MagiStream

(They're both just worrying about each other on top of their own problems, like, constantly )

.........
//Alphys' lab

"sometimes," Sans admitted in agreement when Mira suggested that talking about the unhappy things might help. But in the case of Flowey, he figured it probably wouldn't help him feel any better. It certainly wouldn't change the fact Flowey was still around here, somewhere, ready to reset everything whenever he wanted. So burdening Mira with that knowledge would only cause more harm than any small chance of discussing it making him feel any better. Sans didn't really want to bring up Gaster, either, considering the ordeal Mira had just gone through involving him.

It was better to just wait, really. Sans still had a small amount of hope that somehow, he could convince Flowey to stop, now that he had a good idea of who he really was. Maybe then he could start to work through that trauma, but until then, it was pointless. And Gaster, well... At some point, he'd run out of excuses to put off the inevitable awkwardness of having to explain who he was, especially if he was going to bring him back from the Void. But for now, he really wasn't interested in trying to have that conversation.

At least Mira didn't seem like she'd push him to talk about any of it. That was a relief. Maybe someday, he'd tell her about Flowey. And someday, probably much sooner, he was going to have to tell her about Gaster. But today wasn't going to be that day, so he was glad he wouldn't have to dodge questions about either.

Sans was surprised when Mira described what she knew about him. The fact she seemed to think he took good care of his friends, rather than being overprotective of them as he'd been worrying she thought, made him feel a bit better. Sans chuckled sheepishly when she added the part about him not thinking highly of himself. "yeah, i guess you might have a point about that..." Sighing, he simply shrugged to show he didn't really want to talk about that, either. Truthfully, most of his low self esteem had to do with the Flowey situation, not being able to free his friends and family from Flowey's machinations, not being able to figure out the machine... In general, the same stuff he'd been trying to avoid talking about in the first place.

Sans was relieved when Mira changed the subject, asking a question unrelated to his issues. Sans smiled gratefully. "oh, it's a skeleton thing. we speak and write in fonts. it's kinda hard to tell with the speaking thing though, since it's, you know, verbal. why we're named after them, though? i guess it's tradition or something."

........

Papyrus rushed back into the lab, carrying a rather large stack of books. "HOW'S THIS?" Papyrus asked hopefully, holding the books up for Mira to inspect. Surely his efforts had been successful, right? Papyrus had purposely found as many books about monsters and monster related stuff as he could carry, hoping that they would interest Mira, or at least that most of them would.


..............
//Toriel's house

Alia simply nodded, with a quiet, "Sorry," when Toriel said now wasn't the time to discuss why she never left the Ruins. She didn't want to upset Toriel, after all. Perhaps she'd find out eventually, but it wasn't going to be now.

Alia tilted her head, still not understanding why Toriel was still so worried about her exploring. Frisk had been fine, and Alia was going to have the same guide they did- well, for most of the time, but Toriel didn't need to know about that part- so why did she seem so uncertain? How could Alia convince her she would be fine? Hopefully, when she saw Alia was visiting regularly as she'd agreed, she would be able to relax... She didn't want Toriel worrying about her constantly while she was out exploring.

Alia watched curiously as Toriel rummaged around in a closet. The scarf Toriel wrapped around her was warm and comfortable. She glanced at Chara, who was smiling.

"That was the warmest scarf I have ever worn," they explained. "It was originally Rei's, but after I showed up, he always insisted I use it when we traveled through Snowdin, since he was a monster and could handle the cold better than me." Guessing what Alia was thinking, they added, "You should keep it. You will need it in Snowdin, trust me. Besides, it suits you." They smiled reassuringly.

Alia hesitated a moment, but then smiled and nodded. She'd wear it for now, if it made Chara happy. Besides... It was really comfortable. She turned back to Toriel, still smiling. "Thank you, Toriel. I really appreciate it." She felt eager to start exploring, Determination filling her at the thought of this opportunity to see more of the Underground.

(Oh my god Alia is so cute ::: Just wrapped in her comfy scarf)


Mira’s stubbornness seeming to have died down now that she had her mind off of her injured Soul, the girl just seemed like her usual self as she tried to think of anything she might want to know about Sans, her figuring she should take the offer while she could to learn about the skeleton.

Ever since she had fallen down here he had been so kind to her, the near instant connection they had after a unnervingly rocky start just having grown ten fold over the past week or so. The pair could easily have been considered close friends by now, the constant worry the pair had for each other only strengthening their developing bond.

Maybe Mira was a bit oblivious sometimes, but she really did care a lot for Sans and his brother, her determination to get herself -and- monsters back to the surface being as strong as ever despite...there being no definitive answer on if it was possible or not yet...

