The first thing Ginger eyed was the shop; it was about time she put that gold she'd accumulated to good use. Come to think of it...how much was gold worth down here? If just 7G was considered an "outrageous price" for a Spider Donut, then it had to be reasonably close to common human currency. But up on the surface, she figured a piece of gold would probably be worth at least TEN TIMES what it was down here underground, due to its rarity and status. She could only imagine.
She stepped into the shop; the front desk was operated by what looked something like a humanoid rabbit.
"Hello, traveler!" she greeted. "How can I help you?"
She didn't seem aware of the fact that she was speaking to a human, but Ginger wasn't going to complain. She looked up at the prices above the desk, scanning the items over for anything that could be of use.
"Tough Glove-50G"
"Manly Bandanna-50G"
"Bisicle-15G"
"Cinnamon Bunny-25G"
She only had 54G, so she knew she should use it sparingly. But, being curious, she inquired about the glove.
"This right here?"
The monster pulled something out and onto the desk; it was a faded, reddish pink hue, and it was made out of leather.
"It's a one of a kind find. Found it just lyin' around along the border between Snowdin and Waterfall one day and decided to make something of it. It's kinda faded, but other than that it's in good shape; could probably throw some mean punches with it."
"Hm...Well...I'm a little pressed for dough at the moment. What say I propose a trade?"
"Depends; got anything I might wanna take off your hands?"
Ginger thought for a moment; she didn't have much in the way of items, except for maybe...
She glanced down at her pocket where the toy knife sat in wait; it came to her that throwing punches would probably be a better attack method, since it would harm the attacker less. And she didn't want a repeat of what happened the LAST time she used the knife. Besides, using the blade was so easy; using all of her strength would keep her form up to snuff.
"How about this in turn for the glove?" she asked, taking the plastic knife out and placing it before her. The shopkeeper's eyes widened.
"Ooh, whirly...Where'd you find this?"
"Oh, uh, just lying around, like you said about the glove," she replied, not wanting to mention the Ruins.
"This is incredible...Do you know just how rare these things are? I'd say this is worth 100G!"
"A HUND-I mean...Well, if that's the case, then how about throwing in that Manly Bandanna, too?"
The rabbit took the toy knife, then handed over the two items, which, combined, were equivalent to the worth of the plastic weapon. Ginger fitted the leather glove over her right hand and slipped the bandana where the knife once rested. A hundred gold for a plastic knife...Who would have thought?
And she STILL hadn't really lost any gold.
"...What are the Cinnamon Bunnies like?"
"My own recipe," the monster answered, showing one off. It was just a cinnamon roll...but in the shape of a rabbit. Fitting.
"How much? 25?"
"That's right."
And the exchange was made.
"Thanks for your purchase. Say, I haven't seen you 'round these parts. Where'd you fly in from? The capital?"
"Uh...Yeah? The capital, yeah..." she lied.
"Well, I'm not surprised. Figured it'd be getting pretty pressed for space up there soon; there's not a lot of places you can escape to when your trapped under a mountain like this. But I tend to look on the bright side; we all know deep down that freedom's gonna come eventually, right?"
"Y-yeah. Yeah, it is."
"Well, anyway, if you're lookin for stuff to do, I'll give you the rundown. Grillby's has food, the library has information, and if you're tired and beat, you can spend a night at the inn next door; my sister runs it."
"Is that so?"
Ginger was careful not to say much; sure the monster seemed nice enough, but if she figured out where she really came from, that might change.
"And if you get bored at all, you might consider sittin' outside and watchin' those wacky skeletons do their thing."
"Sans and Papyrus?"
"Yeah, those two; brothers, I think they said they were. They just showed up here one day and...asserted themselves. The town's gotten a lot more interesting since then, so I'm glad they decided to show up. That tall one especially; he's a character."
"Oh, yeah, I know that first hand."
"Oh, you do, huh?"
"Yep, I sure do...Well...I won't keep you too long; you've got a business to run and I've got a trip to make," the human finished as she headed out the door.
"Bye, now! Come again sometime, you hear?"
