LOUDERTALE

by Superdimentio77

When Lincoln wins a free reservation at a resort, he of course invites all of his family to join him. But when said resort is standing next to a certain mountain, their visit up the mount might extend the Loud Siblings' trek by a little bit. What friendship and trials await them? Look out Underground, here come the Louds.

14. Snowdin, Part 5

LOUDERTALE

Arc 2 : Snowdin

Part 5 : One last stretch (?)

Author's Note :

(In front of a run-down, yet still quite animated white and blue establishement, a long line of patrons of all types, genres and mentalities had formed before its doors, blocked by a bouncer with a stare that could knock out a bull. Which he just did. It apparently wasn't tough enough.)

(A blue-white-red jester comes up, not even half the height of the bouncer, but looking cool as all heck.)

Bouncer : Welcome to the Fanfic Spitoon, home of da toughest writer-block-benders of this here reality. How tough are ya ?

Superdimentio77 (taking off shades) : How tough am I ? I'm the SD77. Writer of LOUDERTALE.

Bouncer : Oh, are ya now ?

Superdimentio77 : I've just finished what is probably the second longest chapter I've ever written, all while my Finals are rolling up. And without spellcheck.

Bouncer : Yeah, so ?

Superdimentio77 : I wrote an entire chapter about Leni hating herself. Without crying once.

Bouncer : Um, right this way sir, sorry to keep you waiting.

(Two hours later, waking up in a hospital chamber with about all his bones broken, and a face looking like an overripe Crabapple. A nurse is next to the bed.)

Superdimentio77 : What happened doc ? Did I slip on an ice cube ?

Nurse : No, the patrons just figured out you hadn't uploaded in two months, despite promising you'd do things quicker this time.

Superdimentio77 : And they didn't kill me for it ? Heh, suckas~ !

Aaaah, don't look so sour now, I know you all love when I'm late ! Gives you more time to appreciate the work that's already here, and the one that's coming. And seeing the number of reviews and messages pressing me to make things go faster, I can only be right !

But we ain't just here to say YAY to me – though that's the main point – I'm also here to say it to you ! Since last time, we've reached over 100 Faves & Follows, and over 300 reviews ! I'm famous on the internet, Ma ! You guys are... the best ! No joke here, you guys are awesome ! And I can only hope the content I bring to your virtual doorstep will appear to be just as awesome !

As usual, today's chapter was supposed to be quick and straight to the point, filling the gap towards Papyrus' battle and afterbattle (if you know what I mean). But, as usual, concise isn't my middle name. And I think it's better that way, don't you ? Have fun !

At least more than a certain Cinammon Roll will...

The Loud House, Undertale, and the characters from both franchises are not mine. All I own are the huge doorstops between every line you recognise from the game.

---

Back up the slope, Leni arrived to see that the puzzle was already in the solving : Lola, looking a good deal less grumpy, slid across the ice with the majesty she prided herself for. It looked like the ice wanted to keep her going in one direction, but a twirl was all she needed to bound in the direction she desired, and reach the little safe spots to activate the switches.

"I wonder if that's even how we're supposed to do this." Lincoln wondered out loud with a little smirk.

"Yeah, the ice was way more forceful in keeping us going straight when we were on it. Not even I could stop myself." said Lynn with a dash of annoyance at the memory.

"Hey, if it gets her to vent her troubles away, and makes us cross that pit super fast, I think we can give that logic error a pass !" chirped Lana.

"We seem to be doing this a lot, so hey, why not ?" grumbled Lisa.

"Besides, it's not a puny ice rink that's gonna stop Lola from doing what she wants. We can barely do that ourselves." Lana added sheepishly. "Except Lincoln sometimes. And you did a pretty good job out there, Lori.

"Half-baked, is litteraly more likely." sighed Lori as she took notice of Leni's return. She knew something was wrong with the grin etched on the fashionista's face, and looking at her siblings, she knew that some had noticed too, especially her brother. Thus, she felt the need to test its genuineness. "Hey Leni, want to take Lily for a couple of minutes ? I need a little break."

"O-Oh ! Are you sure you want me to..." began Leni, before internally slapping herself awake. This wasn't the time to be difficult, and make things annoying again ! "Uh, I mean, sure ! C'mere Lily !" beckoned the green-hearted teen, and swiftly took the cooing toddler in her arms.

That stammering beginning wasn't lost on the Loud group, but the happiness their sister was now displaying seemed genuine enough. Looking at eachother, the siblings shrugged. 'Well, if Leni's worried about something, it musn't be too bad that we can worry about it later on.' was the conclusion reached.

A noisy Click rang, followed by the sound of the ice bridge repairing itself, indicating Lola's success. The primpy ice mistress gave a little bow to her siblings' applause. "Ah, it's good to be under the spotlight again. Who knows ? Maybe I can make that awful haircut work !" Lola giggled, for about two seconds, before cringing at her reflection in the frozen floor. "Nope. Not in a bajillion years."

"Be proud of your scars, sis !" Lynn rubbed it in with a little snicker, as it was quite hard to take a shot at 'Miss Prim and Perfect'.

"I'M GONNA GIVE YOU SOME IF YOU KEEP THAT UP !" barked Lola. "Now hurry up, or I'm crossing that bridge without you !"

In order to uphold the third rule of their original Underground code, and not having to redo the puzzle by themselves, the kids quickly joined Lola one by one, with Leni at the tail. For the time being, it was judged necessary to put some distance between the two blondes. Classic Sister Fight Protocole, although the anger was pretty one-sided this time around.

Looking at the now deployed ice bridge, a pang of fear resonated through the group, to a few exceptions, at how eerily dark the path was. Rows upon rows ofundreds of shadowy branches shaped like claws hung dangerousely close from the pathway, and only a dull faraway light indicated the end of the tunnel. Of course, the chilling sight brought a pale smile to life.

"I wonder how many of us will emerge from the other side." Lucy mused to everybody's dismay.

"Thanks Lucy, we really needed that." Lori said dryly, swatting at her sister's black bangs.

"Welp, we did say we'd follow eachother with our eyes closed. I think we're just about to find out if that's true." chuckled the peppy clownette. Despite rolling their eyes like clockwork, everybody did feel a bit better hearing that.

The kids joined hands, and began forming a line, as the bridge was a bit too narrow to let them pass as one big human mess, especially with those humans' bad habit of pushing eachother when personal boundaries were crossed. And don't get them started on Lola and Lana. "Here goes nothing !" Lincoln boldly said, leading the slide. And at first, it was going quite swiftly. "Well, it's not so bad."

"Yeah, I really thought- Wow ! I think something poked me, dudes !"

"EEP ! Me too ! Did you see who it was, Lily ?"

"'Now ! 'Now !"

"Well whoever's touching my hair better stop ! I'm enough of a freak right now."

"*Tomboy growls at someone grabbing at her hat*"

"The trees are coming to life. Judging our sins, and, urgh, being very intrusive."

"Twigs off, tree weirdos ! Or I'm gonna make wood chipping out of them !"

"Does anyone feel this unusual cold on the top of our craniums, despite our headwear ?"

"It's giving me chills, alright !"

"Hang on tight everyone, we're almost there !"

True to Lori's words, the Louds all emerged from the forest, unscathed and with all their stuff still on them and in their bags, to their relief. But if anything, something had been added rather than substracted, as they soon discovered.

"Woah ! Looks like those were treesigners after all, hahaha !" chortled Luan, as she admired the fool's hat made of snow that now rested over her earmuffs, with the bells having the mysterious shape of hot-dogs. She giggled some more as she saw some of the other models presented to her :

Lori had very familiar long ears and little horns.

Luna had long untamed hair over her beanie, with a long strand covering herright eye, and a star around her left.

Lynn sported an American football helmet with flames, and a shark surfing on them.

Lucy had a little Napstablook face poking from underneath her hood, making the young poet blush.

Lola had a crown bigger than her whole body, nearly matching her ego.

Lisa had a graduation hat, the little tassel itching against her left cheek. The hat also had cat ears, for some reason ?

And Lily had a round hat with her initial above its peak, and a small mustache under her nose. She suddenly felt the need to get a vaccum cleaner and capture some ghosts.

"Aww yeah, shout it out loud, mates !" Luna head-banged, sticking her tongue all the way out.

"I'll say ! Whoever did this has taste ! Could be bigger though..." Lola caressed her crown, rubbing her hand against the round and crescent-shaped motifs. But as she admired her reflection, she caught that little detail added to her spooky sis' gear. "Hey Lucy, your feelings are showing." she showed Lucy her reflection, making her "gasp" and immediately hide the little SnowBlook behind her back.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. There is nothing in my chest but the cold void of Darkness itself." she rebuked in a dark and omnious tone, which only learned an amused eye roll from Lola. When she turned away for some more admiring, Lucy brought the little ghost to her field of vision again. She blamed those sad round eyes for her blush, and his cute little mouth for the small hug she gave him.

"Leni's ain't so bad either." Lynn gently elbowed her big sister, referencing to the peaked cap encompassing her woolly hat. "I think he will like the message."

Confused, Leni took the cap off, and looked at the front. It read 'Papyrus' #1 Fan...'. She giggled dreamingly, bashfully curling her hair with the same hand. She wondered if Papyrus already had a fan club, and if so, where she needed to sign to hop on the Hunk Express, and most likely run for President. Best to cover all the steps to get close to him.

As she twirled it, she noticed something written on the back as well, and was most excited to find out-

'…And #1 Loud airhead.'

Oh. Right. Leni let the cap fall to the ground, and watched it crumble into nothingness. She was clumsy like that.

"Looks like they weren't very inspired with me." Lincoln remarked, finding nothing adorning his head, but he shrugged it off. Fashion changes wasn't exactly his gusto, as his orange and blue wardrobe could tell. But as he mulled over the Déja-vu vibes Lily's new facial hairiness was giving out, he felt something cold wrapped around his neck. Touching it, he revealed a small chain made of snow.

"Huh, what do you know ? I thought I'd get a superhero mask or something." he mused, as he followed the necklace down to his chest. There, he felt something bigger, and craddled the form into his palm. "Let's see what we have-"

Suddenly, he felt his fist closing on the mysterious shape, effectively crushing it into mere powder. The small chain followed soon after, and all Lincoln was left was crushed snow in his hand and questions bubbling in his head. One thing he was sure of : he hadn't meant to do that at all, which meant-

*You crushed what was a perfect Ace Savvy necklace. Be more careful next time.

Lincoln didn't reply, but he made sure to let his inner narrator know that he wasn't buying it. Their tone was too frosty and defensive to be free of secrecy. And, well, while the form had met the characteristics of Ace Savvy's trademark logo...

He was pretty sure the pointy part of a spade was supposed to go up, not down.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." moaned Lori, looking at Lana's hat over her own hat. Except it wasn't a hat, but the snow equivalent of a familiar little dog, and his irksome smile. "I'm guessing you're still in needs of petting." she said to the grinning little blonde.

"Hey, there might be more dogs eager for some belly rubs ahead, and I'm the girl who can give them !" Lana proudly beamed, to which Lori couldn't fight off a smile. At least she was having fun.

"At least it's litteraly good to see him not moving." drawled Lori, kneeling to meet the snow dog's beady little eyes with certain annoyance. That mutt had been nothing but trouble since they had come here, and he hadn't pulled any favours from her earlier. Next time he would be that close, she would-

*Lick !*

-not freeze up with an agape expression, like she was doing at the moment. Then again, one would do that if an unmoving snow dog suddenly licked their face, winked at them, then let itself crumble into powder, with the other hats and snowcrafts following right after it. A look at her siblings' stiff and surprised expressions indicated her that she wasn't the only one to have seen that strange scene unfold, both a relieving and irking thought.

"That dog is starting to get to levels of annoying I didn't even think was litteraly possible." Lori huffed tiredly. Standing up, she took notice of the dual pathway the small platform offered. One kept going straight ahead, the other one went down to their right. The choice was pretty easy. "Let's see, that monster said he was going to Snowdin Town, and he went that way. Which means..."

"We've gotta go that way first !" claimed Lincoln, pointing to the descending path.

"What ? No, he went this way !" Lori indicated the other path. "We clearly saw it, Lincoln. Oh wait, don't tell me, we 'need to explore everything', right ?"

Lincoln took in the tired looks of her sisters, and attempted to soothe their spirits. "I know it sounds redundant, but what if we miss on something important ? A treasure, an info, even just a monster that can tell us of a strong monster's weakness ! We could be missing on something that could save our lives, just like it saved us back then."

The girls had to nod and concede him that, except for the only sibling legally behind the wheel. Lily just merrily clapped along. "Wait, come again ?" asked Lori.

"It's kinda hard to explain, but trust Lincs on this one : a random talk with a frog can make a world of difference." smiled Lana, wondering if she should be writing this down for future generations, or just to win an argument later on.

"Well... I guess that exploring Toriel's belongings did give me an edge at the end. The talking part, I mean." Lori threw a glare at Luan, who raised her hands defensively. Even she had her limits in popping up dark humour. "In any case, I guess you're right. Let's just hope the worst we'll find is a full bucket of disappointment."

"Wouldn't it be empty then ?" cheekily threw in Luna, earning a playful palm from Lori pressing her cheek.

"Treasure or disappointment is fine with me. I can spend the former, and I'm made of the latter." Lucy quipped, sorrowfully grieving the departure of her SnowBlook. Lucy Loud couldn't have nice things.

On those cheerful words, the siblings quickly vacated the area, some with curiosity in their hearts, others mourning their hats, and one staying at the back of the group, not wanting to get in the way.

---

The new path seemed to turn right again and trail along a large cliff wall, with some bizzarely-shaped holes in it. Snow was there, as usual. And just as per usual, Sans was there to greet his new comedy buddies, with only one of them enjoying her position.

"yo. what brings you kiddos to the cliffside ?" Sans lazily saluted. "you know that snowdin's the other way, right ?"

"We are well aware of this fact, Sans." said Lisa, hissing the jokester's name. She didn't dare asking how he had passed across the gap without activating the ice bridge, something they would have heard despite Lola's tantrum. He would find a way to use her own words to mock her, he could see it in those sneaky eyesockets. "We just happen to be exploring on our brother's request."

"your brother, eh ? you sure you ain't the one wanting to follow me around ?" Sans winked.

Scratch that, it seemed she didn't even need to accuse him of something ! "What hokum are you going on about now ?!" sputtered Lisa, seeing red.

"no need to be shy, pointdexter." Sans teasingly pinched her cheek, irking the little genius to no ends. "you're a little young, but i appreciate the thought. try about fifteen years later, okay ? and pro tip, bring chocolates. they can really help sweeten the deal."

(*Rimshot*)

"Hahaha, oh Sans ! Is there any joke you candy ?" cracked Luan, before sending herself into another session of rowdy laughter.

"So, before Lisa manages to wriggle free, and inflincts you whatever it is she's saying," Lori designated the stomping prodigy that was muttering profanities in several dead languages under her breath and being held back by Lynn and Lana, "is there anything litteraly worth seeing over there ?"

"eh, not much to be honest. just a whole lot of insight about life itself. and a good deal if you're a nerd. maybe." Sans gave a knowing side-grin.

The kids, with the exception of Luan and Lily, rolled their eyes at the cryptic talk, and wisefully chose to ignore it. It would be slapping them in the face either way, might as well avoid a headache to top it off. "Might still be worth a peek." concluded Lana, calmly stroking Lisa's hair. Which made her purr for some reason.

"Onward, then !" boldly waved Lincoln, still leading the march. But as they departed, Sans seemed to remember something.

"oh yeah, don't forget to be kind to the elderly, kids. they ain't lookin' for originality, just something nice that matters."

Luna's eyebrow shot to the sky. "What is he on about this ti-"

"Would you brats be quiet ?!"

"Aaah ! Old Lady Johnson !" Lynn cried in alarm, diving behind Leni for protection. "That old crone already took Steven, she won't take another one from me !"

"'Steven' ?" murmured Lola to her brother's ear.

"Her lucky baseball glove when she was six. It was one heck of a Thursday." answered Lincoln, before looking at the camera. "And if you're asking, yes. Lynn does name her lucky belongings. All of them."

*Naming socks. How scandalous !

The creature that was scolding our heroes was not Old Lady Johnson, but someone just that little more friendly to meet, even if her appearance didn't betray that fact very well. The monster had the general anatomy of a deer, but it seemed like Picasso had given her his iconic little touch. Not an inch of fur covered her peachy skin with a couple of black spots on her back. Her weird noodly legs ended in weird little stubs instead of hooves. Her reddish antlers took its french equivalent to the next level, having actual tiny pine trees on them, two pointy ears between them, and a minuscule pair of eyes at their roots. In the pine trees were tinsels, a candy cane, and a stocking. A large sticker was glued on her forehead, and a small purple box had been roughly strapped pnto her back.

But the most proeminent feature in weirdness had to be her mouth opening sideways, revealing the dry pointy teeth inside. And just above it, a bigger pair of slitted eyes sending a scornful glare at the kids, making them feel uneasy.

"Is that supposed to be a Christmas monster ? Because if so, she looks like a reindeer toy that got placed a little too close to the fireplace." whispered Lola critically.

"What was that ?!" exclaimed the old-sounding monster, taking Lola by surprise and making her retreat behind Lynn, already hiding herself. The monster gnashed her teeth. "Darn bratty kids. All the same, that's what I say ! Did you come to make fun of me too ?!"

Lincoln blinked. "Make fun of you ? You've got it all wrong, we're just trying to pass through-"

"LIES !" boomed the crabby reindeer, stumbling a bit to the side. "I know how you whippersnappers work. You wait until the 'old coot' is getting her afternoon nap, and then you busy yourselves crippling me ! And don't think I don't see you back there, gosh darn teenagers ! I bet you love to set mean pranks, just to get a cheap laugh ! No respect, I say !"

"That's crazy talk, we would never do that ! I mean, maybe Luan when she goes April Fools Whacko, but even then, she never targets old people !" rebuked Luna, before gaining a thoughtful frown. "Though, come to think of it, there never was any elderly peeps during any of those days, so it's hard to tell..."

"Aha ! You call me crazy, yet you admit your crimes ! Who's the crazy one here ?!" cried the old crone in triumph.

"Uh, still you ? You're getting on our cases for no reason, we weren't even being noisy ! We were just discussing with our good friend Sans over there, and having a ribbing good time !" said Luan in indignation.

The monster looked to the side for a second, then turned back with an even deeper scowl. "Do I look like I've lost my marbles ? What friend ?!"

"He did not..." drawled Lisa as she slowly rotated her head, to find no one standing against the cliff wall, and no print of a slipper to indicate that the lazybones had ever been there.

"Of course he did." mumbled Lori with an aggravated forehead rub. She feared that if she opened her eyes, Sans would be just standing behind the old monster, grinning while they would try to prove his existence to her and he'd just keep disappearing each time she'd turn her head, like with those two guys from her dad's old black-and-white comedy series, to which she apparently owed her name to.

When she opened them, no Sans. Relief washed over her for that fact alone, but disappeared under the constricted smile she put for the glowering reindeer. "Would you believe us if we said he disappeared when you were not looking ?"

"No." the monster coldly cut.

"Can we turn back to get off your frozen lawn, and never come back ?" attempted Lana.

"No."

"You're going to try teaching us a lesson for all the others, aren't you ?" Lucy accepted her fate, a dark one. She was right on the nail, so to speak, as the monster's lower pair of eyes gave a glint, and the rainbow of SOULs was summoned forward. "Sigh, it's a martyr life for me."

*"Gyftrot naggingly confronts you !"

Fight engaged !

"That Christmas monster dude is seriously lacking in the jolliness department." said Luna. "Looks like all that detour is earning us is another scuffle. Uh, not blaming you, bro." she hastily added while patting the boy's head.

Lincoln sighed, but appreciated the effort. "Let's make this quick, then. I'm still positive there's something to find that way." he assured, before activating a Check to know more about the now-named grouchy monster.

*"Gyftrot. ATK 16, DEF 8. Looks like she was decorated by some teens as a prank. She seems ready to give back from high and low. Will you give in return ?"

"Oh yeah, her paranoia against kids suddenly makes a whole lot more sense." nodded Lola. "I'd be grouchy too if that happened to me."

"A prank ? That's like... not very nice." Leni quietly remarked, before that little voice acted up again. 'Way to state up the obvious, Sherlock. Want to say the sky is blue too ? Ah, but there is no sky right now. Gee, think a little, will ya ?'

"It's kinda hard to judge." quipped Luan, a renowned pranking veteran herself. "Harrassing old people is kinda pushing it, but this prank looks harmless. Now if they had attached a rope of frying pans to her back, then they would have been cooked ! Hahaha, get it ?"

"Yeah, but I think it's not the first time. She looks way too annoyed for that." Lincoln analysed, a renowned prank victim veteran himself. First banana pie splattering against his face ? Surprising. Fourth one ? Amusing and delicious ! Two-hundred and firty-fifth one ? Must. Crush. Desire. To. Fling it. Back.

"And I'm not going to let it happen again !" bellowed Gyftrot, eavesdropping on the humans' conversation. "Rrrgh, when I'm done with you hooligans, your behinds will be so red, you'll feel sore every time you'll simply think about pulling a prank !"

Before the siblings could even imagine how that would feel, three large presents materialised between them and the nagging reindeer, leaving little space between them. Two of the boxes were white and ready to hurt, while the one on the left was coloured a familiar cyan, but not for long. Its colour blinked to white, and the boxes started to shuffle. But one white-haired boy couldn't be fooled that easily.

"Guys, keep your eyes on the one that was blue. That's our ticket to safety." Lincoln whispered his strategy, and his sisters acknowledged it with a nod and readying themselves.

Christmas was coming early, and quite quickly so !

The moment the boxes stopped moving left and right, they shot forward like cannon balls. Right when they did, the special box unveiled its true colours once more, being the one on the right. Seeing this, the kids made a mad dive for it, then had to completely immobilize themselves for the present to harmlessly pass through. In a rare event of circumstances, none of the kids had received any damage.

"Good quick thinking, everyone." Lori complimented, prompting some cheers and high-fives.

Gyftrot, on the other hand, was positively seething. She was supposed to teach them a lesson, and yet they were still in high spirits, brushing her threats aside. "Don't think you're out of trouble yet ! If I didn't have these things on my head, you'd be sorry !"

"We kinda are right now." Luna said truthfully, watching in pity the monster's trembling legs and awkward shuffling. She truly looked like a poor animal that had been unjustly crippled, and the thought of her attitude being the one of a bitter and lonely grandma that her family had abandonned on Christmas wasn't helping. "Dude- I mean, miss, maybe you should lay down a little. You don't look fresh." Luna beckoned soothingly, but Gyftrot wouldn't have it.

"Don't tell me how I look ! It's you youngsters' fault if I'm like this !"

"Then let us help you !" cried Lana, her SOUL aching even more at the wounded animal feeling the monster was giving. "If those hurt so bad, then let us remove them. We'll be done in ten seconds flat, and then you'll feel a whole lot better." But as Lana approached a little too quickly, and without an ACTion chosen, Gyftrot nastily snapped her teeth at her, making the little blonde jump back. Her pitiful look however, didn't deter in the least. "C'mon..."

"It'll be a cold day in Hotland before I let you little hooligans lay a hand on me ! Get any closer, and I can guarantee you won't be using those hands for quite some time ! I-"

But as she pestered and ranted, Gyftrot got a little too riled up for her own good. This threw her balance over even more, as well as her body's. Her wrath died down as she desperately tried to keep herself standing, but ended up entangling her legs, and sent herself to the ground with a dull thump. The kids gasped old lady's fall, and watched as she feebly tried and failed to bring herself back up again. Her antlers were too sullied and heavy.

She couldn't make good on her threats, walk away, or even make herself threatening. All Gyftrot could do was looking old and pathetic, and she knew it. The monster released a long sigh, let defeat takes its course, and whispered hollowly to herself. "A little alone time. Is it truly too much to ask ?"

This proved finally too much for the siblings' hearts to handle. That monster needed help, whether she liked it or not. Lily got to that conclustion too, and forced Leni closer to the ACT Button. Gyftrot's name was selected, and she chose the Assistance option, all the signal they needed to rush to the monster's help.

"Whu- hey ! Did you not listen to me ?! I told you-"

"We heard you, and we don't care ! You need assistance, and by the Hippocratic Oath, you are going to receive it !" rebuked Lisa, pushing the monster's head up with her back.

Gyftrot's rant died in her throat. Kids, helping very ol' her, without any second thought or childish plan ? Grown-up monsters, she could understand. Why, with that big tradition they made just to make her feel better. But kids ? And moreover... with those coloured SOULs ? That, she couldn't understand.

But that didn't seem to matter to the humans, as they lifted the crabby monster into a sitting position, and took a step back. They could see that while Gyftrot still seemed distrustful of them, newfound curiosity confounded with confusion was now sparkling in her eyes, something they could work with.

"Look, we get that you've got it rough today, it's been really hard for us too. We've been attacked and stalked more than we are comfortable with, all in one afternoon." Lincoln chuckled, feeling more awkward about how not awkward he felt saying it. Shaking his head, he continued. "And I know it's hard for you to trust us, for a number of reasons. But if you want those things off your head, you don't have a choice. You're gonna have to give us a chance."

