Chapter 3
(Snowdin)
Fire. Bright flames lick at my skin, wishing to sink their fiery tendrils into the meaty flesh. They seek out greedily, their determination keeps them going. My breaths are shallow, smoke lacing the air with a thick, dark cloud. Another taste hangs on the air, its bitter than herb root.
I cry out for someone through the crackling flames, screaming as another beam of the house clatters to the floor. Whimpers escape my throat, my body curling within itself as the fire consumes the house.
"Anyone…? Save me…" I sob, feeling one final beam strike my back.
I scream, the lingering flames dance on the outer rims of my sight. My chest heaves, gasping, clawing for fresh air as smoke pours into my lungs.
The sound of the house collapsing drowns out my cries. Tears create waxy trails down the soot on my face, evaporating as fast as it appears.
"HUMAN! WAKE UP! IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A DREAM!" Two hands clasp my shoulders, pressing gently onto the bone. I fling my arms up blindly, wrapping around my savior's neck as I nuzzle into their chest. Faint thank yous fall off my lips in a jumble mess. The nerves tremor with adrenaline, attempting to reel in the rest of the body. It slowly dissipates with the flames, the smell of burning wood fading to nothing.
"ERM…HUMAN! I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU MIGHT HOLD SOMEONE AS AWESOME AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT I MUST INSIST YOU LET GO OF YOUR HOLD!"
'Wait…this is not how this goes…' I close my eyes, letting out a few, controlled breaths. Opening my eyes once more, the remnants of the house cease to exist. Instead, a skeletal skull stares back, its void less sockets lift in the corners slightly. 'It almost appears as though it is smiling at me.' The skull appears similar to the anatomical model, sharp zygomatic bones on either side, a small, rounded nasal cavity, and a strong set of teeth between the mandible and maxilla. My brows crinkle in confusion as my eyes glance at the parietal bone.
'Odd…there are no sutures along the skull. It looks smooth, almost fake.'
There is a sound; a sound I do not register until it is too late.
"HUMAN!" A scream covers the room with its sound. My body reacts, letting go as unsteady legs hit the floor. Without thinking I push my hands out, my palms hitting a hard, smooth surface.
The skeleton appears to be wincing, its sockets making a squinting gesture. Its arms lift up, revealing red gloves covering its entire hand structure. They squish to its temporal bones, its jaw working up and down with unknown words.
'This cannot be real! Skeletons do not walk and talk! They are the mere mineral remnants of humans consisting of an endoskeleton!'
Something pokes at my right shoulder. I flinch back, my head swivels to the perpetrator. A small boy, no more than ten sits calmly at my side. One of his overly sized sleeves covers an ear while the other carefully holds my sleeve. His little cherub face gives a hesitant smile, his body wincing at what appears to be an overly heightened noise level.
'Oh…' My lips slam shut, cutting off the noise. The boy's smile widens as he removes his other hand. His small body lets out a breath of relief, a quiet hum vibrates within his throat.
"Hey Paps? Why don't you make some of your famous spaghetti while I talk with our new guest?" The child turns toward the talking skeleton, the same smile relaxing on his face. I shiver, keeping my eyes on the child. My fingers instinctively begin to comb through the short little tangles of mess on their head. The copper little waves thread easily through, shimmering in the dull light of the room.
"OF COURSE HUMAN! A PLATE OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI WILL MAKE THIS OTHER HUMAN BETTER! NYHAHA!" The heavy steps retreat in the opposite direction. A few moments of silence pass between the child and I, pots and pans clatter in the distance.
"You will get use to Papyrus in time. He really is nothing more than a lovable goof." The child reaches for something within the puke green couch. A small black remote slides easily out of the cushion next to him, the style a mix of modern and early 2000's.
"The monsters down here are nothing to be afraid of really. If anything, they are more afraid of you than you are of them!" He fidgets with the remote for a second, giving it a scowl as it does nothing.
"Stupid thing is out of batteries," he mumbles, stuffing the piece of plastic back.
"How…" My throat tenses, the strain of overly used muscle clogging the speech.
"How?" The boy glances up with large honey brown eyes, a large grin overtaking half of his tanned face.
"They are my friends of course!" The child says as if it was the most obvious answer. His eyes notice something on his navy cargo shorts, his stubby fingers picking at the fabric.
