"OH MY GOD. " Papyrus screeched, holding his head dramatically.

Frisk stared at him, wide eyed and half smiling. Wonderful. She didn't know if she should be scared or beat the crap out of Sans. Sans looked at her with a huge grin that made her want to spit.

Papyrus quickly snapped into a more dignified position and cleared his throat.

"Human! It is I, the great Papyrus! Ohhhhh, I can't wait! I'll be so… popular!" Papyrus broke his dignified demeanour and started jumping up in down in excitement.

"uhhh…" Frisk stared on in confusion. This guy is a total nutcase… I don't know how I was ever scared of him… I'm more concerned for the safety of my brain cells.

"Go ahead if you dare, human! My puzzles await you! Then, I will capture you! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus sprinted away, his red fur scarf flapping behind him.

"…"

"that went well, huh. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye socket out for ya, as I said before." He didn't look at her.

Frisk stood up, shaking snow from her pants and sweater.

"by the way, why were you so freaked out earlier? Before the dog. Just curious." Sans voiced the question casually, but something seemed even more off. Dangerous. The fur on her tail stood on end.

Frisk swallowed hard, remembering her death. Waking up next to that star. Could she tell him? No, she'd sound like a nutcase.

"…nothing worth explaining now…"

Sans stared at her hard, frowning. The lights in his eyes were dim and sharp. Frisk took a tiny step back, getting somewhat nervous. Why did he change so suddenly?

Sans started walking past her with his hands in his pockets, all hints of seriousness melting away.

"Alright then. I'll meet you up ahead then."

"o-okay…." Frisk said uncertainly as the skeleton walked away. It was weird interacting with someone she didn't know like this.

Frisk looked back, back at the star. Sans didn't even acknowledge it. Could he see it?

"You are such an idiot." A familiar voice chirped ahead of her.

Frisk growled and turned, taking a few steps back. Flowey. His powder blue petals almost seemed to melt into the snow. How is he here, of all places?

"I can't believe you have more determination than me. Really."

The word determination made her heart skip a beat. What did he mean by that?

Flowey stretched his stem and looked at her like she was a small child… despite her towering over him.

"alright, I'll explain. I take it you've died?"

"…"

"judging by that look on your face, I'm correct. Well, that star over there gives you the power to save. When you die, you reset to your last save. Like a game."

Frisk glanced at the star quickly, not taking her eyes off of Flowey. A… game?

"you can also reset to your last save manually. But you probably don't know how to do that. You'll figure it out soon enough. When you make a mistake. Or will you?" Flowey expression went dark. "You saw it yourself. They're dangerous. It's either you kill, or be killed. Get it now?"

Frisk felt a shiver pass through her body, remembering the feeling of the dagger passing through her flesh. But…

If she hadn't flinched, the dog wouldn't have attacked. And what about Sans? And Asgore? And all the monsters in the Ruins?

"I know plenty of monsters who are just as scared of you as you are of them."

Sans's words came to mind. They weren't evil, they were scared, right?

Frisk shook her head, glaring at the flower.

"no. Now if you excuse me, I have things to do." Frisk prepared herself for the bullets. She was done listening to this flower, even if she was still scared after their first encounter. He was just a flower, right?

Flowey let out a laugh.

"heh, getting bold, are we? You'll see. You can't save everyone. You're a coward who can't fight for the life of you. What's the point of determination when all you do is sit there with your little tail between your legs, shaking and crying "oh please, Asgore! Don't kill me!" pathetic."

Frisk flinched, the words burning. Something in her chest dropped.

Flowey grinned, showing his sharp fangs.

"that's right, coward. You'll see. Soon you'll be covered in blood- yours or theirs, it doesn't matter."

Flowey disappeared into the ground, the snow filling the hole he left.

Frisk didn't move. She shut her eyes, tightly.

He's right. I am a coward… I'm scared of every little thing. I always was… I was never able to make that go away… but… I promised Asgore… I promised him… I can't break that…

Frisk reached into her bag, pulling out the dagger. She pulled the cover off, looking it over. The blade was still sharp and shiny. The hilt was worn and torn, but that didn't really matter.

