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The world of Aspenheim, it was your favorite VR game. It held so many precious memories with your friends… and now, after 10 whole years, it was finally closing its online servers. Which meant the game couldn't be played anymore, not even by oneself as all of the game’s servers required an online connection. You sat upon a throne, resting your legs. Well, more like your brain as you had done so many dungeons and events.
"Yo! Y/N! You still on?" Your friend, Deathsong appeared from the throne next to yours. You usually just called them Song for short… yeah, every single one of your guildmates had an overly edgy name. It all started as a dumb teenage joke and it just spiraled from there. Your first choice wasn't to be a necromancer but a healer… didn't fit the theme of your guild. Which Song was the original creator of, alongside you. Song was an undead Merfolk and wanted something to match their dark vibes. That's why they pestered you to be a vampire but you compromised and chose to be a human necromancer instead. Humans had the most options of class changes if you wanted to become a healer later down the line. That never happened though. Much to Song’s delight and your other guildmate's teasing.
"Song, you came… I was beginning to think no one was showing up" You had been online for some time now but no one had shown up… before now. "Yeah, everyone is busy or sleeping… time zones and all that" Right, everyone was from different countries, perk of it being an online game without any region locks. Luckily for you, Song was from your country and it was easier to align your schedules together. You hummed at that as you absentmindedly stared down the aisle of the throne room… Your guildmates had leaned hard into the death and gloom theme. Dark tiles, dark walls, golden accents. Even after 10 full years, they hadn't changed anything… and you wouldn't have it any other way.
"I want to stay to the very end" You gave a sad smile, you would miss this game and its world immensely. "Oh? Looking at the NPC’s one last time? I do have to say, I did a good job in the character creator" Ah, yes. Song had made an undead skeleton NPC… and of course they had done that since they knew about your Undertale phase, another beloved game you loved to play. Actually they had made two since they were the guild leader. They started with Sans, made him an artificer… how fitting for a former scientist. Song had absolutely loved your reaction of surprise, shock, horror and fascination. The NPC looked so much like Sans from Undertale! With a more fantasy get-up. He had belts with potions all around his waist and torso. His usual blue hoodie was turned into a small cape with a hood, the logo of the guild at the middle of the cape's back and his black shorts were now fully fledged pants. He wore a more fancy looking white shirt than what you imagine Sans from Undertale would wear. Like a dress shirt. A fancy dress shirt at that.
Papyrus was much the same except Song had made him into a paladin… why did they make an Undead skeleton a paladin!? And why was that allowed!? What were the Devs doing!? An undead with holy divine magic? But yet again, it was fitting for his personality. Papyrus would have made a good paladin in Undertale. Song had made him wear armor that fit him well too, like his original battle body but… obviously that didn't translate completely to this game. White chainmail with orange cloth covering his torso with the Guild’s logo in the center of it. His gloves were now gauntlets that looked claw-like. His big sword strapped and sheathed behind his back. His armored suit also had an orange cape attached to it but it was deeper orange than the cloth with the logo… almost red in hue. It looked like the scarf he wore in Undertale.
"Yes, yes… it's uncanny how real they all look" There was more than just one pair of skeletons… your guildmates had managed to get in on the joke and made some skeletons from Undertale AU’s. They made way too much effort researching everything for a simple joke. Your guild had a total of 8 undead skeletons, all with different classes. "Perhaps you should take a closer look… appraise them a bit, heh" You didn't see anything wrong with them? Their outfits were the same. Nothing about them screamed changed. Perhaps you needed to be closer to see it since you were sitting at the throne while all of them stood below, awaiting orders from their creators… that would never come. That made you a bit sentimental.
"Okay what did you and Slayall do this time?" You asked, if something happened, it was always Deathsong or Slayall’s fault. Gloomandbloom always scolded them afterwards while Killthrill snickered in the background. Slayall was an undead changeling while Gloomandbloom was an undead cervan, with multiple mushrooms growing on them. It reminded you of that other game with zombies that clicked. Luckily Gloomandbloom spared you that scare. Killthrill was an undead lizard also known as a kobold… unlike dragonborns, they were small little lizard folks that liked living in caves… good thing the guild was underground. Your other guild mates were Darkabscess, an undead orc. Soultrance, an undead Satyr. Rotandie, an undead Aarakocra. Then there was you… a simple human. If you turned undead, you would just be a boring zombie.
"Actually it's a combined effort from all of us, to you, our most dedicated guild member" Huh? A gift? For you? Now you were curious! You had to find out what it was before the game shut down. "Oh shoot! I have to go!" What? But there were still a couple of minutes left before everything went offline! Surely they could wait for just a few? "So soon? You just logged in" You didn't want them to go, you wanted company as the servers shut down. They gave you a sad smile, their sharp shark teeth showing themselves. "I know but… I had a feeling you would be here and wanted to say goodbye one last time" So they had come to quickly say goodbye before they returned back to their real life…
"You make it sound final" Like you two would never see eachother again. You had never met them in real life but you two had been discussing it for awhile now. "Goodbye to this place which holds so many unforgettable moments" You could only nod sadly at that sentiment. So many laughs had echoed throughout this throne room. "Oh and before I forget… congratulations, you're now the leader of Death's Cradle!" You opened your mouth to speak but no words came out. You!? The leader!? There was a reason why you didn't take the title of co-founder! You were better at following orders than giving them! Also sidenote, you were a terrible leader. Any kind of pressure or stress and you would crumble.
