A/N: Guess who's back? Guess who's back? ... Wait, is anyone there? Oh cripes, I really shouldn't have delayed this for five bloody months, eh?

I really must apologise for this awful delay. As with many authors on this site, life got in the way and turned me into a lazy yob. I had plenty of opportunities to write, but unfortunately, my head wasn't in the right space. Ideas that I had weren't too exciting for me to really get me to sit down and write, and when it finally came to me, I was being a picky little shite again, scrapping thousands upon thousands of words again and again. Well, better late than never, I say.

I personally don't think this chapter is at its best, but it will never be at the rate I'm going.

Thank you for everyone who reviewed, followed, and favourited this story. I was talking about how it was up to 99 reviews last chapter, but look at it now: 138 reviews. Thank you all so much, and I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well.

P.S: While I was being a lazy yob over the months, a lovely reader known as "Kamineko" made a comic strip of the scene where Chara reveals that they don't know what a video game is! You can find it in their deviantart page: Just google "Kaminekoshi Chara-and-the-mobile-phone" and it'll most probably be the first result in the list. Thank you so much Kamineko! This is the first time I've had someone draw a fanart of my story and it really got me pushing to get this chapter done!

Now, on with the show~


The two children walked down the empty path as always, making their way towards the designated place they were supposed to meet this 'Papyrus' character Frisk had once so eagerly talked about. Unfortunately, Chara wasn't looking forward to the meeting all that much, not after the second hand encounter they with him and his boisterous voice. They always did hate obnoxiously loud noises, especially from another person, and this was no different. They couldn't imagine anyone with such level of voice having any sort of refinement. If they had had the choice, they'd have skipped this meeting all together.

Ah, but then the child won't be too pleased now, will they? They thought as they eyed the sullen Frisk besides them. Or does that really matter at this point?

"Are you cross with me, darling?" The monarch asked, their voice a soft coo. It was the first words they've shared since they parted ways with the skeleton and it struck the air like a train horn.

The child whipped their head to them for a brief moment, their beady little eyes pressing into a narrow glare before whipping away with a loud 'Hmph!'.

Chara smiled, finding the antic terribly adorable.

"Now now, don't be like that." They continued, turning around and blocking the child's path, putting them both to a halt. "It was a harmless comment, a jest much like what that imbecile did to me. It was all in 'good fun'."

"Nothing about what you said to Sans back there was 'fun'." Frisk grumbled, crossing their arms in a huff. "Fun is what you have with everyone else, it makes everyone happy. You? You were just being a jerk!"

"A jerk?" Chara barked with laughter. "Oh you use the cutest word sometimes. I wish I could record you and listen to you speak all day long."

"I-I'm not trying to be cute!" The child yelled despite their blush. "I'm angry! I'm mad at you!"

"And it is simply precious, dear. I'm afraid being angry and being cute isn't a mutually exclusive state for you."

"Well, I don't know what that means, so there!"

"Ah, my apologies. It means that you being angry and being cute doesn't necessarily occur at-"

"I wasn't asking!" Frisk screamed, then stomped their way around the monarch, refusing to meet eyes with them even for a moment, and all Chara did was watch them go with a soft smile and shake their head.

It was official then: The child was mad, a fact a blind man in a dark room could see without much trouble. However, believe it or not, this conversation was going far better than Chara was expecting. From the moment they felt the spark of Frisk's anger through their connection, they had been preparing for a 'punishment', a retribution of a childish scale: They thought they might receive the silent treatment, perhaps some yelling, screaming, and even crying, god knows what they would have done if the child started crying, yet Frisk had went for the typical 'huffy child' route. It was a bad choice, they had to admit. They found it terribly adorable when Frisk crossed their arms or puffed out their cheeks like they had a bead of candy pocketed inside one side of their mouth. Why do they do that, they wondered, laughing. Was it supposed to be threatening? Because all it made Chara want to do was tickle the child and see that little puff whoosh out in a high pitched giggle.

Stepping closer, they thought to poke the child on their face, but restrained themselves long enough to say, "Child, look at me."

The child turned away again with another loud "Hmph!", twisting their body so far they were practically walking sideways.

Chara giggled, wondering if they could make the kid come to a full three sixty if they pushed enough. "You really like that fool, don't you?"

The child turned around, their expression sullen. They sighed, their shoulders drooping as though all the energy was being drained out of them. "Please don't call him that. And yes, I really like him. Of course I do. He's my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend?" Chara couldn't help teasing.

"Y-you are, but that doesn't mean he's not important too. People can have more than one close friends, like Sans, actually. He's friends with lots of people. I told you right? He's one of Ms Toriel's best friend in the future?"

"Ugh, forgive me if I find that idea simply sickening."

The child's expression turned sour, almost hurt. "Why do you hate him so much? You barely even know him."

The corner of Chara's lips quirked downwards. They didn't much appreciate the tone the child was taking. "I think I know enough."

"No you don't. You barely knew him for an hour."

"First impression is everything, dear. An hour was plenty of time for him to ruin his image to me."

"Well, if that's the case, I can say the same about you too."

The monarch blinked.

They looked at the child with wide eyes and a raised a brow, not quite believing they heard correctly. "I beg your pardon?"

Frisk shot a challenging glare. "Sans wasn't the only one who ruined his first impression on others." They repeated boldly, their arms crossed in a sign of defiance, backed by their steel like resolve.

"I'm sorry, are you accusing me of…?" Chara didn't dare continue, their brow twitching at the mere thought, the sheer nerve of this child to call them, what, rude? "I'll have you know, child, that unlike him, my manners were perfect."

"Oh yeah, 'perfect'." Frisk rolled their eyes. "I'm sure where you're from, trying to kill someone the moment you meet is considered 'perfect manner'."

Chara couldn't help but stare. "Are you sassing me?"

Frisk mock gasped. "Sassing? Moi? No, of course not. Trying to stab a person in the chest is totally normal around here too. It's just another way of saying hello. I'm sure you already know, you already did it to me AND Sans."

Chara took a step back, unable believe what they were hearing. The nerve of this child! Speaking to them in such a disrespectful way. Where was it coming from? Where was the tiny adorable puppy of a child that followed them around with their tail wagging wherever they went? Whatever this was, Chara was not taking it. A spark of rebellion must be crushed before it burned down the forest after all.

They stepped up close to the unflinching Frisk and hissed lowly, "If you had half a brain cell in that cute little head of yours, child, you'll realise that my response to the situation was perfectly valid: I was in an unfamiliar environment being confronted by an unknown entity. Reacting warily is a matter of logic. It's called being smart."

Frisk stepped back. "Says the person who fell for the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. Real smart."

"Wha-! You-!" Chara sputtered, their cheeks aflame. "And I suppose you and all your cleverness didn't fall for it then?!"

"Well, n-no, I did."

"Then stop being a whiny brat about it!"

"Yeah? W-well at least I didn't react to a joke like a crazy maniac!"

"A maniac?!" Chara gasped in horror. "I am not the one who was deploying bloody whoopie cushions into a stranger's hand! That is what a maniac does!"

"It was a joke! He was trying to lighten the mood!"

Chara scoffed. "Oh yes, a 'joke'. If I recall, I was not laughing!"

"Just because you didn't find it funny doesn't mean it wasn't one!"

"Really? Strange you should say that, because I didn't see you laughing either."

"Well-!" Frisk seemed to choke on their own word. "That's because…! I mean, he was saying that we were… You know..."

"That we were 'together'?"

The child ducked their beet red face. "Y-yeah, that."

Chara rolled their eyes. "You sure can dish out all these flirtatious comments but can't take them yourself, can you?"

"Well it-! It doesn't matter!" Frisk thrashed their arm in a renewed anger. "You're being unreasonable with Sans! All you know know about him is that he's lazy and slacks off time to time."

Chara scoffed again. "Isn't that enough?"

"Isn't that en-" Frisk stared at them as though they'd lost their goddamn head. "What?! No! In what weird world is that enough reason to hate someone?! Are you crazy?!"

Chara's eyes widened at the insult, their blood suddenly aflame. "Do notyell at me, you little brat!"

"No, you poopie head! I'll yell at you if I want!"

Chara's jaw dropped, speechless at the absurdity of being called a… a 'poopie head', but Frisk wasn't quite done yet.

"Do you seriously hate him just for that? For being lazy? Are you really that stuck up?!"

Chara felt their finger twitch, their lips peeling into an involuntary snarl. "I am not 'stuck up'. I am not 'crazy', and I most certainly do not need you accusing me of beingunreasonable! You dare call me any of those things again and I will cut your fingers off and string them up into a necklace, do you hear me?!"

"Oh yeah, there you go. There you go. Of course you threaten me. Of course that's what you do, because you don't know anything else! Do you really think I'm scared of a little pain after what I've been through? I don't care if you cut off my fingers, Chara! In fact, if you're gonna do it, do it! Here! What are you waiting for? Do it! DO IT!"

"Get your bloody hand away from me!"

"Aw, why? Getting performance anxiety?"

Chara gaped, staring at the child as though they'd just grown a second head which they proceeded to chop off and eat. Who was this? Who were they even talking to right now? This fearless, outrageous creature was not the meek child who'd been clinging to them at every other moment for security and comfort. All this bravery, this stupidity, was it all in defense for their so-called 'best friend'? It was an admirable trait, Chara had to acknowledge, and they would have commended them for it had it not been for all this pure, unyielding rage that swept away any sense of appreciation they had.

They pushed away the outstretched hand and glared at the child square in the eyes with enough menace to kill a bull. Blood was rushing in their ear, their heartbeat echoing through their body like tremors of an explosion in the distance. "Do not test me, human." They hissed. "You will not like the result."

"Oh, it's human now, is it?" The child scoffed, not the least bit afraid. "I have a name, Chara! Or did you forget because you got your head stuck in all that huge ego of yours?"

"I do NOT have-!" Chara stopped themselves short, took a deep breath as they clenched and unclenched their fist. "No. Enough. I don't have time for this petty argument. I know what I am, and if you insist on being a brainless, clueless brat about it, you can do that on your own." With that, they sauntered ahead, trying to control their rage, keeping their legs from stomping on the ground too hard.

Unfortunately, Frisk had other ideas, and appeared before them in a flash, blocking their path.

"Oh no you don't! You don't walk away from this! You don't get to do that! Stay here and talk!"

Chara felt their entire body ignite, a wave of cold fury that consumed them in an instance. "Do not dare order mearound!I am a monarch and I will be damned if someone like you will stop me from doing what I want!"

"No! You don't get to play your 'I have more power than you' card now! You don't get to play the monarch when you're doing a terrible job at it!"

Chara felt their breath stop short in their throat. Another wave of chilling cold ran down their body, numbing what little self control they had. "What did you just say?"

