Chapter 22: They were having a bad hare day
Yesterday had been full of telling stories about the surface, and how big and different it was. Flowey pretended to be annoyed, but listened with rapt attention, appreciating this foreign concept of countries and continents.
Today they would go one step closer to make those tales a reality.
With healed legs and arms, or as healed as they would get considering they refused to let Flowey exhaust himself trying to heal it properly, and had only ate one Bisicle today, they marched on.
They ran their fingers through their hair for the tenth time this afternoon, it didnât matter what they tried, it always looked like a birdâs nest. Maybe laying down for so long on a icy environment had frozen the hair strands.
âNow go that wayâ Flowey pointed to the wrong direction, just as they left the Gyftrotâs territory, reaching the intersection.
âYou know thatâs where we came from, right?â their hair felt pointy like dried straw, they wished they could take a bath.
âYou missed somethingâ A warm bath on their cozy home, they could eat a pie when they finished, and could help Mom with the dishes âLook alive! I have something to show you! And quit touching your hair, its not gonna get better than thisâ
âYou think that too, huh?â they dropped their arms and slid down the path where he had pointed, at least sliding didnât put any weight in their foot.
âHard to miss when you keep shaking me every time you raise your armâ
They struggled not to absentminded touch their hair again, just enjoying the slide and keeping their hands down.
âHere, now slide over thereâ he pointed to the abyss below the puzzle.
âHm⌠Flowey?â when was the last time they saved? âI know the Ruins may have given you the wrong impression, but you know humans do take fall damage, donât you?â maybe they should try to save now?
âJust trust me on thisâ and who were they not to? They trusted their brother after all.
If he was wrong and made them die, at least they could rub it in his face the next reload.
With a deep breath they moved forward, to the abyss, fully expecting to fall from the puzzle into certain death.
But instead of a long descend, they quickly were rescued by a soft path of snow.
âLook!â Flowey faked enthusiasm âYou have a star right over there!â As if he didnât know exactly what he was doing âYou should go there andâŚâ he didnât even tried to pretend anymore, his face showing all of his mockery âpet itâ
âPfffâ the absurdity of the situation⌠âYou know me so well!â if he wanted them to save he could just had said so. They touched the shining light, feeling refreshed by the unusual amount of positivity it gave out.
Opening their eyes, there were bits of snow still on their clothes, they patted themselves, looking upwards they could see the light going through the ice in the puzzle, the path with the soft snow was impossible to see from above.
Maybe only those who failed it had the chance to find this soft piece of land.
Maybe that was the reason why this snow was so white.
âItâs prettyâ said still taking in the view
âI found it a while ago, thought you would like it â And look!â He pointed to the star, no⌠past the starâŚ
âIs that a snowman?â They came closer to the red caped figure.
âBetterâ They could hear the smile on his voice âIs a snow Papyrus!â
It was the spitting image of Papyrus! His lean figurine, and the red cape, it even had the scar over the eye!
Which⌠honestly didnât felt right⌠why would Papyrus have a scar over his eye? It didnât seemed rightâŚlike it didnât belong there.
âIts black markerâ they stopped themselves from reaching to touch the black line, turning to their brother instead âDonât ask me why, but Sans always carries a black marker with him, so when Papyrus made a snowman, he painted the scarsâ
They stared at the snowman again âHow did Papyrus got this scar?â it still felt out of place.
âHe always had itâ said dismissively âlook thereâ he pointed to a big lump of snow âthere is one of Sans tooâ
âIt donât look like himâ they had a smile on their face, somehow seeing how despite everything the brothers took time to play in the snow together was just what they needed.
âOf course it does! It has his scars too!â
Indeed, the lump of snow had three black dots on his⌠âheadâ ⌠imitating the scars on sans face. Two near the mouth and one on the side of the cranium.
âAnd he is just lying on the ground doing nothing, while Papyrus does all the job, itâs like a mirror imageâ
The rest of the day was spent with Flowey telling stories about the brothers and his findings from the underground, they didnât know why he was being so nice, but were extremely grateful, he wasnât even as annoyed for their eventual puns, just ignoring instead of actually complaining.
When the night fell they slept on Lesser dog station with a smile on their face and their brother at their side. Thinking about the day and how much they had progressed made them so happy they unintentionally created a save point then and there.
And thank god for that, because the next day they were awoken by a suspicious Lesser dog, if it wasnât for their grogginess waking up the encounter would have been quick, but since they had just been awoken it took 3 failed attempts for them to pet him.
