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Chapter Text

“Papyrus! Get Down!”

His brother's warning was the last thing Papyrus heard before the crash of stalactites shattered around him. He whimpered hearing the loud cracks of stone on stone and the screams of terrified monsters. His gloved hands grabbed the top of his skull praying helplessly he would not be crushed. A thunderous crack filled the air dragging Papyrus’s head up to see a large piece of stone falling straight above him.

“NoNoNoNo!” He screamed and staggered backward. With no way to avoid the catastrophic boulders, the lanky skeleton cringed into the snow and ice. That was when he first heard another sound. Someone yelling, it was different from the panicked screams ringing around him.

“GET YOUR ASSES MOVING! DON’T STAND IN THE OPEN GET TO AN ARCHWAY NOW, OR I WILL BE WHAT FUCKING DUSTS YOU! GO GO GO GO!” The voice was loud and despite its harsh words collected and calm. Papyrus yelped as his body was grabbed in blue magic and dragged out of the way of the falling boulders. On shaky arms, he looked up to something he never expected to see. Another skeleton. Weren’t he and Sans the only two in the entire underground?

“DON’T STAND THERE STARING GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR! THE CEILING IS FALLING DOWN! NOW RUN!” The dark skeleton grabbed Papyrus by the back of the shirt and dragged him to his feet shoving him forwards towards the nearest the archway. He took off as fast as he could only looking back once he was in the safety of an archway. It was then he noticed the dark skeleton hadn’t followed him to the arch. He had run further into the cavern grabbing more pinned monsters and sending towards the arches and other safe locations. Papyrus blinked as he looked around the cavern seemed bigger, way bigger, and there were opening than he remembered. He hadn’t noticed yet but everything was doubling even as it fell apart.

“Capitan look out above you!” A strange dark-furred dog barked as several large boulders came loose heading straight for the dark skeleton and the family of mice monsters he was ushering to safety. In a flash, four black fanged blasters surrounded the skeleton. The large maws holding a sphere of dark sapphire magic. Then in a flash of blue the boulders were reduced to gravel raining around them. The mouse family scurried under an archway not far from Papyrus.

The tall skeleton watched as the dark skeleton ran further ahead only to followed a pack of darkly furred dogs. They all moved with a purposefulness and clear goal in mind. It was as intimidating as it was impressive. They were all watching out for the others and efficient in finding the monsters in danger and dragging them away safely.

“Capitan, I think that’s it for the Snowdin area!” A black dog barked as it pulled Doggo from beneath a boulder. the pitch of its voice made Sans think it was a girl.

“GOOD, I’LL HEAD TO WATERFALL MAKE SURE THAT SHIT IS GETTING DONE THERE AS WELL. DOGARESSA YOU'RE IN CHARGE TILL I RETURN.” The dark skeleton yelled sprinting towards the east. The dark monster naturally dodged the falling debris, never breaking stride as he vanished in the vast new distance.

“Hey welp! Do you know healing magic?” One of the dark dogs barked at Papyrus dragging his attention away from the dark skeleton.

“Yes, sir” Papyrus answered peeking around as the dog dragged over doggo. The familiar dog was unconscious and his back leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. Papyrus gasped and darted over to the injured dog.

“Then after you fix him up, I want you to follow us and help the other injured.” The dark dog growled. Papyrus nodded and quickly wreathed his hands in greenish blue magic and started on Dog's leg. The bone had to be snapped back into the correct position but the dark dog helped Papyrus without a bit of hesitation.

“Okay he’s good, let’s go.” the dark dog growled pulling Papyrus away.

“But he hasn’t woken up.” The skeleton complained and dug his heels in, not that it stopped the other from dragging him around like a rag doll.

“We don’t have time to waste on that. Ressa will watch out for him there are others who need healing. This is damage control right now, not full medical treatment. Stabilize and move on. For now, we just want to buy time till others can show up. You won’t have the magic to fully heal everyone of all their injuries, so just heal them enough they last till help can arrive.

“O-Okay” Papyrus stammered. He was shocked to see more new faces as he was dragged around to different arches. They stuck to the wall even though the worst of the rumbling seemed to over. One time while Papyrus was healing a red-eyed bear monster, An unfamiliar cat monster jumped on the mouse from the library. The little monster shattered into dust without even getting a chance to scream. Papyrus froze, the dark dog next to him didn’t. In an instant, the dark dog had shoved the cat into the ground snarling baring his fangs.

“You are under arrest!” The dog snarled cuffing the cat’s arms behind it’s back. The cat screamed and struggled against him but it did no good. The dog handed the cat off to another dog before turning to Papyrus

“You ready to move on to the next one?” he barked and Papyrus could only nod. His brain was reeling. That cat had murdered another monster. And what for? Why would they do something so horrible?

“Bro!” Sans yelled as Papyrus was dragged into another archway full of monsters. “Oh thank Asgore you’re alright!”

“SANS!” Papyrus ran over and snatched his brother off the ground and into a back breaking hug. “OH SANS YOU’RE SAFE!”

“Paps I was so worried,” Sans said with a wheezing chuckle. The dark furred waited quietly while the two brothers reunited, but Papyrus felt slightly pressured by his presence.

“OH, BROTHER I NEED TO GET GOING. MY DOG FRIEND AND I ARE TRYING TO FIND ALL THE INJURED MONSTERS TO HEAL THEM TILL HELP ARRIVES." Papyrus said putting his brother down.

“Oh, and why is he tagging along?” Sans asked giving the dog a distrusting glare. The dog huffed and rolled his eyes.

“I'm making sure no one gets the bright Idea of dustin’ your brother while he's healing the others.” The dog growled. Sans blinked.

“Dust him? Are kidding me? Who would do that?” Sans hissed and Papyrus flinched remembering the mouse monster’s fate.

“Every single monster I know.” the dog answered flatly. Sans blinked.

“who the hell are you that you know those kinds of bastards," Sans demanded.

“Dogamy, second lieutenant of the royal guard.” The dog answered. Sans raised his brow.

“You're pullin’ my leg. You look nothing like Dogamy.” Sans growled looking the dog over.

“and you look nothing like the Sans I know,” Dogamy answered. Sans tilted his head eyelights narrowing at the dark canine.

“LET'S ARGUE ABOUT THIS LATER. THERE ARE MONSTERS WHO NEED HEALING.” Papyrus said turning the dark Dogamy. “THANK YOU FOR HELPING.”

The dog snorted at Papyrus’s thank you and turned to scan the group of monsters. “There's still work to be done. Let's get going.”

Several hours later.

Papyrus and Sans are huddled in Grillby’s, well their Grillby’s. There was now two bars in town called Grillby’s. Actually, there was two of everything now, except for their own house. There was still only one house on the edge of town. There was no dark or edgy copy of their house. So where did that dark skeleton live?

