Snowdin Part 6

All the terror and thoughts Frisk had of the frightening tale came rushing back over her. Even while she hurriedly stood up and picked up her backpack, with Flowey jumping into it almost as urgently as Frisk moved, she couldn't even comprehend it herself, like she was moving through the motions of life, not knowing why because it was too overwhelming, too unreal to fully grasp. Papyrus rose up quickly as well, having also heard the news, but as soon as he left his bed he proceeded to fall on the floor, breathing heavily as if he was having a heart attack. His bones began to sweat, and he stared at the ceiling with his hand on his chest and eyesockets wide open in fear.

Sans, without any hesitation, ran to his now frightened brother and sat down by him.

"Breath in bro," he said. "Just breath in."

"He's coming!" Papyrus cried out. "Oh, gods. Mickey's coming back for me!"

"Mickey's not coming back for you bro," Sans said.

"How do you know?!" Papyrus quickly asked.

"I… I don't think he even remembers you, bro," Sans said. "And even if he was, he's not gonna hurt you. So just breathe in… and out. Not so hard is it? You can do it. You're brave like a hero remember? A great hero that-"

"Hero?" Papyrus said and looked at his brother, exasperated. "I'm no hero brother. Mickey's a hero, and he's… and he's-"

He stopped in his own words as he suddenly began exhaling as if out of breath. For a moment, it seemed he was about to faint.

"Sorry, Pappy," Sans said. "Bad choice of words. But you're still brave. Big and strong. Just… just breathe in and breathe out. You can do it. I know it. Just like we practised ok? "

His brother proceeded to attempt to do just that, and for a moment, he seemed to calm down. But only slightly.

"I'm… big," Papyrus muttered admits his panting. "And I'm… brave…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt but what about us?!" Flowey asked urgently.

Sans looked back at Flowey and his carrier Frisk, who stood in the middle of the room, frozen, not knowing what to do.

Sans turned back to his brother who stared at him with a face of pure terror. Then Sans sighed before he stood up and walked towards Frisk and Flowey.

"W-wait!" Papyrus cried after him.

Without moving the rest of his body of the floor, he raised one hand to reach towards his older brother while his expression looked pleading and tearful.

"Sans?" he said. "Brother? Please… please don't leave me. I need you. Please, I need to have you right now."

"I'm just gonna be gone for a few moments," Sans said. "I'm sorry but… I need to help these kids. I'll be back before you know it."

Papyrus looked at them still, his eye sockets suddenly watering. Then he closed them and nodded with understanding as small shiny tears began to run down his bony cheeks.

Frisk felt the small, cold skeletal hand of Sans grab her wrist as he looked up at her with a reassuring grin on his face.

"Where are we-?" Frisk began to ask.

Before she could finish her question, she found herself suddenly standing in another strange room after what felt like a mere blink.

"...going?" she finished.

This new room, at first glance, seemed completely disconnected from Sans' residence, making Frisk wonder if he had taken them to a different place.

The room appeared to be a basement of sorts, not only due to the aforementioned window, but also due to colourless cement walls, smells of dust and musk, and the heavy air that felt like something was pushing them down. It was also a bit narrow and with a low ceiling, but not too much so that Frisk didn't need to crouch or bend herself into odd angles. The only sources of light came from a small but wide basement window on a wall and a single working ceiling light above amidst several broken ones.

The only things of note in the room were what looked like some strange, broken device in the corner and a dusty workbench that had clearly been long unused, holding a single photo frame.

"Wait a minute," Flowey said. "Trashbag, Is this your workshop."

"Yep," Sans answered. "My secret workshop under the house. How do you know about it though? Did Pappy tell you?"

"Erm… sure," Flowey answered awkwardly. "Let's say he did that."

"Uh-huh," Sans replied.

"So what do we do now?" Frisk asked. "Do we just wait or…"

"Well unless you want to pretty much give yourself to a bunch of human-hating maniacs, then yeah," Sans said.

"Alright," Frisk said with nervousness. "But… are you sure they won't find it?"

"Of course they won't," Sans said. "It's my secret room, which in dictionary terms, means not a lot of people know about it. Also, I have the only key to it right here."

Sans reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, silver key, which he proceeded to dangle a bit in the air.

"Alright, I'm off now," Sans then said. "My brother awaits me, and I need to look inconspicuous for Mickey and his pals. Just don't break anything, even if there is practically nothing to break."

