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ichiwashername-o · 2 months ago

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What Are Friends For Ch. 26

An Undertale fanfiction.

Written by ichiwashername-o

Summary: Undyne, Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster travel to the past in one last desperate effort to save their timeline.

Rating: Viewer discretion advised. Contains swearing, trauma, and psychological horror

Cast: Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, W.D. Gaster, and others

Chapter 1

AO3

Chapter 26: Final Gambit

There was no time to think.

Undyne charged straight ahead. She didn’t have a plan, but she didn’t need one! All she had to do was stop herself from hurting Papyrus! She’d kick her own ass if she had to!

Or at the very least, stall herself long enough for Sans and everyone else to take care of that kid.

It hadn’t really quite hit her how she was literally going to be fighting herself. It was like in those animes she watched, where the main character was forced to fight an evil twin/clone, usually created by the super evil villain to thwart them! Because what was a better enemy to face than themselves?

And now in the most brain-scrambling twist of fate, she was the future coming to beat some sense into her past-self.

Time travel is BULLSHIT! she thought.

But this was good, she reasoned with herself! All those late weekend nights binge-watching anime shows with Alphys was going to pay off in spades! She was going to exploit every trick and trope at her disposal to keep her past self from making that horrible mistake.

Her first mistake was trusting that stupid talking flower. She and Papyrus needed to have a talk about Flowey when all this was over, but that was for another time.

Right now, she needed to focus. She bull-rushed straight to the passage between Snowdin and Waterfall where, thankfully, it warmed significantly and Undyne was able to shrug the chill off her body. She slowed her mad sprint to a steady jog, waiting in anticipation. This was the only way to get to Snowdin, other than by boat, and she knew she’d run into her past self in mere moments.

She summoned a spear to her side, her claws tapping incessantly on its shaft as she braced herself, waiting for the battle ahead.

–

Sans, Papyrus, and Gaster cautiously approached Snowdin, where everything was dead silent. There was no one around; no patrons loitering outside Grillby’s bar, no neighbors having lively conversations on their front porches, no monster children frolicking in the snow. It was a practical ghost town as all the lights in the surrounding houses had been shut off.

“Seems everyone’s hunkered down already,” Sans observed quietly. They moved out of town, towards their house, where the Papyrus of the past was undoubtedly waiting for the human.

But Sans was torn on what to do. He made a promise to that old lady to protect the human if one should ever emerge from the Ruins, but, well, maybe some promises were meant to be broken. Maybe if he had never made that damn promise to begin with, none of them would even be here right now.

But that was in the past, and now here they were, in the past, trying to undo the one mistake that ruined everything.

Sorry, old lady, but if you knew what this kid was going to do, you’d understand, he thought to himself.

Papyrus turned to study him. “Are you alright, brother?” he asked.

Sans shrugged. “M’fine,” he waved off. “Just . . . thinking about what we need to do.”

“We’re going to stop the human,” he said resolutely. “And we can do that without hurting anyone.”

Even now, he was such an unbearable ball of optimism. But Sans didn’t respond. It wouldn’t do any good to start another argument.

Gaster lingered behind a stride or two, giving the brothers their space, but his movements were labored and slow and his expression was a perpetual grimace. He wasn’t looking well, seeming more and more unstable with every step. And of course, Papyrus noticed that as well.

“And are you ok?” he asked the doctor.

I̺̮ ̉wi̙̯ll̾ͅ ̄̃̄mǎ̙nā̊g̮ͬȇ, he insisted, his voice much more static-y and garbled than before. J̻͖͙ust ̺ạ͈͓ ̦̙lit̳̻t͍̙͈le̦͉̦ ̼͉̦l̻̪̦oṋ̞g͕̦̼ḛr . ̥.̬ ͖̜̪.͍̝̠ ͖͉͍I ͎jus̱̗͔t neẹd to ͚̜h̙o̫̻͕ld͎̫̖ on̺̪ ͕̬a̗̣̹ ̼l͔̤it̪͔tle ̗̩lon͖̗̫g̭er̰.͙̥ I͕͙ ͔̣m̳̪ust̺͉͚ s̹̫͈e̮̯͖e t͖̼ẖ͔̳is̻ t̯h̭̟̯ro̺ug͈h̫.̼̖

Papyrus and Sans exchanged a look. Gaster’s warning still rang in their heads. This journey was a literal death sentence for the doctor, and it showed with every step and wince of pain on his face. It was a miracle he was still here.

“We’ll do this quickly, then,” Papyrus promised, picking up his pace.

N͓̱O,̹̜̓ͬ ̏̄̾WAĬ̦T͇ -͇̑-̈́̅̄ Gaster said suddenly, reaching out to him.

Without warning, vines erupted from the earth, spraying snow everywhere. Papyrus threw an arm across his face as one of the thorny vines wrapped around his arm, yanking him off his feet–

A thunderous roar and whine sounded behind him as a sudden flash of blue light exploded, blinding Papyrus for a moment but releasing him of the vine’s grip. Papyrus fell hard but jumped back on his feet, madly scrambling to make sense of just what happened.

Gaster loomed behind him, his expression fierce and focused, a Gaster Blaster skull hovering at his side as he pointed at something past Papyrus. Papyrus followed his gaze.

There, right in their path, stood Flowey, vines lashing as he grinned, his insane gaze locking with Gaster’s. The little flower let out a delightfully devilish cackle.

“Howdy, Doc!” Flowey said gleefully. “Long time no see!”

Asr͙ỉ̫e͑̏l͍̯͚, Gaster hissed.

Papyrus did a double-take. “Wait, WHAT?!”

Gaster ignored him. Ge̹̘̗ṱ ̥̬out ͎̤o͖͈f̞ͅ ou͕̻͈r͙̝ way͉. This̠ ̥̫̯i̦̙͖s ̤t̠oo̦̹̘ i̤m̪p̫̦͖ortant.

“Aww, is that any way to greet an old pal?” Flowey crooned. The wall of vines waved threateningly behind him. “I just wanted to say hi, that's all!”

Gaster turned to Papyrus and Sans. Y̙̤o̮u ̯t͉wo͖ ̲ͅgo͓,͙̣ ̻̼̭g̖ọ͇ ̥̫ṉ̱o̞̬w.̯ ̼͈ ̬I�� ̪̩will d̠̜i̪st͖racͅt ̤h̲im̰.̣̮

“No one goes anywhere!” Flowey said, his vines darting forward to strike at the skeletons.

Sans didn’t let himself think. He just grabbed Papyrus, and teleported away.

“Wait, no, NO!” Flowey said, growing angry. “You don’t get to barge in here and ruin all my fun!” But he turned back to Gaster, that manic glee returning. “But I suppose I can have plenty of fun with you, can’t I?!”

Gaster closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate. Yes. This would do just fine. He will distract Asriel–Flowey. He will buy enough time for Sans and Papyrus to do what needs to be done.

And if this final fight should be the end of him . . . so be it.

He just needed to hold out as long as he could.

He summoned another Blaster, and with a furious whine, a beam of pure energy blasted the wall of thorny vines as they descended upon him like a plague of serpents.

–

Undyne was racing as fast as she could to Snowdin, the Thorny Whip in her hand. She knew what she had to do–Flowey had warned her what would happen, and however much it broke her heart, she knew she had no other option–

Then she stopped dead, coming to a screeching halt. Standing right in front of her, right on the passage to Snowdin–

Was herself!