Grillby had the TV on. An announcement from King Asgore was supposed to be coming soon. Everyone was worried and anxious to figure out what was going on. The dark monsters had gathered in that other Grillby’s bar, with the exception of the two dog packs. They were watching out to make sure no fighting broke out.

“Hey, bro, it's starting,” Sans said shaking Papyrus out of his thoughts. The tall skeleton jumped and looked at the TV. His brain stalled at the image on the screen. There was Asgore and there he was again but darker.

Their Asgore had golden hair and horns that reached for the surface. His powerful shoulder masked beneath a purple robe. Kind but worried blue eyes looked out at them through the camera. Their Asgore was powerful but kind.

The other one was something else. The dark king had black hair that spiked up in a messy array. Red horns curled down to frame his face and sharp fangs were exposed from his muzzle as he spoke lowly to the other Asgore. Black armor and a crimson cloak adorned the dark Asgore. His dark red eyes watched every movement like a cat watches a mouse. He was powerful straight and through.

“Hello, my subjects.” The gentle Asgore said stepping forward. His voice deep but soothing. “I’m sure many of you have noticed a few new faces since the last earth tremor. And umm… they have some uncanny resemblances to ourselves. I know they might seem threatening but their King... Asgore has promised to work with us to maintain a peaceful co-existence with his subjects.”

“Asgore, If I may speak now.” The dark goat monster said. His voice deep ached gravely. Asgore nodded and stepped back allowing his dark copy to take center stage. “Greeting to all the members of the underground. I would like to make it clear that we aren’t here to look for a fight. My head scientist has just informed me that he believes we were brought together by a malfunction in the core.

“I understand that my subjects might appear frightening and it's true some of them are murderous but let me make it clear. I will not tolerate attacks of violence against our new counterparts. My royal guard is looking for any sort of trouble and will snuff it out.”

Asgore stepped up as the dark king finished speaking.

“We have agreed to work together for the time being,” Asgore stated and the dark king nodded to confirm. “To avoid confusion I will continue to go by Asgore.”

“And I shall be addressed as Dreemurr,” Dreemurr said.

Papyrus blinked in surprise. So these edgy copies were friendly?

“What a total load of bullshit. I don’t trust this one bit.” Sans hissed next to him.

Chapter Text

It had been a few months since there new monsters had joined the underground and things were trying to go back to normal. Trying being the operative word there. The light and easy going atmosphere Papyrus had know his whole life was nothing but a memory. The new monsters had quickly learned not to kill their softer counterparts. The royal guard from the place everyone had named underfell were merciless to those who killed. Public and immediate executions were a common punishment. Still the fell monster would threaten, cheat and steal if they could get away with it.

Papyrus and Sans were walking through the streets of new home. It was strange seeing his normally laid back brother tense. Not that it was easy to tell. He was still slouched hand hidden in his stained jacket pockets with a smile plastered on his face. Papyrus only knew he was tense because of his narrowed eyelights and the lack of annoying jokes. 

"SHOULD WE COOK SPAGHETTI TONIGHT?" Papyrus asked just wanting calm his brother. 

"Sure." Sans said before grabbing Papyrus by the scarf and yanking him to a halt. The taller skeleton nearly fell backwards. The knot of the scarf dug into the fragile cervical vertebrae.

"SANS! WHAT WAS TH-"

"Who's there!" Sans called out. His eyelights narrowed in on an alley just up ahead. Papyrus felt a chill that had nothing to with the snowdin air. 

"Heh, heh, you've got pretty good senses for a softie." A voice answered. It was deep and gravelly. Papyrus could swear it sounded familiar, though he couldn't place where. Two crimson dots lit up from the alley.

"Show yourself." Sans growled.

"Pretty rude. I thought you softies were all bout manners and that shit." The person from the alley called back. Still he stepped out into the open light. Papyrus blinked in shock. 

"SANS?" He spluttered. The new monster laughed. A gold fang glinted in his jaw. A long crack ran through one eye socket and a thick black coat bulked up the short skeleton. 

"Heya, Paps." The dark skeleton said with a smirk. 

"What do you want?" Sans growled.

"Nothin' just curious. Wanted ta see my counterpart. Tell me ya weren't the least bit curious, ya had ta be a little right?"

"Well you've seen me, now get lost." Sans said. 

"BROTHER, THAT'S RUDE." Papyrus said turning to the dark skeleton. 

"Heh, seems your bro's got better manners than ya." The red skeleton said. "I just wanted ta chat with ya, nothing to dastardly." 

"OH? WELL WE ARE HEADING HOME DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH?" Papyrus offered to his brothers mortification.

"Whoa, shouldn't ya take me on a date for ya try an take me home?" The red skelton said taken off guard by Papyrus's offer.

"OH, IT'S JUST COLD OUTSIDE, I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO TALK SOMEWHERE WARMER." Papyrus explained. 

"That's sweet but I'm -"

"SANS! WHAT IN ASSGORE'S GREEN EARTH ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?!" Another voice yelled. Papyrus looked up see the dark skeleton from earlier running towards them. 

"Oh shit. Heya Paps." The dark Sans said as his brother snatched him off the ground by the hood. 

"IT'S BELOW FREEZING WHY THE HELL DID YOU COME HERE? YOU SHORTCUT HOME NOW AND SO HELP ME IF I HEAR OF YOU GOING ANYWHERE ELSE I'LL DUST YOUR WORTHLESS ASS!"

"Al'ight boss. Put me down." The dark Sans muttered. The taller dark Skeleton glared at his brother.

"HOME. NONE OF YOU'RE DAMNED GAMES. AM I CLEAR?"

" Crystal" he murdered. Papyrus watched his dark counterpart drop his brother and fold his arms. 

"See ya later" the dark sans muttered before teleporting away. 

"THERE'S A CURFEW IN ORDER. YOU TWO NEED TO BE INSIDE STRAIGHT AWAY." The dark Papyrus said. 

"BUT YOU'RE OUT PAST CURFEW TOO AREN'T YOU?" Papyrus pointed out. 

"NO, I'M THE ONE ENFORCING IT."

"On whose authority?" Sans asked.

"BOTH ASSGORE AND DREEMURR." The dark Papyrus said. "NOW RETURN TO YOUR DWELLING OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE UNITED ROYAL GUARD CAPTAIN PAPYRUS."

Chapter Text

Papyrus paced in his kitchen as the artificial light of dawn streamed in. It was Wednesday. That meant it was his day to train with Undyne. She would surely know what was going on with this curfew and the new fell monsters. As captain of the royal guard there was no one better to answer these questions. 

Err except it seemed the new dark skeleton was now the captain. At least that's what he had proclaimed last night. He left a note on the fridge for his brother and slipped out the door.

