A Maelstrom's Tale
Chapter 2: Bone-chilling Encounters

Naruto along with Frisk and Nikan finally reached the end of the tunnel and exited to find themselves in a whole new landscape being a snowfield and a forest of tall coniferous trees being the background which made it hard for them to see beyond it besides the snowy path laid before them. Naruto looked behind to see the stone doors close themselves shut, saddening him at what it implied before snapping himself back into focus.

Naruto shivered slightly while letting a breath of vapor escape from his mouth "Whoa, it's kinda chilly out here. Are you okay Frisk?"

"A little cold, but I'll be fine," said Frisk, rubbing her hands together to warm them up. Nikan barked to show that he was okay thanks to his fur.

"Alright then, let's move. Maybe we could find a settlement and get something warm,"

They began to walk along the snowy path through the forest with the wind whispering through the trees amidst the silence, they passed over a tough-looking tree branch lying in the middle of the trail. Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound from behind, making the group spin round to see that the branch has been snapped in half as if something stepped on it but the problem was that there was no sign of the cause.

"W-What could have broken it?" asked Frisk worriedly.

"Don't know, but I'm getting the feeling that we're being watched," said Naruto with a small frown. The trio resumed their trek albeit felt tense as there were now times they could hear feet trudging through the snow behind but couldn't see who it is every time they looked back until reaching a small wooden bridge with a strangely built gateway over it and were about to cross when a voice suddenly called out to the group from behind, startling them.

"Humans and pup, don't you know how to greet a new pal?"

They spun round with Naruto placing a hand on the handle of his bokken to see who it is; before them is a short paunchy skeleton with a wide toothy grin and large eye sockets which they could see white pupils, he wears an unzipped blue hoodie over a white shirt, black shorts with white lining, and a pair of salmon-colored slippers.

"Put it there buckos, it's only polite for one to have a handshake with someone they just met. First impressions are important after all," said the skeleton stretching out a hand towards them.

Naruto and Frisk were unsure at first due to what Toriel warned them about the monsters in the Underground but then again, their SOULs haven't emerged just yet to signal a fight plus Nikan isn't snarling at Sans unlike with Flowey. Deciding to let their guard slightly, Frisk reached out to shake the skeleton's hand only for a loud farting sound to be heard.

"Oh my!" Frisk pulled back in surprise while Naruto blinked and Nikan tilted his head in confusion.

BGM play: Undertale OST; sans.

The skeleton chuckled in amusement "Hehehe…the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick; it's always funny. I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton,"

Naruto snapped back into focus after realizing that it was a small prank, he found it funny but kept quite since he noticed that Frisk felt a bit embarrassed before speaking up "My name Naruto, she's Frisk and this is my little buddy Nikan. Nice to meet you Sans,"

"Hello," said Frisk with a small wave in greeting.

"Same here, to be honest; I'm supposed to be on a lookout for humans…but y'know," Sans shrugged his shoulders "I don't really feel up to it,"

"That's…cool?" said Naruto with a quirked eyebrow, the skeleton reminded him of someone for a weird reason.

"But my brother Papyrus on the other hand, he's a human-hunting fanatic," Sans looked past them before speaking up again "I think I see him over there and just got an idea,"

"What's the idea?" asked Frisk curiously.

"I'm sure you'll like it, just go across the bridge and through the gate. My brother sort of built it with wide gaps," said Sans as he hustled the trio across the bridge to a clearing where they saw a lamp and a sentry station "Quick, hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp and you hid at my station with your pup,"

"Okay then," Naruto picked up Nikan and went to hid at the sentry station although he couldn't help but find it so coincidental that the lamp is shaped just like Frisk when she hid behind it. he heard footsteps approach and cautiously peeked over to get a view of who it is.

Walking up to Sans, is a taller skeleton with a more vertical and geometric skull compared to Sans. He wears an outfit comprising white chest plate with golden trim along with a short orange-red cape, a pair of coquelicot gloves with golden trims, blue briefs with a golden belt, and a pair of knee-high coquelicot boots.

BGM change: Undertale OST; Nyeh Heh Heh!

"Sup bro?" asked Sans with his ever-present grin.

Papyrus wasn't amused however "You know what's 'sup' brother! It's eight days and you still haven't recalibrated your puzzles! You just hang around outside your station, what are you even doing?!"

"Staring at this lamp over here, it's really cool. Care to have a look?" asked Sans.