Undyne gaped, not trusting what she was seeing. “What–what sort of sick trick is this?!”

The Other Undyne was standing ready and braced, a spear in hand. “Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I’m from the future and I’m here to stop you!”

Undyne ground her fangs together, steeling every muscle in her body as she swapped out the whip for her more tried and true weapon, her spear. “If this is some sort of practical joke, it’s not funny!”

“It’s not a joke! Look, if you hurt Papyrus, you’ll turn him into an uncontrollable beast and he’ll kill the human and you are going to ruin his life–!!!”

Undyne had heard enough from the impostor. She didn’t know why she had even bothered to stop, she had a mission and she needed to get to it! She charged forward, screaming with rage and determination and brought her spear crashing down.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!”

The Other Undyne leaped backwards, bringing up her own spears and fending off her attack. She countered Undyne’s attacks with her own ferocity, her yellow eye glinting with the same determination.

They were both fighting for their friend, and they were both going to give it everything they had.

Despite the severity of the situation, Undyne couldn’t help but grin. She had always been dying for a match against a true opponent, someone who matched her skill in every way to push her to the very limits of what she was capable of. And fighting an evil impostor/clone/whatever was the perfect match!

She had done her homework. She had watched countless animes with Alphys and fighting an evil doppelganger was a common trope in those shows. And so she would use every trick and counter she knew of to defeat this evil version of herself and save Papyrus.

Undyne screamed, raining down an endless torrent of spears. The Other Undyne dodged nimbly out of the way, bringing up a green shield to block the attacks she couldn’t outmaneuver. She retaliated with a similar volley, ferocious and unending.

The Other Undyne was grinning, too, but there was fear and panic and desperation.

The same fear, panic and desperation that Undyne was feeling right now.

If she didn’t get to Papyrus soon–

She was wasting time here! She had to get around the Other Undyne–

She jumped high into the air, using her spears to catapult herself over the doppleganger. Once her feet touched the ground, she took off running as fast as she could towards Snowdin.

“Oh no you don’t, you BRAT!”

Undyne felt herself lurch to a stop as her soul glowed brightly with green energy freezing herself in place, she spun, scowling furiously at The Other.

“Well, seems the only way to get away from you is to kill you! So let’s make it quick!” Undyne snarled.

That was just fine with the Other Undyne. She just needed to keep stalling.

–

The world blinked back into focus with a flash of blue and a zap of ozone.

Papyrus blinked blearily, trying to get his bearings. They weren’t too far away from their house, it was just over the hill. All he and Sans had to do was exchange a look, give a nod, and begin their approach.

Papyrus . . . really didn’t have much of a plan. Not a solid one. Which probably wasn’t a good idea. He was mostly winging this. But he felt that he’d know what the right thing to do would be when the time came.

“Do you think Gaster’s going to be ok?” he asked suddenly.

Sans was surprised by the question, but he sighed, shaking his head. “No idea,” he admitted. “Flowey’s a real piece of work.” Papyrus frowned at that, and Sans, seeing his dejected expression, gave another sigh and added, “Then again, so’s the doc. He’s . . . strong. And smart. If anyone could put up a fight against Flowy, it’d be him.”

That got Papyrus a little more hopeful. “But how did Flowey even know we were here–”

“Flowey’s got his own influence on the timeline,” Sans reminded him. “So he’s more tuned in to abnormalities than normal monsters. Us popping in here? Yeah, might as well set off a fireball to announce our arrival to him.”

Papyrus winced. “I admit, I didn’t think about that.”

“Nothing to do about it now. Come on, let’s get moving, I’m not about to take any bets on how long the doc can stall him.”

They approached their house, cresting a distant hill and coming to the edge of the surrounding forest. And there, right in plain view, standing and waiting . . .

Was Papyrus.

Him. His past self.

Papyrus froze. Hm. He had no idea how surreal it would be seeing . . . himself. He was stunned for quite a while, just . . . staring. Sans noticed and gave him a soft elbow to jar him from his thoughts.

Papyrus started. “S-sorry. It’s just . . . weird.”

“Tell me about it.” Sans more than sympathised. “But this is good. The kid’s not here yet. We’re early. We can head back into town, cut the kid off.”

Papyrus nodded. Even he knew that it wouldn’t be the best idea to just go waltzing up to his past self and try to explain everything. That’d be way too confusing. Best if they tried to avoid running into themselves.

The exception was Undyne, of course.

They snuck back through the woods, back to town, and began their careful skirt around the perimeter to see if they could spot the human.

It took them longer than they liked. Papyrus thought that the town being so dead and deserted would make things easier. But they must have been really early because the kid was nowhere in town. They were about to head further out of Snowdin, across the bridge, when Sans stopped him.

“Wait,” he whispered, gripping Papyrus’s arm. Papyrus froze, and saw Sans pointing across the way. Papyrus followed his brother’s gaze.

There they were. The human child, clothed in their signature striped shirt, a red bandana tied around their forehead and their hand adorned with a glove. They were hunched down low behind a building, carefully scanning in the direction where the brother’s house was.

“What are they doing?” Papyrus whispered.

“They’re waiting for something,” Sans muttered. A lightbulb went off in his head. Of course, how could he be so stupid? “They’re waiting for you.”

Papyrus’s head snapped in his direction.

“They’re waiting for you to change.”

–

Undyne could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, sweat gleaming off her scales. This evil doppleganger from the future was giving her one hell of a beating, but she never lost sight of her objective.

She needed to get to Papyrus, and she needed to get to him NOW!

She defended every attack sent her way with the green shield, but every moment she could, she strained to break out of the stranglehold of the green magic binding her in place. It couldn’t last forever, both she and her evil clone knew that, but every second she was here was another second Papyrus was closer to danger!

But the second she felt that green energy fade, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

“I doubt you’re gonna listen to me, but dammit, it’s worth a shot!” the evil clone shouted over the roar of battle. “Flowey’s tricking you! He wants you to use the whip on Papyrus! It’ll make him lose control! Don’t make him go through that! Don’t let that stupid flower use you!”

“I’m not about to get brainwashed by an evil clone!” Undyne snarled. “How stupid do you think I am?!”

“Pretty damn stupid, apparently!” Future-Undyne snapped right back.

They clashed, spears flying in every direction. One spear grazed her arm, but she managed to land a solid blow on the clone, sending her reeling, her single yellow eye widening in shock.

Undyne grinned. The blow was hard enough to snap the other’s concentration on her green magic, allowing her to move freely once again.

Undyne did not hesitate. She reached forward, and pinged her evil clone’s soul with green magic, locking her in place.

The Future Undyne, momentarily surprised, took the maneuver in stride, grinning right back at her.

And then Undyne spun right around and sprinted as hard as she could, towards Snowdin, leaving her evil clone in the dust.

She could hear her clone scream in anguish and rage behind her.

She blocked out the sound.

All that mattered was getting to Papyrus.

She needed to save him.

–

Vines lashed wildly through the air, their thorny limbs whistling through the ice-cold air as they seared towards their target. Gaster only blinked before he disappeared from view, apparating mere meters away and out of the vines’ wild swing.

“Hold still!” Flowey seethed. Vines erupted from the earth, serpentining around the doctor’s fragmented form, but he again disappeared from view, evading the attack.

