#fang everfell

[the-river-person]

The Tour Part 1

From a certain cliffside path just to the south of Everfall Town, you could see past the forested plateaus and over the fields of Everfall Cavern. Undyne had apparently planned to have them hike all the way to the other end of the Cavern, but the monster who had accompanied her vetoed that plan almost as soon as the words came out of Undyne’s mouth. The monster in question was a short, bespectacled bear. From what Fang could gather, the monster was named Dov and was Undyne’s personal secretary within the Royal Guard. Apparently that entailed deliberately preventing Undyne from making “Fucking stupid decisions on the fly,” as Dov so eloquently phrased it. It also seemed to mean that he had to endure Undyne’s fury when he informed her that it was an awful decision to go hiking all the way to the end of the cavern just to see a locked door and a wall when they could see both of those things from a nearby cliff and save time. “ALRIGHT!” Undyne was saying. “BECAUSE THIS ASS-HAT DOESN’T WANT TO WALK TO THE OTHER END OF THE CAVE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE A GLIMPSE OF THE OLD CITY FROM HERE.” Dov, for his part, seemed to be ignoring Undyne’s continued insults with a practiced ease. “Your file mentions you suffered from memory loss, among other things. Then to address the gaping holes in your knowledge of Monster History-” “IT’S NOT A HOLE IF HE DOESN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT AT ALL.” “-It is important for you to be aware that the old city was once the capital of the Underground before it was abandoned in favor of more practical locations.” Dov continued speaking, now aggressively ignoring Undyne altogether. “The Shining City of Elam was the refuge monsters built in the early days after the war. Sadly the city fell into disrepair after the Royal Family moved, and eventually became so dangerous that the last few monsters were ordered to move out and the gate was sealed shut to prevent accidents by nosy idiots poking about where they don’t belong.” With a pointed look at them he walked back up the path. Undyne laughed and turned to follow. “HAH! HE’S A NERD, BUT HE’S RIGHT! THE OLD CITY IS OFF LIMITS. NOW COME ON! WE’RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE TRACKS IF WE WANNA SEE THE COOL STUFF!” Not sure he wanted to know what sort of thing Undyne might think was cool, Fang peered off into the distance, trying to see the old city. It was very far, but the wall was visible even from here. It must have been absolutely massive because it towered over the highest reaching trees and just beyond the tops of domes and towers were visible. Elam, the City of Monsters. “HURRY UP, YOU DORK!” Barked Undyne impatiently and Fang scrambled to catch up, falling into step beside MK as they set out back through Everfall Town towards the tunnels leading to Gan’Eden. As they passed by, Fang took the opportunity to get a better look at the town, noting the Ice Cream Parlor that had clearly once been a bar and the Library, whose sign was misspelled as Librarby. Past some of the houses he could see the edge of the river. Waiting there at the dock was a ferryboat and a cloaked figure. The figure was far away, and it was difficult to tell what they looked like with the cloak hiding their face; but Fang felt the fur on his neck rise slightly and quickened his pace to walk alongside MK.

[the-river-person]

History and Old Rumors

Papyrus hadn’t been thrilled to discover that Sans had simply let Fang wander out and about in the Underground with only MK for protection, though he had looked thoughtful when Fang had mentioned making friends with the kid via Papyrus’ cookies. Had MK not already parted from them to head home, Fang was almost certain the skeleton would have offered him more. It wasn’t quiet at the table with Undyne there. The sheer volume of her voice as she animatedly described both the tournament and her meeting with the boys after getting a tip from Onionsama. Fang was surprised to discover that Onionsama was, in fact, the strange tentacled Monster they’d seen picking fruit from the orchard trees in Gan’Eden. When Undyne mentioned the thugs who’d attacked them in the tunnels, Papyrus’ expression soured. “They’re getting bolder. I still think we should take the guard and clear out all the caves and tunnels back there.” “BELIEVE ME,” said Undyne, shaking her head. “I’D LOVE TO. BUT ROYAL ORDERS STILL STAND. YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT ALL I’M ALLOWED TO DO IS KEEP THE SUPPLY LINES OPEN AND SET GUARDS TO CROP FIELDS. THE ONLY WAY I COULD BREAK THOSE ORDERS IS IF I WERE AFTER-” “A human.” Papyrus finished, nodding. Fang looked from face to face, trying to put the pieces of the human puzzle together. Nobody seemed to like them much, their garbage washed away down into the Underground where it was gathered as a resource by the Monsters, and everybody seemed to want to be on this Surface but nobody seemed to be trying to actually get there. “Are humans dangerous?” he asked at last. Undyne shared a disbelieving look with the two skeleton brothers. “SERIOUSLY?” She said. “YOU DON’T EVEN REMEMBER THAT? JEEZ KID, YOU MUSTA HAD SOME REALLY NASTY BLOW TO THE HEAD.” Shifting her weight so that she was facing him more directly, Undyne took a swig of her drink before going on. “LET’S SEE. THE BASICS. UM... MONSTERS AND HUMANS USED TO LIVE ON THE SURFACE TOGETHER. THERE WAS THIS REALLY BIG WAR AND MONSTERS WERE DRIVEN UNDERGROUND AND SEALED IN WITH MAGIC. TO BREAK THAT BARRIER WE NEED HUMAN SOUL POWER. BUT WE NEED A LOT OF SOULS TO PUNCH THROUGH, AND HUMANS ONLY EVER FALL DOWN HERE BY ACCIDENT, IF AT ALL.” Oof. That was... a lot. Fang was starting to get why everyone was so bitter, as nice as this place was, it was basically a prison for them. There were still some mysteries though. Like why Monsters were so eager to turn on each other at the slightest sign of weakness. “And then...” Said Papyrus, drawing Fang’s attention to him instead. “Well... nobody is quite sure what it was that happened. There was a human who fell into the Underground. But they were just a child, and it was said that the Royal Family took them in instead of killing them. Nobody ever saw them, not even at important ceremonies or big celebrations. Then word got out that the prince had murdered them.” And it got worse. Of course. Why wouldn’t it get worse? Kids murdering other kids. This place was a wreck. Fang glanced at Sans, but the Skeleton had returned to the sofa and was watching the tv again. “Guards rushed to stop Prince Asriel, himself only a child, but he’d already crossed the barrier, and without a human soul they were unable to follow. It was only a few hours later that the quakes started. The entire Underground shook, and the roof of the Everfall Caverns fell in, and massive portions of Gan’Eden were submerged in floodwaters. The damage was immense, but nobody could escape the devastation because the barrier was still in place.” Fang opened his mouth to ask about the damages, but changed his mind before the question had left his mouth and instead asked something else. “What about Prince Asriel?” He could find out more about how the Underground had been before and what had changed from MK, but both Undyne and Papyrus were in the Royal Guard, if they were in the mood for answering questions he’d better ask all the right ones. Undyne frowned. “WE DON’T KNOW. SOME SAY HE RETURNED AND FELL TO DUST IN FRONT OF THE KING AND QUEEN. OTHERS SAY HE NEVER CAME BACK AT ALL. A FEW SAY HE CAME BACK AND LOCKED HIMSELF IN THE TOWER, NEVER COMING OUT BUT STILL THERE. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THE KING AND QUEEN HAVEN’T SAID A THING ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN, ONLY DEALT WITH THE DAMAGES AND LET THE UNDERGROUND GET EVEN NASTIER OVER THE YEARS SINCE.” Scoffing, Papyrus stood up to clear the plates. “Stuff and nonsense. Nobody knows what happened, they just like making up rumors and causing trouble. And you shouldn’t be encouraging such...” he trailed off, as if looking for some suitable word to describe the foolishness of gossip. “Shit?” Supplied Sans helpfully. Papyrus frowned but didn’t deny it. Conversation turned from there towards discussions about the guard, work schedules, and supply trains. It was as his attention began to stray that Fang realized he’d lost track of the bottle of Mustard. Silently cursing himself he tried to remember where he’d last had it and was forced to conclude that it had been lost in the tunnels somewhere after they’d been attacked. It wasn’t safe to go looking alone, especially not now that it was getting late. He’d have to hope that it was still there later or he was going to have to find another way to appease the skeleton. Predictably Sans was still not looking at him, though when Fang actively turned to stare at him all Sans did was put up his middle finger in the boy’s direction without even turning around. It was clear that Sans was still watching, even if he didn’t look like he was paying attention. Fang might have been comforted by this were it not for the fact that Sans still seemed pissed off. In the end, Papyrus had no objection to Fang training in the Guard, though he reminded Undyne that they had no real knowledge of Fang’s background. Waving him off, Undyne declared that they’d keep looking even while he trained up, if he actually accepted. Fang was surprised, he hadn’t been sure he still had a choice. The way the conversation had been going it seemed all decided. It wasn’t as if he was going to say no, after all he needed to survive in this place, even if he had no plans to kill anyone. But still it was nice to be given the choice. Having happily obtained her answer, Undyne left for her own home. And Fang retired to the room he’d been given to sleep in. As he was closing the window he spotted a shadow dart through the streets near the door. Quietly he trod back downstairs and opened the door. Sitting on the doorstep was the mustard bottle, and a little note attached to it read “You forgot this. -A Friend.” A friend? Really? And why not actually knock? His mind reeling with questions he had no answers for he shut the door and made his way up the stairs. He removed the little note and put the mustard bottle right at the bottom of San’s door where the skeleton was certain to find it. No reason to pass up the opportunity, even if it was weird. He’d figure out who had returned the bottle later, and why.

