A Long Awaited Adventure
You woke with a start, falling off of the couch in your bleary stumble. With a groan, you heaved yourself onto your paws, peering out into your living room. That's right. You'd fell asleep on your couch last night. Wait. You actually fell asleep? Wow. That's a first. With a grumble, you gathered up your blankets and pillows, tiredly trudging upstairs. Shit. You had accidentally missed a step, the blankets keeping you from denting your cranium as you fell down the stairs.
"Dammit!" You got back up only to try again. This time, you were successful. You'd made it onto the next floor, casting a glance at the giant tinted window that sat across from you. From here, you could see the vast outline of Snowdin, the heavy sheet of snow blocking out some of the details. It was almost morning, the pale rays of the artificial sunlight lighting up the snow piles below. As you tossed your blankets and pillows onto the floor, you stretched gleefully, the bones in your spine popping back into place. Man, that felt good! You busied yourself in getting dressed, picking out a light gray hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants. You painstakingly brushed out the tangles in your hair, throwing it back into a large ponytail. It'd have to do for now.
"MONSTER CHILD? ARE YOU AWAKE YET?" You flinched as four heavy raps sounded on the door downstairs. With an inward sigh, you made your way downstairs, stopping to grab an orange from the basket on the coffee table. You hastily unlocked the deadbolt on the door, pulling it back to reveal Papyrus. He was clad in his usual attire, the only exception being a pair of earmuffs that were gently nestled against his skull. Wait. He didn't even have ears! Why were those even necessary?
"Morning Paps. *yawn* And how are you on this fine morning?"
"I'M DOING EXCEPTIONALLY WELL. OH? DID I WAKE YOU UP?"
"Nah. I got up a couple of minutes ago. Would you like to come in? I'm sure that you're freezing your collar bones off out there."
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR OFFER, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU'D LIKE TO HELP ME RECALIBRATE MY PUZZLES. THE HUMAN IS ASLEEP AND SANS IS TOO LAZY TO DO HIS OWN."
"Sure. Let me just get some coffee before we go." You stepped aside to let Papyrus in, heading towards the kitchen for your beverage. After living in Snowdin for a while, you'd gotten the knack for coffee. You heated up the remnants of yesterday's brew, pouring it into a metal thermos. You skipped back into the living room, Papyrus waiting for you at the door.
"ARE YOU READY TO GO?"
"Yep!" You always kept a spare key on you, just in case of an emergency. You locked up behind the two of you, making sure that everything was off before turning to meet Papyrus.
"Let us be off!" And with that, the two of you had begun a long trek up the Snowdin slopes. Every once in awhile, the two of you would secretly lob snowballs at each other. You got a few snowballs in Papyrus's eye sockets while Paps had absolutely filled your ears with snow. Within an hour, the artificial sunlight had completely dawned, the fresh sheets of snow glinting white in the light.
"Yo Paps! How many people have fell off of the side on this one?" Papyrus had looked up from his tile, a thoughtful expression on his skull. You were working on another tile, this one being on the edge of the ice puzzle. People were supposed to skate across it and land on the tiles in the correct order to advance. Unfortunately, the puzzle was surrounded by a deep trench that hopefully nobody fell off of.
"QUITE A FEW MONSTERS HAVE FALLEN OFF. THANKFULLY, THERE IS A HUGE CLEARING UNDERNEATH US, SO MOST OF THEM LAND THERE!"
"Uh. Most?" Papyrus had put a lone finger before his skull, as if saying "shh" before going back to his work. You'd gazed over the edge of the puzzle, looking into the deep trench below. Damn that was deep. Heh.
"ALRIGHT! WE ARE DONE WITH THIS ONE! ONTO THE NEXT ONE! NYEHEHEH!" Papyrus had stood up from his tile, you just then finishing yours. You stood up, your paws being shaky after sitting for so long. The two of you were about to head back towards the Ruins when a cyan blip had caught your attention.
"BROTHER! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? THE MONSTER CHILD AND I HAVE BEEN RECALIBRATING YOUR PUZZLES FOR TWO HOURS!" Sans stood lazily on the bridge of the ice puzzle, peering at the two of you with mild interest. Papyrus could only stomp his feet in frustration at his brother's laziness.
"Yo." You waved tiredly at Sans, absentmindedly hitching your paws in the pocket of your hoodie.
"nothing much. the kid is looking for the two of you. they went back to the ruins."
"OH GOODY! MAYBE THEY CAN HELP US CALIBRATE YOUR PUZZLES TOO!" Why would Papyrus be excited at the prospect of more puzzle calibrations? Your paws were aching by now and you'd rather sit near a burning fire than calibrate more puzzles.
