~ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ~ {𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓}

Chapter 15: Too Close For Comfort

And as more and more tea is spilled, we come closer to the shattering of the teacup itself...

:):

Nightmare acted like nothing had ever happened the day before. He went through his daily routine, as if he and you had never gotten so close to...

Anyways, you had a practically free day. Nothing to do except train and chat, both of which you were bored with. Your arms ached from all of the precision exercises, and all of the Sans' were doing something. Of course, you didn't know what something was, but you were fairly sure it was sleeping. Or doing nothing.

You'd learned early on that Sans' loved doing nothing, because life was meaningless and it would all Reset anyways.

Yet, you hadn't run into Error. He had eluded you multiple times without even meeting you. Everywhere had already been checked, from the Alcove (a fairly nice place if you like balancing precariously on a small island) to the Zoo (It was actually called the Menagerie, but you were used to calling it the Zoo), and you still couldn't find Error or Nightmare. You desperately wanted to have a Castle Chat with him, but the king had disappeared.

Not that you were concerned. Today, you had chosen what you wanted to do.

Today, you were going to find your universe.

Trudging to the Library, you took a swift turn right before the doors. A few days ago, you'd learned through a Castle Chat that there was a secret room near the Library where they hid the AUs. It was heavily guarded apparently, but that wouldn't be much of a pain.

Confidently strolling up to the many Papyrus guards, you smiled, "So this is the Hidden Archives! Hm." You shifted your face to one of confusion and disappointment. "I could have sworn Nightmare had already ordered you to the Alcove. Didn't you hear?"

For being guards, you hummed to yourself as one shot a nervous glance to the other, They're really cowardly. "N-No, (N/N), uh," one of them stuttered, "No we didn't."

Your face shifted to anger and cleverly designed worry. "Well? Go! Or Nightmare will have your heads served on a silver platter!"

They were down the hall in an instant, then out of sight. You sighed. Too easy. The doors were large and spacious, with more intricate features than you could count. There wasn't a circle for your—ahem, Nightmare's—hand, but instead a large keyhole. That was it; no handle to open it, no push-thing that you'd see on Muffet's bakery door, just a keyhole.

And, to your 'despair,' there was no key.

Not that you needed a key. All it took was a never-breaking knife and a few curse words, and the Hidden Archives was yours to explore. The only problem was that there was almost nothing to explore in the first place.

The room was ominously dark, with almost nothing in it except for the occasional pillar that shot up into nowhere. You didn't even know if it had walls. Footsteps echoing, you tiptoed across the floor to the 'center' of the Archives.

A large box with a tree carved on it was the only thing in the room. It made the door look as intricate as a freshly pressed surface; the cover itself was almost a huge funeral party scene with characters from all different types of universes. Everything about the book screamed 'Important' and 'Secrets.' It was impossible to resist trying to pry it open. Knives, fingers, paperclips, nothing worked, and you were starting to get a bit annoyed.

Grunting, you gave the cover a huge tug—only to fly backwards from some sort of spell. Of course it's protected. The air was blown out of you as you hit the floor.