Papyrus paced back and forth in front of the strange hill's double doors. He needed the sound of his footsteps crunching the dying grass. Something about this clearing had completely silenced the cheerful voices and live music from the town festival. Whenever he stood still, all he could hear was an eerie droning that made his bones itch.
Maybe he should have gone inside with Kris and their friends after all. He'd stayed behind to wait for Mettaton, just in case he decided to show up.
An unrealistic hope, probably. Mettaton hadn't answered the door when Papyrus had knocked. His curtains had been shut behind his broken window. Papyrus had called up to him, explaining Kris and Frisk's plan—or as much as he knew of it—so that Mettaton would know where to find him, if he wanted to say goodbye.
If Mettaton would forgive him, after crushing his dreams to dust.
"I'm so sorry," Papyrus murmured.
The words couldn't escape this cursed clearing. The droning noise swallowed them whole, covered them in a blanket of broken mechanical grating and trapped wind. The dull sound built like pressure in his skull before going deeper, deeper, shaking him with the resonance, like a standing node, deeper deeper darker-yet-darker—
Something banged against the door of the bunker, loud enough to cut through the static.
And then the ground began to melt.
Papyrus jumped, holding himself weightless as he could with his blue magic—but the distortion seemed to affect that, too, fighting off his control of gravity. Dark pits yawned open. Grass smeared into them like paint, like saliva gurgling in the earth's throats.
Kris had warned him that things might get weird. It was nothing the Great Papyrus couldn't handle! After all, he had been perfectly unharmed the last time that he'd fallen into a strange, dark hole…
But the ground hadn't been melting, that time. And he'd been in full control of his magic. And he'd had Mettaton beside him. It was easier to be brave when there was someone around to be brave for, and when that someone glowed brightly enough to light the way.
Papyrus couldn't see anything beneath his rapidly-sliding feet. The nearest pit where the grass smeared away was darker than dark.
He crouched low, trying to anchor himself by grasping at the grass, digging in his heels. But nothing happened. It was as if friction had been completely turned off.
"Frisk!" he called out, hoping that they or their friends were somewhere below, and that they were unharmed. "If you know who is causing this, could you kindly tell them to stop?"
No response. Nothing but the dull droning, louder and louder, as more dark pits popped up like boils. The infection was spreading out of the clearing, sucking in the golden-leafed trees.
Papyrus's soul beat fast inside his ribcage. This was bad. This was very, very bad, and it probably had something to do with Frisk's plan to take them home, which meant it was Papyrus's fault if this whole universe collapsed because he couldn't just be happy here—
His feet slid into open air. The darkness below pulsed with the same horrible beat, digging between his ribs, into his soul—
"Papyrus!"
And then tiny, barely-tangible arms were under his shoulders, lifting him up with all their might.
"Mettaton?" Papyrus gasped in relief.
He could feel the ghost behind him, phasing partially into his back, sending shivers down his spine.
"In the flesh," he replied with an ironic chuckle, and Papyrus winced.
"Mettaton, I'm truly sorry—I didn't know that you would change back when—"
"Please, darling. Let's save it for when we're not—you know."
Papyrus looked down. Mettaton had a point. If he dropped him, it would be into the bubbling darkness-soup below.
How was the rest of town faring? Papyrus couldn't see anything but darkness beyond the clearing. He hadn't heard any screams, but that horrible noise had muffled all else. If the darkness had taken Not-Sans…
Mettaton shuddered, dropping a few centimeters towards the boiling ground. Papyrus squeaked.
"Sorry. I'm afraid… I don't have much practice at this. Carrying people," Mettaton grunted. "I've never lifted much more than a pen."
"It's alright!" Papyrus tried to reassure him. His rattling bones probably weren't helping. "I'm sure Frisk will figure this out quickly! They are quite good at evading certain death! Nyeh heh heh!"
"...And are they good at saving other people from certain death?"
"Erm. Well. I believe so, but my memory is a bit foggy on the details…"
The sound of rushing water interrupted Mettaton before he could reply. Now that enough earth had melted away, it looked like the darkness was roaring up from the pits. One to their right erupted like a geyser, and Mettaton screamed.
