AUTHOR'S NOTE- Warning...some delicate themes are touched on in this chapter. Tread lightly.
After some consoling and patching up of wounds, Frisk was finally able to calm down. Sans explained everything to Toriel before Frisk had to, and the goat mother soon put herself to work to arrange some meetings with the parents of the bullies. NOBODY messes with her child.
Sans finally gave himself a moment to relax as he sat down on the couch with a sigh.
"I...didn't know you had it in you."
Sans' eyes opened instantly when he felt someone else sit next to him.
"Oh...hey Alphys..." he said with a small smile.
Alphys gave a small nod of greeting before continuing.
"I mean, I-I knew that you were strong...but I didn't know you could use magic like that!" she said while adjusting her glasses.
Sans raised an eyebrow.
"Wait...how did you know about that?" he asked.
"F-Frisk just told me about it."
Sans sighed slightly.
Of course they did.
"Look...I just saw the kid in trouble and reacted. If you were there you would've done the same." Sans finally said.
Alphys shrugged.
"Yeah...but Sans...you're not usually a fighter. At least, you weren't before. There was a t-time you were a monster of science. You didn't even have a NEED for magic attacks!" she asked.
Sans' shoulders tensed slightly before he relaxed again.
"That...was a long time ago."
"Still though...how could you have gotten all that power? Even Undyne can't have that much control over attacks like that! You have way more power than you should given your EXP levels. How is this even possible?"
Sans drew in a sharp breath before answering.
"Alphys...things happen for a reason and things can change. I may not have been a fighter when I was younger, but LIFE came and gave me a wake up call. The world is cold, dark, and dangerous...and won't hesitate to take those you love away from you. I lost my mother a long time ago...and you KNOW what happened to my dad. Papyrus...he's all I have left. I became a fighter for HIM! Because you and I BOTH know that his kindness and compassion could be CRUSHED in this world. He NEEDS to be protected. Him AND the kid! And no amount of equations and explosions will keep them safe. No...I don't know WHERE this power came from...I might never know...but god damn it if I don't use it to protect those I care about."
Alphys looked down a moment after Sans' monologue, her brain sorting through what she just heard.
"I...I can understand that...I think..."
Sans sighed.
"I'm sorry for going on a tangent like that...it's not a topic I like discussing..."
"I know...but...you were so fired up...as if...there was something coming after Papyrus and Frisk. There ISN'T right? We ARE safe aren't we?"
Sans' eyes widened slightly as Chara's laugh echoed in his head.
"Yes...we are." Sans finally said.
Alphys raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"
Sans nodded.
Alphys wasn't convinced, but she didn't push any further.
"Okay...just...come to me if anything's bothering you...okay?
Sans nodded again.
"I will..."
But as Alphys walked away...she and Sans both knew he was lying.
"S-S-Sans?"
Papyrus breathed out in relief when Sans' voice was heard on the other end of the phone.
"Bro? What's going on? What happened?" Sans asked, panic in his voice.
"Th-Those ...m-m-monsters in school...they...b-b-beat me up again..."
Papyrus could hear Sans mutter a curse word before speaking into the phone again.
"Where are you?" he asked, his voice serious.
"I-In the back...b-behind the dumpster...S-S-Sans...everything...everything hurts...*sniffle* I'm scared!"
"I know I know...dad and I will be there soon!" Sans assured him.
Papyrus' eyes widened when he heard voices.
"FOUND THE BONEHEAD!"
Papyrus let out a scared whimper as he was pulled to his feet again, wincing from the pain in his cracked bones.
"Papyrus? PAPYRUS?! ARE YOU OKAY?! PAPY-"
Sans' voice was cut off when a kid smashed his phone.
"Now come on...don't run away so soon! We aren't finished yet!" the kid said with a laugh as he punched Papyrus across the face.
Papyrus let out a gasp of pain.
"OW! HEY! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"
Another kid laughed.
"Kinda the point you DINGUS!" he said with a laugh as he kicked Papyrus in the ribs.
Papyrus screamed out on impact, tears going down his face.
"Aww...what's the matter you BONEHEAD! Gonna cry to your mommy? Oh...that's right! You don't HAVE one! You just have that nerdy brother and dad! Bet they do experiments on you and stuff! I'm almost SORRY for you..."
"Hello almost sorry for you..."
Everyone froze when a silky smooth, accented voice filled the air.
"I'm DAD!"
The kids were suddenly surrounded by a golden glow as they were pulled away from Papyrus, the injured skeleton caught in a blue glow.