"Do you really think that this is what rulers do? A good ruler? You can't get angry at every little thing that you find 'not up to your standard', Chara. That's not how it works!"

"Do not assume you know me, you little fuck! I have very good reasons for my actions! Every single one of them!"

The kid had the sheer nerve to laugh. "You can't even get over a little joke that you don't like!"

"It's NOT about the JOKE!"

"THEN WHAT IS IT?!" Frisk yelled back. "Please, tell me! Because really?! All I'm seeing right now is just a 'selfish brat', as you might call it, getting full of themselves and doing whatever they want to do and threaten anyone who they don't like! That's not what a good ruler does, Chara. That's what bullies do! That's what tyrants do! You're being a bully! You're being a ty-!"

A loud slap had echoed into air and the forest beyond, and suddenly, Snowdin fell silent.

Chara stared, their eyes wide much like Frisk's, filled with shock. They let out the breath they didn't know they were holding, and pulled their hand back towards their chest, doing their best to ignore the sharp sting on their palm as well as the sick, gut churning horror that filled them from within.

The child looked up at them, their large brown eyes trembling with shimmering tears. They didn't even raise their hand to cover their cheek, leaving the large reddening mark visible to the whole world.

"Okay." They said, not out of anger or hate, but of sorrow and hurt. "So, did you have a good reason for doing that too?"

There were no more words. The child stomped around them and walked away, refusing to meet eyes with them any longer.

Chara did not dare chase after them.

They looked down at their hand, the same hand they used to strike Frisk -to strike a child- and clenched their eyes shut, shielding themselves from the sight.

This... wasn't supposed to happen.

This wasn't what they were planning to do at all. They tried piecing together the events, trying to figure out how it even came to this. They were laughing scantily a minute ago, weren't they? They were having fun with the child who looked so cute with their cheek puffed out, and arms crossed? They were supposed to have resolved the issue with a laugh, with the two of them smiling after talking things out.

This is not my fault. They told themselves, much too frantically for their liking. The child was being unreasonable, stubborn. They weren't seeing it from my point of view. They didn't even try!

But no matter what they told themselves now, it all sounded like petty excuses, ones that only a foolish kid with half a brain would come up with after getting into trouble with a teacher, one that had a simple, ultimate answer for: No matter what the child did, they didn't deserve to be struck.

Chara had wanted to talk things out, expected them to do so, they really did. But they may have forgotten one crucial detail about themselves that led to this disaster of a situation: They were still young. They were green. A child. No matter how regal and smart they tried to act, they were still an irrational, stubborn, and often quick on their feet rather than their head, kid. The only difference between them and Frisk was that they were the elder and had an obligation to be better, something that they clearly failed at.

They turned around, their arms reaching out for Frisk, their mouth already half open to call out, to apologise, to say anything that could make this horrible feeling go away, and then-

"Yo."

-and then they came to an abrupt halt, their eyes meeting with that of a giant, wingless lizard-bird like creature standing not a few meters away from them down the dirt path.

Chara backed up in surprise while the monster dropped their eyes downwards, nervously whisking their eyes left and right, like a bird searching for the next worm to pop out of the earth. The monarch shifted their gaze and found the child standing before the monster, arms stuck tightly by their sides, head ducked to the floor. Even with their back turned towards them, Chara could see the small beads of tears falling to the snow from the child's face.

With a heavy, guilt ridden heart, they approached the two, placing themselves besides the child as always, albeit with a good arm's length distance between them.

"Greetings, sir." They said to the monster, trying their best to appear pleasant despite their soul screaming at them to send them away and make right with the child.

"Uhh, h-hey. W-w-what's up?" The monster said and Chara winced at the terrible stutter. The creature probably had witnessed the horrible interaction between them and the child and was now wishing he could be anywhere else but here.

"Nothing much I believe." Chara answered casually, giving him a once over. The monster was rather large, easily towering over them despite his body mostly consisting of his head and the large snowflake shaped… crown? Chara didn't remember any monster like this back in their time, but he certainly had an intimidating appearance. If he didn't have the cracking voice of a teenager a few years shy of adulthood, and perhaps didn't shuffle about like an amateur tap dancer performing at an audition for the first time, Chara might have actually felt threatened. "Are you alright, Mr…?"

"Oh. Y-yeah, I'm fine. My uhh, my name is S-Snowdrake. It's nnhhuuh, n-nice to meet you."

Nice to meet you?

Chara looked down at Frisk whose wet, puffy eyes was looking up at the monster with a small, confused frown.

What's wrong? The monarch asked softly, tentatively, as though they were walking on a carton of eggs.

The child looked at them for a brief moment before ducking their head again. I-I don't know. They answered, uncertainty marring their tone. I've never heard him say that phrase properly.

He doesn't say 'Nice to meet you' properly? How does he do that? Chara couldn't help but ask.

He... always says, 'Ice to meet you' instead.

Chara winced at the pun but didn't push it further. They couldn't bare the awkward atmosphere any longer anyhow. They turned back to the monster whose nervous fidgeting seemed to have gotten worse, his restless feet shuffling the snow away until they could see the dirt ground. Chara sympathised with the creature, both of them wishing that they could just disappear and forget about this whole incident. They opened their mouth to dismiss him, to free this creature from this torturous cage of a social obligation and allow him to go on his merry way, but then they noticed the way his eyes moved. His icy blue eyes, they were shifting sideways towards the woods, an action that could have been mistaken as a simple, nervous fidgeting of an awkward party, but he looked at that one specific spot in the woods one too many times, as if expecting a predator to jump out of it at any moment.

Chara was suddenly getting a sense that this meeting was not as random as they might have initially thought.

Child, get behind me, quickl-

There was a loud crack, a sound that was akin to two rocks slamming into each other.

Their was a brief moment, a very brief moment of silence before a small, crumpling thud echoed into the forest.

Wide red eyes turned to the ground besides them, and Chara suddenly felt their whole body freeze, their heart explode with deadly cold as they saw the child lying there in the snow, their eyes closed, a thin line of blood starting to trail down from their scalp and down to the side of their face.

Child?

That was the only thought that Chara had time to voice before something heavy slammed into them from the front, throwing them to the ground and knocking the wind out of them. They grunted as their back met the freezing snow, and before they could even think to get up, three deadly talons crushed into the ground around them, pressing them back down to the snow and securing them in place in a makeshift prison.

"Y-yo! Why did you go for the small one, man?! I told you to get the tall one first!" They heard Snowdrake yell.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as tall as you! I can only swing this thing high enough for the small one, okay?!" Another, equally frantic voice answered.

Chara turned their head to their side where they last saw the child fall and saw instantly a small humanoid monster with a hat made of ice, as tall as the wearer himself, standing over Frisk's body. In his stubby, circular hands was a large club made of bluish white ice. On the thick end of it, Chara could see a smudge of red blood smeared over it.

Child? They called out again, their chest beating so hard that they could barely concentrate on listening into their connection for a response. Child?!

Frisk was silent, the link between their soul cold as the ice they now lay on.

Something inside Chara snapped, and they felt their entire body physically ignite with rage.

"Whoa!" Snowdrake yelled as he jumped off them. "D-dude! This human's on fire!"

His friend looked at the human and indeed found them on fire, their whole body burning in pure white flames -Magical flames in fact- and if he wasn't wrong, there was a pair of red magic blade growing out of their hands.

"Shit!" He cursed. "D-drakes! Ice 'em! I'm gonna finish the job on the smaller one first!"

Chara's whole body exploded again, their flames jumping out and doubling in size and intensity. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF THEM!" They boomed, a half human, half beast like shriek that seemed to shake the very ground under their feet.

"Oh shit!" Snowdrake hopped back. "Over here you crazy bastard!"

Chara whipped their head to him just in time to see a set of frozen scales flying towards them like shurikens. They swung their arm, sending their flames forth to engulf the projectiles. The two magic met in an uneven match, a David to a Goliath. The scales melted and then vaporised under the heat, not even a single charred bit left behind.

Snowdrake took a fearful step back, his mouth hung open with no strength to close back up.

Chara might have laughed smugly at his reaction, but did not spare the time for such petty deed. No longer under threat, they focused back onto the child whose unconscious body the monster with the hat was hovering his hands over. As the stubby hands ran over and around the child, their limbs slowly started to get encased in crystal like ice.

Chara roared like a feral beast, the fire inside, as well as outside them burning wild. They shot off to a sprint, their eyes focused on the prey, their hands ready at their sides with magic blades crackling at the air in search for something to cut.

"C-caps! Look out!" Snowdrake yelled.

"Oh shit oh shit!" The monster with the hat echoed.

Chara felt a smile grow on their lips despite the situation, relishing the fear they heard in the monsters' voice. It was only right. They were trying to take something that was not theirs. They were trying to steal from a member of the Royal House, and it was only correct that they be taught a lesson in respect.

Nobody was allowed to touch the child.

Nobody was allowed to hurt the child.

Nobody except them.

Chara focused their fire into their palm, ready to give this ice hat wearing creature a fist full of it right across their face. A ball of flame the size of a small boulder formed around their hand.

And at that moment, something large, heavy and solid smashed into their gut like a freight train, halting them in their place as though they had just ran into a solid metal fence.

"Hurk-!" They gasped, doubling over. Their flame exploding away as their rage was erased, replaced by sheer pain and shock.

They went down on their knee, clutching at their midsection with both arms. Trembling, they held their head up just enough to see a very stout, very flat looking monster with straw thin limbs staring right back at them with an unusually bored expression. The monster snorted, took a moment to pick at his nose and flicked the booger that followed his finger out to the side.

"Man, you guys really suck at this shit." He drawled. "Why do you even try?"

Without another word, the monster smashed Chara across the side of their head.

Chara's world shook with a loud crack, every branch of their nerve exploding with complete numbness as they lost all bodily functions. Their legs gave out, and they crumpled into the snow.

On their way down, their blood red eyes were glued to the child, stiff and unmoving in this freezing cold.

I should put a blanket on them. They thought as they fell. They'll catch a cold, and it'll probably go on for the whole week. That'll be problematic, won't it? I can't have them in so much pain for so long. They'll probably cough and whine the whole way through, just like Asriel. How annoying. I wonder if they like potato soup? Do they have any allergies? Do they-

Their body hit the ground, and still, their eyes watched. They watched as the trio of monsters slowly approached them, leaving the child in the cold, alone and helpless.

Don't you touch them, you bastards. They tried to say, but even in their mind, the words were weak, barely coherent. I'll kill you. Don't touch them… Don't… touch...

The last bit of strength they were holding on to snapped, their entire consciousness falling apart under it.

Their eyes rolled back into their skull, and their world was consumed in black as their mind fell into oblivion.


