Blue squints at his phone, clinging koala-like to the rungs of a metal ladder swaying high above snowdin, wind howling by at record speed. He squints at the blurred phone screen through the snow, the ladder swaying precariously in the wind as he glowers at the tiny screen in definite dissatisfaction. Come on! He has to call his brother!
"DO YOU HAVE A SIGNAL YET?"
Comes a distant cry from the cabin roof far below him, the small red blur that is Papyrus straining to hold the long ladder above his head- blue clinging precariously to the very top rungs, so he's a good long way up there. The lights of snowdin are tiny blobs of color from this height, and the smaller skeleton turns his skull to screech back down, practically having to scream to be heard over the wind;
"NOPE!"
He replies at top volume, and sticks the phone into his bandanna, climbing a few rungs higher. His gloves aren't very good at holding onto the slippery metal, but the strain of it is far from his mind- blue just heaving himself up another inch and producing the phone again. Still no signal. Oh, come on! Blue thinks to himself, very frustrated, Just work! He must be so worried! The wind screams by in a thunderous wail, as if berating him for his recklessness, bBue ignoring it and climbing up another rung- not even bothering to put the phone away to do so- straining to hold it as far above his skull as possible.
"YES!"
Blue cries, as a single bar ticks into view, the signal flickering and unsteady, but still there! Blue immediately speed dials his brother, heaving himself up another rung, nearly at the very top. Another bar- the call is ringing, but doesn't connect. Dangit! He pulls himself up another rung, and dials again- the phone rings, but the signal, maybe if it was better- he heaves himself up another rung, teetering on the very top, the ladder wobbling precariously, then finally - Full signal!
"PAPYRUS!"
Blue cries, immediately pressing the phone to his ear and listening intently.
"YES?"
a confused voice calls up from below him, papyrus struggling down below.
"NOT YOU!"
Blue cries down at him, before turning back to the phone, swaying precariously in the air and not really caring, beginning to chatter into the receiver regardless of whether or not he can hear anything but static. This is one of the many reasons he hasn't registered the fact that papyrus has just toppled right off the roof.
"PAPYRUS ITS ME I FINALLY GOT A SIGNAL ARE YOU OKAY I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOOAAAAAAHHHH-"
At least, not until gravity gives him a very stern reminder.
Blues speech slides into a panicked screech as he suddenly feels the ladder swing wildly, then topple entirely- the snow whizzing by in dizzying whirls around him as Blue feels his stomach flip despite not having one, distantly aware the screaming he's hearing is probably him. The blur of Snowdin spins around him like a sock in a dryer, the ladder drifting lazily by him in the air, and all blue can do is clutch the phone to him as he falls, his own wildly flailing boots and lower body the one and only non-blurred thing in his vision. He screams loudly, papyrus's voice jointed in terror with his, both of them tumbling down as the cabin roof briefly flashes by before snow suddenly swallows him with a harsh-
crunch!
Suddenly, silence, and all Blue can see is the dark sky above him. He blinks, stunned by the fall, walls of snow on all sides. He's made a very deep sans-shaped impact crater, and only seconds after he's registered this, there comes a loud crack from nearby- along with a orange-white blur that Blue assumes was papyrus.
And that, of course, is the very moment the call came on!
"Blue? Blue is that you holy shit I-!"
The voice of his brother cries, and for a moment, the still-rather-dazed Blue is overjoyed- his brother, finally! -before remembering. Ah, yes, the other papyrus, that definitely needs him more. People who've just fallen off a roof generally do, by default.
"U-UH, YES, ONE MOMENT PAPYRUS, I NEED TO HELP- UH- YOU."
