#agf!papyrus

Taking advantage of the fact that both human and skeleton were distracted with greasy breakfast, Flowey disappeared on the ground.

The last thing he wanted was to leave them alone with him, but after a week of nothing but jokes and not lethal pranks, he had to make a choice.

And there wouldn’t be much more time, if the determined hue of their eyes this morning was any indication.

~*~

Since he woke up on the true lab, Flowey had to make a lot of hard choices.

Abandoning his name or being guilty of all the events his previous life triggered.

Not meeting his father or being held expectant to what he used to be.

Never seeing his mother or being swallowed by her madness.

Give up on trying to help people or being merciless murdered.

Kill and live or hide and survive.

And after many and many failed resets, he had learned his lesson.

For a long time he had chosen to sneak around the cities, to help just enough so he wasn’t caught. To live just near enough to meet people and preach a more pacific way of life, but distant enough to flee at the first threat.

~*~

“Are You Ok?” the concerned voice had cut through his fear like the sharpened bone sword would cut his vines at any moment now.

It hadn’t yet, that had been last timeline, before he was captured and sent to the labs, this time he dodged the attacks in time. This time the guard looked at him with an expression he hadn’t seen in years.

“You Aren’t Dusting Are You?” The monster looked frantic, abandoning the fight instance, concern and guilt making him lower his guard “I Didn’t Lower Your HP That Much” not that Flowey could do anything to harm him, his pellets were too weak to harm a guard’s HP.

But if he lowered his guard, maybe a surprise attack now would dust him and allow Flowey to escape. He couldn’t go back to the labs, he would do anything to not go back at the labs! He thought about taking the easy betrayal kill, but he knew sooner or later he would regret the idea, and go back to his last save file.

“Your Soul” Flowey stopped, his body going colder than the snow below him “What Happened?” he looked at the new guard, really looked for the first time.

He was a skeleton, instead of eyes he had two holes on his hollow head, dim white lights trembling inside his skull. It was nothing he had seen before, it wasn’t nostalgic, it wasn’t relatable, it wasn’t recognizable in any way… But looking at those fearful eyes, something inside coiled at the genuine show of feeling, even if Flowey couldn’t feel it, he was compelled to say something to the monster in front of him “I’m fine”

“NO! YOU–/” He stopped himself and looked back to where he came from “YOU ARE NOT FINE, I CAN’T SENSE YOUR SOUL” Flowey never thought that shouting and whispering could go together, but the skeleton just proved him wrong.

“I don’t have one” There was no sense in lying, not when he could experience a reaction so genuine from a new monster, he was tired of the same faces.

“You Don’t…”

There it was, the moment of realization where every monster sported an horrified face, and gave him either pity or disgust, he wondered which one of the two his reaction would be.

“FEAR NOT” but the skeleton got on one knee, getting near his height, chest puffed with pride, like a real knight “THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL FIND A WAY TO FIX THIS” and extending his hands he started to heal him.

A guard that was ordered to find him, dead or alive, actually healed him.

And on his magic he could feel, all the kindness and sincerity of his words, not a speck of malice, nor the lingering residue of disinterest of the paid healers, no, this monster wanted to heal him, not because he agreed on a price, but just because he wanted Flowey to be better!

Flowey was capable of healing, he had learned it from his parents. But being healed was so much better…

The feeling… that someone cared… that someone was there for him…

The new monster’s magic spoke more than he could ever describe with a straight face. He would cry, if he still had the ability.

“THE DOCTOR SHOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO” the sentence drowned all the warmth of his chest, or lack of it.

“No, please!” he tried to retreat, startling the monster before him “Not her, anyone but her!” but he was caught on his grip and couldn’t stop trashing “She will cut me open, please!” but he was trapped again, that’s what he got for dropping his guard “Please, don’t let her experiment on me again”

“AGAIN?”

“It’s her fault! I’m like this because of her!”

The lights in his head went out, he was terrifying like that “She… Took Your Soul?”

He wanted to say yes, but he was scared the skeleton could see through his lies, skeletons were powerful monsters, he remembered the stories his mother would tell before he slept.

“She… didn’t build me one”

The silence was palpable.

Neither of them moved.

He wanted to escape of the other’s grip, but it was useless.

His lights were still out.

He didn’t know what to think, and the environment was too charged for him try to say anything without being prompted.

“Cadet!” Came the strong yell, the monster went stiff, getting up abruptly, and Flowey saw himself free, but more trapped than before “What are you doing standing there?!?”

She approached, and he knew that at this distance, if he so much as tried to move she would see him, if he kept completely still the skeleton’s boot gave him the cover he needed.

“FORGIVE ME CAPTAIN!” yelled, body completely stiff “I WAS LOOKING FOR THE FUGITIVE”

“And did you find him?”

“I” that was the moment they sent him to the doctor “COULDN’T FIND A SOUL, CAPTAIN” was… was he covering for him?

She shouted aggressively, hitting the trees behind with spears “What are you waiting here for?! Move!”

“YES CAPTAIN!” he made a symbol with his finger… ‘up’, Flowey climbed his boot. Hiding inside.

~*~

The first person to try to help without knowing him… The first person to still treat him as a monster once he found out he didn’t have a soul.

This memory had been lost in time, many, many resets ago…

Papyrus didn’t need to remember that. No one need to know that. He escaped the lab before the scientist could know of his existence, made a point to avoid Undyne this timeline, and was sure that this timeline neither Papyrus or Sans had the chance of using the blue magic directly on him, and finding out his secret…

This timeline he did everything right… he tried, he really tried to make a difference… but it always got to the same point…

~*~

“But... Papyrus... You are my only friend...”

The lieutenant sighed, not looking at him “YOU ARE MY FRIEND TOO, FLOWEY, Just Not In Public, Ok?”

“But…” no matter what he did, it always came to this.

“NOT IN PUBLIC! I CAN’T BE SEEN HANGING OUT WITH A FREE-EXP!”

He took a brief moment to think, was there anything he hadn’t tried to say? “... No one is going to hurt you for it” he was sure he hadn’t said that one yet, but it seemed to be the wrong choice either way.

“ARE YOU SUGGESTING I AM SCARED?” He was scared of be seen as weak, of becoming a target, everyone in the underground was, and everyone would kill before admitting that.

“I can protect us!” but Flowey had to try.

“HA! YOU SHOULD GIVE MY BROTHER SOME LESSONS ON HUMOR!”

“It’s true!” He didn’t want to lose his best friend.

“YOU CAN’T.”

“I can! I can tell what is going to happen and–/”

“AND I WILL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. OR WILL YOU RETHINK YOUR FOOLISH IDEA OF MERCY?” He didn’t understand, Papyrus didn’t understand what he was asking.

“But no one has to die! If monsters can just–/”

“WOULD YOU KILL FOR ME FLOWEY?” He just didn’t understand… He had killed, and then he hadn’t.

“...” He always reseted after killing, it was just wrong, even Papyrus agreed that if something like this could be avoided, it should be.

“WOULD YOU KILL SOMEONE IF I ASKED YOU TO? IF I NEED YOU TO?” But he was insistent.

“I... could avoid us having to kill them...”

He gave an empty laugh, and Flowey knew he had lost him again.

Like all those other timelines.

“It’s Funny, Because Until Now I Would Kill Almost Anyone For You” Papyrus got up from the rock and walked slowly before turning to him “SEE WHO IS A TRUE FRIEND, AND WHO IS A FILTHY LIAR!”

“Wait, Papyrus!” He tried to follow when the skeleton started to walk, but a bone attack materialized in front of him

“IN THIS WORLD IS KILL OR BE KILLED, FLOWEY! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN UNTIL YOU’VE LEARNED THAT, AND IF YOU STILL HAVEN’T, I WILL MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND!” he threw a wave of bones in front of him, uncomfortably close, and disappeared on the snowy path.

So this time instead of resetting a few days and trying again, like he did so many times he could swear an entire year had passed. This time Flowey left his only friend at his own luck, and went to the Ruins, to talk with the flowers.

He knew no one was listening, but it had become a habit.

He was glad he did, because a human fell the next morning.