The kids turned to see two glows in the fog. One gold, one blue. The fog cleared slightly to reveal Gaster and Sans, Gaster dressed in a dark trench coat and Sans wearing a yellow and blue striped shirt under a baggy blue hoodie, jeans and sneakers seen as well. They each had one glowing eye and they DIDN'T look happy.
"Oh god...it's THEM!"
The kids began to scatter this way and that, but Gaster simply snapped his fingers in response, surrounding them all in a golden glow once more and bringing them in front of him.
"Sans...go to your brother."
Sans nodded.
"On it."
Sans rushed to Papyrus' side, the glow fading as he held Papyrus in his arms.
Papyrus looked up weakly.
"S-Sans?" he asked.
Sans nodded with a forced smile.
"Hey buddy! We're gonna get you fixed up okay?"
Papyrus teared up with a smile as Sans began to carry him back to Gaster's side, Gaster seen to be talking to the kids.
"...so unless you want a HORRIBLE TIME with me...DON'T attack my son again...have you got that?" Gaster said darkly, the kids nodding in fear before Gaster let them go.
The skeletons watched as the bullies ran away screaming.
Gaster breathed out before turning to Sans and Papyrus.
"Are you both okay?"
Sans looked down at Papyrus.
"I am at least. But Papyrus doesn't look too good." Sans answered, a worried tone in his voice.
Gaster sighed slightly as he picked up Papyrus in his own arms, Sans putting his hands in his hoodie pockets.
"Nothing a little healing magic won't fix. And with luck, this won't happen again." he said.
Sans sighed in relief.
"I hope you're right."
Gaster nodded as Papyrus slipped in unconsciousness.
"Poor little guy. He's been through a lot. What do you say we get him home?" was the last thing Papyrus could hear before going under completely...
Papyrus opened his eyes instantly before sitting up and bringing a hand to his head, a slight sigh escaping.
"Papyrus?"
Papyrus turned to see Frisk standing in the doorway, rubbing their eyes slightly.
"Human? What are you doing awake at this hour?" he asked, his voice soft as to not wake anyone else up.
"I couldn't sleep...and when I walked out to get a drink, I saw you wake up. Are you okay?" Frisk asked, their footsteps barely heard as they walked into the room.
Papyrus smiled slightly.
"I'm perfectly fine human. Just had an...interesting dream is all."
Frisk climbed up next to Papyrus and looked up in concern.
"Was it a bad dream?" they asked.
Papyrus chuckled softly.
"No, not at all. It was...honestly more like a memory to be honest." he answered, leaning back against his headboard as he did.
Frisk leaned back slightly themself, the back of their head resting on Papyrus' shoulder.
"The memory...what was it about? If you don't mind me asking."
Papyrus thought a moment before replying.
"It was a very distant memory. Of when I was about your age. I honestly am surprised I still remember it..." Papyrus started, only to stop when his hands began to twitch, the attack in the memory fresh in his mind.
Frisk raised an eyebrow in concern.
"Are you okay Papyrus? Your hands are shaking..."
Papyrus' eyes widened as he curled his hands into fists.
"Papyrus? Did something bad happen in the memory?"
Papyrus breathed out slightly before answering.
"Allow me to answer that question with a question...human...how long have your peers been bullying you?"
Frisk's eyes widened slightly, Papyrus' serious tone surprising them.
"You...heard then?"
Papyrus nodded.
Frisk sighed before answering.
"Awhile. It...started a short while after we came back to the surface...they kept picking on me about you guys...and...about me...and...me not having human parents...and...they...keep going after me for not wanting to fight back..." Frisk muttered, tears threatening to escape.
Papyrus put his arms around Frisk instantly, pulling them into a hug.
"It hurts a lot...doesn't it?"
Frisk nodded.
Papyrus sighed before speaking again.
"You...aren't the first to experience that pain Frisk."
Frisk's eyes widened slightly.
Papyrus had used their real name.
Frisk looked up at Papyrus, who had a somber look on his face.
"Y-You mean?"
Papyrus nodded.
"You were bullied too? YOU?!" Frisk asked in shock.
Papyrus nodded again.
"Yes...it's...a part of my life that I don't like remembering..."
Frisk looked down before looking up again.
"...what happened?"
Papyrus looked down at Frisk with a small smile.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you?"
Frisk nodded slightly.
Papyrus chuckled slightly before putting an arm around Frisk again.
"Alright then. Well...I was born in Hotland to my father and mother. Sans was only 6 when I was born, and my father was Asgore's royal scientist at the time. I...don't remember my mother very well...but...from what Sans told me, she was the royal judge. A monster trained to pass judgment to someone's soul before they enter the castle. If the visitor had a pure soul and low EXP...they could pass through. But...if they had a dark soul...and violent thoughts...and wished to harm others...my mother would see to it that they didn't get close to the royal family."
