Full Title: Can you come to terms with how you really feel?


The bell rang and the teacher entered, saying her hellos to the class. And I immediately noticed that Papyrus was absent.


I stood at the top of the school roof, with Sans leaning on the wall next to me. "Sans… did you know about all that? About souls being turned into Soul Gems?" After a moment, he nodded slightly. "Then why didn't you tell us?"

He sighed. "No one's believed me so far, even when warned in advance. So..."

"Why would Flowey do something like this?" I asked, upset.

"He doesn't think it's a bad thing." Sans shrugged. "He's just a creature that doesn't understand people's values. Knowing him, he'll probably just say that it was an appropriate payment for bringing about a miracle."

"But… that's not fair at all!" I protested. "Flowey did that to Papyrus, even though all he wanted was to help a friend?"

"Either way, you gotta admit it was still a miracle." Sans stared to the sky, in thought. "He made the impossible possible. No matter what Papyrus could've done, Mettaton would've never been fixed enough to perform again. And normally, a miracle costs far more than a human life. Yet he goes around selling them at that price."

I sniffled a little. "Will Papyrus never be able to go back to his normal life again?"

"I've said it already, haven't I?" Sans turned to me. "Just give up on Papryus."

"But he's saved me before!" I could now remember how he had beat up the TV witch with wings, protecting and saving me. "If it weren't for him, Mettaton and I would both be…"

"Ya shouldn't confuse gratitude and responsibility. There's no way to save 'em. I know you wanna repay him, but it's not your place. You should stop thinking that way."

I stared at him in disbelief, not understanding his methods. "Sans, why are you always so cold?"

"Welp, I suppose I am." He shrugged a little bit, looking nonchalant. "Maybe it's 'cause I'm no longer who I once was." I wasn't sure how to reply to that.


The next morning, I ran to school with Napstablook, seeing Papyrus up ahead. Surprised, I ran faster to try to catch up to him. He was hunched over, deep in thought. Was he alright? "Good morning, Papyrus!" I called out.

"Hi…" Napstablook mumbled.

Papyrus snapped his head up to look at us. "OH!" He gave us an apologetic glance. "GOOD MORNING." Something about him seemed off… there was definitely something wrong.

The three of us continued on our walk to school. "So…" Napstablook whispered to Papyrus. "About yesterday?..."

"I FELT A LITTLE SICK." Papyrus admitted, putting on a smile.

He was faking, wasn't he? "Paps…"

"DON'T WORRY, FRISK!" Papyrus replied to me with telepathy, giving me a small grin. "IT'S OKAY! I'M FINE NOW. THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

I smiled back, slightly reassured. At least his enthusiasm didn't seem faked.

"ANYWAYS!" He started. "LET'S GET…" His voice died away when he looked to the side. Confused, I followed his gaze to some other students that were walking to school. Between a couple of them was Mettaton, but it wasn't the rectangular robot I had once known. In fact, there wasn't a single trace of metal on his body. He looked like a completely new and rebuilt person, with jet black hair and long arms and legs. Pink and black seemed to be his new fashion. Trying to look fabulous, he strutted his way into the school grounds, flashing a pearly smile at everyone he passed.

"I'M BACK, LADIES AND GENTLE BEAUTIES!" He yelled into a microphone. He looked completely elated to be at school.

"Mettaton… is back?" Napstablook asked with awe. The three of us continued to stare at him as he the other students crowded him, and they quickly sped out of sight. There was a sad expression on Papyrus' face, and I wondered what was wrong. Shouldn't he be happy that Mettaton, with his new body and premiere, was coming back to school?


Mettaton sat at his desk, crowded by fans that wanted to ask how he was doing. He seemed to enjoy the attention very much, shaking hands with all the students and signing pieces of paper. He had made quite an entrance with his new form, and it had only caused all his fans to become abnormally, hysterically excited.

"Well," I huff humorously. "I'm glad he's doing well, at least."

Papyrus nods a little, and for some reason, does not join the crowd of fans. "YEAH."

I was surprised at his lack of enthusiasm. His star was here, right in front of him, and he wouldn't even go forward for a quick hello? Maybe he was just shy. Maybe he needed some encouragement, and that was all. "Paps, you should go say hi!" I put a hand on his shoulder pad. "You haven't said anything to him yet, right? I'm sure Mettaton would love to get a hello from his Number One Fan!" Napstablook just watched to the side silently, giving Papyrus a questioning look.

"UM, WELL YOU SEE..." Papyrus nervously looks to the side, beads of undignified sweat falling off the side of his skull. "PERHAPS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL PASS THIS TIME AROUND."

...that didn't make sense. Even Napstablook looked surprised. Papyrus wouldn't give up a single opportunity to be with Mettaton, so why was he distancing himself now? It didn't seem like him. Something was wrong. Was he alright? Was he as ok as he kept telling us he was?


