Chapter 3 – Have Hope
To the guest who asked how often I update: Usually weekly, sooner if I'm in a writing mood and have a good playlist going.
In all the time I'd been friends with Papyrus, from the first time I ever met the knucklehead to even the worst of times… he was always the monster who would remain calm. He'd step up in the face of adversity and do the right thing, bringing optimism and warmth at the same time without even breaking a sweat. He was… the last monster I ever expected to break down. So when he called me after the quarantine protest, sheer panic in his voice over his brother, I dropped everything to go to him. Hell, I even threw papers back in an official human's face regarding the quarantine. We monsters have priorities, and human's bullshit documentation for everything could wait.
I couldn't move fast enough, summoning a number of spears in my wake in case someone had hurt them. Being heroes was both a blessing and a curse, after all. We had made our share of friends, beloved in the eyes of the monsters… and hatred in the eyes of our enemies from the many humans who despised our presence. It wasn't uncommon that we would receive death threats, as the humans may not have known HOW we got out but they know WHO got us out.
When I assigned Papyrus to watch over his brother… I had a reason. I knew that the brothers would work best together, the two best monsters to protect each other in case someone took their hatred a little too far. But I never expected… I didn't think anybody in their right mind would attack them. Papyrus wasn't prepared for that. Thoughts raced through my mind: It was my job to protect them! Did I send them to their deaths? I should've kept more of the Royal Guard on patrol! If someone had hurt them, I'd never escape the guilt over my failure.
To my benefit and discontent, what had happened wasn't a failure of mine… but I will never forget what I saw that day when I walked into the bone brother's house, up the stairs into Sans' room where I could hear Papyrus' sobs. I was relieved when I saw the room free of monster dust, but it was short lived. "Papyrus? What happened? WHO HURT YOU?!" I growled, taking an enraged step into the room. I was more than ready to kick the ASS of the monster that traumatized Papyrus to this extent. I never would've expected that Papyrus' tearful gaze would turn vicious, orange magic racing along his shaking form as a volley of bone attacks came my way. "STAY AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!" He shouted at me, blind fear and panic present in his expression as he hugged his limp brother close.
"Holy shit, Papyrus!" I swore, taking one of my summoned spears and using it as a shield to block the bone magic. The bones bounced off with a twang, a fear rather than malicious intent present in the magic that was used making them harmless. He was just trying to keep distance in his blind panic. I sheepishly realized that I'd taken the wrong approach, being more of a monster for action than negotiation. Quickly dropping the spear, I held my hands at my sides in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. "I'm not here to hurt your brother. I just want to help, see? No spears." I waited until his posture relaxed, his expression shifting to one of surprise, and then to misery as the tears began anew. "I'M SORRY UNDYNE… I JUST… PLEASE HELP HIM!" He sobbed; a raw grief evident in his voice. Taking that as my cue to approach, I took slow steps toward the pair. It was then that I could sense that something was seriously wrong with Sans. As I neared, I could feel no magic in his soul and it was a void that was all too familiar in recent times. No… he couldn't have…
Slowly, I reached a hand close enough to Sans that I could invoke his soul. I gasped at the sight that awaited me: his normally vibrant blue soul was dull and lifeless. Sans had fallen. "No…" I backed away in shock as Papyrus continued to sob and babble incoherently to his fallen brother. With Sans having fallen… this would change everything. A Hero of the Underground had fallen. One of the strongest of all monsters. With this development… nobody would be safe. The protest earlier was just a sign of what was to come.
If even the strongest could fall… There would be panic. We couldn't keep this a secret, but if word got out… I feared for Alphys, who was already working her hardest on a cure. What… was I supposed to do? Typically, fallen monsters in the Underground… would die after a time. Though none of the fallen monsters HAD died yet, instead remaining dormant, it was a very real concern. As a species, we could be facing extinction as a result of this widespread falling phenomenon. Worse, we were completely alone in dealing with it; the humans withdrew their support as soon as trouble arose leaving Alphys carrying the fate of our entire species on her nerdy, anime loving shoulders. And even then, she was working herself to death on a topic she had little experience.
