The Choice (Undertale Fanfiction: Edited Version)

Chapter 5

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking down a long corridor, I came across another purple door. As I approached, I started to shiver. There was a small breeze of freezing air coming from underneath the door. It bit at my nose and ears, contrasting sharply with the comfortable temperature of the Ruins. I clutched the sweater I had on. It should be enough to keep me warm, but it didn't do much to help the freezing of my fingers. I took a deep breath and walked through the door.

To my surprise, once the initial shock of the cold air had worn off, it wasn't too bad stepping out into it. I looked around and noticed I was in the middle of a large forest. Although how it was possible to have a forest underground, I had no idea. I began to walk forward, nervous as to what was going to happen next. As I walked, I began to have a weird sensation. It was like I was being followed. Suddenly, I heard a loud sound from behind me, like a branch snapping in half. I spun around, but only found the shattered remains of a once sturdy branch. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. I was obviously being followed. I cautiously continued walking, only stopping once I reached a large chasm with a small bridge running across it. On top of the bridge was a large, wooden structure which closely resembled a gate. I was about to walk through the bars, which were much too large to be practical, when I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I stood frozen as the footsteps grew louder and louder, eventually stopping right behind me.

"human... don't you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand."

Slowly, I turned around to face the newcomer. Their face was covered by shadows, so I couldn't see what they looked like. I reached forward and took their hand, only to be met with a large fart sound in response. The figure laughed and stepped into the light.

"heh. the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's always funny."

I gave a snort of laughter in response to the prank. The monster was short, about my height. He wore a blue hoodie and black shorts with pink slippers. Most importantly, however, was the fact that he was a skeleton.

"the name's sans," he said grinning. That was one thing that bothered me slightly. His face would not stop smiling. It looked like it was stuck. "sans the skeleton. and you're a human, huh? that's hilarious..."

Sans' eyesockets narrowed as he surveyed my expression. He obviously was waiting for a certain reaction, but was only getting met with confusion and curiosity.

"nothing, huh? well, i wouldn't sweat it if i were you, kid."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"eh, don't worry about it. it probably doesn't concern you. anyway, i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but y'know, i don't really feel like capturing anybody. now my brother, papyrus, he's a human hunting fanatic... although, he hasn't really been getting as much attention from the royal guard as to his obsession. they're a bit, uh, preoccupied at the moment." Sans paused for a moment, looking over my shoulder at something in the distance. "hey, actually, i think that's him over there."

I spun around to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, off in the distance, I could make out the silhouette of a tall figure marching through the snow towards us.

"here's an idea," Sans said, "go through this gate thingy. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

I nodded and walked through the bars into a wide snowy clearing. Sans followed me and pointed to an oddly shaped lamp.

"quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp."

As I walked over to hide behind the lamp, I noticed it had the exact same shape of my body. Immediately after I finished hiding, Papyrus walked into the clearing. He too was a skeleton, but contrary to Sans' casual wear, he wore an extravagant set of white armor with a red cape.

"'sup bro?" Sans said.

"You know what's "sup" brother!" Papyrus said. He spoke with a loud, confident voice which made it sound like he was shouting every word, even if it wasn't intentional.

"You're supposed to be helping me find a human! But instead you're just standing here! What are you even doing?"

"staring at this lamp, it's really cool. you wanna look?" Sans said. I shook my head a little from behind the lamp.

"No! I don't have time for that! What if a human comes through here? I want to be ready to capture them! Then, finally, Undyne might let me into the Royal Guard!"

"huh. maybe this lamp will help you," Sans said gesturing towards me.

Sans! I mentally screamed at him.

"No! You are so lazy. All you do is sit and do nothing all day!"

"hey, take it easy, i've gotten a ton of work done today. a skele-ton" Sans grinned.

"Sans!" Papyrus yelled at him, "I can't believe you'd plague my life with puns when we're in such a drastic situation! I must get back to work. As for your work, put a little more... hmm... backbone into it!" With that, Papyrus ran off laughing. I cautiously stepped out from behind the lamp.

"Thanks... I guess. You did try and blow my cover though..." I said to Sans who was grinning.

"eh. papyrus is my brother and it would mean a lot to him to catch a human," said

I nodded. Papyrus didn't seem very dangerous. He just looked like he needed some friends.

"even if my brother says he wants to capture you, he's not a problem. and the royal guard is already dealing with a pretty big issue, so i doubt you'll have much trouble with them."

"What sort of problem?" I asked. Sans shrugged.

"eh. it's nothing. don't worry about it. like i said earlier, it probably doesn't concern you. undyne will take care of it anyway."

"Who's Undyne?"

"undyne's the captain of the royal guard. y'know, the elite group of monsters dedicating to protecting the underground. she's probably the strongest monster down here, to be honest."

I paused a moment before asking my next question.

"Do you think she can help me get back to the surface?"

Sans sighed. "look, kiddo. can she? that's up to debate currently. will she? that's another story." He shrugged. "your best bet is to try and stay alive until you meet the king."

My shoulders slumped a little. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

"hey, you'll make it. anyways, you should probably get going before papyrus gets back. don't worry. i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya," he winked, before walking back the way we came. I took a deep breath before walking onwards.