Wow, that last chapter was emotionally charged! It took a lot out of me. Please take some time to leave a review, as that is the only way I can improve my writing. If you have anything you would like me to add in (E.g., interactions with your favorite character, jokes, etc.) feel free to suggest them! I may not add them, but I'll definitely consider it. Also, I have noticed quite a few mistakes in my chapters, which I apologize for. I have to take down and reupload the chapters when I make mistakes, so please forgive me.

Chapter 5

Percy inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of his surroundings. Beautiful snow covered the ground (he didn't know why there was snow underground, but it was pretty anyway), and the air was clean and fresh despite being inside a cave. He shivered as he rubbed his arms. His short sleeves wouldn't be very good protection against the elements here. All around him, there were tall pine trees that had somehow grown without sunlight. Their long branches looked like fingers in the darkness, reaching out to ensnare anyone who walked by. He decided he would hurry through this area.

As his sneakers crunched on the snow, Percy looked around him for any possible threats. He had gotten lucky with Toriel, but he wasn't sure other monsters would be so friendly. So, when he heard some footsteps behind him, he whirled around. He caught a quick glimpse of a shadow, but there was no one there. He casually reached for Riptide in his pocket, hoping whoever might be watching him wouldn't get suspicious. He continued walking, occasionally pausing to see if he could catch whoever was following him. He saw a large tree branch on the ground and stepped over it, continuing to walk. Crack. Percy quickly turned around. There was definitely someone following him. The huge tree branch had snapped clean in two.

Ahead of him, he saw a bridge with bars that had wide spaces between them. Unfortunately, Percy was just a little bit too big to fit through them. He froze as he heard loud footsteps behind him. This time, they weren't even trying to conceal themselves. He gripped Riptide tightly.

A deep voice cleared its throat. Percy wanted to turn around, but it was like his limbs were frozen.

"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

Bracing himself for the worst, Percy slowly turned and extended his hand. He felt his fingers touch something soft and squishy. He grimaced to himself. The thing he had touched squeezed, and out came… a fart noise. He knew he should be more mature, but he giggled. The thing recoiled. Percy opened his eyes to see a short, round skeleton in a blue coat. The skeleton had a horrified expression on its face for a split second, but then it became a mask of calm.

"hehe, the ol' whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny," the skeleton said.

"Yeah, you got me," Percy responded. "You were really scaring me for a minute there."

"me? scare you?" The skeleton asked, the lights in his eye sockets disappearing.

Percy felt disturbed, but the skeleton's lights soon reappeared, making him wonder if he had just imagined it.

"anyway, the name's sans. sans the skeleton. you're a human, right? that's… interesting," Sans introduced himself.

Percy put his hand on his chest. "I'm…" he debated telling Sans his full name. He seemed friendly enough, but you never knew. "I'm Percy."

"nice to meet ya, Percy. now, normally I'd tell you to head through these bars, but i got a couple questions for ya. first of all, why is it that you have enough EXP to have killed every single monster in the entire underground?" Sans asked, his lights disappearing once again. Yep, Percy was definitely not imagining it.

Percy stuttered. "I- it's not what you think. Where I come from, monsters are evil, and-"

"wait just a minute, pal. you're telling me there are monsters on the surface? and they're evil? that's got to be the worst lie i've heard all day," Sans chuckled.

Percy folded his arms. "I don't know how to explain this to you, but I don't come from the surface."

Sans eye sockets narrowed. Percy wasn't sure how he did that, seeing as they were made out of bone.

"if you don't come from the surface, then where do you come from?"

Percy was surprised. Sans had laughed when Percy claimed there were evil monsters, but he seemed perfectly serious and interested now.

"I come from another dimension. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I have no idea how I ended up here," Percy explained.

Sans blinked. Again, Percy wasn't sure how he did that. He waited for Sans to tell him he was crazy, but the skeleton didn't say anything for a minute.

"so it is true," Sans sighed.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"SANS!" Someone shouted from the distance.

"uh oh. that must be my brother, Papyrus. he's a human-hunting fanatic. you better hide before he catches you," Sans warned.

Percy looked around, but there was nowhere to go. Sans shrugged and motioned with his head towards the tree.

"come here, i know a shortcut," he instructed.

Percy followed him. He wasn't sure how he could hide behind these skinny trees, no matter how tall they were. But before he knew it, he found himself behind a wooden box with ketchup bottles lying everywhere. He peeked his eyes over the edge of the box. Sans was standing on a snowy path, looking up at a taller skeleton, that had large pads for shoulders. He winked at Percy. Percy got back down, hoping the taller skeleton hadn't noticed him.

"SANS! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING? NONE OF YOUR PUZZLES HAVE BEEN RECALIBRATED!" The skeleton shouted.

"don't worry, bro, i've gotten a ton of work done. a skele-ton," Sans joked.

