A loud sound rang out behind them, causing everyone to turn around.
The doors leading out of the Ruins slammed shut with a tremendous noise, just as Eris and the rest of the group stepped through the doors.
"There's no turning back now," Nami said, putting her hand on the human boy's head to calm him down.
"Well, we can only go in one direction," Eris said, looking ahead.
In front of them was a large, icy thicket. If it weren't for the fact that it seemed impossible, it would look like they had reached a lush snowy forest. Though given where they were, anything could be possible.
At one point, the Twi'lek Gida noticed a glow in some bushes just outside the door, what looked like a camera, indicating that someone already knew they were there.
With no other choice, the group advanced up the icy pass between the tall trees, keeping their eyes on their surroundings.
"It's quiet. Too quiet." Togruta Noka said as she trudged through the snow.
Just then they heard the sound of a branch snapping, causing them to turn around to see who it was, but no one seemed to be there.
"We are not alone," Catilia said, one hand clutching her sword. "Keep an eye on the boy, okay?"
Nami nodded along with the boy.
The group advanced further until they came across a wooden barrier built over a bridge. The problem was that said barrier seemed to have been built to contain something bigger than them.
The girls moved forward a bit to check out the poorly made barrier, while Eris stood back and watched with her arms on her hips.
"Seriously, whoever built this barrier, they have no idea about sizes," Nami said.
"Yeah, but at least it's sturdy," Gida said as he tapped the wood.
Just then Eris heard footsteps stop behind him, rolling her eyes to the side, knowing there was someone behind her.
"Hey." Said the voice of whoever was behind her in a leisurely manner. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"
The girls and boy turned to see who it was, as the figure extended his hand towards Eris.
"Turn around and shake my hand." Said the figure, hand outstretched.
Giving it some thought, she turned her torso slightly and reached out to shake the stranger's hand or throw him flying if needed, joining her hand with his ready for anything.
Except for a farting sound that came from the hand Eris was shaking, belonging to a short skeleton with a large head, dressed in a blue hoodie or jacket, found unbuttoned, black shorts with a white line down the sides, and white trainers. Eris' eyes were wide open as saucers, ears stretched upwards and tail stretched out as she heard the fart.
"heheh... the old whoopee cushion in hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." Said the skeleton in a mocking tone.
Eris looked at her pranked hand with a flushed face of embarrassment, while the rest of the group and the boy tried to hold back their laughter until they began to laugh out loud. At that moment the hellhound glared at the skeleton furiously baring her teeth.
Seconds later, a loud gong was heard throughout the forest.
"worth it..." Commented the skeleton on the ground, with a steaming big bump on its head.
"Very funny!" Eris exclaimed angrily, the flames in her eyes burning violently, and the fist with which she struck the skeleton completely red from the violence of the blow, shaking with anger.
"Okay, okay, calm down. At least it was funny." Said the boy putting his hand on Eris' hand to calm her down.
"It will be for you!" Said Eris, blushing, before looking at the girls. "And wipe that smile off your faces!"
"anyway, you're a human, right?" the skeleton asked as he stood up and looked at the boy. "that's hilarious." He said as if amused. "i didn't expect one to show up surrounded by beautiful but somewhat naive non-human women."
Eris almost threw another punch at the skeleton if the boy hadn't restrained her.
"And who are you?" Gida asked, standing slightly between the skeleton and the boy next to Eris.
"i am sans. sans the skeleton." The skeleton introduced himself.
"Sans, huh?" Catilia asked. "And what are you doing here?"
"i'm actually supposed to watch for humans right now." The skeleton replied. "but... y'know... I don't really care about capturing anyone."
"Well, if he's a guard, it's a shameful one," Noka said to Gida.
"now my brother, Papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC," Sans explained.
"Great, one guard who's lazy, and another who works overtime," Eris commented. "Why am I not surprised?"
"hey, actually, i think that's him over there." Said the skeleton.
They all turned to the other side of the bridge, seeing that there was a figure in the distance approaching.
"Good timing," Eris said, pumping her fists.
"i have an idea." Sans said. "go through this gate thingy." The group looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "yeah, right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone, even adults."
The group went through the poorly constructed gate until they reached a guard post.
"quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp." Sans said to the boy, pointing to a lamp that could casually hide the child behind it. "the others can use the snow mounds to hide behind."
The boy hid behind the lamp, while Eris and the others jumped behind the mounds, from where they could keep an eye out if anything happened.
At that moment a tall skeleton appeared, with a straightened, geometric skull structure, wearing a uniform, if it could be called such, which is composed of a white piece with golden edges and embroidered with an orange symbol, a red scarf around his neck, red gloves with golden edges, blue pants with a golden belt, tall red boots, and a grey t-shirt and trousers under his battle uniform. The girls arched their eyebrows at the sight of such a skeleton.
"sup, bro?" Sans asked matter-of-factly.
"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER!" The skeleton exclaimed. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T..." The skeleton took a breath. "RECALIBRATED. YOURS. PUZZLES!" he blurted out briskly. "YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
"staring at this lamp." Sans said, pointing to the lamp where the kid hid. "it's really cool. do you wanna look?"
"Is he stupid or something?" Eris asked quietly, about to jump.
"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Exclaimed the skeleton as he kicked the ground in exasperation. "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 the skeleton struck a proud pose. "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."
Noka waved her hands to indicate how much the skeleton seemed to be out of his mind.
"hmm... maybe this lamp will help you," Sans said, looking away out of the corner of his eye.
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" Papyrus exclaimed in a huff. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"
"hey, take it easy," Sans said. "I've gotten a ton of work done today. a skele-ton." Sans winked at the reader, with the sound of a *badum ttss*.
The girls and boy rolled their eyes at the bad joke.
"SANS!" Papyrus exclaimed in annoyance, but with a smile.
"come on. you're smiling." Said Sans.
"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Exclaimed the skeleton, sighing. "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..." Sans said. "down to the bone." Sans looked graciously at the reader again, with another *badum ttss*.
