Hyperdimension Neptunia - Across the Multiverse
A HyperDimension Neptunia Fanfic by Dumbrarere1
Chapter 3 - Into the Underground
Jacob was pacing frantically in the Planeptune Basilicom as the CPUs and CPU Candidates lay there, unconscious. Clearly, he was exceptionally worried and frustrated.
"You know that your worry and frustration isn't going to do any good." Lance finally said, breaking the ice.
"I-... I know, Lance. I can't help it, though… I'm scared for Blanc…" Jacob responded frantically.
"Have faith in your sister, Jacob. She and Andrew will both bring them back." Lance replied with haste.
"I hope you're right… Speaking of… I wonder how she's doing…" Jacob said as he looked outside the window.
"Oh come on, not this again!" Andrew said as they fell out of the sky again.
"Once is one thing. Twice is getting annoying." Neptune said. Andrew craned his head to look at where they were going to land.
"Well, it appears we will be falling for quite a while. We're going straight into the crater of an extinct volcano…" he said. They continued to fall straight into Mount Ebbot. As they did, Neptune dragged a third person down with her, and they, too, fell quite a ways down. With a loud thud, they hit the bottom.
"Ugggghhh…" Neptune groaned.
"I hope that doesn't happen again…" Andrew muttered. They heard a whimper, and looked to see who it was.
"A… A girl? Are you alright, little one?" Andrew asked as he helped her to her feet.
The girl shook her head. She looked to be about nine years of age. Her sweater and pants were tattered, and she had bruises and scrapes all over.
"Poor thing must have been dragged down with us…" Andrew muttered.
"It'll be okay." Neptune said as she hugged her. The little girl hugged her back. She seemed pretty strong willed, despite her age, and calmed down rather quickly.
"Do you have a name?" Andrew asked as he sat down.
"Um… I-I'm Frisk." the girl responded.
"Frisk, huh? That sure is a cute name. I'm Neptune. This is Andrew." Neptune introduced.
"Greetings." Andrew said. Frisk smiled at them.
"It's good to meet you both." Frisk said enthusiastically, despite her injuries. "Anyways, um… where are we?" she asked.
Andrew took a long look around. "We seem to be in the magma chamber of a long extinct volcano, perhaps thousands of years old. Lots of life growing around… it's surreal." he said. "...almost like Jeja Vu…" he muttered to himself quietly, noting that the large cavern looked almost exactly like Blackreach. Giant glowing mushrooms were growing on the walls, a bed of buttercups sat beneath their feet… He was barely making sense of it all. He painfully stood back up, and helped Neptune to her feet.
"Any chance of getting out of here?" Neptune asked.
"W-what she said… This place seems pretty scary…" Frisk said, gripping onto Neptune's arm.
"Well, Neptune and I can just transform and we can fly out of here, but… I feel… I feel we should keep going…" Andrew responded.
"WHAAAA?!" Neptune squealed in confusion.
"Remember what Arngier said as we left Nirn? Clearly, this is the world he intended for us to come to… Perhaps some of those monsters we were told about are in this massive magma chamber…" Andrew responded.
"Nirn? Arngier? What are you guys talking about?" Frisk asked.
"Ah… We're… hopping through dimensions on an important quest, Frisk." Andrew said. Frisk looked unconvinced, but the sound of rustling in the distance broke their conversation. "Let's go see what's in tunnel number one…" Andrew said as he summoned his sword, in case there was a wolf. Neptune and Frisk shrugged, before following him down the massive cave. They came to a stop at a pillar of light shining from the surface onto what looked like a lone buttercup flower… with a face…
"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" the flower spoke.
"NEPU!" Neptune squeaked, more than confused on what they just encountered.
"F-flowey? That's such a cute name." Frisk said with a giggle.
"What is this, a little kid's show? Fraggle Rock? Freaking Sesame Street!?" Andrew asked in clear annoyance.
"Whoever thought this was a good idea must be laughing their butts off at the readers' expense…" Neptune grumbled.
"Hmm… You're new to the Underground, aren't cha? Someone oughta teach you how things work around here! I guess little ol' me will have to do! Ready? Here we go!" Flowey said. Frisk was having a good time, but Andrew had his eyebrows twitching. "You start off weak, but you gain strength through LV! What's LV? Why LOVE of course! You want some LOVE, don't you?" Flowey continued to say.
"Yes, please! Give us all some love!" Frisk shouted excitedly.
"Don't worry! I'll share some with you!" Flowey replied.
"Why am I getting bad vibes all of a sudden?" Neptune asked herself.
"Down here! LOVE is shared through little white "Friendliness Pellets!" Are you ready? Move around! Catch as many as you can!" Flowey said. Frisk betook the opportunity to run into the pellets.
"And here comes the painful singing…" Andrew said under his breath. When the 'friendliness pellets' collided with Frisk, however, she was left on the ground in far worse a shape than she started out with, as if someone took a 9mm pistol and shot her from twelve feet away.
"FRISK!" Neptune shouted.
"You IDIOTS!" Flowey shouted in a much more abrasive, threatening tone.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Damn flower!" Andrew said as he raised his sword in defensive stance, hopefully to block the bullets.
"In THIS world, it's KILL OR BE KILLED! Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?!" Flowey shouted once more, before summoning a whole mess of bullets that immediately surrounded them.
"Andrew, this is bad!" Neptune shouted.
"DIE!" Flowey shouted, before the bullets began closing in. He was laughing the whole way.
"I don't wanna die…" Frisk cried.
"I know, Frisk…" Neptune replied. Frisk, out of fear and agony, cried for help. As the bullets came close to contact, they vanished.
"What?!" Flowey asked, demanding to know what was going on. That's when he was hit by a fireball and thrown to the side. A motherly, goat-like monster arrived, and took Flowey's place.
"What a terrible creature… Torturing such poor, innocent youth… Do not be afraid, my children. I am Toriel, the caretaker of the ruins. I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down." Toriel said, introducing herself.
"Toriel… thank you so much for the help." Andrew said as he despawned his sword. "I'm Andrew, this is my wife, Neptune." he introduced.
"Hello!" Neptune shouted enthusiastically.
"I-I'm Frisk." Frisk introduced, in a pained manner.
"You are the first humans to come down in a long time." Toriel said.
"Err… I'd hate to burst your bubble, but… Neptune and I aren't human… We're not even children. Frisk here is the only human child amongst us." Andrew muttered.
"Um… not a human? But… you both look human… Unless you two are playing monsters, you can't fool me." Toriel said with a chuckle, which set Frisk off into a fit of giggles.
"Well, uh… I'm actually a Paladin-Knight. Neptune is a CPU." Andrew explained. "You see, she and I are from another dimension. We've come here as part of a dangerous quest to find Sharicite fragments and save friends of ours in Gamindustri who are in distress." he added. Their words confused both Frisk and Toriel.