‘Stop thinking of it right now, j-just try and focus on happier things...everything will work out in the end’

“That’s so cool!~ A-are there any other skeletons down here? It seems like you and Papyrus are the only ones I have seen around so far”, Tilting her head a little as Sans claimed that they really were named after the ‘font type’ they had, it was a fascinating idea, Mira about to ask more questions on her mind just as Papyrus returned with a large stack of books in his arms excitedly.

It seemed asking any further questions was going to have to wait for now.

Her excitement for a moment causing Mira to hop off the table as she really was excited to have some new books to look through, she had forgotten Sans warning to stay put as she cringed and stumbled nearly as soon as she took a step towards Papyrus, the casual move to get up without thinking sending a shiver of pain through her struggling Soul as if her body didn’t want to cooperate.

“O-ow...damn...”, Muttering under her breath as this must have been what Sans met by her needing to take it easy, she had merely gotten herself excited about Papyrus’s books and -that- had hurt her Soul...what, was she not supposed to emote at all until she was healed?

Just what had that creepy monster that was so eerily similar to the Skelebro’s done to her Soul??



.............

Wrapping the warm scarf around Alia as she really did hope it would help the child to be warm on her journey ahead, Toriel wasn’t going to lie and say she was completely okay with the child going off on her own, even with a guide, but she knew in her heart that this was the best thing for a determined child like Alia....

To let them make their own decision on living in the Ruins in isolation with her or letting her into the Underground where she at least had a chance at making it home, Toriel only able to hope that Alia might find her way through the barrier just as Frisk had somehow done.

Alia belonged back on the surface and with her own kind...no matter how much Toriel wanted to keep her with her in some vain hope of bringing old, happier times back.

“W-well, if you like, I will lead you to the Ruin exit...If you are ready, young one”, Smiling small at Alia as she could tell the child was eager to explore the mysterious Underground, she couldn’t help but feel Alia was underestimating just how easy it could be to get lost in it, her already having some parting words she was going to have to give Alia once they were at the door, “I can easily unseal it once you are ready~”.

(Yes Very adorable)

.........
//Alphys' lab

Sans smiled, seeing that Mira seemed to be distracted from her injury by the conversation. It was good to see her acting like her usual self again. Hopefully, talking with him and Papyrus, as well as the books Papyrus was getting, would keep her distracted until her Soul was healed. Sans didn't want to see her unhappy anymore, though between Flowey and Gaster, he wasn't sure if he could manage that. But he'd try.

When Mira asked him about other skeletons, he was worried that he'd have to bring up Gaster. After all, he was a skeleton, and at some point he'd be back here in the Underground. Fortunately, Papyrus showed up just in time to spare him from the awkward conversation. Sans knew he'd have to tell her eventually. But she seemed so much happier now, he didn't want to ruin it...

Sans was very worried when Mira hopped off the table, apparently having momentarily forgotten that moving suddenly like that could injure her Soul more. When she stumbled, seeming like she was in pain, Sans instinctively reached out to catch her before she could fall. "are you okay?" he asked worriedly, trying to gently guide her back to the table.

...........

Papyrus' excitement immediately faded when he saw how much pain Mira was in after she jumped off the table. "I'M SO SORRY! I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT THE BOOKS CLOSER!" Papyrus clearly felt bad as he walked over as well. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Worriedly setting the books aside, he watched Mira carefully, trying to figure out why she was in so much pain. Since he didn't know what exactly the injury was, he had figured it wasn't anything too serious, especially since she'd been saying she felt fine. But perhaps that had just been him not wanting Mira to be in pain, so he'd underestimated the true extent of the injury.

This certainly was not what he had been expecting- Why had jumping like that caused so much pain for her? The injury must be something internal, he figured, and he sighed inwardly. How could he help with an internal injury? As great as he was, he wasn't a doctor... So he'd have to rely on Alphys to heal Mira. Alphys was a good doctor, though, so she would be fine. And Papyrus would do whatever he could to help during her recovery.


..........
//Toriel's house

Alia grinned at Toriel when she offered to lead her to the exit. She nodded immediately, feeling more than ready for the coming adventure. "Yes, I'm ready, Toriel!" Alia couldn't wait to start exploring more. Snowdin sounded amazing- She wondered if it had real snow? After all, Toriel and Chara had both insisted she wear a scarf. Though she wasn't sure how it could be snowing under a mountain... Nonetheless, she was very eager to find out.

Then there were all the other areas of the Underground! She wondered what they would be like, too. She supposed she could just ask Chara, but it would be more fun to find out for herself. She had a feeling the Underground was going to be her new home, and she was eager to see all of it! With as much fun as she was having, she felt no desire to return to the surface, where she was ignored. Invisible. Unwanted.

At least here, she had two people who cared about her, and maybe soon there would be a third. That alone made the Underground a million times better than the surface, as far as Alia was concerned.

..........

Chara was relieved that Toriel was letting Alia explore outside the Ruins without too much difficulty. They had been a bit worried she might refuse to let her explore, which they knew would only make this even more awkward for Alia. They could tell that if Toriel had refused to let her leave, she would not have insisted on it, but she would have been quite unhappy, even though she would have hid it from Toriel.

