Chapter 3! Time for some more playful antics this time around instead of all the seriousness. Read and review!
Chapter 3: I Solved his Puzzles
I stepped out of the tunnel leading to the outside. I had no idea what waited for me as I kept moving forward. The first thing I noticed, was that it was very cold. Inside a cave that made sense but snow was on the ground as well. Crunching under my shoes as I stepped out of the tunnel. I glanced around and noticed a bush nearby, but something was odd about it.
Leaning in closer, I could visibly see a lens inside of it. A camera? Someone was watching me... why? I gave the camera a little wave, then moved on. There were a lot of trees around me, and a clearly visible path had been shoveled out. Someone seemed to be coming here quite frequently.
As I walked down the path, I could hear the wind blowing through the trees overhead. There was not a single leaf on them, casting long shadows over the pathway before me. But the crystals overhead in the cavern ceiling still lighting my way. The path before me illuminated a bit more than in the ruins. Perhaps its because I was getting closer to the exit?
I stepped over a stick laying in the path, and continued on. Curious as to what I would find ahead. What other monsters I would encounter. After a moment or so, I heard something snap behind me. I looked behind to see that the twig I had stepped over earlier was snapped in half. There was no way I could've done it. But there were no other footprints.
Shrugging it off, I moved on. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed. Did the camera make me paranoid? Did someone know I was here? I could've sworn I saw a shadow in the trees along the way.
Soon I came to a short bridge. Someone having fashioned a wooden archway out of logs to give it a bit more of a decorative feel and also support the bridge's weight. Right as I put my foot on the bridge, I heard the crunching of snow behind me.
Something was walking towards me... slowly... menacingly. I found myself too scared to turn around. I didn't know what it was... but I felt wildly uneasy. I wanted to just sprint and take off down the path.
"turn around human, and shake my hand. don't you know it's rude not greet a new pal?" said a deep voice behind me. Making me lock up a bit. Bringing myself to turn around slowly. I couldn't quite make out his features, only an outline. A round head, and stout body.
I saw his hand extend outward towards me, waiting for me to grasp it. I didn't want to risk getting in a fight, so I grabbed it firmly.
PPPPPHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTT!
The sound made me pause and blink a few times. It was now I could see the figure in a clear light. It was a skeleton just a few inches taller than me. Wearing a blue zip-up hoodie and black shorts, pink fuzzy slippers. A permanent smile on his face, A white dot in his two eye sockets.
"heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick... wait a sec... have you heard it before or something?" said the skeleton as if he was waiting for me to laugh. Still getting over my original fear of the situation, I couldn't bring myself to smirk. Let alone laugh. "you're a human, right? i'm sans. sans the skeleton."
Sans struck me as a pretty likable guy... skeleton?
"i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... you know... i don't really care about capturing anybody." Sans must have been the one that put in the camera. I was relieved to see he had no intentions of capturing me. Maybe he was working for this Asgore character?
Sans was pretty quick to continue. "now my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, i think that's him over there." I looked around nervously, anticipating another skeleton to be behind me. "hey, i got an idea. go through those bar thingies. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.."
It struck me then that this wooden structure over the bridge was supposed to be a barrier. But for certain it was too wide... you could drive a truck through it. I followed Sans through the barrier, coming to a clearing. There was a fairly large lamp standing in the corner. As well as a kiosk towards the side.
"quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp." Said Sans as he pointed over towards it.
Why wouldn't I just hide in the kiosk? But I decided not to question it. I ran behind the lamp, and stood perfectly still. Oddly enough... it was conveniently shaped. The curves of the lamp almost perfectly matched my head shape.
Right as I hid behind it, a much taller and skinnier skeleton ran forward from the path ahead. (Skeletons can be skinnier?) He wore a white chestplate that looked to be fashioned out of plastic with gold trim. Blue briefs with gold trim as well. Bright orange gloves and boots, the gloves having gold trim on the wrists. Most noticably was his billowing, slightly torn scarf bright orange as well. The outfit looked like something of a chopped-up costume... More for show not so much function.
"sup bro?" asked Sans almost absentmindedly.
"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER!" barked Papyrus. His voice was a bit shrill... and very loud. Pretty sure Toriel could hear him from the ruins... "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!" Clearly he was very frustrated with his brother.
Puzzles huh? And Sans' post? Maybe that was the kiosk I was standing next to.
"staring at this lamp. it's really cool. do you wanna look?" said Sans as he gestured towards the lamp. Why was he drawing attention to me?!
"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?" bellowed Papyrus. Stomping his foot on the ground repeatedly. "I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!" Said Papyrus, resting his palm against his chest, his other hand on his hip in a heroic pose. His cape billowing behind him.
