It is not every day that a tall, loud skeleton walked right up to the front office counter with a slice of pie in hand. Just his presence alone caused everyone to stop and watch.
“Can I help you with anything?” the front office receptionist asked. He’s having a very strange day, right here and now.
Papyrus being Papyrus, answered: “I -- THE GREAT PAPYRUS -- IS HERE TO DELIVER OUR QUEEN’S MOST TREASURED CINNAMON BUTTERSCOTCH PIE!”
“Who are you delivering it to…?”
“MISTER MAGUS!”
“Sorry, but everyone is a Magus here. Do you have a specific name?”
“OH, VERY SORRY! I MEANT JUDGE MEZIL THYME. THE ONE WITH THE FANCY BLACK CANE AND THE RED BUTTERFLY BROOCH. WHO IS ALSO A TSUNDERE PRINCIPAL!”
The receptionist blinked a few times in both shock and bewilderment. The pie-delivering skeleton had just described one of their most important figures. Concerned, he tried to inch his hand below the desk to call for backup.
“I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DON’T TRY TO CALL THESE ‘SECURITY’ PEOPLE,” said Papyrus. “BECAUSE CAUSING A COMMOTION WOULD MAKE MISTER MAGUS VERY UNHAPPY.”
“How’d you know?”
“I JUST HAD A FEELING.”
A very awkward silence lingered between the two.
“Uh, Mister Papyrus. Right?” said the receptionist.
“YES! THE ONE AND ONLY GREAT PAPYRUS!”
“J-Judge Mezil Thyme isn’t in. Please wait at the lobby. The canteen is open until nine at night if you need any refreshments.”
“OKAY!” Papyrus chirped, “THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”
He marched towards the couch and sat down. Even when he’s in one place, he never quite did stop moving. There’s always something to look at: from the grand windows, to the polished stone floors, to the high ceilings, to the humans that surround him.
…The number of young humans standing around had increased exponentially. They kept whispering to each other.
Papyrus noticed that. “HELLO LITTLE AND NOT-SO-LITTLE HUMANS!”
The children shuffled around. Papyrus saw no fear in their eyes. Instead, they were overflowing with sheepish excitement.
One of the senior students stepped out to represent the youth. “S-sir, are you a skeleton from Ebott?”
“YES, I AM,” Papyrus replied.
“Can we… talk to you?”
“OF COURSE!” He beckoned the group over, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS WILLING TO LEND AN EAR! ALTHOUGH I HAVE NONE.”
It’s as though the floodgates opened. They flocked to him without a second thought and swamped him with questions.
Lots of questions.
Too many questions!
Papyrus couldn’t sort through the bubbly mass of sheer curiosity. In the past he would have tried to quell the noise with a whole lot of yelling… But now, a different instinct welled up within him.
He jumped on the couch, turned his SOUL blue, and then somersaulted to the tall windows behind him. He landed right on the glass without causing a single crack.
The pie in his container was glued to the base with gravity magic too. It’s intact despite the grandiose display of acrobatics.
Every person in the lobby and the outer courtyards dropped their jaws, astounded.
Papyrus stood sideways on his boots and crossed his arms. In an irritated tone, he chided the chaos: “HUMANS, THAT WAS VERY RUDE OF YOU. PLEASE ASK ONE QUESTION AT A TIME!”
The whole group of children replied with several versions of ‘Sorry’. All at once.
One of the juniors then suggested, “Maybe we should raise our hands? Like in class. Then he can pick and choose.”
“THAT IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA!” Papyrus brightened up. “SHOW YOUR HANDS, HUMANS. LET THE GREAT PAPYRUS DECIDE!”
He walked down from the window all the way to ground level. This time, the band of youth gave him some space.
“QUESTION TIME BEGINS, NOW!”
Almost everyone raised their hands. Some waved around, others jumped in an attempt to catch the skeleton’s attention.
“HMMMM, THE BOY WITH THOSE HEADPHONE THINGS! WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION?”
The teenager asked, “Are there more magical skeletons like you?”
“YES, THERE’S MY BROTHER SANS! HE WANTED TO CHECK OUT THE LIBRARY. HE’S ABOUT HALF MY HEIGHT, CHUBBY, AND DRESSES IN A BLUE HOODIE. THEN THERE’S MY MOM AND DAD AND UNCLE GASTER! THEIR SITUATION IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT THEY’RE MADE OF BONES JUST LIKE ME.”
“That’s so cool! Okay, I’m done.”
The shenanigans continue. Papyrus noticed a girl in the midst who once raised her hand, but had since dropped it down.
