Papyrus awoke sometime in the middle of the night unable to sleep any longer. There was a restlessness in him that set him wide awake, an itch just underneath the surface of his bones that told him to move. He needed to wake, he needed to plan. He needed to survive. Papyrus lay in bed, glaring steadily at his ceiling. He could fix this. He had to fix this. He was the Great and Terrible. He could right this sinking ship before the entire thing shattered into a million peices.
Undyne would be here in a matter of hours he was sure.
What could he do?
He needed to find the human. That was something he couldn't manage while it was still dark of course, not without the clever nose of a dog guard guiding him. According to Sans, the small creature had left no tracks behind to tell them what direction it had gone. But then again, there weren't many directions it could go. Assuming the human had any idea of how the underground worked, they would know their only escape was in crossing the barrier. That meant getting past the King.
That meant leaving Snowdin.
And there was only one land bridge that connected Snowdin to Waterfall. The human would have to pass through there. Then they could disappear into the labyrinthine mess of caves in Waterfall. They would be much harder to find, but even then there was only a single bridge leading from Waterfall into the Hotlands. There was only a single elevator that lead to the King's castle. This was for strategic reasons of course. No single region of monsters could ever gang up on the other to assert control - the bottleneck that came from a single passageway meant that a large loss of life would be involved in passing it. Criminals leaving one zone would be easily caught entering another. Humans had only one direction they could use to get to their freedom.
If Papyrus was to capture the human, it would have to be on one of these points.
The greater problem now, even greater than catching that elusive human, was finding a way of keeping Sans from being dusted. The sleazy bag of bones certainly wasn't making the task easy. Getting caught by Lesser Dog. Somehow managing to smother his clothes in human scent. How was he supposed to explain that? Well, nobody had to know Lesser Dog was chasing Sans when he was killed. But if Undyne did any investigating into what had happened at all - which she inevitably would - she would get the dogs to recognize Sans' and Papyrus' presence there in the clearing, and maybe a wiff of human as well.
And Papyrus was a shit liar.
With a disgruntled huff, the tall skeleton shambled his way out of bed, his head buzzing with a tangle of ideas and explanations that he was shooting down as quickly as he was thinking up. All the while, he ignored the obvious answer: turn Sans in. Throwing his brother to the wolves would at the very least free him up to find the human on his own. It might remove a burden from his life. Maybe even add to his prestige and the fear surrounding his name - The Great Papyrus, so cold hearted he would even betray his own kin. But he'd already decided that wasn't an option, in some skewed together mix of optimism and pride he clung to the idea that he could fix this without immediately killing his brother.
Papyrus stalked downstairs, surprised to find Sans sprawled out across the couch instead of his bed like he should be. And to add to the strangeness, the shorter skeleton was awake. He was staring up at the ceiling with the most forlorn and contemplative expression. When he noticed Papyrus, he sat up.
"What are you doing down here?" Papyrus demanded - though the tiredness in his voice leached away any ferocity he had tried to muster.
Sans shrugged, "Couldn't sleep."
"Well, there really must be a human in the underground, if simple miracles like this are possible," the taller skeleton mocked, though once again much less heartily than he'd normally manage. He made his way into the kitchen, intent on getting some breakfast before he inevitably fell to ruminating on the hopelessness of their situation once more. To his growing annoyance, Sans followed him. Papyrus ignored him, grabbing himself out some leftover spaghetti and tossing it into the oven to reheat.
"So uh, not to sound ungrateful or anything," Sans hissed from the doorway, his voice muffled just a bit as he hid his face in the fluff of his hoodie, "But why'd you bother with killing Lesser Dog, anyway? Wouldn't it have just been easier to stay out of it? Let things run their course?"
Papyrus crossed his arms with a scoff, "Have you ever known me to take the easy way out of anything, Sans?"
"No," the skeleton shrugged, " 'specially not recently. But hey, you'd finally be rid of me. Doesn't that seem appealing at all to you? Ya know. After all those years of putting up with my bullshit? And after all the hell this fiasco has already caused?"
