Monsters In The Forest

A shadowed figure stayed within the shades of the treetops. Observing the new group that has made itself welcome near the dreaded magic thicket of Mt. Ebott, obviously hailing from the Monster Kingdom with only one human in its entourage. And unbelievably enough, about four skeletons. Suspicious over their intentions, the figure listened in to their conversation.

"these readings are incredible!" 
"i'll say, just look at the amount of magic abundant in the vines."
"IS IT DANGEROUS?"
"currently as it is? not really. potentially? definitely. if you want to provoke it anyway. the amount of magic solidified and ingrained in these plants is astronomical. but thankfully, i don't think the wall serves as any other a protective defensive system. anyone with malice and hostile intent is immediately repelled."
"So it will only react to hostile intent?"
"it reacts with any intent your highness. anyone who gets close to the wall triggers its magic to react, to prepare. however as long as the intent isn't malicious or is to get past the thicket itself it will merely harness magic and prepare for whatever may happen."

It was a good explanation coming from the skeleton, who had quite the good equipment. The connected crystal orb and tablet looked pristine, top of the line. This wasn't an ordinary group coming to investigate the thicket. Having a more careful look, wasn't that one skeleton in armor bearing the royal monster mark? The goat monster as well... They must come from the Monster's Capital on the orders of the royal family, or even the king itself.

Shit, the figure thought to themselves with a slight cold sweat. They just had to come today didn't they? On the day they would finally make their move and fully infiltrate the thicket and towards the other side of it. 

They had spent a careful few weeks, trying to test the thicket and work out a plan to get past it as successfully and safe as they could. They were on a time limit though, and today would be their best and probably last shot until they had to return, unfortunately they couldn't return empty-handed. Just the thought of it... They fought down a violent shiver, as well as the urge to reach for their neck. 

They had to return with something valuable. Something concrete. Something good or else.

Breathing steadily, they cleared their head and thought more on their current situation.

This could actually work in their favor. 

With this investigating group going on, they could gain most of the attention of the thicket wall. They, along with a lot of others (survivors) were damn sure that the thicket was somewhat sentient. That ginormous amount of magic? The intent-sensing? It had to have a semblance of basic thought. Or at the very least, it had very attentive near invisible guards. 

They've only seen glimpses of said guards, strange creatures with powerful magic. They could've tried to capture one of the creatures, lord knows that they were valuable enough to steal back- however, that was easier said than done. Perhaps if they had more time, equipment, assistance... Next time, they could try that.

Thinking optimistically, there would be a next time as they would succeed this time. They would not, could notfail like the others. 

Yes, this could work in their favor and they could get past the thicket wall easier. Steal something of value from the mountain and then return, be rewarded for their actions.

With that thinking, the shadowy figure shifted in their hiding space. Creeping further into the shade, they had to do this carefully...

Captain paused, warily, he looked over their surroundings, peering into the forest behind them. For a moment... He shook his head, looking towards the thicket. A sense of dread begins to pool in his stomach, "I BELIEVE WE SHOULD HURRY AND END THINGS FOR TODAY. WE MAY RETURN TOMORROW." 

"Captain?" Prince Asriel questioned, looking concerned. "What's wrong?" By his side, Chara tenses, wary to whatever caused Captain's obvious unease. 

"MERELY A SENSE OF DREAD YOUR HIGHNESS. HOWEVER I TRUST MY SENSES." 

Orion nodded in understanding, "MAKES SENSE. WELL YOU TWO?" He looks Sci and Comic.

Sci looked conflicted, "i can understand trusting your instincts however we just set up the equipment. we've merely just begun recording the magical aura of the wall." He gestures to the misty crystal ball and the glowing tablet laid on the small portable table. 

"hey, cap did say we can come back tomorrow. we just needed to check it out today anyway, and we can analyze what we got when we're back. build a hypothesis and all that." Comic reassured his younger but alternate self, nudging him. "come on mini-me, we should bounce and get back. gotta trust the instincts of our alternate bro here." 

"Plus we're coming back to your adorable little brother. He's going to be so excited to tell you what happened at town, and to hear whatever we found here." Chara persuaded with a smirk. They snickered as Sci's reluctant immediately dropped. 

