Being Human - Act I - Chapter 9

In Snowdin Forest, it's far too easy to get lost, and one never knows what they will find if they linger here for long enough.

The forest is trapped in a perpetual winter, with countless mysteries and secrets buried beneath fields of ice and snow. Light scarcely makes itself known in the Underground, and thanks to the invasive branches of countless trees, the darkness of Snowdin forest is thicker than the densest of fogs. Even when one stays on the guiding path through the woods, one almost cannot see the destination ahead of them.

Here on this path, Frisk walks with all the haste of a tortoise. Every step forward is a struggle as his feet are seemingly entombed in gravestones, moving towards an inevitable fate he wants to avoid, but cannot escape. He knows that somewhere, anywhere, there are two monsters lying in wait for him to appear.

Come on, Frisk, he thought, how bad could it be? I mean, it's only two undead skeleton monsters from beyond the grave and a cave filled with other monsters… And yeah, one of them is a lot bigger, probably a lot stronger, and wants to trap you forever and you'll never see mom ever again… Cold sweat on the back of his neck freezes, not that it could chill his inflamed nerves.

But you can do this. Mom wouldn't be scared of them, and that means you shouldn't be scared. Frisk keeps a trembling death grip on the phone Toriel gave to him back in the Ruins. Besides, one of them said that he would help you. That's nice of him. Just like Toriel; and there's no way that-!

"So, as I was saying about Undyne," Papyrus says, causing Frisk to yelp and trip to the ground as the Skeleton Brothers appear out of the darkness in front of him.

What the!? Frisk thought. Where did they come from!? And how did Sans get here if he went the other way? And… And what the heck is he doing? Confusion fills Frisk to capacity as Papyrus spins excitingly side to side in place and wears an enormous grin on his face, like a child who found their birthday presents a week early. In contrast, Sans remains calm and cool as he tries, and fails, to appear surprised to find a human.

"Sans! Oh my Gosh! Is that… A Human?!" Papyrus shouts, making no effort to lower his voice.

"Uhhh… Actually, I think that's a rock." They look on at Frisk lying motionless and helpless on the ground as a snowy rock sits in-between them on the path.

"Oh. You're right." Papyrus drops his arms and face with a sigh of disappointed defeat.

"Hey, what's that behind the rock?" Papyrus repeats his exaggerated spin before turning around to face Sans once again.

"Oh my Gosh! Sans! Is… Is that a Human?!" Frisk raises an eyebrow, turning deadpan as question marks cloud his mind due to this repeat performance.

Wait, does he not know that I'm human?

"Yes." Sans answers both of their questions in an actual indoor voice as his words barely reach Frisk's ears.

"Sans! Do you know what this means! I finally did it! Undyne will have to… I'm gonna… I'll be so…"

Fearsome…horrifying…Powerful… Frisk thought as dreadful mental imagery and scenarios with this skeleton monster play out in his mind. All of which end in him becoming a skeleton himself. Nevertheless, he cannot do anything to stop himself from hearing the answer.

"Popular! Popular! Popular!" Papyrus shouts to himself, to Sans and Frisk, to the ceiling, and the monsters back in the Ruins.

Wait, what?! He's trying to capture me so he can be popular? Frisk's face becomes bewildered with Papyrus' motive and how such a thing can come about. Before Frisk's thoughts can sink in, the monster dynamically poses with one hand striking the air and another latched onto his hip. The monster stares at him intensely, and in this moment Frisk is already captured, unable to escape this dominating gaze.

"Human! This is your lucky day! Allow me to introduce your opponent in this game, myself! For I am the greatest champion of Monsterkind, the defender of Snowdin, and the finest member of the royal guard-."

"In-training." Sans adds.

"Sans! Do not interrupt me in front of the human. Where was I again? Oh, yes, now I remember! For I am the brave, the invincible, and the Great Papyrus!" The monster strikes combative and threatening poses. "So consider this your warning, Human! You shall not pass this area! I will stop you! I will capture you! You will be delivered to the Capital! And then..."

