Warning: this chapter contains numerous puns and jokes provided by a boneheaded skeleton

Note: I put Sans and Papyrus's dialogue in Comic Sans when I wrote it, but FFN changed it to normal :(

"Do you have your lunch?"

"Yes."

"And your phone?"

"For the third time, yes."

For the last 10 minutes Toriel had been going through everything she thought Naofumi might need and making sure he had them. As a result she had asked about the same items several times.

"Maybe it would be better to wait until tomorrow."

"We've been preparing for this for three weeks. There isn't any way I could be more prepared."

Toriel sighed. "I know that, but still… I worry about you. You have the map with the path to New Home?"

"YES. Seriously, Toriel, you're acting like a mother on her kid's first day of school."

Toriel smiled softly at Naofumi's comment. She always seemed to when he mentioned how she was being motherly. Of course Naofumi only noticed after he'd sarcastically called her mom and she made a surprisingly big deal pretending not to show how happy she was about it.

Naofumi facepalmed. "It's time for me to go." Naofumi saw that Toriel was about to add another one of her worried comments. "And yes, I'll try to meet up with your knock-knock joke friend. Sans, right?"

"Yes. He promised to watch over and protect any humans that leave the Ruins." *Sigh* "I suppose there is no delaying this any longer."

Toriel led Naofumi down the stairs and to the door where he had stopped when he explored previously.

"Here we are. I would go with you, but…"

"I know. You need to stay here in case any more humans fall. Hopefully, once I gain people's trust, you won't have to worry anymore."

Toriel stepped closer and gave Naofumi a massive hug, which shouldn't have been very comfortable for her as he was once again wearing his armor.

"Thank you, Naofumi. And good luck." Toriel released him and turned away to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Naofumi opened the door and was hit by a blast of cold air. He blinked a few times to get used to it before walking through.

There really is a snow covered forest underground. Good thing my armor's lined with fur, even if it doesn't provide any defense here.

For as silent as the door was opening it certainly made a loud noise when closing. Naofumi looked back reflexively before looking around. He got the feeling like he was being watched and was suspicious of a nearby bush, but decided to just walk down the path. As Naofumi walked he heard the rustling of leaves and branches.

And this is where someone would pop up for a jump scare.

Even though he thought that he kept his guard up and continued to look around as he walked.

*CRACK*

Naofumi looked back and the large branch he had passed was now smashed in two places.

Seriously? Is someone TRYING to make this as spooky as possible?

Naofumi continued on. At one point he heard footsteps behind him, but when he looked he only saw the briefest movement of a shadow.

"OK, whoever's there, just come out already."

But no one came.

Naofumi waited until he was sure no one was there before continuing. He eventually reached a large hole with a bridge crossing. But there was also a fence, or maybe it was this world's version of a torii gate? Either way it didn't look like it would stop him from crossing. But when he stepped up to the bridge… he heard footsteps again.

"Human."

Naofumi spun around and found himself face to face with… A skeleton wearing a hoodie? The skeleton held out his(?) left hand.

"don't you know how to greet a new pal? shake my hand."

Naofumi hesitantly accepted the handshake. By the time he felt rubber it was too late. *PPPPPPHHHHHHH*

"heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick… that's uh your cue to laugh. or, uh, to emote at all…? have you heard it before or something? you turned around before i said to... weird. ...whatever. you're a human, right?"

"Yeah."

"that's hilarious. i'm sans. sans the skeleton."

"So, you're the guy that does knock-knock jokes with Toriel using the door back there?"

"eh? she told you about that?"

"Well I basically spent the last month living with her, and there isn't a lot to talk about beyond her books and what she knew about the rest of the underground."

"a month? then i guess you're the reason she's had so many shield jokes recently."

"Shield jokes?"

"yeah, i gotta say, i'm a big fan of shields. they're really something i can get behind."

Naofumi groaned at how bad the joke was.

"anyways… i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know… i don't really care about capturing anybody. now 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, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

Naofumi crossed the bridge and entered an area with a structure that looked rather similar to some of the market stalls he'd seen in Melromarc. Based on the condiment bottles, Naofumi suspected it to be a hotdog stand. There was also an oddly shaped lamp. It seemed to be about the right shape for a child to hide behind if looked at from the perfect angle.

