CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Not a bus system

Meanwhile, back in a familiar edgy universe;

Papyrus teleports to the puzzle field with a whoosh of magic, still laughing at his own pun and wondering to himself about the mean, snappish version of his brother. Man is it still weird to see his brothers face on that assh- He stops in his tracks, still hidden among the trees near the puzzle field, (which is in roughly the same place as it is in his world thank goodness) having heard something…familiar? He stays very still, listening as the tall dark pines swish around him, snowbanks collected by their trunks in thick blankets.

"NYAH HAH HAH!"

There it is again! it's…his own laugh…? But really… stupid sounding? Papyrus edges silently through the trees, looking around for any sign of-

oh. my. god.

It's all Papyrus can do to keep himself from bursting out laughing, as he watches some…oh god, he can't help it, its- its just too ridiculous. He puts a hand over his mouth, his eye sockets scrunching up in the silent laughter that's causing him to shake as he tries not to make noise. He's looking through a gap in a bush, making out through leaves- It's a version of him but… Oh god he needs to stop snickering or this guys gonna hear him-

By the angel- what is this dope wearing?!

Papyrus doubles over, making tiny 'snrk!' sounds as he tries not to laugh out loud. He can't help it, he really can't, it's just- this version of him looks absolutely ridiculous! He's wearing some sort of improvised armor, a thick dark black shirt with the arms cut off covering only- pfft, he can't- it only covers his ribcage, leaving 'stupid-looking' papyrus's spine exposed.

Papyrus isn't even sure what he's wearing can be called armor, when it neither protects him nor covers any of his actually vulnerable areas. Like, in battle, wouldn't you want to protect your spine? Or knees? This guy is just too ridiculous- and it only makes it funnier that he looks like papyrus! Well, papyrus with weird sharp teeth, but otherwise the same. His outfit looks like he's wearing some emo-ified version of blues costume party outfit! Oh my god- is, is he posing?!

Papyrus just can't take it any more.

"NYEHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHEH!"

He bursts out laughing, managing to stumble out of the woods with a series of crunching footsteps, still shaking as he holds his sides, trying not to fall over as he howls with laughter. After a minute, he manages to wipe the small tears from his eye sockets and look up, immediately seeing the ridiculous-looking papyrus staring down at him- Wait. wait. Are those- does he have- Papyrus bursts out laughing again, saying through his howls of glee as snow swirls down around the two tall skeletons;

"D-dude! Is- is that eyeshadow?!"

There is no response. the other papyrus only assesses him coldly, a quivering rabbit monster child nearby glancing between them in a sort of cautious confusion. Papyrus somehow straightens up, giggling a couple times before leveling his gaze with the 'other' papyrus, still grinning.

"...WHO ARE YOU, WHO DARES MOCK THE INFAMOUS PAPYRUS?"

The ridiculously dressed papyrus asks in an icy tone, trying to be intimidating, but Papyrus only bursts out laughing again.

"NYEHEHEHEH- o-oh god, really? 'The infamous papyrus'? Im gonna-"

He sniggers some more before continuing, the other papyrus looking annoyed and slightly taken aback by his flawless deflection of the accusation.

"I'm gonna break a r-rib laughing, nyeheheh!"

Papyrus snorts, breaking into giggles at his own joke- stolen from blue- as the version of himself seems to jerk back, startled. Then the ridiculously dressed version of him speaks, both voice and font quivering with rage.

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE A- A PUN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE GREAT AND ILLUSTRIOUS PAPYRUS! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DIE PAINFULLY FOR THIS AFFRONTEMENT, VILE IMITATOR!"

Papyrus just sniggers, looking his counterpart up and down, unimpressed.

"S'that a challenge, er- well, me?"

He grins smugly.

"Because, as I'm sure we both know, im a bone-ified professional."

The other him quivers silently for a moment, then suddenly roars with rage, his bones clicking together with anger as papyrus just watches in amusement.

"DIE!"

the other papyrus suddenly screeches, falling into a comical attack stance that only makes papyrus snigger harder, his other self summoning a long bone to fight with and spinning it like a staff in the air as papyrus looks up to see another bone flying straight toward his face.

"Alright then sunshine, let's have ourselves a good old fashioned spar!"

Papyrus roars with laughter, imitating his counterpart's ridiculous pose to dodge the attack while making jazz hands, sending his attacker almost into a fit of rage, the other papyrus stomping his foot in the snow as he growls with rage. The other him roars with frustration, his eyes beginning to glow a bloody orange, bones coming from behind him as if fired from invisible bows, but papyrus just dodges. Suddenly, a bone fires at him so fast he almost doesnt notice it- but Papyrus just straightens, lighting fast, and avoids the rapid bone, summoning some of his own as he dodges with a bored expression.

Is this guy serious?