Oh no, they're going to kill me! Or even worse, I'll be trapped down here forever! I'll never escape! I'll never see Mom ever again! And they have magic, too! What if they can do worse things?! Turn me into a snail and eat me. Kill me and bring me back just to do it again. Banish me underground-. Oh wait I'm already underground. But what else could they-!

"Actually, I'm not sure what comes next. In any case, continue… Only if you dare!" The monster declares with a wide and welcoming smile on his face. The same kind of smile Frisk has come to expect from monsters and flowers. The monster leaves and disappears in the distance while Sans remains behind with him. Frisk is unable to move on, dreading to discover what the monster has planned for him. This continues until Sans approaches him with a casual demeanor.

"Careful kid. Think that hard on the ice and something will slip your mind." Frisk breaks into a series of desperate gasps, not realizing he was holding his breath. Yet he could not relish any relief, feeling trapped within the boney grasps of Papyrus.

"I can tell you're nervous. Take a breather if you need one, but don't sweat it. I got my eye socket on ya. So relax, otherwise, you'll freeze yourself." Frisk takes his offer, but shakes and trembles with frozen fear at the prospect of continuing on. He stares ahead, but cannot see what lies ahead behind his foggy breaths.

"Sans, I don't know if I can do this, there's got to be another way. Something else that I can do."

"Come on kid, you haven't even crossed the startling line and you already want to give up? No one should be lazier than me."

"But Papyrus really wants to capture me... I'm not ready for this. What am I supposed to do?" Frisk buries his face underneath his palms, but their cold touch brings him no comfort.

"Paps is just having some fun. He likes to talk big, but he's a lot smaller then he looks. And trust me kid, I'd say that you're already on the right path. Just keep on going the way you are now and I know you and Paps will have a lot of fun together." Sans says and leaves his soft mitten hand on Frisk's shoulder.

Frisk lifts his head to look into Sans' eye sockets and finds himself filled with cooling relief and burning regret. Frisk finds his words kind and reassuring, and a welcome phrase to accompany his smiling face. At the same time, he cannot deny there is a piece of him that wants Sans to be shouting them through a megaphone from a few miles away.

"Who knows? The two of you might be friends in the end." Sans says as he winks the light inside his eye socket.

The idea hits Frisk like a bucket of cold water. "Friends!? There's no way that will happen!"

"Kid, if there's one thing I've learned down here, it's never say never." Frisk remains still and silent until Sans departs to rejoin his brother. "Well, Kid, it's your choice, I can't make it for ya. Until then, I'll be waiting for ya." With that, Sans disappears into the distance and Frisk lets out a sigh as he returns to his feet.

Friends. Yeah, everyone wants to be friends with a monster who's trying to capture them. Everyone probably loves him: "Oh, Papyrus, you captured the human who didn't do anything wrong! We all love you! Now let's kill him!" But then again, at least he's being honest… I think. I've never seen anyone be so wacky and scary at the same time. Frisk thought as he begrudgingly walks down the path to join them.

And as for Sans... I mean Sans is real nice too, and now that I don't have Toriel, I need all the help I can get. But he really wants this to happen. What is he getting out of this? Even Toriel was hiding secrets, how do I know that he's not? Frisk takes a deep gulp and tries his best to put the puzzle pieces together, but even he can see that he is missing a few or most of them at the current moment.

Well, I'll just have to play along for now. At least they're not flowers, I'll give them that. I just hope that I really don't have to fight. But what if I don't get a choice? Just who am I dealing with here...? Frisk stops as he comes across a bizarre sight along the side of the road.

A sentry station stands on the side of the path. It is ramshackle and crudely constructed. It is a cut out of a large cardboard box with a square cut into the front with the flaps doing zilch to protect the inside from the elements. There is an inscription below the opening.

You Observe the well-crafted Sentry Station. Who could have built this, you ponder? I bet it was that very famous Royal Guardsman!

NOTE: Not yet a Very Famous Royal Guardsman.

"This place just keeps getting stranger and weirder."

"Hey you! Don't go anywhere. You're just what I needed." The sudden words stab Frisk in the back of his spine like an invisible icicle. He turns around as a blue bird monster flutters forth to confront him. He stares at him with two large mischievous eyes and a strange but ornate beak that stretches across his entire head like a snowflake.

