Chapter Text
You yawn as the snow crunches underfoot. Crunch after crunch as you tromp through the thick powdery white. It’s the only sound you’ve heard for some time. You yawn because you’re bored, not tired. Bored as you watch the exact same scenery go by over and over. Trees thick with snow cover either side of a long straight path. When you passed through the enormous ruins door earlier, you thought you would be instantly attacked by thousands of deadly monsters. At least… that’s how the lady made it seem like it’d be. You prepared yourself mentally for it before stepping through to the other side.
No… instead you were met with snow and trees, and lots of it. How is there even snow and trees under a mountain? Where did it all come from?
You look up at the overarching cave ceiling for probably the hundredth time trying to figure it out. It just sort of seemed to fall… from nothing...
You sigh… magic...
Well… you have to admit… being out in a sort of weird pseudo daylight is kinda nice. It’s been ages since you were able to walk around outside while it’s light out without either burning to death, or feeling sick…
Once again you look at the ceiling… Okay… it’s not really daylight either… How has this place been sitting right under everyone's noses for years? It’s amazing!
Your breath puffs from your mouth as you follow the only cleared path between the trees. You haven’t seen any sort of footprints or indents either, meaning there probably isn’t anyone around. Then again… the snow is falling pretty heavily. Maybe they’ve been covered.
You shift the bag at your side as you walk around a particularly large fallen tree branch blocking the path. The lady behind the door had given you a few supplies to store in it, including a cellphone, some extra pie, and a climbing rope. You shove your hands into your pockets absentmindedly as you stare ahead looking for something interesting. At least you're relatively resistant to the cold. You weren’t wearing the warmest clothes when you fell down here, and the lady behind the door kept apologizing that all the extra clothes she had were either too big or too small for your journey.
“CRACK!”
The sound of a branch snapping pierces the air and echoes around the cavern walls. You quickly look behind yourself trying to find the culprit. Through the falling flakes of snow, you catch a glance at the large tree branch you skirted around moments before. It’s broken in two. When did that… what?
You squint your eyes trying to make out any information around the sheets of never ending white… Nothing… you haven’t even seen any animals around.
You backtrack through the heavy snow and look at the split branch. Wait…? Are those… little footprints? But they don’t lead away or to anywhere. They’re just sort of… there.
“Hello!” You call, lifting your eyes to look at the surrounding frozen trees. The only answer back, your own muffled echo.
You sigh, annoyed… You thought these monsters were out to kill you, not play stupid pranks…
You turn around and start your trek through the piles of white again. Dipping your face away from the falling snow as you make your way down the cleared path, hoping to find somebody or something...
Sans watches you straighten up from the branch he snapped earlier with glee, but he can’t catch your expression from his distant hiding spot.
“Heh heh heh…” He snickers under his breath. Fuckin’ weird ass human’s probably scared ta death now. At least… he’s pretty sure its a human… maybe… Looks mostly like the other one with skin’n hair’n shit. But why the fuck is this one so much bigger? Is it cause it’s an adult?
He doesn’t know why some giant ass human came outta the door this time, but jus’ because it did doesn’t mean nothing’s changed... Sides’... this one looks fuckin’ weak as shit. Probably won’t last a day outside the ruins. If they’re gonna die, then he better make sure they get a nice 'Sans the Skeleton' welcome for their last day.
He watches them continue to trudge through the snow slowly biding his time as they get closer to his preferred spot of trees. Right about… now!
He teleports behind them walking a few steps in line with their own and snickering softly before he catches their neck start to move. In an instant he’s back at his hiding place watching their reaction.
“Hello!.... I heard that!” They call.
“Heh heh heh…” He snickers some more… Fuckin’ dumbass…
They look back and forth trying to locate what they thought they heard, but he knows they’ll never find him. Magicless idiots jus’ don’t understand this shit.
They stare at his footprints for a while more, before turning and walking away faster.