"UGH!" Papyrus exclaimed, fed up with his brother's jokes. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES..." He then glared at Sans. "AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, 'BACKBONE' INTO IT" He exclaimed trying to be funny. "NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"
After laughing Papyrus walked away from the place, but not before turning around. "HEH!" the skeleton blurted out, with some embarrassment before walking away for real.
"ok, you can come out now," Sans said when Papyrus was no longer in sight.
Both the boy and the girls left their hiding place at that point.
"you oughta get going. he might come back." Sans warned. "and if he does... you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."
"Seriously? I didn't know that!" Eris exclaimed sarcastically, before walking away with the group.
"At least the jokes were funny." Said the boy.
"Yeah, like watching a dumb and a dumber one argue," Eris said.
"actually, hey..." Sans began to speak. "hate to bother ya guys, but can you do me a favor?"
The group turned to him.
"i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately..." Sans began to say. "he's never seen a human before, and seeing him might just make his day."
Nami and Catilia arched an eyebrow at the skeleton's request.
"don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he's trying to be." Said the skeleton. "thank a million. i'll be up ahead."
Eris shook her head as they left the area.
The group advanced through the snowy place, hoping not to run into any trouble with any natives of those caverns, until up ahead they came across Papyrus talking with... Sans?!
Noka and Nami looked back in surprise, as they were supposed to have left the skeleton behind, and now it was in front of them all.
"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE," Papyrus said as he spoke to Sans.
Suddenly Papyrus turned in surprise looking back at the group. That moment he turned to his brother, who turned to look at the group, then him to look at Papyrus as he looked back at the group, only for him to look back at Sans as he looked at the group, turning so many times that they ended up spinning around like spinning tops until they both stopped looking at the group.
Catilia looked at Gida with an arched brow as she rubbed her head at the skeletons' reaction.
Eventually, the skeletons turned their backs to talk to each other.
"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT...A HUMAN!? !?" Papyrus asked Sans in shock, before turning back to the group.
"uhhhh...actually, I think those are monster girls." Sans replied.
"OH," Papyrus said in disappointment.
Eris raised a frown as the skeletons looked in their direction.
"Master, being sincere, I don't know how to react to that." Noka said to Gida after Sans' words, considering them 'monsters'.
"You ignore him," Gida suggested.
"hey, what's that with the monster girls?" Sans asked.
Then Papyrus looked to the centre of the group, seeing the human boy among them.
"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaimed, before whispering to Sans. "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN."
"yes," Sans whispered back.
"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaimed again, looking at the boy. "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"
"...AHEM." Papyrus pulled himself together after the initial shock. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!" He exclaimed proudly. "I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN!" Papyrus was silent for a moment. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT."
The girls and the boy almost collapsed to the ground.
"well, I'm seeing a problem here," Sans said. "It looks like someone has caught him before."
"That's your opinion," Eris said. "And the kid stays with us, whether you like it or not."
"AHEM, TRIFLES..." Papyrus said glancing sideways at Sans, before looking back at the group. "BUT I'LL MAKE YOU HAND HIM OVER TO ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He then folded his arms. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE!"
The skeleton began to laugh as he hurried away from the area.
"Honestly, I don't know if he's too lively to be mere bones," Nami commented with a frown.
"hehe, good one." Sans commented. "don't sweat it, pals. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." Said the skeleton before walking away.
"Seriously, what are these two, a pair of circus clowns?" Eris asked.
"Let it go, okay?" Catilia said.
"So what do we do now?" Noka asked.
"It's simple, isn't it?" said Gida. "Do his puzzles. Right now they are the only thing separating us from our destination." Gira rubbed her hand through the boy's hair.
"Just like the blue tigress says," Eris said, causing Gida to give her an annoyed look. "Come on, let's go then," Eris said, encouraging the boy to continue.
The group continued to move along the path until they ran into a bit of trouble. A dog-like guard with two swords guarding the route who has reacted just as they arrived.
"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" wondered the dog, looking around. "I can only see moving things." He said to himself.
Instantly the group stood still, not moving a muscle as the dog turned his gaze towards them.
"If something WAS moving... For example, a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" Threatened the dog.
The group stood still as the dog approached them, apparently without seeing them, but at risk of bumping into them. But then Gida moved a stone nearby with the Force.
"Hey, a stone that moves alone?" The dog asked, heading towards where the moving rock was until it stopped. "Where is it gone now?"
Seizing the opportunity, Noka caused a branch from a distant tree to snap, causing it to sway without falling, catching the dog's attention.
"And now a stick that moves alone?" the dog wondered, heading towards it. "Is it haunted or something?"
Seizing the opportunity, the group quickly moved forward until they were far enough away that the dog couldn't detect them in any way.
"well played, ladies." Said Sans who was close behind them.
"What do you want now?" asked Eris, wary of the skeleton.
"i just wanted to let you know something important to remember," Sans said.
"And what is it?" the boy asked.
"my brother has a very special attack." Sans warned. "if you see a blue aura attack, don't move and it won't hurt you."
The group looked at each other after Sans' words.
"Are you saying that if we see a blue aura attack, we shouldn't move?" Nami asked.
"yes. It will practically pass without doing anything to you." Sans said. "Think of it as a stop sign, but blue instead of red."
The group prepared to move forward, but Gida raised his arm to stop them.
"What's wrong?" Catilia asked.
"I sense... trouble," Gida said, looking around.
Then he noticed some mounds of snow starting to move, which the rest of them saw, at which point the human boy stepped behind Nami who stayed with him to protect him.
"wow... it's clear that this encounter isn't going to be very cool." Sans said
"Another of your jokes?" Eris asked.
Then from the mounds began to rise skeletons carrying femurs as weapons.
"Your relatives?" Catilia asked Sans as she drew her sword.
"unfortunately, no," Sans said.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Eris said, clenching her fists before looking back. "Nami, keep an eye on the little one!"
Nami nodded as she kept the kid behind her, as Gida and Noka ignited their lightsabers.
Eris was the first to launch herself at the skeletons, landing a heavy punch on one of them that immediately dismantled it, at which point the bones burned into black ashes.