He fires his own bones with little conviction, if only to use his turn, but the other him only barely dodges his simple patterns with a small 'n-nyahhah?!' of surprise, glaring at him as he fires more patternless attacks. Where's this guy's style? His patterns? He fights like an unimaginative child, just with a lot more attacks- this is…sloppy, even by papyrus's very, very low standards.

Suddenly, the other him lets out another growl, and uses three turns in a row, papyrus dodging with his nonexistent eyebrows raised.

So, it's gonna be a dance then, huh sunshine?

The other papyrus fires attack after attack at him, but Papyrus just doges them easily, not even bothering to use his turn at this point, the other him just spamming more attacks in return, now outright ignoring the turn system and throwing attack after attack at papyrus- who just dodges boredly. Man, this guy…he's powerful, yeah, but sloppy.

Waves of bones come at papyrus, he jumps them.

Spears of bones rain from the heavens, papyrus summons his own to block the attacks.

Bones come up from the ground beneath him, he steps sideways.

Papyrus yawns. Basic. It's like attack 101- even he could (probably) do better!

His emo-ified counterpart growls at him, his oddly sharp teeth grinding as he sends his best attacks at the infuriating imitator that dodges through the snow. He has never before been disrespected so blatantly! This lookalike- this imitator will pay with their life. But, starting to get bored with the fight, Papyrus decides to end it. If this guy is just gonna growl and fire useless attacks, then what's the point?

And anyway- If this other him wants to play it dirty, papyrus will end it dirty.

Papyrus summons a bone behind his attacker with a flick of his wrist, sending it to crash against the back of his counterpart's skull with a loud CRACK that shocks the still shaking rabbit monster child nearby, his counterpart immediately stopping in his tracks, the light in his eye sockets dying with a small crackle of magic.

There's a moment of tense silence, then…

fwoooooooshTHUMP

The emo-ified papyrus falls face first into the snow, his HP at half, landing in an undignified pile of bones and dark cloth. Snow swirls lazily as papyrus gently pokes his skull with a bone, but the other him does not stirr, his HP just ticking down by half a percent. Out like a light. Papyrus snickers a bit, then mimes as if to dust off his hands, noticing the terrified little rabbit monster nearby.

"Hey there little buddy. You seen a small, energetic skeleton with a blue bandanna come by here? I need ta find him."

Papyrus asks in a friendly tone, holding a hand to about chest height for him to show what size he means. The rabbit child quakes with terror, staring up at papyrus with an expression of pure fear, managing to jerkily shake their head side to side in a firm 'no'. Papyrus narrows his eye sockets at the kid, then crouches down, one knee in the snow as he asks the small rabbit monster gently;

"Hey there kiddo, are you lost…? Where're your parents?"

The small rabbit monster sniffs, staring up at him pitifully- then begins to cry, large tears streaming down their cheeks, shakily pointing to the puzzle area where-

Oh my god.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god-

Papyrus feels like he's about to throw up. Horror crawls up his spine as he freezes in place, staring with blank eye sockets at the horrible scene in front of him as the child shakes in the snow. Two piles of thick white dust lay on the puzzle platform, the snow around the area torn apart as if some wild animal ripped through it, traps and spikes and arrows sticking out at every angle. a dark cloak and a ragged shirt is all that's left of the two monsters that died here- apart from the dust blowing in the slight underground breeze that sends the remains billowing up in clouds of sickly white. Papyrus is shaking now, his hand over his jaw, staring in horror.

How?

Why?

His brother's puzzles back home- they aren't deadly! They're not like this- the ones back home are puzzles, not death traps! The puzzle field was meant to slow down or lightly injure humans, again, just to slow them down- not tear them apart so their soul could shatter uselessly, and it certainly wasn't meant to kill monsters! And if two monsters just died then-

Then why was this version of me laughing when i…?

He thinks, looking at the collapsed figure in the snow. Then, he remembers the words of the other sans, his brother's polar opposite, when they last talked.

'You'll be ripped ta lil smilein shreds'

He shivers, still staring. Did Red- did he actually…? Is there some reason he calls his brother 'boss'…? He'd thought the smaller skeleton was exaggerating… he'd thought that he was trying to prevent his brother from getting hurt- from fighting, but…Papyrus looks down at the skeleton lying in the snow, and shudders as he sees white dust on his counterpart's blood red gloves.

Suddenly, Papyrus is filled with rage.

He wants to dust this sorry excuse for a version of him right here and now, he wants to tear him apart and watch him dust- but that would make him just as terrible of a person. He likes to think he has more dignity than that. He looks back up at the quivering monster child, their long ears twitching, a fresh cut bleeding white across their dark-furred cheek, and papyrus's anger melts away as his big-brotherly instincts kick in.

"Hey there, hey there. it'll be ok. You wanna come with me? I'll keep ya safe, alright kiddo?"

