*Red*

He had underestimated Papyrus, big time. He thought that because this world was so peaceful there would be no fighting to speak of. But he was wrong. Papyrus might not have been very high in the ranks of the Guards, in fact the way the taller skeleton spoke of his training with Undyne he wasn't even a real guard yet, but he was stronger than he let on. So one day, a couple weeks in, Papyrus suddenly woke him; a wide grin on his face.

"Time to get up you sleepy-bones. We're going to do some training today!" With that said he left the room, whistling to himself, while Sans began to sweat.

"T-training?" Memories of the terrible things his brother had forced him to do for the sake of training had him trembling slightly with worry. No. This Papyrus was different. This one liked cooking and cleaning. He liked to watch crappy shows on the tv and snuggle, he had sworn he would never hurt Sans; and Sans believed him.

Getting out of bed he snagged a blue hoodie from the dresser and slipped it on. He'd fallen asleep in his t-shirt and shorts and he didn't really feel like changing them all that much. Putting on a pair of socks he yawned and headed down the stairs, wondering what kind of training they were going to be doing.

"Oh, you're up already! Good. The Great Papyrus is going to show you how it's done." Smiling up at the larger skeleton, his one gold tooth glinting in the light, he slipped on his sneakers before heading out the door into the cold.

Alphys had shyly suggested that he wear the other Sans's clothes around town, so that there wouldn't be any confusion, and though he hated to admit it the clothes were pretty comfy. But he absolutely refused to wear the dumb-ass slippers. Sneakers were better for defending against sudden attacks anyway.

"So... I know you have the same ability as my brother. But can you show it to me? I won't know how to train you if I don't know what you can do with it." Papyrus stared down at him with that wide grin of his, making Sans huff in good natured annoyance. It was always surprising just how perceptive this Papyrus was. Sure his brother was perceptive, although observant and cunning were better words for it. But this Papyrus seemed to have almost this super intuition about things. Something he figured the other Sans didn't pay much attention to.

"I'm not so sure..." He said slowly, glancing around at the buildings and the monsters hanging around outside. Luckily Papyrus caught on to why he seemed so distressed and suggested they go to a secluded area. He even grabbed Sans's hand and led him to a favored clearing for his training.

Looking around at the secluded area he felt his shoulder blades relax slightly. Now if he did use his power he wouldn't hurt anyone accidentally. Before he could think about what he was about to be doing, using his powers, Papyrus came to stand directly behind him.

"Alright Sans! Let's see what you can do." Papyrus said cheerfully as he put his hands gently on the smaller skeleton's shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. Giving Sans a broad smile he waited, curious and excited. Sans could feel no tenseness, fear, or rejection in the taller skeleton and soon felt himself relax under his hands. After a moment of stalling he lifted his hand, albeit hesitantly, and used his power to lift a large boulder. With the flick of his wrist he sent it flying across the clearing to slam into the ground. Silence filled the area and he flinched slightly, waiting to be reprimanded for some obscure fault.

"Wowie! So you can throw things with your magic, amazing! What else can you do?" The excitement and pride coming off the taller skeleton made him duck his head, hiding a small blush. Rare were the days where his Papyrus gave him outright compliments. There were days when his brother stated he was 'passable' but other than that it was normally angry insults and cuffing him for failing a task.

Papyrus noticed his suddenly dejected look and quickly gave him a small hug, looking at him kindly.

"Let's spar! I can't know how I, the Great Papyrus, is to train you if I do not know the extent of your abilities." Letting go of Sans he crossed to the other side of the clearing, though not too far away, and turned to face him. Sans didn't want to fight. Every time he fought his brother he lost, and it always terrified him how far Papyrus was willing to go to turn him into a weapon. Yes, he knew of Papyrus's plans for him. No, he really didn't want to go through with them. If, when, Papyrus gained power he was sure that no one would be safe.

"If you won't attack first, then I shall!" Snapping out of it he easily dodged the first few attacks, which made Papyrus laugh happily.

"You are very Agile! Unlike my lazy-bones brother. Keep it up." Rather than attacking him in a manner that suggested a killing blow the taller skeleton was making a game of it. Every once in a while he'd call out compliments, jokes, and criticisms. But none of them were ever nasty or intending to distract him from what they were doing. By the time they were starting to really go at it Sans actually started sending attacks back. When he tossed a particularly tricky attack at Papyrus the taller skeleton beamed.

"There you go!" Eventually they both became quite tired, which was odd to him. Papyrus should have been able to keep up with him and them some. Usually his brother would scold him for being lazy when he finally collapsed into the snow, sweating from nerves and exhaustion.

"That was so much fun, we'll have to do this again soon." Papyrus laughed as he plopped down into the snow and sank a few inches. Sans had mixed feelings about this as he sat in the snow with his brother from an alternate world. It was so strange to see a Papyrus that was constantly happy and giving out encouragement. But not strange enough that he wanted the taller skeleton to stop, oh no. This was a dream he'd had ages ago and given up all hope of it ever becoming real. Shivering slightly he curled in on himself. He'd used his powers! But not once had he been threatened or told that he should test his powers on some unsuspecting monster.

Looking at his own hand he closed it into a fist and sighed. Noticing his unease Papyrus lifted his head from the snow and gave him a small smile.

"Your powers are a part of you. You shouldn't have to be so afraid of them." Laughing dryly he nodded and flopped backward into the snow. Both skeletons lay there a while. How long, Sans had no clue. But eventually his brother stood up, brushing snow off of his costume, and held out his hand so he could help Sans up. Taking his brother's hand he was practically lifted off his feet before the taller skeleton let him go. Putting his hands in his pockets he followed Papyrus back into town. Stopping once, he turned to scan the area they had been practicing in and smiled.

