Chapter Thirteen – Brothers
-X-
As Frisk and Chara stumbled their way down the hill they had rested upon, incensed voices could be heard, carried upon the light breeze and through the fir trees that decorated the steep gradient.
It was acutely obvious to the children who one of the voices belonged to; a certain scarved-skeleton who, to their experience, only ever spoke with excessive volume. The other voice's owner could easily be assumed given who it was responding to, low pitched and soft.
The partners turned to each other as they recognised Papyrus and his brother Sans, sharing a light chuckle, shaking their heads. Frisk doubted Papyrus could ever hope to surprise or ambush anybody, as manic as he often sounded.
After a twist and a turn downhill through thick, evergreen foliage and slick, iced-over streams, the children finally made it to the bottom of the hill, the noise of the skeleton brothers close-by. Chara took a long glance at the slope they had traversed, lauding Frisk's determination in carrying her up it. At the halt in said boy's footsteps, and his curious backward glance, she voiced her question, her face set in a plethora of curiosity and astonishment.
"*Frisk, how did you manage to carry me all the way up there? Sure it was a safe place to go, but… it must have been difficult…" Chara inquired weakly, unsure if she should be gracious or amazed. Frisk shook his head and regarded her with a lopsided smile, not unlike her own.
"You're not heavy at all, and I think… I was just… I didn't think about the journey at all" Frisk said distantly, lamely waving his arms in the direction of the hill. "I just wanted to get you to safety, and I couldn't stop thinking about what I did…" He finished, his eyes looking downward, expression fading.
Chara just smiled softly, understanding. She placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing, and said no more. After a moment the two walked slowly toward the voices through the trees, steeling themselves, and their ears, for whatever challenges that Papyrus had promised.
-X-
As Frisk and Chara exited the trees, they were graced with the sight of the two odd brothers once again, Papyrus wildly gesticulating at a rather impassive Sans. Behind the skeletons, the fir tree forest ended, a sheer drop either side of the way forward across the mesa.
The boy could see the lights in the distance now, and felt his heart race at the concept of warmth, safety and somewhere to rest his tired head, a lot having happened since he woke up at Toriel's home in the ruins.
At this thought, Frisk steeled himself and approached the brothers, who had thus far been ignorant of his presence. Chara followed close behind, lamely attempting to stay out of the sight of Sans, still unsure about his possible awareness.
Sans noticed the boy first, winking at him. The skeleton paid him no further mind however, as he continued his drawling responses to Papyrus' irate diatribe.
"bro, i can't get in trouble for that. i still got there." Sans said, his voice erring on the side of disinterest. Papyrus raised his gloved fist in outrage.
"HALF AN HOUR AFTER YOU WERE MEANT TO BE THERE! IF YOU WEREN'T NAPPING ALL NIGHT, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE MISSED IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Papyrus exclaimed, his eyes seeming to pop of his skull in comedic exasperation. Sans' grin just seemed to grow ever-wider.
"pap, it's not napping. i think it's called… sleeping." The short skeleton seemed to shake in muffled laughter as Papyrus' eyes bulged further, his gloved hands clutched either side of his face is distress.
"UGH! I STILL THINK YOU'RE A LAZYBONES! YOU ALMOST MISSED ME NEARLY BEATING UNDYNE AT TRAINING!" Papyrus groaned in a defeated voice, falling to his bare knees dramatically. Sans, surprisingly to Frisk, looked concerned and almost… relieved?
"bro, you didn't even get one hit on her. but that's not bad at all, we all know you're tough, you don't need to fight to prove-" Sans' almost pleading words were interrupted as Papyrus shot up to his feet at a blinding speed, fist to his chest, the other hand raised in a smart salute.
"INDEED! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DO NOT NEED TO BEAT UNDYNE! I AM ALREADY ROYAL GUARD MATERIAL, SHE JUST NEEDS TO…" Papyrus' monologue changed course as he too spotted Frisk, who was steadily approaching. His frown changed to an excited grin at the sight of the child, spinning around to face him.
"OH HO! YOU FINALLY ARRIVED. ARRIVED TO SUBJECT YOURSELF TO MY FANTASTIC, IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE PUZZLES!" Papyrus shouted, his eyes popping out further than Frisk would have deemed healthy. Frisk remained steadfast, but reached discreetly behind himself for Chara's hand. As he felt her soft hand grasp his, he felt his resolute smile return to his face.