Could a version of himself really be a royal guard, let alone the captain? He was only Seventeen for crying out loud. Or was this dark version of himself older? Papyrus didn't really understand this talk of alternate dimensions and Sans only vaguely spoke of it. Papyrus continued to ponder the strangeness of the last few months as he made his way through the thick fog formed by the humid warmth of Waterfall mingling with the frigid cold of Snowdin. 

Papyrus sped into a jog as he reached Waterfall's long tunnels and chasms. While everything else seemed to double with the addition of the fell creatures the stars, magic crystals fed by hopes and wishes, seemed to have been cut in half scattered across the huge expanse of dark ceiling. It made the normally relaxing journey haunting. Water drops fell like black streaks through the new gloom. He kept his gaze forward trying to move past dark scaled monsters sizing him up.

Bzz Bzz Bzz

His phone rattled against his hip bone as he jogged the last tunnel to Undyne's house. He pulled it out and saw Undyne's name in the notification screen. She'd sent a text? He looked up to see a crowd of monsters gathered around the fish-like house. He only made it a few steps further before Undyne's voice rattled the cave.

"Papyrus, what are you doing here? I told you training was canceled." The fish monster yelled charging over to him.

"CANCELED? I NEVER SAW SUCH A MESSAGE." Papyrus said but opened the notification from Undyne. "ERR ACTUALLY I JUST NOW RECEIVED IT."

Undyne's facial fins twitched and she shoved Papyrus with enough force to stagger the taller monster.

"Ugh, look, just go home. You can't be here right now." She growled. 

"WHY NOT? WHAT'S GOING ON?" He demanded. His friend seemed tense and he wanted to help however he could. 

"Sorry Paps, but you gotta-"

"VICE-CAPTAIN, WHAT IS A CIVILIAN DOING HERE?"  

The dark skeleton strode out of Undyne's house with narrowed eyelights. Papyrus sucked in a sharp breath. There was his dark counterpart again. Undyne growled and turned to face the dark skeleton. Papyrus leaned forward to keep a better look at the dark monster. Undyne had stepped between the two skeletons blocking a part of the way.

"Chill, we had training planned before you changed the schedule. I didn't notify him in time." Undyne snapped.

"SORRY, BUT WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE HERE?" Papyrus asked. 

"I'M EVALUATING THE GUARDS SO I CAN TRIM THE FAT. I ONLY WANT THE BEST MONSTERS IN THE GUARD." The dark skeleton explained. "NOW LEAVE YOUR PRESENCE HERE IS A DISTURBANCE."

Papyrus gave the other skeleton a raised brow bone.

"THAT'S AN AWFULLY RUDE THING TO SAY. ALL THESE MONSTERS HAVE WORKED HARD TO JOIN THE GUARD. YOU SHOULDN'T BELITTLE THEM." Papyrus said. How could this supposed captain speak so poorly of his own men. Or was it an underhanded gab at the monsters of his world? Undyne had been demoted to vice captain.

"AND WHO EXACTLY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TO TELL ME HOW TO TREAT MY MEN" The captain demanded somehow looming over Papyrus's 6'2". Papyrus blinked and took a timid step back. The way those crimson eyelights narrowed in on him sent a shiver of ice down his spine.

"I'M PAPYRUS." He didn't like the threatening aura the other skeleton gave off. It was so different from focused concern he had shown in their first meeting, when he was dragging monsters out of the way of falling rocks.

"THERE'S NO WAY. YOU'RE MY COUNTERPART IN THIS UNIVERSE? AT LEAST YOU'RE UNDYNE WAS STILL COMPETENT. YOUR COMPLETELY HELPLESS." Dark Papyrus scoffed. Papyrus frowned at the insult and folded his arms. He didn't appreciate the disgusted look the other was giving him. Like he thought Papyrus was a misbehaving child. 

"I'M NOT HELPLESS." He started his words stopped when a weight that wasn't weight settled on his bones. 

"I'M A VERY BUSY SKELETON AND DON'T HAVE TO HUMOR YOUR WHIMSY. I'VE ASKED YOU TO LEAVE, NOW I'M MAKING YOU LEAVE." 

Papyrus felt the blue magic throw his body down the hall. The sapphire magic made it feel as though gravity turned 90 degrees, like he was freefall down a vertical hallway instead of a horizontal one. He flew out of Undyne's chamber before he summoned a bone sticking out of the floor. He grabbed it bringing his freefall across the X-axis to a halt.

"HOW VERY RUDE." Papyrus muttered half tempted to charge back in there and lecture the other skeleton. That was no way to treat someone. Undyne and the others didn't deserve such coldness. 

"Paps, are you alright?" Undyne called as she sprinted over to him. 

"OF COURSE I AM. IT TAKES A LOT MORE THAN THAT TO INJURE THE GREAT PAPYRUS." He assured her. He did his best to exude confidence, placing his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out. 

"I'm glad, look I really need ya to go home Paps. We're in a bit of a hurry right now. I'll make it up to you later. I swear." Undyne's facial fins twitched as she slowly pushed him towards the River person. Papyrus sighed. 

"ALRIGHT, I'LL SEE YOU LATER, AND DON'T LET THAT DARK ME WALK ALL OVER YOU. YOU'RE TOO AMAZING FOR THAT." 

The corners of her scaly curved up slightly, letting a hint of the white peaks of her sharky teeth show.  "Who the hell do you think I am? Like I'd ever let some bonehead walk all over me."

Papyrus nodded trying to ignore the worry gnawing at his ribs as his best friend vanished into the gloom of the tunnel. Everything was changing and for once he wasn't sure it was for the best. 

No surely it was for the best. The fell verse monsters could learn a lot from his friends. If they were of the mind too. They all needed some lessons on kindness it seemed. 

Papyrus decided against taking the river person home. Half the time it was the darker river person whose boat was covered in suspicious white dust. He knew Sans disliked that monster in fact his brother seemed to dislike all of the darker counterparts in general. 

His thoughts were cut short when he noticed the bridge seeds in one of the waterfall rooms were laid out to create a path to a small room across the waterway. Curious, he decided to see who else was out and about. The lily pad-like plants bobbed under his boots as he walked into the dark room. A single echo flower illuminated a small figure sprawled across a wooden bench. 

"SANS?" Papyrus called out when the sight of pale bone came into view. The shorter skeleton jerked sitting up. 

"Boss? What'cha want?" He mumbled rubbing sleeping eye sockets. 

"BOSS? IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL MY COUNTERPART?" Papyrus asked. The dark skeleton jolted and looked up at papyrus.

"Oh, it's you softie. You want something?" He rolled his eyelights in an attempt to make the expression cavalier, but the corners of his smile seemed too tense. If it were his own brother it would be the subtle sign of unspoken stress. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?" Papyrus asked, putting his hands on his hips. "IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO BE SLEEPING OUT IN THE WET, ESPECIALLY ALONE."

