I finally got my new glasses, and what better way to celebrate then with a new chapter?

Papyrus woke up, feeling disoriented. Instead of waking up back in his comfy bed like he expected, he remembered that he was living in a cave somewhere in Waterfall. He looked down at Sans, who was still sleeping like a baby bones. For some reason, he was clinging onto Papyrus' arm.

Papyrus gently pulled his arm away, trying his best not to wake his brother. He began to stretch, his bones felt stiff from sleeping on the ground. This cave looked nothing like a home, he knew that much...but perhaps there was a way for him to improvise? He walked over to his backpack, his boney feet were clacking against the cold, hard ground. He pulled out a flash light and placed it in the corner of the cave, turning it on. While the flash light didn't make for a good lamp, it would have to do. Afterwards, he pulled out some books from his back pack and placed them onto a flat rock near their makeshift bed, It would make for a perfect night stand. Still, he couldn't help but frown, there wasn't anything else he could use to create furniture. He looked into Sans' bag and grabbed a bag of small cookies. He looked out at the rain, pulling out several small cookies and tossing them into his jaw. At least the rain was still nice to look at.

Half an our had passed, Sans began to stir a bit before sitting up. He let out a yawn as he began to stretch.

"Good morning, Lazy Bones," Papyrus greeted. Sans looked around, his eye sockets were barely opened. The first thing he saw was the flashlight in the corner.

"Oh yeah," Papyrus said, "I thought the cave seemed a bit empty, so I tried to decorate it a bit."

"...hmm..." Sans walked over to Papyrus, he sat down next to his brother. "to be fair, i probably would've done the same thing."

Papyrus nodded as he looked down, forlorn. The idea that this was his new home didn't really settle with him. He felt a small arm wrap around his back. He looked down at Sans, who was giving him an encouraging look. "how 'bout we go look for the wishing room?"

"Oh, how could I forget!?" Papyrus asked as his hand collided with his face. "It's where we made that wish back when we were kids!"

"yeah, it is," Sans said, as his smile started to falter. The brothers sat there in awkward silence as they remembered what their wish was. Had Gaster not fall into the Core, and had Sans and Papyrus not say anything out loud at the time, then their wish probably would've come true.

"Well..." Papyrus looked down at his brother, breaking the silence, "how about we make a new wish? It might actually come true, this time!"

"are you sure?" Sans asked. "wishes usually don't work."

"Of course it'll work," Papyrus argued, "We just need to make sure that we don't say anything, this time!"

Sans was about to say something bitter, but he held his non-existent tongue and shrugged. "you know what? believe whatever you want. i just wanna see the stones, again!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Papyrus asked excitedly, "Let's go see them!"

Papyrus grabbed his umbrella, he waited for Sans to do the same thing before heading over to the Wishing Room. If it was anything that made Waterfall beautiful, it was the sparkling stones on the ceilings. And the Wishing Room was FULL of those sparkling stones. It was worth visiting at least once.

Once the skeletons made it out of the rain, they returned the umbrellas to another bucket. They continued to move along, running into a few friendly monsters along the way, which included an onion monster, a pair of fish sisters, and a seahorse (literally a horse with a fish tail). However, While the skeletons continued to walk, they saw something running at them from a distance.

"Arf! Arf!"

A small, white dog ran by the two skeletons, carrying what looked like a piece of cloth in its mouth. Shortly after that, a training dummy floated by them, knocking Papyrus to the ground. "YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE-"

"sheesh, what's that guy's problem?" Sans asked as he looked at the dummy float by. He looked down at Papyrus and knelt down to his level. "are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Papyrus said as he scrambled to sit up. "But was that a training dummy that knocked me down, just now?"

"Excuse me, darling!"

A pair of ghosts floated by them, going after the strange dummy. Papyrus and Sans looked at each other awkwardly, then back at the direction the ghosts ran.

"so...that happened."

Papyrus stood up, he dusted his clothes. "Well, I'd rather it be me then you. Now let's go find the wishing room!"

Sans nodded as he started walking by Papyrus. If they remembered correctly, the Wishing Room shouldn't be that far off. As strange as that scene was, they hoped the dog and the dummy were all right.

They finally arrived at the wishing room was as beautiful as the skeletons remembered, with the rocks shining brilliantly along the walls and on the ceilings. However they noticed that it was a little different from what they remembered when they were kids. Echo Flowers were starting to bloom and there was a lone telescope sitting at a corner. Despite this, it was the same room they made their wish in 6 years ago.

Sans started to examine the flowers, wondering if they had anything interesting to say. The Echo Flowers began to talk to him, as though they were recordings sitting inside someone's cell phone.

"I wish I could go home!"

"I wish I could have a gorgeous body, one that could make me feel like myself!"

"tEM wish 2 pet cyoot hoomans!11!"

"...I wish I could see the surface."

