Hi! Sorry it took me so long to update even though this story is technically finished.
I had a big paper due, and my tolerance for proofreading was all used up by that.
XXX
Red was surprised to find himself answering the question about Undyne. He hadn't heard or spoken her name in a long time, not since she was killed in the battle against Boss.
He could still remember that day so clearly, since Papyrus had dragged him along and forced him to watch from the sidelines. As kids, Papyrus and Undyne had been friends. But as they grew older, and they both began to succumb to the darkness of the world around them, they started constantly fighting over who was stronger and who would become the next Head of the Royal Guard. When Undyne eventually got the position, Papyrus was enraged, and they had a huge falling-out.
And then the day came when Papyrus decided to challenge Undyne to an official duel. Defeating the current Head of the Royal Guard was, after all, the only way that the position could be succeeded. But such duels had no [MERCY].
It was a battle to the death.
Sans watched his older brother fight the monster who had once been his best friend, and he couldn't keep himself from crying. Either way, he would lose his brother: by watching him turn to dust or losing the last scrap of hope he had that Papyrus might one day go back to the way he was when they were younger.
He didn't want Undyne to die. She had been kind, once, before she was old enough to be tainted by the world around them, before she learned that, if she didn't kill, she would be killed. She used to laugh and play, and even though Sans was too weak to really join them, Undyne would occasionally try to include him in something. She talked to him. She was nice to him. Things didn't have to end up like this.
Yet, he didn't want his brother to die, either.
The fight was brutal, and Sans truly had no idea who would be alive by the end. The two of them were more-or-less evenly-matched.
And then Undyne stumbled. It was just a stupid, tiny pebble that was just round enough to shift under the fish monster's feet, and that nanosecond of being thrown off balance left enough of an opening for Papyrus.
Sans heard the surrounding crowd roar in awe as Undyne's dust settled onto the ground. A few particularly brave monsters approached Papyrus and began to congratulate him for becoming the new Head of the Guard. They congratulated his brother for killing someone, for killing his ex-best-friend.
Sans felt sick. He ran back home so he wouldn't have to look at Papyrus, even though he knew that Papyrus would return home eventually.
And when he did, he smacked Sans for crying.
"Here, why don't you have some hot chocolate?"
Yet again, Sans found himself jolted out of his own thoughts. Blue was, once more, standing in front of him, this time holding out a mug filled with a brown, steaming liquid. Mindlessly, he accepted the cup but made no move to actually drink it.
XXX
In the morning, Papyrus found himself thinking about their accidental house guest once again. He was starting to get a bad feeling about the universe Red came from. They'd never been in contact with a universe in which anyone who was alive here was dead. And now, Papyrus was certain that, when Red woke up and mistook him for his own brother again, that he had been afraid of him specifically. Why was Red afraid of his brother? And he had a sneaking suspicion that his brother being the Head of the Royal Guard might somehow be connected to Undyne's death.
He also had a sneaking suspicion that Red's obvious anxiety and mood swings weren't exactly new.
And so it was that Papyrus was sitting on his front stoop, smoking a cigarette and trying to think of a way to talk to Red about his suspicions without triggering another panic attack. Sure, they had technically just met, but Papyrus couldn't help but care for him, since seeing him hurt or afraid was like seeing his own brother hurt or afraid. He couldn't even imagine Sans being afraid of him or looking at him the way Red had.
As his cigarette ran low, he stubbed it out in the snow next to him before standing up and re-entering the house. Red had long-since gone back to sleep on the couch, this time with less nightmares, and Blue was in the kitchen making breakfast. It was getting late, but today was their actual day off from sentry duty, so they didn't have to go to work until the next day. Granted, Sans would probably patrol a bit anyway, even though some of the dogs did have their shifts today, but Papyrus was perfectly content staying home the entire day. Besides, Sans's unnecessary extra patrolling would probably give him a good opportunity to talk to Red later.
Red woke up right about when breakfast was ready, so they didn't have to try to wake him up without spooking him. Even still, he saw the smaller skeleton immediately tense as he spotted him for a second.
"Bo-" Red started before cutting himself off, shaking his head. "No, you're the other Papyrus."
"Yep," he confirmed. "Anyway, time for breakfast. You should probably get up before my bro drags ya into the kitchen."
Red slid off the couch and followed behind Papyrus into the kitchen, where Blue was putting the finishing touches on yet another abomination that could only somewhat be labeled a taco. Sure enough, after another meal filled predominantly with Blue's constant chatter, the skeleton ran off to go on patrol, leaving Papyrus alone with Red.
"So, wanna watch tv?" Papyrus asked.
