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spacialesbian · 5 years

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Theory: Deltarune is set in a previous universe to Undertale

Okay I'm going to attempt to go through and explain my previous-universe deltarune/undertale theory, in which I give evidence for why the DR universe occurs earlier on the timeline than the UT one (also sometimes referred to as Chara-pocalypse by me exclusively for fun)

Extremely huge shoutout to @rayl1r for basically all Kris-split elements, this post for effectively jumpstarting this whole idea in my brain (I will also be referencing it throughout this) and @hulknaps for listening to my preliminary bullshit

I'm gonna get everything I can out of that post before I move on so. The first thing I want to discuss is the photograph of 3 people with the words "don't forget" on it found in the first shelf of San's laboratory, as well as the blueprint for the "thrashing machine" next to it. Now this combined with the "dontforget.ogg" file found in the "mus" folder of deltarune can be taken to imply (albeit somewhat tenuously by itself alone) that the picture is of Kris, Susie, and Ralsei. However, the photo paired with the blueprint and this Sans fight dialogue heavily implies that the events of DR take place in an alternate universe at some point in time before Sans and Papyrus somehow travel to the UT universe. We know from one of the shopkeepers in UT that the bone brothers "just showed up one day," possibly referring to a sudden jump between universes. Now, we know that by the time Chara in a genocide run reaches Sans he knows all about them and "what they've done" (paraphrasing). Initially everybody assumed he was speaking of Chara's actions in UT, but instead consider the possibility that what he was referencing to "what they've done" was really something in the DR reality, namely Chara bringing calamity and the apocalypse to the entire world (this seems brought out of nowhere but there's evidence to support it I promise). somehow and at some time during the storyline of DR, I theorize Sans will join the organization that he references in his Genocide run fight with Chara here, giving him the means to escape the Chara-pocalypse (see) and even appropriating the teleport door technology we see in DR.

Okay, that's essentially the core of this theory: DR takes place in a previous universe to UT, in which Chara brings the calamity to fruition in DR and Sans figures out a way to escape to UT with Papyrus, vowing to himself "don't forget" as he leaves the fun gang behind.

Now, the first branch of this I'm gonna analyze is Gaster's "role" in all of this. we learn from his followers in UT that 1. Gaster created the core of the underground 2. something went wrong and he fell in, being splintered through space and time and becoming omniscient to some degree (shoutout to this video for the screenshots of the Gaster follower dialogue). Now, I’m adopting the theory that Gaster is the one speaking to you at the beginning of DR during the "character creator” that I lay out the evidence for in this post that you can read if you don’t already subscribe to this idea. Now Gaster, through his displacement in time, has seen the Chara-pocalypse coming and knows there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. This would also explain his nihilistic disposition when interacting with the player and discarding their vessel, as well as providing a possible explanation for why Gaster’s followers are referred to as goners. Gaster has seen the apocalypse coming and know there’s nothing that can be done about it. Everybody is DR is fucked as their choices don’t matter. Now, what do you call someone who is screwed no matter what they do? A goner.

Departing from Gaster, it's now time to talk about the "Kris-split" theory I mentioned earlier provided entirely by @rayl1r. Now, multiple theories and speculation have arisen about Kris being some kind of amalgamation between Chara and Frisk. However, these all assume that DR takes place “after” UT, as opposed to before like the theory I’ve been defending for 600+ words states. “Knowing" that UT takes place takes after DR, we can instead come to the conclusion that Frisk and Chara are a physical split of Kris into two distinct entities. As a sort of disclaimer, we don't know exactly how this split would take place but as with all theories some things we just can't answer. Moving on, we can further attribute this split to what we actually see at the very end of DR Chapter 1. Kris' body and soul literally split into two entities, which, coinciding with this theory, foreshadows the embodiment of Kris' separated soul as Frisk and their body personified as Chara, a ""soulless"" being. We see in this tumblr post that after Kris' soul is torn out we can still control it, yet have lost control over the body. This is an effective mirror of the mechanics in UT, as we control Frisk throughout the entire game except in parts of a Genocide run where Chara wholly "takes over" Frisk and the player loses control entirely. The similarities between Kris' body in the final scene of DR and Chara also don't end there. Recall that the only human to ever open their eyes throughout UT was Chara. Kris' eyes are closed the entirety of DR except for when the soul (Frisk/The Player) is removed from their body, the opening of the eyes symbolizing Chara's new domain over the body or “vessel.” Dialogue from the Sans fight again supports that even though Frisk is being controlled by Chara, he recognizes them as they once were; as Kris. In the same situation as before, we as a fanbase assumed this line was a reference to Sans being aware of Pacifist timelines where Frisk was his friend and generally didn’t murder the whole underground. However, I believe this is a reference to the piece of Kris still somewhere inside Chara (as Chara came from Kara, some part of Kris must still remain inside of Chara).

