#she is worried about papyrus' innocent eyes

[ao3usertaliax]

Summary: The Underground has only ever had one Queen. Undyne doesn't want to be Her. (Alphyne, Exiled Queen / Empress Undyne ending.)

Word Count: 1540

Rating: G

Other part of the secret santa for @carlyraejepsans! since the first one was so short.

XXX

The Ruins doors grind shut. Stone against stone, rumbling like the growl slowly dying in the back of Undyne’s throat. She slides down the doors’ cold, slick surface, sinking into the snow at her feet.

She shivers. It’s done.

The Queen is gone.

“Captain—er, Queen Undyne…?” Dogaressa starts. 

She and Dogamy are leading the squadron, though Undyne hadn’t needed the backup. Queen Toriel had gone without resistance. 

"Don't call me—" Undyne bites her tongue. 

What did she expect? She overthrew the Queen. She is the Queen, now, in their eyes.

Her stomach feels worse than the times she’s ridden conveyor belts. Normally she wouldn’t mind hurling, but it doesn’t sound fun anymore. Not without anyone to gag at how gross she is.

"Fan out. Check the wall for structural weaknesses," she rasps. 

She doesn't expect them to find anything, but it'll give her troops something to do while she…

While she sits here, the cold biting into her toes. Turning the fire in her soul numb.

Asgore, what do I do…?

What would he do? 

…Not kick out his ex, probably. But she had to. She couldn't, wouldn't sit there and watch the Queen unravel everything Asgore had worked for.

(She wouldn't watch the Queen deny what had happened to Papyrus. She wouldn't watch Sans play innocent.)

She shivers, even with Papyrus's scarf as tight as a noose around her neck. 

She couldn't protect him. She couldn't protect Asgore. What makes her think she can protect the whole Underground? 

"U-Undyne…?"

Her head snaps up. She’s really losing her touch if Alphys found a way to sneak up on her. She’s bundled up in layers of knitted sweaters under her lab coat, and a bright pair of pink boots. …Alphys owns boots?

“How did you get here?” Undyne croaks out, wiping the back of her arm across her eyes.

“Mettaton.” Alphys shuffles closer. The Dog Squad packed down the snow, at least, so she doesn’t have to lift the bulky-looking boots too far. “He wants to g-get an interview with the Guard, s-so he was already coming this way… I t-told him not to bother you, but—”

“But he’s Mettaton.” Undyne nods. Trying to stop him from doing something is like… well, like trying to stop an indestructible robot. 

At least he’s not here right now, and Alphys is.

Undyne’s shoulders tremble beneath her armor. She can’t even keep up a strong front for Alphys. Not that Alphys needs her to—she’s strong enough on her own—but Undyne… 

It’s stupid, but she just wants the only friend she has left to think she’s cool.

“I… didn’t just come because of Mettaton. I was worried...” Alphys crouches down beside her. It can’t be comfortable—Alphys hates the cold even more than Undyne does. “N-not about you! I knew you would be fine! But, uh, you know… Ugh, I sound s-so stupid right now…”

Alphys covers her face. Undyne gently takes one of her hands, pulling it away.

“You’re gonna smudge your glasses,” Undyne says. Hopefully the scarf covers her blush. “And, uh. It’s not stupid.”

It’s adorable, how much she trusts Undyne. She’s adorable.

Alphys’s breath puffs out in warm clouds. It fogs her glasses, despite Undyne’s previous attempt at protecting them.

(She can’t even protect a couple of lenses.)

“Um. R-right.” Alphys swallows. Her throat bobs beneath her thick turtlenecks. “I guess it doesn’t matter, now. It’s all over.”

Alphys’s gaze flickers to the doors behind them.

“Yeah. Over,” Undyne lies.

It’s just beginning. Getting rid of the Queen was easy, compared to the mountain of responsibility she feels weighing on her now. 

Laws. Regulations. Everything she spent her childhood fighting against. Deep down, has she ever stopped being that punk kid, pushing boxes for community service? Even the structure of the Guard is just something Asgore invented to keep her occupied. She knows this, because the Queen’s first order of business had been to disband it.

“He… he went with her, didn’t he?” Alphys asks weakly.

It takes a moment for Undyne to catch up to her train of thought, but when she does, she snorts. If the sound comes out a little too wet, it’s just her nose running from the cold.

“Sans? What do you think?” Undyne grumbles. “He’s been wrapped around her finger since she crawled out of her hole.” 

“Since b-before that, actually…” 

“Huh?”

Alphys blushes, for some reason.

“Ehehe. You know how I set up cameras, um, to watch for humans…?”

There’s one in the bush to their left, Alphys explains. Apparently she’s watched Sans and Toriel flirt through this door for months. 

No wonder Sans was always such a useless sentry. He’s been a traitor from the very beginning. The thought should make her rage boil, but the numbness keeps its icy grip on her soul.

“I was going to, r-recalibrate this camera, in case either of them… escape…? I thought it might help you relax,” Alphys mumbles. 

“That’d be great,” Undyne replies quietly. “Thanks, Alphys.”

Sans and the Queen are the least of her worries, honestly—neither of them have the guts to put up a fight—but it’s reassuring to know that Alphys has her back. That she’s not as alone as she feels.

“O-of course! If there’s anything else I can do… you pr-probably have everything figured out, but…” Alphys trails off, claws clicking together.

She’s done plenty already. Just being here, on this side of those stone doors, is enough.

(But. If there’s anyone strong enough, smart enough, to help Undyne—it’s her.)

“I don’t want to be Queen,” Undyne blurts—then immediately flinches, looking left and right. 

The dogs are nowhere in sight, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hear her. Hopefully the drifting snow muffles her cowardly admission. 

“Why… why not?” Alphys asks, her head tilting. “You t-trained under Asgore. If anyone knows how to lead, it’s you. R-right?”

Undyne can guess what Alphys is thinking: she just kicked out the only other monster who might know what she’s doing. Why do that, if Undyne wasn’t ready to pick up the pieces?

The truth is, the people were going to revolt, whether Undyne helped them or not. Unrest from Papyrus’s murder had spread from Snowdin all the way to Hotland. Not to mention how everyone felt about Asgore and the missing human souls.

Undyne had been so busy trying to keep everyone plotting the revolution safe, she hadn’t thought about what would come after. But she’s thinking about it now. And all she knows is this:

“There’s only been one Queen before,” Undyne mutters, “and I don’t want to be her.”

“You’re… worried about being like Toriel?” Alphys asks.

Then she laughs. It sounds a little hysterical, which makes sense. The concept of Undyne looking like the Queen, acting like the Queen, is insane.

“S-sorry!!” Alphys’s face goes red as she tries to muffle her snickers. “I just… I can see it?”

“What??” 

“N-not in a bad way!! You’re just both, very… committed? To your principles! It’s really h-ho—admirable!!!” 

Undyne blinks. The words get her all twisted up inside, compliment-and-insult all at once. …Well, really it’s just a compliment, but being compared to her…

“I can’t be her,” Undyne finally admits. 

As much as she can’t stand the Queen, there’s no denying that Toriel is everything a Queen’s supposed to be. Elegant. Warm. Composed. What if the people realize she was the better choice after all? 

What if they rise up against Undyne just as quickly?

“I… don’t think anyone wants you to be?” Alphys frowns. “Not the way… it sounds like you’re thinking.”

“You just said you found her admirable,” Undyne mutters. 

“I also said—I admire you!” Alphys bursts. Her claws grip the edges of her long sleeves. “You’re so…”

Alphys gestures to all of her. Undyne’s not sure what to make of that.

“You’re you, Undyne. Nobody knew Queen Toriel, well, except Sans… and Gerson, I guess… b-but, everyone knows how much you c-care about them! You’re my—our hero!! I don’t th-think there's anyone in the Underground who could do a better job than you.” 

Her breaths are heavy. They fog up her glasses again, obscuring her eyes right when Undyne wants to see them most.

Maybe it’s for the best. At least Alphys can’t see how deeply Undyne’s blushing.

Your hero…

“You really think so, huh…?” 

“I—I know so! You’re going to be a great Queen!! Just like Empress Jupiter when she had to lead the Planet Brigade in Moon Sailors episode twenty-seven!!!”

A spark of fire reignites in Undyne’s chest. She still has lingering doubts, but Alphys has given her an idea that settles her churning stomach.

“You’re a genius, Alphys! I’ll be Empress Undyne!” Undyne grins, hugging her tight. “Then I won’t have to feel like hurling every time someone calls me Queen. It’s the perfect plan!! Fufufufufu!!!”

“That’s… not what I…?” Alphys starts, before shaking her head and hugging Undyne back. “I mean, yeah!! Empress Undyne sounds se—um, s-super cool!! Ehehe!”

“HECK YEAH!!” 

It takes all her restraint not to suplex Alphys out of affection. Maybe some other time, when they’re not surrounded by freezing snow.

For now, Undyne holds her tight, feeling perfectly warm.

[rhyssands]

oct 7 - "please stop saying 'nuts'."

prompt: chestnuts rating: g wordcount: 744 characters: Papyrus, Sans, Undyne warnings: none prompt from this post, read it on ao3 here

——

"Brother," Papyrus says, from behind him, "... Aren't... Aren't roasted chestnuts a... Gyftmas tradition?"

"Huh?" He asks, from where he's sitting, merrily roasting chestnuts over a fire that Undyne set while cooking, "Oh. Yeah, I guess. Weird."

Papyrus is silent for a long moment, and when Sans glances over he's giving him an uncomprehending look. Sans quickly averts his eyes back to his chestnuts to hide the grin pulling at his mouth. Harmless little practical jokes like these are fun, because the worst thing he's doing is confusing Papyrus and anyone else who happens to pop by their house and see him roasting chestnuts over their flaming countertop.

"... Where did you even get chestnuts?" Papyrus finally asks, sounding truly confounded, "I know you didn't buy them the last time we were at the store. I don't think the grocery store we go to even sells chestnuts."

"Meh," He says, "Don't worry about it, Paps."

"I am very worried about it, Sans!"

Thankfully, despite how confounded he sounds, he's definitely not as upset about it as he's pretending he is. Papyrus is well-trained in the fine arts of playing along and committing to the bit — two of the very precious few things he learned from Sans that neither of them resents him learning, and both are a particular Sans-flavored type of nonsense that Undyne is woefully unprepared to deal with.

Papyrus-flavored nonsense is Undyne's specialty, after all the years that she's known him.

Sans-flavored nonsense still leaves her floundering more often than not, especially when Papyrus deigns to participate in it.

When he glances over his shoulder again, she does, indeed, look like she's floundering. She's completely flabbergasted, in fact.

"Why, bro? You don't think I didn't get enough for everybody, do ya?" He asks, innocent as a newborn pup. "There'll be plenty to go around."

"The quantity of the nuts is of no concern to me," Papyrus dismisses, with a keen and mischievous glint in his eyelights Sans can't help feeling proud of, "I am far more concerned over the means by which you acquired the nuts, Sans."

The best part of bits like this is that they're so painfully normal for he and Papyrus' relationship that most of the fun comes from seeing how long they can drag it out before one of them cracks. Frankly, Papyrus usually folds first, because he reaches a point where he can't help laughing as he begs Sans to please stop so he can get back to being productive. Today, though, Sans is barely clinging to his composure.

For some reason, having an 'argument' with Papyrus about the means by which he acquired the chestnuts he's roasting is just hitting him right where it metaphorically hurts. It's really getting him.

Maybe it's that Papyrus keeps saying 'nuts'.

He begins to open his mouth to reply, but he's cut off by Undyne.

"You know, actually, smallfry, I'm also concerned about the means by which you acquired those nuts." She says, even more confounded than Papyrus.

"Yes, as you should be. His acquisition of these nuts truly a mystery!" Papyrus says.

Sans can't help it. He breaks.

He shoves his face into his hand and laughs helplessly into his metacarpals like that'll do anything at all to muffle him. "Oh my God, Paps," He half-wheezes, "Please stop saying 'nuts'."

"Only if you tell me how you got the nuts." Says Papyrus, merciless.

"Stars," Sans gasps, trying to sober himself, "I— I bought them last Gyftmas, Paps. There was a seasonal promotion. They're pre-roasted. I'm just setting them on fire for the laughs."

"Of course you are," Papyrus sighs, but he sounds amused, "I suppose I'll stop saying that word, then. Can I put the fire out now?"

"Yeah." He snickers, "Go for it. Undyne's face was worth the effort."

"It very was," Papyrus agrees, to which Undyne gasps in offense.

"You nerds were just trying to get a reaction out of me!" She deduces, "I oughta wallop you both!"

"Wallop me twice," Says Papyrus, as he grabs the fire extinguisher, "Sans can't take it."

"Rude." Sans says, knowing very well that he's completely correct, "But yeah, we were. You should be used to that by now"

"You're a horrible influence on him!" Undyne says, but he knows she's joking and he therefore doesn't mind, "Turning my bestie against me like this. And for what? Laughs?"

"Well, yeah. Always."

The fire is put out in short order, and Sans hucks the chestnuts straight into the trash. Hopefully Undyne won't set anything else on fire tonight, because he's running out of random items to burn over the flames to mess with her.

[abelmoxxie]

They seem to be heading to snowdin, We're worried about him since he looked spookes.

[a-snow-decahedron]

A Flower's Guide for Happy Endings - Chapter One

Spanish version: coming soon

Summary:

Flowey witnesses the aftermath of the human's journey across the Underground, and tries to make sense of his life now that he's not in control of the timeline. Will it last? Or will he take desperate measures?

Words: 3892

Read on AO3: Link here!

Flowey was still processing the last moments of his life as he left the human's side and watched them cross the Barrier, leaving the Underground behind. The child had chosen to give him mercy, time and time again. The nonsense of this action was so overwhelming, he fled. He didn't pay attention to his surroundings as he moved through the hallways of the King's Castle in New Home. He just kept going, emerging at times to look at a certain turn or wait for the right time to move his roots to another surface. It was almost a matter of reflexes to him. After so many resets, he felt like he could wander across the Underground with his eyes closed and he would know exactly where he was. Environments were something he wasn't able to change, at least not by himself. He didn't find the idea appealing, either. People were much more interesting to interact with... Until they weren't.

There was a wide range of things that could happen at any time in the Underground, and he had done pretty much everything. Some things never changed, though. The Amalgamates were never freed; it was more likely for Alphys to give up than for the truth inside the Lab to come out. Toriel never left the Ruins, no matter what you told her, or what happened outside the closed doors. Asgore never let him see the human souls, no matter how much he insisted. All his efforts were futile in a way, as none of it amounted to anything significant. All could be undone by his will, but not even those things he did held much meaning after a while. It was like watching the same simulation over and over again.

Flowey usually spent about a month or two at most messing around before resetting. In this timeline he had settled for waiting and not being an intervention as much as possible, until new days came by. It was incredibly boring, sadly. So he decided to do meaningless things to pass the time. Nothing much, not like pestering some Moldsmals ever achieved anything. He didn't kill, since that usually meant trouble, and the whole point of this was seeing a world without him. He also watched people he knew. Toriel carried on with her day; sometimes she fell asleep on her reading chair, with one too many cups of wine. Flowey may have given her some water one time, without a reason, simply to make an insignificant difference. Papyrus, a skeleton in Snowdin he had encountered after spying on the Royal Guard, was also an interesting monster to visit. He always had a remark or an anecdote for every place. He was full of such nonsense and contradictions, Flowey always got a laugh or two from his conversations. It was impossible not to play some tricks on him. Every once in a while he dropped predictions in their conversations, which the skeleton seemed to take very seriously at times.

And just when the timeline was starting to get too monotonous, he heard a loud noise on the Ruins, shortly after he had left checking on the flowers. That place.... it always reminded him of his sibling. Golden Flowers were their favorite. That day, at the Ruins, life took an unexpected turn: a human had fallen down, and with them, his control. Needless to say, he freaked out. Not only was this child a fallen human, they were just so much like them— but they couldn't be, could they? In the end. Flowey did what he knew best: got to know this human, acted nice, and then tested their reaction when he betrayed them. The stupid kid fell for his tricks, but Toriel stopped his movements, and took the child with her. The soulless monster, frustrated, tried to go back to his save point, yet he failed: another force was overwriting his mark in spacetime. From then, he decided to follow the human. and see what they did. Soon enough, he found out that the human was the one in control of the timeline, using it to get their way. Through the Ruins, the Snowdin cold, the dark Waterfall and the steaming Hotland, Flowey followed them, catching glimpses of their journey.

What came after the human spared King Asgore was a blur. His determination flowed in a chaotic way when he tried to reminisce about his attempt to take the human souls. It felt so good to have something within that wasn't just willpower fuel. He felt so good, so intense, so alive. That human kid was about to face his true power, to see what he was capable of doing. He had never met someone that could remember overwritten timelines like him, and he wasn't wasting his chance to make the most of it. But human souls are determined and that includes the six within him. They turned against him, and took him back to zero in moments. And then... well. He simply couldn't understand. His control was lost again. The human just needed one blow to finish him off, but they refused and crossed the Barrier. Why not even try? Why not give him the same pain? Why does it matter if he lives or not, anyways?

He was back in Snowdin town by the time his inner monologue had gone full circle, all caused by the human who’d come and gone in what felt like a mere blink. By the time he got to the town it was early night, the time many monsters had dinner. Snowdin had a system of streetlights that was usually too high for non-flying monsters to reach. They were powered by the CORE, and to tell apart day and night, they had set a gradual energy-saving mode that reduced the amount of lights during the night, synchronized with the time on the Surface. The lights were said to resemble stars. Real stars were prettier, but it did the job well enough for the thousands of monsters that had never seen the Surface.

Flowey was standing on a residential street, still muttering to himself, looking at the houses' windows filled with light and the smell of homemade food. He wasn't quick enough to hide after hearing a muffled voice and a door being bumped open. A yellow striped kid, holding a bag of trash with their mouth and on their way to the trashcan, gasped at Flowey and dropped the bag on the snow.

"The talking flower's real?!" They opened their eyes wide, like they had seen the surface. As Flowey tried to curl underground to leave, the monster child spoke. "Yo, don't leave! Papyrus told me about you!"

At the mention of the name, the soulless flower hesitated, then turned around "Howdy! I'm Flowey the flower.” He forced a grin. "And just what has he told you?" he asked, slightly squinting.

"Well..." The kid stared at a point beyond Flowey, thinking of their answer. "We just met today! I mean, I've seen him before, but we never, like, talked. I was on my way back to Snowdin after I left the human in Water— yo, did you hear a human showed up in town today? It's crazy!" They hopped excitedly, shaking their tail happily.

Flowey raised a brow and waved with one of the roots he pulled from the ground, signaling the kid to keep talking. He supposed hearing some gossip was good enough for now, until he figured out what to do now, or found a way to gain his control of the timeline again.

"I didn't know they were human at first, but man, they were so nice! I showed them some caverns in Waterfall on our way. I was so excited to see Undyne fight bad guys! But it turns out they, uhm, were the bad guy Undyne was going after?" They trailed off, looking for a way to follow their story. "She told me that the human was bad, that i could get hurt. And she tried to attack them! But they saved me so they can’t be bad! I had to show her! Yo I dunno what came over me, it felt like my heart was pounding out of my chest. But I told her, s-she would not. I was really scared, but I think it worked! And then I... left them to go home because my parents would worry if I was out late", they mumbled the last part, feeling their rush of energy decrease.

Flowey shot them an impatient glance. "Ok, got you. But when does Papyrus show up in all this?"

"Oh yeah! Right! We met when I was on my way to Snowdin. He said some things about using friendship for his duties as a future royal guardsman, and then we talked about Undyne. He said she is training him to be part of the guard- it sounds so cool! I wanna be just like him one day!" They hopped on one foot. "Then... I asked him about the friend stuff he said, and he told me he didn't have many friends, but Undyne was really close. And then he spoke of a talking flower, that had like, prediction powers. He said you gave encouragement, advice and stuff. I didn't think you were real, but man, was I wrong."

"Is that it?" Flowey raised a brow, getting tired of the kid's chatter. Maybe someone else would have liked talkative friends, but he had enough for that day, and frankly he just wanted to get healed. All the talking was making him dizzy.

"Yeah! It has to be you, right? Man, if we become friends I would break my friend-making record. Three people in one day! Yo this is so great." Their tail moved from side to side.

Flowey yawned, feigning sleepiness "Hey kid, it's nice talking, but don't you have anything better to do?" He pointed to the trashbag with his body.

"Oh right! I forgot. Thanks dude!" they said, picking up the bag with their teeth and walking to the trashcan on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, you don't want to get in trouble, right? I don't think your parents are very happy you went too far into Waterfall on your own with some stranger."

Flowey shrank a bit to appear smaller as the child walked towards him. "Before you leave, I need something. Do it for your new friend, wontcha? Can you get me a snack? I got in a friendly fight and my HP isn't the best right now. I could use some help." He pulled the most innocent smile he could, which was always convincing.

"Ok! Be right back, yo!" They dashed to their house and came out a minute later, pulling two cinnamon bunnies from their inventory and almost dropping them on the floor.

Flowey picked them up with his roots and saved them on his own inventory with a poof. "Thanks, kid!"

"Yeah, no problem Flowey!" They paused and then added "Yo, I forgot to tell you my name, it's M—" Before they had finished their sentence, the flower was gone, like it was never there.

As Flowey moved under the snow, he didn't notice the recent footsteps or the furry monster that made them as they made their way towards the Riverperson place.

Flowey emerged at the side of the skeleton brothers’ house, careful not to be seen. He took a cinnamon bunny, took a bite, and then tried to rest. Sleeping as a flower wasn't easy. It wasn't like laying down in a bed. He technically didn't need to sleep, as long as he had energy from the lights around him or food. As a plant, the most he could do was fold his petals on his face, and find a place where the wind wouldn't bother him and nobody would step on him by accident. Despite this, if he wanted to recover from his injuries, he needed to rest in order to restore his HP.

Flowey was making himself comfortable —as much as he could in a town like Snowdin—, when he heard a door shut strongly on the second floor of the house. It seemed people were at home. He moved closer to eavesdrop on them, but it wasn't necessary, as the speakers were loud enough on their own.

"So... I'm staying here tonight, right? Until I fix my house."

"YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO STAY HERE, BUT YES, WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE HOUSE TOMORROW!"

"When do you think the human's coming back? Do you think they'll stay at the inn?

"IT'S WHAT I EXPECT, BUT MAYBE THEY WENT TO NEW HOME AND FOUND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO SLEEP? THEY HAVEN'T CALLED SINCE THEY GOT TO THE CORE."

"They better not be hanging outside late or they'll get in trouble with me."

"WHAT IF THE HUMAN'S NOCTURNAL?”

"Who knows? Not ME at least. Anime says all kinds of things that don't make sense when you put them together, like in some of them, some humans have cat ears, but in others that's not possible. At least they should have something cooler, like fins!"

"OR BONES! HMM, BUT WE CAN ONLY GUESS. PERHAPS THEY ARE NOCTURNAL, I HEARD HUMANS HAVE SOMETHING CALLED TIMEZONES. MY BROTHER TOLD ME ABOUT IT WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SUN..."

At that point Flowey stopped listening. Those two went over several topics, and whenever they didn't know something, they made it up with their theories. It was amusing in the first dozen resets, but by now Flowey had exhausted all possible topics with each of them...

Suddenly, he heard something that was new to him.

"SO UNDYNE, I SEE YOU ARE CARRYING A LETTER? IS IT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL?" Papyrus inquired, teasingly.

A letter? Flowey had seen many letters. Several had been addressed to Dr. Alphys. He wondered why the fish monster would have one too.

"WHAT? Well, I don't want it to get damaged in case I burn down the house on accident again— BUT NOT FOR ANY SPECIAL REASON, it's just a silly thing I keep with me."

