The human stepped into the golden room, a slight grin on their face as they twisted the knife in their hands. The Last Corridor… The Judgement Hall… The last room before Asgore. Normally, it was here they would meet Sans and fight him, resetting again and again before finally managing to hit the lazy skeleton. But today… Today was different.
The numbskull had done something to change the timeline. The human wasn't exactly sure how, but he had managed to get involved beyond getting to Snowdin, more so than usual. The comedian had confronted them, claiming he was going kill the human before they could get farther. And so it went, restart after restart. Truthfully, the skeleton almost won, if it weren't for one more variable… Papyrus.
The taller skeleton had arrived, and shouted out for Sans to stop. The shout had distracted Sans for a second, giving the human the opportunity to attack the shorter skeleton. Unfortunately, Papyrus had darted forward and whisked the body away; so not only did the human not see Sans turn to dust long before he should have, but they hadn't been able to kill the naive fool Papyrus.
Touching the Save Point at the beginning of the hallway, they turned and started walking. The human slowed as they reached the middle, almost expecting Sans to pop out of nowhere. As they stopped, a figure in a blue sweatshirt and a red scarf stepped into the middle of the hall.
HOW?
Taking a good look at the skeleton in front of them, they realized it wasn't Sans that was standing there… It was Papyrus, wearing Sans' sweatshirt.
The taller skeleton stepped closer, looking at the human standing in the middle of the hall. "H-HUMAN… STAY WHERE YOU ARE." He commanded.
The human let out a soft snort, wondering why Papyrus thought they'd even listen. Stepping forward, they watched Papyrus take a step back. This was going to be too easy.
"... WHY DID YOU DO IT?" Papyrus asked, startling the human. "WHY DID YOU KILL EVERYONE? UNDYNE… METTATON… S-S…." He broke off, a faint sob echoing in his throat.
The human didn't respond, taking another step toward the skeleton.
"Y-YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THIS. STOP, HUMAN. GET OFF THE PATH YOU ARE TAKING." Papyrus practically begged.
Was he really trying to reason with them, the human wondered. They had never listened to him before… Why start now? Tightening the grip on their knife, they lunged at Papyrus. Their eyes focused on Papyrus' neck, focusing on the usual kill spot. To their surprise, a large bone appeared in the skeleton's hand and he raised it, blocking the knife. The human stepped back in surprise.
"I KNOW THERE'S A GOOD PERSON INSIDE OF YOU. THERE IS ONE IN EVERY PERSON. PLEASE, LISTEN TO ME." Papyrus tried again.
The human narrowed their eyes, lunging at the skeleton again. And again, Papyrus blocked the knife with the bone. The hit caused a piece of bone to chip off, and the human stepped back.
*Why won't you fight?
"I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU, HUMAN. VIOLENCE WON'T SOLVE ANYTHING."
Papyrus had no clue what he was talking about, didn't he know violence was everything? It IS a kill or be killed world, after all… Another lunge, another block.
*Fight back, or die!
"I REFUSE TO FIGHT YOU HUMAN! YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE UP EVENTUALLY, WON'T YOU?"
No. Couldn't the fool see that they were never going to give up? They could go on forever, fighting again and again… Until they could kill the naive skeleton. He couldn't block every shot, could he? They lunged again, but it was blocked.
"OR… WAS SANS RIGHT?" What? "I LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A GOOD PERSON IN EVERYONE. BUT IS THAT BELIEF WRONG?"
The human was shocked at Papyrus' question, hesitating for a moment. What was he talking about?
"PLEASE, HUMAN. THERE… THERE'S NO REASON TO FIGHT. YOU CAN CHANGE ALL OF THIS. YOU CAN GO BACK AND FIX YOUR MISTAKES. OR AT THE VERY LEAST, PLEASE… TELL ME WHY YOU HURT EVERYONE. THERE WAS NO NEED TO! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THAT?" Papyrus pleaded, noticing the human's hesitation.
The human didn't respond, spinning the knife in their hand quietly.
"PLEASE, HUMAN. I KNOW THERE'S A GOOD PERSON INSIDE OF YOU. YOU JUST NEED TO FIND IT."
*You're wrong. The human replied, steeling their resolve and lunging at the skeleton again. Papyrus side-stepped, blocking the knife again. *I've come so far! I can't go back now!
"H-HUMAN…"
*Heh, you want to know something? The human asked, making Papyrus tense up as they stepped back. *You're brother didn't love you.
"Y-YOU'RE LYING!" Papyrus protested shakily.
*No, I'm just telling you the truth. You don't know how many times he just stood there. How many times he watched you crumble to dust.
Papyrus's grip on the bone slackened just a tiny bit. "N-NO. SANS LOVED ME, I KNOW HE DID."
*Then explain why he gave up on trying to save you. Honestly, it was quite amusing at first. He knew what was going to happen, but you never listened to him. You made your brother watch you die over and over and over again. It's no surprise he gave up on the world.
Papyrus trembled, trying to figure out what to say. For once, the normally talkative skeleton was at a loss for words. "D-DON'T… DON'T MAKE M-ME USE M-MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"
*Oh? What are you going to do? The human asked with a dark laugh, lunging at the skeleton. *Turn my Soul blue? Make gravity weigh me down?
"NO, THAT'S MY BLUE ATTACK! I GOT MY SPECIAL ATTACK BACK FROM A DOG THAT STOLE IT FROM ME EARLIER!" Papyrus responded, barely managing to block the knife swipe in time. His arms shook badly.
The human laughed, stepping back. *Hit me with your best shot, you naive fool.
With shaky hands, Papyrus launched a slow series of bones at the human, trying to get them to stop talking. His eyesockets widened, realizing what his special attack had been. It had been a series of bones that read Sans and Papyrus… Best and coolest bros forever and ever and ever…
Papyrus fell to his knees, sobbing into his gloved hands. "A-AND EVER… S-SANS! I-I'M SO SORRY, SANS!"
The human hesitated, not entirely sure what to do. They took a small step forward, looking at the sobbing skeleton. He didn't even seem to notice they were there. With one last glance at the knife, they slashed it across his chest. The blade left a jagged mark through both the armor and jacket that Papyrus wore, the shock of the blow silencing the skeleton.
Papyrus slowly lifted his skull, looking at the human. "NYEH… NYEH HEH… I-I'M S-SORRY SANS…" He says quietly, lowering his head. "I… I FAILED…"
The human watched as Papyrus slowly lifted a gloved hand to his chest, then began to crumble to dust.
"I'M SORRY SANS…"
The child breathed deeply as Papyrus's last words echoed through the hall. They walked past the pile of dust that had once had been their friend… That had once cooked spaghetti with them, that they had done puzzles with. As they stepped out of the Judgement Hall, a familiar voice that had been gone since the beginning of the reset echoed at them. The human jumped, turning back…. But nobody was there.
"you dirty brother killer…"