Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[APPEARANCE OF AN ABANDONED SKELETON CHILD]

         Abandoned in a kill-or-be-killed world, the young skeleton was found near the riverside in Waterfall. Wrapped in red cloth and a book as its raft from the water, the skeleton was spotted and later adopted by a blue-skinned aquatic monster named Undyne. Fathered by a huge menacing tortoise called Mr. Gerson, the infamous Hammer of Justice who murdered a lot of humans during the Great War, the young skeleton was currently watching his seven-year old foster sister talk about her day in school. A summary would be how a little imp decided to harass other children and bring a couple of teachers to a brick of suicide. Since Mr. Gerson was in the meeting with the grown-ups, they were the only ones in the house eating Crab apples. It was abundant in these regions.

“GOOD JOB UNDYNE! NOW YOU’RE STUCK HERE UNTIL FATHER GETS BAIL FOR YOUR CRIMES.” Papyrus sighed. Undyne cackled and pulled her spear out. The female was a pure devil. She loves going around being evil. Undyne says no one really likes her, but Papyrus does. Since it was Undyne who wanted to have a brother, Mr. Gerson had kept him in the house – a secret child considering the fact his parents could still be looking for him with murderous intent. He was grateful of his Latin name meaning ‘Paper’ since he was a fast learner on History. Gerson must have named him. He did love History, something the ancient monster lectures every morning for his two ‘children.’ Undyne was his favorite monster - a prodigy ready to bloom from the dust of other monsters even if it was his own.

“Heheh. OK! You know what that means right?!” Undyne asked, swinging her spear towards her adopted brother. Papyrus sliced his apple with a knife and fork, chewing with a confused face. Undyne frowned, stabbing the remaining apple and chomping on it for an easy finish. Both children knew how their father wanted them to eat all their apples - help stabilize HP. Papyrus placed his utensils down, no longer having any apple left. His voice had a hint of curiosity. “IS IT SPARRING TIME OR GRINDING EXP TIME?”

“EXP garnering, you dummy! So grab your cloak and let’s go!” Undyne scrambled out of the door. The skeleton looked at the dishes and at the kitchen. Picking the empty dishes, Papyrus tiptoes to place the dishes on the sink. He then ran to the bed, grabbing his dull red blanket and went out of the door. With of Undyne’s help, Papyrus was able to gain his EXP. Increasing one’s LV is the most important thing in childhood. Following Mr. Gerson enabled them to learn new techniques in combat, it was fun and exhilarating to break the general’s rules. Running alongside his foster sister, Papyrus learns something useful. ‘Friends and allies come and go, but LV and skills last forever.’

[SCHOOL DRAMA]

         Papyrus waits sitting on the chair, looking at the door separating him from the outside realm. Papyrus has no idea what goes on outside so he begs Undyne to bring anything in the house and to tell him any story of her interest since he feels he could die from boredom cooped in this stuffy house. According to Mr. Gerson, he was too weak to defend his soul. Thus, he was home tutored by both individuals, often left in the home to read the books. However, that didn’t mean he was an obedient dog. Papyrus loves the mystery of the outside world, venturing and unlocking its secrets as much as possible.

“???” Papyrus looks around. Walking through the Echo Garden, the young skeleton has never entered this area before. Hearing the faint voices and whispers of different monsters with their strange dialects, the skeleton noticed something beyond the plain blue-and-dark scenery. It was yellow, a bright yellow color with lively green as its body. The flower looks like an Echo flower, but with the color pattern similar to the picture books lent by Undyne.

“!! W-who’s there?!” The flower said in a shriveling voice. Papyrus stepped forward and looks closer at the plant. “A TALKING FLOWER?! HI! I’M PAPYRUS, THE SKELETON!”

“W-wow there fella! Can you tone down or you m-might attract them.” The flower whispered and realized the skeleton has no weapon or protective gear. Wearing a simple huge sweater, the vulnerable skeleton feels a vine wrap around his leg. Dragged with the flower, Papyrus protects his skull with his hands. The sound of grass moving was prominent. " ARE THERE MORE OF YOU, FLOWERY?!”

“Stop shouting you dimwit! And my name isn’t Flowery! It’s Flowey get it?!” The golden flower hissed as it quickly tosses the skeleton in the air and catching him by the waist before Papyrus lands on the ground. Dizzy, Papyrus covers his eyes and yet giggles. “THIS WAS FUN AND EXCITING! CAN YOU LIFT ME UP AGAIN FLOWERY?! I WANT TO FEEL THE AIR AGAIN!”

“Gah! Idiot.” Flowey placed him down on a dry land and appeared right in front of him. Popping in and out from different areas, Papyrus circles around to follow his new friend. Falling to the ground, Papyrus blinks several times to recover. Flowey popped out in front of him once again, a curious face on its face.

“Wowie! I never thought I would see an unbroken monster before...” Flowey muttered. Papyrus rubbed his eyes, he was still a bit dizzy but this new monster was fun to be with!

Flowey rubs his two stems together, apologetic. “Golly. S-sorry for dragging you here. You know how this world goes?”

“I-IT’S OK. PAPYRUS FORGIVES YOU.” Papyrus stood up and placed a hand on his hips and the other being on his chest. Flowey had a sweat drop as the skeleton struck a ‘heroic’ pose. “A MERE SCOLDING WILL NOT DETER THE TERRIBLE PAPYRUS’ ATTEMPT TO BEFRIEND A NEW ALLY!”

“Papyrus huh? I’ll remember that... Gosh Papyrus. Why are you here in the middle of the night? Aren't you sca- See you later pal!” Flowey paused in the middle of its sentence and vanished back down to the ground. Confused, Papyrus looks around for his friend. Where did the Flower go? Before he could call out, he heard a familiar voice from the tall grass. “Who are you talking to Paps?”

         Ever since he was caught by his sister, he was given newsletters and puzzles to work on. Answering Sudoku and Word Search, Cross words were slightly difficult but manageable unlike Junior Jumble. He has absolutely no idea how to do the things the puzzle wants him to do, involving a lot of letter switching. He usually asks Undyne to help him solve it, having the woman abandon it in favor to training. When he was absolutely sure he had time to explore the outside world, he gets to meet up with his friend Flowey. Flowey is a nice flower, telling him lots of stories and good advice-

*SLAM! *

“How’s your day?!” Papyrus asked, placing his book down to look up at Undyne. Entering the house, Undyne started thrashing the room. Throwing lamps and picture frames, the skeleton rolled his eyes and stood up to summon a bone cage to subdue Undyne. “TELL ME THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”

“FUCK EVERYONE IN THIS HELLHOLE!” Undyne replied back and pushed the skeleton off by summoning a yellow spear. Temporary losing control over his magic, Papyrus fell to the ground to avoid the attack. Instead of staying on the ground, Papyrus instinctively rolled just in time to dodge the spear. The skeleton summoned out a long femur bone and parried the other attack. Now that Undyne was in grade school, she had to struggle between her training and her studies.

Fighting for thirty minutes straight, the inside of the house was in shatters. Both individuals were tired beyond relief. Papyrus was the first one who admits defeat. He knew Undyne was determined enough to continue fighting, even if he was the one with more DETERMINATION than Undyne. Begrudgingly, Undyne saw his hesitation and stopped, slumping to the couch. Undyne was so cool, but very terrifying as she tends to lash out on anyone. He eventually learned her patterns and got used to her. Papyrus allowed her to rest as he picked up the broom. Once again, Mr. Gerson wasn’t at home when these occurred. The tortoise was always the one who could calm the girl down.

“I think I like someone…” Undyne mumbles, making the skeleton pause. In the Underground, Love was very unfavorable. It was a weakness for anyone to exploit. If Mr. Gerson found out Undyne fell in love with someone, he would kill her. But Papyrus doesn’t understand what was wrong. Isn’t Love like LOVE? “Her name’s Alphys. She likes Science, robots and Anime. I think she’s amazing.”

“…” Papyrus placed the trash on the side. The house looked cleaner than usual - empty with all the stuff turned into piles of junk. Moving closer to the couch, the skeleton sat on the floor to look at his ally. Undyne was quiet. They both knew this was bad news, but Papyrus patted her head. “IT’S OK.”

“Really?” Undyne asked, looking at the skeleton’s direction. Papyrus nodded. He knew Mr. Gerson was strict with her training and Undyne was getting to know other monsters in school. It was inevitable his sister would get a petty love interest. Papyrus wants to help her, but he remembered ‘Help’ was a sign of either: manipulation or weakness. Mr. Gerson said so, watching him stand up with the injuries from their training. When Undyne came back, she was the one healing him. One day, Mr. Gerson found out and didn’t like it. He punished them severely. Papyrus wondered why Undyne was angry at this, he believed his foster father knew what was best. He replied. “DON’T MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A WEAKNESS OR SOMEONE WILL MURDER THE MONSTER.”

“PFT! Sure, loser.” Undyne smiled and he dragged her down to the floor. Sitting up, Undyne summoned out twelve spears in retaliation, but Papyrus shoves a written list on her face. “It’s Father’s fucking birthday today! We were supposed to steal the stuff today, but you had to act like a whiny baby.”

“CRAP! HOW COULD I FORGET THIS?” Undyne picked the list and stood up. Papyrus wanted to say it was because of school, but Undyne might stop schooling in favor for training. Undyne jumped over the couch and went to the door. “Don’t come with me. Give me five minutes’ tops!”

*SLAM! *

“SURE... YOU WILL.” Papyrus answered. When the door slammed closed, the skeleton hoped these days would end soon, particularly his cleaning duties in the house. Too bad, Mr. Gerson enrolled him in High school, entrusting Papyrus to take care of Undyne’s murder plots while the two share the dorm room space.

[IMPORTANT LECTURE AND AN ONLINE BUDDY]

Ever since he came to school, Papyrus was seen as an epitome of fear with his mysterious figure. But Papyrus sought for something greater, a more recognized manner like Mr. Gerson! In the more exciting points in his life, Papyrus could now buy items instead of stealing them. He also gained a nickname from Undyne. He had to be called Fell because she said it wasn't safe yet. He also got a Undyne’s second-hand desktop as a birthday gift. This was when he met his online buddy named SYLPHA who taught him how to post and such.

         First thing Papyrus posted were life hacks to minimize effort and maximize efficiency. He did this hoping he could increase the intelligence of several monsters or at least allow them not to die from a stupid situation. The number of followers would equate to two things: One, there are idiots who wanted to learn more from the Terrible Papyrus or Two, they were potential henchmen that has noticed his Greatness! Within a year, he gained a lot of followers which shocked the skeleton further. While trying to see whether they were idiots or smart-asses, he gained a very troublesome fellow in the short run. A Troll if SYLPHA were to phrase it, roaming around his group chats and telling non-stop amount of puns. Papyrus was too busy with the finals to talk to the person, shutting himself away from the UnderNet. Coming back, he found the jester’s reign ended, littering his website with puns. Papyrus organize his page, keeping the puns because it was kind of funny. Stopped on the Hell week period, the Troll must be studying in the Academy, cramming work. Today was resting day where the King gives a speech concerning security. Monster here just want to relax and see the glorious presence of the King. Undyne was one of them. He’s here because attendance was required.

“Do we really need to do this?” Papyrus whispered, looking at his female combat partner. Both were in their prime years. Uh... He was younger by some years but unnoticeable due to his height. Undyne stood straight, as rigid as a board. Papyrus looks at the balcony, standing straight as well. Undyne bumped his shoulder, her cheeks seemed a bit strained from all the smiling. “Yes.”

“If you say so…” Papyrus sighed and noticed the King’s presence. Listening to the whole lecture from his Majesty, the skeleton’s mind wandered to the unfinished chess battle online. Right now, he was rearing to beat the monster with his ingenuity. Unfortunately, the monster was very secretive in nature, but they often mention the need to eat cup noodles and read their favorite manga books. So this individual was a true Otaku unlike Undyne. (Closet Otaku) After the lecture, he ran back to his shared dorm with the aquatic demon. Undyne was about to talk to him regarding the King except monsters surrounded her.

Passing the hallways, he avoids most of the monsters walking by. Unlike Undyne who was famous to the male populace being the strong feisty yet reliable fighter she is; he was the silent calculative strategist in battle. Judging from the monsters’ lack of insight, Papyrus begs to differ. Undyne sucks at cooking and relies on processed food if he was gone. Undyne was still head-over-heels with not only this ‘Alphys’ creature, but also King Asgore who, if any imbecile could guess, is married. He's also the one who has to handle majority of the work if the woman decided to go drink or pick a FIGHT.

Logging in as CoolSkeleton95, Papyrus sits down his chair to stare at the computer. Both of them didn’t know the other but they knew they were both bored out of their wits. Having the monster and him list the commands down, Papyrus opened his chat screen to see the virtual board game come to life with its red, white and black colors. Seeing SYLPHA already logged in, Papyrus typed. “I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY. I GOT CAUGHT UP WITH A VERY TEDIOUS LECTURE.”

“No problem. Me too. Mine’s the guy who speaks while sleeping. Who’s yours?” SYLPHA asked, Papyrus saw their rook move into his trap. Conquering it with his bishop, Papyrus replied. “OH RIGHT, RESEARCH DEPARTMENT. HOW COULD I FORGET? WELL, THE ANSWER’S KING ASGORE.”

“OMG. Tell me everything you know!” Papyrus face palmed. It seems his online buddy was also as obsessed with the King as Undyne. What a sheer coincidence? Papyrus gave off the necessary information most monsters should be able to figure out, keeping the secrets to only be known towards the candidates off-limits. Hearing the loud ruckus, Papyrus bid farewell and logged out. Standing up, the skeleton greets the soon-to-appear and motivated roommate in advance. “LET ME GUESS… IS IT SPA-”

*SLAM! *

“Sparring time punk! No time for slacking off!” Undyne gave a twisted grin as she cracked their door for the thirty-eight time. Following the female out, Papyrus had to get used to not sleeping this year. If they were aiming for the top of the boards, they had to be tenacious to dust as many as they can in the coliseum. They also have to show-off their skills and intimidation. In his case, a very aged Mr. Gerson had forbid him on using his bone magic. He must rely solely on the available weapons and items found lying in the dumps. Not really a problem when he has Weapon Master (not really) Undyne as a teacher. He, on the other hand, has to teach her about history and language proficiency. There were so many dialects to be explored and too many numbers on the way. Did he forget to say he despises math?!

[DRUNKEN MOMENTS AND FINALITY]

‘They did it. They graduated with full colors at the cost of losing their own father.’ Papyrus thought, watching the darkness below the balcony. Lifting a cup, Papyrus sipped a dark substance down to his throat, calming his soul from the sudden incidents. After so much grueling exams and training, the top ten students were mentored by top-ranks in the Royal Guards who selected them personally under their wing. He knew Undyne was Mr. Gerson’s and he also knew that that would be the death of the old monster. Mr. Gerson had already ordered a construction of Undyne’s own house before his death. How noble. This was something uncharacteristic in this world. Mr. Gerson who told him bedtime stories when Undyne was tired from training. His favorite story, The Rabid Bunny, was still with him hidden in a black box sealed with dozens of locks and wrapped with the same blood-dry cloth left by his negligent parents.

         Speaking about authority, Papyrus couldn’t remember his own Royal Guard mentor except the monster held herself in a solemn Latin-voiced manner. If one was patient, they could have easily murdered his mentor after she produced Zs in the battle. His Teacher was then paired up with a floating magician. Murdering them for their position, Papyrus didn’t feel any remorse. Although, he felt giddy from the EXP he gained. LOVE had become so familiar to him in this foreign land. Papyrus often asked how Undyne was able to notice Love over LOVE? Undyne, in return, states he should go to the other side of the castle to find out. This was how she found her crush again, first time being in the Dumps. Because he was a stuck up with the rules and often tackling the research requirements for them (always being paired up with Undyne), Papyrus never gained the time to visit the area. He sometimes theorized Undyne did this intentionally, not wanting her subordinate to fall in love like her.

“Boss!” A canine called, running to his side with his ax out. Papyrus stared at him with a somewhat non-existent eyebrow raised. He recalls Undyne talking about a renowned group consisting of Dogs. Thinking back, the dog’s name was Dogamy. “It’s Undyne! She’s gone bat-shit crazy with her drinking!”

“Fuck this shit. Not again… LEAD ME THERE!” Papyrus cursed as he followed Dogamy in front of him. He knew why Undyne did this - she was the one who personally killed Mr. Gerson to take the title as Head of the Royal Guard. Seeing the other cadets by the door, the skeleton pulled out a middle finger at them. Everyone in the hallway knew he was a skeleton, but they were sworn to secrecy in case some traitor leaked the information. This holds true among other monsters like Shyren’s brother secretly working his way to the recon unit or MK being one of the facilitators in the examination even if he has no hands and hates everyone in the area.

“She’s in here…” Dogaressa explained. Papyrus muttered 'no shit Sherlock' before opening the door, ducking just in time to dodge a bottle throw. Entering the room and closing the door, Papyrus grimaced at the sight. Lying on the floor was a good amount of fire whiskey purchased from Grillby's bar. Undyne must be devastated with what she did with Mr. Gerson. It was a valiant and necessary battle. Mr. Gerson must be so proud of her when he died. Papyrus stares at the silent entity, the female muttering words about Alphys- Papyrus knew it. If he heard his info breaker properly, Alphys was currently taking an extremely difficult examination to gain the position as Royal Scientist. So far, the one who had the best lead was a monster named Comic Nsans or something?? Wait. Did he get that name right…? Moving back to the situation at hand, Papyrus knew the best way to comfort his sister… Actually the worst, but this was the best thing he can do. He presses ACT and then Taunt before pressing FIGHT.

"LET HER GO! GET OVER IT! YOU ARE THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARDS! YOU ARE SHOWING A BAD EXAMPLE TO YOUR FUTURE SUBORDINATES!" Papyrus screamed, tossing random bones at the sobbing woman. However, much to his dismay, Undyne was able to destroy all the bones with her spear even if she was crying. The skeleton wondered how this was even possible.

"NO! FUCK YOU, PAPYRUS! I won't let her go! She loves me! I know she does!!" Undyne's wail sounded more like a war cry. Papyrus keeps throwing more bones, he knew outside this room was their subordinates. Those so-called fearless monsters who pushed him in here to handle Undyne's wrath. Moving to the left, Papyrus ducked just in time to avoid a spear throw. He looked at Undyne and saw neither MERCY nor FIGHT Button. Oh. He ran out of energy-how is that possible?! All he sees is ACT. Checking the ACT button, he sees Check, Flirt, Joke, and Taunt.

"WHINY JUVENILE, THIS IS WHY I NEVER LET YOU GO TO GRILLBYS!!" Papyrus shouted, choosing CHECK to notice the drunken status on the aquatic monster. For someone very irrational when drunk, Undyne could still dodge his bone attacks to the point of exhaustion. He has to drag the woman back home and get ready for the next day’s drama. If she was despondent – motionless and depressed, Papyrus pretends everything was all right. If Undyne ends up getting a migraine - completely incapacitated and groaning over the littlest of things, Papyrus sucks it up and tries to make his sister feel better. In the end, Papyrus handles all the reports which should be read and taken care of before the deadline. Even if enchanted in his fabled blue attack, she was still rearing. Papyrus wiped his sweat. Air circulation in the Capital is a number one issue for all residents, but they prefer this place than Waterfall.

*THUD! *

"...." Papyrus stared at her, finally not moving. Poking her for good measure, Papyrus concludes it was safe to pick her up. It seems his foster sister found bad timing in bothering someone freaking out in the Final Test that could change her entire life. Papyrus goes to the door and kicks it open.

*SLAM! *

Coming out of the now-destroyed room, he noticed the group staring at him, specifically the canine units. Exhaling, Papyrus moved his head for the canine units to follow him. He knows what they want… They want his bones. Stars. Did that sound wrong? Right now, the soon-to-be Royal Guards were being trained by the existing authority. Only when everyone was ready (knowing each other and the chain-commands from the respective position) would the names of the Royal Guards be announced to the Underground.

"You know where to go." Papyrus ordered as he carried Undyne bridal style, her dusty hands pushing his face away from her. Annoying fish. The dogs nodded, leaving the skeleton to his devices. Once he enters Undyne’s room, he dumps the female to bed and heads to the combat training yard. Seeing all of the dogs, Papyrus took a breath and steadied himself. “ARE YOU READY?!”

“!!!” All of the dogs barked and growled. Some yelped in joy, Papyrus knew he was going to have a long time handling these mutts. But for these dogs, they were going to have a great time. Playing and training for these mutts were the same thing. Papyrus would later find his actions as the primary reason for his position in Snowdin - both groups having a mutual understanding with each other’s capabilities.