Gida lured one of the skeletons with the Force to cut it in two with her sword of light. While Noka ran towards three of them, jumping on one of them as it tried to strike her with its femur, performing a horizontal slash with her weapon as she landed, cutting all three skeletons at once.
Catilia blocked the femurs of the skeletons that were attacking her, taking advantage of their carelessness to decapitate them immediately with a fluid cut with her huge blade.
Eris dodged several of the skeletons' femurs, grabbing one of them and hurling it like a projectile at the others, which Noka used to bring a tree down on them with the Force, crushing them.
Gida closed his eyes with his hand outstretched towards the remaining skeletons, causing the snow beneath them to turn to ice, trapping them inside icy statues, and then threw a lightsaber like a boomerang, splitting them in half.
Eris whistled at the sight. "Not bad at all, blue tigress."
Gida didn't respond to her comment as he picked up his lightsaber on the fly.
"Can you stop calling my teacher that, please?" Noka asked Eris.
"You've never seen a hellhound before, have you?" Catilia asked.
Nami turned first to see if the human kid was alright as he nodded to her.
"I'm sorry about what happened," Nami said to Sans. "We didn't mean to hurt anybody."
"nah, it's fine." Sans said. "after all, they're not from around here."
"What do you mean?" the boy asked.
"look at their ashes," Sans said, making them look at the ashes the monsters left behind when they died. "Here, when a monster dies, it turns into white dust, no matter how it dies. But these fellows, unlike the rest..."
"They left black ashes," Gida said. It was clear that these monsters were not from the Underworld by any stretch of the imagination. Then she looked at Sans. "Since when have these things been on the loose around here?"
"since the 'duke' appeared in the underworld." Sans said, catching everyone's attention. "no one knows where that guy came from, but in time record, he has become duke and the king's royal advisor. since then, these critters have been around freely. and every time they show up, it's not good for no one. they have even destroyed some of my brother's puzzles."
"And you say those monsters work for him? Interesting." Catilia commented. "I would like to have a few words with him."
"In any case, we can't waste any more time," Eris said. "We must keep walking."
"come on, i'll smell you later," Sans commented, raising his hand as the group walked away.
After advancing a little through the snowy pass, they met Papyrus again on the other side of a strange square of removed snow... and Sans.
"YOU'RE SO LAZY!" Papyrus exclaimed to Sans. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"
"i think that's called… sleeping," Sans replied.
"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!" Papyrus exclaimed.
Then both skeletons became aware of the presence of the group.
"OH- HO! THE HUMAN AND HIS PARTNERS ARRIVES!" Papyrus exclaimed upon seeing them. "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE… QUITE SHOCKING!" Papyrus said as if he felt sorry for them.
"And why?" The human boy asked.
"FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE… ELECTRICITY MAZE!" Introduced Papyrus. "WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!" The skeleton showed an orb in his hand.
"SOUND LIKE FUN? BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK." The skeleton said arrogantly. "OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW!"
The girls stared at each other for a moment while the human looked at Papyrus in confusion. They all agreed that an invisible, cramping maze was a good line of defense, but... there was a 'small' flaw that Papyrus had not taken into account.
"We should tell him? Or do we have a small laugh at his expenses?" Eris asked.
"I think we better tell him where the problem is," Nami said. "Although being sincere, mazes have never been my thing."
"I could guide you through it, but who will explain it to him?" Gida asked.
"COME ON! DON'T BE SO RUDE! "I HAVE SET THIS PUZZLE JUST FOR YOU!" Papyrus exclaimed when he saw that everyone was talking instead of crossing the maze. "AT LEAST LET THE HUMAN TRY IT!"
"I'll do it," Eris said, approaching the maze and pushing the boy out of the way.
Papyrus smiled as he watched his first victim approach the maze. Eris then launched a kick into the air, hitting one of the invisible walls.
Only for Papyrus to receive an electric shock all over his body until he is completely black from the shock.
"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Papyrus asked angrily.
"i think the human and the monster girls have to hold the orb," Sans said.
"That's right," Catilia said. "If you had paid more attention to your own explanation, you would have realized that mistake of yours."
"OH, OKAY," Papyrus said.
Then Papyrus began to walk along the route of the maze, without realizing that he was leaving footprints on the ground, indicating the route to follow.
"HOLD THIS PLEASE!" Papyrus said, handing the orb to the human, before running at full speed to the other side of the maze. "OK, TRY NOW!"
Eris scratched her head at how simple the skeleton was while Gida shook her head at her at how infuriating he was.
Without thinking too much, the group advanced through the maze following the trail of footprints that Papyrus had left until they reached the other side.
"INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAILS!" Papyrus exclaimed, angry for having passed the maze, not knowing that they had done it with his 'help'. "YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY… TOO EASILY! HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS!"
Eris and the others looked at Sans, who gave a knowing smile without Papyrus noticing.
"YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDE! I KNOW I AM! "NYE HE HE HE HEHE!" The skeleton laughed before leaving.
"hey, thanks…" Sans said. "my brother seems like he's having fun."
Gida shrugged. "Depending on your point of view."
"It amused me that he got electrocuted by his own puzzle," Eris said, crossing her arms.
"Don't say that. At least she is trying." The human said.
"Is that what you call 'trying'?" Eris asked, pointing to the maze. "I've seen traps made by children more effective than that."
Nami frowned, taking the orb from the human. "Can you hold this for a moment, please?" She asked Eris, throwing it to her.
She grabbed the orb confused, but the moment Nami put her hand on the invisible walls, Eris ended up receiving an electric shock that left her black by the electricity.
"Okay, I'll try to be more apprehensible," Eris said, smoke coming out of her mouth from the electric shock as she spoke, letting the orb fall to the ground, while Nami and Catilia nodded their heads.
"hehe, very good." Sans said. "by the way, have you seen that weird outfit he's wearing?" The human nodded to the question. "we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since... keeps calling it his 'battle body'."
"I don't know why, it even seems normal to me," Eris said.
"Come on, let's continue before we run into something unpleasant," Gida said.
The group continued advancing through Snowdin territory without much incident, until meeting up with the skeleton duo again later on.
