Posted new refs for all the characters, check them out on my deviantart iHateFridays, tumblr blog ihf-arts, etc

~Brayden~

Snowdin was a nice-looking town. Brayden didn't care, as long as the place had some good food. The kids entered a comforting, wooden store. There was a bunny lady there selling various things, such as food… and posters about someone named 'the Fallen Child'.

"This is good," Cody said, eating one of her Cinnamon Bunnies. "Do you have the recipe, miss?"

"I'm afraid that's a family secret, kiddo," the bunny lady chuckled.

"If I may ask, what are those posters for?" Percy asked her, pointing to the posters.

The bunny lady raised her brow. "You don't know the legend of the Fallen Child?"

Frisk stepped toward. "Well…"

"It's a long story, kiddos," the bunny lady breathed in.

Screw this, I don't got time for stories! Brayden scowled, leaving the store. He returned to Snowdin Town. The buildings were wooden and sitting in the snow. They had a welcoming atmosphere surrounding them. Snow-covered trees were behind them.

Brayden wanted to run off. He wanted to battle Papyrus the skeleton. Even though the skeletons were driving him bonkers because of all their dumb puzzles, he kind of liked them. They were funny. Frisk really seemed to like them. They looked at the skeletons like they were old friends or something.

That damn kid likes everyone, Brayden scowled. What's their deal?! They ain't special…

The others came out, meeting their impatient friend.

"Come on guys!" Brayden grumbled. "We've gotta go and fight Papyrus!"

"But I like these stories…" Faye said, pouting. "And these cinnamon bunnies… I miss the RUINS."

"Me too," Cody sighed, sadly.

"The tales are truly fascinating," Percy agreed, looking up from his notebook. He had a Fallen Child poster. "I'm learning more about the human who fell down here long ago. Because they're the only human who ever fell down, they're recognized as a hero around here."

Frisk tensed up. "About that…"

"You were going to say something about the Fallen Human?" Percy asked Frisk.

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. They-"

"Yeah, yeah, it's all great, CAN WE GO NOW!?" Brayden whined.

Melody crossed her arms. "Have some patience, will you?"

The kids explored Snowdin Town for a bit. Percy spent ages in the library. Brayden was not happy; couldn't they just fight Papyrus already?

But everyone else wanted to stuff around in Snowdin. Brayden hung out with Melody and Faye, arms folded across his chest.

"This inn will be a nice place to stay." Melody said, eyeing a comfy inn next door to the shop.

"Can we go now?" Brayden asked irritably. "I wanna fight Papyrus!"

"I want to look at the inn first." Melody replied, glaring at him. He glared back.

"Um… please don't fight." Faye said quietly, biting her lip.

"I wouldn't waste my time with something so stupid." Melody assured her, making Brayden bare his teeth. "Let's look. Brayden, if you be good, we'll go and…" She sighed. "Fight Papyrus after this."

"YES!" Brayden cheered, making a victory fist.

The kids entered the inn. It had a small lobby with a yellow carpet, a wooden desk, a lamp, a staircase and a couch. Melody approached the bunny lady behind the desk.

"Excuse me, is there a room for seven people?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," the bunny replied. "There's only one room available but it wouldn't fit seven people."

"Oh no," Melody replied, frowning. "Where are we going to sleep?"

"I'll sleep in that room and everyone else can sleep outside." Brayden joked, grinning. Melody glared at him.

"The snow will be cold…" Faye said, shaking her head. "But it's for you, Brayden… you're my best friend…"

"Faye, he was joking." Melody told her.

"Aww, Faye, I'd never make ya sleep outside," Brayden put his arm around Faye. "That's not what besties do!"

"Oh…" Faye gazed into his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Hey, I'm an honourable man," he told her. "I'm lookin' out for ya."

"'Honorable' in your dreams, maybe," Melody grumbled.

"Thank you, but…" Faye bit her lip. "Why do you get mad around Frisk?"

Brayden started shaking. "I don't get mad around them!"

Still, the thought of Frisk and Faye resurfaced in his mind… why did it make him so angry? Why couldn't he just punch Frisk and be done with it?

Melody clapped her hands. "Come on. We need to meet up with the others."

The kids re-grouped in front of a Christmas tree.

"Yo!" a yellow monster kid wearing a brown and yellow striped shirt chirped up. They somewhat resembled a dinosaur, staring at the kids with wide eyes. "You guys are kids too, right? I can tell 'cause you're all wearing striped shirts."

