"What... what happened," Papyrus asked. He looked down at himself. "I'm alive! Perhaps the human missed!" He looked around. All he could see was darkness. The only light came from his eyes. While Papyrus was very great and had little fears, this darkness unnerved him. He took a good look at himself. Nothing seemed off. He felt the same as he did before the human showed up, although he was a bit lonely. "Or perhaps, the human didn't miss, and I, the Great Papyrus, did die."
He heard a shuffling sound. Papyrus' eyes darted to the side. In the darkness, he could begin to see another shape. Papyrus squinted to try and see who it was. He hoped it wasn't a figment of his imagination.
The figure let out an audible sigh. "Not again," he muttered. "Why are they doing this again?" The figure stepped forward. He could now make out some features. The figure was a tall skeleton with cracks in his skull around the eye sockets. The rest of the figure dissolved in the background. The skeleton turned towards Papyrus. "I'm sorry that I could not protect you, Papyrus."
Papyrus got to his feet. "Where am I?"
The skeleton looked to the ground. "You are in the area between time and space. I noticed that you were dying and I could not let that happen again. I took the remaining part of your soul here before you completely vanished," the figure explained. He held a needle in his hand. It had strange writing on a label. Determination 2.0.
"Who are you? I, Papyrus, would like to know," Papyrus exclaimed.
The figure sighed. "My name is Gaster. I used to be the Royal Scientist," he explained.
"Does that mean you were the scientist before Alphys? Wowie! Maybe you two know each other!"
Gaster shook his head. "Very few people remember who I am. Not even my own son knows. I doubt my old lab apprentice remembers me."
"Oh. Well, what do you normally do here?"
Gaster chuckled. "I normally don't stay here. It is a bit dark here. I normally travel to my old home and watch after the people I used to know."
Papyrus' eyes lit up. "Does that mean that I can go back and see my brother and Undyne?"
The older skeleton nodded. He held out his hand. A grey door appeared in front of them. He eyed Papyrus and turned the doorknob.
A bright light shined , temporarily blinding the skeletons.
"NYEH," Papyrus yelled. He threw his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the bright light. The light dimmed and the surroundings changed to the small town of Snowdin. Papyrus and Gaster stepped out into the snow and in front of the inn.
The two skeletons walked through the middle of town, eventually finding the place where Papyrus fought Chara. They saw Sans standing in front of them.
"Sans! I'm okay so don't fret over me," Papyrus yelled.
"papyrus. i'm sorry i couldn't help. i was hoping that you were right. you weren't." Sans clutched a small, dusty red cape in his hand. "i'll keep an eye on the human until the end. if they keep killing, then i'll be forced to break my promise." He sighed. "not that there aren't enough broken promises already." Sans grabbed a clump of odd colored snow. No. Dust. He quietly walked past the two skeletons and to his house.
"Brother! Look at me," Papyrus yelled. He ran to his grieving brother. Papyrus tried to grab Sans' arm, but it phased through him. Sans stopped.
"dad, if you're there, i'm sorry. i couldn't make our family whole again." He opened the door and walked inside.
"Sans, what do you mean by that," Papyrus asked. His brother didn't respond. "Please, answer me." The door closed behind Sans.
Gaster sighed. "He cannot see you. He doesn't know that you're with me."
"Oh," Papyrus muttered.
"Besides, it wouldn't help him to know that you're with me either. Sans is one of the few people to know who I am."
Papyrus looked at Gaster in confusion. "How does he know you? Sans is so lazy that I don't even think he would get out of bed if it wasn't for me."
"We worked together. There was a project that we were working on, but I fell into it. In that instant, I was ripped from this world and erased from the lives of those who knew me, except for Sans. Because of my clumsiness, I saw the effects it had on him and my youngest son. Sans was forced to take control of my household while my youngest son grew up without a father," Gaster explained. He paused for a moment. "I am truly sorry for not being there for you, Papyrus."
It took a moment, but his words sank in. "I have a dad," Papyrus screamed. "Wowie! To think that my dad was the Royal Scientist! That's almost as cool as the Royal Guard!" Papyrus smiled but frowned once again. "Does Sans know what happened to you?"
Gaster nodded. "He was there when it happened. He knows that I am forced to live in a space between time. He's tried to bring me back, but he's always failed."
The door opened again. Sans walked out with the dusty cape in hand. His cape. "dad, sometimes it's hard to imagine that happy family from before. those times were some of my best memories. i would come with you and help you work but once we got home, you'd take me and papyrus out for nice cream." Sans chuckled. "he'd always eat it from the cone, up. i wanted to protect him, but now i can't."
"But... wasn't it I, your cool brother, that was protecting you," Papyrus asked.
Sans shook his head and laughed. "it's a little strange to be talking to the air but since everyone left, it doesn't matter weather you're there or not."
Gaster began to chuckle while Papyrus screeched in fury.
"I can't ever escape his puns! I felt bad for him, but now I take it back," Papyrus yelled. A small smile could be seen on his face. "Well, mostly."
Sans chuckled a little. "oh man, papyrus would have hated that one. i will not apologize for that pun though. my conscious is clear."
"WHY? BAD BROTHER," Papyrus yelled. He tried to smack his brother, but once again, phased through him. Papyrus turned to Gaster. "Isn't there SOME way to communicate with him?"
Gaster shrugged. "Sans might have a machine, but I doubt it."
Sans chuckled a little at his own puns. "i'm sorry for that. needed to... cheer myself up a little." Sans sighed. "well, if you are there dad, then i'm sorry. i couldn't convince him to stay away. maybe if you were still here, he would listen to you. now i have to see undyne. breaking the news to her won't be easy, but she has to know. papyrus was her friend, but how do I do that? Maybe I can think about it over a burger." After Sans uttered that last word, he was gone, leaving behind Papyrus and Gaster.
Okay, I just want to thank you all for reading this! Now, about the last update, I may show hints of Alpyne, but it won't be specifically and outright said. It would be a little odd if the characters didn't have any emotion when someone they love goes into battle.
I do hope that I'm getting the characters right, specifically Papyrus and Sans.(Although, I'm pretty sure I've got it.). Another thing I hope I'm doing right, is details. I'm not really the best at that.
Anyway, I do hope you liked it! Bye guys!