[the-river-person]

Wash u Soul

What surprised Fang most about the dump was how well ordered everything was. He’d been expecting mounds of rotting wet trash that collected in piles from the flow, washed into the underground from above. Instead, there were platforms of wood and stone where trash had been collected and sorted into all kinds of piles and packed into crates. Monsters that looked like a strange cross between turtle and bucket could be seen trundling up and down paths between all the piles and carefully washing and sorting items. By this point Fang was beginning to expect a sour or angry mood from just about everybody, or at the very least the pretense of toughness. These monsters, on the other hand, seemed to be genuinely content as they went about their work, occasionally muttering things like “Wash u face” or “scrub a dub dub!” Another monster met them where the walkway they were on opened up onto the massive platforms of the dump. It was a sort of dog/cat-like monster with white fur who was wearing a small maroon suit that had clearly been tailored just for them. It was hard to tell if they simply had two sets of ears or whether the floppy parts that hung down on either side of their head were just tufts of fur. The creature smiled up at them pleasantly. “Hello, Welcome to the Waste Collection and Redistribution Center. I’m Temmie, let me know if there’s anything you need.” With their little golden monocle they gazed up at the pair of monsters, taking them in. “I recognize you,” they said to Monster Kid. “But you, first time coming?” Fang nodded, “As far as I know, yeah.” “Ah, it’s always nice to have new customers. As this is your first time here, you are entitled to one free item of medium size. Bring it up to the desk with your other purchases.” With a paw the monster gestured over towards a wooden desk to the far left beyond the piles of sorted trash. The person sitting there was... Temmie? The monster looked exactly the same, down to the suit, the monocle, and even the same pleasant and slightly amused smile. Fang glanced back at the monster in front of him, only to find that they were no longer there. How...? Noting that Monster Kid was looking just as perplexed and confused as he was, Fang decided they probably weren’t going to get any answers. Some Monsters seemed to just be weirder than others. As they began picking through the piles, Fang pelted his friend with more questions. “I thought this was a dump. Why are they selling it? Isn’t it just trash?” Monster Kid snorted. “Well yeah, dude. Its human trash. And it used to just be free for any scavengers who got to it first. But the Tems made a deal with the Royal Family. If they cleaned it all up and stopped people from killing each other over scraps then they could sell the junk for profit. But its not too bad, their prices aren’t high, and they do everything they promised to do. You shouldn’t make deals with Tems if you can help it, but if you do, they keep their word no matter what.” Fang opened his mouth to ask why he shouldn’t make deals with the Tems if they kept their word when he accidentally ran right into one of the Woshuas. It stumbled back, grumbling angrily, before looking up at him in surprise. “Wash u face?” it inquired suspiciously. Fang had no idea how to answer that, but it seemed the little monster didn’t really want an answer as it continued on anyway. “Your soul is....... Clean?” Though he had no idea what it was talking about, the little monster’s expression was so startled that Fang wondered if it was alright. “Sorry,” he said offering a hand to help the creature, but it recoiled from his touch and trundled away as quickly as it could. “No thanks no thanks no thanks. Green means clean. Wash you hand. Wash you hand!” Mystified, Fang glanced at Monster Kid for an explanation, but the other only shrugged and went back to looking through the piles for something to buy. The Woshua returned to its cleaning and sorting with the others, but every so often Fang would catch it staring at him from a far off pile, wearing an unreadable expression. But whenever it saw him looking it turned away.

