Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     The great platinum doors slid open to reveal the distraught face of a person Alphys feared she’d never see again.

     Sans stood in the doorway, his legs quivering under the weight of the much larger, lankier skeleton- Alphys dimly recognized him as his brother- slumped over his shoulders. Sweat dribbled down his skull and drenched the collar of his shirt. His pupils, shrunken to pinpricks with panic, met Alphys’ stunned gaze, and he stumbled inside before Alphys could stammer out an invitation.

     “al, you gotta help me,” Sans mumbled, his voice weak with shock. “papyrus Fell Down, y-you gotta-” 

     The unconscious monster slid further down Sans’ right shoulder, and he staggered under the jarring shift in weight. The sudden movement snapped Alphys out of her startled trance, and she surged forward to lift the unconscious skeleton from Sans’ back. 

     The yellow lizard skittered to the nearest medical table and draped the wiry skeleton onto the cold metal surface as gently as she could. She peered into the monster’s face, sucking in a sympathetic breath at his ashen complexion. Unlike his brother, whose pearly bones blanched even whiter than usual under the stress of the situation, Papyrus bore a gray complexion morbidly comparable to dust. 

     Alphys could feel Sans’ breath on the back of her neck as he hovered anxiously behind her, still rambling. 

     “i would have come sooner, but i was af-afraid that if i took one of my shortcuts, he’d d-dust in my arms, so i just carried him here…” His bones rattled softly under his jacket. “did i do the right thing? i-is he gonna be okay? i wasn’t too late, was i?” Sans’ usual baritone pitched upward fearfully, his voice wavering.

     Alphys could only think of one other time she’d seen the usually mellow monster this terrified...

     She shut that thought down as quickly as it came.

     Alphys whirled around and placed her paws firmly on Sans’ shoulders, rubbing with her thumbs in what she hoped was a soothing manner. She felt a strong urge to hug him, but it felt inappropriate here and now. In another time that felt eons away, she would have done it without a moment of hesitation. 

     “I-it’s gonna be okay, Sans! You did a great job of getting him here safely!” She smiled reassuringly. “I’ve been working on something that sh-should help Papyrus and all of the other Fallen monsters. I-I haven’t, um, actually tested it on anything more ma-magically complex than a Golden Flower yet… b-but it looks really promising!” She chirped, injecting as much confidence into her voice as she could. 

     Fake it ‘til you make it. That’s how she got this job in the first place. 

     Sans’ strained grin twitched upwards slightly. “thank god… do whatever you have to. please. i don’t know what i’d do if…” Sans trailed off, his eye lights dimming slightly. 

     Alphys gave Sans’ shoulders a final squeeze before using her tail to slide a chair behind the stout skeleton, who collapsed into it gratefully. She then scurried off to collect what she’d need to keep Papyrus stable for the time being.

     She returned a few minutes later with an arm full of plastic tubing, a vial of red liquid nestled among its coils. In the claws of her other hand she held an IV pole, its wheels clattering against the laboratory tiles. 

     Padding towards the examination table, the scientist set the vial down on a nearby medical tray and carefully unfurled the plastic tubing. Clutching the end of the piping between her claws, she used her other paw to brush the hem of Papyrus’ shirt up towards his sternum. Drawing a deep breath through her muzzle, Alphys let her digits gently brush the opening of Papyrus’ ribcage and drew out his soul.

     The pale white entity floated delicately in her palm as she examined it. Thin cracks, like crazing sprawled along the face of an old piece of pottery, littered its surface. It flickered weakly in her hold. 

     Alphys inserted the tube into the fragile soul in her grasp, eyeing the IV pouch carefully and nodding to herself when the healing magic began its journey through the piping. Satisfied for the moment, she allowed the soul to return to Papyrus’ chest cavity and tugged his shirt back down.

     “i don’t understand…” Sans mumbled behind her, breaking the silence that had fallen over the lab. Alphys tore her gaze away from her patient’s pallid face to send the seated monster a questioning glance. 

     Sans held his skull in his hands, staring blankly ahead with empty eye sockets. “he’s such a cheerful person. he seemed fine. i-i don’t…” his grip on his own face tightened, his phalanges digging into his temples. His voice sounded oddly tight. “he… h-he always notices when i’m feelin’ down, and he helps me… but wh-when it was him… god, i didn’t even notice. i’m the worst brother ever.”

     The lower rims of Sans’ dark eye sockets glimmered, and Alphys’ heart clenched painfully at the sight of it. Fuck it, she decided, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him to her chest. A moment later, she felt a pair of hoodie-clad arms slide loosely around her, bony fingers hooking into her lab coat. She heard a muffled sniffle from somewhere below as he pushed his face into her collarbone. 

     “If you didn’t notice, it’s probably because he didn’t want you to.” Alphys murmured. She didn’t have to fake her authority on that particular subject. 

     “You’re not a bad brother, Sans. I remember the way you used to talk about him when we…” She let the sentence die on her tongue. Hopefully, or not, they’d open that can of worms another day. “...It’s obvious from the way you talk about him that you care. There’s no way he couldn’t have known that.” 

     Alphys pulled away slightly to smile teasingly down at Sans, who peeked shyly up at her. His pupils had returned; that was a good sign. “A-and if he doesn’t, then he’ll definitely figure it out when we tell him that the laziest monster in the Underground carried him on his back from Snowdin to Hotland!”

     Sans chucked wetly and untangled his hand from her lab coat to swipe under one of his eye sockets. 

     Alphys pulled away completely, clasping her paws in front of her. “Y-you’ll have to tell him,” She reiterated, more seriously this time, “when he wakes up.”

     Sans gazed back at her with an uncharacteristically soft expression. “thanks, al. you’re the best.” He whispered. 

     Alphys’ soul burst with a sense of hope she hadn’t felt in a long time, and she quickly turned back towards the examination table before she could let herself get too caught up in it. 

     Another quick assessment revealed that Papyrus was stable. Alphys took several long moments to draw the red liquid- the untested, mysterious substance that held the fate of several monsters in its vivid depths- from the vial into a syringe, and she tapped it repeatedly to rid it of nonexistent air bubbles until she forced herself to stop, lest she crack the plastic casing with her claw.

     ...Okay, she was definitely stalling. 

     Alphys once again summoned Papyrus’ soul and let it hover in her open hand once more. The needle glinted in the sterile light of the lab as she brought it closer to the essence of Papyrus’ being. 

     These people have already Fallen Down, she thought frustratedly to herself in an attempt to steady her trembling paws, it’s not like they can get any worse. Just do it already.

     She then pushed all thoughts forcefully from her mind and plunged the needle into Papyrus’ soul. 

     The week after Alphys injected Papyrus and the other Fallen monsters with Determination dragged tensely by like a purgatory, somehow managing to feel mind-numbingly dull and immensely stressful at the same time. 

     The only thing that kept her sane were the regular visits from Sans. He came every day to read a story to Papyrus or to quietly sit with him and hold his hand, but he also brought Alphys warm takeout from some diner in Snowdin, insisting that she take breaks so they could share jokes and greasy french fries. His presence was a great comfort to her.

     It reminded her of the way things were before. 

     The queasy monotony was shattered when Papyrus suddenly sat up from the examination table.

     Everything that followed happened in a rush.

     Alphys monitored Papyrus closely for the next two days, helping him reacclimate to walking and eating while Sans gave his support and encouragement. She then sent the skeleton brothers home, pleasantly surprised to receive hugs of gratitude from both of them before they departed. The other Fallen monsters arose soon after, walking around the lab and chattering excitedly about the prospect of seeing their families again.

     A day later, the brothers found themselves back at their cabin in Snowdin. They settled back into some semblance of their old routine, though the shorter monster hovered worriedly a bit more than the taller would have appreciated. 

     Meanwhile, in the bowels of the laboratory in Hotland, Alphys’ life fell apart. 

Chapter Text

     The grid of neatly printed letters blurred before Papyrus’ eye sockets as he stared through his Junior Jumble, his thoughts wandering restlessly like ants trapped in his skull cavity, skittering around in search of an escape. 

    He realized what he was doing a moment later and let out a long huff through his nasal cavity, running a gloved hand over his face. This was the fifth time that he’d spaced out since starting on the puzzle, and he hadn’t located a single word.

     He knew why he was so distracted. He was supposed to be working today. 

     In addition to Sans fretting over him, Undyne had called and ordered him to stay home until further notice, much to his embarrassment and frustration. 

     His brother had promised him that he hadn’t told Undyne what happened. Even so, it couldn’t have taken the Royal Guard captain long to hear about how Sans had dragged his unresponsive body through Waterfall and deduce that something had gone seriously wrong, even if she didn’t know specifics. So, he’d essentially been on house arrest since he returned from Hotland. 

     Didn’t they understand that sitting idly by left him with no distraction from the constant feeling of utter uselessness that threatened to choke him at every moment? Couldn’t they see that this only made things worse?

     His frown deepened as guilt settled into his soul. Sans and Undyne were only trying to help. He knew he should be grateful that he had people in his life that cared enough to worry about him- even if Undyne was probably just following Royal Guard protocol for sick trainees, and Sans… well, he wasn’t sure why the monster who had once tossed himself down the stairs like a duffle bag full of bowling balls because he was too lazy to walk would expend the effort of carrying Papyrus all the way to Hotland on his back, but he needn’t have bothered.

