Finally, we make it to the last chapter.
Just a warning, it can get pretty violent in this chapter. Just saying...
After going deeper into the cavern and enduring a few burns on their clothes, the two brothers finally made it into a small room. There were large rocks sitting in random places, small pools of magma sat near the walls. A single piece of paper sat on the floor...but other then that, there wasn't much else here.
Papyrus walked over to the paper and picked it up. He tried to squint, but it was too hard to read. "I think it says we're falling on something."
"what?" Sans was skeptical, he snatched the paper away from Papyrus' hands. "lemme see that!"
Sans tried to read the paper, the note looked like it was just scribbled on. Nonetheless, the young skeleton read it the best that he could.
"So you losers actually fell for it..."
"C'mon, Sans...what does it say?"
Sans' bones rattled, his pupils disappearing from his eye sockets. "it means we've..."
The skeleton's attention turned to a nearby rock. He could see bullets forming into orbs and fireballs, they were heading towards Papyrus.
"LOOK OUT!"
Papyrus was pushed onto the ground as Sans took the hits for his brother. The younger skeleton landed with a hard "thud".
"Ow..." Papyrus sat up as he rubbed his skull, he felt a small crack form on his jaw. He looked over at Sans, glaring. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"
Sans didn't say anything, Papyrus was beginning to worry. He started to shake his brother by the shoulder. "C'MON, SANS! NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO NAP!"
Papyrus turned his brother onto his back. One of the cracks on his head had extended to his right eye socket, his ulna and tibia was cracked while his radius appeared to have snapped in two. Papyrus checked on his brother, he was down to 1 hp, again. He was worried. He was certain that Sans was in pain, but he didn't know what to do.
"Whoops..."
Ricky and Sclara had peaked out from behind the rocks. Sclara had a hand over her mouth, "I don't think we were supposed to hit Brittles."
"Eh..." Ricky shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be fine..."
"No, he's not fine!" Papyrus yelled as he stood protectively in front of his brother. Ricky let out a hoarse laugh. "Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt him anymore then we did just now!"
Papyrus' soul began to glow, as did Ricky and Sclara's souls. The skeleton began to tremble in fear.
"But..." Ricky had an unpleasant smile on his face, "You'll be a lot of fun to pick on!"
Fireballs began blow into Papyrus' direction. Normally he would run away in a situation like this. However, he turned his back on the monsters, shielding his brother from any further harm.
"Aw...come on, Papyrus," Sclara teased, "I would've thought that you hated being the shield~!"
Papyrus kept his eye sockets shut as the two monsters behind him continued to attack him. He should've listened to Sans, he should've just stayed at home and away from these bullies...and yet here he was, helplessly trying to protect his brother while he was getting beaten to dust...
...But no matter what, he HAD to protect his brother, he wasn't willing to let him die. Why did these two always pick on the weaker monsters? Was it just for fun? Do they see joy in hurting others? Either way, it angered Papyrus more then anything. He was seething with rage.
Papyrus felt something awakening inside of him, his eye sockets began to glow a red-orange color.
The skeleton stood up, facing the two monsters in a trance-like state. Anger was present in his expression.
"Look, Sclara...Rattles is finally facin' up to us!" Ricky teased as he and Sclara began to laugh.
"NYAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Papyrus began to attack, a barrage of bones headed for the two monsters. Ricky was able to dodge them perfectly, but Sclara had trouble trying to keep up with him.
"Ha, is that the best you've got!" Ricky teased, "I've seen Froggits that were tougher then you!"
Papyrus summoned a bone in his hand. He swung at Ricky, bruising his left cheek. The dragon snarled, spitting out one of his fangs. He swung his tail at Papyrus, hitting him in the rib cage. Taken aback, Papyrus extended his arm, turning Ricky's soul blue as he threw the dragon against the wall.
Before Papyrus could hit Ricky again, he felt Sclara jump onto his shoulders, shielding his eye sockets. "You've seen enough!"
The skeleton swung blindly, he couldn't tell where he was going. He suddenly felt himself being tackled onto the ground by Ricky. The weight of the dragon caused two of Papyrus' ribs to crack. He hissed in pain, but he couldn't give up, now!
Using his blue magic, Papyrus threw Ricky near a rock. Afterwards, he sat up, shaking Sclara off his back. The Astigmatism cackled in amusement. "You're a lot tougher then you look, I'll give you that!"