Frisk backs into the cardboard box, wanting to disappear inside of it. But he is already too late as the monster entraps him. Behind his shut eyes, the monster's icy breath falls on him as he invades his personal space. He stands in-between a cardboard box and an awkward place with no way to escape.

"Ice puns are 'snow' problem." The monster says, and Frisk stands in a defensive posture, hoping he could melt away into snow. "Didn't like that one? Okay, how about this one: how 'Ice' to meet you."

Frisk opens his eyes in confusion. "What are you doing?" He asks and lowers his hands.

"Huh! That one sucked too. Okay. Okay. Umm… You don't have to give me the 'cold' shoulder."

"Wait, I've heard that one before… Wait, are you just making-?!"

"No! Someone else made that joke to you already!? I gotta up my game if I'm going to make it. I can't go back like this. This is my big gun; are you ready?!" The monster asks aggressively, thrusting the tip of their beak into his forehead and Frisk answers by retreating away from him with a frightful face.

"I had the best ice pun, but it 'slipped' my mind," The monster says, spurring Frisk to chuckle awkwardly as he wishes he could be anywhere else but here.

"I don't know what's going on," Frisk says.

"You mean I'm not funny," The monster asks in disappointment, eye wide and open with shock.

"Is that's what happening?" Frisk ducks to the ground as the monster fires off circular blunt objects of ice in every direction.

"Dad was right!" The monster cries, flying away into the darkness and leaving Frisk behind.

"What is it with everyone and puns?" Frisk whispers aloud as he escapes back to the path. He hopes that he does not find another monster anytime soon. But after walking down the path, he discovers he does not have to wait very long for the game to start.

"Sans! You're so Lazy! You were napping all night!" Papyrus argues with Sans, both unaware of his arrival as they stand across an empty field of ice. Papyrus cannot stand still while lecturing his brother, and Sans takes it all in stride with a cool grin.

"I think that's just called sleeping." Sans says.

"Excuses, Excuses!" They turn around to face Frisk and take notice of him, standing stiff as a cardboard box with quivering lips.

"Oh-Oh! The Human arrives!" Frisk whimpers as the monster addresses him. "So, Human, I see you have decided to take on my challenge. Allow me to assure you, I will not disappoint in capturing you, Human! In order to stop you, my brother and I have created puzzles to entrap and entertain you. I think you will find this one… quite 'shocking'." Frisk gulps as he hears that.

Man… I normally love puzzles, but not right now… Oh well, at least I get a fighting chance this time, Frisk thought as he stops at the edge of a large square cleared of snow, leaving behind a thin consistent layer of snowy dust and ice.

"For you see, this is the invisible electricity maze!" Papyrus continues and produces a small glass orb from his armor. "When you touch the walls of this maze, this orb will administer a hearty zap! Sounds like fun? But actually, I think the amount of fun that you will have is small. But okay, you can go ahead now."

Oh, yeah, I get to be shocked to death. That sounds like a lot of- wait a second… the orb is still in his hand. Does he not know that? Hmm… I wonder. There is a soft electric hum in the air, revealing the hidden electric field under the square with only a single safe path to find and use. Frisk places one step onto the square. An electric shock stings in the air and a flash of white consumes Papyrus as he leaps into the air.

I guess it does work, better him than me. Frisk smirks and places his foot forward to repeat the action. As his foot approaches the edge, his heart twists from a ping of guilt. Frisk gazes at the monster intent on capturing and trapping him in the Underground: A monster with a wide smile and brother at his side. Frisk sighs and retracts his foot away from the puzzle.

"Sans! What did you do?" Papyrus stomps on the ground and throws another tantrum.

"I think the human has to hold the orb," Sans replies.

"Oh, okay. That makes senses." Frisk becomes stunned as the monster walks through the square in a careful and precise manner. As the monster approaches him, Frisk retreats like a cornered deer from an approaching wolf. Even if this one comes with a friendly face, it takes little for a smile to transform into a sneer.

"Hold this please!" The monster arrives before him and Frisk nervously accepts the electric orb, only for Papyrus to toss the orb into the air. The electric orb lands on Frisk's head with a soft thud and perfect precision. The feat would have impressed Frisk if Papyrus' presence did not come with a sudden spell of paralysis, ending only when Papyrus departs to rejoin Sans to Frisk's relief.