"WHO IS IT ADDRESSED TO, THEN?"

"Uh...."

"WILL YOU LET ME READ IT?"

"Absolutely NOT! It's personal!"

"SO IS IT FOR ALPHYS..." A pause. "YOU DID NOT DENY IT. SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST CALL HER, DELIVER IT, AND SEE HER REACTION?" There was the sound of a phone being unlocked. "I'LL DO THE PHONE CALL!"

"Papyrus, no! I need to rewrite it, it's not done yet! Give me the phone, darn it!" There was another pause. "Ok, thanks. Besides, she's probably busy fixing Mettaton right now. Did you see his new body? And BEFORE you make any remark on how hot or handsome he is, DON'T." Nyeh-heh-heh’s were heard in response. "Anyways, she must be busy, and I don't think I can just show her this letter. I'm afraid things could go wrong— I wouldn't know what to do!"

"FINE, BUT IF YOU EVER NEED ADVICE, LISTEN TO ME. YOU NEED THAT KIND OF BRAVERY IN YOUR LIFE" A clicking noise like a wink was heard.

"NGAAAH- shut up!" She lowered her voice. "Hey, if you don't mind, can you leave while I change my clothes?"

"OF COURSE, I STILL HAVE SOME OF YOUR CLOTHES FROM THE LAST TIME YOUR HOUSE BURNT DOWN. I'LL GIVE YOU PRIVACY."

"Thank you, now GET OUT." The door was closed. Strong pacing could be heard for a few minutes, before the window opened with a harsh movement and small shreds of paper were dropped one by one, “I really can't do it,”she muttered “It's too much. I'll make a better one soon. That will be the one.”

The humidity of the snow would soon leak into the remains of the letter and erase its message, never to be read by anyone. Well, not anyone who was meant to read it anyways. Flowey leaned closer and used a root to pick up a part of the letter. It took him five endearment terms and three uses of the verb love to know it was an excessively corny confession directed at the Royal Scientist.

It seemed almost atypical for the fish monster. However, Flowey knew better. During some of his runs he had experimented with the Royal Guard, testing their strengths and weaknesses. Undyne was a particularly difficult monster to deal with. Once you became her enemy, she would strike you down no matter what. Her green soul magic forced any monster under its effect to stay still and only use its own magic bullets as protection. Flowey, being soulless, was not affected by this kind of magic, but that still didn't make fleeing much easier. He had killed her the first time they faced each other, after dying to her several times. That had been the first timeline he decided to kill, throwing bullets at some of the weakest known monsters. Undyne had been furious, and decided to find the culprit and bring them to justice. When Flowey did manage to kill her, though, she resisted. With her last breaths, she kept on fighting, refusing to die. Her last words were dedicated to every monster in the Underground she swore to protect, and as she melted, she regretted never "telling it to Alphys". He had figured out what it was by other sources. The letter was just further confirmation.

No other monster had shown such determination to keep going, and those words rang in Flowey's head. Somehow, the possibility of making someone be honest about their feelings towards something —or someone else— made him particularly curious. He had tried to help her, more than once, but no attempt had been successful. He kept trying for a few more runs. Undyne's resilience reminded him of his own sibling. He thought that maybe staying determined and reaching, helping, and fixing things would... do something. Perhaps he had to be more like them, more like Chara. But he was hopeless now. Nothing he did ever lasted, nothing he did made him feel right.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Some things never change. She writes letters but she will never do anything with them." He dropped the letter and went back to rest for what was left of the night, hoping to restore his HP.

* * *

The "Riverperson'' was never just one monster. There were three of them. Their family had been passionate about sailing for decades; some said they had the reputation even before the war, and ever since monsters found a stream that connected all areas, the River family had dedicated itself to provide quick travel to everyone in the Underground. When it was nighttime, and most monsters outside were nocturnal creatures, only one of them was around. They gazed at the Snowdin port. All three siblings had great intuition, and that night, they agreed, was bound to be interesting.

"Greetings. Would it be possible to make use of your service tonight?" a soft voice asked.

The river monster turned to face the source of the voice and saw a tall white furry monster. They resembled most inhabitants of the small town, with a thick layer of fur covering their features. But something about their presence radiated a sense of grace. A good River monster made no distinction among their travelers, so they simply pointed to the empty space on their boat.

"Tri li li, where would you like to go?"

"Take me to Hotland, please,” the monster said calmly

The Riverperson took off with their only passenger for that ride.

It was late, but despite the time, a few nocturnal monsters could always be found wandering the streets, among the low-glowing lights. The sight of the new monster immediately sparked rumors, catching the attention of the few awake. From the forest, a Whimsun flew, carrying news from the Ruins. The great door deep in Snowdin forest had been opened, and its caretaker was making their way to the capital. Young monsters were perplexed by the story, but older, wiser ones knew this meant great incoming change for the whole kingdom. Nobody knew for certain what had become of Queen Toriel after the deaths of her children, but it seemed that the words carried by the small flying monster could be the solution to the century old mystery. Soon enough, word was spread in the snowy town among the elders. They were careful and cautious, not to make quick assumptions, but staying alert.

The ride across the cave system had not been long, but it certainly felt like eternity, even for a monster with such a long life as Toriel. She was worried sick, wondering whether the human child had been harmed. As she set foot on Hotland, and waved the Riverperson farewell, the feeling of unease only increased. She did not know where the child had gone. All the monsters she had spoken to had little to no information, seeing as they weren't awake during the day, and therefore hadn't seen anything worth noting. However, as Toriel walked through the dry roads, she noticed flyers, all related to a human kid that had been spotted in Hotland, as a guest on the Underground's greatest celebrity's shows. She walked faster, hoping to reach New Home soon. Time felt so slow, each step lasting a small eternity in her anxious mind.

By the time she had reached the castle, the artificial lights were starting to get brighter. She was determined to reach her destination. She could not allow Asgore to take another soul, and she was going to stop him herself if she had to. She would not let another child be hurt by him. Her steps covered longer distances, as she walked across the familiar hallways. Her breathing was fast, and her paws felt heated with anxiety, small fire bullets dancing around her fingers. She paid no mind to the monsters that walked around her, except to ask about the king once: a tall catlike monster indicated that the king was last seen at the throne room last evening, but was not seen leaving the place ever since. As she approached the throne room, an odd feeling made her magic shiver. There was no sight of the King.

She walked in, careful not to step on the golden flowers that decorated the room. In a way, both of them had remembered their children using those flowers. She shook the thought out of her mind, and she went across the room to a smaller entrance. That room had a single orifice at the ceiling, letting the first rays of the morning sun go through. No sign of the King, either.

She feared the worst.

She prepared her fire attacks.

She breathed deeply.

She stepped into the room that led to the Barrier.

She dropped her attacks, which disappeared in an instant.

Before her was a crown, and an armor covered in a purple cape. Dust on the floor, and an ear-ringing silence. A gardening knife was a few feet away.

This was the day the Underground's King had perished.

This was the day a human made it out of the monsters' world alive.

This was the day things would change forever for their kind.

The Queen took the crown. Her expression was solemn, and she braced herself to make the announcement known to everyone in the Underground.

"King Asgore has died."

[elliewritessometimes]

IT’S @mattieswheelers BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVELY WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH

beCAUSE of this, myself and @notsomightymightytiger decided to steal tea leaf’s time travelling mattie au and create a whole entire fic with their ideas and also a design that @ari-is-anxious did a while back!! hope you enjoy aaaaaaa <3333 aLSO stabbies try and spot as many starboard references as you can heheheh 

this can be read on ao3 here if you prefer the format :)

tw: swearing, murder (it’s minor and resolved tho jsgh), religion (nicco my love read with care), blood, i really hope i haven’t missed anything please do let me know if i missed anything

-

Mattie had always been able to time travel. For as long as she could remember, her walk-in wardrobe had been lined with silver metal and held no clothes at all. As a child, this made it all the more exciting, though as she grew older and actually started to want to own clothes, it became a little inconvenient. She supposed all great inventions came with some kind of sacrifice.

Her uncle had made the time machine as a gift when Mattie was born. Her parents, like any basic adults, assumed the wardrobe-sized box was simply a toy and had taken no interest in it. Mattie, from the age of about three when her curiosity had really set in, was the one who discovered that the machine was in fact a working portal and not just a children’s toy. Since then, she had been happily travelling time and space during the darkest hours of night.

(You may have entirely valid concerns about a three year old having full access to time travel - luckily, not just for Mattie’s safety but also that of the entire human race, her uncle had set what were effectively child locks on a lot of the controls. These were diminished the day that Mattie turned thirteen. Uncle Calvin had always been a little weird, but he certainly wasn’t heartless.)

-

Usually, Mattie’s time travel didn’t affect her life. Sure, it made for some pretty awkward conversations as Mattie spurted some knowledge which could never have been explained through a textbook, but those could often be blamed on watching too much Horrible Histories as a child (“Mattie, I swear to God, you’re so bageling British, and yet you’ve never been there, I don’t understand.” “Horrible Histories is a masterpiece! You’re just jealous that you’re too American to have seen it.” “Actual asshole of a child.” “Farrah-!”).

It was going well until Mattie’s freshman year at Giles Corey. And then three of her fellow highschoolers were murdered. And suddenly Mattie had a way to prevent that from happening.

In some stroke of luck, she passed out at the sleepover and didn’t find out about the murders until she was sitting in the back of a cop car, driving to her house to pick up her things. She remembered thinking how weird it was that she wasn’t being taken straight to the station, but brushed that away in favour of ‘going into her wardrobe to change out of her bloody clothes’.

The time machine was cold like it always was and that forced her out of her muddled state quickly enough. She thought back to the victims. Chess. Farrah. Clark. Snapping on her goggles, she pressed a button, whirled backwards through time and space, and appeared at the gate to Riley’s neighbour’s house.

She really wished that she had actually changed her outfit - the damp blood turned cold with the breeze and sent shivers up her spine. The smell perhaps or just her sudden appearance startled the neighbour’s dogs into a frenzy. A figure, Chess, unharmed and merely confused instead of terrified, stood up from Riley’s bench, calling into the darkness. Mattie’s breath caught in her throat. The second figure, knife glinting in the dim streetlight, slipped out of the back door. Their red hair shone in the reflection of the knife with a sick kind of beauty.

Mattie could have stopped them there, taken the knife from the assailant’s grasp, prevented the tragedy of the evening. But she didn’t. She just watched.

Three minutes later, after arriving back in her present time and pressing yet another button on the wall of her closet, she watched the same scene unfold in the bathroom with a much younger victim. Twenty minutes after that, the third attack. This one was different though, an accident.

Still a little desperate and overly conscious of the police officer standing guard outside of her bedroom, she reappeared in her wardrobe, putting on a jumper before turning back time a little further. She appeared in a gymnastics centre as a girl around Mattie’s age did wolf turns on a beam. A coach entered the scene from the sidelines as the girl stopped spinning, her distinctive plait falling still against her back. Something in Mattie ached at the sight of Chess so lively and innocent, willing to give up her life for her dream of succeeding in her sport. As the two wandered into a side room, picking up water with a smile, Mattie edged forwards, collecting soft gym mats as she went. Within minutes, the area surrounding the beam had been double layered with cushioning, and Mattie could only pray that her plan would work. She’d seen enough YouTube videos to know what happened next.

Chess emerged again with her coach, hopping back up onto the beam with practiced ease. Again, Mattie was forced to just watch as she went down into her wolf turn, then rose up, did a split leap across at least half of the beam, and jumped into a twist to land on the floor. It was a messy landing, the gymnast’s ankle caving in on itself, knee twisting unnaturally in the air, before coming down hard onto her side. But, unlike in the previous videos, there wasn’t a resounding crack, only a weak cry of pain as Chess stumbled back to her feet.

Mattie grinned despite herself as snippets of conversation drifted her way.

“-not broken, don’t worry-”

“The Olympics seem out of the picture…”

“Get her a drink to numb the pain! Yes, limeade’s perfect-!”

Mattie arrived in her room again with a whole plethora of new information just inserted into her mind like it had been there all along. There was no longer and never had been a police officer outside her door. Her shirt was clean, her head undamaged. Chess didn’t go to the Olympics, but still did gymnastics in her spare time as her knee made a full and quick recovery. Farrah wasn’t dropped. Riley, in some weird twist of fate, went to the same therapist as Mattie. Life was… good for the Giles Corey Tigers.

Across town, the sleepover was still going ahead as normal. From what weird memories she just gained, Mattie knew that the team was at a rocky patch, their personalities still clashing in any iteration of the evening. But, with some relief, she knew that it would never in this timeline be bad enough for murder to even be considered as an answer. Her phone buzzed. The lies came easily as she covered up her mysterious disappearance from the sleepover she should currently be at.

Reese (school): Where are you???

Mattieeeee: I went home :( not feeling good

Reese (school): :((( that sucks

Mattieeeee: Ikr. I think it was the ice cream.

Reese (school): I told the others

Reese (school): They all say get well soon apart from Kate and Cairo who actually agreed on something for once haha

Mattieeeee: What did they say skjghdjh

Reese (school): “Tolerate the lactose, Wheeler.”

-

In her short-but-actually-quite-long-given-all-the-time-travel life, Mattie had witnessed a number of key historic events (and had caused about 85% by some small accident, but that’s a story for another time). The one which ended up unveiling her secret to someone in her actual life occurred overnight one February. Or maybe July. Depends. Time is weird.

She stepped into a small room, luckily through the doorway and not awkwardly through the window, as done many times before. A man sat hunched over a desk by the window, dressed in brown and using a pen-but-not-really-a-pen to craft a page of writing. From Mattie’s extensive historical knowledge, it could have been anywhere from 1000 BC to the 16th century.

“Hello, excuse me,” she began, “But I’m a little lost.”

The man startled, his not-really-pen skidding across the page and leaving a trail of thick ink in its wake as he blinked at her in the doorway. “Who are you?” He seemed perplexed as to how a young girl was standing there, in the opening to his room, in clothing not of any time now or before.

Something that Mattie had realised after travelling not only to different times, but also to a vast number of different settings around the world, was that somehow, she was never stumped by a language barrier. Instead she was always able to fluently converse with those she met in what appeared to her as American English. It was really weird; she tried not to think about it too much or it made her head hurt. She’d also learnt that it was best not to explain her full situation to her companions, becoming accustomed to pulling the classic ‘I’m not here, you’re just dreaming’ excuse. So that was exactly the tactic she applied here. “A dream figure. You don’t need to be afraid.”

The man narrowed his eyes, glancing down at the paper and then back up to Mattie’s face. “That’s a good line.” He scribbled her words down onto a scrap piece of papyrus. “Maybe I can use that later.”

Mattie grinned, sensing her chance to fuck up history just a little bit. “What are you writing?”

“How the world came to be,” the man explained. “God.”

“Ah, of course. The Bible, huh?”

“Pardon?” The scribe locked eyes with Mattie for the first time, confusion etched clearly on his face. She shook her head in response, having learnt that it was hopeless trying to explain events of the future to people who could never even begin to imagine the future that she came from. Seemingly satisfied, the man continued. “As the vision you are, I wonder if you’ve been sent to answer my queries.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“I’m struggling for a name. Not for the book itself, but just for this chapter.”

Mattie smiled as wisely as she could. “What do you have so far?”

“‘Generational Crisis’. The chapter describes how our world came to be - the creation of natural elements, the first humans, the beginnings of emotion. ‘Generational’ as it shall be carried on for generations, and ‘crisis’ as it’s a huge event, a crisis for the higher powers.”

Mattie choked. Her mind imagined a world where the entry chapter to the Bible was named as so, and it was a world of chaos and highly differing language choices. “That is very wise, sir. I have one suggestion: how about shortening it? Make it snappier, more catchy. I’m thinking…” She paused, feigning deep thought, “‘Genesis.’”

The man gasped, scrawling her word down at the top of the papyrus. “Genius! Thank you, child. I should write your name in my finished book, to show my gratitude for your kindness.”

“Mattie, sir, Mattie Wheeler. It’s been lovely to meet you and see your studies.” Over the centuries, Mattie had learnt to leave those she met with some kind of reassurance as the humane aspect of her hobby. “Before I go, I may be a dream spirit, but I can assure you that the work you have done right now shall be greatly appreciated for thousands of years to come.”

“You really are a wonder, perhaps a child sent from the power above.”

Unthinking, she snorted, replying, “Oh, boy, you are not ready to hear about Jesus.”

“Jesus? You mean my sister’s husband? I do hear some curious rumours about the man…”

Mattie hid her laugh behind a hand. Of course, this was hundreds of years before Jesus Christ came to be thought of. “I know, right? Jesus? More like JeSUS.” The scribe didn’t reply, mind clearly tired of its confusion and instead turning back to something it knew well. He picked up his writing patterns again. Mattie turned away, back to the doorway. “I will leave you to your writing again. Sleep well.” Leaving a small vial of dissolved sleeping pills on the desk, she stepped out of the door.

-

The only class that Mattie knew she would see Eva in was Religion. They didn’t actually share the class, but Mattie’s Religion teacher was Eva’s form tutor and the older girl often used the classroom as a quieter study area for her free period. Not that Mattie would call a class of thirty sophomores particularly peaceful, but apparently she hadn’t heard the noise of the senior study area, you genuinely don’t understand, last week Jacob Thomas tried to make toast using the sun on a desk and then, bam, the entire of senior year are creating chants about sun bread, it was so weird, Mattie, I transferred to a school of crackheads.

After her travel to the 7th century AD, Mattie sparked a sudden interest in her Religion classes. Eva, being the older sister that she was, watched closely as the sophomore stayed behind after class to search the Bible for something in particular.

“What’re you looking for?”

“Nothing!” Mattie didn’t look up from fervently turning the pages.

“Well, that’s a fucking lie.” Eva perched on the side of a desk, sliding across to snatch the book out of the younger girl’s hands. “Why the hell are you looking at what is essentially the movie credits for the Bible???”

Eva watched as Mattie bit her lip, eyes darting around the empty classroom. She thought for a long moment, visibly debating points in her head, before leaning over the top of the book to run her finger down a list of names. About a third of the way down the page, she stopped. Eva’s eyes followed her finger as it drew a circle around a certain name. Matte Wheyler  

“See. I was looking for that.”

Eva didn’t say anything for a while. Mattie waited with baited breath as Eva’s brain tried to make sense of what they saw. “Mattie Wheeler, what the bagel.” It didn’t bother to even be a question.

“It’s a really long story.” Mattie slumped onto the desk as well. “Hey, did you know that ‘Genesis’ would have originally been called ‘Generational Crisis’ if it wasn’t for me?”

After a glance at both of their timetables, they decided that their next lessons (biology and latin respectively) were worth missing. Instead, they stayed seated on a desk in the Religion classroom, as Mattie explained in detail how her name came to be in the Bible. It was refreshing to finally spill her secret after fifteen years of complete silence, and Mattie wondered vaguely in the back of her mind if one day Eva might be able to share in her time travelling adventures. That might take a little more explaining though, because Eva sure did have a lot of questions.

“So, you don’t change anything?”

“Not anything major. Like, I can’t stop Hitler or anything, that would change too big an event. Little things, however, like names and stuff, it’s fun to mess around with. Ever wondered why the Italian city, Pisa, has its name? I delivered pizza to the guys who were kind of like the government at the time of its naming. Hence, the Leaning Tower of Pizza.”

Eva cackled. “Wait, what?! God, dude, that’s nuts. What the fuck.”

“What can I say, all I really want in life is a little bit of chaos and also mozzarella sticks.”

-

Mattieeeee sent a photo.

evanescence: is that??? abraham lincoln????

Mattieeeee: Abraham Lincoln was an otter.

evanescence: how so?

Mattieeeee: Point one: look at him.

Mattieeeee: Point two: no seriously. Look at him.

evanescence: oh my god

evanescence: i cannot believe you have a literal selfie with abraham lincoln that’s fucking wild

Mattieeeee: Perks of the job :D

evanescence: literally hire me i want a selfie with cleopatra

-

farrah o’satanic ritual: yall i got out of the shower like an hour ago and i still haven’t changed

Imposter: What can I say, bath robes are in fashion rn

farrah o’satanic ritual: ive told you before clark stop pretending you know how to dress

Mattieeeee: Farrah did you not die in the shower?

katherine: ????mattie???????

farrah o’satanic ritual: no?? i didn’t

SmileyRiley: dang it

katherine: riLEY-

caicrow: riley i thought we’d moved on from murder

Imposter: Plot twist: Mattie was the murderer all along

katherine: CLARK-

Mattieeeee: oops-

-

It wasn't meant to happen, she swore up and down it was a mistake. A true and honest accident. And it kinda was? I mean Mattie hadn’t intended for the scaffolding on the new tower being constructed in Pisa to wobble, she’d already fucked up Pisa once in her career, but… Well, that's what she got for letting loose Giles and Corey (her occasional time travelling companions, who also happened to be cats) in the middle of a Italian city in 1252. She could have sworn the catnip was safely concealed in one of the pockets inside her jacket (which was filled with all sorts of trinkets from her travels in the space-time continuum), yet somehow the two had still gotten into it. She guessed that's what she got for not hydrating-feel-greating and eating-to-defeating.

An old citizen eyed her suspiciously, taking in her struggle with the two cats. Or maybe she was just more focused on Mattie’s goggles - she doubted anyone in 13th century Pisa had seen such a bold fashion statement before. The tower continued to lean in the background.

Finally, Giles and Corey settled down, each in a pocket of her trench coat. Mattie breathed a sigh of relief, which only got halfway out of her before she was sucking it back in as the old lady from across the street began to approach her.

“Young lady.”

Mattie smiled sheepishly. “Hello, ma’am. Is everything alright?”

The lady looked mildly amused. “I couldn’t help but notice your two cats going mysteriously close to the tower before it started collapsing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Oh, no, ma’am. My cats are very well behaved.” Giles gave a resounding yelp at exactly the wrong time. A hiss from Corey echoed from the opposite pocket.

“Well,” the lady grinned, “If that’s the case, why don’t you leave the animals with me? You seem fairly preoccupied with the tower - perhaps you can try and assist its reconstruction?” She held out a hand.

Mattie thought for a moment and then handed across the two cats. “Thank you ever so much, ma’am. I’ll try and be quick.” The woman nodded and Mattie sped across the square to the drastically swaying tower.

When she arrived back at the woman’s table, there was a second lady in animated conversation with her. As Mattie approached, she stood up to take her leave, pressing a kiss to the first lady’s hair as she left. Something was definitely fruity there.

“All fixed!”

“I’m glad.” The woman nudged the cats back to their owner, looking intensely over Mattie’s shoulder to the stabilised tower. “It certainly looks sturdier.”

“I should hope so.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Sometimes,” she said, staring pointedly at an area on the structure, “I think about crabs.”

“Oh?” Mattie tilted her head. “Do you?”

“Yes. And often when I think about crabs, I think that they shouldn’t be in Pisa, and they most definitely should not be crawling over the tower.”

Mattie gasped and followed her gaze, muttering curses under her breath. “I didn’t realise I’d brought a whole crab with me! I thought I’d taken the sea life off the rocks!”

The woman chuckled. “You seem to be a strange character. Child, where on Earth did you find not only rocks large enough to support a tower, but also a live crab in Pisa?”

Accepting her fate, Mattie decided to tell the truth. “They’re from Egypt.” At the woman’s questioning look, she expanded, “I’m a traveller of sorts.”

“Oh. Well, child, you’re a gift of a traveller. Brightened my day. Italy these days is far too serious. Maybe we should put more crabs on the leaning tower, huh?”

Tucking her cats back into their respective pockets, Mattie allowed herself to laugh. “Maybe we should.” With a nod and a smile, she wandered off, eagerly awaiting her portal.