"RESPECT. RECOGNITION. I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, 'FRIEND?' I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING." Papyrus said as his eyes lowered a bit. As if being lost in his imagination.
I suppose I can understand what he was getting at. He seemed kind of... goofy. Not to be mean, but I doubt he had a lot of people around he could call a friend. And becoming somewhat of a celebrity by capturing a human would be a quick way to gain popularity. But still... I wasn't willing to let myself be captured to satisfy him.
"hmm... maybe this lamp will help you." AGAIN with drawing attention to me?!
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" cried out Papyrus angrily again, stomping his foot a few more times. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"
Boondoggle. To do a task that seems to have value but is ultimately pointless.
"im sorry bro. i've just been busy and have a ton of work to do. a skele-ton." Sans turning towards me and giving a wink as he made his pun. I cracked a little smile, though it would be impossible to see through the lamp.
"SANS!" barked an annoyed Papyrus
"come on. you're smiling." said Sans in a humored tone.
"I AM AND I HATE IT!" screeched Papyrus. Soon sighing and rolling his eyes. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..." he said resentfully. It seems he holds a high standard for himself. Having high goals is a good thing, but can be mentally taxing if one has issues reaching them.
Even when Papyrus spoke softly, he was loud.
Sans cocked his head lightly. "wow, sounds like you're really working yourself..."
Don't say it...
"down to the bone." turning to shrug at my direction.
"UGH!"groaned Papyrus. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES... AS FOR YOUR WORK, PUT A LITTLE MORE..."
Oh no was he going to do it too?
"'BACKBONE' INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" he said, quite pleased with the pun that he made. But hey, way to get into the spirit of it. We could all use a laugh. Papyrus turned and darted away. For a moment, I thought it was safe. Then Papyrus rounded the corner again. "HEH!" He then turned and ran down the path out of sight.
"okay, you can come out now." said Sans, looking towards me.
I stepped out from behind the lamp, looking nervously down the path. Sans, noticing my hesitation, spoke up. "you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does you'll have to sit through my hilarious jokes. don't worry, its just a dark cavern full of skeletons and scary monsters."
I turned and walked away, starting to head down the same path that Papyrus took. As it was my only way through at this point. "actually, hey... hate to bother ya, but could you do me a favor?"
A favor? Well I suppose. "i was thinking... my brother's been kinda down lately... he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day. don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be. thanks a million, i'll be up ahead."
Sans turned the opposite direction and walked away... I wasn't sure how he would meet me up ahead but I decided to continue on. I started to see some pine trees in front of me. The sharp scent of pine filling my nose. My mind drifted to the convenience of that lamp. Who knows what would've happened if it wasn't there. It filled me with determination!
I started to head down the path, when a rustling in the pine trees caught my eye. Suddenly a bird-like creature with an ice blue face jumped out in front of me. A large icy crystal on its face faintly resembling that of a snowflake. A Snowdrake!
I felt a Fight begin.
The Snowdrake fluttered forth. Starting right away, it spoke in a somewhat squawky voice. "My favorite kind of cereal, is 'frosted!'"
Does everything here like pun jokes?
Sickle-like pellets flew out from the sides towards me, forcing me to dodge out of the way of them. The Snowdrake stared at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to laugh... it smelled like a wet pillow. So to humor it, I laughed at its ice-based pun.
"See! Laughs! Dad was wrong!" happily exclaimed the Snowdrake. It fluttered its wings as it leapt into the bushes to the side. Glad I could raise its self-esteem. Seems a bit of gold was left on the ground as the Snowdrake fled. A lot of monsters left gold behind when they were spared. I continued on down the path.
"SO AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE," came the familiar, shrill shrieking voice of Papyrus. I spotted him and Sans ahead blocking the path forward. It seems that Papyrus noticed me though, likely due to the crunching snow under me.
For a moment, he stared at me. Then he turned to Sans... who turned to me. They went back and forth like this, soon moving faster and faster till they were moving in almost a blur. I swear a few times I saw their backs or looking the wrong direction entirely... But soon both of their backs faced me.
"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT..." said Papyrus in a pitiful attempt at a whisper... I could hear his voice echoing through the trees.
"A HUMAN?!" He said in a clearly exasperated and dramatic way. It was funny in a way.
The little whites in Sans's eyes narrowed as he looked my direction. "uhhh... actually, I think that's a rock."
I took a look behind me, noticing a fairly good sized rock visible on the pathway. I must've missed it before.
"OH." said Papyrus with a slight bit of disappointment in his tone.
Sans looked back to me again, looking at me squarely this time. "hey, what's that in front of the rock?"
Papyrus looked my way, his eyes meeting mine. "OH MY GOD!" exclaimed Papyrus as he leaned down towards Sans. "(IS THAT A HUMAN?)" he said in another attempt at a whisper.