"Um… what's a 'Sharicite'?" Frisk asked. Andrew held out his hand and summoned Planeptune's sharicite.
"THIS is a Sharicite. It's the crystalized form of the Share energy, the people's faith, that gives me and Neptune our powers. On normal occasions, a CPU can live without her shares… but in Gamindustri, the other CPUs have had their shares ripped away from them dramatically, and it's left them in a precarious, life threatening situation." he explained. Frisk and Toriel both approached it and had a good look.
"It's so pretty… like a jewel gleaming in the sun…" Frisk said, before she gripped her side and almost fell to the ground, only to be caught by Neptune.
"Oh dear… Frisk, are you hurt my child?" Toriel gasped.
"Y-yeah… I'll live, but I…" Frisk replied.
"Do you have any healing magic, Toriel? I don't think Frisk can stay out in the open in her condition." Andrew muttered.
"I'll do what I can…" Toriel responded, before putting a palm on Frisk's shoulder. Through magic, she was able to heal the small child's wounds.
"Hey… I feel… I feel much better… Thanks!" Frisk said gleefully.
"Thanks, Tori…" Neptune said. Toriel seemed to hold a little disdain over this nickname, but hid it well with a smile. Only Andrew was able to pick it out.
"You're welcome, my child. And you too, Neptune." Toriel said.
"I'm um… kinda hungry… and I need a change of clothes… You got a place where we can settle down, Toriel?" Frisk asked.
"Mhm. My home is deeper in the ruins. Come. I shall guide you three through the catacombs." Toriel declared. They followed her deeper into the ruins. Frisk followed Toriel closely, but Neptune and Andrew lagged behind just a little bit, so they could talk amongst themselves.
"Hey, Andrew… This is the world of Undertale, right?" Neptune asked curiously, stepping behind the 4th Wall for a moment.
"Mmm? What of it?" Andrew asked in response.
"I'll be blunt, I heard that the fandom of the game this chapter covers is incredibly toxic… unnecessary ships, people who fight about who's the better character, people who gloat that their game is better, po-" Neptune said, somewhat uncharacteristically, before being interrupted.
"Let me stop you right there, before you say THAT word… But, yes, the fandom is that bad. Luckily for our readers, the author likes Undertale, but despises the toxicity in the fandom, and avoids said fandom like the plague." Andrew replied in ernst.
"Ah… That makes things much simpler for us." Neptune said, again uncharacteristically, with a nod.
"Hopefully, this section of the fanfic doesn't draw backlash." Andrew muttered.
"Hey, come on, you slow pokes!" Frisk shouted to them jokingly with a giggle.
"We're coming! We were just talking amongst ourselves." Andrew shouted back. Andrew and Neptune hurried up and returned to the group.
After an uneventful encounter with a dummy, a few puzzles and a test of Frisk's independence, and after Frisk was given a cellphone to talk to people and Toriel's number, they were left alone while Toriel did things. In essence, she left Neptune and Andrew in charge of watching the child. It was not a problem for either of them, as they were both parents of two children of their own.
"Soo… what do we do now?" Frisk asked.
"You're bored?" Neptune asked, looking at her with a neutral face.
"Mhm… This cellphone doesn't do much beyond call people." Frisk said with a sigh.
"Here. There's a few games you can do on my N-Gear. Don't break it, okay? It's only one of two in existence in the whole multiverse, and my only direct link to Gamindustri." Andrew said, handing her his N- Gear.
"SWEET! Thank you!" Frisk said energetically, taking the N-Gear and playing a few games on it. An hour passes, and nothing. Andrew could only sigh.
"We need to move on, we're wasting time." he said with some manner of exasperation.
"Wha? Aww…" Frisk whined.
"Don't worry, Frisk, we'll get to her house somehow…" Andrew replied, rubbing her hair. "I'll need my N-Gear back, please." he added. Frisk nodded, returning the N-Gear to him. With that, they were off. They received a call from Toriel, warning them about puzzles that she's yet to explain.
"Ugh… why's it always puzzles?" Neptune asked.
"Well, she did say they're ancient fusions of diversions and door keys… it must have become a sort of tradition for the monsters that live down here to create these kinds of puzzles, and it got out of hand." Andrew theorized.
"Maybe… I just think these puzzles are very fun." Frisk said with a chuckle.
"Either way, it'll get worse if we're not careful…" Andrew said. They continued down, solving a few puzzles and meeting new monsters. Every time they were attacked, Andrew and Neptune stayed their blades, keeping to the promise they've made with Arngier. Eventually, they ran into something that was blocking their progress entirely.
"What is that thing…?" Frisk asked.
"It's white… and shade-y… and spooky… I think it's a ghost." Neptune said.
"A ghost?! That's so cool!" Frisk shouted enthusiastically.
"It appears to be trying to… make us think it's asleep? Could it be that it wants to be alone?" Andrew asked.
"Maybe… The fella seems kinda… depressed… poor guy…" Neptune said with a frown.
"What's 'depressed' mean?" Frisk asked.
"It's where you're so sad that you don't want to do anything, Frisk. It's a feeling you will need to try to avoid later in life." Neptune said.
"Well… let's cheer the guy up, then. Ghoooost. Hey, buddy, you wanna talk for a moment?" Frisk asked the ghost in a cheerful manner. The ghost then rose up.
"Oh… hey…" the ghost replied.
"Who are you?" Neptune asked.
"Napstablook…" the ghost, known as Napstablook, replied with a hefty sigh.
"Napstablook… Naptsablook… nah too many syllables. How about Blooky?" Neptune asked.
"Heh… reminds me of Mettaton…" Napstablook replied.
"Well, that's Neptune for you, Napstablook. She likes giving friends cute nicknames at times." Andrew mused with a smirk.
"Friends, huh?" Naptstablook asked.
"Mhm. We're all willing to be your friend, Napstablook. You look like you can use one right now." Frisk declared. The conversation went back and forth for a little while, before Napstablook was feeling better about himself.
"I usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around… but today, I met some very nice people." Napstablook said with a sort of smile. He looked around and frowned again, however. "Oh, I'm rambling again… Let me get out of your way." he declared, before he left, allowing them to pass through. Andrew and Neptune looked at each other, blinking, before they continued on their way. They stopped at a sign.
"Spider bake sale… Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders." Frisk mumbled.
"What the Nep? Isn't that cannibalismus?" Neptune asked, completely shocked.
"Cannibalism, Neptune, but yes." Andrew said.
"Well if they need money, we should help them out, shouldn't we?" Frisk asked with a sort of smile. Andrew nodded, and they went to the bake sale to donate, after which they continued on their way.
