Dusted Snow

Teri's POV

Teri dragged her feet through the thick snow, eyes fixed on Ace's soul. Ray and Poppy walked at Frisk's sides while Teri had an arm around Kat and Clover, walking far behind the others and shaking like trees about to fall. Everything from the past hour surged through Teri's mind. The dusty halls, Frisk killing Toriel… and Ace…

"Frisk is going to keep killing every monster…" Teri murmured, barely flinching as a crack pierced the air. "And when they're done with that… they'll kill us…"

"They wouldn't!" Kat cried in a whisper. "Killing Ace was just… just… a one-time thing! Frisk still cares about us!" Clover let go of Teri, stomping to stand in front of Kat.

"Wake up, Kat! What planet are you on?" he demanded, struggling to keep his voice low as he clenched his fists. "Frisk only cares about one thing now: killing."

"We have to stop them," Teri agreed, pushing onward.

"How?" Clover asked, stepping through the crunchy snow. "They're much stronger than us, and Poppy and Ray seem to be siding with them."

"Then we have to get help."

"From who? You saw what they did to Toriel!" The three skidded to a halt behind Poppy, Ray, and Frisk, who had stopped just in front of a bridge. Something else stopped behind them.

"Humans." Teri froze in place, a shiver running down her spine. She hid Ace's soul in her hands. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand." Frisk pushed past the group, extending their hand to the stranger. A farting sound filled the air. Teri glanced at the stranger, her eyes widening when she saw a short skeleton, no taller than Teri herself, wearing a thin blue sweater.

"Heh, the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick." Everyone else turned to look at Sans, staring at him in silence. The skeleton gestured with his hand. "It's ALWAYS funny…" Still silence. Sans looked left to right, his hands shifting in place. "Um… that would be your cue to laugh or, uh, to emote at all...?" More silence followed. Teri gazed at the skeleton, her hands shaking around Ace's soul. Run while you still can.

The skeleton winked. "Okay, that's fine. Everyone's got their own sense of humour. I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But, y'know…. I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus… he's a human hunting fanatic. Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." Sans pointed at something in the distance. Teri stiffened. She shot a glance at Frisk, who kept their hand clutched around the knife in their pocket but had otherwise made no move to attack.

"I have an idea, go through this gate thingy. Yeah, go right through, my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." The group obeyed, following Sans in a straight line through the gate. They stopped in a snowy clearing. "Quick, behind that conveniently shaped pile of lamps." Teri cast a glance at the line of lamps, all conveniently shaped like themselves. No one made a move to hide. "Uh, okay, I guess you don't have to."

Another skeleton entered the clearing. This one was a lot taller, with a dumb outfit and goofy smile. Papyrus. Teri clenched her teeth. Run while you still can.

"SANS!" Papyrus called, stopping in front of them. "HAVE YOU FOUND ANY HUMANS YET?"

"Yeah," Sans replied, winking.

Papyrus's face lit up. "REALLY?! WOWIE! GUESS THAT'S SETTLED!" He turned and walked away, cheering to himself.

"That worked out, huh?" Sans asked, winking. He stood behind them, his hands in his pockets. Teri stared at him. Behind her, Frisk, Ray, and Poppy began to march through the clearing. "Well, I'll be straight-forward with you." The three skidded to a halt. "My brother'd really like to see a human…" He winked. "So, y'know, it'd really help me out… if you kept pretending to be some." Sans turned and walked away.

Teri's heart skipped a beat. "W-we are humans?"

Sans stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Teri. "Ah, so you can speak, and you could've fooled me…" Clover and Kat stopped at Teri's side, gazing at her with wide eyes. She looked over her shoulder. The other three had disappeared from sight, no doubt looking for more monsters to slay. Teri looked back at Sans.

"Well, we are humans," Teri murmured, taking a shaking step closer to the skeleton. "And we need your help."

"Teri, what are you doing?!" Clover and Kat glared at her.

Teri glared back at them. "I can't bear to follow a murderer!"

"Murderer?" Sans asked, his smile fading.

"Those other three we came with, they're humans too and… Frisk, the lead one… They're doing something horrible… We all came with one other…" Teri clenched her jaw, opening her hands to reveal Ace's soul. Sans took a step back. "Frisk killed him… and every monster in the Ruins… All that's left is dust…"

"They deliberately hunted them down and killed them?" Sans demanded, his pupils disappearing. Teri took a step back, nodding. "And the other two?"