"Heh, just out for a stroll. Boss is at work and Dad went to work. It got a bonely sitting at home by myself." Sans's excuse trailed off when Papyrus tsked at him. 

"THAT'S HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE. SO DO EITHER OF THEM EVEN KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?" Papyrus demanded. His own brother was very fragile and caused him no end of worry even before these more violent counterparts showed up. He couldn't imagine his darker counterpart would be any different. 

The expression that flickered across Sans's red eyelights was enough of an answer for him. Irritation and exasperation had him crossing the small room.

"Whoa. Whoa. What you think you-" Sans cut off as Papyrus grabbed him off the ground and started walking out of the room.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" 

"I AM TAKING YOU HOME. YOU ARE GOING TO SCARE YOUR BROTHER HALF TO DEATH. WHERE DO YOU LIVE?" Papyrus demanded, ringing the bell to reset the bridge seeds. 

"Hotlands, well more precisely the core apartments. But how about you?" Sans asked, going limp in Papyrus's grip. 

"HMM? YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE I LIVE?" He paused double-checking the smaller skeleton was alright. His coat was soaked. The silver fur on the hood dripped water onto his sharp nasal bone.

"Yeah, I know you two softies live in Snowdin but I didn't get to see ya house."

"UMM, YOU WANT TO SEE MY HOUSE?" Papyrus asked, surprise brightening his eyes. 

"Yeah, I wanna see how OCD ya are compared to my Papyrus," Sans said. Papyrus turned and started back towards Snowdin.

"I'M NOT OCD. I'M CLEAN. BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE MY HOUSE I SEE NO REASON TO REFUSE YOUR REQUEST." 

"Well, I know a shortcut to Snowdin." Sans snapped his finger as they walked and the walls of Waterfall blurred and brightened until Papyrus could make out white snow and tall pine trees. He stepped through the fog without pausing. His brother had the same ability, he was more or less used to teleporting, though it still made him rather queasy to do it too often. 

After a total of 23 steps the fairy lights Papyrus had wrapped around the outside of his home glittered off the snow and fog.

"Eye catching much?" Sans chuckled like he had just seen something particularly amusing.

"THANK YOU. IT TOOK QUITE SOME TIME TO MAKE SURE THE PROPER AMOUNT OF LIGHTS WERE IN EACH AREA." Papyrus beamed at the perceived complement. He fished his house from his pocket with his free hand still holding the red Sans with his other. 

"MAKE SURE TO HANG THAT COAT ON A HOOK IN THE HALL. IT'S STARTING TO FREEZE STIFF AND LET YOUR BROTHER KNOW WHERE TO FIND YOU." He chided the small skeleton and set the other down inside. 

"ERR, I'LL MAKE LUNCH AND YOU CAN MAKE YOURSELF COMFY IN THE LIVING ROOM." Papyrus hurried to the kitchen. Realization setting in that he had just walked off with a complete stranger. He hadn't really given it any thought. The little skeleton just acted so much like his own brother that he just acted. It must have to do with the fact that he was a version of his brother. Papyrus would never act so rude otherwise.

When he returned with two bowls of dino oatmeal he found the dark Sans sprawled across the couch. A bit of irritation sparked at seeing the dirty shoes on the arm of the couch. At least he wasn't the only one being overly familiar.

"GET YOUR FEET OFF THE COUCH." Papyrus smacked the shoed feet down as he handed a bowl to his guest. 

"You're somehow more obsessively clean than my own bro." Sans complained but sat up with feet planted on the ground. 

"I HAVE STANDARDS, NOT OBSESSIONS. A CLEAN HOUSE IS A HEALTHY HOUSE. I TAKE PRIDE IN THE FACT THAT SANS'S ROOM IS THE ONLY ROOM NOT SPOTLESS IN THIS WHOLE HOUSE." Papyrus puffed his chest out. 

"What about yer dad? Gaster?" Sans asked. 

"HE ISN'T AROUND ANYMORE. HE... DIED..." Papyrus said, struggling to remember the details. "IT MUST HAVE BEEN YEARS AGO. I BARELY REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT HIM. HE FELL INTO THE CORE OR SOMETHING. IT'S BEEN JUST ME AND MY BROTHER FOR A LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER."

"Weird" Sans muttered. Papyrus could see the tell-tale bit of sweat on his skull telling him the shorter skeleton was embarrassed. Papyrus, being merciful, decided to change topics. 

"DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME I COULD CALL YOU. IT'LL BE A BIT CONFUSING CALLING YOU SANS ONCE MY BROTHER COMES HOME." 

"When boss is in a good mood he sometimes calls me cherry, but th-"

"CHERRY? THAT'S A WONDERFUL NICKNAME. IT MATCHES YOUR COLORS." Papyrus beamed and the newly dubbed Cherry looked horrified. 

"No wait."

Chapter Text

The mechanical whir of the microwave buzzed through the kitchen. Tomatoes and herbs wafted through the air as Papyrus microwaved a plate of spaghetti. Cherry was sprawled out on the couch, with his black coat bunched up underneath him, an improvised pillow that was certain to give the shorter skeleton a nasty neck cramp.

"Umm, Paps what is this?"

Papyrus jumped at his brother's voice. He whipped around to see Sans standing in the living room laser-focused on the dark skeleton sleeping on the couch. The tone was mild but he recognized the tension in his brother's grin.

"CHERRY WANTED SOME COMPANY SO I BROUGHT HIM HOME WHILE HE WAITED," Papyrus explained and pulled the warmed spaghetti from the microwave. His brother had not grown any more fond of their new residents than he had when they first arrived. If anything his brother's misgivings were higher than such a short skeleton should be able to manage. 

"Oh and what exactly was he waiting for?" Sans asked. 

"FOR HIS FAMILY TO GET HOME FROM WORK. HE DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT IN AN EMPTY HOUSE." Papyrus answered. If Sans's expression could be any more skeptical Papyrus would have given him a reward. "BE NICE, HE'S A LITTLE LONELY."

"Paps, I don't trust him." Sans warned in a low voice. Papyrus rolled his eyes.

"I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT CHERRY. HE'S BEEN RELATIVELY ... ER ACTUALLY HE'S BEEN JUST PLAIN OLD POLITE DESPITE THE FACT HE'S A FELL MONSTER."

"yeah, and for how long?" Sans shot back.

"I DON'T THINK HE'S GOING TO TRY ANYTHING SANS. HE REALLY DOES JUST SEEM LONELY. THINK ABOUT IT. ME AND YOU SPEND MOST OF OUR DAY TOGETHER. IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE CHERRY IS LEFT HOME ALONE A LOT. THAT WOULD BE THE OPPOSITE OF HELPFUL FOR YOU. IT CAN'T POSSIBLY BE HEALTHY FOR HIM."