Your guild was unique in that it only had undead races in it. it was a requirement to join… except for you but you made the compromise of being a necromancer instead. It was ironic, you could only heal your teammates and never yourself. Though you did have an ace up your sleeves whenever someone had the smart idea to go for the defenseless healer… if they ever figured out you were the healer in the first place. How can someone heal undead races!? Well, you had accidentally found that out during your first hours in the game where you had cast Miasma. A spell that drains life… or it should have but to your undead teammates it had been like a healing area of effect for them, perhaps it was a bug in the code? They hadn't fixed it and it wasn't your job to report glitches and bugs… they paid people for that.
"Wait don't actually make me the-" A sudden ping came from the system, a notification. Song just gave you a salute before their player character vanished from their throne, meaning they had logged off. You were not fit to be the guild leader! You loved to explore and level up stuff, not managing guild inventory, funds and members. You immediately looked at the message you had received.
Congratulations, you are now the guild leader of Death's Cradle!
Great, now you were officially the leader… it shouldn't matter as the servers would shut down soon anyways. You got up and stepped down the stairs and took another look at one of the skeletons, their expression blank, not even acknowledging your existence. Not that you expect them to, they were all NPCs. This one was made by Slayall, it was Swapfell Papyrus. This particular skeleton was named Rus, short for Papyrus and you're glad Slayall didn't call him Mutt because that would be Fellswap Papyrus, though they were similar and interchangeable. Rus was a bladedancer, a subclass of a rogue, he wore two small blades hidden at his sides and his outfit was very… hmm, not quite revealing but his black pants had two slits on each side while he wore some mauve coloured silky see through material like a skirt flowing down his sides. His upper body was much the same, his ribcage was somewhat covered but his arms had the same silky material as the skirt so you could see the bones of his arms. He also had a mauve see-through shawl over his skull. Speaking of his skull… he only had one eye so to speak as one of his eye sockets was somehow closed, permanently. He had two sharp protruding fangs unlike the other Papyri. Still, he was very handsome… for a skeleton. You laughed out loud, knowing no one would hear it. Perhaps the necromancy class fits you just right.
"You look like your usual handsome self, Rus" You mumbled to yourself, knowing fully well he couldn't answer or hear anything you said. Nothing seemed changed, at all. You have no idea what Song wanted you to do or see. You shrugged and looked at the time. You didn't have time to figure it out… you'll send Song a message about it later. Only a few more minutes till your death bell tolls… you groaned, this guild had affected you way more than you thought it would. You looked up at the thrones, one for Song and one was for you. Song had insisted you get one next to them because they needed emotional support even though you were just ranked as a member with just a few tad bit less restrictions. You walked back to the throne, sitting down once again, gazing down at the aisle once more. All 8 skeletons standing in front of a pillar, like they were forever guarding this precious place. Your eyes were getting heavy… you had grinded for days, taken early vacation so you could play Aspenheim: Tree Of Life for as much as you could before they shut everything down.
Ah, your physical body must be weak after all that laying down in bed… oh well, it was all worth it. You were too tired to remove the VR headband, you rather have this be the last thing you see before you lose the battle with sleep. "I will miss everyone" You mumbled before completely falling asleep on the very comfortable throne. Server shut down in…
3….
2…
1..
Your last vision was of multiple different coloured lights seemingly glowing at you? …must be your shut eyes hallucinating colors.
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"Are they sleepin’?" Rus asked as he was the first one who had abandoned his post and saw their beloved human sleep in their golden throne, they were utterly beautiful yet somehow, it looked lonely with the unusual empty throne next to them. You had gotten real close to him and called him handsome before you went back to your throne to sleep? He had gotten real nervous the moment you leaned in, inspecting him, his bone cheeks almost flushed when he could feel your warmth seeping into his own bones. What were you looking for? You only laughed and told him he was handsome… You wouldn't be looking for a...? Now that the throne next to you is empty. The others quickly followed suit and gazed up at the thrones.
"Looks Like It" Delta, Rus’s brother confirmed what they all were seeing. You must have been exhausted to fall asleep like that. Delta had seen you running around more as of late… had you prepared for when their creators left?
"WELL THAT IS NO PLACE TO SLEEP!" Papyrus exclaimed and multiple Shh’s came from the other skeletons. Papyrus quickly apologized, sometimes he could be too loud but it looks like you had been very exhausted as you hadn't even stirred!
"I Agree With Papyrus, That's Not An Ideal Place To Sleep" Lucky agreed, sitting in that position for too long would hurt you and none of them would let anything hurt you. "Well, why don'tcha escort them to their bed chambers?" Lucky’s brother, Strike suggested and Lucky was excited at the prospect of getting to carry you to your chambers! His baby blue eye lights lit up but quickly dimmed when one of the other skeletons spoke up.
"You Are Too Small To Do So" Delta said with a malicious grin. His fangs on full display. Lucky huffed as he pouted in realization. Delta himself wouldn't have that problem. He could be the one to-
"SINCE I AM THE HIGHNESS’S APPOINTED GUARD, I WILL GLADLY TAKE THAT TASK UPON MYSELF" Papyrus interjected and put a hand over his chest proudly before he walked towards the thrones. No one stopped him as it was true, whenever they were called into battles, Papyrus was always stationed close to you by Deathsong in case something would get dicey… You were a terrifying necromancer but you used your abilities in such an unique manner that they all couldn't help but see you as something that needed to be protected. You couldn't heal yourself now could you? You could only heal the Undead with your magic. You had saved them from true death multiple times and they weren't letting death become a possibility for you. Not if they could help it.