The quivering child looks up at him, and begins to cry. They shake with huge sobs as papyrus picks them up gently, making sure to pin the murderous version of him to the ground with bones before walking back into the woods, his mind blank with anger, repulsion, fear…just a writhing mess of emotions as he holds the crying child, trying to figure out what to do. He didn't expect it to be this bad here! And where's blue? An energetic, optimistic skeleton monster with enough compassion to stop your heart would stick out like a sore thumb in a place like this.

Papyrus just keeps walking, thinking as he checks all the secret places of snowdin, every nook, every cranny...

Blue can kick pelvis pretty well, and definitely can defend himself, but…Blue isn't really a fighter. He would rather make friends than fight, heck, he managed to get through to that Red guy, he could make friends with anyone…He's more of a cook than a fighter, an amazing cook, who…who can also defend himself, papyrus, geeze pull yourself together!

The rabbit monster curls up tighter in his arms, quaking in fear, and papyrus absentmindedly begins to breathe in and out in a calming rhythm. It's something blue would often like him to do, during that time when he was little enough to actually want to be held. Skeletons still don't naturally breathe, but they can if they want to, and it seems to be calming the poor kid.

Geeze…what am i gonna do with em? I don't trust anyone here enough to just leave 'em on someone's door, but what else am i gonna do? Take 'em home with me?

Papyrus gives a sigh. This got very complicated, very fast. But then again, this is another timeline, who knows? Perhaps this is the way the entire multiverse is, and his world is simply the one outlier. His skull hurts as he tries to think up the implications of that. Suddenly, he feels a small tug on his hoodie, and sees the child's small, paw-like hands clutching the orange fabric, their long ears twitching as they sob into him in a desperate hug, as if the small monster thinks he's gonna disappear at any moment. Papyrus realizes that all the 'Oh no, what if I'm breaking the universe blah blah' questions went out the window as soon as he came here. He is not leaving some random orphan alone in this terrible place, he won't.

Welp…guess dads a grand-gaster now, heheh.

He tries to laugh at the joke, but finds he can't.

I tried to find my brother, and instead found an orphan…At least I found someone who needs me, I guess…

Papyrus makes his decision.

His 'i'll be back in a couple hours' promise is already being stretched, and he's just been walking around searching like this for most of it. Anyway, he's pretty sure the machine can handle a non-skeleton soul on the way back.

Probably.

Still, returning with them in tow is the only option. He turns himself in the direction of the sentry station, deciding that his father can wait a few extra minutes, considering this kid doesn't seem stable enough for a teleport…

…papyrus doesn't think blue landed here after all. He's been looking everywhere, and knows that blue wouldn't have left snowdin. He's too smart for that. If blue was here, he'd head for the nearest familiar place, which was the puzzle field. And…he knows blue wouldn't have just left a crying child defenseless. He wouldn't have let anyone get dusted, either-

That's not who blue is.

Then…a shadow looms over him. Papyrus looks up sharply, but there's no intimidating monster standing over him. It's…the ruins door, but covered in…scratch marks…? Weird. Maybe someone was trying to get in…? Well, maybe the ol' routine will cheer the kid up a bit…No, no. he doesn't have time- Wait! Asgore, he can leave this kid with Asgore! but…Asgore never opens his door. Ever. and that Red guy, he might come by…He doesn't know what this world's Asgore is like, anyway…

And at this point, he doesn't want to know.

He inspects the door more closely, and suddenly his eyesockets widen in shock. The scratchmarks- they aren't from something outside trying to go in, but something inside…trying to get out. Desperate marks cover every inch of the seam that runs down between the two stone slabs that serve as doors, and papyrus can see they aren't claw marks- they are the marks of nails. And they each come…

In five little lines, from five fingers…

Human hands made these marks, and papyrus doesn't want to know what's in there- he doesn't want to know what atrocities have been committed behind those doors…Papyrus shakes his skull in disgust, trying to wipe it clean of the mental image like an etch-n-sketch. No, he can't leave this kid here, not in this world….Not in this…twisted reality. Papyrus moves on, his footsteps crunching in the snow as he crosses the bridge (which have a couple spikes added) and he finally approaches what was the snowdin sentry station of this world. Now, it's just a hunk of rubble under the machine, with red sitting-

Papyrus blinks.

Wh- what.

He shakes his head, still a little shaken from the door, and looks up, still seeing red sat on the flat top of the machine, drinking mustard straight from the bottle. The smaller monster looks down at Papyrus's confused face from his high perch, still chugging the yellow condiment, but spitting what must've been half the bottle out when he sees the kid. He wipes his mouth with an incredulous expression, and stares at the child cradled in papyrus's arms as he exclaims in disbelief;

"What the hell're you doin with Mark n' Scratch's kid?!"

Papyrus looks up at the other version of his brother, surprised.

"...uhh, friends of yours…?"

He asks, one nonexistent eyebrow raised. Of all people, he didn't expect this cynical, swearing version of blue to know the child's parents. Red rolls his eyelights. Apparently they don't exist in this bozos universe, he thinks. No wonder I didn't see 'em…

"Yeah, yeah, 'friends' or whatever. I know all the guards around here. Why've you got their little brat is what I wanna know!"

