Chapter Text
Papyrus stood his ground despite the apprehension coursing through him as the human approached. They took shambling steps towards him, a plastic knife in their dust-covered hands. It did not go unnoticed by Papyrus, and though the human had been a freaking weirdo for not liking puzzles (how preposterous! Everyone loved puzzles!), he was willing to give the human a chance to change—to become a better person. After all, anyone can become a better person if they try.
“HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE!” Papyrus announced with determination. “SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW! BUT WORRY NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!”
The human continued their slow, shuffling footsteps, expression completely unchanged from their emotionless blank stare. Fear slowly crept into his soul but he could not falter now!
“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE?” Papyrus opened his lanky arms for an embrace. “WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING! I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!”
The human stood inches from him, their height not even reaching his shoulders. They raised the arm carrying the knife and, with a swift stroke, swung it across his neck. He felt a sharp pain.
Was this the end? He never even got a chance to say goodbye to Sans!
His body began to disintegrate into dust. He hoped his dying words will finally shine through to the human.
“W-WELL, THAT’S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED… BUT… ST… STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO! I… I PROMISE…”
Everything went black. Papyrus stood in the darkness. He couldn’t see nor feeling anything. He took a step forward but the darkness persisted. He was basically a blind skeleton wandering in some unknown place.
He called out to Sans, to Undyne, to anyone. But nobody came.
He didn’t know how long he’d been walking but his bones eventually grew weary. He sat down, pulled his legs close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He didn’t like this place at all. It was so desolately lonely. How had he even ended up in this place? He felt a phantom pain across his neck from the human’s last attack. Was he dead? Was this the monster afterlife?
He yearned for his brother, who always seemed to know what to say to make him feel better, or Undyne, his best friend. Maybe if he waited, someone would eventually come. So he waited, and waited… and waited. With a desperate cry, he called out for his brother. As soon as he had, some unknown force, accompanied by undecipherable static, whipped across his face. He shut his sockets in response.
Papyrus opened his sockets and found himself sitting on a snow-covered ground. He scrambled up and peered around, noting that he was right before the last XOXO sliding ice puzzle. Since he was right there, he could calibrate the puzzle. It would save him some time later to use for training.
As the tall skeleton made his way to the back of the puzzle, he noticed the surroundings were slightly different from how he remembered. The southern path, instead of leading to his and his brother’s snow figures, led to a wide, dark entrance into a cave. He didn’t remember this ever existing.
How new and exciting!
Papyrus took a step into the cavern. The floor was completely covered in ice, casting a bluish glow throughout the area. He took a step forward, appreciating that his boots had enough traction to prevent him from slipping. Drawings of monsters and symbols littered along the walls. Darkness seeped into the cave the farther ahead he traveled.
He had just gone past the illustrations when he heard a loud, shrill humming coming from the mouth of the cave. The tall skeleton took a final glance inside before jogging back in the direction he came, the humming becoming louder as he stepped outside.
Papyrus found himself staring at… himself? At least, the skeleton looked awfully like him. There were a few differences; for one, this skeleton wore a black fedora on his head. Unlike his blank sockets, he had thin, horizontal eye lights in his which made him look slightly intimidating. His battle armor had large spike-lined shoulder pads, a fancy belt and knee-high red boots. Papyrus had to admit that it looked very cool, but he still preferred his own. He and his brother had worked hard to make it.
“Who are you?” the other him asked, eye lights narrowing in suspicion.
“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU!”
“Ah, your name is also Papyrus? Well, of course! Who wouldn’t want to be named after me, the Prodigious Papyrus!” the monster tipped his fedora as an introduction.
Wowie, Papyrus had never met another him before! It was kind of weird but also very exciting.
In the back part of his mind, Papyrus wondered where these differences came from, and how he was even able to meet another him.
“Though I must say, it’ll get confusing with both of us called Papyrus. Do you have another name you go by? Obviously I should stay as Papyrus as that is my name to begin with.”
Papyrus felt a bit saddened to not even have a say in the matter. But he figured other him just liked the name very much.
“UM… HOW ABOUT PAP? MY BROTHER CALLS ME THAT SOMETIMES AS A NICKNAME.”
The other Papyrus looked contemplating before giving a nod, “That should work. As long as everyone still knows me as Papyrus, that’s fine.”
Papyrus knew he sometimes said things to inflate his own ego, but he never came off this arrogant had he?
The other him began walking in the direction of Snowdin. Papyrus followed after him.
“You must be new around here. I’ve never seen you before.”
What? How could he be new if he’d been living in Snowdin since a babybones. Then again, his memory of his childhood was shaky at best. He didn’t even know if he had parents; he only ever remembered living with Sans.
“I’VE ALWAYS LIVED IN SNOWDIN.”
“Really? Like I said, never see you before. But don’t worry, the Prodigious Papyrus will give you a brief tour of Snowdin, unlike the other monsters of Snowdin who simply waste away at home or work a miserable job.”