Truthfully, Toriel seemed a lot more overprotective now than she had been when Chara was alive. Chara wondered if it was because of them... If she was acting like this now out of fear of losing another child, even though she knew another child had made it through the Underground just fine. They felt bad. They had not wanted anyone to be upset because of the plan. It was supposed to have been a good day for the monsters, the day they finally were able to leave their prison under the mountain...

They should have known better. They should have known that they could not fix everything themself. But they had been the monsters' hope, they had felt it was their duty to help the monsters regain their freedom however they could... And the plan had made sense, it would have worked if it had not been for the humans attacking Asriel when he was looking for dead humans' Souls.

Why had they not thought of that possibility? Granted, they had not expected any humans to come across him at all, but still... They should have been prepared anyway.

They were feeling quite negatively towards themself at the moment, but forced the mask of a smile onto their face. They did not want to ruin Alia's good mood, after all.

The realization of her mistake only hitting her as gravity seemed to shift and away as she stood up far quicker than her messed up body could handle, Mira had for a moment forgotten that her Soul was missing a piece due to Alphys and her medication having blotted out most of the pain for now.

If not for Sans reaching out to her so quickly, Mira would have likely fallen and hit her head on the table pretty seriously, her trying to catch her breath as she sat back down shakily and felt her Soul shaking just as badly from the sudden burst of emotions.

“A-all I did was try to stand...”, Her voice soft and practically whispered as she had kind of thought Sans protectiveness was a bit exaggerating until now with not even letting her get off the table, Mira’s pain may have been numbed but the effects of her injury were still very much there, “I’m sorry...I was impulsive”.

Mira really was doing her best to remain hopeful and happy despite her condition but it wasn’t easy when even just existing seemed to be painful, her giving, or trying to give Papyrus a confident look to avoid him having to worry about her too much, “I’m alright, j-just a little banged up is all. Thanks for the awesome books though~ They should help me keep my mind off all of this for a while”.

The sound of the door shuffling open indicating that Dr. Alphys had likely returned from her errands by now, Mira was kind of relived to be honest as she hoped it would take attention off of her for a while, “H-hey, Sans? I think I’m going to lay down for a while again, but you don’t have to stick around if you have stuff to do, okay?”.

..................


Toriel seemed almost reluctant to lead young Alia down the stairs that led to the exit of the Ruins, the goat mom fearing that the child truly wasn’t ready to go into the greater world like Frisk had done through literally fighting her, that being one of the main reasons she had allowed the mute human to pass through in the first place.

Both Alia and the past child were determined in different ways, Toriel being sure that Alia was going to make her way back to the surface sooner than later and would make it back to her true home safely, unaware of the fact that Alia’s home life was much more complicated than she was letting on.

Standing before the large, long sealed door with its strange crest emblazoned on it like some kind of strange beacon, Toriel smiled small down at Alia as she...really didn’t want the human to leave just yet, even if she knew this was the right decision for her, “Are you sure that you don’t want to stay a few nights? I know the Ruins are quite small, but they might be just as interesting to explore as out there..~”.

//Alphys' lab

Sans was concerned when Mira spoke quietly, sounding shaken up. "it's okay." he said, hoping to reassure her. It was clear she hadn't been expecting something like standing or walking to have such an effect on her. Truthfully, Sans hadn't thought it would be quite this bad, himself. Seeing that even just standing up and walking could make her stumble and almost fall like that, he felt even worse about not finding her sooner. Surely there was something he could do...

Sans listened as Mira tried to reassure Papyrus, and was relieved to see it seemed to have worked as his brother smiled a bit and brought the books closer to her so she could look through them without leaving the table.

"YOU'RE WELCOME! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS HAPPY TO ASSIST HIS FRIENDS IN ANY WAY HE CAN!" Papyrus said. "PLEASE, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO!"

Sans looked over at the door when it opened, figuring Alphys was back. That was a relief, too, since hopefully she would be able to help Mira out with some more medicine or something.

When Mira said he didn't have to stick around, Sans felt uncertain. After all, he didn't want to just leave while she was recovering, especially seeing that standing and walking could pose such a problem for her. What if she needed something out of reach? Sans would much rather be there to get it for her than have her risk falling again...

Papyrus seemed to have noticed how uncertain he seemed, and he motioned for Sans to follow him to the other side of the room. "SANS, I THINK YOU SHOULD. TAKE A WALK. I CAN TELL YOU'RE STRESSED, AND WORRIED ABOUT MIRA... IT'S NOT GOOD TO DWELL ON THINGS YOU CAN'T CHANGE." Papyrus was clearly actually trying to be quiet, despite his usual loudness. Sans sighed. Maybe Papyrus had a point... "DR. ALPHYS IS BACK NOW. AND I'M HERE TOO. IF MIRA NEEDS ANYTHING, YOU KNOW SHE CAN COUNT ON US."

