(Warnings: existential crisis and blood, yup yup)
Chapter 8: Orange and Red
Orange walls, yellow tile floors, and warmth greeted me as I entered the inn. Paintings of the area caught my eye on the walls, and seeing something as familiar as that made me pause to examine it. It was the death cavern during snowfall, looking out to a place I had already trekked through, and I automatically felt a pulse of fear before I refocused and walked closer to examine the art. I wasn't the best painter, but I loved seeing art in person, seeing how the light shimmered across it, the colors that my eyes feasted on and learned from, being absorbed by the painting-
"Hey traveler! Welcome to Snowed Inn! Snowdin's premiere hotel!" The rabbit-person behind me called as I shifted from side to side. I almost blushed at the sudden attention before walking to the smiling rabbit. Her eyes were closed, but her ears were straight up and alert. A small white bunny child peeked up at me from behind the desk. Unsure of how to interact with kids, I looked away shyly.
"One stay is 80g!" The rabbit added. I frowned. I had determination to fuel my body and push my tiredness away, but I didn't want to depend on it. Humans had to sleep. Besides, Sans told me to nap, and, well, I love naps. But at that price, frugality came to the surface as I remembered I barely had enough money for a spider doughnut. Where else could I stay, though?
"I'm... I'll take a room if I got enough money. I gotta count out the money, though." I said with a somewhat sheepish smile.
"Take your time!" The rabbit replied. I worked on untying a gold bag from my pants. My fingers were still defrosting, and I breathed on them. Eventually I took the bag from my belt loop and upturned it. A lot more than money poured out of the bag and onto the counter, including a bone, snow, and dozens of tennis balls. They bounced off the desk and rolled everywhere. The child rabbit laughed at me as I quickly closed the strange pouch.
"S-sorry! I was paid in dog stuff." I said to the rabbit, whom waved it off as she crouched to gather the tennis balls along with her son.
"Do not worry about it!" She said. I smiled and started counting the cold gold coins. I had about a hundred, and paid the rabbit for the room, taking the remaining coins. I quickly helped the two rabbits gather up the tennis balls and bones to stuff back into my bag while the snow slowly sparkled and melted.
"Mom, can I keep one?" The smaller rabbit asked, his little ears lowering a little.
"You will have to ask the customer, it belongs to them." The innkeeper said gently. I was confronted with a chubby white fluff with small ears holding a bright yellow ball.
"Y-yeah. You can keep it." I said quickly. I looked away from the rabbit kid's sparkling beady eyes and radiant smile.
"Oh! Thank you traveler!" The rabbit child said, hopping for joy. This boy could leap about three feet into the air. I chuckled nervously in response and walked to the stairs only to be stopped by the innkeeper.
"Here is your key. Be sure to bundle up!" She said with a much more genuine smile, holding it out to me. Oh. I took it with a burning face and retreated upstairs. I heard loud, floor-shaking snoring from another room, but I've slept through louder so I wasn't concerned. I looked at my key to find the number, and went to the appropriate room number to unlock it. Right next to the snoring room, as usual. I went inside and locked the door behind me. Taking a running start, I jumped onto the bed and buried myself under the covers.
Once my joyful squirming under the bedding was complete, I was greeted with some amount of peace and warmth. I closed my eyes, only to hear voices from below my room.
"Are you sure that wasn't a human here? We saw them with a human soul."
I opened my eyes, listening closely.
"There was no way she were a human! Humans kill monsters on sight! She gave me a gift, see!" The boy bunny said fiercely, probably showing them the tennis ball. I felt an odd mix of mortification and happiness that the kid was protecting me.
"Kid, I know what I saw!"
"It was probably a trick!"
"Did a monster take one of the souls?"
"I apologize, but you are disturbing my guests, could you please leave if you are not buying a room for the night?" The innkeeper's voice patiently said. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and sat up, frowning. I was just being a hassle by being here, wasn't I?
"... Come to think of it, a human would have never gotten past the royal guards and sentries, right?"
"Unless the guards are all dead..."
There was a moment of shocked silence before someone said, "I'm gonna go check Grillby's!"
"What is that going to indicate? They might be still patrolling."
Slowly, a risky plan began to form in my head. I stood up and walked to the door, gulping a bit. Taking the key out of my pocket, I unlocked the door and walked to the stairs. I paused at the top. Nobody else was getting out of their rooms, right? Wouldn't I be suspected if I came when they were calling for a human? I took a step back-
"Hey!" The tiny bunny boy softly called to me from the landing of the stairs, "Pssst! Come down and sort this out!"
I cursed my weakness for children as I stopped and started tiptoeing down the stairs. Bunny boy was twice as sneaky, darting down the stairs without a sound and hiding behind the counter. I got to the bottom, watching a group of rabbit people stare at me along with a somewhat distressed Innkeeper. Was I in the rabbit section of Snowdin or something?