Percy had to hold back a laugh.

"UGH! WHEN WILL YOU STOP MAKING THESE RIDICULOUS PUNS?!" Sans' brother complained.

"eventually. make no bonesabout it," Sans said.

Percy almost let a chuckle escape that time. Was Sans trying to get Percy found? He didn't seem to be taking the situation very seriously.

"SANS, IF I AM TO MAKE IT INTO THE ROYAL GUARD, I NEED YOU TO STOP SLACKING OFF! THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH TO CATCH A HUMAN ON HIS OWN!"

He risked a glance over the top of the box again. Papyrus had a red cape that was billowing in the wind, large white pads on his shoulders, and… underwear? Percy decided not to question it. The insanely tall skeleton was stomping his feet angrily at Sans, but Percy detected no malice in the action, only a little bit of frustration. He didn't appear to be much of a threat, but maybe he only acted this childishly around Sans.

"come on bro, i think you can afford to take a little break. you've been working yourself down to the bone."

Percy couldn't help himself that time. He snickered a little bit, just loud enough for Papyrus to hear. Papyrus's head whipped around, and Percy ducked back down.

"DID YOU HEAR THAT, BROTHER?" Papyrus asked.

"hear what?" Sans asked.

"THAT ODD GIGGLING NOISE," Papyrus said.

"nah, bro. your hearing is probably better than mine," Sans replied.

"WHY OF COURSE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS RENOWNED FOR HIS EXCELLENT HEARING SKILLS!" Papyrus beamed.

Percy wanted to sigh with relief. Sans might have just given him the distraction he needed. But he took back that imaginary sigh when Papyrus suddenly went silent. Percy didn't dare check if Papyrus was still there. Even the slightest motion could alert the human-hunting skeleton to where he was. He stayed as still as humanly possible, not even daring to breathe too deeply. It didn't work however, as a moment later he saw two eye-sockets peek over the edge of his hiding spot and look directly at him.

"Hi," Percy said, sheepishly grinning and waving one hand.

Papyrus cartoonishly jumped back, pin-wheeling his arms to stay upright. Percy got to his feet, noticing that he wasn't just behind a box, but actually inside of some sort of look-out station.

"OH MY GOSH! SANS, IS THAT A HUMAN?!" Papyrus squealed.

Sans had a peculiar expression on his face. Percy was hoping Sans might cover for him and claim that Percy was a new kind of monster. Based on the fact that Papyrus didn't recognize that he was a human, Percy doubted he was all that bright.

"yeah, bro, i'm pretty sure it is," Sans confirmed.

Percy noticed his interesting choice of words. He had called Percy "it" instead of "he," and he also said that he was pretty sure Percy was a human. Putting two and two together, Percy realized Sans didn't entirely believe that Percy was a human, or at least had chosen to pretend he didn't.

Papyrus took a deep breath, placing one bony hand with long fingers on his chest. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! YOU WILL THEN BE CAPTURED, DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL, AND- WELL, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT."

"Have you been rehearsing that speech?" Percy sarcastically asked.

Sans gave Percy a death glare even Annabeth couldn't beat. Percy decided he never wanted to be on Sans's bad side, but based on the look Sans was giving him, he figured he was already halfway there. Luckily, Papyrus didn't seem to pick up on the sarcasm.

"WHY YES, I DID! HOW COULD YOU TELL?" Papyrus asked.

"It just sounded really amazing," Percy complimented.

Sans seemed to relax a little bit, but he still had an air of distrust about him.

"THANK YOU, HUMAN! YOU CLEARLY HAVE GOOD TASTE!"

"Well, since I have such good taste, do you think you could spare me from being captured?" Percy suggested.

Papyrus considered his offer, scratching his jawbone.

"I SUPPOSE I CAN DELAY THE CAPTURING A LITTLE BIT…" he mused.

Percy wanted to pat himself on the back but figured that would be a tad suspicious. "Great!"

"BUT NOT INDEFINITELY! BEFORE YOU ARE TO BE CAPTURED, YOU MUST COMPLETE A SERIES OF CHALLENGES, EACH DESIGNED TO MEASURE YOUR INTELLIGENCE, YOUR WISDOM, AND YOUR… OTHER SMART THINGS!" Papyrus finished.

"Oh, um, great?" Percy tried to give off a winning smile.

Sans smiled up at his brother, which wasn't unusual, since his mouth was stuck in a permanent smile. "hey, can i help you with the puzzles this time? i'm feeling a little bit less lazy today."

Papyrus looked like Christmas had come early. Based on the weather of the area, it probably had. "REALLY, BROTHER?"

Sans grinned, keeping his eyes on Percy. "really."

Papyrus scooped up his brother like he was nothing. Considering he was made of bone, maybe he was. "THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE! PERHAPS AFTER YOU HELP WITH PUZZLES, YOU CAN EAT SOME OF MY SPAGHETTI!"