Just in case…

She put the cover back on and shoved it in her pants pocket, ignoring the way the end stuck out.

Frisk took awhile before she was able to move onward, Flower's words still ringing in her ears. The path went straight ahead. She was mindful of her surroundings, the wide open frightening her. She could be seen from miles away, the way her blue and magenta sweater stuck out in the snow.

Soon she came upon what seemed to be an empty, abandoned station with dog treats all over. As she was investigating, a voice screeched behind her.

"HEY!"

Frisk leaped an impressive distance into the air, twisting to face the sound of the voice. Her world faded into black and white again.

Behind her was a monster whose lower body was shaped like a chicken, except with fur. The upper half looked like a feathery snowflake with eyes and a beak. It's entire body was a very pale blue, almost white. The only thing that stuck out was it's pastel yellow beak.

Frisk took a few steps back, hand nervously finding it's way to the dagger in her pocket. Only if I have to… she told herself.

Her heart pounded as the monster looked her over.

"HEY, you look FUNNY! Whatever, an audience is an audience, right?"

Audience?

"I'm Snowdrake! You ready to hear some AWESOME jokes!"

"No." Frisk said on impulse, remembering the… bone incident earlier. She regretted her choice instantly.

"HOW RUDE!" Snowdrake screeched in anger, and suddenly Frisk was pelted with ice. Frisk yelped and jumped away, only to be pelted more. It hurt, but it wasn't life threatening, she realized.

That just filled her with anger. But she resisted cursing at the monster. If she pissed it off even more, it could turn life threatening.

Once the ice attack stopped, Frisk stood, holding her cheek.

"You wanna hear some jokes now?" the monster asked smugly.

Frisk opened her mouth to say no, then thought better and closed it.

"I guess…" She growled through gritted teeth.

"Alright! Okay... here's a good one!"

Snowdrake puffed it's chest out.

"one of our favorite meals here is macaroni and 'freeze'."

Frisk frowned as Snowdrake stared at her expectantly. Internally, however, she was screaming.

"uhhhh, this your cue to LAUGH."

I only laugh at what's funny... mostly... Frisk thought bitterly. After a moment Snowdrake let out an extremely high pitched scream and started pelting her with ice again.

"YOU RUDE LITTLE DOG!"

Dog?

Frisk covered her face with her arms, and she couldn't supress her growls.

"Let's try that again!" Snowdrake puffed.

"So... hah! Last week, a serial killer murdered someone... in COLD blood!"

Frisk's eyes twitched as she forced out a few of the fakes the laughs she ever heard. Despite the sarcasm behind them, Snowdrake smiled widely and started laughing and jumping around.

"see! Laughs! Dad was WRONG! Don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from!"

Frisk groaned and prepared herself for the onslaught. She really should have made Sans stay with her.

...

Frisk approached Sans, aching from the ice she had been pelted with. Her hair was messy, and each and every bad snow pun echoed through her head.

Sans smiled at her knowingly.

"hear any cool puns, Puppo?"

"Noooooooooooo Sans, I swear to god I will snap your neck." Frisk growled. Screw fear, she just went through hell.

Sans put his hands up in mock fear.

"Okay okay, you don't like climate related puns. So far the only ones that check by you are d*ck jokes, huh."

"Saaaaaaaaannnnnsssss, no."

"saaaaaaaaaannnnnssss yes."

"I AM NOT IN THE MOOD."

"Jeez, it's that time of month, isn't it."

Despite her best efforts, Frisk couldn't supress a few giggles. She face-palmed herself, cursing internally.

Sans snorted.

"what's up with you only getting humour out of the dirtiest things? I shouldn't talk, but It's kinda concerning."

"shut up. Period jokes aren't funny."

"then why did you laugh."

"that was me suffering."

"in that case I should finish the experience by throwing ice at you."

