A/N: Just a little two-shot idea I had while scrolling through some fanart! The first half is more story content, and the second involves more world-building and fluffy drabbles!
Too Cute!
While he would never admit it, The Great and Terrible Papyrus did have one weakness.
It certainly wasn't physical. He could practically sense anything around him, and no one had better stealth abilities than he. His attacks were among the most powerful in the Underground, and his defense was so high that it took multiple hits to drop his HP by even half a point.
It wasn't an emotional weakness. The Captain of the Snowdin Division took great pride in being able to smother any hint of feeling or mercy with a chilled grace. His soul was layered in ice, and he had complete control over his ever action.
No, this weakness had more to do with... his surroundings. In the Underground, everyone was raised by the philosophy of "kill or be killed." Monsters grew up tough and rough around the edges. They quickly learned to make themselves big and intimidating. They wore extra layers to make themselves thicker, added heels to their shoes to make themselves taller, wore makeup and ripped clothing to make themselves sharper.
There was a... lack of something in the Underground, and therefore Papyrus had very little experience to deal with it.
He had a weakness for things that were... small. Things that were fragile. Things that needed protection. Things that were, dare he say it, cute.
Sans, the pathetic idiot, was most certainly not one of these things. While he was shorter than most and had a low HP, he had been trained well. As much as Papyrus refused to admit it, the older skeleton could protect himself.
But Sans was big-boned, lazy, and sour.
He wasn't what Papyrus was looking for, what he felt an emptiness for. Until his dying day, Papyrus would refuse to acknowledge the ache in his soul, the hole left there by a lack of fulfillment for this need. Sure, he sometimes found things to satisfy his desires...
Sometimes he would return from trips to the dump with small dolls or glass figurines. Things that were delicate and fit in his hand and were... were cute.
But... these trinkets... They never really met his needs, fixed his urges, for long. He kept them in a box under the floorboards beneath his bed, but he only looked at them occasionally.
They didn't fit what he was looking for.
No one really knew why the portal opened up in the center of Snowdin. One day, there was the empty town square, and with the screech of the universe being shredded, a rip was opened and they could see through into a mirror of their world.
As Head of the Snowdin Division, Papyrus was sent to investigate first, of course. But there wasn't much he could actually learn without going through to the other side. He sent a message to Undyne, who would surely give him some ideas, if not some guidance.
Before the messenger even returned from Waterfall, someone came through from the other side.
It was a skeleton, slightly shorter than Papyrus but still taller than most monsters. He was dressed in a baggy, stained, orange hoodie and some stiff cargo shorts. His sneakers were untied, quite dangerously, and a smoking cigarette butt hung from between his teeth.
"Huh," the new skeleton breathed, looking around lazily. Papyrus was struck by an eerie sense of familiarity; it was like looking in a mirror, but where his reflection had Sans's personality.
"You!" Papyrus snapped, pushing the strange feeling behind the hardened exterior of his soul. "Why are you here?"
"Oh, hey, heh..." the other skeleton grinned. "Another me. Cool."
"I won't ask again!" He summoned an attack and let it hover just over the spikes of his shoulder pads. The monster in the hoodie frowned slightly at the threat; he straightened up slightly and let one of his hands out of his pockets to hang readily at his side.
"Look, edge-lord-"
The skeleton's eye caught on Sans, who was nervously shuffling behind Papyrus. His jaw almost dropped, and he stepped forward-
Papyrus attacked.
The hoodied male dodged the red and white bones with ease, but the monster that exited the portal behind him never saw the attacks coming.
A tiny skeleton popped out, with big blue eyes and tiny hands, and a flying bone stopped not even an inch from his face. The small creature squeaked and fell down in surprise. The tall skeleton was over him in a minute, checking for injuries.
"Hey!" The carrot shouted. "Watch where you're attacking!"
"I did, or else that one would have been dust," Papyrus sneered. He recalled his attacks, and cautiously, the alternate skeleton pulled his power back from the air. "It seems we need to talk. Follow me."
"I think we need nicknames! You know, to clear up confusion..." The small skeleton with blue eyes declared, as soon as the four males had been seated at the table. Papyrus didn't feel like posturing today, especially not with half the Underground clamoring outside the door for a juicy tidbit.
"What's the point?" Sans growled, flicking his gold tooth with his tongue. "We ain't here to have tea and titter like old ladies. You're gonna tell us about your pretty lil' universe o'er there, and we'll do our best not to blow ya to smithereens, capiche?"
"Sans, don't be rash," Papyrus snorted. "We can all act like civilized monsters here. Though maybe I shouldn't include you." He flicked his brother on the back of the head, then eyed the petite blue one.
Dare he say it? The little thing was... cute.