"cheap shot, usin' my brother." Sci complained but rubbed a palm on the misting crystal orb. It glowed slightly before dimming, the magical mist disappeared as well. He also detached the clear, hard plastic coil that connected the orb to the tablet. The large, silver framed crystal tablet glowed shortly before dimming as well. "alright. let's pack up and go. we should have enough to analyze tonight. but as soon as we are able, we're coming back to get more information." He said firmly, adjusting the glasses perched on his face. 

"Of course, we need to learn as much as we can about this." Asriel agreed readily, about to move closer to help pack the crystal orb and tablet away-

Fweee- PSH!!

"Down!" Chara shouted, tackling the goat prince down to the ground as suddenly a projectile came from nowhere! No, not exactly nowhere, but somewhere in the forest! 

Asriel yelped but wrapped his arms around Chara, keeping them down with him. Captain and the rest of the skeletons immediately dropped to the ground, anticipating another projectile but it never came. Orion glanced to the arrow that had soared through the air- it had landed mere inches away from the thicket wall. Orion narrowed his sockets at it, was it glowing? 

His sockets widened with realization and he shouted, "SCIENCE! COMIC, GET AWAY FROM THE ARROW!" It was imbued with explosive magic!

Not even questioning Orion's orders, both Science and Comic teleported from their original spots, appearing just in time by Orion and Captain's side.

BOOOOM

The arrow exploded, it wasn't a big enough explosion to dust a monster but it definitely would've hurt badly. However, the explosion was the least of their worries.

The explosion itself rocked the earth, and since it was so close to the thicket, the wall was affected as well. Not physically, it wasn't damaged at all however it was threatened.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!!" Captain cried out as the thicket's magic spiked, thorny vines lashing out towards the presumable 'source' of the blast. Prince Asriel and Chara were the nearest to the now, destroyed explosive arrow and would suffer the full brunt of its defensive attack. 

Immediately a red dome enclosed the two, Chara gritting their teeth as their magic strained to protect them both. "Chara!" Asriel worriedly exclaimed, less concerned over himself than his dearest and closest friend and advisor. If Chara was gritting their teeth then the magic of the thicket was truly one to be wary of. He tightened his grip around Chara's body, watching through the red barrier as the magic vines snaked around them, trying to reach and attack them. 

Captain summoned a blaster, the demonic-looking skull charging with dense, strong magic. Ready to blast away the vines and free the prince and advisor of his kingdom- "wait!" Science clung to his outstretched arm, forcing it down and gaining his attention, "don't attack the vines!"

"BUT HIS HIGHNESS-" His protest was interrupted by Comic, "i'll get them, but do not attack the vines. this is a defensive attack, if we do anything against it it'll only agitate and riled the wall more!" He disappeared in place. Reluctantly, Captain dismissed the blaster and let both Science and Orion pull him away from the vine-covered barrier.

Comic appeared within the dome, surprising the human advisor and goat prince. "hey." He greeted with a grin, it faltered when he heard the slight crack coming from Chara's magic barrier. "shit."

"Don't just sit there comedian, get us the fuck out of here!" Chara snapped at him, sweat building on their forehead. Comic grimaced but grabbed them both, holding on tightly-

Orion winced as the red dome shattered in place. The thorned vines crushing the dissipating magic but finding nothing in the process, Comic appeared behind them with both Chara and Asriel in tow. The shorter skeleton panted lightly, unused to teleporting someone else with him. Orion, Captain and Science would have breathed a sigh of relief then, however it was still very tense as the vines wriggled in the spot where the prince and human had been previously. 

It lingered, crawling over the ground before slowly returning. Thorns receding and vines tightly coiling to once again form the thick layer of the thicket. 

Only after a moment of peace did they breath their sighs of relief. "oh thank stars." Science sighed only to pause and exclaim, "our information!" He scrambled back towards the previously abandoned orb and tablet. 

"SCIENCE!" Orion cried out, worried that the thicket would once again react but thankfully, nothing happened as Science fussed over the now cracked crystal orb and tablet. "OH DEAR. IS IT SALVAGEABLE?" 

Science lets out a frustrated noise, "i don't know!" He was going to have to check when they finally returned to the inn. 