"We're not sure if they've killed anyone," Kat admitted, fidgeting with her hands.

"But they're following Frisk…" Teri interrupted, stepping forward again. "We can't bear to follow them around anymore. It'll look like we support them and we don't."

"It's wrong," Clover added, nodding. "And they'll just kill us in the end, too."

"Please… help us…" Teri gazed at Sans, her heart aching.

His pupils reappeared as he looked down at the ground. "You're just kids…" He murmured, almost to himself. "Of course…" He met Teri's gaze. "Alright, I'll take you three somewhere safe. Follow me."

Sans walked forward. The three followed him, flinching as the world around them turned to black. Then reappeared. However, now wooden walls surrounded them, the bright snow being replaced by the soft light of a chandelier.

"How did you-" The three looked around in wonder. Sans was walking in the kitchen, pulling a glass jar out of one of the cabinets. He placed it on the counter, taking a few steps back.

"Put that soul in this," Sans ordered, pointing to the container. "So no monsters accidentally absorb it."

Teri raised an eyebrow. "Monsters can absorb human souls?"

"Yes." Sans walked toward the table, picking up a phone. He dialed some numbers into it. "Now, I'm gonna make a few calls," he informed, putting the ringing phone to his ear. "If those three continue what they're doing, the whole town will be in danger…" Teri twisted the lid of the jar open, carefully placing Ace's soul inside and sealing it inside the jar.

The phone stopped ringing. "Hello, mayor? There's three humans coming toward Snowdin town. They're hunting down and killing every monster they can find…" Teri stepped closer.

"Oh my!" a voice over the phone exclaimed. "That's horrible! I-is there anywhere in town with a lock that can fit everyone?"

"Uh… dunno. I think only my house has a lock..." Sans replied, tapping his fingers against the table. The mayor said something else that Teri couldn't catch. "Thank you, bye." Sans put the phone down, turning to face Teri and the others. "They're going to shelter everyone else in here so expect some company soon. Stay put… and keep the door unlocked until the mayor tells you to lock it." Sans made his way toward the front door, pushing it open and twisting the lock closed. "I'll keep an eye on the other three humans." He closed the door behind him.

Ray's POV

"I'm not afraid of you monsters!" Ray yowled, lunging at Snowdrake. He slammed his gloved fists against the sides of its head. The monster let out a howl. Strength surged through Ray as the Snowdrake turned to dust, sticking to his gloves. Ray trailed after Poppy and Frisk. They stopped in a snowy clearing, Sans and Papyrus standing before them chatting amongst themselves.

"SO SANS! WHEN ARE THE HUMANS SHOWING UP? I WANT TO LOOK MY SUNDAY BEST… OR AT LEAST MY TUESDAY PRETTY GOOD." Ray gazed blankly at the scene, brushing his dusty fingers together.

"Don't you only have one outfit?" Sans asked, tilting his head to the side.

"YEAH! BUT I COULD STYLE MY HAIR!" Ray raised an eyebrow. Hair? What hair?! You're a skeleton!

"Oh. Right. Good idea." Sans' tone was flat. His gaze locked with Ray's for a moment before he looked back at Papyrus. "Say, why don't you look over there?" Papyrus turned to the group, his eyes wide. He looked back at Sans, then back at the group, then Sans, then the group, over and over again. Then they turned their backs on the group.

"SANS! OH MY GOD!" Papyrus's excitement faded. "I'M DIZZY, WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?"

"Behold." Sans gestured to Frisk, Ray, and Poppy, who stood across the clearing.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus gasped. He looked back at Sans, raising an eyebrow. "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME TO LOOK AT A ROCK?"

Sans pointed at the three again. "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus's eyes widened. "OH MY GOD! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THOSE ARE." Ray gazed at his flecked gray hands. Does he really not recognize us as humans? He glanced at Frisk and Poppy. Their eyes were covered by their long hair, dust also covering their faces and hands.

"Well, they're not rocks," Sans replied.