Papyrus placed a hand on Sans' shoulder, "Maybe we shouldn't listen to other people's wishes. They might not come true, you know!"

"hey, it's not like we know who any of these people are," Sans argued, "so it should be fine!"

"...it should be fine!"

Papyrus snickered as the echo flower mimicked Sans. The smaller skeleton glared at the flower. "excuse me, was i talking to you?"

"...was i talking to you?"

At this point, Papyrus was trying to contain himself. He didn't want the flowers to repeatedly laugh back at him. Sans moved on to the next flower, hoping to find something even more interesting. However, this flower gave Sans and Papyrus an unsettling chill that ran through their spines like an electric current.

"...I wish I had my best friend, back!"

Sans back away from the flower, looking up at Papyrus with complete shock. "...y-you don't suppose that was who i think it was?"

"You mean Ricky?" Papyrus replied. "Because if it is, then...well...I honestly don't know what to do about it."

"well, maybe he's not even here," Sans replied, "maybe he's in hotland, or-"

"What if he tries to kill us?" Papyrus asked, a horrifying thought crossing his mind. "Oh my god, Sans! We HAVE to go back, or he'll kill us faster then you can say-!"

"papyrus, calm down!" Sans yelled. "neither of us are going back, all right? we're perfectly fine with where we are."

"But what if Ricky finds us!?" Papyrus argued.

"then we'll go find undyne, simple as that!"

"But what if she CAN'T help us," Papyrus argued, "what if she's busy with something else!?"

Sans let out a deep sigh. He started rubbing his face, fighting the urge to call his brother something he'd regret later on. "how 'bout we just go back to the cave for a bit?"

"Are you sure?" Papyrus asked, "You haven't made any wishes, yet!"

"i've said it myself, i don't believe in wishes," Sans said quietly, "now come on,i think we should just go home for a bit."

Papyrus nodded in understanding as he picked Sans off the ground. Before he left the wishing room, he couldn't help but make at least one small wish.

"...I wish we could find a safe place to live."

Papyrus was walking along a quiet area in Waterfall, where the water glowed like the stones above them. Sans was already asleep in his arms, he was sleeping ever since they left the Wishing Room. He wasn't much for arguments, and Papyrus could tell that his brother was still annoyed with him. But he'll get over it like he always does.

He continued moving forward until he saw a familiar, white dog sitting in front of him. He was chewing on a piece of cloth.

"Oh, hello," Papyrus said happily. "Aren't you the dog from earlier?"

The dog looked up at him and started barking, he patted the ground excitedly, like he wanted to play.

"Well...It's a good thing we skeletons can create bones out of magic!" Papyrus said as he summoned a bone with his free hand, throwing across the room with gravity magic. The dog dropped the cloth and ran as fast as his feet could carry him, taking the bone into his mouth and running back to Papyrus. He sat there wagging his tail, expecting to be pet.

"You're awfully playful, aren't you!" Papyrus said as he slowly knelt down and started petting the dog, all while being careful not to drop Sans. Suddenly, the dog started to sniff the air, Papyrus looked at it with concern. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

The dog let out a small growl, it ran behind Papyrus and started barking at a tree. Papyrus looked down at the dog in confusion. "What's wrong with it, it's just a-"

Papyrus stopped mid-sentence as he noticed a long orange tail sticking out of the tree. He felt butterflies forming in his non-existent stomach. He held tightly onto Sans and began to run. Hopefully, the dog was all right by itself. Still...Ricky couldn't be here, could he? Why would he want to live in Waterfall, of all places when most dragons preferred Hotland? His train of thought stopped as he bumped into Undyne, he could tell the armor-clad monster was glaring at him.

"Watch where you're going, punk!" Undyne yelled, "You could've hurt someone!"

"I'm sorry," Papyrus replied, "It's just that I thought I saw someone back there, and-"

"Really?" Undyne asked excitedly. "What did you see?"

"W-well, I saw someone hiding behind a tree, back there. They had an orange tail, but that's all I-"

"NGAAAAAHHHH!" Undyne quickly summoned a spear in her hand and started running. "I'VE GOT YOU NOW, PUNK!"

Papyrus watched as the royal guardswoman ran back to where the tree was. Maybe she was going after Ricky? He didn't know what type of monster Undyne was, but whatever she was, he was sure that she could handle a dragon on her own. After all, this was the same woman who can lift a boulder off the ground without any problems.

He started walking back to the cave. He looked down at Sans, the smaller skeleton hadn't moved at all. Not that Papyrus was worried. He was used to this, after all.

Once he came back to the rainy area, he carried Sans into the cave and placed him down on the makeshift bed. He thought it was best to leave him here for now. Without anything else to do, it wouldn't hurt to go through Waterfall on his own...would it?