This only seemed to encourage Papyrus further, who leaned forward IF YOU WOULD WAIT THERE HUMAN-FRISK, I WOULD EXPLAIN FURTHER! FOR YOU…" Papyrus paused for what he must have thought was dramatic effect. Whatever his intentions were, they worked, as Frisk couldn't stop himself from gulping at the almost electric tension in the air.
"…ARE ALREADY IN A PUZZLE! A SHOCKING PUZZLE YOU COULD SAY! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus' cackling was almost drowned out by the din of his boots, kicking up flurries of snow in his excitement. Sans just stood there nearby, having moved out of the way. He looked… proud?
Frisk peered around the area warily, which was seemingly clear save for the four occupants. He glanced behind him at Chara, who was scowling in concentration, staring at the ground just in front of them. The boy couldn't see anything however, and with trepidation, spoke.
"W-what do you mean, I'm already in a puzzle? Mister Papyrus, I…" The skeleton in question shushed Frisk's nervous question, a finger raised to his lipless mouth.
"AHEM! I LIKE TO CALL THIS PUZZLE… THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus' chortling was barely matched by Chara's guffaw, not that the skeleton could hear it. Once he had calmed down once again, he assumed a more serious, explanatory tone.
"AS YOU HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY FOUND OUT, THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE ARE INVISIBLE! IF YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THE MAZE… YOU WILL BE QUITE SHOCKED!" The tall-skeleton stood proudly, arms crossed over his puffed out chest as he said this. His brother in the side-lines nodded thoughtfully with Papyrus' last word. Frisk uneasily thought he knew why.
"But Mister Papyrus sir, I don't want to be hurt! Can I please have a less painful puzzle? I'll solve those instead!" Frisk pleaded, attempting to appeal to the skeleton's mercy. Papyrus seemed to falter at Frisk's words, his gleeful expression downturned, grin weakening.
"LISTEN. DO THIS PUZZLE AND I'LL MAKE SURE THE NEXT ONES WILL BE MORE FUN! BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL GAIN FROM THIS… WILL BE…" Papyrus reached into his pocket and pulled out a glowing blue remote, looking dolefully at it.
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'LL TURN DOWN THE ELECTRICITY! NOW IT'LL JUST GIVE YOU A HEARTY ZAP! HOW DOES THAT SOUND?" Papyrus pressed a finger onto the remote and leaned forward, winking at the boy. Frisk still felt unsure; how was he going to get out of this one?
At Frisk's rising tension, Chara squeezed his hand and moved to the boy's side, carefully avoiding looking at Sans. She leaned onto Frisk lightly, whispering into his ear. "*Can you see the wires on the ground? They're hard to see since I think they're see through… but if you look closely, I reckon we can get through this without a hitch!" Chara rasped quietly, pointing somewhere at the ground in front of them.
Frisk squinted his eyes, peering closely to where Chara was pointing. Upon closer inspection, he could just make out the tripwires hovering slightly above the icy floor, which were only really discernible when he moved his head. He nodded, smiling determinedly. It had been aimed at Chara, but Papyrus took it for a sign of challenge, and stood straight, eager.
"IF YOU ARE READY, THEN PROCEED… WITH CARE! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Papyrus began his unending tirade of laughter once again, watching Frisk intently.
Although he had just about spotted the wires on the ground, Frisk was baffled at where to start. He could be here all day, and then some! Luckily for him then, that Chara seemed to have better vision.
The girl moved back behind him, and held onto his arms tightly, pushing gently. At Frisk's initial refusal to move, she explained her reasoning quietly. "*I'll try and guide you, we'll get through this, just trust me!" Chara pleaded, her expression matching her voice. Frisk drew a long, deep-breath, and nodded, tiptoeing forward.
He imagined it would look rather odd to the others if they could see Chara- 'like an odd version of three-legged racing' Frisk thought with a smile. The girl and boy slowly made their way through the maze clung to each other, one step at a time, his arms slightly outstretched as she directed him painstakingly.
At one part where Frisk thought they were nearing the end, he picked up the pace suddenly, despite his partner's warning. They both cried out in pain at the electric shock, Frisk short and guttural, Chara a high-pitched scream. The girl grasped his arms rather tightly after that. "*Don't do that again." She whispered harshly. Frisk could only nod, numb and half-deaf after her screaming in his ears.
