Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch4 - Traps

Ashe's POV

You stayed close behind Papy as he guided you to the traps he was so keen to share, watching as his tattered black scarf twisted and flowed in the air behind him. Impulsively, you reached out to touch the fabric, feeling mildly disappointed as your fingers phased through the fabric.

Paps noticed immediately and chuckled, but didn't complain. You ended up raising your fingers to your own scarf, of which you assumed used to belong to Papy. It was covered in dust and a greyish-red color. So why was ghost Papy's black instead? Did it mean something?

"NYEH HEH! THIS IS THE FIRST TRA-WAIT, DON'T STEP THERE!" Papy shouted, but unfortunately, his warning was moments too late.

The moment your foot made contact with the fresh fallen snow, you felt the movement of something shifting beneath you. You quickly threw yourself backwards in hopes to avoid whatever mechanism had been triggered, body moving entirely on instinct.

An array of sharp pointed branches shot from the ground all around you, and there was a split moment of fear at the realisation you were not outside of the range for it to skewer you. Without even meaning to, magic instantly built within your body, buzzing and warm, teleporting you onto the branches of the looming tree above.

You were in a crouched position now, clinging to the bough with a grip tight enough your claws left grooves in the bark, staring down at the now activated trap with a startled expression.

"WOWEE, THAT WAS CLOSE!" Papy let out as he floated over to you, looking over you as though to check for injuries. "ARE YOU OKAY?"

'I'm okay, just startled,' you signed after taking a few moments to catch your breath. You weren't injured at all, having managed to move in the mere seconds of delay it took for the trap to fully engage. 'Did I just teleport?'

"YES! YOU TOOK A 'SHORTCUT'," he explained with a grin. "NYEH... YOU CAN DO LOTS OF KINDS OF MAGIC, BUT YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL, BROTHER. THERE'S NO FOOD LEFT IN THE UNDERGROUND SO YOU NEED TO CONSERVE YOUR MAGIC AS MUCH AS YOU CAN."

Low food seemed to be just another one of many issues in this underground. Was it part of the reason your body felt so tired and achy? Had it been so long since you had eaten a meal that your body was struggling not to cannibalise its own magic to survive?

'The trap was very well hidden. Don't worry though, I will be mroe cateful from now on,' you signed as you finally allowed yourself to relax. With the initial shock gone, you found yourself curious on how it operated.

You jumped carefully from the tree, making sure to avoid the danger, and looked at the mechanisms that made the spike trap function. You ended up resetting the trap, maybe it would catch a wild animal you could eat? Or maybe it would end up being entirely useless, but it was still something to keep you entertained. Traps were more fun than you had expected.

You spent some a few hours with the ghostly Papyrus as he showed you the numerous puzzles and traps throughout the underground, most of which were still fully functional. You had no memory of placing them, but now you knew what to look for, you found them easy to spot.

Papy complimented how observant you were a few times whilst you both explored - you had even found a few traps that he had completely forgotten about. It was really fun seeing how unique, albeit deadly, each one was. You weren't sure you could recreate them, but knew you would have no trouble avoiding traps from strangers in the future.

Eventually, you made your way to waterfall, having been tired out from exploring. It was rather peaceful here with the gentle sound of water and the dull illumination of the space. It was calm in the melancholy sort of way, though maybe that was just due to the dust still lingering in the air.

You moved to the cliffs that towered throughout this region, staring intensely at the abyss that lay beyond its edge. The height was enough that the ground further down was difficult for you to make out, and you took a step closer, unable to tear your gaze from the drop.

Would you die if you fell from this height? What would your dust look like at the bottom, would it become a pile like everyone else or would it scatter upon impact? You didn't even notice your body leaning forward slightly, eyelights hazy. If you fell, would it even matter? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. It'd be quicker than drowning, and--

"BROTHER, I THINK I SHOULD MOVE AWAY FROM THE EDGE..." Papy's concerned voice snapped you away from your darkening thoughts.

You stared at him for a moment, processing his words. When had you gotten so close to the edge of the cliff? How long had you spent there, completely lost in your mind like that? Would you have let yourself fall had he not interrupted you?

"...A-ASHE, I'M REALLY WORRIED. PLEASE MOVE AWAY FROM THE EDGE? PLEASE?" He sounded so pleading, his voice quivering slightly. It sounded so wrong to hear such a confident person sound so uncertain and afraid.

You gave a small nod and moved away from the cliff. "Sor...ry..." you managed to choke out, using your voice instead of signing for once. You hadn't intended to make him so worried, though part of you felt warm that he cared so much and so openly.

"ITS OKAY, BROTHER, I'M JUST... VERY WORRIED. DO YOU... WANT TO HURT YOURSELF?"

The silence that came from that question lingered. You couldn't lie to the one person who cared for you unconditionally and say it wasn't tempting to hurt yourself, but at the same time, it was a topic that was too painful for you to really discuss. You were still constantly thinking of suicide, even if more passively instead of actively now.

"...I KNOW THINGS ARE HARD, BUT THEY WILL GET BETTER," he encouraged. "NYEH... HOW ABOUT WE FIND SOMEPLACE NICE TO REST? I DON'T NORMALLY ENCOURAGE LAZINESS, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE OKAY JUST THIS ONCE."

'If we go home, could you maybe tell me a story?'

"OH! WELL... USUALLY YOU TELL ME STORIES... BUT WORRY NOT! THE SPOOKY PAPYRUS IS UP FOR THE CHALLENGE! NYEH HEH!" He gave a wide grin. "I'LL READ YOU FLUFFY BUNNY! THAT ONE IS MY FAVORITE!"