"That's us!" Frisk grinned at them. "Nice to meet you!"

"Can we go now?" Brayden asked, stamping his feet like he needed to pee.

"We need to find some place to sleep first, pardner." Clover told him, folding her arms.

"We can do that later!" Brayden retorted, frowning. "I'm not even tired!"

"Maybe Sans and Papyrus know somewhere we can sleep," Cody suggested. "Where are they?"

"I think I saw Papyrus going that way," Frisk pointed ahead.

"Then we've got no time to lose!" Brayden put his fist in his palm.

The kids moved forward and arrived at a snowy path. Beside it was a lake and some snow-covered trees. Ahead of them was someone, but they were blurry and hard to see.

"What's goin' on?" Clover asked.

"I CAN'T FREAKING SEE!" Brayden complained, reaching out his hands.

"There's someone there." Faye pointed out.

"Papyrus." Percy said, holding up his notebook.

"FINALLY!" Brayden cheered. "Let's gooooo!"

"HUMANS," Papyrus spoke. He was shrouded in shadows. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS."

"OH COME ON!" Brayden protested.

"FEELINGS LIKE…" Papyrus continued. "THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE-"

"SHUT UP!" Brayden interrupted. "Just… shut up!"

Everyone gasped, even Papyrus.

"Brayden, that's a swear word!" Melody told him. "You can't say that!"

"I don't care," Brayden retorted. He glared at Papyrus. "I'm sick of hearing you TALK all day! Blah blah, who cares!?"

"Brayden, you're gonna make him upset!" Cody cried.

"Can we just FIGHT already!?" Brayden asked the skeleton. "I wanna see what you're made of!"

"ACTUALLY, I WAS GOING TO ASK IF YOU WANTED TO BE FRIENDS!" Papyrus told the kids.

"Hey, I wanna be friends!" Cody clapped.

"Me too!" Frisk gave a thumbs up. "We're gonna make friends with everyone we meet!"

"No we're not," Brayden glowered at them. "What if we run into something that won't be friends with us?! We gotta punch it!"

"Everyone deserves mercy," Frisk told him.

"Are you stupid?!" Brayden got in their face. "What's with you and mercy, anyway?!"

"Brayden, for goodness' sake…" Melody grabbed her friend.

"What's your problem with Frisk, pardner?" Clover asked him.

Brayden bared his teeth, Melody tightening her grip on his arm.

Dad would want me to kill 'em… he thought. I hate him…

"WELL, WE CAN BE…" Papyrus looked away. "NO! THIS IS ALL WRONG! WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS! YOU HUMANS! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!"

("How?" Percy asked. "He will not be able to carry all seven of us…")

"THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!" Papyrus exclaimed. "POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER… OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

And, finally, Brayden got what he wanted: a battle.

"Finally!" he cheered.

"We're not going to fight, right?" Cody asked, biting his lip. "I like Papyrus. I don't want to hurt him."

"You like everyone, Cody," Melody sighed. "Well, I don't want to. And it's wrong, anyway."

"Exactly," Frisk spread their arms. "We can talk him out of it."

Brayden clenched his fists. Faye stepped away from him, gazing at him with concern.

The SOULS appeared in the black simulation. They were floating above some bones. The bones didn't touch them.

"Seriously?!" Brayden groaned. "Lameeee!"

Frisk flipped their hair back, winking. "Hey, Papyrus… if you come back to my place, I'll take you to the bone zone," they bit their lip, "if you know what I mean."

"WHAT?!" Papyrus asked. "F-FLIRTING?! SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS, HUMAN WITH THE STICK AND BANDAGE! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!"

"I can make spaghetti," Frisk told him.

"OH NO!" Papyrus gasped. "YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS! I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU…?" He looked flushed. "LET'S DATE L-LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!"

"You want," Melody turned on Frisk. "To go on a date. With a skeleton."

"Yep," Frisk nodded.

"... I want to go home," Melody groaned, almost falling over.

"You can make spaghetti too?" Cody asked Frisk.

"Uh huh," Frisk nodded.

"Wow!" Cody clapped. "We should cook together sometime."

"Sure we can!" Frisk grinned at him.

For the first time in a while, Brayden wondered if he was dreaming.

