The thought of Flowey manipulating Papyrus made Dot feel protective of her sweet, innocent skele-crush. She was naturally the most active of the Papyrus Protection Squad, but it didn't stop Yakko and Wakko from doing their part either. After all, a friend of Dot was a friend of theirs. Besides, Sans was counting on them to help his brother. Upon leaving Snowdin, they removed their winter attire and stopped by a sign next to a box.
(This is a box. You can put an item in or take an item out. Why would you, though? You can't use items when they're in the box! Sincerely, a box hater.)
The Warners snickered.
"Actually," said Yakko, "they have a point. Why would we need the boxes when we have Wakko's Gag Bag?"
They found themselves at a crossroads. They could walk across the waterfall with rocks falling their way or take a bridge instead. Choosing the drier path, they came across an echo flower.
"I swore I saw something...Behind that rushing water..."
They looked behind the waterfall.
"Hey," said Wakko, "what's a camera doing back here?"
"I dunno," said Dot. "I guess people are always watching our adventures. Or reading them."
She winked to the readers, then proceeded to make silly faces into the camera with her brothers. Whoever was watching them must've been laughing at their antics. Seeing the bridge led to a dead end, they walked across the water and found a secret cave at the halfway point. Inside were two mushrooms and a tutu.
"Sweet, a tutu!"
Dot tried it on.
"Perfect fit, but it's a little dusty."
She brushed off some dust, then took it off and handed it to Wakko, who put it in his Gag Bag. Leaving the cave and continuing forward, they came across large strands of grass. Their shadows started to form as well.
"What's with the weird lighting?" Yakko asked. "We don't need any unnecessary tension."
They walked into the grass, which hid them from a figure lurking in the shadows. They could tell it was a knight with a red ponytail coming out from the head. Their appearance was probably what caused the sudden lighting change, as if the Underground warned them about the person being nothing but trouble.
"This place is more self-aware than I thought," said Wakko.
"Is that Papyrus?" said Dot, seeing the skeleton walk up to the knight.
"Shhh!" said Yakko.
"H...HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT...UHHH...REGARDING THOSE HUMANFOLK I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER..."
"So this is the Undyne Papyrus talked about," said Yakko. "Not sure if she's Hello Nurse worthy yet..."
Dot elbowed him. They only heard Papyrus' voice, but were unable to hear Undyne as she spoke.
"...HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!"
Papyrus was very nervous when talking to Undyne. The Warners could sense something was amiss.
"...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM...? W-W-WELL..."
The Warners became worried about their friend, especially Dot. Something was just not right about Undyne, even if they hadn't heard what she said or what she'd say next. Dot tensed up and put her hand by her skirt, ready to pull out her mallet and protect Papyrus against his mentor. Yakko put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Not yet," he whispered.
"NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END...I FAILED."
The Warners could feel Undyne's glare burning through his skull.
"...W-WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE WARNERS' SOULS YOURSELF..."
Papyrus tried to be brave and stand up for the toons. Although he knew they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, in the end they were still just kids. If Undyne proved to be too strong and killed them, he wouldn't forgive himself for not trying to stop it.
"BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE...YOU SEE-"
Undyne cut him off. Papyrus backed away, which made Dot gasp. From what she could get out of the situation, Undyne was insulting and threatening poor Papyrus. This was what finally made her snap.
"That's it. Let me at her!"
She reached for her mallet and tried to charge, but Yakko stopped her.
"No! It'll make things worse."
Dot breathed heavily, trying hard to contain herself. Wakko stood by them, ready to grab Dot if she couldn't take it and tried to pounce on the knight.
"..."
"If she hurts my Papyrus, she's dead."
"...I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN."
Papyrus sadly walked away in defeat. But once he was out of Undyne's sight, he pulled something out of his cape. It was the heart-shaped kiss Dot blew to him after their battle. He gently stroked it, feeling its warmth and beat.
"DON'T WORRY," he whispered. "I'LL PROTECT YOU."
