Lost In The Echo (Arc 1: UNDERTALE)

Chapter 6: "A Chilling Reception"

The first thing that hit their nerves as soon as the humans stepped out of the Ruins was a bitter, freezing cold. It was an unsavory change to say the least as Frisk huddled their tiny hands up into the sleeves of their sweater and hugged themselves in an attempt to keep warm, their sister exiting shortly after they did. Unlike her younger sibling, the older human didn't seem too fazed by the chilling environment; she just casually held her hands in her pockets like it was the middle of spring. Frisk sniffled quietly, expressing the way they felt about the snowy landscape through body language, pouting as their lips quivered and their breathed fogged up in front of them each time they breathed. Even though she was still a little mad, Magic couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. They looked adorable

"Cold?" she asked softly.

"Y-Yes! How are YOU not!?" the tiny human hesitantly signed out, their hands practically screaming at them to be put back in their respective sleeves.

The older human shrugged in response, "The cold never bothered me that much. You get used to it when you live outside all the time every day for fourteen years."

Frisk curled their lips angrily at Magic's nonchalant attitude in response to the sudden climate change. If they didn't regret it before, they definitely regretted leaving the warm and cozy home they had in the Ruins now. As they began to walk down the frozen pathway, the two siblings marveled at the tall trees looming overhead. Their height alone was impressive enough, but they had to wonder, how was it even possible for all this plantlife to grow underground like this? Did it have something to do with monster magic?

I guess it's possible there has to be some kind of magic infused to the atmosphere, making all logical conclusions irrelevant, Magic thought to herself, mentally scoffing, I wonder how many human scientists would be angered by that conclusion.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of another set of footsteps crunching in the snow behind them, making her and Frisk freeze right in their tracks and whirl around, but when they looked, there was no one in sight. The smaller human swallowed hard as they looked at their big sister in slight confusion and paranoia. Magic seemed equally alarmed.

"... Come on," she whispered quietly, ushering her sibling ahead of her, her protective instinct kicking in again, "let's just keep going."

As they continued along the snowy pathway, they passed by a fallen branch that was surprisingly still intact in the middle of the road, carefully stepping over it so as not to trip over or break it to alarm any nearby monsters (if there were any, they were not going to take any chances in risking it). When they were about a foot or two away from it, they heard a loud snap behind them, quickly turning to find that someone, or something, had stepped on the branch, snapping it into multiple twigs. Frisk walked over nervously to pick up a stick that had broken off, hoping to use it as a temporary weapon, should they need one to defend themselves from a more hostile monster that even their sister couldn't handle.

"Frisk…" Magic whispered, her voice indicating concern, or maybe even a hint of fear, as she sensed a foreboding presence in pursuit of them, grabbing her sibling's arm, "let's run. Now."

Her commanding tone of voice pushed the young human to run along with their sister as the footsteps they heard before once again followed them, but nowhere near as fast as they were going. If they were looking to catch the two humans, why were they taking their time? Were they just being lazy or were they treating this as some kind of twisted game? The thought of it made Frisk's head hurt a little as they shook aside those thoughts and kept running. The siblings passed a strange "gate" of sorts that almost resembled more of a fence, as if to stop intruders from crossing into the monster territory, but the gaps between the bars were too wide, permitting the humans safe passage. On the other side of it, just a little further ahead to their left was a small, unoccupied sentry station.