of a logical reason for the sounds and the broken branch. "Maybe there's...dogs around here or something..." She told herself as she turned back to the path. Panicking would do her no good right now. Ahead lay a bridge, and she walked to cross it-
*crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch*
She froze as the footsteps increased in speed, coming to a stop behind her. She could practically feel the danger looming over her.
"HUMAN . . ."
Her blood ran cold at the voice, a voice deeper than any human's could ever go.
"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO GREET A NEW FRIEND? TURN AROUND AND SHAKE MY HAND. . ."
Bree swallowed nervously, then closed her eyes, spun around, and thrust out her hand in front of her, meeting one that didn't quite feel human and shaking it...
*Ppppppppppppppppppppppppffffffft!*
Her eyes blinked open, stunned. "...the huh?"
Before her stood a stout skeleton, maybe about four feet tall. He wore casual clothing - a hoodie, a T-shirt, black shorts, and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. From his eyesockets glowed a pair of ethereal lights, and his mouth was in a wide grin. "hehehe...the ol' whoopee cushion in the hand trick. gets 'em every time."
Bree stared in shock. "You're...you're a skeleton!"
"yup." He replied. "the name's sans. sans the skeleton." He winked at that last bit.
Bree didn't speak for what felt like a full minute before finding her voice. "...is this some sort of purgatory or something? Because back in that old ruined area I ran into some frogs and bugs that could talk..."
Sans' grin seemed to widen ever so slightly, as if he found it amusing. "yeah, no. this isn't purgatory. though i'm surprised you got past those puzzles."
"You mean the spike maze? That wasn't that bad..." She paused. "Sorry, I'm Bree O'Connor. Nice to meet you, I guess...?" Another pause. "Am I dead?"
"nah, you're just in the underground. home of the monsters." Sans said in reply.
"...monsters?"
"yeah. for example, me and my bro papyrus are skeleton monsters."
Bree searched for something to reply with. What could she reply with? Was there even a proper response to that? Amazement? Agreement? Instead, she said the first thing that came to mind. "This is surreal..."
Sans shrugged. "yeah, humans that leave the ruins tend to be a little shocked."
"Right..." Bree frowned a little. "So...uh...how do I get home?"
The short skeleton shoved his hands into his pockets, casually leaning back on his heels. "sorry, but you're outta luck. you see, we're kept down here by a magical barrier - anything can enter, but next to nothing can leave. you'd need a soul as powerful as that of a human and a monster to cross over."
"So I'm stuck here..."
"basically, yeah."
Bree was silent for a moment, before straightening up, filled with determination. "I'll find a way out."
Sans looked amused, though his face didn't visibly change. "good luck with that."
"Just you watch." She replied, and with that, she spun on heel and continued across the bridge.
The monster watched her leave, checking her LOVE. It was only at one...that was new. "alright, pal." He said, before his left eye glowed a bright, aqua blue, and he shortcutted out of sight.
Bree continued down the path until she came across what appeared to be a lamp - though, it was conveniently shaped to perfectly hide a small child. She eyed it curiously. "Odd..." She murmured, before pulling out her phone and taking a picture. She got a feeling that she was going to be using her camera a lot down here. As she turned back to the road, she spotted something else up in the snow - something that gave off light. Curious, she approached.
It appeared to be a golden star. Strange.
She raised an eyebrow, reaching out to touch it.
* The convenience of that lamp still fills you with determination.
BREE O'CONNOR - LV1
Snowdin Forest - Box Road
FILE SAVED
Far away from Snowdin, in the castle that loomed over the providence of New Home, a different skeleton monster sat at a table, surrounded by his council. He wore a red cape clasped together by a circle with a pair of wings over a gray tunic with three triangles that completed the Delta Rune of the Underground. At his waist was a piece of metallic armor, designed to safeguard the weak points of his hips, and blue-gray trousers which were tucked into knee-high leather boots. A crown sat upon his skull, gold with red jewels set into it. The king of the Underground looked at the notes he'd taken over what they'd covered so far. "OKAY, WHAT'S NEXT ON THE AGENDA?" He asked.
The leader of the council, a fire monster by the name of Burnell, cleared his throat. "Your Majesty," he began, "It's come to our attention that you haven't seemed...interested in anybody as of late. Romantically speaking, that is."
Papyrus raised an eyeridge curiously. "SO?"
"As king, you are responsible for the success of the Underground." Burnell explained. "And one of your duties as king is to take a queen as your wife and provide a male heir to the throne."
"OH, RIGHT. WELL...I HAVEN'T MET ANYONE YET...?" He replied.
Burnell sighed. "We suggest that you find someone soon, regardless of if they meet your romantic expectations or not, Your Highness."
"It'll really bring the Underground's hopes up. A royal wedding would get everyone in brighter moods." Another council member added.
A third nodded. "And it would show the Underground you're a capable ruler."
The tall skeleton rubbed his temple, thinking. "...ALRIGHT," He finally said. "I'LL TRY TO FIND SOMEONE..."
Burnell gave a slight smile. "Thank you, Your Highness."
"YOU'RE WELCOME."