Papyrus came out of the building, giving me a surprised look when he saw me waiting outside. "FRISK…"

I turned to him, ready to make my request again. "Can I go with you? Please?" Papyrus stared blankly back at me. "I don't want you to be alone, so…"

He was trembling slightly. "HUMAN, HOW ARE YOU SO KIND?" He narrowed his eyes slightly. "YOU DON'T NEED TO ACCOMPANY ME. I'M FINE."

"T-that's not true…"

Papyrus clenched his gloved fists in frustration. "TODAY, I ALMOST REGRETTED SOMETHING." He sniffled a little, and I was surprised to see him so weak and so unsure about himself. "I THOUGHT, JUST FOR A SECOND, WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF I HADN'T MADE MY WISH FOR METTATON. I'M…" He looked up, sadness in his eyes. "I THINK I MIGHT BE A FAILURE OF A HERO."

Seeing that he needed reassurance, I quickly stepped up to offer a hug. He accepted it quickly and without hesitation. "You've got something in your eye." I say.

Papyrus sniffles. "METTATON WILL BE TAKEN AWAY, AND HE WILL FORGET ABOUT ME BECAUSE I AM NOT AS IMPORTANT AS I THOUGHT I WAS." Papyrus wails. "EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CANNOT ASK FOR SUCH REQUESTS IN MY CURRENT STATE." I patted him comfortingly on the back. Flowey just sat to the side and watched.

We finally let go of one another. "THANK YOU, HUMAN. AND… I AM VERY SORRY ABOUT THAT."

"Paps…"

"I'M FINE NOW." He reassured me. "I FEEL BETTER. THANKS TO YOU!"

"Let's just go already." Flowey spat, seeming sick about our little reunion. "We need to find ourselves a witch tonight."

"RIGHT!" Papyrus cheered.


The inside of the witch's labyrinth was like a dome, big and white and covering us. The white shapes shifted around us, forming doily patterns to the ceiling above us. Before us was a tall red sun with a circle of letters around it, sitting upon the single hand of a statue of liberty. Sitting right in front of it was a black shadow of a child; the witch. Huffing on the statue's arm was Papyrus, and he glanced up warily before charging forwards.

Suddenly, long black things erupted from the ground like vines. The ends were sharp, some like dragon jaws, others like clingy hands. Papyrus slashed his sword, the bone deflecting and cutting a few of them. Then the vines crawled into the ground and rose from above, surrounding him like another dome, deadly and dangerous.

Papyrus cut and slash as they approached, defiantly making his way through the mess. Once there was a clear passageway for him, he ran, getting closer to the end of the arm where the enemy stood. But all the more vines shot from the ground, blocking his way. Seeming to find a loophole, Papyrus jumped up, passing by all the vines. He rushed towards the witch, only to have black tree branches abruptly cut him off. The black shadow created more branches, forcing Papyrus away. Yelping, he was pushed away by the new plant force, moving farther away from the witch. He was covered with leaves until I couldn't see him anymore.

"Papyrus!" I called out worriedly.

Suddenly, a few slashes later, the branches were cut to shreds. Someone jumped out of the leaves, but it wasn't Papyrus.

Landing next to me, Undyne set the limp Papyrus on the ground. I stared at her in awe, and she looked away. "I just couldn't sit there and watch as the punk got torn to shreds!" She defended herself. "Anyway! Just stay back. I'll show you the basics!" Papyrus got up, readying his sword. "Hey!"

"ALLOW ME!" He shouted indignantly. "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" Then in a single leap, he cleared the whole of the statue's arm and slashed the shadow child in half, destroying it. Unfortunately, more vines erupted from the ground, attempting to tie Papyrus up.

"P-Paps!" I called, scared for his life.

Papyrus raised himself up as more vines grew from the body of the child, stretching out before him. A dark, higher-pitched chuckle escaped from his jaws, and I grew afraid. Then, he was suddenly pummeled with vines, and they stabbed him repetitively, bringing him up in the air. I gasped at his wounds. But in the next moment, he was flying back down, cutting all the vines away like they were nothing. Like he wasn't hurt at all. How had he survived those vine attacks? Then he landed heavily upon the shadow, squashing it and casting dark splotches everywhere.

A dark smile cutting across his features, he stabbed and jabbed the witch, over and over again. "SO IT'S TRUE!" He laughed in a maniacal way, still hitting the witch with unstoppable force. "IF YOU WANT, YOU REALLY DONT-" He interrupted himself with a crazy laugh. "HAVE TO FEEL PAIN ANYMORE!" There was a greedy look in his eye, and I yelped in my own surprise. More of the dark arms grabbed him on his sides in a clenching fury, but he didn't seem to feel them. There was no stopping him. "NYEH HEH HEHE!" Grinning in a psychotic way, he brought his sword down upon the witch one last time.