Eventually, I stumbled into a small village. Somehow, the snow had lessened around the small bubble of buildings. Smoke rose from many chimneys, and several more 'monsters' could be seen dancing around some of the huts.

"Is that a human?" I heard a young rabbit asked as I passed. Sans was right. Humans do not like seeing that some of their domesticated pets are sentient.

"I've always wanted to meet a human!" a somewhat older rabbit declared. Both rabbits must have been under the human age of ten, although I can't say I'm particularly good at judging the age of rabbits.

"You have, Cinnamon," a female rabbit said. She was older than both rabbits, and the younger one clung to her side. "You were younger than Sage at the time, but you were alive about fifty years ago when the last human passed through here."

I managed to choke on nothing as I heard that. "I'm sorry, did you say that this guy is over fifty years old?" I asked her.

"Oh, yes of course," she said. "He has less than sixty years to go before he becomes an adult," she said, smiling and patting the rabbit's shoulder affectionately.

"Oh," I said, my head spinning. "I'm sorry, I'm... not used to-"

"Don't worry about it," she said, smiling at me. "Humans are different. I understand." She disengaged the older child (Cinnamon, I think his name was) from her leg and spread her arms out. "Welcome to Snowdin, human," she said. "I'm Pepper, what's your name?"

I stared at her blankly. "I don't have one," I admitted sheepishly. She stared at me, somewhat concerned.

"Do... do humans no longer name their young?"

"No, it's not that, it's just..." I began, uncertain as to how to continue. "I don't remember what mine is."

"Oh that's... that's horrible, human! We... the citizens of Snowdin, shall give you a name!" she declared.

"Oh, no it's alright, really," I insisted. "I don't plan on staying here long?"

"Well, where do you plan on going, then?" she asked. I shrugged. I hadn't though about that, although I knew that I should've. "I'm not sure," I told her. "I haven't thought about it."

"Stay with us, human," she implored. I resisted at first. "We love having guests," she told me. Eventually I broke down and agreed, and she smiled brightly. "Excellent!" she declared. "My aunt runs an inn, called Snowed Inn!" I narrowed my eyes at that, but Pepper didn't notice. "I'm sure I can convince her to let you have a room. Or," she added, "You could stay with those weird skeleton brothers. They have an extra room in their garage. It's a bit... unconventional... but I'm sure it's cozy."

"Oh!" I said. "You mean Sans?"

"Yeah, Sans and his brother, Papyrus. I take it you two met?"

I nodded. "He, uh... he... he asked me to kill him."

Pepper froze. "He asked you to what now?"

"You heard me right," I said. "It was weird. He seemed like a jokester... Then, I asked him how to return to the surface, and he... he asked me to kill him. It was, uh... It was unusual."

"Um... why?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. He seemed kind of... depressed, actually," I told her.

"Sans? Depressed?" Pepper shook her head, perplexed. "No, Sans isn't... He enjoys pranks and puns too much for a... for a depressed person."

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but I've know the skeleton for a few centuries. Some serious change must have taken over him for him to be depressed."

"He seems pretty upset about the fact that you all were stuck down here with no immediate way of escaping. And then he... then he announced that it didn't really matter if you escaped because... you'd just end up back here. At first I thought he meant that the humans would banish them back down here, but then... Then he said that he would be having this conversation with me again, and... it was weird. Like he expected someone to place a patch on a rip in the fabric of space-time and then we'd end up in the past for some reason."

"That doesn't sound like him," Pepper said. "Are you sure that was Sans?"

"He called himself that," I said. "He's a skeleton. Wears a blue hoodie. Et cetera."

"That's... odd," she said. "Maybe you should check on him... make sure that he's alright. I can arrange for you to stay with him, if you'd like," she offered. "I think you'd get along well with his brother. Assuming you like spaghetti, that is."

"What?"

"Nevermind," she said. "Come on, I'll show you to his house. Papyrus should be home-that's his brother."