"No! I don't have time for that!" Papyrus stamped his foot on the ground in frustration "What if a human comes here? I have to be ready! I will be the one, I must be the one to capture a human!" then he struck a pose with his cape billowing in a non-existent wind "When I succeed; then I, the Great Papyrus will finally get my dues. To join the Royal Guards, respect, recognition, and everyone would want to be my 'friend'?"

Sans looked thoughtful at that "…then maybe this lamp can help you with its companions,"

"Sans, you're not helping! You lazybones! All you do is sit around and boondoggle, you're getting lazier by the day!"

"Hey, I do a ton of work…skele-ton," said Sans with a wink, making Naruto smile in amusement at the pun.

"Sans!"

"Come on, you're smiling,"

"I know and I hate it! Why does someone as great as I am, have to do so much to get recognized?"

"Sounds to me like you have been working yourself to the bone,"

Papyrus shook his head in exasperation "Ugh, just work your puzzles and try to put some more 'backbone' into it Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh!" he walked away from the clearing but stopped "Heh!" then he resumed walking.

BGM End

"Okay, you can come out now. The coast is clear," said Sans, Naruto and Frisk came out of their hiding places.

"That was amusing," said Naruto with a smirk while Frisk giggled.

Sans shrugged his shoulders "I try, best you get out of here before he comes back. Unless you want to sit down to listen to more of my hilarious puns,"

"Maybe later, since we need to get a move on," said Naruto.

"Actually, can I bother you for a favor?" asked Sans.

"What is it?" asked Frisk curiously.

"My brother's been down lately since he's never seen a human before and you might just make his day. You needn't worry as he's not dangerous even if he tries to be,"

"Well you did help us out so far, so we'll take your word for it and keep an eye out," said Naruto a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's great, I'll meet you up ahead," Sans turned around and walked in the direction which they had come from.

"I don't understand, I thought he said that he would meet us up ahead so why is he going back the same way we came?" asked Frisk confusedly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head "I have no idea, we could think about it later,"

BGM Start: Undertale OST; Snowy

The group finally exited from the forest to find themselves in a more friendly scenery surrounded by pine trees covered in snow, they moved on to come across two pathways branching out along with a SAVE point and a box with a sign next to it. Naruto went on to interact with the SAVE point

(The convenience of that lamp still fills you with Determination. Save? Yes/No)

He confirmed his save and went over to Frisk and Nikan who are currently looking at the box in curiosity, he looked at the sign next to the box and read off what was written on it.

This is a box; you can put an item inside or take it out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back.
Sincerely, a box lover

"Does it mean that we can put something inside then take it from another box elsewhere?" asked Frisk.

"That's pretty much the case, we just need to make sure that what we put inside is something important but would need at a later time. Let's take a look inside," Naruto opened the box and peered inside, then he reached in and took out what appears to be a pair of leather gloves. Naruto felt information flow into his mind

[Tough Gloves, a pair of worn leather gloves for five fingered folks]

"This must have belonged to a human once," thought Naruto sadly, then he recalled something and turned to Frisk "Here, put these on. They should keep your hands warm,"

"Oh um, thank you," Frisk smiled shyly at the blonde's kind gesture as she put on the gloves and soon felt warmer compared to when she was without them.

They were about to move on when a monster resembling a drake with a snowflake-like design appeared before them and their SOULs emerged from their bodies to signal a fight. The duo chose ACT and followed up with Check to identify the monster.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Enemy Approaching

[Snowdrake. This teen fights to keep an active audience]

"'Ice' to meet you," said Snowdrake with an average pun, crescent-shaped projectiles appeared and were launched at them, Naruto and the others dodged them until the attack ended.

"That's a pretty good joke, I know a good one. Wanna hear it?" said Naruto.

"Sure," said the monster, feeling curious.

"Why did the boy keep his trumpet in the freezer? Because he liked cool BGM,"

Frisk giggled "That's funny,"

"I gotta admit it is a good one, my dad never used that," said Snowdrake.

"Goes to show that the world of jokes is vast, you just need to go for it,"

"Then I'll do just that, thanks!" Snowdrake left the clearing with a spring in his step and they were rewarded with 12 gold before moving on.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Snowy

Naruto and Frisk soon came across Sans and Papyrus having a conversation a bit ahead of them, the skeleton brothers took notice of them and the atmosphere was rather silence with the stare off.

…

…

…

"Oh my god! Sans, are those humans over there and with a dog!?" asked Papyrus with bated breath.

Sans looked with a confused expression "…uuuuuhhh, I think it's actually a rock,"

"Oh…," Papyrus slumped in disappointment.