"How long do we need to stay?" Flowey asked.

"Eh…" Sans said and shrugged. "I dunno. I'll just come and get you when it's perfectly safe."

"Well… thanks," Frisk said.

"Don't mention it kiddo," Sans said.

With that, he vanished in front of the duo's eyes, with barely even a sound to accompany him.

"Jesus," Frisk said, mildly spooked.

"Well, perfect," Flowey blurted out.

Frisk looked around the room once more and sighed tiredly.

"Now what?" Frisk said.

"No clue," Flowey said and sighed tiredly as well.

Frisk looked at a small wooden door in the corner, one that presumably led out of this room, and wondered if something that looked so frail would truly manage to keep them safe. She then, almost instinctively, brushed her finger across the small reddish knife in her pocket. Would it be enough to protect them against whatever horrors were arriving? And now that the knife was on her mind, did anyone else see it? Did Sans or his brother see it? If they did, then why never mention it?

But Frisk decided not to think much of that right now and instead went to the photo frame on the table, the only object around that interested her, and picked it up with curiosity. Up close, she could see it more properly, and it held a strange yet warmhearted picture. It was a photo showing three skeletal figures, smiling towards the camera. Two of them, she recognizes as being the two skeleton brothers above, just younger, looking more like kids and dressed in striped shirts. But there was also a third skeleton, one Frisk couldn't recognize. It was much taller than the other two and sat in the middle of them. It wore a white scientist coat and had a masculine build like the other two. He also smiled gleefully alongside the other two.

"Who is that?" Fris asked Flowey. "The one in the centre."

"You don't recognize him?" Flowey asked curiously. "That's Gaster."

"What?!" Frisk exclaimed.

She looked at the photo again, at the smiling tall skeleton in the scientist coat. She couldn't grasp what Flowey said. She couldn't connect it, this smiling family man to her nightmares.

"Oh, you're joking," Frisk said and smiled awkwardly. "God, I almost fell for it."

"I'm serious," Flowey said. "This is Gaster. The Royal Scientist."

There was no hint of irony in his voice. Yet, Frisk almost refused to believe.

"That's… that's not Gaster," she said, nervous and confused. "Not the one I dreamt of."

"Well, that's possible," Flowey said.

"Huh?" Frisk replied, confused.

"This is him before the… accident," Flowey explained. "Before he changed permanently. Personality-wise and otherwise."

"Oh," Frisk said.

She looked down at the photo now, and it now filled her with a bit of a mournful feeling instead. Looking closer at the figure in the centre, she could now piece together how he resembled the Gaster from her dreams, like someone comparing a person face before and after a terrible facial scar.

"No wonder I didn't recognize him," Frisk said. "God. He looks so different. So…, well, human, for lack of a better word."

"Don't worry, I get it," Flowey said. "Sad isn't it."

"What in the world happened to him?" Frisk asked.

"Eh, I don't remember the exact details," Flowey said. "Just that it was some accident at his lab, involving one of his creations. I've never seen it, on the account of me not being, erm, born yet, so the things I do know I've only read about."

"Huh," Frisk said. "I see."

She placed the photo back onto the desk. Then, she looked around the basement once more and noticed that the small basement window was just about her height. That was when she, once more, felt her usual dangerous urge. Her obsessive pull of morbid curiosity, and so she walked towards it, feeling a sense of dread yet curious anticipation.

"Frisk, where are you-?" Flowey began.

"Think we can glance at The Hunt arriving from here?" Frisk asked him. "From this window?"

"Hmm," Flowey said, thinking. "Well… maybe? Assuming they're coming from that direction."

"Yeah, I'm thinking that as well," Frisk said. "What do you think? Should we…?"

"Well there is no harm in checking," Flowey said. "Not like they can see us clearly from here anyway."

"Cool," Frisk said

Frisk brushed off some of the wet wintery haze from the window and pressed her face upon it, with her palm placed in between so it wouldn't touch the wet glass. Her companion, now with some better mobility, then expanded his vine holding his head so that it was beside hers.

All Frisk could see from the narrow window was a field of snow with the occasional broken down shack placed neatly here. But besides that, there was nothing. Nothing that resembled a living person or creature.

"See anything?" Flowey asked. "Because I can barely see crap from here."