Papyrus walked up the stairs up to the throne, making sure his armor didn't clank too much. He wasn't stealthy unlike Rus, that skeleton could go anywhere without getting detected as he hid in the shadows but Papyrus? He was a beacon of light in the dark, a divine paladin. A protector. Specifically your protector. He picked you up carefully, carrying you down in his arms. The others gazed at him in jealousy, well except his brother Sans who gave him a thumbs up. They all had the same feelings for you, an utter devotion to you and only you. Papyrus made his way towards your bed chambers… you usually didn't sleep there but his creator’s. It was to be expected, as you were married to his creator, Deathsong. Were. No longer. As they had left both you and the other skeletons. He laid you down onto the plush fancy king sized bed carefully. The big bed looks way too big for your tiny frame… you looked lonely like that. You must be heartbroken that Deathsong has left you in their place to rule over Death's Cradle all by yourself.
"I'M SORRY MY STARLIGHT, THIS MUST BE HARD FOR YOU" All of their creators had left him and the others… all but you who chose to stay. The creators had left you too but if he could just be a little honest for a moment? He was so happy you decided to stay with them. "DEATHSONG MIGHT BE GONE … BUT I AM SURE ONE OF US WOULD LOVE TO BE NEXT TO YOU AS YOU SIT ON YOUR DESERVED GOLDEN THRONE" Perhaps it was too greedy to wish for him to become the one who sat on the throne with you? Or maybe you didn't have the heart to only choose one of them… He knew his brother Sans wouldn't mind if you chose the both of them.
"OR PERHAPS YOU WILL ACCEPT ALL OF US? A RULER CAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE-" You grumbled and put the silken sheets over you more, he smiled. He's certain that would be one big argument but for now he'll let you sleep in peace while he stands guard outside of your bed chambers for tonight.
Rest well, Starlight.
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Bones stood quietly, observing everyone squabble with each other now that their precious human wasn't there to overhear their scheming. Well he and his brother Skull didn't join in as they both had no interest in politics and guild management. Bones only cared about maintaining this place’s beautiful interior and exterior while his brother only cared about protecting this place from intruders as the entrance’s guard. He still saw you gaze at his hard work occasionally when you thought you were alone. They were discussing strategy plans now that the creators had retired. All but one, you. The creators had given up the mantle to you, the most hardworking and devoted of them all. He had seen you come and go multiple times recently, always bearing fruits of your labor but always quietly putting it in the shared storage of the guild before going back out to look for more…
You had even gifted him the cloak he was wearing now, technically. He had once caught you running around, looking for his creator Gloomandbloom, while holding something in your hands. The moment you found them, you smiled so brightly as you held out a very well made garment made of some pelts. "I got lucky and found this! Unfortunately my class doesn't allow me to equip this but I'm sure you know someone who can" You had been heavily suggesting that they were to be given to him, hadn't you? "That's-! How did you-!?" His creator looked shocked at the thing you had given them.
"See you later, I'm off to bed!" You quickly retreated towards the bed chambers without letting his creator say anything else… specifically Deathsong’s bed chambers. Gloomandbloom stood dumbfounded before they snapped back into reality and called for him. Bones had been nearby so it only took him mere seconds to get to his creator. He bowed out of courtesy. "You're the someone they spoke of, most definitely" Gloomandbloom chuckled, sending a few spores out from the mushrooms protruding from their skin. Bones didn't mind it at all, as he had moss growing on his own body as well. He and his creator were closer to nature than anyone else like that.
"Here, a gift from a friend" They gave him the garment you had given his creator… it was… definitely well made. He put it around himself and it fit his tall stature like it was made for him. His creator whistled. "Looking good there, Bones" He looked good? He doesn't think so. Not when the other creators would take one glance at him and then quickly glance away… well except for you and his creator. He always caught you looking at his moss covered bones in great detail. Perhaps you and his creator just had similar tastes. Well, that worked out well for him. He couldn't court you if you were terrified of him now could he? Bones wondered if you were too shy to give him that cloak since you gave it to his creator instead… He could understand that as he wasn't very good at talking, his jaw was too painful to move too much. An injury from long ago. Something that couldn't be healed or cured. Like his brother's head injury. Though, he doesn't remember how he gained it in the first place and neither did his brother, Skull.
"What Do You Mean By Another Ruler?" When Lucky spoke those words, both Bones and Skull immediately put their attention towards the other skeletons. Were they talking about you? Did they want to replace you? Preposterous. If they did, then he and Skull would gladly take you off their hands. They could find a nice little cottage, miles away from Death's Cradle and the others. Away from potential competition. "Yes, Another Ruler… Now That Our Creators Have Left, I'm Sure My Majesty Would Love To Have Someone Next To Them To Rule With" Delta further explained, ah. That's what Delta had meant. You? Choosing one of them to be your next mate-... spouse? As much as Bones liked that idea… he thought it was way too soon. You had already lost one so recently, to have you think about such matters while the wound is still fresh? Merciless.
"And who are you suggestin’ is takin’ that role?" Strike crossed his arms, knowing fully well who Delta wanted as your fellow regning ruler. Himself or his brother, Rus. Strike rather have his brother Lucky to be your supporting ruler. Delta would be a good choice but Strike is afraid Delta's methods of ruling would clash with yours. You didn't seem like the iron fist kinda type. They had all caught you trying to refuse the throne after all.
"Me, Of Course… But My Brother Would Be Close Second" Delta proudly stuck out his chest, he was the best option for you! Surely you'd see he was the most fit to rule alongside you.
"Absolutely Not!" Lucky made his disagreement known and Strike nodded along. Delta’s rule would be downright tyrannical and Lucky's sure you wouldn't want that… would you? No! You would want someone cute and adorable. Like himself, mwheh!
"I have a suggestion" Sans spoke up holding one hand up, gaining everyone's attention. His posture was lax and laid back as a lazy smile was always present on his skull.
