"you're a long way from the surface, aren'tcha, honey?" Sans gave them a look quite similar to that of one raising an eyebrow. "tell me. how'd you get here?"

Frisk said nothing.

Sans's left eye suddenly glowed a bit brighter, and, if possible, his eye sockets grew wider. Frisk swallowed as Sans gave her and Flowey a long look through the shadow cast by his furry hood.

"let's try that again." He encouraged slowly, his grin seeming a bit more malicious than before. Frisk flinched as he continued. "how did you get down here, sweetheart?"

Frisk gave a shuddering breath before replying in a tiny voice, "I fell."

"of course you did." Sans huffed sarcastically, rolling his eye. He turned around and began walking toward the small chasm, kicking loose snow to the riverbed below. "curiosity killed the human, after all." He snorted, and knelt down, brushing away the last of the white powder. "still don't get how that managed to work seven times. here, follow me, buttercup."

Feeling a cold chill trickle down her spine, Frisk opened her mouth to ask what Sans meant by 'seven times', but she was interrupted when he turned around and called, "you coming or what? unless you want to stay here and freeze." It was then she realized Sans had cleared away a metal ladder that led down into the chasm. Monsters didn't go over it; they went through it. Any local would know that.

For a moment, Frisk just stood there, unable to translate Sans's body language. If she followed him, would he kill her?

If he wanted me to die, I'd be dead already, Frisk attempted to reason with herself. This Sans guy hadn't lashed out at her once yet. Not to mention he stopped her from crossing the booby-trapped bridge. So what was the worse that could happen?

"Frisk…?" Flowey breathed hesitantly, squeezing her arm slightly. "We should run…."

Frisk bit her lip, volleying her gaze between the waiting red-eyed skeleton and her tattered flower companion. She understood why Flowey was worried, but Sans didn't seem all that concerned in killing her. Perhaps it'd be the best idea to stay near the skeleton. Maybe he'd be willing to guide her to Snowdin. It was better than the alternative, as Flowey clearly didn't know how else to proceed.

Timidly, she stepped forward.

"Frisk!" Flowey moaned, petals curling in. "We can't trust him! Stop!"

"that's the spirit, sweetheart. come on down!" He grinned, sliding down the rails and disappearing from sight. Frisk hurried up to watch him descend, and was surprised to find that he was already there, standing on the ice, beckoning with a skeletal hand.

"Don't." Flowey warned.

Frisk boarded the ladder.

"Frisk!"

The rungs were freezing cold and slick with ice. Frisk felt the temperature seep into her skin and it sent a jolt through her body, nearly causing her to slip. She turned her head cautiously to look down. Sans stared up at her, smirking. As she watched, he suddenly leaned forward slightly to cough once, twice, thrice into his hands again. Was he sick or something?

She turned back to the ladder and took in a deep breath, letting it out slow and allowing the air from her lungs to escape warm and cloudy. Her limbs were stiff and she was shivering badly; bad news since this feat required flexibility and stillness. Just let one foot down after the other, and go slow…

The third rung down, she slipped.

She gasped and could barely manage a squeal as she fell. Flowey shrieked and gripped her arm tighter. It was too much of a surprise and it happened too quickly for her to remember most of it; but sooner than later, she felt a sudden weightlessness followed directly by a gentle drop, and he caught her.

Frisk stared at Sans with wide eyes as he readjusted her weight. She didn't know how he slowed her fall like that, but she decided that it wasn't worth questioning. For a skinny thing, he sure wasn't weak like Frisk had originally thought. Sans smirked again.

"hi again, sweetheart. is that you falling for me?" He joked apathetically, and Frisk felt the corners of her mouth tug up, despite Flowey's angry groan and demand to be set down.

Maybe Sans wasn't so bad after all.

Sans walked two feet ahead of them and didn't talk a whole lot. Not because he was socially awkward or angry, but rather because most of that time was spent clearing his throat and coughing. Flowey had leaned in close to Frisk's ear to stress about catching whatever sickness Sans seemed to possess, so Frisk made it a point to walk a ways behind him.

"up ahead is my station." Sans explained after they'd travelled for a bit. "i don't look it, but i'm a sentry in these parts. supposed to keep watch; be on the lookout for sweet little lost things like yourself."

Flowey leaned in close to Frisk's ear. "There weren't sentries when I came here last. They must be relatively new in Snowdin." After a short pause and biting his lip, he continued, "Don't trust him, Frisk. I don't like the way he's acting."

Frisk shot him a flat look. "You mean there aren't any nice monsters in Snowdin? Anywhere? Come on, Flowey, you said you've never seen him before, that he's new. Maybe he's different."

"I'm just saying you should keep your guard up." He responded irritably, tightening his grip around her arm. He had a strange look in his eyes. "You're not in the Ruins anymore. I'm not in the Ruins anymore. Surprises could come at any turn."