"Nada," Frisk replied. "Just snow, shacks and some trees. Maybe they are not coming from this-"

"Wait," Flowey suddenly said. "I… I think I see something. In the distance."

Frisk leaned in a bit closer, feeling her morbid curiosity grow alongside her unease. It was hard to see at first, but far in the distance, she could just glance at some strange shadows. At first, she assumed these were simply just trees. But then after a few seconds, they seemed to be growing slowly, but surely taller. Then a while after that, they seemed to multiply. It was at that point that Frisk realized these weren't still shadows, and they weren't expanding or multiplying. She felt a tinge of shock as the revelation dawned, and once the shadows began to take the forms of silhouetted humanoids.

"I think that's them," Frisk said.

"Oh, gods!" Flowey suddenly exclaimed with horror.

Frisk turned her companion. A great aura of terror seemed to have fallen upon his face as he stared at the approaching shadows. His expression appeared to be in pure disbelief of his own fears, of his own senses, and what seemed like sweat began to run down his stem and leaves. In just this one day she had known him, this was the most frightened Frisk had ever seen him.

"Flowey?" Frisk asked him nervously. "What is it."

"I… I think see now…" Flowey muttered without looking away.

"See what?" Frisk asked, confused. "The shadows?

"No," Flowey answered. "What I mean is… I understand now why I lost them. My memories. I think that- no, I hope rather, that is was simply my mind being merciful. I have witnessed so much horror in my countless resets, done so many wicked things that I may have yet to undo. Yet this… my mind could not hold this. It could not hold such scale of… of cruelty. So it took it away. Poked holes in mind and-"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Frisk asked. "You're kinda freaking me out right now."

Flowey turned up to look at her, still with the expression of pure terror.

"I remember them now," Flowey answered. "I remember The Royal Hunt. And Mickey. I remember far, far too much."

The wind blew quietly across the town, but there were no other sounds to drown it out. Not one monster walked in the streets, not one was outside their doors, despite being the middle of the day and the perfect time to go out. Doors were locked, windows shut on houses where children lay inside, huddled in fear with their terrified parents or guardians. The homeless monsters in the shelters waited anxiously with roars of frightened wails and cries while the caretakers tried to hold them together, and the griefing owner was drinking herself to sleep. Grillby's stood nervously behind the counter of his bar, holding the warm green hand of his frightened daughter, Fuku, who realized too late she came to visit her father in town at a terrible time. There were no patrons at the bar, except for the one elderly bird monster who drank heavily with no care in the world. The library nearby was silent as well, except for the sounds of a chair being placed and a noose being tied.

The distant silhouettes seemed to have stopped just outside of town, yet they were now close enough to see that they were multiple figures of varying shapes and sizes. After a moment, a single lone figure emerged from this group of shadowy figures. Those who lived at the further edges of town could see him clearly compared to the others and many of them who did got a large sense of fright as they recognized who this lone figure was. He had a muscular frame that was covered in armour made of dark coloured metal that seemed moulded from pure obsidian, and the Deltarune symbol was carved on the chestplate with red ink. Dark-furred boots and gloves he wore as well, with a hood of ink black, and a black metal mask showing a faceless human expression, giving away nothing except for the bright blue eyes in the eyeholes. Yet, despite his look of animosity, everyone who had heard of him could immediately guess who this figure was, even if you couldn't tell from the hairy tentacles sneaking from under the hood, which seemed to awfully resemble dreadlocks.

Even Frisk watching from a limited view in the narrow window of the basement and who had never seen him before this very moment could tell instantly who this figure was. From the stories she heard along with her frightening imaginings, there was only one person she could guess who this was. One name, that echoed in her mind.

Mickey, she thought.

The figure she figured to be Mickey, looked across the empty town. After that, he pulled a small object from a small black pouch hanging on his belt. It was a small white cigar, similar to the ones Frisk saw strewn all around in Papyrus' room. The figure then conjured up a small flame on his finger which he used to light his cigar, which then spewed out a large green smoke.

But then, the figure did something unusual. Something that seemed incredibly unfitting at this moment. Just after the figure shook his lit hand, extinguishing the small flame, he then pulled another thing from his pouch, something much more unexpected. It took Frisk a moment to realize what it was, not because it was hard to see, but because at first, she assumed she was simply mistaken.

What the figure pulled out was a small holographic music player, the same type she had often seen in electronic stores on the surface. The figure then seemed to scroll through it with a single hand, before then pressing something on it with his armoured thumb.

