Disclaimer: The author doesn't own Undertale or MOTHER. They belong to Toby Fox and Shigesato Itoi respectively.
Hah, I told you all! What did I say! Posted weekley!
Flowey: Weekly nothing, it's Friday!
That's still this week through!
Flowey: You know what, I'm not going to argue with you, of all people.
I'm taking that as an insult.
Flowey: Cause it is! Now get on with it!
RaeChanNau: Ninten hiding something? I don't think he is...And yes, a determined PAPYRUS is a dangerous PAPYRUS.
D3lph0xL0v3r: Hah, yeah, Ninten's pretty darn strong. And yes, Cognitive Dissonance is a great game.
And onto the show!
Chapter 11: Bonetrousle Hustle
PAPYRUS blocks the way!
Ninten pulls you out of the way, but Papyrus doesn't attack. You're too busy staring at the skeleton to hear what Ninten's saying. Papyrus stares straight ahead, not looking at you.
"Frisk! Get your head in in the fight!"
You wince at the word fight but resign yourself to the fact that you were going to have to fight Papyrus.
You'll SPARE him no matter what.
Papyrus. 8 Attack, 2 Defense. Likes to say "Nyeh heh heh!".
"NYEH HEH HEH!"
You could tell Papyrus's heart wasn't fully into the laugh. Papyrus strikes a pose before throwing his hands out. You tense as bones fly erupt from the ground, rushing towards you.
Rush isn't the word I'd use.
The bones pass by you and Ninten at a walking pace, not coming within a foot of either of you.
"What is he doing…?" You hear Ninten mutter.
You hope that Papyrus not attacking meant that it'd be easier to SPARE him.
You tell Papyrus you don't want to fight.
Papyrus is silent as he throws his hands out, more bones erupting from the ground and giving you a wide berth.
"What the heck are you doing!?"
You start as Ninten yells, his eyes glowing.
"If you're going to attack us, then do it, you...you...eggplant!"
You immediately chide Ninten for his language.
"HOW SELFLESS..."
You turn towards Papyrus, who looked oddly happy and sad at the same time.
"YOU WANT ME TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT FIGHTING YOU..." Papyrus sniffs, "I DON'T DESERVE YOUR HUMILITY!"
Papyrus sends out another few bones and they veer wildly away from you.
Looks like insults won't work.
You blink as an idea occurs to you.
You move a couple of steps forward, ignoring Ninten, and flirt with Papyrus.
"Y-Y-Y-You l-l-look very h-handsome…! C-Come here oft-ten…?"
You give Papyrus a thumbs up, smiling slyly.
More like shyly…
You feel Ninten glaring at you. You continue smiling at Papyrus, whose cheekbones are blushing orange.
"WHAT!? FL-FLIRTING!? SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS! W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!"
Papyrus points at you dramatically and you freeze up.
C'mon, pull up the charm!
You gulp and try to speak.
"I-I-I...have no redeeming qualities."
...What was that?
You scuff the snow with your boots.
"OH NO! THAT HUMILITY... IT REMINDS ME OF, MYSELF! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!"
Papyrus coughs into his fist and looks away. You stare at him hopefully.
"I-I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A ...DATE WITH YOU?" Papyrus asks.
You nod vigorously.
"R-R-IGHT! WE'LL DATE...LATER. AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!"
Papyrus thrusts his arms out again and the bones erupt from the ground and rush towards you. You freeze at the sudden attack.
"PK Fire!"
The bones are set alight and burn to ashes under the intense fire. You start as Ninten lands next to you.
"What were you thinking?" Ninten growls.
Still feeling slightly angry, you turn towards him- and falter.
Ninten's eyes glowed red.
It was only for a brief moment but in that brief moment they were as red as blood. As red as your SOUL. As red as your eyes.
You blink and Ninten's eyes are normal.
Looks like Papyrus is thinking about your date.
You turn to see Papyrus dabbing Bone Cologne behind his ears, muttering.
"WHAT SHOULD I WEAR…? WHAT SHOULD I COOK…!"
You feel touched by how nervous Papyrus is about your 'date'.
"Frisk, what's the plan?" Ninten asks quietly.
You don't have a plan. But you can't tell Ninten that. So you puff out your chest. And you SPARE PAPYRUS.
For a moment nothing happens as PApyrus stares at you. You stare back at the skeleton, refusing to look away.
"SO, YOU WON'T FIGHT…"
PAPYRUS takes a breath.
"THEN LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK!"
You blink as Papyrus gathers familiar light blue magic.
Just stand still!
PAPYRUS unleashes his magic, large light blue bones sprouting from the ground and rushing towards you. You grab Ninten's hand and remain still. Ninten does the same and the blue bones pass by your harmlessly.