"HUMAN! "LADIES!" Papyrus exclaimed upon seeing them. "I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR…"
The group was already preparing for the next puzzle when the skeleton was silent for a moment.
"SANS! "WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!" Papyrus asked Sans angrily.
"it's right there. on the ground." Sans pointed to the ground. Right where he was pointing there was a sheet of paper lying on the floor. "believe me. there's no way they can get past this one."
The girls almost fell to the ground comically because of how 'stupid' the puzzle was.
"Are they really taking this seriously?" Nami asked.
The boy went to check the paper, and while he was checking it, the girls went to see what it was.
It turned out that what there was was a typical puzzle of hobby books.
"Seriously?!" Eris asked the skeletons angrily. "In what world do you think that a word search on a piece of paper is a puzzle used to block the path?!"
"The truth is that it's pretty difficult…" Catilia said while she looked at the word search.
"Well, I don't see it as difficult." Noka said."
"Don't encourage them," Eris said, looking at them out of the corner of her eye.
"whoops. I knew I should have used today's crossword instead." Sans said.
"No crosswords, no crossroads!" Eris exclaimed.
"WELL SAID," Papyrus said. "IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY HARDEST."
"what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble?" Sans asked. "that's for baby bones."
"Are you both serious?!" Eris asked the skeletons, about to go beat them up if Nami didn't grab her arm.
"Calm down, Eris! Don't be angry!" Nami exclaimed, holding Eris.
"HUMAN! RESOLVE THIS DISPUTE!" Papyrus exclaimed to the boy.
The human thought for a moment until he could answer.
"I think jumble is the hardest one." The boy said.
"HA! HA! YES!" Papyrus exclaimed happily. "HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT!"
"Well, they both have their difficulties," Gida said with the paper in her hand and a pencil in the other. "With crossword puzzles, you have to guess the words and fit them between the rows. With the jumble, you have to look for the words, and you have to be very observant since the word can be in any direction, even upside down." She said as she wrote until she put the paper away. "And finished."
"Have you done it?" Eris asked, confused.
"And it was difficult," Catilia said.
"I used to play these kinds of games before with my father and my master," Gida said.
"YOU RULES! NYE! HE! HE HE!" Papyrus exclaimed before leaving.
"Seriously, this is already bordering the stupidity line," Eris said.
"Come on, let's continue out, okay?" The human suggested.
The group moved up the pass ahead, passing by Sans.
"thanks for saying "junior jumble' just to appease my brother." Sans said. "yesterday he got stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope."
The girls fell on the snow in a comical way after Sans' words while the boy looked at them confused.
The group continued moving through the Snowdin area, avoiding trouble with the natives, including a husband and wife axe-wielding dog pair, which Eris was able to convince to let them pass. But in other cases the group had to deal with some more skeletons that attacked them, using the snow to attack by surprise, in addition to being accompanied by several zombies. Eris, Catilia, and Nami were surprised that these monsters were very different from the ones they knew in their world, but Gida apparently reasoned that what affected the monsters in her world did not affect the monsters in other worlds in the same way.
On an anecdotal note, the group came across a small 'trap' set by Papyrus that appeared to consist of a plate of frozen spaghetti next to a turned-off microwave. Plus a note telling them that he had prepared that dish for them, but that it was designed to delay them while he prepared his best traps. Something they decided to ignore.
After advancing a little, they found Papyrus and Sans again, on the other side of a kind of floor made up of gray pixelated squares.
"HEY! IT IS THE HUMAN AND HIS ENTOURAGE!" Papyrus exclaimed upon seeing them. "YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS!"
Then the skeleton stared at them for a moment. "BY THE WAY, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MY PASTA? DID YOU LIKE IT?"
The girls were left thinking about Papyrus' sudden question, not knowing what to answer, since he had not tried it since he was frozen, but the human responded quickly.
"The truth is that he was delicious." The human said, being a clear lie what he said.
"REALLY!" Papyrus exclaimed in surprise. "WOWIE… NO ONE'S EVER ENJOYED MY COOKING BEFORE…" Then the skeleton got happy. "WELL THEN ! FRET NOT HUMAN! "I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT!"
"Sorry, but can we get back to the puzzle?" Noka asked. "We are in a bit of a hurry.".
"WHOOPS, YOU'RE RIGHT…" Papyrus said before returning to the topic. "YOU SEE THESE TILES?! ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH…" Papyrus pointed to the strange machine next to him, near the gray tiles. "THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR!"
The girls looked at each other, thinking about taking advantage of the moment to cross and avoid problems, but the human suggested that they should try it.
"EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!" Papyrus said.
"And what are those functions?" The human asked.
"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM!" He began to explain Papyrus.
"YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU!"
"THE GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM… YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!" Papyrus rolled his eyes. "DON'T WORRY, IT WILL NOT BE ONE OF THE DUKE'S THUGS. I DON'T LIKE THOSE GOONS ANYWAY. VERY 'GENOCIDAL' IN MY OPINION."
"ORANGE TILES HAVE ORANGE-SCENTED, THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS!"
"BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT... IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGE! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A, YELLOW ONE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU!"
"PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP...SMELLS LIKE LEMON! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OK!"
"FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE."
"HOW WAS THAT?! UNDERSTAND?" Papyrus asked after finishing his explanation.
The girls began to look at each other, trying to memorize everything the skeleton had told them about the puzzle.
"Uhm, can you explain it again?" Nami asked with a hand on her head. But when Papyrus began to explain the puzzle, everything became even more confusing than even he was confusing himself. "Okay, I take it back."
"I think I have understood it completely," Gida said.
"Well, you will be the only one," Eris said.
"GREAT! THEN THERE'S ONE LAST THING... THIS PUZZLE... IT'S ENTIRELY RANDOM!" Papyrus exclaimed. "WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE… THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION!"
"Well, well. This will be interesting…" Eris said, crossing her arms.
Papyrus activated the machine next to him, causing the gray tiles to turn into various colors and begin to change randomly at high speed, making it almost impossible to follow their rate of change, until he finally stopped...
Taking the form of a pink hallway surrounded by red tiles that crossed to the other side.
