Daleks. They were on a Dalek spaceship, the Doctor thought.
Something snapped within the Doctor. Almost every time the Daleks had come into play he had lost so much; Donna came sharply into his mind…and…and Rose…and everyone else. Something told him that someone would die today and he thought: NO! He wouldn't let it happen again. He fumbled around in his pocket for the vortex manipuator.
"Run!" he gasped, grabbing Papyrus' hand and running headlong down a corridor. No Daleks, the Doctor thought. No Daleks, yet.
"What the blazes are those things!?" Papyrus asked, frantically running, occasionally ahead of the Doctor.
"Daleks! They're completely void of emotion and the deadliest race in the universe!" the Doctor answered, briefly pulling them both to the floor as shots hit the wall in front of them. Skidding sideways, the Doctor pulled Papyrus into a side room, barring the door. He only had a few seconds. A few seconds to at least save someone.
"Well, surely we can find their weakspot!" Papyrus suggested, hoping they'd come up with a reasonable plan. He found himself with something strapped around his wrist. "Wait- what are you doing?!" he asked, as the Doctor set the co-ordinates, time and dimension.
"Papyrus. I promised your brother I'd keep you safe. The Daleks are the most dangerous creatures in the universe and the Fallen God wants you and I both dead." the Doctor explained, taking a worried look towrds the door. He could hear them already, attempting to crack the code he'd set on the door.
"You aren't going to…send me…home?...are you?..." Papyrus asked nervously.
"I'm coming back for you, alright?" the Doctor replied, pressing the activation button on the Vortex Manipulator, and setting the controls to shut down permanently after use. A countdown started, and before Papyrus could open his mouth to protest, he disappeared in a flash of blue light.
The Doctor looked towards the open door.
A shot, and everything went black.
Papyrus crashed to the ground. Looking up, he was no longer on the Dalek spaceship. In fact, he was in his backyard. It was like…everything, the Doctor, the Daleks, Chara, everything, had never been real, and he'd just woken up from a dream. But…he had his fedora on, that couldn't be right…
It was sunset where he was standing, and he cast a huge shadow.
No, he thought, the Doctor can't have just sent me back!...he frantically starting pushing at the buttons on the strange device the Doctor had given him. It just told him that the machine was corrupted, and before he could try again the device shut down for good.
He'd just…abandoned him…wait, that can't be right…he'd…sent him back. For his safety. Taken the time to send him back. And the last thing he'd seen was…
Daleks. Those…things. Peeking through the door just before everything turned white and he was tumbling back through the Time Vortex. And he could hear for a fair while…he heard…shooting….
"The deadliest race in the universe."
The Doctor…with…no defenses…up against…those creatures…so fearful the Doctor knew he'd…die to them…
"I'm coming back for you, alright?..."
What if…that was just…consolation?...
Papyrus felt tears form in his eyes as he considered the worst, but before they escaped, he heard the back door creak open.
"what the hell was- oh my god!" his brother gasped as he saw Papyrus lying there in the grass. "you're back!"
Papyrus couldn't quite find the strength to get up: the trip via Vortex Manipulator had been quite…shaky to say the least. But what he could definitely find was the strength to hug his brother, not a word spoken, just a strong bear hug like he'd often given him.
"S-sans!...I…I've got…so much to tell you about…" Papyrus stammered, not knowing quite what to say.
"come in, bro. i had some spaghetti ready for ya." Sans replied, helping Papyrus into the kitchen. It looked largely the same, albeit a bit larger; the sofa was still where they ate dinner. Sans couldn't quite help noticing that his infectious smile was gone…for some reason.
The Doctor awoke. He hadn't expected to live. In fact, he had been captured. Once again, he was in the throne, this time imprisoned in a barrier similar to the ones he'd seen on Davros' ship, way back when he lost Donna Noble. The Fallen God sat in a metallic throne above him. Regaining his confidence, the Doctor literally stood up to her, meeting eye to eye. So many questions, and, as he feared, so little time.
"How did you get the Daleks to have mercy on you?! You're a human." he asked, finally choosing an appropriate one. "Daleks are programmed to destroy anything that isn't a Dalek themselves."
"Maybe they think I'm one of them. I don't know myself, but I do my best to milk the situation for everything it's got." the Fallen God replied.
My god, the Doctor thought, she's actually in control of them. It's like Davros and the Daleks all over again.
No. No. You're just stating the obvious, Doctor. More important things. More important things to be done. First, first, let Papyrus know-
"Nah-ah-ah." the Fallen God tittered, watching the Doctor take his mobile phone out of his pocket. He could just see…he had at least ten texts, all of them asking him if he was alright. His phone was gravitated out of his pocket, and vaporized by a Dalek standing by the Fallen God.
"Phone confiscated. You'll have it back by the end of the universe." the Fallen God laughed. "Face it, Doctor. You aren't in control anymore. How does it feel? To be imprisoned? You knew this would happen. You just had to save someone, even if it meant condemning yourself to an even worse end. Ha…you idiot!"
Papyrus had told Sans about every little detail of their adventures with the Doctor, from the time they visited the other diamond planet of the Seven Systems to the time they watched the launch of Apollo 11, the time he had swum in the Nile River to escape a black lion and a hippopotamus, to the time he swung across a factory roof, only to fall, live and walk away, albeit with a cut to his leg.
He had just gotten to the part where they were on the Dalek spaceship. Near the end of the long story that might be over.
"And then…he…he sent me home. And…just before I left…there were the Daleks….p-peeking through the door…and then I…ended up here. I'm just…very worried right now. That's why I…you know…am…a bit unhappy."
Sans gave him a comforting pat on the back.
"But…it's alright!...I'm confident he'll come back!...he…he always does!"
Sans moved a little closer to his brother, hoping to cheer him up a little, and this time he knew puns wouldn't really work in such a serious situation.
"I'm sure he will too, Pappy." he noted. "I'll keep watch for his little blue box tonight."
"Thanks, brother. I…appreciate it. You know?..." Papyrus replied, and continued eating dinner, in silence for once.
Papyrus couldn't sleep that night at all, even with a bedtime story. Too much worry about what had happened to the Doctor, and Chara as well…the TARDIS was on board the Dalek ship as well…so… what if?...what if?...
It was no use, he concluded. Getting up from his racecar bed, he looked out of the balcony, walking down the steps beside them, and looked out onto the countryside. Sans…had chosen a nice place to live, almost like Snowdin, but…not. Rocks and rivers stretched out onto the clear valley below, and stars lit the moisture that was ever present on the ground. Perhaps it might start snowing again soon, he wondered. Slowly, he began to meander down the hill, down to a stretch of rocks. Perhaps…just sitting there would help him calm down just a bit.
He couldn't quite bring himself to look at the stars now. He knew it'd only make him get all…emotional again, and he certainly didn't want anyone seeing that. Instead, he just kicked a few loose stones down the hill, watching them bounce and gain momentum as they approached the inviting river.
Papyrus wished he could just forget everything that had just come to pass, but he just couldn't let go of it. He just…couldn't, not after how much he…and him had gone through…he just couldn't get rid of the worry. Perhaps he didn't want…to?...
He was right, he concluded, he didn't want to stop worrying. He was just…too compassionate, he his head drift towards the sky, he saw a blue streak shine across the night sky, which seemed more bare than usual.
The next thing he saw was a blue light playing out across the dark midnight valley, cast by a single point. In an instant Papyrus was practically sliding down the rocky hill, rushing to see what he had hoped he'd see. Could it be?- It had to be!-
It wasn't what he expected.
