Chapter Text
“A long time ago, there stood a land called Ebott
The land was filled with happiness and energy, both humans and monsters lived in perfect balance and harmony as they ruled the land together.
A heavenly being stood before it, watching over its precious land to make sure it stayed forever balanced. They simply wished for both monsters and humans to live peaceful lives. Unbeknownst to the beings underneath them, the heavenly being granted them blessings especially to those who were unfortunate, ensuring that resources were always available for every helpless person. To watch over the land when they could not be there, they created the Tree of Life to keep the land and the entire universe balanced.
Years later, the being returned and caught a glimmer of two souls being born: Negativity and Positivity. Soon, the two siblings grew into adults, built up a kingdom and began to rule over it. What a wonderful thing for the being to see! They were overjoyed with the progress to see this kingdom flourish!
But as the siblings ruled more, they began running into trouble. The being gladly revealed themselves to help and guide them whenever they needed it.
The kingdom favorited the Prince of Positivity more, leaving the Prince of Negativity in the shadows. But the being showed them equal love, caring for both and ensuring that the prince of negativity was not alone in his fight for suffering.
Two higher beings, The Creator and the Destroyer, called out the being’s actions, deeming them wrong. The being did not listen and chose to form a deep bond with the brothers instead.
Until one fateful day, something went incredibly wrong.
During a ceremony, the Prince of Negativity wanted to prove to his people that he was worthy, and so he took an apple. But the apple became corrupted and soon he was swallowed by dark magic. The crowd stood there shocked as the prince transformed into a horrific, gooey monster. He completely lost his mind!
In a blind rage, the former prince of negativity made everything a living nightmare. He began to massacre everyone around him, nearly turning the entire kingdom into bloodshed, he started spreading negativity and corrupted the land. Trees began dying and all the flowers that once shined so brightly under the sun began to wilt. Seeing his brother become a monster, The prince of positivity tried to stop him, but his brother was stronger.
In a desperate act to save everyone and stop the former prince of negativity for once, the being used the absolute last of their divine power to cleanse the corruption from the land and seal the murderous nightmare away in a magical prison.
Because of this, a piece of the being’s core had accidentally broken off and plunged deep underground, immediately acting as a temporary anchor to keep the corrupted land balanced. As the being was stripped of their heavenly light, the being lost their heavenly status.
Legends say we do not know where the god has disappeared to, some believed that they died while others believe that they walk the earth today, wandering among mortals now as a weakened being, but still keeping a careful eye on the land.”
You flipped another page.
“Wow,” you mused, staring down at the book in your hands. “Kind of terrifying how oddly accurate that depiction is. I am honestly quite impressed.” You hummed softly, turning the pages to uncover more history about Ebott.
It wasn't anything exactly extravagant, just general facts about souls, monster and human relationships, and hidden landmarks across the land. Still, you found yourself tracing your fingers over the beautiful artwork placed beside the lengthy text. You glanced at the other piles of merchandise on display and then back down at the book in your hands. Was this the only copy left?
“Hey! Are you going to buy that book, or are you just planning to finish the entire thing while standing over there?!”
The irritated voice of the stall owner cut through the air. You looked up with a startled look before offering him a sheepish smile.
“Sorry! Got lost in thought!” you apologized quickly, backing away to check out the other stalls. The merchant only grumbled under his breath as he turned away to go back to his business
You had an important task to complete, and yet here you were, slacking off by wandering around a festival. But really, who could blame you? This city hadn’t hosted one this exciting in centuries!
Besides, unbeknownst to the stall owner, you had just stolen the book.
You carefully tucked it into your leather messenger bag, making sure it was secure. A tiny pang of guilt hit you, but you had forgotten to bring any gold with you today. It wasn't like he was going to notice a single book missing from the dozens on display, right?
The heavy cloak draped over your shoulders swayed as a gentle breeze swept through the square. You continued your walk through the crowded town area, keeping your eyes peeled as you drifted past the market stalls.
There was food, trinkets, and what-not.
You sighed, you couldn’t get past stealing food. Dammit! You should have bought your gold with you!
While distracted, you failed to notice the large figure walking right past you. You yelped as you collided with them, the sudden impact had you stumbling backward. With a small ‘oof!’ sound, you landed right on your rear.
“OH! I’M TERRIBLY SORRY, HUMAN! I DID NOT SEE YOU AT ALL!”
A kind but loud voice echoed above you. The stranger knelt down and offered a hand. You took it and he easily pulled you back onto your feet. You then noticed that the hand was armored.
You blinked as your ears ringed slightly from the volume. Yet despite how loud it was, his voice was warm and welcoming.