[the-river-person]

Cookies

People really didn’t linger in the streets. Sure there were a lot of people out and about, going about their days, but everyone was always rushing to finish an errand or to reach their destination. It was like they didn’t dare be caught out, not without having a reason for being there, a purpose. It made for an incredibly boring view from the window. Fang was contemplating just banging his head against the glass repeatedly. At least it would give him something to do. Papyrus had told him he could watch TV or find some other way to amuse himself, and then had rushed off to work. He’d tried to do just that, but Sans had somehow just... appeared on the couch, remote already in hand, and had told him to scram. Not about to argue, Fang had settled himself by the window to try and get a sense of what life was like in this... place. They were all in some sort of cavern, he could see that much. But at some point in the past, the roof had caved in, leaving an open sky free to pour itself down into the place. The town itself was sitting up on a cliff edge that overlooked huge valleys, and a river flowed round the valley’s edge on the upper slopes and then sped past the town and into tunnels beyond. Down in the valley there were fields and orchards where monsters were hard at work gathering up the harvest, and at the edge of the fields a thick autumn forest crowded in, the colors of golds and reds like fire. Just beyond the town was a series of flat topped peaks that led over to the other end of the cavern, far above the valleys. It really did seem like a nice place to live. So why did the people seem so unhappy with everything? Hardly anyone smiled, and when they did it was just so... tired. Other than that they just snapped at each other and seemed suspicious and wary of everything. More than once as he’d watched had someone spotted him and gave him a blistering stare of suspicion before hurrying off faster than before. Hours ticked onward. Sans showed no desire to get up or move at all from the couch. Somehow he’d pulled a bottle of mustard from who knew where and was happily drinking it as he kept his eyes glued on some kind of television program that involved a gigantic bear with blue fur, some miniature pirates, and some kind of flying dinosaur that Fang couldn’t quite put a name to. It had been quite some time since the breakfast that Papyrus had made him, and Fang’s stomach was beginning to complain fairly loudly, so he took the risk and poked his head into the other room to ask Sans what he could eat. “The fuck if I know. Grab some cookies or something. As long as you eat whatever shit Papyrus makes for dinner, he won’t care what you eat during the day.” Not once did Sans even take his eyes off the screen, and Fang decided it was better not to bother the skeleton anymore. Really Sans confused him. The skeleton had saved his life, and thought the whole thing funny. But ever since he’d just been acting coldly, as if Fang were something really nasty he’d stepped in and just wanted to toss out. What could he do to make Sans like him? Well first he had to figure out why Sans didn’t like him in the first place and fix that. But to do it he had to get Sans to talk to him, which he wasn’t going to do unless he liked him. Fang helped himself to some cookies while he pondered the problem. Maybe if he could find something that Sans really liked, he’d warm up a little? Mustard maybe. If he could figure out where to find the stuff. Back at his spot near the window he watched a figure making their way down the street. They wore stripes, like he did, so he knew they were a kid. A lizard-like monster with yellow scales and spines that ran up and down his back from the top of his head to the end of his tail. At first Fang was convinced the kid had his arms tucked into the sweater he was wearing, but when the Monster tripped and still didn’t pull his arms out to stop himself from face planting right in the leaves, Fang realized that the other didn’t have any arms at all. He opened the window, thinking to ask if the other wanted help, but the lizard was already pushing himself back up as if this was a routine thing, scowling at anyone who happened to be nearby. Fang knew it was coming before it happened, and sure enough the other’s eyes met his own, and the monster’s scowl just deepened. “What are you looking at?” he snapped. There was really no good answer to the question. Clearly the other was just looking to cause some kind of trouble already, so Fang just gave the honest answer, “you.” For a moment the monster kid seemed thrown entirely off guard. As if that had been an answer he’d never even anticipated and didn’t know how to respond to. Fang used the moment of confused silence to offer one of his cookies. “Want one?” he asked. Looking more bewildered than ever, the monster paused for a long moment, before just nodding and taking the cookie carefully with his teeth. They spent another moment in silence as they each devoured their own treats. “Thanks,” said the monster after a bit, still looking confused, but less angry than before. “Yo, I’m headed to see Undyne fight in the tournaments. You wanna come?” “Um,” said Fang lamely, not sure if he was even allowed to leave the house. “Let me ask.” He popped his head back into the other room where Sans was still watching tv. “Can I-” he began, but Sans just waved him into silence. “Yeah yeah, I don’t give a shit. Go wherever you like. Just don’t do anything stupid, like dying. Stick to MK. He’s dumb as a box of rocks, but he’s tougher than he looks.” That was that. Shrugging, Fang ran back to the window where the monster, who he guessed was named MK, was waiting for him looking impatient. “I’m coming,” he said and grabbed the jacket Sans had gotten him yesterday from its hook before slipping out the front door.

[the-river-person]

Le Réveil

Really Fang had thought it would be at least a couple days before he heard anything back from Undyne about being a recruit for the guard. What he did not expect was to be woken early the next morning by a loud banging on the front door of the house. Groggily he got up and poked his head out of the spare bedroom. Papyrus seemed to have already woken earlier and was already opening the front door to reveal MK standing there looking positively demented with impatience and excitement. The armless monster wilted slightly upon meeting the Lieutenant Captain’s frightfully cold expression, but he cleared his throat and plowed ahead anyway. “Uh, hello Lieutenant Captain Sir! Undyne called me this morning and told me to report to your home and wait for her to come and collect both me and Fang.” “Fang and I” corrected Papyrus sternly. He muttered something Fang could only half hear about not being informed and not following proper procedure, but his ire didn’t seem to be on MK at the moment as he absently ushered the kid into the house. It took all of two seconds for MK to spot Fang watching from the rooms above, and he grinned, fit to burst with energy. It was a little frightening, Fang admitted to himself, how manic the monster looked, but he forced himself to grin back. “Dude, better go get ready before Undyne gets here, you don’t wanna keep her waiting while you get dressed and everything, she’ll probably just stick you with spears and move on!” Fang doubted this, considering how excited the fish monster had been last night to have him join up, and he doubted Papyrus would allow such a thing. There was probably some protocol it would violate that he’d be furious over. But instead of mentioning any of this, Fang simply nodded and retreated into his room where he gathered some clean clothes from the box and then padded out and towards the bathroom. As he passed, he could hear Papyrus already starting in on a lecture, this one to MK since Sans had not yet materialized from his bedroom yet. Fang noted briefly that the bottle of mustard was still there as he passed by. “And you cannot simply keep calling her Undyne. She is your superior officer! You must show her rank and authority the respect it deserves! Always address her as Captain! Or Captain Undyne if you wish to be formal. But-” and then Fang quietly closed the bathroom door with a click, cutting off the last of the lecture. Dampening a wash-rag he quickly washed his face and fur before running a thick long-toothed comb through his fur to get any dust or dirt out. When it was as smooth as he could get it he tugged on his clothes. Though he probably could have taken a bath or showered, he felt a resistance to the idea of going near that much water at once. A damp cloth was one thing, but a tub or shower full of water filled him with a silent panic he couldn’t explain. It had been different going through the waterfalls, lakes, and pools of Gan’Eden. Nobody had expected him to go swimming in any of them, and there had been no danger of him falling in at any point. But since he couldn’t seem to face a bathtub full of water, he was careful to be very thorough when washing with a damp cloth and a comb. Satisfied that his fur was clean, and that he was somewhat presentable, he cleaned up the mess he’d made and headed downstairs where he discovered MK at the table being served a plate of cookies and glass of milk. It seemed that Papyrus had discovered how Fang had made friends in the first place. A plate of lasagna was plopped down in front of him, clearly freshly made as it was still steaming. “Breakfast is a vitally important meal, as I often remind my moronic brother. Especially if one is to go traipsing about all over the Underground.” “Are we?” Fang asked, his mouth full of food. At a look from the skeleton he hurriedly chewed and swallowed before continuing to speak. “I mean, are we traipsing about all over the Underground?” The annoyed expression on the skeleton’s face said very clearly that they were, and Fang admired how expressive both skeleton brothers managed to be with faces entirely made out of bone and only magical glowing eyes to actually alter their visible expression. “Yes indeed,” Papyrus said, clearing away Fang’s already empty plate. He returned not even a moment later with cookies and milk that he’d clearly already had prepared. “The Captain is going to be giving you a hands on tour of the important areas of the Underground. This is standard protocol regardless of whether recruits have their memory intact or not, as the Underground is quite large and there are many who hardly leave the territory they live in and were likely even born in. Certainly you cannot tour the whole of the Undground in one day, it would take perhaps a week or more. But it is possible to travel the whole of the main road and briefly visit the territories in only eight hours or so, providing you don’t talk to anyone or do anything along the way.” Giving a sniff of annoyance, Papyrus deposited a cloth bag into Fang’s lap. A quick peek inside revealed a packed lunch. Fang couldn’t help but feel a growing warmth towards the grumpy skeleton. He shouted and lectured and made a huge fuss, and he certainly wasn’t very encouraging as he actively insulted or questioned the intelligence of everyone around him to bolster himself up. But it seemed that when it came to actions, Papyrus was a much kinder monster than he appeared at first glance. Either that or he was thrilled to get to feed people his culinary masterpieces. “I expect,” continued the skeleton as if he hadn’t paused even a moment. “That you’ll be gone for at most twelve hours as the Captain is likely to-” Sadly, Fang did not hear what Captain Undyne was likely to do as Papyrus was cut off by the sound of someone actually hammering on the door with what sounded like the butt of a spear. “OPEN UP, YOU FUCKING NERD!” came Undyne’s loud but incredibly excited voice from the other side of the door. “I CAME TO PICK UP THE RECRUITS!”