After a few more puzzles and encounters with the people of the Ruins, they finally arrived at Toriel's home. That's when they heard Toriel walking out of her house.
"Oh dear. That took longer than I expected." she said, rushing over, and pulling out her phone. She goes to call Frisk, but is stopped when she sees her, as well as Neptune and Andrew, all of them with smiles. "How did you get here, my childr- err child?" she asked.
"It was a bit of a walk, but Neptune and I got her here safe and sound." Andrew said, wiping some sweat off his forehead.
"Are you hurt?" Toriel asked.
"Nope! Andrew and Neptune helped quite a bit." Frisk said cheerfully.
"Not a scratch… Impressive! That still does not excuse the fact that I should not have left her there for so long." Toriel said.
"Ah, don't worry about it, Tori. Andrew and I are parents of two children back home, so watching over Frisk was no problemo." Neptune said. All Andrew could do was smile sheepishly.
"I see. So I had nothing to worry about… Anyways, come inside. I have a surprise for the little one." Toriel said, leading the three of them in. As they walked in the house, the aroma of a freshly baked pie filled the air.
"Mmm, that smells delicious. What are you baking, Toriel?" Andrew asked.
"Surprise! It's a butterscotch cinnamon pie." Toriel declared.
"Sounds delicious! Thanks, Toriel!" Frisk shouted.
"I thought we'd celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for right now." Toriel declared. Andrew, Frisk and Neptune all thought they were going to be sick at the mention of 'snail pie'.
"Err… I don't want to sound like a downer, Toriel, and I'd hate to be rude, but… I don't think our stomachs can handle snail pie…" Andrew said, doing his best to remain polite and not throw up at the same time.
"Great way to gross out the fans." Neptune muttered to herself, trying not to vomit.
"Um… perhaps not… Anyways, I have another surprise for you, little one. Come." Toriel declared, and the three of them followed her down the hall, stopping just in front of a bedroom door. "A room of your own. I hope you like it." she declared again, rubbing Frisk's head gently.
"Wow, you worked out all the details beforehand, Toriel. Impressive." Andrew mused.
"Um, is something burning?" Neptune asked, sniffing the air.
"Oh! Goodness! Make yourselves at home!" Toriel said hurriedly, before she rushed to the kitchen. Andrew blinked, staring off into the hallway leading into the living room and kitchen.
"Well… that happened." he said.
"Leave mom to her things. I wanna check my new room out." Frisk said as she opened the door and walked inside.
"Woah… Not bad for a kid's bedroom." Neptune said, her own motherly instincts taking in the surroundings.
"Indeed. Gives us some ideas on how to decorate Daniel and Violet's rooms in the future." Andrew replied with a nod. Neptune looked down, and remembered that the girl needed to change.
"Andrew, mind stepping outside so that Frisk can change?" Neptune asked.
"Not a problem. I'll be waiting out in the living room for you two, okay?" Andrew asked as he left the room.
Neptune and Frisk joined Andrew and Toriel in the bedroom, the latter of whom was reading a book. She looked up to see Frisk in a two-part Tartan Plaid dress with a scotty dog on the front.
"Wow, Frisk, you look quite adorable there." Toriel stated as she looked up from her book.
"Mhm! I had a hand in picking her outfit, but she's ready to take on the world, so to speak." Neptune stated with glee. Frisk giggled once more as she ran up to Toriel, going to sit in her lap.
"So, about that pie. When can I eat it, I'm starving." she said.
"In a bit dear. It just came out of the oven, so be patient." Toriel responded, going to ruffle the kid's hair.
"Aww… alright…" Frisk groaned, which caused Toriel to chuckle.
Jacob and Lance met with Noire and Nepgear in the worship hall of the Basilicom, waiting on Histoire to finish figuring out what was happening.
"You're both worried too, huh?" Nepgear asked them, wearing a solemn, worried face. She had Violet sitting in her lap, playing with a doll.
"Mhm… If I can be honest… I'm very worried about Uni…" Lance said, swallowing his pride as a man of military background.
"You and me both… Histoire is almost done figuring this out, so we'll know what happened in a bit." Nepgear said. Just after she said that, Histoire finished researching the cause of everything that has happened.
"I had just finished my research, everyone… I'm afraid the news is grave indeed." she said.
"Histoire, tell us what you've found out." Nepgear said, wanting to know what's happened to her best friends.
"It appears that the unconscious CPUs and CPU Candidates have been attacked directly. Someone has tampered with their Shares, tearing them away from them, and causing this travesty to happen. In light of this information, I have little choice but to mobilize the Gold Third and our extradimensional friends from the previous conflicts." Histoire explained, making her way to the door.
"What?! You're mobilizing the Gold Third?!" Noire shouted, completely shocked at what she just heard.
"Yes. As I said, I have little choice in the matter. Now, I must relay this information to Neptune and Andrew right away. If you'll excuse me…" Histoire said, before she fluttered away.
"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Nepgear muttered, looking to Lance and Jacob.
"Don't say that! Have faith in your older sister, Nepgear!" Noire shouted.
"R-right! I can't fall into despair now! They're counting on me to stay strong for the sake of their children!" Nepgear said.
"That's the Nepgear we know and love!" Lance declared.
Andrew was talking with Toriel and Frisk about their adventures in Gamindustri, and how they got to be where they are now, as they ate their pie.
"It's like everything was backwards. I wasn't sure what to do, nor how to react to the situation, until my evil brother cleared everything up for me." he said.
"That must have been awful, for her to be kidnapped from her own basilicom like that." Toriel said, gasping.
"It was… for me, for her, and for all of Planeptune. Anyways, I took action based on the information Jeromy gave me, and went from there, learning that she'd been sold to the crimelord of the Heaven's Bane Crime Syndicate, after which the nations of Gamindustri launched an assault-" Andrew explained, recounting the events of the first stages of the war against the Heaven's Bane Crime Syndicate, only to be interrupted by his N-Gear. "Hold on a second." he said as he pulled it out. He looked at the caller and his face went serious.
"Andrew? What's going on?" Neptune asked.
"It's… It's Histoire." Andrew responded as he answered the call. Frisk hopped down from Toriel's lap and ran over to them, with Toriel following.
"Histy? Whatever could it be?" Neptune asked.
"Andrew, Neptune… I have completed my research, and I have grave news." Histoire said.
"That's Gamindustri? Wow! I never thought I'd see another dimension!" Toriel said. "What's this grave news, Miss Histoire?" she asked.
"Err… excuse me, who is she?" Histoire asked.
"Histoire, this is Toriel, the caretaker of a set of ruins in this world." Andrew explained.
"I see… a-anyways, the unconscious CPUs and CPU Candidates have been attacked directly. Someone has tampered with their Shares, leading to the events of what transpired a couple days ago." Histoire explained.