"if you do I will knee you in the crotch. I am not doing that ever again."

Sans rolled his eyes... well, the lights in them.

"Yeah right, until you come across another new monster you're terrified of."

Frisk's brow furrowed.

"were you watching that whole thing?"

"maybe."

Frisk threw her arms in the air.

"Why didn't you help Me!"

"I don't think we're friendly enough for that. You've proven you don't want help, remember?" Sans said with a slight teasing tone.

Frisk put her arms down. He's sorta got a point... but...

"...okay, even if I didn't let you help me up, that doesn't mean you should sit there and watch me suffer."

"Hey, you looked like you were having fun."

"yeah, next time you're being pelted with ice I'll be sure to remind you of that fact."

"heh. Sure, puppo."

"...puppo?"

"Yeah. Your new name."

"... why, out of all people I had to meet first, why'd it have to be you." Frisk groaned.

"hey." Sans winked. "Maybe if you want help next time you're being pelted with ice, you should try being nicer. You're hurting my feelings."

"I'm being sarcastic." Frisk replied. Somewhat, anyways...

"hi being sarcastic, I'm Sans."

"... I take that back." Frisk shook her head, as if trying to make the puns go away. Why couldn't everyone out here be a Asgore... you know, I just realized... I've never acted like this before... Frisk's frustrated expression turned to a thoughtful one. I'm a lot more used to these guys than I thought... more than I've ever been with actual people, anyways. They're still scary, but that's only at first. Maybe... she felt a slight smile creep onto her lips.

Maybe I can prove Flowey wrong after all.

…

Frisk slid on the ice calmly, loving the way she didn't have to move at all. She always loved sliding on ice- usually icy puddles, but still ice. Now she was trying to reach the sign someone so nicely placed in the middle of a little frozen pond. What's the point of that anyways?

Her new tail came in handy when it came to balancing herself. She had grown used to it being there, though she forgot it existed at points. But now she was able to use it to her advantage, balancing herself on the slippery ice.

There was snow around the sign, so she was able to stop herself before running into it. The wood looked like it was rotting and the paint worn, but she was able to make out the words.

North: Ice

South: Ice

West: Ice

East: snowdin town… and more ice.

"nice selection." Frisk muttered. She remembered what Asgore said about the farther east you go, the colder it got. She shivered involuntary. How could they live like this?

Frisk moved on, felling a little more certain of herself now that she knew where she was headed.

Her ears picked up the echo of a familiar voice, and Frisk stopped, ears swiveling to locate the sound.

"… Sans, are you sure you turned off the lights before you left the house?" it was Papyrus.

"Yeah, bro." Sans said.

"absolutely positive."

"yes."

"I don't believe you."

"c'mon, throw me a bone here." She could see his pun-smile In Her head, And couldn't help but groan.

"SANS."

Frisk headed toward the voices, but stayed near the trees. She wanted to be able to evaluate whatever situation she would arrive in before she did so.

The two skeletons stood in a clearing, and in front of them the snow was cleared in a large, neat square. She could hear the faintest buzzing sound. Despite her best efforts to stay concealed, Sans looked her direction the second she approached.

Frisk growled as he gave her a knowing glance. Is that guy physic or something? Well… I wouldn't rule it out…

Frisk sighed and stepped out into the open, grabbing the edge of her sweater in nervousness. Papyrus didn't seem too dangerous, more egotistical than anything, but better safe than sorry.

Papyrus perked up the second she stepped out. "HUMAN!"

Skeleton. Frisk said in her mind.

"In front of you lies the infamous electricity maze, cleverly crafted and set by yours truly, the great Papyrus!"

Frisk squinted at the clear patch, looking closely. It easy hard to believe there were real walls on this thing. But the electric part did explain the buzzing sound, so she decided it was not safe to walk across. Papyrus pulled out a large blue orb from seemingly nowhere. She could see the snow reflecting off of it.