     All Papyrus ever did was let Sans down. His brother earned himself a fancy science degree in half the time it should have taken and did amazing things with it, while Papyrus dropped out of community college after taking only a few classes and had nothing to show for it. He failed to make enough money for rent when Sans was too shaken by… whatever had happened at his old job to continue working there, and they’d gotten evicted from their apartment in New Home. For a moment, he thought that he’d found his niche with the Royal Guard, but that was before his training status entered limbo and stayed there for months. 

     The only thing of value he brought to Sans’ life was his optimism and encouragement, and now he’d gone and ruined that by Falling Down. How could Sans thrive under his positive influence if he knew his hypocritical younger brother couldn’t even apply it to himself?

     Papyrus wasn’t worth saving, and he was certain Sans would realize it soon if he hadn’t already. How could it be avoided when Papyrus failed at the one thing he thought he could do right-

     His pencil cracked in his grip. He shakily released it, knuckles aching, and stood up from his seat. He needed some air.

     Papyrus exited his house and padded over to the twin mailboxes that stood outside. His was empty and his brother’s was overflowing, as usual. Maybe he could distract himself and do something nice at the same time by organizing Sans’ mailbox. ‘WAIT, WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL OR INVASIVE?’

     A knot of anxiety lodged itself in his chest at the prospect of making a decision. Drawing a deep, grounding breath, he lifted his gaze from the mailboxes to look out at Snowdin town. 

     ...And did a double take. Then a triple take.

     Large, cavern-dwelling critters were quite common in the Underground. These creatures were generally more afraid of monsters than monsters were of them and thus kept to themselves. Clearly there were exceptions to this rule, however, because clinging to the façade of Grillby’s like a fat dewdrop on a leaf was a colossal spider. 

     Swaths of thick white webbing trailed from the creature’s spinnerets and stretched tight across the wooden front door in an opaque seal. Papyrus watched, frozen with fascination and horror as it crept slowly upward with its foremost legs and pushed its face against the windows. 

     A fraction of a second later, the glass shattered from the pressure. 

     The muffled shrieks of alarm that sounded from inside the restaurant in response to the voyeuristic arachnid jolted Papyrus into action. The Canine Unit was trapped in there. His brother was trapped in there.

     He bolted towards the building, clumps of powdery snow flying under his boots as he dug furiously around in the pocket of his shorts for his cell phone. Once he found it, Papyrus ripped the device out of his pocket and tapped furiously at the screen with his thumb until he found the name he was looking for in his contacts. 

     “UNDYNE,” He blurted into the phone before the monster in question could bark out her usual greeting, “THERE’S A MASSIVE CAVE SPIDER ON TOP OF GRILLBY’S. IT HAS BROKEN THE WINDOWS AND IS TRYING TO GET INSIDE. THE EXIT IS BLOCKED, AND THE CANINE UNIT IS TRAPPED IN THE RESTAURANT!”

     “I’m on my way.” Undyne replied firmly. “Since the other guards decided to be lame and stuff their faces instead of doing their jobs, I need you to get that spider away from Grillby’s and keep it from moving anywhere else.” Her business-like tone shifted to something softer. “Do you think you can do that? I hate to ask this of you while you’re, uh, recovering, but we don’t have another option right now.”

     “IT’S OKAY, UNDYNE!” Papyrus chirped in reply, because ‘OH GOD, FINALLY’ would probably come across as rude. “I’M ALREADY ON IT!” 

     “Hell yeah! I knew I could count on you, Pap!” Undyne replied warmly, before abruptly ending the call.

     Papyrus shoved his phone back into his shorts as he neared the wooden building. Magic sparked to life in his palm, coalescing into the familiar shape of a bone as he readied himself to lunge for the spider-

     A streak of orange darted across his periphery as Grillby sprinted out from behind the restaurant- ‘THE FIRE EXIT’ , Papyrus realized dimly. 

     The massive animal sprung from the face of the building and crashed onto the ground with a resounding thud. Snow clung to its hairy legs like powdered sugar as it skittered madly towards the bartender. 

     Papyrus watched as Grillby backed away from the advancing creature, a ball of flame manifesting between his hands and rapidly expanding until the fire elemental had to spread his arms wide apart to contain it. He held the growing blaze out in front of him threateningly, but the spider did not cower- in fact, it approached even faster, its many eyes dilating as it gazed upon the flickering flame. Papyrus watched its reaction carefully, an idea taking shape in his mind.

     Magic flared to life once more in the skeleton’s palms, and as soon as it solidified in his grip, he hurled it into the air. The femur bounced harmlessly off of the creature’s lurching back end, which swung violently and narrowly missed Grillby as the arachnid whipped around to face its assailant.

     “HELLO, FRIEND! YOU ENJOY LIGHT, DON'T YOU?” Papyrus called out, a row of electric blue bones materializing between his hands. “THEN CHECK OUT MY SUPER COOL TRICK!” He then launched the bones into the air one by one, tossing them from palm to palm and skyward once more as he began to juggle the magic attacks. 

     The colossal creature lumbered forward eagerly, its attention seized by the skeleton’s display. Papyrus jogged backwards, his eye sockets darting frantically as he split his attention between glancing behind him for obstacles, maintaining the graceful arc of his bone attacks, and keeping the ever-advancing spider in his sights. 

     "NGAAAAAH!”

     Papyrus’ gaze snapped over his shoulder just in time to watch Undyne leap into the town proper, her armor clanking loudly as she hit the ground in a low crouch. Her dorsal fin rippled behind her like a battle flag as she stared up at him with her single yellow eye, her head bowed.  

     “UNDYNE!” Papyrus greeted brightly. “YOU’RE DOING THE COOL POSE!”

     A toothy grin split across her face. “You bet I- wait.” She sprung to her feet and stared at him incredulously as she fully took in the scene before her. “The hell are you doing parlor tricks for, nerd? Spank that thing into the river already!”

     “WOW, WHAT A HORRID PHRASE!” Papyrus chirped, but the smile fell from his face as he caught sight of the spears glowing menacingly in her webbed fists. “W-WAIT, UNDYNE, N-” an enormous set of fangs snapped at his chest, and he jerked sharply backwards to evade the spider’s ambitious lunge, “-NO! IT DOESN’T KNOW WHAT IT’S DOING, I-IT’S PROBABLY SCARED AND CONFUSED! I DON’T WANT TO HURT IT!” 

     Undyne groaned, though she sounded more pained than annoyed, “I know, Pap, but it might hurt someone whether it knows what it’s doing or not!”

     “I WON’T LET IT,” Papyrus replied firmly. “I PROMISE. PLEASE, UNDYNE, JUST TRUST ME!”

     “Ugh…” The spears in Undyne’s grip dissolved into wisps, and she dragged her newly-freed hand down her face as she stared at him tiredly. “Fine! But the moment I think someone’s gonna get hurt, I’m hurling that thing to New Home!”

     Papyrus’ soul performed an anxious little hop in his chest. Now he really couldn’t let her down. “THAT’S MORE THAN FAIR!” He replied, before redirecting his attention to the oncoming beast. 

     Its multitude of wide eyes flickered between the skeleton and the amphibian, before drifting towards the warm glow of the nearby shop windows. Panic spiked through Papyrus’ core. “H-HEY, PAY ATTENTION!” He barked. “I HAVEN’T EVEN SHOWN YOU THE BEST PART!”

     Magic swirled along his wrists and flickered from his fingertips as he summoned more bones, hurling them into the air at varying heights until the repetitive circle of movement morphed into a series of all the fun shapes the skeleton could think of: a figure-eight, a star, a replica of his own face-

     Suddenly, the pattern was interrupted. The dizzying uniformity of the blue attacks was shattered as a single orange bone made its arc through the air, glowing defiantly against its monochromatic brethren.  

     For a moment, Papyrus gaped at it as stupidly as the spider did.

     With a vigorous shake of his skull, he focused once more on the challenge at hand. Papyrus hazarded a glance over his shoulder, relief washing over his bones as he neared the ‘Welcome to Snowdin’ sign. He was almost to the edge. 

     He turned his head to gaze at the beast head-on one last time before launching himself up and over its immense form. His magic cradled him in midair, allowing him to bob gently above the town.

     The spider slowed its adamant march, its beady eyes flickering around the area in bemusement. The dark hairs that framed its head twitched curiously. Knowing he had only a moment to retain the creature’s fleeting interest, Papyrus hurled gleaming azure bones down into the snow in rows of two, allowing a wide berth between them to accommodate the spider as it lumbered through in its frenzied dash.

     The spider’s forelegs passed over the ledge that marked the end of Snowdin proper. The creature pitched forward sharply, bits of stone crumbling from the cliff’s edge as it battered the rock with its limbs in a desperate attempt to regain balance. 

     Papyrus swallowed nervously and lifted his hands to summon one final wave of attacks. Holding his arms out towards the ledge, he allowed his magic to take shape, silently praying that his earlier off-color attack hadn’t been a fluke-

     Orange bones burst out from the icy precipice, settling just under the spider’s flailing legs. Relief seeped through Papyrus’ core as he watched the attacks blossom up and away from the edge before swooping sharply downwards towards the cratered cave floor far beneath the village. The attacks split outwards and reconnected in an intricate net-like pattern that mimicked a spider’s web. 

