~Brayden~

Snowdin was a nice-looking town. Brayden didn't care, as long as the place had some good food. 

The kids entered a cosy wooden store. There was a bunny lady there selling various things, such as food... and posters about someone named 'the Fallen Child'.

"This is good," Cody said, eating one of the monster's Cinnamon Bunnies. "Do you have the recipe, miss?"

"I'm afraid that's a family secret, kiddo," the bunny lady chuckled. "You kids want some Fallen Child posters?"

"Fallen Child posters?" Percy looked interested. He was holding out his notepad. 

The eighth human looked invested as well for once. Brayden didn't care. Stories were for babies! 

He left the store, returning to Snowdin town. The buildings were wooden and sitting in the snow. They had a welcoming atmosphere surrounding them. Snow-covered trees were behind them.

Brayden wanted to run off. He wanted to battle Papyrus the skeleton. Even though the skeletons were currently driving him bonkers because of all those dumb puzzles... he kind of liked them. They were funny. 

The eighth human really seemed to like them. They looked at the skeletons like they were old friends or something. Brayden's other friends seemed to like them as well. Speaking of his friends, they were still inside, listening to the bunny lady talk about monster history. Brayden poked his head in.

"Come on guys!" he grumbled. "We've gotta go and fight Papyrus!"

"But I like these stories," Cody said sadly. "And these cinnamon bunnies."

"They're truly fascinating," Percy agreed, looking up from his notebook. He had a Fallen Child poster. "I'm learning more about the human who fell down here long ago. Because they're the only human who ever fell down, they're recognized as a hero around here."

"I like hearing about the RUINS." Faye agreed. 

She looked a little upset - probably about Toriel. The kids had tried calling Toriel, but she didn't answer. Faye almost cried over it.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all great, CAN WE GO NOW!?" Brayden whined.

"Who's your impatient friend?" the bunny lady asked, laughing. "Where are you kids from, anyway? Are you here with an adult?"

"No, sadly," Melody sighed. "Brayden has a point. We should probably go."

The kids explored Snowdin Town for a bit. Percy spent ages in the library. Everyone else split up, exploring the town. Brayden hung out with Melody and Faye. 

"This inn will be a nice place to stay." Melody said, eyeing a comfy inn next door to the shop.

"Can we go now?" Brayden asked irritably.

"I want to look at the inn first." Melody replied, glaring at him. He glared back.

"Um... please don't fight." Faye said quietly, biting her lip.

"I wouldn't waste my time with something so stupid." Melody assured her. "Let's look. Brayden, if you be good, we'll go and..." She sighed. "Fight Papyrus after this."

"YES!" Brayden cheered, making a victory fist. 

The kids entered the inn. It had a small lobby with a yellow carpet, a wooden desk, a lamp, a staircase and a couch. Melody approached the bunny lady behind the desk.

"Excuse me, is there a room for seven people?" she asked. The bunny looked surprised.

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied. "There's only one room, but it wouldn't fit seven people."

"Oh no," Melody replied, frowning. "Where are we going to sleep?"

"I'll sleep in that room and everyone else can sleep outside." Brayden joked, grinning. Melody glared at him.

"The snow will be cold..." Faye said, shaking her head. She sounded a little sad. "But it's for you, Brayden... you're my best friend..."

"Faye, he was joking." Melody told her. 

"Bwahahaha!" Brayden chuckled, clutching his stomach. 

"It's not funny," Melody grumbled, but she couldn't help a smile appearing on her face. 

The rabbit child behind the counter started laughing too. 

"Hey," they said after a bit. "Why am I laughing? I don't even know what's funny." 

...

The kids re-grouped in front of a Christmas tree.

"HOLY HECK IS IT CHRISTMAS?!" Brayden yelled, staring at the tree. "IS THERE ANYTHING FOR ME?!"

"Yo!" a yellow monster kid wearing a brown and yellow striped shirt chirped up. They somewhat resembled a dragon, with a bow and spikes on their head, yet no arms. 

"You guys are kids too, right?" they asked. "I can tell 'cause you're all wearing striped shirts."