If this is it, then-
Your legs buckle and you fall to the snow as the weight of what feels like a house pushes onto your shoulder. You try to breath and you notice your SOUL has turned a deep dark blue and you see the white bones rushing towards you and you try to get up but can't-
You suddenly fly through the air and land with an off in the snow. You hear a dull thwack and you struggle to sit up.
When you do you see Ninten face down on the snow, his SOUL as blue as yours. For a moment your SOUL leaps into your throat and you only calm down when Ninten moans and tries to pull himself up.
SOUL magic?!
"YOU'RE BLUE NOW!" PAPYRUS proclaimed, "THAT'S MY ATTACK!"
With great difficulty you get up to your feet and shuffle towards Ninten. As you help him up you wince at the damage to his SOUL.
Ninten gave you a look.
"Guess this will be harder than we thought," he muttered.
You nod and look at PAPYRUS. PAPYRUS stares back and you wonder why he's not attacking-
He's waiting for you to take your turn.
You can't help but smile a little. Even when trying to FIGHT you PAPYRUS was being nice.
You see Ninten form something in his hands and you immediately put a hand over them. Ninten gives you a look and you shake your head.
No fighting.
Ninten sighs but doesn't prepare an attack and you turn towards PAPYRUS and tell him you aren't going to fight.
PAPYRUS's eyeridge creases for a moment before he thrusts out his hands again.
"NYEHEHEHEHEHE!"
Normal coloured bones rush towards you and still holding Ninten's hand you jump.
The bones start small and you hop over them easily even though you're blue. But soon walls of bone as tall as you start to show up and it takes all your power to jump over them.
You think that without Ninten's PSI both of you might have gone down in PAPYRUS's second attack. But you don't and as you land sloppily on the ground you SPARE PAPYRUS again.
"HMM, SO YOU'VE BEHOLDEN MY BLUE ATTACK...NO MATTER! TAKE THIS!"
More bones erupt from the ground but this time they were joined by bones hanging in the air. As they come towards you you feel afraid for a moment before taking a breath and moving.
A hop over a bone that turns into a slide under another one. Through it all you and Ninten still hold hands and somehow you get past this attack too.
"Hah, is that all you go-!"
Ninten's remark was cut off by a bones rushing past him, sending him to the ground, his SOUL dimmer.
"TRY JUMPING! IF YOU HOLD THE...WAIT, HOW DO YOU JUMP HIGHER AGAIN?"
You ignore PAPYRUS and kneel down to help Ninten up.
"Okay, that was a hit and run," he said somewhat groggy.
When you ask him if he's okay he waves a hand.
"Yeah, fine. No more smart remarks from me…"
Good luck with that.
You resist the urge to smile just a little and turn towards PAPYRUS, sparing him once more.
"GIVE UP, HUMANS! YOU CAN'T HOPE TO BEAT ME! NOT WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK, NYEHEHEHEH!"
You're wholly unprepared for the bones that appear behind you and you hastily pull Ninten to his feet and hop over them, almost falling into the next set of bones. Soon you're surrounded, bones coming in forwards and backwards. You wince as the occasional bone nicks you but both you and Ninten make it without too much damage. Ninten's panting though, and you wonder if you should rummage in your bag for food.
"SEE? DON'T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK, HUMANS!"
You make a face and spare PAPYRUS again.
This time a few of the bones are blue, mixed in with normal bones. You cry out as a towering bones separates you from Ninten and you try to reach him again, weaving through blue and white bones like a ballerina.
You're too clumsy though and a blue bones hits you as you dodge a white one. For a moment you're bombarded by bones and when you finally move your SOUL is half as dim as it should be.
"Frisk!"
Ninten runs up to you and you sigh as he uses PSI Life-Up, aches and pains fading.
"Frisk, are you sure we can keep dodging him…?" Ninten asks you.
You stare at PAPYRUS, who grins at you. If PAPYRUS's attacks became harder and harder, then…But fighting PAPYRUS...
You scrunch your face up and tell Ninten that you wouldn't fight, no matter what. Ninten sighs but doesn't say anything else, and you SPARE PAPYRUS.
"NYEHEHEHEHEH! I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!"
More bones erupt from the ground and as you and Ninten dodge PAPYRUS speaks.
"PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
Bones of blue and white surround you and Ninten and you leap with all your might over them and SPARE PAPYRUS.
"PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!"
The bones same in waves this time, rising and lowering like ocean waves. You trip over the tip of a wave of bones mid jump and are saved from faceplanting by a sudden psychic tug from Ninten.
You SPARE PAPYRUS.
PAPYRUS rubs the back of his skull.
"UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME! PROBABLY."
The bones come in higher and higher waves and the only reason you don't get steamrolled is Ninten. But as the attack ends Ninten's eyes are glassy and he wobbles, and you realize you can't really on him the whole time.
