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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
And now for someone you didn’t want to hear from.
Editing? What’s that? I don’t have time for that! I did do some of that but It’s been a month of writing now and then, so I just wanted to get it posted.
What Are Friends For Ch. 22
An Undertale fan fiction
Written by Ichiwashername-o
Summary: Papyrus begins to have strange dreams . . .
Rating: Viewer discretion advised. Contains swearing, trauma, and psychological horror
Cast: Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, W.D. Gaster, Grillby and others
[CH.1] [CH.2] [Ch.3] [CH.4] [CH.5] [CH.6] [CH.7] [CH.8] [CH. 9] [CH.10] [CH. 11] [CH.12] [CH. 13] [CH. 14] [CH.15] [CH.16] [CH. 17] [CH.18] [CH. 19] [CH. 20] [CH. 21] [CH. 22] [CH. 23] [CH. 24]
AO3
CHAPTER 22: A Dream of Beyond
Sans and Alphys sat back heavy in their chairs, staring up at the screen, faces slack as the realization set in.
No more resets. No more do-overs.
This was it.
They sat there for several minutes, just gaping, their minds reeling and whirling with the implications. Alphys was the first to speak, her voice very quiet and her stutter even worse than usual.
“S-s-s-so that’s it? Th-th-th-this is it?” she said. She chewed on a claw. “This . . . could be good, r-r-right? No m-m-m-more human m-m-m-messing with the timeline, heh.”
“It didn’t have to end like this,” Sans replied distantly. “I’ve seen the end, Al, I’ve seen a good end. I know there’s an ending where we all get out, and we’re happy. We’d all be on the surface, happy and free and living peacefully. And the kid was the key. ”
“A-a-a-and the next human can’t do the same?”
“I have no clue,” Sans breathed, running a hand over his head. “We have no idea what kind of human will fall down next, or even when or if a human will fall down. Hell, it could be decades. Centuries. This has never happened before. I . . . I don’t know what’s next.”
“But you s-s-s-said there could be a happy ending, r-r-right? S-s-so why can’t the next human also do that?” Alphys reasoned desperately.
“Or they could be mean and kill more monsters,” Sans countered. Alphys recoiled, folding in on herself at the grim possibility.
She was right, there was a possible happy ending. Correction: there had been a possibility of a happy ending. But now that ending wasn’t possible. Now everything was up in the air. Now Sans didn’t know what would happen.
For the first time in a very long time, their future was absolutely uncertain. And that made Sans very, very nervous.
He wasn’t sure what was worse; the infinite possible futures, or being stuck in the endless time loop. There was another hard realization; after this, monsters would show humans no mercy. The next kid that fell down would have their soul taken, no questions asked. Why would they trust a human when the last one nearly wiped out all of Snowdin and the Ruins-
Sans’s eyes shot wide.
The Ruins.
Old lady.
He bolted up from his chair and without a word he was gone. Alphys yelped in surprise, but Sans didn’t even hear it. He was already very far away, just at the end of Snowdin, right in front of the great purple stone door that sealed the Ruins. He jumped through the door, sprinting down the long dark hallway connecting the two areas-
There was nothing. No noise, no sounds, absolutely nothing.
Save for a pile of dust right beyond the hallway. On top the pile of dust was a dress of silver and purple, bearing the Delta Rune.
Sans stared at it. He felt his legs give beneath him and he fell to his knees as the world fell around him. There was nothing. Just him. And the pile of dust before him.
Toriel.
She was gone.
She was gone forever.
A deep pit of despair clawed and ached at Sans’s heart.
No more resets. No more do-overs.
The people that were gone were gone for good.
There was no going back.
--
Undyne visited Papyrus regularly, sometimes just to sit next to him and keep him company, other times to goad him into going outside and getting some fresh air. Depressed or not, it was no use sulking around all day inside, so she’d help get him out and about, stretching his legs, getting him dressed and out of bed and doing something.
She hated how cold Snowdin was, but she hated seeing how miserable Papyrus was even more.
One day, she was sitting cross-legged in Papyrus’s bedroom as they were piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. Undyne looked at the box, then back at the puzzle pieces, then back to the box.
“Dude, I don’t think this box goes with this puzzle,” Undyne said with a small laugh. The box had a picture of an underwater ocean, but she could distinctly make out leaves and flowers on the pieces scattered across the floor.
“I think that makes it even more challenging,” Papyrus countered. “You don’t know what it’s going to look like, so when it’s complete, it’ll be a nice pleasant surprise.”
“Huh, never thought of it like that. Ha! Then let’s unravel this mystery together!” she said eagerly as she smashed two pieces together. They didn’t fit, but she’d make them fit!
They kept at it for a few hours, their massive puzzle coming together little by little. But soon it was time for a break, Undyne stretching and yawning. She stood, cracking her stiff back. Man, she’d been hunched over for way too long.
“Hey, I’m starving, let’s grab a bite,” she suggested.
Papyrus paused as he was about to snap a few more pieces together. “Oh! Uh . . .” He stood, he too stretching and his bones popping. “I . . . I haven’t gone shopping in a while, I . . . gee, I don’t know if I have any food in the kitchen-“
“Then we’ll grab something at Grillby’s! I’m sure he’ll make you something not totally covered in grease just for you! And then we can snag some groceries on the way back!”
Papyrus smiled. “Um . . . ok, sure, that sounds like a good idea. Let me get my boots on.”
He had been wearing more casual clothes lately, like sweaters and jeans. It had been a long time since Papyrus wore his battle armor, which was funny because Undyne swore she’d never live to see him take it off. And he hadn’t worn his real Royal Guard armor since . . . well . . .
That was easy enough to understand. Undyne waited by the door as Papyrus laced up his boots, his scarf thrown across his shoulders, gloves over his hands—he never stopped wearing his gloves, Undyne noticed—and they stepped out into the cold.
Undyne shuddered. Despite wearing an actual winter coat and getting herself some thick winter boots, it did little to abate the cold. Her feet crunched through the snow, hands stuffed deep into her pockets as she trudged on. Grillby’s wasn’t far, just right down the road-!
She stopped when she realized Papyrus wasn’t at her side any longer. She stopped, twisting around. Man, she had been powerwalking so fast she had left him in the dust! She gave him a sheepish apologetic grin as she waited for him to catch up. But she couldn’t help but remember how she and him used to race everywhere. Man, he could move so fast! But he was walking so slowly now. He did everything so much slower now. He took his time tying his boots when he usually just jumped right into them. Getting dressed took him minutes instead of the typical bombastic few seconds (he was an accomplished quick-changer, Undyne swore. In and out in different outfits in seconds, it was impressive.) And now he walked with such lethargy it was very nearly aggravating.
But Undyne forced herself to be patient. She kept pace with him, stepping with his own slow, careful footfalls.
It was maddening. Ugh, she felt so slow!
No, be patient with him, she reminded herself harshly. He’s still seriously depressed. And this was how depressed people acted sometimes.
It took them ten, fifteen, twenty minutes to reach Grillby’s, and by then, Undyne’s teeth were chattering up a storm. She happily rushed inside where it was much warmer, shaking the snow from her coat and boots.
“Undyne, are you alright?” Papyrus asked.
“Y-y-yeah! Just great!” Undyne said, flashing her teeth in a wide smile and trying not to wince from her numb cheeks getting all scrunched up. “I c-c-c-can handle a lil’ bit of cold!”
Papyrus smiled, took off his scarf, and draped it across her own shoulders. Undyne took it gratefully. They headed up to the bar, seating themselves as Grillby nodded in their direction.
The little restaurant was quiet today. Only a handful of people were sitting in the booths, and all of them turned to look at Papyrus, whispering lowly to each other. Undyne glared at them, and they quickly looked away.
Grillby gave them an expectant, but patient look.
“I’ll take a burger and fries,” Undyne said.
“Do you have any oatmeal? With the little dinosaur eggs? And, uh, a glass of milk. Please,” Papyrus said.
Grillby gave a nod and disappeared into the back room.
There was a brief awkward lull of silence between the two. Undyne struggled to think of something safe to talk about, anything that didn’t inevitably circle back around to The Incident, as she was beginning to call it. But man, was that hard.
“Hey, you wanna know something we haven’t done in a while?” she said with a grin. “We haven’t gone dumpster diving in ages! I need to find myself some new animes to watch and mangas to read! And who knows what other cool stuff might have washed up since the last time we’ve been there!”
Papyrus cracked a small smile. “Yeah, that sounds fun.”
“That’s something we can do later this weekend, if you want.”
“Sure.”
“I’m just gonna be busy for the rest of the week. You know, work and everything.”
“Ok.”
Undyne clicked her teeth. Well, this conversation was going nowhere. Thankfully, their food had just arrived, so now they had an excuse to not talk so much. Papyrus quietly thanked Grillby as he delivered their food, and he just as quietly began to eat. He even ate slow! It was starting to drive Undyne crazy!!! She wanted to just grab him by the shoulders and shake him so hard his teeth rattled! Stop being so slow! Put more energy into it! God, why are you so sluggish all the time now?!?
It wasn’t fair, she knew that. She knew why, she understood why, but damn it, that didn’t make it easier! She just wanted to punch the depression right out of him! Shake him so hard she’d rattle the depression right off of him!
That wasn’t possible, she knew, but just imagining beating the snot out of the huge grey cloud looming over Papyrus’s head brought her some brief satisfaction.
Not enough, though, and she could feel her anger and frustration boiling up inside her.
Entirely too aggressively, her hand shot out and snagged a ketchup bottle, turning it over and shaking it vigorously all over her fries.
Her strength and vigor were massively impressive, seeing as she managed to get ketchup absolutely everywhere. It was splattered all over her food, all over herself, even onto poor Papyrus!
There was a brief pause as everyone was frozen in mute shock, Undyne just staring at the profuse amount of red paste that managed to get in all of the worst places. Was that a little bit right underneath Papyrus’s jawbone? There was even some on the ceiling! It was all so absurd, so unexpected that she threw back her head in raucous laughter.
“Ha! Did you see that?!” she said, slapping Papyrus on the shoulder. He hadn’t so much as twitched, just staring straight down at the red plastered all over Undyne’s shirt. “Oh my god, Grillby, you gotta warn me the next time you have a hazardous explosive right here in your own bar! Oh, man, dude, I got it all over you, I’m so sorry! Haha! Ha!” She reached over to snag a few napkins, but paused. “Dude . . .? Papyrus?”
He was very still. His eye sockets were wide and black, as if stunned. Or paralyzed.
Undyne felt her humor evaporate, instantly replaced with worry. “Yo, Paps, are you ok?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. And very faintly, she could feel Papyrus shaking. That got her even more concerned. Was he freaking out? What for? What-
Undyne looked down at herself, at all the red liquid splashed everywhere. It was a lot like-
Oh god.
She worked quickly, grabbing as many napkins as she could, and furiously began to mop everything up. She cleaned off her shirt, the bar, even reaching over to clean off whatever managed to land on him. “Hey, hey, it’s alright, we’ll get this all cleaned off, now, no need to worry, see? It’s coming right off. Hey, you want me to wash your clothes? I know, the smell kinda lingers, just gotta throw it in some hot water and lots of soap, it’ll come right off-“
She was talking very quickly, on the brink of rambling, really. But she was desperate to distract him. Just get his mind off of it, do anything to distract him. Do anything to keep him from having a full-blown mental breakdown.
He was still shaking, Undyne could feel him tremble underneath her hand. But slowly, slowly, he nodded.
“Y-yeah,” he sputtered weakly. “It . . . does kinda smell . . . doesn’t it? Heh heh hehe . . .”
Undyne flashed him a reassuring grin. “I got the perfect thing, vanilla laundry detergent! It’ll be gone in a flash!” She balled up the napkins and chucked them, still grasping for any within reach to mop up any red specks that lingered. Even Grillby quietly came by with a whole armful, which she was happy to take.
