Wasn't sure if this was gonna be a long-term thing, but hey, it's somethin' to do since I'm finished with A Pure One Underground. Updates might be pretty inconsistent, though, with few and far between, since I also want to work on The Adventures of Raptor Trainer some more, but since it's started now, I don't want to abandon it anytime soon.
Enjoy. :P
"i'mma be completely honest with you...i'm not even sure if the kid's gonna get it."
"WHY IS THAT...? OH...RIGHT. THE BARRIER. IT'S A SHAME IT INTERFERES WITH PHONE SIGNALS, TOO. OTHERWISE, DO YOU THINK WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CALL HUMANS ON THE SURFACE AND ALERT THEM TO OUR PREDICAMENT?"
"that would have been the best way to do it...but that ain't the case, so..."
Sans shrugged nonchalantly. Even after all of these new changes that'd been made, he was still just the same as always.
"i'm gonna head down to grillby's for a bite. you want anything?"
"NYEGH...CERTAINLY NOT! SANS, WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS WASTE YOUR TIME AT THAT GREASE HOUSE? WOULDN'T YOU RATHER YOUR CARING BROTHER WHIP YOU SOMETHING UP WITH HIS OWN TWO HANDS?"
"i'll take my chances there."
"WELL, THAT'S A BIT AUDACIOUS...NOT THAT IT SHOULD SURPRISE ME. WELL, IF YOU WON'T HAVE ANY, THEN I SUPPOSE UNDYNE AND I WILL HAVE TO TAKE IT UPON OURSELVES. I'LL WARN YOU ONE LAST TIME, SANS; YOU'RE MISSING OUT!"
"dunno if she will, either...come to think of it, has she even eaten anything today?"
"I...DON'T KNOW, REALLY. I'M GOING TO BE HONEST, SANS. I'M...CONCERNED, TO SAY THE LEAST."
The brothers peered inside through the window. The former Captain of the Royal Guard was doing what she'd usually been doing over the past month; sitting on the couch with her head resting on her hands, doing absolutely nothing.
"I SWEAR, SHE SEEMS TO JUST KEEP GETTING WORSE AND WORSE...DON'T YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING?"
"i mean, we probably should try somethin' else...maybe i'll come up with something while i'm down at grillby's."
"WHILE I STILL DISCOURAGE YOU FROM GOING THERE SO FREQUENTLY, I WILL MAKE A REQUEST. MAYBE...BRING BACK SOME CHEESE FRIES."
"thought you didn't like those."
"OH, NOT FOR ME, SILLY, FOR UNDYNE. SHE SAID ONCE THAT SHE LIKED THEM, AND I THOUGHT THEY MIGHT...YOU KNOW...CHEER HER UP SOME!"
"oh, yeah...good thinkin', bro."
"NOTHING THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN'T COME UP WITH! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
Papyrus' unmistakable laugh could have been almost heard all the way to Waterfall.
"cool beans...aight, imma head out."
"MAKE SURE NOT TO WASTE ALL OF YOUR GOLD ON EXTRA KETCHUP!"
His brother was already trudging through the snow to the local restaurant in his slippers. Papyrus just rolled his eye sockets; typical Sans.
The taller skeleton put his gloved hand on the doorknob and turned it to go back into the cabin; at first, he'd wondered why Sans had taken the call outside, but then he remembered just how much Undyne hated the human now. She probably wouldn't have been too happy to find out who he'd been talking to.
"HMM..."
Maybe that was just what she needed; someone to talk about her problems to...If only she WOULD talk about it. He'd tried several times before, merely on a whim, but whenever he did, Undyne was quick to change the subject, brush it off as nothing or just go completely silent on him. And he always took that as an indicator that he should just leave her alone...
But this time, things would be different.
USING MY WIT, MY SKILL, AND MY INSURMOUNTABLE FRIENDLINESS, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS! he decided.
Papyrus nodded confidently, then re-entered the house, shut the door behind him, and started to make his way over to the couch where the fish monster sat from the side, his boots stepping lightly against the carpet. Undyne didn't even bother to look up at him. She just kept staring out into space, as though nobody was even there. It was only when Papyrus addressed her by name that she decided to acknowledge him.
"...UNDYNE?"
"What..."
Her response came out in a hoarse croak.
It was that moment that it dawned on Papyrus that he actually had no idea what he was doing...But he'd already stepped his foot into this conversation, so it was too late to turn back now.
"I...WELL...I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT ELSE SANS AND I CAN DO FOR YOU."
"Nothing. You've both done enough already...Just leave me alone."
