A cool breeze whisked through the eerily quiet halls tugging on Frisk's brown locks. Her hair flowed as if it were on water as she watched as her companion exit the ruins through the enormous, rusted, doors that lead to the snowy forests outside of Snowdin. A small smile appeared on her delicate face.
The smile, however, slowly dissolved, morphing into a bitter scowl. She turned her gaze towards the spot Flowey had sunk into. "You can come out now." She proclaimed. Her hands latched onto her waistline as she bent over slightly, her eyes narrowing onto the soil which began to shift and quiver.
After a few brief moments, a golden flower with a face emerged from the soil. Scattering the sediments that once concealed it across the ruin floor. While most flowers usually stood erect this one was slouching and its eyes were narrowed. It regarded Frisk with cautiously.
"You know, for a moment there, I mistook you for Chara." The golden flower commented sullenly.
Frisk sighed, dropping her hands from her waist as she relaxed her posture. "Great," she thought. A feeling of disappointment mixed with anger surged through her as she realized that even when Chara wasn't here, the other girl still managed to have an influence on her somehow.
"Well," Frisk began. "I'm not. Nor do I plan to be."
"Is that what you're telling yourself?" Flowey questions and Frisk couldn't help but notice the slightly amused tone in the Flower's voice. "You might have ignored her this time, but we both know that she'll eventually wiggle her way into control somehow."
"That's not going to happen." Frisk asserts, the determination quite clear in her voice as she regarded the flower.
Flowey laughed bitterly as his gaze shifted towards the door. "That look on your face… I haven't seen you so determined in a long time." The comment took her by surprise and Frisk blinked in shock before her gaze fell towards the ground.
"Is it because of that boy?" The flower pressed on. "You realize he's simply a glitch in the system, right?"
Frisk didn't comment as she began to playfully kick a couple of pebbles. Her luminous amber eyes narrowed and her hands clenched. "He's not a glitch." She argued. The determined look on her face displayed that she truly believed in that. However, she knew what the golden petal flower said held some truth. Kaylin wasn't supposed to be here.
"Sure he is," Flowey voices as he cranes his head towards Frisk. Suddenly, he stood erect and the sullen expression on his face transformed into a condescending look. "He's not supposed to be here Frisk. He's an anomaly."
Frisk let out an audible sigh and deflated as she stood there looking dejected. "I know, I know." Flowey seemed taken back by how easily the girl seemed to let the argument drop. "W-what do you think will happen if I try to reset? I don't know if you noticed but the options are glitched out." As she explained she subconsciously rubbed her arm and continued to kick at any nearby rocks.
"I don't know." Flowey deadpanned. "You'll just have to find out, won't cha?"
Frisk frowned at the flower and silently wondered why she even bothered staying to talk to him. He'd made it clear in the last timeline that they would never be friends… but she had hoped that they could have at least been civil enough to work with each other. After all, Chara had come dangerously close to killing him. If it weren't for their combined efforts Frisk wouldn't have succeeded in making the True Reset and the fate of the world would have been left up to Chara.
"I guess so." was her simple reply.
"You're scared aren't you?" Flowey questioned mockingly. "Scared that if you reset, you might erase your little friend from the timeline."
Amber eyes looked upon Flowey with disappointment. She should have known that he wouldn't change. She had hoped that after all that had happened, maybe he would have had a change of heart. Chara had put them through so much; they shouldn't be fighting each other. They should be working to get rid of her.
"Of course I am. He's my friend." She purposely left out the part where she was honestly afraid to be left to her own devices. The fear that if she was alone she would fall under Chara's control once more.
"Friendship didn't help you the last few times Frisk." Flowey argued, his face scrunched up as his eyes narrowed at the human.
"But it will be different this time." Frisk argued back. "I haven't heard a word from Chara… maybe she's- "
"Don't be an idiot." Flowey spat. She could hear the exasperation in the little flower's voice as he continued to glare at her. "She's leading you into a false sense of security… I don't know what she's planning, but I know for a fact that she isn't gone."
However, Frisk refused to back down. "You don't know that." Frisk scoffed and crossed her hands over her chest. "You're not the one with her in your head screaming at you to kill everything in sight."
Flowey glowered at Frisk and turned away from her. Slouching over once more he spared Her one more glance. "Believe what you want. Just don't come crying to me when Chara has you kill that new friend of yours." Without waiting for her response, Flowey sunk back into the ground.
