Resilience (Undertale: Sans x OC)

Ch7-Snowdin

     Amelia travels along the winding path until her eyes land on the skeleton brothers again. Sans is already dressed in a new blue jacket, how did he get home and back so fast? She awkwardly stands there, waiting while the brothers get caught up in conversation. Suddenly, Papyrus spots her in the corner of his eye and does a double-take.

     "Sans! Oh my god! Is that a human?"

     "No, I think it's a rock." Amelia peers over her shoulder, spotting a pebble a few steps behind her.

     "Oh." Papyrus sounds genuinely disappointed, which makes Amelia giggle. These monsters truly are something special.

     "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Sans asks his brother, which peaks his interest. Papyrus suddenly becomes elated again as he sees the human standing in front of him.

     "Is that a human?" Papyrus asks Sans once more, not wanting to get his hopes up for nothing, again.

     "Yes."

     "Oh my god!" Papyrus is astounded. This is the first time he's ever seen a human. "Sans, I finally did it! I'm gonna be so popular, popular, popular!" Papyrus celebrates, though he hasn't truly accomplished anything yet. "Human, you shall not pass this area! I, the Great Papyrus, shall stop you! Then once I capture you, you'll be delivered to the capital! Then... I'm not sure what's next. In any case, continue only if you dare! Nyeh heh heh!"

Papyrus ventures off ahead with a skip in his step. Amelia hesitantly approaches Sans, there's something strange about him. He doesn't seem near as invested as his brother, or anyone for that matter. It's as if he's following a script that he's performed thousands of times, acting as a character in a story. She's seen that character slip twice now already, which makes her uneasy.

"Nice jacket." Sans teases her with his usual smirk. She chuckles at his playful jab.

"Thank you for lending me it. I feel much warmer."

"Don't sweat it." Sans quips, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he spins a pun about warmth. Amelia chuckles, her fondness for puns evident in her laughter.

"I think I'm warming up to you already." Sans chuckles at Amelia's cheesy pun. He's never one to ignore a good quip.

Despite the playful banter, Amelia finds herself on edge around Sans. With a keen ability to read people, she picks up on Sans analyzing her. His lack of trust results in her own hesitance to trust him.

As she wanders away, she senses Sans's gaze lingering on her, a nagging feeling of irritation bubbling within her. His feigned interest bewilders her. Why does he bother pretending to care for her when it's evident he has no intention of giving her a fair chance? What's his problem, anyway?

She ventures down the snowy path, solving every puzzle that Papyrus throws her way. Amelia and Papyrus mutually enjoy each other's company. She can't help but smile when Papyrus gets ecstatic every time she completes a puzzle.

And then there's Sans... The two share a few jokes now and then, getting an occasional genuine laugh. But she can feel his watchful eye, judging her every word and decision.

Finally, she makes it to a small town. She reads the sign, "Snowdin". She chuckles at the name, it's quite fitting. Her eyes dart around, watching the snow fall gracefully along the abundance of roofs in the lively settlement. She watches the citizens chatter and laugh, bundled up in warm clothing. She spots a group of monster children engaging in a snowball fight, although one of them doesn't have any arms. That doesn't seem fair.

She spends some leisure time shopping at the local business, where she finds a friendly bunny lady. Amelia buys some cinnamon buns from the establishment, in need of a quick meal. Out of curiosity, she makes small talk with the bunny. Once Amelia mentions the skeleton brothers, the rabbit informs her on something peculiar.

"It's always entertaining watching those wacky skeletons do their thing. It's odd though, one day they just showed up and asserted themselves. The town has gotten a lot more interesting since then."

That certainly is a strange piece of information. Amelia ponders on if they lived in another part of the underground and moved in one day, or if they somehow magically appeared. The first option is much more plausible, perhaps she's just overthinking it.

After exploring Snowdin for a while, Amelia continues down the path to progress in her journey. The snow is much heavier here. A raging blizzard thrashes her around, the wind constantly zipping in different directions. The jacket Sans donated to her isn't doing any good anymore. She shivers as she picks up the pace, trying to flee from the snow as quick as possible. The snow storm slows down a little the further she walks, to the point that her surroundings are visible again. She spots Papyrus standing in front of her, blocking the way.

"Human. Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings. Feelings like the joy of finding another pasta lover. The admiration for another's puzzle solving skills. The desire for someone smart and cool to think you are cool. These feelings, they must be what you are feeling right now!" Amelia smiles at Papyrus' proud ego. At first, she truly thought he was talking about his own feelings. But Amelia should know Papyrus better by now. "I can hardly imagine what it must be like to feel this way. I don't ever have to wonder what having lots of friends is like. I pity you, lonely human. Worry not, I, the Great Papyrus, will be your..." Papyrus' face drops as he grows lost in thought. He remembers his duty and aspirations. "No... I can't be your friend. You're a human, I must capture you. Then I can fulfill my lifelong dream, and join the Royal Guard!"

A familiar tug catches Amelia's breath has her purple soul floats in front of her. She decides to flirt with Papyrus, hoping it will intrigue him enough to stop fighting. However, her plan doesn't work. She spends the next few minutes engaging in battle with Papyrus, sparing him over and over in hopes that he stops fighting. She jumps over bone after bone, until Papyrus sends an enormous bone her way. She jumps desperately, but knows there's no way she can reach that height. But to her surprise, she feels her body and soul being lifted by some outside force. She looks off into the distance of the tormenting blizzard, and notices a silhouette in a jacket identical to the one she wears. No surprise, Sans is watching from afar. It's difficult to make out because of the snow, but she sees a faint blue aurora surrounding his hand.

After Papyrus' final attack, Amelia lands back on her feet. He feels defeated that he couldn't beat the human, but at least now he can be friends with her. Papyrus encourages Amelia to stop by to go on a date. She's surprised that the skeleton was actually serious about this, but she decides to go along with it. With a shiver that yells at her to get out of the cold, she strolls to the skeleton brothers' house, ready to court Papyrus.