"yeah... you might be right, bro." Sans wanted to be stubborn, and refuse... But he knew Papyrus was only saying this because he was concerned about him. And Sans didn't want to make him even more concerned than he already was, especially considering he was likely worrying about Mira as well, even if he didn't know the true extent of her injury. Heading over to Mira again, he said, "hey... i'm gonna go for a bit, but i'll be back, alright?"


..........
//Toriel's house

Alia followed Toriel eagerly, though she could tell that Toriel was still probably reluctant to let her go. Alia wasn't sure what else she could say or do to prove she'd be fine... Hopefully, Toriel would realize it herself when she saw that Alia kept returning to visit her.

Alia stared up at the door, a hopeful expression on her face. When she passed through this door, her life would change even more... She felt a bit nervous, as well, now that she was staring right at it. The other monsters were nice, Chara and Toriel had assured her of that. But would they like her?

There was only one way to find out. Alia refused to hesitate any longer. When Toriel spoke up, Alia smiled up at her, hoping to make her feel better about this. "I have to do this, Toriel. I want to see the rest of the Underground... But, how about this? I'll come back here this evening and stay overnight. We'll see how things go from there." Alia didn't mind agreeing to return for the night, since it wasn't like she had anywhere else to stay. She had no idea if she'd meet anyone else who would be willing to take her in, after all. If she did, she could always stay with them after.

Chara smiled at her. It seemed they were happy that they would be able to see Toriel again so soon. Alia again felt bad that the two couldn't communicate right now. That was another reason she had to explore the rest of the Underground. She had to find a way to help Toriel be able to see and hear Chara again. The answer had to be out there somewhere, right?

(And now Alia and Sans stories begins! )


Mira trying to remain confident that she would be able to walk again eventually without her legs feeling like jelly, the young girl knew in her heart that eventually her soul -had- to heal itself in one way or another, even if it was going to take a long time for it to actually happen most likely.

Most of all, Mira just wanted Sans to be able to not worry about her for just a minute as she felt she had been getting into one problem after the other ever since she had wound up down here. The stressed skeleton deserved a break, Papyrus agreeing with her sentiment that he didn’t need to stick around if he didn’t want making the girl happy that she had a ally in this argument.

Sans always seemed to take his brothers opinions about things into consideration from what Mira had observed, the girl unable to help but cringe a little internally as Papyrus harmlessly mentioned ‘dwelling on things that couldn’t be changed’.

That could be applied to so many things she had experienced down here...even towards the fruitless and renewed effort into breaking or bypassing the barrier....

“You can go, I will be fine~”, Smiling small at Sans as the skeleton decided that he was going to go for a walk with Papyrus for a while, Mira was happy that he was actually looking out for himself for once instead of remaining here and worrying about her, “be safe, okay? D-don’t go into any weird doors that you haven’t seen before either or I might have to come rescue you”.

.............

Trying not to intentionally stall as she really did just want young Alia to be safe in her lone journey, Toriel knew there wasn’t a guarantee that Sans would actually find Alia seeing as there was more than one route the child could take that might end up with the pair avoiding each other entirely, but the goat mom could at least hope things would work out...a-after all, if they didn’t Alia could always just come back to the Ruins and live here with her again.

“That sounds wonderful~ But I want you to do as you wish, my child, not what you think will make me happy. If you find a place you prefer to stay I will understand”, Sighing as she pulled Alia into a warm hug for a moment, Toriel didn’t -want- to let Alia go...but this was a decision that the little human seemed firm set on even at her young age.

The heavy, stone created door scrapping loudly along the earthen ground as if it hadn’t been opened in ages, a darkness beyond was all that could be seen of whatever laid ahead, a slight coldness coming from the long, unused tunnel that led to Snowdin forest. There was still a ways to go before one actually entered the Underground, but Toriel knew Alia was likely brave enough to handle whatever was to come her way if she was willing to venture into this mysterious new unknown.

(Yessss! Time for another child to finally meet her adoptive family )

...........
//Alphys' lab

Sans nodded, managing a small smile in return when Mira said she would be fine. Of course, he knew that; she did have Alphys and Papyrus to watch over her, after all. Even so, he felt kind of bad leaving for awhile; he wanted to be there for Mira while she was recovering. Though he knew Papyrus had a point that he really should clear his head. Really, he'd been worrying about one thing after another almost constantly for, well, a long time now. Besides, he knew Mira wouldn't want to be fussed over, and since Alphys and Papyrus were there to help with anything she might need, him being around constantly as well might make her feel that way. "i know," he said.

Sans chuckled a bit when Mira gave him a warning not to enter any weird doors so she wouldn't have to rescue him. "i'll avoid strange doors, don't worry," he said, his mood slightly brighter upon seeing she seemed to be feeling well enough about what had happened to make a joke about it. Still, he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to continue to avoid the topic of Gaster until her Soul had finished healing nonetheless.