"Sans if I didn't know any better I'd say you had a death wish," Papyrus huffed as flippantly as possible. He took his time removing his warmed spaghetti from the oven, enjoying the silence that finally reigned over them. He didn't need Sans' pointless rambling ruining his breakfast, especially after he'd ruined so much already. Papyrus could feel more than see Sans scrutinizing him, judging him quietly, but he chose to ignore it. It wasn't until he'd finished his breakfast that he started speaking his thoughts aloud again. Sans noticeably flinched when Papyrus' gruff voice shattered the heavy silence between them. He addressed Sans coldly with the kind of calculated words and posture of a general commanding some underling. It was… oddly out of place in the casually drab atmosphere of their kitchen.
"Today I want you to take me to where that human set up their camp," Papyrus snapped, leaning back in his chair as he organized his thoughts, "We need to get some bearing on where they went."
Sans gave a tense smile, "I toldja boss, they didn't leave any tracks behind. The kid's smart."
"It is a child," Papyrus growled tapping his bony fingers against the table, "Children are fearful, panicky little creatures. They make mistakes, they don't know any better. Unless of course this child isn't alone."
The skeleton narrowed his eye sockets at his brother, "When you attacked it, was it with anyone?"
"Nah, I didn't see anyone with the brat," Sans grumbled, "Besides, what monster in their right mind would help some human?"
Papyrus nodded, the nervous staccato of his fingers against the table consuming the conversation for a moment.
"You uh… plannin' something?" Sans prompted.
"Not yet. I don't have enough information," Papyrus muttered, annoyance bubbling around in his ribcage, "But -"
A heavy knock cut him off. Well, it wasn't really a knock, per se. It sounded much more like someone was trying to kick the door down. Sans spun to face the door, panic making his magic flare to life. Papyrus lurched to his feet, reaching a long arm out to grab Sans by the end of his hoodie.
"Don't you dare teleport," Papyrus hissed, "Anyone nearby will feel the ripple."
"What the hell do you want me to do then?!" Sans growled, his voice almost lost underneath the angry beating on their front door. Papyrus cast his gaze about their kitchen quickly, the lights of his eyes settling on the overly-tall cabinet at the back of the kitchen. With a growl and a yank he pulled Sans to the cabinet and tossed him inside. He just barely managed to collapse back into his chair before the door swung open, the lock broken from all the rough handling. Papyrus scowled. He'd just gotten that door fixed a few weeks ago.
"As destructive as always, Captain," Papyrus growled as Undyne stalked through the ruined doorway. He could tell from a glance that she was already taking this human threat seriously. She had full armor on, her helmet held firmly underneath her arm. She looked like she'd managed to collect a few more scars since Papyrus had last seen her.
Undyne snorted at him in reply, dark eyes glimmering in the light of his kitchen, "Well maybe if you actually greeted your guests while they were knocking, you wouldn't have to worry about your door being kicked in."
She sat down on the chair across from him, leaning back in it to rest her crossed ankles on his table top. Papyrus tried not to grimace at the disgustingly display. Undyne never failed to make herself comfortable in any company. At least she seemed to be in a decently good mood for once - a violent, overzealous kind of mood. But that was good for her.
"You know it always surprises me how clean you manage to keep this wreck. I should have you redecorate my house sometime," Undyne said with a rough sort of pleasantry. She'd used her voice for far too much screaming and yelling at subordinates, it almost always sounded like some sort of growl or another anymore. In spite of it though, she still managed by some miracle to sound pleasant when she spoke with Papyrus, like she was actually talking to a friend or a similar substitute. After having been on the receiving end of all of her insults and snarls, it was still jarring to hear her speak in normal conversation. Sometimes he wondered if she actually took their rivalry seriously.
"I highly doubt I can replace your current style tastes," Papyrus replied, doing his absolute best to stamp down the annoyance in his voice. Staring at her feet on his table was making his hypothetical blood boil, "Unless you'd like your entire house decorated with tacky bone-based decor."
Undyne shrugged, "I've been craving a change of pace anyway."
A dark grin curled across her lips and she bared her teeth in a sharp grin towards Papyrus, "It's about time some dumbass human fell down here. I've been getting real tired of the same ol' Underground day in, day out. You can only settle property disputes and slap around shitty gangs for so long before everything get's boring."