You SPARE PAPYRUS.
"THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!"
Bones as tall as you are come from all sides and you jump with all your strength over each one. Ninten just hovers, looking exceptionally tired as he plops back down to the ground. You give Ninten another worried look and SPARE PAPYRUS.
"MY BROTHER-" PAPYRUS hesitated, "-WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE AT ALL."
The bones are smaller but come in faster and you hop madly over each one, some of the bones overlapping. Ninten once more hovers in the air and you see PAPYRUS frown. The bones stop and Ninten lands on the ground, only to stumble to his knees. You cry out and put a hand on his shoulders, but he brushes you off.
"I'm fine...I'll be fine…" he says breathlessly.
You bite the bottom of your lip.
He's definitely not fine.
Hesitantly you SPARE PAPYRUS.
"I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS!" PAPYRUS declares happily and his hands crackle with magic.
Bones surround you and you hop over each one, gasping for air. Ninten hovers into the air-
And with a crack a bone slams into him. You watch in horror as Ninten plummets to the ground and the bones below. The bones disappear suddenly and your SOUL glows red once more. You hardly notice though as another weight settles on your SOUL, this one dark and choking. You run up to Ninten's body and you shake him, yelling his name.
You can't see his SOUL and he's cold and he doesn't move and your throat burns and you feel stinging behind your eyes and the weight on your SOUL increases and why couldn't it have been you-?
Warmth stings your fingers and you blink away tears, not believing your eyes. Hesitantly you move your hand and you gasp as you see a tiny spark of pink.
"HUMAN!"
You start as PAPYRUS runs up to you and you immediately cover Ninten with you body.
PAPYRUS stops as you glare at him, faltering.
You yell at PAPYRUS not to come closer. You want to yell at him more but his expression immediately becomes so heartbroken that you falter.
"ALAS! WHAT HAVE I DONE!? I MADE SURE TO KEEP WATCH ON YOUR SOULS, BUT- NO. THAT DOESN'T MATTER. I HAVE HURT YOU, HUMANS! AND IN MY GREED TO BE RECOGNIZED, I ALMOST THREW AWAY THE RECOGNITION I ALREADY HAD! HOW COULD I NOT SEE IT BEFORE? YOU TWO HUMANS ARE MY FRIENDS! YOU HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT KIND TO ME. AND WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH THAT KINDNESS? WHY I THREW IT AWAY LIKE A CUR! WHAT KIND OF FRIEND AM I? NO, I CAN NO LONGER CALL YOU TWO MY FRIENDS! I-I-I-!"
You hug PAPYRUS and he becomes speechless. You continue hugging him and tell him you forgive him.
"H-HUMAN?"
You continue to hug PAPYRUS and as color bleeds back into the world I felt PAPYRUS slowly hug me back.
"WHY?" PAPYRUS asks softly.
And it didn't take me long to answer. PAPYRUS may have attacked us, but then again everyone we met attacked us. I knew at the bottom of my heart that PAPYRUS was a good person, and…
"I want to be your friend…" I said.
PAPYRUS was silent for a moment and I was worried that he'd reject me or he'd capture the two of us. Ninten and I had lost, after all. My fears were dashed as PAPYRUS suddenly grabbed me below the arms and hoisted me into the air. The skeleton beamed at you, grin in full force.
"OF COURSE, HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND!"
I laughed as PAPYRUS spun me around and told PAPYRUS that my name was Frisk.
PAPYRUS paused before spinning me around again.
"FRISK! FROM NOW ON, YOU ARE THE FRIEND OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
"I'm fine, thank you…"
PAPYRUS and I stopped and stared down at Ninten. Ninten groaned and sat up with some effort.
"Don't mind me…" he wheezed.
I immediately wriggled out of PAPYRUS's grasp and landed next to him.
Was he alright?
Ninten just smiled and flashed a thumbs up.
"I'm fine...Just a bit tired…"
More than just a bit.
Ninten's already pale skin had a greyish tinge to it and there were bags around his dull eyes.
He's was obviously not fine!
"No, really, I am…" Ninten insisted weakly.
"HUMAN, I MUST AGREE WITH FRISK. YOU DO NOT LOOK WELL AT ALL!" PAPYRUS said.
Ninten tried to stand up but seemed unable to.
"Hah...Well, I've been using PSI all day, and without a PSI Stone either...I'll be fine after a good rest."
AH, IN THAT CASE! HUMAN, FRISK! THE GREAT PAPYRUS INVITES YOU TO MY HUMBLE ABODE!" PAPYRUS said.
I glanced at Ninten, who shrugged.
"I'm fine with that…"
Was he?
"Of course," Ninten said, before turning to PAPYRUS.
"Well? Lead the way, great PAPYRUS."
OF COURSE, HUMAN! LET'S GO, NYEHEHEHEH!"
