Chapter 3: Respect is…


Two Weeks Later


Braedan stood beside Papyrus and Sans in a large open field just past Snowdin. The field was spacious, with enough space for them to practice magic. Sans turned to Braedan.

"so new guy, whatcha got?"

"Not much. I can only really dodge and block. Useful, but not productive."

"INDEED, HOW WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO CAPTURE A HUMAN, LIKE THE GREAT PAPYRUS?! DON'T WORRY, WE'LL TEACH YOU ALL ABOUT ATTACK."

"Thanks Papyrus."

"i guess we should probably show off some moves." Sans yawns. "all you pap!"

"I'M GLAD THAT I PREPARED FOR YOUR USUAL LAZINESS, SANS. DO NOT WORRY, FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS PREPARED QUITE THE MOVES TO SHOW OFF, NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus stepped forward, raising his hands, before bones began to pop out of the ground before sliding forward. Small at first, they quickly grew to being double the height of the tall skeleton. He then changed tactics, forming bones horizontally to himself before launching them forward like spears. Then, rather excitedly, the bones clacked together to form the word: 'COOL' which slowly slid away from him. Papyrus then turned to Braedan. "NOW, WATCH CAREFULLY. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF AN ATTACK. THE BIG FINALE!" Papyrus held out both hands before forming a massive bone, easily forty feet tall, sending it rumbling forward.

Braedan's eyes would've bulged out of his skull, but as he's a skeleton, his jaw fell off instead. Hurriedly reaching down and putting it back on, somewhat unnerved at the whole experience, Braedan stood before clapping. Papyrus bowed, obviously filled with pride. Sans… had fallen asleep. ConSANStency.

"That was awesome, Papyrus! And that's just a normal attack for you?"

"WHY OF COURSE IT IS! I AM AFTER ALL, VERY GREAT. NOW, SANS! SANS? SANS!" Papyrus turned to his brother and yelled again. "SANS!" Sans blinked awake.

"hmmm?"

"IT'S YOUR TURN TO DEMONSTRATE, ALTHOUGH I DOUBT IT WILL BE AS GREAT AS MY ATTACK. HOWEVER, TRY YOUR BEST, BROTHER."

"mkay." Sans lazily waved his arm and a single bone popped out of the ground. "tada."

"SAAAAAAAAANS! THAT WAS THE SINGLE MOST DISAPPOINTING ATTACK EVER! AT LEAST PUT IN SOME EFFORT YOU LAZYBONES!"

"fine paps, i'll do a little more." Sans sighed, before sending a simple barrage of bones, not flashy or stylish, simply difficult to avoid. Large groups, with gaps that would be insanely difficult to dodge.

"Hey Sans… question."

"yeah?" Sans replied, letting the attack end.

"What's your plan if they get through your attacks?"

"dodge of course."

"Really? You're gonna dodge?" Sans effortlessly slid to the side, far faster than Braedan would've expected.

"speed is pretty important." Sans shrugged. "can't lose if i'm never hit."

"Fair enough." Braedan nodded.

"I DON'T WORRY ABOUT DODGING. I BLOCK MY ENEMIES ATTACKS WITH MY SPECIAL BONE STAFF. BUT THAT'S ONLY WHEN I GET SERIOUS, NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said cheerfully.

"You block, huh?" Braedan said thoughtfully. "Sounds pretty brave, Papyrus."

"WHY, OF COURSE! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! MY BRAVERY IS LEGENDARY, SECOND ONLY TO MY GREATNESS, NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus said proudly.

"I'm not surprised." Braedan said with a laugh.

"my bro sure is cool." Sans agreed.

"THANK YOU SANS. NOW, BRAEDAN! HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE IT A SHOT?"

"Why not? I can try."

"go for it buddy." Sans said as he stepped back, and Braedan walked forward, holding out one hand and focusing. One bone, maybe six inches high popped out of the ground, and slid forward a couple feet.

"..." Papyrus and Sans stood silently, while Braedan attempted to keep moving it, to no avail.

"YOU DID IT!" Papyrus said excitedly, slapping Braedan on the back. "A LITTLE SIMPLE, BUT YOU DID IT!"