[CELEBRATIONS AND MOURNING]

         After the feast and another lecture from King Asgore, all of the new Royal Guards celebrated and drank themselves to sleep. For the skeleton, he reveled at the same time anguished at the fact he has high tolerance to alcoholic beverage. He was tipsy, but not drunk to the point of being wasted. He needs more wine, but it was hogged by the others. Thus for the whole night, he had to watch embarrassing acts done by his colleagues and even teachers. It was a night not worth remembering. Papyrus so wanted to get wasted to forget all of this or he could try bleaching his mind. Bleach it as hard as he can, but he’ll need to take drugs and he wasn't going to take drugs. He'll need to go ask people shadier looking than him. The skeleton wasn't risking it. On a side note, Papyrus rested near the Echo Garden before heading home.

In these nights, the skeleton often wanders deeper to the garden. Listening to the fleeting conversations of dreams and its futility, Papyrus would like to have a chat with a bizarre flower he met when he was younger. However, it was too fearful, hiding before he could talk to it fully. Back when he was young lad, the flower would often talk to him in this exact area in the middle of the night. It was a nice flower who was lonely like him, telling him suggestions and advice for Undyne’s birthday party celebration. Until one day. Papyrus waited but No One Came. Was Flowery killed? Papyrus shook his head, not thinking that was the case. The plant must have transferred into another scarcely populated area. Heading back when he deems fit, more like seeing Woshuas going around cleaning the monster dusts, Papyrus enters the house. First thing he saw was a weird dish with blood and some rolled meat on top of some boiled pasta. It took a good ten minutes before he spoke.

“Ok. I get it. You want to kill me. WHAT ELSE IS NEW?” Papyrus commented with his arms folded, looking to the side and a casual smirk after he looked down at the huge pasta platter on the table. Now that they have their own house in Waterfall, Undyne seemed to make a huge serving of food for them to devour. Too bad, it was radiating green smoke. He stares at the thing Undyne calls ‘Spaghetti.’

“Idiot! This is in celebration for our new positions! Hopefully, you can finally take that archaic cloak and show-off the epic exterior armor you thought off with my superior teachings and of course… ANIME!” Undyne cheered in the end. A good thing as it took a whole month for the female to get over the death of their father, binging on the TV watching Anime as well as drinking fire whiskey. Because of this, Papyrus and the bartender had now become closer than strangers. Papyrus turned silent as he saw the female sit down and chow down her food. Feeling a pang of guilt, he sat down and ate along with her.

“….” Undyne watched her adopted brother turn deathly silent. Undyne smiled, “Hey Paps.”

“WHAT…” Papyrus’ eye sockets were blank, reflecting the darkness in the pasta dish she made. It was indescribable. It tasted like overly ripe Crab Apple submerged in Sea Tea blended in a Starfait from that weird hotel. Was this how Spaghetti tastes like? Papyrus couldn’t say anything. He doesn’t trust himself to not insult this dish. Undyne’s smile turns more genuine. “I should do this more often.”

“Getting drunk and nearly killing your second-in-command?” Papyrus clarified/inquired, hoping this was the case. Undyne smacked the back of the skeleton, earning a grunt and a glare. “No bastard! I mean we should both cook something together! If this cheers me up, it can also cheer you up, scar- Fuck Paps! Didn’t mean to bring it out. I just… got caught up at the moment.”

“…IT’S OKAY. I’M USED TO IT… THAT NICKNAME... FATHER DID WHAT WAS BEST… Right?” Papyrus contemplates, touching the scar hesitantly. Undyne scratched her head, unsure what to say. Between both of them, Papyrus wondered why he had more punishments than Undyne. Did Mr. Gerson abhors him, but kept him anyways because of Undyne? “It’s strange… In his funeral while you grieved at Home… I, The Host, had watched Monsters cry yet I couldn’t bring myself to shed a tear.”

“…” Undyne was silent. Papyrus wanted to let his questions out. Undyne wasn’t the only child the general took care of, he was left in the chaos as well. Now that he thinks about it, he only saw Mr. Gerson as a teacher… Growing up in this household, the Tortoise keeps piling more and more duties at his shoulders and if left unaccomplished? His younger self would be left with remnants of scars and fears.

“You had gained not just LOVE, but real Love… According to the book, killing your mentor should allow the student to ‘find’ closure.” Papyrus twirled his fork. The Spaghetti was…huh? The sense of hunger was gone. Every passing day… His younger self eagerly waits for his sister. Like the heroes in the stories, Undyne always comes and SAVEs her allies.

“This closure… I don’t see that in you. You look ready to break… Ready to Fall.” Papyrus hated that word. It meant Death but with more pain to the monster. It was like Cancer to Humans, but worse. Papyrus realized why he hasn’t reacted to the monster’s death. The flash of relief he felt when he saw Undyne stab down their Father quickly turning to dread as he saw Undyne’s SOUL turn from green to red. All this time, Papyrus had dismissed his hatred for the monster. His DETERMINATION building on such Hatred every time Undyne got hurt because of him, it was… “You better not fall from DESPAIR Undyne or I’m going to head over Dr. Alphys’ area and pair her up with another nerd!”

“You little piece of shit! I am not going to let any grubby hands on my catch!” Undyne shouted and pulled out her spear. Good plan… Not! Papyrus stood up, quickly realizing his mistake and ran. For him, bickering with his foster sister was a ‘healthy’ routine. And about the cooking lesson, she cut their sparring time in half. It was a bizarre moment in time. Papyrus often inquired how Undyne did it. It felt like she was trying to send him to hell. Undyne asked the same thing with his, but was very vague. Both of them did not dare talk about this outside, it became their thing - cooking buddies.

[DEALING WITH THE CANINE UNITS]

         Papyrus hums as he busies himself with work. Handling the region near the Ruins, Papyrus wasn't greatly affected as in this weather than Undyne since he has no skin. Undyne states a theory, claiming his SOUL releases warm energy to envelope his whole body – a combination of DETERMINATION and COURAGE. She mentions that if he stayed any longer in Hotland, he would get a fever. Papyrus doesn't really know for sure. Fixing the fur, the skeleton smooths the unnecessary wrinkles and pats the monster to move out. Another monster replaces its place. Papyrus continues, red cloak on but underneath, he wore a black armor similar to Undyne’s with more customization. To add his perfect Terrible Papyrus’ fashion wear with some inspiration from Anime, he purchased a bad-ass long coat (wearing later on Announcement day) and he’s birthday gift crimson gloves. This is for convenience and cleanliness sake only. Papyrus swears it’s nothing personal.

*STOMP! *

Papyrus sensed a dark angry presence in front of him. Peculiar. It was Undyne of all people who visited him today. He was expecting the Royal Guards or maybe the mercenaries-

“What are you doing?! I thought you were getting reports!” Undyne screamed at Papyrus as she stood firm, trying her best not to shake from the cold. Since the canine units were ideal for the snow terrain, she placed Papyrus the one to handle the area and get the reports for both of them to segregate and organize. After doing so, Undyne would then head to Hotland and give the brief summary to the King.

"...." Papyrus continues with his work, thinking of a good response for the lady. Should he defend himself by pointing to the side-tours Undyne often took to see her ‘girlfriend’ which Papyrus keeps telling her is a user? Yet he knows in the end, Undyne will always beg to disagree as Alphys has shown signs of 'reciprocity.' Papyrus still hasn’t met the lizard, much to his chagrin.

“Well? Answer me!” Undyne tapped her foot. Papyrus noticed the shiver on her voice. Even if she thinks that armor is sexy, it wasn’t good for extreme temperatures. Maybe Undyne should talk to Alphys who she bragged is now part of the Science Community. How do they elect the Royal Scientist, by the way? Was it similar to the military - Assassinated by envy or wrath?

“I am simply giving them incentive for doing a fine job.” Papyrus replied, currently rubbing the belly of Greater Dog while scratching the ears of Lesser Dog. There was still a line of dogs waiting for their turn.

“And cuddling them at the edge of the village is going to cut it?” Undyne asked. Her twitch was prominent as if she was ready to execute a Genocide which she won’t. Papyrus was used to it. As long as he has work and watch over Undyne (a promise from his wrinkly father), the skeleton was okay working anywhere. The dogs were also helping him set up his puzzles, though in a crude way. They should be given some form of payment aside from his bones... Stars. It still sounds so wrong even until today.

“…” Greater Dog panted, watching his two superiors staring at each other. Lesser Dog sneaks closer to Papyrus and bites his leg, gnawing on it. Even if the dog tries its best not to turn the bone into dust, Papyrus didn’t like the wet feeling. Glaring at the dog, Papyrus stood up and started swinging his leg to let the dog get off his leg. “Argh! Stupid mutt! Don’t bite your Comrade and besides...!”

"I thought it would be a good idea to... reward them! Don't blame me!" When he managed to get the dog to let go, Undyne picked her brother like a bag and ran off. In response, Papyrus' eyes bulged out in a comical manner as he was taken by surprise. Undyne scolded Papyrus as she ran out of the Snowy area and into the caves. "Lesson Number One! If you give something good to them too easily, they'll either take you for granted or never let you go off their sights!"

"I-I SEE!" Papyrus felt dizzy with the speed, seeing the dogs behind them turn blurry and took a long while for them to get away. Undyne dropped him on the echo flower patch and laughed her head off. Papyrus stares up at the darkness, frowning at her random actions since according to the book - good henchmen should be incentivized. But this is based on experience so… This was also a good advice. “…”

“YOU ARE AWARE THAT YOU ARE THE CRAZIEST MONSTER I'VE EVER MET?!” Papyrus exhaled, the grass moist from the light rain earlier. Resting, it was a matter of weeks before everyone in the Kingdom realizes who the new Royal Guards were. Undyne and Papyrus already prepared the house’s defenses for incoming haters. In their personal to-do-list, Papyrus was tasked to burn Undyne’s past Mails to make room for the new ones. He then has to find a house in Snowdin since his post is near the Ruins.

“Found your house yet?” Undyne asked him in return, plucking some flowers from their roots. He knew Undyne was assigning tasks for the other guards, placing them in their respective posts. So why did she check him off all monsters, if he was slacking off? Oh yeah. She’s his older sister.

“Nope, still a work in progress. Grillby's being a dick.” Papyrus grumbled moodily, but Undyne stabbed his leg. Earning a scream in pain, the female retorts, “Don’t be down in the dumps, Paps! I know you’re a pussy for haunted houses so you can live in my house, even if it’s beside a Ghost’s house! Fuhuhu!”

“FUCK YOU TOO.” Papyrus kicked the lower leg for Undyne to stumble down in pain. “AND GET THIS SPEAR OFF ME! I’M STARTING TO MAKE A MESS WITH MY DUST!”

[THE ANNOUNCEMENT]

         Everything was set. Standing beside Undyne not as siblings, but as officers of war. Papyrus' finally not wearing a blanket anymore. In front of the audience wearing the bad-ass long black coat, Papyrus realized how cool they must all look to the crowd. And then there's MK who didn't pass this year’s qualification test. Sucks to be him Nyeh heh heh- Wait. Why are there a bunch of monsters taking pictures of him? The Flashes annoy him, but in closer view - It's the media...?

"Hey Boss! I think in this rate… You're going to be the number one hottest male Royal Guard." Doggo whispers to the skeleton, recognizing the flashes and vivid movement of the crowd. Papyrus turned slowly towards the canine and wished he was behind Greater Dog. Concealing his face with the clip board with the list of names, Papyrus sweated in slight panic. Mr. Gerson never mentioned the need to become famous in media, but in the battlefield. What must be do? All he wants is to be one of the most feared monsters in the Underground, not the most popular! Can it be side by side? He doesn’t think so. Papyrus could hear Undyne cackling at him. Undyne on the other end of the spectrum was okay with all the attention as hottest female Royal Guard, already accustomed to it due to her earlier experience in school.

"This isn't a laughing matter Undyne! I am not equipped with the necessary tools to handle this sort of predicament!" Papyrus hissed at Undyne. Undyne merely patted his back, avoiding in time before her hands got stabbed with a dagger. "Don't worry Paps. As soon as they realize you're a stick in the mud and an overly bossy perfectionist, they'll run away like humans with mad hornets chasing after them."

"Brutal and I am not a stick in the mud!" Papyrus frowned. Seeing the King finally halt with his speech, both monsters came forward to give their introduction. When the crowd cheered/hissed after the speech, Papyrus muttered a short insult for his foster sister. "Idealistic hero! Don’t place your HOPE up."

"Realistic eyesore! We are going to get to the fucking Surface and seek Revenge over those Human Bastards." Undyne countered with her own smirk, summoning out her azure spear in front of the audience. Stabbing it to the ground, she silenced the crowd with the intensity of her magic, but it seems her second-in-command was a douche bag commentator. "Show-off! Was that even necessary?"

“Yes. It was needed, brother.” Undyne cursed, her spear turning red in response to her hatred with her brother’s smug look. Both of them were going to have a hard time dealing with each other.

Chapter Text

[CASUAL CHORES]

“RATIONS? CHECK.” Papyrus looks around the house and makes sure everything’s honky-dory. The owner of the house was playing her piano. Elegant and prolonging, Undyne was a professional when it comes to the piano. Getting it from the dumps, Undyne insisted that they bring this back in their home. The two had to personally carry it at night. Blindly moving forward to avoid anyone in their way, it took them two whole days and fifteen monster deaths to get it in here.

“FRIDGE…” Papyrus opened the ‘fridge.’ It wasn't really a fridge, more like a fridge-oven because Undyne requested its creation of a certain scientist. The ‘fridge’ released hot air, filled with the necessary food… Undyne was satisfied with this high calorie and protein diet, much to his worry. Papyrus closed the fridge and checked his list. “CHECK.”

“I threw the trash already!” Undyne mentioned, ending her piece. Back when they were younger, the duo would play music at night. Undyne with a small portable piano while he had a viola... Or any string instrument that looked and acted like a violin. They still had the equipment in their respective rooms. It was often used for stress relief. Those were the peaceful days. Papyrus went out to check the last item in his list. Going over a trash bag filled with blood and rotten material, he checks the mailboxes beside it. Undyne had a lot of flame mails from the citizens and look - A hater at their backyard!

“….” Before the monster could say or do anything, Papyrus had summoned a bone from the ground to stab the opponent to death. Looking over if he could loot anything from the dead creature, he saw a beeping vest. Cutting the green wire, Papyrus learned the monster planned on suicide. Good thing Monsters equates the green color as the safe color or the bomb would’ve detonated. This utterly sucks. Papyrus heads back inside. He needs to check the available renting area within Snowdin in the newspaper. Heading back to Grillby’s again…? Fuck it. He just came back from the money reservoir! He can imagine the guy now, mocking him and his desperation... Damn.

[SHY GIRLFRIEND OF YOUR FOSTER SIBLING]

“Alphys! Meet my brother. Papyrus, this is my gal. Isn’t she a beauty?” Undyne gave a swift kiss on the stuttering yellow lizard. Undyne must trust her so much, not using his ridiculous pseudo-name in this occasion. Papyrus crossed his arms and examined the monster. Wearing the signature lab coat and black gown with red stripes, crimson eyes reflect paranoia and deceit.

“Well? What do you think?” Undyne seems to bring him back to his current position. Standing at the midst of the Research Academy, the two wore a lab coat to blend in with the crowd. Too bad the plan backfired since they gained a lot of attraction given their figure. They stuck out like sore thumbs. Both having graduated earlier than the Royal scientist candidates, Undyne insisted that they visit the monster at the midst of her graduation. Papyrus looks back at Undyne and said in slight acknowledgement. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder… THAT’S WHY YOU LOST ONE YOURSELF!”

“Be right back Alphys. I got to handle something important.” Undyne mentioned. Papyrus knew this was the time to start running. Stepping back as calm as he can, Papyrus turns around and makes a break for it. Running as fast as he can, the skeleton can hear the roar of the legendary sea creature. He muttered under his breath, “Secret meeting, she says! Not going to attract anyone’s attention, my skeleton ass!”

*BUMP! *

“COMING THROUGH!” Papyrus warned, not noticing who he bumped to in the first place. Once the skeleton was gone, the victim stood up, cursed the rude intruder and dusted his lab coat clean. Seeing another wrecking monster ready to kill anyone that gets in her way, the monster sighs and got an idea. Undyne, noticing a bystander standing without a care in the world, raises her spear to stab the jerk straight to the chest. Suddenly, the monster grins and teleports out in the last second, causing the Head of the Royal Guards to thrust her spear in midair. Able to stop herself from falling down, Undyne looks around for the stranger before heading back to her hunt in finding her second-in-command.

[NEEDY CANINES]

".... Do you think it’s possible to torture an ally to a certain extent of it not being dusted?" Papyrus said in defeat, covering his face with his gloved hands. Two in the room, the fire-elemental bartender listens to the skeleton's woes and pulls out the coffee beans. This was the favorite drink of the skeleton for its bitterness. This usually winds the second-in-command down or at least brings him back to his usual self. Pouring the drink, the bartender asked. "Does it have something to do with a group ruining your traps?"

"Why yes. How did you know Grillby- THEY'RE OUTSIDE, AREN'T THEY?" Papyrus groaned. Grillby pointed at the door. Hearing the sound of the door opening and boisterous voices filled the air, Papyrus' eye sockets turned dark. Grillby smiled. "Thanks for the customers, Vice-Captain."

"Hey! What a coincidence… It's the Boss!"

"Treat us, Boss!"

“Let me call Dogamy and Dogaressa!”

"Woohoo! Drinking party~!"

“And poker!”

"PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!"

"WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER COMING HERE?" Papyrus asked rhetorically. He knew his answer since he has a bias with the drink: Coffee. First time he drank coffee was from Dr. Alphys. Not bad, but he wanted more. While purchasing coffee beans in the Black Market, he accidentally met the purple elemental. If he had simply avoided Grillby on that auction, the flame douche might have never monopolized his supply of coffee beans!

“Bark!” A huge dog pushed itself forward to fit the door frame, followed by a smaller dog holding a magical shield. Papyrus slammed his skull to the table while Grillby entertained his Units. As much as he wants to ring the guy’s neck, the bartender can make good coffee – burning coffee to be exact. Sipping his coffee, Papyrus glanced at the Dog couple cuddling against each other.

“Coffee?” Grillby asked as he prepared the cocktail for today’s impromptu event. Papyrus shook his head and watched the bartender tend to the other patrons. He had to admit how useful the fire elemental was, being an info breaker in the town of Snowdin. It also wasn’t helpful how his Units decided to make it their sanctuary when he gets angry, facing Grillby and discussing about the costs and damages he needs to pay. This distracts him long enough to extinguish his rage. Those Dogs are good.

[ATTENTION-SEEKING ROBOT]

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” Papyrus said with exasperation, staring at the obstacle on the piano. The skeleton only wanted to play with the piano. He didn’t want to see a four-armed creature resting on top of the grand piano. It even has two pairs of eyes and a neon-and-vermilion-themed in the fashion sense. Oh! And so-called scrap metal was ruining the piano with its blood.

“Better get used to it punk! Alphys told me to babysit him.” Undyne comments as she lifts her barbells while lying down on the contraption they found on the dumps. Papyrus stares at the robot, who was sobbing silently because of his injuries, and looks back at the music sheets on the piano.

“…” The robot wasn’t asking for attention, but Papyrus was very distracted with the robot's crying. Standing up, Papyrus leaves to get a mattress, placing it down to pick the robot up and place him on said mattress. Leaving again to get a toolkit, Papyrus asked the robot a very insensitive question. “NAME.”

“D-don’t you know me? I-I’m Mettaton, the soon-to-be greatest star celebrity in Hotland!” The robot struggles to speak, his vocal box broken for some unknown reason. Papyrus nods as he begins to fix the arms. "Very well then. Mettaton. You may call me Fell. I don’t really know much about machinery, but I will try my best to fix your injuries. I suggest you tell me when you feel the sensation of pain.”

“O-ok…” Mettaton flinched as Papyrus disengaged his arm from his body. Undyne was watching the act. Getting off her seat, Undyne went over with a wicked grin. Mettaton seemed to cower when the lady came near. “Let me help!”

“NO! If I recall from childhood, you break everything you touch! At least I know how to fix simple machines.” Papyrus flicked the woman’s hand off. Undyne kicked her brother hard on the back before leaving to take a quick shower. Seeing Papyrus hold his back in pain, Mettaton smiled and commented in a small teasing manner. “You seem to be adept with this, darling~ Dare I ask who taught you?”

“Don’t call me darling… That is disturbing and no. No one would teach this to insolent brats like us. I simply apply what I read from the books given to me… Second-hands are a useful test subject in this sort of field…” Papyrus removes the yellow gloves to see the clamp-on. Noticing the silence, the skeleton made the first move - An ice-breaker of some sorts. “So Mettaton… Er… Tell me about yourself.”

