"Ver, stop," Vivaldi grumbled. She rubbed her sweater sleeves and shivered while her shoes crunched the wet snow. "Change back already."

"Why should I change? I'm warm!" Verdana said, skipping happy circles around his family as a skeleton. Faint breezes rustled the frosty, overhanging pine trees and whistled between Verdana's bones. "It's safer this way, right?"

Frisk frowned. They had been pondering this very question. What were the monsters in this version of the Underground like? Would the twins be safer concealing their human nature? Comparing the two Toriels—Frisk's stomach knotted at realizing Sans would love that pun—left them thinking the others might also be softer, less prone to violence and more inclined to mercy. Unfortunately, if the children went about as skeletons, it would be much harder to stay together by convincing everyone that they were the twins' mother. Then again, maybe that could help. Frisk would be the only apparent human.

But there was Flowey. This version of their brother was cold, soulless, and right. The twins could reset. Self-sacrifice for them would be doomed from the start.

If anyone knew the twins were both human and monster, what then? Sadly, the Alphys from their world could not be trusted. But what about the Alphys of this world?

Behind them, Frisk heard a branch snap. This was bad. "Ver, was that you?"

"No," the boy said, points of red light glowing in his eye sockets. "Why?"

"Take a shortcut past the bridge," Frisk whispered, bending over the twins. It would be a tall order for them to teleport because they had only managed it a few times, but if the barrettes did what Frisk suspected they did, it could work. "Stay skeleton and hide from monsters for now. Watch out for puzzles. Don't turn human until I meet you."

"But, Mom—" Vivaldi began to say.

"Viv!" Verdana said, grabbing her hand. Vivaldi nodded and, with the faintest red light, the twins disappeared together.

Silence fell only to be broken a second later by crisp footfalls that crept up behind Frisk and then stopped.

"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal?"

A shiver raced up Frisk's spine. It was Sans. His voice had the same intonation as the one burned in their memory, though it was less gruff and slightly higher pitched. And this time, they were alone.

He continued. "Turn around and shake my hand."

Frisk recalled what happened the very first time they heard Sans—their Sans—say that. What if this Sans electrocuted them? Would the children risk themselves by resetting? But something inside told Frisk not to worry. Taking a deep breath, they stared at their chilled feet, turned around, and lifted their hand.

Slapping Sans in his jawbone. "Ow."

Frisk gasped. This Sans only came up to their chest. "Oh, sorry!"

"Welp, that didn't go as planned," replied the skeleton, except this one had an easy smile and wore a blue hoodie with fluffy, pink slippers. The lights of his eyes were white and glinted with humor. "Care to try again?"

As Sans rubbed his round chin, Frisk had to choke down their snickers to avoid adding insult to injury. This was not their husband at all. Aiming much lower this time, they shook Sans' hand and was greeted by a whoopee cushion's long, wet, fart noise. But as soon as the urge to laugh bubbled up inside Frisk, it died. As it was, their children could have stayed. Were they in more danger alone? Frisk could not call them back. They should have given the twins Toriel's cell phone, found some way to call them, and then—

"Uh, I said it's always funny," Sans repeated. "You okay?"

Frisk shook their head, but then nodded.

"Anyway, I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But, y'know, I don't really care about capturing anybody," he said, shrugging and peering sidelong at the disoriented human. The old lady sure knew how to pick them. And how to dress them. A human wearing the Delta Rune looked terribly suspicious. "Now my brother, Papyrus—"

"Papyrus! That's right!" Frisk cried, turning pale. They leaned close to Sans and gasped, "Where is he on his rounds? Can we beat him to Snowdin?"

"He's coming around right now, past those wide bars," Sans said, tilting his head in that direction. This human was downright strange. And well informed. "Quick, behind that inconveniently-shaped lamp."

Frisk ran for it and curled up as tightly behind the lamp as possible. Maybe one of the twins could fit here, but not them. If anything, the lamp looked like it sprouted a full head of hair. They were finished. Their children! They could only hope the twins escaped, would keep monster form, and….

"SANS!" Papyrus strode proudly along the path, swinging his bony arms high, his white battle body immaculate against the gleaming snow. Or so he liked to think.

Sans yawned and cracked his knuckles. "Sup, bro?"

"You know what 'sup', brother!" Papyrus huffed and stomped his cherry red boots at Sans' lazy response. "It's been eight days and you still haven't recalibrated your puzzles!"

From their vantage point, Frisk eyed Papyrus in shock. He was truly the skeleton they knew, that is, if some higher being had taken their Papyrus, filed down all his vicious edges—including his teeth—given him a permanent smile, and dipped him into a vat of marshmallow rainbows. Even his impatient stomps looked comical. Not the least bit imposing. Frisk froze when Sans mentioned the lamp, but The Great Papyrus somehow failed to notice them behind their terrible hiding spot.

Sans fired a skeleton pun and grinned as Papyrus groaned. "Come on, you're smiling."

"I know and I hate it!" Papyrus shouted. No threats to dust Sans or even fight him. Already, Frisk suspected this Papyrus would never do such a thing or even think about it.

With a mighty "Nyehehehe—heh!", Papyrus marched away.

