The trio left the pasta and looked around the area. "I remember this place." Said Nemo quietly as he made his way to the hidden switch. Frisk and Chara followed close behind. As they walked, Nemo noticed a strangely somber look on Frisk's face. "Something wrong?" He asked.
"H-huh?" Asked Frisk as they looked up at him.
"You just seem kinda down, which given what happened earlier, I guess shouldn't be surprising." Said Nemo as he thought about that slap Frisk gave him.
"Huh? Oh! No, this isn't about that." Said Frisk.
"So you admit that there's something wrong then?" Asked Nemo.
"I-." Frisk didn't have an argument, so they decided to explain what was on their mind. "I didn't lose my memories."
Nemo stopped walking. "Huh?" He asked.
Frisk stared at the ground. "I… lied to you. I have all my memories, from before I came to the Underground." They said.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot that he was an amnesiac." Said Chara. "It's weird too, I mean, I still have my surface memories too…" Chara trailed off as their eyes became more vacant.
"When I heard that you couldn't remember your life before this place, I was jealous. I want to forget everything before coming to this mountain… but I can't." Frisk slowly looked up to meet his gaze. They were scared. Sacred that he'd be angry, furious for lying to him on something of this magnitude. Honestly, it was kinda fair considering how Nemo had treated the last person who had lied to him. But he shattered their expectations as he knelt down and hugged Frisk.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"What?" Asked Frisk in shock.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through something painful enough that it made you want to forget everything before coming to a place like this. And I'm sorry for making you feel the need to wait this long before telling me the truth." He said softly.
Frisk had no words. They sniffled as their lip trembled before tears began to fall down their face. They buried their face into Nemo's shoulder while Frisk cried. Not even Chara could find it in them to say something to ruin the mood. Frisk managed to collect themselves easily enough. "C'mon, let's get to that switch, we shouldn't keep the Great Papyrus waiting." Said Nemo.
Frisk giggled. "Yeah." They said.
"Oh, is it over? I'd say I was about to fall asleep from how boring that was… but the dead don't sleep." Said Chara. Nemo sighed and shook his head. Suddenly their souls manifested. "Icecap appears. Jerry came too." Nemo looked over to see Icecap and…
"What is that thing?" Asked Nemo.
"Jerry." Said the other two drily.
"Wow, even Frisk doesn't like this guy." Said Nemo as Frisk used Check on Jerry.
"Jerry ATK: 0 DEF: 30. Everyone knows Jerry. Makes attacks last longer." Said Chara.
"Zero attack?" Asked Nemo.
"Where's your hat?" Asked Icecap.
"Wow, you guys suck at this." Said Jerry. Icecap launched waves of its thin icicles.
"Haven't we already fought you?!" Demanded Nemo as they avoided the attacks.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Said Jerry after the attack finished.
Frisk swiftly used Ditch on Jerry. Jerry looks away for a moment and everyone else starts running away. Nemo is confused, but follows them. Icecap keeps firing icicles while cheering about the lack of Jerry. After going through the ignoring routine again, Frisk manages to spare Icecap just in time for Jerry to return. After ditching the annoying monster once more, the souls of the living humans vanished. Having made their way back to the hidden switch, Nemo flips it, and they make their way down to the opened area. Nemo spotted another camera in a tree, and after grinning into it and giving it a little wave, everyone made their way to be confronted by the axe wielding dog couple.
Fortunately, the humans had experience in Sparing these two before, so victory came easy enough. "You win! You earned 0 exp and 40 gold." Said Chara.
"Geez, we're gonna be loaded by the time we reach Snowdin." Said Nemo.
"Dogs can pet other dogs?" Asked Dogamy.
"A new world has opened for us…" said Dogarresa. The pair then made their leave.
"That was fun." Said Nemo.
"It sure was." Said Frisk.
"I thought it was funny when Dogamy almost gave Nemo a crew cut." Said Chara.
"Yeah? Well nobody asked you." Said Nemo.
