The Undead Duo (and their amazingly awesome adventures through the Tangled Green)

[Sans]

Continued from The Dead and the Damned: http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=4247

huh...dracula.. thought Sans, his unwavering smile masking whatever sense of astonishment that he probably would’ve revealed through his voice. From what he had read of the Dracula novel, he seemed to be able to teleport, have superhuman strength, telepathy, and completely invulnerable to conventional means of harm. Judging from what he had seen of her, however, that seemed to be faaaaar from a possible description of her. In fact, it could probably had been described as the direct opposite of her, if anything at all. Especially the sunlight thing. Dracula didn’t burn from the sun, though he was much weaker in it. No shapeshifting or anything like that. From this, the skeleton concluded she was one of two things.

Either she was a hybrid, or humans REALLY sucked at studying monster history. He was gonna assume it was the latter, if only because of Twilight, which he vowed to make Alice read at some point.

He was just about to mention Twilight when the entire conversation was interrupted by the skeletal arsonist guy, whom had silenced whatever snarky retort from the vampire with a toss of a giant cloak smacking her in the face. Despite the obviously harsh treatment, the skeleton did let out a tiny chuckle, if only because he didn’t exactly discriminate who could be the butt of a joke on his part. As he turned towards the mage, his eyes were momentarily drawn to the skull phone like object he was placing in his robes. He decided not to point out the many, many jokes he could use at its expense.

It didn’t take long for Sans to notice that the conversation had quickly shifted from him right back to the vampire lady, and it didn’t seem like he could affect the outcome of it any further than normal. Despite this, however, he kept his attention on the duo, noticing several things. The first was that, compared to how he first started off, the skeletal mage seemed to be rushing things. A probable explanation, given how he seemed to believe  the blond-haired vampire simply had all the things she needed despite never once explaining what exactly it was she needed except in the most cryptic of terms. Granted, a bit of intuition made it a little obvious to him. He was probably talking about a cell phone and some kind of internet in terms of a “communicator” and the “dataverse device,” though that only made the blue-hooded skeleton wonder what the actual difference was. Wouldn’t a modern cell phone automatically have some kind of internet installed into it anyway?

Evidently, Alice didn’t know either, as she was loudly protesting the complete lack of explanations of the part of the old staff-wielder. It didn’t exactly help that the staff-wielder seemed to be jerking her chain around. Sans felt his heart sink a little bit as she began to threaten the mage, cutting herself off before she could finish it. As much as he joked around and acted like a goofball, he could definitely relate to what she was feeling. Feeling powerless in a situation you know for a fact you could not control. Forced to rely on someone you couldn’t trust to see you through. This person potentially becoming a psychopath with a penchant for-

wait a minute…

No sooner had the taller skeleton finished his debriefing than Sans had zipped directly behind him. His question was asked with semi-seriousness with a tinge of astonishment, mostly because he had been standing in the same spot during most of the conversation prior.

He remained silent as the tall wizard, surprisingly, let him go. He evidently didn’t think he was a threat or, at the very least, didn’t think he was worth the trouble of dealing with. That was comforting, at least.

What wasn’t was his excuse. He was gonna assume that the mage did not exactly hold him up to high regard in the case of his intelligence or, at least, his observational skills. This probably explained why he didn’t think he noticed the fact that he had almost fried the two of them just a few minutes prior AND pretty much declared up front that he was gonna sic his giant friend on him if he ever proved to be threat to his “plans,” which was something he still did not think was good AT ALL. After an entire session of threats and overall bad temperament, he honestly expected that he wouldn’t notice this?

good…didn’t want a bad time anyway mused Sans, his glowing pupils disappearing as Raal slid onto his stead, starting to ride off into the distance.

He closed his eyes, sighing in relief. Second volatile encounter in one day, and the second one he managed to defuse. Woopee. It did feel pretty good that he had managed to avoid needing to fight other people in a place he was entirely unfamiliar with. A plus, considering he could name some people who could do so much worse in less than that.

He reopened his eyes, looking down towards the ground. He reached up to his torso, keeping one hand in his coat pockets as he felt the area where the knife had split him. It still felt cold.....

He chuckled as the vampire lady cracked another one, though not as hard as he would’ve liked. He turned back towards her, his smile glued onto his face, as if nothing was wrong at all. As she talked, however, it slowly dawned on him just exactly what was happening. She thought, no, she EXPECTED him to follow her and help her out with her orders. After all he had done in the few minutes or so he had been there, she trusted him enough that she thought she didn’t even need a “yes” from him to know what he wanted to do.