“I thought you never asked!” Mettaton’s mood turns one-eighty degrees. Papyrus nods away, hearing the robot talked on and on about himself. Sometimes, he took note of several events and inquired about it. He wasn't really familiar with the customs outside the legal institutions. Coming out of the shower, the Captain of the Royal Guards saw the two's interactions as pathetic, making snide remarks but Undyne didn’t physically attack them. Papyrus wasn't going to push the lady to ACT, he’d be crazy if he did that. Since Mettaton talked about these grand schemes hosted in his show, Papyrus promised to watch his show if it taught something useful. For the first time, Papyrus saw a monster shed tears of joy. Call it boredom but after watching the show, Papyrus found himself watching the show every night.

The next day, Papyrus saw the robot at the front yard. Mettaton wanted to hear what he liked during the series of shows he made. It seems Undyne was so busy that she forgot he had control over the TV. So what if he watched the robot’s amateur show? It could get better if someone was to critique it and who can do that job but the Terrible Papyrus?! Unfortunately, Mettaton had to shorten his visits or Undyne will kill him. Undyne’s orders actually have practical sense. Papyrus had to multi-task whenever Mettaton was around. Doing the chores, attending to his puzzles, placing the dogs in line, and tending to Mettaton’s psychological needs - It should be obvious by now the robot needs help. Just look at his recent ‘movie,’ featuring a single shot of Mettaton reclining his body with rose petals flowing down for 4 hours straight! Alphys seems to be grateful that he was handling the problem, but the skeleton knew what the lizard does behind his back. Try to murder him since his actions look menacing to her small circle of ‘friends.’ In their world, Friendships were so twisted like right now.

“NOT AGAIN…” Papyrus looks down, seeing Undyne had fallen asleep in the pond. Either she was asleep or she was going back to her depression stage, he should request a Scientist to find a Cure for Despair. Removing his coat, the skeleton got ready to dive down the strangely-colored red water.

[LONG MEETINGS]

“HEY FUCKED-UP CAPTAIN! WE HAVE A MEETING ON FIVE.” Papyrus mentioned, sipping his coffee while reading his newspaper. Sitting on the porch, Papyrus waits for the woman to stop torturing the dummy. When Undyne finally went inside, Papyrus looks over his newspaper to see the dead dummy.

“Not another one…” Papyrus muttered, standing up to poke the dummy with his boot. After a few minutes, Undyne came back with her complete battle armor. The skeleton followed her with a clip board. Papyrus was the one who makes sure to keep track with what occurred in the meetings. Taking down notes and staying calm in the midst of a verbal battle, that was the second-in-command’s job. Sometimes, Undyne would be too focused in one task than the other. The actions between the nobles asking for security all the way to the stupid measures the monsters want them to do like item positioning… He writes that all down.

“What’s the agenda?” Undyne asked. Papyrus looks at the board. There were a lot of meetings for the following weeks, majority of which focused on the nobles while the rest were tyrants, tycoons and gang leaders. “Familiarizing our duty towards the aristocracy, we ARE the fresh batch from the academy.”

“Hmm... That’s a load of Bull.” Undyne couldn’t have said it any better. Selfish ingrates need to be put into their own place. Too bad the world doesn’t act this way, giving heed to the evil and strong. Walking through Hotland, Papyrus noticed her scales drying. Her stench was very obvious since he was beside her.

It got stronger after the hostile meeting with the individuals. Being an amphibian had its perks and downfall - smelling fish and seeing his officer take deep breaths in the environment. Papyrus told off the dehydrated female. “HEAD BACK. These tasks are too menial for the Head Royal Guard.”

“I *huff* I can handle!” Undyne frowned, paralleling the skeleton’s expression. Papyrus gave a container of water from the water cooler, “Drink up and we’ll see how far you’ll go.”

“Is that a challenge?” Undyne always loved a tough challenge, something Papyrus deemed very idiotic. Papyrus shook his head and explained the next task. It took some more months for the aquatic monster to give up her patrols in Hotland. Enduring the heat as much as she can to remove the simple weakness, it was a great help to have Dr. Alphys persuading her to drink these 'nutritious' drinking supplements.

[POSSESSIVE GIRLFRIEND OF YOUR FOSTER SIBLING]

"WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU?!" Papyrus screamed in fury, running at the conveyor belts which moved in the opposite direction. He knew he should've never visited the Lab. The Lizard had a huge vendetta against him! Stabbing his spear on the wall, Papyrus jumped and landed on his spear. How he never broke his spear was because of his weight. He wasn't heavy. Something he felt was a disadvantage as he could never crush his enemies with his weight unless they were babies... He blames the Sea tea.

"W-what are you talking about Pa-I mean Fell? Undyne told me to train you while she takes care of the canine units or are you tired already?" Alphys was right there. Too many cadets were transferring to Snowdin. Hearing the rumor of a monster that gives incentives and pays his unit’s tabs, Papyrus was surprised with the sheer amount of willing henchmen. Undyne wasn't happy, must have realized with the amount of recruits that the skeleton could overthrow Hotland with Snowdin's increasing defenses. But since he was hearing this from the Royal Scientist, Papyrus knew there was a hidden agenda. As Royal Scientist, Alphys had to handle all the departments in the Science Association, including the most important parts: health and food units. Papyrus has no idea what happened with the first candidate which was Sa-am? Not sure anymore, he wasn't willing to ask for more information from that stingy elemental.

*BLIP! *

Pressing the button, he waited for the conveyor belts to slow down. Landing down to the ground, he removed his spear. Dodging lasers, pressing buttons and disabling bombs, Papyrus hears Mettaton and Alphys talk about topics unrelated to his growth in battle form and skill, but his Hobbies and Love preference. They always do meaningless things that he shuts them off from his auditory senses.

"Dr. Alphys dear... I think he's into men~! He isn't into you-know-who."

"Seriously?! Then why are there a lot of fandom with him and her?!"

"M-Maybe they mistake their sibling relationship as something more?"

"Puh-lease! I've seen them in my cameras! Their activities weren't sibling like, at all."

"WAIT JUST A SECOND! ONE, I AM NOT GAY! TWO, I AM NOT INTERESTED WITH UNDYNE!" Papyrus interrupted, clinging for dear life as he nearly fell on a pit of spikes. Clawing his way back to safety, Papyrus huffs for breath and was out of the hole. Staring at the color-coded puzzle, Papyrus looks behind to see a column of flames heading his way, Papyrus ran quickly over the course, "THREE. WHAT THE HELL IS A FANDOM? AND FOUR! HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SPYING ON UNDYNE?!"

"You don't need to know that."

"Since they officially got toge-"

*ZAP! *

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO METTATON?!" Papyrus asked, hearing a metal clank on the intercom. Jumping forward, he was able to finish the puzzle in time. However, he was panting on the floor, sweating from the heat and difficulty of such a course. The lizard was really pushing him to the limit. He was beginning to hate conveyor belts because of her.

"Why should you care about him? He's just a robot. He can recover from the shock."

"ADMIT IT. YOU STILL CARE FOR HIM." Papyrus blurted out. Realizing his mistake when the intercom lost connection, he turned around to see a number of identical rectangle robots flying across the road with charged lasers on their body. Running as fast as he can, Papyrus screamed in his head of all the treacheries life had to offer him. 'FUCK THE GODS FOR GIVING ME A CRAZY LIZARD SISTER-IN-LAW!'

[CREEPY NEIGHBORS]

“… UNDYNE, IS THAT YOU?” Papyrus asked, entering the door to their house. Undyne didn’t reply. No one was at home. Papyrus gulped, but he tried his best not to be afraid. He wasn’t scared of ghosts. He just doesn't like them even if he met a freaking robot that was a fucking ghost, he was no-

*HEHEHEH~! *

“…” Papyrus trembled. The eerie voice was echoing in the house, making the skeleton hesitate to turn around. Even if he was the Terrible Papyrus, he really didn’t want to turn. Having no solid medium to attack the entity, the skeleton had no chance of surviving that sort of feats. He and Undyne watched documentation about ghosts so that must be true. How was he going to defend himself?

*TURN AROUND SKELETON! *

The entity taunted him. If Undyne was here, she would beat the crap out of the ghost with her magical attacks. Papyrus has yet to master his elements. Blue, Red or Orange, he only knew how to use blue to immobilize his enemies for a quick second. Red magic when he's pissed. Finally, fire magic made with the combination of red and orange magic. In short, he has no proper education to utilize his magic. Because of Mr. Gerson’s orders, he was stuck with melee attacks. So much potential wasted because there were no books about spell casting within the Academy’s library! It was always the Science Department who had the resources. Papyrus felt a cold breath from his shoulder. Sensing the creature, Papyrus knew it was small and weak. Surely he can handle-

*BOO! *

….

…

..

“What the fuck are you doing under there?” The fire elemental sneered at the skeleton. Looking down his bar-tending table, the skeleton hid underneath it holding his legs close. Coming in the bar as fast as a hound in need of his/her drink, Papyrus jumped over – behind the counter and hid there for more than thirty minutes without speaking. Grillby sighed. It seems he has to do the thing again. Seeing as his bar was empty right now (everyone was working or doing something retarded), the fire elemental decided to enact plan B. He didn’t want to do this (very demeaning and unnecessary in his part), but the customer was irrational at times. Crouching down, Grillby asked the skeleton politely. “What’s wrong, Papyrus?”

“N-NOTHING!” Papyrus squeaked in a scared tone, looking at the elemental with small white dots. The bartender face palmed in disbelief. Standing up, Grillby muttered in an amused voice. “If you weren’t the one paying the tabs of your whole unit, I would’ve kicked you out from that.”

“For a dingy bar, this place attracts a lot of dust!” Papyrus retorted, regaining his confidence but still hiding under the table. Grillby tsk-ed and poured the liquid in the cup. Fortunate, he learned to be a barista or the skeleton would go to that infernal slave-driver Muffet for his coffee, anything but that greedy arachnid. “Let me guess, an enemy penetrated your fortress?”

“AN INVISIBLE ENEMY TO BE EXACT, IT’S A POLTERGEIST!!” Papyrus earned a pat on his head. Grillby wondered how Undyne was able to retain this monster’s innocence. It felt refreshing to see a different type of monster that was easier to fool than the rest. Papyrus frowned at him, “GIVE ME YOUR PHONE! I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE.”

“As long as you’re paying.” Grillby grinned evilly and handed the phone to the skeleton.

[FAMILY ARGUMENTS]

*CLICK! *

“What do you want Grillby? If it’s something about the canine unit, refer this to my Vice-captain!”

“UNDYNE…”

“…” Grillby had an urge to dust the skeleton. Afraid from ghosts, this guy will be the laughing stock if anyone were to find out. Keeping in mind that this monster was a paying customer with standards, the fire elemental let it slide. Besides, the skeleton would only come here if less than two people were around. Something to do with his reputation and what-not, but what was wrong with the place? It was cozy and a no-fighting zone if he felt like enforcing it. All of the monsters here want to unwind from the sick world. There was nothing wrong with that. Grillby placed the glass down and watched outside his glass pane. The little brats are picking on the grouchy forever-alone again. Heh. Pitiful.

“Papyrus. Why the fuck are you there? Aren’t you supposed to make Lasagna or something?”

“THERE IS AN INTRUDER IN THE HOUSE!”

“WHAT?!”

“IT’S A BLACK GHOST THAT BLEEDS BLOOD ONTO HIS ENEMIES!”

“... You do know I have to stay here for a week, right?”

“I’M NOT GOING BACK UNTIL IT’S GONE!”

“Fuck your whiny needs, brother! That’s our neighbor. Suck it up and ignore him!”

“NO! I AM NOT GOING BACK THERE! IF YOU WERE THERE, YOU’D REALIZE HOW UNAFFECTED I WAS WITH MOST OF MY ATTACKS!”

“So childish.” Grillby shook his head and yet, couldn’t help but chuckle at the conversation between the two. The first time 'Fell' came here, he was a young cadet taking a drunk-challenge for his sister. Because the kid was too trusting, the skeleton obediently paid the amount he jokingly asked for. Since then, Grillby was more than willing to allow the tall skeleton to come over. Something he also does to a smaller skeleton… Maybe he should re-introduce the two sometime?

“I don’t have time for this pussy talk! Get back there right now and show the fucker who’s boss!”

“DID YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT I SAID?! I AM NOT GOING BACK!”

"..." But now, his friend's a huge sarcastic ass while this guy in front is an Obsessive Compulsive insomniac. He should have also done this when he had the chance after that time when they were in the same room. It was a universal rule that being drunk makes talking easier to stranger. But Papyrus got manipulation lessons from those mercenaries during his Apprenticeship so it was a no-go.

“COWARD!”

“I RATHER BE A COWARD THAN TO LOSE MY SOUL!”

‘Wait. What? Where did the monster get the idea- movies. Right.’ Grillby rest his chin on the palm of his gloved hand, resting his arms on the table. Fear often caused one to become irrational in mind. The SOUL of monsters cannot simply be removed from their body. And speaking about movies, he should place a TV in his bar to satiate his boredom waiting for customers.

“Fine! I hope you like sleeping in the snow!”

“YOU WOULDN’T CARE WHERE I SLEEP EITHER WAY, BITCH!”

"I never cared for you at all, bastard-!"

*CLACK! *

[RANDOM ROOM RENTING]

“….” Papyrus slowly stood up from his area and gave the phone back. Grillby accepted it with a face ready to explode with the flames deep inside. The skeleton didn’t stop him as the bartender cackled in laughter, moving out behind the counter to grab a seat. Seating down, Papyrus took a sip of the coffee and placed a bag of gold at the counter waiting for the bartender to stop. After finishing his cup, Papyrus placed it in front of the bartender for a refill. “Is the inn filled today?”

“… Sucks to be you, but yes, full for the entire month. However, if you would reconsider my latest offer... I could give you my sincerest assistance.” Grillby’s voice had some bad intentions, but Papyrus had to risk it. Grabbing the bag, Grillby knew the Royal Guard's constant search for a secure renting area near Snowdin. Fell-(fuck that pseudo-name) Papyrus is going to love this next offer. Grillby just has to persuade him. He did this in the past, asking the skeleton to stay with a monster for a whole month and in the end, Papyrus heads back to Undyne due to certain problems. This would be the tenth time and it gave a lot of interest in his part. Plus, the fact he was finally going to reduce someone's tab, the offer gets better and better.

"The location of the house is within Snowdin." Grillby asserted, knowing how important Social Mobility was to the skeleton - weird workaholic. Watching the coffee get refilled, the skeleton weighed his chances of survival. He knew that if he were he refuse, he’d have to sleep in the snow which might lead to him getting dusted. Papyrus accepted the fact he sleeps like a log. He wouldn’t even know he got dusted if he was asleep. Why was today his sleeping day? He’s such a fool! He should’ve slept yesterday, but then he was using the computer talking with SYLPHA.

“I’m waiting.” Whenever Grillby talked to him, Papyrus is faced with the calm elemental turning aggressive just to make him decide in haste, like there was no tomorrow. Trying to peer through the eye glasses of Grillby, Papyrus sigh his defeat. This guy has constantly tried giving him different locations for rent, giving him a unique traumatizing experience... Surely today was the day he was worth trusting... Snowdin was a decent neighborhood, was it not? Papyrus drinks his cup and responds with his right eye glowing red. “What is your proposal, Tycoon? I need to know what I'm gambling myself into this time!”

"Aren’t you straight to the point? How ruthless. This is the cost of for half the payment of the rent.” Grillby smirked as he handed out a tab. Looking at the tab, Papyrus’ jaw fell down in shock. Recovering from the shock, Papyrus saw Grillby mouth twitching to form a grin. “Don't make that face again. It is unfitting for a Royal Guard with that expression. And about the house, it is owned by a close acquaintance of mine. He doesn’t bite nor fuck in your business like the others. With only 1 HP, the monster is lazy, apathetic and rarely stays in the house. What do you say?”

“B-BUT! WHAT’S WITH THIS AMOUNT?! IT’S GIGANTIC!” Papyrus fussed, hearing the dry laugh of the elemental. “Let’s just say you’ll be the one paying his debt. Lodging in exchange of repaying his debt bit by bit, that’s something the monster wouldn’t mind doing. He doesn’t pay the tabs even if he gets a good beating. However, if you want, you could pay all of his tabs right here, right now. Though I have to warn you, the tabs will never end.”

“Grillby, you can't be serious... HOW CAN A DEBT NEVER END?!” Papyrus was puzzled, finishing his cup once more. Grillby shrugged, “He's a regular- speak of the devil. The monster’s coming this way.”

*CLING! *

“!!” Papyrus was surprised to see a smaller skeleton wearing a lab coat and a tired expression. Seating beside him, the smaller skeleton immediately orders something. “grillby! give me the usual.”

‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Papyrus thought. Papyrus wasn’t even going to bother CHECK-ing this monster as it would mean taking an initiative for unnecessary fighting. He has better monsters to dust, monsters that rebel against the King or the Army. Seeing the skeleton droop on the table, Papyrus turned to stare at Grillby. His frown deepened as the bartender ignored him in favor to tend to the smaller skeleton. Grillby was promoting this individual's laziness. Unbelievable. Giving the newcomer mustard and fire whiskey, Papyrus moved away when the skeleton gulped down the mustard. Seeing the stains on the guy’s shirt, Papyrus scrutinized him in an unforgiving manner.

“not your problem. deal with it.” The smaller skeleton shrugged as he is later served with fries. Squeezing mustard on the fries, the smaller skeleton continues to eat with some satisfaction. Seeing the bartender talk to the newcomer, Papyrus closed his eyes. He was trying to recall something from memory. He remembers Monster Kid saying something about this small weakling being the son (?) of the Past Royal Scientist... So why wasn't he the one paying the tabs? The Royal Scientist... A painful poke interrupted Papyrus’ thoughts.

“What is it Sans?!” Papyrus asked half shouted, glaring at the skeleton. The skeleton nearly flinched, but the small monster still had his grin on. The golden tooth glistened from the flame of the whiskey he held, the skeleton known as Sans seemed to sweat a lot. Papyrus turned silent, wondering why he said the name Sans. Does that mean all sweaty skeletons are 'Sans' to him or has he actually met this skeleton before during his patrols? It must be the latter. Skeletons were a rare to find nowadays. Oh right, Mr. Gerson said he should alter his font when this situation arises since monsters might find out what font name he was born with. Easier said than done, Papyrus struggled to lower his caps and alter the text to the universal standard. Sans spoke, his sarcastic voice wasn’t matching his tired face. Papyrus became conflicted if he should get angry at the monster. “welp. sorry for the bother jackass. just asked if you wanted to see your new room?”

“Hmmm… Very well.” Papyrus stood up, but saw Grillby holding his hand out. Pulling out a huge sum of gold that he earned recently as salary, Papyrus gave it to the bartender. Watching the skeleton’s confused expression, Papyrus explained the exchange beforehand as they left the bar and trudged to the house. Sans was listening, but his creepy grin wasn’t lowering, it seemed forced.

Passing a burnt down tree, Papyrus never really knew how the Past Royal Scientist looks like. Hearing rumors about the monster, the skeleton used this information to create the individual's image instead. In the Academy, everyone talked about the monster and their achievements to something. While Papyrus avoided-no refused the information as if it was a plague. The only thing he can bring back to memory left was Mr. Gerson's vague description of the Royal Scientist... Often wearing black, the monster was male with a creepy disposition and- Papyrus flinched, surprised at the pain inflicted upon him.

‘WHO DID THAT?’ Looking around, Papyrus searched for the source. It must be Monster Kid since he lives in this neighborhood, but the brat has no arms?! Papyrus felt a shove from Sans. Looking at the guy’s expression, Sans didn’t look happy. He must be internally pissed how he was dragged out of the bar to escort another hooligan in the Underground to his domain. But Sans' expression also showed worry and idle curiosity. “what’s taking you so long, numb skull?”

“Is that how you treat someone who paid your debts?” Papyrus counters, but the Sans had a counter of his own. “who said i needed help from a motherfucker? i’ve always had a debt with the guy for years. in fact, you’re the one in need of help, bastard who’s scared of ghosts.”

“Say that again and I will dust you.” And that ended the conversation all together. Not because of fear, but because Sans was laughing. Papyrus merely folded his arms in resentment. It was no laughing matter knowing a monster’s weakness, it meant opportunity to assassinate, a take-over towards ones' position. Seeing the skeleton open the door, Papyrus held it wider to analyze if there were any traps set up for him. Instead, he sees the house in a state of abandonment. Entering the living room, Papyrus asked with interest. “Why is the house in such a terrible state?”

“too lazy to handle it. there’s your room.” Sans pointed at the second floor, a door to the left. Papyrus looks at the left to the right and imagines that that room must be Sans’s room. “you can use the kitchen, but the fridge is going to be halved. my stuff and your stuff boundary- are you even listening? why the fuck are you looking at the trashcan? do you have a kink-?! that was close, nearly dusted me there.”

“Now I understand how you were able to survive for so long!” Papyrus cursed. Pulling his sword from the floor, he'll have to repair the cracks later. Looking at the couch, he sees Sans standing on it and still droning on with the intro. "this is the couch and tv. if you wanna watch a movie, scavenge the dumps. i won't judge unless it’s for sissies."