“You are such a filthy CHEATER!”

Y̘͈̹our͓ͅ ̳̲̳fi̭rst̫ m̖i̺sta̠k͍̻̱e ̘w͍͚͕as ass͖̤uming̥̭ I͎ ̹ͅwo̝u͚͇ḽ̪͎d̺ f̱igh̯t ̝̲̙f̤ͅa̜̪̭ir̰̬.̱̩ Gaster said coldly.

Flowey gritted his teeth, redoubling his efforts. More vines came crashing down, more razor-sharp leaves sliced through the air, a hail of bullets pounded the entire field they found themselves in. Gaster responded with a flurry of bone attacks and several of those hellish skulls blasting him away with their powerful breath attacks.

But despite his frustrations, Flowey found himself utterly fascinated by this recent development. The long-forgotten Dr. Gaster, brought back to life?

Well, perhaps life was a generous term. Even now, Flowey could see the glitchy form of the skeleton monster strain with effort, his breaths haggard and labored. Though he remained cool and focused, there was no masking that look of sheer agony that occasionally crept across Gaster’s shattered face.

But why was the doc so intent on stopping him? He must know about his plan with Papyrus, but what caused him to care so much to come back and fight him?

Flowey gleamed. Oh, his plan must work most marvelously if the doc was this determined to stop him!

Which meant that Flowey had to ensure his plan came to fruition by any means necessary.

“Well, this has been most invigorating, the best fight I had in a while,” Flowey crooned. Gaster paused, catching his breath. “Really, way to get the blood pumping! Well, not like I have any of that, hee hee hee! But you know what I mean!”

I͚̮ cann̫̙͓o̦͇̩t̜͔ ̫̪͖l̪et ̭̺̜yo͚u̘ h̪̼̞a̩̙rm͉͖̘ ͈Pa̖̟̼p̞͈̹yru͚s̙͕̳. Gaster said in a low voice. E͈v͈e̲̝̗ṉ ̥you ̘̭̫wi͔ll͚̞̯ c̹̬o̠̮̭m̩e ̖̩to̼̮ ̟regr̦͓͇e͇̭͕t ̥͓̙it͔.

Flowey laughed indignantly. “Because you’re such a paragon of virtue, aren’t you? No, I think I’ll very much like having my own bit of fun! And I’m not letting you stop me!”

Gaster’s hand shot up, pinging Flowey with blue magic, preventing him from escaping. But Flowey anticipated such, hence why he taunted the doc to begin with. Vines appeared behind Gaster and shot right through his body, running him through and tearing him apart.

A static cacophonous scream of pain ripped through the air, but Flowey was already gone.

–

Undyne breached the border of Snowdin, the winter chill hitting her like a frozen slap across the face. It sucked the air right out of her lungs, but she pressed on. Papyrus’s house wasn’t much further–

Suddenly a little yellow flower popped up right in front of her. Flowey! She screeched to a halt before she accidentally ran him over.

The flower looked up at her, panicked and out of breath. “More are here! More came to stop you!”

Undyne blinked. “What?!”

“It’s too hard to explain right now–but you can’t trust anyone you see! It’s a trick! They want to stop you! They want Papyrus to die!”

Undyne clenched her fist. “So, I’m not the only one with an evil clone here, am I?” Flowey’s only response was a miserable nod. She didn’t bother on the how and why of the matter, that wasn’t important. “Then I need to get to him right now!”

“Hurry!” Flowey urged. “I’ll try to stop the evil Papyrus and Sans for as long as I can!”

Undyne balked. Both an evil version of Papyrus and Sans were here, too?! One was a handful on their own, but if both of them were fighting together, they would be a nightmare. “Are you sure?”

“We don’t have a choice, and we don’t have time, now go!” Flowey urged, and Undyne took off without any further encouragement.

Flowey turned, letting a sinister smile creep across his face.

No one was going to ruin this.

He disappeared, taking off to search for the time-traveling skeleton brothers.

–

Papyrus stood at the outskirts of Snowdin, not too far from the entrance of Waterfall, anxiously awaiting for the arrival of the human. It had been so dreadfully, hauntingly silent when he walked through the town. Everyone was inside, behind locked doors and shuttered windows. Everyone who was lucky enough to escape the human’s path of destruction, he thought bitterly to himself.

He steeled himself. The human was coming. And they were going down a very dark and dangerous path. For a moment, he had been conflicted between his duties as a Royal Guard and what was right. But he arrived at a conclusion he could be proud of: he needed to help this human find their way, even if it meant going against the Royal Guard’s orders. The human needed his help and guidance! Who was he to turn them away?

He heard footsteps rapidly approaching behind him, crunching through the snow. He quickly spun around, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

“Undyne–!” he said. His best friend’s arrival was a surprise but not an unwelcome one–

She reared back her fist and cracked him as hard as she could across the face, tears streaming from her singular golden eye.

–

“Something’s wrong.”

Papyrus heard it, too. There was a faint muffled sound of some sort of commotion, too far to make out any details but they could hear voices and what sounded like some sort of fighting.

The kid heard it, too, and they emerged from their hiding space and approached the sound.

Sans gritted his teeth. Did Undyne fail to stop her past self? No time to find out, he wasn’t letting the kid take another step forward.

He reached out his hand, glowing with magic. Papyrus’s own hand snapped out and snatched his wrist, pulling it downwards.

“No!” Papyrus protested in a hoarse whisper.

“Paps, we don’t have time for this!” Sans snarled in frustration. “We talked about this, we have to stop the kid, no matter what!”

“And we can do it without hurting them!” Papyrus insisted. “Watch!”

Papyrus raised his own hand, glowing with blue magic. He targeted the snow covering the roof of a nearby building and with a simple flick of his wrist, the telekinetic magic caused it to come loose, falling to the ground in a cascade of snow right in front of the human.

The human jumped, just barely missing the wall of snow. They glanced around, looking for the cause of the disturbance, but shrugged and tried to trudge through the mound of snow now blocking their path. It was hard work, with snow so loose, but they pushed through with sheer determination.

Papyrus reached out and pinged the next house, causing the snow from that roof to fall right in front of the human once again.

The human stopped. They squinted suspiciously.

Sans couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, I gotta admit, that’s pretty funny.”

The stalling wasn’t enough, even Papyrus was aware of that. But how to get the human away from . . . from him?

Suddenly, a vine lashed around his mouth, gagging him. Papyrus let out a muffled scream of surprise before he was dragged away. More vines wrapped around him, binding him in place. Papyrus tried to thrash and wriggle himself free, but could barely budge an inch. The thorns on the vines scratched painfully against his bones, causing him to wince. Sans was similarly trapped, his eyes flashing blue and yellow. He was trying to teleport away, but somehow the vines were preventing him from doing so.

And away they were dragged, away from the human. Papyrus could see them crest the last snow mound and make their final approach.

Papyrus tried to scream. But his muffled voice barely reached his own ears.

Flowey appeared before them, that menacing smile greeting them once more.

“Honestly, I’m flattered!” he giggled. “I’m flattered you traveled all across space and time to stop little ol’ me! Which means just one thing: my plan must be something REALLY special!”

In the distance, a scream broke through the deathly silent air.

–

Undyne watched in horror as her friend’s body twisted and convulsed. She had watched Papyrus transform dozens, if not hundreds of times. But this . . . this was different. More violent. More visceral.