Sans grin slides wider as he watches them walk away. They’re probably scared as shit right now! Heh heh… The stupid kid had long gotten use ta this, but this weird ass fresh one’s got no idea. Hell yes! he’s gonna have some fun with this one before they’re dead.
Sans teleports tree to another tree as he watches them walk down the narrow path. They eventually approach the first trap laid out by his brother. The gate.
The gate is a large wooden barred structure constructed before a pit with a small bridge spanning it’s length. Originally the bridge was the only way to cross the dark pit that ran through the cave, and continue on the path to Snowdin. But, after San’s brother had joined the royal guard he had “Improved” it by adding a gate. It was covered in spikes and contained a lock on one side. This was one of the main reasons you didn’t see any monsters before it. Most of them couldn’t get past the gate. It’s bars were only small enough for a small child to walk through. A small child, and maybe, a small monster as well…
Sans watches the human look at the gate for a moment before letting his grin slide wider. S’time ta introduce himself’n let the human have a little tast’a what real fear is...
You stop at the large gate, looking it up and down. Well… someone went overboard with their spikes. Maybe if you were a little smaller you could fit through some of the prickly bars, but you aren’t. Instead you grab the lock and wipe off the snow, attempting to see if you could break it or not.
At that moment, you feel a pressure behind yourself. Before you even have a chance to turn around, you feel something hard and rigid run up your thigh and… Is someone grabbing your butt!
“Heya there sweetheart…” A low voice practically drips from behind. “Don’t’cha know how ta great a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand!”
Immediately ready to fight, you turn around and look into two glowing red pinpricks of light.
Well… look into may not be the most accurate description. Your eyes have to travel down quite a bit before they finally find what they’re looking for. What stands before you is definitely not human. It’s a short monster with gleaming red eyelights inside two dark expansive sockets.
A skeleton…?
Or at least it looks like a skeleton. A human one…? But something about it’s shape isn’t quite right. It’s grin seems to stretch as it watches you take it in. Its… he maybe…? is dressed in baggy clothes. A long red turtleneck with a black fur lined overcoat and yellow striped basketball shorts. He holds his clawed finger bones out in front of you as he continues to offer his outstretched hand.
You’re so surprised at what you’re seeing you take it without a second thought, still staring into those deep crimson red lights.
A shock runs up your arm and you immediately pull away.
“Heh heh heh...!” The living skeleton seems to snicker in glee at your response, though he never opens that long vicious interlocking grin. You notice one of his teeth has been replaced with gold, and it glimmers in the light as he laughs.
He holds his hand up you so you can see the small buzzer attached to it. “The ole buzzer inna hand trick…” He says once he’s done laughing. “It’s ALWAYS funny!” He snickers more as he watches you, still somehow talking through his teeth.
“So wait… skeletons are monsters?” You ask in surprise. You’d assumed by now most monsters were some kind of weird creature or animal, not living undead.
His smile drops for a moment at your response, but he quickly regains it as he stretches his arms back behind his head.
“Dunno… probably…” He lazily runs his eyelights up at you once more, taking you in. “Anyways… Yer a human right?”
“Uh… yeah…”
“Heh heh… fuckin’ hilarious…” He snickers.
“Uh… what…?” You say in confusion.
“Heh… nothin’ nothin’...” He shrugs away your question. “Names Sans… Sans the skeleton…” He keeps looking at you, wide smirk plastered across his face. For some reason you feel like something’s off about that smile of his. “M’actually supposed ta be on watch fer humans right now… but… y’know... I don’t really care about capturing anybody…”
You remember his earlier infraction against your body and you let yourself sink into a relaxed pose as well. “I can tell… You seem a lot more interested in capturing something else.”
His grin flinches for a moment before he slides it back into place. “S’jus check’n out the good’s there sweetheart… Don’t tell me ya was hopin’ fer more?”
This skeleton’s on very thin ice… and you aren’t talking about what he’s currently standing on.