"Is that why you've chosen to invade my home at Asgore-knows what hour in the morning?" Papyrus asked disdainfully, finally giving in to his annoyance and gingerly sliding Undyne's feet off the table. Her boots hit the tile floor with a heavy crash of metal, "Boredom?"
Undyne's smile slackened into a smirk, "You're my right hand monster, Papyrus. I had to meet with you at some point to start working on this mess."
"And it couldn't wait until morning?" Papyrus grumbled.
"Oh please, it's not like you sleep anyway."
"I was enjoying my solitude for once," Papyrus snapped, "I don't get it often."
The rest of Undyne's smile crumbled away, replaced with a heavier sort of frown. She narrowed her eyes slightly at him, her ear frills giving a thoughtful twitch. Whatever piteous look that was supposed to be, it was already grating against Papyrus' nerves.
"Dogamy told me about Lesser Dog," she said after a pause, "He and Dogaressa took me to the clearing."
Papyrus' annoyance was suddenly washed away by that clawing feeling of worry that he'd managed to finally stamp down. Shit. Shit. So soon? He hadn't expected -
"I'll give you some serious credit Papyrus. I have absolutely no idea how you managed to get there and back without getting stupidly lost," the captain said with a growled laugh, "I mean, you had some light to work with but still."
Papyrus blinked at her, keeping wisely silent. Undyne smiled at him, her eyes cold and severe.
"So, here's what I know. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong," she hummed, "You, Lesser Dog, Sans and a human have all been through that clearing. Lesser Dog is dust. The human is lost out there somewhere. From the looks of it, Sans and the human have probably had it out with each other at least once out there..."
Undyne tapped one of her clawed fingers on the table, emphasizing her next words, "And you're home alone."
Her previous smirk had twisted itself around into a frown now. Papyrus watched her tensely, realizing belatedly that in his nervousness he'd balled his hands into fists against his table top. He frowned stubbornly back at Undyne as she looked him over expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something, to frame himself. If it was a battle of wills, Papyrus' was the stronger one. Undyne broke away from his gaze and spoke first.
"Listen, Papyrus, I understand there's a lot of mess between you and your brother, alright?" she began, her voice heavy with measured severity, "I also understand that you're still brothers. That's not lost on me."
"What are you implying?" Papyrus finally managed to get himself to speak. It was a lot… softer than he'd intended. But at least he didn't sound nearly as nervous as he felt.
"I know you killed Lesser Dog," Undyne growled, frowning, "It's kind of hard to miss the damage your swords made on the dog's armor, you know. And the only reason I can think of you doing something that stupid is if Lesser was going after Sans."
Papyrus scowled. He was starting to feel sick from how nervous he was, his soul shuddering around in his chest like some pseudo heartbeat. His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles were getting sore.
"I've honestly got no idea why Lesser Dog would attack Sans. I mean, the guy's a joke, but he's still got a bite that would put Lesser to shame, with those freaky skull things of his. So I guess what I'm saying is - that dog had to have a damn good reason for going after Sans."
A pause passed between the two monsters. Papyrus could feel Undyne scrutinizing him, taking in how nervous he looked. She was taking in every tiny, damning sign that said Papyrus was quiet and angry for reasons completely unrelated to her kicking down his door or being up too early in the morning.
"Papyrus, you're going to have to give me some answers here," Undyne growled finally, "Because right now the pieces I'm putting together are making me think Sans might be helping that human."
"Sans is not a traitor," Papyrus snarled back, "He's a piece of shit, Undyne, but he isn't that stupid."
"Sure he's not," Undyne snorted, "He's friends with Alphys. Of course he's got some brains somewhere in that skull of his. Enough brains to, say, make you go stomping all over that clearing and muddle up scents and tracks?"
"Now you're just sounding paranoid."