There was a stunned silence from the trio (well, not much in Jerry's case. He was just playing with his phone), each staring at the two unconscious humans with wide eyes.

"H-h-holy shit!" Snowdrake broke the silence with a joyous shout. "W-we did it, dudes! We got the last soul! We saved the day! We're heroes! Heroes!"

"H-Hell yeah, boys!" Ice Cap forced a smirk despite the nervous sweat dripping down his face. "Let's freeze the little one completely and get them to the King before anyone finds out! We're gonna be rich! We're gonna be on the next Mettatton show! How awesome is that?!"

"Guys, what about my ride home?"

"Shut up Jerry! You don't want to be rich and famous, that's your problem!" Ice Cap growled back, using his magic to finish the ice prison he'd been making for the little human. Without the other human to disturb him, the process was over in a minute and the teens were soon looking at a large ice block with a small sleeping human in the middle. "Okay, Drakes, you got the most muscle between us. Carry this thing, will you?"

The teen stepped up to do as was told before he took a brief glance to the side. "Hey, w-what about the other human? Shouldn't we take them too?"

At his friend's prompting, Ice Cap turned his head to the taller human for an instant before whipping away from the bloody sight with a wince. "N-No way, dude. Did you see what that thing could do? I'm not sticking around for them to wake up. Besides, they're too big to carry and we only need one soul to get rid of the barrier. Just take their bag. Maybe they have something good on them."

"W-won't they die like this?"

Ice Cap stared at Snowdrake for a moment. "W-what? And we should care? They're humans Drakes. They're the enemy. Who cares if one of them d… I mean, like, get offed, right?" He ended with a smirk. Neither he or Snowdrake had the gut to point out the fact that it appeared more fake than two kids trying to pass off as an adult using a trench coat and shades.

"R-right."

With that, Snowdrake picked up the little frozen human with his beak and the trio ran off into the woods, leaving Chara behind in the deadly cold. A new layer of snow began falling on Snowdin, slowly burying the human and covering them away from the world.


Chapter 9

"SANS! SAAAAAANS! WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GO?! YOU'RE SLACKING OFF AGAIN AREN'T YOU?! I SWEAR I WILL TAKE AWAY YOUR ALLOWANCE IF THIS CONTINUES! NOT THAT I GIVE YOU ANY BUT IF I EVER DID CONSIDER, THIS WILL MAKE ME THINK OTHERWISE!"

Nothing.

Papyrus grumbled and stomped his feet on the snow with growing frustration. He'd been so sure that this was going to be the day: The day that he was going to stick with Sans the whole time, the day that he'd get his brother to stay focused on his task, the day that his brother was going to get some -at least some- work actually, legitimately done. But no. One glance away and poof, Sans was gone again, like a rabbit into a magician's hat (Or was that out of the magician's hat? He was too worked up to care). It was infuriating. He didn't even know how he'd disappeared in the first place. They were standing in the middle of a vast plain of snow! Unless he learned how to borrow into the ground in a blink of an eye, what Sans did was theoretically impossible.

But then again, his brother often proved to be too lazy to follow any rules properly, especially the rules of reality.

Papyrus sighed, feeling his whole body drain with it. He worried for his brother's future, he truly did. What will Sans do without such a fantastic brother taking care him in his life? Become a D rank stand up comedian telling cheap jokes at bars during day time? Laze about on the couch until his bones fuse together with the cushions? The mere thought of it gave him chills.

No. That wasn't going to happen. Not on his watch. No brother of the Great Papyrus was going to end up like that. No siree.

With his sense of duty emboldened, Papyrus yelled for Sans once more, using his gloved hands as a makeshift megaphone. Yet despite his efforts, it proved to be about as effective as all of his previous attempts, that is to say not at all. He might as well have been asking for a human to come out of the trees. They were both about as likely to happen. Perhaps it was time to call for a backup.

"SAANS!" He called out for the last time. "I'M GOING TO CALL GRILLBY IF YOU DON'T COME OUT IN TEN SECONDS! I'LL TELL HIM NOT TO GIVE YOU ANY FRIES FOR THE NEXT WEEK! HOW WILL YOU ENJOY YOUR BOTTLE OF KETCHUP THEN, HUH?! IT'LL SUCK BIG TIME!"

Nothing.

Huffing, he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"OKAAAY! HERE I GO!" He hovered his gloved index over the dial. "OOONE! TWOOOO! THRRRRrrr..."

He trailed off, his arms lowering in confusion as he stared at the path ahead where something had caught his attention. He squinted his eyes, leaned his head forward, even went as far as to shield his gaze from the invisible sun above. He then backed up and shook his head.

"WHAT THE DEVIL?" He said to himself.

There, in the distance up the road ahead: There was a fire, or at least what he thought was a fire, only that it was coloured in what he could only describe as a very deep cherry red.

Now, it wasn't unusual for a family of monsters to come hiking in the Snowdin forest and stoke a little fire to warm themselves and cook marshmallows, but what made this particular scene out of the norm was that: One, there were no monsters around to be seen; Two, the fire was burning in the middle of the footpath; And three, the fire was coloured cherry red. As delicious as that sounds, he was pretty sure that a cherry red flame weren't exactly normal, or too healthy for the environment.

Glancing left and right, he quickly surveyed the surrounding woods for any sign of life, and when he found none he began making his way up the road, both to examine this strange flame up close and to extinguish the hazard if it proved to be dangerous to the forest.

Then, he came to an abrupt halt when the fire sort of... stood up.

Papyrus remained still, not really knowing what the correct reaction should be. HUH. He thought. OKAY. SO… THIS IS HAPPENING.

The fire, it didn't stand in a conventional 'on its legs' sort of way. No, it was more like it grew really tall, like a bear before an unknown assailant, as though it was trying to appear threatening. One might have thought that the fire just got more intense as he approached, and though that in itself would be something to question, from where he was standing Papyrus was pretty sure the fire had gotten thinner as it 'stood' too, and it was kind of… hunching over. He imagined this was what Napstablook would look like if someone set him on fire. And got rid of his eyes and mouth.

The skeleton continued to play the role of a mannequin, observing the featureless flame and wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. Because despite its lack of eyes, he got the distinct feeling that it was somehow... staring back at him.

After several seconds of unmoving observation, Papyrus raised his hand to rub his chin, a habit of his whenever he contemplated his next move.

And the moment he did, the fire flinched back, as though in fright.

Papyrus stopped too, realising that, yes, despite its lack of distinct features, the flame before him was sentient, and was smart enough to be wary of a sudden movement when it saw (or sensed) one.

OKAY? He hummed, coming to a decision. He wasn't hostile and didn't mean the fire any harm, so what better way to communicate this fact by just saying it out loud? "HELLO, WEIRD FLAME PERSON! I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN A MONSTER LIKE YOU BEF-"

The flame shrieked at him, a noise so loud and sharp it was like listening to someone scratching their nail on a blackboard while holding a megaphone at the same time. Papyrus flinched back and pressed his eyes shut, feeling the inside of his skull literally vibrate to the ear bleeding sound.

There was a moment of stunned silence that ensued, one Papyrus tentatively breached by peeking through his squinted eyes. Unexpectedly, he saw the flame fold into a crawl on the ground, then grow smaller and smaller like a stove fire being gradually turned off.

"WAIT-!" Papyrus raised his hand, as though he could somehow grab and halt the fire from running away, but by the time he realised what was happening, the fire was gone, leaving not a single ember in its path. It was as though it was never there, and had he not seen otherwise Papyrus might have just believed that too.

"OH MY GOD." He suddenly gasped out loud, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

The fire had died down to nothing, but instead of the cold dirt ground that anyone would expect to see under it, there appeared a little… A little...

Something.

A person, if he had to guess but it was a very strange looking one if it was: A bipedal humanoid with pale white skin and thick brown fur on top. It was like a small skeleton, only with flesh and fur, creating this odd amalgamation of a bone type monster and a beast type monster. Papyrus imagined that he would look like this if he chose to dress up as a monkey in a costume party (which sounded like the most spectacular idea which needed to be put to reality as soon as possible but he digressed).

He did vaguely recall that this was what an average human looked like in those pretty picture books Sans borrowed from Dr Alphys, but this couldn't possibly be a human: they were much too small! And they were wearing a striped top too, meaning that they were a kid, not a human. He knew the difference.

He hummed again, rubbing his chin as he studied the creature with a touch wariness. The fire monster hadn't returned and didn't seem like it will for a while, so he was guessing that it was safe to approach. He didn't want to be rude by saying it out loud but, to be honest, that shrieking fire gave him the creeps, goosebumps on his invisible flesh. Had he not been the official guard stationed to protect these woods, he might have just hung his hat and gone home.

"EXCUSE ME LITTLE SKELETON WITH FLESH! ARE YOU AWAKE?!" He shouted at the top of his voice, not wanting to startle the new creature with his presence by approaching so suddenly.

Despite the ten second opportunity he provided, he didn't get an answer. The creature was unconscious. Were they sleeping? He couldn't imagine anyone willing to take a nap in the middle of this sub-zero environment. The creature's head was doused in dried ketchup too. That had to be uncomfortable to some degree.

Papyrus had no idea what this thing was, but it appeared to be in some sort of trouble, and as a fellow humanoid with a skeletal structure of his own (a very handsome one at that if he had to say so himself) he felt compelled to help out.

He approached the creature and knelt down besides them. After a brief study, he rolled them over, and attempted to get his arms around them so that he could pick them up and transport them to his guard station.

And the moment he did so, the creature's eyes shot wide and they leapt up at him like a wild tiger, grabbing his outreached arms as leverage to pull up and grab him by the neck.

Instantly, Papyrus' combat training kicked in like second nature.

His gloved hands flew up and caught the offending limb by the wrist before it could reach their target, but in the same instant a deep red magic bubbled forth from the small hand and-

"NYEH?!" He yelped as the magic shot out in a form of a blade, aimed straight for his neck.

Luckily for him, it stopped an inch short, though that didn't stop it from trying to stretch towards him, twisting left and right like a malleable tentacle to slice apart whatever it could reach. It was like the magic had a life of its own, burning with an urge to cut.

"UMM!" Papyrus yelled, trying to fight off this kid whose deep rose eyes were pinned on him like a tac on a board made of soft cork. For their size, they were surprisingly strong and Papyrus was impressed to find that for a brief moment, the creature was pushing him back. "EXCUSE ME! I KNOW THIS MIGHT -WHOA!-" He dodged a sideway swipe. "-MIGHT BE A BAD TIME! BUT CAN-!" Dodge. "WE-!" Dodge. "TALK-!" Dodge. "THIS OUT?!"

The creature let out an ear piercing shriek.

"OKAY? SO DOES THAT MEAN 'YES'?!"

