Pre-Chapter Notes: *gasp* This chapter is actually releasing more or less when we want it too! One more before we've officially reached the double digits. Not much else to say until the end, so once again please enjoy!


Chapter Nine: Puzzles, Pranks, and Puns


"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?" Papyrus exclaimed when he noticed the human jogging up behind him. "AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY… IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"

The skeleton glanced back over his shoulder at the following boy. His eye sockets shifted in what must have been his version of an expectant blink.

Frisk was torn. At Lily's insistence, he'd decided to leave the spaghetti where it sat, hoping that the nearby mouse would eventually find some enjoyment from the bizarre concoction. Now, face to face with its maker, he was put on the spot. On one hand, he didn't want to lie but on the other he couldn't really bring himself to tell Papyrus about the warning sign his friend had placed on the lethal looking pasta dish. Or his own nose's agreement.

"I uh… I didn't think I could eat it all so… I left it… to share?" He settled for a metaphorical truth - it really was a large plate. He hoped Papyrus wouldn't take it too badly.

The tall skeleton stared at Frisk for a long moment, surprise written on his boney visage. Worried at the strange silence, Frisk was about to apologize when Papyrus spoke up. "REALLY? WOWIE! YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOME COOKED PASTA... JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME?"

Lily imagined a delighted squeal hiding behind that grinning skull. Frisk sighed in relief.

"Y-yeah…"

Papyrus quickly stopped in his tracks, causing Frisk to run into him from behind. Lily laughed as the boy stumbled back from the impact. Papyrus quickly turned to face the small human, raising a single orange gloved hand to his breastplate.

"FRET NOT, HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS... WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! ENOUGH FOR US ALL TO SHARE AND ENJOY! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk gave a small giggle. "That sounds awesome. Thanks, Papyrus."

Grin affixed to his skull, Papyrus led the two children through the maze of woodland leading to his next puzzle. Frisk was forced to jog slightly in order to keep up with the armored boneman's long strides and brisk pace. Still, both he and Lily were glad for a chance to get to know Papyrus better, and the Royal Guard hopeful was not without things to tell. He spoke animatedly about Sans' sock collection as well as his own collection of action figures. Neither Frisk nor Lily had much of an opportunity to speak, but they didn't mind. It was entertaining enough just to listen to Papyrus' enthusiastic stories.

It took about ten minutes of walking before they came at last upon the puzzle in question. From her vantage point above Frisk, Lily could see little squares in the snow glowing with bright blue Xs.

'What are those? Some kind of panel? Maybe it's like the electricity maze… I just hope it's nothing dangerous.'She mused.

"HMM… HOW DO I SAY THIS?" Papyrus turned thoughtful as he looked over the convoluted maze of indigo-shaded letters. "YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO… I DECIDED TO RE-ARRANGE AND IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE. BY MAKING IT LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE! I BELIEVE IT IS FAR MORE PICTURESQUE THIS WAY." He posed again, once more cuing his personal scarf-blowing wind. "UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND SO NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND NOW I AM… NOT ENTIRELY SURE HOW TO SOLVE IT. WHY DON'T YOU TRY WHILE I THINK OF A PLAN!"

"I guess it can't hurt to give it a try. Come on Frisk." Lily grinned as she pulled on Frisk's arm, leading him over to the sign posted at one of the puzzle's many entrances. "'Turn all the Xs into Os...'? Hmm. Try stepping on one?" She reasons.

She guided Frisk toward the nearest of the symbols before pointing it out for him to do so. Sure enough, the ground depressed slightly with a click. It seemed that what first appeared to be a simple path through the snow and ice was in fact a series of tiles, each baring one of the marks. Frisk moved his foot aside, revealing that the X on the tile had now shifted to a red O. Lily grinned in satisfaction.

"Alright, it worked! Looks like we need to walk over all the Xs so they'll change." She explained. "Let's try it."

"Sounds like an idea. Lead the way, Lily!" Frisk happily replied, watching his ghostly friend float higher to get a better view.

The specter gazed down at the puzzle, figuring a bird's eye view might make it a little easier to figure out the solution. Her eyes squinted, as she tried to map the correct path in her mind. Yet, despite her efforts this was certainly more complicated than the other puzzles they'd seen so far. Before, the puzzles had ranged from straightforward tasks, to brainteasers that seemed tricky but with solutions that were obvious given some thought. This however was a mess. So many different paths, dead ends and possible mistakes. Even with her overhead view, Lily found her mind reeling at the utter strangeness of it.

"It's… really weird looking. Hm. Try… try this?" The girl floated back down and grabbed Frisk's hand, leading him through the first section.