He hated no-win situations like this. If he said “no,” he’d have more time to search for Papyrus, but he’d completely wreck her chances of ever getting out of this situation she was in that was, in all honesty, dangerous. If he said “yes,” he’d be able to help her, but he’d probably be no closer to finding Papyrus than if he had just continued forth by himself.

He brought his hands out of his pockets, twiddling his thumbs as he said “sounds like a plan to me, really. however, i’ma thinkin’ this “dataverse” whatever thing is, uh… probably something we should figure out sooner rather than later, ya know? so, uh… i think i have an idea as to where we could go to figure it out… though i’m not entirely sure about it myself.. for, uh... a bunch of.. reasons..”

[Ruby Rose]

Alice interlocked her fingers behind her, stretching her torso out and cracking her back quietly. "Yeah... you're probably right. I'm wondering if the Dataverse is exclusive to you Primes or if I can use it too." She said, rubbing the back of her neck uncertainly. "I mean... even if I can use it, I can't create anything-" She grumbled, doing a small 'jazz-hands' gesture. "Because I don't have that fancy Omnillium magic." Alice complained with a chuckle, before grasping the cloak and swinging it around herself.

"i don't see why you couldn't." Sans shrugged in return. "unless you need to be able to control omnillium to use it, should be no problemo." The skeleton assured her, that still grin both reassuring and slightly creepy. "Right." Alice nodded back and smiled widely, before huffing nervously. "Alright... I swear, if this cloak is a joke, I will pick that asshole's bones apart while naming each and every one." Alice threatened; her usually shy demeanor had obviously been stripped away by Raal's forwardness and the company of Sans. Holding her breath, the vampire pulled the cloak down her arm, making sure it was still clasped around her neck, and lifted her hand up to the sun, and...

What was this sensation? She hadn't felt it in so long, it had felt like an eternity... in reality, it probably had been an eternity. Instead of the sizzling, blistering death ray produced from the heavens above, a tender, warm, energizing nectar washed over her flesh, seeping into her skin, invigorating her. For the first time since becoming a vampire, she felt the warmth of sunlight.

"Oh..." Alice gasped, her crimson eyes widening in surprise. "Oh! Ahah!" Alice began to chuckle, raising her other hand into the sun. "Hahaha!" She began giggling excitedly, before stepping out into the sun fully. "This is amazing! I haven't felt like this in so long!" Alice laughed and absorbed as much of the new warmth as possible. As much as you're an asshole and a prick, you can do some amazing things, Raal, Alice thanked the skeleton warlock in her head.

"your mood seems to have really 'brightened up'." Sans commented from the sidelines, one eye shut in a kind of friendly wink, and Alice turned to face him. "Yup, and no one will rain on my sunny day." She sighed with a smile, walking past the skeleton. "Come on Sans, we have an adventure to partake in." Alice beckoned Sans along, beginning to run along with a new spring in her step and a sunny smile plastered across her lips.

[Sans]

wait, woah, woah, woah. prime?

What the heck was a Prime? Alice had mentioned it during her short talk about the Dataverse Device thingamajigger. From what he could tell, they had the ability to access said “Dataverse,” which, now that he thought about it a little bit more, sounded remarkably close to “The Undernet.” So a Dataverse Device was a device that could access something called “The Dataverse?” He supposed he was correct; after all, he had no reason to believe he wasn’t. He was actually kinda glad, to be honest; the addition of more modern gadgetry with a more medieval setting gave off a very steampunk-ish vibe to this new world; he felt very much at home.

Home….

He moved the thought aside, going back to the subject of Primes. Just based on her words, he could guess at the nature of these “Primes” and why they even required such a distinction. Firstly, they had the ability to use “Omnillium,” which it didn’t require a detective for him to know that that’s what he had control over. Omni had said that the colorful orb thingy could create anything he wanted, so it made some sense. What didn’t was why he would limit an entire network to only the people who could summon it. Why? That just seemed counter-productive.

He voiced his concern with the logic to Alice, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. She was at least being a bit more upfront with how she felt, a stark contrast to her actions around Raal. He was willing to believe that the skeletal mage’s absence was the primary cause for this, and why wouldn’t it be? The dude was scary as hell.

