Thanks for reading!


Chapter 12:

Taking a moment to process just how quickly they'd traveled, Undyne took a deep breathe. This was her domain. She ran the labs. It was her duty to assist monsters in need and that meant Sans. She needed to be objective and observant as panicking would only get in her way.

"I need to know about his illness." Her voice barely quivered. "You can't hide any information from me if I'm going to help him. So, we're going to start with the basics. What exactly is part of his illness and what is the specific medication he was prescribed."

"You see the symptoms. " Shrugging, Papyrus produced a small bottle of pills from his hoodie. "These are his meds."

Taking the bottle, Undyne tried to ignore just how unhelpful the skeleton was being. Seeing symptoms wasn't the same as having them described. All she'd seen was the extreme fever and normal side effects of having that. When she'd mentioned dusting, he seemed surprised but he still wasn't giving her enough to nail down a diagnosis. It was entirely possible that the dusting was a symptom that Sans had hidden from his brother, especially if the small skeleton was concerned that taking medicine would make others think less of him.

The bottle wasn't giving her much either. The pills were an unusual color but that didn't help in narrowing down what they actually were. There wasn't a distinguishable name on the label to identify where it had been obtained, the doctor who had prescribed them, or even what was contained within the pills.

"The doctor Sans goes to, is there a way to contact them? A complete medical history would be useful."

"Haven't seen the doc in a while. I doubt you'd get ahold of him."

"Where do you meet him? I could send Alphys to collect the files."

"Dunno. As I said, haven't seen him in a while."

"How can Sans be on medicine and not see a doctor frequently?"

"Are you going to help him or what?" Papyrus snapped, evading the question for now.

The idea seemed ridiculous. Anyone with a serious illness would carefully monitor their condition and get checked frequently. Medication might need changing over time if it didn't provide desired results. The sheer quantity of variable involved with treating monsters with chronic illnesses practically tied those monsters to their physicians!

"How long has he been taking these pills?"

"For as long as I can remember."

"Then you must have gotten refills. How do you get those?"

"Never ran out."

"HOW DO YOU… Never mind." Coaxing herself to retain her composure, Undyne focused. Sans needed help. Even if he did have an, aggravatingly, unhelpful brother, she had to start somewhere. "Okay, I think we'll start with a lukewarm bath."

"You think?" Scoffing, Papyrus glared at the scientist.

Scurrying around, Undyne was blissfully unaware of Papyrus' glare. There was simply too much to focus on other than the tall skeleton. Treating the fever was of utmost importance right now.

Baths were typically relaxing and could potentially help with fevers. The water couldn't be too warm or it wouldn't help at all. On the other hand, the water being too cold could cause a whole different set of problems.

The problem with fevers, at least with most monsters, was that it typically pointed to some underlying issue. Unfortunately, simple issues like a cold were ruled out due to the apparent consistency of the condition. Foreign magic, some sort of parasitic entity, or various immune disorders could all be dangerous causes. Papyrus had already known that something was wrong, but it'd be best to actually find the root of the issues. Perhaps, more research had been done into the illness since Sans had last received treatment. Undyne had more questions than answers right now.

Why had they never gone back to a doctor for at least an annual exam? Who had been the one treating Sans in the first place? What even was the illness Sans had?

Papyrus had those answers. That was abundantly clear. She just had to get him to open up.

"Papyrus?"

"Yep, still here."

"You know I owe you a lot. I'm just trying to help Sans."

"Yeah, well, I could have handled it."

"Instead of taking everything on yourself, help me help your brother." Undyne truly needed his help for this. "Can you please do that?"

"Yeah, whatcha need?"

"If you'd finish unclothing him while the water gets closer to room temperature, that'd be a great start."

Silently, the tall skeleton undressed Sans. There wasn't much clothing to remove, but Undyne chose to focus on the water instead of rushing Papyrus. After a few minutes of silence, the smaller skeleton was gently placed into the water.

Sans was still wearing his gloves.

Lightly tugging the unnecessary accessory off, Undyne caught sight of something unexpected. The bones were covered in meticulously detailed images and scenes. Her hand shook slightly as she inspected the marks on the small one's hands. Seeing them didn't feel right.

"What are these?"

"Hands."

"No, Papyrus! I meant these engravings. What are these?"

"Oh, those. They're some body art. You know, like a tattoo on fleshier beings."