The attack started again. It was stupid easy to dodge. Papyrus was distracted about thoughts of his date with Frisk.

"COME ON!" Brayden yelled at Papyrus. "YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!"

"Let's spare him," Clover suggested. "This is gettin' lame and I wanna see that date play out."

The children spared the skeleton. That was when things got intense.

"LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK!" Papyrus cackled.

A bunch of blue bones approached the kids. Brayden groaned. He stayed still and tried not to twitch. And then their SOULS fell to the ground. A bone hit everyone except Melody and Frisk. They jumped. No one else did.

"Now that's more like it!" Brayden nodded.

"What in tarnation…?" Clover asked, shaking her head.

"Oh no," Percy said emotionlessly. "The attacks are hard now."

"Ouch..." Cody frowned, eyeing his SOUL.

"YOU'RE ALL GROUNDED NOW! THAT'S MY ATTACK!" Papyrus cackled. He frowned. "OH NO, I JUST MADE A PUN! NYEHHHH!"

"Um… can we go back to the easier attacks?" Faye asked quietly.

"Guys!" Frisk put their hands together, gasping. "We need to jump over the bones!"

"Jumping…?" Clover made a face. "Hmm…"

Melody gasped. "This will be just like dancing!"

"Mannnn," Brayden huffed. "Lame. Dancing sucks."

"Does not!" Melody scoffed. "You haven't even tried it!"

"I have," Brayden grumbled. "It sucks."

"HMM… I WONDER WHAT I SHOULD WEAR..." Papyrus said, totally not thinking out loud.

The bones approached the kids. Frisk and Melody jumped like they were born for it. Faye was okay at it. She wasn't much of a jumper. Percy followed Melody, since she was staring at him in a bit of an intimidating way. Clover grabbed her brother before he fell on his face.

"This is stupid!" Brayden complained. He jumped whenever a bone approached him, but his timing was all over the place. So he got hit every second turn. He was already down to ten HP. His cheeks burned red.

"Need some help?" Frisk walked over to Brayden.

"NO!" he snapped at them. "Leave me alone!"

"WHAT!?" Papyrus asked, flushing orange. "I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT DATE THING!"

Frisk and Melody continued dancing over the bones. Faye was getting better. Percy was getting worse. Clover was trying to shoot the bones, while Cody was holding out his frying pan. Brayden was doing even worse than Percy.

"I hate you!" he yelled at Papyrus, shaking his fist. He was down to 2 HP. There was a bone sitting in his hair. He looked like a caveman. His arms shook.

Dad would hate me…

"You're really good," Melody told Frisk. "You should join my dance group! We could dance together sometime."

"Aw shucks," Frisk waved it off. "You're just as good!"

"Yeah, Frisk, you're amazing…" Faye gushed.

Frisk beamed at her. "You guys are so nice."

"It's just JUMPING!" Brayden spat, arms shaking. "It's no big deal!"

He tried not to fall over. Frisk was so good, so perfect. They were so much better than him.

"Um, hi, Brayden." Cody walked over to him.

"WHAT do you want!?" Brayden asked impatiently. Cody flinched. He kept his kind smile.

"Frisk gave this to me," he said, holding out a donut. It was one of those spider donuts from the RUINS. "I think you should use it to heal."

He smiled and put it in Brayden's hands. Brayden didn't say anything for a bit.

"It's okay!" Cody told him. "Frisk will understand. I want you to heal… and keep going! I think you're doing great, Brayden! Just don't give up, okay?"

"I don't wanna eat crap they bought," Brayden hissed.

"You're going to die, Brayden," Cody deadpanned. "Eat it."

Brayden, for once, decided to do what he was told. His HP went up to 14.

"Good!" Cody grinned.

"Thanks, Cody." Brayden said, kind of unsure of what to say. So he just grinned and punched Cody 'affectionately' on the arm.

"No worries!" Cody waved. He turned around, racing off. "Clover, don't do that!"

Papyrus dabbed marina source behind his ear.

"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus yelled.

Frisk slipped over to Brayden. Brayden bared his teeth.

"You're not gonna hug me again, are you?" he asked, glaring at them.

They shook their head, brows furrowed. They grabbed his arm.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Brayden growled.

"Hold on," Frisk told him. They bent their knees.

A bone approached them. Frisk was focused on it.

"Wait," they held up a hand.

"Focus, huh?" Brayden beamed. "I got it!"