Captain warily approached the wall, only stopping at the blackened spot where the arrow exploded. He finds the remains of a stone arrow, he grimaced and picked them up, some of it crumbles from his touch. He takes the pieces that were most intact.  "A STONE ARROW WITH EXPLOSIVE MAGIC IMBUED WITH IT... SOMEONE ATTACKED US." He says aloud, sharing the others what was left of the arrow. 

Chara scowled, "No shit, and they didn't stick around or else they might've continued the barrage or shot another fucking arrow at us." Or they might still be around, watching them. At that thought, they straightened and closed their eyes, sending a pulse of magic as far as they could go... 

Asriel was trying to console and reassure Science about the orb and tablet when Chara abruptly gasped and took a step back, gaining attention. "Chara? Chara what's wrong?" Chara stared at the thicket wall, eyes wide with shock and slight fear.

"There's- there's a lot of powerful magic on the other side of the wall." Their eyes scanned the thicket, boring into the side as if if they could look hard enough. They could see just what was behind the wall exactly. "They don't feel human, they feel like monsters. But different. Very different." Were these the rumored creatures that they've all heard about? 

Captain tugged both Asriel and Science away, the orb and tablet in their hands. "Hostile?" He questioned quietly, eyeing the wall carefully. Orion and Comic backed up with them, wondering if something would happen again.

Chara's brow furrowed and they shook their head. "No. Just- cautious. Defensive really. I guess we caught their attraction with that explosion..." They took in a deep breath, "We should leave. If we stay any longer, we might provoke them somehow. Or get attacked again." Add another point to Captain's impeccable sense of dread. Accurate as always.

"roger that. it was a blast learning about the thicket though." Comic piped in, trying to lighten up the mood.

It worked a bit, Comic grinned at the receiving groans and chuckles coming from them. Orion gave him an irritated but somewhat relieved look, "PLEASE ALTERNATE BROTHER, DO NOT PUN IN THIS SITUATION. COME ON! WE SHOULD LEAVE BEFORE HE SPITS OUT ANOTHER DREADFUL PUN! OR WORSE, SCIENCE DECIDES TO JOIN IN ON THE TORTURE!" He huffs, nudging them back into the forest. They really should leave.

Captain huffed with him, smiling slightly, however his guard was still up. They had to be careful after all, they could be ambushed on their way back. The one who shot the arrow was still within the woods after all. He would have to speak with his brother when they got back, hopefully without being attacked. They would have to patrol the forest, look for the culprit or at least for clues towards them. They endangered their Prince after all and that simply could not be let go easily.

However as it turns out, there wouldn't really be a need to find the culprit later on. As said miscreant was now past the thicket, the explosion having distracted everyone and the following sequence of events were simple if unfortunate. They got past the wall, crept through the forest, found a large nest with eggs inside, stole an egg and angered the mother of the egg. 

Halfway during their journey back, all six of them doubled over in pain as a loud SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE came from above and behind them. Over their heads and through what little space they could see through the leaves of the trees, a large, flying creature flew over, crying out that horrid screech that could easily pop a few ears. Looking on with horror, they all realized that the creature was heading towards the village. 

"paps." Science breathed with a horrified look on his face before disappearing in place. 

The world disappears for a brief moment as Sans teleports from the roof to wherever direction Yvonne was going- she hasn't land yet so all you can do is follow after her and try to keep up. You grip his arm tightly, feeling awkward and a bit nauseous in the brief journey, was this how it was for others whenever you teleported them? No wonder Frisk and Cleat hate your shortcuts, pokemon teleportation was way better! 

Shaking your skull as the world reappears, you shove all that aside to asses the situation. Yvonne was causing havoc in her enraged state, "she's chasing someone." You realize quickly as she moves quickly, taking sharp turns when she needed to and even backtracking to follow whoever was causing her rage. 

"chasing who?" Sans questioned sharply, watching the Noivern fly through the sky, wincing at the ear-piercing shriek she let out once more.

"no idea but whoever she's chasing isn't getting away. she's too fast, and she's a master tracker. her ears aren't for show." Your sockets widen as Yvonne's mouth dropped open and stars shot out of her mouth- Swift. "shit! she's getting serious, she's starting to attack!" The areas where the stars hit burst on impact, creating a bit of damage to the surroundings. It's enough to get people screaming however as no one would remain calm when a big bat dragon appears out of nowhere and started attacking. 