~*~

“WHAT IS THIS OBSESSION WITH THE HUMAN?” Papyrus always paced when he was conflicted “FIRST THE DAMNED DOGS CLAIM THEY ARE ONE OF THEM” It was a sign that there was still a chance “THEN MY USELESS BROTHER TAKES THEM TO THAT GREASY TRAP EVERY MORNING” The harsh movements and the agitation were scary, but gave him hope at the same time “THEN YOU COME BEFORE ME ASKING ME TO SPARE THEIR LIFE? HAVE YOU LEARN NOTHING ABOUT THIS WORLD FLOWEY?”

Apparently not, since he was standing in front of the Lieutenant of the Royal Guard, trying to convince him to commit treason and let a human reach Waterfalls.

“I WILL TELL THIS ONLY ONCE, DO YOU WANT THEM TO LIVE?”

He nodded profusely, his leaves were trembling, Papyrus last threat still hanging in the air, only now he couldn’t come back to life if he died.

“THEN DON’T LET THEM FACE ME” His right eye light flared red as he stared directly into Flowey “BECAUSE I WILL KILL THEM AND BRING THEIR SOUL TO THE KING”

“Papyrus...” he was so tall standing in front of him.

“OR BE KILLED TRYING, IN NAME OF ALL MONSTERKIND”

“Please...” standing still…

“I ALREADY WARNED YOU, SO CONVINCE THEM TO STAY IN SNOWDIN OR DECIDE WHICH ONE OF US YOU WANT TO SEE DYING”

“There is another way” Floyey pleaded, but he had seen this end too many times to hope.

“MAKE YOUR CHOICE FLOWEY” and with this the skeleton left.

~*~

Flowey couldn’t make a choice…

It was not his choice to make, not anymore…

And somehow he was glad.

One of the two would die… many, many times… until they gave up.

He just hoped they gave up from the fight, and came back to Snowdin.

He just hoped that they weren’t like him…

That when they got stuck in a challenge too big to surpass, that they didn’t got angry… and striked the enemy down.

They were human, and humans could deliver so much damage when they were angry…

He didn’t want to see it…

He didn’t want to see his sibling’s blood… over and over again staining the snow.

He didn’t want to see his – former, he forced himself to think – best friend’s dust… blowing on the wind, just like any other monster… not even a proper burial…

But even if they did kill him in the end, they would certainly be guilty and try again, right?

They wouldn’t go ahead if they killed, right?

They wouldn’t save over a monster’s death…

They couldn’t…

He…

His leaves were still trembling, even without the eminent danger, if he still had emotions he would think he was scared.

But he wasn’t.

He didn’t have emotions.

He didn’t have a soul.

And if he, who didn’t have a soul, still had the hearth to do the right thing, and not save after killing someone. Then they could do the same.

And if they didn’t?

Well…

He just had to make sure to remind them.

The easy or the hard way.

Luckily for him, he learned a thing or two with past resets.

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Ok, so no new chapter yet, but I'm working on the references for the characters of Agreement.

Until now we have those 3, and please if they look like a mashed up of a few drawings already existent, is because they are!

Since I can’t exactly draw by memory, I tried to use at least 5 different images to compose the rough sketches of each character and then drew the final result over it.

I'll post them individually when they are ready.

“YOU WANTED A PET?!”

If the door being kicked in hadn’t startled Sans awake, the urgent tone in Boss’ sentence would.

It had been a few hours of hanging out on the couch, sleep had been too light and full of tossing and turning, he just couldn’t relax.

Now Boss was back at the house, panting, and he was holding… something.

“YOU HAVE TO FEED IT, AND CLEAN IT, AND TAKE IT ON WALKS” Sans was out of the couch in a blink, making room for the pitiful form in Boss’ arms “AND IF IT GETS KILLED I WILL REMEMBER HOW THOUGHTFUL YOU ARE OF MY GIFTS”

“thought you were gonna kill ‘em” if he didn’t know his brother he would think it was already dead, it hadn’t moved or made a single noise, not when Boss came in, not when he put them on the couch.

“I WOULD BE DISGRACED IF I ABSORBED THE EXP OF SOMETHING SO PATHETIC” they were completely covered in blood, stars, Boss was completely covered in blood, was the kid really even alive?

A quick check showed they still had 1HP, but he knew humans were tricky and sometimes died despite that. So he pressed on.

Being unconscious and so close made it easier, so with a bit of coaching from his hidden powers, Sans saw a glimpse of a quivering, but bright red, soul pulsing underneath their skin.

Heh, Determination, he knew Kindness alone wouldn’t get the job done, it suited their stubbornness.

“LIVING WITH YOU I THOUGHT I WAS PAST THE POINT OF PITY TOWARDS THE USELESSNESS, BUT THIS HUMAN...”

Boss’ hands hadn’t stopped since he got them on the couch, taking the medical kit from below the couch, he tried to put some bandages where they needed the most before start to heal them.

“NO, THE DOGS ARE RIGHT, IT IS JUST A PUPPY!”

Sans didn’t have a clue of where they needed more, everywhere? It looked like they had been used as a pincushion… knowing Boss’ attack patterns, they probably were at some point.

“DISGRACING THE BATTLEFIELD BY REFUSING TO FIGHT, CRYING LIKE A BABYBONES WHEN THINGS DON’T GO THEIR WAY”

But Boss’ movements were quick and precise, if just a bit agitated, so he knew his little bro got it all under control. He was a natural with green magic after all.

“AND THEN CLINGING TO THEIR ATTACKER AT THE FIRST SIGN OF AFFECTION... SUCH PATHETIC CREATURE CANNOT BE ONE OF THE FEARSOME HUMANS, NOT YET... IT MUST BE A PUPPY STILL…”

“so ya spared ‘em” He didn’t miss the word affection thrown in the middle of the ranting, so maybe the kid did make an impression on his brother.

“PUPPIES NEED A SAFE SPACE TO GROW, AND YOU NEED TO LEARN ABOUT RESPONSIBILITIES”

“if ya say so, Boss” He did a good job in containing his proud smile, it warmed his soul to know that even this hellhole couldn’t corrupt his brother’s morals.

“I DON’T JUST ‘Say So’“ He quoted one handed, fingers in the air doing a poor imitation of Sans’ lazy speech, while the other kept itself busy “DOOMFANGER TAKE BETTER CARE OF HERSELF THAN YOU DO! MESSY ROOM, FILTHY CLOTHES, HOW LONG SINCE YOU SHOWERED SANS? YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A WASTE OF SPACE! SO I PLAN TO MAKE SOMETHING USEFUL OUT OF YOUR PATHETIC SELF”

Ignoring the last part was easy, after all Boss cared, he cared enough to try to make it better, how many years had been since his brother talked to him on the same level?

Since the younger outgrew Sans he always made sure that the height difference made itself show, Sans had to remembered that Boss had the metaphoric and literal higher ground, that he could beat him to dust if he wanted to.

But now here he was, kneeling in front of the couch, speaking as an equal.

“THIS IS A GIFT AND A TEST SANS, YOU CAN HAVE A PET TO CARE FOR, BUT” there it was, the softest hint of threat “WHATEVER HAPPEN TO IT WHILE IN YOUR CARE: IT WILL. HAPPEN. TO YOU.”

“got it” Papyrus looked him deep in the eyelights and nodded before resumed to attending the humans wounds.

Sans was once again surprised, nodding like that meant a lot, it was a silent understanding, the closest thing his brother would ever give as reassurance, it meant the one thing they could not give freely in this world, it meant trust.

Obviously, his brother didn’t meant it like that, that kind of nod was something he would only give to Undyne after a particular heated practice as in ‘I know we were trying to dust each other, but i still trust you won’t stab me on the back while I’m too tired to survive it’ it was huuuge, and he must be really concentrated in the healing not to notice he just threw it to Sans like that.

Sans didn’t dare to say another word. He helped his brother move the limbs out of the way, or passed the correct tools as he cared for the small form in their couch.