"SANS!" A much taller skeleton came running towards them. He had a ridiculous looking chestplate with cape, gloves, and boots. Somehow the fact that he was all bones made it almost look less ridiculous. "HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!?"

"yeah."

"REALLY!? WOWIE! GUESS THAT'S SETTLED."

The tall skeleton ran away. Is that just how fast he walks?

"that worked out, huh?"

"What was all that?"

"oh, well my bro has been trying to get into the royal guard for a while and he thinks capturing a human will convince undyne to let him in."

"But I was standing in plain sight."

"yeah… he's never seen a human before. actually… he's been kind of down lately. seeing you might just make his day."

"You know, I'm actually trying to be able to live here without being hunted for being human."

"don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be. i'll be up ahead."

Even though he said he would be ahead, Sans turned and walked down the way they had come from. Naofumi chose to continue forwards and made a mental note that Sans would probably be useless and annoying to be around.

Naofumi came to a place where the path split. From the map Toriel showed me, the left path is just a fishing spot on the river. He continued forwards but stopped when he noticed a box with a sign next to it. Supposedly it was some sort of interdimensional storage box that was linked to other similar boxes. Naofumi didn't trust it with his stuff.

After passing the box he came across Sans and… Sans's brother. What was his name again…?

"SO SANS! WHEN'S THE HUMAN SHOWING UP? I WANT TO LOOK MY SUNDAY BEST… OR AT LEAST MY TUESDAY PRETTY-GOOD."

"don't you only have one outfit?"

"YEAH, BUT I COULD STYLE MY HAIR!"

"oh. right. good idea. say why don't you look over there."

Sans gestured towards Naofumi without looking. His brother looked, then turned back while Sans looked. The two of them went back and forth between looking at Naofumi and each other repeatedly and gained speed until they started to spin.

What are these idiots doing?

They eventually stopped while facing him, then promptly turned around to face the other way.

"SANS! OH MY GOD! I'M DIZZY. WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?"

"behold."

They turned to face Naofumi again.

"OH MY GOD! WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME TO LOOK AT A ROCK?"

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Naofumi waved in hopes of speeding things up.

"OH MY GOD!" Is that his favorite phrase? "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS."

"well. it's not a rock."

"NOT A ROCK…? OH NO! BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION! THAT MEANS IT'S A HUMAN! AHEM! HUMAN! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! …"

Naofumi decided to ignore Sans's brother until he started making sense. But he ran off laughing.

Sans looked at Naofumi. "... and you don't even bat an eye, huh?" He then followed his brother.

If every monster out here is like them, I'm going back to the ruins.

Naofumi followed them and passed what was apparently a "sentry station" made out of a cardboard box. Based on what was written on the sign in front of it, it was made by Sans's brother.

Next Naofumi came across a sign that said not to move and a station that was actually properly built. As Naofumi walked in front of it a dog (with half a biscuit sticking out of its mouth) rose from behind the counter.

"Did something move? Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things."

You've gotta be kidding me.

"I'm not your imagination."

"Who said that? Move so I can see you."

Naofumi walked over to the dog.

"A human!? I'll make sure you never move again."

The dog, apparently named Doggo, brandished two daggers and leapt towards Naofumi.

"Don't move an inch." Doggo swung his blades which were now glowign blue. Naofumi remembered from his studies with Toriel that such attacks harmlessly passed through anything that wasn't moving. So he froze. Doggo looked around trying to find him.

Naofumi saw the fur so close to his face and couldn't resist petting. Doggo instantly tensed up as he felt Naofumi's hand petting him. "What! I've been Pet! Pat! Pot! Pat! Pet by a human that doesn't move!"

"You know, you really shouldn't attack people for no reason."

"The unmoving petter is talking to me! Pat! Pet!"

Naofumi continued petting Doggo, who continued to swing blue blades.

"I'm supposed to attack anything that moves and isn't a monster. But how is someone able to pet without moving?"

"Just because I'm a human doesn't mean I'm bad. Hmmm…. You should really try washing your fur once in a while. Those dog treats aren't doing it any favors."

"Now the petter is giving fur care advice! Pot! Pat! Such thorough petting."

Doggo fell to the ground twitching and panting from the excess of petting.

"Have you learned your lesson?"

