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This is it. The last chapter for Fearia and Papyrus for awhile.

Hope you like it!

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Secondhand Apprenticeship

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A small smile appeared on the child's face as they came upon Sans' guard station. It was funny, she hadn't noticed it before, but his station was different from all the other ones. Without a back wall and a wide open front, this building was more like a food stand instead of a guard booth. In a way, the lax vibes it gave off suited the lazy skeleton.

"This Is Where My Brother Is Supposed To Patrol... But Every Time I Show Up, He's Slacking Off." Papyrus shook his skull disapprovingly. Reaching up, the tall skeleton collected the minuscule human from his shoulder and gently placed her next to the broken lamp his brother had found at the Garbage Dump.

"He wasn't even at his station when I met him." Fearia laughed lightly as she inspected the strange object. What was it called again? A lamp? What was it supposed to do?

"I Believe It." Papyrus sighed. "He Was Probably Milling Around That Strange Door In The Woods. He Spends A Lot Of Time There. I Wonder What He Does?"

"You mean the door to the Ruins?" The little girl asked. "That's the door I came through! It's where I met Sans."

"I'm Sure He Made A Weird First Impression." Papyrus squinted. "You Should Have Met Me First!"

"Actually... I think I was the one who made a bad first impression..." The little girl admitted, flushing slightly at the bad memory.

"What Do You Mean?" Papyrus asked, tilting his skull. "What Happened?" A moment past and the child's answer wasn't forthcoming. She was simply pulling at one of the pink dangling puffballs attached to the drawstring for her hood, a look of confliction on her face. "Miss Fearia? You Can Tell Me. I Promise I Won't Tease!"

With a heavy sigh, the small child looked away, embarrassed. "I slipped on the ice and almost fell off the bridge..." That, of course, wasn't the complete truth. She had fallen off the bridge. If Sans hadn't been there to save her she would have died! Or ...dusted? That was what they called dying in the Underground, right? The memory still scared her...

"You Almost Fell Off The Bridge?" Papyrus gaped. "That Tiny Bridge Right Over There?!"

"Yeah. That one." Fearia nodded over to the itty bitty bridge her friend was gesturing to. It sure did seem small now compared to the large rock formation that was disguised as a bridge near Snowdin. This was becoming even more humiliating!

Papyrus felt horrible! When he had built his impressive barricade he had somehow forgotten to install safety railings! How could he be so irresponsible! What if the tiny human really had fallen? He'd never really considered how deep that ravine was, but it was definitely deep enough...

Maybe... Maybe the Underground was just too dangerous for such a small human. So far, she'd almost frozen to dust, gotten some kind of strange illness, was almost flung off the side of a cliff, crashed into a sign post, and now he'd just learned she had nearly fallen off of a bridge and into a deep chasm. And all of that had happened within the span of just a few days! As much as he hated to even consider it, maybe the small human would be safer in the surface world. Maybe it was time they sent her back home...

But, if the child didn't want to go back, would it be right to force her? No... It definitely wouldn't feel right. Even So... "Miss Fearia, Don't You Want To Go Home?"

"Home?" An image of a two story house covered in snow and haphazardly decorated with strings of glowing colored balls popped into the little girl's head. Her smile faded slightly as her brain helpfully reminded her of where she really lived; a small room cluttered with toys that weren't hers and a bed she wasn't allowed to sleep on. Truthfully, she was much more comfortable sleeping on the lumpy green couch in the skeleton's living room. "Not really." She admitted. "I wouldn't mind it if I never went back."

"But What About Your Family?" Papyrus urged. "Surely, They Must Be Wondering Where You Are. It Isn't Nice To Worry People Who Care About You."

Crossing her small arms, the child puffed out her cheeks sulkily. "There isn't a single person in the entire village, other than my sister, who would mourn me if I never returned. And she's the whole reason why I'm down here. I can't go back yet, I still have to find something!"

Ah! Papyrus had completely forgotten to ask the child what it was she was searching for. What a scatterbrain he was at times! Whatever this object was, it obviously pertained to her sister. Smiling, he offered his assistance. "May I Ask What It Is You Are Looking For? Maybe I Can Help."