The kid was a mess, completely unconscious, but they were breathing fast and sweating, like they were still fighting, it was weird, he could swear their skin was paler than usual and was getting… funny when he touched it, like, when his brother told him to hold their arms out of the way, his phalanges left bone prints all over their arms, it took a while after he let go before it faded to their regular color.

He never had to hold their arms before, but he would bet good money that human skin weren’t supposed to behave like this.

Then he noticed something equally concerning.

The was blood staining the couch.

His instincts told him to run, to hide, to blast the thing off before Boss could see it.

He forced himself to calm down, it wasn’t his mess to clean, even so he couldn’t help but to take another look at his brother, kneeled over the human, he was absorbed in the task.

Making sure the wounds were clear of dust or dirt before using green to properly heal, not a word about the mess, and carefully bandaging the affected areas.

Maybe he didn’t notice the stains yet, maybe he was in a much more softer mood than Sans gave him credit for, one way or another it seemed Sans was safe from this particular fight.

They made a pained noise and Boss flinched and stars be damned, that was a look of guilt that glimpsed through his face, heh, so the brat really had grown on him.

Boss stood up, breaking Sans line of thinking, the human was completely healed and bandaged, but still unconscious.

“I HAVE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO ATTEND” Said while accessing the blood on his outfit, disgust wrinkling his nose bone “WHEN I COME BACK I WANT IT TO BE AWAKE AND PROPERLY CHAINED”

“yes, Boss” not a word about the couch.

Standing to his full height he gave Sans another nod and went upstairs. Sans was in awe.

Looking at the small figure still breathing on the couch made his soul feel weird “don’t know how ya did it, kid...” There was no way of completing the sentence, he knew they had just accomplished something, he didn’t even know what it was, but his brother was in a good mood, a caring mood...

He was not dumb enough to question good things.

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They repeated his sentences, as if agreeing with him on everything he said.

They called him ‘Great’ and gave him his well-deserved praise, for his strength, his intelligence and skills.

They smiled as if they were genuinely happy for a chance to fight him.

This was all an act, he knew that.

But where was the evil intent? Why their smile didn’t betray anything more than amusement and hope?

~*~

Red bones, they were sure they’ve never seen red being used against them before. What did red mean?

“Now, that’s what I call impressive!” said with no idea of where to run, he had materialized two rows of white and red bones at the sides of the snowy path “Those bones are twice my size!”

There would be no chance of jumping if the bones were thrown against them. And half of them were red. They knew they had seen red before, the when was blurry and the shapes spoke of a hard earned ability, but since they didn’t have a clear image of it, they had no idea what it actually did to an enemy, or how to proceed.

Avoid it.

Yep, they knew that much, but it didn’t help.

Just avoid it.

They were trying to, but something told them they would find out real soon whether they intended it or not.

“FLATTERY WON’T SAVE YOU, HUMAN” he spat the last word, like an insult. It probably was and insult down here, just like ‘monster’ was an insult up there.

The old war was forgotten, along with monsters and magic, but the language kept alive part of a culture they rather had been forgotten.

And just like then, human and monster were face to face once again...

Actually, face to rib bones, they were under no false impression about their own height.

Papyrus stood tall on the other side of the battlefield, black polished armor, red cape flying with the strong wind, with a flurry of his hand, all the bones were thrown in their direction.

They dodged as they could, and when they had to choose between being squished by a white and a red bone, they chose the white.

The magic vanished on the impact, causing them another 6 of damage, that was almost the rest of their life, but hey, thanks to the hit they phased through the last few bones without taking any damage.

“What are the red ones supposed do?” they asked while he summoned more bones, albeit in a much more jumpable size.

Although, it was much too soon to sound so happy. The way the bones were flying over his head, sharp side pointing at them, they bet those wouldn’t be for jumping.

“KILL YOU” he wasn’t much for a conversation today.

“Instantly?!” they asked alarmed, he had no reaction “Or like, damage me until they kill me?” but at least he was holding up and allowing them to talk in between his attacks “I thought that was what the white ones did”

“THEY ARE ALL SUPPOSED TO KILL YOU” he hadn’t spoken much before the battle either, just proclaiming he would kill them and going straight to the point.

The bones flew down on them, sharp and fast, white and red’s alike. If he wasn’t going to answer them, and they had no more HP to keep getting answers from him, they might as well find out for themselves.

Dodging a white one, they let themselves be hit by a red bone.

Big mistake.

Their chest was pierced, they couldn’t breathe.

They fell to their knees, not realizing all the other bones vanished, all but the one buried between their ribs.

They should have dodged that.

But curiosity killed the cat.

The next gulp of air sounded wrong, with each new stretch of their attempt breathing pulling the damaged area. They grabbed it, but the bone wouldn’t vanish, and their hands had no strength to pull it off.

They saw red boots approaching on the snow, without a word he summoned more bones, directly under them, and everything went dark.

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With ragged breaths they looked at the star in front of them.

Flowey had just been gone, then they took advantage of a saving star they found on the path, and here they were.

They hadn’t been naïve to think they would survive the first try, they knew it was a lost battle, maybe because of it they taunted Papyrus a bit more than necessary.

He got mad when they didn’t took the fight seriously, summoning the red bones after a particular bad pun…

The red bones.

Unlike the normal ones, didn’t dissipate when they hit, they seemed to have more matter in them, and they hurt more than the white ones too.

It didn’t cost them their HP, since their soul hadn’t shattered immediately, but did actual damage directly to their body, what was a lot worse in a fight… specially for a human…

They had to avoid them at all costs.

…

Not much of an improvement from the knowledge they had in the first attempt, but they would have to make do with this bit of information.

The second attempt, they took it seriously.

They talked about how they viewed underground, and Snowdin, how they found people there that could be trusted and that only needed a little bit of kindness to be better.

They talked about how Monster Kid only wanted someone to talk to. How generous the Innkeeper had been when they first arrived. And the Shopkeeper that made them promise that if they ever were targeted by any adult, they would talk to the guard.

They talked about how they could have hope, of being better, how monsters deserved to live in a world where you could trust each other, where you could live peacefully.

Of how, the only way to teach them this, was by example.

They talked, and talked, and died and talked some more.

“So I will not fight you” said as they jumped more white bones.

He always let them talk between his turns, but in the last 15 attempts hadn’t said anything in return.

“I will keep sparing you until you give up” They knew the attack patterns by now, it was the only reason why they still had enough wind to talk.

But unlike the first try, he never once listened.

“Even if you hit me, even if I bleed” they speed through orange attacks.

He kept his frown and his head down, letting them catch their breath and spend what would be their short turn talking.

“Because I know you are still in there, Pap” they barely said the nickname before once again, was his turn to attack.

He summoned rows and rows of bones, they didn’t falter.

“I believe in you, I know you can do better”

White and orange bones. Tall, sharp and fast.

“I know that there is still good in you”

He turned their soul blue, it was tiring, but they kept moving, kept talking to him.

“I know you just want to do the right thing”

But even if he killed them, it was different from the first timeline they fought. In the ones were they talked what their soul was full of, he hadn’t summoned a single of his red bones.

This had to mean something.

He was listening.

They could get through him.

“I know that in another place, another time I might have been, we might have been... friends… and as much as you don’t believe it now, we still can!”

“ENOUGH!” his shout snapped through the air with so much anger that the ripple of intent alone shut them up.

All his bones vanished, his posture changed, and he summoned a single red bone, a some sort of rapier, he grabbed it so tight they could hear cracking noises.

Their soul constricted painfully in their chest, but not because of the blue magic, no, that had been dispelled with the rest of his bones.

It was the sight of their proud friend, hunched over himself, baring his teeth like a wounded animal.

They wanted nothing more than run in his direction and hug him. But just like a wild animal, his sight alone caused a primitive kind of fear to crawl down their spine.

They were glad they didn’t move closer, because not a second later, for the first time in all of their journey through the underground, they experienced what true killing intent felt like.

