Chapter 2
As Toriel walked back up the stairs sadly, her head sprang up when she noticed the front door was slightly opened and heard a low sound. She quickly and quietly headed to the next room, although there was no one there besides the table and chairs, the fireplace, her chair, and the book she left on the chair upside down. However, Toriel distinctly remembered putting the book right side up, and then she heard the low sound of rushing water from the kitchen as she peeked into the kitchen to see who was there. Her eyes widened to see a lady washing her dishes, but more so that another piece of her butterscotch-cinnamon pie was missing.
'Did she… actually take a piece of my pie? No one besides him has been able to take a piece without feeling too intimated to do so...' Toriel thought as she watched a little longer but backed away when she saw the lady was done washing.
"Well, hopefully whoever lives here won't mind I took a slice. Best pie I've had since mom," the lady said, as she dried her hands and then turned to leave the kitchen.
She headed through the fireplace room to follow the scent of where the human went, while Toriel stood behind her chair so that she wouldn't see her. As she watched the lady pass by, Toriel didn't sense dark intent within her, but she sensed an inner strength that seemed familiar as she followed behind her.
After entering the basement and reaching the door that led to the end of the Ruins, the lady smelled the air and caught a few scents in the area.
"Ah, so the human came by here… I hope I can make it to them in time. Hopefully they didn't run into trouble with the other monsters," the lady said as she took slow steps towards the door.
"Please…" Toriel softly spoke as she took a few steps into the room, while the lady stopped walking.
"Take care of the human… my child… would you do this?" Toriel asked her as the lady turned towards her.
Upon examining the lady goat monster, and seeing that she was genuinely kind and full of worry, the lady softly smiled and with a thumbs up replied,
"Sure thing."
Toriel smiled with relief in her eyes and said,
"Thank you."
The lady continued on her journey through the door, as Toriel returned to the Ruins once more.
When she stepped out upon a snow-covered forest, the lady was surprised that a whole forest was growing underground, especially with snow since usually the lower under ground you are, the hotter it should be.
"Huuuuh, this is pretty cool. No pun inte-" the lady cut off when she noticed faded footprints that reached a broken stick and other footsteps along with the little faded ones.
She bend down on one knee to examine the scene of the stick-shattering crime, and then she thought,
'The human… the kid came through here… and someone else. From the way this stick was broken, someone else broke it… and they followed after the kid. Oh no, they're being followed. I better hurry.'
The lady placed her hands on the ground in a runner's starting position, and as she ran forward in a burst of speed, she ran on all fours like a wolf through the snowy forest.
Snowdin Forest:
When first exiting the Ruins, the child's feet crunched as she realized she was stepping on snow. She saw a forest before her of tall dark-wooded trees, and a blanket of snow on the ground. She noticed a camera in the bushes nearby the door of the Ruins as she hoped it wasn't active, and she continued ahead along the trail through the forest. A strong stick stood in the middle of the road, as she realized that she wasn't strong enough to wield such a mighty stick, and stepped over it. Within a few steps away, she heard an echoing crack, as she quickly turned her head to see the mighty stick smashed into pieces.
+ What the heck?!
– Woah! Whoever broke that must be strong.
+ Yeah, I couldn't even use it!
The child felt a little nervous, but she pressed onward to a bridge that she was about to cross, but the sound of crunching footsteps approaching her from behind made her freeze in place.
+ Ooooh mmmmy goooooosh! Who is that?!
– What the- You're going to die!
+ I can't move… I can't move!
The mysterious figure stood behind the human child, as he spoke in a serious tone,
"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."
The human child swallowed, and then turned around to shake the hand of this mysterious figure. However, the sound of a whoopee cushion caught the child by surprise.
"heheh… the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny," the mysterious skeleton man said with his signature smile and dark eye sockets with white pupils.
The human giggled as they released hands, which made the skeleton man in a blue jacket over a white shirt, black pants with vertical lines on the sides, and pink slippers widen his smile a little more.