It was even more baffling at ground level, where the snow piles obscured the view of the rest of the puzzle. The ghost girl led the Frisk as best she could, and for a while it seemed that they might actually succeed. That is, until they turned the next corner and noticed one of the tiles they'd already stepped on glowing with a red circle.

"Shoot. We've been here already. Turn around, there was another path." She quickly guided Frisk back the way they came, and lead him toward the aforementioned path. However, the second Frisk's foot met one of the red-circle tiles, it shifted again again turning this time into a green triangle. "That's… not supposed to happen is it?"

"What?" The boy asked, reflexively following her gaze despite his inability to see it.

"That tile turned into a triangle… step off and back on?" Frisk tried. The triangle remained. "Nope. Looks like we gotta reset the puzzle now. Ugh…"

With a sigh of disappointment, she headed back to the entrance with Frisk in tow and led him to the button tile near the sign post. Frisk pressed it and the puzzle reverted to its default state. They tried a few more times, but each one lead to similar a failure. After the fourth attempt Frisk groaned, and Lily hung her arms in aggravation, providing another burnt lemon scent to the boy's nostrils. Ultimately, they decided to give up for now and returned to Papyrus who had his jaw resting on his knuckles in thought.

"Papyrus… Could you help us please? We can't seem to figure it out…" Frisk asked softly, not wanting to disappoint the happy skeleton.

"AH, OF COURSE! I WHAT A BRILLIANT PLAN, TINY HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HELP YOU TO SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM!" He quickly knelt down and slid his hands under Frisks arms. The boy gave a surprised squeak as the tall skeleton lifted him into the air with surprising strength for one with no muscles. "TOGETHER, WE WILL SURELY TACKLE THIS PUZZLE POSTHASTE! NYEH!"

Papyrus quickly turned Frisk around and set him down gently on his shoulders. The seat was actually rather comfortable due to Papyrus' battle body armor and scarf forming a rather ideal seat. Frisk chuckled in delight as he held onto the skeleton's vertical plate while two mitted hands secured his legs to keep him from falling.

"LEAD THE WAY. I WILL GIVE HINTS WHEN NEED-BE!"

"Okay, Lily. Which way?" Frisk asked the girl.

"LILY?" Papyrus asked. "ACTUALLY, I DO THINK I HAVE SEEN YOU TALKING TO SOMEONE, BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM. WHERE IS THIS PERSON, HUMAN?" Papyrus questioned. "ARE THEY HIDING? PLEASE, COME OUT INTO THE OPEN! THERE IS NO NEED TO HIDE FROM PAPYRUS!"

Lily chuckled and waved her hand in front of Papyrus' skull.

"She's not hiding." Frisk explained. "It's just I'm the only one who can really see her."

"AN INVISIBLE FRIEND? WOWIE! WHAT AN AMAZING ABILITY!" Papyrus exclaimed. "THEN SHALL ALL THREE OF US JOIN TO OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE?"

"Yeah!" Frisk pumped a fist into the air, losing his balance a little in his enthusiasm before righting himself again.

"Alright. Then, let's do it!" Lily flipped herself around and approached the puzzle with renewed confidence. Papyrus' optimism was contagious.

Working together the three unlikely allies worked steadily to complete the puzzle. Papyrus worked from memory, puzzling out which parts of the device he'd moved around from the previous layout, Lily used her weightlessness to study it from above, and Frisk served as a medium, relaying her information to the tall skeleton. It took a couple more tries, but eventually they managed to successfully turn all of the tiles without any mistakes. The tell-tale 'shling' of the spikes retracting caused both children to cheer.

"WOWIE! WE SOLVED IT!" Papyrus declared, slapping his breastplate. "GREAT WORK HUMAN, AND TO YOUR INVISIBLE FRIEND!

"Woohoo! That was fun!" Frisk said happily.

"It was, wasn't it?" Lily agreed with a small laugh. As irritated as she'd been with their earlier failures, once Papyrus joined them it was almost an adventure of its own.

"IT WAS INDEED FUN! I AM HAPPY YOU AGREE." Papyrus grinned as wide as he large teeth could possibly go. "AND SINCE YOU SEEM TO CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO, I AM SURE YOU WILL LOVE THE NEXT ONE! ONWARDS!"

"Onwards!" Frisk mimicked the him, pointing forward.

Papyrus waited for Frisk to hold on before securely gripping the small human's legs. Then he set off into a mad dash toward the next area, nyehing all the way. Frisk held on tightly to the skeleton's skull, feeling the wind whip his hair about. Lily drifted at their side, grateful again for her ability to fly. She'd never keep up with those long strides otherwise. Eventually they emerged from the forest and onto the precipice of a short cleft carved into the earth. A small bridge connected the two sides, leading to a complicated looking grid of tiles, in all shades of grey. Sans stood on the other side, idly drumming his phalanges on the boxlike machine nearby. He raised a brow ridge upon seeing his brother barreling in with the human on his shoulders.