Dot saw this out of the corner of her eye and felt her heart skip a beat, grateful that Papyrus didn't truly betray her and her brothers. She was also relieved that Undyne didn't hurt him, but remained angry at what she imagined the knight had said. Her fury had returned and fire burned in her eyes.
"Now she's gonna get it."
Yakko had a bad feeling about it. He could sense when he and his siblings were truly in danger, and from what he saw, Undyne meant business.
"Dot, wait-"
It was too late. She stepped on a twig, alerting Undyne that someone was watching her. Yakko dropped to the ground, still managing to keep a whisper.
"Get down!"
His siblings dropped with him as Undyne took a few steps forward, taking out her spear. The Warners held their breaths, ready to attack if she discovered them. She scanned her surroundings, but the grass hid the toons well. She put away her spear and disappeared. Dot was disappointed that she couldn't defend Papyrus, but Yakko believed it was probably for the best. Besides, Dot would have more chances later. It was highly likely that their paths would cross again.
"That was close," said Yakko.
"Ya know," said Dot, "we could've just attacked her right there like we always do."
"It's different this time," said Yakko. "Somethin' tells me we're in more danger than we think."
They got out of the grass, then saw Monster Kid come out with them.
"Monster Kid?" said Wakko.
"Yo...did you see the way she was staring at you...?"
"Yeah," said Yakko, "it was pretty intimidating."
"I was too busy looking at the way she was treating Papyrus," Dot growled. "Did ya see the way she made threats at him?"
Monster Kid didn't hear her.
"That...was AWESOME! I'm SOOOO jealous! What'd you do to get her attention...?"
"Nothin' much," said Yakko, his smug smile returning to his face. "I just showed her how amazing I am."
"Actually," said Dot, rolling her eyes at her brother, "I stepped on a twig."
Monster Kid chuckled.
"You should try doin' it sometime," said Yakko. "She oughta notice ya then!"
"I hope. C'mon! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!"
"We'll meet ya up ahead, Monster Kid!" said Wakko.
"Ok!"
He started running, but fell on his face. Wakko would've helped him, since he didn't have any arms, but he managed to get up by himself and scamper away.
"Looks like we actually blend in for once," said Yakko.
A feeling of dread at the thought of Undyne hung over the Warners, but they still felt determined. Passing by another twinkling star, they found out that more puzzles were ahead.
"When four Bridge Seeds align in the water," Yakko read, "they will sprout."
Yakko gave it a try, putting the seeds across the river. They blossomed and they crossed to the other side. Suddenly, Aaron flexed in. He looked like he was part horse, part merman. Thinking quickly, Yakko flexed back. Aaron flexed twice as hard.
"Are ya up for a flexin' contest?" Yakko asked.
"Ok," Aaron responded, "flex more."
He winked. He flexed towards the Warners, who had to dodge. Wakko got hit in the face. He flexed harder in response. Aaron flexed thrice as hard.
"Nice! I won't lose tho"
He winked again.
"We'll see about that!" said Dot.
His attacks increased, so the Warners had to work harder to dodge. Luckily, all they had to dodge were drops of sweat. Dot flexed next. Aaron flexed so hard he flexed himself out of the room. He tossed thirty pieces of gold at them.
"We won, we won, we won, we won!" they cheered.
When the encounter was over, Wakko grabbed the four seeds on the ground and put them on a lake with a sign in the middle. He walked over and read the sign.
"Congratulations! You failed the puzzle! Aw, poo! I got jipped!"
Yakko and Dot were laughing at his epic fail. Wakko walked to a sign on the wall that was next to a bell. The sign said "If an error is made, the Bell Blossom can call Bridge Seeds back to where they started." Wakko rang the bell and the seeds returned. Trying again, he went to the river separating them from the other side. He examined it closely, then figured out how to solve the puzzle.
"I got this," he told his siblings.
He made a vertical path with the seeds, making them blossom.
"Not bad," said Yakko.
They crossed as Dot's phone rang. She picked it up.
"Hello?"
"HELLO, DOT! THIS IS PAPYRUS!"
Dot's face lit up.
"Oh, hi Papyrus! Wait a minute, how did ya get my number?"