Fearia's amber eyes widened in surprise. "You would help me?" Seriously? Someone would actually go out of their way to help her with her mission?

"Why, Of Course!" Papyrus grinned as he placed a gloved hand on his hip dramatically. "As A Future Royal Guardsmen, I Strive To Be As Helpful As I Can. I Would Be Delighted To Assist You In Your Search!"

The small child smiled as she lifted her mitten covered hands and clasped them together in front of her chest happily. "That would be great, Pappy." There was no part in the deal she had made with her father that said she couldn't accept help, so she most certainly wasn't going to snub this chance.

Nodding amicably down at the small child, the Future Guardsmen knelt down closer to her level. "So, What Is This Thing You Are Looking For?"

Without any hesitation, the little girl answered. "I'm looking for something that will prove my bravery!"

"Your Bravery?"

"Mm Hm!"

Papyrus was at a loss for a moment. "Like What? Are You Looking For Something... Specific?"

"Well no..." An uncertain frown fell over the child as her brow creased slightly. "I haven't really figured out what that could be yet..." She tapered off, looking indecisive. "Whatever it is, I need to find it before my time runs out. I only have like two weeks left."

"What Happens In Two Weeks?"

"My eldest sister, Frisk, is going to be married!" Fearia revealed dramatically.

"How Wonderful!" Papyrus grinned, not recognizing the child's stress.

"No!" The tiny human snapped. "It's horrible! Frisk doesn't want to get married but father's forcing her!"

"Well, That Doesn't Sound Very Nice." The skeleton's grin lessened at the unfortunate turn of events. "So, How Will A Proof Of Bravery Help?"

"Father said that if I went into the Underground and brought back something that proved my bravery, he would call off the wedding. But I only have till the next moon to do it." Fearia explained as she tried to remember how many days she had already spent in the Underground.

"You've Actually Seen The Moon? In Person? What Was It Like? Is It Really Made Of Cheese?" Papyrus asked eagerly, completely failing to hide his curiosity. Sans had shown him one of his astrology books once. He didn't get all the 'sciencey' stuff, but the pictures were cool.

"Of course I've seen it! I've seen it like a gazillion times! Wait... The moon's made out of cheese?!" The child gaped up at the skeleton, baffled. "Really?"

"Sans Told Me Himself, So It Must Be True!" Papyrus revealed proudly. "He Reads A Lot Of Space Books, So He Knows All Kinds Of Things About Moons And Stars And Stuff."

"Wow, I had no idea..." Fearia replied in wonderment. She might have seriously questioned this information if it had come directly from Papyrus but since it had come from Sans instead, or more importantly, from one of his tomes, it might actually be true! "I can't wait to tell Frisk! I bet she doesn't know."

Papyrus smiled down at the tiny human. She was still so young but everything she did was usually with her sister in mind. That kind of devotion was rare, even in monsters. Miss Fearia truly loved her sister and he was sure her sister loved her back. If he was separated from his brother for days on end, he might actually start to feel lonely too, not that he'd admit that to Sans. The lazybones would probably just make a bad pun. Even so... "Your Sister, Frisk, Don't You Think She's Starting To Worry About You? She Probably Misses You Terribly."

"I miss her too!" Fearia admitted. "But it's okay, I left her a note. She'll understand when she reads it."

"I Hope It Isn't Anything Like The Note Sans Left Me." Papyrus replied, a look of worry on his skull. "She Will Be Able To Read It, Right? You Didn't Write It In Code, Did You?"

"What? Of course not!" Fearia pouted. "She'll be able to read it. I even drew her a map!" The tall skeleton just gave her a look of uncertainty which caused the small child to deflate slightly. "Well... she might start to worry after she reads it and I don't want to make her worry too much. I just really need to find this thing, then I can go back and make father change his mind about the marriage. Once that's done, I want to bring Frisk back here and show her all the neat things I've found and introduce her to all of the nice monsters I've met."