"Maybe a little training wouldn't be so bad."

*Orange*

Once the day was over and the brothers had finished with their patrols, chores, and dinner Papyrus tucked his pseudo-brother into bed and waited until he knew the smaller skeleton was asleep. Heading downstairs he glanced at the time and sighed. Hopefully Sans wouldn't wake up from a nightmare while he was away, that would be really bad. As much as Sans put forth a tough guy exterior Papyrus knew that he was really scared, lost, and lonely. The echoing emotions between them spoke of an abusive home environment where he felt unwanted and unloved. Some of the memories he'd received made him turn red with anger and it took all of his self control not to let his own powers rage around him. He might not be as magically inclined as his brother, but he could be just as destructive if he decided to let go of his iron will.

Closing the door and locking it behind him he began walking at a quick pace, deciding not to stop for anything. It had been a few weeks now and he was slowly becoming more anxious about Sans. As much as he wanted to keep the little red skeleton around he knew that his own brother was somewhere dangerous. Even though he was the younger brother he knew that Sans relied heavily on him for support. His powers, his low health, and his torn psyche all played a part in making the small skeleton fragile, like pottery that had been dropped and put back together with tar multiple times. The nightmares where he cried out in the night, his drunken mumblings about everyone dying, he couldn't comprehend what his brother had gone through. But there was a heavy sense of deja-vu that followed them around and he knew it was due to Sans's powers. Especially once he'd shared memories with Red.

Taking the mysterious ferry down to Hotland he made it to Alphys's lab and knocked on the door. A minute passed and the scientist opened the door with a shy smile. She didn't need to ask why he was there, she already knew. Without any ado he came inside, the door closing behind him, and sat with Alphys at one of her many worktables. Quickly she brewed some hot water and had tea ready in minutes.

"So how are th-things going with the R-Red Sans?" She asked tentatively. Papyrus gave her a sad smile.

"He's doing a lot better than before. He will now smile, laugh, and even make jokes. He no longer shakes, jumps, or trembles as if he'd waiting for someone to bark at him or hit him. The fact that I've had to teach him to not be so scared of everything, so scared of me..." He wanted to say that it was weighing on his soul, that he didn't think he could handle being around this broken version of his brother any longer; but he couldn't. Papyrus knew that right now he was all the small red skeleton had between him and suicide. The fact that he'd endured so much and was still craving affection from the beast that had hurt him so much proved that he was truly a loving monster at heart. It nearly broke Papyrus every time a flash of surprise came over Sans for being praised or cuddled. It was all he could do to focus on the problems at hand and not the whereabouts of his brother.

"W-well I have s-s-some g-good news and bad news. Wh-which do you want first?" Alphys asked nervously. Whatever it was he was sure that he wouldn't like it.

"Bad news first please." He said, knowing that whatever hope there was he would rather hear it last, so that it was freshest in his mind.

"Sans is in Red's world. I c-can prove it. B-but that means he's w-with the Other you." She said quietly. Papyrus's hands, surprisingly gloveless, clenched around the cup to the point where his bones began to creak. The look on his face scared the yellow scientist into silence, worried that he was going to throw the cup or worse. But after taking a few deep breaths his old smile was back.

"I hope the good news is really good." He stated with that same cheery voice he always had. Alphys nodded.

"I-if my calculations are right then I should be able to open a portal to the other world." The look of hope and happiness on the skeleton's face made Alphys begin to sweat a little. She was always worried about letting people down. She would hate to let down someone with such a sunny disposition like Papyrus. Seeing him break down, you knew that things were truly hopeless.

"It will take a lot of time and magical energy. B-but it's less than half the power of the Barrier so I think with a f-few other Monsters we c-can do this." She said as joyfully as she could. Though she didn't want to give him false hope, she also didn't want to deny him any hope at all.

"Is th-there anything else b-b-bothering you?" Looking off into the distance Papyrus almost missed her question but stopped, contemplating what he should say.

"I think that the Red Sans... is in love with his brother." And by extension, himself. But he didn't want to tell that to Alphys. It was too embarrassing. Alphys's eyes went wide behind her glasses and she fiddled with them momentarily, not sure how to respond to that.

"The things I've seen from his memories... the emotions I can feel from him. They... they make me wonder about my own brother?" He said, almost as if it were a question he was asking himself. It was clear he didn't want to doubt his brother but it was very confusing for the taller skeleton.

"Well I... I d-don't really know. M-maybe when he's home you c-can ask him about it?" She suggested politely. Though inside she was squealing a little since this was very much like one anime she was watching. She only hoped that both of the skeleton brothers ended up safe and happy in the end, they certainly deserved it.

"Thank you for talking with me, The Great Papyrus! I will be sure to keep you informed of the Red Sans's developments." He said cheerfully as he stood up from his seat, smiling like his usual self. It was clear that some of the stress he'd been under before was gone and Alphys was glad that he seemed back to his old self again.

"I must return home now, in case Sans wakes up and I am not there." Waving to Alphys as he left he headed down to the Ferryman and rode back to Snowdin. When he had a moment alone, and was sure no one else was around, his magic flared dangerously for a moment, mirroring his anger. If the other Papyrus had hurt his brother they were going to have words, and probably fists. It took him a while to calm down but eventually he went home, checked on Sans, and went to bed.

Laying there in his racecar bed he decided. If he could keep both of them he was going to. The other Papyrus was cruel and evil, he shouldn't be allowed to have a brother until he could learn to stop hurting others. With this happy thought in mind he finally fell asleep.