Book 1: The First Fallen Human

A Bone To Pick

"... I do smell it..."

"What an odd smell..."

"Smells nothing like a monster..."

"How curious..."

The two muttered back and forth to each other. The first of them paused in the snow, trying to place WHAT the smell was. The second stopped beside him, trying to place WHERE the smell was. Their hoods fell over their faces, but they gripped each other tightly. The first yelped as he stepped on a rock and the other was instantly beside him. "Are you okay?" He nodded, his breath coming out in puffs.

"Yes. Are you okay?" He said quietly, turning to her. She nodded. She blinked and scented the air again. "Something is here, honey..." He pushed himself up as he spoke, his fur standing up. They both shivered. This feeling... It was unnatural. An odd smell was in the air. The scent of metal accompanied it heavily. It wasn't Mettaton. It smelled of blood.

"It smells of blood..." She stated softly. He nodded in agreement. They both pulled down their hoods and stared around, sniffing violently. They were part of the Royal Guard. Dogaressa wrinkled her nose, shaking quietly. Dogamy followed, sniffing as well. Then, they blinked as they heard footsteps.

"What is that smell...?" Dogamy mumbled quietly, turning to it as he pressed closer to Dogaressa. Dogaressa pressed back against him.

"Where is that smell?" She growled, turning to follow his gaze. They'd already met a strange pup earlier. They could smell a hint of that pup in the new smell. "The pup..." She muttered. "I smell it... Do you smell it?"

"I smell it... the pup..." Dogamy responded quietly, peering through the snow. They both assumed a defensive position, heaving their giant blades up. A figure appeared. They blinked. This figure looked like the strange pup they'd met earlier, but bigger and with more layers. Metal glinted on its fingers. A metal chain glinted from their belt. They wore boots and grey skinny jeans. They smelled heavily of leather. A black leather coat. They wore a red hoodie with yellow fluff that smelled faintly of mustard. A black shirt covered them.

Dogamy barked. "HALT!" The figure did so and they both moved closer. They blinked. Both of them had large clouds of billowing breath coming out, but this thing... it did not appear to be breathing. Dogaressa was mildly alarmed.

"No breath... not breathing..." She said quickly, glancing at Dogamy. Dogamy seemed just as confused and concerned. This figure was alive... it was walking. "Ghost? Ghost?" Dogaressa said, glancing at the figure, then at Dogamy. Dogamy blinked.

"Maybe, maybe..." He murmured. He held her paw and squeezed it. "SHOW YOURSELF!" He barked at the figure. The figure was quiet for a moment before its arms lifted and it revealed rings on its fingers. They were pale, freckled fingers. It was like the strange pup! They both moved back in surprise as it showed its face. "Strange pup..."

"Strange pup..." Dogamy confirmed with a nod. It had no fur on its face and the hair on its head was long, frizzled and grey. The tips were orange. Dull, dead grey eyes made both of them freeze. "Ghost." Dogamy seemed confident about that. Dogaressa nodded. It had to be a ghost. They didn't look too alive. They must have been a ghost in a shell. Their face was pale and freckled to match their fingers.

Metal glinted on their ears. "Female." Dogaressa stated confidently. Dogamy didn't know how she could tell, but he nodded, deciding to trust her wholeheartedly. He tipped his head. "Hurt..." They could both smell it. Blood. It usually came from... They both froze. "Human... blood..." Dogaressa immediately drew back, growling. Humans were dangerous. Dogamy growled as well, revealing his axe.

"HALT! HUMAN!" He barked. The human blinked at them. She still showed no signs of breathing. A Faded Ribbon was tied tightly around her throat and Dogamy heard Dogaressa back up. He knew why. "Too tight..." He growled. The human was hurt. They couldn't have that. Asgore needed them alive. "Where... are you hurt?" The human blinked at them once again.