She nodded, then stepped back out into the snow. The box in between the shop and the inn sat unnoticed; she had a messenger bag, and not enough in it to weigh her down. And she wasn't all that tired yet; it wasn't much past sundown when she'd first fallen through, and seeing how much time had passed since then, she imagined it to be well into the night up on the surface.
It was then that she wondered if there was even any way to tell time down here, seeing as there was no visible moon or sun or stars to be seen down here. She looked up; far overhead, perhaps a hundred feet, was the dirt ceiling of the cavern. Just rugged brown dirt; no stars, no constellations, no Milky Way streaks painting the dark sky. Just dirt. It was depressing, knowing that none of these monsters probably had never seen the sky; did they even know what the sky was?
"Yo...Y-you okay?"
An unfamiliar voice caught her attention. She looked down to where it was coming from; there, right in front of her, was a short, yellow and orange-striped monster. He looked like a stout lizard on two legs; which was good for him, because he didn't appear to have any arms. A row of small spikes ran down the back of his head, and his short tail twitched with concern. His freckled face and bright eyes gave off a sense of youthful bliss; he didn't look or sound much older than eight, nine at most.
"Yeah, fine, kid," she responded. "Just...lookin' up at the sk-uh...cave top."
"You're a kid, too, right?"
"Well..."
He wasn't wrong, but her duty and appearance certainly didn't reflect this; she was tall, slim and muscular, all traits that made her seem older than she really was.
"How could you tell?"
"Easy. You're wearin' a striped shirt."
THAT was the giveaway? She looked down at her blue and purple striped sweater; was it really that uncommon for adults to wear stripes? Then again, she had yet to see it...
"I've never seen a monster like you before..." he commented. "You from the capital? I heard it's gettin' crowded up there."
Ginger responded with a barely discernible nod, avoiding eye contact so he wouldn't see through her ruse.
"...See that tree right over there?"
He pointed with his head(as he had nothing else to point with) east, and the human found herself looking at a somewhat small pine tree. He lead her over to it, and upon drawing nearer, she saw that it was covered with strands of tinsel, ornaments, lights and all sorts of other festive trimming, and completed with a bright gold star placed on the very top. There were presents stacked up underneath it, each addressed to and from different people.
...A Christmas tree.
Monsters knew what Christmas was? Sure, owls didn't exactly celebrate it themselves, but they at least knew of it. But monsters had been trapped underground for ages; how could they possibly know about it?
"Bet you're wonderin' why we decorated this tree and put presents under it, huh?"
"...I can't say I'm not."
"Well, one day, some stupid teenagers decided that it'd be cool to make fun of a monster named Gyftrot by decorating its tree antlers. So to make him feel better, people here started to give him gifts. And now it's sort of a tradition; we decorate this tree here instead of his horns, and we give each other presents like we do Gyftrot, you see?"
Oh...Okay, then. Maybe they DIDN'T really know about Christmas.
"We call it 'Gyftmas.' I think my dad said the 'mas' means 'party,' or something like that."
But if this was so, then this was one HAGSMIRE of a coincidence.
"You know, if I tell people there's someone new in town, they'll probably leave some presents and stuff under there for you! What's your name?"
"Ah, th-that won't be necessary," she stammered.
"Aw, come on! If I can't get your name, then I can at least let some peeps know there's a new face in town! They don't even have to see it! I don't wanna see you missin' out! Just a few people! I promise! I won't tell 'em your name of you don't want! I won't even tell them what you look like!"
Ginger sighed; she simply couldn't deny the boy's good-natured request.
"...Alright. But no more than three, you hear? I'm trying to keep a low profile."
"No problem!"
The monster readied a sprint-and then proceeded to fall face first into the snow, having no arms to catch himself with. But he didn't seem to care; he just pushed himself back onto his feet and went on his merry way. She nodded approvingly as she watched him disappear. For someone with no arms, he seemed eager to give people a hand.
"Heh...give a hand...Sans would probably like that one."
"like what?"
"AH!"
She whizzed around to find the skeleton standing right behind her.