Sans waved to Mira, Papyrus, and Alphys, then headed out of the lab. It only took a few moments for him to decide where to go; the reassuringly familiar scenery of Snowdin being exactly what he probably needed to clear his head. Taking a shortcut there, he began walking the familiar path he'd traveled in his duties as a sentry many times before.


..........
//Toriel's house

Alia was a bit surprised when Toriel told her to do what she wanted rather than only trying to make Toriel happy. That wasn't something she'd heard from an adult, well, ever. She'd always been told to follow directions and not bother adults. She'd spent so long trying so hard to avoid annoying or upsetting anyone... A lump formed in her throat as she tried to keep tears from forming in her eyes. Especially considering how Toriel had seemed so reluctant to let her go before, hearing her say Alia could stay somewhere else if she preferred made the last of her nervousness disappear. She no longer felt like she was possibly throwing away a chance at happiness to explore the rest of the Underground. If she couldn't find somewhere else that felt right, she would still be able to come back to the closest thing to a home she'd ever found.

As Toriel hugged her, Alia let herself relax and hug her back, smiling. The hug was comforting and warm; she wished Chara could join the hug too. She had a feeling the ghost was really missing being able to hug their adoptive mother... She'd figure something out. There had to be a way.

After everything both Chara and Toriel had done for her, Alia was determined to make sure they were both as happy as they could be.

"Thank you, Toriel." Alia smiled up at her, hope and determination shining in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be very careful. And I'll be sure to visit a lot!" She smiled and waved to Toriel as she set off through the door, heading through the strange, dark tunnel. The temperature grew colder as she walked, but between the warm scarf, her hope, and Chara's presence beside her, she barely felt it.

As she neared the end of the tunnel, she heard a familiar voice, and spotted a certain yellow flower popping up from the ground in front of her.

"Howdy!" Flowey said, but this time his tone seemed to have a hidden curiosity rather than a hidden malice within it.

"Hi, Flowey," Alia said, somewhat warily. After all, the flower had threatened her a few times before... Maybe he'd just been waiting for her to leave Toriel's domain before he followed through on those threats.

"Look, I know we've had our differences," Flowey began.

"That is putting it lightly," Chara deadpanned, causing Alia to giggle.

"Okay, okay, fine, I tried to kill you!" Flowey huffed irritably, apparently thinking she'd been laughing at what he had said, before seemingly calming himself down. "But I've decided it would be far more interesting to see what you do. So I won't attack you."

Alia exchanged a glance with Chara. They shrugged, looking just as surprised by this turn of events as she was. Eventually deciding she'd rather go along with it in hopes Flowey was telling the truth than try to figure out if this was an effort to gain her trust and betray her, Alia simply turned back to Flowey and nodded. "Alright."

Flowey seemed to have been watching her carefully, and looked a bit confused. However, he soon returned to his neutral expression. "Well, anyway, I'll see you around." Flowey then burrowed back under the ground.

Alia blinked. "That was... Unexpected." Chara nodded in agreement, and the two set off again.

By the time Alia reached the end of the tunnel and entered Snowdin properly, it was cold enough for her to feel that the temperature had dropped, but it wasn't uncomfortably cold. She smiled as she saw her assumption had been right that it was snowing.

"How does it snow down here?" Alia asked curiously, as she began walking along a path. There were trees on either side of it; this was apparently a forest.

"I have no clue," Chara admitted. "Magic?" Then, they smirked. "Hey, if it ever snows too much, I guess everyone really is... Snowdin."

Alia giggled, clearly enjoying the pun.

.........
//Snowdin Forest

Sans was walking along the path when he heard a voice speaking from not far away. Confused, he began walking closer, and heard the same voice giggling. When he got closer, he noticed a human child walking along the path. Sans wondered if the kid was talking to herself, since there clearly wasn't anyone else there...

"heya, kid." Sans spoke up.

The human looked surprised, but turned toward him. "Oh, hi!"

"name's sans. sans the skeleton," Sans said, holding his hand out for a handshake since the kid didn't seem scared of him at all. Sans wondered if she'd met other monsters before... Though normally he was the only one who traveled this deep into Snowdin Forest, so if that was the case, she must have come from the Ruins...

The human's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! I was supposed to be looking for you! This is convenient!" she smiled as she reached out to shake his hand. "I'm Alia-" she cut herself off as the sound of a whoopie cushion occurred just as they shook hands. She seemed surprised for a second, but then giggled.

"heh, the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's always funny," Sans said, grinning. Then, what she'd said earlier finally processed in his mind. "you were looking for me? why?"

"Toriel said you'd guide me through the Underground!" Alia said cheerfully.

