Boned

[Kagami]

"That doesn't count!" exclaimed Kagami even though she was kinda smiling from her own pun before a second voice spoke, "But the textbox said so."

"I.." Kagami paused for a bit as she heard a familiar Boo's voice near her. "Wait.. what?"

[ * Booker turned visible in front of Kagami and waved. ]

"A-ah, what a surprise! It's you!"

[ * Kagami paused for a bit as she narrowed her eyes. ]

"Wait, why aren't you back in the valley with the others?" she asked as Booker answered, "Kagami, I can't even trust you for a moment without causing trouble and forcing yourself into some sort of dangerous adventure. In fact, what you just did to Sans is clearly very insensitive and rude even! How selfish!"

"It ain't selfish if you want to have fun." she smiled at Booker as he would disapprovingly shake his head, nearly facepalming.

 

[Sans]

Sans leaned to the side, gazing at the rotund, blue ghost that seemed to have magically popped into view. It was quite a dapper looking fellow, with a collared top, a blue bowtie, and swirled hair on its head. It floated around as a spherical spirit, translucent and almost invisible in the light of the windows while carrying what looked like a thick book in its stubby arms.

This must have been Booker. They were certainly not like any monster he had ever seen before.

* yo. name’s sans. sans the skeleton. good to meet ya. don’t worry about your green bean over here. i’ve got her well taken care of.

 

[Kagami]

"A pleasure to meet you Sans." Booker bowed politely to the skeleton. "My name is Booker and I apologize on the behalf of Kagami. She can be a handful for a little bean especially when it involves the mysterious and unknown as well as other things."

"I'm not a handful. I just like to be out and abound. It gets boring if I sit still!" Kagami sighed as Booker continued, "Need I remind you how much you pull pranks on the innocents among a list full of other stuff you enjoy doing? If it's anything, tormenting this poor skeleton about some ghastly mysterious force-"

"I just wanted to find out what was going on here." Kagami sighed. "I can't help myself. I just gotta know!"

[ * Booker was silent before he sighed. ]

"I'm surprised that you haven't used your powers other than to fly up to the mountaintop. Usually by now, you would be using your telepathy or something to get what you want if someone refuses."

[ * Kagami was silent though right now, she was annoyed at Booker. ]

Eventually, Kagami chuckled, "Maybe I am being considerate as ya desperately wanted then. Oh please, as if!"

 

[Sans]

Sans couldn’t help but chuckle at the ghost’s nagging. He felt like he was witnessing two siblings going at it right in front of him, with Kagami being the youngest and the most immature of the two. It reminded him all too much of Papyrus, who would often nag him into doing chores, cleaning his room, making sure he actually did laundry, all sorts of things.

[ * sans is missing his brother. ]

Of course, the textbox just had to reveal everything in his mind.

[ * sans misses pranking his brother because he’s a big doodoo fart. ]

Much better.

* kagami sounds like a bean after my own SOUL, heh.

Eventually, though, he simply stared at the Beanish girl, a curious tilt to his head. He hadn’t thought much of the girl’s magenta magic at first. Humans, or human-like creatures in this case, always seemed to have a strange connection to magical forces. Telepathy, though, was a new one to him, and one that seemed far more… concerning than all the glowing was.

* woah, uh. you’re saying she can read my thoughts?

He stiffened up, eyes firmly locked onto the Beanish beaning before him.

[ * sans is wondering if Kagami isn’t here for another reason, for something bigger. ]

 

[Kagami]

"Oh, don't be harsh on her. Despite of her earlier shenanigans, I'd say that she has been behaving herself." Booker mused, "Though, I never thought I'd hear something akin to jokes before and to be fair, for her to actually have someone else to talk to outside the valley for longer than just a couple of minutes, that's an accomplishment."

[ * Booker is actually happy that Kagami is getting along with Sans. ]

"Granted that she might be rough around the edges but I do believe that she does have a kernel of goodness in her even though she can be selfish in her ways. However, I'd say before the solemn news we received about the fate of the Crossroads, she was always l-"

[ * Kagami grumbled. ]

"Books, lay it off before you hurt yourself." she sighed before she continued. "Just all I want is some fun without you constantly hovering over me. I'm not a little kid anymore even if I still do look like it because of how small I am. I'm freaking thirteen, I can handle myself without getting hurt or anything, I'm fine."