With a roar, the kid's strength seemed to double, their arms pressing against the skeleton with crushing intensity. Realising the trouble he was in, Papyrus changed his tactics and drew every last bit of his strength to throw the kid off and onto the ground. He then used the moment after to jump on them, pulled their arms up above their head with one swift movement and secure them in a hold. He almost sighed in relief, but the creature continued kicking and twisting their body in all sorts of ways, howling like a feral beast.

"NYEH! STAY STILL, YOU'LL HURT YOURSELF LIKE THAT!" He warned with concern, doing his best to press and hold them down in place.

"Get off of me!" The creature roared at him, which made him pause in shock. He didn't think they were capable of speech, just feral shrieking and growling. "Get off! I'll kill you! I'll kill all you cockless bastards!"

"HEY NOW, THAT IS NOT A VERY NICE THING TO SAY!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"WELL, I CAN SEE SOMEBODY WOKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ACK!"

Papyrus rolled to his side, his hands clutching at his lower spine where the kid had kicked him. He hated it when people did that. He was wearing an armour, so why did they insist on attacking him in places where the armour didn't protect him? It was awfullyrude.

Swallowing the pulsing ache running down his whole body, he pushed himself up to a crawl, then jumped up into his battle stance with a loud 'Hi-yah!'. He expected the creature to rush him again, knife, teeth and all, but to his surprise, they were actually running away from him with all their might, stumbling and collapsing to their knee every second step.

"Child?!" They suddenly yelled into the air, jolting Papyrus who thought for a moment that he was being shrieked at again. They fell on all fours as their wobbly knees gave out once more, and like all the other times prior, they crawled to a stand again, continuing to scream for this 'child' of theirs, each cry more desperate than the last, like the caw of a mother bird looking for its lost chick.

Tentatively, Papyrus lowered his battle pose, feeling that he was no longer the creature's focus in this situation, if he ever was in the first place.

"UMM?" He voiced, not knowing what to say, but still wanting to catch their attention.

Unfortunately for him, it worked a touch too well, and the creature whipped around, their hooded red eyes glaring murder at him. He felt the urge to step back, which was only amplified when the kid marched up to him like a predator out for blood. Their hand was aglow again with deep red magic, forming a magic blade that dripped like melting chocolate. He raised his hands, hoping that the universal sign of peace may possibly calm the creature down.

"You." They hissed, pointing the tip of their blade up to his chest.

"YES?" Papyrus echoed, his back straight.

"You… Where are they?"

He quirked his hairless brow and shifted his eyes left and right. "Uhh, where's who?"

The creature's face ignited like a molotov. "The child! The little one! Where are they?!"

"I'M... AFRAID I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOOOU-NYEH HEH! OKAY THAT'S A BIT CLOSE!"

"Don't you lie to me, sir. Don't you fucking lie to me!" The creature spat, the tip of their blade tickling the outer layer of the skeleton's neck. "You know where they are. I know you do! Where are they? Where did you take them?! Tell me RIGHT THIS SECOND!"

"HO BOY. OKAY. LET'S ALL JUST…" He took a deep breath. "CALM DOWN FOR A BIT, OKAY? I THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN A BIT OF A MISUNDERSTANDING HERE AND WE SHOULD ALL USE A MOMENT TO-" Small hand snaked out and pulled him by his scarf, forcing him to bend forward until he was at an eye level. "OH. H-HELLO." The skeleton jittered, staring into the blood red orbs that made him feel like he was in an smelting oven he needed to get out of, like, right now.

"Greetings." The creature spat with venom, murder in their tone. "Forgive me for being presumptuous but do you think I'm a fool?"

"IS THAT... IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION?"

"There's no need to play dumb, sir. I already know you're one of them. You just tried to kidnap me, remember? Before I woke?"

"I DID?" Papyrus blinked. "OH. OH! I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN! NYEH HEH HEH! NO, YOU GOT THIS ALL WRONG! THIS IS ALL JUST A BIG MISUNDERSTANDING!"

"Oh, is it now?" Glowing red eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"THAT'S RIGHT! I WASN'T TRYING TO KIDNAP YOU! I WAS JUST TRYING TO TAKE YOU AWAY TO MY HOME WHILE YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS!"

The creature's glare was so sharp and piercing it could have skewered a whole pig.

"UHH! WAIT, NO! I MEAN: TO HELP! I WAS TRYING TO TAKE YOU HOME TO HELP YOU RECOVER!" The glare continued, a look so intense Papyrus wished he could throw himself off a cliff just to avoid it. "UMM, OKAY, MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU TO A DOCTOR INSTEAD? I'M SORRY?"

There was a moment of pause. Then, to his immense relief, the creature smiled and, to his immense horror, started giggling, a sharp, tittering noise on the verge of insanity. Left with not much else to do, Papyrus began to laugh along, slowly and uneasily, trying his best to not let his discomfort show. He had to admit: it was a lot easier said than done.

"You." The creature said between their snickering. "You are a funny one, sir. You are a very, very funny person."

Papyrus didn't know what to say to that. "TH… THANK YOU?"

"Shut the fuckup."

He snapped his jaw shut.

The murderous look was back, glowing red eyes colder than the snow beneath their feet. "Do you think this is a joke?" The creature hissed.

"N.. NO?"

"Do you think just because I dedicate my life to protecting your kind that I will show lenience to treason? You dare lie to me? You dare lie to me?!"

Papyrus jittered again nervously. "UMM, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL LIKE I'M MISSING SOME... CONTEXT HERE."

"Oh really?" The creature giggled again, their lips curling into a twisted smile. "Then perhaps I can provide with you some: You better answer my questions properly from now on or I'll wring your fucking neck. How's that?"

"NYEH-HEH. OKAY, PERFECTLY CLEAR, THANK YOU." Papyrus said in cold sweat. Talking to this kid was like trying to talk to a time bomb with a broken clock display. He had no clue when they were going to go off.

"Great. Now," The creature pulled him closer, breathing into his ear like a snake to a rat before it devouring the cretin whole. "Where is the child?"

Papyrus chose to be truthful. "I THINK I WANT TO SAY I DO KNOW, BUT UHH… I SORT OF… DON'T."

"Okay." The creature nodded. "Where is the child?"

"I…" Papyrus frowned. "I DON'T KNOW?"

"Where. Is. The child?"

"I DON'T- WAIT, CAN WE SWITCH SIDES? I THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE A HEARING PROBLEM ON THIS EAR."

The creature laughed again, leaning their head on his shoulder while pressing the blade to his throat to a point where he could feel the magic dig into the bone, just a touch. "Okay. Alright. Let's change the question then: Where are your accomplices?"

"ACCOMPLICES? LIKE MY CO-WORKERS?"

"No. Not your FUCKING CO-WORKERS, YOU THICK FUCK!" The red blade burned bright, and Papyrus soon found its tip being held right between his eyes. "Where are those monsters?! Tell me where those little twits who had the nerve to assault me are right now before I carve out your useless head!"

Papyrus looked at them in shock and horror. "YOU WERE ASSAULTED?!"

"I-!" The creature blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"OH NO NO NO NO!" He continued, his mind racing at this heinous information, the threat to his life completely forgotten. "THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! AN ASSAULT! UNDER MY WATCH?! DID YOU SEE WHO IT WAS?"

"What does that-? Enough! Do not play this game with me! You know well as I that it was that bird monster! That 'Snow drake', and his pillocks of a friend!"

"SNOWDRAKE?" He echoed. "I KNOW THAT KID! HE RAN AWAY FROM HIS HOME AND HAS BEEN MISSING FOR DAYS! HIS DAD'S BEEN WORRIED SICK!"

"His dad's been...? What?!"

"YES! THIS IS GREAT NEWS! -Well, not necessary about the part where you got assaulted by him- BUT STILL, I KNOW WHERE HE IS NOW! YOU, CRAZY LITTLE SKELETON WITH FLESH, HAVE MADE A FATHER VERY HAPPY TODAY!"

The creature fell silent, their mouth gaping as they stared in an odd mix of anger and confusion. "... What in god's bloody name are you on about?!"

"MY JOB OF COURSE!" He said with pride. "AS A GUARD STATIONED HERE IN SNOWDIN FOREST, I PUT IT ONTO MYSELF TO HELP OUT ANY AND EVERY CITIZEN OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING! SNOWDRAKE'S DAD ASKED ME TO LOOK FOR HIS KID WHEN HE WENT MISSING! GIVEN HOW THEY'RE A ICE ORIENTED MONSTERS, HE PROBABLY GUESSED THE KID WILL STAY IN THE FOREST. AND I GUESS HE WAS RIGHT! AND YOU JUST HAD A HAND IN IT AND UHH… THAT... WASN'T WHAT YOU WERE ASKING, WAS IT?"

The creature was silent again, their eyes staring at him so hard he worried that it might just pierce his bones.

Then something in their expression changed, their look of anger and confusion melting into one of sudden recognition. Then as quickly as it did, it changed once more, into that of chilling realisation as they looked at the skeleton, truly looked at him, for the first time.

"You…" Finally they spoke, their previous rage and bout of insanity completely drained from their saucer like eyes. "You are Papyrus."

The skeleton blinked, and turned his head to give a quick survey of his surroundings. He got the feeling that he should be finding a candid camera of sort. "UHH, DO I KNOW YOU?" He asked, scratching his head.

The creature didn't answer, their eyes wide, jaw slack, almost in a daze.

Without warning, the blade held by his throat vanished and the hand gripping onto his scarf loosened.

He stumbled back, putting a few steps of distance between the two of them the moment he was free. Though, as glad as he was to be out of immediate danger of being beheaded, he couldn't help but scratch his head again as he watched the creature just… trudge away from him, after all they've done so far, all that threatening and shouting. Was it something that he said?

Whatever happened, none of the menace or the insanity remained. The kid dragged their feet with each step, slowly, tiredly, as though the weight of the world had fallen on them. If he hadn't experienced it first hand to be otherwise, Papyrus might have thought they were just a normal kid in need of a dire help.

Or maybe that's what they were: a kid in need of a dire help. They just weren't a normal kid that's all.

He twiddled his fingers nervously, turning his head back and forth between the creature and the path behind him, the one leading back to his station and his home, back to safety, normalcy. After several moments of switching side, he came to the hard decision. Sighing out loud, he began tailing the creature.

"UMM, ARE YOU OKAY?" He asked as he caught up. "YOU'RE NOT HURT, ARE YOU?"

The creature stumbled, nearly collapsing onto the nearby tree. In a jerky motion, they lifted their hand to the side of their head, and when they pulled back, their fingers came sticky with blackish red ketchup. They turned around halfway, their exhausted red eyes barely able to focus on him.