     The arachnid quickly found purchase on the bridge of femurs and scuttled along its surface, steadily distancing itself from the little town. The structure wasn’t perfect- sweat beaded at Papyrus’ temple as he fought to reign in the chaotic undercurrent of this new, unpracticed magic- and occasionally, blue bones would erupt forth amid the orange arrangement. The retreating spider flinched each time its sensitive limbs made contact with these uninvited attacks, and Papyrus flinched sympathetically in tandem with it. 

     The great walls of rock that existed far below Snowdin town were littered with cavities and crevices that housed massive spiders and other non-sapient cave dwellers, among which Papyrus quickly spotted a gap large enough to accommodate the creature. The encroaching wave of attacks extended towards it until the bones alighted onto the cavern floor. The warm orange glow of Papyrus’ magic illuminated the aperture in the stone, which the spider ambled into without hesitation. 

     Papyrus felt a glorious spark of excitement rip through his chest as he watched the creature disappear into the dark crevice, and with one final upward swipe of his hand, he sealed the cavity shut with a wall of bone attacks. Panting softly, he let himself drift back down to the snow, his brief burst of exhilaration fading into a hesitant swell of pride. 

     "Papyrus!”

     The skeleton in question barely had time to turn around before a pair of webbed hands seized his humeri in a vice-like grip. Undyne’s face hovered inches from his own as she beamed jubilantly at him.

     “Dude, that was awesome!” She roared, jerking him back and forth by the arms. Papyrus’ skull lolled in rhythm with her manhandling, a smile tugging at his teeth. “Why didn’t you tell me you could do orange magic?”

     “I DIDN’T KNOW I COULD UNTIL A FEW MINUTES AGO!” Papyrus replied dazedly, stumbling backwards a bit when Undyne released him. His upper arms throbbed where her fingers had dug into the bone, but he was far too busy savoring the elusive sliver of hope creeping into his soul to care about a few bruises. 

     “You know what this means, don’t you?” Undyne demanded. 

     “UH-” Papyrus began, but the amphibian quickly plowed over him.

     “Orange magic is a mark of bravery!” She informed, clenching her fists eagerly. “Which is pretty fitting, if you ask me. Using yourself as bait to lure a friggin’ behemoth away from civilians? Ballsy as hell!” Undyne delivered a hearty thump to Papyrus’ shoulders with the flat of her hand, her single eye gleaming. 

     “y’hear that, paps?” Sans chipped in, suddenly standing between them. He nudged Papyrus with his elbow, winking merrily. “bravery.”

     Papyrus was far too accustomed to his brother’s random appearances to be fazed, but the same could not be said for Undyne. He snickered into his glove when the heroine jumped in alarm at the intrusion. 

     Ignoring her roar of indignation, Sans craned his neck to peer at the colorful bridge of femurs glowing persistently in the darkness of the cave. “woah, rad! you should leave that right where it is. it looks like a funky sculpture.” The little skeleton tilted his head to smile up at his brother. “y’know, you should do art more often. you make really cool stuff. remember when you painted that ice shelf to look like it was made out of wood?”

     Papyrus grimaced. He remembered, alright. He remembered the hours he poured into the project, only for the denizens of Snowdin to trample over it without sparing it a second glance. “I APPRECIATE THAT, SANS, BUT I SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO DEVOTE TO SUCH A FRIVOLOUS HOBBY. TRAINING FOR THE ROYAL GUARD IS MY ULTIMATE PRIORITY!” He declared proudly.

     Oddly enough, Sans’ grin waned a bit at his response. Before Papyrus could question him, however, Undyne interrupted.

     “Wait a minute…” She narrowed her eye at Sans, pointing an accusing finger down at him. “Sans, why didn’t you just use one of your stupid ‘shortcuts’ to get everyone out of Grillby’s?”

     “uhhh… because i couldn’t?” Sans quirked his brow bone at her in bewilderment. “i can’t take a shortcut if i’m trapped in a room, undyne.”

     “Oh.”

     Sans’ brow ridge raised further, his eye sockets scrunching up as a cheeky smile spread across his face. “the hell do you think a shortcut is? do you think i can teleport or something?”

     “ ... No?” Undyne’s voice pitched upwards defensively, her slit pupil tearing away from the skeleton’s teasing gaze and boring into the snow.

     “like a comic book character? i didn’t know you thought so highly of me, undyne.”

     “Ngaaah, shut up!” Undyne groused, shoving Sans roughly before turning on the heel of her metal boot and stomping away. The shorter monster fell backwards into the snow without struggle like a fir tree hewed down for Gyftmas. His limbs starfished outwards as he grinned at the cave ceiling, still chuckling at the captain’s expense.

     Papyrus rolled his eye sockets at his brother before jogging after the fish woman’s retreating figure. “UNDYNE, WAIT! I HAVE TO ASK YOU SOMETHING!”

     Undyne, who had begun refastening the helm of her armor to her head, lowered it once more and shot a questioning glance over her shoulder. 

     “UM,” Papyrus slowed to a stop in front of her, anxiety stirring to life inside him. He wrung his hands tightly, ignoring the sound of his own cracking knuckles. “SINCE I CAN NOW WORK WITH TWO COLORS OF MAGIC… SOMETHING THAT, AS FAR AS I AM AWARE, NOT MANY MONSTERS CAN DO… HAVE I PROVEN MYSELF TO BE ENOUGH OF AN ASSET TO BECOME A FULL-FLEDGED ROYAL GUARDSMAN?”

     A beat of silence passed. The corners of Undyne’s mouth fell into a grimace, and Papyrus felt his soul plummet right along with them. 

     “Ah, geez, Pap, I, uh…” She stammered, rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t know if you’re ready for that just yet.”

     “I SEE.” Papyrus uttered, barely managing to force an unaffected tone through the thick haze of his disappointment. 

     “Y-yeah... I mean,” her pupil darted around the cavern wildly for a moment, before her eye lit up and fixated on his face once more. “It’s one thing to pull a new attack out of nowhere during a stressful situation. Adrenaline is one hell of a drug!” Her shoulders lifted as she spoke with renewed confidence. “But reigning that magic in and controlling it so it answers to you and not the other way around? That’s a whole other animal.”

     Papyrus nodded slowly. Her explanation made sense. Yet something just didn’t feel right…

     He was pulled out of his musings when Undyne’s gauntlet clamped down on his shoulder, her fingers squeezing the knobby bone. “Lucky for you, that’s exactly what I’m here for! Come to my house tomorrow morning to spar, and we’ll make orange magic your bitch!”

     “SIR, YES SIR!” Papyrus barked in reply, partially out of habit and partially because Undyne’s fierce excitement was infectious. 

     She beamed at him, her fins flaring in satisfaction. “That’s what I like to hear.” With that, she shoved her helmet down onto her head and marched onward, heading in the direction of Waterfall. 

     Papyrus’ smile dimmed as he watched her shape recede into the distance. He turned and trudged back towards the merry ambience of Snowdin, stopping in front of his brother. The smaller skeleton was still sprawled in the snow, snoring quietly. 

     “COME ON, SANS.” The monster in question cracked an eye socket open at the disturbance. “LET’S GO HOME.” 

     Grinning sleepily up at his younger brother, Sans stuck his arms into the air and waggled his fingers. “carry me.”

     “ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Papyrus demanded incredulously, hands flying to his hips as he scowled down at the plump monster. “YOU HAVE LEGS! USE THEM!” 

     “aw, c’mon, bro, you owe me!” Sans protested, his eye lights shimmering beseechingly. “i hauled you halfway across the underground the other day! my poor achin’ back can’t take any more stress!”

     Papyrus felt a sharp pang of guilt at the truth that lay behind his brother’s jesting tone, but he quickly covered it with a roll of his eye sockets and a shake of his head. “UGH, FINE! IF IT’LL MAKE YOU STOP WHINING.” He snagged his brother under the arms and lifted him to his chest, feeling the smaller skeleton’s limbs tighten instinctually around him as he settled into his hold. “WILL YOU EVER LET THAT GO? I’M SO SORRY I MADE YOU EXERCISE FOR ONCE.” He continued, his voice oozing with sarcasm. 

     “you should be.” Sans replied matter-of-factly with a curt nod of his head. A moment later, the arms hooked around Papyrus’ shoulders gave him a brief squeeze. His brother’s next words were spoken so softly that he had to strain to hear them. “s’okay, though. you’re worth it.”

     'NO, I’M NOT.’ Papyrus thought to himself dully. The deep ache he had grown so accustomed to had reestablished itself in his soul at full force, weighing him down as though he had an anvil tied to each rib. ‘BUT I WILL BE. I WILL BE WORTH IT ONE DAY, SANS, I PROMISE.’

     A peaceful silence fell over the two skeletons as the taller of the pair marched onward. Just when Papyrus thought his sibling had fallen asleep, the monster in his arms pulled back a bit to look the other in the face. 

     “so, what’d you and undyne talk about?” Sans cocked his head. “you, uh, seemed a lot less jazzed when you came back.”

     “I ASKED HER IF I WAS READY TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD AFTER DEMONSTRATING THAT I CAN USE DUAL MAGIC.”

     “and?”

     “APPARENTLY I AM NOT READY. SHE SAID THAT I NEED TO GET THIS NEW ORANGE MAGIC UNDER CONTROL FIRST.”

     “what? laaaaame.” 

     Papyrus felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, feeling touched at his brother’s casual show of solidarity. 