-

“Why were you in Egypt anyway?” Eva asked as Mattie recounted yet another of her time-travel-gone-wrong experiences.

“Library of Alexandria.”

“Oh, yeah, because that explains so much.”

“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes. “It was 48 BC, Caesar was burning shit, this random Roman dude set fire to the library.” She pulled a book out of her backpack. “I saved this and stashed away a few of the slabs of rock. And apparently a crab.”

Eva took the book in awe. “Jesus Christ… This thing is, like, thousands of years old…”

“I know, right? Weird.” She watched as Eva flicked through the pages, tracing her finger over certain words or illustrations. “But it was such a beautiful library, I couldn’t let it just burn. So, I retaliated. Burnt the house of the soldier who set the original flame.”

“Mattie!”

She shrugged. “Setting someone’s house on fire is a survival skill.”

“Oh my God.”

“I would have done something more dramatic, but I had to get home. I had a cake which would need to come out of the oven.”

Eva laughed, the sound echoing around the empty classroom. They were skiving class again, this time PE, the one class they had which coincidentally fell at the same time for both year groups. “How are you so normal in school, but so badass when you time travel?”

“I dunno. All I can say is that cake and spite are my only motivators.”

“You’re like a superhero. ‘Time Travelling Mattie: The Only One Who Can Lead A Dual Life Successfully’!!!”

Mattie blushed, shrugging. She definitely needed to take Eva with her one day. A superhero duo. “Okay, that name needs some work. How about: ‘Sanchez And Wheeler, The Ultimate Time Travelling Duo’?”

“I think I like the sound of that.”

“Yeah?”

Eva nodded, shaking her hand like they were signing a business contract. “Yeah.”

[thechaoticfanartist]

The Deaths Of The True Heroes (Galaxytale)

Characters: Undyne (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale), Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)

Relationships: Undyne & Papyrus, Undyne & Anakin

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Summary: Things were wrong. Very wrong. Undyne could feel it. - Order 66 has begun at the Jedi Temple, which brings about the ends of Jedi Knight Undyne and her padawan Papyrus.

Words: 1,144

Read On A03

Things were wrong. Very wrong. Undyne could feel it. She was good at sensing when things would go wrong, and so when the force screamed that something terrible was coming Undyne believed it. That’s when she got a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. That horrible thing was here. She cast a glance at her padawan, his eyes were wide, and she knew Papyrus had felt it too. “Papyrus, something is happening,” she told him. Her voice was low and quiet, something that as the years had taught him Papyrus knew meant she was afraid.

“Don’t worry, Master Undyne, we can get through this!” Papyrus replied, giving her his signature toothy grin.

“When am I worried?” Undyne asked with a grin of her own.

Papyrus shook his head, she never admitted it when she was afraid, which is why Papyrus had learned to tell. Though he didn’t bother to correct her, giving a smile he got up. “Shall we investigate this feeling?” he asked her.

That’s when they heard screaming, Undyne’s good eye widened with horror, and she rushed to the source, Papyrus following just behind her. When Undyne reached the entrance of the temple she halted. Clones were firing at Jedi and corpses were strewn across the ground, younglings and masters alike. In the center of the chaos stood Anakin Skywalker, and he was helping in this unjust massacre. “Papyrus, warn the others! Help the children get to safe spaces!” Undyne ordered, she wasn’t going to let Papyrus follow her into this battle. “I’ll hold them off!” she added before summoning her lightsaber from her belt to her hands and igniting the blazing purple blade. Filled with determination to defend the Jedi, Undyne rushed into the chaos.

Papyrus stood still, watching in horror, he had seen his fair share of death and destruction since the war had begun. He had held dying clones, watching them breathe their final breaths in his arms, had seen the destruction of cites, and witnessed many of the unspeakable horrors of war, but this was different. This wasn’t war, this wasn’t a battle, this was a massacre, a slaughter, and Undyne was rushing right into it. Papyrus wanted to help but knew he couldn’t. Undyne was doing this to help the others, and it would be in vain if he didn’t warn them. So casting his master one last fleeting glance he ran to warn others. Not knowing this would be the last time he would ever see her again.

The scarred twi’lek stood tall in front of the fallen Jedi, her blade pointed at him, with fury and determination shining in her eye. “You traitor!” Undyne roared, sending a strike towards Skywalker’s heart, she would go for the kill if it meant saving innocent lives. Anakin blocked her strike and their blades crackled and crashed against each other. Skywalker did not reply, only sending a strike at Undyne, breaking the clash of their blades. Undyne rolled out of the way, the lightsaber just barely missing her lekku. She then stood back up, towering over Skywalker, her blazing purple blade in hand, “you won’t succeed, Skywalker,” she warned him before charging at the fallen Jedi again. Their blades met in the air, blue and purple sparks falling to the ground.

Papyrus ran with a group of younglings in front of him, he kept his lightsaber in hand in case any of the clones found them. A blue blaster bolt whizzed past him, and Papyrus turned around to see a group of clone troopers, “get to safety!” Papyrus told the younglings, “i’ll hold them off!” The younglings hesitated momentarily before doing so. Papyrus then activated his lightsaber; the blue hue illuminating the surroundings.

The great zabark stood tall knowing he was all that stood between the clones and the children. Papyrus deflected the shots back towards the clones, he was more concerned with the younglings than himself, and he wasn’t afraid. He didn’t attack the clones, he only used defense because he still couldn’t help but see them as his friends that he had grown close to after all of these years of fighting. He could feel some of them fighting against something and he wanted to help, but he couldn’t and it was devastating to him. So Papyrus kept his focus on protecting the children, saving them.

Then in one moment, one mistake was all it took, the clones overpowered the padawan. Papyrus was killed by the people he used to call his friends, sacrificing himself for the innocent children in the temple. Papyrus, a hero, a padawan, a friend, a brother was dead, and only days away from his trials.

Elsewhere in the temple Undyne felt a sharp pain as if she had been stabbed, but she hadn’t and this pain was worse than a lightsaber wound. Tears welled up in her eye, she couldn’t feel his light anymore. He was dead. Undyne’s face morphed into unbridled fury, “Papyrus…” she muttered under her breath. She glared at Anakin, staring him down, his yellow sith eyes staring back. Undyne’s grip around her lightsaber tightened. Undyne’s attacks became more and more aggressive, and Anakin had to switch to using more defense to survive the fury of the broken Jedi. Though the more aggressive Undyne's attacks became, the sloppier they became as well. Anakin managed to break through Undyne’s barrage, and strike her through the chest.

Undyne fell to the ground, and Anakin stepped over her, uncaring for the one he used to call a friend. “No,” growled the dying Jedi softly. “I won’t let you kill them!” she roared, grabbing Anakin with the force and hurdling him towards a wall. Anakin hit it with a thud, but he walked it off as Undyne struggled to stand tall once more. Determination pumped through her, she wouldn’t die, she couldn’t die. “You’re gonna have to try a little harder than that! ” she shouted at him, summoning her lightsaber back in her hand. She ignited the blazing purple flame, “for the sake of the Jedi, I, Undyne, will strike you down! ”

She charged at Anakin once more who blocked the furious attack, once more their purple and blue blades crashed together. The two were locked in combat once more, but Undyne didn’t care, she had to hold Anakin off long enough for others to get to safety. Unfortunately, Undyne’s determination wasn’t enough, and she was eventually killed by the fallen Jedi. “Damn it,” coughed Undyne. “It wasn’t enough?” she began to laugh through her tears, “if you think I’m going to give up hope, you’re wrong! Because Papyrus evacuated the others, and through them, the Jedi will live on!”  Undyne drew her final breath, dying for the future of the Jedi, for hope of a better and brighter future. She knew that in time a new hope would arise.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Snowdrifts ch.2 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Undertale brothers in the house! Blue is gonna have to bring out more chairs.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Violence, Rescued Child, Medical Experimentation, Babybones

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

From the first moment his brother chose to lead him through the filthy hallways of the old lab to show him an innocent child, Edge felt as if he weren’t quite aligned with the real world any longer. His memory of taking the baby into his arms and summoning that first attack held almost a dreamlike quality, as did their desperate flight from Hotland to the outskirts of Snowdin. It left him in the unfamiliar position of a memory he both didn’t want to remember but also never wanted to forget.

In a single moment, his world was twisted and turned upside down, so he supposed in that way it made sense that they ended up in Underswap.

It was also amusing, in its way, that the first reaction of all of their alternates was so similar to his own: pure doubt of what they were seeing, and the chaos of the Undertale brothers meeting Snow was another memory that wouldn’t be soon forgotten.

Before he could even agree that yes, their sight was not deceiving them, it was indeed a baby and a skeleton Monster baby at that, the door to the bedroom upstairs opened. Stretch emerged in a loose-limbed shamble, still sleep drowsy and wearing only a sagging pair of boxer shorts.

He’d barely made it to the landing before Blue said with loud outrage, “Papy! Put some clothes on!! We have guests!”

Stretch all but screeched to a stop and looked down at himself, blinking owlishly as if trying to figure out exactly what part of his wardrobe was unacceptable for company. Edge could only hope that he didn’t choose the boxer shorts and tried to look as if he certainly wasn’t appreciative of the very lovely view of smooth, silky bones.

That was, until he noticed the way Red was smirking as he took his own gander at the scenery. Edge frowned, jabbing an elbow into his brother’s side as he hissed out, “Quit staring!”

Red only rubbed at his ribs unrepentantly. “hey, lil’ window shopping never hurt anyone.” That leer tore Edge between the urge to slap his brother upside the skull or to cover Snow’s little sockets to protect her from such a terrible sight.

“It’s going to hurt you right in the tailbone!”

“oh, so sorry bro, didn’t know you were the jealous type.”

“I don’t need to be the jealous type to not want to see you drooling on the floor!”

In the midst of their whispered argument, overshadowed by Blue’s shouts, Stretch stood frozen on the landing. He spared a horrified look at them in the living room and all the eye lights staring up at him, then back at himself and wealth of bare bone he was showing. Stretch didn’t say a word, only turned on his heel and went right back into the bedroom. When he emerged again, he was dressed from his socks to the hood pulled over his skull and Edge was again split in his emotions, both mourning the loss and righteously grateful that his brother lost the privilege, too.

In the meantime, Papyrus took possession of the baby with much the same awkward enthusiasm that Blue had, bouncing her lightly in his arms as he burbled happily, “What a precious, adorable child who was definitely not here the last time we came over! What’s her name?”

“It’s Snow,” Edge told him. It was only then that he remembered he hadn’t yet shared the name with his brother, who groaned loudly, slumping back on the sofa.

“snow? really, bro?” Red complained. “we’re surrounded by the stuff every day and now you want to add it to the roll call? don’t we even get to put it to a vote?”

“I’m trying to protect her from the evils of the world,” Edge told him stiffly, “a name chosen by you would likely qualify.”

The way his brother’s grin widened should have warned him, if warning was even necessary when it came to Red. “snow kiddin’, bro, here i am just chillin’, and you gotta snowball me like that? i coulda picked an ice name for the little flake—"

“You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I won't hurt you in front of the baby.”

“Let it go, let it go,” Papyrus interrupted brightly. He held the baby up, dangling in his hands in a way that made Edge resist the urge to snatch her away. “It’s a perfect name for her, absolutely! Even if she occasionally gets ribbed about it.”

“yeah, it’s a great name,” Stretch agreed. Within the depths of his hood, his grin was cheekily wide. “if i do say snow myself. and i did.”

At that moment, Snow decided she’d had more than enough of being the center of attention or perhaps she simply had good taste when it came to horrible puns. She let out a loud wail, squirming in Papyrus’s hold as she reached for Edge. He gathered her into his arms, privately grateful to have at least one person on his side when it came to a dislike of awful humor.

Her cries cut through the general chaos, rendering normally loud skeletons fretfully silent and Edge stood, cuddling her close as he tried to coax her hiccoughing sobs to stop.

“someone’s had too much excitement,” Stretch said. He stood and went over to the pillows that had served as her nest and ended up haphazardly pushed aside to make way for the highchair. He rearranged them and patted a spot right in the middle. “bring her over here, she can have a laydown while we explain the sitch.”

Edge carried her over, patting her back as she whimpered and clung. “Perhaps I should take her upstairs, instead.”

“nah, sit with her,” Stretch said firmly, “she’ll settle down. better to train ‘em young to sleep through anything, useful skill.”

“Yes, you and my brother make use of it often.”

Despite his worries, Edge settled her into the pillows, following her down to sit next to her on the floor. He gently rubbing her sternum, paying no mind to the greenish bean stains on her pajamas, and very soon, the child calmed, falling asleep with an ease that would make several skeletons he could name envious.

He sighed, relieved, and turned around, startling to find everyone looking at him. Waiting, Edge realized; he had said he would explain and it seemed Red was more than willing to leave that task to him. Trust Red to stick to the more enjoyable parts of childcare and leave the difficult task of revising the birds and the bees to him. Or in this case, more like beakers and broken ethics.

This time, he kept the information to the barest details of finding her and taking her from the lab. It was not a story he cared to keep reliving.

“…and so we brought her here, to keep her safe,” Edge finished. Despite his cursory explanation, the entire time he’d been talking Blue and Papyrus sat in silence, their sockets huge. With every word, they’d crept forward as they listened until both of them were only inches away from him, still listening raptly.

“You save her,” Blue said, awed, “like a hero from a storybook!”

“Yes!” Papyrus agreed fervently, “A knight. Riding in on your steed—”

Red snorted, “that’s one i ain’t ever been called.”

“—saving the damsel from the evil villain!” Papyrus finished triumphantly. “If only I could have been there with you!”

“And me!” Blue added, starry-eyed, “the Magnificent Sans!”

“And the Great Papyrus!”

“Heroes!” The last was said in unison, both of them striking bold poses with hands on their hips right where they sat. Their glowing triumph was only diminished by sheepish guilt as the baby stirred uneasily at the noise.

“Heroes,” Edge murmured. He didn’t have the soul in him to disabuse them of their fantasy, even if he could somehow persuade them that there was nothing heroic about his so-called rescue, not in the slightest. He glanced back at the baby, watching the soft rise and fall of her chest as she slept peacefully. No, not heroic, only this small glimmer of goodness stolen from the depths of misfortune.

“so what are the odds of anyone popping through a portal to come looking for the little princess?”

They all turned to look at Sans, who was leaning against the sofa arm, his hands tucked into his pockets. He was the only one who’d made no attempt to hold the baby, Edge realized. Even now he kept back in that half-hidden way he had where one didn’t quite notice he was even missing until he spoke, his normal easygoing smile tightened into a near-grimace.

There was a question buried in there, but Edge wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up, entirely too busy deciding how to field the one he’d just been asked.

His brother chose that as his moment to finally speak up. “chances of that happenin’ ‘s at about zero, sansy. no new visitors are gonna stop by from our little slice of the universe.”

“you sure about that?” Sans said. His tone was light, almost teasing. The brief strobe of his eye light into a blur of blue/yellow, anything but.

“yep,” Red popped the ‘p’ loudly, “real fucking sure. now, how’s about we get to work on that movie before the abominable snow monster wakes up?”

Papyrus and Blue scrambled to their feet and headed for the kitchen, speaking in hushed tones that were really only just below a shout about popcorn and snacks and dashing deeds.

Edge stayed where he was next to the child and fought the urge to look at Sans. He could feel the weight of his gaze resting heavily on him, right up until his line of sight was broken by Stretch crouching down next to him.

“you want me to bring you some popcorn?” Stretch grinned ruefully, “figured you might want to sit next to the snowflake for this.”

“Yes, thank you,” Edge said, surprised. It was hardly necessary, he could certainly manage the two minutes required to go to the kitchen himself for a bowlful. He could, except for the fact that Sans’s question sent an uncomfortable trill crawling up his spine. Ridiculous, his brother was right, it was impossible for anyone to come from Underfell now, the machine was the only way, there was no other path.

Utterly ridiculous, and yet, Edge wanted to stay close to the baby all the same.

Stretch hadn’t yet move. “hey, edgelord,” Stretch leaned in, whispering right next to his audial canal. “i know you don’t think much of it, but i’m tellin’ you, they had the right of it, hero.”

“I’m not a hero,” Edge said, softly. He’d only done what any person whose soul wasn’t hardened to stone would, likely what his brother intended all along. It was only incidental that he’d been the one doing it, a combination of circumstance and luck.

“you are to her. and me.” Stretch stood quickly without giving Edge a chance to protest, faint orange dusting across his cheekbones as he headed for the kitchen where the rattle of popcorn was beginning. Next to him the child stirred, murmuring softly in her sleep. Edge reached over to settle a gentle hand on her, crooning wordless soothing. She didn’t wake, only took two of his fingers into a surprisingly strong grip and held on.

How was it, he wondered distantly, that her tiny grip transferred so easily to his soul, squeezing with gentle warmth around it right in his ribcage and holding on tight.

~~*~~

tbc

[shyneanon]

And the fic I started about a week ago with a MF one-shot continues! It’s now called The Boss’s Daughter and it’s up on AO3. 

I’ll continue to post it here but you can go to AO3 to subscribe or kudos or comment or whatever you’d like. It also just might be easier for people to read the whole thing there, since these chapters are long and the whole work will be in one place. Anyway, enjoy!

---

Your father was an unforgiving man.

As kind as he was to you and your mother, when he went to work, he became a different person. He did not tolerate failure, he did not tolerate deceit, and he did not tolerate disrespect. It was no wonder that he had become one of the richest and most powerful mob bosses in the city. People feared him.

And thus, they feared you.

He called you Princess for a reason. You were very much his princess. And there was no mobster in the city who didn’t know the consequences of making a wrong move around you. If he saw a man as a threat against his daughter-- whether physically, emotionally, or otherwise-- that man was as good as dead. And your father’s definition of a threat was a bit loose. He was a very jealous man. Every gangster knew that.

Well, Sans hadn’t, until Papyrus had gone on a tirade about it at him.

Truth be told, it hadn’t really scared Sans much at all. It was difficult to scare him-- though whether that was because he was tough or stupid, he wasn’t sure. Though it did make him view your encounter through a new lens. When he’d spoken with you, he’d had no idea you were such… forbidden fruit.

Unfortunately for Papyrus, whose… suggestion… was reasonable, telling Sans that you were a literal danger to him had only made you more desirable to him. It was that thrill that causes even the best of people to date partners who are bad for them: The feeling of playing with fire, of doing something despite knowing it was bad for you. You were so pretty, and you had been so much fun, but if he’d known all of this before, the spark of electricity he’d felt at being close to you would’ve felt like a thousand-volt shock. To think that he had held someone virtually unattainable-- had gone so far as to kiss your neck and the corner of your lips-- and come out of it alive?

Hell, now he just wanted to do it again.

Since he had nothing better to do with his time (well, he did, he just liked not doing what he was supposed to be doing), he’d eventually asked some of his men how much anyone even knew about you, if you were so heavily protected. Surprisingly, quite a bit, because your father liked to talk about you a lot. According to him, you were very intelligent. That didn’t surprise Sans at all, it had been pretty obvious. Well, sort of. It had been this look behind your eyes. Like you were always observing things, assessing them. No doubt you were unused to being hit on and yet you had remained cool and collected.

Heh. Maybe you’d make for a good mob boss yourself.

Your father even claimed that you helped with the business sometimes. The record-keeping and number-crunching, anyway. He didn’t like telling you exactly what your beloved daddy was doing during business hours.

It was funny how many small details had stuck with Sans’ men (and probably many others). You were just such an enigma that any information your father threw out was like a piece of a very large puzzle. You liked dancing, although you’d never actually been out dancing before. Papa was too worried about boys hitting on you. You did go out sometimes, with some friend of yours, but only during the day, and only to high-end spaces where the chances of a guy trying to put moves on you were low. An odd detail: You liked little chocolates, particularly the ones with cherry filling. Sans could vividly picture you gently biting into one, the filling as red as those soft lips. Dangerous lips that spelled death for anyone who dared to come near them.

You were just so off-limits that all you did was rile Sans up when he thought about you.

His mind raced with What ifs. What if he had just taken the opportunity to kiss you right there? What if you had agreed to his offer to show you how he could get around without being seen? What if he had been able to bring you somewhere private… and take away that innocence your father had worked so painstakingly hard to preserve?

Heheh. You would’ve been calling out “Daddy,” but you wouldn’t have meant--

“I heard that guy Acerbi is after her.”

“Acerbi? Don Acerbi?”

“No, you idiot, his son.”

Sans was snapped out of his incredibly racy daydream. “Huh? Who?”

Vinnie answered his question. “Adolfo Acerbi, Boss. The Acerbi family’s territory is right around--”

“I don’t care about that, whaddaya mean he’s after her?”

Don answered that. “Y’know, he wants to marry her. She’s an only child, so if he married ‘er, once her dad croaked he’d end up being the heir to their whole business.”

“Fuck, you serious?”

“Yeah. And for now it’d unite the families ‘n such. All that mafia stuff.”

Sans felt a surge of jealousy, even though he knew it was unwarranted. You didn’t belong to him-- well, you didn’t belong to anyone, you were your own person, even if your father wanted you to be his. Still, Sans wasn’t your boyfriend, he had no real right to feel jealous over you. Especially not the level of jealousy he was feeling right now.

But the objective truth couldn’t change the way he felt.

“Hey, Boss,” said Vinnie. “Didn’tcha say you were gonna talk with someone today?”

He was startled out of his thoughts again and checked his watch. “Oh, shit.” He got up. At least he wouldn’t be late. “Thanks, Vinnie.”

“Oh, uh, no problem, Boss.”

--

“Was he nice?” asked Mindy.

“Of course,” you told her. “He was in front of my dad.”

The two of you were sitting in a small but very expensive cafe and deli, immaculately clean and filled with people in nice dress. It was always nice to be with her, for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, she was your friend. You simply enjoyed her company.

Secondly, the cat monster was your window to the outside world.

While she was wealthy-- most monsters were after having left the Underground-- Mindy didn’t know where your father actually got his money. She was a civilian. Unlike you, she’d gone to college, and she’d been on dates with lots of boys. Ironically, despite being a monster, she knew a certain kind of freedom you’d never known. Mindy actually got around quite a bit, though you didn’t mind that. It was part of what made her interesting. She was wild, so she had a lot of fun stories.

At the moment, though, you were the one telling her a story, about the “nice young man” you’d met at the party. Adolfo Acerbi. Italian, obviously. Your parents had taken quite a liking to him, and you could understand why: He seemed well-educated, he was polite, and he had only said the sweetest of things to you.

You hated him already.

It was all fake. You could tell. He did a good job of hiding it from your parents but it was fairly obvious to you what was going on. You had no brothers. If he could just weasel his way into your father’s favor and wed you, then he could sit atop an empire made of two families’ blood, greed and arrogance. And you would be stuck right there with him. It was a no from you, but unlike Mindy, you didn’t really have any say in the matter. Mafia princesses were called princesses for a reason.

But you couldn’t tell Mindy all of that. She didn’t know where your family got their money. So all you said was, “He just wants my dad’s money.”

“Aw, honey, maybe you’re just being paranoid.” Mindy smiled at you. “Love exists, you know.”

You snorted. “I know that. It’s just… he’s sweet, but… too sweet? Too romantic.”

“Mmm, like he rehearsed it or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh, those boys are the worst.” She shrugged. “Oh well. You don’t have to date him if you don’t want to.”

If only.

You considered telling her about the encounter with Sans and Papyrus-- she’d be bound to find it entertaining-- but you had the feeling that if you did she would just keep teasing you about Sans. Besides, she didn’t need to know anything about mobsters who didn’t really have anything to do with you. Your father didn’t do business with the skeleton brothers, as far as you knew, and chances were you would never speak with them again. Sans wasn’t worth mentioning.

