‘The hero and his friends rode within in the dark veins of a dead city. Their initial goal was to regroup.’
‘United they stand, divided they fall.’
‘Alas… the future warned him against it. Pointed him towards the ocean.’
‘Why? He does not yet know.’
Papyrus rode his bonebike on the subway rail. He needed to make some practical adjustments for it to support more passengers.
The modifications turned the vehicle from a single-seater to something more robust. A stronger frame. Wider seats. The only real ‘cheetah’ feature left was at the headlights. Though at this rate, it would be more likely to pass off as a lion or a sabertooth.
Cenna guarded the back. Papyrus sat in the middle. Frisk, right in the front. And that blasted dog perched on top of his skull.
The human child remained quiet throughout Queen Toriel’s transmission. They’re trying hard to not cry.
They had made a mistake. One they couldn’t undo. They’re forced to face the possible consequences in linear time. It’s something Frisk hadn’t tackled in a while.
Papyrus empathized with the child. He was just as guilty. Why didn’t he warn them against Sans’ time-freeze sooner?
Did his Eye fail? Had he become complacent?
Or…
Did he desire Sans’ different future?
Cenna’s voice snapped him out of it. “Hey! I see the station up ahead.”
The cracked station platform had fallen slabs of concrete scattered about. But other than that, it was intact enough for safe travelling.
Up the stairs, he went. They emerged at the beachside exit.
“The beach…?” The Vanquisher turned her head around. “What the heck?! Dude! That’s totally the wrong direction!”
Papyrus replied: “WE’RE NOT LOST.”
Concerned, Frisk grabbed Papyrus’ arm. “Is something big gonna happen? Are we needed here? Maybe something else? What should we do?”
The skeletal hero was pressured to lie. A little white one. He wanted to tell Frisk that he had it all figured out.
Then he remembered Sans.
Remembered Mezil.
Not good examples of trust-building there. Frisk needed integrity the most. Not false sweet nothings.
Being as gentle as he could be, he said, “I’M NOT SURE YET, FRISK. BUT IT PAYS TO BE PATIENT.”
Cenna backed him up with her own words of wisdom. “Yup Frisky. In situations like these, best to keep watch and wait for the next action.”
Having strong adults around them motivated the human child.
“You’re right.” They nodded.
The fluffy dog started to whimper.
“OH, WHAT IS IT NOW?” Papyrus took the canine off his skull.
Just looking at its cunningly cute face annoyed him so much. It would’ve been a tolerable dog if it didn’t cause a long history of embarrassing embarrassments.
“I think the dog needs to poop,” Frisk said.
“…I’M NOT SURE IF IT’S A NON-MONSTER DOG.”
The kid pouted back: “Do you want to get Dog Residue all over your bike?”
Internal gasping intensified. “I GUESS WE CAN DO THIS FOR SANITATION’S SAKE.”
Papyrus put the pooch down. The dog ran to the nearest remains of a water hydrant for a squat. It vibrated. A lot.
Then…
…A big, red, crystalline orb pooped out from its hinds. It sat on the object for a moment before rolling off the polished surface.
Speechless. Outright speechless. That thing was almost size of the dog’s body. If Papyrus had a detachable jaw, it would have hit the ground.
Frisk gasped. “The Legendary Artifact?!”
Cenna jumped off her seat and zipped straight there. Picked up the item with her bare hands. Did not question the possibility of it being contaminated with… ‘residue’.
“Holy shit,” she exclaimed. “Holy! Shit! Like literally. That fluffy thing had this all the while?!”
“What about it, Sis?”
“Frisky, it’s the original Trap Harvester!”
He still doesn’t grasp what went on, but just hearing that name was enough to make Papyrus scream.
“EXCUSE MEEEEEEE?!?!?”
“The Magi call this a ‘Blood Crystal’. Yeah. I know. Edgy name. Razor sharp. But that’s not the point.”
