A/N: Seems one of the reviewers guessed something correctly. Or mostly correctly. And it seems a certain other reviewer forgot to log out before reviewing. Me. It me.

As multiple people have asked this, might as well answer it publicly:

The Batman I am writing in this fic is mostly the DCAU (DC Animated Universe) Batman. Mostly, but not entirely. The DCAU is known for the Justice League cartoons, which contain my personal favourite canon content. They totally reconceptualized the Question in a neat way. But you're not here to see me fangirl. Allons-y!

It seemed that Batman had gotten away from Sans' "human hunting fanatic" brother, and wound up with yet more dogs.

Two robed dogs spoke up. Or... barked up?

"What's that smell?"

"(Where's that smell?)"

The dogs exchanged confused glances, trying to decide what to do with the new person.

"If you're a smell..."

"(...Identify yoursmellf!)"

The two robed dogs, Dogamy and Dogaressa, got up and walked away from the other anthropomorphic dogs and circled around Batman, sniffing him at a safe distance and waving their axes menacingly. Though the people in the bar already seemed intrigued by the new arrival, the entire bar's attention was now locked onto Batman and the dogs.

"That weird smell... it makes me want to eliminate..."

"(...eliminate you!)"

He was ready. He'd faced worse than a couple of dogs unarmed, this should be no problem. He equipped the branch he picked up earlier.

As Batman felt his Soul pull out from his chest, there was a whoosh of flame over at the bar. An odd, humanoid bird monster spoke up from in front of the bar.

"Grillby says no fighting."

The Dogi looked at each other, then at Grillby, the fire man behind the bar.

"They smell like a human."

"(We're supposed to eliminate humans.)"

Grillby made a crackling sound, like a burning twig breaking. The bird, apparently Grillby's interpreter, spoke up again.

"He says you're mistaken."

The dog playing poker in the corner, which Batman recognized as the dog that encountered him in the forest, barked a few times and returned to playing poker with himself.

All the dogs looked excited, tails wagging, and the remaining seated dogs stood up. They started clamouring.

"He pet you?" "Pet? Pat? Pot?" "(Please don't leave us out!)" "Woof woof yip! Pant-pant-pant"

The dogs started crowding around Batman, begging for attention. He did rather like dogs, but this was ridiculous.

But there were certainly worse ways to avoid a fight than petting dogs. Obviously, he wasn't being given much of a choice here.

The crowd went back to their business and the bartender raised a fiery hand to where one would assume his mouth would be as sparks started to fly off him. Grillby was laughing. Wonderful.

Unlike most dogs, who would beg for attention perpetually if allowed, the guard dogs quieted quickly and returned to their seats almost simultaneously, as if understanding the limits of his willingness to stand around and pet them.

Grillby looked to Batman and motioned for him to take a seat by the bar.

"I don't intend to stay for too long. I have something I should be doing."

Grillby wanted him to take a break. He insisted. After all, it had been a long time since he'd conversed with a human.

Batman raised an eyebrow and sat down. The bartender wouldn't try to attack him after stopping the others from fighting him. The bird monster two seats to his left eyed him curiously. Grillby made a shooing hand motion, gesturing for the bird monster to not bother them.

Grillby asked for his name and offered a drink. On the house.

"I'm Batman." Batman looked at the menu. Most of the drinks were unfamiliar, a good number of them probably being meant for dogs, Tea was an option, but only as "Tea." No varieties or blends were listed.

"I'll have tea."

Tea wasn't a common choice at Grillby's bar. Grillby opened a shelf and grabbed an odd variety of tea leaves. Batman recognized a number of them, and not many of them were usually blended together. There were a few leaves from various places around the world, and he wondered how the bartender had gotten them in the underground.

Grillby crumpled a few leaves and put them in a glass, then very carefully filled the glass with water. He then held the glass in his hand and faced Batman, wanting to hear what'd brought Batman to Snowdin and what he thought of it.

Grillby was already aware that he was a human, but the other patrons were not, and Batman preferred to keep it that way.

"I'm not entirely sure. I haven't been here long. It's... very peaceful, despite everything." He glanced back at the dogs who'd tried to attack him. "I'm still discovering why I'm here."

Grillby nodded, and the way his flames flickered gave the impression of a smile. The glass in his hand was steaming, the tea inside becoming darker as the leaves steeped. The steam made the air ripple in front of Grillby, further exaggerating the movements of his flames.

Batman could see no end to the fire. He'd expected to be able to see something inside all the flames. A fuel source or something akin to a solid body. But Grillby appeared to be simply... fire. Fire that so happened to be wearing clothes and brewing tea in his hands.

Grillby put the hot tea down and motioned for his guest to take caution, as the glass was hotter than the tea. Batman nodded, thanked him, and took a sip. His gloves weren't just for show, after all.

The tea itself was alright. It wasn't a blend he was used to. It was mild and tasted vaguely of cinnamon.

Grillby asked him if he was in a rush.

"No," he replied, "but I don't intend to stay long."

The fiery bartender nodded and continued about his business. Batman watched him and the other patrons analytically. The atmosphere was relaxing, a definite change from well... pretty much anywhere that served alcohol in Gotham. It held neither the air of haughty appraisal of the parties Bruce Wayne attended and hosted, where the elite quietly looked for ways to use both people and circumstances to their advantage, nor the tense and dangerously drunken atmosphere of the pubs Batman had investigated. It was nice. ...It was strange.

There wasn't even litter on the floor. The place was so idyllic and so impossible, Batman was almost uncomfortable. Almost. Nobody was giving him wary or suspicious glances. This was especially strange because he'd been accused of being human, and apparently, humans were to be hunted down. The bartender was even willing to go against that in his favour.

The strange creatures and talking skeletons, even the fact that the strange red heart that appeared to be his soul appearing through some bizarre reason seemed less odd to him than the monsters' overwhelming innocence and naivete.

It couldn't be real, yet it couldn't be a dream. What sort of illusion was this? Was he transported to some strange alternate world? Was there a purpose for him to be brought here?

He soon finished his tea, and Grillby mentioned that Papyrus appeared to have been distracted by having to chase a small white dog.

Time to keep moving.

Were all monsters like the ones he'd met? Doubtful. Every utopia was but a hidden dystopia, in his experience. Something was amiss and he would find out what it was.

As he stepped out the door, the thought of finding the truth filled him with determination.

A/N: The next chapter will be a massive challenge, as well as very long. However, if all goes well, most of you won't even read this author's not before it goes up.