The changes were different. The spikes running along his back weren’t that long, they weren’t serrated–his tail didn’t have spikes on the end–his horns were different–

What was HAPPENING to him?!

“What have you DONE?!”

That was her voice. Did she say that?!

But no. Behind her was her evil doppleganger, quickly approaching but her steps faltered when she saw the state Papyrus was in.

Undyne could see the horror and pain and regret on her clone’s face. That expression . . . it was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

It was harrowing.

Her clone snarled with rage, turning on her. “Do you see now?! Idiot!!!” She summoned a spear to her side, resolution dominating her features. But still, there was that pain, that regret, that haunting sorrow. “We don’t have a choice now. We have to stop him!”

Undyne shuddered. Another scream erupted from Papyrus as his body continued to change, growing larger and far more monstrous with every passing second. “But Papyrus ca defeat the human–”

“THAT’S NOT PAPYRUS ANYMORE!!!”

Undyne stared. She couldn’t believe it . . . but the proof was right in front of her. That feral gleam in the dragon’s eyes right in front of them . . . there was nothing left of her friend in that thing that now stood before her.

The dragon let out a death rattle as the final changes overcame it. It rose to its full height–far taller than he was supposed to be, far more feral, far more dangerous, far more deadly. And those blazing orange eyes snapped right to them.

Undyne felt her blood freeze.

As fast as a viper, it lunged forward, those terrible jaws gaping wide to snap down on her–

There was a sudden flash of blue and a crack of ozone. Undyne blinked. They now found themselves in the Hotland labs?! She spun around, seeing her (maybe not so evil?) clone by her side and . . . Sans?

Sans was staring up at the both of them. His expression was shocked, understandably so, but Undyne could detect a hint of anger. But it was mostly shock as he glanced back and forth between the two of them.

“Well.” Sans said. “No one told me Undyne had a twin sister.”

The other Undyne began to rattle off at full speed. “SANS! I know this sounds crazy but I’m from the future and I came back in time with Papyrus and you to stop myself from hurting Papyrus–obviously that didn’t work but right now we need to make sure Papyrus doesn’t kill the kid because if he does, he’s going to screw up the timeline forever–!”

Undyne stared at her doppleganger. She didn’t know what to believe. But what she did know was that Flowey lied to her. Or at the very least, horribly manipulated her. And because of that lie, she hurt her very best friend in the worst way.

So now she was very angry.

Sans was still staring at the doppleganger, the shock wearing off and replaced by an unreadable mask.

“Well, that explains the anomalies I just saw . . .” he muttered.

“Oh, Gaster’s here, too, he’s helping us, so don’t kill him,” the other Undyne added quickly.

That proved to be the worst thing to say as both Sans and Undyne froze, stiffening in rage.

“Gaster’s here?” Sans asked. His eyes were completely empty, his voice low and dangerous.

The future Undyne mentally kicked herself. She should have kept that little tidbit to herself–

“He’s the only reason we were able to get here,” she said quickly. “Look, be pissed at him all you want, but we need to get back there and save Papyrus! Now are you going to help me or what?!” Undyne asked furiously.

But both Undyne and Sans knew that Gaster was undoubtedly the cruelest monster to ever live. He was the one responsible for what was happening to Papyrus, after all.

The two of them turned on the future Undyne, spears and bones summoned to their sides. Future-Undyne wanted to scream. Her and her big fat stupid mouth.

“I don’t know what sort of trick you’re pulling but it’s not gonna work!” Undyne snarled.

“You wanna ask him yourself?! Go for it!” Future-Undyne cried. “But we’re wasting time! We have to move!!! NOW!!!”

Undyne and Sans exchanged a look. If Undyne was lying, a lot of monsters were going to be hurt.

But if she was telling the truth, their entire existence could be in jeopardy.

Sans glared up at her. “If you’re lying–”

“You can kick my ass to kingdom come, now let’s GO ALREADY!!!” Undyne said, stomping her foot impatiently.

Sans gripped both Undyne’s hands and teleported away.

–

Flowey dragged Papyrus and Sans away from the imminent battle, feeling them both struggle in his grip. He let out a mad cackle. Their desperation was just so delicious! Perhaps he could indulge their worst fantasies and force them to witness the battle for themselves! Personally, he wanted to see the monstrous Papyrus rip that little brat to bloody shreds!!!

L̥̣EŤ͆͆ ͔̀TḪ̤͌̀̊ͅE̮̼ͮ̓M ̟̰G̭̻͌̓O̠̎!̲̪͒̽!!

Two Gaster Blasters appeared at the brother’s sides, their jaws snapping down on the vines and freeing them from their grasp. Papyrus jumped to his feet and helped Sans to his.

Gaster had come to their rescue! But the doctor was on the brink of turning to dust. His body was barely there as it was glitching in and out of existence like static on a television, his expression one of pain as he struggled to stay present. But underneath all that, his eyes glowed a bright and brilliant blue as through brute determination alone he hung onto existence.

Papyrus gaped. “Gaster–!”

Ḡ̰Oͮ̽ͣͫ͋!̦̬̰͕̾̎̆̚!̓! ̼͔̜͔͙͍̄̆͑͑͗̓N̹͒Ô̳͖͕̖͉̦ͬͪ̓̎͌W!̗͍͕̮!̟͔̭̲̓̏̍̓!͉͙̼̱͎̼ͦ͋͛͗̉ͤ

Sans gripped his hand and tugged him along, leaving Gaster alone to fight Flowey. He tried not to think how this was undoubtedly the last time they’d see Gaster alive.

They had to make this count. They charged forward, towards the battle.

They arrived at the clearing just in time to see the skeletal draconic Papyrus finish his shifting, turning its hellish gaze upon the two Undynes standing before it. It leaped into the air, ready to sink its teeth and claws into the two fish-monsters, before they inexplicably zapped out of existence with a familiar blue spark of magic.

Sans managed to snatch them away at the brink of time.

But they weren’t done yet. They could see the human approach, their eyes lighting up with eager anticipation as they saw the monstrous dragon before them.

And the dragon saw them.

It let out a furious roar, ready to pounce.

“NO!” Papyrus cried. He rushed forward, and using all his strength, he encompassed the dragon with blue magic. The dragon let out a shocked yelp as its body crashed to the ground as if struck with an immense invisible weight. It roared and thrashed viciously, fighting back against Papyrus. Papyrus gritted his teeth, using every ounce of his strength to keep the dragon–himself–pinned.

The human stared back and forth between the two Papyrus-es, one draconic, one humanoid, in complete bafflement.

“Human!” Papyrus called out. The dragon opened its jaws, ready to let out a deadly blast. But Papyrus shifted his focus, forcing the jaws to snap closed. “Y-you cannot fight this! It’s too strong! You will be destroyed!”

The human paused, almost considering it. Then they charged forward, fist raised, ready to engage the dragon. Papyrus winced. No! This wasn’t what he wanted!

“I’m sorry, bro,” Sans said regretfully. “But if the way to stop it is to put you down–”

“No! No one has to get hurt!” Papyrus shouted. He diverted some of his magic to the human, freezing them in place. “We–we just have to exhaust it–him–me!!! He can’t keep it up forever! Just tire him out!”

Sans could have slapped him. Even now, he was so stupidly optimistic.

