Sans and Papyrus (Successfully launched!)

Outside the Ruins lay a world of ice and snow. The cold cut to the bone, jolting Frisk completely awake.

"Okay, okay, it really is freezing. Want me to tell you a cold joke from Mom's book and make it even colder?" Linde glanced at the figure that flashed past behind them, then asked Frisk with a knowing smile.

Frisk immediately perked up. "Oh? I'm pretty curious about what's in Mom's book."

"Then..." Linde cleared his throat and asked, "Why do skeletons like making friends?"

"Because... they think friends can heal their souls?" Frisk ventured.

Linde chuckled. "Wrong! Because they're always feeling bone-ly."

Frisk froze for half a second, then burst out laughing. "Mom likes terrible jokes like that? What a coincidence! So do I!"

A faint chuckle came from the bushes nearby, and Linde's sharp ears caught it.

Linde decided to mess with Sans.

"Hey! Our monster friend who's following us, don't you know how to greet new friends? Come out of the bushes and shake my hand."

Sans's expression stiffened in the bushes. Why's this guy stealing my lines?

After a moment's thought, he decided to meet this interesting kid. He held a whoopee cushion in his hand and stepped out of the bushes.

When Frisk saw Sans emerge, she turned to Linde with a baffled look. Seriously, dude, how did you notice him?

Without another word, Linde clasped Sans's outstretched hand-

With a pop, the needle in Linde's hand punctured Sans's whoopee cushion.

But somehow, that wasn't the end of it. Just as Linde breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the needle onto the ground, another whoopee cushion slid out of Sans's sleeve and into his palm-

"Pfffft~~~"

In the end, Linde still squeezed a whoopee cushion, producing a ridiculous noise.

Linde helplessly let go. "There's always someone one step ahead..."

Sans grinned happily. "The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. Heard of it before, or what?"

"Ah... you win! A round of a-paws for your funny bones." With that, Linde gave two token claps.

Naturally, Sans caught Linde's pun and cheerfully ran a comb over his smooth, bare head.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton."

"I'm Linde," Linde replied with a smile.

Frisk still hadn't quite processed what had just happened and answered in a daze, "My name's... uh... Frisk."

"Oh, nice to meet you both." Sans was in an especially good mood, having discovered that both children the old lady had asked him to look after loved terrible puns.

"Honestly, as a sentry in Snowdin Forest, I'm supposed to capture humans. But, you know, I really can't be bothered to capture anything," Sans said casually. Then his tone shifted-

"My brother Papyrus, though, is absolutely obsessed with capturing humans. See that figure over there? The one heading this way? That's him."

Frisk shivered, looking a little nervous.

Linde watched her with amusement. If he hadn't known what Papyrus was like, he might have reacted just like her...

"Anyway, let's cross this bridge first." Sans smiled, then added, "My brother made the bars too far apart. Anyone can walk right through."

As he spoke, Sans led the two children through the bars. "Quick, hide behind that conveniently human-shaped lamp."

"Aha! A conveniently shaped lamp! I..." Before Linde could finish, Frisk dragged him behind it.

Linde pursed his lips, then slipped his arms around Frisk.

Frisk's face instantly turned scarlet. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Don't move, or he'll spot us." Linde's serious expression lasted only half a second before turning into a mischievous grin.

"What are you... mmph... stop! That tickles! Stop tickling me... my armpits are really ticklish..." Frisk pleaded over and over.

Linde giggled. "Hehehe, that's what you get for always hitting me. Time for revenge!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Stop tickling... haha... he's coming... stop!" Frisk wriggled out of Linde's embrace and angrily grabbed both his hands to keep him from trying anything else.

Meanwhile, Papyrus ran over. "Sans! It's been ten days already" (the protagonists had stayed in the Ruins for two extra days), "and you still haven't... calibrated... your... puzzles! You've abandoned your post and wandered off again! What have you even been doing?!?"

Sans chuckled cheerfully. "Staring at this lamp. It's really cool. Wanna take a look?"

Frisk jolted again.

"No!! I don't have time for that!! What if a human comes through here!?!" Papyrus stamped his feet angrily. "I want to be ready! I will! I must! Capture a human!"

"Linde..." Frisk whispered, her palms sweating. "I don't think leaving the Ruins was a good idea..."

Papyrus continued talking to himself. "Then I, the great Papyrus... will get everything I deserve! Respect... recognition... I'll finally be qualified to join the Royal Guard! People will come begging to be, my, friend! I'll be showered in hot kisses every morning!"

Frisk's expression grew strange. "Maybe... actually... it isn't that dangerous..."

"Hmm..." Listening to Papyrus, Sans pointed at the lamp beside them. "Maybe this lamp could help you out."

"Sans!! You're not helping at all!! You lazybones!! All you do is sit around slacking off! You get lazier every day!!!"

Papyrus stamped his feet even faster. Linde suspected he'd already stomped a hole in the ground.

Sans kept smiling calmly. "Hey, relax. I got a ton of work done today... a skele-ton."

If Papyrus had paid any attention, he would have heard faint laughter coming from behind the lamp.

"Sans!!!" Papyrus glared furiously at his hopeless older brother.

Sans spread his hands. "Come on, you smiled."

"I did, and I hate it! Ugh... why does someone as great as me... have to do so much hard work just to get some recognition..." Papyrus couldn't help complaining.

"Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself hard... right down to the bone." Sans followed up Papyrus's words with another terrible pun. He really did seem to have a gift for it.

"Ugh!!! I'm going to set up my puzzles... and as for your work?" Papyrus suddenly grinned. "Put some backbone into it!!! Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!!!"

Just as Frisk breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step out, Papyrus suddenly doubled back. "Hey!"

Frisk behaved herself this time, staying perfectly still behind the lamp.

Once Sans was sure Papyrus had left, he said to the lamp, "Okay, you can come out now."

The two children stepped out from behind the lamp.

Sans put his hands in his pockets. "Well, you should get going. He might come back, and if he does... you'll have to put up with more of my hilarious jokes."

The two children said goodbye to Sans and were just about to move on when he called them back. "Actually, hey... I hate to bother you, but could you do me a favor?"

Linde had been waiting for those very words. "Of course, as long as you do us a favor when the time comes! Don't worry, it won't be anything unreasonable."

Sans agreed without much hesitation.

"Um... what do you need us to do, then?" Frisk asked.

"I was thinking... my brother's been feeling a little down lately... he's never seen a human before. Seeing you two would probably cheer him up." Sans closed one eye, making a funny face. "Don't worry, he's not dangerous at all... even if he tries to look dangerous."

"Okay, sure. We'll help you." Frisk nodded. After hearing the skeleton brothers' conversation, she also felt that Papyrus wasn't dangerous.

"Thanks a lot. I'll head on ahead." With that, Sans turned and walked back toward where they'd met.

"Uh... isn't he going backward?" Frisk tugged on Linde's sleeve.

Linde shrugged. "Don't worry about the details. Let's go."

"You're brushing me off!" Frisk pouted unhappily and jogged after Linde.