"But what are those in front of it?"

Papyrus looked at Naruto and Frisk before becoming excited once more "Oh my god!" he leaned to whisper at Sans "Are those humans?"

"Yup," Sans whispered.

Oh my god! I finally did it Sans! Undyne will…I'm gonna…I'll be so popular! I'll be recognized!" Papyrus calmed himself before facing the children with his chest puffed out "Humans hear me for I, the Great Papyrus shall capture you! Then you shall be delivered to the capital and…and…I'm not sure what happens next. However, continue at your own peril! Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh!" he ran off with a cackle.

"Well, that went well. You needn't worry though, I'll be sure to keep an eye socket out for ya," said Sans before following after his currently excited brother.

"I wonder what will happen next?" Naruto wondered, rubbing the back of his head while Frisk shrugged when her cellphone began to ring so she answered it in hopes that it was Toriel but a different voice spoke.

{U-Uuhhh…I'd like to order a…um…a pizza? With uh…the toppings are…uh…I have them copied; I'll just paste them to you}

"Huh?" Frisk heard a beep and looked at her phone screen and Naruto looked as well to see an ASCII art of an anime catgirl.

"Nice artwork, but who was it that just called?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, it sounded like a woman,"

"I'm kinda curious how she got your number,"

They moved on past a sentry station made out of cardboard and had a pretty good idea on who made as the sign on it gave more than enough hints. Naruto took note of a sign which read 'Absolutely NO MOVING!' which confused him but kept in mind, they approached a sentry station when something emerged from it. it is a bipedal dog monster wearing a pink muscle shirt with a picture of a dog on the front, a ninja-like mask, a leopard-print stretch pants with a brown belt.

"Did something move? Was it my imagination? If something was moving…like a human for instance…," the monster leapt out into the pathway with a pair of shortswords in hand "…I'll make sure it never moves again!"

Naruto and Frisk's SOULs emerged to start the battle with the former unsheathing his bokken before using Check on the monster.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Enemy Approaching

[Doggo. Easily excited by movement. Hobbies include: squirrels]

"So, he can only see when something moves?" asked Frisk.

"Sounds like it, let me try something," Naruto slowly took a step to the left, Doggo immediately turned towards his direction.

"Moving?" Doggo questioned with his blades glowing with blue energy, Naruto immediately froze "It moved, it didn't not move!"

"That confirms it, so what do we do?"

Nikan suddenly ran forward while barking, Doggo turned to attack but stopped upon seeing who it is "A fellow canine, are you related to the others?"

With that distraction, Frisk had an idea. She looked around and found a stick nearby then she threw over Doggo who suddenly had a look of excitement.

"Huh? A fun stick appears!" Doggo immediately ran after the stick and came back with it in his mouth, Frisk took the stick and gently rubbed the back of his ears, making him wag his tail happily "What!? I've been pet!" Naruto soon joined in the petting "There's no end to it!"

Doggo moved away, looking freaked out and at the same time happy "A stick appeared out of nowhere, then disappeared when I returned it. And something that wasn't moving pet me…I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!" he jumped back into the sentry station and didn't come out.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Snowy

"That's one way to get past, thanks for the help Nikan," said Naruto, the wolf pup happily barked with his tail wagging.

"But it was funny to him so confused like that," said Frisk in amusement.

"Can't deny that," they went past Doggo's sentry station and ran into Sans who was acting chill as always "Hey Sans,"

"Hey you two, looks like you had some fun with Doggo back there. I often pull a fast one on him from time to time," said Sans.

"That's one way of putting it, he freaks out when he doesn't exactly know what moves around him," said Naruto.

"True that, I need to alert you kids about something; my brother has a special attack, if you see a blue attack then don't move and it won't hurt you,"

"Wait, we saw Doggo about to attack us with his swords glowing blue. Is that what you mean?" asked Frisk.

Sans winked in confirmation "That's right, blue attacks will only inflict damage when the target is moving and my brother uses those kinds of attacks,"

"Thanks for the heads-up Sans, we'll keep it in mind," said Naruto.

"No probs," said Sans before walking away and disappearing behind a tree.

The group continued on their way through the trail albeit slipping a couple of times a large sheet of ice when they encountered another monster called Lesser Dog, the trio soon came to learn that this monster is quite affectionate as opposed to the sword and shield it carried. Its neck kept extending every time they pet it with Nikan nuzzling in affection, making it extend even more till they had enough and the dog monster left with its tail happily wagging.

