After escaping Doggo, Sunset continued her way through the forest. Sans was waiting for her in the next area.
"heya." He glanced at the crack on her SOUL. "i see you met the locals."
"Yeah. There was a dog with a couple of blue swords. They passed right through me."
"right. forgot to mention that earlier." Sans scratched his head. "blue attacks won't hurt you as long as you don't move. and orange attacks won't hurt you as long as you are moving."
"I'll make a note of it." Sunset replied before walking onward. She came to a sign. "Let's see. To the north is ice. To the west is ice. To the south is ice." She chuckled to herself. "To the east is Snowdin Town...and more ice." Well if it meant getting out of the cold, then Snowdin town it was. But first, she decided to check the north path.
The north path led to a small grove of trees surrounding a smiling snowman. Somewhat wary after her encounter with the dummy, Sunset took a few steps closer. "Hello?"
"Hello." Even though the snowman's mouth never moved, she could still hear it speaking plain as day. Yet another oddity to add to the ever-growing list. "I've never seen you before. Are you a traveler?"
"Traveler? Well, I guess you could say that."
"That's nice." The snowman's smile changed to a frown. Sometimes I wish I could be a traveler. But my creator forgot to give me legs when she made me."
"Creator?" Sunset scratched her head. "So you're not a monster?"
"Actually, I am." Its face changed to a neutral expression. "All it takes to make a monster is a little bit of magic. Once my creator made my body, the Underground's magic gave me life, and here I am."
"Wow. And who was your creator?"
"Let's see." If it had had arms, she was sure it would be tapping its forehead. "I don't remember her name. All I remember is that she was wearing a striped shirt, kind of like the one you're wearing. And she had brown hair like yours."
Sunset reached up and touched her hair at the reminder of her unexpected makeover. She still didn't know why that had happened or what it meant. Were other monsters going to start mistaking her for--
Her train of thought screeched to a halt as her lips moved of their own accord. "So why do you want to become a traveler?"
It was frowning again. "Since I don't have legs, I cannot move. My creator placed me here because she thought I would be safe. I am. But I really wish to see the rest of the world."
"Do you want someone to carry you?"
She could have sworn it was either sweating or melting. "That will not be necessary. I don't want to risk falling apart. So would you be willing to take a piece of me with you in your journey?"
"Sure thing." She carefully scooped a piece of the snowman out of the center of his middle segment and added it to her inventory alongside the knife, the pie, and a stick she'd found after meeting Sans.
"Where does all this stuff go anyway?" She muttered under her breath.
The snowman looked a little lighter without its piece, but it was still smiling. "Thank you Miss. I can't wait to hear of your adventures with me. See you later."
Sunset started walking away but called back over her shoulder. "See you later, Mr. Smiley." She made it all the way back down to the sign before realizing what she'd said.
Wait a minute. How did I know his name? He never told me. And yet, the name was there in her mind as if it had been there for ages. She took out the snowman piece and examined it. I...remember.
She'd been wearing a nice pair of mittens to go with her shirt. ****** had wanted to do something special for Papyrus's birthday. So they'd decided to make him a new friend. Someone who would be more appreciative of his unique personality. So they'd made Mr. Smiley and Papyrus had loved it. Unfortunately, Mr. Smiley's lack of transportation meant that he couldn't accompany Papyrus on his royal guard duties, and the scatterbrained skeleton had eventually forgotten about the snowman. The fact that they'd built him off the beaten path hadn't helped either. But the last time she'd checked, Mr. Smiley was still smiling, so it had worked out anyway.
As the memory concluded, Sunset started trembling. "How do I know this? I've never even seen him before. What's happening to me?" Putting the snowman piece back in her inventory, she practically dashed into the next room.
Sans and Papyrus were there, standing across from her next to a giant square carved out of the snow. But they were too busy talking to each other to notice her.
"YOU'RE SO LAZY." Papyrus was saying. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"
"um, i think that's called sleeping."
"EXCUSES, EXCUSES." He turned and noticed Sunset. "OH-HO. THE HUMAN ARRIVES." He gestured to the square. "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES FOR YOU. I THINK YOU'LL FIND THIS ONE," he paused for dramatic effect, "QUITE SHOCKING!" After pausing to let the joke sink in and taking great pride in Sunset's involuntary chuckle, he continued. "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE, ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE," he held out an orb in his hand. "THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE FUN? BECAUSE IN ACTUALITY, THE FUN YOU WILL HAVE IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL. I THINK." He gestured to Sunset. "OKAY, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."
Sunset looked down at the crack on her SOUL. The easy thing to do would just be to walk around the square and avoid the maze entirely. But looking at Papyrus's excited expression made her think twice about it. Eh, what the heck? She took a step forward into the maze and did a double take when Papyrus got zapped instead of her.
"NYAAAAH!" He stomped on the ground a couple of times. "SANS, WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"i think the human has to hold the orb. not you." His brother replied.
The jubilant mood returned instantly. "OH, OKAY." He then proceeded to walk through the maze and over to her, leaving a trail of snowy footprints behind. "HOLD THIS PLEASE."
"Um, sure." Just what was it about the skeleton that made her keep smiling even as he threatened her life? He was like a combination of Trixie and Spike. Anyway, making sure to follow the footprints, she walked through the maze without getting zapped once.
"INCREDIBLE, YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY. MAYBE TOO EASILY. HOWEVER, THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY. FOR IT WAS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER SANS. YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED JUST LIKE I AM. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus ran off leaving Sans behind.
"hey thanks." He took the orb back. "my brother seems like he's having fun. by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since. he keeps calling it his 'battle body.'"
And I thought only Rarity loved clothes that much. I'll bet she'd love making clothes for him.
"man." Sans continued. "isn't my brother cool?"
Sunset smile turned into a chuckle, then a giggle, then a guffaw, before finally spilling out into a full on laugh. "Yes he is. He most certainly is."