Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sans was so proud of Papyrus, his baby brother had been doing so well and adapted to the surface far better than he had been expecting.

Sure it wasn’t all sunshine and roses, but the brothers and their friends were comfortably thriving with their own houses, jobs, and aspirations.

At first he had been a little concerned; Papyrus had been the last of them to get a job, he spent way too much time inside than was healthy- corndog stand aside.

So, Sans had passed on his own security training to his brother and helped find him a job at a hiring aquarium that had good ratings and a decent amount of fame for rare attractions.

However, he could pinpoint that job as the marker for… Complications.

His first day on the job, and his brother had come home quiet.

The second day, he got a call from the younger brother informing him that there was a complete job change.

He had gone to work, come home, made tacos, and gone to bed hoping his brother wouldn’t be out too late.

Sans got woken from a phone call.

Within minutes he had been sent scrambling through his room, frantically tearing off his pajamas and throwing on yesterday’s clothes to rush out the door, car keys in hand.

Papyrus had been in trouble.

He didn’t know how deep until he pulled up to flashing lights, both police and ambulance cars parked and people in a hurry.

His little brother stood in the center of it, with a human getting taken away in handcuffs.

It was only his second day, for star’s sake!

He was beginning to wonder if this job had been a good idea in the first place, mind in a tired whirl as he listened to officers, filled in information, hounded the EMTs…

It wasn’t until he was back in the car taking them home that he allowed a sigh of haggard relief.

He silently recounted the information he had while his brother dozed in the passenger seat.

One, Papyrus had an altercation with a human.

Two, that human had subsequently tried to kill his brother twice within a minute- once through pushing his brother into a deadly sea creature’s habitat, and then by taking a taser pole to the water to ensure weakness and drowning- nevermind that skeletons couldn’t drown.

Three, said deadly sea creature for stars know what reason decided to have Mercy and not only Spare Papyrus, but also get him safely back out of the water by the time the police had arrived.

Four, this was apparently highly unusual behavior from a creature that killed an unknown amount of humans.

Five, he could take one single look at the stoic mask hiding anger and determination and draw the conclusion that his little brother wasn’t out of danger’s way.

There was something big behind the scenes, and now Papyrus was in some way invested in the deadly sea creature and would not be convinced to voluntarily quit.

His thoughts kept him busy from the moment he got a literal wake-up call to the moment they pulled into the driveway.

Worriedly, he shook his brother’s shoulder.

Sure Papyrus was somewhat lazy and liked naps, but he hadn’t seen his brother sleep so deeply and so quickly in a long time.

Even his movements were sluggish getting out of the car and in to the house.

Thoroughly worried, Sans immediately began the hunt for towels- whatever was in the water had taken a toll.

He had to remind himself that skeletons don’t drown.

He hurried back to see his brother laying face-down on the couch, limbs dangling off at strange angles.

“sans, i’m still fine and in one piece. you can relax, bro.”

“PAPYRUS, YOU ARE NOT FINE!”

He protested hotly, tossing a towel on the other’s head petulantly.

Papyrus didn’t move an inch until, with an annoyed huff, he snatched it away and started scrubbing down the sopping wet and pungent work uniform.

“YOU WERE ASSAULTED, AND UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES YOU… You Could Have Been Dusted, Brother.”

His voice lowered in pain.

He could have just gone about his day and gone to sleep, waking up tomorrow none the wiser that he’d lost the other.

He held back reflexive tears at the thought, and as if sensing it, his brother spoke up.

“but i wasn’t. that guy was awful, yeah, but the siren didn’t hurt me.”

He… Wasn’t wrong, but that was not the only worry plaguing Sans now.

With a silent sigh, he shuffled over to the unoccupied space near Papyrus’ head and sat down.

The younger tilted his head enough to see him, but he couldn’t keep the strain of his inner thoughts from showing in his expression.

He didn't have all the facts, that was certain; they would be needed when finding out how exactly they proceed.

He could have lost Papyrus in a few different ways, and he wasn’t sure he even knew how many ways or what to do to protect him further.

The best start was probably in the thick of it.

Everything about this seemed centered around the siren.

With this in mind, he spoke slowly while his thoughts continued to churn.

“You Still Haven’t Explained What Really Happened. How Did You Know That She Wouldn’t Hurt You? They Told Me You Were Tossed In Her Tank And Who Did It, But I Still Don’t Know Why Or How You Got Out Of There.”

His younger brother heaved a deep sigh, his expression showing fatigue.

He knew the other would need sleep soon, but as awful as it was to talk about such stressful things, it needed to be done while all the facts were fresh in their minds.

Sans wanted to understand .