"Um..." The small skeleton fidgeted, then straightened confidently. "I'm the Magnificent Sans, but you can call me... um..." He glanced around the room, then down at his clothes. "Blue, I guess." He sighed, positively distraught that he hadn't come up with a better nickname.
But what else was he going to say?
'Call me Taco'?
I don't think so.
"Then call me Red," Sans replied and leaned back in his chair. He snuffled awkwardly and shoved his hands in his pockets. Papyrus wanted to rip the baggy jacket right off of him! Couldn't this buffoon use his head?! Never put your hands away when a possible threat was nearby!
"Well, I guess that leaves me," the orange Papyrus sighed and fiddled with an unlit cigarette. Blue scowled and snatched it out of his hand. The taller brother snorted but kept his attention on the darker versions of them. "Eh, Stretch is fine. Sounds like a lot of my jokes!" He winked, and one could almost hear the incidental drumbeat to his comedic addition.
Papyrus snarled silently but let his face quickly fall back into its cool as stone mask. "I will continue to be addressed as Boss. Now! Let's talk about our homes, which seem to be exceedingly different-"
"Why is it so dark here?" Blue immediately asked. "It's like all of your crystals are dirty and the light can't be reflected through! How do you see anything or get anywhere?" Red snapped his teeth at the interruption, but when Boss didn't look too bothered, he settled down.
"The amounts of dust in our underground atmosphere have darkened the light sources throughout the years, and no one has the time or will to clean them again. Now... Our turn."
After hours of talking, both sides had a very good impression of the other universe. They were different in nearly every way, with everything from familial roles to the economy being changed in some way.
Stretch and Blue's universe was a light and safe place. Monsters were free to roam and share relationships in public. Most of the universe's citizens harbored a strong sweet-tooth, even having a sugary bakery where Grillby's would be. The world was ruled by Queen Toriel, and many other roles seemed to have been reversed as well. Alphys was Captain of the Royal Guard and so on. The world mainly supported a positive outlook on life, and everyone knew and supported each other.
To contrast, Boss and Red's world was a dark and destroyed place. Monsters slaughtered each other left and right, for the smallest of infractions. Food was scarce, as were many other supplies. People were cruel to each other, and even the Royal Guard found their ways around the law. Everyone lived their lives full of hatred and fear; no one was close because you could never trust anyone.
Blue was in near tears by the end of their discussion, and Stretch was in a very sorry state as well. Boss and Red were unaffected, as they were used to the lives they lived. But Boss could see the dimming of Red's eye lights, the way his jaw clenched with jealousy.
Green was an ugly color on him.
"Is there any way we can help? There has to be something we can do, right?" Blue eventually began to plead. "The portal must have opened for a reason! We have food, and we can show people that there's hope!" The tiny skeleton jumped down from his chair, seemed to disappear behind the table as he made his way around, then popped back up again by Boss's knee.
Boss stared down at the little guy, and slowly, red bloomed across his cheeks. He coughed weakly and turned his head away, ignoring Red's knowing gaze.
"I don't think anyone would be opposed to the idea of more resources, but I doubt you'll convince anyone to change their way of living. Especially not this lot," Boss sneered, glaring out the boarded window at the crowd that still hadn't dispersed. His mind seemed to clear as a question arose...
Why hadn't Undyne made an appearance yet?
Red blinked sharply, then followed Boss's eyes. His breathing hitched and he muttered jumbled curses as he tore through the house for the door. Monsters leapt back as the two skeletons from their universe burst onto the street and ran for the area where the portal had appeared.
Undyne and the rest of the guard stood there, facing the alternate fish monster from the brighter world. The other Undyne seemed to shrink in on herself, trying to disappear into her lab coat. Her sharp eyes quickly caught on to Stretch and Blue trailing behind them.
"Sans! Pap!" She called, sounding relieved. "You'll never believe what I've learned so far!"
"I think I have a pretty good idea," Stretch replied casually. He slinked over to the group that surrounded the portal and threw his arm around the young woman. Boss could see his jaw moving, could read his non-existent lips and see he was asking her if she's been hurt.
This was also around the time when Boss realized there was a small hand tugging at his pant leg. He glanced down, finding the Blue was trying to get his attention. The alternate Sans was only slightly taller higher than his knee.
Boss's face glowed a brilliant ruby color, but he quickly bent to scoop the blueberry into his arms so he could hear what needed to be said. Blue blushed as well, a soft, milky teal color.
"We told you that our Undyne is the Royal Scientist, right?" He whispered. Boss nodded silently and turned his watch back to the proceedings in front of the portal. His Undyne was fiercely demanding to be let through the portal.