"Attacked? Tampered Shares? How is that even possible?" Andrew asked.
"And who is the one responsible?" Toriel asked just afterwards.
"Who and how is not known. However, it means that whatever is happening now, we do not have much time. It could be symptomatic of a much greater catastrophe growing here in Gamindustri. I hate to ask this of you two, but I need you both to leave Toriel behind, and continue on your journey post haste. Gamindustri is in great peril, and you are our only hope." Histoire explained. Toriel clenched her fists, almost ready to cast a fireball at the N-Gear.
"Leave? Histoire, you must understand I cannot allow such a thing for their safety!" she exclaimed.
"I do appreciate your concern for the CPU of Planeptune and her husband, Miss Toriel, but I am afraid I must counter your argument. They are more than capable of protecting themselves. Besides, there's no time for them to remain in one place for far too long. The sooner they can get to the Sharicite Fragments, the better. I hope you can understand." Histoire said sternly. Toriel could only clench her fists a little harder, which caused Frisk to worry greatly.
"I… I have to do something." Toriel stated, before she rushed out of the room.
"Mom! MOM!" Frisk called out. Andrew sighed and shook his head.
"We'll call you back once we get a handle on things on our end. Keep an eye on the kids for us, and try to figure out more about the situation if you can." he said.
"Right. Good luck, you two." Histoire replied, before ending the call.
"Oh jeez, Mom looked so upset…" Frisk said, completely worried.
"Let's go after her, and see if we can't try to calm her down." Neptune suggested.
"That's a wise course of action, Nep. Come on." Andrew said, and they hastily followed Toriel. They followed her footprints down a set of stairs into a basement that followed a long corridor. That's when they saw her, standing in front of a large door.
"Tori… Are you alright?" Neptune asked.
"Do not refer to me by that nickname, Neptune… that was the nickname my ex husband used for me." Toriel snapped.
"Mom? What is this place?" Frisk asked, a little scared.
"Beyond this door lies the end of the ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will be able to leave ever again." Toriel responded.
"Toriel, what's gotten into you?" Neptune asked.
"Every human that comes down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come, they leave, they die. You stupid, naive CPU. If you and your husband… if the three of you leave the ruins… They - Asgore - will KILL you! I am only protecting you, do you understand?!" Toriel snapped again, tears flowing from her eyes.
"Toriel, please, calm down! We can protect ourselves, and we're more than willing to leave Frisk under your care! But we have to move forward, or we will never reach the Sharicite Fragment and save Gamindustri! This is our job as the leaders of Planeptune! Please, understand! We have to do this! There's no way around it!" Andrew pleaded.
"Do not try to stop me… This is your final warning." Toriel said.
"Aw shoot… just like Esbern and Delphine, huh?" Neptune asked.
"I'm afraid so, Neptune…" Andrew said with a sigh. "Toriel… I hate to do this to you… but for the sake of the billions of people in Gamindustri, I have to stop you from doing this. I will not fight back, but I will not let you destroy this door." he proclaimed, summoning his sword and standing in a defensive posture.
"Please, don't hurt mom!" Frisk cried.
"I won't, Frisk. Neptune and I made a promise not to hurt the people of the Underground." Andrew said, keeping his gaze firmly on Toriel.
"Hmph! You are just like the others… There is only one solution to this." Toriel replied grimly, before summoning fire magic in the palms of her hands. "Prove yourselves. PROVE TO ME YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH!" she proclaimed in response, before beginning to attack Andrew and Neptune. Neptune quickly summoned her katana and blocked a fire attack aimed at her. The mass of fireballs went forth at them, and Andrew and Neptune, despite blocking with all their might and not backing down, refused to strike back.
"What are you doing? Attack or run away!" Toriel snapped as she cast another fireball. This one headed straight for Frisk.
"Frisk! Watch out!" Neptune shouted, running straight into the fireball and taking the hit. "Ouch! That hurt!" she cried.
"Neptune!" Frisk shouted. "Mom! Please, stop this! Stop hurting my friends!" she shouted at Toriel.
"What are you proving this way?!" Toriel asked as Frisk got in the way of Neptune, hoping to act as a shield against any possible attacks that might hit her. This led to Toriel's fire attacks losing their accuracy entirely, hitting the walls instead of them.
"Frisk! What are you doing?!" Neptune asked as she got to her feet.
"Protecting you, Neptune!" Frisk said as she stood her ground.
"Fight me or leave!" Toriel shouted, continuing to attack. Her attacks were just as wild and inaccurate as the last time, her eyes too full of tears to see properly.
"We will not break the promise we made to Arngier!" Andrew shouted in response. "You know we have an important mission, Toriel, and you know we have to complete it for the sake of our world! If we fail, this world and others could simply be next!" he continued, trying to explain how grave things truly were to Toriel. She eventually ceased her attacks, drawing away her hands with a sigh.
"I know you have an important mission, but… but please! Go upstairs, now!" Toriel shouted, sniffling.
"Even you know we cannot do that, Toriel. Look. I know how much human life means to you. It means just as much to me and Neptune. But right now, you need to put your trust in us, and have faith. Pray to us and give us the strength to keep going if you have to. But please. Stand aside and let us pass." Andrew said, despawning his sword.
"Why are you making this so difficult?" Toriel asked.
"Because, there's little we can do. If it weren't for the situation back home, we'd be taking a more leisurely approach, heck we'd be staying at your house for as long as we could before going back to Gamindustri. You heard what Histoire said. We have to hurry." Andrew said, trying to console her.
"Ha ha… pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single person…" Toriel said defeatedly.
"It is not. We still wish for Frisk to stay here for her safety, but Neptune and I must keep going. I don't think you'll understand, however…" Andrew said with a sigh.
"No… I understand… Gamindustri is your home… and you both would just break your oaths as CPUs to stay trapped here. It would not be right for me to impede on your efforts to save your world. My expectations. My loneliness… my fear… For you two, I will put them aside." Toriel said. Then sadness engulfed her. "If you travel through here, I will not stop you. As per your request, I will keep Frisk safe and sound. However, please do not come back. I hope you understand." she added.
"We won't forget you, Toriel. Thank you for everything." Neptune said solemnly, before Toriel knelt down and gave her a hug.
"I won't forget you either, Neptune. In you and your husband, I saw hope for all monsters. I did not want to see that hope die. Now, I see it is selfish of me to stop you… We shall pray and give you both strength." she said, standing back up again. Frisk ran and hugged Neptune as well.
"Please don't get hurt you two!" she begged.
"Aww! We won't Frisk! Call us on Andrew's N-Gear any time!" Neptune said in response. Frisk smiled and nodded, before she rejoined Toriel's side. And with that, they left, before Andrew and Neptune past through. What awaited them was a frozen forest.
