A large sign, reading "Welcome to Snowdin", is painted in all different colors. Sans stares at it for a moment as he walks pass. He's always been attracted to lots of color. The little town is surrounded by snow and forrest on every side. It looks a lot like the outside that Sans has briefly seen in his car ride to the Underground's entrance.

     More Monsters, who must be grownups like Miss Toriel, are milling about the town. None of them look alike. This is confusing Sans more and more. From the little he's learned from Doctor Alister, Monsters are divided up into clans. Monsters are all the same species since their souls form in such a unique way, but the clans were grouped together for their similarities, and often had children with members of the same clan. This gave them all their own distinct features over generations. Sans can't pick out any single clans from the few Monsters he can see.

     The first building near the town's entrance is large. It kinda looks like two buildings with a shed squished between. Sans thinks it looks funny. He doesn't know what the word on the second building's sign is with the two 'n's, but he can read the first. He's read about shops before in his workbooks. Sans really wants to leave the town so his brother can come out, but he doesn't know where the Barrier is. What if he misses it? He has to at least check. A bell above the shop's door rings when he pulls open the door. He looks up in fright at the sound before darting inside.

     "I'll be there in just a minute, hang on!", a voice shouts from a back room.

      Sans begins to look around the room after several seconds of silence when the voice doesn't come again. The shop is brightly lit with a homey feeling. The main room is small with shelves along every wall except for where the counter is. The skeleton has never seen most of these strange items before. He walks around the room in curiosity, but never touches anything. Touching sounds like something Doctor Gaster would punish him for.

     The Monster stops at a shelf with something familiar. It's wrapped up in a layer of protective plastic. Sans isn't completely sure of what it is, but it's the same color as the outside of the pie that Toriel gave him. Is it more food? Does it taste sweet? Considering it's the only thing he's ever tasted, sweet things are Sans's favorite.

       "So what can I do for-", the shopkeeper speaks as they walk, but she stops when she sees Sans. He whirls around in fright. He's afraid of getting in trouble for even something as simple as looking. "Oh, hey, kid. Where are your parents? Are you here alone?".

      The shopkeeper didn't expect to find an unattended kid, and one she doesn't recognize, either. A family must be visiting from New Home or Waterfall. She doesn't recognize his clan features, either, but there aren't enough Monsters left to keep to separate clans. New combinations are always showing up.

     Sans's first thought is that the shopkeeper looks a lot like Tilley. Finally, he can pick out a clan. She towers over the counter and watches him curiously. Sans is too afraid to move under her gaze. He doesn't speak.

     "Well..... are you looking to buy something?", the shopkeeper asks after a long moment of silence. The kid is staring at her with fearful empty eye sockets as if he's waiting to be snapped at.

        The skeleton slowly works up the nerve to talk after nothing bad happens. "Is.... I-Is this food? Could I buy it?", he points at the tan item that he was looking at earlier.

     "Of course! It's a Cinnamon Bunny. I make them myself. They're only ten gold coins". The shopkeeper is happy to see a normal reaction. All kids like sweets.

     Sans thinks for a moment before his eye lights brighten in understanding. He doesn't have any idea what the value of different types of money are, but he does know what coins are. The Monster lets his heavy backpack slide to the ground before unzipping it. The contents make a weird sound when he starts to dig around. The shopkeeper is curious, but she can't quite make out what's inside. Sans turns back around abruptly, holding the small back of coins that Toriel had given him.

      Doctor Alister made sure he could count and add smaller numbers. Sans walks up to the counter and counts out ten coins one by one. He makes sure to pause and look up at the shopkeeper every few moments. Toriel and the Monster kids have really helped him lose most of his fear, but Sans has only ever put his trust in his brother.

     "See you later, kid! Make sure to get back to your parents soon, alright? It's getting late", the lady yells after the skeleton as he walks out. He stops just outside to shove the cinnamon bunny into his bag. He wants to save it for later to share with Papyrus.

     Everyone keeps saying that it's late in the day, but Sans has no concept of day or night. His life has run on the testing schedules. Here in the Underground, the lighting is always the same, too. He is starting to get sleepy, but there's too much left to explore. Sleeping out in the middle of the town would attract attention from the other Monsters, too.

     The Monster walks right past the other building connected to the shop. The Barrier doesn't sound like something small enough to only fit in one house. He's a little disappointed that he didn't work up the nerve to ask the shopkeeper where it was.

     Sans keeps walking down the road through the town's center. He tries to avoid looking at any other Monsters. Not many are out, but enough linger to keep him wary. There are small houses nestled against the road and further back in the trees. Those must be where many more monsters live, and Sans doesn't want to intrude. They might attack him for it. The shop at least is a place that many people come and go from, according to his workbooks.

     The wandering child didn't get much attention from the other Monsters. Most assumed he was just on his way home. An older Monster taking out the trash had to do a double take when the kid walked by the front of their restaurant. Anyone who's seen a skeleton before would immediately recognize what the kid is. That's impossible. There are no skeletons in the Underground.

     "Hey kid!" The voice sounds like hissing and cracking flame, just uniform enough to sound like words. Such a strange sound makes Sans stop dead and whip around to find the owner of the voice. A strange looking Monster is standing next to a building with one arm razed in greeting. Sans can only stare at the flickering flames that cover their heads and arms. Two spots burn brighter where the Monster's eyes must be.

     When the skeleton does nothing but stare, the fire elemental speaks again. "You're a skeleton, right? Did you fall into the Underground?". Grillby was a very young elemental when the Barrier sealed the Monsters in the Underground. He can barely remember playing with skeleton children when he was a child. They're betrayal always confused him.

"Umm...... yes". Sans doesn't know what to say. He did fall down. It makes him nervous when the fire Monster comes closer, but he needs answers. "Do you- um, sorry. The Barrier?......"

"Oh, you must be looking for the way out. The Barrier is past Waterfall and Hotland. King Asgore needs to hear about this. Here, come with me. I'll cook you something warm while we wait", Grillby comes even closer to the skeleton, intending to lead him inside. This poor kid must not realize that Monster souls can't leave the Underground.

"N-No, I can get there on my own". Sans was nervous of course, but as soon as he heard that name, he lost all trust in the fire elemental. Toriel mentioned Asgore. She said that he should try and avoid him if he can help it. Now, Sans at least has directions to the Barrier.

"It's gonna be okay, alright? You don't have to be afraid of me", Grillby tries to be soothing when he sees the kid's fear. He reaches out, but the skeleton bolts. "Wait!". Grillby tries to run after him. The Underground can be a dangerous place for kids on their own. He quickly discovers it's a fruitless effort when the kid easily leaves him behind. Grillby has to turn back, defeated, and hurry back to his restaurant to call the king.