Playing Arcadia Games

[Sans]

* welp, we’re here.

Sans and Kagami stood alone on a large, green, grassy hill. The night sky above glowed with the stars and the massive, white moon of Mond, and both the stars and moon illuminated the massive city of Arcadia below them. The wind flowed around them, moving the blades beneath them to tickle their feet.

Arcadia seemed to hum with life despite the night. Sans saw massive cabs piloted by dragons floating through the sky, floating through the several district islands that hovered above the city. Large trees filled with windows, doors, of variously minimalist descriptions sat in a district closest to Sans and Kagami, each lit up from magical bulbs and magical fireplaces that contributed to a generally magical atmosphere within.

Sans yawned. The hours of travel had wearied him, but nothing wearied him more than finally seeing his destination before him. As much as it panged him, it just wasn’t “his” Arcadia. It was something else, a different world, a different universe. As nostalgic as it was to look upon the hollowed-out treehouses and flying dragons and the magic that filled the air, it also just made him sad. Were his friends here? His family? How would they react to all of this, assuming they were even here, assuming things were even slightly close to what they were in his universe?

There was only one way to find out, and a part of him almost didn’t want to.

 

[Kagami]

There was something about Arcadia that was more or so down to earth than of other places on Nos'Talgia that she would be familiar with. After traveling with Sans, she would undoubtedly feel somewhat tired but enough to still keep going somewhat and unlike the Underground, this place was lively with all sorts of creatures and other things.

Though, while looking over to Sans, the Beanish couldn't help to tease, "Oh, guess someone's a sleepybones. Though, do you wanna to go someplace and catch some shuteye for a bit or are you good?"

Atleast she's taking it well but she couldn't help but to be excited about what's in store for them especially with the entire Gaster ordeal to which she had wondered for a bit since after they left the Underground.

"It would be awkward if you just suddenly flop down on the middle of the streets and snooze when there's people traversing around. Well, few that is, but you know." she continued with a shrug before she noticed that the lights on the streets were flickering on as the night life was just starting. "The crowd's easing up so that's good to an extent."

While casual about it, she was concerned about Sans to a degree but just a bit? Somewhat. After all, he did help her out especially with the Underground and made sure she was alright but that's because Booker wanted to make sure she's alright. Maybe they should find an inn or something to stay in and relax? Yeah, sounds right.

 

[Sans]

* i mean, i've done that before. was funny.

He yawned again and rubbed his eyeholes. There was that one time in Snowdin when, having barely woken up from the morning, he had left his house and then almost immediately fell face-first into the snow to conk out again. Papyrus then immediately brought him back into the house with a mug of cocoa and a note that told him to 'SANS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP KISSING THE SNOW WITH YOUR BONY LIPS' which gave Sans quite the chuckle at the time.

* but i think i've got a place in mind. it's a ways in, though.

Sans squinted, observing the crowd in the distance as they parted apart, heading into various homes and other buildings within to get some shut eye for the night.

 

[Kagami]

"You serious? Wow." Kagami chuckled again before she briefly tilted her head as she asked, "Well, if that happens, we might be in a bit of a jam. Though, what's the place? Have something in that skull of yours?"

She doesn't really mind where she stayed in. Sure, there's been times that she has slept outside before but that was in the past.

Though, while she was walking along with him, her hands were inside her pocket of her hoodie as the twilight in the skies became more evident with each passing second and she wondered what phase of the moon was going to be out tonight, well, if it doesn't rain. No objections about rain with the exception of being caught in the storm.

"Well, whatever it is, I don't really care honestly. I just take it as is and go with it. You know?"

She sounded pretty confident in that brief reply of hers, being assured that things will work out in the end regardless.

 

[Sans]

* yep. not my proudest moment, but very funny in hindsight.

Sans led Kagami down into and through the streets of Arcadia, first entering the residential districts that they had first seen before heading deeper inside the city. All the while, he stumbled about, yawning, looking very tired despite how often he scanned his surroundings.

* as for the place.... you ever heard of the arcadian library? massive, stacked with books, scrolls, yadda yadda, all over the place?

 

[Kagami]

She perked up but then again remembered to keep her calm as she replied, "The library? Sure, I've heard about it. Yeah."

The fact was that she hasn't heard of the library until now and she wanted to try to keep a level head on this situation but the fact was she might as well had blown her cover.

Additionally, judging by Sans, he might had found her behavior as suspicious but she pretended to not care and act all casual as a whole.