"My gosh, man, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
"you gotta chill out, kid. you act like everyone's out to get you."
"Ghee, I wonder why, don't you?" she retorted.
"hm...yeah. i guess i can see where you're gettin' at. but...you know...even if it seems like everyone's trying to get your soul...all they really want is to get to know you better. even my brother...heh, well...'even' might not be the right word."
"Then what WOULD the right word be?"
"probably something like 'especially.' sure, he wants to capture you, but...you know...he really doesn't fully understand what it means having to do that. he doesn't know you're supposed to die. he doesn't know that we need your soul to break the barrier. he's just...lonely, really. i'm one of the only people he's got. in all honesty...next to you doing all those puzzles for him, nothing would make him more happy then for him to call you his friend."
"...Really?"
"does it look like i'm joking?"
"No, but...why are you telling me all this?"
"because i care. he's just outside of town; keep goin' straight and you'll meet up with him at some point. don't know if he's your cup o' tea, but...just do me a solid, ging'."
"What's that?"
"he's kinda got an internal conflict going on; doesn't know if he should try to capture you anymore or not. but he might try to fight you. just givin' you a heads up, even if he's not that strong. i don't know what makes me think this, but even though you've been fairly decent to pretty much everyone you've come across down here, you seem like the type that likes to...ruff and tumble. a fighter. judging from what i've seen, maybe you're someone who fights...to keep people safe?"
"...How could you tell?"
"just intuition, i guess. but as i was saying, i got a piece of advice for you, about fighting against my brother."
"What's your advice?"
His eye sockets closed for a moment...somehow. And when they opened, the human shrank back. The white pupils that darted around inside of the black holes were gone.
"don't. capiche?"
"Uh...Noted."
"thanks. knew i could count on you," he told her, the white spots returning to his eyes. "try to make things work. maybe he'll come around, eh? oh, and by the way, in case you didn't see them, try out the tunnel system. quicker than just walkin'."
"Tunnel system?"
Ginger turned back around to look at the small, igloo-like opening, and then turned her head back to question him about it further. But Sans was already gone when she did.
...How does he DO that?...Maybe it's magic. Yeah. That...makes sense, I guess.
She approached the igloo; there was a staircase inside leading down to a swift-moving conveyer belt that she assumed she was supposed to step on. And when she did, she found herself moving towards another opening...slowly. She walked along the moving floor, and was impressed by the combined speed. It seemed like only a matter of seconds before she was coming out the exit. The second igloo was situated in between a well-constructed house and a shed...Whose house, though? On the opposite side of the house, there were two mailboxes; one overflowing with unread letters and other messages. Ginger took a look at the names on the sides of the boxes.
"sans"
"PAPYRUS"
This is THEIR house?...Nice digs.
She nodded, impressed by their living quarters. If the outside looked this nice, what did the interior look like, she wondered?
Ginger's thoughts were interrupted by a wet sensation on her small, fleshy nose. She blinked, and realized that tiny, white flakes were fluttering down onto the ground from above. She looked up; just below the dirt ceiling was a very thin layer of fog, from which the small ice crystals were falling.
It was snowing.
The light flurry turned somewhat heavier, and she passed the skeletons' house and continued north. The path ahead was lined with smaller, healthy pine trees, not much bigger than he decorated one in the center of the town. She kept going, and the snow fell faster, and in greater amounts, and the wind began to whistle softly through the pine needles, growing stronger with the snowfall. She wrapped her arms around herself to conserve what little body heat it felt like she had; her higher core temperature and inner layer of down feathers would have come in handy right about now if she still had them.
The snow was falling so heavily now that she could barely see in front of her. Fortunately the wind hadn't gone nuts, so she could at least hear.
"HUMAN."
The unmistakable voice of the tall skeleton came from somewhere ahead. Ginger looked up and squinted through the white sheet obscuring her vision, and she just barely managed to make out Papyrus' dark silhouette. How did he know it was her? She didn't think he could see any better than she could.
