~Brayden~

The first thing the kids discovered when they left the RUINS was a huge, snowy forest ahead of them. A cleared path went through the trees. Way ahead was some kind of gate, then a sentry station.

"It's freezing…." Melody mumbled, rubbing her arms. She was only wearing her ballet gear, so she wasn't exactly prepared for a voyage through a snowy area.

"You think you're freezing!?" Brayden asked her. He wasn't in a great situation either. He was wearing a striped tank, shorts and trainers. At least Melody had a tutu. Well, he had his gloves and awesome manly bandana. No one else had gloves.

Brayden wasn't scared to admit that Melody was one of the most annoying people he'd ever met. And yet, he found her being one of his best friends. Melody didn't seem to give up on him - and she was pretty much the only person who was an actual friend back in the day and not a bully.

"This doesn't make any sense - snow can't be underground." Percy mumbled, taking notes.

Brayden found Percy… weird. The guy had his nose in his book all the time.

"Oh… there's a camera in the bush!" Faye observed a bush near the purple doors to the RUINS.

"A camera?" Clover asked, making a face. "Is someone watchin' us?"

Brayden thought Clover was annoyingly cool. She got on his nerves, yet no one else could kick butt like her. She'd be the one fighting alongside him. And she was pretty protective of her brother, which Brayden could understand. Brayden was the baby of his family but he didn't like it when people bothered his older sisters.

"Hey, Brayden," Cody spoke up. "If you're really cold, you can wear my apron if you want."

Brayden thought Cody was just a big softie - the

guy who always wore his heart on his sleeve. Though he was always nice to people, Brayden knew Cody knew how to defend himself - and he had Clover, of course. Plus, he made amazing food.

"I'm not gonna wear an apron!" Brayden replied. Aprons weren't very manly, after all.

"Hmm…" Frisk tapped their chin. "Let's keep going, guys. Maybe we'll find somewhere warm."

Brayden gritted his teeth as Faye gawked at them. That kid… why did he feel so angry whenever he saw them around Faye? They were so nice, but annoyingly so. He hated that stupid relaxed demeanour of theirs. That sweet smile they always gave his best friend.

Speaking of Faye… what more could he say about her? She was his best friend, the yin to his yang. With her, he felt both like a protector and the one being protected. She was so quiet, so gentle, and so… smart. There wasn't a better best friend Brayden could ask for.

He walked over to her, placing his arm around her shoulder. She grinned up at him, fiddling with her golden bangs.

"Are you cold…?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he grumbled, "but not as much with you."

Frisk came over, smiling at them both. Brayden glared at them, causing them to back up.

"Um…" Faye looked down.

"Brayden," Melody came over.

Brayden grimaced. He was not in the mood for one of her lectures, so he took off. He raced through the trees, grinning wide. He felt as free as a bird-

"Watch out!"

Brayden stopped, suddenly. He had almost tripped over a large branch. Luckily, Frisk was there, holding him back.

"You okay?" they asked.

Brayden glowered at them. "I would've jumped over that!"

"Brayden, good grief," Melody stormed over. "This is why you need to be more careful! Thank goodness Frisk is here."

Brayden would've punched Frisk in the face had Faye not peeped out from behind him.

"Come on, y'all," Clover stood between them all. The group moved on.

Suddenly, the stick snapped - it was destroyed as if it were nothing. Faye yelped, clinging onto Frisk. Clover brought out her gun, naturally protecting her brother. Percy slipped behind Melody.

"Who's there!?" Brayden yelled. "I'm not afraid of you! Come out and fight me!"

But nobody came.

"It looks like nobody is coming," Melody observed. "I suppose we had better continue."

Everyone continued moving. Brayden kept looking around, brow raised.

The kids walked a little further. A silhouette appeared behind them in the shadows.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Brayden yelled at the trees, clenching his fists.

"You better." Clover agreed, holding up her gun.

"Hmm…" Frisk mused, standing near the bridge.

"Frisk, be careful!" Cody cried out.

