" Long ago, two races ruled over Earth:
HUMANS and MONSTERS…
One day, war broke out between the two races.
Countless monster SOULS were destroyed.
After a long battle, the humans were victorious.
They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.
The OTHERS were sealed elsewhere.
Neither monster, nor human…
There was no place for them anymore. "
"AGAIN!" Papyrus declared from down on the ground after being defeated again. He waved a bony finger at his adversary. "I WANT A REMATCH." He was significantly shorter than his opponent, yet he spoke with such conviction.
Undyne wiped the sweat off her brow and sighed heavily. This one wasn't a quitter, she noted with a smirk, drawing her spear into position and bracing herself. "You got it!" she called out, barely giving him the time to get back up on his feet before one of her spears was lodged into the snow beside him. She couldn't deny the fact that she was enjoying this immensely; she only hoped that she wouldn't freeze her scales off in the eternally snowy Snowdin Town.
She could feel a chill in her soul as Papyrus attempted his blue attack on her, and got ready to dodge a barrage of hits. She grinned in pride as she leaped and dodged, tossing up the snow under her boots as she did so. That blue attack had come quite far in the time that they'd been practicing together, and she wouldn't have been surprised if she found out that he'd been forgoing sleep in order to practice day and night. Of course, monsters didn't really need sleep, but it was a nice way to recharge. Someone who was perpetually fully charged like Papyrus probably wouldn't need it though…
When the attack subsided, she flicked her crimson bangs away from her eyes and planted her feet firmly on the ground, thrusting her spear out dramatically. "That the best you got?" she challenged, hoping for another heart-pounding, blood-pumping blue attack.
"... ACTUALLY. YES… YES, IT IS," he replied flatly."I THINK IT WOULD BE BEST TO END OUR TRAINING SESSION NOW." His expression sunk slightly before he looked up again at Undyne with determination in his eye-sockets. "HOWEVER! THIS IS NOT THE LAST YOU'VE SEEN OF ME. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE BACK… STRONGER THAN I WAS TODAY. PROBABLY."
She couldn't help but chuckle at him as she sheathed her spear. "That was such a thrilling fight! I can't wait until our next meeting!"
"ME NEITHER!" he replied, feeling his chest swell up in excitement. "WHEN ARE YOU FREE? TUESDAY?" Before giving Undyne a chance to reply, he spoke again. "NO. ACTUALLY TUESDAY I PROMISED SANS I WOULD PET-SIT OUR ROCK WHILE HE'S OUT… MAYBE DEFINITELY WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK," he told her with certainty. "IF NOT THEN, MAYBE THE WEEK AFTER FOR SURE."
She frowned slightly. "That's not very specific. Maybe you should call me when you're sure."
Papyrus nodded. "YES. I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES SENSE." He rose up from his couch, taking his and Undyne's joysticks with him, and turned off the video game console. "PERHAPS NEXT TIME, YOU COULD TRAIN ME TO FIGHT FOR REAL."
Undyne cocked her head to the side in thought. "For real?"
"YES. I WANT TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARD," he admitted, scratching the top of his skull and blushing. "THAT WAY I CAN BE COOL AND POPULAR LIKE YOU, UNDYNE."
"You sure about that? It's pretty boring work, being a Royal Guard; it's been awhile since a human came down here," she warned him, twirling a strand of her hair as she spoke. "Plus they've got me mostly doing grunt work…"
"WHAT?! YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING BORING! EVER! YOU TRAIN WITH THE KING EVERYDAY AND HAVE TONS OF ADORING FANS." Well, most of those fans were just Papyrus in different costumes, but still… "BESIDES, I CAN USE THE TIME SPENT WAITING FOR HUMANS TO PRACTICE MY HUMAN-CAPTURING SKILLS! NYEHEHEHEH!"
Undyne huffed, trying to hide her emotions from the easily manipulated Papyrus. "I guess, I could help you out. But it will take hours -no, days -maybe even weeks of rigorous training."
"I CAN DO IT!"
"Well, then…Our next training session will be at my house over in Waterfall. Got it? And don't be late!" she ordered, sounding more like a drill sergeant than someone Papyrus had just been playing video games with.