But he still smiled, anyway.
"Greetings, Papyrus." Chara whispered.
"Chara! Oh my god, you're alive! You're alive!" Papyrus gasped. "What happened back there!...Is the Doctor alive?!"
"He is alive, but in grave danger." Chara answered. "…I just came to see how you were doing, and to be the harbringer of…news. Not really good news nor bad."
"I'm just glad you're alright…" Papyrus replied. "Wait! I have an idea. You can control the TARDIS, can't you?! You can bring the TARDIS here and we can go save the Doctor!"
"The Doctor knew I'd try that. Either that, or the Daleks would. He placed a lock on the TARDIS. Nigh unbreakable."
"Oh...well…that plan's gone…but still!" Papyrus sighed. Still Chara could feel the energy and enthusiasm radiating from him.
"Why are you still…so happy?..." Chara asked. "Oh…right. Hope. I see now, I'm sorry."
"Oh, there's no need to apologize." Papyrus reassured her.
"It's just…I lost hope a long time ago. And then…I regained it. I'm still getting used to it, you know?...Anyway. What do you recommend we do?..."
"I have no idea…Maybe work at trying to find another way back?..." Papyrus suggested.
"I suppose that is all we can do." Chara replied.
They sat by the rocky river, the gentle sounds of the water caressing them both, the grass blowing in the gentle wind and the light of the stars reflecting perfectly off the brook. They didn't even realise it was midnight.
"Open breaches to full." the Fallen God ordered.
The Doctor's face creased in worry. How exactly was she going to open the- he knew. A reset screen appeared beside him, and spacetime rippled and swirled in the immediate area.
"This is the key, Doctor. If it were ever to get too much for me, I could just press that button, and everything I had ever done never will have happened."
"So that's what you're going to do when the universe is destroyed by your hands. Just reset. And what will you do then?..."
"Except I won't reset. I can't get a bad ending if the story never ends. I have that keeping me going. The knowledge that there are no consequences in this world."
"Except, if you destroy reality itself, you won't be able to reset anymore." the Doctor pointed out. "You'll have nothing to strive for."
"This whole reality-destroying plan?...wasn't entirely my idea. STILL!...I demand you to be silent!"
The Doctor was silent anyway. Not entirely my plan? Did she even realise what she'd gotten herself into?
Several thousand light years away, Sans woke up to find not just Papyrus leaning over the balcony, but someone else as well.
"Good news, brother!" Papyrus called downstairs. "I have gotten wind that the Doctor is alive and…not exactly well, but still!..."
"nice. also, who's that?" his brother asked, pointing to Chara. "wait. don't tell me. the first human."
"In the flesh!" Papyrus declared, before immediately realising she was just a hologram, still.
"Oh!...Sans. I don't believe we've met. I can't be sure, can I?..." Chara asked Sans, hovering down the stairs.
"nope." Sans replied. "so…you're a hologram of the first human that somehow became friends with my bro. wow. weird story."
"After hearing about how I bravely fended off a lion while swimming in the Nile River? I don't think so." Papyrus protested, walking over to the kitchen to fetch some store-bought pancakes for breakfast.
"So…do you mind if I stay?...we're currently trying to find a way to get back to the Doctor." Chara asked Sans.
"eh. i don't mind. holograms don't need much in the way of accomodation, anyway." Sans replied, trying and failing to get the syrup out of the bottle.
"Wonderful." Chara replied.
The Doctor looked on in amazement as the Daleks appeared to be…praising her. The Daleks, praying to a god. No, he thought. He knew the Daleks were…oh, he didn't know. It was just too confusing. Were these even Daleks at all?
Lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, Papyrus was, in a sense, having his first sleepover. Pyjama party. Whatever he wanted to call it. For the larger part of the day they had forgotten their worries for the most part…walked in the valley…watched the river flow. Many of the things Chara and Asriel had once done together. Many people had told her, like all those useless, generic school therapists, had told her that it was wrong to live in the past. Actually, she thought, if you avoided the uncomfortable things, and focused on the good times…it was a very good partial healer. After that they had come back to Papyrus' room, making plans for how they'd get to the Doctor, quite complex plans for who were essentially two teenagers. But…uncomfortable questions kept rising to Papyrus' mind. He didn't quite want to address them, but…he'd have to sometime.
"B-by…grave danger…what do you mean?..." Papyrus asked Chara, who was hovering near the balcony, watching the stars with an intent eye.
"He's being held captive." Chara replied, looking up from the mock blueprint of a Vortex Manipulator. "I saw, just for a moment as I left the TARDIS for Earth. He was being imprisoned in some kind of capsule. I don't know why they're giving mercy to him, the Fallen God and her horde of Daleks of all people. Personally, I…don't want to know. I don't think it's mercy at all…just them being sadistic."
"Has the Doctor got a phobia of the Daleks or something?" Papyrus asked.
Chara actually laughed at this proposition. "Maybe he does. I'm not one to know…"
There was a long silence as Papyrus continued working on the Vortex Manipulator.
"Thanks for coming, by the way! I confess, I was actually quite worried about you too."
"…Really?...Honestly, I…didn't expect this…at all. I've…never really had someone care at all. Frisk never really cared. And then…she…did what she did…and bullied me for a thousand years. N-not without good reason, but…you know. Ha…ha…ha…"
Papyrus was actually quite moved, and quickly went to join Chara by the balcony. They stood in silence together, half-satisfied, half…neither of them quite knew what the other half was.
"So…what are you going to do after we've dealt with this threat? We could be like a trio! The Infinite Doctor, the Great Papyrus and the Mysterious Chara!" Papyrus asked, staring up at the sky.
"I don't know, really. I…haven't thought about it at all…"
"But the end's in sight! The long battle finally ending! Aren't you excited?"
"No. Not really." Chara answered, bluntly.
"Oh. Well, I'm quite enjoying this kind of friendship! So…maybe this can continue, except without the pervading threat of this Fallen God. Honestly, that always ruins things!"
Chara laughed again. "You're actually funnier than your brother sometimes, you know." she stated. "Puns are one of the lowest forms of humor, in my opinion."
The Doctor lay in the small capsule barrier for several days.
"Why did you even have mercy on me in the first place? The Daleks want me dead more than any other being in the universe!" he asked, face filled with rage like a lion trapped in a circus cage.
"I want you to see this." the Fallen God replied. "Did you even consider the outcome when Papyrus was sent to Earth?...
Several days of trying to get the Vortex Manipulator to work later…
Papyrus and Chara were walking far down the valley. Papyrus had been getting more and more worried about the Doctor, and though he tried to hide his worry as he always did, Chara could tell. He'd glance at the sky more and more often, hoping that the Doctor might come flying over.
"Are you sure you can't…go back and check…one last time?..." Papyrus asked Chara.
"Too risky. The Fallen God's got a constant monitor on the TARDIS. She'll try and…get my soul the way she did before. Now I've got no physical body, it's incredibly easy to get my soul out of my body." Chara explained.
"…He told me he had to wait for a whole year once. M-maybe it's like that!...Question is…you said that…the Fallen God's just keeping him as a trophy, though?..."
"Yes. I'm…keeping a constant watch on the Dalek communication signals. They're keeping relatively radio silent. Either that or all the signals are encoded and they know we're listening. They're just waiting. Doing nothing."
"Probably the latter." Papyrus suggested. "We all know we're dealing with someone sneaky here!...A sneaky little liar."