Snow was being crunched behind Frisk; someone was there.

"Frisk!" Clover cried out.

Cody was holding up his frying pan. Percy's breathing was picking up. Melody kept a grip on his shoulder. Faye was hiding behind Brayden.

"Who are you!?" Brayden shouted. "You wanna fight!?"

A silhouette approached Frisk. They stayed dead still.

"Humans," the silhouette greeted slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal?" He held out his hand. "Shake my hand."

Frisk, apprehensively, held out their hand. They shook hands with the silhouette. Cue silence.

…

Then there was a long, awkward fart.

"Did you just fart?" Brayden asked the silhouette who wasn't a silhouette anymore.

He was a chubby skeleton with a blue jacket, slippers and a white shirt. His blue jacket had a fluffy hood and his black eye-sockets had small white pupils. A permanent smile was plastered on his face. He was slightly taller than the kids.

Brayden giggled. "Bro, that was awesome!"

Melody slapped her face.

"heh heh, thanks kid," the skeleton replied, chuckling as Frisk grinned. "that was the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." He waved a hand. "anyways, you're all humans, right? that's hilarious. im sans. sans the skeleton. im actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but… y'know… i don't really care about capturing anybody."

"I think he's nice, Clover," Cody told his sister. He eyed her gun. "You can put that away."

Clover grimaced.

"Clover," Cody glowered at her.

Clover relented and hesitantly put her gun away.

"If you're a skeleton, does that mean you're an undead human?" Percy asked, bringing out his notepad. "How exactly would that work?"

"it's... complicated, kid," Sans answered, shrugging. "it's probably for the best if we don't discuss it now." he paused, awkwardly. "anyway, my brother, papyrus. he's a human hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, i think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, all you kids, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

The kids went through the gate. On the other side was that sentry station and seven conveniently shaped lamps.

"quick, behind those conveniently shaped lamps," Sans told them.

"Why are we hiding!?" Brayden asked. He clenched his fists. "I wanna fight! I'm not afraid of… what's his name…"

"Papyrus," Faye told him.

"Papyrus!" Brayden yelled.

"Let's not be rude and listen to Sans." Melody told him, giving him a look.

He groaned and followed her. He hid behind a lamp shaped like himself. All of his friends were doing the same with their own lamps.

A tall skeleton paraded over. He had large, red gloves, boots and a long scarf. He was wearing some kind of armour around his chest, a small symbol near his shoulder. Blue undergarments, Brayden guessed, were on his… femur bones.

Brayden really didn't know anything about skeletons, apart from the decorative ones he saw on Halloween.

"'sup, bro?" Sans greeted his bro.

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER!" Papyrus yelled, sounding grumpy. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T... RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"staring at these lamps," Sans replied. "they're really cool. you wanna look?"

"Is he givin' us away?" Clover whispered.

"I don't think so…" Frisk whispered back.

"NO!" Papyrus retorted, stomping his boot on the snow. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!"

His cape flowed in the wind. "RESPECT.. RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO BE MY 'FRIEND'? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"

"hmm… maybe these lamps can help you." Sans told Papyrus.

"SANS!" Papyrus snapped. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!"

Brayden looked at Faye who was right next to him. "Hey, Faye, check this out."

He flexed his 'biceps'.

"That's nice, Brayden." she replied politely. She seemed more focused on the skele-bros and their amazing skeleton puns.

"i've gotten a ton of work done today," Sans said, winking. "a skele-ton."

"UGHHHHHHH," Brayden groaned.

"Brayden!" Melody hissed.

"WHAT'S THAT SOUND?" Papyrus asked, looking around.

"just the lamps," Sans told his bro. "told you they're cool."

"OH, I SEE," Papyrus nodded. He frowned. "WHERE WAS I…? OH YES!" He looked annoyed. "SANSSSSSS!"

"come on," Sans retorted. "you're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus grumbled. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…" Sans winked. "down to the bone."

"AUGHHHHH STOPPP," Brayden groaned.

