Two torches on the side of the tent had been lit, casting a rather eerie shadow over the tent. Both Frisk and Monster Kid approached it slowly, stopping just in front of the grate. They just looked up at it, before Monster Kid took in a sharp breath of air and finally turned to Frisk.
"This is Papyrus's exploration guild. It's been said that both him and his brother are world-famous explorers." He explained. "He formed a guild and now all of the teams who graduate become world-famous explorers too!" He took another deep breath, before stepping onto the grate.
"Monster Detected! Monster Detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Reptilian! The footprint is Reptilian!"
"Stay brave, dude...Stay brave!" Monster Kid told himself, shaking slightly. There was a small delay in between the voices, but one of the two monsters who had been shouting up at them finally shouted something back up.
"Okay, you can go in. BUT! I can sense that there's another monster up there with you!" The voice shouted. "So whoever's with you, get them to stand up there with you!" Monster Kid stepped aside, before motioning to the grate with his tail.
"Yo…Frisk, I'm pretty sure they mean you." He said, sounding even more relieved than when they had gotten his relic fragment back. "Ya just gotta stand on the grate right there!" Frisk considered the grate. It was situated right above a hole, and it looked sturdy enough to hold someone. That's when they also happened to realize that they didn't have any shoes whatsoever, strange that they hadn't exactly noticed that until now. The grate could possibly tickle their feet, or-
"HEY! Get on the grate already! We don't have all day!" The voice yelled, snapping Frisk out of their thoughts. They stepped forwards, flinching slightly as they stood on the cold metal.
"Monster detected! Monster detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is….er….The footprint is…." The first voice actually hesitated, almost as if they couldn't figure it out.
"What? What's wrong? Sentry?" The second voice called, almost sounding just as confused as the first. "Is there a problem, sentry Vegetoid?"
"The footprint….is…." The first voice, Vegetoid, seemed extremely hesitant. Down underneath the grate, carrot-shaped monster kept looking up at the footprint, looking as if it was thinking rather hard, before it turned to the tunnel not far from it. "Maybe Goat! Maybe Goat!"
"Apologies, but what?!" The second voice asked. "You're the sentry, right Vegetoid? Aren't you supposed to be able to identify the footprints of passing monsters?"
"Well, yeah…." Vegetoid said, shifting slightly in his spot. "But I don't know what I don't know…..Plus, don't you have magic?! You identify the monster then!"
Above ground once more, both Frisk and Monster Kid exchanged a glance, unsure of what to do. That is, however, before the second voice began yelling back up at them once more.
"Hmm….Fair point. It's true you don't see too many goat monsters around here." They said. "Okay! Hocus pocus, you can enter!" There was a slight woosh sound and a small explosion of sparkles right by the entrance to the tent. The gate blocking the entrance raised, revealing a ladder leading further underground.
The duo climbed down, landing in a rather large room. There were several monsters looking at two boards on the wall, all of them most likely exploration teams. There was yet another ladder leading further down, situated right next to the ladder they had climbed down in order to get to the room.
"Woah! Do you think all of the other monsters in here are exploration teams?" Monster Kid asked, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. "I wonder if any of them are apprentices too!"
"Hey. You two." A low voice suddenly said, coming from behind them and making the two jump slightly. "You two are the ones who just came in, right? Don't you know how to greet someone. Turn around and face me." Monster Kid began trembling once more, clearly a bit too scared to turn and face whoever was behind them. Frisk instead took a deep breath, before spinning around to face whoever it was.
Frankly, they weren't expecting what they saw.
The monster behind them was a skeleton, wearing a blue hoodie, black shorts, and pink slippers. It looked as if they had a permanent smile, but it was hard to tell considering they wore joke glasses with a big nose and fake mustache attached to it.
"heh….guess you two weren't expecting that now, were you?" The skeleton asked, snickering slightly at Frisk's confused expression. And then at Monster Kid's even more confused look. "the name's sans, sans the skeleton. i guess you can call me the right-hand monster to my brother, papyrus. well, it's more like he's my bro. but i'm also the monster in the know 'round these parts."