"…When did she lie? That's the worst part, everything she says is the truth."
"You know! About the Royal Guard. She said Undyne was never going to let me in, and…of course that can't be true!..."
"I'm afraid so, Papyrus." Chara informed him.
Papyrus was silent. W-what?, he was thinking, how could Undyne have rejected me for so long?...Why didn't she just tell me?...If there was one thing he didn't like it was being lied to. Almost…betrayed. Very much betrayed in every sense of the word.
"I know it's very hypocritical of me to say this, but…look on the bright side." Chara told him, giving him a weak smile. "The exact faults that meant Undyne would never let you become a soldier…are the exact virtues that meant the Doctor let you become his companion."
"You're not making sense!" Papyrus protested, hardly seeing at first what Chara truly meant.
"I never do, do I?...I can see why I don't in this case, though. But…do you know why the Doctor has companions?..." Chara asked him, reaching the end of a winding path, and sitting on a picket fence.
"To help him?" Papyrus suggested, sitting down as well and looking up at the night sky.
"That's what he thought they were for at first, way back when he had a granddaughter…but then he realised why he really needed them."
Chara took a pause, remembering all those bittersweet memories the TARDIS had given her.
"He needs them to keep him in check. And you're perfect for that. You're…naïve…childish…the kind of person that prefers if the villains just get away with a lesson learnt and not killed. But you're brave and very, very kind at the same time."
"Really?!" Papyrus gasped, flattered. "…Wait a second. Why would he need…keeping in check?..."
"He's…not a good man, really. You know when I was telling you about…what I did?...And…how I nearly told you about how…how he could relate. It's not my duty to tell you the details, but…you get the idea."
Papyrus gulped as he realised what that entailed. How all his people had been…no, it couldn't be…wait, no, Chara always told the truth, right?...
"Still want to save him?" Chara asked Papyrus.
"Haven't you gotten it yet, Chara?...It doesn't matter to me what they've done, they're still my friends!" Papyrus replied, a little impatient.
"That's…an interesting philosophy." Chara replied.
The Doctor was laid on the floor, looking to any Dalek like he was dead. His sonic screwdriver was positioned towards the main control system, hoping to override any Dalek communications at least.
Suddenly, it was ripped out of his hands. She's all-seeing, the Doctor thought, she can read my thoughts.
"Give the order." one of the Daleks commanded.
Papyrus couldn't sleep that night either, not without the stars. Ten minutes ago as they watched the sky out their window, talking about galaxies far away, when every single star went out. Like a switch being flicked off. Chara winced as she realised how many civilizations had been killed off in that moment.
"Papyrus…are you still awake?..." Chara asked, still hovering beside the balcony. "I…have an idea."
Papyrus woke up fully with a start. "You have an idea?! Wonderful, what is it?"
Lately he'd gotten more and more panicky. Even if this was another terrible one he was very much prepared to try it.
"Recently I got a transmission from the Dalek spaceship, and…it said the Doctor was to be exterminated. We don't have much time left. This is…a last resort, but…"
Chara held out her soul. Complete and red as blood, it pulsed with life. Papyrus couldn't help but see a few chips around the edges, though.
"…we could combine our souls and teleport aboard the ship using our newfound powers." she suggested.
"Well, why didn't we do that in the first place?!" Papyrus gasped, immediately seeing that it would work.
"When I first came, I convinced myself there was nothing I could do. I came so you would be with a friend, and I the same, in the universes' final moments. I never thought there could be a solution, but…even if you didn't realise it…you've brought me back to my senses, just by helping me forget…" Chara explained. "And now, I've realised that if this is the only option then…I must take it! No more living in the past, I tell myself. Put the guilt aside just for a moment. And…do what you've done before. And this time. It has to work."
"So…how do I absorb it?..." Papyrus asked, getting closer to the red point of light.
"Just touch it. It'll be a lot easier this time, for I've got no physical body for my soul to hide within…Last time I actually had to poison myself to coax it out."
"…And what will happen?..."
"Your current body will be augmented. You'll gain a great deal of power and me by your side as a construct of your mind."
"…Oh my god. C-can I…" Papyrus gasped, flattered by the opportunity.
"Yes. Of course. Do it now, before I change my mind." Chara laughed.
Papyrus reached out, and prepared to touch the soul. Just as the edge of his glove was about to touch the soul, he felt something else emerging; his soul, he realised, looking down at an upside-down white heart.
As soon as he made contact, the last thing he saw was his soul rushing inside Chara's, housed within it. A tingling ran through Papyrus' veins as he began to hover in the air. Neither of them could see anything but white, but they could definitely feel: if Determination was a liquid then Papyrus was drinking it, it was running through his veins in place of his blood, caressing him, becoming his entire being. Chara watched as something burned in the brightness, something orange like the fires of a regeneration.
Then, it went out, and all that could be heard was the clatter of metal on the floor. Papyrus took a long while to stir, and when he did, he was unable to get up either. However, taking in his surroundings, he could definitely tell one thing; he had a very long cape.
Propping himself up on a table, Papyrus took his first good look at his new form.
His battle body had become solid metal, and his paudrons had turned into wing-like structures, fit for a king. His cape trailed behind him, attached to the paudrons the whole way along, and it was as red as blood, the same red of Chara's soul. His gloves had morphed from mittens into the scarlet gloves of a warrior, the fabric going much further up his forearm. The boots were the same scarlet shade as well, much more military, and now were fastened with buckles. His fedora now posessed a long, scarlet feather, and a small white downy one by its side. He'd grown a little bit, and now posessed two ashen streaks beside his eyes.
"Oh HELL yes!" he cried. "Chara, have a look at this! I look so brilliant!"
Chara materialized beside him, now in full colour, but looking more…ghost-like. "How unoriginal. You've based yourself off of all your role models." she commented.
"…Really?...Well, that just makes it even more awesome! How did I even get this? It's amazing!" Papyrus gushed, checking out the hard metal of his armor.
"I think it's a symbolic representation of both of us. The armor represents us both hiding something, in your case your own kindness, and for me…well, you know. The cape, the symbol of flamboyance…the military get-up…our view of ourselves as soldiers, though not really traditional ones. Oh, the feathers! The red one definitely represents our now shared Determination, and the little white one represents…"
Chara was at a loss for words. The white feather?...oh…oh no. The white feather represented…Cowardice.
"It represents…enthusiasm?..." Chara continued. "Anyway. Careful now. Getting used to a new body is-"
Papyrus crashed straight to the floor, making an enormous cacophony. Chara looked very slightly amused.
"…difficult."
Papyrus managed to find his feet at last, and soon he was running full speed towards the door, leaving a simple written note on the kitchen counter, before out the door and into the valley. "If we're going to save the universe, I want to do it somewhere epic!" he declared, as Chara hovered beside him, as if pulled by an invisible rope. "Also, how do we get on board the Dalek spaceship anyway?"
"By way of a tesseract!" Chara replied. "Or what your brother prefers to call…a 'shortcut'."
"WHAT!?" Papyrus gasped. "That's how he gets to Grillby and back in five seconds flat?!"
"Yep." Chara replied. "And you call your brother dumb."
"No, I don't! I only do that jokingly!"
"Fine, fine!...Who am I to know, anyway…" Chara sighed.
Papyrus couldn't feel any sort of stamina running out, and it felt like he could run forever. But, on a lone hillside, across the river and above a field of rocks, they finally stopped.