"Brayden, shut up!" Melody hissed.

Faye started giggling into her palm. Frisk looked away, silently chuckling to themself. Clover tried to look composed.

"see, the lamps think i'm funny." Sans told his brother, raising his… bone-brow.

"UGHHH!" Papyrus groaned. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES… AS FOR YOUR WORK… PUT A LITTLE MORE…" He made a face. "'BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHHEHEHEHEH!"

He stared at the lamps. No one laughed this time. Papyrus frowned and walked away. Brayden got up but Melody pulled him back.

Papyrus came back for a brief second. "HEH!"

"ok, you kids can come out now." Sans spoke.

Everyone came out, relieved.

"FINALLY!" Brayden exasperated. Melody was staring at him. "What?! Those puns were awful!"

Faye started giggling again. Cody joined in, Clover shaking her head good naturedly. Frisk just smiled.

"Um," Percy commented emotionlessly. He faced Sans. "I can't believe your brother fell for that trick. Why does he look so different from you? I've many questions about skeletons."

Sans sweat beaded.

"Your brother's not dangerous, is he?" Clover asked, walking over to Sans. "I dunno if he's safe."

"i bet they know," Sans answered, pointing at Frisk. "they look like a kid who knows their stuff."

Frisk rubbed the back of their head, sweat beading.

"but if you ask me, no, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be," Sans said.

"I bet I could take him on," Brayden cracked his knuckles.

"Brayden's not dangerous either, don't worry," Melody whispered to Sans. "He's just very silly and good at getting himself into trouble."

"I HEARD THAT!" Brayden yelled at her.

"We'd better move on, y'all." Clover spoke up, folding her arms. Her brother smiled and waved at Sans. The kids headed over to the siblings and they went right, following a snowy path into the forest.

"actually, hey, could you kids do me a favour?" Sans asked. "i was thinkin'... my brother's been kind of down lately… he's never seen a human before. and seeing you kids just might make his day. don't worry, as i said, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."

"Yeah, we can do that!" Frisk grinned. "Right, guys?"

"I hope so..." Clover muttered.

"It'll be fine, sis," Cody told Clover. "Papyrus looks like a friendly skeleton!"

"thanks a million, kids," Sans said. "i'll be up ahead."

He walked to the left.

"Oh, he went the wrong way…" Faye observed.

"LET'S GO!" Brayden yelled, charging off.

His energy was going off the charts. This place was freezing but he didn't really care a whole lot. He was ready to beat up some monsters anyway. The path went in a few directions, but Brayden didn't care. He wanted to go forward. Keep moving.

"Hey!" Frisk popped out nearby him. "Guys, look, a box! We can store stuff in here!"

True to their word, there was a small wooden box sitting beside them.

"Good," Percy said. He brought out a thick pile of paper. "I can store my notes in there."

"And I'll put these in here," Frisk held out their spider donuts.

Soon, the box was full of notes and spider donuts. Brayden wondered how in the heck Percy had so many notes.

"Why do ya take so many notes, nerd boy?" he asked Percy.

Percy moved back. "It's… it… it helps me f… figure out how things work."

"I swear you take notes for everythin'," Brayden told him.

Percy backed against the tree. "Well… it… it helps… helps me…"

Melody stood between the two of them, gazing at Percy with concern. "Come on, boys."

And so, the group continued, aside from a few of the kids that took a detour to look at a fishing rod.

Brayden scowled. "What are they all doin'?"

He punched a tree out of boredom. All the snow covered him so he looked like a snowman. Clover started laughing. Melody face-palmed.

"HEY!" Brayden snapped. "SHUT UP!"

His pink leather gloves were covered in snow, though his favourite colour was definitely orange. His sisters had got them in that colour for him as an ironic joke.

Melody helped Brayden out of the snow and started brushing some of it out of his messy hair. He shooed her away. It drove him bonkers when his sisters tried to dress him up or make him do something girly. Or clean him. The same applied to Melody.