Sans looked less than pleased with that answer but he didn't argue. Sans knew that once Papyrus had set his mind to something that there was no stopping him. He would just have to wait for this plan to backfire. Papyrus plated up the spaghetti and handed his brother a plate. Sans paled but kept his smile pinned in place. He was really going to have to work with Paps on his cooking skills.

"COME METTATON IS GOING TO BE ON SOON," Papyrus said, walking towards the living room. "I WONDER WHY THE FELL'S METTATON ISN'T ON THE AIR AS WELL." He mused aloud.

"Easy he's a psychopath that even these dark monsters don't like. Mettaton's a star even to them." Sans scoffed. Papyrus turned to scold Sans but the dark look on his face told Papyrus Sans wasn't being rude he was being as honest as he dared with his brother. Papyrus frowned.

"OH. WELL, AT LEAST WE HAVE THAT MUCH IN COMMON WITH THEM. WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT OUR METTATON IS AN AMAZING ENTERTAINER." 

Papyrus somehow found himself sitting on the floor with Sans's sleeping head in his lap and Cherry snoozing on the couch behind him. The dark skeleton breathing was a bit labor, like he had a stack books on his sternum. If Papyrus had to guess, sleeping out in the wet of waterfall was taking its toll on the fragile skeleton, 

DARN IT, IF ONLY I HAD FOUND HIM A BIT EARLIER. Papyrus cursed himself. He resolved to get some medicine from the store on the other end of town if Cherry's condition worsened at all. A faint buzz ran through his skull in a repeated bzz, bzz, bzz. it was the second set of buzzes that Papyrus realized what it was. A ringtone. Cherry's phone was going off. 

"CHERRY, YOUR PHONE IS RINGING" Papyrus reached up and shook the smaller dark skeleton. The fragile bones were warm under his fingers but didn't stir. 

IT'S RUDE TO GO THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF, BUT CHERRY ISN'T WAKING AND I CAN GUESS WHO'S CALLING. Papyrus grabbed a pillow off the couch and shifted it under his brother's skull as he shifted away from Sans. He felt Cherry's jacket until he found the little black phone now ringing through for the fourth time. Papyrus stood and started for the kitchen as he answered the phone. His dark counterpart's voice shouted through the speaker. 

"SANS! WHERE IN THE FUCK ARE YOU?! I'VE TORN THIS HOUSE APART LOOKING FOR YOUR WORTHLESS HIDE!" 

"YOU'RE NOT THE BEST AT SHOWING YOUR CONCERN IN A HEALTHY WAY, ARE YOU?" Papyrus interrupted. The other end of the line went silent, for a moment Papyrus thought the call had disconnected but then the skeleton on the other side growled at him. 

"WHERE IS MY BROTHER."

"HE IS ASLEEP ON MY COUCH. I FOUND HIM SLEEPING IN WATERFALL AND TOOK HIM TO MY HOUSE. HE'S DEVELOPED A FEVER. IT'S ONLY MILD RIGHT NOW BUT IF IT WORSENED ANY I WAS PLANNING TO GRAB SOME MEDICINE FOR HIM."

"DAMMIT OF COURSE HE'S GONE AND MADE HIMSELF SICK. WHAT ELSE IS THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING SACK OF SHIT GOING TO DO IN HIS FREE TIME."

Papyrus frowned.

"I THINK HE MISSED YOU."

"WE SEE EACH OTHER EVERY NIGHT." The dark skeleton shot back. 

"DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT'S ENOUGH TIME FOR HIM?" Papyrus asked. Silence stretched between them as his dark counterpart failed to come up with an answer. 

"MY HOUSE IS THE FIRST HOUSE BETWEEN SNOWDIN AND WATERFALL. IT HAS A BUNCH OF FAIRY LIGHTS OUT FRONT. COME GET HIM AND BRING HIM HOME." Papyrus broke the silence. "SHOULD I WAKE HIM UP?"

"NO! NO, LET HIM SLEEP. I DON'T WANT HIM GETTING WORSE." The dark skeleton answered quickly. "I CAN BE THERE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES"

"I WILL KEEP HIM SAFE UNTIL YOU ARRIVE." Papyrus promised as the line went dead. He sighed and headed back to the living room. Sans was sitting up, eyes narrowed at Papyrus.

"Was that captain jackass?" Sans asked.

"BE NICE." Papyrus chided. If Cherry's brother wasn't planning to wake him then he'd most likely be carrying him and Papyrus knew he had a spare blanket in his closet. He didn't want Cherry's condition to nose dive. Sans was perched on the arm of the couch when he returned.

"Damn Bro, he's burning up." Sans said. Papyrus sighed. 

"LANGUAGE." He threw the blanket over Cherry before fishing out a handful of gold.

"Can you run to the store? We're out of fever medicine." Papyrus asked. Sans took the gold and nodded. 

"I'll be back quick, I know a shortcut. He winked at his brother and then vanished in a strange blip that gave Papyrus a faint headache. He retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table along with Cherry's phone. Tonight was turning out to be quite eventful. 

Knock, knock, knock. The sound echoed through the house exactly fifteen minutes after Papyrus had ended his call with his dark counterpart.

Papyrus glanced at his brother as he climbed to his feet. Sans was glaring at their front door with eyelights so dim Papyrus could only barely make them out. 

"BE NICE." He reminded his brother. 

"Yeah, sure. I'll play nice with the killer version of my older bro." Sans tried to sound nonchalant but Papyrus picked up the very chalant under tone to his brother's voice. He made a mental note to keep himself between Sans and the dark Papyrus. Most people vastly underestimated Sans but to use Undyne's words (after Sans had both figuratively and literally wiped the floor, as well as the ceiling, with her) 'Sans is one hell of a glass cannon. A single blow might dust him but good luck because that punk doesn't pull his punches'. 

Papyrus didn't want a fight breaking out in his living room tonight, or ever.

"IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW, I'M BREAKING IT DOWN" 

"DON'T BE RUDE." Papyrus replied unlocking the door. He prayed that his dark counter would stop giving Sans a reason to look for a fight. "CHERRY IS RIGHT THIS WAY."

The dark skeleton tried to match passed Papyrus but he didn't let him shouldering the darker skeleton behind him. He must of shocked his counterpart because he paused in the doorway. Papyrus seized the opportunity. 

"PLEASE BE CALM, MY BROTHER IS NOT AT EASE AROUND ... YOU FELL MONSTERS IN GENERAL. I ASK FOR A BIT OF MERCY ON HIS NERVES AND BE POLITE." Papyrus wasn't whispering. He wasn't trying to hide his request from Sans, they were brothers, they didn't keep secrets. Or rather he didn't keep secrets from Sans. The dark skeleton huffed and folded his arms but he stopped trying to shove passed Papyrus.

He paused as he stepped into the living room. Sans was glaring eyelights completely out. Papyrus shot him a warning glance and found himself wishing for lips so he mouth 'be nice' at his brother. Instead he crossed the room and scooped Cherry off the couch.

