Snowdin Forest
Sans had fallen asleep on duty. He was supposed to be on watch that night, and now it was morning.
He checked his to-do list. Usually there was nothing on it, or something trivial like his watch duty rota. He didn't write on it. The instructions appeared by themselves. Sometimes, however, they were important. Sometimes they warned him of accidents that would happen to the residents of Snowdin, which would have ended very badly if he hadn't shown up. So he always paid attention.
Today there was only one item:
a human arrives at the exit to ruins. anomaly. very dangerous, eliminate on sight.
Today's date and a time two hours later were printed below the instruction.
This was the first time the to-do list had instructed him to harm anyone, and that didn't sit well with Sans. He armed himself with an electric orb that could deliver a hearty zap. It was a puzzle part, a component that Papyrus liked to use. Then he set out to confront the human at the door to the Ruins.
Sans hid in the forest outside the Ruins. Sure enough, the human emerged. It was a lot smaller than he expected, but then again, just because something was small, that didn't mean it couldn't be dangerous.
He followed it..
There it was, trying to work up the courage to cross a rickety rope bridge over a crevasse..
Sans concealed the zapper in his hand.
"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."
The human turned around nervously. It smiled shyly and extended one of its tiny hands. Sans shook the human's hand, making sure it got a good press of the electric zapper. There was a loud CRACK and a yelp, followed by a whiff of burning hair. The human had fallen over. A wisp of smoke rose from its blue and purple striped sweater. Ready to fight for his life, Sans nudged the human with the tip of one toe.
"Please don't hurt me.." it begged.
Sans felt terrible.
"heheh.. the old electric handshake. it's usually a bit funnier than that – sorry was that a bit strong? here.. lemme help ya up. anyways, you're a human, right? i'm sans. sans the skeleton."
The human gratefully accepted his help. It didn't look very dangerous at all. Sans decided he didn't want to kill it if it really was harmless; he would accompany it and observe its behavior, intervening only when necessary.
"my brother papyrus is hunting humans right now. oh.. that's him right there. quick, hide behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."
The human hid obediently.
"SANS! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING FOR HUMANS!" cried Papyrus.
"hey bro, look at this cool lamp!"
"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE? I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL QUALIFY FOR THE ROYAL GUARD"
"..wow, sounds like you're really working yourself.. down to the bone!"
Papyrus started stamping and snorting. Then he rallied:
"AS FOR YOUR WORK, PUT A LITTLE MORE BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEH.. EHE.. HEH."
Papyrus' pun was even worse than what Sans came up with. It was so terrible that Frisk couldn't help bursting out laughing.
Papyrus cautiously peered behind the lamp..
"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…? A HUMAN!?"
Sans nodded.
"SANS I FINALLY DID IT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE CAPTURED A HUMAN!" declared Papyrus.
"..bro, it's not captured yet.."
"HUMAN! I WILL NOW CAPTURE YOU!" Papyrus announced, "CONTINUE.. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH!"
Rattling with excitement, Papyrus rushed off to prepare his puzzles.
Frisk made her way through Snowdin forest. She saw a sentry station with a large sign: absolutely no moving.
Doggo was inside, scanning the area with squinty eyes.
Every time he looked away, Frisk edged closer. When he looked in her direction, she froze. Doggo's inability to see moving objects always astonished her. She picked up a sturdy stick.
"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" said Doggo suspiciously. He emerged from his station to investigate the disturbance.
Frisk threw the stick into the air. Doggo barked joyfully and leaped to catch it. He returned the stick to the place he thought it had come from. Frisk threw it again. And again. And again.
Finally, Doggo was worn out. He flopped onto his back. Frisk crept up behind him and gave him a belly rub.
"S-s-s-something pet me.. Something that isn't m-m-moving! I think I need a smoke…"
Frisk watched him hunker down behind some trees, furtively light the end of a dog treat, and stick it in his mouth.
Up ahead, Sans and Papyrus were standing proudly over their newly calibrated creation.
"IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! BEHOLD THE ELECTRICITY MAZE! GO AHEAD AND TRY IT"
The human started forward eagerly to try out the puzzle. There was a loud CRACK and Sans felt as if every bone in his body had been jolted from its socket.
"SANS YOU CLOWN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"i forgot i was still holding this. papyrus, can ya give it to the human?"
Papyrus took the orb and picked his way through the maze. "HOLD THIS PLEASE!" he said. Papyrus placed the electricity orb on the human's head. It looked up at him with admiration. He blushed a little.
The human walked confidently through the maze, following Papyrus' footprints.
"INCREDIBLE! YOU SOLVED THE PUZZLE SO EASILY!" exclaimed Papyrus.
The human smiled.
Papyrus whispered to Sans "I THINK IT LIKES MY PUZZLES!" before dashing off to prepare the next one. The human respectfully handed the electricity orb to Sans. "This is yours, isn't it?"
Sans took the orb. "hey, thanks… i can't remember the last time my brother had this much fun. enjoy those puzzles, yeah? play nice!"
The human ran off to find Papyrus.
Surely it couldn't be dangerous. It seemed so sweet and gentle. Yet, his orders, when warning of misfortune, had never been wrong. I'll keep following it, he thought, I'll see what it does.
And so he did.
Sans watched the human trade jokes with Snowdrake.
The human petted Lesser Dog.
The human met Dogamy and Dogaressa. It rolled around in the now and pretended to be a puppy. They played together.
Sans watched as Papyrus explained his tile puzzle: "THIS PUZZLE IS COMPLETELY RANDOM! THE MACHINE WILL PRODUCE A PUZZLE NEVER SEEN BEFORE"
The machine generated a puzzle with a strip of orange tiles leading directly to the other side. Nothing bad happened except for the overpowering stink of citrus.