"HOW DID I GET THIS NUMBER...? IT WAS EASY! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOURS!"
"Aw, ya shouldn't have."
"NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus laughed into the phone. "SO...WHAT ARE YOU WEARING...?"
"Why do ya need to know?"
"I'M...ASKING FOR A FRIEND. SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING JUST A PINK SKIRT. IS THAT TRUE? ARE YOU WEARING JUST A PINK SKIRT?"
"Yup! I took off the poncho after leaving Snowdin."
"SO YOU ARE WEARING JUST A PINK SKIRT... GOT IT! WINK WINK!"
Dot giggled.
"Anything else ya need?"
"NO. HAVE A NICE DAY!"
"You too, Papy. Buh-bye!"
They hung up.
"Well, time to change our outfits."
Dot put on the old tutu from earlier, then took her skirt off from underneath it. She tied the faded ribbon into a bow around her head as an extra touch to distract from her flower. Yakko tied the bandana around his head, then took out the stick and toy knife and put them in his belt. Wakko had nothing to wear, but he put on his tough gloves. Holding hands and entering the next room, they came across echo flowers and a sign.
"WISHING ROOM," Dot read.
They stayed silent to listen to what the flowers had to say.
"A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky. If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true. Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling..."
"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that."
Before they could reach the third flower, they were pulled towards Woshua. Seeing he was a neat freak, they had an idea.
"Can ya clean us?" said Wakko. "We're really stinky."
Woshua hopped around excitedly.
"Green means clean"
They had to avoid harmful drops of water to stay safe. Luckily, three green drops, one for each Warner, were thrown into the mix. They felt cleaner, making Woshua happy. They spared him, earning twenty-five pieces of gold.
"I gotta tell ya," said Yakko, "we're gettin' richer every minute!"
The next flower triggered more dialogue.
"C'mon, sis! Make a wish!"
"I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday..."
"Ah...seems my horoscope is the same as last week's..."
A nearby telescope was on a tripod in between the last two flowers. Dot looked through it; the stones resembling stars weren't accurate up close. In a bright cluster of them, she saw the words "CHECK WALL" and an arrow. Following its advice, she used her mallet to hit the wall in the narrow hallway. It shattered, letting them pass through.
"Alright! Thanks for the tip, telescope."
They walked on a bridge and found some more signs. Ancient writing covered the walls, but the Warners could understand it fine. However, they wouldn't know the true power of the written monster language until they read all the signs.
"The War of Humans and Monsters," Yakko read. "Well, sibs. Looks like we're in for a story! Though technically, we're in a story right now."
Yakko continued to read the story as they walked together.
"Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the soul of nearly every monster...just to equal the power of a single human soul."
Suddenly, Yakko was teleported away from his siblings. He had entered a battlefield where monsters and humans attacked in every corner. Being classified as "humanfolk", he should be on the humans' side. But he knew that ever since he and his siblings were drawn, they wanted nothing to do with them, so why would he want to fight by their side? Yet technically they weren't monsters either. Yakko stood in the middle of the battlefield, wondering which side he was on. He looked for his siblings, who were nowhere to be found, as an unrecognizable voice continued to tell the story.
"But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their soul."
Yakko dodged fighting humans and monsters, wanting nothing to do with the war.
"Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death. If a monster defeats a human, they can take its soul."
He looked to the side and saw a monster kill a human, absorbing their soul.
"A monster with a human soul...A horrible beast with unfathomable power."
There was something very unsettling about the fusion. It was strange-looking and it appeared to look like a demented version of a Warner. A few more popped up, but they didn't seem to notice Yakko. Suddenly, he was pushed to the ground by a human holding a spear. The human mistook him for a monster.
"Die, you heartless demon!"
Yakko screamed and took out his mallet to defend himself. Thinking fast and using it as a shield, he blocked the hit. As he protected himself, the scene dissolved. He panted, realizing he was back on the bridge.
"Sibs...did ya see that?"
Wakko and Dot nodded, just as spooked.
"That was awful!" said Wakko. "I don't wanna go back there!"
"We won't have to," said Yakko.