Papyrus tried to hit Sclara, the bone only managed to brush against one of her horns. "Wow, I've never seen you so riled up, before!"
"Shut up!" Papyrus yelled, knocking Sclara off her feet. The monster cackled as she sat back up, a small bruise was sitting over her eye. "Is that all you've got!?"
While Papyrus was busy fighting Sclara, Ricky sat with his back against the rock. He examined the area to see if he could bring the skeleton's defenses down. His eyes focused on Sans, the older skeleton was still unconsious. Upon seeing this, the dragon felt a grin creep onto his face.
Papyrus was summoning bones from the ground as he continued to fight. He managed to knock Sclara back a few feet. The Astigmatism fought back by summoning her orbs. Papyrus shielded himself, covering his skull with his arms.
"Hey, Papyrus!"
The skeleton turned his head. Googly-eyes formed in his sockets as he saw Ricky holding Sans by his spine. He could see a few ribs fall out from his night shirt. His tibia looked like it could snap at any moment.
Panicking, Papyrus tried to run over to the two monsters. "SANS!"
"Ah!" A flame formed in Ricky's other hand, bringing it close to the unconscious skeleton. "One more step and your brother gets it."
Papyrus didn't know what to do, now. He needed to protect his brother, but he felt weary. If he tried anything, he could also end up turning his own brother into dust...but if he doesn't try anything, there was no guarantee that Sans would be safe. He began to think: What would their father do in this situation?
"Don't you think that's a bit much?"
Papyrus turned his head, he was surprised to hear Sclara, of all people, say something like that.
Ricky tilted his head. "Really? 'Cause I'm having fun with this!"
"Oh, shut up!" Sclara yelled, "We weren't even supposed to hurt Brittles to begin with, and you're just gonna kill him off? I may be a bully, but at least I know when enough's enough!"
"I-it's not like I was actually going to kill him," Ricky muttered as he dropped Sans onto the floor. Papyrus ran over to his brother and held him tightly. Tears were streaming down the skeleton's face.
Sclara continued to glare at Ricky, she didn't seem to believe him. Ricky sighed in defeat, giving Papyrus a nasty look before leaving the cave.
Once Ricky was gone, Sclara turned to Papyrus, opening her mouth to reveal her eye. "This'll probably be the nicest you'll ever get to see me. Next time we see you, we'll be messin' with ya, all over again!"
Sclara left the cave, leaving the two skeletons behind. Papyrus was stunned...Maybe these bullies did have some good in them, after all...They're just afraid to show it.
Papyrus decided to examine Sans, again. His tibia had snapped from being dropped. The younger skeleton took his scarf off and wrapped it around Sans' arm, hoping it would at least keep his ulna intact until they were out of the cave. He picked up his brother's ribs and a part of his radius and tibia. Afterwards, he began to carry Sans onto his back.
"Come on, Sans...we've gotta get out of here!"
Once Papyrus managed to leave the cave, he carried his brother all the way back to New Home. Unfortunately, not only was their father waiting to scold them, he almost had a panic attack upon seeing the condition they were in. He had to take them to a hospital so their fractures could be treated.
It was almost 6:00 in the morning, Papyrus was sitting on a table. His shirt was off, revealing the bandages on two of his ribs. The crack on his jaw was gone, it was able to heal using simple healing magic.
The skeleton kicked his legs impatiently, he saw his father walk in, keeping a calm yet stern expression. His apprentice followed him into the room. A small yellow dinosaur, if Papyrus wasn't mistaken. She had a red and green sweater in her claws.
She handed the sweater to Papyrus before turning to Gaster. "A-anything else you need me to do, sir?"
(That will do, Alphys), Gaster signed, (Why not talk to some of your friends for now? I'll see you at the lab, later.)
"O-OK," The dinosaur began to head out of the room, walking by the two skeletons. "Excuse me!"
Once the dinosaur left, Gaster turned his attention to Papyrus. He sat down in a nearby chair, clasping his hands together over his femurs.
(Now, Papyrus...tell me exactly what happened!)
Papyrus started putting his sweater on, avoiding eye contact with his father. "W-well, I-"
"Papyrus..."
The young skeleton jumped as he heard his father's raspy voice. He started using sign language, again. (Look at me when you're talking!)
"U-um..." Papyrus tried to keep himself from rattling. As much as he loved his father, he was scary when he got mad...Very scary.