"I'VE ONLY KNOWN YOU FOR A SHORT TIME, BUT ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS," he said to her. "FEELINGS LIKE...THE JOY OF FINDING A FELLOW PUZZLE ENTHUSIAST. LET ALONE ONE WHO SHARES A SIMILAR TASTE FOR PASTA. AND THE DESIRE TO HAVE SOME COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU, TOO, ARE COOL. I BELIEVE THESE FEELINGS...MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE THINKING RIGHT NOW, IS THAT CORRECT?"
She cocked her head in confusion. Papyrus mistook this for a nod, then continued.
"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FELL THAT WAY, HUMAN. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU, HUMAN; COMING DOWN HERE, ALL BY YOURSELF, WITH NO FRIENDS...IT MUST BE LONELY."
Hadn't his brother said that HE was the lonely one? He didn't seem to think so himself.
"I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT...MY BROTHER TOLD ME TO BE CAREFUL AROUND YOU...WHY, YOU MIGHT ASK? I HAVEN'T THE SLIGHTEST IDEA, SINCE HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE YOU'VE HARMED A FLY EVER SINCE YOUR ARRIVAL. BUT I KNOW VERY WELL THAT YOU ARE A GOOD SOUL, HUMAN! AND I WILL PROVE TO MY BROTHER THAT HE HAS NOTHING TO WORRY!"
"How?"
"IN THE FACE OF GOOD COMPANY, YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL ALLOW YOU TO...TO BE..."
His voice seemed to trail off. And while she couldn't really see it, Ginger just knew that the big smile on his face had faded.
"Something the matter, Papyrus?"
"NO...NO, THIS ISN'T RIGHT...I...I CAN'T LET YOU BE MY FRIEND," he realized, sorrow in his usually chipper tone. "DON'T TAKE THIS PERSONALLY, BUT...YOU'RE A HUMAN. AND IT IS MY JOB TO CAPTURE YOU! IS THIS NOT WHAT I'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR ALL ALONG?"
His posture straightened, and he stood before the human with a new, threatening aura that Ginger had never expected to see in him.
"IF I GO BACK ON THAT...I WILL HAVE WASTED EVERYTHING I HAVE BEEN WORKING TO ACHEIVE...THAT'S IT, THEN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS...WILL CAPTURE YOU!"
As if on queue, the snow ceased, and a mighty gust of wind blew it out of the way. The skeleton stood there, taking on a fighting stance.
They were really doing this.
Ginger secured her Tough Glove and made a tight fist; she didn't want to have to use it on him, but just in case he was stronger than Sans had claimed...
"TRY YOUR HAND AT THIS!"
Ginger nearly felt the magic spread across the invisible arena in a rush of energy. And as soon as she'd finished that thought, she saw what his attacks looked like, coming in towards her from the north in a straight, single file line.
Bones. Of course.
She just moved out of their way, seeing as they were approaching in such a straight fashion.
"NOT BAD, HUMAN!" he praised. "BUT HOW ABOUT THIS!?"
Now there were two sets, coming at her from both the north AND the south. She weaved her way around them as they passed her; some of the bones barely came up to her knee, and some others were almost as tall as the human herself. She nearly clipped one of the said taller ones, as she felt the knob of the bone just barely brush up against her sleeve.
"You're not too terrible at this yourself."
"WHY, THANK YOU, HUMAN!"
Even in the face of battle, he never ceased to be polite, it seemed.
"IF YOU GET PAST THIS ONE, I'LL SHOW YOU ONE OF MY BEST MOVES!"
"I'm itchin' to see it," she replied, genuinely curious of what he had in store.
"PREPARE YOURSELF!"
One more row came the human's way, a might faster than before. This one was easy; all she had to do was step out of the straight path. The skeleton gave her an opening when the bullets halted, but just stood there and stared.
"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT, EH?" he acknowledged. "WELL, THEN. LET'S SEE JUST HOW WELL YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED...BLUE ATTACK!"
And the bones came forth...They were blue this time, instead of the normal white he'd been using. Sans' advice came back to her.
