He could see it. Papyrus's head lying on the ground. Him telling Frisk, no, Chara, that they can do better, before he faded to dust. Nemo wanted to scream. He wanted to help. He wanted to do something. But he couldn't. All he could do was watch helplessly...
"-mo. Nemo!" Nemo shook his head as he returned to reality. He looked to see Papyrus staring down at him with a slightly concerned smile. Nemo looked down to see he was still clutching Papyrus's hands.
"Oh… sorry." He said as he pulled away.
"WORRY NOT HUMAN! FOR I AM ALSO A FAN OF LONG WINDED HANDSHAKES!" Said Papyrus cheerfully. Then he frowned. "BUT ALAS! I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU… UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD… AND… MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"
"What're you talking about?" Asked Nemo.
"NYEH?" Asked Papyrus in confusion.
"Aren't we friends?" Asked Nemo with a lazy grin.
"REALLY!? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS, WITH ME?" Asked Papyrus. Frisk smiled as they nodded. Chara rolled their eyes, not that Papyrus noticed though. "WELL THEN… I GUESS… I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU! WOW! I HAVE FRIENDS! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM… WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND FIGHT THEM?"
"I… wouldn't suggest that being your go to for befriending humans." Said Nemo.
"AND WHY IS THAT?" Asked Papyrus.
"Most people won't appreciate being dragged into puzzles and fights." Said Nemo.
"THEN WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST?" Asked Papyrus.
"...What do you say we put a pin in this conversation and come back to it? Preferably when we're not out in the cold and freezing." Said Nemo as Frisk let out a shiver.
"I UNDERSTAND, YOU'VE TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMANS." Said Papyrus. "I HEREBY GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE."
"We just have to go talk to Asgore, right?" Asked Nemo.
"NYEH? YOU ALREADY KNEW THE ANSWER? MY, AREN'T YOU A CLEVER ONE?" Said Papyrus.
"I like to think so." Said Nemo.
"Quit showing off." Said Chara. Nemo ignored them.
"ANYWAY! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING! I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Laughed Papyrus as he literally walked on the air over their heads and back to the village.
"I still don't get how he does that." Said Nemo.
"And I still don't get how your magic works." Said Chara.
"You're still caught up on that?" Asked Nemo.
"Yes! Because you still haven't told me!" Said Chara.
"I mean, we've seen Sans teleport, maybe walking on air is just what Papyrus does?" Suggested Frisk.
"I suppose that makes sense." Said Nemo, jumping at the chance to avoid talking to Chara. "That aside, Papyrus is waiting, so we should get going."
"Right!" Said Frisk as the trio made their way back to the skeletons' house.
They passed the wooden shed and found themselves in front of Papyrus. "SO YOU CAME BACK TO SEE ME!" Said the skeleton excitedly. "YOU MUST BE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS… I'LL HAVE TO TAKE YOU SOMEPLACE REALLY SPECIAL… A PLACE I LIKE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME!"
"Still sounds bad out of context." Thought Nemo.
After a quick loop through Snowdin, the quartet were back in front of the house. "MY HOUSE!" Said Papyrus. Nemo chuckled and shook his head as they all went into the house. "WELCOME TO SCENIC MY HOUSE! ENJOY AND TAKE YOUR TIME!" The trio wandered around the house, revisiting all the things they'd seen in the first timeline, Nemo admittedly found them much more humorous the second time around.
Eventually the humans were at the door to Papyrus's room. "THAT'S MY ROOM!" Said Papyrus cheerfully "IF YOU'VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND…. WE COULD GO IN AND… 'HANG-OUT' LIKE A GROUP OF VERY COOL FRIENDS?"
"Sounds like fun." Said Nemo.
"Yeah!" Said Frisk cheerfully. They all entered the room. After looking around the room and listening to Papyrus's amusing commentary, they approached him.
"SO, UM… IF YOU'VE SEEN EVERYTHING… DO YOU WANT TO START HANGING OUT?" Asked the tall skeleton. The humans nodded in conformation as their souls manifested. "OKAY!" Shouted Papyrus. "LET'S HANG TEN!" The humans waited for him to make the first move. "HERE WE ARE! HANGING OUT! I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY DONE THIS BEFORE. BUT DON'T WORRY! YOU CAN'T SPELL 'PREPARED' WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS FROM MY NAME!"
"He's right y'know." Said Frisk.
Papyrus then lifted his gloved hand and pointed at himself. "I SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL HANGOUT GUIDEBOOK FROM THE LIBRARY!" He said.
"Why are those a thing?" Wondered Nemo.