"…Friends?" He nods. His legs begin to swing excitedly, extending and contracting over the hideous purple-blue carpet.
"I have a lot of friends down here! There is mom, Papyrus, Sans, the bunny lady that walks her brother, the rock family, the dogs…they all are! I have never been happier!" I glance at the child. 'His smile is genuine, the excitability is palpable, and the sincerity within their gaze…He definitely is not lying. But then…'
"Won't…Won't your human friends and family miss you?" He stills, a cold chill penetrating the air. A smile remains on his face, but it is bleak, uncaring. His legs begin to slow until they come to a standstill. The bright honey orbs darken to an unsettling muddled brown color.
"They are…" He shakes his head. "They do not care enough to look. Besides," He looks up, his eyes brightening slightly. "I won't be the only human anymore!"
"Hey Paps! Hey kid I'm…" A deep voice resounds. The outside air flushes the heat out immediately, allowing the cold to settle. I hesitantly peel my gaze away from the child, staring at the opened front door. A shorter being stands in the doorway, the background light washing out most of their features. The faux fur on their hood sways uneasily against their blue jacket. Despite the negative temperatures outside, they choose to wear black shorts. To make their outfit complete, little fuzzy looking slippers cover their feet. My gaze is met with dead sockets.
I shudder, feeling a cold, dead stare penetrate into my soul. The wind whips outside, filling the silence with noise. It sounds like static. There is a tugging at my chest, like hands ripping through a piece of fruit. My fingers clench at my chest, feeling each finger slowly dig in. Something within my soul screams.
"SANS NO!" The child shouts against the wind, their words blurring as the room rushes by. Something clatters to the floor, glass shatters upon impact. Pain blossoms through my back, the feeling brief before the air rushes by once more. This time, I face a maroon wall, the impact slapping my frontal bone against the wood. The air rushes out of my lungs, only allowing gasps of air before the next hit. The room blurs back again and then forward, the number of times dwindling compared to the pain my body takes on impact. At some point, it collapses to the floor, scraping against the shattered remains of something glass. Invisible fingers grasp at my throat, the digits biting into the flesh around my windpipe.
"WhAt ArE yOu DoInG hErE hUmAn?" A deep, gritty voice growls. The figure from before stands within a few feet of my suspended body, the sight bubbling fear into my gut. This creature too is a skeleton albeit not as pronounced as the taller one. Its face is slightly rounder with larger, exaggerated features from the soulless sockets to the chilling grin. A single flickering flame burns in his right eye.
"Sans stop it right now!" The child grabs at the skeleton's extended arm, desperately pulling. The skeleton shrugs the kid off.
"Kid stay out of this. I don't want to hurt you."
"She is good Sans! You can see it can't you?" The child's voice sounds far away, like swimming underwater with a conversation above.
"Frisk…" I catch the child's name, the rest falling to the asphyxiation.
'What…was that? Is…' My lungs burn within my chest, the simple task of breathing a forced task. 'Is this how I die?' The air rushes by once more, the fingers release as I impact something. My body falls to the floor like a rag doll, taking in copious amounts of air. There is a faint sound of footsteps running in, followed by garbled talk.
My arms make a feeble attempt to get up, the palms digging into glass shards, pain no longer a feeling. Blood oozes out immediately onto the carpet, mixing with a few other puddles around. Hair sticks to the blood pouring out of various wounds, hurting the healing process. There is a ringing within my inner ears, deafening the sounds with a high frequency sound. Through a blurry gaze, two figures huddle together, one frantically flailing. A third, taller body drops something onto the floor, their arms swinging in a similar fashion.
"I am okay," I pant out, hoping my voice is a reasonable level. One figure runs over quickly, their small form slowly coming into focus. The child, Frisk, grabs an arm, tugging for dear life. He seems to mumble some words, possibly soothing, possibly calling for help. The taller figure approaches, their skeletal view coming into focus. A whimper vibrates within my throat, my body recoiling as Papyrus reaches a hand out. I watch him warily, his concerning face scrunching further. He turns to Frisk, mumbling something to which both parties nod.
"Easy…easy…" I hear Frisk whisper, the sounds slowly returning. I glance between Frisk and Papyrus, wincing as the larger skeleton scoops my body with ease. The ugly maroon walls blur by as he walks. Frisk mumbles soothing words between each wince, mutters apologies at each hiss. Papyrus settles me on a worn looking blanket carefully placed on the floor.