But now that Papyrus was settling down (thank god) Undyne was aware of a rising chatter from the other patrons. She spared a glance over her shoulder. The few that remained were all staring at her in muted horror—no, not staring at her, staring at him. Papyrus. All staring at him, all sitting at the edge of their seats, all ready to bolt at the drop of a hat. All absolutely terrified. Of him.
Undyne snapped.
She jumped to her feet, charging at the nearest customer. “And what the hell are you staring at?! Huh?!” she thundered. “What, you need a better look?! Want a closer look?!” Her arm thrust out, gripping the collar of their shirt. The monster squeaked in alarm. “Come on, then! Step right up! Get a nice big look at the hero of Snowdin!”
“Undyne-!” Papyrus exclaimed.
“No, it’s fine, I’m handling this!” she seethed. “That’s right, you heard me! All you ungrateful louts should be singing his praise! Because he’s the only reason your sorry asses are even alive! He saved all you ungrateful meat heads, so how about showing him some respect?! Huh?!”
She began to shake the monster. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair, how dare they be afraid of him, he did nothing wrong-
“He saved this whole goddamn town from a murderous human and you guys can’t even be grateful for that! Instead of praising him as the hero he is, here you all are cowering like a bunch of wussies!”
“Undyne, please stop!”
“So how about you all start treating him like the hero he is, god damn it?!”
“I-I’m sorry!” the monster sputtered. “I’m sorry! You’re right! He’s a hero! Please let me go!”
Undyne felt a hand land heavy on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the bartender Grillby himself standing behind her. There were no words, there was barely an expression to read, but she felt his disapproving stare. His flames were low and cold in his silent demand that she had overstayed her welcome and should leave.
She snarled, dropping the monster. “Come on, Paps, let’s get the hell out of this dump.” Scooping up her coat, wrapping her arms around Papyrus, she guided the skeleton out of the bar, shooting murderous looks at anyone who dared to question her. The monster she hassled all too happily scrambled back to their spot and hunkered down, not daring to look back at her.
“What a bunch of jerks,” she snarled. “Forget them, Paps. They don’t deserve someone as cool as you.”
Papyrus remained absolutely silent. Undyne paused, faltering for words. Time to change the subject, perhaps.
“Hey, let’s run and get those groceries, huh?” she said, nudging him. “Come on, maybe some shopping will cheer you up.”
“. . . I think I’m ok,” Papyrus said, his voice very low and quiet. “I’ll go shopping later.”
“Oh, don’t be like that, you were just saying-“
“I just want to go home.”
Undyne blinked. There was a sharpness to his voice that caught her off guard. And maybe it was best she didn’t push him. “Um, alright, Paps, whatever you say.” She walked him home, their pace slow, so agonizingly slow, Papyrus’s footsteps trailing in the snow. Oh, Undyne thought she’d grind her teeth flat with frustration! But she stayed silent. And Papyrus didn’t say a word.
He didn’t even look at her.
“Look, Papyrus, you shouldn’t let people treat you like crap!” Undyne blurted. “Those creeps had no reason to talk behind your back like that-!”
“I wish you hadn’t talked to them like that,” Papyrus said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“No, I did,” Undyne said stubbornly. “Because people shouldn’t be afraid of you! You saved the town!”
Papyrus looked at her, really looked at her for the first time in what felt a very long time. And the look he was giving her was something that chilled her, like he was looking right through her. It felt familiar. It was just like the look Sans had given her when he saw right through her lies.
“Did I?”
Undyne swallowed. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry. “Well, you stopped that crazy human-“
“That’s not the same thing.”
Undyne snarled. “Ugh, what difference does it make?! You stopped the human! Ergo, you saved the town!”
“I didn’t stop the human to save the town and you know that.”
Silence hung between them. They looked at each other. Undyne struggled for something to say, anything to say. Anything to reassure him, anything to convince him-
“What do you want from me?” Undyne whispered.
“Don’t lie,” Papyrus said. His shoulders slumped, his gaze turned from stern and piercing to soft and pleading. “Please stop lying to me, to everyone, to yourself. Please stop telling people I’m a hero. I’m not a hero, I didn’t do it to save the town, I didn’t stop the human for any noble reason and you know that, so please, please, stop lying. Please.”
Undyne gaped. She stared at him, hardly believing what he was asking him of her. “So . . . what? What do you want me to do?! Tell people you’re some crazy blood-thirsty killing machine?! You’re not that!”
“Yes I am.”
“You’re more than that.”
“I’m not a hero.”
Undyne hesitated. She wanted to say something. Anything to cheer him up, anything to convince him he wasn’t the monster he thought he was.
“Good night, Undyne,” Papyrus said quietly as he opened the door to his house.
“Wait.” Papyrus paused at the threshold. “Are you going to be there tomorrow? For the memorial?” Papyrus hesitated. “Asgore would want you there. To, you know, say good-bye to all the dogs. They really liked you. It would mean a lot to their families.”
He thought about it. “I’ll be there.”
“Ok,” Undyne nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” And he closed the door, leaving Undyne out in the cold, lonely little town.
--
There was nothing but black.
An endless void was before him. Above him. Under him. Surrounding him.
Nothing but pure, unending black.
No sound, no sight, nothing.
Papyrus called out but his voice was stolen from him by the emptiness that suffocated him.
Nothing, nothing, nothing all around him.
It was enough to drive one mad.
He brought his hands up to his head, wanting to scream, but no sound escaped from him.
And then
Something.
Something loomed before him. Something broke the black monotony. Ad like a man lost at sea, he desperately raced to it, stretched his hand out to it, madly clawing it and beckoning it to within his reach.
It was a door.
A plain, silver door.
He reached for the handle.
C̻̰o̱͊m̬̖̀e̜̮͉̒͗ͥ C̍oͨͨme̛ ̯̜̜͗̀̊fi̯ͤn̖d͟ ̂ͩ̉͏̪̗͕m̭͙̘͆̿ͤe̹͓͆̔. Ĉ̰o̰̝͔m̞̰̼ͅẽ̳͚̰̟̟̳͎̀̓͋̈͂̅ ͥ̊ͧͪ̾f̬͕͇͌ͤ͑in̠̟͍̭̤ͮ̍̏̾̽d̗̠̻͉̥̳̆̏̈́̄̐ͮ ̦͙͙̼ͯ̈́ͩ̚m̯̎e͙̗̤̼̭̯ ̇̔̿be̾ͤ͂ͯ͗́y͒o͖̜n͔͍͚̗̠͈d̜̺̻ ͥͨ̈ͤ̓th̞̮͗̀i̍̏̋s̑ͩ̿ͤͤ̓ ̗͇̫̞͍wo̼̲̎ͯr̤ld.͊ͥ
Papyrus felt his hand grab the handle-
He woke with a start.
He sat up, taking in his bedroom. His bookshelf, his flag hanging on the wall, the nightstand lined with action figures. Everything was as it should be. He was in his home.
He was safe.
He closed his eyes, shaking himself from the dream. What had all that been about? And why was that voice so familiar?
He got up, began to dress, getting ready for the day. Today was a very important day, a very solemn day. Asgore would be hosting a memorial service for all the victims of the human’s rampage. There would be a lot of people there. And . . . as a Royal Guard, Papyrus should be there, too.
His armor was laid out on the floor before him. It had been a long time since he had worn it. He took a breath.
And piece by piece, he put it on. Buckled the leather straps tight, slip on the metal pieces over his arms and legs, clipped the chest piece into place.
It felt heavy and cold. Papyrus shuddered.
Sans was waiting for him downstairs. Neither said much as they walked to the docks together. The ferry was waiting for them. And soon enough, they were on their way to Hotland.
“Tra la la,” the river person said, though their voice was much more reserved than normal. “Redemption lies beyond the silver door.”
Papyrus spun, staring at the river person. “What was that?”
“Tra la la, today’s Wednesday is yesterday’s Tuesday.”
Papyrus blinked. “Wait, what-?”
Sans shook his head, patting his brother’s shoulder. “Don’t mind them. They’re just, uh, being quirky.”
“Right,” Papyrus said slowly. “Quirky . . .”
They walked up to the palace, where already throngs of monster citizens began to flock. The procession was a slow and solemn one, monsters wearing dark garments of mourning. Papyrus couldn’t remember the last time the place had looked so . . . sad.
On the way, they met up with Undyne, also dressed in her armor. She was talking to Alphys, who had emerged from her lab for the first time in what felt like ages. The scientist was wearing a black coat and dark pants, a white ill-fitting blouse buttoned up as best as she could manage. The two looked over and waved as they approached.
“Hey, Paps, I’m glad you’re here,” Undyne said, pulling him in for a one-armed hug.
“Good to see you, Al,” Sans said.
“Y-you, too,” she said, smiling weakly. “Oh, I-I’m going to cry l-like such a baby.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Let’s get this over with.”
Together, the four walked up to the palace, followed closely by the other Hotland guards as well as dozens and dozens of citizens. They filed into the golden halls, but the once brightly-lit corridors were now cast into shadow as the massive stained-glass windows were covered with dark banners. Portraits of the sixteen victims lined the walls, most notably the guard dogs who had perished. Doggo, Dogamy, Dogaressa, Lesser Dog, Greater Dog. And just below the portraits stood small stands, about waist-high, where small urns were placed, containing the dust of the fallen monsters. Personal possessions and gifts were placed before the pedestals, many taking the time to say their well-wishes and thoughts, crying into each other’s arms as they remembered the fallen.
The atmosphere was suffocating in misery. Undyne gripped Papyrus’s hand tightly, and the two walked to the front, heads held high, putting forth a brave face for all the monsters here.
And at the back of the hall, overseeing all of this, was Asgore. He stood straight and tall, his golden armor gleaming in whatever light there was left, ushering words of assurance to the passing monsters. He took their hands, he patted their shoulders, he brought them in for a hug. And he was doing his damnedest to maintain his composure. Because he too had lost someone.
Behind him, the throne, the queen’s throne which had been covered by a white sheet since her disappearance, was covered in golden flowers.
“Hey, Asgore,” Undyne said carefully. “How are you holding up?”
“Captain Undyne, Papyrus, I’m so glad you could be here,” Asgore said warmly. He was barely fighting back tears at this point. “It’s . . . a most difficult day. Many good monsters lost. Such sorrow . . .” He brought a hand to his mouth, clutching it into his fist as he bit down to fight back the tears. He shook, a tear or two leaking from his tightly shut eyes, but with a breath, with a shudder, he stood back up. “It’s never easy. I am so sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Undyne said, glancing back to the flower-covered chair.
Asgore followed her gaze, letting out a sad, weak croak of laughter. “Heh. It’s funny, isn’t it? I never thought the pain of losing my wife could be matched. But now . . .” Again, he choked back his sobs. He fought through his misery. “I’ve lost her again. I’ve lost her twice. And I never got to tell her how sorry I am. How much of a miserable, horrible monster I am. How much I wish I could take it all back-“
“Hey, hey, don’t be like that,” Undyne said quickly, pressing a hand to his shoulder in reassurance. “Don’t say stuff like that, you’re a great king-“
Papyrus came forward and without a word, wrapped Asgore in a massive hug. And Asgore clung to him, clutched him with all his strength, like a child clinging to a stuffed toy. He shuddered and shook, he let out a pained sob. He buried his head into Papyrus’s shoulder as the skeleton hugged him.
“My Tori, my dear, sweet Tori, I’m so sorry . . .”
Papyrus held him like that for a while, until Asgore managed to pull himself together, enough to stand back up, straight and tall, wiping the tears from his eyes and taking a long, deep breath to calm his shattered nerves. He gave Papyrus a nod of thanks, bowing his head.
“We’ll be starting soon,” Asgore informed them. “Go ahead and take your seats.”
Undyne and Papyrus joined the other guards, sitting towards the front. Others quietly followed suit, taking their place among the massive rows of chairs set up in the halls. Asgore took center stage, and all fell silent.
