~Brayden~
The first thing the kids discovered when they left the RUINS was a huge, snowy forest ahead of them. A cleared path went through the trees. The dark cavern was full of twinkling ice. The snow was cold and thick beneath their feet. Behind them were purple doors that were locked tight. Way ahead was some kind of gate, then a sentry station.
"It's freezing...." Melody mumbled, rubbing her arms.
She was only wearing her ballet gear, so she wasn't exactly prepared for a voyage through a snowy area. Brayden found she complained a lot - especially about him. She could be really annoying. But Brayden found her being one of his best friends. Melody didn't seem to give up on him - and she was pretty much the only person who was an actual friend back in the day and not some stupid bully.
"You think you're freezing!?" Brayden asked her.
He wasn't in a great situation either. He was wearing a striped tank, shorts and trainers. At least Melody had a tutu. Well, he had his gloves and awesome manly bandanna.
"This doesn't make any sense - snow can't be underground." Percy mumbled, taking notes. Brayden found Percy... kind of funny. They didn't have a lot in common, but they got on reasonably well. Even if Percy really liked weird cartoons and books. Brayden didn't like books. He found them boring.
"Oh... there's a camera in the bush!" Faye observed a bush near the purple doors to the RUINS.
"A camera?" Clover asked, making a face. "Is someone watchin' us?"
Brayden thought Clover was cool and annoying at the same time. She got on his nerves, yet no-one else could kick butt like her. She'd be the one fighting alongside him. And she was pretty protective of her brother. Brayden was the baby of his family but he didn't like it when people bothered his older sisters or his friends.
"Hey, Brayden," Cody spoke up. He smiled. "If you're really cold, you can wear my apron if you want."
Brayden thought Cody was just a big softie - that guy who always wore his heart on his sleeve. Though he was always nice to people, Brayden knew Cody knew how to defend himself - and he had Clover, of course. And he made amazing food.
"I'm not gonna wear an apron!" Brayden replied.
The thought of wearing said thing disgusted him. Just nope. He saw the eighth human was looking at the sentry station in the distance. Brayden liked that kid. They ran into danger like he did - and they were pretty cool. They didn't seem scared of anything - wow they were cool.
"I think they want to go." Faye spoke up quietly.
She looked kind of cold too. Brayden and Faye had been BFFs for ages even though they were super different. Faye was cute and quiet. She didn't really know how to stick up for herself sometimes. She just took everything in. Brayden once told her he'd beat up anyone who got in her way and he really meant it. In return, she was just a great friend. She really understood him.
"Let's go then." Clover spoke up.
The kids proceeded. Brayden wanted to run off, but Clover started giving him that crazy death-stare. The eighth human was kind of ahead, though. Brayden went over to them.
"Think there are any monsters in those trees?" he asked. The eighth human shrugged. "I could take on a monster army right now!"
He and the eighth human walked over some tough stick on the ground. Brayden was looking out for any monsters who wanted to fight him. Suddenly, the stick snapped - it was destroyed as if it were nothing. Faye yelped. Clover brought out her gun, naturally protecting her brother. The eighth human looked unfazed.
"Who's there!?" Brayden yelled. He made a punching motion with his fists. "I'm not afraid of you! Come out and fight me!"
But nobody came.
"It looks like nobody is coming," Melody observed. She was standing next to Percy. "I suppose we had better keep going."
Everyone continued moving. Brayden kept looking around, brows raised. The kids walked a little further. A silhouette appeared behind them in the shadows.
"SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD!" Brayden yelled at the trees, clenching his fists.
"You better." Clover agreed, holding up her gun.
Still nobody came.
The eighth human continued walking. They didn't look afraid. They were nearing that bridge thing. So everyone followed them. They stopped at the bridge.
Snow was being crunched behind them; someone was there. The eighth human didn't flinch. Clover gripped her gun. Cody was holding up his frying pan. Percy was taking notes. Melody looked a little scared herself. Faye was hiding behind Brayden.
"Who are you!?" Brayden asked the silhouette, glaring at them. "You wanna fight!?"
The eighth human was shaking their head. They didn't seem nervous at all. Quite the opposite.
"Humans," the shadow thing greeted slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal?" He held out his bony hand. "Shake my hand."
The eighth human shook his hand like they'd done it a million times. Everyone was sort of staring at them. Then there was a fart noise. A really long and awkward one.
"Did you just fart?" Brayden asked the shadowy dude who wasn't so shadowy anymore.
He was now a chubby skeleton with a blue jacket, slippers and a white shirt. His blue jacket had a fluffy hood and his black eye-sockets were kind of creepy. A permanent smile was plastered on his face. He was slightly taller than the kids.
Brayden giggled like an immature child. "Awesome!"
"Ugh," Melody rolled her eyes.
