Hello !
Welcome on this new adventure! We keep exploring Undertale's alternate universes with Underfell. This is a universe I really enjoy because it's open enough to be able to explore darker themes.
The story takes place after a more or less complete pacifist route. Frisk fell in the Underground and made it to the Judgement Hall, where they fought Sans. After a lot of loading, Sans gave up as the kid managed to befriend him too. But Sans couldn't let the kid reach Asgore, knowing the King would kill them without mercy. Instead, he brought them back to Toriel. The child is since protected by their new friends: Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Mettaton, who are trying to hide their existence the best they can. That won't be the main story, but we will talk about it.
The main story concerns Papyrus, Undyne and Asgore, I won't tell more.
I hope you will enjoy the story! If you have any questions, I have a Tumblr account, right here: .
Good luck, you're going to need it.
Warning - This story talks about abuse (physical, mental and sexual) and can trigger people who have suffered/suffer from sexual abuse. The scenes are not explicit, but please, proceed with caution if you don't want to read about this subject. I am obviously treating the subject to condemn it. This is not an apology of sexual abuse in any kind of way.
Disclaimer - Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. Underfell belongs to their original creator and is free to use by the community. I'm not gaining any money out of this, I'm only feeding with your tears and salt.
Complete Summary
To protect your secrets, how far are you willing to go?
This is the dilemma that Papyrus, the royal guard's captain of Snowdin town is facing since he accepted to protect the last fallen child. What he thought would be a simple task is slowly driving him away from his guard's duty, at the worst time possible.
When he finally understands something is really wrong with Undyne, his rival and only friend, it's too late. Overnight, the general announces to him that he is now in charge of the royal guard and disappears from his life.
Even if he tried, Papyrus couldn't resolve himself to let her go without knowing why she gave up on everything in one night. However, by trying to dig out too many secrets, Papyrus has to face a lot of problems. Threats, intimidation, someone is trying to force him to give up.
But the more he searches, the more he realizes all the tracks lead to Asgore. The King is known for his impeccable justice and his absence of mercy. If he doesn't give up, he might lose way more than just his job.
Split between his vocation and his friendship, Papyrus will have to make a choice.
Chapter 1 : Countdown
His army, defeated, was standing at his feet, crushed. Not even one of his men escaped the terrible fire that took them in the prime of life. He was the only one still alive. The last general, imprisoned by his mortal enemy who was planning to take his life too in a few moments. He felt bitter. Humiliated.
Even his own brother, sleeping for the gods knew how long at his post, didn't make the slightest movement when the dragon swooped down on his back in a final fight as intense as tiring. But all hope died when the beast forced him to enter its cavern.
Tied on a small pink plastic chair, the general watched the dragon as they hummed along while preparing the vile potion that would end his days, without glory nor honor. Soon after he had been dragged here, the courthouse condemned him to drink the terrible beverage, on the orders of Bashu, the evil penguin leading the appraisal, and to die in horrible sufferings. Yet, the general stayed dignified. He wouldn't give the dragon the pleasure of seeing him break down.
Satisfied with their work, the dragon turned around holding a plastic cup in their hands. They put it on the table with a dramatic slowness. Without mercy, they pointed out the drink, as dark as the night, with their paw. It was an order. He had to drink it. The general sighed. This was the end of the road.
His hands shaking with emotion, he struggled to grab the very small handle of the plastic cup with his fingers. He lifted the potion, being very cautious to not spill any of it - he had standards and was very afraid of Mommy Dragon, who warned him that she'll trash him if he messed up the floor she just cleaned -, he then put the beverage in his mouth.
The potion acted rapidly and the general started to spasm violently. With a dramatic gurgling, he fell on his back on the ground, arms stretched on each side of his body. He would have let his tongue out if he had one. Dead. He was dead.
But as he was delivering his final breath, the dragon abruptly changed their mind and threw themself on his ribcage, trying to reanimate him.
"Papy? Papy, don't die!" the dragon screamed, terrified. "I'm sorry! Please wake up!"
Their lips started to shake and tears filled their eyes, which immediately woke up the furor of Mommy Dragon, who stood up angrily. Toriel - it was her name -, kicked his pelvis hard and picked up her kid.
"Can't you see you're scaring Frisk stupid moron?! Wake up!"
The general growled, but Mommy Dragon was growling stronger, shutting him up quite immediately with one murderous glare.
Papyrus decided it was enough for this play session that slowly turned sour. Frisk, disguised as a dragon, struggled in their mother's arms to get down. She conceded and immediately got welcomed with a guilt-inducing look from the child, arms crossed angrily.