He asks, his tone aggressive as always. Papyrus stares up at him, then says with a heavy sigh, not wanting to be the one to break this news, but knowing he has to;

"They got caught in one of yer bosses puzzles, i think. I just saw him, the dust, and this kid."

Red makes a small 'erk!' noise, and his eyelights flash off for a moment, the smaller skeleton seeming to wince at the words. Papyrus notices, a little surprised. Guess there is a soul under all that front, huh? The other skeleton jumps down from the top of the machine- or more like slides down- and stomps up to papyrus with a stormy expression that is clearly being used to mask one of sorrow.

"You better not be lyin to me, bucko."

He growls through his sharp teeth, staring up at papyrus's grim expression, his hands visibly trembling before he shoves them in his pockets.

"I'm sorry bout'cher friends, Re- er, sans. I really am."

Papyrus replies with genuine sadness, and he means it. He is sorry. By the looks of this world so far, Red might have a very, very good reason for why he acts like this. Red goes as if to be mad at him, then stops, looking confused and conflicted.

"You're…sorry…?"

He says, furrowing nonexistent eyebrows in confusion. Papyrus blinks. He doesn't have time for this, but the conversation does seem to be going somewhere, and Papyrus kinda wants to hear what this aggressive skeleton has to say when he isn't aggressive.

"Yeah. they…it sounded like ya knew em? Pretty well, maybe? I'm sorry ya lost em."

Papyrus says, shrugging as much as he can without disturbing the sniffling child cradled in his arms. The other skeletons' eyes go blank, but he only stares at the snowy ground, looking confused.

"Wh…why would you care?"

he asks slowly, his eyelights off. Papyrus…is kinda concerned by this, holding the kid a little tighter as he responds, searching the other skeletons face as he does.

"Uhh…cus you must…feel bad, I guess? And it's usually a good thing to care if someone feels bad…?"

Red looks at him blankly, confused, and papyrus only feels more concerned. Does this world have no basic sense of compassion? Is that just not…a thing here? Is that why this guy is such a jerk, because he literally just… never learned how to be decent from anyone?…because he's never been treated decently…? There is silence as both skeletons wrestle with things they don't understand, before Red starts back, seeming to realize something, staring at papyrus as if he's a ghost.

"W-wait, how're ya even alive?! If ya went to the puzzle field then- then ya must've run into boss!"

The version of sans stares up at papyrus with poorly masked fear, as if he doesn't know what to think. Does he really think his 'boss' is invincible? If so, this guy must be pretty gullible when it comes to his brother. Papyrus avoids his gaze, looking sheepish, and eventually admits;

"I did meet your boss, yeah, and we…uh, fought, sure. But uh, the thing is, i won-"

With the last word, red's right eye suddenly starts blazing a bright crimson, the flames licking around his eye socket as a gaster blaster- horned and with a lot more teeth than it should have- appears behind him with a crackle of red. Papyrus wraps his arms tighter around the child, unwilling to put them down to fight.

"WHAT."

Red growls, his red eye ablaze as papyrus stubbornly shields the child, refusing to fight and instead shouting in panic;

"W-woah there! He's just knocked out, that's all! I wouldn't kill him! He's me!"

Red falters in the middle of his attack signal, and slowly lowers his flaming hand, looking confused as the red flames in his eye flicker slightly.

"You…ya didn't kill him."

Red asks, looking stunned and confused and mistrustful all in the same expression. Papyrus nods, relieved, and repeats;

"Yeah, he's just knocked out, not dead. I just pinned him to the ground and left him there, he's fine, just a little bruised. Seriously though, he's me."

Red stares at him, his eye still glowing a faint red as both his eyelights grow small as pinpricks.

"You. did. WHAT NOW?!"

The smaller skeleton scheeches, looking both utterly panicked and furious at the same time, the magic in his eye dying down immediately, to papyrus's relief. The lanky skeleton can feel the child quaking even harder in his arms, and he keeps holding them, but relaxes his grip slightly.

"Do you even KNOW what you've DONE you idiot!?"

Oh, red is still screaming. Yay. The alternate sans is clutching his skull in horror now, staring at the confused (and slightly amused) papyrus with blazing intensity.

"Uh…..no?"

Papyrus says, unsure of whether or not he can safely squeeze by the irate smaller skeleton to get to the machine, the door to which red is blocking.

"What do you THINK happens when someone finds the STARSDAMNED CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD KNOCKED OUT?!"

Red screeches, waving his hands around as he panics and rants at the same time.

"IT'S GONNA BE A BLOODBATH! EVERYONES GONNA SAY THEY WERE THE ONE WHO DID IT! WHEN IT WAS JUST YOU, SOME RANDOM BOZO FROM A WEAK UNIVERSE WHERE EVERYTHING IS SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS FOR SOME REASON!"