"Is it Papyrus?" Rus asked, he would have done the same and suggested his brother Delta for the position. Delta had just beaten him to the punch, heh.
"How did you know?" Sans smiled, knowing that his choice would be obvious. He loved his brother Papyrus and everyone knew that fact, they even had the same creator after all unlike all the others. Since his brother wasn't present for this, of course Sans would vouch for him. Skull and Bones looked at eachother, they had gotten used to knowing what the other one was thinking because Bones couldn't talk out loud without pain. Though this wasn't getting resolved anytime soon, not without your input.
"Why don't we ask Chestnut who they want?" Skull spoke, his deep rumbling voice gaining everyone's focus on him. They should at least ask you instead of squabbling among themselves as this wouldn't go anywhere. Every single one of them wanted you and for good reason. They all have different creators but you were the one who gave them life. Skull still remembers that one time he had been overwhelmed by raiders trying to enter Death’s Cradle when no creators were manning the guild. It had been a surprise attack and they had almost succeeded when they managed to gravely injure him and his brother. That's when you came running out of Death’s Cradle, casting your spells of death. Well death for the raiders… for them, it was life itself. "Well that was close! Oh your HP is a bit low" You said as you stared up at him, he was bigger and taller than you by quite a bit but he wasn't as tall as Bones. He then felt… warm, like something was embracing him with so much love and affection. This was your death magic, so gentle and kind. You of course also healed his brother as well before you left, going on those frequent adventures of yours. Sometimes he wished he could go with you but he couldn't… he had to protect your precious home after all. It was an order given to him by his creator, Darkabscess.
Everyone went silent. That was the million gold question, who would you want to take in as your lawful spouse and fellow ruler?
"Welp, looks like I have the advantage then" Rus spoke up with a rather shit eating grin which made Delta scowl but Rus knew it was just because he was genuinely curious as to why.
"Explain Yourself Brother!" Delta demanded, how could his brother have possibly gained your attention?
"Why, they came up to me and called me handsome" Rus was smug about the whole thing, everyone had seen you step down from your throne and walk in front of him. He himself had been quite shocked at your sudden action and even more when you had called him handsome right in front of him. How bold. A statement? Deceleration that you had your eyes on him? Chances were pretty good.
"That's What They Were Doing?" Strike could see the disappointment on Lucky's expression, he wanted to be the one who got checked out. Strike himself wouldn't mind if you took a little peek at him either… Perhaps if he got fortunate enough, he could even take a small peek back without you noticing, nyeh.
"Looks Like They Are Already Looking For Someone… Good Job Brother!" Delta gave Rus proud praise and he glowed slightly mauve at his brother's praise. Delta complimenting others was a rare occurrence after all and whenever it did happen, he was probably giving it to Rus.
"Let's make sure it's one of us… we can't have outsiders get the better of us can we?" Sans said as he swished one of his potions before looping it back onto one of his belts again. Having someone from outside the guild be with you? Sans didn't quite like that. If you did find someone from outside the guild… he could always sneak a little potion inside their drinks and the problem would be solved and you would be none the wiser. Rus would have probably done the same but that would be a last resort.
"Agreed, We Can't Have Any Mongrel Take Advantage Of My Beloved" Delta could concur with that sentiment. Skull and Bones looked at each other again, nodding in agreement with everyone else. If you wanted a spouse to rule these lands with then you wouldn't need to look far.
They all agreed to wait to bring it up until they knew you had moved on from Deathsong’s absence.
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You groaned, your body felt so heavy. Ugh, gaming for days on end wasn't the best decision of the week. You opened your bleary eyes and put your hands to your head to remove the VR headband but you couldn't find it! Wait… if your VR headset wasn't on… and the game servers shut down for good… why were you inside your guild bedroom!? You patted your head with fervor. Where was it!? WHERE'S YOUR VR HEADSET!?
Were you stuck in a dream!? You pinched yourself and-… Ouch! No you were still " awake " but why in the hell were you still in Aspenheim? You scanned the room as you sat starstruck in the very comfortable bed and very big bed. You had never had such a luxurious bed! The sheets were made of soft silk as well. If this was Aspenheim… did the… oh- the system window was still somehow available. Except there were a few features missing… such as the fucking log out button! A sudden knock could be heard from the bedroom door, making you flinch. What what that!?
"YOUR HIGHNESS? ARE YOU AWAKE?" The voice you heard was loud, boomingly so. You had never heard it before… who was… that? It wasn't one of your guildmates. It was just one of Slayall’s pranks, right? They had used a voice modification to trick you. Right? Right! "Um… yes?" You swiped the system window away. You could fiddle with it later. "GOOD! WE NEED YOU AT THE THRONEROOM… DO YOU REQUIRE TIME TO GET YOURSELF READY?" Why did Slayall need you at the throne room? And why did they say " we "? This was going a bit too far for just a prank. "I'll be out in a minute?" You were so immensely confused, you definitely needed time to figure out what was happening right now.
"I WILL WAIT FAITHFULLY FOR YOUR EXIT!" The booming voice said with such glee, who was that!? Slayall wouldn't be going this far, they liked pranks but they knew when to stop the charade. Since you had time, you brought the system window back up again. You checked the map and… yup, you were inside Death’s Cradle. The problem was when you went to the overworld map section… it was all black, meaning undiscovered. You knew for a fact that you had 100% the entire world map of Aspenheim but now… you couldn't see anything? The only thing the map window showed was Death’s Cradle, your guild’s base. Something wasn't right. The missing logout button and blacked out map… it was like… you were trapped inside a game.