Red shrugged but still followed him back over to the couch. He clicked the television onto one of Napstaton's shows, seeing as that was the only thing on all the channels. They watched for a while, though Papyrus wasn't really paying attention to it, and he didn't think Red was, either. After a while, Papyrus shifted his gaze to Red and began studying him. Since Blue had left, he had tensed back up, and he appeared to be staring off into space. His back was straight and he was picking at his fingers again, though not nearly as frantically as before.
"Hey, Red."
As the smaller skeleton turned toward him, he saw something glint in the light, and he then realized that Red was wearing a spiked collar with a dog tag on it. Now, he didn't want to make too many assumptions, but the collar only further increased Papyrus's resolution to have a serious discussion with Red.
XXX
Red could tell from the start that this strange Papyrus hadn't actually wanted to watch television at all. Even with the world all swapped around and different, he knew Papyrus, and he remembered times from before Boss had gotten so bad when he would want to have a serious discussion with him. Back then, Boss never just directly said they were going to talk. He would always take him on a walk or say they were going to build snowmen or, well, ask him to watch tv. Now, he didn't really have actual discussions with Sans at all, but still, this Papyrus was employing the same strategy as his own past Papyrus. He knew the voice Papyrus used- the 'talking' voice. So, he wasn't really surprised when Papyrus eventually said his name, or, his nickname. That didn't mean he wanted to have this discussion, though. Whatever it was.
"Thought we could have a little chat," Papyrus continued.
Papyrus waited for a moment, perhaps giving Red an opportunity to respond, but he stayed silent.
"So, ya know how you're not the first alternate universe skeleton we've met?" Papyrus questioned. "Well, all the universes we've contacted, they're all pretty different, ya know?"
Red didn't entirely know where Papyrus was going with this. Was he mad that Red hadn't shared very much about what his own universe was like?
"There were a few universes that… well, that weren't like this one. Yeah, the underground is overcrowded, but it's not that bad here," Papyrus kept talking, dancing around what he wanted to say. "But…"
Papyrus paused again, but Red still didn't say anything. The taller skeleton sighed.
"Frankly, some of the universes weren't so nice," Papyrus said finally. "Just… Red… I was wondering if, maybe, your universe is one of the not-so-nice ones."
As Papyrus finished speaking, Red felt his pulse speed up. After only being here a day, this strange Papyrus had already started to figure out one of the things he had been hiding. But he wasn't sure why exactly Papyrus wanted to talk about this. Was he angry that he came to mess up his happy little universe? Or that Red hid information from him? Was he really just curious? Did he think Red might be a threat? He couldn't figure out what this Papyrus's angle was, so he decided to ask. After all, he had answered his questions before, and if he was already angry, the question probably wouldn't make him that much angrier. And if it did, well… nothing new, there.
"Why does it matter?"
Papyrus's face was still mostly blank, and what little hints of emotion he could pick up were ambiguous enough to still not provide any answers.
"'Cuz ya showed up with one foot in the grave," Papyrus answered. "And I'm pretty damn sure ya were attacked."
"So?"
Red felt a spark of anger. Was this Papyrus about to insinuate that he was weak? That he couldn't defend himself?
Papyrus stared at him, this time with an emotion clear on his face. It felt strange seeing such an expression on his older brother's face after so long, but he still knew what it was. Concern.
"So, you're pretty much like my bro, in a weird, multiverse way," Papyrus responded. "And I don't think it's the best idea for me to fix the machine just to send ya back and get ya killed. And I… It's concerning that you're afraid of me, since I'm supposed to be your bro."
"...What."
Papyrus shrugged.
"I get that ya probably want to go home, bud, but I'm not sending ya off to die," Papyrus reiterated. "So I want to know what kind of universe ya live in and if you're in danger there."
Red felt cold ice shoot through his body before it was replaced with fire. This was familiar, too. Papyrus was trying to control him. He was trying to control him under the guise of protection because he thought Sans couldn't take care of himself. But despite whatever twisted logic Boss tried to apply to it, control was control, and he wasn't going to be controlled by two Papyruses.
"You don't know shit," he growled out, not caring if this Papyrus decided to take another page out of his brother's book and hit him for it.
"That's why I'm asking," came the reply, cool as ever.
What gave this strange Papyrus any right to decide what he did? To decide if he was allowed to go home or not? Sure, he didn't plan to be alive much longer, and it didn't entirely matter which universe his dust was scattered around in. And maybe he was angry that this Papyrus was suggesting he wasn't going to let him die, even if he didn't understand that it would likely be at Red's own hand, if not Boss's. But still, he hadn't even known this Papyrus for longer than a day, and he was already trying to dig his claws into Sans's cracked soul.
And really, what did this happy-go-lucky skeleton from this happy-go-lucky universe know, anyway? Red had managed to survive this long in his own universe, despite everything, and he was only going to die now because he decided to do it himself.
"Shut. Up!" Red spat.