Sans was quite surprised, to say the least, but he recovered quickly. "oh, uh, sure. no problem, kid. or should i say, snow problem." Sans chuckled, and was glad to hear Alia giggle as well.

"You seem pretty cool," Alia said with a grin.

"why thank you. you seem cool yourself," Sans said, enjoying the pun-filled conversation. It seemed Papyrus was right- this walk was certainly getting his mind off of his worries, though he hadn't expected it to be because he'd be meeting another human. Mira had only appeared, what, a few days ago? And now there was another fallen human? What was going on?

"So, water we waiting for? Let's go!" Alia said with a giggle, after a short pause and a glance to her side. Sans wondered what that was about, but decided not to question it.

"heh, i sea you're excited. come on, snowdin forest is basically just trees and paths... snowdin itself is much more interesting. follow me," Sans explained, leading the way out of the forest.

Alia followed cheerfully, looking around in awe, even though they were still in the forest. It seemed the sight of trees covered in snow were enough to impress her. Soon enough, they had reached the end of the forest. Alia looked around the field of snow before them, grinning.

"There's so much snow! We could build a snowman! I've always wanted to try that!" Alia said happily.

"heh, go ahead. though i'm not much of a snow sculptor myself, so i'll sit this out."

Alia was quiet for a few seconds, then giggled. "No need to give me the cold shoulder!"

Sans snickered. "nah, i'm serious, kid. my bro's a lot better at making snowpeople than i am. i kinda just make snow lumps."

"Sounds like you're a bit of a lazybones, then," Alia teased good-naturedly, without any pause this time. Though she looked a bit nervous afterwards, as if afraid it might upset him.

Sans quickly smiled to reassure her. "i get that a lot," he replied, chuckling. "so, do you wanna make your snowman, or keep exploring?"

Alia thought for a bit, then grinned. "Exploring! I'll make a snowman later."

"alright," Sans said, continuing to lead her through Snowdin and towards Snowdin Town. "oh hey, we'll be reaching one of my brother's puzzles soon. wanna see it? it's really cool."

Alia nodded, looking excited. "That sounds fun!"

...........

Alia had been surprised to come across a monster so soon after entering Snowdin, and while she was a bit disappointed that it meant she wasn't able to talk with Chara, she was glad to have found Sans so easily. When she shook his hand, she hadn't been expecting the whoopie cushion, but Chara made her laugh as always with a comment.

"Well well, seems we have found a real comedian."

Alia was happy to discover that Sans seemed to enjoy puns as much as she and Chara did, and cheerfully said some puns of her own, as well as relaying some puns Chara said as they followed him through Snowdin Forest, and then Snowdin. She was also glad that he was willing to guide her throughout the Underground, just as Toriel had said.

The 'lazybones' pun had slipped out before she could stop herself, she'd simply meant it as a joke since he was a skeleton, and hadn't wanted to actually hurt his feelings with the comment. It was a relief to hear he didn't mind, since she didn't want to upset her guide. Though, Sans seemed a lot more chill than most people she'd met. If she was being honest, it was kind of refreshing. She didn't feel nervous at all about saying the wrong thing, after seeing him laugh off that pun. Just like when she had been exploring with Chara, she was able to just relax and have fun.

Though, she still wanted to explore by herself with Chara at some point. At least she was kind of able to include them in her conversations with Sans by repeating the puns they told.

(Papyrus can show up anytime you want ^^)

(It’s not as long as yours ::: but I tried! Also, maybe Sans gives Pap a call if you don’t plan on em going to the house anytime soon?)

Papyrus being happy that his brother had actually taken his suggestion to go on a walk for a while to get his mind off of Mira’s injury, the tall skeleton was still very much unsure of just how the human had came to become so hurt in such a relatively short amount of time but he was reluctant to pry, him understanding that she had probably already talked about it with Sans and that they wanted to keep it private.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t noticed how close him and the fallen humans had gotten ever since she had begun to life with them, Papyrus thinking their close friendship was honestly adorable. For as much as he seemed oblivious to the things his brother dealt with....deep down, the younger of the brothers could sense that Sans had a very tired Soul....

Which is why he did his best to fill his siblings life with all the puzzles he could handle! After all, who didn’t like a good puzzle to take their mind off of the impending doom that most monsters faced as long as they were hopelessly trapped down here?

Well....at least Sans did seem -happier- now that he had made a new friend in Mira, Papyrus only leaving the lab when Mira said it was okay that he could go do wherever he wished and that he didn’t need to stick around while she slowly recovered from her injury.

Truth be told, he didn’t particularly...like being in the lab too much, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint -why-, the atmosphere of such a sterile place bothering him in a way that just made his bones battle.

Bidding goodbye to Alphys and Mira, Papyrus was just a little too dense to notice the look of concern on the lizard monsters face as he left, the scientists having learned some news from Asgore she knew would be best to discuss with Sans in private later. She....wasn’t too sure if the short skeleton would take well to what she had learned, but...if he wanted to help Mira recover she needed to let him know.