“it… it was awful, brother. i know you asked me not to shield you, and i won’t lie to you, but it’s not… it’s hard to hear, much less see.”

He nodded slowly, attention solely on Papyrus with a mix of appreciation, concern, and trepidation.

He silently urged the other on.

“i told you about how they wanted me on the care team, and that i would start today. they wanted to start by seeing if i could help out with feeding the siren; it was supposed to be easy.”

Papyrus began his story with a pinch of anger between his eye ridges, struggling to formulate the words while Sans digested each new part, slowly piecing together the picture.

He was right in the sense that his brother had gotten attached to the siren quickly, and her to him.

However, as more of the situation came to light, Sans found a very rare and very visceral flash of anger building deep in his chest, burrowing into his very soul, tinged with bitter disbelief and astonishment.

They kept a living being in these kinds of conditions?

One sentient- sapient enough to show Mercy?

Their food and the very air they breathed was a slow-acting death practically forced down their throat.

It was D I S G U S T I N G.

While talking, he could see mirrored feelings in his brother, tinged with a terrible hopelessness about the daunting situation.

It was clear that Papyrus cared very much what happened to her when it seemed no one else did, and that only further fanned the flames within Sans.

He felt that innate drive, the one that had become one of his core aspects since Papyrus had been born, to protect, nurture, and help practically scream for his attention, not only for his brother, but for the sea creature as well.

Those senses only turned his anger into an inner inferno of rage.

They were both so carelessly hurt, and even in that awful situation, this creature and stranger had protected his brother.

It was no wonder the siren had lashed out so violently at the humans, but treated his brother so differently- kindness was probably incredibly rare for her to see.

These thoughts blackened the rage until he couldn’t keep it buried, struggling to manifest in twitching fingers and pool within his eye.

Not where I could hurt Papyrus,

An inner voice sternly reminded him.

Sans cleared his throat, standing up stiffly and excusing himself.

He beelined slowly to the kitchen and the moment he rounded the corner out of sight the pot abruptly broiled over.

BANG

He let his tight leash slip, vision tinted red.

More loud bangs and crashes surrounded him, bone attacks and half-summoned Gaster Blasters tearing into the walls and the fridge, narrowly missing the short sink and denting his (already abused) cookware.

He didn’t come fully back to himself until he stood in the middle of the destruction, panting heavily and resolving to buy drywall and a new fridge tomorrow.

He dismissed the Blasters and, with a final wave of anger, he chucked a cracked drinking glass at the wall and watched it shatter.

Papyrus is okay.

He is alive and okay.

He had to take a few deep, steadying breaths before walking calmly back into the living room, clearing his throat and moving to sit back down on the couch next to a tensely sitting Papyrus.

After a wary look, the younger brother flopped back onto the cushion next to him

He quietly gathered his courage and discipline before breaking the silence.

“If She Was Angry- And Rightfully So- How Did You Make It Out Of The Water? Did… Didn’t You Get Hurt?”

Papyrus seemed to think deeply for a moment before responding.

“yeah, the taser did some damage. the siren… she actually healed me, kept me alive, although she was hurt by it too. she was a bit reluctant to let me go back, maybe she thought they would keep hurting me, but she brought me back to the surface anyways. they treat her like an animal, but she’s smart, bro. for whatever reason she liked me enough to care if i was alive or not, and it doesn’t add up with the humans she’s killed.”

Sans put a finger to his chin.

His hunch was correct, the siren was intelligent- perhaps frighteningly so- and that made her captivity so much worse.

His brother, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling to bridge the gap in logic between his Mercy and the questionable number of dead humans.

Based off of very strong hunches and new information, the treatment she had received from Papyrus versus any other one of her caretakers was greatly different.

“What About You, Papyrus? How Did You Treat Her? Do You Care If She’s Alive?”

Papyrus bolted upright as if stung, head whipping to the side to stare at him in astonishment and indignance.

“of course i care! i owe her my life and if i knew what kind of poison they were giving to her, i never would have let it near her- !”

Sans couldn’t help the growing smile to matter how hard he tried to stifle it, even when his brother trailed off and stared at him in suspicion.

Just as he had thought, his brother was inherently kind and it showed in his actions and intentions.

Whether she recognized it consciously or not, the siren quite literally responded in kind.

He felt a glow of pride amidst his mixed feelings.

“There’s Your Answer, Brother. It’s All About Intent.”

Papyrus defeatedly slouched back into the couch, burying his face in his hands with a groan.

“that’s the problem now, sans; i care. how am i supposed to help her when they treat her so badly? the boss only cares about the money she generates, he brushed me off when i told him about it and her other care takers are more concerned about themselves than her. what am i supposed to do? even if i report it, it’ll get buried and brushed aside.”