"Yo." I said weakly, scratching my head, "I heard some commotion and I, uh, couldn't sleep."
"See? Let the traveler sleep!" The Innkeeper made a shooing motion with her paw-hands, "Do I have to call the guards?"
"Traveler, are you a human?" One of the rabbits in the group asked.
"..." I decided to say the unexpected, "Yeah." I drawled. Their expressions changed to confusion and shock, and my confidence grew, "What are you gonna do about it, though? You only got eyewitness reports and rumors." I saw many ears lower that day, "I'm gonna go back to bed, have fun gathering..." I trailed off before I could say anything too venomous, turning away. It felt good to say that, but I could already feel guilty about saying that in such a tone. "Um..." I looked back at the slowly dispersing disheartened rabbits, "Sorry." I said, trying to make use all feel a little better. It didn't work. I sighed and walked back into my room to lock it.
I lie down on my temporary bed, and, of course, sleep didn't come easy. I thought of what to do next, my eyes unfocused. The requirements for a true ending crossed my mind. I would fulfill those requirements, and then ask to go home. Heck, maybe my world was the world above. Sounded easy, but words and actions were two different things. What... what if I couldn't go back home, though? Would I just go with Toriel? What if I got too attached to everyone here, and didn't want to go back? I could feel my resolve wavering. I had always dreamed of finding magic in my world, finding some semblance of immortality because I feared death so much. I turned and looked at the ceiling, tears pricking at the end of my eyes. Right now, I had no one to talk to about this. No one who could help me figure things out. I was lost.
I thought about my friends and family. They probably missed me. The monsters would understand if I had to leave, but on the human side... I had a best friend, and a great, loving family. But at the same time, I could be whatever I wanted to be here. I could save the monsters. I could destroy them. Maybe I could reset somehow before I die and never have to experience death. I could recreate and re-edit stories to my liking. All it took was for me to abandon all fear was to stop caring about anyone except myself.
... But if there was no one left for me, then what was the point of living? But if there was a point to life, then if a lost everything in the end, if I returned to the world where an afterlife was uncertain, then... What good would it do? I started fearing my own soul. It was easy, too easy, to turn into a demon with the amount of power Frisk's soul had. Was it my soul, or Frisk's? Did turning into a demon matter? What was the use of exerting any effort to save anyone if, when I died, I would forget... everything?
Again, I wished I could talk to someone. Maybe Sans would understand, but he didn't like talking about deep stuff so maybe... Papyrus? What if he didn't want to hear it? What if nobody wanted to listen to me? A memory echoed through my head.
"Your words... I know you mean well, that you're just trying to figure things out, but thinking about that sort of stuff makes me want to die."
Feeling like I would cry if I didn't do something, I stood up and grabbed my key to trudge out of my room and down the stairs, the wooden steps squeaking underneath my feet. I put the key on the counter and walked quickly to the door, ignoring the Innkeeper's confused look.
"Traveler, wait-" I ignored her voice as well, shoved the door open but closed it gently behind me, restlessly shifting from foot to foot. I walked to the store next to me, growling somewhat at the wintery air, and found myself at something like a thrift shop. I spotted jackets, but I was cautious about spending my money. I didn't plan on staying too long. I walked up to the counter, where a purple bunny spotted me.
"Hello, traveler. How may I help you?" She asked neutrally, crossing her arms and standing tall. I looked around but didn't find any game menu. Oh well. What was the point of looking?!
"Uh... do you have any gloves?" I asked, trying to calm the frustration off my face but not succeeding. The rabbit put two faded orange gloves with what looked infinity signs on the backs of the hands, with a price tag of 50g. Oh. The Tough Gloves. "You got a bandana?" I asked hopefully. An orange faded bandana was set on the table at the same price, and I tried not to think too much about how it might have used to of belonged to a dead human. The gloves seemed big enough to fit me, and I needed all the stats I could get. At least, I hope stats still existed. HP did, so... I stared at the gloves, trying to figure out its stats again.
... Tough Glove: +5 attack. Manly Bandana: +7 defense. I thought, as if remembering something, Hey, how do I quit? I thought quickly. I waited, but there was no response. ...
I looked up to see the purple rabbit watching me patiently. I quickly fiddled with my money pouch and reached deep inside to pull out a handful of coins to put on the counter to count. 100g counted, I let the rabbit take it and pulled on the orange gloves. A bit tight, but I could move my fingers fine. They creaked a bit like leather. I took the bandana and tied it loosely around my neck. The cloth was a little worn, but the abs on it were clear. If it would protect me, I would rather my neck be the spot that it protected.
"Thanks." I said, feeling slightly more ready. A sweet smell hit my nostrils as I started calming down, "... you sell food, right?"