     “i mean, i get why she’d want you to master orange attacks,” Sans continued, sitting up straighter in his sibling’s arms and gesturing with his hands as he spoke. Papyrus was quite surprised at the uncharacteristic amount of energy the smaller skeleton was devoting to this conversation. “new magic can be unpredictable. but i don’t think the other snowdin guards can use more than one color of magic at all, yet they still got initiated. and you have better control over blue magic than anyone i’ve met.” Sans’ brow bones knitted together in thought. “come to think of it, didn’t lesser dog begin training after you did?”

     Papyrus nodded grimly. Sans was echoing the doubts that had arisen in his own mind the moment he saw the hesitation in Undyne’s face. 

     “IT DOESN’T SIT RIGHT WITH ME, EITHER.” Papyrus confessed. He ascended the concrete steps that led to their front door and gripped Sans tighter in one arm, using his other hand to dig around in his pants pocket for his keys. “I THINK I’M GOING TO SHARE MY CONCERNS WITH HER TOMORROW AT SPARRING PRACTICE.”

     Knowing the difference between day and night in the Underground was not an easy task when every hour was characterized by the same stagnant darkness, but there were some tells. The cheery golden light cast onto the ice by the Snowdin shop windows had long since retreated, and the little village looked much colder in its absence. The monsters holed up inside their wooden cabins were spared from the effect as they dozed soundly.

     All except one.

     A lone flower bounced idly on his stem as he gazed out at the snow-cloaked town. Nothing of interest was happening, yet the yellow blossom couldn’t bring himself to leave. 

     His new existence had gotten off to a rocky start, to say the least- he’d felt his sibling die in his arms, absorbed their soul, gotten beaten to death by humans, woken up on a steel medical tray in a body that was not his own, and gained the ability to turn back time.

     From the moment he’d woken up in his strange new vessel, staring up at the shadowy coffered ceiling of the laboratory, he’d known that something was off in a way that went deeper than his diminished size and lack of limbs. 

     He used to bawl sympathetically when his sibling so much as scraped their knee, yet the memory of their form going limp and still in his arms brought only a dull, distant pang of melancholy. He had felt utterly overpowered by raw panic when the humans struck him over and over as he keened through a mouthful of dust for them to stop, please, I won’t hurt you, just stop , but replaying the event in his mind summoned only the barest prickle of unease.

     He’d never felt such a yawning emptiness. It was like his soul was stuffed with cotton and gauze, muffling the feelings that usually assailed him with such clarity. So, he’d tried to summon his soul to see what was wrong with it, and...

     He was getting off track.

     Anyways.

     He couldn’t stop thinking about the day’s events! When he saw that massive spider attack the diner, he was certain he’d have to turn back time so he could warn everybody. He had been just about to go through with it, but he’d held back for a moment to see what the beast would do. 

     Only to memorize the spider’s every movement so he’d know how to prevent it, of course. There was no other reason for it. 

     But then, something unexpected happened. A skeleton- ‘Papyrus,’ he reminded himself- had lured the creature away from Snowdin and safely corralled it back to its home using a tactic that was more of a lightshow than an attack. He’d been adamant about sparing its life and succeeded in doing so. Most impressively of all, he’d developed the ability to use a second magic color and exercised an alarming amount of control over it, given his unfamiliarity with it.

     How could a monster he’d never even seen or heard of have so much power? What else was he capable of?

     The little flower’s train of thought was broken by the slow creak of a wooden door. He whipped his head around to face the disturbance, golden petals flapping, and spotted a skeleton leaving the cabin on the far end of the village- the very skeleton that had occupied his thoughts all day.

     This was his chance. The yellow blossom burrowed into the snow, tunneling forth through the icy slush. When he felt the subtle vibration of footsteps from above, he popped out of the earth once more and shook bits of frost from his petals. “Howdy!”

     “NYEH!” Papyrus leapt backwards in shock, eyeballs bugging out of his sockets as he stared down at the flower. 

     The plant smiled blankly as he waited for the larger monster to compose himself. Startling people with his unusual method of travel and surprise appearances had been funny at first, but the novelty had since worn off. 

     The skeleton recovered quickly and squatted low to the ground to greet him, giving the blossom an opportunity to get a closer look. His lopsided eye sockets, goofy smile, tank top- 'did he draw abs on that thing with a marker?'- and hot pink shorts didn’t exactly paint a picture of a formidable monster. But the blossom wasn’t about to dismiss this monster because of a silly outfit. Not after what he’d seen today. 

     “HELLO THERE, LITTLE FLOWER!” The lanky skeleton chirped, waving a gloved hand at him merrily. “WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

     The floret blinked. None of the monsters he’d appeared to in his current form had bothered to ask for his name. 

     It was a simple question with a simple answer, yet he couldn’t bring himself to deliver his usual response. In this unfamiliar body, so distanced from his emotions that he couldn’t even grieve for his sibling, no matter how many times he replayed their death in his head in an attempt to elicit something more than the dullest, vaguest pang of loss… it felt wrong. It was an insult to the person he used to be.

     “Um…” He looked down at himself, eyeing his stem, his leaves, and his lowermost petals. “F-Flow...ey?” He winced uncertainly. 

     Papyrus beamed. “IT’S WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU, FLOWEY THE FLOWER!” He cocked his brow bone dramatically, a gloved hand coming to rest deliberately upon his chest. “MY NAME IS-”

     “Oh, I know who you are, Papyrus!” Flowey interrupted, bouncing on his stalk. When he received a confused stare in response, he elaborated, “I saw you lure that spider away from Snowdin. You put on quite a show! I don’t know many monsters who can use two colors of magic.” Well, he didn’t know many non-Boss Monsters who could, anyway. 

     ...Flowey didn’t want to think about Boss Monsters right now. He redirected his attention to the skeleton in front of him. 

     Papyrus’ eye sockets sparkled as he basked in the praise. “WHY, THANK YOU! I ALWAYS STRIVE TO MAKE A RIVETING SCENE.” After a moment, however, his vibrant smile waned. “I WISH CAPTAIN UNDYNE WAS AS IMPRESSED BY IT AS YOU ARE. SHE STILL DOESN’T THINK I’M READY TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD.”

     “Golly, I’m sorry to hear that!” Flowey patted the skeleton’s hand with a leaf. “Maybe…” The golden blossom’s brows knitted in thought. “Maybe you need to do something cooler. Something too impressive for her to ignore!”

     “WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST?” Papyrus laid down on his ribcage and propped his head up with his hands so he could gaze at Flowey, kicking his legs idly in the air. 

     “Well… like I said, monsters that can use two colors of magic are fairly rare,” Flowey began, “so what would happen if you learned how to use more than two?” The idea of a monster with an entire rainbow of magic at their disposal, like a character from his old comic books or the pictures he used to draw, filled him with… well, not excitement. But he knew it was something that would have elated him back then , and that was close enough.

     Maybe if he could reignite that sense of wonder, he’d feel more like the person he used to be.

     “Best case scenario, she’ll be so amazed that she makes you a Royal Guard on the spot,” Flowey added, “but if she doesn’t, she’ll at least owe you an explanation about why she won’t let you in when you’re more powerful than the captain herself!”

     “WOWIE! SUCH CUNNING! THAT’S A VERY GOOD IDEA, FLOWEY!” Papyrus praised. “BUT-”

     Flowey’s petals, which had perked up at the compliment, promptly sagged in anticipation for the monster’s argument.

     “-I DO AGREE WITH UNDYNE THAT I SHOULD GET A BETTER HANDLE ON MY ORANGE MAGIC. I’D RATHER HAVE TOTAL MASTERY OVER ONE OR TWO TYPES OF MAGIC THAN NO CONTROL OVER AN ENTIRE ARSENAL.” Papyrus explained earnestly. 

     Flowey, to his own surprise, felt a flash of annoyance at the skeleton’s refusal. It was the sharpest emotion he’d experienced thus far, but not in the way he’d been searching for. It just left him feeling restless and unsatisfied.

     “BESIDES, I’VE ALREADY DECIDED THAT I’M GOING TO DISCUSS MY DOUBTS WITH HER TOMORROW.” Papyrus continued. “I AM CERTAIN THAT THIS CAN BE RESOLVED THROUGH OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN TWO VERY COOL MONSTERS.”

     Well, that sounded boring. 'No, it’s good', Flowey half-heartedly chided himself, 'he’s going to solve his problems and make his life better. Isn’t that what I promised I’d use my new powers for? Making life better for people?'  Then why did he feel so disappointed, so cheated?

     Papyrus began to stir, pulling himself back into a crouching position and dusting off his gloves to rid them of the powdery snow clinging to the fabric. 

     Flowey stiffened. If Papyrus left, he’d have to wait through hours of oppressive silence before he had someone to talk to again. “Wait! Y-you said you wanted to get control over your orange magic, right? Why not start now?” He offered. He flashed his companion a cocky smirk as white pellets materialized in an arc over his head, pointing at the other monster.

     A wide grin split across Papyrus’ face, the bright glow of magic coalescing in his open hands matched only by the spark of competitive thrill in his eye sockets. 

Chapter Text

     “You’re dead, punk!” 

     Papyrus panted harshly against the electric blue speartip digging into his neck as he stared up at his mentor. The amphibian beamed maniacally down at him, one boot planted firmly atop his ribcage. He grinned up at her in return, too winded to reply.