"well that's new." He said as Papyrus skidded to a stop. "wasn't expectin' to see a bone-a-fide rodeo."

"NOW HUMAN! THIS PUZZLE WILL SURELY CONFOUND YOU, BUT I BELIEVE YOU CAN DO IT!" Papyrus plucked Frisk from his shoulders and let him down gently onto the snow before ruffling the mop of brown hair. "I MUST GO TO THE OTHER SIDE! GOOD LUCK!"

He leapt forward, clearing the bridge and the puzzle in a single vault and landed next to Sans. The shorter skeleton sauntered over and leaned up against the trunk of a tree, resting the back of his head in his hands and just watched.

"What is it, what is it!" Frisk bounced up and down excitedly.

"NOW THEN, YOU'RE SURE TO LOVE THIS PUZZLE. IT WAS DESIGNED BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS!" Papyrus announced. "YOU SEE THESE TILES? ONCE I THROW THE SWITCH THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR!"

Papyrus launched into a long winded explanation over the function of each tile on the board. Frisk's head swam as he tried his hardest to listen to the skeleton's instructions. It didn't help that colors weren't exactly easy for him to understand, but the skeleton also spoke so fast that it was difficult to even keep up with what he was saying. He gave Lily a desperate look at his side, hoping that she would be able to make more sense of it than him, but the girl looked just as confused.

"HOW WAS THAT? DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Papyrus asked.

Frisk thought for a second and then shook his head.

"HMM… OKAY. I GUESS I'LL REPEAT MYSELF…"

Once again, Papyrus tried to explain the puzzle, but now even he seemed confused by the convoluted nature of the thing. Lily noticed a few of the functions didn't match up to what he'd said before but the skeleton quickly corrected himself. Still, she managed to hold onto most of it this time.

"Red are impassible, Green summon monsters, Blue are water…" She muttered. "I think I get it…"

She didn't sound too sure of herself but Frisk didn't want to disappoint Papyrus. "Okay… um, go ahead.

"OH YES, ONE LAST THING." Papyrus began. "THIS PUZZLE IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! ONCE IT BEGINS, IT WILL CREATE A LAYOUT WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. EVEN I WILL NOT KNOW THE ANSWER!"

Frisk swallowed hard as the skeleton pushed a button on the machine Sans had been messing with and the tiles immediately lit up. Lily watched closely as they shifted color, starting slow and then speeding up into a dizzying kaleidoscope of hues. The spectrum shifted through countless different combinations before at last coming to a sudden halt on its chosen solution.

"What."

Lily blinked, unsure if the cycling colors had somehow addled her sight, because she couldn't think of any other explanation to what she was seeing. Two crimson barriers framed the sides of the puzzle, cut through by a straight path of harmless pink. Papyrus stared at the puzzle for a full minute. Then, he turned silently, placed the instructions on the machine, turned about on his calcaneus and pirouetted away without saying a word.

"Um." Frisk began, confused a little by the silence.

"Uh… we can… go now." Lily said, taking Frisk's arm and leading him. "Yeah… just go. It's… I don't really know how to explain it but it's fine."

"well, that worked out, didn't it?" Sans said. Frisk was confused.

"Did you… do something, Sans?"

"me? nah…" Sans denied. It sounded something like both a poorly covered lie and a matter-of-fact statement, almost like he intentionally made it just truthful enough for them to wonder. "but hey. thanks for hangin' out with paps. he seems real happy."

"I like him." Frisk said with a smile. "He's like a superhero!"

"heh. guess so, huh?" Sans said casually. "too bad you didn't try the spaghetti though. he's been improving a lot since he started taking lessons. i bet if he keeps it up, he might even make something edible one day." Frisk shuddered. Hungry as he was, maybe it was good he didn't try any. Sans grinned, or rather, his grin widened. "welp, see ya up ahead."

Sans pushed himself from the tree with what looked to be far more effort than he was willing to put forth and headed off after Papyrus. The children followed behind him a ways until at last they emerged in another clearing. Strewn all about where high towers of snow, many of which were broken in various places with their ends lying along the ground in crumbled heaps. Within a few of these, Lily caught a semblance of what looked to be the head of a dog, very similar to the excitable canine Frisk had spent far too long petting.