"No hit Papy!" they lectured her. "Papy nice!"
"Of course, sweetheart. I won't do anything to him… Yet. It depends how fast your friend is going to clean everything he took out of the toy box in the next thirty seconds."
The skeleton crossed his arms, analyzing what could happen if he disobeyed, but he concluded the risk was too important. She was a boss monster, after all. Grudgingly, he started to throw the wood soldiers back in the box, aggressively, so everyone could see he was pissed off. In addition, he strongly kicked the armchair where his brother had been napping since they came, two hours ago. The smaller skeleton lost his balance and fell head first onto the blue carpet. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to wake him up.
Papyrus sighed. How did it come to this? From captain of the royal guard to nanny for a five year old human child he should have killed long ago. If someone told him it would have happened a few months ago, he would have roared with laughter. But Frisk was not an ordinary human child. They were the seventh and last human soul the monsters needed to break the barrier and destroy humanity, except that captain Papyrus was now protecting them from that exact fate right under Asgore's nose.
The child crossed a huge part of the Underground, but, as they were about to meet a gruesome fate, they managed to convince Sans, the judge - and his brother - that Asgore was not worth dying for. Frisk's death would have only led monsterkind in a war that no one really wanted anymore. Since then, a pact was bornt between Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Mettaton: they took over each other to protect the child and give them a proper life in the Underground, safe from all danger. Except now, they were the ones in danger. Keeping a secret that big was a death penalty as every little act of betrayal was scrutinized, told to the King and usually ended with a public execution.
Papyrus still wasn't sure it was the best decision to make, but he was a skeleton with honor and wouldn't go back on his word. Yet, even if he loved the child, just like the others, he couldn't stop thinking about what would happen when Frisk, a few years later, would understand they were sentenced to a life in darkness, forbidden to get out of the Ruins without risking the death of one of them. Papyrus knew it wouldn't be a good thing for their mental health, and that it was more than likely that the kid would eventually rebel.
The skeleton did exactly the same thing at their age, enrolling in the royal guard despite how many times Sans tried to dissuade him too. And he regretted it today, a lot. There was no way out for him, he was stuck in his role of tyrannic captain. Papyrus worried the child would become like him, especially since Frisk seemed to consider him as their role model. But he was far from flawless, despite what he was trying to be like.
Once all the toys had been cleared, Papyrus decided it was time to go, before someone questioned what the skeleton brothers were doing in the Ruins. The door separating the Ruins and the rest of the Underground was supposed to be forever magically sealed, which was not the case anymore since the protectors of the child took shifts to visit in order to allow them to meet different people. It was necessary to avoid them getting new ideas of freedom that could be fatal to them. Frisk could get out exceptionally with the skeleton brothers or Undyne, but never more than a few hours so their respective rivals didn't get too suspicious. No one would defy a captain of the royal guard. They were reported to the King so he could take care of these cases. This was their biggest threat.
Papyrus saluted the human child one last time, who insisted on hugging him with their little arms like usual, then he grabbed Sans, still asleep on the ground, and carried him under his arm like some potato bag. He curtsied in front of the queen, and promised to go back in a few days to spend more time with Frisk. The skeleton then headed in the direction of the basement and walked towards the exit of the Ruins. Before opening the huge door that led to the Snowdin forest, he let Sans fall on the ground without doing any effort to avoid him getting hurt. The smaller skeleton growled painfully and stood up, holding his back.
"What was that for, asshole?" he grumbled. "We're not even out yet."
"The break is over, Sans. You go back to your post." he ordered, unfazed. "I have a meeting with Undyne to attend to."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Papyrus opened the door. Sans teleported immediately out of sight. The captain of the guard closed the gate behind him cautiously, then sent a hand signal to the nearest bushes. While they were visiting, Alphys, the royal scientist, cut the cameras near the Ruins, and switched them on when someone came in or out. No one should know the door was opened, and especially not the King.
Papyrus took a deep breath and followed the path leading to Snowdin town. His behavior changed completely. He straightened up, adopted a hostile stare, put his hands behind his back, and walked with a military pace. From now on, he was forbidden to be Papyrus. He was only the captain of the guard, the monster everyone wanted to hunt down, the one everyone feared and hated. He passed Sans' guard station. The small skeleton ignored him just as he did. Outside, for their safety, they restricted their contacts to the bare minimum. They were no such thing as family Underground, only weaknesses to exploit. It was kill or be killed.
Papyrus had the naive hope that, after Frisk, who opened their eyes on how ridiculous their killing politics was, things would have changed. It didn't. The skeleton knew that as long as Asgore would be alive, no one would dare to rebel. The consequences were too big. Too… Deadly.