He watched the vampire as she tugged at her cloak, deciding to test it out on the sunlight. He grit his teeth a bit, standing off to the side as she raised her hand to the sky, the sun rays beaming down onto her limb. What followed was something that could only be described as pure, unadulterated glee. She was giggling like a little kid splashing her brother with some water; she moved out into the sunlight, basking in its warmth and greatness. The skeleton chuckled, nodding; but he knew that anything else other than a nod and a chuckle would just be a waste of his time. And it was such a good moment too… ruining it would be the wrong choice. In fact, seeing her this happy… he couldn’t just leave her. Not like this.

But how was he going to find Papyrus?

He looked to the ground as he sighed, though not loud enough to be heard by his new friend. He still didn’t know what to do. If he stayed with her, he might never find his brother, but if he left her, what was she going to do? Would she feel betrayed that someone whom had stood up for her so soon after they first met was now the same one leaving her behind for a selfish goal? He had no way of knowing.

He looked back towards the vampire girl. He supposed a better question would be “would leaving her even matter?” He guessed it did, but would it REALLY matter? As in, is his presence changing her life for the better?

He decided to test that. Winking, he cracked another good pun, earning another smile from her as she walked past him. She gestured for him to follow.

yep. this is life-changing... he thought, following her.

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The two walked for a good long while, not really having a particular destination in mind. Alice was far too focused on her newly found enjoyment of the sunlight to really care much, and the skeleton was just… going with the flow, really. All the while, though, his mind raced with indecision. He tried to weigh the pros and cons of what he wanted to do with what she wanted him to do. How long had she been alone, and, more importantly, could she take care of herself without his involvement?

He realized as soon as he thought about it that he was asking a stupid question. Of course she could take of herself! You can’t be a vampire and not have the slightest hint of how to defend yourself. So, the bigger question to ask was “would she WANT to defend herself without his being there to assist her?”

That was something he just couldn’t answer.

“By the way…” the blond-haired girl said, looking down at the skeletal comedian, “I don’t think you answered my question back there?”

“i was asked a question?” he said, raising his metaphorical eyebrows.

“Yeah. I wanted to know why you were there… if you want to tell me.”

He stopped walking, sliding his hands into his pockets. His vampiric companion halted as well, waiting for an answer from him. He took a deep breath, keeping his goofy smile plastered on his face as he talked.

“i’m, uh…. i’m looking for my brother.” She deserved an honest answer.

“Your brother?”

“yeah. he’s here. just gotta be, you know?”

She nodded, glancing to the ground, “yeah, I know.”

The skeleton wasn’t going to ask, but she had only been caught by the “Raal Deathwind” dicknugget because she was forced to feed trying to find someone, ANYONE, who could help her bring back her husband. She couldn’t accept that he was dead and gone; there just wasn’t any way that he was dead. Hell, she only decided to work with Raal because she thought he was her only chance to find him. But with the friendlier comedian also being a Prime, she assumed she wouldn’t even need to work with Raal that much.

That all changed when she heard what he had been doing before meeting her. A pun-loving, portly, comedian of a skeleton… searching for his lost brother. An interesting combination, to say the least, but an experience she knew very well. It didn’t take much longer for her to realize just what exactly she had to do, and, with a deep breath, she did it.

“You know, Sans…” she said, “I can… take care of myself, you know? I just… need this Dataverse device and all that.”

That gave him pause. He remained silent as she continued.

“And… besides… you need to find your brother. I understand; I want to find my… my husband. I wouldn’t wish the pain of a lost family member on anyone. Especially not someone who went out of his way to help me when they could’ve just remained out of it.”

If only he could blush; then she would see just how her words were affecting him. Of course, it was gonna take more than that for her to figure out that a skeleton could cry. Kinda like how robots could also cry; you just don’t see it happening because it takes a LOT of emotional stabbing for them to leak a few tears. He and his little bro were both opposites on the crying scale, to be perfectly honest.

Still, though, he had to try to hold it in as she told him these things. She was far more willing to risk a life of servitude than see someone she had barely gotten acquainted with suffer the weight of losing a brother? Combined with the emotional cost of losing her husband?

There was no other way around it; he had to repay her in kind.