"OK, you can come out now. You oughta get going," Sans said, while Frisk leaped to their feet and stood head and shoulders above the warped lampshade. He winked. "Or sit through more of my hilarious jokes."

"Thank you," said Frisk, nodding before taking off in a full sprint. In the midst of the dark, biting cold, a hopeful smile spread on their lips. Maybe this run would be alright, after all. They hurried down the snowy path so fast that they heard nothing but the muffled echo of Sans' voice as they left.

Meanwhile, farther ahead, Vivaldi and Verdana crouched behind a wooden sentry station, careful to avoid a spotted dog that stood a stone's throw away. They watched while, grunting as he finished his smoke break, Doggo crushed his charred dog treat into the snow beside the many blackened treats that were scattered at his feet. The twins recalled their mother's guidance, stayed in skeleton form, and teleported past him.

Since it was much easier to teleport, however, an extra burst of power shot through the barrettes and threw the twins smack into an Icecap, knocking off his hat. The twins fell backward onto their pelvic bones and gasped as the monster in front of them shifted from a gnome into a simple ice cube. "Aah! Sorry!"

But the Ice, comfortable with his identity, hummed a tune and hopped out of sight.

Every time Frisk tried to hurry forward and close whatever gap remained between them and their children, Papyrus and Sans intercepted them with another puzzle. Each delay cranked up Frisk's worry for the twins to the point they wondered if death in this reality would come from a heart attack.

Frisk's nerves calmed somewhat once they attracted some brief fights from the local forest denizens, but heard nothing from these monsters about their twins. If Viv and Ver had escaped notice, they were safe. After Frisk encountered the Dogi and a few slippery, but harmless puzzles, they tripped and fell down a steep, yet soft snowbank and was greeted at the bottom by two little skeletons, their buttercup barrettes stuck to their foreheads like magnets.

"Hi, Mommy," Verdana said, waving morosely. He would have pouted if he had lips. "We can't get out."

"This puzzle's too hard," Vivaldi explained, a pained expression on her skull. "We keep shortcutting wrong and falling."

Frisk promptly scrambled over to the twins and smothered them with kisses. When their heart stopped pounding with maternal fear and they could breathe again, they recognized an odd pair of snowmen.

"Is that really Uncle Papyrus?" Verdana said, poking a muscular snowman that wore a familiar red scarf. The Papyrus he knew would have added spiked armor, if not actual weapons.

"And that's sad, even for Daddy," Vivaldi said, pointing at the lump she sat on with 'Sans' written on it in red marker. Last winter, Daddy had put off his usual nap to help her build a snowman. The best part was when he lifted her high on his shoulders to add a carrot nose.

"I met them," Frisk said, with a chuckle, "and they're both funny and kind." Recalling Papyrus' frozen spaghetti and the puzzle he had 'improved' by shaping it like himself, they wiggled a 'Y' hand in front of their face. Silly. "I think we'll be okay."

"Can we tell them, Mommy?" Vivaldi asked, after a moment. "Maybe they know Dr. Alphys."

With a sigh, Frisk murmured, "I don't know. Toriel believed us, but…."

"Hold on!" Verdana said, returning to human form and rubbing his belly. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry."

"There's food in town," Frisk said, brushing the snow off their legs. "We just have to make it there."

'Making it there' was easier than it seemed once they passed the slick ice and switch puzzle. All that remained were a couple of odd monsters; the Greater Dog barked with delight at Vivaldi and Verdana's vigorous petting, and the Gryftrot was merely grumpy over being decorated against his will. After the Gryftrot thanked the family for freeing him of ornaments and scampered off, Frisk thought that they glimpsed Sans at the entrance of a nearby cave. But then, they did a double-take, and Sans was gone.

Once they reached a long, rickety bridge and spotted Sans waiting with Papyrus on the other side, they figured they had just imagined it. Or at least, they hoped so. Why would the Sans of this world follow them?

However, they were grateful that Papyrus, far from being startled or suspicious, was thrilled to suddenly see three humans to capture instead of one. With a flourish, he quickly scrapped the Gauntlet of Deadly Terror, his foolproof trap of cannons, blades, fire, and a doggie, as lacking class. When Papyrus left, Frisk prodded the children forward. Almost there.

But then, Sans blocked their path. "Heya."

Frisk's protective instinct surged and they pulled the children close.

"Thought I saw three of you come through the door," Sans said, shrugging. "Gotta admit, your disappearing act was great."

"I'm sorry," Frisk said, grasping the twins' shoulders tightly.

"No prob. Thanks for helping out my super cool bro. For a second there, I wasn't sure you'd heard me," Sans said, the lights in his eye sockets wandering to the side, looking either at nothing or at the chasm beneath them. "He's really been wanting to get into the Royal Guard."

"He's not captain—?!" said Frisk, wincing and cursing themselves once they realized their mistake.

"Nah, still in training. Paps mentioned it a few times already. Unless you know something I don't for some reason I don't." Sans put his hands in his pockets, his smile cemented in place. "Like dropping in from an alternate reality?"

Frisk's breath hitched. The twins huddled together.

"So." Sans glared at them. "It was you."