Gyftrot's resilience wavered, as she knew the boy was right. She wanted nothing more than those burdens taken off her, and thrown down the ravine so she could look down and laugh at it. But her reputation as a stubborn old dame hadn't been built on gossip and fantasies, not at all. "What do you get out of it ?" she probbed for any sign of maliciousness, but found herself empty-hooved.

"The satisfaction of doing what's right." said Lucy, trying to blame Toriel for that cheesy line, then accepted that she couldn't. Looking at the little pine trees, she even let a chuckle escape and fly away into the darkness. "Plus, let's just say you remind us of a certain old coot that isn't nearly as crabby and bitter as he likes to suggest."

"He still has his price though, but it's nothing a little dish of lasagna can't buy." said Lola, still in good spirits.

"Gabla bah." cooed Lily adorably.

"'We just want to help.'" translated Luan with her own warm smile.

The honesty of an infant; how could Gyftrot fight against this ? At last, her defiance collapsed on itself, and she leant her head forward. Her antlers were now unguarded and within reach for the humans to touch, who understood the message. "Make it quick. Ten seconds flat, like the little dirt monkey said. And if it turns out to be a stupid prank after all, so help me, the butts of your grandchildrens' grandchildrens will feel it."

"Then for their sake, let's get cookin'." Luna snapped her fingers, and was already deep in the ACT menu to choose Undecorate. As soon as she did, the work quickly began. The rocker went for the plump stocking first, and discovered an unusual gift inside. "I didn't know monsters shared chicken nuggets for the Holidays."

"Chicken nuggets ? Aww, sweet !" said Lynn as she swiftly swiped the sock with a greedy lick of her lips. "Score one for the Lynn-sanity, whoo !"

"Dude, you're really gonna eat that ? It doesn't even look cooked." Luna stuck her tongue out in mild disgust.

Lynn shrugged. "Never stopped me before. Remember, you're speaking to a hoagie master. And hey, it's not drowned in purple horror sauce this time."

"True that." conceded Luna, but still had to cringe as she watched Lynn stuffing her face with dirty pieces of fried enigma. She didn't how much chicken was in there, but she could clearly spot all the hair stuck on them. Luna could only hope Monster Food was easier on the stomach in general.

"Looks like Lesser Dog lost some of his snacks." said Lana as she removed the small purple box, that turned out to be another box of Pomeraisins. Realising she hadn't tasted any yet, she popped one into her mouth. "Mmmh, that's the good stuff right there."

"Really ? Let me try." said Lola, trying one as well. But as soon as it grazed her tongue, she roughly spat it out and batted at her tongue to erase the taste. "Why did I think it would taste anything other than dog treats ?!" she berated herself in-between hacks and sputters.

"Vanilla-flavoured dog treats, sis." corrected Lana, and then scooped another handful for the pleasure of her tastebuds, and the nightmare of Lola's.

With some help from her oldest sister, Lily happily snatched the little candy cane. The sweet was not alien to her, as she would occasionnaly snatched one from her sisters' pockets once they got close enough to the ground. That had led to some nasty accusations and arguments. Or so she was told. She would be too busy letting the sweet taste rolling down her tongue.

But when she took her first lick, she found the jolly flavour seriously lacking. That didn't taste like any sweets she knew ! And yet, she faintly remembered the sour taste from somewhere. Yes, during her teething sessions. She remembered those. Her siblings remembered. Luna's guitar and Lincoln's Ace Savvy Golden Collector Figurine remembered. But where ?

"What have you got here, little lady ?" said Lori in amusement, to which Lily replied with a distasteful raspberry. Something seemed wrong with the treat, Lily wasn't known to be picky about them. So Lori, kneeling down to reach Lily's level, decided to taste it herself, and was met with the same woody flavour. "Eww, that's no candy ! Not even Auth Ruth's are that awful !" she litteraly spat. This wasn't right, monster could make delicious sweets, sometimes even more so than their human equivalents. Maybe there was something she was missing ? Perhaps it was the little inscription on the side that she was only noticing now.

"'I walk with that tiny cane' ?" Lori squinted at it, before her eyes widened. She'd been right, this was no candy cane. This was a wooden cane coloured like one ! Another deception straight from the Underground. But that still left one question unawnsered. To whom did this cane belong to ?

Lily awnsered that with a hearty tug on her sister's pants. Lori looked down, and followed to the spot she was pointing at. There, next to her leg, stood a little grey mouse clothed in a tiny coat, with tiny shoes, tiny gloves, and a tiny fedora on her head. The wrinkles on her face, her wobbling legs, and the lopsided grin she was giving to the blond giant told enough about what she wanted back.

"O-Oh, I see ! Here you go." uttered the startled Loud as she handed back the cane to its owner. The mouse tipped off her fedora respectfully, and teetered to a little hole in the cliffside, one of the many interconnected together by a complex network of tunnels that spreaded through the caves of Mount Ebott.

No time to waste, there was some old cheese somewhere with her name on it !

Luan surprised even herself when, instead of reaching for the more smile-inducing decorations wrapped around Gyftrot's antlers, she went for the mysterious picture stuck on the old monster's forehead. Her instincts had flared up looking at it from a few feet away, and looking at it now, they proved right once again. It was a family picture, with a kind of monster birds the jokester recognised immediately. Her pupil was easily reconizable at the bottom, even though he was a good deal younger.

On the left, a larger version of the little Snowy, but his feathers a lighter shade of blue, a purple bow tie around his neck, and a large pair of round glasses. She deduced that this was the famous 'Dad' her apprentice was so upset about. 'But he doesn't seem that bad. He's got the look of a goofy dad that appreciates a slice of good humour.' she thought with a tiny grin tugging at her lips, rembering her own old man. And oh, how happy they looked here ! Surely Snowdrake's initial bad comedy skills couldn't have been the main deal that drove such a gap between all that joy.

But then came the third figure in this happy little picture. With a slightly smaller frame than her husband, she was looking at her offspring with a tender smile. Luan didn't have much of an opinion about purple despite the brunette she shared her room with, but she had to admit it suited the monster very well, giving her a certain beauty.

'Shame that Snowdrake never brought her in the conversation.' Luan wondered if she should ask about her next time she'd cross paths with him...

"Ow !"

The sound of their brother immediately kicked the girls' senses into high alert. They turned to look at him, and found the boy nursing his gloved index by putting it inside his mouth. "I'm alright. That tinsel is just really prickly." explained Lincoln before he could be wrapped into another smothering 'get-better' session.

Prickly wasn't something Lucy frowned upon easily (more than usual anyway), so she gave it a quick poke. It turned out this was more thorny than prickly, but giving it a closer look quickly explained that fact. She had been to enough rubbish dumps to know the real nature of the decorations. "This isn't tinsel. It's barbed wire." she monotoned, but they could feel she was just as shocked as them.

"Hold on, those hooligans wrapped barbed wire around that poor creature's head ? This both qualifies as assault and animal cruelty !" exclaimed Lisa in outrage.

"I bet it was Jerry." Lynn scornfully accused.

"Lincoln's ghost narrator said it was a bunch of teenagers though." Lana noted.

"Who's good with blaming it all on Jerry ?" Lori's roll call got an immediate show of twelve hands, plus one hoof. It seemed the distaste for Jerry truly crossed all barriers.

"Well, let's get rid of it already !" Lola called to arms. Multicoloured gloves and mittens took a careful hold of the thorny roll, hoistered it off Gyftrot's antlers, not without a hiss from her, and swiftly tossed it over the edge of the cliff, never to be seen or heard of again. The kids' pride only swelled when they saw bitterness no longer clouding Gyftrot's eyes, as realisation settled in.

"It's... It's gone. It's all gone ! Oh, it feels like a weight has been lifted !" she rejoiced as she jumped back on her hooves and began hopping around in joy. Her legs didn't buckle under the effort, nor did she once feel out of breath. By diggity, she felt 50 years younger !

"Feeling better, I assume ?" Lori said with faint smugness in her tone. Upon hearing this, Gyftrot ceased her happy dance, and caught the sight of children grinning at her newfound joy. They looked a little too proud for the monster's liking.

"B-Bah ! Not too shabby, for a bunch of brats." Gyftrot harumphed, still subborn as a mule. But it was nothing the kids hadn't expected.

*"Gyftrot is feeling peaceful again."

"I guess our work's done here." grinned Lynn as she saw Gyftrot's golden name. But as Lincoln was going to end the kerfuffle between humans and monster, a glum sensation passed through the floating hearts, and shot down the brunette's broad grin. "I guess not. Uh, am I the only one feeling like we're missing something here ?"

"Glad I ain't the only one. It feels all weird in my stomach, I thought it was the treats." quipped Lana, disappointed in herself for doubting those succulent raisins. "It feels like we're leaving something unfinished. Like a jigsaw puzzle that's only got two pieces left to fit in."

"Or a thesis without a proper conclusion." added Lisa, getting a weird look from the little tomboy. "And that conclusion most likely would be that we still have something to do. Perhaps akin to what we did with that Migosp fellow."

"But what can we do ?" Luan asked the million-Gold question. She doubted her comedian expertise would be doing any good to an old lady who just wanted to be left alone.

But the need for a little quiet time was something the Detective Duo of the Loud House were known to wish for. And it wasn't long before the two started cogitating in the shadows to shed some light on the situation. "Let's go through the facts, partner : we've got a grumpy old lady monster who wants some quiet on her lawn, and who has just started mellowing down on us. What else can we do to make her trust us, apart of tailing out of here ?" whispered Lincoln.

Lucy tugged at her hood, lost in thought. "Perhaps we need to make an offering ?" she suggested. When she caught Lincoln's deadpan expression, she added, "As in a gift. That Christmas look is a huge hint at that."

"Oh yeah, good idea ! Problem is, what can we give her ?" Lincoln pondered out loud. "I doubt she needs any clothing or hat, not after we just took everything off her."

"Maybe food ? We still have those donut bits that Lesser Dog didn't touch." Lucy offered.

"Maybe, but those might be too sugary for her liking. What if she can't digest it ?" The last thing Lincoln wanted was a lecture about the dangers of sucrose, and the great benefits of celeri to counter it. Lisa already gave him enough of those to guilt-trip him into releasing any chocolate chip cookie he could get his hands on. A random question suddenly popped into his mind. "Wait, can monster food even cause indigestion ?"

"Answering that question would require us to eat some of Papyrus' culinary disasters. And those are risks of instant passing away that even I'm not willing to put myself through." Lucy concluded with a shudder. She wasn't even sure the afterlife would want her if that poison was to taint her SOUL.

"There's gotta be something we can give her !" Lincoln rubbed his temples in budding frustration, trying to get his brain and its ghastly inhabitant to give him an answer.

"Maybe we just need to make the thought counts, while giving her something not-so-thoughtful. A lazy gift, if you will." Lucy recited cryptically, hinting at Sans' own cryptic advice.

"Friendship ?"

"Not that lazy. Or cheesy. Blegh."

"Cash ?"

Lucy nodded. "Exactly. Enough worth and possibilities to make the offered forget all about the clear lack of thought and investment put into the gift."

"That's a great idea- wait, is this about your sixth birthday again ?" Lincoln squinted at her, then groaned when she saw her crossing her arms. "Seriously ? After all this time ? I keep telling you, the store closed sooner that I expected !"

"I won't grace that excuse with words. Instead, I'll let the lack of 'Little Bloody Mary' on my shelves speak for me." Lucy said with a frosty tone that sent chills down to Lincoln's toes. The grudge was still strong in that one.

With a nod and a quick promise from brother to grave-digger, the duo exposed their plan to their siblings, which received mixed receptions. Ultimately though, they knew the decision was in the purse guardian's hands.

"Money ? I don't know..." Lori creased her brow in thought. While the idea had potential, throwing money away was a rather hazardous decision. Weren't fights supposed to get them money from monsters, and not the other way around ? Staying in Snowdin Town was going to cost money, she knew that. Monsters were nice, but she doubted someone else would pull a Toriel and give them all the food they needed for absolutely zip.

Well, perhaps to the exception of the one on a constant sugar rush, but they couldn't risk it. Papyrus may be harmless and a very nice soul, but he still wanted to capture them, and the prospect of waking up inside a 'Human Imprisoning Equipement' was something that would keep her restless all night. And she was NOT going to meet a litteral King with bags under her eyes, not for all the spaghetti in the world !

"It doesn't have to be much, just a little something from all of us that shows we care." chirped Luna, being one of the most positive about the plan.

"Yes, what care we show." Lisa uttered, her mouth dripping with sarcasm at the budget-crippling idea. "Cold-hearted money is known to warm one's spirits, that's a given."

"Got some oatmeal-flavoured grass under that hat, little dudette ?" asked Luna with hands on her hips.

"No ?" said Lisa, raising an eyebrow that demanded to know where she was going with this.

"Got any better idea then ?"

"...No."

"Then cash ain't soundin' so bad, does it ?" Luna smirked, watching Lisa slumping her shoulders, which all but indicated the rocker's victory.

"Outvoting me by using my own intellect. I applaud you, madam." Lisa did just that, not without an obligatory hint of childish moodiness.

"She owned you for sure, hehe. But Luna's right, just a little dough off our pockets won't hurt us. After all, you know us, we donut give up !" Luan chortled.

Lori knew how half-baked that pun was – she needed to save that one – but she knew the jokester meant well, in addition of being right. A small show of appreciation, it was the least they could do for this cranky old lady. So, with a shrug of her shoulders, she brought the purse out of her bag, brushed the last few white hairs left on it, and opened it to look at its glimmering contents.

'But how much is a little dough ? We can't exactly be giving her pocket money.' Lori snapped her fingers. In her mind. She could so do that, shut up. 'I know just the amount.' "Lincoln, cup your hands for a second, will you ?"

"Sure." Lincoln obeyed, and watched the little coins drop into his hands with curiosity. "34, 35, 36 ? Why 36 ?"

"Trust me, this is litteraly perfect." said Lori with a knowing grin. "Let's just say we're giving up on Day 8."

"We're giving up now ? Make up your mind already !" exclaimed a miffled Lana, annoyed at being kept off the loop. She didn't know how Leni kept such a sweet smile through it all the time.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, little sister." Lori patted the pouting tomboy's cap. Her grin then morphed into a thoughtful frown as she looked at the small but impressive sum in her brother's hands. "Now there's only the matter of giving it to her."

"Well..." drawled Lincoln, turning his eyes to the ACT button that he could swear was calling out to him. "Making it our turn would be a good start." Summoning his long experience of picking snacks for multiple raveneous girls at once, he extended a leg to press it, chose Gyftrot's name, and adroitly selected the Gift that had just appeared.

Suddenly, a wave of energy washed over all present, which included the elderly monster, who shook off the tingling with a bout of grumbling about how cold the snow really was. She took no notice of the couple of white sparkles that escaped her body, which went straight for the pile of golden coins. The kids were understandibly surprised, and even more so when the Gold began to glow. Lincoln's red SOUL, the closest of the bunch, returned the glow for an instant, then transferred it to its colourful outline, which in turn sent it to the ten hearts around.

But that was like, normal kind of weird at this point, underwhelming even. Hearts glowing in a pattern like Christmas lights ? Surprising, but hardly shocking.

But what happened right after after the glowing process went in reverse was a whole other matter. When the outline had been flashing, ten colourful sparkles came out of it, swirled around the Gold, and formed, I'll give you three guesses, a gift box ! A cubic, multicoloured gift box, with a cover and everything, except for the ribbon around it.

It wasn't forgotten for long though, as Lincoln's SOUL gingerly provided it in the form of two red translucid arms, with crimson ribbon at the tip of their fingers. They swiftly, but neatly, wrapped it around the box like they had done so a million times before, and finished with a cute little bow on top with the loops in the shape of hearts. Finally, as quickly as they appeared, they retracted into the red floating heart and disappeared along with the glow.

The silence that accompanied the general jaw-dropping lasted a solid dozen of seconds, until Lynn refocused on her bearings with a casual snort.

"Huh. That's going to make the gift-wrapping for Mom and Dad's next anniversary a whole lot easier." she optimistically deduced.

"That's... not how I would've put it, but I suppose that's a good point." Lucy nodded with the faintest trace of excitement. Oh, if only she could've touched it...

The brunette then caught the rest of her siblings still giving her very weird looks. "What ? It's freaky, but helpful. Let's just roll with it, that's we've been doing all day."

Lynn made a very good point, they had to give her that. Only another footnote on the freakish factor list. But Lincoln wasn't so dismissive, as there was one detail he managed to notice off the ghastly arms, even as they'd moved so quickly. Their sleeves.

Their long striped sleeves.

'Um... cool packaging. Do you do it often ?' Lincoln knew he wasn't actually going to get an answer out of the strange ghost child, but hey, it didn't hurt to-

*You only need a good teacher.

Lincoln's eyes widened to sizes he rarely attained. 'Did... you just answer me ?'

*...

'N-Not that it's bad ! In fact, you should do it more often ! It's nice. A bit unsettling, you being a ghost and all, but nice.'

*...

Lincoln sighed. Perhaps he'd get them to come around someday. But right now, he settled his thoughts back on the box in his hands. "I guess we've got our way of delivery." he said, giving the present a little jingling shake.

"Uh, why don't I give it to her ? You know me, I just love good will on a Christmas Night." Lola salivated, but the box was snatched away from her grubby pink gloves.

"Sorry, but we want that gift to reach its owner in time, if at all. And there's no time like the present !" cracked Luan, before turning her giggling smile into a frustrated frown. "Urgh, really ? Reusing your old material on the same audience ? Come on Luan, you're better than that !"

"Let's just do it, then !" quipped Lana as she caught the box with a hearty jump. She received a couple of groaning protests for naming herself the delivery girl, but she brushed them off, and approached the grumbling monster. "Um, Mrs. Gyftrot ?"

Gyftrot turned to glare angrily at the youthful intruder daring to interrupt her rant, but her features soon softened to a neutral glance once she realised she knew that little whippersnapper. "Gyftrot's fine, munchkin. Do you need anything ?" the monster raised an eyebrow.

"We just wanted to give you this. You know, to apologise for the trouble. Here you go." Lana put down the box by Gyftrot's feet. The monster's slitted pupils widened in amazement at the bouncing loops of the present's bow. Her voice went from irritated crone to nice little grandma.

"Oooh, what a nice thought. You kids shouldn't have !" Her cookie-cutter voice then morphed back to her normal tone. "Seriously, you shouldn't. All you did was help me, what are you apologising for ?"

Luna shrugged for the whole Loud party. "Nothing, I guess. We just wanted to be nice."

"And to fill up the agonizing gap in our SOULs." added Lucy. "Ha ha. It's a joke. Because we can never completely fill them up. Ever."

Gyftrot gave her a dry look. "You're one full pack of weirdos."

"We try."

"Do you dig it ? I-I mean, is it of your liking, milady ?" Luna chuckled skittishly as she tried to summon forward her extra Brrrritish Language classes. It was going on her school record and Curriculum Vitae, even if she'd have to input it herself with a darn feather !

Gyftrot narrowed her eyes at the coloured little package. She couldn't shake her old lady instincts that easily, trying to find what foul play they were trying to unleash on her. But when she took another good look at the young human's face, she found hope, anticipation, courage, and an odd brown spot behind one of her molars; but the malice of a prankster, she saw none. She had to face the facts. They were giving for the sole sake of being nice.

They weren't from this world, she knew that. But if they were going to Snowdin, then they didn't have to worry. They were going to fit right in.

"I'll say it again, you kids are... peculiar, to say the least." A small smile, not easy to spot due to the shape of her mouth, grew on her face. "But maybe that's not so bad. Never thought I'd say it to a bunch of children, but... you're alright, kids. You're alright."

The Louds beamed at the praise, but tried to stay modest about it. "Yeah, we do awesome." Lola was of course the best at being modest.

"I guess it's a wrap. And yes, that was totally on purpose." Lincoln said cheekily. Luan batted away a stray tear of pride, as she watched her brother choosing the salvaging Spare option.

*YOU WON ! You've gained 0 EXP and 0 Gold.

Fight over.

"Alright, mushiness over !" grunted Gyftrot, loading the Golden box onto her back. She could appreciate how light it was, despite the good chunk of metal inside it. "Get going already, it's time for my nap. C'mon, git ! Git !"

"Well, that lasted all of twelve seconds and thirteen hundredths." mumbled Lisa with a pout, as they started to depart from Gyftrot's 'lawn'.

"Oh, and before I forget !" she briskly called, before her cranky features softened into genuine worry. "You munchkins take care, alright ? The kiddos down here could learn a thing or two from you."

Not wanting to offend the monster while she was showing her sweet side, Lori bit back a chuckle, and instead gave a small courteous bow. "Don't worry about us, we get around pretty nicely. But thanks for your concern."

"C-Concern ?! Who's concerned ?! Bah, humbug !" sputtered Gyftrot, shaking her head at the giggling humans. Kids these days, urgh.

Her business finished, it was time for the bushy-antlered monster to be on her way. So she headed back home, apparently behind the cliff wall. One could wonder why she hadn't put a door to go through it, instead of having to walk up the wall every time.

No no, that was not a typo, Gyftrot was walking up the wall. The stubby ends of her legs acted as suckers, indicated by the little shloop sound that accompanied every step she made. Gravity also seemed to have taken a break, as the present did not slip nor budge from Gyftrot's lumpy back.

The display only brought further gripe to Lisa's scientific mood, prompting a shaky sigh of pure annoyance out of her. "Sure, why not ?" she hissed at Logic itself.

"Do you think she's a long-lost relative of Santa's reindeers ?" Lana wondered out loud, and grew miffled when she caught the amused giggles from her older siblings. "What ? I'm asking the real questions here, she could totally be their granny !"

The Louds began vacating the premises, with banter in the air and merriness dancing in their SOULs. But unnoticed by the others, one of them didn't carry the joyful feeling accomplishement in her step. Yet she was the first to rejoice of a job well done, but why would she ? She had barely helped at all.

Normally she was the first one to dash to a fallen old lady's rescue. If one counted out her Total Turbo XXII try, or when Sales came around, and sneaky old crones liked to play dead to better claw at your face. But still ! And she would've gladly partaken into the brainstorming for a present, even if she knew it would have likely been bounced back. At least she would've joined in the fun !

But Leni had remained silent. She had kept herself away from the choices and actions of her family, she hadn't interfered in any way. And looking at the results, she had to resign herself to the facts.

They had done perfectly fine.

'Of course they did ! Is it starting to sink in yet ? See what happens when you just keep out of their way ? Everything goes smoothly, monsters are happy, and you don't get chided at for sprouting whatever nonsense passes through your head. Everybody wins ! Especially them.'

Seeing her siblings' form starting to get a little blurry, Leni rubbed her eyes and ran to catch up to them.

'You're doing great. They can already feel the relief of having that useless weight taken off their shoulders.'

---

The wide snowy path quickly shrunk as they came to the steep edge of the cliff they were standing on, which offered a good view of the forest down below. Whether this was the path they had taken or a completely new part of the woods was still up to debate. But it wasn't the end of the line for the humans, as they discovered a mysterious entrance dug into the wall itself.

"Secret cave..." murmured Lincoln with sparkling eyes.

"Uh-oh, looks like Lincoln is entering nerd mode. Lisa, quick, reboot him before he starts speaking in stats and collectibles !" Lynn chortled teasingly, which earned her a frown from the aforementioned nerd. She offered a playful noogie as an apology. "Ah, you're just too easy to mess with. Come on, let's see if there really is some treasure in there !"

Girls and boy didn't need to be told twice, and rushed inside the cavern. Leni kept up the pace this time.

…

The first thing the children noticed when they stepped onto the damp rocky soil of the cave was the sudden rise of temperature. The air still felt cool, but at a comfier level. The sudden rise of humidity on the other hand didn't win everyone's favours.

"Yeesh, what's with the sudden moistery air ? It's good for my skin, but it's not doing my hair any favours." Lola ranted criticisely, but still hosted a proud grin at her sparkling epidermis. "Speaking of which, how are you doing back there ?"

"The best I can, dude. A comb ain't really my instrument, if you get my flow." quipped Luna as she waved the pink comb through the disheveled hair in an attempt of evening it out with the small spots of skin. She was far from being the most qualified for such work, but hey, bad hair days had still been a thing for her not too long ago. Still, Luna felt the need to ask, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why not asking Lori or Leni to help ya ?"

"Lori has her hands full with Lily. And Leni..." she adressed a dark glare to the poor blonde, who had the decency to blush and look away. "Let's just say she helped enough as it is."

Luna shook her head. "That's cold, dude. You can't be mad at her forever just for that."

To her credit, Lola kept a rather cool head towards Luna casually dubbing the capillary disaster as 'just that'. "Not forever. But until tomorrow morning at the very least !" she huffed, making sure that Leni knew she was getting the cold shoulder.

And she knew. Oh, she knew.

The rocky path soon opened on a larger patch of wet grass. But instead of a luxurious green, the blades were of an ebony hue with turquoise reflections. Stepping on it with boots did nothing extraordinary, but when her analytical fingers grazed it, Lisa felt a tingle coursing through her palm. "Fascinating. This grass seems much more packed with magical energy than the fallen leaves of the Ruins." She took out a small set of pincers, pinched a couple of grass blades off the ground, and sampled them in a clean tissue. She then put them inside the backpack pocket that held most of her samples.

"Not just the grass, take a look at those shrooms !" said Luan, kneeling next to one of the four couples of bright blue shrooms planted around. In fact, bright was putting it mildly, the fungi were giving off a healthy glow that reflected against Luan's braces. Due to this, the comedienne couldn't resist giving them a little boop. Why, it would be criminal if she didn't !