“WHAT KIND OF FOOL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!” he growled, right eyelight glowing a threatening red “PREACHING MERCY TO OTHER MONSTERS? TRYING TO SEDUCE ME WITH FRIENDSHIP?” he puffed his chest, taller than ever, presence suffocating “WELL I HAVE ONE LESSON FOR YOU, HUMAN” he charged his magic, their ears rang, goose bumps warned them of the danger that permeated the air “IN THIS WORLD... IT’S KILL” numerous bones arose around them “OR BE KILLED...” all of them red.

They couldn’t say a single word now, it was his turn.

“SHOW SOFTNESS AND YOU ARE WEAK”

It was like he was struggling to talk, like the words had been memorized and repeated to exhaustion.

“BE KIND AND YOU BECOME A TARGET”

Even if they came out smoothly, every sentence carried pain and hurt and misery of a whole lifespan.

“PLEDGE FOR MERCY AND YOU ARE AS GOOD AS DUST!”

Of a soul beaten up times and times again, until it hardened.

“SPARE...” he closed his eyes, a bit longer, he opened them with a cold and unreadable expression “AND YOU WILL BE BEATEN TO DEATH WHILE FORCED TO WATCH YOUR LOVED ONES SUFFER FROM A WORSE FATE THAN YOURS”

They could sense something materializing above them, but they couldn’t take their eyes from the desperate monster in front of them, their whole body was trembling, eyes watering from the sheer emotion on his magic.

“SO DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME ABOUT FRIENDSHIP AND MERCY!” the words were coated with spite and malice, their soul shuddered “I REFUSE TO LOWER MY DEFENSES LISTENING TO ANY OF YOUR LIES! SO SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!”

That... they couldn’t start to imagine what he’s been thought, what both brothers been through, nor did they had the time.

Papyrus was vicious, ready to attack with more bones than they could even see, and a familiar charging humming sound had started, one that send another shiver down their spine, they closed their eyes and with all the Determination they could muster, shouting from the deep within their soul.

The only thought on their mind, the only wish in their heart.

“I will not give up on you!”

They felt the golden energy wash over them fixating this point in time, then their arms were pierced and a hot agonizing pain ate all their lower torso and legs, it quickly faded to numbness and a black screen where a golden light reflected on bright red eyes.

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Brown eyes shining a golden light shot open the moment the world shifted back, only to be greeted with the vision of two giant skulls and a myriad of sharp bones.

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Brown eyes shining red and gold shot open, paralyzed with the fear of the massive mandibles charging a wave of raw magic.

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Shining brown and red eyes shot open seeing a golden hall and giant skulls, shut them quickly trying to regain the control of their mind.

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Shining red eyes shot open, keeping the focus on the ground and testing a step to the side, too slow.

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In their head the feet moved even before the world shifted back, first step, second step, pierced in the stomach by two bones then another through the neck, they could do this.

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Dodging all the attacks they were ready to act, they would convince him this time.

They barely caught a breath to speak, another wave of bones rose from the ground, piercing them.

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They had no time to say anything else.

They couldn’t fail.

Repeating the same hard learnt pattern, they dodged the attacks, to Papyrus’ surprise, taking minimal damage to their body in the process.

This was it.

They couldn’t fail!

When he summoned the last wave of bones they closed the distance, using every technique they’ve learned in training, they dodged the attacks, rolling on the ground, using the impulse to get up and past him, using the momentum to kick the back of his knee, and grabbing his arms behind his back, in a jump kneeling his torso, using all their weight to throwing him face first into the ground.

He trashed as expected, but they quickly pressed his spine with their thighs, using their feet to stop his legs from regaining balance. They applied every ounce of weight they had in securing his arms, bending them as far they would go and then a little further, they could not waste this chance!

A grunt of frustration was muffled by the snow that now filled his mouth, he had failed trying to get away, therefore, lost a turn trashing.

And that’s what they were waiting for. He on the ground, at their mercy, they felt victorious. Proudly choosing the options.

*MERCY

*Spare

*The human is sparing you.

There was a calm moment... before a wave of bones formed, shooting aimlessly over them.

“Stop that!” angrily shout at Papyrus, but he made no mention of calling the attack off “I’m sparing you!”

Another wave, closer, a piercing pain shoot through their leg, one of the red bones for sure, while fresh blood painted the snow, they watched helpless as one of the bones hit, centimeters from their eyes, cracking his own humerus, the broken bone leaked red marrow making Papyrus grunt in pain.

“Stop! You are hurting yourself!” They pleaded, and when another bone hit them on their side they refused to feel the pain! Working hard to hold him while disconnecting their mind from the bone causing them pain. And that’s when they heard... something…

‘you gotta block the magic flow, bro’ echoed the memory of water, shadows and light ‘being filled by a constant stream of raw energy on your magic lines is natural for monsters, like the oxygen filling the lungs is for humans’ whispered quietly ‘LIKE THIS, BROTHER?’ ‘NGAHHH!!!’ a gloved thumbs up ‘yep, you got it bro’

They faded back to reality. Below them his arm was broken, above them the rumble of a blaster. Determination.

Their left hand was now free, they held his neck, grabbing it with enough force to lift his face from the ground, one single thought in mind.

Suffocate.

The buzzing sound faded as the gagging sound rose, the attacks called off.

Skeletons didn’t need to breathe, thankfully.

‘Immobilize’ was their intent, and with all that determination and physical matter pressing his bones, their intent made itself clear to his magic. They took a deep breath.

“It’s over Papyrus, you don’t need to fight anymore”

*The human is sparing you.

With that arm around his neck, his magic was not answering to his call anymore, and with his only free arm broken, it was impossible to attack.

“NEVER!”

So he acted.

Struggled, grunted and tried to bite, moving his legs, making it too hard to keep holding, his broken arm flailed uselessly on the ground, nicking at his HP at each move, they couldn’t let go of his neck to grab it, or he would certainly be able to kill both of them with aimless bones.

His marrow covered the snow, their blood covered the snow, they were scared his HP would get to zero so they held his other hand tighter, putting more pressure in his back.

*The human is sparing you.

Hot pain, cold snow, their muscles ached at each move of the skeleton, but they refused to let him go.

*Papyrus is struggling.

“STOP SPARING ME!” His HP kept dropping at each struggle.

*The human is sparing you.

*Papyrus is struggling.

“Why?” whispered hugging him tight, hiding their head on his hard bones, harsh movements bruising their cheeks.

*The human is sparing you.

*Papyrus is struggling.

“Why don’t you accept mercy?”

*The human is sparing you.

*Papyrus is struggling.

“What this world did to you?!”

They screamed angrily against his back, making him flinch and stop struggling.

“Where is the one who believe that everyone could be good? Where is the one who would offer his trust with open arms?”

They couldn’t help but burst into tears, frustration and loss gripping at their very soul.

“Where is that sweet skeleton that would try his best to help everyone, that would do everything he could to care for his friends? What did this corrupted world did to the brightest soul?”

Their grip faltered, body shaking with each shed tear.

“That would forgive even the most... terrible of crimes?”

They could not control their breathing anymore.

“That would care for... for the evilest being if they were ready... ready to change...”

They laid limp, rocked only by sobs and by Papyrus rising to his feet, he made no move of attacking, accessing the damage on his arm instead.

From teary eyes they looked up at the blur that was their friend, red scarf blowing in the wind “Why?”

And the world faded black.

______________________

First

Last

He was stress cleaning, putting too much strength on the balcony, trying to get rid of a dark spot that never really managed to get properly clean.

Normally that sight alone would be enough to Sans make himself scarce for the rest of the day.

More concerning than that… Boss was in full armor.

It was past lunch, he either just got here from nightshift and was so incredibly stressed he had to clean before even eating…

Or he was about to leave for work, but too stressed to get out of the house without leaving everything spotless.

Sans would be an idiot if he as much as breathed near Boss in the state he was in.

Sans was an idiot, tenfold.

“Boss… ‘s just a free-EXP… ‘s still on stripes...” a stupid kid that would get hurt from too much pepper on their burger, but ate it anyway.

“SHUT UP, SANS!” he didn’t stop to look at him, still keeping himself busy “DO YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?”

Boss’ cellphone signaled a warning light, someone was walking from Snowdin to Waterfall, Sans cursed himself internally, he knew they looked too focused today, his brother looked up and dismissed the notification, cleaning the darkened spot even more vigorously.

