Snowdin Town

Frisk's POV

Frisk and the others took a lot longer to make it to Snowdin Town. Now they walked across the pink tiles of Papyrus's colour maze with ease, exchanging glances of confusion.

"What were the chances of THAT?!" Teri exclaimed, pointing at the pink tiles beneath them.

"Bad luck I guess," Ray replied with a shrug.

"Good luck actually." Clover was walking at Ray's side. "That puzzle could've killed us."

"I know, but it still sounded fun."

"You have a weird definition of fun, Ray," Teri replied, twirling as she walked. Kat stopped at the very edge of the pink path.

"I do wonder what makes the red tiles impassible though," she admitted, reaching her hand toward one. Her hand touched solid air. However, she couldn't move it over the red tiles, much less step on in it. "It's like an invisible wall!" Teri jumped toward the tiles. She stretched her hand out as well but still, she couldn't touch it.

"Wow…"

"Alright, let��s get going," Frisk replied, gesturing toward their friends with their hand. Kat and Teri followed. The next area contained a save point so Frisk stopped to touch it. A surge of determination filled them. Their body also strengthened.

"Frisk, what are you doing?" Teri asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Nothing," Frisk replied, walking past her. "Let's go."

"Frisk, what are you avoiding talking about?" Kat asked, rushing to their side.

"Yeah," Teri added, stepping in front of Frisk. They froze. "You've been acting weirder than usual ever since we fell underground." Clover and Ray nodded.

"I don't think you can keep this a secret for much longer," Chara insisted.

"I can't tell them," Frisk whispered, looking at the ground as they spoke to the voice in their head. "They'll think I'm crazy."

"Can't tell us what?" Kat asked. Frisk looked up to meet their friends' gazes.

"And we already think you're crazy," Teri added, forcing a smile. "Just tell us."

"This isn't the safest place to talk," Frisk insisted, pushing past their friends and making their way forward. "We'll talk, I promise, just not here." Kat let out a groan. However, they all followed Frisk onward. Ahead, was an expanse of ice with green circles engraved in it, and an icy bridge leading through the trees.

"Poppy must've solved this puzzle," Ray mused, pointing at the ice.

"She probably didn't have a choice," Clover muttered, clenching his fist. He muttered to himself. Frisk stepped onto the ice, sliding across the bridge. The others followed. They slipped around, struggling to stay on the path. Meanwhile, Teri twirled and spun around on the ice, holding her tutu out. The next area was a field. Frisk stopped in front of a giant ball of snow.

"It's a snow poff," Chara informed. Frisk looked at another one, identical to it. "And this… is is a snow poff." They looked at another. "This, however, is a snow poff." Frisk could hear a facepalm. "Snow poff…" Their voice trailed off. "Is it really a snow poff?" Chara asked, sarcasm lacing their tone. Frisk giggled. "Behold! A snow poff!" Frisk covered their mouth, unable to contain more giggles. They touched another snow poff. "Eh, there's thirty gold in this? What is this?" Frisk collected the gold, pointing at the snow poff. "It's a snow poff." Frisk giggled. "Seriously? How immature can you get?"

The others stared at Frisk, their eyebrows raised. Frisk reached toward the last snow poff but before they could touch it, a tiny white head poked out of it. A tiny white dog shivered in the snow poff. He was letting out little whimpers, staring at Frisk with sad eyes.

"Aww!" Kat rushed toward the dog. Sinking to her knees, she held out her hand to the dog. He pressed his head into her hand. Teri, Frisk, and Clover joined Kat, petting the dog as he emerged from the snow poff. The dog's shivering slowly decreasing. "Who hurt this poor dog?" Kat asked, rubbing his ears.

"He doesn't look hurt to me," Teri replied, running her hand along the dog's back.

"I meant emotionally."

"Probably Poppy," Clover muttered, rubbing the dog's chin. "Imbécil."

"Are you just going to blame her for everything?!" Kat snapped, removing her hand from the dog.

"Poppy isn't much of a dog fan but she wouldn't hurt one," Ray added, rubbing the dog's belly. "She gets mad if I'm too rough with our cats."

"We have no proof it was her," Teri added, nodding. For a moment, Frisk wondered which side they should take.

"Let's go," Frisk insisted, standing. The others stood up. The dog walked away, its whimpers fully ceased. The wind picked up as they continued, causing them to shiver as they pushed onward. Ahead of them, was a bridge. It was one of those rope bridges you see in movies that will inevitably break and the characters will almost fall to their deaths. Frisk prayed that wouldn't happen. At the end of the bridge, stood Sans and Papyrus, the latter's eyes narrowed.