But fate is a cruel mistress, and no sooner had you dismissed any thoughts of Sans than a large shape emerged in your periphery. Near the doorway. The shape was unmistakable.

Sans had been fun. Too fun. As much as you wanted someone in the underbelly of society to make you smile, you didn’t need it. If you had fun, you would forget just how bad your world was, and you would quit wanting to leave. You didn’t need to speak to him any more.

“What are you doing?” asked Mindy.

You realized you had ducked down and held up your menu in hopes of hiding your face. You wanted to relax, but you really didn’t need to talk to him anymore. “Nothing,” you said, though you knew she wouldn’t believe you.

“Oh my God, is it him?” She started to look around unabashedly.

“N-- no, it’s not Acerbi.”

“Not Acerbi-- Wait, is there somebody else? Is that why you don’t like Acerbi?” Her lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Oooooh, there’s a boy you haven’t told me about.”

“No, it’s not like that!” you said. But you couldn’t explain, it had everything to do with your world, and she couldn’t know about your world.

“Oh my, are you blushing?”

“What? No.” Your face didn’t even feel warm.

“Don’t lie to me, I can see it. Your face is so red.”

Well, now your face was warm. Mindy beamed. Thanks a lot, Mindy.

“Hey there, dollface. Fancy seein’ you here.”

… Fuck.

You lowered the menu. You didn’t have to look for him; Sans’ shape on your left blocked out everything else nearby. You tried to ignore the burning on your face and smiled politely. “Hello, Mr. Sans.”

“Hey, sweetheart, I toldja last night, ya can call me Sans.”

You saw Mindy’s eyes widen. Last night, no she’s getting the wrong impression, no no Mindy it’s not like that I didn’t have sex with him I didn’t I don’t even know how we would do that I just met him at a party--

You forced your mind to stop racing. “Right. Sans. Is there anything you need?”

“Just to talk to you, doll.” He winked. His smile was so genuine, so goofy despite the sharp teeth. You felt the corners of your mouth turning up and bit the insides of your cheeks to keep yourself from smiling any more. You’re just making this worse, jackass….

His voice lowered:

“What’s with the red face? Happy to see me?”

You tried to ignore your face getting hotter. “M… My friend here was embarrassing me about something.” Good, a distraction. You gestured to Mindy. “Um, Sans, this is my good friend Mindy. Mindy, this is Sans, my… um…”

Sans raised a brow. “Aww. Tellin’ me we ain’t friends?”

Oh my God, did he learn anything from last night?

“... friend,” you finished. “My friend, Sans.”

Mindy wasn’t buying it even though it was the truth. “Oh, of course. Your friend.” She wiggled her eyebrows. Still, she gave Sans a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, sweetheart.” His grin widened. “You look like the cat’s pajamas.” A wink. “Absolutely purrfect.”

Before you could stop yourself, you snorted, which only made Sans look more enthusiastic. You tried to hide your face again.

Mindy raised her eyebrows at him. “Oh my, aren’t you a charmer?”

He tipped the brim of his hat. “Sure, to the women I want.” His eyelights looked over at you and he winked.

You glared at him, openly this time. You are such a moron. You could literally die. For doing this. You couldn’t defend him forever.

His smile became slightly nervous. Finally, he was getting the message. Why did he have to be so thick? And funny?

“So,” said Mindy, “why are you here? You’re not stalking my friend, are you? Stalking isn’t romantic, you know.”

He chuckled. “Nah. I can’t actually talk fer too long, I’m here tah meet a, uh… business associate.”

Mindy smiled incredulously. “Business associate? What are you, part of the mob?”

You forced yourself to snicker at that, as if the idea was ridiculous. Sans blinked, looking mildly surprised-- he’d probably expected Mindy to know. Thankfully, he recovered quickly. “I wish. It’d be more exciting.” He turned back to you. “I also wanted to give you an offer.”

He nodded in the direction of the doorway and you squinted at him. You weren’t going to leave with him. Was he that stupid?

“I jus’ wanna talk over there.”

You raised an eyebrow, and felt your thumb fiddling with your menu. You didn’t need to speak with him… but you were curious. So you got up and followed him, still inside, by the door.

He dug around in his pocket. “Last night was nice.”

“Which part?” you asked coldly.

“All of it, babe, yer fun to talk to.” He pulled out his wallet and started going through it. “I was thinkin’ I’d like to talk to ya again, if ya ever want.”

He found what he was looking for and held up what was clearly a fake business card for whatever civilian job he claimed to have. He held it out to you.

“If ya ever need anythin’... like, y’know, company… jus’ give me or Paps a call, huh?” He shrugged. “Well, maybe not Paps. But me.” He flashed those shark-like teeth at you.

You just stared. What on Earth was his problem? He could easily go flirt with someone whose father wouldn’t have him shot for it.

“C’mon, babe, you were fun. I don’t meet a lotta fun people.” He held it out further. “Please?”

His pleading smile was seemed so genuine.

Whatever. You smiled politely, taking the card. “Thanks. I’ll keep your offer in mind.”

Judging from the look on his face, he could tell you didn’t mean it. He seemed… disappointed.

You felt disappointed too. Good.

He tipped the brim of his hat again. “Anyway, I’ll let you two ladies keep talking. It was nice seein’ you again.”

“Nice seeing you,” you said.

When you made your way back to the table and sat down, Mindy folded her arms. “So. Mister Sans, huh?”

“It’s not like that,” you said.

“‘Sure, to the women I want,’” she said, doing her best impression of Sans’ deep, smooth voice. She then raised her eyebrows at you as if daring you to offer an explanation.

“We met at the same party where I met Adolfo,” you said. “He flirted with me, and I turned him down.” You left out the part where you let him hold you and… kiss you. The spot at the corner of your lip that he’d kissed suddenly felt tingly. It had probably been the most rebellious thing you’d ever done, despite how much you hated the lifestyle you’d been born into.

“You what?” Mindy said, almost slamming her hands down on the table in outrage. “Why?”

“Because I don’t like him. He’s probably the dumbest person I’ve ever met.”

“Ouch,” she said. “Harsh.”  She sighed in mock disappointment. “What a shame. His name is so short. Easy to moan.”

You felt a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. “Why don’t you just go sleep with him if you find him so appealing?”

“Nuh-uh. I smell a budding romance.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “An intelligent girl, wooed by an unlikely man. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

“That will never happen in a million--”

“Ooh, ooh, before I forget to tell you! Next weekend this… club I know…” She gave you a wink. You knew what that meant-- a speakeasy. “... is having a swing night. You told me you’ve never gone dancing before. We should go!”

You felt your heart sink, the previous conversation instantly forgotten. You shook your head. “My parents wouldn’t let me.” Too many boys.

“Then sneak out. Easy fix.”

“N… No.”

She sighed in exasperation. “Just ask, OK? Please?”

You nodded. “... OK.”

“Thank you.” She looked at the card in your hand. “What’s that?”

“Oh, just some stupid card he gave me with his number.” You turned it over in your hand.

“Mmmm, his number. You gonna keep it?”

“I already said I don’t like him, why would I keep his number?”

You grabbed your purse. Trying not to make eye contact with Mindy, you tilted the bag towards you so that she wouldn’t see the small pistol inside, and tucked the card into a pocket inside the purse. You tried to seem nonchalant about it, but when you looked at Mindy again she was wearing a massive, smug grin on her face.

“I’m going to throw it away when I get home,” you told her.

“Riiiight.” She took a sip of her water. “Of course.”

“I am,” you insisted. You just didn’t want to toss it anywhere. But you told yourself you were going to throw it away.

You didn’t.

[ashleyswrittenwords]

Subtleties of a Suitor (Part 1 of 2)

Summary: Pre-calamity AU where Zelda’s powers awaken in time, but not everything is back to normal after Calamity Ganon is defeated.

Note: This is all @intangiblyyourswrites‘s fault. Also, the second part is NSFW -which also happens to be Kristie’s fault. Enjoy!

--------------------

Scrawling ink coated the underside of her hand and left light imprints on the edge of the paper. That paper was bound within leather covers that rarely left the Princess’s desk. It was a journal of upmost confidence; containing her deepest secrets and cresting moments of happiness. The highs and lows of her life caught between compressed papyrus.

It was hardly secretive that her lows were concentrated in the years before, caught in the repetitive cycle of failing expectations that were handed down to her from birth. This desk and this journal were Princess Zelda’s small reprieve. Even going as far as referring to it as an old friend because it felt better to write with purpose than to speak nothings into a void.

My dearest friend,

A worry line creased her forehead. The nameless friend was so accustomed to moments of happiness nowadays, it felt alarming to her that she was writing with distress once more.

These days have been nothing short of harrowing. In my last letter, I was convinced that he finally understood my intentions after Calamity Ganon was sealed away. I thought-

She paused her pen strokes and glared at the page, willing herself to connect thoughts to words and words to paper.

We don’t meet anymore, we haven’t since before the monster was sealed away. Even though the night prior haunted my dreams for weeks following my expressed wishes to cease these small moments of privacy. No matter how sweet and innocent they could be. As you know, in my heart of hearts I can’t bind him to me when-

When Zelda could never be his. When, in times of great enlightenment and prosperity, their fates have crossed and her father now sees him only as a valuable combatant in his army. When destinies have been fulfilled and they were no use to one another.

They both knew this in the beginning, but with the veil of ignorance and Zelda’s everflowing failure, she was convinced they were fated to die with the kingdom. It was a simple case of action and reaction. If she didn’t unlock her sealing powers, then Calamity Ganon would not be defeated.

The knowledge most likely drew out their passion. Pages upon pages recounted shaky hands and blushing cheeks that glowed hot and bright against starry skies. A string of months where she felt more warm than she had ever been and more loved than she thought she deserved.

Then, a week after the Calamity, when Link was pressing her against the railing of an empty stairwell far from the celebratory festivities, she broke their kiss after her guilt grew too heavy for her chest to bear. Zelda will never be able to forget the unmasked hurt on his face as she thickly told him that they couldn’t do this anymore. Among it all, Zelda told him she loved him.

I was under the impression he understood. Father offered Link a promotion and he didn’t even wait a day to think about it. The next evening another man was waiting by my door and of course it shocked me. A part of me wanted to be belligerent when Link hadn’t bothered to ask, another part was more than understanding. But now?

Now I’m rethinking everything.

It started two weeks ago.

The court was lively. Since Calamity Ganon’s appearance and subsequent defeat, Hyrule Castle had its fair share of celebrations. Three months later, the Zora was being hosted within its walls. Without looming dread over her head, Princess Zelda found herself in more social circles. The Zoran princess and Champion, Mipha, became an especially close contact. As opposing as the two princesses were, they had cultivated a solid friendship. Zelda assisted Mipha with fitting into Hylian customs and Mipha was a fantastic listener.

“Link hasn’t said anything about it to me,” Mipha said gently, swinging her little brother in her arms. Prince Sidon made a disgruntled noise and reached out towards Zelda once more.

The small prince smoothed the trouble in her brow as she heaved him in her arms. “Well maybe it’s for the best. We should both move on.”

They were taking turns about the court, trying to spend the dying summer days. Sidon giggled and reached out to his sister.. Mipha seemed to be debating what to say before opting for nothing at all and looked across the room. Her Hylian companion followed her gaze to find Link communing with her father and few other Zora. It was typical for him to parade around the Hero of Hyrule as if he were some trophy.

“I don’t know, Zelda,” Mipha softly said beside her. A joke from Link made the group laugh and suddenly the blond caught her eye. As if stung, Zelda looked at the marble tiles in front of her. She scorned herself when her mind would drift from the fact that he wasn’t wearing his Champion’s Tunic. “His burden is lifted, yes, but it’s not like him to so easily let go of someone.”

When Zelda didn’t respond, Mipha tried to reassure her. “I could be wrong. If anything, we can refer to Lady Urbosa.”

As they walked, they soon found themselves amongst a throng of Zoran and Hylian ladies who began to gossip about the affluential bachelors in the room. Although she was physically there with polite smiles galore, her head was miles from the court. There was something about wealth they were talking about when all went silent.

“Master Link!” a woman exclaimed, “What a pleasant surprise!”

Suddenly, Zelda was back with slight vertigo. The group moved from her and began asking a dizzying amount of questions.

“Tell us, how frightful was that monster?”

An excited Zoran was nearing jumping out of her draped fabrics. “Heavens! Recall to us how you slayed the dreadful Calamity Ganon, please sir.”

“Oh goodness, Catherine, not with my weak nerves.”

Why hadn’t they asked Zelda those questions? She was there too!

The man seemed caught up in the storm of women and it occurred to Zelda that she had the opportunity to slip away amongst the chaos. Right when she discreetly bid Mipha goodbye, Link began speaking.

“You’re all too kind. I’m afraid I’m not a very good storyteller,” he wore a graceful smile, but she could see the anxiety behind his eyes. She knew him. Then, she saw the skies in his eyes and any desire to leave dissipated. “I can tell you that Princess Zelda saved my life.”

All eyes fell on her and she felt the acute urge to stare at her feet. Her voice sounded foreign, “You say the most fantastic hyperboles, Captain.”

Those were the first words she has said to him beyond common pleasantries in three months.

“I assure you that there was no embellishment in the slightest.” Link was looking at her along with the rest of the ladies.

“Ah, well,” Zelda trailed off, “It was only fair when you saved mine.”

That caused a sea of hushed whispers around them. The woman that separated them spoke up excitedly, “Will you allow us a story or two, sir?”

“My apologies, I should be off to the barracks right now,” Link said, meeting her again. “I came to bid Her Highness goodbye.”

Another wave of whispers as the woman between them shuffled off quickly. Confusion ebbed at the Princess, but refined manners kept it at bay. Link reached out to her and she instinctively offered her hand, but his fingers grazed the underside of her forearm, the tips of his glove brushing down its length before finally clasping her palm. As he bent down low, he held her gaze, and it felt like they were the only people in the room. Warm lips pressed a long, searing kiss to her hand, and it revived the sensation of those same lips drifting up the inside of her thighs.

He pulled back, “You look lovely this evening, Princess. I hope we cross paths again.”

Zelda’s lips drew tight together and she nodded chastely, not trusting her voice to speak. Footsteps on marbled signified his leave and she looked at Mipha, who stared back with bewilderment. The two princesses thought the same question.

What was that?

Her ink quill scratched against the paper from added pressure, she readjusted her grip.

I thought about it for the rest of the evening. That one moment dredged up emotions I spent weeks burying. Logically, I had chalked it up to basic biology; chemicals in my brain that were ultimately a hindrance to my responsibilities. For a few hours, that had worked until I found out that that night would be the first of many where he would bid me goodnight.

The next day was no better because Father decided he was honored enough to dine with us.

“I’m so glad you can join us, Captain!” King Rhoam boisterously said. “There is a seat next to Princess Zelda.”

The woman stared holes into her empty plate as the chair beside her grated against the floor. When her father coughed to clear his throat she glanced up, “Isn’t it nice that he has joined us, Zelda?”

“Oh, yes,” she smiled tightly, hardly meeting their eyes. “It’s good to see you, Link.”

Her hands folded tightly in her lap. Zelda didn’t hear him reply, so she assumed he demonstrated his signature nod. Perhaps he didn’t want to be there either. Before the Calamity, he was never permitted to sit at the royal table, much less next to the princess. He was a simple soldier then, she reminded herself, someone with promise. Princess Zelda assumed this was another way for her father to show off the Hero of Hyrule to the lords and ladies at the table.

The thought made her bite the inside of her cheek. Didn’t he deserve better? Had he been asked what he wanted?

Supper crawled by painfully. Typically, she didn’t mind if someone sat by her but she hadn’t realized how common it was to brush arms with a neighbor. Each time they touched, she’d involuntarily flinch away. Sometimes he would mumble his apologies that were a little too close to her ear.

Like all things, the torture ceased and as Zelda was about to excuse herself, dessert was announced.

“Where are you off to?” Link said, watching as she was already half-risen from her chair.

The Princess swallowed her curses. “I’m excusing myself,” she lilted, not quite leveling with him. “A lady should keep her figure.”

It was a bold-faced lie. She knew that he knew she loved sweets and would easily endure three courses of her most hated dishes to reach them. Zelda dared him to say anything. The door to the kitchen swung open and revealed several servants. Her father suddenly eyed her oddly, “Are you not planning to stay? I requested fruitcake for this evening on your behalf.”

Oh.

Link looked away as she flopped back in her seat. Despite the rolling in her stomach, her cheeks flared in embarrassment and she rushed to say, “Thank you, Father.”

As much as Zelda wished it would, the issue hadn’t immediately folded. When a large cake was placed on the table, she had the full intention of taking the slice to her room under the guise of studying a fallen Guardian’s laser module. It would be an easy solution to this problem. The cake knife was in her field of view and she went for it, only for another’s to brush her hand away.

With accusation in her eyes, Zelda watched the smallest smile - almost unnoticeable - cross Link’s face.

“What are you doing?” she said under her breath, glancing around the table to assure no one was watching. It hadn’t seemed to be the case, but this was exactly what she didn’t want. The Princess knew this court and though they’re opinion of her had shifted, the lords and ladies would cling to any rumor no matter how innocent his actions were.

His eyes were carefully guarded and if he had been anyone else, she would have been offended by how large the slice of fruitcake was when he set it on her plate . Right when she moved to stand, he caught her with his words.

“Who is it that has you caring about the way you look?”

At the head of the table, King Rhoam was laughing at something an advisor said. By now, it would look uncouth to leave the table mid-course. With a heavy breath, Princess Zelda pulled her chair in and spread her napkin over her skirts. The cake was layered with lemon icing, which would usually make her exponentially excited. Her lips upturned into a soft frown. He shouldn’t ask questions like that. It wasn’t fair.

Annoyance surged into her chest. “Does it matter?”

He was quiet for a moment and conversations from others dominated the air between them. The fruitcake tasted stale in her mouth.

“Yes.”

She wasn’t looking at him - she couldn’t. A stirring feeling lodged itself in her throat and threatened to bring about everything she tried to undo. Memories of laughing so hard in Hyrule Field, doubled over in her saddle from something ridiculous he had said; learning in that moment that he looked at her like she was the moon on a cloudless night; his hands twirling her into a circle besides a campfire to the sound of her humming ballroom tunes.

He had asked me if I fell out of love with him or he had hurt me in some way. I hadn’t and I wasn’t then and I am not now. It wasn’t just about me, but him as well. If it came out to the court, to the public, that we were having an affair, of course I would be criticized. My character put into question and subsequently tarnished for as long as it stayed in the minds of my peers, but nothing would happen to my title. I would still be the Princess of Hyrule.

Link would be scrutinized and his reputation ruined. He could be subject to expellment and be banished from the castle or Castle Town entirely. That was a fear I had harbored and for me to perpetuate our relationship for selfish indulgence… that isn’t love. At least, not a love he deserved.

Daintily, Zelda set her fork beside her plate and partially turned to him. The man had been expecting her as if this was any ordinary conversation, his fork pressing down the spongy dessert instead of eating it.

“Only because you care so much,” she uttered with a stiff back. “The royal family of Labrynna will be hosted in Hyrule Castle in just a few days. I haven’t seen their prince since I was a child.”

His expression hadn’t changed, but he ceased his movements with the fork. Guilt pricked at the edge of her consciousness. Link placed his fork on his plate and reached up. Immediately, her faced flushed hotly and felt his coarse fingertips brushed her cheek. There wasn’t any movement to indicate that she would pull away from his touch.

Then, he smirked. “There was cream on your face.”

It was like he didn’t care! I was mortified.

Her ink pen ran underneath the last word several times to create a line deep enough to bleed onto the next page. The worry line on her forehead had creased deeper as she recounted the events that had happened.

I should have made it clear to him after dessert was over, but when we were taking leave, Father got caught up in a conversation with him. I couldn’t confront him at that point and when Link came to my door again to say goodnight, I shouldn’t have opened it. And when I did, I should have told him: Link, this is inappropriate and I’ve told you that I didn’t want this to continue. Especially in front of my father, no less!

But I didn’t.

Zelda’s face burned and she couldn’t get herself to write down that she might have liked it. She was someone who was both stubborn inside and out, and even her feelings wouldn’t leave with tumultuous effort on Zelda’s part. What was she supposed to say? That she really does miss him and that every second around him chipped deeper in the hole he left?

It was rude. Irresponsible. Ungentlemanly and without regards to propriety. OR my feelings for that matter! What if the way I felt about him is different? Three months is a long time.

And then she remembered his self-satisfied smirk when her face was hot under his hand. Her handwriting grew more frantic against the paper and she had to consciously apply less pressure before the quill-tip punctured through the surface.

Her mind shifted to the days after.

Labrynna was hosted in Hyrule Castle amongst continued celebrations of Hyrule’s success. Their King and Queen were welcomed with open arms, overwhelmed by the jubilations of Hyrulean citizens. Along with them was their son and daughter: Prince Tyrion and Princess Aurra.

Prince Tyrion had written to Zelda several times after the Calamity about their shared childhood, a time she hadn’t remembered at all herself and referred to Impa more than once to verify his stories and to write back to adequately pretend she had. The Labrynnian princess was someone Zelda wasn’t aware of whatsoever and even her father had leaned in during the processions to ask of her name.

Aurra, however, was acutely aware of Zelda. More importantly, she knew of the Hylian Champion who slew a monstrous being of myths.

Not long after making her introductions to Princess Zelda and King Rhoam, she skipped to who was at King Rhoams side and curtsied. Before Zelda could see Link’s reaction, Prince Tyrion took up her view. She offered the appropriate pleasantries and allowed him to take her hand, but she didn’t miss when Link took Princess Aurra’s.

She made note that he didn’t bring it to his lips.

Through the day, she didn’t wander from Prince Tyrion’s side. He was an interesting man; well read and well traveled. She found him to be a fantastic conversationalist nor was she blind to his charm. Dark eyes paired with brunet hair that was shorn close to his ears, which were notably shorter than any Hylian’s - a common trait amongst his people.

However, he was also arrogant.

As King Rhoam led the party through the castle grounds, a level above the barracks and training grounds, Tyrion spoke up.

“You know, Your Majesty, I am well trained in the arts of combat,” he said with a slight smile.

Rhoam raised a brow, turning slightly to face his daughter and the Prince. Two men sparred below, each clash of their swords echoing off the walls. The King of Labrynna nodded in affirmation, a certain pride in his face. “Yes, it’s custom for our prodigy to learn the blade from young ages. Tyrion has a special affinity to it.”

“Fascinating. I hope to see your skill during your stay, young man.”

“Well,” the smile of the Prince’s face and he gestured to Link behind him. “I would be honored to spar with the Hero of Hyrule.”

Princess Aurra stopped her chattering with Link and grabbed the sleeve of his blue tunic, “Oh, brother, you will surely lose. Isn’t that right, Link?”

Zelda swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable with her familiarity with him after only hours. Even more was how unbothered he was by it.

“It surely would be quite the duel,” Rhoam mused, “As long as it has your approval, Captain.”

Link nodded Tyrion’s way, graciously, “The honor would be all mine, Your Highness.”

He said it to the Prince, but his eyes meandered to Zelda’s.

The preparation took an hour and by the time Princess took her seat overlooking the training grounds, the sun casted a golden glow over them. King Rhoam was incredibly eager for the duel, shooting secret smiles at his daughter as the two men shook hands below.

It was clear who would win to the Princess, Link was at the top of his class even before he became her attendant. She scolded herself, though, and told herself that she shouldn’t underestimate Prince Tyrion so soon.

Dimly, she could hear the two opponents giving their regards to one another. The Prince had changed into an elaborately designed sparring outfit that appeared to have leather padding laced at his forearms. Link, however, changed only into Hylian trousers.

Princess Aurra hummed next to Zelda, “Is that the magical sword? It looks normal to me.”