Cenna continued: “Blood Crystals are a key component for DT-based magitek. Mama’s heirloom? Had this as the battery. That’s how it could absorb so much DT in the first place.”
Her eyes glowed yellow, inspecting the orb of questionable origins. “Hmm. It’s just an unrefined crystal. Can’t get any more basic. I wonder if we can take it to the real world. Anise would loooooooooove to make something out of this.”
The pebbles on the road rattled with increasing ferocity. Something huge was charging towards the beach. To their fortune, they were not in its direct path.
A loud child-unfriendly swear word escaped the quake; it’s a voice Papyrus knew very, very well.
Making a mad dash towards the waves was indeed none other than… a red Undyne? Was that a new person?
WAIT. DIDN’T FAIRY GODMOTHER SAY SANS HAD SPLASHED KETCHUP AS A JAPE?
In the midst of his contemplation, a massive bone wyrm ripped right through the very road she had left in her wake.
It matched the reports. Always seeing the positive side of life, Papyrus exclaimed: “THEY’RE ALIVE!”
“Uh, Paps.” Frisk pointed at the blaster’s jaw. Or rather, its lack of one. “I don’t think Snakeface is okay.”
With the initial optimism deflated, harsh reality sank in.
They watched the massive being crawl over the sand. There, it slowed down. In the end… exhaustion took over and it collapsed.
Without the user’s support, the wyrm crumbled apart.
“Ah damn. That’s reeeally bad.” Cenna replied. “We gotta check up on them.”
The humans ran to the beach on foot. Papyrus followed their pace, though he kept his bike around: parked it by the beachside just like a normal vehicle.
Gaelic lay face down. A piece of rebar had impaled his right side. If it was angled a little bit more to the left, his spine would have been severed from the hip down.
Frisk was right; he’s in terrible shape.
Cenna got down on her knees. “Gael. Gael! You recognize me? Can ya talk?”
The downed man responded with a high-pitched whine.
“Stay with me, buddy. You ain’t gonna fly over to the Spirit Realm before me. You promised!”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Undyne emerged from the ocean. She’s no longer dredged in red condiment.
“Hey!” The senior smiled ear to ear, showing off her teeth. “Oh man, I’ve never been happier to see you punks! But, uh, celebratory suplexes can wait.”
Papyrus nodded.
Should he ask Lady Lucidia? No. She already had her hands full with Sans.
Cenna lifted her head to ask. “Cap, did you see any fish? Dead or alive, either’s fine.”
“I think there’s a whole row of them at shore. Must have died from the shockwaves earlier.”
“Get some. Gael needs ‘em. Urgent.”
“YOSH!” Undyne dashed back to the waters without an extra word.
The whole scene sickened Papyrus. It looks wrong. Painful. In all the worst ways.
“SHOULD WE PULL IT OUT?”
Cenna responded: “Nooooooo. You’d open the wound.”
“THEN, WE SHOULD TAKE HIM OUT OF THE VOID! WE’RE ALL IN FAKE BODIES, RIGHT? THAT IRON BAR IS NOT A DETERMINATION INJURY EITHER.”
“The Crimson Hall’s way too far away. If he dies mid-transport, it’s permanent.”
Always the one with bright ideas, Frisk summoned a Green Star. “If that’s the case, we have to seal it in.”
Is there really no other way? Out of curiosity, he checked the possible outcomes of disregarding expert advice.
In one scenario, Frisk couldn’t heal the wounds fast enough. Too much dust was spilled, and hence a life was lost.
In another, Gaelic became paralyzed from the waist down because the botched operation severed his spine.
That’s enough gruesome what-ifs.
“HMMMM,” Papyrus rubbed his chin. “WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE EXTRAS FIRST. ALL THESE PARTS JUTTING OUT… IT’S ASKING FOR AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT.”
Undyne returned from her fish-gathering operation. She dropped the whole pile on the sand. It’s more than any one person could eat, but it’s better than having too few.
