" Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill."
- William Shakespeare
[FIGHT started]
[PAPYRUS hesitates to attack you]
[You try SPARE'ing your son]
[He throws back a bone at you]
"It would have been that easy, knowing how you are."
Arial was not too surprised by the outcome, but it was worth a try. Still, she wanted to leave her son unscathed and try waking him up.
"STOP ACTING AS IF YOU KNOW ME, SPECTER !"
The confused Royal Guard only got a little angrier than he was, still thinking he is being fooled by someone impersonating his mother.
Arial gave it another try, unable to see either her husband or her other son. Perhaps they can be summoned by her BACKUP option. Saving that for a hairy situation, she simply tried checking on him first.
[PAPYRUS - CHECK]
[PAPYRUS ? ATK ? DEF]
[No longer the son you knew, but can still be SAVE'd]
[Papyrus attacks you ... not !]
[He is unsure of what to do.]
[And so are you.]
Arial kept watching her son using the large bone he had in his possession ... as some parade outlet. Papyrus kept throwing up, swinging it, or twirling it around, as if he was getting the hang of his weaponry.
He had no intention of striking the first blow, although the voices echoing inside him longed for bones shattered and monster dust.
"I-I-I AM ONLY TESTING YOUR PATIENCE, FAKE MOTHER. YOU WILL NOT PASS THROUGH HERE YET."
Arial sighed, she had to FIGHT Papyrus seriously to wake him up. Unsure of her actual stats, she wanted to keep the damage to a minimum.
She got surprised by a couple of bone attacks coming out of nowhere, prompting her to use her guard at the last minute.
[ You use GUARD]
[The bone shield was surprisingly effective]
Papyrus looks at you in admiration for a moment, then switches back to his former stern expression]
"YOU ALMOST HAD ME THERE, FAKE MOTHER! NOW, FEEL THE WRATH OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS !"
Arial raised her shield in expectation of normal attacks but was somehow hit.
[Papyrus used an ORANGE attack]
[He annoyingly repeats NYEHEHEHEHEHE every time he hits you]
Arial discovered her son's newfound power firsthand, taking a bit of damage as she failed to move along the attack. Sans and Aster stayed still, unable to ACT unless they were summoned.
"and here we are, sitting this one out."
"It is not that bad, Sir Lazy Bones."
Chuckles ensued, irritating the great Papyrus. He was in the middle of launching an attack too, causing him to miss. Being distracted was the least of his worries, he was thrown into disbelief once he heard familiar laughs beyond the black FIGHTing box.
Arial held herself well but was also tired of hearing her son's monotonous laugh. There was little passion behind it, unlike the Papyrus she used to know. Granted, he was stronger, but also hesitant to attack with all his might. Arial thought she needed to stall for time, just long enough for Papyrus to use his true power.
By then, he might be open to the idea of being SAVE'd.
SAVE'd from the beliefs that shackle him.
SAVE'd from the curse cast upon the Underworld.
Not far from there, Frisk floated around his last meeting spot with Papyrus. A few things were off, but the long, snowy path was eerily quiet. There was no fog this time, except for hasty crunches on the white ground.
Chara walked with Toriel towards Waterfall, since the Queen had to ascertain the skelebros were safe. Monsters were still quite divided about her having a human child, but Chara volunteered to go look for Sans and Papyrus, followed by her mother who naturally went with her.
As Toriel was still worried about how she could convince Monsters of the goodness of her child, Chara squeezed her mother's hand.
"I'll be alright, Mother."
Toriel hasn't seen her child since their time apart, taking her a bit by surprise. She stopped to hold her child close, hugging them more than they should.
"M-Mother?"
Frisk was smiling as well, passing by the unfolding scene. He went ahead of them to check up on the Skeleton family, and eventually prevent anything unfortunate from happening to them. He went by the empty guard post Sans guarded, listening to the underground river and losing himself in thought.
A mishap.
A blade slip.