The skeleton pauses, looking for the right words, then stopping and slowly clutching his skull in horror, looking absolutely terrified by whatever realization has come over him.

"Oh my god, I'm the captain of the royal guard's brother!"

He mutters, for some reason horrified at the prospect.

"Everyones gonna try and take the title from me…!"

The smaller skeleton whispers, seemingly forgetting that papyrus is even there. Suddenly, his head snaps up, and he looks behind him at the machine, and then back to papyrus, a desperate expression on his face.

"Y-you used this- uh, whatever this is- to get here, right?!"

The fur-hooded skeleton asks urgently, waving at the machine. Papyrus narrows his eyesockets suspiciously. He does not like where this is going.

"Yeeeesss….?"

He almost asks, drawing out the response.

"An' your gonna use it ta get back, right?!"

Red prompts in panic.

"Wel, yeah but-"

Red immediately turns around, interrupting papyrus's sentence, and starts trying to enter the machine through various tugging and pulling, shooting over his shoulder;

"Yeah, well, i'm comin' with ya!"

Papyrus blinks, then shifts the kid to one side, holding the shaking bundle of tears in the crook of one arm, using the free hand to grab the other skeleton by the hood and haul him back, with a firm "ohhh no ya don't." He picks the struggling skeleton right off the ground by his hood, and stares into his growling face, telling him in a decisive tone;

"Yeah, no. im not takin you anywhere. This things only built for two, and me an' the kid fill that number."

He drops red onto the snow and makes for the machine, but the smaller skeleton catches up again and persists;

"h-hey, wait, built for two, Like, two monsters with actual normal proportions, r-right? You may be pretty tall but i aint no giant and that kid is practically a marble!"

Red sounds panicked now, even fearful, but Papyrus only presses some buttons on the side of the machine, trying to ignore him.

"C'mon, Isn't yer universe all hugs and sunshines?! Wheres that, huh?! Can't I just hitch a ride or somethin?!"

More panicked. Papyrus flinches at the words, then turns, cutting off the beginning of the smaller skeletons next sentence with a frustrated wave at the machine he's calibrating and a glare, along with his furious reply;

"This is a highly specialized, SAVE state implementing, almost already falling apart BARELY FUNCTIONAL MACHINE WITH AS MUCH PRECISION AS A BATTERING RAM-"

He takes a breath purely for the purpose of choosing his next words.

"...not an interdimensional BUS SYSTEM."

Red is silent for about…two seconds.

"I- i don't care what it is, im just tryin' ta survive, cause there is no way i'm facin' those-"

Papyrus sighs and just ignores him harder.

"Hey, lookit me when im talkin'!'

With a heavy sigh, Papyrus turns to the shorter skeleton and gives him a firm "No." while pointedly closing his eyesockets, before turning right back to his button pushing, the child's arms clutching around him as they shake with cold, fear and most likely shock. Suddenly, a hand grabs his sleeve and he is forced to turn around, ending up facing Red directly, this time pulled down to his height.

"look at me when I'm talkin ya dumb ****! Y-You don't understand what kinda situation im in right now-! They will hunt me down and kill. me."

Red barks, a pleading note in his voice, underneath the roughness and pretend aggression that only serves to mask fear, at this point unconvincingly.

"I- they will kill each other just to get their claws on me first! It's just one big damn contest now,"

The shorter skeleton is gripping his arm so hard it hurts, papyrus just staring, shocked at both his words and his terrified expression.

"A-and the prize is my GODDAMN DUST, s-so yOUD BETTER LET ME THE **** IN BECAUSE-"

Red is interrupted by a roar of noise faintly in the direction of snowdin, and if it's possible for skeletons to do so, the alternate sans goes pale. His eyelights lock with papyruses, and papyrus can see the desperation rising there as the fur-hooded skeleton grips his arm with the intensity of a thousand suns, begging him in a now openly pleading voice;

"just- just let me come, I dont- i dont wanna die here, not like this, I- I don't-"

He begs, looking terrified as distant howls start up, indistinct shouts joining the growing din.

"PLEASE, goddamn you, just-"

He begs, desperate, his face contorted with fear. Papyrus examines his face, and finds only genuine terror there, the skeletons eyelights pinpricks as papyrus hears faint pounding and baying, growing louder by the second. He feels- ugh, why does he always have to feel bad!? This skeleton is not his brother. He has never been his brother. He never will be his brother. And yet, as papyrus stares suspiciously into the tiny panicked pinpricks that are the other skeletons' eyelights by now, he recognises a bit of blue in his expression. A bit of blue in him.

Maybe blue's right, and there is good in everyone, even this jerk…Well. I promised I'd come back with my brother. Cant break promises, that's the rule. I guess it doesn't doesn't matter which versionUhg, I hate this, but i can't just leave him here to die- jeez, when'd I get so sentimental? Probably somethin to do with blue, heh…

Papyrus sighs, and not believing he's actually doing this, mutters in a defeated voice, tapping a button to make the machine unlock with a 'click';

"Get in before I change my mind."