“I HAVEN’T ATTACKED THEM YET, HAVE I?” he could bet Boss already knew who that notification was about “THEY WERE WALKING AROUND THE TOWN VERY MUCH ALIVE FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK LAST I’VE HEARD”

“and they’ve been good”

He had been watching them, as his brother told him to, they had just eaten breakfast on Grillby’s and traded jokes, like every day for the past week, they were good, he had nothing bad to report, not even a petty crime or a single encounter gone wrong.

“didn’t hurt a single–/”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Papyrus turned fully to him with a deep scowl, with the uniform on, the height difference between the brothers more apparent than ever.

“s-sorry Boss” he wanted nothing more than to teleport to his room, to look away and make himself smaller, but he knew he had to stay where he was and keep looking at his brother’s eyelights. For the good or for the bad.

“I WANT TO HEAR NOTHING OF THIS” it was Boss that broke the stare when he started to pace around “I’M A ROYAL GUARD, THE KING IS COUNTING ON ME TO NOT LET ANY HUMAN PASS SNOWDIN” his angry steps were loud and his fists were clenched “IF THEY FACE ME I WILL KILL THEM, AND BE THE HERO THAT BROUGHT THE SEVENTH SOUL TO FREE ALL MONSTERKIND!” Sans didn’t doubt it “CAN’T YOU BE HAPPY FOR ME SANS?” Papyrus turned again to him, an air of disappointment with a hint of hurt that he tried to hide behind all the rage “WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TRY TO SABOTAGE ME?”

“that’s not…” he would never, ever do anything to sabotage Boss.

“DON’T YOU WANT ME TO SUCCEED?”

“I do…” with all his soul.

“THEN WHY ARE YOU NOT CHOOSING MY SIDE?” he stomped the ground “BUT THE SIDE OF THE ENEMY? A HUMAN OF ALL THINGS! THE ONE THAT TRAPPED US ALL HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE” he was pacing again, now with wide arm movements.

“I ain’t allying to the humanity, Boss” he flinched a bit when one of the hands passed too close to his direction, but Boss was just walking “ ‘s-‘s just this one little kid... ‘s not their fault...they weren’t even born! ‘nd they not just a free-EXP, they’re… good… kind…” They remember him of little Boss, how he used to be.

Refusing to fight because he thought that was the right thing to do, striving to making friends, even if the other kids treated him with disrespect, little by little making the people of Snowdin trust him.

He felt his brother’s eyelights piercing the back of his skull, careful, attentive, thoughtful. He had to have noticed the semblance too, maybe it would matter, maybe just a little.

His brother had stopped pacing around the room.

The silence was deafening.

Slowly, he heard him walking closer.

“ARE YOU ON MY SIDE OR ON THEIRS?” Sans turned immediately, looking his brother straight on the eyelights.

“on yers, always” he said without a hint of doubt or hesitation.

“I WILL KILL IT, SANS, DO YOU HEAR ME?” the look on his face, Boss had made his mind.

“yes, Boss” and when he did, there was nothing Sans could say that would change it.

“ARE YOU ON MY SIDE?” Boss eyed him, tauntingly “WILL YOU FIGHT FOR ME?” he knew the answer “WILL YOU KILL FOR ME, SANS?” for all the stars, he had to know the answer.

“course, Boss” he would, always, no matter what “ya never have to ask me that”

His brother always would come first. There was nowhere to run, if Boss told him to kill the kid, no promise would stop him from tearing them apart.

At least if he did it, it would be quick, old gal had to forgive him… or not...

It’s not like he wasn’t used to losing friends over impossible decisions like this one, that’s just how things were on the underground.

“GOOD” with that single word a weight was lifted from Sans soul, Boss knew, he knew Sans would always have his back, he closed his eyes in both relief and resignation.

Now was the moment Boss would make him prove himself useful by–/

“STAY ON THE HOUSE” what? “YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE THIS COUCH UNTIL I COME BACK” Papyrus walked to the door, leaving him behind, confused and uncertain.

“ya don’t want me to...” Boss knew, right? He knew Sans would do it. That he wouldn’t screw this up on purpose.

“IF YOU SO MUCH AS MOVE” his gloved hand gripped the door with so much pressure the wood creaked “I WILL PUNISH YOU, AM I CLEAR?”

“yes, Boss” with a final glare the door closed shut. Sans laid on the couch… welp… “I’ll just lay around...”

At least it would make his job easier, he didn’t want to kill the human, seemed a nice kid, even liked puns… it was a waste… but there was nothing he could do. Once Boss put something on his mind there was no way out of it.

He closed his eyes, now it was the perfect time for a long nap, maybe by the time he woke up his brother would be a hero and they would be crossing the barrier… Maybe he would be happy then.

Sounded like a nice dream.

~*~

“Didn’t you want to talk with MK a bit more?” Flowey asked, hoping the question would slow them down “It seem like the two of you are this close to becoming friends”

“I did my best, and honestly, I think every time we talk I do something that makes them hate me a tad more”

“That’s just for appearances” they were getting close to crack them “I know them, you are doing a good job, just need more time”

“Well, thank you” they looked pleased for the praise, as he expected, but quickly amended “but I spent too long on daily quests, have to go back to the main quest sooner or later”

“So” ignoring the weird way they phrased that sentence he continued “You know Dogamy? I’m pretty sure I saw him training how to do the pet thing you show them, I bet with a little practice you could teach him how to pet!” the way he made a paw movement on the air when he thought no one could see him and looked at whatever direction his mate was, it looked like he was gathering courage to attempt something.

“That’s awesome!” they got excited, as expected, time to his next move.

“So why don’t you go to their post and encourage him?” he offered, but their expression fell.

“That’s like, the opposite direction, you know” they said, using both of their hands to pointing to the directions, like he didn’t know what ‘opposite’ meant! They would drive him insane.

“Who is gonna teach him then?” He tried to remain calm.

“He is a good dog, he will figure it out” that would get him nowhere, he had to think about something a little less – he knew what.

“How was your lunch with Sans?” He wasn’t fond of the shorter skeleton, but they were “Did he tell any joke?” it had been a pain in the ass going all the time to Grillby’s and having to hear the two stupid talking.

They laughed without a care in the world “Of course!” the only reason he didn’t convinced them to miss the encounters was because the skeleton was providing them food, he was probably in charge of watching them, and found an excuse to be at Grillby’s at the same time “Is Sans we are talking about”

“So you like his jokes” the two didn’t talk about anything else, just the dumb jokes. He guessed this was motive enough for the skeleton to want them alive, he didn’t have any friends that didn’t want to kill him, he must think the human is safe enough to just enjoy their company.

“They are a bit heavy, but nothing I can’t take, he is really good at making me relax. And the food” they moved their arms excessively, making the boot sway “Ah, the food! Almost, very close to a perfect burger, if there was only a way to take the pepper off! But Sans said that the ingredients are spicy and not just the sauce” they loved their food, he could use that.

“Aren’t you excited to eat there tomorrow?” that did make them stop walking.

They looked at him confused “I won’t” again pointed to where they were going “We are going to be in Waterfalls tomorrow, I can’t just go back for lunch”

When he didn’t answer they just went back to walking again.

They were way past the brother’s house.

The snow was starting to fall heavier.

“Put me down”

They startled, immediately crouching and putting the boot on the ground.

“Sorry, did I say something?” they were worried “I didn’t meant to” so annoying…

“Why are you apologizing?” he knew how he sounded, he didn’t care.

“Because you look like you are going to disappear again”

They weren’t wrong.

He sighed heavily, thinking how he could say this in a way that they would listen.

He didn’t have his power anymore, he only had one chance at this conversation… maybe he could start with that?

“Look” he never had been honest with them, maybe this could work “This… power you have…” they had never asked either, it had been easy to ignore the subject.

He had never asked why they had never asked… someone had to come clean at some point.

“Before you fell down, I could save and reset, just like you do” just like he wished he could do right now “But apparently there can only be one person with this power at the time, so, now you have it” he looked them in the eyes.