It wasn’t as he had chosen a Knight’s Broadsword to match Tyrion’s.

“It isn’t the Master Sword. We returned it to the pedestal after felling Calamity Ganon.”

Aurra blinked, “Together?”

Zelda politely nodded. That sword was an extension of Link and she remembered comforting him after he realized its purpose was served. The night of, she felt his tears through her nightgown and told him he was more than his destiny - they both were.

After Link gave his regards to King Rhoam and Princess Zelda, a man who had sparred prior held an arm out and shouted to begin the duel.

“Oh, how exciting!” Aurra squealed.

The two men  circled each other like vultures. Prince Tyrion was the first to push forward, a simple feint that Link sidestepped. He was testing the waters. Then, the Prince leapt forward and went for his opponent’s side, who parried without losing ground. There were several short exchanges of the Hero being passive, while Tyrion was assertive.

Before Zelda knew it, she was gripping the sides of her chair as they danced. Tyrion was grinning wildly at his stoic opponent. He hadn’t been bluffing earlier, he was skilled. The Hylian Princess had seened Link spar time and time again, never did it take so long for him to disarm his opponent in some manner. The sun beat down on them, creating glistening sweat on their skin that bled darkly through their clothes.

Suddenly, Tyrion had space for a large horizontal slash before Link could recover from a parry. Zelda let out a yelp and watched him duck into a lateral roll, regaining his senses and plenty of ground between them.

Tyrion harked out a laugh, “You are brilliant, sir!”

They were panting now and the comment brought a sideways smile to Link’s lips. “I appreciate the regard, Your Highness. You’re a remarkable swordsman.”

They took a moment to breathe and Link did the unthinkable. His Champion tunic was discarded easily to the ground and Zelda held her breath when his eyes found hers on the perch where she sat.

Princess Aurra gasped softly. Zelda didn’t blame her. Hard lines on his stomach were only more prominent in the sun and his chest heaved with his hard breaths. The lack of coverage revealed the flex of his arm as he readjusted his grip on the blade.

It wasn’t an oddity that he was now half naked. Tyrion had long let the strings that laced the neckline of his tunic loosen, leaving a large portion of his chest exposed. Considering that they were already in the heat of midsummer, the sight of shirtless men should be expected at this end of the castle. But Link, well, he was always different.

The Prince of Labrynna lunged forward with a grunt, thrusting his blade out. Where Tryion was tactful, almost mechanical, in his movements, Link was fluid. He took his opponents strikes like water, flowing into the gaps of his defenses and reevaluating in a moment’s notice. It truly was an art in Zelda’s eyes, a very dangerous art.

Much different than anything Tyrion had done, he brought his blade upward in a sideways slashing arch with a loud shout. Princess Zelda’s heart surged in her chest. Link grit his teeth and threw his weight back into a flip, landing on his feet.

Surprise registered in Tyrion’s eyes and couldn’t recover fast enough when Link brought his blade against the hilt of His Highness’s broadsword. The blade was sent skidding along the dirt.

“Ah,” Tyrion brought his hand up to further demonstrate his lack of weapon. “I yield.”

It was then that Zelda realized she was holding her breath. Her father and his guests had all stood and applauded, so she followed suit.

“Good show!” Aurra leaned on the stone wall. “Very well done!”

The two men clasped hands again with a few words of respect. The Hylian princess watched a short regaling and found an opportunity to slip away from the processions without another glance at the arena.

[maiuowrites]

Training Gone Wrong

     How long has it been, he thought… How long since he and Sans came here? Since he escaped that hell hole that he knew would have been both their graves? Where was it? How long was he aimlessly walking for? It began to blur the more Papyrus tried to think…

...Stars, it was getting difficult for him to remember anything... 

“Papy!” Came Sans voice, jolting Papyrus out of his thoughts. 

“oh... heya, bro.” Papyrus replied, rubbing his younger brothers skull with a relaxed smile. “shit, don’ scare me, thought ya were’a Mugga, heh… come ta steal m’Soul n’ all m’bones!”  

Sans only huffed, batting his brothers hand away as he put his hands on his hips. “Quit being weird, Pap! It’s training day! You promised to take Al and I out to Waterfall! What’s taking so long!?” 

Geez, his bossy little brother… How did he get like that?

“was waitin’ on yer slow butt. did’ja two eat?” Papyrus stretched, his joints letting out quiet hisses as he yawned. 

“We’ve been waiting on YOU to eat!” Sans retorted with a huff. “Did YOU?”

Papyrus folded his arms behind his head, lounging on the sofa as he closed his sockets, smirk still on his face. 

“yup.” 

“Liar!” Alphy’s came out of nowhere, slamming a plate of leftovers on his chest. “You have to eat, Papy! Or else you won’t be able to teach us… We want to know all we can before Dad gets back!” 

Papyrus left out an ‘Oof’, only to glance at the plate wearily… His appetite had driven down to the ground recently, he couldn’t even stand to smell the stuff. But looking at his siblings faces, Sans huffing and irritable expression mixed with Alphy’s worried yet stern glare, he sighed before sitting up. 

“...allright, allright… i’ll eat on th’way there, how’s tha’ sound ta ya both?” He said tiredly with a snrk, watching them both quickly bolt to grab their training gears.

“About time! Let’s go, let’s go!!” Sans practically yelled.

“Dang it, Sans! Stop! We gotta wait for Pap!” Alphy said, bolting out and holding Sans back by his clothing and weapon, creating a bickering between the two.

Sans excitement never ceased to amaze Papyrus… 

Getting up, he had spots dotting his view, but chose to quickly force a bite down of the food. Though the magic seemed to fizzle normally, he almost couldn’t handle the sensation that streamed down his bones. Hiding a gag with a cough, he went and put his shoes on quick enough, simply slipping the things on and grabbing his sweatshirt. 

He had placed the plate down, but took a napkin and wrapped the rest of the food up in his palm, putting it in his pocket for later. “Sans, Al, y’guys get’cha selves Seasalt Tea b’fer headin’ out?” 

“Eeeeew! NO! I hate that shit!” Sans growled, finally able to get Alphy off his shoulders. 

“It is not that bad, Sans.” Alphy deadpanned. “...i mean… It’s gross, but-”

“I know, i know…” Papyrus shook his head in amusement. “bu’ y’know why we need it. get yer boney butt back in thare n’ get ya n’ yer sis a couple o’bottles. er else… i’ll jus’ tell Mr. Li ya’d rather get’cha self killed early n’ not learn how ta heal yerself. he’d go on n’ on on’a rant ‘bout tha’, y’know...” 

Sans sockets went wide before he puffed his cheeks out angrily, only to quickly run back into the house as Papyrus took one last bite of what he could handle before wiping his phalanges on his pants. He stood by the door, waiting for the kids to come barreling back out as they always did, and locked the door behind them. 

Pocketing the keys, they all were off to Waterfall. 

“Why do we gotta walk, Pap? Can’t we port, like you normally do?” Alphy said, looking back.

“ya kids have so much energy… plus, consider it part o’yer trainin’. wha’ does yer Dad say all th’time, Al?” Papyrus said easily, hiding his shaking hands in his pockets.

“Can’t rely on you guys for everythiiiiiiing.” Al groaned, slumping before turning around and walking backwards. “But who else has that power?! It’s so cool, Papy!” 

“I bet i have it!” Sans said almost too proudly. “I bet I have more powers than Pap!”

“Ew, the only power you’ll have is chomping someone in half, Sans! What with them massive chompers!” Alphy teased, stretching her gums to show her own before laughing as he scowled at her.

“shhh, keep yer voices down, ya dorks.” Papyrus warned with a smile. “we’re gettin’ outta th’safe zone… r’memba, quiet is key, so watch each otha’s backs like we taught ya.” 

“Right!” They both said in unison.

Damn, it’s going to be a long walk…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     When they finally got to the Safe-zone of Waterfall, Papyrus had to sit on the ground to catch his senses. Even now, his mind was hazing a bit, but… He simply took out the remaining food and began to try and shove some of it down since his siblings pointed it out. Papyrus blamed he didn’t want people seeing him eat, because that would make him an ‘Easy Target.’

He saw the doubt in their eyes, seeing how he’s done it plenty of times before… But he reminded them that they were also with Lizando and he isn’t as young as he used to be. With that excuse, they dropped it… 

As they warmed up how Lizando showed them, Papyrus tried to eat all he could of the food, even if he was getting close to vomiting it all back up. Chasing the thought of that away, he watched them both with a certain emotion swelling in his chest of seeing his baby siblings being so old now… 

...Either with Pride or he was really close to vomiting now was hard to figure out…

Pocketing the empty napkin, he swallowed the final pieces and washed it with a swig of Seasalt tea, his bones tense as the magic coursed through him. Damn, he doesn’t understand what’s been going on recently, knowing what he’s been eating should be a lot better than what he used to get…

Ugh, he’d really have to find fresher ingredients next time, blaming it on spoiled magic.

After watching the two a bit more, making sure he could see correctly, Papyrus got up and walked over to start their training. 

“allright.” He said, accidentally startling Alphy as she left out a squeak. “...rule numba one, Al?” Chuckling with a brow raised, she slowly turned to face him.

“...Uhm… Always be ready for an attack?...” She murmured.

“yeah, n’ don’ squeak like’a chewtoy. ya want all th’dogs o’Snowdin comin’ afta ya?” 

“N-...No…” 

“good, strike next time, allright? cause who knows, it might not be me.” Papyrus said, patting her head. 

“But… I don’t wanna hurt-” “How are you going to know it’s him exactly next time someone is standing behind you?” Sans deadpanned. “Best to strike than someone backstabbing you, Al!”

“S-shut up! What if it’s someone scared then, huh?!” Alphy retorted. “What if it’s an innocent!?”

Sans took his wooden stick and took a strike at her. “Innocent my ass, if they pop up behind you; it’s only to kill! Until we get a hold of our abilities, these lousy things are only good for one thing! What does Li say!?” 

“Gah-! Sans, quit it!” Alphy took to fighting back against Sans, their sticks clashing at every blow. 

“What does he say?!” Sans growled more, getting harsher with his swinging and able to hit Alphys on her knee.

“Ouch! You-!!” Alphy boiled with rage, going after Sans. “Dad says to always anticipate the worst!” 

Papyrus stood, watching the two chase each other a bit more… Before he finally told them to come back. He chuckled as he saw Sans now had a few markings on his bone cheeks from the slaps of Alphy’s weapon, while her arms and knees held welts from Sans. 

“allright... so, were gunna practice magic t’day.” Papyrus said, watching the excitement bubble in their eyes. “bu’, we’re startin’ slow. y’guys know how ta form pellets from last trainin’… do a couple.”

The two formed their own pellet bullets, though he noticed Alphy’s had a bit of difficulty forming hers. 

“r’lax, think ‘bout a small ray’o’light, n’... thare ya guys go. good.” Papyrus praised, nodding as they both now fully formed two each. “now, y’guys recall how ta make ‘em hurt?”

“Of course!” Sans said, his sharp smile wide. “You have to feel Angry!” 

“No, you have to feel threatened!” Alphy corrected.  

Before either of them could argue, Papyrus coughed into his hand. “y’guys are on th’right track… bu’, wha’s th’ strongest emotion tha’ can cause’a Monsta damage?” 

“...Uhm… Disgust?” Alphy tilted her head. 

“No, idiot! Hatred!” Sans rolled his eyelights.

Papyrus snrked. “right, hatred. bu’ Al, disgust is one o’hatreds many different forms. howeva, ya can even be filled wit’ hate n’ it still won’ cause any effect… why is tha’?”

“Oh! Because one needs the intent to harm!” Alphy’s eyes went wide, Sans pouted at not being able to answer first. 

“correct. ya gotta both hate n’ wanna harm someone in orda ta do damage… bu’ tha’s fer’a stronger effect. so long as ya guys have jus’ th’intent ta harm, any negative emotion b’hind it will be’a boost.” 

Papyrus took a moment to look around before landing his sights on a couple of red echo flowers. With a grin, it would be the perfect target for the two since they’re fully made of negativity, the words alone would get a small monster absolutely furious. 

“see th’Echos ova thare?” Papyrus pointed to the small bundle of red that was by a tree. “get closer n’ shoot at ‘em. think o’th most disgustin’ thing ya can, or somethin’ ya hate th’most, n’ try ta rip th’Echo’s flower petals wit’ th’intent ta harm it.” 

The two looked over and began to get closer, only to halt at the same time. Apparently the two looked at one another with challenging smiles, perhaps whispering bets that they picked up the habit of doing, to probably see who gets the other's treats for the next week. 

Papyrus watched as Alphy’s went first, her first pellet coming and just grazing a petal that earned her a few curse words from the Flower itself. 

“s’allright, Al. use them words ta fuel yer intent.” Papyrus encouraged. 

Alphy nodded, taking her other pellet, carefully aiming… And getting the Echo smack dab in the middle, completely shutting it up. 

“I DID IT!” She screeched in glee, jumping. 

“Show off! Move over!” Sans scowled at her, quick to take her spot and aim for another flower… Before something else caught his eye. 

Before Papyrus could tell what, Sans went and shot his pellet out over the bundle of red Echo’s, only for a sudden deep, guttural growl to come out that shocked all three of them. 

“Sans, th’hell did’ja aim for!?” Papyrus quickly got to the two, grabbing them by the back of their shirts and keeping them close, getting ready to take a quick port. 

“I-... I-I thought it was a hive!” Sans stuttered, trying to get his balance as Alphy clung to Papyrus’ pant leg.

“even if it was, ya fuckin’ aim wha’ i tell ya ta aim at! undastand?!” Papyrus began to drag them both back as his sockets grew, seeing what Sans aimed to start moving.

A low growl was coming from the large forming Creature, the welt from the child in clear view until Papyrus realized what it was… 

[crookswithbooks]

More Than Just A Friend

Day Four - Kris is feeling uncertain doing the holidays without Asriel, and Susie discovers hidden feelings within herself. 

Susie shifted on the bed, shooting nervous glances over at Kris every once in a while, who sat reading a book, some comic or another, completely oblivious to Susie’s inner turmoil.

When Kris had asked her to stay for the holidays, as she had no one else to stay with, she had accepted immediately, feeling grateful and a little bashful that Kris thought of her at all. But now that she was here, in Kris’s room filled with things that made him Kris, she began to think about the long night (nights? They hadn’t quiet discussed how long this was lasting) ahead of them. Where would she sleep? Where would she get changed? Where would he get changed? Would they stay in the same bed? The questions swirled around in her head, making her more and more nervous as time went on, and Kris sitting there as if everything was completely normal was not helping.

Susie’s feelings for Kris were a recent development, one that had crept up on her quietly and quite unwillingly. She had noticed it one day when he had accidentally bumped her arm and her heart did backflips in her chest. She had tried to shove it down and keep her from accidentally ruining things with the only friend she had.

Though technically not only friend, if you counted Ralsei and Lancer; but that was still up for debate, whether they were even real or just figments of her imagination, all of which was all kinds of messed up if you though about it.

She had thought she had been dealing with these new feelings pretty well thus far, but being suddenly thrust into the same house as Kris for a week (weeks? Seriously she had no idea how long she was staying) was not doing any favors to her already raging crush.

“Sooo…” Susie started, after a minute of unbearable silence had passed. “What, uh, what have you been up to?”

Kris looked up at the sound of her voice, putting down his comic. “Nothing much. Hanging out with you, I guess.” He picked at a hole in his jeans that she hadn’t noticed before. “I got a letter from Asriel.”

“Yeah?” The subject of Kris’s brother was not one that came up often, and it was a rare moment when Kris himself brought him up. “What’d he have to say?”

Kris shrugged, ripping the whole wider. “Nothing much. Wished me a merry Christmas. He said things in college were going well, that he’d started to make a bunch of new friends.”

“That’s good,” Susie said, offering an encouraging smile, a rare gesture for her. “Right?”

Kris nodded, but his expression was vacant and closed-off, a look Susie was starting to get more and more familiar with. “Yeah, I guess.”

He picked back up his book and she realized with horror that the silence was going to begin again, but he paused, turning to look at her. “Hey, have you ever been kissed before?”

Her heart just about exploded in her chest at his words. “Uh… what?” she stuttered as he stared at her with innocent eyes. Two seconds ago they were talking about his brother and now he suddenly bombarded her with this? Where the hell was this going and how did they get here?

Kris scooched forward, which did not help. “A couple of the kids at school were talking about their first kisses and it got me thinking.” He crossed his legs, peering up at her. “So, have you?”

Susie could feel the burning on her cheeks and she only hoped that Kris didn’t notice. “Uh, yeah, of course I have.”

This was a lie. She had spent so long pushing people out of her life and cutting herself off from any potential friends, that she had never gotten close enough with someone for kissing to even be a possibility.

“I haven’t,” he confessed honestly, sitting back which she was both grateful of and disappointed by. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like, but I’ve never found someone who likes me in that way.”

Susie snorted at the irony of the sentence. “Really? You?”

Kris narrowed his eyes at that, frowning in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Susie was spared having to answer, as at that moment the door swung open and Toriel stuck her head in, smiling when she saw the two of them. The minute she opened the door the smell of fresh-baked gingerbread wafted through the room, and Susie could feel her mouth watering.

“I just wanted to tell you two that dinner’s ready.” The goat was staring between them with a knowing smile that made Susie flush, avoiding her gaze. The idea that even Kris’s mom knew about her feelings made her wonder how obvious she had been. Did Kris know? The thought made her stomach squirm uncomfortably, like there was a giant, nervous worm trapped inside.

“Make sure you wash your hands first, and for goodness sake’s Kris, clean up the mess on your floor.” Toriel gave him a stern look before disappearing back out into the hall, closing the door gently behind her.

Kris reluctantly slid off her bed, picking up the various comics and clothes spread about the room, spilling a pile of colored pencils into an emptied out pickle jar. Susie watched him do this, still jittery from the earlier question, not sure if she should bring it back up or let it go.

She still couldn’t believe that Kris hadn’t been kissed before. When they had travelled to the Darkworld he had been so kind to everyone, sometimes even being a little too nice, though she hadn’t known why it bothered her at the time. Surely he must have dated someone before.

“You coming?”

Kris was standing by the doorway staring expectantly at her, and she realized that he had finished while she was lost in thought.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” She shoved past him, ruffling his hair as she went.

“Susie,” he complained, ducking under her and glaring up at her. Despite his annoyance, she couldn’t help but find it cute when he tried to be angry. That was her thing, not his.

Dinner was spent in quiet silence as Susie shoveled food into her mouth, feeling a part of her soul die and go to heaven with every bite. It was a beautiful roast turkey with thick gravy drizzled generously over it, and combined with the mashed potatoes Susie might as well have been eating like a king. Kris picked quietly at his food, his mind seemingly elsewhere. Susie paused in her inhales, wondering if she should ask him about it.

Toriel beat her to it, however, turning her kind eyes towards Kris. “So honey, how have things been in school?”

Kris shrugged, the same noncommittal answer as earlier when Susie had asked him. “It’s been fine. Mr. Papyrus taught us how to make spaghetti in class today, for the third time in a row. We keep telling him we want to learn other stuff, but he insists that pasta is, quote, the greatest food item in the world and the most important foundation for learning to cook. I’m not so convinced. I’m not sure how many more ways we can learn to make pasta.”

Toriel smiled graciously, shaking her head. “Just the same as when we were kids. And you, Susie?”

Susie snapped her head up, surprised to be addressed. Gravy dripped down her chin and she wiped it off quickly. “What?”

“How are things going in school with you?” she repeated promptingly.

“Oh. Uh… nothing much, I guess. Haven’t been getting as much detention recently, as you probably already know.”

Toriel smiled wryly. “Yes, I’ve noticed, and I’ve been glad for it. I wouldn’t want Kris hanging out with someone who’s a bad influence.”

Susie nodded humbly, going back to her food, but Kris stood up from the table. Toriel and Susie both looked at him in surprise. “I’d like to be excused, please.” He whirled around, rushing out of the room suddenly.

Toriel stared after him in shock. “He barely even touched his food.”

Susie felt worry blossom in her chest. “I’ll go check on him, make sure he’s okay.”

Toriel smiled gratefully. “Would you? Thank you, honey.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Susie said, blushing at the nickname and hurrying off.

She found Kris in the living room, curled up on the couch. He had a book in his hands but his eyes scanned the pages dully, not taking in the words. She sat down next to him, feeling awkward and bulky next to his tiny frame. The sheer amount of awkwardness she felt around Kris nowadays days was wholly unfair.

She coughed to announce her presence and Kris glanced up. “Oh. Hey.”

“Hey,” she agreed. “So, uh, what was all that about?”

“Oh, that.” Kris looked back down at his book, flipping a page. “That was nothing. I just wasn’t hungry.”

“Kris.” Susie raised an eyebrow.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Kris.”

Kris sighed, leaning his head back. “Fine.” He crossed his arms, not looking at her. “I just don’t like the way mom talks about you sometimes. Like you’re some kind of miscreant that’s leading me off the path of good, whatever the hell that means.”

Susie raised an eyebrow at the curse, but inside she was touched that Kris cared about her that much. She nudged his arm, grinning. “Aw, dude.”

Kris blushed, shoving her away. “Shut up. It’s just… I care about you, you know? You’re my only friend, and I hate that mom disapproves.”

Although the sentiment touched her, the word friend echoed around in her head, reminding her that that’s all they were. Friends.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean it like that,” Susie reassured him. “She just doesn’t want you to do poorly in school on my account. I think she was just teasing, anyway.” She frowned, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not all this is about, is it?”

“No,” Kris sighed, looking away. “It’s also my first Christmas without Asriel here. It’s just weird not having him around the house, singing Christmas songs and helping to decorate the tree. I guess I just got used to things being a certain way and now they’re…”

“Not?” Susie finished.

“Yeah,” Kris agreed.

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them unsure what to say next. Finally Kris leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. Susie froze, her body tingling with sudden electricity. “Thanks for being here,” Kris said, fiddling with his hands. “I really do mean it. Thanks for coming and spending the holidays with us when you didn’t have to.”

Slowly Susie relaxed, her expression settling into a smile. “Of course, man. If anything I should be thanking you for giving me somewhere to be for the holidays.”

Kris nuzzled closer and Susie relaxed against him, glancing up at the twirling paper snowflakes above them. That was when she noticed it. Mistletoe, hanging right above the two of them.

Susie snapped her gaze down to Kris, who noticed the sudden tension in his friend. “What is it?” he asked, sitting up much to her disappointment.

She pointed up, hoping he wouldn’t notice the furious blush on her face. Kris saw the mistletoe and his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh. Mistletoe.”

Susie was already making up excuses, blustering and gesturing wildly. “We don’t have to or anything. It’s a stupid tradition anyway and I wouldn’t want to make things weird, so it’s totally cool if you don’t want to—”

Kris cut her off, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened as she felt his soft lips, softer than you would think a boy’s lips would be. He pulled away, staring at her, his eyes just as wide as hers as though he hadn’t quite realized what he was doing.

Susie jerked back instinctively and Kris’s face fell immediately. “I’m sorry,” he said, holding up his hands apologetically. “I didn’t mean to, it just kinda—”

The rest of his sentence broke off as she grabbed him, kissing him again. A part of her didn’t believe what she was doing, but another part of her felt completely clam, as if kissing your best friend wasn’t a weird thing to do. They stayed like that for a minute, their lips locked together, and when they finally pulled apart both of them were panting for breath.

“Um, excuse me?”

They jerked around to look at Toriel, staring with a smirk between the two teens. “I was just gonna ask if you wanted some cookies, but maybe I should leave you two alone…?”