"NOT ROCKS…? OH NO! BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION, THAT MEANS THEY'RE HUMANS!" Papyrus cleared his throat. "HUMANS! PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! DANGERS! PUZZLES! CAPERS! JAPERS! BEING CAPTURED! AND OTHER SORTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES." Ray covered his mouth with his hand as his lip twitched up. Meanwhile, Poppy was scowling at Papyrus. "REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED… IF YOU DARE!" Papyrus turned and walked away, cackling.

Sans glared at the three. "And not one of you even bat an eye, huh?" Sans turned and walked away as well, his hands in his pockets.

"I thought he was funny…" Ray murmured, gazing into the snow. Frisk had already continued forward, knife clutched in their hand like always. Ray and Poppy followed. Ray glanced behind him, still unsurprised to see that Clover, Teri, and Kat were not there. They had disappeared a while ago. However, neither Poppy nor Frisk seemed to notice so Ray didn't say anything.

The three of their souls appeared, shining off the snow. Three monsters stood in front of them. One was another duck-like creature wearing sunglasses, another was a tiny snow creature with a pointy hat made of ice, and the last was shaped like a taco. The dreaded Jerry. Frisk lunged at the Chilldrake, shoving the knife into its chest. Poppy shambled forward, stomping the Ice Cap into the ground with a crunching sound. Ray lunged at Jerry.

"Duuuude, what's your damage," the monster asked, grunting as he was punched in the face. Jerry swayed side to side after each punch, grunting and groaning. Ray must've punched the ugly thing a hundred times before it let out one final grunt and burst into pieces. The dust blew into his face, sticking to his cheeks. Ray looked up. Frisk and Poppy were already marching forward in the snow. Ray dashed after them, nearly tripping as the two stopped in front of a wooden stand. A dog's head poked out from behind the counter. His eyes were narrowed.

"Did something move?" The dog asked, looking around. "Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things." A screech pierced the air. The dog began shivering, looking around even more rapidly with wide eyes. "H… hey! I can't stop shivering all of a sudden. Who… who's there?!" Frisk's soul appeared. Pulling out their knife, they slashed it down the dog's chest, as if they were cutting meat. The dog yelped in pain. Only a moment later, its body had split into dust, sticking to Frisk's knife. Ray's jaw dropped.

Frisk only paused for a moment before continuing through the snow. Ray and Poppy followed. They slid across some ice before making their way up a snowy hill. A smiling snowman stood at the top.

"Hello," the snowman greeted. "I am a snowman. I cannot move." Frisk continued toward the snowman. "Traveller, if you could…" Frisk reached for the snowman's head, tearing a piece off. Ray's jaw dropped. Bringing it to their face, Frisk shoved the rest of the snow into their mouth. Their cuts faded almost instantly.

"Oh me, oh my." The snowman's smile had faded, and it was now slumping near the ground. "What are you doing? Soon there won't be any of me left." Poppy took a step toward the snowman. Her glasses clouded out her eyes as she tore off a huge chunk from the snowman's stomach. She scooped the snow into her mouth with her tongue. The snowman's eyes were wide.

"Stop… please…" The snowman cried, sinking toward the ground. Frisk and Poppy tore off two more small pieces. All that remained was a useless pile of snow. Then the two were off. However, Ray remained still, gazing at the pile of snow. What did that accomplish? Ray struggled to push his nagging thoughts away as he followed Poppy and Frisk. They stopped in front of Sans and Papyrus.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY!" Papyrus exclaimed, his eyes narrowed at his brother. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"

"I think that's called… sleeping," Sans replied. Ray covered his mouth.

"EXCUSES! EXCUSES!" Papyrus turned to look at the others, his eyes widened. "OH-HO THE HUMANS ARRIVE! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES. I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE…" Frisk and Poppy exchanged glances before walking forward. "QUITE SHOCKING??" They stopped in the middle of the snowy clearing. Sweat dripped down Papyrus's forehead. "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS…. THE… INVISIBLE…" He took a step back. "UUUUUUHHH…. HM… YOU MUST BE HAVING CULTURE SHOCK. YOU SEE, WHERE I COME FROM, IT'S A LOVING TRADITION TO SUFFER THROUGH HORRIBLE PUZZLES FOR NO REASON.��� That's a little messed up…. But kind of cool!

Poppy and Frisk stepped even closer to Papyrus, pulling out their weapons. Sans glared at them, his pupils disappearing. Papyrus took a few steps back.