"Bleh." Said Chara as they stuck their tongue out at him. They made their way to the X and O puzzle, changed the Xs to Os, pressed the button, and started chatting with Papyrus.
"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP!?" He exclaimed. "AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY… IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"
"Yup, we made sure to leave plenty for you." Said Nemo.
"REALLY!?" He asked excitedly. "WOWIE… YOU RESISTED HE FLAVOR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA… JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME? FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS… WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!"
"I guess he's kinda funny… when he's not being an idiot." Said Chara as they watched him go.
"I sense a tsundere." Said Nemo.
"You can't remember your own last name, but you know what a tsundere is?" Asked Chara unimpressed. Nemo shrugged as the group continued onward.
Papyrus was waiting for them in the next area. "MY BROTHER STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION RECENTLY." He said, "HOW SADDENING… SOMETIMES I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO...WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM? NYEH HEH HEH!" The group approached another one of the puzzles, then Papyrus ran up to them. "HUMAN! HMMM… HOW DO I SAY THIS… YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO… I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE… BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND."
"I'm starting to remember all the smack Papyrus talked about Sans behind his back." Thought Nemo with a flat expression.
"I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS… WORRY NOT, HUMAN!" Declared Papyrus as he did a pose, allowing his short cape to flow in the wind. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED! MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I'LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!"
It took a run around or two, but the puzzle was solved easily enough. "WOW! YOU SOLVED IT! AND YOU DID IT ALL WITHOUT MY HELP… INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED! YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO! WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU! NYEH! HEH HEH! HEHEHEH!" Papyrus laughed as he ran on ahead. The duo passed the lowered spikes, and Sans.
"Wow, you must be really good at puzzles." Said Sans. "I mean, it's impossible for you to have seen this one before." Nemo chuckled, but said nothing as they all walked past him.
The trio found themselves in front of a bridge that led to the color maze. "HEY!" Called Papyrus. "IT'S THE HUMANS! YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THE TILES!? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH… THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR!" Nemo listened to Papyrus go on about the effects of each color. "HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND?" Asked Papyrus once he was done explaining.
"Yup." Said Nemo as he gave the tall skeleton a thumbs up.
"GREAT! THEN THERE'S ON LAST THING… THIS PUZZLE… IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE…. THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!" Said Papyrus. "NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY…!"
"And cue that same joke." Thought Nemo. Papyrus flipped the switch and the tiles began to light up and change colors. They shifted a few times before reaching a final result. A straight line of pinks surrounded by reds. Nemo and Chara snickered before looking at Papyrus who simply stared at the 'puzzle' for a moment in silence, while Frisk gave him an empathetic smile. Then he began to spin in circles and spun away. Nemo simply sighed as he watched the skeleton go. "Alright, let's move." He said as he crossed the puzzle with Frisk behind him.
"Actually," Said Sans as they passed him, "that spaghetti from earlier… it wasn't too bad for my brother. Since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot. I bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible."
"I can't wait to try it." Said Nemo as he and the others passed the skeleton. They saw an area with a sentry station for a dog. Across from it, they saw Lesser Dog staring at some snow.
"This dog is staring blankly into the snow, waiting for it to turn into art." Said Chara. Nemo rolled his eyes as Frisk moved over to the save star. "Knowing that dog will never give up trying to make the perfect snowdog… it fills you with determination." The trio passed a cox monster and headed to the next puzzle. It was the one that involved sliding on ice. Nemo did not like this puzzle. Fortunately he remembered what to do from the other timeline, and managed to solve it on his first try. He and Frisk then slid through the bunch of trees and out the other side. Nemo paused to brush all the snow out of his hair. The duo decided to take a right, passing Sans, who was shortcutting between locations to try and screw with them. During that, their souls manifested as they were dragged into another fight. "Gyftrot confronts you." Said Chara. Frisk checked the monster. "Gyftrot ATK: 16 DEF: 8. Some teens 'decorated' it as a prank."