"heh heh, thanks kid," the skeleton replied, chuckling. "that was the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny. anyways, you're all humans, right? that's hilarious. im sans. sans the skeleton. im actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing anybody."
"I think he's nice, Clover," Cody told his sister. He eyed her gun. "You can put that away."
Clover slipped her gun away, biting her lip.
"If you're a skeleton, does that mean you're an undead human?" Percy asked, bringing out his notepad. "How exactly would that work?"
"it's complicated, kid," Sans answered, shrugging. "it's probably for the best if we don't discuss it now. anyway, my brother, papyrus. he's a human hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, i think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, all you kids, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."
The kids went through the gate. On the other side was that sentry station and seven conveniently shaped lamps.
"quick, behind those conveniently shaped lamps," Sans told them.
"Why are we hiding!?" Brayden asked. He clenched his fists. "I wanna fight! I'm not afraid of, what's his name, Papyrus!"
"Let's not be rude and listen to Sans." Melody told him, giving him a look.
He sighed and followed her. He hid behind a lamp shaped like himself. All of his friends were doing the same. A tall skeleton walked over. He had large, red gloves, boots and a long scarf. He was wearing some kind of armour around his chest, a small symbol near his shoulder. He was also wearing blue pants, Brayden guessed. Brayden really didn't know anything about skeletons, apart from the decorative ones he saw on Halloween.
"'sup, bro?" Sans greeted his bro.
"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER!" Papyrus yelled, sounding grumpy. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T... RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
"staring at these lamps," Sans replied. "they're really cool. you wanna look?"
"Is he givin' us away?" Clover whisper-asked.
The eighth human shook their head.
"NO!" Papyrus retorted, stomping his boot on the snow. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!" His cape flowed in the wind. "RESPECT... RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO BE MY 'FRIEND'? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"
"hmm... maybe these lamps can help you." Sans told Papyrus.
"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES!" Papyrus responded.
"Blah blah, I'm bored," Brayden grumbled. He looked at Faye who was right next to him. "Hey, Faye, check this out." He flexed his 'muscles'.
"That's nice, Brayden." she replied politely. She seemed more focused on the skele-bros and their amazing skeleton puns.
"i've gotten a ton of work done today," Sans said, winking. "a skele-ton."
Faye was trying not to laugh. Melody silently groaned. Clover grinned. Brayden snorted and started giggling.
"WHAT'S THAT SOUND?" Papyrus asked, looking around.
"just the lamps," Sans told his bro. "told you they're cool."
"OH, I SEE," Papyrus replied. "WHERE WAS I...? OH YES!" He looked annoyed. "SAANNNSSSSS!"
"come on," Sans retorted. "you're smiling."
"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus grumbled. He sighed. "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..." Sans winked. "down to the bone."
Brayden started laughing again, even though he thought the pun was garbage.
"Hey!" Melody whisper-shouted. "Brayden! Shhhh!" Faye started giggling as well. "Oh my goodness..."
"see, the lamps think i'm funny." Sans told his brother, raising his... bone-brow.
"UGHHH!" Papyrus groaned. "I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES... AS FOR YOUR WORK... PUT A LITTLE MORE..." He made a face. "'BACKBONE' INTO IT! NYEHHEHEHEHEH!"
He stared at the lamps. No one laughed this time. Papyrus frowned and walked away. Brayden almost walked out if Melody didn't grab him.
Papyrus came back one more time. "HEH!"
"ok, you kids can come out now." Sans spoke.
Everyone came out, relieved.
"FINALLY!" Brayden exasperated. Melody was staring at him. "WHAT!? I was bored! Faye was laughing too!"
Brayden stared at Sans and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice puns by the way, Mr. Fat Skeleton!"
Melody face-palmed.
"Wow," Percy commented emotionlessly. He faced Sans. "I can't believe your brother fell for that trick. Why does he look so different from you? I've many questions about skeletons."
"Your brother's not dangerous, is he?" Clover asked, walking over to Sans. "I dunno if he's safe."
"your friend over there will know," Sans answered, pointing at the eighth human. "they look like a kid who knows their stuff."
The eighth human shrugged like they and Sans were old pals.
"but if you ask me, no, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be," Sans explained.
"I bet I could take him on." Brayden said confidently, cracking his knuckles.
"Brayden's not dangerous either, don't worry," Melody whispered to Sans. "He's just very silly and good at getting himself into trouble."
"I HEARD THAT!" Brayden yelled at her.
"We'd better move on, y'all." Clover spoke up, folding her arms.
Her brother smiled and waved at Sans. The kids headed right, following a snowy path into the forest.
"actually, hey, could you kids do me a favour?" Sans asked. "i was thinkin'... my brother's been kind of down lately... he's never seen a human before. and seeing you kids just might make his day. don't worry, as i said, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."