"YES!"

"And that is?"

"Not all humans are bad, be careful not to attack petters."

"... Close enough." Naofumi let Doggo go and he walked away while muttering something about needing dog treats. Naofumi almost left before noticing the gold coins Doggo had dropped. Well, it's only fair that I be compensated for being attacked.

Naofumi continued along the path and ran into Sans again. He mentioned how his brother used blue attacks and compared them to stop signs.

"I already know about blue attacks. Toriel already taught me about all the different kinds of magic used in this world. Besides, wouldn't it be easier for you to tell your brother that I don't have any intention of fighting him. Or anyone else for that matter."

"is that why that snowdrake is following you?"

"I don't know why he's following me when I've already told him I DON'T THINK HE'S FUNNY." Naofumi glared at the ice themed bird monster.

"talk about giving someone the cold shoulder."

"I'm not interested in your puns either."

"oh, come on. I've got a ton of them. a skele-ton." Sans saw that Naofumi's mood didn't improve. "who stole your funny bone?"

"The same Trash that tried to turn my life into a living hell."

"no wonder you don't find my jokes humerus. anyways, keep going. my brother has a surprise for you."

"And I'm guessing you'll somehow be there before me without any logical way to have passed me, again."

"heh, i know some short cuts."

"Know one to the castle?"

"now where would be the fun in that? besides , my bro is really looking forward to this."

"Great." Naofumi rolled his eyes as he walked by. There was a large patch of ice, so he walked around it.

Of course once Naofumi passed it he found himself in another open area with… Sans and his brother talking to each other. Naofumi looked back to be sure that there weren't actually multiple Sanses trying to prank him. The Sans he spoke to before was gone.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"

"i think that's called… sleeping."

"EXCUSES EXCUSES." Sans's brother turned and noticed Naofumi. "OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU... MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!..."

Naofumi waited for the long, and possibly rehearsed, speech to end. How long is he going to go on like this? Huh, an electricity maze? Good thing I have lightning resistance.

"OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

Naofumi started to walk forward and Sans's brother was covered in electricity before turning black like in that one show where the guy is always being shocked by his animal partner.

"SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"i think the human has to hold the orb."

"OH, OKAY."

Naofumi continued walking forwards and Sans's brother was shocked again.

"SStOOoOOp!"

Naofumi stopped and the orb continued to shock the tall skeleton. Maybe I should call him Numbskull.

"i think you need to go back a few steps."

Naofumi complied and the orb stopped.

"OKAY." Numbskull was breathing heavily. "NOW I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU THE ORB AND THEN YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE MAZE. DON'T MOVE UNTIL I'M DONE."

Numbskull walked in what Naofumi could only assume to be the safe way through the maze to reach him and handed him the orb before retracing his steps to stand next to Sans.

"OKAY. TRY NOW."

Naofumi tossed the orb into the air and walked to Sans and Numbskull, the orb made sounds as if it was trying to zap something but it went quiet again before it landed back in his hand.

"WOWIE. I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT TO GET THROUGH THAT WAY."

"i guess you could say, it went over your head."

"SANS! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR PUNS."

Well, at least there's one thing Numbskull has right.

"HUMAN! YOU MAY HAVE HAD AN EASY TIME WITH THIS ONE, BUT THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Numbskull slid away backwards in a way Naofumi didn't think was physically possible.

"couldn't you have at least tried to do the puzzle normally?"

"You saw what it did to him. Are you saying I should have let myself get shocked?"

"i guess he may have overdone it with that, but you realize he marked the path when he brought you the orb, right?"

Naofumi looked back and noticed the footprints in the snow.

"i mean, my brother seems like he's having fun. so thanks anyways."

"It's not like I have much of a choice."

"there's always a choice, be glad you're making the right ones. otherwise… you'd be in for a bad time." Sans sounded serious for the first time since Naofumi met him.

"... Right."

Naofumi walked away. He encountered a guy selling ice cream or "nice cream" (it was just ice cream with a pun for a name), but it was too cold for that and Naofumi didn't want to waste money. He suggested the vendor try selling it someplace warmer. After that he came to another split in the road and checked the map Toriel gave him before proceeding. He didn't make it two steps before...

*RING*

"Hello?"