"Yes. yes. I get the obvious, leave already." Papyrus ordered, picking up and flipping the book on the table. Reading some puns, he flips them some more to read quantum physics... Reading further, Papyrus finds himself in a never-ending amount of puns and science topics. The skeleton must be a nerd like Alphys so was Sans a Scientist then? He was never up-to-date with these things. Placing it down, Papyrus headed upstairs. Opening his room’s door, Papyrus was greeted with a barren room, empty to the bone. He doesn't have lights or a bed, but he has a small book shelf with two books on it. He removes his coat and placed it on the floor. He was seriously going to have a stiff neck by the morning.

[DECREASING THE TABS FOR GRILLBY'S CLIENTS]

"...?" Sans woke up, smelling something downstairs. It was food. Someone was cooking downstairs. Grillby didn't tell him the skeleton could cook. All he knew was that the Second-in-command got into a fight with his superior, getting kicked out from their shared house. Having a new roommate named Fell, the tall skeleton was known for being a major bastard that sets up traps for any unfortunate soul to die from. Fell was also an OC, someone who gets frustrated over the slightest disarray within his surroundings which he witnessed first-hand on the guy's first day (actually really early morning). Fell practically started dusting and fixing everything. Sans continued sleeping, not wanting to go back to work so soon.

'Is that bacon?' Sans asked himself, unsure how the skeleton had time to jog to Hotland and back in the early morning. Crap. What if the guy sees him eat a bag of potato crisps? Would the skeleton judge hi-Who cares what the skeleton says? Even if this guy's considered the hottest news in Snowdin (funny how the village hasn't melted yet), Sans was sure the skeleton doesn’t know about his status as part Royal Scientist. Standing up, Sans decides to open his door and peers down the rails. "hey fell?"

"What is it?" Papyrus asked. Sans continues to stare at him, making said-skeleton grow impatient. "I made you breakfast so you won't increase your debt with Grillby! Is that too hard for your skull to comprehend?!"

"kinda. do you also cook for your bass?" Sans went over to the dining table, seating down to look at his plate. A three-layered pancake with bacon on top, this could only mean one thing. Sans pulls out his condiment and placed mustard all over it, earned himself a negative response from the chef.

"Sans. No puns- OH MY GOD SANS! DO YOU PLACE MUSTARD ON EVERYTHING?!" Fell complained as Sans stuffed huge chunks of pancakes in his mouth. Sans also wanted to state out loud that his font was showing, but Sans somewhat wants to find out what font the skeleton was. It was hilarious to see the skeleton angered by something so simple such as placing the condiments. On the side, he can see Honey, maple syrup and other condiments on his side. Fell realized his mistake as well, reverting back in a lower tone. Papyrus was so used to using a font when he was at a home-like setting. "T-the least you could do is taste the food first before placing condiments on it. You have no respect for food, peasant!"

"ok." Sans agreed, finishing his share to look at the now-silent tall skeleton. The Vice-Captain was fiddling with his food, staring at the food with minimal interest. Sans stabbed a pancake layer from the guy's plate, stealing the pancake to earn a scowl from the other. Sans dodged a knife toss which stabbed the wall behind him. "close call but... gotta go. clean the dishes. lock the doors. don't worry. i can take my shortcuts and enter the house even without the keys."

*FWIP! *

"Fucking sleazebag! But... How does he do that?!" Papyrus cursed, nearly catching the small skeleton before Sans teleported off. So far, he learned Sans was a skeleton is addicted to mustard. The cabinets have mustard containers and packets hidden as if it were treasures. He needs to clean the dishes before he heads out to get decors in his room like a bed and a light. Afterwards, Papyrus has to bribe the civilians to ensure his safety... The skeleton sighs.

Chapter Text

{EXTRA: PAPYRUS - Staying in Sans' house}

[LIVING ROOM - MTT's Show]

"watcha watching?" Sans asked. Papyrus ignores the skeleton in the hopes that he would go away. He was beginning to think the fire elemental was lying to him since Sans likes hanging around in the house, procrastinating from his work??? What is Sans' occupation...? He knew Sans’ work must be far from Snowdin, probably in Hotland since that was where business blooms and dies. It also wasn't helpful that the guy sets up pranks for him in the house when he returns from work. At night, Sans goes to Grillby or locks himself in his room. But here was the imp now, bugging him during the dead of the night. Sans jabs him for attention. Papyrus continues to watch yet the guy pokes harder. "god damn it fell! respond already."

"Will you quit with this child's play, brother...Can't you see I'm watching?" Papyrus shooed the skeleton's hand, focused on the suspense in the TV. A mystery murder movie, it discusses who could be the real murderer which Papyrus knew had to be the Child. Who else has better access, but the child? Everyone was going to get murdered sooner or later. The skeleton stopped with his assaults and grumbled under his breath. “who would want to be brothers with you, dickhead? ‘sides, the plot sucks…”

"…" Papyrus continues to ignore him, still staring at the screen. After the two-hour show came to an end, Papyrus finally looks at the skeleton tilting his head towards the arm of the couch. Changing the channel to his original program; today was deemed the worst. Not only had Papyrus nearly met Undyne in the morning, but he realized Sans’ ability allows him to be fucking everywhere! No matter how fast he ran within the forest which he knows at the back of his gloves, Sans’ snowballs are endless and accurate. He has no idea when he accepted the snowball fight, but he should get revenge for his pride. While in contemplation, Papyrus saw Zs at his peripheral sight.

"Zzzz..." Looking at Sans, the smaller skeleton’s eye lights were off, finally asleep on the couch. Great-? Frowning, Papyrus placed a pillow on the skeleton's head, not wanting that drool to taint the sofa. It took a whole month for this house to make it look Papyrus-worthy. And still, Papyrus has yet to touch the shed and Sans' room. Checking the time, Papyrus stares at the brilliant flashy introduction with squinted eyes. Papyrus felt a kick on his leg, hearing the soft complaint of his homie. Papyrus lowers the volume and pushes the legs back to the floor. The skeleton should get used to sounds in the night, Papyrus will be watching MTT’s show, after all. The robot would certainly not like it if he skips a single show. Today, Mettaton was discussing about the bloody history of monsters. Papyrus wasn't amused as some of them were false, yet some stood as good theories for several events. He should ask the robot about his sources. Papyrus was puzzled how Sans' Zs stopped flowing when the program was ongoing. It seems the skeleton was interested with the Experimentation accounts on the Humans and Monsters.

"???" Papyrus doesn't really know how this happened but, the history talk turned into a BDSM lesson. Seeing the show's methods as lighter forms of torture learned in class, Papyrus was curious with the complex machines in the screen. He wondered if he should ask Undyne to... No. Bad idea, BDSM could promote the eventual marriage between those 'two' as controlled pain builds trust. Papyrus wasn't ready to be the best man nor was he knowledgeable about monster weddings and its protocols during and after.

'Wait. But Undyne might ask Me-Crap.' Papyrus doesn't want to be the test subject of Undyne. Since Undyne was very careful with Alphys, she might need a guinea pig before doing this to the reptilian. He wasn't ready to be a Masochist. The skeleton didn’t want any injuries inflicted on him. Being hurt by an individual involves a huge amount of trust, something he and Undyne could have but was at the boundary. Papyrus looks behind at the clock above the door. 'Two o' clock already?'

*BLEEP! *

Papyrus turned the TV off. He only needed to watch Mettaton's show. The rest was about pornography and scandals. Not important. Standing up, Papyrus lifts the skeleton's feet off his lap. The shift of Sans' position in the couch turns from vertical to horizontal. Lazy skeleton. Sans could get himself dusted with his actions. He was lucky the Terrible Papyrus didn’t feel like dusting him. Papyrus heads to the kitchen, wanting to try something out. But first, he had to see what ingredients are available for today's breakfast.

*CREEE-AAK! *

"HMMM... I'm surprised that Sans isn't awake with that. I'll need to buy MTT oil for this door..." Papyrus looks at the kitchen door. Recently finding a peculiar device, he planned on making waffles this time. Well, that was what the cooking book with the device mentioned. Besides, he found out he has all the required ingredients. Papyrus hums the tune he heard from the statue somewhere in Waterfall. His first-time waffles will go well. In fact, all his dishes are edible, having Undyne mention it as a gift. Problematic since he has poison lessons with the woman. He really tried his best, but it... was still edible, but not good enough for his consumption. Is his roommate picky or maybe he isn't fastidious on his food? Never mind. If it isn't to his liking, he'll do the usual - give it to those beggars in the Capital. It isn’t that hard to dispose undesirable food.

[PAPYRUS’ ROOM - Skeleton Closet]

*FWIP! *

"WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER-?" Papyrus inquired. Eyes flickering to life, he scrutinizes the intruder who decides not to knock, but to teleport inside his room. It was in the middle of the night and Sans decided to disturb his sleep. God must not like him sleeping, must be plotting his murder through collaborating with Death. Death by sleeping… Very stupid and un-Papyrus like to die from. It was interesting to point Sans was stumbling. Great. Death by sleeping because of some drunkard. Where is Sans going? Papyrus sat up as soon as Sans went in blindly inside his closet and closed its doors with its in-built locks. Papyrus blinked. Sans used telekinesis to lock himself up in his closet.

"SANS... CAN I TELL YOU HOW MUCH I WANT TO LOVE YOU FOR DISTURBING MY SLEEP?" Papyrus asked, opening the table lamp to spread a dim light across the room. Sans' responded, "shucks bro *hic* i knew you love me."

"THE OTHER LOVE, SANS!" Papyrus said. Walking towards the closet, Papyrus knocked. "SANS. COME OUT OF MY CLOSET THIS INSTANT!"

"knock knock." Sans answered instead, his voice recognizably slurred. Papyrus looks up to point his middle finger to the Gods. That's right. He was converting his monotheistic belief to polytheistic. There were Gods plotting to not just kill him, but also ruin his life. Why else do they give him a lot of monsters that: Drink in Grillby’s, like being messy in different ways, make unnecessary puns because they know he hates them and visit him in the night utterly wasted? Such monsters include Undyne, Canine Units, Royal Guards and Mettaton. Mettaton's the worst, a time he doesn't want to remember ever again... The rustles in his closet alerts Papyrus to the main issue. "SANS. IT’S TOO EARLY FOR THIS."

"can't you play along for your bro's sake?" Sans asked in a feeble voice. Papyrus was stunned with the request and the type of referral the skeleton mentioned. A spark of revelation, the taller skeleton remembered those times either he or Undyne would use that term to get the other to cooperate. Using sibling terms when they need something from the other, this often ended in secrecy and mischief. Seeing that they are both skeletons - same species, there was a high chance that they are related and might actually be brothers. But having this drunkard use the term 'brother' was a different story all together, Papyrus has no idea what Sans was planning. "...FINE!"

"... W-WHO’S THERE?" Papyrus can't believe he was going along with this. He could barely see the skeleton from the small gaps in the closet, but enough to know that Sans was utterly wasted from fire whiskey or wine. Damn. Wine was stronger and more expensive than whiskey. He seems to have given the right answer, having Sans give out an eerie chuckle before answering. "somebody."

"SOMEBODY WHO?" Papyrus was wasting his life here. He can feel it in his bones. The smaller skeleton wasn't opening the door. He really wants to drag Sans back to his respective room and go back to sleep. He can’t leave the guy alone in his closet. All of his clothes were in there. He didn’t want it getting soiled or torn apart. That’s what Undyne did when she entered his closet last year. Hopefully, this would be the last time Sans would do this... That was the same thing he said when he saw the others get drunk and trespassed in his room. Undyne is the only one who still does this, but she was an exemption. Sans answered. "somebody left a skeleton in this closet."

"WHEN ARE YOU COMING OUT AND OF ALL THE PLACES YOU COULD HAVE SLEPT IN, IT HAD TO BE IN THE TERRIBLE PAPYRUS’ CLOSET? ARE YOU THAT DRUNK TO TURN TO THE RIGHT AND ENTER YOUR ROOM?" Papyrus asked, not wanting to react to that pun. It was too early to kill a monster for his standards. Shuffling inside, Sans better not ruin his clothes or- "i dunno."

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Papyrus asked in disbelief. Seeing the Zs coming out of his closet, Papyrus face palmed for the third time of the day. Why was this monster being so difficult? Can't Sans be like the rest of the monsters who tries dusting him instead? Oh right! One HP. Well this must be his fault too partially, seeing as he stayed over a month than his usual one-month stays.

[SANS’ ROOM - Clingy Sock-lover?]

"not the socks!" Sans wailed, trying to tug the socks from Papyrus. Papyrus used telekinesis to drag the skeleton down and swipe the items. What is up with monsters and their socks? Undyne never told him anything about garments except those worn in the Anime and they were Humans, not monsters. Holding the skeleton in place, Papyrus placed the socks in the laundry basket. Launching a surprise attack after he recognized Sans' drunken behavior last night, Papyrus found himself victorious with a somber Sans staring at him with resentment. He regrets nothing. "this is a violation to personal property!"

"I GET IT! YOU ARE ATTACHED TO THESE DISGUSTING GARMENTS! YOU'LL GET THEM BACK WHEN IT'S CLEAN." Papyrus trudges off as he picks the basket up. Halfway the exit, Papyrus grew annoyed at the persistence of the skeleton that was holding his leg. Was this skeleton that determined if he's somber? "SANS! CUT THIS PATHETIC SENTIMENTALITY. I AM GOING TO GIVE IT BACK SO STOP FUSSING OVER THIS AND GO TO WORK!"

"don't you have work as well?" Sans tugged fruitlessly since Papyrus was accustomed to such actions (Canine units), he doesn't even stop to look down at the skeleton. Walking down the stairs, Papyrus questioned how this skeleton remains to be uninjured. Blasphemy! "It’s six o’ clock in the morning Sans. My Shift starts at seven and is few minutes away from this place."

"you woke me up when I can telepo... fuck you." Sans didn't finish his sentence and cursed. Walking to the couch, first thing Sans does is fall asleep. Staring at the skeleton, Papyrus continues on to the laundry firm at the capital. After so long, Papyrus has finally avenged his pride. Good thing Sans was the type to give up easily, too lazy to care. In the last two weeks of this month, Sans broke his record with the amount of curses uttered against him. Papyrus should try fixing the monster's language, but remembered they were in the kill-or-be-killed world. This would be a ridiculous move for a Royal Guard that shouldn't care about what this weak monster thinks. Papyrus sighs.

[KITCHEN – The Puppy]

“Sans! Get this mutt off me!” Papyrus ordered. Looking down at his black pants, a small dog was biting him furiously. Papyrus decided to open the sink closet one morning, only to be attacked by a white furry animal. Now he was okay with wolves, but an animal Dog seemed exasperating. It wouldn’t let go and he had to cook food for Lunch. It even has rabies and a cute red collar with spikes. Papyrus should suggest Doggo to wear the collar; it gave a better look on him. Papyrus flicked the Dog’s ear. It didn’t work. He tugged the Dog off. It didn’t work. Papyrus walked out with the Dog dangling on his leg.

“Grrr~!” The Dog tugged, disgusting foam was dripping down its mouth. Fortunately, Papyrus wore thick pants under the suggestion of looking scarier. Dr. Alphys said he looked more like a model. Papyrus didn’t know how to feel with that comment as Undyne laughed at her girlfriend’s suggestion. “Sans!”

“I know you’re working in your room but come here for a sec. It’s about your dog! Probably your Dog? How should I know really? Just get down here!” Papyrus tries flinging the Dog off his leg but the Dog was determined. It refused. Growling and biting as hard as he can. Papyrus can’t feel it from the cloth.

“i don’t have a do- hey! i thought the guy died long ago...” Sans commented, looking down the stair way. Papyrus glares at Sans and tries to fling it off. “Sans. Take your mutt before I murder it.”

“shucks boss. can’t even handle a single pup or are you showing mercy to it?” Sans’ voice was condescending. It reminded him of Undyne when he does something altruistic. Can’t he say doing MERCY was a strategy to get the monster’s guard down? Nope. It wouldn’t work. He was too Terrible and Cool to do this. Papyrus scowls, looking down at the dog. “I’m simply making sure this Annoying Dog belongs to you. I don’t want you cursing at me in the night because of this THING’s death, do I?”

“yeah. it’s mine. come here!” Sans called out. The Dog lets go, but growled at him. Papyrus doesn’t give a shit as the Annoying Dog ran up the staircase and got picked up by the skeleton.

“you asshole. that’s a fuck-tastic job you did there.” Papyrus’ jaw fell. This skeleton was promoting bad behavior in the household- Dogs are domestic helpers. If he remembers in one of the books, Dogs are best known for sensing danger. That pest must have lived here for years. He must have been seen as a threat.

“I’m calling that THING Annoying Dog for ruining my schedule.” Papyrus muttered. Heading back to the kitchen, he heard the laughs of his roommate with the Pomeranian.

           Later, Sans discussed a similarity between him and that Annoying Dog - Grumpy and threatening. Papyrus wasn’t so sure about the grumpy part since he has a legitimate reason why he was this way. One word: Paperwork. In fact, it was more like Sans and the Dog had more in common. Annoying Dog seems to be everywhere, biting on to his special attack when he was implementing punishment to some hooligans in the forest. Fucking Annoying Dog.

[SHED - Laundry duties]

"how did you get a washing machi- rephrase that. how did you get in here?!" Sans' left eye lights glowed a sickening red, Papyrus stares and turns back to his washing machine. Placing the remaining clothes in the device, Papyrus answers. "If I am not mistaken, there is what you call the dumpster and the skill of pick-locking doors."

"but i didn't ask you to laundry my stuff..." Sans even got the guts to sound moody when the second-in-command of the Royal Guards did him a favor to clean his clothes. But if he said this, he would sound similar to the adults which he disliked. Papyrus rolled his eyes, not wanting to sound like an adult recorder. "For someone who has multiple jobs, why are you a filthy monster?!"

"for a royal guard who kills monsters in a daily basis, why do you give a fuck about cleanliness?!" Sans accused him. Papyrus opens his mouth and closes it. 'Because it feels right' wasn't the answer the Terrible Papyrus was looking, he needs something more intelligent and cold. Right now, he had no answer. Papyrus looks away from the machine and back at Sans, a confession in hand. "I-I will get back on that question later..."

"sure, buddy. i can't blame you for wanting to clean up your mistake. you know what? while you think, i'm going to roll along in the snow and dirty my clothes." Sans sniggered, turning into a laugh as Papyrus pulled out a dagger hidden within his red boot and thrusting to the monster’s SOUL.

“is that the best you can do, second-in-command?” The skeleton taunted. Aside from the teleport ability which the skeleton use because of his laziness, Sans’ expert dodging is also to be recommendable for the army. Right now, it was detestable as Papyrus had no time to ACT properly. He has to rely on the FIGHT option while Sans continues on being a dick, mocking him with a grin similar to Undyne. Having their battle escalate out of the shed, Papyrus watched the monster with disdain. Sans stood with his hands in his pockets, moving to and fro. Outside and in no harm’s way for material properties, Papyrus suggested a wonderful notion to his homie. "Do you mind I ask you to stop moving for a second?"

"nope. how about try asking again when i'm in the MOVE?" Sans dodged again and teleported away to the lab.

[The faint scream of the skeleton was heard even in the midst of Hotland. That was some hardcore screaming, Sans noticed. Doing some research and bugging Alphys - co-partner in the job, Sans came back on night time to see the skeleton finally calmed down.

“…” Watching his homie cook, Sans wondered why the guy keeps making food for two. Cooking another type of dish - Burger with Mushrooms and other stuff on it, Sans tilt his head with a frown. Fell was weird and disturbing. "the fuck is wrong with this guy?"]

[DREAMS – Memories and Greasy Food]

"Undyne... For the LOVE of King ASGORE, you were supposed to return after finishing your group work." She could hear a familiar cadet's voice entering the bar. Turning around, Undyne was holding some cards while playing amongst her other groupmates in poker. Smiling from end to end, Undyne held a fire whiskey in the air. "Screw projects. We can finish it in the last hour! Cramming rules!"

"Undyne. Why are you going to cram when your project's nearly-finish? It only needs some wall constructions, polishing, painting and refurbishing left." Papyrus looks at the half-built prison model at the side of their table - A typical box shape with some barb wires and sticks inside it. What the sticks are for? He has no idea. Royal Guard 02 turned around to look at him, "That's why it's called cramming. Hey Fell! Let's play some poker. Grillby! Fell's paying all the stuff we bought."

"WHAT?! I refuse!" Papyrus crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance. The bartender, who was a fire elemental, stared at the group and raised an eye brow. "Same batch?"

