He felt considerably better as the three of them walked along together. If Sans was still worried at all, it didn't show. Frisk seemed to waver between happy and sad, but that wasn't so unusual, all things considered. And more monsters were turning to take a second look as they went past. He didn't want to assume that was because they'd been on tv or anything, but it was probably because they'd been on tv.
He started humming as he walked along, trying to just be himself, and therefor, cool. Just to make sure, he glanced down at Sans. When he saw the admiration in his brother's face, he knew he was being pretty Papyrus, and that made him feel more at ease.
They got into the elevator and rode it to the next level. R2, whatever that meant. They walked out, and he stopped short at the sight of two monsters waiting in line at Sans's station up ahead.
To his dismay, Sans walked calmly up to his station, and created some 'hotdogs' out of water sausages, and exchanged them for gold. The first monster was the one that had spoken to them earlier. He seemed a bit miffed about the wait, but the second monster was just delighted to hold the 'hotdog'.
Frisk ran up to the sentry post with a smile. Sans winked. *heh, i was gonna bring ya one anyway, kiddo.
Sans handed Frisk a hotdog, and held another one out, aimed higher, not bothering to look as he crossed his arms and tried to loom over him. "SANS, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS LATER. LUCKILY FOR YOU, I HAVE OTHER THINGS ON MY MIND RIGHT NOW."
Sans just kept grinning, holding out a cooked water sausage without a bun. *so, you wanna headdog instead, bro?
As if he were going to let Sans balance any more food on his head. "COME ALONG. LET'S GO BEFORE ANYONE ELSE FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS."
Even though he couldn't approve of his brother slacking off in any capacity, at least Sans had been resourceful about this particular slack off. If you thought about it, selling hotdogs didn't stop him from watching his post, and actually required more effort than just standing watch. He'd have to remember to mention that when he scolded his brother for turning a respectable guard post into little more than a hotdog cart.
Something else started humming… no wait! That was his ringtone! Someone was actually calling him! He wondered who it could be while he pulled out his phone. When he saw that the screen read 'Undyne', he wasn't surprised since Sans and the human were right there… though, Sans had been known to call him from the kitchen while he was cleaning in the living room to ask for a bag of chips…
"HELLO! YOU'VE REACHED THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
There was a smile in her voice, but she sounded a little uncomfortable. "Hiya, Papyrus… I uh, saw you on tv. Not that I usually watch Mettaton's show! But, um, well, it's kinda boring here without you guys, and Alphys called and said you were on, so…"
"REALLY? DID YOU SEE THE COOKING ONE? I WAS THINKING ABOUT YOU. I'M SORRY THAT I COULDN'T TELL METTATON WHO TAUGHT ME TO COOK."
She laughed. "Yeah, that's the one I saw. You were really great, Papyrus. The human didn't do half bad either. Heck, you might just be the one that finally taught Mettaton a thing or two about entertainment! That was certainly the best show of his that I've ever seen."
He glowed with the praise. "WOWIE! THANKS UNDYNE!"
Her voice started to sound funny again. "Yeah, don't worry about it, but… listen… I'm not the only one that saw that show."
"I KNOW! OTHER MONSTERS HAVE BEEN NOTICING. ISN'T THAT WONDERFUL?"
"Maybe… and maybe not. What if they get the wrong idea about you helping the human? I mean… I know better, but… some of them might think that, you know… you're…"
"THAT I'M WORKING WITH THE HUMAN TO SAVE THE UNDERGROUND?"
"No, Papyrus… it looks like you're betraying the Underground. Because keeping the human alive, is, in fact, the opposite of what everyone's been building up hope for, for a very long time."
His spirits fell for a moment. "OH." He took a deep breath, and shook it off, bravely. "WELL, THAT IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT EVEN IF THAT'S WHAT THEY'LL THINK OF ME, IT'S A RISK I MUST TAKE."
"How sure about this are you, Papyrus? I mean, yeah, I met the punk… I can see why you want to help. But not taking the human's soul, AND openly escorting them to the king? It's just asking for trouble. What about becoming a member of the royal guard?"
She certainly knew how to make him think. But considering what could happen, never becoming a member of the royal guard was also a price he was willing to pay. She didn't understand, and he couldn't bring himself to tell her. For her sake, and not because he was a little afraid of what she might decide to do to Frisk if she ever found out. "THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT. PLEASE, TRUST ME."
The line went silent. He knew she hadn't hung up, because she would have done that with an enraged yell, so he waited patiently.
There was a heavy sigh. "I do trust you. I just… I wanted to make sure you weren't so eager to help the punk, you were rushing ahead without considering the consequences."
"I UNDERSTAND. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN, UNDYNE, BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY."
"I guess. Hey, is Sans still with you?"
"YES. HE'S RIGHT HERE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO HIM ABOUT NOT BEING AT HIS POST?"
"Naw. I figured he wouldn't be back. If he's just gonna stand by and let you do your thing, I guess I can, too. I'm surprised at him, though."
"FOR WHAT?"
"I don't really know. I guess I just assumed that he'd always be on your side. Did he at least try to talk you out of it?"
"OF COURSE SANS IS ON MY SIDE." He shook his head in confusion. Undyne really must be bored. She wasn't making much sense. Sans glanced up, probably wondering what was going on. "WE TALKED THINGS OVER, BUT HELPING THE HUMAN IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING."