     Undyne extended a hand to help him, her arm muscles rippling as she yanked him to his feet. After regaining his balance, Papyrus took a moment to gaze upon their training ground. 

     Cyan spears and bone attacks varying between white, blue, and orange littered Undyne’s yard, casting a kaleidoscopic glow onto the snarling face of her house. 

     The Royal Guard captain squinted at her wristwatch. Then, her eye widened in surprise, and she delivered a congratulatory slap to Papyrus’ upper spine, her toothy smile growing even wider. “Damn, Pap, you lasted almost three hours before I beat you! That’s a new record for you!” She cheered as she threw an arm around his shoulders and herded him into her house. 

     Once the pair passed over the threshold, Undyne released the skeleton and snatched a stack of folded towels off the kitchen counter. She lobbed one at her trainee and threw the other around her neck to mop up the sweat.

     Papyrus puffed out his chest proudly. “NYEHEHEH, THANK YOU! I PRACTICED LAST NIGHT TO PREPARE FOR TODAY’S SESSION!” He brightly replied. As the skeleton dabbed at his damp forehead with the towel, he smiled secretively as he remembered his encounter with Flowey.

     The little flower had been kind enough to spar with him until the stirrings of the Snowdin vendors opening up their businesses alerted the duo to the early morning hour. During their time together, Papyrus gained much greater command over his orange magic, and it seemed that the yellow blossom developed firmer control of his bullet attacks as well. 

     Given that the skeleton had dueled with Flowey for several hours in lieu of sleeping only to throw himself into another grueling sparring session with Undyne almost immediately afterward, Papyrus was surprised at his own lack of exhaustion. 

     Come to think of it, he hadn’t slept at all since he was jolted back to consciousness in Dr. Alphys’ lab. He’d tried to rest since then, of course, but he was kept awake by an odd, restless hum deep within his bones. Yet in spite of the ever-darkening shadows collecting beneath his eye sockets, he didn’t feel tired at all. If anything, his training session with the Royal Guard captain left him feeling invigorated. 

     “You’ve really tightened your control over your orange magic, too!” Undyne added merrily through a bite of a Crab Apple, jolting Papyrus back into the present moment. “I’d say you’re just about as good at it as you are with blue magic now!”

     Papyrus’ skull perked up as the opportunity he had been hoping for opened itself in the conversation. “IF I’VE MASTERED ORANGE MAGIC, DOES THAT MEAN I AM READY TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARD?” 

     Undyne’s grin froze on her face. She slowly lowered the half-eaten Crab Apple onto the kitchen table, her single pupil shrinking under the skeleton’s unyielding gaze. “Uh,” She replied blankly as she lifted a hand to sweep her dorsal fin down over her collarbone. The nervous tic proved itself useless a moment later when the vermillion fin drifted back to its usual position, fluttering gently behind her. “I don’t know about that, Pap.”

     Papyrus’ soul sunk low in his chest as he watched her sweat. He’d expected this response from her, but that didn’t make it hurt any less as his suspicions were confirmed right in front of him. “YOU SAID JUST A MOMENT AGO THAT I AM AS GOOD WITH ORANGE MAGIC AS I AM WITH BLUE MAGIC-” 

     “Woah, woah, hold up!” The fish monster waved her webbed hands frantically in front of her as though it would dispel this whole uncomfortable conversation. Her voice had heightened in pitch, the skeleton noted grimly, like it always did when she felt defensive over a dispute she couldn’t solve with punching. “I said you were just about as good with orange magic-”

     “UNDYNE.” Papyrus interjected tiredly. “PLEASE.”

     Something in Undyne’s expression shifted in response to the skeleton’s tone, and her broad shoulders slumped. She opened her mouth once more, but no words followed. 

     Papyrus took her panicked silence as permission to speak. “YOU TOLD ME JUST YESTERDAY THAT I NEEDED BETTER CONTROL OVER MY ORANGE MAGIC BEFORE I COULD BECOME A ROYAL GUARD. I KNOW YOU ARE VERY SKILLED AT WHAT YOU DO, AND I RESPECT YOU GREATLY, BUT I MUST ADMIT THAT I AM HAVING DOUBTS.” 

     The fact that she hadn’t chased him out of her home with a barrage of spears for daring to question her judgement was a good sign. Her increasingly pained expression was… less reassuring.  

     “I’VE BEEN WONDERING FOR A WHILE WHY MY TRAINING PERIOD HAS LASTED SO MUCH LONGER THAN ANY OTHER GUARD I KNOW. I ALSO DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD REQUIRE FULL MASTERY OVER A SECOND MAGIC COLOR FROM ME WHEN THE ENTIRE CANINE UNIT CAN USE ONLY ONE. 

     “BUT EVEN WITH THAT CONTEXT, I UNDERSTAND THAT HAVING TOTAL CONTROL OVER MY MAGIC IS VERY IMPORTANT, SO I FOLLOWED YOUR ORDERS. YET NOW THAT I AM MORE OR LESS EQUALLY ADEPT AT BOTH TYPES OF MAGIC, STILL YOU SAY THAT I AM NOT READY.”

     Now for the hardest part. Papyrus drew a shaky breath and squeezed his eye sockets shut before concluding, “I AM SORRY IF IT IS DISRESPECTFUL TO SAY, BUT I DON’T BELIEVE YOU ARE BEING HONEST WITH ME ABOUT YOUR REASONS FOR KEEPING ME OUT OF THE ROYAL GUARD.”

     A beat of silence passed. Acting against the knot of anxiety in his chest, he forced himself to open his eye sockets once more and gaze upon his mentor’s face to gauge her reaction.

     Undyne didn’t appear angry, but what he did see in her expression made him wish she did. Her fins sagged, and her mouth was set in a firm line as she looked at him with sadness and resignation. Finally, she spoke.

     “...I’ll go make some tea.”

     “Papyrus,” Undyne began, clutching her mug of Golden Flower tea so tightly her knuckles blanched, “what happens if a human falls into the Underground?” 

     Papyrus’ brow bones knitted together in bewilderment. Was this a trick question? “IF A HUMAN FALLS INTO THE UNDERGROUND, THEN THEY MUST BE CAPTURED.”

     The Royal Guard captain nodded once, her single amber eye never leaving his face. “That’s correct. What happens after that?”

     “THE CAPTURED HUMAN MUST BE BROUGHT TO KING ASGORE.”

     “And after that?”

     Papyrus frowned. He’d… never thought much about what happened after a human was presented to the king. He’d assumed, vaguely, that the human would remain in the custody of King Asgore until enough souls were collected to break the barrier, but upon deeper consideration, that didn’t make any sense. 

     Based on the tales he’d heard from older monsters, a human falling into the Underground was a rare phenomenon, with years or even decades passing between each incident. Yet Papyrus had learned from his (admittedly obsessive) human-hunting research that the fleshy creatures had very short lifespans compared to monsters. 

     Additionally, it was common knowledge that the king was currently in possession of six human souls. But Asgore had an open-door policy when it came to looking after his subjects, so anyone who felt that their concerns warranted a meeting with the king could walk right into the castle at their own discretion. Surely if Asgore had six humans living in his home, people would notice the mysterious beings and gossip about it to others, right?

     “...I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT.” Papyrus eventually confessed after his musings reached a dead end.

     Undyne’s eye fell shut as she let out a long, deep sigh, her nostrils flaring with the force of it. In that moment, Papyrus was struck by how uncharacteristically tired she looked. He suddenly felt as though he had stumbled across something he was never meant to see, like that time he walked into Grillby’s in search of his brother and found the bartender in the midst of a fierce argument with a younger, green fire elemental. 

     Finally, the amphibian met his gaze once more. “After being taken to Asgore, the human is killed for their soul… if the Royal Guard doesn’t do it first.”

     Papyrus blinked dazedly. This new information knocked the wind out of him like a rock to the ribcage, hitting him directly in his soul and sending it sinking lower and lower within him. “WHAT?” He croaked, his throat suddenly very dry.

     “Papyrus, you are the most physically and magically capable cadet I’ve ever trained.” She stated seriously. “Your abilities were never in question. If being strong and skilled were the only qualities you needed to be a Royal Guard, I’d have let you in months ago.”

     It was strange. Papyrus had been wishing every day since Undyne agreed to start training him that she would acknowledge his talents like this. Yet now that it was finally happening, the weight of the information she’d shared with him moments earlier stifled any joy he could have felt. 

     “But there’s more to being in the Guard than that. If worse comes to worst, you need to be willing to defend yourself and others to the death.” The captain continued severely. “That’s why I was putting off letting you in, Pap. You don’t want to hurt anyone- and I love that about you,” Undyne reached across the table and gave Papyrus’ forearm a squeeze, “but if you can’t even bring yourself to attack a cave spider-”

     “YOU ARE RIGHT TO ASSUME I WOULD NEVER KILL ANYONE.” Papyrus replied stiffly, pulling his arm from the fish woman’s grip. 

     “Are you angry?” Undyne’s fins pointed dejectedly downward. Her voice held the slightest touch of vulnerability, but it was enough to soften Papyrus’ features as he looked back at her. “I understand if you are.”

     Papyrus sighed softly through his nasal cavity. “YES.” He admitted. “I WISH YOU HAD BEEN HONEST WITH ME FROM THE START. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DIDN’T WANT TO HURT ME, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LESS PAINFUL THAN LETTING ME WORK FOR MONTHS TOWARDS SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.” 

