Out of the Ruins, the Warners found themselves in a snow-covered forest. Finding it cold, they took out their winter attire; Yakko and Wakko pulled out their scarves while Dot put her poncho on. Turning back at this point was not an option, though it wasn't as if they were gonna do it anyway, so they continued walking straight ahead. They stopped after a few seconds upon finding a tough-looking branch, too heavy to pick up, with a note on it. Yakko opened it up; all three of them read the note at their own pace.
You didn't let me finish. As I was saying, you spared the life of a single person. Hee hee hee...I bet you feel really great.
As a matter of fact, they did.
You didn't kill anybody this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world...and let ME inherit the power to control it?
They'd find a way to do neither, but it wouldn't be easy. After all, escaping death while finding the Wishing Star wasn't so easy, was it? But all they had to do was stay determined. How could it be any different in the Underground?
I am the prince of this world's future. Don't worry, my little monarchs, my plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting.
-Flowey
P.S. I'm watching you.
Yakko groaned, his worries flooding back. He wondered why he was worrying so much, as it wasn't normal for him to be like that. Maybe the environment was messing with his zaniness...eventually he'd stop worrying. He just didn't know when.
"Oh, great. We're being stalked by a flower."
"Well, at least he's not gonna come after us, right?" said Wakko.
"I hope so," said Dot. "I've had it up to here with his 'kill or be killed' philosophy."
Yakko put the note in his pants, hoping to get rid of it soon, then walked forward with Dot on his right and Wakko on his left. However, after taking a few steps, they heard a loud snap. The branch was split in half.
"Keep walking," said Yakko, holding Wakko and Dot's hands.
They sped up the pace a little, hoping they wouldn't get attacked again. Was Flowey following them? Wakko glanced behind him for a split second and saw a shadow in the woods, but it looked nothing like him.
"We're being followed!" he whispered.
"Stay close," said Yakko, literally holding them by his sides.
Ahead of them, they saw a gate on a bridge. Maybe they could squeeze through the bars and lose whoever was following them. Yet again, they could always use their mallets if the shadow got too close...unless it was an encounter; they didn't want to take the risk of killing anyone. But right before they could reach the gate, the person beat them to it, appeared right behind them, and spoke. The voice was male and didn't sound particularly friendly.
"Humanfolk. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."
The Warners exchanged glances, knowing what to do. They turned around and saw the mysterious man standing in front of Yakko. That meant that if anything happened to him, Wakko and Dot would have his back. Upon examination, the figure was slightly taller than Wakko, but shorter than Yakko. Instead of attacking, he extended his arm. Yakko took it, hearing a weird ppppppffffffffftttttttttt sound shortly afterward. Dot gagged while Wakko rolled on his back laughing. Yakko laughed too, half out of relief. At that moment, he stopped worrying.
"Man, that's gross! Do it again."
The figure took off his hoodie to reveal a big-boned skeleton with a smile on his face.
"heheh...the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's always funny."
Lightening up, Yakko took this time to start a conversation.
"It's nice to see a fellow pranker around here. Gags are right up our alley! Puns too."
"cool. anyways, you're toons, right? that's hilarious."
"Then I guess we're doing our jobs right."
The skeleton chuckled.
"i'm sans. sans the skeleton."
"Nice to meet ya, Sans."
"We're the Warners Brothers!"
"And the Warner Sister!"
"I'm Yakko!"
"I'm Wakko!"
"And I'm Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bobesca the Third!"
"whoa...you got quite the mouthful of a name, kiddo."
"You can call me Dot. But call me 'Dottie' and ya die. Got it?"
Sans nodded.
"im actually supposed to be on watch for humans and humanfolk right now. but...y'know...i dont really care about capturing anybody."
"Then we'll get along just fine, Comic Sans!" said Wakko.
Sans laughed.
"good one. now my brother, papyrus..."
"Looks like we found ourselves a family of skelefonts," said Dot.
Yakko and Wakko nodded in agreement, liking the pun she made.
"...he's a human-hunting fanatic. hey, actually, i think that's him over there."
"He better know how to put up a good fight or he's toast," said Yakko, pulling out his mallet and spinning it in his hand.
Sans was impressed by their bravery, but also wanted to keep Papyrus out of harm's way.
"i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."