Papyrus began to walk through the rainy area, holding his hand out from under the umbrella as the drops of rain made contact with his boney fingers. The rain felt as nice as it sounded. In a way, it was like a big shower. Still...as much as he liked Waterfall, it still didn't feel like home. As pretty as it was, it was much more suitable for slimes and fish monsters, not skeletons. The only reason he was here now was because of Sans.

...But he couldn't just leave his brother, that would be cruel. As stubborn as his brother was, it wouldn't hurt to persuade him into going back to New Home, would it?

Suddenly, Papyrus felt something grab onto his scarf. But before he could see what was going on, he saw the white dog running off with the scarf. It was the same white dog from before.

"HEY!" Papyrus yelled as he chased the dog. "GIVE THAT BACK!"

The dog barked in a playful, yet mocking tone. It ran and ran until it escaped into a small cave, where Papyrus wasn't able to catch it. The skeleton pounded the walls with his fists, eyeballs formed in his eye sockets. "YOU GIVE THAT SCARF BACK, THIS INSTANT!"

Again, the dog just barked.

"Fine!" Papyrus grumbled, pulling his left arm off, "I'll get it, myself!"

He knelt down to the small cave entrance, putting his left arm inside to grab his scarf. He managed to touch something fuzzy, but his arm was quickly yanked away from him. Papyrus sat there with an irritated expression as the dog escaped through the cave.

"You OK, Papyrus?"

The skeleton turned his head to see Undyne, she had her hands on her hips. He could tell that she was concerned, despite wearing a helmet.

"Well...I WOULD be OK if that dog didn't take off with my scarf!" Papyrus grumbled. Undyne placed a supportive hand onto on his back. "Hey...if it'll make ya feel any better, then I'll try to keep an eye out for that dog."

"Thank you," Papyrus replied. "Do you think you'll be able to get my arm back, too?"

"Of course," Undyne replied. "I'd be pretty upset, too if some dog took off with MY arm."

Papyrus began to walk back to the cave, Undyne was walking besides him. He assumed it was to keep any other thieves away from him.

"So...have you caught whoever it was that you're looking for?"

Undyne shook her head. "No, he got away before I could do anything."

"Well that sounds disappointing," Papyrus said with a deep sigh.

"It is, but I'm sure I'll get him next time," Undyne said, happily. "Besides, he can't keep running, forever!"

"Well, I suppose that's true," Papyrus replied. "By the way...what did he do, anyway."

"Well...I wasn't there when it happened...but a year ago, he tried to murder a skeleton back in New Home."

"Oh..."

"Yeah...although apparently, he ended up killing an Astigmatism, who was a friend of the skeleton's." Undyne let out a sigh in despair. "It's tragic, really."

Undyne turned her head, she noticed how uncomfortable Papyrus looked. He was shaking like a leaf. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Papyrus looked over at Undyne, grabbing onto his loose sleeve. "I-it's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

Papyrus nodded in response.

"Well...If that guy comes anywhere NEAR you, then I'll beat him up for you. Does that sound good?"

"W-well-"

"Good! In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for him!" The armed monster said enthusiastically. "And, um...I'm sorry for your friend!"

Undyne ran off before Papyrus could say anything. He had to admit, despite her shortcomings, Undyne was a lot nicer to him then he initially thought. He would've imagined that she was much more stern, but that didn't change the fact that she was a tough monster. He'd hope that one day, he would become as tough as her. Maybe then, he could work up the courage to become a Royal Guardsman, himself.

Papyrus walked back into the cave. There, he saw Sans eating a bag of popato chisps with a bored expression. He was about to speak when he noticed his brother was missing his scarf. "what happened?"

"A dog took my scarf," Papyrus replied.

"...ok" Sans gave Papyrus an odd look, he walked over to the younger skeleton and pulled at his sleeve. "did they take your arm, too?"

Papyrus nodded, he sat down and let out a deep sigh. "Today didn't really go as well as I thought it would."

"well, we all have our bad days, don't we?"

"We do, but they're never THIS bad."

Sans gave Papyrus a sympathetic look, he sat down next to his brother. "if you want, we can try to look for your scarf."

"Thanks, but unfortunately...I have no idea where it is. Undyne said she would get it back for me, so I'm not sure."

"well she's the captain, ain't she?"

"That is true. And hopefully she can give it back to me, soon."

As silly as it sounded, Papyrus was very attached to his scarf. Partially because it was all that was left of his mother, but mostly because he didn't feel safe without it.

"hey, papyrus?"

Papyrus looked down at his brother. "yes, Sans?"

"i know it's early, but do you wanna call it a day?"

He didn't really want to, he would much rather read a book or play with his puzzle cube...but since there wasn't much light, and since his arm was still missing, there really wasn't anything else that he could do. "We may as well, brother!"

Papyrus laid down and curled up onto the makeshift bed. As distracting as a missing arm was, it was best to just suck it up and go to sleep. After all, the faster the day ended, the better.

Well this doesn't look very good, now does it?

And believe me, it'll only get worse from here!