     Undyne nodded grimly, idly scratching the wood of her kitchen table with a claw. “So… I guess this means you’re done, then? With the Royal Guard?” 

     Papyrus swallowed hard, the question sending a wave of dread cascading over his soul. The obvious answer was yes, because his unwillingness to kill was the only issue keeping him from the Royal Guard, and the only quality that he could never and would never sacrifice. He couldn’t walk this path any further. He’d reached a dead end.  

     But he’d pinned everything he had on being part of the Royal Guard. He had no backup plan. It was supposed to be his niche, his way to make friends, his ticket to finally being useful and not feeling so utterly worthless all the time. 

     He couldn’t let that go. If he did, he’d have nothing. He’d be nobody.

     “CAN I THINK ABOUT IT?” Papyrus blurted out, wincing internally at the pathetic note of desperation that wormed itself into his voice.

     If Undyne noticed his despair, she was gracious enough not to say anything. “Yeah, of course, dude. Whatever you need.”

     Papyrus nodded absently, suddenly feeling very ready to leave. He slowly stood up from the kitchen table and drifted towards the door. 

     “Hey, Papyrus?”

     The skeleton in question peeked over his shoulder questioningly, watching as the amphibian nervously fidgeted before him.

     “Listen, uh… even if you decide that the Royal Guard isn’t the right path for you,” Undyne began gruffly, “if you still want to cook stuff together, or spar, that would, y’know, be fine.” Her slit pupil bored into the garish checkered tiles of the kitchen. “I mean, I know you’re pretty pissed so it’s cool if you don’t want-”

     “I WOULD LIKE THAT, UNDYNE.” Papyrus replied, smiling a little. He was upset with her, it was true. Yet there were times during their sessions together that he felt as though she was the only person who could match his energy, or laugh and add onto his jokes instead of cringing at him or politely humoring him. It alleviated the heavy ache in his soul a bit to know that her company was the one thing he wouldn’t lose if he were to give up his dream.

     A bright grin split across Undyne’s face. “Really? I mean, uh, whatever.” A moment later, her smile softened a bit. “Good luck thinkin’ things over, okay?” 

     The corners of Papyrus' mouth twitched upwards slightly. “THANK YOU.”

     As soon as he stepped out from the warm glow of her home and into the bioluminescent swamp, his ghost of a grin disappeared entirely, falling into a perturbed frown. 

     He couldn’t understand. For as long as he had been aware of the Royal Guard’s existence, he regarded them with awe and admiration for their strength and their dedication to protecting people. But they- and King Asgore , the monster he’d always known as a big, fuzzy pushover- killed humans. He couldn’t reconcile the kindness he knew of those monsters with the horrid act of murder.

     But he also couldn’t reconcile murder with kindness. 

     He couldn’t understand, but he was willing to try. Luckily, he knew just the monster to help him.

     With that thought in mind, he set off.

     “Woah there! I’ve got some neat junk for sale.” Gerson greeted as the soft crunch of Papyrus’ footsteps reached his ears.

     As the taller monster passed through the doorway, the old turtle squinted his single eye at him. “Hey, I know you! You’re that skeleton Undyne’s always talkin’ about! You’re, uh…” He hummed in concentration as he studied the man before him. “...I don’t remember.”

     “MY NAME IS PAPYRUS!” Papyrus supplemented politely. “MISTER GERSON, I WAS WONDERING IF I COULD ASK YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROYAL GUARD.”

     “What do you wanna know?”

     “WELL, SPEAKING OF CAPTAIN UNDYNE, I JUST HAD AN… INTERESTING CONVERSATION WITH HER,” Papyrus began, scuffing at the blue grass underfoot with his boot. 

     “SHE TOLD ME THAT IF A HUMAN ENTERS THE UNDERGROUND, A ROYAL GUARD MUST BE PREPARED TO DEFEND THEIR PEOPLE TO THE DEATH. EVEN IF IT DOESN’T COME TO THAT, THE HUMAN IS STILL BROUGHT TO KING ASGORE AND… KILLED. I-I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT. 

     BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT ASGORE AND EVERYONE IN THE GUARD ARE GOOD PEOPLE. THEY MUST BE, IF THEY CHOOSE TO DEDICATE THEIR LIVES TO HELPING MONSTERKIND. SO MAYBE I’M MISSING SOMETHING. MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE HUMANS THAT MADE THESE- THESE GOOD PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY HAD TO DO SOMETHING TERRIBLE FOR THE SAKE OF PROTECTING MONSTERS. 

     “THAT’S WHY IT’S SO WONDERFUL THAT THERE’S SOMEONE LIKE YOU IN THE UNDERGROUND, WHO HAS SEEN AND LEARNED SO MUCH. SO I NEED YOU TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND.” Papyrus lifted his gaze from the dark floor of the shop and stared at the reptilian monster imploringly. 

     “ASGORE AND ALL OF THE MONSTERS IN THE GUARD… THEY MUST HAVE FELT REALLY THREATENED BY THE FALLEN HUMANS TO RESORT TO THAT. SO THESE HUMANS THAT FELL… THEY WERE BIG, STRONG, RUTHLESS, BATTLE-HARDENED WARRIORS, RIGHT? THEY HAD TO HAVE BEEN. OTHERWISE, WHY WOULD OUR OWN BRAVE, SEASONED, INCREDIBLE SOLDIERS FEEL JUSTIFIED IN ENDING THEIR LIVES?” Papyrus attempted to offset his pleading tone with a hopeful smile.

     Gerson didn’t return it. 

     Undyne’s front door splintered easily under Papyrus’ boot. 

     It clattered loudly to the floor in pieces, and the skeleton stepped easily over the jagged wooden fragments as he marched into his mentor’s house, gloved fists clenched at his sides. 

     Undyne dropped the teacup she had been scrubbing into the sudsy contents of her kitchen sink and whirled around to face the disturbance, her red dorsal fin whipping wildly behind her. Upon recognizing the intruder, a confused grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Woah, nice kick, dude! But what are you-”

     “CHILDREN, UNDYNE.” Papyrus delivered the words in a low, harsh staccato, like a blunt weapon tapped warningly against its owner’s open palm.

     The captain’s hesitant smile dimmed as she eyed him in bewilderment. “Uh, pardon?”

     “THE HUMANS!” Papyrus elaborated impatiently. “THE SIX HUMANS THAT FELL INTO THE UNDERGROUND AND WERE KILLED. THEY WERE CHILDREN.” He choked, gesticulating wildly with his hands.

     Papyrus waited for the shock to drain the color from her face, and the anguish and rage that would surely follow from the most passionate monster he knew. 

     But it never came. 

     Papyrus watched as her expression melted into a resigned sort of sorrow, identical to the one he’d received from her during their last conversation. As long seconds ticked deafeningly by, he stared at her with a dawning sense of queasy horror.

     “DID…” He croaked, suddenly feeling lightheaded. “DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?”

     Undyne’s eye fell shut for a long moment. Then, it reopened and fixated on the skeleton’s pallid features once more. “Yeah. Yeah, I knew.” She replied quietly.

     Papyrus gaped at her, aghast. He opened and shut his mandible a few times as he struggled to take hold of his shock and shape it into words. 

     “Look, I was still in striped shirts when the last human fell,” Undyne added hurriedly, “so nobody in the current Royal Guard has even seen a human, let alone harmed one-”

     “BUT THEY WOULD. YOU JUST SAID SO NOT EVEN AN HOUR AGO.” Papyrus argued over her. “YOU. EVERYONE IN THE GUARD. KING ASGORE. ” His voice broke.

     “I know, Papyrus, it’s awful,” Undyne interposed earnestly, “but you have to understand that a human’s strength comes from their intent, regardless of age or size or any other factor. A single human can plow through an entire army of monsters if they have enough determination and enough hate.” She explained emphatically, hitting her open palm with a fist. “That’s why we lost the war. That’s how we got stuck down here. So a human’s age really doesn’t matter when you consider-”

     White-hot anger sparked to life in Papyrus’ chest and began to rise, like a flame in a fireplace sending its bitter smoke up through the chimney. “AGE DOESN’T MATTER? DO YOU EVEN HEAR YOURSELF?” He spat disgustedly. “YOU- YOU-” His fists trembled. “HOW CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A HERO WHEN YOU’RE WILLING TO KILL A CHILD-”

     Undyne’s fins flared defensively, her slit pupil narrowing even further with fury. “Now, you wait just a minute,” she growled, taking a menacing step forward, “you can disagree with the situation as much as you want, but don’t you dare insinuate that I or anyone else in the Guard wants to kill a child. Nobody eagerly awaits the opportunity to hurt kids, and if they did, they’d be on the receiving end of my soldiers, not standing among them.” 

     Her yellowed fangs jutted threateningly over her lower lip as she glowered down at the shorter monster. Papyrus felt a prickle of intimidation creep through him at the sight, but he squared his shoulders and matched her fiery glare with one of his own.

     “But if it ever comes down to the life of a single human versus the lives of everyone in the Underground and reclaiming the freedom that the humans took from us in the first place, then I would have no choice-”

     "YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE!” Papyrus snarled, slamming his fist down onto the kitchen table as his ire crescendoed into a roar. Revulsion roiled inside him at the captain’s words, and suddenly, he couldn’t bear to stay in her house a minute longer. He whirled around and stomped over the broken scraps of her door once again, refusing to look back as he marched further and further from the domicile.