But I had more pressing concerns; I had to be the one to talk sense into Papyrus. To pick up the pieces of a monster who may be irrevocably damaged. Of all monsters, why did it have to happen to poor, innocent Papyrus? Fate was cruel indeed. "Papyrus, I need you to listen to me." I kept my tone as calm as possible, kneeling at his side at a safe distance. He seemed to barely hear me in his grief. "Your brother has fallen down. We need to-" He abruptly raised his head, his tearful gazed fixed on mine as he shouted: "NO! SANS IS GOING TO WAKE UP, HE ALWAYS DOES! SANS WOULDN'T LEAVE ME!" Denial; excellent. I was definitely not the monster for this job, and it took all of my control not to drag Papyrus by the arm to the lab despite his protests. "Fine. How about the three of us go visit Alphys? She will help find a way to wake Sans up." I offered grudgingly, standing up and heading to the door. He seemed reluctant, but eventually relented; silently following behind me with his brother held close. And he was just as uncomfortably silent the entire trip there.
"Over here, Papyrus." Alphys gestured to a bed not unlike the one I brought the rabbit lady to just yesterday. Reluctantly, I set my brother down. "T-Thanks." She quickly hooked up his soul to monitors just like I'd seen numerous times before, her expression unusually grim as she went about her business. I wasn't surprised when the monitors displayed a flat green line, just as before. "Well, I'm, uh… going to go back to work. If you need me… well… you know how to find me." Undyne explained awkwardly, excusing herself from the room. I wanted to thank her but… I just couldn't find the words. She had dropped everything to help me and all I'd done was nearly hurt her… yet I couldn't thank her.
With Undyne's absence, the atmosphere was tense as just myself and Alphys remained. I... felt lost. With my brother gone, everything just… lost meaning. I desperately wanted to ask Alphys how her work on the cure was going and when I'd see Sans again. But I… I was too nice to do that. Just by looking at her as she tapped on the monitor I could tell she wasn't well; her appearance was disheveled at best and the bags under her eyes suggested that she hadn't slept well in a long time. Alphys didn't need extra pressure on her and the monsters visiting family already did that on a daily basis. She was doing her best and no questions of mine would do anything to help her. The best I could do would be to not make a fuss like the others.
If I couldn't ask questions… well, I wanted to cry but that wouldn't bring Sans back. And Sans wouldn't want me to mourn him; and crying never fixed anything. After all, he didn't mourn me forever when the human… did away with me in the Underground. He took his fate into his own hands and did something about it. Maybe it was time I stepped up and became a hero like my older brother Sans. I could take my destiny into my own hands and help find a cure! The Great Papyrus, hero of the surface! I would be every monster's friend and saviour! I could… well, maybe my priorities had changed since the Underground. I'd have to consider what exactly I wanted after I become a hero.
"S-So um… would you be willing to a-answer some q-questions? It m-might help me with the cure." Alphys asked sheepishly, wringing her clawed hands with the question as if it burdened her to ask it of me. "OF COURSE, DR. ALPHYS!" She seemed surprised at my sudden change in attitude, before quickly pulling a nearby stool over to sit on. It was as if she expected me to continue to unreasonably mourn my brother longer. Tears wouldn't bring Sans back. "So… what d-did Sans l-look like when you found him?" She asked hesitantly as I sat down on the end of Sans' bed. It hadn't been long since I'd found Sans but… it still felt like a blur.
I took a moment to picture what I'd seen again before I told her how I found Sans collapsed in his room. It was as if he had just gotten up from the couch and walked to his room before he fell. He even had the ketchup I'd left for him… and all of the furniture was pushed back. Alphys listened intently to my story, nodding at certain intervals and eventually pulling out a notepad from her lab coat to scribble some notes down. "W-Was he acting strange… before he fell?" I froze at the question, immediately recalling Sans' experience with 'depression'. It probably wasn't relevant to him falling and I'd been keeping it a secret. But… with him having fallen, it didn't really matter anymore. I told her that Sans had been doing well up until a couple months ago when he suddenly became 'depressed'. Until then, he had only had nightmares about his experiences in the Underground… though occasionally broke things with magic during them.
Her gaze became sympathetic partway through my speech, almost regretful. "I-I'm sorry, Papyrus…" She apologized as she finished up her notes. I appreciated the sentiment but I had been keeping this to myself for a reason. "SANS DIDN'T WANT US TO WORRY ABOUT HIM. HE STILL WOULDN'T." I stood up, forcing a smile and a pose as my scarf fluttered behind me with the action. My proverbial heart may have been broken, but my soul would live on. After all, The Great Papyrus never gives up hope!