The last directly in-game content I want to reference for this theory actually revolves around Seam and Jevil. First, take a look at the dialogue Seam has with Kris after you defeat Jevil and return to him. This heavily foreshadows a calamity based end of the world scenario, quite possibly the Chara-pocalypse I have alluded to. How much stake we can put into a brain-addled old shopkeeper is relative, but as it is Toby Fox I won't discount a single thing. Beating Jevil using violence (FIGHTing to lower his health bar rather than tiring him out and pacifying) reveals much of the same information in this dialogue, but also introduces new things that I find incredibly interesting. He references both the unnamed Knight as well as a "Queen" who will bring "hell's roar from the depths." Apart from this being incredibly freaky in general I believe he is referencing Chara as the Queen who will bring hell onto the universe, enacting the Chara-pocalypse. Again, this only a bit of foreshadowing but nothing in these games is small enough to really discredit so I felt safe in adding it here.

To put the cherry on top of all this, Toby released his "thought on chapter 1" tweet as I was planning all of this giving me even more evidence, particularly for the previous-universe theory. In this writing he clearly and openly states "there will be only one ending." the way I see it, this is a reference to the fact that the events of DR are already set in stone, as it takes place in the past (It also reinforces the idea that you actions through DR don’t actually matter). This talk of the characters of UT being the same as you left them also supports the theory, as a set in stone recollection of the past in DR could not possibly change the outcome of UT due to just how time works in general.

Now, Toby of course couldn't just leave it at that. He ends his TwitLonger with the same exact line Sans writes to himself on the picture of the fun gang he cherishes but had to leave behind:

“don’t forget.”

#deltarune #undertale #deltarune theory #sans #gaster #kris #frisk #chara #seam #jevil #deltarune spoilers

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frankpanioncube · 6 years

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Fic: It’s Something You Earn

My gift for @ thesweetpianowritingdownmylife for @undertalesecretsanta . We have HAPPY! Papyrus and Flowey spending time together as friends.

I have to admit I haven’t ever had to write Flowey when he wasn’t explicitly being a manipulative little git so I hope this is alright.

Without further ado: Life on the surface is pretty great. Papryus has it all: Friends, family, a bright future ahead of him with plenty of opportunities, but someone’s missing....and oddly enough he seems to be the only one who knows it. (Bonus points if you guess what show exactly Papyrus is paraphrasing.)

The clock on the wall ticked into the two-o’clock position as the bored-looking grad student proctoring the exam at the front of the room practically leapt to their feet, subtracting another fifteen minutes from the countdown on the room's whiteboard before settling back into their seat at the front of the room. Only forty-five minutes remained and around Papyrus similar sounds of indecision were forthcoming from the students who remained, mixed with the frantic sounds of the desperate.

Papyrus was in fact on his third check through of his work. He knew he needn't have worried; he'd performed exceptionally well on the midterm and the case study and by his math already had secured the necessary minimum grade point requirement to advance in the program...if he chose to pick this as his major. He'd also learned long ago from one Captain Undyne never to give anything less than his absolute best...but surely three double checks was enough.

Having reached a decision, he folded his test booklet closed and brought it to the proctor who copied his student number off his ID card and wished him a ‘Happy Holidays’ under their breath..

After that, the door to the building soon clicked shut behind him, and he was free! Done! Well, that was, until next semester.

Papyrus allowed himself a short whoop, ignoring the stares, but was quick to move on. He was eager to get back to the house. Sans would be coming down today and he hadn't seen his brother in months. He didn't mind stopping at the coffee kiosk as an afterthought. He did after all have nearly 45 minutes, and when had his brother been early to anywhere?