With that, Undyne was gone and Papyrus was alone again. He walked into the kitchen and found a quiche made entirely of ketchup and bread sitting on the table -Sans's favorite. He cut out a slice for himself and began to eat. Curiously, he began to ponder how this was even possible. He didn't have internal organs -let alone a tongue… or an esophagus… or a stomach. Where did it go?
"hey." a familiar voice greeted. "you look like you're thinking real hard about something, kiddo."
"SANS! OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaimed loudly, slamming his fork down onto the table. "HOW DO SKELETONS EAT FOOD?"
"with a fork… and a spoon," Sans replied dryly, giving his brother the usual sly grin.
"SANS!" Papyrus scolded. "I WAS BEING SERIOUS"
He didn't even miss a beat saying, "and i was being humerus"
"..."
"..."
Papyrus saw that one coming, but he couldn't stop the frustrated groan that came out of him. "SAAANS!"
"guess that one didn't tickle your… funny bone… did it?"
"THAT ONE WAS EVEN LESS FUNNY THAN THE LAST ONE."
"it's an off day," he told his brother, his words surprisingly devoid of jokes. "i just realized i don't have internal organs, or a tongue, or an esophagus, or a stomach." He grinned like this knowledge didn't phase him in the least, unlike his mortified younger sibling.
* papyrus looked down at his food, suddenly unable to stomach the concoction on his plate -
"SANS! STOP NARRATING MY ACTIONS WITH YOUR PUNS!"
"sorry." He didn't look sorry.
Papyrus got up from his seat, and Sans silently noted that his height was catching up to his older brother's; soon Papyrus would be taller than him. He only hoped that even then, Papyrus would continue to be the great kid that he was.
"CAN WE GO TO HOTLAND TODAY?" Papyrus asked, nearly hopping up and down on the tips of his phalanges.
Sans sighed and rubbed the top of his skull; he couldn't say no to that face. "hotland, eh?" he asked. "i heard things have been pretty quiet there since the queen left."
"LEFT?!" This was news to Papyrus, whose eyes would have widened had he had any skin. The queen had departed long before Papyrus was old enough to know much about her, and afterwards, King Asgore's ex-wife was a topic that few had the nerve to mention. "WHERE DID SHE GO?"
"nobody knows. she just disappeared."
"DID THE HUMANS TAKE HER AWAY?" he pressed, his tone imbued with concern for this monster he had neither seen nor met. "IS THAT WHY KING FLUFFYBUNS DOESN'T LIKE HUMANS?"
Unsure of how to answer that question without drudging up decades worth of painful history, Sans changed the topic. "say... didn't you wanna go to hotland?"
Hotland was particularly sweltering this time of year -or perhaps particularly sweltering in comparison to the frozen climate back in Snowdin Town -not that Papyrus and Sans could really feel the change in climate on account of their lack of skin, but the change in scenery was certainly welcome. Papyrus gazed down at the streams of lava and steam around them, held back by his collar by virtue of Sans's caution and instincts.
"WOWIE. THAT WAS QUICKER THAN I EXPECTED."
"told you i knew a shortcut." Sans said, pulling his brother along towards the path that led to the Hotland apartment building. It was one of the oldest structures in the Underground -aside from the Ruins, but nobody lived there anymore. It still looked pretty modern due to the constant renovations being done, however.
"ARE WE GOING TO WATCH A COMEDY SHOW?" Papyrus anxiously hobbled towards the giant building, trying to keep up with his brother. "OH! ARE WE GOING TO MAKE A RESERVATION AT THE RESTAURANT? I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MAKE A RESERVATION."
Sans grinned and opened the door for his brother before following the energetic skeleton through. "even better. we're going to rent a room for the night."
"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus stared at his brother, his jaw agape and his hands curled by his face in excitement. "YOU… YOU MEAN… LIKE A VACATION?"
If Sans wasn't so constantly lethargic, the high that came from putting a smile on Papyrus's face may have made him just as energetic. However, being half-asleep was one of his endearing character traits, so we couldn't very well have that, could we? "yes. just like a vacation."