     Eventually, the quiet humdrum of Papyrus’ boots against the soft grass was broken by Undyne’s distant shout, which rang through the swamp and reverberated around the dripping cavern walls.

     “So I guess this means you quit?”

     'NO,’ Papyrus thought stormily to himself as a frenzied idea began to take shape in his mind, ‘IT MEANS I’M COMING FOR YOUR JOB.’

     “FLOWEY!” Papyrus bellowed through his cupped hands. He paced restlessly around the edge of Snowdin proper where he had first met the little flower the night before. His shouts earned him some strange looks from the few people in earshot, but that was nothing new. 

     He really should have asked Flowey for a phone number or an address, or… any way to find him again, really. “FLOWEY, ARE YOU THERE? I’D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!” 

     “Howdy!” 

     The yellow monster sprung up through the ground, flinging clumps of snow in all directions. He shook off his petals to rid them of any remaining dirt before grinning up at the skeleton. “What’s up?”

     “FLOWEY!” Papyrus exclaimed gratefully, crouching down to look the other in the eye. “I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE! I WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT WHAT YOU SUGGESTED YESTERDAY. I’D LIKE TO GIVE IT A TRY.” 

     A beat of silence passed, during which the skeleton mentally smacked himself. He was being presumptuous, wasn’t he? “IF YOU’RE STILL INTERESTED, OF COURSE-”

     “I’m still interested!” Flowey blurted out. Papyrus was a bit taken aback by his enthusiasm, but thankful nonetheless. 

     “Say, why don’t we take a walk into the woods so we can talk privately?” Flowey offered. Without waiting for a response, he rose further out of the ground and slithered up Papyrus’ arm, his vines hooking securely around the taller monster’s radius and ulna.

     Papyrus suppressed a shudder at the unexpected sensation of cold tendrils snaking up his bones. “GREAT IDEA, FLOWEY!” He replied belatedly, before rising to his full height once more and marching into the dense pine forest. 

     “I sure am glad you came around to my idea, Papyrus!” Flowey brightly exclaimed from his position atop the skeleton’s shoulder. “It is odd, though. You seemed so insistent on handling things your own way yesterday. What made you change your mind?” The blossom queried, tilting his head curiously. It struck the larger monster as a strangely child-like gesture. 

     Papyrus heaved a heavy sigh and recounted everything that happened between Undyne’s house, Gerson’s shop, and inside Undyne’s house again.

     “Wow, that’s… that’s some story, Papyrus.” Flowey muttered once the skeleton finished his tale. “They say monster souls are made of love and compassion. It’s amazing how little that actually means.” The floret let out a dark chuckle, the cynicism of the noise chasing away all traces of the youthful innocence Papyrus had seen in him a moment earlier. 

     “I don’t understand why that would make you want to learn more types of magic, though. Aren't you done with the Royal Guard, if you’re so disgusted with it?” 

     “NO. EVEN IF I WERE TO LEAVE, ANY HUMAN THAT FALLS UNDERGROUND WILL STILL BE MURDERED. QUITTING WOULD ONLY SERVE AS A SYMBOLIC GESTURE; IT WOULDN’T SOLVE THE PROBLEM.” 

     Papyrus thought he spotted a flicker of surprise in Flowey’s expression, but he was too distracted to question it. “IF I WERE TO BECOME A COMMANDING OFFICER, HOWEVER, I COULD CHANGE THE ROYAL GUARD’S POLICY TOWARDS HUMANS.”

     “Woah.” Flowey blinked. “That’s a tall order. How exactly are you going to do that? Undyne’s the highest in command. Even if there were officer positions open below her, you’d need her approval to change anything, wouldn’t you? I doubt she’d agree to spare a human…”

     Papyrus reached into his ribcage and pulled out a thick, leather-bound book. “ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL ROYAL GUARD HANDBOOK-”

     “Woah, woah, wait. Do you carry that thing around with you all the time?” Flowey demanded, eyeing him incredulously. 

     “YES, INDEEDY!” Papyrus answered proudly, puffing out his chest. He cracked open the large tome and flitted rapidly through the pages, his lopsided eye sockets sliding from left to right as he skimmed the text within. Upon locating the right page, he yanked open the book as wide as the aged spine would allow and jabbed at the lines of ink with a single distal phalange. 

     “NYEH-HEH -HEHM!” He cleared his throat loudly, then began to read. 

     “ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL ROYAL GUARD HANDBOOK, ONE MAY CHALLENGE ANY COMMANDING OFFICER FOR THEIR POSITION THROUGH A TWO-STEP PROCESS: FIRST, THE CHALLENGER MUST WIN A DUEL WITH THE OFFICER WHILE  ALL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GUARD STAND WITNESS. THEN, THESE GUARDS VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE THEY BELIEVE WOULD BE MOST FIT FOR THE JOB.”

     “Well, that’s stupid.” Flowey remarked bluntly. “Why is the second step even there? Whoever wins the duel should just become the new officer.”

     “THE STRONGEST GUARD MAY NOT NECESSARILY MAKE THE BEST LEADER. THEY PUT THE SECOND STEP IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT SUCH A POWERFUL POSITION WOULDN’T BE EARNED THROUGH BRUTE FORCE ALONE.”

     “Fat load of good that did.” Flowey muttered under his breath. Papyrus held back a wry smile.

     “THAT’S WHY I’D LIKE TO MASTER ADDITIONAL MAGIC COLORS LIKE YOU SUGGESTED.” He stated as he shut the book with a single hand and returned it to his ribcage. “I’LL NEED AS MUCH POWER AS I CAN GET, NOT ONLY TO WIN A DUEL WITH UNDYNE BUT TO PROVE MYSELF STRONG ENOUGH TO DEFEND MONSTERKIND AGAINST A HUMAN WITHOUT RESORTING TO MURDER.”

     Papyrus’ steps ceased as he gazed upon the massive, dilapidated purple wall that blocked the path forward. “WOWIE, I GUESS WE’VE BEEN TALKING FOR LONGER THAN I’D REALIZED! WE’VE ALREADY REACHED THE RUINS!”

     “Good. I have something to show you.” Flowey nodded approvingly as he extricated himself from the skeleton’s arm. He burrowed into the snow, reemerging a moment later in front of the pine tree nearest to the crumbling wall. 

     The skeleton watched as his companion reached into the hollow of the tree trunk with a vine and pulled out a thick book of his own, the cover of which was laced with gold detailing. As he ogled at it, the lanky monster wondered how Flowey had gotten ahold of such an ornate relic. 

     The yellow floret dropped the heavy tome into the snow and flipped it open with a leafy appendage. “So, I’ve been doing some research on magic types-”

     “GEE, FLOWEY, DO YOU CARRY THAT THING AROUND WITH YOU ALL THE TIME?” Papyrus parroted cheekily, rocking back and forth on his heels. 

     Flowey lifted his gaze from the calligraphic passages to scowl at the taller monster. “Shut up! I was really curious if this sort of thing was even possible to do, okay?” He stuck his tongue out petulantly.

     “I’M SORRY, FLOWEY.” Papyrus giggled, lowering himself to the ground to get a closer look at the text. “I REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME AND THOUGHT YOU’RE PUTTING INTO HELPING ME. PLEASE, CONTINUE!”

     Flowey rolled his eyes. “Anyway , I looked into all of the different types of magic and their properties. I think you should try purple magic next. It seems like the most straightforward option… if my plan works the way it should.”

     “PLAN?” Papyrus’ mind swam. Just how badly had Flowey been hoping to try this, if he’d developed an entire strategy before the skeleton had even changed his mind?

     The golden plant lowered his eyes to the pages below him once more. “Right, so the quality associated with purple magic is perseverance. If this type of magic can be harnessed through an act of physical perseverance like I’m hoping it can, then maybe you’ll be able to summon it after a super intense challenge.” 

     Flowey momentarily abandoned the book to stick one of his vines back into the hole in the tree, this time extracting several long, limp… somethings. He tossed the items haphazardly into the snow, and Papyrus leaned forward to get a closer look. 

     The skeleton’s confusion gave way to a sprawling prickle of unease as his eye sockets finally identified the strange items before him.

     Vines. Long, thorny, severed vines.

     “Okay, so we’ll start by wrapping these around your feet-”

     “FLOWEY,” Papyrus interjected shakily, “DID… DID YOU REMOVE THESE FROM YOUR BODY?” 

     The blossom made a shrugging motion with his leaves. “Yeah, so? It didn’t hurt much.” 

     Papyrus gaped at Flowey, his dark eye sockets filled with concern. The little flower’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as the silence stretched on.

     “Look, it’s not like I can reattach them! They’ll rot after a while anyway, so you might as well use them.”

     Papyrus frowned down at the disembodied parts. “WELL… IF THAT’S TRUE, THEN I SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE A WASTE NOT TO USE THEM. BUT PLEASE DON’T DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN, FLOWEY.” The skeleton entreated, clasping his hands together worriedly. “I DON’T WANT YOU HURTING YOURSELF, ESPECIALLY NOT FOR MY SAKE.”

     Flowey averted his gaze. “Uh… sure. Whatever.” He replied uncomfortably. A moment later, he clamped his leaves around one of Papyrus’ boots and began to tug, seemingly eager to leave that particular conversation topic behind. “Here, let me help you with that!”