Their next stop was at a clearing where they saw the skeleton brothers having yet another conversation with Papyrus complaining about Sans napping all night with said skeleton pointing out that it's rather sleeping instead of napping. The conversation ended when the duo's arrival was noticed.

"Aha, the humans and dog finally arrive. In order to stop you, my brother and I have created some puzzles. I think you will it rather shocking, for this is the invisible electricity maze!" Papyrus declared loudly, making Naruto get a little tense "When you touch the wall of the maze, this orb in my hand will give you a hearty zap! I doubt you would find it fun as the amount of fun would be rather small, you may now begin,"

"What do we do, Naruto?" asked Frisk with concern.

"I'm trying to come up with something," said Naruto, Nikan began sniffing around the border of the maze when Papyrus was suddenly zapped "Huh?"

"Sans! What did you do!?" Papyrus said angrily.

"I think they were supposed to hold the orb," Sans lazily pointed out.

Papyrus suddenly had a look of realization "Of course, how could I have forgotten of that important detail?" he proceeded to walk through the maze in a certain pattern to reach the humans "Here, hold this," he tossed the orb over to Frisk to catch before running back to the other side "Now, you may begin,"

Naruto frowned in thought as he saw the way Papyrus moved through the maze without getting zapped before noticing the trail of footprints on the snow and realized what's going on, he glanced at Sans who winked at him, confirming his thoughts. The blonde leaned in to whisper into Frisk's ear.

"Follow the trail of footprints that Papyrus made, it's the safe route through the invisible maze," Naruto whispered.

"Okay Naruto," Frisk followed the trail with Naruto behind her while carrying Nikan till they reached the other end without getting zapped by the orb, surprising Papyrus.

"Why you slippery little snails, you solved the puzzle so easily. But the next puzzle will not be so easy, it is made by my brother and shall confound you as it did so to me! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!" Papyrus ran off with a cackle yet again.

"Thanks for the hint Sans, it really helped," said Naruto.

"No biggie, he looks like he's having fun anyways," said Sans.

"So what's with the armor he's wearing since he isn't a member of the Royal Guard?" asked Frisk curiously.

"Oh that outfit, we made it for a costume party a few weeks ago. Since then, hasn't worn anything else; says it's his 'battle body'. That makes him cool in my book,"

"That's one way to put it,"

Naruto, Frisk and Nikan resumed their trek through the forest, they encountered a bunny guy trying to sell ice cream but they refused and politely pointed out that he wouldn't be able to get customers due to the current climate and suggested that he tries selling them at warmer places. They ran into Sans who tried to sell fried snow which they awkwardly refused to buy with the skeleton wondering if the selling price of 5g is too cheap, further exploration led them to find two sentry stations and a sign having information about smell ratings before moving on.

"Humans!" Papyrus called out upon seeing them approach "I hope you're ready for…," he paused when he noticed something rather odd and turned to Sans "Where's the puzzle?"

"It's right there, on the ground," Sans pointed at a sheet of paper lying in the middle of the small clearing "Trust me, they won't get past this one,"

Nikan scampered over to the paper, sniffing it before picking it up in his mouth and running back to Naruto and Frisk for them to have a look at it.

"It didn't do anything!" said Papyrus in irritation.

"Aw shucks, maybe I should have gone with this week's crossword puzzle," said Sans admittedly.

"A crossword puzzle? Why would you use that? Personally, I find Junior Jumble to be more of a challenge,"

"Junior jumble is for baby bones, bro,"

"I can't believe you. Humans! Which is more difficult, crosswords or junior jumble?" asked Papyrus.

Naruto looked up from the puzzle to answer "To be honest, I find junior jumble to be more difficult compare to crosswords," he tends to play word puzzles when online with his phone or computer, even Frisk had to agree since she solved word puzzles on newspapers she would find.

Papyrus was elated upon hearing that "You see? Humans must be very intelligent to acknowledge the difficultly of junior jumble! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!" then he ran off as usual.

"Thanks for agreeing with my bro, he was stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope yesterday," said Sans.

"But a horoscope isn't a word puzzle," said Frisk in confusion.

"Something, he's yet to figure out,"

Moving on, they came across two tables with one having a plate of frozen spaghetti and the other with an unplugged microwave. There was a note nearby which they picked up to read;

Humans, please enjoy this plate of spaghetti. Little do you know that this spaghetti is a trap, designed to entice you! You will be so busy eating it that you won't realize that you aren't progressing! Thoroughly japed again by the Great Papyrus!
Nyeh heh heh heh, Papyrus

"Kinda reminds me of a cartoon involving a coyote and a bird," said Naruto with a smirk.