And after a useful tip from Flowey they even played together! It was a good morning and put them in a great mood. Talking about greatness⌠Greater Dog was a bit more difficult to manage, he threw them down 6 times before they manage to win.
But it was midday and they had already petted two dogs! At this pace they would reach Snowdin today, they knew it!
Their leg was finally as good as normal so they didnât need to sit down to down the mustard, it was a bit too spicy for them, but was what they had and nothing would sour their mood.
âWhatâs wrong?â he asked just as they finished the condiment.
âI donât knowâŚâ said sheepishly âGetting so close to the cityâ seeing and taking the opportunity âJust getting a little⌠never mindâ
âTell meâ he was too attentive and nice since they hurt their foot, weirdly nice âA little what?â
âI donât know⌠a bitâ they raised their already healed foot, making him look at it concerned for a second before delivering the punch line âcold feetâ ended up smiling at him, he was not amused.
â⌠I canât believe an idiot like you managed to get this farâŚâ
And there it was their brother back to normal.
âAt least get different jokesâ
âI hate your punsâ he didnât âand I hate youâ Nope, he didnât
âI wonder if they are okâ But it was nice seeing his annoyed self again, it was better than overly nice and secretly concerned.
âPapyrus is a royal guard, donât worry about him, worry about him finding youâ
âBut how will I know if they are ok if they donât find me?â
âBecause they are strong enough to protect themselves, unlike certain peopleâ
âI still worry. What if something happened while I was resting?â
ââŚâ he was looking like he knew something, they stared at him until he rolled his eyes and spoke âI saw Papyrus looking for you the other day, he was fineâ
This made them smile in relieve âI hope I can see them soon, I want to tell him how I completed the puzzlesâ despite the deadliness of some, completing the puzzles were the most fun they had since they left the Ruins âI hope he has moreâ
A vine hit them in the head.
âHey!â they shot him an angry look âWhy did you do that?â
âTo knock some sense into your headâ
Part of them wanted to say how rude that was, the other wanted to laugh at the pun, they decided to do neither and deny him of any reaction.
The closer they got to Snowdin more common were the saving stars, they wondered if this was for a reason or just a coincidence, meanwhile they took advantage of the great amount of condensed magic, each time feeling the energy wash over them and refreshing their determination.
For their relief, it wasnât long until they found the brothers again.
They were on the other side of a stone bridge and loudly announced the final trap, Papyrus detailed it in a very proud manner, and in fact it looked like this would be a real challenge.
The bridge was filled with traps, all more than ready to snap their head off, metal spikes, barbed wire, even a flamethrower sat there, ready to fire.
âRegret asking for more puzzles yet?â
âThen you are an idiotâ
âI thought you already knew that at this pointâ they smiled defiantly as he rolled his eyes.
Banter aside, they had a challenge to win.
At the first step on the bridge Flowey was already shattering a rock with his vines, they didnât even saw it coming, but it was a good start, on the third step he healed their skin torn by the barbed wire and pulled them to the side avoiding being hit by a second rock.
Despite his apparent knowledge of how the bridge worked, they ended up dying on the fifth step. There were thirteen, Flowey told them at some point, along with the order of the traps.
Every time they tried they died, until a sort of rhythm fell over them.
Walking a few steps, finding the brothers, hearing Papyrus, rushing to the bridge, Flowey always ended up falling off the bridge at the seventh step, thankfully it spared him from the more gruesome deaths, and by the little time the bridge took to get the job done he wouldn't have hit the ground, but that wouldn't do, if they ever got past the bridge, he had to be securely attached to them.
But no matter how hard they tied the bandanas, the boot always ended up falling. At least he didnât seemed to mind too much.
On their ninth attempt they had figured out a better option.
âWait! Before you turn it on...â they waved to get the skeletonâs attention.
âRECONSIDERING YOUR OPTIONS HUMAN? TOO AFRAID TO FACE ME?â
âI actually have to admit the deadliness of you trapâ
His chest puffed in pride, and they couldnât contain a smile at the sight.
âWELL OF COURSE YOU DO, TREMBLE IN FEAR OF THE TERRIBLE PAPYRUS AND BE PREPARED TO SUFFER THE MOST PAINFUL OF DEATHSâ his cape flew heroically with the strong wind.
âya can always surrenderâ Sans offered dismissively âno need to get mauledâ and if they werenât a red soul they would have accepted.
Yeah, they would avoid getting mauled if they could, unlike the traps on the path, the ones on the bridge were less deadly and more leg snare bone breaking, all while the flamethrower and stone shooter did the dirty job.
Being stoned to death still beat burningâŚ
But that wasnât the point.