So, I just gotta find a way through or I get zapped to death? Man, I hate these trial-by-error puzzles, and- wait a minute. Frisk notices a trail of footprints within the square left behind by Papyrus. They are far too precise and intentional to be accidental.

Did he not realize what he did? What is he doing? Frisk slowly walks through the square as he follows the monster's footprints to reach the other side in safety. It is easy and difficult at the same time. The entire trek is a painless one, but each step he takes brings him closer to the Skeletons. In the end, finishing the maze will take a single step, but Frisk could not help but imagine a bear trap waiting to snap off his foot.

"Incredible!" Papyrus proclaimed. "You slippery Snail! You solved it so easily… Too easily. I must work much harder on my future puzzles. I look forward to the challenge; truly, there is no joy like crafting Puzzles."

"You like Puzzles, too?" Frisk asks and gazes at Papyrus with a surprised smile, not expecting that from the monster.

"Indeed I do, Human, but do not fret! I am certain I will be able to capture you soon enough!" The monster's words turn Frisk's smile into a somber frown.

"In fact, the next puzzle will not be easy! It is designed by my brother Sans! You will surely be confounded! I know that I am. You will finally meet your match, Human! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!"

Frisk remains with an awkward smile to disguise his discomfort and dread as the monster leaves and Sans approaches. "Hey, thanks… I know this isn't easy for ya. But my brother seems like he's having fun. By the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? We made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. He hasn't worn anything else since… he calls it his 'battle body.'

So he makes his own Battle Armor, too, Frisk thought. Well, he's certainly ready to fight me…

"Isn't my brother so cool? Well, I'll meet you at my puzzle. It's a real killer. Just try not to step into something if you know it's gonna hurt ya." Sans' words catch Frisk's attention and sends a chill deep into his own bones.

Wait, did he notice what I did? No way, that has to be a coincidence. Maybe? Well I guess he is your brother, so that makes sense. But then why is he helping me? Or is this the same kind of help that Flowey wanted to give me? Frisk thought as Sans walks on ahead with his back to him, waiting until he disappears in the dark distance. Only than does Frisk cast his hesitation away to follow Sans to the next puzzle.

He arrives at another square cleared of snow, where the skeleton brothers wait side by side for him at the front of the square. Despite their inviting smiles, Frisk puts as much distance between himself and them by entering the square. Frisk scans the area and searches as hard as he can, looking for anything: A switch to pull, death traps to evade, talking rocks to push. Instead, there is a piece of paper on the ground.

"Sans! Where is the Puzzle?!" Papyrus asks, sharing in Frisk's search for this elusive puzzle.

"It's right there on the ground." Sans points ahead at the piece of paper. "Trust me. There's no way the human can get past this one. Go ahead and try it kid."

"Uhh… Okay?" Frisk walks to the piece of paper, picking it up with closed eyes and shaking hands.

"What is it human!? I must know what it is!" Papyrus' words spur Frisk to read and discover the true nature of Sans' inescapable trap and undefeatable puzzle.

"It's… a word search?" Frisk says, not entirely believing what he is holding and carries it to the other side of the square with no difficulty. His eyes instinctively scan the mess of letters to find the words hidden within.

"Sans! That didn't do anything to stop the human!" Papyrus declares as they walk across the square to join Frisk on the other side.

"Whoops. I guess I should have used today's paper instead."

"What?! You mean it truly is a word search puzzle?! Sans I can't believe you chose that over everything else puzzles have to offer! Besides, in my opinion Junior Jumble is easily far harder,"

"What? Really, Paps? That easy peasy word scramble? Even baby bones can do that,"

"Unbelievable. Human!" The monster's words break Frisk out of his puzzle solving trance, a single word away from completing the word search.

"What's going on?! I was almost there,"

"We require an unbiased opinion. Which is more difficult: that simple and easy word puzzle in your hands or the truly indecipherable and impossible Junior Jumble. Solve this dispute for us!" Papyrus demands from Frisk.

