Chapter VI: A Change of Plans

The scene was eerily quiet as the group watched Frisk make her way down the snow trail, following closely behind her. There was an eerie silence to the area; The sounds of nature had ceased.

"We just started this journey," Eric sighed. "And it's already looking ominous."

"Stepping out into the darkness-!"

"HOLY SHIT! That scared the hell out of me!" Mike exclaimed with exasperation.

"In a world far belooooow!"

"Does there have to be singing the entire way?!" Brahn said with serious ire lining his expression.

The walk was short, as Frisk eventually arrived at a bridge. The group was suddenly startled to see a black silhouette emerge from behind, creeping up towards Frisk.

"Hey human... shake my hand."

"That is mighty sus." Natani commented.

Phhhbbbbbtttt!

...

...

...

"Is this guy serious?" Eric sneered, seeing the scene between Frisk and the now-revealed short skeleton unfold.

"Oy, goat boy."

Ralsei turned his head to Brahn, who was staring at him with an intense, irritated expression.

"Are you screwing with us? All of that talk about 'stopping the menace'. WHERE'S THE MENACE?!"

"I-I have to show you the full story first!" Ralsei mewed, shivering violently.

"Hey, back off!" Trace exclaimed, stepping forward to enunciate his point. Brahn shot a look of derision at him.

"Brahn."

Sirus' single utterance put Brahn to silence yet again, though he was becoming increasingly irritated with their situation.

Finally, they followed Frisk and the skeleton (who identified himself as 'Sans') through the snowy overpass, watching the journey unfold.

"NYEHEHEHEH!"

Then came another skeleton, taller than the other and wearing child-like clothing. As he and Sans chatted, Trace was feeling a general frustration arise within the group.

"I'm beginning to lose interest in all of this." Mike conceded, an underlying tone of annoyance lacing his words.

"I wholly agree with the degenerate Keidran." Brahn replied.

"The hell did you say?!"

"As do I." Eric exhaled. "Ralsei, maybe you could just show us the important points of this story? It's felt like hours now, and I have yet to see the menace you spoke so viscerally about."

Even as some group members tried to persuade Ralsei, he tried to hold his ground.

"Gaster warned me this might happen..." Ralsei muttered. "I know it looks silly, but you have to see all of it to be prepared for the journey ahead- EEK!"

Ralsei mewed in fright as Brahn grabbed him by the collar, grinding his teeth in anger.

"Fuck the journey. Show me ONLY what I need to know. I shouldn't even be here, right now."

His eyes glanced towards Trace, who was about to step in to intervene.

"But I suppose this is... an opportunity in disguise." He muttered to himself.

"P-Pardon?" Ralsei muttered.

Brahn released Ralsei, pointing at the two skeletons and Frisk.

"We do not need to see stuff like this. Show us the big conflicts that brought about this problem!"

From behind the group, Natani felt a pang of guilt about the Templar's behavior as she saw Ralsei hide tears.

"...Fine. I warned you, already." Ralsei muttered angrily. Trace was dismayed- his kind and caring demeanor had changed entirely, replaced by an embittered, angry aura. He got up from the snow, trudging further down the path as the others followed.

Trace was beginning to suspect that a terrible decision was made here. And yet, he was in no position to contest this. He wanted to get out of here, as well.

And so, keeping his mouth shut and his opinions to himself for now, he followed the group.

(Queue 'Snowdin Town' by Toby Fox)

"This ambient music SLAPS!" Sirus remarked excitedly. The other members of the group stared at him as if he were insane.

"Uh...what are you talking about, Sirus?" Euchre muttered to him, feeling second-hand embarrassment from his neurotic actions. He was further dismayed when Sirus blatantly ignored his question and continued marching on down the path.

Eventually, they found themselves in the humble town of Snowdin. The group was equally fascinated and disturbed by the monsters that milled around, with the behaviors of humans.

"These things are even worse than Keidran!" Brahn muttered in horror. "These are just monsters!"

They watched as Frisk entered into a pub with Sans, and at that point the group took a moment to recouperate at a nearby lightpost.

"So how far along the journey are we, right now?" Eric asked Ralsei tentatively. Ever since Brahn's physical outburst, Ralsei had receded into an emotional shell, acting abrasive and distant as he led them on the path.

Ralsei didn't bother glancing towards Eric as he sat on the ground, staring at the snow with shell-shocked eyes.

"...I don't know." He muttered in melancholy. "Maybe a quarter of the way."

Eric resisted the urge to smack this furry bastard in the back of the head. He was already livid about somehow losing his ship, now he was stuck on a journey he couldn't get off of. However, he was not inclined to piss off the one person who had an understanding of how this world worked.

"That's fine." Eric conceded, taking a seat next to Ralsei. "So, do you have any advice for us when we reach the next part of the journey?"