“THE YOUNG MISS OVER THERE,” he pointed square at her direction. “YOU WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION, RIGHT?”
She lowered her head and shrunk into her own self.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“THERE’S NO NEED TO BE SHY LIKE SHYREN. I -- THE GREAT PAPYRUS -- DO NOT DISCRIMINATE!”
Her friends encouraged her to speak up. After some coaxing, she finally asked: “W-why do you call yourself ‘The Great Papyrus’? Is it a title from your people?”
“WHY? BECAUSE I AM GREAT BY DEFAULT!”
“Isn’t that… arrogant?”
“NO, DEAR HUMAN. EVERYONE IS BORN GREAT, WHETHER THEY REALISE IT OR NOT! ONLY WHEN YOU REFUSE TO LEARN NEW THINGS IS WHEN YOU BECOME ARROGANT.”
“But I don’t feel great,” she muttered. “I’m not good at anything.”
In the most gusto and motivational manner, Papyrus said: “THERE’S NO NEED TO ‘FEEL’ GREAT, HUMAN. YOU ONLY NEED TO ‘BE’ GREAT! BEING A GOOD PERSON IS THE GREATEST YOU CAN BE ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!”
A sense of awe swept over the group. The girl lifted her eyes at him. Once downcast, they now sparkled with inspiration.
“Thank you, sir!” she replied.
Papyrus answered more questions. Some silly, some poignant. Adults hung at the back and watched the proceedings with a smile.
One of the adults walked up to the group and said, “It’s late, kids. Time to go home.”
More said the same. They unleashed a big, disappointed ‘aww’ for the good majority of kids. The group started to disperse as they followed their respective grownups. Only a handful stayed behind, which included the first two folks he answered to.
It was then that Papyrus realised he had no idea who these young humans were and where they came from.
“EXCUSE ME,” he asked, “BUT WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE IN MISTER MAGUS’ HEADQUARTERS?”
The remaining youth chuckled at him.
“We’re students,” one said.
“Yup, the next generation of Magi!”
The boy with headphones further explained, “Some of us come from really far away, so we live in the dorms here.”
Papyrus brightened up. “OOOOH! DOES THAT MEAN YOU ALL CAN USE MAGIC LIKE US MONSTERS?!”
They shrugged.
“Monsters are way better than us according to the books.”
“Only the super talented people like Judge Caraway are on the same par.”
“OH I SEE! WAIT. TODAY IS A SUNDAY. SUNDAYS SHOULD HAVE NO SCHOOL, SO WHY ARE ALL YOUR NON-DORM FRIENDS HERE?”
“School events,” the boy answered. “We just had our magic-duelling semifinals. It’s an inter-school sports thing.”
“THAT SOUNDS FUN! SAY, HEADPHONE HUMAN. WHAT MAGIC CAN YOU DO?”
“Me? I’m a Blue Major. Lookie.”
His chest shone in a bright sapphire light. In one hop, the boy managed to jump three times higher than the average human. He then slowed down his fall with the same magic.
Papyrus squealed in delight. “THAT’S SO COOL!”
“No way, man! You’re the cool dude here,” the boy laughed. “You freaking walked on the windows like you’re a spider. I can’t compare with that.”
“THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENTS, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE SEEN A NOT-SO-SMALL HUMAN DO BLUE MAGIC. IT’S AMAZING! ALSO WE HAVE AN ACTUAL SPIDER IN TOWN. HER NAME IS MUFFET.”
Now he’s the curious one. Turning towards the shy girl, Papyrus asked, “WHAT ABOUT YOU, MISS? WHAT’S YOUR MAGIC?”
“I-I’m Green. I’m not very strong though…” she replied. Taking a step back, she demonstrated her powers. With a lot of effort, she conjured a thin pane of green-tinted glass before her.
Papyrus wanted to compliment her efforts. ‘Wanted’ was the word. Before he could do so, a vision flashed past his sight.
The girl he spoke to had glass shards embedded in her arms and her face. Red liquid flowed without cease. Papyrus had learned that humans leaking red was assuredly a bad sign.
He heard her voice echoing from a realm beyond time:
“Evacuate the juniors! I’m going back to escort some more. I-I don’t care if my shields are weak, it’s better than none!”
”More bombs incoming! Run!”
The students stared back, stunned. One of them pointed to their own face and said, “H-hey, Mister Papyrus? Are you okay? Your eye suddenly glowed orange and you look… horrified.”
Papyrus started to shiver. “I-I DON’T KNOW. I’M… I’M GETTING THESE STRANGE VISIONS.”