"Look behind you." Chara told Papyrus, looking at the trail of red afterimages Papyrus left behind. He gasped in amazement upon seeing them. "THAT! IS! AWESOME! Honestly, I should do this soul-absorbing thing more often!"
"Can't exactly stay like this forever." Chara replied. "Unfathomable power tends to go to one's head eventually."
"Speaking of unfathomable power, how do I…harness it, per se?"
"Just like any regular attacks."
"Alright then!" Papyrus concluded, summoning a regular bone attack like he had done a thousand times, but instead launching a beautiful red fireball from his hand. No, not a fireball. A comet, streaking through the air, and when it hit the hillside, the grass burst into flames. Summoning one in his hand, he found a long, beautifully crafted cutlass materializing there instead. It left a trail in the air as Papyrus swung it left and right, and as he let go of it it crumbled into sparks.
"Oh my god! So, with all this power, we can get past those Daleks and rescue the Doctor! How long do we have left?!" Papyrus asked Chara.
"Nine hours. Relative time. We should get going, but first…I need you to make a promise." Chara replied, moving closer to Papyrus. "Last time I tried this, Asriel gave mercy to the humans and paid with his life. You have to promise me you'll go all out on those Daleks, alright? I…don't want you to die the way Asriel did."
Papyrus was silent.
"If it's any consolation, they're unable to feel anything but hate. They're basically genetically engineered killing machines." Chara stated, hoping to sway the decision.
"Alright. I promise." Papyrus replied, looking adamant as ever. "Normally, I wouldn't do this, but…this is different. Quite a lot different. You know, universe and one of my best buddies at stake."
"You don't have to seek them out, in fact, I'd rather recommend you didn't. You're not invincible; one shot from a Dalek and you're dead like any other monster. But if one of them attacks you, don't hesitate to destroy it."
"Got it." Papyrus answered, looking towards the sky.
"Ready?" Chara asked Papyrus. "I'll take care of the tesseract."
"Ready as anything!" Papyrus replied, straightening his fedora.
A millisecond passed and they were nowhere, then, straight after that second of nowhere, they were on the spaceship.
"All Dalek fleets report to dimensional portals. The invasion begins in 10 rels." the Fallen God declared. "Watch, Doctor. You think you've saved so, so many people in your lifetime, haven't you?..."
That's why, the Doctor thought. It all made painful sense now. Earth was to be invaded by Daleks, every single Earth in every single timeline, and…and…it wasn't fair!...
"Target the skeleton with the red cape and large fedora previously belonging to the 4th Doctor. Name: Papyrus Aster. Make him your first priority. Shoot him on sight!" the human ordered the fleet headed for the Underverses' Earth.
"No such being detected on Earth." a strategist Dalek reported, after checking the identity of every sentient creature on Earth.
"…what?...What?...WHAT?"
"I've got the plan of the entire Dalek ship right here." Chara reported, with a digital blueprint of the ship in front of her. "Two lefts, one right, across the main Dalek hub and from there one left and two rights. Then we'll be in the central control room. There I'll use a program to get into the Dalek software and shut down all barrier technology, teleport every single Dalek with such mechanisms to these co-ordinates. Sadly that won't take out the strategists, but c'est la vie. Then we go save the Doctor."
"Except…I don't really know how to program." Papyrus objected, frequently checking the door of the room in which they'd locked themselves. "And I'm the only one with a corporeal body."
"Well, since when you the one in control?" Chara asked, taking Papyrus by surprise as she started operating the body. "The control's shared over the body, unless the monster resists. Don't worry, it's not possession, per se." Papyrus could only watch as several hundred lines of code appeared on the screen incredibly quickly.
"Also, why can't we just put in the code while we're in the control room?..." Papyrus asked, as control was restored to him and the code was placed on an advanced USB stick from a drawer.
"In case something happens to either of us. Always got to have a backup plan, you know!" Chara responded. "Right. Papyrus. Get behind the door. There may be Daleks waiting outside."
"Wait!-" Papyrus exclaimed, as he felt a vibration in his pocket.
"A phone call?...Not now, damnit! There could be Daleks gathering outside right now, too much longer and-"
"It's from Sans." Papyrus protested, checking the number.
"…I…alright." Chara replied.
Papyrus picked up.
"papyrus. i don't know if you can hear this, or if you're even alive to hear this, but i just want to warn you. don't come back to earth. there's these things everywhere and they're deadly. there's a huge cloud of them coming towards our town. i assume the doc came to pick you up, but…don't tell him to bring you back to earth." the voice on the other end informed him.
Sans looked worriedly over the horizon. All across the world, the news headlines said, people were dying, already Ireland's local population, where these…things had emerged, was completely decimated. They spared no-one. And they were heading for Sans' place. He'd woken up that morning to find Papyrus and the First Human gone. A note, left on the kitchen counter betrayed everything.
Brother! I'm going to go save the universe, be back in time for tea. Word, for word, that was exactly what it read, nothing more.
Thank god the Doctor came in time. He didn't want them destroying his brother, no matter what the cost.
And the worst thing was…
A small branch was breaking off to head directly towards the house.
"Brother! It's me! I'm alive! There's no need to worry!...Just…hide, or something. Don't try to fight them. Not unless you've absorbed a human soul like me! I…I'll be back! I promise."
"…thanks. love you bro."
The voice on the other end hung up, presumably hurrying to prepare for the disaster in time.
"Oh no." Chara gasped. "That's why the ship's not swarming with them…there's an invasion in progress. Every Earth in every paralell universe is being swarmed by Daleks…"
"Well, let's proceed post haste then!" Papyrus exclaimed, ducking to the side of the door. Slowly he opened it, poised for his action.
A whirring sound echoed through the room for a mere second. Immediately and reflexively, Papyrus shot a fire ball across the door, and heard the scream of a Dalek as its casing exploded. Peering at the wreckage, he recoiled as he saw what the Dalek really was; all that remained was a…burnt little octopus with one eye.
"That's…the Dalek?..." Papyrus whispered to Chara.
"Yes. They weren't always like this. They used to be humanoid, but…well, let's say war ruined everything as usual." Chara explained, leading Papyrus down the Dalek ship corridor.
"Ew." Papyrus whispered. "Now, keep quiet. I'm trying to go for a stealth thing."
"No-one can hear me but you, and no-one can hear you talking to me." Chara concluded.
"Fantast-" Papyrus exclaimed to Chara without fear of being heard, but was rudely interrupted by an announcement.
"Intruder on the Dalek Ship, I repeat, Intruder on the Dalek Ship! Shoot on sight and destroy!" the announcement blared, with the voice of the Fallen God ringing in its tone. Instantly, Papyrus and Chara both heard another whirring sound behind them. Three Daleks were patrolling the corridor, and they had with no doubt spotted them. Papyrus took a quick glance behind him, face filled with fear for just a single second.
Then it left, replacing with confidence.
"Run!" he told Chara, as he grabbed her incorporeal hand. Ducking and dodging the Dalek shots that whizzed over their heads, Papyrus ran headlong down the corridor, leaving a red trail behind him- the Daleks didn't quite know what to shoot, and soon he was moving in zigzags so narrow that the afterimages became almost like a red mist. Leaping at the wall in front, he propelled himself off and continued rushing down the left corridor.
"Nice!" Chara yelled over the rushing of air. Glancing at the security cameras positioned nigh everywhere, she wondered if the Doctor could see them, cheering, knowing that Papyrus was alive and well and fighting back…oh, you watch, Doctor! You watch us run!