"nah. the dog sentries said to just leave the puzzles alone until tomorrow."
"WHAT?! BUT SURELY THEY JEST?"
"nope." A small part of you was glad that you'd be able to retire from your puzzle duties, but Sans had decided to bring up another set of quests.
"hey. don't you have to explore the core and the capital, kit?" You inwardly sighed, a grim expression on your muzzle. You were looking forward to being lazy ALL WEEK. Papyrus had perked up at your toil, getting more and more excited at the prospect.
"True. I DO have to map those lands out too… I guess that since we have all day to do something, that we could do some mapping. Meh. I'll map… the Core. I'll save the capital for another day."
"HOORAY! I'LL GO AND FETCH THE RIVERMAN!" And with that, Papyrus was gone. Heavy puffs of snow flew after him. That left you and Sans. You shrugged and headed towards the Ruins.
"Guess that means that I'll have to tell Frisk. You comin' with us?"
"nah. the couch is waiting for me."
"Well then. See ya later, Sans. Who knows? I might bring you back a souvenir!" Sans had vanished, leaving you to continue onwards.
It had taken a while for you to get back to the Ruins, the tip of your tail gathering frost. You'd arrived at the door of the Ruins, the gentle snow from earlier turning into that of a blizzard. You rapped gently on the stone doors, silently waiting for Toriel to answer. Within a few minutes, you heard heavy footfalls and the sound of stone doors creaking open. Two knocks followed on the other side of the door. Wait what?
"Wha-"
"You tell the joke!" Dammit Toriel! She often did this when you needed entrance to a certain place. You heavily sighed and knocked twice on the door.
"Who's there?" You thought for a minute, your right paw laying against your cheek.
"Ruin." You heard a dry chuckle from the other side of the door.
"Ruin WHO?"
"How would you feel if I left RUIN the cold? Seriously, though. I've come to pick up Frisk. Sans says that they came looking for Papyrus and I." From where you were standing, you could here Toriel's vivacious laughter echoing from the other side of the door.
"*snort* Here. Let me let you in." The heavy stone doors had opened quite dramatically to reveal Toriel giggling near the faraway wall. You stepped inwards, closing the giant stone doors behind you.
"Oh hardy har har. Very funny Toriel. Thanks for letting me in. I was freezing my tush off out there." You knew for a fact that both Sans and Toriel hated it when anybody cursed, so you took extreme care not to curse around them. Especially Papyrus and Frisk.
"Come with me my child. They're waiting upstairs." Toriel had taken your small brown paw in her giant white one, and had led you through the corridor. The warm air from upstairs slowly sank into your gray hoodie, a thankful sigh escaping you. You'd padded quietly up the stairs, a familiar parlor sliding into view.
The door hinges had been fixed, the material consisting of titanium instead of brass. Smart move Toriel. Everything had looked as it did when you'd broken in, the only difference being the various pictures that hung on the walls above the stairs. It felt very homey in here. Toriel had stepped off towards the kitchen, saying that Frisk would be waiting in their room. It was the first door to your left. You padded into the hallway on your left, stopping to sniff the golden flowers that rested in a vase. They reminded you of Flowey in a certain way. You wondered how he was. You came to the first door, knocking three times before waiting. From your side, you could hear hurried footfalls and the sounds of demonic shrieking. How the hell could Toriel not hear this?
"Oh. It's YOU." You recognized that hideous growl from anywhere! The door had swung open to reveal two children and a waving flower. The first child was Frisk, snugly tucked away in a bright red blanket. They smiled as you entered the room. The second child was somebody who you didn't recognize. They had dark red hair with ruby red eyes. They wore a green and yellow sweater with brown shorts, black leggings, and black boots. They gave you a charming grin and returned towards talking to Flowey. He paid you no heed, as him and the red-haired child started bickering again.
"Sup Frisk. Toriel said that you were looking for Papyrus and I. Also, who's your friend with the red hair?" All of the noise had suddenly disappeared, the door behind you swinging shut. The red-haired child had grinned mischievously at you again, Frisk hurrying to silence Flowey who was about to say something.
"I'm Cha-"
"Pthbth- Get your hand out of my mouth you peasant! Bleh!" Flowey had spat Frisk's small hand out of their mouth, turning to face you with a glare.
"What? Was I not supposed to acknowledge that there's somebody in the room who I don't know?" Flowey had laughed and had motioned with his petals towards Chara.
"Yeah. We thought for a second that you couldn't see them."
