He let himself chuckle at the thought of Paps in that red dress, trying to make up rhymes to win the kid's platonic affections for life, and somehow managing to look cool doing it. But that dress… he chuckled louder, earning a glare from his brother that only made him laugh harder.

"What's so funny?"

Papyrus made a 'tsk' noise. "MY BROTHER IS STILL AMUSED THAT I WAS IN A DRESS ON TELEVISION."

He laughed even harder *aw man…, that was great... sorry, pap. you just…

His brother held out a hand to stop him. "NO SANS. NO EXPLANATIONS, AND NO PUNS."

Wait… that wasn't his usual 'NO PUNS' tone. Had he 'struck a nerve' or something? He cleared throat, and reached out to brush off some of the sparkles that still clung to his brother. *c'mon, papyrus, you know i'm just messin' with ya.

"WHAT? OH. NO. KEEP LAUGHING. REALLY." He wasn't being sarcastic, but his heart clearly wasn't it in.

*papyrus… i'm not…

"GO ON! I MEAN IT. IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOU LAUGH WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON."

*i'm not gonna laugh when i know it's hurting your feelings.

"WHY WOULD THAT HURT MY FEELINGS?"

*look at ya. you were all happy a second ago. i'm sorry, okay?

Papyrus crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "OH, SO IF I'M SUDDENLY UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING, IT'S YOUR FAULT?"

He shrugged. *well, normally… yeah.

"SANS, THAT ISN'T TRUE!"

Wasn't it?

Papyrus's arms slowly uncrossed, as he considered that, then smirked down at him. "WELL, PERHAPS NORMALLY. BUT ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS. I CAN'T REALLY THINK OF A TIME YOU MADE ME UPSET ABOUT A BIG THING. NOT COMPARATIVELY, ANYWAY."

*heh… that's good to hear.

They got into the elevator. The ride was too short. All three of them were dragging their feet as they stepped out.

Taking himself out of the equation, he knew exactly what was bothering his brother, and he couldn't help. So he weighed his options, and did what he was best at, next to making puns and avoiding work; he changed the subject. *so, i was thinking, after this little venture of yours is…

"OURS."

*what?

"IT'S NOT JUST MY ADVENTURE, OR FRISK'S. IT'S YOURS, TOO."

*… kay… ours then. i was thinking we could spruce the house up a bit… do a little work on it… fix that ol' couch maybe… i don't know. i like the couch…

Papyrus shot him a sad look, like he was worrying about him or something. Didn't his brother know that was his job?

*c'mon, papyrus… say that we can't get a new couch, 'cause i'd never get off one that was more comfy, or something…

He didn't realize that he'd mumbled it out loud until his brother glanced back at him. "HMMM?"

He just sighed. *nothin'.

Frisk's whole demeanor had changed, and it was affecting both of them. It felt as though the air around them was getting heavier. As they climbed the steps, and the MTT resort came into view, yet another wave of familiarity rushed over him. Friendly times, laughs shared, chances of impending doom… he was sure he'd somehow experienced that much before.

Yeah… if there was a confession happening, it was gonna be here.

"So… I was thinking we could maybe get some food or something? Sans… this is one of your shortcuts, right?"

Oh boy. This was really it then. He couldn't shake the feeling of repetition. It didn't seem like Papyrus fit… but from the was his brother's smile was starting to waver, it didn't really matter. He used a short cut, getting them a table.

Frisk was quiet for a while longer, refusing to look at either of them. "So… this is where Sans usually tells me about finding a friend that likes to trade jokes with him. I… I know the story really well."

Papyrus looked at him, still uncharacteristically quiet. Yeah… if he'd been here telling stories to the kid, then his brother had been alive and well. He knew that much for certain.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then Frisk started again. "But now it's my turn. Not to tell that story, even though I could tell it to you, word for word. Because… I… I don't even know how many times I've reset."

Since the kid wasn't looking at them anyway, he kept an eye socket on his brother, who was already struggling.

"I… didn't know what was going on the first time. I was attacked, and I fought back, but… some monsters were so nice… I realized that they didn't want to hurt me. So, I reset. And I tried to make friends with everyone. And it was hard, and I died, so many times, but it was worth it, because… you were all the best friends I ever had. You were so cool, and Sans was so funny, and Mom was so loving, and Asgore was so kind, and Undyne was so passionate, and Alphys was wonderful, and Mettaton was Mettaton, and Asriel was so sad, and you were all s-so nice!"

Tears were streaking down the kid's cheeks now. Papyrus closed his eyes in pain, and leaned on the table as if he had to just to support himself. "HUMAN…"

The kid pressed forward, through choking sobs. "And I… I broke the barrier."

He supposed on some level he wasn't surprised to hear that. But shock or no, it still cut like… like a knife, heh. Just stand there and keep smiling.