"if you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you if it makes contact. it'll just pass right through you, like it doesn't even exist."
She just stood there, hoping it was true. Sure enough, the blue attacks phased right through her, leaving nary a mark behind.
...That's a lot of blue attacks.
The bones ceased, and she opened her mouth, about to give Papyrus some advice on attack variation. But before any noise could come out, two screen barriers rose up out of the snow, both in front and behind the human, each just two feet or so away. She felt an odd sensation in her chest; her SOUL darted out and made itself visible.
It wasn't the fiery red-orange it had been when she first saw it.
Now it was blue.
"YOU'RE BLUE NOW," the skeleton announced as the SOUL retreated back to where it belonged. "THAT'S MY ATTACK. NOW, YOU'LL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO FACE MY BONE ATTACKS HEAD ON! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Sure enough, he sent another wave; they were white again, and both fairly short, not far below her knee. Ginger couldn't simply get out of the way now; she'd have to jump.
The first two were easy to clear, but the next was double the height of the last two. It was a good thing it was delayed, since it gave her just enough time to prepare her spring and barely clear the bullet.
"YOU ARE QUITE GOOD AT THIS! HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINING FOR THIS MOMENT?"
"Not particularly."
"WELL, I HAVE YET TO BEST YOU...LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES!"
The next wave was even more demanding. There were more bones, and the last few came all the way up to her thighs. The last one came too quickly; as she was bending over recovering from her last leap, it hit her square in the face. The pain shot throughout the human's entire body.
And it was the worst shoot she'd yet experienced.
Even Papyrus seemed surprised at his own strength.
"H-HUMAN?" he called, seeing Ginger writhe in pain for a good ten seconds. "ARE YOU ALRI-"
"FILTHY ROTTEN PILE OF NO-GOOD MACHEATH SCAT!"
The skeleton backed away, somewhat wide-eyed, and the human gasped in sudden realization and flung a hand over her mouth.
"...WH-WHY DO YOU BERATE YOURSELF SO TERRIBLY?" he questioned, knowing that someone as well-tempered as her could never direct those words at someone so great...although he had to admit, she had a colorful vocabulary; even he didn't know what a pile of "MacHeath scat" was.
And that was when he had a thought.
"OH, HOW SELFLESS...YOU JUST WANT ME TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT HAVING TO FIGHT YOU, DON'T YOU?"
"Uhh.."
Ginger was dumbfounded; was he really that full of himself to think she was directing the horrible insult at herself? But she didn't complain. If he knew the truth, let alone what the vulgar expression actually meant, it would likely snap his heart right in two.
And frankly, just for saying it to him, now she though she really WAS a rotten pile of no-good MacHeath scat.
She stood to her feet, the horrible shooting sensation having finally ceased.
"Let's just keep going. I...F-forget I ever said that."
"NOT A PROBLEM! HERE'S ONE THAT INVOLVES A BIT MORE THAN JUST HOPPING!"
Now the bone attacks were coming from both on the ground AND several feet above. Now her human coordination skills were REALLY going to get a workout.
One above and a short one below; jump and cover. A big one; leap over that. Then squeeze through that narrow opening, maybe just stepping over that small one. Here comes a rising series; time the leg movements properly. This continued for quite some time, and Ginger could feel herself getting better at it.
"Is that all you got?"
"IS THAT A CHALLENGE? I ACCEPT!"
Well the next phase certain was a surprise. Now the bones were STRETCHING up and down. Good timing was of essence. Nonetheless, she almost perfectly cleared the attack, only getting hit twice by the abnormally moving bones.
But even with just three hits under her belt, she could feel the pain of the attacks beginning to linger; she couldn't keep taking gradual damage, or she'd be in trouble.
"KEEP THIS UP AND I'LL SHOW YOU MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"
The next wave of bones was similar to the last; some of the bones moved, others stayed still, and Ginger had to think quickly of ways to properly didge the oncoming obstacles. In a way, this was sort of like another puzzle, requiring both physical and mental prowess to get past.