An internal sigh with a question: why did she feel weird about this? This better not be that guilt or something else bugging her and already she can't stand it!

 

[Sans]

* good, cuz it's even better in person, hehe. it's where i used to work before i went with my mentor. should be just downtown.

Either Sans was far too tired to actually be suspicious of her or he was just that darn unflappable in the face of even the most suspicious behavior. In truth, it was a bit of both. It wasn't like he actively distrusted her, but after their little fight right at the end of the underground, a part of him couldn't help but keep a close eye on her nevertheless, just in case she try a stunt like that again when he wasn't looking.

 

[Kagami]

"Yeah and besides, books are quiet anyways." she shrugged casually as she was walking alongside Sans. "I mean, they talk but only through passages of words and you know."

Before long, she had noticed how much more quiet the streets were getting as they were traversing along.

"Hey, speaking of books, you got a favorite genre or two you like? Something tells me that you would be the skeleton that's into not only joke books but possibly something associated with different fields of science and that." she continued with smirk. "I'm sure the list is already long as it is."

 

[Sans]

* oh, sci-fi. easy. hard sci-fi, too. so much cooler when it could be real, right?

He chuckled. In truth, even a lot of hard sci-fi wasn't enough for him. Maybe it was his time with Dr. Gaster that made him this way, but he had found that even the slightest scientific inaccuracy or sign of technobabble would render him a shriveled little bone of a skeleton. At times, he had resorted to having a physics book on hand to read through whenever he grew too bored or frustrated with the fiction books he had gotten his hands on, and at other times, he had decided to just scribble out bits in his books and replace them with his own ideas. There was one book called Intergalactic he had more or less entirely rewritten because he was that annoyed with it. Papyrus was proud of it if anything, and he enjoyed reading it to him for bedtime.

 

[Kagami]

"Oho, so the funnybones has more than comedy? Call me surprised!" she chuckled while she was teasing Sans just a bit before she continued, "Actually, I'm not that surprised because we did had a brief talk about science and that while in the Underground sooo yeah. Nothing new there."

For a moment, she briefly sighed to calm down a bit, "Speaking of which, I did remember about something of a saying with reality being stranger than fiction, which in this case, is true."

She sounded like she was mumbling a bit before she perked up, continuing, "Aaaaanyways! I like sci-fi as well, next to mystery, adventure, suspense, supernatural, fantasy, horror and that. Though, I'm not a fan of any sort of lovey-dovey stuff and would rather skip it more than anything but if drama is involved, I might stick around for a bit longer to see if it ends in tragedy or anything like that."

While crossing her arms, she hummed, "I enjoy reading those sorts of books however just as long as the plotpoints aren't forced, stupid plot twists, characters acting out of character or anything like that. I'm a stickler for details like that and if there's reason for the established plotline goes, for say, worldbuilding and that, sure because it's needed, but if it does absolutely nothing to add to it, then what's the point? Preferably, sometimes authors have a habit of doing that and I'm sitting there asking questions, confused. I mean, if you want to make something unique or something, atleast make sense of it for crying out loud but hey, nothing wrong with having criticisms involved to help out."

Here she goes, talking about books but atleast she isn't monologuing to herself as she has been doing for a time before she met the skeleton. It actually felt nice for once.

 

[Sans]

Sans chuckled at Kagami's sudden extended monologue about various books. Truth be told, he couldn't care less about stuff like plot holes or out of character actions or whatever else all that stuff was supposed to mean. If the book entertained him, it was a good book for him. Unless it was inaccurate, in which case... well, he'd have to pull out the physics book again.

* sounds like you've wanted to write something of your own, huh?

As he spoke, he gazed up into the sky, searching for the library. If he remembered right, the whole thing was quite tall, with its most major landmark being the long tower for any flying dragons to plop onto for deliveries. Perhaps it could be seen in the darkness, illuminated by magical, majestic light?

 

[Kagami]

She sighed. "I've..never thought of that, but you do make a point there. Perhaps I should, it could be something to sorta pick up as a hobby that is."

She always did like to read books and that but to write them? Maybe she could but what to think? Perhaps with the Strange Man? However, she would need, what's the word?

Inspiration.

Yeah, that's the word.

After all she's known was Nos'Talgia and some glimpses of some of the other planets but it's not really much.

"Well, if I do actually write something, I gotta kinda, look into more in terms of research and stuff among other things so I'd need to take notes." she nodded. "Should I get a journal or something like that?"