"You Would Come Back?" Papyrus asked in disbelief. "I Would Love To Meet Your Sister, But Don't You Think The Underground Is A Little Bit Dangerous? Wouldn't You Both Be Safer On The Surface?"

"Pff! The Underground isn't dangerous." Fearia scoffed as she wandered away from the skeleton. "It's much safer down here."

Looking doubtful, the future Royal Guardsman watched the small human as she clambered over the counter of his brother's guard station. "What Makes You Say That?"

"My father's not down here." The little girl answered grimly as she wrapped her arms around herself, glad to be out of the snow.

"Your Father Sounds Kind Of Scary."

"He is!" She agreed easily. "That's why I have to find something that really impresses him. Pappy... what would you get that would prove your bravery?"

Walking over to the guard station/concession stand, Papyrus leaned against the wooden frame and pondered over the question. What would he get? ...Oh! "It Would Have To Be A Delta Rune!" He revealed animatedly. "There Is Simply Nothing Better To Prove How Brave You Are Than To Wear One Proudly For All To See."

"A Delta Rune?" Fearia perked up excitedly. "What's that?"

"Why, It's One Of These." The tall skeleton said as he leaned down to show off his own hand painted Delta Rune he had drawn onto his Battle Body. "Every Royal Guard Gets One To Prove That They Are Strong Enough To Serve The King."

Staring at the strange symbol, Fearia's amber eyes lit up in recognition. "I've Seen This In The Ruins! And Mom Was Wearing One On Her Robes."

"Your Mother Must Be Very Strong Then."

"Oh, she is!" Fearia nodded, feeling strangely proud to have discovered the goat monster's strength first hand. "She's super strong!"

"As Expected." Papyrus nodded his skull. "The Delta Rune Isn't Rewarded To Just Anyone. You Have To Prove Your Strength In Order To Receive One."

Fearia clapped her mittened hands happily. This was exactly what she was looking for! "How did you get yours, Pappy?"

The grin on the skeleton's skull wavered slightly as a look of embarrassment crept over his features. "Well... This... This Isn't A Real Delta Rune..." He begrudgingly admitted. "I'm Not A Royal Guardsmen Yet... But When I Am, I'll Most Certainly Be Granted My Very Own Delta Rune!"

"Is that how you get one?"

"There Are Other Ways To Get One..." Papyrus squinted in displeasure. "But This Is The Most Noble Way!"

"Then I want to become a Royal Guardsmen too!" Fearia grinned as she clambered up to stand proudly on the counter of the guard station. "How do I do it?"

Filled with joy at finding a kindred spirit that shared his passion, Papyrus grinned and struck a dramatic pose, red scarf flapping in the wind. "Recently, I Have Been Training Under The Watchful Eye Of Undyne, Captain Of The Royal Guard. It Took Many A Sleepless Night To Get Her To Agree To Train Me Since She Doesn't Accept Apprentices. That Being Said, I, The Great Papyrus, Am Offering To Devote My Extra Time To Take You On As My Apprentice, Miss Fearia. A Secondhand Apprenticeship, If You Will. What Do You Say?"

"Do you think I can do it in less than two weeks?" The tiny human asked. This sounded promising but she couldn't spend her time on something that would take forever. She had a deadline after all!

"Anything Is Possible If You Try Your Hardest, Dear Human."

"Then I accept!" Fearia grinned as she held out her tiny mitten covered hand. "When do we start?"

Taking the small human's hand with the tips of his glove covered phalanges, the skeleton awkwardly accepted the handshake. She was just so darn tiny! But it was just so darn cute! "We Start Now, Apprentice Fearia. First Things First, We Need To Work On Your Title. It Is, After All, How You Will Present Yourself."

"So, like, The Great Fearia?"

"NO No No, That Is Too Close To My Own Title." Papyrus rejected. "You Must Come Up With Your Own."

Brow creased in concentration, Fearia set to work creating her very own title.

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What do you Fearia's title should be?

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In the next chapter, we will be taking the long awaited trip to the Village of Fauna.

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