âSo, seeing that I will die at any wrong stepâ they paused pointing at the bridge like they were counting each one âand that would give me about thirteen chances of screwing this up inâŚâ eyeing the flamethrower regretfully âseveral very painful ways⌠Papyrus, could you hold Flowey for me?â
There was tree degrees of confusion there. Honestly four, part of them didnât know what they were doing either.
âWhat are you doing, you idiot?â Of course he would oppose to the idea, always looking after them, he was even insisting he was fine with all the falling.
âI donât want to make an error and cause him to dieâ they said loudly, Papyrusâ expression was unreadable, Sans seemed amused.
âDonât ignore me! You think you have any chance of doing it on your own!?â They had less chances, but not null.
âAnd what? I take you with me, and make you burn and bleed and suffer?â he recoiled at the mention âRisking losing you forever to a deadly fall?â he remembered, but somehow it wasnât enough to discourage him.
âIf we are doing this, we are doing this together! You canât dodge all that, you'll need healing! I'm staying right where I am!â they could see the determination in him, and he got a point, it would be harder to do it without healing, butâŚ
âFlowey, I know you want to stayâ they looked to the other side of the bridge âBut is not up to youâ
Papyrus stared at them unimpressed, they felt Flowey start a retort when he interrupted âIâLL ALLOW ITâ thank god âSANSâ
The boot flew over the bridge surrounded by blue magic, the bandages fell undone easily with the strong tug.
They didnât expect it to be that sudden, neither Flowey, given his long screech.
âYOU SEEM SURPRISEDâ if they had one chance to guess what was his expression, they would say he was looking smug âDONâT YOU SAY THAT YOU WERE EXPECTING ME TO FALL UNDER THIS HORRIBLE PRETENSE AND LET YOU CROSS THE BRIDGE UNHARMED TO âHAND MEâ FLOWEY?â
âNo, that just scared me a bitâ they admitted, for a short moment they thought the sudden tug would push them down the bridge âDidnât know you could reach me from all that distanceâ and move objects above all things⌠âItâs really impressive, Sansâ souls should be easy, but objects? Someone had been practicing magic control.
âthat ainâtâŚâ he muttered something under his breath, they couldnât hear what, but were sure they heard at least two swears, but that was muffled by whatever complaints Flowey was shouting at the skeleton, their voices were not so understandable over all the wind.
âAnd Papyrus, the bridgeâ as far as they knew âseems to be fool proof, you must have worked really hard on it, the flamethrowers specially look really cool and terrifying at the same timeâ said loudly, in hope they could be heard.
âFLATTERY WONâT HELP YOU, HUMANâ his strong voice traveled above the wind with no trouble.
âOh, no, donât worry. I know someone as great as you wouldnât let yourself be fooled by words of a mere human, as true as those words might beâ Flattery wouldnât help, but it wouldnât make it harder either, so they would use it in moderation.
They took a deep breath, concentrating on the challenge ahead. They had a clear idea of the traps until the middle of the bridge, and there were a few instances where being wounded was inevitable. The secret would be making sure the wounds didnât slow their pace in any way.
Flowey struggled in the distance, loudly proclaiming his dissatisfaction with the idea. But he was safe, and that was all that mattered.
Another deep breath, they aligned their shoulders and flexed their legs, they could take the barbed wire if that meant dodging the first and second stones.
âTake me back!â Flowey shouted, struggling on the boot held by Sansâ magic.
And the flamethrowers could be â/
Nope, impossible, no way.
They had to deal with him first.
âI know you are worriedâ they shouted closing their hands way too tight âBut could you please shut up?â they wouldnât be able to concentrate with his constant noise.
âDonât tell me to shut up, you idiot! You canât do this alone!â He kept screaming⌠and screamingâŚ
This was absurd, he knew they could go back, why he insisted in making things difficult? Why couldnât he just shut up for a second? They gritted their teeth, they would not be able to memorize the rest of the path with him screaming like that.
âLookâ they said loudly, trying to convey the seriousness of the situation âFloweyâ they breathed deeply so the words didnât sound too rash âYou are my best friend, and I love you, but we both know Iâm gonna die here, and thatâs why Iâm not taking you with me!â Too much⌠they were being too aggressive âSoâŚâ Deep breaths âJustâŚâ Calm down âJust let me focus, ok?! So I have the minimal chance of learning somethingâ they took a few seconds to breathe, they had to memorize the patterns, he was in the way, but he was not an enemy. He was their brother and he would be safe over there while they were torn apart a few times over here. That was more than what they could ask for.
There was no response from the other side.
That way they could concentrate on the challenge ahead.