Blue responds worriedly into the phone, struggling to scramble up out of his sans-shaped impact crater, the snow caving away under his hands and knees as his brother screeches furiously over the phone line:
"Blue for f*cks sake- where are you, what's going on, what universe are ya even in i have so many-"
Blue sighs as much as he can with a frozen grin, his brother prattling on in a vibrantly worded worried chatter that basically boils down to 'Im confused, worried, and mad about those things', Blue still struggling to dig his way over to papyrus. Stressed out by the lack of response from papyrus, Blue cuts his brother off over the phone, responding;
"LOOK, I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN VERY WORRIED- BUT, WELL, THE VERSION OF YOU THAT HAS BEEN BALANCING ON A ROOF HOLDING A LADDER WITH ME ON IT IN A SNOWSTORM FOR AN HOUR HAS JUST FALLEN OFF OF SAID ROOF IN SAID SNOWSTORM AND I DO KIND OF NEED TO HELP HIM FIRST, YOU KNOW?"
Blue explains worriedly, giving the phone, which he's put in the pouch of his bandanna for safekeeping, a stern look as if his brother will feel his disapproval across time and space, struggling to get through the chokingly cold powder snow as more piles down on him.
"ALSO, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE."
He adds, indignant spluttering coming from the phone as Blue finally breaks through the snow-wall between him and papyrus, finding the tall skeleton splayed out like a starfish in the snow, obviously very dizzy. Broken ice is scattered around him- that black, thick ice Blue knows to be wary of, since if you slip and fall on it, it's like smashing your head on solid concrete. He winces. Uh oh…
"Me- roof- ladder- snowstorm-!?"
His brother splutters in confusion over the phone, Blue huffing as he clambers on top of papyrus's battle body and stands on top of him, leaning over and inspecting his dazed skull worriedly as snow howls around them.
"YES PAPYRUS, I'M IN A SNOWSTORM. THAT IS WHY THE SIGNAL IS SO BAD, IT'S PRACTICALLY A BLIZZARD OUT HERE!"
Blue replies over the phone, still inspecting the disoriented skeleton below him,
"OH DEAR…" Blue mutters to himself, the indignant spluttering only increasing in volume, "PAPYRUS, WHAT IS IT I'M MEANT TO DO IF SOMEONE IS CONCUSSED?"
Blue suddenly asks, tilting his skull and squinting, trying to remember the emergency first-aid training Alphys gave him. Was it 'make sure they don't fall asleep'? Because of coma risk, wasn't it? Well, his eyes are kinda open, so…
"BLUE!"
His brother screeches over the phone, the static almost as bad as the snow,
"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' IN A BLIZZARD!?"
He screeches, obviously worried out of his mind, Blue grimacing as he reminds himself of that fact. His brother is just very worried…though, blue wishes he would be more reasonable about it. Or perhaps just a bit…quieter?
"TRYING TO CALL YOU, PAPYRUS."
Blue states flatly, interrupting the beginning of his brother's next sentence. There's a small moment of silence in the snow, before;
"…point taken."
His brother mutters over the crackling phone call, distant sounds of plot-irrelevant shenanigans happening in the background.
"THANK YOU."
Blue replies with satisfaction, before turning and trying to judge the distance it would be to wade from the concussed papyrus to the nearby ladder, which is sitting neatly on top of the snow. It's already beginning to be covered by the flood of white, and Blue internally frowns. The snow is so deep he was barely able to make it the few inches to papyrus, he's never going to be able to wade through all that. Blue thinks for a moment. Well, snow is just frozen water, right? Well, how do people get over water? By going over it! Blue nods to himself, satisfied with this plan. If he summons a few bones as stepping stones, he just might be able to make it…
"But still, blue, who's- whaddya say-"
"CONCUSSED?"
Blue supplies helpfully, still calculating the distance and already beginning to form the first bone in his hands,
"-yeah, that, and also, what under the earth had been keeping you from callin' me this whole time? I'm just- just feelin' really out of the loop here, bro."