"Technically, this is a sweater," Percy corrected. He was holding too many books. "Actually, the only one of us who is really wearing a shirt is Faye." 

Faye waved shyly.

"Can we goooo now?" Brayden asked, stamping his feet like he needed to pee.

"We need to find some place to sleep first, pardner." Clover told him, folding her arms.

"We can do that later!" Brayden retorted.

"Maybe Sans and Papyrus know somewhere we can sleep," Cody suggested. "Where are they?"  

The eighth human gestured for the kids to follow them.

"This kid knows everythin'." Clover remarked. 

The kids followed the eighth human; they arrived at a snowy path. Beside it was a lake and some snow-covered trees. Ahead of them was someone, but it was blurry and hard to see.

"What's goin' on?" Clover asked.

"I CAN'T FREAKING SEE!" Brayden complained. 

"There's someone there." Faye pointed out.

"Papyrus." Percy said, holding up his notes.

"FINALLY!" Brayden yelled.

"HUMANS," Papyrus spoke. He was shrouded in shadows. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS."

"OH COME ON!" Brayden protested. 

"FEELINGS LIKE..." Papyrus continued. "THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE-"

"SHUT UP!" Brayden interrupted. Everyone gasped, even Papyrus.

"Brayden, that's a swear word!" Melody told him. "You can't say that!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Brayden retorted. He glared at Papyrus. "I'm sick of hearing you TALK all day! Blah blah, who cares!?"

"I think you might be making him upset, Brayden..." Cody commented quietly.

"Can we just FIGHT already!?" Brayden asked the skeleton. "I wanna see what you're made of!"

"ACTUALLY, I WAS GOING TO ASK IF YOU WANTED TO BE FRIENDS!" Papyrus told the kids.

"I wanna be friends!" Cody piped up. 

Faye did as well. The eighth human gave a thumbs up. Clover still looked a little suspicious. Percy hid behind Melody.

"WELL, WE CAN BE..." Papyrus looked away. "NO! THIS IS ALL WRONG! WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS! YOU ARE HUMANS! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!"

"No!" Cody squeaked. Clover clutched her gun.

"(How?)" Percy asked. "(He will not be able to carry all seven of us...)"

"THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!" Papyrus exclaimed. "POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" 

And, finally, Brayden got what he wanted: a battle. 

Papyrus blocks the way!

"Finally!" Brayden cheered.

"We're not going to fight, right?" Cody asked, biting his lip. "I like Papyrus. I don't want to hurt him."

"You like everyone, Cody," Melody sighed. "Well, I don't want to. And it's wrong, anyway." 

The eighth human checked Papyrus so Percy could take notes. 

Papyrus: 8 ATK 2 DEF. He likes to say "Nyeh heh heh!" 

The SOULS appeared in the black simulation. They were floating above some bones. The bones didn't touch them.

"Seriously?!" Brayden groaned. "COME ON! A BABY CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!" 

Meanwhile, the eighth human was... flirting with the skeleton. Papyrus blushed.

"WHAT?!" Papyrus asked. "F-FLIRTING?! SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS, HUMAN WITH THE STICK AND BANDAGE! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!" 

The eighth human stared intensely at Papyrus. Somehow, Brayden could tell they were saying they could make spaghetti. 

"OH NO! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!" Papyrus gasped. "I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU...? LET'S DATE L-LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!"

"You want," Melody began. "To go on a date. With a skeleton." She was staring at the eighth human with an indescribable expression. "You are weird, dude."

"You can make spaghetti too?" Cody asked the eighth human. "Wow! We should cook together sometime." 

The attacks started again. It was stupid easy to dodge. 

Papyrus is thinking about what to wear on his date.

"COME ON!" Brayden yelled at Papyrus. "You can do better than that!" 

"Let's spare him," Clover suggested. "This is kinda... boring." 

The children spared the skeleton. Then things got intense.

"LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK!" Papyrus cackled. 

A bunch of blue bones approached the kids. Brayden groaned. He stayed still and tried not to twitch. And then their SOULS fell to the ground. A bone hit everyone except Melody and the eighth human. They had jumped. No one else had.