Sans lived in a cozy-looking two-story house. In my opinion, it seemed rather larger to have just two people inhabiting it. Pepper rapped loudly on the door. "Sage," she admonished the younger rabbit, who had followed us here from the other side of the village. "It's impolite to look through someone's windows." The bunny, clearly frustrated, threw himself onto the snow with all of his might in response. Fortunately, he didn't actually have that much might, and so his protests were, for the most part, irrelevant and therefore ignored.

A tall skeleton wearing a bright red scarf opened the door. His eyes went to Pepper, who was somewhat taller than me, before snapping to myself. "OH MY GOD, A HUMAN!" he declared. "I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE OF YOUR KIND SINCE THE OTHER ONE LEFT FOR THE SURFACE!" he positively squealed with delight, then began pacing the floor nervously. "OH, DO FORGIVE ME HUMAN, I FEEL JUST AWFUL! I WASN'T ABLE TO RECALIBRATE ANY OF MY PUZZLES IN TIME FOR YOUR ARRIVAL... I'M SURE YOUR JOURNEY TO SNOWDIN WAS JUST... UNBEARABLY BORING! AND HUNGRY! I WASN'T ABLE TO COOK YOU ANY OF MY WORLD-FAMOUS SPAGHETTI! I FEEL HORRIBLE ABOUT THIS!"

"Hey, whoa there Paps, calm down."Pepper was saying. The skeleton-Papyrus-seemed extremely distressed by the situation. "I don't think puzzles are as common where she comes from," she said. "You're not breaking any social norms of hers."

"YES, BUT-"

"It's, uh... fine, really," I told him. "I guess it was kind of relaxing maybe not really?"

"YES, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN EXCITING!" Papyrus mourned. "I HAVE LET EVERYONE DOWN!"

"Hey, chill, Papyrus," Pepper said. "She was probably overwhelmed enough as it was, without having to deal with puzzles. Right?" she asked, elbowing my ribs painfully. I winced and glared at her, then nodded several times.

"Right," I said. "It's fine. I really wouldn't have wanted to complete whatever puzzles it was that you were planning on showing me."

"VERY WELL, HUMAN," Papyrus said reluctantly. "PERHAPS I CAN STILL INTEREST IN SOME OF MY WORLD-FAMOUS SPAGHETTI, THOUGH?" he asked.

"That would be great, thanks," I said, stepping inside. "Uh, is Sans home? Pepper wants to talk to her," I said, kicking Pepper's shin.

Papyrus tilted his head to the side, by which I mean he practically rolled his head to 90 degrees from the normal position at which it should have been in. "DID YOU JUST CALL SANS A HER," he asked.

"Uh, him, sorry," I said.

Papyrus sniffed. "VERY WELL," he said. "NO, HE IS NOT HOME RIGHT NOW. I WILL TELL HIM THAT PEPPER WAS LOOKING FOR HIM IF YOU WISH."

"I'm sure the human can just pass on my message," Pepper said, pushing me farther into the house.

"Nah it's cool," I told her. "I wouldn't want to impose," I said. I heard Pepper kick the door closed behind me. Papyrus was staring at me with a concerned look on his face.

"UH..." he began. "I WILL BEGIN MAKING YOUR SPAGHETTI, I GUESS," he said, excusing himself into the kitchen. For my part, I wandered over the couch and flopped down onto it.

He was suspiciously fast in preparing the spaghetti. Less than five minutes later, he placed a single steaming plate of spaghetti on the floor in front of me. He dumped an excessively large tub of parmesan cheese onto the plate and placed a single oregano leaf onto the center of the plate. "EAT UP, HUMAN!"

I blinked several times. "Do I get a fork?"

"PAPYRUS'S WORLD FAMOUS SPAGHETTI IS BEST ENJOYED WITHOUT UTENSILS," the skeleton informed me. "BUT IF THE HUMAN WISHES IT TO BE SO IT WILL BE SO." He ran into the kitchen. I heard something slam, and then I ducked swiftly as a fork was hurled at my head.

"Jesus christ!" I snarled. "What the hell?!"

"I AM SORRY, HUMAN!" announced Papyrus. "THE UTENSIL DRAWER STILL HASN'T FORGIVEN ME FOR THAT REMARK. IT DOES NOT LIKE TO FEEL INADEQUATE."

"Papyrus, it's an inanimate object."