"(yes)" said Sans, not really caring about his whispery tone.
Papyrus looked back towards me excitedly, jaw hanging open in amazment. "OH MY GOD! SANS I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... IM GONNA GET... IM GONNA BE... POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"
In a very excited way, Papyrus began to practically dance up and down giddily. I said nothing and just watched, Papyrus tapping his heels together in a midair jump a few times. "AHEM..." he said, collecting himself. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!"
Papyrus spread his arms out wide to gesture that he wouldn't let me go passed him. "I WILL CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN! I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT."
From what I understood, Asgore will kill me... I definitely didn't want to be captured by Papyrus. As for Sans... well he didn't seem like he was going to capture me. I remembered his request too, to let him see me. Maybe I could play along with his shtick for a while?
"IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" cackled Papyrus as he sprinted down the opposite way.
Sans looked back towards me in relief as Papyrus ran out of sight. "well, that went well. don't sweat it kid. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." said Sans before walking down out of sight as well down the path.
As I walked down the path, my phone suddenly rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I picked it up. "U-uhh... (oh my god, help...)" said a nervous voice on the other line. I didn't recognize who it was. "I'd like to order A... um... A pizza?"
A pizza? Was this a wrong number dial? "With, uhh... the toppings are, uh... I have them copied, I'll just paste them to you." the voice was extremely nervous. Seeming to have issues with even the most basic of conversation.
My phone that Toriel gave me was way too old to receive text messages. So it read aloud character-by-character an ASCII art of an anime catgirl... it took an extremely long time. I put my phone away and moved on.
It was then I noticed another strange kiosk to the side of the path. It was different than the others. It was built a bit more elegantly. The wood a bit darker towards the top of it. At the top of the arch that made up the roof was a round face of what appeared to be a dog. Cartoony in nature. There was also a bell sitting on the corner of the desk. Intrigued, I walked up to it.
Suddenly, a dog-like person slowly lifted up from behind the counter. I froze instantly. The dog had a long snout, and the top half of his head was black. Wearing a pink sleeveless shirt with a little black design of a dog's face on it. As well as a black belt with a shiny white buckle. And leopard-print pants to match. Holding a sword in each paw. His eyes darting from side to side as if looking for something. This, was Doggo.
"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" he asked to himself. His eyes seeming to glaze right passed me. "I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving... for example a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!"
I felt a Fight begin.
Doggo leapt out of the kiosk and stood in front of me within arm's reach. Eyes still narrowed and scanning from side to side. My thought was, he was a dog... maybe he liked to be pet?
"DON'T move an inch!" barked Doggo. I froze in place as I saw a long blue pellet fly out. I had no chance of dodging it... so I froze in place. Bracing for the pain of it striking my Soul.
But it passed right through me. Not a single scrap of damage or pain. A long, awkward silence followed before Doggo seemed to calm down a bit. I took the quickly reach up and pet his arm lightly.
Immediately he started to bark excitedly!"BARK BAWF WOOF BURF BORF I'VE BEEN PET! PAT POT PET POT POT PET PAT POT!"
I don't think I'd ever see a dog react that way to being pet... But I was able to spare him at this point.
"S-s-something pet me... Something that isn't m-m-moving..." said Doggo almost fearfully. As if his entire world was just turned upside down. "I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!" he exclaimed before diving his head back down behind the kiosk. I heard the click of a lighter after, followed by a thin line of smoke coming up from behind the Kiosk counter. The smell of burning kibble in the air.
Seems like someone's smoking dog treats...
I moved on down the path, spotting Sans again waiting just ahead of me. Seems he had something else to tell me. "hey, there's something else i wanted to tell you. my brother has a very special attack. if you see a blue attack, don't move and it wont hurt you. Here's an easy way to keep in mind. When you see a stop sign, you stop right? Well, instead of stopping when you see red, stop when you see blue."
Seemed simple enough. Sit still when I see blue attacks. Fair enough. I noticed a path going north, so I followed it. There was a lone snowman sitting close to a ledge. The path beaten around it suggesting that someone often came here. To my surprise, the snowman started to talk to me!
"Hello. I am a snowman." it said rather plainly. Very aware of its own existence. "I want to see the world... but I cannot move. If you would be so kind, traveler, please... Take a piece of me and bring it very far away?"
Seemed reasonable enough. I nodded in agreement. His sticky hand reached into his own body and pulled out a clump of ice. I took it in my hand, and put it in my pocket. It seemed like it wasn't going to melt with how solidly frozen it was. Honestly it felt more like a rock. "Thanks!" he said happily as I turned and left.
I would soon come to another clearing with a lot of snow cleared out... showing more snow underneath it. Across the way, Sans and Papyrus stood arguing.