[the-river-person]

Fangs, Tupperware, and Canines

Snip... snip... snip. Not one single stray bud or dying leaf would escape his shears. Papyrus, the Great and Terrible Papyrus, Lieutenant Captain of the Royal Guard, scowled in concentration as he trimmed the rose bush before him. It was a captain’s duty to maintain the flowerbeds around the station, for though they did not produce any actual sustenance, the roses were a symbol of loyalty to the Royal Family, and thus must be maintained with as much care as any plant in the fields or orchards. The sharp blade cut away at any offending sign of decay or hasty growth, mercilessly silencing them as brutally as the Lieutenant Captain would any lawbreaker. His hands were steady, showing no sign of the inner rage he was struggling to contain. Sans was late, again. If that no good, lazy, shit piece of-... no. Sans would have some reason, he was sure of it. There was always some reason, after all. Not always a good one, but good enough to scrape him by. Hmph. He glared at the rosebush as if it were at fault for his brother’s idiocy. Predictably, the rose bush showed no reaction, nor had Papyrus expected it to. He caught the sound of familiar footsteps approaching, that was Sans at last. But... not alone? Sans had no friends... who? Hand at his side, ready to summon a weapon of bone at the slightest instant, he stood and turned to await the arrival of his brother and whoever was with him. Upon seeing who it was, he relaxed. Doggo, a member of the Canine Unite. Loyal as any dog, though stupid and vicious as one. Papyrus smirked slightly. Stupid was good when it came to the dogs. They didn’t get any funny ideas. Unfortunately, Doggo himself smelled very strongly of smoke and dog biscuits as well as the very faint scent of whisky. One more person was with them. Funnily enough this Monster was being dragged by Sans, presumably against their will, and did not look even remotely happy about their circumstances. Papyrus noted that Doggo was looking equally annoyed and was also being forced along against his will. How very odd, Sans didn’t usually exert his will unless he really felt he needed to, and considering how damned lazy he was, that hardly ever happened. The other Monster was a cat monster, much like that radio host from Nebelheim, though this one was smaller and very clearly a child. Their fur was lighter grey marked by darker grey streaks. “I expect you have a very good reason for all of...this?” said Papyrus shortly, unable to find a suitable word to describe the ludicrous scene in front of him as he gestured to the three monsters before him. Somehow, Sans’ grin was almost gleeful, something that Papyrus wanted to smack him for, but as tempting as it was he managed to resist the impulse. “Sorry Boss, I was on my way to find ya. And I ran into these idiots near the orchards.” And saying this he gave both cat monster and Doggo a little shake, causing both to bare their teeth at him, which only made him snicker. It was absolute bullshit, to use the common phrase. Sans didn’t walk anywhere if he could help it. Papyrus’ interest in this was growing with each moment. “Doggo here found a little free experience and thought he’d have some fun. Normally I wouldn’t care, but Doggo is in the Guard, ain’t he? I seem’ ta remember some kinda rule against that. Can’t have anyone under your command breakin’ the rules, can we?” Sans was definitely up to something. He didn’t care a bit about rules or regulations. But technically, he was correct. There was a rule about members of the guard taking advantage of their position to prey on the weak for XP. After all, someone needed to keep some kind of order. For a long moment, Papyrus was silent, trying to decide what to do with the lot of them. Because Sans had actively saved this child, he couldn’t simply be thrown out or imprisoned, there was procedure to think of. And of course, Doggo couldn’t be let off easy, though his punishment would be light since he was a valuable asset to the guard. Just enough to make an example. “You, child. Who are you? Where is your family? Parental authorities? Striped shirt? Well?” The cat-monster stared up at him, clearly bewildered, and after a moment where Papyrus’s impatience was beginning to boil, he finally shrugged and shook his head. With a snort, and reaching the very end of his patience, Papyrus simply used his magic to Check the child’s stats. “?????” * HP: 14/20 * AT: 0   DEF: 0 * Weapon: Teeth & Claws * Doesn’t know where or who he is, but is determined to survive. A resilient soul, despite the lack of parents or a home. * Has been hungry for a while. Oh. Papyrus paused, his scowl deepening as he thought hard. That changed things. He tapped the side of his skull thoughtfully as he pondered out loud. “Well then, we’ll of course have to inform Captain Undyne as per regulation. And figure out what to do with you until some more permanent solution can be found.” “I could eat him?” offered Doggo. It was only a joke, even Papyrus could tell that, though perhaps a poorly timed one considering how much trouble the stupid monster was already in. But in the few seconds that it took for the comment to register, the cat monster had already broken free from Sans’ grip and leapt upon Doggo, biting him hard with his sharp fangs. “OWOWOHOW!!!” screeched the guard dog as he tried to shake off his would-be assailant. Sans was laughing, doubling over as his belly and shoulders shook from the force of his amusement. “Well shit, Doggo. Looks like you’re the one who’s gonna get eaten! Little kitten here has fangs after all!” With a growl of feigned annoyance, though he too was resisting the urge to laugh, Papyrus reached forward and grabbed the nameless monster by the scruff of his neck and pulled him away from Doggo, forcing him to release his toothy hold in order to turn around and bite Papyrus instead. “Stop that,” ordered the Lieutenant Captain sharply and his captive stilled in fear. “It won’t help anyway, I’m as resilient as bone.” He smirked in San’s direction as his brother’s face went blank with surprise before breaking into an even wider grin. “We’ll have to call you something, and since you seem to be well equipped with them, we’ll call you Fang. Don’t bite any more guards unless you have no other choice, its against the law.” Thrusting Fang down into a chair he made his way over to a little refrigerator sitting in the corner, from this he removed a tupperware of his famous lasagna. It was still hot, as the fridge was one of the custom made ones from Nebelheim labs and kept anything inside well heated. This he placed down firmly in front of Fang, adding a fork and a napkin for good measure. Injuries and lost identities were no excuse for bad manners. Doggo was scowling at the kid, “You’re feeding him?” He said with a sort of plaintive and complaining whine in his voice. “But he bit me.” “Yes he did, and well deserved too. Besides, he’s hungry and the best remedy is my famous-” he paused as there was a tug on his sleeve. Turning to look he found the boy offering him the now empty tupperware with a hopeful expression. Wordlessly Papyrus retrieved another from the fridge and that too was quickly devoured. Honestly he wasn’t at all certain what to make of the expression the child was giving him now, something kind of like adoration. He wasn’t sure he liked it, but he found it difficult to fault anyone who had such refined taste enough for his lasagna. “Ahem,” he cleared his throat, it was time to get back on track. “He can stay in the spare bedroom for a week or so, until things are sorted out and some other arrangement can be made. Papyrus took great pleasure in the fact that both Doggo and Sans had sour expressions now. Doggo still nursing the bite marks from the kid’s teeth, and Sans looking like he wished he’d dumped the kid in a ditch before sharing the house with someone else. “Now,” he said, addressing the pair. “I seem to recall that both of you are still on duty, and the day isn’t nearly over. Get back to your patrols or I’ll be sending reports to Undyne containing your death certificates.” With a click of his teeth in a wide grin and a mocking salute, Sans disappeared with a final “Aye Boss, whatever you say.” Doggo sullenly gave a more proper salute and slunk off out the door. Papyrus noted that the canine’s uniform was wrinkled and the shirt wasn’t tucked in, not to mention that it also had several small tears where the material had worn thin. Humph. It was a travesty. He’d have to order an official inspection one of these days.