"I hope so," Clover muttered.
"It'll be fine, sis," Cody told Clover. "We can look after ourselves, right?"
"thanks a million, kids," Sans said. "i'll be up ahead."
He walked to the left.
"Oh, he went the wrong way." Faye observed.
"LET'S GO!" Brayden yelled, charging off.
He was excited. This place was freezing but he didn't really care a whole lot. He was ready to beat up some monsters. The path went in a few directions, but Brayden didn't care. He wanted to go forward. Keep moving. The eighth human was nearby him. They stopped at a random point in the snow, then turned to a box nearby a sign.
"Slow down, pardner." Clover stormed over to Brayden. "There's a box over here."
"Good," Percy said. He brought out a thick pile of paper. "I can store my notes in there."
The eighth human was putting the spider donuts in there. Soon, the box was full of notes and spider donuts. Brayden wondered how in the heck Percy had so many notes.
Percy nodded. "Those are the notes that won't come of use to us. Such as notes about people at school."
"You take notes 'bout people at school?" Clover asked, giving him a look.
"Umm..." Percy went red.
"Did you write anything cool about me, Perce?" Brayden asked, grinning.
"Well..." Percy looked away.
"AWESOME!" Brayden continued running ahead.
He hoped his friends were behind him. As usual, it was only Clover, Melody and the eighth human. The others were checking out a fishing line.
Brayden looked annoyed. "Can they hurry the HECK UP?!"
Brayden punched a tree out of boredom. All the snow covered him so he looked like a snowman. Clover started laughing, while Melody face-palmed.
"HEY! SHUT UP!" Brayden yelled. His pink leather gloves were covered in snow, though his favourite colour was definitely orange.
Melody helped him out of the snow and started brushing some of it out of his messy, brown hair. He shooed her away.
"What happened?" Cody asked, as he, Percy and Faye walked over. "Are you okay, Brayden?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Brayden replied, giving him a thumbs up. He frowned. "Though you guys take WAY TOO LONG! WHAT WERE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
"We found a funny fishing rod." Faye answered quietly.
Brayden hoped she wouldn't try and stay somewhere again. His policy was simple: friends were friends and enemies were enemies. Betrayal didn't mean anything to him. He knew he would never betray anyone - and he wasn't going to let anyone stay behind - they were a group, after all. And Faye was his best friend. He - somehow - knew she wasn't that weak. She took all those hits from Toriel and didn't flinch. That was pretty cool.
"We should really move on, y'all." Clover spoke up, pointing ahead.
Brayden raced ahead, following the path. Melody grabbed his arm as they approached Sans and Papyrus standing on the path, chatting to each other.
"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..." Papyrus began. He noticed all the kids. He looked at Sans, then back at the kids, then at Sans, then at the kids, then at Sans... "SANS! OH MY GOD, ARE THOSE... HUMANS?!"
Cody and Faye were smiling at the skeletons. Clover was scowling, Percy behind her. Melody was observing. Brayden crossed his arms, the eighth human beside him.
"uhhhhh..." Sans retorted. He made a face. "actually, i think those are rocks."
There were seven rocks behind the kids.
"When did they get here?" Clover asked, folding her arms.
"Wow, magically-appearing rocks..." Faye commented, grinning.
"They appear to be rocks made of ice." Percy said, taking notes.
"OH." Papyrus commented, looking disappointed.
"hey, what are those in front of the rocks?" Sans asked.
"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaimed. He looked away and whispered, "(ARE... ARE THOSE HUMANS)?"
"(yes)." Sans responded.
"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus yelled. He smirked. "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!"
Brayden sighed. He'd really had enough of all this talking nonsense.
"Can we just fight now?!" he whined, making even more punching motions.
"Toriel told us not to fight, Brayden," Melody sighed, folding her arms. She gave him that look. "And they're not even done talking." She glared at Clover. "Not you too, Clover."
Brayden remembered Toriel. He liked Toriel. She was nice and she made really good pie. He was kinda sad when they had to fight her, but he didn't want to stay in the RUINS forever. He had to go home.
Sans and Papyrus gazed at each other. Then the taller skeleton loudly continued, "'AHEM'! HUMANS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU ALL!" He looked a little anxious. "SOMEHOW." He cleared his non-existent throat. "YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN...!"
"What?" Brayden asked.
"I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT," Papyrus shrugged. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" He raced off.
"well, that went well," Sans commented. He winked. "don't sweat it, kids. i'll keep an eye socket out for you all."
He headed right. Faye giggled at the pun.
"Let's keep goin', y'all." Clover spoke up, standing in front of her brother. He scowled, stepping away.
"LET'S GO!" Brayden yelled, charging ahead.