He brought a bony palm up to his skull. He rubbed it as he spoke. “heh… well, you know how it is. anyways, uh… i’ve actually been thinking. there was a city not too far from here; ambrosia, i think it’s called. there’s probably a place you can stay, or at the very least lay low for a while. remain out of the old staff guy’s grasp, you know what i’m saying?”

“Ambrosia? I dunno… you sure they’d accept a vampire?”

“oh, chillax. the guard’s wear pink, glittery suits of armor. they can’t be THAT bad.”

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Several minutes passed, and they were already on the pathway to the city of Ambrosia. The sun was in full blast, high in the sky and bearing down onto the duo. The overweight comedian was wiping his hands against his forehead, trying to remove the copious amounts of sweat that had formed there, while the lovely vampire lady was just soaking it all in. She still couldn’t get over the fact that, for the first time since… well, ever, she could experience the sunlight without dying. It was a feeling she didn’t want to let go of; she could sit in the sun all day, and never want to leave. They HAD stopped for a few minutes while Sans summoned something up, though what that “something” was was a mystery to the vampire person; the skeleton was saving it for a surprise.

Eventually, the two reached the front gates of the city, where the two watchmen stood. The older one leaned over, looking down towards them.

“Let’s see here...Sans?” he shouted, his eyebrows raised.

“that’s me. just came back from the forest. a brought a friend!”

“We don’t have any fancy restaurants here.”

“not that kind of friend, dude,” he replied. Alice brought a hand up to her mouth, fighting back a set of giggles.

“however, she IS coming in. might want to log her down and all that.”

“Oh, alright,” he said, gesturing towards his younger partner, who placed his quill on the log sheet, “name and race, lady?”

She squeaked a bit, her eyes moving from her companion and back up to the guard. The portly revenant smiled, gesturing up to them. Taking the hint, she stepped forward, speaking as loud as possible.

“Ummm… my name is Alice. Vampire…”

“Vampire? How you standing in the sun?” the younger guard said, the older guard staring at him like he was insane.

“Oh, um…” she said, tugging on her cloak, “it’s this… cloak I have on. Sun-block.”

“Can we have it?” the young one said.

“No, you can’t,” his partner replied.

“Dude, it’s hot out here! I could use some sun-block.”

“Putting on a damn overcoat will just make it worse!”

“It’ll block the sun! If it blocks the sun’s rays, how would I feel heat?”

“That’s not how sunlight works, you fucking dolt!”

Both Sans and Alice were having a blast with the sudden argument, laughing like schoolchildren at the misfortune of the guards. Sans decided to exacerbate the problem.

“i dunno, dude. your younger partner is really-”

“DON’T YOU EVEN-”

“bright…”

“That’s it. Fuck this,” the guard said, tossing his arms into the air in a haphazard way, “I’m going back to the barracks.”

“You’re not supposed to be there.”

“Shut the fuck up, Smithers.”

Smithers chuckled, writing down the names of both Alice and Sans on the log. He then reached down to the portcullis gate level, pulling it. The portcullis rose up, allowing them entrance.

The two stood still, staring into the entrance of the city. They then turned to each other, chuckling to themselves.

“so…” the comedian said, tapping his foot against the ground, “guess this is goodbye for now?”

“Yeah…” the vampire replied, kneeling down to meet his height, “what was that you summoned, by the way?”

“oh, nothing. just these.” Without a moment’s hesitation, he pulled out the items from his jacket pockets: two guns, both revolvers, a dagger, and two cell phones. Alice stared into his hands, incredulous.

“It’s..”

“for you, yeah. all but one of the phones, though, i’m keeping one.”

She reached into his hands, grabbing all but one of his items, leaving a phone with him. He then turned on said phone, tapping his fingers against the screen before sending a message to his friend. She felt the phone rumble, which sparked a surprised squeal from her.

“i think this is what a “dataverse device” actually is. should be able to access this dataverse through that. and those are guns and a knife. try not to use them TOO much, please? i don’t want to be an accomplice to murder.”

The last sentence he said with a wink, as if he was being totally unserious when he said that.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she replied, still looking at the loot in her hands.

“don’t need to. friends do things for friends, right?” he said, stepping away from her as he began to walk away, “anyways, hope we meet again. Cya.”

He turned around, though not before making the “call me” motion with his left hand. He then walked off, leaving her just as abruptly as he had said his goodbyes. It was better off that way; he was never the best with saying goodbye, anyway.