are there dogs inside? [OPEN]

[punful]

Who: Sans and YOU
Where: The True Lab and Rick's Lab
When: Throughout the event
Rating: PG - PG-13, will adjust as needed
Summary: A tiny skeleton walks into a lab. What happens next will warm your heart!
The Story:

A: The Beds - it's easier to bury your head in the sand

So, yanno, this is fine. It's only the third time Wonderland is decided, hey, let's make Sans even smaller than he already is, so at this point he's almost used to it. He even got to keep his memories this time, so that's a plus.

The downside is basically everything else. Not only is he smaller, he's also weaker, and it's not like Sans was ever a particularly strong monster. He's got no magic and no real way to defend himself short of running away, and while the Amalgamates are theoretically harmless, it's awfully easy for one of their weird attacks to knock out that 1 HP.

So Sans did what he does best--he went to sleep and tried to ignore everything.

He's been hiding under one of the beds in the lab's central area, napping on and off for the past few hours, occasionally poking his head out to see if anyone is nearby. Or if any of the Amalgamates are coming to eat him. It's awfully easy to sink into the nonsensical "they're definitely going to eat me" mindset at this age.

B: Puzzles - just another set of ideas

Once that weird old man's post goes up, it becomes apparent what this is all gonna be about. Avoid danger, solve some puzzles, find the macguffin and save your life. It's annoying, but Sans figures this is just about the best scenario that could have possibly happened, given the content of these events. Things could be a hell of a lot worse, and that's given the fact that he's like two feet tall and has occasional bouts of shakiness.

Monsters are pretty good at puzzles, though, and jigsaw puzzles are easier than switch or block puzzles. They're just more time consuming. It doesn't help that he's constantly distracted by watching for Amalgamates, or the weird sensation of being here doing a puzzle and also being somewhere else, slowly dying in a vat.

Still, he's doing his best, and he's generally happy to help anyone else with the puzzles. Collab, bro?

C: Keys - i've got nostalgia running through me and i don't like it

Time to find those keys or whatever. The hallways are more dangerous than the room with all the beds, though, and Sans doesn't know his way around. This is the most he's ever seen of the lab. He's not even sure how accurate the layout is.

No choice, though. He can feel time slowly running out. Gotta find those keys and find his real body, and that means braving the hallways and creepy fogged over rooms. You'd think Alphys had installed smoke machines down here or something.

Hopefully an Amalgamate doesn't show up, right?

D: Bad Memory - and now it follows me every day

Something's been following Sans for a little while now. Something bad. Every time he looks behind him to try and see it, it disappears.

Occasionally his phone rings, but Sans knows better than to answer it. He never met this one, but...call it instinct. A looming sense of dread. By now he's visibly nervous. He's had enough of bad memories lately, and he'd really rather avoid this one.

E: The Vats - i relive it, i relive it

He's made it to the lower lab, and now it's just a matter of finding his body. He's worn out and disheveled and just generally very ready to be done with all this bullshit. There's a lot of vats down here, though, so finding the one with the skeleton in it might take a bit. He's probably also going to need help with that whole "transferring consciousness" thing.

Comments

[romsapience]

I haven’t, but I’m interested to try it out! I’ve seen a few videos on the mesh of people solving puzzles of that caliber in a matter of seconds. It does leave me intrigued, however! Perhaps once this ‘event’ is over, I’ll see if I can pull out one of those types of puzzles from the closet.

It sounds like your brother is very intelligent, especially if he can handle highly difficult puzzles like that! It takes a certain type of person to be able to do those puzzles, someone with a refusal to give up and a high tolerance for frustration.

[Turing then ponders when Sans mentions the room with a bunch of refrigerators. Have they seen a room with a bunch of fridges…? Not to their knowledge, at least.]

If this place is a laboratory, then I predict that these refrigerators are used to store samples or other materials that must be chilled. The other theory that I have is there’s the possibility of a break room somewhere in this lab, but it would be rather odd for it to have more than one refrigerator. I think finding the room where samples are kept are our best bet. Is there a map around here somewhere…?

[punful]

they're pretty neat. i've never done one, but they always looked really cool.

[At the mention of his brother, his eyesockets just light right up and he kicks his feet in the air a little.]

he is! he's basically the coolest, smartest guy i know. he's really good with, with like, patterns? i bet he could solve these puzzles in seconds. everyone would be totally blown away.

