Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The morning sun gleamed over the grass and scattered trees, making it glisten within the very late morning. A team of four varying in size and height strided along the vegetation, traveling together.

"Uuuugh," a disgruntled, rough feminine voice muttered. "I can't believe we lost it." She flailed a whip with three spiked purple spheres at its end in frustration, with the wind brushing through her long, white hair out away from her purple skin in the process. The torn hem of her white tank top fluttered through the breeze as she walked.

"Well, it is small." A tall, white lean figure halted as a bright blue light illuminated from the smooth gemstone on her forehead. A pale baby blue holographic image projected from the cabochon, picturing a small, eyeless snake-like creature. "It could very well be anywhere." Her hands held themselves a distance apart, emphasizing its small appearance. She stood with her pink flats together, facing outward as a bright teal sash around her waist waved.

"The only way we'll be able to find it is if we split up." Halting besides her comrade, a figure with a pink star on her fuchsia torso took a dark, mostly-fingerless glove and adjusted her visor that coated her eyes. As the lenses produced a thick glare much brighter than her cubical black hair, a young and stocky boy softly bumped into the long thick legs of his leader. The two limbs were colored differently, with the her waist's coloring split in the middle to represent the change. The right side of her lower body was a dark, royal blue while the opposite was a deep purple.

As the peach-colored child backed up to understand what was the new plan, he glanced upwards at the two taller members of his team. His thick, black brows partially furrowed in curiosity and confusion.

"Amethyst, Pearl." Turning to the short, purple female and the tall, composed other, the tallest pointed behind the duo. "Go back in the woods and search for it there."

"I hope you won't be too loud and scare it off." Pearl's holographic image that projected from her gemstone faded as she snuck a sly smirk towards her shorter partner.

Amethyst rolled her eyes playfully. "Bet I'll get it first." She teasingly nudged Pearl in the knee with a free hand, partially offsetting her balance.

The leader placed her hands on her hips, expression unreadable and unchanging under her visor. "I will go by myself."

"What about me, Garnet?"

Garnet looked downward towards the source of the young voice. It would have come from the young boy- dark and poofy hair, salmon shirt with a golden star, matching sandals and dark blue jeans- who curiously looked up to her. A glimmer of wonder sparkled through his eyes.

A smile came to her lips. "You can go alone if you'd like."

Upon the words gracing his ears, the child grinned as he poorly hid his excitement. I know I do a lot of stuff by myself now, but, it still feels so cool to do a mission by myself...!!

"Garnet, are you sure?" A gentle, hushed whisper rose from Pearl as she tiptoed close to her mentioned teammate. "Don't you think he can go with you?"

A groan erupted from Amethyst as she approached the kid. "Pearl, He'll be fine." Roughly patting his shoulder and making him cough by surprise, she added, "Steven's tough, I'm sure he can handle some tiny monster. He can call one of us if he needs help, right?"

After regaining balance, Steven smiled at the reassurance she gave. Yeah, especially with all of what's happened recently... this shouldn't be too hard!

Fumbling with the short skirt that sprouted from under her sash, Pearl guilty glanced away. "Oh, I suppose that's true." Looking back to him, a fond smile sprouted. "He's done so much as of late, so it shouldn't be too bad."

Garnet would nod. "Alright, team. Lets split."

As if on cue, the three magical ladies split and dashed into opposite directions. All within mere seconds, the trio that surrounded Steven was gone, almost as if they were never there.

"...I should probably go find a place to look in, too." He'd mumble to himself as he started wandering forward aimlessly, as his glance focused on the ground. If I were a snake gem monster, where would I be...? Raising his head and taking in his surroundings, he'd breathe in slowly. Not too far in the distance was the forest Pearl and Amethyst had traversed into. A little bit to the left would be mountains, with the land curving upward to give the structures shape nearby. The mountains were coated in grass, much like the earth Steven stood on. It could've slithered over there! Humming to himself, his pace picked up towards the prominence.

Following a dirt pathway that lead upwards, he'd come to a level sporting a cave that went deep into the mountain. Rocks and stones, various shades of brown and tan were sprinkled outside its entrance, provoking Steven to step inside and explore. His sandals clacked as he entered, the sound partially echoing against the rocky, dim walls.

"Gahh, I should have brought a flashlight." Digging into his back pocket, he would pull out a cellphone. Unlocking the device and pressing a few buttons would enable its flashlight mode, illuminating a spotlight from the front. Steven would point the light around as he'd occasionally crouch down, move larger rocks and stones in his search.

Pushing himself up to his knees and traversing deeper, he'd wipe his forehead. Well, I didn't think I'd have to go in a cave today, so I guess it's fine. Pointing the camera up at the ceiling and observing the stalactites, he'd softly gasp at the sight. Even though they were simple rock formations, it was awfully pretty to look at sometimes!--

The gasp immediately shifted into a hitch for air his foot lodged itself under a stray vine on the ground. As Steven fell forward, his yell rang out as his hand's grip on the cellphone turned into tossing the device upward above. He plummeted into the hole that laid itself out in front of the stray plant life that cursed him.

"No no no no no...!!" His hands instinctively reached out to the many more vines that decorated the descent, grabbing tightly at the ivy. It would roughly brush against the palms of his tight hands, giving a burning sensation in his skin and causing him to retract his grip. Eyes darting to the ground below that started to get closer with every second, Steven would pause his rapid breathing and instead take a deep breath in, attempting to relax. Think happy things and feel happy things, so you don't fall so fast!!

Steven's arms spread outward as red shirt fluttered and partially lifted, his descent now slowed to the pace of a rose petal. His sandals would grace the ground, gently greeting the patch of grass that covered a small area of the black, rocky floor beneath him. Arms fell to his sides as his eyes closed, relaxed.

And then a small thud was heard next to him, causing his eyes to split open in a panic.

"Oh my gosh, my phone!!" Turning and falling to his knees, he hurriedly picked up his phone underneath the golden flowers that decorated the grass. Thankfully, it landed on its back with the cover, meaning the device was still functional. Relief flooded his body as he glanced up to where he fell from.

"That... was a long fall." Pocketing the phone into the front pocket, Steven got to his feet and crouched, before leaping upwards and using his floating ability to push him back up--

Bang!

A shock wave of unfamiliar, magical power shuddered through his body, head-first. Steven shivered as he fell back down, although from half of the distance. Roughly landing onto the grass with his rear and sending a trail of pain up his spine and legs, he winced and collapsed onto the bed of flowers.

Hnnnngh... oww.

Steven would take the next ten minutes to breathe before reluctantly pushing himself up and forward into the dark cavern. Although the pain had faded away, the experience had not. 

The ten minutes of staring upwards hurting had him realize a few points. The wall he had hit seemed to be invisible, because he could not see it. Or, perhaps, it was visible only when you got near enough. And then it would hurt you. Either way, something was trapping him down here, and a gut feeling told him punching the invisible wall wouldn't do anything.

Steven would pass through what seemed to be a mute, ancient doorway, into a room with another small patch of grass under a spotlight from the surface.

As he would step forward towards the grass, a golden flower with a friendly face had sprouted, making Steven jump back a bit.

"Howdy!"

Assuming a defensive stance at first, Steven's guard would lower upon reminder that the voice that spoke to him came from a harmless flower. "... Um, hi." He remained tense, just in case.

"Golly, you seem awfully startled from someone like little ol' me!" A pitiful smile etched his simple, white center as his golden petals decorated his head. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!"

Steven's hands came together as he began to twiddle his thumbs. "Eheh, sorry. I'm Steven. Where I come from, flowers don't... normally talk." As he scratched the back of his somehow-existing neck, a part of him wondered if his weird plant powers could make something like that. Wonder if my mom made him, or I accidentally did.

"Ohh, that's a shame. You see, things work differently here in the Underground!"

"...The Underground?" He'd glance around as if he was unaware of his surroundings. "That's where I am?"

"You fell through a hole in the mountain, didn't you?"

"Yeah... I tried to jump back up, but, there was this weird invisible thing in the way, I think."

Flowey was confused by Steven's casual mention of jumping back out. What human could possibly jump that high, after all? "...Wait, you tried to jump out?" A skeptical glance crossed onto his pupils.

"O-oh, yeah!" Realizing how strange the suggestion of hopping out of a long hole sounded, he fumbled to explain himself. "I have magic floating powers! From, uh, my mom's side."

"...Right." the plant, not wanting to play along, rolled his eyes. "Anyways, if you want to go any further, you'll have to know how the Underground works!"

"Okay...!" Steven's shoulders relaxed. "How does it work?"

Flowey summoned little white pellets above himself. "Well, in the Underground, monsters will have... little white... friendliness pellets!"

"Friendliness pellets?" Something about that doesn't seem right. The child held in his doubts for the chance the new face was actually just trying to help. "You mean, those things?"

"Yeah! You gotta run into them!"

"Umm, okay." The flower would aim and shoot the magical white flower seeds at the human boy, who stood nervously with his arms open to accept the pellets. Steven yanked backwards upon coming in contact with them, his arms covering his body. "Gh, ow...!" He'd glare, although more with worry than anger. "Hey, what was that for!?"

A deep, raspy laughter emitted from the flower. "You IDIOT. Who thinks you run into BULLETS, let alone fall for that at ALL? Who would waste an opportunity like this!?" No traces of his higher, friendly tone were found as a terrifying grin shifted onto the flower's center. More bullets popped into existence, surrounding Steven like a cage as they slowly cornered in on him. "In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED."

A flash erupted from the human as a pink, bright force field sprouted around him like a rose. It would form into a bubble, with Flowey's attacks bouncing off of the magic protection.

"...What?"

From inside, Steven held himself with a frightened look on his face. He'd take a deep breath, with the bubble unwrapping itself until it was gone. Taking a more firm stance and fists at his side clenched, his glance was fixed onto Flowey.

"Why did you try to hurt me?"

The flower only stared in bewilderment, unable to form a response.

Steven raised his voice, anger sneaking its way into his tone and his brows furrowed. "Why did you try to hurt me?"

Echoes of footsteps faded in from ahead, deeper into the caverns. Flowey's expression turned to panic, as he would burrow underground and leave no trace behind.

"H-- hey, come back here!" Almost tackling where Flowey was, his hands roughly pushed against the soil as Steven landed on his knees. He patted the ground with a thought in the back of his head that perhaps Flowey was just hiding.

A calm, motherly voice spoke just above the human boy. "Oh, are you alright?"

Pushing himself to his feet, Steven would look upward at the source of the voice. A soft, goat-like monster with short horns and a purple robe etched with a strange design stood before him, her white furry hands clasped together in worry.

She would speak again, elaborating on her concern. "I believe I heard a creature torturing a poor, innocent youth such as you."

"Um... yeah, I'm okay." Shaking away any leftover feelings of being upset, he tilted his head in curiosity. "Who are you?"

"I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." A warm smile graced her face, complementing her dark brown eyes. "Who might you be?"

"I'm... I'm Steven." Shyness began to overtake him, as he failed to hold any eye contact with Toriel. Why am I feeling so nervous...??? He folded his hands politely in front of him as he glanced at the floor.

A gentle laugh escaped from the woman, partially amused by his nervousness. "Come, I will take you through the catacombs." Toriel would motion to follow as she headed forward, passing a gateway that was like before, although purple.

Humming in agreement, Steven's sandals clacked as he would pace himself to follow quickly behind her. He wasn't exactly sure why anxiety had started to overtake him, as he didn't really feel anxious about anything. Though, something about how she acts... feels a little familiar.

Chapter Text

As Steven followed the furry monster who held her fuzzy hands together with white sleeves draping over her wrists, the duo entered a large, purple room build up with bricks stacked neatly and packed tightly against each other. A lilac pathway decorated with red cotyledons on the floor lead towards two grey staircases, connecting to the same higher elevation. Between the stairs would be a dense pile of crimson, crispy leaves. A grey sign with the label of "THE RUINS" hung above an entryway, presumably leading to the location it described. Despite everything being underground, the area itself seemed pretty well-lit...

"Are you coming, child?"

He had stopped in the middle of the mauve lane, previously observing his surroundings. Steven would clear his throat, speaking up. "Y-yeah, sorry!" His sandals tapping on the floor would echo among the walls. "I was just... looking around. This place is nice!" The colors really remind me a lot of Amethyst, though I guess that's just cause they're both purple.

A fond, gentle smile spread onto the fuzzy caretaker's face. She giggled lightly before entering the doorway, leading deeper within the catacombs. The human boy used his maternal magic powers to jump and skip the steps, following her inside.
This room was much smaller, with 5 buttons on the right in a 1-2-1-2 pattern, a plum door in the middle with a black symbol etched into its material, a grey sign on the wall left of the door and a yellow switch on its right. Steven stayed in the entryway, tilting his head upward to face Toriel. She would stop in the middle of the room and turn to him, gesturing to the buttons beside her.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one. Allow me to educate you in the operation of the ruins." Stepping and activating rows with only 2 pressure plates, Toriel approached the yellow lever and pulled it down. The gateway would open, revealing a hallway taking a right. The gentle splash of water flowing could be heard, just loud enough to be picked up. "The ruins are full of puzzles, ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys." Toriel's hand left the lever as she stepped into the doorway. "One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." Disappearing into the room, Steven picked up the pace and rushed, attempting to stay close behind her while not making much noise aside from the sound of his sandals clicking against the floor.

The hallway was divided by two rivers, both with short, small bridges to easily cross. Three more yellow levers were on the left wall further down, with plates of spikes impeding progression into the next room at the end. The room itself was decorated with long, green vines, adding to the abandoned look.

As Toriel gently crossed the first bridge, she'd continue her explanation. "To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip." She'd stop herself on the second wooden aqueduct, and await for the child to pull the first lever.

Steven would nod, his throat tightening. As he approached the labeled switch, several thoughts would flood through his head. Gahh, why am I being so anxious around her? She's just trying to be nice and help you, Steven!! He'd pull the bar down, and follow  Toriel over the next bridge as he'd keep his gaze lowered. It's just, she... she sounds a lot like...

He eyed two switches next to each other on the wall. One on the left was labeled, while the other was left without such writing accompanying it. Hesitating before approaching the label, he finished his thought. I shouldn't really link her to my mom like that. They just happen to be similar, is all. He'd pull the lever here, which was followed with a satisfying click! Steven turned to Toriel, who stood in front of where spikes previously displayed themselves on flat metal plates.

The parental figure clapped her hands together pridefully. "Splendid! I am proud of you, little one. Let us move to the next room." Toriel moved ahead of the empty spike tiles, proceeding forth. Steven only managed out a squeak in attempt to get her to wait so he could ask something, however it seemed she didn't hear. Facing the unlabeled switch instead, he curiously put a hand to its bar, softly wiggling it. The switch felt loose, like it was worn from excessive usage. Pushing it up and down revealed this to be true, as leaving it upright would cause it to fall. The newer lever would be much more polished, with a fresh paint job as well. Satisfied with the answer to his curiosity, Steven carefully stepped into the next room.

The room would be more circular, with a dummy in the middle yet against a wall. It took the appearance of a training dummy, one used to practice fighting or other various actions. Toriel once more stood in the doorway, acting as a chaperone and watching over him.

"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for the situation." Her soft, white hands unfolded, one lifting into the air. "However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation and stall for time until I come to resolve the conflict." The guardian gestured to the dummy gently with the hand. "Practice talking to the dummy."

Finally working up the courage to speak up, Steven approached her carefully. "Um, n-not to be rude or anything, but... I already know how to do that stuff."

Toriel covered her mouth with a paw. "Oh?" Confusion filled her eyes as her brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, uh... I've been in a lot of fights, but, I was able to talk it out most of the time! Plus, I can defend myself." Taking a moment to step back, he'd hold a bent arm in front of his body, as if he were holding an invisible shield. Then, a spark of magic would create a solid, circular object with a rose icon in the middle with a spiral, thorn pattern surrounding it. The shield would be colored with various shades of pink, outlined with a baby blue. As it finalized its form, it retrained a partially transparent view. "I have a shield!"

Toriel's pupils shrunk in surprise as she eyed the magical defensive object, floating just in front of Steven's body as if it were protecting him. "You... do you posses magic, Steven?" Kneeling down to observe it closer, she gripped the edge of the shield and confirmed that it was not a hallucination, but a solid object.

"Well, kind of? I'm half Gem, and Gems can summon weapons and stuff." He dismissed the shield, with the object fading and leaving sparkles in its wake. Steven would lift up his salmon shirt to reveal a pink gemstone with a pentagonal cut embedded into his navel. It sparkled in the light, with Toriel's reflection being spotted in its facets. "I have a whole bunch of other powers that I can use, too, like a bubble, floating, umm..." He hesitated, not sure if he should necessarily mention the last one. "...Healing spit? I know it's kind of gross, but--"

More confusion was etched onto the guardian's brows. "Apologies, but... 'Gems?' Are they anything like monsters?"

"Monsters...?" Steven pushed down the hem of his shirt to cover his gem once more.

"Monsters, like I, are made of magic. We each have our own abilities and appearances attuned to our souls, unique to each of us." Getting up from her knees and back to her feet, Toriel would demonstrate by holding out a hand. Suddenly, a flame ignited within the palm, and she lowered her hand but kept it at a safe distance from Steven. "For example, like how you have a shield, I have fire magic."

A gasp softly left Steven, with his eyes sparkling in amazement. "Oh my gosh, monsters sound a lot like Gems!!" Attempting to stand taller and gripping Toriel's wrist, any hint of anxiety left his body. "Gems are made of light instead of magic, and they also have their own special weapons!" Taking a hand and holding it to his chin, he hummed in thought. "Though, I don't know if Monsters poof or shape shift at all like Gems."

"Ah, no, we do not do... those kinds of actions." Gently pushing away his grip of her wrist, Toriel dismissed the flame she summoned. "At least, no monster that I know of can shape shift. Although, I'm unsure of what you mean by the former..."

The child tilted his head, confused for a moment. "Oh, poofing? When a Gem's body is damaged enough, their body just 'poofs' and they retreat to their gemstone for a while. They always come back, unless they're..." He swallowed, nervous once more. "Shattered."

Connecting the dots, Toriel's expression turned into one of solemn. "Ah, I see." Taking a glance at the dummy, she shook her head and brushed the fur of an ear with a hand. "Well, if you do feel you know what you doing, then I suppose there is no point in using the dummy right now." Entering the next room, she would gesture for him to follow before inquiring, "Would you tell me a bit more about these 'Gems'?"

Breaking eye contact for a moment, he collected himself and nodded. "Sure!" As he caught up and followed at her side, he took the opportunity to abide her request and elaborate more on his heritage. "Back home, I live with three gems, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. They taught me how to use my powers, how to fight, and usually we try to protect the Earth." The more he explained about his life, the more it sounded fake and unbelievable. His confidence would quickly drop as he realized how outrageous these statements seemed. "My mom, Rose Quartz, used to be with the Gems and help them protect Earth all the time. They pretty much live forever, and... uh." Steven looked up nervously, expecting some sort of disbelief and scolding from the guardian monster. Instead, he was met with genuine interest and a warm smile, not unlike what is often described about his mother. Feeling his face heat up, he allowed his eyes to look at anything else.

He noticed that they were now in a much more narrow hallway, leading to an open, pond-like area with its bridge being large and covered in spikes. To the left was a sign, though its proper view was blocked by Toriel. Behind himself, he could spot a white, frog-like monster not too far. It almost seemed too shy to approach, so instead of approaching it or calling it out, he would wave to it with a patient grin. Toriel, taking note of where he looked, followed his glance and also spotted the frog monster. Although, she held a more stern look, causing the frog to hop away in fear. Too shy to tell her it was fine, his glance fell to the ground as they approached the puzzle. The sploshing and splashing of the water helped him to ease his nerves.

Toriel's gentle hand fell onto Steven's shoulder. "This is the puzzle, but..." She hesitated, eyeing the many spikes. Glancing back, a vague realization reflected within her eyes.

Oh, did she forget the solution or something...? Pushing her hand off of his shoulder, Steven looked to her. "It's okay, I can just jump over it!"

"Excuse me, what?"

"Yeah, here!" He took a few steps backward before dashing forward, leaping high into the ground with positive thoughts and feelings flooding his mind and temporarily burying his anxiety. He'd float through the air like a rose petal, gently crossing the spikes and descending onto the end of the puzzle, on the bridge next to a spike tile. He'd turn around with a smile, proud of such a feat. Steven's expression fell upon meeting Toriel's glance, where she stared with a mixture of fear, surprise, and bewilderment. His shoulders tensing, he realized his error. "Oh, I forgot, you're still stuck over there...! Let me--"

"No, no, it is alright!" She'd lift the hem of her robe slightly, dashing through a pathway in the spike bridge. As she stepped forward, the points of the tiles would immediately fall and hide themselves before her foot met the ground. Toriel would make her way to the end and meet up with Steven, where faint panic was traced within her face instead. "I just... was not aware you could do something like that and not be hurt."

A flooding feeling of guilt would cause the boy to look down once more, with a hushed voice slipping loose an apology. "Sorry."

"Like I said, it is alright." She would pass by Steven, with him following behind at a distance. They would enter a long, long hallway decorated with various vines hanging from the ceiling. A tall, grey pillar sat at the very end, right next to the exit. The duo halted shortly after entering, with the older anxiously looking at the child. "You have done excellently thus far, Steven. However, I have a difficult request to ask of you."

Much like Steven the past few minutes, she was unable to keep her gaze with him as he lifted his head to meet hers. "Huh...? What is it?"

Toriel would breathe deeply before elaborating. "I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself." She muttered under her breath before making a dash to the end of the room, "Forgive me for this."

"W-- wait!!" Confused and worried he did something wrong, Steven would try his best to match her pace. He would just about equal her speed, although she seemed to be partially faster. His heart pulsed, allowing blood to flow through his veins and arteries as he worked harder to move his legs faster. His breathing became heavier, along with his legs as he seemed to catch up with her. "What... huff, what is this for!?"

Toriel glanced over her shoulder with a flabbergasted expression, as if she didn't expect him to go after her. "You were supposed to stay there and walk by yourself, not catch up to me!"

"Why!?"

Realizing he would not stop until he got an answer, she slowed down with Steven passing but halting soon after. Approaching him, a concerned look sneaked its way onto her face as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was attempting to test your independence, because I must attend to some business shortly after."

Guilt worming it way back, Steven brought his hands together and fumbled with his fingers. "Oh, I'm sorry." I really shouldn't be messing up like this... As he noticed they both were at the end of the hallway already, his apologetic stature developed into one of reassurance complemented with a confident grin. "Don't worry, I'll be okay by myself! Besides, I've saved the world a bunch of times!!"

Okay that just makes me sound full of myself.

Toriel would giggle, taking a hand and partially ruffling his curly black hair. "Hee hee, I understand. Perhaps I should have been more forward in the first place..." Kneeling onto the ground to meet Steven's height, she reached behind herself and pulled out a cellular device. "While it is dangerous to explore by yourself right now in the ruins, I can give you a cell phone to call me if you have a need for anything."

Gasping, Steven pulled out his own phone from his back pocket. "It's okay, I've got my own phone!"

The guardian tilted her head, her ears dangling partially as she looked at the device. It seemed much more advanced than what she held, which could even be considered ancient. Nonetheless, she nodded. "Excellent. If you can add my phone number, then I will be off."

"Yeah, and you can add mine, too!"

After a mutual exchanging of numbers, Toriel smiled sweetly to Steven as she waved goodbye. "Be good, alright?"

"I'll try, eheh." He waved goodbye as he slid down against the purple stone-brick wall, phone in hand and on his lap.

Chapter Text

Leaning his head against the wall, Steven idly stared at the ceiling. Man, can't believe I waltz in and find this entire ruins just sitting under a mountain. Fingers tapping against his phone's inactive screen, an idea popped into his mind. Oh my gosh, I should call Connie and tell her about this! Pressing the power button and swiping to his contacts, he'd tap and proceed to call his friend. As he put the phone to his ear, he'd eagerly await her answer...

...

There... was no dial tone. No ringing, no anything. Usually, there would be a ring to signify the call was going through at all, but there was only silence.

Pulling the phone away, he would end the attempt to reach Connie and pull up a texting application instead. If he can't call her, then he'll text her, right!? His thumbs tacked away as he typed on his phone's digital keyboard.

[hey connie!! you wouldn't believe what i just found]

Tap! Send.

...