"But I don't think we can even eat it since it's too cold and there's no electricity to use the microwave," said Frisk.

"We might need to let him know of that, let me SAVE then we move on," Naruto went to access the SAVE Point.

(Knowing the mouse might one day find a way to heat the spaghetti, it fills you with Determination Save? Yes/No)

Naruto and Frisk ended up with another puzzle where they had to find a switch to deactivate some spikes blocking their way which is similar to the ones back in the Ruins, Nikan came to their aid as he sniffed out the switch which was surrounded by three pine trees and they pressed it to resume their trek. They crossed over a wooden bridge when two figures approached them, they appeared to be wearing black hooded robes with a picture of a male/female on each while wielding long battleaxes, Naruto and Frisk could see rounded snouts poking through the hoods and realized that they're dog monsters as well.

"What's that smell?" one spoke in a masculine tone.

(Where's that smell?) asked the other with a feminine tone. They proceeded to move around sniffing the air until stopping at where Naruto and Frisk are.

"Hmmm…there are three smells…one smells like a puppy…the other two are weird smells…they make me want to eliminate," said the male, holding his axe at the ready.

The female stood next to him (Eliminate you!)

Naruto and Frisk got ready as their SOULs emerged and immediately used Check on them.

BGM Start: Undertale OST; Enemy Approaching

[Dogamy, Husband of Dogaressa. Knows only what he smells]
[Dogaressa. This puppy finds her hubby lovely. SMELLS ONLY?]

"So they can track by scent, then those sentry stations belong to them and that info on scent rating now makes total sense," said Naruto.

"Let's kick human tail!" Dogamy swung his axe at Naruto who rolled to the side and jumped away to create some distance between each other.

(Do humans have tails!?) Dogaressa attacked Frisk as well with the girl scrambling out of the way to avoid getting it.

"I wonder if…Frisk, do you still have that stick from before?" asked Naruto urgently.

Frisk shook her head "No, I dropped it when we met Doggo,"

"Then I hope this works," Naruto drew his bokken "*Whistle* Fetch!" he threw it as far as he could, this instantly triggered a reaction in the Dogi.

"It's a fun stick!" Dogamy called out in excitement.

(Playtime!) Dogaressa yipped in agreement, they ran after the bokken and returned with it. Naruto took the bokken and threw it again with the Dogi fetching it once more. This continued a few more times with Frisk and Nikan joining in till they were satisfied.

"Weird smells can bring good things," said Dogamy.

(Friendly fun fetch!) Dogaressa's tail wags happily.

"Thanks, weird smells!"

(It sure was fun to 'stick' together!)

Dogamy and Dogaressa affectionately nuzzled Naruto and Frisk then gave Nikan a lick before taking their leave.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Snowy

"They're really nice when they warm up to us," said Frisk with a smile.

"Yeah…," Naruto wiped the slobber off the bokken before returning it to the sheath "Maybe you should keep a stick in hand just in case we run into another one of the dog monsters,"

The next puzzle the group encountered required that they pass over the blue X fields to turned them to red O fields before stepping on the ground switch to change the red O fields to green which deactivated the spikes. That was when they saw Papyrus who was surprised to see them.

"What? How did you avoid my trap!? And more importantly…is there any left for me?" asked Papyrus.

"Actually, we left it because-," Frisk was about to explain when Papyrus interrupted her.

"You resisted the aroma of my homecooked spaghetti just so you could share it with me?" Naruto and Frisk blinked at Papyrus' assumption "Fret not for I, Master Chef Papyrus will make you all the pasta you could ever want! Heh heh heh heh nyeh!"" he continued onwards at a merry pace.

"He totally misunderstood what we were trying to say," said Naruto in disbelief.

"It will make it really hard to tell him the truth since he's really nice," said Frisk with concern.

"I know, let's follow after him,"

They caught up with Papyrus to find him standing before the next XOXO puzzle which is apparently much larger compared to the first one.

"Hmmm...How do I say this...You were taking a long time to arrive, so I decided to improve upon this puzzle by arranging the snow to look more like my face. Unfortunately, the snow froze to the ground. Now the solution is different! Plus, my lazy brother isn't here," said Papyrus with a small frown before perking up "But fear not! For I, the Great Papyrus shall resolve this situation so we can proceed! Meanwhile, feel free to try to solve the puzzle yourselves,"

Naruto responded with a shrug "Sure, we don't have anything better to do right now. We'll give it a go, right Frisk?"