"You." They said, almost rasped. "How did you find me?"

"ME? OH! WELL, I WAS JUST WALKING AROUND HERE, DOING A PATROL LIKE USUAL, looking for my lazybone brother, WHEN I SORT OF JUST… FOUND YOU! LYING THERE IN THE SNOW! STRANGE HUH?"

The creature took a moment to digest the words. "Found me. Alone?"

Papyrus thought back to the fire monster that shrieked at him, but that thing was gone by the time he realised this creature was also there, so technically he did find them alone, and to say otherwise would be quite misleading. "I GUESS YOU CAN SAY THAT, YES!"

Another pause, then the red eyes dropped to the snowy ground, seemingly studying the path for… something. Some clue of sort. Then they stopped, their whole body filled with heavy disappointment. "I… I see."

A cold breeze swept by, causing the forest to fall into a chorus of clicking branches.

The creature was still, leaving Papyrus to wait awkwardly like guests at a dinner party where everybody is too polite to take last piece of tart. He didn't quite understand what was going on, but the kid appeared distraught about something, devastated really. He wondered if it had to do with this 'child' that they were screaming for before. A friend of theirs, if his deductions were correct, a friend that they'd lost and wanted back quite badly.

The creature lifted their hand to their head again, but unlike the last time, their palm began to flicker with the warm yellow glow of a basic healing spell, a sight that put Papyrus somewhat at ease. Healing spells could only be used by monsters with the most compassionate of souls, meaning that this creature couldn't be all that bad. Maybe they were doing and saying all those bad things because they were just scared, as children often are when alone with strangers.

As he watched, the spell fizzled out like a busted light bulb as soon as it got strong enough to be effective. The creature growled and tried again, only to end up with the same result.

"NEED SOME HELP?" He decided to ask.

"No. I just… give me a…" The magic grew, then flickered off once more. The creature growled again, much louder than before, yet did not give up. They tried, failed, tried, then failed. The cycle continued, an everlasting loop of attempt and failure that just seemed to feed onto the creature's dark mood. Then after the ninth attempt, the creature had enough. They slammed their fist against a tree.

"Fuck." They growled, then punched the tree again. "Fuck!"

"UHH…" Papyrus winced as the kid started a new cycle: one where they smashed their bare fist at the tree, over and over.

As the pommeling continued, the blows became harsher and faster, each strike followed by a stream of profanities that he dared not repeat. And then, it all came to a halt when there was a loud crack, one that definitely did not sound like the tree bark snapping off. The kid screamed, clutching their fist close to their abdomen.

"A-ARE YOU OKAY?" Papyrus asked almost automatically, and immediately regretted it when the kid's blood red eyed snapped onto him again, their gaze piercing like the sharpest arrow.

"I am punching a dead tree with my barefist, sir." They hissed with ragged breath. "My head is bleeding, my hand is broken, so let me ask you: Do I look like I'm okay? Do I look like I'm FUCKING OKAY?!"

"ER… NO?"

"THEN STOP ASKING ME STUPID QUESTIONS!"

Papyrus took a half step back, worried that the creature might jump on them again with their knife. The anger on their face was beyond intense: It was suffocating, their skin becoming so red it nearly matched their eyes. He didn't think he'd seen anyone look so hateful before in his life, so loathing and just… awful.

But then it was all gone.

The furious scowl fell apart like a house of card under a gentle breeze, and though the kid's face was still scrunched up, the emotion behind it was nothing like what it was before. The hate broke down, their anger cooled, replaced by sorrow, harsh despair, and pain.

It was obvious that they were trying to hold back, but their quivering lips, their tear glossing eyes could not be controlled so easily.

The first sob came out suddenly, short but loud, and once it was out, the floodgate opened along with it. Before long, soft wails filled the wordless air, quiet sobs so full of regret and unspent emotions, it turned the already cold atmosphere that much more chilling, more lonesome.

The creature cried in the snow, alone and uncared for.

Papyrus blinked, the change in the mood too jarring for him to process. WHAT JUST HAPPENED? He couldn't help but ask.

He saw the creature now, a child whose head barely came up to his neck, a kid who appeared so small and fragile, he wondered how he'd been so intimidated by them until now, how he'd been so scared when they were clearly so much more frightened? For the first time in awhile, he felt guilty. He felt that due to his fear, he did not show the compassion that this kid sorely needed. He didn't even realise that they needed it.

He had no idea what was going on with them but one thing was for certain: As a proud guard of Snowdin and Future Royal Guard of his majesty the King, he could not let this go on. He could not let this stand.

He approached the creature with open arms, his heart filled with a sense of duty, of sympathy. No one should be crying alone, especially not a little-

Oh look, the blade was back on his throat.

"What do you think you're doing?" He heard the kid hiss, and looked down to find their puffy wet eyes glaring daggers at him besides the literal dagger they were holding up.

"UHH… I'M… GIVING YOU A HUG?" He answered haltingly, wondering if being truthful will get him deeper into trouble.

The kid narrowed their eyes, but didn't aggress any further. "Why?"

"HUG IS A GOOD CURE FOR CRYING! AT LEAST, SO I HEARD."

"Well I appreciate your concern, but please, keep it to yourself." They said as they tucked their knife away. "I have very little need for it."

"B-BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR TEARS?"

"It's out of me now. I've handled it." They hastily brushed away their tears as if to emphasise their point.

Papyrus frowned but didn't retort, not wanting to give them more reasons to be upset. Crying for barely five seconds seemed unlikely to handle anything, much less what they seemed to be going through. The creature kept on wiping at their eyes, which hadn't quite stopped leaking as they'd probably hoped. They began using both of their hands in frustration before they hit the wrong part of their broken hand and let out a sharp cry.

"Damn it!" They gripped at their wrist.

Papyrus was besides them in a flash. "LET ME TAKE A LOOK AT THAT."

"For what purpose?" They growled, pulling away. "Will you please just leave? I am no longer holding you hostage. You have no reason to stay."

"WELL, ACTUALLY, THIS PART OF THE FOREST FALLS UNDER MY JURISDICTION, SO EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS HERE IS KIND OF MY BUSINESS!"

"Then I free you of your obligation. Please just… Leave me be."

"SORRY, I DON'T THINK I CAN DO THAT EITHER! I CAN'T LEAVE A CRYING KID ON THEIR OWN! AS AN ADULT OF US TWO, IT IS MY DUTY TO HELP YOU OUT!"

"That's… ridiculous. I've threatened your life. I've held you at knife point and now you wish to help me?"

He shrugged. "I'M PRETTY SURE YOU HAD A GOOD REASON FOR IT."

"A good reason? A good reason?" They said in disbelief, their tired, grumpy voice rising again. "How can you even think that? Have you not seen what I tried to do? Are you so thick headed that you can't even grasp what I am?!"

Papyrus quirked his hairless brow. "YOU MEAN A LITTLE SKELETON WITH FLESH?"

"NO! I'M A HORRIBLE FUCKING PERSON!"

Papyrus flinched back and raised both his hands in a calming gesture. "WHOA, OKAY. THAT'S PRETTY HARSH DON'T YOU THINK?"

"No, I don't!" They roared at him, their tears rising again. "In fact, if I'm honest I believe I'm not being harsh enough! I'm a mental case! A bloody failure who can't take care of a single kid if my life fucking depended on it!" They kicked the snow in their fit of rage.

"WELL," Papyrus scratched his head, racking his brain to calm the kid down. "Y-YOU SHOULDN'T BE TAKING CARE OF A KID, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU'RE A KID TOO."

"As if that ever bloody mattered." The creature sniffled. "There's always someone smaller. There's always someone who needs protection and I'm the best they get. How bloody pathetic is that?" A stream of pitiful sobs took over them. "It's always the little ones. It's never me. Why can't I... Why is it always…?"

They buried their face into their palm, openly weeping their heart out, their tears running free and dropping bit by bit into the ice cold snow below. They leaned into the tree besides them and slowly slid down until they were sitting, hugging their legs, head buried between their knees. Their shoulders shook with sobs.

With a heavy heart, Papyrus carefully approached and crouched down next to them.

"IT'S OKAY STRANGE CREATURE, IT'LL BE OKAY." He tried to reassure. "IT'S LIKE THEY SAY: IT'S ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE DAWN! I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT IT SURE SOUNDS NEAT, RIGHT?"

The kid continued to cry for a while, seemingly ignoring his encouraging words.

"C-COME ON NOW! IF THIS IS ABOUT YOUR 'CHILD' FRIEND, I'M SURE THEY'RE OKAY! MAYBE THEY JUST RAN OFF TO BUY YOU GUYS SOME NICE CREAM!"

"What?" The creature barked in between sniffles, raising their head to send him an incredulous look. "What the hell are you on about? Did you even hear what I said about the child?"

"YOU MEAN ABOUT THE PART WHERE YOU COULDN'T TAKE CARE OF THEM?"

"No! I meant the part where I said-" They stopped, swallowed their sobs and shook their head. "You know what? Nevermind." A sniff. Clumsy hands wiped at their tears. "I don't have time for this. I need to look for them. I need to find them right this instant."

"WHOA, HEY, NOT SO FAST." Papyrus stopped the kid from standing up. They actually looked like they might fall right over if they stood now with their wobbly knees. "YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ANYTHING DONE WITH THOSE INJURIES. YOU NEED TO GET THEM CHECKED FIRST."

Blinking rapidly, they raised the limb in question, eyeing the one finger that was oddly bent from the rows of red, bruised knuckles. They winced with a scowl. "It can't be helped. Unless you know a healing spell or a sort of a boosting spell to help mine, there's little you can do."

"WAIT WAIT!" Papyrus stopped them again. "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HEALING SPELLS BUT I DO HAVE SOME FOOD FOR YOU TO EAT! WOULD THAT HELP?"

The creature collapsed back on the ground, appearing cautiously skeptical. "Well it-" they sniffled. "Yes, I suppose it would. As long as it's not human food."

"GREAT! BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER KIND!" Proudly, he pounded his fist at his chest once which caused the front of his armor to open up like a double gate, and from inside he pulled out a plate of his homemade pasta. "VOILA! BEHOLD MY CULINARY GENIUS! PAPYRUS BRAND ICE COLD BOLOGNESE!"

"What in the-?" The creature wiped their eyes. "Do you have a fridge inside your chest?"

"NYEH HEH HEH! NOT EXACTLY!" Papyrus laughed. "MY ARMOR AND MY EMPTY CHEST CAVITY COMBINED CREATES A PERFECT AMALGAMATION OF A STORAGE DEVICE ANDA WEIGHT TRAINING TOOL! IT'S ONLY A FRIDGE BECAUSE IT'S SO COLD AROUND! PRETTY COOL, RIGHT? "

"But you had shelves in there, filled with jars of… pasta and tomato sauce."