"Looks like Lesser came this way." Lily remarked. Frisk beamed at the memory of the dog and his amazingly elastic neck. When she turned back ahead the blue skeleton had vanished. "Aaaand, now Sans is gone. Of course, the moment I get distracted… how does he even do that?"

"Maybe he's a superhero too." Frisk joked.

"Sans?" Lily scoffed. "He doesn't really seem like the type. Still, he's something alright. I just wish I knew what."

They moved beyond the gallery of snowdogs and into the next area. There was another puzzle here, and no bone man to explain it, but thankfully it was a familiar one. More blue X tiles, only this time they were separated within a thick sheet of slippery looking ice. It wasn't nearly as convoluted as the one Papyrus had rearranged however.

"Hold on, Frisk. Let me have a look." Lily drifted up and looked the puzzle over. There was a clear path; a simple spiraling pattern should do the trick. She returned to Frisk's side and led him to the northernmost spot near the ice. "Stand here… now hold still."

"Okay, but what are you-" Frisk was cut off when a pair of ghostly hands pushed him forward onto the ice. "WhoooOOOA!"

Frisk kicked his legs about, slipping and sliding as the ice carried him forward. He stumbled when he reached a solid point upon one of the blue X's. Lily's fit of laughter drew his attention back to her. From what he could tell by how small she looked, he must have slid pretty far.

"Pfft… whoops! Sorry…" She laughed. "My hands slipped!" Frisk pouted a little as the spectral girl drifted back to his side, grinning widely from her prank. A grin which shifted into a sweet and 'innocent' smile when she noticed Frisk's expression. "Aww, what's wrong? I just want to help you with the puzzle. Okay, so the next one is that way!"

She pointed toward the next X on the far side of the puzzle. Frisk followed her finger to the spot and lined himself up as straight as he was able. He grinned when he had it more or less lined up and looked over at Lily. He wasn't about to let that one go.

Quick as lightning, he seized her arm and kicked out onto the ice. The girl let out a little shriek as she was suddenly dragged along behind her companion. Frisk giggled as she struggled, enjoying the scent of his revenge, sugary like the last cookie in the jar. The boy made a show of acting like he was about to fall before righting himself in the last moment and standing straight upon the panel.

"Okay, fine. You win." Lily said. Frisk smiled triumphantly so she stuck her tongue out at him.

In moments, the puzzle was complete and the children were rewarded with a satisfying click. Like magic, a few stones floated up from below, locking in place along the gap and forming a path ahead, leaving only the barest hint of cracks suggest they'd ever been separate in the first place. Come to think of it, it most likely was magic and Frisk found himself again wondered how it worked. They moved on, sliding along the ice through a thick lattice of small trees. Frisk's stick knocked into the side of a few of them, causing a bit of snow to drop down onto his head.

Lily giggled at the sight when they emerged from the other side. "What an ice hat!"

Frisk chucked before wiping the snow off his head and attempted to smooth out his hair with mixed results.

They moved on into the next clearing, eventually coming to a fork in the path. One path lay directly ahead and the two children could see a great chasm in the distance, connected on either side by a large wooden bridge. The other sloped downward until it was eventually consumed by the trees below, obscuring what lay beyond. The two paused for a moment, trying to decide which of the two paths to take when Lily spotted a deer-like creature off to the side of the lower path. It seemed to be struggling with something…

"Hey Frisk. Take a look at them. Maybe we could try to help?" She suggested, pointing to his chest where his SOUL lay.

Frisk nodded and called forth his SOUL. Its deep red hue cast a soft glow along the snowy ground. He turned his attention to where Lily directed, and there, he saw said deer monster. It fell back awkwardly onto its haunches and pressed its two front hooves against something attached to its horns.

"Yeah. Come on let's go help!" Frisk jogged towards the monster, who looked woefully unequipped to handle his current situation. Not wishing to startle or irritate the creature more than it already was, he called out to it, letting it know they were on their way. "'Scuse me! Can we help you?"

The deer monster quickly looked up to the boy, and its eyes narrowed. "Why? So you can decorate ol' Gyftrot some more like those friends o' yers? I think not!" The now named Gyftrot said, anger prevalent in his gruff voice.

The two of them stopped in front of the monster. "What? No! I just thought it looked like you could use some help! Please?" Frisk asked, holding his hands out nervously as Gyftrot looked him up-and-down.

The monster stared at him for a good long while, sizing him up. Eventually his odd, vertical mouth opened with a sigh, his breath turning to steam in the cold air. "Ahright kid. You can help. But no funny business!"

"Got it! Thanks mister!" Frisk grinned and slowly moved the last few feet to get within reach of the monster.