You had access to the guild funds and inventory… even the private ones. Song had stocked up on a ton of gold. You can't believe they had this much! But that's about it you could gleam from the System Windows. For now at least. You wouldn't be able to figure out what was happening by just sitting in this bed. This very comfortable bed. This oh so tempting bed… it felt so realistic… so fluffy and soft…
"YOUR HIGHNESS? I DO NOT MEAN TO BE RUDE BUT… HAVE YOU FALLEN ASLEEP AGAIN?" Yeah, that was definitely not Slayall, they could never be that court and polite with their speech. Which means… you were talking to a potentially dangerous stranger. That would attack the moment they found out you weren't who they thought you were. Could you die? Would you respawn? This scenario gave you one of those light novel or anime vibes where the characters are trapped inside a video game or an unfamiliar world.
"N-no… not yet" You sat up again, the bed had managed to lure you in… you weren't a morning person… Was it morning? The system clock said so but you couldn't be sure as this room didn't have any windows. Being underground had its perks and cons. The lights in the room were lit, if they hadn't been, it would have been unbelievably dark. How did they light them-
"NOT YET!? WERE YOU PLANNING TO!?" The voice outside the door sounded exasperated and very disappointed by your sleep schedule. You couldn't help it! You just had trouble falling asleep and waking up is all! "No… maybe?" You felt a bit ashamed that you almost fell asleep again. Especially during this kind of situation.
"YOUR HIGHNESS, I IMPLORE YOU GET READY AS SOON AS YOU CAN AS THERE IS URGENT MATTERS FOR YOU TO ATTEND TO" Did the person on the other side think you were the king/queen? Had you… replaced someone!? Like one of those isekai type of novels? But this wasn't a novel, it was an online VR game! That you clearly remember not being this real. You could feel the silk in your bed! You got up from bed, looked like you had slept in your… garbs? This was your Aspenheim outfit! It felt odd as you had never worn something like this in real life before. You located a mirror and… yep, it's still you. The outfit you wore was mainly black but held a splash of your favorite color and a broach pinned to your chest. You had slept in these clothes… perhaps you should change? Perhaps to something more familiar to your body to wear.
You checked the inventory via the System Window and found yourself some black shorts with leggings and a fancy dress shirt. You also found some slacks that were in your favorite color and a small cloak… you remember this outfit being one of your casual ones when you didn't plan to go out and hunt for some events or items. It was the closest to what you would normally wear… did this world have sweatpants? You sighed, at least this didn't feel too odd. You were as ready as you could be now, it was time to find out what was happening and to face that stranger who kept calling you their highness.
You went to the bedroom door and… you opened it up, slowly but surely. This looked so familiar but it felt… overwhelming. Your senses were all there. Smell, hearing, touch and sight. This wasn't just simply VR, anymore was it? You took a careful step outside and before you could do anything, a tall figure went in front of you. The door had hidden them from sight. You flinched as you looked up at their… skull!? Their eye sockets were devoid of any life but they were clearly looking down at you. Straight at you. You could sense it. Feel it. Your hair on your arms prickled, would you have to fight this skeleton-
"I'M GLAD YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE! YOU'RE LIKE SANS WHO NEEDS REMINDERS EVERY 5 MINUTES!" You blinked at him. Wait. Was that… Papyrus!? He was talking and moving by himself. In the game, you would have needed to give explicit command for them to move, the only way they would move on their own was if there had been any hostiles around. He was so… real, more so than he had been when you had worn those VR headsets. Did-… did he feel real too? You slowly inched your hands up towards his skull; the only part of him you could touch to feel bone instead of just metal, he didn't move or flinch away when your hand met bone. It felt… oddly soft but firm. Is this what real bone feels like? You didn't think so. Not that you had ever touched a skeleton in your entire life.
"UH- YOUR HIGHNESS!?" You felt his jawbone move. You ACTUALLY felt it move! This was… fascinating and absolutely terrifying at the same time. His cheek bones had turned a slight shade of orange. You realized that you were still holding his skull in your hands and he was looking down at you like he didn't know whether to do something or just let you touch him like that. Whoops, your curiosity got the better of you. You let his skull go and he leaned back up to his full stature again… wait… had he leaned in to let you touch him!?
"Ah! Sorry! I'm still a bit… groggy?" You tried to make up an excuse but honestly, at this rate, you would be groggy for the rest of your life. You had no clue what had happened except that you fell asleep while being in-game and now you're literally IN the game. Did that mean if you died here you wouldn't be able to respa-... What a sobering thought. Your eyes found a sword’s hilt peeking out from one of his shoulders… Right, he was a paladin. If he wanted to, he could unsheath that sword right now and cut you down. You didn't know if you could even fight back now that everything was so unfamiliar. You didn't have the HUD to help you cast anything! Did you even have any mana? Did that exist here? You were utterly defenseless.
"THAT IS PERFECTLY ALRIGHT! WHY, MY BONES ARE THE SMOOTHEST OUT OF ALL THE OTHERS!" You felt relief as he didn't seem to see you as an unknown hostile enemy. Before you could even ask about what he meant by the others, another voice interrupted you. "Sure about that Papyrus?" That voice, it was deeper than Papyrus’s and that way of speaking… it kind of reminded you of-
"SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? SHOULD YOU NOT BE IN THE THRONE ROOM?" You stared at the other skeleton walking towards the both of you with a lazy grin upon his skull. The multiple bottles of potions strapped onto him swishing around with every step. Those potions… they were deadly weren't they? It was his way of dealing damage. His white eye lights locked onto you, a slight shiver went up your spine before he averted his eyes towards Papyrus. His eye lights… they were piercing, like he could see right through you. In the VR version, it hadn't been so intense. It was like they were glowing full of life unlike in the game where they were just dull and unmoving. Even so… you had spoken to them like they had been real but they never spoke back!