"Yes I do! You can buy a bisicle, or a cinnamon bun. The cinnamon bun is my own recipe!" The merchant said proudly.
"I'll buy a few cinnamon buns, how much are they?"
And so I ended up with five warm cinnabuns. They looked like unfrosted cinnamon rolls with a honey-like liquid on top. I carefully put them into one of my now-empty money pouches and licked the honey off my tough gloves. Maybe not the cleanest thing in the world, but it was sweet relief for my taste buds and spirit.
"Alright, thanks. See ya." I said, waving to the rabbit and walking to the door.
"Bye now! Come again sometime!" The merchant rabbit called as I left.
By now, I was sorta used to the cold. Not enough to go rolling about in the snow, but it was bearable. Shivering was something I would get used to. Looking ahead, I could see the other side of town down the long road.
"I'm not going to die tonight." I said softly as I walked. I almost wanted to run, to get it over with, but I was going to save my energy. I was going to put on a show. False bravado, don't fail me now.
I saw many monsters here and there, walking about and putting presents underneath decorated trees. Some kids were chatting or chasing one another. I spotted a small yellow dinosaur without arms daydreaming and tried not to stare. I saw a bear-like monster wearing orange clothes in front of Grillby's, cheerfully telling passerby about politics. The windows were tinted orange and said that they were open. I would probably go in to look around, but later. I would explore later. I was already uneasy with all the monsters around. If I brought my soul out, they would all kill me. Just like a bunch of wild, starving animals. No they're not, Kai. But it is true- Shut it.
I walked faster, past the Libarby, past the Bone Brothers' snow-and-tinsel covered house and into a pathway in the forest. My breaths quickened. The babble of the town faded. The crunch of the snow and growing frosty fog giving me goosebumps on my skin were my only company. It became harder and harder to see in the distance. I took a deep breath.
"PAPYRUS!" I yelled, my hands clenching and shaking, "WHERE ARE YOU, PAPYRUS?!"
"HUMAN." A familiar proud voice in the distance yelled back. I followed the path to find a tall shadow in the fog, and stopped. He wasn't my friend. Not yet. I had to be careful. Immediately my soul flared, casting a red light in the fog around me. It was cold, but what else was new?
"Wassup, nunchuck?" I said nervously with a fake grin, even if we couldn't see each other's faces.
"NUNCHUCK? I AM PAPYRUS." Papyrus said defiantly, his silohuette standing tall, "ALLOWS ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS." I had heard this all before... it was kinda comforting to know what would happen, though, "THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK THAT YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!"
"You sure that's not what you're feeling?" I asked cheekily.
"NONSENSE, HUMAN." Papyrus denied instantly, "I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE."
"Tsundere." I muttered, smirking.
"ARE YOU STRUCK INTO MUTTERING? I PITY YOU, LONELY HUMAN..." Papyrus paused and my smile faded. "WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..." He paused again.
"Friend?" I said helpfully, and he quickly turned away.
"... NO. NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!" He faced towards and pointed at me, accusingly. I lifted up my hands. Hey, being human wasn't my fault, but I guess it had to be this way. "YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN, I CAN FUFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!"
"Dream, huh?" I muttered. Did I want to throw away every personal connection to no longer fear death? Did Papyrus want to throw away his kindness to be full of pride? Right now my dream was unclear.
"POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER..." Papyrus was shifting his stance, on hand resting on his hipbone. Suddenly, the fog cleared in a gust of wind, his cape fluttering as it did, my bandana, pants, and sweater fluttering slightly, "... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
"... Does pride mean that much to you? Papyrus, you're very popular and powerful already, you don't need to-"
"F-FLIRTING?! W-WELL, I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS."
I stared at him blankly while he glared defiantly at me.
"We should make spaghetti together." I suggested.
"OH NO! THAT SORT OF EVENT... IT WOULD MAKE YOU MEET ALL MY STANDARDS! I GUESS THIS MEANS I'LL HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU...? L-LET'S DATE LATER! AFTER THIS!" Papyrus said, but still kept his defiant look. The ground rippled with tiny bones like a wave and I reflexively summoned my soul to float over them. Somehow, I couldn't feel any ill intent come from the skeleton.
"After what? You capture me?" I asked, landing when I could. I didn't like to stay in battle mode with such an easygoing attack. I could already see the area around us getting darker, and the ice blocks in the river shifting shape...
"YES!" Papyrus replied, the ground rippling with bones here and there enough to catch my attention. He shook his hips and shoulders and his bones rattled against each other like a bunch of giant wood chimes.
"You gonna go on a date with me in a cage?" I asked, snickering.
"YES? WHAT IS SO FUNNY, HUMAN?" Papyrus narrowed his eyeholes at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and flipped around in circles.