..........



And with that it was exactly how he had wound up back in Snowdin, his unawareness that Sans had somehow managed to find yet -another- human, this time a child, being almost comical if not for the fact that he could practically sense the terrible puns he and this new child were making even a mile away.

He hadn’t gone back to working on his puzzles yet, actually having begun work on a special treat that he really hoped would make Mira feel better once she recovered.

It was a quiche!

Not quite as good as Spaghetti but still something he wanted to perfect, his current attempt at trying to make the dish...not going so well....

But he had to persevere for Mira’s sake! For all he knew Sans might come through the front door any minute with the recovered little human and things would go back to normal and they could all be a happy family again like before!

The thought of yet another human falling here...that was really something, wasn’t it? What were the chances of two humans falling down within a week of each other?

In the past that may have been a blessing in disguise, at least for monsters as it would have met two more Souls to harvest, but now? It just met something fresh and new to the Underground and new humans for the Great Papyrus to impress with his...well, greatness!

(Don't worry about length! I had a lot of ideas to work in there. I have a lot for this one too, but again, don't worry about matching it's length! Just focus on having fun! I'll go with the call, 'cause they definitely aren't going to be reaching the house anytime soon. I guess Alia will be skipping the first couple of Papyrus's puzzles until he arrives? If you want Papyrus to explain them to her later, she'd be happy to try them then.)

..........

Alia continued to follow Sans towards the puzzle he had mentioned, but before they could reach it, Flowey popped up out of the ground.

"Howdy- Ugh, why are you following the smiley trashbag?" Flowey grumbled, with a glare in Sans' direction.

Alia frowned, wondering why Flowey seemed so irritated by her following Sans. She glanced at Sans, and saw he seemed to be watching Flowey warily, and also inching slightly closer to her protectively. Maybe Flowey had tried to kill him, too? Either way, Alia certainly wasn't about to let Flowey keep being mean to her newest friend and guide! "Flowey, don't be mean! Sans is showing me around the Underground!"

Flowey scowled. "Who needs him? I can show you around if you need a guide that badly!"

"You want to guide me throughout the Underground?" Alia was very confused.

"Better than the smiley trashbag," Flowey mumbled.

"Stop calling him that! It's rude! You can't follow me if you're going to be mean to my friends!" Alia said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

Flowey scowled, but nodded. "Fine." Nonetheless, he glared at Sans and added, "But someone better keep the bad puns to a minimum."

"i make snow promises," Sans replied, looking amused for the first time since Flowey had showed up. Though he also seemed... Confused. Like this was the complete opposite of how he'd been expecting this encounter to go.

Flowey continued to glare at him, but... said nothing. Alia was very confused and surprised. Earlier that very day, Flowey was trying to kill her, and now, he was listening to her? Why did he want to follow her around so badly? Well, she certainly wasn't going to complain. She turned back to Sans with a smile.

"Let's keep going! I want to see the puzzle!"

........

When Flowey had first appeared, Sans had been certain he was about to have a fight on his hands. Especially considering their last encounter. So he was very confused when Alia seemed to talk him out of it with ease. She'd even gotten Flowey to stop insulting him! Sans never would have believed that was possible if he hadn't seen it himself.

The most surprising part was how Flowey seemed to want to follow Alia around, and didn't seem interested in attacking her. Flowey was definitely the attack first, ask questions later type. Especially since he could always reset when he didn't like an outcome. What was it about this kid that was causing him to actually listen to her?

Well, she did seem like she was about the same age as Chara... Her hair was longer, but very close to the same color as theirs... Maybe these similarities reminded Flowey of Chara, and he couldn't bring himself to attack someone who looked like them? Well, he was almost certain Flowey had once been Asriel, so... Sans couldn't be sure, but that seemed like a reasonable explanation.

Sans wasn't sure how he felt about Flowey tagging along, after everything he'd done, but... It didn't seem like he was going to attack anyone, at least as long as Alia was around, so he didn't argue. Instead, he simply smiled back at Alia and continued leading the way to the first puzzle.

The first puzzle was the invisible puzzle Papyrus had made. Alia seemed impressed, while Flowey rolled his eyes... But made none of the insulting comments Sans would have expected from him.

..............

Alia was amazed that Sans' brother had made a maze that was completely invisible.

Chara smirked. "Watch this, I bet I can get the record for fastest time to solve it." They proceeded to float directly through the invisible maze, from one side to the other. "See? Easy. Like walking across an empty field."

Alia giggled. She was about to say something, but caught herself as she remembered both Sans and Flowey were watching. Instead, she hastily said a pun, so neither would wonder what had caused her to giggle. Sans laughed, while Flowey sighed.

"hey, kid, there's a nice cream cart up ahead. want one?" Sans asked.

