Hey guys! I know it's been a while, so here's my longest chapter yet! Let me know what you think in the comments!

"Hold still."

Frisk stiffened nervously as Sans' left eye socket began to glow a soft blue color. His magic was unlike Toriel's, as Frisk had never seen Toriel teleport, but she wasn't sure what the extent of Sans' magical ability was yet. His eye had never looked this intense before.

A few minutes earlier, Frisk had suggested that they move to a less populated area to avoid any Royal Guardsmen that might have been lurking around Snowdin. Sans had heartily agreed, creating a shortcut and bringing them to this floating heap of garbage. He now stood in front of her, eye blazing and hands tucked loosely in his jacket.

Frisk's soul floated lightly in front of her, called forth by Sans' magic. After a moment, she felt a weightiness inside of her, and her soul turned a dark blue color. Her feet felt abnormally heavy, and she wondered what would happen if she tried to move.

Sans blinked thoughtfully, clearly hoping for a different result from his efforts.

As Frisk's fingers twitched nervously, she noticed the focused grin on Sans' face begin to shift. His teeth clenched in concentration, and his hands tightened in his jacket pockets.

Unexpectedly, Frisk's soul returned to its normal red color and she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She was back to normal.

It was Sans that changed.

His eye, once a fiery blue, became a brilliant shade of green. Sans smiled victoriously, and Frisk felt her soul being affected once more. This time it felt different, although she wasn't sure how.

"Don't worry," Sans reassured her as a thin green veil began to envelop her soul. "This is green magic, and its main purpose is to act as a shield. It can be used to prevent someone from moving or escaping, but I'm aiming for a different purpose."

As the green color faded from his eye, Frisk's soul returned to her body. It remained green, though she could tell that it was merely covered by a thin sheet of magic rather than being physically altered like it had been with Sans' blue magic. She wondered what the green magic was supposed to do.

It wasn't long before she figured it out. Glancing into the murky waters surrounding her, Frisk gasped at the sight of her now boney form. Her whole body had been transformed, and she looked like a real skeleton. Her hair was gone, leaving only the stark white roundness of her skull, and her once-brown eyes glowed the same brilliant green as her soul. Luckily, her ice-blue t-shirt and faded jeans remained unchanged.

"Guess I'm a bone-afide monster now huh?" Frisk joked nervously.

Sans winked. "Don't let the magic get under your skin, kid. The shield I created provides a temporary illusion, but its far from permanent. The next time you get hit by an attack it will disappear, and it might even fade before then."

Frisk sighed in relief before raising a non-existent eyebrow at Sans.

"I'm not a kid ya know. I'm eighteen, almost nineteen."

"Yeah? I guess you're right," he answered. "Things sure have changed."

Frisk's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What's what supposed to mean?"

"You just said 'things have changed'! You act like you've known me before or something."

"Heh. I just meant now that you've told me how old you are, I'm legally forbidden from calling you a kid. Life-changing stuff, that is."

Frisk tilted her head in surprise. "Really? That's a thing?"

Sans chuckled. "Sure kid."

Frisk rolled her glowing green eyes.

"Well how old are you?" She asked. Sans didn't seem much older than her, but who was she to guess the age of a monster?

"Just turned twenty-two."

Frisk nodded thoughtfully. So he was only four years older than her. Turning back toward her reflection in the trash-filled water, she realized that parts of her new body acted much like Sans'. For one thing, her mouth didn't move when she talked, and she found herself with a never-ending grin plastered on her face. She ran her hand along the top of her head, confirming that her soft hair had not disappeared, but had been covered up by the illusionary magic. Sans had not transformed her; he had hidden her.

"Hey Sans?" Frisk asked softly.

"What's up kid?"

"Thanks for helping me out so much. I understand that monsters need a human soul to escape the Underground, and I appreciate that you haven't…"

Sans cut her off with a dark expression.

"Don't finish that sentence," he warned, a grin tight on his face. "You don't need to worry about that okay? I have no interest in hurting you, and I need you to trust me on that. You may not understand that now, but your life kinda depends on it."

Frisk felt her soul sink. She wanted to trust Sans, but Flowey's warning still rang deep in her head. Regardless of that, she couldn't shed the feeling that he was hiding something crucial about the Underground from her.

"Why?" She asked, hoping for a real answer.

Sans paused for a moment, and Frisk could see the gears turning in his head. He was probably going to brush her off again and leave her in the dark.

"Don't worry about it Frisk," He began, but flinched when he saw the glare in the frustrated girl's eyes. He sighed.

"Don't worry about the monsters that want to hurt you. I'll protect you."