Looking up, your eyes widened as you took in the incredibly massive skeleton monster before you. He was tall and a bit lanky, standing up straight with a confident posture. His skull was slightly elongated than an average human’s. A long red scarf fluttered behind him in the breeze, fitting well with the polished full body armor he wore. He looked exactly like one of the kingdom’s esteemed royal knights!
He was looking down at you with genuine concern.
“Oh! Thank you for that, mister skeleton sir!” You chirped politely. You took your hand away from him before quickly dusting off your clothes, though there wasn’t much dirt on them anyways, and offered him a bright smile.
“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN? YOU DID NOT GET INJURED, DID YOU?” He scanned you from head to toe to check for scratches, letting out an upset groan directed at himself. “IT WAS QUITE IRRESPONSIBLE OF ME! I ABSOLUTELY SHOULD HAVE LOOKED WHERE I WAS GOING.”
You quickly waved your hands as you tried to reassure him. “Oh, no no! It’s perfectly alright! If anything, I should have been looking where I was going. I was a bit too busy staring at the food stalls.”
He blinked, glancing over at the nearby merchants before turning his eye sockets back to you. “ARE YOU PERHAPS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO EAT?”
“Oh, uh, well.. Yeah..” You admitted sheepishly.
The skeleton suddenly puffed his chest out, surprising you a little. If you squinted closely, you could swear actual sparkles were radiating from his silhouette. He looked incredibly proud and glorious!
“THEN ALLOW ME TO TREAT YOU TO A MEAL! CONSIDER IT A FORMAL APOLOGY FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS FOR BUMPING INTO YOU!” He proudly stated.
Well, you certainly weren’t going to say no to that. Especially since you didn’t have a single piece of gold on you right now.
“That is incredibly kind of you! Thank you.” You smiled, adjusting your messenger bag. “It’s nice to meet you, Papyrus!” You then gave him your name.
“NYEH HEH HEH! A SPLENDID NAME.” He continued on with his magnificent pose, before giving you a wink. You blushed a little, a charmer, huh? “NOW COME, HUMAN. LET US PURCHASE SOME DELICIOUS MEALS!”
You let out a small giggle before following him.
Papyrus led you over to a nearby food stall that smelled heavily of fresh bread, mixed with delicious spices. He ordered a couple, handing over the gold coins to the vendor. When he turned and handed you some properly. You took it and the warmth seeping through the paper wrapping felt amazing against your hands, and it nearly made you drool.
You thanked him, before taking a bite.
As you and Papyrus began talking, you explained that you lived a bit far from the town center and had walked all the way here by yourself. In return, he explained that he was surveying the area to make sure no one was causing trouble or harming the crowd and the vendors.
However, before you could dive any deeper into your conversation, you were suddenly interrupted.
“Hey Paps, who’s this?”
A deep voice spoke up from directly behind you, startling you a little but thankfully you didn’t drop the half eaten snack you currently were holding.
You turned around and saw another skeleton. While he wasn’t quite as tall as Papyrus, he still loomed over you and was built much broader and wider. He wore a baggy white shirt beneath a blue long sleeved coat with a giant hood, paired with knee length black pants with white stitching on the sides and leather shoes.
“SANS! WHY ARE YOU NOT IN YOUR SENTRY STATION?” Papyrus narrowed his thin eye sockets towards him suspiciously, placing his hands firmly on his hips.
“Heh, just wanted to take a break. I wanted to see what all the fuss was all about.” Sans snorted, his white eyelights darting over to you and his grin widened. “Sup? You don’t know how to greet a new pal?” He held out a hand.
You blinked, carefully putting the snack to one hand and extending the other toward him. ‘Sorry! Hello there, my name is-”
The moment you squeeze his hand, a loud obnoxious fart sound blasted through the air. Sans started snickering, while Papyrus let out a loud groan and slammed a hand over his face. A few passing townspeople glanced over before quickly scooching away from you.
A hot flush of blood rushed to your ears, and your face turned bright red as you yanked your hand back and frantically waved your hands in front of you.
“T-THAT WASN’T ME, I SWEAR!” You stuttered.
Sans let out a howl of laughter, clutching his belly. You tried to spout out more words to defend yourself, but you were too mortified to form a proper sentence.
“Pfft- ahahah!!” He wiped a blue tear from his eye socket. “Man, that never gets old. You looked totally rattled, kid.” He showed a whoopie cushion that was tucked inside his hand before putting it back in his pockets.
You stopped and blinked, forget about the woopie cushion. Was that a pun you just heard?
“SANS! STOP TORMENTING THE HUMAN!” Papyrus scolded. “I AM TREATING THEM TO A NICE MEAL AS AN APOLOGY FOR ACCIDENTALLY BUMPING INTO THEM.”