"Don't put any more on me." Said Gyftrot sadly. It made snow fall down towards the humans, who dodged it easily enough. They then worked together to remove all the junk stuck in the monster's antlers. "That's a little better."
"Don't attack us and we can wrap this up quickly." Said Nemo. Gyftrot was quiet as they pulled the last of the junk off, allowing Frisk to spare it.
"You won! You earned 0 exp and 20 gold." Said Chara. The humans move past it and to the cave.
"We never did check this place out last time…" Said Nemo. They walk through the dimly lit area and observe the door at the end of it.
"It's a door." Said Chara.
"Thanks, I didn't notice." Said Nemo drily.
"Well there's no need to be rude!" Said Chara dramatically. Nemo gave them a flat look.
"I don't think there's any way to open it." Said Frisk as they looked at the door.
"Huh, well that was a wasted trip I suppose, let's get going." Said Nemo as he turned and left the way they came. They passed Sans and made their way North East, stopping at the area full of snow poffs. They looked at them all, enduring Chara's commentary on each and every one, before stopping at one that happened to have 30 g. After pocketing the money, the trio reaches the final snow poff, which is actually Greater Dog in disguise. Their souls manifested and the fight began.
Frisk checked the monster. "Greater Dog ATK: 15 DEF: 8. It's so excited that it thinks fighting is just play." Said Chara. Greater dog swung its spear as it changed between blue and normal. Nemo held up an arm to block, and as it shifted to normal, stopped in its tracks upon making contact with his arm.
Frisk used Beckon. "Come here boy!" They called to the monster. It bounded forward, flecking slobber into their face. It swung the spear at Nemo again, who blocked again.
"Greater Dog is seeking affection." Said Chara.
Frisk used Pet. They sat down as the monster curled up into their lap to let them pet it. It falls asleep for a moment before waking up even more excited. It attacks Nemo again, who manages to move to a blue spot and the spear goes through without hurting him. Frisk uses Play, creating a snowball for the monster to fetch. It splats on the ground, but Greater Dog gathers all the snow it can and brings it to Frisk. Now the dog was tired again, and rested its head on Frisk. Frisk used Pet on it again. It started barking tiredly, sending the actual word flying at Nemo, who managed to dodge. Frisk continued to Pet, and the dog continued to attack Nemo, until Frisk was eventually able to Spare it. "You won! You earned 0 exp and 40 gold." Said Chara.
The dog jumped out of its armor, licked Frisk's face, jumped back into its armor, and then went on its merry way.
"That was fun." Said Nemo as he scratched the back of his head.
"Wasn't it?" Asked Frisk.
They continued forward to another bridge, saying nothing as they walked across it. "HUMAN!" They heard a familiar voice shout. They looked and saw Papyrus and Sans standing on the other end of the bridge. "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" Suddenly a series of weapons, fire, and a dog, all tied to ropes descended down around the bridge. Nemo and Frisk looked around, not in shock. "WHEN I SAY THE WORD, THIS TRAP WILL ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN! ARE YOUR READY!? BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!" Nemo didn't need to brace himself for the onslaught, looking over at Frisk and then at the weapons surrounding them, because nothing happened.
"Well? What's the holdup?" Asked Sans as he looked at his brother, who was now facing away from them.
"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!?" Replied Papyrus. "I'M… I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!" But nothing happened.
"That, uh, doesn't look very activated…" Said Sans.
"WELL! THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!" Said Papyrus. "MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!" Said Papyrus, then the puzzles just up and vanished. "PHEW!" Then he looked at Frisk and Nemo. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS! NYEH! HEH! ...HEH?" He then walked away.
The pair of humans exchanged a glance before they finished crossing the bridge. "Here, I'll give you some advice about fighting my bro." Said Sans. "Don't. Capiche?"
Nemo and Frisk were quiet as they stared at Sans for a moment. This was a new one. "Interesting advice, though whether or not it'll be fulfilled will remain to be seen." Said Nemo.
The duo continued into the town.
"Welcome to Snowdin." Said Frisk.
Page 47 End