And it was not without a reaction, as the mushrooms' glow dimmed at her touch, rippling like a wave all the way down their stems. When she touched them again, their glow reappeared in the same fashion. "Nature sure is handy down here, but that matsutake the cake !" Luan chortled merrily. "Get it ? Like the mushroom ?"

"Urgh, don't say that ! I'm starting to get hungry now." Lana stuck her tongue out, and appeased her stomach with some more pomeraisins. It was useless in resplendishing any HP, but the flavour was utter joy to her tummy, not to mention that sweet vanilla flavour melting with the strong meat aroma. Maybe if she added a shroom or two...

"I must put an end to the endavour that gleams through your eyes and drool right now, gluttonous sister of mine." Lisa bursted through Lana's bubble with a noisy snap of her fingers. "The magic contained in those mushrooms could provoke, other than immediate expiration, a number of diseases that would range far off the common charter, maybe even brand new symptoms. If you want a list..."

"No thanks ! I'm suddenly way less hungry !" Lana nervously chuckled, and quickly put as much distance as she could between her and the smart little brunette, before she could learn more about the wonderful tale of how she was one bad case of choking away from going to the Great Kennel in the sky.

Speaking of which, as she was trying to make herself small and quiet like a mouse, Leni let her gaze wander towards the ceiling. And no shyness could stop a soft gasp from escaping through her lips. "The sky is full of diamonds." she murmured a tad louder than she intended to.

"Woah, I see what you mean." Lincoln whistled as he took in the beautiful array of crystals gleaming across the dark ceiling. They were like stars lighting up the night sky, just like they were... back home. Not only that, as the grass fluttered that resulted from the footsteps of the humans' miling around, small shiny 'specks' fluttered around the room like fireflies. All of this reminded him of those same pretty little insects they'd see every year at Scratchy Bottom Grounds, one of the rare upsides the place had. Lincoln's smile diminished into a wistful chuckle. "Never thought I'd get nostalgic about those dirty camping grounds. Or stargazing for that matter."

"Sigh, stars are the only lights I look at willingly." quipped Lucy, briefly scaring both fashionista and comic-devourer. "They are so far away, yet they speak from the heart, all the way from infinities of nothingness. Like this one, telling us there is a good deal for a room around here."

"Okay, you were doing fine, but you're losing those mystical points pretty-" Lola halted her criticism when she took a better look at the ceiling. Then, after getting her drool to stop drenching her coat, something did catch her eye about that pattern. And as she rotated her head, to look at it the same way Lucy did, she saw that there was no profoundness in her observation.

Because 'Room to rent, very good deal !' was exactly what was written in this here constellation.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or really weirded out." commented Lola, eventually setting for both, plus a side of unconscious annoyance when she caught a small detail in the bottom right corner of the offer. "Does that big crystal looks like a paw print to you ?"

"But why would anyone want to rent this room ? There is nothing in here but glowing mushrooms. Amusing, yeah," Lynn snickered as she poked one of them continuously, not getting tired of the little squeaky sound they made, "but it's hardly worth spending money over."

"Um, Lynn ? I think the offer is more about that room over there." Lori pointed out.

The brunette made an about-turn to see the door on the wall her big sister was pointing at. The large wooden door's rich blue painting job strongly stood out from the dull blue-grey of the wall itself, yet for some reason, the door looked as if it was the most ancient element of the décor. Every scratch seemed to tell a story. Not necessarily interesting tales, but old ones for sure. And embed on its upper part, partly faded but still highly iconic, the shape of a winged dot and three triangles under it.

Lynn whistled. "Oh yeah, that makes more sense."

"Here's that weird symbol again. Do we even know what it means ?" Luna asked around as she added the final touches to her little sister's hair.

"Goat Mother's curriculum and stories were rather limited on the matter, but skimming through her library did inform me on this being the main symbol of the Monster Kingdom, which only makes sense seeing how they appeared all over the belongings of the Kingdom's Guard, and in most items found in the Ruins." professed Lisa. "Its origins, however, are still a most confounding enigma."

"I don't know about millenia-old graffitis, but it looks like someone's already paid the guarantee for this room." said Lana.

Lincoln quirked his brow. "How can you tell ?"

"Because of the note right next to it, duh !" Lana gestured to the taped piece of paper that no soul in the room had noticed beforehand. "I'm starting to understand how that scratch writing work. I've got all the vowels already pegged !"

Lincoln, or rather his mouth, quickly backed up her claim.

*"The note reads : 'Room rented ! (But now I have no room. Dogs are not very smart at housing themselves.) Signed : the good (boy) host, T.F.'"

"Is it bad that I feel kinda good about reading this ?" Lori asked present company with a arched brow. Her vindicative feelings towards a certain small dog couldn't be the reason why her heart was filled with this petty kind of satisfaction. Could it ?

"Do you think anyone's home ?" asked Luan, pressing her ear against the door to hear what the new tenant could possibly be up to. She let out a soft gasp. "I think they are ! Time for a knock-knock joke~!"

But her arm was immediately intercepted, courtesy of Luna. "Loons, I love your spirit, you know that. But maybe we oughta leave'em alone. We just had this whole thing with Gyftrot, might be better to not tempt the odds." she whispered in a careful fashion that amused Luan to no end.

"It looks like this place is getting to you, 'cause I know someone who thinks the best first impressions are made when axing the door down, and the place with it !" Luan giggled, then guffawed even harder when she saw Luna's embarrassed expression. "I knew it ! These days though, you're less about chaos, and more about harmonica, am I right ?"

"Heh, maybe..." Luna sheepishly responded. "How do you even know someone's in there anyway ?"

"Pay attention, my children. Our loud ways will not help us here." Luan spoke with great wisdom, stroking the fake long grey beard she now somehow had.

"You are spending way too much time around that comedian." deadpanned Lisa with underlying snark.

Lincoln was next to listen through the door, and he indeed caught a familiar sound. "I hear keyboard typing. And intense one, I can say that much." said Lincoln, as he listened to the fast clicking sounds and the occasional guzzling of some highly-caffeined liquid. "They must be on some sort of deadline."

"Do monsters even have computers ? No offense, but seeing the quirkiness of the place, I think we would've noticed them across the Web." Lynn snorted, before adopting a pensive expression. "Then again, there's a lot of weirdos out there..."

"Not just sound, smell as well !" Lana sniffed the air with intense focus. "And I'm getting some roasted pork in thin slices with grated first-hand Emmenthal, all between square parcels of wholewheated bread browned to perfection." The little tomboy smacked her wet lips with a content sigh. "Whoever's in there, they know their grilled ham and cheese."

"Guys, keep it down. If they're busy, maybe it'd best if we just skedaddle." said Lori, feeling more uneasy the longer she stared at that door.

"Aww, but what if they have treasure ?" Lola argumented.

"'Teaju'e ! Teaju'e !" chanted Lily, as it could mean chests full of that yummy Monster Candy, or statues entirely made of Cinnamon-Butterscotch Pie, or heaps of Gold to buy tons of Nice Cream ! Yeah, Lily was really starting to feel famished.

"See ? Even Lily says so ! We're only asking for a minute." nodded Lola with finality, as she walked past her siblings, and brought her fist up for a firm but distinguished knocking. "I mean, whatever they're doing, they can just stop for-"

*"DON'T."

{Undertale OST – The Fallen Child}

The ghastly warning, as clear as crystal, echoed through the room and descended down the Loud sisters' spines as slowly as it willed itself to. Lola's hand stopped in its tracks, its owner slowly turning to look at her brother. The temperature of the room only dropped further when she saw the crimson in his wide eyes, dead set onto her and only rendered more intimidating by the cave's newfound darkness, courtesy of the mushrooms suddenly ceasing their glow at once.

*"Do not disturb the peace of this place. The tremendous power that's at work behind this door mustn't be halted by a common outside source."

"O-Or what ?" asked Lisa, and supressed a squeaky yelp when the two orbs of red pupils turned their eerie focus onto her.

*"I do not know. And neither do you. Neither will you. All I can say for sure is, whatever discovery is behind this door, it's not the one you expect. But if you feel like you've gotta find out, then please, knock yourselves out."

*Rimshot... coming from inside*

Luan was brave enough to offer a weak laugh, but immediately swallowed it down in a gulp. Nobody faulted her for that. Banter about odd flora and casual cooking had suddenly switched over to the secrets of the universe being revealed through one knock. The pressure flooded Lola's SOUL with great uncertainty, as she realised there was a chance, just a chance, that she could be ending the world, right here, right now. Every muffled typing sound now felt deafening, like the drums of the Apocalypse, and she could swear that dot on the door was peering at her, ready to see just what she was about to unleash.

Needless to say, treasure was the last thing on poor Lola's mind right about now.

{End of track}

Suddenly, two hands seized her shoulders, and her heart almost burst out of her chest. The red-orange sleeves immediately gave away the owner, but Lola was almost too scared of looking up, to find those red eyes close enough to eat her up. But the way those hands were gently squeezing her shoulders hit way too close to home, and to her relief, she only found hazel pupils looking back at her.

"How about we just agree that I got us into a dead-end, and leave it at that ?" suggested Lincoln, who was taking his little episode surprisingly well.

"Motion passed ?" called Lori with certain urgency. Immediate approval from all sides. "Motion passed. Let's make like that monster, and cheese it."

"I approve everything she just said !" Luan exclaimed with renewed peppiness, and followed the power-walking out of the grotto. Lincoln took advantage of the rather quiet moment to give credit where credit was due.

'You saved us good there, pal. Not your best first impression on the whole 'Talking more' stuff, but still useful. Less red and less scaring the pants off my sisters next time, okay ?'

The boy's praises met no response as usual, but he had a feeling they were still grateful for it, deep deep inside. But as deep as the questions about this mysterious door that would form over a cup of hot cocoa later ?

Eh. That weirdo couldn't be that important. Needed to get a job, is what it is...

…

…

And just when calm and order were settling back inside the small cave...

"Did someone ask for an awesome air show ?! Because you're about to see even better !" spoke the deep blue monster, swinging in with his broad smile and rainbow-coloured wings. His cockiness dimmed however when he took in the severe lack of an audience for his tricks to be enjoyed. "Wait, wha ? I didn't... miss my cue, did I ? Pshh, no way ! The amazing Glyde is never late ! Yo, in there, when are my future fans coming ? They have to see me ! Ain't a good Undertale fic without Glyde ! I mean, duh, right ?! Hey, what's with the weird line ? Wait, nonononoNO ! SO NOT COOL-"

---

In the midst of retracing their steps, the Loud kids found Sans back from his break-break. "so, found any treasure ?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Just pretty mushrooms and a killer headache, skele-dude." said Luna, as she rubbed the top of her scalp. "Hey, um, any chance you could tell us what's behind that weird door back there ?"

"Luna, what did we just say ?!" hissed Lola.

"I'm sorry, but I need something that'll help me sleep tonight. Please, let me hear some of that !" pleaded Luna, taking the hands of the monster into her own, and putting on her best begging pout. Sans was impressed with the smooth tempo that quivering lip was giving.

"well..." Sans began, and saw he immediately had everyone intrigued. So much for unimportant, huh ? "i'm not really up to date on the latest gossip. you know me, i ain't one to mess with anyone's business, too much work-"

"Yes, you prefer easy preys, like children." mumbled Lisa with narrowed eyes.

"-buuut, i do know that only the weirdest of the weird can live in there. it used to be an impish little white critter, 'sure you kids already met him once or twice."

"That's a gross understatement, today alone very included." deadpanned Lori. Now she knew why she had felt that note was a small victory.

"Doggy ! Funny hat !" Lily giggled.

"Yes, a very funny hat he had, that doggy." Lori simmered through clenched teeth, her tone and mind growing rancid. 'I bet he'd make a great hat too.'

"Okay, but what about now ? Who's paying the rent right now ?" Lynn inquired further.

Sans took a second to weigh his words carefully. As he should be. "hmm..."

The Louds leaned closer.

"hmmmmm..."

Closer.

"hmmmmmmmmmmmm..."

And yet, closer.

"if you kids can't tell, that's my code to tell ya that i don't have the singlest clue."

Cue the chorus of exasperated groans, and the lazy chuckle backing it. "You know, next time you don't know something, try givin' it to us straight instead of leaving us waitin' on the patio." huffed Luna.

Sans' grin expanded, and he winked at the rockin' gal. "eyy, i see what you did there."

"What's that supposed to- ah, cricket !" Luna facepalmed, realising what she had just unleashed.

"It's alright, Sansy ! Your jokes can be a bit hard to handle for some, but knob me !" said Luan, all too happy to take her cue.

"And here we go again." moaned Lincoln.

"ah c'mon, they ain't that wooden."

"Of course not, some people are just too close-minded !"

"Knock-knock jokes... all coming back..." said Lisa, as she felt her head throb with all those repressed memories of awful puns announced by a benign hit on her frontal gate.

"heh, glad you aren't. knowing your audience is the key to success."

"I guess I'm just lock-y like that !"

"Mercy..." Lucy pleaded to the concept itself, while hiding her face further inside her hood. When was the sweet release of death when you needed it ?

"I think our jokes are not being well-received right now. Are we doing something wrong ? Is our routine, hehe, not worth any a-door-ation ?"

"nah, we're being framed. but hey, better luck next time. in fact..."

"No..." Lori mouthed with cold dread.

The clownette's sly smile expanded widely. "In fact..."

"Lynn, is there mud in the afterlife ?" whimpered Lana, trembling in her little boots.

"Stadiums full of it, I'm sure. And we'll wrestle through it all. All of it, do you hear me ?!" swore Lynn as she hugged the little blonde close, and the two cemented her words with an act of which promise power was even above a blood pact. Indeed, they put their whole fiery SOULs in that pinky promise.

"you could say that we should..." "You indeed can say that we should..."

Few people knew you could play the Funeral March on an harmonica. But then again, few people knew Luna Loud.

"... knock on wood."

*SLAP !*

The impact of palms against ten foreheads rang loudly not only across the woods, but the whole Underground. The Louds felt it was fair that way. If they were to suffer and survive through such a terrible pun storm, they wanted everyone to be aware of it, from the first Froggit they met, to that King guy somewhere. Even Leni, still sullen, couldn't resist the call. Only then, did they let themselves fall forward to groan their hearts out into the powder below.

Luan dusted her hands with a content smile. "This was a pun-off I'll be remembering for some time. That frame one was a killer !" she giggled mirthfully.

"looking at the bodies, you might be right. it looks like i'm gonna have to run for it." chuckled Sans. The two laughed even harder. Sans, running ? HA ! "but really, i've gotta go. paps is adding the finishing touches to his next project, and i need to tie a knot or two so my name can appear on the blueprints."

"Sans, you're the punniest skeleton I've met in my entire life." Luan warmly assured.

"hey, you're a whole world of swell yourself, sunshine." Sans chuckled back, and departed with a small salute. "see ya."

Luan waved to him on his way out, and, once he was gone, breathed with renewed gusto. "I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I can run a whole marathon ! Anyone up for a little race ?"

The clawing hands of her siblings creeping on her from behind had another idea.

---

When the kids reached the next area by taking the path previously postponned, they realised that they had already climbed quite high. A large valley of snow and trees once again greeted them on their left and their right. Far away behind them, they could see the wall delimiting the Ruins, and ahead, the lights of their destination shining brighter than ever, bringing relief to their hearts.

"We're almost there." grinned Lincoln. "What do you think this town is going to look like ?"

"That's a good question, but right now, a comfy pillow is worth a thousand monster towns for me." yawned Lola, with her mood improving ever so slightly. Vendetta against a certain ditz was still somewhere in her mind, but she had gotten the chances to let off some steam. Speaking of which. "Any witty comment you'd like to add, Luan dearest ?"

"Mff gaff aff go penff of fumerr." grumbled the young jokester through the thick layers of scarves tied around her mouth. Had she not been condemned to another two-minute round of Plan NP-WV #6, her words would have been understood as 'You guys have no sense of humour'. This apparently was no skin off her siblings' bones, to Luan's annoyance.

"Speaking of resting, check out that little dog house !" squealed Lana as she bounded over to the little structure. It was finely made, and quite big for the small entrance it had, just wide enough for Lana to squeeze her way through. Next to it was a small ladder, no doubt allowing one to go sleep on the wide roof, like only the cool dogs do. And above the door was the familiar symbol of a panting dog head.

"Looks like we found another station. But this one's a bit, um, dinky." Lincoln scratched his head in slight confusion.

"Small doesn't mean safe, bro. Remember you-know-who's-bonkers ?" advised Luna, squinting her eyes sourly.

"Unfortunately."

"'Woof' ?" said Lynn, reading the wooden sign next to the entrance. "What is that ? A name ? A rank ? Is this some sort of Dog HQ ?! Or is it their way of naming their house ?"

"It's a dog house alright !" Lana reported from inside. "There's a little bowl, some toys- Another box of pomeraisins ! Ah nuts, it's empty. Aww, they have family pictures ! They're all blurry though."

"You could say they weren't able to focus, am I right ?!" cracked Luan with a little elbow jab to Leni, who gave a small smile in return.

"Hey ! You haven't done your time yet !" exclaimed Lola as she pounced on the clownette to renew her fluffy gag.

"NOOOOOOOOO !" wailed Luan.

"There's a little dog bed, some dog books – with covers you can actually chew, I need one of those ! - and there's also a bunch of posters, with a very angry fish face on 'em, but I can't really read what they're saying."

"It says 'Royal Guard : Join now, you sissies !'"

"LUCY ! How did you get in there ?!"

"There is an entrance. Like, right next to us."

"No really, she crawled in. No weird black magic teleportation this time." backed up Lynn.

"Sigh."

"And are you sure there's no one else in there ?" Lori probbed Lana one last time for good measure.

"Positive !"

"We met four dogs, and saw their four stations. That means that whoever owns this station is either gone for the night, or is looking for us right now." mulled the eldest blonde, carressing Lily's head like she was a cat.

"Maybe they took another way and missed us ?" offered Lincoln, gazing at the large valley below. "There's so much more forest we didn't get to explore. Maybe that doghouse has a pulley system that can get its guard right down there for max effectiveness ! Kinda like the emergency slides Lisa installed in our rooms."

"This idea holds no logical sense, and is a security hazard in its concept alone." Lisa stiffly said, before her expression became flat. A peek at the back of the doghouse confirmed her aggravating suspicions. "Which means, of course, that it must be there. Huh, cushioning reinforcements and a small squeaky bone for slide entertainement. Good points for design, I suppose."

Worries over encountering another dog monster were wearing off, as was Lana's excitement, and it allowed them to notice the small lumps of snow piled around them. A paw mark or two imprinted on them quickly gave away the abstract artist's identity. "Those dogs have intersting ways of spending their free time, I'll say that much. What was the goal in making those, anyway ?" asked Lincoln.

"Maybe because the dude or dudette just felt like it." shrugged Luna. "Dogs play their dog games, and like it ; ain't nothing wrong with that. Plus, they're kinda cute." She playfully poked a lump by her feet, but instead of her finger completely going in, it offered some resistance. But not a cold crunchy one. Luna passed her glove across the bump, and found the snow to be as soft as the surface of a sofa cushion. "This ain't normal snow."

"Why ? Does it feel warm ?" quipped Lana, popping her head by the entrance. "Remember, if it's yellow..."

"LANA !" exclaimed a revulsed Lola.

"Hehe, nope. It's white and cold like science desks at 8 in the morning. But it looks like whatever that little Ice Cap dude used to make his new duds, those snow poffs are made out of the same stuff."

Lori raised an eyebrow. "Snow poff ?"

"Fitting name, right ?" Luna wriggled her own forehead pilosity. "Wanna touch ?"

Not seeing any harm, Lori gave the snow poff a small rub, and she whistled with wonder at how soft it felt. Lily followed suit by squeezing it as much as her little arms allowed her to. "This is litteraly the kind of pillow I need in Summer." commented Lori as she remembered the unhealthy amout of times her pillow had somehow taped itself to the back of her hair drenched with sweat. And don't get her started on what she had to do to get it out ! And yet, she felt a small smirk forming across her lips, which held its fair share of mischief. "And that's good, because now it belongs to me and Lily."

"Hey, no fair ! I touched it first, it's got my prints all over it !" argued Luna, getting a little too prideful over a lump of snow.

"What ever prints are you talking about, sis ?" Lori sang in faux innocence. Lily had already slobbered all over her lumpy new friend, marking this territory as her own, and sharing half of it with her snow adviser in the person of her eldest sis.

"Clever girl..." Luna mumbled sourly, but couldn't stay mad at the pudgy ball of cuteness. Instead, she began looking around, and pounced on a snow poff not too far from her, to proudly plant her boot onto. "Then this snow poff is Lunaland proprety ! It's got way better vibes anyway."

And just like that, the Snowdin Snow-poff Rush was on ! Everyone scrambled to find the poff of their dreams, with just the acceptable amount of pushing and kicking in the knees. Lincoln was the first to find what he was looking for. "Those little rock teeth make that one look just like those ice minions from the second edition of 'Ace Savvy and the Coldest Hand', the one where he discovered that his aunt's cousin-"

Lynn rolled her eyes playfully as her brother rambled on. "Is there anything that guy can't nerdify ?" she said, then looked proudly at her own piece of snow, which had abs faintly drawn on the front. "Not you, for one ! They call you soft, but you're really a tough snowflake. And I dig that !" she commended while giving the cool punching bag a couple of jabs. The snow didn't even flinch.

"This one will do. Its loneliness appeal to me." Lucy monotoned as she plopped next to the lone snow poff in the top corner near the way they came in. The young Goth had a good history with corners. And the view shrouded in obscurity was a neat bonus, making words flourish anew in her book.

Luan's choice had little thinking to it, as she was still a bit miffed at the silence torture she was being put through. But when she sat on it and a flatulence sound escaped her snow poff, she was happy to see that her comedic instincts were still as sharp as ever. 'Good gas on my part, hehehe.'

"Perfect roundness... average temperature... optimal softness..." lisped Lisa as she field-tested the cold lump in many ways. Her measuring tape retracted with a satisfying click that matched her grin. "This is a fine specimen indeed. I think a little extraction is in order." The small genius sorted out her set of tweezers, and made them clack with an eerie smile. "Do not be agitated, dear patient. This should not hurt more than it needs to."

This snow poff turned a little whiter.

"Hey, I saw that snow poff first !" exclaimed Lola, as she locked herself on another argument with her roommate.

"As if ! I saw it years before you !" Lana countered, her nose pressed against her prissy sister's.

"We've been here for five minutes, you dodo !"

"More proof that I've wanted it longer than you do !" Lana stuck her tongue at her twin. "Besides, look at those bumps ! It was made for this behind !"

"Wow, you're really spending too much time with those dogs, because you obviously traded your sight for a better sense of smell ! And even that, you stink at !" Lola flicked the tomboy's nose, making her growl back. "Those are obviously supposed to be jewels that fit the throne of a true princess such as moi."

"It needs to fit that big butt of yours first !"

Lola's entire being stiffened with shock, then convulsed in impending rage. "Maybe it needs to fit your face first !" Her shriek was followed with every bit of agressiveness it was promising. Lincoln and Lori quickly moved to separate the two, but kept an eye on their respective 'propreties'.

And then there was Leni, who just stood there awkwardly. It's not that she didn't want to join the festivities, but what if she took the one snow poff one of her siblings wanted ? She didn't want to get even more in their way by acting selfish.

Nevertheless, she was lucky enough to spot a lone snow poff hiding in one of the corners, closer to the smaller path they'd need to take to carry on. It wasn't special in any way, not compared to the other snow poffs her siblings were being proud of. It seemed to be there just for the sake of existing, not bringing anything worth noting to the scenery as a whole.

'A perfect choice, then.' that inner voice snided again.

Leni didn't bother arguing. She was just too tired for that, in more ways than one. She just hoped the little white pile wouldn't mind her gently sitting on it for a few seconds.

*Cli-Cling !*

Whatever Leni was expecting when sitting down, a jingling sound wasn't one of them. Maybe moving fabric, or stretching leather, but not that. She began looking around to see if she was squashing a bell, or worse, one of Gyftrot's grandchildren. She imagined them having little bells around their necks like in the stories. Totes cute ! But to her relief, no monster was hiding in that pile ; only a brown pouch that looked eerily familiar. And when she opened it, the golden glow of its contents sparkled against her dilated pupils.

"U-Um, guys ? I found a little bag." Leni called quietly. She only caught two or three of her sibings' attention, who in turn signaled the others to listen. With all those peepers on her, Leni burried her face deeper into her striped scarf. "A-And there's Gold in it."

The siblings certainly heard that mute squeak, and quicky approached their sister to feast their eyes on the glimmering coins.

"Woah, where did you get that ?" asked Lincoln with a smile that soothed Leni's shyness ever so slightly.

"I-It was in my snow poff. I heard the coins when I, like, sat on it."

"Leni, that's amazing !" praised Luan, making the blonde blush. "Looks like you were sitting on yellow snow after all, haha ! Get it ?" Leni jumped off her seat and frantically patted the back of her coat, before she realised the punchline through Luan's hilarity. Her face went from blush to crimson, until she felt her athlete of a sister slapping her back.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a winner for best snow poff ! And someone who's taken off her scarves again." said Lynn with a pointed glare towards the flinching jokester. Ultimately, she took pity on her. "Eh, it's been two minutes. You're a free clown."

