:):
I think those are the top three enigmatic characters, Equimavera, unless we count Frisk.
As for Undyne's part in this story, well... attaining a friendship with her might be a bit more challenging.
But not Impossible!
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Back Into The Forest
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Once they were finally able to peel the tiny human away from the overly affectionate Lesser Dog, Sans led the three of them to the kid's magical healing star. He had a favor to ask of them now that the K-9 Unit was busy for a few hours. It should be safe...
Walking over to the X he had marked into the snow, Sans waved his bony hand through the empty space. Nothing. He expected as much. "hey, kid." He called, getting both his brother's and the small child's attention. Papyrus was trying in vain to clean the dog slobber off the girl's puffed and pouting cheeks. "why don't you show pap your magic star?"
"Okay!" Fearia chirped, gratefully dashing out of the clutches of the tall clean fanatic.
"It's Here?" Papyrus tilted his skull. "Are You Sure? I Don't See Any Stars."
"just wait for it." Sans replied, casually slipping his bony hands into his jacket pockets. "see it now?" He asked as a sudden bright light flashed into existence when the child practically dove into the seemingly empty space.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Papyrus screeched, his jaw bone hanging agape.
"It's a healing star!" Fearia grinned. Standing inside the transparent and incorporeal object, she waved her arms excitedly. "See? I told you it was real!"
Walking over to the child, Papyrus knelt down in order to squint at the barely visible object. "This Is A Magic Healing Star?" He asked rhetorically as he extended a gloved hand towards the dimly lit light.
"Mh hm." Fearia nodded while politely vacating the star in order for the taller skeleton to better examine it. "You couldn't see it at first either, could you, Sans?"
"nope." The shorter skeleton replied easily. "looks like they only react to humans."
"This Star Has Been Here This Whole Time?!" Papyrus exclaimed in bafflement. "But We Just Couldn't See It?"
"yep." Sans grinned, his eye lights drifting away from them as he thought about how he wanted to word his request. "apparently there are more of them out in the forest, right, kid?"
"Uh huh. There are like three of them I think... Maybe four... I forgot to count." Fearia finished sheepishly. She didn't know she would need to keep track of them!
"do you think you could find them again?"
"Sure I can!" The little girl nodded, her amber eyes lighting up with determination. This sounded like a mission and she was itching to do something fun.
"great." Sans grinned a little wider, his eye lights zeroing in on his brother. "why don't you take pappy and go look for them for awhile. when you find one, mark it with something, okay?"
"Okay!" Fearia grinned back as she reached up and took hold of the taller skeleton's gloved hand. She was brimming with excitement and an over abundance of energy. Finally she would get to do something instead of just sitting inside the house all day wasting precious time! Who knows? Maybe she would find something out there that would help her achieve her goal.
"And What Will You Be Doing, Brother?" Papyrus asked, sending his sibling a suspicious look. He was up to something... He just knew it! And this time, he was fairly sure his brother wasn't just sneaking off to take a nap like usual. These past few days, Sans had been acting strangely less apathetic than he normally was. Not that he was complaining. Motivation was a good thing after all! Papyrus just wanted to know what was behind the sudden motivation.
"nothin much," Sans shrugged. "i'm just going to make sure the heating system works like it's supposed to."
"And After That?" Papyrus asked, raising an eyebrow bone in skepticism. He wasn't buying what his brother was selling. He knew him too well.
Sans smirked. His bro was getting wise to him. "after that i was going to drop by the garbage dump."
A visible chill ran down Papyrus' spine at the mere mention of that filthy place. "Why Would You Want To Go There?" He asked as he tried to ignore the impatient tugging of his hand.
"eh, just to see what i can find." Was Sans' nonchalant answer. It wasn't a lie. But he was hoping to prove a theory.
"Alright Then..." Papyrus relented finally. "Just Don't Bring Back Any Useless Junk."
"when have i ever done that?" Sans grinned sarcastically as he lifted his arms in an overly dramatic shrug.