He sighed. For now, all he could do was keep pretending. He didn't have a choice.
Soon, the city appeared on the horizon. The skeleton avoided the numerous traps and guard barriers scattered across the road, yelled after one or two sentries sleeping on duty and made sure no bandit waited on a street corner to ambush him. Ever since he had dismantled a part of their network the week before, however, they had become scarce. Today was no exception and he reached Snowdin Town without any problem in sight.
Several of his guards were patrolling the area and saluted him warmly. They were the only ones who could be this familiar with him in public, protected by his shadow. Papyrus was a harsh captain, but he always made sure the men under his command were treated well and trusted him enough to talk to him if something was wrong. They were not friends, but close enough for the guard's families to have full immunity, a rare gift in these caves where a life could disappear any second.
The soldier stopped in front of his house and looked around, surprised. Like every day, he should have met Undyne, Waterfall's royal guard's captain, for a daily report on what was going on in the Underground. However, Undyne was not here. In fifteen years of service, he never saw her be late, or at least not without warning him, like when she had an urgent meeting with the King. Papyrus shivered. A guard missing was rare, but usually, it meant they were de… He refused to believe it. Undyne was tougher than most of the guards, him included, even if it hurted his ego to acknowledge it.
Making sure to keep his composure, he ignored the curious looks of the bystanders and pulled out his phone from under his armor, but didn't stop monitoring their positions. One word. One word was all it would take for them to attack if something happened to Undyne. She was reputed to be unbeatable, but if they realized she was not, they would not hesitate to try and kill every guard they found. The Underground has been close to a civil war for years now, and the death of one powerful captain was all it could take to spark things off.
He typed Undyne's phone number and waited, skull close to the receiver. One ring, two, three. He stayed two whole minutes waiting, holding his breath. This was not normal. He took a deep breath, then typed Sans' number.
"Boss?" answered the skeleton, sounding half asleep.
"I can't reach Undyne." he whispered, so no one else could hear. "I want you to check all Waterfall's sentries stations, now."
"I'm on it."
The phone produced several unpleasant static noises as Sans teleported from one place to another in the Underground. Papyrus growled, he hated that noise. It reminded him of bad things, even if he had no idea what those were. It was almost like someone or something was talking or screaming in an unknown language, in the void his brother was crossing. But there was no other choice, it was the normal protocol when a guard was missing, the small skeleton being the only monster who could teleport for some reason.
Papyrus got nervous as Sans took longer and longer. He couldn't find Undyne. It was a bad sign. A very bad sign.
Suddenly, in the blizzard, a form stood out. Tall, red hair, big armor. Papyrus sighed, relieved. Wrapped in a thick coat, Undyne was finally here. The soldier warned Sans and hung up.
"About time!" he barked. "I am late for my next patrol because of you. Can I know the reason why Madam is so late? Without warning furthermore!"
"What? Be careful Papyrus, you almost sound like you missed me." she teased him. "I had a meeting with the King, it took longer than planned."
"Again?" he asked, slightly worried. "What for? You went two days ago already."
The fish lady stared at him intensely, then looked away.
"It's cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey. Are we going in or what? I still have to go to Alphys' place after, let's get over it quickly."
Papyrus noted how she avoided the topic, but nodded. Undyne passed in front of him. He noticed immediately she was limping. Just like most of Snowdin's people, who whispered as she made her way towards Papyrus' house. She kicked the door hard, opening it wide, and invited herself in. Papyrus gnashed his teeth and followed her inside. He would have to fix the hinges, once again. He put the wood door approximately back to its place before turning towards Undyne with a murderous glare. She was already slouched on his couch, feet on the coffee table he just cleaned in the morning.
"Seriously? Can't you use the damn door like a normal person? How many times will I have to tell you this?!"
"One more, obviously." she answered, unfazed. "So, what's up?"
Papyrus sat next to her. He didn't like how Undyne got comfortable in his house, but it was not like he had a say in the matter. If he told her, they were going to argue, and when they argued, several pieces of furniture ended up broken on the floor. He didn't gain enough money to replace everything one more time today.
"I quashed a rebel in the forest earlier this morning." Papyrus answered, professional. "No human to report. No sign of new criminal activity. The rebel network seemed to have been entirely dismantled, or there are not enough of them to try and fight us actually. The city is calm. A burglar tried to break into a house but got arrested almost immediately. No violence."