"anyways, you're a human, right?" the skeleton asked, and the child nodded.
"that's hilarious. i'm sans. sans the skeleton. i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now," Sans the skeleton said, as the child grew a little nervous but intrigued.
+ How… How is that hilarious? Did he never meet a human before…?
- …
"but… y'know… i don't really care about capturing anybody," Sans said, making the child feel relief, but not as he continued, "now my brother, papyrus… he's a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually. i think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."
+ Oh great, a hunter… am I going to die?!
The human quickly walked over the bridge, as Sans followed behind them to an open area where a wooden stand covered in snow stood along with a purple lamp with a blue shade that matched the child's profile.
"quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp," Sans said, and the child quickly ran behind the lamp.
Another skeleton appeared with a confident smile, a red scarf around his neck with red boots and gloves to match, and a black body suit underneath a round white 'armor' top and round blue shorts.
"sup, bro?" Sans greeted the taller skeleton.
"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?!" the taller skeleton scolded.
"staring at this lamp. it's really cool. do you wanna look?" Sans asked him, as the human grew a bit worried.
+ Oh my gosh he's almost ratting me out!
– He's doing it on purpose!
"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, FRIEND? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!" Papyrus said as an invisible wind blew through his scarf.
The human found his boasting to be funny even though it involved capturing her, but upon hearing the way he said people will ask to be his friend, she felt sympahty for him since it sounded like he didn't have any friends.
+ Why he questions friend like that? He doesn't have any?
"hmm… maybe this lamp will help you," Sans said as his eyes diverted towards the side.
The human caught on to what Sans was trying to say, as she was surprised that he would want her help since he was supposed to capture a human, but was kind enough to let her be and even hide her. She felt a little obligated to return the favor, and since he already suggested in helping his brother, the human added that to her goal.
+ Huh… one favor to another I suppose.
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERYDAY!" Papyrus said as he stomped his foot in the snow.
"hey, take it easy. i've gotten a ton of work done today. a skele-ton," Sans winks as he looks towards you, and you feel that he knows you're there, but does he know you're reading instead of actually playing the game too?
"SANS!"
"come on. you're smiling."
"I AM AND I HATE IT! SIGH… WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"
"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone," Sans winks with both eyes towards you, as you realize that yes he knows you're there and he may be aware that you're reading this, and hopefully you've played the game so that you're not being spoiled since there's going to be a skele-ton of spoilers.
+ Hehe, he makes jokes.
– A comedian…
"UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES… AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, "BACKBONE" INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEEHHEHEHEHEHE! HEH!" Papyrus said as he left, but came back only for a moment to say his last heh before running off ahead.
"ok, you can come out now," Sans said, and the child stepped out from behind the lamp.
"Thank you for your help, Sans," the child said as she approached him.
"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 with a wink, and she nodded.
As the child began walking along, she stopped when Sans said,
"actually, hey… hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? i was thinking… my brother's been kind of down lately… he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day. don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be."
+ Oh, so he wants me to be friends with his brother to make him happy.
– It might be a trap... but his brother doesn't seem dangerous.
"Hmm, sure thing. Your brother seems nice," the child said with a smile.
"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead," Sans said, as he totally walked the opposite way of where the child was going, which made her raise an eyebrow.
+ Wha- He walked the other way!
– What the heck?
The human child continued on her way along the path, as she met a Snowdrake monster who's jokes she enjoyed as it put a smile on his face, and she found a fishing rod with a note asking for someone to call them which she rejected and decided to let the note stay in the water. She also found a shining golden light that she let the positive voice use as a save point, and a box that can store items and be used in any other box like it, as the sign next to it said. Then she walked along the snowy road and met with the skeleton brothers again as she was less afraid to let Papyrus see her. He became excited to finally meet a human that his sentences were cutting off at the end until he regained his composure.