“Today, we are joined here to honor the memories of the fallen,” Asgore said. “Today, we honor those who fell, taken from us far before their time. Some taken in the heroic line of duty, some taken mercilessly and cruelly. We mourn their loss, but we must also celebrate their memory. Celebrate the joy they brought into our lives, and remember them in only the best of ways.”
The ceremony was beautiful. It was serene, full of quiet somberness, but Undyne held fast through it all. She wouldn’t cry. She would be strong for Papyrus. She gripped his hand, and he gripped it back.
Family members came forward, and one by one, they took the urns of dust and scattered them over the possessions laid before their altars. With many tears and many prayers, they wished their spirit and essence to live on in the things they most treasured in life. Some chose to keep a tiny amount of dust in a small glass vial, which they hung from their neck.
Slowly, monsters began to file out, sharing their sympathies for one another, until only Undyne, Papyrus, and Asgore remained. Undyne headed to the door, her emotions shot after the whole ordeal, and she was happy to be out of here. But Papyrus wasn’t following her.
“You coming?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’ll be just a moment. I need to speak to Asgore. Privately, please.”
“Um, alright, sure, see you soon.”
Once alone, Asgore gave the young skeleton monster a curious, but sympathetic look. “Is something on your mind?” the king asked him.
Papyrus inhaled. “King Asgore, I’d like to formally ask to remove myself from the Royal Guard.”
Asgore blinked, taken aback. “Oh, is that right? But you were always so eager to join the guard-“
“I know it was my dream for a very long time,” Papyrus said slowly. “But . . . I don’t think I’m worthy for it. I don’t want to be a guard anymore.”
Asgore patted a seat, silently inviting him to sit down. Papyrus did, and Asgore took another chair, facing him. “And you are certain of this? Is this what you truly want?”
“I’ve given it some thought,” Papyrus nodded. “I do.”
“I understand. I won’t lie, it saddens me to hear that. You’ve worked very hard to get that armor. But, if it is truly what you wish . . . then so be it. You are dismissed from the Royal Guards with my blessing.”
Papyrus began to take off his armor, removing his boots, his gauntlets, his chest piece, and piece by piece, he laid it before Asgore. “Thank you.”
“Papyrus,” Asgore said. He stood, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Please, take care of yourself. There’s a lot of monsters out there who love you very much. If you need to speak with anyone, well . . . I am here.”
Papyrus nodded. “I appreciate it, Your Majesty.”
Asgore gave him a comforting pat, and Papyrus left. He went home without another word, without any explanation to Undyne as to what had happened, or why he was no longer wearing his armor.
He walked back towards Snowdin, taking the long route instead of by boat. He needed time to himself to think. There was a lot to think about.
“Hee hee hee.”
Papyrus stopped. He knew that laugh. He sighed, turning around towards the source of the noise.
“What is it, Flowey?”
The little yellow flower was to his right, swaying side to side in a playful manner, his face twisted into a harmless little smile.
“Why, Papyrus, I was just checking in on my best friend ever!” he said with a wink. “Golly, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? You’ve just been so cooped up in your house being all whiny and mopey like a big ol’ baby-bones crybaby!”
Flowey’s smile twisted into a much more sinister, evil grin.
“I was getting so bored of all your crying and moping! So here I am to have a bit of FUN!”
Suddenly, without warning, vines exploded from the earth, wrapping around Papyrus and lashing at his limbs. Papyrus tried to dodge, but his feet were tripped up, sending him sprawling to the ground. Thorns cut across his face and arms.
Papyrus felt his soul pulse with energy. Already a surge of magic flooded across his bones and he could feel them begin to change in self-defense—
“NO!” Papyrus screamed. Not again! Never again!!!
He saw a vine descend upon him. Papyrus closed his eyes. He lowered all his defenses. He let the attack come. He let it strike true.
His body crumpled to dust beneath the blow.
Flowey roared in rage. He wouldn’t let Papyrus get off that easy!
--
RESET
--
“We’re going to have a little bit of fun!”
Flowey reached out, grabbing Papyrus by the foot. With one swift motion, Flowey hung the skeleton upside-down, dangling him in the air. He unceremoniously dropped him to the ground. Papyrus let out a gasp as he hit the ground hard and he feebly struggled back up to his feet.
Flowey snickered, wrapping him up in his vines, constricting him like a snake.
Papyrus was tougher now, with all that extra LV! He could take more damage, he could torture him all that much more-!
And with horror, Flowey watched as Papyrus simply dissolved into dust before him.
He stared. He gaped.
That little cheater! He wasn’t going to be cheated of his fun!
--
RESET
--
Flowey wrapped a vine around each limb, hoisting the skeleton into the air in a spread-eagle position. The vines were firm enough to keep him still, but not strong enough to do any damage. There would be time for that soon enough!
A vine began to slowly crush Papyrus’s arm. Bones crunched and cracked beneath his strength, and Papyrus roared in pain.
“Yes! YES!” Flowey cheered gleefully. “Let me see it! Let me see what you can really do, you monster!”
Papyrus winced, and with a pained look, he turned to dust.
“WHAT?! NO!!!”
--
RESET
--
“Let me see what you’re capable of!!!”
--
RESET
--
“Stop dying, you piece of trash!”
--
RESET
--
“LET ME HAVE MY FUN!!!
--
RESET
--
“STOP. DYING!!!!”
--
RESET
--
Flowey loomed before Papyrus, absolutely furious. He just . . . he kept giving up! Whenever he inflicted even the slightest bit of harm, Papyrus refused to fight back! If there was even a hint of him turning, he would just give up and die! And he just stood there! He just stood there and did. NOTHING!
“Ugh! I hate you! I HATE YOU! YOU’RE. SO. BORING!!!”
And with a fit of rage, Flowey fled.
He burrowed away, fuming, seething with anger and hatred. And . . . and panic.
“I want to take it back,” he whispered to himself. “I want to go back to before. This was a mistake. Take it back, take it all back, this isn’t what I wanted, this was a mistake, I hate this! I hate this! I hate . . . I hate it!”
Flowey stared down at himself, filled with loathing. There was no one else to blame but himself, now that stupid brat was dead and gone.
And they weren’t ever coming back.
--
There was nothing but darkness around him.
Nothing but blackness, nothing but emptiness.
An ever-eternal abyss.
Papyrus looked around. All he saw was black.
Above.
Below.
Before.
All was dark. All was nothing.
He blinked.
There.
In front of him. Something. A door. A silver door.
He reached for it.
Redemption lies beyond the silver door.
It opened.
C̭̯͈ó̼m̯̒e C͓̃o̭̼̩m̯̙̮e̦͂ ̣̭̹fͤin̰̪̜͐̎̑́d ̦̆m͖̳̬ḙ̇́.҉ Ĉ̰o̰̝͔m̞̰̼ͅẽ̳͚̰̟̟̳͎̀̓͋̈͂̅ ͥ̊ͧͪ̾f̬͕͇͌ͤ͑in̠̟͍̭̤ͮ̍̏̾̽d̗̠̻͉̥̳̆̏̈́̄̐ͮ ̦͙͙̼ͯ̈́ͩ̚m̯̎e͙̗̤̼̭̯ ̇̔̿be̾ͤ͂ͯ͗́y͒o͖̜n͔͍͚̗̠͈d̜̺̻ ͥͨ̈ͤ̓th̞̮͗̀i̍̏̋s̑ͩ̿ͤͤ̓ ̗͇̫̞͍wo̼̲̎ͯr̤ld.͊ͥ
Papyrus stepped through the door. I͉̰̓̈́͟ ̡̮̋a̻̟̝mͬͪ ̵̣̠͈ͬ̉͑h͉ͪe̡r̓̇̽é̱̜͑.̲ I̫̠̩̔̅͆ w̖͇̙̑͂ͨil̄̉l͜ ̞̍h̘̹e̝̻ͅlp̮̺̓ͪ.̺͙͋̆͡ Ļetͬ̾҉ ̮̓me̯̚ ̛͐ͭh͑ͧͧ̕el̮̘̝̇ͮ̄p.͡
“Who are you?” Papyrus said. His voice had no sound. “Where can I find you?”
I̯̟̪͑͗ͮ am n͙͈o͚͋t͌ ̀̌̏h̖̰̼̓͆̑er͐ͭe͓̭̩͛ͧ̎ I͙̽̊ͅ ͙ͮa̐mͥ b̜͙̲ͩ̔̚ey̞̏ȏͨ̀nͫ̒ͦd.͓͉̥ͧ̑̚ I ̩̔am̯̳̤̔̈́͋ f̲͙̝̈̆̆o̗͛r͎̼̹ev̲̝͐̾e͑r.͖̘̉͑ ͚̯ I ̲̰͈͆ͯ̎a̪͎͖ͥͩ̀m ͇͙̉ͫeͯ̌̑tern̥̩͕al.
“I don’t understand.”
F͜i̥̦͉ͯ̊̆n̼̹͑ͫ͞d ͗̉͛m̧͛ͬe̙̻ͣ̒.̗ͮ ̵̜ͬ ̷F̮ͥIŃD̶ ̬͈̠̓̑͆M̳E̐ͭ.̳̦
F̝in̩̮̙ͭ͛̍͟d͔̰̥͞ ̘̪̥̈̎ͮm͕̔e̔ͤ̐ b̞ͮ͟e̼͋yo͚̦̗̔̅̈n̶d͕̮̈́͛ ̛̼t͔̖̃ͩ͜he͉ͦ ̩̗͚̿ͣ̇sil̓ve͂͝r ̗͎d̺̻͂ͩo̲̯̥ͫ͐̅o͍̞͎r̡̲̺̲ͪ̒͐.̤̪
Papyrus felt the dream slip away from him. He scrambled, desperate to hold on to the fragmenting dream-
Ỉͅ ͛̈ͦA̢ͬ́ͧM ̶͓́HE̩R̪̗̦ͣ̾͂E̵̺̙̻.̡
I̢͓̣̐̐ ̨͈A̶M ̀Ẃ̤ĀͫT̵͈̥̮͑̍ͮC̜̪̲ĤI͆͛NG.̧̖͙̮̓̎̌ ̫͎̊̋
Ì͎͜ ̏ͧH̰̬͈͋̓ͪA͠V̧̂ͦͧEͨ͋ͬ ̷͙̦̫̑͒͑AͤL͏W̯A͌̑ͥY̪̣̋ͥS̤͎͍̿̍̋ B͎̖̑̚È̛͙͙͍ͧ̒É̖̱͇N̸̑̄̃ WAT̸CH̛I̦̩͊̏N̸͕̠̍̚G̪̗
L͋ͪĔ͚͠T ̵̙̲̹M̜̼̺͒͐ͬ͠Ẹ̬̰ ̰͖ͧ̅MAKĔ̹̳͈̔̔ I͔ͮT R̆ͬİ̃͛͘GH̅͊͐T̲̿.̼̥̐̀ L̩̭̲̰Ȅ̦͚̲͉͍̍͌ͧ̐T̢̫̳͚̆̔͑ ̡̝̹̠̯̞̪̤̦̭̳̾ͮ̑͋͋͋̃̃͆ͭM̈́̃̿ͫ͌̉̂ͯ̾͗̉̆̀ͬ͢͏̷͖̳̭͔͉̣͖͇͕̙̪̠͔̥E̶̫̫͉͓̰̦͆́ͩ̌̈ͥ̆́͢ͅ ̰͖͉̣̖͎M̨̫͔̝͍̹̯̩̦͓̮͚̩̈́̂̉͊̾ͤ́͌̌͒̀̿͢Aͦ͡͏̺K̵̖̼̣͔̤̼̰̳͎̹̹̹̋̎ͦͫ̉͆̒̊͒ͪ͆̚͝Ë̪͇͓̣͙͍̘́ͫ͗̎̆̏̓ ̺͖̣̺̗͓̜͕̝̮̗̊͊ͮ͊̃̈͛̾͛͑ͦ͝͝Ỉ̢̉̎͌ͥ͒̈́̑ͯ̇ͫ̕͏̘̝̞̟͎̪̙͈̣͍̰T͚͚̤͙̼̞̮̱͚̤̑̋͂͋̓ͬ͑̄̀ͧ ̆̏̐̉̒ͤ̀R̴̹̥͈̗͖Į͋̾̽ͨ̎ͥ͡͡G͚̮͕̦̙̱̙̝̅ͧ̐̄͛͛̊̌H̵͝T̶̡̺̭͎̲̖̘͙̻̘̹͡
Papyrus awoke with a start.