"Yeah. We're going to be the future Royal Guards! Oh~!" A magician with a blue pointed hat now on his face cheered. Undyne placed down a card before raising her hand in the air. They were all intoxicated and going to end up feeling like shit in the morning, but those monsters didn't care. This was their last day before summer. Not him and Undyne, they have to take Military camp because of Mr. Gerson. Undyne waves at the bartender, "Grillby! Meet my bro! He’s gonna pay our shit, fucking Papy-"

"Shut up Undyne!" Papyrus hissed, quickly going over and covering her mouth. Wearing a red hoodie, Papyrus didn’t want strangers knowing something personal even if they are intoxicated in the room. It made him queasy. Undyne bit him, earning a yelp. "Paps! As your older sister and senpai, YOU are going to pay all our foods and drinks! AND! You are going to take the challenge to decrease the payment!"

"You mean the 'challenge' mentioned outside this bar?" Papyrus inquired. Undyne nearly fell from her seat, but stabbed the ground with a spear. "That's right, punk! If you can drink all of these cocks and eat that one-ass-of-a-burger, you can cut down the payment by half."

"Drinks and a Nona-burger Patty… You can't be serious on this, are you? (What’s a hamburger?)..." Papyrus mumbled. He rarely bought things outside, selective due to his fine standards as future Royal Guard. Papyrus stared at the bartender with a Don’t-make-me-do-this face. He knew Undyne and the rest were telling something behind his back, making the bartender nod. Papyrus looks down in resignation as he hears a cheer of success. "How much do I pay if I lose?"

"Your dignity~" A plant half-breed responded. It eyed him while acid dropped down its mouth. Undyne retaliates by throwing a spear at the creature. Grillby stared at the dying creature and comments, "Work as a waiter and pay quadruple the amount of the supposed payment."

"F-fine..." Papyrus covered his face with his black leather and fingerless glove. Oh god. Working as a waiter? If so, his dignity will be tarnished! He can’t afford to lose this challenge Bars are often caverns of information which means a lot of monster will see him in a menial job. As he sighs, three Cadet Groups in the room cheered. Eyes wide, Papyrus stumbled backward in shock. The fuck?! He thought it was only one group. "W-Wait just a moment! H-How many monsters am I going to pay for?!"

"Everyone and I’m Aaron. Call me ;)" A half-horse with fabulous black hair called Aaron winked. Can monsters stop winking at him?! He doesn’t get it. Undyne punches the air, holding a bag of gold. She must have won gold to buy something tomorrow. Papyrus interjects, "What?! But I don't know the rest o-"

"YAAAY~! FREE DRINKS!" This time, it was the whole room celebrating. Papyrus wants to crawl in a corner. He should have stayed at the Dorms, playing Pacman. Grillby looked down at the sleepy monster wearing a black sweater and asked him to count the number of monsters in the room. The monster stirs, looks around and yawns. "twenty-four guys why? someone paying?"

"Him. Aren't you lucky today?" Grillby remarked to his friend as he left to prepare the stuff. Looking around the place, majority of the seats were taken except at the front with the sleepy patron (?)Undyne pats Papyrus on the head, "Do it or Grillby is going to fucking haunt us in our dreams..."

"I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW." Papyrus hissed as Undyne dragged him to the front and pushed the skeleton to the chair. Papyrus feels like he’s held at gun point. Undyne cackled evilly standing right behind her brother. "With the amount of alcohol and milkshake you'll be drinking toppled with a fucking burger, this is going to be the second time and best drinking moment of your life!"

"YOU could have asked me for a drinking session during military camp, instead!" Papyrus cursed, but some of their team members were starting to sing songs sung in the funerals. Undyne smacked her subordinate and turned to look at the side and realized his seatmate. Papyrus also noticed how his sister turned silent and made a low growl. So these two already know each other…? "Are you fucking everywhere now, dweeb? Trying to kill me for Alphys, huh?! Punk!"

“…” There was no reply. Undyne’s friend woke up recently so it made sense. Papyrus was looking at the menu until Undyne suddenly pushed his head down to the table. Papyrus tries to lift his skull, but lifted enough to turn to see his sister greeting the stranger with a dagger on the face. The monster seemed apathetic to his sister’s threats. "Don't ignore me and tell me your relationship with my gal, bastard?!"

"SHEESH! Calm down Undyne. Not everyone knows your woman and loves her as much as you do. Besides, you're both too drunk to even think properly!" Papyrus defended the bastard (is the guy really a bastard?) as he pushed her off his skull. Undyne staggered, but stood by his side. The bastard (?) stares at him with a pointed expression. Papyrus turned nervous, realizing that this individual was a skeleton. The first he’s seen up close in his life time. Papyrus didn’t look at him in the eyes, more on the golden tooth sticking out. He saw a hand held out to him. A low tired voice introduced, "so you must be fish babe's bro? the name's sans. sans the skeleton."

".... No one in their sane mind would befriend a stranger, I have proven my point." Papyrus finished. But Sans wasn’t retracting his hand, the small skeleton was serious. It made Papyrus nervous. Confused and thinking that this was customary, he was about to shake hands with the punk until Undyne intervened. Papyrus knew Undyne comes here often, understanding the ethics of this area but… Did she have to use a knife and stab a hand? Because she was drunk, she accidentally stabbed his hand. Papyrus slowly turned to Undyne without uttering a single sound. He can’t scream. He can’t curse. He stares. He stares hard. Undyne did what a sister almost always does for their little brother so he can’t complain. "..."

“pft... knife to meet you… hehe.” The skeleton called Sans chuckled as he stared at his dusting hand. Both Undyne and Papyrus continued to stare at each other while Sans slowly removed the knife for more dust to fall to the ground. Papyrus' eye lights disappear, cue for internal swearing to the Surface. Undyne looks away and whistles, but it wasn't really convincing for someone who wasn't drunk to begin with.

"ThAnK yOu foR REmOviNg... THe KnIfE..." Papyrus struggled to keep his font in. Slowly moving his hand within the pockets of his red hoodie, Papyrus is plotting of a hundred ways of getting revenge. He knew Sans must be related to Alphys because of the blueprint sticking out of his pants. Before he could ask about Alphys…. Undyne twisted his neck, making a loud POP sound to see this ‘Grillby’ person come out of the Fire Exit. Undyne alerted him, "Look Paps! It’s your impending doom!"

"Pay 500 gold for the assurance fee." Grillby mentioned, placing a lot of containers of different substances (cocktails?) and a nine huge patties stacked on top of the other sandwiched by buns on the table. The grease was dripping down the plate. There were even fries on the sides... Papyrus gulped and pulled out a bag of gold to pay for his assurance fee. If an assurance fee sounds similar to an insurance fee. He was going to need it. However, Sans stared at Undyne and raised both hands. In return, Undyne does a shooing motion. Papyrus has no idea what these gestures meant as Grillby took the money and weighed it in his hands. Papyrus stared at the burger again. It was as tall as Sans seating down and resting his head on the table. Something Sans was doing right now, eyeing the item before his eye lights turn off.

"Crunch the burger down to a size you can bite. Don’t use a fork and the straw or you’re a wuss." Undyne gave advice as she patted his back. Papyrus doesn’t know how he’ll crunch this thing down but he’ll do his best. He could hear Undyne talk to the audience. "Listen up, punks! If you want your stuff paid for today, I suggest you cheer this unfortunate SOUL into finishing all the stuff, got it?!"

"YEAH!!" Everyone cheered except for the counting bartender, sleepy skeleton and nervous victim. Grillby looks up and sees the newbie sweating in anxiety.

"Welcome to Grillby's."

“NYEHH!!” Papyrus sat up, slightly sweating from the next incoming memory. Ever since that day, Papyrus vowed never to eat greasy food and alcohol at the same time. That day was one of the worst events in his life. So traumatizing that he kept grease at a minimum, only if necessary. Now the Vice-Captain remembered where he met Sans… In Grillby’s! He realized how infections puns were when you lower your guard as well as how Undyne sucks with poker. He uh apparently learned how to cheat through observing the gameplays. However, The Terrible Papyrus will not play such games as he has high and legal standards. Huh… Now it feels awkward seeing your past drinking buddy in the same house.

“?” Papyrus looks at his room. Red, orange and blue bones were floating around. He had to calm down. Taking deep breaths, the bones dispersed one at a time – blue, orange and red.

*KNOCK! KNOck! Knock! *

“you okay there, buddy?” Sans asked. This was supposed to be comforting, but Papyrus can hear the venom laced in those words. Sans was pissed and if he were to open the door, a hundred bones would hit him. Papyrus answered timidly. “Y-YES? Go back to sleep Sans…”

“…” He could hear Sans grumble and a door slammed closed. Papyrus stood still, knowing that he can only piss Sans at a minimum of ten times a whole day. This was the eleventh. When it reaches the twelfth time… Papyrus doesn’t want to know. Getting out of bed, Papyrus heads over to his closet and opened it. Entering it and closing the door, Papyrus summoned a red and orange bone as he searched for a black book. Finding it, Papyrus smiled and opened the book. ‘THERE WE GO.’

‘…’ Disguising the book cover, the book was part of the Fluffy Bunny Series. No one must ever know that the Vice-Captain likes reading these type of books. Undyne said this could ruin the integrity of the Royal Guards, but Papyrus wanted to go to sleep and this was the only way for him to fall asleep without tiring himself out. It was better if someone read it to him instead, it gave room for him to imagine the furry creature. How the creature kept getting lost or abandoned by its friends or family was a mystery to him. However, the bunny always had a goal in mind as it ventures to the unknown wilderness.

‘PEEK-A-BOO WITH FLUFFY BUNNY…’ Found in the Dumps few days ago, Papyrus was supposed to wait for Undyne to read it to him but she must be angry at him. She always reads his stories. Reading it inside the closet, the taller skeleton falls asleep before he could reach the ending.

[LAWN - mails and opportunities]

"What are you staring at?" Sans asked as he looks at the Hotdog seller make a mini bonfire. Papyrus learned from Grillby’s daughter that Sans sell hotdogs in Hotland. So Papyrus currently knows that Sans’ multiple side jobs consist of: Hotdog seller, comedian and...? He knows this is important. Why else would Grillby take care of the skeleton aside from altruism? Okay. More like mutual respect, but Grillby did lose a wife... So Sans was the guy's comfort item? Papyrus didn’t know Grillby was a pedophile.

“That. I’m wondering why you are burning letters?” Papyrus looks at the flame fight against the cold. The wisps were faint and the fire could die out soon without the proper material. It was near the end of his stay and Papyrus decides to check his mailbox. Sans looks at him and shrugged, holding a stick with something in place. "i’m making a bone-fire to burn my junk."

"… REALLY?! Jus-just no! It’s too late for this! I’m not in the mood to attempt murder today…" Papyrus berates with disdain. He knew some of them were the bills of the house, guess that means he has to pay those too... Fuck the law, he'll evade it. Oh wait. He is part of the law, how corrupt of him. But that’s why he’s called Terrible for a reason... Right? Papyrus turns to look at his mailbox. Empty. That was strange, the tall skeleton was sure he had a handful of letters this morning. Looking at Sans, Papyrus gave him the stink eye. "Sans? Did you see anyone touch my mailbox few hours ago?"

"nope. want some?" Sans asked, bringing out a semi-melted white marshmallow in front of Papyrus. Papyrus folded his arms, "THE TERRIBLE P-I mean The Vice-captain of the Royal Guards does not eat those gooey substances in the middle of the night."

"you mean s’mores? come on. try some." Sans waved another stick with a marshmallow. This time, it was on fire. The thing was on fire. Papyrus continues to look away and to scrutinize his mailbox in all angles. The mail must be here somewhere. Papyrus was sure of it. Sans paused and grinned, he was going to try another method of persuasion. "i heard from grillby it's good with coffee..."

"...." Both of them stared at each other. Sans knows Fell will give in to this. No point taken but, he really loves caffeine rushing to his system. All types of coffee, preferably bitter because of Grillby.

"NYEEHHH-IT WILL BE A DESSERT." Fell said quickly before he left.

[Sans mouth twitched to form a smile. This guy was so easy to manipulate.]

"pft." Papyrus knew Sans was now covering his mouth, laughing behind his back. But Papyrus secretly wanted to find out if this is true. Marshmallows in hot cocoa were good so did it work with coffee? Few minutes later, Papyrus returned with a grill, a filled container, cups, a water flask and a portable coffee machine. Dropping a log on the bonfire, Sans idly watched him use a match box to light a fire. Tossing the lit match inside the contraption, this must be Sans' first time seeing a monster not using magic. Even when spending so much time with this lazy skeleton, Papyrus still doesn't trust Sans enough to use his abilities. Monsters he doesn't trust only knows he can use red and white, Undyne was the exemption. As he prepares the skewers, Papyrus arranges the stabbed meat to the preheated grill while humming a light tune learned from Undyne.

*BARK! BARK! *

"!!" Sans looked at the direction towards the ruins, the sound of footsteps and barks approaching in an alarming rate. Looking back at Fell, Sans kept his cool as he asked the Snowdin commander while wiping his anxiety with his black sleeves. "uh... fell? do you hear that?"

"It's nothing." Papyrus hushed, focused on his work and comfortable with the incoming presence. Sans stared into the unforgiving darkness… He better not be thinking of killing his lackeys. Sans also wasn’t stupid enough to risk causing a fight in the middle of at night... Monsters act different when it's dark. Papyrus turns to stare at him, judging Sans' expression. "Do you hate dogs?"

"n-nah. love them really (just not the killing type)." Sans averts his gaze from Papyrus. Papyrus looks at the other side and saw his canines come over. Finished with his work, the skeleton walks over to the sound and kneels down to greet the hounds with open arms. Before they came at him at full force, Papyrus’ eyes widened. ‘Wait. Shouldn’t they only be ten in a group-’

“Didn’t know the Royal Guards employed animals... So Snowdin division has animal canines and monster canines? Pun-ny.” Sans mentioned as he watched Fell quickly overthrown by the amount of animals on him.

[Sans decided to divert his attention to the food. Checking the skewers with a drool, Sans takes one and chomps on it. Silent, Sans checks on Fell (still talking to the pups) and decides to get one more. He promised himself that this would be the last… But it was so tasty.]

"Good job boys... Come on." Papyrus finally calmed his dogs and fed them the excess meat. It seems his hounds reproduced without his acknowledgement. A small one came forward and brought him a small dead bird monster. It was barely alive, but half dust. If the monster was poorly-prepared, the meat cannot be salvage, only dust remains of the monster. Papyrus pets the small one for its deed. They were getting there, but not now. Standing up, Papyrus watched them leave.

"They grow up so fast... No seriously. Wasn’t Fangs a pup before I came here in Snowdin?" Papyrus scratched his skull, puzzled. He hopes the Boss leveled Canine Units would take care of them. Obedient, silent and knowledgeable when trained, animals differ from their monster counterpart in various degrees - Most notable the magic and physical manifestation.

"Now that that's over I can..." Papyrus turns to see Sans holding a stick, unknown to him that that was the last stick. Holding the last stick, Sans blinked innocently right back at the skeleton. Papyrus' expression becomes a mix of comical bewilderment. "SANS! DID YOU JUST FINISH ALL THE SKEWERS?!"

"promises are meant to be broken, my first bite got me reeling for more." Sans bit the last stick while Papyrus' white eye lights were replaced with crimson orbs. Summoning red bones from nowhere, Sans immediately moved away. Unfortunately, the red bones followed its target until Sans teleported out of sight. The red bones didn’t disappear, heading over to another nearby living creature in sight.

"Fucking user..." Papyrus stomped his feet, killing an innocent bystander by mistake. Papyrus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Having the red bones subside, he still had to work with his magic control with Undyne and get his anger management under check. Papyrus starts a countdown. This method often works on him. He should have expected this, his skilled cooking finished when left unattended. Papyrus looks at the s’mores on the bonfire and at his coffee. Picking it up, Papyrus was confused how this was going to work. Placing the marshmallow in his mouth, he sips coffee. Papyrus doesn't know how to feel about it. It doesn't really make much difference, but maybe he was doing it wrong. "..."

'He isn't coming back, is he?' Papyrus sighs, hoping Sans would tell him how this was going to work. Maybe this was a secret technique taught within the lower community that’s why he can’t perform the desired result? Papyrus sighs, moving on to start cleaning the mess on the front yard. Looking at his mailbox, Papyrus still wonders where his mail went. Ever since he graduated, Papyrus always sees his mailbox empty unless he was renting in a different area. But right now, there was none whatsoever.

‘HOW TROUBLING...’ Papyrus decides to clear his head from work and heads back inside to read a stolen book within the Royal Library.

[At 12 o' clock, Sans came back from Grillby’s to see the fire gone and the upper left house lights still on. Sans knew this would happen. Give the guy a few hours and Papyrus will be back to not-going-to-kill-you normality. First thing Sans did as he entered was flop on the couch and fall asleep. A good time to dust the skeleton except for the fact Papyrus was focused on his book.]

[BATHROOM - Awkward moments and misunderstanding]

"SANS?! WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL IS TAKING YOU SO LONG?!" Papyrus knocked the door furiously, hearing muffles inside the bathroom. Covered in monster blood and dust from the recent fights, Papyrus immediately went back home when his shift was over to clean himself from the vile liquids and dust on his clothes. Unfortunately, it seeped through and touched his rib cage... Yeah. It wasn't a good feeling. Waiting for a few more seconds, Papyrus couldn't take the feeling on his clothes and rammed the door open. Inside, Papyrus ignored the skeleton to remove his clothes.

"...." Sans was saying something incomprehensible and animalistic. What was going on in there? Papyrus didn't give a fuck. Sans was using the shower so he has to use the bath tub. End of story. Opening the tap to full blast, Papyrus waited for the tub to be three-fourths filled. Already half-filled, Sans finally comes out of the shower. Turning to the skeleton, Sans had a faint red blush on his face. Embarrassment - A common sign that the skeleton was a conservative individual.

"welp... this is awkward." Sans muttered under his breath. Papyrus doesn't think so. Waiting for his tub, the taller skeleton has his fair share of naked moments with the monsters God had cursed him with - Royal Guards, Sister and Robot. The 'Academy' was unforgiving with the towel wars. He was fortunate to have a slim body, able to dodge the attacks easily. Sans picked his towel and wrapped it around his body, coughing slightly when he was talking to him. Peculiar, Grillby mentioned this guy was apathetic. Should he provoke the skeleton further? But Papyrus doesn’t like talking in the bathroom. It often leads to tension, courtesy from past experience and Undyne. Sans seemed tired as he talked to him about something, "what did you think you heard, buddy?"

"...." Papyrus had a Deja vu moment on that time he went inside the bathroom while Undyne was taking too much time. Also Mettaton... But that occurred once and Mettaton was at the same level as Sans in degree to embarrassment. While Mettaton sings wonderfully in the shower, Undyne sings like a banshee.... The Dogs often took a bath in pairs or in a group so the other will brush their fur or scrub their back. Sans' sounds in the shower was similar to the dogs, but still so different. It was a sound of pleasure and pain. It sounds familiar, but he can't seem to point his sources. Papyrus scanned the skeleton from top to bottom, making the skeleton fidget under his gaze. Sans asked again, impatient for his answer. "well?!"

"I don't know how to describe it." Papyrus confessed, closing the faucet to submerge inside the bath tub. Sans has the SOUL to ask him that question when he’s vulnerable to attacks… Why was that? Oh-right, he was the owner of the refurnished house. Sans continues to stare at him. It looks like Papyrus gave the wrong answer. The skeleton knew he was hiding something, Sans' eye sockets were void of light - kind of creepy and serious. Papyrus took a deep breath, hoping the skeleton wasn't going to freak out. Monsters tend to panic or be completely amazed when he gives his observation for some unknown reason. Papyrus explains in a lower volume, "Very well… If you insist, you were touching yourself..."

"...While you still had open wounds!" Papyrus finished his sentence as he scrubbed his arms with a sponge. Too busy to see the initial reaction of the skeleton, Papyrus looks at Sans with a raised eyebrow. The skeleton stares at him in disbelief. Papyrus dismissed him with a hand wave. "Seriously Sans, heal your injuries before cleaning up. I may be the Terrible (pauses for a millisecond, nearly said his name) Vice-Captain of the Royal Guards, but even I am not that cold to refuse a roommate's request. I can't have your dust on the shower. It would be a pain-! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP HUGGING ME! NYEHH!!"

"you piece of shit, that made my day." Sans sounded like he was mocking his answer. Papyrus tried to push the skeleton away from his weakest part of his body - the neck. He didn't like anyone touching his neck. It was the weakest part of his body. When he was still a kid, Undyne loved to blow near his neck to make the young skeleton cringe and jump in surprise. He hated those moments… It was demeaning.

"That wasn't my intention, Sans... Please tell me you've cleaned yourself from your blood or I will cut your arms off!" Papyrus hissed, but it didn't affect the skeleton that much. It also wasn't helping that Sans hadn't cleaned himself properly in the shower. What in the hell was this guy doing then? An Aquaphile or something? He should let Undyne and Sans meet then, recalling those times when Undyne also produced weird sounds done only in the middle of the night. She often uses the bath tub though. Sans let go, no longer with a blush but with a wide grin.