"YOU CAN TAKE THE BLANKET WITH YOU. IT IS BEST TO KEEP THE CHILL OFF HIM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. JUST DROP IT OFF WITH UNDYNE LATER." Papyrus said as he handed the small skeleton over. 

"WHY ARE YOU BEING OVERLY HELPFUL? WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE IN THIS? IF YOU'RE TRYING TO WIN FAVOR WITH ME BY KIDNAPPING MY BROTHER YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING." The dark skeleton warned and Sans snorted.

"Kidnapped? Are you kidding me? If my bro hadn't been the one to find him your brother would be dust right now, especially if one of the monsters from your world had found him. So how about you get your skull out of your ass and say thank you?"

"SANS, ENOUGH." Papyrus snapped and ushered his counterpart towards the door. "I ASSURE YOU I DIDN'T DO IT FOR ANY OTHER REASON THAN HE WAS A SANS AND SEEMED TO NEED A BIT OF HELP AND WHO BETTER TO AID A SANS THAN A PAPYRUS. IT'S WHAT WE DO BEST; TAKE CARE OF OUR SANSES."

Papyrus's confidence was met with with a flash of guilt on the other's face and the dark skeleton turned to walk away. Papyrus followed him slipping ahead to open the door. He offered the other a kind smile but his counterpart studiously avoided looking in his direction.

"HAVE A GOODNIGHT, PAPYRUS." 

Chapter Text

Papyrus quickly found himself immersed in a new pattern. He was still the sole caretaker of the puzzle in Snowdin Forest however now he also maintained the, err, pointier puzzles of the fell monsters' forest as well. While they were not at all his style they were still fascinating to figure out how they worked. 

"Heya, softie."

Papyrus jolted. Cherry's outline was still slightly blurred for the brief aftereffects of his teleport. Papyrus gave his best friendly smile. 

"CHERRY IT HAS BEEN A WHILE. I DIDN'T THINK YOUR BROTHER WANTED YOU HANGING ME?" Papyrus said. He hadn't seen the dark skeleton in weeks and he was certain that was by his counterpart's intentions. He didn't want the taller dark skeleton coming after him. Cherry skeleton shrugged. 

"He don't own me. I'm my own monster and I wanna get to know ya" Cherry answered in a way that made Papyrus think he'd wanted to sound more confident than he actually had. 

"WELL I'M WORKING RIGHT SO YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT." Papyrus said, in a way that was nothing but kindness. Cherry blinked and moved to sit next to Papyrus as the taller skeleton was checking a length of rope in one of the fell traps. A pressure plate further ahead would trigger a wall of spikes to swing out of the ground and into the unexpecting soul on the path. In Papyrus's opinion it was far too barbaric but it wasn't his job to decide the traps' aesthetic, just maintain them. 

"Want some company while ya work then?" Cherry asked. 

"CERTAINLY, IF YOU DON'T MIND." Papyrus beamed. He worried that he wouldn't be able to entertain Cherry while he worked but Cherry seemed eager to listen to him as he rambled about the different puzzles he was tasked with maintaining and Cherry listened throwing in a couple crude puns in here or there. Soon he was out of puzzles to work on. 

"GUESS I'M DONE FOR THE DAY. I'LL BE HEADING HOME. DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH? IT'S ALMOST DINNERTIME," Papyrus was packing away his tools as he offered so when Cherry didn't immediately answer he didn't see the others expression. 

"Yeah, and no offense softie, can we grab something to eat on the way, you're cooking really sucks." Cherry asked. Papyrus rolled his eyes. 

"I'M A GREAT CHIEF, DON'T WORRY THOUGH. I CAN HOLD OFF ON COOKING TONIGHT. WE CAN STOP AT GRILLBY'S ON THE WAY HOME." Papyrus led the way back through the forest. Snowflakes swirled around him in a flurry of white motion. That's why the stationary yellow in the treeline caught his attention. He stopped walking and stared but the yellow spot seemed to melt in the ground before he could identify it. 

"What's up?" Cherry asked, a faint growl building in his voice. 

"I THOUGHT I SAW SOMETHING, BUT THE WIND MUST HAVE BLOWN IT AWAY. I CAN'T SEE IT ANYMORE." Papyrus answered though he had the growing feeling something was watching them. Cherry seemed to sense it too. The shorter skeleton lengthened his stride so he walked right inside Papyrus's shadow. His eyes narrowed as they walked further towards town. Papyrus came to an abrupt stop causing Cherry to walk into the back of his legs. 

"CAN WE HELP YOU?" Papyrus called out. Cherry blanched and looked at Papyrus with an expression that screamed 'what the hell do ya think you're doing?'. Papyrus ignored the smaller skeleton and spoke again.

"COME ON OUT NOW, I CAN'T IMAGINE STANDING UNDERNEATH THOSE PINES CAN BE ALL THAT MUCH FUN. ALL THE SAP MUST BE DRIPPING DOWN ON YOU THREE" Papyrus was calling out their stalker in such an openly innocent way. The words themselves could have been chiding like a parent with a small child, but his genuine kindness prevented the words from being condescending in any sort of way.

"There's no way this cinnamon bunny is a version of Papyrus." A particularly ugly fish monster scoffed as he walked from behind a tree ahead and to their right. His crooked teeth jutted out on his drooling lips. Papyrus's smile never faltered even as two more monsters emerged from the gloom. He did however shift so he was between Cherry and the new monsters. It was a subtle move blended his step forward and greeting.

    "I AM INDEED PAPYRUS, NOW WHAT BRING YOU, FINE GENTLEMEN, OUT INTO THE WOODS TODAY?" The tall skeleton asked with unflappable courtesy. The fish monster balked at Papyrus like he couldn't believe how stupid the monster was being.

"Well, you see we're out here looking for trouble."

"WELL, THAT'S RATHER UNPLEASANT DON'T YOU THINK?" Papyrus cut the fish monster off. He placed his hands on his hips and tutted at them. "I AM SURE YOU THREE CAN FIND A MUCH BETTER WAY TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME THAN STIRRING UP TROUBLE. LIKE PASTA MAYBE."

The three fish monsters blinked at him before snarling at him.

"I don't know what game you think you're playing but I am sick of your bull shit." He sneered charging at Papyrus, err except the snow stopped crunching underneath his webbed feet. eyes that were a rotten yellow darted around confused and terrified. He was floating several feet off the ground, helpless in the swirling and grip of blue magic. 

"LANGUAGE." Papyrus crossed the clearing raising all three fish monsters up until the first one was eye to eye with the tall skeleton. Regret instantly flashed across all three monsters' faces and they began whimpering and begging before Papyrus could say anything more.

"Please, please let us go."

"We didn't mean nothing by it."