"It's okay! I won't let anything hurt you," Papyrus said, as if he were the one carrying Mettaton rather than the other way around.
"I… I trust you, Papyrus," Mettaton murmured. He'd phased further into Papyrus in his panic, and now the entirety of his being worked to keep them both aloft.
More fountains of darkness burst from the earth. Papyrus and Mettaton held each other as tightly as they could, soul clinging to fragile soul.
"You shouldn't, really," Papyrus said quietly. If Mettaton hadn't been literally sharing the same space as him, he wouldn't have heard over the roaring fountains.
"Darling, I'm afraid I don't have any other options at the moment."
It was strange. Papyrus could feel him smiling. It brightened the air around them, pushing back the dark that now covered the sky.
"Even if I did, though…" Mettaton continued, "I would still trust you. Even if you can't protect us from this fiasco, you already saved me."
"But I couldn't—"
"Not because you took me somewhere I could have a body," he spoke quickly. "Because you saw me. When no one else did, when I couldn't even see myself, you wanted to know me. You made me feel like—"
A wave of dark liquid splashed against Papyrus's feet, and Mettaton jerked them higher. Papyrus poured all of his blue magic into keeping himself weightless, for the little good it did him.
"Like what?" he asked, trying to distract them both from their panic.
Heavy drops rained from above as the geysers reached higher and higher. Black blanketing the sky, black flooding the ground. The bunker doors would be covered before long. How would Frisk get out?
"You make me feel like—" Mettaton whispered, "like I'm not a nobody."
His voice echoed within Papyrus's chest. For just a moment, it pushed back the chaotic noises that beat against him.
"Of course you're not a nobody! Even if you, erm, have no body right now… um, what I mean is! You saved me, too. Right now, and before."
Papyrus wished he could look Mettaton in the eye as he spoke. Mettaton's incorporeal body mingling with his bones was the next best thing, at least.
So Papyrus closed his eyes to the darkness, and focused on the warmth from Mettaton's soul.
"I was terrified when I first got here, in this universe. Everything was—is so different, even the people who were supposed to be the same. But you made me feel like I wasn't alone. And now I don't know if I'll ever get home, or if Frisk is alright, or even how long you can keep carrying me, so—"
"Darling—"
"I love you, Mettaton." His breath came out in a rush. "I didn't want to tell you and break your heart if I leave but—if this is it—"
If they were going to die, Papyrus didn't want to leave anything unsaid.
"Papyrus. Papyrus, I adore you more than anything in this world, or any other."
Mettaton shuddered, straining to lift him higher, to no avail. The rising tide lapped at Papyrus's feet, numbing his metatarsals.
"I was afraid to tell you," Mettaton continued shakily, "but under the circumstances, I'm afraid all my fear is being used elsewhere."
Papyrus let out a strained laugh, breathless and dizzy from whatever skeletons had in place of adrenaline.
Mettaton loved him. Mettaton loved him, and Papyrus still couldn't do anything to save them.
He was no angel. But at least… he could follow Mettaton down, to whatever came next.
"It'll be okay," Papyrus said as the darkness rose to his waist, consumed the bottom of Mettaton's incorporeal form. "It'll be just like… just like yesterday. We're just going on another adventure."
"Well." Mettaton gave an anxious chuckle. "It beats lying on the ground feeling like garbage, I suppose."
"Yeah! That's the spirit!"
This time, Mettaton's laugh was a little more full.
It was the last sound either of them made before the rising darkness swallowed them whole.
XXX
"Hey / You / You're Finally Awake"
Papyrus groaned. The sun was bright enough to give him a headache, even with the blue robot's bulbous skull blocking the worst of it. At least he could feel the warm breeze on his spine, the comforting weight of his shoulderpads. He was back in his battle body.
So he wasn't in hell, probably.
"You Were Trying To Cross The Border Right" Queen's visor read 'LMAO.'
"I don't recall trying to cross anything…?" Papyrus sat up, rubbing his skull.
The bunker was nowhere to be seen. Instead he was surrounded by red-leaved trees that seemed to catch fire in the sunlight.
"It's A Meme / It's Very Funny / Why Are You Not: Laughing / Kris My Favorite Trucie Would Not Leave Me 'Hanging'" Queen pouted. "Oh Yeah / Kris Is Looking For: You / And / Your Sick Robot Boyfriend"
Papyrus blushed hotly.