"Hurray !"

The kids lost no time in lavishing the blonde with praise and affection. A good way to make up for their arguable act from earlier, even though they knew that there was no way on Earth it could really have affected the sweet blonde that much. Even the main offender herself, having simmered down from her tangled freakout, gave Leni a small pat on the hand. Of course, being Lola, it really helped that this was about earning more precious Gold.

Lori was the last one to approach her little sister, but her smile was at a comfortable first place in terms of warmth. "Already making good on your resolutions, I see." she winked at the platinium blonde, who blushed sheepishly. She then added the coins to the Louds' backpack account. "And a hefty thirty more Gold for us."

"And they said sitting on our posteriors would never bring us any awards in life." said Lisa, a small smile tugging at her lips.

As her siblings laughed raucously at the genius' rare joke, Leni felt her SOUL flutter with pride. She knew it, she just knew it ! She knew she could be helpful when she wanted to ! Sure, this had just been a stroke of luck, but-

'Exactly. Luck. Don't be tooting your own horn about it, anyone can do luck, even the bottom of the discount basket such as you. The thing to remember here, is that you are helpful when you set yourself away from them, and all the important stuff that doesn't need you messing it up.'

'O-Oh.' Leni shrunk on herself, her silly emotions now in check. But she still allowed a flicker of hope to wander into her thoughts. 'But, I was helpful, right ?'

'…Yes. You were.'

'Jolly helpful, eh what ?'

'Hey ! This zone is hamster-free ! AND STOP EATING DIPPING MY SHOES INTO YOUR TEA !'

Leni left her mind behind – she had an itchy feeling that there was something wrong with that – and went back to her siblings' side. It was welcoming, even when she didn't feel like she should be. And just in time to find the mud and glitter duo engaged in an aggressive game of Rock, paper, scissors under the impartial eye of Referee Lynn.

"What did I miss ?" Leni quietly asked Luna.

"We finally got Lana and Lola to settle their differences over a snow poff peacefully. As peaceful as it gets, anyway. One win settles it all. But they're up to 63 ties already !" Luna's features sombered considerably. "Let's just hope they don't get to a hundred."

Leni gulped at her sister's dark aura. "W-Why ?"

"HA ! IN YOUR FILTHY FACE !"

"DANG IT !"

Luna regained her cool smile instantly. "Not important, dude. Lola just whooped Lana's butt."

"I call foul play ! There was clearly a silly face distraction !" accused Lana, pointing the index of justice towards the pink demon. But her evil pink power was too strong for the finger of righteousness, as she revealed her sharp imp teeth through her victorious smirk.

"Underground rules, I'm afraid. And I say your case reports to Article 1, I quote, 'Too bad, too sad !'" declared the triumphant princess, laughing the fallen troll off. Her throne had been secured from her greedy, not to mention unsanitary, little sausages she called fingers, and that was all that mattered.

"Okay okay, break it up you two. Let's keep this match clean." interjected Lynn, dragging the fussing tomboy a couple of feet away from her gloating twin.

"It's no fair ! Everybody's got a snow poff, except me !" Lana complained with her arms crossed and the moodiest pout she could muster.

"They're just piles of snow, Lana. It's not that big of a deal." reassured Lincoln, patting her back sympathetically.

Lana gave him a dry look in return. "Then can you give me yours ?"

"Uh, sorry, but Ace Savvy Jr. has special needs, and you can be a little rough with everything you can stuff inside your pants."

"URGH !" Lana let her gloves slide down her eyelids in frustration. 'Not that big of a deal, my foot !' She was tempted to use hers to deliver her twin a jolly good kick to her rear area, but she had a little more common sense than that. Under Lori's oath, they promised that violence was not the answer, and that it would only hinder their progress. And she was already one violation in.

Thus, Lana was going to wait until Lori was not watching. That made sense, right ?

But her vindicitive thoughts and her wide mischevious grin, which was quite franky freaking her brother out, disappeared when she noticed a lone lump of snow along the path to proceed ahead. It was visibly larger than the others, and seemed to be full of positive energy. Lana gasped excitedly, then got all smug. "Fine, she can keep her crummy seat, I'll take this snow poff there !"

"Crummy seat ? Ha !" Lola snorted.

Luan scratched hear head. "Huh. How did we not see that before ?"

"Well I see it, and it's mine." said Lana as she patted the top of her new friend. "It's everything a little girl can ask for. It's round, it's squishy, it's just the right size..."

*Shuffle Shuffle*

"... and it moves ?" Lana finished uncertainly.

She was not the only one to have seen the snow poff move, and thus, the curious incredulity all over her features was nothing special. It shook again, as if acknowledging the childrens' stares. Then, a small bushy white tail suddenly popped from behind it, waving once or twice before a black snout followed from the front.

"Guys... I think we found our missing hound." concluded Lincoln, just in time to see the little dog's head appear. They tensed at first, especially Lori, but key features like the longer ears and the plumper cheeks indicated that this was not the cunning Pie Thief himself.

"Yip ! Yip !" uttered the little pup, his small excited mug bringing all kinds of fuzzy goodness into the humans' hearts. It made goofy grins sprout all around, save for Lucy who was desperately trying to keep those mushy feelings at bay, with little success.

"Awww, he's so tiny and cute ! I just wanna squeeze him into my arms !" squealed Lola.

"And I want to rub his stomach to see his little leg tremble ! It's litteraly the cutest thing you can do with a dog." gushed Lori despite herself.

"If not for their skills, the members of this Canine Unit can pride themselves for their top notch friendly looks." commented Lisa, trying to keep a professional tone. "Eeee ! His ear twitched !" Emphasis on 'trying'

"Why must this cold place make me feel so warm inside ?" moaned Lucy as she surrendered herself to the fuzzy torture once more.

But no one here, they could tell, was as thrilled as Lana was, as her snow poff ownership just went from great to amazing ! One last petting opportunity to end the day ? The Mud Gods' generosity towards her truly knew no bounds. With eyes glimmering of joy, she scooted closer to the expectant canine, and readied her hand for some furious head scratchies. "Hey there little guy." Lana cooed, and almost reached the high notes when the dog arched his head to the side. "Don't worry, we're friendly ! And, if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to pet your little-"

Suddenly, the snow poff surrounding the pup started to shake. Not just the snow poff, the powder on its sides as well, and the ground under the Louds' feet rippled with light tremors. Before anyone could ask Lisa about the dangers of underground cave-ins, the little dog's head quickly rose out of the snow, along with the rest of a body that had the Louds gasp in surprise.

"...head ?" Lana gaped the end of her sentence.

Broad shoulders almost the size of the path, followed by a hefty torso and arms rippling with muscles, ending in big paw-shaped gauntlets. The whole thing wrapped in a neat grey armour similar to Lesser Dog's, but much bulkier to contain all this raw furry power. The legs under it were small, but long enough and well-trained to support the semi-ton of dog and steel they were also coated with. And they were not any smaller than their owner's head, looking ridiculously small atop it all, while looking down on the petrified kids with the same happy face and his little tail still wagging back and forth. Because while he wasn't making himself intentionally threatening, a monster taller and larger than Toriel was something that had them feel uneasy.

In his right paw, a long white spear materialised itself. A 'spear-niel', as it was called. Magic was pouring from every bit of the weapon, from the spear head that had a little dog face on it, mirroring the ones on the armor's bracelets, to the round bottom tip that clashed against the floor with a mighty thump.

"Yip." uttered the hulking monster in the same high-pitched voice, but with a new purpose. The rainbow of SOULs answered to his call.

Fight engaged !

*"It's the Greater Dog."

{Undertale OST – Dogsong}

"I'll add 'deceptive' to the list." Lisa nonchalantly jolted down the new info under the title 'EVERY DANG CREATURE BREATHING HERE ! (Goat Mother not accounted)'. She also couldn't resist drawing a grinning skull next to it, and circling it in blood red.

"W-Wow... that is some serious updog over there..." gulped Luan.

Lincoln blinked. "Wait, what is updog- Gosh dang it, Luan !" the boy groaned, drowned under his sister's amused giggles.

"Luan's right though, that dog is huge !" exclaimed Lana, making a widening gesture with her hands. Then her awestruck features turned sly. "I'm gonna pet him."

"At this point, that's kind of a given." nodded Luna, resisting a chuckle as she gazed at Greater Dog's unchanged expression of pure happiness. So much neck to scratch ! But when she saw her group's reflection in his armour, the immediate danger was all too apparent. "The mystery part is how we're gonna get him to put down his spear and shake. Bro, a little help from your ghost mate ?"

"Ghost advice, coming up." acknowledged Lincoln, ACTivating his Check option.

*"Greater Dog. ATK 15, DEF 8. He's so excited, he thinks fighting is just a game. But he's a rough player, and so are his toys."

"And weirdly cute too." Lola felt the need to add. Then again, she knew quite a lot about being cute but deadly. But that didn't change the fact that she wanted to boop all those snouts so badly !

Thus, Greater Dog opened the festivities with a quaint little game of 'Dancing Spear'. The rules were super simple ! Greater Dog would first make his spear advance to the humans' right, making it too big and wide for anyone with normal traction to jump above it. If they could, then good for them ! Then, when 80 % of the ground was covered, the spear would roll back from whence it came, and suddenly appear to the left to do the same.

And all the humans had to do was moving accordingly and avoid getting poked by the spear. They seemed really eager about that. Easy-peasy game, and oh so fun for everyone !

The humans had several arguments against those rules. Firstly, abnormal traction apparently excluded all of them, even Lynn, who had no key spot to jump or space to gather momentum. She was the pride of sport associations all over Royal Woods and even Michigan, but that didn't mean she could whip up every trick of the book just like that ! She really wanted to, but reality was lame like that.

Secondly, after avoiding being steamrolled by the spear's first go, and forced to the area's gaping limits, it wasn't too pleasant to have the weapon blink out of existence and then back in, right behind them to trip them down on their faces. Their penalty for failing the 'game' : 4 HP off them, and a nasty cut added on their tired knees. Lily, still being carried, was lucky on that part, but not lucky enough to avoid getting cold snow up her nostrils when Lori felll with her, making the tot sneeze and rub her nose in discomfort.

"He cheated ! How were we supposed to avoid that ?!" groaned Lynn, even though she was the quickest to jump back on her feet.

"I hear ya. If this starts to go on Die & Retry territory, I'm filing a complaint to... well, someone !" said Lincoln as he spat the last bits of frost atop his tongue. The girls gave him weird looks that begged filling in. "Basically, it's a game mechanic that forces you to die at least once, often multiple times to learn the correct patterns to continue. Fun in games, but, I think we can all agree, doesn't sound all that pleasant in real life."

"Not to mention that'll mean going through the ice puzzle and Gyftrot's fight again, and that's litteraly not happening when we are this close from the town." firmly quipped Lori, whose aching back was starting to make her feel like the elder monster. She could feel that her Patience was a mere dozen steps away to be rewarded, and Greater Dog was the last roadblock to overcome. Her mind immediately flared up for a solution. "We have an overgrown dog who's looking for playmates and affection. But if we want those games to be as fun for us as they are to him, we've got to make him drop that spear."

"But our main weapon is a bit useless here." uttered Lucy, speaking more realistically than gloomily. "None of us can reach his neck to scratch it, and I doubt he'll let us mount one another. He'll probably push us away like it's some sort of game." Her instincts towards deepness quickly resurfaced. "But it's not. This is life."

"Yeah, but life is still requiring us to coax a giant bipedal dog in armour." Not the deepest words Lori ever found herself to say, but every bit as honest as the raven-haired girl. "If we can't get to him... then maybe we need to get him to us."

"You mean we just snap our fingers and expect him to come down and lick our faces ?" Lola snorted sarcastically, before she realised who they were dealing with here. "That's... actually not a bad plan. Minus the licking part, count me out on that."

"But will his training be efficiently triggered by the call of a complete stranger ?" asked Lisa, remaining skeptical to the end.

"Lisa, you're the smartest cookie I know, but you're a bit lost when it comes to reading people." Lana said condescendingly, as she quickly smushed the cheeks of her genius sister, to turn her gaze to meet the monster's. "Look into those black peepers. Isn't that the look of someone who'll accept a pet from any hand, no questions asked ?"

"Ah fuppove fo." admitted the toddler.

"Exactly !" she exclaimed, too pumped up to be gentle when releasing her bespectacled prisonner. "So let's not waste any more time ! Lincs, you may ACT when ready !"

"Aye-aye, Colonel Cuddles." Lincoln said half-teasingly. She may be eating boogers and wrestling alligators as a hobby, but, no matter how much she disliked the term, she still was utterly cute when animals got involved, whether they had fur or slime for skin. Once the ACT menu was open, Lincoln saw an array of options already there, no doubt copied right out of the little grease monkey's thoughts and ideals. The faint orange gleam in the words heavily hinted that.

He settled on what seemed to be the natural first step of Lana's 'More neck, more pet' plan, the Beckon option. And Lana lost no time doing just that.

"Greater Dog ? C'mon, here boy !" said Lana in-between whistles and tongue clicking. Greater Dog's ears spruced up right away, and he was now even more focused on the humans in front of him, if that was possible. With his tail wagging with the force of an unhinged desk fan, he let go of his spear, and bounded closer as though he was as light as air. But he wasn't. The ground shook when the 8-foot guard landed on all fours, and he began scrutinising around for any sign of fun, or even better, a stick !

*"Greater Dog has answered your call. Excitement levels are up to 90% !"

"Looks like we've got his attention, dudes ! And his drool." said Luna, as she tried to protect her face from any slobbering droplet Greater Dog was generously letting fly with any head turn. "He's makin' it rain !"

"Protect me, my brave knight !" cried out Lola, having no problem using Lincoln as a meat shield.

"Being me is hard work." Lincoln quipped to the camera, but without any hint of annoyance. He patted the scalp of the hugging blonde. "But it's rewarding. Most of the time."

"Uh guys ?" said Lucy.

"Nothing like a good shower to wash your worries away." Lana sighed in bliss, rubbing the drool against her cheeks like cream.

"Guys !" Lucy's outburst, which wasn't much of an outburst at all, got a startled jump out of every SOUL around, including the fluffy monster. The ground shook again. "Look at his spear. There's something wrong in this picture. Can you guess what it is ?"

"It's grinning at us ?" tried Lynn casually. "Honestly, I've dealt with freakier things in our room."

"You're right, it is grinning at us. Aaaaaaall the way up there, all alone." Lucy trailed her finger upwards.

Luan, who knew her smiles, had a feeling that it wasn't the smile itself that Lucy was trying to point out. And when she found herself looking up at it, she caught on the riddle. "Why is the spear still standing if no one's holding it ?" she answered with her own riddle.

"Hey, you're right ! It's not even hammered into the ground ! It's like there's some force from another world keeping it standing !" exclaimed Lynn, stumped by this sudden revelation ! For about a second. "Yeaaaah, still not freakier than what I can find under Lucy's bed."

"Thank you." answered Lucy with the ghost of a smile.

But the kids got no time to discuss that mildly weird fact, as Greater Dog's spear-niel wasn't done redefining physics. While he kept happily panting, a light blue flash illuminated the hefty canine's eyes for an instant. A brief moment later, it reappeared in the eyes of the spear-niel, and then trasnferred itself to the rest of its 'body', which began to flash white and cyan like Vanzilla's turn signal. Lisa had been testing new lightbulbs recently.

The spear-niel then grew bigger, powered by new energy, and floated right off the ground with astonishing dexterity. Still blinking, it planted its blunt part on the ground, and swiftly slid towards the Louds. They could tell it wasn't going to stop this time, but the key to dodging came even more apparent with its constant blinking.

A simple game of Red Light, Green light.

But time was hardly on their side here. With barely to prepare or tell that the blinking of the spear matched with the twitching of Greater Dog's left ear, the kids scrambled to find the right spot to safely stop themselves on. A lucky seven out of them managed to go through unharmed, but for Leni, Luna, Lynn, and Lincoln, no such luck. Luna and Leni were grazed by the white weapon, while Lynn and Lincoln failed to stop in time for the blue head to be harmless. This time, it felt like someone had harshly prodded them in the ribs, and that was never pleasant. Neither was the sore feeling of losing 4 more HP.

"I don't elbow you guys that hard, do I ?" Lynn asked with a groan of discomfort.

"It depends how much of a good mood you're in." truthfully answered Lincoln, hissing when his hand grazed his side. He was pretty sure he was going to feel that one even after a resplendishing of his HP, which couldn't come soon enough.

"He moved his weapon around without touching or even looking at it. If it wasn't so easy to break his focus, we'd be in a world of trouble right now, dudes." quipped Luna.

While she agreed that Greater Dog's power was somewhat daunting, certainly placing him at the top of the Canine Unit on that standard alone, Lana found herself no less deterred to give him, this tall drink of slobbering water, the affection he was so desperately craving for. Despite his assault, he had not moved a iota from his sitting position, and kept waiting in baited breath for the little human's next move.

He simply couldn't wait to find out ! A pet ? A tummy rub perhaps ? Or... a surprise ?! He loved surprises ! Surprises were the bestest of the best ! As bestest as Grillby's treats, or the Captain's compliments, or rolling in the snow, or his napping basket, or that little human's surprise- Surprise ! He loved surprises !

Greater Dog began pawing the ground with his overgrown mitts, and let out little whines of impatience. And Lana answered in kind, her hands feeling all itchy, and her wild SOUL gently echoing the ripples of her large wavering eyes. The sight would be amusing, if it wasn't so heartwrenching.

"Lincoln, please let Lana do her thing, before she litteraly implodes." Lori asked as she tried to repress the moisture creeping along her eyelids.

"You don't have to tell me twice." said Lincoln, doing a much poorer job at keeping up a manly image. And that didn't change, no matter how hard he glared at the camera.

With a press on the good ol' favourite option of Dog fights, Pet, Lana was finally free to tame the beast, so to speak, as the monster immediately kneeled closer to collect his due. Despite his imposing girth, she chose to pace herself at first. Every dog they had encountered had different tastes in petting, and the little blonde was smarter than going full Pet Mania on first contact. She thus started by rubbing circles on the top of his head and gently scratching behind his ears, with Greater Dog occasionally pushing his snout against her hand.

"There we go. Look at you, all frazzled and panting. You're the one who made all those Snow poffs, didn't you ?" deduced Lana in a cooing manner, as her hand went for the lower jaw. "You made more and more, and then you plowed right through them, to roll in all that snow to your little doggy heart's content. But you don't like leaving a mess, because you're a good guard."

"She's right." lisped Lisa in a whisper for the siblings near her to hear. "The snow is too well-placed compared to before. I dare say it's even been polished."

"Well, you can't spell 'Keep your workplace in good order' without 'dog'." said Luan, making brows arch all around. "What ? It's in there, isn't it ?"

"You're REALLY spending too much time with Sans." deadpanned Lola. "Soon you'll have packets of ketchup and mustard bloating your pockets, and that just won't cut it, missy !"

"Shhh !" said Lily, putting a meaningful index over her big sister's mouth, so Lana's magic could work uninterrupted.

"Are you all tired now ? Is that why you want pets so bad ?" continued Lana in her syrupy voice, sitting down to beckon the canine closer. Greater Dog blinked his little tired eyes, and yawned with Lily's level of adorableness.

"So precious..." whispered Leni to herself. She certainly wouldn't be doing such a good job if she was in her sister's shoes...

"Does anyone hear a creaking noise ?" quipped Lola out of the blue. The growing noise of an old wardrobe toppling over was indeed hanging in the air, but it had nothing to do with said wardrobe, and it wasn't the noise made by a macabre smile summoning itself along Lucy's lips while she daydreamed about eternal limbo.

Nope, it simply was the sound of a hill of a dog going for a quick power nap, and going down in an even quicker fashion.

*THUMP !*

"DOOOOOOooooooo..."

Right onto Lana's lap.

*"Greater Dog is sleeping like an oak tree log. Majestic, but probably too thick to be removed."

The kids gasped in horror as they saw their sister being crushed under half a ton of dozing dog and doggin' heavy metal. The monster was making sure to make himself comfy by focusing all of his weight on the poor girl's knees, completely oblivious to the excrutiating pain he was putting her through.

"Holy Moley ! Lana, are you alright ?!" cried Lincoln, quickly getting himself overwhelmed in concern. This reminded him, and others, a bit too much of the first time Lana had tried plumbing without her Dad's help, which he strictly had forbidden. The wailing and broken foot of a four year-old buried under a dozen of heavy pipes tended to stick to young minds.

"Don't worry – urk ! – I'm fine." grunted Lana with the world's least convincing smile.

"Lana, please be honest. Is your sight blurry ? Can you feel your legs right now ?" fussed Lori, going full Goat Mom's Apprentice. She held Lana's hand and held it close to her chest, which was strangely soothing to the younger blonde. Lily was also by her big sis' side, kissing her cheek since she couldn't reach her boo-boos.

Her sister-in-SOUL chose a more rash course of action, and was currently trying to lift the overgrown mutt off the ground, or at the very least make him roll. But even with help, no dice. "He's... not... budging !" grunted Lynn in frustration, putting all her back into it. How was that monster heavier than a flippin' water heater ?!

"Guys, stop that, or you're gonna – nff ! – wake him up." pleaded Lana.

"How can you be worried about his well-being, when he's most likely plaguing you with premature leg paralysis ?" sermonized a dumbfounded Lisa.

Despite the insufferable aching, Lana smiled. "It's not the first time I'm having a big softie invading my lap – aaah... – and it's not gonna be the last. Besides, he deserves that nap. It's been a long day for him too."

"Sis, you're a diamond in the rough. Probably coated in grime, but still shinin' fierce." praised Luna, giving the little martyr a quick hug. But when she pulled off, she caught a glimpse of a gleaming spark appearing in the corner of one of the gauntlets' eyes, and she caught sight of a white form pulsating on top of Greater Dog's armour. Looking at it more closely, Luna realised it wasn't pulsating, but sleeping. Snoring even ! And when it turned over to face into her direction, she was utterly gobsmacked. "Dudes, you're not gonna believe this, but he's back again."

The Louds followed the brunette's gaze, fearful at first to find a malicious flower. But what they did find was a whole less terrifying, yet a tad more... annoying.

"You again ?!" sneered Lori, keeping a seething gaze on the sleeping form of that little white dog, carrying the same happy-go-lucky smile he'd been harbouring when wearing her... Uuuuurgh ! She only calmed her nerves when a yelp from Lana made her realise that she was grinding her hand into dust. "Sorry."

"Pain everywhere..." moaned Lana.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think it's the perfect time for some good old payback." Lynn grinned mischeviously, as she rolled back her sleeves and audibly cracked her knuckles. "Let's see how he likes it when he wakes up buried under a foot of snow."

However, when she brought her arm forward to grasp the cold climbing surface, the albino-furred pup was suddenly wide awake. And he was excited to let everybody know it. "Bark Bark ! Bark Bark !" he chirped in rapid succession.

And every time he did so, a white 'Bark!' projectile was shot forward, the first hitting Lynn square in the nose. But with how randomly the next spelled attacks rained on the humans, one had to wonder if the Annoying Dog was really doing it on purpose.

"Even onomatopeias are against us !" quipped Luan, as she kept hopping for her dear life. "This little dog really-"

"Dare say that 'he is all bark but no bite', and you might find your next nights to be rather sleepless." threatened Lucy to her sister's face, an eerie dark aura lacing her words.

"I was gonna say that he has a 'way with words', actually." cleared up Luan, pushing Lucy's mug off her, right as a 'Bark!' whizzed between them. "Plus, I already used that joke. You know me better than to bark up the wrong tree !" she giggled merrily as she smushed her cheek against Lucy's, making her dodge another attack. "Get it ?" Lucy could only grunt a long, misery-ridden sigh.

"Well, at least they aren't hitting me." mused Lana, finding a silver lining to her current condition. Greater Dog mumbled in his sleep, and licked his pillow's cheek. She smiled. "I could get used to this. Wow, I think the lack of blood is starting to take effect."

"Negatory, except if you are of the belief that your cerebrum is contained within your toes. Which is not the case." professed Lisa as she dodged another word-head. She gained a critical look. "Crude calligraphy for crude attacks. What else did I expect ?" She didn't expect a second round nicking her in the back of her head, for one.

The dog's assault finally stopped, and once he'd rolled over to fall behind Greater Dog's form, with no *Plop* sound to indicate any landing, the hmonster awoke and bounded off his bed with renewed energy. Lana was immediately filled with boundless bliss, and laughed as she felt ants crawling all over her legs. "It's good to have these puppies back." she patted them contently.

*"Greater Dog is very excited to play more games ! SPEED has increased !"

"He can go faster ?!" Lola visibly paled.

"Don't worry, Lola." reassured her 'knight' as he observed the unleashed sentry. "He might be faster, but he's also much easier to read. We just have to find a way to work out all that extra energy, and he should cool right down."

"Okay, but we can't go physical with him. Just because Lana is lucky to still have her legs, doesn't mean we can handle more of his roughousing." quipped Lucy, staying realistic. Besides, getting squashed under an overgrown, overexcited dog wasn't exactly high on her demise wish list.

"I think a game of fetch would be most appropriate." said Lisa, evening out her hair to make the attack's imprint in it disappear. "Seeing as we are lacking in wooden objects, might I suggest we use Lynn's sphere of Franco-Anglo-American outdoor entertainement ? Street name, baseball ?"