...It wasn't sending. The message remained grayed in text, and eventually it would time out with a little notification under the message dignifying so. Sighing in light frustration, he'd check for his signal in his phone's settings. Only then, would he realize...

I... have no signal?

His thoughts called back to when he fell into the Underground, and the magical barrier he hit on his attempt to go back to the surface. Maybe that's why I can't call anybody?

Well, wait, what if I call Toriel? Would that work?

Hesitantly pulling up her contact on his phone, Steven hovered over the call button. He took a deep breath in attempts to calm himself. Don't worry, she isn't like Mom at all. It's not like she started a war, is secretly royalty or lies to everyone, right? She just happens to be soft, nice, motherly and warm!

And also happens to be pretty close to how everyone used to describe Mom. And, Mom isn't...

Before straying any longer on those not-so-great thoughts, he hurriedly tapped the call button and shoved the phone to his ear. Luckily, he heard ringing! Admittingly, it made him feel partially relieved to know that his phone could still call people, but upset that it confirmed his theory.

...Wait, what if she answered? He didn't know what to talk about at all--

"Hello! This is Toriel." The calm, motherly voice rang from the speaker, causing Steven to flinch on reflex.

"U-um, hey! I, uh..." He pulled his legs in towards his body into a fetal position, leaning on his knees. Oh my gosh, what are you doing??? Just come up with something!

"...I just called to say hi." Dangit, Steven, that sounds stupid--

A gentle laugh interrupted his anxious mind, currently beating himself up mentally. "You only wanted to say hello...? Well then, 'hello!' " Toriel's warm smile could practically be felt through the phone. "I hope that suffices. Hee hee."

Click...

...Well, that could've gone worse. Relieved to be over with the call, Steven let out a sigh he didn't realize he was holding. Pulling the phone away from his ear, he watched as the screen dimmed to black before pocketing it. So, she wanted me to wait here, right...? What could be so bad up ahead that she wants me to stay? Curious, he'd lean on the floor, peering into the next room. From his angle, he could only see the other purple walls and crimson leaves carefully set into a pile off of the lilac path.

...I should still wait, though. I don't want her to come back and her being worried over me or something. Settling with his fate of sitting against a wall, he'd begin to wonder about the things he could do to occupy himself. Perhaps he could take his sandal and toss it like a frisbee down the incredibly long hallway he sat in, to see how far he could throw. He could also look through his phone for games, but didn't most of them require internet?

Curse his love for games that happen to require an internet connection!!! So, what can he do...?

...

Steven slipped off his left sandal and held it in his right hand. Adjusting his position, he'd carefully prepare his aim to the end of the hallway, occasionally closing an eye to be more precise with the angle. Then, with all of his strength, he pulled his arm close to his body before pushing it back out and throwing it who knows how far in front of him. Steven watched as the sandal traveled through the air, landing...

Only 3 feet in front of him.

Well, it was worth a shot. He'd begin to walk forward and lean in to pick the thrown footwear, when...

"Bark, bark!"

Steven lifted his head, turning around towards the doorway leading to the next room. From what it sounds like, the barking of a small puppy could be heard not too far in the Ruins. "Huh...? Is that--?"

A small, white dog dashed out from the doorway, slowing once he approached Steven. Then, it would excitingly eye the discarded salmon sandal, picking it up in its mouth and eyeing the human boy.

"Bark, bark!" The dog lifted the footwear to Steven, as if he were handing it to him.

"Oh, thank you!" Reaching towards the dog, he'd pat his fuzzy head affectionately before grasping his sandal. "You really didn't have to come and--

"...Um, aren't you going to let go?" Tugging gently at the sandal, his brows furrowed in confusion. The pomeranian yanked back and growled teasingly, as if playing a game. At first a little frustrated, Steven reminded himself he didn't really have anything else to do. A sly smile slipping onto his face, he would grip the sandal with both hands and jerk it slightly from the young canine's teeth. The pup stumbled, not expecting such a powerful heave. Realizing the opponent he's up against, the dog let go and watched as the husky boy slipped and roughly fell on his back with the footwear.

"Ghh, oww.." Taking a hand to his head and rubbing the back of it, Steven sat up and looked at the prize he received from his battle. Thankfully, only small indents left from round dog teeth were left in the soles. It wasn't anything major and was still usable!

Taking his shirt and wiping the dog saliva from the footwear, he slipped the sandal back on and glanced back towards the dog. The pup sat in front of Steven, innocent and young canine face staring into his eyes.

A thought came into the boy's mind. Where did he come from...? Kneeling down, he gently reached out an open hand. "Heyy, buddy...!" Volume only slightly quieter than an inside-voice, he watched as the dog carefully sniffed his hand before pushing its face into his soft palm.

Partially surprised by the friendliness, Steven took this as being allowed to pet the pooch. "Oh, heheh, you're pretty friendly!" He scritched and rubbed behind the dog's ears, under its chin and in all other sorts of places. "What got you down here, huh buddy?" Not expecting any sort of response, he continued ruffling through the soft, white fur of the puppy. The dog flopped onto its back, panting, looking expectantly at Steven.

It is time.

"Gasp!!" Taking both hands, he placed them onto the abdomen of the young canine and rubbed fast and roughly. "Tummy ruuuubs!!!" As expected, the dog loved it! The tail wagged with immense energy with Steven's laughter complementing it.

And when nobody wanted it, a vibration could be felt within Steven's back pocket.

Reluctantly taking away a hand to pry the phone out of the pocket and answering it, Steven tapped the speaker icon so he doesn't have to hold the phone to his ear. Setting the device to his side, he resumed petting the dog with both hands. "Hello...?"
"Hello!" The familiar, feminine voice chirped through the speakers. "This is Toriel. My errands are taking longer than I thought they would. You must wait five more minutes."

Content with spending a few more moments with the dog, Steven nodded despite being on the phone. "Sure! What errands are you doing, anyway?"

"Ah, just little things." Some pan clattering could be heard in the background of the speaker. "It's been so long since anyone has been here, and my home is an awful mess..."

"Heheh, don't worry, I know how that goes." Memories of the many times Steven's own home has been trashed or even damaged would come to mind. "Take your time, don't rush for me!"

Gentle laughter softly emitted from the phone. "Hee hee. Thank you for being patient, Steven."

Click...

Well, five minutes on the clock, with a wonderful, white dog to spend it with!-- Wait where'd it go. Snapping his glance from the phone, Steven's hands had met the cold, lilac floor instead of the soft, eggshell color of a puppy. Looking around him, he found the dog on its way out of the hallway, tail high and confident.

"Wait, wait, I can't leave this room yet!!!" Scrambling to his feet and quickly snatching the phone to place in the back pocket of his jeans, he chased after the dog until he met the doorway. The pomeranian already had made its way further into the Ruins, out of sight. Dangit!!! Why'd ya gotta leave me all alone!!

...

Well, he could chase after it. If Toriel asked, he can just say he wanted to make sure the dog wouldn't get in trouble, right? But, ahhh... he didn't want to make a bad impression on her. Slumping down against the purple brick wall once more, he huffed and crossed his arms and legs.

Steven didn't really mind being alone. Heck, he's often been left alone while the gems went on missions until last year. He's practically used to it by now! He can occupy himself just fine, he doesn't need to be watched over or be around someone. I'm 14, soon-to-be 15 in a couple of months for crying out loud!! Yet, being alone in an empty hallway with nobody to be there but his own thoughts felt...

... Pretty bad.

Steven let out an anxious sigh. "I really wish I could just call Connie so I wouldn't have to be alone." Adjusting himself back into the fetal position, he rested his head on his knees, and wrapped his arms around himself. As he somberly glanced around at the long, empty hall, memories crept from the back of his mind.

Although things were much better now, he couldn't help but think of the many nights he spent alone at home last year. Back when he still had to figure out his gem powers, he couldn't spend time with Garnet, Amethyst or Pearl. He could visit his dad at the local carwash he ran, but it wasn't the same. He wanted to spend time with the people he loved, but never saw often. He wanted to help save the world, protect humanity and be someone important like them. Not to say his dad wasn't important, but... it was just different. He admired them so much, and it pained him how he couldn't salvage much time with them.

Thinking about home and how it used to be lead to many thoughts of scary events, and how he could have gotten seriously hurt. He's often warned to be careful by Pearl in case of injury, or even death. Many situations like this came to mind, like going through a giant water tower to get to the top and talk to Lapis, a gem he wanted to help. Gosh, he almost drowned because of her back then, huh? It was pretty scary, especially when she made a bunch of water clones to beat up him and his friends. It wasn't as bad as the panic attack he had when drilling deep into the earth to reach the Cluster, a gigantic fusion experiment meant to destroy Earth, though. Though, what really topped all of that so far was the adrenaline-inducing situation of him and his tall, teenage friend Lars being stuck on the bottom of Gem Homeworld. How despite his best efforts, it lead to his friend dying in an act of bravery. All because he turned himself in for crimes his mother commited. So many times his friends were put at the risk of dying, and it often felt so overwhelming. That doesn't even come close to the amount of times he almost died, though. Most of those were his fault, too! Because either he was too naive, focused too much on having fun or some other stupid thing, he often put everyone and himself in total danger. Gosh, he could be a total clutz and idiot sometimes, huh??

Steven bumped his head against the wall he meant to lean on although a bit harshly. Pulling back, he hissed at the pain he accidentally caused himself and rubbed the inflicted spot. Well, that's one way to stop a spiral of beating oneself up.

...

Being alone in an empty hallway probably isn't the best thing he should be doing right now, anyway. Especially if it's going to get him thinking of stuff that bothers him. Pushing himself to his knees, Steven leaned on the doorway into the next hall, thinking of progressing forward. Maybe it won't be so bad-- he can just explain to Toriel that he didn't like being alone! That's understandable, right?

Wanting to prevent resuming self-destructive thinking in the meantime, Steven attempted to ignore the pain and clasped his hands together. He twiddled with this thumbs, even trying to play thumb wrestling with himself once in a while to attempt to bide time. He was in a round of it right now, trying really hard to get the opponent pinned down...

...

And then the ringtone from his phone started playing, making him practically jump out of his skin. Fumbling with pulling out the device, he pressed the answer button and almost let slip as he put it against his ear. "Hhhhello...?"

"Hello... This is Toriel." As opposed to the more confident, yet soft tone of earlier, she sounded partially puzzled. "I found what I was looking for, but before I could take it... a small, white puppy snatched it away."

Eyes lighting up in surprise at the mention of the dog he encountered earlier, Steven tilted his head. "Oh, I saw him earlier! He came and visited me while I was waiting."

A surprised "What?" sounded from the phone. "Did he have a bag of flour with him? Err, that is an unrelated question, of course."

Brows furrowed in confusion about the question, he shook his head. "Nooo... he was with me when you called last time." What would she even need flour for...? Is she making cake or something?

"Oh, I see." A gasp left Toriel as shuffling could be heard in the background. "Ah, excuse me. This will take a little longer. Please understand."

Steven looked behind him into the ever foreboding long hallway, then forward. He chuckled softly. "Heheh, It's okay, take your time! Really."

"Thank you." Click...

Deciding that it would be better to try and meet Toriel wherever she is right now, Steven finally left the pillar and hallway behind him and entered forth. Taking a glance around, he noted the several red leave piles next to the lilac pathway. There were two rooms to enter: one to his left, and one further down and on the right. The memory of the dog not too long ago and him leaving was called into his mind. "I think the dog went to the right...?" So, by using my RPG skills... that means this room here on the left doesn't lead me deeper into the Ruins.

Entering the leftmost room, he'd find a bowl of presumably candy sat on a small pillar with a note card next to it. The floor itself was surrounded in a moat-like structure of water, with the wall behind the candy bowl covered in vines. Approaching the bowl, he noted that the note card read "Please take one."

"Oh, what's in the bowl...?" Leaning over the pillar and bowl, many non-brand candies scattered themselves within the container. They were wrapped delicately with stripes decorating their appearance.  Curious, Steven took a hand and withdrew one pink candy. Observing the wrapper, he noted that there was no label describing the brand or flavor. Guess it's a mystery flavor, huh? Pocketing the candy for later, he stepped back out of the room and spotted a white frog next to the path on the right. It stood next to the doorway of the absurdly long hallway he was in not too long ago.

The frog curiously looked up to the boy and croaked. "Ribbit, ribbit."

"Oh, hiya, buddy!" Steven knelt down to the frog's level. "What's up?"

"Ribbit."

"Well, 'ribbit' to you, too!" He flashed a wide, happy grin to the amphibian before popping back up and heading forward, deeper into the Ruins. I don't think I'll be getting a name out of 'im anytime soon since I don't speak frog, so I'll just call them "Froggit." As he entered the next hallway, it was short with cracked tiles in the middle, impeding his path. The young boy hummed as he peered at the tiles in thought.

"Now, if RPGs taught me anything... a cracked tile means if I step on it, I fall to the floor below!" Not wanting to take any chances and get himself stuck or stranded anywhere, he hopped with ease to the other side of the tiles and floated down safely. A part of him felt guilty for skipping the puzzle, but at the same time he'd rather be more cautious in an area he isn't familiar with.

He slowly skipped into the next puzzle: a rock, a pressure plate, and a line of spikes preventing progress.
If you couldn't jump.

Hopping over with ease and looking back at what he skipped over, a small portion of guilt embedded itself within Steven's heart. I know there'll be a lot of other puzzles and I'm sure they're fun, but, I don't really want to do them right now. The goal of reaching the end and finding Toriel was more appealing.

As he turned around, a body rammed itself into his own. Stumbling backward from the encounter, Steven got a good glimpse of who it was that ran into him.

A shy and small monster with smaller, delicate wings gently flapping in the air composed themselves and nervously looked at the human. Its body was comparable to a ghost sheet with small, thin limbs and two antennae. Backing away and shaking from anxiety, it avoided eye contact.

"Oh gosh, sorry!" Barely reaching out in fear of upsetting them further, Steven cautiously stepped closer. "Are you okay?"

Tears pouring out of their eyes, the monster immediately flew over and past the boy. He watched them cry many tears as they fled...

Steven awkwardly stood in place, a bit disheartened. Wow... I don't think I've ever seen somebody that upset from bumping into me before. Hand to his face in wonder, he glanced ahead towards the next room of the Ruins. Did I do something to upset them...? Maybe I was too upfront.

As he questioned if he made the monster burst into tears by being so quick to reach out (and by extension, what was their name), Steven approached the next puzzle. Ahead of the path and on the right, the entire floor was covered in cracked tiled flooring. Peeking around the left corner, he saw a square pile of red leaves against the bricked wall and the exit straight ahead. The only problem was figuring out how to get to the exit.

"Well, I guess I have no choice this time." Covering his eyes with his arm despite common knowledge telling him to look where he's going, Steven took a step forward. As his sandal clacked against the tile, surprisingly the ground didn't give way. Lifting the arm, he looked in shock at how he still stood and hadn't fallen. Checking to the left, he saw the exit of the room and was tempted to proceed confidently. Though, if he did that, he'd certainly fall to impending doom, right?

Pausing for a moment and humming in thought, he planned a potential strategy. Perhaps if he cautiously moved ahead by dragging his feet to check for solid ground, he wouldn't fall below and get stuck! Yeah...!!!

Sliding along the ground carefully, he'd slowly make his way to the other side of the room. Occasionally the ground gave way as he'd slowly shift his weight from one leg to the other, however he was careful to not lose balance. Eventually, the goal would be close in sight, enough to jump to the end.

Steven let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, relieved to be at the end of the "puzzle." What kind of puzzle has him have to guess the correct pathway? Isn't the point of a puzzle to figure it out, not just guess and hope you're going the right way??? Chest becoming less tense, he turned forward and didn't look back.

This room contained three rocks and their respective pressure plates, with a river of water just ahead complemented with a bridge and spikes that presumably retract upon solving the puzzle. Tempted to actually try and solve it, Steven reminded himself of his goal and hopped over the river and bridge using his maternal floating powers. I should come back and solve all of the puzzles in here sometime... For now, he had to skip them and continue ahead.

The next area he'd proceed into would have nothing but a table, with a cheese wedge sitting on top. Just across the table would be a small hole, just big enough for a mouse to get in and out. Curious, Steven would kneel down onto the ground and peek into the hole with an eye, hoping to spot the hole owner.

"Hello...? Is anybody home?" As he looked around inside, he realized it was too dark to really see anything inside. Pulling away from the hole and sitting on his knees, his focus changed toward the cheese resting on the coffee table. If the mouse inside won't come out, he should at least bring the wedge closer for them. Lifting himself to his feet, Steven approached the table and grasped the cheese...

...Only for the table to come with. The table was attached the edible wedge somehow.

"Oh."

Steven attempted to pry the cheese and table apart from one another, and with some struggle, he was able to separate the two! However... a chunk of the table the wedge sat on also came with. No matter what, it was stuck to the wood.

"At least it'll be easier for the lil' guy to reach!" Setting it gently in front of the mouse hole, he crouched and watched in curiosity whether the animal would reveal themselves. I probably shouldn't stay here too long... I don't want her to look for me and start worrying. Before deciding to get back on his feet, he noted a small, grey snout poke out of the hole and sniff at the cheese. "Aww..!!" Steven couldn't help but squeak in awe as he noted the adorable rodent, snagging small bits of cheese and retreating back into the hole.

Mission accomplished!! He hopped back up with cheer in his step as he skipped into the next room, with a ghostly figure laying on a crimson pile of leaves in the middle of the floor with walls preventing a way to walk around.

Chapter Text

Halting his movement as he approached, Steven noted the ghost staring up at the ceiling with an unfocused gaze. Looking around their incorporeal body that laid on the leaf pile, he noted he couldn't really walk around due to the walls bordering the left and right of the pile. I probably shouldn't jump over, either... that would be rude, wouldn't it? Clearing his throat softly, Steven gently raised his voice.

"Um, excuse me," he started, "could I pass through really quick?"

The ghostly sheet gently sat upright, looking at the child interrupting their moment of peace. Taking in the request and processing it, they realized the issue at hand. "oh, i was blocking the way for you, wasn't i..."

"I... I-it's okay!" Surprised by the sheet's sudden downcast manner, Steven shook his head. "I just need to pass through really quick." He watched as they floated from the foilage and hovered gently above it.

... Wait, are those tears? Can ghosts cry???

"oh... i shouldn't have picked such a spot for lying down and feeling like garbage," they whispered, accented with obvious guilt. Facing the ground, their tears began to fall and sprinkle upon the ground. A stray one would partially come in contact with Steven's foot, completely unprotected by his salmon sandals. Strangely, as the waterwork touched the skin, it stung weakly as if it were acid. Pulling back a little and sharply drawing in breath through his teeth, Steven ignored the minor sting of pain.

Oh no, I'm sending everybody into tears today, aren't I!? Steven sputtered and held his head in panicked thinking, struggling to think of a way to turn the situation around. Through his guilt and worry, an idea suddenly sparked within his brain.

"Say, you should ride an elevator!"

The ghost looked up from their tears, with their sorrow expression being replaced with one of confusion. "ohh, why..."

"It would lift your spirits!!" He snapped his fingers into a gun position to emphasize his attempt at a pun. Steven held this position and stood in place awkwardly, silently hoping that his joke would actually work.

The moment of silence that his opponent took to understand the pun felt almost crushing as Steven watched their empty expression for anything. At least the tears had stopped, that was probably a good thing. Then, a small chuckle of laughter echoed out from the spirit. "... haha, that was kind of funny."

Yes! It landed. Steven internally fist-pumped and took this as a sign to continue. I've got more where that came from!

"Okay okay, what's a ghost's favorite type of pie?" A small giggle slipped out from him in anticipation.

"what?"

"Boo-berry pie!"

A faint smile faded onto the ghost, quietly laughing along. Clearly, ghost puns were working in elevating their fragile spirit. Steven held back snickers as well, trying to rack his brain for more jokes of a similar calibur.

"Huhuh, alright, where does a ghost prefer to live??"

"...a dead end?"

A jokingly exasperated look flashed onto the young boy's face. "Whaat, you heard that already!?"

"yeah... someone already told me that one," they explained, looking apologetic for a moment. Floating in place with a gentle grin, a small look of surprise and excitement popped into place. "hang on, let me try..."

Tears flowed from their eyes once more, this time without hitting the ground strangely enough. They flowed upwards, defying gravity itself... Steven cupped his hands to his mouth in worried surprise. Oh gosh, are they crying again??? Aghh, maybe my jokes weren't enough--

He then noticed the object the tears were connecting to, above the ghostly spirit's form. As he watched with worry and curiosity, he realized the shape was beginning to look a lot like...

"...A top hat!?" He gasped, still covering his mouth.

The sheet looked down anxiously. "i call it 'dapper blook,' do you like it..." They looked back up shyly, awaiting an answer.

Steven slowly removed his hands, revealing a large, goofy grin. His eyes seemingly sparkled at his fancy friend. "I love it!" Excitement taking him over, he rushed in to hug them without considering the possibility of not being able to meet anything solid. Surprisingly, you can hug a ghost. Steven retracted the hug as quickly as it came, giving the spirit their personal space again. "You can make stuff with your tears?? How do you even do that!?"

A bit flustered and nervous by the sudden hug and support, they stammered. "oh, it's just magic..."

"I'm kind of magic, and even I can't do that! That's super cool!"

"humans can be magic...?"

Shoot, shouldn't have said anything about myself. "Well, I'm a special case. The magic's from my mom's side..."

"ohhh... that makes sense."

Well, that's an outing he can take. Redirecting the conversation, Steven shook his head. "Anyway, I'm Steven! What's your name?"

"my name is napstablook..." A much happier smile was on their face, with the sad crying of earlier showing no signs of returning. "i usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around... but today, i met somebody nice..." The last sentence was more of talking to themselves, but it still expanded their gentle grin. However, it instantly disappeared much like how the sad crying came so quickly earlier. "oh, i'm rambling again, i'll get out of your way."

"Wait, it's okay!!" Steven reached out to them, but Napstablook had already faded away, as if they never were there at all... Or, maybe they were still there and just blended in like a chameleon. Probably the first one, though.

Steven sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I should really stop making people cry." As he passed over the crimson leaf pile where his ghostly friend originally laid, he noted two pathways that split from the room he stood in. The one directly across from him seemed small with nothing else but a sign, while the one on his left seemed to lead deeper in the Ruins. Taking the detour into the smaller room, he approached the sign and read its text.

Spider Bake Sale

All proceeds go to real spiders.

Gasp, a bake sale?? In front of him though were only two webs, with the one right being significantly bigger. Perhaps if he approached the webs, he could see what they were selling! What if they sold tiny little sweets??? What if they were the size of my fingertip?????? The idea of tiny baked goods sounded adorable to him, so in curiosity and excitement he skipped up to the smaller web and kneeled on his knees, spotting a spider in its center. While spiders weren't his favorite bug or insect, he did appreciate the things they did for the world. Especially if it meant having a bakesale!

"Hey, little guy!" With a peppy grin, he leaned in a little. "Heard you got a bakesale. Whatch'a got?"

The arachnid reached behind themself, and pulled out a normal-sized donut. Its bread was dyed a mauve, decorated with lilac icing. The boy gasped in surprise to how such a tiny creature is able to hold up something the size of his own hand, but didn't really question it. What he did question, however, was the price. "How much do you want for it?" Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small stack of cash. He flipped through the paper, trying to estimate a potential price. They're usually about two dollars or so, right? Pulling out a generous five dollar bill, he placed it gently on the web next to the spider. "Here you go! I hope this covers it!!"

The spider placed the donut onto the web, then approached the bill. It lifted the money with ease, as it crawled from the string to the wall as it ascended towards a crack in the ceiling.

Picking up the pastry carefully with one hand to not disrupt the structure it laid on, Steven got up from his knees to his feet once more, pocketing the rest of his money. He waved towards the parting arachnid, grateful for their service. "Thank you, and good luck to the rest of your tiny bakesale!!" His attention now turned to the good in his hand, the icing seemingly sparkling and inviting him to taste the pastry.

Well, no time like now to eat it, right? Swiftly taking a small bite, the dulcet flavor quickly flooded his tastebuds. The dough's warmth, as if it came right from the oven contrasted the cool of the icing. While it wasn't exactly a notable flavor that stood out, it was still a pleasure to experience. Man, I wish there was a spider bakesale back home! Leaving the room with his snack and turning right into the room from the split pathway, he came across another sign. Swallowing before taking another bite of the donut, Steven read the text...