They stepped on a spare piece of wood on the edge of the bridge, taking them across the water.
"Yeesh," said Dot. "I knew they had it bad but I didn't know it was that bad!"
The fact that the humans attacked the monsters didn't surprise them, but the barbaric war that took place was what terrified them. After what they saw, they could tell it didn't end well for either side, even if the humans won the war. They got off the raft and continued onward.
"They're just like us," said Yakko. "Outcast and locked away from the world...but they have it worse. They can't even escape!"
"What are we gonna do?" said Wakko.
"There's only one thing to do, sibs: we gotta set them free. There's gotta be a way where we can break the barrier and stay alive, right?"
"Yeah!" said Dot. "And we're not leaving until we do."
"There goes the weird lighting again," said Yakko, seeing his shadow forming once more.
"Ya think we're puttin' ourselves in danger?" said Wakko, remembering when King Salazar tried to kill them.
Dot shrugged it off.
"I'm sure it's nothin' we ca- whoa!"
She jumped back as a stray spear almost stabbed her. Looking to the side, they saw Undyne standing not too far away.
"Run!" Yakko shouted.
Cannons were probably the only thing the Warners thought could almost kill them until now. Undyne threw clusters of three spears at them as they dashed for their lives. No one truly ambushed them until now, opening their eyes to the fact that they still underestimated their perilous journey. Now they believed that they were no longer invincible. Running through the turns of the twisty bridge, the Warners couldn't fight back since Undyne was too far away. However, they were able to use their mallets to shield incoming spears. Despite this, all shortcuts closed and their lives were at stake. If they managed to escape, they'd be as grateful as ever. Suddenly, one of Undyne's spears tripped Dot. She fell forward, then pulled herself to the side to avoid the larger cluster of Undyne's spears. It momentarily separated her from her brothers, but they passed once the larger cluster was no longer thrown.
"Quick!" Yakko shouted. "Hide in those huge piles of grass!"
They made a dive for it, managing to escape the final triple spear attack. The Warners tumbled on the ground and when they stopped, they held their breaths as Undyne walked through the grass searching for them. She raised her hand and brought it down...grabbing a smiling Monster Kid. Seeing that the Warners were nowhere in sight, she put him down and walked away. The Warners walked out of the grass.
"You guys ok?" said Yakko.
"Yup," said Wakko. "You?"
"Yeah."
"Good," said Dot. "For a moment, I actually thought I was gonna die!"
"Me too!" said Wakko.
"Let's agree we all thought the same thing and call it a day," said Yakko.
Monster Kid came out of the grass, bouncing excitedly.
"Yo...did you see that!? Undyne just...TOUCHED ME!"
Yakko blew a kiss to the readers, momentarily losing his sense of fear and dread.
"Goodnight everybody!"
"I'm never washing my face ever again...! Man, are you unlucky. If you were standing just a little bit to the left...!"
"Unlucky?" said Dot. "I'm just glad I'm still alive!"
"Yeah...but where are the bad guys?"
"Beats me," said Yakko, not having the heart to tell him they were the ones she was hunting down.
"Too bad they escaped," said Wakko, playing along.
"Yo, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!"
"Well," said Yakko, "see ya around, Monster Kid."
He ran away and fell on his face again, but quickly picked himself up and kept going. Meanwhile, the Warners had to decide what to feel about their situation.
"We've got a lot at stake," said Dot.
"Yeah," said Yakko. "Can I be honest with ya?"
Wakko and Dot nodded.
"I'm scared. It's terrifying when I realize our toon powers can't protect us in serious situations! But we can't let it control how we are. If we keep our guard up, keep doin' what we're doin', and stay determined, it just might be enough to stay alive."
The Warners held each others' hands and continued onward. They found a mouse hole, an echo flower squeaking its greetings from the mouse to them, and a stool with a piece of cheese on it. The cheese had been there for so long that a magic crystal surrounded it. It was stuck to the table. Finally, the Warners came across a glowing star, giving them warmth. Knowing that the mouse might one day extract the cheese from the magical crystal filled them with determination.