With Lily's guidance, he began to remove the decorations one by one. Tinsel and streamers from the horns. A large sticker from his face. Wrapping paper from his back and hind-legs. It's little wonder why he was in such a foul mood.

"How terrible of those kids. How could they decorate you like this mister Gyftrot?" Frisk asked as he carefully removed piece after piece.

"You should put googly eyes on him." Lily chuckled as she continued to direct Frisk. "Don't look at me like that! I was joking!" She amended quickly when he gave her an 'I can't believe you' look before pulling the last piece off.

Gyftrot, relieved of his burden, stood up and shook his whole body. "That feels a lot better! Thanks 'much kid."

"I'm glad." The human replied, tossing the last bit of tinsel aside. "Sorry for what they did to you."

"Yer a good'un. Wish there were more like you." The monster said, tapping a hoof against the snow. "Keep an eye out for them teenagers, y'hear?"

The now undecorated Gyftrot gave the boy a gentle headbutt before heading back down the slope where he'd come from. Frisk smiled.

"He was nice. I like him!"

"Yeah. He's okay I guess. He was a little rude earlier though. Guess he didn't like the kids 'Gyfts'" Lily joked, holding back a snort as Frisk looked at her with amused horror.

"You didn't..."

"I did. What'cha gonna do about it?" She raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"This!" Frisk retorted, eyes glinting evilly with intent.

Her challenging expression shifted to surprise when the boy turned and pushed her spectral form to the ground. His fingertips were in place in an instant, dancing along her sides. Laughter pealed from her throat at the sudden and remorseless attack.

"AHH! Frisk! C-c-cut it ouuuutttt HAHAHAHHAHA! PFFT! HA! AAAH!" She struggled helplessly underneath his assault, trying to knock him off of her. He tortured her for several minutes before deciding she'd had enough punishment and let her up.

"I… I will… get... you back for... that Frisk..." Lily struggled to form the sentence. Frisk was grinning ear to ear.

"Come on Lily. We need to keep going!" Frisk offered a hand to help her up, snorting a little at the glare she shot him. Retrieving his stick from the ground where it fell, they continued along the path. They moved in the direction of the bridge, deciding to ignore the lower path for now. Gyftrot would probably want to enjoy his privacy right now anyway. Eventually, Frisk felt his stick strike something and he frowned.

"Lily what is this? Can't be a rock, it's too soft."

"Nope. It's a snow poff." She grinned, a plan forming in her mind.

Frisk walked another 2 feet before Lily spoke again. "And that... is a snow poff..." The boy just shook his head.

His stick brushed another mound of snow ahead of him. He turned away, intent on ignoring it when Lily piped up again. "This, however, is a snow poff."

"You're gonna do it for all of them aren't you?" He asked, his expression deadpan as he stared at her.

"Yup! Deal with it Frisk! I must do my job and tell you everything in your way!" She replied, throwing her arms to the side in example. Add a 'Nyeh heh heh' and she would have sounded just like Papyrus.

"Okay, this one is bigger. But still a snow poff!" Again.

"I could be wrong but that… Is also a snow poff." And again.

"OH! What's this?!"

Frisk sighed and shook his head, but couldn't help but grin at her obviously fake surprise. "A snow poff?"

"NOPE! IT'S A FRISK POFF!" She grinned, a sly smile forming as her hands moved toward his back.

"Hu-!" He was cut off when Lily pushed him into the pile. Soft powder flew up and around him as he landed on the plush snow before drifting lazily down onto his back. "Oof…"

"HAHAH! REVENGE! It's almost a sweet as chocolate!"

Frisk pushed himself up, sputtering a little as he spat out a bit of snow that managed to get into his mouth. "Pfft… T-traitor."

"You started it."

"And so, the cycle begins anew." He grinned. He wasn't sure where he learned that particular string of words from. Probably a cartoon or an anime or something.

Lily offered him a hand up and he resisted the urge to pull her down into the snow with him. Much as he wanted to, it was starting to get even colder, and he wasn't exactly dressed for the weather to begin with. Before long, even the gloves Lily had insisted he take from the box wouldn't be enough to keep out the chill. They moved onward at a brisk pace toward the bridge, and eventually Frisk's stick caught another patch of snow. He smirked.

"Let me guess, another snow poff?" He asked Lily.

Lily was about to respond when the head of a little dog popped out from the snow. It gave a small, yappy bark when its large dark eyes set sight on the boy. Lily shook her head as a smile slowly spread across Frisk's face… then clouded over a moment later as the snow rustled around the dog.

"Oh sh- uh… Frisk, SOUL… Now!" She commanded.