"I'm not going to fight you, dude." I said, firing finger guns at him while I was hanging upside down. I think I was getting a hang of this flying thing.
"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT... THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK'!" Papyrus announced, light blue bones appearing in front of him and all around me. I simply kept myself still and let them pass through me, but realized my bad position too late.
Ding!
I suddenly face-planted into the snow. Unable to recover, a bone slammed into my stomach and left my rolling on the ground. It felt like someone had wacked me lightly in the gut with a sledgehammer. I vaguely realized my soul was now glowing blue, and gravity wasn't such a joke anymore. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK!" Papyrus said gleefully, "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
"Ow." I chuckled uneasily, standing back up and testing how high I could jump. Not that high. "You got me there, man." I muttered, eying my injury.
"HMM... I WONDER WHAT I SHOULD WEAR..." Papyrus talked to himself as he eyed a sudden array of perfumes he took out from his pocket. I ran and jumped over bones jutting out of the ground and ended up slipping on the snow. I rolled back to my feet, walking over to see the perfumes he was looking at.
"You look pretty good in orange." I said, touching my bandana, "And I like minty tea scented perfumes." I added with a grin.
"WHAT?! I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THE DATE THING!" Papyrus yelled, more bones coming at me this time. I didn't have time to laugh at such an indignant response as I jumped over them and they made me retreat from whatever perfumes Papyrus was looking at. The bones gradually got higher and higher until I had to pull up my legs to my chest to leap over them. I tried my best not to show how difficult they were to clear. In a pause between bone waves, I walked spotted Papyrus was dabbing perfume behind his earholes in front of floating mirror held by tiny bones. He was barely paying attention to me at this point.
"I'm still not gonna fight, man." I said, kicking snow at his boots.
"YEAH! DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus summoned even more waves of bones this time and they flew at me. I frowned and dove between gaps between floating and ground bones, sometimes using my hands to hurl myself over the smaller ones. Gravity still claimed me, but I was still stronger than before, and fueled by my growing adrenaline and determination. I had a few scrapes on my legs and back from not jumping at the right moment, but I wasn't panicked enough yet to not feel pain. That quickly changed as Papyrus loudly praised himself and his future, his waves of bones seeming to match his growing resolve, I could feel my muscles straining to jump so fast and my soul constantly straining to resist the blue magic, I stepped on the small bones, my shoes and ankles were being torn apart, my gloves and hands were in no better shape as I tried to use my arms instead of my legs, and soon Papyrus was cackling, and I felt somewhat like a tiger at a circus trying to leap through holes of bones just big enough for my body.
I had enough and reach into my squishy gold bag to quickly stuff a cinnamon bun into my mouth. Papyrus looked at me as he spoke about how everyone would praise him and his life would be better once I was captured, his expression slightly shifting between defiance and regret, as if almost in argument with himself. I found a pathway through the bones and stopped a few feet in front of him, reaching into my pouch.
"Papyrus, you want a cinnamon roll?" I called, holding one out.
"WILL ANYONE LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU?" Papyrus seemed to ask himself, and paused at the offer, "N-NO! I'M FINE!"
I shrugged and shove the sticky thing back into my pocket. I watched the next wave come towards me, and ducked, leaped, and belly-flopped around the blasted things.
"AND DATING MIGHT BE HARD... AFTER YOU'RE CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY..." Papyrus said, in a softer yell than usual.
"Y-ou-hoo think s-oof." I said in breathless sarcasm as I slipped on the snow and got slapped in the face by a blue bone midfall.
"URGH... WHO CARES! GIVE UP!" Papyrus seemed to have decided on attacking, and sent bone wave after bone wave after me. These stupid bonesmoved and spun, and I had to retreat back to almost the tree line to dodge them.
"With the power of cinnamon rolls, you will nehrmph harmphhm heh!" I declared, stuffing another one into my mouth. I wanted to hit something with how painful getting my hands and feet cut up was. Papyrus demanded that I give up over and over, but I refused. "Dude! This isn't funny anymore, quit it!" I snapped, frustration flaring up at getting beaten up so much. I wanted to punch this guy.
"BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Papyrus wasn't even listening to me at this point, and I sat on the ground to catch my breath as he yelled at a silly white dog chewing on one of his bone attacks. Papyrus chased the dog away before walking back and summoning a mountain of bones behind him. He sighed loudly, "... HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."
It was still a pretty rough time for a normal attack. I crouched and jumped, twisted, had my soul change my direction in midair, and growled whenever a bone hit me hard enough to explode-snap into two. Bones spelled out 'COOL' then 'DUDE' came surging at me horizontally, and I duck-jumped through the C and over the U. An innumerable amount of bones simply surrounded me and surged towards me, along with giant bones that went up into the fog and out of sight. I resisted the pull of the blue magic on my soul with all my strength and took a running start to jump over the deadly bones. Somehow I managed to clear to top of it, before falling and landing hard on the ground. I quickly sat up as I barely managed to stand up to step over a remaining slow-moving bone.