"I heard my name getting mentioned" He shrugged as he stopped in front of you. He had heard Papyrus say his name? But the Throne room wasn't that close by. The bed chambers were located further towards the exit of Death's Cradle, for when raiders tried to enter and it was quicker to get a long rest in if needed. The bed chambers were still quite deep under the ground though and several layers before you even reached the bed chambers, let alone the last layer, the fourth layer. The innermost layer. It was nifty that some guild members could teleport inside Death's Cradle, like yourself, heh.
"From that far away?" You asked without meaning to, regaining his white pinpricks onto you yet again. His smile grew but you couldn't tell if it was malicious or not… you had seen their skulls for almost 10 years but they all hardly emoted as much as now. "I have good hearing, Sweethe-" He was about to respond but got cut off by Papyrus thwacking his skull which caught you by surprise. "SANS!" Papyrus suddenly scolded him. Did he say something wrong? You hadn't caught the last part. Sans rubbed where he had been hit, his smile still plastered onto his skull. "I mean your highness" He corrected himself but his tone was in no way apologetic as he chuckled. Not that he needed to apologize for anything as you didn't even know what he supposedly did wrong. That smack sounded painful…
"Anyway… want to feel mine too?" He asked as he pointed a phalange towards his bone cheek… had he seen that!? And was offering to let you do the same to him? Well his skull shape was different from Papyrus's… his was more angular and sharp. Sans’s offering was tempting but before you could make up your mind, Papyrus moved in front of his brother, blocking your view of him. You could now see the sword strapped onto Papyrus's back in more detail and yikes, it was such a big sword. Definitely could cut you in half.
"BROTHER, WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO DILLYDALLY" He scolded his brother yet again before he abruptly turned around to face you and offering his arm to you. Did he want to walk you there? At least he didn't whack you the same way he had done with Sans moments ago, if he did, your HP might have just dropped to zero. Wait, you couldn't see your health bar… right, the HUD was gone. You hesitantly grabbed onto it and he was certainly wearing chainmail. Everything felt so real, too real. Sans shrugged and began walking next to you as you were holding onto Papyrus’s arm. Silence overcoming the three of you, the only sound was the clattering of Papyrus's armor and Sans’s potion bottles as you walked towards the throne room. When you entered the throne room, everything looked so big as the pillars stretched high into the roof. You had been here only a few hours ago but now it felt… familiar but new. Downright overwhelming. The thrones stood all the way in the back and to think you had sat upon that not so long ago. That's when you noticed, multiple glowing lights targeted and following your every step as you walked closer and closer towards the thrones standing tall over everything else. All of your fellow guildmate’s custom NPCs were lined up and standing at each pillar. You only took a glance at each skeleton so as to not be rude. They looked like they could take you down easily.
You better try not to offend any of them. You felt like you were at level 1 again, not knowing anything about how the world worked. Sans left your side to go stand against a pillar like the others while Papyrus was leading you towards the thrones… did- did he want you to sit there!? He stopped when the two of you reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the two thrones. You took the cue to release his arm and he gave you a polite bow before he left you to step up the stairs by yourself. Every step was nerve wracking and it didn't help your body felt like lead. You somehow managed to get to the thrones… and you began sitting in the throne you usually would in game. Your body was grateful for the rest. When you sat down you saw that everyone had moved from the pillars to form a single line while bowing down to you. How did they-? You had only turned your back for a moment!
"Your Majesty" One of the short skeletons spoke, was that Delta speaking? For a Sans, he had a higher pitched voice than you would imagine but still quite gruff. He lifted his skull up and his violet eye lights made contact with you, well one of them as in the other eye socket, the one that had a slight crack to it had three triangles forming a pyramid… kind of like the triforce in the Zelda franchise. It didn't make him any less terrifying to you. Rotandie, Delta’s creator, had done a good job in making him small but intimidating. His clothes were pretty close to what most people would imagine Swapfell Sans to wear, he had his dark battle body, violet gloves, black shorts but thighs were hiding his bones from sight and high rise boots. The one thing that was different was around one of his shoulders, some thick velvety violet cloth cascading down to his side and stopping near his waist.
Rus and Delta also had similar classes, they both wielded swords… however, Delta was a Spellblade which meant he could infuse or cast spells using his weapon. The rapier at his side didn't help the fact you were worried about them turning on you now that they seemingly had gained their own sentience. You knew the cliche of creations going against their creators was very possible at this very moment. Technically you weren't any of their creator but you were close to it. They might've have led you here to… get their revenge in the coldest way they could think of for controlling them… killing you on your own throne that you didn't even want.
"We Have Some Urgent News" Delta stood up from his crouching position while the others kept bowing down. Was this the moment they declared you no longer their ruler? That they were taking over their own wills now that they had broken your control? Your body tensed up. Would you be able to outrun them? They were a good distance away… but you doubted you could get very far away. You were so fucked. How would it feel to die to magic? Peaceful? The most unimaginable pain you have ever-
"Death's Cradle Have Been Relocated " Delta informed, still gazing up at you. What? Relocated? But everything looked the same? You've known this place for 10 years and nothing seemed off… interior wise. The thought of running lingering at the back of your mind now that you were presented with something curious. "Relocated? Could you elaborate?" You were scared, yes but that had piqued your interest enough to give you courage enough to talk back and ask him what he had meant by relocating. "Of Course Your Majesty" He gave you a bow as he put his hand over his armored ribcage. Were they not killing you? It didn't seem like it with how they kept bowing down to you. Like they actually considered you their reigning ruler. Did they not want revenge for controlling them for years? Granted, you didn't even know they had sentience to begin with… just ones and zeros in their coding. At the time. Now they were alive. Speaking to you with their own individual thoughts it seems.