"Ruddy I told ya it was a bad idea to pick a fight with a Papyrus."

"Shut up!"

"He's gonna kill us!"

"Mercy Please!"

Cherry snorted listening to the three of them groveling. Pathetic, they were barely worth the effort to kill. Papyrus frowned.

"OF COURSE I AM GOING TO BE MERCIFUL." Papyrus promised. 

Cherry grabbed the other's arm and hissed. 

"Ya can't spare them. They'll dust us as soon as our backs are turned" 

"NONSENSE" Papyrus grabbed Cherry by the back of the jacket and threw his hand over his head. The three monsters went soaring in a high arch over the trees, meanwhile Papyrus tucked Cherry against his chest and bolted for Snowdin. His long legs ate the distance. Cherry's head bobbed about with Papyrus's stride. Papyrus didn't stop until he was well across the bridge. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"ARE YOU STILL HUNGRY?" Papyrus asked, placing Cherry on the ground. Cherry stared at him slack jawed.

"The hell was that? If you are strong enough to just pick three monsters up in blue magic and throw them all the way to the ruins why didn't you just kill them?" 

"I DO TRULY BELIEVE THEY CAN DO BETTER, BUT NOT IF I KILL THEM. WHY WOULD I WANT TO?"

"Have ya never heard of exp?" Cherry asked in disbelief. Papyrus raised his brow bone.

"WELL, YES, BUT I DON'T WANT ANY." Papyrus said mildly horrified. His brain now connected what those monsters in the woods had truly wanted. A shiver ran down his spine. He should have called Undyne and held them there until she arrived. Now they were free to try on someone else, someone who might not be strong enough to protect themselves. 

"Ya don't want any? And what exactly is your plan when we get to the surface? You'll never last against a human with an lv of 1" Cherry's tone was harsh but Papyrus could see the way his eyelights wavered betraying his worry.

"IF THE HUMANS ARE AS STRONG AS THE STORIES SAY THAN FIGHTING ISN'T AN OPTION SO PEACE IS THE ONLY OPTIONS FOR US MONSTERS. ANOTHER WAR WITH THE HUMANS WOULD END NO BETTER THAN THE LAST ONE."

"We'll have to agree to disagree." Cherry said, shaking his head. 

"Papyrus," Sans's voice sounded ahead of them. The warm lights of Grillby's bar splattered across his brother's blue jacket like one of the humans' winter season cards that appeared from time to time in the dump.

"Are you done with work already? He spoke to papyrus but he was glaring at Cherry.

"ERR THAT'S ACTUALLY A BIT OF A STORY." Papyrus sighed and shuffled both short skeletons inside the bar. His brother was going to want answers and he needed to call Undyne. 

"SANS, WOULD YOU MIND KEEPING CHERRY COMPANY FOR A MOMENT, I NEED TO MAKE A CALL." Sans's pinned on expression told him that his brother did mind, very much. "I WON'T BE LONG."

With that Papyrus turned and exited the bar. His phone chats with Undyne had been scant as of late if not entirely one sided. His last several messages left unread. He tried not to take that personally. It felt like they were barely friends anymore. 

The phone rang, and rang and rang

And then

"Hello," Undyne's voice was brisk and cold. It reminded him of how all the fell monsters seemed to speak.

"Undyne, umm... there's been a bit of an issue over here"

"What is it?"

"Three monsters tried to jump me while I was out maintaining the puzzles."

"Were you hurt?" Her voice became colder but oddly enough it sounded more she was his friend.

"NO BUT I'M AFRAID I DIDN'T REALIZE THE TROUBLE  THEY WERE LOOKING TO CAUSE. I LET THEM GO."

He didn't know how to interpret the silence on the other side of the phone so he added. "WELL ACTUALLY I THREW THEM AWAY FROM ME SO I COULD RETURN TO SNOWDIN UNHARASSED. THEY ARE PROBABLY BANGED UP FROM THE FALL." 

Undyne laughed at that. 

"That sounds about right. I'll grab Edge and we'll head over."

"EDGE?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, just couldn't call him Papyrus, he's too ..." Undyne trailed off. "He's different enough it felt weird to call him your name."

"I UNDERSTAND. IF YOU NEED MY HELP JUST LET ME KNOW."

"We got this Paps, just stay safe, got it bonehead?"

"OF COURSE." Papyrus answered as the phone went dead. He wasn't sure but almost sounded like Undyne and his dark counterpart were friends. That was great news, or at least he tried to convince himself it was good and that Undyne certainly had not replaced him with Edge. Papyrus tucked his phone away when a child's voice startled him. 

"Howdy"

Chapter Text

"HELLO, ERR WHERE ARE YOU?" Papyrus looked around for the source of the child's voice. A tug on his boot had him glancing down to meet the gaze of a smiling yellow flower. Was it a monster? Papyrus couldn't think of any flower monsters, certainly nothing like this one in front of him. "OH HELLO THERE."

"Hi, I'm flowey, and your Papyrus right?" Flowey asked. He leaned his stem back as Papyrus crouched down to be more on his level. His eyelights traced the ragged edges on Flowey's petals.

"ARE YOU HURT? YOUR PETALS ARE LEAKING." Papyrus asked, unintentionally avoiding Flowey's question. The flower sighed, waxy golden petals falling from his face. 

"I am fine but my friend isn't." The child flower looked back up at Papyrus with tears in the black button-like eyes. "I need help to rescue them."

"OH. OF COURSE, UNDYNE AND A FEW OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL GUARD ARE ON THEIR WAY TO SNOWDIN RIGHT NOW. WE CAN TELL THEM ALL ABOUT YOUR FRIEND AND THEY CAN HELP YOU OUT." Papyrus shot up, turning to find his fishy friend. 

"No!" Flowey nearly shouted wrapping a vine around the skeleton's boot, fearful he might sprint off. The lanky Skeleton stumbled nearly toppling as he was dragged to a stop.  "The royal guard getting involved would be very, VERY bad for my friend."

"WHY IS THAT?" Papyrus asked, now more concerned than confused.

"Because..." the flower trailed off, seeming to debate with itself. Papyrus put his hands on his hips. 

"YOU CAN TELL ME FLOWEY. I'M A VERY GOOD LISTENER."

"I need you to promise me something, alright?"

"OF COURSE ANYTHING FRIEND." Papyrus promised, bobbing his head up and down. 

"You can't tell anyone a single thing I'm about to tell you." Flowey peered up at Papyrus with his bottomless black eyes. Slowly the skeleton nodded transfixed by the strange flower monster. 

"The reason you can't tell anyone is because my friend is.... a human." Flowey answered, head tilted to the ground, but he was peeking up at Papyrus through his golden petals.

"A HUMAN?" Papyrus gasped and Flowey hurried to explain so the eccentric and baffled skeleton couldn't draw any attention to them by freaking out. 