Chara was keeping a careful watch on her surroundings, on that topic. "Daleks around the corner! We need a surprise attack!"
"On it!" Papyrus replied, sending a line of fireballs around the corridor, resulting in a large fireball exploding outwards, the heatwave ruffling his cape, or rather, ruffling it more. The feeling of just…running. Running forever. It felt amazing to Papyrus, being filled with so much determination and drive. He didn't quite know what compelled him so much before to destroy his enemy with…ruthlessness he'd never seen before…Was this what Chara felt every day of her life, what every human felt?...Leaping over the wreckage of the three Daleks, Papyrus remembered what Chara told him, one more right and one more left.
"They're catching up to us! I think you may be able to do a short-range teleport!" Chara advised him, checking behind her, and suddenly felt compelled to pull a face at the Daleks behind them; they were still shooting, and Papyrus was still ducking and dodging them and still having time to contemplate the nature of Determination- it amazed her, how competent they were. Suddenly they were snapping forward and forward and forward again, like a film with only every tenth frame being shown; they were losing the Daleks far behind them.
Left around the next corridor. No Daleks here yet. All the ones here must be petty security guards, Chara thought, that's why they haven't guarded themselves yet, it must take a while. They'd have to be quick before they put their defenses up.
"FASTER!" she yelled. Papyrus snapped forwards in space as though it was nothing. Suddenly, he skidded to a halt as he saw that he was about to run directly into a Dalek.
"EXTERMINATE!" the Dalek cried, sending out a shot. Papyrus snapped left, right, left again, then, before he even fully knew what he was doing, a giant bone structure, glowing with determination and with the imposing and warped face that looked halfway between a dog and a dragon, appeared directly behind him. The front snapped in two, sending a beam of red light searing into the Dalek's casing.
"That. Was…Awesome!" Papyrus gasped, turning to behold the structure he'd made, but it faded out of sight.
Chara wondered for a moment why he suddenly considered something as far from his morals as killing acceptable all of a sudden. Then, she realised.
Even if Papyrus hadn't noticed yet, it wasn't just their souls that merged. It was their desires too, slightly mixing with one another. The desire to see those creatures dead across the universe had leaked into Papyrus. And…
That enthusiasm he posessed…had leaked into her, just a tiny bit.
She wouldn't even be questioning why he hated the Daleks now otherwise.
They didn't have much time. Eight hours until the Doctor was due to be exterminated, possibly sooner, and thousands of people dead across the Earths already. There was no time for philosophy.
It wasn't very long at all until Papyrus came to a gigantic cavern inside the ship, on a platform teetering out onto the abyss. A Dalek Hub. Papyrus stopped in his tracks, the thought that this might be a teeny bit too many enemies to deal with in one go rose to his mind.
"So what are we supposed to do now?..." he asked. "Fly?"
"Exactly." Chara replied.
"HOW?" Papyrus asked, glancing around him for potential attackers.
"Levitation!...JUST JUMP!" Chara replied. Papyrus took a step off the platform, and found that his foot wouldn't fall down, and beginning to run, he found that he was hovering in the air. Hundreds of Daleks took notice, and deviated from their line-by-line routes to attack, but by now Papyrus was zipping through the air like a bird, doing loop-de-loops and a hundred other unnessecary things. Flying through the beams that were shot by the hundred, he was like a pilot in a WWI dogfight high above the trenches, except not shooting anyone, at least not for now.
Landing on another platform directly opposite to the one he had jumped off of, Papyrus broke into a run again. Not much further to go now, and his Doctor would be safe, the world would be safe, the universe would be in safe hands once again. A Dalek found itself in a millisecond with its plunger, gunstick and eyestalk chopped off by a large red cutlass. It didn't even pause before self-destructing as a not-really-last resort. Explosions rang out across the corridor as several more Daleks met the exact same fate. They became more and more common as Papyrus made his way to the central control room, and he would get into swordfights with them, always ending up the same way: a sure victory for the Great Papyrus. Chara could hardly believe what she was seeing; was this what would have happened if Asriel had just obeyed her?...The victory was too sweet to believe. Really, far too brilliant.
And as though they had only turned a corner since they first exited the room they entered, there was the central control room. Nothing barred the way. Papyrus leapt inside. "This is it, Chara!" he exclaimed. "We've done it! We've saved the universe, to-"
Every door to the control room slammed shut.
"Did you do that?" Papyrus asked Chara.
"N-no." Chara replied, gazing about her.
Papyrus heard a faint whirring sound, just behind the control panel that stared him right in the face.
Daleks.
They were surrounded.
"Never mind them!-" Papyrus exclaimed, and threw a glowing fireball at them.
No effect. It just vaporized, a few centimetres away.
He tried the sword.
It shattered into tiny pieces that dissolved into dust when they hit the ground.
Nothing was working. Nothing would get through the Dalek's shields, absolutely nothing he tried. The Daleks blocked his way, and when he tried a teleport it just snapped him straight back to the exact same spot.
There was silence in the control room, as the Daleks stared them both down.
"Chara…w-why aren't they…attacking?..." he asked Chara nervously.
"She wants to see how we'll react." Chara answered. "The human. She just wants to see how we'll react to being in this situation. Then once she's satisfied she'll kill us."
"There's got to be some way out of this!" Papyrus replied, trying to fireball the door, to no effect.
"I'll check." Chara stated, doing an analysis on the shields. "Immune to every attack we can throw at them except…a Final Power beam."
"What does that do?..." Papyrus asked.
"It uses the full power of the Soul. Every single ounce of infinite power is used." Chara explained, head bowed, waiting for him to accept.
"But that'll sacrifice the human soul!" Papyrus asked, knowing the outcome for some reason he didn't fully understand.
"It…it will. Do it. Do it now, or we're both going to die."
Papyrus took a long pause, and looked straight into the eyes of the three Daleks.
"No." he replied. Resolute, he looked into the eyes of Chara with kindness. Chara could see it again, she could see it happening again. "There's got to be another way. Maybe if…maybe if we just wait long enough, she'll get bored and order the D-Daleks to retreat!"
"That won't happen." Chara assured him, as a warning shot fired into the wall, barely missing Papyrus.
"That doesn't matter, alright! I refuse, no matter what!" Papyrus exclaimed, resisting the force that had a faint grip on his arm.
"If you refuse, we'll both die here, and the universe with us!"
"I just don't want to destroy you to let me live!" Papyrus stammered.
"Don't think about me now! Just think about all those people down there, dying to those damn things! Just one flick of the wrist and you can save them!...Your brother, the Doctor…everyone! If one person has to die to rescue to universe from destruction then SO BE IT!"
"I...I can't do it, Chara…I just can't…"
"Do you not care about them?" Chara snapped, getting incredibly desperate now. She could hear the stars going out around her, the universes' time running out.
"I DO CARE ABOUT THEM!" Papyrus cried in reply, almost outraged but not being able to bring himself to be, "I care about them, Chara, but…it's that…Chara?..."
Chara looked at Papyrus, hoping desperately that it would be his last goodbyes to her, and judging by the tears in his eyes, it looked like she may be right.
"…I…care about you, Chara!...I…wouldn't go and just…do that!..." Papyrus explained. He was very much surprised by Chara's reaction, complete and utter surprise and almost anguish, almost like what he had said was a death sentence, and not nessecarily hers.
"If you care about me, then…you would do this!...If I'm going to die then I just want to know that I've done some good in this world rather than dying and bringing everyone crashing down to hell with me like I always have done!..."