"Easy human…" His voice is soft, a complete 180 from the monster just a few moments ago. A soft orange glow illuminates in the skeleton's sockets, the faint glow slowly making its way around his body. His gloved hand reaches forward once more, the chest plate groans against the motion.
"I can heal you but I must be close to you…okay?" The skeleton whispers, gently cupping the side of my face. I look into his glowing eyes, feeling the fear dissipate slowly. His other shoulder shifts every so often, his jaw opening and closing as he mumbles quiet words. At some point, Frisk laces his pudgy little fingers through my own. He gives gentle squeezes of encouragement while Papyrus works.
'I…' I shudder, feeling the cold seep into my bones. 'Why did…When these two…'
"How are you feeling human?" Papyrus carefully removes his hands, placing them on his lap. I close my eyes, taking a mental count of the damages.
'Hand still remains sore from before the fall. Skull throbbing has significantly decreased. Breathing…' I take a deep, hearty fill of air. 'Feels normal. Nothing obstructing the organs.'
I open my eyes, meeting the awaiting stare of Papyrus. Lifting my arms, there are only a few fleshy pink lines grazing the skin. Some of the shirt's fabric is torn at the ends, but nothing a little thread cannot fix. I place my arms down, wincing as my legs come into view. Jagged lines slash across the jeans, blood soaking through into dark puddles around the wounds. Similar flesh lines coat my legs allowing the dried blood to make it look worse. I give Papyrus a hesitant nod of approval. Carefully I prop myself up, examining the damage of the room. The amount of damage is cringe worthy at best. Pictures once on the wall make a new place on the floor, a ring of glass protecting each memory. The horribly colored but comfortable couch is no longer upright, favoring to lay on its backside than its feet. A few miscellaneous objects are askew across the floor, but other than some new dry wall, the house could have ended up in a worse condition.
"THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR HUMAN! I WAS SO WORRIED THE INTRUDER HURT YOU TOO MUCH!" I glance at the loud skeleton, raising an eyebrow.
"MY BROTHER SAYS THERE WAS AN INTRUDER THAT SNUCK IN BEHIND HIM! HE SAID IT WAS BECAUSE OF MY GREAT PROWLESS OF BEING THE GREAT PAPYRUS MADE THEM RUN IN FEAR! NYHA!" White covers my vision, something constricts around my backside.
"FEAR NOT HUMAN FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL WATCH OVER YOUR FRAIL FORM UNTIL I CAN TAKE YOU TO UNDYNE!" Frisk's hand tightens, small tremors racing into his palms. Papyrus pulls my body away from his hug, chatting excitedly about something. The hairs on the back of my neck stand erect, prompting my eyes to seek out the discomfort. They lock onto the skeleton standing a few feet behind Papyrus, his hands deep within his jacket pocket. The shorter skeleton stares back, an unnatural smile a permanent fixture on its face. The corners raise slightly, the air crackles with an unforeseen energy.
'But you did see it.' An inner voice chastises. My right hand moves to my sternum, rubbing a chilled spot above my soul. 'He made sure to make a point. He is no pushover.' Something below hums anxiously, moving furiously behind the ribs. It increases speed, picking up the heartbeat. A shiver runs down my spine, but I dare not look away.
Sans' cold, dead eyes stare back with an unspoken threat.
'Do anything to ruin this and YoU wIlL hAvE a BaD tImE.'
"…SO I WAS WONDERING HUMAN!" Papyrus' face comes into view, breaking my gaze from Sans. I give him a hesitant look.
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME EXACTLY? SURELY YOU HAVE HEARD OF MY NAME FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM WELL KNOWN AROUND THE UNDERGROUND!"
"…huh?" I cock my head to the side, pulling my brows in.
"I think what Papyrus is trying to ask for your name." Frisk giggles, his gaze souring slightly as he stares intently at something. I follow his gaze to the skeleton propped against the wall, his finger balancing a short bone.
"It's…" I swallow an air bubble, feeling it attempt to choke the words back down my throat. I take one last glance at the skeleton, feeling as though he personally is enjoying my discomfort. Something within me wants to stand up to Sans. To prove that I am not just some human to be pushed around. Straightening my spine, l lock eyes with him."Nix. My name is Nix. It is a pleasure to meet all of you."