"Eeeeh, I'd rather not ?" Lynn sheepishly quipped, ball secured between her grey-blue gloves. "I know he won't eat him with that little head of his, but I'm not sure I wanna risk my most lucky baseball to a dog this big, especially with that pointy toy he likes twirling around." She could see it now : Her lucky Joey (the ball) reduced to a deflated heap, and thrown at her feet like a hairball from Cliff. All the while Greater Dog kept panting and beaming with pride over his murder.

"Well we've got to use something !" Lana chided her big sis' stubborness, while trying to keep her wobbly footing straight.

As a ten-way argument-planning was sparking to life, sweeping in ideas from almost all sides, the party of Leniland chose to remain withdrawn from it. She was sure they would agree on a good plan soon, no need for her harebrained ideas. Instead, she just kept noiselessly wondering why it was called harebrained when there was no bunny rabbit around, and drew a little dog face in the snow with the tip of her boot.

And that gave her an idea ! Like, an actually not dumb idea ! Before the mean voice could come back to destroy her sudden burst of bravado, she whistled to get her siblings' attention. They turned around when they heard the loud raspberry noise. She still needed practice.

"I-I think I've got something. Like, why don't we use s-snowballs ? No harm in breaking those ones, right ? Snow everywhere !" she proposed with a poor attempt of a genuine smile.

Lana gained a thoughtful expression. "Snowballs, huh ?"

'Wow, look at that, there you go wasting their time once again. Be glad that she's actually trying to save you some face by pretending your plan's got a shred of potential. Because I'm sure that deep inside, she thinks this is a-'

"Brilliant idea, Leni !" chirped Lana, giddily scooping a snowball into her hand. "Greater Dog is crazy about snow ! That way, we combine both of his favourite pastimes into one ! It's sure to get him running like, well, a puppy !"

Leni vehemently inspected both her ears three times, but it didn't make any difference. The sound of her siblings actually backing up the fact that she had come up with something acceptable was still there, and it was making the biggest grin bloom on her face. Looks like she could have some good ideas after all.

Lincoln pressed the Play option, and Lana brought the frosty toy right under Greater Dog's nose, who immediately snapped out of his wild mood and to attention. "Greatey~, look what Auntie Lana's got for you~" she serenaded.

Greater Dog immediately dropped back on all fours. There was a something in the little human's hand alright ! It was a ball ! Made out of snow ! How did he not know something so great existed ?! And that snow looked so much more shiny and beautiful than the rest ! He couldn't tell why, but it just was. It really was !

"It's a snowball, made just for you." said Lana as she began waving the prize like a pendulum. "Do you want it ?"

Yes he did ! Yes he did !

"Do you reaaaaaaally want it ?"

Yes Yes Yes Yes YES !Mother of treats, this was everything he'd ever desired in the last five seconds of his life ! He quite litteraly couldn't see himself going on with his existence without that snowball ! He needed it. He needed it NOW !

Lana grinned. He was ready. "Then go get it !" she bellowed, and mightily swung the snowball behind her siblings. Greater Dog immediately gave pursuit, boldly leaping past the humans' heads, before landing with the grace of a ballerina truck. Oooh, he could smell that prize, hear it, feel it, taste it...

… but his eyes had completely lost it.

Unbeknownst to him, the snowball he sought had splattered against the ground, and fused with the rest of the snow, which came as a serious wrench in the Louds' plan.

"That can't be good. Poor pup's got nothing to fetch now." mumbled Luna sympathetically.

But the playful monster had not made the cut for the Royal Guard solely for his magic and good boy looks ! His stance dropped forward, propping his elbows on the floor. He then straightened his arms ahead, and kept a good amount of space between them. And with a low humming coming from his mouth, Greater Dog started shoveling all the snow in the area like a well-oiled bulldogzer.

(*Barking Rimshot*)

"You were saying ?" said Lincoln with an almost amused smirk.

"Lana, I think you've found your digging master." teased Lola. Looking at Greater Dog's insane effectiveness, Lana felt inclined to agree.

"The only question now, would be how many snow can he-" Lisa halted her analysis when Greater Dog hoistered 80% of the zone's powder in one enormous snowball. "Ah. And I don't suppose he's merely going to shuffle his findings to our feet ?"

A large shadow loomed above them all.

"I'm guessing that's a no." said Lucy, resigning herself.

*FLOMPF !*

Greater Dog's little present crashed down, and buried our heroes under pounds of snow. Fortunately, this wasn't their first rodeo when it came to be buried under something, may it be snow, mud, or clothes when they all went on chore strike. Before long, ten disgruntled heads popped out of the snow.

"Is everyone alright ?" called Lori as she made a quick head count. A flash of worry soon plagued her eyes. "Wait, where's Lily ?"

"I see her !" answered Lynn, spotting the wiggling of a little pair of legs right next to her. She easily liberated her arms, and unrooted her baby sister with ease. Lily giggled at the long bearded snow that now adorned her face.

"Do you think that if we throw a Gold, he'll come back with a wagon full of nuggets ?" theorised Lola, ever the opportunist.

With his mission accomplished, Greater Dog leaped over the pile of snow and humans, and returned to his position. But as he felt his turn coming, he turned his spear-niel towards them, with renewed glee in his eyes. And they knew what that meant.

He had another game in mind.

"Dig for it, dudes !" cried Luna, burrowing herself back into the powder. The others quickly followed, except for Lincoln on top, who had a little trouble going back in. It seemed that his fiery red SOUL wasn't too keen on the ice cocoon idea. Fortunately (?), Greater Dog seemed much more intent to chase the siblings he couldn't see with some playful pokes of his very sharp spear, and the cries of fear he mistook for delight only encouraged him.

But Lincoln knew how he could help. "Guys, his spear is flashing ! Only move when it's white !"

"And how are we supposed to know that, genius ?!" echoed Lynn's voice, followed by a yelp a bit too feminine for her taste.

"Follow my directions, and you should be, um, less in danger !" replied Lincoln. He got a few approving noises, and immediately focused on the action, ignoring the slightly more glowing outline of his SOUL. "Okay, he's coming from the South ! Lana, Lucy, be on the ready !

"On it !"

"Sure."

"White attack, blue attack, another blue one." Lincoln warned before every thrust. "Okay, he's done with that side, he's moving to yours, Lori ! Lisa and Leni, you too !"

"Roger that !"

"Understood."

"T-Totes got it !"

"Blue, blue, white- watch out, he's drawing circles with that white one ! Huh, not bad. Rather brut art, but still-"

"LINCOLN !" snapped his sisters.

"Sorry ! Okay North side – Lola, Luan, and Luna – you're next ! He's getting really excited, so be snappy !"

"Ha, aren't I always ?"

"Snow room for error !"

"You got it bro !"

"Blue, white, white, blue, blu- wait no, white !" Lincoln corrected himselg a bit too late.

"Yikes ! My butt !"

"Sorry Luan !"

"You tell us to be snappy, but don't forget you have to stay sharp too ! Hahaha, get it ?"

"...And suddenly, I'm less sorry."

A few more stabbing pokes at the snow mound later, Greater Dog relented in his assault, and proudly sat back on his original spot. Once he did, the Louds, who were about to dig themselves out, felt their SOULs act up with the reappearance of the orange panels. They began beating as one, which slowly melted the snow around them.

"Didn't that snowman say it would take a 'dip in lava' for this crystallized water to melt ?" inquired Lisa, before gasping loudly. Her salvation from Lana's nagging ! Her hands plunged inside her backpack, and mercifully retrieved the Snow Piece, looking no worse for wear. "Thank heavens..."

*"Greater Dog is all spent. Please apply some TLC on dog."

While boy and girls groaned at the fight still not being over, the advice sounded good to Lana. "Well, I never say no to more petting. Lincs ?"

"Alright, but make sure you get out of the way if he decides to take another nap." advised the sole brother, pressing Pet.

Lana whistled. "Here boy ! You want some more pets, right ? Come and get them !" The burly canine didn't need to be asked twice, and immediately rubbed his face all over Lana's gaunted palms. The little tidbits of excitement still lingering around made him pushy, wanting more and more attention, but there was only so much love one little girl could give, even if it was an animal-lover like Lana. "I think he's... petting me !" she said, completely overwhelmed by the large neck of fur feverishly brushing against her face.

*"Pet capacity is only at 40%. Code Grease Monkey's situation is getting critically huggable."

"He's too strong for her alone. She's gonna get smothered with nuzzles !" gasped Lola fretfully.

"Then what are we waiting for ? That option wasn't just Lana's gig, so let's pet 'till we're purple !" Luna called to arms, and her siblings quickly presented them, as well as their hands. Get it ? 'Cause that's what they need to- Hey, don't look at me like that, this is still Snowdin you know !

Anywho, the children dashed to their sister's rescue, by covering the love-craving neck with their digits, and rub as lovingly as they could. Greater Dog reared up his head when he felt scratchies from all sides, and tried to keep tabs on them all. But no amount of training could protect him from the amounts of affection eleven Determined humans could dish out.

Soon enough, Greater Dog surrendered, by flopping on his back and letting his legs dangle on the sides. But Greater had no regrets. He had fought the good fight. The very good fight !

*"Pet capacity has reached 100%. Greater Dog has been thoroughly contented, and will immediately shake your hand if you ask him to."

"That's right, you big softie ! Don't underestimate the Louds, because we'll hug and love you until you go down !" gloated Lynn, both triumphant and glad to have found an active way to make monsters submit to her will, without actually hitting them. Something that would only spell trouble for them and her posterior.

"Wow, that's the least mean threat I've heard in like, ever." chirped Leni, meaning it without a single hint of malice. "Are you alright, Lana ?"

"I can't believe I almost lost at petting. Me, Lana Loud !" said Lana as she carefully brushed white shedding off her coat. "If it wasn't for you guys, this would've probably been my last rodeo. Those dog guards may be really cute and friendly once you get on their good side, but man, they're tough !"

"Yes... they are tough, aren't they ?" Lori mulled out loud. Things were not looking too good for their progress. Every encounter they had made with the Guard got more difficult than the last, and while it seemed they were done with the Canine Unit, it was most unlikely that they constituted the only unit the Underground's Royal Guard had to offer ; why bother naming them a unit if they were ? And, again, they had a Captain. One they respected a lot. "That means the next guards are only going to get tougher. Let's just hope we'll be stronger too when we get to them."

"With a town coming up, I'm sure we'll find something to strengthen our defenses." nodded Lincoln out of his little expertise. "But I think it can wait 'till tomorrow, or at the very least, after we've let this dog go."

Lana's expression significantly drooped. "Aww, do we have to ? We just got him to behave."

"We can't keep him. He belongs to the wild. Not to mention he's got a job." Lucy dryly pointed out, even though she had also come to slightly appreciate the dog's shenanigans.

"We'll talk to his boss, I'm sure they'll understand ! And I'll clean after him, scout's honour !" she pleaded, hand on her chest and her eyes expanded in the widest puppy-eyed look she could summon.

"If a Froggit couldn't come with us, I don't think a three-hundred pounds dog is going to make the cut." Lynn wisely admonished. "Sorry sis, but you've gotta say good-bye."

Lana sighed in defeat. She didn't believe her request would actually be approved, but hey, nothing ventured nothing gained. She turned to meet the upside-down face of Greater Dog, still cheerfully panting and marveling at the world from this point of view. Lana gave a smile as warm as her SOUL, as she gently stroked his jaw.

"Well, it's been fun. But you've got to go home now, and so do we. Maybe we'll see eachother again someday, and maybe we'll get to play some more ! But in the meantime, stay nice and stay safe, okay ?" Greater Dog answered with an entusiastic "Yip !", and Lana knew the promise was sealed.

Still not being too great at showing his manliness, Lincoln pressed the golden Spare option, and put an end to the play session.

*YOU WON ! You've gained 0 EXP and 40 Gold."

Fight over.

{Music stops}

Greater Dog jumped back up, and collected his weapon. It was time to go home, and make his report to the others. What an exciting first month on the job this was proving to be ! But before departing, he decided to give his farewell by the book. Nothing less to be expected from a confirmed sentry !

The humans raised a collective eyebrow at Greater Dog, who was now shifting his head around, with his body remaining completely stationary. But the other brow joined its twin out of pure shock when the white pup emerged from his armour, looking exactly as promoted : A white pup ! No beefy arms, no giant paw the size of their heads ; just a little dog whose fluffy body perfectly matched with the size of his head. The armour was still like a statue, and only emphasised how huge it was compared to its owner.

"No way..." breathed Luna, thoroughly stunned by this last little surprise. "There really was just a little pup inside..."

"My mind is blown." monotoned Lucy.

"So... compensation much ?" Luan wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. Lori harshly bapped the back of her head. "Audience too young, gotcha."

"Pa'sassion ?" babbled Lily with an inquiring expression.

"Luan is telling her worst joke of the day. Ignore her."

Greater Dog, whose diminutive form was still as big as Lana, charged ahead to give the little blonde's face a good licking, sending her into a giggling fit. "I'm gonna miss you too, buddy !" she cuddled, getting a few last pets while she was at it. He then turned around, and jumped headfirst back into his costume. Somehow, despite his butt hanging out of the top of the armour, Greater Dog managed to steer it up the path leading to the town.

"How is that even possible ?" Lincoln scratched his head.

"As I was explained, a monster's body is mostly made of magic. It's most likely that the armour, designed to be mobile despite such a scant body inside it, only needs to have some part of it to move around." professed Lisa.

"Huh. I guess that makes sense." shrugged Lincoln, content with the answer.

Lisa's mind came to a complete halt at her brother's words, letting them echo inside a couple of times just for good measure. "I made sense out of a quirk of this mind-numbing world." she reiterated blankly, her body completely static. Then, like one of her chemicals, the little smile bubbling up to the surface made way for an explosion of sheer joy, one the little prodigy didn't attempt to keep dignified. "WOOOO ! SCIENCE WINS ! LISA LOUD IS BACK, BABY !"

As much as they wanted to poke some fun at the usually stoic girl's meltdown, boy and girls chose to let her have her moment. This way, they were leaving the area with sore bodies, tired minds, but spirits as high as they could get.

---

For all five seconds it was worth.

"A rope bridge. They're giving us a rope bridge." deadpanned Lola, as they all gazed at the rather narrow lane ahead of them, the feeble rope rows on the sides, and the huge gap under it, which they had to admit was one heck of a view, but also one heck of a drop. The Louds, understandably, weren't trusting that bridge one bit.

"Wow. There is cliché, and then there is clichnope." said Luan, her tone dead serious.

"You guys don't think Papyrus booby-trapped it, do you ?" asked Lana, tugging at the bridge's questionable security.

Leni gasped sharply, aghast at such a slander to her beau's good name. "That's totes balloney ! Papyrus would never put our lives in danger with a dangerous trap like that ! How can you even think that ?!" flared the fashionista with hands sternly on her hips.

Lana quickly withered under Leni's stink eye, rare to see and not easy to resist. "Okay okay, he didn't ! I'm sorry..." Thankfully, an apology was all it took to coax Leni out of her ire and back to a bright smile, much to Lana's relief.

"Leni does have a point. Papyrus is a bit eccentric, but it hardly seems like the kind of trap he'd make." remarked Lincoln.

"Especially when he's not here to boast about it." added Lori, squinting at the blurry path ahead of them, and at the lights that seemed closer than ever. "But trap or not, it's either crossing this bridge, or make a huuuuge detour to find another way. And I think it's safe to say no one here wants that." The nodding approval was unanimous. Lori nodded back and pointed a dramatic finger ahead. "Then onward we go ! Just, not at the same time."

Indeed, the bridge could only welcome two siblings side to side, no matter their age. There was thankfully little fuss for who went first, as they really wanted to cross the gaping void as quick as possible. But upon taking their first steps, they paused to become aware of something.

"Monsters have did a really good job there. This bridge is as strong as stone !" said Luna, demonstrating it with a good foot stomping. And when she heard the dull sound made by the impact of her boots' soles against the ground, she found out just why it was so sturdy. "Wait a sec... it is stone !"

"I knew it !" exclaimed Lana, who had been feeling her mason instincts itching her brain the moment she'd caught sight of the non-wooden pathway. She traced her finger along the space between the boards should be, and found none. Lana then licked the grime on her glove, ignoring the grossed-out groans around her, and made her report. "Yep, that's paint alright. Someone painted this stone path to look like a wooden bridge. I don't get the motive, but there is a faint trace of... tomato sauce in there, so..."

"PAPYRUS." concluded the sibs without a second thought.

"But what are the ropes for ?" pondered Lynn.

"Maybe he just doesn't want people to fall three hundred feet below." offered Lincoln with a chuckle. "No trap, ladies. All we've got here is the voluntary work of a good citizen."

Leni's passionate love for the Royal Guard trainee only grew from this triviality. "Can he be any more perfect ?" she sighed in pure Papyrus-related bliss. The others rolled their eyes, but with pronounced amusement. They were getting used to the enamoured display, and they could be at least glad Leni's smile was still its own little bout of sunshine.

The kids lost themselves in chatter as they continued their trek, making sure to watch their step. Looking down, they could see many more trees, as well as a lone house in the distance, lights still on. They wondered what other sort of monster could be inhabiting the modest cabin, and how Goat Mom was faring in her warm little home, left alone once again. Was she thinking of them ?

Lori and Lily had no doubt about it.

But as they were getting close to the other side, with the town's lights getting brighter with every step, they found their exit obstructed by the Puzzle Master himself, his blazing pizzazz all but restored to him since they saw him last. There he stood, proud as a peacock, his frame shining with cockiness at the humans' arrival, and overwhelming confidence in himself and his little secret.

And Sans was there too. For... support.

"HUMANS." Papyrus greeted solemnly, like a Great Wizard welcoming players at the near end of their quest. "YOU HAVE COME VERY FAR, AND ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH. YOU'VE OVERCOME SOME OF THE MOST INSIDIOUS PUZZLES KNOWN TO MONSTERKIND. YOU'VE BEDAZZLED EVERY MONSTER YOU'VE MET ON THE WAY. AND I'VE EVEN BEEN TOLD THAT YOU DEFEATED THE ENTIRE CANINE UNIT, WITHOUT SO MUCH AS RUFFLING THEIR WHITE FUR ! I AM IMPRESSED, HUMANS ! AND THERE ARE VERY FEW THINGS IN THIS WORLD THAT IMPRESS THE GREAT PAPYRUS !"

The Louds couldn't help but puff their chests at the bout of praising. In one afternoon, they had conquered an entire forest and all of its dangers. They had met friendly monsters, not-so-friendly ones, and kindled some bonds beyond even friendship. They had smiled, sneered, given, fashioned, laughed, chilled, and played with enough dogs to fill a month worth of pets. They had resolved hanging mysteries, and unburied some more. They'd gotten to taste the superior ice-cream ! And most of all, they felt that they'd honoured all their oaths to the very end, despite a few unpleasant bumps then and again.

Not bad for an afternoon of hiking through the woods. Now, the end awaited them, and so did the dual result of their most memorable encounter of the day.

"BUT AS FAR AS YOU'VE GONE, YOU ARE NOT DONE YET !" continued Papyrus with a growing grin. "YOU STILL HAVE ONE CHALLENGE TO CLEAR PAST, THE HARDEST OF THEM ALL ! THE ULTIMATE TRIAL, COURTESY OF THE SKELETON BROTHERS EXTRAORDINAIRE ! WELL, SANS HELPED, A LITTLE."

"best knot tying ever."

"IT TOOK YOU FIFTEEN MINUTES !"

"still amazing."

"IT WAS RATHER SKILLFUL, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT." Papyrus consented, before turning back to the humans with a rejunevated grin. "READY, HUMANS ?! OR HAVE MY TRAPS ALREADY TIRED YOUR PROMISING ZEAL ?!"

"Tired to wait, you mean !" whooped Lynn, never the tired one in the face of a challenge. "I'm always up for breaking a sweat before bedtime, and your challenge might just be what the doctor ordered."

"You heard the lady ! Blow us away, dude !" shouted Luna, both arms flaring her trademark rock signs. The others followed with war cries of their own, with Lucy uttering a war sigh. Simple, but oh so deep, and still full of that good D-stuff.

"I EXPECTED NOTHING LESS ! BEHOLD THEN ! PAPYRUS' (AND SANS') GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR !" proclaimed the bombastic skeleton, whipping out a wooden remote, of which he pressed the upper button.

"Wait, did he just say 'Deadly Terror' ?" said Lincoln, feeling a teensy less brave about this.

"Uh, maybe we heard wrong, and he said 'Friendly Brother' ?" offered Lana.

Suddenly, the bridge began to rumble, sending the siblings onto the rope railings, and a loud whirring sound shook the area. From both sides, attached to the cliffside, two large platforms of steel rose from the valley below. Once they were high enough, walls rose from the far side of the platforms, and met above the kids to form a ceiling. And descending from the ceiling, was the Gauntlet itself.

A giant canon first descended on the right, brimming with black powder, and a metal hand with a lit matchstick just above the fuse. Another canon followed closer to the Loud pack, already projecting a jet of flame that was almost nibbling at the rope facing it. Two giant spears, the left one's head coated in razorsharp magic, and the one on the right crackling with electricity. A huge mace with spikes looking sharper every second one took a look at it. And, because every little thing in the world needed an odd man out, at the end of the bridge, a familiar little white dog hanging by its middle section. It seemed to be having the time of its life, as always.

And those were only the main course. A few appetizers were sprinkled in all over the ceiling, such as blades, axes, nunchakus, axe-nunchakus, spiked hammers, prickled hammers, blunt hammers, pink pillows that were actually more hammers with spikes, giant punching gloves – latex, stone, steel, or even plain wood with loads of spinters – a board with a really mean nail in it, sacks of flour, small wrecking balls, circular saws, square saws, squircular saws, octogonal saws, and a hoop skirt with an upside-down sombrero, a defective flashlight and clown shoes. A sea bear was never too far away after all...

"Nope, definitely Deadly Terror." said Lincoln, his brow now dampened with apprehensive sweat.

"Woah-ho-ho, now that's MY kind of gym !" passionately whooped Lynn, a little more over the moon with every dangerous obstacle she noticed.

"If that's the case, I would like to terminate my current subscription." quipped Lisa, admitting some fear in her features. "There are safety measures that are clearly not being applied here, and I fear we won't be going past the day of free trial."

"The solution's obvious then, you've got to up those puppies, hahaha !" cracked Luan, before ending her laugh abruptly. "But seriously, I think that dog is stalking us."

"The list only grows." Lucy brought her cryptic spiel. Strangely enough, Sans' eyes happened to shift for a second... and the young poet could've sworn she had just heard something disappear somewhere behind them. The dog only winked at the kids, which continued to confuse and annoy them at the same time.

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! IMPRESSED, I SEE ! I WAS INSPIRED TO CREATE THIS GAUNTLET BY A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE ! AS SHE LIKES TO PUT IT, 'THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH WEAPONRY AND SHARP STUFF !'" Papyrus happily quoted, knowing his friend would be tearing up in pride if she could see his achievement. And soon, she would see !

"That's a lot of sharp stuff alright." Lori gulped at her reflection in the thunder-coated spear. But despite the heat, she managed to keep a cool mind. "So, the challenge is just to skip through it, right ?"

"SKIP, JUMP, OR ROLL OVER, ALL THE SAME ! THIS PUZZLE DOES NOT THREATEN YOUR CUSTOMS, ONLY YOUR SKIN AND BONES !" continued the ever-comprehensive skeleton, his brow fierce with righteousness. "ONCE I PRESS THIS BUTTON, ALL THOSE WEAPONS WILL ACTIVATE AND BLOCK YOUR WAY ! BLADES WILL SLICE ! AXES WILL RAIN ! CANNONS WILL FIRE RELENTLESSLY, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE ! AND, UM... THIS LITTLE DOG WILL DISTRACT YOU WITH HIS DOGNESS ! HOW UNEXPECTED ! NYEH HEH HEH !"

Lola shook her head. "Not really. And neither is her reaction." she jerked a thumb in her twin's direction, to whom the distraction was working wonders, until Lola snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"Sorry ! Still got a little in me after Greatey." Lana chuckled sheepishly. She turned towards the Death Course, and found herself giving an earnest smile. "A good thing too ! That challenge looks awesome !"

"INDEED ! AND YOU WILL HAVE TO BE AWESOME TOO IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED, FOR ONLY THE TINIEST OF CHANCES, THE NARROWEST OF PATHS WILL ALLOW YOU TO CROSS ! WILL YOU FIND IT IN TIME ?! OR WILL TIMING BE AGAINST YOU ?! I'M SO EXCITED TO FIND OUT !" the monster clapped excitedly, looking as giddy as a Papyrus in a pasta store.

Lincoln caught on the hint, and worked to settle everybody's minds to the same level. "Well guys, you heard him. All we have to do is find that path, and we'll be golden !"

"Do we really need more money ?" Leni asked naively, before the deadpan looks she received made her realise her faux pas. She nearly slapped herself, but settled for doing so mentally, less she wanted to appear going totes off her rocker. "O-Oh, you meant safe, right ? Got it." She wanted to further her thoughts on how different this puzzle felt from the others, not having the Papyrus Prestige, but ultimately restrained herself from delivering another rant that she knew would only come as bothersome and annoying to her siblings, who must've figured that out years before her.