“Okay, now what?” she asked.
“UNDYNE, COULD YOU CUT THE REBAR WITH YOUR AWESOME SKILLS? GET AS CLOSE TO HIS BODY AS YOU CAN. YOU MUST BE SUPER SWIFT. OTHERWISE MISTER GAELIC WILL HURT FROM THE VIBRATIONS.”
“No problemo! The world is a pudding with this wicked armour.”
Spear, summoned.
Stance, prepared.
With swift motions, Undyne succeeded. The hazardous extras fell on the sand and were tossed aside posthaste.
“My turn,” said Frisk. With their determined stoic face, they shone their healing magic on the stubs.
Papyrus expected the action to soothe Gaelic. Like applying balm on a bite.
Except. That didn’t happen. The whole ordeal turned ugly in a snap.
Gaelic screeched. Loud. His spine arched. The shock of the pain and panic bolstered his dying strength.
“Shit shit shit shit shit!” Cenna summoned her drones in a hurry, weaving her strings in an attempt to reel him back. He, however, ripped right out of his bindings.
Frisk switched to a Red Star. They made it radiate with peaceful ‘Mercy’ in an attempt to calm down the wild one.
But, the child’s good intentions were not understood. The bright shine further agitated Gaelic, and all his attentions zoomed towards the kid. He lunged forward with poisonous drool dripping out from between his teeth.
“FRISK!!!” yelled Papyrus.
Undyne jumped on Gaelic. Did a standard police-style pin-down. Front on the ground, arms against the back. He yielded after a brief struggle.
Frisk resumed their work. They managed to seal the bar into the bones… but it wasn’t smooth or seamless. It was a lumpy mess. More like a horrible, disfiguring scar.
Frowning, the kid turned to Papyrus. “…I feel lucky that we’re in the Void. Doctor Gaster was so worried about this happening to you.”
Papyrus had a new level of respect for Lady Lucidia and Doctor Gaster. They made the art of intense healing look so easy.
He decided to step back to give Cenna and Frisk some space. For a moment, his knees wobbled. Uneasiness twisted his chest, and he wondered if he had made a worse mistake out of ignorance.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
I… I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING ON. HE WAS OKAY IN THE CAR. I THOUGHT HIS BERSERK MODE WAS MEANT TO BE TEMPORARY…
A slight nudge came from the side. It was Undyne.
“Paps, you alright?” she asked.
“I. UM. I’M ALRIGHT.”
“I see. I hope you don’t mind me asking this now, but what the hell is that thing in the sky? Sans refused to say anything about it. No more than puns at least.”
She pointed towards a bone-white door floating up high. It’s open. Looking at the top-down view of Ebott’s town square.
“OH WOWIE!” Papyrus brightened up in sheer delight. “SANS INTENDS TO BRING THE WHOLE TOWN ALONG! HERE I THOUGHT HE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THEM.”
“Bring the whole town…?” Undyne blinked twice.
“YES! THAT’S ONE OF THOSE ‘SPIRIT GATE’ THINGIES. IT CONNECTS THE VOID TO THE REAL WORLD JUST LIKE THE CRIMSON HALL! NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, I WONDER HOW GERSON AND THE REST ARE DOING? WILL THEY BE INCLUDED IN THE TRANSFER TOO?”
“Papyrus, that’s BAD news!” she exclaimed, “Sans is gonna hijack an alternate dimension’s worth of Ebott monsters!!! The body-stealing shtick, remember?!?”
When the true ramifications clicked together in his noggin, Papyrus bugged out. “OH MY GOD! YOU’RE RIGHT!!! DOES THAT MEAN SANS HAS ALREADY FOUND AN IDEAL NEW WORLD?”
“Don’t think so. We wouldn’t be standing here if he did. Though… he’s definitely making preparations.”
At the corner of his sight, Papyrus spotted Frisk. They picked up a small fish by the tailfin.