It was still late. Everyone else was surely still fast asleep.
Papyrus dressed. He dawned his boots. He opened the door to his house.
And he disappeared into the night.
Red to the Rescue! Value of True Companions
Another @gbpack-discord oneshot! An action one where Sabre, Impact, and Red team up to fight a mechanical dragon.
Impact, the Blaster raptor GB Papyrus belongs to me!
Sabre the part time seiyuu the mysterious Blaster from an unknown timeline belongs to @paddie-ut
Red the GB Fell Sans belongs to @goosygander
Everything was going perfectly – almost too perfectly. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and everyone around town seemed to be in a great mood. …Perhaps at that time, that should have been cause for concern. After all, when an amazing stroke of good luck came, what usually followed was…
***
Interlink City
Impact applauded his friend, lightly clapping his mechanical floating hands as they departed from the recording studio. “Splendid work on your performance, Sabre! You did a wonderful job. It was like I was seeing Heero Yuy in the flesh!”
That comment drew a slight chuckle out of the small quadrupedal bone beast. “Heh, funny you say that. I don’t have any flesh. And your performance wasn’t half-bad, either. Very accurate at portraying the larger-than-life villain type.”
The blind man was unable to see it, but the raptor nevertheless took a small bow. “I appreciate the compliment! I’m glad to know that I at least remain successful in that field. After all…” Impact cleared his throat, putting on his best impression of the Mad Dummy’s voice. “My destiny is already smeared with blood. I won’t be talked out of any transgressions! I’ll live right to the bitter end – the hard life of a warrior!”
“Yes… Well then, what do you want to do now? Find another of those great places to eat? I’ll treat you to a meal this time. Mind, you’ll need to lead the way.”
The Papyrus beamed in response to the Sans’ generosity. “I would love to! Let’s go!” Head held high with pride of a job well-done, he started to head in the direction of the most economical restaurant he could think of… only to realise the small Blaster wasn’t following. “Sabre…?”
Impact turned back to see the dogman sniffing around on a ground like a… well… dog, muttering to himself. “This scent… it’s faint, but…” Sensing the presence of his friend nearby, likely watching him, he felt his face heat up. “Ah, Impact… I just detected something strange. I think… we’re being followed. By something from your world.”
The scent… where was the scent…? He kept sniffing in all directions, like a game of Hot and Cold, until he found the direction it was the strongest in. His nose led his sightless gaze upwards, causing him to carefully rise up onto his hind legs. “Impact… can you look in the direction my muzzle is pointing?”
“Doing it now.” His functional (in contrast to Sabre’s) eyes followed his friend’s… right up to one of the tall buildings next to them. Peering right over the edge were two strange, ball-like contraptions. They both had a metallic silver sheen, smooth all over, except with one camera for an eye. They almost looked like creepier cyclops versions of mascot characters from a popular mecha show Impact’s brother loved to watch.
Before he could take in more of their appearance, they abruptly jolted and flashed, as if startled. Their cameras blinked rapidly, before they ‘jumped’ off the building’s roof, landing on the pavement and starting to roll away.
Combat data collection drones…!? But all the two skeletons were doing was a part time job! Unless… oh, no… Were they analysing their physical properties!? Impact didn’t know everything about Sabre’s past yet, but he did know what the small blind man could become, and what that thing could do. If that information got into the hands of literally anyone… it would spell certain disaster.
“GET BACK HERE---!”
Impact immediately gave chase to the balls, Sabre following close behind so as not to lose him in the crowd of the city. They were sprinting with all their might, at far greater speeds than an ordinary human could go. Yet the strange metal spheres stayed just out of their reach. They were clearly engineered for speed.
Unbeknownst to both of them, one of their allies also happened to be in the city at the time, raising funds for the party in his own way by selling hotdogs. They both brushed against him in a rush, not even noticing his presence in their focus. The wind stirred up by Impact was almost enough to bowl him over, sending sausages and condiments alike flying.
Naturally, this was enough for him to notice the two skeletons and wonder just what the hell they were doing. Wiping the mess off his black leather jacket with a grumble, he joined in on the chase. He wasn’t as fast a runner as the other two, but with dedication, he would eventually be able to catch up.
***
“SLOW DOWN, ALREADY…!” Impact accidentally roared, slamming his mechanical hands over his muzzle when the realisation hit him. By now, they had done a full lap of the city, before the two spheres retreated into a nearby lake.
What kind of energy did the things run on!? Wouldn’t such small things have run down to nothing by now? Impact was still fine, but Sabre was starting to tire… Just where (and who) were these things headed to!?
The moment Impact wondered that, his question was answered. Of course, it wasn’t anything good. The twin spheres jumped into the water with a plop… and immediately after, two metallic dragon heads attached to long, cable-like necks ripped out of the lake’s surface! A terrible shriek vibrated the air, sending civilians running for their lives in terror!
“T-that’s no data gathering unit!” Impact realised, horror welling up inside him. “It’s an extermination unit! The enemy must have sent it here to clear the land of ‘pests’!”
As if confirming the statement, one of the heads lunged at him, a vicious deadly snake about to bite!
“OH SHI…!” Impact scrambled to respond. Neither he nor Sabre had a Mechanical Guardian on them, so they didn’t have much in the way of firepower. Fortunately, they weren’t so foolish as to walk around an unfamiliar location completely unarmed! Just like a movie cowboy, he reached within his coat, whipped out a gunblade, and fired several pinpoint shots! All within the span of under a second!
However, quick reflexes didn’t save him! The Blaster raptor yelped in as pain seared through his chest! “W-what the…!? What just… How did…” When he looked down at himself, he couldn’t believe his eyes: the projectiles the metal dragon sent at him… were his own bullets!? A reflection ability!?
He didn’t have more time to process this before the head barrelled straight into him!
“Blurgh…!” Harsh, serrated jaws clamped tight around his ribcage, causing the Papyrus to cough up blood for the… he lost count of how many times that happened in his life. He was actually surprised he hadn’t received any permanent damages from such injuries.
“Impact…!” The scent of blood and the man’s cry were enough to motivate Sabre to action, drawing his own emergency weapon! To accommodate his disability, he decided to modify the futuristic laser blade Impact left with him into a lance! “Haaaaaa…!” With a battlecry, he charged at where he perceived the enemy was – aiming just next to the spot where he smelled Impact and his blood.
With that satisfying buzz of beam weaponry against metal, the attack hit home! Letting out another screech – this time of pain, rather than anger, the dragon’s jaws released! Impact fell to the ground, landing on all fours before rising to his hunched bipedal stance. “Amazing work, Sabre! It seems that melee attacks are effect-AAAAAAAAAAH!”
A sound not unlike gatling gun fire exploded through the air around the two, as they were pushed back by a comparable force! Massive chunks of earth pelted their bodies, knocking them off their feet and sending them rolling along the ground like crash test dummies after a particularly violent experiment.
Heads still spinning from the tumble, Impact and Sabre forced themselves to get up and charge again! But unfortunately, the result was still the same: they couldn’t take even a few steps before another storm of earth hit them, feeling like they ran straight into the path of a speeding truck!
The sighted monster of the two noticed something strange: several oddly-shaped craters that certainly weren’t there before now dotted the land around the lake. “Craters around the lake…? Is the land itself being reshaped to attack us…?”
A cold feeling passed through Sabre’s body as his mind started to piece together what this dragon’s ability was… “This… this isn’t good. If that ability is what I think it is…” He could smell and hear a large amount of water around the area, too. Putting two and two together…
Confirming Sabre’s fear, one of the dragon heads stuck its head beneath the lake’s water, draining the massive reserve, while the other’s neck started to swiftly expand like a balloon inflating. This was enough to have Impact realise what was going on. “One head takes things in, and one head ejects them!?” The ability was a lot simpler than some enemies that he faced in the past… but it was still powerful enough to spell the two Blasters’ doom! After all, a weapon for killing didn’t need to be fancy, it just had to do the job.
Like an aquatic volcano eruption, a high pressure, high volume waterspout erupted from the dragon! The seconds following were almost tormentingly slow: the lake water blotted out the entire sky around them, hanging stationary in the air… then slowly… started to fall, coming down on them like judgement from heaven.
That volume of water, with that force behind it, would surely be enough to squash the two skeletons flat. Impact abruptly leaped on top of Sabre. The attempt to shield him using his body was likely futile, but better a small chance of one of them surviving than neither. Papyrus squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the end… but it didn’t come.
Rather than a crushing flood, and the crushing defeat that came with it, the two friends heard the pounding of paws on earth, a familiar sound of shifting bones, and the pulse of magical energy from a powerful blast. A wave of heat rushed through the area, causing Impact to look up in confusion.
The entirety of the water had been evaporated into steam! Standing heroically against that backdrop was the towering form of a massive skeletal dragon. Impact at first couldn’t even recognise it – this was a form he rarely saw the man in – but closer inspection was enough to make his face light up. Similarly, a huge grin formed on Sabre’s face at the familiar scent. “Red!”
A small smirk appeared on the dragon’s face, the corner of its muzzle tilting upward, before turning to the metal dragon. Its jaws parted again, letting loose with a second blast, this time towards the dragon!
But the hope that came with the Fell skeleton’s appearance was swiftly cut short. Moving so fast, the naked eye almost couldn’t follow, one of the heads rushed towards the laser and snapped it up. Impact and Red could see the movement of the laser’s glow through its body, almost like liquid through a plastic silly straw, before it emerged from the other end, right back at them!
“I’ll take this one! Red, Impact, get behind me!” To the skeletal dragon’s surprise, Sabre was already in front of him. Had the blind man already planned that far ahead and considered that possibility…? And how was he going to counter the laser?
With a smooth flick of the wrist, Sabre’s laser spear returned to a laser sword. Next, he held it in front of himself and started spinning it like a rotor fan! When the searing heat and force of the returned blast hit, Sabre grunted… almost growled with exertion. He dug his hind paws into the ground, raking up soil as he was slowly pushed back.
The beam sabre rotation trick did indeed shield him from the attack… but it only shielded a portion of Impact’s and Red’s bodies! And on top of that, his arm started to scream from the exertion of keeping the sword rotating at a constant rate! Longer… just had to keep it going for a little longer…! It felt like the blast was assaulting the trio for hours at this point! Did the metal dragon add to its energy somehow, or it simply his perception!?
For one instant… just a single instant, Sabre’s arm cramped, and the enemy’s attack penetrated his defence. “No…!” It was like a giant, flaming meteor collided with him, blowing Sabre and his two friends back. Most of the blast had been blocked, but the remainder of the force was enough to bring the heroes to their knees.
The two-headed metal dragon let out a metallic cackle as it loomed over the despairing, crouching heroes.
Impact, being fearful of all things draconic, felt like he was the one the most intimidated by this display. “Even a Blaster’s laser didn’t work against this thing…!? Is this the last enemy we’ll ever face…?” Panic ran through him, despair starting to wrap its icy grip around his heart. Would this all end here…?
However… Next to him, Sabre was even worse. Fear and panic were prime triggers for his transformation. A surge of energy ran through his bones, coursing through his whole body like electricity.
His clothes started to tighten at a slow yet steady rate, the buttons on his shirt popping off one-by-one. “Urgh… Ghh…” The dragon’s voice steadily began to deepen, taking on a guttural, animalistic rumble.
Despite pushing back against it with all his might, the pressure of the situation was warping his form into something monstrous – in the figurative sense, rather than literal.