I almost yelped as PAPYRUS grabbed me in one arm and Ninten in another. A moment later Ninten and I were perched on each of PAPYRUS's shoulders and he ran down the path, cackling. I laughed along with him and Ninten just rested. As we ran we ran past many snow sculptures of odd winding shapes. It wasn't until I heard the bark that I realized what they were and I turned to see Lesser Dog running next to us on all fours. I waved and Lesser Dog barked, following us as PAPYRUS ran.
"AH, I ALMOST FORGOT! HUMANS! WATCH AS I SHOW YOU THE SKILLS OF A TRUE PUZZLE MASTER!"
I didn't understand what PAPYRUS was saying till I saw the icy ground before us, familiar blue X's on certain spots. Before I could even think, PAPYRUS ran onto the ice- and continued to run, legs blurring as he ran to each X until he touched them all and sliding down the icy path into the thick dark woods in front of us.
There was a moment of total darkness and when we slid out of the woods I squinted at the sudden light, gloomy though it was. Then I blinked and rubbed my eyes, making sure they were working correctly.
Ninten had snow bunny ears on top of his cap. PAPYRUS had one of those weird wigs old people wore and Lesser Dog had a top hat. I tentatively put a hand to the top of my head gently and felt something that felt like a bow-
PAPYRUS stepped onto the snow again and I made a noise of disappointment as the snow fell off. I kinda wanted to take a picture…
PAPYRUS continued to run, not slowing down at all. Not even when those teenage monsters from before stepped into their way.
"Hey, wait, aren't those-?" Chilldrake began, only for PAPYRUS to zoom past them.
I turned around in time to see the teenage monsters whirling around like little tops and couldn't help but laugh.
PAPYRUS cackled, though I didn't know if he was laughing at what he had just done or laughing because I was laughing.
No, PAPYRUS wasn't slowing down at all as we ran past multiple snow...mounds?
They're snow poffs.
I blinked and was almost thrown off as PAPYRUS suddenly stopped. I turned towards him, asking him what was wrong. PAPYRUS's face was impassive and everything suddenly became darker-
I turned slowly to see a massive armored figure looming over us.
Great Dog!
PAPYRUS backed up as the figure stepped towards us.
"OH, HELLO, GREATER DOG," PAPYRUS began slowly, "IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU."
BARK.
Greater Dog took a step towards us and PAPYRUS took a step back.
"GREATER DOG, WHILE I WOULD LOVE TO STAY," PAPYRUS sounded nervous, "I'M AFRAID I MUST GO. I... I HAVE GUESTS, AS YOU CAN SEE!"
I waved hesitantly and waited for Ninten to say something. When he didn't i glanced at him and saw him napping against the crook of PAPYRUS's neck.
BARK.
"REALLY, GREATER DOG, I'M AFRAID THAT I MUST BE GOING!"
BARK!
I saw Greater Dog's eyes shine and PAPYRUS jerked back as Greater Dog pounced.
"NOT THE HEAD!"
BARK!
Bark!
I had shut my eyes as Greater Dog pounced and I opened them slowly when I realized that they weren't being savaged by a barrage of licking. What I saw almost melted my heart.
Greater Dog was on all fours, barking happily as Lesser Dog yapped at him. The two dogs ran for a while, batting at each other, before spinning around each other and running into the distance.
I couldn't help but coo.
"...RIGHT, LET'S GO! BEFORE THEY COME BACK!"
PAPYRUS broke into a swift trot, leaving behind the two Dog Guards. I was sad to see them go, but to be honest I was more excited to finally get to Snowdin- and Mom- again.
PAPYRUS slowed as a long rickety rope bridge came into view. I gave the bridge a worried look.
"WORRY NOT FRISK, THIS BRIDGE IS PERFECTLY SAFE!" PAPYRUS proclaimed, stepping onto the bridge. The bridge didn't budge and PAPYRUS walked across it, though slower than before.
"WE ARE ONLY A FEW STEPS FROM SNOWDIN TOWN, FRISK! HUMAN!"
I laughed and told PAPYRUS that his name was Ninten.
"I KNEW THAT! BUT HE MUST GIVE ME HIS NAME HIMSELF!"
Why?
"OTHERWISE IT DOESN'T COUNT-"
PAPYRUS stopped. I wondered why and turned forward.
And my blood froze as I saw Flowey waiting for us on the other side, smiling.
"Howdy~!"
Flowey: Wait, your ending it there?
It seemed like a good idea. Nice cliffhanger.
Flowey: You're just doing this to piss me off, aren't you?
Maybe.
Flowey: You'll get yours soon. But not today. No, today, those brats will get theirs! and I'll get those SOULS! AHAHAHAHA-
Right, I'll interrupt you there.
Tune in next time to see what happens! Remember to read and review!