 

[Sans]

* glad im beaning a positive influence, heh.

[ * sans is thinking about how he’s going to keep using that bean pun forever and ever. ]

Still, hearing how young she was…

[ * sans is thinking about the human child. ]

[ * sans thinks about potential. ]

Sans shut his eyes, and not just because he had long since given up attempting to make the textbox not do silly things like reveal literally everything going on in his head.

* yeah, give her some space. i can handle whatever she throws at me.

 

[Kagami]

[ * Booker thought for a bit. ]

"Oh, oh alright. If she is doing well, I suppose I could trust you to keep a look out for her and let her have some fun.'"

[ * Booker wonders if he is being too overprotective of Kagami, however, in a sense, he does seem to trust Sans. ]

"I suppose that I should start my way back to the valley then but anyways, you two be careful out here, understood?"

Kagami sighed, "We'll be fine, relax. Everything is under control Books, just hurry along now, alright? See ya later."

"Alright, just be safe." Booker sighed. "I'll see you soon enough."

[ * With that, Booker left and finally, Kagami could get some relief. ]

"Now, you said that we're heading out to Hotland after New Home right? I'd say we should get going."

Though judging by Sans, since he's a skeleton, she had a feeling that he probably wouldn't be able to feel any sort of temperature shift however as for her, well, she would and that would mean when it gets hot, she would have to take her hoodie off and put it around her waist for a bit or something to keep cool as they would traverse Hotland in order to avoid issues.

However, she still felt awkward about what just happened. That was really embarrassing!

"Sorry about Books. He's kinda a worrywart for a Boo."

 

[Sans]

* i understand. he loves you and he’s worried you’ll get too many boo-boos.

He winked at her, chuckling at yet another one of his glorious puns.

* and yeah, next up is hotland. shouldn’t be too far. follow me.

He walked down the stairs that led up to the graceful castle and started moving through the various, abandoned streets of New Home.

* say, i have to ask, do you know of a guy named gaster? you might have heard of him at some point. nerd scientist skeleton.

 

[Kagami]

Kagami chuckled a bit as she didn't really mind any puns at the expense of Booker but it was something that helped out with readjusting her mood from earlier despite how embarrassing.

However, as they continued their walk in the streets of the silent and abandoned New Home, she perked up after Sans asked about some guy named Gaster, she asked, "You mean the guy that popped into one of your textbox mentionable mishaps from earlier? Yeah, I kinda heard of him before."

She wondered for a bit before she would continue, "Though, to be honest, whispers of him had been going around and the likes over the years about how he is one of the greats and everything. However, at the time, I really wasn't the type that would take an interest into science-y stuff until later that is because I was focused on other things if you get what I mean."

A shrug. "I just sorta jumped into it on my own because of how connected it was with the things I'm interested in."

 

[Sans]

Sans very noticeably relaxed, a long sigh escaping his lips. He shut his eyes, trying to maintain his casual demeanour.

* sounds like he’s making the rounds, heh. where was he, last you heard?

[ * sans is thinking about what he needs to tell him. ]

[ * sans wonders where the others are at. ]

* and, uh, what is it that you’re interested in? i imagine you don’t always go spelunking in cave ruins like these.

 

[Kagami]

"Ah, I'm not sure to be honest because I've never really met him in person, just heard from murmurs, and believe me when I say that I don't ever forget a face." she explained to Sans before she thought for a moment while she knitted a brow when asked. "Are ya kidding? I do more than just exploring! Of the things I have in interests besides that, you already know that I enjoy magic, pranks, looking into the unknown and some other things but I also like stargazing, collecting gems and crystals, reading, studying and that."

A smirk. "Yeah, I'm kinda a mixture of interests of both sides of the aisles."

[ * Kagami wondered for a bit as Sans was wondering about the others however she chose not to ask about that. ]

"Say, uh, what about you Sans? What do ya like besides the obvious silly pun jokes you just love to toss out and around, huh?"

 

[Sans]

[ * sans is thinking over kagami’s various interests. ]

* stargazing, huh? oh, you’re gonna love waterfall. the crystals there look just like stars.

Sans simply shrugged at her question as they came up to an elevator. He pressed a button, watching it glow as a whirring sound erupted from behind the steel doors.

* well, i like sleeping. i’ve also got a penchant for outer-spacey stuff like you.