Not satisfied with simply making him grow, Sabre’s magic started to warp his features. His fangs jutted out further, extending with a painful creak. Vicious spikes mercilessly ripped through the clothes Impact oh-so-carefully picked for him, completely ruining them as his body expanded. The hellish beast that was his feral side started to seep into his mind, venom dripping from his mouth as a demon began to enter the world through his body. Then…
<SNAP OUTTA IT!> THWACK!
A surprisingly high-pitched yelp escaped Sabre’s muzzle upon a bony object softly, yet firmly hitting his face. He had to pause, rapidly blinking before he could process what just happened. “Did you just… halt my transformation by hitting me? With your tail?”
The blind man could hear the proud grin in Red’s tone. <‘Course! It’s like those old computers and televisions – nothin’ a good whack can’t fix!>
“…I-”
BLAM BLAM BLAM!
“DODGE!” The other two complied with his command, evading the makeshift earth cannonballs alongside Sabre before the near-Blaster could continue. “I may not be experienced in that field, but… that… sounds wrong.”
Red simply chuckled.
Impact tilted his head, raising a brow. “Do you have a way in mind to defeat it?”
<O’ course! There’re three of us now! With our powers combined, we can make it through! You, of all people, should know this!>
The dinosaur-like Blaster blushed, embarrassed that he missed something so vital. “U-understood. What is your suggestion?”
Red’s expression became serious, as he beckoned for the two to get closer in an awkward (due to differing sizes and anatomies) group huddle. <Alrighty, ain’t much time to explain. We’ll……… Got it?>
“Got it!!”
<Good! LEEEEET’S DO IT!>
With that rousing cry, the Blaster trio charged! Unlike Impact’s and Sabre’s previous attempt, they split up and rushed the metallic dragon from different directions! It couldn’t hit them all at once!
Sabre galloped to where he felt one of the heads were. The distance is right…! Here goes! The voice acting stint earlier put him in the mood to announce his attack. “Target, Metal Dragon… Commencing with elimination!”
Leaping into the air, the hellish dragon fired a blast of his own – a bright green burst! It wasn’t as strong or flashy as the others, but it was far more economical on energy use. That, coupled with his current form, just barely gave him enough energy to use a continuous surge. Full output…! GOOOOOO!
The beam came right back out through the other head – to the place where Impact was, but he was prepared for it! Sabre had already demonstrated how to deal with this! “ROTATION BLAAAAADE!” Imitating Sabre’s technique, he spun his gunblade like a helicopter rotor!
With a normal sword, it would have just killed him. But because of the Blasters in his timeline, both his and Sabre’s weapons were designed as specific anti-Blaster measures! Impact’s gunblade wasn’t powerful enough to deflect it, but it was strong enough to block it!
Both of the metal heads were occupied, leaving the enemy dragon immobilised in terms of both offence and defence! With the lake drained from its previous attack, the main body – a big fat lump of rugged metal with the two spheres lodged inside – was open to attack!
Red dived at it, claws glinting in the sun as he prepared to deal the finishing blow. Hot blood coursing through his bones, he called out the name of this technique: <TRINITYYYY… FINISH!>
The metal beast was easily reduced to ribbons of scrap metal, the heads deactivating as the two central processing units were crushed. Just to make sure it was dead, Red unleashed the biggest blast he ever made on it, reducing it to ash. The deed done; the beast let loose with a howl of triumph. Not because he had lost to his base instincts, but for the cool factor.
Once he ensured it was safe to approach the dragon, Impact rushed up to him, tail wagging and eyes sparkling. “That was amazing…! You performed excellently!”
<We performed excellently. Don’t sell yourself or Sabre short.> The dragon turned his gaze from Impact to his fellow beast, a cheeky expression on his face. <Now… how ‘bout that nice lunch you wanted to treat Impact to?>
Sabre went green – the colour of his blush being due to his magic, a wildly unfitting appearance on his now frightening visage. “O-oh… as a voice actor, I don’t get paid much, but… I’ll see what I can do for three people.”
With a series of uncomfortable-sounding cracks akin to a crackling fireplace, he reverted to his normal half-Blaster shape. As he shrank down to his usual size, he couldn’t help but shiver against the cool breeze on his naked bones. “A-after the cost of new clothes, as well… Impact, can you get my wallet?”
“Of course!” After a few seconds of searching, Impact found Sabre’s wallet amongst his clothing tatters. The raptor briefly considered throwing it to him, before remembering a blind man wouldn’t quite appreciate the gesture. Instead, he passed it into his hand, and additionally wrapped his coat around the skeleton as an interim measure.
“Thank you. Now, where to eat…”
***
McDaniel’s
Sabre rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, sweating slightly. “…As I said earlier, I did tell you that I didn’t get paid much…”
Impact quickly dispelled any doubts, as he dug into the burger from his Joy Meal™ with warmth in his tone. “No, this is fine! This is more than enough!”
The now humanoid Red nodded his head in agreement. “Just bein’ able t’ spend time together here is fun.” Chuckling slightly, he lifted up a small figurine. “Plus, I’ve been lookin’ for this one for ages!”
Neither of them felt even the slightest urge to complain – after all, it wasn’t about the food itself. Sharing a meal and company with true companions, who would always be there to support each other… that made it taste better than even an emperor’s feast.
‘Like Gunbuster, but with Dudes’
I wanted to try and capture the passionate, energetic tone of a scene from one of my favourite OVAs in writing, so I attempted it with characters from the GB Discord I’m on.
Kit belongs to @topazshadowwolf
Impact belongs to me.
The scene this is a reference to is this one!
“I-I… I can’t go on…!”
“Impact!?”
The raptor’s jet abruptly halted, formation breaking as Kit unintentionally overtook him in this strange space. Hurriedly fumbling with the controls, the half-Blaster turned on the commlink to reveal his friend huddled in the cockpit, trembling.
Concern for the larger, yet younger skeleton welled up inside him. What had happened to make him break down all of a sudden…!?
Impact’s voice was usually either calm and controlled, or completely over-the-top and bursting with energy. But now… “I can’t do it anymore…! It’s useless… all useless…!”
Flashes of what the Papyrus described to him of his home timeline ran through his mind. It was likely that this wasn’t something sudden – rather, it had been festering inside him ever since he first mutated. “Impact…”
“Even if we succeed in our task, there’s no point to it all! The Ray Empire’s still choking the Earth! With the Emperor hoarding all the power for himself, he could easily rip away everything from us at any moment!”
The beast brought his misshapen forepaws in front of his face, clenching and unclenching them. At the stage he was at now, they could barely be called hands anymore. “I’m trapped in this disgusting body, which could give out and degenerate at any moment! And…!”
He slumped against the controls with a pathetic-sounding ‘thunk’. “There’s no one waiting for me back in my home world! My friends and family are all gone… and there’s nothing I can do about it. With neither past nor future… I may as well just die!”
Kit pressed his paw-like hand against the monitor, as if trying to physically reassure his friend. “Impact… please get yourself together. If this continues, we’re both done for!” As if to emphasise this, the massive aircraft violently rattled, like caught in turbulence. Their enemies had taken advantage of Impact’s hesitation, bombarding the two with relentless attacks.
Regardless of his growing panic, Kit continued, “While you may never be able to return to the past, you don’t know what the future holds yet. You could have the chance to experience more happiness than ever before… but if you can’t take that step forward, you won’t be able to even try!
Now the lights within the craft were starting to flicker. More and more nightmarish shapes were latching onto their vehicles, trying to crush them. “This conflict… it’s grown beyond the scope of a single world. If we let the demons from between dimensions devour any of our worlds… no one will have a future! The entire universe – reality itself – will be eaten up by the Void, and not even Determination will be able to bring it back!”
Impact’s sobbing ceased, his body having gone still. Hope starting to well up inside him, Kit pressed through with his encouragement. “Doc, Sabre, Hikaru, Red… all of them are counting on us to get through this! They chose us to be the ones who would venture through the gap, stop all the demons, and save everyone!
“If we fall here, everything that’s happened up ‘till now… everything that will happen… it’ll all be for nothing! For the sake of our world… for the sake of the people living within it… we need to go on!”
The half-Blaster voice cracked, putting every last drop of his emotion into his plea. “So please, Papyrus…! Fight!”
…
…
…
After what felt like an eternity… Impact rose up. His eyes were filled with resolve. “Kit… I understand. We fight together!”
“Impact…!” Despite the dire situation, the Sans couldn’t help but grin. Eagerly, almost as if on autopilot, his arm shot to the special ‘MODE’ lever. From ‘transport’ mode to ‘battle’ mode! “I’ll focus on the weaponry and energy output. You just do your thing with the controls. I’m behind you all the way, bro!”
Kit’s grin was contagious, a huge toothy smile spreading across the Papyrus raptor’s maw. “Alright…! LET’S DO IT!” With a burst of light, the demons clinging to the planes were blown away! The two vehicles drifted closer to each other, glowing as the fusion sequence started.
As the machines combined, Impact’s thoughts wandered back to his Sans and Undyne. Sans… Undyne… watch me, from wherever you are. I’ll see this battle through to the end.
The planes underwent several shifts as they merged together, each movement far faster and more complex than the untrained eye could follow. After mere moments, the light disappeared to reveal a humanoid shape. Two flames had united to form an inferno! The True Dimension Knight, warrior of justice! Defender of the innocent! Saviour of all Earths… had finally arrived!
Like moths drawn to a flame, dozens- no, hundreds of skeletal dragon-like demons swarmed towards the steel titan, rushing through the interdimensional space like ravenous sharks in pursuit of their prey.
The Blasters’ response? “Impact, remember the plan. We just need to make it to the centre of the Dimensional Gap. That would be… right past these guys.”
“Kit, shall we use ‘that’?”
Kit let out a genuine chuckle. “Heh, I thought you’d never ask.”
“UUUUUUOOOOOOHHHH---!” A battle roar exploded out of the main pilot as he launched the machine up into the ‘air’.
Within the mechanical knight’s hands, a giant sword materialised! A glowing golden weapon, illuminating the darkest of nights and cleaving through evil!
“ULTIMATEEEE…”
“HEAVEN-MEETS-EARTH…”
“SWOOOOOORD!”
True to the second pilot’s philosophy, the strongest attack came first. The blade of light cleaved through the abominations effortlessly, leaving titanic explosions in its wake. It slowed down in time to reach a floating chunk of rock, using it as a temporary foothold.
Despite the sun’s rays being unable to pierce this space, it nevertheless glinted off the mech’s armour. Its arms folded, announcing to the entire battlefield, “Don’t assume that this Dimension Knight is some random machine! Everyone’s legacy, from the past…”
His brother’s companionship.
Undyne’s fiery passion.
Alphys’ enthusiasm.
Toriel’s and Asgore’s warmth.
The compassion Frisk showed him, even if it was fake.
“Everyone’s dreams, for the future…”
Sabre’s kindness.
Doc’s care.
Red’s support.
Hikaru’s hope.
“THEY ALL LIE WITHIN IIIIIIT!”
The draconic helmet of the suit parted, revealing a mechanical Blaster head. It looked and functioned just like the real thing! An immense beam surged forth from the maw, blowing apart the formless monstrosities in their path with searing, pure magical energy.
A beep on Kit’s monitor alerted him to more danger. “Heads up, Impact!”
“Ah…!” Following his friend’s warning, he turned the mech’s head upwards, the blast coming with it. When he could see the giant meteor-sized ribcage bearing down on him… he had already bisected it. But that wasn’t the end of the demons’ counterattack. This time, Impact’s monitor was the one that flashed with the warning sign. “Kit! Incoming from below!”
“You got it! Beam Spikes, scatter!” The tail of the draconic mech whipped around with a slash, firing out several spikes as it did! With a force rivalling the most powerful of mother nature’s storms, the leviathans rising up from below were rendered harmless pincushions.
All this was enough to even inspire Kit, filling him with the energy to utter another speech of his own. “No matter how thick or smothering the darkness choking this world threatens to become… our hearts will only shine brighter!”
