→ [Sixth Puzzle: Ice Slide]

The ice was slippery. No, the proper way to describe it would be unbelievably slick. Frisk had stepped onto it thinking it would be like regular ice, and almost immediately fell.

Luckily Frisk had played too much Pokémon and was already familiar with ice puzzles. So he was able to slide over the ice to the different pressure plates and activate them in a simple pattern.

→[Intermission 2 Electric Boogaloo]

After seeing what looked like a small dog in a snowbank, Frisk had thought this would be an easy fight. Only for the small dog to be wearing enormous armor that it could somehow control and start running towards him.

Frisk jumped as high as he could as the monster excitedly slammed into the ground where he had been. Then, landing with as much grace as possible on top of the armor, Frisk reached out and petted the dog. Honestly, this dog monster didn't even seem to want to fight. All it wanted was to play around and get pet. So Frisk ran around in the snow with it for a while and gave it a pat on the head whenever he got the chance.

In the end, the dog tired itself out and fell asleep on one of the other snowbanks.

→ [Seventh Puzzle: Bridge Of Doom]

"Woah," Frisk whispered as he gazed down the steep cliff he found himself on top of. A small tuft of snow dislodged itself near the edge, and he watched it fall to the snow-capped trees below. It looked to be a canyon of some sort. Frisk could see the other side where Sans and Papyrus were waiting. But he still took the time to examine the rickety rope bridge that was his only way across.

Frisk wouldn't say that he was afraid of heights. More like fearful of falling from unstable heights and being hopeless to do anything about it. So he only hesitated for a couple seconds before psyching himself up and walking out onto the bridge.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus pressed a button. "Prepare for the gauntlet of deadly terror!"

Frisk looked around him at the massive weapons that Papyrus had activated. A Huge spear launcher stood next to flamethrowers, and cannons lined the cliff's edges. Spike balls sat idly, ready to swing through the air, and for some reason, the dog he had pet earlier was tied to a string.

"When I press this button, the trap will activate, and only the tiniest chance of victory for yourself will remain!" Papyrus boasted, "Are you ready? Because I will. Be. Activating. It. Now..." He trailed off, staring intently at the remote in his hand.

"Well, what's the holdup?" Sans turned and asked his brother.

"Hmm, the GREAT Papyrus has deemed this trap too easy to defeat the human with. Yes! All my traps are extremely fair and expertly cooked, but this method has no class, no flavor!" So Papyrus pressed a different button, and all of the weapons disappeared back into the ground.

Both Frisk and Sans looked at Papyrus awkwardly.

"What are you looking at? This was another decisive victory for Papyrus!" He defended himself, turned around, "NYEH HEH. HEH.. HEH?" and laughed awkwardly before leaving.

Frisk walked the rest of the way off the bridge and gave Sans a questioning look.

"Eeh, don't look at me. I'm not sure what my bro's going to do now. But if I were you, I'd be ready for orange attacks." Sans said before he walked off.

Frisk shook his head at Sans' words before continuing on his way. If he remembered the story correctly, he should soon be getting to Snowden.

Frisk's thoughts were interrupted by flurries of snow falling from the sky. Maybe he would stay at the Inn to wait out the snow before confronting Papyrus. All he had to do was make it to Snowden before it got worse.

He failed. The snow was falling so hard that Frisk could barely see ten feet in front of himself. His Aura was slightly visible now, trying to keep out the biting cold of the sudden snowstorm. Frisk stopped when he saw a shape that looked like Papyrus blocking his way.

"HUMAN!" So it was Papyrus, "Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings. Feelings like the joy of finding another pasta lover, the admiration of another person's puzzle-solving skills, the desire to have a smart person think you are cool." He continued on. "These feelings…" Papyrus hesitated. "They must be what you are feeling right now!" He exclaimed.

"Of course, I pity you, lonely human. For the GREAT Papyrus, never wonders what it is like to have tons of friends. So because I am so great, the GREAT Papyrus will. be.. your…" Papyrus stopped, seemingly conflicted.

"NO! I cannot be your friend, HUMAN. I must capture you and earn my dream job in the Royal Guard!" A bone grew out from the ground, and Papyrus picked it up. Spinning it around his head like a staff, he pointed it at Frisk.

The snow seemed to die down in response to his challenge. The night that seemed so much brighter in the underground suddenly darkened, and Frisk was left facing Papyrus in a dark snowy field. His SOUL glowed a bright yellow-purple against the darkness.

"Come on, Papyrus." Frisk tried to reason with the skeleton. "We can totally be friends and not have to fight." He explained.

"For Undyne, my dreams, and most importantly, for popularity!" Papyrus yelled out and waved his bone staff in Frisk's direction.