"how the-" You interrupt the skeleton guard, grabbing his hand, "get us closer! if she lands, teleport to wherever she is!" Sans' brow bone furrowed but he does what you say anyway. The world disappears again.

You're no longer on the roofs, panicking humans and monsters alike scream and flee away from Yvonne as she lands on the top of the roof, roaring at- you have no idea who the fuck that is. They're dressed suspiciously though, dark green, black and dark brown cloth covers them from head to toe. Their face is masked and over their shoulder is a sack. You pale as you realize just what could be in that sack. "whoever that is is fucking crazy!" You exclaim aloud before charging forward. Or at least, try to.

You almost trip over your feet and choke on your cloak- Sans clutched the end of said cloak, stopping you from charging forward. Which, admittedly was idiotic in hindsight. But you weren't thinking in hindsight right now, if anything you were angry at him for stopping you! The fear you felt beforehand was gone as you whirl to face him, trying to tug the end of your cloak out of his grip. "let go!"

"think rationally here- you might know what that dragon thing is but it looks pretty angry right now!" Sans hissed at you, glancing back to Yvonne- the mystery egg thief was trying to protect themselves with mixed results. Yvonne wasn't your strongest pokemon, but she was far from weak. She lunged forward, fangs elongating and turning black. She used Bite on the thief, who dodged to the side, trying to flee but Yvonne was far too fast for them to escape so easily. Using Agility, she blocked his attempted exit.

"she isn't a thing!" You hiss back, indignant at him for calling Yvonne an 'it' and 'dragon thing'- she was a bat dragon thank you very much! "and she's only angry because that idiot over there stole her fucking egg!" Yvonne only had three left eggs, she used to have more, however problems arose. And one of those problems was just the fact that some eggs were never going to hatch. Yvonne had spent so long trying to get a clutch, she wasn't the most fertile pokemon, so it was natural that she was protective of every single egg she had left. 

You snarl and without thinking, you unclapse your cloak, throwing it in his face and making him splutter as you escape his hold. "yvonne!" You scream, running into the fray with a newly summoned bone-staff in your hands. It surprises practically everyone there as you jump at the thief, the thief especially. You may be tired as hell and near magical exhaustion but that didn't mean you weren't going to try and help Yvonne! 

Yvonne growled in approval as you swing your weapon towards the thief, "give that egg back thief!" The thief jolts back and now he has to dodge both your attacks as well as Yvonne's attacks. Abruptly, you jump back with a wide grin, adrenaline rushing through your bones and pumping your SOUL faster in the moment, "yvonne, supersonic!" Yvonne follows your command, eyes aglow, mouth wide and open as she screeches at the thief. A near-visual wave travels through the air towards the bandit.

They don't have the chance to dodge, the attack hits them head on and they stagger. Confusion settling in their head- if this were any other situation you'd feel sympathetic. You've been confused before, multiple times, by your pokemon and it was never fun. However as this was a damned criminal egg stealing motherfucker, you feel a sense of vindication and satisfaction as they struggle to keep a straight head in the middle of battle.

It's hard to do something like that though when the stat effect of Confusion is in place, your body won't cooperate with your mind and your mind itself can't think coherently for a set amount of time. It's like being extremely drunk, only without the warm fog of alcohol, the bleary drunk-goggles, and the intense hangover afterwards. That, and you'd still have the chance to attack. Your mind would gather together just enough to think of attacking and from there, the body would follow, or try to at least. Sometimes the attack succeeds, but others, the attack flops and you end up hurting yourself in the process.

At the very least though, the criminal can't even try to escape properly when Confused.

You charge them again, swinging your staff at them- they dodge. Only barely though, but it's enough for you to grab on to the sack. "Shit!" They curse out with a slight slur, hands tightening their grip on the sack. You do the same, bone-staff disappearing as you focus on tugging on the sack. Pulling against the thief and trying to get the egg back.

However, you're not the strongest skeleton around. Not when it came to physical strength, your brother triumphs over you in that. So you're skidding against the dirt road while desperately holding on the sack. Thankfully though, you're not alone. "yvonne! air cutter!" The thief pales as behind them, Yvonne snarls and flaps her claws at you and the thief.