I don't know what to say, Frisk thought. Both of those kinds of puzzles are real easy. I solved everyone I got on the back of cereal boxes and in the funny papers. There are puzzles way harder than either of these. But I gotta choose between them. I'm already on Sans' good side, I think… So I better make him happy...

"Junior Jumble is harder," Frisk says, although his words come with great strain.

"Haha! I knew it. Humans must be very intelligent if they also find Junior Jumble so difficult to solve. Nyeh heh heh! You have excellent taste in puzzles, Human. But now it's my turn again. Proceed if you dare! I am confident this next puzzle will defeat you and I shall finally capture you!" Papyrus leaves with a spry in his footing to the next puzzle, leaving Frisk with a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Thanks for saying "Junior Jumble" just to appease my brother. Yesterday he got stumped trying to solve the horoscope," Sans says.

"Yeah, no problem." Frisk leaves while Sans stays behind, keeping his fabled eye socket on him. As Frisk continues, he looks over his shoulder and finds Sans standing there aloofly disinterested while Papyrus sprints ahead of him like a child on the last day of school before summer vacation. Leaving him trapped by both skeletons, and yet both seem lost in their own worlds.

Or maybe I'm giving them too much credit… or too little credit. I'm honestly not sure. If they really are trying to capture me, they're really bad at their jobs. But I guess that's a good thing for me. I just hope my luck holds up.

Frisk continues to walk, his feet stomping on the snow covered ground as the wind sends chills across his spine. While not as severe as before, Frisk keeps his arms close to his chest, rubbing to create fleeting heat. He hopes to avoid becoming a snowman as a literal snowman appears on the side of the path.

"Well now I know how you feel like, Mr. Snowman," Frisk stammers as his teeth grind against each other.

"Thank you, Friend." Frisk slips and falls to the ground as a record skips and scratches inside his head.

"So… you can talk, too?" Frisk picks his head out of the ground.

"Yes, I can. And I was wondering if you can do me a favor," The Snowman says with a face of smiling black rocks and carrot nose.

"You know what? Sure. Why not?" Frisk throws his arms down in resignation.

"Here, take a piece of me, but not too much. A snowball should be good enough."

"But won't you melt?" Frisk asks as he returns to his feet.

"I'm made out of magic snow, so you don't have to worry about that. Go ahead." Frisk does as the snowman commands and removes a small snowball from the snowman's body.

"I've always wanted to see the world. Please take me with you. I will greatly appreciate it." Frisk takes the snowball and carries it inside his hands. Strangely enough, it does not freeze his fingers nor does it melt from his body heat. It even molds itself to fit inside his pocket with no difficulty.

"Okay, I promise that I will, and-!"

"There you are! I finally found you again!" Frisk turns around where he is confronted by the bird monster from earlier. He is accompanied by another monster this time. The second monster is described as a living snowman's head with smaller balls serving as a torso and limbs. The monster wears an enormous and ridiculous icicle hat that outsize the rest of their body. The monster looks visibly uncomfortable as the hat sits awkwardly on their head, lightly crushing them under its size and weight.

"Oh, do you have friends?" The snowman asks.

"I don't know?" Frisk squeaks as he cowers away from them, only to discover that he has nowhere to go, being surrounded by three monsters.

"This time for sure I got ya!" The bird monster proclaims. "You and Ice Cap will be my lovely captive audience."

"Fine," The other monster, apparently named Ice Cap, replies as best as they can. Their voice and body crunched under the weight and size of their enormous heavy hat. "Just don't take my hat. That goes double for you too Snowdrake."

"This time, you will laugh. All of you will laugh. Just like he is already," Snowdrake points at the snowman with their smiling rocky lips.

"Wait, you're doing this just to get a laugh? That's it!?" Frisk says in disbelief, expecting something worse.

"Of course I am! There's nothing else going on here. I don't need my parents," Snowdrake says.

"I didn't say anything about your parents."

"Good, because this has nothing to do with them," Snowdrake says.

"Do you like my hat? It's so cool, isn't it?" Ice Cap interrupts.