"W-well, Ricky and Sclara said that there was a treasure hiding inside a cave somewhere in Hotland. Sans thought it was a bad idea, but I made him come with me anyways. Next thing that happens, they ended up hurting Sans and, well..." Papyrus looked down at his feet, trying to hold back his tears. "It's all my fault...I'm sorry!"
Gaster sat up from his chair, he began to pet the smaller skeleton's head. He had a solemn look on his face.
(What you did is very foolish, you know. If you hadn't have brought him back here sooner, he certainly would've "fallen down". You wouldn't want that, would you?)
Papyrus shook his head as he continued to look down at his feet. "No, sir..."
Gaster started wiping away Papyrus' tears with his thumb. Afterwards, he gently placed his forehead on his son's skull. The young skeleton started to calm down, closing his eye sockets momentarily. This always seemed to calm skeletons down for some reason.
Gaster sat up once Papyrus opened his eye sockets, he began to sign using his hands like always. (You two are both grounded, there is no avoiding that...). The elder skeleton started to smile, (...but, the two of you are safe, and that's what matters!)
"W-wait, what about Ricky and Sclara?"
(I'll be sure to talk to their families about all this later), Gaster signed. (In the meantime, why not talk to your brother? He should be in the floor above this one.)
Gaster grabbed Papyrus' hand and started leading him upstairs. Doctors walked by them, carrying on with their jobs like always. When they arrived in the room Sans was in, Papyrus could see his brother sitting in a hospital bed. He was reading a comic book. He had bandages wrapped around his right eye socket, his arm had a cast over it. Though he couldn't see them, it was safe to assume that he had bandages on his leg and ribs, as well. His other arm was attached to an IV drip.
"Comic Sans!"
"hm?" Sans looked up at his father, a look of confusion was on his face.
(I'll be leaving you two alone for a while,) Gaster signed, (Be sure to call me or one of the nurses if you need anything. All right?)
The twin skeletons nodded as Gaster left the room, Papyrus grabbed a chair and pulled it next to his brother's bed. He continued to look down at the floor.
"what's wrong, pap?" Sans asked curiously, like nothing was wrong.
"...This is all my fault," Papyrus said in a monotone voice. "If I'd listen to you before, none of this would've happened!"
"hey, don't beat yourself up over it," Sans said in an attempt to cheer up his brother. "i mean, i'd say i've been through worse, but..."
Papyrus let out a depressed sigh. Sans tried to think of something else to say, anything to try and keep his brother happy.
"c'mon, papyrus...there has to be something good about all this!"
"...Well...there is one thing..."
Sans cocked his head to the side, he seemed confused.
"While I was trying to protect you, I learned how to do this!"
A bone appeared in Papyrus' hand, causing his brother to stare in shock.
"oh, wow..." Sans muttered. "y-you mean your magic finally awakened!?"
"Hey, yeah..." Papyrus began to smile, feeling proud about himself. "I guess it did and I didn't even realize it...all because I wanted to protect you!"
"th-that's so cool..." Sans was awestruck, he practically had stars in his eye sockets. "and it's all because you were trying to protect me?"
"Nyeh heh heh..." Papyrus let out a chuckle in amusement. "And you know, Sans...I think those bullies might have some good in them, after all."
"er...if you say so," Sans said, feeling slightly uneasy. "but still, you could probably be good enough to join the royal guard one day."
"Do you really think so?" Papyrus asked excitedly. Sans shrugged in response. "sure, why not?"
"Oh my god, the thought of protecting everybody...Especially the king is making me excited, I'm like a little white dog waiting for a bone," Papyrus yelled, "And maybe then...I'll be popular enough to make all kinds of cool friends!"
"take it easy there, fido!" Sans said in a stern voice. Papyrus sighed, but he continued to smile. "Well, I guess for now, I'm stuck with only having my brother as a cool friend...well, you and Fluffy Bunny, anyway."
"whatever you say, papyrus," Sans teased. "anyway, do ya wanna check out this comic? one of the doctors gave it to me."
"Oh, sure," Papyrus said happily. His brother tapped the space next to him, "then come on!"
Papyrus climbed on the bed as he check out his brother's comic, "The Adventures of Space Dog". The duo began to read aloud to each other, despite Papyrus having a hard time reading the comic. They would use some of the stupidest voices they could come up with. While Papyrus did want to make more friends, he was certainly all right spending time with his best friend.
His brother, Sans.
Ehehe...While I planned to have this be a bit less dramatic, I'm at least happy with how this ended.
And hey, who wouldn't want to be Papyrus' friend?