"Well, it's awesome to meet you then!" Monster Kid said, as Sans took his joke glasses off to reveal eye sockets with little white dots as his pupils. "Wait….That means you're THE Sans? As in the actual world-famous explorer and brother to Papyrus?!" Sans just shrugged, looking rather amused.
"yeah, you could say that's me." He said. "now, you might wanna get out. no interviews, surveys, or whatever else my bro put on the sign up there. we just don't have any time for stuff like that, y'know?" Frisk, knowing that was the exact opposite of why both of them were there, quickly said that they just wanted to become apprentices.
"Yeah! We wanna become a real exploration team!" Monster Kid said. Sans considered the two for a moment, before laughing slightly.
"man, never thought we'd get two kids wanting to train. i would've thought that the stream of monsters running away from pap's program would be enough to deter anyone." He shook his head, before seemingly addressing the two once more. "you say you wanna become apprentices, yeah? well, come with me then. we gotta go talk to papyrus so we can sign you up."
The skeleton led them down the ladder. The bottom floor seemed to be where most of the apprentices were at the moment. Including a frog monster right next to a cauldron and a weird magician-like monster floating close to a hole leading downwards. Sans stopped right next to a door, although Monster Kid gave a "Yo!" as he ran over to a nearby window.
"Look at this, Frisk! We're two floors underground, but you can still see the sea outside!" He said, clearly amazed.
"well, the whole place kinda is built on the side of a cliff." Sans pointed out. "it makes sense that you can sea the ocean from here. anyways. my bro's room is just beyond this door right here. just gonna say this, i wouldn't make him mad or anything. or else you're gonna have to deal with him when he's mad. and you will not like him when he's mad. like actually mad. just a tip." He turned to the door, knocking on the door twice.
"WHO'S THERE?" A loud, rather high-pitched voice asked.
"lettuce."
"LETTUCE WHO?"
"can you lettuce in? it's just me, bro, and i'm coming in."
Sans pushed the door open, waving to the duo so they knew it was okay to follow him. The room in question looked more akin to something a child would have, with a giant skull-and-crossbones flag hanging in the very back of the room. There were a few shelves on the walls, holding what were either treasure or….action figures. Finally, another skeleton stood just in front of the flag, his hands firmly planted on his hips. He wasn't facing them either, for whatever reason.
"hey, papyrus. two kids wanna join the guild. so i thought i should bring'em to you." Sans said simply. But the skeleton, Papyrus, didn't turn at all. "uh….papyrus?"
"NYEH!" Papyrus suddenly turned sharply, making both Monster Kid and Frisk jump slightly. "SO? NEW MEMBERS WHO WANT TO BECOME INFAMOUS EXPLORERS AS WELL? WELL! THAT'S WONDERFUL NEWS!"
Papyrus was much taller than his brother. And he wore what could be described as a homemade suit of armor. He also had a bright red scarf, its edges torn slightly due to age. He also wore similarly red gloves and boots, both with golden edges as well.
"SO, ENOUGH WITH ANY INTRODUCTIONS. YOU MUST ALREADY KNOW WHO I AM. AFTER ALL, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Papyrus said, putting a hand on his chin. "BUT ENOUGH WITH THAT. WHAT ABOUT YOU? FUTURE APPRENTICES? WHAT IS YOUR EXPLORATION TEAM NAME?"
"Exploration team….name?" Monster Kid repeated, tilting his head slightly.
"yeah. you need a team name if you're gonna be an exploration team." Sans explained. "can't be an exploration team if you don't have a name, after all."
"Our team name….Shoot, I didn't think of that." Monster Kid said, biting his lip. "Yo, Frisk. You got any ideas for a team name?" Frisk thought for a moment, even crossing their arms and narrowing their eyes slightly.
A team name? They probably should've thought of that before they just charged in head-first. What would be a good team name for the two of them? Team….Team….