So instead, she settled her eyes on Papyrus, who looked as radiant as ever, even when he was threatening them with more weapons than she herself had shoes, if you didn't count boots. But even there, she found something strange in Papyrus' shifting eyesockets. His stance appeared cool and confident, but something about him looked... tense. And that alone greatly worried his #1 human fan.

"Leni ? Were you listening ?" Lisa probbed critically.

"S-Sure ! Keep looking for the secret passage ! Done and done !" said Leni, awkwardly laughing the danger off.

Lori quirked a brow, but nodded all the same. "Close enough. Remember guys, we don't launch until we litteraly find the good way to pass."

"And if that doesn't work, I do a little cartwheel or two, and I snatch the gold, or remote in this case, for the Loud Clan !" gloated Lynn.

"Not if I get there first !" rebuked Lana with the same unbridled thrill in her grin.

Lucy and Lola sighed, but didn't bother to stop their hardheaded sisters. They still had the SAVE failsafe after all, and perhaps a little needle in the butt was exactly what they needed for some humility in their lives.

"READY YOURSELVES HUMANS ! BECAUSE ! HERE ! WE ! GO !" Papyrus raised a single theatrical index, held it there for dramatic tension, and finally let it fall forward.

The Louds readied themselves. Lynn and Lana readied themselves on imaginary starting blocks, their legs itching for a good run through maybe-mortal peril. Lori and Luna stood behind them, eyeing the course carefully while making sure they could grab the two daredevils by the neck of their coats if they tried to run ahead a little too early. The heads of Lincoln, Lucy and Lisa were peeking between their big sisters, mounted on eachother's shoulders like a totem. They didn't want to miss anything on any possible strategy, as well as the main action. Lola had hid herself behind Luna's leg, for she did want to see some of the action, but not at the expense of her hair. Again ! Leni was right behind Lori, hoping everything would be alright, and getting a few more seconds of hunky skeleton sighting, her new favourite sport. And finally, Lily appeared above the pack, lifted in the air by Luan, while she tiptoed to still be able to see something.

And they waited. They waited for their last challenge of the day to begin. Really hoping it was their last challenge.

They waited.

And they waited...

And waited...

And waiklmop¨$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$- NOT SLEEPING !

"Um, is the course moving so fast, we can't see it ?" said Lynn, breaking her position as she scratched her scalp.

"If you can't see it, dude, I doubt it. Looks like this show gpt a false start." replied Luna, just as intrigued as she was by the unmoving set of weapons. The only thing that was moving was the Annoying Dog, still slowly spinning and humming a little song to itself, one Luna felt like she had heard before.

"More like a no-show. Look." Lucy pointed at Papyrus, whose finger had stopped centimeters away from grazing his remote's lower button. The skeleton himself was barely smiling anymore, as his nervousness was much more apparent. When he noticed the humans raising their brows at him, he tried to save face by not showing it, with a quick 180° spin.

Sans too, gave him something of an odd look, though never lowering his grin. "paps ? Anything troubling you ?" he asked casually.

"TROUBLE ?! THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT GET TROUBLES, HE STOPS THEM ! WHY, HE EVEN LAUGHS AT THEM ! NYEH ! HEH ! HEH !" Papyrus spun back around, and elevated his finger again. "LET'S DO THIS AGAIN ! ACTIVATING NOW !"

The kids fell back on their earlier stances, but didn't feel as threatened, thus they loosely sticked to them. They weren't wrong in doing so, as Papyrus once again stopped himself just before he could touch the red button. His tight smile had reappeared with a vengeance, and the monster tried to hide it once again.

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated. battery problem ?" Sans probbed a little more, knowing well that the remote worked on its holder's magic. The buttons were just for show, all he needed was to will the course to start swinging and firing, and it would do so instantly. Sans knew that. And he knew his brother knew that.

"Is everything alright ?" Leni asked in a soft voice laced with genuine concern that sent panicked chills down Papyrus' exposed spine. He took a quick peek behind him, and found the humans looking them with different looks, but all with at least a trace of worry.

Let's see. Entertain humans. Amaze humans. Capture humans. Amaze humans some more.

NOPE ! No 'Worry the humans' on today's to-do list. He was going off-schedule, and in a bad way !

"W-WELL, THAT IS TO SAY..." Papyrus fidgeted for a good excuse. One that could get him to his goal, without making him look like he was giving his dream up. "THIS PUZZLE IS... IT'S NOT... NOT MY KIND OF PUZZLE AT ALL !" Papyrus snapped his fingers in sudden illumination. "YES ! LOOK AT IT, SANS ! IT RENDERS CAPTURING THOSE HUMANS WAY TOO EASY !"

"What ?! No it's n-"

"Now now Lynn, let the nice skeleton finish." cut in Lori with her hand taped against her the thrashing brunette's mouth. Luna was doing the same with Lana, though the little blonde remained mostly calm.

"THE ARRANGEMENTS ARE ALL WRONG TOO ! SPIKES ON THE GROUND ARE FINE, BUT SO MUCH AT THE SAME TIME, AIMED AT THE HEADS OF INNOCENT YOUTH ?!"

The camera panned on Lily's wide pupils and quivering lip. A sad violin was being played somewhere.

"Nicely done, sis." Luan whispered a giggle. When it came to guilt-tripping, the sweet little tot could be quite devious.

"YOU SEE ?! ALL WRONG ! AND SO ARE THE FEELINGS, SANS !" Papyrus' level of acting was so high, it was almost at the Surface. "WHERE'S THE FAIRNESS IN ALL OF THIS, THE SLIM CHANCE OF VICTORY THAT GIVES THE PUZZLE ALL ITS MEANING ?! WHERE IS THE CLASS, THE EXPERTISE, THE PAPYRUS ?! WHERE IS IT, SANS ?!"

"he's talking to me right now." chuckled Sans. "but I gotcha. too bad though, it was a really good knot. guess it's better to tie up loose ends while we can."

"I COULDN'T AGREE MORE ! AWAY IT GOES !" Papyrus didn't even bother with the remote, and clapped his hands. The weapons and platforms instantly retracted and disappeared to gosh knew where. "PHEW..." Papyrus wiped his forehead with great relief. That was close. If he had gone through with this, he could've seriously harmed the...

"Awwww~"

Papyrus blinked at the strange noise. It sounded like that nice inn lady whenever he'd come to say hello, followed by a pat on the head and a nice little snow-water caramel. Or Sans, back in the days. As he tried to find the connection, he caught on the looks the kids were giving him. Cheeky smiles and bitten lips, with the kind of eyes one would make if they were seeing a monster cub trying to look all proud and mighty despite the fact that he was cute as 'WAIIIIT A SECOND...'

"HEY ! WHAT ARE THOSE GIDDY SMILES FOR ?!" demanded Papyrus, a light glow brightening up his cheeks. "ARE YOU SO EAGER TO REJOICE IN YOUR DEFEAT, HUMANS ?! WHAT YOU'VE WITNESSED WAS NOTHING MORE THAN ANOTHER GLORIOUS VICTORY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS ! NYEH ! HEH !" His powerful scowl slowly deflated in an uncertain frown. "...HEH ?"

'starting to catch on, eh bro ?' the stout skeleton chuckled to himself. He had meant it before : 'wouldn't hurt a whimsun.' "how about we call it a day, bro ? the dogs have already made it home, and grillby's about to close up for the night."

Papyrus shook his head at the mention of his brother's favourite lazy hangout spot, but conceded his point. "YES, I SUPPOSE IT IS RATHER LATE. A GOOD GUARD NEEDS HIS REST AFTER SUCH A GOOD DAY OF WORK AND PUZZLES ! AND A HOT COCOA WAITS FOR NO SKELETON EITHER !"

"That's one picky cup of cocoa." Luan whispered, getting a few quiet giggles in return.

"HOME WE GO !" declared Papyrus. Before he dashed off into the distance, he made one last boisterous announcement. "YOU'VE FOUGHT WELL, HUMANS, AND LUCK WAS ON YOUR SIDE ! HAVE A COZY REST TONIGHT ! FOR TOMORROW, SHALL BE THE ZENITH OF YOUR CAPTURE !"

The Louds sent him a collective "Good night !", and watched him take off, oddly faster than before. But to them, it wasn't odd at all.

"Aww, 'mate does care about us !" gushed Luna. "He's like Lucy the first time she made those little charms for Christmas, to protect us from mean ol' Krampus !"

"Well, they were effective, were they not ?" monotoned Lucy, knowing this was still a tradition she applied to this day.

"Didn't spot a lock of white fur near my bed, love." the teen chuckled good-naturedly.

"I still say we could've made it easy." pouted Lynn, along with Lana. The orange-hearted duo was still mighty upset that they had gotten scammed out of the sickest acrobatic course they had ever seen, just because it wasn't 'safe enough'. Bah !

"Maybe it's better this way." said Lincoln, working the nerve to soothe his sisters' moody behaviour. "I know you two got into serious scraps before, but this looked a little too insane even by those standards."

"You wouldn't say that if we had helmets !" argued Lana.

"Which would not have protected you from the flames and spears in the slightest." quipped Lisa, rollings her eyes at her sisters' childish behaviour. "And there is no need for all those daggers in your eyes, you know I'm correct."

"It was a bit obvious he wouldn't actually do it." remarked Lucy, pausing to let Lisa catch her breath over the mini-infractus she'd just experienced. "He kinda did it with most of his other puzzles. Hyping us up with a daunting task, then leaving us a simple path to get through it unharmed."

"You have to wonder if he's not litteraly doing it on purpose." mused Lori slyly. "Of all the monsters we've met today, he's both the most determined to capture us, and the least successful, despite some traps that could've really done us in if he'd wanted to. But it's becoming clearer and clearer that he's got whole other plans."

"Clearer ? Ha ! It was crystal the moment he mistook us for rocks. Heck, even before that !" snickered Lola, keeping any malice clear out of her tone. As harsh as it had been for her and her coiffure, this day still had some memories worth remembering fondly, and the monster-man-child was pretty high on the list. "Not that it's a bad thing. If it's friendship he wants, I'm all for it."

"And that's Lola talking !" laughed Luan, before hastily bringing Lily in front of her face before Lola could potentially sock her in the eye. "My shield is adorable !"

Lola's dark glare fell on Lily's peppy face, now right in front of her. The youngest Loud simply kissed her forehead, and cooed, "Lola", in the sweetest way possible. Lola sighed in defeat, and gently rubbed her sister's cheek. "Indeed, she is. You're just lucky I'm too tired to hold a grudge right now." For an instant, Luan considered herself the luckiest girl alive.

Meanwhile, with Lana and Lynn partly to terms with how awesome but risky cartwheeling through the death course could've been, the siblings made it to the other side of the bridge. The town entrance was in view now, and with it the promise of a good bed. But before that, they decided to have one last chat with the pudgy sentry still standing near.

"well, you kids made it. no need to thank me." Sans goaded jokingly.

"For what ? Existing ?" dryly snarked Lynn.

Sans ruffled her chocolate hair, much to her annoyance. "gee speed', you're gonna make pointdexter turn green-er."

Lynn felt her cheeks flush, and spluttered for a moment, before swatting his hand off her. "You've got moxy, boney, I'll give you that much."

"thanks. but congrats all the same. not only did you make it, you gave my brother a good time, and you didn't catch a cold." he continued, his smile growing a little chummier.

"Will we see him again ?" quipped Leni in a tiny voice, not wanting to sound like she was begging. "He looked disappointed at the end. We didn't disappoint him, right ? Right ?!"

"Easy, Leni ! Breathe. Think of the Sales." said Lincoln, effectively calming the blonde down before she could drive herself to hysterics. Lori quickly took over.

"Close your eyes now. You're in a salon, cucumbers on your eyes, and your butt on the comfiest chair a mall can offer. Your nails are perfect, and your hair is being made by the best there is. Can you guess who that is ?"

"You ?" Leni blissfully answered.

"What ? Aww, Leni, I know I have my expertise, but come on..." Lori trailed off bashfully, before she caught on the deadpan look her brother was giving her. She coughed in her hand. "I was thinking more about tall and handsome, with the pearliest whites you've seen ? His name rhymes with 'Itspapyrus'."

Miss Leni Marple had no difficulty finding the mystery man's identity, if her dreamy giggles and the sheer happiness oozing out of her was anything go by. "Why twintails ? So that there'll be twice as much love to give me ? Oh, mister P..." she all but melted to the ground.

"Let's give her a minute." assured Luna, putting her phone back in her pocket with a fresh recording full of sweetness on it. She turned back to Sans. "So, any idea on what your brother's gonna do next ?"

Sans scratched his cheek, thoughtful. "not a clue, kiddo. he's not going to do anything tonight at least, so expect anything in the morning."

"You don't think he's gonna try to Fight us, do you ?" asked Lana with pronounced concern. The last thing she wanted was a chance for the friendly skeleton to get either hurt or upset over hurting them.

Lynn however, was far more dismissive. "Pshh, come on Lana ! Even if he does want to go for a scrap, what do we have to worry about ? It's like Lucy said, he'll try to make himself look super strong and menacing, and then he'll make his attacks miss on purpose every time ! Just like Goat Mom, right at the end. After that, he'll gloat off his loss, we'll applaud him, we'll all laugh, and he'll be off swearing that his next plan will be even more Papyrus or something."

"What is 'Papyrus' ?" breathed Lucy.

"Perfection." sighed Leni.

"And, hey !" Lynn continued with a snap of her fingers. "It works both ways, since we won't be hitting back."

"heh. is that a promise ?" inquired Sans, his usual slyness pegged down a notable notch.

"Actually, it's already one !" quipped Lincoln, happy to share some information with their new friend. At this point, despite the occasional odd look the monster threw in his direction, he felt like he could trust him with that bit, if it meant he could reinforce his siblinghood's Pacifist message. "Right before we entered this forest, we made a promise to never harm monsters, as long as Mercy was possible. Even if it means we've gotta keep asking again and again until they either believe us, or get really tired of us."

"And that's the story of how we got so many bargains back at the Royal Woods' Summer Funfair." cracked Luan, the reminiscence of that hog-dog guy begging for them to leave bringing some laughs out of the sibs.

Sans smiled as well, but didn't chuckle. He simply shoved his hands inside his coat pockets, and lowered his brow back as he kept gazing at them. "nice promise. i usually don't make promises myself."

"Don't tell us ; too much work ?" smirked Lola.

"nothing gets past you kids."

"Well you don't have to worry about that with us. We've been working hard to keep it rolling, and we aren't stopping until we've rolled it back up Mount Ebott !" declared Lana with inspiring boldness. Her siblings backed up her claim with energitic cheers. Leni was also game, her spirit having been thoroughly freshened up by her bout of hunky daydreaming.

"heh. That's good. 'cause you know what i hate more than making a promise ?" quizzed Sans as he closed his eyes.

"Morning jogs ?" chortled Luan, along with everybody else.

"People who don't keep them."

[Undertale OST – In My Way]

And suddenly, nobody was laughing. All smiles, grins, and amused giggles all went missing, and weren't welcome to come back. The nippy temperature, as well as the warm and easy-going atmosphere, was now absolutely bone-chilling. It was hard to breathe, hard to think, and when they looked at the breath coming out of their mouths, the kids found it quivering with dread, a feeling that was shared by their shaky knees. But why ? Why were they suddenly feeling so terrified ?

It reminded them of Flowey, yet only by concept. This kind of terror, it was less raw, with none of that creeping feeling all over their bodies, like thorny vines of malice. There was no guarantee, on the contrary, it felt very uncertain. All except for the grip they felt on the little pulses of light residing in their chests. They were still hidden, but something was squeezing them from the inside, just hard enough for the children to feel it without any pain. The hand was very cold though, quite litteraly trying to freeze their will and options. And the fear was being shared equally, with Leni looking just as spooked out of her wits as Lucy was. Lincoln could also feel an additional splash of terror coming from the back of his mind.

Slowly, the Loud kids turned to look at Sans. Whether it was a flicker of courage still present in their SOULs, or sheer terror over finding out what would happen if they didn't, none of them knew. The skeleton felt different. They couldn't take him seriously a minute ago. Now, they didn't feel like they could take him anything else than seriously. His mysterious aura, once faint and almost nonexistant, was now coating his entire frame to the point where it was physically observable. 'And here is that strange crackling noise again...' noted Luan internally. It was the only thought she was allowed for the time being.

Because Sans had opened his eyes.

Only there were no eyes. The white dots had been completely removed, leaving dark empty eyesockets. And true, so were Papyrus'. But Papyrus' eyesockets were thin, and there always had been a comforting light in them, a never-ending warmth. Sans' eyeholes on the other hand were wide, stupefyingly cold, dark like the abyss. And this time, everyone was noticing the darkness actively staring back. Combined with the same large grin, now carrying a whole other meaning, and the overwhelming dread instilled in the kids' hearts was complete, whether Sans intended it or not.

"I've come to like you munchkins, no joke there." Sans spoke with absolute seriousness. "You're good kids. You've got good rules. And you're going down a good path. All good. So... you'll be kind not to make my brother an exception. Because if you do..."

A little ding sound echoed, and Sans' left eye saw a much larger pupil flash in and out in it, burning with cyan and yellow flames.

"...You won't like where that path leads you. Capiche ?"

"S-Sans ?" squeaked Luan.

"CAPICHE ?" he pressed in a booming mumble ; the cold grip on the kids' SOULs dropped to freezing territories, and, lasting only the mere couple of seconds he'd stressed his warning, the frightening form of a giant white thing blinked in and out above his skull. Boy and girls nodded frantically, desperate for the crushing panic to go away.

[Music stops]

And it did ! Just like that, the dreary sensation and heavy atmosphere were just, gone. Poof !

"alright, cool." said Sans, his white pupils back where they belonged, along with his lazy demanour, looking completely oblivous to the deep terror still etched on the kids' faces. "i think it's time i go sleep on it. and by it, i mean anything comfy enough for me to sleep on. right, sunshine ?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, t-t-totally." Luan laughed a jittery laugh, still trying very hard not to wet herself.

"sleep tight, kiddos. and don't worry, i'm rootin' for ya." Sans gave a genuinely amicable wink, and started walking. The Louds made little acknowledging noises and kept waving weakly as he trekked on. Once he was fully gone from their view, a collective sigh they didn't even know they were holding was released.

"What... in the seven hays...was that about ?!" shrieked Lola as she panted on. She had been intimidated before, and even scared by someone looking at her. Toriel's disapproving look, Lori's stern glare, Flowey's wicked mug ; but none of those had been able to get such a cold feeling of unbridled terror out of her.

"Another scar to add on m-my soul." murmured Lucy, trying to hold on her monotone despite her being still shaking from its very core. It didn't last long however, as she approached her brother. "C-Can I hold your hand for a m-m-moment ?" she squeaked fearfully, her inner 8 year-old self speaking. Lincoln gently collected her hand in his own, and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder, while he gave her some soothing head rubs and Lynn patted her back.

Lori was among the least affected, but she still took a few shuddering breaths to ease herself into a calmer mood. And as she did that, she picked up the sight of her youngest sister sitting on the ground, who thankfully looked like she had registered way less of Sans' freaky influence than they did. But she was still shaking a little, looking around while making small whimpers. Lori scooped her in her arms, and the tot immediately burrowed her face in her chest. A familiar scene, really...

"It was a warning shot." Their leader's claim both startled and confused the kids as they turned to look at her. "Remember Ronnie-Anne and Lincoln's first kiss ? When we heard that he had a bully, and began picking boys at random to tell them what was what ?"

"It took a month and a few wedgies to get Billy off my case, but he's alright now." said Lincoln with a hint of moodiness, while Lynn gave him a small apologetic shrug.

"We had litteraly no idea, not a single proof that he was the one stuffing sloppy joes down our brother's pants." Lori kept going with her reasonning. "But we didn't give it any second thought, none of us did. We acted straight away, because we wanted Lincoln safe."

"And I still appreciated the thought ! Just not how you handled it." Lincoln felt the need to precise. "But I get where you're going with this." So did his mindmate apparently, as his voice shifted to its strange echo once again. And nobody could ignore the pronounced bitterness in it.

*"A sibling's love can make them do the craziest things. To keep them safe, or to help them see beyond..."

There was an awkward beat following the unfinished sentence, until Luna took over. "I kinda see what Ghost dude is saying. I mean, we of all peeps do know our crazy, like the time we lost the twins in that supermarket when they were barely Lily's age. We leveled half the place trying to find them !" she flashbacked to the hectic afternoon. She could still smell those watermelons Lynn and her had chucked at the security guards' heads to keep their search going. Turned out Lola and Lana had been able to find their way back to the car, and admired the show from afar, especially the part where their older siblings were being thrown inside patrol cars.

Safe to say, the Loud family was never allowed to go within a hundred meters from the supermarket, or the manager they had assaulted with a trolley.

Shaking her head, Luna continued. "Point is, we're plenty intimidating ourselves when it comes to family. So, if at some point we met somebody who could potentially deal some bad stuff to one of us, wouldn't we try setting on some ground rules, and the serious consequences for their teeth if they don't follow 'em ?"

"Our first meeting with Toriel certainly did outline such a method of thinking. It's even safe to say that apply it amongst ourselves at times." Lisa nodded wisely, but let a bit of annoyance rolled off her professional tongue. "But as much as I can get this sibling love explanation, it's still rather raw of him to give us such a talkdown, especially after we respected his wishes to play along with our skeletal friend's shenanigans."

"Mesays he's just a concerned big bro." preached Luan, having recovered a good deal of her perky attitude. She wasn't trying to play favourites here – Sans had been rude to give them chills of this magnitude, and he would get his share of 'flower power' for it – but she didn't want to believe that Sans had done it out of a sick thrill to see a bunch of kids writhing in fear under his gaze, like someone else would have. "The guy's a good guy, I'm sure of it. We'll just say what we saw was his mysterious mask cracking a little, if that makes any Sans, hehehe !"

"Yeah, he is a weirdo alright. But a nice one !" concluded Lana with a shrugh and a smile. "If he smells like hot-dogs all the time, then he can't be a bad man !"

The Louds couldn't help but chortle at Lana's whacky evidence, but ultimately accepted it. Sans was no Flowey, they were sure of it. All that altercation meant to them now was that they shouldn't try to harm their brother, which they had no intention of doing in the first place, and that there really was a few more layers to this ball of grease and bad puns.

"He's also weirdly clear-sighted." quipped Lucy, making everyone jump. She hadn't released her soft grip on Lincoln's hand, and was probably intending to remain that way until they'd get to their room.

"What do you mean by that, Luce ?" asked Lincoln.

"I didn't say anything before, but... I'm kinda curious as to how Sans knew that Luna and Luan were roommates, when he chose their nicknames. We... never told him that. We didn't tell anybody."

The kids' eyes, sans Lucy, suddenly exploded wide open. She was right, how did he know that ?! All they gave him was their names and quirks ! Had he assumed by their anagram names ? Was he a detective in secret ? Sans, the slobbing sleuth ? (Every Friday night, only on Channel 77).Or was there truly something else...

"Uuuuuuuuuugh..." Lola moaned while dragging her gloved claws down her cheeks. "Can we PLEASE try to figure this and everything else tomorrow ? I'm gonna go BALD with that splitting headache !" She tearfully looked at herself in the mirror of her compact. "Then again, it's halfway done, why stop now ?" Leni's guilt struck back with a vengeance.

"Aww, cheer up sis ! It'll grow back during the night !" chirped Lana.

"How do you know ?!" spat Lola in retort.

"Not the weirdest thing that's happened to us today."

Lola's ire evaporated instantly, and her features grew a hopeful smile. "That's all the more reasons to get us a comfy bed, presto !"

"To Snoozetown, ahoy !" cracked Lincoln, pointing an imaginary cutlass ahead. Swept by their levity, the Louds decided to heed Lola's offer of sleeping on it, and proceeded towards the town entrance.

All the while keeping Sans' warning in a corner of their mind...

---

As they came before the large white banner welcoming them into Snowdin Town in broad letters and decored with colourful garlands, the children's hearts were filled with awe. Despite the streets being mostly empty due to the rather late hour, the warm spirit of the town was still very much present. It made them feel cozy and safe, akin to the home of their Goat Guardian, to a lesser extent, but at a greater scale as well.

"This town is a major step-up from how Home felt like." said Lori, finding the little town absolutely lovely. Her admiration only grew when she spotted what stood raised onto what she assumed to be Snowdin's central area. "They even have a Christmas Tree ! And look at all those presents..." Lori hungrily licked her chops.

But Lynn halted her right then and there. "Woah there, tiger. We know monsters can be a bit loony, but that doesn't mean tearing apart their presents while laughing like you've overdosed the eggnog is going to set a good first impression."

"It happened once !" rebuked Lori. However, she quickly surendered to the flat glares sent by her peers. "Once every year..."

"Never mind that, check out those folk ! They're all so fluffy !" chirped Luan, demonstrating the very few Snowdin residents still roaming around. Most of them had the appearance of furred antropomorphic animals, such as bears, a rabbit, and even a mouse with him/her head poking from under layers and layers of cashmere. "Think there's room for some fur-riendship here ? Hahaha, get it ?!"

"I prefer the jester monster myself." quipped Lucy, referring to the orange horned monster right next to the mouse, apparently wrapping up their conversation. "There is something about that unmoving smile that speaks to me. All a show to mask his deep sadness inside..." Luan raised an eyebrow at that, intrigued for a reason even she couldn't quite place.