"As in, like a ghost? Because I can see ghosts. Sometimes." You shrugged and turned back towards Frisk.
"Anywho, Papyrus and I are heading off to explore the Core. You can come with us if you want, your friends included. Just a heads up, seeing as how Papyrus and I will be waiting for you near the river." Frisk nodded, excitedly leaping out of their bed.
"Kudos." You turned around and left the room, heading back towards the parlor.
"Leaving so soon dear?" Toriel had called from the dining room. She held a steaming pie in her paws, the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch reaching your nose. You shrugged and turned towards the stairs.
"Yep! Papyrus and I are touring the Core today, and Frisk wants to come with us."
"Oh dear! I suppose that I should help them set up! Would you like some pie before you go? It's awfully cold out there.."
"No thanks Toriel. I'm not that fond of pie anyway." But Toriel was having none of it.
"Then I'll make you some hot chocolate! Stay there while and I go and get it!" You leaned against the banister, absentmindedly eyeing the decorations around you. Does Toriel know about Chara? They looked like Frisk's twin, albeit, a more adult-looking twin. Toriel had returned with a HUGE thermos of hot chocolate, the additional cup warming up your paws.
"Here you go dear. I'll tell Frisk and Flowey that you'll be waiting for them. Do take care and stay safe!"
"I will. Have a good afternoon Toriel!" With that, you made your way down the stairs, the fibers tickling the underside of your paws.
"Papyrus, I'm here!"
"MONSTER CHILD! RIVERMAN SAYS THAT HE'LL WAIT FOR US AT THE DOCK! IS THE HUMAN COMING?"
"Yep. We might have two additional passengers, but I'm sure that we'll make it."
"THE MORE, THE MERRIER!" You'd taken out two cinnabunnies that you'd bought at the Snowdin store. Still warm. You handed one to Papyrus, taking your own between your paws. You began to nibble at the soft ears, gazing into the snowy forest. The tasty treat reminded you of the nimble rabbits that dwelled on the surface. Those fuckers were hard as hell to catch and kill. Trying to nab one with an arrow was nearly impossible.
It had taken a while for Frisk and Flowey to get there, the two heavily bundled up in snow clothing.
"We're here! God, it's cold out here!" Flowey had grumbled from his place on Frisk's shoulder. You giggled to yourself, standing up from your long bout of sitting. You stretched, pulling a few bones but that was all.
"Pff!"
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Papyrus was eyeing you with horror, his cinnabunny already finished. You slowly moved your arms back to your sides, shrugging.
"It was just me stretching. Nothing to be worried about Paps. So… who's ready to go tour the Core? Hey! That rhymes!" The four of you had made your way towards the dock, the riverman waiting for you there. He was talking to himself again. Meh. Who were you to judge?
"To Hotland?" The riverman croaked, their voice hoarse and brittle.
"TO HOTLAND, MY GOOD SIR!" You and Papyrus had seated yourselves at the end of the boat, Frisk taking up the front seat. The two appeared to be having a conversation, the majority in hushed whispers. The trip consisted of Papyrus chatting with the riverman, Frisk and Flowey talking in whispers, and you having nothing to do. It was a LONG way to Hotland. You turned around in your seat, looking back at the water as it rippled behind the boat. Unbeknownst to you or the others, you'd began to sharpen your claws on the bottom of the bench in hunger.
Lately, all you've been thinking about were the various meats of wild game. The vulgar thoughts seemed to come to you in the most inappropriate times possible. You were at the Snowdin shop earlier, and as the rabbit cashier went to go dig out your cinnabunnies, you found yourself salivating at the memory of stewed rabbit. When you hung out with Undyne and Alphys for anime nights, you found your mouth watering at the faint memory of river bass. But let's not forget the worst one of them all. When you were a small kit, your parents had hunted down a special treat for your fourth birthday. What was that special treat? Why, it was a goat. A mountain goat to be precise. They'd specifically hunted down the one with the curliest horns. But it was sooo good… Of course, whenever you're near Toriel, the taste for goat pops up. Why did ignoring the urges have to be so painful?
It's not that you were gonna eat the shopkeepers or anything. Just… nevermind. What you wouldn't give for just a tiny nibble of goat meat, though. SEE? Thoughts like that plagued your mind daily, but that's just skimming the water. Constantly being around Frisk had its toll. When you were living up on the surface, you were constantly led to believe that humans were bad and that they were no good. Here in the Underground, you were constantly badgered by Frisk to play with them. That only led to primal thoughts popping up here and there. One in particular, showed a human leg caught in a bear trap. The more you thought about it, the more anxious you became.