Impact would have given him an affirming pat on the back if he could. “Couldn’t have put it better myself! No matter what gets in our way, we’ll break through!”
As if in response to this challenge, wall-like beasts, living shields approached… their intent to hit them like trucks… but Impact wouldn’t allow that. “ROTATION LASERRR!” In a slick, fluid motion, he threw his shield and fired a sword beam, diffracting it off the spinning shield to slice through them all like butter.
Eager to seize upon this opportunity, he retrieved his weapon and rushed forward… but perhaps, he was a bit too eager. “Impact, pull back! We’re going too fast!”
Hundreds of blasts, made of choking darkness and equal in intensity to their own, obliterated the spot where the Blasters’ mech… used to be. Kit’s warning let Impact pull back just in the nick of time, separating the Dimension Knight into its component aircraft and evading the attacks!
Kit kept watch over the readings on his screens. Dodging everything while setting up a counterattack was a hassle… but pushed onwards by his motivation for a bright future, he could do it. Keeping one eye on the enemies outside, while the other eye on the system inside, he yelled to Impact, “Doesn’t look like the concentrated fire will let up! You know what to do next.”
Within the other aircraft, Impact grinned. If the enemies wouldn’t give them a break… then they would just have to make one! The jets boosted forwards as they re-combined, the humanoid figure already in a battle-ready stance. “HOLY GREATSHIELD!”
The knight charged, thrusting its shield forward as it smashed through the demons like a living battering ram. From a zoomed-out view, it would be as if the off-white clusters of twisted bones and teeth made way before this golden meteor!
Another boast left the pilot’s maw. “You think that’ll be enough to deal with the likes of US!?” Lowering its shield to expose its mouth, another blast from the mech tore through the unholy creatures.
Kit took advantage of this break in the enemies to check his display. “We’re almost at our destination! Just a little more to- WHOA!”
He barely had a second to react before he found himself almost literally holding up the heavens. A titanic planet, covering his entire vision, quickly came down on him. As if the mindless enemies were crowing, ‘There’s more where that came from,’ another living planet of bones and spikes rushed up at the mechanical knight from below!
Even the 250m steel titan started to struggle from this, the joints of its limbs creaking ominously as the pressure intensified… However, in stark contrast, the pilots were more composed than ever. Impact lightly chuckled, carrying the same air as someone who saw mildly interesting sight on a roadtrip. “Who would’ve guessed? That they could even become celestial bodies.”
Kit winked at his co-pilot. “The power of these things is truly astronomical, eh?” The Sans casually pressed a button, producing a blast to hit the ground beneath the mech. It didn’t even scratch the vast object.
“Not bad.”
“However… our own power – that of righteous hearts – is not to be underestimated!” Impact briefly closed his eyes, steadying his breathing… before announcing the mech’s true ultimate technique. “LIMITLESS LIIIIIIIGHT!” The golden glow about the mech intensified further, to almost blinding levels! It even burned his own body, every inch of him sizzling with pain… but for how much Impact was hurting, it hurt their enemies hundreds of times more.
With one last surge of energy, everything in the Blaster duo’s nearby area violently shook, before exploding in a flash of light! When all the smoke and flames cleared… the True Dimension Knight was still standing.
However… so were their enemies. If even one demon was left alive, it could reproduce endlessly and create more spawn. That was why…
“We’ve made it to the core. You ready, Impact?”
“Yes!”
The mech was powered by Light itself. If they overloaded it here, at the centre of the demon’s spawning grounds, it would certainly spell the abominations’ ends.
Kit entered the code for the self-destruct sequence, and the change was almost instantaneous. Unlike the golden, passionate aura that the two pilots could make it exude, it now took on an almost ethereal glow, indicating it wasn’t much longer for this world.
As the glow engulfed its body, it also spread to the space around it. The ghastly, roiling purplish-black of the Void began to clear, peeling away to reveal a pleasant, gentle blue sky beneath.
Kit and Impact couldn’t stay to appreciate the sights, though – it was still unknown what the Light would do to normal creatures. A lone jet, much smaller than the massive crafts that formed the mech, emerged from the Dimension Knight’s chest and sped away.
The remaining hellbeasts shrieked and writhed as they fizzled away into nothingness, like ghouls that vanished with the coming of dawn.
Impact turned his head back, looking for one last time at the remains of the creation that helped carry them so far. “Thank you for everything, Dimension Knight. This is farewell…”
Flying back to the portal from which they entered, the warriors returned towards their world… towards where their friends were waiting.
Gasterblastober Prompt 2: Transformation
This is a what if scenario for Breaking Through Fate: if in the initial chapters when the skeleton brothers first mutate, they couldn’t hold on as long – specifically, if Papyrus didn’t spend as much time honing his magic control. Not necessarily canon to the mechanics of that timeline/my ‘main’ interpretations.
For the Gasterblastober of the @gbpack-discord
The pulse of mysterious energy hit Sans, dazing him long enough for the wild Blaster to tackle into him! As Sans soared through the air and out of their sights, the other two skeletons could only scream.
What was this thing…!? Where had it come from…? And what was it even doing in a forest like this?
Papyrus and Gaster rushed at the uncontrolled Blaster, grabbing on and trying to restrain it, but ended up thrown off! Another burst of magic energy rushed into Papyrus directly as he was launched into a tree!
The skeleton managed to quickly recover, getting to his feet, but within moments… the real pain started. A wet scream tore from his throat as he clutched at his chest! It felt like lava was coursing through his bones as his torso expanded, straining his battle body. His shoulders quivered, before violently snapping forward.
The Blaster took advantage of Papyrus’ newly forward-facing limbs, latching on with its razor-sharp teeth. The skeleton screeched in agony, but that was nothing compared to the changes spreading downwards. Sweat cascaded down his skull, his face going slightly red at the realisation of what was happening. Why THERE!? Why now!?
His shifting pelvis was straining against his briefs, making the whole ordeal uncomfortable in more ways than one. Papyrus wanted to pull them off, but the Blaster on his arms meant all he could do was helplessly watch. His briefs kept getting tighter and tighter, until finally… they had enough of the pressure.
They snapped off, going flying like from out of a slingshot! A long, blade-tipped tail, freed from his briefs and easily twice the length of his torso, lashed out from behind him, smashing into the Blaster! The demonic skull crumbled from the powerful blow, its remains colliding with another tree and tumbling to the bottom, unmoving.
Something on the tree caught Papyrus’ gaze – if he wasn’t so scared about what was happening to him right now, he would have chuckled. His briefs were hanging off the tree, a sight just like out of a slapstick cartoon.
His brief moment of respite was interrupted as burning spread to his arms. His bones thickened and fortified as the awful mutation progressed from his upper arms outwards. Papyrus tried to keep his breathing steady and regain control over his magic, but each time he thought he had regained control, he slipped again – like a mountain climber who thought he nearly reached the top, but when he got there, there was still another stretch of mountain to go.
Once the change reached his hands, his fingers spasmed, causing his gloves to bulge and twist, before shredding! Five sharp pointed claws lay at the ends of his fingers and thumbs, and they were only getting sharper as his hands grew to match his arms.
His metacarpals stretched out, each snap drawing a cry of pain out of the mutating skeleton. Meanwhile, his thumbs slid slightly down his hands, as if they couldn’t decide whether they wanted to stay with the other fingers or not. In fact, his hands as a whole couldn’t seem to decide whether they were human-like hands, or beast-like forepaws – right now, they could be used as either.
Papyrus’ attention was drawn to his legs as the searing pain reached them. His back hit the ground as his lower limbs spasmed, kicking up dirt and grass. They were steadily pulsing, lengthening, and swelling all at once – back Underground, when he aspired to join the Royal Guard, he would have been fascinated and maybe even excited by this surge of strength. But now, he was just horrified.
The skeleton felt his boots start constricting around his feet, his shoes becoming more uncomfortable with every passing second. He looked down to see his footwear swollen and strained, a distinct shape pushing out from within. With another surge of energy and accompanying spasm, his boots shredded, revealing elongated feet tipped with wicked claws.
Like his hands, they also seemed… half-done, halfway between foot and paw – his big toes had shrunken and slid up his feet somewhat, but they could still move and weren’t small enough to be considered dewclaws. Meanwhile, his other four toes on each foot had elongated and favoured balancing on the balls of his feet, but they weren’t locked into position – it was still possible (albeit uncomfortable) to plant his whole foot on the ground.
A lump formed in the skeleton’s throat as the energy started to rise up his neck, stretching it out as it did. No… NO! Papyrus didn’t want it to take his head away from him! Anything but that! A ghastly chill ran down his spine – if it reached his head, it would reach his mind! If it reached his mind, it would…? Why did he think the changes affecting his mind would be a bad thing? What was this feeling of déjà vu…?
Nubs of horns started to form at the top of his head, while quickly running his magic tongue along them confirmed his teeth were starting to sharpen. No matter the case, he had to give one final push, forcing his magic down into the place it belonged, taming the horrible beast! With the mental force he exuded on himself, the changes stopped then and there.
…Or so he wanted to think. His control over his magic wasn’t perfect, even without having a Blaster throw it into chaos. The changes had only slowed down to a crawl.
His sharpened teeth felt like they were pushing against each other, like his mouth was too small to contain them. There was also a slight pressure on his whole face, twitching unnaturally every few moments – as if it was eager to extend into a muzzle at any moment.
Shakily, Papyrus got to his feet, the sensation of earth on his bare paws feeling alien and unnatural. On top of everything else, his balance felt off – he couldn’t quite stand up straight, slightly leaning forward. While he could still move somewhat normally, he had to confirm if Sans was alright… or if these changes were also happening to him.
Putting one paw in front of the other carefully, his legs wobbling with each step, Papyrus made it to where his brother was, lying on his back. His worst fears were confirmed: the changes were affecting him, too. Unlike Papyrus, Sans had no training with controlling magic, making things even more difficult. Not having extended direct contact with the Blaster meant the changes progressed more slowly, but his entire body was mutating at once.
Horns had erupted from the back of his skull, creaking as they slowly extended. A lengthening tail was lashing out around him, slashing marks in the earth and nearby trees. Sans’ sneakers were already in shreds, claw-tipped paws twitching as his talons sharpened, and his big toes continued to recede into dewclaws.
Papyrus instantly knew what to do here. He might not have been able to suppress out-of-control magic, but he could certainly control the flow of magic. The skeleton leaned down, careful not to topple over from his unstable balance, and placed a paw-like hand on his brother’s chest.
Sans’ eyes snapped open, eyelights focusing on Papyrus. The taller skeleton simply gave a reassuring smile. Now that their magic was connected, he would take it all!
The surge of power rushed into him, and its effect was instant. Intense pressure squeezed at his hips once more as uncomfortable creaks emanated… then, it snapped, forcing him into a fully quadrupedal position.
Papyrus dug his left arm… foreleg into the ground, so as to not accidentally crush his brother under his increasing weight. He kept his right foreleg positioned gently on his brother, insistent on bearing the brunt of the mutation. As this process continued, his entire body was growing, each bone thickening and strengthening.
With a burst of pain akin to a strong invisible hand ripping them out of place, his thumbs raced up his wrists. They shrunk to the point of uselessness, while the rest of his claws stretched out. There was no longer any trace remaining that his paws were once hands. If he turned back to look at his legs, he would have seen that his hind paws had received the same treatment.
Cruel spikes burst out from his spine, reducing his battle body to scraps and leaving him naked. A sigh of relief instinctually escaped his bulging face. It was already ten sizes too small at this point, so he was glad to be free of it. His claws continued to sharpen into weapons sharper than any sword, whereas a blade formed at the end of his tail.
Finally, the pressure on his face gave way. With a series of excruciating crunches and snaps, Papyrus’ face pushed outwards into a draconic muzzle, teeth becoming razor-sharp and bladelike, while his horns extended and curved. The feeling of his face extending and reshaping before his eyes was alien enough… but it also came with something else.
