The wooden door barged open, hitting the wall with a loud bang that shook the rest of the walls of the house. Snowflakes began to drift into the living room, the wind howling as it made the snow dance across the carpeted floor.
"why are skeletons so calm?", a voice asked as it entered the room.
"because nothing gets under our skins", a metallic clap echoed as the punchline was delivered.
"SANS DO YOU MIND! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Papyrus was in the kitchen, stirring a pot with what appeared to be uncooked spaghetti.
"oh… sorry bro, were you sleeping? what did i tell you about leaving the oven on when you leave to go do something else?"
"NOT ME! FRISK! SHE WAS TRYING TO ENJOY SOME SHUT EYE WHEN YOU CAME BARGING IN HERE!"
"ohhh… sorry… pap come in here and meet our guest, i think you might like him."
"WHOSE SO GREAT THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD HAVE TO STOP MAKING MY WORLD-FAMOUS SPAGHETTI FOR ONE OF HIS MOST COOL AND BEST FRIEND?!" as he said this he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. As he walked into the room he stopped. His eye sockets grew wide and his jawbone dropped.
"pap meet, uhhhh… what's your name?"
The metal figure paused, thinking to himself before he began to write on his notepad. After scrawling something he ripped out the page and handed it to Sans.
"really, that's your name?" Sans looked perplex as he looked back up at the armored figure. The figure simply shrugged as he looked down at the skeleton.
"wow… weird world you came from… mind if i shorten it?" The skeleton and the figure exchanged a quick glance.
"meet 'A', he knows one of frisk's friends. he doesn't really talk much. i have a post i should be watching so you two…"
"YOU KNOW FRISK?! WE DATED LIKE AN HOUR AGO! KIND OF A TOUGH BREAK-UP, I MEAN WHO CAN RESIST SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME? WHO MADE THAT OUTFIT YOU'RE WEARING, ITS SO COOL, NOT AS COOL AS MINE BUT CAN YOU SHOW ME HOW YOU MADE THAT?! I MADE MINE MYSELF. PRETTY COOL, RIGHT? YOU GOT TO SEE MY ACTION FIGURE COLLECTION, ITS PERFECT FOR PRACTICING BATTLE SCENARIOS!
"… stay out of trouble…", Sans said as he looked at his brother idolizing the metal figure. Papyrus seemed as though he didn't pay attention to a word he said, continuing to throw questions at the figure. Sans chuckled to himself, closing the door as he walked out.
"i'm heading out don't destroy the house while i'm gone." With that he shut the door and started walking back up the path, back to the guard post. Sans still felt uneasy, but it wasn't 'A', there was something else bothering him, it was whatever came through the rift with 'A'.
Within the wooden home, Papyrus continued to ask 'A' a series of questions. All of which were answered sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph in writing. Then Papyrus remembered something.
"OOH YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS, PLEASE TAKE A SEAT!" Papyrus proceeded to point toward the couch that laid in the center of the living room in front of the television set. 'A' looked down at the cushioned couch before slowly sitting down. He began to sink into the cushions and had to lean forward to avoid being consumed completely, his metal chest piece touching his knee guards.
"ITS MY FAVORITE GAME-SHOW! METTATONS MY FAVORITE SEXY RECTANGLE! I WISH I LIVED IN HOTLAND!" 'A' looked on at Papyrus, extremely confused at everything he had just said. The television flashed on, taking 'A' by surprise. Words were displayed on the screen.
'STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM – MTT.'
"NYEH! THEY SAID THAT HOURS AGO! DON'T WORRY IT'S USUALLY BETTER THAN THIS! THIS IS JUST A BAD EPISODE! DON'T JUDGE ME!" A continued to look on in both disbelief and confusion.
"HEY, YOU WAN'T TO READ A BOOK WITH ME! IT'S GOT A PRETTY GOOD PLOT TWIST!" With this 'A' began to write. Finished, he held out the book so Papyrus could see.
'Why not.'
Gleefully, Papyrus began to clap his hands together, "GREAT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL RETRIEVE THIS BOOK FOR MY NEW FRIEND'S ENJOYMENT!" As Papyrus headed toward the staircase, he remembered something.