They continued on at a slow and steady pace toward the end. Once Chara was sure they had exited the maze, the two of them collapsed to the floor, mentally exhausted. Papyrus stared at Frisk dumbfounded, his jaw dropped.
After raising his errant jaw back into place with a fist, Papyrus began applauding the boy. "NICELY DONE FRISK! WHY I MIGHT SAY YOU WERE A PUZZLE LOVER LIKE MYSELF! YOU MAY HAVE MADE ONE MISTAKE… BUT YOU CARRIED ON ANYWAY! NOW HERE YOU ARE!" The tall skeleton gushed, overwhelmingly happy at finding someone to beat his puzzle.
Papyrus slowly collected himself from his admiring praise, the huge grin never leaving his face. Frisk looked tiredly at Chara on the ground beside him, and struggled to prevent his own jaw from dropping.
Her brown hair, instead of falling to her shoulders and framing her rosy-cheeked face, was instead stuck out in all directions, puffed out into an agitated sphere around her head. He quickly patted his own head to ensure his own hair wasn't in the same state, and struggled not to do the same for her. Chara was blissfully ignorant to her appearance or Frisk's discomfort, still recovering from the maze.
"…ARE YOU ALRIGHT, FRISK?" Papyrus piped up, one eyebrow ridge raised at the boy's otherwise unexplained antics. Frisk nodded quickly, scolding himself internally for almost giving away his secret, not that anyone could have guessed.
"GOOD! BECAUSE THE NEXT PUZZLE SHALL NOT BE SO EASILY SOLVED! FOR IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BRILLIANT AND CLEVER BROTHER… SANS!" Papyrus exclaimed, wildly and dramatically waving his arms in the direction of the quiet skeleton.
"uh yeah. sure." Sans murmured, waving half-heartedly. Papyrus just groaned at his brother, then turned back to Frisk, saluting smartly. Once this was done, he swivelled on the spot and began quickly marching in the direction of the mesa, disappearing out of sight.
-X-
Frisk just laid there in the snow beside Chara, who was laid on her back and staring at the ceiling-stars. He just stared at her, she seemed calm enough, despite her odd new-hair style, and the slight grimace she was exhibiting. That expression seemed to double in intensity as they heard the slow crunching of approaching footsteps.
Sans stopped a few paces away from the children, looking gently at Frisk. Gone was the smug-grin, replaced by a soft, toothy smile of… gratitude? It was hard for the boy to tell, the skeleton bereft of lips.
"thanks frisk… did you see how happy my brother was? and that was just the one puzzle!" Sans chuckled to himself quietly, looking at the ground with an almost sad glimmer in his dark, pinprick eyes. Frisk got up from the ground stiffly, the cold of the snow aching on his raw hands. He was glad the short skeleton seemed content without his jacket, for Frisk was sure he'd be much worse-off without it. The boy was just glad Chara seemed to be fine, electric shocks and being run through by swords notwithstanding.
Frisk regarded Sans with a tired smile, slowly regaining his energy. "It's alright Sans… it's the least I could do, after you gave me this…" Frisk tugged on the sleeves of the blue jacket. Sans' smile widened as he closed his eyes, chuckling again soundlessly.
"i told you not to worry about it. now i guess I better catch up to papyrus; i promised him that i would give you one puzzle" Sans opened his left eye, leaving his right one winking. "don't worry though, this one's not gonna be as painful" Sans reassured, before slowly turning and trudging in the same direction as his brother.
Frisk watched him go calmly, the pale starlight rendering the skeleton nearly invisible with his white sweater, head and legs. Before long, he too disappeared out of sight.
Chara moved beside Frisk, arms hugged to her chest. "*So he's gone then?" asked the girl simply. Frisk nodded, still watching down the path.
"He really does care for his brother… It's funny just how different they are…" Frisk spoke softly, turning to Chara. He bit his tongue at what he might have said next however, her fuzzy hair style still in place.
Without a word, he moved straight in front of her. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he patted his hands to her scalp, her hair clinging to his hands as he tried to get it into place.
After he was satisfied he was done, he stepped back to assess his handiwork. Were Chara's cheeks… redder than usual? She was pouting, her lips stuck out as her eyes flashed dangerously at him.