They were listening very closely, none of the usual reverie, their eyes were focused and a bit too intense for his taste, but at least he knew that they were not going to get lost on their thoughts right now.

“My point is” how he put that in the right words? “There is just so much you can die before… a part of you breaks”

“You’re worried about me?” the usual softness of their voice was absent, their expression still unusually serious, if not a bit surprised.

He turned to look at them angrily “Can you let me speak?” he didn’t like when they were being weird “I don’t interrupt you so much when you are taking forever to say a simple sentence!”

They lifted their hands in submission “Ok, take your time” their smile softening their expression.

He huffed, he didn’t have time for this “My point is, you are too stupid to change your mind, but you don’t have a choice! It will happen whether you want it or not” he pointed a leaf to the ground “I’ve been here before you” then to their face “I’ve done what you are trying to do” then to his stem “and I can tell you”

They had to listen to him.

“I know Papyrus! And there is NO WAY” he yelled to make a point “he lets you walk to Waterfalls. He knows you are a human, he knows where you’re going, he will kill you” the last part he said slowly, with all the weight the information deserved “You have three options here”

He tried to mimic their antics, to see if at least this way they would understand. He didn’t had fingers to lift, but he had vines, and the ability to control them. He usually only used two, but to make a point he could make a third one.

He extended his right vine, and made sure it grew in three different directions, extending it in front of them, like a hand.

With effort he made only one of the extensions drop. It was the opposite of what they did, lifting their fingers, but it was easier than having the vines grow at will.

“One, you can reset, all the way from when you first fell, so, when you leave the ruins, he don’t find out you’re a human”

Their face scrunched at this one “And make Mom forget us? Make her miserable all over again? Absolutely not”

He dropped the second vine, this time having to concentrate to keep the last one up “You can go another time, when we know he is busy and can’t confront you”

“He is always ready, you said it yourself” He was, he hadn’t left the path unattended since they got here, he had even switched the training sessions to times they were usually asleep or resting.

“You can calm down a bit and avoid him” he dropped the final vine, retreating it to his stem “Find another way to get there, like, all the ways I suggested before” they were bound to find the Riverperson at some point, they just had to wait for some monster to take the ferry, no one liked to go on that boat alone, so the chanced they would be killed were minimal.

“Flowey, I know is difficult to understand, but I know I have to do this, I have to face him, or I won’t be able to free all monsters”

“You stubborn idiot. He will kill you!”

“I can take it” they foolishly insisted.

“He won’t let you pass” he didn’t want them to do this.

“I’ll find a way” but they didn’t care.

“I know you will!” he didn’t want to be in this position “But will you do whatever it takes to get there?” Why did he had to choose?

“Of course!” and that right there was the problem…

Talking was useless now “Then I’ll meet you on the other side” they were overconfident, they wouldn’t believe unless they saw it for themselves.

“Why are you so heartbroken over this?” They looked like someone that cared, they didn’t, he knew they didn’t “You know me, you’ve seen me doing this since the Ruins” If they cared about what he wanted they would listen to him, like he told them to “I’ll be fine”

“I know”

They would ‘be fine’.

“I know you, maybe better than yourself” He knew their soul could be strong under the right motivation “And that’s why I know that whatever I say, you’ll still walk out there to fight him anyway” strong and stubborn.

“And I’ll get to Waterfalls, and the barrier, and free all monsters no matter what” he mimicked their sentence, mouthing every word, he had heard them saying this since day one. They stopped when they noticed, he used this moment to talk again.

“And I’m not heartbroken” he was impassive, he literally felt nothing “I just…” but that didn’t mean he had to like what would happen next “Don’t want to see” they just didn’t know enough of this world to understand it, like he did, he smiled weakly, not looking at their attentive eyes “my best friend dying”

“I’ll be fine”

“I know” there was no relief on his admission, again he wasn’t able to change the outcome “I’ll wait for you on the tall grass”

______________________

First

Last

Waking up by the Snowman’s side was the closest they got to a well-rested night, the snow barricade helping them keep the heat within, hugging the old boot, their brother coiled safely on their sweater.

They were in such a good mood they could almost fall right back to sleep, wasn’t for the light that now illuminated the snow. A gentle awakening.

Today was a good day, they could feel it.

Their stomach growled loudly, despite being right next to it, Flowey didn’t woke up, just stirred a bit. They would know if he did woke up, he always grumbled in the mornings, they would offer him coffee if they didn’t know for a fact that he preferred tea.

Not that they had any, but it was the thought that counted.

Quickly, they grabbed a candy, letting the flavor melt in their tongue and feeling the healing magic work its way into the frostbites. It wasn’t enough to satiate their hunger, nor had the vitamins and minerals every human needed. But it was magic, and it had enough energy to keep them going for an entire day, so not much different than surviving on junk-food.

And…

Ok… so maybe they didn’t think things through…

Looking at their inventory, the only edible items were a single donut, relish and mustard, so basically, they had enough food for tomorrow, and condiments for two days more.

Ketchup they liked. They saw no problem in eating it from the bottle, the taste and smell were familiar and weirdly calming. Mustard they liked a little bit, but only when mixed with something sweeter. And relish, well they didn’t relished it.

Bidding the now happy Snowman good bye, and touching the saving star for good luck and a bust of energy, they went South, back to the original path, then East, to Snowdin Town.

He was safely tucked on the boot, below their, now dry, sweater. He had worked so hard yesterday, they had no idea when they went to sleep, but it must have been after midnight, maybe four a.m.? Well, no way to know for sure, the phone had discharged yesterday.

It was a good thing he had a fluorescent mushroom, what brought the question, wha–/

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/– aaat?

They were standing in front of the star.

Flowey stirred.

They panicked, freezing in place.

“And stay safe!” shouted a joyful voice on the back.

The Snowman, of course. They turned around and waved, they didn’t shouted back like last time, Flowey hadn’t almost wake up last time.

And more important…

Why?

It was quick.

It was painless.

But they had died…

If Flowey had been awake he would chastise them about being distracted, and that it was kill or be killed, and they were an idiot for dying like that…

And a double idiot for doing it all again.

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Oh!

They saw it now.

Flowey stirred again, this time mumbling a little, but went still soon after.

“And stay safe!” shouted the Snowman, they bid him goodbye and started walking, now with renewed care.

The path to Snowdin had traps, not puzzles, like actually bear traps, giant metal traps.

It was big enough for it to end on their chest, they must have been pierced through the heart last time by one of the spikes, that’s why they didn’t even remember it, it had been too quick.

They had to be careful, they scanned the path for irregularities that could indicate the triggers, and poking the suspicious ones with a stick, they walked slowly, trying to memorize where the traps had been.

One missed step and they heard the metal sound of the device, out of reflexes their arms shot upwards and they tried to duck.

But the metal crunched their skull like a dry roasted peanut.

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That had not been a completely bad idea.

Crouched as they were, it was right on the head. No immediate pain, quick. Strong enough to cut right through. And in that height it avoided Flowey completely.

“And stay safe!” they made a sign with their hand and went back to the path, remembering every trap they had passed until now.

And avoiding to step on the new ones, still unknown to them.

They didn’t saw this one.

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Welp, those traps were very well placed.

But not enough to stop them!

They did everything and again and it looked like the field was clear now.

Looking before them the snow hadn’t been moved at all, behind them laid the traps they successfully avoided. On their arms the boot, with the precious cargo safely grabbing their sweater, he stirred and yawned, mumbling something.

* Dodging all the traps all by your own, fills you with determination.

“What are you so determined about at this hour?” his voice was full of sleepiness while he crawled to poke his head through their collar, they contained their giggliness as he looked around “Where is the Snowman?” they looked as his face morphed from curiosity to surprise and them turn to them mimicking irritation “Are you stupid? You could have died!”

They did, but he didn’t have to know that “I passed all the traps on my own, aren’t you proud?” they continued walking smiling victoriously.

“Proud of what?” he said with a hint of mocking to distract them from the slightly upwards curve of his mouth “You should have woken me up! What if you died?”

“What if I died?” they asked teasingly.

