Prologue

Everyone knew about Mt. Ebott.

It was so large and encompassing that it was hard to miss, let alone not hear of the tales that came with such a mountain. Children were read to every night from the towns and cities nearby about monsters who dwelled underneath the mountain, waiting to eat any child that dared to take the trek up.

It was said that whoever dared to challenge the mountain never returned, and while adults often associated such nonsense with the bedtime stories read to children, there was something that kept people away.

Maybe it was just how sad the mountain looked. It was dotted poorly with trees and other greens, but most of the surface was brown and devoid of plant life, as if the mountain itself was slowly withering away. Perhaps it was the distance, as the mountain sat away from any big cities, alone and uninhabited. Or perhaps they truly were scared, for not once was there a single header or article of someone coming back from the mountain.

Only those who wished to disappear from humanity made the voyage.

Except…

"Sans!" The words were screeched rather loudly, making the chubby teenager halt. He half smiled as he looked behind him, watching another, skinnier teenager falter behind him. The boy was tan for his usual complexion, wearing a yellow polo shirt with the collar popped, khaki shorts, white tube socks and tennis shoes. A pair of retro headphones hanged around his neck, while his bright yellow walkman was clipped to the outside of his pant pocket, the cassette inside a mixtape of various songs.

Surrounding the two teenagers was a dense part of the mountain, where trees were plenty and bushes spotted the healthy dirt. Light penetrated the small forest through every opening of leaves and trees, casting rays of light everywhere. Squirrels chattered amongst the branches while birds could be heard singing their songs.

"Yeah, Papyrus?" Sans responded. Unlike Papyrus behind him, who was sour, he on the other hand was more excited than anything. "Don't tell me you're getting tired."

For an out-of-shape teenager, Sans didn't seem to act it. He wore a large, brown t-shirt which he kept un-tucked from his long khaki pants. Black tennis shoes hid his feet while a large, military backpack rested on San's shoulders, where two metal canteens proudly clacked against one another whenever he moved.

"I'm not getting tired." Papyrus mentioned, his eyebrows knitting.

He opened his mouth to continue but Sans spoke first. "Good, then let's keep going."

Sans started to continue his walk, hearing Papyrus rushing to catch up. "Sans!"

"Yeah, bro?" Sans stopped and waited for his brother to come scampering his way, still keeping his usual smile. "You thirsty?"

"Will you let me talk?" Papyrus stopped beside his brother, showing just how taller he was to the small teenager. He frowned when Sans held out a canteen, brushing it to the side. "I don't want water!"

"Food then?" Sans slipped one of the sleeves off of his shoulder, unzipping one of the pockets. "You need to let me know what you want. I can't read your mind."

"I don't want food!" Papyrus screeched.

"What do you want then?" Sans asked, slipping the sleeve back on his shoulder. He already knew what Papyrus was going to say, he had been saying it since the moment they got there.

"I want to go home!"

"Aw come on, Papyrus. Where's the fun in that?" Sans retorted, moving his shoulders to get a better sitting position for the backpack. "You agreed you would accompany me to find the hole, remember?"

"I did not agree too that!" Papyrus threw back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I remember someone promising me a lift to Mt. Ebott." Sans replied. He was content with the discussion so he resumed his walk.

Papyrus was somewhat shocked Sans walked off, jogging after his brother then walking beside him. "Because you said you would find another ride if I didn't! And I'm not letting you go off and get stranded on some mountain!"

"Which I'm not." Sans replied back, calm as the slight wind that blew by him. "I brought a compass and a map, so we're not going to get lost unless we want to."

"What's so special about this hole anyways?" Papyrus grumbled, deciding that arguing with his brother on leaving was a dead end. "Do you seriously think you're going to find something?"

"I might, I might not." Sans shrugged, his smile getting just a tad bit bigger. "But just think about it, a whole other world right below our feet. There have been rumors for decades about an entrance to the monster world, and if there is one, I want to find it."

"Peh, there's no such thing as monsters." Papyrus seemed confident that his words were true when he spoke. "That's just your overactive imagination playing on mother's stories from when we were younger."

"But what if they are?" Sans turned to his brother, who looked skeptical. "Legends say they were banished to the underground long ago. I don't know why, but if we could find the entrance just think of what we could learn."

"Or we could kill ourselves." Papyrus muttered, though his concern grew when Sans didn't respond. "Don't you get it Sans? There have been several stories of people never returning from this mountain! We could end up like the others who came here!"

"Relax, bro." Sans held out a hand, giving his worried brother a knowing smile. "I just want to find the hole and then we can leave. Promise. No one will even know we went to the mountain except us."

"Well, it better not be much longer." Papyrus looked away, which meant to Sans that he was going to be ok. "You remember that we're throwing our first house-party tonight, right? I want to get home in time to make sure everything is ready for when all the cool kids walk in the door."

"Sure thing, bro." Sans replied, closing his eyes for a moment to relax. When he opened them his usual smile vanished, eyes widening. "Papyrus, do you see that?"

"Hmm, what?" Papyrus asked, having imagined himself as one of the popular kids at their high school. He was quickly snapped from his thoughts though when Sans took off without him, leaving the poor teenager to chase. "Sans?!"

Both boys rushed deeper into the forest, Sans driven by the image he had seen not too far off. He gave himself time to stop when he reached the end of the forest, eyes racking the steep incline for what he had seen.