He focused on the bone. It was getting closer. Then, when it was about to hit them, Frisk pulled him up, helping him jump. They soared over the first bone. Frisk refused to let him go until they had jumped over all the bones, and stayed still during others.

"Alright, stop touching me!" Brayden shooed them away. "I don't need your help!"

"Brayden, they saved you," Melody told him. "Give them some thanks."

Brayden groaned at Frisk. "Thanks."

"All good," Frisk nodded.

"Well, I can do the rest all by myself!" Brayden huffed.

"No need to be jealous, Brayden," Melody told him.

"I'M NOT JEALOUS!" Brayden thundered.

"Uh huh," Clover crossed her arms.

Brayden began to shake. The bone attacks started again. Brayden jumped over them, doing what Frisk had shown him. It worked, much to his annoyance.

They looked over from their dancing and gave him a thumbs up. He glared at them. They didn't flinch.

"PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus yelled. He dabbed MTT-Brand Cute Juice behind his ear.

More flirting, more bones.

"PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!" Papyrus thundered.

"This is crazy, pardner," Clover commented, glaring at a bone caught in her gun barrel. "Guns don't work on bones."

The attacks started up again. They were getting progressively harder. Frisk was keeping an eye on everyone, occasionally coming over to assist them. The more they moved around, the more Brayden wanted to do their head in.

"I WILL HAVE MANY ADMIRERS, BUT…" Papyrus frowned. "WILL ANYONE LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU?" He stared at Frisk, who shrugged flirtatiously. "OR YOUR FRIENDS?"

"Probably not." Melody answered.

"And who said we were friends?" Clover asked. "I don't really like this whole attackin' thing, pardner."

"Clover, shush," Cody crossed his arms. He turned to Papyrus. "I think we're friends! We were always friends, Papyrus!"

"But you barely know the guy," Clover told him.

"He's not truly mean," Cody shrugged. "You're not giving him much of a chance, sis."

"Who cares!?" Brayden interrupted. "WE'RE FIGHTING RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh… I was going to say I liked the snowman skeleton Papyrus made…" Faye commented. She was nearby Brayden now. "Hi, Brayden… I hope you don't mind me being here."

"'Course not," Brayden grinned at her. "Hang around me as much as ya like. Better me than Frisk, right?"

Faye looked down.

"Oh come on!" Brayden huffed. "They're not THAT great!"

"I think they're really nice." Faye sighed. "I think I might go and see how Cody is going." She turned away.

"HEY!" Brayden croaked. "DON'T GO!"

Why did he have to say that about Frisk?

Stupid Frisk, it's all their fault! he thought.

He was about to say something else, but the attacks were starting again. He jumped over some more bones. Faye was hanging around the twins. They looked like they were having fun, jumping over bones and stuff. Brayden tried to near Frisk, but bones got in his way.

Brayden kept jumping over bones by himself, staying still for other ones and so on. He had mastered it. Mostly. Melody was helping Percy leap over bones. He was freaking out every time he dropped a note. Frisk grabbed all his missing notes.

Brayden gave them the motion of him putting his fist in his palm every time they came near him. They steered clear.

Papyrus, meanwhile, was going on about how great he was and other nonsense. And his 'special attack'. Everyone was excited about the special attack. Or nervous. Or impatient, in Brayden's case.

"Release your special attack already!" Brayden yelled at Papyrus.

"YOU ASKED FOR IT, SMALL ORANGE HUMAN!" Papyrus yelled back. "BEHOLD… MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

His special attack was… a small, furry white dog was chewing a large bone. That's all there was.

"Oh…?" Cody raised his brow.

"What a cute doggy." Faye admired.

"Seriously?" Clover asked, cocking her head.

"WHAT THE HECK!" Papyrus fumed. "THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!"

The dog slipped away, taking the bone.

"HEY!" Papyrus screeched. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" He paused. "OH WELL. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK!"

"Regular?" Melody frowned. "I was looking forward to a special attack!"

She looked like she'd been having fun.

"I'm sure this'll be just as good," Frisk shrugged.

"You like this crap?!" Brayden roared. Their smile made him want to cry.

Papyrus sighed. "HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."

Despite being an 'absolutely normal attack', it was a lot harder than the previous attack. Brayden found it really difficult. Especially the part with the larger bones. His chest heaved in pain.