That's when it hit Frisk. They excitedly told Monster Kid their idea. Monster Kid also seemed to like that name as well, since he grinned widely and nodded.
"Yeah! I like that name! I think it suits us!" He said, before the two turned back to Papyrus. "Yo, we got a team name! And it's a good one too!"
"NOT TO WORRY, MY YOUNG FRIEND, FOR I HAD HEARD WHAT YOUR TEAM NAME IS!" Papyrus said. "SO, ALLOW ME TO REGISTER YOUR TEAM IN OUR DATABANKS! REGISTERING….REGISTERING….THERE WE GO. NYEH HEH HEH!" The entire room flashed, as Papyrus gave a jump, before he began digging around in his pockets...that he somehow had. He pulled out a small yellow box, almost running to the middle of the room and setting the box down. "GO ON, HAVE A PEEK. THIS IS TO CELEBRATE YOU BECOMING A PART OF OUR GUILD!"
Frisk was the first to walk forwards and open it. Besides an out of place plate of spaghetti, the box contained a bag and map. Monster Kid, who also saw the bag and map, excitedly explained the bag was called a treasure bag and that it held anything you found on adventures. Meanwhile, the map was called a wonder map and would show you where you were. There were also badges in the bag, along with a faded red ribbon and yellow bandana with...what looked like abs printed on it.
"OH! THOSE ARE ALSO PRESENTS FROM ME! TO PROVE OUR NEW COOPERATION!" Papyrus added. "THAT FADED RIBBON MIGHT IMPROVE YOUR SPECIAL ATTACK, AND I THINK THAT'S A MANLY BANDANA THAT'LL IMPROVE PHYSICAL ATTACKS!"
"Woah! That's so cool!" Monster Kid said, as Frisk took both of the items and even helped Monster Kid tie the bandana around his neck (which also helped to cover up his relic fragment). "This is just so cool, it's like we're an actual exploration team now!"
"once you get through the training, that is." Sans said. "gotta complete the training, then you get to be a fully-fledged exploration team. but just lookin' at you two, i can tell you're gonna do okay."
"I AGREE! I'M POSITIVE THAT YOU'LL BOTH DO GREAT HERE! BUT DON'T FORGET TO WORK EXTRA HARD TOO!" Papyrus agreed. "JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES!"
"Of course we will!" Monster Kid said, while Frisk nodded with a determined expression.
Team DETERMINATION….They were going to go far, Frisk could feel it.
"Abracadabra! You two are now going to wake up!" Frisk squirmed slightly. After they had finished registering, Sans had taken them to where they would be staying while they trained with the guild, while also giving them advice they needed to get some sleep for their training tomorrow.
"Ugggh….Is it morning yet….?" Monster Kid groaned, just as something suddenly hit the two. Frisk shot up, rubbing their face before they looked at their paw. It was completely covered with glitter of all things.
"Indeed it is! Now, please and thank you, get up already!" The same voice yelled, just as even more glitter hit the two. Frisk shook the glitter out of their eyes, blinking several times just to have everything come into focus once more.
It turns out the same magician monster they had seen the other day. Two orbs hung in the air next to it, as it floated above the other two monsters.
"Hocus pocus, are you two up now? It's almost time for morning roll call!" The monster said. "If you don't get up now, alakazam, the guildmaster will be rather upset. And nobody enjoys seeing the guildmaster upset." It gave a small, involuntary shiver, as if reliving a bad memory. "Ooooh, I would not like to see that! Tinkle tinkle hoy….Guildmaster Papyrus isn't exactly fun when he's angered! And I know I don't want to get in trouble if you two are late. So I'd get up!" And with that, the monster flew back out of the room.
"What was it saying…..I still feel half-asleep…." Monster Kid said, standing up and stretching. "It sounded like it said….that we….Oh shoot, we overslept Frisk!" Frisk had half a mind to say that they weren't the one who overslept, but decided against it. Instead, the two both raced out and joined the other apprentices out in front of Papyrus's room.