He winked at her. * sounds like we’ve got some stuff in common.

 

[Kagami]

"Ha! You really are a lazy bones. A silly lazy bones that is!" she teased with some snickering involved before she continued, "But you're right, we do have some things in common however what I didn't expect is well, this, but hey!"

[ * Kagami never really had someone that she could talk with for as long as Sans as Booker told her before he left. ]

Eventually, Kagami perked up and hurried along to the elevator with Sans, she asked, "Say Sans, about Waterfall, is it past Hotland or something like that? How much further we have to go before we reach there?"

 

[Sans]

* its right after hotland, yeah. this elevator will just be taking us to the CORE. from there, we’ll go through hotland and then into waterfall.

As if on cue, the elevator promptly stopped and, with a bell-like ding, opened the doors, revealing checkered flooring and purple walls within the elevator compartment. Sans stepped to the side.

* after you.

 

[Kagami]

"Oh, um, thanks? Ah, this was unexpected." Kagami nodded before she would step into the elevator after Sans gestured to allow her in first. "Well, it's starting to get a little warm around here so I may need to take off my hoodie. It's a good thing I have a short-sleeved shirt on underneath this thing."

The Beanish would unzip her hoodie as she would take it off, revealing her black short-sleeved shirt underneath, as she would wrap and tie the orange hoodie around her waist before she straighten out her glasses afterwards.

"There. That should help out so I don't end up roasted out there because the emphasis on Hotland is already there."

If Sans was observant enough, he would notice something strange with her arms because the usual greenish coloration was met with the lower half being purple.

 

[Sans]

* i’d make a hot pun, but that feels a little too obvious, hehe.

Sans glanced at Kagami’s body as she set about rearranging her uniform for the oncoming heat. He glazed over her arms, noticing just how they seemed to turn from a dark, plant-like green to a much odder, grapefruit-colored purple towards her legs.

[ * sans is intrigued. ]

* of course, it’s good to take precaution. booker wouldn’t want you to come back home as a roasted bean, after all.

Sans chuckled some more as he lifted a hand and pressed a button. Soon, the elevator doors closed and the duo felt a quick jolt as the elevator started making its way down.

* so, what’s a beanish exactly? are you like a bunch of plant people are you like humans but green?

 

[Kagami]

"Ehhh, it's still a mystery. Some people call'em plants, others like humans. The debate is still ongoing but for one thing, they're kinda friendly with the Toads who are literally little mushroom people." Kagami shrugged as Sans joined her in the elevator. "I did tell you some details of what the Beanish are before we came into this mountain beforehand."

[ * Kagami is covering up her arms as she crossed them behind her back in order to hide them. ]

"Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out about the whole monster thing going on. Just, how many different types are there? Surely more than just skeletons and you know."

 

[Sans]

He shrugged. * eh. wasn’t payin’ too much attention.

He continued staring at her, observing the way she moved to cover her arms from sight, almost like she was embarrassed by the difference in color.

* well, us monsters aren’t quite like a whole ‘species,’ technically. we’re all aliens, just nonhuman ones and such. it’s more of a way of describing people that, like…

He waved his hands around in a circle, pausing.

[ * sans is trying to think of a good way to explain this. ]

* it’s kinda like a club, if that makes sense. if you lived underground, you’re part of the monster club.

 

[Kagami]

"Makes sense." she nodded before she added, "Though to be honest, it's interesting on how things are in the grand scheme. I mean, we're all just small specks in a big giant universe anyways so y'know."

She perked up. "Hey Sans, I know that you told me about Gaster but I've seen your textbox mention about someone else named Papyrus several times before then. What's up with that?"

[ * Kagami is curious. ]

 

[Sans]

* oh, papyrus? oh, he’s my younger brother. really loves puzzles. always running about.

His smile, to Kagami, almost seemed to widen even further.

* he’s the coolest monster you could ever meet.

[ * sans is trying not to think about the specks of the universe. ]

Eventually, the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened up and…

* …

* i think the elevator’s broken. we’re, uh, deep in hotland.

The world outside of the elevator was coated in thick, beige sand. Intense heat blared out from the outside and into the elevator. Tall cliff faces, or at least tall as cliffs could get in a chasm like this, loomed in the distance. Crimson lava rivers flowed nearby, bubbles popping within their viscous, rumbling essence.