Ralsei glanced over at Eric, feeling a pang of gratitude that someone in the crowd was speaking with him normally and non-aggressively.

"...I... this is why you have to see the whole thing. You will be better prepared to face what's to come if you have a complete understanding of this world."

Eric bit the inside of his lip, contemplating Ralsei's words. He had been growing increasingly nervous as this trip had gone on; It felt as if he were marching towards some menacing threat looming on the horizon. Worse, Ralsei's mental health seemed to continually degrade as they went on this journey; He had been paying attention to his expressions and actions as they walked through this journey.

At almost every point in this trip, whenever Ralsei would see a monster or Frisk, his eyes would fall to the ground, tears welling up and running down his fur. This was already a terrible sign of what was to come.

"Well, I wouldn't mind-"

"HEY, GOAT BOY!"

Eric felt irritation rise in his throat as he heard Brahn's outburst. Everyone looked to Brahn, who was pointing down the road.

"Let's get going. Why are we just sitting around?"

"Well...I was going to give you all time to look around-"

"Not necessary." He interjected harshly, much to Ralsei's dismay.

"You need to chill out." Natani stepped in, trying to stare down Brahn; to no avail. He merely sneered, but seemed to back down when his daughter squeezed his hand.

"I want to get this over with." He said sharply, addressing the group. "You all do not feel the same way?"

Looks of hesitation and uncertainty lined the expressions of everyone else, except for Sirus, Trace and Euchre, who were staring at the scene that was suddenly developing down the street.

"Woah, how did Frisk teleport from the pub to the street? Is that the other skeleton?"

The group was shocked to see Frisk and Papyrus standing across from each other in the open street, as if about to have a showdown. Only a minute ago, she had walked into the pub...

"I sped up the journey." Ralsei muttered, which Sirus caught.

"You... sped it up?"

Ralsei nodded.

"Gaster gave me the ability to quicken this journey, in the case that we have no time left to deal with..."

He couldn't finish the statement, shaking profusely as a horrifying thought seemed to pass by his mind. He doubled over, vomiting on the snow suddenly; It shocked the group greatly.

"Whoa! Are you good?" Natani asked in concern, rushing over to him along with Flora.

"I can't stand this music..." Ralsei hissed between his gritted teeth. "It's just... mocking me..."

"What music are you talking about?" Natani said with an exasperated sigh. "This place is just too confusing for me."

"That aside," Euchre interjected. "That skill you have is very useful. Why don't we just get to the important bits, as Brahn said, and help solve your problem more quickly-"

"DAMN IT!" Ralsei screamed in rage.

(Queue 'Snowdin Town (GENOCIDE)' by Toby Fox)

The atmosphere grew thick with the smell of ash and dust-

The liveliness of the town disappeared- leaving an ominous, empty gathering of buildings and forgotten items and clothing strewn around haphazardly. It looked as if the town had left in a panicked hurry...

"Wh..."

Flora was horrified by the transition that had just occurred around her. One minute, everything was bright, fun, lively...

And now, it seemed like a husk of something once great.

"What the hell just happened?" Eric muttered nervously. The ambience... it was so unnerving... it sent off his danger radar...

As he looked to Ralsei for an explanation, he was doubly made nervous by the empty, broken expression on his face. His eyes were worn, haggard, weary... bags were visible under his eyes, and a faint trauma loomed behind his irises. His fur suddenly revealed small patches of baldness, where the fur seemed to have been violently torn off. All of these were suddenly noticed by Eric, who was egregiously disturbed by the sight.

"Ralsei... what..."

"DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT ALL!"

The group physically recoiled at the violent outbursts from Ralsei, who screamed at the ground with such fury, slamming his fists into the snow with wrath.

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING! YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME AT ALL!" He shouted, rage outlining every part of his face.

Eric was horrified by this behavior- wasn't it only a few hours ago that he acted timidly and shyly?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He eventually stopped, screaming in anger and grief as his paws dragged at the ground. No one spoke as he began sobbing loudly, screaming and shouting all kinds of things, that no one in the group could understand without context.

Finally, after a few minutes, he slumped towards the ground completely, his body shaking in the snow as quiet sobbing could be heard from him.

The group looked around at each other- a range of emotions were felt and expressed, mostly of disturbance and trepidation. Mike leaned towards Evals, whispering in his ear.

"This is way beyond my pay grade." He said with a quivering voice. "What kind of horrorshow did we get thrown into?!"

The group fell silent as Ralsei stirred from the ground, shifting onto his side and facing the group- Dismayed by the look of emptiness in his eyes.

"Alright." He whispered hoarsely, almost unable to be heard by the rest of the group. "If you want to make this quick, I'll just show you both journeys at once."