Sans continued to follow the human at a distance.
The human encountered a Gryftrot weighed down with festive decorations, and helped untangle the beast.
The human met an Ice Cap and complimented its hat.
Jerry got ditched by his monster friends; the human comforted him.
It was late in the afternoon when the human made it to Snowdin town. Sans was relieved that the human showed no signs of hurting anybody, but he was disquieted that Papyrus was so attached to it. He pulled the To-do list out of his pocket and scrutinised it. This was a real puzzle. No clues.
It was his idea in the first place to introduce the human to Papyrus. But they were getting too close now. He went to Grillby's for a quiet drink of ketchup. To sort out his thoughts.
Then he had a quiet word with the bartender.
"hey grillbz.. can ya keep an eye on that human for me? lemme know if it does anything weird"
"Well Sans, it came in here only a few minutes ago. It went straight for the hard stuff. Spring water, neat. Even I can't drink that. A whole glass, downed in two minutes. You got your work cut out, buddy."
Sans trudged into his living room, hoping the human had found somewhere else safe to stay the night. His worst fears were confirmed – it was sitting up at the table, boosted by a stack of cushions, eating Papyrus' freshly made spaghetti.
Apparently, it was relishing Papyrus' cooking.
Papyrus was enthralled.
The human finished eating. Its face was smeared with tomato sauce. Papyrus wiped its cheeks clean.
Sans told the human to go and play. He had to talk to his brother.
"bro.. the human can't stay here. you have to let it go home"
Papyrus was clearly disappointed, but he agreed.
Where was the human, and what was it doing now? It was poking at one of his discarded socks with its stick. The sock wriggled. Sans shuddered and vowed never to touch that sock ever again.
NIGHT
Frisk checked into the Snowed Inn hotel, the best, indeed, the only one in town.
Rolling in the snow and playing games and puzzles had made a mess of Frisk's clothing. Her socks were soaked, and there was mud on her sweater and shorts. Safely installed in her room, she stripped down to her vest and panties, washed her clothes and hung them to dry overnight. She slipped into bed, shivering.
She turned off her bedside light, thoroughly worn out and full of optimism.
Frisk could not say why she woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, but instinctively she felt something terrible was going to happen. Those sounds again – breathing..? There's something in here with me.
I'm being silly. It's a hotel. Other guests are moving around, sleeping, snoring. Of course I can hear noises, and it's nothing to worry about. Anyway, I locked the door and latched the windows. Nobody can get in here.
Frisk poked her head out from the mound of blankets and peered into the darkness – there!
Am I seeing things, she wondered. What is that?
Two spots of dull red light. Frisk felt as if every hair was standing on end. Her heart was hammering too fast for her to count the beats. They look like eyes – no! It can't be!
The eyes blinked.
Too terrified even to scream, her hand went to the bedside light switch. Both she and the creature yelped in surprise at the sudden brightness.
It was - Chara! He was kneeling on the rug, hands clapped over his eyes. There was the Real Knife, dropped at his side.
Frisk's stick was within arm's reach. She quickly grabbed it and hid it under the bedclothes. She struggled to swallow her fear.
"Chara, what are you doing in here? I only booked a single room." Frisk was amazed at how calm she sounded.
"You should warn me before you do that", he grumbled, massaging his eyes.
"That's your own fault. You've somehow snuck into my room without being invited, and you've brought a knife. Please get out. And don't do it again."
Chara looked up at her, looking genuinely hurt, still kneeling on the floor. "Please. Let me stay. It's so cold out there.."
Frisk felt terrible guilt within her, then loneliness, rejection. These aren't mine, she realized, these are Chara's feelings. Her eyes flicked towards the door.
Rage welled up inside her, both hers and Chara's, mixing together. Chara snatched up his knife. "Fine", he said, turning to leave, fumbling at the locked door.
An awful thought struck Frisk: what would Chara do to amuse himself, if he left? Would he find somewhere warm and sleep quietly? She imagined him breaking into some poor villager's house, killing them with that knife, just for a warm bed. Would he stop there, or would he do even more unspeakable things, just because he could?
"Hold on", she said. "It's late, and it's cold. Stay here tonight. We'll sort everything out in the morning."
And if he tries anything, he'll only get away with it once, Frisk thought to herself. Frisk knew she was the only person in the world with the power to save her progress.
Chara's harsh expression softened and Frisk felt genuine happiness spreading through her. So Chara is happy.. Chara walked towards her, sat down on the end of her bed, and started tugging at his boots. Still holding that knife. He made as if to get into the bed with her, but she tossed a spare pillow and one of her blankets onto the rug. "I said you could stay in this room. I didn't say you could sleep in my bed", Frisk warned him.
In a few moments, Chara had made himself comfortable on the rug. He shifted the pillow under his head and covered himself with the blanket. He gestured towards the light beside Frisk's table.
"Sleep well. Goodnight", said Frisk, turning off the light.
"Night", said Chara.
Frisk couldn't get back to sleep. She kept imagining a sharp knife piercing her body, or Chara's long, cold fingers tightening around her throat. Stop it, she told herself, even if the worst happens, I'll RELOAD my SAVE file. So get some sleep! But sleep would not come, and she lay there in the darkness. Her hand brushed the end of her stick. It wouldn't be much use against a knife.
She must have dozed off eventually. Pale light was streaming in through the thin curtains. She lifted her head to see what Chara was doing. On the floor was a pillow and a blanket. No Chara. Instantly alarmed, Frisk leaped out of the bed and checked the door. It was locked from the inside. The windows? Bolted from the inside.
Her clothes were dry, so she put them on to keep off the chill. Then she searched every inch of her room. Chara was gone.