"And everything was happy, and good, and we moved on with our lives… all except me. I couldn't stop thinking about how much fun it had been to meet all of you. Did you ever wish you could go back, and relive the best day of your life? That's all it was. I was just gonna go back once… that was all. And then, everyone could go back to being happy. And it worked. And so I thought… why not again? And again. And again…"

Papyrus let his shoulders slump, like the weight was just too much. "YOU SAVED EVERYONE… YOU KNEW HOW TO BE GOOD…"

He pulled his hand out of his pocket, and laid in on top of the closest red glove. Papyrus opened his eyes to stare at it, but didn't really seem to see it. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"W-when?"

"WHY DID YOU DO IT? DID YOU GET ANGRY AT US?"

"No!" The kid's head shook violently, new tears forming. "Never. I… I…" a shuddering breath. "I just wanted to see what would happen."

Papyrus looked up, staring at their little buddy in disbelief. "WHAT?"

"I was curious, Papyrus. Nobody remembered the resets… not really. So… after enough times… it didn't seem like it would do any harm. I mean, I didn't even really know some of the monsters, and I… I didn't think I'd ever…" a hard swallow, "… Sans tried to warn me. Over, and over, about L.O.V.E., and how gaining it would make it easier to kill, and I just started drowning him out, because it didn't affect me any more. I told myself I wasn't really hurting anyone. Because I could reset, and everything was fine."

"BUT YOU WERE HURTING YOURSELF."

The kid struggle to look up at Papyrus like it was some sort of punishment. Maybe it was, considering the kindness still overflowing from his brother's eyes. "Yeah. And one day, wondering what would happen if I… killed you, didn't seem so crazy, anymore. So I decided just to fight you. Just one hit, to see if you could really forgive me for being so rotten. Because even when it got easy, I felt terrible. And… you didn't want to fight me, even then."

His eyes had gone dark, but he was struggling to keep the past behind them. Papyrus was here, now. That was all that mattered, right?

"I might have reset right then. I was going to. I mean, it had been so long since I cried. I felt miserable. I wanted someone to tell me how terrible I was. So I went to Sans's station, but… you weren't there anymore. For the first time. You were just, gone. I looked for you everywhere. Undyne found me first, and she certainly had something to say about it. It was the hardest she ever tried to kill me, and she did, too. Several times.

"I finally found you, and, I thought for sure you were gonna kill me. I mean, I'd tried so hard to get a reaction out of you, and you barely ever said anything different. But… in the end, you just call me a dirty brother killer, and left. So I… I started experimenting to see if anything else would make people say different things. I wondered how to get anyone to explain things to me. And then, one day, I pushed too hard."

How many times had Papyrus been killed just so the brat could watch him react?

"HOW COULD YOU HAVE PUSHED ANY HARDER?"

Frisk looked him in the eye. "I killed everyone that would fight me. I wasn't expecting Sans to do anything more than he ever did, but… he fought me, too. And it was hard. And I died a lot of times. But… my determination won out. I learned your moves. I knew what you were going to do before you did. And you wore yourself out, eventually. And you…"

Papyrus leaned harder into the table, head hanging, arms shaking. "HE FELL ASLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BATTLE."

The kid nodded, staring at them. This wasn't about curiosity anymore. It was self loathing. Frisk still wanted them to say exactly what the little murderer deserved to hear. "He was just standing there. It wasn't my turn. It was hard to move. It would have been so much easier to just reset. But I didn't ever want to do that again. So… I cheated, and tried again. You woke up and dodged, but… Chara stepped in."

A tear splattered on his hand, jumping him. He turned to face his brother, ignoring the kid for the moment. *hey, it's alright. i'm right here, okay?

But Papyrus wasn't done with the human yet. "H-HOW MANY TIMES?"

"What do you mean? I told you, I forgot how many times I reset…"

"NO. HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU GO BACK, AND KILL EVERYONE?"

"I… I don't know. I felt so bad about what I did to Sans, I reset right away. But…"

*you couldn't stop wondering.

"And then… I found out what too far was really was. Too far to turn back, anyway. All the warnings. In the end, Chara took control. And well, you know the rest, for the most part."

Papyrus stopped trembling. After a minute, he stopped leaning on the table enough to put his other hand on top of the one squeezing his glove, making a handwhich, heh. yeah… just keep smiling.

He took his hand away, nodding, and wiping away his tears, in a very nonchalant, cool manner. "I SEE. WELL, THAT… CHANGES A FEW THINGS, BUT I'M GLAD YOU TOLD US, FRISK."

"Actually, I was wrong. I forgot something super important."

Papyrus didn't even flinch. "YES?"

"I'm never going to be able to tell you guys how sorry I am."

"WELL, THAT'S A SILLY THING TO SAY, BECAUSE YOU JUST DID."

Frisk stared at his brother in disbelief. "Papyrus… I just told you all the horrible things I did here…"

"YES, YOU'VE EXPLAINED YOURSELF. BUT YOU MUST CARE ABOUT US AT LEAST A LITTLE, OR YOU WOULD NOT HAVE BOTHERED TO TRY TO UNDO YOUR MISTAKES. SO… SANS, WILL FRISK BE SAFE HERE IF I TALK TO YOU OUTSIDE FOR A SECOND?"