"WE'RE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!" Said Papyrus. He then pulled a book from nowhere and started peering through it. "LET'S SEE… STEP ONE… OPEN THE 'FRIENDSHIP HUD.'"
"Still don't know what that is." Said Nemo. Frisk and Chara then looked upwards, Nemo followed their gaze to see a bunch of… stuff, floating around Papyrus's head. "Whaaat the…?"
"WOWIE! I FEEL SO INFORMED" Said Papyrus.
"Is this what you saw last time?" Asked Nemo.
"We all saw it… except you that is." Nemo decided to ignore that.
"I THINK WE'RE READY FOR STEP TWO! 'STEP TWO… ASK THEM TO HANG OUT.'" Said Papyrus. He then put the book away and looked at the trio. "AHEM! HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL HANG OUT WITH YOU!" Nemo and Frisk gave him a thumbs up. "I GUESS THAT MEANS IT'S TIME FOR PART THREE! 'STEP THREE… PUT ON NICE CLOTHES TO SHOW YOU CARE!'" This made Papyrus pause for a moment. "WAIT A SECOND. THAT BANDANA, YOU ARE WEARING THE CLOTHES TO SHOW THAT YOU CARE!" Papyrus looked at Nemo. "YOU HOWEVER, DO NOT HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU CARE!"
"Huh? Oh, I gave my scarf to Frisk since it's so cold." Explained Nemo.
"HM. WHILE I APPRECIATE THE KINDNESS TOWARDS THE SMALLER HUMAN, THIS WILL NOT DO! FEAR NOT THOUGH! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BRING YOU SOMETHING TO WEAR!" Said Papyrus. Nemo's first thought went to those 'dating clothes' that Papyrus owned, something he was not willing to put on.
"Listen, Papyrus, I appre- ack!" Nemo wasn't able to finish as something landed on his face. He pulled it away to see that Papyrus had thrown a jacket at him. "A hoodie?"
"IT'S MY OLD ONE FROM BEFORE I GOT MY BATTLE BODY! I SHALL GIFT IT TO YOU HUMAN!" Said Papyrus proudly. Nemo looked at the hoodie before shrugging and trying it on. It was a little big on him, unsurprising since Papyrus was larger than him. The body part was white, the sleeves were mostly black save for the wrist parts, which were red. The hood was also red.
"It… looks great." Said Nemo as he smiled. "Thanks Papyrus!"
"YOU ARE WELCOME HUMAN!" Said Papyrus. "NOW THEN! SMALLER HUMAN! I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE BEEN WEARING THAT BANDANA SINCE WE'VE FIRST MET! COULD IT BE THAT YOU HAVE WANTED TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME SINCE THE BEGINNING?!"
"Yeah." Said Frisk as they gave a nod and smile.
Papyrus's 'eye' jumped out of his sockets again. "NO! YOU PLANNED IT ALL! YOU'RE WAY BETTER AT HANGING OUT THAN I AM! N-NOOOO! YOUR FRIENDSHIP POWER!" This time around, Nemo found it kind of amusing. Papyrus was practically vibrating as a bar with the word "FRIENDSHIP" printed above it appeared over his head, the bar began to fill with blue. "NYEH! NYEH HEH HEH!" Laughed Papyrus as a weird graph with the word "TENSION" appeared next to him. "DON'T THINK YOU'VE BESTED ME YET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… HAVE NEVER BEEN BEATEN AT HANGING OUT, AND I NEVER WILL! I CAN EASILY KEEP UP WITH YOU! YOU SEE, I, TOO, CAN WEAR CLOTHING!"
"You mean other than the clothing you're already wearing?" Asked Chara. Nemo was getting some serious deja vu, and that wasn't because he'd relived through this whole scenario like, three days ago.
"IN FACT… I ALWAYS WEAR MY 'SPECIAL' CLOTHES UNDERNEATH MY REGULAR CLOTHES!" Said Papyrus.
"Again with the misleading wording. Does this happen a lot with him?" Wondered Nemo.
"JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WANTS TO HANG OUT! BEHOLD!" Shouted Papyrus as he swiftly moved out of their field of vision. Papyrus returned in his… uh… outfit. "NYEH! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SECRET STYLE!?"
"It's… tasteful." Said Nemo.
"It's great!" Said Frisk happily.
"It makes me want to die again." Said Chara. Nemo was really starting to miss the days where he couldn't hear or see them.
"NO! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT…!" Said Papyrus as his 'eyes' went wild again and the Friendship bar became more blue. Then his face returned to normal as he looked at them. "HOWEVER… YOU DON'T TRULY UNDERSTAND THE HIDDEN POWER OF THIS OUTFIT! THEREFORE… WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS INVALID!" Nemo remembered this one. "THIS HANG-OUT WON'T ESCALATE ANY FURTHER! ...UNLESS YOU FIND MY SECRET! BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN!"