When he spotted it again Sans mad-dashed farther up the mountain, leaving poor Papyrus to falter behind him. "Sans, what's gotten into you?! I would outrun you but your movement is unpredictable!"

"Up here, Papyrus!" Sans called down, watching long enough to see his brother take the right path up before running again. He was panting at this point, sweat dripping down his face but he seemed to have forgotten about it for the moment.

At last his feet stopped at the entrance to the small mouth of a cave. Papyrus had time to catch up as Sans was rummaging through his backpack, retrieving a flashlight and turning it on. He turned his head to his brother. "Let's go."

"In there?" Papyrus pointed to the absolute darkness, where a lone beam of light from San's flashlight illuminated rock and insects. "You're crazy!"

"Maybe." Sans shrugged again and without hesitation entered the cave. Papyrus, not wanting to be left outside scurried after his brother, which made Sans regain his usual smile.

Together the two crept into the dark cave, with Sans leading the way as he could feel Papyrus' weight from his hands on his backpack. "Don't worry bro, I got you."

But Papyrus didn't respond, which Sans was okay with. He knew stuff like this scared him, which made him all the happier to have such a brave brother.

At the end of the dark tunnel both boys saw light, making one another look to the other. Papyrus was the first one to speak. "How is there light in a cave?"

Sans smiled to Papyrus as they got closer to the light. "Only one way to find out."

After a few more steps, both brothers found themselves exiting what was a cramped tunnel and into a large room. Vines and leaves scattered the floor and seemed to rise up into the darkness, where a ceiling was nonexistent. Little holes in the walls shed light into the room and in the center waited a gaping abyss.

Sans could feel Papyrus' grip on his backpack get tighter, but the only thing that grew on Sans was his grin. He eagerly turned to Papyrus. "Bro, I think we found it."

"This?" Papyrus spoke up, pausing to hear his voice echo off into the room. He took his hand off of Sans backpack, taking a step to the side. "This is just a giant hole!"

"Or a gateway to the monster world." Sans replied, his feet moving again. He took a few steps closer to the huge hole that seemed to wait eagerly for something to fall inside it.

Sans was stopped before he could get too close by a hand grabbing his wrist. "Sans."

Sans turned around to see the dim features of Papyrus' face. They were concerned. "We found your hole; now let's get out of here. I don't want you going near that."

"Come on, bro." Sans gave Papyrus a reassuring smile, but he wasn't buying it. "I just wanted to make sure this was the right hole. I'll keep a safe distance."

When Papyrus didn't let go Sans produced a sigh. He nodded his head. "Alright, I guess we can leave."

Papyrus' smile was so relived. "Finally you listen to some common sense."

"That's why I have you, right?" Sans joked, the two brothers sharing a light laugh.

Sans walked his way back over to Papyrus, who pointed to the tunnel exit. "Now come on, let's say we go and get some fast food to celebrate this discovery and then head home to our amazing house-party!"

"Sure thing." Sans agreed, though he didn't take a step with his brother. "Except one more thing…"

"Sans." Papyrus groaned, turning back to his brother with slight annoyance. He had pocketed his flashlight since there was enough light and instead pulled out their portable camera.

Sans smiled. "I want to get a picture of you and the hole. To show that we actually found it."

"Why me?" Papyrus whined. "Can't we just leave?"

"Because I need to hold the camera, and it's only right to have an amazing discovery also have my amazing bro in it." Sans pleaded with his smile, holding the camera firmly in his hands.

Papyrus' eyes grew warm to such a comment, then he puffed out his chest as if he were receiving an award. "Well, obviously."

Sans closed his eyes, his smile growing. "Thanks, bro. I promise it'll be quick."

"Just make sure to get my good side." Papyrus added in, taking cautious steps over thick vines and roots over to the hole. He made sure to keep a good distance from the dark void, holding a thumbs-up to the camera. "How's this?"

"Perfect." Sans adjusted the camera, his grin bigger than ever. "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" Papyrus flashed a toothy smile, the camera giving off a flash of light.

Papyrus leaned back from the sudden flash, hands instinctively reaching for his eyes to rub them when his foot hit a thick vine behind him.

Sans dropped the camera when he saw his brother start to fall backwards and into the hole, rushing for him. "PAPYRUS!"

He nearly tripped on a root before diving for his brother's falling hand, clasping it in his own. Papyrus jerked to a stop, screaming from the chasm below his feet. "Sans, pull me up! Pull me up!"

"I'm trying!" Sans grunted, trying to use his elbows to leverage him into pulling Papyrus back onto the ground. But his muscles were aching from already holding his brother, and he slipped a little when attempting to hoist him up.

"Sans!" Papyrus yelled again, dangling for his life. His eyes were blinded by tears. "Please don't drop me!"

"I won't!" Sans yelled back, but he himself didn't know how he was going to get Papyrus back up. He wouldn't let his brother know, though.

Sans tried his elbows again, a grave mistake. In trying to pull Papyrus up, one of his elbows slipped and with it Sans dived head first into the chasm. Both boys screamed as they dropped into the darkness and from the world above. Their screams echoed for a few seconds before getting softer, until the room was devoid of sound once more.

And a little aways from the hole, a picture slid out of the bottom of the camera, showing a happy Papyrus and a big, thumbs-up from Sans.