"OHHH, RIGHT. FRISK IS STILL SLEEPING… WORRY NOT MY FRIEND! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A MASTER OF SNEAKINESS! BEHOLD!" With this he began to slowly tiptoe up the stairs toward the first door. When he got to the door he slowly turned the knob, all the while remaining on the tips of his large red boots. As 'A' continued to watch this he became both amused by the skeleton's antics, and more confused as before. He decided to take a seat on the floor, not knowing how long it would take the skeleton to retrieve this book. Papyrus disappeared behind the slightly opened door at the top of the stairs, only to reappear seconds later with a book under his arm. He slowly closed the door behind him before tiptoeing back down the stairs.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs he proceeded to lift the book into the air with outstretched arms, the cover facing 'A'.
"BEHOLD! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR ONE OF THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENTS OF LITERARY MASTERY!"
'A' read the cover: 'Peek-a-Boo with Fluffy Bunny'.
A warm smile began to grow on 'A's face as Papyrus sat on the floor with him.
"SANS USUALLY READS ME THIS STORY BEFORE I GO TO BED. DO YOU THINK YOU COULD…", 'A' shot Papyrus a gentle yet questioning look.
"RIGHT… I ALMOST FORGOT… FRET NOT, AS YOUR NEWEST AND BESTEST FRIEND, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL READ IT TO YOU!"
With this the two sat on the floor, enjoying each other's company as Papyrus read to the armored figure.
After Papyrus finished reading the story, he closed the book and looked at 'A'.
"THAT ENDING ALWAYS GETS ME. SAY… DO YOU THINK YOU CAN… AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO… BUT… CAN YOU SHOW ME SOME NEW FIGHTING MOVES? IT'S NOT LIKE UNDYNE ISN'T GREAT OR ANYTHING BUT MOST OF HER TECHNIQUES USUALLY JUST INVOLVE COOKING STUFF AND YOU KNOW… YOU LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF PERSON TO KNOW SOME PRETTY COOL MOVES."
'A' gave a smile from under his helm and got on his feet. He began walking toward the door, with Papyrus still sitting on the floor looking up at him. 'A' looked over his shoulder, and began to beckon with an open hand for Papyrus to join him. A look of both excitement and joy formed on Papyrus' face as he quickly got to his feet and joined the armored figure as they stepped outside.
The storm had subsided since 'A' had first walked into the skeleton brothers' home. The wind settled into a low breeze and the snow had stopped falling.
"OK! I'M READY!", 'A' proceeded to pick up a long stick that was leaning against the house. He propped his shield against the house and the snow. 'A' walked up to Papyrus, and handed him the stick. He then took out his notepad and began to write.
"WHAT'S THIS? I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO TEACH ME SOME COOL MOVES!"
'A' held out his notepad.
'In order to learn how to wield a sword, you must first learn proper form. Imagine that stick is your sword and replicate my actions.'
After Papyrus had finished reading the message, 'A' placed the notepad back into its pouch and unsheathed his sword from its golden threaded scabbard. Its black blade had an ancient inscription that ran down to its twisted, horned helm. Just looking at the sword filled Papyrus with excitement, but he was hoping that he would be using a real sword rather than a stick.
With this Papyrus agreed to practice with the stick. They proceeded to train, 'A' teaching him the proper techniques and footing, Papyrus trying his best to copy his new metal friend. After a while of this, and with hardly any improvements to Papyrus' form, they stopped training.
"HOW DID I DO?", Papyrus was looking up at the helmeted figure, his eye sockets filled with expectancy and excitement. 'A' closed his eyes, a gentle smile forming on his lips. He sheathed his blade back into its scabbard and instead drew out his notepad from the pouch on his belt.
'You did excellent lad. I'm proud of you.' Those were the same words 'A' could remember his master speak to him after a long day of training. 'A' then placed a gentle gauntleted hand on Papyrus' shoulder.
"R-REALLY? DO YOU MEAN IT?" The armor figure gave a nod to this, leaving Papyrus to become more excited than before.
"I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WITH THIS TRAINING, WILL BECOME ONE OF THE BEST ROYAL GUARDS EVER! ONCE… UNDYNE ACCEPTS ME… BUT WITH THIS TRAINING SHE'LL HAVE TO TAKE ME! AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU. YOU MIGHT EVEN BE JUST AS COOL AS FRISK. SHE'S OBVIOUSLY THE SECOND COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, AFTER MYSELF OF COURSE, BUT YOU'RE LIKE A SOLID 2.5."
'A' smiled at this under his helm as they proceeded to walk back into the house. As they closed the door behind themselves there was a creak from the first door in the upstairs portion of the home as it slowly opened.
"AHHH! THAT MUST BE FRISK! COME ON DOWN LAZY BONES THERE'S SOMEONE I WAN'T YOU TO MEET!"