Frisk nodded in agreement "Okay Naruto,"

They took turns trying to solve the puzzle but they had to reset it a couple of times before finally getting it and deactivating the spikes, surprising the skeleton.

"Wow! You solved it and without my help too. I'm quite impressed, you must care about puzzles like I do! I'm sure you will like my next puzzle, it might even be too easy for you," Papyrus ran off excitedly.

Sans appeared behind the duo and spoke up, surprising them "Looks like you two didn't need my help on this one, I find it to be a good thing since I love doing absolutely nothing,"

"I've been getting an idea of that since we first met," said Naruto with a smirk.

"Pretty much yeah, keep in mind that there's a puzzle right up ahead of ya,"

"Okay Sans," said Frisk with Nikan barking in affirmation.

They went past Sans to reach a small wooden bridge which to a large floor comprised of tiles with various shades of gray and Papyrus stood next to a machine with Sans by him.

"Oh, hello humans and not annoying dog, I'm sure that this next puzzle will be to your liking, for it was created by the Great Doctor Alphys! You see these tiles, they will change color the moment I throw the switch with each color having a certain effect," Papyrus proceeded to explain "Red tiles are impassible so you cannot walk on them! Yellow tiles are electric which will shock you! Green tiles are alarm tiles, stepping on them will make fight a monster! Orange tiles will make you smell like oranges! Blue tiles are water tiles so you swim through them if you like, but you will be attacked by piranhas if you smell like oranges! Also, if a blue tile is next to a yellow tile, the water will also zap you! Purple tiles are slippery and will cause you to slide to the next tile! However, the slippery soap smells like lemons which piranhas do not like and will stay away if you smell like lemons! Purple and blue are okay! Finally, pink tiles don't do anything so you can step on them all you like. Do you understand the instructions?"

"Not really, considering that the explanation is a bit confusing," said Frisk.

"Yeah, kinda hard to keep it all in mind," said Naruto.

"Very well then, I'll repeat it once more. Red tiles are impassable, yellow tiles will shock you, blue tiles will make you fight a monster, green tiles are water tiles and-,"

"Hang on, I thought green tiles make you fight monsters and blue tiles are water tiles," Naruto pointed out.

"Oh my, you're right. Well then, orange tiles make you orange-scented so avoid stepping on green tiles,"

"Um, don't you mean avoid stepping on the blue tiles when smelling like an orange or we would be attacked by piranhas?" asked Frisk.

"Bro, I think you're mixing up the instructions for the puzzle," said Sans.

"Perhaps you're right, there is a lot to recount to be honest. How about this, I'll leave the instructions for you two to go over then activate the switch so you can try at your own pace. Good luck," Papyrus placed a sheet of paper next to the machine before walking away.

"We forgot to tell him about the frozen spaghetti," said Frisk as they approached Sans who then responded.

"About that, my brother has been taking cooking lessons and improving his skills. I'm pretty sure by next year, he would make something edible," said Sans.

"If my mom were here, I'm sure she would have him master cooking within the month since she owns a well-known restaurant and receives a lot of interns," said Naruto with a proud smile.

"You mean the Crimson Whirlpool? I heard people saying how the food there is delicious, the owner is your mom?" said Frisk in wonder with Naruto nodding in affirmation.

"Wow kid, sounds to me like you get some pretty good chow at home," said Sans.

"Yeah, part of the reason why I want to go home. Let's get moving Frisk," said Naruto.

"Okay,"

Nikan had gone to look at the paper and even for a wolf pup, it could tell that the writing on it is intelligible before following after the two humans. They encountered Lesser Dog near its sentry station with many snow sculptures of dogs with long necks like its own, the monster gave them a slobbering lick in greeting before resuming sculpting more snow dogs with long necks. A faun monster nearby told them of how Lesser Dog came by earlier full of excitement and started building snow sculptures but never finishing them. Naruto interacted with a SAVE Point nearby

(Knowing that the dog will never give up trying to make the perfect snowdog, it fills you with Determination. Save? Yes/No)

Moving on, the trio came across another XOXO puzzle with the X fields laid out on a large icefield, Naruto looked at the Xs carefully before calling out to Frisk.

"I'll give a go to see I can solve this one then you'll follow after me," said Naruto, he proceeded to slide from one blue X to another while changing them into red Os before stepping on a ground switch to form a snow bridge, he went on to slide through a tunnel of coniferous trees and emerging on the other side "Frisk, the way is open now! You can come through with Nikan!"

