Chapter 8

Friend or Foe.

"Flowey." The monster in question could hear the distaste dripping from her voice and watched as the human scrambled up on to her feet and briskly placed some distance between them. The flower frowned before giving her a smile which caused shivers to crawl over her body.

"That's no way to treat a new best friend." He let out a soft chuckle and watched to see if she will run. She just stood there staring at the small plant in front of her, she watched as he started to slightly sway in the breeze and noticed his curious gaze directed at her waiting for a response.

"You are NOT my best friend, what do you want." Ann realized that it was a bad idea being so blunt and rude to the flower. She wasn't dumb she knew that even though he was small, Flowey was one of the most dangerous monsters in the underground. He can kill anyone on a whim and not give it a second thought. And at this moment she was alone with him in the woods.

"You're Rude and straight to the point." He paused for a moment as a menacing look crossed his face and his tone dropped. "I think I like you." She wrapped her arms around herself as she started to tremble, she couldn't tell if it was because the wind picked up or the way he said that last bit, probably both. She watched as the breeze caused his bright yellow petals adorned on his stem to sway not noticing the brief irritated look to cross over his pale face. "I think that it's only fair telling sweet little old me your name, seeing that you already know mine." Ann took a deep breath letting the biting cold of the air sting her lungs as she tried to calm herself, she knew that panicking would not help her in this situation. She gave Flowey a blank look before answering.

"Ann." She kept a stern tone trying to intimidate the flower. He laughed.

(Why was he laughing?)

"Are you trying to be serious right now?" He spoke with a chuckle and amusement in his voice. "I think we should put this little chat aside for now." He briefly looked Ann over before continuing. "We wouldn't want you to get sick because you're an idiot and got lost in the woods in the middle of a snow storm now do we." As if nature wanted to prove his point, the wind grew stronger as the snow fall thickened into a white veil obscuring her view of all but the monster in front of her. She didn't trust him, but she knew that he was the only one that knew the way back to somewhere safe. She shifted her weight and gave him a small nod.

"Ok." She quickly pointed a finger at him. "Just don't try anything funny boy, I may not know how to fight in this world but I do know how to cause as much trouble as an untrained puppy in a room full of squirrels." He was stock still as he stared at her, she was starting to get worried that she has said too much again and slowly pulled her hand back to nervously run it through her long brown hair letting out a weak laugh. He kept staring at her with a blank look for what seemed like an hour to her but in reality was only a few seconds before disappearing under the snow covered ground. Shocked she watched the spot he once occupied realizing that he abandoned her to try to find her own way back. After contemplating her next move she decided to pick a random direction and just keep moving forward hoping to find shelter from this increasing storm. She turned around and took a couple steps forward before hearing the flowers irritated voice to her left.

"That's the wrong way you idiot." She spun around to find the flower under a tree wearing his fake smile before disappearing again and reappearing a few feet further ahead. Not wanting to be left behind she ran after him, once she got close to him he moved further ahead hopefully leading her somewhere safe.

…

At the old shack.

…

Delicate snowflakes danced outside to the tune of the intense song of the wind, some flakes came to an abrupt stop as they were harshly pushed against the window which protected those harbored safely inside talking amongst themselves. "Thank you so much Papyrus, you have no idea how much it means to me having a friend to talk to." Zach gave the tall Royal guard in training a pat on his surprisingly soft shoulder pad. The door creaked as it slowly opened allowing flurries of snow to rush in followed by a soaked Frisk with her arms full of damp wood. She hastily closed the door behind her using her foot with some fight with the wind.

"Frisk!" Zach quickly stood almost knocking his chair over in the process which Papyrus caught helping it stand before rising himself.

"HUMAN, WHAT IN THE UNDERGROUND ARE YOU DOING SOAKED IN THIS KIND OF WEATHER!" Papyrus swiftly moved closer taking hold of the wood she was carrying with one arm and gently picking her up with his other, which rewarded him with a small squeak from her. He moved her over to the fireplace gently setting her on the ground before staking the wood off to the side to dry. Zach watched as Papyrus fussed over Frisk before looking out the window.

"I'm fine Papyrus; I was out helping Ann gather wood when this storm started, so I decided to return here before it got worse." She glanced around the room realizing that someone was missing. "Where's Ann?" Zach saw the worry form on her face and walked over to table grabbing the tin he used earlier and made his way to the door.