Now she was barely clipping any bones, but when she did, she could feel the mild ache spread throughout her form intensify just a bit more. It was a tiring burning sensation now, like she was standing a might too close to a giant bonfire. And there were tender spots on her where the bones had directly hit; she pictured her face being somewhat bruised, especially by the first impact.
"IT'S A SHAME, HUMAN, THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANYTHING TO HEAL YOURSELF WITH," Papyrus commented, realizing that he had seen her in better condition before.
"Like what?" she nearly snapped. She was careful to mind her tongue, but the unpleasant ache was making her irritable.
"WELL, WHAT ELSE BESIDES FOOD?"
Food.
The Cinnamon Bunny.
Eagerly, she fished the baked good out of her bag's side pouch and hastily shoved the whole thing into her mouth. She tasted just a hint of the sweet spice before sending it sliding down her gullet, not caring that she'd barely enjoyed it. Instantly, she felt the pain subdue, and most of her smaller wounds self-healed in an instant. How was something as simple as a cinnamon roll able to heal any damage, let alone so quickly? She had yet to find out.
"OH! YOU DID HAVE SOMETHING ON YOU AFTER ALL! ALRIGHT, THEN! SURVIVE THIS, AND I'LL SHOW YOU MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"
Blue, white, blue again...The final wave before his so-called "Special Attack" was a pattern, and the human made her movements follow suit; still, jump, still, jump, still jump, still, jump-
She emitted a small gasp on the final two; they came at an unsettlingly fast pace compared to all the others, but she still got passed them.
"HA HA! SO YOU'VE PROVEN YOURSELF WORTHY! THAT'S THAT, THEN! BEHOLD! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"
He attempted to call on another attack...But nothing happened. The skeleton looked behind him to see what could have happened to his attack, and Ginger directed her gaze towards the same location.
There, lying in the snow, was a tiny white dog, gnawing on what looked like an animal skull of some sort.
"WHAT IN THE-THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! YOU STUPID DOG! STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE RIGHT NOW! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"
The small canine yipped, then ran off with the skull clenched tightly between its teeth.
"WHAT! HEY! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK YOU MANGY MUTT!"
But the fluffy little bone thief had already disappeared into the piney woods. Papyrus let out a disappointed sigh.
"OH, WELL...I GUESS I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK."
The human braced herself, and the attacks came; two small one from the right, the same from the left; easy. Two tall ones; a little harder. a full on series of moving ones-eesh! The stretchy ones were the real mind-benders.
The dog ran by with the bone in its mouth, and she stepped over it as it darted in between the walls.
And the next series of bones was a long jump. From the brief side view she got of them, she could have sworn the two attacks spelled out,
"Cool Dude"
And to top that off, they were followed by what looked like...
A bone on a skateboard.
Wearing shades.
She cleared it; maybe she'd have snickered at the amusing attack if it'd been directed at someone else. And then...
Her eyes widened.
A series of bones nearly stretching across the entire width of the path was coming right in her direction; something she very well KNEW she couldn't jump over.
Out of sheer desperation and panic, she jumped anyway, not fully comprehending that the attack seemed completely unavoidable, let alone potentially fatal. And the moment her feet came off the ground...
She found herself rising higher into the air, almost twice her own height, now.
There was no way her legs could make a jump that high. What was going on? Was this another magic thing?
But when she saw what was at the end of the unbroken bullet series, all she had to do was will herself higher, and it happened. If she so much as brushed against THAT bone, which was double the height of the pine trees lining the path, she'd be a dead human.
She rose higher, even flapping her arms, forgetting that it wasn't wings that were lifting her up off the ground, and she finally found herself hovering over the giant attack. And right when she cleared it, she could feel gravity come back into play, gradually, then...
Ginger dropped, and landed bending one knee and bracing the impact with her gloved hand. She tried to flash a confident smirk, hoping she didn't look confused.
And THEN she saw yet ANOTHER bone, coming at her at a snail's pace, and just barely extending past her foot in height. All she had to do was step over it when it came close enough and she was in the clear.