"It Looks Like We Are In Uncharted Territory" What? Did he mean the guild had moved location? How is that even possible? Death's Cradle was huge! How did it just… move out of nowhere!? You put your finger on your chin in thought. Were you not in Aspenheim anymore? It wasn't that far-fetched… not when you yourself had gotten transported into this world! At least it wasn't by truck-sama. It had been very peaceful as you just woke up to this after you had fallen asleep. "Huh… Is that why the map was blacked out?" You thought out loud. This keeps on giving you nothing but questions rather than any answers. You wouldn't want to die not knowing where you were at least!
"Map? You Have A Map?" Lucky suddenly spoke up, your eyes met his deep baby blue eye lights as he had lifted his skull up with excitement and… why he was just the cutest thing! He was a tad bit shorter than Delta and Sans. You had no idea Killthrill could have made such an adorable skeleton. Lucky's class was a summoner which means he didn't use any primary weapons. His summoned creatures did the dirty job for him. Yeah okay, you could see it now. Cute and deadly without having to lift a single finger er- phalange. His outfit consisted of a small baby blue cloak over his shoulders and he wore buttoned up short robes with a belt around his waist. He wore black leggings like Delta and his boots were baby blue as well. Unbeknownst to you, Delta was beginning to get annoyed at how you were oogling his competition.
"You Cretin, Stay Down Unless You Are Spoken To" Delta snarled which made you and Lucky break eye contact as your gaze moved back onto the violet cladded skeleton. Delta's sharp toothed scowl and glare to Lucky was terrifying. You were glad it wasn't pointed towards you… yet. "A-ah, no it's quite alright, Delta, you all can rise" You meekly commanded, you felt uncomfortable just sitting in the throne, let alone having multiple people bow to you just waiting for orders to follow. They all began to stand upright. Some had eye lights, gazing straight up at you while others only had empty eye sockets yet you could feel them staring at you regardless… both equally terrifying.
"Yes I do have a map… of some sort" You answered Lucky's question, moving your gaze once more unto the cute blue skeleton. Did they not have the System Window map like you? Was it because they weren't players but rather NPC’s? It felt rude calling them that now that they had gained their own thoughts and opinions. "Can I have a look?" Rus asked, his voice raspy as his single mauve eye light now also looked at you. Actually everyone was looking at you now. Except for Delta, who was frowning at his brother. You supposed there was nothing to hide as the skeletons also seemed to be confused about the whole thing as much as you were. Albeit, you wonder why they thought you were their ruler.
"Rus!" Delta reprimanded Rus for his supposed rude behavior to you. You weren't actually royalty or anything like that so you didn't mind. Even if you were, you wouldn't have been as you weren't a highborn human. "Again, it's alright… I'll uh come down to show you" You didn't feel any offense, Rus was simply asking to look at your map. Not like he asked to see anything personal. You rose from your throne and stepped down, their gaze never straying from your form as you made your way towards Rus. This felt so… nerve wracking even though you had essentially done the same thing yesterday. Except this time, their eyes actually acknowledged you, especially the one you were in front now as his singular mauve eye light gazed down at you. Rus was unfortunately taller than you. So was Papyrus, Strike, Skull and Bones. "Can you see it? It's right in front of you" You brought out the System Window and got it to show you the map of Death's Cradle. "No, I must have gotten lost in your e-" Rus got cut off by a sword hilt stabbed into his side… that looked even more painful than Papyrus's thwack.
"Next Time, It Will Not Be The Dull Side Of My My Blade" If that had been directed at you… you would have instantly tried to find a way to escape from this place. That was a con for having your guild underground… not easy to escape out of. Only one exit and entrance. "So you can't see the system window… hmm makes me sound like a lunatic… oh, is that?" They must think you were mad, hallucinating a map or something… how embarrassing. Mortifying even. You wouldn't mind if anyone struck you down right now. Wait… was that a-? You saw a very familiar symbol on the Guild's map… it was a crystal with multiple wings. A fast travel symbol? You touched it and suddenly everything blurred before you appeared a little bit further behind the skeletons. You had teleported! You could clearly tell they didn't know what had happened… Does this mean they can't teleport themselves?
"Ah, it is" You mused out loud and everyone whipped their skulls around in surprise, shock and awe. You had used a teleport point. Those still worked. You wonder if you could find any of those crystals in the undiscovered overworld? But usually you had to use in-game currency to use them. Luckily, inside your own guild, it was free. You don't know how that would work now that the rules had completely changed. "How Did You Do That!?" Lucky exclaimed, not expecting you to suddenly vanish from their sights. Were those stars in his eye lights…? Killthrill had done more research about the Underswap AU than you had thought… that or Strike’s creator, Soultrance, was the one who did the research and helped Killthrill with creating Lucky. Why did they put so much effort into this!?
"I teleported" You shrugged not knowing how to explain it without sounding like you needed a trip to a psychiatrist. Although this situation in itself was reason enough. Was this just all happening in your mind? A dream? Hallucination? An Alice in Wonderland kind of delusion? Where were the snacks that changed your size? "Wowzers,You Can Teleport!?" His star shaped eye lights turned even bigger as he bounced towards you… none of you breaking eye contact. His eye lights were so… mesmerizing in a way. And he was just so darn cute with the way he moved towards you with such a jovial smile.