"REALLY THOUGH! THAT HUMAN! DO I KNOW THAT PERSON?" asked Papyrus, seeming confused.
Sans shrugged lightly. "do you not know... who you know?"
"PBPBPBPBPBBPT!" exclaimed Papyrus. Surprised that a skeleton without lips could even make that sound. "OF COURSE I KNOW HO I KNOW! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW!"
There was a long pause after Papyrus said that. Seeming to mull it around in his head a bit. "... YOU KNOW?"
It was then that Papyrus turned slightly towards my direction, spotting me and freezing in place. "OH-HO! SPEAK OF THE DEVIL!" Papyrus pointed at me, eyes narrowed heroically. "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE... QUITE A SHOCKING EXPERIENCE!"
There was a pause after he spoke. Some kind of electric puzzle? "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS... THE INVISIBLE..." he paused for dramatic effect "ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!"
Papyrus pulled out a small light blue orb from his pocket that appeared to be made of some kind of glass. Or maybe metal? "SOUND LIKE FUN?! BECUASE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL HAVE... IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK..." he said, his eyes drifting to the side in absentminded thought.
"IT'S ALL YOURS, HUMAN!" said Papyrus, gesturing to the floor ahead of me. Papyrus seemed to be unaware that he was still holding the orb. I couldn't pass this chance up... I walked up to the exposed floor and tapped my foot on it.
BZZZT! Papyrus went rigid and shook like he was in an earthquake for a moment, pausing after then glaring at Sans. "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" he said quite shocked (get it?). Stomping his foot on the ground
Sans, looking very amused, looked at the orb in Papyrus's hand. "i think the human as to hold the orb."
"OH, OKAY." said Papyrus, stepping into the electric maze and taking a few turns around it. He eventually reached me, holding the orb out. "HOLD THIS PLEASE." he said as he put it directly on top of my head. It was cold to the touch... but it stayed in place oddly enough. Papyrus ran back over to the other side of the electric fence. "OKAY, TRY NOW!"
I had barely paid attention to the path that Papyrus walked, still smirking to myself about how I gave him a little shock. But what I did notice was clear footprints in the snow leading out of the maze. I followed along it, same as Papyrus did. Not getting shocked a single time.
"INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!" exclaimed Papyrus angrily. "YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY... TOO EASILY!" he said with an air of suspicion. Well it was his fault that it was easy...
"HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE SO EASY!" he then turned to point at Sans. "IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED. I KNOW I WAS. NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" cackled Papyrus as he ran away, orange cape fluttering behind him.
Sans and I both watched as Papyrus ran off. Once he was gone, Sans turned to me. "hey, thanks... my brother seems like he's having fun. by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party"
I knew it!
"he hasn't work anything else since. keeps calling it his 'battle body.' man, isnt my brother cool?" said Sans. There seemed to be a touch of pity in his voice... but it was hard to say really.
I turned to leave into the next area. Sans not budging at all. There was a large, open area. A large snowball in the middle of it on a smooth, somewhat icy floor. Ahead of me was...Sans?
How did he get ahead of me? He didn't move! He spotted me and shrugged lightly. "i've been thinking about selling treats too. want some fried snow? just 5 gold."
I shook my head in refusal. "ehh you're right. still too low. i need to work out the market value."
I turned and left, exploring around a bit. Kicking around the big snowball, watching it roll around the area. I noticed two kiosks to the side... what was with this place and kiosks? Anyway it was very similar to Doggo's. Only there was a note above each of them. 'His' and 'Hers.' As well as a sign between them that read 'Smell Danger Rating.' I had no idea what it meant.
Suddenly, I felt a Fight begin!
I looked around and saw a strangely fluffy dog-knight standing in front of me. Holding a long sword and a tower shield with the same emblem as was on Toriel's chest. Which I surmised to be the emblem of the kingdom. The dog had slightly tan fur, and was very fluffy around his neck. Panting and wagging his tail excitedly at me as if he was happy to see me! This was a Lesser Dog.
I couldn't resist that adorable face... I walked up and gave him a few soft pets on his head. Weirdly enough, his head shot up a few feet! Not off of his shoulders, but like his neck just extended up. He didn't move after that. I decided to stop there, and spared him.
Eventually I ran into Sans and Papyrus again. Waiting for me, blocking off my path forward. Looks like I found Papyrus's puzzle. "HUMAN! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..."
There was a long momentary pause, Papyrus leaning in a bit. "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!"
"it's right there. on the ground. trust me. there's no way they can get passed this one." said Sans, rather confident in himself.
I looked closer and noticed a piece of paper laying on the ground. I walked up to it, seeing that it was a word search puzzle. Up at the top titled 'Monster Kidz Word Search.' A picture of an ice cube with a dog's face on it asking if the kids could help solve the puzzle.