Confusion and a bit of apprehension created a unpleasant feeling in the pit of Frisk's stomach and he complied. There emerging from the snow poff was a figure far larger than what should have been possible considering the small mound of snow in which it hid. A white-faced dog, similar to Lesser Dog from before was the only thing that could be seen beneath the bulky set of armor and dog-faced spear. Frisk stumbled back in response to its sudden appearance.

"I think that's… the Greater Dog." Lily said slowly.

The dog's towering form loomed over the boy, and its dark eyes stared down upon his small frame. Its head cocked to the side as if in question and Frisk couldn't help but find the act cute despite its hulking size. He cut an imposing figure to be sure, but weren't the other dogs all really nice? What's to say this one would be any different. Frisk raised a hand and beckoned toward it.

The dog's face immediately lit up at the motion. Its tongue emerged from its mouth and it panted excitedly, letting its spear fall forgotten to the side. Its ham-fisted gauntlets smashed down into the snow and it bounded on all fours up to the boy. Frisk nearly reeled back again, fearing he might be crushed, but the armored canine skidded to a halt just before him. The boy reached a tentative hand up and pet it on the head.

"Oh for… he's just as friendly as Lesser." Lily sighed, as the Greater Dog nuzzled Frisk's hand.

After a while of petting the dog noticed the stick in the boy's other hand and went for it. Its jaws pulled gently on the stick before letting go and its eyes shot to Frisk as if making a request. The boy grinned and waved the stick in the air. Sure enough, the armored dog lowered itself on its comically large armored paws and panted expectantly.

They played fetch for a while, until at last the dog seemed to have calmed down. A white body about as large as Frisk jumped down from the armor and flopped down on its back in the snow. Frisk smiled and gave the dog a quick belly rub. Its leg kicked contently at the affection.

"Pet capacity has exceeded 100%" Lily grinned. "Risk of affection overload, rising."

Frisk laughed, and gave the dog another pat on the head for good measure.

"Good boy. Thanks for playing with me." He said as the dog rolled back onto its feet, licked his face, and reentered the armor. It shuffled around a bit before its tail popped out of the top where its head should go and at once, the armor stood back up. One of the large gauntlets rose and pointed in the direction of the bridge before it walked off that way on its own, tail wagging the whole way.

"How does it even control…" Lily began. "No, don't say it. Magic. I know."

Frisk shrugged. "Maybe we can ask about it later? I'm kind of curious too. I mean, mom told us how…"

He trailed off and sighed. Just mentioning her brought his mood back down despite all of the fun they'd been having. Lily's expression fell into one of melancholy as she too remembered their final moments with the kind goat monster. She'd looked so sad when she'd let them go. It couldn't have been an easy thing for her to do. While both children knew that it was necessary for the sake of everyone, it didn't make them feel any better. Was she okay back in the Ruins all alone? Did she regret letting them leave… or, taking them in in the first place? If she hadn't, it might have spared her a lot of pain, so why not?

"Frisk you… you still have the Cell Phone she gave us right?" Lily asked. "Try… calling her maybe?"

Of course. The phone. Frisk reached into his satchel and rummaged around a little to find it. Fishing it out, he extended the antenna and began scrolling through a list of options written in blocky text. Lily stopped him as soon he reached what he was looking for: Toriel's phone number. He hit the green call button and listened as a fluttering sound came from the receiver, repeating a few times before ending on a click.

"Well?" Lily asked hopefully.

Frisk lowered the phone and sighed. "Nobody picked up…"

"I hope… she's okay." The girl folded her hands in front of her.

"Should… should we go back? Just to check on her?" He asked. Lily shook her head.

"You know we can't… mom said not to. And even if we could we wouldn't be able to open the door, right?" Frisk looked back to the phone forlornly. He knew she was right, but couldn't help worrying. Noticing this, Lily put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, there's probably a good reason. Remember when we had to chase down that little annoying dog after it stole her phone before?"

Frisk smiled at that. "Oh yeah. That was the first dog I met down here… I was surprised to even find dogs this far underground."

"Right, so… maybe it took her phone again and she just hasn't gotten it back yet?" Lily suggested. "I'm sure she's alright.

She wasn't sure how much of that was meant to encourage Frisk and how much was for her own benefit, but she forced a smile anyway. They had to believe she was safe… they had to. After all, they'd done what Flowey wanted and left the Ruins. There'd be no reason to hurt her now… right?

"Let's just go." She said, guiding Frisk onwards toward the bridge. The flickering of lights beyond the chasm steeled their resolve.

They were almost there.

"Hold up Frisk. The bridge… I don't know if it's stable..." Lily questioned causing Frisk to pause while she moved closer to examine it. The wind over the chasm blew flurries of snow in all directions, forcing her to squint to see through it all. Still, it seemed perfectly sturdy despite everything. "It looks alright. There's even rope to hold onto."