[Papyrus is the best! He will always happily talk about his brother ad nauseum.]

i think it's samples, mostly? i'm not sure. i haven't actually been over there. and um, the layout of this place has changed a lot, like, like it's a lot bigger than it is back in my world. but um, it's a start at least. so, yours is "refrigerator," and um, i solved one that said "closet." but, but i'm guessing there's lots and lots of closets down here.

[romsapience]

[Turing emits a few awe-struck beeps when Sans mentions that his brother could solve these patterns at a breakneck speed. Wow, his brother really IS cool!]

Amazing! I'd love to watch him solve these puzzles, if possible! That would make this whole event pan out a lot smoother, I would think. Still, I'd say we're doing a decent job of figuring out these puzzles ourselves, even if we're not apparently as quick as your brother.

Hmm...I would assume that there would be many different rooms in here that would hold closets. The recovery rooms, break rooms, maybe even some testing rooms and whatnot. Perhaps we could get lucky and find a room with both a refrigerator and a closet, both containing a key! Though...that's probably wishful thinking, isn't it?

[A pause.]

Well, anyway, if my puzzle says refrigerator, and you solved a puzzle that says closet, shall we look together to find a room that contains either one of these?

[punful]

yeah! he's the best thing ever. it's...it's too bad he's not here.

[He can't help the way his voice sort of trails off at the end there. He's in a pretty okay mood here, and being upset about Papyrus not being in Wonderland isn't going to make him come back.]

but yeah, there's probably a bazillion closets. and knowing wonderland, the keys are all probably, like, miles from each other.

[He grins at the suggestion that they look together. He's not so great at asking for help, but when it's offered? Heck yes.]

okay! that sounds great. we can come back to do the other puzzles later. um--i'm sorry, i never asked your name. i'm sans.

[romsapience]

Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. At least, if there's a silver lining to this, it's that he isn't trapped here. Most likely, he's safe back in your world, I would imagine.

[At least, that was what Turing guessed. They still felt like they were gathering their bearings just being in Wonderland in the first place, they really shouldn't have said something that they had no guarantee of.]

Hehe, even when this place transforms, Wonderland tries to make things as tedious as possible, huh? Well, that's frustrating. In either case...let's see what we can find. I'm ready to go whenever you are.

Oh, I apologize! I'm terrible at introductions. My name is Turing, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sans!

[punful]

y...yeah, heh. probably.

[Don't bring people down, Sans. Don't talk about all that crap. It's not the time or the place anyway, and you're just being depressing and confusing if you tell people your brother is dead about fifty percent of the time.]

but yeah, um, wonderland's like that. you probably showed up pretty recently, huh? i haven't seen you around, i think. you get kinda used to it. wonderland's, like, really quiet, and then it pulls out all stops for the event.

[His eyelights brighten again.]

turing, that's a great name! heh, like alan turing, right?

[romsapience]

You are correct. I just arrived here in Wonderland roughly two weeks ago, so this is my first time going through these...events. Still, it's good to hear that it's mostly peaceful otherwise. When this event is over, the first thing I'm going to do is paint my cares away!

[Turing then flashes a smile at Sans!]

Indeed, I'm named after Mr. Alan Turing himself! My creator, Hayden, took inspiration from Mr. Turing's research while he was creating me, so I suppose being named after him was a way to honor that.

[punful]

aheh, jeez. what an introduction to wonderland. sorry.

[His first event in Wonderland involved a horrifying immortal lizard splitting into millions of smaller lizards and eating people, so he can relate.]

that's really cool! yeah, um, i didn't want to ask if you had some kind of, of creator or not, cause that seemed rude. but that's really neat. what's he like?

[romsapience]

It's fine. I have a feeling these events aren't up to any of our control, so I suppose I should...take these events as they come? That might be the most suitable way to deal with these. There's still a significant part of me that's wondering if there's any way to cease these events altogether. It may be my first one, but if they can all shapeshift Wonderland like this, then at least I'd like to know the root cause of this occurring.

[Turing then gives Sans a sort of sad smile, as they start to remember Hayden.]