Frisk instantly thought of the judgment hall where they would either have a nice chat with Sans or kill him in an impossible fight.
"Your mother sounds very strong."
Papyrus smiled slightly.
"She was. At least from what I've heard. Apparently, she passed away a few months after I was born. Someone with a dark soul got into the castle...and...something in the battle...caused her to lose..."
Frisk's eyes widened.
"I'm so sorry!"
Papyrus sighed.
"It's alright...it happened so long ago...and...it affected Sans and our father more than I. With mother gone, Sans and father worked together to raise me. It was clear from the start that Sans was a prodigy. He was very intelligent for his age and mastered basic magic before he was 10. He soon became father's apprentice. Sans began training to be a scientist. For a time...with Sans being so smart and my father being so important...I felt...for a time...like I was nothing. I had dyslexia...still do in fact. It was hard to read and even harder to write. And with my ADHD affecting me at an early age...it was hard for me to focus sometimes. I just...didn't have the capabilities to do what they could. Sans and my father didn't mind though. They treated me just like anyone else...and gave me so much help, love and support. Honestly...I felt as if they were the only two monsters in the underground who believed in me." Papyrus said, leaning his head back as he spoke.
"Once I began school however...the bullying began. I remember days where I would hide inside lockers to evade my attackers...or be chased all over Hotland as soon as the bell rang. The nights of sitting on the kitchen counter while father healed me became the usual routine...and it just wouldn't stop. Sans and father did all they could to stop the attacks...even moving to Snowdin at one point...but my peers were cruel. So very very cruel. They knew of Sans and father's knowledge and status...and...they took every opportunity...to tell me that I...I could never be like them. That I wasn't smart, that I couldn't read, that I was useless...that...I was a waste of space. And after awhile...I started to believe them."
Frisk hugged Papyrus tightly as he spoke, listening as Papyrus' voice cracked at the memory.
"By the time I was 13...I was at rock bottom. Father had...passed away in an accident. And it was just Sans and I. I was in middle school by then, and Sans was trying to keep up his scientist training while trying to find a side job. I...Frisk...I was a VERY different person back then. I was stuck in a depression that wouldn't go away. The bullying wouldn't stop...my grades were slipping...and with all Sans could do with his life...I felt like a burden. At times...I considered doing the worst just to ESCAPE that feeling of failure."
Frisk's eyes widened slightly.
Papyrus closed his eyes before he smiled slightly.
"But...I never got the chance to...because just when I was at my worst...Undyne came along. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was walking in Waterfall...when I heard a fight going on. Undyne was there. She had just begun her training with King Asgore...and she was losing a fight against older monsters. She was so beaten up...there was no way she could've made it any longer. The monsters kept calling her weak...useless...pathetic...and that she'd never be worth anything. Those words were like scars to me...and seeing them being said to someone else...it hurt. I didn't know what came over me...I just...jumped into the fight without thinking. It was then I first used magic...and I managed to save her from further damage. By the time I got her to Sans...she was unconscious...but when she awoke...she...she asked me why I saved her. Why I didn't just save myself. Do you know what I told her?"
Frisk shook their head.
Papyrus looked to Frisk.
"I told her that I fought back because if I couldn't save myself...I could at least save someone else. Ever since then, she's been one of my best friends. She and Sans never left my side and helped me slowly overcome my depression. They gave me the drive to keep trying. I finished high school...and I began training to be a royal guard...so I could make a difference for monsters like my parents did. When Sans began losing the drive to do what he used to love...I was there to help him through...because I felt first hand what it was like...and I don't want him to go through it when he has so much potential. I don't think I'll ever fully understand what made him change so much...but he and I are the only family we have left...and he's capable of amazing things. He'll always be my brother...and nothing...not even the years that have gone by...can change that."
Frisk smiled tearfully before hugging Papyrus tightly.
"You were very brave."
Papyrus smiled before hugging back.
"It's like the saying goes...you can't be brave without being scared first."
Frisk smiled as they cuddles into Papyrus' arms, falling asleep a short while later. Not wanting to disturb them, Papyrus simply pulled the covers over both of them, allowing Frisk to stay in bed with him for the night.
With one last glance at Frisk, Papyrus pulled the sleeve of his shirt up slightly, revealing a series of scratches on his bony arms that have long since faded into scars.
"Do not fret human. I...the Great Papyrus...will always be there to protect you..."