‘One year ago, if someone told the hero that his own brother would become his greatest adversary… he would have dismissed it as a terrible joke.’

‘How could that sloppy lovable lazybone ever be a formidable foe?’

‘Fate answered with a cruel laugh right in his face.’

The Great Papyrus stared in disbelief.

What went wrong?

How?

He knew he’s stronger than Sans. Agreed with Gaster’s gambit to fight without killing. Traded his clairvoyance to trip his slippery brother on his own slimy schemes.

Everything went how it should go.

Everything!

And yet…

It all failed at the very last second.

The Trap Harvester’s bubble shattered way too soon. Cenna tried her best to salvage the situation, but her effort backfired.

The arrow shot right through Sans.

A life taken cannot be returned.

Papyrus didn’t know why he’s running.

Was it a futile attempt to grasp the last memories of his brother?

Perhaps.

Perhaps not.

A volley of shots stopped his progress. Cenna yelled a warning.

There was a monster SOUL lingering.

Before long, it dyed itself in the bright red of their mother’s scarf.

And Sans returned, enveloped in cyan flames.

He mentioned something about his Eye being ‘gone’, so he had to use the Seraph System to make a brand new one.

It’s pure white, sharing the same colour as their default glow. Yet, its vast power created a great chasm between past, present and future.

This renewed man behaved like his brother. Spoke with all the smooth spins that Papyrus both hated and loved.

It had to be him… right?

Papyrus tried to perceive the flow of time, seeking the right path to stop this maddening spiral.

Instead, he got slapped with an awful sting. Glitchy squares clouded his sight. Whole seconds skipped by.

He heard the human calling out for him. “Papyrus,” said Frisk. “Your face!”

“WHAT ABOUT MY FACE?”

“You’re making weird glowy lines. There!”

Frisk touched the surface with a finger, causing a familiar pain to surge through Papyrus’ memories. Although greatly dulled by the medication, it’s the same sensation.

The last time he felt it… he was lost in the valley of darkness.

“OWIE!” Papyrus recoiled. “P-PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THEM.”

“Oh. Sorry. W-what are those?”

“I DON’T KNOW.” That fact that it’s unknown factor further worried him. It reminded the young skeleton of his breakfast with Judge Thyme. That man still had the scars from when the Persona crippled his dominant arm.

Meanwhile, Sans and Cenna prepared for battle. Papyrus couldn’t stand by anymore.

“SAAAAAAAAAAAANS!!!” he screamed. Launched himself forward.

Frisk grabbed him around the mid-spine. Rooted their friend with a Green Star, as Undyne would have done.

Still, The Great Papyrus refused to stay quiet.

“WHY ARE YOU PICKING FIGHTS??? I KNOW BATTLES ARE FUN, BUT YOU’RE PUTTING YOURSELF IN GRIEVOUS DANGER!”

“YOU DIED! AND THEN YOU CAME BACK! AND YOU’RE TRYING TO DIE AGAIN?!? WHAT… WHAT IS THIS TOMFOOLERY???”

No response from the intended recipient.

“SANS, JUST STOP. WHY CAN’T YOU BE LAZY THIS ONE TIME?”

“You heard the lady, bro,” Sans replied. “I’m a DEMON now. A bone-a-fide Determinator. Got no reason to quit. Nor do I want to anyway.”

The elder brother turned away from the edge of the chasm.

“Welp. I guess apologies don’t matter anymore. What’s done is done.”

“Bye.”

Sans took off into the sky of nothingness, followed right behind by Cenna. The trails of cyan and yellow entwined and entangled until they resulted in a huge display of magical fireworks.

Bones. Feathers. Lasers. Each danced around in formation. It’s ‘beautiful violence’ coming to life.

Papyrus’ first thought was to stop the fight. He prepared his legs for the big jump.

“No!” Frisk explained: “You can’t use your superpowers yet.”

“WHY?” he asked back.

“You pushed yourself too hard. Burned out. Timeout. Cooldown.”

“I MUST GO!”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Frisk furrowed their brows. “If you force yourself, all of Goopdoc’s efforts will have been for nothing!”

Papyrus backed down. Defeated.

Frisk placed their small hands on the sides of his face.

“Listen,” they said, “I have to help my sister now. Cenna’s not immortal. If she dies, she stays dead.”

Midway through their heartfelt talk, a great bolt of gold smashed through its target. One shine of red later, and the cyan one had reverted his death once more.

