One month had passed, and Sans was spending more time helping his father at the lab. Because of this, Papyrus was often left alone. While he did like being able to do things by himself, he would often get lonely without Sans or Gaster around. In fact, he would even go as far as to say that he was jealous of Sans for spending so much time with their father.

Papyrus was sitting on a bench at the park, his jaw resting in his hands. He let out a deep sigh. He watched as a small group of kids played in the playground. He had to admit, it looked like fun...although he'd probably get some strange looks from other monsters if he joined in. He had to admit, being older certainly had its disadvantages.

Eventually, something caught Papyrus' eye. Standing behind a nearby tree were the horns of a certain Astigmatism, one of which had a ribbon tied to it.

"What are you doind back there?" Papyrus asked, catching Sclara by surprise."Why do you care!?"

"Well, you just seem a bit troubled, that's all!" Papyrus said as he patted the space next to him. "Why not sit next to me? I'm sure you'd like to have someone to talk to."

Sclara looked around a bit before she begrudgingly sat down next to Papyrus. "So whaddaya want?"

"I just want to know if you were OK."

"I'm fine...except..." Sclara started to look down, unwilling to talk. "Forget it, you wouldn't care!"

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to talk about it?" Papyrus asked patiently. "I guess it's understandable. Usually when Sans gets upset, it takes a little while for him to say anything."

It remained silent for a while, Papyrus was playfully kicking his legs like a child. As mean as Sclara was, he was willing to let her talk to him. And while he wasn't a therapist by any means, he was willing to lend a metaphorical ear to other monsters.

Finally, Sclara turned her head to face Papyrus. She opened her mouth, revealing her giant eyeball. "Tell me...do you think Ricky and I are scary?"

"Well, yeah," Papyrus said, bluntly, "You two are always finding ways to terrorize us!"

"I figured as much," Sclara replied. "But I can't really help it, it's in my nature."

"As an Astigmatism?"

"Well, yes. It's kind of like how you skeletons always have those weird names."

Papyrus shrugged. "Well...it's one of those weird traditions we skeletons have...Not that I mind, really."

"I guess we're all a little weird in some way," Sclara said as she closed her mouth. She started to grin. Papyrus nodded in agreement. For a while, the two of them continued to talk. They freely compared their species, mentioning how stubborn Astigmatisms were or how skeletons could talk in many different ways. They even began to tell stories about Sans and Ricky. While Papyrus and Sclara never got along in most circumstances, it was like they were talking to the friend they never had.

Eventually, Sclara started to look down at the pavement, taking a deep breath. "Y'know...in a way, Ricky was always jealous of you two."

"Are you serious?" Papyrus asked in disbelief. Sclara nodded. "Yep...he always hated how you and Bri...Sans got along so well. He wanted to ruin that friendship more then anything."

"Well...I don't think anything could get me to hate Sans."

"But don't you two ever fight?"

"Of course we do," Papyrus replied. Sclara looked up at him, shocked. "No way, you mean you've actually FOUGHT Sans!?"

"Well, yes," Papyrus replied, "We ARE brothers, after all." The skeleton closed his eye sockets for a moment. "We've bickered about all kinds of things, including a lot of stupid stuff, but I could never hurt him." Papyrus spoke fondly as he opened his eye sockets. "And sure, he may be frail and sickly at times, but stats aside, he's one of the strongest monsters I know."

"Ahahahaha," Sclara couldn't help but laugh. "No wonder Sans likes you, you're just a complete sap!" As Sclara stopped laughing, she began to frown. "You know...sometimes I'd wish Ricky was a bit softer. That way he wouldn't hurt so many people and we could still be friends."

Papyrus smiled sympathetically at the smaller monster. "If you'd like, then maybe we could be friends."

Sclara tilted her head in confusion. "Even after all I've done to you, you STILL want to be friends?"

"Of course I would," Papyrus said warmly. "Besides, I can see now that you can be a nice monster. You just need to speak with the right person."

"But why would I..." Sclara stopped herself mid-sentence. She began to smile as she got off the bench. "You know what, call me whatever ya want." The astigmatism began to leave, she waved at Papyrus. "I'll see ya later!"