"Red-"
"No! Shut up!" he exclaimed, standing up from the couch and facing Papyrus. "I'm tired of people tryin' to control me!"
"Red."
Red glared at him, meeting his concerned eyes with his own angry, glowing ones. Even with the expression, Red couldn't separate the skeleton in front of him from his own Papyrus.
"You know what?!" Red shouted. "In my universe, it's Kill or Be Killed, and I'm a 1 HP monster who refuses to kill anyone!"
"Red."
"I've had to fear for my life every single fuckin' day, but I'd rather be dead than keep dealin' with my damn brother's ideas of protection!" Red raged, feeling the words bubble out of his mouth like pond scum. "I don't need his protection, and I damn well don't need yours!"
"Sans!" Papyrus called out, reaching out a hand.
Red flinched back, and Papyrus's face fell even farther. The taller skeleton sighed sadly.
"I'm… just trying to keep ya safe, bud," he said.
Red couldn't stop himself from responding.
"That's what Boss says too!" he yelled. "But he-!"
Papyrus took him by the hands, and he realized that he had been picking at his fingers again.
"Sans, I don't know exactly what's going on with your bro, but I'm not trying to control ya," spoke Papyrus. "I just don't wanna send ya back into a bad situation."
Red felt a few tears start streaming down his cheeks, dripping onto the rug below.
XXX
Papyrus felt a knot forming in his non-existent stomach as Red spoke. 'Kill or Be Killed'... Is that why Undyne was dead? Had she been killed? Murdered?
And Red's brother… Red was afraid of him. He practically admitted that his brother tried to control him, and… 'Kill or Be Killed'...
Had Red's brother tried to kill him? Was he the reason Red showed up hurt like that?
He felt sick.
Red had started picking at his hands again, and even though he worried that touching him would scare Red, Papyrus didn't want him to accidentally hurt himself. So, he reached out and stilled the smaller skeleton's hands. He didn't flinch away, but he did start crying, and at first, Papyrus wasn't sure what to say. But, he figured that he had already started the conversation, so he might as well keep going instead of upsetting Red again later.
"Sans, did… did your brother… hurt you…?" he questioned softly, unable to meet the smaller skeleton's eyes.
He felt Red tense up under his hands, and when he looked back at him, he saw that fear had made its way back onto Red's face. Red took a step back, but he didn't pull out of Papyrus's hands.
"Sans, I meant it when I said we weren't gonna hurt ya. Not my bro, and not me. You're safe here," Papyrus told him. "But I get the sense that… ya might not be safe at home."
Red's hands were shaking.
"...I'm not weak," he gritted out. "And I don't need to be protected."
"I didn't say ya were. I saw how many attacks ya can summon, remember?" Papyrus responded. "And everyone needs protection sometimes."
He saw Red's expression shift into some combination of surprise and confusion, the tears still dripping steadily down the bones of his face.
"Sans, I'm really not trying to control ya. I really don't know what your universe is like or what's happened to ya," Papyrus continued. "But if your bro's been hurting ya or even just trying to control ya… do ya even want to go back?"
Red seemed to consider his answer for a long time before opening his mouth to speak.
"... I… No…," Red eventually sighed. "But I can't just stay here."
"Why not?"
Red's face took a definite turn closer to shock.
"What."
"Why not just stay here?" Papyrus asked with a shrug. "I'm sure my bro won't mind if ya stay with us."
"I can't!" Red sputtered. "I don't belong in this universe! And we don't even actually know each other, and I don't know anyone here! And it's not like I can just disappear!"
Papyrus thought for a moment.
"I'm still gonna fix the machine eventually, so ya could go back to visit anyone you'll miss, ya know," Papyrus told him. "It'll be kinda like moving out of the house. Just. A lot farther than usual."
Red went silent. Papyrus could see him struggling over what to say, and he could feel Red's hands twitching within his own. At the same time, he heard the lock on the door starting to unlock. Blue was home.
"Look, why don't ya think about it for a while? I get that moving to another universe is a pretty big decision," said Papyrus. "The machine's probably gonna take me a while to fix anyway, so ya have a good amount of time to think. Okay?"
Red didn't answer, but Papyrus knew he heard him. Then, Blue flung the front door open and Papyrus dropped Red's hands. He was glad to see that Red didn't start picking at his fingers again.
"I HAVE RETURNED FROM MY PATROL!" Blue exclaimed as he charged into the room. "Wait, is Red okay?"
Papyrus turned his head to see that his brother's face looked worried. Red wiped his tears away with his hoodie sleeve.
"I'm fine."
Papyrus knew he was going to have to talk to his brother later, but for now, he knew Red needed a break from their conversation.
As Blue updated them on what happened during his patrol, Papyrus thought about the revelations the conversation had brought to the surface.
XXX