Their breathing was uneven, so they took a few seconds to correct that.
Their legs and arms were cold, so they warmed them up with a couple of movements, jumping from one feet to the other.
They noticed how one of their legs was still faintly weaker than the other and adjusted it by fastening the shoelaces around their ankle, so they would not feel it for a brief time.
They puffed their chest, filling their lungs with the cold air, put their shoulders back and opened their eyes, vision focusing only in the bridge.
âIâm readyâ said bending their knees, preparing to sprint.
* Knowing your brother wonât suffer for your mistakes fills you with Determination
The loud sound of the wind was replaced by mechanical noises when Papyrus pressed the button. And the roaring of the engine fully started⌠only to die down moments later.
âWhat happened?â it didnât sound like the other times, abandoning their posture, they looked at the other side for answers.
âIT APPEARS THE MACHINE IS BROKENâ why? It hadnât broken on the other timelines, it shouldnât break in this one. What could possibly have changed?
âit sounds like the source of energy died downâ Sans said, scratching his neck âI donât smell any burning so â/â
âITâS NO USE, SANS, ITâS BROKEN. IT SEEMS THE HUMAN HAVE TO WALK OVER A DEACTIVATED TRAP, HOW PATHETICâ maybe⌠wait, they remembered something similar.
âWhat are you waiting for, you idiot?! Get in here before the trap turn back on!â Oh Flowey was livid. But it was really like that that this was supposed to go? They didnât remember the puzzle being a failure...
âBut⌠isnât that like cheating a puzzle?â Flowey kept screaming and for some reason Sans facepalmed, Papyrus didnât answer though, so they didnât move.
âGet in here!!!â But maybe this was how they crossed it last time? They didnât remember so clearly.
In the middle of all the curses, they crossed the bridge, being careful with the barbed wire and the ankle snares, the flamethrower and rock thrower threatened to turn on a few times, but died down soon after.
They ended up crossing with just some minor scratches.
âHm, sorry for that, Iâm sure it would be deadlyâ Now this close they could see that Papyrus seemed utterly dissatisfied, they felt bad for him âWe can try again when itâs fixed ⌠but maybe instead of the rock thrower, could it maybe be water?â the comment earned them a glare âTo be soaked with cold water can be very deadly on this freezing temperature, and kinda would be like an opposition of the flamethrower?â he wasnât speaking to them âyou know, water opposites with fire, and air opposites with earth?â and very irritated âsorry, Iâm just rambling, feel free to ignore itâ and angry âare you ok?â
He turned around and walked away silently. They knew they had done something wrong, but couldnât guess what.
âare ya that stupid or just have a death wish?â They turned to Sans.
âHm?â he had a funny face now, it had anger on there, but it was mixed with something else.
âThey are that stupidâ Flowey deadpanned with his âIâm done faceâ while floating in the air.
âWhat did I do?â Everyone was unhappy, maybe they should reload and try again?
â âTry again when its fixed?â â it was weird to hear their exact voice coming from his mouth âAre you insane?!â
âPapyrus was disappointed, he probably worked very hard on that trapâ and didnât had the chance to see it in action, like they did, it should be frustrating.
âyep, death wish fer sureâ he moved his hand and the boot was shoved on their chest âhereâs yer Weedâ and followed his brotherâs steps shaking his head.
âFlowey?â Ok, reloading may be a bit extreme.
âWhat?â But they still felt like they had to do something, like they were missing something.
âIâm not happy with this endingâ And they had no idea of what it was or where to start.
âWelcome to the undergroundâ he said simply, looking them in the eyes âno one is happy hereâ
âThis is Snowdinâ Said to the stupid human carrying him.
âFinallyâ they had a smile on their face, like the ones they had at the end of a day of exploring when got to motherâs house.
âWe have to find somewhere to sleep, staying out after curfew will draw too much attentionâ It was night, people were not supposed to be out at this time, unless they were walking home, and anyone disobeying it could be arrested by the guard or fined.
âThere is an inn somewhere around here, isnât itâ they asked without a care in the world.
He pointed them to the right direction.
They didnât waste time in getting inside the warm house.
âAnd remember to eat. Youâve been running on just mustard all day, it wonât help your foot, do you want to beâ/â
âTheyâre so cute!â they interrupted him and before he could complain, he was dragged to the little bunny on the inn
âDonât talk to them, they are a kid!â
âSo am Iâ they put him on the counter, so they could get to the bunnyâs eye level.
âYou are a middle stripe, people will think you are bullying themâ and would make getting a room here either harder or more expensive.