The figure looked back up, puffing a cloud of smoke, and a moment later, distant echos of music seemed to reverberate inside his metallic mask. The music she didn't wholly recognize, except that it sounded like a strange mixture of death metal and electronic. Following that, like a bizarre mockery of the current mood of eerie seriousness, the figure quickly proceeded to remove his hood, and the long brown dreadlock looking hair tentacles flew into the wind. The figure, who Frisk wasn't certain was Mickey anymore, then placed the holographic device back into his hip pouch, while subtly headbanging to whatever he was listening to, as the cold eyes of his mask stared emotionlessly. Frisk felt immensely confused by this strange contrast. His cold, expressionless mask on top of the rest of his body that seemed to almost dance in some subtle rhythm, completely encapsulated this sense of conflicting emotions.

Frisk didn't know what to think of this figure. While he had the look and physique of the dark warrior she had imagined him from the stories, this strange almost comedic contrast with his casual weed smoking and the subtle headbang to electronic rock, made him look more like a member of some nordic death metal band, complete with the flowing of his long, braid-like tentacle hair.

"That's him?" Frisk asked, almost in disbelief.

"Ay," Flowey simply answered, still staring. "That's him. That's Mickey. And that behind him… is The Hunt."

"Really?" Frisk asked in disbelief. "He doesn't look that… intimidating."

"Heh, he's just showing off," Flowey said. "Thinks he's being cool or something. But that's all this is. A show. Don't fall for it. That's what he wants. Trust me."

Before this figure, the one Flowey assured Frisk was indeed Mickey, took another step forwards, he proceeded to pull out one more item from his hip pouch, a wooden stick that was impossibly long to fit in it the small pouch. He then let the long stick rest on his right shoulder like a bindle before proceeding to raise his loose left hand and signal movement with his fingers and he then proceeded to casually walk towards the town, with the shadowy figures following shortly behind him.

Suddenly, as if Frisk just told an awkward joke, Flowey began cackling. And he cackled, maddeningly and frighteningly, while at the same time clearly attempting to hold it down.

"F-Flowey?" Frisk nervously asked him.

Frisk looked down at her friend and felt her fear grow once more as she saw his face. The eyes on Flowey's stem had grown wide with disbelief and nervousness, while his nervous began to be replaced by exasperated breathing as if he couldn't believe his own eyes, or rather wished he didn't.

"Oh…" Flowey began. "I remember now. I remember… almost all of them… very, very much."

With that, Frisk looked back up, and at that moment, her doubts about Mickey and The Hunt were forgotten as she was greeted by a formidable sight.

Behind Mickey, a group of five humanoids armoured in similar wain as their leader followed briskly behind. Humanoid was the most accurate term Frisk could think for them since while these creatures stood on two legs with two arms, most of them looked too big, short or exaggerated in their bodies or physiques for any normal human. All of them also wore dark hoods and mask, and all except for one close to Mickey were dressed in armours of the same dark coloured metal as him, although each of their masks shewed different and unique faces.

One of them, the first one that caught Frisk's attention, was a monster of humongous size, towering over all the others in the group, including Mickey. This was, possibly, the largest monster she had seen, maybe even more than the old hermit in the ruins, possibly made clearer by its large belly and limbs which seemed thick with fat, giving them the physique of a sumo wrestler, compared to the anorexic body of the old goat-lion in the ruins. Two large chains were across their breastplates, presumably to hold the armour on, while they carried on their back what looked like a long metal casket. But unlike the others, this massive figure held no clear weapons, presumably not needing any. The same symbol Mickey had, the Deltarune symbol, was also carved on this figures breastplate underneath the two chains, and long tusks and bull horns protruded from under their hood and metal mask, which had the appearance of a smiling theatre mask.

Just beside this massively obese monster, a much shorter, and much leaner monster about Frisk's own size walked crouched with a bit of a crooked back. This one's metal mask resembled a theatre mask, except this one protruded out like a snout, which was presumably what lay under there. A pouch filled with strange vials dangled on their belt alongside a strange white hatchet and several small daggers. A long slimy green impish tail slithered from their behinds, dangling in the air like it had a mind of its own, and on their chestplate, this monster also sported the same symbol of the Deltarune.