Sans' words echoed in Frisk's mind, refusing to leave her alone. They were now walking along the cold pathways of Snowdin, quickly approaching a cute two-story house in the middle of town, and she couldn't help but feel as if she was forgetting something.

I'll protect you.

The intenseness of Sans' promise made her feel… wrong. Something was off, and she felt a huge sense of déjà vu. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear she'd heard someone say that to her before.

But who? And why did Sans care so much? They had just met, after all.

"SANS!" A huge voice boomed from the doorway of the house.

"YOU'RE LATE FOR SPAGHETTI BROTHER!"

Frisk gazed up at a very tall skeleton, feeling slightly intimidated by his height. He had to be over six feet tall, which towered over her meager 5'6" frame. He wore a red scarf and some sort of soldier costume, which made Frisk glad that she was donning her skeleton disguise. When the tall skeleton caught sight of her, he almost jumped in surprise.

"SANS! IS THAT ANOTHER SKELETON?"

Sans shrugged nonchalantly. "I think that's a tree bro."

"OH."

"Hey look! What's that in front of the tree?"

"SANS LOOK! THERE'S ANOTHER SKELETON! I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE OF THOSE!"

Sans' smile grew as he introduced Frisk to his enthusiastic brother.

"This is Frisk. She's new to Snowdin Town, and I'm sure she'd appreciate an impastably warm welcome from you."

"SANS! IF YOU CONTINUE ON WITH YOUR PUNS THEN I WILL ONLY GIVE SPAGHETTI TO THE FEMALE SKELETON!"

"That would be horrible bro. I love your cooking a skele-ton."

"SANS!"

"Heh. Okay I'm done. These jokes have left worn down to the bone."

Frisk stifled a laugh as she listened to the two brothers acting like… well, brothers. She had an older brother back on the surface, and she felt a sudden pang of desire to see him again. He had gone off to war a few years back, and it had been a while since she had seen his face.

Her mind was quickly distracted by other matters as Sans' brother ushered them into the cozy house. Frisk soon learned that his name was Papyrus, which seemed oddly fitting for the eccentric skeleton. The brothers' house gave her a warm feeling of nostalgia, and Frisk wondered if it was because it reminded her of one of her many homes in the past. She had moved around a lot as a kid, and she couldn't remember a specific place that stood out to her, but the feeling must have been from that. She'd never been here before; of that she was sure.

"SO FRISK," Papyrus exclaimed, "HAVE YOU EVER HAD SPAGHETTI?"

Frisk laughed softly. Spaghetti was a weekly thing at her house above ground.

"Of course! Its only the second-best pasta dish in existence!"

Papyrus raised his brow bone at this.

"OH REALLY? I THOUGHT SPAGHETTI WAS THE BEST PASTA EVER! YOU MUST BE CONFUSED, NEW SKELETON!"

Frisk laughed again. "Well, spaghetti is pretty great, but I'm a ramen-noodle lover above all else."

"OH! IS THAT SO?" Papyrus asked curiously. "IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN I BET YOU'D GET ALONG GREAT WITH SANS' FRIEND ALPHYS!"

Frisk blinked. Alphys?

"Does Alphys like anime?" She asked, words spilling from her mouth.

Sans turned toward her, eyes glinting in curiosity.

Before Papyrus could reply, Frisk felt a dull throbbing pain began to invade her head. She reached a hand out toward the coffee table to steady herself but tripped as her vision shifted in a sudden wave of dizziness.

"FRISK! ARE YOU OKAY?"

Frisk felt strong boney arms catch her as she fell, and her vision began to blur. Papyrus had caught her at the last second, and Sans was standing over her, eyes full of concern.

"Frisk…? What's going on?"

The blurry forms of the two skeleton brothers became too cloudy for her to discern, and she soon could see nothing at all. A black haze formed around her, filling her eyes, her ears, and her thoughts. It was sickeningly thick.

"Frisk."

Her eyes jerked open as she heard the familiar voice. The darkness was swallowing her up, and the mind-numbing fog refused to leave her head.

"What did I tell you?"

A strike of panic cut through her chest.

"There is an order to be followed."

"Stay."

"Away."

"FROM THEM."

In the middle of the inky blackness, a figure appeared.

Frisk shrieked and struggled as she felt the creature's intentions. It wanted to hurt her. It wanted to use her.

It wanted to steal her soul.

And she couldn't stop it.

How's that for a complex chapter? I'm glad I was finally able to introduce Papyrus, even if it was only for a short while. He'll appear more in the coming chapters, which I'm also excited for! Comment below if you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, I always appreciate it so much! :)