The girls collapsed comically on the ground, again, when it happened, at the same time that Papyrus began to spin around, moving away from there, surely affected by the result of the puzzle.
"Seriously, this Alphys should program that thing better," Eris said as she stood up.
The group crossed the 'puzzle', passing Sans who shrugged his shoulders.
After advancing a little further through the snowy area, the group arrived at an area full of mounds of snow, which did not seem to be of great importance. But when they reached the last mound, the head and tail of a white dog emerged from it.
"Wow, how cute you are," Nami said, approaching the dog.
After letting out a bark, the dog emerged from the mound, revealing itself to be wearing enormous armor and a long spear in its hand.
"I take it back!" Nami exclaimed, walking away from the dog.
The huge armored dog swung his spear at them, driving them back as Catilia retreated further back with the kid.
"Hey, calm down!" Noka exclaimed, avoiding the dog's spear.
"You heard her! Take it easy!" Eris exclaimed as she grabbed the dog's spear.
They both started pulling the spear in opposite directions, but the dog was seemingly having fun with it.
The human kid thought for a moment and picking up a stick that was on the ground he threw it near the armored dog, making it drop the spear causing Eris to fall to the ground with the spear in her hand. While the dog took the stick in his mouth and then approached the boy, wagging his tail quickly as he lowered his head close to him.
"What the heck?" Catilia asked, confused.
"Hey, you just wanted to play, didn't you, buddy?" The human asked, stroking the head of the armored dog who seemed to get excited.
"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with everyone in this place?" Eris asked, throwing the dog's spear to the ground.
"It seems that in the end, we will have to think differently in this place, master," Noka commented to Gida.
"Yes, it seems like that," Gida said.
After being caressed by the human, the armored dog left, but not before picking up his spear from the ground before Eris's stupefied gaze.
"Seriously, if I see a vegetarian succubus now, I think I'm going to lose my mind," Eris said watching the dog leave.
"You better don't jinx us, okay?" Catilia said.
The group continued moving along the pass until they reached a long bridge. And as they crossed it they met Papyrus and Sans on the other side of the bridge.
"As if our problems weren't enough," Eris said quietly, getting tired of seeing the skeletons.
"HUMAN! LADIES!" Papyrus exclaimed upon seeing the group. "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE."
"Let's see what's ahead of us this time," Nami said.
"BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"
At that moment, appearing on the sides of the bridge was a hanging spike ball, a pair of spears, a flamethrower, a cannon, and… a hanging dog?
"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!" Papyrus warned. "CANNON WILL FIRE! SPEARS WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN! ARE YOU READY?!"
"This is much better," Eris said, bumping her fists. "Come on!"
"It would be better not to taunt him," Gida said, leaving the human behind them.
For a long while, nothing happened as everyone stood still.
"well? what's the holdup?" Sans asked when he saw that Papyrus didn't activate his last trap.
"HOLDUP?! WHAT HOLDUP?!" Papyrus asked. "I'M… I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!"
For another long moment, nothing happened as everyone stood still.
"that, uh, doesn't look very activated to," Sans commented.
"It seems to me that he doesn't want to do it," Nami said.
"WELL!" Papyrus exclaimed. "THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN AND THE GIRLS WITH. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE!"
"Seriously?" Eris asked herself with her hands on her waist.
"I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED!" Papyrus explained. "BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"
At that moment the traps moved away from the bridge.
"Wow, and I had come up with the idea of doing a really difficult challenge," Eris said.
"Well, that's better, don't you think?" The human asked.
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" The skeleton asked as he saw the group looking at him. "THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!" The skeleton tried to laugh, but sped off, while Sans shrugged.
"Seriously, what's wrong with that skeleton?" Nami asked.
"I don't know, but I doubt this will be the last time we see him," Gida said.
After crossing the bridge, they arrived at what looked like a town in the snow, with a welcome sign that said 'Welcome to Snowdin'.
"Wow, an underground city. That's interesting." Eris said.
"Yes, apparently even here there are settlements in this place," Catilia said, looking around her.
The entire town was full of monsters, but they all seemed to be peaceful, going about their daily lives. They even seemed to ignore the group when they saw them, although they seemed a little surprised to see the kid among them.
"We should look for somewhere to get information and directions," Gida said. "If not, we will surely be wandering around all day."
"She's right," Nami said to Eris.
"Well, let her go look for that information," Eris said, sitting down on a piled-up pile of snow. "I need to rest a little."
Nami shrugged, looking at Gida, as she and Noka entered a nearby bar.
At that time, while Nami and Catilia watched the human boy who was distracted making a snowman, Eris looked around her, seeing how the monsters seemed to lead a peaceful life, even though they were trapped underground. And none of them seemed interested in her.
This made her think about her entire life as a fugitive that she has had with her father and her sisters. Always moving from one side to another. Always avoiding towns as much as possible. And always hoping that no monster girl they meet would be loyal to the empire.
If it weren't for the recent events, she could stay there, free at last, never having trouble again.
While she was having those thoughts, Gida and Noka left the bar and joined the others.
"Have you found out anything?" Nami asked.
"Yeah. Apparently, the exit from the underworld is in the capital, which they called New Home." Gida said. "And yes, everyone here knows that their king is very bad at names."
"And how far is it?" The human asked.
"Well, if the people at the bar were right, we must cross an area of waterfalls and a volcanic area before reaching the capital," Gida said. "So we're going to be down here for a while."
"By the way, do you know that those dogs we came across earlier were part of the canine division of the Royal Guard?" Noka asked.
"Oh really? Those good-for-nothing guys?" Catilia asked.
"Yeah. It seems that the Royal Guard is pretty known for being inept." Noka said.
"I'm surprised that crazy-headed skeleton wants to be part of that group," Eris said, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, if we ignore a certain Undyne they mentioned," Gida said. "She seems to be the leader of the Royal Guard, and according to what they say, she gives everyone a run for their money."
"Seems we may have a problem in the end," Nami said.
"And do you know where to continue, blue tigress?" Eris asked.
Gida frowned for a second. "Yeah. As you can see, the route from here to the area of the waterfalls is straight, passing through the town." Gida said pointing beyond the town.