"When you run into the walls, you will be delivered a hearty shock! Sound Fun? Because the amount of fun you'll have… is rather quite low actually…" Papyrus trailed off. Frisk was torn between fear and a wtf am I doing feeling.

Papyrus shook his head. "never mind. Okay, you can go now!"

Frisk stayed frozen in place, looking around.

How would I tackle this without getting shocked… wait, I got it.

Frisk turned to pick up a stick from the trees behind her. She could poke around the walls and see where they were without getting zapped.

"Human, what are you doing? Why aren't you doing the puzzle?"

"clever puppo." Sans chuckled. Frisk turned and frowned at him.

Thanks for the help.

She approached the clear patch cautiously, keeping the stick straight ahead of her. She saw Papyrus scratch his head in confusion.

Eventually, the stick bumped up against something. She heard a loud zap sound, and some very upset sounding skeleton noises. She looked up to see Papyrus literally smoking, eye sockets wide.

Frisk blinked. What just…

Papyrus stomped his foot on the ground, sending snow flying up. Frisk jumped.

"Sans! What did you do?!"

Sans shrugged.

"nothin'. Though I think the human has to hold the orb."

"oh."

Frisk glared at the two skeletons.

He is a complete idiot… and I was scared of this guy? Ever? I think I'm safe for the time being.

Neither of them seemed that threatening, now that she thought of it. Sans was friendly and just liked to mess with people, and Papyrus was turning out to be dull as a rock. He reminded her of an overexcited kid.

Papyrus started walking towards her, turning and avoiding the invisible walls with ease. He must have memorized the pattern.

Frisk noticed that he tracked snow along his path. Even if she couldn't remember the way he walked now, she could just follow the snow. She felt a twinge of relief.

"Hold this!" Papyrus threw the orb into the air and ran back across the maze. It landed on her head with a thump.

Ow…. Frisk thought with a flinch. The impact hurt. Papyrus probably didn't realize because his head was much harder.

She looked back up at Sans, who was still grinning lazily. He gave her a wink.

This is what he meant, I guess.

Frisk took a breath and followed the tracks, careful to keep her form as small as possible. She didn't want to brush against the walls be accident. The static in the air was making her hair stand and the fabric of her sweater to crack. Despite this, she made it through without any difficulty.

Papyrus looked quite shocked at this... No pun intended.

"You slippery snail? You solved it so quickly… and easily! Don't worry, I'll make the next one even better! Nyeh heh heh!"

With that, the flamboyant skeleton ran off through the snow.

"…" Frisk watched him in confused silence. He was so odd… yet something about him was oddly charming, and she felt bad for mentally calling him an idiot.

"… you see that outfit he's wearing?" Sans asked, breaking the silence.

Frisk nodded. As if she could miss the bright red scarf and black cape.

"We made that for a costume party a while back. He hadn't worn anything since. Keeps calling it his 'battle body'. Man, isn't my brother the coolest?"

Frisk had tuned out at "battle body" and raised and eyebrow, fighting the smile that crept onto her face. Sans raised an eyebrow bone back. His smile grew a little dirtier.

"I see what's going through that head off yours, puppo. Get your mind outta the gutter."

"like you should be talking, bone boy."

Sans huffed.

"You are one weird human. I hope all humans aren't like you."

"don't we all."

"be pretty hard to get a conversation without including boners till dawn."

"damn you." Frisk said before erupting into giggles.

Boners till dawn… whyyyyyyy.

"boners." Sans said randomly. Frisk started laughing harder.

Sans let out a deep laugh of his own. It had that same rumble to it that she could feel in her chest. It was kind of charming, in a way.

"really? All I did was say boners and you lost it. Wow."

The only reply he got was more laughter.

It felt nice to laugh at something, even if it was… inappropriate. It felt like a burden was lifted from her soul. Despite being scared of literally everything, she felt more at ease down here. The monsters so far have shown to be much less judgmental than any human she had met. She could be less guarded.

Frisk eventual calmed down, wheezing. If her sides hurt before, they definitely hurt now.