He got down to 2HP again. There was a part with a ginormous bone. And, for once, he almost let fear control him. The bone was about to hit him…

… then Frisk stood in front of him, taking the hit.

"Frisk!" Faye gasped.

"I'm fine," Frisk waved it off, getting up. They gazed down at Brayden. "It's you I'm worried about."

Brayden trembled. "You… you…"

He couldn't describe the rage it felt. His body was trembling. It was a burning fire, all consuming. That stupid face… that stupid smile…

Who did they think they were?!

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" Brayden thundered.

He stood up, and punched Frisk straight in the nose. They flailed backwards. Blood dripped out of their nose.

"BRAYDEN!" Melody shrieked, Percy slipping behind her.

Brayden panted, holding up his fist. He glared down at Frisk, who didn't even look upset.

"Don't you feel anything?!" he got out, taking a step towards them. Cody stood next to them, helping them wipe the blood off their face.

"Hey," Clover stormed over to Brayden, giving him her stink eye. "Knock it off, pardner."

"I ain't scared of you," he spat.

"Brayden," Cody crossed his arms, tone firm yet gentle. "Stop it."

"Brayden…" Faye whimpered. "Why did you hit them…"

Brayden gazed at his best friend's eyes. They were full of tears. He gulped down breaths of air. He lowered his fists. Frisk simply stared at him, head tilted. They didn't look upset. They almost looked sorry for him.

"Brayden, you…" Melody's arms shook. "We'll talk later."

"WELL…" Papyrus panted. "IT'S CLEAR… YOU CAN'T… DEFEAT ME! YEAH! I CAN SEE YOU ALL SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS! THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU ALL PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMANS! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!"

"Mercy?" Frisk spread their arms, immediately back to their cheerful self.

It's like I never hit them… Brayden thought.

"Yes please," Melody sighed.

The children spared Papyrus, who also spared them.

"NYOO HOO HOO…" Papyrus weeped, looking away. He was at the end of an icy patch, nearby the flowing water. "I CAN'T EVEN STOP CHILDREN AS WEAK AS YOU ALL…"

Brayden said nothing. He didn't even care that Papyrus had called him weak.

"UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME," Papyrus monologued. "I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD… AND… MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

"No!" Frisk shook their head. "We'll be your friends!"

"Yeah," Faye agreed, smiling.

"I'll take it." Melody agreed.

"Let's do it!" Cody agreed.

Brayden looked away. Faye gazed at him. He returned her gaze. It hurt his heart to see her so… nervous. He didn't want her to fear him. They were best friends, as close as could be… he couldn't lose her. She was everything.

Dad… he thought. Did I do the right thing…?

"YOU ALL WANT TO BE MY FRIEND…?" Papyrus asked. "I… I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU ALL! WOWIE! THE RED HUMAN AND I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD OUR FIRST DATE… AND NOW WE ALL HIT THE FRIENDZONE!"

Papyrus then explained how to reach the barrier. The kids learnt about ASGORE and how he wanted human SOULS to open the barrier.

"Hey, Papyrus, may I ask you something?" Melody asked, after the exposition was finished.

"SURE, BLUE BALLERINA HUMAN!" Papyrus responded.

"My name is Melody, please call me that," Melody replied, making a face. "Anyway, do you know somewhere we can stay for the night? The inn doesn't have a room for us seven."

"AH!" Papyrus cheered. "WELL, AS MY FRIENDS… YOU CAN STAY AT MY HOUSE! IT'LL BE LIKE… A BIG SLEEPOVER!"

"A sleepover?" Melody asked. "I suppose."

"Yeah!" Cody agreed. "That's a great idea, Papyrus!"

"I like it." Faye said, nodding.

"Me too, as long as I don't have to sleep with her again." Clover agreed, eyeing Melody. Melody rolled her eyes.

"It's gonna be great!" Frisk beamed.

Brayden stared at the snow. Percy didn't seem too happy either, considering how he hid behind a tree.

"THEN IT'S SETTLED!" Papyrus declared. "WE'LL HAVE A SLEEPOVER AT MY HOUSE!"

He paraded off into the sky. Frisk was staring at Brayden. They looked… kind of guilty. Sad? Concerned? Pained? In reality, it seemed, they felt nothing at all.

Brayden tried to ignore their face, but it looked like they'd been through Hell and back. They shook it off and went over to Melody to discuss ballet or something. They really were a weird kid.