"I ALSO HAVE SODA!" He said proudly. "THEY'RE MOSTLY FOR SANS THOUGH, I DON'T DRINK SUGARY STUFF."

"How... quaint." The creature shook their head and received the plate of pasta from the skeleton as well as a metal fork he pulled out of his chest pocket. There was a long moment of hesitation as they took their time examining the frozen meal on their lap with a furrowed brow. Brushing at their wet eyes one last time, they looked up. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Papyrus quirked his eye socket. "DOING WHAT?"

"This." The kid waved their hand over the food. "You are helping me. I… don't understand why. Aren't you frightened of me?"

"WHAT?! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS AFRAID OF NOTHING!" He frowned. "WELL, MAYBE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF EVIL CLOWNS WITH RED BALLOONS! ... AND OF VENGEFUL SPIRITS LIVING INSIDE AN EVIL VIDEO TAPE... AND EVIL LEPRECHAUNS... AND GIANT EVIL MARSHMALLOW MAN. Hm, I should really stop letting Sans choose the Friday night movies. Or at least stop him from choosing the evil ones." He shook his head. "ANYWAYS! MY POINT IS, I'M HELPING YOU BECAUSE I MUST! IT IS MY DUTY! BUT NOT ONLY THAT, IT IS WHAT MY HEART TELLS ME IS RIGHT!"

"Then your heart must have a problem. What if I threaten you again? What if I attack?"

"NYEH HEH HEH! YOU WORRY TOO MUCH, STRANGE CREATURE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM AS STRONG AS I AM HANDSOME! AND NOT TO BLOW MY OWN HORN HERE BUT AS YOU CAN SEE: I AM WICKEDLY HANDSOME. I'M SURE I CAN FIGHT BACK LONG ENOUGH TO CALM YOU DOWN AGAIN! BESIDES, I GET A STRONG FEELING THAT YOU WON'T BE ATTACKING ME AGAIN, RIGHT?"

Surprised ruby eyes gazed at him in disbelief, then slowly softened. The corner of the kid's lips tugged into a smile, a half smile but a genuine one nonetheless. "Unbelievable…" They whispered. "But perhaps I should have expected something like this. You are a monster, after all."

Papyrus quirked his eye socket again. "IS THAT IMPORTANT?"

The kid shook their head. "No, it's nothing. Don't mind me." Without another word, they grabbed the fork and chipped off a strand of noodle off of the frozen pile and rolled it up. They looked up at Papyrus who returned the gaze with an excited grin. "Thank you for the meal and your generosity. I… I don't deserve this sort of treatment. Not after what I did."

"WORRY NOT, FOR I HAVE FORGIVEN YOU ALREADY FOR YOUR SLEIGHT!" Papyrus paused. "WAIT, YOU ARE SORRY FOR WHAT YOU DID RIGHT?"

"Oh, yes. Of course I am. I terribly am."

"THEN THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS! ALL WATER OVER THE BRIDGE!"

"I think you meant… Nevermind" The kid's smile brightened. "If it is as simple as that to you, then I will not look a gift horse in the mouth. I cannot even begin to convey how grateful I am, sir. I promise I will repay you in some way in the future."

"THE BEST REPAYMENT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW IS EAT MY DELICIOUS PASTA AND TELL ME HONESTLY ON WHAT YOU THINK! A GREAT COOK NEEDS ALL THE FEEDBACK THEY NEED AFTER ALL! IF YOU FROU-FROU UP YOUR OPINION BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE NICE, I'LL BE VERY CROSS WITH YOU!"

The kid giggled, a soft, lilted sound that was nothing like the insane jittering they made prior, and when they smiled, their face was kind, and inviting. It made Papyrus proud to know that he was the one to put the expression on them. "Of course, sir. Pardon me while I dig in."

They placed the frozen food in their mouth with little hesitation, and Papyrus watched with eager, twinkling eyes as the no-doubt brilliant flavour of his meal dissolved onto the creature's tongue. He could tell it was working too, he could see it: The creature's face was simply melting. Their anger, pain, sorrow, joy, and any other noteworthy emotions seeping away into a pure, unhampered, blank slate. It was like someone had replaced their face with a paper mask, and it was a sight truly powerful to witness.

Slowly, they pulled off a clean fork out of their mouth, and looked up at the skeleton with stoic neutrality.

"Papyrus." They began, their tone calm and controlled. "May I ask: Do you have any taste-buds?"

"NOPE!" He answered, prouder than a three year old with his first macaroni art.

There was a pause. "That seems rather unfortunate."

"IT DOES HINDER MY ABILITY TO REFINE MY SKILLS AS A CHEF I GUESS, BUT I DO NOT LET IT GET ME DOWN! I KNOW IF I KEEP TRYING, I WILL ONE DAY BECOME THE GREATEST COOK TO EVER LIVE!"

"How…" A frown. "Admirable."

"WHY THANK YOU!"

"-Though one would argue that the sense of taste is essential to one's ability as a chef. A requirement, if one might be so bold."

"YES, OR SO ONE MAY THINK!" He puffed out his chest. "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WHEN YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT! A HUMAN KNOWN AS BEAT-HOVEN WAS DEAF BUT HE IS STILL ONE OF THE GREATEST MUSICIANS TO DATE! SO WHY NOT A TASTE BLIND CHEF?"

"I believe it's pronounced 'Bae-toven', but I see your point." The creature then returned the plate of food with the fork on top.

"YOU'RE DONE?" He quizzed. "YOU STILL HAVE KETCHUP ON YOU!"

"Perhaps I will make do with the soda this time. I find that frozen pasta is… not exactly to my liking."

"OH. DOES THIS MEAN YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT?"

"No, I did not." They admitted, then quickly added when they saw the skeleton frown in disappointment, "B-but you must understand: This is the first time that I'm trying a frozen pasta. Perhaps I don't like the dish in general. It probably has nothing to do with your culinary skills, which I'm sure is fantastic."

He quickly shrugged it off. "NO, IT'S ALRIGHT! I UNDERSTAND THAT NOT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME TASTE IN FOOD! MAYBE I CAN INVITE YOU TO DINNER SOMETIMES! I'LL MAKE YOU SOME WARM PASTA, HOW ABOUT THAT? HAVE YOU TRIED WARM PASTA BEFORE?"

The kid sighed in relief. "Yes. Yes I have, and I would love to try it out if you are willing to cook some."

"FANTASTIC! THEN IT'S A DINNER!" He placed the plate back inside his chest and pulled out a purple can from the upper shelf closer to his collarbone. "HERE IS YOUR SODA!"

The creature received the can with a small thanks and proceeded to pop and drink the content with little hesitation. As they swallowed, their hand began shimmering with magic. There was a loud crack which made them wince, but once they opened their eyes to check, their broken knuckles were back in position, the angry bruises fading away.

"THERE WE GO! YOU'RE ALL BETTER!"

"Almost." They took another long swig of the soda. This time the side of their head shimmered, and when it was gone, all the dark red blotches were gone. "Goodness me." The creature blinked slowly. "That feels… so much better. You never realise how good you have it until you experience the other side."

"NOW YOU'RE ALL BETTER?"

"The world isn't constantly spinning anymore so yes, I would say so." They stood up, brushing themselves off refinedly. They hopped on their two feet lightly as if to test out their body. They nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Papyrus. Lowering their head, they bowed. "I thank you for the assistance, Papyrus. You were an unexpected help."

"MY PLEASURE, LITTLE SKELETON WITH FLESH!" Papyrus bowed back.

"Little skeleton with-" The creature laughed, the same soft giggle which Papyrus found much better suited for them than the creepy crooked one they made before. "You are the most amusing person I've met in a while, sir. I dare say you are much more pleasant to speak to than your brother."

"OH, WHY THANK-" Papyrus blinked, then gasped, his head doing a three sixty on his neck. "WHAT?! YOU MET SANS?!"

"Why yes. A pleasant meeting, that. Didn't I mention it? I apologise if I haven't."

He slapped his hands over his cheeks, his mind reeling. "OH MY GOD! THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW MY NAME! I NEVER REALISED! WHERE IS HE NOW?! HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE ON GUARD DUTY AND HE JUST-"

"Ran away?" They finished for him, scoffing. "Of course he did. I don't know where he is now, but I assume he is lazing about somewhere."

Papyrus was momentarily phased at the snide comment, then growled to himself. "UGH! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I JUST MET YOU AND YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT MY BROTHER'S GREATEST FLAW!"

"Worry not, sir. His flaws are his alone. They do not reflect onto you."

"BUT THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ME, I WANT HIM TO NOT HAVE THESE FLAWS! I MEAN I'M NOT ASKING FOR PERFECTION BUT THOSE JOKES CAN BE BETTER!"

"Hmph, they were rather subpar."

"TELL ME ABOUT IT! IF ONLY I CAN GET HIM TO DO MORE TASTEFUL JOKES, I WOULDN'T BE AS WORRIED FOR HIM AS I AM NOW!"

The little creature tilted their head at him, a small smile growing on their lips. "You are not much like your brother, are you?"

Papyrus was slightly phased by the sudden change in topic. "I AM MUCH TALLER, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN?"

"Ha! Yes, there is that, but I was more alluding to your…" The creature waved their hand at him. "Refinement, I believe is what you have. Higher standard. You are also very vigilant. Persevering."

"OH." Papyrus' cheeks flushed. "THANK YOU, STRANGE CREATURE! BEING A GUARD MEANS PROTECTING THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE! IT'S A JOB THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY."

"A commendable attitude. I'm sure your superiors are most satisfied with your performance." The smile on the creature's face turned a touch sour. "Now, while I am very much grateful for your hospitality, I must now be off."

Papyrus did a double take. "WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! YOU JUST RECOVERED FROM AN INJURY! YOU NEED TO REST!"

"Nonsense. I've already wasted a lot of time as it is. I need to go and find the child."

"RIGHT! THIS 'CHILD' FRIEND OF YOURS! THEN PERHAPS I CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE!"

"Oh no you mustn't. You've already helped so much, I cannot ask that of you."

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus said with a puff of chest. "THIS SECTOR OF THE FOREST IS WHERE ME AND MY BROTHER HAVE BEEN TOLD TO GUARD BY THE GUARD CAPTAIN! WHICH BASICALLY MEANS THAT I ALONE AM THE GUARD OF THIS DOMAIN! IF I DON'T HELP YOU OUT, WHO WILL?!"

"But… Are you sure? I've been less than polite, made assumptions that I shouldn't have. I almost hurt you."

"AND YOU NEED TO STOP HANGING OVER IT! I ALREADY SAID IT WAS ALL WATER OVER THE BRIDGE RIGHT?"