"I wonder how far down it goes..." Frisk asked in wonder.

"I don't know. It looks like we're really high up. Come on. It'll be fine. I gotcha." Lily grinned and took his left wrist, and led him onto the bridge. Frisk's free hand found the rope and, using it for balance, he allowed the girl to guide him gently onward.

"I think I see something red up there in the distance. It… looks like Papyrus' scarf?"

They continued cautiously. It seemed sturdy enough to Frisk… The billowing wind prompted not even the slightest movement from the bridge's planks. Not so for the boy. The cold gale blew incessantly from the north, battering against his small body. He stumbled and his stick caught on the ropes causing him to trip. His body struck the wooden supports hard, forcing the branch from his hand.

"Oh no, Frisk! Are you okay?!" The stick rolled from the boy's hand and into the open air.

She'd expected to see it dip from the planks and fall into the chasm below. Instead, it simply continued to roll out into the empty space before eventually coming to a stop, suspended in the air as if gravity had completely forgotten to apply itself only to that one thing. "Um.. Okay?"

"I'm okay. Wh..where did my stick go?" Frisk replied before looking up at his companion, her confusion evident on her face.

"It's uh.. above the chasm? It's just floating there..."

"Floating…?"

The boy tilted his head in confusion but followed her gaze with his hand, tapping what felt more like rock than open air until his fingers grazed against the rough wood of the stick. Sighing in relief he took it in hand and stood back up.

"Okay. Yup. That's weird. You were touching what looks like nothing." She said, all capacity for disbelief drained from her voice.

"It felt like rock." Frisk replied matter-of-factly.

"No way. Does that mean the bridge is fake?" She heaved a drawn sigh and shrugged. "Come on. I think the exhaustion is starting mess with our heads… and I know you must be hungry. At least we know we don't have to be as careful..." She took his hand again and they continued on toward the other side.

Papyrus watched them alongside his brother, eagerly waiting for the puzzle-loving human. He'd had so much fun with both him and his invisible friend back at the symbol tile puzzle and was looking forward to showing them this next one. It was his latest creation, one that he had built using inspiration from the bits of 'Human History' he'd learned from Undyne. Supposedly, they loved these kinds of things and the red skeleton couldn't wait to see the joy his creation evoked upon the face of his fellow puzzler. He stepped forward and spoke.

"HUMAN! THIS! IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" His vociferous declaration easily carried over the whistling wind.

"What the heck?!" Lily cried out as a flash of magic punctuated Papyrus' words.

Six masses of bluish energy formed around the bridge, wriggling like gelatin in the open air. One by one, they split to reveal a number of deadly tools, each one aimed ominously at the bridge. To the left and right were two massive spears, their heads dangerously sharp. Above, a spiked ball easily three times as heavy as Frisk hung from a large chain, and below it, a dangerous looking pit of burning oil (which also looked like it was sitting on nothing). Papyrus' mitted hand rested upon an iron forged cannon aimed directly at Frisk. Lily was so unnerved by the ominous sight that she almost did not notice the small white dog dangling near Sans' head from a rope.

She relayed the information to Frisk who was immediately torn between worry for his own safety, and that of the dog. The thought of the fire pit alone made him shudder in primal horror.

"W-what do we do…?" Frisk asked helplessly.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING, THRUST, AND FIRE VIOLENTLY IN EVERY DIRECTION! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN! ARE YOU READY?!"

"Wha- no!" Frisk shouted, though his own small voice was swallowed by the wind's cry, unheard by the tall skeleton.

"BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!" Papyrus declared, grinning from cheekbone to cheekbone.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened. No spikes swung, no cannons fired, no blades sliced. The entire gauntlet remained static.

"well? what's the holdup bro?" Sans turned his own grin to Papyrus, oddly nonchalant despite the dangerous situation.

"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP?! I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!" Papyrus stammered. He was feeling nervous now. All of those dangerous weapons… what if the human got hurt?

Lily drifted ahead of Frisk and glared at the two skeletons, a protective urge driving her to position herself between her friend and the danger ahead. She wasn't sure what she could possibly do in this situation but in that moment she couldn't bring herself to care. They'd traveled through the entire forest with barely any rest and Frisk was already on his last legs. She could feel his exhaustion weighing him down as surely as if it were her own. Could Papyrus not see that? Did he even care? She wanted to scream at him… Sans too. After all, wasn't he the one who promised to 'keep an eye socket' out for the boy? What was he even doing?

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated." Sans replied, giving a wink in their direction.