Papyrus and I were both out of breath at this point, and I was having trouble standing.
"WELL...!" Papyrus gasped for air, "IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T!" He took a deep breath as I sat back down. "DEFEAT ME!" Papyrus managed to catch his breath quicker than I did. "THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMAN!" I collapsed into the snow in relief, laughing and bleeding. "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!" I gave a thumbs up, huffing out steam.
"Please spare me." I said. The fog cleared around us, and Papyrus's arms fell back to his sides. Turning my head towards him, he looked quite sad.
"NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU... UNDYNE'S GONNA BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT..." He did indeed quite sadly sigh. I sat up, thinking about that.
"Hey Papyrus, can we talk? I wanna get some stuff off my chest," I said with a small, hopeful smile, "Hey, we might even get to be friends."
"REALLY?! YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS? WITH ME?" Papyrus asked happily, and I nodded back. I was too tired and sweaty to stand up at the moment. My bloodied fingers carefully picking apart a cinnabun as I listened. "I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU! WOWIE... WE HAVEN'T HAD OUR FIRST DATE... AND I'VE ALREADY MANAGED TO HIT THE FRIEND ZONE! WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE PALS... WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE AWFUL PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM?" I chuckled at that. "I HEREBY GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE. CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THIS CAVERN. THEN... WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL ... LIKE YOU! THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO AQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE! OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU." Papyrus's face turned serious as he frowned. Where his eyebrows came from, I had no idea. "TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... HE IS... WELL..." Papyrus grinned with his eyes and his... jaw corners?, "HE IS A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I AM CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY 'EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF! ANYWAY! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING! I'LL BE AT HOME BEING A COOL FRIEND! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HAVE THAT DATE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"
He ran into the air somehow and over me, breaking all laws of physics. I watched him go, perplexed, before my soul finally turned red again. I quickly hid my soul back inside myself and stood up. Taking my last cinnamon bun, I nibbled on it. I looked to the cave, and then to Snowdin, and then at the magic pastry I was eating. It was healing my body, including my clothes and the tough glove.
"Man, this thing is tasty." I muttered, curling up to rest my forehead onto my knees. Should I continue forward? Or talk to Papyrus? "Ahhhh what the heck." I stood up, brushed myself off, and headed back towards Snowdin. That skeleton grew on me.
I licked my healed gloves and despaired the loss of the sweet pastry to my stomach. The food here was too tasty. I wished I could bring a bunch home with me, if, no, when I got home. I wanted to go home, right? Well...
It didn't take long to reach the bone brother's house, where Papyrus was waiting outside. From the way my skin was pulled and my joints cracked I was pretty sure the entirety of my limbs were covered in a layer of blood from the injuries that opened and closed so often underneath my clothes. I was ready for a date, anytime anywhere.
"SO YOU CAME BACK TO HAVE A DATE WITH ME." Papyrus stated, standing a little taller so he could uh, look down on me? We were about the same height. "YOU MUST BE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS..." He said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his giant mitt, "I'LL HAVE TO TAKE YOU SOMEPLACE REALLY SPECIAL... A PLACE WHERE I SPEND A LOT OF TIME!"
I kinda stood there as he walked off, paused, and gestured for me to follow through the crowd of curious villagers looking at what Papyrus was up to. I trotted after him, we made a U turn at Grillby's, and stopped.
"MY HOUSE!" Papyrus announced proudly, rocketing through the door and shutting it behind him. I entered.
The smell of dirty socks, tomato sauce, and... milk? greeted me as I closed the door behind me, zigzag sea green and purple carpet squishing a little beneath my shoes. It was... a very boyish smell, I think I automatically took off my snowy black shoes and left them by the door to enjoy the feeling of a carpet underneath my feet. My socks were bloodstained and damp, so I took them off, too, and put them into my shoes. I then found my feet was kinda still bloody too, I was mostly healed but not completely, and stood on my shoes to avoid getting the carpet any more bloodstained than it actually was underneath myself. Blood was terribly messy.
"Uh..." I set my socks aside and put my shoes back on, "There." I walked to Papyrus. "Hey, uh, what do you wanna do?" I asked.
"I WANTED TO LET YOU EXPLORE THE PLACE." Papyrus said.
"I'm cool." I said, trotting up the wooden steps to his room, "I don't really like going into rooms I'm not supposed to go in, even at a friend's house." I walked along the upper hallway without rails, glancing from the shifting lights from under Sans's door, to the area Papyrus was watching me from. "Does anyone ever fall from here?" I asked, not quite fearing leaning over the edge slightly because I could catch myself.