Undyne huffed out a sigh, knitting her hands together in some display of pity and disappointment that was really starting to grate against Papyrus' nerves. She paused, seeming to collect her thoughts for a moment. The silence that passed between them was tense. It tasted like vinegar and bad decisions, and as much as Papyrus didn't want to admit it, it was worrying. What worried him the most was that… this wasn't how he was expecting her to react, for things to go. He was used to Undyne's anger, her destructive determination. He wasn't used to… whatever this was. This… genuine emotion, pity. This thoughtfulness. He'd glimpsed it a few times, sure, but it was never for so long, or directed at him.
"Listen, Papyrus," she breathed finally, wrapping him up in a concerned glare, almost looking through him with those amber eyes of hers, "I know we've had our spats and rivalries before, and I gotta admit, it's made me pretty fond of you."
Papyrus blinked at her. His surprise must have been written across his face, because a smirk twitched at the corners of her mouth at it.
"You've got spirit, and you're not afraid of asserting yourself over all the shit that roams around this place. I respect that! I like to think I can actually depend on you for stuff like this," she continued, waving a hand at nothing in particular, "With this human walking around, I need strong monsters who can take it out. And I'll need you even more when we get that human soul and finally bust out of this place. But you're coming up to a dangerous decision. If I'm right, and Sans is a traitor-"
She held a hand up, cutting Papyrus off before he could shout the retort that had slipped across his teeth, "If I'm right, you're gonna be choosing between dusting him and doing something really stupid, like helping him. And I know it's far-fetched that you'll help that dirt bag with anything, alright? But no matter how much you hate the guy, you're still brothers, and that's dangerous. Trust me, I know."
Papyrus frowned, narrowing his eyes at Undyne, "How are you so sure about all of this?"
"I dusted Gerson, remember?" the Captain said with a rueful sort of smile, her eyebrow raising slightly, "That monster practically raised me. But he did the stupid thing and helped the last human who passed through here, didn't he?"
Papyrus blinked at Undyne as she seemed to get… smaller. Her ear frills lowered slightly, the look in her eyes getting distant at the memory. This was… very new. She looked so weak, so bare. She might as well be showing the skeleton her soul. An uncomfortable, crawling sensation made it's way up Papyrus' spine. She… trusted him with this? Why the hell was she telling him this?
"Anyway," Undyne huffed out a heavy breath, "It was hard, okay? It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But at the end of the day, a traitor is still a traitor, and it had to be done. Gonna be honest, I'm still kinda messed up over it."
The Captain shook her head, as if she could rid herself of the melancholy that had settled across her shoulders as she spoke, "So… I guess all that to say - remember what's important. And if you need it - which I doubt, what with all the 'cold, ruthless, unfeeling' schtick you got going on - I'm here for you. I cannot afford to lose a monster like you at a time like this."
Papyrus for the life of him couldn't decide what to say or how to feel. This entire conversation had thrown him completely off-guard. He hadn't expected this to go nearly the way it had gone, and he had no idea how to respond. Undyne just confessed some world-shattering moment of weakness for her - and she was giving him advice? Compliments? Trust?
They'd been struggling back and forth with their power rivalry for years. Ever since Papyrus has come into Snowdin, screaming his proclamations about how he was going to become the new Captain of the Guard, they had been butting heads. They argued, they fought, they questioned each other's authority. It had never occurred to Papyrus that Undyne might consider that challenge a friendly one - one worthy of camaraderie and respect. And here she was spilling her soul out to him as if they respected each other, as if they held some kind of relationship past petty rivalry. He… didn't know how to respond. And he was still trying to convince himself that the display wasn't moving. Trying to tell himself it didn't feel good to know someone held him in some sort of regard other than fear or spite.
Undyne scowled at him, the angry bite in her voice pulling Papyrus back to reality, "You just going to stare at me like a confused moldsmall or are you going to say something?"
"Sorry," Papyrus finally managed to stammer, forcing his scattered thoughts to focus, "I'm… honored to have your support, Captain. But I believe your erm… worry is unwarranted."
"Yeah whatever," Undyne stood, replacing her helmet under her arm as she turned to leave - the confession must have made her uncomfortable as well, "Get your dogs moving at daybreak. I want that human found."
"Yes Captain."
"I'll have some patrols keep watch around the bridge into Waterfall," Undyne hummed, "Find me when you've got anything worth reporting."