As Sans spoke to the receptionist, Papyrus grabbed the edge of the reception desk and hoisted himself up so that the top of the desk was just below his chin to better observe the reservation process.
"You know, this place ought to be a resort. There's just more people renting rooms than actually living here nowadays," the receptionist told Sans as they typed something into their computer. "Besides, since when do apartment buildings have restaurants?" They shrugged and concluded with, "Ah, well, I'm not complaining -as long as I'm getting paid." They punched in the last key with gusto and turned around to grab the room key. "Here you go! Let me show you to your room."
It was only a matter of minutes until Sans was fast asleep on the king-sized bed and Papyrus was sitting in front of the television, eyes glued to the unchanging static. He cast an uncertain glance at his sleeping brother before grabbing his knapsack and a handful of gold. He remembered seeing a snack vendor in the lobby and was starting to feel a bit peckish.
After tiptoeing out into the lobby and leaving Sans with the room key, he walked up to the vendor, a tall monster with a red complexion and anthropomorphic proportions. He was leaning against the wall with his snack cart covering the lower half of his body. Upon seeing Papyrus, he called out in a high pitched drawl. "Heyyyy, chiiiild. Weeelcome to Feeely's Treeets. I'm Feeely. Loooking tooo buuuy sooome deeeeelicious treeets?"
Papyrus peered over the top of the cart, looking through the wares. He spotted bags of skeleton-shaped gummy candies in black and red packaging. They sat there almost calling out to him, making his eye-sockets glow with exuberance, and in an ardent, yet slightly startlingly sharp voice, he cried, "THAT ONE! THAT IS THE ONE I CHOOSE!"
"Juuuust oooone?" the vendor asked, a mysterious smile on his face.
Papyrus fidgeted in his boots. The older monster was right. One was way too few and the walk back to the room could potentially be quite tiring; it was best to be prepared. He pulled his knapsack off of his back and dug into his coin pouch, checking the amount of gold that he held. Gingerly, he scooped it all into his hand and put it up on top of the cart. "HOW MANY CAN I BUY WITH THIS?"
The vendor eagerly fingered the coins, counting the gold in his head before pulling out five packets of skeleton gummies and handing them to Papyrus. "Wooow. Luuuucky booooy!"
Papyrus was hardly paying attention as he clung to the packets possessively, afraid to drop them onto the ground. He began to shove them into his bag and thanked the vendor when he had managed to shut the clasp on his precious goodies.
"Beeefore youuu leeeeave!" Papyrus watched Feely expectantly. "A skeeeleton liiiike youuu looooks liiike heeee loooooves aaaadventuuure!"
"YES. HOW DID YOU KNOW? ADVENTURING IS MY FAVORITE THING TO DO… OR. MAYBE. ACTUALLY, PUZZLES ARE MY FAVORITE THING TO DO. BUT ADVENTURING IS AT LEAST A CLOSE SECOND." He decided he really needed to write a list of favorite things so that he didn't get so flustered the next time he talked about them.
Feely's lips curled up in a smile, his three eyes blinking slowly in unison "Peeerfect. Booooy, doooo I haaave an aaaaadveeenture foooor youuu!"
Papyrus trudged along in his too big boots, tailing the older monster as they made their way out of the building and back into the Hotland walkways. He waved to a few monsters he had seen Sans speaking to before. He felt a bit guilty that they all knew his name and he didn't know theirs.
"Staaay clooose, chiiild!" Feely advised, pulling the boy out of harm's way when he wandered too near to a steam vent.
They passed through paths that Papyrus didn't recognize and the farther they went, the less populated these paths were it seemed. He couldn't help but be hit with a slight pang of loneliness, in spite of the presence of his guide; it was like these forlorn paths practically exuded the feeling. It was heavy in the air and Papyrus found himself acutely aware of Sans's absence.
Sans was startled awake. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out -probably a few hours at most. He rubbed his forehead and looked around the room, trying to spot his brother in his bright blue and magenta shirt in the room. It wasn't a very large room, however, and it didn't take long for him to realize that he had left. There was even a note on the nightstand. It was chicken scratch, so Sans could scarcely make out a few of the words, but he understood the gist of it.
