Full Title: There's definitely something wrong with this

The water droplets from the puddle glittered around him. Compared to the other two Magical Monsters, Sans looked extremely short. He was still grinning as those exact two turned to him in shock, surprise mirrored on their faces. Even I myself was startled.

"Sans…" That was who I had seen in the reflection of the bubble.

"You!" The fish woman shouted angrily, pointing her spear in Sans' direction. "What the hell did you just-" She stopped when she realized Sans wasn't in front of her anymore. Confusion on her face, she turned around to face the skeleton who was now standing behind her, a dark look on his face. It was just like the battle with the witch Alphys had died from. He moved from place to place without us even seeing him. Did he have teleportation abilities or something?

She held her spear tightly, until realization made its way to her expression. "Ha! You're that so-called 'irregular,' huh?" She grinned mischievously. "You're using quite the strange technique there, punk!"

Papyrus narrowed his eyes at Sans, suspicion and confusion sparking in his gaze. He moved forward in a defensive stance. "WHY DID YOU-" He was stopped when Sans cut him off, holding a hand out to stop him. Papyrus' own eyes widened with surprise. Sans had just been standing in front of the fish lady moments ago, and now he was behind Papyrus. How in the world had he done it?

Despite his size, Sans somehow managed to strike an area on Papyrus' back, leaving him falling onto the floor in an unconscious state. The sword dropped from his grasp, and clattered on the ground next to him.

With the battle somewhat over, the barrier went away. It was my chance to finally reach them. "Papyrus!" I quickly rushed to his side, looking him over for any damage. What had Sans done to him?

"Don't worry." Flowey reassured me. "He's just unconscious."

The fish lady's back was still turned to Sans, since she hadn't turned around after his teleportation to Papyrus. "Who in the heck are you?" She asked seriously. "Just whose side are you on, exactly?"

Sans grinned.. "I'm on the side of those who maintain their composure." He replied, voice gruff and shrugging slightly. "...and the enemy of the idiots who initiate fights needlessly." He ducked his head down a bit, giving the fish woman an eerie stare. "Now… which are you, Undyne?"

The fish woman suddenly snapped her head up, turning around quickly. She looked unsettled. "What-" She suddenly paused to reconsider her words before narrowing her eyes. "Have we met before?"

Sans didn't answer, just returned the question with an empty stare. Undyne narrowed her eyes further, but he remained silent. Finally after a some silence, she sighed and flipped her spear above her head, trying to look indifferent. "Today's your lucky day, punk. I'm not gonna be fighting you just yet, since I've got no clue on what hand you're going to play." She turned away reluctantly. "I'll be backing down for now. But just you wait. I'll be back."

"A prudent course of action." Sans commented.

In the next moment, Undyne had jumped up, using her spear to propel and bounce off the walls of the alleyway to escape the area. Soon, her figure was no more than a shadow. Once she ducked behind a building's roof, she was gone.

I moved my gaze to Sans, hope inside me. "You saved him?"

Sans stared at the sky for a moment longer before turning to me, an annoyed look on his face. "How many times do I have to warn ya, kiddo?" His gaze hardened. "Just how big of a fool are you?"

Once I realized what he was saying, I looked down, unable to meet his piercing gaze.

His eye sockets were rather dark, and a bead of sweat moved down his skull. "I've warned you more than enough times not to get involved, correct?"

"I…"

"I will not hold back against a fool." Sans said roughly. After that, he started to stride away.

I barely blinked back tears. I couldn't understand why he acted this way. "Sans… why?"

Flowey bounded next to my arm, giving Sans' departing figure a wary glare. "At any rate, he's obviously planning something. Just… be careful."

There were cracks in the ground of the concrete. It must've been this way, right? I crept into the alleyway, searching. I was alerted when I heard their voices, and I hurried to make a left turn.

I moved into a darker area, where the ground patterned in a dark-orange line of diamonds. Little bits of light shone from a nearby window, but otherwise, it was dark in the night.

It was Flowey, leaning over something in the ground with Papyrus. "It's not going to work." He said. "Too much time has passed. It doesn't look like we have any clues to help locate the familiar from last night."

Papyrus' eyes were narrowed like he was thinking. "HM."

They still hadn't noticed me, too busy gazing at the ground. "Um, Papyrus?" He turned his head, eyes opening in a sort of surprise at seeing me. "If you continue to hunt witches, won't you run into the fish lady monster again?"