Did you miss it? Spider Bakesale down and to the right.

Come eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!

...Wait a minute, what? Rereading the sign once again, his eyes stuck on the last two words of the text. Of spiders.

Of spiders...

Swallowing hesitantly, the boy looked at the donut more closely. Although nothing grotesque like spider guts or limbs stuck out of the pastry, the taste immediately went from sweet to sour upon the realization that he just ate spiders. Dead, dead spiders. Baked into a pastry. Without his knowledge, consent... who knows how those spiders ended up deceased? From a cruel fate, forced to cease their life to become edible? Or, perhaps, it was willingly?

None of these potential outcomes, even the idea of spiders consenting into being made into edible pastries, soothed him. It only disturbed him more. Steven shivered as he glanced down the hallway, noting there wasn't a trash can nearby. In fact, he didn't really remember encountering one on the way, either...

Well, down the gullet it goes. No turning back now. Sorry, lil' spiders. He took a hesitant, small bite of the sweet, hating the great quality of its taste. Roughly three quarters of the donut were left, but either he forces it down or he holds onto it for who knows how long until he finds a garbage can. And, from what he's seen so far, that would be for a while. Surprisingly, he hadn't even ran into at least one can. Weird...

As he entered the next room, he paused in front of the sign to quickly finish the pastry and assess the room. After shuddering from swallowing, he noted three dark spots on the floor on the leftmost and rightmost walls, with cracked parts in the middle of the spots. It reminded Steven of the first puzzle he skipped over by himself, the one before the first rock trap. He turned to his left, reading the sign he stopped in front of.

There is only one switch.

Well, that was good to know... if he was doing the puzzle. Fortunately, the exit to his connundrum was only blocked by spikes, something he can easily jump over. As Steven quickened his pace and would work his way over, something quickly came out around the corner of the doorframe and charged their way towards him. Because of how fast it came after him, Steven wasn't able to stop and move out the way in time and as a result was knocked onto his back.

"Umph--!" With the wind completely knocked out of him upon impact, his eyes screwed shut as he crashed onto the cold, hard ground beneath. Steven lifted a hand towards his forehead and another to what had collided into him, currently laying upon his chest. "Agh... Hey, be careful, one of us could have gotten hurt!" After rubbing his temple, he sat up and managed to open his eyes, finaly able to see what was the trouble.

Surprisingly, it was the small and frail monster he had sent running into tears the first time! "Wait a minute, it's you!!" The monster's antennae twisted in different directions before using their small limbs to push themselves up. Their wings began to flutter, allowing them to lift from the ground gently. As they wiped their face, they took a glance at who they ran into...

And immediately started shivvering and crying. Again.

"W-wait, don't cry again!!" Quickly pulling himself to his feet, he ran a hand through his hair in stress. "I might be a little scary looking, I guess, but i-it's okay!"

Surprisingly, they didn't run away immediately again! The monster muttered quietly, voice cracking, "Oh no... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Oh, this might be the only chance I can catch their name! Breathing in slowly to clam his own nerves, Steven would lower his voice a few notches as a small compromise between his normal volume and his opponent's. "Um, I forgot to ask... what's your name?"

They squeaked under his gaze. "W... Whimsun..." More apologies sqirmed their way out of them, wing movements becoming faster. They held their hands together, twiddling as they averted their own gaze toward the stone floor.

The child nodded, happy with his answer. "I'm Steven. What's got you so bundled up, huh...?" He would take a hand and at a catipillar's pace bring it closer toward Whimsun, who only suddered the closer it got.

Before Steven was within two inches of distance with his opponent, Whimsun quickly covered their face and squirmed violently. "I'm sorry!" Zipping past him, they quickly zoomed out of the room and towards the area of Ruins the human child came from.

Forgetting completely about his volume, Steven shouted after them. "Wait, please! I won't hurt you!" He took a few steps after, but decided against persuing Whimsun. He can't force people to not be scared of him, even if he tries his best to be nice.

Man, he really needs to work on not making people scared of him. He sighed, still unhappy with how the situation played out. At least I got their name and they didn't run away immediately. That was still progress in his book, even if it was small. He was at least doing something right!

Steven carefully stepped over the spikes of the unfinished puzzle, entering the next room. Three pillars stood in the L-shaped room, with a switch behind each. He noted that the closest switch was colored blue, next being green and the farthest as red. Kneeling down to get a closer look, he noted that they looked a lot like mushrooms, although shiny. Steven took a hand and gently pressed the top of it, hearing a satisfying clicking noise. Maybe I should do at least one of these... Standing back up and looking for a sign with instructions, he turned to the sign on the wall behind him.

The far door is not an exit. It simply marks a rotation in perspective.

Marks a rotation in perspective...? What in the world does that mean? Feeling confused, he resolved to just skip this puzzle for now. Maybe the next one won't be so puzzling.

Steven snickered to himself at the joke. "Pffbpt, heheh, I should save that to tell someone sometime." Passing each switch and its pillar, he noticed the spike trap that would normally partially block the exit was actually retracted. Suppose that one was already solved, anyway. Then again, none of the others were, so...?

His wonders were set aside as he entered a room that was exactly like the last, although the sign wasn't in its proper place. Confused to if he was seeing things or not, he glanced behind him. Yep-- they're definitely the same thing.

Ookay, this is a little weird.

Unsure of which switch to press, he held it to himself to solve this one puzzle. After all, he must be close to that Toriel lady, right? What harm would it be to have fun in a place you'll be in for a while? Steven approached the spikes, but refused to step over them. Noticing a sign to his right, he glanced at it and read its words.

If you can read this, press the blue switch.

"Oh, that was... surprisingly easy!" A bit disappointed with the answer given to him, he approached the blue switch and smiled at the sound of its click. As he exited the room into the next similar-looking one, he couldn't help but feel at least a little satisfied with actually completing a puzzle.

Even if it was stupidly easy.

Just like the previous, he would look for the sign spelling out the answer and press its corresponding switch color. As he finished the last two puzzles, his grin turned somber upon the realization of the potential fun he missed out on. Skipping puzzles, just hopping away from his problems... he wansn't learning anything from it. I'll have to go back later to make up for it. Toriel wouldn't mind, would she? Probably not.

Steven picked himself up and walked past the pillar leaving behind the green switch, when something in the corner of his eye begged for him to stop. Curious, he turned back to the pillar with his pupils flowing downward. At the pillar's base was a jello-like monster, reaching just below Steven's knees in height. Its translucent lime surface glimmered in the light as its flan-shaped body wiggled a little.

"Oh, hey little guy!" The child crouched to somewhat meet the jiggly monster's height. As the boy stared at it, a small part of him was entranced by its subtle squishy movements. However, he realized... it didn't really have any features suggesting it was alive. Steven began to second guess if what he was facing really was a monster. I mean, there's no eyes, no mouth... can it even make a noise or do anything on its own?

Cautiously and slowly, Steven gently brought his fingertips towards the surface of the opaque being. A sudden cold feeling jolted up his arm, causing him to squeak yank his hand away in surprise. Rubbing his fingers together to feel what he did touch revealed a slimey, cool texture, not unlike real jello.

Blurble blurble...

The boy looked back at the wobbly creature, confused if he imagined the wet, squishy sound seconds ago. Tilting his head in confusion, he squinted. "Did... did you do something?"

Squorsh squorsh.

"Okay, so I wasn't imagining it." Getting over the strangeness of the monster he squat in front of, a smile popped onto Steven's face. "You're pretty cool for... what is everybody, a monster?" Bringing a hand to his chin, he pondered. "Calling you guys 'monsters' feels really degrading. It's like calling dirt, 'dirt,' you know?"

The flan-shaped creature wiggled in response.

"Something tells me you understand." The child chuckled to himself, knowing full-well that the lime green jello being didn't understand a word he said. Propping himself back to full height, he waved goodbye. "Well, I'll see you around, little guy!" Exiting the final three-switch puzzle room, he overheard the monster blurble its farewells.

I really should come up with a name for them sometime. "Moldsmal," maybe?

As Steven stepped over a leafy, green vine that sprawled over the lilac pathway, he noticed two directions the hall had split. On the left lead to an area barring a charcoal tree-like figure, while straight ahead eventually turned to the left with nothing interesting yet in sight.

...Well, if I know games well enough, usually the more interesting pathway is where you want to go after exploring. Noting that Toriel hasn't yet called him out of worry or concern helped ease his mind and convince him to take one more look around before catching up with her. Steven carefully stepped over a second vine on the path forward, entering the next small room. A small, white amphibious friend much like the pal he encountered a long while ago had sat itself next to a doorway, peeking upward as the human child's sandals alerted them of his presence.

"Oh, hey, you're one of those frog guys from earlier!" Smiling, he knelt down temporarily to give them a small pat on the head. It was strange though, how he only had saw them when he was at the beginning of the ruins... He hadn't accidentally overlooked them earlier, had he? "Sorry about earlier, I didn't think Toriel would scare you off like that."

Strangely, the frog only tilted its head and croaked in confusion. Maybe there's more than one of them...?

Steven facepalmed himself a tad bit harshly upon the realization. "Oh, wait, there's multiple of you little guys, aren't there?" He shook his head, clearing himself of his misconception. "Sorry about that."

"Ribbit, ribbit."

"I'll take that as forgiveness." Chuckling to himself, he paused when a strange vibration was felt in his pockets, followed by a familiar ringtone...

Digging quickly to retrieve the phone, he answered the phone call. "Hhhh'yello?"

"Hello? This is Toriel." The motherly voice that had gone forgotten by the boy spoke from the device. "For no reason in particular, which do you prefer: cinnamon or butterscotch?"

The question would pull him from the small feeling of discomfort triggered by her motherly nature. What a strange question! Considering each of their taste with a hum, Steven only shrugged. "I don't really have a preference, I like them both!"

"Oh, I see. Thank you very much!" The call immediately ended afterward to Steven's surprise. Why would she call to ask me that...? What is she doing???

Putting his phone away alongside his confusion, he stepped through the doorway the frog monster had stood beside. Immediately upon the sight that was held inside, he gasped with awe.

A railing that encased a small, but wide balcony would just be below Steven's chin. The boy approached and stood on the tips of his toes to try and get a better view of what seemed like an ancient city. The buildings that made up the land below were the same purple that colored the Ruins' walls, with some darker shades thrown in as accent. Right in the center far off, however, was a building with a dome-shaped roof that towered over the rest of the buildings. It reminded Steven of fancy houses he saw in pictures online with its structure. However, despite the plentyful buildings and housing, nothing that announced its citizens' presence was heard. All was quiet, as if it was a city long abandoned a hundred years ago...

Finally being able to pull his eyes away from the sight, Steven took a glance to his left and spotted a knife just cast aside on the periwinkle floor. A bit confused and worried from its strange placement in an underground world such as this, he knelt down to pick it up and inspect it. Relief swept over him as he noted the dull edges of the plastic, fake blade and its lightweight nature. "Who would leave something like this here...?" Brows furrowed, Steven rose back to his feet and took one last look at the toy before putting it into his back pocket. "I'll have to give it to Toriel when I see her..."

Toriel...

Although they didn't interact too much yet, he wasn't exactly sure how to feel about her. The way she spoke and treated him felt all too much of his own mother, who was talked up as someone so caring, yet, disconnected. She was described as doing what was best for everyone around her, even if that statement fell apart over the year. And Toriel, acting pretty similar...

No, I can't be thinking of her like that. She's not mom. Shaking his head while leaving the city and its nearby white frog behind, he focused on the pathway and slugged forward. Even if she sounds a bit like her, she's not her. I mean, she wears purple instead of pink! She's not like her.

Stepping back over the vine, Steven pulled his vision up from the ground to the path in front. He stopped as he realized that a group of three monsters would meet in the intersection of the pathways. While he could always step around, a part of him felt curious to what they were up to.

One monster looked like a cockroach, although much larger than their non-monster counterpart. Another was a large, wide carrot-like vegetable with leaves on top of its head. Its dark eyes focused on the final monster, who's body was nothing but a sphere with two arms and legs connected to it. Small horns would peek from the top of the head curling inwards, complimenting its sharp fingers. A large eye would be in the center of the body, with knifelike teeth in its mouth underneath. The group all roughly met the height of Steven's shoulders with some variations.

The conversation from the trio was too quiet to properly make out anything, so Steven leaned forward with his back against the ruins wall a little, cupping a hand behind an ear. The effort would be proved fruitless, as the cyclops took note of the young boy's presence and eyed him with aggression.

"...Um, hi?" Steven awkwardly waved hello, with his body pushing against the brick wall of support.

The bug monster twitched its antennae, before scowling. "FILTHY SINGLE MINDER..." They beckoned their teammates as they stomped toward the human boy. "IN UNISON, NOW."

Steven found himself intimidated by the surrounding monsters. "W-wait! I won't mess with you guys, I..." He stumbled for a moment, mind going blank. "I'm friendly! Just a friendly human!!" A pink shield summoned itself in front of Steven, who used it to hide behind.

The cyclops monster stopped in their tracks and lowered their shoulders in thought. The vegetable and cockroach monster however continued their planned assault, with the latter spewing out "I DON'T CARE." Magical bullets, some resembling cockroaches with wings while the rest appeared like various vegetables whisked itself into existence. The roaches blocked any chances of running away by acting like a square boarder around the trio, while the vegetables rained from above. Steven pulled the shield he hid behind and held it above like an umbrella, watching as the vegetable bullets bounced off and dissipated back into magical sparkles.

Glancing past the two attackers, Steven took note of the one who had separated themselves from the group. He realized that they had stopped their aggressive approach upon saying he wouldn't bring any harm, and wondered if a similar approach would work with the rest. Perhaps showing that he will be friendly would help!

Watching as a magical carrot bounced onto the lilac floor and dissipated, an idea sprouted into Steven's mind. Turning his head to the carrot monster, he smiled. "So, you make vegetables, right? Could I try one?"

"Eat Your Greens"

Steven held out a hand, and as requested, a small, stout carrot popped into existance right upon his palm. It wasn't very long, only being half of the length of his hand. He pulled the leaves from the top of the carrot before puting the vegetable into his mouth and eating it. With satisfying, small crunches, the subtle sweet taste sprinkled itself onto the tastebuds. "Mm, I like it!" With a smile, Steven gave a thumbs up to the vegetable monster. "I'd like to try your other stuff sometime!!"

A bashful blush seeped its way onto the skin(???) of the monster, flattered. They muttered a "Thank You" before hopping off and parting ways.

And now, Steven saw only one monster left. The cockroach. However, examining their expression, he noticed that no longer did the monster stand tense and bare a scowl of hostility...

...But, rather a kind, peaceful grin, waving his arms and bouncing in place! Even the magical roach bullets were gone! "Mm, cha cha cha!" They hummed to themselves as they danced, elated. "Nothin' like alone time!"

Although Steven was confused to the sudden shift in their attitude, he wouldn't discourage the upbeat feeling. "Well, if alone time's what you want, I'll leave you to it!" With gentle waves from both parties, they would split into their own directions.

Finally, the Ruins would allow the human child to go in the direction of progress. As the boy stepped over the vines scattered along the floor's pathway in order not to trip, he turned to the path previously left for later. What he was met with was what felt like the "front yard" of an ancient home, decorated with the same purple bricks found on the ruin walls. The only plantlife that accented the yard was a seemingly deceased charcoal tree, surrounded by the familiar crimson leaves Steven had encountered plenty of times. There were even piles of them in front of the windows on each side of the doorway into the presumed home...

Turning right briefly, he noted to himself to come back and explore the other pathway later. For now, he just needed to get in and make sure Toriel isn't worrying about him. Hopefully she isn't as bad as Pearl. As he entered the "yard," leaves crunched under each step he took. Though, he paused before completely passing the stump of the dead tree. Curiosity peaked within him, wanting to know why the forestry was in the state it is in. Backing up partially, he put a hand upon the coal bark. Some of the wood would peel under Steven's palm as he dragged it downward on the trunk, a sure sign of death. Some flakes fluttered towards the stump and its roots, sprinking on top of the crimson leaves at its base... A part of the child couldn't help but wonder what lead to the demise of the lone forestry? Were there more throughout the Ruins...? Was it devoid of the basics to survive: water, sunlight... love?

The rapid thump upon wood getting closer dragged Steven from his wonders. From the sound of it, he assumed it was the rushed footsteps of Toriel. Glancing towards the doorway, he barely missed the sight of her running from the right side of her home to the opposite, with something long in her hand. What was she doing to be such in a rush? Before leaving the tree behind, he wondered if his healing powers could affect plants. Well, if I can bring melons to life, maybe... Taking his index and middle finger, he licked the tips and wiped it on the tree before rushing cautiously into her home, stepping quietly onto the birch floor planks.

A single, pale pink bud bloomed on one of the dark branches.

Chapter Text

The first room of the home was a nice, tan color, with the bookshelves and pottery with plants matching this color theme. It all looked very pretty to Steven.

"Welcome to my home, Steven!" Toriel beamed with excitement. "Come with me, I have something to show!" She dragged Steven by his hand, forgetting he can walk on his own for a moment ("Ah, ah, okay!").

The two stood in a long, yellow themed hallway, in front of a yellow door. This was one of the three yellow doors in this hallway. Toriel would reach for the doorknob, and, open the door...

It was a bedroom, themed with a red-pinkish color. A drawing of a flower in these colors hung on the wall, above a little shelf with shoes of many sizes. A photo of a small, white dog was pictured in a frame on the top of the shelf. The bed in the corner of the room sported a small toy box in the front of it, with a small range of toys to play with.

For some reason, this room reminded Steven of... someone.

"Your very own room!" Toriel blurted out, and clasped her hands together with a smile. "You can stay here, with me. Perhaps, even take a nap?"

"Well, I'm not that tired, but..." Wait, his own room? He already had a 'room,' back in Beach City, with the Gems, and--

"Wait, what do you mean by my own room?" His confused tone alarmed Toriel.

"Ah... Well, you need somewhere to stay, do you not?"

"...Well, I guess for now, I do." That barrier he hit isn't going to go away any time soon, and, it would be helpful to have someone to fall back on, in case something bad in this... 'new' world happened. Out of anyone, Toriel should know the most of this place, right?

"Splendid! If you need me, I will be in the living room on my reading chair." She gently rubbed through Steven's hair with affection, as if he were her own child...

...

She walked out of the room, back into the yellow hallway, from where they came from. Now, what is there to do in this bedroom?

Steven looked at the toy box. Generic toys, surprisingly fitting the red-pink theme of the room, were in the box. The box itself was labeled "Cool Toys."

...None of them were interesting at all! Steven moved from that, to the pink dresser in the room. He opened it to find green shirts with yellow stripes and a yellow collar. Green shirts with yellow stripes...? Was someone here before me? Before pondering any more about it, Steven gently closed the closet, and moved onto the shelf with many shoes.

These shoes were mainly smaller than his size. They were all close-toe'd, which means, not sandles. A pair of shoes were boots, another were generic shoes... nothing interesting here.

Upon further inspection, the drawing of a flower was signed by someone, but, it was faded out and smudged. Hard to make out anything. "...Well, whoever they were, they're a pretty good artist!"

In reality, there wasn't much to do in this room. It felt like there were many people before him in this room before, too. Worst of all, a lot of objects were... pink. Certainly didn't help him with the reminders of his mom.

...Well, Pearl's hair is pink! Think about that.

...

...That was fun.

Steven hopped onto the bed, wrapped himself in the soft blankets, and gently closed his eyes...

With a gentle flutter of the eyelid, Steven rubbed his eyes and yawned. The lights in the room were off. He took off the covers, and almost stepped in some pie.

...Wait, pie?

"...Huh?" Upon further inspection, it was freshly baked, brought not too long ago. It also smelled of cinnamon and butterscotch.

"...Ooooh, that's why she asked me that question!" Steven remembered back to when Toriel called for his preference on cinnamon or butterscotch. No wonder she asked! She wanted to make a pie for him! How sweet.

Not wanting to make a mess on the covers, or in the room in general, he lifted the plate and wandered out of the bedroom. Going the direction to where he originally came from, and going straight, into what he seemed to be the living room.

It had a nice, tan-colored table on the left, meant for dining, while on the other side of the room was a fireplace, accompanied by a bookshelf and Toriel in her reading chair. As Steven made it to the table and sat his plate, Toriel lifted from her book.

"Oh, awake so soon, I see?" She adjusted her red reading glasses.

"Hah, yeah." Steven pulled out a chair, one closest to Toriel, and propped himself in it. Coincidentally, it was his size, perfect for a child. "Is this... pie, with butterscotch and cinnamon in it?"

"Yes! I baked it while you were asleep, and before you went through the ruins to my home." Without Steven noticing, she had gotten up and brought a fork for him, setting it next to the plate.

"Oh, thanks!" Steven immediately picked it up and cut into his slice of pie, taking a bite into it.

Like expected, it was a good blend of butterscotch and cinnamon, considering the scent. However, it somehow tasted... even better than expected? The whipped cream on the top probably helped with that.

"Mm, this is good!" Steven spoke with a mouthful. Toriel giggled, and thanked him.

"After spending so long in the ruins, I suppose you get good at the things you do," she humbly added.

The whole house smelled and felt like _home._ The colors made it look like a home, the smell of pie made it smell like a home, the texture of the wooden chair made it feel like home... It was nice.

...Wait, 'spending so long in the ruins'?

"...How long have you stay in the ruins?" From her tone and the way she worded it, it sounded like to Steven that she was here for... well, a majority of her life. Her long, immortal life.

"Ah... well, for... many, many years now." She cast aside a somewhat saddened look. "It's often very lonely here, so, to pass the time, I often practice on baking..."

Wait, is she... lonely? Aww, but she's so nice!

"What about other monsters in the ruins? Don't you talk to them...?" Like Froggit, or, uh, Whimsun! Steven took another slice of the slice of pie, and would take a bite.

"I'm afraid most monsters are intimidated by me here." She sighed. "I know they don't say anything, but... I could just feel it from the looks in their eyes."

"..But you're so nice, how are they intimidated by you?"

"I am unsure, but, that is how things are."

Things felt... awkward now. Toriel seemed so lonely, and to only ask to leave to find another way out, it would break her heart. Maybe... maybe spending some more time with her would help things out! And maybe, after I'm close enough with her, she can let me go!

Steven finished his pie, thanked Toriel for it, and went into the yellow hallway.

...Where is her room? If he can find her room, he can find things to connect with her about without feeling awkward, and, make a good connection! He opened the second door he encountered in the hallway, and peered quietly inside.

It was a blue, pretty room, giving him the immediate reminder of Sapphire and Lapis. A bed, queen sized, was in the corner, while on the right of it, was a dresser, presumably for makeup. The left of Steven, is another corner, but most importantly; a desk with a blue book, with many things written inside. It was open right to the middle, with something circled in red.

I know I shouldn't really be in her room, but, I've got reasons.

...

And I want to know what's in that book.

He peered over, reading the contents from the book. Everything was basically puns, from mom puns to others. The one circled, however...

Why did the skeleton want a friend?

Because he was feeling bonely!

Steven could hold back a laughter, and let loose some giggles. She's into puns, huh? Steven can play at that game. Taking one last look around the room, nothing else seemed to be too catching to the eye. He left the room, and quietly closed it, heading for the third and last door. Upon approaching it was a note attached...

Room under renovations.

Curse you, renovations! Luckily, right next to that door was a mirror. Steven walked up to it and looked into it.

It's you!

How interesting. Steven looked like Steven.

He returned back to the living room, where Toriel still was upon her reading chair, glasses and all. He decided to greet with a pun. "Pie-'m  back!"

Toriel's reactions were satisfactory. "Hee hee, oh, having pun now, are we?"

"You bet'cha!" Finger-guns.

"...Actually, is there any board games we can play?" Maybe playing a game with her would help things along. Puns get awkward and sometimes annoying fast.

"Ah, I... I would love to, but, I no longer have any board games. I... left the-- threw them away a long time ago."

"Oh, that's okay! We can still do something else! Why don't we go outside the Ruins and explore a bit?"

Wrong move.

"...Ah, I'm afraid, you cannot. I cannot as well." Her brows furrowed, showing a saddened expression. This sudden expression change was a little sudden to Steven.

"..Huh? Why not?"

She sighed. "I have to watch for humans, in case they fall... I have to protect them." She has to protect 'them'? From who? Does she ever even leave the ruins?

