2. Overtale
The woods were dark – almost as dark as they were Underground. It was night (Frisk was still getting used to the concept of the sky changing color based on the time), and the stars gave off almost no light. She shivered, wrapping her vines tighter around herself. It was so, so cold. The woods were dark and empty, and for the first time since being aboveground, the little monster was beginning to feel that same, constant anxiety creep back through her.
"monster..."
Frisk gasped, spinning around. There was no one there. She couldn't sense any souls. A twig snapped in front of her, but… nothing.
She turned and ran, stumbling over her own vines, unable to see more than ten feet ahead of her. The road veered suddenly, turning into a bridge. Bars covered the way, the gaps far too narrow for her to get through. A single torch sputtered above it, casting a dim circle of light in front of the gate. Locked.
She could sense another soul behind her now, but it flickered and wavered - it was almost as if there was a bad connection, as if the person kept appearing and vanishing. She had never felt a monster do that, let alone a human.
"don't you know how to greet a new pal?" The voice was cold. Sinister. She hadn't met any people outside the Ruins, but she had spent far too long in the monster world to trust strangers.
"turn around and shake my hand."
There was nowhere to go.
Nothing else to do.
She turned slowly, stretching out a vine. A dark figure stood behind her, and she saw its teeth flash in the darkness.
A hand grabbed her vine, and...
Wait, what was that noise?
"heh. the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." The person stepped into the circle of light, pushing back their hood. It was a human - unlike any she had seen. His skin was a rich black color, even darker than Toriel's, almost the color of the woods. His eyes were glowing, though - a bright, piercing blue. He was wearing some kind of jacket or cloak, but it was hard to say.
"you're a monster, right? that's hilarious. i'm sans - sans the human."
He was grinning, but still watching her carefully. It was hard to say how friendly his smile really was. She pulled her hand away.
"say, i've got a brother. real great guy. he's always wanted to meet a monster. so i really think it'd make his day if you came with me. whadaya say?"
Frisk took a step back. "I- I don't think-"
"oh, so you can talk! don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be." He flicked his hand, and the gate behind her flew open.
It didn't seem like she had much of a choice. Sans wasn't pushing her, exactly, but he wasn't about to let go of her arm.
"have to say, not many monsters have ever made it up to the surface. what are you doing here, kid? what do you want with us?"
"It was… it was an accident."
"sure sure sure. right. you just tripped over your own shoelace and oops! you've accidentally crossed the barrier." Frisk shivered, in spite of herself.
"How much do you know of the Underground?" she whispered. Sans rolled his eyes.
"i mean, we've all heard the stories - how monsters are big and evil and powerful. the legends have been twisted around for two thousand years now, so i'm sure they're mostly bs, but-"
"They're not. Monsters are… well, they were trapped Underground for a reason."
Sans said nothing, and Frisk wrapped her vines around herself. How much farther could the human possibly be taking her?
"sounds like a place you'd wanna leave," he finally said, turning a corner.
"It is." She pushed her petals away from her face, squinting at the scene in front of her. It was a little clearing - a sentry stand next to the path, a weird-shaped chair sitting out by itself. Frisk stepped towards it, wondering if she could step behind it before Sans noticed she was gone.
"where ya goin'? no need to get impatient, he'll be here any second." His grin never wavered, even when he was talking. It was kinda creepy. Was he... enjoying this?
"BROTHER!"
"speak of the devil."
"THERE YOU ARE, I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU!" Another human rushed up from the other direction. Frisk froze.
He was a foot taller than Sans and his skin was several shades lighter, but he was clearly his brother. They had the same demeanor - the same devil-may-care smile, the same imposing bearing. Biggest difference? Papyrus was three or four times louder and more intense. Frisk instinctively cringed away.
"sup, bro?"
"YOU KNOW WHAT'S 'SUP' BROTHER? IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T-"
He suddenly did a double take.
"SANS? IS THAT... A MONSTER?"
"nah. i think that's a chair."
"OH." Sans leaned against Frisk, raising his eyebrows.
"SANS! IS - IS THAT- OH MY GOD!" He bounded forward, crossing the clearing in three steps and eagerly shaking one of her vines.
"MONSTER, IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU! WELCOME TO SNOWDIN, THE COLDEST REGION OF THE HUMAN KINGDOM!" He put a hand to his chest. "I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ROYAL GUARD-"
"aren't you still in training?"
" - HUSH, SANS - AND PROTECTOR OF THE AREA. AS SUCH, IT IS MY DUTY TO... WAIT A MOMENT." He knelt down to get on eye level with her.
"YOU'RE A FLOWER MONSTER! IT'S FAR TOO COLD FOR YOU TO BE HERE, YOU COULD DIE! OR WILT! OR GET THE SNIFFLES!"
He scooped her up in his arms. "SANS, WE NEED TO GET TO HOTLAND. FIND A SHORTCUT." He patted her petals.
"on it."
"DON'T WORRY, MONSTER! I, PAPYRUS, HAVE CAPTURED YOU! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU STAY UNFROZEN, LIKE ANY HEALTHY FLOWER SHOULD. AS YOUR CAPTOR, I WILL PROTECT YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE."
Frisk wasn't quite sure what he meant, about that 'captured' part, but at the moment she didn't particularly care. Papyrus… well, he seemed good-natured. She could trust him, for now.
As for Sans? There was something about him. He was an anomaly. No human she had met or heard of could flicker and transport like that.
As long as she was up here, she would have to keep an eye on him.
A/N: The creator of Overtale is HezuNeutral on Devianart. I mucked it all up, but you should go check it out! The original is really cool.