"What happened?" Cody asked, as he, Percy, Frisk and Faye walked over. "Are you okay, Brayden?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brayden replied, giving him a thumbs up. He frowned. "You guys are so slow! What were you even doin'?"

"We found a funny fishing rod." Faye answered, slipping behind Frisk.

Brayden hoped she wouldn't try and stay behind again. He knew she wasn't that weak. She took all those hits from Toriel and didn't flinch. She was a fighter, and a fighter always came out on top. And most importantly… she was everything to him. He wouldn't lose her again.

"We should really move on, y'all." Clover spoke up, pointing ahead.

Brayden raced ahead, following the path. Melody grabbed his arm as they approached Sans and Papyrus standing on the path, chatting to each other.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE…" Papyrus began. He noticed all the kids. He looked at Sans, then back at the kids, then at Sans, then at the kids, then at Sans…

"SANS!" he gasped. "OH MY GOD, ARE THOSE… HUMANS?!"

Frisk waved at him. Cody and Faye were smiling at the skeletons. Clover's brows were knitted. Percy was shaking, and Melody was watching over him. Brayden put his fist in his palm.

"uhhhhh…" Sans retorted. He made a face. "actually, i think those are rocks."

He gestured to seven rocks behind the kids.

"When did they get here?" Clover asked, folding her arms.

"Wow, magically-appearing rocks…" Faye commented.

"OH." Papyrus commented, looking disappointed.

"hey, what are those in front of the rocks?" Sans asked.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaimed. He looked away and whispered, "(ARE… ARE THOSE HUMANS)?"

"(yes)." Sans responded.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus yelled. He beamed. "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL… I'M GONNA… I'LL BE SO… POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"

Brayden clenched his fists. He was sick of waiting.

"Can we just fight now?!" he whined, putting his fist in his palm.

"Toriel told us not to fight, Brayden," Melody sighed, folding her arms. She gave him that look. "And they're not even done talking."

"Yeah," Frisk piped in. "Just give them a sec!"

Clover held out her gun.

"Clover, put that away," Melody scolded.

Brayden briefly thought of Toriel. He liked Toriel. She was nice and she made really good pie. He was sad when the group had to fight her, but he didn't want to stay in the RUINS forever. That place was weird.

Melody stared at Sans and Papyrus. "Ignore him. Keep talking."

Brayden gave her a look. She returned it.

Sans and Papyrus gazed at each other. Then the taller skeleton loudly continued, "'AHEM'! HUMANS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU ALL!" He looked a little anxious. "SOMEHOW." He cleared his non-existent throat. "YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN…!"

"What?" Brayden asked impatiently.

"I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT," Papyrus shrugged. He brightened up. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE… ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

He raced off.

"well, that went well," Sans commented. He winked. "don't sweat it, kids. i'll keep an eye socket out for you all." He headed right.

"Well, he's keeping an 'eye socket' out for us!" Cody said cheerfully.

Frisk and Faye giggled.

"AUGHHHHHHH!" Brayden groaned.

"Let's keep goin', y'all." Clover spoke up.

The trees spaced out, leaving the chilly, blue path. Brayden had seen snow before. He liked messing around in it. A sentry station was ahead. He ran into a monster - Snowdrake.

Snowdrake appeared to be some kind of hybrid of an owl and a snowflake. They had a rotating beak, owl-like eyes and little wings. They were made of ice.

Brayden grinned, holding up his fists. Everyone else came over and joined in.

The monster began attacking the kids. Brayden went all over the place, like he always did. Unfortunately, this led him to getting hit.

"OW!" he shouted, his HP lowering.

Frisk grabbed his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Don't touch me," he shoved them away.

"Ice puns are 'snow' problem!" Snowdrake beamed.

"AW COME ON!" Brayden fell back into the snow.

The children spared them and continued. Brayden raced over to the next area, ignoring the sign by the path. A wooden sentry station with a dog symbol was ahead. Snow was on the roof.

Frisk walked over to Brayden. "Hey…"

"What do you want?" he snapped at them.

