Back in Snowdin, the human had just emerged from the forest, confused by the lack of greeting from Sans.
"That's... odd," Chara commented as they drifted along beside.
*They nodded their agreement, slightly excited by the fact they had finally found something new again.*
Chara was what you would call a ghost, awoken from death by Frisk's Determination, so ever since Frisk had fallen down, they had been an inseparable duo. And through many, many, many resets, Chara had helped to guide Frisk, searching for answers to mysteries they managed to uncover.
But now? There were no puzzles, nothing, apart from occasionally running into Jerry, who was so annoying that the two would've sabotaged their own pacifist run to get rid of him.
Luckily, they made it to Snowdin town before they cracked, and everything there seemed normal. Then finally, they spotted Papyrus running their way, but he seemed distracted and almost plowed them over before exclaiming, "OH. OH! YOU'RE A- YOU'RE A HUMAN!"
*Frisk nodded, seemingly surprised by his immediate ability to identify them.*
"OH, YES!" He nearly giggled with glee, "FINALLY I CAN CAPTURE A HUMAN TO TAKE TO UNDYNE! HUMAN? I- I-"
He stopped and shook his head, "NO, I CAN'T. MY BROTHER IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS."
*Frisk gave him a quizzical look.*
"OH, UM..." he seemed uncertain about sharing, but then blurted anyway, "SANS IS HURT AND I DIDN'T REALIZE AND IF I DIDN'T FIND OUT HE COULD'VE DIED AND IT WOULD'VE BEEN ALL MY FAULT!"
He 'nyehed' weakly at the end.
"Don't just stand there!" Chara whispered, though they couldn't be heard by anyone else, "Maybe we can find out something new!"
*Frisk asked what had happened.*
"WELL, UM... DR. ALPHYS SAID THAT SOMEONE COULD'VE ATTACKED HIM," he replied, forgetting that Frisk shouldn't have known who that was, "OR THAT HE COULD'VE-" he broke off, looking helpless.
*Frisk asked what kind of injury it was.*
"CUTS ON HIS ARMS, LIKE HERE," Papyrus pointed to his own forearms, "SHE SAID THEY WERE VERY... D- DELIBERATE. AND THAT HE MAY HAVE DONE THEM HIMSELF..."
"What?" Chara half shouted, "Where the heck did this character plot come from?"
*Frisk ignored them and asked what Papyrus was doing now.*
"I WAS... I WAS HEADING TO CHECK THE LAST SENTRY STATION OUT IN THE FOREST," he kicked at the snow beneath his boots, "THEN I WAS GOING TO CHECK HIS ROOM. DR. ALPHYS SAID THAT IF HE WAS DOING THAT TO HIMSELF, HE MAY HAVE SOMETHING SHARP IN HIS POSSESSION AND THIS COULD HELP TO PROVE WHETHER OR NOT HE'S-"
Papyrus subconsciously rubbed at his own arms, as if covered in cuts themselves, "I JUST WANT TO HELP HIM."
*Frisk hesitated, glancing over at Chara for their opinion.*
"We should help this time," Chara decided, "I'm curious to see where this goes, and I know you are too."
*Frisk offered their assistance to Papyrus.*
"OH? HUMAN," Papyrus grinned, "THAT IS SO VERY KIND OF YOU. THE DOCTOR SAID THAT THIS SORT OF SELF HARM HAS ONLY BEEN FOUND IN HUMANS, MAYBE YOU CAN HELP ME FIGURE THAT OUT?"