"HUMANS! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" A spike ball, a huge torch, a canon, two blades, and a dog… (for some reason), emerged at every angle. Oh this bridge is definitely gonna break.

"Welp, it was nice knowing you, Frisk," Chara muttered.

"That's animal abuse!" Kat exclaimed, pointing at the dog that hung from a rope near one of the blades. Papyrus didn't seem to hear her over the wind.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN! ARE YOU READY?!"

"Bring it on!" Ray yelled, raising his gloved fists.

"Are you crazy?!" Teri exclaimed, pointing at the contraptions.

"Probably!"

"WELL!" Papyrus paused after every word. "I! AM! ABOUT! TO! DO! IT!" Frisk's eyes narrowed. Determination burned inside them and they leaped into position. This won't be where it ends. If I have to, I'll reset over and over until all of us get out of this alive. Frisk prepared to run. However, nothing happened.

"Well?" Sans asked, turning to his brother. "What's the holdup?"

"HOLDUP?! WHAT HOLDUP?! I'M… I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW." But still, nothing happened.

"He's not going to do it!" Kat murmured, her eyes widening.

"That, uh, doesn't look very activated," Sans mused, gazing at the bridge.

"WELL!!! THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMANS WITH." Everyone let out a sigh of relief, except for Ray. He let out a groan.

"It's not too-" Clover covered Ray's mouth before he could finish the sentence.

"I'd like to live, thanks," Clover muttered, glaring at Ray.

"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 METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!" The spikes, blades, flamethrower, and dog on a rope disappeared. Papyrus turned around with a sigh of relief. He turned toward the bridge again, eyes narrowed again at the kids. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" Nothing. No one said anything. "THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!!" He walked away laughing, though it sounded vaguely fake. Frisk continued down the bridge.

"We're being watched." Frisk froze at Chara's words, their body stiff.

"What is it, Frisk?" Kat asked from behind Frisk.

"There's a camera under the bridge," Chara explained.

"We have to get out of here," Frisk replied, rushing off the bridge and into the snow. The others ran after them.

"Slow down, Frisk!" Clover called, panting as he ran. Frisk skidded to a halt in front of a sign. Before they could read it, the others tumbled onto Frisk's back, all of them flopping to the ground.

"OW!" Ray gasped. He pushed on Frisk's back, knocking everyone the opposite way. Frisk fell on their stomach. Everyone got up grunting, wiping the snow off their clothes. The sign read: Welcome to Snowdin.

"Oh good, a town," Kat broke off to yawn. "Maybe there's a hotel or something we can stay in.

"Yeah, but let's just hope we don't get…" Frisk already sensed it coming and cringed. "Snowed in."

"You're dead to me," Teri grunted, facepalming. Ray giggled to himself. Frisk turned away, catching a save point out of the corner of their eye. They touched it, feeling determination fill them.

"Frisk." Kat was standing beside them. "Now would be a good time to explain-"

"Let's find a hotel or something first," Frisk insisted, turning away from Kat. "Then… I'll try to explain." If that's even possible.

"There's an inn right here!" Clover informed, pointing at the brown building behind the save point.

"And a shop next to it!" Ray added, pointing to the building connected to it. Frisk raised an eyebrow. "What? I'm hungry?"

"I'll go see if we have enough for the inn," Clover offered, trekking through the snow. "Try not to spend all your money on food." Pooling together their supplies, they were able to supply themselves with cinnamon buns, the last monster candy, and two rooms in the inn to share. One for Frisk and Kat, the other for Ray, Clover, and Teri.

"Alright, Frisk." Kat closed the door behind her, going to sit on the bed. "What is it that you've been keeping from the group?" Frisk froze in place.

"Honestly, just tell her at this point," Chara muttered. "She's just gonna keep nagging you if you don't."

Frisk took a deep breath. "Where should I start?"

"Why do you stop randomly to touch nothing?" Kat asked, crossing her arms.

"I wasn't stopping to touch nothing," Frisk grunted, sitting down of the bed. "I was stopping to touch a save point."

Kat tilted her head in confusion. "What's a save point?"

"If I die, I return to it. So it saves my progress so far. Only beings with incredible determination can see save points."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "And how do you always know what's going on?"

"There's… there's a voice in my head… t-telling me everything. Their name is Chara, only I can hear them."

"She's gonna think you're crazy," Chara muttered.