"Hello, Naofumi. I just wanted to call and see how you are doing."

"Toriel, it's barely been half an hour since I left."

"I suppose you are right, but still… I felt like something might have happened."

"Well I did run into Sans."

"Oh, that is good. Did he agree to help you convince the others?"

"So far all he's done is make a lot of bad jokes and watch as his brother tried to electrocute me with a so-called puzzle."

"Oh dear, are you alright?"

"Yeah, he seems to be more of a danger to himself than to me."

"..."

"I know, it sounds weird but if you saw what happened you'd understand."

"I am sure you are correct. But I would still like to hear the full story of what happened."

"I think that's going to have to wait."

"Did something come up, Naofumi?"

"You could say that. A dog in full armor is staring at me. I'll call you back later."

"I understand. Good luck."

*CLICK*

Naofumi had barely gotten the phone put away before he was knocked down by the oversized dog. What the hell? It has a sword and shield but chooses to tackle me? The dog got off of Naofumi and just stood there panting while looking at him expectantly.

"Ummm… Is there something you needed?" Naofumi hesitantly asked.

The dog, Lesser Dog as it's name appeared to Naofumi, pounced on him again.

"Seriously, what was that for?" Naofumi moved his arm to emphasise his words, but as soon as Lesser Dog saw it he shoved his head under Naofumi's hand. "What?" Naofumi was at a loss as to what was happening, but since his hand was already there he decided to pet Lesser Dog.

Lesser Dog's head started to rise. Higher, and higher. Then Naofumi noticed that his head was going up but his body wasn't moving. His neck is getting longer? How does that even work? As Naofumi continued to pet, and Lesser Dog's pants became a whistle, he decided to use his free hand to take a look at Lesser Dog's shield.

Weapon Copy Activated:

Royal Guard Shield (locked)

Equip Bonus: Petting Efficiency +1

It's mostly for decoration and has never been used in combat.

Petting Efficiency? Naofumi read it 3 times to make sure it actually had such a ridiculous bonus. As he did, he forgot that he was still petting Lesser Dog whose head had already reached heights unknown and was coming back down. But even Naofumi would notice when a dog's head appears upside down panting in his face. Naofumi stumbled back and Lesser Dog's neck instantly snapped back to normal before he went bouncing off happily.

Naofumi waited until the dog was gone before getting up. Once again Naofumi found a pile of gold coins left behind by the dog, but this pile was twice as big as the one Doggo left.

Money for petting dogs… this place is so weird. Where was I? Oh, right, the lower path.

Naofumi checked to make sure no one else was going to pop up and interrupt him before proceeding. He walked past a hole and what seemed like someone turned a snowball into a d12. That's… actually kind of impressive. Oh great, it's these two again.

"HUMAN! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR... SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!"

"it's right there. on the ground. trust me. there's no way they can get past this one."

Naofumi looked to the ground between them. "The paper?"

"yeah. go ahead, try to solve it."

Naofumi approached the paper and looked at it.

"A wordsearch? Seriously?" Naofumi looked at Sans skeptically. "I get that it's techn-"

"WORDSEARCH!?"

"Yeah, I figured it'd be a good way to heater up."

"SANS! . . . I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT PUN WAS REFERRING TO."

"check it out. the human has a shield, a heater is a type of shield. i guess it's not as funny if i have to explain it."

Naofumi walked past the paper. "It wouldn't ha-"

"SANS! YOUR BAD PUN DISTRACTED THE HUMAN FROM YOUR POOR PUZZLE!"

"i knew i should have used today's crossword instead."

"WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION... JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST."

"It's not like either o-"

"what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that's for baby bones."

"UN. BELIEVABLE. HUMAN! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!"

Naofumi crossed his arms and was looking to the side.

"UMM… HUMAN?! ARE YOU LISTENING?! WE NEED YOU TO SETTLE THIS!"

"Oh, now you want to hear what I have to say instead of continually interrupting me?"

"he's right bro, that was pretty rude of you."

"RUDE?! YOU'RE THE RUDE ONE SANS! I SHALL PREPARE THE NEXT PUZZLE. NYEH HEH HEH!"

Numbskull ran off… again.

Sans scratched the back of his skull. "eh, sorry about that."

*SIGH*

"Whatever. Is there even a point to these puzzles other than to slow me down and be annoying?"