"Imagine yourself in a frozen forest." Neptune said soothingly, before giggling.
"Ugh! Neptune, did you have to pull such an obvious reference on us now?!" Andrew groaned. Neptune was laughing up a storm, before she stopped suddenly, shivering.
"Woah! Jeez it's super cold here!" she shouted.
"Yeah… it's like Lowee all over again!" Andrew said in response, looking at the huge door to the ruins, and sighing. "We can't go back. All we can do is push forward. Let's get to it." he added. With that, they both continued down the snowy path. They kept going, only stopping when they heard rustling somewhere.
"This seems like something out of a horror game…" Neptune muttered.
"Yeah… I don't like this… but there's no turning back…" Andrew said, and they continued. They once again kept going, up until they reached a sort of bridge. That's when they heard footsteps approaching from behind, and they froze.
"Humans… Don't you know how to greet a new pal?!" a voice boomed. If anyone could read Andrew's and Neptune's faces at this moment, they would be able to see the words "Oh shit, we're screwed…" written in their expressions. "Turn around, and shake my hand!" the voice continued. All they could do is comply. As Andrew gripped the figure's hand, his fear-covered eyes squinted as he heard what sounded like a really… REALLY… long fart. It left Neptune laughing hysterically. "Heheheh! The good ol' whoopie-cushion-in-the-hand trick!" the skeleton shouted, laughing along. Andrew, having felt like a fool for fearing the situation and falling for a trick like this, groaned quietly, looking up to the sky in annoyance.
"That was such a perfectly planned trick! I can't believe you managed to prank even us with that!" Neptune shouted, still laughing.
"I know, right? It's ALWAYS funny!" the skeleton continued. It held a rather comical smile, and two white irises existed, despite its existence as a skeleton.
"Right… I know… you got me." Andrew said in annoyance.
"Aw cheer up, buddy. Your CPU wife seems to be having the time of her life! Hey, that rhymes!" the skeleton replied.
"Wait, you know we're not human?" Andrew asked, surprised.
"Mhm. I have ways of knowing. I'll tell you guys later. Anyways, I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton." the skeleton known as Sans responded. "I already know who you two are so introductions are not necessary. Sadly, my brother, Papyrus, does not know the same as I do. He's a human capturing fanatic." he continued.
"Sounds like a swell guy. What's he capturing human's for?" Neptune asked, once she finally calmed down.
"Something about joining the Royal Guard. Hey! I think that's him right there!" Sans replied. "I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy. Yeah, go right through. He made the bars too wide to stop anybody." he suggested.
"R… Right…" Andrew said with a sigh. He and Neptune both followed Sans across the bridge.
"Go behind my guard station. That should keep you both out of sight." Sans suggested once more, and both Andrew and Neptune took the suggestion, running behind the guard post to hide. They made it just in time, before Papyrus arrived.
"Sup, bro?" Sans asked.
"You know what "sup" brother! 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?!" Papyrus shouted angrily.
"Staring at my station. It's pretty cool. Do you wanna look?" Sans replied lazily. It made Neptune giggle a little bit.
"No! I don't have time for that! What if a human comes through here!? I want to be ready!" Papyrus snapped. "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! 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!" he ranted, sounding like an utter maniac.
"Sounds like an ego problem…" Andrew said with a sigh.
"Maybe my station will help you!" Sans suggested.
"The heck?! Is he turning coat?!" Andrew asked himself in shock.
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZY BONES!" Papyrus yelled.
"NEPU!" Neptune shrieked. It was loud enough to startle a bear, but for some reason, Papyrus didn't seem to catch it.
"All you do is sit and boondoggle! You get lazier and lazier EVERY DAY!" he continued.
"Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today. A SKELE-TON!" Sans declared. The awful pun sent Neptune into a fit of laughter.
"SANS!" Papyrus shouted, as if offended by the awful pun.
"Oh, come on! You're smiling!" Sans said.
"I know, and I HATE IT!" Papyrus countered, before sighing. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much just to get some recognition?" he asked himself.
"Wow. Sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone." Sans said, giving off another awful skeleton pun that sent Neptune laughing once again.
"Ugh!" Papyrus groaned in annoyance. "I will attend to my puzzles! As for your work, put a little more… "backbone" into it. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" declared, before laughing as he turned to go. He returned to give off one more "HEH!", before leaving entirely.
"Okay, you can come out now." Sans declared. Andrew and Neptune both emerged from the guard station. Neptune was still laughing from the puns, and somehow managed to calm down a little later.
"I suppose I should thank you, though you did almost give us away at times…" Andrew said with a sigh.
"Hey, don't sweat it. You oughta get going, he might come back. And if he does, you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes!" Sans said, winking.
"Right…" Andrew replied, before attempting to leave with Neptune. That's when Sans stopped them.
"Actually, hey… Hate to bother ya, but… can you do me a favor?" he asked.
"Certainly, Sans." Neptune said before Andrew could stop her.
"I was thinking… My brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you two might just make his day." Sans said. "Don't worry, he's not dangerous... Even if he tries to be." he continued.
"What are you even asking of us?" Andrew asked him.
"Just play the role of a human, and try to lighten his day." Sans suggested.
"Sans, that's a no. It's completely wrong for a CPU to lie about her status as a CPU, unless it's for the betterment of her nation. What you're asking is merely for the betterment of one person. Besides, when the cat gets out of the bag, it's going to have negative consequences on him. We can find some other means of helping him feel better, but what you're asking is a bit much." Andrew explained.
"Aw come on! It'll be fun!" Neptune squealed, sounding like a little kid.
"Neptune… If we do this and he finds out later on that we're not human, it will break him. Think of long term consequences here." Andrew countered. Sans understood exactly what he meant.
"Gosh, you sure know what you're talking about. Glad he wasn't wrong about your smarts." Sans said with a wink.
"He? You mean Arngier?" Andrew asked.
"How'd you guess?" Sans asked.
"Educated guess." Andrew replied with a shrug.
"Nice. Anyways, thanks a million. I'll be up ahead." Sans replied, before walking in the opposite direction.
"Sans, wait! That's the… wrong way…" Andrew shouted, trailing off when he was out of sight in the blink of an eye.
"Ehh… what just happened?" Neptune asked in complete confusion.
"No idea, Nep. Absolutely no idea whatsoever." Andrew replied, shaking his head. "This world is absolutely strange…" he added as they continued on.
They kept going until they ran into both Sans and Papyrus. Andrew was very certain Sans went the other way. This both creeped out and intrigued the Paladin-Knight. Perhaps Sans has teleportation?