The next monster Frisk saw was the one who walked much closer to Mickey than the others, like they were his right-hand man. They were the only one in the group who didn't wear any visible metal besides the mask, which had the appearance of a primate skull with a sewn mouth. Their outfit looked light, being more made out of leather and fur, and a long dark cloak dangled over half of it. They were also freakishly tall, but not as much as the large fat one, and fairly skinny, and lastly, they had a long monkey tail that was being lazily dragged through the snow. This monster also had no visible weapons like the fat one, although here they could've been simply hidden under their cloak.

Lastly, there were the final two of the group, both of whom looked very similar to one another. They both wore similar-looking armours of the same dark metal and the Deltarune symbol was carved in the same spots on their chestplate. They both had the same pauldrons, the same dark-furred gloves and boots, and both carried similar-looking swords on their belts. The difference was that while one looked well built and tall, the other one was much shorter and skinnier, looking almost like a young teenager. Their masks were different as well. The taller, well-built one had a mask resembling a dragon or a lizard with two horns on tops, which Frisk then realized could possibly be a part of the monster themselves and not the mask or armour. Meanwhile, the shorter, lankier one had a mask resembling a humanlike face with two large bug eyes.

Together, while relatively not that many in numbers, these six armoured monsters had the same presence as the company of thousands, and their black plate with the metal masks and dark hoods gave off no hints that any semblance of humanity or merciful restraint lay under there.

"Oh fuck me…" Frisk said and chuckled anxiously. "I take it back. These guys… they definitely look like a Royal Hunt."

While she stared out at the approaching warriors, frozen still in both awe and fear, so much so she took a while to notice that her companion had stopped his frightened cackling.

"Sorry about that," Flowey said in midst of anxious breathings. "I just… gods, I just remember so much now. Of them."

"Yeah…" Frisk said without looking away.

Flowey panted for a few more moments before he continued.

"So for starters," Flowey began. "See that big one? The one covered in metal chains and has a big creepy smiley mask? That's Umbla. Or Fat Umbla, as some call her. Part minotaur, part pig monster. She's kinda like the big muscle of the group. Also, she's a bit psychotic. Was so long before Mickey showed up. Like several other Royal Huntsmen, she was once a member of The Royal Guard, but unlike the others who quit on their own accord, Umbla got kicked out years before the war by Undyne for being too violent. But in with The Royal Hunt… heh, here she is right at home."

Frisk looked at the large beastly woman again with a sense of unease, but this time in a more contextual way. The large smile on her mask looked mocking and smug as if to say that behind it was a face that held no regrets and was satiated with whatever cruel deeds it witnessed or performed.

"I see…" Frisk simply replied.

"Now the other smiley one," Flowey continued. "That short one with the crooked back beside her? That is Vissie, the so-called brains of the group. A very intelligent goblin monster, she was once a respected and notable scientist working under… you know who. But one day, she lost her mind in a freak science accident involving alternate dimensions or universes or something of the sorts and spent years in an asylum, until Mickey arrived. I've only heard stories, but they say that shortly after the accident, she gleefully bit the jaw of one of her coworkers."

"Did you say here name was Vissie?" Frisk asked. "Wasn't that the torturer? From the old bird guys story?"

"The one and the same," Flowey said. "If the story was true that is. But now… heh. Now that I'm seeing her… and remembering, I hold little doubt about that. If you thought Umbla is bad… well, you haven't met Vissie yet. I'd say she's on par with Mickey, if not worse, in terms of cruelty."

It was about that moment that one from the group, the cloaked one with the brown monkey tail and a mouthless skull mask, suddenly turned their head to look at her direction, and Frisk quickly ducked down. Crouched down there, she felt almost paralyzed with terror, so much so she didn't even dare to look back out the window. The monster had turned with such intensity, such quickness, that it was like they knew exactly what to look for and where.

Fortunately, she realized she was safe as the sounds of heavy metal boots trampled orderly beside the house towards some unknown place in town. With it were the subtle bass sounds of the music in Mickey's ears and some heavy chuckling and chatters that echoed underneath in the helm of the others. After a moment had passed, the sounds of clueless trampling became quiet. Frisk then decided to risk it and took a peek.

Fortunately, the marching group had passed the house, so now she could see them from behind.

"Shit, that was close," Frisk said.

"Uh-huh," Flowey said.

"Think they saw us?" Frisk asked.

"If they did, they would be knocking the basement door right now," Flowey said.