They were both uneasy. This human gave off a feeling that made their fur both stand up. It was an uneasy feeling. A painful feeling. They didn't like it. They didn't like the way her face didn't change. They both growled and moved into FIGHTing positions. They both jumped as the human suddenly opened her mouth and spoke in a puff of cold breath.

"That... is not wise..."

Dogamy and Dogaressa were both taken back, their tails pressed low to the ground as they gripped each other's paws. The human's voice was unnerving. Emotionless and dull. Not at all alive. They were both uneasy. "Are... are we sure it's human...?" Dogamy said quietly. Dogaressa didn't know how to respond. She was unsure as well. They both watched the human quietly. The human stared back at them, not breathing once again.

"Please come with us." Dogaressa said, stepping forward. Dogamy whispered quickly for her to be careful. The human blinked and her eyes slowly fixed fully on Dogaressa.

"... I cannot..."

Dogamy furrowed his brow. "We have to bring you to Asgore, human!" He barked, hoping that if he explained, they would follow. The human's eyes moved to him and his tail pressed between his legs.

"I can't..."

Dogaressa frowned. "Then we will take you by force!" She said, whipping her hood back over her eyes. The time for talking was done. She backed up as she heard Dogamy do the same. It helped if they couldn't see while attacking. It lessened the guilt. Dogamy took the first attack and his blade met the human's shoulder.

The human had made no move to dodge it. There was a horrific crunch as the axe cut through skin and met bone. Dogamy lifted his head to see the human's arm was now limp. Her face did not change. She showed no sign of pain. Blood trickled and stained the white snow red. It was the human's turn. She did not move. Dogaressa broke forward and swung her axe, catching the human in the stomach and forcing her to her knees. The human dropped to her knees, face still unchanging. She opened her mouth and coughed out blood.

Dogaressa backed up, sliding her axe out of the human's stomach, revealing a sickening gash. Blood poured down from it. They didn't understand. What wasn't the human FIGHTing? Why weren't they dodging?! Both of them shared an uneasy glance. For her turn, the human once again did nothing. She simply stared at the ground, before letting out a quiet sigh.

They attacked over and over. Much more than they had had to attack previous humans. Why was this one so... strong...? Was that the word? Neither of them were sure. They weren't sure it was strength. Finally, Dogamy stopped Dogaressa and showed Mercy. They stopped the fight and Dogamy took a few steps forward. The smell of blood was everywhere.

The human lay on the ground, both of their legs broken and dismembered. Their head laid tipped to the side and their skull was sliced open on one side. Their stomach wound had widened. They continued to live. "Why... why won't you fight?" Dogamy asked quietly in confusion.

"Why won't you... dodge?" Dogaressa mumbled, adding onto her lover's statement. Dogamy tipped his head. His mouth opened, but he didn't want to ask that question. Dogaressa asked it for him. "Why won't you die?"

They had both pulled back their hoods. Internally, they were both horrified at what they'd done to the human. Finally, the human drew in a shaking breath. Both of them jumped as she, herself, seemed to glitch and she was suddenly standing in front of them.

Her injuries had been fixed and it looked like she hadn't even been attacked at all. The stained snow around her, stated otherwise. The human sighed.

"As I thought..."

They were both taken back. How was she okay?! The smell of blood was still thick in their noses. They didn't like it. Finally, Dogamy seemed to come to a decision. "She's... not human..." He decided. Dogaressa nodded, glancing at her. That had to be the only explanation. If she wasn't a human, then she was a monster.

"Oh no! We're so sorry for attacking you! We thought you were a human!" Dogaressa exclaimed, now flooded with guilt over the thought of attacking an innocent monster. Dogamy sighed. He rubbed her back and turned to the monster.

"Have a nice day. We apologize for our intrusion!" He stated nervously. The monster blinked at them once again with dull eyes before sighing and nodding. She turned away from them and they both jumped as she suddenly appeared behind them, her body glitching.

The monster nodded and pulled her hood up. She continued on away from them. Dogaressa stared after her.

"What an odd monster..."

"Very odd monster..."