"sure you do. gtg bro." Sans said before he teleports. Papyrus blinked and starts to scrub his neck from all the germs that must've been on the skeleton's arms. Papyrus will be more careful not to get dirty to avoid this very awkward scenario. He first thought Sans was going to be the most passive-aggressive of all monsters he met. He should correct that thought because Sans was beginning to act weird as the days pass by. This must be a signal that he should get out soon.

[PORCH - Sans being Sans...?]

"rise and shine boss." Sans greeted as Papyrus opened the door to his room. Papyrus frowned at the greeting. Aside from the fact everyone can see who comes in and out of the rooms if they were at the living room space, Sans... is awake at this hour and called him boss? No one but his Unit and those underneath him call him Boss. Is this a taunt or is this the signal for his last week in the house? Heading downstairs, Papyrus took note of Sans lying on the couch awake, earlier than him for the first time.

"Sans... Why are there monsters tied up in the living room?" Papyrus asked. He noticed a bunch of monsters tied up near the door. Five in total, they probably came at night from the shattered window. Papyrus has no idea what motivation they had in entering this house. It had no intrinsic value whatsoever aside from its residence which is him.

"man. when grillby said you sleep like a log, i didn't think you'd live up to our dead attributes." Sans commented, drinking some mustard to taunt him further. Papyrus ignores this in favor to staring at the unfortunate trespassers. Seeing the condition of the monsters, Papyrus looks back at Sans. Papyrus was acquiesced. "You… Did all this?"

"i have my ways. trust me on this, bro." Sans grinned and Papyrus realized he lifted the skeleton's ego. Shouldn't have done that, Papyrus wouldn't want the guy being as talkative as Mettaton now. Sans must like being appreciated with the things he does or is trespassing on this property a frequent activity here? Wait. So Sans is used to beating the crap out of intruders, tying them up and torturing- Papyrus didn't see Sans as an active sadist. Sure he saw the signs on those times when the imp decides to ruin his chores and activities at work, watching him suffer in a subtle form, but it was only today he found sheer physical evidence. Those tied-up guys look like they met the Devil. Is one of Sans’ side jobs being an executioner…? Nah. Even though the guy's mischievous and rebellious, Sans is completely harmless.

“Well... You better discard them before I finish making breakfast unless you want them fed.” Papyrus said, walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Hearing the skeleton's mutter of refusal to his order, Papyrus planned on cooking noodles today. He should also start packing for departure by now. His units were being badgered by Undyne and the routes he often patrols are beginning to be filled with unfamiliar guards. Since he bribed majority of the townspeople with gold and food for their secrecy, Undyne has no information regarding his well-being. Mettaton too, but Papyrus has no idea how Mettaton works. Does the robot hire lackeys to search for him or does the robot cry and fall into a depression? But then, he doesn't think MTT has that sort of luxury.

“huh... you’re awake? well then, let’s have a little chat, buddy.” Papyrus hears Sans say before a sound of the familiar teleport ability was utilized. Sorting out the ingredients in the emergency pack and the kitchenware, Papyrus knew today was a Sunday. Usually, Undyne cooks ramen since Dr. Alphys was coming over for movie nights. Papyrus looks down and decides to make ramyeon instead. There was a difference, the former being Japanese while this one in preparation was Korean. It was spicy to the taste bud, if skeletons have tongues. Well, they could produce a magical tongue, but it’s not the same with a tongue of concrete manifestation starting from birth. Unlike Undyne, Papyrus savors the emotions within the cooking. However, Papyrus was not going to follow Undyne and her passionate cooking to gain these results.

[DINING ROOM – Getting Out]

"Sans..." Papyrus starts, both of them eating the ramyeon. All but one monster was left currently unconscious and near dust. It’s the two of them then and the taller skeleton even prepared three bowls thinking that the Science lover would spare one of them. He did but he's going to fall soon. Apparently, Sans doesn’t like punks entering his house. Papyrus tries to picture Sans in battle, very blurry as he doesn’t know the level of strength of the skeleton? No matter. Sans was a civilian and not a wanted criminal. Sans looks up and replies before Papyrus could continue. "i swear i didn't do it."

"I have to tell you- WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T DO IT?! THE FUCK DID YOU DO THIS TIME?" Papyrus glares at Sans. Sans also grew confused and realization dawned on him. His posture slumped back down, relieved. Papyrus continues to glare at him. "wait. so this wasn't about that. forgeddaboudit. what did you want to talk about?"

"No excuses! Tell the truth or I'm going to clean your room again!" Papyrus pressed. Sans looks over to the side and mutters in a low voice, "your stupid painting on the wall broke… kinda used it to bash some guy's head off. i swear i didn't mean to destroy the portrait selected by your ugly sense of taste."

“…” Papyrus turns to look at the painting. The glass shards were stuck on the guy’s arm and the left face. Gruesome, but still that was a decent painting. And beside the point, did Sans insult-

'HOW DARE YOU INSULT-NO! THAT DOESN'T MATTER. HE'S ONLY SEEN ONE AND DESTROYED IT FEW MINUTES AGO. COUNT PAPYRUS. ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE…' Papyrus takes a deep breath and holds his chopsticks up again. He was glad Sans knew how to use the chopsticks. He must have learned it from MTT Show through Alphys. That anime fanatic who dreams of going to Japan and live her life as an Otaku. ‘HOPEFULLY, I'LL GET ANOTHER ONE BEFORE METTATON NOTICES ITS ABSENCE AND REPLACE IT WITH HIS OWN PICTURE...’

“…?” Sans was already half-way standing to avoid an attack, but found it strange the skeleton wasn't reacting like the usual ‘I’m-going-to-murder-you’ routine. Sitting down, Sans stared at him with caution.

"ok. why aren't you trying to kill me yet?" Sans' question made Papyrus raise a nonexistent eyebrow. True. They were usually arguing and trying to kill each other for various reasons. Their neighbors are already starting a gambling pool to see who’ll get murdered first. It was a tie last time he checked. How sad because the Royal Guard knows he can’t touch Sans unless he wants a reduction of state property tax. Papyrus tried his best not to start a fight, but Sans almost always tick him off with something irrational-! This is similar to his relationship with Undyne excluding the: cooking, working and music time which brings them in a stable-ish partnership.

"Don't test me..." Papyrus finishes his bowl first, already learned from Dr. Alphys how to eat noodles of this caliber. Sans was nearly done as well, might as well say that he has to leave soon- but Papyrus felt that he doesn't need to say this. Sans should've expected this and the shorty doesn't give a damn about anyone. Papyrus stood up, deciding that he won't say that but this instead. It was a decent topic. "And I was supposed to tell you that you should stop whatever messy activities you always ACT on the couch. It is in the living room, just by the door. How will your guests think of you when they see this?!"

".... tch! i can do whatever i want. this is my house and i don’t just let anyone in here, god damn it." Sans placed his chopsticks down and teleports off. Papyrus pretty much expected this sort of reply, having Sans teleport to work and coming back at the middle of the day to do whatever the fucker pleases. It was also ironic that he said this, Papyrus being the stranger in the guy’s home…? Okay. It didn’t look like a home before he came in here, more like a haunted house. Looking at the chair covered in dust, Papyrus picks up the bowls and heads to the sink. He already memorized the usual pattern of the lazy mustard-loving drunk multi-tasker. Papyrus has enough time to finish the chores, pack his meager items and get out before Sans comes back. He is the Terrible Papyrus for a Reason-Okay. Terrible in the sense he was terribly great. He also has to give this extra serving to someone because he wasn't going to waste his delicious cooking!

{EXTRA: PAPYRUS - HOTLAND}

[HOTLAND - Roaming around]

"Where have you been, Papy dear?! You know how much I care for my fans~! Tell me everything (even the fucker who kidnapped you!)" Mettaton was so caring at the same time a frightening monster to deal with. Papyrus was glad he wasn't on this guy's bad side, or is this friendship between the robot a bad thing? The skeleton doesn't know who to trust nowadays, but Papyrus mentioned his usual activities and tries to reassure that he was okay. He also asserts that he was able to watch his shows and hides the fact of his renting location. He wouldn't want the One HP skeleton to have more problems to soak himself in alcohol (or might he say tabs) now, does he? Sans might even think he was the one who ordered the monsters to kill him. Papyrus wouldn't because Sans isn't even worth the gold to spend for the hiring of men.

"If you say so... Oh yes~! I already told the staff about you being my wonderful *cough * VIP so go wherever you please darling~!" Mettaton winks at him, making Papyrus remember Sans also winking at him. Reminds him of his shitty 'Academy' years too... What was with monsters giving out winks anyway - Was it a signal foretelling a message? Most of Sans’ signals were a foreboding of dark humored puns and pranks waiting to be unleashed. This must be the answer. Mettaton looks up and shakes his head. "How time passes by so quickly when you're here. My sponsors are waiting upstairs. Can you wait for me~?"

"I have no other choice but to wait for you. Take your time." Papyrus answered as Mettaton was approached by some monsters in suits. Moving to the elevator, Mettaton looks back and gives him a flying goodbye kiss. Papyrus ducks down to avoid the invisible kiss. Thus, he earned a giggle from the robot. Papyrus scowled. He wasn't going to catch that, Mettaton doesn't know how damaging a kiss could do to one's reputation. He knows, Undyne told him so and she has experience on this field (maybe). Mettaton also doesn't know how many tsunderplane fans he has outside the show, covered by majority who plain hate it. Snowdin’s residents didn’t give an ounce of notice to the Robot when he was with him.

'WHAT TO DO NOW?' Looking around, the Royal Guard decides to investigate the area. Entering the elevator, Papyrus checks each floor and its variation. One of which would be the plant decoration and the other being the overall theme of each floor. Heading back to the ground floor, Papyrus exits to enter the inner areas of the lab. He knew Dr. Alphys was gone, perfect time to go around. Aside from intruding two Guards kissing by the table with the cheese glued to it, Papyrus engaged in a bargain with Muffet - A battle to the death for the sheer purpose of lowering the prices. The spiders were secretly hoping he'd kill the bitch, but he can't. Muffet was the only one who makes decent desserts.

In the end, he bought three jugs of Spider Cider and six Spider Donuts for... Three hundred gold… Fuck. He estimated his calculation because he sucks at math... Why did he buy these items again if he could've bought items from MTT's shop instead? Papyrus stuffs them inside his inventory and remembered the reason when he started drinking the Spider Cider. Like the donuts, it tastes like spiders. 'Right… Donuts taste good with Coffee... Like the Anime.'

He then headed to the stores nearby the Capital. It was the first time he entered in female stores. It also as his first time not wearing his Royal Guard customized armor in the Capital. Wearing his old red hoodie and jeans, Papyrus didn’t want to be found out by the Guards but he noticed that there was something going on amongst the troops. They were mobilizing for something. Yet… The thing more hair-raising is the fact monsters stare at him before heading to their own devices. It’s not the stare ‘he’s a drug pusher’ stay away from the monster. No. It was more on the ‘check him out’ ask if he’s available. What was wrong with these monsters?! The streets aren’t a proper arena to find ones’ mate. It’s the brothels, bars, and clubs... He doesn’t remember after that. Are the monsters really that desperate or is it his fault? It must be because of his figure. He knew he should’ve worn another set of pants to give his legs more thickness. He also did this with his awesome leather pants after a few weeks of his job because the Dogs were staring at his bone… Papyrus sometimes wished he wasn’t a skeleton, “Huh?”

*CLING! *

“Welcome to our shop~” The fox clerk greets with a smile. Papyrus heads to the armor section and CHECKed the STATs of a peculiar dark armor. It was perfect. The armor has high resistance to fire and ice. Since Undyne wanted to go to Hotland to visit Alphys even with their official battle armor on, she would like this present. He knew Undyne’s measurements and remembered her complaining about her armor not fitting her. Papyrus was the same since he’s too… Skinny. It matches both problems. Looking at the fox, Papyrus marched forward to have a conversation. The clerk blushed, moving to a corner. Papyrus wasn’t deterred. He placed his hand on the wall beside the monster.

“I-I…” The fox stuttered, peeking up under the held clipboard. Looking down, he planned on threatening the monster to decrease the price since he knew the armor's quality. Knowing girls, they'd pinch a male's wallet dry. He'd have to go for Plan B. His money might not cut for it, wasting it on: house renovation and redecoration, food, and Sans. Sans and his tabs were a leech, a very hungry parasite but not as bad as damage control with the Dogs. He opened his mouth and asked in a dark voice. “What are you running away from? You shouldn’t go away from your customer.”

“M-my apologies…” The fox was a female with lavender eyes, rare SOUL spectrum in the Underground. PERSEVERANCE. Kind of like Muffet, but the spider has more spunk in her SOUL than this one. Papyrus decides to change his tactic, nice guy mode. “Lady. I want to fuck-”

*THUNK. *

"-ing purchase your armor... HMMM?" Papyrus stared at the female fall unconscious. His intimidation skills are too great. He shouldn't have done Undyne's method. It was always too fierce and blunt for monsters to handle. Now how was he going to bring the armor to his Hotel room? Papyrus looks around before placing a bag of gold on the counter. Picking the armor up, he slowly moved away with his loot.

Checking the time that passed upon entering the hotel, Papyrus spent three hours and ten minutes all in all. He skipped lunch… Undyne would kill him, but he can always say he was simply… saving money for better weapons and essential food items! Papyrus enters his room to cover the armor with black and red gift wrapper (most prevalent color of the whole Underground) before returning to the fountain of blood. Papyrus sits down at the edge of the fountain and waits. After thirty minutes plus a monster killed right by the elevator, Papyrus heads to the receptionist since his intuition compels him to go. "Did Mettaton tell you to relay anything to Fell?"

"Yes. The Bitch said something. Wait for a second. Ah-Here it is. Tell him to buy our crap being sold at the shop to my right. Afterwards, head to the left to eat said-bought crap while watching con-artists ruin his miserable life, capiche?" Papyrus stares at the female monster with the gunshot wound on her shoulder. Giving gold for her trouble, added with the fact the female needs to get that checked, Papyrus goes to the shop where he spots the grouchiest cat creature he has ever seen. Papyrus actually loves cats, but his whole unit was dogs and his helpers are wolves so...

"Welcome to- Fuck this shit. End my life already!" The Cat who Papyrus later learned was fondly ridiculed as Burgerpants, screamed-half-threatened behind the counter. Hearing this from a willing victim made the skeleton less eager to kill the monster. It kind of lost its thrill when the monster expects his death. Something he learned firsthand with Sans. Why the science-lover doesn't mind death was a mystery to him.... Or Sans must be facing life-and-death moment’s every day of his pitiful life. It wasn't helping that Sans would taunt him for giving empty threats. Papyrus really wants to kill the guy, but there was a part of him that says you're a jerk if he did that. And then there's a part of him that says Sans is his long lost brother... Which is a bizarre hypothesis. Stupid conscience!

When Papyrus bought all of the items on the menu list, the Cat got cozy with him. It seems getting the guy's trust was as simple as Muffet. He learned that Burgerpants lost his hopes and dreams of being part of the stage. In the end, Mettaton was his crappy boss. Mettaton did make a bad Boss if you're inexperienced to the tasks he asks you to do. Or maybe Burgerpants saw the constant paranoia of the robot towards the ratings as a weakness. Papyrus did, that's why he disliked entering in the spotlight if it had no purpose. He also learned the event when the cat got his name, not going to be mentioned in detail as the male has pride.

[IN THE HOTEL - Hanging with Friends 'til you drop]

Papyrus realized he and Burgerpants have a lot in common, especially with how FATE keeps screwing with their lives. With their interesting conversation, he didn’t know it was dinner until the cat pointed it out. Papyrus sighs and asks the employee, "Can you leave your station right now?"

"Nope. Mettaton would kill me if I did, get my drift?" Burgerpants explained, puffing out smoke from his cigarette. Papyrus rolls his eyes and tries harder. "If you're worried about a cut in pay, I could pay you the amount and higher if need be. Now if it was about your job, I'll negotiate with Mettaton. I am unfamiliar to this place and would gladly hire an expert in the job, how about it?"

"You're too good for this world, bastard. Fine! Let's head there. Always did want to see what was being showed there." Burgerpants removes his hat, bringing the food Papyrus bought (three times each item) as they head there. Entering the dark room, Papyrus unknowingly sat like a boss with his arms crossed at his new acquaintance. "What's wrong this time?"

"P-people are staring at us..." Burgerpants shrinks a bit. Worry was on the guy's face. Papyrus gave a you-got-to-be-kidding-with-me stare at the guy. You work every day wearing that crappy outfit and you're scared of being in here? Burgerpants sat up, remembering not to show weakness and said something to break the ice. "I think I remember you now... You're the second-in-command right - The one who Mettaton and Undyne was finding for nearly two whole months?"

"Indeed. I didn't think this would be a problem." Papyrus answered, opted to slurp his Starfait, finishing it instantly. Burgerpants stares at him and shook his head when the skeleton goes for the next Starfait. "Fuck you. I had to search the dumps and get extra hours without pay to find your ass! But now that I think about it… I kinda get how those two are moving their asses for you."

"Oh really? Pray tell." Papyrus looks at center stage as two guys were trying to relate an experience with the audience. They were failing and were being thrown with tomatoes. Tough crowd. Kind of expected, you are surrounded with the aristocrats. Looking back, Papyrus saw half of their food was finish. The only thing left was two Mettaton Steaks and a Glamburger. They were gigantic. Crap. The rest of the steaks were finished by Burgerpants. "Fell. My friend, take it from me. Those two have the hots for you."

"...." Papyrus and Burgerpants stared at each other and laughed. Covering his face, Papyrus suppresses his voice as much as he can. A Royal Guard must not be seen as the laughing type, after all. Papyrus tries to speak in an articulate manner, but it sounded weak from the laughing. "O-Of all the things you had to say, it had to be that. Stars why Burgerpants?"

"It had to be said, buddy. Those two were psychopaths when you were gone. Undyne getting her guards up and ready while MTT being MTT but under heat!" Burgerpants wipes a tear on his face. Yup. Today Papyrus feels like he made a monster's life worthwhile. Papyrus tries the Glamburger and frowned. It wasn’t as greasy as Grillby’s but it tastes worse than Grillby’s. He doesn’t know how to feel. He wasn't going to praise the bartender, even if he’s the only one making coffee in Snowdin... Taking a bite of the creepy hard rectangle steak, Burgerpants pointed at the stage. "Oh look. The next one was supposed to be the best, wonder who’s the guy? Huh... His name Sans and he's a skeleton."

"...." Papyrus was suddenly glad that the best spot was also the darkest spot in the room or this would've been the third awkward moment he'll share with Sans. First time was when he entered the bathroom with Sans. Second time occurred in San's room, Papyrus rushing in to comfort the shivering skeleton having nightmares. Objects thrown and smashed to the ground, Papyrus whispered words of reassurance and held onto Sans to calm him down. This event was similar to the ones he had with Undyne when she dreams of bloody genocide. Undyne being the one who kills more than him, Papyrus thinks this is linked to the side effects with gathering LOVE. Why isn’t Dr. Alphys researching about this?!

"Nyeh..." Papyrus slouched down to hide himself from the Comedian. He can never forget the fractures he obtained on that night. The running mill machine in the room is to be feared (tossed at him when he opened the door). On that night, he found out Sans' magic was higher than any monster he’s seen – blue, orange and red was a horrible mix. Sans' SOUL combination might be contributed to the reason why the skeleton was always in a chaotic nervous state. Papyrus had limped his way in and stayed in the room for the whole night, calming the skeleton to sleep. If Sans remember what happened that night, he would understand what Papyrus did was a countermeasure and should be greatly and not talk about it! Both skeletons didn't stare at each other for that entire week as he recovered, more specifically Papyrus because he doesn’t like explaining why he decided to barge in the door in the first place. It became a habit ever since that incident with Undyne. Sans tried to bring it up in a number of ways, but was thwarted by his strategic plan based on his memory regarding their schedules.

"Huh. How does he do that?" Burgerpants frown. Papyrus continues to slurp his last Starfait, removing the horrid taste of the burger. Listening to the other conversations of the monsters, it seems Sans is a popular comedian in this joint. Huh...? Everything's turning hazy, was his dessert placed with some sedative? Papyrus focuses his attention to his seatmate. "… Catching the crowd like moths to a flame, that punning bastard's good. What do you think of him?"

"HMM...." Papyrus gave a squint, propping his right arm as a stand for the side of his face to rest on. It was official. The Starfaits are laced with drugs. The Gods seemed to have realized the skeleton was having a good day. They had to ruin him in the worst fashion - in front of a possible informant. But because he was the Terrible Papyrus, he has to try his best to ACT. If only he was resistant to drugs and poison instead of alcohol, everything would be dandy.