"Yeah." Braedan nodded.

"neat."

"Hey papyrus, how much do you train?"

"I PRACTICE DAILY! AFTER ABOUT TWO WEEKS, YOU SHOULD BE MUCH MORE SKILLED!"

"That so? Well, I guess I should start practicing then."

"yeah. well, i'm gonna head out. papyrus, want me to cover your shift so you can keep training with braedan?"

"... WILL YOU ACTUALLY DO IT? OR JUST FALL ASLEEP?"

"come on paps, have a little faith."

"... ALRIGHT. THANK YOU, SANS."

"no problem, bro." Sans waves before blurring and disappearing.

"Did he just… teleport?"

"YES. IT'S A POWER SANS LEARNED. UNFORTUNATELY, HE ONLY USES IT TO GET OUT OF WALKING." Papyrus said as he narrowed his eyes. "REGARDLESS, WE HAVE TRAINING TO DO!"

"Right!" Braedan pumped his fist. "Let's do this!"

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Papyrus nodded.


Sans reformed just as he left, stretching, before sitting down in his lookout post. He looked up, at the sky high above. "... what did you want to tell me? what did you want to warn me about? i've looked through all your journals, all your papers, and i just can't figure it out…"

"Lost in thought, you smiley trashbag?" Another voice suddenly asked.

"flowey… it's been a while." Sans said, looking down at the small golden flower sitting in front of him. "you in the mood for another bad time?"

"No, no. I'm not here for a fight. Not this time anyways. I just wanted to let you know, that something's changed. I'm no longer playing our little game."

"that so? huh. so, why are you pa-telling me this?"

"... Sàÿ øńę mørę pūń. Ì dârę ÿøú."

"you didn't answer my question."

"... You're the only other person who can see through resets. There's no one else to tell. I'll be seeing you around, smiley trashbag." The flower disappeared into the ground, leaving Sans to his thoughts.


One Month Later


Braedan stood, facing Sans and Papyrus outside of Snowdin, between the town and Waterfall. The three of them watched one another, before Sans and Papyrus launched a barrage of bones at Braedan, who blocked them with a wall of bones himself, the bones tinged faintly with red, clashing against the faint blue and orange of the bone brothers. He then launched a bone at Papyrus, before rolling out of the way of a large bone.

"You guys are really-" Three bones slammed into Braedan, slamming onto his back, his health dropping from twenty to ten. "Ow." He groaned. The two skeleton brothers hurried over. Well… One of them hurried over. Sans kinda sauntered at best.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus asked, offering a hand to help Braedan up. He accepted it, standing.

"Yeah Paps. I'll be fine. I should probably eat though."

"what were ya saying before?" Sans asked cheekily, receiving a glare.

"I was SAYING, that you two are an awesome team. Mostly because of Papyrus."

"WELL, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL!" Papyrus said with pride. "BUT SANS IS TRYING VERY HARD AS WELL. HE RARELY PUTS FORTH SO MUCH EFFORT! I'M SO PROUD TO SEE THIS DAY. WELL, SANS… SANS PLEASE. WE WERE HAVING A MOMENT!" Braedan starts laughing, as Sans appears to have fallen asleep standing up, much to Papyrus' annoyance.

"SANS!" Sans woke, yawning.

"what's up bro?"

"NEVER MIND. THE MOMENT IS GONE." Papyrus sighed. "BRAEDAN, YOU'RE IN CHARGE. I HAVE TO GO TRAIN!"

"I'm in charge of what? Papyrus… and he's gone." Braedan sighed, as he watched Papyrus run off towards Waterfall.

"maybe you're in charge of dinner?" Sans offered.

"Well, that means it'll be edible tonight."

"woo. love me some edible food."

"Don't we all, Sans. Wanna drop by Grillby's?"

"thought you'd never ask." Sans said, gesturing. "let's take a shortcut."

"You and your shortcuts." Braedan sighed, but followed Sans, quickly arriving at the entrance to the small diner. Following the shorter skeleton inside, they said hello to everyone, sparking a round of greetings and chatter about the two skeletons. Said skeletons dropped into seats at the bar.