It's the thief that takes the full brunt of the attack, crying out and letting go of the sack- however, Yvonne's attack was strong and the sack rips apart and you yelp, stumbling back while the light purple egg flies out of the now torn sack. "no!" You cry out- the egg! If it breaks-

You don't even think about it. Your body is aching, and your reserves are empty but you don't care-The world disappears around you-

crk!

You gasp in pain, catching the egg mid-air before it could fall and break. Something wet trails down your face from your nose and unexpectedly, you collide into the chest of someone else. They wheeze as their arms wrap around your waist to catch you as you clutch the egg to your pained chest. Your fall to the ground is softened by the unexpected skeleton that decided to cushion your fall.

You'd be thankful if you weren't so tired and in pain. The adrenaline was already wearing off and you felt like utter shit. Today was probably the most stressful day you've had in a long while. "heh. you okay there buddy?" 

You hadn't notice the fact you were now sitting up somewhat, you force your eyes to open and blink tiredly at Sans' face. Of course, he'd be the one to save you. Wait, wasn't this Outertale Sans? When did he get here? Shit, were you sitting in his lap? After he caught you? 

He looks very concerned, "hey- oh crap, your nose!" He says, panicking a bit at the sight of the blood dripping out of your nasal hole and done your face. 

Right, that. You try to not drip any blood on Yvonne's egg. The poor little one has been through enough, being kidnapped from home and involved so dangerously in all this mess. "i'm sorry, but i need to see what's going on with you." What? Did you miss something with Outertale Sans?

A jolt of pain runs through you and you suck in a sharp intake of breath, to your utter shock and fear, your SOUL jumps out of your aching chest. "no." You whisper, there's a mute roar in the background. You're too distracted to look over to Yvonne as you and Outertale stare at your SOUL and stats.

There's a crack in the middle of your SOUL. You're not surprised, you've pushed yourself over the limit again. 

It's the stats screen that cause your fear.

CREST 'SANS' WINGDINGS
LV 1
HP 0.87/1
AT 1
DF 1
* the easiest enemy
* just past his limit
* tired, exhausted and fearful
* wants to go home with yvonne and her egg

"let go!"

Cosmic struggled to keep the skeleton in his hold, "hey- stop moving- your hp-" He said, desperate to stop 'Crest' from moving. They were hurt! Exhausted and damn near dusting! Their SOUL was cracked! "please, we can help you!" He glances between the hurt skeleton in his lap to Vice and Pyrus distracting the strange dragon-like creature. It was trying to get closer to Comic and the newly discovered Crest. It snarled at them both, but was hesitating from attacking them for some odd reason. It kept glancing between them, what fur it had was bristling.

When had Crest appeared? Was his brother around? What just entirely happened? Just what was this crea- just what was Yvonne? 

There were a lot more questions with that but ultimately, Cosmic was more concerned with the hurt skeleton in his grip. Crest was barely holding it together, blue sweat beading on his head and the blood was starting to dry and crust on his upper lip. But even though he kept struggling, his grip around the egg was steady and careful, that and the fact that Crest was clearly in no state to go anywhere was probably the reason why Crest couldn't fight Cosmic off so successfully.

Cosmic wasn't the strongest skeleton around, and he was hesitant to use Blue magic on Crest- his SOUL was already cracked and Cosmic really did not want that crack to grow.

It's been one hell of a day so far, one moment they were enjoying a nice walk around the new village on the surface underneath the sun and the next some dragon monster comes from the infamous woods beyond the thicket that they'd been sent to investigate. Said dragon was apparently a brooding mother and one of her eggs had been stolen by a thief, the bandit was knocked to the side after the dragon utilized wind magic to attack the thief. Powerful wind magic it looked like.

They were hurt, bleeding from the back and Cosmic actually felt a bit bad for them. But Crest was his top priority right now.

"let go let go let go!!!" 
"crest pleas-"

SCREEEEEEEEEEEE

Everyone flinched back at the loud scream that came from the big-eared dragon, "yvonne not- not hypervoice." Crest whined, slumping tiredly into Cosmic's hold. Finally giving up the fight, too exhausted to do anything else but hold on to the purple egg with dear life. 

"hypervoice?" Cosmic repeated somewhat faintly, head pounding with the sound bouncing and echoing around his skull. Was that what that was? Cosmic felt like he'd been punched in the face from that! 