Sans opened his mouth, but Frisk cut him off.

"no. Don't you dare."

Sans stared at her mischievously.

"what?"

"say the b word."

"what's wrong with boners?"

"SANS!"

"ummm…" Frisk jumped at the sound of a new voice. She turned with her hand still over her mouth.

It was Snowdrake, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"heya." Sans greeted.

"I was gonna ask of you guys wanted to hear some jokes… but maybe I'll just leave you two alone." Snowdrake glanced at the both of them, and she heard Sans snort. She didn't get why.

Snowdrake walked away briskly.

Frisk ran her hand through her hair, trying to smooth it out. "… if I had known talking about boners would make him go away, I would have done so a long time ago. Would have saved me a few bruises."

Sans snorted. "I don't think talking about boners is a valid solution to a problem."

"That's what I thought."

Sans yawned and stretched, taking his hands out of his pockets momentarily.

"well, I gotta go. Meet ya up ahead."

"…sure…?" Frisk replied uncertainly.

"see ya." Sans began waking away. Frisk noticed the prints left by his slippers were hauntingly familiar.

Those are the same prints that where by that stick… she thought, kneeling down to look at them. How did they just show up out of nowhere and disappear? And how did that stick break? It didn't snap when I stepped on it, but it was completely shattered when I went back.

She felt a twinge of uneasiness.

I'm letting my guard down too much. I can't get to comfortable with him, he can still be dangerous. She knew it was easier said than done. Sans had a friendly, smiling atmosphere that made it hard to stay guarded around him.

Frisk shook her head to clear it and moved on, putting her feet in his footprints. Her feet were much smaller, and she was reminded of slightly smaller than average shoe size. They felt even smaller when compared to monster feet.

Up ahead, his footprints disappeared again, leaving her puzzled once more. Freaked out was an understatement.

How does he do that? Does he teleport or fly or Something? Is he a pokemon?

Frisk let out a humored huff at the reference she made in her mind. She wished she had her ds with her now.

He reminds me of a stupid, talking marrowak.

Frisk smiled quickly, a rather scary image forming in her head.

Scratch that, his head would look so weird on such a little body. Besides, Marrowak can't learn teleport or fly. Unless he's hacker, that is.

Frisk took a breath and forced her mind back to her surroundings. Snow had begun to fall lightly, little white specks floating around gracefully.

She noticed a cart up ahead, a red stripe running across it and making it stand out from the snow.

There was a tall, skinny bunny monster leaning on the cart. He wore a heavy brown coat and deep blue sweatpants. His hood was up, and though his ears poked out they were covered by light brown stocking like things. Ear warmers.

I could use those, Frisk thought, rubbing one of her pointed ears between her fingers. Despite the fur on them, they were chilled.

The bunny perked up as soon as he saw her.

"OH, a customer! Would you like some nice cocoa?"

Frisk flinched and took a step back, the sudden attention frightening her. She felt the nervous embarrassment she always did when faced with a store clerk or vendor. Cocoa sounds nice, but I don't have money…

"uhhh… I'm sorry… I don't h-have any money…"

Frisk felt guilty when the bunny monsters ears dropped.

"oh… well, that's okay! Make sure to come by when you can!" He said with a smile.

Frisk laughed nervously and waved before getting away from that spot. She didn't know why, she was just never good at buying things. It filled her with intense fear of screwing up. Especially when she had no money to start with.

She crossed a small wooden bridge, and once on the other side she noticed a familiar looking jacket in the distance.

Sans?

She walked towards him a little faster. His back was to her. He didn't notice her approach as he always did, which was odd.

Once she was close enough, she got the courage to call out to him.

"Sans? Hey."

Sans jumped slightly and turned to face her.

With a glowing blue tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Frisk froze. Sans stared back with wide eyes.

She felt a shudder go through her body. How did a skeleton have a tongue to begin with? And why was it blue?

"….heyth." Sans said in muffled speech.

"… what are you doing."

"…. Cathing thnow." He answered, pointing at the lightly falling snow.