The taller skeleton scoffed before turning away from his brother. "Come, Human. Lead The Way To Your Magical Healing Stars."
Fearia smiled happily seeing as they were finally getting a move on. Eagerly pulling The Great Papyrus by the hand, she waved to the shorter skeleton. "Bye, Sans!"
Sans gave a lazy wave in reply. "keep outa trouble, kiddo."
That was real wishful thinking.
Turning, Sans pulled out his cellphone and began walking back to the house. Bringing up Papyrus' name, he started working on a message. He couldn't very well talk about this topic when the kid was standing right there, but even so, they needed to talk about it. He knew his brother's dream was to become part of the Royal Guard and whether Papyrus knew it or not, this kid was pretty much his golden ticket. The thing was, his bro still didn't know what happened to the humans that had been taken to the capitol. He didn't know that their bodies had been broken and their SOULS had been stolen for the purpose of one day breaking the magical barrier trapping them all down here in the Underground. As far as Papyrus knew, the humans had all just gone home.
That was his fault. He'd always watered down the truth too much when it came to his brother.
Sans still wasn't ready to tell Papyrus the grim details, but maybe he could persuade him in a different way; appeal to his good nature. He knew Papyrus liked the human, and he was pretty sure she liked him as well. Truthfully, the kid was just like Papyrus. She was way too trusting and naive. Maybe that's why he had taken to her so easily. Betraying the trust that she had so freely given to them would be beyond cruel. And for that reason alone, he needed to make sure Undyne didn't get wind of this. If she did, they'd have a big mess on their hands.
...
Fearia hummed to herself as she led Papyrus by the hand towards where they said the forest was. In truth, she couldn't quite remember how she had gotten into this town to begin with. Her memories were a little hazy. All she really remembered was how cold she had been. But now, bundled up in her new warm clothes, she was eager to explore.
Coming upon a large snow covered sign at the edge of town, Fearia stopped to look at it. The colorful sign adorned with strings of lighted balls simply read "WELCOME TO SNOWDIN", though to the child, it could have said anything at all and it still wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Papyrus smiled fondly at the sign. "Ah, Snowdin... HOME OF PAPYRUS!" Receiving a strange, questioning look for his effort, the tall skeleton looked away dejectedly. "I'm Petitioning For That To Become The Official Slogan For The Town! Catchy, Right?"
Fearia gave a noncommittal shrug, not outright rejecting the notion but not agreeing with it either. "What's the town's actual slogan?"
"It Doesn't Have One Yet." Papyrus revealed. "That's Why I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, Have Taken It Upon Myself To Give This Town It's Very Own Slogan!"
"Oh! How about this?" Fearia grinned. "Snowdin! Home of snow and more snow!"
Papyrus tilted his skull as he presented an obvious look of displeasure. "It Doesn't Quite Have The Same Ring To It..." The little girl shrugged once more, not really bothered by his opinion. Had she learned that dismissive gesture from his brother?
Leaving the town of Snowdin, a precarious wooden bridge stretched out before them. Feeling the little human's grip on his gloved hand tighten slightly, Papyrus looked down to see her clear apprehension. "Worry Not, Miss Fearia," he reassured. "This Bridge Looks Dangerous, But It's Very Stable. In Fact, It's Just A Rock Formation I Painted Over. I Think It Looks More Dramatic This Way."
"Really...?" Fearia asked as she cautiously toed the beginnings of the supposed rock formation. It didn't sway or shake at all! Seriously? This bridge was a rock?
"Indeed!" Papyrus grinned, all too proud of himself for this feat of artistic daring. "I Added The Rope, Too!"
It was impressive... But even so... The fact that this thin, narrow, sliver of rock was the actual bridge they had to cross to get to the other side, made crossing it even more scary. She would have rather walked across a swaying rope bridge than test her luck and hope that this rock didn't crumble beneath her feet. Thankfully, it wasn't windy right now.