"WELL. YEAH, I GUESS."

"I-I think you should try to find her and talk things over! If you don't, then you might just end up fighting again."

Papyrus gave me a look. "A FIGHT." He repeats. Seeing my face, he shakes his head. "HUMAN, I'M AFRAID YOU'VE MISUNDERSTOOD. UNDYNE... SHE WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO DESTROY ME."

"But… that makes it even worse!"

"AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, KNOW THAT." Papyrus retaliated, slight irritation sparking in his gaze. "HER INTENTIONS ARE UNSAFE! SHE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE WEIGHT OF HER ACTIONS. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HAVE TO LEAD HER ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW!"

"But Papyrus, you became a Magical Monster to fight witches, right?" I gulped, trying to make him see reason. "Undyne isn't a witch, she's just another Magic Monster like you! I'm sure there's a way to get along if you look for it. I mean, even though her ways are different from ours, you both can still take out witches together, right? I'm sure she feels the same. A-and Sans too!" Papyrus obviously cringed at the name. "A-and if only Alphys hadn't fought with Sans-"

"IT IS ALL THAT LAZYBONE'S FAULT!" Papyrus shouted back. "IF THE LAZY SACK OF BONES HAD ONLY ARRIVED EARLIER, ALPHYS MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE NOW! BUT IT WAS ALL BECAUSE HE WANTED THE SEED..."

"T-that's not what happened!" Alphys herself had trapped Sans to prevent him from advancing. I tried to tell Papyrus, but he quickly interrupted.

"THAT TRANSFER STUDENT IS THE SAME AS UNDYNE!" He decides. "THEY ARE BOTH ON A DANGEROUS PATH... ONE THAT EVEN I CANNOT LEAD THEM FROM. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO TRUST OTHER MAGIC MONSTERS SUCH AS THEM. I UNDERSTAND NOW THAT ALPHYS WAS THE ONLY DIFFERENT ONE."

"No…" I squeaked helplessly.

"THE FAMILIAR THAT GOT AWAY YESTERDAY MIGHT STILL HURT PEOPLE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "THEY MIGHT HURT THE PEOPLE WE CARE ABOUT, OR EVEN GO AFTER KING ASGORE NEXT." His voice died down some. "HOW COULD UNDYNE JUST LET IT HAPPEN?"

I hiccuped a little, trying to hold down my desperation. Papyrus' speech had just made me feel rejected. "I AM NOT JUST FIGHTING WITCHES." He finally concluded. "I ALSO WANTED TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT. THAT IS WHY I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WORSE THAN THE WITCHES. EVEN IF THEY ARE ANOTHER MAGIC MONSTER."

I could barely respond. This wasn't like the usual Papyrus at all. "Paps?..." Papyrus strode away quickly, not even sparing me a reassuring glance. He seemed dead-set. I didn't know what to do. So instead, I turned to Flowey, who was still sitting nearby. "Flowey, please say something to him…"

Flowey shook his head. "All I can say is that he's being too reckless. For now, that idiot has no chance against Undyne or Sans. But… he won't even pay attention to what I have to say."

I ducked my head down, more hope draining inside me. "I see…"

I startled from my sleep when I heard thumping noises from downstairs. I raised myself from the bed, not feeling particularly sleepy anymore.

I headed down stairs and found Toriel sipping something from a mug at the table. "Can't sleep, my child?" She inquired when she saw me at the foot of the stair case.

"Yeah…" I nodded. "C-can I sit down with you?"

Toriel nodded warmly before pouring me a glass or orange juice. "Cheers." We clinked our glasses together briefly before sipping the juice. The ice made clinking noises against the glass.

Toriel was giving me a questioning look, no doubt wondering why I couldn't fall asleep. I sigh, debating on whether I should talk to Toriel about my worries. I finally decide to. "Things aren't going really well with my friend." I explain quietly. "The things that he says and does aren't exactly wrong, but… the more right he tries to accomplish, the more wrong everything gets."

Toriel smiled weakly down at me. "That happens a lot. It's unlikable, but true. Happy endings can't always be reached just by doing the right thing. But also, the more that people insist they're on the right, the farther away happiness gets." Her voice sounded wistful, like she was thinking of someone as well.

"Then… what should I do?"