"Well, let's go," Eris said, standing up.
The group began to walk through the town, having a clear vision of the way of life of the town, and enjoying the calm that exists in the place, although it did not take them long to cross the entire town.
When they left the town they were surprised by a dense fog, but despite this they found Papyrus blocking their way.
"HUMAN. LADIES." Papyrus began to speak. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION OF ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE FOR A PERSON TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL." Listed the skeleton. "THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!"
The girls almost comically fell to the ground (again) after hearing Papyrus' words.
"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY." Papyrus continued. "AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVEN WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU… LONELY HUMAN…"
"And for us to have a rock fall on our heads, right?" Noka asked.
"IT'S CLEAR THAT YOU HAVE EACH OTHER… IN A CERTAIN WAY… BUT THE HUMAN… IS REALLY LONE." Papyrus explained.
Eris thought that Papyrus was somewhat right. She, Nami, and Catilia had each other. And Gida and Noka had a similar relationship. The 'only' one who seemed to be alone was the human since they were supposed to be with him only to protect him.
"WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR…" Papyrus spoke, but he stopped, starting to think about something else. "NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND! YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!" Papyrus exclaimed. "POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER… OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
Eris frowned, stepping ahead of the group as the fog cleared enough for her to see the skeleton clearly.
"I'm sorry, but if you want to capture the boy, you'll have to get past me first!" Eris exclaimed, bumping fists.
"SO BE IT," Papyrus said.
At that moment, Papyrus raised his hand and several bones materialized, being thrown at Eris, who nimbly dodged them as if they were in slow motion.
Eris prepared to attack Papyrus, but the human boy warned her to hold back, asking that she not hurt him. Against her logic, she decided to listen to him and stay on the defensive.
"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT… THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK'!" Papyrus exclaimed.
The skeleton raised his hand and dozens of blue bone waves headed towards the group. Remembering what Sans said, Eris and the others stood still, watching as the attacks passed through them as if they were ghosts, without causing any effect on them or the human.
As soon as the attack ended, Eris smiled. "That's all? "Is that the famous 'blue attack' that everyone talks about?" Eris asked.
Suddenly everyone felt their body become heavier, their bodies being covered by a bluish aura as their movements slowed down due to the weight. Papyrus took that moment to throw a projectile at Eris who narrowly dodged it as she felt heavier.
"What the hell is happening here?" Eris asked. "Why do I suddenly feel heavier?"
"Wow, this feeling is very strange…" Catilia said, moving her arm.
"Whatever it is, it makes us heavier, and therefore slower to react," Gida said, squeezing her hand.
"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK!" Papyrus exclaimed, laughing.
"Oh, I get it," Eris said, clenching her fists. "That's a very good one."
Papyrus smiled and began to launch different projectile attacks against Eris, who was forced to time her movements better now that her movements were slower due to the blue aura. Not to mention that Papyrus used combinations of her normal attacks and the ones with blue aura to confuse her with each other, staying still or dodging.
Some of the attacks passed Eris away and headed toward the rest of the group, but Gida and Noka stood between them and the attacks, using their lightsabers to repel the attacks, preventing the human child from being hurt. He, at the same time, seemed to see that somehow Papyrus was holding back from her attacks.
This fight was being quite complicated for Eris, who was looking forward to giving him a good punch because of the hard time they had to go through with her puzzles, but she also realized that he was holding back when she saw how some of his best-aimed attacks failed on purpose.
"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus exclaimed before launching another flurry of bone attacks at Eris. "I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY! PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
This new barrage was stopped by Nami who generated her protective shield on Eris so that she could regain her breath. After all, now that they knew that the skeleton had a 'special attack', they had to be attentive to what he could send.
Meanwhile, Papyrus was continuing with his own monologue while he continued attacking Eris and the group.
"PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE! UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME! THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE! MY BROTHER WILL…" Papyrus frowned. "WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH." Then he smiled again. "I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS! BUT…"
Eris continued to avoid Papyrus' constant attacks, but she could see how his attacks were becoming slower and more predictable, as if something else was worrying him, taking his attention away from the battle, causing some attacks to go astray.
Meanwhile, Flowey, who was following them from the Ruins, watched them from a distance with a frown but was startled when one of Papyrus's attacks hit near the flower and forced himself to hide underground when he saw another projectile about to hit it.
"HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SINCERELY LIKE ME?" He asked looking at the human. "SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE… I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU GO AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY…"
At that moment the skeleton shook its head. "URGH... WHO CARES! GIVE UP AND SURRENDER HIM NOW OR FACE MY... SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus threatened.
Eris clapped her fists with a smile. "Come here and try!" The hellhound exclaimed, but she was hiding that she was already somewhat tired of avoiding so many skeleton projectiles.
"YOU LOOKED FOR IT! BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus exclaimed, raising his hands to launch his attack.
But nothing happened for a while, until Papyrus turned around, seeing how a white dog was chewing on a bone.
"WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus exclaimed in disbelief.
Eris almost comically fell into the snow at that moment.
"Well, that attack shouldn't be very special if a dog can bite it," Catilia said with a hand on her head.
"HEY! STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!?" He named the dog Papyrus. "STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!" Then the dog began to back away, taking the bone with him. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"
Papyrus remained silent as he watched his special attack go into that dog's mouth.
"OH WELL. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK." The skeleton said, shrugging his shoulders.
At that moment Papyrus began to summon a large amount of energy, forming a gigantic bone that could crush the entire group. A real overkill of a normal attack.
"If this is a regular attack for him, what the heck would the special attack be like?" Noka asked, taking a step back at the size of the bone.
"WELL...! IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T! DEFEAT ME!" Papyrus exclaimed between gasps, before making the bone begin to lean forward to fall on the group.
Eris frowned as she clenched her right fist, watching as the gigantic bone tilted to the point of beginning to fall like a recently fallen tree. But as it did so, she began to concentrate energy on his fist.
"What is she doing?" The human asked when he saw what Eris was doing.
"Now you'll see what Eris can do when he gets serious," Nami said.