Once on the other side of the questionably reliable bridge, Fearia discovered an area filled with Snow Poffs! What were Snow Poffs? She didn't know, but there were just so many! Rushing off to tackle a Snow Poff head on, the little girl left her skeleton chaperone to his own devices.
Speaking of devices...
A familiar chime brought Papyrus' attention away from the frolicking child and instead to his cellphone he kept tucked away safely in his Battle Body. Checking the screen, he found that his brother had left him a message. Well, at least this proves Sans wasn't taking a nap right now.
-have you told undyne about the human yet?-
Papyrus frowned as he tapped at his phone. Why would he ask that?
-No, I Haven't Spoken With Undyne In A Few Days. Why Do You Ask?-
-it might be best if you don't tell her right away...-
The tall skeleton stared at his phone for a moment or two. Why would Sans say that? Why shouldn't he tell Undyne? What about the King's law? He could understand helping the human when she wasn't feeling well but now that she was feeling better, shouldn't they be trying to get her home? She must miss her family - her sister!
-i know what you're thinking. she feels better so we should send her home, right?-
Papyrus squinted at his phone suspiciously. How was his brother always able to guess what he was thinking?
-That Had Crossed My Mind...-
-i agree that that does seem like the best thing to do, but hear me out first. the kid told me that she came down here for a reason. she's looking for something and she only has a few weeks to find it. let's give her time to do what she came here to do. if you tell undyne about the human, she'll take her away regardless of what she wants.-
-that would make the kid sad, bro.-
Ah. Papyrus felt a tug at his nonexistent heartstrings. He didn't want to do something that would make Miss Fearia unhappy. He understood now. If she really didn't want to go home yet, then they shouldn't force her to go. This was actually the first he'd heard about why the child was down here. Maybe he could help her look for whatever she was looking for? What was she looking for?
-Do You Know What She Is Looking For? Maybe We Can Help Her Find It!-
Sans stared down at his cellphone for a few minutes, thinking about how best to answer this tricky question. He should have seen how this was going to play out and he had just gone and metaphorically walked right into it. Of course Papyrus would want to help the kid out. That's just who he was. But finding what she was searching for was about as likely as his bro actually joining the Royal Guard. Very unlikely.
Sans chuckled to himself as a thought occurred to him and the lazy skeleton's ever-present grin slowly widened as he began tapping out his response. This didn't have to be a bad thing. On the contrary. If Papyrus helped the kid try to find her impossible object, maybe that would keep both of them entertained for awhile. And if his bro was busy with that, then he would feel less compelled to tell Undyne about the human. He loved his brother, but Papyrus, for all of his good qualities, had a one track mind.
-yeh, i know what the kid's looking for, she told me all about it. maybe if you asked nicely, she might tell you too. I bet she would be real happy if we help her find this thing.-
Papyrus stared down at his cellphone, his jawbone not quite aligned as he fully absorbed his brother's hidden message. There was a taunting of "I know something you don't know." mixed with a challenge of "I bet I can find it first!". Glaring, the taller skeleton heatedly tapped out his accusation.
-Is That Why You're Going To The Garbage Dump?! Are You Already Looking For This Item?-
-maybe-
-I'll Have You Know, Dear Brother, I Shall Be The One To Find Whatever It Is Miss Fearia Is Searching For! And When I Do, She Shall Shower Me With Praise And Kisses!-
Sans snickered to himself as he tapped out his reply.
-sounds like a date. good luck, bro.-
Tucking his cellphone back into his pocket, Sans proceeded on his way, the ever-present grin he always wore now slightly mischievous in nature. He knew his brother would over analyze his message. He had a habit of doing so. What he hadn't expected was for Papyrus to somehow make this into a competition.
Whatever... he'd take it.
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In the next chapter, Fearia has a close call and Papyrus learns first hand that babysitting can be a tough job.
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Thanks for reading!
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Sheii Bae~