Unknown to YOU, both Papyrus and Flowey had noticed your long claws dragging against the bottom of the wooden bench.
"Woah."
The boat had finally reached Hotland, your claws returning to their sheathes. You stretched happily before stepping out of the boat. When everybody had stepped out, the riverman had taken off without a word, his long wooden boat sailing off towards wherever. The four of you had begun your journey through Hotland, but because three of you were very lazy, you decided to take the elevator instead. You'd arrived at MTT Resort, the granite fountain inside being broken. Pools of water flooded the plaza, the excess running over the stairs.
"WE'RE HERE! QUICKLY!" Papyrus had ushered you all through the plaza and out of the resort. Within seconds, you were standing on a long bridge, the faint sounds of music disappearing without a trace. A pitch black cavern waited below you, a grim reminder to keep going.
"I'VE NEVER BEEN IN THE CORE BEFORE! WHAT DO YOU THINK IT'S LIKE IN THERE?" Frisk had signed a couple things at Papyrus, Flowey keeping pace as you strayed towards the back. You'd made sure to pack your map with you. You quietly took out your long map and a few inked quills. You marked down the bridge, the four of you walking into the next room.
There was an elevator and two hallways that led towards different rooms.
"Which way should we go?"
"I WONDER WHAT'S ON THE LEFT. I'M GOING THAT WAY!" Frisk and Flowey had eagerly followed Papyrus leaving you to explore the right hallway. You slowly padded into the next room, marveling at the huge mess. It looked as though the floor had caved in, a pitch black abyss that spanned the distance. Various wires and switches were swinging, a few smoking. You were about to turn around when you felt your monster SOUL being pulled forcefully from your chest.
"Time to go to sleep." You put a lot of space between you and your attacker, readying your magic as you backed up. Your attacker happened to be a large monster cloaked in heavy armor, a giant staff held in their hands. They were snarling at you, an intense light gathering in the sphere atop the staff. With a screech, the light had turned into a fast-paced attack, you just barely dodging before a spare energy sphere had grazed your right ear. As you backed up, you lobbed a huge fireball at your attacker, the attack hitting them on the chest plate. The metal had turned a bright cherry red, your attacker screeching before swinging their staff at you.
You backed up only to fall off of the cliff. You hooked your back claws into the rock wall, only falling half way before catching your sharp claws onto the rocks. Your attacker had obviously done something worse. You were about to climb back up for another round before a thunderous rumble shook the cavern.
"What the-" Hundreds of rocks began to fall from the ceiling, and it just then dawned on you what the monster truly intended to do. He'd caved in the ceiling, hoping that it'd kill you in its aftermath. You flattened yourself against the wall, your tail wrapping itself around your ankles. Heavy boulders soared downwards, a spray of gravel catching you off guard. The rest of the debris had loosened your claws, your claws desperately struggling to find purchase. It was no good. You'd fell backwards, a lone boulder catching you in the stomach.
You could feel yourself falling, the icy wind blowing through your clothes. This was just like that time in Snowdin. NO. You weren't gonna die again. You righted yourself around the boulder, making sure that it would hit the ground first. From your impending collision, you could see the ground rapidly approaching. You unlatched yourself from the boulder, flying backwards into the air and watched as it shattered against the floor. You'd harshly landed, hurriedly limping to the sides as the other boulders fell around you.
"Shit." From where you were standing, you were completely blocked in. There was literally no way out but through the boulders. They'd formed a tight dome, the oxygen inside limited but not sparse. You didn't have a phone and you couldn't melt the rocks. You'd injured your left leg when you'd landed, spraining your ankle as you'd found out soon. This hindrance gave you little time to think. You could attempt to dig through the rocks, but they were as tough as concrete. Dirt, sure. But digging through stone was something else…
With time, you began to work at the rocks, jarring another small rock at them. You worked tirelessly, the surface of the boulder starting to soften out. Your arms were aching and your left leg was throbbing, but if you didn't make it out of here, you'd die. A sudden rumble had issued. You'd stepped aside, watching in excitement as the boulder that you were working at began to slowly loosen its grip. It heavily fell onto the ground, an open hole letting little light in. You hastily clambered onto the rock, ignoring the hot pain in your leg. You scrambled over the dome, once more latching onto the rock walls of the cave. You heaved yourself onto the wall, slowly climbing up its surface. It was grueling, seeing as how your leg was a hinderance, but you made it. With a labored gasp, you lifted yourself over the cliff, collapsing onto the splintered clearing. You were covered in dirt and debris, your claws slightly bleeding.