The younger of the skeleton brothers had come to love University life. The Underground had been a little short on anyone in his age bracket and once the initial excitement of being above ground had worn off, he felt at a bit of a loss as to what to do with himself. Not because his options were limited but because suddenly there was a massive surplus of potential. Apparently, lots of humans felt the same way and University or College was one of the things the ones that most closely matched his own age did about it. He hadn't picked a major yet, but apparently most humans in their first year didn't either...and boy had this been a lot easier to get into than the guard. And then there was the Fraternity. Who knew that all this time that he'd thought Sans was just being annoying, he was actually secretly training him for his new brotherhood and friend-making experience! Why, hazing had been an absolute breeze compared to the quagmire that was his brother’s slovenly ways...

Speaking of whom, he picked out two frosted cookies as a ‘good to see you again’ gift and rushed through the holiday niceties with the cashier. Papyrus might be an independent academically minded, grown bones University student now, but he missed his big brother. Besides that, he knew he had the latest final time of any of the brothers and David, their chapter president couldn't leave himself until everyone else was finished and off to their homes for the holiday.

Moments later, he burst through the doors of the Beta Gamma Epsilon house to some very familiar laughter.

"Sans?"

If Sans was at least early, he probably wanted to get going home.

Papyrus ducked into the common room, to be greeted by the sight of David and Sans laughing, and, judging by the surrounding bottles, possibly more than a little drunk (but par the course for a Frat house, despite Papyrus' best efforts to keep the infernal empties confined to a recycle bin. They were worse than Sans’ socks.).

His brother seemed to have a few more worry lines around his sockets and his clothes seemed wrinklier than normal, but Papyrus was overwhelmingly glad to see him again. It had been too long.

"SANS!" he barked, only half meaning the admonishment. "You're drunk...and I have to drive!"

"That's...not how it works bro." Sans informed him, but he was laughing too.

"Here, I have cookies." Papyrus offered his bounty and a massive hug to Sans who accepted both gifts happily before Papyrus went to collect his packed suitcase from his room.

"Okay here you go." David had followed him, presenting him with an envelope. "Last one. Luckiest brother in the house."

The skeleton barked a laugh. "Nyeh heh! I am indeed a lucky brother!”

"Nah, guy in the envelope."

"Well I do suppose I am ALSO the coolest person to have as a secret santa!” Papyrus hefted his bags and took a harder glance over at the human. “Are you okay to drive?”

"Huh? Oh I’m going to my girlfriend’s before I go home. I’m not driving. And yeah, all the guys have been going on about which one of them is going to get to have some cool monster shit."

"Oh..."

"Damn, was that insensitive?"

"Well, the language was a little blue I suppose.”

David chucked a bit. “You’re a good guy, Papyrus. Have a happy holiday, dude.”

The older student was true to his word apparently, locking up the Beta house and marching out of the parking lot with only a slight waver to his step. Papyrus watched him go diligently (he was a good brother of course!), then loaded his suitcase into his car and Sans packed himself into the passenger side.

They drove in silence for awhile. Papyrus was just beginning to wonder if he should say something when Sans broke the silence, apparently feeling similarly.

Ya ain't worried about your test are ya bro?"

"The great Papyrus has no need to worry!"

“New roomies good?"

"Yeah!" He liked his other the other two pledges who shared his living quarters. “Mark and Derek are worthy human roommates!” The latter of whom owned a fairly sizable action figure collection himself and had helped Papyrus to restore a few of the pieces he'd brought from his old home in Snowdin. “Well, ALL of the brothers are roommates you see! Although they are not brothers like you and I are, but brothers in SPIRIT!”

Apparently this was the correct response as Sans’ concerns slipped from Papyrus’ social life to more generic ‘older brother’ concerns

"What about your homework?"

"Brother, I am hardly a baby bones! I am already reading ahead for my next semester classes! I do not procrastinate like SOME skeletons!"

“Nothin’ wrong with a little procrastination.” Sans punctuated the remark with a stretch and raised a brow bone at the envelope. “That ain’t what I’m talkin’ about.”