"I-I was just putting your hair back to normal! It had all stuck up after we… I got us electrocuted!" Frisk explained quickly, his hands raised in surrender.
"*Oh. Thanks, I guess." Chara said blinking, her mock-outrage quickly replaced by a confident, if a little less energetic grin. Frisk let out a sigh of relief, and matched her expression.
"*I suppose that despite that one little mistake, we're a pretty good team! Now let's go show those two clowns how it's done!" Chara suggested encouragingly, her hand raised for the boy to take. He grasped hold of it firmly, and nodded.
"You're right, we can't be too far now." Frisk agreed resolvedly, smiling as he turned and began walking after the brothers, his friend close beside him.
-X-
The young pair walked across the frozen mesa, ever onward towards the lights of the town, wary of their next meeting with Papyrus and his brother. Chara had pulled away from Frisk at one point to take a look over the edge of the icy plateau, curious as to what was below.
She stared for a long time over the edge, Frisk walking over to her to see what she was captivated by. He noticed her oddly terrified visage as he approached, and felt his anxiety grow quickly as he glimpsed the yawning darkness below.
"Chara… what is it? What do you see?" The boy asked nervously, unable to tear his eyes off the dark abyss. The girl did not respond straight away. When she did, it was but a weak murmur.
"*Frisk…" she rasped. The boy looked around furiously over the edge, uneasy, but unable to discern what had shaken her so.
Suddenly, the girl grabbed his arm tightly and screeched. "*BOO!" Frisk felt his heart leap up his throat in fright, and yelled himself at the suddenness of it.
As Chara laughed long and loud at her successful prank, Frisk struggled to calm himself down, his heart beating wildly, breathing rapid. This time, it was his turn to pout in embarrassment. He watched as his partner clutched her abdomen, bent over with her raucous mirth.
An idea came to his mind then, a form of revenge. He slowly approached her, she not noticing him. Once he got close enough, with the right angle, he pounced.
Her belly-laughter developed into a startled shriek, into wailing, and then more laughter, pained this time. It was joined by Frisk's own laughter as he tickled her on the stomach into submission, determined to pay her back.
Frisk did not let up until they had both fallen to the floor, Chara struggling to get away, he grasped onto her midsection as he tickled furiously. It was only when they were both face-first into the snow that he began to relent.
"*N-no! S-STOP!" Chara cried, unable to stop Frisk, her weakness found. Frisk smiled devilishly as he let go, and she struggled to get up, still giggling and wheezing slightly at the overstimulation. He couldn't contain a pleased giggle or two of his own at the sight of her.
A fluttering of wings. A scoff, high above them.
Frisk's mirth ended rather abruptly as he realised they were not alone. He stood up straight, anxiety and awareness returning as he peered around for the source of the voice. Chara joined him shortly, still shaking slightly. After a playful elbow to his stomach, she too joined in with the search.
"Now what do you think you were laughing at, huh?" spoke a shrill, whistling voice, the source of which presented itself by flying down, swooping past them threateningly.
Frisk grasped desperately for Chara's hand, who grabbed his back strongly. He was reassured by the presence of his partner, especially with the antics that had gone on just previously.
The monster slowed its flying, coming to a stop in front of them. As it landed on the snow before their gaze, the children were able to finally assess what they were up against.
For all intents and purposes, it was a large bird, with a huge crested face and bright orange eyes. Its body was white and grey, though its face feathers were blue. Above its large, toothed beak was a strangely decorative yellow ridge, almost in the shape of an outstretched man.
It had stubby wings that unbelievably must have allowed the little monster to fly… though they looked no more useful than a chicken's. Finally, its plumage was intermittently covered in black, decorative spots, and it stood on twig-like grey talons, which were dug into the snow before the children.
Compared to the dog-soldiers and even Napstablook, this little guy was rather tame-looking, a fact that Chara made known by scoffing loudly and sneering.
"You think you're funny, don't ya? Well I'll tell you who the real comedian around here is! It's me! Snowdrake!" Cried the now named, overbearing bird as it hopped toward Frisk angrily.
Frisk stood his ground, not much distance behind him until the dark abyss below. He dispelled the nervous tension building in his stomach as thought of a way out of this.
"*I say we kick him in his arrogant little chicken-head! Who does he think he is?!" Chara stormed, Frisk tightening his grip on her hand and frowning. He wouldn't do that.