"hey, at least it's not boring. i suppose you could always fly a kite instead."

"That another shield pun?"

"yeah, i've been reading u-pun them."

"...Okay, that one actually managed to be clever without being annoying."

"i knew i'd get through your defenses eventually."

"And now you're back to being annoying."

Naofumi continued on his way, sure that Sans would appear again. The next area greeted Naofumi with a strange sight. A note, a plate of frozen spaghetti, and a microwave with nowhere to plug it in. Naofumi read the note.

Busy eating it? More like busy trying to figure out how to unfreeze it. Hmmm… Papyrus? Is that Numbskull's name? Whatever.

Naofumi continued on. There was a sign.

Warning: Dog Marriage

Naofumi read the sign twice to be sure.

(Yes, you read that correctly)

What? Naofumi read the sign a third time.

Warning: Dog Marriage

This place is so weird.

Naofumi encountered a row of spikes. This wasn't on the map. Doesn't matter. "Air Strike Shield!"

As Naofumi cheated his way past the spikes he realized that this was the first puzzle (aside from the ones made by Numbskull) he'd seen since leaving the Ruins. He also couldn't help but consider that he hadn't seen any indication of how someone was supposed to get past it.

It wasn't long after the spikes that Naofumi learned the meaning of "Dog Marriage". A pair of dogs wearing black cloaks showed up carrying giant axes of all things.

"What's that smell?"

"(Where's that smell?)"

"If you're a smell…"

"(... identify yoursmellf!)"

The two dogs started circling Naofumi while sniffing

"Hmmm... Here's that weird smell…"

*SNIFF*

"It's a weird smell... but doesn't seem like a bad smell. It makes me want to… get closer."

The two dogs were getting uncomfortably close to Naofumi, and continued their sniffing.

Well… it worked on the last two. Naofumi started to pet them.

"What? I'm being pet."

"(So am I.)"

It didn't take long for Naofumi to pet them into submission.

"Now, what have you learned?"

"Weird smells can bring good things…"

"(Pleasant petting!)"

The two dogs managed to get back on their feet.

"Thanks, weird smell!"

"(I'm "petting" we'll see eachother again!)"

The dog couple left, leaving behind more money on the ground.

That confirms it, in this world the answer to dog monsters is petting.

Naofumi continued on the path, where he found another puzzle with spikes blocking his way. And Numbskull was on the other side of the spikes.

"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY... IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"

"It was frozen and doesn't seem likely to thaw out any time soon."

"THAT IS WHY I LEFT THE MICROWAVE!"

"It was stuck to the table and even if it wasn't, there was nowhere to plug the microwave in."

"OH… MAYBE I SHOULDN'T HAVE LEFT IT UNCOVERED IN THE SNOW. FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS... WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!"

Numbskull, or Papyrus as his name seemed to be, ran ahead again.

Naofumi read the sign next to the puzzle.

Turn every X into an O.

Then press the switch.

Seems simple enough. (and no reason to waste SP on something this easy)

Naofumi had heard about this type of puzzle from Toriel, and given that there were only Xs it was easy for him to solve correctly and lower the spikes.

Naofumi found Papyrus waiting for him just out of sight from where he was before. Naofumi looked around and saw a puzzle upahead, but not one near Papyrus. It was different from the other times where he was watching from across the trap waiting for him. Naofumi kept an eye on him while walking towards the puzzle.

"HUMAN!" PAPYRUS RAN UP TO NAOFUMI. "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 SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS… WORRY NOT, HUMAN! 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!"

"First of all, my name is Naofumi, not human."

"OH HOW FOOLISH OF ME. WE WERE NEVER PROPERLY INTRODUCED. IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU NAOFUMI NOTHUMAN. MY NAME IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS. SOON TO BE A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN."

Naofumi facepalmed. "It's Naofumi Iwatani. Not human isn't part of my name. I doubt it's part of anybody's name."

"THEN WHY DID YOU SAY IT WAS?"

"I didn't. I said that my name wasn't human."

"OH. I SUGGEST YOU BE MORE CLEAR ABOUT THAT NEXT TIME."

*SIGH* "Secondly, I can get by without dealing with your puzzle."

"YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SWITCH!?"

"What switch?"