“Mom!” Kris exclaimed, his face going bright red. Susie would have been embarrassed as well but the sight of his blushing face was so uncharacteristically adorable that she couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Right, right, of course,” Toriel said, winking subtly as she left the room. “I’ll just leave you two alone then to... continue your business. 

“Mom,” Kris groaned again as she left, burying his face in Susie’s shoulder. Susie glanced down at him, grinning a little. He glared up at her, but there was no venom in his gaze. “Oh shut up you.”

“Gladly,” she responded, pulling him in for another kiss.

Maybe the holidays weren’t going to be so bad after all…

[a-snow-decahedron]

Late saturday fics tend to be a bit more impulsive than usual, but I've wantd to write this small idea I had and finally got around to it.

It's set in the same "universe" as "A Flower's Guide" But it can be read without prior context.

Read this oneshot on AO3

Who cares about a name, anyways?

The world around him had changed drastically ever since he awakened. He didn’t notice at first, though. His first instinct was to find someone, and after endless hours of calling out, his father heard his call. He didn’t look a day older than he remembered. And when the flower spoke, the monster’s eyes filled with tears. He said he had never seen a flower cry before. Let alone one that sounded so familiar. The flower told him his name.

“It’s Asriel.”

The man tried to hug his son as best as he could. He fetched a pot for the Prince, and took the boy home. He did his best to make the place better for Asriel. He got the dusty children’s books from the shelves at home to read before bedtime. Asgore carried the flower pot as they gardened together...

But this wasn’t his life. He didn’t love Asgore. In a way, he knew Asgore was his father, but it didn’t feel that way. There was a lack of love within him. He realized that he didn’t care. Nothing in that house felt like himself. Asgore tried hard to make it feel like nothing had changed, when things would never be the same. And he knew he was different when the royal scientist came home one day, and informed the king that he had no soul. Perhaps that was the reason he was like this?

It didn’t make sense to live with Asgore anymore, so he left. There had to be some place for him. An idea crossed his mind. Mom was gone… Or was she still “mom”? Maybe she had changed as much as he did. He knew where to look. He crawled into the soil of the King’s garden and moved, making a tunnel beneath the ground.

Eventually. he found Toriel. She didn’t look a day older than he remembered. But when he told her he was “Asriel” the pain in her face became apparent. She did what she could for Asriel. She showed the boy around the ruins she had made her home again. She took her child to the sunlight. She let the Prince rule over the piles of leaves with a fist of iron, in a metaphorical sense.

And yet, as much as she had become different because of pain. Toriel didn’t mean anything to him. He just couldn’t care.

A world without love is not worth living in. He decided his existence just wasn’t meant to be. And so, the same way a gardener cuts the weeds, he ended his life.

But something primal burning within him made him go back. He was back at the start. He knew where he was this time. He waited, and as the lights around him grew brighter, and left.

He followed this ritual many times. He learnt a lot about this world. Apparently, a lot had changed. He still called himself Asriel. Some people laughed like it was a joke, some of them cried like he was their son. Others praised his existence and he hated every second of it. Soon he realized: it wasn’t his life, and it wasn’t the life he wanted to live.

The name seemed to carry too much history of someone he would never be again. Chara would understand, they always did. They once told him they had chosen their name. That their old one belonged to someone they could never aspire to be. So maybe… he could choose one too? But just like Asgore, he was lousy at them. Nothing stuck.

One day, he met quite an eccentric monster. His name was Papyrus, and he trained every day with Undyne, leader of the Royal Guard. The odd thing about him was how different he was from everyone else. Everywhere the skeleton went, he was beaming with joy and curiosity. He seemed oblivious of the problems of the world. Therefore, his apparent naivety made him the perfect victim.

How would someone like Papyrus react to Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of All Monsters, now in the shape of a flower with a tragic backstory for the cherry on the top? Well, he just had to find out! A smile spread across his face. Perhaps he couldn’t really say Asriel was really him anymore, but he could just turn back time anyways if it turned out to be a bad idea. It was just a matter of wanting to do it.

“Howdy!” He made a rehearsed friendly smile.

“Hello there, little flower!” The cheerful skeleton turned to face the flower, pausing his puzzle calibration. “I’ve never seen a monster like you over here.”

“Well that’s because I’m new in town!” He feigned innocence. Should he mess around first or tell him his name right away?

“Wowie, what do you think of Snowdin so far? Do you like it? I, the Great Papyrus, can make a full tour for you!”

Or perhaps he could let the other guide the conversation, he thought.

Papyrus didn’t wait for his answer, and began talking non-stop about his day, his new puzzles and every small thing that came to the skeleton’s mind. Some of it was absurd, and sounded like he was trying to pull an elaborate prank but the punchline never came in, and the flower started worrying Papyrus really meant everything he said.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” The flower had let him do all the talking, but if he wanted to test his theory he couldn’t keep waiting. It was pointless, even if Papyrus's words had been interesting so far. Well, interestingly stupid, of course.

“Is there anything better than talking to my precious guest?” The plant creature pointed to one of the puzzles that still had its spikes retreated. “Forget about that, my brother can deal with it if he ever decides to get something done for once, nyeh heh heh”

“You don’t even know who you waste your time with!” He feigned indignation.

“What do you mean? You’re the only talking golden flower out there! I would recognize you everywhere!”

“I meant you don’t know my name! Are you an idiot? Braindead?”

“I don’t think that last one applies here.” Papyrus pointed to his skull.

“I don’t care!” The flower shouted harshly. Papyrus raised a brow. In a more stable tone, the flower continued: “Well, aren’t you supposed to know who you talk to? What if I was, say, the king in disguise, and you didn’t know?”

“O-ho! Interesting theory! Why would the king be here?” The flower wanted to bury himself on the snow and just give up already. Still, he had to at least try.

“Don’t be silly! Are you messing with me on purpose?”

“I am not!” Papyrus swore, shaking his head. “But I apologize for any offending act of rudeness from my person. After all, I strive to be as accommodating as possible. Nothing but the best.” He cleared his throat, how he did that without a throat to begin with was a mystery. He leaned down to face the flower eye to eye. “Who are you, flower pal?”

“Hee Hee Hee. None other than Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of the Underground.”

“Are you sure?”

“What do you mean by “are you sure”? Of course I am, I wear my name with pride. Just because I look different doesn’t mean I’m lying!” Papyrus analyzed him carefully, his empty sockets glancing at every inch of his stem and petals.

He looked reflexive for a moment. “I don’t get it.”

“What’s so hard to process? I just told you the truth! I just look different, unless you’re so ignorant you don’t even recognize my name…” The flower figured that could be the only explanation for the skeleton’s attitude. For him, usually just reshaping his face to look like his old one and using the same voice was enough proof for anyone who didn’t believe him right away.

Papyrus interrupted his thoughts. “But of course I do remember your name, my friend Flowey!”

Or maybe he was just dumb.

“Don’t you listen? Flowey is not a name and it sounds stupid!” There was no way Papyrus wasn’t at least pulling his leg... figuratively.

“Well I think you look like a Flowey!” Papyrus gave him his most sincere smile. “Or perhaps… Flowery is a good option? You could also be a Flowell…”

“This isn’t funny, I’m outta here!” He tried moving across the place, only to find himself trapped in a puzzle room surrounded by tall spikes. He growled, as the structure didn’t move despite the bullets he threw at it.

“Oh, how careless of me. Stay there for a moment!” He watched as the skeleton started digging around him, pulling him out of his hole. With utmost care, Papyrus lifted him. His stem shivered as he felt the change in perspective. He was always stuck to the ground. This was the first time he wasn’t.

“What do you think you’re doing to me?”

“Carrying you out of here, as you seem so eager to do.” Papyrus replied, and after a strong step of his boots, his body lifted from the ground.

The flower watched in awe as the skeleton walked in the air, perfectly avoiding the puzzle. Perhaps there was more to this guy? Was it really worth it to find out now? In the end, he figured he would eventually hang out with Papyrus too, whenever other people proved to be predictable. Well, why not keep this path now instead of later? He… enjoyed the view, at least.

Papyrus put him down and sat next to him. He patted the back of his head, behind his petals, like one would pat a child for comfort. “I’m very sorry, my friend. I’ve been rude to you.” The flower motioned for him to continue. ”It is just, you seemed a little conflicted back there. Did something upset you?”

No response.

“Flo— Asriel. I will never call you by a name you don’t want to again. I want you to know I really liked hanging out with you.”

“Whatever, I don’t care. Who are you to me, anyways?”

“Great question! A friend, perhaps. I’d like to be known as The Great Papyrus too! But do I know who Papyrus is, anyways?” Papyrus shrugged. “Perhaps what I should tell you is that despite everything, you’re still you! You will figure yourself out”

The flower narrowed its big black pupils, not quite sure what to make of the advice.

“Ah, already questioning things, I see. My lessons are working!” Papyrus stood up again, shaking the snow off his clothes.

“Well, friend, I hope we see each other again!”

The rest of the day wasn’t as eventful as that conversation. Papyrus words still lingered on his mind as he messed around with some strangers, and got someone to buy food at the town’s restaurant. Apparently, because of his conversation with Papyrus, he missed out on the debut of the fifteenth movie by the Underground’s greatest celebrity. Well, those were things he could look into now after wastingm this day. When he loaded his save, he went to Hotland instead, and talked to a couple of diamond heads about Mettaton’s debut.

One of them asked him for his name, so they could hang out the next day.

Impulsively, he replied: “I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower.”

Eventually, it just stuck with him. If people remembered or not it didn’t matter. It was just a made up name and it did the job better than saying he was Asriel ever did.

He kind of thought it fit who he had become.

Not a Prince, just a nobody.

Not a boss monster, just a flower

Not Asriel, with a whole reputation and history to weigh on his stem, just Flowey.

He chose that name.

And after a few dozen resets the story behind that name didn’t matter enough to be remembered.

[auspicious-lilana]

Two Cats, One Heart (Chat Noir x reader)

Summary: Y/n Ross and Adrian Agreste are childhood best friends, they’ve been through thick and thin, including losing their mom, and dad. Since then Y/n’s mom made her live with Adrian at his mansion and forever leaving her life. Watch as their lives Change as they become the new heroes of Paris alongside Ladybug and see how Romance sprouts between the two models.

Part 1 |  Part 2 |  Part 3 | Part 4  | Part 5 

(Make sure to comment! It brings me motivation seeing them!)

{Y/n's POV}

"Have any 2 of hearts?" I asked. We were waiting on Alya's blog live stream that she posted would happen later on while Alpha and I played card games for the meantime.

"Darling, no. I'm the king of games". Alpha cockingly remarked as I scoffed. "Go fish"

"If you're so good, tell me why you lost the last 10 games we played and now I'm here beating your butt in Go fish" I confidently said as I picked up another card from the deck.

"I was only warming up for this game!" Alpha countered. "Any Queen of hearts?"

"You said that 9 games ago, go fish" Alpha picked up a card and placed it on the desktop stand he was using to hold and hide his cards.

"Well this is was my final warm-up"

"Whatever helps you sleep. Any 5 of diamonds?" Alpha huffed as he handed me the card as I smiled placing it in my pile of other matched cards. "Your pile seems awfully short of matchings" I snickered.

"Hush child, I'm just going easy on you" Alpha snapped. "A Kawami treats its owner well. Any Joker?"

"My last card. Here you go" I said happily as he placed it in his matching pile before sighing as he saw the stock empty as I smirked." I won, again"

"There's one thing you can't beat me at". Alpha confidently said.

"What?" I said curiously.

"A bet" I raised my eyebrow, signaling him to explain further. "I bet you, the pretty boy is head over heels with you, and if you ever asked him to a date, he'd say yes" I scoffed and shook my head.

"He's not into me".

"That's what she said" I rolled my eyes.

"Besides, I'm in love with someone else," I said sighing as I looked at my poster wall.

"I know, I know. Mr. I'm the best Cat, Chat Noir."

"Hang on, 'cause we're going for a ride. Freak out! What you got here is no ordinary book, it's a tenth-grade history book. And I should know, 'cause I've got this very same book. Could our very own Ladybug be a high school student, in real life?" Alya said in her live as we seemed to missed a part of it while we were talking. I looked at it in awe.

"Ladybug going to our high school?" I thought about it before I grinned. "What if Chat Noir also goes to our school too?!"

"Don't you think you know him then?" Alpha said as he reached for his brownie and taking a bite. "Why bother yourself with cocky cats  when you could be enjoying this?"

"First of all, Cocky cats last longer than a single brownie, and they are much better looking."

"Your loss"

"My only loss is my appetite right now, you are aware you're eating a week old brownie, right?"

"The older it is, the more flavory." I cringed as Alya went live again.

" OH MY GOSH, Coming to you live, Lady blog viewers, I'm at the scene even before Ladybug, Lady Wolf or Cat Noir! This is insane!" I saw an akumatized person which caught me off guard as I stared at the screen shocked with my jaw dropped.

"Love the face change," Alpha snickered. "Total improvement." I glared at him as I showed my wrist with my miraculous.

"Time to transform," Alpha groaned as he finished the brownie in one gulp. "Alpha, Tails out!"

***

By the time I got there, Chat was also there. We met up in front of the museum as we saw the akumatized victim pull the metal bars from the museum lockdown as we looked at him with a cocky grin.

"Nice of you to hold the door open for us," I said with a confident grin before Chat and I tried to attack him before he dodged and grabbed our legs, throwing us into a coffin, which closed on us.

"Well, this wasn't what I was imagining when I said I wanted us to get some alone time," Chat jokes as I blush while I scoffed.

"What did you imagine?"

"For me to know, and you to never find out." I was pressed to his chest as he placed his hands around my waist to make it less uncomfortable. Soon Ladybug pulled the coffin open as I quickly got out as Chat did too.

"Hiding behind an innocent bystander!" Chat yelled. "You're weak, Pharaoh!" Pharaoh walked through the cage with Alya on his shoulders.

"I'm way more powerful than you are." The Pharaoh used his strength to close the bars and walked away.

"And don't forget! All the latest behind the scenes are on my blog!" I heard Alya exclaim.

"Alya is sure one brave character." I sweatdropped.

"If by brave, you mean bossy, feisty, and bold?" Ladybug asked. "Yup, that's her! Come on, get us out of here, Cat Noir!"

"Cataclysm!" Chat used his power to break the bars. "How are we gonna find them?" He asked as we ran.

"Alya's got a live stream on her blog!" Ladybug said as she and I brought out our yoyo/staff to watch the live stream.

"Hi, everyone! Alya here, live blogging from the shoulder of the terrifying villain! Huge scoop to come, stay tuned!" Chat's ring began to beep constantly.

"You two go ahead." Chat said. "I'll join you guys as soon as my Miraculous is charged up again."

"Hurry," I said. "It's going to take the three of us to defeat him." Chat nodded as we ran separate ways. Chat going back and ladybug and I chasing after Pharaoh to stall.

We watched the live stream to see Alya was going to be used as an offering.

"We better hurry," Ladybug said as I nodded before we ran right into a bubble which slowed us down.

"Oh no," I groaned as Ladybug tried to pound on her. "Can't believe we ran straight into a time bubble,"

"We've got to get out of this!" Ladybug said as I chuckled. I bet we sound and look as slow as a snail in the outside.

"ladybug! Lady Wolf! this is Alya! I just found out I'm the sacrificial offering to the sun god! Please hurry!" Alya said into her live stream.

"Hold on, Alya." Ladybug muttered. "I'm nearly there," Ladybug began to run as I glanced at her bubble and started to chuckle. She looked so funny in slow-motion. I began to run, it was the most we could do before I saw Chat pop her bubble with his baton before popping mines as I stumbled and fell onto his chest as he held me.

"Thanks for waiting around for me," Chat joked as I got up with a grin.

"No problem," I played along.

"Now we need to get to Alya quickly." Ladybug said as we ran outside. We peeked outside to see Mummies blocking the view.

"We can't see the Akuma or the girl!" I exclaimed before we all went up to the roof.

"Over there," Chat pointed as we spotted the Akuma and Alya before we began to watch the live stream from ladybug's yoyo.

"Whoa, back up! Who are those goddess chicks with the black spots and wolf ears! There, on your papyrus!" Alya exclaimed.

"Ladybug and Lady Wolf. My sworn enemies!" The Pharaoh angrily yelled. "My two greatest nemeses may have kept me from carrying out my ritual 5000 years ago, but they will not stop Nefertiti from coming back to me this time! especially that annoying wolf"

"Did you say..." Alya trailed off shocked. "Ladybug and Lady Wolf, 5000 years ago?!"

"Everyone does have a past they can learn from." Ladybug said as I stood surprised. Guess you really do really learn something new every day as a miraculous holder.

"Well," Chat said inspecting me with a grin. "You don't look a day over 3000."

"Now you know why we're so much wiser than you!" Ladybug said with a grin as I frowned.

"I am not annoying!" The Pharaoh began a ritual as a beam shot from the sky as the mummies carried Alya as she struggled.

"Ladybug! Lady Wolf!" She yelled as Ladybug got serious.

"We've gotta save her before he completes the ritual or Alya will be gone, forever!" Ladybug exclaimed.

"What should we do?" Chat asked.

"You hold back the mummies while Lady Wolf and I take on the Pharaoh."

"Why do I have to deal with these freaks while you two get to slip calmly round back?"

"Because Ladybug is the only one who can capture his Akuma, I am the one he hates the most and you're the bravest one out of the three of us," I winked as Chat playfully rolled his eyes.

"Sure," He said before Ladybug swung off. "I know you don't really think that, but I'll pretend you do."

"Don't worry," I said turning around. "I genuinely do," Chat's eyes widened as I smiled before going after Ladybug.

Ladybug and I went around as Chat went to distract the mummies.

"Hey there, you bunch of bandages!" Chat yelled from his spot sitting on the street lamb. "What do you say we wrap this up!" He grinned.

"Chat noir!" Alya exclaimed.

"Seize him!" The Pharaoh yelled as the mummies ran after him.

"Is that really as fast as you can go?" Chat taunted as he leaped from one street lamb to another.

"Wait, this looks... like a trap!" The Pharaoh exclaimed a bit too late as Ladybug swung by and got Alya. "Horus! Give me your wings!" I threw a pole at him which slowed him down as I went up to Ladybug only to have Alya's phone shoved in my face.

"Thanks for saving my butt!" She exclaimed. "You all just witnessed our favorite heroines save yet another citizen."

"Oh, uh, you're welcome. But it's not over yet." I said as Ladybug nodded.

"Not until--"

"Not until Ladybug destroys the pendant containing the akuma, and turns everything back to normal" Alya cut off Ladybug. "I pay attention"

"The Pendant!" The two heroines exclaimed. "Good eye!"

"Ah!" Alya yelled as Pharaoh knocked Ladybug and I off the building as Ladybug used her yoyo to ease her fall as I balanced myself with my staff. Ladybug soon caught Alya's phone as The Pharaoh carried her.

"Help me! Ladybug! Lady Wolf!" She yelled as Ladybug and I were fighting off the mummies as the Pharaoh placed Alya on the light beam. We then saw a car about to be thrown at Chat as Ladybug used her yoyo to pull him out of there.

"Chat Noir!" She yelled. "This way!" Chat Noir followed us as we ran inside the bus, Chat going under as the two of us got out quickly once locking the mummies in the bus as Chat flipped it over with his staff.

"We have to save Alya before she gets to the circle of darkness." Ladybug said as we nodded along as we ran towards the beam only to be stopped my the Pharaoh.

"You will not stop me from bringing Nefertiti back!" He growled. "I'll finish you off! Anubis, bring me mummies!" He began to shoot beams at us as we had to keep dodging it. Ladybug used her yoyo to tight him up for a small distraction as Chat and I used our staffs to leap over him as we began to quickly climb up the glass pyramid with our claws. "Horus, Give me your wings!" Pharaoh began to fly, dragging Ladybug in the air as Chat and I ducked low as he flew up ahead. Ladybug reached to his back as she broke the string of the pendant and threw it down.

"Chat Noir! Lady Wolf! The pendant!" We pounced down as we ran towards the falling pendant as Ladybug already jumped off his back using the yoyo to safely land as all three of us ran for the pendant only for Pharaoh to beat us to it as he stood next to it, stopping us in our trails.

"Sekhmet, give me your strength!" The Pharaoh used his strength to cause a sonic wave which knocked us down as we were soon surrounded by mummies. "It's over," He picked up his pendant.

"Ladybug!" Alya yelled. "Save me!"

"Oh, Ra, god of the sun, accept this humble offering and return the princess to ME!" The Pharaoh chanted.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug said as a polka dotted box containing Lady Wolf outfit set was in it. "A Lady Wolf outfit?"

"That's our last hope?" Chat asked. Ladybug used her thinking vision and the bracelet in the costume caught her eyes.

"This offering isn't good enough for Nefertiti!"

"Hey! Thanks a lot!" Alya defensivly yelled.

"Too late, Ladybug!" The Pharoah said. "The ritual has begun!"

"Set Alya free and sacrifice Lady Wolf instead!" Lady Wolf gasped as she stared at her.

"Hey!" Ladybug didn't look at her as she gave her a identical bracelet of her miraculous behind her back as Lady Wolf grinned slightly as she swiped it, swiftly covering her real bracelet with the fake one. "Wouldn't that be the sweetest revenge? 5000 years later! After all, Me and Lady Wolf are the ones who kept Nefertiti from you all these years! And you always said she was the most annoying!"

"It's true that she'd make a much more precious offering than this mortal." Pharaoh took Lady Wolf's hand. "Horus, give me your wings!"

"Seriously?" Alya said as Pharaoh threw her off the beam as Ladybug caught her. "Excuse you, but I make excellent sacrificing material!"

"You win, Pharaoh..." I pretend to take off my bracelet, then tricked the Pharaoh and grabbed his pendent without his knowledge. " You want my miraculous? Go get it!" She threw her fake bracelet. Pharaoh went after it only to find it's fake a bit too late.

"A toy?" The Pharaoh screeched. "You tricked me!" Lady Wolf punched the pendant and threw it down for Ladybug to get the akuma.

"No more evil doing for you, little Akuma! Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug caught the akuma. "Gotcha!" Ladybug purifed the Akuma before releasing it. "Bye, Bye, little butterfly!" She then threw the lucky charm in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Everything began to turn back to normal as Lady Wolf slid down the glass pyramid.

"Thanks, Ladybug! But, uh, I still gotta ask: how old are you, really?"

"Much older than a high school student, that's for sure!" Ladybug swung away.

"Don't you wanna know how old I am?" Chat asked as he smirked.

"Looks like I'll be able to tell for myself." Alya pointed at his ring to show he was about to turn back as he panicked and ran off as Lady Wolf and Alya chuckled.

"Well, that's my cue to leave." I left without another word as I headed back in my room before changing back.

"Man am I tired." Alpha complained as he tiredly flew to the plate of brownies left on her desk.

"How come you never told me you annoyed more people than just me?" I asked.

"What do you mean annoyed?"

"Well, during the fight. there was another Lady Wolf 5000 years ago."

"Oh,"

"Was there really more Lady Wolf's before me?"

"Many,"

"At least now I know I'm not the first to be stuck with you," I playfully sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean!" I chuckled as I sat down on my chair.

"Nothing."

"Y/n!!!"

[1-800-roflmao]

Wash Day Delight Pt. 3

Rating:  General Audiences

WARNINGS:  None

Fandom:  Undertale (Video Game)

Relationships:  Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus (Undertale) & Reader,  Papyrus (Underfell) & Reader

Characters:  Papyrus (Undertale), Reader, Edge (UF Pap), and Mentions of Other AU Skeletons

Additional Tags:  Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), reader is poc, Reader has curly hair,  Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Friendship, Wholesome, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I'm Bad At Summaries, Not Beta Read, Romance if you squint, Subtext, Let Papyrus be Sassy, Edge Is The Unwilling Dad Friend, Idiots in Love, Fluff and Humor, Slice of Life

*I was vague with reader's scent on purpose. Some of use love coconut milk or oil or Shea butter, but it's not universal. I like Manuka honey blends~

And it's always the bra that get ditched first!