Small pillars of bone popped out of the ground and attacked. Frisk immediately activated his JUSTICE magic and weaved through the attacks with his boosted speed. Frisk wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do to pacify Papyrus. Maybe he could-

When Papyrus dashed forward and stabbed him with his staff, Frisk was taken off guard. He managed to get the bone to only graze his arm and lunged backward to create some space. No boss monster he had fought before liked to fight in close range, and for some reason, he had assumed that would hold true for Papyrus.

"Very good HUMAN!" Papyrus flourished his cape and struck a pose. "You managed to dodge the mighty attacks of the GREAT Papyrus. But do not get cocky, for I have yet to go all out." He explained as he spawned more bone pillars around the field.

Papyrus closed the gap between them for a second time, and Frisk was forced to roll away from his overhead attack. Frisk came out of the roll and jumped as high as he could, quickly clearing the relatively short bone pillar that Papyrus had tried to surprise him with.

All this time, Frisk was still trying to devise something to convince Papyrus to stop. Of course, beating him might be possible, but Frisk would rather solve this peacefully if he could.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Three more pillars attacked from behind, but Frisk jumped again. This time he managed to land on top of the pillar and stay there. Frisk looked to where Papyrus was, only to see two bones flying straight for him. He jumped from pillar to pillar with another leap, dodging many more projectiles fired at him.

"Ah, HUMAN! I applaud you for finding the weakness in my attack." Papyrus called out while continuing to fire projectiles. "But you are not the first. I have trained with the mighty Undyne and cooked up a winning strategy. Now face my blue attack."

In the games, blue attacks were PATIENCE and usually meant staying still. Would this still apply to Papyrus's attack? And more importantly, did Papyrus really feel like a patient person?

Papyrus stomped his foot on the ground, and a pulse of darker blue spread throughout the field. The pulse slammed into Frisk's SOUL while he was in mid-air. Frisk thought It felt almost like being hit with a pressure wave from his spear and was knocked slightly off course in his jump to the next pillar.

*Oof*

Frisk tried to correct for the force but was surprised when his SOUL turned a dark blue, and he almost immediately slammed into the ground.

Damn, he forgot cyan was for PATIENCE, and dark blue was for INTEGRITY. Was this some sort of gravity magic? It felt like he was being pressed down by a considerable weight.

Papyrus stopped his attacks. "Behold! The GREAT Papyrus's invincible technique. The Weighted Bone Forest!" More bone pillars grew out of the ground until Frisk was almost completely surrounded.

Both of Frisk's eyes lit up their respective colors as he slowly stood back up against the added pressure. That previous line about training had given him an idea now. He just had to find a time to say it.

This time when the bone pillars rushed towards Frisk, he had no choice but to face them on the ground. He spun around the first one and could barely dodge the next four. Still eventually, he was overwhelmed, and a pillar came crashing into his back and sent him flying.

Frisk was able to get control of himself and land in a ready position, only to be met by more pillars of bone. His JUSTICE magic boosted his reaction time in accordance with his speed so he could easily follow the relatively slow attacks. But the added weight of Papyrus's gravity magic made his body too slow to respond.

Frisk knew something needed to be done, so he dug as deep into the well of power that was his JUSTICE magic as possible. His left eye sparked, and his Aura crackled with energy allowing him to dodge the next couple of attacks. The problem was that this power level was not sustainable for him for long periods without his rage amp.

Frisk decided to improvise and jumped up as high as he could while still under boosted gravity. It was kind of pathetic, only elevating him two feet off the ground, but it was enough. When the next bone pillar hit Frisk, he used its momentum to push himself higher into the air bringing him down to half of his Aura level.

He had done this once before, but that time he had something to channel his magic through and a rage boost. So Frisk gathered all of the JUSTICE magic he could in his left fist, and it exploded with yellow electricity.

"Haaahhhh!" Frisk yelled as he used the momentum of his fall boosted by gravity to punch the ground and release the gathered JUSTICE magic.

Large arcs of lightning exploded in an omnidirectional wave of force that blew apart the bone pillars surrounding him, effectively ending the Bone Forest.

"W-Wow, you truly are a worthy opponent to proceed with my inauguration into the Royal Guard." Papyrus stuttered a bit in surprise but seemed to regain his confidence by the end.

"Papyrus, wait!" Frisk called out from the small crater he had made with the last attack.

Frisk had entirely underestimated both his attack's power and the force with which he punched the ground. He quickly glanced at his left arm to see that it was hanging limply by his side. Something was definitely broken in there, but by this point, the pain of a broken limb was only a minor distraction.

"What if I told you we can be friends, and you can join the Royal Guard at the same time." Frisk continued.