"You mean to tell me Sans had both of his hands covered in art and then always hid it?" Disbelief seeped its way into Undyne's voice. "That makes no sense whatsoever!"

"It wasn't for everyone else. It was for Sans. Anyways, I've got to go handle something. Take care of him, would 'ya?"

The fine details carved into bone were both horrifying and beautiful. In a strange way, the images seemed familiar to Undyne. It was as if they were events long forgotten. Despite the incredible skill needed to implement the intricate designs, she could not let herself see it as art. They were no doubt painful to receive and they seemed to her too similar to the mutilation of the skeleton's ribs.

Turning to confront Papyrus on the distinct similarities, Undyne was stunned silent. The skeleton wasn't there. Papyrus, the only brother in the entire underground who could stake claim to the title 'Most Protective Sibling', had simply left Sans with her to run some errands. Undyne wasn't certain if she should be honored that he trusted her so much or angry that he'd actually leave. Settling on perplexed, the scientist quietly bathed the small skeleton now fully in her care. Something was seriously amiss right now, but she'd figure it out.


It was just another monster, another pile of dust. There wasn't anything special here. Things never changed. It was just another 'Dad' in another home that wasn't really theirs. It was just another beginning.

The human marched on, humming a familiar tune. At first glance, they looked so nice, peaceful even, but as they went down the stairs Temmie knew. It was just another death, a trivial thing for the human. It was play time.


kitty123435

It is definitely hard writing different characters! But you really have done a good job

And I guess if I could choose, I'd rather a longer chapter each week!

Thank you! I do my best. For the chapter length, you guys are getting to choose. There was an incredible agreement on which updates to do so that's what I'll be doing. Thanks for reading!

RoyaisAwesome

Paps u messed up an let Sans start dusting... U dead son. And if Undyne is supposed to be the "Alphys" in this AU, isn't she supposed to be smart? When I say that I mean shouldn't she realize that the symptoms Sans is experiencing is from that pill (I forget what was in it. Determination?) that Paps gave him?

So, this gets into some weird stuff. (Not you but the review brings up certain things that I've danced around.) Undyne is the "Alphys" in this AU but that doesn't make her a medical genius. Alphys in Undertale seems to have better luck with electronics and engineering than preventing monsters from dusting. (Alphys' being successful on a technicality doesn't mean it produced desired results.) So while the scientist is actually intelligent, she has a specialty. Undyne does have the intelligence and capability to piece together the puzzle but it takes a little bit longer than it might if she was fixing a machine instead. Of course this is more of a head canon applied to this story than anything else. (It seems like a nice way to have the original Alphys balanced as a character. Even if you are incredibly smart, you won't be perfect at everything. That's a bit of a blow to most people accustomed to being the smartest but it is a realistic idea.) This brings us to the pill. Undyne didn't see Sans take the pill and was told that the symptoms were part of Sans 'illness'. Any decisions made on those inaccurate assumptions would be dangerous. Due to Undyne being a scientist, she's trained to view things logically and to verify all information prior to taking drastic actions. Also, I don't think I've actually specified what is in that pill yet. That'll be important and exposed later. Thanks for reading! (Also, I hope this doesn't come across with me being upset or ranting or anything. I'm just trying to explain so I hope that helps.)

Knights the hedgehog

waswrrrrgggghhhhhhh, I can't decide to pity papyrus or punch him...on one hand he's going crazy, on the other...he thinks he's doing the right thing?

I'm not making it any easier, am I? Well, whenever you decide whether to punch or pity Papyrus, I'd like to know. Yes, Papyrus does think he's doing the right thing. Thanks for reading.

ddani121212

It's been a while. Curse u school for taking away my fanfiction reading time. Anyway, I think one long chapter a week would be best. It might just be me but I don't think I could keep up with 2 chapters a week, even if it's short. Everytime I get home from school, I pass out from work and practice (I run track).

That's a really good reason for one chapter a week. Thanks for answering and best of luck with school and track. Thanks for reading!

The Ashen Lord

Things are starting to fall into place now, but not all the puzzle pieces are here yet. Good chapter here TC and I look forward to seeing what will happen when the human doesn't encounter Sans or Papyrus in the beginning. Yes... things are definitely coming together and falling apart at the same time.

For the previous question (on Ch. 10) I wouldn't reset my life. Just because I would get a reset on my life doesn't mean that I will hold all my memories/experiences that I've had in my life. Even if I could recall everything, the cons outweigh the pros. Interesting question btw.