Maybe she should but in the midst of them traveling, she did noticed something looking like a tall building nearby and pointed at it. The place looked taller than of any of the other buildings around and the majestic lights surrounding it were alit in the darkness among the city.

"Wow, what a-I dunno about you but this place looks like the library. Yeah." she mused albeit a bit nervous.

 

[Sans]

Sans shrugged, a cocky smile on his face. * eh, journal sounds like too much work.

He glanced up towards where Kagami was pointing. He narrowed his eyes for a few moments, studying the architecture of the grand tower, the ridges of its bricks, the tip of its triangular roof that held such a long platform, something long and large enough for a dragon to sit on. Its green doors towered over the two and its marble staircase looked positively cliff-like, but as he continued to observe, he noted the many people-- wizards, academics, regular citizens-- moving up and down those stairs, carrying large books of various kinds within their collective grips.

* there it is. that's the place.

 

[Kagami]

"Nothing wrong with trying new things." she nodded as she sighed in relief. "Anyways, let's hurry up then!"

In her hurry, she would reach over and grab Sans' skeletal hand as she would have him to hurry along with her while she was picking up speed, advancing to the library building.

"It's getting late by the second, tick tock Sans, move along!"

Hopefully there would be some books worth her time to get a good looking at and is interesting to look through though the biggest thing is choosing which she would read first. Maybe some of the genres she told Sans about? Perhaps but the thing was she had legitimate excitement however this was a good cover to distract from the earlier situation.

 

[Sans]

* right- wooooooah!

Before Sans could process it, Kagami had grabbed his bony little hand and practically lifted him into the sky as she rushed her way up the stairs of the library and up to its doors. They dodged all the various patrons moving about, uncaring as to who they knocked into-- although Sans did do his best to meekly apologize as they rammed past them.

Before long, they were at the green doors, and with a mighty push, Kagami and Sans shot through and were met with a long, massive hallway with bookshelves on both ends lined with all manners of books, scrolls, tablets, and papyrus all over their thickly-carved and aged shelves. Torchlight dangled above on small chandeliers and rested on stands in the corners. Occasionally, a stack of books would neatly rearranged themselves as if by some invisible spirit. There was nowhere else to go except forward.

Sans tried to gaze through the crowd of people slowly waltzing out of the library. * let's see.... if i remember right, the keeper should be in the room ahead...

 

[Kagami]

"Gotcha!" Kagami mused as she hurried onwards to the next room as Sans suggested before she stopped herself, looking around.

Of course, the Beanish's brash action had given her some looks from the other people around the library as Kagami rushed on through without much of a regard for others and as she would ignore them, she would let go of Sans' hand as she would casually lower her arms to the side.

"So the keeper.." she mumbled a bit, still looking around before paused as she looked back to where she came from and see the mess she caused from her little rush.

That's going to be a mess of a situation and of course, she was just going to whistle as she walked alongside with Sans to avoid consequences. Just hope it doesn't mess with their time with talking to the keeper as a whole because she isn't a fan of being delayed on something that she has her mind set to.

"Yeah, ah, let's just get to them before someone has a bone to pick with us, you know?"

 

[Sans]

Eventually, the two came to the end of the hallway. Given how short both of them were, it was hard to quite see everything before them, but one object was impossible to not notice: a large wooden sign hanging from the ceiling of the corridor's end, illuminated by fiery candlelight. It looked withered, yet remarkably sturdy, like it had been hanging there for longer than some of the books and scrolls that occupied the corners of the library. Its chains rattled, black and free of rust, as the sign slightly swung every once in a while. Sans narrowed his eyeholes as he gazed up at the message that laid emblazoned on the sign in thick, painted lettering: Please remain quiet. The Keeper is Watching.

A part of him felt a cold pit form within the depths of his ribcage upon reading that. It wasn't a different sign than the one he knew, persay, but something about it was different enough that it gave him pause. Maybe it was the way it was painted? Or maybe the sign looked just a little bit more aged, a little bit more like it had seen better days, a little bit more like it might be one of the objects that would one day be studied in some laboratory or research facility somewhere in the Crossroads rather than being the greeting card for a building dedicated to the very same things. Up until that point, Sans had been able to keep what he knew at the back of his mind-- that he was not of this world, that the experiment might have just stranded them in a dimension so much like his own, but not truly being his-- but seeing that sign made him stop for just a moment.

Kagami glanced back at him, a curious, if slightly annoyed, tilt to her head. She reached back and tugged on his hand, which was thankfully enough to snap him out of his thoughts and convince him to keep walking forward.

