Chapter four: Snowdin part II- Snowdin Town
Snowdin town was too small to be a town. Heck, it was too small to be a village. To Ruby, it was more like a small cluster of houses just called a town. There was a shop, a hotel, a librarby (Spelled wrong), and a little pub called Grillby's. Despite its cold climate, the little town had enough spirit to warm even the coldest person's soul. Ruby imagined Cinder coming in here and smiling to at least one townsfolk. She paid the little shop a visit.
"Howdy!" A cheerful southern rabbit monster welcomed her. "May I help you dear traveller?"
"Hi!" Ruby greeted. "I was wondering what you have for sale here."
"Let me see here..." The rabbit trailed off while searching her inventory. "I have a glove here that raises attack to five... a bandana that raises your defence to seven... bisicles that heal eleven hp twice... some cinnamon bunnies, they're my own recipe. Any of this appeal to you sugar?" She asked politely. Ruby smiled.
"I'll take two cinnamon bunnies and a bisicle please." Ruby smiled.
"That will be 65g sugar cube." Ruby handed over the money. "Would you like to know about this here town while you're here?"
"Sure." Ruby replied with a warm smile. The bunny giggled.
"What would you like to know?"
"How's life?" Ruby asked, unsure what to say first. The bunny just laughed.
"Life's the same as usual, a little claustrophobic." She began with a sour look on her face. She regained the smile though. "But... we all know deep down that freedom is coming, don't we? As long as we got that hope, we can grit our teeth and face the same struggles, day after day..." she looked saddened by this thought. "That's life, ain't it?"
"Change the subject!" Chara warned. Ruby nodded.
"What's the town history like? Anything interesting?" she asked quickly. The bunny nodded.
"Think back to your history class. A long time ago, monsters lived in the ruins back there in the forest." Ruby remembered Toriel and was saddened by it. She simply nodded. "Long story short, we all decided to leave the ruins and head for the other end of the caverns. Along the way some fuzzy folk decided they preferred the cold and set up camp in Snowdin. Oh, and don't even think of trying to explore the ruins. The door has been locked for ages. So unless you're a ghost or can burrow under the door, forget about it."
"What can you do around here?" Ruby asked, looking around. There didn't seem to be much.
"You want to know what to do here in Snowdin?" She asked, almost in shock. "Grillby's has food and the library has information. If you're tired, you can take a nap at the inn. It's right next door, my sister runs it. And if you're bored, you can sit outside and watch those wacky skeletons do their thing. There are two of them, brothers I think. They just showed up one day and... asserted themselves."
"Oh yeah. I met them on the way here. They're definitely something." Ruby giggled, remembering the antics Papyrus pulled during her walk through the woods.
"Ah yes. The town has definitely gotten a lot more interesting since they arrived."
"Well, I best get going." Ruby smiled, stating her goodbyes. The bunny smiled.
"Yep! And welcome to Snowdin! I can't remember the last time I saw a fresh face around 'ere."
Ruby waved and walked up to the save point beside the shop.
"The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination."
Ruby yawned and stretched. Feeling tired, she did as the bunny lady said and visited the inn.
"Hiya! Welcome to Snowed Inn!" The bunny at the counter greeted with a smile. Ruby smiled and walked over to her.
"Hi. I'd like a room."
"For one night that'll be 80g." The bunny smiled. Ruby paid her. "Great. Here's your key. Make sure to bundle up!"
Ruby ran upstairs to her room and flopped on the bed.
"Idiot! Keep moving!" Chara scolded.
"Sans said I need to fight Papyrus. It's best to be well rested before fighting."
"Yeah whatever." The ghost groaned. Ruby was ignoring them as she snuggled up under the blanket and fell asleep. She woke up feeling refreshed. Picking up Crescent Rose off the night stand, she went downstairs to return the key.
"Hiya! You look like you had a great sleep!" The bunny quipped, taking the key. "Which is incredible, considering you were only up there for about five minutes."
"Wait really?" Ruby asked in shock, staring at a clock. Miraculously the woman was right. It has been only five minutes.
"Here's your money back. You can pay me if you're going to stay overnight."
Ruby, still confused over how the hell that even worked, walked out without another word. She walked over to a bear monster that was placing a present under a Christmas tree.
"Excuse me, but what are you doing?" Ruby asked out of curiosity. On the surface it was April, not December.
"Awful teens tormented a local monster by decorating its tree like horns." He started in a deep voice. "So we started giving him gifts to make him feel better. Now it's tradition to put presents under a decorated tree."
"Oh! Neat!" Ruby quipped. She ran off to get a box and placed something inside it. She decorated it and placed it under the tree. She addressed it to Papyrus. (The present was a written out copy of her dad's spaghetti recipe. She thought he'd like it. Ruby didn't like pasta anyways.) She walked over to a kid in a striped shirt. He didn't have any arms.
"Yo! You're a kid too right? I can tell because you're short!" Ruby looked insulted.
"I'll have you know I'm a teenager! A young adult!" She corrected. The monster looked guilty.