"There is no need to worry about her; Ann can take care of herself." He spoke calmly as he proceeded to open the door and scoop snow into the tin before closing the door again. "This isn't the first time she got herself lost and I highly doubt that it will be the last." Frisk watched him as he placed the rather large can atop a make shift shelf made out of some type of metal grate that sat above the open flame of the fire.

"I'll have to take your word on that, I know next to nothing about either of you." Papyrus took this opportunity of the two silently talking amongst each other to look around the room to see what he can do to improve it for the humans. Even though he has only know Zach for less than a day he can't stand by and watch knowing that this is an unacceptable living space for a potential friend and his strange sister. He realized that this place needed some serious renovating to it and some new furniture. After a few minutes of wandering around the room inspecting what little is occupying the shack and making some mental notes of what is needed he turned to say his farewell to the humans, they have moved from their spot in front of the fireplace, Frisk is seated at the table drinking some of the odd needle tea that Zach has made for him before and is silently watching the snow through the window. While Zach is sitting on the bottom bunk writing in a black book small enough to fit into a pocket.

"HUMANS, AS I KNOW HOW DISSAPINTING IT IS FOR YOU I MUST TAKE MY LEAVE AND MAKE MY WAY BACK HOME AND MAKE SURE THAT MY LAZY BROTHER IS DOING ALRIGHT!" Both looked at him and they each stood. Frisk ran over to Papyrus and gave him a hug which he gladly returned.

"Be careful out there Papyrus." She pulled away from him debating on what she should say next. Papyrus gave her a huge smile. "I'm so sorry Papyrus I never intended to hurt you, if I had known that you could remember even just one of the time lines I would have opened up to you. Also could you please tell Sans that I'm sorry?" Papyrus lifted Frisk up off the floor and hugged her tightly.

"I forgive you Frisk, I may not remember everything that has happened but I knew the entire time that there was good within you. No matter what horrible things you might have done, you will always be one of my friends and I will do anything I can to help you become a better person." Papyrus gently placed her back on the ground before ruffling her hair. She looked up at him with a sincere smile.

"Thank you Papyrus." Zach cleared his throat to gain the tall skeletons attention.

"So you're leaving huh. If you run into Ann could you please tell her that we're waiting for her?" A frown began to form on his face as he started to unconsciously rub his arm. "I hate to admit it but I am starting to get worried about her." Papyrus posed while giving him a big smile to reassure him.

"DO NOT WORRY, IF I THE GREAT PAPYRUS EVER RUN INTO YOUR STRANGE SIBLING I WILL BE SURE TO PERSONALLY ESCORT HER BACK HERE SAFELY." Papyrus walked over to the door and proceeded to leave, without thinking about it Zack grabs Papyrus by the arm effectively stopping him.

"One more thing Papyrus, could you please tell your brother that I'm sorry?" Papyrus patted his hand before Zack let go of him.

"OF COURSE I SHALL PERSONLY DELIVER BOTH OF YOUR MESSAGES TO MY BROTHER AND MAKE SURE HE KNOWS HOW SINCERE YOU BOTH ARE, BUT I DO REALLY NEED TO RETURN NOW THERE IS NO TELLING HOW WORRIED HE MAY BE!" On that note Papyrus left the safety of the warm shack and out into the blizzard that has been assaulting the woods, gently closing the door behind him. Once the door shut Zachary sat at the table drumming his fingers and began to get lost in thought, while Frisk decided to check and see if more wood was needed to be placed in the fire, after checking to see if the small logs she has found was dry, she placed a couple more in the flames and carefully stoked it with a sturdy stick. At this point in time neither of the two knew what to say to each other so they sat in a comfortable silence.

…

Sans

…

Sans was lost, he would never admit it to anyone and he will make sure that no one will ever find out about it especially Grillby. He heard the scream a second time shortly after the first one it definitely wasn't Papyrus or even Frisks, it was too high pitched for his bro and sounded more like someone older than Frisk and he came to the conclusion that it must have been one of the new humans that he brought into this world himself most likely the female. He sighed out of frustration as he ran his hand over his skull.

"i'm sure paps is ok, he's probably at the house right now cooking dinner." Sans attempted to calm himself down as he traversed the storm he found himself in, he decided to walk for a bit to give his magic enough time to regenerate before teleporting home. After a few moments of walking in silence he noticed a figure couched on the ground in the distance ahead of him, as he got closer he realized that it was the human he almost killed before. It looked like she was crying, he took a moment to contemplate on leaving her there in the cold but eventually decided against it because he knew that if Papyrus ever found out he would never forgive him and he just can't bring himself to do something that may hurt his brother in the future. Once he has made his decision Sans started to take a step towards the human but stopped when he heard a familiar voice. One that he wishes that never existed.