[the-river-person]

Dalphon in Stone

“I can’t believe you chose THAT for your free item, Dude.” Fang shrugged. The jumbo sized bottle of mustard in his arms ought to be more than enough to make Sans happy, or at least get the skeleton to be more amiable instead of glaring at him every time he entered a room. He still had a mountain of questions yet to be answered about this whole place. Why everyone was so nasty, what was this “Surface” that everyone talked about and why was everybody down here instead of up there if they liked it so much better. Most of all, he wanted to know about the humans that Monster Kid had mentioned. What was a human, anyway? The way MK had mentioned them, it didn’t seem as if they were very popular, and their garbage somehow ended up down here, so clearly they weren’t very careful and didn’t care about wasting resources much. From the moment he had woken up in the Underground he’d seen how carefully the Monsters protected their resources. Fields and orchards, electricity, even common household objects. The blankets that Papyrus had given him had been warm and well made, but had patches carefully sewn over any holes or even thin places, as if the very idea of throwing it away was unthinkable unless it was truly unusable. They were making their way back through Gan’Eden. Though Sans hadn’t mentioned that he had to be back by a specific time, or at all, it was getting late and Fang was sure that Papyrus would be back home soon. And if the comment Sans had made about being sure to eat dinner or risk the ire of Papyrus was any indication, Fang was sure that the taller skeleton would be upset at someone if they came home late. Either at him, which wouldn’t be the best ending to his second day, or at Sans, who he was already trying to get to be more amiable to him and getting him in trouble wouldn’t help at all. It was also possible that Papyrus could direct his anger towards MK given that it had been his idea in the first place, and Fang wasn’t about to let that happen either. When they passed by an old stone statue with small rivulets of water falling from its eyes as if the face were crying, Fang knew they’d gone down the wrong path. It was a huge carving, set into the very wall. It was odd, not quite like any monster he’d seen. Most of its features were hard to discern, as the carver had decided to obscure them beneath some kind of hood or head covering robe. But there were some kind of horns sticking out and up, its eyes only visible in the shadows where light from crystals in the ceiling glinted off the flowing water. “Are you,” he said slowly, “are you sure this is the right way? It’s not the way we came.” MK looked around and cursed. “Damn it! I got distracted. We’ll have to go back, this road used to go all the way through, but there was a cave in somewhere along it about a year ago and nobody bothered to clear it out.“ As one they turned to head back up the tunnel where they’d made the wrong turn, and found their way blocked by Monsters they hadn’t even heard behind them. Fang knew they were in trouble the moment he saw them, and he felt MK tense up beside him. The malicious grins the Monsters were giving them left little room for doubt. There were only three of them, one with dragon-like features but tattered useless looking wings on its back and claws far too long and wicked looking for comfort. Another appeared to be a body with a fish tail and a different sort of chest and arms up top and a series of scales down its spine, and most notably of all, it had no head on its shoulders at all. It wasn’t too hard to guess that the third gang member didn’t even want to be there. The monster was bug-like in appearance and his antenna were twitching in agitation along with his pincers. Fang tried to meet his eyes, but the monster wouldn’t look at him, just slightly off above his shoulder. “Well well. Gotten lost?” The dragon-like monster, who seemed to be the leader of the three. “We can show you the way back, right boys?” Both of the other monsters nodded. Or rather, the Mygosp clicked his pincers and waggled his antenna in agreement while the one without a head merely bowed slightly, dipping its chest lower towards the leader as it didn’t have a proper head to nod with. MK was having none of it. “We can find the way ourselves. Just move, asshole.” Shaking his head, the Monster tutted at them. “So rude, and here we were, just trying to do you a favor.” None of them showed any sign of moving out of the way. He knew what was going to happen before it happened. Fang’s ears flattened against his skull and the fur on the back of his neck was tickling as it rose and stood on end. While his tail was lashing in irritation he was moving his hind paws were shifting on the wet stone paths, readying for something, testing and adjusting his own balance. The very moment one of the monsters, the one without a head, raised its arm and began to create a little white bullet in the air to attack them with, Fang leapt. Nobody had taught him how to do magic, there hadn’t really been a chance. But he’d seen the monsters fighting in the arena using their bullets. Some, like Undyne, had more impressive weapons they could summon that flashed or glowed with colors. But most of the ones he’d seen were whitish or grey, sometimes a grey-orange in color. They had interesting shapes, but they were smaller. Something in him had gone off every time a monster had summoned one of these bullets, like a little warning light in his head. If he wasn’t paying attention he could miss it, but watching the fights in the arena had been good practice, and he was already in the air before the Monster’s bullet had actually had the time to form. Maybe he couldn’t do magic, but Papyrus had given him the name Fang for a reason. He had teeth, he had claws. He didn’t want to hurt these Monsters, or anyone. But he wasn’t going to let them kill him either, nor would he let them kill MK. His claws stretched and extended as he reached his target, and he latched on with them before immediately biting down. The full weight and momentum of his attack knocked the Monster back into the cave wall and they both went flailing down as the creature screeched in shock and pain, a mouth filled with horrific circular rows of teeth opening up somewhere in the space between its shoulders. Fang was back on his own feet in seconds, knowing that the one he’d attacked wasn’t going to be moving for at least a good 30 seconds, he glanced at the other two out of the corner of his eye. They hadn’t moved, their mouths hanging comically open with shock. Obviously they hadn’t expected their intended victims to attack like that, or maybe they were hoping intimidation would keep them from fighting back at all. Down on the floor, the other Monster pushed themselves up. While it didn’t have a face to give expression, the way it was moving conveyed something like confusion. It spoke, its deep graveling voice a surprise as they hadn’t heard it talking before, “...Zero... damage? But...” Anything else it meant to say was cut off as its fellow gang member, the dragonish one, gave out a yelp of pain and crashed to the ground. Taking advantage of their distraction, MK had made an attack of his own, spinning his entire body so his heavy tail crashed hard into the other monster’s legs, the spikes along it digging into the scaled flesh of his opponent while the weight of the tail and force of the blow undermined the Monster’s balance. Hardly anyone had the time to do anything else because another figure leapt into the middle of the road. Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard, straightened from her landing, a glowing spear already in her hand. One look from her sent the bug-like Monster scrambling away down the tunnel, the other two paused for a few brief seconds before deciding that the fight wasn’t worth continuing, especially not if Undyne was a part of it. Then they hurriedly retreated after their fleeing friend, casting murderous looks at the boys as they went.