Someone hurt.
Someone dying.
Frisk wanted none of that, definitely not. Catching up to where they were, his partner was nowhere to be seen.
" 'ssup kid? you spirited away? "
" They are better off without your bone-derline jokes, Sans."
Frisk brushed aside the rowdy welcome and went straight to the point since Arial was nowhere to be seen.
"Why is Arial not here?"
" fighting papyrus "
" And us family cannot intervene until we are summoned by her."
Frisk needed Chara around to go into fights, thus he just hovered along the two other members of a reunited family. Sans and Aster sat there silently, exchanging glares and patiently waiting to be called forth.
"Aren't you worried?"
"nah"
Frisk was a little thrown away by how stern Sans looked, like when they met in Judgment Hall. Aster was equally serious, albeit with a smile plastered on his "face".
"There is nothing to worry about, human."
"Why so?"
Aster paused for a while, looking at the three oddities assembled on a snowy carpet.
"Because it is rare to find three repenting killers, sitting idly without doing a thing."
Sans chuckled, Frisk giggled, and Aster simply smiled at how ironic it was. It is when their urges would be needed that they vowed to stop hurting each other.
"heh, talk about a gathering."
"Yeah, a bit too bloody for my taste."
Aster chuckled softly, but soon noticed something and turned around.
"I sense something approaching."
"There is nothing to worry about, it's only the Dreemurrs."
How nostalgic.
How long has it been since there were two Dreemurrs together?
Aster looked at the Queen holding a small human hand, moving slowly towards the improvised camp they set around the area. Sans brought his hot dog stand, Aster conjured a few magic seats, and Frisk floated around Chara to hold her hand.
Chara felt the touch and blushed, looking at the hand on her left. With a mother and a lover at her side, she could do anything. Sans smirked at his favorite demon gurl, then looked at Frisk long enough to make him question why he did.
"y'know what you have to do kid."
Frisk smiled.
"Chara dear, can I?"
Chara looked around, wondering what was happening moments before they arrived.
"What is going on, everyone?" asked Toriel, her too unsure of the whereabouts of Papyrus.
"Chara dear, can I fight ?"
Both mother and daughter widened their eyes at the request, puzzled as to why the dead would fight the living's battles.
"Because it must be hard for her to fight her son."
Silence ensued, soon broken by a kiss on a hazy cheek. Frisk was embarrassed to a fault, but could not reciprocate the feeling right away. They were things to do, and Chara just gave Frisk the green light to go in.
All gathered in the small camp, waiting for the story to unfold mercifully.
[Another ghost joined the fray]
[Papyrus grunted unpleasantly]
[They recognized the human]
"Partner?"
"Yes, Partner."
Arial had been enduring attacks, losing a quarter of her HP and unwilling to endanger her family any further. Frisk knew that the monster would think so, thus he decided to enter the FIGHT.
"IS THIS ..."
Papyrus opened his jaw, feeling that the human was the one that caused him to drown in despair.
"... THE EVIL HUMAN"
[The Human requests you to use the dagger you held behind your back]
[You look hesitant to hand it in]
[He takes your hand instead]
"Trust me, Arial."
Strange, this is the first time this partner ever called her by name.
"Frisk, was it?"
The human child looked at the tall skeleton woman, smiling as he held the thin, bony hand.
"I'll protect you as you approach him."
Arial laughed, she thought of it all along, but could not see an opening to do it. Giving her shield and dagger to Frisk, she walked behind the child.
[Papyrus attacks relentlessly]
[The human blocks and breaks the magical bones]
[You feel safe]
Although Frisk took a bit of damage every time he blocked the barrage of attacks, He tired Papyrus just enough for the attacks to slow down.
"NYEH, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING ?"
Or so they thought.
Before Arial could react, a bone almost went through her.
When she opened her eyesockets, she could feel someone close.
A bleeding human, a bamboozled monster, and a long bone spear.
Why is this happening?