"Yo, sorry. Didn't mean to assume, ha-ha." Ruby forced a smile and walked away. She was about to enter Grillby's, but when she saw it was filled with all the dogs from the Canine Unit she fought before, she turned and walked away. There was a mouse in a scarf standing nearby with a devilish looking monster beside him. The little mouse looked sad.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, pulling the scarf away from the small mouse's eyes.
"Everyone is always laughing and cracking jokes, trying to forget about our modern crises. Dreariness, crowding, lack of sunlight. I would join them, but I'm just not very funny." He sighed. Ruby smiled.
"Maybe you should go talk to that skeleton, Sans. I'm sure he can hit you up with some jokes." She winked. The mouse seemed enlightened. Even through the scarf, Ruby could tell he was smiling.
"Which one is he?"
"The short one."
"Thank you."
She smiled and went to talk to the devil looking monster. He looked like the smile on his face was being heavily forced.
"We all know the underground has problems, but we smile anyways."
"Why?" Ruby asked. She was genuinely confused.
"Why?" The monster repeated. "We can't do anything, so why be morose about it?" He replied cheerfully. Ruby took a mental note on that one.
"What wise words." She muttered to herself. "Sounds like something Blake or Yang would say..."
She walked a little over to the right. There was a library. Or should I say...
"Librarby? I wonder who the genius was that made that sign." She giggled to herself. Chara agreed.
"Sounds like something either Sans or Papyrus would do if you ask me."
"Speak of the devil, I think I see a silhouette of him in the fog over there." Ruby stated, making her way to the edge of the town. She walked past a house which she noticed had two mail boxes, one full the other empty. They were labeled "Sans" and "Papyrus". "So that's where they live." Ruby quipped, otherwise ignoring the house. She walked into the fog, being on her toes because the silhouette could have been a trick or something. Her fears were short lived though.
"HUMAN." The figure stated in a dramatic tone. Ruby smiled, the voice was so distinct that hiding the identity was pointless.
"Hi Papyrus." She replied with a smirk. Chara was laughing her ass off.
"WHAT? HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO IDENTIFY ME IN ALL THIS FOG?" Ruby simply shrugged. "NO MATTER! I WILL CONTINUE MY SPEECH REGARDLESS!" The sound of paper could be heard. Ruby assumed he was reading a written script. "AUGH! BLAST THIS FOG..." He groaned. The sound of a trombone behind Ruby could be heard. "SANS! STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC! NO MATTER!" He declared a second time, dropping the script. "I'LL MAKE IT UP AS I GO! AHEM! ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS! FEELINGS LIKE THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER, THE ADMIRATION OF ONE'S PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS, THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL! THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE THINKING RIGHT NOW."
"Debatable... I'm not really a fan of pasta..." Ruby muttered. It was true, she hated pasta, but Papyrus' cooking was a whole new level of gross.
"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY..." He sighed, completely ignoring Ruby. "AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE." Ruby couldn't help but pity him now. "I PITY YOU LONELY HUMAN..." He was looking more and more depressed as he went on. Ruby felt really bad. She kinda just wanted to hug the skeleton and say everything would be okay. "WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR... NO. WAIT. THIS IS WRONG. I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND. YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER, OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" He boasted, engaging them into combat. Again and again he attacked, and again and again Ruby never fought back. He boasted, she refused. He attacked, she dodged. At first it was easy, then he turned her soul blue and everything got super heavy. She couldn't dodge as easily, due to the fact that gravity was now in proper law of physics. Finally, it was time for the special attack.
"You... put up a... good fight... Papyrus..." She huffed between gasps for breath. "What's your special attack? I'm ready." She concluded confidently, standing upright again.
"NYEH! OF COURSE HUMAN! BEHOLD MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" He went to attack, only to reveal a dog nibbling on a bone. "WHAT THE HECK? THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! HEY YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE! HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" He demanded. The dog just slowly shuffled away. A trombone could be heard in the background. "SANS! STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC! I MEAN IT! SIGH... OH WELL... I'LL JUST USE A SUPER COOL REGULAR ATTACK INSTEAD. SIGH... HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."He huffed, preparing the attack. Ruby was surprised at the 'absolutely normal' attack. By her standards it worked as a special attack. She had to dodge short bones, long bones, bones that bounce up and down, a bone that would put a Goliath Grimm to shame, even the dog that stole the special attack and bones that spelled out "Cool dude" and a skateboarding bone. Ruby started laughing at the last three, though that made her vulnerable and she got hit. Also there was a really slow one she simply stepped over. Papyrus appeared exhausted.
"WELL... –HUFF-... IT'S CLEAR THAT YOU CAN'T –HUFF- DEFEAT ME... YEAH! SEE? YOU'RE SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS! THERE FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU HUMAN!" Ruby took this as an opportunity and spared Papyrus.
"NYOO HOO HOO..." He sobbed. "I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU..." Ruby suddenly felt insulted. She wasn't weak! Even though Chara was laughing at her for that insult she definitely wasn't. "UNDYNE WILL BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER GET TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL STILL REMAIN STAGNANT."
"I'll be your friend."
Papyrus spun his head around to see Ruby sitting there with a smile on her face. He smiled back.
"REALLY? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME!?" He asked excitedly.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Ruby shrugged. This made the skeleton even more excited.