"Howdy!" He watched as the human lifted her head up to look at the weed that now sat in front of her.

"Flowey." The way the human said the weeds name confused him, curious of what these two would do and how they knew each other Sans hid behind a tree nearby. The human swiftly stood and backed away from the flower. When Flowey spoke again Sans couldn't help but feel anger towards him.

"That's no way to treat a new best friend." He heard a chuckle escape the weed before a short pause as the two stared each other down.

"You are NOT my best friend, what do you want." Sans teeth slightly twitched as he held back a small laugh. It's rare to see someone act this way to the pest because most monsters think that he is a sweet innocent monster. Sans scoffed at the thought.

"You're Rude and straight to the point." Flowey changed his expression and lowered his voice, Sans knew what that meant and prepared to step in if necessary. He didn't care about what happens to the human he just wasn't about to let that weed get what he wants, A human soul. He knew that if he obtained one he would cause havoc in the underground and kill everyone with his newfound power and he wasn't about to let everyone her cares for get hurt again. "I think I like you." Sans couldn't see her expression due to her back facing him but he noticed that she wrapped her arms around her body to protect herself from the increasing wind. Sans noticed the irritation on the weeds face for a brief second before he plastered that fake innocent look back on. "I think that it's only fair telling sweet little old me your name, seeing that you already know mine." Sans was taken aback, he thought that they already knew each other due to her knowing the weeds name and with how cautious she was in this whole interaction of theirs. He leaned a little closer to hear her response, he knew the other humans name due to Frisk saying it out loud back at the house but she never said hers once.

"Ann." Her tone was stern but was somewhat broken due to her body shivering in the cold. The flower thought that it was funny and laughed accordingly and spoke in a humorous tone with an underline of threat that would usually go unnoticed by most.

"Are you trying to be serious right now? I think we should put this little chat aside for now. We wouldn't want you to get sick because you're an idiot and got lost in the woods in the middle of a snow storm now do we." Sans shifted in his spot.

"what are you planning weed." At that moment Sans decided to follow them he knew that everything the plant does is always what's best for him and usually ends up in someone else getting hurt or worse. The human shifted her weight and nodded at the flower in front of her. Sans watched as she straightened her back and pointed at Flowey.

"Just don't try anything funny boy, I may not know how to fight in this world but I do know how to cause as much trouble as an untrained puppy in a room full of squirrels." Sans couldn't tell if she was serious but by the flowers reaction he could tell that he wasn't amused, they stared at each other for a few moments as the girl slowly ran her hand through her hair and letting out a weak laugh. Soon after the weed disappeared under the snow and popped out again a few feet to her right which the human didn't notice and just stood there for a few seconds before turning around with a sigh. Sans quickly hid behind the tree as to not be noticed by the human as she started to advance towards him. He heard the snow crunch as she got closer and contemplated on teleporting away out of sight but froze when Flowey piped up.

"That's the wrong way you idiot." Sans released the breath he was holding once she started to chase after the flower. He followed the two quietly teleporting from tree to tree behind the human keeping a careful eye on them both. It felt like a game in a way to him, Flowey would pop in and out of the ground and the human would chase after him once they got too a certain distance from him he would teleport to the nearest tree that was behind the human and made sure to stay as quiet as possible. He thought that Flowey has spotted him a couple of times but the weed didn't rat him out if he did. Which he wasn't too sure if he should be grateful for the plant not bringing her attention to him or if he should be worried about the plants motives, after some time passed of their little adventure they reached a clearing with a small shack in the middle. Sans watched as the two exchanged a few words before the plant disappeared hopefully for good this time and the human walked in to the shack. Sans was about to walk closer to the building but stopped when he saw Papyrus to his right entering the woods most likely heading home. Feeling relief wash over him Sans decided to see how his brother was doing and to apologize to him about his behavior earlier. He ran after his brother not caring if anyone saw him.

"hey papyrus!" Sans called after his brother who stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. Sans stopped a few steps in front Papyrus and bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Once his breathing was back to normal Sans stood and flashed his brother a lazy grin.

"SANS!" Sans could tell that Papyrus was still mad at him by the way he spoke and held himself. He prepared himself for the worst.