"Good point," Frisk said. "But who was that?"

"That one is known as quiet Willy," Flowey explained. "The mage of the group. Able to summon mindless golem from dirt, alongside using a bunch of weird illusion techniques. Willy is not his real name, mind you. No one knows what it is, for he doesn't say it. He barely says anything really, now that I think about it. Don't think he's a mute though, rather he just chooses not to speak. Well, except when he's speaking to Mickey that is."

"That's… weird," Frisk said.

"He is weird," Flowey said. "And creepy. He's also the most mysterious guy in the group, outside of Mickey obviously. Also the oldest, supposedly, being over a few hundred, if not a thousand years old."

"I'm guessing he's a monkey," Frisk said. "Judging by the hairy tail."

"Correct," Flowey said. "A primate monster, to be exact, like Mickey, who's said to be an ape monster, which unknown to most, is actually just a subspecies of primate monsters. Speaking of, Willy is Mickey second in command and you rarely see them apart."

"So they're both ape- erm, primate monsters?" Frisk asked, feeling as if she was unravelling something. "And he's also Mickey's second in command? And they're both mysterious?"

"I see what you're getting at," Flowey said. "But as much as I like to agree, I don't think there is a lot of connection between these two."

"Why not?" Frisk asked him. "It seems obvious."

"I know, but let's not be quick to jump to conclusions," Flowey said. "At least… not when it comes to these guys."

"Fine then," Frisk said. "I'll take your word for it. For now."

"Just until we get better proof that is," Flowey said.

This group of dark armoured warriors were walking by the library now, so Frisk could no longer get a good angle on them normally, so she had to position herself uncomfortably by the corner of the window sill. Even then, she could barely just glance at them.

"Well… what about the last two?" she asked Flowey.

"Hmm?" Flowey replied curiously.

"Of The Hunt," Frisk said. "There are five of these guys- erm six if you count Mickey. Who are those last two, the ones who with the dragon and bug masks? You do remember them right?"

"Oh yeah," Flowey said. "Well for starters, the one with the dragon mask is Eldur. He is… well… there is not much to say about Eldur. He's a sort of drake monster-"

"Wait, drake monster?" Frisk asked with rising intrigue. "You mean drake as in… dragon?"

"Yepp," Flowey said. "Drakes are related to dragons in some way, so much so that people often conflate them. I know. It's weird that a dragon is wearing a dragon mask."

"Holy shit," Frisk said with enthusiasm. "Dragon's are fucking real? Oh, man. I kinda wish I learned that in a different situation."

"You're weird," Flowey said, confused. "Anyways, Eldur was once a Royal Guardsman like Umbla. The difference, Eldur quit by himself, following Undyne. Then, sometime after The Royal Hunt was made, he joined it."

"Huh," Frisk said. "Anything else."

Flowey turned thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nah," he replied. "Frankly, while he's pretty quiet, there's not much interesting to say about him."

"Alright, what about the last one?" Frisk asked. "The one with the bug-eyed mask?"

Flowey turned silent and crossed his eyes as if he was wracking his brain, trying to remember.

"I… I do not know," he said after a while. "Maybe it's my amnesia but… he doesn't seem familiar. Not one bit. Could be new or maybe I've just forgotten."

"Can you think harder maybe?" Frisk asked.

"I'm pretty much thinking on full capacity right now," Flowey replied. "But… nah. Can't recognize him. I think he's just new. Must've joined sometimes during the years I was in a coma."

"Hmm," Frisk simply replied.

"Probably just some teenager from the capital that fell for propaganda," Flowey said, sounding a bit displeased by the prospect.

The group was pretty far away now, walking in the empty town with their backs cluelessly facing them growing ever distant. Realizing how relatively few of them were, only six in total, Frisk felt another suspicion growing.

"These are not all of the members, right?" she asked.

"No," Flowey answered. "Just the most significant ones. Well, some of the significant ones rather. There's no sight of Digi, Jick or any of the other former mercenaries."

"I see," Frisk said.

"Then there are probably other significant members that I've simply forgotten," Flowey added.

"I don't want to hear more," Frisk said. "Or at least not right now."

"Understood," Flowey said.

The armoured group in the distance entered Grillby's restaurant bar. And then, they were out of Frisk's and Flowey's sight. Frisk still stared outside the narrow window for a few moments in thoughts, before sitting down on the cold basement floor. She sighed a bit in relief and took the bag off her back, placing it by her side.