“Yeah? Well, it’s nice to see that my brother is treating you,” Sans chuckled, gesturing lazily toward the piece of food in your hand and giving you a sly wink. (What’s up with these skeletons winking at you?) “Looks like he’s making sure you get bready for a long walk. Honestly, buying you food is the yeast he could do.”
“ENOUGH WITH YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS.” Papyrus groaned.
Sans only grinned wider. “Aw, c’mon, Paps. Don’t get a crust on your attitude. I’m just trying to make a humerus first expression.”
You began snorting, and his grin grew wider as his white eyelights gleamed at you.
“You’re quite funny, mister skeleton!” you giggled.
“Heh, funny or… rather...”
“SANS... DON’T YOU DARE...”
“punny?”
Papyrus groaned once again, completely at a loss for what to do with his brother anymore!
You started laughing all over again before finally calming yourself down and looking at him, and introducing yourself properly this time.
“Nice to meet ya, kid. Looks like you do know how to greet a pal after all.” Sans said warmly.
“What did your brother mean by you not being at your sentry station?” you asked, tilting your head in curiosity.
“OH! HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING THE FOREST OUTPOSTS TO LOOK OUT FOR TROUBLE.” Papyrus crossed his arms, huffing. “BUT INSTEAD, HE PREFERS TO NAPPING ON THE JOB!”
“Hey, watching the woods is exhausting work, Paps.” Sans defended himself while shrugging “I’m putting a lot of backbone into doing absolutely nothing. Besides, i needed to stretch my legs.”
Papyrus threw his hands up in exasperation, and the playful bickering made you smile. You had a feeling that Papyrus doesn’t really hate puns, just thinks that Sans’ puns are bad. Ahh brotherly love! You took one last bite of your food and glanced up at the afternoon sky and realized you needed to get back home.
You politely excused yourself to the skeleton brothers, and thankfully they were understanding of your predicament.
“Goodbye, Papyrus! Thank you for the treat. Goodbye as well, Sans!” you called out with a bright smile, tucking your cloak’s hood properly over your head. “I’ll see you again another time!” You waved warmly before turning around and going on your merry way. You continued to eat your bread as you walked.
They both waved back with Papyrus waving energetically while Sans waved back lazily.
Sans’s hand slowly dropped to his side. His white eyelights stayed fixed on your retreating figure until it completely disappeared into the crowd. Underneath his ribs, he felt his soul suddenly radiate an intense warmth, and a flood of thoughts began racing through his mind.
Why do you... feel so familiar?
_______
On the quiet corner of the small village stood a small wooden house. Small trees stood towering over its sides, and a small garden in front with vegetables ripe and ready to be harvested. While it looked a bit rugged and worn on the outside, the inside was undeniably cozy.
A tiny bird landed on the open window sill, tweeting before fluttering away into the gentle breeze. Just inside and in front of the window sat a wooden table piled with handmade scarves and hats, with coloring sewing materials and scraps of fabric sitting messily beside them.
Suddenly, a grumpy voice broke the peaceful silence as it called out your name.
You paused your handiwork, slowly setting your needle and thread onto the table before glancing over your shoulder.
Error stood directly in the doorway with a heavy scowl with his arms tightly crossed over his chest. He hardened his glare, staring directly into your soul. Since when had he even gotten here?
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
You had to bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from laughing, his tone made it sound like it was more of a harsh command rather than just a question.
You waved a hand dismissively and sighed, “I know I know! Just give me a second, this will only take a minute..”
Error narrowed his eye sockets before pinching the bridge of his nasal bone in sheer frustration. “You said that exact line three days ago.” He rolled his eyes.
“Uh.. I actually mean it this time?”
Your sheepish excuse was then cut short then Error suddenly three his blue strings forward. They wrapped around your torso snugly and yanked you right out of your chair. The sudden movement sent the wooden seat topping backward, hitting the floor with a large thud. He set you back down on your feet (surprisingly gently) while making sure to maintain a strict distance between the two of you.
You groaned, crossing your arms and averting your gaze to glare stubbornly at the floor.
“Stop acting so immature. You’re just as old as I am.” He grumbled.
You pointed an accusing finger at him, “Don’t even start. You act immature almost all the time too! That makes us two old and petty people.”
Error completely ignored your comment, probably too tired to argue with you.
A heavy silence settled over the room before his impatience quickly got the better of him.
“Why are you slacking off?” He asked seriously.
You let out a deep sigh.
“You.. You don’t understand how hard this is for me, Error. I don’t even know where my missing piece is.” You admitted. “I highly doubt it’s anywhere near the main city anyway. It’s probably hidden thousands of miles away from here.”