"Alright." She sounded sad. "Like I said, it's nothing against the punk. I just… I'd hate to see you give up on your dreams, Papyrus. Listen, I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"ALRIGHT THEN." He waited for another comment, but her end of the line clicked. He sighed as he put his phone away. He glanced down at his brother.
"THAT WAS UNDYNE. SHE'S WORRIED THAT THE OTHER MONSTERS MIGHT THINK THAT WE ARE BETRAYING THEM. AND, SHE SAID SHE DIDN'T WANT ME TO GIVE UP ON MY DREAM."
Sans shrugged without taking his hands out of his pockets. *'course she doesn't.
"BUT SHE SAID SHE DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD EVER HAPPEN. NOT NOW… YOU REMEMBER."
*yeah… but she knows that if anyone's cool enough to overcome impossible odds, it's you. you know it, i know it… even the kid knows it… but that's not what's bothering you, huh?
He hugged his arms around himself. "I KNOW UNDYNE MEANS WELL, BUT IF SHE HAS DOUBTS ABOUT MY ABILITY TO BE A ROYAL GUARD, SHE SHOULD HAVE JUST TOLD ME. WE COULD HAVE TALKED THINGS OUT. AND FRISK … IS STILL NOT READY TO TALK TO ME. BUT, I GET THE FEELING THAT THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT I REALIZE IT."
Sans's voice was gentle. *give 'em, time, buddy. His brother paused to think, and for a moment, he believed that he was about to hear an inspiring speech. *the rest of us aren't like you. we make mistakes.
He tried to fight the wry smirk, but he just couldn't. It was one thing to encourage the human, but he'd never tried to claim that the Great Papyrus had NEVER made a single mistake, and if anyone knew about those blunders, it was the brother grinning sideways at him.
He gave Sans a playful shove, and Sans responded by elbowing him as they walked along. Undyne wasn't trying to lie to him. She was just worried about him, like the good friend she was. It was mostly the human he was worried about. Surely Frisk had been given plenty of time to find the right words. He wanted to be a good friend, but he couldn't really do that if…
*ask again.
"WHAT?"
*ask the kid again. push harder; find out what's buggin 'em.
"YOU MEAN LIKE YOU DO WHEN I DON'T WANT TO TALK?"
*yeah, only more… papyrus-like.
He shook his head. "THAT SHOULDN'T BE HARD."
Up ahead of them, Frisk was having different phone conversation. It sounded like Alphys on the other end of the line. The human wasn't paying much attention. "Alright. Thanks. Bye… Hey, Papyrus."
"HELLO, FRISK. NOW, I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT ON YOUR MIND RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT REALLY MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD BE EVEN MORE READY TO TELL ME WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU, BECAUSE IF YOU SHARE THE LOAD, IT WILL MAKE IT LIGHTER, AND…"
He was distracted from his enlightening speech as they rounded the corner, and found Mettaton waiting for them, yet again. Almost eager to get away from him, Frisk ran ahead. He shook his head. Fine. ONE more obstacle, and then he was going right back to his… Wowie! It was the news show.
"HAVE YOU FOUND SOMETHING TO REPORT ON YET, DARLING?"
Frisk was walking towards a boring old glass of water, but his expert eyes spied something far more interesting. "WAIT HUMAN, LOOK AT THIS!"IT'S THE LATEST GUARANTEED-NOT-TO-BOMB FILM: METTATON THE MOVIE XXVIII... STARING METTATON! PICK THIS ONE, FRISK! SNEAK PEAKS OF UPCOMING METTATON FILMS ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST STORIES WE HAVE IN THE UNDERGROUND!"
"I COULDN'T HAVE PUT IT BETTER MYSELF!"
"Sure, Papyrus." Dr. Alphys was on the phone again, and Frisk clicked it to speaker, looking ready to sprint for some reason. "D-don't worry! I- I can…"
"LET'S HAVE A LOOK AT SOME SPECIAL SCENES, SHALL WE? OHHHH YES! IT LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER THRILLER! WHAT A GORGEOUS LOOKING STAR!" Mettaton paused, looking from him to Frisk, then suddenly backed off, waving. "THAT CONCLUDES OUR NEWS PROGRAM FOR TODAY. LATER, BEAUTIES!"
"W-wait… wh-what?!"
*'s matter, alphys? you sound like you thought…
Dr. Alphys sounded annoyed. "L-like it was an 'explosive' situation… I know."
Sans looked confused, then got a pained look in his eyes as he realized that he'd somehow missed a chance for a pun. *that's not what i was gonna say…
"Oh… w-well, of c-course n-not… I… I, um… cl-cleared the w-way for you… a-and… bye!" There was something about her voice… she sounded more… exasperated than she had before… which was strange, because they were doing super well!
He shrugged, making a note to ask Sans about it later. Which reminded him… it was time to resume his conversation with… "FRISK? DON'T RUN AHEAD! COME BACK!"
The human was avoiding him. Still. But no matter… he was here to help. Sooner or later, Frisk would just have to see that.
A/N: To A Fan, and Meme King Asgore, thank you both for your reviews, and encouragement! It really brightened my day when I found those! = )
Thanks again for all the help on that last chapter, Agent B Tiger. That cooking scene would've been SOO different without your help. I vastly prefer what we came up with!