"… AHEM! HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN! I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE… ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said as he ran off ahead excitedly.
"well, that went well. don't sweat it, kid. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya," Sans said, and he walked ahead this time.
The human continued along on her quest, as she helped an Ice be himself, petted a Doggo, learned about Blue Attacks from Sans, met a kind Snowman and decided to take a piece of him on his request to travel the world, survived Papyrus' puzzles, bought some Nice cream that made a rabbit guy happy to finally sell something, and petted a Lesser Dog as his head reached new heights.
The human was actually enjoying her time in this place, slowly realizing that the monsters that challenged her to fights weren't actually bad or mean at heart. She then saw a pile of snow that seemed to cover something as she was about to walk through when she heard someone shout,
"Watch out beloooow!"
She looked up and took a step back as someone fell into the snow pile and ended up under it. Upon closer inspection, the human could tell that someone was indeed under the snow, and when they popped up out of it, she fell on her bottom on the ground.
"Woooo, that was indeed a crash landing! It's too bad I can't keep myself up in the air. Flying is hard..." the lady said as she stood up while dusting the snow off her jacket.
Then she noticed the human child sitting on the floor looking at her, as the human child stared at her in equal surprise.
"… Oh, hey! I didn't see you there… Oh gosh did I hit you?! Sorry 'bout that," the lady said as she offered her hand to help the child stand up.
"No, I just fell back. Thank you though," the child said as she took her hand to stand up.
"Sure thing, kid… wait a minute... kid! It's you! The human child I've been searching for! Glad to see you're still in one piece. It'd be a shame to find you dismembered or something," the lady said with relief in her smile.
"Uhh... yeah it would," the child said while rubbing her cheek with her finger nervously.
"You seem to be in good condition oddly… Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Curtain, what's yours?" Curtain asked with her hand extended towards the child.
"Oh, my name is… Chara," the child replied as she looked at her hand, and then shook it.
"Hmm… you don't look like that name, but I won't pry. My name isn't exactly reflective either. Hehehe." Curtain chuckled.
"Well you seem to be hanging around," the child said with a wink, as Curtain covered her mouth to stop her laugh.
"Well played. So, how you've been so far? Run into trouble?" Curtain asked.
"Weeeell... yes. Some of it wasn't so bad since some of monsters seemed to be misunderstood and stuff… and Papyrus isn't bad, what with all his puzzles and just wanting to be recognized for his hard work. The puzzles are pretty fun actually, even the so called 'dangerous' ones," the child explained.
"Ahhh, so you've been doing pretty good, and I assume Papyrus is a monster here?"
"Yeah, a skeleton monster. His brother said he's never seen a human, and he kind of asked me to help make him happy by showing myself, so I did, and it's been pretty fun with both of them so far."
"Ooooh, that's pretty cool. Who's his brother?"
"His name is Sans, the skeleton. He's funny, but he seems to have a thing with being lazy, which his brother doesn't like very much… which is weird since he's always around so I guess he's not lazy in traveling and telling jokes."
"Ahhh. Hehehe. Well, its nice to see that you're holding your own, and that the monsters have been pretty nice to you so far, eh?"
"Yeah... but who knows what's to come. I mean, I'm not saying I'm scared, but... I still remember what Ms. Toriel said…" The child said as she looked towards the side.
"Toriel?" Curtain asked with a raised brow.
"The caretaker lady in the ruins."
"Oooh, you mean the sad goat lady."
"Y-You met her?" the child asked, her eyes widening.
"Yeah. Right before coming here. Said she wanted me to look after a certain little human around here. Tell me, have you seen this human?" Curtain asked with a smile as she put her hand to her chin.
"Hmm, I have seen them actually, whenever I look in a mirror," the child said while pointing to herself with a smirk.
"Hehehe. I like you, kid. You've got a sense of humor."
"Heehee. I like you too, Curtain."