At the mention of spaghetti, Percy's stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten much since the slice of pie, and it hadn't been very filling.

"Hey, could I have some spaghetti too, please? If you don't mind," Percy requested.

Despite how much Sans seemed to dislike him, Sans made silent warning gestures behind Papyrus, who had set him down. Percy didn't know why, but it was too late. He had already asked, and he wasn't about to turn down free food.

Papyrus's eye-sockets widened, his smile growing bigger than the moon. "SOMEONE NEW WANTS TO TRY MY SPAGHETTI?! THIS REALLY IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Percy couldn't help but feel warmth in his heart at the expression on Papyrus's face. The big skeleton was pretty adorable, despite how loud he was, and the fact that he wanted to capture Percy. He soon changed his mind about how non-intimidating Papyrus was, as the large skeleton charged towards him. Percy's life flashed before his eyes when Papyrus grabbed Percy and squeezed him in a warm embrace. His ribcage jabbed into Percy. While Papyrus's eyes were watering out of joy, Percy's were watering out of pain. When Papyrus dropped him, Percy waited until he had turned around before massaging his side.

"COME, HUMAN! WE MUST DO THE PUZZLES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, SO THAT YOU MAY TRY MY SPAGHETTI EVEN SOONER!"

Papyrus merrily ran away, a skip in his step. Sans turned to Percy, his hands in his hoodie. The warmth Percy still had from Papyrus's hug evaporated as goosebumps covered his skin.

"so. you've impressed my bro. nice. don't think i trust you now, though. if you lay a single fleshy finger on my brother, i will hound you to the ends of the underground. i don't care if the monsters where you were from were evil. i can see the dust covering your arms, and i get the feeling there was more at some point. hurt Paps, and you're going to have a really bad time," Sans warned, his eye lights disappearing.

Percy sub-consciously rubbed the dust on his arms, maintaining eye contact with Sans, even if he didn't have any eyes.

"Sans, I know you don't trust me, and frankly, that's warranted. But I promise you, I only hurt monsters that attack me," Percy assured him.

"really? then how come you have recent dust on your arms? did someone try to attack you then, or did you attack first out of fear and rage?" Sans pointed out.

Percy felt his sins crawling up his back. "That was an accident."

"well, you better not have any 'accidents' around my bro. i prefer to not have to get my hands dirty if it can be prevented," Sans threatened.

An image of Percy and Tyson suddenly flashed into Percy's head. If Sans had come into his world with signs of violence and came near Tyson, how would Percy feel about him?

HIs face may as well have been carved out of granite. "Sans, I swear to you on the River Styx that I will not hurt your brother."

Thunder did not roll through the sky as it did in his own world, but a spark of electricity ran from his legs to his head. He figured those kinds of oaths still worked here, and even if they didn't, it was a nice gesture. Sans looked mildly interested.

"what's the river of sticks?" He asked.

Percy felt odd being the one to explain concepts to someone else. "The River Styx is a river where I'm from, where the dead throw away their unfulfilled life wishes as they pass onto the next life. An oath on it is binding, and terrible things happen if you break one."

"huh, sounds very morbid. i would recommend moving on from that philosophy, but i guess that kind of thinking sticks with you," Sans joked.

Percy snickered. "How do you make dark humor sound like a dad joke?"

Sans grinned, and Percy knew he had made a mistake. "i dunno, kid, humor's just in my bones."

Percy decided enough puns had been made. "Hey, what were you about to say when Papyrus interrupted?"

Sans looked down at his feet. "i was going to tell you that i had guessed there were alternate universes. i just didn't expect the confirmation to come from a random two-faced teenager."

Percy chose to ignore the two-faced comment. "Yeah, well, I didn't know they were real either until I woke up here. If you know something about alternate universes, do you have any idea how I got here?"

Sans sized him up, as if trying to measure what information to give him. "well, i only have a couple of theories, most of them are pretty bare bones. see, i did know this scientist a long ti-"

It was like someone had pressed the mute and pause button at the same time. The sound of Sans talking, the sound of the wind blowing, all of it was silenced. The tree branches stopped moving, and Sans' eyes no longer tracked Percy's movements. Then, a moment later, Sans unfroze, rapidly blinking and scratching his head.

"what was i talking about again? eh, probably wasn't important. c'mon kid, Papyrus is waiting," Sans said.

Percy was freaked out, but he figured telling Sans about what had just happened would probably get him locked in the Underground's largest rubber room. He tried to follow Sans, but the short skeleton waved him off.

"i gotta go help Papyrus prep the puzzles. have fun, kiddo," Sans said, disappearing among the trees.

"How does he do that?" Percy muttered.

He didn't like being alone again, but it didn't seem like he had much of a choice. He trudged through the snow, wondering what kind of puzzles the skeleton brothers had in store for him.