"heya grillby. mind getting me a bottle of ketchup and a soda for my buddy here?"

"... Sure." The fiery form turned and grabbed the drinks for both of them.

"Thanks Grillby." Braedan said cheerfully. "You really know how to treat a couple boneheads."

"... Yeah…" The figure nodded, setting down the drinks. "... Your tab, Sans?"

"yeah, that'd be great, grillby." Sans nodded, taking a long sip of the ketchup. The figure nodded, before turning and starting to clean.

"Thanks for the drink, Sans."

"anytime, buddy. glad to do a favor for a friend."

"I'll return the favor when I can."

"cool."

"So, is this another one of Papyrus' training sessions in Waterfall?"

"yeah. he's training with undyne. she's the captain of the royal guard, and is one of the toughest around."

"Yeah, I've heard that around. Personally, haven't met her though."

"trust me, she's cool. at least once ya get to know her."

"From that, it sounds like I should start the process."

"if you want, i'll introduce ya. i do love a good beat down."

"... I may be reconsidering."

"you'll be fiiiiiiine." Sans said with a laugh.

"... See, now I'm considering that you just want to watch me make a fool of myself and get slammed into the dirt."

"you said it, not me."

"... Well, against my better judgement, let's go for it."

"cool. we'll go later. i'm gonna head home and nap." Sans said, finishing his bottle of ketchup. Braedan nodded.

"See ya back at the house, Sans."

"see ya." Sans said before walking out the door.

"Hey Grillby?"

"... Yes?"

"Mind getting me a plate of fries?"

"... Sure." Grillby moves off to prepare the fries, as Braedan nurses his soda. Once he sets down the fries, Braedan starts absentmindedly eating, not really paying much attention, as he gets lost in thought.


Later That Day


Braedan and Sans walked along the path out of Snowdin into Waterfall, entering the dark caverns, lit by glowing stones and fungus. As they traveled, Braedan marveled at how different Waterfall was when compared to Snowdin and the woods beyond. After a while, Sans paused.

"well, buddy?"

"What?"

"you ready?" Sans asked.

"I mean, I guess?" Braedan shrugged.

"then go knock." Sans chuckled.

"Knock where?" Braedan sighed.

"just around the corner is undyne's house."

"Gotcha." Braedan walks around the corner, revealing a home that looks vaguely like a fish face. A battered training dummy sits out front, and the ground seems hard. He turns back, seeing Sans leaning against a wall. Sighing, Braedan walks forward and knocks, before hearing an irritated voice.

"UGHHHH" Footsteps approached the door before it yanked open, revealing a fish-like woman with bright red hair, and a face that truly revealed her irritation. "What is it?" She asked harshly.

"Uh… hi. You're Undyne right?"

"Well yeah. You should've known that since you came to MY HOUSE!"

"... Wow. Sans was not kidding."

"SANS?! DID HE PUT YOU UP TO THIS?!"

"Put me up to what?" Braedan asked, gradually growing more concerned for his … life? Unlife?.

"Coming and interrupting my free time! This is my only free time during the day where I'm not on patrol!"

"Oh, I'm really sorry. Sans didn't mention that." Braedan said nervously. "I uh… I just wanted to introduce myself."

"Oh, just wanted to meet me? Well, alright then. I'm Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard." She held out her hand.

"I'm Braedan, the newest skeleton in Snowdin." He accepted her hand, shaking it. She grinned.

"Nice to meet ya, Braedan. You know, skeletons are pretty good fighters. How about we spar? You know, to make up for interrupting my free time?"

"Uh… sure, I guess?"

"Perfect!" She stepped outside past him, before stretching. Braedan just kinda waited. No point in stretching bones after all. She then turned towards him.

"COME AT ME!" She yelled. Braedan blinked, confused before she materialized a spear of blue light and swung it towards him. A bone shot up from the ground, barely blocking it, before he grabbed it and held it in front of him like a sword, taking a swing at her. She side stepped it and swept her spear under his legs dropping him to the ground. She then slammed the spear down at him, but a wall of red tinged bones blocked it while he rolled to the side, hopping back to his feet.