"So, as I was talking about Undyne-" Papyrus said to his brother, before he noticed both Neptune and Andrew. This took his interest, and he began spinning wildly, before looking to Sans. "Sans… Oh my god... Are those… Humans?!" Papyrus asked, growing wide eyed.
"Don't get your hopes up. You must be Papyrus." Andrew said.
"OH MY GOD! THE HUMAN KNOWS MY NAME! I MUST BE SUPER POPULAR!" Papyrus yelled. He quickly regained any shred of professional demeanor he had. "Humans! You shall not pass this area! I, the GREAT Papyrus, will stop you!" he continued. Andrew just sighed and shook his head.
"I told you not to get your hopes up, Papyrus… Now I am afraid I have to shatter your dreams. Better now than later, when it will cause worse problems." he said.
"Shatter my dreams?! Do you intend to stop ME from achieving my goals of becoming a Royal Guardsman, human?!" Papyrus asked.
"No, no, they're great things to aspire to. It's just… Neptune and I aren't even human…" Andrew explained.
"Um… not human? What about that fleshy skin?" Papyrus asked.
"Best that we show you." Andrew responded. He and Neptune both activated HDD at that moment.
"Behold, the power of a CPU." Neptune declared in her HDD form. One good look at her, and Sans looked like he was going to have a nosebleed.
"I… very clever... It seems I was outwitted by myself…" Papyrus muttered. "No matter! If I cannot capture a human this day, maybe I will capture a CPU!" Papyrus said as Neptune and Andrew both returned to their human forms.
"You can try, Papyrus. Neptune and I are very resourceful." Andrew said with a smirk. Neptune nodded.
"Andrew knows what's up! He's smarter than you think!" she added.
"Nonsense! I will succeed! My job as a Royal Guardsman depends on it! I will capture you! Then you will be delivered to the Capital! And then… and then… I'm- I'm not sure what happens next…" Papyrus continued on. "In any case! Continue… Only if you dare! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" he added, before venturing forth.
"Well, that went well." Sans said with a shrug.
"Forgive me for saying this, Sans, but he has his head so filled with grandeur he's decided on a very suicidal course of action. The only thing holding me and Neptune back now is that promise we made with Arngier. I can't believe this…" Andrew said, his face in the palm of his hand in disbelief.
"Don't sweat it, kid. I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." Sans said with a wink.
"Yeah… thanks, Sans." Andrew said with a sigh. They then went forward. They would keep going forward until they heard a voice from a sentry station to their left.
"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" the voice asked.
"Don't worry about us, sir, we're no threat." Neptune explained.
"If you were moving, voice, and you are in fact a human, I'll make sure you NEVER move again!" the voice, belonging to a dog, declared, before getting in the way.
"Oh geez… We're going to explain our non-human status to everyone, aren't we?" Andrew asked.
"Not human? That's a laugh! Though I cannot see you… I can only see moving things." the dog said.
"It's absolutely true. Neptune is a CPU, and I am her Paladin-Knight. We're not from this dimension, and we've been sent here on a dangerous mission." Andrew explained.
"I keep hearing voices… but I do not see anything. CPU? Paladin-Knight? What is this talk about, voice?" Doggo asked.
"It's very simple. We need only to pass through, if you would allow it. We promise we will not harm anyone." Andrew said.
"Err… I've got my eyes on you, voice…" Doggo mumbled as it allowed them to pass.
"Thanks!" Neptune shouted, before they started moving. They entered Doggo's odd view.
"Ah! You tricked me!" Doggo said, attempting to stop them.
"That's only in your view point. We will keep our word not to harm anyone." Andrew said as he and Neptune scurried off. The doggo was fast, but when Andrew and Neptune transformed and flew off, it stopped its pursuit.
Neptune and Andrew ceased their flight sometime after, appearing just before Sans, where they transformed back into their human form.
"We can't keep transforming every time we need to correct someone in this world! It's going to cause us to lose too much energy at one time!" Andrew groaned.
"That dog almost had us for lunch!" Neptune said, panting.
"Close, but no cigar for him, eh? Or should I say, Close but no doggy treat?" Sans said with a wink. Neptune just laughed at his words.
"Y-yeah… It was a close one, though…" Andrew said.
"Yeah, the Royal Guard can be a royal pain." Sans said, again with a wink.
"And how exactly do we move forward with this? We can't keep transforming, it's not going to be good for our Shares." Andrew replied.
"That sure seems a sticky situation, pal. Just stick with your intuition, and you'll be fine." Sans recommended.
"Right… I'll keep that in mind." Andrew said. With the snap of a finger, Sans instantly poofed out of existence, and Andrew smirked.
"Ah, so he IS a teleporter! The sneaky skeleton!" he said.
"So what now?" Neptune asked.
"We continue onward. If we keep going, we're bound to hit a town somewhere where we can finally get some rest." Andrew replied. They walked again for a little while longer at least, before coming to a stop in front of Sans and Papyrus. Between them and the skeletons lie some sort of empty piece of land, clear of snow and frost.
"You're so lazy! You were napping all night!" Papyrus shouted at his brother.
"I think that's called 'sleeping'." Sans retorted.
"Excuses, excuses!" Papyrus responded in kind.
"Ahem! You fail to realize that if someone were to work endlessly, they'd eventually succumb to exhaustion!" Andrew corrected. This caught the two skeletons' attention.
"Oh-ho! The CPU and Paladin-Knight arrive!" Papyrus shouted gleefully.
"I don't think he heard you, Andrew…" Neptune muttered somewhat irritably.
"I don't think so either…" Andrew muttered back, agreeing with her.
"In order to stop you, my brother and I have created some puzzles!" Papyrus declared.
"Great. Yet more puzzles…" Andrew said, shaking his head. "And I assume this is one of those puzzles?" he asked.
"Quite so! I think you'll find this one… quite shocking! For, you see, this is the invisible electricity maze!" Papyrus explained.
"Ooo! How's it work?" Neptune asked in curiosity, determined to know how this puzzle works.
"When you touch the walls of this maze…" Papyrus began as he pulled out a glowing blue orb. "This orb will administer a hearty zap! Sound like fun? Because the amount of fun you will probably have, is actually rather small, I think…" he continued.
"That sounds troublesome…" Andrew muttered to himself.
"Okay! You can go now!" Papyrus announced.
"Not like we have a choice, if we want to get to the Sharicite Fragment in time… Oh, well, here goes nothing…" Andrew said with a sigh, as he walked forward. In the process, he stepped on one of the maze walls, and quite surprisingly, Papyrus was the one to get shocked. The result sent Neptune into yet another fit of laughter.
"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Papyrus snapped, enraged that he became the victim of his own puzzle.
"I think the CPU has to hold the orb." Sans suggested.