Steven thought for a moment which he should ask. Finally, he decided. "Do you ever leave the ruins...?"

Toriel cast a sad glance. "I cannot. I haven't left in a long time. As mentioned, I have to protect every human that falls."

"..From who?"

"..." Toriel's silence made Steven feel bad. I have to know, though! What is she hiding from me?

"What is out there that you have to protect me from?"

"...I, ah... I don't know if I can answer that, Steven."

"Why not?"

A moment of silence.

"...L-look, I don't want to be mean, or rude, but, what is it that you're hiding?

"Why is there a closet with someone else's shirts in there?

"Why is the shelf filled with shoes not even my size at all?" Steven worried he was making Toriel upset, but, at the same time...

...

"...There are a lot of things you do not know." Toriel's face was written with guilt.

"Can't we just talk about this?"

"..I have something to attend to. Please stay here." She solemnly stood from the chair with a look hard to read, and headed off from the living room.

"Wait, Toriel--!" Steven chased after her, as she went into the next room, and headed down the stairs. He would follow pursuit.

Chapter Text

Steven dashed down the stairs, leaning against the cold wall for extra balance. Following her, he'd shout down the dimly lit purple hallway for her. "Toriel, what are you doing!?"

"I am going to destroy the exit to the ruins. No one will ever be able to leave or enter through the ruins ever again."

"B---what!?" Why in the world would she do that?? She'd trap herself, him, --everyone! "Toriel, can't we just talk this out!? We-- you-- it doesn't have to happen like this!"

"There is no other way," She said, furthering down the hallway, with a stern voice. "If you leave, he, ASGORE, will kill you."

"-----What!?!??" Someone was going to KILL him? They-- "But they don't even KNOW me!"

Toriel said nothing as she made a turn to the left, disappearing from Steven's view as she followed the hallway's path. He followed after her, to meet her, face-to-face with the door and herself. She held out both hands, creating fireball projectiles within them.

"Please, this is your last warning, Steven. Go back to your room." Her voice was... somewhat shaky.

"Just... please, let me out, you can even come with me! We can, maybe, talk something out with this 'Asgore' guy! We--"

"Fine." This stern tone scared him almost out of his sandles. "If you want to leave so badly...

"Prove to me.

"Prove to me you are strong enough to survive." Without hesitation, she whipped around, now facing Steven, firing fireball projectiles at him. With fire being sent into his direction, threatening his very being, Steven quickly put out his hands, and, with a pink flash...

". . . my mom was a Pink Diamond, who was secretly a Rose Quartz-- that's.. also a long story, but, her weapon was a shield. When I was born, I inherited her gem, and her powers, so, I'm sort of... half of her."

...a shield, decorated with a thorn-like spiral pattern on it, appeared. It protected him from her own projectiles, something that would definitely hurt a human. Humans haven't had magic for a long time... and, despite Steven telling her about this...

...She shook her head, ignoring this. Toriel would approach this from a different angle, by surrounding Steven with her own fire magic. Can his shield counter that?

"--Aah!" Steven quickly unsummoned his shield, and, a pink bubble, the size of his body, appeared and closed around him, bottom to top, like arose. It had shielded the magic attacks. How...?

Without much warning, he pushed out the bubble, making it bigger and bigger around himself, until it would pop, sending Toriel back a few steps. Suddenly, Toriel had second thoughts about this fight.

"Please, we don't need to fight!"

"You have no idea what you would be up against out there...!"

"Why!?"

"Because!" She threw her arms to the side, fire magic being cast from her emotional state. "Thousands of years ago, he declared war on humans, your own kind! Without hesitation! Don't you care about that..!?"

--Wait, 'Asgore' declared war on humans?

"Do you think a coward like he would ever want to sit down, have a cup of tea, and talk!?" Toriel's voice rose only higher with tension. "He hasn't retracted his statement then, he will not do so now! He does not deserve that kind of treatment, not after...

"Not after..."

...Toriel wore a defeated, hopeless expression on her face. Steven tore up inside at this, watching someone he cared about, yet, didn't even know very well feel hurt. A tear came to his eye.

...

A moment of silence.

"...You... you still want to leave, do you not?"

"....I... I guess so."

Toriel's frown turned into a smile, but, not one out of happiness. "Haha... even after all of these years, I cannot save a single child..."

Did she mean...? All of those shoes, shirts, and other stuff... those belonged to human children? They came through here, faced a situation like this, and... ended up dying for it, after leaving?

"...It'll be different this time. I... I have a shield, a bubble... I can protect myself." As Steven told her this, maybe... maybe it will be different. Her smile lightened, still almost as if her heart was broken.

"...Perhaps, Steven, it will be different this time. However, I must ask of you..." She knelt down to Steven's level, putting her hands on his shoulders. "When you leave, please, do not come back. I will lock the door behind you."

"--You're... not going to go?" Her hands were... comfortable, embracing.

"I'm afraid I cannot."

"...I guess this is goodbye, then." Steven unexpectedly hugged Toriel tightly, tears leaking from his eyes into her shoulder. Toriel would return the hug.

The hug ended, with the mutual lift of the grasps around each other. Toriel's shoulder was slightly wet from Steven tears.

"Hahah... I'm sure you will do great, Steven. You've shown me you are very capable of many things." She ruffled through his hair one more time, as she stood up. "Goodbye, now."

She would turn and walk a few steps forward to leave, but, she couldn't help to look back.

He sadly waved and smiled. "See you around."

"Heehee... see you around, as well."

Someone has to take care of those flowers.

Chapter Text

Steven pushed against the door, opening it. He'd enter the long, purple hallway. It... was long. Very long.

This whole walk would give him some time to think about everything, what had happened, and where he'll be going.... Actually, where is he?

No, wait, he's in the Underground. That's right.

"And, to get out... I just have to get past this 'Asgore' guy," Steven monologues. "I think."

He felt bad for leaving behind Toriel, but, nonetheless, he had to go forward.

...

...

"Wow, this hallway sure is long, huh..?" Man, if only Steven could teleport.

Eventually, he made it to the end. The room was similar to the one he met Flowey in...--

"Howdy!"

Oh, great. Speak of the devil.

"--Oh. Uhh... hey Flowey."

"So, how's that 'sparing' game going up for you, huh?"

"...What??" 'Sparing' game? "What do you mean..??"

"You spared her. You spared the life of the single person, so you played by your own rules." Steven would listen in silence, trying to make this all out, with a confused look.

"Oh, do you not know? About SAVING and RESETTING?" He'd give a look that would make Steven feel like an idiot.

"...Like a video game???"

"Exactly, my friend! But, you'll find out sooner or later." Flowey shot a cocky grin. "Just don't get too cocky." He'd pop back into the ground, leaving an unsettling atmosphere.

"...Well, okay. Weird talking flower saying I can 'save' and 'reset' like a game..." Steven nervously and quickly exited the door to the front of him.

Steven pushed the doors in front of him, with some struggle. He'd finally push one open, and lean against it, closing it. Strangely, it was... sort of chilly out. Cold, even.

He shivered, and took note of everything around him. Snow covered the ground, with very faint tracks all over on it.

"...I should probably go get a jacket from Toriel." Steven would turn around and try to pull open the door, but, no matter what he did, it would not budge. He was stuck out here now.

"..Gaah, what!? It's stuck!??" Ugh, what is he supposed to do now?

...Aha, his phone! Steven can call her! He'd dig into his pocket and open up his phone, calling Toriel's number...

Ring, ring...

...

But nobody answered.

"Wh-- why won't she answer...??" He'd try to call her a few times more, to no avail. What terrible timing.

"Uugh, what do I do now..?" He'd think about a plan... perhaps, he could go forward and find a town, and buy a jacket for now... yeah, that's a good idea!

Steven sneezed and trudged forward. Looking ahead, he'd notice the pathway was, once again, very long.

"Ghh, what's with these really long hallways and paths!? Does everyone just... like to walk for 5 minutes to go somewhere??" Steven wasn't truly irritated by this, but, more or less, he found it inconvenient.

Steven would eventually spot a thick, long stick on the ground. For fun, he would try and break it...

It was too tough to break. Nonetheless, it was fun to try. He'd walk past it, spotting a little gate and bridge ahead--

Snap!

Steven yelped and turned around, now noticing the stick on the ground absolutely snapped in half. "W-what???"

He'd immediately run to it, inspecting the stick. "How did it snap?? Who... what did that????" Scared out of his mind, he put his hands on his arms, shivering. Upon closer inspection, no ordinary person could have broken this stick... It was too thick. Someone must've hit it, or, wacked it against something, right??

"...M-Maybe a rock, or, a monster came and broke it." Steven tried to ease his mind and get it out of his thoughts, as he turned around and continued forward. Just focus on getting to a town.

Steven just focused on the sounds of his sandles trudging through the snow. In a way, it was sort of relaxing...

... Scrunch, crunch ...

Steven stopped dead in his tracks, with the steps vanishing a second after. W-was... someone... following him?

He turned around sharply, and hollered, "Is anybody following me???" To nobody's surprise but Steven's, nobody was behind him. Though, there were tracks...

"...I-it's... just my imagination, isn't it?" Steven nervously laughed. "Ahah, oh, Steven! Always jumping to conclusions!" He'd turn back around and keep going forward.

Finally, the gate! "I can just get out of here, go to a town, and, buy a jacket. That's all I have to--"

Steven froze, as he heard the returning sounds of footsteps in snow. He couldn't muster any energy to turn around and face whoever was walking toward him.

Eventually, he could basically feel the figure was right behind him.

"Human." Steven shuddered. The voice was a deep, creepy tone.

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

"Turn around, and shake my hand."

Steven took a deep breath, and, looked downward, not wanting to look at whoever was talking to him. He saw the white hand in front of him...

He'd reach out, and place his hand on theirs, gripping tightly...--

Pbbbbpbppth!!

"heheheh, oh, the old whoopee-cushion in the hand trick." W--what? Where did that edge on his voice go? "it's always funny."

The figure was... suddenly relaxed?? Steven looked up, with the most confused look on his face. Upon observing, the figure resembled a skeleton, with a cartoony-like face, with a great, goofy grin. This whole look, along with the blue hoodie and basketball shorts.... and slippers???

"Pffheheh!" Steven laughed, still a bit on edge. The guy who made him scared for his life was... this short, cartoony skeleton???

"heh, sorry about scarin' ya, i needed that buildup for the joke." He'd put his hand back into his pocket, presumably where they were before. "the name's sans, sans the skeleton."

"Eheh.. it's fine. I-I'm Steven. The, uh, mostly human."

"..huh, mostly human?" Steven's going to have to explain this to everybody, won't he? "well, that sounds like an interesting and long story."

"It sure is."

Chapter Text

"well, at least you seem pretty human, huh?" Sans took a moment to observe Steven and his appearance.

"Ahah, yeah.." Steven rubbed his chubby arms, chilly. He took note of Sans, wearing his jacket. Does he feel cold...? Do skeletons even feel cold???

Sans shrugged, and relaxed his shoulders. "well, hate to say it, but my bro's a human-hunting fanatic."

Steven jumped, stuttering a "W--what??" Human-hunting....?? Gee, Toriel was right about it being dangerous out here.

Sans noted the child's tense posture and startled voice. "ah, don't worry, 'kid," he comments, putting a hand on Steven's shoulder. "i was supposed to be watching for humans, too." That wasn't very reassuring, especially with Sans looking into the distance for a moment. Steven turned around, trying to follow the skeleton's glance. A figure had been heading toward their way...

"say, i think that's him." Steven gasped as Sans, now with both hands, patted his shoulders. "go through this gate-thingy, my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." The two sped through the wide gate and encountered a lamp, seemingly nonfunctional, standing in front of... well, a stand. "quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

Steven, hesitant at first, agrees and decides to hide behind it. However, this lamp...

"well, that isn't actually very conveniently-shaped." However, it was too late to change hiding spots, as now a taller skeleton had entered the fray.

"WHAT ISN'T VERY CONVENIENTLY-SHAPED??" He wore a rather innocent grin, wearing a goofy outfit barely resembling armor.

"oh, just this lamp. wanna look?" What???? Sans, what are you doing???

His brother glanced right at it...

...

"I THINK IT WOULD BE CONVENIENT FOR SOMEBODY SHAPED LIKE THAT LAMP."

"hmm, ya think?" How hasn't Sans' brother noticed Steven??? If this was an RPG, it probably would look like I'm hiding behind this lamp, but... how doesn't he see me??

"... YES, I THINK SO!" Sans' brother put his hands on his hips, confident in his judgement. "BUT, THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT... HAVE YOU SEEN ANY HUMANS YET??"

Please don't say anything, please don't say anything!!

Sans shrugged. "nah, not really." Phew! All was well! Perhaps Sans wasn't really that unreliable, he isn't going to just reveal your spot!--

"do you think the lamp can help you with that?" Sans!!!

"I'M AFRAID NOT, BROTHER," the tall skeleton went on, "BECAUSE THAT LAMP IS NOT A SENTRY!!"

"that's a shame."

"I KNOW!!" He leaned over a little to barely meet Sans' height. "GOOD THING YOU'RE A SENTRY!" He lowered even more... "SPEAKING OF, WHY HAVEN'T YOU RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES YET??"

"oh, don't worry, i'm recalibrating 'em, papyrus." A sinister grin flashed onto Sans' ever-permanent smile already on his face. "it just takes a ton of work."

He winked.

"a skele-ton."

As if right on cue, a rim-shot played, seemingly from nowhere. Steven tried to hold back his snickers as Papyrus stamped his foot. "SANS!!"

"come on. you're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!!" Papyrus sighed, and continued, "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself..." Steven knew what was coming, laughter already beginning to escape.

"down to the bone." Another rim-shot played on cue, much to Papyrus' disgust. Steven, on the other hand, let loose some giggles and laughter.

Papyrus groaned. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES, AND LEAVE YOU AND YOUR LAUGHING LAMP BE..." He twisted around on his right foot, making him face 180 degrees away from the situation and began to walk off. However, before he left, he stopped and turned around to face Sans.

"AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE,

'BACKBONE' INTO IT!!!!"

No rim-shot played, yet, a very confident Papyrus ran off ahead, laughing a "nyeh-heh-heh" that hazily reminded Steven of Peridot. As soon as the coast was clear, Steven let loose all laughter. Who knew these guys would have such great puns?

Steven's laughter proved to be contagious, as even the stocky skeleton started to chuckle as well. "heheh, he's great, isn't he?"

Clearing the snow that got onto his pants, Steven stood up and used the lamp to balance himself for a moment. "Ahuhuh, yeah, he seems really cool!" He forgot entirely about the fact that Papyrus was intent on looking for humans.

"well, you oughta get going," Sans said, with his eye sockets lazily looking upon Steven. "he might come back. and if he does... you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."

"Hah, as much as I'd like to, I probably should get going." Steven began to make his way on the path deeper into the forest, when...

"actually, hey... hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?" He paused and turned to the short skeleton.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately." Aww, what would get him so down? "he's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day."

Steven recalled that Papyrus was said to be a 'human-hunting fanatic,' and he'd also recall how Toriel had warned him about Asgore...

Sans must have noticed, because he added, "don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."

Well... he didn't seem to be mean and was actually kind of funny, so... After some considering, Steven nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll do it."

"thanks a million. i'll be up ahead." Sans walked in the opposite direction of Steven, where they had came from. Being very confused, Steven decided to shrug it off and walk ahead.

Chapter Text

Not soon after beginning on this snowy path, Steven notices it diverting into two, with a box and a sign off to the side. Peering near to the sign, it would read...

"This is a box. You can put an item inside or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover."

Aww, how nice! Steven popped open the box next to the sign and peered in, however, there was nothing of notice, other than a singular Tough Glove. I don't think that's going to help keep all of me warm. He kept the box in mind if he were to carry too many items. After peering ahead, seeing the skeleton brothers, he'd take a left before confronting the duo.

Steven would come across a river with a lone fishing pole cast into it. Curious, he would reel it in. The end of the fishing pole's line revealed a wet piece of paper with writing on it, saying, "Call Me! Here's my number!" The paper listed the phone number. 

"Uhhh... yeah, I don't think I'm going to call that." Steven cast the fishing pole's line back into the river, and went to confront the skeleton duo.

Following the pathway, he approached the two skeleton brothers mid-conversation.

"SO," Papyrus had continued, "AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..." As he trails off, he glances to his left and takes note of something that wasn't there before, seemingly in Steven's direction. As he looked back at Sans, he would look in the same direction as Papyrus. The duo would do this so rapidly, eventually they just spun around in one spot, gathering themselves after a moment and huddled together, facing away from Steven.

"SANS!! OH MY GOD!!" Papyrus exclaims, voice barely cracking. "IS THAT... A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!" He would excitedly turn around and snow Sans what had been right in front of him.

"actually, i think that's a rock."

"OH."

Steven couldn't help but let lose a small chuckle. He still hasn't noticed me?? And noticed a rock instead??? Then again, he is some form of rock.

A gem.

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Sans pointed toward Steven.

"OH MY GOD!!!" Papyrus wore a giddy grin on his face, looking at Steven, sharing the contagious smile. He knelt down and whispered to his brother, "(IS... IS THAT A HUMAN)"

"(yes)"

"OH MY GOD!!!" Papyrus clasped his orange mitten-like gloves together. "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO..." He could barely contain himself in his spot, which was quite entertaining to watch. How did he have so much exciting energy?

...That was incredibly contagious? As he snickered to himself in amusement, Steven enjoyed Papyrus' sense of fashion and attitude.

Papyrus must have finished his sentence, as he cleared his skeletal throat. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA!" He held an assertive pose, hand on hip and all. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!!" Maybe Papyrus really wasn't that threatening after all!--

"I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL!" Never mind, that's still a scary thought. Sans seemed to wink from the distance as Steven realized his tenseness, reminding him that Papyrus isn't going to hurt him, "even if he tries." It helped a little, but, it's still worrying.

"THEN... THEN!!!

"I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT." He doesn't know what happens next..?? Huh, guess Sans was right. I shouldn't have doubted his brother.

"IN ANY CASE! CONSIDER... ONLY IF YOU DARE!" He crossed his arms in a confident manner, having finished his introduction.

"Huhuh, oh, I dare!" Steven stepped a foot forward, playfully challenging the taller skeleton.

Papyrus, surprised at first, would shoot an ecstatic look toward his brother before responding to Steven. "THEN, PREPARE FOR JAPES!! PUZZLES!! AND MULTITUDES OF JAPERY!!" He completed a 180 degree turn once again and did his trademard "nyeh heh heh" laugh as he dashed through the forest, presumably to set up his puzzles.

"heh, wow, you really seem dedicated to playing along." Sans seemed surprised, almost as if he wasn't expecting him to really do anything with Papyrus, let alone challenge him.

"Well, I'm sure he's a nice guy, now that I sort of met him." Steven made his way toward Sans. "Hah, I actually thought he'd catch me right then and there, but if he's willing to make puzzles to do it with style..." It would be incredibly fun! And, perhaps, he can convince Papyrus he doesn't need to capture anybody!

"yeah, don't worry, steven," Sans assured him by patting his shoulder as Steven passed by, catching his attention. "i'll keep an eye socket out for ya." He winked for emphasis.

"Hahuhuh, thanks!" Oh, Sans, seemingly inserting puns when you least expect it! He excitedly trudged forward in the snow, as Sans went the opposite way once again.

Not much farther ahead, laid a station similar to the one he saw earlier with the lamp, however, this station seemed... a little more low-budget, made with cardboard and other crafts. Attached to the front was a sign, that would read off some narration from assumingly Papyrus.

"YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER... I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN!" Steven snickered as he read this, but then noticed a little note at the bottom in slightly smaller handwriting...

"(NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)"

"Hahaha!" Steven stood up, not realizing he was kneeling down to read the narration. "Aww, he seems like he wants to be popular." He would recall his friends back at Beach City, and notice how he seemed rather popular in town. Maybe I could introduce him to everyone there!

Steven turned to his right and proceeded to take a step, only to accidentally bump into a figure coated in metal armor. He backed up immediately to catch his own balance before checking for the armored fellow's own stance. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?? I didn't--"

The figure hadn't moved from his spot despite Steven ramming into them. A small, fluffy head of a white dog puffed out of the silver armor's neck opening, barely making it any taller than Steven. A somewhat long tail fluffed out from under the armor, where the hind legs of the dog sprouted themselves and planted the dog onto the snowy ground. In one arm held a shield as tall as its own body, while the other paw grasped a sword of similar length. Despite this dog's dress implying for anybody to be afraid, its cute face with a tongue sticking out partially made anybody want to pet it infinitely.

"...I didn't know you were so gosh-darn cuute!!!" Steven reached out his hands to immediately pet the dog on the head, only to pull back after feeling the neck of the dog extending for a moment.

... What.

"D-- Did you neck just...!?" He covered his mouth in surprise, not sure how to exactly take this. Curiously, he placed a hand back onto the fur of the neck, watching it extend up a little. Eyeing behind the body of the dog, he also noted the tail wagging and how it excitedly hopped from foot to foot, which implied the canine didn't care about the neck extension.

Suddenly, a devilish thought entered Steven's mind. How far can this go...?

The armored pup yipped at Steven with a smile, almost imploring him to continue petting him. "Okay, okay, I'll continue!" As he rubbed through the soft fur of the neck and watched the head go farther up, the speed of the tail wagging increased. Chuckling and partially humored by this, he jumped upward and used his floating abilities to meet back at eye-level.

"Hey, buddy!" Steven pulled himself closer to the dog, booping it on the nose. "Boop!!"

The canine's head immediately skyrocketed upward at a surprisingly alarming rate.

"...Oh my gosh, haha!!" Steven burst into laughter as he gently and slowly began to grace the snow floor. He pushed himself against the ground once more to try and catch up with the dog, which surprisingly proved itself to be a challenge. Each time Steven got closer, the neck skyrocketed even higher. As he floated towards the ground and landed softly, worries started to settle within his gut. I probably shouldn't have gotten him so excited like that. His neck's so long now... As he thought of potential ways to lower it, suddenly, something white peaked from the top of his vision. He looked up, and noticed...

The canine's neck had turned and was now was heading down, its head aiming back towards the ground and near its human pal.

"Oh my gosh!!" Steven excitedly waved to the dog, who's head rocketed towards him, missed and burrowed itself into the ground via force and splattered some snow around.

"...That's... a problem." Worried, he'd try to gently grasp around the neck, cautious not to hold too tight in case he may accidently choke the canine. He'd pull the neck upward from the ground, but like a magician's never-ending cloth, there seemed to be no sight of an end.

Oh gosh, what did I do?? I shouldn't have pet him so much! Seeing that there wasn't much else he could do, he anxiously wandered around the dog's armored body and under the arch created by the incredibly long fluffy white neck, trying to think of a solution. "Well, this can't be all that new for him since he didn't seem all that surprised, right?" Steven began hypothesizing out loud to collect his own thoughts. "If that's true, then, maybe when he calms down, his neck'll just go back to normal!" He nodded anxiously, hoping he was right. An idle thought blew into his mind, reminding him of Papyrus and Sans, who likely were ahead waiting on him.

"It was nice seeing you, but, I should probably get going!" Steven could overhear the pupper's whine, and hesitantly patted its shoulder only to yank it away immediately upon seeing the tail wagging speed increase. "If we run into each other again, I'd be glad to play and pet you more!!" He'd wave bye to it, only to face palm and vocalize the parting with a "See you later!"

Chapter Text

As Steven stepped forward, he skidded to a halt after hearing shuffling within the trees nearby. Curious, he'd trudge toward the sound slowly, internally debating if he wants to interact with whatever is hiding here.

His mind says yes after 2 seconds of very careful thought.

Pushing aside the branches of snowy leaves, he manages to grab a peak of the monsters. He could make out a monster that seemed to be... made of ice? With googly eyes?? And another that looked something similar to a bird. A large bird? And another with... sunglasses?????

They were definitely speaking, but, he couldn't make out anything. I probably shouldn't be eavesdropping, he reminded himself, and would exit the brushes.

Suddenly, he felt eyes piercing him with their stare in the back of his head. “Who’s there!?”

Steven turned around to face the group, halfways in the bushes. “I-I’m sorry, I was just passing by!”

“It’s not those skeletons…” The icicle-shaped monster ran toward Steven, who was already kneeling down and not at all prepared for a fight. Oh gosh please don’t fight me right now??