She turned further away from him. This was about the point where he would just give up, but the Great Papyrus refused to go down so easily this time.
"YOU'VE BEEN WITH US FOR A MONTH, UNDYNE. YOU NEEDN'T...'BOTTLE YOURSELF UP,' AS SANS PUTS IT."
"Don't worry about it, Papyrus," she insisted. "I've already been enough of a burden on you two. Just let me be."
"OH, DON'T BE SILLY. YOU'RE NOT A BURDEN TO US, UNDYNE. WE JUST WANT TO HELP, IS ALL."
"What part of 'you've done enough' don't you understand!?"
She crossed her arms and turned away from him, hiding the fact that she was biting down on her lip to keep it from quivering.
"BUT THAT IS JUST THE THING, UNDYNE...I DON'T THINK I HAVE DONE ENOUGH," the skeleton claimed. "YOU'RE MY FRIEND. YOU'RE A FRIEND TO BOTH OF US, AND ME TO YOU. AND AS YOUR FRIEND, AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO TRY AND HELP YOU IN ANYWAY I CAN, WHENEVER YOU NEED IT? I THINK I KNOW HOW I CAN HELP YOU, UNDYNE. THE THING IS, YOU SEEM...WELL...RELUCTANT TO GO ABOUT IT."
"Would you leave me alone?"
She tried to turn farther away from him, but he came to face her first.
"IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE MUCH. ALL I WANT IS TO TALK ABOUT IT."
"How would YOU know what I'm going through! You don't know what it's like!"
"NO, BUT...I HAVE AN IDEA," Papyrus defended. "YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS DISAPPEARING, RIGHT?"
She didn't respond so quickly. Instead, she simply tensed where she sat, squeezing her eye shut.
"HEY...WHO KNOWS? MAYBE, SOMEDAY, THEY'LL COME BACK, AND-"
"You just don't GET IT, DO YOU!?"
She exploded swiftly and suddenly, finally standing up from the couch to get up in his face.
"They're not coming back! They're NEVER coming back!"
"What makes you so sure-"
"They're DEAD, goddamit! They're all DEAD!"
Papyrus had already shrunken back quite a bit, but that was what made him freeze.
"THEY'RE..." he repeated, not sure if he'd heard her right. "...WHAT?"
"Why do you think they just air reruns of Mettaton's shows nowadays!? That final episode wasn't special effects, Papyrus! That was REAL! He was destroyed! Trashed! Beyond repair! And then Asgore! I don't know what went on by the Barrier, but I know as well as I found his dust on the ground that the human had something to do with it! And by the time I finally decided to see Alphys and help her through all this, it was TOO LATE!"
That was where she stopped. She was staring him dead in the eye with deadly glare, but she saw her own gaze blur over as it grew wet.
"...I was too late," she finished. "She wasn't at the lab. The locals said they saw her in the Trash Zone. By the time I got there, it...It was too late. She was gone. She already..."
Undyne fell to her knees, losing the small shred of dignity she had left as she sniveled through clenched teeth. Papyrus bent down to face her, his own eye sockets glistening with tears. He felt horrible for having not known, and just knowing now, all of a sudden...It was awful.
"...It's my fault...I should have gotten to her sooner. Sh-she was probably there, scared a-and alone with n-nobody to turn to, and she..."
She couldn't bare to finish the thought.
"IT...IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT, UNDYNE," her friend told her, putting a gloved hand atop her back in attempt to soothe her. "YOU DIDN'T KNOW. NONE OF US DID..."
"But I DID know," she scolded herself. "She was like that when I first met her, and I kept seeing her there, just staring into the abyss, probably wondering what'd happen if she...There was something going on with her. Something I could have helped her through. And I was too late...I failed. I failed Alphys, I failed Asgore, and I failed everyone else down here in this hellhole. Including you..."
She hid her face in her hands, still on her knees, and tried to hold back a sob, to little avail.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."
That was when the former Captain of the Royal Guard completely fell apart. She collapsed all the way onto the floor and bawled like a child. This was a new low point for her; whenever she decided to cry, she made sure nobody else was around to see, and was quiet about it. As useless as she'd become, she still refused to lose face in front of the people who at least looked up to her in the past.
But now, she didn't care. She couldn't stand it anymore; the humiliation, the loneliness, the guilt...It all piled up, and it was too much for her weakened spirit to handle.
She was broken.
Papyrus sniffed, wiping away his own tears on his arm; he HATED seeing Undyne like this. He hated seeing ANYONE like this. He knew that now, more than ever, somebody needed him. And he wasn't going to let her down now...He couldn't.