Glancing back at MK to see if he was alright, Fang found the lizard Monster looking absolutely starry-eyed as he gazed at Undyne. Forcing back a smile that was trying to creep up on his face, Fang nodded at the Captain. “Thank you,” he said. “For jumping in to help.” “OF COURSE!” said Undyne, her voice booming as she faced them, her grin like a shark’s and bright red lipstick lining her mouth in an unsettling way. “I GOT WORD FROM ONIONSAMA THAT YOU PASSED THAT WAY EARLIER AND THAT THERE HAD BEEN REPORTS OF THESE ASSHOLES ABOUT.” Something in her face darkened slightly. “SLAVERS AND XP FARMING GANGS. I’VE BEEN WANTING TO ROOT THEM ALL OUT FOR YEARS, BUT THEY’RE ESPECIALLY HARD TO FIND IN WATERFALL’S MAZE LIKE TUNNELS.” Onionsama? Fang didn’t know the name, but he felt a rush of gratitude towards whoever that was who had seen them and sent word to the Captain about the possible danger. Maybe not everyone in this place was entirely insane. After a second, Undyne’s expression cleared as she grinned down at them. “SO! YOU TWO ARE PRETTY STRONG! AND QUICK! THAT’S GREAT FOR WHEN YOU GET IN A NASTY CORNER.“ She glanced at Fang. “IT’S RARE THAT SOMEONE CAN BE THAT PHYSICALLY STRONG BUT STILL DEAL ZERO DAMAGE DURING AN ATTACK. SINCE MONSTERS ARE MOSTLY MADE OF MAGIC IT TAKES INTENT OR DESIRE TO HURT IN ORDER TO DO ANY DAMAGE. BUT CLEARLY THAT DOESN’T MAKE YOU WEAK, YOU TOOK YOUR OPPONENT DOWN AND WERE UP AND READY FOR MORE! AND YOU,” turning to MK who blinked in surprise at being addressed directly. “YOU’RE GOOD ON THE UPTAKE. ONCE YOU SAW AN OPENING, YOU TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT AND KNEW RIGHT WHERE TO STRIKE.” The fish-monster paused, thinking. “I’D LIKE TO RECRUIT YOU BOTH OF YOU FOR THE GUARD. IF YOU’RE WILLING. YOU’D BE GREAT OFFICERS, THOUGH YOU’D HAVE TO START OFF AT THE BOTTOM FIRST AND WORK YOUR WAY UP THROUGH THE RANKS.” “Yes!“ Spluttered out MK before she could say anymore. Undyne’s grin widened. Fang hesitated, “I’m not sure...” he began. “I don’t know if-” But she waved him into silence with a flap of her hand. “NAH, IT’S OKAY, KID. YOU DON’T NEED TO ANSWER RIGHT AWAY. IT’S A PRETTY BIG DECISION, SO TAKE YOUR TIME AND THINK ABOUT IT. JUST DON’T TAKE TOO LONG, THERE’S LOTS OF TRAINING TO GET THROUGH. ALRIGHT?” He nodded hurriedly, feeling relief at not having to answer right away. Glancing round at the area they were in, and her eyes alighting briefly on the stone statue of a strange hooded monster who’s upper torso was carved from the very stone wall and whose eyes were acting as drainpipes for some upper waterfall. “HELL, THIS ISN’T THE NICEST PLACE TO GO TROMPING THROUGH. TELL YOU WHAT, I’LL SEE YOU BOTH HOME TO BE SURE THOSE IDIOTS DON’T COME RUSHING BACK WITH MORE FRIENDS TO FIGHT WITH. WHERE DO YOU LIVE?” “Everfall Town,” said MK promptly, giving his address. But it was when Fang told her Papyrus’s address that her eyes widened. “WHAT? THAT’S PAPYRUS’ HOUSE! WAIT A MINUTE...” you could almost see the click in her eyes as the puzzle pieces snapped together. “YOU’RE THAT KID! WOW! PAPYRUS SAID YOU WERE SCRAPPY, BUT DAMN!” She threw back her head and laughed, a full-throated roar of amusement and glee. MK and Fang shared a look of bemusement as the captain wiped away at tears of mirth. “THAT’S GREAT,” she said, still chuckling. “I’LL STICK AROUND AND JOIN YOU FOR DINNER SO I CAN TELL HIM ALL ABOUT THIS. PLUS I’LL GET SOME OF HIS LASAGNA. HE MAY BE AN ASSHOLE SOMETIMES, BUT DAMN IS HE A GOOD COOK.” And, grabbing both boys heartily around the shoulders, she half led half dragged them along the tunnels, waxing poetic about pasta based foods.

[the-river-person]

Who is Undyne?

“So uh... who is Undyne?” Fang had followed MK along the tunnels and out into an area filled with the distant roar of the waterfalls. He’d learned that the town nestled up among the high cliffs of the cave wall was called Everfall. It became a rather grim name as the locals had given it as they joked about the danger of falling to their deaths from the cliffs. But the name was really shared with the larger cavern as well, and had an entirely different origin.