"I have no idea what I'm doing!" He said before seeing a barrage of spear points flying at him. He focused, calling up a wall of bones and throwing himself out of the way, hitting the ground and rolling.

"WHO CARES!" Undyne yelled excitedly before sprinting at him. He raised the bone to protect himself before the spear slammed into him, sending him flying about ten feet back, where he hit the wall and dropped to the ground, groaning. Undyne slowed to a stop, surprised by how easily he'd been dropped.

"Come on! Get back up already!"

"I feel like something broke." Braedan groaned. "Like, a rib? Two ribs?"

"Why didn't you dodge that?" Undyne asked, surprised.

"To be honest? I may have underestimated the force of that hit. This is a pretty common scenario for me. Second time today, as a matter of fact."

"I like your guts, Braedan. Even if you're a weakling."

"Thanks. I'm new to using combat magic, so I haven't really been bothering to exercise recently."

"Can skeletons exercise?"

"Given how out of shape I feel now? Yes. Yes we can."

"Huh. Well, let me get you some food so you can heal up." Undyne said before heading back inside.

"Thanks." Braedan sat up, wincing. He pulled open his jacket to see that two of his bones were indeed cracked, dripping red from them. "Oh, that's just great. Papyrus is gonna throw a fit if he finds out." Braedan mumbled. He gently poked one before letting out a yelp. "BAD DECISION!" Undyne returned with a plate of spaghetti and a bottle of soda.

"Here. Eat up."

"... Praise the pasta." He said, accepting the plate gratefully.

"I gotta say, even if you didn't last long, you did better than most of the guard."

"Seriously?"

"I'm the only real threat in the Royal Guard. Papyrus could be, but he's too nice to be a member. Sans could be too, but he has other responsibilities. Allegedly."

"I mean… he's a sentry? Sorta?"

"When he bothers to show up, he's usually asleep." Undyne complained.

"There's not even anything to watch out for!"

"There has been." Undyne explained. "This one human came through about two years ago. He was tough. Killed a lot of monsters, and fought all the way to King Asgore. Talked a lot about justice, and about fighting for the sake of those who had already lost their lives. He actually beat me."

"He beat you?" Braedan asked, surprised. She scoffed. "He was something else all right. Since then, we set up the sentries and the guard got bigger."

"Huh. Sounds like a big deal." He ate as he listened, feeling his wounds heal.

"But what happened to him?"

"He fought Asgore, and he died. No one knows what happened except Asgore, who refuses to explain why."

"I guess it's something he'd rather forget." Braedan shrugged.

"Maybe… anyway, are you healed?"

"Yeah." Braedan set down the empty plate, before standing. He gently tested the ribs with his hand. "All good."

"Great! Now, where were we?"

"... I'm gonna need a ton of cinnamon buns."

"Hey, think about the good side! You'll be less of a wimp!" He sighed, standing.

"Guess that's decent." He raised his hands, focusing. "Let's break a leg."

"That's the spirit!"

"UGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" The sound echoed throughout waterfall, as Papyrus heard the terrible puns carry. Braedan charged her, forming a single bone around five feet in length that he twirled like a staff, surprisingly not dropping it. He swung it at her legs only to have it blocked by her spear, causing him to spin and swing at her other side, managing to actually land a hit on her shoulder. Woo. Even if it was followed by her slamming the haft of her spear into his chest, sending him stumbling backwards. He slammed the end of the bone into the ground to steady himself, before shaking off the hit. So maybe the world's spinning a bit. He's fiiiiiiiine. He steps forward, crouching slightly, holding the bone like a broadsword. Undyne rushes towards him and they swing at the same moment, him swinging the bone down into her head at the same time that she slams the blunted spear into his chest. The hits reverberated through both of them, causing Undyne to stumble back and Braedan to simply fall backwards.

"Not bad!" Undyne grins. "Maybe you aren't a wimp after all!"

"IF I CAN MOVE, I CAN FIGHT!" Braedan yells before charging forward, broadbonesword held high.