"THE ONE IN THAT TREE THAT WILL DEACTIVATE THE PUZZLE! . . . OH NO! I GAVE AWAY THE SOLUTION!"

Naofumi walked up to the tree and sure enough there was a switch in it. At this point Naofumi didn't question the idea of there being a switch inside a tree. After all, the tree was growing underground without any sunlight.

"ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO AT LEAST TRY THE PUZZLE ON YOUR OWN FIRST?"

Naofumi pulled the switch. The Xs turned to Os and row of spikes descended.

"WELL... I'M SURE YOU'LL LIKE THE NEXT PUZZLE."

Papyrus left.

Maybe I should go back to the Ruins until they get bored so I can just get through this without all the drama.

Despite his thoughts, Naofumi continued onwards. As he did he passed a set of footprints in the snow that suggested someone had been standing just beyond the row of spikes without any leading to or away from them. A more observant person might question how they got there, but Naofumi didn't even notice them.

Naofumi sighed as he saw something akin to a black and white disco floor covering the area between him and the two skeletons.

"HEY! IT'S THE HUMAN! YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES!?" Papyrus proceeded with a long explanation of what the tiles did. "HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND?"

"Uhh…" Naofumi was confused.

"OKAY... I GUESS I'LL REPEAT MYSELF..." Papyrus gave an explanation that was different from the first one and had to correct himself several times. "OKAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND BETTER NOW!?"

"No."

"OK, YOU KNOW WHAT? HOW ABOUT... YOU JUST... DO THIS PUZZLE... ON YOUR OWN... I'LL LEAVE THE INSTRUCTIONS... JUST READ THEM. THEN WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND IT... YOU CAN THROW THE SWITCH. AND DO IT AT YOUR OWN PACE. GOOD LUCK. NYEH... HEH... HEH!"

Papyrus walked away. Actually walked. At a normal person's pace. Sans stayed behind.

"so, uh... you're really good at not doing puzzles, aren't ya?"

"Or your brother is just really good at helping me not do them."

"nice deflection but I don't buy it."

"I'll admit to the electric maze thing, but the wordsearch is on you, and those last two, your brother."

"no offense but you could at least try doing them. and not get defensive when called out on it."

"That might have worked better if you didn't start and end with puns. Besides we've already covered that there isn't any point to them."

"i guess we'll have to sharpen our skills to pierce your defenses."

Naofumi walked away.

"nice to see someone else is thick skinned."

Naofumi rolled his eyes as he continued. Then he stopped when he saw what was in the next area. All around him were snow renderings of long necks and Lesser Dog's head fallen off of said necks. Naofumi saw a deer beastman looking monster and decided to ask what happened.

"A dog just rushed in here filled with inspiration. It kept trying to build a snowdog that expressed its own emotions… But, as it built, it kept getting more excited about the sculpture… Its neck got longer and longer, and it added more and more snow, until… It was rather sad to watch, but I couldn't turn away."

"Well… at least he was happy."

After passing the many failed snowdogs, Naofumi was faced with a large patch of ice with Xs spread throughout it and a gap to the path beyond. Naofumi checked the map to confirm he had to cross.

Well… Here goes nothing.

Naofumi got a running start and slid across the ice. Then he stopped (nearly falling over) when he hit an X. He regained his composure and slid to the button.

Okay. This time for real.

Naofumi slid to the gap and jumped. "Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi landed on the shield then quickly jumped to the other side, where he slid through an area thick with trees before emerging on the other side with a small snowdog on his head. Naofumi shook his head free of snow before moving on.

Naofumi saw a doghouse, but the dog was nowhere to be seen. What could be seen was a dozen or so snowballs (snowpuffs) scattered around the area. Naofumi checked the sign next to the house.

(woof)

Naofumi decided to leave. As he was about to pass the final snowpuff a tail popped out of the back. Here it comes. Then a small dog's head appeared from the side towards him. Finally the dog rose, revealing itself to be wearing a massive suit of armor that shouldn't have been able to hide in such a small pile of snow. And that isn't even considering the spear he was carrying.

The dog stared at Naofumi intently. Naofumi checked its name. "Greater Dog… huh?" In an instant Greater Dog was slobbering in Naofumi's face. Naofumi wiped the dog drool off his face before proceeding to pet. Greater Dog seemed to calm down, but then it got super excited and blocked Naofumi any time he tried to move while refusing to stay still for petting.