The kid waved the morsel in front of Gaelic. “Here’s a tasty fish. Fishy fishy fish~”
Undyne grimaced. “Shouldn’t we remove their guts first?”
“Sis said he needs them. He’s critically low on nutrients right now.”
“…Okay, I can believe that. You should’ve seen how he devoured the badghetti. Total annihilation.”
The sudden reminder of his culinary disaster made Papyrus blush in embarrassment.
Gaelic took the bite. But that’s it. He was too exhausted to chew his precious food.
Frisk turned to Papyrus: “Maybe we should make a mortar and pestle? The top half of a skull would be perfect.”
“THAT’S BRILLIANT!”
Frisk soon filled up the Papyrus-made bowl with fish. Undyne proceeded to pound the ingredients to a pulp, mixed with some purified water to thin it. They ‘cooked’ with much gusto… just like the good old days.
Finally, by the aid of a hollowed femur, they managed to pour the slurry down his gullet.
Frisk tried to offer the leftovers to the Annoying Dog. It shuddered at the mere whiff of it. Flat out rejected. Guess even that canine has higher standards than Gaelic when it comes to seafood.
“Now what?” asked Undyne.
“I GUESS WE WAIT,” Papyrus answered. “EVEN FOR SKELETONS, DIGESTION IS NOT INSTANT.”
Meanwhile, white fire rained at the far distance. It set that portion of the city alight in an inferno of intense orange. Ominous plumes of black smoke rose up into the air.
The Royal Dreemurrs’ battle had begun.
“Papyrus,” said Undyne. “I gotta go. Can I leave the rest to you?”
“OF COURSE. WE’LL CATCH UP SOON.”
They exchanged fist bumps. It’s a mild replacement for their suplex routine. But that’s fine. Those can wait for the big celebration once this was all over.
The Undying rushed back to the battlefield.
In the meantime, Papyrus considered his next course of action.
Should he take Gaelic and escape to the Crimson Hall? He’d be fine once he returned to his unbroken body.
“I know what you’re thinking, Cinnamon Roll,” said Cenna. “Bad idea.”
“WHY NOT?” asked Papyrus.
“It won’t restore his mind. In fact, that’ll just put the crazy at max-strength. He might end up injuring others. And himself.”
The Annoying Dog tried to sniff and poke the patient. Gaelic locked his sights, salivating with bottomless hunger.
The timely toss of a fish saved the poor pooch. He snapped the morsel instead of the dog, allowing Frisk to whisk the canine toward safety.
“POINT TAKEN… SORRY,” said Papyrus, filled with regret.
Cenna got down on her knees. Gaelic’s expression changed in her presence, recognizing her as a friend.
“Jeez, you went deep in the loony bin huh?” She began to pet Gaelic. Tried to get him to relax.
“Almighty Creator of Love and Compassion,” she said, “Redeemer of Life, please heal this child of yours. Dispel the dark chaos from his mind. Thy will be done.”
Love and compassion? It’s familiar.
Papyrus sat down on the sand. Frisk did so too. They stared at Cenna with widened eyes, expecting an explanation.
“Never heard of a prayer before?” she asked, grinning back.
“Not in that style. It’s usually a lot simpler.”
“I THINK I HEARD FAINT WHISPERS OF THAT KIND WHEN I HAD A MOMENTARY FOOD POISONING FROM THE BADGHETTI. IS THIS ALMIGHTY A HUMAN-MONSTER MERGER?”
“No way!” She snickered. “We’re talking about the one with the Big G here. ‘He is who he is’. Never created and never ending. Eternity, man.”
That was the most outlandish thing he had ever heard. Papyrus stared at Frisk. The human shrugged in turn. They’re just as clueless.
“…Guess I should have explained this sooner, huh? It’s an old faith that us Vanquishers align with. Or, well, we're supposed to. You’re always gonna get people who’re just in it for the cash.”