"Hey, I'm making the jokes here. So on with the 'snow'!" Frisk remains silent. "No? I put a lot of work into that one…"

Oh… he just wants me to laugh… So that's what this is all about. Well if that's what he really wants. Frisk readies to laugh, even if Snowdrake 'dropped' something in the worse example of toilet humor in history, he would force himself to laugh.

"Okay, let's try this one. You don't have to tell me that I'm funny, I already 'snow' that. 'Icy' that with my own eyes!" Snowdrake even poses slightly as he delivers the punch line.

"HahaHa." Frisk laughs unconvincingly, but satisfies Snowdrake "That's really funny. Thanks so much for the laugh, I'll never forget it." Frisk adds with a clumsily smile.

"You mean it? You're not being a snow fake, are you?!"

"No, I'm not," Frisk says.

"Darn it! That one didn't work." Snowdrake slaps his forehead.

"You like my hat, don't you?" Ice Cap says.

"Oh, that one flew straight over my head, and yeah, I guess your hat is okay."

"Flew over your head!?" Snowdrake says in shock.

"Just okay?!" Ice Cap says indignantly.

The two monsters back away from Frisk as they grumble among each other.

"What did I do wrong?" Frisk wonders.

"They don't seem very happy. You should be friends with your friends. Try to help them." The snowman says to Frisk. He stands at an impasse as the monsters wallow in disappointment. With their attention broken, it would be child's play to flee and escape them. Such a high effort doesn't seem to be necessary, with their sad and sullen faces. With great tribulation, Frisk makes his move.

" … Knock knock," Frisk says.

"Who's there?" Snowdrake answers.

"Snow."

"Snow who?"

"Snow laughing matter!" A moment of silence passes before he and Snowdrake share a laugh together. Even Ice Cap cracks a smirk.

"Wow, that's a good one! I really wish I could be funny. How are you funny? Please tell me your secrets, I have to know!" Snowdrake begs and demands.

"Well… I mean…" Frisk ponders for a moment. "I'm not an expert. But puns are real easy, and don't get me wrong. Puns can be funny at times, but jokes are harder to pull off. You have to setup the joke, and then you either give the obvious answer or the opposite thing as the punch line. You have to play with them and what people expect and how you say with the words, just like when you play with yourself."

"I see what you mean, and why do you tell jokes?"

"Jokes can make you happy when you feel sad, or they can take sad things and make them funny. At least, that's why I always liked making them…" Frisk says and casts his head down, his voice turning somber. "If I can laugh at something… then things don't feel as bad."

"You know…" Snowdrake says, "A friend of mine was freezing ice cubes for me. He was doing me a real 'solid'."

Frisk smiles as the joke brings warmth to his soul. "Thanks. I really needed that."

"Wait, I got another one for ya! What happens to the ground before Winter comes? Fall Leaves!"

"Haha! Now you got it," Frisk says, no longer hiding his smile away from Snowdrake.

"Wow, really?! Now I 'snow' what to do. Thanks a lot, friend!" Snowdrake leaves satisfied, yet Ice Cap remains behind and panics.

"No, come back, Snowdrake! I need all of you to look at my hat and-! Hey, wait, come back!" Ice Cap begs and Frisk turns around after attempting to leave. "How are you able to look away from my hat!? It's the best hat ever!" Ice Cap shouts as their hat almost falls off their head.

"Well, I didn't want to say anything, but that hat looks really uncomfortable on you," Frisk says. He cannot remove his eyes from that hat. With its impressive but awkward size it practically squishes the poor monster's head.

"Fine! I don't care! I love my hat-!" The hat falls off Ice Cap's head and without the pressure it reverts back to a cube of ice. Frisk flinches in surprise, stunned at this change and wondering how it happened. But thanks to talking flowers, talking rocks, and talking snowman; what was once abnormal for Frisk is now becoming familiar to him. If anything else, Ice seems far more comfortable and calm without the hat crushing their head.

"No! Give me back my hat! I need it to be cool!" Frisk steals the hat and watches as it melts away in-between his hands.

"Honestly, I think you look a lot cooler like this," Frisk says.

"Really?! You mean that?" Ice asks, desperate to know the answer.

"What could be cooler than a literal block of solid ice?"