But he reached out, and used his own magic to pin the dragon down. It again let out a furious roar, but it was strong. Even with the brother’s combined efforts, they could feel the dragon slipping from their control.

It also didn’t help that the human was so determined to fight the dragon themselves and was fighting Papyrus’s control just as fiercely. They managed to break free, and charged forward, swinging their fist and landing a heavy blow against the dragon’s skull.

The dragon’s head snapped to the side from the impact, but didn’t appear the blow itself did much damage. But it enraged the beast and with a surge of incredible strength it broke free of the brother’s control and lashed out with its wicked claws.

Papyrus was at the ready and caught the limb mid-swing, slowing it considerably. The human managed to duck mostly out of the way, the blow glancing off their side and shredding the hem of their shirt. They winced from the impact but it was a miracle they hadn’t been torn to pierces. Gritting their teeth and steeling their resolve, they attacked again.

“Please stop!” Papyrus shouted. “You’re just making it worse!”

Sans was right by his brother’s side, carefully weighing his options. He shouldn’t have been surprised his brother was so steadfastly resolved to fix this whole mess with pacifism. Sans had to find a way to fix this around Papyrus’s impediment. Realistically, if Sans went full-bore like he did when he typically fought the human at the end of the palace corridors, he could take them out. The human’s LV was still relatively low right now. But attacking the human outright would make Papyrus turn on him and he’d try to stop them.

So the best thing he could do was keep the dragon pinned down and let the kid finish him off. It was . . . brutal, and he hated the idea of helping the brat kill his own brother.

But if it saved their timeline, if it ensured their future remained intact, it was the only thing he could do.

“I’m sorry, bro,” Sans said as he focused all his magic on the dragon. It thrashed, its orange eyes wild and wide as it tried to attack, managing a slow and stuttering swipe once in a while, but for the human, it was like shooting a fish in a barrel.

And for that reason, the human was left unsatisfied.

“Don’t help me!” the human shouted.

That got Sans and Papyrus to start. The human barely spoke, and now they were glowering warningly at them.

“I want to fight him! You’re ruining it!”

Sans could have blasted that kid if he could. “Kid, this is a fight you can’t win. This thing is specifically designed to eat little freaks like you.”

“Then let me try!” Then the brat had the audacity to lunge at him! It was enough to cause Sans’ concentration to slip, causing the dragon to finally wrestle itself free of their control. The dragon roared, completely enraged and snapped around, going right for the kill.

Papyrus dove forward, wrapping the kid in his arms and shoving them away just in time. But the jaws snapped down hard around Papyrus, and the skeleton let out a cry of pain. He winced, bracing himself, but he had just managed to grip the dragon’s jaws, preventing them from closing around him completely and snapping him in half.

He then forced the jaws open just enough for him to worm his way out, falling clumsily to the ground. Papyrus cradled his side, wincing in pain.

“Human! Are you alright?!” he called out.

But the human wasn’t paying attention to him. They just charged right forward, fist raised, landing another blow on the distracted beast. It reeled for just a second before twisting around, its tail lashing out to swipe at them.

Papyrus once again used his blue magic to stop the tail dead in its tracks, allowing the human to easily dodge, but they were angry at Papyrus’s interference. Sans regained his footing and summoned a Gaster Blaster and the blast from the skull construct knocked the dragon off its feet.

“Why are you helping me?!”

“Because you can die!”

“I don’t care.”

“Die for GOOD!!!”

That got the kid to stop and stare at him. Papyrus latched onto that moment of hesitation for dear life.

“If I–if that dragon kills you, you won’t be able to come back!” Papyrus warned. “That’s it! No more do-overs! No more resets!”

The human’s eyes went wide. And Papyrus desperately hoped the human sensed his sincerity, or at least his desperation.

The human swallowed, staring down the draconic beast. It was back on its feet, shaking itself off, and ready to attack again.

“Fine. We’ll fight it together.”

“I was hoping you’d just–run away and let it tire itself out!” Papyrus called out feebly.

But the human wasn’t so eager to throw away such an exhilarating fight. Their approach became far more defensive, reacting to incoming attacks instead of bull-rushing straight on. Papyrus didn’t like that approach any better! They still wanted to kill him!

And worst of all, Sans was in on it. His entire focus was on stopping the dragon at every turn, impeding its attacks by freezing it in place. Then the kid could wail on it to their heart’s content.

Papyrus moved to stop them, but more commotion caught his eye behind him. Arriving at the scene was Undyne! Actually, two of them! Along with another Sans!

The human blinked, rubbing their eyes. Papyrus didn’t blame them if they thought they had started seeing double.

“Come on! Take him down!” Undyne cried out, throwing a volley of spears at the dragon. Papyrus couldn’t tell if that was past or future Undyne. He supposed it didn’t quite matter at the moment.

Now everyone was on the dragon, pummeling it with magic attacks. It tried to fight back, tried to bite and claw at anyone that got too close, even tried to blast them with its devastating laser attack, but the two Sans-es worked together to keep it immobile as the Undynes and the human unleashed their full strength against it.

Papyrus watched, horrified. This wasn’t right! This isn’t what he wanted! He didn’t want anyone getting hurt! Not even the dragon!

And then it got worse. Vines whipped into the fray, gripping everyone and pulling them away, even pinning the dragon under a cocoon of thorns. Papyrus turned to see Flowey emerge from the forest.

And in one of his many tendril-like vines he gripped Gaster–or whatever horrific remnants there was left of him.

Papyrus gasped.

“Now, now!” Flowey said in a sickly sweet voice. “I don’t think we should spoil all the human’s fun, should we?”

He dropped Gaster unceremoniously to the ground where he splattered like tar, his form incomprehensible. Papyrus could barely make out his face.

Flowey pulled both Undynes and both Sans-es away, leaving the kid free to approach the dragon. He loosened his grip on the dragon as well, letting it rise to its feet for one final fight.

The dragon had been significantly weakened, but it had more than enough ferocity left in it to cause devastating harm.

And Papyrus saw the future play out before him. He saw flashes of red against the snow. He saw the human’s body torn to pieces. He could hear the tortured, agonized wails of pain and grief.

He felt every crippling moment of pain and sorrow he experienced tenfold. He felt it all in that one moment, and he knew that he NEEDED to stop it from happening ever again.

The dragon’s jaws snapped open, a terrible whine building in its throat as its maw glowed a bright and blinding blue. The human hunched over, ready to strike.

Papyrus rushed forward, screaming.

”STOP!!!”

He threw himself in front of the human, his arms stretched out to his sides.

The blast hit him full-force, all that magic searing his entire body like fire. It consumed him in a terrible pain, pain so complete he thought he would rend to dust right then and there.

It was over as fast as it started. Papyrus collapsed to his hands and knees, every bone in his body shaking. But he looked over his shoulder, seeing the human was unharmed.

The human was in shock. Their mouth was dropped open, their eyes wide, their hands hanging limply at their sides.

Papyrus turned back to face the dragon, who had also paused. It let out a low continuous growl, but . . . it wasn’t attacking them.

The skeleton shoved himself to his feet. He forced one foot in front of the other, limping towards the dragon. Every step was agony. Every move took every ounce of his concentration and will.

Everything hurt.

But it was nothing compared to the hurt the dragon–himself–was surely experiencing.

He wasn’t aware of everyone else behind him, who were watching, stunned and frozen in place, waiting with bated breath.