"Y-You're right… thanks for your time. A-And… um… I'm going to be working on a machine that might help. After it's done… maybe you can help me test it?" She offered sheepishly as she tucked away her notes once again. This was exactly what I needed to hear. "DEFINITELY! AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!" She walked to the curtain, pausing to give me a sad smile at my words. "M-Maybe tomorrow, Papyrus. D-Don't forget to take care of y-yourself too." And with that she was gone.
Taking care of myself… well, some butterscotch-cinnamon pie would cheer anybody up. So I walked to the entrance to the Underground ruins, making my way down the ladder carefully. Fortunately the room with the flowers seemed empty and so I walked across it… But before I could leave, Flowey appeared in front of me. "Why the long face? Did someone DIE?!" The flower asked with a grim satisfaction, its face twisting into a horrible visage. A shiver ran down my spine with its appearance, something seeming unnervingly off with the flower in this visit. "SORRY, FLOWER FRIEND. SANS TOLD ME NOT TO TALK TO YOU." I explained, stepping around the scary flower. If I was lucky, it wouldn't follow me.
To my disappointment, it only appeared in front of me once again. "Sans did? Well, that didn't stop you before did it?" There was something sickeningly knowing in its expression, as if it was prying for answers it already knew. It eyed me like a cat watching a mouse play, a predator taking amusement in the antics of its prey. "I NEED TO GO. I HAVE A MEETING WITH TORIEL." I stepped past it, dashing as far as I could from it when a circle of bullets surrounded me. I skidded to a stop just before my soul made contact with the magic, my sense of fear becoming justified in that moment. It appeared that I was having a very bad day, almost humorously so. If I wasn't so afraid, I'd probably have laughed myself to tears. "I thought we were friends? Surely you have the time to tell a friend about how Sans fell down?" The flower appeared again, a toothy malicious grin spreading across its face with the revelation. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" I shouted, using my own special form of blue magic to summon a blue bone straight through the flower. If it didn't move, it wouldn't be harmed by the magic. I didn't know how the flower found that out, but I certainly didn't want to hear what it had to say given that it did.
"Oh, I heard it through the grapevine you could say." Flowey elaborated, completely unphased by the blue bone. To my dismay, the flower moved from the blue bone purposely, magic that would normally cause great damage with its placement left not a single scratch on the flower as it sunk into the ground to reappear on the other side of the bullet circle. A smug smile stretched across its face, danger in its eyes as it dared me to try that trick again. "So friend, how did it feel to know that your brother would never wake up again? Did you suffer?" A sadistic smile replaced the smug one at the word, eagerly waiting for my response.
But I wouldn't give it the satisfaction, as I knew that this terrible creature just wanted to see ME suffer now. "MY BROTHER WILL WAKE UP. I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE OF IT! I BELIEVE IN HIM!" I declared, holding on to hope as my soul pulsed a bright orange in response to the intensity of the hope I possessed. Flowey's expression turned from surprise to anger in seconds. "FOOL! Don't you know that HOPE never saved anybody? No matter how much I hope, I will REMAIN a flower. Chara will NEVER come back. Your brother will NEVER wake up." The flower spat the word with venom as if it had wronged it in the past. It appeared I had hit a weak spot, and I backed up slowly as the flowers face twisted into a monstrous visage of a skull.
As expected, the flower was truly a sad creature indeed. I may not have understood what it was saying, but inside it was crying out for help. "AS LONG AS THERE IS A FUTURE, WE STILL HAVE HOPE! WE CAN'T SEE WHAT WE MIGHT ACCOMPLISH IN THE FUTURE. MAYBE IF YOU JUST GAVE ME THE CHANCE I COULD H-" A haphazardly fired ball of magic cut me off as I dove to avoid it. "STOP! You can't say that now!" It exclaimed with a pained cry, reeling as its petaled head faced the ground…
…And then it was laughing; A maniacal, laugh of a creature gone insane. "Yes, you're right. I will. After all in this world…" Its head raised, eyes suddenly bright red and bright grin returned. "IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED!" With those words, the circle of bullets slowly began to close in on my soul. "PLEASE FLOWER FRIEND! I DO NOT WANT TO FIGHT!" I pleaded on deaf ears, hands at my side in mercy as I walked forward to keep my soul away from the dangerous magic. With the malicious intent this creature possessed, there was no doubt in my mind that an attack on my soul would be grievous. You were right, Sans… I closed my eyesockets as the bullets closed in around my soul, waiting for the inevitable to come.