Red immediately scrambles in, taking the mustard bottle with him, papyrus sighing again and following after him while closing the door behind them both. Red somehow manages to tuck himself into a corner, making himself as small as possible while Papyrus folds himself into his own space, on the opposite side, as far away from him as monsterly possible.

…which is only a few inches, but hey.

He tucks the kid in his lap, just like he did with the pack the first time, and glances over at the shadowy figure of Red. he taps on the wall to get his attention, asking;

"…You ready?"

The shadow nods quickly, as howls and barks and bloody bays come from outside, claws beginning to scratch at the door, but the sounds are sharply cut off when papyrus presses the button. Apparently, his father has been waiting by the- The machine makes sounds it probably shouldn't, and suddenly, the pain hits. This thing was not made for three souls… Papyrus, feeling himself being slowly crushed into unconsciousness as the machine whirls through layer after layer of reality, manages to think;

B-by the angel, this is gonna leave me feeling like-

There's a huge crash as the machine hits something in the space between timelines, and someone shouts in surprise, their colorful voice muffled into incomprehensibility as their font comes in garbled lines through the flashes of red from many, many failed systems. Then suddenly there's a blast of magic, something catches on fire, and the last thing papyrus sees is Reds terrified face as it is lit by bright orange flames as alarms shriek, along with the colorful voice that shrieks in alarm, papyrus drifting into the black as something goes either very wrong, or very right.

…..

…..

*smells like the tardis and poor planning


Gaster tapps furiously, typing and reconfiguring and coding, all while watching the monitor with his usual nervous air. He had finally received the 'ok' signal from papyrus only a few moments ago, and had immediately punched the button with as much force as he could muster. But now…it was more complicated. He types faster, his large blue rimmed glasses sliding down slightly, his faintly cream-coloured skull (he'd always had 'warm' colored bones) bobbing as he nods them back up, never breaking his gaze from the lines of text as he types perfect command sequences. Something unprecedented has happened, something is there that should not be- an extra soul. He can just about recognise sans's soul through a thick layer of error messages, and papyrus's is very prominent, but there is a third.

Small, weak, but there.

Why is there such a weak, battered, and young soul with his two sons? And why is the universe jumping and bucking and spitting timeline variables and soul matter like an angry cat? Gaster doesn't understand, but he doesn't need to. He'll find out soon enough.

VVVVVVVWEEEEEEEOOOOOOP-

There's a crackle of electricity, and gaster feels magical static run up his spine, even as he scrambles from his chair, waving away the smoke and coughing as he tries to see what's happening. The machine has reappeared, and for what he can see, exactly in realignment! Good, that will save time later. He approaches it cautiously, stopping about a foot from the bottom of the steps, watching nervously from behind his large round glasses.

There's some muffled 'oofs' and 'watch it!'s, and then the door bursts open, sending a battered tangle of bones crashing down the steps. Gaster leaps back in surprise, managing to catch one of the falling shapes, but his arms aren't full of the bony form of a skeleton, but rather a soft, small shaking…

"O-oh, a child! H-hello…?"

Gaster remarks in surprise, voice stuttering just a little as it sometimes does when he speaks in standard font, staring down at the little bundle of fur and stripes and limbs that quiver in his arms. There is no reply, and the cracks he heard as the two skeletons connected with the floor have him concerned…

"E-excuse me, child, I must set you down, try and breathe for a moment,"

he suggests a little nervously, setting the young one down on the abandoned swivel chair nearby as he returns his attention to the two grumbling shapes that have crashed onto the hard attic floor, surrounded by tangled wiring and crushed cardboard boxes.

"Ugh- geeze, that was…supremely unfun…"

he hears from the longer of the two shapes. Papyrus! Thank goddess he is, at least, moderately fine. But what about sans?

"Th-That was ****in' terrible…"

…that was not sans. Sans, does not swear. Sans does not have a voice that angry and cynical, sans, does not use lowercase font, sans- that is not sans. Still, fatherly instincts reacting, gaster crouches down, hands spread out, one hovering over each of the smoke clouded shapes he believes to be his sons- working his (quite admirable) healing magic on them with a soft, warm green glow.

"WH-WHwhaaat the- o-oof- that- ow- ****-"

the sans-shaped someone exclaims, swearing a couple times, struggling to get up, and failing, gaster nervously assuring them in his still shaky voice;

"I'm only working h-healing magic. I- it is best to stay still."

The sans-shaped stranger relents, or passes out, gaster can't tell which, as his other son stays patiently still where he is, silent apart from a few groans of pain. Slowly, the smoke clears, and gaster can see someone who is very much shaped like his son, but who is not his son, lying on the ground, seemingly passed out for the moment.

He blinks.