With a sigh, he grumbled. "welp. he can't have gone far…"
He stepped out into the lobby, his slippers softly tapping on the tile floors. There wasn't a soul there aside from the janitor and the receptionist. Come to think of it, wasn't there a snack vendor hanging around here before? Maybe he just went home. Sans walked up to the receptionist and greeted them with a relaxed grin.
"hey, how are you doing? have you seen a little skeleton kid running around here by himself?" he asked. He then held his hand up just below his shoulder. "he's about yea high, wearing a striped shirt, an oversized jacket, and a scarf."
They reached up and scratched the top of their head, the giant index finger on top waving slightly in thought. "I'm not sure. I was on my coffee break up until a quarter of an hour ago. Have you checked the restaurant?"
If Sans had lips, they would have been pressed together in vexation. He quickly thanked the receptionist for their time and dashed off to the left wing of the apartment building where the restaurant was, passing by the host and standing in the doorway, examining the cluster of tables and ignoring the host's polite requests to make a reservation before sitting.
"papyrus?" he half-heartedly called out. He groaned internally. There was likely no reason to check the other floors in the building, but he turned on his heel and headed for the elevator anyway.
His brain barely processed the elevator music in the background as he began to think about where his brother could have gone. He wouldn't have left the building, would he? An image of Papyrus waddling around the CORE with his disproportionately large knapsack weighing him down popped into Sans's head, but he shrugged the thought off like it was a bloodsucking pest. No. He wouldn't go there.
He cleared his mind, watching the floor number on the elevator wall change from zero to one and trying to keep his mind off of the CORE. Absentmindedly, he felt for his cellphone in his pocket, feeling reluctant to take it out.
DING!
Feely pulled gently on Papyrus's hand, escorting him out of the lift. Just a bit more…
"ARE WE THERE YET?" the boy asked, looking up at Feely with an eager expression on his face that nearly made the man's twisted smile twitch and unfurl.
"Almost," came the reply.
The scenery around them now looked nothing like the familiar Hotland landscape. The lava wasn't present anymore, but it didn't look like they had gone to Waterfall either. They were in an area full of… trees? It was almost like someone had taken Snowdin and forcibly thrust it into autumn. Now, this was truly an adventure Papyrus could appreciate. He thought about taking Sans there; he could almost hear Sans say, in that perpetually sarcastic and light tone, "what a leaf-ly forest" or maybe something like that? Papyrus could never truly emulate his brother -not even in his imagination. Someone like Sans was really one of a kind.
The two came across a large skull blocking their path, but unlike Papyrus's skull, this one seemed to belong to some kind of snake. Staring through the gaping mouth, he could see the rest of the creature's body. However, unlike him, it wasn't moving, which caused a twinge of panic to course through his small body.
"Don't be afraid," Feely told him. Had something changed in him?
"MR. FEELY, WHY ARE WE HERE?" he hesitantly demanded, his feet starting to feel weak and tired. That skeleton gave him the impression that if he stayed there any longer, he'd be just as static.
Feely didn't seem to be paying attention to him. Hand still firmly wrapped around Papyrus's small hand, he brought them closer to the giant skull, their footsteps muffled by the fallen leaves around their boots.
Papyrus looked up and around as they crossed the threshold into the snake's mouth and began walking through its winding body. The shadows of the creature's ribcage made him feel claustrophobic. It was like being in a prison, and on either side of him, the only thing he could see through the white bars was the thick forest of trees so tall, he couldn't even see the tops of them. He pondered the idea of these trees extending even to the human world. Maybe if he climbed one of them, he would find out and they wouldn't need to cross through the barrier to be free.
The path was winding and Papyrus could sense his claustrophobia creeping up on him like cold ice closing in on his heart. He didn't want to feel afraid; the Great Papyrus didn't know fear. He was fearless. He was fearless. Maybe if he said it enough times, it would come true.
At long last, they came upon a large growth of branches, crossing over each other and overlapping to make the entire area impassable. Papyrus was about to declare that it had been a fun adventure and suggest going back up to Hotland when Feely raised one of his crimson hands to the wood. With a small radial motion of his wrist, the barrier began to clear out, the branches slithering away into the shadows like serpents.