"Chara, you don't under…stand…it's not your time yet!...You've got…so much ahead of you!..."
"It's either I die or we both die!..." Chara protested, head lowered and her face hidden, "Papyrus…please…I…don't want to die knowing I haven't done anything good in this world…and that…I led another innocent monster to their unjustified death…"
Chara raised her head and Papyrus saw in an instant that she wasn't scared to die by his hands, but scared for Papyrus' life instead of her own, so terrified that she cried tears of pain and sorrow.
"I'll meet death without a murmur for the good of the universe. And just know in advance that…I forgive you." she continued, voice wavering as she sensed their time running out.
"C…Chara?...I…I'm so sorry…" Papyrus half-wept as he realised what conclusion his mind was coming to. He was…he was…going to do it…wasn't he?...He didn't know who was making the decision…please don't let it be me that's doing this…he thought. He'd stop the beam early, he thought, Chara could just hang in there until the Doctor came to heal her, maybe get her back to the TARDIS…
The Daleks were growing impatient, and so was the Fallen God. They raised their guns and prepared to destroy the pair once and for all.
The Doctor was being forced to watch as the Fallen God played the security camera footage on a large holographic screen. He was hyperventilating, an expression of disbelief on his face. No. Not again. Not like all the other times.
"This is all your fault, Doctor." the Fallen God pointed out solemnly.
Papyrus was beginning to raise his arm. He was letting go of his ability to resist and he hoped that it wasn't just him doing the action. His hand outstretched weakly, appearing to the Daleks as a silent and futile request to stop, made the Fallen God, several rooms away, chuckle with amusement.
There was a flash of red light.
The Doctor looked up to see a flash of red light for one frame, and then, nothing. Had…had he…what had…just happened. Teeth clenched in anger he realised that one of the Daleks must have self-destructed, killing the Daleks and Papyrus as well.
"See, Doctor? This is what ALWAYS happens in the end, isn't it?...They get too close to you and they burn."
Papyrus finally opened his eyes. He was among the Dalek wreckage, the control panel was still intact, to his surprise, and…Chara was right there beside him.
"CHARA! Chara! I stopped the beam a little bit early…" Papyrus gushed, turning to her. "I…I expected you to d-die immediately, but…you've survived!...Maybe there's some way I can save you!...Like…the TARDIS! Or…a SAVE point!-"
Chara was utterly silent; she was kneeling on the ground, trembling slightly. Slowly, she raised her head; the tear streaks were gone but…she looked broken. Not in the spiritual sense, though. Physically…broken. Like…if she were touched, she would shatter into tiny fragments.
"…Chara?" Papyrus asked her nervously. "A-are you alright?"
Chara nodded. "That was…unexpected…I thought it would all be over in one moment…Ah, well. I suppose this…long, drawn-out goodbye…will have to do…"
Papyrus' face fell almost immediately.
"I'm sorry…My time's running out. I know you…made a reasonable effort in trying to save me, but…I'm afraid it's over now."
"Wait, but…last time you…you were able to survive…right?...As a ghost, but…you still survived!...Can you do that this time?" Papyrus noted, becoming hopeful again.
"No. That only works if my SOUL is intact. Last time…the monster soul sustained the most damage and only that died, I just went into a comatose state without a physical body…My soul is…done for this time. It's dissolving. Dissolving into dust." Chara explained, holding out their combined soul. Her part, the red soul, appeared almost like a cloud of swallows, formed into the shape of a heart. It pulsated and solidified, weakened, and dissolved in a cycle, every time a small particle escaping and disappearing.
"I…" Papyrus gasped, realising that she had still sealed Chara to her fate, and letting himself fully drop to the floor. "Oh…oh no…Chara, I…I don't know what to say…"
"You don't need to apologize again. It's alright. I wasn't just telling you I forgave you as consolation…I really did want this."
Chara gave a deep sigh. She could…feel it. She was fading. Her memories, all the painful ones that were tinged with white dust…were dissolving.
"Out of all the outcomes…of all the things that could have stemmed from my decision to fuse our souls…this is…the one that's best. In a strange way." she commented.
Papyrus was still completely silent.
"You told me once…didn't you?...That…the long battle was finally going to end for me at last…and it is. I think…it's time to change. Just for a moment…The battle's gone on for too long, and…there would have been no…benefit from my continued existence. Do you see now…how this is the best thing that could have happened?..."
Chara suddenly felt herself in the embrace of a very strong hug, the sort of one that didn't stem from happiness. Immediately she saw; he was trying to cling on to her, trying to piece her back together. "P-please don't say that…" Papyrus told her.
"Ha…ha…on the other hand…maybe I'm wrong. I…don't know." Chara replied. "Then again…it's not like I have much choice in the matter now, do I?..." Her voice was almost like a whisper at this point, and she was becoming more and more of a simple echo on the wind.
Papyrus simply wouldn't let go of Chara for a while after that. He let the tears come now for he had no reason to told them back: and Chara felt them somehow.
"…a tear, Papyrus?..." she muttered. "…That's not really like you…to cry…"
"I just…don't want you to go…not yet." Papyrus stuttered in reply. "You know, it's that…I get emotional sometimes."
"…D-don't be." Chara explained. "You've been braver this night that you probably ever were in your entire life. It…wasn't me that cast the beam. It was all you. Also…oughn't you insert the program?...finish the job?..." She motioned over to the slot in the control panel, a fair way away. Every movement was an obvious effort now.
"I won't let go. Not while there's still time." Papyrus told her, wrapping his cape around her body, hoping to stop the shards floating away. But…it didn't work. They phased straight through the cape and continued drifting to oblivion.
"Y-you're alright…aren't…you?...I hope this…doesn't hurt at all." Papyrus asked her. Finally, Chara thought, he gets it.
"It's…not hurting me…not…hurting me…" Chara whispered in reply. "Thank god…you've accepted it…haven't you?..." she muttered under her breath.
"No!...I won't ever accept it…that would be just…inconsiderate, if you get my meaning…" Papyrus informed her, resolute in voice at first glance but quickly wavering.
Chara noticed a large crack appearing, right across her torso. She smiled, albeit weakly. Time for her to go, she thought, a pity she had to leave someone heartbroken in the process…and…somehow her smile faded, just a little until it was just a memory of one.
"I…I'm not ready for you to leave…" Papyrus stammered. "I'm not…ready for this to end… just yet…"
"It's…not like you'll be…alone. You've got the Doctor…and…your brother…all much better friends than…I ever could be…" Chara explained. "But…still. I…I'm sorry to have to leave like this."
Papyrus hid his face from her immediately. Chara could see a very, very faint smile; she was confused at first; did he finally get why she was so eager to leave this mortal coil or was he…just…pretending again?...trying to relieve her of the minute twinge of guilt she still had left?...
"Goodbye, now…brave heart…and…" she whispered, the shards breaking away faster than ever and turning to red sparks which dissipated. She looked up at his face, and…her vision seemed to fade and refocus until she saw something…completely different but completely identical all at the same time…
Flowers.
They covered her vision by the edge, but she could see someone holding their hand out to her. …she couldn't tell how long ago anymore it had appeared as a bright red glove, but now it had changed. A…furry little paw, outstretched to her.
As…Asriel?...she thought, before barely, just barely realising it was all just…a trick of her m…em…ory.