The skeleton looks like sans, but he's wearing a black and red jacket with a fur hood and mustard-yellow accents, sports shorts of a similar color scheme, with no sign of sans's usual signature bandanna. His teeth are also oddly sharp, very much unlike sans, and one of them- top right canine, gaster notices- is missing. Gaster glances around nervously, and spies something small and silver rolling away nearby- he summons a hand to retrieve it, and finds that it's a silver tooth, probably belonging to the sans-shaped stranger. After inspecting it for a moment, he pockets it. Gaster pushes up his large round glasses with another summoned hand, and inspects the stranger with cautious curiosity.

Fascinating.

"HHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…"

Aaaand he's awake. Oh dear. Gaster withdraws his healing hand, instead offering it to the sans-shaped skeleton who's struggling to get up, his arms shaking as he attempts to push himself up with little success.

"I wouldn't try, dad, he ain't one to accept help n'all that…"

Gaster turns at the sound of papyrus's voice, and gives him a confused but relieved smile, the cracks in his skull shifting slightly as he does.

"Papyrus! I am glad you are unharmed- well, m-mostly, but who might this…skeleton be…?"

He asks, slightly afraid of the answer. Papyrus sighs. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, the lanky skeleton goes to speak, before he pats the ground around him, eye sockets going wide as he twists his skull to peer through the still thinning smoke at the floor around him, and after a moment he asks with urgency;

"Wait, dad, where's the kid?!"

Gaster jolts a little, remembering the child, and turns to point towards the huddled bundle that still rests on the slowly rolling swivel chair. Papyrus gets up with a small grunt of effort, and limps over, picking up the huddled child and bringing them back to where gaster still awkwardly crouches with a politely confused expression, the tall skeleton sitting back down again with a small wince of pain at the movement.

"Papyrus, i still do n-not understand wha-"

Gaster starts to say, but is interrupted by a pained sound from the sans-shaped stranger, who has finally managed to prop himself up on one elbow, the other arm wrapped around his midsection in what appears to be pain. He shudders there for a moment before managing to speak in a strained voice.

"What…w-what the- **** h-happened…"

he mumbles, drawing gasters attention back to him, papyrus looking relieved to be out of the spotlight and out of danger of questioning. Papyrus needs to rest a moment. Or a couple years.

"I- er, you landed…in my attic…?"

gaster almost asks, unsure of how exactly he is meant to address this weirdly sans-like skeleton, while simultaneously worried about how little effect the healing magic apparently had on him.

"I tried to heal you, b-but…"

Gaster pauses a moment, trying to think of the words and shape them into the standard font.

"Th-this would be easier if you allowed me to heal your s-soul directly,"

Gaster suggests, not noticing papyrus collapsing into a chair nearby, the huddled child unresponsive in his arms. The sans-like stranger doesn't protest, just makes a confused, pained noise, so gaster lets the room darken away around the two skeletons, summoning his own powerful magic as he prepares to use a stronger kind of healing on the struggling skeleton collapsed barely an arms length from him on the hard attic floor. There is a ping of magical energy as two scarred souls float out from their owners chests (or in the sans-like skeletons case, his back, since his chest is pressed to the ground) and rest in the air, glowing in their own separate heartbeats.

Gasters is tainted very faintly with the barest traces of green at its core, with a few red sparks flitting around the two long, cruel scars that slash across its surface, marks of his time in the void.

The stranger's soul is tainted a very faint red, with something blue shining deep inside, barely seen as rough cracks and hairline scars trace its surface in a lattice of unfaded pain, one sharp chip in its surface very prominent as Gaster gently speaks.

"P-please don't move while i-"

He starts, gently reaching one hand out to hover over the battered silvery red soul of the sans-like stranger, but there is a sharp growl of protest, and the skeleton redoubles his efforts in trying to get up, only causing himself further pain in the process.

"D-dont touch me- i-i'll blast ya' to-"

His threat is cut off as he breaks into pained coughs, shuddering as gaster looks at him with enormous concern. He'll have to do this the hard way then.

He hates doing it the hard way…

Gaster takes a deep breath, and summons six of his extra hands, the max limit if he doesn't want to damage himself. As gently as he can, he uses blue magic on the sans-shaped skeletons soul, forcing him as gently as possible (if it is possible to force someone gently) to press into the ground, the other skeleton ending up as a disgruntled swearing starfish, as gaster's hands form a sort of loose dome around the soul that is held in place above the swearing skeleton, though not for lack of trying to escape. It resists with admirable conviction, but gasters stronger magic overpowers it, his summoned hands locking together, motes of green magic filtering out from between the fingers as he heals the struggling skeleton whether he likes it or not.

There is a tense minute as gaster intensely concentrates, the skeleton on the ground twitches in frustration at not being able to move, and papyrus tries to recover in a chair nearby with a crying child huddled in his lap like a furry little ball of tears.