You placed a hand over the center of your chest, looking up at him. “You told me I'd feel it somehow, right? Right here?”
He nodded slowly as he watched you. His eyelights flickered down to the hand against your chest before darting back up to meet your eyes.
“Well, I can't feel anything within the main borders of this land. There isn’t a single spark of resonance..” You muttered as your eyebrows furrowed, letting your hand drop back to your side. “Can’t you just teleport me to it? You know.. Maybe use your portals or something so we can find it?” You raised an eyebrow.
“I can’t.” Error firmly stated, shrugging his shoulders without uncrossing his arms. “The old laws say that only you can find it, since it’s a piece of your own core. Higher beings like us aren’t allowed to interfere with your business. It’s strictly against the rules. Plus.. I don’t even know where the damn thing is anyway.”
“So I really have to find it all by myself, huh?” You groaned, running a hand over your face. “It’s going to take forever..” You whined.
Error fell quiet for a long moment before his eyelights scanned your face. “You need to find it quickly before this world turns into complete shit.”
“I know, I know.” You sighed, rolling your eyes dramatically. “The ancient prophecy, the corrupted prince of nightmare is destined to return and stain the land with his dark magic, causing the entire world to end, and my missing piece isn’t strong enough to hold the realm together anymore so i have to step up, regain my divine powers back and stop him blah, blah, blah!!” You let out a snort. “Honestly, it sounds like a bad fairy tale out of a children’s storybook.”
Then your expression fell. Your mood changing so quickly was so uncanny it almost made the skeleton in front of you shudder.
“But what am I supposed to do, Error?” you whispered, slouching. “I can’t do this alone, I'm practically defenseless. My magic is entirely drained and I don't have a single ally left in this world. I doubt Dream would join me, he’s too busy maintaining the kingdom.”
Error hesitated, shifting uncomfortable on his feet then looked away. “Stop with the sappy emotions. You know I'm terrible with this stuff..” You swore you heard his voice crack.
You didn’t answer and simply continued to stare at the floor in defeat.
Error let out a defeated sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck and grumbled under his breath. “...Fine. Don’t tell Ink, but the prophecy actually mentioned something else.”
You immediately perked up.
Error refused to look you in the eye, keeping his gaze fixed on the wall and continued on, “There will be others. A group will join you on your journey to act as your shield and bodyguards. Like I said, the rules state it can’t be me or ink.. But a different group will cross your path. I don’t know who they are, and I wasn't supposed to tell you because it’s something that fate needs to handle naturally.”
Your eyes completely widened. Error looked back at you hesitantly and he swore he saw literal sparkles of hope reflecting in your pupils.
“R..Really?” You blinked in utter awe.
He shifted uncomfortably under your intense gaze, giving a stiff nod. “It’s bound to happen. I wasn’t allowed to say a word, but I got tired of your sulking. So I decided to put a stop to it.”
He shrugged, trying to act as if he didn't care but you could see right through him easily.
“..Wait a minute. You caved in just to reassure me that everything is going to be okay? You did that just to make me feel better?” A massive grin spreads across your face as you begin to snicker.
Error’s face instantly flushed a vibrant blue.
“Aww Error!! I never knew you were such a softie!!” You clasped your hands together, playfully cooing at him.
He growled in embarrassment and snapped his fingers. A white portal with distorted glitch boxes tore open right behind him.
“Yeah, yeah whatever! Shut up and get back to work! I’m busy!” He snapped.
You smiled softly at him and a gleam of hope shined brightly to your eyes. You raised a hand and gave him a mock salute. “Aye, aye captain!”
He huffed, turning on his heel and went into the portal with his face still burning. The tear in reality snapped shut instantly but left behind a few floating box glitches in the air before they dissolved.
You giggled quietly, staring at the empty space where he had just been standing before your laughter slowly faded as a sudden realization hit you.
Your smile dropped.
“Wait..” You muttered dumbfoundedly under your breath. “How the hell am I supposed to meet these people?”
____________
Centuries later, a new prophecy entered the land
It warned of the corrupted prince of many names. Negativity, Despair, Nightmare.
Trapped inside his prison, his powers would only grow stronger until he eventually broke free. Once he is unleashed, he would finish exactly what he started and take over the kingdom, staining the entire land with his mighty corruption. The prophecy foretold that he would turn everyone into mindless slaves, massacre anyone who had ever wronged him, and build an army of corrupted souls to rule over the land
However, the legend also told another story
It spoke of the lost being who would be led back to their missing piece, regaining their divine powers to put a stop to the chaos once and for all. But they won’t face it alone. Alongside the, a group of brave warriors would rise as they are determined to stand as their protectors and take down the terrifying nightmare threatening to rule over their world.