"Present," Mettaton said with a wink, sitting up beside him. "In the flesh, as they say."
"Mettaton!" Papyrus beamed. He'd been so surprised by the change in scenery, he hadn't noticed Mettaton lying next to him, in all his robotic glory. "How did you—? Are we dead?"
With the warm sun and gentle breeze, it could practically be heaven. If Papyrus's skull weren't pounding, that was.
"I don't know much more than you do, darling. I just woke up myself."
"No One's Task Has Been Ended" Queen said, her visor reading 'TRUE.' "Kris And Noelle And Their Friends / Have Brought The Darkness Into Light / Kind Of Poetic Don't You Think"
"They… huh?" Papyrus asked.
"Well / It Doesn't Really Affect You Huh / Anyway I Win 100 Cheasy Points For: Locating Dudes / So I Will Be Off To Collect Those From Noelle Now / Bye"
She ran off comically into the woods, her elegant laugh echoing behind her.
"...Were we supposed to follow her?" Mettaton asked. "Or is someone coming back for us?"
"I'm sure Frisk will figure it out!" Papyrus flopped back in the grass. Unlike the grass by the bunker, iit was purple and soft, like lying on clouds.
It didn't matter so much where he was, anyway. They'd survived somehow—both him and Mettaton—and Kris was around somewhere close. They'd be able to fill him in on what the heck had been up with all of those dark geysers.
"Of course." Mettaton lay back too, stretching his wings out to catch the sun.
Papyrus scooted closer and rested his head in the crook of his wing, just because it was comfortable…
Wait. He didn't have to lie to himself anymore! He could cuddle with Mettaton just because he loved him!
"Is this alright?" he still asked permission, just in case.
Mettaton smiled and took Papyrus's hand, lacing their fingers together.
"It's more than alright, darling."
Mettaton adjusted his wing, raising part of it to shade their eyes from the sun. Papyrus could've fallen asleep again right there, if not for the one problem he remembered.
"If Frisk is here, then… I'll still be going home," he said with a wince. "I love you, truly! It's just, my brother—he would worry himself sick, and Undyne would tear up the whole town to find me, if she hasn't already—"
"Then can I come with you?" Mettaton asked, his voice little more than a whisper. His hand clung tightly to Papyrus's, as if he'd disappear if he let go.
"Can you… huh?" Papyrus's voice cracked a little.
Did he dare hope that Mettaton would give up his cousins to be with him? How could Papyrus hope that, when he wouldn't do the same?
"Is that too forward?" Mettaton grimaced. "I know how it must sound, but… I can't go back. Not even for Blooky and Mew Mew. If I stay in that town, if I stay in that—in that form, I…"
"I don't know if you'll stay like this, if you come with me. It might be just like last time." Papyrus's browbone furrowed. "You don't have to go back to Hometown. You can stay wherever 'here' is. You won't have to risk losing yourself all over again."
It hurt him to point it out. He wanted Mettaton to come with him, selfishly. He loved him so much.
But he also wanted Mettaton to be the happiest he could be.
"I… yes. I know." Mettaton looked away. "But… your world has an Alphys, doesn't it? A… 'Sylpha,' perhaps?"
Papyrus blushed. Apparently his 'bedtime story' was easy to see through, now that Mettaton knew the truth about him.
"Of course… That would imply that you already have a Mettaton, too…" Mettaton bit his lip. "I wouldn't want to replace him in your life. That would be cruel."
"No—! Mettaton, you… it's not like that." Papyrus squeezed his hand. "There is another Mettaton in my world. That's how I recognized you, that's true. But my story… I made that up. Surypap and Tettamon aren't a couple. It was all just wishful thinking, because… well. Even when I'd just met you, you were already drawing me into a dark prison of passion!"
Mettaton's eye widened, and he let out a surprised laugh.
"Now that's something I never expected to hear."
"It's true! Normally I am the one who is irresistible!" Papyrus winked audibly.
"Well, I can't argue with that, darling."
It was easy to get lost staring at Mettaton, basking in the fact that they were both here. But Mettaton reminded him again that they might not be much longer.