It happened again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

The Vanquisher lived up to her legend. With that level of skill, it’s hard to imagine she’s not a monster.

“Thought so. Paps, stay safe. That’s the only way you can help us.”

“H-HOW?”

“Dunno. Someway, somehow… You’ve always been lucky.”

Frisk let him go, before planting a Blue Star on their own chest.

As they floated up to the sky, they hollered back a quote once pegged to his name:

“I believe in you!”

And off they went. It didn’t take long before they joined hands with Cenna, weaving between the surreal pattern of lasers and bones together.

The density increased twofold. Papyrus gasped, thinking that they were cornered for sure… until a red supernova of Determination blew the obstacles apart.

The projectiles that survived were thrown in all directions. They fell like a great storm of hails. Bone fragments -- both fine and large -- pierced anywhere they landed.

A spinning jawbone of Sans’ Blaster zipped over the top of his head, smashing against the concrete with a loud crack.

Karma spread across the ground. Worse yet, more showers of destruction were on the way.

Papyrus dashed towards the stairs and hurried down the steps. Made it just in time to escape the brunt of the rain.

The ceiling shook and thundered from the impact. The larger bones stuck halfway through the top while the rot of Karma continued unabated. At this rate, the whole structure might crumble.

There was a conveniently placed table in the room. Judging from the leftover paper plate, Sans had left food on there for Frisk.

Papyrus hid underneath. It’s what he did during the massive Core quake. Everything shook and the lights flickered. It was a surreal, unpleasant memory.

And then, whole pieces of debris began to fall down. Papyrus had experienced collapses in the Spire’s fire too, but he wasn’t frightened because he’d know where and when they’d be.

Now? He’s normal. A blank. He wouldn’t know.

He cannot know.

It’s a scary, scary thing.

With all this chaos surrounding him, Papyrus only had a single thought playing through his head.

I FAILED.

I FAILED I FAILED I FAILED I FAILED--

Until the voice of a child interrupted him. “Are you okay?”

“YIPES!!!” The surprise was so great, he almost rolled out of his safe zone.

He’s looking at… a… grey Monster Kid?

“OH MY GOD! MONSTER KID?!? WHY ARE YOU HERE? AND WHY ARE YOU COVERED IN GREY PAINT?!?!?!?!”

Papyrus fussed over the child, checking for injuries and other signs of ill-health.

“DID YOU HITCHIKE ON FRISK’S CAR? MAYBE ON METTATON?? HOW DID YOU EVEN GET PAST THE CHAOTIC FIRE AND TOP-NOTCH SECURITY?! HOW DID YOU CROSS OVER INTO THE VOID???”

“THIS PLACE IS TOO DANGEROUS EVEN FOR A STUNNING BRAVE ADVENTURER LIKE YOU!”

The strange monster stared back with its mouth agape.

“…I’m not Monster Kid. I’m, uh, Doctor Gaster’s friend?”

Papyrus gasped. “UNCLE GASTER?! THE ONE AND ONLY MAGNIFICENT ROYAL SCIENTIST DOCTOR W.D. GASTER?”

The child nodded. “Yes.”

“IS HE OKAY?!?”

“Y-yeah. He’s okay. Most of the doc ended up back at the lab after Sans ejected him from the System. Anyways, I have a piece of him right here.”

The grey monster turned around. Lo and behold, the miniature head of W.D. Gaster rested inside a small wire lantern hung from their tail’s end.

“Thank you, young lady,” said the head.

It really was Uncle Gaster. Papyrus unhooked the lantern and started hugging it. He cried. Whimpered.

The second round of bombardment caused the ceiling to crumble further. More chunks collapsed.

“My boy, why are you crying?” the doctor asked.

“I-I’M SCARED! I DON’T HAVE MY MAGIC EYE. A-AND I FAILED. NO, WORSE THAN FAILED! I POWERED UP SANS!!!”

Between the sobs, he said: “MAYBE… I AM REALLY JUST A BABYBONE.”

“Egads! Don’t believe that nonsense!” Gaster retorted, “You’re not done yet. Far from it. I daresay the Chara situation was more grim than this.”

Ghostly, detached hands wiped away the youngster’s tears.

“You have plenty of other skills that don’t depend on your Eye. As long you keep moving forward, you can -- and will -- pick up the pieces. With some help from your allies, of course! You have me. You have your parents. And you have so, so many other friends!”