The skeleton lifted her head up to look at him. She was an emotional mess; her face was contorted with grief, and the tears streamed from her good eye like a river flow.
"...YOU DON'T NEED TO APOLOGIZE, UNDYNE," he assured her. "IN FACT...I SHOULD BE THE ONE APOLOGIZING. IF I'D KNOWN SOONER, I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING ABOUT IT THEN, INSTEAD OF WAITING SO LONG."
"That's my fault, too..." she sobbed again. "I lied to your face about Mettaton, and...Neither me or S-sans told you what really happened t-to him and Asgore, or A-alphys b-because we didn't w-want you to..."
"...YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT ALL OF THIS...JUST SO THAT I WOULDN'T BE SAD?"
"I'm sorry..."
She lowered her head in shame, still weeping. Papyrus had...mixed feelings about this revelation.
WHEN SANS GETS BACK HERE, I MIGHT HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH HIM ABOUT ALL OF THIS...
"IT'S ALRIGHT, UNDYNE...HERE, STAND UP FOR A MOMENT."
He helped her to get back onto her feet.
"IT'S...A VERY SAD THING THAT ALPHYS AND THE KING...PASSED. M-METTATON, TOO. I DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THEM ON THE PERSONAL NOTE, AS YOU DID...BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I'LL STILL BE RIGHT HERE FOR YOU. WHATEVER YOU'RE GOING THROUGH, OR WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEONE, JUST COME TO ME. EVEN IF YOU THINK IT SEEMS SILLY, OR MUNDANE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE MADE IT MY MISSION TO ASSIST ALL THOSE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE. INCLUDING YOU...ESPECIALLY YOU."
She sniffed again, tears still flowing down her face. Papyrus gently pulled her into a hug.
"THERE, THERE, UNDYNE," he comforted. "I'M RIGHT HERE. YOU'LL BE ALRIGHT."
She rose a hand to wipe away some of her tears away. It looked like she was starting to calm down.
"AND I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE, UNDYNE. AS LONG AS I'M AROUND, YOU'LL NEVER BE ALONE."
It took a moment, but some of what Papyrus was saying to her finally worked itself into Undyne's numb brain.
I'll never be alone...
And that was when she realized something.
All of a sudden, she flung her arms around him and held on, as though something horrible would happen to him if she let go.
"...What if you're not...? What if a-another human comes down here and...and it ends up not..."
"THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, UNDYNE."
"H-how do you know?"
"I'LL MAKE SURE OF IT. SHOULD THERE EVER COME A TIME WHERE ANY OF US ARE IN DANGER, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU, SANS, ME AND ANYONE ELSE I CAN HELP ARE ALL KEPT SOMEWHERE SAFE! BESIDES...I DOUBT THAT ANY OTHER HUMANS WILL BE COMING THROUGH HERE ANYTIME SOON, ANYWAY."
She took in what he said, and once he finished, she hugged him just a bit tighter.
"...I don't wanna lose you too," she sniffled. "You're all I have left..."
"OH, I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE YOU HAVE LEFT. YOU STILL HAVE SANS. AND A LOT OF OTHER MONSTERS ARE STILL HERE FOR YOU."
"That's different," she told him, voice still shaky. Papyrus patted her back a little as she spoke. "Sans and I might know each other well, but...You're different. You weren't just my protégé, you were my friend. You still are. I can't afford to lose you, too."
"YOU AREN'T GOING TO LOSE ME, UNDYNE. I PROMISE YOU WON'T."
Undyne sniffled a few more times, still trying to stop the flow of tears. Whatever was left of them was emptying out, and the tension in the atmosphere had long since died.
"...I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, okay?" she told him. "I'll protect you as best I can. I'm not going to fail anyone else anymore."
For what seemed to be the first time in almost a month, a smile appeared on her face. It was small, but still a smile, and Papyrus was quick to notice it.
"...SEE? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" he grinned. "TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS DID HELP, DIDN'T IT?"
"I guess it did..." she agreed. "...Th-thanks for not givin' up on me."
"ANYTHING FOR A FRIEND, UNDYNE."
"ey, papyrus. i got the...cheese..."
Sans walked in on the two of them, and from the look of Undyne's bloodshot eye and the tear tracks on her face(paired with the fact that his brother was still hugging her), he assumed that he'd missed a lot.
"oh...is this a bad time?"
"NO, BROTHER. UNDYNE WAS JUST...HAVING A MOMENT, IS ALL."