     After what felt like barely any time at all, Papyrus found himself bedecked in plant matter, his body prickling with slight discomfort where the pale pink thorns rested against the periosteum layer of his bones. 

     Spinous tendrils wrapped around his bare feet and snaked up his tibia and fibula. A large piece of a tree trunk, taken from a fallen conifer decaying nearby, was fastened to his back by another set of spiky vines that crossed over his exposed chest in an ‘X.’ 

     Papyrus drew a steadying breath through his nasal cavity, before rolling forward onto his heels, placing all of his weight on his feet at once. 

     Biting pain flared through the soles of his feet as thorns dug into his bones. He groaned through gritted teeth as he slowly inched himself into a standing position. The trunk strapped to his spine sagged downward in response to the shift in gravity, and the barbed tendrils dug into his ribs as they strained to accommodate the sudden weight. 

     “WOWIE!” Papyrus wheezed after he finally rose to his feet. “YOU’RE RIGHT, FLOWEY! THIS IS AN INTENSE CHALLENGE!” 

     “...The challenge hasn’t started yet.”

     Papyrus glanced down in bewilderment at his companion and was surprised to find the blossom staring up at him with trepidation, shrinking in on himself.

     “FLOWEY? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

     “This is going to hurt. Probably a lot.” His round face scrunched up like he was staring at a particularly tricky puzzle. “If my plan is going to hurt you… then maybe it’s not a good plan.”

     The larger monster felt warmth envelop his soul at the other’s apparent concern for him. “IT IS VERY KIND OF YOU TO CONSIDER THAT, FLOWEY! BUT I WANT TO DO THIS. IF THIS IDEA OF YOURS HELPS PREVENT ANY FURTHER DEATHS, THEN IT IS WORTH ALL THE PAIN IT WILL CAUSE ME AND MORE.”

     “...Okay.” Flowey murmured, staring at the snow below him. “Okay,” he repeated, louder this time as his apprehensive tone shifted into something more business-like. 

     “With those thorns in your feet and that tree trunk strapped to your back, you’re going to sprint from this wall of the Ruins all the way to Waterfall.” If he saw Papyrus’ eyeballs bulge out of their cavities in disbelief, he ignored it. “There should be a dummy hanging out somewhere near the dump. Once you find them, you can test out your new purple magic on them.”

     Papyrus nodded silently as he took in Flowey’s instructions. He took several deep breaths to steel his resolve...

     ...And then took off. 

     Papyrus’ breath came in harsh, ragged gulps as he forced his body to keep moving. 

     Repeatedly placing all of his weight on each foot caused the thorns to wriggle their way into the crevices between the intricate bones, producing a strong ache that radiated all the way up his shins. The pain from the hooked spines that punctured the bone itself had initially manifested from several different points of entry, but had long since blended together into a unified, fiery sting.

     His sprint through Snowdin had at least allowed for the soothing balm of ice underfoot to counteract the barbs biting into his soles, but now the rocky floor of Waterfall offered even further abrasion to his tortured feet. Maintaining his rapid pace through the waist-deep water of the garbage dump was only his latest obstacle.

     But all at once, all of that faded into the background when he spotted the dummy, standing idly in the still waters. 

     A burst of elation filled Papyrus’ core at the sight. Taking hold of every last vestige of energy he had, he swung an arm forward and gripped the dummy’s soul with his magic. 

     To the skeleton’s utter delight, their soul turned purple. 

     Sweat dribbled down Papyrus’ temples as he forced three towering bones up through the floor of the dump, each emitting a soft lilac glow. The dummy’s soul was pulled to the middlemost structure as though by magnetic force. 

     Shakily raising his other hand, the skeleton sent a horizontal row of white femurs towards each of the purple constructs in alternating intervals. He watched as the dummy flitted between each of the three pigmented bones in a scramble to avoid the wave of attacks, until at long last, the onslaught ended. 

     As soon as their soul was released, the dummy levitated up and away, vanishing from sight. 

     Letting out a strained, undignified mix between a howl of triumph and a groan of agony, Papyrus finally allowed himself to collapse onto a nearby heap of trash, his lower half still languishing in the filthy waters of the garbage dump. The putrid stench of refuse filled his nasal cavity, and every part of him ached and stung and screamed , but none of that mattered.

     He had done it. He had unlocked a third magic color, when most monsters couldn’t even harness two. 

     Dimly, his audial passages registered the quiet shifting of trash up ahead. Before he could devote much thought to the source of the noise, a voice sounded from somewhere just above him.

     “I can’t believe that actually worked!” Came Flowey’s hushed utterance, his tone colored with awe. “I came up with an idea no one’s ever thought of before and it worked! And… and you! You just sprinted from the Ruins to Waterfall in agonizing pain and then performed an attack you’ve never done before! You’re a powerhouse, Papyrus!”

     Papyrus’ soul sang at the praise he was receiving. He longed to lift his head and join in with Flowey’s celebratory sentiments, but his energy was entirely spent. It was all he could do not to slide off the mountain of garbage and sink to the bottom of the polluted waters. 

     Thankfully, Flowey seemed to pick up on the skeleton’s feelings. He slid a cold, leafy appendage under the other’s chin, lifting his skull so they could see one another eye-to-eye-socket. 

     “We should probably head out soon. That dummy’s nutty, overprotective cousin will be furious that we harassed-” The triumphant grin that lingered on the blossom’s face suddenly fell, a bewildered frown replacing it.

     “Uh… you got a little…” Flowey trailed off. He pointed with the tip of a vine to his own visage, where his nose would be if he had one. 

     Too exhausted to lift his arm, Papyrus tugged his skull from Flowey’s gentle grip and dragged his face across his radius. A vivid streak of scarlet was left behind. 

     “HUH,” Papyrus remarked blearily, vaguely aware that this was cause for concern but too weary to actually muster the feeling, “I THOUGHT BLOOD WAS A HUMAN THING…?”

     Flowey leaned in close, his beady eyes scrunching up as he examined the vivid smudge of color. “That’s not blood. It doesn’t have the metallic smell that blood has.”

     Papyrus suddenly felt grateful that he lacked the energy to question Flowey’s knowledge on the subject.

     “No, that isn’t blood, that’s…” The sentence died on Flowey’s tongue. Suddenly, his gaze snapped to Papyrus’ face, his expression melting into one of sheer horror. 

     “FLOWEY?” Papyrus asked worriedly. 

     Like a writhing nest of snakes, Flowey’s tendrils unfurled from the trash heap as he backed away from the increasingly alarmed skeleton. “You- you-” The flower choked, his dark eyes flickering between accusation and terror. “You came from the Lab… d-didn’t you?”

     Papyrus frowned fretfully at the little monster, resisting the urge to reach for him comfortingly lest he flee the scene. “I SPENT ABOUT A WEEK THERE TO GET… HELP.” He answered cautiously. “WHY?” 

     Flowey’s shrunk further away from the skeleton, his golden petals pinned back in agitation. “I can’t help you anymore.” He uttered haltingly, before disappearing beneath the dark waters.

     “FLOWEY, WAIT!” Papyrus threw out a (blessedly numb) arm to grab at the blossom, but his glove only caught the lingering ripple Flowey left in his wake. 

     The skeleton let out a defeated sigh as his skull hit the reeking mound once more. He was left alone in Waterfall, his body too beleaguered to carry him home. He’d have to face Undyne with only the magic types he’d managed to harness so far, since his newfound training partner no longer wanted any part of their plan. But most of all, he was worried for his… dare the skeleton call him a friend?

     Well, he reasoned, at least one of those problems had an immediate solution. 

     Papyrus lifted his now-soaked hand and maneuvered it into his ribcage. He fished around in its contents, sucking a sharp breath through his teeth whenever his hand brushed up against his tender ribs, until he found his cell phone. 

     Upon opening the device, the skeleton was surprised to find a number of missed calls from the very monster he wanted to contact. Apprehensively, he dialed the number. 

     “papyrus?” Sans’ voice was edged with worry.

     “HELLO, BROTHER!” Papyrus greeted, then immediately grimaced at his own wheezy tone. 

     “yeah, uh, i just heard from pretty much every monster in town that you ran through snowdin barefoot, shirtless, and wrapped in thorns with a whole-ass tree strapped to your back?”

     “I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I ALSO RAN THROUGH WATERFALL.” Papyrus replied haughtily. It probably wasn’t the smartest hill to die on when his brother sounded so concerned, but damn it, he’d worked hard! “ALTHOUGH I MUST ADMIT, I DID NOT HAVE A ‘WHOLE-ASS’ TREE AFFIXED TO MY BACK. ONLY PART OF THE TRUNK.”

     “...papyrus, what the hell happened?”

     “NOTHING I DIDN’T AGREE TO!” Papyrus defended, because Sans’ voice had adopted that anxious tone he’d become far too accustomed to since his return from the Lab. 

     The younger skeleton was no stranger to intense workout sessions, though none as grueling as this one, so he’d hoped his brother would be just as unbothered with the current situation as he generally was with his occasionally overzealous actions. Given all that had occurred in the recent past, however, Papyrus was beginning to realize what a stupid assumption he had made. 

     “EVERYTHING IS ABSOLUTELY FINE AND YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WORRY ABOUT ME OR ANYTHING ELSE. HOWEVER, UM… COULD YOU PLEASE COME TO WATERFALL? AND BRING AS MANY CINNAMON BUNNIES AS YOU CAN CARRY?”