"Say, you got a phone or something? It would make it easier to keep in contact with you if we separate. I'm not too familiar with the layout here," Curtain said as she took her phone out of her inner jean jacket pocket.
"Oh, sure," the child said as she took her phone Toriel gave her out of her pocket.
"Okay, so since I might be busy researching, you can call me anytime you like, unless I'm sleeping since I won't be able to answer you anyway," Curtain said as she put her phone away.
"What are you researching?" the child asked as she returned her phone to her pocket.
"Good question. I'm looking for someone, something, or some way to learn how to fly," Curtain said while pointing upward.
"Fly?!" The child asked, noticing that Curtain did not have wings.
"Yep! I'm the type of monster that can fly to great heights! But... I don't know how... so I'm trying to find someone here to teach me, or some book, or any other way to figure out how to fly, and then I can fly anywhere."
"... Even out of the underground?" The child asked, and the two were silent for a moment.
"... Gasp! You're right! If I can learn, I can fly you outta here! Hopefully the goat lady will open up the door back to those Ruins, you know."
"I hope so. Maybe I'll be able to call her later... Hmm, if you're willing to help me, then I should help you too. How about I help you fly? I may not have wings, but I'm determined to try to help you fly in anyway I can," the child said as she balled her fist with determination.
"Aww, thanks kid. Alright then! Help me figure out how to fly, and I'll fly you outta here. Deal?" Curtain said with determination in her voice as she extended her hand towards her.
"Deal!" The child said, as she shook her hand strongly.
"Okay! So, I'm going to talk to a few peeps I passed on the way here. Call me if you need me," Curtain said with a wink.
"Sure thing, Curtain," the child nodded.
"Oh! One more thing, it's come to my attention that there are guard dogs here. I recognize the scent. They might be ahead of you. Do you think you'll need help?"
"... Nah, I've gotten this far, so I'm sure I'll be okay."
"Well, aren't you confident. Good. Want a tip?"
"Yes."
"5 gold pieces," Curtain said as she stuck her palm towards her.
"Wha-!" The child yelped with widened eyes.
"Hahaha! I'm just kidding. Now, about the guard dogs, the best thing to do is distract them. If they are like normal dogs, you need to keep them distracted. Divert their focus. Okay?" Curtain explained as she put her hands in her jean jacket pockets.
"Hmm, I think I understand. Thank you, Curtain!" The child said with a smile and a nod.
"No problem. As I can tell, you seem like a good kid. See you ahead," Curtain said, and she walked back to meet the other monsters she passed by.
The child continued on her quest as she indeed met a dog couple who were guards. She petted the lovely dog couple as she was able to convince them that she was a puppy who petted other dogs. Then she met with Sans and Papyrus a few times and completed the puzzles they had set up, as she met and befriended monsters along the way, while also finding a mysterious door where she thought she heard the sound of a sleeping dog inside. Snow poffs littered her path as she met the Greater dog, and with all her determination in her tiny muscles, was able to befriend the dog in large armor. Afterward, the child walked across a 'bridge' to see Papyrus and Sans at the end of it.
"HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" Papyrus said as he revealed the spiked weapons and dog on a rope that would be used against the child.
Although the child was nervous at first as she looked towards the tall skeleton with glints of fear in her eyes, she tilted her head in confusion as she saw that Papyrus was hesitant to activate the final challenge.
"that, uh, doesn't look very activated," Sans commented as he too noticed that his brother was stalling.
"WELL! THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!" Papyrus proclaimed as he completely turned off the trap.
"PHEW!" Papyrus said, but then he turned towards the human and noticed that she was staring at him in surprise and gratefulness.
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS! NYEH… HEH… HEH?" Papyrus then ran off ahead.
The child walked across the 'bridge' and turned towards Sans, who said,
"i don't know what my brother's going to do now. if i were you, i would make sure i understand blue attacks."
The child nodded towards him, and then headed into Snowdin Town.
:)