"NOW THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" Brayden grinned. 

"What in tarnation...?" Clover asked, shaking her head.

"Oh no," Percy said emotionlessly. "The attacks are hard now."

"Ouch." Cody frowned, eyeing his SOUL.

"YOU'RE ALL GROUNDED NOW! THAT'S MY ATTACK!" Papyrus cackled. He frowned. "OH NO, I JUST MADE A PUN! NYEHHHH!" 

You're grounded now.

"Um... can we go back to the easier attacks?" Faye asked quietly. 

The eighth human was trying to show everyone something. They jumped up and down on the spot.

"Whatcha' got there, pardner?" Clover asked them.

"... jumping?" Faye asked, observing them. 

"Jump over the attacks!" Cody snapped his fingers. 

Melody gasped. "This will be just like dancing!"

"But dancing sucks," Brayden groaned. 

"Does not!" Melody scoffed. "You haven't even tried it!"

"I HAVE! IT SUCKS!" Brayden yelled back. 

It looked like he and Melody were about to get into an argument. Papyrus interrupted them.

"HMM... I WONDER WHAT I SHOULD WEAR..." he said, totally not thinking out loud. 

The bones approached the kids. The eighth human and Melody jumped like they were born for it. Faye was okay at it. She wasn't much of a jumper. Percy willingly hid behind Clover, whereas Cody seemed to have no choice. 

"THIS IS STUPID!" Brayden complained. 

He jumped whenever a bone approached him, but his timing was all over the place. So he got hit every second bone. He was already down to ten HP. 

His body was aching. He was beginning to loose focus. 

Papyrus dabs some Bone Cologne behind his ear.

"WHAT!?" Papyrus asked. "I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT DATE THING!" 

The eighth human and Melody continued dancing over the bones. Faye was getting better. Percy was getting worse. Clover was trying to shoot the bones. Brayden was doing even worse than Percy.

"How dare you!!" he yelled at Papyrus, shaking his fist. 

The yelling sucked so much energy out of him. He was down to 2 HP.  

He wanted to throw up. He thought he was going to die. There was a bone sitting in his hair. He looked like a caveman. His dad would be so annoyed.

"You're really good," Melody told the eighth human, grinning. "You should join my dance group! We could dance together sometime." They waved it off.

"WELL... T-THAT'S JUST GREAT!" Brayden raged. 

His voice sounded funny. He fell on the floor, clutching his side. He was so dizzy. He glared at that crazy kid. His head felt light. 

Get up Brayden, a voice spat in his head. Are you really so weak?

"Wow," Faye admired the eighth human. "You're really good." 

Brayden wanted to punch something. But he couldn't because he had fallen down and he couldn't get back up.

"Um, hi, Brayden." Cody walked over to him.

"What do you want..." Brayden grumbled, glaring at the ground. 

Cody kneeled down to Brayden's height.

"The stick kid gave this to me," he said, holding out a donut. It was one of those donuts from the RUINS. "I'm not sure why. They told me not to eat it. I hope they don't mind if you have it."

 He smiled and put it in Brayden's hands. Brayden didn't say anything for a bit. 

"It's okay!" Cody told him. "The stick kid kid will understand. I want you to heal... and k-keep going! I think you're doing great, Brayden! Just don't give up, okay?"

"I don't need this!" Brayden spat. "I'm a man! I'm gonna get and fight!" 

He tried to stand up, but fell flat on his face. 

"Brayden," Cody glowered at him. "Eat it, or die." 

Brayden decided to eat the donut. His HP went up to 14. He suddenly didn't feel so weak and dizzy. 

"Thanks, man," he grinned at Cody. 

Cody went back to smiling. He turned away, headed back to his sister.

Papyrus dabs marina sauce behind his ear.

"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus yelled. 

The eighth human slipped over to Brayden.

"You're not gonna hug me again, are you?" he asked, glaring at them. They shook their head. There was a look of determination in their eyes... even though they were closed. They grabbed his arm. 

"What the heck are you doing?!" Brayden spat.

The kid bent their knees and gestured him to copy them. Brayden did, even though he felt kind of weird. A bone approached them. The eighth human was focused on it.