"Be gone, terrible creature! How could you trouble poor Papyrus so?" That voice..! When I opened my eyes, Toriel in her glory was standing before me, fire in her hands as she stood in opposition to the terrible flower. "Ngh!" The flower's face changed to one of alarm, then to horror as it ducked into the ground to avoid becoming conflagrated by Toriel's fire magic. "QUEEN TORIEL! I'M SAVED!" I let out a cheer, raising my arms in the air in jubilation. "I am sorry I didn't realize that you needed help sooner. I didn't know that such a terrible creature lived in the ruins. But was that not your flower friend?" She asked; her hands clasped in front of her. "THE FLOWER DIDN'T TURN OUT TO BE VERY NICE." I admitted, simply relieved that I hadn't been killed right then and there. Sans was right, and I definitely couldn't save him if I was dead. "That is a shame. Hopefully it won't return. Now, how about you come in? I was just baking a pie…" She chatted to me happily as she let me through the ruins to her quaint house near Snowdin.
Just as my previous visit a few days ago, Toriel served golden flower tea and butterscotch-cinnamon pie. In one of my visits I asked her about her choice of dishes, as she seemed to be very fond of pie and tea. She explained to me that she was very lonely in the ruins and the tea and pie pair reminded her of her family during happier times. Since then, she had seemingly gotten lonelier as many of the monsters in the ruins quickly left for the surface as soon as the barrier broke. That left the motherly goat alone in her house with all of the reminders of children long since gone and books she had memorized by heart. I'm glad that Sans told me about her soon after the barrier broke, because without my visits… she probably would be entirely alone. No monster should be alone, especially if the Great Papyrus could do something about it!
"Papyrus, I was thinking that you could bring some pie back for your brother. After all, you said that he had been sleeping too much… there's nothing better than a bit of sugar to put a spring in his step!" She smiled warmly with this, her intentions only good with the suggestion. Clearly she hadn't seen the news that would no doubt be spreading across New Home soon. Though, she didn't have a TV so even then… she might not know about the affairs of the surface. "TORIEL… I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, ABOUT SANS ACTUALLY." I admitted, and she perked up immediately. "Why, of course! Please, go on." She sipped her tea, waiting expectantly. Little did she know, what she was about to hear would change everything.
"SANS… FELL DOWN TODAY." I confessed, tears gathering in my eyesockets even still. She nearly spit out her tea, gracefully recovering as she covered her mouth with a napkin. "W-What? But… Sans isn't that old is he?" So she really didn't know… I hadn't told her before as I knew it would only sadden her to hear. Perhaps it was time she knew the truth, as hiding it before only caused more issues. "N-NO… MONSTERS HAVE BEEN FALLING ON THE SURFACE FOR A COUPLE MONTHS NOW. WE DON'T KNOW WHY YET, AND ALPHYS IS DOING HER BEST TO TRY AND FIGURE IT OUT, BUT SHE'S STRUGGLING." Her eyes widened in disbelief, her expression shocked as my words sunk in. Setting down her napkin, she stood and walked into the kitchen without a word.
"Q-QUEEN TORIEL?" I stuttered fearfully; more than ready to stand up to follow her. Did I upset her? I hadn't intended to burden her as I knew she was still grieving the loss of her family and the latest child whose soul we used to break the barrier. But my worry proved unnecessary as she emerged moments later with a container full of pie and a thermos seemingly of tea. "Please, you must show me to Alphys' new lab, Papyrus. It would be irresponsible of me to let disagreements of old get in the way of helping our kingdom in its time of need." She requested hopefully, offering the pie to me. I took it gratefully, eyesockets widening in surprise. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the queen to offer her help to our cause. She seemed to have an aversion to the other monsters after all, something about how she disagreed with their methods and felt it better to disappear than cause conflict. "OF COURSE! DO YOU KNOW A WAY TO HELP THE FALLEN MONSTERS?" I nearly tripped over my words with the speed I asked the question, eager to know if she could help Sans. But if she had the answers, it would've been too easy. Fate was not that kind to me today.
Her expression softened, a sad smile gracing her features. "Regretfully, no. But I have two hands, strong magic, and a lifetime of knowledge that would do more in assisting Alphys than mourning in the Ruins." She explained, a warm feeling of hope spreading at her words. Like I'd told the flower… as long as we have a future, we have hope. Together, with hope… we might just bring about a happier tomorrow.