"So… what do you say?" Mettaton asked shyly. "Would there be a place for me in your magical world?"
"Of course." Papyrus brushed his hair away from his face, his glove lingering against Mettaton's cheekbone. "You'll always have a place with me."
XXX
Papyrus heard the squeak-squeak-squeak of the old wagon before he saw it. He sat up straight from where he'd been resting against Mettaton's chest.
"'Sup." Kris waved with a juice pouch in their gloved hand. Their other hand guided the wagon, which held a rusty birdcage.
Which held a familiar red soul.
"Frisk!" Papyrus rushed over, pressing his face against the birdcage. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?"
"They're fine," Susie said. Papyrus hadn't noticed her and Ralsei behind Kris. "This happens, like, once a day at least."
"We're used to it." Kris smirked, their red eyes twinkling behind blue bangs.
Frisk's soul bobbed up and down, as if in agreement.
"...Well." Papyrus straightened. "Human souls are very persistent! If you're not worried, then I won't worry you with my worrying!"
Besides, they'd be going home soon enough. If Frisk's soul was all that had passed into this universe, it made sense that it would need to be separated to be sent back.
Ralsei did most of the explaining as the four (including Frisk) led Papyrus and Mettaton out of the red forest, across purple fields, and through a massive black door. Papyrus recognized the Delta Rune emblem split between the open double doors. It reminded him of the door in the Snowdin woods where Sans used to practice his knock-knock jokes. Though he had no idea what the symbol was doing here, it made him a little nostalgic.
"Oh," Mettaton gasped once they passed through.
The same black castle from yesterday rose in the distance—only this time it sparkled in the sunlight. Like obsidian, or a freshly-washed black car. The geyser of darkness was missing, Papyrus noted with relief.
The city surrounding the castle felt less flimsy, too. It seemed to have multiplied in size and population overnight, but it wasn't congested. It felt much less suffocating than Hometown, though maybe that was just because Papyrus knew he wasn't trapped here.
Down wide boulevards, he caught sight of more large doors like the one they'd entered through, each open to display a different entrancing view. Cars zooming through a blue city, a green lounge with silhouette-monsters playing smooth jazz, a field of colorful flowers…
"Are those different universes?" Papyrus asked, pointing towards the nearest door. "Is that how we're going to get home?"
Kris shook their head, but didn't elaborate. Neither Susie nor Ralsei offered any explanation, though Ralsei looked a bit apologetic about that.
That was okay. Universe-jumping was probably very complicated! It wasn't like Papyrus could explain how he'd gotten here, anyway.
As they pressed closer to the castle, Papyrus noticed bits and pieces of Hometown sprinkled between buildings he recognized from yesterday. Asgore waved from outside his flower shop, which stood between Mettaton's crooked house and the Butler Café.
"Congratulations on the proposal!" Asgore called loudly, making Papyrus blush and Mettaton laugh.
Until he saw his house next door.
"Oh." Mettaton froze up. "I, ah, I didn't…"
Papyrus hadn't explicitly told Kris that Mettaton wanted to come with him. Honestly, he'd been a bit afraid that they would say it was impossible, or that something else would go wrong. Being able to bring Mettaton home still felt too good to be true.
"Don't leave without saying goodbye," Kris told Mettaton firmly.
Papyrus nearly sighed in relief. He would have, if not for Kris's determination weighing on him. They seemed awfully insistent about this for someone who didn't know Mettaton, as far as Papyrus was aware.
"O-oh." Mettaton swallowed. "Right. Of course."
He let go of Papyrus's hand, approaching the door like it was a particularly intimidating puzzle. Papyrus looked away, to give him privacy. He still heard the shouts of excitement and clanging of metal as Mettaton and Mew Mew embraced.
"I wonder if I should…" he mumbled, thinking of not-Sans. Would not-Papyrus return, once he left? Another question he was nervous to ask Kris, if they would even know.
"Look, I'm not gonna tell you what to do," Susie said, "but if you've got stuff to take care of, we're not gonna rush you or leave you behind. World's saved now, yeah?"
"What Susie said." Ralsei nodded. "Surely you've made lots of friends in this world! They would be happy to see you again before you leave."