A foreign force swiftly penetrated his mind, like darkness washing over it, and he felt his rational self start to slip away. Papyrus’ feeble mental resistance had been overcome easily by the forceful, feral beast. The last thought that passed through his mind was his hope that he wouldn’t harm Sans.
***
Sans got to his feet, disoriented and dizzy. He put a hand to his forehead, but flinched at the pinpricks upon contact. Claws…? Right, the Blaster had made him mutate. A quick look-over of his features confirmed that he had slight bestial features. Paw-like feet, sharper teeth, Blaster horns, and a tail.
Thanks to Papyrus bearing the brunt of the energy, Sans was still recognisable as himself. But the same could not be said for the coolest skeleton in question.
The towering, fearsome behemoth gazed down at him, an evil aura from its very soul making him feel like running in terror. However, the shorter skeleton stood his ground. Demon dragon or not, it was still Papyrus. …Wasn’t it?
It lowered its head (it was as bigger than his entire body!) and sniffed at him. Each second felt like an eternity as those hellish reptilian eyes bored into him. Then… it moved back, each step quaking the ground, and with another tremor, sat down on its haunches. It seemed… expectant. As if it wanted Sans to give it an order.
“Uh… just stay here, ok?” In an instant, the beast became as still as a statue. It wasn’t even breathing… did it need to breathe? It wasn’t in discomfort, so Sans assumed it didn’t.
The short, freshly mutated skeleton turned to the cowering black-garbed man, who had been observing all of this. “Gaster, was it? I want you to come with me. I’ve gotta head back Underground to get something.”
“…Yes.”
With that, the two departed. Sans gave one last look to the motionless monstrosity. He hoped his special badge would be able to restore Papyrus to normal. If it didn’t… he would just have to adapt. …How, he wasn’t sure.
Conspiracy! Search Between the Lines of the Movie Script!
I wrote animated actor skits between the characters as a joke on the RP part of the @gbpack-discord , but then I thought about what kind of studio would allow the use of very real laser-shooting bone beasts in movies, as well as what kind of actors would stay around laser-shooting bone beasts, and this oneshot was born.
Impact and Soichiro belong to me.
Sabre and his brother (tentative name: Tsurugi) belong to @paddie-ut
Rigel and his brother (tentative name: Kaoru) belong to @skellepuns
Sabre helplessly clung for his life to the branch at the top of the prop tree like a stuck cat. “So this is how I die… Mum… Dad… Bro… I’m so sorry… You were right, I should have just stayed home doing Super Robot Wars recordings all along…”
Impact – or rather, the creature playing the role of the beastman’s body – kept trying to leap up at Sans, eying him hungrily like it had just discovered what it would have for its next meal.
From a safe distance (knowing well that trying to interfere himself would lead to being ripped in two), Impact’s voice actor yelled. “Hang in there, Sabre! You’ll be alright! Help is on its way! As long as you sit tight and don’t move-”
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
The raptor started munching on the tree, its massive jaws easily slicing through the thick material like butter! The skeletal actor facepalmed, feeling quite foolish for jinxing it.
On the other hand (or rather, paw), another actor decided he’d had enough of seeing his co-worker being chased around by beasts. With several heavy footsteps, Rigel dashed towards the raptor and tackled it, wrestling it to the ground.
In his base humanoid form, it would have been like throwing himself at a brick wall. But in that half-beast shape, not only did he have a lot extra weight to throw around, he had quite the solid constitution. The ravenous animal snapped and struggled like the beast it was, but it was completely pinned.
Just in time, the people Impact’s voice actor called over arrived! Rigel carefully handed it over, not releasing his grip until it was safely in chains.
Rigel turned upwards towards his friend, putting on what he hoped looked like a reassuring smile. “Alright, Sabre! It’s safe to come down now!”
The small half-Blaster slid down to the ground. Without a moment’s hesitation, he sprinted past the others and off the set.
“Sabre…? Wait! We’re not finished with this scene!”
***
Break Room
Sabre huddled in the break room, staring grumpily at nothing in particular. During this time, several staff passed by, such as the ones in charge of props and special effects, but it felt too awkward for them to talk.
This continued for about half an hour… before he was startled out of his sulk by the sound of a coin rolling into a vending machine slot. A claw-tipped hand holding a canned drink entered his field of vision. “Wanna talk about it?” Sabre followed the arm to see…
“You’re Rigel… no, your real name is…”
“My name really is Rigel. Rigel H. Aster. Yours?”
“Rigel H. Aster…?” Sabre’s face lit up at the familiar surname. “I know you! You’re one of the leads of Pink Dark Boy! And the main lead of The Silver Soul! As for my name… it’s also really Sabre. Sabre Midorikawa.”
Rigel’s smile remained on his muzzle, but his eyes slightly narrowed at the last sentence. “Heh, that is what I’m famous for. But Midorikawa…? The actor half the staff- no, half the world is practically in love with? Did you use connections to…? And hold on a sec, how can a blind man watch television?”
A green blush tinted the small Blaster’s cheeks. “O-oh, I’m not actually blind.” He lifted a handpaw and with a cartoonish POP sound, the socket-blackening lenses came out. “And yes, I would like to talk about it. I just can’t stand the Director’s choices anymore! I thought I had the resolve to keep coming here, no matter what, but now…”
The tall, bulky skeleton nodded, taking a sip of his own soda, but his eyes bugged out upon the unfamiliar flavour reaching his tongue. He looked down at the can. Grass Jelly…!? Then Sabre got…
“EUUUUGH!” Several splutters and coughs left the man’s maw, his entire face seemingly scrunching up. “This milk…! It expired years ago!”
“Sorry, I should’ve known not to trust in company import vending machines.” Taking both cans, the blue humanoid dragon poured them down the sink, before chucking the empty cans away. It was for the sewage plants to deal with now. He silently wished them luck. “…Anyway, people drop in and out all the time. I don’t think anyone would blame you for wanting to leave. Just one question I’d like to ask, first…”
Sabre felt uncomfortable, shifting under the dragon man’s gaze. “Depends what it is…”
“Why did you come here in the first place? Everyone around the world is aware of the Director’s extreme methods. His movies have a massive following, but he’s renowned on the streets as a terrible employer.”
The smaller Blaster’s eyes seemed to shift their focus to thin air, recounting a time that had already passed. “Can you keep a secret?”
Rigel nodded solemnly.
Sabre checked the area around him, before ushering Rigel into the restroom and locking the door. He sat down on the toilet, getting ready for a long explanation. “It’s the reason I chose to have my character be a blind man to begin with… And the reason why that ‘Impact’ creature the Director brought along makes me so uncomfortable. I’m not only an actor, you see…
“I do detective work on the side – anything from missing pets, goods, or people… to dangerous cases, involving things like human trafficking and drugs. Mind you, I don’t operate alone. The reason why I’m not beloved as a detective is that my brother Tsurugi is the figurehead of our operations.”
That name was enough to make Rigel’s hair stand on end… is what would have happened if he had any. Instead, his ectobody tensed up, going from the consistency of blueberry jelly to more firm agar jelly. “That Tsurugi… The Early Genius? You’ve gotta be pulling my leg!”
Sabre disproved him, taking out his wallet and revealing a photo of them together. “I’m dead serious.”
“N-no way…”
“Way. Tsurugi’s hailed as a genius and a fighter, but that isn’t entirely correct. He’s the combat expert who handles the battles, whereas I’m the discrete thinker. He shines in the light, whereas I loyally provide him with everything he needs from the shadows.”
Cogs in Rigel’s skull started to turn. “I see… but… wasn’t he recently…?”
A grimace formed on the shorter man’s face as he confirmed. “Yeah. It was a crime in my hometown…”
***
La Gias City, two months ago
“HAAAAAA…! TASTE THIS, MY SIGNATURE TECHNIQUE! HUNDRED STORM FIST!” With strength beyond that of mortal men, the skeleton let out a fist rush, the wind stirred up from each punch being enough to blow away all his opponents!
“Heads up, bro! They’ve got reinforcements coming from below!”
Tsurugi’s confident grin didn’t fade. “Is that so? Then…” He leaped into the air, a powerful aura flowing around him, before doing a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree spin and colliding straight into the wave of mooks coming from downstairs. “LIGHTNING KIIIICK!” The room around him illuminated brilliantly! In one fell swoop, they were all immobilised!
Sabre couldn’t help but grin upon witnessing his brother’s handiwork. He really was amazing…! “Alright, proceed! The ‘boss’ is at the top!”
“Roger that!” Tsurugi sprinted up the stairs, entering a large, grandiose office room. It looked almost like the huge, majestic boss’ offices he saw on television: larger than a personal office had any right to be, elaborate paintings on the wall, and the back wall being a transparent window showcasing the night city skyline. Within it… he came face-to-face with the enemy.
Shouting with bravado, the man pointed a finger at the human woman behind the desk. “Well then, you’re the one behind all this! Kidnapping all those poor schoolboys!”
“Of course~!” The Evil Eleanor giggled. “My desire is nothing more than to dominate the young. So rather than brutes and savages, those boys are used to create fine gentlemen! Gentlemen for me to do whatever I wish with!”
“Such dreadful desires…! Desires befitting of a supervillain! Therefore, you must be punished as one!”
Eleanor cackled like a witch, the laugh of an evil hag erupting from the otherwise beautiful face. “Just try and stop me, Tsurugi! Come, my loyal guard dogs!”
“B-bro…! Be careful! My console is picking up several extremely high energy readings right next to you!”
The paintings to the side opened up, revealing skeletal demonic creatures that looked like they crawled out of hell itself. Curved, goat-like horns. Maws filled with vicious, blade-like teeth. They were completely covered in wicked spikes, to the point where simply approaching one would cause physical harm. And the worst part was…!
Tsurugi had seen his fair share of criminals, but the eyes of these creatures? They were something far worse than even the scummiest of lawbreakers! These beings… they radiated pure evil. An unstoppable force of nature unbound by the laws of society or the modern world! The simple sight of them made the half-beast skeleton break out into a cold sweat.
“Ufufu~ Marvellous, aren’t they? I know you’re world-renowned for your close combat fighting style. These wonderful creatures are the ultimate counter!”
“Indeed…” Tsurugi took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his skull. “You have me beat… I truly have no way of countering with my Dragon Style CQC… However!” Determination ignited in his eyes. With a snap of the fingers, several airborne mechanical drones burst through the roof and from below. “You’re sorely mistaken if you think my hands and feet were my only weapons!”
Eleanor’s face contorting into all sorts of ugly expressions, she screamed, “DO IT! MAUL HIM!”
“FULL BURRRRRRRST!”
The world become awash with light… and when it cleared, there was nothing left of the demons but ash. The skeleton let out the breath he was holding. He didn’t say it out loud for obvious reasons, but those laser drones were experimental. There was an equal chance of them detonating and blowing him up.
Warily, he approached the soot-covered mastermind. “Now tell me, why did you kidnap all those boys? What meaning is there in taking innocent children away from their family and friends? Most importantly… where are they now!?”
The only response he got was a wad of spit in his face. “Fufufu… You foolish skeleton… because you had to play teen detective, you’re marked! ‘They’ will pursue you to the ends of the Earth, until you’re silenced! Guhhh…” The life faded from her eyes. Unfortunately, it seemed that was all the information he would ever be able to receive from her.
***
The next night, Midorikawa Household
Tsurugi shifted in bed uncomfortably, that woman’s words still bouncing around his skull. It was the wee hours of the morning, yet he was unable to sleep. They… they… who were they…?
The sound of the fridge opening and being messily rummaged through, for once, was welcome. Sabre! Someone he could talk to about this!
Tail wagging vigorously, he leaped out of bed and all but sprinted downstairs into the kitchen. The creature he saw there would be the last thing he would see for quite some time. “…Y-you’re-!”
SLASH!