"I know right? The guy's a Royal Scientist, but he has the title Comic in his name." The worker speaks on as if nothing was wrong, Papyrus hopes the Cat will notice soon before he falls asleep. And about Sans… Full name Comic Sans, that's the monster who aced the exams in the Science Department. The lazy bones were actually a Royal Scientist, but shouldn’t there only be one candidate for that position? How can there be two Royal Scientists?! More importantly, how is Sans not able to pay his debt when he is serving in a higher position?! The sound of knives was heard slicing something to pieces, must be the steak. "I wonder how his life goes, making puns while giving a lecture, probably. That must be a pain in the ass."

"...." Eyes half open, Papyrus stares at the Cat's mouth to read the words uttered. The information coming in isn't processing to elicit strong emotion or energy. These drugs he took are very effective. Everything was dimming down. Who in the world would place drugs in desserts and burgers? "…eaks left… Mind… Keep some? Thanks... in advance."

"..." Papyrus completely closed his eyes now, still aware of his surroundings. More on the sensory and auditory function, he could still hear some people talking in the background. The gentle air washed through him, making the skeleton worry on what was taking the cat so long to realize his guest was barely conscious. In this rate, Papyrus was literally going to fall asleep in this room. Huh? He could hear a familiar sarcastic voice in the midst of monsters' laughter. It was indeed Sans. Papyrus internally hopes the dark concealed him well. Often berating the skeleton on his puns, Papyrus doesn’t know how he’ll explain this without bringing Mettaton in the picture. Sans and Mettaton might even know each other. Worse, they could actually be... besties. This image was very horrifying. Papyrus should be gagging by now, but couldn't respond properly with his mind shutting down on him.

“…” Papyrus waves his other hand at the feline. He's reaching his limit. Though people can hang out and sleep here, Papyrus knew the Gods will not allow him to remain in this position undisturbed. Burgerpants, no matter how strong his connection with this new companion, was going to scamper away on the first signs of danger. After waving some more, some gestures which was of no-sense, Burgerpants finally caught on. With a worried voice, the Cat asked his barely conscious guest something completely obvious. "Wha… udy?"

"TAKE ME … ROOM 1... STARFAITS… DRUGGED..." Papyrus muttered, trying to stay in the line of consciousness. He could hear the feline gave an undesirable sound. Papyrus focused harder on what was being said. "...rinking it then? You could've eaten the steaks or the burgers!"

"GREASY… DRUGGED... FUCK... LIFE..." Papyrus was at the edge of consciousness. Barely hanging, Papyrus had to make sure he was going to safe in the morning. He knew Burgerpants didn't do it, considering he got the burgers from the fridge- "I-IS ... THIS... MTT... ORDERS?"

"...." No response. Not good. And Papyrus thought the robot had insiders in the premises. Since his mind isn’t working right, he can’t seem to get angry. He will have to solve this in the morning. Hopefully not tied upside down in a strait jacket like what Mettaton did to him. It took him a while to get out from the fashion ware. Mettaton seems to like tying him up, watching him escape the intricate maze-like rooms with the smallest and weirdest of items. Taught in an early age by Mr. Gerson, Papyrus was now a professional escape artist given his love for puzzles, mystery and his horrible need for adventure. He isn’t sure if that is what friendship entails, but he will try to help Mettaton and his tying fetish (?) the best he can later. Finally giving up, Papyrus lets go of his loose grasp to reality.

*ZWIIIP! *

Falling asleep, Papyrus allowed the Skeleton-hating God to decide his Fate in the morning.

.

..

...

...

..

"WHERE AM I?" Papyrus groans, holding his skull with his right hand. Sitting up, Papyrus paused and decides to stand up immediately.

..

“CRAP! I’M IN MEMORY LANE…"

...

"AGAIN.” Papyrus crossed his arms, disappointed at how good a memory he has with his experiences. Looking around, he saw his baby self in a white room. Laid in a transparent glass container with high walls and no cover, the baby skeleton started moving.

"NYE..." His younger self was waking up from its sleep. Unfortunately, the light of the room was off. This is why the Second-in-command doesn’t like bare rooms. Aside from the fact you were considered poor if you had no decoration; an empty room symbolized a prison – a containment cell separating you from freedom. Because there was nothing in the room, you could virtually do nothing. Papyrus scowled as he saw the child emit a shrill cry.

“NYEH?! NYEH! NYEH~!” For a skeleton baby, it had a squeaky voice. Seeing a mellow orange heart beating inside the skeleton's rib cage, Papyrus averts his gaze in embarrassment. He knew Undyne said they found him with his initial SOUL spectrum being ORANGE for COURAGE, but he wondered how he got DETERMINATION in the first place. Using two or more SOUL spectrum were considered a gift and are usually honed skills for battle, but being born with two or more SOUL spectrum was a whole case altogether. It meant the monster had acquired two or more natural instincts.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Papyrus wondered aloud. There wasn't a trace of DETERMINATION in the child. The child was purely orange. Where did he get the red magic? Seven SOUL spectrum in all, each one had a common trait. DETERMINATION symbolized willpower and strength, lasting longer than any other spectrum. There are rumors that mention it can bring the monster back to life. COURAGE was a common taunt move towards passive monsters, a common ability received for active monsters. JUSTICE, on the other hand, has its users adjust, switch and even halt their attacks. This often stuns and confuses the opponent when inflicted, decreasing the monster's speed similar to the cool blue spectrum. The cool blue spectrum can never be mentioned without the other. INTEGRITY is the most concrete energy manifestation and is paired up with PATIENCE which aids in battle against aggressive foes. There are rumors that one of this SOUL spectrum can help regain disintegrated nonexistent memories as well as distort time and space. Of course this is considered a rumor not yet confirmed by the Scientist Association. PERSEVERANCE helps inflict negative status such as restriction of movement, poison, fatigue, drowsiness, etc. The monster has a vast knowledge when it comes to this like Muffet. Last of the spectrum which is considered the most humane among all the spectrum is KINDNESS. Also considered the weakest, KINDNESS allows the users to gain the ability to heal and regenerate their HP. Their main occupation may lead to being a healer. The only way to alter your initial SOUL spectrum to DETERMINATION was to gain the illness called DESPAIR.

“SNA!” The baby bubbled out, orange tears about to fall. Papyrus stared at the door, wondering if this is where he got DESPAIR. When you are afflicted with DESPAIR, you gain DETERMINATION in a negative manner, but Papyrus was never diagnosed with DESPAIR yet he had DETERMINATION. He has no recollection or traumatizing, life-threatening experience in his whole life. DESPAIR meant you got stronger using negative emotions as a fuel for your SOUL. Every time a monster with DESPAIR killed, he/she loses a part of himself/herself to the madness. Mr. Gerson tried inflicting him with DESPAIR, but Undyne kept intruding. Later on, to make him stronger, Undyne herself tried to give him DESPAIR yet Papyrus was unmoved with it. He felt nothing. Something was obviously wrong with this set-up. He should be terrified with death or isolation. Instead, Papyrus sat put waiting for the time to come out, screamed bloody vengeance when he was betrayed and left for dead, laughed at Undyne’s attempt when she ignored him, or moved on with his duties while injured. Did someone donate his life to him then? Papyrus saw the baby move its arms. Raising it and waving its arms, the baby called out again with a louder and more firm voice. “SNA-ANS! SNANS!”

*CREEAAAKKK~! *

“…. Where did you learn that word, honey?” A female monster came in and asked. Wearing a lab coat and a clipboard at hand, Papyrus flinched away from the female scientist. Holding an injection filled with red liquid, the lady hums while she lifts the baby up.

"NYEH! NYEH~!" The child was happy to see the woman. This must be his mother. So he has a scientist as a mother, go figure. Papyrus looks outside to hear a desperate voice and several other hushed voices. The taller skeleton couldn’t hear it right, but Papyrus feels like that voice is sounds familiar. For the child, the voice was important. The baby Papyrus giggled. "SNA! SNANS~!"

"I AM THE MOST ANNOYING BABY CRETIN THAT HAS EVER EXISTED.... AND I ACTUALLY KNOW SANS HERE... OH GOD HE IS EVERYWHERE." Papyrus scratched the side of his skull when he watched the woman inject the red liquid in the baby. Looking closer, Papyrus frowned. "WAIT A MINUTE... DID THAT BITCH JUST-?!"

"NYeH...nyEh... snasns...?" The baby babbled incoherently, eyes dropping to a close. The mother hushed her baby to go to sleep. Papyrus was staring at her with a disturbed expression. When the mother left, Papyrus looked down to see the skeleton baby sleeping.
Without his knowledge, someone came in.

...

It was only a younger monster's voice that alerted him that someone came in. The voice was even a soft whisper. "papyrus? are you ok?!"

..

Papyrus couldn't turn. It was like time paused for him. The young monster's voice continued, seemingly going to approach his sedated younger self. "don't worr-"

..

.

[SNOWDIN - Getting Up]

"....?!" Papyrus woke up. The first thing he detected was he can see and isn’t tied to anything. Instead, he saw the familiar light he bought for... Papyrus sat up, looking. He was back in Snowdin, staring at the crimson wallpaper he set up to remove the bland grey walls. Without the items he carried when heading to Hotland, the room was empty except for the table and ancient book shelf. He was out of memory lane and why was a younger Sans in his memory? That was Sans voice correct? Papyrus doesn't know how to feel with this. Okay. There is a hypothesis that he and Sans was part of the SOUL spectrum experiment or the DETERMINATION experiment, whichever works since it uses a SOUL spectrum different from the initial.

"I'M BACK... HERE?" Papyrus asked. Thinking of the possible monsters who placed him here, Papyrus can't seem to grasp why Sans would save him. Okay. What was going on here? Does Sans know him personally and had a pity streak with fellow experimented monsters? The Royal Guard looks around and finds a black box. It had a card stuck on it.

'He wouldn't.' Papyrus refuses the first conclusion he made. So Sans may not be an experimented child and was probably the child of a scientist who was lonely. If Sans was really 'the current' Royal Scientist, he has access to all the records of all the monsters within the Underground - more specifically those who work for the Royal Family. The only information Mr. Gerson placed was the general information. If that was true then, this item was meant for….

"???" Papyrus opened the lid, revealing a clean crimson scarf folded neatly and the other being some sort of torn cape. Picking up the bullet patterned birthday card as if it was dipped in poison, the skeleton read it with care and utmost horror.

 

i made you matching scarves to hide that one-hit KO neck of yours. oh yea. thanks for watching the show, my humerus puns must've tickled your funny bone by the very least. too bad you got drugged, but no worries, this is just the beginning.

happy birthday lil bro. >:D

 

"NO... HE WOULDN'T." Papyrus muttered. Completely in denial, the skeleton felt like he got into a position worse than being tied up – Indebted. He doesn’t know what got the skeleton to do this, but Papyrus thinks it’s some sort of vengeance about his Sock laundry. Or is this part of the MERCY streak Sans was doing before he would backstab the great Papyrus at the end?! But giving gifts on birth dates were bizarre, unorthodox and always with conditions attached! Birthdays were done between Siblings and lovers only. “HMMM…”

“IS THIS TO MAKE THE GIFT-GIVING... EVEN?” Papyrus wondered. Remembering the item given in the hopes that this will help the small skeleton problematic SOUL, Sans must have experimented on himself to get in that position. Or was Sans' parent twisted enough to torture their own child and made Sans gifted in the long run? Anyways, he found the jacket coincidentally after graduating from the ‘Academy.’ It was wrapped in plastic in the dumpster - a rarity within the battlefield of trash and filth.

"NO... I HAVE TO THINK MORE PRACTICAL!" Papyrus thinks harder. Knowing how dastardly Sans is, morals must be discarded while grudges and possible benefits are to be elaborated. Sans is a demonic prankster. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought Sans incurred the wrath of another and needed a bodyguard! Yet he's seen Sans' capabilities, the small skeleton could simply track and assassinate the monster while it sleeps or he can ask the Hotland division to guard him… It was Undyne's job in taking care of the Higher ranks in the Castle. 'What does the comedian hope to gain from this?'

‘Hand-made scarves? Is San’s side-job a tailor as well?’ Papyrus mused and shook his head. Sans must be one of those who take random hobbies and... Papyrus' still thinking how Sans hasn't paid his debt with Grillby if the imp earns a wage slightly higher than his?! The only thing that can come to mind was either Sans: binges on his money like an alcoholic gambler or uses all the funds for his project not like Alphys (the lizard buys noodles meant for the apocalypse). Papyrus eyes the torn red fabric in the box. 'It looks like this is for my casual armor.'

'MONEY, MERCY OR MUSTARD - WHICH ONE DOES SANS WANT FROM ME?' Papyrus has no idea yet... It could be that this was revenge and advantage all in one go? Very reasonable for Sans to think this through, conniving bastard! Looking at the door, he held the neat scarf by the hand muttering in a low despairing voice. "How am I going to get out of this?"

*THUD*

“!!!” Without thinking of the motive of the ruckus, the Vice-Captain threw the neat scarf around his neck and dashed out his door. He summoned a red bonelike dagger weapon, sharp at the ends. Running to the source of the sound, Papyrus was prepared for anything...

..........

.........

.......

[FIGHT] ACT ITEM MERCY

…...

But this was unexpected.

.....

FIGHT [ACT] ITEM MERCY

....

Papyrus is going to regret this.

...

FIGHT [ACT] ITEM MERCY

..

.

[I'm In Denial]

"how many times am i gonna explain this boss?" Sans sighs, but Papyrus didn't care because whatever this guy said was really too much to handle. Sitting on the bedside of Sans' room, Papyrus starts again. "Let me try explaining what I just heard then. I am your long lost brother abandoned in Waterfall because of our Dick father. The same dick who er... Did things to you until he died? After he died, you tried finding any trace of me, hoping I am alive somewhere. You began your search while in the midst of your 'Academy' Years until you gave up once you became the Royal Scientist."

"i did not give up finding you. you marely doged the authorities background search." Sans protested while lying on the bed. Papyrus paused and scratched the back of his neck, he wasn’t going to elaborate about Mr. Gerson. "When I decided to rent in your house-"

"our house." Sans corrected with his eyes closed and his face on the pillow now. Papyrus rolls his eyes. "Our house, you started noticing similar energy patterns and reactions in my physical manifestation. Your suspicion was further strengthened when Grillby supplied you with my background story."

"about the fluffy bunny book in your closet." Sans quickly remedies his mistake when he sees Papyrus approached him with a pillow. "c-calm down, boss. it wasn't your fault you liked those type of storybooks. when you were younger, you loved the colors in it and asked me to read it at times. i just wanted to know if… uh… you want me to…r-read them for you?"

"..." Papyrus stopped and frowned. Crossing his arms with the pillow on tow, Papyrus looks away in embarrassment. The Second-in-command does not need any bedtime stories! He sees Sans slump on his bed and yawn. The guy woke up few minutes ago and is going to sleep again?

"I believe you. Now rest-" Papyrus stood up and knew what he was going to do for the week. He has to take care of Sans until he's fit to roam around and be the imp he is and he'll call Undyne and fetch him back home. Wait. Papyrus turns to Sans and inquired. "And what is with the birthday ornaments?"

"i never celebrated birthday events. you guess?" Sans was tangled in his blanket. Papyrus continues to stare and looks back steadily to the door. Taking a deep breath, Papyrus swallows his pride and asked in a tiny voice. "Can I ask Undyne to celebrate with us?"

"that's adoorable boss." Sans chuckled as Papyrus opened the door and slams it closed as he exits. Too bad for him as soon as he went down, Papyrus saw the blue bundle take a shortcut to the couch. Papyrus gave the skeleton the stink eye. "(I'M SO GOING TO DISOWN MY AFFILIATION WITH HIM BUT) HOW DO YOU BREAK A PACT?"

"i can teach you, but i made a fucking homunculus when you found me dying." Sans hums a familiar tune when Papyrus leaves to the kitchen. Great. The Terrible Papyrus is stuck with a lazy ass Royal Scientist because the Royal Guard decided to be a Samaritan and aid the dying monster. He knew MERCY was going to bite him someday. Papyrus has no idea if what was happening right now was a good thing or a bad thing. He now knows he has a brother, but said brother has one HP and a pure-blooded demon.

"what'cha gonna make this time, boss?" Sans asked. Papyrus was confused why the skeleton asked such a bizarre question until he looks down and recognized his actions. Stopping midway, Papyrus was preparing his famous lasagna. Ignoring Sans, Papyrus finishes his lasagna until it reached to the oven.

"paps?" Sans asked, but in a weak voice. Papyrus sets the lasagna down for cooling and heads to Sans direction. Papyrus sits down on the couch and grabbed the phone. "Sans. Go to sleep."

"ok mom." Even if Papyrus knew this guy was going to die soon if he didn't pull his ACT together, he was really itching to dust his blood brother with the way this is going. Hearing the ring of the phone, Papyrus comments to the annoyance under him. "Sans. Stop rubbing against me."

"i need heat bro. we are in snow-din." Sans emphasized and slumped on his chest. Papyrus was trying every number in the phone to call Undyne. He knew unconsciously that Undyne's phone smashed due to the amount of successful missions that occurred during her birthday. He can imagine it now, Undyne talking with Alphys and then something destroyed it, "bro. hug meh!"

"If you promise to pipe down!" Papyrus comments and Sans responds, "fine, but can ya talk in your font instead? you sound more natural with it."

"WHATEVER-! FUCK SANS, YOU COLD-BLOODED IMP! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?!" Papyrus flinched, but Sans was still determined to stay on his chest. He can sense PATIENCE and INTEGRITY freezing him in place. Papyrus wished he wore his black coat and battle armor instead of his hoodie. But a promise is a promise, Papyrus hissed as he held the block of ice while still finding for a familiar voice to pick up his call. Sans yawned and tucked himself in.

"SANS...? PLEASE TELL ME YOU CAN GET W-WARMER?" Papyrus twitched as Sans clung to him. Too cold. Papyrus wants to pluck Sans away. Sans replies cheekily, "there's a way. i need your soul."

"GET ON WITH IT THEN." Papyrus answered. He was now on the beginning of the five digits - A lot more combinations to go. Sans asked, this time, with a shock voice. "are you sure?"

"YES! JUST DO IT." Papyrus kept dialing when he felt a cold grip on his SOUL. Papyrus peeks to see Sans holding his SOUL with a look of doubt, but Papyrus was used to having Undyne hold his SOUL when they were younger. It was the fastest way to heal a monster.

"MAKE IT QUICK." Papyrus said before dialing some more. He needs to talk to Undyne and hope she didn't kill anyone or herself since he knows there is a deadline of paperwork few hours from now.

"How did anyone find out about my new phone number?" Undyne grumbled. Her voice sounds like she got hit by a herd of robots and decided to fall asleep injured. Papyrus paused, before replying. "This is Papyrus from Snowdin. Undyne. Before you scream like a banshee, let me explain."

"!!!" Papyrus twitched when he felt something pierce his SOUL. Undyne was too sleepy to be alert on her phone calls. Papyrus continues before she can respond. "First, I dialed all of the numbers until I reached yours. Second, I wanted to go to Hotland to buy you a gift first. Third, I can't leave Snowdin yet because someone is about to Fall and I have to watch over him. Fourth, said-monster, who I can't leave right now, set up a birthday party in the house, but nearly fell so I invite you to come here for our belated birthday party. Is it okay for you to come here?"

"Sure... What's the location?" Undyne replied, very relaxed and creepy for his liking. Papyrus knew there was paperwork if he stated his address, but it was now or never. "Ok... I'm in Sans' house. See you."

*CLACK. *

"OK SANS. WHAT DID YOU DO..." Papyrus sees Sans sleeping peacefully on his lap? Looking down, he sees his SOUL intact. Wait. Papyrus looks at the color. It was a mixture of COURAGE and DETERMINATION but there was more DETERMINATION in it this time. Looking at Sans, Papyrus decides to check Sans' SOUL - DETERMINATION.

"like what you see?" Sans asked, one eye open to look at his reaction. Sans' SOUL had some cracks and was temporary covered with his energy. Papyrus blinked and just knows. He knows that this isn't Sans' original SOUL Spectrum since Sans had overstayed in that laboratory with the weird substances.

"uh boss? paps? underground to papyrus?" Papyrus looks up to the balloon-decorated ceiling. Fucking God does hate him, giving him an unmotivated killing machine! As if reading his mind or Sans gained the ability to read his mind, Sans comments. "i am not a psycho nor does god exist and yes i'm lazy, but guess what? living is a worse punishment than death."

'DAMN IT!' Papyrus wondered what sort of Demon Pact he get himself into?! He looks down to ask if Sans can really read his mind. Affirmed when he saw Sans' smile widen. "that's a catchy name for our pact."