"...WELL!" the skeleton barked, clearly out of breath from the immense attack. "IT'S...CLEAR NOW THAT...YOU CAN-" He seemed to swallow. "...CAN'T DEFEAT ME! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING...IN YOUR BOOTS! THEREFORE, I! THE GREAT! PAPYRUS! ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY!...I'LL SPARE YOU! NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO...ACCEPT!...MY MERCY!"
He finally caught his breath, and the magical walls disappeared into thin air, freeing the human. He saw that she just stood there, not fighting back. She'd accepted.
"NYOO HOO HOO HOO..." he lamented; not exactly his happy laugh. "HOW IS IT THAT I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU?"
"I got to admit, that was pretty impressive," Ginger answered. "I've never had a battle like that one before."
"YOUR WORDS ARE KIND, HUMAN, BUT...UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE REALLY DISAPPOINTED IN ME WHEN SHE FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS. I'LL NEVER GET INTO THE ROYAL GUARD, AND ON TOP OF THAT, MY..."
His jovial grin faltered, then finally fell into a frown, and he turned away.
"...MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT."
It was true; he really was as lonely as his brother had stated. It seemed like he'd only boasted about having so many upon the encounter just to impress.
"Uh...Dude?"
He made no indication that he heard her. He just stood there.
"...WELL," he finally said. "YOU'VE GOT PLACES TO GO, DON'T YOU? I BID YOU FAREWELL, HUMAN."
And he began to walk ahead of the path, slowly and lethargically. She felt bad for the poor fellow. She really did. All he wanted was a friend.
And that was exactly what she was going to give him.
"W-wait, Papyrus."
He stopped, but refused to look her in the eye.
"...What's that you said about your friend quantity?"
"IT WILL REMAIN STAGNANT?"
"Ah...No, it won't."
"IT...WON'T? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
"I know where you can find a new friend."
"...REALLY?" he inquired, curious. "WHERE?"
"Heh...Just turn around."
"WELL, ALRIGHTY, THEN."
He made a full 180, and right there before him...
Was the human.
"WAIT," he confirmed, the enormous smile returning to his face as he approached. "YOU REALLY WANT TO...BE FRIENDS? WITH ME?"
She flashed another smirk his way; a genuine smile, as cool and collected as it was.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT. THIS IS...! ERM...I MEAN...WELL, I...GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU! HA! HA HA! WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM?"
The calm grin finally left Ginger's face; now this. THIS statement was a whole new level of ridiculousness. She snorted.
"ERM...HUMAN?"
And then the laugh she'd been containing for a might too long finally escaped. And it only grew more boisterous from there.
And Papyrus was quick to follow with his signature cackle, which only made everything even more hilarious.
When the howling laughter finally died down, he spoke again.
"YOU'VE TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN," he stated. "I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND TO BOOT, I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE CAPITAL, WHERE THE BARRIER AWAITS! ALL YOU NEED DO IS CONTINUE EAST UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. AND THERE IN ASGORE'S CASTLE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO CROSS THROUGH THE BARRIER...IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE CALL THE MAGICAL SEAL KEEPING US ALL TRAPPED UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT FROM THE OUTSIDE, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT...EXCEPT FOR SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL, LIKE YOURSELF!"
"So all I have to do is watch out for the king and just...walk back into the outside?"
"THAT SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT? BUT...WATCH OUT FOR HIM? WHY WOULD YOU EVER NEED TO BE WARY OF KING ASGORE? HE'S JUST A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!"
"A big. Fuzzy. Pushover."
Was she hearing this correctly?
"ABSOLUTELY! OH, EVERYBODY LOVES HIM. I'M CERTAIN THAT IF YOU JUST WALK UP TO HIM AND SAY 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR, CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"
This claim was a stark contrast to Toriel's warning.
"He...Asgore...will kill you."
But the way the skeleton described him made the king sound like the nicest guy on earth. Which one was she supposed to listen to?
"HUMAN! THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE...YOU SEEM CONFLICTED! ARE YOU, PERHAPS, HESITANT TO EMBARK ON YOUR JOURNEY TO THE CAPITAL?"