Naofumi had to think for a minute before deciding to try throwing a snowball. His plan seemed to partially backfire as Greater Dog brought back enough snow to bury him, but at least it seemed to wear it out a bit. Naofumi continued to pet and Greater Dog fell asleep on top of him. After several minutes of squirming and prying, Naofumi managed to get himself out from under the dog. But before he could stand, Greater Dog woke up. He jumped out of his armor, revealing himself to be about the size and shape of a normal dog, and started licking Naofumi's face. Afterwards, Greater Dog jumped back into his armor head first and left with his butt sticking out where his head previously was.

Naofumi collapsed back down in the snow and thought to himself. Please, no more dogs.

Eventually Naofumi got up again to continue but stopped when he saw a long bridge. There wasn't any bridge on the map. But there was supposed to be a rock formation stretching across it. Maybe it collapsed and they made a bridge to replace it? As Naofumi walked across the bridge he noticed that it didn't sway or shift at all. Also, Sans and Papyrus were waiting at the other side.

"NAOFUMI!"

"eh? what's a naofumi?"

"THAT IS THE HUMAN'S NAME. HE INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO ME EARLIER."

"oh . . . i guess you've found the treasure of friendship." (only Naofumi and Alphys were able to recognize the pun)

"I... NAOFUMI! ARE WE FRIENDS?"

Naofumi thought about it for a moment. "Well, I like you better than a lot of the other idiot's I've had to deal with. So… sure?"

"WOWIE! I NEVER EXPECTED TO BEFRIEND A HUMAN! AND IT WAS SO EASY THAT I DID IT WITHOUT EVEN TRYING!

"nice job bro."

"THANK YOU, SANS. NOW, AS I WAS SAYING. NAOFUMI! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

Various weapons were raised from below and lowered from above in a way that Naofumi didn't even bother trying to think about any more. The one thing that stood out to him… Why is he hanging a dog like that?

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD. IT WILL FULLY 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 YOU READY!? BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!"

Naofumi prepared himself, but nothing happened.

"well? what's the holdup?"

"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!"

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated."

"WELL! NAOFUMI'S A FRIEND! AND THIS CHALLENGE! IT SEEMS LIKE TOO MUCH TO USE ON A FRIEND. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! AWAY IT GOES!"

The various weapons (and dog) retracted to wherever they came from.

"NAOFUMI! JUST BECAUSE WE ARE FRIENDS DON'T THINK I CAN ALWAYS GO EASY ON YOU! THE NEXT TIME WE MEET! YOU SHALL BE CAPTURED!"

"can't just let him pavise by, now can ya?"

"SANS! I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT ONE EITHER. IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE PUNS AT LEAST MAKE ONES THAT EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND!"

Papyrus left. Naofumi finished crossing the bridge.

"nice job making friends with paps like that. a lot faster than i expected."

"It's not like I was trying to. Besides, aren't you the one that suggested we were friends in the first place?"

"yeah, guess i'm pretty good at helping you after all."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"while i can be quite the lazy bonez, it wasn't sheer chance."

"I still have to convince him not to fight me."

"throw me a bone here. i can't do everything for you. gotta defend yourself, kid."

"Don't call me kid. I'm 20 years old."

"ok, no need to get defensive."

"You've already used that one."

"what can i say? they can't all be ribticklers."

Naofumi had no response, so he left. There was a large sign decorated with X-mas lights.

WELCOME TO SNOWDIN

A name that managed to be both obvious and a pun. Naofumi might have been annoyed by that if he hadn't already known what the town was called.

Naofumi didn't know what time it was, since there didn't seem to be any way to tell without a clock, but he was exhausted from having to deal with the skeletons and dog (not to mention all the other monsters that randomly attacked him but he was able to walk away from).

"Portal Shield!"

Naofumi saved the location so he could return and teleported back to the Ruins.

Naofumi's unwillingness to go along with Sans's foolishness means he gets a few responses from the Genocide route. And yes, even at Lv 1 Naofumi can use the portal shield skill since it is an equip effect he unlocked same as the various projected shields he uses to cheat his way past puzzles.