Frisk blinked, eyes narrowing.

"… can you put that thing away now?" Why was it still out to begin with.

Sans stared at her dumbly. "why?"

"it's creeping me out."

"thine." Sans pulled his tongue back into his mouth. Frisk let out a sigh of relief.

"please don't do that again."

"sorry, just a habit of mine." Sans said with a grin.

He looked pasted her, looking suddenly thoughtful.

"…hey, puppo wanna go get some nice-cocoa?"

Nice-cocoa? Is that it's name? I thought he was just saying the cocoa was nice. Huh.

Frisk felt the shyness again.

"um… sorry, I don't have any money…"

"don't worry, we could do an IOU." He winked.

"… I… don't th-"

"c'mon." Sans gestured, walking past her. Frisk sighed and followed.

Damn you Sans.

He looked back at her, monitoring her for a second. Something seemed off about that look, I if he were looking for something.

Frisk felt her ears move back. It was as if he could see into her soul. What was with that?

As soon as it showed up, the look was gone, replaced with his usual lazy friendliness.

The bunny perked up again as they approached.

"heya." Sans waved.

"would you like some nice cocoa?"

"yeah." Sans said, glancing at Frisk. She had begin to shy away. "we'll take three."

Frisk gave him a scowl that turned to a confused look. There were only two of them…

"I'm getin' one for Pappy." Sans explained as the bunny monster opened his cart. Frisk felt a sudden blast of warm air. She moved forward slightly. It felt so good to feel some warmth.

As soon as he opened the cart, he closed it, leaving Frisk feeling disappointed. He had pulled out three foam cups. The rune that she had seen all over the ruins was printed on the cups. Frisk stared at them curiously. I wonder if that's national symbol or something.

"normally that'd be 15 gold, but I'll just take ten." The bunny smiled warmly. "it's real cold out."

Sans reached into his pants pocket and put two gold coins on the cart. They shone brightly. Frisk was a little shocked. The currency here is gold? That's… I dunno.

Sans handed her one of the cups. "don't worry it's not gonna bite." He said, noticing her hesitation.

Frisk took the cup slowly, feeling the warmth seep into her fingers.

"Thanks." He said to the bunny, giving him a wink. Why did he winked at everything?

The bunny laughed and winked back. "no, I should be thanking you. Stay warm, you two!"

Frisk felt a little better walking away this time. But now she felt bad for burdening Sans.

She opened her mouth, but Sans cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"don't worry about it, it's on me. He knocked off the price of one anyways."

Frisk took a deep breath, trying to get the shyness to go away. She didn't like being treated to anything just as much as she hated getting things herself. She wished she didn't have this crippling shyness. Ugh, I don't know which is worse, my social skills or my cowardice…

"…thank you…" She managed to force out of her throat. Sans looked at her through lidded eyes.

"don't mention it. But what's your deal, anyways? The cocoa bunny is one of the nicest guys I've met. Are you scared of everything?"

Frisk scowled.

Sans raised an eyebrow bone.

"I'm not gracing that expression with a description. I know we look scary, but some of us wouldn't hurt a fly. But I guess it's better safe than sorry, right?" Sans opened his cocoa with his teeth and took a sip. Steam rose from the open container.

"wait, how can you…." Frisk trailed off. Skeletons could drink? Where did it go?

"save yourself the trouble." Sans replied.

Frisk opened her own cocoa, wincing as the steam hit her face. It was still too warm for her.

"so, I was thinking. How much should I charge for fried snow?" Sans asked. "I was thinkin' along the lines of 5 gold? Maybe ten."

Frisk exhales loudly. Was that really a question?

"sans…"

"huh?"

"… you can't fry snow."

Sans shrugged.

"eh, doesn't matter. I don't got no snow anyways." The skeleton said as a snowflake land3d directly on his nose.

…. You are so weird... how'd I end up in this situation?

Frisk asked herself as she looked into the distance. The snow was getting harder.

More importantly… how do I get out?