"YOU'VE GOT A GREAT POINT!" Undyne yells back as she charges at him again.


Five minutes Later


"Well, that was fun." Undyne said cheerfully as she walked along the caverns of Waterfall.

"Undyne, three of my limbs are in a duffle bag." Braedan commented from her shoulder. "And I have no idea how to reattach those."

"Psssssh. I'm sure Sans and Papyrus will be able to help."

"If I'm stuck like this, you owe me dinner." Braedan grumbled.

"What?!"

"MY LEGS AREN'T ATTACHED TO MY BODY!"

"MAN UP!"

"YOU MADE ME A MIDGET! I CAN'T!"

"I'LL DROP YOU!"

"I WILL CRAWL AFTER YOU AND PUNCH YOU IN YOUR SLEEP! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"

"WELL… I… I know where Sans and Papyrus live?" She finished awkwardly. "I don't actually know where you live so…"

"I'm currently living on their couch. Speaking of Sans, where'd he go? He came here with me, watched me knock, and then what? Did he leave?" Braedan grumbled.

"Probably left to take a nap." Undyne shrugged. "He's supposed to be on sentry duty right now, so… it would make sense."

"He's such a terrible sentry." Braedan laughed.

"He has his uses." Undyne shrugged again.

"Please stop shrugging, I don't like the extra bouncing."

"IS THAT A CHALLENGE?!"

"... WHY NOT?!"


After the most intense shrugging montage, Braedan, now completely limbless, as when he fell off his right arm finally popped off, and Undyne finally reached Snowdin. They… well she walked up to the skeleton brothers' house, and Undyne knocked. The door opened, revealing Sans.

"Yo." The short skeleton said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Sans, I need you to fix Braedan." Undyne said, dropping the duffle bag on the floor and gesturing at the skeleton on her shoulder.

"I'm glad I wore a t-shirt and shorts today." Braedan said cheerfully.

"huh. just toss 'im on the couch. shouldn't take too long to fix." Sans says, nodding. Undyne walks in, dropping Braedan on the couch. Sans walked over, pulling Braedan's arms from the duffle bag.

"mkay, so… when i hold them in place, imagine magic flowing through the space between your bones, and they should reconnect. probably." Sans said simply, holding the arms so the elbow joints were close, but not quite touching. Braedan focused and red light shot between the bones, before the bones moved back together as they'd been before. Braedan rotated his wrists, making sure it all felt right.

"Nice. Arms are back." Braedan said, clenching his fist.

"usually legs are harder. gets tibia a problem." Sans jokes.

"Nice one." Braedan laughs, as Sans hands him his legs.

"Hurry up Sans! I'm not done sparring with him yet!" Undyne says, obviously excited to fight more.

"And now I can put my limbs back on!" He focuses, but the red light doesn't seem to connect.

"welp. i tried." Sans shrugs.

"... Welp. Guess I'll try later. Sorry, Undyne. Mind if we continue tomorrow?"

"pap's training you tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh… Tuesday then, Undyne?"

"Sure thing. I wouldn't mind a sparring partner. Maybe with constant practice, I'll get stronger than Asgore!" Undyne said, even more excited by this prospect.

"Alright then. Nice to meet you." Braedan nodded to her before she left. He then turned to Sans and whispered.

"Is she gone?"

"yeah, she's gone."

"Good." Braedan reconnected his legs and groaned. "That was… eventful."

"the part i saw was hilarious." Sans laughed.

"I bet. I did a little better once I figured out dodging wasn't gonna help." Braedan paused. "... Sorta."

"i did warn ya, buddy."

"You certainly did. Just not enough. On the plus side, I'm gonna get great at fighting at this rate." Braedan laughed. "Or I'll die. Either way, it'll be fun."

"betcha five gold you will regret that rematch."

"... So, do I pay you now or…" The two skeletons start laughing. "This'll be a long week."

"yep."


So, I've been busy writing. And forgetting to post it. So uh... here's chapter three, and four and five are done. Working on chapter six now, so yeah. About to take a two year haitus for a mission trip though. So, we'll see how much further this gets.