"NO, UNLESS THEY'RE CARRYING A LARGE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND CAN'T SEE. I FREQUENTLY CREATE MY OWN SET OF STAIRS." Papyrus said conversationally.
"How do you create your own set of stairs?" I asked, amused.
"BY BEING GREAT, OF COURSE." Papyrus said as if this was obvious.
"Gotcha." I debated jumping down, but decided that would be a recipe for disaster. I walked to the door with caution tape and red signs saying 'stay out!' 'No boys allowed! No girls allowed! Papyrus allowed!'. I looked to Papyrus.
"THAT'S MY ROOM! IF YOU'VE FINISHED LOOKING AROUND... WE CAN GO IN AND..." Papyrus's voice got a little more confused, "DO WHATEVER PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY DATE?"
It was kind of amusing to refer it as a date, but at the same time it made me feel... odd, in a bad way, and so said, "Papyrus?"
"YES?"
"It's not going to be like a... romantic date, right? Like a friend date?" I asked awkwardly, scratching the back of my neck. My face felt a little hot. "Um..."
"OH!" Papyrus paused to think about that, "I THOUGHT... THAT YOU LIKED ME IN... THAT WAY... BECAUSE YOU ADMIRED ME SO MUCH! I WANTED TO RETURN YOUR FEELINGS SOMEHOW DURING THE COURSE OF THE DATE. I SUPPOSE WE COULD... 'HANG OUT' INSTEAD?"
"Yeah, I just wanna chat privately like friends do." I said with a shrug, "You wanna go in your room or...?"
"...YES, YOU MAY ENTER MY ROOM." Papyrus said as if bestowing upon me a great honor. I turned the knob to do so.
Inside was magenta walls, a red racecar bed, zigzag capet, a purple rug with flames, a bookshelf full of books, a computer and a table full of figurines that looked to be in some sort of battle. I couldn't find anywhere to sit, so I sat with my legs to the side on the purple carpet with orange flames patterns around the borders. I looked up to Papyrus.
"I'VE HONESTLY NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE... BUT DO NOT WORRY! I BORROWED A HOW-TO BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY!" Papyrus proudly took out a book.
"Dude, just sit down or something, I know how to hang out." I chuckled. Noticing his hesitation, I added reluctantly, "Unless you wanted to take a walk outside or something? I don't think you're the type to sit still for too long."
"NONSENSE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE MASTER OF STAYING STILL." Papyrus said, sitting down across from me with his legs criss-crossed, "WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SITTING UPON THE FLOOR?" He asked curiously.
"Well, I'm lazy." I said with a grin, "And I'll end up pacing if I stand, which eliminates eye contact a lot. I just wanna figure some things out." I said, my smile fading, "Such as... why did you give up your dream for me?"
"WELL, YOU SEE, I WANTED TO CAPTURE YOU BUT YOU... YOU GAVE ME SO MUCH ADMIRATION. AND AFTER I SPARED YOU, YOU BECAME MY FRIEND. I DO NOT WANT TO CAPTURE YOU NOW." Papyrus explained, "IS ASKING QUESTIONS WHAT 'HANGING OUT' IS ABOUT?"
"Yeah, it's a lot like your training. Hanging out is just letting you share your thoughts and get connected more, little by little." I said, smiling a bit, "But that's just my opinion."
"HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING TRAINING TOO?" Papyrus asked excitedly.
"Not guard training..." My tongue slipped, shoot! "Uh... I guess running away from monsters is kinda like training?"
"HM... TRAINING TO BE A HUMAN? I AM CONFUSED."
"Forget about it." I waved it off nervously, looking away. I lightly made circled in the carpet with my somewhat ragged gloves out of habit, "I have... two choices ahead of me." I said hesitantly, looking directly at his eyeholes. Papyrus watched me expectantly, and I ended up looking away. Why was I talking to him? I thought, Didn't he hurt me? Doesn't he barely know me? "Uh..." Who else was, there, really? "How do I say it... I'm bad with words, my thought to speak isn't really working correctly..."
"I BELIEVE IN YOU." Papyrus encouraged.
"Thanks." I said, suddenly finding my fingers quite interesting, "You see... I... feel like I'm not going to be a nice person if I stay long enough here. I-I'm a human, and humans get greedy if they ha-have power long enough, n-now that I'm here I just don't know if I want to leave, if my connections to the... above world are strong enough." I looked up at him, "How do you do it? How do you keep being kind, when it-life gives you nothing you want in return?"
"HNMMM..." Papyrus seemed to squint and rub his chin, thinking about that, "FROM MY EXPERIENCE, NEGATIVITY ONLY CREATES MORE NEGATIVITY. SO I TRY TO BE THE BEST SKELETON I CAN BE! THAT WAY, EVERYONE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE HAPPY."