Blue, needing both hands free now, puts the call on speakerphone and tucks it into his bandanna, glancing up into the snowstorm with a pang of worry. It's really coming down…
"WELL, FOR STARTERS, OTHER YOU IS CONCUSSED. HE LANDED ON BLACK ICE WHEN HE FELL OFF THE ROOF AND I NEED TO GIVE HIM MEDICAL ATTENTION. NOT TO MENTION LAZY ME, WHO HAS HAD SOME REALLY CONFUSING THINGS HAPPEN TO HIM SINCE MY ARRIVAL, AND I REALLY DO HAVE TO HELP HIM TOO, BUT NOT MEDICALLY I THINK, BECAUSE- WELL, ITS A REALLY LONG STORY PAPYRUS, BUT BASICALLY-"
Blue interrupts his own sentence by hurling the first bone into the snow with a crunch of icy snow, preparing the second as he continues;
"-THROUGH A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY IMPROBABLE EVENTS, I HAVE BEEN WITNESS TO A NUMBER OF UNIVERSAL SLIP UPS, RELOADS, RESETS- KIND OF? -AND OTHER THINGS, WHICH HAS LEAD TO, WELL, ME BEING STUCK IN A BLIZZARD WITH A CONCUSSED VERSION OF YOU ON MY HANDS AND RESPONSIBLE FOR TWO UNSUPERVISED CHILDREN IN A HOUSE I AM NOT IN AND CANNOT BELIEVE HAS NOT BURNED DOWN YET."
Blue explains somewhat breathlessly, the cold beginning to get to him as he tries to aim the second bone with shaking hands.
"Kids!? What the- geeze, Blue, not you too, this is starting to feel like a theme!"
Blue's brother exclaims over the phone, Blue automatically tilting his head despite knowing his brother can't see him.
"HOW DO YOU MEAN?"
He asks, voice slightly shaky in the cold, hurling the last bone and watching in satisfaction as it sticks perfectly in the snow.
"Well, uh, in case ya forgot- you did leave me with a readheaded little human to take care of, remember? Not to mention that poor kid I picked up on my way back in Reds shithole of a universe…"
Blue shoots the phone a confused glance. What is his brother going on about? Has he been messing with spacetime again? Why would he do that!? Last time it was an utter disaster!
"WHAT POOR KID? AND WHO IS 'RED?'"
Blue asks, one nonexistent eyebrow raising as he eyes up the hop to the first stepping-bone. He grins to himself- Stepping bone. He's got to tell that one to dad when he gets back!
"Pfft, B;ue, did you really think I wouldn't try to come get'cha at least? Granted, I did look in the wrong place but…hey, at least I managed to bring back that grumpy friend o' yours. I call him Red, but you called him, uh…I dunno, something just as accurate as red."
Blue, now balanced on the first of the three stepping bones to the now half-buried ladder, takes the phone out of his bandanna just to stare at it incredulously. The snow is only piling higher, and at this point he's afraid he won't be able to open the door…
"WAIT- A RED, GRUMPY FRIEND!? DO YOU MEAN ANGRY ME? YOU WENT TO HIS WORLD? AND NOW HES IN OUR WORLD!? CRIKEY PAPYRUS, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!?"
Blue cries incredulously, hopping to the next bone and pinwheeling his arms wildly to keep balanced, the snow flying around him as the audio from the phone crackles. As he's desperately trying to keep his balance, the sound of something falling echoes through the staticky signal, his brother's response coming a moment after.
"Yeah, so, hey, you wanna talk to him for a mo? I need to, uh, take care of something."
He sounds extremely stressed, and Blues only reply is a somewhat distracted 'UH HUH,' noise, focusing intently on making the last jump to the fallen ladder, which will (hopefully) get him to the door. It's rather like playing a very high stakes game of 'floor is lava' except instead of imaginary lava, it's very real, very deep snow. He can't afford to miss.
"Here ya go, talk to blue for a- what the everlovin' F*CK why ME- aw are you nervou- I SWEAR i'm gonna KI - just take the phone dumbass I need to-"
Various swearing and scuffling come from the phone, and Blue rolls his eyelights, turning down the volume and trying to concentrate. Snow is blurring his vision, and he shakes his head hard, trying to shake off the nerves. It is a pretty big jump, but if he just keeps steady he can-
"-WHY AM I IN CHARGE OF THE LITTLE BLUE IDIOT!?"