Also, for this chapter's question I would say to keep to the schedule that your used to. One chapter is enough and keeps us anticipating what will be coming next for the future of the story.

We are so close to the human exiting the Ruins, it isn't funny. It's going to be very interesting when that happens. The bit about things coming together and falling apart is such a perfect description of what is going on. I love it!

It is true without your memories, it wouldn't really matter if you reset your life. It wouldn't be any different than living your life for the first time. I could see how, even with memories, there would be issues. Knowing that something is going to happen that you can't prevent are handling the frustration of having been able to do something well and no longer having that muscle memory would be difficult. Thanks for answering.

I'm glad everyone is happy with the current schedule. It does make it easier. Thanks for reading!

KaidaShi

Kaida: Oi Error likes Blue they are friends Error may destroy his universe but would probly take care of him in the anti-void.

Shi: Geno can't don anything if he left the save screen we would die...

Me: Just set Red (Nice Underfell Sans) on him.

I don't think the Blueberry would like Error destroying his universe even if it was for him.

Geno may not be able to leave the save screen but he did manage to pull Sans in there. (Wouldn't really help here though…)

Oh gosh, I don't think any Underfell Sans should find this timeline. So much could go wrong.

Thanks for reading!

Smashgunner

I'm sitting here reading this and my younger brother is just staring at me with an ORANGE SWEATER. Or he's looking out the window. It's one of the 2.

That's actually really funny. As long as he doesn't come at you with a knife, I think you're good. (Although if he's looking out the window, he could be planning something evil! Or not, that's just a great way to think up things for stories.) Thanks for reading.

Maliploopie

This story never fails to peek my interest, keep at it my fine tomodachi.

I'm so glad you find it interesting. I'll keep doing my best! Thanks for reading!

Cakegirl21

Wait, so papyrus was doing that just to have more time with his brother? Or is he just a really good actor? Either way I want him dead. XD and to answer your question, it doesn't really matter to me when you upload a chapter or how long it is. You just do what you feel more comfortable with!

Just to let you know the person who told you to upload wherever you feel is more comfortable is me :3 I forgot to put in my name since I can't log in on my phone and I don't have my laptop at the moment

(I hope I combined these properly.) On a technicality, I'm going to say yes to both questions. You'll get what you want, a very dead Papyrus. Thanks for reading.

KawiiChicken

Do what you would like on the YES PAPYRUS IS GONNA DIE AT SOMEPOINT!

I'm just imagining a very small chicken dancing around chanting about Papyrus dying when reading this comment. It's quite the funny image. Thanks for reading!

TheRandomDreeMurr

Ok I finally got my password back! I'm confused... Papyrus is acting... Nice? I thought he wouldn't care so much... What's go on?!

I can give you a really vague hint if that helps. You can only ignore a slightly out of time clock for so long before it breaks. Sorry, I love giving weird hints. Thanks for reading!

Nova2711

A seriously serious series is about to get serious feels.

Seriously! When it gets there, I hope everyone enjoys the feels trip. Thanks for reading!

KillerChild67

((ISTILLLOVECAPSANDINOWLOVETHEMMORE))

...IDK Really 2 chapters a week or one I do not know...So my guess was wrong...I kinda had a feeling it was off but anyways...PAPYRUS IF YOU KNEW THERE WAS A RISK OF HER FINDING OUT WHY DID YOU LET HER CHECK UP SANS ANYWAYS...*Sighs* Papyrus cry all you want it won't change anything that you did in this timeline...Huh I still wonder what if Sans remember timelines BOY WOULDN'T THAT BE A TWIST

*So not much of a review but HEY keep up the good work )

The problem with being someone like Papyrus is that you think you're the smartest person in the room. Predictability plays a huge role in that and, well, Papyrus hasn't been doing much to keep things predictable. The more he grapples to control everything, the less control he will have. Sans remembering could have some interesting consequences. Thanks for reading and the compliment!

Unknown

Cant wait for next update.

Wait no more! Here it is. I'm glad you look forward to updates. Thanks for reading.

Thank you all for reading. I look forward to hearing from you guys every week. Due to some wonderful agreements in the reviews, chapters will be a minimum of 1000 words once a week. Thank you all!

Now for the question: Is there ever such a thing as true evil?