"Ah..." I remembered now, "I wonder what made me forget... Maybe the stress?" I smiled a bit, it seemed like a likely answer, "If the world is going to end for me... then I might as well make it a best of a place it can be, right?" I repeated my usual anti-nihilistic outlook on life to reassure myself, to push away my fear, but my expression became dark again, "But if the world won't end for me... If I don't want my world to end... What's the purpose of a dream? What's the purpose of an ending?"
I trailed off, and there was silence between us. Papyrus's eyebrows had appeared and he looked a tad stressed.
"... I THINK THIS PUZZLE IS SOMETHING EVERYONE SOLVES DIFFERENTLY. MY DREAMS ARE SOMETHING I LOOK FORWARD TO, AND I CAN MAKE UP NEW ONES IF THEY ARE NOT GREAT ENOUGH FOR ME." He switched to a defiant frown, "BUT ENOUGH OF THIS TALK! I HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU!" He stood up but paused, "A COMPLETELY PLATONIC GIFT! LIKE SANTA!" I gave him a thumbs up.
He zoomed out of the room, leaving the door open. I let myself fall on the flame rug, exhausted from fighting, sharing so much, everything really.
There was a clanging from the kitchen, and I army-crawled over to the ledge to peek over at what Papyrus was doing. A white dog sprinted out of the kitchen and through the door with an impressively giant bone in his mouth. Papyrus, in a completely different 'cool dude' outfit, chased after it as it escaped out the door and yelled angrily, "COME BACK HERE YOU DARN MUTT!"
A trombone vibrated through the air in a mocking tune and I looked over to see the room to San's door ajar, and the horn gleaming gold.
"SANS QUIT PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC!" Papyrus protested, stomping on the ground a few time. I rolled back into Papyrus's room, chuckling. After a few seconds, his boots thumped up behind me.
"HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted while I lazily looked up to him from the floor, "BEHOLD, MY SECRET HANGOUT OUTFIT." He had bright orange basketballs on his shoulders, and a neon orange jersey, shoes and shorts. He was blinding to look at. "WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?!"
"It's flipping incredible." I said, wide eyed and fascinated at how violently the colors were assaulting my eyes, "I was right, you do look great in orange!" I said louder, standing back up to try to get back on his level. My feet throbbed slightly in protest but I ignored them.
"ARGH! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT!" Papyrus dramatically clutched his chest as if he was stabbed, "IT'S TOO POWERFUL!" He recovered, "NO! NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
Excited by his reaction, I took off my bandana, "Oh! Wear this, too! You can be a basketball cowboy-skeleton!" I held it up to him.
"WHAT?! G-GIVING ME A GIFT BEFORE I CAN G-GIVE MINE IN ORDER TO ENHANCE MY COOL LOOK?!" Papyrus exclaimed, hesitating to take it.
"Yeah. Never saw that one coming, huh?" I said cooly. I could just buy another one, right?
Papyrus stumbled, almost fell, but he grabbed his knee and pushed to keep himself standing, "NYEH! NYEH HEH HEH!" He took the bandana as he laughed nervously, "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NEVER BE BESTED AT HANGING OUT, AND I NEVER WILL!"
"Bring it on, man!" I had the biggest grin on my face at the moment.
"OF COURSE, YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE TRUE SECRET POWER OF THIS OUTFIT! SO YOUR COMPLIMENTS ABOUT IT ARE INVALID!" Papyrus tied the bandana around his neck as he spoke so that the knot was in front, like a tiny orange cape, "NOT UNLESS YOU FIND IT, AND YOU NEVER WILL!"
"Hmmm..." I looked him up and down, just for show, before I reached up and took his cap to put on my head instead. Balancing perfectly on his head was a wrapped present with blue wrapping paper and black ribbon.
"YOU FOUND MY SECRET! I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE. IT'S A PRESENT! A PRESENT J-JUST FOR YOU!" Papyrus was nervous again. I took the present in one hand and put his hat back right side on his head with the other. I took a moment to examine how the light from a fan-lamp sparkled across the shiny wrapping before opening it before tearing it open. A few uncooked noodle pieces fell on the carpet before I carried the box the right way. Inside was a smeary concoction of rice-like uncooked noodle pieces and smashed tomato bits on a plate. Was this universe trying to stick me back on the game's track?
"It's your spaghetti, right?" I said, reaching into a pouch to pull out a cold meatball from gosh-knows how long ago. I sniffed it. It smelled ok, so I would eat it, probably.
"IT'S NOT JUST PLAIN-OL' PASTA! THIS IS AN ARTISAN'S CRAFT, NOODLES FINELY AGED IN AN OAKEN CASE, THEN TAKEN OUT AND COOKED BY MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS!" Papyrus declared.