PREVIOUS || FIRST || NEXT

“So, what took so long with Mrs. Ida?” She had just finished locking up the house and they were now descending the back staircase.  It had been a mad dash to get finished and out the door since she flustered Papyrus in the bathroom.  If it was petty vengeance for teasing him, she didn’t know, but he had threatened to carry her out in a much similar way to how he does with Sans if she didn’t “MAKE HASTE.”  Needless to say, she hadn’t been given a moment until now to inquire what had happened earlier that evening.  “I was startin’ ta wonder if you’d gotten lost…” she mumbled, her tone giving away just how worried she had been despite trying to joke it off now.  She could hear him lightly click his teeth in acknowledgement.  

“Mrs. Ida Had Not Driven Here,” he started and she arched a brow before chuckling as it clicked.  How had she not considered a woman of Ida’s age might not drive?  Would it have been presumptuous to have asked though?  “She Had Said She ‘Caught’ A Cab, But Not Literally,” he was rambling a bit, but she wasn't complaining.  She lifted her gaze from the paved pathway they were walking along and up to her friend.  She could hear an edge of bashfulness to his voice as he admitted the old woman taught him about “euphemisms.”  His retelling was quickly veering off into a tangent, ranging from complaining and praising the many different facets of language to pondering if it was worth getting his brother some study materials.  He griped it was a fifty-fifty chance to either improve his jokes and puns, or make them so much worse.  

“Oh, I think it’d be worth it!” she piped up, looking away as he cut off his rant and directed his gaze down at her.  She didn’t need to look at him right now.  She could very easily guess his expression and just knew those sockets of his were narrowing as he sent her a suspicious look.  

A beat of silence then “THEN I WILL LEAVE SANS ALONE.” 

She fought back a giggle, “Aw, c’mon!  Don’t you want his puns to be up to your standards?”  She tipped her head back as she directed a cheeky grin his way.  

Papyrus just huffed, crossing his arms over his chest which was now missing the pastel sweater from earlier.  He had taken it off before they left the house to reveal his “Jog Boy” top.  “IT IS OBVIOUS YOU ARE HOPING FOR THE OPPOSITE!” he rebuked, “AND DON’T EVEN TRY TO ARGUE. I KNOW YOU TOO WELL! BEST. FRIEND.”  He emphasized those last two words like it was the most solid evidence to ever exist.  

With a little defeated shrug of her shoulders, she blew a raspberry his way.  “Fiiiine,” she drug out the word, “But you know you love his jokes and puns anyways.”  A frustrated noise hissed past his teeth as he shamefully agreed.  “Soooo, going off that logic…” she started, a devious curl to her lips and twinkle in her eyes as she moved in front the skeleton.  “Wouldn’t you love his jokes EVEN MORE if they got WORSE?” she pushed, brows waggling as she watched Papyrus freeze, his mind working through what she just said.  Once his mind finally wrapped around her hypothesis, he gripped his skull, falling to his knees, and let out possibly the most anguished, dramatic scream.  Apparently, he couldn't find fault with his human friend’s absurd logic.

○●○●○●○●○

     The temperature outside had dropped once again in such little time and despite the slight chill, she couldn’t feel any of it.  It would be a miracle at this point if she could.  No, she’d be thankful to as it would mean she wouldn’t be having the workout from hell right now.   Maybe she had teased him a wee bit too much.  

“Paaaapiiiii!” she griped, surprised she could even get out a whine that long considering she could barely catch her breath, “I said! I was-!”  What was supposed to be an easy jog had turned a into suicide run.  “SORRY!”  Papyrus was behind her setting the pace and any time she slowed too much, he would pinch or smack whatever part of her he could reach at that moment.  So far, her left butt cheek had felt the brunt of it along with her upper thighs.  

“FOCUS!  CONTROL YOUR BREATHING, HUMAN!” he snapped, ignoring her plea,  and she wondered briefly if maybe Edge had snuck up and taken her normally gentle friend’s place.  A pinch on her elbow had her picking up her pace and focusing on the now.  She had already learned she wasn’t allowed to look back, plus it didn’t help any with balance or keeping pace.  “LOOK!  THERE IS YOUR GOAL ONLY A FEW MORE STEPS UP AHEAD!”  Curse him for not even sounding out of breath.  She knew these skeletons don’t technically need to breathe, but at least huff a bit or something in sympathy here.  

Papyrus had not been lying though.  Just one more block down was the gym, or as she thought of it: her salvation.  Zeroing in on the building that was getting closer and closer, she focused on her breathing to bring it down from frantic pants to something more disciplined: slower and deeper.  It was a strange feeling as her mind calmed.  Heh, maybe her old coach had a point when he said the human body can do a lot more than the mind thinks.  

“START SLOWING DOWN,” she gratefully followed the order and began easing her pace, but aware of him behind her still setting the pace.  She supposed one day she would be grateful to him for not letting her come to a dead stop.  Today, in this moment, she wasn’t as the slow ease of the pace was almost as tortuous as the marathon she had been forced to run.  “WE’VE ARRIVED.  YOU CAN REST NOW.” He didn’t need to say it twice as the young woman nearly crumpled before the doors of the gym.  Bent over with hands on splayed knees as she sucked in air like it was going to get away.  She could feel a large hand rubbing her back and was aware that Papyrus was saying something, possibly praises or encouragements, but she could barely hear over the rush of blood, her pounding heart that seemed so much louder and next to her ears, and her puffs that were thankfully slowing as she caught her breath.  

○●○●○●○●○

Papyrus felt just a little guilty as he watched his friend recover from their run, but not enough to apologize.  He kept rubbing soothing circles onto her hunched back.  “AMAZING WHAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH WHEN WE PUSH OURSELVES,” he gently pushed at her spine, encouraging her to straighten it rather than bowing.  He had a feeling she wasn’t hearing a word he was saying, but continued to sing her praises as he opened his dimensional box and took out a bottle of water.  “LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE! YOU ALREADY HIT YOUR HEART RATE GOAL FOR TONIGHT AND WE CAN WALK BACK,” he cracked the cap on the bottle.  He couldn’t hear her gasping for breath anymore, but she was still hunched over.  “COME ON,  WE STILL-”

“I THOUGHT I RECOGNIZED THAT UNCEASING CHEER,” a new voice cut in, one he recognized as well.  Looking up from his friend, he spotted the pricklier version of himself leaning out the doors of the gym.  Edge’s narrow sockets stared the two of them down, but he felt no ire from the other, just curiosity and some irritation.  

“OH, WELL HELLO, EDGE,” he greeted as cheerfully as he could despite the mounting confusion he was feeling.  He could feel his friend tense for a moment beneath his hand before relaxing again.  Her heart rate had slowed to normal by now, but had picked up just a bit at the mention of Edge.  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” If he remembered correctly, his fell counterpart usually didn’t work out this particular day, or at least not at night.  

Edge only huffed as he finally stepped fully outside and marched up to his doppelganger.  “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” he snipped, arms crossed as he came to a stop just a few feet from the two.  

Oh, how hard Papyrus’s eyelights would have rolled if he had them.  “OH, I DON’T KNOW, BUT SINCE YOU ASKED SO NICELY!” he started, hand lifting to tap a phalange against his chin in feigned thought.  “AHA!  YOU HAVE FINALLY DECIDED TO VISIT THE CHIROPRACTOR WHO WORKS TONIGHT AND GET THAT ATTITUDE STRAIGHTENED UP!” he declared with utmost confidence, somehow managing to sound sincerely elated in a way only Papyrus could.

 A silent staredown ensued as Papyrus just kept smiling brightly in feigned innocence.  He could see that Edge wanted to be mad at him, but couldn’t hide that little proud quirk of his sharp fangs.  The moment was broken as his friend brought attention back to herself with a poorly smothered laugh.  

○●○●○●○●○

She had been quiet through the entire encounter.  Hearing Edge’s voice after just wondering about him during that hellish run had her wondering if she had somehow summoned him with just a single thought.  She took a moment to pray to whatever gods or deities were out there to take mercy on her.  She would hold back on the teasing and being a little shit, just no more torture tonight.  Maybe if she stays real quiet, she could avoid getting Edge’s attention and lessen her chances of irreparable damage.

That all went out the window as a little snort pushed past her lips.  Leave it to Papyrus to sass one of the pointiest, scary-looking monsters around.  “I need to know where you get that audacity from,” she didn’t bother trying to contain the laugh anymore as she straightened up with a roll of her shoulders, “I could use some of it.”

Both skeletons huffed at that, but it was Edge who spoke up first, “YOU HAVE PLENTY OF IT ALREADY, BRAT.”  

Papyrus nodded along, “ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING YOUR BEHAVIOR TONIGHT.”

She pouted, parting her lips to argue, but froze as Edge had uncrossed his arms with an appraising look sent her way.  

“OH?  AND JUST WHAT HAS SHE DONE?” Edge questioned, voice full of amusement as he watched the human between them shake her head and send a pleading look to Papyrus.  She was begging with just her eyes for him to not throw her under the bus. No such luck as he began filling Edge in on all her teasing and poking fun that night.  He decided to add on that she had been running late at that.  

Throughout it all, Edge was prowling closer and closer until he was practically invading her space.  He must have already been working out when they came since she could smell something spicy, like cinnamon, with just a little musk wafting from him once he was close enough.  Usually he was very keen on making sure his scent was barely noticeable, especially after the first time she commented on it.  It hadn’t been a bad comment.  It smelled quite nice, just like now, but since then she only got lucky to get a whiff here and there.  As much as she wanted to take a step back, she stubbornly kept eye contact and straightened up even more.  

“BUT SHE DID RUN ALL THE WAY HERE. NONSTOP,” Papyrus had finished his recount with her most recent accomplishment.  She let herself feel proud as she watched Edge’s cruel smile soften just a bit with awe and pride.  With how close he was though, she could practically feel the rumble as he hummed thoughtfully.  

“Then I Guess She Has Earned Forgiveness,” his voice should not be allowed to be at that volume.  It still had that scratchy quality to it, but the low volume just increased that damnable rumbling that was causing warmth to bloom in her chest and hopefully not on her face.  “BUT,” she gulped as that cruel lilt returned and he leaned in, “WHY STOP THERE?” No.  “I THINK IT’S TIME WE HELP OUR FRIEND LEARN WHAT HER NEW LIMITS ARE.  AREN’T YOU CURIOUS, BRAT?” No, no she was not.  

In a last ditch effort to get out this, she leaned to look pleadingly at Papyrus, but he wasn’t even paying her any mind as he seemed to be pondering something.  One foot was tapping as he rested an elbow in the palm of his opposing arm’s hand.  A water bottle was pinned between his arm and chest.  A distal phalange tapped away at his temple as he hummed.  Sockets squinted for the few moments he took to think it over.  Hope bloomed as he finally looked to them with that signature toothy grin of his.  “GREAT IDEA, EDGE!”  How quickly hope shattered.     

○●○●○●○●○

~THREE HOURS LATER~

○●○●○●○●○

“I hate you both…” the words lacked energy and any true vitriol.  She couldn’t even muster the energy to feel any shame or shyness pertaining to her current predicament.  She was now aware of muscles she never knew she had and she was sure the next morning would be hell.  Would she even be able to move tomorrow?  These two had done just what they promised and pushed her to find new limits, but the cost was her ability to pretty much function on her own.  Her legs were like jelly and her arms were just barely listening to her.  Her core wasn’t putting up a fuss right now, but she knew it was coming.  Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad as the two had made sure she drank water, stretched, and did cool downs.   

Papyrus had taken pity on her when he saw her physical state and insisted he carry her.  He had won despite her stubborn efforts to stand and walk in the locker room afterwards.  Edge had even chided her, telling her to quit being fussy, and just accept the help or crawl.  She doubted he would have actually let her crawl out the gym. 

“We Know You Don’t Mean That,” one of her tormentors answered with a far too jovial tone.  The other just snickered off to her left and feeling contrary, she turned her face the opposite way, which ended up with her pretty much nuzzling into Papyrus’s neck as he was currently carrying her piggyback.  Rather than looping his arms under her knees and holding her that way, he had gone with braiding his fingers behind his back and letting her pretty much sit on his palms.   His arms kept her legs pinned to his sides.  He was bent forward slightly which kept her from having to hold on as tightly and instead just lay against his back.  

An indignant huff was the only answer she graced them with.   She could feel Papyrus’s little laugh more than hear it as it caused her to bounce gently on his back.  Meanwhile, the smell of sweet mint and citrus invaded her senses from where her face was tucked.  It was honestly a little unfair how these skeletons could smell so good after a hard workout.  She hoped she didn’t stink… 

A sharp distal poked her shoulder and stubbornly she ignored its owner.  The pokes continued until finally it was just stabbing into her already sore flesh and she gave in, rolling to face the sharp skeleton once more.  To her surprise, a banana was currently being held right in front of her face.  It had already been partially peeled.  She blinked and it was still there.  “A banana?” she mumbled, mentally slapping herself for stating the obvious.

Edge snickered, “AT LEAST THAT MUSCLE IN YOUR HEAD IS STILL SOMEWHAT VIABLE.”  His humor had always been drier than the Sahara and now was no exception.  Any witness would have thought he was beating a dog that was already down.

“If you’re talking about my brain, it’s actually made of fat,” she replied, just as dry and resting her cheek against Papyrus’s shoulder.  For a skeleton, he was surprisingly comfy and his easy pace was gradually rocking her to sleep.  Said skeleton made a noise best described as a “SNRK!” not long after what she said.  Edge had only released a drawn out sigh.  At least one of them appreciated her humor.  

“JUST EAT THE DAMN BANANA, YOU BRAT,” he moved it closer insistently, looking and sounding very much like a tired mom trying to get her child to eat the last piece of broccoli on their plate.  

A pause then, “No.”  

“NO?” 

“No.”

“WHY?”

“Where did you even get a banana from?”

“I HAD IT.”

“So, you just carry around a banana all the time?”

“NO, YOU DISCOUNT KAOLA.”

“Awww, and here I thought I was an upgrade.”

“QUIT TRYING TO DIVERT THE CONVERSATION AND EAT IT.”

“Fine… but only if you tell me why I should.”

Edge sucked in an unneeded breath as he nearly vibrated in irritation.  He took a moment to calm before gritting out, "FINE."  She was just a little impressed he had an answer.  “POTASSIUM IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD FOR EASING AND PREVENTING CRAMPS.  BANANAS, I READ, APPARENTLY CONTAIN IT.  THUS EATING IT SHOULD HELP YOU BE LESS OF A USELESS LUMP TOMORROW,” he explained, concise and leaving no room for argument, “AND QUIT YOUR LAUGHING, CREAMPUFF.  YOU’RE NOT HELPING THE MATTER.”  Her sleepy, tired brain processed the information and found no fault.  A memory of an old movie where the parents were shrunk and the kids were left on their own came to mind as she remembered it mentioning something about bananas and potassium as well.   

“Okay, you win,” she conceded, chuckling quietly as the scarred skeleton sighed in relief.  Edge had far more patience than most give him credit for.  At one point in the past, he would have just shoved the fruit in her mouth or just stormed off, but now he was willing to put up with the back and forth.  Maybe he actually enjoyed banter?  Earlier, he seemed to be proud of Papyrus’s sass.  

Sleepy and not thinking, she leaned forward and took a bite of the banana.  It was just at the right ripeness she noted as she chewed contentedly.  She didn’t notice how quiet either skeleton was or that they had come to stop before a black classic Ford Mustang.

○●○●○●○●○

Edge’s mind had blanked as he watched the scene play out.  This human, rather than simply taking the fruit from his hand and eating it normally, had instead leaned forward slowly and carefully.  There was a little sway to her movement, a little shake in her arms as she curled her fingers tighter in to the Creampuff’s shirt to steady herself, and he instinctively brought up his free hand to hover near her just in case.  “WATCH WH-what you...” his words faded out as she finally reached the fruit and took a small bite.  To top it off, she was doing that absurdly cute little wiggle and hum that human women seemed to commonly do when they ate something they liked.  

“I Can Just Feel The Cavities Forming…” he grumbled under his breath, diverting his eyes from her and her adorable display before a blush could rise.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his doppelganger sending him a sly look and he didn’t bother suppressing a growl.  It was cut off as he felt her taking another bite.  “WOULD YOU JUST HOLD IT?” he snapped.  

“But I’ve got to hold on,” she had mumbled in reply after swallowing her last bite, “And you told me to eat it.  You didn’t tell me how.”  He resisted the urge to pinch her nose for that smart remark and just sucked in a deep breath before slowly releasing.  

“She Makes A Good Point,” his softer counterpart imputted.

Edge could only level a deadpan stare on his duplicate, “NOT. HELPING.”  Papyrus had the nerve to laugh and the woman resting against his back giggled as she bounced due to it.  Shaking his head, he fished his keys from his black joggers’ pockets and unlocked the driver’s side door.  Before he got too far, he pushed the banana into the young woman’s hand with a quick order to hold on to it since he needed both his hands.  He swiftly put down the seat so the back seat could be accessed.  While he was sure Papyrus wouldn’t mind her riding in his lap on the way home, he didn’t think he could take anymore public displays of affection tonight.  No matter how platonic they are.  

“Alright, Get In The Backseat,” he ordered as he moved to the side.  He pinched at his nose ridge as he watched Papyrus move to get in the back with her, “NOT YOU. HER. JUST HER.”  There was no room for argument and no matter how much the Creampuff looked like a puppy that just had its treat stolen, he wasn’t giving in.  Thankfully, the woman’s little head pats she placed on his skull seemed to appease him.  Wait, how was she- oh.  He held in a snicker at the ridiculous image she presented.  She had freed up one of her hands by holding the banana in her mouth, while her other still gripped at his shirt.  A good sign she had some of her strength back at least.

○●○●○●○●○

Papyrus had at first been annoyed at the thought of Edge butting in on their hang out time, but had warmed up to it rather quickly.  Plus, Edge had informed them that he had missed his usual work time session the day before due to an emergency at his restaraunt.  It truly was coincidence.  It had been fun and having Edge there kept him from going soft on her tonight.  It was honestly amusing how she’d gripe and moan and beg, but would push through through the sets and exercises anyway.  He’d seen a new side to her as Edge decided to poke at her pride during weight lifting and she had lifted more in that deadlift than he could have ever expected.  She’d said it had been fueled by “pure spite” at that moment and not to expect it as the norm.  They had new bars set and she’d be less peeved at them when she saw how far she had come along.

Afterwards, it had been decided they would take Edge’s car back to her house, rather than parting ways.  While he wasn’t feeling it nearly as intensely as his companion currently resting on his back, he had been pushing himself as well to be fair.  Edge, being as observant as ever, had noticed.   He couldn’t argue against the logic that it wasn’t a good or safe idea for an exhausted monster and person of color to walk home this late.  By now, Sixth Street should be bustling with life and sometimes a few strays wander down teh other streets.  They’re not always trouble, but why risk it?  

With her this close, he was surrounded by her scent.  Mostly her hair products, but he could smell the musk of her sweat as well and sweet lotion.  It wasn’t bad, but he knew not to comment on it either way.  He was sure she could smell him and he just hoped she didn’t mind.   She hadn’t pulled away at any point or complained so maybe he was safe.  He kept one gripe to himself about tonight.  At this moment, if she had kept her hair down, those curls would be touching his face and neck.  A sorely missed opportunity.

Her and Edge had bickered most the way and he had valiantly tried not laugh, only to fail in the end.  It was just such ridiculous little diatribes.  It was all so cute, Edge included, but now they had reached his car and he’d have to put her down. 

She was currently petting his skull in an effort to comfort and it was working.  Her cheek still rested against his shoulder with her lips wrapped around the banana, just holding it in her mouth.  Her free hand that wasn’t gripped his shirt had stopped the gentle petting motion and now just rested her palm against the top of his skull.  He could feel one of her fingers just rubbing in a slow circle.  Now, that just isn’t fair-

“I WILL HAVE DUSTED BY TIME YOU TWO DECIDE TO FINISH WITH THIS,” his doppelganger snipped with an irritated huff and jerk of his hand to the back seat once again.  “EITHER PUT HER DOWN OR I WILL CONFISCATE HER MYSELF,” he threatened, his already sharp sockets narrowing further as his sharp teeth tipped up at the edges.  

Papyrus didn’t know if he should be impressed the other had not threatened to just leave them or flustered at his counterpart's subtext.  He would leave those thoughts for later.  For now, he crouched down carefully and with Edge’s help, they helped their companion off his back and into the seat.  By the time he made it around the vehicle and settled into the passenger’s seat, Edge was already seated in the driver’s side and in the rear view he could his friend eating with ease.  He called her name and she looked up curiously, still chewing her last bite, “Do You Need Require Any Water At The Moment?”  

She just shook her head and swallowed her mouthfull, “Not unless that water is part of a shower.”  

“A Shower Does Sound Nice Right Now,” he agreed.  He could hear Edge grunting in agreement as he turned the key in the ignition and put the car into gear.  The engine roared to life and the dash board lit up, showing off the upgrades Edge had done to the classic model.  It wasn’t long before they pulling out the spot and onto the road, heading back to her little abode on Eighth Street.  

“Human,” the sharper of the two skeletons called and glanced into the mirror to check if she was paying attention, “Hopefully, You Do Not Plan To Work Tomorrow After Tonight.”  It should have been a question, but it sounded more like a command.  

“I Have To Agree With My Cousin On This,” Papyrus piped in as he saw her looking like she wanted to argue.  She pursed her lips as he kept talking, “You’ll Be Dreadfully Sore Tomorrow Most Likely.”  

“And I wonder whose fault that is,” she didn’t hesitate with a little click of her tongue.  Papyrus atleast had the shame to wince, but beat down the guilt as their driver sent him a sharp look.  A look that said don’t back down.  

“No Matter Who's At Fault Here,” Edge started, coming to a stop at a four way and putting on his blinker.  Sharp red eyelights lit in his sockets and locked with the young woman’s gaze in the mirror.  “Your Body Still Needs Rest.  Doing Anything Other That Tomorrow Would Only Be Punishing Yourself For No Good Reason,” he scolded and gave her a moment to nod and voice her understanding before extinguishing his eyelights.  

The rest of the car ride was void of chatter as Edge put on some soft music and his passengers fought off sleep.  One because the trip was too short to provide a decent nap and would just result him being groggy.  The other because she was now responsible for an empty banana peel and she’d rather not drop it on any part of this vehicle that felt far too expensive for her to be sitting in. 

○●○●○●○●○

Finally, Edge was pulling the black Mustang over and parking just infront Papyrus’s red Ferrari.  She swears these two just visiting the area raised property values.  She scooted closer to Edge’s side as he got out and started putting down the seat.  Once it was down, she took Edge’s offered hand and let him help her out.  She was happy to see she could stand again, but that didn’t say anything about the stairs she needed to climb.  Even ground was one thing, but an incline… she may be crawling to bed after all. 

“Do You Think You Can Make It OR-?” her sharp friend started to question, but let the rest hang for her to fill in.  Despite how prickly he could be, he was honestly a sweetheart once you earned his trust.  

“Well…” she trailed off as Papyrus cleared his nonexistent throat and made his presence known once again.  One glance at him and she felt like smacking herself for almost forgetting.  “Oh right, Papi, you left your sweater inside,” she laughed, “You’re lucky, I could use another comfy sweater to add to my collection.”   There were a few of the skeletons whose sweaters she’d love to steal; namely, the lazier of the brothers had the prime specimens.

Papyrus just shook his head, “Maybe Asking Nicely Would Get You Better Results,” he adminished.  