"Oh That! It's a ‘Secret Santa'. It's a human thing. Everyone in the Fraternity gets someone's name who they have to buy a present for. Then we all have to try and guess who gave us what."

"Sounds right up your alley, bro. Bet you've got a real puzzle in mind."

"Naturally. I have to think of something excellent as my presents is required!”

“Good one, bro.”

“Only ten minutes with you and already I’m picking up on your bad pun habits.”

Papyrus stole a peek at Sans out of the corner of his eye who was presently leaning back in the seat, eye sockets closed. It seemed as though the pun deflection had worked the way he hoped it would.

Papyrus returned his eyes to the road, determined then and there that his little mission would remain a secret between he and himself. Papyrus knew it had been...less easy for Sans to adjust to life above ground. It was strange to think of his brother as the tightly wound, high strung one, but he finally started to be attempting to relax and Papyrus was not about to be the one to disturb that balance.

Everything surface-wise so far for Papyrus had been a joy to experience, but it felt odd. Like he alone was missing something...or more exactly; someone. It had become weirder still when it seemed he alone seemed to even notice. Papyrus knew his friends list wasn't exactly the biggest and longest in the underground, so he had never been dismissive of even the most distant acquaintances he did have. There was Sans and Undyne of course, and everyone knew them. There was the self-appointed President of his Fanclub, MK….and that right there was the thing. MK wasn't the president of his fanclub.

The present of his fanclub, or...the last president was...to put it frankly, missing. ...and no one seemed to know anything about him. He'd once in a fit of desperation even tried asking King Asgore who had only looked confused by the question and ended up bestowing on him about six tins of golden flower tea. It was as if Papyrus was the only person who knew Flowey existed

Sans; the other person who knew everyone (or at least everyone who liked hot dogs, bad jokes and/or grease) had simply looked troubled when he was asked and mentioned something about having an imaginary friend as a Babybones he'd named Gaster...and dropped the subject shortly after. Papyrus had predictably insisted Flowey wasn’t his imaginary friend. Still Sans had simply apologized for the insinuation. That was odd too; his brother would normally never miss a chance to give his brother a little bit of the business for something as immature as clinging to a childhood imaginary playmate.

It did however mark the last time he'd brought it up with other people, and he’d hoped to put it from his own mind now that he had studies and friends but somehow it kept creeping back in. In bed at night, During the lulls in conversation. In the middle of reading one of Sans’ or Frisk’s update e-mails about how life was at home. Now with an excuse to go to the Underground ready made, Papyrus had decided to personally put the issue to bed once and for all.

Whatever he was speculating he would find, there was little time to think about the plan further as the next few days flew by in a whirlwind of activity. Monsters were a bit behind on their Calendar due to the length of time spent in the Underground versus the actual advancements made in human understanding, and there had been a whole issue on when Gyftmas should be celebrated. The real thing by Monster Calendar fell mid-Hanukkah, but the traditions were evidently taken from Christmas. As it happened, Frisk had celebrated Hanukkah before they fell down, so Toriel had arranged for a gathering of course, the night Papyrus came home from school. It also worked out well for Sans’ Gyftmas present; a reservation for 'Christmas Day' at Grillby's newly instated surface version of his establishment.

He was a bit distracted that day by the time they got to the restaurant as inevitably the ‘plan’ as it was now officially titled in his mind and all that it entailed had crept into his thoughts once more. He wasn’t being deceitful, not really, but he wasn’t sure what the reaction would be if he did happen to casually mention it. As it happened, the person in the frat he was to buy a gift for was Brian, rather known for his legendary ability to drink someone under the table, not to mention being 'that one guy who would eat anything'. He was here, at a Monster Bar and he knew Grillby sold product that would go over well and fill the expectation to bring something ‘Monster-made’. He could just buy a small bottle of something or the other and forget the plan altogether. Being naturally honest by nature, it rankled with him that he felt he needed secrecy.

If he did that, it would be better for his brother’s SOUL.

And then he imagined Flowey, alone in the Underground, even though they were free, imagining Papyrus had forgotten him fore---.

"Hey, Bro...it’s your turn..."

With a gasp, Papyrus returned to reality, doing his best to refocus on the gift in front of him. Sans' gift too., no less.