I took a moment to look it over, remembering doing a lot of these as a kid. I found quite a few words right off the bat. Fall, skeleton, cigar... why was one of the words giasfclfebrehber? Was that german?
Realizing I was taking much longer than reasonable, I set the puzzle down and just walked up to Papyrus and Sans.
"SANS! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" barked Papyrus loudly. Well it kinda did, a few short minutes of amusement.
"whoops. i should've used today's crossword instead." said Sans with... almost no enthusiasm. Seems he was having fun with this too.
"WHAT?! CROSSWORD!?" cried Papyrus loudly in a mix of shock and annoyance. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION... JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST..."
"what? really dude? that easy-peasy word scramble?" said Sans, head quirked towards Papyrus. "that's for baby bones."
Papyrus looked towards his brother. Eyes narrowed in disbelief. "UN. BELIEVABLE. HUMAN!" he said suddenly, making me jump a bit. "SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!"
So now I was playing judge? Well... I mean both are challenging in their own-wait why am I analyzing word puzzles? Remembering my promise to Sans, I pointed at Papyrus.
"HA! HA! YES!" laughed Papyrus triumphantly. His hands resting on his hips as he struck a pose. "HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT! IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH!" Papyrus ran out of the area further down the path. Soon stepping back into view for a moment. "NYEH!" then took off again out of sight.
Sans smiled over at me... or at least what I assumed to be a smile. Hard to tell since he had no lips. "thanks for saying 'junior jumble' just to appease my brother. Yesterday he got stumped trying to solve the horoscope"
That sounded believable... why did that sound believable? Anyway I moved on. I came across... well a strange sight. There was a note on a small table, and a plate of... spaghetti? And a microwave in the corner that was plugged into the snow... clearly there was no outlet. The spaghetti was frozen to the plate.
I walked up and read the note. "HUMAN! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI! (LITTLE WILL YOU KNOW, IT IS A TRAP. DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU SO YOU WILL EAT IT AND NEVER PROGRESS!)"
Even reading it sounded loud... and it was in all caps too. I noticed a mousehole towards the back. The idea of the mouse somehow finding a way to heat up the spaghetti and enjoy a nice hot meal filled me with determination.
I continued on, finding a pretty easy to solve puzzle involving a switch burried in the snow near a spike wall... somehow there were more spike walls. I found it better not to ask why. But it was the next platform that thing's got interesting.
Two large hooded white dogs walked out from the path, both holding a large executioners axe. They walked up to be slowly, standing in front of me.
"What's that smell?"
"Where's that smell?" said the two of them. One clearly male and the other female.
"If you're a smell..."
"...identify yoursmellf!"
Both of the large dogs started to scamper around frantically, noses to the ground as they sniffed out basically the whole platform before stopping in front of me.
"Hmmm. Here's that weird smell. It makes me want to eliminate..."
"Eliminate YOU!"
I felt a Fight begin.
This doggy couple was Dogamy and Dogaressa Their hoods flipped down, showing that Dogamy had a curled up cowlick of fur. The two of them were interested by my smell... and to them I smelled weird. So I had to find a way to make me smell like something they like? What do dogs like to smell?
"Don't touch my hot dog!" said Dogamy
"He means me." said Dogaressa.
The both of them swung their axe down towards me. I jumped out of the way, seeing that the two axes would make a heart shape when held against each other. Dogamy and Dogaressa standing up and pressing themselves close to each other. Smooching one another every few moments or so, as well as looking right at me. Watching me warily.
Dogs liked to sniff the ground! So I dropped down on the snow, and rolled around.
"Let's kick human tail!" said Dogamy
"Do human's have tails?" asked Dogaressa.
The dogs sniffed me again. Seems like my idea paid off as their tails started to wag under their robes.
"I know this smell..." said Dogamy.
"Are you actually a puppy?" said Dogaressa excitedly.
Thinking about how Doggo earlier responded well to it, I walked up to the two of them and petted them lightly on their paws... they were very tall so I couldn't reach their head. Both of their tails started wagging like crazy!
"What? A puppy can pet?!" said Dogamy
"Awww pet by a lost puppy!" said Dogaressa.
At this point, I knew I could spare them.
"Dogs can pet other dogs?" said Dogamy.
"A whole new world has opened up to us..." said Dogaressa
This was oddly adorable. The thought of dogs seeking out other dogs for pets. Though I suppose they do that for attention anyway.
"Thanks, weird puppy!" they both said in unison before running off behind me. Eager to explore this new world of dogs petting dogs.
The next room had another trap by Papyrus in it. This one actually having some thought in it. It involved me stepping on a switch then stepping on a different elevated metal switch to lower a spike wall. Papyrus standing behind it.
