I placed my fork on the empty plate and sighed. "That was better than usual!" I raised my hands over my head and stretched. Toriel smiled at me.
"That is because we made it together." I nodded and stood up. I walked to the sink and rinsed off my dishes before placing them in the sink.
"I'm going to head to bed." I said through a yawn. Toriel smiled and nodded.
"Alright, dear." She stood up and walked over to me. She gave me one of her motherly embraces, kissing me on the forehead. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, nuzzling my nose into her fur. It was so soft, so comforting. I pulled away from the hug and headed off into my room.
I closed the door behind me and flopped onto my bed. I pulled the book out from under my pillow and flipped to the page I ended on.
Page 73. The Core:
"The technological center of the Underground, the Core is an entirely mechanical complex that is largely blue and purple. It's the source of all power for the underground. It converts geothermal energy into magical energy."
"The underground is so cool," I said before flipping a few more pages. "How do I get there from here?"
"The Ruins Corridor is a long and barren hallway of multiple areas, starting from a flight of stairs, and ending at a large door leading out into Snowdin Forest--" I flipped a couple more pages.
"The Ruins Door is the entrance to The Ruins, and the original settlement of Monsters in the Underground. It is a large, ancient stone gateway found in Snowdin Forest, bearing the Delta Rune. It can only be opened from the inside, making in a one-way door."
I tilted my head. "Delta Rune?" I asked no one. I flipped through the pages. "Ah! Here it is." My eyes scanned the page, absorbing every bit of information.
"The Delta Rune is a symbol that represents the Dreemurr royal family. The rune shows an orb between two wings and three triangles beneath it, the the bottom middle triangle being inverted."
My eyelids started to get heavy. I closed the book and put it under my bed. I snuggled under the covers and let myself drift off. I'll have to investigate those stairs soon.
A soft knock brought me back to consciousness.
"Reine, dear." Toriel's voice came from the other side of my door. "May I enter?" I groaned in response. The door slowly opened and Toriel walked in with light steps. I rolled over to face my door. I was struggling to keep my eyes open.
"What is it, mom?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. She smiled and sat on the edge of my bed.
"I simply came to inform you that I will be out of the house for most of the day. I was asked to help with the spider bake sale." I nodded.
"M'kay," I said through a yawn. "You could've left me a note instead of waking me up so early." I rolled over so I was facing my wall.
"I know. I just wanted to see you before I left." I could hear the smile through Toriel's voice. "Anyway, I shall get out of your hair now. I will see you tonight, my child." Toriel said before she walked out of my room, closing my door softly. I nodded, although Toriel had already left. I turned to face my door again.
"Great," I groaned. "Now I can't fall back asleep." I sat up and stretched. Remembering the book, I reached down an grabbed it from under my bed. Could the stairs in the main hall be the ones that lead to that door? I swung my feet out from under the covers and let them touch the cold, wooden floor.
I slowly opened my door and peeked down the hall. "Mom?" I called out. No response. I smirked. I walked back into my room and went to the dresser. I grabbed a black t-shirt and blue skinny jeans. I quickly got dressed. I put on my classic black and white converse. I walked out of my room and went to the bathroom. I brushed my thick, blonde hair and put it into a high ponytail.
I did my normal makeup: concealer, powder, blush, bronzer, winged eyeliner, mascara and nude lipstick. Then I put on deodorant and headed back to my room. I packed a small bag consisting of the book "Guide to the Underground", a change of clothes, a spider donut and a flashlight. I grabbed a fluffy black and purple hoodie and walked out of my room.
I walked down the hall and past the stairs and into the living room. I wrote a quick note to Toriel apologizing for leaving her and telling her that I would be alright. I taped the note to the fridge and headed for the stairs. A long corridor lay out ahead of me. It seemed to go on forever. I followed it until I arrived at a huge door.
"This must be it." I mumbled to myself. I hesitated for a moment before placing my hand on the door. I paused again and looked back down the large corridor. "Sorry, mom." I frowned. Turning back toward the door I applied force to where my hand was. The door seemed reluctant to move, like waking from a long sleep. It creaked and groaned in protest. I looked back once more before walking through the door. "Sorry..." I mumbled to myself.
"H u m a n. D o n ' t y o u k n o w h o w t o g r e e t a n e w p a l ?" A shiver ran up my spine. "T u r n a r o u n d a n d s h a k e m y h a n d ." I slowly turned to face the person behind me. Scared, I kept my eyes closed. I reached my hand out and bony fingers joined mine. A long, obnoxious fart sound echoed through the air. It was followed by a deep laugh. My eyes flickered open to see a skeleton, a few inches taller than me, standing in front of me. I looked up at him, a confused look on my face. I looked toward my hand and realized I was touching rubber.
"Wha--"
"the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." I pulled my hand away, staring at the skeleton is disbelief.
"Um... M-may I ask who you are?" I looked down for a split second before looking back at the skeleton.
"i'm sans. sans the skeleton. anyway, you're a human, right?" I nodded. "that's hilarious." I looked at him, the confused look remaining on my face. "i'm actually supposed to be on the watch for humans right now. but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing--"
"SANS!" A loud, obnoxious voice rang from the distance, interrupting Sans. "SANS WHERE ARE YOU?" I turned to the direction that the voice was coming from. I could make out a tall, lean figure in the distance.
"Who in the wor--"
"SANS! WHERE HAVE YOU DISAPPEARED TO?" The voice interrupted again.
"that's my bro," Sans stated before walking through a useless gate and toward the figure. I followed him through the gate, but I remained on the bridge. "sup, pap?" Pap? What a strange name.
"SANS! WHY ARE YOU NEVER AT YOUR STATION? YOU'RE ALWAYS SLACKING OFF!"
"papyrus, relax. i guess you could say i've been bone-tired." Sans winked at the tall skeleton, who groaned in response.
"SANS!" 'Papyrus' got louder, somehow. I giggled at the exchange. Papyrus turned toward me and jumped a little. "OH MY GOD! SANS! IS THAT.... A HUMAN?!" I laughed.
"uh.... i'm pretty sure that's a bush." Sans replied. I looked to my left and saw a large, snowy bush.
"OH." Papyrus looked disappointed for a second before looking back toward Sans. "ANYWAY! SANS! WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU RECALIBRA--" Sans cut him off.
"wait. what's that next to the bush?" Papyrus looked in my direction, squinting slightly.
"OH MY GOD!" He paused and looked at Sans, whispering something. Sans nodded in response. Papyrus' eyes grew wide and a childish look spread across his face. "OH MY GOD! I DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL... I'LL BE..." He cleared his throat, wiping the silly look off his face. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT GET PAST THIS AREA WITHOUT COMPLETING MULTIPLE PUZZLES OF HIGH DIFFICULTY!" I raised an eyebrow.
"Puzzles?" I looked at him. He nodded, a determined look in his face. "I can do that." I said, giving him a thumbs up. I raised one hand to his heart and rested the other in his hip.
"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL NOT BE BEATEN SO EASILY, HUMAN! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A PROPER JAPING!" He laughed a strange laugh before zipping out of the room. I couldn't help but let out a laugh.
Sans smiled at me. "i'll be up ahead." He said before walking toward the ruins door. I looked behind me to find an empty path.
"Well, this is going to be interesting." I mumbled before walking in the direction of Papyrus and his puzzles.