Frisk sighed and dropped her arms. Her shoulders slumped slightly and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Honestly, she hoped Flowey was wrong because, as determined as she was, Chara was far more determined than she could ever possibly be.
Pivoting around, Frisk abruptly made her way towards the exit of the ruins. Her shoes clacked against the hard stone flooring of the abandoned hallways of the once great city. She stretched out her hand and gently placed it upon the steel surface of the door that would lead her to the world beyond the ruins. Her hands felt warm against the cold metallic surface of the door as she pushed it open.
The doors creaked as it unlatched and Frisk was hit with a powerful gust of cold air that caused the hairs on her arm to stand up and her muscles to clench in retaliation. No matter how many times she had been through this door she would never be prepared for the rush of cold air that would always attack her when she opened the ruin doors.
She glanced around for the other human, but when she didn't see him right away she began to worry.
"Kaylin!" She called, her voice echoing throughout the nearby forest. When she didn't receive a response she began to glance around for any hints of the boy's whereabouts; her eyes locked onto the ground where the boy's footprints were imprinted into the ground.
She bit down gently on her lower lips as she raised her head looking towards the forest. Dread suddenly crashed upon her like a wave and she was sprinting forward towards the forest, her amber eyes keeping track of the boy's footprints. She had to get to him before Sans did… who knows how Kaylin would react to the sight of the skeleton. Seeing as the lamp that so happened to be conveniently shaped like her was too small for him, he would be left with no other possible hiding options.
"Kaylin!" She called out once more.
But no one came.
The first thing Kaylin noticed when the bright blue light faded was that he was no longer surrounded by towering foliage decorated with snow.
Now he stood in a rather sizable town that was also covered in snow and ornaments that reminded him of how his town on the surface looked during Christmas. He silently wondered if monsters celebrated Christmas as well. The idea seemed preposterous to him. However, since his arrival in the underground, he'd encountered all sorts of peculiar things. So, in retrospect, the idea wasn't as far-fetched as he may have thought.
"How'd you do that?" he inquired in awe as he took in the new scenery.
Sans winked and scratched his skull in response. "a guy's gotta have some secrets"
Kaylin rolled his eyes at the response but didn't push Sans for answers. He figured that it wasn't any of his business anyway. His mind shifted to the fact that it was somehow even colder here than it was in the forest.
He shivered. His fingers twitching at the cold air that circulated throughout the town. He could feel his muscles contract in order to help produce some much needed heat against the cold that surrounded him. Despite wearing clothing that was specifically tailored to this sort of climate, he was still cold. Hopefully wherever Sans was taking him would be a little warmer than this.
"welcome to snowdin bud." Sans introduced, lazily waving around with his free hand.
Kaylin followed Sans' hand movement and began to take in the town that surrounded him. It was rather quaint. He could see the occasional monster passing by and, while he did tense at the sight, he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't in any real danger here.
His eyes locked onto the giant Christmas tree that stood in the centre of town. It swayed ever so slightly in the cool, gentle breeze that blew throughout the town.
"Wow." Was all Kaylin managed to utter as he continued to stare at the tree in admiration. He was so entranced that he didn't notice the amused expression on Sans' face as the skeleton's gaze focused on him.
"pretty cool huh?" Sans said.
Kaylin nodded and ripped his gaze away from the tree and towards Sans. "You guys celebrate Christmas?" He inquired.
Sans shrugged his shoulders in response. He raised a finger to his face and began to scratch his chin. "sure, if that's what you humans call it."
"So, what's it called down here then?" He inquired.
"well we don't really have a name for it. some guy was being harrassed by a couple of punks." Sans explains. "so a lot of monsters started to give presents to that monster and ever since it's sorta become tradition to place presents under the tree."
"Oh." Kaylin added. "Well, that's different to how it is on the surface."
Sans nodded in response. "figured it would be. how so?"
"Well, on the surface, there are multiple meanings behind Christmas. Although, I guess the most popular one is that some old guy comes around and breaks into other people's houses.
Usually, he eats their food and leaves presents in return, although if the person was bad he would leave coal." Kaylin explains. "And saying it like that really makes him seem like some sort of creep."
"you humans sure have some humerous stories." Sans mused.
"Yeah… I guess so." Kaylin agreed. "A lot of people always say that he is, um…." He hesitated, not sure if he should go ahead with it or not but decided to anyway. "B-big boned."
There was an abrupt pause.
Neither party uttered a single word. The narrow pinpointed lights that filled the void in the skeleton's eyes socket seemed to grow even brighter as Sans' smile widened even more than before.