"Focus, huh? I got it!" Brayden told them. 

He focused on the bone. It was getting closer. Then, when it was about to hit them, the eighth human tugged his arm. With them pulling and him jumping, they jumped over the first bone. They refused to let him go until they had jumped over all the bones. And stayed still during others. They seemed to know where every bone was coming from. They were good. Really good.

"Stop touching me!" Brayden shooed them away after a while. 

"Brayden, they helped you," Melody told him. "Give them some thanks."

Brayden groaned. "Thanks." 

The eighth human gave him a questioning thumbs up. "Yeah, I can do the rest myself!" 

They shrugged and went back over to Melody to dance or whatever. Maybe Brayden was jealous of them after all. They were great at everything and knew everything. Why he couldn't be like that? His dad wouldn't hate him so much. No one else would have to, either.

The bone attacks started again. Brayden jumped over them, doing what the eighth human showed him. It worked, much to his annoyance. They looked over from their dancing and gave him a thumbs up. He glared at them. They didn't flinch.

"PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus yelled. 

Papyrus dabs MTT-Brand Cute Juice behind his ear. 

The eighth human flirted with him a bit more. More bone attacks. 

"PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!" Papyrus declared. 

"Something I haven't heard of," Percy freaked out, fumbling with his notes. "Define 'spaghettore'."

"I think it has to do with spaghetti," Cody answered.

"I see." Percy replied, taking notes. "Very interesting."

"This is crazy," Clover commented, glaring at a bone caught in her gun barrel. "Guns don't work on bones." 

The attacks started up again. They were getting progressively harder. The eighth human was keeping an eye on everyone, occasionally coming over to assist them. They were really getting on Brayden's nerves.

"I WILL HAVE MANY ADMIRERS, BUT..." Papyrus frowned. "WILL ANYONE LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU?" He stared at the eighth human. "OR YOUR FRIENDS?"

"Probably not." Melody answered.

"And who said we were friends?" Clover asked. "I don't really like this whole attackin' thing, pardner."

"Forgive and forget?" Cody shrugged. 

"That's not hypothetically possible," Percy retorted, eyeing Cody. "You haven't known Papyrus that long."

"WHO CARES!?" Brayden interrupted. "WE'RE FIGHTING RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh... I was going to say I liked the snowman skeleton Papyrus made..." Faye commented. She was nearby Brayden now. "Hi, Brayden... I hope you don't mind me being here."

"No worries at all!" Brayden grinned. "We're besties, right? We can be around each other!!" 

"I don't know..." Faye replied, looking anxious.

"Well, you can stay here." Brayden said, grinning at her. "Nice to see you NOT, like... um... what's the word, sucking up to the stick loser all the time." 

Faye looked a little upset. She turned away. 

"Oh come on!" Brayden groaned. "They're not THAT great!"

"I think they're really nice." Faye sighed. "They taught me mercy..." 

She must've been thinking about what happened with Toriel. Her voice sounded clogged up. She wasn't looking at Brayden. 

"I think I might go and see how Cody is going." She turned away.

"HEY! DON'T GO!" Brayden yelled. 

Why did he say that stupid thing about the stick kid? Stupid eighth human. He was about to say something else, but the attacks were starting again. He jumped over some more bones. 

Faye was hanging around Cody and Clover. They looked like they were having fun, jumping over bones.

Brayden kept jumping over bones by himself, staying still for other ones and so on. He yelled at every bone that approached him. Melody was helping Percy leap over bones. He freaked out every time he dropped one of his notes. The eighth human was still helping everyone out. Brayden gave them the fist-in-palm motion every time they came near him. They steered clear.

Papyrus, meanwhile, was going on about how great he was and other nonsense. And his 'special attack'. Everyone was excited about the special attack. Or nervous. Or neither, if you were the eighth human.

"RELEASE YOUR STUPID SPECIAL ATTACK!" Brayden yelled at Papyrus.

"YOU ASKED FOR IT, SMALL ORANGE HUMAN!" Papyrus yelled back. Brayden gritted his teeth. "BEHOLD... MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" 

A small, furry white dog was chewing a large bone. That's all there was.