"Uh, YES! THANK YOU BROTHER! I WAS JUST ...ADMIRING THE BEAUTIFUL WRAPPING JOB!"

Now THAT was a lie if there ever was one.

Fortunately, Toriel came to his rescue. "Oh that does remind me of when Asriel was small...I made him three whole boxes of his favourite cookies and knitted him a brand new jumper out of Spider silk. It really was darling, but of course, Asgore wound up eating the biscuits and those sharp little claws had pulled runs in the poor sweater by the next day." She chuckled, a touch sadly.

"Sounds a bit better than me." Grillby had finished clearing down and had joined the party, having kept the restaurant open for their group, which did after all did include his best mate and the Queen of all Monsters. "My Niece Fuku used to eat the boxes. And the tissue paper."

Sans snorted with absolute delight. "Eating trash. A Monster after my own SOUL."

Papyrus put a hand on the wrapping paper and tore it off enthusiastically, and the evening proceeded.

He didn't think about the Plan again until two days later when all the excitement had officially wound down and he’d made his calls and wrote his thank you letters. Midway through comparing present notes, he was once more reminded he still had one present left to obtain.

>>oh and a gift certificate from Alphys and Undyne to a cosplay armour maker they found at a con they went to. They're going to make me a new Battle Body."

>>cool. Yeah dude, I'm going to bed. I'm super bombed right now. My Dad made Eggnog and it kinda makes the Betas look tame."

Papyrus bade his friend goodbye and flopped back on his bed. And that was that. Decisions made. Tomorrow...was the day.

He slept better than he thought he might.

As it happened, his excuse-which-wasn't -really-a-lie got out smoother than he thought it would.

"SANS?"

"Sup Bro?"

“I AM HEADING OUT TO PROCURE MY SECRET SANTA GIFT!"

"Have a good time." Sans called back from the kitchen.

"Bundle up warmly dear." It is rather cold outside."

It eased Papyrus' nerves to know that Toriel was around to distract his brother. For her sake he added another scarf; the new one he'd received for Christmas and took his gloves with the peel-off mitten tops too.

He parked his car in the lot of a nearby grocery store that didn't have a time limit on how long people could spend in the space and walked to the chain coffee store at the end of the block. . Someone, he couldn't remember who, had given him a gift card for the place, which didn't have a shop on Campus. He treated himself to something with god knew how much unhealthy sugar and snapped a few photos of the monstrosity before he gathered his reserves of determination and began the true journey.

The nice, merchandise stores changed into gas stations and fast food joints, then into garages and the odd warehouse and then there was yet-untamed forest area that allowed him to know he was getting close. He finally spotted the turn he was after and veered off to the path they'd taken down the mountain A glance at his phone told him he was out of range of any human networks but a few steps later he had gotten onto what remained of the Undernet.

Some monsters still lived underground, like Gerson and those too old and unable or unwilling to make the journey.

He resolved to stay out of their way though. Undyne often visited the old turtle and something still niggled at him about this mission being ‘exposed’.

He consulted his clock. Even with his stopover at the coffee place, he'd made good time. He wouldn't risk the River Person.

Once Hotland had been cleared, it was much smoother sailing. He passed the dump, remembering when he and Sans used to come there for his Gyftmas gifts. He also picked some crab apples. In Snowdin he pottered around the old house, marvelling at the smell that had seeped in without anyone to clean it and let himself out (without discovering the long-molded spaghetti still in the fridge). He did however unstring the fairy lights from around the windows., winding them into a neat coil. Brian would appreciate the decorations for his room.

He hemmed about it for a while and finally let himself into Grillby's picking over the liquor that had been left. He selected one that was full and as an afterthought stuck some money under the register. He could make sure the bartender knew about it later. After this was over.

Monster alcohol, monster food and a special decoration from his own home. Satisfied with the present, he sorted his finds into his inventory and sat himself down on the step of the old pub, leaning his chin in his glove with a quiet Nyeh.

He had been so sure that he would have attracted the attention of his old friend...that the flower would have followed him and popped up to scare him as he had the habit of doing, so many times during his youth.

There'd been no flash of gold in his periphery however though he'd spun to surprise CHECK many a time.