âWhy would people think that?â aaand they were already petting the little bunny.
âWhy else would an older child be interested in a Full stripes?â and stretching their little bunny cheeks.
âBecause theyâre cute?â by the way the little one smiled, they liked the attention.
âWhateverâ he would have more luck convincing someone to hug Jerry than convincing them not to pet a âfluffyâ monster, why were all humans so obsessed with soft fur? âJust finish petting before anyone sees usâ
âLittle late for that, travelerâ
He spun to face the Innkeeper, the tall bunny was smiling at the interaction of the two idiots, but quickly turned to him.
âWelcome to the Snowed Inn, are you staying the night?â
âYes, bed for oneâ he quickly answered.
âDidnât plan for the curfew?â
âI did, but this idiot wanted to see the trees from the bridgeâ
âI heard the guards werenât letting anyone past that bridge, how did that go?â
âWe arenât home after the curfew, and now have to pay for a room, thatâs how it wentâ
âLucky me then, it will be 80gâ
âHereâ they interrupted, but instead of putting the money in the balcony, like any normal monster after interrupting people, they took their time to go through their inventory, and they took way too long.
âAre they always this aloof?â She eyed him suspiciously, could they be more suspicious than that?
âDonât look at me, Iâm just trying to keep the idiot aliveâ
âJust a momentâ they said apologetically, using the two hands to mess with what he assumed was their inventory... is not like any other monster could see each otherâs items.
âHereâ she handed him the key âJust pay me tomorrowâ while they kept fussing over the invisible window.
He nodded before turning to them âAre you listening?â they werenât.
He jingled the keys in front of their eyes, that seemed to grab their attention.
âShe said we can pay tomorrowâ
âOh, Thank you!â they smiled at her, without insisting to pay right away, so they probably didnât understand what âpay tomorrowâ meant.
Maybe tomorrow they would try to pay her when they found the âThe Inn is no charity, next time get home before curfewâ note. That would guilt trip them to be faster.
âYouâre welcomeâ she said smiling at them âHoney, show them their room, would you? I have something to talk with this oneâ the little bunny got upstairs and they followed, leaving him alone with the Innkeeper.
She looked at him curiously. There it wasâŚ
âSo what are two stripes doing in Snowdin?â
It always came to a point where she would ask him the same questions. She was the only one in Snowdin that ever implied he was a child. Every other monster saw no stripes and took him for a full grown monster.
Maybe it was because she was the only one in Snowdin that had had a child. But he couldnât know for sure.
âFirst of all, Iâm not a stripeâ He gestured to his stem âAnd no, I didnât just took of my shirtâ the next question should be about how long âI got out of them a while agoâ if she asked it meant she was still suspicious.
âA few weeksâ he lied, if he tried to say it was any longer she wouldnât believe him, and if it was less than a week, she would make more questions to try to find his parents
She nodded âNot my business thenâ
âHow about the other one?â
He never had this bit of conversation before, but he knew her tics enough to survive it without raising suspicion.
âMother asked to take care of themâ
âYouâre their brother?â
âNo!â her brows were a bit furrowed, it meant she didnât believe him âKindaâ she kept the same questioning face âThey call me that⌠but Iâm not convinced, being a brother is too much of a responsibility, I donât like them that muchâ she was almost believing him, just one more thing. Flowey stood on the boot with a menacing face âBut donât go on telling anyone that, or you will have problems, got it?â
âNone of my businessâ She raised her hands in a peace offering, and by her smile she got what she wanted from the conversation.
So this timeline he would be a monster fresh out of stripes, taking care of his sibling, but not so attached to them⌠he had to remember that⌠and also, he had to convince them to use the same story so no one blew up the cover.
She disappeared on the Inn and he waited for them to come back and pick him up, if they took more than ten minutes he would go upstairs by himself and scream at their face.
It would be a hassle to climb the stairs carrying the boot, but it would be worth it to get to the room and see their apologetic face the moment they realized their mistake, then he would chastised them for forgetting about him.
He could already see the scene and hear their apologies and declamations that he âwas important to themâ and they âwould never leave him behindâ in a panicky voice.
He smiled at the thought, they could be so emotive at times, and so easy to manipulate, he hadnât had this much fun in forever!
He wouldnât wait, he would go upstairs right away, so he could have the upper hand and yell that they âmade himâ climb the stairs all by himself.
He would start yelling the exact moment he opened the door.
Unless they were sleeping⌠then he would leave them be, sleeping in the snow for so long must be tiring for their body. And since they would be unconscious he could heal their foot a little bit more, just for safety.
The fun and yelling could wait until the next morning.