The Cavern of Everfall was locked by the King’s magic in a near perpetual autumn, the perfect growing season for the crops they’d chosen. Its open roof provided all the sunlight and rain they could need, and the river Parat flowed through it from the old abandoned ruins. Now they made their way into the territory of Gan’Eden, a place of perpetual waterfalls, lakes, and deep pools.

MK, who thus far had been grumpily answering Fang’s questions, now turned to look at him aghast. “Undyne is the Captain of the Royal Guard. She’s the strongest monster in the whole Underground! I heard you had some kind of brain damage or whatever, but you gotta know who Undyne is!” Ignoring the jab about his missing memory, Fang considered this. “And so the Captain is fighting in these tournaments? And its... entertainment?” “Yup,” said MK nodding. “Anyone who thinks they can beat her is allowed to sign up. Except... you know. Kids. The King and Queen’s laws.” The lizard monster looked annoyed, more than usual. “You wanted to sign up?” With a wicked grin MK nodded. “Sure! I’ve always wanted to fight her! If I was the one to bring her down, I’d be the best! And no one would challenge me outside the tournaments!” For a moment Fang was slightly confused. He’d gotten the idea that the monsters here weren’t averse to attacking one another. Doggo had made that abundantly clear. And even the Skeleton Brothers had only said that killing someone weak for experience was illegal... as long as the person you were killing was a child. Adults were fair game. But... nobody was willing to challenge the Captain of the Guard? The strongest monster? His tail curled in and out as he thought about it. “Why don’t they? Wouldn’t that get them more Experience that way?” “Dude, it’s illegal. The Captain of the Guard still has to do her job. If everyone is mobbing her all the time she can’t protect the supply chains or stop the worst of the crime. And she already has to fight all the time when she’s working anyway.” Fang frowned as they made their way along the mostly dry passages and into a set of open bridges and paths set over dark pools of water. It was all so... complicated. He wondered why anyone would want to mess with supply chains, wouldn’t people starve without them? They heard the tournament before they saw it. A sort of distant roar, like many voices screaming and shouting and cheering that echoed off the walls of the larger caverns and drifted faintly into the tunnels. On a rocky ledge, overlooking a deep abyss that the waterfalls flowed endlessly down into, stood a huge building. Built almost like a tower it was bigger than the entire town of Everfall and was clearly the source for all the noise. MK was getting more excited the closer they got and he did all but dragged Fang forward as quick as they could go. Exactly how he managed to be so pushy without the use of arms was a mystery, but Fang let himself be led in through the gates and through a massive hysterical crowd of monsters. It was his least favorite experience thus far, out of the few he could remember. Since the first waking moment in the Autumn Forests he’d been hunted and chased and attacked by any other monster he’d met. And now here he was, making his way through a crowd of the loudest and most bloodthirsty he’d met so far. Fortunately their hungry gaze was focused down on the pit below, where a monster in armor was holding their own against no less than three opponents. A few empty seats near a few dog monsters was where they ended up sitting. Fang recognized some of them from the past day staring out the window of the Skeleton Brother’s house. Apparently some of the dogs recognized him too, either by smell or having heard from Doggo about him, because a few of them turned and growled softly at him. They stopped when MK returned this with a scowl of his own, but they kept shooting nasty looks over in their direction every once in a while.

[the-river-person]

Scarlet Grove and Endless Falls

Gan’Eden’s waterfalls were mostly on the outer edges. Those rivers flowing into the caverns and those which fell down cliffs into deeper areas on the far end. Upon deciding that they didn’t really want to go back home yet, because Fang had never seen the rest of the Underground, at least not that he could remember, and Monster Kid was bored, they decided to visit the Dump. From the sound of it, a lot of refuse ended up there that was still good, and all kinds of hidden treasures could be found buried in the garbage. “What’s down there?” Fang had asked when they wandered a path that overlooked it from a distance. Monster Kid had laughed and given him a nasty grin. “Why? You scared of the Beast of Tehom? Coming to get you in the night and swallow you up?” Fang shook his head. “Nah, I was just curious. What’s this beast?” “It’s just an old story. The waterfalls used to fall into a massive pit that was so deep no one knew what was at the bottom, and anyone who fell down there was never heard from again. A story used to say that a monster fell down there once and went crazy in the dark. They say he’d eat anyone else who got stuck down there. But then the quakes that got the roof of Everfall cavern also let a ton of water from some huge lake pour into the underground and flood the whole area, filling up the old pits. Now anyone who swims can live in the upper parts of it. But...” and here Monster Kid had paused, unable to keep the excited grin off his face. “They say the deepest part of the Tehom Lakes hasn’t been explored yet. Who knows what could be down there...” It was an ominous tale, but difficult to take seriously as they continued on over bridges and through the smooth tunnels, laughing and joking at the idea of some terrible beast lurking in the dark, just waiting to grab you and drag you down. As Fang pointed out, even though he could only remember a day back, it was already pretty clear that you didn’t need some kind of mythical beast from a story to kill you. Your neighbors would happily do that on their own to see if you had anything good in your pockets. As they passed through further caverns, Fang was struck once again by how beautiful the Underground was. Several of the waterfalls glowed with a bright turquoise and plunged into a deep lake that stretched out wide, mixing with much darker waters from other falls. Neither kind of water looked like ordinary water before it cascaded into the lake, but the effect of their mixing was eerie and almost surreal. It seemed that the the dark water and the glowing water didn’t mix easily, and strange luminescent bubbles and patches of water would drift in and out of darker areas, sometimes layering one on top of the other, making everything shadowed and dream-like. Parts of the lake were much shallower than others, and in those areas were growing trees. The walkway that passed close by to a cluster of these trees let the boys have a good view of the black bark that seemed to be dusted with something faintly silver and difficult to see in the gloom. But it was not the bark, but the foliage which drew the eye. Bright crimson leaves that gave off a light of their own, in contrast to the blue-green light that sometimes illuminated the grove from the waters below. Tiny star-shaped fruits were growing among the boughs, easily seen as their skins were black and were in stark contrast with the bright color of the leaves. Both Monster Kid and Fang froze in fear when a long set of tentacles emerged from the water and began to reach up into the trees. The culprit turned out to be a sort of bulbous aquatic monster with tentacles like an octopus, though with far more than eight legs. From its body sprouted the first normal eight, then those each split to form a set of two where only one tentacle had been once more, then further up they split again, forming a full 32 tentacles that could wrap around the trunk and gather the fruit from its branches. When they saw the monster carefully adding the fruits to a basket that had been floating on the surface of the water just out of sight, they realized it wasn’t interested in their presence and relaxed. Fang waved to the aquatic creature while behind him the relieved Monster kid was letting loose a stream of profanity under his breath. The monster paused in its work, turning to look at him carefully for a moment. It made no move to return his friendliness or to talk to them, but it didn’t seem inclined to attack them either, watching them silently as they continued on their way across the lake towards the far shore. As it slipped back down into the water, its emotionless expression twitched slightly. But there was no one around to guess at its thoughts, and soon it vanished beneath the waters.