"Hello Snowdrake, I'm Frisk. I-" the boy didn't have chance to finish his somewhat calming speech as the bird leapt up to his face and squawked, piercingly loud. Frisk reflexively let go of Chara's hand to raise both his arms to his ears, eyes squeezed closed in pain.
As Frisk recovered, his ears ringing, he looked down at Snowdrake, who looked very pleased with himself. He could feel Chara beside him bristle at what the smug bird had just done.
"*What's this guy's problem? If you're not going to hit him, we need to ask him so we can get somewhere Frisk" Chara suggested, gritting her teeth. Frisk nodded painfully, and spoke carefully, one arm outstretched.
"Snowdrake, could you- No don't do that again!" Frisk managed to roll to his side before the loud bird could deafen him once again. How was he supposed to get through to Snowdrake if he wouldn't even let him speak?
"*You ready to take my suggestion yet?" Chara asked grimly, moving to Frisk's side and folding her arms. Frisk wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket, having got a mouthful of snow in the dive.
"Not yet" He said quietly so only Chara could hear. He didn't see if she nodded or not, his attention focused on the slowly approaching Snowdrake.
As the boy and the bird stopped moving toward each other, and merely stared, Frisk opened his arms wide, his lips tight-shut this time. Snowdrake tilted its head in question at the boy's motion.
"Y' ready to stop interruptin' me?" chirped Snowdrake, its eyes glistening as it stared at him. Frisk frowned, but nodded, folding his arms in imitation of his partner. The bird seemed pleased with this, and instead of flying up to attack Frisk with a supersonic squawk, coughed roughly and spoke with a low voice.
"Ahem, so… there was this monster, who told twenty different puns to his friends right? He hoped that at least ten of those puns would make them laugh… you still with me? Well… No pun in ten did." Snowdrake finished what it thought was an immensely funny joke, as much as a smile that could be conveyed through its beak present.
Frisk merely stood there, staring at the bird, mouth and eyes half-open in an unintentional deadpan. Chara was much the same, only she guffawed a few seconds later.
As Snowdrake frowned at Frisk, a slight upset gleam in its eye, the boy smiled, having finally teased out the meaning in the poor joke. At seeing this slow realisation over his audience's face, Snowdrake bounced up and down on its twiggy feet in pleasure.
"Haha! So it wasn't so bad after all! I got that one off of Sans! Speaking of which… you're wearing his jacket… no matter! Want another one?" Snowdrake chattered gleefully, looking up at Frisk with a hopeful glimmer in its orange eyes.
"*This seems to be working, as annoying as he is. I bet no-one else lets him do this… tell terrible jokes. If we humour him, I guess we'd be doing him a favour, right?" Chara proposed slowly, to which Frisk nodded strongly, both for her and for Snowdrake in front of him, who eagerly bounced on his feet at the prospect of doing what he loved.
"Hey, hey! I went to a seafood party last week… and pulled a mussel!" Snowdrake joked once more, hopping excitedly. This time Frisk was ready, and giggled slightly, a hand raised to his mouth, smiling. Snowdrake was only encouraged by this.
"A-another one! Heh, two antennas met on a roof right? They fell in love and got married… The ceremony wasn't much to brag about… at least the reception was excellent!" Snowdrake fired off yet another joke, and this time both children laughed, even though one of them didn't need to. Frisk made the effort to pull off a full belly-laugh this time, partly because it was funny to him, and partly in hopes it would satisfy the little comedian.
It seemed to work, as Snowdrake seemed to deflate, his excitement spent. Frisk's giggles petered out though as he noticed the little monster's glum look.
"Are you alright Snowdrake? Those were good!" Frisk spoke gently but cautiously, wary of being deafened again. The boy slowly approached the bird, crouching down to his level. Snowdrake looked up at Frisk then, his eyes sad.
"Your name's Frisk right?" asked Snowdrake, to which the boy nodded. The monster looked rather sheepish at this, and looked away.
"I'm sorry for screeching at you, I just… Nobody ever lets me tell my jokes! They all tell me I'm bad… that they're nothing compared to my father's… Or my mo-…" Snowdrake couldn't finish the last word, hiccoughing. Frisk smiled sadly at him, and finished approaching the bird, gently patting his hand on Snowdrake's head.