"THAT'S WHAT SANS SAID," Papyrus said. "I SAY THAT SUCH A THING IS RUDE AND DISCRIMINATORY. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DO NOT DISCRIMINATE IN WHO I MAKE FRIENDS WITH! BESIDES," he added, narrowing his eyes, "SANS IS THE ONE WITH A PET ROCK." He pointed at the table to the right of the door. The table was empty save for a paper plate with an ovular stone placed atop it. He rubbed his hands together. "NOW EAT UP, HUMAN! YOU WOULDN'T WANT PAPYRUS'S WORLD FAMOUS SPAGHETTI TO GO COLD, WOULD YOU?"

"Of course not," I muttered, grabbing the fork out of where it was embedded in the wall and placing the spaghetti on my lap. It had already gone cold, despite only have been cooked two minutes ago. I twirled some of the pasta around my fork and shoved it up, chewing it forcefully and swallowing it with some effort. "So, uh, what exactly is this famous for?" I asked.

"IT IS FAMOUS FOR BEING MADE BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS, OF COURSE," he said.

I raised my eyebrows then said, "You know, I think... I think it would be a crime to not be able to properly enjoy this," I said, "and unfortunately I'm not very hungry right now." That last bit was I lie. I had not eaten in hours. But I also did not particularly want to eat the monstrosity that was in front of me.

Papyrus seemed to shrink. "OH, GOD DAMMIT," he said. "I WAS NOT ABLE TO IMPRESS YOU WITH MY PUZZLES, AND NOW I MISSED THE CHANCE TO IMPRESS YOU WITH MY SPAGHETTI."

"H-hey, don't feel bad," I said. "I'm... I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti, anyways." Papyrus turned to me, a horrified expression on his face.

"HOW DO YOU HATE SPAGHETTI?!" he shrieked. "AND THEY CALL US THE MONSTERS."

"I don't hate it," I said defensively, "It's just not my favorite food."

Papyrus brightened. "SO YOU DO LIKE IT," he said.

"No, I just don't hate it," I said.

"That doesn't make sense."

I grimaced. "Never mind," I said.

"SO WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE HOUSE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS?" the skeleton asked, reluctantly taking my plate and putting it in the refrigerator.

"Uh, Pepper said... Pepper said that you have a garage I could stay in? Since I don't have anywhere to go."

The skeleton's face lit up. "THE HUMAN WANTS TO STAY WITH ME?!" he squealed. "THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS! WE CAN EAT SPAGHETTI AND MAKE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS AND DEVISE PUZZLES AND BE BEST FRIENDS!"

"Uh... great," I said. "Although, uh, I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay here for."

"WHERE WOULD YOU GO, HUMAN?" asked Papyrus.

I shrugged. "I'm... I'm not sure. But, uh, I... this is not my home, you know?"

"BUT THIS CAN BECOME YOUR HOME, HUMAN!" declared the skeleton. I felt myself begin to grow annoyed with him.

"Yeah, but I already have a home. Somewhere. I... I'm hoping that when I find it, I'll be able to remember some things about myself. Where I came from. Who I am."

"HOW EXACTLY DO YOU PLAN TO FIND YOUR HOME IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER WHERE IT IS?"

I froze. Papyrus did have a point, I reluctantly admitted. "I... I think I'll know it when I see it," I told him. "I'd imagine it would be somewhere near well I fell down."

"THE SURFACE IS A DANGEROUS PLACE, HUMAN," he said. "YOU MAY NOT SURVIVE MORE THAN A FEW DAYS UP THERE SEPARATED FROM YOUR PEOPLE."

"I DON'T WANT TO STAY DOWN HERE," I snarled, standing up and lunging forwards. My fingers balled up into a fist. Papyrus stared at me.

"CAN I GET YOU SOMETHING, HUMAN?" he asked. "DO YOU NEED HELP WITH SOMETHING?"

"Yes! Yes, I do! I need help GETTING OUT!" I yelled. "I need help LEAVING HERE!"