Soon, they passed underneath the sign and into the next room, which Sans knew to be The Foyer. It was incomprehensibly large, with bookshelves that reached up to the top of the ovular ceiling that sat so high above almost everyone else in the room. Everyone, that is, except for The Keeper. She sat behind a comparatively tiny desk in the middle of the Foyer-- or, more accurately, it looked more like she floated above it. Sans had never once been able to figure out precisely what species The Keeper was, and she wasn't inclined to tell. It didn't help that there weren't any books or anything on her that Sans was aware of-- he suspected she had been renting them out specifically to keep him from finding out. And who could blame him? When you had a massive, red-colored, ball of tentacles who could reach across the foyer and grab the tiniest scroll in existence with surgeon-like steadiness and grip, then you would be curious as to what the hell they were too.

* there she is. yo, keeper!

The Keeper suddenly stilled. A pair of eyestalks, long and bulging, steadily poked out from the floating tentacle ball. After a brief look around, she focused her attention on Sans, who was busy smiling and waving at the Keeper. The stalks seemed to stretch and stretch, like the mass was giving more and more flesh to the eyes themselves, until her eyes were almost touching Sans and Kagami. Sans noticed that she seemed to have tiny glasses around where her massive irises were, and she was squinting more than she usually did.

"Sanssssss...?" The Keeper whirred, her voice so soft it almost couldn't be heard in the almost total quiet of the Foyer.

* you know me?

"You're... obssssssssscure, but that issssssss nothing a ssssssssmall amount of resssssssearch cannot sssssssolve." The Keeper replied, her voice sounding quite proud.

Sans chuckled. In that moment, he knew it was her.

* glad to see you haven't lost your way with books, even though i'm pretty sure it should be physically impossible for you to read them.

The Keeper blinked her eyes, seemingly confused, before turning her attention to Kagami.

"And who are yooooouuuu, little beaaaaaaan?"

 

[Kagami]

Judging by the Keeper, she just gave her a weird feeling, something alien almost and the Beanish was both nervous and excited, though she had to keep her head up.

"Oh, haha, good one there!" she nervously chuckled before she answered as quickly as she could, "The name's Kagami."

However, for as much as she wanted to keep the facade up, Sans was going to suspect sooner or later and the truth's going to have to be coming out from her and that's the hardest part. She was good at lying but when it came to the truth, it's almost like she is carrying weights but the weights weren't physical, they were emotional.

The guilt was literally bugging her more and she was becoming more uncomfortable.

 

[Sans]

"Kagaaaamiiiiiii...."

The Keeper's eye-stalks jiggled just a little bit as their tone warbled pleasantly. She didn't seem to notice Kagami's growing distress in any real way as her eyes moved back to stare upon Sans. Sans quickly looked away from Kagami, his eyeholes widening once again so as to pretend he wasn't paying attention to what was going on with Kagami.

"You piiiiiiiiick interestiiiiiiiiiiing companioooooonsssssss....." The Keeper warbled again, squinting. Sans coughed a little as he pulled at the edge of his shirt collar.

* i know, right? it's not every day you get to hang with a funny skeleton dude like me.

Sans chuckled slightly before shutting his eyes, his demeanor slightly more serious.

* but... let's cut to the chase. i need information.

"I caaaaaan proviiiiiiiiide..." The Keeper replied. "Whaaaat do yoooooou neeeeeeed?"

* two things, actually. i'm looking for an individual named gaster. w.d. old colleague.

"And the secooooooond?"

* ...give me everything you have on the unmaking.

The Keeper paused for a moment or two. "Saaaaansssssss?"

* i.... need to get caught up on things.

He sounded quite sheepish, as if he was divulging some kind of embarrassing secret.

 

[Kagami]

The Keeper was something, that's a given especially with all the eyes being focused on her for a bit, however, Kagami's casual nature still prevailed as she was listening to Sans intently, arms crossed and eyes focused on him.

"Ah, it's alright Sans." Kagami reassured before she continued, "Everything's gonna work out."

A positive tone of voice coming from the Beanish girl but to an extent, she felt like she should atleast try to boost his confidence on this ordeal and besides, they're both on the same boat and the likes so what's to lose?

"Besides, we came this far right?" she asked.

She had to be positive given to the fact that she is aware of what will possibility be around the corner.

Well, someone has to boost this bonehead's confidence and even though Kagami was doing it out of her own interest, she still had to keep him going. Selfish? Yes, but what else she could do? She needed a distraction from earlier's awkwardness.

Yeah, she's not the best with people sometimes..