Chapter 4: Sans and Papyrus
After Sonic, Frisk, and Chara walked out of the Ruins, they started to walk the long, lonely trail to... wherever this trail went. Frisk was the first one to strike up a conversation with the cerulean hedgehog.
"So, you said that you got sucked into storybooks earlier. How was that?" Frisk questioned Sonic.

Sonic huffed, and then asked, "Which one? Arabian Nights or King Arthur?" "King Arthur," replied Frisk.
"Oh, boy, that one's a doozy. Basically, I was summoned by this witch named Merlina, and she needed help to save... what was the place called, Avalon? Yeah, that. So basically, she summoned me to stop the underworld. But turns out, she was the one who was causing the underworld to come in, all because she wanted to make Avalon immortal. So we had a conflict of interest, because here's what I think. Good times sometimes have to go away, but that's okay, because after the bad times, the good times can come back. And forcing a kingdom, against its will, to become immortal? Yeah, that sounds pretty lame. So Merlina and I fought, I got a really cool set of armor, and Merlina came to her senses. Of course, I missed a date with my friend Amy..."
Frisk giggled. "That sounds really fun, Sonic!"
Chara mused, "Why did you not let her make Avalon immortal?"
Sonic replied, "Because it's not right to force people to live how you want. You gotta let people make their own choices."

Suddenly, they all heard a large CRACK! as a stick broke in half. Frisk went back, and moved to pick it up. "Could be useful," Frisk noted.
They kept walking on in silence, until they reached a bridge. Suddenly, they heard a menacing voice behind them.

"Human and rat."

Sonic's quills stood on edge, and he motioned to be in front of Frisk.

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

Sonic shouted, "Who's there? I swear, if you hurt Fri- I mean, the kid-"

" Turn around and shake my hand."

Frisk and Sonic, deciding not to provoke the voice any further, turned around. Frisk placed his hand on the figure's... only to be met with the distinctive FLRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPTttttttttthhhhhhhhh of a whoopie cushion.
The figure walked out, revealing himself to be a short, heavyset skeleton, with a wide smile, a blue jacket, black pants, and pink slippers.

"heh heh heh heh heh. oh, the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny."

The skeleton then stepped back, and Sonic spoke up. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"oh, sorry," the skeleton replied. "i haven't introduced myself yet. i'm sans. sans the skeleton."
"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic shook the skeleton's hand, finding it weird that his hand, while literally made out of bone, was still warm.
"i've heard about you, sonic." Sans moved closer to Sonic's ear. "i heard about you from the woman in the door, but the kid doesn't need to know about how i know her."

"Alright, I understand, Sans." Sonic moved away from Sans next to Frisk.

"anyway, i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing anybody. also, asgore didn't say anything about anthropomorphic hedgehogs. anyway, my brother papyrus? he's a human-hunting FANATIC." He then looked past the gate, and he saw a tall, lanky skeleton. "hey, actually, i think that's him over there. i have an idea. let's go past this gate thingy." "Wait, past the gate?" Sonic inquired, puzzled. "yeah," Sans replied. "go on right through. he made the gates too large to stop anybody."
After measuring how he would fit, Sonic walked through the gate. Surprisingly, it was wide enough, even for him. "see? what did i tell you? you can go right on through."

They walked a few more minutes, and Sonic grew suspicious of their new "friend". "Hey, Frisk, do you think we can trust this guy?" Sonic whispered. "Well, he seems very nice so far, and besides, if he does turn out to be bad, you can beat him, right?" Frisk whispered back. "Fair point then, I'll trust him," Sonic answered.
They walked up to a shack, and then Sans called out, "kid, quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp. sonic, hide behind the shack."

The two quickly followed instructions, and then a tall, lanky skeleton, dressed in some sort of... battle armor? ... covering his torso, a pair of blue underpants, a red cape, which looked quite elegant, and in white boots with red fluff. "'sup, bro?" Sans asked. The tall, lanky, crudely armored skeleton answered, indignantly, "YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP, BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED... YOUR... PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!" The slothful skeleton responded, "staring at this lamp. it's really cool. you wanna look?" "NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL FINALLY GET THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT, RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE... MY... FRIEND? AND I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"

Suddenly, laughter could be heard behind the shack. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Shower in kisses every morning... that's RICH! Oh man, I did not know I needed that." Sonic then decided to walk out, revealing himself. "sonic. what are you doing?" Sans questioned, irritated. "SO YOU KNOW THIS... RAT?" Papyrus questioned his brother.
"Why does everyone think I'm a rat?! I'm a hedgehog, for crying out loud! And the name's Sonic. You must be... the 'Great Papyrus'." He made a bowing gesture towards him, and then snickered. "yeah, that's my bro. he wants to get into the royal guard. even though he's very excited, he's still my bro."