"Oh...Okay." Papyrus said, before he walked across the puzzle to give them the orb. To Andrew's amusement, Papyrus left footprints on the ground, detailing the solution to the puzzle in broad daylight. "Hold this, please." he said. Andrew caught the orb before it could land in the snow, and held it tightly as Papyrus rushed back over to the other side. "Okay, try now!" the tall skeleton declared. Andrew and Neptune confidently walked across the puzzle, following the solution that Papyrus accidently laid out for them.
"This is fun!" Neptune shouted jokingly. They made it to the other side in record time.
"Incredible! You slippery snail! You solved it so easily… TOO easily!" Papyrus declared.
"When you're smart and you observe the playing field of a game, you can spot things the other guy is doing. The same goes for any puzzle." Andrew said.
"However! The next puzzle will not be easy! It is designed by my brother, Sans! You will surely be confounded! I know I am. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said, ending with his iconic laugh, before moonwalking off, which left Neptune more than dumbfounded.
"Talk about a crazy world… Big Skele Bro just moonwalked his way to the next puzzle!" Neptune said.
"Yeah… I have no words…" Andrew admitted.
"I never expected Neptune and her husband to advance so quickly… I thought the fears I put into Toriel through her nightmares were enough to stop them from going further…" the girl from before muttered to herself.
"Is there anything you require of me, Kurome?" a girl in a green and yellow striped sweater asked, her eyes glowing a sinister red.
"Yes, Chara. See if you can't use your powers to make something to take that child, Frisk… Perhaps a few Shadow Puppets should be enough slow them down." Kurome suggested with a smirk.
"It will be done." Chara responded, before vanishing entirely.
"Yes… Nothing like a good ol' kidnapping and hostage situation to get the CPU's attention. This world is on the brink of delusion… the destruction should fuel the coming of the True Goddess." Kurome muttered to herself, smirking.
Andrew and Neptune continued their way forward, stopping once again in front of the two skeleton brothers.
"CPU! I hope you're ready for…" Papyrus began, only to stop himself mid-sentence. "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?!" he asked.
"It's right there, on the ground." Sans replied. "Trust me, there's no way they can get past this one." he added.
"A piece of paper?" Neptune asked quizzically.
"Maybe a riddle we have to solve… I hate riddles…" Andrew replied. He walked forward and picked up the piece of parchment on the ground and looked at it. He deadpanned as he saw just what it was, and tossed it aside.
"SANS! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Papyrus yelled.
"Sans, might I ask why you were having us do a kid's crossword puzzle?" Andrew asked.
"WHAT?! CROSSWORD?!" Papyrus yelled, flustered at his brother's apparent incompetence. "I CAN'T BELIEVE HE SAID THAT!" he continued. "In my opinion… Junior Jumble is easily the hardest!" he finished.
"What? really, dude? That easy-peasy word scramble? That's for baby bones." Sans quipped.
"Unbelievable… CPU! Solve this dispute!" Papyrus ordered.
"Yes sir, Mr. Papyrus!" Neptune quipped in response.
"In my mind, both are relatively easy. You gotta be observant and understand both the rules and the hints." Andrew said, shrugging.
"Impossible! Both cannot be easy at the same time! I ask for a retrial!" Papyrus demanded.
"Well, I'm sorry, your honor, but I-" Andrew retorted, before getting interrupted by his N-Gear. It was another call.
"What's that noise?" Papyrus asked quizzically, confused.
"That's my N-Gear. I use it for communication. Hold on…" Andrew said as he pulled it out. He looked at the caller and saw Toriel's name on it.
"It's Toriel… What's going on?" Neptune asked.
"Let's check it out." Andrew said as he answered the call. "Hey, Toriel, is something the matter?" he asked.
"Andrew! Neptune! It's an emergency! Frisk has been kidnapped!" Toriel exclaimed.
"Kidnapped?! How?!" Andrew asked.
"Shadow Puppets! They just popped outta nowhere and took Frisk while I was reading her a bedtime story! You gotta look for her!" Toriel yelled. It was clear that she was in a panic.
"Hold on a minute, this wasn't in the original plot!" Neptune angrily shouted at the author.
"Wait, did she say 'Shadow Puppets'?" Sans asked, alarmed at the news.
"You know something, Sans?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah. Those Shadow Puppets have been something Undyne has been personally investigating. They just somehow popped up in the Underground one day, and started causing trouble. The king has deemed them to be destroyed on sight." Sans explained.
"Right. Don't worry, Toriel, we'll look for her." Andrew said.
"Please, be quick. I don't want any harm to come to the child." Toriel begged. Andrew nodded as he closed the link, and put the N-Gear away.
"Sorry about this, you guys. We gotta scramble and go find Frisk, before she is hurt by those things." he said. Sans nodded, and Andrew looked to Neptune as a gesture for them to hurry, before they ran off.
"Let me go! Please, don't hurt me!" Frisk begged as she was dragged through the snow by two shadowy figures beside her. The shadowy figures made very little sound, only an eerie whisper, to acknowledge the girl's words. "I don't wanna die… please… please just let me go…" she continued to beg, tears in her eyes.
"There they are!" a voice yelled.
"You let her go, you dumb shadow things!" another voice demanded Frisk recognized the voices immediately.
"Andrew! Neptune! Help!" she cried.
"Right!" Andrew said as he summoned his sword. Neptune did the same. In response, the two Shadow Puppets threw Frisk into the cold snow, and charged in to attack.
"Take this! Chest Buster!" Neptune shouted as she attacked her target. Andrew attacked his soon after, and they vanished in a puff of black smoke.
"Th-... that's it?!" he asked. As if to jinx him, four more shadow puppets showed up, tightly surrounding the three of them.
"NEPU!" Neptune squealed.
"It's a trap!" Andrew shouted. One Shadow Puppet was about to charge in, before he slashed at it. The attack damaged it only lightly, which was surprising. "I'm not doing a whole lotta damage here!" he shouted.
"How do we hurt these things?!" Neptune wailed.
"Magic! Use magic attacks!" Andrew proclaimed as he focused on a lightning-based attack. The attack damaged it moderately, but before he could react, the Shadow Puppet lashed out at him, knocking him to the ground. Neptune was also knocked to the ground, just barely missing Frisk.
"Ah!" she screamed.
"Darn it… Right. Let's give them a taste of Planeptunian pride!" Andrew said as he stood up, transforming in the process. "Begone, dark one!" he yelled, slashing the Shadow Puppet square across the chest. The Shares ripped right into it, destroying it immediately. Before another could flank him in retaliation, he saw what looked like a giant laser rip it apart.