"…Thankyou…" Chara whispered with her final breath. All she could feel now was just…an embrace from somewhere. She didn't know where from, perhaps it was from herself, she didn't even know…what…it was…but still, she smiled and she sensed that whoever saw it just then recognized as true, the first true smile she had posessed in a thousand years…
And she shattered, and turned to dust.
Papyrus' smile immediately failed him, and his eyes filled up to bursting with tears. He raised his cape over his face and cried into it with grief and guilt. He'd never felt so broken in his life before. "C…hara?..." he stammered, hoping to find one last response, a chance to say his goodbyes, to tell her she'd not be forgotten, never ever ever…
He didn't know how long he just sat there, wracked with unhappiness he'd never really known before.
All his life, he told himself he could never truly fail.
And now he had been proven wrong.
Every single Dalek in the skies of all the London in every world, suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue light. The population that was left over suddenly came out to watch. Some cheered, even though they had no idea who they were cheering for.
The Doctor just sat there, wracked with anger and rage. WHY?...he thought, why, every single time when it looked like the ones he knew weren't going to turn to dust like the rest?!
Suddenly, the barriers surrounding him just…disappeared. The…the Fallen God wasn't responsible, judging by the look on her face.
But the Doctor took the chance anyway.
Arms trembling, Papyrus inserted the USB into the slot. The control panel, sparking with light and sparks, flashed several images onto the screen at once. Access Denied, Access Granted, Shields Lowered, Emergency Dalek Teleport System Activating. It had…worked, Papyrus thought. He'd…saved…everyone. Halted the plans.
But at such a cost, he thought, looking into a reflective blacked-out screen. It seemed so silly when he thought about it. The Fallen God was going to destroy the universe as the Daleks were going to destroy the Earth, the whole of reality would have been destroyed. And in exchange to stop it, he'd sacrificed just one life, in lieu of hundreds and billions of…innocent lives. But…it hurt. Knowing that…she was…gone…so much chance, so much potential, and he'd killed it off.
He felt something that he'd never recognized within himself.
Hatred. Not for others. But himself. It tore at him like a knife and he wished that he wasn't…himself anymore.
It almost seemed that the wish came true. The metal of his new battle body began fading back to its original form like lichen growing on a rock.
His vision faded, and, exhausted and alone, terrified but worn out, he slowly fell to the ground, and knowing that his duty was done, he slipped into unconsciousness, his power fading and his newfound and newlost determination leaving him.
Among the thousands of datalogs that the Daleks kept in their Pathweb, the Doctor finally found Chara's memories. Every single experience that Chara posessed was within that data file.
He uploaded the file onto his Cyberman infostamp.
He could hear the remenants of an argument between some Daleks and the human. The Human told them she at least wanted to show him the footage of Papyrus' death before destroying him, the Daleks insisting adamantly he was to be exterminated now.
The Doctor had no qualms about what he was to do next. He ran from the Dalek Pathweb connection facility, walking straight towards the gallows as the Fallen God thought.
He strode towards the human, who levitated just off the ground, smiling. "Finally." she said, bluntly. "You've arrived, Doctor. Daleks, let him speak. I want some beautifully touching last words from this one."
The Doctor grabbed the Fallen God, almost by the throat, and, snarling through his teeth all this time, ruthlessly brought her to the ground. He pinned the infostamp to her head and put his finger firmly on the 'Download' button.
"One press of the trigger and every single one of these memories goes into your brain." the Doctor told her, firmly.
"Whose memories are they?" the Fallen God asked the Doctor, still smiling.
"Chara's. I've seen the contents of those memories and they're terrible enough to cause anyone other than her to go insane." the Doctor explained, still unwavering.
"Correction: anyone possessing those memories would go insane." the Fallen God retorted. "But more importantly…what can I do to stop you pulling the trigger."
"Nothing." the Doctor replied. The Fallen God briefly adopted a face of mock fear, before shooting upwards off of the ground, and forcing the Doctor's arm downwards in a second.
"You think you can defeat me…with my EMOTIONS?..." the Fallen God cackled, finding the whole exchange a complete joke. "Well, I'm sorry my naïve little child, I don't even respond to my emotions anymore!...They don't even matter! Did Sans teach you what LOVE meant? L, O, V, E love, not your worthless, weakening love you value so highly for no good reason! In fact, Doctor…I'd rather not have to deal with them at all. It's just a stupid weakness that people insist they can get at me with. Toriel, Asgore, even Sans tried it. And of course, we can't forget the most famous case of all- your little PET, Papyrus! … Not much of an Oncoming Storm, are you!...If you have to resort to this! So, in short, Doctor, I'd rather not have to deal with such useless things."
"Very well, then." the Doctor concluded.
There was a long silence. The strategist Daleks looked at each other, communicating silently.
"She is ready." one of them declared at last.
"-what?" the Fallen God asked them. "Sorry, servant. Didn't catch that."
"She. Is. Ready." the same Dalek repeated again.
"Ready for what?" the Fallen God questioned.
"She is ready for the Dalek conversion."
"I'm sorry?" the Fallen God noted, incredibly put out.
"She will be an easy conversion into Daaalek kind! Earlier tests have given mostly faulty results due to residual emotion. She will serve the Dalek empire well. The Daaleks have never known a source of power such as this one, and all we must do is haaarness it!" the Dalek explained to its lessers, the Fallen God included.
"Oh no. I'm afraid not. I won't regress to being one of your…disgusting species! I am emotionless by CHOICE, thankyou very much!" she protested, backing away.
"You are not the one in control." the Dalek responded, ordering two Daleks to latch onto her arms with their plungers.
"Let go of me!" the human screamed. "LET GO OF ME!"
"Take her for Daaalek conversion!" the Dalek commanded the two Daleks. The Fallen God, trying to struggle free, managed to buy herself time, but not enough. Slowly they managed to drag her away.
The Doctor didn't care.
"Y-YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!" she screeched in terror. "YOU KNEW THEY'D DO THIS TO ME, DOCTOR!...DOCTOR, I HATE YOU! I BLOODY…HATE…"
The Fallen God realised her fate was coming as she heard the machines whirring behind her.
"…please…help me…" she gasped, her face frozen in fear.
Before now, the Doctor contemplated that those two words were ones she'd never refuse.
But no more.
He ran from the chamber, locking the door behind him, setting the seals to maximum. Guilt twinged his heart. Was she…just…a child, after all?...Or just another maniac?...
The Doctor heard a quiet celebratory chiptune. Suddenly, he saw something appear in front of him, which made him back down with a start.
It read: Your LV has increased.
The Doctor continued, realising it was just one more statistic. If he didn't accept at as who he was, he'd be alright…wouldn't he?...Now all he had to do, taking his mind off the matter, was to teleport all those Daleks…somewhere. Into the depths of space. Somewhere that'd freeze them in time without escape, but…not…kill them.
The control room was locked. He didn't really want to go in, immediately knowing he'd see white dust everywhere. The sonic screwdriver opened the door with a click, and the entrance hissed into view.
What the Doctor saw amazed him.
Several dead Daleks, still smoking. Casings completely vaporized by some kind of force he'd never known. The mutants inside weren't even recognizeable.
A scorched floor, with a small damp patch. But, as he saw, no dust.
Because, slumped by a wall, was the body of Papyrus.
The Doctor's first and natural assumption was that Papyrus was dead, killed by the explosion, but, with a start, he remembered that monsters turned to dust when they died. He wasn't dead. Not even badly hurt.
"Papyrus…you alright?..." the Doctor asked him, a hand on his shoulder, attempting to stir him.
