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It was with a heavy heart that you pulled away from Toriel. Though she had attempted to block your way, and attacked you, she had done it out of a need to protect you. You shake off the feel of near missed burns, and give her a small smile. She gives you one in return, wiping the tears out of her eyes, and heads off back down the corridor.

She doesn't look back.

Resisting the urge to run after her, and apologize, you turn back to the door, and walk through. It leads you to another cavern, with a grassy hill in the middle with sunlight illuminating the single flower there. A familiar face looks back at you.

"So. You didn't kill her, and you managed not to get killed. Congratulations." Flowey says sarcastically, the same fake cheer that had at first fooled you in his voice.

"How long do you think your luck will last? Not everyone is as friendly as I am." You roll your eyes, which he either doesn't notice or pretends not to notice, too caught up in his monologue. "Soon, you'll have to make a choice. Either kill, or get yourself killed. After a while, you'll have to give power back to me!"

You cock your head, confused. What power? What is he talking about? As he continues his monologue, asking questions that don't actually require answers, there's one thing you're sure of. You'll prove Flowey wrong. You won't kill, or be killed.

He finally notices the expression on your face. "You think you're so tough? Let's see how you handle being out there!" With a malicious look on his, uh, face, he disappears into the ground.

When he doesn't reappear or pop up somewhere else, you take a few cautious steps forward. He doesn't show up again, or at least not that you can see, so you go all the way to the door. The temperature drops noticeably around that area, and the door is cold to the touch. Opening it, the piercing wind is the first thing you notice, and the sudden lack of darkness. That, and the fact the door is closed behind you. You give it a few experimental tugs, but it doesn't open. Locked, from the inside.

Turning your face back into the wind, you squint your eyes, and resolve yourself to keep moving forward. Thankful for the little protection your sweater gives you from the cold, you head down the trail right in front of you, unaware of any that might be observing you.

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The wind in your ears muffle any other noise. You can't hear any sound beside it, not even yourself.

Except for the loud snap that seems to resound through the forest, everything becoming still, the wind dying down, and your blood freezing cold.

You tentatively look back, and see that the huge branch you had stepped over was now broken cleanly in two. The remaining blood draining from your face, you snap your head forward, and run.

The wind gone, you keep listening for any sound of pursuit. There's just silence, which doesn't reassure you at all.

You come to a bridge, and then freeze. You just can't move. Your SOUL feels heavy in your chest, and your feet feel rooted to the ground. You're paralyzed by fear, as the sound you had been listening for becomes steadily louder. The sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

They come steadily closer, until they're right behind you. A deep voice says eerily, "Hey kid. Don't you know how to greet a new friend?"

With trepidation, you slowly turn around, and see an outstretched hand. You can't focus on the rest of the body as you stare at that hand, and hesitantly, you stretch out your own, and take their hand.

A loud farting noise sounds, causing you to start and the tension to dissipate. The person whose hand you're holding chuckles heartily, who you can now see is a skeleton, mimes wiping tears away from their eyes sockets.

"whoopie cushion in the hand trick. gets them every time."

Despite yourself and the appearance of your new friend, you feel the corners of your mouth twitch up into a smile, and you chuckle too.

The skeleton gives you what appears to be an appreciative look, achieved by the apparent malleability of his, for he appears to be male, face, and says, "ah, you appear to be a fine coinessur of the comedic arts! a kid after my own art."

His over formality coaxes a giggle from you, causing his own grin to widen further. Taking his hand back, he puts it in the pocket of his hoodie. "anyways, my name is sans. sans the skeleton." He winks and you giggle again.

"you're a human right?" You nod eagerly. "cool. you know, i'm supposed to be on the look out for humans. got to capture them and all." You freeze again. The warm feeling you got from talking to this friendly skeleton vanishes as you realize he must have been just acting friendly to get your guard down. A voice in your head whispers that your defenses aren't as strong when you're not expecting it. He must have noticed the look of panic on your face, for he says his next words quickly, but somehow with that air of casualness he just seems to exude. "not that i'm interested in catching humans. too much work. i'm much too lazy." He winks again, and you relax, though you're now on guard. His grin droops a bit.

"so, um. my brother made these bars. supposed to keep humans out, but they're much too big to keep anyone out." He shrugs. "he's more interested in catching humans than i, but he's harmless. he would never hurt anyone, monster or human. not even by accident. but, if you could do me a favor?"

You tentatively nod. He seems to perk up again.

"if you could let him see you? he's never seen a human before, and i know it would make his day. he'll mostly just try to get you to do his puzzles. and don't worry, i'll be here to make sure you don't get hurt. what'd ya say?"

Despite yourself, you find yourself trusting Sans, so you nod. He perks up even further. "thanks human. say, he's coming now. how about you hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp. i'll introduce you two properly later."

You rush to hide behind the lamp, and Sans somehow gets behind the station. Another skeleton arrives, loozing more like a proper skeleton than Sans, and proceeds to scold Sans for his apparent laziness. You can tell that Papyrus is being as serious as a theatrical staged production, and his and Sans's antics cause you to have to stifle your laughter.

When Papyrus looks over, the laughter dies in your throat. And when Sans starts encouraging him to check out the lamp, you're sure he's trying to betray you. Like Flowey did. Like Toriel did.

But his urging just makes Papyrus resistant to the idea, and Papyrus rushes off. Overall, your impression of Papyrus is that he's a goofy, but ultimately sweet guy.

"you can come out now. he's gone and not coming back."

You tentatively come out from behind the lamp, rubbing your arms to encourage warmth. Sans notices. And he notices something else.

"oh, kiddo, you crying?"

You furiously wipe the tears away, and fervently shake your head.

You're caught off guard when two surprisingly warm blue clad arms wrap you up in a hug. You tense for a moment, feeling him react, but unlike the hug with Toriel, Sans just genuinely wants to help. "i'm sorry kiddo, i hadn't meant to scare you. my brother tends to do the opposite of what i tell him to do, and teasing him was the first thing i could think of to get him to go away. i'm sorry kiddo."

His gentle words break the dam inside of you, and you burst out crying, burying your face in his shoulder as he rubs your back. You both stay like that for a few minutes, until your tears dry up and you feel better. Sniffling, you pull away, and Sans lets you. "feel better?"

You nod.

"good." A heavy weight settles into your shoulders, and you look up to see him no longer wearing his blue jacket. He lazily winks. "d'un want you getting cold to the bone."

You giggle, causing him to look relieved. He holds out his hand. "come on, let me introduce you to my brother."

Smiling at him widely, you take his hand without hesitation.

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