Alphys’ lab was flooded by concerned visitors.
Mom and Dad.
Undyne.
The five Dog Clan members.
Grillby.
Mom asked if you had some sleep. You nodded. Amazingly, you managed to squeeze a nap in between Sans’ confession and their arrival.
Grillby made burgers for everyone. It’s a bit heavy for breakfast, but Mom approved it better than Alphys’ default instant noodle diet.
Dang, you were hungry. You forgot that you didn’t eat anything since the night before.
On the dot of four in the morning, you heard Papyrus screaming from the ward.
“SAAAAAAAANS! THIS IS WHY I TOLD YOU TO NOT CHUG SO MUCH KETCHUP! LOOK! YOU’RE BURSTING ACROSS YOUR STERNUM!”
That’s some sense of punctuality. On hindsight, his Eye powers might have played a role on that.
Mom was alarmed by the statement. Sans was her joke buddy and her best friend. Thinking that something bad had happened to him, she rushed into the ward ahead of everyone else.
“Sans!” Mom called out.
“I’m fine, Tori.” Sans patted on his perfectly fine chest. His tone of voice was back to his usual social front.
Papyrus faced the rest of you. The wisps of his orange Seer’s Eye showed no signs of fading. It’s bright, and it’s wild.
“Paps is just uh--”
“OH MY GOD TORIEL YOU HAVE A BURST SEAM TOO???”
“He’s--”
“BUT THERE IS NO KETCHUP? DID YOU ACCIDENTALLY CATCH YOUR ROBE ON A SHARP THING AND TEAR IT? PLEASE BE MORE CAREFUL! THOSE CAN BE REALLY PAINFUL!”
Maximum. Papyrus. Logic.
You were not sure to be glad or sad. Papyrus was so innocent, he didn’t recognize his visions of death.
It said something when his subconscious was more aware of the truth than his consciousness.
Mom was too shocked and confused to respond.
Sans again tried to explain: “He’s having hallucinations from an overload of magic power--”
“FRISK!” Papyrus yelled. “IT IS WAY TOO LATE FOR HALLOWEEN! IF YOU WANT TO COSPLAY AS A DUSTY KNIFE WIELDER, SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT SOONER! ALSO KITCHEN KNIVES ARE NOT TOYS!”
Crap. He saw your psycho side too. You hide behind Mom out of sheer shame. Everyone else thought you got scared from his apparent nonsensical babble.
No. It’s because it was the truth.
“Excuse me,” Alphys squeezed herself to the front. “I need to examine Papyrus--”
“ALPHYS, I DON’T THINK CAVE DIVING IS A VERY SAFE IDEA OF CHEERING YOURSELF UP. WHERE ARE YOUR PARACHUTES?”
The statement creeped your friend so hard, she shuffled back into the group. Papyrus had misunderstood her suicide attempt in the most bizarre manner.
“DOGGO!” Papyrus yelled. “JUST BECAUSE A TRUCK IS NOT MOVING, IT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S SAFE TO STAND BEHIND IT! ALWAYS STAY IN THE FRONT VIEW! LESSON 101 FROM DRIVING SCHOOL!”
That. Was new. You were very sure that there were no trucks in the Underground.
Papyrus’ impromptu advice corner continued.
“DOGAMY, DOGARESSA. RED IS NOT GREEN! GREEN IS NOT RED! IF YOU CAN’T SEE RED AND GREEN, IT’S BETTER TO MEMORIZE THEIR TRAFFIC LIGHT POSITIONS! REMEMBER RED IS ALWAYS ON TOP, GREEN IS AT THE BOTTOM. IF IT’S HORIZONTAL RED IS ALWAYS THE LEFT AND GREEN IS RIGHT. MIDDLE IS ALWAYS YELLOW!”
“GREATER DOG, PLEASE BEWARE OF ELECTRICAL CABLES WHEN YOU’RE PILOTING YOUR AWESOME SUIT OF METAL ARMOUR! THE AMOUNT OF FUN IN AN ELECTRICAL SHOCK IS ACTUALLY REALLY SMALL… TAKE IT FROM ME.”
“LESSER DOG! I KNOW YOU’RE VERY HAPPY WHEN YOU HAVE THE ATTENTION OF MANY SMALL CHILDREN, BUT PLEASE WATCH OUT FOR TINY FLYING TOYS WITH VERY SHARP SPINNING BLADES! THEY HURT MORE THAN YOU’D EXPECT.”
For some reason, Papyrus understood their visions enough to give helpful advice. It triggered a host of reactions from the Clan members.
“(Oh!)” Dogaressa turned towards her husband. “(That explains why the cars suddenly moved! We were reading the lights wrong.)”