Papyrus grimaced. He didn't have lots of friends here—he pretty much just had Mettaton. And he really didn't want to explain everything he'd been hiding to an alternate version of his brother.
"When I leave—will the other Papyrus take my place?" he mustered the courage to ask, mostly since it would be easier than talking to not-Sans.
Ralsei and Susie looked towards Kris. Kris looked towards Ralsei.
"Um, I'm not sure," he mumbled. "The prophecy didn't say much about what would happen after banishing the Angel's Heaven… but, since everything has had a happy ending so far, I can't see why not!"
"We got Dess back, and she was stuck in some void-world. Kris's soul, too." Susie shrugged. "Figure the other you's doing better than that."
"I'll tell Sans what happened. If not." Kris didn't look happy about it. "Or I'll tell Mom to tell him. Since they're friends."
Well, that was better than nothing, even if Papyrus felt a little guilty for leaving that responsibility on someone else. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, anyway.
After a long and warm goodbye, Mettaton rejoined the party. He gripped a CD case in one hand, and his eye glistened with tears.
"Mettaton—?"
"Don't worry, darling. I haven't changed my mind." He smiled, wiping his eye. "Blooky and Mew Mew understand. It's just like growing up and moving away. Something none of us have had the opportunity to do, before."
"Hey. Hey. HEY!" Mew Mew called from the doorstep, her paws cupped around her mouth. "If you break his heart, I'll find you!"
Papyrus smiled. That was more like the Mew Mew he knew.
"I will handle your cousin's heart with the utmost care!" he waved back, making Mettaton blush.
After verifying that there were no more goodbyes to be had, Kris led them faster. The wagon bumped over the cobblestone roughly. Papyrus hoped Frisk wouldn't get motion-sick.
"Welcome to my castle!" Ralsei skipped ahead to open the doors. "I know you won't be staying very long, but I hope you still enjoy your time here!"
"Thank you, darling." Mettaton smiled at him. He reached out as if to pat Ralsei between his horns, then thought better of it.
"Nah, go ahead." Susie grinned. "He's cute and fluffy for a reason."
"Awww!" Ralsei smiled at her. "You can pat my head if you want, too, Susie!"
"Pass." She was still grinning, though.
Mettaton patted Ralsei's head. The genuine delight that spread across Mettaton's face was cuter than any fluffy boy.
Inside the castle, Ralsei led the way. They skirted around a giant cauldron (for boiling giant noodles?) and towards a door rimmed with three pairs of wings.
"Fancy." Mettaton nodded appreciatively. "Could use some color, though."
"Um… sorry?" Ralsei didn't seem to know how to take that.
Kris was too busy opening the birdcage to notice. Frisk's soul floated out, lighting up the heart-shaped indentation in the middle of the door.
Mettaton blinked. "Well that works, I suppose."
Papyrus rocked back and forth between his heels and toes. Was this it? Was this where they finally went home?
The door opened outwards to reveal… another door. One that looked just like the entrance to his brother's bedroom, mysteriously flickering ooze and all.
"That's it?" Susie asked. "There's doors like this all over the place. Did you just want a shortcut closer to town?"
Ralsei shook head, looking worried.
"I didn't know what would be behind this door, now that the fountain is gone," he admitted. "Kris, did you know?"
Kris nodded. Neither they nor Frisk's soul showed any signs of alarm. …Though Papyrus wasn't sure what Frisk would look like if they were alarmed.
"Dess said this is their way back. Gaster can take it from there."
Papyrus stiffened. Gaster. Dad. In all of his excitement to return home, and to bring Mettaton, he'd nearly forgotten that Kris had mentioned him. That explained this door's resemblance to Sans's.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Mettaton clapped his hands together.
Frisk's soul floated down into Papyrus's hands. He cradled it carefully, and it hovered just above the surface of his gloves.
"Are you ready?" Papyrus whispered to them.
The soul pulsed softly. Warmly. Papyrus smiled.
"Thank you for taking care of my friend, Kris."
"Didn't really have a choice." They shrugged. "Thanks for taking 'em off my hands."
Papyrus's smile faltered. He couldn't tell if that was just Kris's way of speaking, or if they and Frisk really weren't friends. Either way, Frisk didn't seem bothered, and it wasn't like they were likely to see each other again.