Crest didn't reply, and even if he could, it would've been interrupted as Yvonne finally jumped past Vice and Pyrus. Landing right in front of Cosmic, crouching low and snarling at him. Cosmic tightened his grip on Crest, "n-nice dragon..." 

"COSMIC!" Pyrus cried out, worried for him. 

"i'm fine! i think it- she just wants her egg and crest!" Cosmic shouted back, wincing at the growl that came from the purple and black bat dragon. He had to pause though, as that growl seemed like, she was confirming what Cosmic was saying? Was she- Face set, he waved off any fear he seemed to have to confront Yvonne. "y-you just, want crest and your egg back right? calm down now, please. he's hurt and really, really tired." Crest's sockets were tightly shut, his breath shaky and face contorted slightly in pain. Cosmic 

Yvonne crooned, looming over and- Cosmic yelped as suddenly, Yvonne was encompassing him and Crest, practically standing over them protectively. Seemingly shielding them from the outside world, Yvonne's fur brushed against his skull. Crest's sockets squinted open, "y-vonne?" He mumbled, sweat falling from his forehead. It almost reminded him of Red's tendencies to sweat when nervous, only this wasn't nervousness. It was pained exhaustion that was causing Crest to sweat.

"cosmic!"
"don't!" Cosmic shouted from underneath Yvonne, "i'm fine! she's-"

Woooooooooooooo

A howl tore through the village, more than a handful of villager's eyes widened at the familiar sound and at the fast paced mist that rolled in. "what the-" Cosmic tightened his hold around Crest a bit, Yvonne seemed to perk, letting out a loud but comparatively tame screeee into the air. Yvonne's wings wrapped around Cosmic, Crest and her egg, Cosmic spluttered at the action but quietened at the twin howls that came soon afterwards.

Wooooooooooooooooo

Mist shrouded the village, fast and thick. It covered the village entirely and made it hard for everyone to see anything unless it was right in front of them.

"COSMIC! COSMIC?!"
"shit! cosmic?! where are you!?"
"calm down! i'm- huh?!"

Cosmic suddenly felt weightless, reminding him of his original universe- but he couldn't move whatsoever or control where he was going. "what?! a-ah wait!!" He, Crest, Yvonne and the egg were lifted into the air. If Cosmic paid any closer attention, he would've noticed the faint pinkish, purplish shroud that covered them. 

"MIMI- TELEKINESIS GO!" An unknown but familiar voice called out and Cosmic found himself flying through the air, Yvonne letting out a pleased purr as she kept him, Crest and her beloved egg close to her furred chest. Cosmic couldn't accurately see what was going on, he craned his neck only to see vague figures in the mist underneath them- they were riding something? Not horses, no hoofsteps.

Cosmic tried to struggle, but it was futile, "i have no idea what's going on but don't worry! i'll come back! tell my brother i'll be back!" He screamed as he was whisked away into the mist. 

When it finally cleared, Vice, Pyrus were stunned and horrified to find that not only was the unknown skeleton gone along with the dragon, but Cosmic as well. 

"Where Is My Brother?" Orion asks them both later on, too late at the scene. In contrast, Science was relieved as he reunited with his younger brother, who'd been hiding during the whole thing on Pyrus and Vice's orders. 

Helpless, the two of them could only recall and tell them all what happened. 

"i have no idea what's going on but don't worry! i'll come back! tell my brother i'll be back!"

You have no idea who said that, but you don't particularly care. Right now, you were getting your brother, Yvonne and her egg back to the mountain. Perched atop Zacian and cloak shrouding your body- it's a bit much since you know Zacian and Zamazenta would fill the village with thick mist but you just had to make sure.

Frisk was riding on Zamazenta, also wearing a cloak and carrying both Rune and Mimi, your Mimikyu who was using Telekinesis to carry Yvonne, Crest and the egg. It was easier that way. 

You have no idea what really happened aside from figuring out that someone managed to get past the wall and steal Yvonne's egg. You and Frisk arrived last minute, when the mist rolled in from both Zamazenta and Zacian. In the mist, you managed to see Yvonne hunched over and looming over what you're pretty sure is your brother along with the egg. In your rush, you don't realize there's an extra passenger until it's too late.

How the fuck did Outertale Sans get in this universe?