Suddenly, Sans started to laugh. It was a deep, throaty laugh that filled the otherwise serene silence that befell the town of Snowdin. A faint blush appeared on Kaylin's face. Kaylin directed his gaze onto the ground and his lips curled upwards into a rather awkward and, admittedly, forced smile. He couldn't really tell if Sans was laughing at him for making such a terrible attempt at a pun or if he actually found the pun amusing.
"nice one kid." Sans complimented after a moment. "stick with me and you'll be a professional in no time." Sans winked.
The smile on Kaylin's face gradually morphed into something that was much less forced. Relief flooded through his system and he couldn't help but feel grateful that Sans wasn't making fun of him. His awkwardness wasn't something that a lot of people appreciated.
"T-thanks, but I think I'll leave all the puns to you." He said. "So where's this place you were taking me to?" He questioned as he examined the line of buildings that decorated the town.
"it's this way." Sans directed and gently tugged on Kaylin's arm. Kaylin hadn't even noticed that he was still holding Sans hand. His eyes widened and he let out a small yelp of as Sans began to drag him towards one of the nearby buildings. A giant sign that decorated the top that read Grillby's. He suddenly realized that the entire time he was still holding onto Sans hand, he felt his face heat up even more than before and couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. He was just glad that no one was around to see them.
Grillby's bar was a burst of noise and heat when Sans opened the door,and the human couldn't help but bask in the feeling of warmth as it circulated around his form and chased away the cold air. His mind drifted away for a moment as Sans lead him towards the bar. It was only when he opened his eyes once more that he finally noticed the large number of monsters that populated the bar.
The smile on his face instantly vanished as a feeling of dread overtook any positive feelings. Subconsciously, he edged closer to his new companion as some of the monsters' gazes shifted towards him. The horde of monsters that populated the place definitely looked more aggressive and intimidating than the ones he had seen in the past. Especially when compared to Sans, who in his own right was quite scary.
Sans' kindness almost made him forget that most monsters in the Underground wanted his blood.
It was clear that Sans had noticed his anxiousness, as the skeleton slowed his movements and allowed Kaylin to walk to his side. Once he had caught up, Sans flashed him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand. He appreciated Sans' attempt at calming him, he really did, but from the corner of his eyes he could see the outline of several armored humanoid dogs glancing quizzically at him. Their noses twitching in the air.
His attention suddenly jolted from the armored mongrels when he felt a gentle tug on his arm. Sans offered him a reassuring smile, the pin-like lights illuminated in a warm glow while his grip around his dark hands tightened, though not enough to cause him pain.
"don't worry pal," Sans muttered quietly. "I'll keep an eye-socket out for ya."
Kaylin forced a smile at the attempt to lighten the mood. However, the feeling of dread never left and he swore he could feel the eyes of the other monsters boring into his back even as he sat down on a stool near the bar.
He admitted that when Sans removed his hand, the feeling he was currently experiencing simply amplified. He wanted nothing more than to grip Sans' hand once more. At least then he wouldn't feel so scared.
But he wasn't some baby. He shouldn't have to rely on others to help him conqueror his fears. So he forced himself to sit there, nervously fiddling with his hands his body straight and stiff as he tried to ignore the stares directed his way.
An awkward silence befell the two as they sat there. Kaylin continued to fiddle with his hands, whether it was by entangling his fingers together or simply bending or twisting them slight. He was suddenly having regrets about this. His mind wondered onto Frisk and he couldn't help but feel like he'd abandoned her. She must be worried sick about him; quite possibly believing he was injured or worse. The thought caused him to wince and his gaze fell down onto the counter of the bar as he tried to rationalize his next step.
He didn't want to leave just yet. After all, he agreed to come here with Sans. Still he couldn't help but feel like Sans was playing him. Why would he bring him here where there were other, possibly dangerous, monsters lurking about?
"so pal." Sans begins, breaking the silence and snapping Kaylin out of his reverie. "whaddya want? I can order that hotdog I promised you."
"That's fine." Kaylin continued to gaze at the counter. "U-um not hungry anymore."
"come on bud, ya gotta eat something."
"I said I'm not hungry."
Kaylin heard Sans sigh and he felt guilty for not accepting his offer, but rationally he couldn't accept any help from Sans. Sure the guy was nice and all, but Toriel had warned them about the monsters out here. For all he knew Sans could be plotting to hand him over to those guys behind them. Still he couldn't see Sans doing that. Despite knowing him for a short period of time, Sans didn't seem like to type to backstab others.