"Yes Captain."
As she ambled off, Papyrus couldn't stomp down the crawling feeling that he should say something after her. It was a weird, nervous, uncomfortable sort of feeling in his soul. But what in the world could he possibly say…? That would make sense...? Something that was equally genuine but - hopefully - not so revealing or vulnerable. Why were things suddenly becoming so complicated? He didn't need sentimentality clouding up an already skewed-about mess.
"Er… Captain?" Papyrus finally managed to call after her, rising to his feet slowly. Undyne paused in his shattered doorway, watching him expectantly.
"I… appreciate you sharing your experience with me," Papyrus stammered, the feeling and the words foreign against his teeth, "It's an honor to have your insight."
Undyne nodded, looking satisfied. She paused before taking her final steps out the door, a relieved smile on the edge of her voice, "You can call me Undyne when it's just us. Loosen up a little sometime, nerd."
Just like that she was gone, vanishing into the dim, waking glow that had settled over Snowdin in the time she'd been there. The atmosphere around Papyrus, for a few seconds at least, was strangely light. Pleasant but still faintly confused. The crawling feeling of worry in his stomach had stilled, replaced with the calmer feeling of satisfaction.
That is, until Sans cracked open the door to the cabinet he'd been hiding in. Papyrus was back to scowling almost immediately.
"Wow that was weird. I didn't know you two were that close," Sans coughed an uncomfortable laugh, "Should I be telling Alphys her girl is playing nice with other monsters?"
"Oh please," Papyrus growled patronizingly, rolling his eyes as best he could manage without proper eyes to roll, "Mutual respect and authority isn't only achieved through intimacy - obviously. I'm hardly a threat to that little psycho's relationship."
"Whatever you say boss."
It was an act of determination not to backhand Sans across the room. Whatever Sans was implying, jokingly or not, Papyrus wanted no part in it. He and Undyne were rivals, he reminded himself. He needed to clear the odd, sentimental encounter from his skull and focus on the task at hand. The good news was Undyne had filled the gaps of the story in for herself, by herself, without any need for Papyrus to lie or make up some contradicting story. It still placed Sans in a bad light - honestly, how could she think the little sleezeball was a traitor? It made no sense! - but Papyrus was sure if he could get Sans to hand the soul over, it would clear his name enough to keep him from getting dusted. And maybe - maybe - Papyrus could use this newfound weakness in Undyne to his advantage. This foolhardy trust she'd decided to waste on him.
For now, finding the human took precedence - both because of the human's importance to his own plans and because finding them was a direct order from Undyne. He needed to play along for now, keep himself in good standing until he could twist the scenario coalescing around him to his advantage. He sat in silence for a few minutes, Sans watching him callously, reviewing all the information Undyne had given him. The most interesting thing to him was in the mix of scents in the clearing where Sans and the human had fought. If what Undyne had said was true, the dogs had been unable to find any trace of the human outside that field - which either attested to the dogs' fallibility as trackers or the human child's cunning. Papyrus was betting on the former. But this meant they hadn't found the nest the human had made, the one Sans had managed to discover. It was reasonably safe for Papyrus to check out without worrying about his scent being found and his loyalty compromised.
"Sans," Papyrus barked, startling the skeleton with the sudden break in the silence, "I want you to watch the bridge between Snowdin and Waterfall. There's plenty of cover there, if you're careful nobody will spot you. Keep an eye out for that human, make sure they don't get across."
Sans nodded slowly, "Sure boss. And uh… what about you?"
Papyrus grimaced, a snarl curling across his teeth, "First I want you to take me to where that little beast made it's nest, now, before I have to get the dogs mobile."
Sans frowned, "Uh… you sure? You don't do the whole uh… teleport thing… well."
Papyrus clenched a hand around Sans' shoulder, "Just get going. The sooner this is done, the better."
His brother shrugged, a nonchalant smile glinting in his teeth, "Whatever you say boss."