"Well…" Toriel looked me in the eye. "I'm guessing talking it out won't do anything, right?" I nodded. "Then I believe the question is whether you're willing to solve this even without the right methods?" I nodded again, and Toriel sighed. "I would never imagine having to say this but… if it really comes to that, then just do something wrong."

"H-huh?"

"Child." She set her paw on my hand. "It's a way of keeping things in order. To balance her right, somebody needs to be in the wrong."

"Something wrong?" I questioned, tilting my head.

"Make a lie, or run away from something scary." Toriel chuckled, shaking her head. "Please don't actually do that all the time. It's just that… sometimes you eventually realize that doing those things were actually the best choices in the end. Sometimes, big mistakes can occur in a dead end."

I faced her doubtfully, an idea stirring in my mind. "But would they understand that I was doing it for them?"

"Maybe not. At least, not right afterwards. But what do you think is worse, you giving up on him or him getting the wrong idea about you?" At my face was hesitation, Toriel smiled gently. "Frisk, you are a very good child. I know that whatever you choose to do will be the right one. So that's why I recommend making some mistakes before you grow up." When I gave her a questioning gaze, she explained further. "When you're young, you can recover from mistakes faster. To learn how to fall down will help you later in life.

"I see." I took another sip of orange juice. "But isn't being an adult hard?"

Toriel chuckled. "It is hard for everyone, my child. But even still, I must admit it is rather fun to be one."

I grinned back at her, my mind set. I was going to do a wrong, to balance out Papyrus' right. He might not thank me for it, but I'll do it for him. I have to.

I tap around on my computer's keyboard, Toriel's words echoing in my mind. I was suddenly brought out of my thoughts when I heard a voice calling to me.

"Frisk!" Startled, I turned to my window to find Flowey sitting there. My heart pounded in my chest at the sincerity of his tone of voice. This must be serious. "Hurry! Papyrus is in trouble!" I immediately stood up, pushing the chair away from me. I had to find Papyrus. "Follow me!" Flowey commanded.

I ran across the stone bridge, following Flowey as he lead me. Just up ahead I saw two figures, and one of them was surrounded by a burst of red light before it disappeared. I knew who they were. Undyne and Papyrus, and they were going to fight. I couldn't let them!

I was close enough now to see Papyrus holding his Soul Gem out, staring at Undyne with a determined gaze. "Wait, Papyrus!" His concentrated gaze immediately lifted, and he turned to me with surprise.

"H-HUMAN!" He narrowed his eyes. "PLEASE, DON'T GET IN THE WAY. I, MASTER FIGHTER PAPYRUS, HAVE TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE!"

"No!" I protested, shaking my head. "There's definitely something weird about this."

"Ha!" Undyne grinned, bringing out her spear. There was a pocky stick in her mouth. "So the annoying skelly has an annoying twerp friend? Just great!"

"Huh." A gruff voice said beside her. "Would that make me your friend?"

Startled, Undyne immediately turned around to find Sans standing behind her, a displeased look on his face. "Drat!" Undyne cursed. "Why are you here?"

"This is not what we discussed." Sans noted, eyebrow raised. "I thought we agreed that you would keep your hands off of Papyrus?"

"You brat!" Undyne retorted. "Your method wouldn't have worked or brought the message across! And anyway, it's not like he wants to back off or anything." She turned back to Papyrus, a greedy grin on her face. "He's just asking for it-"

"I'll take 'em on then." Undyne blinked in surprise when she realized Sans was already approaching Papyrus. "Don't get yourself involved."

After a huff, Undyne reluctantly answered. "Fine. Then I'll just wait until I'm done eating this." She pointed to the pocky stick in her mouth.

"That'll be more than enough time." Sans responded with ease, slowly approaching us.

Papyrus hesitated for a moment before holding his orange Soul Gem out confidently. "I WON'T BE EASY TO DEFEAT." He warned.

This was bad. Everyone was fighting each other, and no one looked like they were backing down. Sans and Undyne almost seemed to be on the same team, working together. It would be two against one, an unfair fight. Papyrus would definitely lose. And then what would happen? I didn't like this one bit.

So I was going to have to do it now. I was going to have to perform a wrong.

I rushed forward, plucking Papyrus' Soul Gem right out of the palm of his gloved hand. "Paps, I'm sorry!" For a moment, Papyrus only blinks in surprise. I ran to the edge of the bridge, holding the gem between my fingers. Below us was a highway, busy with moving cars. Taking a deep breath, I threw it down as hard as I could. The gem sparkled as it flew down, and a moment later, it was swept away.