***
Present Day
Sabre finished his tale, a lump in his throat. “He was taken completely off-guard. The fact that he managed to fight it off anyway while blinded, unable to use his equipment, and hurt by physical contact with it is impressive, but just what I’d expect of my bro.
“No damage is permanent… he’ll heal, thanks to the funding and technology we have… but it’ll be a while before he’s able to see or move properly again. For that purpose, he’s in hiding right now while recovering. We took the opportunity to fake his death for now.”
The Blaster shuddered again at the recollection. “I felt crushed by that. If it weren’t for me wanting my brother to have all the glory… He wouldn’t have been targeted. I tried to make up for it by coming here, but… I’m starting to wonder whether it’s even worth it, if simple situations like these nearly kill me. If I’m just causing more problems…”
Rigel attempted a comforting purr, patting his friend on the back. “Sabre… It’s admirable that you’re doing something like this. I… I have a secret to reveal, too.” He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a shiny golden badge. “I’m a member of the International Police. Kit is, as well.”
“What!? I thought that was just a thing in movies!”
Chuckling, the dragon gave a friendly wink. “That’s what they want you to think!” The amiable expression, however, disappeared as he continued his explanation. “There have been a lot of funds diverted to the Director and his projects, some through legal means, others through not-so-legal means. A lot of money laundering’s been going on.
“And additionally, there’s… you know, that… thing. ‘Impact’. I became familiar with creatures like it prior to coming here. I performed an infiltration in one of the Director’s secret labs with my brother. What I found was something terrible…”
***
Lightbringer Labs, one month ago
Rigel had to physically clutch his snout to prevent the vomit from coming out. “T-this is…!” Familiar footsteps quickly approached from behind him, causing his heart to leap into his throat. “Kaoru, don’t look-!”
Too late! His brother had already seen the awful sight. “N-no… No, no, no, no, no, no, no…!” Those children were…!
In contrast to the hi-tech, futuristic outer walls of the institute, this room looked like it belonged to a deranged cult. Strange symbols, coupled with indecipherable writing were drawn in red paint(…?) all over the walls and floor, and beaten, ragged-looking children were placed in the very centre.
Cloaked figures surrounding the circle chanted out harsh, disgusting-sounding words, as a large muscular figure approached the children. It slowly raised its blade, and…! And…!! The two brothers reflexively looked away, but the sound of the splatter and the scent of blood were enough to confirm what had happened.
The room was soon filled with a terrible atmosphere – one that made Rigel even more physically sick than he already was. He had to fight the instinct to just flee that rose within him. The waves of evil aura became stronger and stronger… and a ball of shadow coalesced at the centre of the room. One of the cloaked figures grabbed it before Rigel could get a good look at it… but it was skeletal. And moving.
A smile – not genuine in the slightest and more like the fake one of a dog’s or dolphin’s – spread across the face of the staff member next to them. “Remember, you signed the legally binding contract! If you speak a word of this classified information to the general public… You’ll soon join them.”
A voice in Rigel’s mind screamed at him to tear the man apart. But he knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere, and he had to bear it for now.
***
“Connections across the world, where they kidnap sacrifices… Labs, where they create hellbeasts… A movie, where they use real live hellbeasts… and, where they aim to portray said hellbeasts in a positive and affable light…
“I don’t know what the Director’s goal is, but it’s something sinister for sure. That’s why Kit and I decided to come here.”
This new information made Sabre’s head spin. Those children Tsurugi couldn’t save… and it was happening all across Earth…? After what felt like hours, though in reality it was a minute at most, the skeleton came to a decision. “…If the incident’s grown this large, then I have no choice but to keep going! My brother would have never turned a blind eye to an injustice like this! For my brother, and those poor children…”
Resolve starting to grow in his voice, Sabre continued, “We’ll beat that bastard at his own game! We’ll make a great movie, and find out what this Director is up to! Red, Doc, Mr Ignis, Magester, Ginger… maybe even that Soichiro guy who does lines for Impact! If we get them in on this as well, and use the creative control we’re allowed, we can foil the Director on all fronts!”
A grin spread across his face as the two of them left the toilet cubicle, heads held higher than anyone who had just taken a dump would look. Several stares went their way, but Sabre didn’t care at all. Just keep waiting, bro… soon, I’ll get to the bottom of this!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Belated last entry for the @gbpack-discord ‘s Gasterblastober!!
I wrote hypothetical strategy game (specifically, Super Robot Wars) movesets for how some of the Discord members’ Blasters might play if they were in the series, and had mechs of their own.
Impact is my character.
Kit belongs to @topazshadowwolf
Doc belongs to @parsnipit
Sabre belongs to @paddie-ut
Hikaru belongs to @skellepuns
Red belongs to @goosygander
Gasterblastober Prompt 3: A Moment of Fear
This takes place in my variant of the Blaster AU (in other words, on the Surface one year and a bit after Undertale), shortly after the situation with Wingdings Gaster was resolved.
When dressing up for Halloween with Asriel, Papyrus (in the ‘horned skeleton’ partial Blaster form he’s stuck in) causes the goat to flash back to one of his worse Resets.
In it, a feral GB!Papyrus gives Flowey a cruel and unusual, but entirely deserved death. As such, content warnings apply for extreme violence. And JoJo references.
For Gasterblastober, which is by @gbpack-discord
Papyrus’ House
The horned skeleton let his classmate in, bony tail wagging with excitement in preparation for all the delicious treats they would get. No matter how old they were, they were never too old to go trick-or-treating! Asriel in particular had to make up for six years’ worth of missed treats!
“What are you dressed as, Asriel?”
The self-proclaimed God of Hyperdeath puffed his chest out proudly as he spun around, revealing the Sword of Luck and Pluck attached to the sleeveless blue tank top with shoulder pads to make his slender frame appear bigger. “Jonathan Joestar, of course! I had no idea how to dress, considering, y’know, I’m already a monster. Alphys gave me the suggestion!”
His friend was enthusiastic, but… a bead of sweat slid down Papyrus’ skull. “It’s Halloween, not a cartoon cosplay convention. Why don’t you go in your robes as the God of Hyperdeath?”
Asriel face went so red, if the lights were switched off, Papyrus swore it would illuminate the room. “R-reasons. Anyway, what’re you going as?”
“Glad you asked~ The Great Papyrus is in casual clothes before you now, but soon, you shall be amazed, as he transforms into a bone dragon knight! It’s as radical as it is cost-effective! With my Blaster-like mutations, and everything. All I really needed to design were the armour, helmet, and wings.”
Even after all this time, he still had no idea why he had Blaster-like features now. But horns, paw-like feet, claws, and a tail were unobtrusive enough from his daily life, so there wasn’t really any reason to go investigating. Especially with his final year of high school around the corner.
He ran into his room, disappearing from Asriel’s sight, then returned wearing armour. “The armour is customised Royal Guard armour-” The skeleton turned around, revealing the very mobile wings, “the wings are courtesy of Alphys’ assistance, and most importantly of all…!” Papyrus plonked the helmet he was holding on his head.
At the completed look, Asriel went as still as a statue. A Gasterblaster-like helmet…!? The design brought to mind the lower points of his Resets. Given how awful his Resets past the first few were, that was really saying something. Out of the entire Underground, the most terrifying one of all wasn’t Sans, but…
***
Flowey dodged a rain of sharpened bone attacks, but the moment he thought he avoided it, his enemy made them change course, homing in and piercing through him. “Blugh…!” Blood spewed from his mouth and vines.
This was marginally better than the last hundred times – then, he had been torn apart by claws and fangs outright! This was frustrating! This ‘boss’ wasn’t something he could defeat once ‘triggered’!
He could easily take Papyrus in his ‘base form’ and kill him as easily as an infant, but once he started mutating, it was the end! But there wouldn’t be any achievement unless he killed him as that bone demon creature!
Papyrus’ face had pushed out into a vicious muzzle, filled with razor-sharp teeth. His gloves and boots had been shredded by cruel claws, whereas the remnants of his battle body hung off him. The hellbeast he had become looked like a cross between a skeletal werewolf and a dragon – still vaguely humanoid, but the resemblance to the person he once was ended there.
Flowey had a secret weapon, too: DT he stole from Alphys’ lab. He couldn’t steal the souls from Asgore, but with this…!
A surge of power and pleasure coursed through his body as he grew to enormous size, dwarfing the freshly mutated bone dragon. Green (but otherwise human) hands appeared, forming finger guns. From the ends of the digits, missiles launched out!
Papyrus leaped out of the way and dashed across the walls of New Home on all fours, trying to evade the missiles. But Flowey knew his exact movements – this ‘script’ he had experienced before!
The beast jumped to the Judgement Hall, unintentionally scattering the dust of his older brother. The moment his paws made contact with the floor, the foundation shattered! Barbed vines wrapped around him, constricting him like a vice. A gasp escaped its jaws, as they tightened further.
Flowey brought his face up to where the skeleton was suspended, leaning towards him, his face mere millimetres away from Papyrus’. “I’m the one who’s the Player here. You’re just a stupid NPC.”
Papyrus opened his maw, as if to answer, but then bit down on the flower. Hard. Flowey mentally cursed. Of all the stupid things he forgot to account for! The flower screamed and dropped him to the ground, before falling to the floor himself. Papyrus pinned the flower’s face down with a claw, causing a further screech of pain.
The DT leaked out of him, Papyrus lapping it all up with a blue magic tongue. Drool seeped out of his maw as he hungrily continued to consume the substance, tearing up Flowey’s vines with his free claws to obtain more.
The dragon’s body shuddered and grew as he took in more and more of the substance, the remnants of his battle body all but exploding off as he became more and more draconic.
With his elongating neck, he continued to methodically rip open every last part of Flowey and extract the substance within, dagger-like teeth and claws easily piercing his ‘skin’ as painfully as possible. The turquoise substance his tongue left on the flower burned like acid.
Then, once Papyrus had drawn all he could from the flower… stuffed the soulless creature into his jaws. Slowly, but surely, the jaws started to compress – letting the flower know exactly how he was going to die, and just how excruciating it would be.
Out of every possible timeline he had encountered, and ever would… Flowey had never been more scared in his life. Then and there, the flower learned the true meaning of fear.
***
“ASRIEL!”
The splash of ice-cold water snapped the former prince back to reality.
Papyrus, his helmet removed, laughed in relief. “Thank God…! You were staring into space for ages! I thought I would have to use a 23rd bucket!”
“Haha… sorry, you really were terrifying.” Asriel’s chuckle was nervous, but deep down, he was pleased.
Such a situation no longer had the potential to occur. Resets and anything associated with them were no longer possible. Thanks to their achievements, this world was free from the curse of Determination. No one would treat real people’s lives like a worthless game. Papyrus would stay as Papyrus.
The horned skeleton in question bowed his head in apology. “I’m sorry for frightening you – this costume is clearly too much. I should donate it to a horror house later. But…” He stroked his bifurcated jaw. “What can I go as last-minute…?”
A mischievous smile crossed Asriel’s face. “I have an idea…”
***
“So cool, mister…!”
“Do it again, do it again!”
“As you wish, here we goooo…!” Another twirl of Papyrus’ head, and the top hat went spinning through the air again, drawing a cheer out of the crowd of children who gathered around him. It drew an arc, before landing right where it was earlier. It didn’t have a razor like in the source material, but it was just as fancy and entertaining to use.
ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ
Suddenly, purple projected menacing symbols started hovering around the area – those weren’t illusions created by the atmosphere, they were actually 3D hologram projections! Papyrus and Asriel, turned around, and at the sight, they grinned. Looked like some people had the same idea for costumes…!
Mettaton, RG01, and RG02 were dressed in the fabulous Pillar Men outfits, each of them practically glowing with over-the-top fabulousness. No, wait, they were just literally glowing and sparkling. That was MTT™ bishounen sparkle spray for you!
At any rate, he decided to play along – Papyrus issued a very convincing “KYAAAAAAAAAA! They’ve awakeneeeeed!”
Asriel added onto that, “Even the Great Papyrus is afraid!”