I am not entirely sure what happened after that, but the next thing I knew, Papyrus had his arms wrapped around me and face was buried in his scarf. "SHH, HUMAN," Papyrus was saying. "THE UNDERGROUND WILL ALWAYS PROVIDE A HOME FOR YOU IF YOU NEED ONE," he said.

I pulled away. "Don't you see, I don't WANT to live in the Underground," I choked.

"h-hey, kid. what are you doing here?" I heard a voice say behind me. Sans was standing in the doorway. "whoa, are you okay?"

"I don't want to stay here forever," I told him. "I don't want to be trapped underground here forever."

"hey, none of us do, bucko," he said. "be brave, kid. I'm told you humans are good at that." I nodded reluctantly. "on the bright side," he said, "you can't get homesick if you don't remember your home."

"Not funny, Sans," I grumbled. Sans shrugged sheepishly.

"can't help it," he said. "they call me a comedian for a reason."

"I'VE NEVER HEARD ANYONE CALL YOU THAT, SANS," Papyrus said.

"And you wouldn't be able to make any money from that," I said.

"oh wow, rude," Sans said, placing one hand on his chest. "i am deeply hurt by that comment." I glared at him.

"SANS, THE HUMAN ASKED TO STAY IN OUR GARAGE!" Papyrus announced.

"Well actually, Pepper sugges-"

"the garage?" Sans cut me off. "why would you want to stay in our garage?" He sounded surprised.

"I have nowhere else," I said, my eyes narrowed.

"fine, very well, et cetera, et cetera," he said. He then seemed to float up off of the ground and onto the second story. I stared after him. Papyrus didn't seem to see anything off. "at least fix it up to make it livable," he said before disappearing into his bedroom.

"SANS! THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH OUR GARAGE!" Papyrus yelled.

Sans opened the door slightly and poked his head out. "it looks like a doghouse!" he complained. "the human is not a dog!"

Papyrus sighed. "VERY WELL, BROTHER," he said reluctantly. He shrugged his scarf across his shoulders like a cape and leaped dramatically out the door.

"uh, make yourself at home, kid," Sans said. He nodded at me, then retracted his head into his bedroom like a turtle hiding in its shell. The door closed softly behind him.

Papyrus returned a moment later. I didn't understand how it was possible to make a garage 'livable' in that little time, but I didn't question it. "HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GETTING A PET DOG, HUMAN?"

"How do I what?"

Sans's door opened once more. "we talked about this, brother," he called. "you... we... are not getting a dog. cats are better." He closed his door once more.

"W-what?" I asked.

"MY BROTHER IS AN IDIOT," said Papyrus. "WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIND A CAT DOWN HERE?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Is everything down here sentient?" I asked.

"OF COURSE, HUMAN," Papyrus said. "EVERYTHING DOWN HERE IS EQUAL."

"Why would you keep a sentient being as a pet?"

Papyrus fell silent. "AS A HOUSE GUEST, HUMAN," he said eventually.

"If your equivalent of a pet is a house guest, then that means that I'm your pet," I said, raising an eyebrow.

Papyrus eyed me for a moment. "DETAILS, DETAILS," he said eventually. "I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE NUANCES OF LIFE," he said. "I FEEL THAT IT DETRACTS TO ENJOYING LIFE TO THE FULLEST."

"You certainly seem to be doing that," I muttered under my breath.

"WHAT WAS THAT, HUMAN?"

I shook my head. "Nevermind," I said. We lapsed into an awkward silence. I broke it eventually by saying, "Well, I'm going to go take a look around the town," I said. "I guess... I guess I'll be staying here for a while."

"DO YOU WANT ME TO GUIDE YOU, HUMAN?"

"No thanks, Papyrus, I think I can manage."

"GREAT," he said. "I HAVE A MEETING WITH UNDYNE LATER. IT'S TIME FOR OUR 5528TH COOKING LESSON!"

I blinked. "You're still counting them?"

"OF COURSE, HUMAN. I WOULD BE A BAD FRIEND IF I STOPPED PAYING ATTENTION TO THESE THINGS."

I nodded slowly. "Well okay then," I said, walking out of the house. Papyrus waltzed out behind me.

"FAREWELL, HUMAN," he said, strolling off.

I smiled. "Bye, Papyrus."