"I… Hm, I suppose you did." The creature smiled, slowly but surely. "Thank you, Papyrus. You truly are a 'Great' person."

Papyrus gasped, hard, nearly fainting with joy. "YOU… YOU REALLY THINK SO?"

"Yes I do. You've saved me from a less than optimal situation, despite how I've treated you in the beginning. It is something not many else would have done. You… you are my hero of the day."

"WOWEE… WOWEE! ME, A HERO. A HERO! A HERO!" Papyrus chanted, star like twinkle in his eyes. "I MEAN UHH, EHEM. LET US BE ON OUR WAY THEN, CITIZEN! I ASSURE YOU, WITH MY HEROIC ABILITIES AT HELP, YOU WILL FIND YOUR LOST FRIEND IN NO TIME! NOW UHH, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED? HOW DID YOU LOSE YOUR FRIEND IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

"Huh, was it not obvious?" The kid hummed. "I must clarify that I didn't lose the child exactly."

"REALLY? BUT WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMEONE THAT'S NOT LOST?"

"Well, they are lost, I just didn't lose them myself." The kid sighed heavily for what they were about to say. "There's been a kidnapping."

Papyrus' face dropped like a sack of raw potato. "Kidnapping?" He repeated quietly, "KIDNAPPING?!" He gasped so hard his jaw almost fell off its hinges.

"Quite. Also, if I am not wrong, I believe I've been mugged as well."

Papyrus' jaw did fall off this time. He was just quick enough to catch it before it hit the ground and managed to adjust it back in its place just in time to boom again, "MUGGING?! KIDNAPPING?! OH MY GOD! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS EARLIER?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

The creature crossed their arms, glancing over to the side as their brows drew in concentration. "My memory is hazy but I know that there was this... this monster, Snowdrake, I believe I've mentioned. The one you recognised."

"SWEET JANGLING JELLY BABIES! HE RUNS AWAY FROM HOME FOR WEEKS AND THIS IS WHAT HE'S BEEN UP TO?!"

"Well, I can't say that this is what he's been doing the entirety of his absence but yes, right now it seems he is delving into some... shady business." The creature muttered with acid in their tone. "He distracted me while another monster whom I assume is his accomplice assaulted the child from behind. Then they attacked me, knocked me out and took the child from me. They took my bag too. My mother gave me that, those rowdy yobs."

Papyrus stumbled back, his head spinning from the news of all these evil acts performed right under his nose. "THEFT! ASSAULT! AN ATTACK FROM THE BACK! HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?! WHAT HAVE I BEEN GUARDING ALL THIS TIME?!"

"You are but one man, sir. You can hardly blame yourself for not having omnipotence over the entire forest."

"BUT I SHOULD HAVE OMNIPOTASSIUM OVER THE ENTIRE FOREST! QUICKLY! WHAT DOES THE CHILD LOOK LIKE?! WE NEED TO LOOK FOR THEM RIGHT NOW!"

The creature sighed. "Well, they are similar to me in appearance but smaller and younger. They're wearing blue and purple striped shirt. Hair is brown like mine, but a shade darker. They're a touch short for a ten year old, I find."

"SWEET GUMMY BEARS ON THE MOON! THE KID IS TEN?! THEY HURT A TEN YEAR OLD?!"

"Indeed. Quite the low lives if I say so myself." The creature grumbled, their expression turning ugly for an instant. "But they are not in pain now, for what it's worth."

"OH, THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT." Papyrus sighed in relief before his brain caught up with him. "WAIT, HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY'RE NOT IN PAIN?"

"I have my ways, though I suppose I am simply guessing at this point." They shrugged off. "I just know for certain that they are not conscious at all, which would mean that they cannot be in pain."

"OH. WELL, THAT'S GOOD. I GUESS? BUT HEY! THIS IS STILL UNACCEPTABLE! WE HAVE TO FIND THEM AND BRING THE CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE!"

"A sentiment I agree wholeheartedly. I am very much grateful for your service, Great Papyrus. You are an honourable man."

"NYEH HEH, THANK YOU CITIZEN!" Papyrus masked his embarrassment with proud bravado, though he couldn't stop his cheeks from reddening. "ALRIGHT! ON WITH THE JOB! I PERSONALLY CAN'T SAY THAT I HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE THE CRIMINALS WENT, BUT I THINK I KNOW WHO MIGHT!"

"Do you?" The creature said, pleasantly surprised and most definitely impressed.

"YES! COME! WE'LL TAKE A SHORTCUT!" The skeleton began jogging his way into the forest before quickly doing a complete one eighty. "GREAT BONEMARROWS! I FORGOT TO ASK FOR YOUR NAME! I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT, SMALL SKELETON WITH FLESH!"

The creature blinked, then hid their giggle under their dainty hand. "It is no matter. Our meeting wasn't exactly by the textbook definition, yes?" They reassured, then bowed low, curtsying with their fingers grabbing onto an imaginary fabric. "I am Chara. Charmed to meet you, Great Papyrus. And I apologise for my rudeness earlier. Had I known who you were, I would not have attacked in such manner."

"APOLOGY ACCEPTED! YOU WERE ATTACKED AND SIMPLY STRUCK BACK AT AN UNKNOWN ASSAILANT. IT'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"

"You are too kind."

"WELL, AS YOU ALREADY KNOW, I AM NONE OTHER THAN THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! IT IS A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE!"

"Likewise." The creature stepped up. "Now, let us make haste. I have a child to get back."

Papyrus nodded and turned back around to take charge, acting with professionalism and leadership, though on the inside he was squealing like a little girl getting her first christmas present from Santa Claus. There was no doubt that what has happened to this Chara creature and their 'child' was unfortunate and heinous and should never occur to anyone ever again, but he still couldn't stop the giddy excitement filling his whole being at the idea of actually going out there and doing some proper guard work besides recalibrating puzzles and helping the elderlies find their way back home. Not that those deeds were boring or anything, but they did tend to get rather repetitive.

He had his initial doubt about this weird creature before but as it turned out, they were just worried and trying to rescue their friend who's been kidnapped. How bad can they really be? Besides, they were actually kind of pleasant once you got over the initial hurdle of 'I'm holding a magic knife on your throat' thing. The two of them may have only met for less than half an hour, but something told him that this was going to be a start of a beautiful friendship.


"Come on. Pick up. Pick up!" Alphys rolled her feet on the floor, hopping about like a girl desperately in need of a toilet break.

Finally, there was a click and a familiar voice echoed in. "yellow?"

"Sans! Oh my god! It's Alphys! I've been trying to reach you for thirty minutes! Where the hell have you been?!"

"at grillby's."

"At Grillby's?! What are you doing there when there's a-"

"pfft- nah i'm just kidding. this is my voice message. if you're hearing this, i'm not available. so uhh, leave a message after the beep or whatever! ciao! … wait, what do i... do i just hang up now?"

*Click. *BEEP!

Alphys stared at her phone for what seemed like an eternity. Then in a single motion, she growled out loud in frustration, raised her hand above her head, stopped, then shakily placed the device on her desk, gently as a butterfly. She groaned and buried her face into her palms.

'Don't worry,' he said. 'I'm always here when it's important,' he said. Well it seemed like a damn important time right now, so why wasn't he picking up?!

She inhaled long and deep to calm her insides which had been training for the olympics in gymnastics for the past half hour, and turned back to the screen which had the image of Papyrus and the human Chara wading through the forest. Just the sight of them together was making her lose her mind. His brother was travelling together with a human for god's sake. Didn't Sans want to know that?!

She had to admit, when those teens came and ambushed the two humans, a small part of her felt awful watching. They were just kids after all, enemy or not, and then to see them beaten up, have them separated from each other, each left to fend for themselves in a world they barely knew. It was a lot like a plot to an anime.

She knew she shouldn't. She really, really shouldn't, but a very small part of her was sort of rooting for them to find one another again: She wanted to see them yearn for each other day and night. She wanted to see them go through hell and back, just to get a step closer to each other. Then she wanted them to have a tearful reunion, complete with warm sunlight, inspired orchestral music and a close up of the two simply staring at one another, knowing that they had each other once more, with trust, with love. And then they would kiss. And it'll be so darn cute she'll be screaming, bouncing up and down her couch as she watched with a bowl of crisps on her lap.

Well, a fat chance that was happening anymore because her fujoshi wishes were pushed to the back of her mind when she saw that Chara kid put a freaking knife on Papyrus' neck! It appeared that those two have reached a truce of some sort now, but she still wasn't so convinced on how safe her friend was.

The amount of magic the cameras caught on the human when they realised their partner was hurt was… troubling to say the least. And not only was it that, it was what she saw before Papyrus found them that got her worried to bits.

After the assault, she'd figured that the human might die from hypothermia exacerbated by blood loss if no one came to help, but then she saw it: An aura of blood red magic rising from the human like a ghost. At first she thought her gadgets were malfunctioning and was capturing a phantom image, until the aura literally, legitimately, casted a spell: It set the human on magic fire to keep them warm and even began to heal their injuries to a very small degree. It was fascinating to watch, in a sense that watching a scantily armoured woman cut down a five storey high robot with a katana was fascinating: Her mind was taking in the information received by her eyes while knowing that what it was seeing wasn't real.

Except this time, it was.

It made no sense. Magic was a tool that every living being was born with in their SOUL. It didn't act on it own unless commanded; it didn't have any affect on its own without being structured into a spell; it didn't look at a situation and comprehend it enough to make a smart decision on what spells to caste; and it certainly didn't shriek at anyone it 'sees' without being told to do so.

I mean, what was that even about? It was like it ran away the moment it saw Papyrus. Like it was afraid or something.

It was terribly confusing, and a part of her wanted to bring the human in alive for a full scientific analysis, even as another part wanted her to keep a hundred mile distance from them at all time.

From what she gathered so far, the kid was powerful, knew a few very dangerous spells, was sadistic to a degree even to their own 'friend' and seemed somewhat prone to violent outbursts. Add to that a self operating magic that shrieked at people when they were near? It was a catastrophic mix of character ready to blow up at any minute.

They appeared amicable now, but who knew when the knife was going to drop, both proverbially and literally? Papyrus was dancing on a very thin rope above a fiery pit of lava, and it was causing Alphys to tither on the edge of a mental breakdown from just watching.

Sighing out loud, she picked up her phone again.

Did she care that this was going to be her fifteenth phone call in that half hour alone? Well, was Mew Mew Kissy 2 the best anime of the year?

Of course not.

She was going to try to call that lazybones Sans until either her battery died or he finally decides to crawl out of whatever hole he was hiding from and picked up his stupid phone. And seeing how she had her phone plugged into the charger, it seemed inevitable how this will turn out.