"Could it me… your shoes?" Asked Nemo.
"What are you doing?" Demanded Chara.
"HUMAN SOULS ARE STRONGER THAN MONSTER SOULS." Said Papyrus. "BUT THE SOLES OF OUR SHOES ON THE OTHER HAND…! ARE ABOUT THE SAME." This earned a snicker from Nemo.
"You know the answer, so stop screwing around and just say his hat!" Shouted Chara. They were ignored.
"Your hands?" Suggested Frisk as they reached out and took it.
"HOLDING MY HAND SO I'LL TELL YOU THE ANSWER…" Said Papyrus as he blushed. "NO! I MUST RESIST!"
"Is it… your hat?" Asked Nemo.
"MY HAT...?" Asked Papyrus. "MY HAT. MY HAT! NYEH HEH HEH!" Suddenly the hat on his head lifted up, revealing a present underneath. "W-WELL THEN… YOU FOUND MY SECRET! I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE! IT'S A PRESENT… A PRESENT J-JUST FOR YOU!"
"Can I open it?" Asked Frisk.
"OF COURSE!" Said Papyrus as he handed the box to them, who proceeded to open it, revealing a plate of spaghetti. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?"
"Spaghetti?" Asked Nemo.
"NYEH HEH HEH! THAT'S RIGHT. YOU HAVE NO IDEA! THOUGH THIS APPEARS TO BE SPAGHETTI… THIS AIN'T ANY PLAIN OL' PASTA! THIS IS AN ARTISAN'S WORK! SILKEN SPAGHETTI, FINELY AGED IN AN OAKEN CASK… THEN COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS! HUMAN! IT'S TIME TO END THIS! THERE'S NO WAY THIS CAN GO ANY FURTHER." Said Papyrus. Frisk then grabbed the fork on the plate and ate some of the spaghetti.
"You take a small bite. Your face reflexively scrunches up. It tastes indescribable." Said Chara. Nemo ignored the commentary as he rubbed Frisk's back as they choked down the pasta in their mouth.
"WHAT A PASSIONATE EXPRESSION! YOU MUST REALLY LOVE MY COOKING! AND BY EXTENSION, ME! MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN IT DO! AUGH! URGH! NOOOOOOO!" Shouted Papyrus as the Friendship bar became fully blue, and then the blue went beyond the bar. "HUMANS. IT'S CLEAR NOW. YOU'RE COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH ME. EVERYTHING YOU DO. EVERYTHING YOU SAY. IT'S ALL BEEN FOR MY SAKE."
"Sort of, but not really." Thought Nemo.
"HUMANS. I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, TOO. IT'S TIME FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS. IT'S TIME THAT I TOLD YOU. I, PAPYRUS…" The skeleton trailed off for a moment. "HMM… WELL, I'M FLATTERED THAT YOU CARE SO MUCH. BUT MAYBE COOL IT A LITTLE BIT…?"
"I don't need to hear that." Said Nemo before looking over at Chara. "But this one has no chill."
"YOU ARE VERY NICE PEOPLE. I'M GLAD WE'RE FRIENDS. BUT, I THINK YOU CAN REACH YOU MAX POTENTIAL… IF YOU LIVE MORE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, RATHER THAN JUST FOR MINE. HMMM… HEY, I KNOW THE SOLUTION! YOU SHOULD HANG OUT WITH MY BOSS UNDYNE! I THINK IF YOU SPREAD YOUR FRIEND-ENERGY OUT MORE… YOU'LL HAVE A MORE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. YEAH! LET'S BE FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus. "OH, AND IF YOU EVER NEED TO REACH ME… HERE'S MY PHONE NUMBER. YOU CAN CALL ME ANY TIME! PLATONICALLY. WELL, GOTTA GO! NYEH HEH HEH!" Suddenly the duo's souls dissipated as the skeleton began to walk away..
"Actually, Papyrus, I have a question." Said Nemo, ignoring the feeling of familiarity that this statement was bringing.
"YES? WHAT IS IT TALLER HUMAN?" Asked Papyrus.
"Is it ok if we crash here? We're tired and don't have anywhere to stay." Asked Nemo.
"And thus, history repeats itself." Said Chara.
"BUT OF COURSE! YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO STAY IN THE HUMBLE ABODE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Declared Papyrus. Nemo sighed at his words and smiled.
"Thanks Papyrus." He said.
Page 49 End
Chapter 8 End
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