"Shall we, then?" Mettaton held out an arm.
With Frisk's soul cupped to his chest, Papyrus rested his free hand on Mettaton's arm. Papyrus could practically feel the electricity rushing through him.
"We shall!" Papyrus agreed, and Mettaton turned the doorknob.
"Goodbye, Frisk! Take care!" Ralsei waved enthusiastically.
"See ya, punk." Susie flipped them off.
"Thanks for not screwing stuff up as much as you could've." Kris shot them a finger gun, and a few pink hearts came out.
Then Mettaton opened the door, and the darkness pulled them in.
The door slammed shut behind them.
XXX
YOU DID VERY WELL.
"Dad?"
"Who?"
MY APOLOGIES. I AM NOT ONE
FOR INTRODUCTIONS
ANYMORE.
"This is my dad! Doctor Wingdings Gaster, the greatest puzzle-builder ever—well, at least to the people who can remember him. Which is mostly me. And sometimes Sans. Augh! Sans isn't even here to see you!"
YOU CANNOT SEE ME EITHER.
"That's beside the point! I can feel you, and tell what you're saying, somehow, and—can you come back with us?"
I AM AFRAID
I CANNOT.
"But… wasn't the point of Frisk doing all this to save you? Frisk can do anything! Surely if they could break the barrier, they could… somehow…"
NO.
THEIR PURPOSE
WAS TO SAVE
THIS WORLD.
IT DID NOT GO AS PLANNED.
BUT.
IT IS ALRIGHT.
THE WORLD WAS NOT COVERED IN DARKNESS.
SO I CONSIDER
THIS EXPERIMENT
A SUCCESS.
"But your world is covered in darkness!"
NOT ENTIRELY.
YOU SEE
WE ARE NOW CONNECTED.
ME.
YOU.
FRISK.
KRIS.
DECEMBER.
MANY OTHERS.
PERHAPS
EVEN
YOUR FRIEND?
"A-ah, do you mean me?"
"Oh my—I didn't even introduce you to Mettaton! Um, imagine I'm gesturing to him dramatically! And that he is the most handsome robot you have ever seen!"
"Pff, darling—"
"He has feathered wings that are extraordinarily soft and colorful! And most of his body is pink, and he has black hair that flares out in a super cool and sexy way—"
PAPYRUS.
"And he has the voice of a siren—"
PAPYRUS.
I AM SO
SO HAPPY FOR YOU.
"I—thanks, Dad."
I DID NOT INTEND
FOR YOU TO BE
FACTORED IN THIS EQUATION.
SO I AM GLAD
IT WAS NOT FOR NAUGHT.
"It wasn't! Everything worked out perfectly—assuming we, erm, don't end up trapped here with you. Not that I'm not thrilled to spend time with you!"
OF COURSE.
OF COURSE I WOULD NOT WISH THIS FATE UPON YOU.
…
I WOULD JUST REQUEST
A MOMENT.
IT HAS BEEN SO VERY LONG.
"I just wish I didn't have to leave you here! What am I going to tell Sans? …Should I tell Sans?"
IF HE REMEMBERS.
PASS ON MY FONDEST WISHES
FOR HIS FUTURE.
IF NOT.
I WILL PERSIST.
DO NOT TAKE MY BURDEN UPON YOURSELF.
"..."
AND
METTATON
WAS IT?
"A-ah, yes, mister—Doctor Gaster."
METTATON.
PLEASE TAKE CARE OF MY SON.
I WISH YOU THE BRIGHTEST FUTURE
AS WELL.
"...Thank you, sir. I will try my very best, though Papyrus can surely take care of himself better than I can. He has already done more for me than I can possibly express."
"Mettaton…"
WONDERFUL.
I BELIEVE YOU WILL BOTH BE VERY,
VERY WONDERFUL.
…
I HAVE KEPT YOU LONG ENOUGH.
FAREWELL, MY SON.
FAREWELL, METTATON.
"No! Not farewell, just—see you later!"
THERE IS NO SEEING INVOLVED, HERE.
"Semantics!"
REGARDLESS.
I LOVE YOU, PAPYRUS.
THERE IS NO 'SEMANTIC' TO THAT.