"Keep at it! I've got ya, pal!" Sans yelled. With a smirk, Andrew quickly attacked a third Shadow Puppet, and it was destroyed in an instant. The final one looked to be making a beeline towards Frisk, but he quickly stopped it in its tracks and killed it. With the Shadow Puppets gone, all he could do was leave HDD, before despawning his sword, walking to Frisk and Neptune. Neptune was already standing back up, as he went to check on her.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. Thanks, Andrew. You too, Sans." Neptune responded.
"Hey. Like I said, I'm keeping an eyesocket out for ya." Sans said, shrugging and giving off a wink. Neptune knelt down and helped Frisk to her feet
"You okay, girlie?" she asked. All Frisk could do was burst into tears and bury her face into Neptune's Parka-type dress. "There there, sweetie, it's going to be okay…" she said, trying to console the little girl.
"I was so scared! I thought those things were going to kill me!" she cried.
"Don't worry about it, Frisk. You're safe now." Andrew said as he knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Is the kid alright?" Sans asked.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. She was just terrified." Andrew replied with a sigh. "Thanks for coming when you did, by the way… I didn't expect those Shadow Puppets to be that strong, or that well organized." he said.
"Yeah, normally they aren't. I suspect someone or something powerful is controlling them." Sans replied. "Hey, before I go, I need to ask something." he stated.
"Go ahead." Andrew replied.
"The girl is a human, right?" Sans asked.
"Um… yeah." Frisk responded amongst sniffles.
"Ah, hey, come on, little one. There's no need to be scared anymore." Sans said cheerfully. Frisk looked at him, and smiled a little bit, before returning her gaze to Andrew and Neptune.
"Let's get you back home, okay?" Neptune asked her. She nodded, clearly wanting to be back home before more Shadow Puppets returned.
After a quick teleportation to the house in the ruins to drop Frisk off, Andrew and Neptune took a shortcut to a new and unique puzzle setup, with Papyrus at the controls.
"Hey! It's the CPU! What took you guys so long?!" Papyrus asked.
"Well, you know… Ran into some trouble, but, it was 'snow' problem." Neptune said, giggling at her own pun. Papyrus groaned irritably at it.
"Seems puns are your kryptonite, Papyrus." Andrew said, unable to hold back a chuckle.
"Naturally…" Papyrus said, glaring at Neptune, before sighing. "If I had one gold for every time I heard a pun, I'd be the Great Papyrus in both name and fortune. Looks like you're both going to love this puzzle. It was made by the Great Doctor Alphys!"
"And how does this one work? Is it as electrifying as the electric maze?" Andrew asked.
"You see these tiles?! Once I throw this switch, they will begin to change color! Each color has a different function!" Papyrus began to monologue.
"This is going to be interesting…" Neptune muttered.
"Right…" Andrew replied.
"Red tiles are impassible! You cannot walk on them! Yellow tiles are electric! They will electrocute you! Green tiles are alarm tiles! If you step on them, you'll have to fight a monster! Orange tiles are orange-scented! They will make you smell delicious! Blue tiles are water tiles! Swim through if you like, but if you smell like oranges, the piranhas will bite you!" Papyrus rambled on.
"Question… Why are orange tiles even necessary to the puzzle? They seem a little redundant." Andrew asked.
"I'm doing the talking here! Anyways, if a blue tile is next to a yellow tile, the water will also zap you!" Papyrus continued on.
"Good old electrical physics… Nepgear taught me a little about that." Andrew muttered.
"Purple tiles are slippery! You will slide to the next tile! However, the slippery soap smells like lemons!" Papyrus continued.
"I don't want your darn lemons, what am I supposed to do with these?!" Neptune asked, wearing her Nepu face.
"A bit of an odd time to be pulling video game references on us, Nep…" Andrew whispered.
"Finally, Pink tiles! They don't do anything!" Papyrus finished off. "How was that? Understand?" he asked.
"You rambled on quite a bit, and the scent tiles are still a bit redundant, but I got the gist." Andrew replied.
"Great! Then there's one last thing!" Papyrus shouted.
"Wait, there's a catch?" Andrew asked, confused.
"This puzzle is entirely random! When I pull this switch, it will make a puzzle that has never been seen before! Not even I will know the solution! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus declared.
"Oh great, a randomly generated puzzle… Well, we didn't get this far by dumb luck…" Andrew muttered.
"Get ready!" Papyrus shouted, before he flipped the switch on the computer, creating the puzzle. It took a while before the puzzle was finished building itself, and Neptune had the most obvious nepu face as she was staring at a randomly generated puzzle with the most obvious solution ever. It was red with a wide pink stripe across the whole puzzle, with no obstacles in sight.
"Err… what?" Andrew asked himself, squinting. That was when Papyrus quite literally spun around counterclockwise as he left the puzzle, which confused them even further. Without a word, they walked on. They would keep going until they reached a long wooden bridge, taking their time to cross it. They ran into Sans on the other side.
"So, you got past his puzzle that quickly, eh?" Sans asked.
"Yeah… I think there was a bug in the algorithms that did something… we ended up with a puzzle that had a ridiculously obvious solution…" Andrew said, shaking his head.
"Eh. It happens. I don't know what my brother's going to do now, though, so you both had better be ready to protect yourselves." Sans said with a shrug. "Anyways, the two of you look tired. Come on, the town is this way." he continued before leading everyone to Snowdin Town. "Welcome to Snowdin" he declared.
"Wow. Such a quaint little town." Andrew said in admiration as he took a photo on his N-Gear.
"Mhm. I like this place." Neptune said in reply as she huddled up close to her husband. "I'm beat… Is there a hotel we can crash in somewhere?" She asked.
"Yeah, there's an in right next door to the shop over there." Sans said, pointing to a two-door building in the town.
"Thanks, Sans. We're going to grab some much needed rest, so we'll catch you another time." Andrew said, taking Neptune into the Inn.
"Right. See you both later." Sans replied as they left. Once inside the inn, they went to the counter, got a room, then went straight to bed.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
-Well, I somehow may have screwed myself over with this one. I will, however, say that it is true that I like Undertale quite a bit, but I avoid the toxic community like the plague. Any hatreds you guys have for me over this, I will understand.
-No, for those who have never played Undertale, there's no such thing as Shadow Puppets. They're dark creatures that I envisioned to provide actual combat rather than the one way fighting against the people of the Underground. It does make sense, that with Negative Energy and Determination, bad stuff can happen. Thus so, does the Whirlpool of Delusion and the malevolence of Kurome Ankokuboshi manipulate the world of Undertale.
-Yes, Frisk is a girl in my headcanon. She starts off weak, but she will get stronger, not through LV, but through sheer determination and faith.
-There's lots of foreshadowing in this chapter, and like last time, plenty of video game references.
-Looks like that's it. Like always, your input can determine the path that the story goes in. Anyways, stay cool and keep on Nepping!