No Matter What - A HC + other MCYT'S Undertale fic.

Snowdin Town

"Winnie...! Winnie, baby, darling...!" Gem couldn't stop crying. They were happy tears, she promised. It was just all too much!

"It can't be..." Fwhip breathed, disbelief clouding his face. Winnie shot up, barked once, twice, and bowled him over.

"It's you!" He gasped. He laughed, hugging the canine tightly. Winnie barked again, like she was saying, "Yes, it is! I've missed you guys!"

Winnie got off him, her tail whirling in the air. She trotted towards the bridge, sniffing at it.

She cocked her head at them, one paw on the planks.

"Does she...?" Gem whispered. Winnie always struck her as intelligent, but even this was weird. "Does she want us to follow her...?"

Fwhip got up, dusted himself off, and moved to stand beside the dog. "I trust her. She's a good girl."

"I do too," Gem pulled herself up. The happy mood the two shared had disintegrated, leaving behind just the cold chills of the wind.

Oh, how she wished it lasted longer. She wished she was braver, so she could apologize for exploding on him like that.

Gem wasn't a brave person. She knew that.

The bridge was old and swayed gently in the frigid winds. But it held their weight.

On the other side was a pair of Vexes. A very recognizable pair of Vexes.

Scar laughed triumphantly. His sunglasses caught the light and flashed brightly. "Humans! This will be your final and most dangerous challenge yet!"

He whipped out a small, handheld device. A remote with a singular red button on it. "BEHOLD!"

A mace, a flamethrower, two spears, AND a cannon appeared from various positions under and above the bridge, held up by thick ropes. "THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!!! When I say the word, it will fully activate!!"

"Isn't this a bit much, man?" Fwhip's voice was small, and he took a step back. Surely, there had to be another way forward.

Scar paused. "Whatever do you mean? Is this not enough of a challenge for you?!"

Gem caught on to his words. "Yeah! This is wayyy too easy for us! Even easier than any of the other puzzles!"

"what are you doing!?" Fwhip hissed. Gem butted his shoulder.

"just follow my lead!"

"That settles it then!" Scar put away the remote, forcing the traps to disappear. "This challenge...! It seems...! Maybe... too easy to defeat them with! Yeah! We can't use this one! Away it goes!"

Scar wiped his brow. Since when was he this sweaty? "Well, that's a relief."

Remembering he still had an audience, he resumed his cocky attitude, stomping his foot in the snow. "What are you looking at!? This was yet another victory for the amazing Hawkeye! Wahaha... ha... ha."

Cub shrugged and slowly followed after his runaway brother, leaving the preteens to their own devices.

-

"We should find someplace to rest up, an inn or motel or something..." Gem was exhausted. She knew her brother was, too. They were both freezing, no thanks to their now ruined clothes, letting all the cold air in.

A Goat Hybrid glanced at them and wandered closer. "If you're looking for a place to rest, my friend Hypno has an Inn you can stay at. It's just right there," he pointed towards a small, two story building.

Gem thanked the Goat man (Doc, as he said it himself) and regrouped with her brother, who was peering in through a Diner window.

"Gem...! They got pancakes and stuff in there!" Fwhip didn't look away and sat starry-eyed. 

As if on queue, her stomach protested the lack of food. The trail mix had gone out a couple hours ago, and all they had was one empty water bottle and one half-full water bottle.

They needed rest, and what better place, right?

"Okay, I have plenty of G," Gem patted Fwhip's shoulder. If it made him happy, maybe she could also work up the courage to apologize.

The two waited to be seated. The Diner only had a few employees. A teenaged Racoon Hybrid, a Snowy Owl Hybrid, and Reindeer Hybrid. The trio never slowed. It must've been a busy hour.

"Room for one more?" An easy-going voice asked. Cub.

Where did he come from? The door didn't jingle, and it wasn't loud enough to not hear it.

Even so, the twins smiled. Cub was the easier of the brothers they could talk to. "Sure thing."

The waiter (the Snowy Owl) took them to a booth not long after that.

It was afternoon, the duo had spent the whole early morning and day getting through the snowy forest, so both breakfast and lunch options were available.

(A/N: Don't you love that when Diners do that? You can have a stack of pancakes for dinner if you wanted!)

Fwhip (very unsurprisingly) got pancakes. Gem took longer.

There was stuff she recognized from the surface, like classic burgers and fries. There were also stranger things, like literal charcoal rocks or confectionary items that involved volcanic ash.

Cub took her menu, flipping it back to the more normal looking food. "I wouldn't recommend eating those unless you're secretly either a Flare like Niki or a Dragonborn."

Okay, Gem wasn't a big fan of burgers anyway, so fries it was.

Fwhip went looking for a bathroom, leaving the Vex and the girl alone.

"Spill it," Cub's demeanor shifted, way more serious. "Something's on your mind."

And how could she hide it? She'd apparently been doing a horrible job already.

So she told him. She left out the time travel death reversal. No offense to Cub, but it was very weird.

She did tell him everything else, though. Their trip in the Ruins, how they had to 'prove their strength' to Xanther (Gem ignored how Cub tensed when she mentioned Xanther), and now they were here.

"Geez," He whistled. "You kids have had an adventure."

"And there's still so far to go..." Gem concluded.

"Well," Cub slowly got up from his seat, moving to lean closer to her. "You two make a stellar team, I can see that much."

"Yeah," Gem smiled softly. "I just wish I had the bravery to apologize to him."

Cub rested a hand on her shoulder. "Bravery comes and goes. It happens to the best of us. You may think you're fearless, until you face down what scares you the most. The right time will come. You just need some patience."

"Yeah," Gem wiped the tears from her eyes. When had she started crying? "You're right. Thanks, Cub."

"Anytime, kiddo."

Fwhip returned a moment later, sliding into his seat.

The tell-tale sound of a whoopie cushion made Gem crack up. Fwhip fumed. Cub joined her in laughter.