That smothered her ire a little, if not outright extinguishing it. Frisk couldn't see it but she certainly had. That wink… he knew Frisk was blind, so why? Was it… meant for her?

'Does he know something…?'

Sans turned one lazy eye socket up toward his brother and waited. His intentions were unreadable behind that Cheshire Cat grin.

The Royal Guard hopeful looked out over his masterful creation, and almost seemed to sweat. The more he watched Frisk standing before all of those dangerous tools, the more he wondered if this wasn't too much. The tiny human looked… scared. That wasn't the reaction Papyrus was hoping for. He'd wanted thrills and drama, not fear. He wanted to capture the human more than anything… it was his dream. But this…? This wasn't right, and he knew it.

"WELL! THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS..." Papyrus's face fell slightly as he searched for the right words. "MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH." And then he knew it for a fact. "YES! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"

Lily watched in wonder as all the traps receded into their various portals. The dog managed to give a small bark before it too was whisked away to where ever it was drawn from and Frisk sighed in relief, giving Papyrus a thankful smile.

"PHEW... WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" The taller skeleton asked, posing proudly. "THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS! NYEH! HEH! ...HEH?" He gave one last look at the human before dashing off toward the lights twinkling in the distance.

Frisk sighed again, his shoulders drooping slightly as weariness settled upon him. Looking to Lily for guidance he took her hand and followed her across the rest of the 'bridge' and towards the lights glittering from the town. Sans waited for them at the end, posture relaxed and hands stuffed inside his hoodie pockets. He grinned knowingly down at the boy.

"welp, guess you made it, huh?" He said. Frisk gave the short bone man a tired thumbs up. "look like you been through the ringer, kiddo."

"Yeah…" Frisk said wearily. "That was tough."

"Poor Frisk." Lily said. "I guess the trip really wore you down to the bone."

Frisk giggled a little at her joke before relaying it to Sans. The short skeleton gave small chuckle of his own.

"heh. not bad." Sans complimented.

The banter was pleasant enough. That was good at least. And it seemed like his little brother was having a good time too, which was even better. The blue skeleton found himself wondering if this was what it was like the first time they met. Probably not… after all, the kid was a lot more open this time despite the memory thing. Still, he wasn't quite sure what to think about the situation. There were so many unanswered questions, and all those answers were tied to Frisk… getting to the bottom of them was another problem entirely.

Sans thought for a moment before giving the boy a light pat on the shoulder. It wouldn't be good to seem to distant. Nevertheless, the gesture felt familiar somehow.

"well, the town's right up ahead." He said after a moment. "should be able to kick your feet up there for a while."

"Good…" Frisk said, and the skeleton could really hear the exhaustion in his voice now. It reminded him a bit of himself on a good day.

"anyways, i should go. got a whole lot of work to not do." Sans drew back his hand and returned it to his pocket. "be good, huh? don't do anything i wouldn't."

"What do you do?" Lily questioned. Frisk giggled.

Sans hadn't said anything funny. Not this time anyway. It must have been the kid's friend again. He shrugged. "be seeing ya, kiddo."

"Bye, Sans." Frisk said gratefully. "And… thanks."

He was about to shuffle off back in the direction of the forest when he stopped and stumbled back a couple of inches. Frisk had just run into him and had wrapped his spindly arms around his ribcage. Sans was stunned for a moment but managed to hide it behind his trademark all-concealing grin. He recovered with a short 'heh' and gently pat the boy on the back. After a moment, Frisk unhugged the shorter of the bone brothers and smiled. Sans gave a silent nod before setting off, trying to remember which post he was scheduled to slack off in right now.

Tired, but relieved the two children made the last leg of the journey without incident, drawn by the twinkling lights of the friendly little town.


Authors' Notes: We're almost there. Next chapter: Snowdin Town!

Papyrus' 'face puzzle'. Just imagine how tough that would be looking at it from the characters' perspective, let alone with one being blind. And Sans was not the one to pull that prank at the tile puzzle. Not at all. Perish the thought, because he is totally, completely one-hundred percent innocent in that regard. Now, rather he had something to do with it on the other hand…

Papyrus may be innocent and naive, but no other monster knows better when a situation crosses the line into real danger. Considering who his brother is, he's had good reason to figure out how much is too much.

Also, we went back and fixed a few things in previous chapters. Nothing big, but a few consistency issues mostly regarding Frisk's sight, or lack there of. Most of them should be fixed by now. Thanks to Dragonjek of for bringing them to our attention.

Another huge shout out to everyone who posted comments after the last chapter was uploaded. It really meant a lot that so many people are enjoying our work! So thank you so very much! We love all of the reviews we've received! Keep them coming, because they really help a lot!