Alia's eyes widened. Nice cream? That sounded like ice cream! She couldn't remember if she'd ever had ice cream. But lots of kids talked about it like it was delicious, so... "Yes please!"

"what flavor?"

"Um..." Alia glanced over at Chara, then grinned. "Do they have chocolate?"

............

Sans still couldn't believe Flowey was following them around and actually being civil. Whatever the reason, it certainly had something to do with Alia, and he wanted to thank her somehow. Kids liked nice cream, right? It had been a surprise when she'd asked for chocolate. And the way she'd glanced to the side, almost like she was looking at someone, but there was no one there...

Sans didn't bother worrying about that right now. "yeah," he said, leading the way to the nice cream cart. Just to see how he'd react, Sans looked over at Flowey. "you want one too?"

Flowey seemed startled, then disbelieving, then wary, then just confused. Finally, he said, "Nah."

"suit yourself," Sans shrugged, buying a chocolate nice cream and handing it to Alia. She seemed to like the treat quite a bit. Flowey simply watched silently, looking like he was thinking a lot about something.

Once she'd finished the nice cream, the group continued forward. The next thing they came across was the Ball Game. It was somewhat of a puzzle, where the goal was to guide a snowball from one end of an icy path to another. Over time, the snowball would shrink in size. Sans explained the game to Alia, who looked excited to try it.

..........

Alia started guiding the snowball along, struggling at first and using small movements to keep control of it. By the time she reached the end of the path, the snowball had faded out of existence. Rather than being frustrated, Alia only seemed determined to try again. She headed back to the start of the path and found another snowball waiting for her.

This time, she followed her instincts, learning from her first try, and moving quicker than before. When she reached the end of the path, she pushed the snowball into the hole at the end with a victorious smile. A red flag popped up.

"Because of your unwillingness to give up, your Determination to succeed, you have won the Ball Game." Chara said with a smile. "Good job, Alias."

Alia grinned back at them.

"good job, kid," Sans said, walking over from where he'd been watching.

Flowey popped up next to her as well, silent, but he sort of seemed impressed.

"Thank you," Alia said cheerfully.

.............

"oh, hey, i better call my bro. you alright waiting here for a minute?" Sans asked, glancing between Alia and Flowey uncertainly. Of course, it didn't seem like Flowey would try anything, but still...

Alia nodded. "Sure!"

"Yeah, whatever," Flowey said.

Sans moved far enough away from the others so they wouldn't overhear the conversation- or his end of it, at least- and called his brother. However, he remained in sight of them; even if Flowey had been acting a lot less antagonistic than usual, he still didn't trust the talking flower.

"hey bro. just wanted to let you know i might be awhile. found another human... i'm showing her around snowdin." Sans explained.

(Just to avoid confusion, when Flowey 'follows' them, he's basically just burrowing underground and then popping up wherever they were going ^^ I just didn't feel like typing that out every time)

(Okay! Because I can only really do Pap’s side rn xD I’m very much enjoying reading the adventures of Sans and Alia though!)

Completely unaware that his brother was on what amounted to a adventure of sorts with a newly fallen human child named Alia, Papyrus could have easily that assumed Mira was going to be the only human trapped down here for a long while and was determined to give her the best life he could.

After all, she was part of the family now and needed to be treated as such, her mysterious injury terrifying the tall skeleton to no end despite Dr. Alphys and her claim that Mira would recover soon...that she had simply fallen from a cliff in Waterfall and cracked a few ribs along the way.

It was highly believable for the gullible skeleton, unlike his brother him being far too young when ‘the incident’ had occurred with their father for him to even remember the name Gaster if it had been spoken. The thought of another monster even attack a human in such a way was Improbable to him, him being blissfully unaware of what had actually gone down in the Void probably being for the best.

Papyrus wasn’t weak by any means, and if he had found out that someone was deliberately hurting any of his friends there was a high chance one may have glimpsed a much darker side of the usually upbeat and positive skeleton.

Busy and working on his new dish that he wanted to present to Mira in the hopes of helping her feel better, Pap wasn’t really expecting a call from anyone, especially not Sans seeing as his brother had only left for his walk a hour ago or so....

His typically worn gloves covered even more so in oven mittens when his phone rang, the confused monster practically scrambled for his phone and almost dropped it in the bowl he was preparing a mixture with. The noisy act could probably be heard on the other end when he answered in his usual ‘great’ greeting.

“BROTHER, WHY DO YOU PLAY THESE GAMES?”, Pap’s voice confused as Sans explained that he had somehow found yet another human and was showing her around Snowdin, the chef hat wearing skeleton sighed audibly as he figured Sans must have gotten himself into some type of trouble to make such a bold claim, “WE ALREADY HAVE A HUMAN! THEY DONT JUST FALL OUT OF THE SKY....well, they DO, BUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT. LET ME SPEAK TO THEM IF ITS TRUE!~”.