Is that so? “Pretty please, can I keep your sweater?” she went for it with a hopeful smile, which was quickly dashed as he cackled softly with a dry “NO.”  She could even hear Edge snorting as he stifled a laugh behind his fist.  If she had the energy, she’d whine a bit, but her bed was calling her.  Turning her attention back to Edge, she nodded, “Thanks for joining us tonight.  It was fun.”  After a moment, she added one last thought, “You should join us more often.”  She meant it.  Even if the workout had been harder than she was used to, it was nice to have someone who knew how to push her buttons and get her to push herself.  

Edge’s sharp visage softened just slightly and he sent her an appreciative smile, nodding.  “Maybe I Will.”

○●○●○●○●○

It had been a blessing that Papyrus needed to get his sweater from the apartment as she had nearly crumpled going up the stairs.  The poor skeleton had been fretting about her something fierce and ended up just carrying her up the stairs as watching her struggle had apparently been too stressful.  It had taken plenty coaxing and reassuring that she would be fine and wouldn’t be completely helpless on her own.  He’d made her pinky promise to not shower or bathe tonight as he didn’t trust her to not slip and fall or fall asleep and drown.  He’d ordered her to bed immediately and she wasn’t arguing.  That had been an order from the heavens.  

She’d wasted no time after sharing a hug goodbye and he was on his way down the stairs to lock up and draw her curtains.  She’d shed her clothes like a snake once she had stepped foot in her room.  A trail of clothes, starting with her bra and ending with her socks and shoes now stretched across her floor.  She didn’t bother finding a night shirt and simply face planted on her bed with relieved sigh as the cool sheets and comforter kissed her bare skin.  

She wasn’t too worried about going to bed sweaty.  She’d decided on the way home to have a  wash day tomorrow.  It’s been due, but now with this workout, it was definitely needed.   She could just enjoy pampering her body, hair, and scalp.  A nice little spa day.  She could change and wash her sheets then as well, so no harm done.  

Her phone buzzing from somewhere in her room barely registered with her.  It wasn’t until it buzzed a few more times that she forced herself to sit up and look around her dark room for the infernal device.  It needed to be plugged up anyway now that she remembers.  Spotting the phone on the floor near her abandoned clothes, she slid off her bed and scooped it up.  Tapping the screen, she winced as it lit up and quickly lowered the brightness.  

No longer in danger of being blinded, she saw the notifications from earlier that she had forgotten to check and a few new ones.  Some were junk, but most were messages from friends, family, and one for work.  She would reply to the work one tomorrow when she has a fresh mind and it was a decent hour.  She rolled her eyes good naturedly as she opened a message from Papyrus.  

 

Papaya:  REMEMBER TO REST TOMORROW.  GOOD NIGHT!

Papaya:  WHY ARE YOU NOT SLEEPING?!  

Papaya:  PUT DOWN THE PHONE AND GO TO BED!

Papaya:  I KNOW IT’S A DIFFICULT THING TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE A TXTING BUDDY AS GREAT AS ME!!

Papaya:  BUT YOU MUST. 

 

    A little snort burst past her lips as the messages kept coming in, all along the same note.  She tapped the little text box and sent him a quick little message:

 

Flooffie:  Pot calling the kettle black

Flooffie:  XP

 

    Closing the convo as she saw him typing, she breezed through the rest of her texts.  She sent quick little replies where needed, but most turned out to be bad puns and one liners from the jokesters of the family.  Coffee had sent her a cute little doodle he had made her with a note saying he’d like to see that hairstyle on her.  It was cute.  She sent him a couple heart emojis and a thumbs up.  She could type a thought out reply tomorrow.  Switching her phone to silent, she plugged it up and crawled back into bed.  It seemed her head had barely hit her pillows before sleep swept her under.  

[the-river-person]

Goner Kid’s Fun

He’d not intended to run into Sans at the door. Papyrus was on his way out, planning to visit Gaster again. It had been a little while since he’d last gone because everything had been so busy with all the new changes. Sans, on the other hand, was on his way in looking extremely tired. Sometimes Papyrus wondered what exactly his brother did these days to make him so tired. Sure he’d seen Sans helping here and there are the Queen’s school, the pair of them  had obviously been friends for some time, even if this might be a rough patch. But no, now that the sentry jobs had been disbanded as they were no longer needed, there was really no reason for him to be so exhausted all the time. It was worrying. For his part, Sans gaped up at Papyrus in surprise. This might have been for the bomber jacket, t-shirt, and jeans that Papyrus was wearing instead of the battle body. Or maybe it was something on his face? Had he combed his hair? Oh wait.... he didn’t have hair. “IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG, SANS?” Shaking himself, Sans grinned. “Nah, Bro. I was just a bit surprised. I thought you’d never take the Battle Body off again. You seemed pretty attached. This look is good too though.” Papyrus struck a pose so that Sans could better admire his alternate attire. “WHY THANK YOU! I DO LOOK AMAZING EVEN IN CASUAL WEAR, DON’T I? THOUGH NATURALLY I CAN MAKE ANYTHING LOOK GOOD.” For a moment Papyrus was sure Sans was going to make a pun. The timing was perfect for it. Then he would shout and rail about bad puns and Sans would laugh. There was a moment of silence, expectation lingering in the air as Sans blinked at him. Finally, after what seemed to Papyrus to be a very long time, but was really only a few short seconds, Sans grinned. “Absolutely fibula-ous,” he said with an infuriating combination of sincerity and mischievousness in his voice. “SANS!!!” shouted Papyrus. Secretly though he was a little disappointed. He’d been expecting something a little more spectacular. A lot of Sans’ jokes had been somewhat lackluster lately. Shrugging, Sans gave Papyrus the most innocent expression he could muster, looking for all the world as if he’d never done anything wrong in his life. “Whoops. Hehehehehe. So where you going Bro?” Gaster had asked Papyrus to wait until people started remembering him before telling anyone of the little cave in Waterfall. But Sans had already remembered some things, and Alphys had too, though she hadn’t recalled enough to realize anything was wrong yet. Yet Sans was starting to piece together old memories of their Uncle, and of their parents, though most of it was still fragmented or gone, and didn’t seem like it was coming back anytime soon. Maybe it was enough, maybe Gaster wouldn’t mind. It would be good for Sans. “I’M OFF TO VISIT A FRIEND IN WATERFALL! YOU SHOULD COME WITH ME! I THINK YOU’D LIKE THEM! THEY DON’T GET OUT MUCH, BUT THEY’RE VERY GOOD CONVERSATIONALISTS!” Sans agreed easily enough and they set off. As they trudged through the snow a bunch of kids ran past them, singing bits of the old Angel’s Prayer as a song for whatever game they were playing, jumping or skipping in time to the rhythm. “Soon the darkness will draw near, and all light disappear!” It was a little dark to be using for a game in Papyrus’ opinion. But the song was popular enough, so he supposed it didn’t matter. Sans was lost in thought, so they walked in silence through much of Waterfall, listening only to the roar of the waterfalls echoing through the damp rocky tunnels. Once Papyrus thought they were being followed, though he couldn’t see or hear anyone when he’d turned to look. But afterward he listened closely and every so often he thought he could hear the soft pattering of feet on stone or the tiniest splash of someone treading through water. When he reached the corridor where the door to Gaster’s cave was, it was gone. Just a bare stone wall. Sans looked at him in confusion but said nothing, waiting as Papyrus stared at the wall and tried to figure out what to do. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet once more and he turned just in time to see a little grey monster try to duck out of sight. It was a young monster, similar to MK with the scales down the back of his head and tail, and the striped sweater. But other than the details of their shape, the similarities ended. This child was all in shades of grey, as if the color had been leeched away from them. Even the sweater was grey. Their eyes were a pale white color and flat, devoid of any expression. “I SAW YOU, YOU CAN COME OUT.” said Papyrus gently, hoping they weren’t frightened of him. But they didn’t seem to have any emotion at all that he could see when they poked their head back out and then walked calmly over to them. Sans looked deeply unsettled at the sight of the kid. With a tilt of his head, considering them carefully, the monster child spoke. “Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same... except you don’t exist? Everything functions perfectly without you. As if you weren’t needed at all.” This child was weird. “AHEM,” said Papyrus uncomfortably, not really knowing what to say to the question. Instead he opted to change the subject. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOOR? I’M TRYING TO SEE HIM, BUT THE ENTRANCE MOVED AWAY SOMEHOW.” No answer, the little grey kid just stared at him with those horrible empty eyes. Just as Papyrus was about to suggest to Sans that they go away and try another day,  his phone rang and both he and Sans jumped. “HELLO?” he said, answering it. A quiet voice on the other end answered him back. “Oh dear, it seems you’ve got the wrong number. Here’s the Wrong Number Song!” An electronic sounding jingle played through the phone, loud enough that Papyrus had to move the device away from his head. Then just as suddenly as it had begun, the call ended, the person had hung up. “WHAT ON EARTH?” said Papyrus looking round to Sans and the grey monster child. Sans shrugged, but the child had vanished. “OH, HE’S GONE NOW. OH WELL. MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST TRY ANO- OH!!! SANS! THE DOOR!” Though moments before there had only been the dark stone of Waterfall’s tunnels, a grey door had been inserted into the wall, as if it had always been there. Sans had still said nothing, which was beginning to worry Papyrus, but he certainly looked freaked out by this point. The trip had certainly been more eventful than usual, hopefully meeting Gaster himself wouldn’t be too much to handle.

[plumeofacat]

Chapter 1

Error growls as he checks the state of Lanna who left her t-shirt on her knees so she can get the treatment. As for Ink, he stores the groceries that his sister brought kindly.

Error : ̷W̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷i̷d̷e̷a̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷d̷e̷f̷y̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷ ̷b̷a̷r̷r̷i̷e̷r̷ ̷o̷n̷ ̷a̷ ̷c̷a̷r̷t̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷s̷t̷ ̷a̷ ̷s̷h̷e̷l̷f̷?̷

Lanna: It wasn't my idea!! It was Blueberry!!

Ink: I'll talk about it with Swapy... he needs to teach a lesson to his brother...

Lanna: Sure... But this transformed pollen stealer might be proud of what his brother did...

Error : ̷Y̷o̷u̷r̷ ̷c̷u̷r̷s̷e̷ ̷d̷o̷e̷s̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷u̷c̷h̷ ̷a̷n̷y̷o̷n̷e̷ ̷w̷h̷e̷n̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷a̷r̷e̷ ̷f̷a̷r̷ ̷a̷w̷a̷y̷ ̷f̷r̷o̷m̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷m̷.̷.̷.̷

The red one sighs and looks at her mask on the ground. She feels the âin leaving completely, which gives her the signal to cover her scar on her back and front with her usual t-shirt.

Ink: Hey, Lanna, how much time passed since you visited Sans?

Lanna: Which one?

Ink: Classique...

Lanna: ho... It's been a while... I should go see him a little...

Error: ̷A̷v̷o̷i̷d̷ ̷s̷h̷o̷w̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷h̷i̷m̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷r̷ ̷s̷c̷a̷r̷s̷ ̷a̷g̷a̷i̷n̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷L̷a̷s̷t̷ ̷t̷i̷m̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷ ̷a̷c̷c̷u̷s̷e̷d̷ ̷u̷s̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷n̷o̷t̷ ̷p̷r̷o̷t̷e̷c̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷.̷.̷.̷

Lanna: And with my bruises, he will scold you again...

She giggles, knowing very well that the two skeleton pests about the fact that Lanna's body can't be totally healed, they can only lessen the pain. The human smiles to her brother and to the one who makes her brother's soul beat faster, before she gets up slowly, checking if her bracelets still stand in place.

Lanna: I'm going to see Sans! Clean up after using Error's strings in the kitchen!

Ink and Error: LA̷N̷N̷A̷ ̷!̷!̷!̷!!!

She giggles and runs outside, taking absently her pen so she can quickly do her portal to Undertale. She walks in the spring street, putting her mask on correctly, then she looks at the monsters around her, smiling. A lot of her childhood friends and childhood enemies enjoy their Sunday to have fun or simply to walk. She sees a rabbit lady, Cassy. She sees Sparkles, a flame monster the same age as her. She sees Frisk, a teenager who helped her save the monsters, almost 10 years ago.

Frisk has semi-long brown hair and golden eyes. Instead of her old striped t-shirt, she wears a jeans jacket on a purple t-shirt with jeans and boots. In her hands, three heavy books are tired of her, but Chara helps her carry three other books. Chara is a teenager in the same age as Frisk with short and messed up brown hair and her eyes are aggressively red, but they hide the kindness towards the monsters that she always has. Before Chara was only a ghost who was hunting Frisk since she was a human dead long ago, but for 10 years, Lanna has succeeded in giving a body to the ghostly child.

An enormous desire to take off her mask itches the creator's sister, while she gets closer to the first of the Sanses' house. Nervously playing with her pen, Lanna stops in front of her friend's door, remembering some bad memories, before she shakes her head to focus on the good ones. The fingers almost as white as a bone put away the pen while the other hand forms a fist to knock twice on the door.

Sans: who's there?

Lanna: Anold.

Sans: Anold who?

Lanna: an old friend!

Lanna smiles as she removes her mask, while the door opens on a skeleton that looks like Blueberry but wearing an old dark blue jacket on a white t-shirt with black shorts and pink slippers. He gestures for the young women to get in, then he walks nonchalantly to the couch. The red one closes the door behind her, then she throws her mask on the living room table while sitting next to her friend.

Lanna: What's new? Is life on the surface as good as before or do I need to teach some lessons to humans?

Sans: don't worry yourself to the bone, your brother does it enough for all of us...

Lanna : *giggle* I see! ... *sighs* otherwise... Do you have any news about... HIM?

Sans: Hmm? ... You won't like what I'll say about it...

Lanna: Say it anyway... I need to know...

Sans: He got released from jail for good behavior

Lanna : *sighs* shit...

Sans: Do you think it's gonna be okay for you or do you prefer that we visit you in the multiverse?

Lanna: ... It's okay, I know how to protect myself, don't worry *nonchalant* Bye the way, where is papyrus?

Sans: In training with Undyne... they should get back any minutes now...

Exactly when Sans finishes his sentence, the door is smashed by a kick from Undyne, and the window is broken by Papyrus who goes through it. Undyne is a blue fish-woman with red hair and an eyepatch on her right eye. She wears a pair of jeans with a pale blue shirt, her black ankle boots leave a wet dirt trail behind her. Papyrus is like Swapy, but he wears a white top of an armor with yellow rims and black sleeves that ends on his red gloves. As for the down part of his body, he wears a red swimming trunk or something that looks like it and boots as Blue's and in red. A scarf in the same color decorates his neck.

Papyrus: LANNA!! You're back!!

Lanna : *giggle* I came to visit you...

Undyne: Big Punk! We missed you!

Lanna: sorry, I had a lot of work!

Papyrus : *hug strongly Lanna* NYHE HE HE HE! How are you, dear?!

Lanna : *giggle* I'm good... if you could let me go to not kill me, par contre...

Undyne : * hugs Lanna and Papyrus super-strongly* You should find more time to come and see us!!

Lanna : *lose all her air in a painly moan* les gars...

Sans: I don't wanna eat some Lanna-ghetti tonight, so if you could avoid transforming her into minced meat...

The two monsters let go of the human who ends up crawling into a ball on the ground, moaning in pain and swearing against heal magic that ''doesn't freaking do shit''. The one laying on the couch looks at his brother and at the fish-woman who panicked. He ends up sighing and raising up the t-shirt of the young woman, his ordinarily white pupils vanishing under his anger.

Sans: Lanna ... What did you do again?

Lanna: ... Groceries...

Sans: without lying?

Lanna: *gown* Really... I went buying some magic paint and milk bottle, and Blue rushed over me with his cart, and I ended up against a shelf that falls on me... So I really just did the groceries... Promise!

papyrus: S-so it's not my fault?

Lanna: Not at all, Paps...

Sans suddenly gets up and walks towards the door in the back of the room, while Papyrus and Undyne help the red hair to get to her feet. As she notices what the shortest skeleton is doing, the injured one looks at him, worried, while the brother does the same.

Papyrus: Where are you going, Sans?

Sans: Saying a couple of things to Blueberry

Lanna: No, Sans! It's okay!!! He apologized, promise!

Sans: You already are about to break with any hit...

Lanna: No, Sans, I'm not THAT fragile! You know it very well! It's kind of you to want to protect me, but I promise you that everything is okay! It's only some bruises!

Sans: Last time you said that you were bleeding in my living room...

Lanna: I just suck at volley-ball!

Sans : *stare at Lanna* You know which last time I'm talking about...

Lanna : *shrugs* I know, Sans... But I promise it's just some bruises, nothing more! And besides, it was an accident, I wasn't the target!

Sans: Promise?

Lanna: on your life...

Sans: ... Ok.

He lay against the door, crossing his arms, but he can't get rid of his annoyed expression against the reassuring and amused smile of the red one. These acts reassure the two other monsters who end up offering some spaghetti. They don't wait for any answer, running into the kitchen.

Lanna: ... Is it just me or he faked innocent?

Sans: What are you talking about?

Lanna: He was here when... Last time I told you that it was just some bruises and that it was nothing... Though, he acts like it was nothing and we both know that he is innocent in the naïf type, but not stupid...

Sans: He does everything he can to make you happy and comfortable with us, that's why... He didn't even want me to tell you about Him getting out of jell...

Lanna: I see... Thank you for letting me know anyway, I'll be able to be careful now...

Sans: You will have to Mask your presence?

He does his joking smile while pointing at the mask on the table with his eyes, making Lanna giggle while nodding, then she closes her eyes and lays down on her friend, surprising him. He takes a few seconds to understand, then he sighs.

Sans: Wanna sleep on me like when you were a kid?

Lanna: I'm not a kid anymore, Sans... And a Boney pillow isn't always comfortable!

Sans: *snigger* Though, I'm Coccyx-fortable

Lanna: *laugh* Bone-head!

Sans: Come on! You know I'm a good pillow!

Lanna laughs and yawns before she closes her eyes and suddenly falls asleep on Sans' shoulder. The pillow gently smiles before using his telekinetic powers to bring an old jacket that was on the floor, so he could put it on the sleep head's shoulder. She moves a little to be more comfortable while the bone hand starts to stroke the ruby hairs, combing them unintentionally.

Sometime later, Papyrus gets back in the living room and finds the two sleeping beauties on the couch, which makes him sigh gently. He decides to eat alone with Undyne, and this, despite that a portal leading to a universe in flames appears in Classic Sans' house. The young women's brother gets loudly in through it, wearing his normal attire, AKA: a brown parero close on the upper part of the torso who's edge are golden on a ¾ sleeves white shirt, with graphic tablet's gloves that the pinky and just under it is green on the brown that finishes the weird glove. To cover his legs, il wears an Edo era in Japan's inspired brown pants with socks that don't cover the heels, nor the toes. Some green overalls suspenders lay behind him, while his belt passing from his left shoulder to his right waist and keeping some mini paint bottles come restraining the suspenders to come in the front. The forms and colors changings eyes lay on his sister while he holds on his giant paintbrush as he breathes erratically.

Ink: Must wake up Lanna immediately!

Papyrus: What's going on?

Ink: someone decided to attack horrortale's inhabitant...

Lanna : *wake up slowly* hmm? is there a problem, Inky?

Ink: YES! Come immediately and don't forget the mask!

Lanna: Yes inky!

The red hair jumps and grabs her pen that she immediately transforms into a sword, then she runs into the portal. Around her, the houses that still stand more or less are in flames and the monsters that were already in so bad condition that they were mistaken with zombies panic, and some of them try to run away, while others try to eat the human who is holding two. This human has black mess up hair like his starting beard that almost blends into his long sleeves that tied on his middle finger shirt... at least as they can see from that afar. A Night blue jacket is tied on his waist and his blue pants are covered in soot, as his black boots. As soon as his eyes find Lanna, a sardonic smile appears on his lips.

??: Ho <3 Lanna <3

Lanna : *shiver in disgust* Stop what you are doing and go home!

??: Don't you want to get to know me? <3 Though, I'm doing this for you <3

As soon as the name crossed thetha man's lips, a disgust's shiver shared between everyone one who heard it, without anyone knowing why. The man approaches Lanna while letting his flame's sword create a trace on the ground that melts the snow. Ink uses his brush to create a wall in front of the threat, then he grabs his sister's arm.

Ink: I didn't think that he was after you in particular...

Lanna: Don't worry, he's not the first that is after my life... And he won'T be the last.

?? : Ho <3 Un simple magic wall? How stupid... <3

The wall ignites in two seconds and transforms into ashes. Under the shock, the siblings struggle to move, but their instincts being stronger than their mind, the red hair ends up quickly between the skeleton and the other human.

Lanna: Ink, go home! You don't have to get hurt for me!

Ink: and leaving you against someone who wants to kill you?!

Lanna: That thing is only after me! I'll avoid that he destroys anything more or hurts anyone else!

Ink: Lanna...

Ink tries to move to protect his sister, but she pushes him behind her, not even noticing the fact that the human dangerously approaches her.

??: that thing has a name, dear Lanna <3

Lanna: If you tell me what it is, you go home and leave the universes alone?

??: No!

Lanna: Then I don't want to know it...

??: Sans cœur!! I will still do you a favor of knowing who will destroy you so much that you will wish that I killed you today <3 Call me Loucas <3

Ink: Lanna, come with me!

Lanna: I know how to defend myself Inky... Go back to Error...

Ink hesitates, but Lanna pushes him far away while she turns towards the aforementioned Loucas. Her sword in her hand, the red hair try to disarm the one with two blades, but he doesn't let her any time to move an inch that one of his swords comes to cut deeply the unarmed arm. A little scream escapes the woman's lips, while the ankle boots that keep the scar-covered feet warm step back. A second doesn't have time to pass when the masked one hits the left hand of her opponent. He steps back in a jump, his sword falling on the ground, then he targets Lanna's head without losing his sadistic smile.

Ink disappeared, he probably left for home, while the red try to force her opponent to retreat, in vain. He almost cut in a half Lanna's leg as well as her back, yet, the miss stand still, panting and holding weakly her weapon. However, Lanna doesn't stop to attack Loucas, almost in vain. He only have some scratches and bruises, but nothing else.

Loucas: You're pretty strong for an anomaly, Lanna <3

Lanna: Can you stop saying my name? It discusted me!

Loucas: Never, Lanna <3

while saying his last sentence, Loucas use his fire swords to burn a house from where a kid was watching the fight. The red notice this fact and run towards the house. Sadly, Loucas doesn't agree, since he stab the non-injured leg. Noticing that her injured bleed when he pull off the sword, Lanna raise an eyebrow, then she clenchs her theeths while standing up trhough adrenaline. Surprised, the man's smile grows as he take two steps back. He start to miss some magic and he know that she noticed it.

Lanna: You freacking shitty human! Leave!

Loucas: I don't want to, but work call me in an other univers... Why not Underswap?

Lanna : You ...

A terrified scream cut the creator's sister's sentence. A child scream. Lanna doesn't listen to anything around her and the difficultly hobble to the burning house, searching for the child. Since she hear the cries, the read hair search the source while avoiding the flames as much as she can. She see a crying child surrounding by fire. The panic taking over her, the young women run withouth noticing that her mask is somewhere in the snow outside, getting crushed into pieces by Loucas' blades. This one make sure to completely destroy the face-covering before he cut the air, creating a portal that lead to a house into a forest into the multiverse. As soon as he cross the opening, he hear the burning house's beams falling followed by a scream of pain.

Louca: Try to not die yet or it won't be funny, Lanna <3

Summary : https://plumeofacat.tumblr.com/post/644284784841031680/summary

Next  : https://plumeofacat.tumblr.com/post/645213650674761728/chapter-2