"Oh no!" Cody said, genuinely concerned for Papyrus.

"What a cute doggy." Faye admired.

"Seriously?" Clover asked, cocking her head.

"WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus yelled. "HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!" The dog slipped away, taking the bone. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus paused. "OH WELL. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK!"

"Regular?" Melody frowned. "I was looking forward to a special attack!" 

She looked like she'd been having fun with the eighth human. 

Papyrus sighed. "HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK." 

It was a lot harder than the previous 'regular attacks'. Brayden found it really difficult. Especially the part with the larger bones. He ended up getting hit a lot. He got down to 2 HP again. There was a part with a ginormous bone. And, for once, he almost let fear control him. His eyesight was dizzy. His body felt limp. He felt weak inside, like a failure. The bone was about to hit him...

... until the eighth human heroically threw themself in front of him, taking the blow. Brayden wanted to beat them up even more. Why did he like this child in the first place? They fell on the floor, their HP down to 15. They were okay, only slightly injured. They smiled at him of all things they could do.

"WELL..." Papyrus panted. "IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T... DEFEAT ME! YEAH! I CAN SEE YOU ALL SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS! THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU ALL PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMANS! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!"

"Oh, it's over?" Melody asked with disappointment. "I was having fun."

"Mercy!" Cody said cheerfully. Faye clapped.

"Let's get this done, y'all." Clover said, grinning. 

Papyrus is sparing you. 

The eighth human looked pleased. The children spared Papyrus. The battle concluded.

"NYOO HOO HOO..." Papyrus wept, looking away. He was at the end of an icy patch, nearby the flowing water. "I CAN'T EVEN STOP HUMANS AS WEAK AS YOU ALL..."

"YOU CALLIN' ME WEAK?!" Brayden yelled. 

Though, in a way, he felt it was true. He would've died if his friends hadn't helped him. He wanted to beat everything and everyone up. But at the same time... it all felt pointless. 

"You've got that look on your face," Melody observed him. "Something's wrong." 

Brayden didn't respond.

"UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME," Papyrus monologued. "I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

"No! We'll be your friends!" Cody protested.

"Yeah." Faye agreed, smiling.

"A new friend?" Clover asked. She shrugged. "Why not?"

"I'll take it." Melody agreed.

Brayden huffed. "Whatever."

"YOU ALL WANT TO BE MY FRIEND...?" Papyrus asked. "I... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU ALL! WOWIE! THE RED HUMAN AND I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD OUR FIRST DATE... AND NOW WE ALL HIT THE FRIENDZONE!" 

Papyrus then explained how to reach the barrier. The kids learnt about ASGORE and how he wanted human SOULS to open the barrier.

"Hey, Papyrus, may I ask you something?" Melody asked.

"SURE, BLUE BALLERINA HUMAN!" Papyrus responded.

"My name is Melody, please call me that," Melody replied, making a face. "Anyway, do you know somewhere we can stay for the night? The inn doesn't have a room for us seven."

"AH!" Papyrus cheered. "WELL, AS MY FRIENDS... YOU CAN STAY AT MY HOUSE! IT'LL BE LIKE... A BIG SLEEPOVER!"

"A sleepover?" Melody asked. "I suppose that could work."

"Yeah!" Cody agreed. "That's a great idea, Papyrus!"

"I like it." Faye said, nodding.

"Me too, as long as I don't have to sleep with her again." Clover agreed, eyeing Melody. Melody rolled her eyes.

"SLEEPOVER!" Brayden yelled, punching the air. The stick kid nodded. Percy shrugged.

"THEN IT'S SETTLED!" Papyrus declared. "WE'LL HAVE A SLEEPOVER AT MY HOUSE!" 

He paraded off into the sky. Percy then got into an argument with Melody and Clover about how Papyrus just paraded into the sky. 

The eighth human was staring at Brayden. They looked... kind of guilty. Sad? Concerned? Pained? Something like that. Brayden tried to ignore their face, but it looked like they'd been through Hell and back. They shook it off and went over to Melody to discuss ballet or something. They really were a weird kid.