As Eris focused, she began to think about what she was taught before about his gift, the quirk she had been born with. With that in mind, she decided not to hold back in this attack to teach this skeleton a lesson. That no one can tell her that she can't defeat anyone.
Then Eris unleashed her power at the same time that the flames in his eyes burned brightly, causing a red aura to surround her body while her right arm glowed brightly. Said aura was causing a pressure that pushed everything around it, the wind included, causing the girls to cover themselves to resist the wind caused by said aura, at the same time stopping the fall of the giant bone just because of the pressure against it.
"What's that?!" Gida asked, covering herself with her arms. "I've never seen anything like this!"
"That is Eris' hidden power," Catilia said with a smile as she resisted the pressure. "Given by the greatest of all heroes."
Papyrus was completely speechless as he saw how his normal big attack had stopped mid-fall due to the pressure of the aura caused by Eris, while Sans watched what was happening from the corner.
At the same time, from a hidden location elsewhere underground, someone was observing the encounter through cameras.
"It can't be… Is that… One for All?" Said the person who was observing the confrontation.
Eris was preparing for her next attack, just as the bone began to fall. There Eris jumped towards the energy bone with all her strength, throwing her punch just as they were about to collide and hitting the giant bone itself, shattering it on impact before fading away.
Eris landed right in front of Papyrus, who stood stiff as a statue looking at the hellhound as he saw how it destroyed his normal attack like it was nothing, while she had a smile looking at him.
Papyrus clutched his skull as he groaned in rage before turning around.
"NYOO HOO HOO… I CAN'T EVEN STOP YOU… UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD… AND… MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!" Papyrus said, depressed.
The human boy thought about it for a moment before moving forward a little and speaking.
"Maybe we can be your friends." The human said.
Eris and the others stared at the human in surprise.
"Really?" Eris asked.
"REALLY?! YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME?" Papyrus asked happily. "WELL THEN… I GUESS… I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU!"
Then Papyrus started jumping for joy. "WOW! I HAVE FRIENDS! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM?" Then the skeleton looked at the human. "YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN. HEREBY GRANT YOU AND YOUR PARTNERS PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE."
"Wow, that's kind of you," Nami said with a smile.
"CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN... WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER." Papyrus indicated.
"Barrier? What barrier?" Eris asked.
"THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND," Papyrus explained. "ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL." Then his mind reacted with something. "... LIKE YOU!"
The human raised an eyebrow.
"THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!" The skeleton explained.
"That explains a few things." Noka commented.
"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU…" Papyrus said, remembering immediately. "TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS…"
'Asgore.' Eris thought, remembering Toriel's words. What's more, the whole group thought about all the horrible things she said about this Asgore.
"HE IS… WELL… HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!" Papyrus exclaimed, and everyone nearly fell to the ground comically. "EVERYONE LOVES THAT GUY." Then he glanced sideways. "THOUGH HIS POPULARITY HAS SUNK A LITTLE WHEN THIS DESPICABLE DUKE AND HIS THUGS APPEARED…" Then he looked back at the human among the group. "I AM CERTAIN THAT IF YOU JUST SAY 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?', HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"
"Seriously… What's going on with this king here? Is a good guy or a bad guy?" Eris asked.
"I think it all depends on the point of view," Gida said. Eris rolled her eyes at her response.
Eris then winced in pain, holding her arm and kneeling down.
"WHAT'S HAPPEN?!" Papyrus asked, confused.
Then everyone noticed how Eris's arm was badly injured.
"Just what we needed," Nami said. "She has gone too far with that."
"With what?" The human asked.
"Do you remember the power she unleashed?" Catilia asked. "She still doesn't fully control it, and if she releases too much power, her body suffers for it."
"WHAT?" Papyrus asked upon hearing Catilia, looking at Eris. "HAVE YOU RISKED SO MUCH JUST TO WIN? THAT'S CRAZY! "I COULD CATCH THE HUMAN WITHOUT PROBLEMS RIGHT NOW!"
"But we're friends now, aren't we?" Eris asked with a smile, enduring the pain.
"YES, THAT'S RIGHT! FRIENDS DON'T CAPTURE OTHER FRIENDS!" Papyrus said. "AND I THINK I HAVE SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP YOU! COME, COME TO MY HOUSE!"
Papyrus said, picking up Eris and holding her in his arms as she stood confused with her eyes wide open.
"I can still walk, you bonehead!" Eris exclaimed blushing, hammering Papyrus on the head with her good arm.
After a short walk, with Eris being carried in Papyrus's arms against her will, they arrived at what was her house, a two-story building, where they left her on the sofa in the dining room.
"GOOD. WELCOME TO SCENIC MY HOUSE!" Papyrus exclaimed, his head covered in bumps from Eris' blows.
"The truth is that the house is quite nice," Gida said.
"I was almost expecting a house made of bones," Catilia said.
"Stop with that," Eris said, holding onto her arm while she was lying on the couch. "Don't you have something for my arm?"
"YES, I THINK I HAVE IT STORED IN THE SINK, NEXT TO MY BONES," Papyrus said.
"What a place to store something important," Nami said.
The human went to the kitchen, finding a huge sink. Ignoring the fact of the size of the furniture, he opened it and found two things inside. One of them was a green bottle with a green +++ on the label. And the other… was a dog biting a bone. The same one who stole Papyrus' 'special attack'.
"WHAT?!" Papyrus exclaimed as he saw the dog inside the sink. "CATCH THAT MEDDING CANINE!"
Despite everything, the dog managed to leave the house with the bone in its mouth before the astonished gaze of the people present.
"CURSE!" Papyrus cursed as the dog ran away. At that moment a door upstairs opened, and Sans appeared with a trombone playing 'wah, wah, wahhhh', before entering his room. "SANS! STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC!"
Everyone sweated at what had happened until the human approached Eris with the bottle.
"Hey, isn't that a healing option?" Catilia asked.
"YEAH! THAT'S HOW IT IS!" Papyrus replied. "A X-POTION' IF I'M NOT WRONG!"
"A x-potion?" Gida asked. "That potion is extremely valuable! Are you sure you want to use it?"