You were gasping for breath, the fresh oxygen of the core refreshing. You felt as though you could lay here forever… But you had to get up and keep going. You didn't know where Papyrus and Frisk were, and if they got lost, it'd be primarily your fault. You got to your paws, spotting a large staff lying near the doorway. Didn't that staff belong to your attacker? Oh well!
You limped over to the staff and picked it up, using it as a walking stick for your hindrance. Before you left, you pulled out your map and began to mark the details of the deep pit. Another warning to yourself. You hastily put your map back in your pocket, padding back into the hallway and after the others. Were they okay? You'd been down there for quite some time…
You'd limped into a long hallway, various pillars jutting upwards from the darkness.
"An intruder." Once more, you felt the familiar tug of your SOUL, a monster leaping out from the darkness.
"Oh fuck me!" You conjured a dense fire minion, the beast next to you giving a confused snarl.
"Attack that douche over there." Your minion obeyed, opening its maw to form a powerful beam of energy. It let out a huge beam of light, sending your attacker back into the darkness with an agonizing scream.
"Oi. Keep an eye out in the back and I'll feed you your favorite steak. Got me?" Your minion had gave an excited nod, taking their position behind you. You began to limp forward, your minion intentionally tripping you. You landed on its back, the beast gazing at you from over its shoulder. You sighed and motioned for them to go forward.
"Go ahead if I'm not that heavy for you." Your minion had began to carry you like a horse, the two of you carrying on into the next room. You'd went across a corner, ordering your minion to blast another monster who'd attacked you. They'd apparently been doing some witchcraft in this room, tinkering with the lasers. As the two of you had crossed the hall, you'd picked up a deactivated laser machine, ripping through its wires and stuffing it into your pocket. You could totally install that into your house. OR, you could give it to Sans as a souvenir. Yup. You were giving this baby to Sans. You'd soon came to a three way, an exit to your left and an exit to your north. You skipped the left path, following the north path instead.
Your choice had led you to another hallway, the lasers deactivated in here too. You and your minion had skipped this room, coming to a maze of sorts.
"Can we just skip this? Can you jump across the pits or something?" Your minion had shrugged, carrying you on its back into the maze.
Papyrus, Flowey, and Frisk had already reached the end of the maze, Sans and Toriel meeting them near the elevator. You'd disappeared during the first hour of exploring. The trio had noticed this, hours after you'd disappeared. Toriel was calmly panicking and Sans was mildly concerned for your well-being. Undyne and Alphys were too busy watching anime to show up.
"are you sure that they were with you when you guys went in?"
"POSITIVELY! THEY WERE JUST… BEHIND US WHEN THEY'D DISAPPEARED."
"maybe they're just late or something."
"MAYBE THEY'RE INJURED OR WORSE-"
"Oh my." Sans had watched as a monster of sorts came padding out of the maze. It had a luxurious mane of white and blue flames, a loud snarl issuing from its throat. He could feel its immense heat from a few meters away. The fiery beast eyed them with cold hostility, its growl becoming louder and louder until it reverberated around the cave. Toriel and Papyrus had readied their magic, a great wall of fire and bones separating the monsters. Alas, the beast had easily parted the wall and crunched the fragile bones underneath its huge paws, a small beam of light gathering in its maw.
"Calm down. They're friends. Not foes." A tired and scratchy voice had echoed from atop the beast. Oh. Sans's pinpricks had brightened as he'd watched you ride the beast. It had lazily padded past them towards the elevators.
"WHERE WERE YOU? WE'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK!" Sans had given a smooth chuckle as your figure had came into the light. You were covered head to toe in dirt and debri, your fur bloodied and a patch of your sweater on fire. And yet, you had the most annoyed look on your face.
"Oh, you know. I got attacked by hundreds of monsters, fell down a pit once or twice, got burned by a concentration of ozone, got lasered a couple of times. Nothing much really. Oh. Here's your souvenir Sans." He'd watched as you dug in your patched sweater pocket. You pulled out a huge metal ball and had tossed it at him, a smug expression playing on your dirty face.
"I found a laser so I brought you a laser. It doesn't work unless you hook it up. I was going to make a laser gun out of it, but then I thought " hey, why not give this conspicuous and suspicious looking laser to Sans." So here ya' go. Enjoy your pirated death machine." And with that, you and your fiery beast walked right on by and into the elevator.
"I'm going home. My ankle is killin' me. See ya." The metal elevator doors had closed, leaving the five monsters behind in befuddlement.