Hope. Glorious hope. Papyrus felt like he could smile again.

The strange grey girl crawled closer. “Don’t let her juvenile form fool you.” Gaster said, “She’s a trusted assistant of mine. You see, I taught her how to make these special doors that cut between space and time. Portable shortcuts, if you will.”

“I had already sent two of my other followers to guide Captain Undyne’s rescue team. Regroup, and we’ll figure out the next step from there.”

“Now, if you’d excuse me. I have to coordinate my efforts with Doctor Alphys. I’m leaving Papyrus to you, Goner dear.”

“Okay doc,” said the girl.

Papyrus thought that it was a strange name, ‘Goner’. She’s after all not ‘gone’.

Maybe she would appreciate getting a new one in the near future?

The girl focused her magic to create a door as ashen as her disembodied form.

“It’s done.” She wriggled out of her hiding spot. Peeked through the crack to confirm her destination. Satisfied, she beckoned to him.

“C’mon Papyrus, let’s go.”

At first, he wanted to follow her.

But then Papyrus heard another boom in the air. His instincts propelled him into action. He reached out for the grey child and turned her SOUL Blue. Yanked her away from the door in an instant.

A second after, a fresh torrent of souped up magic cleaved through the tower.

Goner screamed. Papyrus screamed too.

The chaotic multi-coloured mixture of death flew by as the aerial dogfight swept right though. Sans continued his reaper’s rain, while Cenna chased after him with Frisk in tow.

That poor grey child was dumbstruck from fear. She didn’t know what to do. How to react. She just sat there, doing nothing.

At least she’s alive. If he hadn’t snagged the kid out to safety, she would’ve been caught in the crossfire instead. Obliterated.

Papyrus looked down at his hands. Realised what he must do.

“MISS GONER!” he said.

The kid yelped. “Y-yes?”

“WE NEED A NEW DOOR!’

“W-where?” asked Goner. “I need solid ground! W-we don't have space!”

“YES WE DO!”

Papyrus pointed downwards. The nearest intact floor was so far below, it looked like a tiny square.

“WE MUST JUMP!”

“Are you crazy?!”

More waves of elaborate patterns exploded in the backdrop of The Void.

“IT’S CRAZIER TO STAY.” He replied in a deadpan manner.

“B-But the doorknob! It’s not automatic. You need to turn it yourself! And crashing through will break the mechanisms!”

“NEVER WORRY, LITTLE ONE! I -- THE GREAT PAPYRUS -- HAVE MANY TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVES. BUT FIRST… DOES THE KNOB TURN CLOCKWISE OR ANTICLOCKWISE?”

“C-clockwise.”

“THANK YOU.”

Papyrus secured the monster child in his arms. Collected himself for a moment. Then, he made a great leap.

They dropped fast.

Approaching terminal velocity.

Black winds howled against their eardrums. However, they can’t let that distract them.

The moment she’s within casting range, Goner hurried to conjure a new side-ways door on solid ground. It’s now or never.

Papyrus only had a split second to turn the knob. To put his basic training to good use. Otherwise… he’d rather not think about the consequences.

Blue. On the door knob. Clockwise.

Open sesame.

They made it in the nick of time. One moment, they’re falling. The next, they’re zooming sideways over the labyrinth.

Papyrus flipped. Spun. Executed a slew of somersaulting acrobatics as he tried to find the right balance. It’s a shame that no one recorded his stunts.

With utmost grace, he landed perfectly on a thick layer of snow.

No injuries. No ugliness. 10/10. It’s the safest landing one could get.

Goner blinked. “Wow… That was. AWESOME! Heh. Now I see why my living twin brother looks up to you.”

Another boom in the sky. Both turned north toward the tower.

The collateral damage destroyed the last of the remaining supports. The whole thing succumbed under its own weight: a grim reminder of what would have happened if Papyrus didn’t take the risk.

“…WE SHOULD GET GOING,” he said. “WHERE TO?”

“Doc said we need to head south.”

They thus turned around, 180 degrees. The path ahead was a flat plane as far as the eyes could see; Gaster had been quite the busybody.

‘The hero and his uncle’s assistant continued onward in a race against the clock. The Magi siblings tire the longer they delay. Yet, the road was still long… and their destination uncertain.’

‘No one ever said the hero’s journey would be easy.’