"If this is the town's central plaza, then it is indeed a rather small settlement compared to the likes of the Ruins." noted Lisa, comparing Home's market place and different shops, to the two or three establishements Snowdin seemed to actually have. "At least there's a library, so that will be something worth looking into tomorrow." she smiled, before squinting at the sign above the building's entrance, which was a good deal away. She was almost sure it read 'LIBRARY'...

"We should check out the Shop too ! It smells so good..." said Lana, taking a deep sniff off the delicious aroma coming from under the first door of the dual cottage closest to them. The two establishements stood connected by a small house, no doubt being the owners'. Above the first door, 'SHOP' written in light brown letters with a little black pouch emblem on top of it. Mirroring its brother, the second had 'INN' marked in the same colour, and a big black 'Z' above it. While the light still poured from doors and their adjacent windows, the shop's entrance presented a sign reading 'Sorry, we're closed ! Have a super-duper night anyway !', a little heart with bunny ears as signature on the bottom down corner.

But what truly caught the eye of the boy of the band, were the two familiar Underground belongings under the window between the two houses. First, another Box to store items, which they had no purpose for the moment, but could come to be useful later. And second, was a glimmering SAVE star, its warmth right on par with the friendly ambiance the town gave overall.

"One last SAVE to get Greater Dog's playtime bruises off us, eh bro ? I've gotta feeling tonight's gonna be a good night after all." chuckled Luna, all too happy for her scrapped knee to get healed.

"Please make my hair grow back, oh please make my hair grow back..." recited Lola to any greater power that could be hearing her plight. Well, let me think about it...

"One SAVE, coming up !" said Lincoln, already feeling his inner narrator taking their cue for another strange but invigorating speech.

*"Despite how sore you feel, the wonders such a friendly town can offer,... it fills you with Determination."

LOUDS – Snowdin Town

LV1 – 176:46

File saved successfully !

The SOULs reacted accordingly, giving a pulse that soothed our heroes' bodies and minds. Lola was not really at ease however, as she shakily brought up her mirror once more, for the moment of truth. And... why not, is what I say.

"Yes yes yes yes yes !" Lola pranced around out of pure happiness to see her blond hair back to its prideful state. She angled her mirror and brushed at her golden bangs to make sure there was no scratch left ; a successful endavour, she quickly came to conclude. She used her joyful momentum to properly tackle-hug her brother. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankYOU !"

"I didn't do much, but you're welcome all the way." said Lincoln as he returned the hug. A big brother's job was never done, however. "But now that you have your hair back, maybe you'd like to be a little more genuine in a certain apology you made earlier ?"

Lola's mood soured quite a bit when she heard that, but didn't immediately turn it down.. She did feel a whole lot better now, and she could admit, to herself at least, that she had been a little hasty with the words she had used. But the moment she turned to look at the ditzy culprit, ire started to boil up inside again. So, Lola simply turned her nose in the air. "I can't do it." she answered succintly.

"Lola, come on." Lincoln crossed his arms, showing he meant business. He liked to think that.

"I'm not saying that I don't want to apologise, I'm just saying I can't be genuine tonight, even with my hair back on my head." explained Lola with an uncomfortable frown. "If I try, it'll just come out forced and lame. And then we'll get into another argument, because I'm really tired, and things will be even worst ! So please, let me do it tomorrow, okay ?"

Lincoln resisted the urge to groan, and took Lola's offer into consideration. As many less than pleasant implications this highlighted, this was at least better than a 'I didn't do anything wrong, it's all Leni's fault', and so on. If the sassy little princess was bothering herself to give such a complex reason to not apologise, it had to be genuine, at least a little bit.

"Leni ? Are you fine with it ?" Lincoln extended the final word.

"...Sure ! Lola's totes right, it's way too late for all that stress. The last thing I want is give her early wrinkles !" Leni gasped at imagining Lola with the body of a 6 year-old, but adding the skin and hair of an 8 decades-old crone. "And hey," she added as she kneeled by her little sister's side, "I'm still sorry about what I did. Can you accept my apology ?"

Lola had the face that shouted "AS IF !", but her mind was swinging towards a calmer resolution. There had been more than enough angst and ire spent for one day, and she didn't see herself sleeping if she was to break that gentle smile traced before her. And sleep was really one of her major priorities right now ! "Sure, apology accepted." Lola relented with a sigh. "Now let's FINALLY get ourselves a room !"

"If they still have one." piped Lucy.

"Dibs on the mat if they don't !" called Lori, beating Lynn by a millisecond. A pudgy hand tugged at her cheek, and Lori rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes Lily, I'll share it with you." Lily gave a happy thumbs up.

As Lana called dibs on the Shop's trash can, with nobody objecting, Lincoln took Leni's hand, and gave it a small squeeze. "Sorry I put you in the spotlight again. I should've known she wouldn't take it back within an hour." amended Lincoln.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." recomforted Leni, as she watched Lola rejoining the group to participate get a word in their little auction. But the haste she was putting in her step, Leni couldn't stop wondering if it had more purpose than that.

'Well, getting away from you is a pretty sound option. I mean, duh ! It's clear she's still mad at you ! What, you expected everything to be over like magic~ ? If it's not some kind of elixir to make you less of a hopeless klutz, then it's not going to do much. I say kudos to Linky for reminding you that. Stop getting your hopes up for diddly squat, you dummy ! Nothing's gonna change !'

"Leni ? Are you coming in ?" called the white-haired brother, in the midst of entering the Inn with the others.

Leni was torn away from her inner monologue, to her immense relief. "Coming !" And she quickly followed inside.

---

The Inn's lobby was as simple as its entrance suggested, with a warm pattern of yellow and orange over the carpeting and the walls, and a comfy little red couch on their right. The crispy atmosphere quickly prompted the Louds to remove their headwear and scarves, while they approached the wooden counter. They rung the little hotel bell – not without a little anxiousness of seeing another Dog monster pop up from somewhere – but nobody answered.

"Aw man, don't tell me we made it too little too late." bemoaned Lana, worried they had jinxed it with their little joust.

"Well, the front doorway has been left wide open. Either service is still available, or the bulgary ration of this town must be exceptionally low." rationalised Lisa. "And that's not counting a certain sugar thief who's been no doubt ransacking houses off their yummy desserts."

"Should we just hijack the joint ?" said Lynn, her elbow against the counter making her feel like a Greaser against a funky juke-box.

"Yeaaaah, you know we've been blacklisted in a lot of places, including England." Lincoln shuddered. He'd left on the school bus as a first-grader embarking on his first trip across the Atlantic Ocean with three of his sisters, and had returned as 'Lincoln the lolly lunatic', flanked with 'Deep dive Luna', 'Bus'n'Bite Lynn', and 'She-who-nearly-made-white-beans-illegal'. None of them were allowed on a school trip ever again, even as they got to move on to Middle School and onwards. "Maybe let's not extend our records to the Underground."

"Ba'nny." cooed Lily, batting the air with her hand.

"Something on your mind, Lily ?" asked Lori.

"Ba'nny !" Lily insisted, adding more fervour in her arm waving. Lori caught on Lily's message, and suddenly noticed what Lily had seen the moment they had crossed the room's carpeting. The head of what appeared to be a little bunny poked from behind the counter up to its eyes, which were intensely focused on the Inn's potential new clients.

"O-Oh ! Hello there !" greeted Lori, not sure if she should be startled by the little monster's sudden appearance, or embarassed that they didn't notice her sooner.

The small bunny blinked at her.

Luan tried to break the ice with a warm laugh. "We are not intruding, right ? We don't want to be all up your hare, hahaha !"

More blinking.

"Do you, um, work here ? Are you an employee ?" Lincoln probbed further. "Do you need a stool ? Are you... already standing on a stool ?"

Did you see that ?! Blinking.

And that's where the tired little princess had enough. "Look, can we book a room or not ?! Sorry if I'm a little prude, but I'm this close to pass out here !"

"...You want a room ?" finally spoke the long-eared child, her voice as soft as how steeled curiosity was on her features.

"She talks !" exclaimed Luna out of extreme relief, then coughed awkwardly when she realised the amount of decibels she was dealing when saying that. "I-I mean, not that it would be a problem if you couldn't, heh. So love, got a name, and any decent flat for eleven ?"

The monster child decided she couldn't answer either of the questions without a little help. "Mommy ! We have customers !" she called broadly, her little voice reaching quite far when she put her SOUL into it.

No longer after she did, the Louds could hear a faint answer coming through the doorway that led to a flight of steps going up. "Customers ? I'll be just a minute~"

The soft sound of footsteps brushing against the stairs' rug was soon followed by the Inn's manager, who unsurpisingly appeared as an antropomorphic bunny lady, slightly taller than Lori. Her cream fur was as bright as her smile was welcoming, and completed the pearl necklace hanging loose around her neck, as well as the pearl earings attached to the tip of her long ears. She wore a long yellow summer dress, with a blue undershirt, and no shoes. On the back of her head, two black hair sticks held a little bun of extra fur.

"Hello there ! Welcome to Snowdin's premier hotel." greeted the monster lady, with a friendly tone that felt just as warm as her establishement.

"Premier out of how many ?" asked Lisa, strictly out of town reconnaissance than sarcasm. Unfortunately, the neutral tone she always carried never made it easy to tell the difference, and that earned her an elbow jab from Lana.

"Don't be rude ! Have you seen their carpeting ? You can totally sleep on it !" chirped the little blonde, as she dropped on all four to nuzzle the soft and, to her joy, slighly dirty floor.

"Lana, could you please not ?" asked the sistriarch, but she quickly saw that her sister was too enthralled in the fluffiness below, and decided it wasn't worth getting riled up about it. Instead, she turned around to address the monster lady. "Ignore her, she's had a long day. Now, would you have any room available to book ? Possibly big enough to house us all ?"

"With a personnal bathroom !" Lola eagerly added.

"And an entry to your air vents." quipped Lucy.

"And a view on the village !" happily chimmed in Leni, before the awkwardness of the day took over once more. "I-If that's possible, of course..."

"I sure hope so ! Everyone knows a good view is a must for the image of a hotel ! It's like a window to the soul !" chortled Luan, collecting her due of groans. "Get it ? I made a double ! Scratch that, it's a triple, hahaha !"

"Guys, guys, let's be reasonnable here, we don't really need all that stuff. Heck, since when do we need a bathroom that's not basically public ?" Lincoln tamed the growing excitement, to which the sisters pouted and mumbled along the lines of him being a 'stick in the mud', and 'the golden flower hotel didn't mind'. However, the little mischevious glint quickly spread along his pupils. "But you know what's a must ? The bounciest matress they have, and at least three dozens pillows ! I still haven't got my revenge for the last night at that hotel ! Loco Lincoln hungers for feathers !"

The kids roared in approbation, to the exception of an abashed Lori, who facepalmed. So much for being tired. "Like I said, long day. We won't be any trouble miss, you have my word." she profusely swore to the innkeeper, who only giggled goodnaturedly.

"Please, call me Vidalia. And it's quite alright, you are far from being the loudest guests I've had this week alone. Now, I think I may have..." she began rummaging through her rather disorganized side of the counter. "Oh dear, everything's a mess, I really-"

A nudge to her midsection cut through her incoming rant. She quickly found the culprit as her daughter, who was waving the exact piece of paper she was looking for. The bunny lady's smile turned grateful as she was handed the document, and patted the child's head.

"Thank you, Ophie. Where would I be without your system ?" she commended. The little monster's look stayed the same, but a glint of pride shone by the corner of her right eye.

"Those furry folks are adorable !" silently squealed Lola.

"They fur are !" Luan slyly cracked, no limits to her zany inspiration.

"You are in luck, we might just have the thing for you." said the innkeeper as her eyes scanned the paper. "We've just finished building a third floor, and the brand new Angel Suite. Extra-large bed, brand new piping, a great view on Snowdin, and, um, a nice access to vents, I suppose."

"Wicked." said the concern party of that last part.

"Of course, the bed might not be capable to handle all eleven of you, but we have sleeping bags for those kinds of emergencies. And as your young friend have shown, our grounds are just as slumber-friendly as are our beds." the innkeeper smiled tenderly at the sleeping puppy position Lana had adopted, already off like a light.

"Then I think we'll take it." confirmed Lori, to her siblings' joy.

"Great !" clapped the bunny lady, glad they had reached such a quick and proffitable agreement. "Now, the bill is to be footed in advance, so that'll be 880 Gold, please."

And just like that, joy was dead. The sudden shift in mood startled Lana awake, who despite sleeping, had heard everything. "E-E-Eight hundred ?!" she sputtered. That was a whole lot of chocolate coins !

"Why yes, 80 Gold per person. But you're right, admission for infants is free, so that'll be only 800 Gold." the innkeeper brightly offered.

"Only ?! We don't even have half of that !" cried Luna, hands gripping and pulling on her brown scalp in dread. "Just when it all looks squeaky clean, this place finds a way to throw some more gunk at us !"

"Let us try to stay rational." said Lisa, keeping a cool head. "We still possess enough money to at least pay the night for four of us, plus Lily. The others will simply have to employ plan B, and sleep outside. If there are no volunteers, I suggest a little triangular virtual battle of digits, instincts, and pure luck ; street name, Rock, Paper, Scissors."

While the suggestion earned some accepting groans out of the kids, it got an appalled gasp from the innkeeper, who couldn't bare the thought of children sleeping in the cold, even more so if she was the one letting it happen. "Oh my, there's no need for that now. Tonight is going to be especially cold, even for us furred folks, I can't possibly, in good conscience, let any of you sleep outside."

"That's nice, but how are we gonna pay ? Working ourselves out of debt ?" pondered Lynn with a thoughtful frown, that quickly morphed into a grin. "Hey, there's an idea ! If you need a hand or two to keep the place clean, then maybe we can cut a deal ! Back home, we have our chores done in a snap !"

"If nobody gets distracted." droned Lucy, with a hint of smugness that Lynn could feel poking her in the back.

"Well, I do them eventually. And hey, if it's to repay a debt..."

"Oh no no no. It's very kind of you to offer, but there's no need for that either." the innkeeper politely refused, as child labour wasn't in her good books either. She also couldn't imagine plaguing their worn-out forms with even more gruelling work. "If you don't have the money, then don't worry about it, you can stay. It's all on the house."

Suffice to say that the Louds were aptly shocked. To get a deal for ice-creams was one thing, as it had only been a treat, and they'd ended up paying something in the end. But to have a slate of 800 Gold, eight hundred round pieces of precious golden metal, wiped clean out of sheer kindness ? They knew monsters were of a nicer, if stranger nature than humans, but there were still limits to generosity. This reminded them of their previous stay those last few days, but even then, Goat Mom had simply welcomed them into her house, as in, in her proprety. This was a business, one that couldn't be making that much dough if the town was as small as they had acknowledged it to be. So, instead of joyous relief, the Louds instead felt reluctant to take the overly generous offer.

"For free ? For- no, we can't do that !" exclaimed Lori, knowing she was speaking for everyone. "I'm sorry ; this is really, really nice of you, but it's just too nice ! Let us give you something in return, anything."

"Yeah ! And if you can't take our dough, at least let us work for it." pressed Luna. "I know, I can make a jingle for your biz ! I won't mind, trust me. If you're wasting time on somethin' you love, then you ain't wasting it !"

"I'll give a hand too ! I won't get near grime or icky dust, but I'll still help however I can !" said Lola of all people. She knew Toriel would be mighty disappointed if she took advantage of such a nice lady's generosity... Okay, and she knew she couldn't score more bad points today, with what she'd said to Leni earlier. But still, she wanted to make Goat Mom proud !

"Oh, I just don't know..." Vidalia bit her lip, torn between her conviction to be nice, and the kids' conviction to repay the act. But her inner debate was put on hold when she felt her daughter calling for her attention.

"Mommy, I just remembered ; a skeleton with a mustache came in earlier today, and gave me this while you were talking with Auntie Camille." said Ophelie, as she handed her another piece of paper.

"Skeletons can grow mustaches ?" inquired Lynn.

"No, but they can attach fake ones onto their infurating, grinning mugs." answered Lisa with a sour frown, and they understood why when the answer clicked in. "Sans." they echoed with a wide range of emotions, mostly dry deadpan tones.

Meanwhile, the innkeeper's smile gradually reappeared as she read the note, and even stiffled a giggle at the last lines. "I believe we have our solution. Your friend, 'Sansó Lopéz', has footed the bill for you." she announced, with her daughter showing the humans the large jingling bag of money. The smell of grease fluttering from its hessian truly left no doubt as to the mustachioed monster's true identity. "The Angel Suite is all yours, children."

"YEAAAAH !" the Louds cheered in unison, throwing confetti and strands of carpeting in the air.

"I take back anything I've ever said about this delightful bringer of joy." proclaimed Lisa, almost shedding a tear over such kindess, with absolutely no ulterior motive.

"There's just one condition."

"Then again..." said Lisa with a renewed terse tone.

"While the descriptions I have here all seem to fit ; although I can't say I know which one is capable of teleportation..."

*Golden-hearted vampire exasperated moaning sounds*

"... there's just the matter of a passing signature, to make sure you've arrived safe and sound. He says that amongst you, it must be..." the innkeeper squinted her eyes in apt confusion, "... the 'one with questionnable shoewear' ?"

Not wanting to frighten the kind lady or her child, Lori concentrated every bit of the brief death glare she couldn't supress on a nail on the wall behind them. The peg immediately rusted itself to dust, letting the durable clock hanging from it tumble to the ground. Lily was the only one to notice this, and patted her big sister's cheek soothingly. "If I hear a snicker..." Lori stated omniously.

"Yeaaah, we choose life." Luan gave it to her straight. She liked to fool around, but she most definitely wasn't one.

Lori made quick work of her signature, but took her time to read the note in closer details. "Huh, that's peculiar..."

"What is ?" asked Lola, her eyes full of snoopiness as she was joined by the others to peek at the note from the not-so-mysterious saviour. "Is it the fact that he describes Lana as 'fitting right in with the Snowdin Guard' ?"

"Heh, that's not weird, that's common knowledge." said Lincoln jokingly. Lana took it more than well, imagining herself wearing a cool armour, a giant halberd in one hand, a gnawed bone in the other, and fields upon fields of dirty snow to roll into. An interesting choice of life, but also a Hops-less one.

"No, the weird thing is that he's left his address right there." Lori showed the drawing in the note's bottom left corner, just under a doodle of a bone with a sombrero. "So much for staying incognito."

"I don't think he was even trying, sis." commented Luna. "I mean, dude's even drawn a plan to get to his house on the back !"

"Wow, those skeletons are right in the neighbourhood, too." observed Lincoln. "Should we visit them tomorrow ?"

Lori was about to add on that, but she stopped when she merged two recent thoughts with the hefty back of Gold in Ophelia's hand. It was clear that the little bunny, as well as her mother, knew who had paid the room for them, because his house was near the hotel. He was a neighbour, a known face. And then there was that sly little jab at her and her, um, faulty sole problem. One of the many puns and jabs he had been taking at them all day, along with a mug that would probably creep into their nightmares for the next few months, even beyond that.

That was when Lori got an idea. An awful idea. Lori got a wonderful, awful idea. And while the grin that sprouted along her features wasn't exactly up to its reference, it was enough to show how devious she was willing to go in what she considered to be, the most appropriate and litteral kind of pay-back.

"Excuse me, Vidalia ?" Lori asked syrupily.

"Yes dear ?"

"Me and my siblings, in addition of being tired, are quite famished. Is there any chance that your inn might have any food options, for now and tomorrow ?" Lori continued, poking a certain truth as their stomachs went off with a meaningful growl. Those Nice Creams could only satisfy them for so long.

"Absolutely ! We serve breakfast and dinner at certain hours, with the dinner cooked by me, and the breakfast made with my sister. She runs the shop just next door." chirped the innkeeper, then gained a pensive look. "But I must warn you, while we are still serving right now, the meals' costs are not included in the room's. If that's a problem..."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that !" dismissed Lori with a little laugh, but her smile still held that flare of mischief. "Just put mail the bill to our generous friend's house. He even drew a plan ! Isn't he so nice ?"

The sibs, catching on Lori's quip, grew malicious smiles of their own, and patted their stomachs at the feast they were about to partake. Lisa's smile was the widest, not caring a bit how petty this revenge really was for a scientific woman of her caliber, and even Luan didn't hesitate joining in. Her pun buddy had fired a harsh first shot, it was only natural she made him eat those words.

"Well, if he's okay with it, then I see no problem with this arrangement !" said the innkeeper, blithely oblivious to the eerie grins all around her. Her daughter could see it, but instead decided to draw the sight for her art project, due next week. She didn't know why, but they looked strangely similiar those scary human pictures she'd seen in those fairy tale books.

"Oh, he'll be more than okay with it." Lori chuckled darkly. "You'll see, when you hand him that bill, he'll take it with the widest smile you've ever seen."

---

Sans paused mid-sip, feeling a disturbance in his funds. It was as if... his hot-dog quota for this month had suddenly tripled. And he had half a mind blaming a colourful bunch of kids for it, even if he didn't know exactly why.

'eh, fair game.' shrugged Sans, as he brought his mug of coffee back to his mouth. After messing with them all day, he could understand if they had decided that they needed to play a trick of their own. He welcomed it, even ! Made thinking about their future encounters a little more exciting.

Plus, they didn't exactly part on the best of terms. Sans scratched the back of his skull. Maybe he had been a bit hasty in giving them the no-eyes schtick. Maybe making bloodcurling threats to a bunch of kids, some very young, wasn't the nicest thing he could've done. But did he regret it ? Absolutely not. He couldn't afford to be lenient, even while holding his part of the deal, and even though they're only children.

After all, the last time he was lenient towards a child, it cost him...

"SANS ! WHY ARE YOU DRINKING COFFEE AT THIS HOUR ?!" berated Papyrus as he descended a staircase. The future Royal Guard prodigy had adorned himself with a long orange nightshirt going all the way down his knees, and a small bobble hat on his head. His bare feet shuffled against the 80's-ish carpeting as he walked to the couch and his brother on it, who had only discarded his blue jacket for the night. "IT'S NOT HEALTHY ! YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP !"

Sans only chuckled at the irony of his brother's words. "me ? missin' out on dozing hours ? c'mon paps, you know me better than that."

"THAT I DO, BUT IT'S STILL NOT GOOD FOR YOU ! IF ANYTHING, YOU SHOULD BE DRINKING IT WHEN IT MATTERS, IN THE MORNING ! WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AWAKE !"

"morning ? what strange word do you speak of now, brother ?"

Papyrus simply sighed at his brother's wit. "I KNOW YOU ARE NOT A FAN OF MORNINGS, BUT TOMORROW IS VERY IMPORTANT ! DO YOU KNOW WHY ?!"

"still fresh as a cinnamon bunny, bro. i wouldn't miss your decisive capture for the world." sincerely assured Sans, still with a playful wink. "after that, i'll organize a graduation party you won't remember, or want to remember."

But instead of lighting up with enthusiasm, like Sans expected his brother to do, Papyrus instead sighed some more, with a wistful approach. "YES, THE CAPTURING..." he mumbled pensively.

Sans quirked an eyebrow. "i thought you'd be more excited."

"I AM EXCITED, I REALLY AM ! I'M CLOSER THAN EVER TO BE IN THE ROYAL GUARD, TO SHINE AS THE UNDERGROUND'S NEW PROTECTOR, AND TO HAVE EVERYONE KNOWING HOW COOL I AM ! I SHOULD BE... UNABLE TO EVEN SLEEP, AND YET..." Papyrus paused in his rant, his SOUL pressured with restless worry. So much so that he allowed himself to sit right next to his lazy bro. "SANS... AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING ?"

'ah. came that far, eh bro ?' was Sans' thought, as he put down his mug, and forwent his relaxed position deep into the couch cushions, just to show that he was listening well. "that's a tough question. any reason you feel that way ? or maybe... reasons ?"

"YOUR ALPHABETICAL PERCEPTIVENESS IS AS SHARP AS EVER, BROTHER !" remarked Papyrus with a melancholic sigh. "IT'S JUST... UNDYNE ALWAYS SAID HUMANS WERE DANGEROUS CREATURES ! BEASTS THAT COULD DISINTEGRATE YOU WITH THEIR LASER EYES, AND STRANGELY CUTE BATONS OF SPARKLING DOOM ! BUT AS FAR AS I'VE SEEN, ONLY ONE OF THE HUMAN LOUDS WAS SPARKLY, AND IT SPELLED NO DOOM FOR ME !"

"they did make your armour look shinier though." noted Sans with his usual grin.

"AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT ! THOSE HUMANS WERE SO NICE ! STRANGE AND VERY NOISY, YES, BUT IT'S ALL PART OF THEIR CHARM ! THEY ARE SUCH GREAT PEOPLE TO TALK TO ! DID YOU KNOW HUMANS HAVE FLAVOURED KINDS OF COLD MILK, WHICH THEY AGITATE A LOT, AND THEN DRINK WITH A STRAW ?! 'MILKSHAKES', THEY CALL IT !"

"sounds sweet."