Papyrus slowly woke up, eyes flickering open and head raising. As soon as he saw the Doctor, his face lit up, and by that…it meant it just restored to its usual brightness…The Doctor could see the tear marks beside his eyes. Helping him up, it seemed to him that Papyrus had so much to say…he couldn't say anything.
"Oh…oh my god, it…it actually worked! The…the Dalek teleport, I…I stopped the invasion! Doctor, you're safe!" Papyrus cried at last, clinging onto the Doctor as he felt his legs begin to fail again. Now…now he noticed that he had his old body back, he…felt a pang of regret…and began to remember the events that had come to pass.
Still, he didn't let it show. At least not on the surface.
The Doctor led Papyrus out of the ruined control room, and soon they broke into a brisk run. "How on Earth did you get on board the Dalek spaceship anyway?!" the Doctor asked him, amazed at such a feat.
"I…I'll explain later…so much to tell you, so little time…" Papyrus replied, much more nervously than seconds before.
"Yeah. When we get back in the TARDIS, which, if I'm correct, is just two lefts and a right away!" the Doctor explained, running faster and faster, the taste of victory in his mouth tingling…
It was only one more right until they found their first hindrance.
"DALEK!" Papyrus gasped, noticing the bright red Dalek advancing towards them.
"I noticed." the Doctor replied, walking towards it.
"Doc…tor…" the Dalek groaned. "Look…at…what you've…done…to me…It…hurts. It hurts so much."
The Doctor was completely silent.
"I will…ex…ter…min…ate…you, Doc…tor…"
The Dalek slowly and painfull raised its gunstick. The order to come to the power source chamber was filling its mind and resisting inflicted the most searing pain it had ever felt. All it wanted was to just get its sweet revenge and die. On the Doctor. On the Daleks!...Its gunstick was disabled. They were trying to give it no choice but to obey. Come here, now, the order told her. NOW.
But the Dalek refused.
"N...o…" it screeched quietly, before its spheres began levitating around it, in a feeble attempt to capture the Doctor inside its personal forcefield. But all it took was one step and the Doctor was out of danger completely.
One last scream and the Dalek was dead.
"Who was that?..." Papyrus asked. "That wasn't a normal Dalek, it had personality, it had…emotions."
"The Fallen God." the Doctor explained. "They converted her. They converted her into a Dalek."
"Poor human…" Papyrus concluded, before walking away. The TARDIS wasn't far away now, and soon they were inside it, making their escape without opposition. The Daleks inside the ship, left without a power source, drifted away into space, to freeze.
"TARDIS interface, code 219dbxcgnjzxejyst7i7to73c. Break lock on travel and interface mechanism." the Doctor ordered the TARDIS, and soon, the familiar sound of the dematerilization taking place echoed in both their eyes.
"Open TARDIS interface." the Doctor commanded. "Chara, we def-"
For once, the Doctor wasn't pleased to see Rose standing there. "Chara not found." she reported, blank of face. The Doctor was suddenly shocked. Chara not found?...Had she…left? Was her duty fufilled…and she had left for a better place like a ghost did?...
"What happened to her?" the Doctor asked.
"Chara has left the TARDIS. Chara's SOUL has been deleted." the TARDIS explained.
"HOW?!" the Doctor yelled, enraged. "WHAT HAVE THE DALEKS DONE TO HER!? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE!?"
"The Daleks did not do anything to Char-" the TARDIS interface explained, before being shut off just before it finished its sentence.
"Allow me to explain." Papyrus told the Doctor, face half-hidden. "I'm sorry, Doctor…I…s-sacrificed…Chara." The Doctor raised his eyebrows, amazed he'd do something like that.
Papyrus explained the entire turn of events, becoming more and more distraught with every sentence spoken, even more sure that the Doctor would never forgive him. Eventually he could do nothing but start sobbing into his mittens. The Doctor gave him a look of sympathy.
"…You know what I'm going to say." he muttered under his breath.
"I forgive you." the Doctor concluded.
"W-what?..." Papyrus stammered. "You…actually…forgive me for that?..."
"Yeah. I can relate, myself." the Doctor replied. So many people came to his head at once. Donna. His own daughter. Even Rose to some extent.
So many deaths for him, and him alone.
His children of time, their graves laid beside each other, all with so many stories, but all with the same ending; an empty TARDIS.
He almost blamed himself for dragging Papyrus into this mess.
The TARDIS landed just outside Papyrus and Sans' house, and the rain was pouring down around where the house was, or what was left of it. It was completely demolished, the fair countryside beside it scorched, and the town surrounding it razed. Papyrus cautiously stepped towards the house, breath still shaky, and expecting the worst.
Nothing.
"Hang on, hang on!" the Doctor gasped, detecting something hidden with the sonic screwdriver. "There's something hidden nearby!..." The scorched earth that was left in the place of the house began to shimmer and a metal plate appeared.
"Some kind of roof. Something the Daleks didn't notice." the Doctor commented, as Papyrus shot a bone straight through the metal plating. Immediately, he saw an interesting side room, containing a machine covered by a sheet and blueprints. But, most importantly…Sans was cowering in the corner of the room.
"S-Sans?...It's me! Your brother! You can come out now!" Papyrus told him, sliding down into the chamber. Sans turned and saw his face, which immediately told him he'd seen quite the battle.
The Doctor waited quite a while by the TARDIS, waiting for the reunion to be done, which, as he'd expected, took quite a while.
Papyrus had agreed with the Doctor that…maybe he'd take a short break from travelling for a while. He didn't say why but…both of them knew it didn't need saying. "Don't worry!" he assured him. "I'm not giving up. The Great Papyrus shall always stay determined!..."
He left the control room to get some of his most vital things, head bowed as though he had something very serious to take care of. A proper funeral for Chara?...the Doctor mused. She deserved one, at least.
When he left, however, he possessed a large feather in his hat. He didn't actually say anything about it, though.
"Well…I suppose, Doctor, that we shall part ways for…no, wait…no! Actually, I hope we won't be parted for long. You can come back and visit us at any time…well…once we get a new house. Actually, Sans is…talking about going to Undyne's place until we get one…Why am I overcomplicating things so much?...Just call me!" Papyrus informed him.
"I'll be over for Christmas!" the Doctor agreed. "Then we'll hopefully start travelling again!"
Papyrus, giving him a reassuring wink to tell him he was alright, left the TARDIS.
In fact, he…wasn't actually alright.
The TARDIS dematerialized behind him, and he didn't watch it go, instead, he just walked down, past the wreckage into the valley where he and Chara used to run and contemplate and watch the stars during that week when the stars were going out…Tears leaked from his eyes when he thought about it again, mixing with the rain that got past the fedora. Honestly, he thought, why did he always have to be so damn sentimental?...Maybe it was just his nature. Definitely just his nature, he concluded. Be proud of it, he resolved.
He looked upwards, checking if the feather wasn't getting too wet. He definitely didn't want it to be ruined…it was a symbol of rememberance.
For Papyrus hadn't viewed Chara as a demon. Nor had he viewed her as an angel. No. Actually, to him, she was more like a pheonix…a pheonix that never stopped trying to keep going, burdened by ashes and dust but burning again and coming back.
Only this time…she'd burned.
And not…come back…
He knew it wasn't exactly fitting. But…still. At least she wasn't going to be forgotten. Not in word or spirit either.
Brave heart, he thought, remembering with twinges of sorrow her final words to him as she shattered.
Brave heart.