That… Was also a fair point, the humans in that place seemed to be some of the worst that he’s yet to meet.

Papyrus wanted to help and Sans was completely in agreement.

He’d always support his brother against any odds, but these ones seemed nearly insurmountable.

Both brothers slumped back, exhausted and at a loss.

Papyrus excused himself to the shower, leaving him deep in thought.

One way or another, they were going to find a way to Save her together.

Chapter Text

It started out innocently enough; Papyrus had found a little white granite pebble on the concrete, right where he usually stands to give the siren food.

Sans cast it a cursory glance, but neither brother thought much about it.

The siren surfaced as usual, but her greeting was cheerful and she seemed to be excited.

The hoodie-wearing skeleton chuckled, unzipping the lunch bag.

“hungry? we brought a little extra food.”

He stepped forward around the pebble, offering a filet of fish.

Oddly enough, Artemis seemed to droop, her ‘hair’ flattening briefly before she drifted into reaching distance with a soft click to accept his offering.

He hadn’t thought much about it.

The next day was another odd little encounter.

The team was lounging at one of the little tables outside of the siren’s enclosure, scarfing down a quick lunch before returning to their duties.

Papyrus, of course, took this time to drop his head onto his folded arms and take a nap.

Lyra stood, about to wake the skeleton, but the lead shook his head, packing up and wiping sandwich crumbs off his face.

“Leave him, he still has ten minutes.”

He muttered.

The green-haired woman paused, lip quirking into a smile, before they quietly left to begin gathering materials to maintain the pump room.

Half-aware of their departure, it wasn’t until they left and he began to doze off again that he heard it; a small muffled tapping.

At first, he ignored it.

It grew more insistent, developing odd little patterns.

A little annoyed, he lifted his head out of his arms to glare at the offender, but the room was empty.

Frowning in confusion, Papyrus caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Artemis had come up to the glass, a playful smile on her face while her tail whacked against it.

For all the force she must have put behind it, all he heard was the muffled little tap sound.

Incredulous, he stared at her.

She rapped her tail twice more against the glass before she seemed satisfied with his attention, drifting up and away until she was within clear view.

A smirk overtook his face without his permission, and he shook his head.

“what are you doing?”

He scolded quietly, knowing she wouldn’t hear him.

His only response was a cheeky smile, her eyes focused oddly, before her hair-like appendages began to flare.

The deep red caught on the lighting, creating a shimmering pattern.

Her arms and tail began to move as well, creating a ripple effect of shimmering lights that reflected off her scales.

Entranced and left gawking at the display, she seemed to preen at his reaction and even did a little twirl, tail twisting and curling methodically.

Before he could break out of his shocked silence, Artemis waved her glimmering arm before her gaze moved behind him.

She darted behind her coral display, leaving him stumped.

Lyra came back into the room, frowning distractedly.

“Hey Papyrus, I l-lost my necklace… Have you seen it around?”

He jumped, turning to face the human, hastily pasting on a bland expression.

“er… no? i can keep an eyesocket out for it,”

He joked weakly, hand rubbing behind his neck with preoccupied thoughts.

He was beginning to wonder if maybe Artemis was getting sick?

She’d certainly been acting strangely.

Shrugging it off, he got up and shuffled after Lyra; his break was over anyways.

He returned to her tank later for the last feeding of the day.

The team lead was on standby to ferry more food if it was needed, but for the most part now, he’s the sole feeder.

It was a unanimous decision that it was simply safer that way.

Grimacing at the tainted food, he hauled it to the edge of the concrete, and frowned.

Artemis was suspiciously absent.

“hey, it’s me again. sorry for the slop,”

He began, approaching the waterline.

It was eerily still and quiet.

He set the bucket aside, crouching, when a shine drew his gaze to the concrete by his knees.

A simple but pretty necklace with a tiny diamond sat where the granite pebble was before, though the pebble was missing.

Thoroughly confused, he slowly picked it up off the concrete.

It wound around his phalanges, sparkling in the light.

Didn’t Lyra say something about a necklace?

There’s no way she could have dropped it here, so close to the water… Right?

A soft swish of red within the water caught his attention, Artemis’ face peering out from her rocky enclosure.

Thoroughly confused, he tucked it into his pocket and numbly dumped the shrimp.

His distraction ended when the lead set his hand on his shoulder, doors closed and sound gear being taken off.

“Everything okay?”

The human questioned cautiously.

Papyrus nodded.

“just a little out of it, that’s all. if i didn’t know better, i’d think she was trying to give me gifts,”

He smiled at the weak attempt at humor, but it slowly fell at the baffled look on the team lead’s face.