"HUMAN! HOW DID YOU EVADE MY TRAP!" he said as if entirely stunned that I avoided the frozen spaghetti. "AND MORE IMPORTANTLY... IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"
The spaghetti? I didn't eat any of it. I shook my head in response.
"WOW..." said Papyrus, I thought he would be offended. "YOU AVOIDED EATING MY HOME COOKED PASTA JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME?" he said, quite hopeful.
Not wanting to rain on his parade, I let him continue. "FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" he said, cackling as he ran off.
It didn't take me long to catch up to him. As he ran about twenty feet or so before he stopped. I noticed in the distance there was another puzzle similar to the last. A lot of rocks dotting the way now. I would have to find a way to navigate this small maze of large rocks to hit the switches only once before hitting the button to the side.
Papyrus ran up as I walked towards it. "HUMAN! WE SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM. THIS PUZZLE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE MY HEAD. BUT THE SNOW SEEMS TO HAVE MESSED IT UP A LOT... AND MY BROTHER IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. BUT FEAR NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SOLVE THIS CONNUNDERUM. FEEL FREE TO TRY IT YOURSELF TILL I FIND A SOLUTION!"
Quite a long, elaborate explanation... but I was up to the challenge. Something told me Papyrus wouldn't be able to solve this in its current state... Not that he wasn't intelligent. But he seemed a bit too... distracted with himself.
I could see passed the spike wall in the distance leading to a another more open area. All I had to do was solve it. It took me a few minutes, but soon I found the path to it and the button. Oddly enough the puzzle seemed very... familiar. Once the bridge lowered, Papyrus looked at me happily.
"AHH! HUMAN! YOU SOLVED THE PUZZLE WITHOUT MY HELP! YOU MUST LOVE PUZZLES AS MUCH AS I DO!" said Papyrus, seeming a bit giddy. "WELL YOU MAY NOT LIKE THE NEXT PUZZLE. IT MIGHT BE TOO EASY FOR YOU! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" he laughed as he ran off.
I turned towards the next area to see...Sans again?! He wasn't there before and I looked away for maybe five seconds! "you must really like puzzles huh? you solved that one really quickly. i mean, it's impossible for you to have seen this one before." There was a strange way about him this time... that casual jokey demeanor melting away a bit. There was something... off about Sans.
There was a platform that was clearly made of pressure switches. This... will take a long time to explain so let me just sum it all up. The platform was supposed to light up a bunch of different colors, each color would do a different thing. The platform malfunctioned though and all of them turned pink. Which meant nothing at all happened.
Papyrus stared at the platform almost in shock, then turned and spun in circles as if ice skating to move on. Sans was there as well. Waiting for me to come across before speaking to me. "actually that spaghetti papyrus made? it's not bad at all. since he started taking cooking lessons, he has been getting better."
Well I'd take Sans' word over it before Papyrus'. The next area simply had another Kiosk whom I didn't know who it belonged to. Only a sign in front of it that said 'AWARE OF DOG pleas pet dog.' It just now struck me that these kiosks looked a lot like dog houses. Were the two back there labeled 'his and hers' for Dogamy and Dogaressa?
There was also a single dog trying to make a snowman... or at least I think. Right now it looked like a tall cylinder. I realized that this dog was the Lesser Dog from earlier. Only in medieval slacks now as he was building a snowdog with a long neck. Knowing that the dog will never give up trying to make the perfect snowman...snowdog? Filled me with determination!
I moved on down the path, noticing two ways to go. I took a lower path that lead down. Curious as to what I would see. Sans stood leaning against the wall flipping a rock in his hand. "sup?" he asked. I nodded once and moved passed him. Sans sitting on... the other side of the path?
I looked over at where I first saw him, and he was gone. I walked up to him, a confused on my face. "say, are you following me?" I should've asked why he was teleporting... but decided not. Moving on passed him down the way.
As I passed him, I felt a Fight begin!
A strange, deer-like creature with a sideways mouth jumped out in front of me, blocking my way to confront me. He had blunt black antlers, snow on the tips of them making them look like little pine trees. There was some junk on them covering the horns.
Did he like to hang stuff on his antlers? Weirdly enough, there were two large googly eyes on the ground. The bottoms were real sticky so I put them on his horns. "GOSHDARN TEENAGE GOOGLY EYES!" he barked in an old man voice.
Three attacks jumped out from behind him in the shape of presents. One of then blinked blue for a moment before they started to shift around rapidly. Then they started to move towards me, the one becoming blue again. I put myself in its path and stood still, and it passed right through me without injury.
So he DIDNT like to be decorated. I started to pull the stuff off of him one by one, dodging the attacks along the way. Eventually he just stopped attacking and let me spare him.