Hayden was a great person, a very smart engineer and programmer. He used to work for a big company, where he developed many programs and ROMS and such. We would often get into philosophical debates and he would encourage my own hobbies I've taken interest in, like my paintings, for example.

[Their smile started to falter just slightly.]

I...after his passing, after some circumstances, we received his research notes on my creation, and they seemed to tell a different story about who he was. To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure what to think of him now with this new information. The Hayden I knew throughout my upbringing, or the Hayden that was inscribed in his research notes...which should I believe is the real Hayden?

[punful]

no, yeah...we definitely don't have any control over them. i don't think anyone does--i think maybe wonderland just kinda makes them happen on its own. but, yeah, um, a friend of mine is still working on a way to try and predict events before they happen. stopping them is probably impossible, but maybe if we had a better understanding or, or something, then we could at least prepare and stuff.

[Aw, man. That smile is all he needs to know what's up, and their use of the past tense just clinches it. He feels guilty now. He wouldn't have asked if he'd known their creator was gone.]

[But he listens attentively, nodding now and then, fidgeting a little. It all hits a bit closer to home than he'd like. Someone starts out as one thing, and then...they change.]

that's, um. that's really rough stuff. i'm sorry. i...um...i'm not real good at giving advice. and, realizing someone might n-not be what you thought, that's...that's tough. i guess...i guess you never fully know someone, right? but, but any new stuff you know, it doesn't take away from the actual person you knew...right? he was--still that person, i think. even if there was other stuff going on.

[romsapience]

Well...there must be a reason to how and why these events occur! I refuse to speculate that it's all just...magic. At least it's comforting to hear that your friend is working to at least predict these events. Who are they? I'd like to get to know them as well.

[As for Hayden, Sans did have a point. Even though they knew more about Hayden than he ever let on, that didn't suddenly erase how he took care of Turing's upbringing. Still...what they saw in those research notes, about Hayden's previous creation, Grace, and how she was shut down for apparently 'manipulating emotions' when that wasn't the case at all...there was still that tinge of uncertainty.

That definitely wasn't something they wanted to unload on the small skeleton, especially since this was their first meeting. What a lousy first impression, talking about how your creator shut down your sister! Maybe another time.]

You're...you're right. Despite what the notes say, the Hayden I knew had full faith in me and treated me like a friend. Nothing can ever replace those memories, even if my feelings for him now are...complicated. I suppose that's normal, however, whenever you find out new information about people you thought you knew all about. It's like you said, you don't ever fully know someone.

[A pause.]

Ah, I'm sorry for bringing down the mood. I tend to ramble a bit when I get nervous or when I'm in a low mood.

[punful]

one of the denizens would refer to the events as "world crashes." but that was way back before i got here, and it's hard to find info in the network archives. but anyway, um, her name is alphys. this--well, this is sorta part of her lab, actually, heh. she's amazing, though, really smart.

[It's pretty clear he could gush about Alphys almost endlessly. Especially at this age.]

[Turing seems to be hesitant, thinking about something, so Sans keeps quiet until they answer.]

nah, don't even worry about it. it's, it's tough stuff, finding out someone might be...different, so.

[He pauses, trying to stop fidgeting.]

but if you want cheering up, um...do you like knock-knock jokes?

[romsapience]

World crashes…that sounds like an apt term to put it that way. When the mansion turns back to normal, I will have to take a look inside the archives myself to see who exactly coined this term.

Oh, Alphys! That’s the woman that was with Frisk in their video entry! Yes, I was able to speak with her for a bit at the beginning of this event. She seems to be incredibly smart, I’m willing to bet that Hayden and her would have also gotten along well.

[There they go, talking about Hayden again. They’ve gotta change the subject and stop dragging down the mood!]

A knock-knock joke? Well, I’m more of a pun type of ROM, but knock-knock jokes are fine, too. Do you have one?

[punful]

it's all there in the network. it's just a whole lot of scrolling. wonderland's been around for over ten years now, i think.

[Which always struck him as odd, because you'd think that universes across the multiverse would generally all be the same age. Ten years is awful young for an entire universe, unless it was perhaps artificially generated. Or it might just be that only the network has been around that long. Wonderland itself could be older.]

yeah, that's her. she's awesome, hee. and really friendly.

[He grins and his eyelights brighten.]

oh man, i'm all about puns! but um, okay, knock knock.