"Nothing new in Waterfall." Undyne said. "Calm day. Ah, except for this Temmie we found dead. We just found its ashes, but that's a camera free zone so no proof as usual. I told my guards to stop the investigation. It's just a waste of time, we're not going to find the assholes who did that."
She stretched.
"But who cares, that's just some low HP monster. Did you see the kid today? How are they doing?"
"Undyne!" he hissed, looking around him with worry.
"Oh, come on. We're in your house, it's not like someone could hear us."
The skeleton gnashed his teeth. They were not supposed to talk about Frisk outside of the Ruins, but Undyne always had difficulties keeping her mouth shut. It was the reason why Papyrus insisted she was not part of the pact at first. However, Undyne knew the existence of the child anyway, and the others didn't want her to tell the King just because Papyrus would have offended her by refusing her help. Undyne was better as an ally than an enemy.
Papyrus relaxed slightly. She was right anyway. No one would dare to spy on the house of the captain of the royal guard. It was safe.
"Frisk is… alright. They talked to me about the Barrier again, but I deflected the subject by playing a war roleplay game with them. They seemed to forget after that. But… It's getting harder and harder. They really want to help us get out, but they don't realize that Asgore could never be befriended the way they did with us. We will have to work on their naivety as they grow up."
"They're all optimists in the beginning. The kid will change when they realize that place is hell. Sooner or later. We all do."
"I'm scared they might want to become a royal guard. They're mimicking the both of us a lot recently and… I'm not sure we're exactly the role model they need."
He sighed. Undyne punched him in the shoulder, which made him jump. She smiled weirdly, like every time she tried to cheer him on. Unfortunately, she was not very good at it, looking much more like a hungry shark about to eat him whole than a comforting friend.
"Papyrus, even if they had all the skills, the kid couldn't pass the competitive entrance exam. We have to pass in front of Asgore at one point, and they can't. End of story."
"Not sure they would just give up that easily. They could convince themselves they had to fight Asgore anyway to prove to us we're not fair and that they can do it, and then…"
He never finished his sentence. They both knew well how that would end.
Papyrus remembered very well his own entrance exam. The King was in a bad mood when he first met him. Asgore grabbed the head of one of his rivals and made it pop like a balloon in his hands, just because they dared to answer him. He shook his head. He was the only one who made it alive that day, because the King killed all the students in battle, one after the other, just because he felt like doing it. To this day, Papyrus still didn't know why he was spared. Maybe the King saw something in him that convinced him. Or maybe Sans paid him to save his pitiful life, which happened regularly. He would never know.
Undyne too seemed lost in thought. She was frowning, almost looking angry. Maybe her initiation went like this too. Or maybe something really happened with Asgore earlier, he realized. She avoided the subject once, but maybe she would open up now?
"He yelled at you?" the skeleton asked.
"Not your fuckin' business."
"Well, first you arrive late, and now you look weird. It's not very difficult to link…"
"Shut up, Papyrus! Nothing fuckin' happened, stop pushing me!" she screamed.
Well, now he was sure of it. Asgore did something. He didn't like when the King only talked to her about official cases. Though, it must have been really bad seeing how fast she reacted. Maybe her job didn't satisfy the King enough? That wouldn't be the first time. And that was never a good thing for the guards in this situation. There was no such thing as retirement for the soldiers of the King. Either they died in battle or they got executed by his hand because the King judged they were not useful anymore. Papyrus preferred not to think too much about this and focus on the job.
"I can see that." he couldn't stop himself from answering which made Undyne fly off the handle.
She got out of the couch, gave him a dark stare and stomped towards the exit.
"We're done, I'm out of here."
"Undyne…"
"Tomorrow, you come for the report. I can't stand all your damn snow. Don't be late."
She put the door out of its misery with a huge kick in it. The two hinges broke and the door fell on the ground. Papyrus hissed, angry, but did nothing to stop the captain from leaving. It was no use running after her. Undyne was stubborn and would refuse any hand reaching out her way. He wouldn't succeed in making her talk to him.
For now, he gave up. He didn't have enough time to delve further into this and make sure she didn't hide something big. But he knew someone who had nothing more to do on his day and could watch her for him.
He picked up his phone and clicked on the first number. The recipient of the call took a long time to answer. Too much time.
"... Boss?" answered a very deep sleepy voice.
"Sans, abandon your post immediately. I have a mission for you. Meet me at home."
"Yeah, yeah… Whatever."
Papyrus sighed.
"And if you fall back asleep, I swear I will throw you in the first bear trap I find and leave you there for the night. You have thirty seconds."
Satisfied, he hung up. He knew he wouldn't have to count. Sans knew too well his threat wasn't empty.