Chapter 4

Papyrus didn't know how long he sat there for. His mind was in too much turmoil to even contemplate the existence of time. The journal sat beside him on the bed and Papyrus had no desire to touch it any more. His skull ached as his mind tried so hard to filter all of the information the book gave him but nothing was fitting into place, like a miss matched puzzle missing pieces. Was his entire life a lie? Why had Sans kept this from him? Surely this couldn't be so… Sans wasn't really his… father… but… there was no other evidence to contradict this befuddling information. His soul was in so much turmoil… he needed to think. He pushed himself from his bed and made his way out of the room, speed walking down the stairs and out the door. He needed advice, someone to lend him an ear… but who could he talk to about this?

He began trudging his way towards the woods outside of Snowdin. As he walked his mind kept puzzling through his new existential crisis. He wasn't watching where he was going, his mind too far away to pay attention. Because of this he missed the flower that popped up out of the snow. "Well howdy there friend, you seem troubled" The flower spoke, causing Papyrus to startle "Golly, it must be quite the problem if you're this unaware of your surroundings".

Papyrus blinked and looked down at the flower that was staring back at him "OH, FLOWERY! I'M SORRY, I DID NOT SEE YOU THERE… I DO HAVE QUITE A BIT ON MY MIND… I LEARNED THAT MY… BROTHER… WAS KEEPING A RATHER LARGE SECRET FROM ME AND IT HAS… UNSETTLED ME". Flowy blinked in surprise at this revelation as Papyrus sat himself down beside the plant.

"Your brother was keeping a secret from you? Jee friend I'm sorry to hear that, it must be a doozy if it has you this unsettled… what was the secret?" Flowey asked, intrigued by this, in all the time lines he had been in Sans had never told Papyrus any kind of secret that would shake the tall skeleton as badly as this seems to have. Did the smiley trash bag finally confess about the time lines?

"I.. HE WOULD NOT HAVE TOLD ME HAD I NOT STUMBLED UPON AN OLD JOURNAL HE KEPT UNDER HIS BED… IT CONTAINED INFORMATION OF OUR PAST… MORE SPECIFICALLY… IT SPOKE OF WHO… WHO MY PARENTS ARE…" Papyrus explained, the confusion still eating at him and rattling his nerves.

Flowey raised an eyeridge at this information, well it wasn't about the time lines but it was still intriguing none the less since it had the annoying trash bag all shook "Oh? Well golly, you must be super surprised about what you found out. How come it's got you so shook up friend?".

Papyrus was quiet for a long time, lost in his own thoughts before he spoke, praying for this to all somehow make sense "FLOWERY… HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOUR SIBLING WAS… NOT REALLY YOUR SIBLING? WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU FOUND OUT THE ONE WHO YOU THOUGHT OF AS THE GREATEST SIBLING IN THE WORLD… LIED ABOUT THEIR ROLE IN YOUR LIFE?".

Flowey blinked in confusion at that question. Wait so Sans and Papyrus weren't brothers? Wow now he was really interested. "Ah… wow friend um… jee I don't really know pal that's… that's quite a question, are you adopted? Is that what this is about? Cause if that's the case then you don't gotta worry about it, I had a sibling that was adopted and we were the best of friends" He told the skeleton, seeing no harm in talking about Chara.

Papyrus shook his head and sighed as he rubbed his skull "I… NO THAT IS NOT THE CASE… SANS AND I ARE RELATED BUT… OH FLOWERY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO THINK ANY LONGER… I LOVE SANS WITH ALL MY HEART BUT… THIS SECRET… THAT HAS BEEN HIDDEN FROM ME ALL MY LIFE… I NO LONGER KNOW WHAT TO THINK".

"Pal you have me real confused here, if you want any kind of advice on how to handle this you need to give me a little more info than that" Flowey said in frustration as he waved from side to side.

"THE JOURNAL SPOKE OF A DR. GASTER. HIS NAME WAS ILLEGABLE BUT SANS TOLD ME THAT WAS WHO IT WAS ABOUT. HE AND SANS WERE QUITE CLOSE… CLOSE ENOUGH TO HAVE A CHILD TOGETHER… THIS GASTER PERSON WANTED TO USE THE CHILD FOR AN EXPERIMENT, SOMETHING TO DO WITH BREAKING THE BARRIER BUT SANS WANTED NO PART OF IT. HE WAS TRYING TO RUN AWAY WITH THE CHILD WHEN GASTER CHASED AFTER HIM… THE TWO FOUGHT AND GASTER… FELL INTO THE CORE… AFTER THAT EVERYONE FORGOT WHO GASTER WAS AND SANS TOOK THE CHILD TO RAISE THEM IN SNOWDIN…" Papyrus explained to the flower, getting all he had learned off his chest; being able to do so lightened the burden of the newly gained knowledge. Flowey listened to the skeleton speak, the ridges above his eyes raising higher and higher. So smiley trash bag was a daddy… well color him surprised.

"So if he's your father then why have you been calling him brother all this time?" Flowey asked with a frown.

Papyrus sighed and shook his skull "THE JOURNAL SAID THAT WITH HIS SHORT STATURE PEOPLE MISTOOK US FOR BROTHERS OFTEN AND THIS LED TO ME CALLING HIM BROTHER… HE DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO CORRECT ME… HE WANTED A NEW START, AWAY FROM THE MEMORIES OF GASTER AND THE PAST".

Flowey hummed at that admittion, well he certainly couldn't blame the trash bag for wanting a new start; he had done the same thing after becoming a flower "So… what'cha gonna do now that you know the truth?".

Papyrus was quiet for a long moment as he thought "WELL… I SUPPOSE I SHOULD TALK TO SANS ABOUT THIS, GOODNESS KNOWS HOW HE MUST BE FEELING… THE MEMORIES OF THAT TIME SEEM TO HIT HIM HARD… I… WOULD LIKE TO LET HIM KNOW THAT I AM NOT MAD HE HID THIS FROM ME… I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT HE HAD NO PLAN TO TELL ME BUT… NOW I KNOW SO I SUPPOSE WHAT IS DONE IS DONE".

Flowey stared at Papyrus in astonishment though maybe he shouldn't be, the guy couldn't stay mad at anything, not even the human that kills him over and over "seriously? He hid such a big thing from you your entire life, you have every right to be furious pal".

"I KNOW I DO BUT… I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH TO EVER HOLD A GRUDGE AND… NOW THAT I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IT… I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY HE DID IT" He explained as he stood and wiped the snow from his clothes "THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ME FLOWERY, YOU ARE A GOOD FRIEND. I MUST GO SPEAK TO MY BROTHER NOW, HAVE A GOOD DAY NYEH HEH HE!".

Flowey watched him walk away and sighed as he shook his head "skeletons… I'll never understand those crazy bags of bones".