Before them now was something that resembled a doorway, which led them into a dim room. The chamber was large, but mainly nondescript. The walls, as far as Papyrus could see, were made of sturdy yet discolored wood, and the floor was covered in dirt and dust. The only thing he noticed was the fact that this chamber also lacked doors.
Upon noticing Papyrus looking up at him expectantly, Feely smiled mysteriously. "Why don't you see if you can solve this puzzle for us?"
The skeleton warily contemplated this. On one hand, puzzles were certainly one of life's greatest pleasures in his own opinion; on the other hand, merely being in this place made him feel that icky emotion that reminded him of fear.
He slipped his hand out of Feely's and approached the wall on the far end of the room. He ran his gloved hands over the wood, feeling for any nonconforming planks -something to give him a clue about how to proceed in this remarkably empty room. Sure enough, his fingers slipped into a small hole in the wood. With as much strength as he could muster with his tiny arms, he tugged on the plank, pulling it away with more ease than he had expected.
Removing the wood completely revealed a small panel hidden beneath the boards and nestled in that panel was a bronze switch, glimmering slightly in the miniscule ray of light provided by the open door on the opposite wall. Casting aside his hesitation, Papyrus reached for the switch and pulled it down.
Immediately, the sound of gears echoed within the walls as a segment of wood, at least three times as tall as him and five times as wide, slid aside. Before Papyrus could look inside, however, he turned around to acknowledge his companion.
"MR. FEELY, LOOK! I DID IT! I-"
But nobody was there.
Feeling his anxiety near its peak, he dashed across the room and through the crisscrossed branches, back into the skeletal corridor.
Feely wouldn't just leave, would he?
He kept running, under miles and miles of the dead snake's ribcage. Was it always this long? Or was his mind playing tricks on him?
He knew Sans was probably worried about him, and guilt as well as terror began to clog up his throat. Whenever he got out of this, he would definitely go hug Sans and apologize for being such a burden, but for now, he had to get home.
He could finally see the skull in the distance and began to pick up the pace, his legs almost leaping out of their joints. He closed in on the entranceway so quickly that he didn't even have time to slow down when he realized the bitter truth.
The snake's jaw was clamped shut, trapping him inside. Did Feely do this? Did he just leave forever? Why would he do that? So many questions filled his mind, and each one came with a sharp sting in his eyes.
Papyrus didn't want to believe it, but he was alone now, and so there, in the dirt and grass, with nobody there to watch, he let himself give in to his fear. His legs buckled beneath him, no longer willing to carry him, and he buried his face into the ground.
"SANS! I'M SO SORRY!" he sobbed. "SANS, PLEASE HURRY UP AND FIND ME!"
It was with a dejected shove that Sans opened the door to the apartment building. He had searched top-to-bottom and found nothing -no sign of Papyrus. Pushing away the intrusive thoughts that led him to the CORE, he stepped onto the streets of Hotland. His brother had to be there somewhere.
His cell phone bulged in his pocket and, giving in to its call, he reached in to retrieve it. He closed his hand around the plastic and pulled it out in front of his face. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but this was about Papyrus; he needed to be sure.
He didn't need to scroll far to find her in his contacts, and once he did, he dialed and placed it where his ear would be.
Ring… ring… ring…
"c'mon. pick up…"
Just then, a feminine voice chirped through the receiver. "H-H-Hello? Sans? Is- Is that you?"
"hey, alphys," he greeted smoothly, betraying none of the concern that held on to his heart like a vice. "i need your help with something."
There was silence on the other end, and who could blame her? She and Sans hadn't exactly been on speaking terms for the last few years. "U-um… S-sure. Come o-over to my place if you like." she stammered.
"i'm on my way," he replied curtly, shutting the phone without giving her a chance to reply. As he rushed, the same thought passed through his mind over and over, with its own voice and its own tone, like a repressed memory resurfacing…
THE CORE IS BOTTOMLESS SO TRY NOT TO FALL. IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN IF YOU DO…
This is my first attempt at an Undertale fanfic. I hope it wasn't too out-of-character or contradictory or anything. Like always, I would appreciate any feedback you could give me.