"suit yourself." Sans said before he called out. "hey grillby I'll have an order of fires!"
Kaylin's face scrunched up in confusion when he felt a flare of heat near where he and Sans were sitting. His gaze rose from the counter in search of the cause. He almost fell off his stool at the sight of the flame elemental wearing a tuxedo and glasses.
The fire elemental nodded politely at Sans before retreating to the backroom.
"so what do you think of the underground so far?' Sans inquired. Once again he tried to start a conversation with the other.
"It's… different from the surface. I'm still trying to adjust to it." He explains. "The fact that a lot of the monsters down here want to kill me is kind of making it hard though."
"ah don't worry about it bud." Sans reassured. "tibia honest most of the monsters here have never seen a human before. Besides a lot of the ones that want to are just like me." Sans claims. "lazy to the bone."
Kaylin's lips twitched, although he was able to keep the smile from his face. "but no one is lazier than me, you could say that i'm bone idle." Sans continued on noting how Kaylin bit down on his lower lip to prevent himself from smiling.
"come on, you're smiling."
"N-no I'm not." Kaylin denied as he felt his face heat up and he turned away from Sans. Sans leaned against the counter and placed his chin in his hands as he continued to stare at Kaylin.
"you sure about that?" Sans commented. "admit it, you can't resist my humerus jokes."
Kaylin couldn't hold back any longer. Despite his best efforts the laugh slipped out, his hands raised to cover his mouth.
"geeze kid. if you're cracking up at my more bare-bone jokes, i can't wait to see how you react to my funnier ones." Sans mused. The sparks of light in the void of his eye-sockets flared to help display his amusement.
Kaylin lowered his hand once he was sure he wasn't going to burst out in an intense fit of laughter. For some reason, he didn't feel as tense as he did when he first entered Grillby's. Sure, he could still feel the eyes of the other monsters on him, but their unusual focus on him was pushed to the back of his mind as he allowed himself a moment to enjoy himself.
He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed like that. It wasn't something forced to appeased someone else. His gaze focused on Sans, his brown eyes twinkling in the light of the bar as a smile formed on his face.
It was a bright smile. A smile that stretched across his entire face and even made it to his dark eyes. It was a smile that transformed his entire facial expression, making him appear youthful and spirited. It was as though he had transformed into a completely different person.
"Thanks for the laugh. Sorry I was being such a jerk to you for a moment there." His gaze shifted to the fire elemental who arrived with the fries Sans had ordered. Due to the distraction, he hadn't noticed the way the skeleton seemed to stiffen, a blueish tint appearing on his cheekbones.
"n-no problem kid." He waved off, the blueish tint still coating his face as he grabbed the box of fries and rested it on the counter.
The sound of a growling stomach caused pin-point lights to shift towards the human, who winced and tried to pretend that it wasn't him by focusing his gaze on anyone but Sans. "here pal." Sans offered pushing the box of fries towards him.
Kaylin bit down on his lower lip eyeing the food and gently shook his head. "N-no they're yours."
"it's fine, besides I'm not hungry anyway. The food usually goes right through me." Sans winked as he picked up a bottle of ketchup.
"You sure like making jokes." Kaylin noted with a smile on his face as he took the box of fries.
"what can I say? I enjoy making others laugh. I have a femur if you're willing to hear them." Sans said as he offered the bottle of ketchup towards Kaylin. "want some ketchup?"
Kaylin nodded and took the bottle from Sans grasp, tipping it over slightly to release the red contents. When he decided that there was enough ketchup on the fries he handed the bottle back to Sans who graciously took it from him.
"bone appetit" Sans said as he chugged down the remaining contents of the bottle. Kaylin blinked in surprise before a soft laugh escaped his mouth. Sans noticed Kaylin was looking at him and lowered the bottle. Some of the ketchup dripped from his mouth and down off his chin.
"what, never seen a skeleton drink ketchup before?"
Kaylin continued to laugh at the sight for a moment before picking up a napkin from the counter. "Nope." was his simply reply as he leaned towards Sans, getting into his personal space. Sans' eyes flared up and he titled his head at the human. However, before he could question Kaylin on what he was doing, the teen wiped the ketchup off his face.
The blueish tint returned. However, Kaylin seemed oblivious to it. As he turned he simply smiled and turned his gaze back onto the fries on the table.