“It’s ok . . .” Papyrus whispered, raising a hand to the dragon.

The dragon flinched away from him, letting out a louder warning growl.

“I know . . . I know,” Papyrus said, stepping closer still. The dragon didn’t move. Those orange eyes were locked firmly on Papyrus, still letting out a steady growl like thunder. “You must be so angry and so scared. I know. I too was hurt. And . . . I did something so very terrible. And whatever hurt you’re feeling now . . . it doesn’t come close to the hurt I felt then.”

Behind him, Undyne winced with guilt.

“None of this should have happened. And I’m so very sorry it did happen. But it can stop. All of this can stop right now. No one has to hurt anyone anymore. Not them. Not you.”

Papyrus was so close now, so close he could reach out and touch the dragon.

He raised his hand. The dragon flinched away from him.

“It’s ok,” Papyrus said softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. And I won’t let them hurt you anymore, either.”

Flowey let out a snarl, ready to show that stupid skeleton just how wrong he was. But two skeletons and two Undynes simultaneously reached out and pinned him down, preventing him from moving a single inch. Both Sans-es and Undynes glared down at him warningly.

Papyrus stepped closer. The dragon pulled back its head, growling louder, so he stopped, and just held his hands in the air before him. He wouldn’t put a hand on the dragon if it did not want to. He could be patient.

And slowly, very slowly, the dragon’s growls softened to a whimper, and then to a whine. The savage and feral gleam in those eyes faded. And Papyrus could see . . . something within.

Familiarity. Recognition. Pain and hurt.

“It’s ok.”

The dragon closed its eyes. Its body began to shake.

“It’s ok. It’s over. It’s all over.”

Its head extended forward, its snout pressing into Papyrus’s hand. Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around its muzzle.

“It’s ok. You’re ok. It’s going to be ok.”

And he stood there for a long time, just holding the poor tortured creature, whispering soft words of assurance to it. And then the dragon’s body sagged, overcome by exhaustion, and it crumpled to the ground. Papyrus followed it down, kneeling before the dragon, still cradling its massive head in its hands.

Its body crackled with orange magic, and at this, Papyrus pulled away. He recognized this magic. The dragon’s body began to shrink and change, the horns and spikes and tail all disappearing as it became smaller and more humanoid. In moments, the dragon reverted back to its proper shape–Papyrus.

The Papyrus that was once a dragon looked up blearily at himself, and a brief look of confusion crossed his face before the exhaustion of the battle and the transformation consumed him and he fell unconscious.

Papyrus eased himself to the ground, making sure he was ok–he hadn’t quite gotten over how surreal this all was, but that wasn’t important. All that mattered was that he was ok–

They all were ok.

He turned back around to see everyone staring at him, all with some mixture of shock, awe, and admiration, though Flowey mostly looked furious. But the human especially was fixated on him. And Papyrus thought he saw tears in the human’s eyes.

There was silence. No one seemed sure what to even say, certainly not Papyrus.

But then the human, of all people, spoke up.

All they said was one word, thick and choked with emotion as tears threatened to spill.

“Why?”

Papyrus simply shrugged. He knew why, but he too was exhausted, barely able to stand after enduring a single blow from the dragon.

“Because . . . because it was right,” he said. “Hurting people–it never does any good, does it? It just . . . hurts people. It only leads to bad things. You know the old phrase, hurt people hurt people. Which sounds . . . silly when you say it like that. But the pain you inflict on someone, it . . . reverberates. Echoes across everyone they come across. I . . . I didn’t want you–anyone–to have that happen to them.”

The human lowered their head. “I just–I needed to know what happened, and I just thought–” They stopped themselves, shaking their head. “I could always fix things if they went wrong.”

“Not everything,” Papyrus muttered. He grinned. “Why do you think we’re here?”

Again, a heavy silence hung around them. Undyne–the Undyne from the future–came to his side and cast healing magic on him to make sure he didn’t collapse into dust.

“That was unbelievably stupid of you,” she said, biting back tears. “But . . . It was also really brave.”

Papyrus just shrugged in response. What else was there to say?

But once he was feeling marginally better, he pushed himself to his feet. There was one other person he had to see to.

Gaster.

The scientist was reduced to a fraction of his former self. He was leaning up against a tree, barely holding himself together. Papyrus came to his side, desperately struggling with what to do. Did he need healing? Would healing magic even work on him?

Seeing Papyrus’s distress, Gaster raised a hand–a hand that was rapidly blinking in and out of existence.

D͚̖͓on't̙̘̗ wor͉r̘͙̜y ̩̳a̼̯boṷ̘t m̗̹e.̭ I͉ṭ͎̳ ͓̥is ̙o̝v̘̝ͅe͍͖̳r.

Papyrus didn’t know what to say, because he knew what the doctor meant. Gaster closed his eyes, sighing with content.

I̩̠̜ c̠a̤n g̬o̲͕̤ ̜̖̹ịn̖̥ pe͖ac̩e̠ now. A͕̬̲nd̤̳̦ now̹͕̝,̮̦ so̗ͅ ̗̝̠must͚ ̱̠y̘͇̠o͓u.̗

“But now what do we do?” Past-Undyne spoke up. “I mean, I don’t know a lot about time travel and stuff, but doesn’t having two of us around cause a paradox or something? That’s bad, right?”

“It’s easy enough to fix, actually,” Sans spoke up. Which Sans was that? It was hard to tell. “All the kid needs to do is RESET. And everything will go back to normal.”

“Normal . . . how?” Future-Undyne asked. “Are we just gonna disappear?”

“I mean, technically yes? Because our future wouldn’t have happened. So we’ll no longer exist.”

“So we’re just gonna blink out of existence?!” Undyne shouted. “I didn’t sign up for that!”

“You blink out of existence every time the kid resets,” Sans reminded her calmly. “That’s time travel for you.”

Undyne stared. “Ugh. Time travel is bullshit. It’s now my least favorite anime trope.”

Papyrus laughed.

The human looked between all of them, including the glowering and fuming Flowey who hadn’t yet tried anything because one Sans was bad enough and now there were two and Flowey knew those trash bags were begging for an excuse to throttle him.

“So . . . I just go back? And it’s like none of this ever happened?” the human clarified.

“Yup. Same as always,” Sans said casually.

“Then no one’s going to remember anything that happened!”

“No one but you, kiddo,” Sans said. “Same as always.”

The human’s gaze went far away. It hit them rather hard that no one was going to remember this, or at least, not fully. Sans might remember bits and pieces, he always seemed to have some sort of awareness of the resets, but never a complete picture.

But if the human wanted to try this again, nothing and no one could stop them.

Which, for the first time in their life, was horrifying.

It didn’t escape them what absolutely insane and absurd lengths the monsters went through to stop them. Which meant that the future in which they succeeded must have been truly awful.

So awful that Sans and Papyrus and Undyne traveled back in time to stop them.

It hit them hard and pierced deep. This gift they had–this power of DETERMINATION–they had been using it so foolishly, so callously, not paying a second’s mind to how badly it was hurting everyone around them.

Because they thought it didn’t matter, they could just do it over–

But that clearly wasn't the case. It was just like Papyrus said, there were echoes. Even if they couldn’t see it now, their actions still hurt them.

The human collapsed to their knees and sobbed. They felt Papyrus kneel down right next to them, and he wrapped his arms around them in a hug and held them tight.