He pulled out his phone again.

Still...Papyrus was never one to do things halfway. He might be late to supper but...yet...

He moved deeper. Past Snowdin, into the forest...over the bridge and sparing a laugh at his embarrassing attempt at a 'gate'. Why, he'd taken Engineering 102 and he could build a gate twice as good.

He felt a little better for his self-congratulatory inner monologue and perhaps it was this that had given him the strength to march deeper into the ruins.

This was uncharted territory. His brother as he now knew had only knocked on the door and had been eager to leave without a backwards glance. Papyrus had never questioned that desire, nor thought about it.

It was peaceful there, at least and the puzzles were interesting, to be sure.

He found a mostly depleted bowl of Monster candy somewhere along the way and added a piece to his present for Brian, but was starting to grow somewhat hopeless about the status of the rest of his mission.

The doubts from earlier sprang to his mind., the odd conversations with Asgore, the reactions of Sans. He knew Sans didn't tell him everything, but perhaps it was true that there was nothing to his behaviour after all.

Had he dreamed Flowey? It was...after all a childish name...They'd been 'presidents of eachothers fanclubs’, when Papyrus had no friends.

He was the Great Papyrus, and so must his imagination be very Great....but he was so...real.

"Ah?"

"Hello?"

Papyrus found himself talking to...a patch of flowers, but just now had sure he'd seen white fur there too. The annoying Dog?

That might not surprise him; the puffball had followed them up to the surface and had become quite comfortable under Sans' care...it had only shown up twice at his Frat House, so he knew his brother was putting in effort.

He was this time however seeing things. The flowers were devoid of anything white...and what was more, this was it seemed, the end of his fruitless hunt, as there was a dead end and the hole through which Frisk had fallen down, just directly above him, bleeding in winter sun.

The Skeleton's shoulders slumped in spite of himself.

"Howdy."

Papyrus's eyes lit up. There was no mistaking that voice. He hadn't been crazy!

Taking sudden note of where he was standing, Papyrus skipped back off the edges of the flower patch.

Sure enough, the little flower monster (Something in the back of Papyrus' mind told him that was wrong, that Flowey wasn't a monster...but then, what else would he be?) popped his head up through the blossoms, a full ‘head’ above the other flowers.

"Well well, the Great Papyrus is back to deign to pay little old me a visit..."

Papyrus knew Flowey well enough by now to ignore the edge to the flower's voice.

"Of course I did! I have been hoping to see my best friend for ages now!” Papyrus insiste sincerely.

"Ugh, you're so nice."

The initial shock and delight having passed, Papyrus couldn't keep back the wave of confusion and hurt nor quite keep it out of his voice. "Why...why didn't you come to the surface? With all of us! You ....you could have stayed with us. Me and Sans...Or...Or Frisk. I know you were their friend too!"

For a brief second, Papyrus thought he saw something like sorrow flash across the flower's visage, before it was replaced by something else much nastier. "Because I just Love it down here sooo much Papyrus."

"Oh well then, I'll leave you to it, and you won't mind if I take a walk. It's a long trek back to the surface."

Flowey had been this way ever since the skeleton knew him. Sometimes the flower would say things that even Sans, an accomplished Physicist would have struggled to come up with, other times, he would be no more or less childish than the Snowdin kids who called HIM weird.

Predictably, Flowey shot down into the earth, just long enough for Papyrus to decide maybe he had decided to go sulk after all, only to re-materialize right under his boot.

"Nyeh!" Papyrus was still Papyrus and though it was a narrow thing, his reflexes were still in good enough condition that he balanced back to avoid crushing his friend.

"Why must you always do that?" he admonished Flowey. "One of these days I will crush you into dust by accident!"

Flowey only giggled. "You must really hate me Papyrus, thinking to step on me with such LOVE that you'd dust me!"

"That's not what I meant!" Now Papyrus couldn't help but be offended by the insinuation.

"Oh, alright alright, don't cry." the flower groused.

Papyrus hadn't been (really), but he brushed imaginary tears - it was most definitely just the falling snow!) from his eye sockets anyway.

"Come on, Climb up me!" the Skeleton insisted, holding out his arm for the flower. "We cannot carry on a proper conversation as friends if you keep tunnelling underground like that."