[the-river-person]

Little Old ME

Once they were gone a shadowy figure detached itself from the ceiling and swiftly climbed down the face of the weeping stone statue and to the floor of the tunnel. In the dim light the figure seemed to carefully look around before pulling something from its pocket. A sudden light flashed, illuminating the figure as he tapped out a number into his cell phone. He resembled a frilled-lizard rather closely, and his scales were a bright yellow with little gold and white highlights in patterns when you looked closely. The clothing he wore consisted of a beautiful green suit that even had gold buttons, each embossed with a little flower, quite similar to the golden flower tucked carefully into his lapel. At the back of the trousers a hole made way for his tail to hang down. Putting the phone up to his ear, the monster waited until he heard someone pick up on the other end. “Howdy!” said the Monster cheerfully, his face breaking out into a wide grin, a grin that was half in shadow and half illuminated by the cell phone at his ear. “Just calling to let you know I found him.” For a moment he paused, listening. “No, sorry. I didn’t catch him or anything. Too many people around. He’s even got a little friend with him now. Golly, isn’t that just the greatest?” and he giggled, a high pitched laugh bordering on some frightening glee. Once more he paused to listen to the person speak at the other end of the phone line. “What I’m going to do now? Well...” He bent over and picked up something from a puddle. A large bottle of mustard. “Since he went to such effort to get this from the Tem’s Market, even using his one free purchase on it, I suppose he’ll want it back even though he left it behind. And who better to bring it to him than little old me? Hee hee!”

[the-river-person]

Undyne’s Arena

It was one of the best fights he’d ever seen. Not that he’d seen many up to that point, but still, the grace and skill with which the armored monster thoroughly thrashed their opponents was somehow both terrifying and mesmerizing. Spears of a strange purplish light would materialize in the air around them, and with a flick of the wrist they would be flung at top speed towards the enemy, or sometimes the armored monster would flip through the air, as easily and lightly as if they wore none of the heavy looking and sounding plate armor, and as they soared they would catch hold of their spear and strike as they landed, knocking their opponent back. Every now and again one of the fighters would turn to look up, out of the arena towards a fancy sort of box built into the higher part of the seats with curtains hanging down in front of the windows, veiling whoever was inside. “That’s the Royal Box,” Monster Kid replied when Fang asked him, refusing to even take his eyes off the fight for even a moment. “Sometimes the King and Queen come to see the tournaments.” And sure enough, Fang could see the very faint shadowy outline of a figure with some kind of pointed crown on their head. But there was only one shadow, and if there were two people behind the curtains, he couldn’t see them. Only one of the royal pair had come to see the fights. With a roar, the armored monster bodily slammed her opponent into the ground, knocking them out. The crowd leapt to its feet, cheering and screaming, though some few were booing. It was the happiest Fang had seen anyone down here in the entire two days he could remember. The monster whipped off their helmet and he saw a flash of blue scales and what at first he thought was vibrantly red and somewhat spiked hair. After a moment he realized that it really wasn’t hair at all, but a collection of long spines that covered the top of her head and down the back of her neck, as well as a very large fin that sagged slightly from its own weight out of water and mimicked the general shape of a ponytail. It wasn’t hard to figure out who she was. Pretty much everyone was on their feet by now, chanting “Undyne! Undyne!” Monster Kid was right along with them, stomping his foot excitedly. Fang stood too, mostly so he didn’t stand out among the crowd as much, though he also wanted a better look at the famed Captain of the Guard. She wasn’t much like anything he’d pictured. In his head he’d been imagining the Captain as being incredibly stern and angry, sort of like.... well... a lot like Papyrus actually. But Undyne was grinning wickedly with utter delight as she basked in the cheers, waving the glowing electric spears. Now that he could see them, Fang realized the color wasn’t exactly purple. It had more of a red tinge to it, and was deeply muted in its coloring, like a poisonous shade of mauve. The shape of the spear was interesting as well, as it was covered in long thorn like appendages and its tip was like an irregular six pointed star, with two large points, one of them pointing upwards and the other melding into the handle, while four smaller points jutted out, two to each side. He watched as she ran round the edge of the entire arena, enthusiastically fist bumping any monster close enough, and decking one in the face when he said something they couldn’t hear that she clearly thought was worth the hit. The crowd only laughed when the monster went down, and despite the incident, Undyne’s shark toothed grin never even wavered once. Really it was actually a little frightening, her smile. It felt like a sort of manic energy, something that kept going and going until everything else collapsed around it. Finally she ran back to the center of the arena, where her final opponent had come back to consciousness and was just laying there despondently on the ground with a glum expression, not even bothering to pick himself up. In a sort of mocking way she leaned over him, making a show of exaggerated concern. Then she gave him a vicious kick in the ribs and laughed as he doubled up in pain. She wasn’t the only one laughing, many in the crowd joined in as well, jeering and throwing insults down at the losing monster. Fang felt slightly sick. But there was nothing he could do about it right now, and Undyne didn’t seem inclined to actually kill him. She was letting him half limp half crawl out of the arena. Since they’d missed a lot of the earlier fights, Monster Kid had only been interested in seeing Undyne herself fight, the tournament was more or less over. There was an archery competition that was being set up, which many monsters were staying for, but Monster Kid didn’t seem very excited for it and Fang was more than ready to get away from the stadium, so they left and began to wander over the wooden walkways that spiderwebbed across the vast swamps and lakes of Gan’Eden; the constant thundering of the falls echoing through the caves, growing fainter but still easily heard no matter the distance they got from the waterfalls themselves.

[the-river-person]

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Undertale (Video Game), Underfell - Fandom, everfell, Underfell AU - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Monster Character(s), Original Male Character(s), everfell sans, everfell fang, everfell papyrus, everfell monster kid, everfell doggo Additional Tags: Mild Language, Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Underfell AU, everfell - Freeform, Minor Violence, Threats of Violence, Near Death Experiences Series: Part 4 of Follow the Rivers Summary:

This is not the Underfell you've seen before, the world is different somehow, the characters in different places and acting upon different histories and in different roles, some things are missing entirely.

Fang, a young monster who has lost his memory, struggles to adapt to the harsh Underground and uncover the mystery of his origins. Yet there are many who would simply kill him for XP given the chance, and there are darker mysteries that might be deadly to uncover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another chapter has been properly uploaded to the Ao3. Enjoy!

[the-river-person]

so question. In your Everfell AU, both Asgore and Toriel are still ruling? how does that work if they're still hunting humans? what happened to Asriel and Chara??? Is Flowey still around??

Good questions. Yes, both Asgore and Toriel are still ruling from the Capital, though Papyrus notes that people don't see them in person much. I think the most people get are the shadowy outline from behind a veil, just like Fang saw in the Royal Box at the Stadium. And yes, despite the fact that we have both rulers, human hunting is still very much a thing. How does that work? That would spoil too much. As would revealing what happened to Asriel and Chara. But you may yet see a version of Flowey appear in future parts of the story.