The human decided they didn’t want to hurt anyone else. No more. Not again. Never again.

“I’m sorry . . .” they said. “I’m so sorry . . .”

“I know,” Papyrus said. “But you still have the choice to make it right.”

The human knew that. To them, there wasn’t a choice. So they wasted no more time.

Their soul filled with DETERMINATION.

And they RESET.

#what are friends for #waff #undertale #fan fiction #fanfiction #undyne #papyrus #sans #gaster #wd gaster #flowey #gaster blaster au #gb au

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yinyanchan · 1 month ago

Text

Wild West

Hello Everyone. I decided to throw together the little wild west centaur story as a snippet. It is written with a female reader. It's the only thing I've been able to write since the hurricane and my mentality is still not where I'd like to be... so whatever gets me to write is what I'm after right now. Dunno if this will actually be a thing to continue and Sans and Stretch (SwapPap) would be in it but they haven't appeared/been mentioned in this snippet.... also Axe and Nook... I will post the chapter snippet under the link. Before it will be descriptions of the skellies horse bodies.

Sans- dapple grey Arabian.

Stretch- tan and black Mustang.

Blue- blue roan Nokota.

Papyrus- orange chestnut Belgian

Russ- dark bay Thoroughbred

Edge- black Friesian

Red- black Percheron

Black- Dark bay Andalusian

Nook- buff chestnut Shire

Axe- Grey Clydesdale

Here you were.

Riding the stage coach to the wild west and the monster lands of Ebbott.

You wanted to enact diplomatic means and conversing with your penpal, Lady Toriel, you had a way to learn more about monsters and how best for humans and monsters to finally start bridging the gap between them.

It was a daunting task but you were thrilled with this opportunity. You’ve heard that the town of New Home of Ebbott was opening up and had a few humans living amongst monsterkind.

Monsters were fascinating creatures and the one you were going to be staying with was very sweet on paper. Now you are finally getting to meet her.

This very stage coach had to be paid extra to coerce going into monster land as the trade route was just on the perimeter. A lot of humans were scared to go past the border. It also seemed to be the same for monsters.

Yet from the tales of magic to learning about souls… you couldn’t wait to see your friend and teacher. You had heard about her plea when it was discussed about further trade and camaraderie between the nations. So endearing you had reached out to her and from that moment on… you had found a friend you hadn’t known you needed.

Lady Toriel was a very sweet individual and had a motherly way about her… you could tell from the way she writes to you. Not everything was business with her and she seemed genuine in learning about you as much as you wanted to learn about her.

Then the day had come she had asked for your help. She wanted someone she knew, without a doubt, with a kind soul to come and help her reach the more stubborn of monsters.

Hostilities between humans and monsters were still very high. You can’t judge a book by its cover, just as you don’t know if a kind stranger is actually a danger. So you were going to help promote peace and hopefully with your efforts combined, get monsters and humans on the same page as one another.

Lady Toriel said it would take a lot of hard work and there were a lot of things she and you were going to have to learn before getting into the thick of things.

Yet you couldn’t help the excited jitters sending shivers of joy down your body. Finally, this was something you could do. Something you were more than willing to take on as this meant you’d get to know more about the fantastic beings that live in Ebbott.

Not only that but you were going to prove that humans and monsters could coexist in harmony. No longer fighting at borders, no more blood or dust shed.

Peace.

Getting carried away in your thoughts, you were not the only person traversing to Ebbott. It was a rather large stagecoach but you and a small handful of people were joining. Not exactly staying in New Home but reaching it as a destination as they go further into the mountains. Another area had recently opened up to travelers called Snowdin and they were offering the finest furs. Also a rumor that there was gold.

So prospectors would be heading that way. There was one other woman with you but the rest were men. Traders and merchants. The lady was in very fancy attire and was being carted along by her husband.

Apparently to check on some furs.

Their talk of trade and growing market for monster made items was interesting, and would hold some value as you and Lady Toriel decided to talk on all avenues… but when the stage coach came to a halt… and there wasn’t a sign of a town… it had the men reaching for their pistols.

Not going to lie… you traveled with one as well. It was dangerous for a young woman to go on her own… especially with bandits, gangs, and highwaymen.

You heard the coachman call out to someone and you attempted to look out of the window to see what was going on.

You gasp. It was two centaurian monsters… and their upper halves were skeletons. The skeletal horsemen seem appeased by what the stagecoach driver says and approach you all. The men have hands on their pistols as they open the door.

The smaller centaur stepped forward, a blue roan Nokota horse lower half. Beautiful bluish grey body that was a bit dappled. He was decked out in fringed tan leather. A blue flannel button up under the tan jacket. White gloves with a slight fringe. Wide brimmed tan cowboy hat. A tightly fitted blue bandana around his neck. He has more human-like teeth and big beautiful bright blue eyelights that when focused were stars.

He slowly takes the hat from his head and places it both hands in front of him in submissive demeanor.

The other follows suit.

He's a bit bigger and taller than blue roan Nokota… probably because his horse half is a beautiful orange chestnut Belgian. He has a white brimmed cowboy hat. White leather fringed coat. Orange button up shirt with a light Grey vest. Red gloves that you almost mistook for mittens. A red billowy bandana hugged his neck tightly. His warm and sunny disposition was rather endearing as the other one.

“WE HATE TO ASK YOU KIND FOLKS BUT WE HAVE RUN INTO A NASTY DRY SPELL.” The blue roan starts and the other nods.

“THE DROUGHT HAS CAUGHT US ALL AND IF YOU COULD SPARE A FEW GOLD OR EVEN SOME RATIONS. WE WOULD BE ENTIRELY THANKFUL.” The Belgian adds. They seemed so kind yet so worn. It seemed to be tugging at everyones heart strings.

“IF THERE IS NOTHING TO SPARE WE UNDERSTAND AND WILL WISH YOU SAFE TRAVELS.” The Nokota bows his head and the other does the same.

Man it really hurt to know that there was a drought hurting them… yet something in you felt like that since this was the desert it should have been a known danger… but there was something about them that made your heart hurt.

So you and surprisingly the others offered up what you could. You didn’t have much but you knew that the bracelet your aunt had given you would get them something. Seeing as they had suggested it wasn’t just the two of them suffering.

It was a cute trinket. A silver chain with an emerald heart.

It was really all you had.

Other than the few gold you had to make sure you could get to Lady Toriel safely and start working.

If this was going to help some monsters, then by all means… it was what you were here to do. Help monsters and humans alike.

The others had given some gold to the skeletons and you were the last as they turned to you.

So with a sad smile you unclip your bracelet and hand it to a shocked Belgian.

“I don’t have much but I can’t let you go without. So this will get you something.” You smile warmly at them both.

You see a slight unease in them as they seem to take you all in… and in wonder.

After glancing at one another the Nokota takes the bracelet with a smile but before he adds it to the pile.

“I HOPE WE AREN’T TAKING SOMETHING THAT IS PRECIOUS TO YOU.” The Nokota is asking you to reconsider giving up something that means something to you and it only endeared you more to their efforts.

“I’m sure that it’s going to a better cause.” You smile and see a subtle wince from them both but the Nokota smiles brightly.