"UH… J-JUST WALK BACK THERE, AND…" Frisk shot a glance at Sans. They remained in place, their gaze fixed on Papyrus. The skeleton let out a sigh. "WHY COULDN'T WE GET HUMANS THAT LIKE PUZZLES?" Papyrus turned and walked away. Sans stayed where he was, glaring at Frisk and Poppy with empty eyes. They were already walking away. Ray let out a sigh, shrinking under Sans's gaze as he followed Poppy and Frisk.

Later, they encountered them yet again.

"HUMANS! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR-" Papyrus glared at Sans. "SANS! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?!"

"It's right there," Sans answered, pointing to a piece of paper in the snow. "On the ground. Trust me, there's no way they can get past this one." Poppy and Frisk walked right past it, their arms crossed. Ray glanced at the paper. Kneeling down, he picked it up to see a word search.

"WHAT THE HECK!" Papyrus exclaimed, pointing at him. "ONE OF THEM LOOKED AT IT!" Poppy glanced back, her eyes widening.

"It's a word search," Ray informed, scanning it closely. "Not a very hard one though… I've already found like three words."

Sans winked at Papyrus. "I'm tellin' ya. Everyone likes word searches."

"OH MY GOD! I CAN'T WORK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT!" Papyrus stomped away, crunching through the snow. Frisk walked away too. However, Poppy stayed put, glancing back at Ray. Sans took a step closer to him.

"So…" Ray met his gaze, his eyes wide. Sans' pupils had returned, and he gazed at Ray with a smile. "I guess despite everything, you still like word searches, huh…?" Ray nodded. Sans looked away. "Maybe you're not all bad then…"

"N-not all bad?" Ray looked up at Sans, raising an eyebrow. His pupils disappeared again, making Ray flinch back.

"I know what you've been doing here," he growled, his voice seeming coming from somewhere else as his mouth wasn't moving. "You and your 'friends.'"

"B-but we weren't-"

"You think this is some kind of game?" Sans cut him off, taking a step closer. "People are dying because of you. Good people. And if this keeps up…" Sans took another step closer. "You WILL have a bad time."

Ray shrank away, trembling against the snow. He gulped. "U-understood…" Ray's gaze was fixed on the ground as he pushed himself up, dashing after Poppy and Frisk.

Poppy's POV

Two heavily armoured dogs marched through the snow, dragging metal axes behind them. They stopped in front of Poppy, Frisk, and Ray.

"What's that smell?"

"Where's that smell?"

"If you're a smell, identify yoursmelf." The dogs wandered through the clearing, sniffing the air, before closing in on the group. Poppy clutched her notebook. "Hm… here's that weird smell."

"It makes me want to eliminate."

"Eliminate YOU!" Poppy's soul appeared in front of her, beside Ray and Frisk's souls. Frisk pulled out their knife. Lunging at the female dog, they slashed the tip of their knife across her throat. She let out a cry. The male dog let out a yowl, slashing his axe toward Frisk. They leapt aside. The ax was slammed into the ground, throwing snow through the air. Poppy grabbed the male dog's paws, holding him back as Frisk shoved the knife deep into the female dog's stomach. She let out one final cry before fading into dust.

Poppy let go of the male dog's paws, kicking him to the ground. He didn't get up again. The male dog sank further into the snow, whimpering. Frisk took a step closer. Picking up their knife, they slashed it across the dog's stomach. His dust scattered among the snow. With that, they were off again, walking through the snow right past more solved puzzles. Poppy glanced at Ray.

"Why didn't you help us fight the dogs?" Poppy murmured, raising an eyebrow.

Ray hesitated before replying, "It didn't look like you needed me…" He was gazing at the snow, clutching his boxing gloves. Poppy raised an eyebrow. However, she didn't reply, following Frisk through the snow. They stopped in front of a square of grey tiles. Sans and Papyrus stood on the other side, beside an old looking machine.

"HEY! IT'S THE HUMANS!" Papyrus exclaimed, smiling brightly. Poppy rolled her eyes. "YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT…" Frisk and Poppy already walked over the tiles, pausing to stand in the middle. Poppy glared at the idiotic skeleton. Papyrus's eyes narrowed. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" He turned to his brother. "SANS, HELP! THEY KEEP WALKING THROUGH MY PUZZLES. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO LET ME EXPLAIN THEM, THEN THREATEN AND BAFFLE THEM WITH DANGEROUS JAPES." Silence followed.