"...I love you too, Dad."
THANK YOU.
NOW.
IT IS TIME YOU CREATED
YOUR FUTURE.
GO FORWARD WITH HOPE.
…
… … …
SEE YOU LATER, MY SON.
XXX
"Mmph—"
"Urk—"
"What on earth—?"
"Gah, disgusting!"
Papyrus and Mettaton fell out of Sans's bedroom doorway, Papyrus in a tangle of socks and bones, and Mettaton…
Mettaton in a ghost-shaped pile of whatever-ghosts-were-made-of.
Papyrus shook the socks out of his ribcage, rushing over to hover by Mettaton. Uselessly. He couldn't bring back the body that Mettaton loved—not without time, and help.
"Mettaton, are you—"
"I'm alright, darling." He floated up, so his eyes were level with Papyrus's. He still held Napstablook's CD, at least. "We knew this was a possibility. I was prepared, this time."
"I'll ask Alphys if she can help build you a body as soon as I can! In fact, I can call her right—"
"Shouldn't we see about your friend, first? Frisk?" Mettaton frowned. "I don't see their soul around here."
Papyrus's eyesockets widened.
"FRISK!" he shouted, loudly enough to shake the frame of the house. Even Sans's trash tornado shuddered.
Then there was crashing up the stairs, and a moment later, Undyne was clutching a spear in the doorway.
"Papyrus?" Her eye narrowed. Her grip tightened on the spear. "Is it really you this time? Wait—tell me what you wished for when we were on the phone with Frisk!"
Papyrus's browbone furrowed. Wished… on the phone…? Oh!
"I wished for eight legs, so I could wear four pairs of hotpants!"
Mettaton giggled behind him. Undyne didn't notice—she was too busy launching herself at Papyrus, a toothy grin on her face.
"PAPYRUS! You're really back!" She'd dismissed her spear, but she gave him a noogie that was just as violent. "Your clone was so WEIRD! He didn't even want to spar with me!"
"My—then not-Papyrus was here! Did he make it home?"
Undyne released him, frowning.
"I blinked a few minutes ago and he was gone. Thought he'd figured out 'shortcuts' like your brother or something. Even though he kept freaking out and hyperventilating whenever one of us used magic. Come on! You guys don't even have lungs!"
Papyrus beamed so wide his cheekbones hurt. He'd missed his best friend so, so much. And not-Papyrus was probably sent home, so there was nothing left to worry about! Except—
"Woah, Papyrus! I know your brother's room SMELLS like something died in it, but, uh…"
She stared over his shoulder at Mettaton, who shrank back a little.
"Oh! This is—erm, Mettaton?" Papyrus grinned sheepishly and continued before Undyne could interrupt. "It's a long story! Which I will be thrilled to tell, as soon as I find Frisk!"
"Then you got back just in time." Undyne took his hand and tugged him towards the stairs. "They woke up right before I heard you up here. Alphys couldn't do anything for them… I've just been here to make sure she didn't drive herself crazy trying to fix you guys. And making sure your clone didn't do anything suspicious in the meantime."
Papyrus was just as dizzy from her words as from the speed with which she dragged him down the stairs and to the lumpy old couch. Toriel was bent over it, Frisk barely visible within her embrace. Sans and Alphys stood a bit to the side, giving her some space.
Sans. His Sans.
"Papyrus?" Sans's eyelights gutted out.
"SANS!" Papyrus bounded over, scooping his brother up in a bone-crushing hug. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"Really? I thought your aim was better than that."
"I even missed your horrible jokes!"
He may have shed a few tears into Sans's hoodie. Sans gripped the back of Papyrus's borrowed turtleneck, and Papyrus could feel his hand trembling through the fabric.
Eventually he set Sans down, and everyone wanted to hear his explanation of what had happened—and why a ghost that looked almost like Napstablook was hovering behind him.
"That's Papyrus's boyfriend," Frisk answered from their mom's arms.
For the first time since Papyrus had gotten home, everyone went silent. Even Undyne, who was grinning and looked seconds away from pouncing on him in a congratulatory noogie.
"Well!" Papyrus cleared his throat and shared a glance with Mettaton. "I hope you like long stories!"