I moved on, finding an entrance to a cave. I walked down an extremely long hallway to find an interesting blue door. The faded emblem of the kingdom on the front of it. I tried, but the door wouldn't open. There were also some bio-luminescent mushrooms that lit the room with a light blue light.
Finding nothing else, I turned and left. Sans still in that same spot closer to me. As I passed him, I paused and turned back to face him... he was gone.
And when I looked forward, he was there in front of me! How?!
"you sure do like to exercise." he said observantly.
Back on track, I came to another strange area with many snow poffs. One was a snow poff. And that... is a snow poff. However, this was a snow poff. Surprisingly, there was another snow poff. Another Snow Poff... Is it really a snow poff? BEHOLD! ANOTHER SNOW POFF! But at least there was 30 gold in another snow poff.
There was one more poff on the path. I walked up close to it, then it sprouted a tail! Then a dog head came out from the front of it, tail starting to wag frantically. It was another white dog. I walked up closer to it before it popped out of the ground... all 10 feet of steel armor with a dog head on it.
I felt a Fight begin.
The Greater Dog stood before me. I noticed that his spear and even the wrist on his armor had the same kind of dog face staring me down. Petting him right now wouldn't be much of an option... so I did nothing. If he wanted to be pet, he could come get it.
And he did. He stepped towards me, the ground shaking under my feet before stopping in front of me.
"BARK BARK!" it... barked. The words flying out of his mouth as attacks. One of them managed to hit me... hurt by bark... but I managed to pat his head.
It took me a bit to get him to calm down. Having to play with him and pet him a few more times... at one point he even tried to lay on top of me and practically crushed me. But soon he stood up straight and hopped out of the armor. The dog inside was much smaller than the armor lead him to be.
He gave me a few quick licks of gratitude with his tongue, then hopped back into the armor head first. His rear sticking out of the armor opening on the shoulders. The armor getting up and walking away.
I took a moment to gather myself and recover the damage I received before moving on. Soon I came to a very long rope bridge. I stepped onto it and started to walk across, my hands on the rope for support. The bridge was surprisingly long... and high! But it did give me a good view of the area.
Seems like I was on some kind of mountain or just a rocky area. Below me appeared to be a few miles of trees. It was a fairly pretty landscape. Like looking overhead of a frozen forest on a full moon night.
"HUMAN!" called out a familiar loud voice. I looked at the end of the bridge to see Papyrus and Sans standing there. "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"
Papyrus clapped his hands lightly. I noticed several things drop down from the sides. A big spike ball on a chain. A spear. A flamethrower. A cannon... and perhaps most terribly... a dog tied to a rope!
"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!" said Papyrus loudly and triumphantly. "CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES AND BLADES WILL SWING AND SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN, TEARING YOU ASUNDER! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!"
I could feel the impending doom... I tried to show it in my face. Papyrus seemed the type that could use a boost in his self-esteem. "ARE YOU READY? BECAUSE. I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!"
But there was a long pause... nothing seemed to happen. The dog on the rope barking as if trying to get Papyrus' attention to do the thing.
Sans turned towards Papyrus, who turned away nervously. "well? what's the holdup?"
"HOLDUP?! WHAT HOLDUP?! I'M... GONNA ACTIVATE IT NOW!" said Papyrus with a bit of hesitation.
Nothing happened. I stared at Papyrus awkwardly as he turned back to face me. Sans spoke up again. "that, uh, doesn't look very activated."
Papyrus seemed to get annoyed. "WELL! THIS CHALLENGE... MAYBE ….IS A BIT TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!"
Well at least he was kind of noble. "MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"
I'd be more inclined to believe that if I even really knew what this trap does. For all I know, it could just bounce in place. The trap lifted out of sight. "PHEW-I MEAN... WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?! THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS! NYEY! HEH... HEH?" he cackled... oddly before turning and running away.
Sans waited for me at the edge of the bridge like before. "i dont know what my brother's gonna do now. if i were you, i would make sure to remember those blue attacks."
I nodded and silently moved on. I spotted a little house up ahead, as well as a sign in front of it. 'Welcome to Snowdin!' Further down the way I could see several places. A few houses, a fountain in the center of the town. Seeing such a friendly little town filled me with determination!
One of the buildings had a sign for an Inn above it. I could use a quick rest... I walked inside and walked up to the counter. A bunny-woman smiled happily at me. "Hello! Welcome to Snowd-inn!"
This place sure loved puns.
"It's 15 gold for one night stay!" she said with that friendly, desk-receptionist smile. I put the 15 gold coins on the counter and was given a key. Heading upstairs and going into the room. It was quite cute and quaint. A lamp on a table, desk, and a guest book to leave comments for others to read.
Though it was the bed I was after. I laid on it to rest my weary self, eyes soon drifting closed as I listed off in to slumber.