"You know what? You're right! I don't need the hat. I can be cool just like this!" Ice says before dragging themselves away without using any limbs or modes of propulsion. Leaving Frisk astonished at the sight.

I don't even know what to say anymore. But I guess they're both okay now. That's nice. Frisk thought with a smile, his spirit warmer than it was before.

"Those were really funny jokes. Can I make one?" Frisk returns his attention to the Snowman. "Want to know what's the difference is between me and my girlfriend? Snowballs!"

"I don't get it." Frisk raises his eyebrow in confusion at the joke.

"Maybe when you're older," The Snowman says to Frisk's puzzlement, but smirks nonetheless, this whole ordeal turned out to be quite a pleasant experience. Despite it all, the monsters continue to surprise him with their strange and peculiar ways. With a smile on his face and snowball in his pocket, Frisk returns to the path and his journey.

As Frisk follows the path, it does not take long before he encounters two familiar skulls.

"Ah, there you are again, Human. So glad you could join us!" Papyrus says. Frisk stands at attention as both Skeleton brothers stand in front of him, blocking his view of whatever lies ahead. "I must congratulate you Human! You have managed to overcome our puzzles! You must be quite the Puzzle Master if you've made it this far!"

"Yeah, sure," Frisk says in a low and weak voice. While his previous monstrous encounter did raise his spirits, the presence of the undead skeleton brothers is enough to drag them back to the bottom of this dark Underground.

"Well, since you are quite the challenge, I took the time to create the most difficult, the most trial-some, the most ambitious puzzle that I've ever created in my career…!" Anticipation and dread build up within Frisk in waves of uneasiness. His mind flooding with mental imagery of what this fiendish final puzzle could be. The fact that such a delightful pastime could be perverted into these twisted ineffectual death traps is something he struggles to accept, although not as hard as the monster's desire to capture him.

"…Is what I would have said, if I hadn't elected to do this instead." The skeletons stand aside to reveal a picnic table with several paper plates and a steaming pot sitting on the center of it. The Skeleton brothers take their seats, inviting Frisk to join them, which he does with confused hesitation.

"Wait you're going to feed me?!"

"I know that we were having such a good time. But I decided that we could use a break, so I took the opportunity to prepare lunch for us all. Prepare your stomach, human, for the greatest and most famous Spaghetti in the entire Underground! All prepared by Master Chef Papyrus!" In swift movements, Papyrus opens the pot and scoops out spaghetti to serve the three of them plates full of hot spaghetti.

Meanwhile, Frisk ponders where food goes when a skeleton eats it.

The spaghetti settles on the plate. To Frisk's surprise; it is actual spaghetti with tomato sauce and sausage meat on top. There are no worms, no slugs, and no strange or abnormal ingredients. Like an actual dish delivered straight from the surface. The warmth it generates makes it difficult to resist despite the boney hands that made it; especially in this cold and dreary forest. A rich, beefy smell graces Frisk's nose, melting away all his concerns and questions inside his mind.

"Better dig in, kid. You don't want your food to get cold, do ya." Sans says, and for the first time, Frisk enjoys this moment with both skeleton brothers for the first time since meeting them.

"You know what, I think I will!" Frisk grabs a forkful of spaghetti and brings it to his mouth to eat and swallow.

Frisk falls from the chair onto the ground as he gasps in anguish. His hands dig inside his mouth to tear out its contents before he resorts to licking the ground to drink melted snow and wash out his mouth. The taste of the spaghetti proves to be an utterly devastating and critical attack, the likes of which Frisk has not experienced throughout his entire time in the Underground since Flowey.

"Oh my gosh! You love it! I can see how the flavor overwhelms you with its delicious delight! I'm so proud!" Papyrus boasts he looks on at the sight of Frisk burying his face into the ground with stars in his eye sockets. After a few moments, Sans joins him to grab his shoulder and give him some reassuring support.

"Actually, this spaghetti is not too bad for my brother."

How is this not the worst thing that you could ever eat in the world?! Frisk screams inside his mind, savoring the rancid flavor of the monster candy he shovels desperately into his mouth as Sans stands over him.

"Since he's started cooking lessons, he's been showing a lot of improvement. I bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible."

You know what? You two really are going to be the death of me.