Papyrus gave Frisk a blank look for all of two seconds before "WOWEE! Really, is there a way that can happen!" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah, totally; you just need to impress Undyne to join, right?" Frisk asked.

"Yes! That is why I must capture you! She would be so impressed to find out that I captured a human," Papyrus responded and looked dreamily into the air, imagining what it would look like.

"Well, what if you impressed her by getting stronger?"

Papyrus considered that before responding, "Hmm, but how could I get stronger so quickly? Undyne is just way too strong to beat."

"Well, as a friend, it would be my duty to help my friend spar and train to attain his dream. But of course, if we can't be friends, then I guess I'll have to become friends with someone else." Frisk pretended to consider that last part.

"What? No! I will totally allow you to be friends with the GREAT Papyrus." Papyrus called out frantically, "I can see it now. Just like in one of those Japanese Animes, we will bring each other to new heights!" He finished with enthusiasm.

Frisk felt a little bad manipulating Papyrus like this, but it was in the best interest of both of them. Frisk needed someone he could train with to get better with his magic, and Papyrus needed to train with someone to get into the Royal Guards.

"Great!" Frisk said happily, "Then we can stop fighting and get to Snowden."

Frisk really felt like taking a nap right now. His Aura was low, and his arm was throbbing in pain.

"Wait just a minute!" Papyrus called out before Frisk could leave. "While you are my friend, as a future member of the Royal Guard, I must make sure everyone who joins with me is worthy to enter its ranks." Papyrus spun his staff around, and it lit up with orange fire. "First, you must prove your worth to be my subordinate!"

*Sigh*

When did they decide Frisk was going to be the subordinate? Whatever, Frisk was still tired, but he had been fighting for at least a couple minutes. His right eye, which had started to die down during the conversation, blazed with a renewed will to see this battle to the end.

Purple fire crawled over his broken arm, allowing Frisk to move it like normal and into a familiar position. When both hands were held in front of his chest, purple columns of fire rushed out on both sides. The fire, much slower than last time, coalesced into the form of a spear.

"WOWEE!" Papyrus called out in surprise. "My rival is just like Undyne. This is even more exciting."

Really was Frisk Papyrus's subordinate or rival. Papyrus should really just choose one. But as this was a 'test,' Frisk decided to keep his mouth shut and make the first move.

This time the fight was much more even. The gravity magic had worn out, and the few ranged attacks that Papyrus tried were cut down by Frisk's spear. However, this did not mean Papyrus was an easy opponent.

While Frisk had gotten decent at surviving using his spear, he had never had formal training in using it. While not incredibly skilled, Papyrus was still above him in terms of skill in close range. This was exasperated because the power of Papyrus's BRAVERY magic meant that any time Frisk was defending Papyrus would get stronger.

Frisk sent multiple jabs trying to break through Papyrus's defense but was unsuccessful. Finally, he leaned back to dodge the blazing orange bone staff and succeeded by an inch.

Knowing that if he lost the momentum, he would end up losing, Frisk shot out with a few fake thrusts before bringing his spear around for a big attack aiming to blow through the bone staff Papyrus was using.

His plan failed, and BRAVERY held its own against PERSEVERANCE, meaning Frisk was wide open.

*Bang*

The other end of the bone staff collided with Frisk's already broken arm, and he was sent flying.

Frisk painstakingly forced his body to get up, holding his spear with only one hand.

Papyrus dismissed his bone staff and cleared his throat. "Excellent fight, my friend. The GREAT Papyrus declares…." Papyrus looked awkwardly at Frisk.

"Frisk" Frisk finally introduced himself.

"The GREAT Papyrus declares Frisk worthy to enter the hallowed ranks of the Royal Guard alongside him!"

Frisk let out a breath of relief and dismissed his spear.

"Oh." Frisk fell to one knee. With the adrenaline and PERSEVERANCE leaving, his body had all sorts of minor aches and pains. Especially now, his even more broken arm sent pulses of pain through most of his body.

"Ah! Frisk, you are injured. Where are your cracks? I do not see them!" Papyrus ran over to Frisk and looked at him worriedly.

Frisk chuckled despite the situation. "Papyrus, I'm a human, remember? My cracks are on the inside."

"What! Quickly, Frisk, we must get you some food before you become dust! I refuse to lose a friend!" Papyrus picked Frisk up and started running in the direction of Snowden.

"Ah! W-Wait Papyrus I can walk! Put me down."

Papyrus didn't end up putting Frisk down until they ran through most of Snowden on the way to Papyrus's house.

Sans chuckled as he lazily sat in a tree on the north side of the clearing. "Thanks, kid."

Flowey scowled while peeking his head just above the snow, watching the proceedings from the south side. "Ugh, disgustingly happy."