“I thought all we needed to do is to mind the zebra crossing,” Dogamy mentioned.
Doggo was not very happy. “Hey, it’s not my fault that I can’t see a stationary truck. Also, who told you that? It’s supposed to be my secret.”
Greater Dog and Lesser Dog whined.
It had happened before?!
Through luck or some other outside influence, the family escaped fatality.
On hindsight, the visions were a bit too late. It would have been more useful if Papyrus could warn folks before the accident. Not after.
Undyne marched right up to Papyrus’ bed. Silent. You weren't sure what to make out of this.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Papyrus being himself, wasted no time to blurt out his opinion.
He spoke with less energy than before.
Instead, he was concerned.
“UNDYNE…? YOU’RE LOOKING REALLY REGAL. IS THE WEATHER TOO COLD FOR YOUR WARDROBE?”
What.
He’s seeing her as… Queen Undyne?
Or?…
“BUT IT SEEMS THAT THE HEAVY CLOTHES ARE WARMING YOU UP TOO MUCH. BECAUSE. FOR SOME REASON, YOU’RE LOOKING REALLY GOOPY.”
“OH WOWIE! THAT’S SOME REALLY COOL ARMOUR TOO! IT’S ALL BLACK LIKE THOSE KNIGHTS IN ANIME.”
“I’VE ALWAYS NOTICED YOU’RE PRETTY SPECIAL, UNDYNE. THAT’S WHY I -- THE GREAT PAPYRUS -- WILL ONLY LET MYSELF BE TRAINED BY THE VERY BEST!”
“I DON’T KNOW WHAT SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT YOU’VE BEEN TAKING. BUT TOO MUCH OF ANYTHING IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!”
“PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. OKAY?”
You were not sure how to compute this.
At all.
Papyrus had somehow blended several versions of Undyne into one image. Does that means she left a huge impression on him?
If Undyne knew of Sans as a kid, maybe she was also Papyrus’ childhood friend.
And now she’s technically his coach.
She was like a big sister.
The ‘Special Supplement’ was not a supplement. Undyne was one of the rare monsters who could generate her own DETERMINATION. Melting was a sign of her body unable to handle the very thing her created by her essence.
Shouldn’t he know this from the reunion of Amalgamates? Perhaps Papyrus employed coping measures?
The strongest fish lady took a deep breath.
“Papyrus.” She said.
“YES UNDYNE?”
Undyne plucked Papyrus off the bed and started spinning him around.
She then landed a vertical suplex right back into the mattress. The bed’s legs bent from the impact. Luckily for your skeleton friend, the mattress was soft. And he’s all solid bones.
Witnessing this spectacular display of roughhousing, your Mom almost wanted to give Undyne a literal grilling. Alphys quickly grabbed her legs and begged her to not do so.
Things will be fine, you told Mom. Undyne had ‘unique’ ways of communication. No one was harmed.
Undyne smacked her hands on Papyrus’ cheekbones, holding his skull in place. It was a bit of a deja vu since you had done the same for Sans.
Then again, you learned that from her.
“GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, PAPYRUS!” She yelled. “You’re letting that weird magic screw around with your noggin!”
Undyne took off his mittens. She then guided his skeletal hand to touch her neck, arms, shoulders, even her chest.
“Can you feel the difference? I’m not melting. I’m not wearing any royal garb. I’m not wearing any armour.”
“I’m not dying.”
Papyrus continued to feel the surface of her scales. Whatever he saw, it didn’t match with his other senses.
“CAN I TOUCH SANS?” he whimpered.
“Of course.” Undyne let go of her grip.
The younger skeleton brother’s hand trembled as he reached out to Sans’ chest.
His bony fingers touched the surface of his shirt. He kept running it diagonally across, trying to feel the non-existent gash.
“I CAN’T STICK MY FINGER INSIDE,” said Papyrus. “I SEE THE LIQUID DRIPPING, BUT I CAN’T FEEL IT.”
“Of course, bro.” Sans replied, “It’s just my ‘bone-dry’ shirt.”
“YOU’RE NOT INJURED.”
“Yeah. I’m intact.”
Overwhelmed with joy and relief, Papyrus pulled his brother close for a tearful hug.
Sans wrapped his arms tight in return. “Awh jeez, Paps. You’re turning into a waterfall. I’m gonna get drenched.”
“THEN WE’LL GET DRENCHED TOGETHER! I THOUGHT… I REALLY THOUGHT SOMETHING WENT WRONG. EVERYTHING LOOKED WEIRD AND TWISTY AND BROKEN AND AND AND I’M SO SCARED---”
It ended in a high-pitched whimper.