"Okay!" Frisk's voice was faintly heard in the distance, she came sliding in moments later with Nikan and crashed into Naruto with both falling to the snowy ground. Frisk saw that she was on top of Naruto and quickly got off, looking rather embarrassed "S-Sorry for crashing into you,"

Naruto simply smile and got back to his feet "It's okay, just glad you two didn't get hurt," Frisk smiled at the blonde's thoughtfulness and Nikan wagged his tail. The trio found themselves in the next area where they saw many snow poffs everywhere with a small doghouse nearby, Nikan went over to one of the snow poffs and sniffed a couple of times before digging through it and began barking excitedly, calling Naruto and Frisk "Whatcha found there? Whoa, there's 30 gold here!"

"Good job Nikan!" Frisk pet Nikan with the wolf pup wagging his tail at the praise.

"So far we have 258G on us, hopefully there's a town where we can get something useful for our journey," said Naruto thoughtfully "…Hmm?" he noticed something moving in a snow puff and went to take a closer look, suddenly something popped out of the snow an revealing to be a dog with white fur "Oh, it's just a little dog,"

The dog barked before rising out of the snow poff…clad in a large grey suit of armor and wielding a spear with the image of a dog's face on it. Naruto looked up and took a few steps back with a sweatdrop as his and Frisk's SOULs emerged from their bodies "I retract my statement and feel that we're gonna need a bigger stick,"

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Dogsong

Like always, Naruto used ACT and followed up with Check to learn more about this dog monster.

[Greater Dog. It's so excited that it thinks fighting is just play]

No sooner did they read the information that the Greater Dog rushed at the with its tail wagging and thrust its dog faced spear at them, Naruto quickly unsheathed his bokken and parried the incoming attack before jumping away and taking a stance with the bokken held in front of him. The large canine monster kept attacking Naruto with the blonde evading with jumps and sidesteps, barking happily at the thought of playing a game with the humans which was sending blue-colored projectiles in the form of the word 'BARK'. Naruto recalled Sans' advice abut blue attacks and stood still for them to phase through him without inflicting any damage at all.

"So blue attacks really don't affect me as long as I don't move," Naruto muttered thoughtfully before diving out of the way of Greater Dog's pounce and snapping back into focus, unaware of the soft white glow from his left eye.

Greater Dog was about to continue its 'game' when a voice called out to it "Hey Greater Dog!" it turned around to see the other human with a wolf pup next to her and she was holding something which made its tail wag in excitement "I have a fun stick so we can play a game…fetch!" she threw the stick, making the Greater Dog bound after it in joy and returning the stick to her to continue playing. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, served as a distraction so that Frisk and Nikan could go look for a stick so that they could appeal to its friendlier canine nature.

"That's a good dog," Frisk gently coaxed the Greater Dog which was panting lightly from the game of fetch, it actually exited from its armor to happily lick them in gratitude for having so much before jumping back inside the armor headfirst and making it walk away with its tail wagging.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Snowy

"I hope we're getting close to a town; I'm beginning to feel a bit cold," said Frisk, shivering lightly from the cold climate.

"Same here, we could ask Sans when we meet him," Naruto suggested as they walked along the snowy trail before reaching up to a long rope bridge, he cautiously placed a foot on the bridge then applied pressure to it along with testing the strength of the rope before calling out to Frisk "I think it's safe enough for us to cross over to the other side,"

Frisk looked over the edge at the bottom in worry and turned to Naruto who held out a hand to with eyes full of sureness, she braced herself and picked up Nikan before taking Naruto's hand as they proceeded to cross the bridge, they were almost there when they saw Sans and Papyrus at the end of the bridge.

"Alright humans, this will be your final puzzle challenge…behold the Gauntlet of Deadly Terror!" Papyrus snapped his fingers, causing various traps to appear above and below the bridge; comprising of a spiky ball tethered by chains, two spears, an oil drum fire pit, a cannon and…a dog hanging from a rope? "The moment I say the codeword, it will activate! Cannons will fire, spikes will swing, blades, and dogs will howl! Each will swing violently up and down with only a small chance of victory. Be ready for I…am…about…to…do it!"

Naruto stood protectively in front of Frisk who looked over his shoulder in worry as they waited for the traps to activate any moment from now.

…

…

…

"Well, what's the holdup?" asked Sans curiously.

"Holdup? What holdup? I'm…I'm about to activate it right now!" Papyrus proclaimed.