"HERE, WHY DON'T YOU DO THIS PUZZLE YOURSELF." Papyrus put a piece of paper down by the machine before turning and walking away. He brushed past Sans with a sigh. Ray rushed to catch up to Poppy and Frisk as they made their way across the tiles.

"Hey, puzzles might be fun," Sans suggested, his eyes blazing even through his calm voice. "If you tried them…"

"I do like puzzles," Ray murmured to Poppy. "I wish you two didn't walk past them." Poppy glared at him.

"Puzzles are a waste of time, Ray," she grunted, clenching her fists. "You want to get home, don't you?"

"Do we have to kill every monster we meet to get home?" Ray whispered, raising an eyebrow. "This feels… pointless."

"Becoming stronger is pointless?!" Poppy struggled to keep her voice down. "You're just being a coward. Are these monsters too scary for you?" she sneered. Ray's eyes narrowed, but he didn't reply. Frisk reached out to touch the air, glaring at Poppy and Ray through their hair. Then the three continued through the snow. Ahead of them laid a long rope bridge, tied across a steep chasm. The three marched across in a straight line. As they got closer, Poppy spotted and Sans and Papyrus, standing in the snow on the other side. Frisk skidded to a halt.

"HUMANS!" Papyrus called, smiling his dumb smile. "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. Poppy rolled her eyes. "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?!"

"Please do," Ray murmured. Poppy glanced at him to see that his fingers were crossed behind his back. Does he want us to die?!

"BECAUSE!" Papyrus paused after every word. "I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!" Nothing happened.

"Well?" Sans asked, turning to his brother. "What's the holdup?" There was a slight edge to his voice. Papyrus turned around.

���HOLDUP? WHAT HOLDUP?! I'M… I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW." But still, nothing happened. Poppy raised an eyebrow. What's gotten into Papyrus? Doesn't he want to capture or kill us or whatever?

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

"WELL!" Papyrus paused to sigh. "THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO WALK RIGHT THROUGH IT, AND IT WON'T BE ANY FUN AT ALL." Poppy shrugged. This didn't look like something they could easily walk through but Poppy wasn't about to say that. If this was how they got out of it, so be it.

"So this human thing was a bust, huh?" Sans sighed, stepping closer to his brother.

"WELL… I MEAN… I'M EXCITED TO CAPTURE THEM." Papyrus forced a smile. "SO I'LL BECOME A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN." He sighed again. "BUT ALL THE TIME I PUT INTO THESE PUZZLES… IT'S KIND OF LIKE THROWING A BIRTHDAY PARTY…"

"Without traps and fire?" Sans asked, winking.

"EXACTLY! IT'S POINTLESS!" POINTLESS?! Why would a birthday need traps and fire?! What is wrong with these people?! "MAYBE YOU WERE RIGHT TO BE LAZY ABOUT PUZZLES."

Sans raised an eyebrow. "Me? Right about something? Really?"

Papyrus rolled his eyes. "YEAH! WHAT AM I SAYING?! YOU'RE STILL COMPLETELY WRONG! I JUST HAVE THE WRONG AUDIENCE! THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN UNDYNE WOULD HAVE HERE! FLAMES, VIOLENCE, IT'S RIGHT UP HER ALLEY! SO I WON'T WASTE THIS PUZZLE ON YOU. I JUST HAVE TO APPRECIATE THE FRIEND I ALREADY HAVE." The weapons disappeared. Papyrus turned away, letting out a barely audible sigh of relief. He turned and glared at the group.

"A VALUABLE LIFE LESSON!" he exclaimed, his eyes narrowed. Cackling, he walked away yet again. Only then did Frisk move, prompting Poppy and Ray to follow them to the other side.

"Guess we didn't need your help to have a good time after all," Sans mused, winking at them. He paused. "Say, I've been thinking, seems like you're gonna fight my brother pretty soon. Here's some friendly advice." Sans closed his eyes. "If you keep going the way you are now…" There was a long paused before Sans opened his eyes, revealing that his pupils had disappeared. Poppy flinched back. "You're gonna have a bad time."

The world went dark for a moment, almost as if Poppy had blinked. Then Sans was gone.