"STOP INTRUDING MY PRIVACY!" Papyrus crossed his arms as Sans laughed. Papyrus was beginning to imagine a hundred ways on killing his brother as he couldn't harm the civilian. Not yet... Undyne will kill him of he does, adding paperwork to her pile.

Chapter Text

          Ever since the rumors spread regarding the death of the Head Royal Guard as well as the King's death, multiple mutinies erupted in various areas of the Underground. As second-in-command of the Royal Guard, it was expected that Papyrus would ascend as Head of the Royal Guards or even become the leading monster as next Ruler of the Underground. Truth be told, Papyrus didn't believe in the rumors and silenced the mutinies, reorganized the Royal Guards, executed the traitors as well as other methods to decrease anarchy. While doing all this in a matter of three months with his loyal men, Papyrus investigated whether Undyne and Asgore were indeed dead. After the citizens realized what this skeleton had done (a massive genocide) to gain order, the masses urged the skeleton to take the position. Papyrus obviously took the responsibility dragging Sans as his adviser. He then appointed his men accordingly to various positions.

As King, Papyrus quickly grew busy with all the reforms taking place. The laws are too ancient. It needs to accommodate the newer shenanigans the youth and old has created to outsmart the Monarchy. He also didn't know Sans was the ex-Judge of King Asgore. Now, he wondered why he gave the small skeleton three jobs in the first place: Adviser, Royal Scientist and Judge. Sans would easily neglect one of the three, but he was proved wrong when his older brother actually showed decency to work and still has time to pester him with puns and annoying pranks. Stupid shortcuts. When Papyrus had free time, the tall skeleton wears a cloak and goes around the Areas, specifically Waterfall.

"H-howdy Papyrus~" Flowey greeted, emerging from the ground as the tall skeleton stood at an open clearing in Waterfall. The place once had a house on its land before some scumbags burned it down and looted the possessions. Papyrus averts his gaze to stare at the golden flower. Flowey looks down, apologetic. "I-I'm sorry for what happened to... her-"

"!!" Flowey was plucked out of his roots and tossed to the other side of the wall. Enveloped in blue magic, the flower got tossed around like a rag doll and finally slammed back down to the ground. Papyrus strides across the area as if it was any ordinary day and stepped on the flower's roots.

Papyrus didn't say this out loud but he couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe his Human friend/ally would do such a crime. According to Sans, the Human required a Monster's SOUL before they could leave. This would lead to the death of King Asgore, but not the death of Undyne. He, the cold manipulative strategist, was SPARED so why hadn't the Human SPARED Undyne? He knew Mettaton's death was inevitable judging from the way Alphys manipulated Mettaton to his doom, followed by the negative comments given by the audience. Papyrus was supposed to call him and cheer him up like the usual, but he was busy when that happened. It was only the rerun of the episode did Papyrus get to see the Human watch the robot kill himself.

Sometimes, he pretends Undyne, his mentor, wasn't gone but in a vacation. Sans was the one slamming reality at his face, telling him to move on and accept the facts. The world isn't fair. It was a Kill-or-be-killed world. Alphys' disappearance should also be a hint that the scientist knew of Undyne's death as well as her remorse from her ACT with Mettaton. Even if the evidences point to Sans' answer, Papyrus didn't accept it. When it was possible, Papyrus avoids Sans like a plague because he wasn't ready to quit his search for her. If Undyne was dead, he needed to give the warrior a proper burial.

"WHERE IS THE HUMAN?" Papyrus growled, binding the flower on place with his blue magic. Flowey gasped as some of his leaves were pierced when sharp red bones came out from the ground. Flowey didn't struggled, trying his best to not make a sound. Both of them knew where the Human was now, but the newly crowned King was angry. Papyrus was furious over his inability to avenge his superior, his comrade and even considered close sibling. "TELL ME WHY DID THE HUMAN... KILL HER?"

"I don't know." Flowey answered with tears in his eyes. Papyrus could feel a bundle of energy ready to strike this weed to dust, but... Wrath turns into regret, killing this pathetic creature would do him no good. Undyne taught him better, such as destroying the main source of the Human which was Humanity. Papyrus grows numb, relishing his grip over the flower and moved his foot away. Flowey whimpers, having a measly 1 HP left yet the weed didn't heal itself. Flowey didn't want to anger the skeleton further. Kneeling down in one leg, Papyrus asked in a whisper. "Take me where they fought. NOW."

The only thing left from the battle site was Undyne's customized spear Alphys made for her. Even in death that woman was sentimental. Papyrus looks over and sees a small amount of dust left. While he begins making a small burial (keeping the dust in a small container he kept with him (supposedly used if Sans dies) and hiding the spear fragment as the Human miraculously destroyed some parts of it), Flowey was talking about something. The weed seems to be crying for his sake, just like in the past where other monsters cried in the funeral of Mr. Gerson. Why does he always feel numb when someone close to him dies? Will he ACT the same when Sans dies? He hopes so. Actually, his mind isn't even registering anything at the moment. What? That shouldn't be happening. He feels numb and awfully empty. Fuck. Papyrus has a bad feeling he caught the illness - DESPAIR. He has to do something, anything to halt the spread before it's too late.

"where the hell did you go, fucker?!" Sans yelled as he stood by the Castle's door getting all fussy over not-so-important-matters. Papyrus walked forward without a word, closer to Sans as the small skeleton talked. He wondered if Flowey followed him here, immediately leaving after the short funeral and ran back to the Castle as fast as he can. He has an idea on how to disrupt it, but... Sans wouldn't mind, would he?

Papyrus remembers Undyne telling him Love was the possible CURE which Alphys can't seem to isolate since it is an emotion. But Monsters are composed of Emotions, Alphys had to experiment on more monsters if she wants to understand and capture Love and HOPE into a consumable CURE. To him, Sans was the only monster left in the Underground which he cares for left. There has to be a small amount of Love within their relationship to work. Oh well. Papyrus has to take his chances.

"i was looking all over for you coz these pissy nobles aren't- mmmpgh!" Sans was cut off guard when his younger brother kneels down, pulls him close and gives a small clack on the teeth. No tongue. Just a simple touch of teeth between two skeletons. Letting go, Papyrus stood up immediately and goes off as if nothing had occurred.

"the fuck?" Papyrus didn't register Sans' expression, but his adviser didn't follow him which is good because he has no idea how to explain whatever he did was to shock/confuse his magic. It worked, but there came a new emotion from this. Since his magic was confused, it sort of made him feel fuzzy. Fuzzy equates to the sensation of weird and warm. Papyrus heads over to his chambers. He thinks this means he should rest.

Apparently, they have a lot of Love and LOVE. Strange. He doesn't recall having gotten so much LOVE... Is this from Sans then? Speaking of Sans, Papyrus wasn't going to admit to Sans he disobeyed his orders and found Undyne's dust. Sans must have realized this revelation could cause him to catch the illness which he did. Admitting to his mistakes was not easy. His pride was too big for him to do that. Instead, Papyrus allowed some gossip to circulate about his relationship with his Adviser/Judge/Royal Scientist. Two weeks passed and fortunate for him, Sans didn't bring the topic up but sooner or later... Papyrus would need to do that again. He only paused DESPAIR's growth in him, but it was still there. So this is how Cancer feels like? He is inching closer to Death. 'WO-WIE~'

"Aren't y-you going to tell him?" Flowey asked, looking over to the skeleton sitting in a secret spot Papyrus found for them within Snowdin. Papyrus looks up from his Word search, squints his eyes and shook his head, "LET HIM WORRY ABOUT OTHER THINGS. I DON'T WANT THAT OAF TO FIND EXCUSES FOR A BREAK."

"I-if you say so." Flowey spoke, but got a wonderful idea. Making sure the skeleton was too focused on the paper, Flowey shot up to give a short kiss on the cheeks of the skeleton. The reaction was immediate. Papyrus fell to the ground with wide eyes and arms covering his face. "W-WHAT WAS THAT FOR WEED?!"

"Silly~" Flowey chuckles and smiles weakly, "This is my Thank you Kiss for giving the Humans a chance, but don't strain yourself okay?"

"... THE PUZZLE CHALLENGES RIGHT? TSK!" Papyrus looks away, embarrassed. Flowey was a weird creature, but being weird wasn't so bad in this twisted world. Seeing Flowey continue to give that odd smile caused him to look back to his Word search with a slight stutter. Flowey was really distracting and creepy and now he feels fuzzy again. Stupid flower! "I-I JUST WANT THE HUMANS TO HAVE A WARM-UP BEFORE MEETING WITH THE TERRIBLE PAPYRUS! I WILL TAKE THEIR SOULS YOU KNOW?!"

"Or not." Flowey vanished from the ground before he could stab the golden flower.

[ROYAL CASTLE]

'MAYBE I SHOULD VISIT FLOWEY AGAIN...?' Papyrus thought, fiddling with his reading glasses in one hand as he looked over the paperwork. He has a deadline to finish reading and approving/rejecting all these proposals before night time. After today, he'll have to give a speech at the balcony in the morning and attend a meeting with the newly appointed Head Royal Guard which is an (awesome to Papyrus' standards) Griffon.

'IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I LAST MET WITH THE WEED...' Papyrus placed his glasses and looked over the papers. His 'To Do List' doesn't end because he has to personally explore the rumored effective routes for the food supply mentioned by Temmie. Forgetting the horrible grammar, Temmie village has an effective system of managing itself. Papyrus gained a point or two about how to support the economy from those monsters. He can't let anyone else do it because everyone he trusts has a handful of duties already piled up and he needed those done as well. 'I COULD ASK HIM TO BE MY BACK-UP? THE ONE WHO SCREAMS WARNINGS WHEN SOMETHING'S AMISS. YES, THAT SOUNDS EFFECTIVE. AS MUCH AS I DON'T WANT TO ADMIT, WEAKER CREATURES TEND TO BE MORE SENSITIVE FROM THEIR SURROUNDINGS THAN STRONGER ONES...'

'CRAP. IT'S ALREADY 12? I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED THESE...' Papyrus frowned and continues writing suggestions and reasons below. Papyrus was sure Sans was going to come in any minute now, get the paperwork, scold him for roaming around and flirting with monsters (It was for gathering information!) before finishing this work (If Sans was so fussy, why can't he do the paperwork instead?!) until finally the small skeleton leaves to distribute his replies to the various branches and localities. Papyrus wanted to finish this week's paperwork so he can roam around again and work on some puzzles. He missed making puzzles and he can't even grab a hold of his violin without Sans finding out.

*CRE-AK~! *

"GIVE ME FIVE MORE MINUTES..." Papyrus sighs, looking down at the small remnants left of his paperwork. Did he forget to say both skeletons stay in the same room? Sans apparently destroyed the Queen's room when some fucktard tried to rape sleepy, defenseless Sans. The word here is sleepy, it should be sleeping. Wait. That might not work either. No matter how many fucktards there are, they will have to go through him next because he can sense the spike of insecurity from Sans.

"I'M SERIOUS ON MY STATEMENT SANS. I'M NOT GOING TO JUMP OUT OF THE WINDOW UNLIKE LAST TIME..." Feeling the dark presence behind him, Papyrus listlessly stamps a REJECT on the paper in front of him while he reads the other papers at the side. He stamps them with the REJECT as well, wondering how many times will the monsters suggest for an Equality system? It won't work, food supply is too low for this to work unless they murder three-fourths of the monster population.

"pft! i remember that was a nasty head-start (Papyrus threw a bone behind him, Sans stepped to the side with a smile) for you. i'm sure you won't do that again unless you're a numb-skull?" Damn it. Sans should go to Grillby's and drink away or maybe he can return to his crack. It was easier if your older brother was busy doing things than bugging you about your HP problems. Papyrus fluidly taps his fingers down the table with a pattern. Sans was pushing his PATIENCE. Papyrus lowers his voice, annoyance and irritation etched in his voice. "Sans. Shut the fuck up and come back later to get my work."

"nah. i'm done with my work ('WHAT?!' Papyrus couldn't believe him. This lazy ass finished his work faster than him? 'IMPOSSIBLE!') so i'm gonna watch you and make sure you go to bed, boss." Sans was growing more authoritative and discreet while Papyrus was too busy handling the Underground. He should show Sans his place and beat him to submission, but that would mean a verbal confrontation where Papyrus learns Sans brutally opens old wounds. That happened last time and... Papyrus doesn't want to talk about things with his brother anymore. It was... tedious.

"FINE. INSTEAD OF STANDING SOMEWHERE BEHIND ME, BE USEFUL AND DISTRIBUTE THE PAPERS." Papyrus rests his chin on the palm of his hand while he stares down at the paper. Ten more and he can head out- Wait. Papyrus promised Sans he'd sleep today, but he doesn't feel sleepy. He only needs to sleep twice a week nowadays. DESPAIR made him need to adjust his schedule. No big deal. If he sleeps now, he won't sleep in the other days. As soon as Papyrus finished the papers, the taller skeleton stood up to see his older brother already returned from his job. Papyrus really hates those shortcuts.

"GO DISTRIBUTE THE REST." Papyrus ordered. Sans rolls his eyes and snatched the papers before leaving. Looking around for an exit, Papyrus noticed his room was like a double-edged sword. No one can come in and get out easily. Papyrus opens his door to see Sans returned. Papyrus looks down. The first thing that came to his mind was, 'FUCK. THAT WAS FAST.'

"boss..." Sans' voice sounds like he has had enough shit for today and wants to go straight to bed. Problem here was Sans gets nightmares and destroys items in the room. His nightmares often revolve around Sans losing something or getting tortured by someone. Papyrus is beginning to think he was the thing Sans loses in his dreams, seeing how when he wakes up, Sans was clinging onto him tightly. Good thing there are times when Sans goes to bed late, but then he finds out the little piece of shit masturbates beside him.

"FINE." Papyrus frowned and went to the bed. Covering himself with the blanket, Papyrus faced the other side and made sure he was near the edge of the bed unlike last time where he was at the center... And wakes up to smell Sans' magic excretion all around him. Papyrus doesn't know how to feel about Sans' activities and simply punishes the disturbing skeleton never to do it again. But then, Sans still does this and it was ruining his mood. It was also bad enough that he wasn't even able to wake up when the Royal Guards guarding their door mentioned Sans moaning out loud and continuing on with the wanton activity for the whole night. Consequently, Papyrus had to fire them for masturbating on the door as he smelled an unfamiliar scent near on the carpet. He needed stronger men that won't fall to Lust.

"...." Papyrus stares at the wall. The Sandman doesn't give a fuck about him, more towards his brother. Before he could sit up, he hears Sans warns once more, "do you want to have a bad time?"

'ASS.' Papyrus went back to bed, annoyed that he has to wait for hours before this skeleton can fall asleep and yet it only takes minutes for him to fall asleep. How could he forget Sans was the light sleeper among the two of them? Papyrus turns to see Sans facing his direction 'asleep.' Papyrus looks back at the wall, thinking randomly. 'WHAT SHOULD I THINK ABOUT?'

'How about sex~?'

'DAMN. THE WEIRD VOICES ARE BACK.' Papyrus frowned. The voices were growing louder and louder as the days go by, but he wasn't really that angry when he heard about the suggested topic. It reminded him that he has to get a Queen soon because the nobles demand he has an heir... 'I DON'T HAVE ANYONE IN MIND....'

'How about Sans?'

'SANS? YOU'RE RIGHT UNKNOWN VOICE I HOPE ISN'T CREATED FROM MY INSANITY." Papyrus replied, realizing Sans was indeed a popular monster which for some strange reason attracts rapists towards the skeleton. All he needs is an heir so... If Sans gets married, not only does he have the bed to himself (jumping on the bed is secretly fun), but also have to not worry about the small skeleton's heat which occurs every start of the month.

'R-Really?'

"b-boss..?" Sans mumbles, his hands reaching for him. Papyrus moves away. Papyrus can say he's already a master of BDSM and admits to leaving his brother with a dildo and vibrator in his room. When this happens, the tall skeleton makes sure he doesn't enter unless it was night time and watch his brother suffer in front of him. He can't deny his nature, he was a full fledged sadist. Another way for him to come back was if he hears some guards scream like little sissies because they opened the door and tried to fuck his brother (which of course fails).

'SANS WOULDN'T LIKE THAT...'

"NO. HE WOULD LIKE THAT! SANS CAN FINALLY FIND SOMEONE TO FUCK AND WHILE HE'S AT IT, MAKE AN HEIR WHILE I DO MY SHIT!' A perfect plan if he says so himself. Sans is a really needy skeleton, but has standards of choosing who to fuck. Usually, this is the time where he calls Grillby, but Grillby's turning rather possessive of Sans and Sans refuses to let him call the elemental for unspoken reasons. Papyrus isn't going to ask about it... Sans might look at him as the next candidate for a fuck buddy. Just no. He can be the sadist or masochist, but he is not going to be the fucker or the fucked.

'really? i thought sans might cum to the opportunity.'

'Please don't start with the green jokes. I don't want to think about this.'

'but these puns aren't so hard as we thought..'

'One more pun from the next guy and we're castrating him!'

'Guys... C-Calm down.'

"boss... why are there voices in your head?" Sans inquired, but he sounded like he was going to laugh. Papyrus was going to pretend he was asleep until he admits casually that he too has no idea where the voices come from. "I THINK THEY'RE MY INNER CONSCIOUSNESS... AND SANS... STOP READING MY MIND."

'OH NO! HE'S ON TO US!'

'no he's not. sans is beside us.'

'Haha. Very funny~'

'Guys. Shut up for a minute will ya? We don't want to place this guy to a shrink.'

'BUT I LIKE MY HEIGHT.'

'The other shrink.'

"IGNORE THE VOICES IN MY HEAD AND GO TO SLEEP." Papyrus covers his whole face, not listening. His other voices were retarded and utterly un-Papyruslike! Sans turned silent and wondered out loud. "How long have this been going on?"

"NOT THAT LONG." Papyrus lied. It was easier lying when you have no idea when the voices really began.

'GUYS. QUIET DOWN OR I'M DROWNING MYSELF IN WINE.' Papyrus warned. It was effective in silencing the voices and their reaction was immediate.

'Damn son. I know you hate us, but don't hate yourself.'

'PLEASE DON'T. WE'RE SORRY!'

'i rather see your brother drunk than you. it's not right..'

"you drink?" Sans asked. Papyrus could feel Sans behind him, touching his vertebra- Papyrus turns before it made contact, slapping the hand. He has done indecent things to Sans, tortured the guy and left him in a near death state so many times... Papyrus has every reason not wanting Sans to touch him. "SOMETIMES WHEN I'M STRESSED AND DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME SANS OR YOU ARE GOING TO THE TORTURE CHAMBER."

"... it's just a hug." Sans hug the side of his body, pressing close to his rib cage and touching his upper legs with his own legs. Sans is so small, it was terrifying how much energy is stored in the monster. The hug was nice, but it could mean other things. A hug could have ulterior motives and... Even if Sans is his older brother, he can't find in himself to trust the monster.

'harsh.'

"E-EVEN SO." Papyrus muttered, pushing Sans away. Sans could betray him and he's not risking it. Papyrus wasn't ready to die with the Underground's reforms not yet fully implemented.

'HE'S JUST SCARED!'

'hope you die on your next mission, jack ass.' Sans didn't comment and curls to himself. Closing his eyes, Papyrus feels a twinge of regret but it was justifiable. He'll need to assign several monsters to assist in the match-making with his older brother while he patrols the rumored areas with Flowey tomorrow evening. He's sure the weed would accept his invitation. If he does die, Sans could handle the Kingdom. The older skeleton already proved himself to be capable.

'PROBABLY...'

...

FIGHT           [ACT]            ITEM            MERCY

..

Even while the skeleton sleeps, his SOUL called for Help.

.

*Someone woke up and HELPED.

[EXTRA]

'temmie huh?' Sans thought and sat on top of Papyrus. Sitting on the skeleton's pelvic region, Sans no longer cares about the previous warning. There was no movement, Papyrus was dead asleep. The guy wouldn't even realize his older brother was fucking him unless he wakes up in the morning and smells the air reeking of sex. He isn't going to do that, he doesn't feel like it... yet.

Sans unbuttons/unfastens his brother's attire to heal the cracks kept hidden from him on this morning's surprise attack by the dining hall. Acting all high and mighty, 'King Papyrus' is actually scared of his personal doctor (which is again, him). Looking down at his brother, Sans leans over to give a kiss on the forehead but pauses... He also gives a short kiss to the teeth and then trails down the neckline.

He sighs, stroking his brother's beating SOUL. It had a brilliant vermilion color unlike his dark Red color where his SOUL has cracks and tears from the childhood experiments. Holding it close, Sans stares at the small paper cuts on the SOUL and pressed it near his teeth to lick it with his conjured tongue. It's sickeningly sweet.

Yet Sans doesn't stop. He lightly nips each cut, closing and healing the small injuries until there is nothing left. Placing the SOUL back down, Sans asked with an unimpressed voice.

"what the hell are you trying to do, boss?"