Papyrus was very humiliated because of Sonic's laughing at his dream, and Sans noticed. "cheer up, bro, maybe this lamp will help you." Sans was gesturing towards the conveniently-shaped lamp. "SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!" "relax, i got a ton of work done today. a skele-ton." Sans then turned away from his brother, and made a pose, and then a badum-tss sound played. "What is he doing?" Sonic wondered. "I DON'T KNOW, HE DOES THIS A LOT RECENTLY. ALMOST LIKE THERE'S SOMEONE IN THAT DIRECTION." Papyrus whispered back. "SANS!" "come on, you're smiling." "I AM AND I HATE IT!"

Sonic wondered if this happened every day. Maybe they should seek counseling...

"SIGH... WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME... HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?" "wow, sounds like you're working yourself... down to the bone." Sans did the same thing again, and the same sound played. "UGH! I MUST ATTEND TO MY DUTIES. NOW AS FOR YOURS... PUT A LITTLE MORE BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!" Papyrus then scurried away.

"okay, kid, you can come out now." Frisk then walked out, with Chara in tow. "you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does... you're gonna have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes. and sonic, take care of the kid." Sonic started to walk with Frisk, but Sans caught up to him. "actually, hey, kid, hate to bother you, but can you do me a favor? sonic, can you help as well?" "Sure, what do you need?" Sonic answered. "I'd be happy to, Sans!" Frisk chimed in. "great. love the enthusiasm. anyway, my brother's been kind of down lately. he's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. sonic, you can help too, by explaining the differences between a rat and a hedgehog. if you want to, of course. don't worry, he's not dangerous. as much as he tries to make himself out to be." "Alright, Sans. I'll help you," Frisk cherrily answered. "great. thanks a million. i'll be up ahead."

Sonic and the gang walked over, and suddenly, they saw Papyrus and Sans standing together, their backs turned. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..." They then turned around... and then spun around in shock. They eventually stopped, facing away from Frisk, Chara, and Sonic. Sonic was confused about all of this, as well as the human and the ghost. "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A HUMAN?!" "actually, i think that's a rock." Sans gestured to the rock behind Frisk and Sonic. "OH..." "hey, what's that in front of the rock?" "SANS! OH MY GOD!" They turned around. "IS THAT A HUMAN?" "yes" "OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR! *ahem.* ATTENTION, HUMAN AND RODENT! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL THEN BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN! THEN... I'M... NOT SURE WHAT COMES NEXT." "I guess that means we die..." Frisk said grimly. "IN ANY CASE. CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!" Papyrus then scurried away. "well... that went well. don't sweat it, kid. i'll keep an eyesocket out for you. and sonic... keep an eye on the kid for me." Sonic replied, "I will, Sans." Sans then walked away, and then Sonic, Frisk, and Chara start to talk some more.

"So, what do you think? What should we do?" "Papyrus is kinda funny when you think about it, Sonic," Frisk joked. "Should we be playing with his feelings like this?" Chara mused. "So, do we stop, or do we keep going?" Sonic asked. "WE KEEP GOING!" Frisk cheered. "Not like we have much of a choice, Sonic," Chara replied. "Well, it's settled then. Let's keep on and get to the end of this snowy place!" And as Frisk, Chara, and Sonic trucked on, they were not prepared for what was to come next.

Hey, everyone! Sorry I was gone so long. Jeez, over 2 years since my last update. Sorry about keeping you waiting, I was just in a major funk on what to do, what with my loss of my obsession with Undertale, and generally not sure what I wanted to do with it. It was on the back of my mind, what with growing up and turning 18... Man, this was a rough time. I'm sorry that I took so long on my hiatus. I can't promise I will update in a reasonable time frame, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!