"Shh, yes a human, a human child but she's in danger. Toriel caught her back in the ruins and she was handed over to the king. We need to save her before Asgore kills her."

"ASGORE IS A PUSHOVER AND A SOFTIE. HE WOULD NEVER HARM A CHILD." Papyrus folded his arms and shook his head at the ridiculous notion.

"Maybe your king is kind and good but mine isn't. Frisk was handed over to Dreemur" The flower's head snapped up petals going stiff. "Remember you promised not to say anything." He hissed before sinking into the ground. Papyrus blinked in shock. That was a rather quick departure.

"WHAT IN THE ANGEL'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Edge growled from behind him. Papyrus jolted and whipped around to face his dark counterpart. Edge was covered head to toe in dark spiny armor with red stripes on the edge of the metal plates.

"ERR I WAS GOING FOR A WALK." Papyrus answered lamely.

"A WALK? TO THE GARBAGE CANS OF THIS GREASE PIT? I THOUGHT SURELY YOU WOULD HAVE BETTER STANDARDS THAN THAT." Edge scoffed. Papyrus sighed.

"I NEEDED TO CALL UNDYNE. I DIDN'T WANT THE OTHERS TO OVERHEAR ME." His eyelights tightened as Edge continued to stare at him.

"YOU FINISHED THAT CALL OVER TEN MINUTES AGO." Edge countered, still suspicious.

"I WASN'T READY TO HEAD OUT AND HAVE OUR BROTHERS JUMP ME." Papyrus answered.

"OUR BROTHERS?" Edge growled. His eyelights went out. Papyrus opened his mouth and closed it again, afraid to say anything. He hadn't meant to sell Cherry out, he hadn't planned to lie for him either, but rather just not say anything in hopes the topic wouldn't come up. He was too flustered trying to understand the news this new flower monster had entrusted with him for some reason. There was a human in the underground. The final soul to break the barrier. Life changing news and it had him off kelter.

Edge stalked over to Papyrus and grabbed the scarf around the softer skeleton's neck. Papyrus squeaked and grabbed Edge's wrist.

"CHERRY JUST WANTED SOMEONE TO HANG WITH. HE'S PERFECTLY SAFE WITH ME."

"THE HELL HE IS! YOU WON'T EVEN PROTECT YOURSELF, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP HIM SAFE?"

"I'M PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF HANDLING MYSELF."

"THEN WHY AM I HERE TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESS? YOU SHOULD HAVE DEALT WITH THOSE THUGS IN THE WOODS."

"I DON'T KILL." Papyrus stated simply. "BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME WEAK." 

"NO IT MAKES YOU STUPID." 

"WOULDN'T THAT MAKE YOU STUPID TOO? YOU ARE A VERSION OF ME" Papyrus pulled Edge's hands off his scarf.

If looks could kill he would be dust. Edge clenched his clawed gloves into fists. 

"I'M THE SMART VERSION, CLEARLY" Edge growled. Papyrus's witty response was cut off by Undyne's sharp voice. That unfamiliar and detached coldness ringing in her voice. 

"Hey bonehead we are heading out right now. It's freezing!" Undyne yelled down the alley. Papyrus moved to the sound of his friend's voice but stopped when Edge grabbed his forearm with enough force to bend the slender long bones. 

"SHE'S TALKING TO ME." Edge growled. He shoved Papyrus into the alley wall as he walked past. "WAIT HERE FOR A FEW MINUTES AFTER WE LEAVE. I DON'T WANT ANYONE THINKING I'M FRIENDS WITH YOUR PATHETIC ASS." 

Papyrus straightened his scarf and white shirt as he watched Edge head for the rest of town.

"AND IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MY BROTHER...Y O U  W I L L  W I S H  Y O U   W E R E  D E A D."

Papyrus rattled slightly. He hadn't realized Edge could do that creepy thing with his eyelights that Sans could do. He didn't understand how they could extinguish their eyelights. Papyrus never could mirror that trick. It was the only thing Sans could do that Papyrus couldn't;  not that Sans even wanted to teach him. His brother dodged the matter entirely if Papyrus tried to bring it up. He didn't understand why. At least he was capable of it, right? If his counterpart and Sans could do it then so could he. 

He waited what he felt was the appropriate amount of time after Edge left, five minutes and some odd seconds, before venturing back out onto the main street of Snowdin. Two short Skeletons were standing outside the bar looking around pensive and anxious.

"Softie, there ya are." Cherry spotted him first and met Papyrus halfway to Grillby's front door. Sans was right behind his counterpart, looking both pissed and relieved at the same time. 

"SORRY, I WAS HELD UP." Papyrus apologized. "YOUR BROTHER IS AWARE OF YOUR OUTING AND WANTED TO ENSURE YOU WOULD BE SAFE WITH ME."

"Did he hurt you?" Sans demanded. His eyelights flickered going out for a second before returning as dim pricks of light in his wide sockets.

"OF COURSE NOT. LIKE I SAID HE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE CHERRY WAS SAFE WITH ME, THAT'S ALL."

"And he didn't blow a gasket when he realized I snuck out?" Cherry asked with that same skeptical expression Sans used the few times Papyrus tried lying.

"WELL, HE WASN'T EXACTLY HAPPY WITH IT, BUT HE HAD ONLY LIMITED OPTIONS. YOU'LL PROBABLY RECEIVE AN EARFUL WHEN YOU RETURN HOME."

Cherry winced at the imagined berating that would be waiting for him at home. Papyrus figured it would be much the same as he gave Sans when his brother stayed out too late drinking, only with a lot more ... colorful... language.

"Can I just live with you guys instead. Even a lifetime on your lumpy couch would be better than the hours-long tantrum my bro is gonna pitch when I get home." Cherry pleaded as they headed for the house with the fairy lights hanging off the front. 

"ABSOLUTELY NOT, YOU DESERVE THE LECTURE FOR SNEAKING AROUND YOUR BROTHER'S BACK." Papyrus tutted as he opened the door for the two shorter skeletons. Sans snorted in a sound that almost sounded like humor.

"You tell him bro." Sans said. He was most definitely enjoying this. 

"Something funny, Shortie?" Cherry growled. 

"Just glad it's happening to someone else for a change." Sans answered and Papyrus rolled his eyes. 

"I WOULDN'T HAVE TO NAG YOU SOME MUCH IF YOU DIDN'T NOD OFF THE MOMENT YOU STOPPED MOVING." Papyrus defended himself. Sans shrugged and plopped down on the couch. Cherry did the same, removing some of the humor from Sans's face.

"METTATON'S NEW SHOW IS ON. LET'S WATCH THAT." Papyrus said, sitting on the floor between the two short skeletons. The tension in the air reminded him of the tightly wound springs Alphys used in her machines; just one second away from snapping into catastrophe. It sent anxiety rippling down his bones. He hoped Edge would return soon.