“You better not want to take my cool hat!”

….What?

“Wh-- no, I don’t, why would I want to take it??”

“You’re just jealous of how cool I look!”

“...Huh?”

Before realizing the ice monster made an unintentional pun, icicles were spearheaded toward Steven, who quickly summoned a shield to block the attack.

“Woah, Icecap, chill out!” The cartoony snow bird called out, dashing away from the one with sunglasses. Snrk.

“Get away, you just want my hat, too!” It didn’t hesitate to create room between the bird and itself by summoning ice crystals shaped like needles from the ground, breaking the snow beneath.

He seems awfully protective of his hat… so much so, that’s all he’s thinking about. An idea hit Steven-- if he could possibly get the hat away from Icecap and out of everyone else’s reach too, perhaps he won’t be so focused on it? He quickly tossed his translucent shield at Icecap, knocking off his hat to reveal….

An ice cube.

“W---what??”

“---His body was just his hat!?” The birds, shocked, ended up running deeper into the forest. Steven paid no attention and approached the lonely ice cube. As expected, it wasn’t fussing over the hat anymore, but rather…

“Nobody will think I’m cool anymore.”

A low self esteem.

“Well, I think you are!”

Despite having no eyes, the block looked up at Steven. “You mean it?”

“Yeah! I think you’re…

Chill!” Steven held out finger guns with his tongue sticking out a little, with a goofy smile.

“...Yeah, I don’t think I need my hat anymore.” Steven patted its non-existent cubey head, agreeing.

“I have to head out, but, it was ice to see you!” I’m on fire with these puns! Wait, that might be bad.

After waving goodbye, he headed back onto the trail. Pushing the chilly snow ahead with his sandals, he shivered and trudged forth. I’m still surprised this snow isn’t as cold as it should be… and, how everything is basically like winter but it isn’t that cold. He approached what seemed to be another sentry station, recalling Papyrus’ and what most likely was Sans’ near the lamp earlier. However, this seemed to be dog-themed, because it had an icon of a dog on the top of the station.

Steven observed the station, and took note of the bell. Well, if everyone is as friendly as Sans and Papyrus, maybe ringing this won’t be a bad idea…! He reached a hand and tapped the bell.

...Slowly, a dog (a husky?) rose from behind the station, on 2 legs. It certainly was humanoid in that fashion.

“Did something move? Was it my imagination?” He peered around, almost as if he didn’t notice Steven in front of him.

“Um, hi--”

“I hear something!!” The dog leaped out from behind his station and landed in front of Steven, revealing himself to be wearing a pink shirt with another dog icon and leopard pants. He had equipped himself with two short swords, but not short enough to be classified as knives. “I can only see moving things! Show yourself!!”

Steven backed up into the station, a bit surprised. “I-I’m right behind you!... Mister.” Hopefully he gives me his name??

The husky turned around, and, seemingly did not notice him still. “If you’re a human, and you’re moving… I’ll make sure you never move again!!” He held up one of his swords, almost ready to strike. Steven whimpered, but not like a dog.

This dog… is he somehow blind?? After thinking that, Steven immediately took that back. No, wait, that sounds really rude. The dog scanned the area, looking around. It seems like he still hasn’t noticed him.

Steven had the idea to surprise him with a pet. He scratched the bottom of the dog’s jaw, and, he seemed to… like it!

“WH-- I’VE BEEN PET!” The dog’s tail wags with immense power as he struggles to process that he has been pet by something. Steven giggled. Aww, that’s cute..!

He’d stop for a moment, wondering if the dog could ‘see’ him. Still unsure of how that works, Steven looked at the husky’s eyes… Well, they don’t seem blind. After, he’d resume petting.

“THERE IT IS AGAIN!!” Ecstatic once more, the hound tapped his foot and dropped his swords. “WHERE IS IT COMING FROM????”

“Haha, it’s just me! I’m Steven!” He’d grab the husky’s paw. “I’m a human, but it’s okay, I’m nice!”

“A human… that pat me!?” The speed of his wagging tail slowed for a moment, almost questioning if the statement is true, and if he should be eliminating what’s in front of him. He leaned forward and used his big sniffer to confirm if Steven’s words were true, just like a typical dog.

“Boop!” Steven touched the nose of the dog.

“AGAIN????” He’d frantically touch his nose, almost baffled by the fact a human touched his sensor.

“Ahuhuh, what’s your name, you big goofball?”

“It’s Doggo, you human--”

“Doggo?????” Steven gasped in awe. “That’s one of the cutest names I’ve heard!!” He squished Doggo’s face.

Suddenly, a paw would meet Steven’s human hands, pushing them away. “Alright, that’s enough.” As if a serious mode switch was pressed, he hopped back behind his sentry station. Steven turned and remembered the bell, so, he’d press it…

Doggo slowly rose from behind the station, glancing around. “Hello?” Steven pressed it again.

“...Is anybody there? No?” Steven snickered, realizing this gave him an idea.

Ding ding. “Is it that human? Didn’t he go away?”

Ding ding. “Is it them? Are you two playing a trick on me? Real funny.”

Ding. “Big guy? Is that you? Come on…”

Steven tried to hold back his laughter. I kind of feel bad, but, he’s funny! Just a few more times!

Ding. “Well, it’s not the tall skeleton. He’s too loud.”

Ding. “Whoever you are, knock it off!!”

Okay, okay, he’s getting annoyed, better stop. He’d lift his hand to move it away from the bell--

Ding.

Steven muttered under his breath, “Wh-- whups!!” That was a complete accident. “S-sorry, that was me! I didn’t mean to annoy you too much!”

Doggo slightly lifted his head from behind the sentry station. He didn’t say anything, but seemed to be looking at Steven. Or rather, through him…?

“...Anyways, bye!!!” Steven hurried along, a little embarrassed. Ohh, I shouldn’t have bothered him too much… but he was a cute dog!! As he tried to rationalize his time spent messing with doggo, Steven discovered a small patch of ice in front of him, sporting a Sans the skeleton just before it.

“Oh, hey, Sans!”

Chapter Text

"heh, ice to see you." He winked with his permanent grin, triggering another chuckle out of Steven. "before you slip off, i just wanted to give you some advice for when you eventually fight my brother."

"Huhuh, alright, break the ice and start advising me!" All of these puns had Steven forget he was in a tundra, almost like his goosebumps just disappeared.

"so, here's something important to remember: my brother has a very special attack." He pulled out his hand from his pocket and summoned a short, round blue bone in his hand. "if you see a blue attack, don't move and it won't hurt you.

"here's an easy way to keep it in mind: imagine a stop sign. when you see a stop sign, you stop, right?"

"Hmm… yeah." Steven nodded, trying to make sense of this advice.

"stop signs are red. so imagine a blue stop sign instead."

"...Ooooh, I see where you're getting at!"

"heh, yup." The bone in Sans' palm disappeared. "when fighting, think about blue stop signs."

"That makes sense!! Thanks, Sans!"

"hey, no problem, stev'o." Steven began to leave, but just before Sans had the chance to resume doing absolutely nothing, he spoke up.

"Hey, um… Is it possible if we can practice?" He faced Sans again, partially. "I just want to be able to make sure I understand." Hopefully that isn't too much to ask.

"oh, sure, why not?" He backed up a little to give himself and Steven some space. "you ready?"

"Yeah!" He assumed some sort of battle-ready position.

"okay, get ready, cause this is going to be intense." He stood back, taking a deep breath…

…

A single, small, blue bone appeared in front and to the left of Steven.

"...That's it?"

"yeah, that's it."

"It's not even directly in front of me, Sans!" Steven chuckled at Sans' silliness.

"heheh, alright, alright. here." He directed the bone to the front of Steven properly, and slowly moved it toward him. "remember, stay still."

Steven tensed as the bone made its way slowly toward him. Keeping his eye on it, he nervously spectated…

…

It passed through him without a scratch on his body.

"...Oh, wow, that actually wasn't so bad at all!!" He relaxed and let out air he didn't realize he had held in his lungs.

"yeah, it's easy once you know." Sans' bone attack dissipated into thin air. "anyways, i gotta head out. c'ya, stev'o."

"Hahah, bye!"

Man, what a funny bone. Steven took a few steps forward, noting a sign ahead---

Slip!

"Gh--owww..!" Steven had slid forward and hit the ice on his back. Thankfully, it wasn't too painful, being a hybrid of a human, but... it still hurt, quite a bit. Sitting up, he turned to behind himself, hoping Sans still was there. Somehow, he was gone without a trace. Disappointed, he carefully situated himself and stood back up, carefully walking onto the patch of snow in the middle of the ice.

North: Ice
South: Ice
West: Ice
East: Snowdin Town
(...and ice)

Chuckling over the added ice portion of the sign, he hopped north, avoiding ice and meeting snow once more. He decided to see what was up north, and if it was really more than just ice. It would be really ice if that was the case. Steven laughed to himself, internally proud of the pun.

Steven had approached a gentle and lonely snowman. Not realizing it was a monster and very well alive, he took a gander at its form. Generic carrot nose, rock buttons, rock eyes, and a carved mouth. It felt like a polished work of snow! How ice!

...Using the same pun twice in a row probably shouldn't be as funny as it is.

"Hello."

Steven halted his giggling that he didn't realize he was letting out, and froze. He stared at the snowman, wondering, Did... did he say something? He kneeled in closer..

"...Would you mind backing up? You're in my personal space."

He squeaked and jumped backward about 3 feet, plummeting into the snow absolutely startled. At least he gave the personal space he wanted, despite the reaction being the farthest of what he wanted to show. The snowman held a surprised stare while Steven got up and organized himself before speaking.

"Heheh, um, sorry. I didn't know snowmen could talk down here, too." He shivered as he brushed off excess snow on his pants. "I ran into a talking flower earlier when I first fell down, too."

"Ah, you sound as if you traveled to many places already..." The snowman looked solomley at Steven, almost jealous. "You see, I want to see the world... but I cannot move."

Steven looked down where the snowman's "feet" would be. It was just snow lumps connecting him to the ground.

"If you would be so kind, traveller, please... take a piece of me and bring it very far away."

He thought for a moment. If he took a piece of him, would he... still feel himself? Would he feel nothing at all? What if it melted?? Would he be mad at me??

Suddenly, an idea sparked into Steven's mind.

"Yeah, I'll do it, but I have an idea." He carefully cupped his hands at the base of the snowman and scooped up a small handful, placing it in his pocket after packing it tight. "Whenever I can, I can come back, and put you in a wagon, so you can actually go places and see them!!"

"That sounds... like a wonderful idea!" The snowman's coal eyes brightened at the thought. "A way for me to traverse the many places of this world, yes!"

Steven smiled at his excitement. "I'll keep an eye out for a wagon, too!" He turned to leave and continue his adventure, but hollered before he left, "Do you have a specific color in mind??"

"Any is fine!" The snowman's gentle shout echoed through the forest. "Good luck...!"

After giving a thank you and a wave, he turned left from the sign surrounded by ice he encountered earlier and overheard some banter from the skeletal brothers.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY, YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!"

"i think that's called... sleeping."

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!"

Steven's laughter interrupted their conversation, with Papyrus taking notice and clearing his throat. "OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!" He asserts his dominance by taking up a very cool pose, hand on hip and other pushing his cape into the wind. "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE..." He gestures towards the empty patch of darker snow in front of them. "... QUITE SHOCKING!!! FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE!!!" He winked for effect. Steven immediately snorted and covered his mouth to halt extra laughter from escaping. Papyrus took this as an opportunity to further explain his puzzle.

"WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN???"

Steven blinked and took note of the situation after gathering himself. He finally applied the words the taller skeleton had explained to him: this is an invisible electricity maze. There are no hints to where you're supposed to go. In fact, it's just nothing but the snow.

Papyrus' words interrupted Steven's thoughts. "BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK." Well, thanks for reassuring me, I guess? "OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

--Wait, aren't I supposed to have the orb? Steven shrugged as perhaps this would be an opportunity to go ahead without being hurt. He took a few steps foward, and--

TtzzZZzZZAP!

Papyrus held the orb in his hands, covered in soot that. After a moment, he stomped his foot, comically uncovering himself with it. "SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!"

"i think he has to hold the orb."

"OH, OKAY." Papyrus would walk through the invisible maze, effectively leaving behind tracks of where his footprints were. He completed his own puzzle and in the process, carefully handed Steven the orb. "HOLD THIS PLEASE!"

"Um, alright." He took the orb and looked at his reflection inside of it, as Papyrus dashed back to his spot.

"OKAY, TRY NOW!"

Steven looked up and glanced at the tracks, deciding to follow them. Well, this was easier than expected. Upon completion of the maze, Papyrus clasped his hands together.

"INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY... TOO EASILY." He crossed his arms. "HOWEVER, THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS."

"He doesn't come off as somebody too invested into puzzles, though." Steven recalled to when he first walked out of the Ruins, with Sans mentioning he isn't too deep into the human-hunting business.

"PERHAPS NOT, BUT NONETHELESS, YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED. I KNOW I AM!!" He whipped into the direction ahead and gave off his signature laugh.

Steven chuckled as he approached Sans, still holding the orb now in his left arm. "Hah, you were right. He's actually really fun!"

Sans grinned despite somehow already wearing a smile. "heh, yeah. thanks, it seems like he's having fun, too. by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing?"

"Oh, yeah, it's a neat outfit!!" Steven took note of how Papyrus wore a cape to compliment his appearance with it. It gave off the impression of, perhaps, a confident superhero? "Did he make it for an occasion like this?"

"actually, we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party."

"--A costume party?" Steven pondered for a moment. What would you even dress up as at a costume party full of monsters, anyway? Each other??

"yup. he hasn't worn anything else since, and calls it his 'battle body' too."

Aww, that's kind of funny! Almost as if reading Steven's mind, Sans continued. "isn't he cool?"

"Yeah, he is!" He was about to head off when he remembered he was still holding the orb in his left arm. "Oh, uh, do I leave this orb here with the maze?"

Sans came forward and took the orb instead. "nah, i'll take it. besides, he'll probably wonder where it went and look everywhere but here."

"Pff, that's true. I've done that a couple of times." He waved goodbye, bidding farewell. "See you ahead!"

"adios, kid."

Chapter Text

Steven ventured forward, halting right before a small bridge. Almost missing it, he turned to his left partially behind him, to spot...

...An ice cream stand??? In the cold????

He curiously made his way up to the ice cream cart, which even sported a red and yellow-striped umbrella. He overheard the vender mumbling to himself, who appeared to be a blue bunny sporting a yellow shirt and red suspenders, perfectly matching his umbrella. As he leaned over his cart, his ears drooped down in a somber fashion revealing his sorrow.

"I don't understand why these aren't selling... It's the perfect weather for something cold."

Wanting to help out, Steven stood on his tippy-toes and voiced out, "People usually don't want something cold when it is cold." He folded his arms over the cart, curious for a response and justification.

Just then, the bunny perked up, surprised to hear a voice at all. Ignoring Steven's concerns, he shouted, "OH!!! A CUSTOMER!!!" Adjusting his position to be more professional and upright, the vender cleared his throat. "Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart!"

Surprised by the sudden change of mood (and wanting to make his day), Steven hesitantly nodded. "Um, sure! What kind of flavors are there?"

The Nice Cream vendor slid open the cart's built-in container and shuffled around. "Well, we have 21 distinct flavors!" He pondered for a moment as he brought out a wrapped block of ice cream on a stick. "This one is... strawberry. Interested?"

Steven instantly perked up. "Yeah!!" He shuffled through his front pockets for money. Pulling out roughly 35 dollars, he inquired, "How much is it?"

"15 gold...?" He curiously looked at the paper bills in Steven's hand, almost as if he has never seen anything like it before.

"--Gold???" Out of surprised, he dropped all of his money, floating gently to the ground. "Ah jeez, I don't have that!! I'm sorry!" He knelt to pick everything he dropped and shove it back into his pocket, embarrassed.

"W-well... Why don't I give a free sample?" The bunny leaned over the cart, generously extending his hand to offer the ice cream bar on a stick. "I don't usually do this, but..."

Steven bounced back up, absolutely surprised. "Ohmygosh! Really??"

Taken aback by the glee of the human child in front of him, he stuttered. "Y-yeah! Sure!! You'll come by to buy one if you have money, right??"

"Yeah!! I promise!" He took the frozen treat from the vender's blue paws and studied it before walking away. "Thank you so much!!"

"You're welcome!!!"

Crossing the very short bridge, Steven looked at the wrapper of the Nice Cream. Curious, he unwrapped it, and studied the writing on the inside...

Is this as sweet as you?

Steven's heart melted as he read the words off of the paper, internally letting out an 'aww.' Putting the wrapper in his back pocket and taking a bite of the ice cream, he spotted the world-famous Sans just ahead. After cringing due to a sudden-yet-expected brain freeze, he passed the giant snowball and ran on over to greet the stout skeleton. "Hey, Sans!!"

"oh, hey stev'o. i've been thinking of selling treats, too." He winked, adding, "want some fried snow? it's only five cents."

Steven, interested in how fried snow works and noting how it's actually within his price range, used his free left hand to dig into his front pocket as he took a bite of the ice cream with his other. "Mh, o'kay."

"oh, did i say five cents? i meant five dollars."

Steven froze for a moment, then resumed searching for the appropriate amount of money. "M'kay."

"did i say five dollars? i meant fifty dollars."

Almost tempted to do a spit-take, he literally had just pulled out his dollar bills and was about to count out five. He swallowed and with a grin, Steven held a puzzled look with Sans. "I can't... afford that."

"yeah, you're right. that's still too low."

Even more baffled, knowing he'll never get to hold this apparent fried snow, Steven shoved the money back into his pocket. "How does fried snow even work??"'

"well, you take snow and you fry it."

"Wouldn't it melt???"

Sans shrugged in response. "how should i know? i didn't fry the snow yet."

Steven gave in started giggling at this apparent silliness. "Heheh, then, why are you even selling it???"

Sans shrugged again, clearly enjoying messing with him.

Almost forgetting he's holding ice cream and about to drop it, Steven attempted to contain himself and breathe. "You're really silly."

"that's my middle name, after all."

Letting out one last snicker, Steven waved goodbye and turned back around, only to be greeted with the giant snowball he missed earlier. It seemed to be placed on a pathway leading to a hole, like a golf course. Except, sadly, there isn't any golf clubs. Finishing the Nice Cream and sticking the stick into his back pocket along with its previous wrapper, he decided to try something out-- to kick the ball into the hole.

He gently kicked it, to see how far it would go without absolutely shattering it. To his surprised, the ball rolled quite far and showed no sign of damage. Steven aligned himself better and punted it toward the goal, watching it skip along the snowy ground and place itself just next to the hole. He dashed up next to it, and gently nudged it into the hole with his foot.

A red flag slowly sprung from the hole, with a note and leather pouch taped to the pole. Reaching for it, Steven then pulled it off and read,

Your concern and care for "Ball" led to a delicious victory.

He placed the note back where it was, tape still attached, and took the small bag instead. He curiously opened it, peeking inside with only an eye...

Inside, was 1 gold coin.

"...Well, better than nothing???"

Steven took out the singular gold coin and put it in one of his front pockets, reattaching the pouch to the pole as well. He moved forward, unsure of what to expect next.

Chapter Text

As if anything couldn't get any sillier, Steven was greeted with a paper on the ground, complimented with two skeleton brothers just ahead of it. As he approached, the taller skeleton brother who stood next to Sans (somehow) took notice and turned to face Steven.

"HUMAN!!! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..."

Papyrus glanced around, as if something was lost. With slight anxiety, he glanced over to his own brother. "SANS!! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!!!"

"it's right there. on the ground."

That's what the paper is?

"trust me. there's no way he can get past this one."

Steven curiously approached the paper, kneeling and picking it up to get a closer look at it. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be a word search which had been monster-themed. On the left was a character of sorts that could only be described as an icecube with a dog face on it. It was drawn saying "Hey kid's! Can you help me solve this puzzle?"

If Connie or Pearl were here, they'd have a field day with this grammar.

He checked his back pocket, expecting a pencil, to be greeted with his ice cream stick and wrapper from earlier. Standing up and holding the paper, Steven asked, "Hey, do either of you guys have a pencil?"

Sans, dug through his jacket pockets in search of one. Completely baffled Steven even wants to actually do this word search, he walked up and handed a number two pencil to him. "heheh, here. guess i should have put one down, too."

Steven would thank him and kneel over the word search on the ground, glancing to the list of words to find at the bottom.

Fall, monster, cigars, skeletons...

...What's this????

A "word" that could only be described as a keyboard slam was printed out on the page, specifically saying giasfclfebrehber. This caused Steven to laugh out loud as he readjusted his sitting position.

"...SANS, WHAT IS HE LAUGHING AT??" Papyrus walked over to Steven and knelt down, curious about his brother's puzzle.

"This!" Steven flipped around the word search and pointed at the fake word to show Papyrus. "I have to find this in the puzzle!"

Papyrus squinted his eyes and brought the paper closer to read it properly. Suddenly, an expression mixed between anger and absolute laughter spread across his face, as he glanced toward Sans. "SANS, THIS ISN'T EVEN A WORD!! IT'S LIKE YOU SLAMMED THE KEYBOARD AND JUST WENT WITH THAT!"

"yeah, that's kind of what i did." Sans suddenly appeared next to Papyrus, who jumped slightly. "i ran out of words to put."

"PAPYRUS???"

"ok, yeah, i could have put that."

Steven had turned the paper back around, and glanced across the puzzle. Right away, he already spotted some of the words. He'd cross and circle them when appropriate, even counting the amount of letters just to make sure it was correct.

Eventually, the final word he had to find was the keyslam. He saved it for last, because of how absurdly long it was. Steven knew where it was located-- at the top of the word search, but as he did with the others, he wanted to check each and every letter.

"G... I... A... S..." Steven mumbled to himself as he held his finger and pencil to the word on the search and its list. So far, each letter seemed to match, However, when he got to the second F, something was... wrong.

"...The letter after the F is different!!!" Steven sat up, looking absolutely defeated. That's what Sans meant by how I wouldn't get past it!!! "The word here isn't found anywhere else!!"

"WAIT, LET ME SEE!" Papyrus took the word search and pencil, checking via the same method as Steven. When he encountered the same problem, he glanced at Sans angrily. "SANS, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLES!!"

"why not?" Sans had a grin on his face, where he knew what he was doing, and was messing with people about it.

"BECAUSE???" Papyrus dramatically slammed the paper to the ground in front, using a hand to emphasize his point. "THAT'S JUST NOT A PUZZLE AT THAT POINT, THAT'S A TRAP!!! AN UNFAIR ONE AT THAT!"

"isn't that the point of your puzzles? to uh, y'know, trap and capture steven?"

"NO??? THAT COMES AFTERWARD!"

"after each puzzle?"

"NO, AFTER THE LAST PUZZLE, OF COURSE! IT'S AS PER TRADITION!"

"what tradition?"

Papyrus opened his mouth to continue, but, paused. He hesitated, pondering. "WELL, ASIDE FROM PUZZLES BEING THE TRADITION, I SUPPOSE THERE ISN'T ANYTHING ABOUT HUMAN CAPTURING." He looked at Steven with a curious look in his sockets, wondering if he should even do what his brother suggested-- just capture him right then and there.

Steven, previously enjoying the time spent with the skeleton brothers, now squirmed a little under the tall one's look. Please don't capture me right here and right now. We were having fun, as friends, right??

As if he read his mind, Papyrus took the pencil from Steven's hand and lifted up the paper. "WELL, I'M STILL DOING IT THE WAY I PLANNED OUT INITIALLY!" He neatly folded the paper into a small square and handed it to Sans, along with its pencil. Before turning to leave, Papyrus glared at his brother in a goofy yet disappointed way who shoveled the previously given items into his pockets. Once again with his trademark laugh, Papyrus dashed into the far distance. "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!"

Steven stood up and mentally facepalmed when he realized something he should have done. Auugh!! I forgot to tell him my name!! I just had the perfect opportunity!

"something on your mind, kid?"

"Oh, um, nah." Steven's mind immediately jumped back to the word search, reminding him. "--Actually, yeah!" He jokingly nudged Sans in the shoulder, continuing, "Why'd ya make it impossible??"

"heheh, i didn't think you'd actually try and complete it." He snickered and rubbed an eye with his boney palm, continuing, "i figured you'd like, look at it and walk past."