Papyrus felt Sans lean forward, as if the skeleton were about to take a step. Then there was a jolt that shuddered Papyrus through to his very soul, like the sickening pulse of electricity. For a shadow of a breath he heard an overbearing roar of static, every inch of his body and soul feeling numb with cold, his soul going sick. Then his feet were landing in soft snow, his world tilting as if he'd just taken a bad hit to the back of his skull. He leaned against the nearest tree, steadying himself as the queasy feeling of unsettled magic churned around where his stomach should be. He felt like his body had moved and the rest of what made him was elsewhere, slowly trickling back to him inch by inch. It was a nauseous, weak and shaking sort of feeling that left a bitter taste in his mouth and a dizziness in his soul.
Papyrus hated teleporting. He wondered how in the world his brother could manage it so casually when he was so much weaker than Papyrus was. Or maybe that was how Sans managed it so easily - he didn't have nearly so much magic that had to catch up with him. Ack, that guess sounded ridiculous. He probably shouldn't be wondering about something he knew nothing about.
When Papyrus composed himself enough to walk without the threat of losing the breakfast he'd just eaten, he lumbered further into the little corner of the Underground Sans had dropped them off at. Sans had been right in calling it a nest. The human had scooped out the snow amidst the tangled tree roots at the base of one of the trees, curling up inside to take shelter from the chill of the night. There also seemed to be the remains of a fire of some sort, small and pitiful. Though it was an accomplishment for a child. Papyrus didn't know of any monster children who could survive a night in Snowdin's wilds without help. That must be the human's determination working.
All around the little campfire and den were tiny footprints no larger than Papyrus' palm, a few of them scuffled over by Sans' own footprints from when he'd checked out the little hollow when he'd found it. The footprints never left the area of the camp. It was almost as if the human had simply evaporated into thin air. Of course, this was impossible unless…
Undyne's words from earlier crept to the forefront of Papyrus' mind. Sans could easily snatch up a child and carry them off... Papyrus dismissed the thought. It went against Sans' very nature to help a human. Even besides the fact that this human had practically ruined the little skeleton's life - and was probably going to be the reason it ended - helping a human through the Underground would take a lot of time and energy and nerve. All of which Sans didn't have. He was a coward, lazy, and cared for nothing other than his own well-being. It was a mystery how the child could cover their tracks so well. But if they could figure out how to build a fire and survive the wicked cold of Snowdin's nights, then they could surely find a way of sneaking about without being caught.
After Papyrus was content that he'd seen everything the little burrow had to offer, he and Sans jumped back home - this time Papyrus barely managed to keep from retching all over the floor. By the time the sky was bright enough to call it day, he was back on his feet and calling forth the guard.
The day passed in a blur of dog hair, snow and frustration. Of course Papyrus had to lead the dogs back to the clearing so they could try and find any more scents from the human - and also so they could identify the smell of the human later if they ran into it. Dogamy and Dogaressa had the best noses of the entire bunch, but even they were at a loss as to where the human had disappeared to. They could only follow the trail for so far into the forest before it was lost amongst the scents of the punk teenagers that wandered the forest, along with other scattered smells of flora and fauna.
Meanwhile Papyrus left Sans stationed at the river, instructing his brother to stay out of sight and only move if the human passed by. He prayed the useless bag of bones had enough sense to stay awake while watching instead of falling asleep like he normally did at his station. He might just dust the little nuisance himself if he did. Papyrus let the dogs break their search around noon, both so they could get lunch and so Papyrus could check Sans' progress. He didn't make it there, though. He was on the path out of Snowdin when a call went off on his cellphone. He recognized the number - it was one of Undyne's guards. Papyrus grimaced as he answered, a bitter scowl contorting his features as they relayed their news to him.
The human had been spotted in Waterfall.
Author's Notes:
Rawr. Friendly reminder this story isn't, in fact, dead. Just updating at a snail's pace.
Sorry this thing has been so slow to update! Once again - I'm working on this in between chapters of my bigger project Casting Rain, and with everything I've had going on this summer I haven't had much time. I have been chipping away at it slowly though! I just really hope the tone hasn't taken a dramatic shift since the last time I picked this up. I did reread the previous chapters, but still. I'm mildly worried.
Anywho! I'm hoping to get the next chapter out sooner rather than later. We'll just have to see.