Chara had been a bit wary about Frisk being so forward, but it seemed she was right, and that the bird only needed someone to humour him to get him to lighten up. She was once again impressed with Frisk's perseverance- she wouldn't have been so patient had their positions been reversed. As she watched the scene before her unfold, she concluded with a wistful smile that it was for the best, and endeavoured to watch her partner more closely from now on.
Meanwhile, Snowdrake looked back up at Frisk as he retracted his comforting hand from patting his head. "He-hey! You liked my jokes though, didn't you?" Snowdrake asked pleadingly. Frisk nodded, smiling gently. The bird seemed to puff up proudly at this, ruffling his feathers.
"S-see! They weren't all right! Dad was wrong! I am funny! Haha!" Snowdrake chattered happily, hopping up and down on his feet. Frisk had trouble keeping up with the rapid movement, and spoke before Snowdrake spiralled out of control.
"Why don't you go back to your father, and tell him that someone found you funny? He's bound to turn round what he said about you now!" Frisk said encouragingly. It seemed to have the opposite effect on Snowdrake, who became withdrawn once again.
"I… ran away. I couldn't take it anymore… not after mom… died… he was… he didn't…" Snowdrake mumbled, sinking further and further into himself. Frisk moved quickly before Snowdrake's thoughts could start eating at him, which he had no doubt they would.
As Snowdrake was bundled rather awkwardly into Frisk's arms, both the monster and Chara looked at the boy in surprise. What was he doing?
"You, Snowdrake, are going to go back to your father and tell him how great you are! Tell him someone found you really funny! More funny than they've found anything in this world! T-tell him you love him, and he's bound to take you back! I bet he misses you, and I bet he'll regret ever saying you weren't funny! You know what to do!" Frisk finished his speech with a strong, encouraging smile that reached well past his eyes. He breathed determination then, and Snowdrake had no choice but to obey.
"I…I-! I won't let you down Frisk! I'll show him! Thank you!" stuttered Snowdrake as he scrambled out of Frisk's arms and flew awkwardly away, in a direction that the children could not follow. The bird looked back to see the human boy waving at him, and though he could not see her, a formerly human girl was doing the same.
-X-
Frisk turned to his partner after Snowdrake left out of sight, his energy leaving him, arms hanging bonelessly from his shoulders in a dramatic display of exhaustion.
Chara just smiled at him, her eyes half-closed with the expression- pride. "*Nice one Frisk… I'd like to say you've just helped that little guy out big-time." She spoke softly. Frisk looked at her hopefully.
"You really think so?" He asked, to which she nodded, her trademark lopsided smile snaking its way in over her previously soft one.
"*I wouldn't lie to you, partner. Now what do you say we take a quick rest… and carry on? It can't be too much further…" Chara suggested, moving over to the nearby flat-surface boulders next to the edge of the abyss. Frisk nodded gratefully, following her.
As they sat down, they remained in companionable silence for a while, looking up at the glittering stars above.
Frisk thought of all the times he would have been in trouble without Chara to guide him, to save him. He didn't dare think of where he'd have ended up without her. 'Not here, that's for sure' he mused.
He turned his gaze to her then, and was momentarily taken aback to see her staring curiously at him too. They both quickly looked away, and resumed looking anywhere but each other, a flush of embarrassment encroaching over their faces.
The boy felt his spirits soar as he thought that they'd continue to be together as they made their way toward the ultimate goal, so they could free the likes of Snowdrake and his father, Sans, Papyrus, Toriel… Asriel…
Pushing the sudden onslaught of doubt down, he decided to take the lead, offering his hand to Chara. She looked up at him and grinned her rosy grin, grabbing his hand and getting up with him, the two of them rested. They continued toward the ever-growing lights of monster civilisation, ever determined.
-X-
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the later update than I'd promised. Had some pretty serious problems arise here, but they're as solved as they can be for now! More time to write at least… As always, if you find a problem/s with this chapter, don't hesitate to leave some criticism so I can fix it and improve!
A big thanks to 'RustyBuckets', 'Jack Hopper', 'Allen Vth', 'TheEmeraldQueen' (who I really wish had a profile so I could PM and thank personally!), 'Arashi-IV of VI', the two guests and 'Imnotraven16'! Thanks to those who followed and favorited too, I hope I can continue to impress you!
The next chapter should be out Saturday or Sunday night. See you then!