He’s just a really big child at heart.
“I… I know Paps.” Said Sans. “I’m scared too.”
With her job as the big sister done, Undyne stepped back to let the brothers comfort each other. She ushered everyone out of the ward and closed the door.
You whispered a question: how did she know what to do?
“I called Gerson,” replied Undyne. “The weird visions are strictly visual, he said. Pap’s other senses aren’t affected.”
Ah. That old turtle. Sans said he knew about the whole Eye business. It would be natural that he had coping advice.
Alphys nodded to the explanation. “I… I think it’s best if Papyrus stays in the lab for now. I’ll work on some machines to further monitor the magic. Mettaton is dropping by later today. I’ll ask him to help too.”
“Meanwhile, Frisk. You better go home and get some proper sleep. We’ll take it from here.”
“Yeah, punk!” Undyne exclaimed. “Otherwise you’re gonna fall sick and we’d have to take care of TWO patients at once! One is already a handful!”
Hospital. Please.
Build that ASAP.
Mom and Dad were both… too quiet. You had a feeling that they’re going to have a long ‘adult’s talk’ once you retire for the morning. Mom had a knack of knowing everything, even when no one said anything.
You were too tired to think straight. After a warm shower, some blow-drying, dental hygiene regimen, and a fresh change of pajamas, you drew the curtains to make your room nice and dark. By the time you tucked in, the sun was rising.
Your mind insisted that you should be in school right now. But with enough determination, you psyched yourself to think it’s still Sunday.
You fell asleep.
For some strange reason, you dreamed that Papyrus was sitting beside your bed. He watched you sleep in silence. Waiting.
Shortly after that, you woke up. You got out to go to the loo. From the corner of your eye, you spotted an orange glow.
Papyrus huddled at the corner of your room. He’s reading one of your encyclopaedias.
You then realised that your dream was not a dream.
Talk about surreal beyond words.
You checked your phone’s clock. It’s been seven hours. Dang. You slept like a log despite the circumstances.
Papyrus noticed you. But, he let you do your business first. Humans need to do what humans do.
Once you returned, you sat down beside him. Asked if he’s okay.
With the softest voice he could muster, Papyrus whispered: “PSST. I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. I GOT REALLY BORED AND SANS IS TAKING HIS SUPER LONG NAP. SO. I USED ONE OF THE ‘SHORTCUTS’ AND SNUCK INTO YOUR ROOM.”
How long had he been here?
“NOT VERY LONG. AN HOUR AT MOST?”
Won’t Alphys freak out if she’s suddenly missing a patient?
“METTATON SAID I CAN GO VISIT YOU IF I WANT.”
Somebody’s gonna be in hot water after this. But eh, Mettaton can charm his way out of that. If not, you could help.
You asked Papyrus what does he need.
The wisps of his still-active Eye flickered when he blinked a few times.
“SOME ADVICE,” he said.
On?
“WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU’RE SUDDENLY BLESSED WITH SCARY AWESOME POWERS THAT’S WAY BEYOND YOUR INITIAL EXPECTATIONS?”
Papyrus tapped the tips of his mittens together, unsure of himself.
“I WAS VERY EXCITED WHEN SANS TOLD ME THAT I CAN MAKE MY OWN SPECIAL CANNONS. I THOUGHT THEY WERE COOL AND POWERFUL, FITTING FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”
“BUT… I DID NOT EXPECT TO PEER INTO STRANGE SPACE-TIME SHENANIGANS. SANS TRIED TO EXPLAIN, BUT I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND.”
“FRISK, YOU ARE A VERY SMART HUMAN. AND YOU ARE MY FRIEND. WILL YOU THINK LESS OF ME IF I CONFIDE IN YOU?”
No way, you said. To you, he will always be the one and only Great Papyrus.
Even strong people need someone to talk to.
“THANK YOU,” he said. He’s happy for a moment.
Then, his face turned downcast with worry. “AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TODAY, I’M STARTING TO FEEL REALLY SMALL AND REALLY LOST. LIKE THAT TIME WHEN THE BIG CORE ACCIDENT HAPPENED.”
Wait. You asked Papyrus if it was the same one that caused a major blackout and shook the mountain.
“YES. THAT ONE. YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT INCIDENT?”
As much as Undyne told you.
“I SEE. YES. SHE HANDLED THAT CASE. MY BROTHER ENDED UP AS THE MAIN SUSPECT OF THE MALFUNCTION. BUT THEY COULDN’T FIND ANY EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM, SO HE WAS RELEASED.”
“…AFTER THAT, SANS CHANGED. A LOT. IT’S SUPER SCARY.”