Even Sans looked shocked, and after the feat, he disappeared in a flash.

"F-FRISK!" Papyrus quickly ran up to me, disbelief clouding his gaze. "WHY DID YOU?!" His expression quickly transformed to anger.

I tried to defend myself. "But if I didn't, then…" I stopped when Papyrus froze, his eyes becoming cloudy and unfocused. "Paps?..." Almost like he was unconscious, he landed heavily in my arms, unmoving. He didn't speak. What was he doing?

"Well that was definitely unexpected." Flowey commented, setting himself upon the bridge rail. "And really bad. Honestly, there must be something seriously wrong with you to throw your friend like that."

Undyne was rushing toward us, but I barely noticed her. "W-what do you mean?" I asked, panicked. "What are you saying?"

Undyne suddenly reached out from behind me, grabbing onto Papyrus neck and holding him up like a limp rag doll. "N-no!" I pleaded. "Stop it!"

Her expression was quizzical. "What in the world is going on?!" She looked absolutely shocked as she said her next words, "No wait. He's dead!"

I gasped in fear as I heard those words, and Undyne dropped Papyrus to the ground. He continued to stay still. Not moving, not speaking, not living. "P-Papyrus?..." I started to shake him, trying to convince myself he wasn't dead. That I hadn't killed him somehow. "Paps! Please wake up!" My breaths were ragged. "S-say something! What's wrong?... I don't want this to happen! Papyrus!"

Undyne looked absolutely bewildered, flinching at every one of my words. "What the heck is going on?!" She quickly turned to Flowey, an accusing glare pointed at him. "Hey!"

Flowey stared back at her indifferently. "Magical Monsters can only control their bodies from a hundred meters away at most."

"A hundred meters?" Undyne looked in thought for a moment before bringing her fist up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you normally walk around with them, so accidents like this rarely happen."

Nothing he was saying was making any sense. "...Flowey?" I echoed, confused and bewildered. "Please save him! P-please don't let Papyrus die!"

Flowey gave me a troubled expression before looking away. "Frisk… that's not Papyrus. It's just an empty container. You just threw him over the bridge."

"W-what?!" Undyne exclaimed.

"See," Flowey started to explain. "I couldn't ask you to fight witches with a fragile body like a normal person's. A Magical Monster's body is nothing more than a piece of external hardware. The actual Soul is given a much safer, compact form that is capable of controlling magic much more efficiently. It's just part of my job, when I complete Magical Monster contracts." Flowey shrugged like there was nothing special about it. "I remove your souls and change them to Soul Gems."

I stared at him in shock, barely registering the words. Papyrus wasn't in his body. He was in his Soul Gem. And I had just thrown him over the bridge. I would never see him again. I had killed him.

Undyne looked ready to explode, giving Flowey the most sharpest glare I've ever seen. "What in the heck did you do to us, you twerp?!" She stepped forward, grabbing him by the scruff and holding him in the air. She looked angry enough to chuck him over the bridge. "You brat! You've turned us into... into zombies!"

Flowey struggled a bit but didn't seem very bothered. "What? Isn't it more convenient this way? No matter what physical condition you're in, you'll always be able to heal it back with magic and resume fighting. So you're basically invincible, provided that your Gem doesn't break. Isn't that way better than fighting with a human body that has so many potential problems?"

My mind was whirling with the new information. It couldn't be possible. That would mean that Sans, Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus… it would mean that all Magic Monster's souls were transferred into gems. "That's terrible." I murmured. "That's awful." I felt ready to cry.

Flowey face was unamused. "You're all the same. You always act the same way when you're told what's going on. I just don't get it. Why do humans put so much value into where their souls are placed? They should just be glad they have one."

Undyne looked ready to kill, and I was ready to burst into tears at Papyrus' death. But then suddenly, a bony hand appeared next to me, placing an orange Soul Gem next to Papyrus' body. Sans had returned. Undyne and I gasped a little as color returned to Papyrus' eyes and he startled awake. He picked himself up, giving all of us a curious stare. We only stared back in silence; the only noise we could hear were the cars passing underneath us.

"WHAT?" He finally asks when we don't respond. "WHAT HAPPENED?"