He thought about it for a moment. I probably should have just walked past, it, should I? Continuing on this thought, Steven smiled. "Well, we did get to spend good time together, right?"

"oh, yeah. guess you're not wrong on that." Sans ruffled through the child's dark curly hair, making him giggle. "speaking of solving stuff actually, my brother yesterday got stumped tried to 'solve' the horoscope."

The horoscope..? His mind drew a blank for a moment, confused on what that was. It sounded familiar... Then, Steven then remembered-- the horoscope was one of those "time charts" that sort of described you as a person! That's right-- Connie told me about those!

"--Oooh! Honestly, I remember being really confused when I first saw one."

"heheh, papyrus would agree with you on that one. he spent all day trying to solve it."

"He did??"

Sans nodded.

"Heheh, oh my gosh. I feel like I could've done that." Lightly snickering about it, Steven would idly glance ahead, noting a table sporting a microwave and... a plate of something? "Well, I'm going to go ahead, see you around!!"

"cya 'round, buddy."

Chapter Text

As he got closer, Steven became a bit more baffled. Why would a microwave and spaghetti be here? He peered closer to the microwave, on its own circular table to the right of the spaghetti.

All of the settings say spaghetti.

Stifling a laugh, he curiously looked at the aforementioned dish. It seemed a bit dull in its color, indicating that it was left to sit and cool-- so much so, that it seems... frozen.

Out of curiosity, Steven firmly grasped his hands on the plate, shivering due to its lack of heat. He would then attempt to lift it, in order to place it in the microwave. However...

The plate was stuck and he would by extension lift the stand instead.

Speechless, Steven gently sat the tabletop back down. He used his left hand to hold it down and his right to lift the platter, in hopes that it would free it from its icy grasp. Summoning all of the strength he could within his muscles, he--

Snap!

...He broke off a side of the plate.
Panicking and scared by his own strength, he immediately tossed the glass piece and yanked his hands close to himself. Steven took a step back, trying to assess if he somehow did some other damage. Well, there isn't any glass shards anywhere... He checked his hands in case it wedged into his skin, something Pearl warned him about if he had to be around broken glass. In the corner of Steven's eye, however, he turned to see a paper lying to the left of the stand, held down by a small rock. Picking up the letter, with the rock-paperweight in his other hand, he read...

HUMAN!! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI.

(LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP... DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU'LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT THAT YOU WON'T REALIZE THAT YOU AREN'T PROGRESSING!! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!)

NYEH-HEH-HEH,

PAPYRUS

Steven smiled, both holding back giggles and appreciating his offer of food, despite it not being in the best condition. I can't believe he outright told me his plan in the letter, though. He sat the letter back to its original spot, rock on top so it doesn't blow away by chance. He continued to go forward, passing the microwave and broken platter of pasta and encountering a sign ahead. Giving it a glance to read it, it also said...

Warning: Dog Marriage

"Huh...???" Steven, completely baffled by what this could even mean held a puzzled look on his face. He rubbed a hand through his hair, trying to comprehend it. "Does it mean you... get married to a dog? Or, does it mean, there are dogs in the area who are married???" He looked around him, partially curious if somebody would come out to possibly explain it to him. As he wiped his head around, he spotted something yellow-- which, dove back into the ground as fast as he noticed it.

What... was that?

Steven cautiously walked away from the sign toward the patch of snow where he swore he saw something. Kneeling to the ground and patting around, he searched and felt around for something that could potentially be it. Noting something flat and round, like a button, he cautiously tried to lift it up. Steven caught a case of butterfingers, as it slipped from his grasp. He felt around the object, further concluding that yes, this is a button. He wiped away the snow to reveal that it was basically the same color as the snow, just shaped as a button.

This wasn't what he was looking for.

He felt even more creeped out now, shuddering. The last brightly-yellow object he saw before leaving the Ruins was...

...him.

Steven's pupils shrank at the thought. Is he following me...?

He turned around to face behind him, only to see nothing that stood out. Nothing golden or yellow.

Nothing had changed.

Steven clenched his teeth, absolutely terrified. He got up from the ground and summoned his shield, afraid of something jumping out at him. He cautiously navigated himself back to the sign and then left. Taking another left turn and hopping over the spikes, he kept a sharp eye for his surroundings. He suddenly halted, feeling that he heard something...

Are those... footsteps?

He looked to his right, noting two dog-looking figures in black cloaks, equipped with axes. Steven held his shield close to his body, afraid of any sudden attacks.

The hound on his right sniffled. "What's that smell?"

The canine on Steven's right perked up, too. "(Where's that smell?)"

Steven would tense, primarily focused on what he saw earlier. As much as he wanted to have fun and make friends, it still unsettled him by a mile.

"If you're a smell..."

"...(Identify yoursmellf!)"

The canine team began a search-- specifically, a sniff and search. Steven's anxiety lowered slightly, with their white fluffy fur hidden behind the hoods and their behavior reaffirming their dog-ness. Though, the axes weren't really helping lower it any further. The cloaked hound with a canine-version of a mustache cautiously sniffed at his shield, incredibly curious. Following his focus, Steven glanced down at the shield, immediately getting an idea...

"Hmmm... Here's that weird smell..." The hound cautiously peered down at Steven, thinking. "It makes me want to eliminate."

Steven whimpered.

"(... Eliminate YOU!)" His partner lifted her axe, and swung at Steven, who used his shield to block the attack. Steven pushed against its blade, causing her to retract the weapon and step backward, knocking her hood down in the process. Steven grasped his shield tightly with his free hand, and as he planned for his next move, he studied each canine.
While both technically wore the same cloak, the design on the middle was different-- it seemed to resemble each other's partner. Although adorable, it proved difficult to dismiss the thought of him. The male, as stated earlier, had a fuzzy muzzle that resembled something like a mustache, despite being the same color as the rest of the fur. He had taken down his hood too, with Steven noting his foe's thick eyebrows, projecting a sense of manliness. Glancing at the other, her only notable features, or lack thereof, is her smooth but fluffy fur that evenly spread throughout her body. Her eyelashes were exaggerated, as if makeup was used to stylize. Steven took a step back, now studying their weapons, which is when he realized...

On each dog's axe were googly eyes that somewhat represented who wielded them. Their irises would bobble with each slight movement the dog made.

Steven spared a smile and mentally gave in. Well, whatever earlier was... I suppose I can think about it later. Pushing the paranoia out of his head temporarily, he recomposed himself and held his shield like a frisbee, waving it around. "Hey! Do you guys want to play fetch?" Anxiety still leaked into his voice making it crack, at which he cringed at.

Both dogs perked up at the mention of fetch. Ears propping forward and pupils staring back curiously at Steven as he would back up. Tossing it gently into the air, he watched as the couple sprinted after it. The male hound pounced and had caught it with a single try, bringing it back to Steven in mouth. He wore pride on his face, completely forgetting his task.

"(That was great, Dogamy, sweetie!)" She nuzzled her sweetheart, beaming.

Dogamy gently nuzzled her back, placing the shield into his paws instead. "Why don't you try it next, puppy?" He kissed her the way dogs do by licking her on the side of her face. Dogs are weird, but still adorable.

"Yeah, here! I'll toss it again!" Steven took his shield back, and softly tossing it away once more. Dogamy's mate leaped after it immediately, catching it in her jaws before it could even go far. She excitedly brought it back to Steven.

Man, these guys really are dogs if they get distracted with fetch!! Steven would scritch the both of them under their jaw, rewarding them both with affection. The shield itself dissipated on its own.

"Dogaressa, puppy, you did great!!" He broke from Steven's hand and immediately started licking her, to her partial protest. "Seems that weird smells can bring good things..." He paused, turning to Steven. "Thanks, weird smell!"

Dogaressa wagged her tail. "(It sure was fun to 'stick' together!)" They both nuzzled each other as they walked away into the direction they came from-- ironically, the same place where Steven needs to head to.

Steven's heart absolutely melted of pure puppy love. Dogs are precious.

Chapter Text

Steven followed the direction of the dogi, since it's the only way forward. To the left on the ground was what seemed to be a puzzle of sorts, with a sign on the front of it. Curious, he went over to the sign and knelt down, reading it.

Turn every X into an O.

"Sounds easy enough!" He looked at the structure of the puzzle. Two blue X's, with frozen-over rocks separating them in the shape of an H. Wanting to play fair, Steven went around the long way to step on each of the X's, automatically switching it into a green O shape. When done, he noted the large button behind the contraption itself. Curious, he eyed the spike trap, bordering the pathway and ending on the cliffsides. Steven watched as he stepped on the pressure plate with a single foot.

Click!

The spikes shot downward into the ground, as if they were never there. He looked up from the trap, noticing Papyrus. Finally, someone I recognize!! Steven dashed over to Papyrus, calling out to him. "Hey, Papyrus!!"

Papyrus turned, surprised to hear somebody call for him. "HELLO, HUMAN!!" He wore a contagious smile on his bony face, eye sockets shining. As Steven stepped over to reach him, the skeleton glanced at the spikes he stood in front of, and the completed puzzle behind it. Remembering the trap he also placed earlier, he thought... then, connecting the dots, he sputtered, "--WAIT, WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?"

"Huh?" Steven glanced behind him at what he completed. "Oh, I just followed the directions on it."

"--NONO, THE OTHER ONE! THE SPAGHETTI ON THE TABLE?"

"...Ooooh!" Steven recalled how he tried to lift the platter of pasta from its table, only to render the plate itself unusable by breaking it. "I, um..."

"IS THERE ANY FOR ME???"

Steven squirmed under the unexpected question. Any... left for him? I aughtta just tell him the truth, of what I accidentally did to it. He took a deep breath, anxious. "I, umm... I accidentally broke the plate because it was frozen stuck to the table and I tried to lift it up to put it in the microwave but that's when it snapped off and the spaghetti's still cold and--"

"WOAH, WOAH, SLOW DOWN!!" Papyrus knelt down to Steven's level. "OKAY, ONE AT A TIME. WHAT HAPPENED...??"

"Okay, okay, uhh..." Steven twiddled with his fingers, focusing. "So, when I got there, the spaghetti was frozen to the table. And, I tried to lift it from the table, so I could heat it up, but I broke the plate instead, and, I left the glass pieces on the table so nobody would accidentally step on it." He nervously looked up, anxiety piercing through his eyes. "Are... are you mad?"

"NO, I'M NOT MAD!!" He patted Steven's shoulder, smile still in place. "THAT'S TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE!"

The grin spread from Papyrus to Steven, who chuckled nervously. "Heheh, well... I suppose I was just worried you'd be mad about the broken plate glass."

"NAH! ACCIDENTS HAPPEN." Papyrus stood back up. "FRET NOT HUMAN! FOR I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL COOK YOU UP A PROPER SAMPLE LATER!" He pointed forward (which, is backwards for him), and proudly announced, "NOW, LET US PROCEED! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!" With his trademarked laugh reversed, he dashed to stand beside his next puzzle, which, isn't that far.

A calm sincerity flashed into Steven's eyes as he giggled, following. You know, I feel kind of... confident, around him. It's nice. His sandals clacked as he moved forward.

He stopped himself once in front of the newer contraption's pressure plate, with the content and layout ahead seemingly a lot more complicated. Steven stood on his tippy toes, mentally figuring out a path to try out as snow crunched behind him in rapid succession.

Papyrus called out, "HUMAN!" He halted himself, audibly thinking and letting out a hum, looking at his creation as well.

"--Oh, actually," Steven turned around, looking upward at the lanky skeleton. "I keep forgetting to tell you my name. I don't know if Sans told you, but, I'm Steven!" He held his hand out excitedly, finally landing an introduction with this very cool person.

Papyrus took the hand after a moment of ingesting this information, shaking it. "WELL, PLEASURE TO FINALLY KNOW YOUR NAME, STEVEN!!" Steven smiled in excitement, seeming to finally get closer with Papyrus. He broke off the handshake as Papyrus continued. "ANYWAYS... I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO SAY THIS, BUT..." He held a gloved hand to his jaw, contemplating his next words. "YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE."

Steven glanced back over towards the puzzle outlined in snow-like rock barriers. Tilting his head to try and get a better picture, he circled around it to the end of it. I don't think I see how it looks like him...

"UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND--" Papyrus was interrupted as Steven lept into the air, spreading snow around his location of the jump. High enough to get a bird's eye view of the arrangement, he squinted, tracing its shape of barrier rocks to figure out what he had intended. The skeleton watched with shock in his eyes, surprised of a child capable of what basically is flying in the sky.

"Ooooh! I get it now!" He descended a smudge faster toward the ground, figuring out the picture. It now popped out to him like a word in a word search, or even a junior jumble. Landing with little grace, he ran back over to Papyrus, excited with his discovery. "That's really cool!!"

The young skeleton stared at the fleshy child in shock, still a bit surprised from his show of ability. "O-OH, THANK YOU..???" He pulled at his scarf-cape (scape??) nervously as he added, "HOW DID YOU... GO UP SO HIGH LIKE THAT?"

"Huh?" He paused for a moment, wearing a confused expression. Instantly realizing what he meant, he sputtered, "--Ooh, oh, you mean... oh!

"Well, I'm half gem, which, long story short, are an alien species who have magic powers and stuff. Kinda like you guys? But, uh, not aliens." He lifted his shirt to show his lustrous pink gem. "I got my mom's powers, and that was one of them I think." He shivered as the cold blew and hit against Steven's abdomen.

Papyrus knelt down to take a closer look, eyes sparkling with the gemstone's reflection. "THAT'S... REALLY COOL, ACTUALLY!!" For a split second, he reached out with his glove, but retracted it, realizing it would be rude to touch without permission. "HOW DID YOU GET THAT GEMSTONE...?"

"Well, it's... from my mom." He lifted it back down, prompting Papyrus to look at Steven instead. "When I was born, my mom had to give up her form to make me." He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should even be spilling his life story right now.

As if Papyrus knew the topic may be a bit uncomfortable, he asked something else. "WELL... WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?"

"Well, all kinds of stuff, actually!" He used his hand to count while listing. "I've got healing powers, I can make a bubble around myself, make a shield..."

"YOU CAN DO ALL OF THAT???"

"Yeah! And that's not even including fusion, when you and someone else combine to make someone else!!"

"FUSION???"

"I know, isn't that crazy!?"

"MONSTERS AND 'GEMS' SOUND PRETTY SIMILAR, BUT, FUSION'S SOMETHING I DON'T THINK HAS EVER BEEN DONE WITH MONSTERS BEFORE??" He sprung back up, engaged in conversion. "THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT OF ONE OF MY FRIEND'S CARTOON SHE WATCHES."

"Oh, really!?"

"YEAH! I THINK IT'S CALLED... 'ANIME.'"

That sounds... kind of familiar. "I might have watched it before, I'm not sure." Dismissing the possibility, Steven tossed his hands up in the air. "Either way, that sounds really cool!!"

"I'M NOT TOO INTO THOSE THINGS, BUT, I THINK MY FRIEND WOULD LIKE YOU A LOT!!" Glancing back at the contraption, he remembered what he was initially talking about. "OH, BY THE WAY, SINCE I REARRANGED THE PUZZLE, THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT NOW. I'LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER FOR IT!!!"

Excited and happier than ever, Steven energetically ran towards the puzzle. He outlined in the air his path, determining the best route to take to step on all of the buttons. Though, a query entered his mind... What happens if I step on the same button twice?

Approaching from the side, he stepped on the X, transforming it into an O. Tapping it again, it reappeared into a triangle. Not having thought this far, he realized he had no idea how to set it back to an X.

"...Uh, if I mess up, how do I reset it?"

Papyrus approached a pressure plate next to a sign placed to the side of the contraption, pointing to it with a gloved hand. "IF YOU NEED TO, PRESS THIS TO SET IT BACK TO ITS STARTING STATE!"

"Oooh, okay!!" Steven dashed to the plate and stepped on it, watching it reset the test he had done. Now the triangle was an X again! "That makes sense!!"

He glanced at the puzzle again, taking another hop to float in the air and decide his path. However, the more he thought about it, the more confused he felt. Steven would have approached the XO puzzle from the top and take a right turn or even a left, but realize he did traversed it wrong and immediately reset it each time.

I really wanna do this...!! But, this might be a bit too impossible for me... He glanced back over at Papyrus, who was behind him standing next to the sign, conveniently placed in front of the pressure plate.

"SO, YOU WANT A HINT, HUH?"

"...Yeaaah." Steven slouched in defeat and approached Papyrus, ready to hear any sort of advice to get pushed into the right direction to complete it and move forward.

"WELL... I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PUZZLE, AND I THINK THE SOLUTION... IS TO TURN ALL OF THE X'S INTO O'S! YOU SHOULD TRY THAT!"

Huh.

"ASK AGAIN FOR MORE GREAT HINTS!"

Huh???

Steven snickered and rolled his eyes. "Huhuh, I know that! That isn't much of a hint! I just don't know how to get them to turn into O's without accidentally making them into triangles, too."

Papyrus placed his hands on his hips, thinking for a good moment on how to help his buddy out. "... MAYBE SOLVING THE LAST PUZZLE AGAIN WILL HELP."

Maybe... maybe that isn't such a bad idea!

"Heyy, that's not bad! I'll go see if that helps!" Steven dashed off to the previous puzzle not long ago, sandals clacking against his feet. "I'll be back!!!"

"I'LL BE RIGHT HERE IN CASE YOU NEED ANY MORE HELPFUL HINTS!!!"

"Heheh, okay!!"

As Steven approached the previous contraption, he realized how unhelpful the advice actually was. He knew Papyrus was trying his best and didn't want to give away the answer, but this was such a large spike in difficulty, like a poorly made RPG.

Right as he was about to turn back, Steven overheard his skeletal companion shout in the background. "EUREKA!!! I'VE FIGURED OUT THE PUZZLE!!!"

Steven quickly made his way over to Papyrus, with an ecstatic look upon his face. "Really?? You did???"

"YEAH!! BUT, YOU SEEM LIKE YOU'RE HAVING FUN, THOUGH... DO YOU ABSOLUTELY, DAPSOLUTELY WANT THE SOLUTION???"

Thinking about his words, it's true. Despite the generally unhelpful (but appreciated) advice, it was pretty fun just trying to work out the puzzle, even if way too difficult. I guess it wouldn't hurt too much to try one more time...

"Nope, not yet! I'll give it one last shot!"

"WOW... YOU'RE TRULY A PUZZLE PASSIONEER! I'M SO ENTHUSED BY YOUR ENTHUSIASM!!!"

"Your enthusiasm is rubbing off on me and making me enthused!!"

"ME TOO!!!"

As Steven proudly marched toward the contraption, he could overhear Papyrus shouting, "YOU CAN DO IT, STEVEN!!!" which made his heart flutter. It felt so nice to be encouraged...!!

Okay, I can do this!! I can do it!

Chapter Text

Steven would approach the skeleton friend-shaped puzzle from many angles, coming so close many times to completing it but only failing due to a wrong turn into a direction. He'd "trace" his path in the air with his finger in his field of vision to make sure he'd correctly plan out his course.

Finally, the moment of truth. It was time to see if he really had it this time. Starting from the right side of the pressure plate he'd quickly tap the two astray X's separate from the paths of them, transforming them into O's. With the oddballs out of the way, it was simply just following the path.

To the right of the switch and in front of the sign, Steven would go straight and after hitting 5 X's, turn left. He'd finish that pathway, and turn right to circle around a border of the contraption, marking each X into a perfect circle of an O. He'd step away, and look at the results.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh...!!

"I did it!!" He'd leap and float onto the pressure plate, and with a satisfying click the red O's all turned green. Incredibly proud of himself and filled with euphoria, Steven ran in circles around Papyrus and was cheering. "Did you see that, Papyrus!? I did it!"

The lanky skeleton must have been surprised and filled with pride too, as the glee rapidly spread to his cheekbones. "WOW!!! YOU SOLVED IT!!" He knelt down and gave Steven a well-deserved high-five, eyes sparking. "MY ADVICE HELPED! IT REALLY HELPED YOU!!"

Ignoring the truth to the statement and just plain old giddy, Steven couldn't help but laugh and continue. "We did it!! We solved it!"

"YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO IF YOUR REACTION TO SOLVING THIS ONE WAS TO CELEBRATE VERY EXCITEDLY!" Papyrus himself no longer could barely sit still, having been contaminated with joy.

"It may have been hard, but, it was really fun!!! I loved it!"

"WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!!"

"Whatever it is, I'm up for it! I can take on anything, right now!!"

"OH YEAH!? WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT! NYEH! HEH HEH! HEHEHEH!!!" Papyrus jumped up to his feet and ran off, with his trademark laugh trailing behind.

"Heheh, heyy, wait up!!" Steven would do his best and start sprinting forward in the snow, almost tripping a few times due to how ill-equipped sandals are for traversing such terrain. He almost slipped by Papyrus' brother as he hopped over where the spikes for the puzzle were previously. Attempting to halt himself, he'd skid a little bit-- then realize he's still on snow and fall on his back into the soft powder. Yet, this didn't phase him at all, not even knock some wind out!

Sans leaned over Steven's body and snickered a little. "wow, you look like you had a blast."

"S-Sans!? Huhuh, when did you get here??" He'd get the last laughs out of his system as he got up and shook the snow off of himself and his dark curly hair.

"oh, not too long ago. just wanted to say good job on solving it." He'd grin, adding, "you didn't even need my help, which is great, 'cause i love doing absolutely nothing."

Steven chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Heh, well, I gotta catch up with Papyrus." He'd dash ahead, calling back to Sans, "See you later!!"

Literally not seconds later was the short skeleton man basically right in front of the boy. In fact, he was right across from the puzzle that separated them, with Papyrus by his brother's side. Somehow, it seemed like the brothers had just been in the middle of a conversation, and yet...

What????

Steven had to hold back a spit-take as Papyrus took notice of him. "HEY! LONG TIME NO SEE, STEVEN!!" He gestured to the monotone tiled puzzle before him. "YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE!!"

The monotone board somewhat resembled something like checkers, but could be more accurately be described as tiles colored from white to dark grey. Either way, it took up the whole ground and platform that stood in front of Steven, which was connected via a small, short bridge.

"Oh, what's this??" He curiously leaned over and examined the board, wondering of its functions. Is it anything like what we just did...?

"IT'S A PUZZLE MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES!?"

Steven nodded, encouraging Papyrus to continue.

Papyrus placed a hand on a switch on the nearby machine that presumably activated the contraption. "ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!

"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM!"

Okay...

"YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU!

"GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM, YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!!"

Alright...

"ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS!

"BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES, THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU."

Wait, holdon--

"ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU!

"PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP SMELLS LIKE LEMONS!! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OK!"

Hold on---!!!

"FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE.

"HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND???"

Despite every plea inside of Steven to say no, he'd think about it a bit more. I guess even if I don't get the tiles right away, I can always just try to understand it by experiencing it, right...??? Even if it is a bit confusing at first.

"Umm... I think so?"

"GREAT!! THEN THERE'S ONE LAST THING."

Oh?

"THIS PUZZLE... IS ENTIRELY RANDOM!!!!!!"

...Oh no.

"WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION!"

It can't be that bad, right...??

"O-okay..."

"NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY...!" Papyrus shifted the lever down with force making it clank against the machinery, activating the random generator for the puzzle.

The puzzle flashed all sorts of colors, from red, blue, green, orange, purple, pink to yellow at a steady pace. As Steven nervously watched on, the speed of the change in colors of each time increased, heightening Steven's anxiety as well. Biting his knuckles as he nervously eyed the contraption, he breathed in deeply and shut his eyes, attempting to mentally prepare for whatever comprehensible tomfoolery was going to happen.

Breathe in...

Steven opened his eyes and breathed out. He looked at the now generated puzzle, and...

What laid right in front of him was a straight, pink path bordered by red impassable tiles, with no other tile astray. Just pink and red.

Confused with no idea of how to respond, he looked up at Papyrus, who just so happened to do the same. After holding eye contact for a while, with Sans nudging his brother to make sure he's still alive, Papyrus began to slowly spin his way out of the area, continuing forward as if this interaction never happened at all.

Steven cautiously walked forward on the pathway, and stopped in front of Sans, who looked quite entertained. As Steven was about to continue, Sans stopped him by gently grasping his shoulder.

"by the way, actually, that spaghetti from earlier... it wasn't too bad for my brother."