"Thanks, man." I said, scooping it up with my gloved hand because I didn't have a fork. I bit into the (in)famous dish and paused. Crunchy noodles and smashed vegetables and a weird combination of spices overwhelmed my taste buds and my brain could not put exact words as to how it tasted, so a utterly perplexed expression formed on my face. It reminded me of when I myself brought food as a surprise to my best friend's house. It was a soup I made myself, and the meat inside was crunchy for some reason, but...
"WHAT A PASSIONATE EXPRESSION! HOW IS IT?" Papyrus asked an unexpected question, bringing me somewhat out of my thoughts.
"I..." I felt a huge stab of homesickness stab me. I wanted to see my best friend, to make food for her again. My face twisted and ears suddenly dripped down my face, still chewing, "I-I can hare-ly smallow it, b-but I wove the hauce."
"OH. OH!" Papyrus looked shocked, "THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S SPAGHETTI IS TOO POWERFUL! IT BROUGHT YOU TO TEARS!"
Somehow, I managed to force it down.
"I'm good!" I said with a big grin, coughing a bit and wiping away my tears on my sleeve. And then I took another bite. Papyrus's reaction was to stumble up and lean heavily against a wall, trying to recover.
"Y-YOU LOVE MY SPAGHETTI SO MUCH, AND BY EXTENSTION, ME?! HUMAN, YOUR, YOUR FRIENDSHIP LEVEL IS TOO MUCH FOR ME TO HANDLE!" He said, standing up straight again, "I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO RECIPROCATE TO YOUR AFFECTIONS!" He admitted, "NO, WAIT, THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN HANDLE ANYTHING!" He countered himself.
"Ya' halready are bein a cooh' frien', man." I said reassuringly with a mouthful of rubber and tomato sauce.
"NOOOOOOO! YOUR COUNTERATTACK!" Papyrus screeched, making me nearly choke on the spaghetti with hysteric laughter, "LISTEN, HUMAN, I HAVE AN PLAN FOR YOU!"
I managed to calm myself down and swallow the second bite of pasta before looking at him curiously. My taste buds we still in shock.
"YOU HAVE GREAT FRIENDLINESS POWER. I THINK YOU SHOULD SPREAD IT ELSEWHERE, IT WOULD BE HEALTHY FOR YOU." He said. I shifted from foot to foot, uncertain about it. "I KNOW! WE CAN HANG OUT WITH UNDYNE!"
"Doesn't Undyne hate humans?" I said, scratching the side of my neck awkwardly.
"DO NOT WORRY, HUMAN! YOU ARE VERY GREAT! YOU CHANGED MY MIND, SO YOU CAN CHANGE HERS!" Papyrus encouraged.
"I... guess." I smiled a little. Papyrus... didn't exist right? But still... his actions... "I'll do it for you, buddy." I said with a smile.
"ARGH! QUIT FLIRTING WITH ME! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS." Papyrus stormed out of the room. I giggled and followed him out.
"I'm not flirting with you!" I protested.
"HUMAN, I'M GOING TO DO... SOMETHING, I'LL MEET YOU AT UNDYNE'S HOUSE!" Papyrus said from the lower floor as I stood to look down at him. He paused, "OH, BY THE WAY, HERE'S MY PHONE NUMBER." He reached up to give me a slip of paper from the bottom floor and I crouched to reach it. "CALL ME ANY TIME. PLATONICALLY." He added.
"See ya, cool dude!" I said, shuffling around in my pockets for my underused cell phone. Papyrus waved and exited the house, leaving me to type in his phone number on Toriel's ancient fliphone. I wondered how it hadn't died yet. Magic, probably.
Sitting on the ledge of the second floor, I was left with more time to think.
I might as well give him a happy ending, right? I thought, my feet softly thumping on the wall, I dunno... I do want to find out how I got here and how to get out. I sighed. Frisk, where are you? You belong in my spot, not me. I looked up at the ceiling and then to Sans's door. It was so quiet. Was Sans still there? Maybe I can ask him... about Gaster? I want more information about the game's code... to consider my options more. I haven't really decided yet. I know where to find him.
I stood up and walked back to the door. Pulling my crusty covered socks back on with crusty covered limbs, I put my shoes back on. With that, I continued on through the cold, past the snow that was still red.
A/N: I had fun writing this, but... ugh, reading it over, I took too much dialogue from Papyrus in the game. He's a really fun guy to interact with but surprisingly difficult to write; I don't think I've ever written a person who's so proud, dramatic, fun, and such a pure hearted kind soul at the same time. I still don't think I grasp him well enough. Heck, Sans is easier to write than him, and he's got more layers than an onion.
PenNinja1300: I'm glad you've reviewed again! :3
AuraWarrior13: Thank you! If monster food didn't heal I think the MC would be flippin fainting from blood loss lol