The trees spaced out, leaving the chilly, blue path. Brayden had seen snow before. He'd liked messing around in it. A sentry station was ahead. He ran into a monster - Snowdrake. Snowdrake appeared to be some kind of hybrid of an owl and a snowflake. They had a rotating beak, owl-like eyes and little wings. They were made of ice.
Everyone else came over and joined in. The eighth human CHECKED Snowdrake. Percy took notes. Then the monster began attacking the kids. The eighth human was great at dodging. Brayden went all over the place, like he always did. He got hit once.
"Ice puns are 'snow' problem!" Snowdrake said, cracking a bad joke.
Some of the kids began laughing, including the eighth human. Even Brayden laughed a little. Snowdrake looked pleased. Then they were able to give them that dank mercy, so the children did. They continued.
Brayden raced over to the next area, ignoring the sign by the path. A wooden sentry station with a dog symbol was ahead. Snow was on the roof. The eighth human was staying nearby Brayden.
"It says no moving." Percy read the sign, adjusting his glasses.
Faye didn't move, since she was pretty good at that. Melody paused, though she hummed a tune to herself. Clover made sure nothing attacked them. Brayden moved because he hated standing still. The regulars followed him. Brayden was stopped by a dog sentry inside the sentry station.
"Did something move?" the dog asked.
He had shifty eyes, a pink tank, black-and-white fur, and appeared to be smoking dog treats. He had a long sword.
He was a head or two taller than the kids. "Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving... for example, a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!"
Combat started. Doggo blocks the way!
"You don't scare me!" Brayden snapped at the dog.
The eighth human CHECKED the dog. The dog's name was Doggo and he was easily excited by movement.
"Don't move an inch!" Doggo shouted.
Brayden moved around anyway. Until the eighth human gave him a very very tight hug from behind, stopping him from moving. And almost breathing. But he wasn't hurt by Doggo's sword.
"The sword is my SOUL colour." Faye commented quietly.
"Hey!" Brayden shoved the eighth human off. They landed on the snow. "What the heck were you doing!? I don't want you to hug me!"
"They were protecting you, pardner, give 'em credit." Clover pointed out, giving him a stare.
Melody nodded in agreement. Brayden gave them a look. He didn't really like being told what to do.
The eighth human stood up, looking a little upset. They brushed snow off their sleeve. Faye reached out for them; they smiled at each other.
At first, Brayden thought it was pretty cute Faye and the eighth human were becoming friends. They, after all, had saved her life. He himself would've done that if they hadn't got there first. He would've been a lot more protective of Faye if they hadn't got there first. Now that he was thinking about it, Brayden was... kind of jealous of them. His best friend was starting to follow them around more than him. They were cool, but...
Doggo can't seem to find anything.
The eighth human reached over and gave him a pat. Faye pet him as well, probably because she thought it was fun. Doggo started freaking out.
Doggo has been pet.
"WHAT!" he exclaimed. "I'VE BEEN PET!" He made some pretty weird faces. "PET? PAT? POT?"
He swung his blue sword at the kids again, still making that face. Brayden didn't really want the eighth human to hug him again so he didn't move - even though it drove him bonkers.
"What a cute dog." Faye commented.
Cody had to agree. Melody and Percy were sort of staring at each other. The eighth human spared Doggo. Brayden was happy that battle was over. Doggo was in his sentry station.
"S-s-something pet me..." he remarked, still looking shifty. "Something that isn't moving... I'm gonna need some dog treats for this..."
He disappeared behind his sentry station.
"FINALLY!" Brayden shouted, racing off.
He passed some burnt dog treats and arrived at the next area. There was a patch of ice with a sign in the middle. Sans was there, standing nearby the trees. The kids seemed interested in talking to him - well, aside from the eighth human and Brayden who wanted to get a move on. Sans talked about some blue attack. Brayden didn't really listen. He was ready to kick butt.
He jumped on the ice, the eighth human following him. It was really slippery.
"WHOO!" Brayden yelled, sliding around. The eighth human had their eye on a path to the right. Brayden slid over to them. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
They pointed at the path.
"There's a town over there?" Brayden grinned. "Awesome!" He gazed at the snow. "Hey, we should have a snowball fight!"
"Did ya say snowball fight, pardner?" Clover asked, looking at him. She had a competitive glint in her yellow eyes.
"And we should build a snowman!" Faye added.
"Let's do it!" Cody agreed.
Percy hid behind a tree.
"YEAHHH!" Brayden cheered, almost falling over. "WE'LL GO IN TEAMS AND SNOWBALL FIGHT TO THE DEATH!"
"Not to the death." Melody said, folding her arms. "I don't want to get my tutu covered in snow."
"Aw c'mon, it'll be fun!" Brayden yelled encouragingly.
He made a snowball in his palm and chucked it at Melody. She shrieked in repulse. Brayden laughed really hard. Melody growled and threw a snowball back. It hit him on the face. And so the competition began...