You slide a smile across your own face looking at his short stature as you respond. “I don’t know… I think you’re a little lacking when it comes to providing more don’t’cha think, little Skulls?”
The grin on his face disappears as your comment sinks in. He dips his hands into his pockets as he glares back.
“Ya know… I was gonna play all nice wit’cha ‘n unlock the gate so yer giant ass could pass through, but it looks like ya ain’t interested.”
“Oh… is that why you were feeling it up…” You respond sarcastically. “You wanted to see if my giant ass could pass through?”
The air around you begins to feel pressured as his eyelights burn hotter.
“Ya know, lady…” And he takes a step forward, blocking your only escape rout against the gate. “I don’t think yer showin’ me the proper respect! Yer in monster territory now, n’ if ya don’t want me ta fill ya with holes right here, then ya better shut yer trap n’ not talk back!”
You shrug back, unphased. “Oh… that’s a tall order coming from someone like you.”
His glare falters for a moment and you watch has he struggles to keep his face straight. Wait… is he… laughing at that pun?
“Heh… that one wasn’t half bad. Too bad fer you I ain’t interested in ya anymore.” He lifts his arm from his pocket, phalanges starting to glow as he raises his hand to the air. “S’been an interestin’ run this time. But I think I’m gonna cut it short.” He says, smirking.
You feel the familiar tug on your chest as the confrontation starts, but strangely your soul stays put this time, and nothing happens.
“The hell..?” He says as he looks at you. He moves his hand back down in an attempt to raise it again. “Why the hell ain’t it-”
You reach out and grab him by the arm as he hoists it in the air a second time. The glowing red magic on it dissipates and his eyelights immediately dilate.
Sh-Shit! F-Fuckin’ let go!” He yells, trying to pull his wrist from your grasp.
“You know…” You say, cocking your head as you loom over him. “I’ve been pretty nice to the monsters down here for the most part…” With a simple tug you easily pull his weight upwards and his feet leave the floor. “But I’ve got my limits.”
“Sh-shit!” He emits a high pitched squeak, before you push the small skeleton face first into the snow. Maneuvering his arm behind his back, you sit your weight across him.
“I-Ill fuckin’ kill you!” He snarls, thrashing around in the snow beneath you. “Yer fuckin’ dead! Ya hear that human! I was gonna help yer ass, but now yer fuckin’ dead!
“You already helped yourself to my ass, so I don’t think I’m missing out on much.” You say, leaning more of your weight into his back.
“Ya won’t last a fuckin’ day down here! We’re all gonna tear ya ta pieces n’ rip out yer soul!”
“If it’s anything to go by what I’ve faced so far… I think I’ll be fine.”
“Heh heh heh…” His snickers seem to echo early around the cavern. “Oh human… yer in fer such a bad time.” His voice gets deeper and deeper as he speaks. “Ya can kill me all ya want, but when my bro finally get’s ta ya, you’ll be beggin’ my dust ya asked me fer help.”
“Who said anything about killing you…?”
He stops struggling for a moment as he thinks.
“Heh… I knew ya humans were dumbasses, but do ya actually think I ain't gonna kill ya as soon as ya let me go?”
“Who said I was gonna let you go…?”
He pauses again and you watch as sweat begins to form across his skull.
“E-Even if ya tie me ta a tree or something… Soon as I’m free yer dead!”
“Who said I was gonna tie you to a tree?”
“T-Torture me all ya want… but I ain’t gonna-”
“Who said I was gonna-”
“THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YA GONNA DO!” He huffs below you in annoyance.
“Well first…” You say, reaching clumsily into your bag with one arm. “I’m gonna tie you up.”
“I already told ya I’m gonna-”
“THEN… I’m gonna tie you to my back.” You say, smirking as you take out the rope.
“The fuck?”
“You said you aren’t interested in capturing humans, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in capturing monsters. Besides… I think you know the way out of this place right? I’m gonna need a guide...”
Time till your next feed- 17 days remain...