“WHAT DO YOU DO? I’M CURRENTLY TRAINING TO BECOME PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD BUT WORK AS A SENTRY!”
The other Papyrus suddenly stopped. Papyrus almost crashed into him. Mocking laughter came out of the fedora-wearing skeleton’s mouth.
“That’s depressing. I was expecting a bit more from you.”
“AH, DO NOT FEEL BAD! I’M SURE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF ME WERE SIMPLY TOO HIGH TO REACH!”
Papyrus received an unimpressed look from his double.
“That wasn’t a compliment. It’s sad that someone with my great name is so below my standards. After all, I am already a Royal Guard!”
Papyrus gasped in shock, “WOWIE!! WILL YOU HELP TRAIN ME TO BECOME PART OF THE ROYAL GUARD?!”
His enthusiasm must have been blinding as the other him proudly puffed out his chest and agreed with barely any hesitation.
“But I expect the best from you! Absolutely no laziness!”
“OF COURSE! I AM NOT LAZY LIKE MY BROTHER!” Papyrus assured.
The two skeletons continued their way into Snowdin.
“So you have a lazy and worthless brother as well?” other Papyrus asked, his voice dripping with disdain. “It’s such an annoyance, isn’t it?”
Papyrus frowned. He’d always nagged Sans about his laziness but it was only as a way of motivation. His brother never showed any offense to it. Other him’s comment, however, sounded mean-spirited.
“MY BROTHER IS NOT WORTHLESS AND I’M SURE YOURS IS NOT EITHER!”
The other Papyrus scoffed and muttered, “Yeah, whatever. Talking about this is making me upset. Let’s just get going.”
The two skeletons continued their way into Snowdin. The wooden bridge into town appeared a lot more dangerous. Spike traps that sparked with electricity and cannons lined along the sides of the bridge. There was barely enough space for the two of them to walk across.
The layout and entire atmosphere of the town was also different. The tall gyftmas tree still stood at the center of town; however, there were numerous houses lined along Papyrus’s right side. No presents were under the tree. The Inn appeared first instead of the Shop. All sorts of monsters wandered throughout the snowy streets, chattering and greeting enthusiastically to one another.
Papyrus found it odd that none of the residents greeted him and the other Papyrus, though he tried to introduce himself when he past a monster he recognize. In fact, it almost seemed as if most residents were trying to actively avoid the two of them. The rejection stung.
By this time, he’d realized that this wasn’t the Snowdin he’d lived in for most of his life. Where in the world was this place? Maybe this world’s Sans would be able to clear up any questions he had. His brother had always been good at the sciencey, space-time related stuff. The thought of meeting a version of his brother sent excitement throughout his soul.
“Hey, since you are an awesome monster like myself, I’ll allow you to stay at my place until you find some proper housing,” other him proposed, flicking up his fedora. Papyrus found the gesture amusing though he had a feeling other him did it to make himself look cool.
Papyrus followed his double back home. The house appeared the same, though there were less lights. Both mailboxes were empty and cleared of mail, even Sans’s! The carpeted floor was clear of all socks and sticky notes, much to Papyrus’s relief. He did find it a bit strange; maybe this Sans actually cleaned up after himself? Papyrus was so proud!
“Make yourself at home,” the other him said, gesturing towards the green couch.
The fedora-wearing skeleton stomped over to the bottom of the stairs and bellowed out, “SANS! GET DOWN HERE! WE HAVE A GUEST!”
Both of them waited for several minutes for a response. When none came, other Papyrus let out a frustrated scream.
“I bet that low-life is at Grillby’s. He’s always wasting his time at that disgusting place,” other Papyrus snarled.
His double was awfully judgmental about everything. Papyrus found the behavior a bit off-putting. Sure, he disapproved some of his brother’s unhealthier habits and did not have the best opinion of Grillby’s, but he would never badmouth anyone so readily.
“WHILE I AGREE THAT GRILLBY’S IS MUCH TOO GREASY FOR ME, IT’S A BIT HARSH TO CALL IT DISGUSTING! THEIR MILK IS QUITE GOOD!”
“Hmph, never had it. Look at all the monsters that waste their time there doing nothing productive.” Other Papyrus looked over at the time. “I'll give you a tour of the place after my favorite show ends!”
The skeleton clicked on the TV and plopped himself down onto the couch next to Papyrus. He rapidly flip to the channel.
“OH, WHAT ARE WE WATCHING? IS IT THE METTATON SHOW? I LOVE HIS SHOWS!” Papyrus exclaimed.
“His shows are decent. Better than the other trash on TV. But no, this is ‘My Little Boney”. It’s great. Just watch an episode and you’ll love it,” other him explained. “Pinkie Bones is the best, by the way. All other opinions are wrong.”