The rest of the apprentices were all made up of rather strange monsters (although it might've looked like that since Frisk couldn't remember seeing any other kind of monster). There were the previously mentioned magician monster who had woken them up and the frog Frisk had seen the other day. But there was also a rather small airplane hovering above two vegetable-like monsters. Another group, this one of a duck with a head shaped like a snowflake, a small, frail looking bug, and a small angler fish with what looked like hair covering most of their face, stood not too far away. Sans, who was not far from the door to Papyrus's room, turned as the duo ran in.
"nice. looks like we've got everyone." He said. "don't worry 'bout being late. i sleep in a lot too. guess you could say i'm….bone tired most of the time." There was a muffled groan, most likely from Papyrus on the other side. "yo, bro. if you're ready, you should probably come out already."
"IT IS CALLED MAKING AN ENTRANCE!" Came Papyrus's reply. "BUT FINE! I'M COMING OUT RIGHT NOW!" The door opened and Papyrus came out.
"alright, so blah blah blah, some things about how everyone should keep doing the pretty good job they're doing. what else what else…." Sans said, much to Papyrus's apparent annoyance. "oh yeah. pap, you got any words of wisdom or whatever before we start for today?"
"NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I NORMALLY SAY, AT LEAST." Papyrus said. Sans just nodded.
"alright everyone. you know the drill then." He said. "on the count of three, i guess. one. two…."
"THREE!" The other monsters finished. "One, don't shirk work! Two, run away and pay! And three, smiles go for miles!"
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! HERE'S TO ANOTHER GREAT DAY OF WORK!" Papyrus announced. The rest of the apprentices replied with a hearty "HOORAY!", before they began splitting up to complete whatever job they had for the day.
"yo. you two, team determination." Sans said, once both Monster Kid and Frisk were the only ones left, as they had no clue what to do. "follow me, i got your assignment for today." He began walking to the ladder leading to the second floor. Monster Kid and Frisk both exchanged a small glance, before they sprinted in order to catch up with him.
"so the assignment we want you to do today is real simple. this is the job notice board. other monsters who need help put their requests on this board and we go solve them. simple enough, right?" Sans explained. "so pap wanted you two to do a simple job just to get used to the whole idea of going into a mystery dungeon, since we literally have no clue if you've ever been in one. i guess you could say it's a real...mystery to us." Frisk tilted their head, even voicing the question as to what a mystery dungeon was.
"Oh, that's right, you don't know what that is!" Monster Kid said. "A Mystery Dungeon is this weird thing, it's like a maze that changes every time you go through it! And if any of the wild monsters in there manages to knock you out, we'll both be sent back and lose up to half of our G or items!" Frisk then asked why these Mystery Dungeons do this sort of thing. It doesn't seem natural at all. "Well...no one really knows why they do that. But a whole lot more of them have been appearing lately since time's been growing out of whack."
"yeah, something weird's been goin' on with time." Sans agreed. "no clue what that thing is, but boy is it happening. as of now, it's a pretty minute problem." Both children had to cover their mouths, trying not to laugh, something Sans certainly noticed. "i've got tons of these kind of jokes. a skele-ton." This time, Monster Kid couldn't help but burst out laughing, trying to cover his mouth with his tail but to no avail. "heh. anyways. you got that right, about the mystery dungeons and how they've been popping up all over the place. 'cause of that, we've had a big influx of jobs. so…..let me see here…" He grabbed one of the papers stuck to the board, possibly not even looking it over too much.
"Yo, is this gonna be a cool job? Let me read it!" Monster Kid said excitedly. Frisk took the job from Sans, and held it so their friend could read it. "'Hey, my name is Ice Cap. And I seriously need some help from any exploration team. Y'see, I was robbed. I was robbed of my precious hat! An outlaw attacked me and stole my hat. I just can't settle down without that hat. I feel so jittery, so….so naked without it. You have to get it back before it melts! I've heard rumors about how my hat has been sighted in a Mystery Dungeon not far from here. I need an exploration team to go find it. Please, exploration team members, help me in my time of need! Please go into this Mystery Dungeon and find my hat, before it's too late! Signed - Ice Cap'. Hey….wait a minute….." Monster Kid gave a low growl, lashing his tail. "This is just a fetch quest! You want us to go get an item someone dropped! I'd rather go explore someplace new, or find hidden treasure, not be someone's errand boy!"