Then, gaster lets out a huff of breath and relaxes his magic, feeling the other soul practically rip itself away from his power the instant it is lowered. The sans-like skeleton immediately scrambles up and back, pressing against the wall in panic and confusion, his pinprick sized eyelights darting around the cluttered attic as Gaster looks at him in concern, not for his Heath, but for his sanity, as the skeleton breathes panicked rapid breaths.

"W-who are ya? What- what'd ya just do to me?"

He asks in panic, still pressed against the wall in a defencive position. Gaster raises both hands and dismisses his others, leaving himself open to attack as he tries to reassure the panicked skeleton;

"it was j-just healing magic."

he catches on the 'j' and automatically apologizes.

"sorry about the stutter- standard i-isn't my first font."

He carefully places one hand on his chest and makes a slight nod in the skeletons direction.

"I am Doctor Wingdings Gaster. And y-you would be…?"

He prompts, watching with caution as the fur-hooded skeleton that looks impeccably like sans processes the information with a hostile expression. There is a red glow flickering in one of his eye sockets- his own magic flaring up with a small magical pulse, the prelude to a large magic summon.

"Oi Red…ya might wanna cool it. He's my dad."

Papyrus remarks cooly, still collapsed in the swivel chair. He sounds tired, but there's a note of a threat in his voice as he locks eyelights with 'Red', Gaster reading a glint of well-earned mistrust in papyrus's gaze.

"An' anyway, he saved yer half-dusted butt yanno."

Papyrus shrugs, still cradling the crying rabbit monster in his arms, one sleeve slightly singed.

"Might do ya good to show a lil' gratitude."

Gaster looks between the two, one quivering with confusion, open to attack, the other drained and on guard, ready to fight. This…will not do. He can't have his sons- or well, his son and…whoever Red is, fighting in the middle of all this delicate equipment.

"I d-don't need gratitude, and papyrus, this- what did you call him? Red? i-is obviously disoriented, I would not blame him for suspicion. As for you,"

He says, turning to the surprised and slightly suspicious 'Red', who is pressed against the wall, penned in by cardboard boxes full of old tapes and research.

"You will stay downstairs and w-wait until I have sorted this mess out."

At hearing the words, The skeleton called 'Red' acts as if to protest, his sharp-toothed jaw opening as his eyelights meets Gasters, intending to overpower him-

but Gaster meets his gaze with one of iron.

Gaster can still be intimidating, despite his stutters. Red shuts his mouth, taken aback, but Gaster does not give him a chance to recover. In a rare show of power, he wraps his magic tight against the other skeletons' soul and teleports him out of the attic with a small woosh.

Now, it's just him, papyrus and…

"Papyrus. Care to explain?"

Gaster asks with raised not-eyebrows, his voice more controlled now in (almost) private company, waving around at the general chaos caused by 'Red' and the arrival of the machine itself. papyrus winces.

"H-heh, well, y'see, the kid, uh…"

Papyrus tries to start, but his fathers glare makes him trail off. That is not what he had meant, and papyrus knows it. The tall skeleton sighs.

"...y-yeah, Red. Right. He's, well, an alternate version of blue, believe it or not…"

Papyrus starts defeatedly. he's too tired to sugarcoat it anymore.

"...and he was…well, it's a long story. He came here- got stuck here, for two days actually, a week or two before we rescued you. Him comin' here is one of the reasons we were able to save you, come to think. As for why he's like that…"

Papyrus searches for the right words to describe the horrors he saw in the mistrustful skeletons' universe, as well as the reason he suspects are behind his constantly hostile nature.

"His timeline, his reality even...well, it's…horrible. Monsters being dusted in the street, just for 'free EXP' as Red phrased it a while back. The puzzle field was where I first looked for blue, and…"

Papyrus gives a long sigh.

"An' thats where I found him."

Gaster listens, his eyesockets getting wider in horror as papyrus describes the alternative version of him, how he'd thought of him as a clown at first, but then found the child, the death-puzzle, and two piles of dust blowing away in the wind.

Gaster feels almost sick.

he listens with rapturous horror, as papyrus describes how he couldn't just leave the kid there, and had taken them along as he circled the entire snowdin area, looking for blue. How he'd found no sign of him. how he'd found 'Red' instead. About Reds HP, his mistrust of everything… And what Red had said to him, pleaded with him, begged someone he barely knew, let alone trusted, to take him somewhere infinitely far away from anything he did trust. How that was the aim for him.

Run.

Survive.

Mistrust, aggression and intimidation had worked for Red in every situation but that one, but he still pleaded. He had pleaded to be taken from everything he'd ever known, because every monster he'd ever met had turned on him, were competing to kill him first-

and papyrus had pitied him.

and then returned, two renegades from a timeline damaged beyond comprehension in tow.

silence falls, save for the child's sniffles. Gaster wipes small tears away from behind his glasses, and silently motions for papyrus to hand the child to him, and his son obliges.

Slowly, softly, a gentle green glow fills the room…

*you are filled with…Kindness.