"Well, that was surprisingly nerve-racking," Flowey said.

"Yeah," Frisk replied. "Now I have at least seen them. The Hunt and Mickey. Now I know who to look after the most."

"True," Flowey said.

"It still feels so unreal," Frisk continued. "Like… I still can't wrap my head around this. This world."

"Welcome to my world in the last few hours," Flowey said. "Heck, I'm not sure those memories I got of them are even true. Or maybe I'm just saying that because… gods, those memories."

"Don't need to tell me about them," Frisk said. "I'm not that curious."

"Good," Flowey said. "Frankly, I'd have refused to, even if you'd asked."

"That bad?" Frisk asked.

"Yep," Flowey replied.

"Fuck me…" Frisk simply replied.

She sighed tiredly.

"Now what?" she asked, no one in particular.

"Now… we wait, it seems," Flowey said.

"Yeah," Frisk said.

She pulled out the phone from her pocket. Still, there was no signal on it. Not that she expected there to be. She ran her finger over the screen, glancing over the few apps she had and even fewer she could use without an online connection, and it dawned on her just how often she had taken the internet for granted. Not one of those few apps interested her at that moment, so she put the phone back into her pocket.

"So, Flowey," she began. "Got any good stories or…"

Frisk looked down at her companion who seemed to be stuck staring intently at the basement door, like a dog waiting for its owner.

"Flowey?" Frisk asked, confused. "Still there?"

"Uh-huh," Flowey simply answered without removing his gaze.

"What, is this your way of ignoring me?" Frisk asked and chuckled. "You know, it kinda defeats the point of ignoring by answering any-"

"We should get out," Flowey quickly said without hesitation.

Frisk was mildly taken aback by that. His wording and speech seemed more like a command than a suggestion.

"Are you serious?" Frisk asked him.

"Yeah," Flowey said. "Never been more serious in my life, I think."

"Wait, why are you so intent on going all of a sudden?" Frisk asked, confused. "Didn't Sans say we were safe down here?"

"You finally trust that smiley trashbag now?" Flowey asked.

"Umm… yeah?" Frisk said unsure. "Sort of. Because you trust him. Right?"

"Of course I still trust him," Flowey said. "But… I think this is our best shot to getting ahead of Mickey and The Hunt."

"Hang on, you're not just doing this because you think he's annoying, do you?" Frisk asked.

"You think I'm actually that petty?" Flowey asked back. "Frankly, we tried your idea of resting, but how well did that turn out?"

"And then what?" Frisk asked him. "Once we're out of here, then what?"

"What do you think?" Flowey asked back. "We get out of town as fast as we can while The Hunt is busy eating at Grillby's."

"Ok…" Frisk replied. "But even if I'd agree one hundred per cent, how do we get out of here in the first place? Sans has the only key, and I see no spares around."

"I can pick the lock with my vines," Flowey explained. "Easy peasy."

"This feels like a dumb idea," Frisk said.

"Frisk, this could be our chance," Flowey said.

Frisk looked at him thoughtfully. This was all too sudden. But at the same time, it was true they two wouldn't have much time before The Hunt finishes its business in town. Getting ahead of them, the one group that would want to hurt them the most would be beneficial. So, with reluctance, Frisk decided to agree.

"Ok, fine then," Frisk said and sighed.

"Good," Flowey said and smiled. "Now just wait for a bit. I'm a bit rusty, so picking the lock might take a moment."

Author's note:

So yeah, a bit of a shorter chapter I suppose.

This was originally going to be much longer, but then I realized that once it hit the 20-page mark on Google Docs, I had to trim it down a bit. Eventually, I just resulted in splitting it in two for the time being, because I didn't want you, readers, to be left without updates for a while.

But yeah. I don't have much to say about this chapter, except that it's the first glimpse in this tale you have towards some of the major villains in the story. I wanted each of The Hunt to have their own personalities, and much of that will come into play later on, especially in the next chapter, spoiler alert. It's not gonna be a long wait for the next chapter though. It's possible it will come before the end of this month.
Also, we are nearing the end of the Snowdin arc, as I like to call it. Just two more chapters after this, and then we are in Waterfall. But in Waterfall is where the path of the story will finally deviate completely from the game. After Waterfall, The Shattering AU truly begins.