"You could say that," the human replied. "You're not the only one who's told me about the king and the capital. To be honest, I...think I'm gonna stick around Snowdin for a while until I sort out my plans properly. I'm guessing the capital's a long ways off?"
"IT IS QUITE FAR FROM HERE. I CAN SEE THE NEED FOR EXTRA PREPARATION, NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT. BUT IF YOU'RE STAYING FOR A WHILE, THAT MEANS WE CAN GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER!"
"I'll probably crash at the inn and use my time to stock up on resources; food, tools, stuff like that. Especially if I'm gonna be doing this all on foot."
"THE INN!? NONSENSE! AS A GOOD FRIEND, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO STAY WITH MY BROTHER AND I, FREE OF CHARGE!"
"Really?"
"WHY, OF COURSE! IT'S THE LEAST I COULD DO!"
He stretched out his bony arms and practically scooped Ginger off the ground in a friendly hug, oblivious to her disdain until she spoke.
"Papyrus if we're really friends you're gonna put me down."
"OH. NYEH HEH..."
He swiftly complied, not wanting to annoy the friend he'd just made.
"MY APOLOGIES."
"Look, I appreciate the thought, but I've got two words for you: No. Hugs."
"NO. HUGS. I THINK I CAN REMEMBER THAT. AND I'LL ALSO REMEMBER TO INFORM MY LAZY BROTHER ! ODDS ARE HE WON'T LIFT A FINGER WHEN I ASK HIM TO HELP ME PICK UP, SO I'LL HAVE TO DO MOST OF THE TIDYING MYSELF...AS ALWAYS...BUT IT'S NOT A PROBLEM! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ALWAYS KEEP A NEAT AND CLEAN ENVIRONMENT! SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE MUCH TO DO!"
"That's great!"
"WELL, I'LL BE AT MY HOUSE BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO DROP BY ANY TIME! NYEH! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
And he ran off towards his home again with the same cackle. Ginger watched him disappear down the path, and she could just barely make out his tiny silhouette open the door to his log house and dart inside. She decided to give him some time; if she was going to be hanging with them for the next few days, she'd give the brothers some time to prepare...mainly Papyrus, if what he said about Sans was true.
"well, that went well, didn't it?"
She was about to jump, but then she processed the voice.
Speak of the hagsfiends and they shall appear.
She turned around to face the shorter skeleton.
"Might I ask how you do that?"
"do what?"
"Just...show up out of nowhere. Is it, like, some sort of magic?"
"eh...i guess you could say that. it's a talent of mine. you wanna see another talent of mine?"
"...Okay?"
"check this out."
And as soon as he said it, she found herself being lifted clean off the ground by some invisible force. There was an odd glow in one of the skeleton's eyes, and he raised his...eyebrow...socket parts, or whatever they were, indicating that it was HIS doing.
"does that explain anything weird that might have happened during that little scuffle?"
"That was YOU?"
"you're welcome."
And he planted her back onto the ground, feet first, thankfully.
"Exactly how much of that did you see...or hear?"
"oh, only all of it."
"So, you know what we planned on doing, right?"
"you're gonna crash with us. fine with me; makes things more interesting, at least. and, uh...i appreciate that you listened to my little piece of advice. thanks for that."
"Oh...You're welcome."
"i just have one question."
"Lay it on me."
"would you mind defining 'macheath scat' for me?"
Oh. Well. Sprink...
A/N: For those of you unfamiliar with Wolves of the Beyond, the MacHeaths are a clan of Dire Wolves known for their brutality, and they were eventually ousted from the Beyond by neighboring clans into the Outermost. Go read the wiki if you're curious, it'll tell you more than I can.
How'd I depict the battle scene? Some aspects of the fight were kinda hard to write down without making them seem completely outlandish. They say a picture paints a thousand words, and I'll tell you something; they're not wrong.
And I didn't include every single attack wave, because that would have doubled the chapter length. XD Besides, it'd probably get boring after a while, so I just included the major ones.
Well, thanks again for readin', fellas!