They walked right through the bars, proving Sans right. Maybe Papyrus wasn't smart enough to keep them out. Unfortunately, there wasn't much for them to hide in. The inconveniently-shaped lamp looked more like a human than any of the Warners.
"quick, find a place to hide."
Wakko took out his Gag Bag.
"Gotcha covered!"
He pulled it over himself and his siblings. They seemed to completely disappear under the bag, but of course, it was just an illusion. They stayed close to the ground, yet not completely lying down, and could feel angry footsteps stomping through the snow. That must've been Papyrus.
"sup, bro?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER!" Papyrus boomed. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T...RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!"
The Warners snickered from under the Gag Bag, trying hard not to laugh at how much Papyrus contrasted Sans.
"Does Skeletor know somebody stole his voice?" said Yakko.
"YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
"staring at this bag. it's really cool. do you wanna look?"
"Wait," said Dot, "is he trying to give us away?"
"NO!" Papyrus refused, getting crankier and stomping his foot on the ground. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!"
This time, the Warners' snickers turned to giggles. They couldn't take Papyrus seriously.
"WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"
"Too bad," said Wakko, "he's gettin' us instead."
"He should be lucky," said Dot.
It was a shame that they couldn't see Papyrus strike a pose as his cape flowed through the wind.
"THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS...WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT...RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, 'FRIEND?'"
At this point, the Warners started to pity the skeleton just a little.
"I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"
"Beat him to it," said Yakko.
Dot rolled her eyes.
"Ya know who to thank for that."
"Fangirls. What can I say?"
"Gotta love 'em," said Wakko.
"hmm...maybe this bag will help you."
"Now he's just being lazy," said Dot.
Papyrus threw another mini fit, which was much more intense than the first.
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"
At this point, the Warners were laughing under the bag. Thankfully, Papyrus was too angry to hear them.
"hey, take it easy. i've gotten a ton of work done today. a skele-ton."
A drums sound effect played as Sans turned to the readers and winked. The Warners' bodies uncontrollably did the noodle for a brief second.
"My 'breaking the fourth wall' senses are tingling," said Yakko.
"Mine too," said Wakko.
"Wasn't expecting that from a computer game," said Dot.
"SANS!"
"come on. you're smiling."
"I AM AND I HATE IT!"
He sighed.
"WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME...HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."
"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself..."
"Here we go again," said Dot.
"down to the bone."
This time, Wakko played the drums to accompany Sans' pun as he turned to the readers once more. The Warners' bodies repeated the same movement.
"Yep," said Yakko, "he's breaking the fourth wall."
"UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES...AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, 'BACKBONE' INTO IT!"
"He did not just go there!" said Dot.
"Oh, yes he did!" said Yakko.
"NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" Papyrus laughed, walking away, but not before returning for one last "HEH!"
"ok, you can come out now."
There was no response from under the Gag Bag.
"uh, guys? hello- gah!"
He jumped back and grabbed his chest as the Warners jumped out of the bag.
"Aw, snap!" said Yakko. "Ya just got boned!"
Sans caught his breath.
"you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does...you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."
He winked.
"What, those old things?" said Yakko. "They're so dumb only numbskulls use 'em!"
"Ohhhhhhh!" Wakko and Dot shouted, catching their brother as he jumped back.
Sans chuckled as they walked away. Wakko stopped to look at Sans' sentry-station, which for some reason had bottles of ketchup, mustard, and relish sitting inside...but no hot dogs.
"actually, hey..."
The Warners turned around and looked at Sans.
"Whaddya need?" said Yakko.
"hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?"
"Sure!" said Wakko.
"i was thinking...my brother's been kinda down lately..."
"Poor thing," said Dot. "I heard he doesn't have too many friends."
"true. he's never seen a human or humanfolk before. and seeing you just might make his day. don't worry, he's not dangerous. even if he tries to be."
"Kinda figured," said Yakko. "We heard the whole thing."
"Anyway," said Dot, "we'd love to meet Papyrus! Sounds like a pretty nice guy. Kinda dorky, but nice."
"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead."
He left, but went the opposite direction. The Warners didn't question him, though; he was probably using a shortcut. They followed their own path and found yet another bright star. The convenience of Wakko's Gag Bag still filled them with determination.