I stood in a large antechamber of what appeared to be some kind of cathedral. The light outside shining into the yellow stained glass windows. Giving a golden light in the room. Several long pillars supporting the roof of the structure. The emblem of the royal family etched on the stained glass in an orange color.
As I walked, I noticed someone standing in my way. I narrowed my eyes in warning at the figure. "heya." said the familiar voice of Sans. Though he seemed a bit more... somber than usual. I was wondering when he would get in my way. I thought he would have evacuated with the rest of them...
"you've been busy, huh?" he asked. There was a pause as if he was contemplating something. "so, i've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everybody can be a good person, if they just try?"
Enough of the rhetoric. It was time to end this. I was so close, and I've come too far to give up and restart now. No matter how many of them got in my way. I taught them a lesson, I'll teach him too. I stepped forward, as if daring him to do something.
"heh heh heh heh. all right. well, here's a better question." The air in the room seemed to shift. Something was... really off. I felt... afraid. Sans' eyes focused right on me. Several large skulls appeared from above and began to surround me. Their eyes glowing white and jaws opening wide.
"do you wanna have a bad time? cuz if you take another step forward, you are REALLY not gonna like what happens next." said Sans in what would honestly be the most unsettling tone I could think of.
BRING. HIM. DOWN. HE'S YOUR LAST OBSTACLE!
But that wasn't gonna stop now. I would cut him down like all the rest. I took that step forward.
Sans paused, then let out a long sigh. "welp. sorry old lady. this is why i never make promises." he said as he closed his eyes.
I felt a Fight begin.
But... nothing happened. I felt myself in an empty void and nothing appeared before me. All I could see was my own body but the rest was just a blackened void. "Oh? You're back again. Curious thing... you don't seem like the child in this world..."
This world? What did they mean by that? "Well. No matter. In time you and I will come to meet. Hmmmm. Your Soul seems weak. Are you sparing the monsters in Underground?"
Seems they understood that I decided not to kill anyone. Just who was this voice? It was hard for me to make it out. But I could understand it so clearly.
"I imagine you must be very confused. This is... amusing. Out of all my runs through the Underground, I've never encountered someone who wont fight. Then again, they all do eventually."
I was getting more and more confused by the second. "So, are you curious about what you just saw? With that skeleton, Sans? That was a memory. See, this isn't my first go-around. I've seen this cathedral... oh I've lost count by now. I can't even remember how long I've been doing this... feels like an eternity."
There was a long pause before the voice spoke up again. "Ahh! I have an idea! Every time we see each other, I'll show you a memory! I'll show you how things should really be. What the real you is truly capable of. You've been presented with a great opportunity. An opportunity to gain immeasurable power. I will make you use it. At some point, every one of you do. And I will be there, every step of the way."
I heard that beyond disturbing laugh again ring through the empty black void. So loud I felt my ears would burst!
Then I woke up to very...VERY loud snoring in the room next to me. I tried to go back to sleep, but the snoring kept going. Getting louder... and louder... and louder. Soon it sounded like a strange symphony of snoring. I sighed and stood up, heading back downstairs. Though, I did feel pretty refreshed.
The rabbit girl innkeeper looked at me in surprise. "Oh! You're all done? But you were only up there for ten minutes..." she reached under the counter and handed me back 15 gold coins. "Here. I wont make you pay for a full night. Come back again whenever you like!"
I gave her a nod and walked off. I explored the village a little bit. Getting a few things from the shop to help on my journey, also a bandanna. The village consisted mostly of other bunny and bear people. Animals that seemed to be associated to more colder areas.
They looked cute and cuddly! And they seemed friendly enough. Though there was one that stood out. A young monster with a somewhat reptilian figure, only the child had no arms at all. Only a yellow bow on their head. Having a yellow shirt with a brown spiral stripe. A somewhat long tail coming off of his backside.
"Yo! You're a kid too, right?" said the monster child quite enthusiastically. "I can tell cause you're wearing a striped shirt."
Was that a thing down here? I don't really recall any other monsters with striped clothes... maybe because it looked like the patterns on that shirt? Anyway I didn't press and moved on. I noticed a path running north, as well as the sound of splashing water. I decided to investigate to see a large werewolf with MASSIVE arms picking up large blocks of ice off of a conveyor belt coming from underground, before tossing them into the river.
I passed a few more things on the way. A building that had a sign reading 'Librarby' on the top of it. And a house with two mailboxes... one stuffed to the brim. As I walked, I soon left Snowdin. The air here seemed to be cold, probably on account of the river running alongside it filled with big ice blocks. But I noticed someone standing in my way.
Papyrus
I think this is a good spot to stop it. Gonna shoot for the chapters to be 15-20 pages each. Read and review!