"DOESN'T IT ?! NYEH... DOESN'T IT ?" Papyrus echoed with his shoulders sagging once more. "THEY HAVE SUCH A COOL WORLD, AND THEY ARE EVERY BIT AS COOL TO INFORM ME ABOUT IT, AND TO SOLVE MY PUZZLES WITHIN THE RULES, AND MORE ! THEY ARE JUST SO FRIENDLY, ESPECIALLY THAT ENERGETIC GIRL, LENI ! SHE HAS A SMILE THAT'S ALMOST COMPARABLE TO MINE !" Papyrus looked at his hands, bare of his warm mittens, with a bit of frustration. "BUT IT MAKES EVERYTHING SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED ! IF THEY WERE THE HOOLIGANS UNDYNE MADE THEM TO BE, BY STOPPING THEM, I'D BE THE SUPER COOL HERO I ALWAYS DREAMED OF BECOMING ! BUT NOW, IF I CAPTURE THEM, WHAT DOES THAT MAKE ME ? WILL I BECOME A... BAD GUY ?"

"hehehe. c'mon paps, nobody thinks you're a bad guy. not even the kids when you first met 'em." teased Sans, knowing full well he had an important part in that.

"YES WELL... THEY MIGHT NOT THINK SO WHEN I CAPTURE THEM ! AND I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF THAT'S A GOOD THING ANYMORE ! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'RE CAPTURING THEM FOR !" Papyrus cried out in palpable annoyance, and for good reasons. Nobody had really bothered to tell him what would happen to the humans he'd capture, but he hadn't let that stop him, for he had good hopes that the King was just in the market for exotic creatures to witness, and humans were the hot trend since... well, ever !

But now that he had met those humans, he just couldn't assure himself of that thought anymore. Undyne was pretty dang determined to capture a human no matter what, and he wasn't 100% sure that it was to invite them over for some tea. More like 80% sure. But that was a variable he cared about now ! Because...

"I CARE ABOUT THEM, SANS. AM I ALLOWED TO DO THAT ?" Papyrus asked wistfully.

Sans' eyes widened. Things had gotten philosophical in a hurry. What could he say to that ? Well, he knew what to say, but how to say it, now there was the tough part. He truly thought this experience would lift his bro's spirits, but it looked like it had given the opposite result, and all out of his good heart. But perhaps that's where the situation laid.

"you can care about them." Sans answered with upmost seriousness. He turned to meet his bro's uncertain look. "the question is not if you are allowed to, but if you want to. do you want to care about them ?"

"WHAT SORT OF MADNESS DO YOU SPEAK OF ?! OF COURSE I WANT TO ! THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER REFUSES KINDNESS ! HE ALWAYS HAS A CHEEK TURNED FOR A KISS TO BE GIVEN, AND A STURDY SHOULDER TO POUR YOUR FEELINGS ON !" the younger skeleton declared with blazing passion.

"but you don't want to fail undyne."

Papyrus sighed. "NO, I DON'T. AND I KNOW SHE WILL BE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN ME IF I JUST LET THEM PASS LIKE THAT..."

"then do like i do when i've got sweet mustard and ketchup, and only one 'dog." suggested Sans with a toothy grin.

"POUR BOTH OF THEM AND MAKE A MESS ?"

"a delicious mess, but not exactly what i'm talking about. you should try to compromise. if you don't want them to walk all willy-nilly out of town, then confront them just before they do."

"BUT THEN, WHAT ?!" insisted Papyrus.

"ah, that's up to you. if you wanna fight, then fight. if you wanna make friends with them, then do that. whatever path you take, i've got a feeling you'll all have fun walking it down."

A hopeful spark lit Papyrus' eyesockets. "YOU REALLY THINK SO ?"

"eh, probably." shrugged Sans half-apathetically, half-jokingly, but with whole sincerity. "but hey, whatever you decide to do, i'll be rootin' for ya, bro."

"AWW, SANS..." Papyrus scooped his shorter brother in a tender hug. He quickly wiped off that moisture that conveniently happened to be there when things were getting emotional. "YOU MAY NOT BE MUCH WHEN IT COMES TO WORK OR RESPONSIBILITIES, BUT YOU ARE ONE GREAT LISTENER !"

"and with no ears. man, i'm good." Sans chortled, as he patted his bro's back.

"I'LL EVEN LET THIS ONE PASS, FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THIS NICE HUG !" said Papyrus, not without a hint of exasperation. He then placed back his bro back on the couch, and jumped back up. "YOU KNOW WHAT, SANS ? YOU'RE RIGHT ! CONFRONTATION IT IS ! AND I'M SURE THAT ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT, I'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO ! THESE HUMANS WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT THEM ! BECAUSE I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO HIT THEM WITH !"

"that's the best thing i've heard all day." chuckled Sans. "you should go to bed. fluffy bunny's coming for his night hopping in five minutes."

Papyrus clapped in rapid excitement, and zoomed to his room to prepare the necessary bed rituals for his favourite story. He wasn't gonna cry this time, he swore it ! Sans could only watch him scrambling up the stairs with apt amusement. There was the Papyrus he wanted to see.

But as he let coffee trickle past his teeth once more, Sans went back to ask himself the same question he'd just answered for his bro. What was going to happen ? He wanted to trust these kids to behave, he really did. He didn't sense a single bad bone in them, even in the most aggressive ones. And if that failed, he could at least assure himself that they'd be too scared about the consequences he'd layered out for them. But when they had what he was pretty sure they had, could they really think about the consequences ?

But now let's say, Papyrus chooses to become friends with them. Great ! Maybe they'll get a sleepover out of it, so he can exchange more jokes with the young comedienne. That kid had potential, and about a day of his energy wrapped into a single of her buck-toothed smiles. But if they were allowed to continue, then not only would Paps not see his dreams of popularity come true – or at least, not in the way he intended them to be – but that means those humans will get to the next zone.

And the Royal Guard there was a wee bit more zealous about doing their job, and with the skills to back it off.

'lady, you're killing me with that promise.' Sans sighed internally, sipping the last drops at the bottom of his mug as noisily as he could. 'well, things are finally changing. might as well see how far it can go. before they decide they want to do it all over again.' The pudgy skeleton raised an 'eyebrow'. 'if they do decide it. oh well.'

Sans made one stop to the kitchen, before he mounted the stairs up to his prime (and sole) storytelling audience. He let the coffee machine do its job, as it would through the rest of the night. Because if he wanted to see what tomorrow held, Sans was gonna have to make sure this night went without problems, hitches...

Or a bunch of intrusive vines...

---

Despite being Snowdin's 'premier hotel', the inn didn't welcome much guests. Mostly anyone that visited the little town usually knew someone there, and stayed at their home. Sometimes though, outside of the few guests that had a legitimate reason to book a room, monsters would come to sleep to the inn just to make the innkeeper's business work out. That was even the whole point of the Angel Suite, designed to welcome a very special type of guest, and a bed for his very special type of girth, all at his demand and expense.

But in spite of this, the inn did have its regulars, in the form of the lumpy Howard trio. A tight band of brothers whose works around had made life in the Underground a little easier and more modern. From an ice-block maker, to the Ball system, to even gloves that could protect fire. As in, not a protection from fire, but for the fire itself. Needless to say, they were respected figures in the neighbourhood.

Which was the reason why nobody had really ever raised complaints about their obnoxious snoring, which rattled the hotel walls with the cacophony of their power tools when they'd work around the different sets requested by the Underground's Number 1 star. But hey, nothing they could do about it, right ? Eventually, everyone signed off that loud inconvenience as melodious, reminiscing of a lost hope, whatever that meant.

But tonight ?

"Lincoln, either you put some pants on, or you stay away from that bed !"

Those monsters were getting a taste of their own medicine.

"C'mon Lola, it's been a long day. I've been walking, narrating, and getting my butt kicked by all those monsters. Let me have this !"

"I don't want your butt germs here !"

"I thought we moved past that !"

"I said that you could do it on the couch, where, let's be fair, grosser things happen every day. But I refuse to see you do it somewhere I'm gonna sleep in ! It could get in my mouth !"

"Pshh, just get dressed like Lola said, and come check this out, bro ! I think I see something under the covers..."

"LYNN, IF YOU POUR A DUTCH OVEN UNDER THOSE BEDSHEETS, I SWEAR IT'LL BE YOUR LAST ONE !"

"Buzzkill..."

"Nooo ! Leave me alone, you soap witch !"

"Hey, that's totes not nice, Lana. And totes not true ! Just look at my nose ! And besides, Lori told me, that Toriel told you, to take a bath every night after a day of adventures. You've been rolling in the snow and getting licked by all those dogs all day ! You almost smell like one !"

"But the smell's the best part ! Why the hot water, Leni ?! What are you so cruel ?! I'll melt away !"

"Oh my gosh ! Melting ?! Lana, I-I'm sorry, I had no idea- hey, you're trying to trick me ! You used that excuse before, and Mom told me it was all a big fat lie !"

"Dang it ! If that's the case... Dry Towel Escape !"

"Help ! Lana made me blind !"

"We've got a runner ! Lily, you've got to keep your diaper on while we're in the room ! I mean, it's called a nappy for a reason ! Hahaha, get it ?"

"Poo-poo !"

"Hey now, there's no room for this type of language, missy ! See now, was it so hard- Lily, what are you doing ? Aw man, you've wetted it, and you're not even soggy, hehe ! Wait, why are you... aiming- LILY, NO !"

"Woo, this calls for some tunes ! *Fast harmonica jazz and heavy foot tapping to the beat*. Uh Lis', what are you doing ?"

"Just testing how much this air vent can whistand with a little acid of my making, which will also cleanse it of any trace of rust. The innkeeper will thank me later."

"Dude. Remember the Royal Woods Spa ?"

"...Ah. I see your point."

"Besides, isn't Luce in those vents ? The fumes could make her even paler."

"Not anymore. I found a better spot."

"What the ?! What are you doing outside, dudette ?!"

"In those hypothermic conditions, I might add ?"

"The cold reminds me of the hollowness of one's touch, and the angle making me slip reminds me the inevitable oblivion we are all slowly drifting towards. The view is pretty awesome too."

"Well come back in to enjoy it from inside, because that window is not staying open ! Lincoln, tushie off the bed, now !"

"Never ! Fight the pink power !"

"Heck yeah, bro !"

*"The thought of keeping your buns toasty... fills you with very silly Determination."

"Guys !" The chaos dialed down. "I know it feels nice to unwind, but remember, we're not at a swimming pool two blocks away from home, we're in a hotel in a lost world ! So please, let's try to stay reasonable and-"

"STINKY MISSILE, GET DOWN !"

*Splorch !*

*Tense silence, betrayed by the sound of slow non-water dripping*

"...You know what, I could do with some unwinding myself. Get in line, and give me your requests for what you want your bodies to be bended into."

"Hey Larry." asked one of the monsters tiredly, as Pandemonium doubled in intensity on the upper floor, punctuated with cries for help, bone cracking, and the occasional beast-like growl of a girl that had finally run out of patience. "Do you have this weird feeling that this is karma ?"

"LORI, I CHANGED MY MIND ! I'LL TAKE A BATH, JUST FORGET WHAT I SAID ABOUT THE CORKSCREW ! AAAAAAUGH !"

"I think I do, Moe. By the Angel, I think I do." answered the other, before shoving his head under his pillow to muffle the sheer pain oozing through the ceiling.

---

An hour later, things had simmered down inside the room, and everybody was fine, for the most part. Lori had stayed merciful to their pleas, and only bended what could be easily undone without any scrap. They also didn't run into any trouble for their rowdiness, as the innkeeper had only come once to check on them, and bring them the sleeping bags necessary for the night. Not a word about the noise, only asking them what they wanted for breakfast tomorrow morning. They didn't know whether noise was such a constant around here – it was the home of the Great Papyrus after all – or if the long-eared monster was just trying to be nice to them. Which, compared to most of the monsters they had encountered today, was undisputably welcome.

So, with the night fully coming along, the Louds were partaking in some pre-bedtime activities. Lola and Lana were bouncing and making all sorts of acrobatics on the bed, Lincoln was at odds with Lisa on her portable checkers game board, Lynn was throwing her baseball against the wall, and Lucy was writing in Lily's company, interpreting the tot's babbles and half-words as helpful advice.

As for the four oldest girls, they were occupying the bathroom for some much needed night adjustements, and reflecting on their day in front of the sink and its mirror.

"Well, I think we can agree that today was certainly something." said Lori, pausing in her tooth white mintening. "From our peaceful sanctuary in monster Ruins, to litteraly returning to our wild little quest."

"Wild's about right, brah." enthusiastically quipped Luna, as she kept massaging her cheeks with some of the inn's facial cream. Snow-scented said the flacon, which was apparently a thing, and all good with the rockaholic. "This morning alone was crazy ! That battle with Goat Momster was all kinds of intense ! I mean, she was packin' up some serious heat !"

"Aaah, you did that one on purpose~ !" giggled Luan in-between passages of her trusty thread of floss.

"Just this once. But seriously, we found out we can go back in time ! Back in time, dudes ! That's one of the awesomest kinds of weird that's ever happened to us !" Luna rambled excitedly, keeping a certain hope that this power would follow them out of the Underground. Pop quiz, meet Ready Luna ! But a spot of sourness quickly appeared on the teen's face. "Too bad that psycho had to go and make it sound all sick."

"It's only sick if we use it like he did. And we won't. We'll use this power when it's absolutely necessary. Nothing less than why we used it in the first place." assured Lori with a wistful edge in her tone. "So let's just hope we WON'T have to use it again."

"I hope so too." Leni agreed almost automatically, while she gave her hair the last few brushes it needed to stay beautiful. "But if this morning was crazy, then this afternoon was, well, crazier than that. All those new monsters, all those new places, all those adorable puppy guards ! And," Leni had to sigh longingly, "their hunky-dunky trainees..."

"Ah yes, we found friendship in those woods, but you got lost in love ! So lost in fact, you were tripping over your feet all day !" chuckled Luan, making Leni blush a dark pink hue. The clownette swung an arm around her big sister. "Ah, I mean it in good spirits ! Besides, you are getting better at not getting completely lost into his eyes, and keeping yours on the prize ! Trust your guts on this one ! Get it ? Because he doesn't have any !" Luan chortled loudly, covering up the groans of dismay inside and outside the bathroom.

"Aren't you sure you found your soulmate too, sis ?" said Luna, flashing a teasing grin. But it had poor effect on her roommate, who kept smiling all the way.

"Soulmate is a little strong. I was more thinking about a cellmate, 'cause we're deep locked into our punitentiary !" Laugh. Groans. Rinse and repeat. "But Sans is really just that, a very funny guy ! I can even say we're friends now ! Well, as long as he doesn't do that creepy voice again. That was chilly, and I don't mean it as a joke. Darkness should be served in something you can at least call cute and adorkable."

"You mean Lucy ?" chirped Leni, already feeling better.

Luan tried her best to quash the blood fluctuating across her pink cheeks. "Uh, sure, let's go with that. But good ol' Sansy was only a good part of what made this day so fun. I can't forget about Drake ! I can't believe I managed to make my first comedian pupil today ! It just felt so... so accomplishing ! He left the nest so fast..." she sniffled, her eyes welling up with pride.

"Chilldrake was a pretty swell dude too, once he got his priorities straight." hummed Luna, wondering what the cool bird could be doing right now. "And let's not forget Lola's new friend. He wasn't working that ego or style at first, but now he's playin' that jacket like he's ringing a bell ! Say, did anyone hear music when he put on his new duds, or was it just me ?"

"O-Oh. Well, I'm sorry if I didn't hear you playing." mended Leni, while quitely chatising herself for being so oblivious all the time. "But my favourite battle was with the dogs ! Like, I know they are more Lana's thing, but that one with the long neck was just the cutest thing ever ! And that blindish one too ! And also the two kissing- you know what, they were all super cute !"

"Yeah, even if they did litteraly try to poke us with all sorts of dangerous weapons. Honestly though ? I think I'll remember that old lady reindeer the most. She felt... relatable, in a way. I don't know why." Lori asked mostly to herself.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow ? Do we get to visit the place ? Are we even sure where we're headin' ?" asked Luna, her tone flaring with curiosity. The question wasn't lost on Leni and Luan, who were done with their nightly endavours, and turned their attention on the thinking blonde.

"I'm all for taking a look around, we all agreed to that. But we can't stay too long, because now, we've got that Royal Guard targeting us. Which means we better keep moving if we don't want an entire garrison to take us in, and throw us into some sort of dungeon. Or worst."

"You mean..." Luan put a hand around her neck, and gulped anxiously.

"I doubt they'll go that far, but we can't take any risk." responded Lori, narrowing her eyes. "I just wish Toriel could've told us who that ASGORE guy really is..." She shook her head, and switched gears onto more important matters. "But we do know where we are heading. Toriel told it to us during our... first try : we have to keep moving forward, because the exit is somewhere down the path. And I asked for a bit more info during our private tea session. Here's the basic rundown."

"Snowdin was our first stop. Next up, there's Waterfall, a cave filled with underground rivers and beautiful crystals lighting up the walls. Then, we'll get to Hotland, which is really like the name says, because the place is structured around a gigantic lava pit. We'll have to be extra careful there."

"Don't worry, we'll be hot on eachother's heels !" cracked Luan.

Lori, despite her groan, nodded. "I hope so. There was also something Toriel heard about a new mechanised area inside Hotland, in which resides a certain elevator that we need to find. Because if we do, it'll take us directly to the heart of New Home, the new capital of the monsters."

"They gave their new capital the exact same name as the old one ?" inquired Luna with an amused smirk.

"Well, their King is really bad at naming stuff." recalled Leni. "So, if we get there, does that mean we'll find..."

"Yep. The exit to the Underground. Our ticket back to our life on the Surface." Lori concluded eagerly, for knowing their end goal was assuredly making this adventure and its trials all the more worth it. On that, everyone in the room could agree.

"Okay, we've got a destination. But are you sure that Barrier Lucy talked about will let us pass ? It's been keeping all those monster dudes prisonners for centuries, what if it's the same for humans ?" asked Luna.

"Well, if we rely on Lincoln's legends – which, at this point, aren't so legendary anymore – this Barrier was created by human magicians. In that case, it's pretty darn likely that it won't affect us. If it let us in, why wouldn't it let us out ?" Lori objectively explained.

"That makes sense. But enough sense to conquer the Underground and its weirdness ?" mused Luan with a grinning nonchalance that rang at her newfound influence.

"For our sake, it'll have to do." concluded Lori.

"Heh, you took the words right out of my mouth, sis." quipped Lincoln, entering the room to get a glass of water.

"So, who won the war ?" asked Lori.

"The good guys ?" said Leni, thinking the question was for her.

"No love, she means the checkers game between Lincoln and Lisa." corrected Luna. Everybody knew Lincoln's skills in both games of the checked battlefield were enough to rival Lisa's. He was the one who had taught her the game when she was barely a year of age.

"Two games each, then we decided it was best to call it a night. Lisa was starting to doze off in the middle of her moves, and she almost swallowed one of her kings." said Lincoln, ending his sentence with a large yawn. "Speaking of which, we probably should hit the sack. If tomorrow's going to be anything like today, we might want to have our minds clear for it."

"I agree, brother. Let me just finish in here, and we can all go to bed. You heard that ?! Lights out in five minutes, everyone !" Lori announced to the few younger sisters around the bedroom. The request met no complaints, especially not Lily, who was rubbing her Blankie 2.0 against her cheek and letting the scent of butterscotch and cinammon guide her through the land of dreams and sweets.

But as her siblings were vacating the bathroom in good spirits and looking for nothing else than a good rest, Leni stopped by the arch of the door, sudden doubt plaguing her mind. Could she really end the conversation like that ? Don't get her wrong, today had been awesome and full of exciting twists, including the meeting of her bare-boned darling. The reason she hadn't said a word about the Great of the Great, was because she knew this wouldn't be the last time they'd met. His return had been prophesized by the most reliable source. Himself.

But that wasn't the only reason she had kept silent on the subject. She also didn't want to bother her sibs with her excessive rants, which would be nothing more than gushing exactly what she had been constantly dishing out through their trek in the icy woods. They didn't need to hear how long and perfect his legs were for the thousandth time, or bite back any more comment about her disastrous slip-ups.

And that was where Leni was hitting a snag. 'They didn't said anything about me. About any of my screw-ups. No reminder, no side-note, no joke, no nothing ! Like, am I really like that all the time, that it's become... normal stuff ?'

Leni shook her head with a steeled frown. That was the last straw. She couldn't keep going with that way of thinking. She needed to have a word with Lori, right now. Because she knew that if she kept going down that track, she would only cause more trouble for everyone, either out of infatuation for her beau, or out of lack of confidence. She needed to get to the bottom of this, and scrub the doubt away like her skilful coup de brush could scrub all dandruff flakes away from her hair and existence.

She turned around, and gave a quick cough into her hand to request her big sister's attention. "Lori ? There's, um, s-something I want to talk to you about. It's kinda important."

Lori halted the movement of her toothbrush, and gained a small smile. "Of course, what do you want to talk about ?"

Leni took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to let her worries flow. But before she could enact it so, she caught the sight of herself in the mirror behind Lori. And instead of the confusion she could feel herself wearing, her reflection seemed to be harbouring a deeply disappointed frown, that cut through her bravery like a hot knife would against butter.

'You want to do this now. Really ? Like, are you for real right now ?' chided the other Leni, which only the original fashionista could hear. 'Look at your sister's face. Look at it. Do you see those bags ? Those are no fanny packs, it's Mom's special suitcase type of deal. She's been dealing with so much today, having to let go of her personnal hero, going through cold woods while being the kind of big sister you'll never be, and you won't let her rest because you can't get over yourself ? How much of a selfish brat can you be ?'

Leni winced at her words. They stung so much, because they felt true. When she said it like that, it did sound mighty selfish. With ten siblings to keep an eye on, did she really have the time to listen to her ditzy roommate's personnal problems ?

Well... yes, actually. She had done it before. Plenty of times. Like all those times her little sister had felt lousy at school, or when instructing her during her not-so-stellar driving lessons. Sure they had their fights, at least once a week, but in the sanctity of the Loud House, Lori was always her go-to gal. And Lincoln was the guy !

Leni's reflection facepalmed. Hard. 'Oh sure, you wanna drag Linky into this ? Then here's a little quote for you, from eight days ago. It's still there, weirdly enough.' The image in the mirror morphed into the image of her younger brother, with the familiar background of the dark corridor where their quest had begun. 'Oh, but I've just noticed a teeny weeny snag in the application of this theory at the moment : WE AREN'T HOME ! In case it's still not apparent to you, we are in pure unknown territory, far from everyone, without any guaranteed exit !'

And although that speech hadn't been chiding her in particular back then, Leni could see how it was now, as her shame only grew more crushing. Everyone needed to pull their weight, that's what they'd agreed on. And all she had been doing today was pulling the wrong way. Perhaps... it was time to stop being the dead weight.

"Leni~, still waiting on that question, and looking at the mirror for a full minute isn't really giving me any of that."

Lori's callback worked like a charm. As she regained her bearings, the kind seamstress had made her mind. It was time she handled herself for once. "A-Actually, it's not that important. Just what make-up would Papy prefer. It can totes wait for tomorrow morning." she answered with the best fake smile she'd pull all day.

Lori gave her a rather skeptical look, with a hint of concern. "Are you sure that's what this is all about ?"

"You bet !" Leni gave her a thumbs up, then yawned. "I'm going to bed now. Don't want to be all wrinkly tomorrow morning, like Luna when she jams too late at night, or us when she jams too late at night."

"I heard that !" said Luna with a laugh, chucking a pillow at her big sis' head.

Driven by good mood and her own weariness, Lori took her sister's word for it. "Alright. I'll be there in a minute. In the meantime, try getting Lana on the bed if she's already sleeping."

Leni nodded, and finally exited the bathroom with a genuine smile on her face. She had been trusted with responsibilities again. She was making progress already ! She was handling her problem alone, like she should be. Her siblings could only be happier for that. She was making them happier, and created less trouble for everyone around her, including herself. It was a win-win on all sides. And no one outside or inside could contradict her on that.

That is, except that little region inside her chest, where she was almost sure her SOUL resided. But why the green little heart wasn't agreeing with her troubleproof plan was beyond her. This was her whole being in there, or so Goat Mom had told her. And then Lisa had told her again, for good measure. She was okay with this, so it also had to be okay with it ; she was making things better, making the people she loved happier, by being less in the way, less overbearing, less present.

Wasn't that the nice thing to do ?

---

Author's Note : Sooo... did I go too far with the Leni bashing ? I say that because I absolutely love this vanilla cinammon roll, and it physically pains me to make her think that way. And trust me, the next chapter's not going to be much better on that bit. I wonder if I shouldn't change the Arc title to 'Leni is sad' at this point. On another note, don't blame Sans too hard. He's got trust issues. And phlegm issues. And probably a bit of cholesterol.

Also, did you catch it ? I made a cameo in this chapter. Nothing huge, just a little easter egg I'm sure you'll adore looking for. I totally didn't make a big deal about it, or myself.

*Noisily drinks soda from the Holy Grail, with legs propped up on Ark of the Covenant, and a little white dog sleeping on lap*

Still, I hope you all appreciated this heavily belated chapter. College usually helps, but it really didn't this time around. I can only hope that the wait was once again, worth it. Wish me luck !Also, shout-out to Petrus-c-Visagie who's been posting some art for this here fic. He's a great fellow, and you need to check his art now. DO IT FOR LENI !

In the meantime, this is Superdimentio77, wishing you luck on your end of the year, or basically just good luck in general. See ya~ !