Resting the napkin on the table he picked up a fry and plopped it into his mouth. He chewed and his eyes lit up at the flavor that assaulted his taste buds. "Wow that's delicious!" he said before he took several more and subsequently placed several more in his mouth, before turning to Sans and raising a fry toward him.
"Want one?" Sans stared at the human, an odd expression on his face. The only indication that he noticed the fry was that the pin-pointed lights in eye-socket slowly lowered towards it. The blush was still there, even as he reached out and took the offered fry.
Before he could eat the fry, he noticed one of the guards point at Kaylin, holding a flyer. He couldn't see what it said but it was enough for him to know that it was time for the two of them to leave.
"hey kid. wanna find somewhere else to hang out?' Sans questioned as he took out some gold from his pocket and placed it onto the counter.
"Sure, but can I at least finish my fries first?"
"you can eat them at the next place."
Kaylin looked at Sans skeptically for a moment, before picking up the box of fries. "Well, if you say so."
Sans raised a hand before he got off his stool. The skeleton removed his jacket and offered it to the human. "I noticed that you were cold. you can wear my jacket to help if you want."
"What about you? Don't you need it?"
"nah, the cold just goes right through me." Sans joked. Despite that. Kaylin was still reluctant to take the jacket.
"Well… if you say so." He said as he grabbed hold of the soft fabric. He placed the box of fries back onto the counter, careful as to not spill any of the contents onto the jacket as he wrapped it around his shoulders. The fur brushed against his cheeks as he adjusted it.
"So where to now?" Kaylin asked as he picked up his fries and hopped off the stool.
"somewhere a lot less crowded." Sans raised his hand towards Sans and without much thought Kaylin took hold of his hand. Sans then began to guide them outside of the bar, ignoring the way that the guards leaned ever so closer as the two passed their table.
Kaylin stiffened as one dog in particular leaned close and promptly began to sniff the air. Said dog, however, seemed confused, his snout crinkling and his eyes narrowing. Turning his attention back to the others he shook his head and threw the flyer onto the ground.
Kaylin was confused by the response, but visibly relaxed when he noticed that the dogs no longer held any interest in him. Sans exited Grillby's, allowing the cold air to seep in and clash with the warm, almost comforting, air that circulated throughout the bar.
Frisk didn't know how long she had been trudging through the snow covered forest. It felt like hours had passed and she couldn't help but wonder why it seemed that way. Every past run she was able to quickly traverse through the forest without much thought. Yet here she was probably hours after leaving the ruins and she still hadn't managed to make it to the bridge.
The only logical explanation she had was that she wasn't just looking to reach the end of the forest. She was actively searching for her lost friend which obviously took more time than she would normally waste if she were on her own.
Now that she thought about it however. She hadn't ever stopped to admire the beauty of the nearby flora. Even on her first run. She had been too scared to even think about doing such a thing. Still, now that she had experienced life within the underground and knew that there were no dangerous monsters she was more susceptible to watch how the tree branches swayed slightly in the cool breeze.
She continued with her hunt for her companion. Her eyes lowered onto the snow covered ground as she eyed the boy's footsteps. Though as she got further the footsteps seemed to become more erratic before disappearing completely.
She blinked and raised her head. Glancing around, she tried to figure out where the boy could have run off to, but to no avail. What could have happened to him? She silently wondered as she took a step forward and walked through the barred wooden barrier that was meant to prevent humans from progressing any further.
Easily slipping through them and she carried on, her eyes dashing from left to right as she took in the area. She noticed that the lamp she had hidden behind in her previous runs was missing and that, with the exception of the sentry station, the area was empty.
She moved towards the sentry station, hoping that, maybe, Sans was sleeping behind the desk. She wouldn't put it passed him to do something like that, given how lazy the skeleton was.
Nevertheless, she hadn't expected someone to leap out at her when she got near the counter and tackle her to the ground. She yelped as her back collided with the snowy ground. She squirmed as she tried wiggle out of her attacker's grasp.
"I GOT YOU NOW LAZY BONES!" A voiced exclaimed with flair, obviously mistaking the brunette for someone else. "HOW DARE YOU ABANDON YOU- " The voice stopped mid-sentence and Frisk raised her head to see a tall figure looming above her. Her eyes widened as she instantly recognized the other.
"YOU'RE NOT SANS!" The monster said as he slowly got to his feet. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, APOLOGIZE FOR THIS LITTLE MISHAP!" He said as he raised a hand towards Frisk.
This wasn't right, was all Frisk could think. She reluctantly took Papyrus' hand and allowed him to help her to her feet.
Not at all.