Illusionary flames engulfed his surroundings. Furniture upturned, windows smashed. Shadows of an angry mob barged through the front door with guns and assorted other homemade weapons.
It’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between the present and the possibilities.
“Papyrus,” said a familiar voice. “Look at me.”
When he turned his head towards that direction, he saw a man who looks like Mezil Thyme. Except, he was much younger. Complete with black hair.
“MISTER MAGUS?” asked Papyrus. “YOU’RE NOT GREY.”
Mezil said: “I know you’re witness to overlapping visions of both the past and future. It’s the curse of those with the Orange Aspect. You will fear, but you will not yield. Seer, I need your courage now more than ever. From your expression it's easy to tell you’ve seen the worst.”
“Remember our lessons. What you’ve seen may never come to pass. Use what you’ve learned to search for the path to the best outcome. Follow it, no matter how strange it may seem.”
Intense fire engulfed the man. They consumed his flesh in a matter of seconds, leaving behind the silhouette of a charred skeleton in the center of the inferno.
Papyrus gasped. “OH MY GOD MISTER MAGUS, YOU HAVE DASHING HANDSOME BONES!!! EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT AS COOL AS I AM, YOU MAKE UP FOR IT WITH SHEER LEVELS OF CLASS.”
The blackened skeleton chuckled: “Is that so? Well, that’s very sweet of you.”
“SPEAKING OF SWEETS, HERE IS YOUR PIE.”
When the tall one offered his gift to Mezil, the visions vanished.
No fire.
No charred skeleton.
No injured humans.
“OH, YOU’RE BACK TO YOUR USUAL GREY SELF.”
“The visions subsided, I see. That’s good. You need proper sight to drive back home.” Mezil accepted the container of pie and inspected it. “Butterscotch cinnamon, hm? She’d love this.”
“What just happened, Judge Thyme?” a student asked.
“Papyrus is a ‘Seer’, one with the power to peer into spacetime,” explained the old Magus. “His cryptic responses may perturb you, but consider it as an opportunity of a lifetime. There’s no telling if you will ever meet a Seer so openly in the future.”
Oblivious to the interaction, the tall skeleton announced the completion of his quest: “PIE SAFELY DELIVERED! WHAT TIME DOES THE LIBRARY CLOSE? WHAT IF MY BROTHER FALLS ASLEEP PAST OPENING HOURS AND THE LIBRARIANS ACCIDENTALLY LOCK HIM INSIDE???”
“About Sans Serif,” said Mezil, “This is a house of education. Let him stay here for the night. He has much to study and much more to learn.”
“BUT, UNDYNE ORDERED US TO STAY HOME BECAUSE OF THE LIGHTNING-HEADS.”
“That’s fine. We’ll take care of his protection.”
“YOU PROMISE?” Papyrus lit up in gladness.
“As long he lets us do so.”
“THANK YOU VERY MUCH MISTER MAGUS! IT’S SOOOO AWESOME TO SEE HIM STUDYING AGAIN AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS OF LETHARGY.”
He then said goodbye to the Magi of both young and old. “STAY WELL, MISTER MAGUS! AND BE GOOD, MY NEWFOUND HUMAN FRIENDS! I’D LOVE TO MEET YOU ALL AGAIN!”
The energetic skeleton dashed towards the stairs so he could descend down to the parking lot. Elevators were far too slow: he had no ‘patience’ to wait. He doesn’t need to use the steps either. All he needed to do was to jump and float down with the power of his magic.
The parking lot felt much like his old Underground home: dark, silent, echoey. It brought a sense of nostalgia that hailed back to his childhood days.
But does he ever want to retreat down there? No. Never.
He's worried for the future. Still, there's always hope.
After Papyrus drove up the ramp to the main road, he had a feeling that he should look toward the sky. There, he spotted a shortcut hovering about fifteen floors off the ground on the east side. Who says that they only exist on ground level?
“THAT LOOKS A BIT HIGH UP, BUT… I ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE!”
He revved up his magic. A thick film of blue light enveloped the red car and it started levitating off the ground.
Before long, he had a crowd of astonished Magi gathering at the bottom. It’s a jaw-dropping display even for those who deal with magic every day. It’s not so much about the feat itself, but its deceptive ease.
On the fifteenth floor, the student dorms, Papyrus saw the young Magi again. They jumped excitedly and waved at him from behind the large glass panes.
Seeing their happiness uplifted his heart more so than his flying car. He lowered the window and hollered back to the kids. “GOODNIGHT TO YOU TOO, HUMANS. REMEMBER: ALWAYS BE GOOD!”
Then off he went onto the highway of spacetime, car and all, toward a future free of tragedy.