"WELL THEN, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU! WOWIE! WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWEFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM. YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT HUMAN! I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE OU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE. CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT'S THE DUST POWERED SEAL THAT'S TRAPPING US UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT, EXCEPT FOR SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL. THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO AQUIRE A HUMAN! HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE. OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU..." He scowled. "TO REACH THE SURFACE YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... HE IS..." He trailed off. Ruby was worried for a brief moment, until he smiled. "HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER. EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN THAT IF YOU JUST SAY "EXCUSE ME, Mr. DREEMURR... CAN I JUST GO HOME?" HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF. ANYWAY! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING! I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND IF YOU WANT TO HANG OUT! NYEH HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!" Then he literally started walking in the air. Ruby just sighed and followed.
"What do you think he has in mind?" Chara asked as they walked to the little house they passed earlier. Papyrus was standing in front of it.
"I don't know..." She muttered. "Hey Papyrus!"
"AH! HUMAN! I'M GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT! I GUESS I SHOULD TAKE MY FRIEND SOMEWHERE SPECIAL! FOLLOW ME!" They walked at a fairly fast pace away from the home. At first Ruby thought they were going to Grillby's, and then they turned around.
"Papyrus? Where are we going?"
"MY HOUSE!"
"Ooookay..?"Ruby thought to herself. Chara chuckled in agreement. "What was the point of walking away then?" She asked, only to be ignored. The skeleton ran inside, and the reaper hesitantly followed. The house looked fairly normal. A living room with a couch and television, a kitchen... with a two story sink, two bedrooms upstairs (One had strange lights coming from underneath. Ruby assumed this was Sans' room.)
"Yep. Totally normal." She stated out loud. Papyrus heard her and stood proud, believing it to be a genuine compliment.
"WHY THANK YOU HUMAN!"
"Papyrus, please, it's Ruby."
"AH! WHAT A LOVELY NAME RUBY!" The skeleton complimented. Ruby smiled nervously. She decided to check out the kitchen. First off, she checked out the 15 foot tall sink.
"IMPRESSED? I IMPROVED THE HIGHT OF MY SINK! NOW I HAVE A LOT MORE ROOM TO STORE BONES INSIDE! TAKE A LOOKSY!" Ruby opened the cupboard to reveal the same annoying dog from before in there, chewing on a bone. "WHAT? CATCH THAT MEDDLING CANINE!" He bellowed, trying to run after the dog. Ruby tried as well. But even with her semblance she couldn't catch it. "CURSES!" He threw down a glove in rage. Ruby briefly saw something on his hand before he placed the glove back on.
"Sorry Papyrus..." Ruby panted. She felt guilty. The skeleton sighed.
"OH WELL... NOTHING WE CAN-"
'Bwah bwah bwah..." A trombone could be heard from upstairs. Papyrus snapped.
"SAAAAAAANNNNNSSSSS!" He screamed, running up the stairs. Ruby could hear a door slam and a lock click from where she was standing downstairs. "SANS OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW! I AM TIRED OF GETTTING MY LIFE PLAGUED WITH YOUR INCIDENTAL MUSIC!"
"Get dunked on bro." Sans replied. Ruby wasn't surprised by the mediocre response, but died laughing anyways.
"HUMAN, ARE YOU READY TO HANG OUT?" Papyrus called down the stairs. Ruby nodded and walked up.
"Ready to get started Papyrus." Ruby encouraged with a smile. The tall skeleton smiled.
"THEN FOLLOW ME INTO MY BEDROOM!"
Papyrus' room was actually fairly normal looking. It had a car bed, action figures, a book shelf, a Jolly Rodger flag on the wall, a box of bones, and a computer. She walked up to the box of bones in confusion.
"Papyrus, why do you just have a box filled with bones here?" She picked one up and looked at it. Was there something engraved? Weird thing that skeletons collect on a normal basis?
"AH! THOSE ARE THE ATTACKS I USED ON YOU! GREAT MEMORIES, HUH? SEEMS LIKE IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY... EVEN THOUGH IT BASICALLY JUST HAPPENED." He scowled with the last statement. "ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN HANGING OUT?" Ruby smiled with a confident nod, getting ready for what he had in store.
(A/N: I'm not going to do like that dating minigame from the game, I'm just going to have them play and hang out like normal people.)
"I, THE GREAT SHERRIF, DECLARE YOU AN OUTLAW!" Papyrus taunted, having his action figure throw Ruby's in jail.
"Noooo..." Ruby cried with a giggle. Her second character was in the bar ordering drinks.
"We caught the crook bartender. Give everyone in here a round on me." Then she placed the toy down.
"I'm sorry Papyrus, I have to go. If I want to get out of here, I need to keep moving."
"I understand. Here, take my number. You can call me any time."
"Thanks." She smiled, taking the piece of paper he handed her. And with that, she left.
"Well that was a waste of time."Chara complained. Ruby rolled her eyes.
"Not entirely. We made him happy. That's all that matters."
"Yes. Because being trapped in an underground prison is better than having a single un-happy monster."
Ruby said nothing more on the subject as she entered Waterfall.