Papyrus found the show… underwhelming. It wasn’t bad, per say; just far too childish for his liking. He did enjoy the friendship theme in the show, and the strong bond the bonies had with each other. He yearned to make lots of friends. At least he was becoming good friends with other him.
Halfway through the show, Papyrus heard the front door open. He looked up and saw his brother step inside. Except it wasn’t actually his brother. The Sans’s perpetually grinning face and short, stout body structure were the same. A blue visor sat on his round skull, velcro sneakers replaced the usual pink slippers, and he only had on a light blue zipper jacket with two sets of pockets on each side. He still wore the familiar black track shorts with white stripes. His brother’s double was quite well put together, all things considered. He even wore normal outdoor shoes!
“SANS, WHERE WERE YOU?!” the fedora-wearing skeleton raged, eye lights narrowed into thin slits. “WE HAVE A GUEST OVER AND I HAD NOTHING TO SERVE!”
“s-sorry, bro—”
“AND WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT CALLING ME THAT?!” other Papyrus slammed a fist onto the small table next to the couch, causing the smaller skeleton to flinch in response. “HOW ARE YOU EXPECTED TO ADDRESS ME?!”
The Sans’s white eye lights flickered to the ground in shame and mumbled softly, “a-as chief and n-no… nothing else.”
“CORRECT! MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW IT!” other Papyrus affirmed with a glare. “AND NOW YOU MADE ME MISS SO MUCH OF THE EPISODE! GO MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND MAKE SOMETHING FOR ME AND MY GUEST!”
The Sans gave a nod and, without even a glance or any acknowledgement of Papyrus, shuffled into the kitchen.
Papyrus sat in his spot in shock, his brain still processing the scene. Discomfort churned in his soul and one thing he knew for sure, the way other him treated his brother upset him.
“THAT WASN’T VERY NICE!” Papyrus admonished.
The other Papyrus glanced at him before a scoff escaped from his mouth, “You don’t know him like I do. He can’t get anything right.”
Which didn’t make any sense to Papyrus as other him had just ordered his brother to cook food. Why didn’t other him just make it himself? Papyrus always made his great spaghetti for others.
An awkward silence fell between the two tall skeletons as the other him continued to watch his show. Papyrus wrung his gloved hands together, peering at the kitchen every now and then. The clattering of pots and pans drifted into his nonexistent ears. He couldn’t sit there any longer.
“I’M GOING TO PROVIDE SOME ASSISTANCE!” His other self only responded with a grunt.
As Papyrus stepped into the kitchen, he saw his brother’s look-a-like busy mixing ingredients in a large bowl. A bag of flour, eggs, milk and salt decorated the kitchen counter.
“WHAT ARE YOU MAKING?” Papyrus asked. This didn’t look like spaghetti or oatmeal.
The sight and sound of Papyrus approaching made Sans freeze, causing the bowl to slip from his hands. Thankfully, Papyrus caught it before it hit the ground. It held a tan, thick and doughy substance inside. Sans gave Papyrus a relieved look, brushing a few beads of sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket before grasping the bowl back. Papyrus noticed that he took off the visor.
“th-that was quite catching, heh. and thanks... woulda made a.... a huge mess if you hadn’t caught it,” the short skeleton muttered. His eye lights remained fixated on the contents of the bowl, never once looking at Papyrus. “got a quiche recipe from a friend that i wanted t’try out. hopefully bro—i mean, chief… will like it. if… if you got something you like... i could try and make it for ya.”
Papyrus noticed a slight trembling in the Sans’s hands as he began to mix the doughy content again. He wasn’t used to seeing someone so alike his brother act so tense around him, and his soul clenched painfully at the sight. His own protective instincts surged through him.
He slowly and carefully placed a gloved hand on top of the Sans’s much smaller ones. Sans finally looked at him directly. Bewilderment etched on his features.
“THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD BE MOST HAPPY TO HELP! MAKING THINGS TOGETHER IS ALWAYS MORE FUN!”
For a second, Sans gave him a grateful, genuine smile, one that melted his heart. It disappeared as quickly as it came.
“th-thanks for offerin’ but... you’re c-chief’s guest. you shouldn’t have t’help me. i’ll take care of it.” Sans gave Papyrus a light shove towards the kitchen entrance. Papyrus noticed that he was staring at the floor again. “relax and… enjoy yourself. this’ll be done within half an hour.”
Papyrus was about to march straight back into the kitchen when the other him called out to him.
“HEY, PAP, METTATON’S SHOW IS ON IF YOU WANT TO WATCH!”
Not wanting to push the other Sans, as he was clearly uncomfortable in Papyrus’s presence (he ignored the ache in his soul from the rejection), the tall skeleton sat back down on the couch next to his double.
The other him didn’t even offer to help his brother! Maybe other him wasn’t as nice and cool as he first thought. But he was willing to give his counterpart a chance to prove himself and become a better brother. After all, he was still a Papyrus. Surely he has to have some redeeming qualities.