"Take this," they offered him a bandaid. "You've got a bruise on your face."

"I don't want your crap," Brayden snapped.

Frisk made a face. "Are you sure? Your HP-"

"I don't want it," Brayden told them.

Frisk looked away. "If you say so…"

Melody sighed. "Brayden…"

"According to this sign, we can't move," Percy gazed at a sign outside the sentry station.

Faye didn't move, since she was pretty good at that. Melody paused, though she hummed a tune to herself. Clover made sure nothing attacked them. Brayden moved because he hated standing still. He was stopped by a dog sentry inside a sentry station.

"Did something move?" a dog appeared in the sentry station. He had shifty eyes, a pink tank, black-and-white fur, and appeared to be smoking dog treats. He had a long sword. He was a head or two taller than the kids.

"Was it my imagination?" he mused. "I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving… for example, a human… I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!"

He got out in front of the kids, blocking their way.

"You don't scare me!" Brayden snapped at the dog. He wasn't a fan of this staying still nonsense. He was gonna move all he wanted.

"Doggo…" Percy held out his notebook.

"Don't move an inch!" Doggo shouted.

Brayden moved around anyway, getting hit by Doggo's sword. He cried out, the sword coming for him again, about to take him down.

… until Frisk hugged him from behind. He went bright red.

"Hey!" Brayden shoved them off. They landed on the snow. "What the heck are you doing?!"

"They were protecting you, pardner, give 'em credit." Clover pointed out, giving him a stare.

Melody nodded in agreement. "You would've got seriously hurt."

"Sorry…" Frisk looked away.

"Don't be sad, Frisk…" Faye patted their shoulder. "You did great…"

Brayden felt himself trembling. Who did Frisk think they were? Faye should've been comforting him, not them…

Frisk reached over and gave Doggo a pat. Faye pet him as well, probably because she thought it was fun.

Doggo started freaking out.

"WHAT!" he exclaimed. "I'VE BEEN PET!" He made some pretty weird faces. "PET? PAT? POT?"

He swung his blue sword at the kids again, still making that face. Brayden didn't really want Frisk to hug him again so he didn't move - even though it drove him bonkers.

"What a cute dog." Faye commented.

Cody had to agree. Percy and Melody gave each other weird looks. Frisk spared Doggo. Brayden was relieved that the battle was over.

"S-s-something pet me..." Doggo remarked, still looking shifty. "Something that isn't moving… I'm gonna need some dog treats for this…" He disappeared behind his sentry station.

"FINALLY!" Brayden shouted, racing off.

He passed some burnt dog treats and arrived at the next area. There was a patch of ice with a sign in the middle. Sans was there, standing nearby the trees. The kids seemed interested in talking to him - well, aside from Brayden who wanted to get a move on.

Sans talked about some blue attack, Brayden didn't really listen. He was ready to kick butt.

He jumped on the patch of ice, Frisk behind him. He frowned, sliding away from them.

"Guys, look, there's a town up ahead!" Frisk stopped by a sign.

"A town?" Brayden raised his brows. "Awesome!" He gazed at the clumps of snow below him. "Hey, we should have a snowball fight!"

"Did ya say snowball fight, pardner?" Clover asked, looking at him. She had a competitive glint in her yellow eyes.

"And we should build a snowman!" Faye added.

"Yeah!" Cody agreed.

"Sounds fun!" Frisk chirped.

Percy backed away from the group.

"No, no," Melody waved her hands. "We don't have time to-"

"YEAHHH!" Brayden cheered, almost falling over. "WE'LL GO IN TEAMS AND SNOWBALL FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"

"Absolutely not," Melody huffed. "Snowball fights are messy. We'll be freezing cold!"

"Quit bein' such a fun sponge, Mel," Brayden rolled his eyes. He made a snowball in his palm and chucked it at Melody. She shrieked in repulse.

"TAKE THAT!" Brayden cackled.

Melody growled and threw a snowball back. It hit him straight in the face. And so the competition began.