“You…” he held his head on his leaves growling a little “stupid human” and turning back at the path, all sleepiness gone “Next time wake me up”

“Ok” only if he was well rested though.

“I’m serious! Those traps are dangerous, you don’t–/”

“IT SEEMS” the loud voice caught both of their attention “THE HUMAN SURVIVED THE TRAPS” Papyrus was standing on the path, only twenty meters from them, how he got so close without them noticing was a mystery “LOOKS LIKE IT ISN’T COMPLETELY CLUELESS”

“Hi Papyrus!” they waved energetically, it had been almost a week without seeing him, it was nice seeing a familiar face, even if said face was scowling at them “Those were your traps, weren’t they? They were really hard to see, almost caught me, but I dodged them all! Even Flowey is proud of me!”

“Shut up” he said quietly instead of the shouted ‘I am not!’ they were expecting, they turned to look at him, but a silhouette behind them caught their attention.

“he is, isn’t he?” Sans was less than a meter between them and the traps, they were surrounded.

“Don’t move” Flowey said serious “And let me do the talking, and we may survive this” he looked at them meaningfully and they understood. If he failed, they would do the talking next time.

Sans laughed behind them “shoulda gone back when ya could” they turned to him, but a loud noise quickly made them look back at Papyrus, that was as close now as his brother.

“SHOULDN’T TURN YOUR BACK TO YOUR ENEMY, HUMAN”

“You’re not my enemy, P–/” a leaf muffled their mouth, right, he was supposed to do the talking this time.

“Papyrus” Flowey started meekly “Papyrus, I–/” but the loud skeleton interrupted him.

“I THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS” He put a hand on his chest in a grand gesture “HAVE DECIDED TO GRANT THE HUMAN THE HONOR TO TRY ONE OF MY PUZZLES, SANS ESCORT IT” and he turned his back to them, maybe he didn’t considered them an enemy after all.

“ok Boss” a hard poke on the back startled them.

“Ouch” they protested, the skeleton only smiled.

“too slow” he poked again.

“Ouch, stop it” they walked faster, trying to put some distance between them and his pointy fingers, approaching Papyrus.

“Stop making noise” whispered Flowey “You are lucky Papyrus is fair and believes in rewards”

“So you do think I deserve a reward for dodging the traps?” they tried to tease, but he was still tense, looking at the monster in front of them.

Papyrus walked very quietly for a monster his size. One would think that with those big red platform boots his steps would be loud, but the one making noise was Sans and his untied sneakers.

And by the way, why the extra height? He was already a giant! Must be bigger than 2 meters tall, even if they extended their arm, they were still smaller than him.

“IT IS A COMMONLY FORGOTTEN FACT” they walked a bit slower, in their eagerness to guess his height, they had gotten quite near his back “BUT ANY MONSTER THAT OBSTRUCTS THE ROYAL GUARD DUTIES IS GUILTY OF TREASON” what?

Flowey held them tighter, was Papyrus threatening him? That wasn’t good. They didn’t like it at all.

“SENTENCED TO LOSE ALL POSSESSIONS AND TITTLES” he kept going, unconcerned about the repercussion “PLUS FIFTY YEARS IN PRISON OR A WEEK OF TORTURE ON THE KING’S DUNGEON”

They heard a bitter laugh on their shoulder “Or? Does a traitor get to choose? How merciful our king”

Those sentences were horrible! Fifty years? Torture? Why were they talking so casually about this? This was so wrong! A vine pressed their shoulders, Flowey was looking at them, he understood their struggle. It was his father’s rules after all.

“MERCIFUL INDEED” They couldn’t see his face, and he walked too fast for them to outrun… unless they started to actually running, what sounded like an easily misinterpreted action “CAPTURING HUMANS AND FREEING US ALL IS THE PRIMAL DUTY OF THE GUARD. IT SHOULD BE HIGH TREASON INSTEAD”

“Is there a difference?” Curiosity peaked in his voice, even if it was a threat, he appeared to be calmer than before.

“about this much” Flowey turned to look, they did it too.

“That doesn’t seem much” Flowey was faster and beat them to it, San’s fingers were almost touching.

“yea, go figure, they separate yer head from yer neck just this much” suddenly the small gap seemed to be huge “and people go screaming bloody murder”

He stopped.

They didn’t.

They collided with Papyrus’ back.

“Sorry” quickly apologized, but the taller’s attention wasn’t in them.

He was slightly trembling, which was odd, his piercing gaze, and somehow bigger scowl, directed at his brother. Sans in turn was paralyzed, his eyes never left Papyrus’ face, but eyelights were dim, like he was expecting something horrible to happen.

“We are lucky no one here is obstructing anything” Papyrus turned to Flowey as he spoke, then to his brother and resumed walking.

“GOOD” said gravely with his back turned to them, they felt like Flowey had just avoided a situation here, but couldn’t quite put their finger on what or how it happened. For now they should just trust him.

“that includes no cheating on the puzzle, Weed” they could hear him on their back, but kept looking forward, they didn’t want to bump on Papyrus again.

“BEHOLD” he proclaimed after a while “THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE”

They looked… but… “I can’t see anything” there was just a snowy field ahead.

“ ‘Invisible’, you idiot, learn to listen” well that was anticlimactic.

“YOU SHOWED EXPERTISE IN EVADING DEADLY TRAPS, NOW YOU WILL HAVE THE HONOR OF TRYING THE MAZE”

The emptiness of the field didn’t stop Papyrus of standing proud of his puzzle, so they shrugged the disappointment and paid attention to him.

“ONCE IT’S ACTIVATED, THERE IS NO WAY TO DETECT THE CORRECT PATH” he said crossing the field, they stood behind with Sans “THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL IS TO KEEP GOING THROUGH THE PAIN” he looked at them with a bit of a challenge “FOR SOMEONE THAT SPENT A WEEK BOONDOGGLING ON THE FORREST, IT WOULDN’T SURPRISE ME IF YOU GAVE UP ON A CHALLENGE THAT DEMANDED HARD WORK” they were excited, he didn’t know how wrong he was.

“there ya go” Sans put something cold over their head, lifting their hand to inspect it, it was some kind of a ball that got stuck to their hair “if ya can go to the other side carrying this, ya win” it seemed to be an easy enough concept.

“Do I get a prize? Can we do more puzzles later?” he seems surprised with their enthusiasm, but didn’t answer, just walking to the end of the puzzle, where Papyrus was waiting.

“How difficult is for you to let me do the talking?”

“Oh, sorry” they forgot that.

“On the case the human manage to cross the field” Flowey shouted, catching Papyrus’ attention “You let them pass unharmed”

“IF IT CAN’T, I WILL CAPTURE AND BRING IT TO THE KING”

“Deal” He said loud enough for the monster to hear, then directed his whispers at them “Now we just have to – What are yo–/”

But they weren’t exactly listening.

* The prospect of completing the puzzle of the great Papyrus, fills you with determination.

“/–u doing?!” he ended exasperated “Why did you do that? What if you can’t pass the puzzle? Now there is no way of turning back!” fortunately he kept whispering, so the brothers didn’t hear it.

“Is hard work, I can work hard” this and it wasn’t completely intentional, they were just really excited to try a new puzzle.

“Whatever” he mumbled angrily with and added “Stupid human” under his breath.

They paid him no mind following the steps on the snow.

*--------------------*

It was supposed to be easy.

Why did they expect this to be easy?

They remembered this one to be an easy puzzle, it didn’t looked so easy now...

The deaths had only rendered them a few carefully placed steps, each of them had a chance of being their last on the current timeline.

They could see Papyrus’ displeased face, but they couldn’t go any faster! It wasn’t hard work, it was suicide! One wrong step and…

They had to choose.

Following the brothers’ steps was useless, as they had walked right through the deactivated walls, and now they were very much activated, they had four timelines to prove it.

But they could use the steps to know where some of the walls could be.

Papyrus had walked evenly among the field, with his large legs’ stride. But Sans, with his shorter legs, hadn’t. They could see some of the steps were closer and others were farther apart, as if he was avoiding stepping on imaginary lines.

Bingo.