"the buttercup's right, sweetheart." Sans called back without warning, making both of them jump. Frisk couldn't see Sans' face but she could feel his gold-toothed grin, like a chill down her spine. "don't trust anybody."

Frisk swallowed, and confronted bravely, "Not even you?"

Sans didn't stop walking, but he turned his head, just enough so that Frisk could see the intimidating red glow of his eye.

"not even me."

A snow-capped station peaked in the distance, and Frisk assumed that was the sentry stop their skeletal guide had told them about. As it got nearer and nearer, though, something began to feel… off. Flowey's stem was tensing up around her arm and Sans's pace was getting faster. That's when she noticed it. The tinny whump whump of heavy, metal footsteps.

They spoke not a word, but the tension stayed as they approached the station. Frisk's hair began to stand on end, not with cold, but this time, with terror. Terror of the inevitable. Terror of the unknown.

Sans coughed and slipped into the station, propping his chin on his hands. He jerked his head a few times in a specific direction, and Frisk looked around in confusion. Flowey began to tremble with anxiety with every second they wasted. Frisk gave Sans a helpless look.

He gestured again pointedly. the lamp.

Lamp? What lamp? Frisk whirled around quickly to finally see it-a purple and black lamp about the size of a small child. Kid-sized. Frisk-sized.

Frisk slipped behind the lamp just in time for the loud figure to appear, his huge metal boots banging loudly against the frosty ground with metallic changs.

"SANS!" A throaty voice boomed, and Frisk flinched in their hiding spot. They slightly turned their head just enough to see past the edge of the lamp and out towards the station, so she could at least see what was going on.

Looming a couple feet over Sans's handmade structure was another skeleton, only this one wasn't small and ratty. His white bones were thick and strong and compact, every joint making him all the more sturdy and able. The mandible of his skull was full of sharp teeth, stained with gray, powdery stuff, and his top row of teeth boasted fangs. There was a jagged crack over one gaping eyesocket, which was glowing menacingly with red, but unlike Sans, there were lights shining in both eyes. He was clad in black and red armor that made his large body even larger, and he towered above everything in the area. If this was the skeleton Frisk had met first, there was no doubt he'd have killed her right away.

"WHAT IS THIS?" The skeleton shrieked, his voice like a chainsaw, sweeping his hand across the station. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE? YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PATROLLING FOR HUMANS, YOU MISERABLE CREATURE!"

"sorry boss." Sans droned, clearly not too impressed. "tired."

"TIRED?! YOU SLEPT THE NIGHT THROUGH!" The larger skeleton protested angrily. "YOU SAY YOU HAVEN'T PATROLLED YET? THE EAST SIDE? THE LAKE? EVEN THE ENTRANCE TO THE RUINS?!" When Sans opened his mouth to argue that he had, in fact, been near the Ruins, the skeleton cut him off with a rather loud groan. "I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF!"

"come on, papyrus, just stop already." Sans muttered, glaring off into the expanse of black trees. "we're never gonna find a human. a human hasn't passed through the underground in like three years."

"OH? WHAT ABOUT THAT SWEET LITTLE BLUE SOUL LAST WINTER?"

Frisk tensed up, and she felt Flowey sigh deeply in defeat. ...Souls?

Sans said nothing, so Papyrus continued. "THAT'S RIGHT, THE ONE THAT JUST HAPPENED TO PASS BY WITHOUT YOU NOTICING. OOH, WHAT ABOUT THAT ORANGE SOUL? OR THAT GREEN ONE? YOU NEVER SAW THEM, DID YOU? YOU KNOW, SANS, I'M BEGINNING TO THINK YOU TURNED THE OTHER CHEEK FOR THEM. YOU HELPED THEM."

"how dare you accuse me of that?" Sans snarled at him, banging his fist on the table. "i just never saw them come through. you know my sight's not like yours; look at this!" He pointed to his empty eye socket. "if you want a human so bad, get one yourself."

"GREAT TO SEE YOU'RE SO HYPED ABOUT HELPING ME. I EXPECT YOU TO HAVE PATROLLED THE EAST SIDE AND THE LAKE BEFORE YOU COME HOME." Papyrus turned around and began to stomp off in the other direction. Then he hesitated, and turned to look back. "OR UNDYNE HEARS IT THIS TIME."

Sans set his jaw and sighed. "...fine."

As Papyrus's heavy footsteps faded off down the path, Frisk finally let herself breathe. Flowey peeked out, and affirmed it was safe enough to come out. Frisk went straight for the sentry station, and the glowering skeleton inside.

He looked up at her tiredly. "just get out of here."

She felt her confident stature wilt a bit at his words. Flowey pulled gently on her arm and pointed down the road, mouthing 'Snowdin', and she began walking in that direction. A couple feet away, she stopped and looked back. Sans was coughing into his hand again, not paying attention.

"Thank you," she called hesitantly. He said nothing.

But as she walked away, she could've sworn she heard a quiet laugh.