Steven held a puzzled look on his face (Haha, I get it!) for a moment, then realized what he was talking about. Oh, that... that spaghetti that was stuck on the table earlier!

"Really?"

"oh, yeah. since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot." Sans glanced to the side, still smiling. "i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll make something edible."

Steven tilted his head. "What do you mean...?" Is he referring to how it was... frozen?

Sans shrugged. "he isn't the best at cooking, is what i mean. but, he's a lot better from where he started." Putting his hand back in his pocket, he added, "it isn't edible yet. if you ever eat it, you'll likely scrunch up from the taste, but, it's a good start."

Steven took this into consideration. At first he thought Sans was being mean, but, he quickly ruled that out of his head considering both of their happy attitudes. Perhaps this was some sort of warning for a potential future...?

"Oh! I'm pretty good at cooking stuff so far. I could always help him out!" He smiled, thinking of a future where Steven and Papyrus were at the former's home, just having a good time and crafting all sorts of fun meals.

"heh, i think he'd like that a lot."

Steven smiled, and waved goodbye to Sans as he treaded forward into a land of snow dogs.

Chapter Text

Seeing the absurd amount of snowdogs made in the likeness of the one with a really long neck almost immobilized Steven into fits of laughter. As much as he didn't want to, he couldn't help it. The boy fell to his knees as he held himself, almost as if he would fall apart from laughter otherwise.

He forced himseld to take a deep breath in... and out.

In... and out.

He stood back up, covering his mouth, not wanting to laugh anymore but still having the urge. He approached one of the fallen snowdogs, and crouched down to see its excited face that had fallen against the rest of the snow on the ground.

Whoever made these, they're pretty good! He rubbed a hand over the snow, almost as if he were petting it. It's a shame a lot of them fell though, heheh.

He took the time to finally notice the sentry station next to one of the many snowdogs. Approaching it and peeking in, it wasn't very disimilar to the smoking dog's of earlier.  However, in the corner was a small box of pomeraisins.

...

Pomeraisins???

Steven surpressed a few chuckles as he walked ahead, then stopped when he noticed a deer-like monster.

"Oh, hey!" He approached the monster, who had worn a tacky bright purple and neon green sweater. Steven asked, "Do you know who came in and... eheh, built these snowdogs?" He couldn't help but crack a smile, sneaking a look at a nearby fallen snowdog head.

"A dog just rushed in here filled with inspiration. It kept trying to build a snowdog that expressed its own emotions, but, as it built, it kept getting more excited about the sculpture..." They would sigh, wearing an expression that foretold... being unimpressed. "Its neck got longer and longer, and it added more and more snow, until..." A sharp inhale came from the deer, imagining what they had described. "It was rather sad to watch, but I couldn't turn away."

Steven turned to take in the absurd amount of failed snowdogs, taking in the story from the deer monster. "I could only imagine." They must have had fun, though, seeing how much was made...! He waved bye to the deer monster and treaded forward, not paying too much attention to the path he walked.

You know, I haven't thought about it much until now, but... isn't it kind of weird how there was this underground civilization full of people? And, nobody even knew about it for so long...? He looked up idily, still zoning out. I wonder if they felt some of the earthquakes the cluster set off when Peridot and I went to--

Steven's sandal flew off his foot as he slipped backward and fell forward onto his stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs with his stray footwear landing a few inches behind him. Groaning a bit before putting his hands to push himself up, he lifted his head to take in what he had stumbled upon.

The floor ahead was covered in ice with patches of X's, up until it met with a cliff with a switch at the edge. However, it was clear that more land was ahead and to get to it, you had to complete a puzzle.

After struggling to get back up due to being on ice, Steven slipped on his stray sandal and backed off of the ice carefully. He traced a pathway with his fingers in his field of view in the air, planning how to successfully turn all X's into O's like previous puzzles. As he was about to tread forward, something in the corner of his eye on the right caught his attention...

Wait a minute... are those...?

Steven would back up and carefully slide down an incline. At the bottom was flat ground covered in snow, decorated with two snow sculptures.

... Well, one of them was an effortless snow lump, but still.

Aside from the snow lump with "SANS" written on it in some sort of red substance, the other snow sculpture was in the likeness of Papyrus. However, the major difference between Papyrus and this interpretation of him was that the snow version was incredibly buff and posing, wearing the iconic cape-scarf.

"...Oh my gosh!!" Steven gasped in the snow Papyrus' glory, astounded with how much effort was put into its structure and look. Clearly, nobody else other than the great Papyrus had made it! He looked pretty cool...!

Heh, cold joke. Heheh.

Steven snickered to himself as he instinctively went to the space between the snow Papyrus and snow lump and proceeded to craft something using the snow around. Perhaps it would serve as something to pass the time, especially since, as much as he didn't want to admit it, the golden flower was... still lingering within his thoughts.

What is his deal, anyway!? Why is he following me...?

Steven patted the snow, compressing it for a solid foundation. He scooped up more snow with his hands gathering a good amount. He pressed it on the top of the snow pile he was creating, although with a little too much force, causing the packed snow to split out a little from the sides. Panicking, the boy fixed his mistake and polished up the shape of the mound.

I probably shouldn't think too much on it now. I should think of something else! Like...

The skeleton brothers immediately entered his mind, automatically making him crack a smile without realizing.

Admittingly, they were pretty fun to be around! Their goofiness in such an unfamiliar place felt almost reassuring, as if they really weren't out to hurt him after all. Though, at the same time, Steven couldn't exactly dismiss the idea they could hurt him. After all, Papyrus had mentioned a lot about capturing him and sending him off somewhere...

That also immediately reminded the husky boy. Didn't Toriel mention something about the... uh, Asgore guy, wanting to take my SOUL?

Steven had froze, snow within his cupped hands. Aside from the super obvious pun that was made, it made him quiver a bit from anxiety. What would they even do with his SOUL...?

Did it have anything to do with that forcefield he hit when he first fell underground?

His brows furrowed in confusion. To his knowledge, Papyrus mentioned nothing about killing him or taking his soul-- just being captured. So far, he hasn't even been hurt by him. Papyrus had provided nothing but goofy puzzles and japes. And yet, that promise of being captured and sent off, likely to be killed...

... It didn't sit too well. Perhaps Papyrus didn't know that's what would happen to him?

Steven checked his shirt, using two hands to practically pull apart the hem of it. Yes, I was wearing two shirts...!! He wasn't sure how he didn't always notice, but sometimes when putting on the clothes for the day, shirts of his would be inside of each other appearing as one, so when he would wear it, he would don two shirts instead.

He could tell if he was wearing three, though. Three is an excessive number!

He swiftly pulled off the extra shirt and placed it ontop of his snow mound, almost like he was dressing it up. Part two of creating a snowman was now initiated.

Looks nice so far...!

Resuming the construction of his snowpal and previous thoughts he had, he scooped up lots of snow in his hand and placed it on top of his snow mound that now donned his shirt. This place is honestly kind of scary at first, but, it's nice once you sit down and try to get to know some of the people.

Aside from... the horrible introduction to the underground by Flowey, it was an awfully welcoming place. Sure, monsters randomly attacked you, and... again, the flower, but it was full of people! Full of potentially new friends and pals!!

The fact there was an entire civilization stuck in a mountain still blew his mind. How did everyone just not know? How long was everybody trapped down here?

...Wait, were they trapped?

I guess so, if I couldn't go through that forcefield thing. Then again, he isn't a monster, so maybe it was meant to trap him???

Jeez, I really don't know anything about this place.

And yet, it feels... nice to be here.

The process of constructing a head for the snowman, or rather, snow Steven, went along smoothly. Not as many thoughts occupied the boy's mind as he worked this time around now that part one was done. He had gotten a lot out of his system with that.

Steven took a step back and observed his work. The large base worked well for the shirt it wore, along with the head that sat on the top of the mound. It looked fairly similar to Steven, aside from having no arms, legs, pants, or any defined facial features.

However, this snow Steven needed one more thing...!

He would use his index finger to create two indents into the head of the Snow Steven, resembling eyes. Then, he'd carefully create another indent that followed more of a curve, resembling a smile...

...Perfect! It was complete!

Steven smiled to himself in admiration of his work. He built a few snowmen in his lifetime, but this was his best work yet! I should totally take a picture of this, actually!

Steven whipped out his phone and adjusted the zoom on its camera, making sure to capture it within the frames.

Click!

You know, while I'm here, I should take pictures of the other ones, too.

He'd quickly go in front of the snow lump and the snow Papyrus, taking photos of them. He'd also take a picture of himself with the snow Papyrus, mostly because it looked looked super darn cool. Once finished, he'd quickly go to his contacts on his phone and press Connie, wanting to send the images. As he'd attach them, he was met with a "FAILED TO SEND" notifier.

Oh. Yeah. No service...

The boy sighed, slapping himself mentally for forgetting such a thing. How would he expect to have service underneath a bunch of dirt???

Either way, his time spent here was finished. He'd walk back up the snowy incline towards the X-O ice puzzle, occasionally fondly looking back at the trio of snow sculptures.

Chapter Text

Steven went as far from the incline he came from when he arrived back with the X-O puzzle, next to the platform's edge. He took a deep breath, nervous about fumbling about on the ice as he lined himself up with a tile. He pushed snow back with his sandals and held his arms up for balance as he sprinted forward like a skater new to the ice rink, hitting the first two X tiles lined in front in a straight line. Stumbling a bit and almost tripping, he'd proceed to hit each X and transform it into an O, going in a clockwise spiral. After arriving in the middle, Steven checked around to make sure he had hit every X tile successfully. He'd nod after confirming that he touched them successfully.

I'm never going to get used to being on ice.

He'd carefully slide forward on the ice, still holding his arms out for balance as he would arrive at the switch to complete the puzzle. As he stepped onto it, a moment would pass before Steven raised his head to be greeted with more rocky platforms sliding up. It seems that completing this puzzle allowed for continued travel through the snowy forest...!

...Through a small "hallway," with its walls made of incredibly tall trees. And the floor is also ice.

Why.

Steven dashed and pushed forward, slipping and falling onto his stomach and face. He'd still slide forward with his carried momentum, and as he'd approach the other side, he felt something cold on top of his head. The boy shivered, as he pulled out his phone from his back pocket and turned on the front-facing camera and aimed it at above his head...

...A small snow sculpture of a dog sat up top his puffy, curly dark brown hair.

He snickered with a genuine grin, snapping a picture of the occurrence. Steven slid his phone back into his pocket and would get up, pushing the snow dog off of his head. His hands would go through his curly hair, fluffing through it to rid of any leftover snow. Noting a split in paths, Steven would take the right path, noting that the other seems to continue further into the underground.

Steven slid somewhat as he went down the snowy slope. As he'd turn, he'd be startled by the stocky skeleton's appearance, jumping a little and leaking out a gasp. "Gaah--!"

"what's up?" Sans grinned as he leaned against the cliff side behind him. He seemed completely relaxed.

Steven's shoulders slumped as he realized there wasn't really anything to be afraid of. "Eheh, hey Sans. Didn't, um. See you."

"what can i say? i go places."

"Heh, yeah."

He'd awkwardly wave goodbye and turn, taking a few steps forward. Steven would blink, and as he reopened his eyes, the same skeleton would appear farther down the path. Seeing this would make Steven squeak and fall backwards in surprise, getting snow on the back of his shirt and pants.

"say... are you following me?"

For once, Steven didn't have much to say at all. He felt a bit freaked out if anything. Turning his head behind him, he once again saw Sans just chilling against the cliff wall.

Sans restrained himself from letting loose a snicker. "are you lost?"

A bead of sweat slipped down Steven's face as he stared as his skeletal pal in bewilderment. Finally, after what felt like a decade of silence, he muttered, "Very."

"oh, well, you're in snowdin forest. you're close to snowdin."

"N-- no, not that." Steven got onto his knees and would face Sans. "I mean... I'm lost on you, um, teleporting??"

"oh, those are just shortcuts." The skeleton would shrug nonchalantly. "it's nothing much to fuss over."

"...Shortcuts."

"shortcuts."

Steven awkwardly stood, taking in this information. "So, you can just... 'shortcut' anywhere you want?"

"if i've been there, i know a way to it."

Crossing his arms, the boy would think about it. Well... as startling it is at first, now that I think about it, that sounds super convenient and cool!!

Sans would take notice of Steven's sudden investment in his ability to shortcut and put up his hands. "hold your horses, don't get any ideas. my schedule is still incredibly full." He'd wink, adding, "full of absolutely nothing."

"Awww." He'd kick a foot idly in the snow, pouting. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. "Wait, can Papyrus take shortcuts too?? Like you can?"

"nah. i'm a special kind of guy, you see. i was bone special." Wink.

Steven held himself as he chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Huhuh, yeah, I can see that." He'd nudge his skeletal pal playfully, who only chuckled along with. Taking a moment to breathe, he would turn around, away from the incline and down the path that lead into what seemed to be a cave. Gesturing towards it, he'd ask, "Is anything down there?"

Sans, still inclined against the cliff wall and not even looking, would shrug. Not really having any interest in the conversation topic, he'd comment, "other than a giant door that nobody can open, not really."

"Oh, is it locked?"

"nope, you just can't push or pull it open at all."

Steven folded his arms and grunted, eyes to the ground in disappointment. "Dang it." Facing back to him, he'd pout, "Well, I guess I should head back, then. Papyrus probably is waiting for me or something, right?"

"yeah, speaking of, i gotta catch up with him as well." Sans would walk in the previously gestured direction, away from the incline and further down the path. "cya around, kid."

"Um. Bye???" Steven awkwardly waved, confused of where Sans was headed. Oh, right, "shortcuts." Nevermind.

Taking one more focused look around the area, Steven would take notice of a fellow raindeer-like monster whos antlers jutted out sideways from the top of their head with small trees on the top of it. They would stomp a bit in the snow as they circled, growling. "Those dang teenagers..."

Upon closer inspection, its antlers had been decorated with a white, fuzzy tinsel, twirled around the branches and draping down, with a sock hanging in the tree leaves as an accent. A photo had been taped to their forehead as well. Was this the work of rowdy teens..!?
Probably. The monster did say so, after all.

Taking little precaution, Steven ran towards the reindeer shouting, "Hey, do you need help!?"

Take aback by the sight of another child, they would back away, back arched and eyes narrowed. "Oh, not again." They huffed, "I've already been humiliated, no need to add to it!"

"Huh...?" Steven shook his head, realizing what they meant. "No, no! I wanna help you!" He'd gesture to the vandalism, adding, "You want that off of you, right?"

The deer's eyes would squint at the boy. "...Yeah, I want it off'a me." They would lower their head for easier access to the objects put on their antlers.

Taking this as a signal to start his job, Steven cracked his knuckles and would gently move to pull out the intertwined tinsel. After some nudging and fumbling, the fuzzy line would finally come free from the antlers. Tossing it over his shoulder, Steven would then pull out the sock from the miniature trees as well as the photo from their forehead.

Upon closer inspection of the photo, it seemed that this was a family photograph of the bird-like monster Steven encountered earlier. He furrowed his brow, thinking. Why would they put their photo on this poor monster's head...??

Settling with placing the removed objects down against the cliff's wall, Steven patted around in his pockets for anything that wasn't his phone. He sighed, coming to the conclusion he had nothing to give. "Ahh, sorry. I wanted to give you something, to make up for being vandalized, but..." He shrugged and held out a hand awkwardly. "Maybe I can just offer friendship instead?"

The reindeer raised their head, surprised at the offer. They would smile, clearly touched. "A gift of friendship...?" They raised a hoof, meeting with Steven's hand and shaking. "I'm so touched...!! I feel like I completely trust you!"

Steven squirmed and blushed under the praise. "Eheh, it's what I do...!" Offering his hand and having a handshake like this reminds him of...

...Oh, shoot, I should probably go and catch up with Papyrus!!

"S-sorry, um, I just realized I have to go somewhere!" Breaking the handshake, Steven's sandals clacked as he headed back up the include, waving goodbye. "Hopefully I see you later!!"

The reindeer waved with a hoof, accepting that they had to part ways.

Chapter Text

Running back up the slope and turning right, Steven would gasp. He had entered a land of entirely nothing but snowpoffs!!!

And one dog house, with a sign next to it.

Steven let out a small aww as he approached the doghouse and its sign, reading the text on it...

Woof.

He would cover his mouth before another giggle fit would come. "Pffft." It's really cute how silly all of these little stations for the dogs are. He'd push himself back up and eye the very long bridge, noticing the skeleton brothers chat on the complete other side of it. As he approached the bridge, he'd approach the snowpoff, about to step over it, when--

"Bark bark!"

Steven put his foot back down as he involuntarily covered his mouth and gasped at the pup with its small face and snout that poked its head out from the snow poff. "Ohhhh, you're so cute!!" Kneeling down to get to the soft pup's level, he took a hand and gently moved it towards its head. Softly scritching the side of its face, the tail that stuck out of the other side of the poff wagged a little. Steven held in a squeal as it seemingly smiled with its tongue out, when suddenly...

Armour rose from the snow mound, carrying the dog with it. As the powder fell from its shoulders and body, it revealed that this dog held a spear with its face on it and its outfit was much like the one with the long neck in terms of armor, except it looked way more ripped due to its body shape. Somehow.

What.

Steven could only stare up at the giant armored dog, who eagerly stared down at him. Is this one going to stretch its neck, too??? A little nervous due to the sheer size, he backed up to give them both space. The dog didn't understand what personal space was, and got down on its knees and hands, face leveled with Steven's.

"U-um..." Steven stammered as he lifted his hand gently towards the dog. "Do you just want to be pet, too?" He softly started to rub and scritch behind its ears, leaning into his hand. The over sized dog adjusted his position and curled up in the snow, eyes sparkling in Steven's direction.

"Awwww!!! You do!!" His hands instantly reached for the stomach area to rub, only to realize the canine is still armored. He began to instead squish and pet its face affectionately, making the dog stick out its tongue slightly in the process. "Gosh, you're so cute...!!"

Suddenly, the armored canine rolled back over onto its four limbs, tiny tail wagging from the bottom of its armor. Kneeling down with expecting, playful eyes, it would stare at Steven pawing at the ground.

"Oh...? Do you want to play??" Steven patted around in his pockets, stopping mere seconds later realizing he only had his phone on hand. He'd glance around at the snow, crouching down and scooping up a small ball of snow. He'd turn around and toss it back towards the X-O puzzle, but angled it up more towards the sky. "Catch!"

The canine dashed ahead of Steven and pounced, catching the snowball in its mouth and splitting apart the snow. It landed on the ground, giving it a shake and partially throwing off the boy's balance. As he regained his balance within seconds, his eyes shrunk as he saw the dog launch itself at Steven, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him into the snow.

"Oof--!" Steven squirmed, trying to free himself from being pinned down. He would try to push himself out away from the dog, who held him down by the arms. The dog let go, only to lay its upper torso and head on Steven's, imploring him to stay and not get up.

He would sigh. "I guess I'm staying here for now, huh?" Arms free once again, he'd idly pet its fuzzy head, staring up at the seemingly endless ceiling of the Underground. The mind would wander to all of the dogs he had faced so far, just within the snowy forest. Even though it was only just three, it felt like a lot. How many dogs are down here...??? Did they also fall underground?

...Is it bad I kind of want a dog now?

A slobbery lick interrupted his very small and short thoughts, making Steven reflexively turn away and raise his hands towards himself. He appreciated the show of affection though, smiling and laughing quietly. The armored canine would push itself up and raise to its knees, looking down at the human boy on the ground with snow particles scattered throughout his hair. He would only curiously stare up, partially intimidated by its size.

Suddenly, the dog hopped out of the armor, revealing itself to be a large, non-humanoid, fluffy white dog. It yipped happily at Steven, and licked his face one more as if it were a goodbye kiss. Touched by its love, he grinned and pulled the dog close, reveling in its soft, fuzzy fur and giggling happily to himself.

"You were just a normal dog the whole time??? Oh my gosh!" Steven scratched behind its ear one more time before letting it make an impressive leap back into its armor, with its tail sticking out of the armor's neck. The armor would somehow function as normal and walk past the boy, onto the bridge and into the town ahead. Steven couldn't help but snicker, just seeing how silly it all was. He shook his head, remembering he too had to march forward and progress.

...

That dog is really really cute though!!!

Taking one long giddy sigh to get it out of his system, he breathed and relaxed. The funny times were over for now. Steven would then peer ahead, studying the long, long bridge. He looked down to the land below, seeing the long fall. Jee, that's... a long way down. Despite having floating powers and just getting done with petting a kind dog, this put a small dent in his anxiety. Nonetheless, he tightly gripped onto one of the bridge's rope and trudged forward.

--Hey, the bridge isn't waving back and forth! He took note of the solid ground he stood on. No, this bridge wasn't made of traditional wood... yet, it looked like that's what it was composed of. He continued to traverse the contraption, partially excited for whatever the brothers had in store.

Steven halted several feet away from the brothers, once the taller one took notice. "HUMAN!" Papyrus called to him. "THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!" He cleared his thoat before saying, "BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!!"

Following the introduction, a giant spike ball attached to a chain, followed by two large spears, a cannon, an intensely heated fire coming from a flamethrower of sorts, and a dog attached to a rope immediately surrounded Steven from all angles. How some of these were attached, nobody but its creator will know. "WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE!" As Steven intently studied the weapons surrounding him on the bridge nervously, Papyrus excitingly resumed. "EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!"

J-jeez, I thought he wasn't dangerous! Steven reached for his gem and nervously gripped his shirt near where it was located. Weren't we having fun earlier?? Safe, but puzzling fun??

"ARE YOU READY!?"

Not really!

"BECAUSE!"

Wait--

"I! AM!"

WaIT---

"ABOUT!"

C-Can't we talk about this????

"TO DO IT!"

Despite his inner plees, Steven remained silent, waiting for everything to swing at him. Awaiting what would be impending doom, hurt by what was a friendly face with fun puzzles and a funny brother. And yet, despite what Papyrus had said and what he promised...

Nothing happened. Everything stood still, timeless.

Sans turned to his brother, who now was looking everywhere but at his target. "well? what's the holdup?"

"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I'M..." Papyrus struggled to find his words for a moment. "I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!" He looked back at Steven, who now no longer wore the face of confusion and fear but rather an expression of normal confusion and mixed concern. Unable to hold this glance, he immediately broke eye contact.

As if Sans noted Papyrus' uncertainty, he reactivated the conversation. "that, uh, doesn't look very activated."

"WELL!!! THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS... MAYBE..." He hesitated. "... TOO EASY TO DEFEAT HIM WITH." Settled with his 'answer,' he folded his arms confidently. "YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE!!! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED, BUT THIS IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL!" Papyrus waved his hand, dismissing the Gauntlet of Deadly Terror. "AWAY IT GOES!" The trap picked itself up and wandered off screen from where it came from. Where off screen is, nobody knows but Papyrus.

The younger skeleton released a sigh of relief, imposing that this last-minute decision's reason wasn't perhaps truthful. Steven took this as a chance to approach, stepping forward with his grip on the rope loosened. Papyrus snapped back around to face him, remembering his existence. "--HOLD IT!" Steven froze, tense from the surprise. "DON'T GO THINKING YOU'VE WON-- THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!!

"NYEH!!

"HEH!!

"HEH???"

Papyrus dashed into the town ahead, ending the confrontation. Steven stood for a moment, taking in everything. ...Does Papyrus not want to capture me or something? He wondered more as he finished traversing the bridge, looking at the snow he would step in. Wonder if that flower talked to him at all...

"hey, you ok, kid?"

Steven looked up and looked toward the source. "Oh, you're still here!" He laughed to himself. "Huhuh, yeah. I was just wondering why he seemed so hesitant to uh, use that 'gauntlet' on me."

Sans recalled the first conversation he ever had with Steven. "well, you're the first human he's ever seen. and, he's having a great time with you, right?"

"Yeeaah." Steven thought back to his interactions with the younger skeleton. "Maybe... maybe he wants to be friends, instead of 'capturing' me?"

"it's possible." He took a small breath. "you can try to talk to him about it up ahead. he's probably gonna want to fight you first."

"...I'll see what I can do." Steven nodded confidently before entering the town a few steps ahead of him. "Thanks, Sans!"

"hey, no problem."

Chapter Text

Steven would walk and finally step foot into the fabled Snowdin Town: a small town coated in snow with cozy-looking citizens of many kinds. There were bunny monsters, bear monsters... it looked really welcoming!