"Yes and no? I used the map" You explained and you knew you sounded like an absolute lunatic since they couldn't see the System Window with their own eyes. However, instead of looking at you like you were completely bonkers, Lucky gazed up at you in astonishment.
"Does that mean you can teleport outside?" Strike was the second skeleton who stepped towards you, following his brother's example. Ah, that was Underswap Papyrus or more commonly known as Stretch… Soultrance didn't like that name so they scoured the internet for another nickname to use. Soultrance had made Strike into a monk… and weirdly that fit Strike very well. You wouldn't put it past him to claim he was just meditating while he was actually sleeping standing up or sitting. His attire was filled with white bandages, his hands and arms were partially wrapped in them, as well as his ribcage as he didn't wear anything else to cover up. He wore some loose beige puffy pants, like monks usually wore and an orange kimono shirt without the sleeves on them, almost making it look like a cape with arm holes. A sigil of the guild’s logo hangs from his waist line. You couldn't see his weapon anywhere… Well, that wasn't your priority right now. Not anymore anyhow. You could ask Strike about it later… if you had the courage to. Or if you weren't dead before then.
"That's the thing, I can't because the overworld map is blacked out… which means I haven't been there before" You explained, right now, you didn't even know if you could teleport further away than what you just had done. Everyone turned silent at that as they glanced at each other. "And I'm certain I have traveled through every part of Aspenheim" You further explained as another bout of silence happened.
"Meanin’?" The raspy voice of Rus broke the quietness as he asked what most of them were probably thinking. "We are no longer in Aspenheim" Sans concluded and it would explain why your map didn't show anything as you had come to the same conclusion. Didn't explain how you got transported to this new world however and how the NPC’s gained their own sentience. Had they always had that? How does one transport an entire underground without alerting anyone? Staying here wouldn't give you any answers! You needed to get out and see for yourself, no use in staying here. "Welp, I'll be going" You felt the itch to explore, there was a reason why your map in Aspenheim was completed in its entirety. And this was your chance to get away. You had begun turning away from the skeletons when you heard loud cluttering of metal and before you knew it, something grasped your arm and shoulder in a light hold. You whipped your head back in alarm and saw Papyrus stopping you from walking further away.
"HOLD ON YOUR HIGHNESS, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Papyrus asked as he kept the grip on you. His hold on you wasn't painful but it was tight. "Outside? To explore?" You turned around to face him, you didn't see why going outside was a big deal. You had to figure out what was happening and where you had been abducted to. Unless they wanted to end you right now since you hadn't given them much useful information.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU ARE STAYING INSIDE DEATH'S CRADLE WHERE IT IS SAFE" You looked up at him, not knowing how to respond to that. He wanted you to be safe? So they really didn't want to kill you? At least not him. You still couldn't shake that possibility out of your mind. Abruptly, something towering over Papyrus removed his hand from your arm and shoulder. It was Skull. Horrortale Sans. He was massive! His Skull was badly cracked at one side and one eye socket was just black while the other housed a menacingly bright red eye light. It didn't help that he had a wide grin on his skull. Darkabscess certainly went all out on the horror aspect… They even gave him the hunter class; Hopefully you weren't the human he would be hunting for. It was very lore accurate to his AU. You could see he wore some leather protection on his chest while underneath there was mostly blue cloth hiding the rest of his ribcage. He had multiple belts strapped around like Sans but instead of potions, he had mostly pouches. His wrists and forearms wrapped in strips of thick looking leather like vambraces. His pants had leather straps coiled around his shins as well. A blood red axe hanging at his belt.
"Bones knows nature. Take him with you" Skull finally spoke, his voice the deepest and gruffest you had ever heard in your life. The moment his big red eye light gazed down at you, you felt so small. Wait, Bones? Did he mean-? "SKULL! DO NOT ENCOURAGE THEM!" Papyrus scoffed at Skull but you sent him a small appreciative smile. At that his eye light dilated slightly, making the already big eye light even bigger. You didn't know if that was good or bad. At least he hadn't felt the itch to unsheathe that axe and bring it down towards you… yet. You then set your gaze towards Bones; Skull’s little brother. It wasn't hard to spot him. He was the tallest of the skeletons after all.
"Bones, do you want to come with me?" Bones is a druid which means he does know about nature and wildlife which could come in handy when exploring. He was slouching as if to hide away as much as he could, practically hiding away inside the familiar brownish orange cloak made of animal pelt he was wearing. It fit him well as it went all the way down to his ankles.… Wait… You had gotten that in a lucky drop when defeating a boss! You didn't know the pelted garb would be that long but you're glad it fit him! Definitely wouldn't have fit you then. Although, you could see he wasn't wearing anything over his ribcage, it was exposed for everyone to see. Not that you minded… not at all. His bones were littered in pretty green moss patches. It was beautiful in your eyes and Gloomandbloom must have thought the same thing seeing as they were literally an undead Cervan with mushrooms growing on their body… Sheesh, you're happy you chose to be a human. You're not sure how you would have handled it if mushrooms started growing from your skin. Fortunately, he did wear loose shorts that reached down to below his knees… and his feet were bare. They looked more animalistic than human. Yup, definitely a druid.
When you addressed him, he flinched. Like you were the scariest thing around. He slowly turned his skull to you and… you could clearly see his crooked teeth and beady eye sockets but you didn't look away when he turned to face you. He slowly made his way towards you, his stature getting taller and taller the more closer he got to you. Papyrus admitted defeat and moved away to let Bones get even closer to you. He gazed down at you before giving you a nod. "Well then, I'd love some company" It was safer in groups, right?
Right. If the one you were grouping up with didn't want to murder you that is. What a hectic start to your day.
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