The snow crunched under Frisk's boots as she wandered deeper into Snowdin Forest, her breath fogging in the cold air. Her pace was cautious, her expression unreadable, but her eyes stayed alert. Behind a nearby tree, two skeleton brothers watched with interest.
"Alright, bro," Sans muttered, hands in his hoodie pocket. "You sure this is gonna work?"
Papyrus stood tall, cape fluttering in the breeze, a manic gleam in his eyes. "OF COURSE! THIS IS MY MOST DIABOLICAL PUZZLE YET! THE HUMAN WILL NEVER ESCAPE!"
"Uh-huh. Just don't forget which switch does what this time."
"NYEH HEH HEH. I AM COMPLETELY PREPARED."
A moment later, Frisk stepped into the clearing, and Papyrus dramatically leapt into view.
"BEHOLD, HUMAN!" he declared. "THE INVISIBLE... ELECTRICITY MAZE!"
He pointed to a set of wires strung across the ground, zigzagging like an improvised hazard zone. "WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB"—he held up a bulbous device—"WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND FUN? BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE IS... ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL, I THINK."
Sans rolled his eye sockets. "Real confidence booster there, bro."
Papyrus cleared his throat and turned to hand the orb to Frisk. She stared at it, then at him, quietly tilting her head.
"OH! I MEANT—AHEM—TO DEMONSTRATE!" He strapped the orb to himself and took a proud step forward... and was promptly electrocuted.
BZZZZZT!
"NYAAAAHH!!" Papyrus collapsed in a twitching heap.
Sans stifled a snort. "You okay there, Sparky?"
Papyrus jumped to his feet, smoke curling off his skull. "AHEM. IT SEEMS THE HUMAN IS IMMUNE TO THIS PUZZLE! PERHAPS... I SHALL MAKE A MORE TERRIFYING ONE NEXT!"
Frisk blinked and stepped carefully past the tangled wires.
"Wait up, kid," Sans said, giving her a lazy wave. "You're really good at... dodging volts."
She gave him a small, polite nod before continuing on her way.
As the two skeletons watched her disappear down the trail, Papyrus placed a dramatic hand to his forehead.
"SANS! THIS IS A DISASTER!"
"C'mon, bro. You'll shock 'em next time."
"YOU ALWAYS HAVE A PUN READY, DON'T YOU?"
"Guess I'm just wired that way."
Papyrus groaned audibly. "I AM GOING TO MY PUZZLE LAB. DO NOT FOLLOW ME."
He stormed off, leaving a smirking Sans behind. The elder brother looked in the direction Frisk had gone.
She didn't fight Doggo. Still no EXP. Guess she's playing nice. For now.
His eye flickered blue for a moment before fading back to normal.
"Let's just hope she keeps it that way."