Frisk's eyes narrowed. "They're also a salty little jerk."

"You're not wrong," Chara admitted, probably shrugging if they could.

"Are they a ghost?" Kat asked, cocking her head. Frisk didn't reply.

"I mean, I am dead," Chara grunted.

"I… I don't know…" Frisk replied, looking at their hands. "I can't see them, just hear them… and I think they can see my thoughts…"

"Oh, so they're like Venom?"

Frisk could hear Chara giggling. "Yeah, let's go with that." Frisk's eyes instinctively narrowed but they nodded anyway.

"They've been telling me what's going on," Frisk informed, rubbing their palm. "They're like an invisible, sassy narrator."

"I like that description," Chara admitted.

"Well, I guess that explains how you always know what to do," Kat replied, pushing back the blankets.

"Wow, she actually believed you?!" Chara gasped. "Is she crazy?"

"Hey, don't say that about my friend," Frisk exclaimed, glaring at the wall.

"Yeah, don't do that, Chara," Kat replied, throwing the blanket over her legs. Then her eyes widened. "What is that?" Frisk turned to the other wall, their eyes widening. There was a crack in the wall, leading like a tunnel to whatever was on the other side.

"A hole," Frisk replied, flatly. They sat up and crawled toward the hole. "Let's see what's on the other side." Frisk crawled through first, Kat following behind. On the other side, was a room similar to theirs, with a tall shape laying on the bed and scribbling in a notebook. It could only be one person.

Poppy's POV

"Poppy!" A voice gasped. Poppy looked up from her notebook, her eyes instantly narrowing. Frisk and Kat stood in her hotel room.

"What do you want?" she grunted, glaring at the people she once called her friends.

"Nothing… we just wanted to see what was on the other side of the hole in the wall," Kat explained, pointing at the wall.

"Well now you know, so leave." Poppy struggled to keep her voice low. She looked back at her notebook. Footsteps echoed through the room, then a thumping sound of someone's knees on the floor.

"Poppy." She looked back up. Frisk was still in her room, staring at her. Their expression was unreadable.

"Get out!" Poppy snapped, pointing at the wall. "Why would you want to associate with a murderer like me?!"

"Poppy… I'm sorry." Poppy's expression softened for a moment. Then the flame in her soul relit, and she stood up from the bed to glare at Frisk.

"What are you apologizing for?!" Poppy demanded, clenching her fists. "You haven't murdered anyone!"

"Do you regret it?" Kat asked, crawling back into the room.

"Well… yeah…" Poppy crossed her arms, gazing down at the floor. "You were right. Maybe it was self-defence the first time but… the others." Poppy cringed as her victims' final moments seared into her mind. The shivering, wide-eyed Froggit, the snap that split the air as Poppy tore the Vegetoid in half, and the bulging eye of the Loox as it was smooshed into the ground with her foot. "It was wrong… I admit… but admitting that doesn't make anything better. So just leave me alone." Poppy laid on the bed on her side. Her gaze was fixed on the ground below her and she let out a sigh.

"Poppy…" Frisk and Kat made their way in front of Poppy. She didn't meet their eyes. "What matters is that you want to make up for it," Kat insisted.

"But I can't," Poppy protested, rolling over.

"Yes you can," Frisk replied. "Just come with us on our journey."

"No one else wants me around," Poppy grunted, pressing her pillow over her face. "Other than you."

"Ray wants you back," Kat argued. "And so does Teri and… well, Clover's being a bit of a jerk-"

"But once he knows how much you regret your actions-"

"I appreciate your words, really, but you don't have to do this." Poppy bit back tears. "Ray will be fine without me and the rest of you have each other. I was never really part of the group, I was just keeping track of Ray."

"That's not true!"

"You are our friend!"

"How do you know what I feel?!" Poppy demanded. She slammed her notebook into the ground, glaring at Frisk and Kat. "You can leave without me!"

"What about getting back to the surface?" Kat asked. Poppy froze, her eyes widening. "Don't you miss your family?" Poppy's eyes widened. Pulling her pillow closer, Poppy felt tears form in her eyes.

"Okay, I'll come, just go."

"Poppy-" Throwing her pillow aside, Poppy sat up and glared at them.

"I SAID GO!" They made their way back through the hole they crawled through, eyes wide and arms shaking. Poppy laid back down, wrapping her arms around herself. Thoughts of her family now haunted her thoughts. Her father's smiling face, her mother's soft embrace, her cats, just… everything about her cats. Poppy chuckled dryly. Goodbye, all chances of sleep.