"With the souls from your world, we can break the barrier!" She screamed, and monsters began to rally around her.
"T-That wouldn't work!" The shyer Undyne protested. "Based on the inherent properties of each universe, the souls are fundamentally-"
"I don't have time for your babbling!" The Captain cried. "If you won't step aside-"
"There's no need to act so hasty," Stretch commented. He flicked his cigarette and let his body loosen, as though his entire world wasn't being threatened. "Alphys is your Royal Scientist, right? Get her down here, ask her some questions. It can't be that hard to prove that our universes are too different for your idea to work."
"That geek?" Undyne scoffed. "She can barely put two and two together, much less-"
"I-I can do a lot more than put two and two together, trust me," the other Undyne boldly interrupted. Glowing red spears sparked in the air and lit up the grey snow.
"Captain! I've complied a report of the information about the alternate universe," Boss quickly cut in, before any serious damage could be done. "It's pertinent that we discuss this immediately." Undyne eyed him, prepared to punish him for butting in and undermining her authority, but her yellow iris latched onto the tiny skeleton in his arms.
"I always wondered what your soft side was," she murmured, but he seemed to be the only one that could hear it. "It's always the little guys, isn't it." She straightened up and yanked her voice up to its usual thundering volume. "Alright, Lieutenant! You better give me something worthwhile here, or I'm taking this whole thing straight to the king! As for the rest of you..." She turned her glowing gaze on the crowd.
"SCRAM!"
Blue seemed content to hide in Boss's arms while he gave his report to Undyne. So with the dog guards posted in front of the portal, the larger group returned to the skeleton brothers' house, and Boss began to explain why it would be in their best interests to maintain a peaceful relationship betweens the two worlds. Stretch and Red disappeared with the other Undyne, to see if there were any scientific reasons for the differences between the worlds.
His Undyne was shocked to learn of a world were monsters mostly died from old age.
Halfway through the report, Blue seemed to get bored and began crawling all over Boss. It was quite amusing, so the taller skeleton allowed it to continue. His cheekbones filled with faint color. Undyne watched the tiny critter with a smirk and a gleam in her eye.
"So... You're saying we shouldn't attack this world because they're willing to give us resources and aid us in increasing life expectancy?"
"Exactly," Boss nodded but was careful not to shake Blue from the top of his skull. The small skeleton giggled and placed an impossibly light kiss on his head. His entire body lit up like a fire alarm.
"Mmhm," Undyne nodded. She kicked her feet up on his table, something he would normally scold her for and start a sparring match over. He barely noticed. "And you're sure it's not just because of your new pet?"
Boss spluttered at the same time Blue decided to entire the conversation with his two cents. "I'm not a pet!" He pouted. "I'm the Magnificent Sans! And someday I'm going to be a member of the Royal Guard! And I'll capture a human, and I'll be very popular!"
"I see," Undyne grinned. Boss groaned. "And tell me, 'Magnificent Sans', what exactly is your LV?" Blue's head tilted innocently.
"LV? No one really has LV where I'm from. The only way to get that is-" His face rapidly drained of any color. "Oh. Right." He slunk down and hid against Boss's back. "Where's... Where's Papy? I think we need to get home..."
"Aw, are the little one's feelings hurt? Can't handle a little dust?" Undyne cooed. Boss glared, but he didn't interrupt. "Wanna go home crying like all the others in your pathetic world?"
"At least people are nice there," Blue mumbled sadly. "Everyone here is so... so..."
The Captain cackled. "Mean? You can say it. You're not gonna hurt my feelings-"
"You're all so hurt inside!" Blue burst. "All of you are so torn up by hate and fear and sadness! How can you live like this? How can you live, not having friends, or even being nice to your family? How can you walk down the street everyday, fearing for your life?! It's... It's awful! You all deserve better- Could have better, if you just- just-!" The skeleton hiccuped wildly, gasping for breath. Boss scooped him up and pulled him close. He patted the tiny monster's back and breathed against his skull to sooth him. He didn't know why he did it, but... he did.
Undyne was silent.
"You really think you can fix our world?" She finally managed, in a smothered voice. Her face was turned away. "You think you can waltz in here with your honeyed smiles and sugary lives, and just change what's been going on for decades? You really think you can break down everyone's walls, get them to trust and have hope, when all they've ever known is pain and hate?" Her eye sparked daringly. "You think you can erase what the humans did to us? Trapping us down here to die and kill ourselves off?! You think you can change any of that?!"
Blue hiccuped into Boss's shirt, then pulled away. His eye burst with sudden light and power, such a brilliant blue that the red appliances of kitchen looked a deep purple.
"I can certainly try," he promised.
That's when Boss realized that this small, hopeless creature was meant to be his.
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