Now they were standing on one of his steps and by the way it ended abruptly, there was a wall before them. What left the question… right or left?

They memorized the path until now and stepped right.

An excruciating pain burst from the orb, they were knocked out before they knew it.

Reset          Continue                                                  137157:42                              Timeline 18 end.

The feeling of electricity still lingered on their fingers, they looked at their hands and questioned themselves if it was their imagination or if there was really remaining static on their fingertips.

“We can’t keep doing that with every step” he murmured, they questioned if they could give him a little shock with static “You are dying too much, its going to take at least – why did you poke me for?!” he ended in a screech.

“No reason” the answer was no, they couldn’t, that was a common surprise screech, not a pained one.

“Go over there already!” he took his vines from the boot, spreading them over the air and around them.

They remade the steps on the last timeline, slow enough to pretend doing it for the first time. And of course, going left instead of right on the last step.

“Now stop, and let me work” was it safe to keep going? That was the question. Flowey extended his vines striking a thoughtful face.

“Can you feel the electricity field?” it was the only explanation for what he was doing.

“A little? But everything around here is very charged, is hard to tell” his vines extended a little wider “maybe if I tr– AAAH” a scream plus a zapping sound and soon he was healing one of his vines, they braced themselves for the reload, but it never came “Not that way” he pointed out instead.

“Be careful, you could have died” they caught themselves saying, Flowey looked at them unimpressed.

“Yeah, look who’s talking” he extended two more vines for the other directions “Gaaah” one was burned in similar manner “That way” he pointed.

They took another step, but before Flowey could do it again, magic filled the air, they were surrounded by bone attacks. And it was absurdly clear they were attacks, they were all jagged and uneven, what gave them a scarier appearance, or so it felt.

“THIS IS THE ONE CHANCE TO TRY THE PUZZLES” Papyrus shouted angrily “I WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO BE ANYTHING BUT A FAIR CHALLENGE FOR THE HUMAN, AND THE HUMAN ALONE” the bones readjusted his angles, aiming at Flowey “MONSTERS SHOULD STEP ASIDE, I WILL ALLOW NO CHEATING”

“How is that fair?” Flowey shouted back, pointing to the place they had just shocked him “You said they could win through hard work and pain” the roots in their shoulder didn’t lie, he was nervous.

“EXACTLY, AND I WILL ALLOW NO MONSTER ENDURING PAIN FOR A HUMAN, NO MATTER HOW DESERVING OF PUNISHMENT HE IS” they heard the venom in his voice, did he really thought Flowey deserved to be punished only because he was on their side?

“How that can be a ‘hard working’ challenge” he made signs with his vines, his posture not betraying any insecurity “when the first mistake would kill the human?!” only anger filled his voice “Is a stroke of luck! Not endurance!”

“NONSENSE! THE SHOCKS ARE MEANT TO DEEPLY INJURY, NOT FOR KILLING”

“It doesn’t matter the intent! It’s too strong! It would kill a human! One shock! Just one!” Yelled the flower with all of his breath.

Both of them stood silent, the human shared a quick look with Sans, one that can only occur between two spectators of some great confront, each of them wondering if the other would intervene.

“WILL YOU TRY TO FOOL ME, FLOWEY? IT’S BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU ARE CONSPIRING WITH A HUMAN” Somehow the accusation lacked the pompous and exuberant air “EVEN SOMEONE WITH A LV AS PITIFUL AS YOURS SURVIVED TWO SHOCKS, A HUMAN MUST GO THROUGH IT WITH NO DIFFICULTY, EVEN A MERE CHILD CAN BE RIDICULOUSLY STRONG”

“It’s the truth Papyrus...” Flowey deflated, petals indicating a kind of sadness and… comprehension? “Humans can die really easy, they are not strong like monsters to sustain damage like that”

“NONSENSE!” The taller glared with fury “IF YOU WANT TO LIE FOR THEM, FINE!” he stomped the ground, the bones shattered in little specks of magic “AT LEAST WE KNOW WHERE YOUR ALLEGIANCE LIES!” they could hear in his voice, more than anger, more than rage, he sounded… hurt “BUT DON’T YOU DARE THINK THAT I CAN BE SO STUPID TO BELIEVE THAT HUMANS ARE WEAK, UNDERESTIMATE YOUR ENEMY AND YOU ARE AN EASY KILL!”

“actually Boss” They heard a meek sound while Sans toyed with the joy buzzer.

“WHAT!?” the hate glare made the smaller skeleton recoil, he stayed with his head down.

“humans are... weird, they are not magic, they are meat and electric impulses”

“STOP RAMBLING IN FRONT OF THE ENEMY SANS!”

“sh-shocks could kill ‘em” he still fidgeted with the joy buzzer “they could, could mess up with the, uh, inner electric impulses and s-stop the muscles from moving” he refused to meet Papyrus eyes, but that didn’t seem to matter.

Papyrus became quiet, a puzzled expression on his face, they thought Flowey was going to say something like ‘I told you’, but he didn’t. Thinking about it, he hadn’t antagonized him at all… So he could be civil, huh?

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, THEN?” the older quickly looked up “FIX IT”

“ok Boss” he extended his hand and–/

“Ouch!” the sticky ball was lifted abruptly, yanking a bunch of hair from their head.

While they massaged their head, Sans fidgeted with the orb, his left hand glowing red.

“Do you know how low it has to be for you to survive?” Flowey asked quietly.

They did!

They did…

What was that again?

Ok, maybe they didn’t remember… but it was something they definitely knew… at some point.

“You know” he interrupted their thoughts “Since we are already stuck here, you should go from the start again” they looked back, seeing the star at the beginning of the puzzle.

It would be smart to save, who knew if they could survive the next shock…

Walking back, that was exactly what they did! Completing the puzzle still filled them with determination after all.

They heard the sound of Papyrus cleaning his throat. It was funny that they could hear that that far away, especially because he didn’t have a throat.

“I PROMISED A FAIR CHALLENGE” he was back to his old self, imposing and confident “THERE IT IS” Sans lifted the orb way too high over the empty field – Just how big they thought humans were to build walls that high? – It was placed again securely on their head “NOW, PROCEED WITH NO HELP OR GIVE UP ENTIRELY”

They were ready.

The first steps were already marked on the snow. The next was already planned, one more and–/

They felt their whole body recoil in pain, they wanted to curl and hug themselves right then and there. Now the electricity lingering on their fingertips was real, but they had no will of subjecting their brother to the same fate.

“You’re ok over there?” His voice, they nodded “You don’t look ok” they tried to make the ‘ok’ symbol with their fingers, but they were just shaking too much, too hot and kinda exploding on the tips? That wasn’t going to work was it?

“I’m ok” they said, breathing deeply, they didn’t know how many of those they could take before passing out.

“IF YOU GIVE UP IT WILL BE PAINLESS” Papyrus was standing there, proud of the results, but his smirk just rubbed them the wrong way.

It was just pain. They could take it. They had it worse.

Another step, no shock, they could do this.

*--------------------*

Panting on the ground, the cold snow was a welcome sensation on their sweaty body, they let themselves fall backwards, briefly thinking about doing a snow angel to celebrate, but dismissing the idea when the tiredness settled, a victorious smile adorned their face, and gathering all the strength they still had, they lifted a closed fist in the air.

‘Victory’ they tried to say, but were breathing so hard they didn’t verbalize it.

Looking around Flowey was saying something to the brothers, surely confirming that they were free to go.

The snow was soft on their cheek, it didn’t melt, and it was a comforting kind of cold.

Papyrus stood tall as always, was he proud of them? They worked really hard this time. His face betrayed no emotion, settled in his ever present scowl as it was, no one could tell.

The exploding sensation on their finger and toes subsided, a numbing feeling crawling on their arms and legs.

Sans was looking directly at them, he seemed to be amused, they smiled at him and he looked away, more interested on what his brother was saying.

They tried to pay attention and listen to his loud voice, but the buzzing sound was still louder on their ears.

Their sight was blurred, exhaustion calling for them.

Maybe they could take a quick nap.

Just for a little bit.

They earned it.

______________________

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