“Run that by me again?”

Concerned, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and slouched defensively.

“she, uh, is giving me gifts i think?”

The other man looked contemplative.

“When did that start? Did you take anything?”

Papyrus frowned heavily.

“a couple days ago. am i in trouble if i say yes?”

His light tone contrasted with the analytical gaze he fixed on the human, but all he received in return was an odd amused grin and a slap on the back.

“Nah, you’re good. Hey, congrats on the new girlfriend.”

The team lead teased, chortling as he left the room.

Dumbfounded and stiff, Papyrus stood there processing.

Gifts, odd behavior, shy avoidance…

Of course, he’d read about this.

Courting rituals.

Reciprocated courting rituals; when he grabbed the necklace, he’d inadvertently accepted a courting gift.

His face glowed orange at the sudden surge of magic.

Oh stars…

How was he going to fix this?!

He would go to Sans, but his brother would never let him live it down.

Flustered, he buried his face in his hands and groaned loudly.

Somehow, he didn’t think turning down the proposal after he accepted would go well for anyone; even a sliver of his soul was disagreeing.

This is not what he signed up for!

Chapter Text

Jace was not having a great day.

The Head of Research had arrived earlier than scheduled, bursting into his 'office' (Which was more of a large, glorified janitor's closet that they shoved a desk in) and interrupting his furious battle against the financial department for a halfway reasonable budget regarding the new siren's tank.

He had been the unfortunate liaison between her secretary and the aquarium, but until now he hadn't been nearly unlucky enough to be in direct contact with the woman.

He was of the firm opinion that Dr. Webber was a stuck-up, egomaniacal person more akin to a honeybadger than an actual human with feelings.

She was screeching angrily about an emergency, sucking him promptly into a whirlwind drama where her poor interns were berated within an inch of their life over a damn book falling into the siren tank.

No concern whatsoever about the fact that she'd circumvented him entirely to try drawing blood from a homicidal siren without any sort of backup.

Effectively pissed off and resigned with the whole situation, he called in a miracle.

"undyne, i swear to the stars, if you called me just to-"

"Papyrus,"

He interrupted, attempting to massage away the headache that had spawned the moment he'd met Webber and didn't cease until he physically had to leave the room to make the call.

"We need you here early, we got a situation with the fish."

"what happened?"

His miracle last line of defence against this shitshow sounded gravelly, but the irritated tone melted into one of alertness.

He explained the situation as best he could while leaving his... Personal grievances out of it, but he was certain that soon enough, the skeleton would figure out the root of the problem.

"gotcha. i'll be there in two minutes, three tops."

He straightened in surprise.

"What do you-?!"

The call ended before he could get halfway through the question, leaving him dumbfounded.

Didn't the skeleton live a fifteen minute drive away?

It would take more time than that to get across the cafeteria on a busy day!

He was sure that Papyrus wasn't in the building already.

Right...?

Jace felt an odd sense of foreboding.

Groaning in frustration, he braced himself against the mounting headache, put on the sound gear, and entered the quarantine area like a man walking to the gallows.

One of the unfortunate interns had apparently said the wrong thing, because he'd tuned his sound gear in at the wrong moment.

"Where is the retrieval employee? I don't have time to waste!"

One of the interns shifted nervously.

"Uh, he's on his way I think- everyone seems to have a good opinion on him, he'll get your journal back. It won't be any worse off to wait a minute or two more, right?"

Webber's face flushed red with anger and her shrill voice sounded across the radio system with vengeance.

He just wanted to get out of the room without a migraine and homicidal thoughts.

"He'll come any minute now, but I need you guys to stay calm."

He interjected, using all of his willpower to keep himself from snapping.

They were in a siren's tank for crying out loud, staying alert and calm was a necessity for survival.

"I'm sorry Doctor-!"

"i'm here, don't get your panties in a twist."

Jace winced at the scream sounding over the radio, turning around in shock.

How the hell did Papyrus get here so fast?!

He opened his mouth to begin briefing the skeleton, and his jaw never closed.

His resident miracle worker and savior was nonchalantly strolling towards the water without a care in the world, dressed in a dingy orange hoodie, sneakers, leopard print bikini-cut underwear, and nothing else.

Did he die and go to hell?

Is this his eternal punishment?

He'd have to test his theory in church next Sunday, because as if the situation couldn't get any worse, Papyrus leaned over the water's edge to look in and gave everyone else a full view.

The skeleton straightened, turning back towards them with the most hungover look he'd ever seen on a skeleton.

Lord save me.

"so, what exactly am i retrieving?"

The hungover skeleton asked in a bored tone.

One of the interns fainted on the spot.

Lucky bastard.