"Yeah...Sorry 'bout that. I think I'm okay now, though..."
"don't worry 'bout it. i understand...guess what i got at grillby's?"
"What?"
"heh heh...check it."
He showed off the cheese fries in the takeout box he had with him.
"Oh, man..." she grinned, her appetite rushing back to her. "I haven't eaten ALL DAY. You're a lifesaver."
"couldn't letcha starve yourself to death. here's the box. dig in. imma go clean my room."
"Thanks, man."
Sans climbed the stairs and shut himself back in his room.
"...I SUPPOSE YOU KNOW BY NOW THAT BY 'CLEAN HIS ROOM,' HE MEANS 'GOOF OFF AND PLAY HIS TROMBONE AT THE MOST INCONVENIENTLY INCIDENTAL TIMES.'"
The comment earned him a snicker from the fish monster. Papyrus beamed; she was already doing better.
"That's Sans for ya. Am I right?"
"INDEED...SO...DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE?"
"I think I'm good for now," she nodded. "Might decide to actually do a couple things tomorrow instead of just sitting around moping...I've been stayin' here for over a month, so I could at least stand to make myself useful, huh?"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT, UNDYNE! I KNEW I COULD GET THROUGH TO YOU! NYEH! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
"Heh...Yeah. Think I'm gonna be turnin' in for the night once I finish off these cheese fries, though. Just a heads-up."
"NOTED! I'LL HAVE TO ALERT MY BROTHER TO KEEP QUIET...I WAS PLANNING ON HEADING UP THERE, ANYWAY."
"Did you guys, like, do something to the couch? It feels a lot less...lumpy than it did before, whenever I came to spend the night."
"OH, YES! WOULD YOU IMAGINE? IT TURNS OUT, THERE WAS A WHOLE STASH OF GOLD UNDERNEATH THERE! SANS', PROBABLY...IT MUST HAVE FALLEN OUT OF HIS COAT POCKETS AND ACCUMULATED DOWN THERE. I'M ASSUMING THAT WAS WHAT MADE IT SO UNCOMFORTABLE!"
"That sounds about right..."
"JUST TELL ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE, ALRIGHT?" he reminded her as he went up the stairs.
"'Kay. G'night, Papyrus."
"SLEEP WELL, UNDYNE."
"And, Papyrus?"
He turned to face her before disappearing.
"...Thanks."
He smiled, and gave her a reassuring nod before continuing, leaving Undyne to her own accords. The skeleton strode on over to his brother's room, giving the door a knock.
"who's there?"
"IT'S PAPYRUS."
"papyrus who?"
I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS...
He opened the door, giving Sans an unamused glare as he walked in. Sure enough, his brother was doing nothing but lying there on his bed, looking about ready to fall head-first onto the floor, trombone lying next to him, assembled and ready to play.
"okay, you got me."
"I KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING IN HERE FROM THE START. AND PUT YOUR TROMBONE AWAY; UNDYNE IS GOING TO SLEEP AFTER SHE FINISHES HER CHEESE FRIES."
"ah...sure thing, bro."
He dissembled the instrument, then got up and simply shoved it into his drawer with his clothes...and other trombones. Papyrus just sighed and shook his head.
"SANS...A WORD, PLEASE."
"what? that's where i keep 'em."
"NO, IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT."
"oh. then what's up?"
The taller of the two skeleton brothers let out another sigh.
"I'M NOT MAD. I JUST WANT TO DISCUSS THE MATTER."
"sure thing. lay it on me."
But Sans wasn't prepared for what his brother was about to say.
"...I KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO METTATON, ALPHYS AND THE KING."
.
1:
I just found this empty journal on the bookshelf in here; it looks like some of the
pages have been torn out, and it hasn't been touched in ages, but it'll do just fine.
I've been here for a while. I'm not sure exactly how long. But I doubt it matters.
As long as nobody comes looking for me.
So...this is where the queen stayed for the past decade. I expected it to be a lot
more rundown...but since there was someone here to maintain everything I guess
I should have expected the opposite. Most of the other monsters left along with the
queen, and ever since I closed the doors again, I don't think anyone's going to be
coming back. Especially now that they all think it's empty.
I think I'll just stay here. The Ruins aren't so bad once you get used to them. It's
safe and quiet, and the house is kinda cozy. And keeping a journal will help me
hold on to what little sanity I have left, since I'll probably be here all by myself
until I die...or, at least, until anymore humans fall down. Whichever comes first.
But, in all honesty, I'm pretty sure I deserve it.
That's all for now.