…

…

…

"…that doesn't look very activated," Sans pointed out, seeing that the traps aren't doing anything at all.

Papyrus appeared to be rather hesitant "Well, this challenge…it seems…to be…uh…too easy to defeat the humans and not so annoying dog. A skeleton such as myself have class! My puzzles are fair and traps being expertly cooked! However, this is far too direct with no class at all! Away they go!" he clapped his hands to make the traps go away before let out a sigh of relief then he noticed Naruto and Frisk smiling at him "Why are you two smiling? This is yet another victory for the Great Papyrus with your ultimate defeat soon at hand! Nyeh heh heh…heh?" then he left with the duo reaching the end of the bridge.

"You're right about Papyrus not being dangerous no matter how he tries to be," said Naruto.

"He's a very nice person," said Frisk.

"That's my bro for ya, but be careful as I don't know what he has planned next. Just keep an open eye socket out for blue attacks," said Sans.

"Um Sans, is there a town around here?"

"Actually there is, just up ahead is Snowdin Town. No need to worry about the locals as they're quite friendly," Sans pointed down the path for them to see lights shining in the distance.

"Thanks Sans, we'll see you later then," said Naruto, they continued on their way and soon arrived at the town.

BGM Change: Undertale OST; Snowdin Town

Naruto and Frisk could see that the town took on the Christmas theme which kind of made them wonder if it's winter all around in this place, they came across a shop which is conjoined with an inn. Before entering the inn, Naruto accessed the SAVE Point first.

(The sight of such a friendly town fills you with Determination. Save? Yes/No)

Smiling at the message, Naruto affirmed his save before entering the inn with Frisk and Nikan as they approached the reception counter to speak with the innkeeper who's a bunny lady.

"Welcome to Snowed Inn, Snowdin's premier hotel! How may I help you?" said the lady with a smile.

"Hello, we would like a room for the night," said Naruto politely.

"Very well then, one night costs 80G," Naruto nodded in affirmation then paid the fee "Here's you room key, make sure to bundle up,"

"Thank you," said Frisk.

They left the counter and went upstairs to their assigned room which contained two beds and a bathroom inside. They took turns having a warm bath before getting ready to go to bed with Nikan curling up next to Naruto's bed, Frisk then spoke up.

"Um Naruto?"

"Hm?" Naruto turned towards the girl, wandering what she wanted.

"What's your mom like?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the question "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, you said before that Toriel is kinda like your mom. I wanted to know how exactly, if you don't really mind telling me,"

The blonde turned on the bed to look at the ceiling "…well, my mom tends to worry about a lot of things even when assured that things will be fine but I understand since she wants to be there to support. She can be very scary when angered as a lot of people learnt the hard way, I myself try to make sure that anything I do won't make her mad. The moment you see her hair waving about like nine tails, that's when you know that something got on her nerves. All in all, she's someone I love with all my heart," he smiled contently at the memories being recalled.

"That sounds nice, how about your dad?" the moment Frisk asked that question, Naruto's smile instantly disappeared which worried her "Naruto?"

"…I'm sorry Frisk, can we…not talk about it," Naruto turned away from her to face the wall.

Frisk could see that she asked a very heavy question "I'm so sorry Naruto, I didn't mean to...,"

"I understand, maybe some other time,"

Both children soon fell into slumber albeit Naruto had been trying to will himself into sleep, he wasn't upset with Frisk in the least bit concerning the question she asked but rather at something else. As he finally fell asleep, he thought he heard the sound of a metal chain then a painfully familiar voice echoing in his mind.

"Remember Naruto, I will never stop loving and that is a promise from me to you,"

A tear flowed down Naruto's cheek as he let out a whisper "Dad…,"

BGM End

This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto and Frisk finally exited from the Ruins to find themselves in a snow covered landscape where they met Sans the Skeleton and his brother Papyrus with the engaging them in a series of puzzles and traps which they manage to solve and avoid with some help from Sans. Encounters with the monsters made the group wonder if they really are as dangerous as Toriel said they are for the actions of Papyrus even show that he's subconsciously restraining himself from hurting them. they eventually arrived at Snowdin Town and lodging at the inn, Frisk curiously asked Naruto about himself which he was willing to chat about until the subject shifted to his father which silenced him immediately and ended the conversation. Just happened in the past to affect Naruto, be sure to stay tuned to find out. And for those wondering, Naruto is 14 years old with Frisk being 13. Read and review as always.

This is Hussbek from Ghana.

Signing out and staying alive.