Papyrus waved to Sclara as she left. He was happy that he could help another monster in need. It was one of those reasons that he wanted to be a guardsman in the first place. He stretched as he began to head back home. After speaking to his new friend, he was finally ready to spend some time with his own family.

As Papyrus walked into the apartment, he was greeted with the smell of burning rubber. He covered his nasal cavity defensively. "What's going on, here?"

"oh, dad's just makin' us some dinner," Sans, replied, as though it were normal. "he says he's making some lasagna, but i think he's cooking a tire."

"Well...I suppose you can't get better unless you keep trying,," Papyrus replied as he sat down on the couch, next to his brother. Sans looked up at Papyrus with a curious gaze. "so, how've you been?"

Papyrus began to smile, triumphantly. "I actually made a new friend."

"oh, you did!?" Sans asked, excitedly. "papyrus, i'm so proud of you!"

"Well, she's actually very nice once you get to know her."

"heh..." Sans looked a little suspicious, "she wouldn't happen to be sclara, would she?"

"How did you know!?"

"oh my god!" Sans yelled as he started to rub his own skull, "papyrus, you know this can't end well!"

Papyrus raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"'cause she's been bullying us for YEARS!"

"Look, Sans...I know where you're coming from, but I think she's changed. You may not like her, but at least I'm willing to give her a chance!"

"heh...i guess there's no changing your mind, is there?" Sans asked as he shrugged. "just be careful around her, ok?"

Papayrus smiled warmly as he started petting Sans' skull. "Don't worry, brother. I'm sure she'll won't do anything bad to me, anymore."

Smoke started to leave the kitchen, Sans and Papyrus watched as Gaster ran to grab the fire extinguisher and helplessly fought back against the fire.

"i think he might be outta practice, " Sans whispered. Papyrus replied with a small nod. "Do you think we should help him?"

Sans got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. "i'll go get the buckets."

Papyrus followed his brother into the kitchen. It seemed like tonight, they might have to order some pizza, again. Either way, he hoped that Gaster didn't hurt himself too badly.

As another day has gone past, Papyrus was walking home by himself. He was carrying a bag with three spider donuts. After what happened last night, Papyrus had thought that the best way to cheer his father up was with some sweets.

Not long after Papyrus walked out of the spider bakery, Sclara started to run up to him. "Hey, Rattles...you're interested in becoming a guardsman, aren't you?"

Papyrus tilted his head. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well...you know how Captain Gerson retired, a few months back?"

"Of course I do."

Sclara began to smile as she held her hands behind her head. "Well, I hear that just recently, King Asgore chose an entirely new captain. I hear that she's so strong, she could lift a boulder 10 times her size!"

"R-really!?" Papyrus' eyes began to sparkle in admiration. "Wowie...I'd certainly like to meet her, one day!"

Sclara scoffed at that comment. "Yeah, as long as she doesn't beat you up, first. I hear that she can be BRUTAL towards her enemies." The astigmatism placed a hand on her chin. "Well...maybe that only applies to bad guys. But still, if I ever got to meet her, I'd certainly careful around her."

"Nyehehehe..." Papyrus chuckled nervously. For someone so strong to become captain of the Royal Guard, she must've been very popular. The skeleton couldn't help but admire someone like that, but he had to wonder what type of monster she was. Maybe she's a boss monster? Or quite possibly a dragon. Heck, she could even be another skeleton for all he knew.

Sclara had a look of concern on her face, she began to pull on Papyrrus' sleeve. "Hey, Rattles...you OK?"

"Oh," Papyrus looked down at the astigmatism, he started to blush in embarrassment. "Sorry, I must've zoned out on you."

"Right, well...I'm sure Asgore has a reason for hiring her. And if that's the case, then we'll be safe as long as she's in charge."

Papyrus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm sure we will be..."

Meanwhile, Ricky was hiding behind a nearby tree. Smoke was coming out of his nostrils as he snarled. How DARE he talk to Sclara! How DARE he steal his best friend away from him!

Ricky clawed at the tree as he watched the two monsters walking by. One thing was certain, he had to teach Papyrus a lesson...

Welp...I can tell that the next chapter's going to be a fun one!