He would pause in front of a banner decorated with Christmas lights, turning to read it.

Welcome to Snowdin!

The "o" in Snowdin would be decorated to look like a snowman face. Spotting this little detail, Steven grinned and giggled to himself. Heheh, that's super cute...!

He'd turn, noticing the buildings next to the banner. One was labeled "SHOP," while the other that connected to it on its side was labeled "INN." Curious, Steven would knock and open the door to the shop, wiping his sandals on the welcome mat to rid of any snow. He noticed it felt a lot warmer in here than outside, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Hello, traveler." A calm, gentle feminine voice spoke from behind the counter. "How can I help you?"

Steven would approach the counter, head barely above the counter top level. Getting a better look, he'd see the voice came from a bunny wearing a sun hat, white tank top and a pearl necklace. She would look down at Steven, awaiting for a potential response.

"Um, hi." Suddenly getting stage freight, he held his hands behind his back and twiddled his thumbs. "This... is a shop, right? I'm kind of new, I suppose."

The bun would give him a warm, welcoming grin. "Welcome to Snowdin! I can't remember the last time I saw a fresh face around here." She leaned over the counter, trying to pin down his appearance. Her eyes narrowed as she'd ask, "Where did you come from? The capital?" Not waiting for a response, she stood straight up again, arms folded but with a curious look. "You don't look like a tourist. Are you here by yourself?"

"I'm, uh, by myself." Steven squirmed and partially slumped under her look. "I'm not really... from here." For a moment, he thought about telling that he's human, but Toriel's words warning him of Asgore convinced him not to. Then again, some just know from a glance, but... I don't want to risk that. He'd glance around the store wall behind the clerk, which was decorated with various objects and items lined up. "What do you do? What's your life like...?"

Her ears twitched a little. "Life is the same as usual. A little claustrophobic..." She frowned at the thought of the little town being overrun full of monsters, but that was quickly replaced with a hopeful look. "But... we all know deep down that freedom is coming, don't we? As long as we got that hope, we can grit our teeth and face the same struggles, day after day..." She's flash her teeth with a smile. "That's life, ain't it?"

Steven's mind idly flashed to many moments of his life. The instance of Jasper, Peridot and Lapis coming to Earth in the hand ship, or the time where he gave himself up to Homeworld... the shop keeper was right, in a way. As long as you have hope, you can face the same, life-threatening struggles each day. As long as you stay determined...

He gave a somber smile. "Yeah, that's true." Steven dug into his pockets, re-counting the money he still had. Perhaps he could ask about the value of what his money has down in the Underground...? But, before that, he should probably ask what's being sold. "Um, what do you have that I could maybe buy?"

The bun's ears leaned forward, picking up on the question. "Well, hun, there's all kinds of things. I could whip up a cinnamon bunny or pull out a popcicle." She bent down behind the counter, and shuffled through something, sunhat and ears barely being visible from where Steven stood. "Or, if you're not interested in any of those, you can get a tough-looking glove or a..." Pausing, she rose back up looking at a cloth in her hands with something drawn on it. "A bandanna with... abs drawn on the front?"

As she held up the cloth to show, he held back a snicker at the almost-crude drawing of abs on the bandanna. It looks so goofy, but, that's what compelled Steven to want it. He loved silly stuff like that!!

"Heheh, oh my gosh...!! How much is it?"

"Ah, just 50 gold."

Steven fidgeted in place, placing all of his money on the counter. "Would this cover it...?"

The rabbit only stared at the money, as if she's never seen it in her life. A bizarre invention of an ancient people, forgotten by history until now...

"...How about I just give it to ya for free? On the house." She folded the bandanna into a little square, setting it on the counter for her customer to take.

The boy only stared at the cloth, surprised by the offer. This is, what, the second time somebody offered him free stuff for having the wrong currency? It felt wrong to be given free stuff like this!! "U-um, are you sure? It's okay if I can't buy it."

"Of course, hun!"

He noticed that the cloth was folded in such a way where the abs were displayed on top for all to see. Steven snickered at the display, proceeding to take it and put it in his pockets. "Thank you, then!! If I come by again, I'll try to have your guys' money!" He quickly bolted for the door, internally embarrassed by his flunder but excited of "purchasing" such a goofy accessory.

"Take care, now!" She called after him.

He closed the door roughly behind him, and shivered as he re-entered the cold. Ah, shoot, I should've asked for a jacket instead.

Shaking his head, not wanting to ask too much of the clerk and hurt local business, he breathed into his hands and rubbed them together to attempt to keep a little warm.

Observing the town around him as he marched forward, he noted a lot of bunny folk and the occasional bear or two. Everyone appeared so fuzzy and soft, and it made him only partially jealous that they get to thrive in chilly conditions while he suffers with having no fur. Almost bumping into a snow-blue bear donning an orange jacket putting down a wrapped gift under a tree, Steven halted and wandered around so he could get a better look of the resident and gift.

Clearing his throat, the boy inquired, "What's that for?" He took a moment to notice the rest of the gifts put under the tree, addressed from Santa to the local residents, dictated by tags left on the wrapping.

"Awful teens tormented a local monster by decorating its tree-like horns, so we started giving that monster presents to make it feel better." Placing it down and getting to their feet, they added, "Now it's tradition to put presents underneath a decorated tree."
That was a lot more simple than he expected. He hummed in response.

He'd press forward, almost passing the tree, when a voice calling out to him made Steven stop in his tracks.

"Yo!"

The scratchy, child-like voice came from behind. As Steven turned to face them, he was greeted with a young, spiked yellow monster wearing a brown shirt decorated with yellow stripes. "Are you a kid, too?" They would hesitate, narrowing a glance at Steven's apparel. "I... can't tell, 'cause you're not wearing a striped shirt."

Curious, he looked at his shirt. The classic look of red with a yellow star in the middle! "Oh, was I supposed to wear one...?" Is that what kids do? Connie never wears them, and neither does Onion...

"Maybe?" They'd angle their head, confused. "I think it's like, tradition or something."

"Huh... wonder if that's a monster thing."

"Probably!!"

Curious, Steven diverted his attention over to what seemed to be the local pub of the residency. The sign on the top of the building spelled out "GRILLBYS," with the windows radiating warmth from the inside. He would shift through the snow, trying to stand a bit higher to get a better view. He'd notice the yellow monster kid accompany him as well, trying to hop up to peek inside.

Steven could see all kinds of monsters inside, ranging from all of the dogs he saw earlier to ones he's ever seen before. He could infer a group of four dogs at the center most table, playing some sort of card game while one lone one sat in the far corner of the restaurant playing by itself. Hopefully they're winning, even if it's just a solo game.

"Yo, what's inside that place!? I can't see anything." The kid lowered his tail in disappointment, huffing.
Steven turned to them, shrugging. "Just a bunch of dogs."

"Haha, good thing I'm no skeleton. They would have torn me to shreds!"

Suddenly the thought of somebody like Sans or Papyrus in the pub being chased by all of the dogs popped into Steven's mind. He almost let out a fit of laughter at the chaos that would likely ensue.

"What's so funny?"

He waved off his scenario. "Oh, nothing. Just thought of something silly."

"Oh."

The duo would continue forward, the monster kid following Steven a little behind, when the human boy noticed the diverting path to the left. He turned and picked up the pace, wanting to explore what else was in the cozy little town's offskirts.

Upon arrival in this little section, to the left would be a home with rocks donning accessories just in front. Voices strangely came from them, almost unsettling Steven. Are those rocks... talking?? Dismissing any further investigation, he'd traverse further ahead to a riverbank. Peering in each direction would show the river flowing from left to right, coming out of a cave and back into one. Wonder if this connects to the river with that fishing pole from earlier...?

As if answering any internal questions, the yellow youngster perked up. "Usually some river person comes by with his boat, and offers to take you to Waterfall and Hotland." The kid whipped his head around, searching. "I have no idea where the guy is."

"Maybe he's... on break?"

"He also could be in one of the other areas."

"Oh, yeah, makes sense!"

Just before returning to the main town, Steven would glance over at a wolf, who was strangely a bit muscular with an ash pelt. He also noticed that they were not wearing any clothing. He would almost be have second-hand embarrassment, only before realizing this is a normal thing for most animals. Taking a moment to observe the canine's actions, they seemed to be taking ice from a thin, short building occasionally dispersing it. The wolf would then take the cube and splash it into the open ocean, with the current pushing it deeper into the caverns ahead.

The monster kid cleared their throat. "Yo, I have no idea who he is. I just know he likes to throw ice into the water all day."

"Where does it go?"

"I have no idea." Suddenly letting out a gasp, they bounced up and down. "Yo, what if we rode one of those ice blocks!? We'd find out where they go!"

Steven hummed, entertaining the idea. Imagining the scenario in his head, he could only imagine climbing on top of the ice before being told to get off and go home by the wolf throwing it in the first place. Steven shook his head, clearing the imagery from his mind.

"No, we'd likely get in trouble."

"Aw, man..." Tail drooping with disappointment, they huffed. "That sucks."

Steven shrugged. "I have somewhere to go, anyway." He just about forgot catching up to Papyrus! Steven hesitated, almost held out his hand to shake with, but realized the monster child had no arms. "It was nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, dude!!" They would dash off, but not before tripping into the snow head first. After a moment, they'd hop back up onto their feet and be on their merry way, all smiles.

...Shoot, I forgot to ask for their name!!! Internally berating himself for such a slip up, he'd rush back to the center of Snowdin Town, looking for the right-now-nameless monster. Glancing around, it seemed that they were already gone. Dang it! Well, if I see them next time, I'll ask.

Passing by the Library with a typo on its sign, Steven resigned to visit it later and check it out. Heheh, sign pun. He didn't want to waste any more potential time in confronting Papyrus.

Chapter Text

Steven glanced at the blanketed ground as he trudged forward with his snow-covered sandals, passing a large house and shed in the meanwhile. As it got foggier, his mind wandered wit anxiety quelling a little in his chest. Maybe I was too quick to assume he'd hurt or kill me? He recalled Toriel previously warning him of someone titled ASGORE wanting to kill him, which made it all the more confusing. Everyone is so nice, though. It doesn't make sense...

Then again, the whole gauntlet of death thing--

"ST-- HUMAN!"

Steven stopped in his tracks as he looked up to see a silhouette of what seemed to be his friend's lanky skeleton brother, Papyrus. He squinted his eyes and leaned inward to confirm his suspicion...

The voice ahead cleared his throat before continuing, "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS."

Oh, it is Papyrus! Steven's eyes lit up reflexively, forgetting any past human-capturing tidbits.

...Wait, complex feelings?

"FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER."

That went somewhere.

"THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL." I sure know that feeling.

"THESE FEELINGS..." Papyrus' silhouette seemed to exasperatingly point to Steven, emphasizing his speech. "THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!! I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY." Hand to his chest, he shifted his position with hesitation. "AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE."

Despite having many friends and family back up on the surface, Steven does note that in a way, he does feel kind of lonely. I mean, I did make a lot of friends on the way, too, but...

"I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN..."

... It's not the same as having them.

"WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..."

Papyrus stopped talking, almost as if he was about to disclose a deep secret. He stood up straight, rethinking as Steven cautiously leaned in, confused.

"NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!!!"

Steven furrowed his brows, panic rising in his throat. "Why not!?"

Gesturing to Steven's appearance, Papyrus shouted, "YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT'S PAPYRUS, THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

"W-- wait!" Steven called out as he stepped a few closer, now getting a clearer image of Papyrus without as much fog. "You don't have to capture me! Even if I am human, we can still be friends!"

Papyrus choked on his words, struggled to come up with anything. Looking at anything that isn't Steven, he chose to stay silent.
Well, Sans seemed to really like puns, and he is his brother... maybe I can sway him with some jokes, too!! Steven stood, trying to scrape his brain for any skeleton-related pun he could think of...

...Nothing really good came up. He'll try to think of one later.

Three short bones approached him to his right. Steven almost chuckled at the silliness of it-- he didn't even aim for him. Then, he thought about it more. Does he... maybe not wanna fight after all? Perhaps if the feeling was mutual...
"I don't want to fight!"

Almost as if he expected this, Papyrus sighed and mumbled to himself. "SO, YOU WON'T FIGHT..."

Yes, that's exactly what I said.

Voice raising back to a loud shout, his cape fluttered as he took on a more heroic stance. "THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!'"

A barrage of blue bones were summoned, making their way toward the child. He held his breath, and closed his eyes...

...

When he opened them, all of the bones seemed to have passed. He looked behind just to check, when...

Ding!

Suddenly, he felt a bit heavier along with a strange feeling seemingly coming from his gem. He tensed, about to check his navel, when suddenly a singular small white bone surprised him and pushed him off of his feet from behind into the snow.

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK!"

As Papyrus' signature confident laugh filled the background, Steven grunted and pushed himself back up onto his feet to lift his shirt, now greeted with now a dark blue gemstone in his naval. Th-this---- Sans didn't say anything about this!! What???

After he gathered himself and pushed his shirt back down, Papyrus took this as a sign to continue.  Short, stubby yet sharp bones slid their way through the snow toward him, As Steven simply stepped over each one. As a taller one came, he instinctively summoned his shield and blocked it, making it fade as it bounced off.

"... YOU KNOW, YOU COULD'VE JUST JUMPED OVER IT. THAT'S WHY YOU'RE BLUE."

Jump... over it?

"Oh."

Papyrus put a hand to his hip, curiously leaning in. "HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN BLUE BEFORE OR SOMETHING???"

"Honestly, this whole concept of 'being blue' is new to me." He nervously laughed and ran a hand through his curly hair, shield dissolving instantly.

With his other hand to his chin, thinking, Papyrus nodded and proceeded to summon the same attack pattern. "WELL, WHY DON'T YOU TRY IT OUT AGAIN?? BEFORE WE CONTINUE, AT LEAST." It seemed as if he temporarily forgot why he was even fighting in the first place.

Steven nodded and this time, he hopped over each attack with precision as opposed to simply stepping over them. With the final taller projectile, he jumped high over it and floated gently to the snow, seemingly proud of himself to grasp the concept of being turned "blue."

"Did I do okay??" He faced his opponent with a tense feeling in his shoulders, intent on knowing if he did anything wrong. After all, this is the monster way of fighting.

"ACTUALLY, YEAH!! THAT'S PRETTY GOOD!! HERE, HOW HIGH CAN YOU JUMP?"

Starting with a short bone, followed by two medium-lengthed and three extra taller ones, he sent them in a line toward Steven. He took note and backed up, hefting up and launching himself over the two first projectiles, only to come back and leap back up, high enough to skip over the rest and get a good view of the area around him not covered in absolute fog. Papyrus watched in absolute surprise as he bounded back and roughly made his landing.

"I FORGOT YOU CAN DO THAT." He scratched the back of his skull, a bit stunned.

"Well, eheh, I am half-gem, remember? That's how I can summon that shield and stuff." He lifted his shirt and pointed to his gem, emphasizing his heritage. Papyrus seemed to have stars in his eyes (eye sockets?), just as surprised and enthused as earlier.

"YOU SHOULD TELL ME HOW ALL OF THAT WORKS!-- AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!!"

Ignoring the part about being captured, that idea sounded... really nice, to hang out with him. "Yeah, I'm up for that!"

Finally getting into the grove, Steven actually enjoyed fighting Papyrus. Even with each bone projectile coming his way varying from blue to white only, it was a much needed change from constantly being threatened with death. Out of everything he missed from home, almost dying wasn't one he cared about at all. As he slipped up into the snow and skidded after each leap, skip, and jump, he found himself... wanting to continue. It was fun to fight and hear Papyrus both cheer after him, yearn for popularity and respect and threaten his "special attack." Is it fighting if he isn't throwing anything back, though?

Who cares?

Papyrus was rambling on about the positive sides of capturing Steven and becoming a part of the royal guard, getting giddy at the slight thought of it. "UNDYNE WOULD BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!! THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!!!"

Shifting his position to take a second to breathe, he smiled and giggled a bit at the thought of a hedge shaped like Papyrus. Maybe if I'm able to get the monsters to the surface somehow, I can find someone to do that! Despite not knowing anybody in particular who loves plants and gardening, he made it a promise to make that somehow come true.

Bones from both sides came toward Steven, who rhythmically hopped over each when they were close to touching. "MY BROTHER WILL... WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH."

Avoiding the attacks to the beat, he pondered. Yeah, I can't see him changing much either. The best he could imagine was Sans just running a hot dog stand somewhere in Beach City (which, he absolutely loved the thought of).

"I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS!! BUT... HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SINCERELY LIKE ME???"

Pulled out of the fun of dodging and avoidance by that single phrase, Steven halted. Despite having many friends and family who he knew cared about him, at the same time, he empathized with him deeply. Due to technically being half of his mom, he remembered a time where he actually doubted if his family loved him. For a long time, even, he felt like it was his fault for his mother being gone. Despite how deeply it struck him, he kept it tucked under wrap as he fought on.

"SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE... AND, I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU GO, AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY."

Is that why he is so keen on capturing Steven? Does... does he feel lonely?

Steven slipped into a bone attack and collapsed into the slow, a sandal going stray and landing a few inches behind him. He hastily pushed himself back up and pulled out a Monster Candy he saved earlier, unwrapping and plopping it into his mouth. Despite its non-licorice flavor, any possible injuries or wounds were speratically healed and his energy was rejuvenated. The boy hobbled quickly to slip back on his sandal that decided to ditch him.

"URGH, WHO CARES! GIVE UP!! GIVE UP FOR FACE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!"

Any fun and enthusiasm Steven was previously having seemed to have vanished, as his dodging and hopping skills became rusty. If Papyrus noticed, he didn't slow his attack patterns down to accommodate for this, instantly dealing back damage Steven had just healed. The child's mind kept rolling back to empathizing with Papyrus and thinking of how he once felt how he had, although differently, and how he can possibly help.

"YEAH!! VERY SOON I WILL USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Steven took a moment to breathe and think. It's likely, with Papyrus and how he seems to act, he won't end up being captured. Even with how dead-set Papyrus is on getting into the royal guard, he also seems really conflicted...

The want to end the fight slowly came flooding back, but he didn't make an effort to say anything. Instead, he tried to block out any negative feelings or thoughts he may be having and just try to enjoy the only fight he seems to be having that isn't life-or-death.
Steven stumbled backwards after he finished avoiding and jumping over attacks, but regained balance. Knowing that the special attack would be the finisher, the end-all, he internally readied himself for what would be a really difficult boss fight as he caught his breath.

"BEHOLD, MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

To Steven's notice, nothing seemed to have appeared. Instead, right behind his skeleton foe was a familiar small, white dog. How it wasn't there before and just showed up, he assumed it was cause he wasn't paying attention. The canine happily nibbled on one of Papyrus' infinite plethora of bones, ignoring everything else in the world. Papyrus turned to see what Steven had been looking at, and why his special performance wasn't showing up.

Papyrus jumped at the sight of such a creature besides him, more stunned when noticing what it had in its mouth. "WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

"Awww!! It's so small..!!" Steven almost couldn't resist the urge to go and pet it-- it just seemed so happy!!! And small, and lovable, and not struggling with any internal conflict!

"HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!?" He scolded and reached down in attempt to pry the bone of the pooch's mouth. "STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!!!"

Assuming it was unwanted here, the dog scooted away from Papyrus, then hopped up and dashed away deeper into the fog. "HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!" He took a few steps toward the direction of the mutt, before stopping himself and internally declaring it wasn't worth it. Ultimately defeated, he returned to the battle and sighed. "OH WELL... I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK."

He sounded absolutely sour from being defeated by a small adorable puppy, and it almost made Steven burst into laughter. Out of respect, he tried his best to hold it in.

Papyrus sighed and pinched his nose bridge in annoyance. "HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."

What actually did start out as normal eventually devolved into a chaotic fun mess. Forgetting the entire epiphany he had earlier, he actually had fun almost tripping over bones. Steven even sidestepped aside to let the dog back through, who zoomed by him and Papyrus. For what feels like the first time in years, he's having the time of his life. He even got to jump over bones organized in a manner to spell out "Cool Dude"!!!

Then, he realized the distance he had between him and his skeletal foe. He also realized now that there's a literal wall of bones approaching. An idea forming into his head, he stepped back and launched high into the air, far above the bones and misjudging how high he even needed to go. Steven could see Papyrus down below, staring straight up at him with intense surprise as he gently flowed down like a rose petal dancing to the ground. Steven held a hand at his ample hip, proud of himself for mastering "being blue" and the skill of jumping.

Jumping over bones really, but, it counted.

As he wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a smile, Steven realized that Papyrus seemed he pulled out everything he could for this fight. That's when Steven had noticed...

There was a tiny, short bone that came up to his ankle approaching him at a slow speed.

He backed away, not very far from the attack itself, and eventually stepped over it. He chuckled to himself and sighed, enjoying how fun the whole charade was.

Trying to catch his breath, Papyrus leaned on his knee. "WELL..! (HUFF) IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T! (HUFF) DEFEAT ME!!! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!!!"

"They're... (puff) sandals."

"WHATEVER!!! I ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY AND SPARE YOU!" He stood up straight once more, chest puffed out. "NOW'S YOUR CHANGE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY."

Steven, partially exhausted, slowly walked up to Papyrus and offered a hand. "Mercy accepted."

He took the hand and they both shook on it, with a certain level of pride and confidence in each of their composure as a weight was lifted off of Steven. As the fog conveniently faded, a worried, saddened glance slipped onto Papyrus shortly after as he stepped away from Steven, back turned.

"NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU. UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME." He kicked the snow below his boot, adding, "I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD, AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

Steven shortened the distance between them instinctively, grasping at Papyrus' hand as a sign of affection. "I'll be your friend."

Suddenly, Papyrus turned around and held his free hand to his mouth, gasping. "REALLY!? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME???"

"Of course!! You're fun, funny, and you're really nice!" He looked up to him with a sincerity in his eye sparkling, "Who wouldn't want to be friends with you??"

"WELL THEN... I GUESS.... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU!" He lifted up Steven into a tight hug, twirling him around while laughing, any traces of frowns or tears gone. "WOW!!! I HAVE FRIENDS!!! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM??"

Steven embraced this pick-me-up hug as the laughter spread to him. "Huhuhuh, they weren't bad!! They were fun, and pretty cool!!"

Papyrus squirmed under the compliment, clearly unused to it from someone that wasn't his brother. "WELL, I SUPPOSE THEY WERE PRETTY GREAT, WEREN'T THEY?"

"Heck yeah they were!!"

Papyrus took a moment looked at Steven in the eye. "YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, STEVEN. I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND, I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE!"

"Woah, really???"

"OF COURSE!! JUST CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER."

That's it? That's all there is to it???

"THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND."

Never mind there was clearly more to it.

"ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL..." Papyrus must have noted the worry in Steven's expression, so he continued, "...LIKE YOU!!!"

"Like me!?"

"YEAH!! THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER, THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!"

"Well, I'll open it for you guys!!" Steven held a determined expression, continuing, "I'll open it and bring all of you guys to see how great the surface is!! I'll even give you a tour of my home town!"

"WOWIE, REALLY??"

"Yeah! I live on a beach, surrounded by water and sand. And, there's a town behind the beach, with restaurants and an arcade and stuff!!!"

"THAT SOUNDS GREAT!!" Papyrus paused, instantly remembering something. "OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU." A serious expression crept onto his eyes as he explained, "TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS..."

Steven leaned in.

"HE IS... WELL..."

Steven was leaning on Papyrus' chest plate, listening intently.

"HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!!!" He gleamed with his normal goofy smile, causing Steven to chuckle and haphazardly push Papyrus away despite being in his grip.

"Heheh, Papyrus!!"

"I'M JUST INFORMING YOU, STEVEN!! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY." He adjusted to hold Steven with one arm, using his other to pretend the hand was talking for his upcoming sentence. "I'M SURE IF YOU JUST SAY, 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR, CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"

This whole different perspective on this "Asgore" fellow seemed so much different than what Toriel told him. I wonder why there's such a difference...? Didn't Toriel say he would be out for my life or something?

"ANYWAY!!! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING!!!" He placed Steven back onto the snow. "I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND!!! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT!!!" Papyrus dashed past Steven, triumphantly laughing as he went, leaving Steven in giddy giggles.