“So, what do you guys know about Heaven and Hell?”
Papyrus blurted out the first image on his mind: “HEAVEN IS A BRIGHT, PEACEFUL WORLD WITH LOTS OF FLUFFY CLOUDS. AND HARPS!”
The child giggled. “That’s so old-fashioned. It’s the ‘Good Place’ where people go after they die.”
“ISN’T THE FLUFFY CLOUD LAND GOOD ENOUGH?”
“I think it’ll get boring if we played harps all day, no?”
“WELL, WE CAN HAVE CLOUD STATUES, CLOUD BOWLING, CLOUD GUITARS, CLOUD BOUNCY PADS… IT’S LIKE SNOW, FRISK! THE MOST MALLEABLE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE!”
“Okay. You got a point.” said Frisk. “As for Hell, it’s is the ‘Bad Place’ where troublemaking kids go to burn. According to Sans anyway.”
“REALLY? I THOUGHT IT’S A LAVA-FILLED REALM WHERE CAT GHOSTS LIVE. THEY PASS THE TIME BY SHOOTING EXPLODING FIREBALLS AT EACH OTHER.”
“That’s… from a video game isn’t it?”
“IT’S DEFINITELY LESS RIDICULOUS THAN RED ASGORES WITH LESSER TRIDENTS! YOU CAN TELL THOSE WERE MADE BY PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE AWESOMENESS OF BOSS MONSTERS.”
Cenna tried to stifle her laughter. She didn’t want to startle her friend after all.
“Sorry folks. But that’s beyond wrong. Where do I even start?”
“Imagine a place where nobody dies and everyone loves one another. Don’t ya think that sounds like Heaven?”
Both Frisk and Papyrus nodded.
“Believe it or not, that used to be planet Earth.”
“REALLY?!” Papyrus asked.
Here he thought that such a place had always been a mere fantasy. Why would the humans think he’s childish otherwise?
“Really! The Almighty made everything good. Including the people. That’s why we have ‘Love’ and ‘Compassion’: the ability to care for each other.”
“THAT SOUNDS AWESOME! BUT, WHAT HAPPENED? WHY IS THE WORLD FULL OF DESPAIR NOW?”
“Long story short, the people rejected the Almighty’s standards. Started fighting over selfish reasons. Love? Gone. Compassion? Double gone. The end result… is Hell.”
Cenna motioned her hand towards the city. “You’re looking at one right now. War is a form of Hell. Broken families? That’s Hell too. I know, since I escaped from both.”
“It all begins here.” She tapped her chest. “In the heart.”
“Is that why you kill DEMONS?” asked Frisk.
“Yeah…” the sister replied. “DEMONS twist their haunts into pockets of ‘Hell on Earth’. All that weird shit? Reflects their personal corruption. That’s why we gotta send them off.”
The kid rubbed their sleeves. They had their head down, looking rather guilty.
“I… I know how that feels,” they said.
“WHERE DO THEY GO?”
“Same place as the non-DEMON folk. The Spirit Realm. Afterlife. Whatever’s the term nowadays. There, they’ll meet the Almighty for the final time.”
“From then onwards it’s either a joint venture for His final project… or to forever rot in their own misery.”
“WHAT IS THIS FINAL PROJECT?”
“To reunite Heaven with Earth. Get rid of the sad and the bad, replacing it with the best of the best. That’s how one of my mentors explained it.”
Epiphany struck Papyrus like a truck. A bolt of lightning. Or Undyne’s surprise wrestling moves. Whichever packed the most punch.
A world where everyone loves each other in the presence of their Creator?
It really sounds like ‘the best of the best’.
“THIS ABSOLUTELY TOTALLY CERTAINLY MAKES ALL THE SENSE IN THE UNIVERSE!!! FRISK, WE NEED TO GET TO SANS RIGHT NOW!”
“Huh?!” Frisk exclaimed.
“THAT’S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN STOP HIS CHARADE!”