"A FRIEND DOES NOT DESERVE LESS. AND SHE NEEDS IT MORE THAN ME." Papyrus said.
The boy gave the potion to Eris, who drank it. In a matter of time, his body was momentarily covered in a green aura, focusing on Eris's injured arm and caring for it instantly.
"Hey, not that bad," Eris said, flexing his now recovered arm. "Where can we get more?"
"I'M SORRY. AS FAR AS I KNOW, THE MANUFACTURER OF SUCH POTIONS HAS RETIRED. THEY ARE STILL LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TAKE HIS PLACE." Papyrus explained regretfully.
"Wow, how timely," Catilia said.
"THOUGH I THINK I HAVE A FEW MORE POTIONS IN MY ROOM. I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!" Papyrus exclaimed before going up the stairs and entering his room, at which point the group heard how he was leaving the interior upside down.
Eris repositioned herself to sit on the couch. "The truth is that this skeleton is quite diligent."
"yes, that's him." Sans said as he walked down the stairs. "by the way, good move you did before."
"Did you see it all?" Catilia asked the small skeleton.
"yes, although you should be very careful. Too much force isn't always good." The skeleton said.
"Yeah, I didn't see any other option at that time." Eris leaned back on the sofa.
At that moment a fart was heard that made Eris blush with her eyes wide open, while the rest of the group held back their laughter with their hands over their mouths.
"hehe, so that's where I left that whoopee cushion the other day," Sans said with a smile, before the cushion hit his face, thrown by a blushing and angry Eris. He didn't even flinch when the cushion fell to the floor. "so, what do you think of my brother?" Sans asked.
"The truth is that he's pretty cool." The human said with a smile.
"of course he's cool." Sans said. "you'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. he'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to."
Eris, Catilia, and Noka raised an eyebrow as they imagined the human wearing the same outfit as Papyrus every day.
"oh well. at least he washes it." Sans said. "and by that I mean he wears it in the shower."
"That's really weird…" Gida said.
"anyway, cool or not, you have to agree papyrus tries real hard. like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard." Sans said. "one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard and begged her to let him be in it."
"And what happened?" Nami asked.
"of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight," Sans said.
"Seriously, who would think of asking someone for something like that at that hour?" Noka asked.
"Pff, if you knew the things that are usually requested at that time in my world…" Eris commented.
"but the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there." Sans said. "seeing his dedication, she decided to give him warrior training."
"One thing is clear, the skeleton is persistent," Catilia said, pointing to the door to Papyrus's room.
"Although he is a long way from being a decent warrior," Eris said. "The only thing that stands out is that blue attack of his."
"it's, uh, still a work in progress," Sans said.
At that moment Sans remembered something.
"oh yeah, i wanted to ask you something." Sans said. "have you heard of a talking flower?"
Eris raised an eyebrow at his question, while the rest of the group stared at the skeleton.
"Maybe," Eris answered. "What kind of flower are we talking about?"
"of the echo flower," Sans said.
"The echo flower?" The human boy asked.
"yeah. they're all over the marsh. say something to them, and they'll repeat it over and over…" Sans said.
"Yeah, like a parrot," Catilia said, with Sans nodding his head.
Eris relaxed a little when she saw that the skeleton wasn't referring to that annoying yellow flower.
"And what is that question about?" The human asked.
"what about it?" Sans asked. "well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day. sometimes, when no one else is around... a flower appears and whispers things to him. flattery… advice… encouragement… predictions. weird, huh? Someone must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him."
Eris frowned at Sans' words, suspicious of the identity of that particular flower.
"keep an eye out, okay? thanks." Sans requested.
Everyone nodded silently. Everyone was clear that Flowey could cause more problems than they thought. They even thought that perhaps this flower warned Papyrus of their arrival so that he could prepare his puzzles and traps.
"well, if you don't mind, I have to get back to work." Sans said heading to the door. "you don't know how exhausting it is to do nothing at the guard post."
"I have my doubts," Gida said.
Sans waved goodbye before walking out the door. The girls looked at each other at that moment. That conversation about the echo flowers... It was clear that it was a coded message so that they would be attentive not to said flowers, but to Flowey. This flower was following them closely, so they had to be cautious.
Just then the noise in Papyrus's room stopped, and moments later he came out of his room with several green bottles with the ++ symbol on the label.
"HERE IT IS, MISS!" Papyrus said. "ALL THE HI-POTION YOU NEED TO HEAL WOUNDS!"
"Seriously, do you think it's necessary? Shouldn't you keep them?" The human asked.
"THANKS FOR YOUR CONCERN, HUMAN!" Papyrus said. "BUT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT OUR FURRY FRIEND'S FORCE CONTROL PROBLEMS, SHE BETTER KEEP THEM!"
"Call me that again, and I swear I'll bite every bone in your body!" Eris threatened, frowning.
"GOTCHA!" Papyrus reacted, while Nami collected the hi-potions.
"Well, it's been a pleasure being here, but we still have a long way to go," Catilia said as Eris got up from the couch.
"COME ON, ARE YOU LEAVING ALREADY?" Papyrus asked.
"Yes, we have to get this little guy to the surface," Eris said, rubbing her hand on the human's head. "And I don't think I can get there without help."
"WELL, IF YOU ARE LEAVING NOW, COULD YOU AT LEAST SUGGEST SOMETHING?" Papyrus asked. "MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK UNDYNE." He suggested the skeleton, earning a serious glare from the group. "I KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! BUT IF YOU BECOME FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE, MAYBE sHE WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR FEMALE CANINE FRIEND'S STRENGTH 'PROBLEM'!"
"That's if she doesn't kill us," Noka commented.
"WELL, THINK ABOUT IT, OKAY?!" Papyrus said.
The group silently said goodbye and left the house, heading towards the exit of the snowy region.
But not before Eris stole a glance back, spotting Flowey behind some mounds of snow before hiding underground.
Sans was right. Flowey was following them, but why?
The phrases of Sans and Papyrus were planned to be in Comic Sans and Papyrus fonts, but Fanficion can't use them. Hope isn't a problem for you.