-erupts from the phone in thunderous fashion, the sudden explosion of noise throwing Blue off balance and sending him crashing face first onto the ladder with a crack. Blue has to scramble wildly to avoid falling off of it into the powdery unpacked snow that's still waiting to swallow him, his boots failing to get a grip on the icy rungs at first and his entire lower body getting dunked in the icy powder- yet somehow, he manages to still cling to it with one arm hooked over a rung, whole body shivering, before heaving himself up onto the ladder (which sinks about an inch into the snow from his weight) and grabbing the phone from the snow, shrieking into it with a burst of sudden fury at his current situation;
"COULD YOU KINDLY SHUT UP!?"
Snow is beating into his face, into his eyesockets, battering against his clothes in bullets of choking cold as frost creeps across them, blizzard still raging, the snow still rising, everything still an utter disaster around him as Blue finally loses his usually immeasurable patience.
"I AM CURRENTLY STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLIZZARD WITH A CONCUSSED SKELETON WHO IS TWICE MY SIZE THAT I NEED TO GET INTO THE HOUSE IMMEDIATELY- NOT TO MENTION I SOMEHOW HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THAT WHILE SNOW AND ICE IS HINDERING MY EVERY STEP!"
Blue rants into the phone, every bone in his body frozen to the core and his limit reached. He breathes heavily for a few moments, glaring at the phone in his hands. On the other end, the only noise is stunned silence- blue just shivering there in the snowstorm as his metaphorical blood boils. Then, the frustration blinks out, and his expression immediately softens back into his usual (if very tired) demeanor. Blue sighs, and putting the phone back up to his ear.
"…LOOK, I KNOW THAT WAS…HARSH. IT'S JUST THAT I AM UNDER A LOT OF STRESS RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WHOLE 'BLIZZARD' SITUATION, AND THE CONCUSSED PAPYRUS, AND THE ME WHO IS NOT DOING SO GOOD, AND THE DAD THAT IS NOT DOING SO GOOD, AND THE KIDS WHO I HOPE ARE DOING GOOD, SO I'M RATHER STRESSED. BUT IF YOU CAN PLEASE JUST LOWER YOUR VOLUME WHILE I WORK ON NOT GETTING BURIED IN TEN FEET OF SNOW, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL, AND I CAN TALK TO YOU ONCE I AM INSIDE, OKAY?"
Blue suggests, not waiting for the reply, not that it would have come- everyone on the other end still stunned by his outburst. He shoves the phone in his pocket, trying to refocus onto the task at hand. He can't afford being delayed anymore- this universe's papyrus is slowly getting more and more buried, and his condition is only going to get worse the longer he's here- Blue has to work fast now, and he can't afford any distraction. He can talk to his brother inside, in the warm. He pushes himself to his feet, balancing warily on the ladder and looking towards the cabin's entrance. If he could somehow get papyrus onto this ladder, perhaps he could use it as a bridge between here and the front steps- not that they are visible under this much snow.
And in fact, neither is the door.
Blue blinks, rubs his eyesockets, squints- but nothing changes the fact that apparently, unbeknownst to him and papyrus, the snow has been rising rapidly the whole time they were on the roof. No wonder neither of them were knocked out or god forbid broke a bone when they fell- the distance to impact is, as far as blue can see, considerably smaller. The door is nearly entirely gone- only the glowing light from the small peephole near the top is visible, and both downstairs windows are half-blocked by snow. In fact, as far as blue can see the snow has swallowed every house in snowdin up to its windowpanes, the blizzard still pounding down on him even as he stares disbelievingly down the street.
"OH DEAR."
Blue mutters to himself, ice crawling up his back in more ways than one,
"IM…GOING TO HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WAY IN."