*huh? oh, yeah. no one'll pick a fight in here.

"FRISK, STAY HERE, ALRIGHT?"

"Sure Papyrus." The kid was still sniffling, and getting a case of the hiccups. "I need a minute anyway."

He started to lead his brother towards the back of the building, and shouldn't have had a second thought, but despite everything the kid had done, they were all here, and alive, and that had to count for something, if not in the long run, then for right now, at least. He turned. *hey, kid.

Frisk looked scared of what he was going to say. What irony. *if you're hungry, go ahead and grab something to eat. i've got a tab here. It was easier to say than he'd have thought.

He led Papyrus to the back wall, and shortcutted them back to the side of the MTT resort. *you know, you're taking all this really wel…

Two long arms snatched him up. *ah. there it is… it's okay, buddy.

Papyrus whimpered and hugged him closer, like a teddy bear… if that teddy bear had ribs that felt like they might pop. Not that he was actually worried about Paps hurting him in any way.

He did manage to turn around mid-air, though, because it was kind of hard to hug back from the position he was in. Yikes… was that another pun? Just in his head? Now? What was wrong with him? Oh yeah… the kid had just spelled it out, that's what was wrong. He didn't bother with words, just hugged his brother tightly as Papyrus started to hyperventilate.

"IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME. ALL OF IT. SANS, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS! FRISK ALREADY KNEW HOW TO BE GOOD, AND I DIDN'T TEACH THEM ANYTHING, AND I, I, I…"

*shhhh… papyrus, it wasn't for nothing. look at everything you did! that's gotta count for something. even the stuff you don't remember, you always did great, every, single time, and the kid remembered that.

Papyrus hugged him a little closer, then set him back on his feet, and tried to straighten his hoodie absentmindedly.

His judgment… his pathetic attempt to stop the kid from causing the timeline to just stop… had he inadvertently caused it? Stupid. He'd let things slip to test theories, no doubt. Had he treated it like an experiment, too? Over, and over… the kid was going to reset until he vanished… Papyrus… how many times had he lost Paps?

"SANS!"

Papyrus shook him by the shoulders. "I SAID SNAP OUT OF IT! PLEASE! I NEED YOU, BROTHER… I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO."

He blinked. *sorry, bro. i… um… i got nothin'.

"SANS…"

*no, i mean it. i don't know what to do. but that's okay, 'cause i don't have to. i'm sorry, papyrus, but it's still you. i'll help ya anyway i can, but… you're doin' awesome.

"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT!"

*stop it, right there. do you really believe that?

The was a pause, but the look on his face removed all doubt. "NO. I GUESS NOT. YOU'RE RIGHT. YOU JUST MIGHT AS WELL BE WRONG, BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS FALLING APART, AND IF I DON'T DO THIS RIGHT… NO. I WILL DO THIS RIGHT. WE'VE BEEN TO THE SURFACE, AND I'D ALMOST GIVEN UP ON THAT DREAM."

*you had? Sure, he'd given up on it ages ago. But he'd never have thought Paps had, too.

"WE'RE ALIVE."

*yep.

"FRISK IS SORRY."

*yep.

"WE ARE GOING TO SAVE THE UNDERGROUND!"

*yep.

Papyrus suddenly crossed his arms. "AND WE ARE NOT GETTING A NEW COUCH, BECAUSE YOU'D NEVER GET OFF ONE THAT WAS ANY COMFIER THAN THE ONE WE HAVE!"

*heh… okay.

"UM… IS IT FAR, OR SHOULD WE JUST WALK?"

He shrugged. *it's just through there, actually.

"THEN WHY…?"

He shrugged. Parlor tricks. He couldn't remember why he'd done it, but if he'd been following the kid, instead of coming along, he'd have wanted to have a talk at some point. Tell 'em about the door, and his promise. The one he'd broken.

"AND, SANS?"

*yeah, bro?

Papyrus put his hand on his shoulder, and smiled. "FRISK WAS UPSET, AND TRYING TO EXPLAIN. I WILL TALK TO THEM LATER ABOUT TRYING TO BLAME YOU. IF YOU DID ANYTHING TO MAKE THEM CURIOUS… THEY SHOULD HAVE JUST ASKED YOU. DO NOT KEEP BLAMING YOURSELF."

*maybe. hey, paps?

"YES, BROTHER?"

*thanks.

A/N: Hey, I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing, of course! But I also want to mention that I rewrote the last chapter and posted it three different times. If you read the one where Papyrus was wearing a dress, you're good. It's the most recent. I also did a rewrite of the cooking show episode a while back. (Chapter 17) If there were chainsaws and destruction instead of just generalized roughhousing, then you've read the most resent. The story will still make sense if you read the originals, (unless you read the last chapter before the dress was involved, but it's pretty self-explanatory) but Agent B Tiger helped me out a ton with them, and they're much better than they were before. Sorry for any confusion!