"Kiddo, I'm not sure you realize how important this job is to someone like you." Sans said, his voice and expression suddenly dark. Heck, even his pupils had disappeared to reveal black eye sockets. "It's important you rookies pay your dues. If you get knocked out in a dungeon, you'll be sent back here. You'll lose half of your items and half of your G too. If you don't get that through that thick head of your's, then you'll get arrogant and fail really quickly. Am I clear?"
"Y-Yeah….." Monster Kid said, backing away and nearly ducking behind Frisk while trembling. "Y-Yeah….I-I get it….." The skeleton's normal, light-hearted air suddenly reappeared and he looked just as cheerful as before.
"nice to hear then, kid." He said, as if nothing had happened. "you two should better get going then. that ice cap guy needs his hat before it melts, after all." Monster Kid couldn't help but sigh slightly.
Either way, the two set out for the Mystery Dungeon.
After their entire exploration of the Dungeon, the two managed to find the hat, although it was nearly melted at that point. They returned to the guild, where Ice Cap was somehow already waiting for them there. They wasted no time in blowing a small gust of icy wind on the hat, rebuilding it, and then settling it back into its proper place on top of their head.
"I seriously can't thank you two enough for what you've done. I'll have you know you've done a great, magnificent deed here today!" They said, bowing slightly, but not so their hat slid off. "Without my hat on my head, I could barely sit still! But then I hit a whole big dilemma since I couldn't be seen outside without my precious hat either! Without my hat, I'm just...just...I'm just Ice! I'm sure you can see why I can't have that. Er...I was getting somewhere with that, I think. Oh! That's right!" Ice Cap hopped forwards, pulling out several things before pulling out-
"Woah! Is that 2000G?!" Monster Kid asked, as Ice Cap handed Frisk a whole handful of golden coins. "Yo! That's a buttload of money!"
"Oh please, that's hardly compared to the worth of my hat! I couldn't just let my heroes go unrewarded, now could I?" Ice Cap nearly snapped back. "Now, I think I gotta go. I really, REALLY can't thank you enough for all of this. Thanks again!" The small monster began making their way back to the ladder leading upwards.
"Yo, I can't believe this. 2000 whole G!" Monster Kid said, turning to Frisk as the monster began counting out the coins. "We're rich! Haha!"
"nice work there, you two." Sans was suddenly behind them, almost as if by magic. "could i see that for a minute? just wanna count something out." Despite their better judgement, Frisk handed the coins over. Sans took a moment to count the coins out, before handing them back. However, upon closer inspection, Frisk realized the 2000G had been cut down to a mere 200G.
"Yo, what's the deal?!" Monster Kid demanded, once Frisk pointed it out to him. "Why'd you take all that money from us, we earned it fair and square!"
"sorry kid, but that's the cost of the training." Sans said, shrugging as he pocketed the G. "but, hey. at least you still get some of it. honestly, i would've thought it'd be common cents." Although neither of them had laughed at his pun, Sans still seemed to take it as a victory and began walking off, most likely to the bottom floor.
"Man...That sucks..." Monster Kid said, shaking his head. Frisk, noticing their friend's disheartened mood, tried to make him feel better by pointing out that while they might not've gotten all that money, they at least helped out Ice Cap, even if they seemed rather snooty about it. Monster Kid still looked upset while listening to them, before sighing and giving Frisk a grin. "Yeah...you got a point there, Frisk. At least we made someone happy! And that's what's important. I'm sure if we just keep working hard, we'll be the best exploration team and we'll be able to get even better jobs too!"
Yeah, all they had to do was just keep their spirits up. That had only just begun, after all.