Her yellow claws pecked at the touchscreen with extra force, as if her excessive aggression on her poor device will be transferred over to her friend.

She then stopped halfway through the number when she saw a glimpse of movement in the corner of her eyes.

She whipped around, trying to catch whatever she saw before it got away. She'd had a mild case of roach infestation in her lab for months now and though she understood it was an inevitability with her admittedly messy lifestyle, she still liked to exterminate the pests whenever she could because, come on, they were freaking creepy, crawly, Imma-casually-crawl-all-over-your-toothbrush-when-you're-not-looking roaches. She didn't want to deal with any of that.

As it turned out however, it wasn't roaches that she saw.

A grainy static screen greeted her, amongst the ocean of feeds coming in from the security cameras around the Underground. She read the label on the corner of each screen around the broken feed and deduced that it was one of the cameras filming over the routes of Snowdin forest that had gone out.

Did ice get inside the wires again? She rushed over to her desk and began drumming at her keyboard.

She then stopped again.

Another feed had went out. Another camera that was positioned amidst the Snowdin path. It was the one installed not so far away from the first feed, she realised. And even as she figured this out, another camera feed went out nearby.

Two feeds went out to her left, then to her right.

Three feeds went out. Four feeds. Six. Ten.

Alphy backed off in shock. Cameras were dying left and right, too many for her to even react. Everywhere she looked the feeds were being consumed in static, but only in Snowdin for some reason. This could not have been a natural phenomenon. Each camera had their own power source and broadcaster, meaning when one went out, none of the others should be affected.

Which means that someone is taking out the cameras on purpose.

A lot of someones in fact, because there was no way anyone can move around so fast to take out each and every camera she installed. How were they even finding them all like this? Those cameras were supposed to be meticulously hidden.

She quickly typed an extra command on her terminal, and the giant surveillance screen zoomed in to show only the feed from Snowdin. However, by this time it was already too late. All of the feed was gone, filling the screen with ocean of statics.

All except for two screens in the bottom right corner.

One of them went out, but Alphys caught it: a glimpse of something right next to the camera. Something that was boney white mixed with a deep ocean blue.

Alphys ran her hand over her keyboard, and the lone surviving feed took over the entire screen.

"Sans?!" She shouted into her desktop mic. "Sans! Don't hide! I saw you in the previous feed! What on earth are you doing?! Did you just take out the entire surveillance feed to Snowdin?!"

The audio from the lone camera didn't receive any answer, but the feed was still alive, as though whoever was trying to kill the feed was on the verge of being caught and was brainstorming what they should do next.

Growling, Alphy yanked up her phone in a hurry, finished dialling the number and held it against her ear.

The dial tone rang on her phone, and from her computer Sans' ringtone began to blare.

"Ah ha! Got you! I know you're there Sans! Come out of hiding!"

Amidst the blaring ringtone a heavy sigh was heard. There was a bit of shuffling and a small beep.

The ringtone ended.

"yellow."

Alphys almost collapsed into her chair. She took in a deep calming breath before speaking up. "I'm going to give you ten seconds to explain yourself, mister."

"whoa, okay mum. looks like someone's pissed."

"Uhh, you've been ignoring all of my calls and just virtually stabbed me in the eye watching over the whole of Snowdin. So yeah, I'm pissed."

"can we get off the phone? or maybe just get rid of the camera audio? i'm getting echoes."

"Sans!"

"alright, gee. you sound like papyrus now, you know that?"

"Sans." Alphnys gripped the edge of her desk. Hard. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

"eh, let's say i'm running an experiment of sort. is that believable? i think that's believable."

"No it's not believable! What kind of experiment needs you to break dozens of my equipment?"

"aw, don't make it such a big deal. they're not broken, i just switched them off you know? with the 'off' switch? send someone to turn them back on again and you'll get your 'eyes' back."

"Sans. Explanation. Now."

"look," He sighed. "i just happened to find some information that i wanted to verify myself. i didn't want to hand you unchecked facts, you know?"

"That's great and I appreciate your efforts and all, but why the cameras?"

"i don't know. because i wanted this to be a big surprise, i guess? look, i gotta go. do me a favor and delete this recording, kay? i know you're making one and i really don't want this on the records."

"Keep what on the records? Sans, please, what is going on?!"

"alphs. buddy."

Alphys jumped as Sans hopped onto the screen, staring directly into her eyes though that would practically be impossible through the camera. The grin on his face was humorous, but was in no way friendly. Staring back, Alphys felt a sharp chill run down her spine. "just delete the recordings, okay? and trust me, i'll explain everything in due time. just keep an eye on my brother, will you? oh wait, you can't do that. did you find those info on human magic potentials?"

"N-no?" She mumbled, all of her anger gone up in smokes.

"well, i guess you can get that info in then. i can trust you with it right?"

"Y-y-yeah, sure."

"good. gotta go now. i'll call you when this is over. text me until then. oh and uhh…" He leaned into the camera and Alphys took an unconscious step back. "delete this recording."

Sans paused, as though waiting for a response. Her tongue tied up, all Alphys could do was nod, and though there would have been absolutely no way that he could have seen her do it, his hollow grin widened.

"welp, i guess that's it. you should come over later, i think paps is gonna try a new recipe or something for dinner. it'll be good to have someone with a taste-bud tell us how it is. so uhh… yeah. see ya!"

The phone clicked off and so did the last remaining camera feed.

Slowly, Alphys clicked her phone shut. She looked back up at the monitor and the endless static rushing about. She half thought to check the other feeds to see if any of them came back, but that would probably be unlikely.

She sunk into her chair, her stiff back and shoulder sagging as she released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

She did not like that. She did not like that at all. She knew she should do something, but what? Should she check on Papyrus again? She wanted to but it was going to be impossible without her surveillance cameras. Should she fix her cameras? That would be productive, and very much necessary in the future, but that was going to take eons to complete on her own. She usually got Sans or Papyrus to do the task, but given their position, it was unlikely that either of them would be available to help.

Should… should she go tell King Asgore of the current situation?

That seemed like a smart idea. That seemed like a very smart idea with promising results. She could get him up to date with the situation, provide him with the necessary precautions to take when taking on the Chara human and that'll be that. The King will mobilise a search party for the children, capture them and do the dirty deed. The monsters go free, they party for a while and she'll go back to her little hidey hole to watch all the new anime she'll get to access from the surface world.

Happiness all around.

She should do it. She should absolutely do it: grab her phone and call King Asgore right now.

delete this recording.

The memory of Sans' dead eyes, the pair of dark voids that seemed to devour her soul, gave her the chills that froze her limbs, strangled the air out of her throat. He wasn't here now. He would have no way of knowing if she ever decided to call the King. And yet...

With trembling hands, she grabbed her phone, tapped the screen a few times, and deleted the automatically generated recording of her call with Sans.

With a shuddering sigh, she wheeled herself over to her computer and began typing away, running through the core database for humans and all the magical potentials they've presented in the past.


A/N: That's it then. I'm hoping I got the emotions at the right pace with the long scene with Paps and Chara. I feel like I've rushed in some places. Paps is fun but I found him very difficult to write without either A, being too wacky and random, or B, going too serious and out of character. It's the fine middle line between flanderization and sounding like a completely different character. Well, I'll let you guys be the judge as always.

Ideas abandoned for this chapter: Chara not hitting Frisk. Chara and Frisk fighting the Snowdin teens in a normal way. Chara trying to explain Papyrus that they're the princess of Underground. Chara spewing decades old racist propaganda jokes at Snowdrake.

And now, since you guys liked it so much last time, here's another omake from the deleted scenes.


Omake (Chara trying to explain Papyrus that they're the princess of Underground)

Chara: Greetings sir, I am Chara Dreemurr

Paps: DREEMURR?! BUT THAT'S THE SAME NAME AS THE KING! ARE YOU TWO RELATED BY ANY CHANCE?

Chara: Oh, I'm glad you asked. You see I am his-

Paps: HIS FAN!

Chara: … I'm sorry?

Paps: HIS FAN! YOU'RE HIS FAN, OR AT LEAST YOUR PARENTS ARE! SO THEY NAMED YOU AFTER THE KING! I MEAN, I DON'T BLAME THEM: OUR KING SURE IS GREAT!

Chara: No, wait. I'm not his fan, sir. I'm his-

Paps: PET? THAT DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT.

Chara: No, I'm his child! Where the hell did you even get 'Pet' from?

Paps: HIS CHILD?

Chara: Indeed. I'm of royalty, the future ruler of this land.

Paps: WELL THAT DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT. YOU DON'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE A GOAT! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY FURS! (Papyrus squints his eyes) OH WAIT, YES YOU DO.

(Chara turns red)

Chara: What?! How do you-? I do not! (Chara checks their skin) Do I?

Paps: YOU HAVE LITTLE SOFT FUR GROWING ON YOUR ARM.

Chara: But that's… Ugh, damn it all, I am definitely burning these off later. Anyway, I'm not his biological child, sir. I'm adopted! Of course I don't look like him.

Paps: REALLY? I DON'T REMEMBER HIS MAJESTY SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT A NEW CHILD.

Chara: There's a reason for that. But I assure you, I am telling you the truth.

(Papyrus rubs his chin in thought, then snaps his fingers)

Paps: OOOOH! I GET IT!

Chara: Ugh. Get what?

Paps: YOU'RE PLAYING PRETEND!

Chara: Pretend?

Paps: YES! YOU'RE PRETENDING TO BE OUR KING'S CHILD! AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO GET BACK TO THE CASTLE AFTER BEING KIDNAPPED BY A GIANT TURTLE THAT IS ACTUALLY A DRAGON SOMEHOW!

Chara: A giant... what?

Paps: SO WHO'S PLAYING THE TWO ITALIAN PLUMBER BROTHERS? I ALWAYS PLAY THE GREEN ONE SINCE I'M SO TALL! THOUGH I DO SOMETIMES PLAY AS THE EGG LAYING DINOSAUR AT TIMES, I DON'T REALLY LIKE IT BECAUSE I OFTEN GET DITCHED DOWN A CLIFF FOR A PETTY JUMP DISTANCE THAT WOULDN'T BE NEEDED IF SOMEBODY TIMED HIS JUMP RIGHT!

Chara: … You sir, have lost your head.

Paps: WHAT?! (Papyrus feels at his head) NO I DIDN'T, IT'S RIGHT HERE.

Chara: I wasn't being…No, you know what? I don't have time for this. I'm leaving.

Paps: WHAT? WAIT, BUT YOU HAVEN'T TOLD ME WHO PLAYS MARIO AND LUIGI! CAN I PLAY MARIO? SANS NEVER LETS ME PLAY MARIO! STRANGE CREATURE? HELLO?


Next up: Sans starts executing his plan.