“THANK YOU KINDLY.” He quickly stammers out a blue blush adorning his features and the Belgian seems concerned.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO GIVE US ANYTHING IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE MEANS TO DO SO. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG IN SAYING NO.” The Belgian whispers to you as the Nokota merrily talks to the others and thanking them profusely for their offerings.

“I want to help.” and it was true. You did want to help in any way that you could… and you see an orange blush creep over his features.

“THANK YOU MY LADY… THOUGH SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND?” He asks to see if you will reconsider.

“No, I came all this way to be with Lady Toriel and together we are going to improve monster and human relations. If I can’t help monsters in need, then what would be the point in coming out here?” His sockets widen a bit when he hears this and you can tell he wants to ask questions but the Nokota stamps a hoof.

“WELL THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN BUT WE MUST BE ON OUR WAY!” The Nokota rears and shows off with a beautiful show of his horse body. Then the both of them make their way out.

All of you waving after them.

There were pleased murmurs and how they enjoyed meeting actual monsters and it made your heart soar. This was what you wanted to achieve and glad that you could witness and be a part of such a positive interaction.

However the thundering of hooves seemed to be getting closer than the distant silhouettes of the now vanishing centaurs.

Then the stagecoach driver cried out and even the horses reared as suddenly four centaurs rounded onto your group… and they were scary.

All of them had sharp, deadly looking teeth… two had a gold fang apiece.

One was a tall and elegantly dressed skeleton with vicious looking teeth of spikes. This one had a more rounded brim black hat. Black duster with beautiful silver paisley on a black vest underneath. A Charcoal grey button up shirt with a low hanging black with silver paisley bandana. Also loaded with ammo and guns… Yet his equine half was that of a beautiful black Friesian that was just as elegant as he dressed. His red eye lights flickering around to take in what he could.

Another was a Thoroughbred dark bay horse body. Thick dark brown duster with a high collar and equally colored cowboy hat pulled down low. A ruddy clay colored bandana hung low from his neck. He watches with great interest as his fangs, one gold, chew on a cigarette.

The one sizing up the one man tempted to get his gun, has a giant black muscular horse body of what had to be a Percheron. Dirty black dust coat settled over a fully loaded belt and bandoleer. Faded red undershirt and a black bandana with red paisley drooped around his neck. Shotgun over his back and pistols at his side. A wide brimmed dusty black cowboy hat sat low on his skull.

“Just try it shortstack.” He growled at the man. With his sharp shark teeth, one gold, bared at him. A smoldering cigar hanging limply in the corner of his maw.

Then you see the leader, as he approaches they all step out of his way. He inspects you all and gets to you.

Dressed in fancy black leathers and a cowboy hat. Vibrant red button up flannel underneath his heavy leather dust coat with a flat black vest. Premium black leather gloves. A black bandana hung loosely down around his neck.

His horse body was a rugged yet sturdy built dark bay Andalusian. It looks black but shimmers a dark reddish brown in the light. Impressively well kept coat.

So when he leans his ruggedly charming face in closer… those menacing shark like teeth and smoldering crimson stars… you pull your gun.

“Stand back! I’m warning you!” You see the other men trying to pull their own piece out but then what throws you is the sight of the skeleton before you looking absolutely shocked.

He looks at the gun then to you in utter horror then anger.

“ARE YOU ALL STUPID!?” He snarls and you keep it raised in fear. This had to be a monster gang… you were sure of it.

When he sees you aren’t budging he gets even angrier and yanks something shimmering from off his chest and thrusts it in your face.

“I’M THE LAW!!! YOU MORONS JUST LET YOURSELVES BE ROBBED BY THE NOTORIOUS BONES AND HOOVES GANG!!!” He screeches and stamps a hoof in anger… leaving you all befuddled as you see the well polished metal of a sheriff badge in your face.

Your heart just dropped.

If these callous hooligans were the law? How would anyone know that the sweet and kind monsters you met earlier were the bad guys?

…

And you had given them the only thing you had left of your family…

You slowly lower your pistol and as the skeleton in front of you gets ready to yell again… you find he deflates as silent tears appear.

The humans you were with voicing their displeasure at having been tricked were drowned out as your heart ached. The Friesian stepped up to write their stories down from what had happened as the Thoroughbred and Percheron rode out to track the trail left behind.

“I’m sorry…” You told the sheriff.

He seems uncomfortable while also wanting to offer you some comfort.

“HEY… IT’S A DIFFERENT WAY HERE… AND I’M…” He’s exceedingly uncomfortable as you wipe away your tears after putting your gun away.

“I’M SORRY THAT THIS HAPPENED, THE BOYS AND I DO OUR BEST BUT THE BONES AND HOOVES GANG ARE THE BEST AT KEEPING US IN THE DUST.” He says and turns to see the returning duo as they shake their heads at him.

They had lost the trail.

“DID THEY TAKE SOMETHING OF VALUE?” He turns back to you and you nod.

“I thought if it was to help those in need… then I certainly didn’t need it… I’m… I’m such an idiot.” You had just thought about how wrong it was to judge a book by its cover.

“I… I MAY HAVE BEEN TOO HARSH… ESPECIALLY WITH WHAT JUST HAPPENED… HERE LET ME ESCORT YOU KIND FOLKS TO THE NEXT STOP AT NEW HOME. WE WILL GET MORE INFORMATION AND TRY OUR BEST TO BRING THEM TO JUSTICE.” Despite him trying to make things a little easier for you.

It still hurt to know you had been swindled. Your kindness had been taken for granted.

“THAT WAS VERY KIND OF YOU, YOU KNOW?” The Andulusian says as he helps you back into the stagecoach.

You truly look at him and notice the red blush cresting over his nasal ridge.

“WE NEED A LITTLE MORE OF THAT IN NEW HOME.” He adds and turns his flustered face away at your surprise.

The hope in you swelled back into place… yes you were sad but this was what you were here for. To bring what you could offer to help with peace.

“I hope Lady Toriel was right, that I am needed there.” You mutter and he looks at you in shock.

“LADY Y/N!?” He practically yelps and stares at you in a fright.

“Um… yes?” You answer.

The other centaurs look at you bewildered… until the Percheron starts braying with laughter.

“Tha newbie got conned an it ain’t even her first day!” He starts stamping a hoof and kicking up sand in his humor.

“So who is gonna tell Lady Toriel this happened?” The Thoroughbred snickers and then says “not it.”

A chorus of “not its” rang out, all aside from the one that was laughing… he stopped immediately and looked in panic at the others smirking at him.

“Aw fuck! Ya know it ain’t fair when I’m in tha middle of somethin’!” The Percheron stamps a hoof in anger and crosses his arms… then pouts.

You all board the coach and as you all head towards New Home… there is some comfort knowing they follow along… and there is something charming in how these fierce looking skeletons are actually doing their best to help you all.

Especially the stoic Friesian that is asking you questions through the window and writing down your answers… as he trots along the coach.

“SO YOU LOST A SILVER CHAIN BRACELET WITH A GREEN EMERALD?” He writes it down.

“Yeah… the emerald is in the shape of a heart.” You add and when he looks up from writing… his sockets widen as if he seems to see something you can’t.

“THAT SEEMS APPROPRIATELY FITTING… WE WILL GET IT BACK FOR YOU MY LADY.”

He was odd and quirky but that made him even more endearing.

“Thank you.” and watch him blush more and turn his skull to face ahead.

“YOU ARE MOST WELCOME.”

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