Papyrus extended his arm and after a moment's deliberation, Flowey deigned to climb up., the flower's surprisingly extensive root system anchoring him to sit comfortably astride Papyrus' shoulder as the Skeleton's long strides took them swiftly back through the ruins.

"You might enjoy it you know." If you gave it a try."

"Gave what a try?"

"The surface of course." Papyrus repeated, knowing full well the flower knew exactly what he'd meant.

"I don't trust anything that walks on two legs."

Papyrus imperceptibly shook his head. It was classic Flowey, that much was a fact, but even he could tell that the jibes and jabs were falling a little flatter, that the old spark had been replaced by something that if the skeleton didn't know any better, he would have called resignation. As such, he responded in kind, merely inclining his head towards his passenger. "I walk on two legs." he reminded Flowey mildly.

A beat of silence reigned before a hint of the old spark came back into Flowey's face. "Yeah, but you're really bad at it!"

In a split second, a vine which had unfurled unnoticed behind Papyrus, bound his ankles loosely together and sent him tripping forward and frighteningly close to the edge of the bridge. The skeleton's hand shot forward instinctively, grasping to catch hold of the bar, but - in a flash of further regret for his woefully terrible engineering skills from his formative years, the support was too far away. His fingertips barely grazed it and the duo plummeted arse over teakettle down the steep slope, with Flowey clinging to his Papyrus-shaped toboggan.

The drop wasn't that far but the incline was steep and Papyrus immediately lifted his head out of the snow bank he'd ploughed face-first into to knock the grit and snow from his eye sockets.

The flower slithered off onto the snowbank to look down at him.

"Golly Papyrus, are you alright?"

"I..." and Papyrus cut himself off as he noticed the extent of the damage. Far from dusting, the impromptu spill down the hill had nevertheless twisted Papyrus' foot and ankle from it's socket.

"Oh...I'll never be able to climb back up like this..."

"Look at the bright side, pal." Flowey knotted his vines in a very good approximation of a nonchalant human shrug. "Now you can stay down here with me!"

Papyrus struggled himself into a sitting position, the injured leg stretched out in front of him. and gazed up into the grey haze of Snowdin's endless fall of magical snow. That grey would turn to navy soon, a sign that dusk was coming in the world above. He wondered how long it would take for Sans to panic over his lack of checking in. What would happen when the store he'd parked down shut its doors for the night and his car was still parked there. Would some random night security guard take down his licence plate call his house? Would it be a tow company?

Would they figure it out that he'd gone to the Underground right away or would it take them days to come to that conclusion?

He fixed the flower with his steeliest gaze. "You kow my faamily's going to come looking fo r me."

"Of course they are."

Papyrus opened his mouth to protest that he had lots of friends now, dozens even. Dozens of dozens. More than Flowey...and it dawned on him that was, well...the whole issue. The crux of the problem. The missing piece of the puzzle.

"I can't fix you." the Flower sulked, looking at him askance like he was daring Papyrus to blame him outright.

"No?" Papyrus refused to take the bait and adjusted the way he’d propped himself against the side of the rock wall. "This isn't really going to change anything. Sans or someone will come for me...and I'll have to explain what I was doing down here."

"I..."

"Looking for a present to bring back to my assigned person for the gift exchange." Papyrus cut the flower off, freezing the onset of his scariest smile right off his face.

The manic fang-filled nightmare grin melted into something that Papyrus swore was familiar but somehow also could not remember seeing on the Flower's face at any point. "You wouldn't tell them...about me?"

"No. I wouldn't." Papyrus said simply.

"Hee Hee, you're almost predictable Papyrus." That translated in Flowey speak to 'Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Papyrus responded in kind."You're welcome."

"So what kind of crap did you get the humans anyway?"

Papyrus produced his inventory. Predictably the flower ignored the liquor with only a passing glance, but seemed intrigued by the choice of fairy lights "What are the lights for? It’s after Gyftmas, even I know that."

"I thought they could put them up in their room."

"Humans do that? Indoors?"

"Yeah Lots of them do that for decoration."

"Golly, that is cool!" You should have gotten something better than crab apples though, blegh."

"I got monster candy...and apples are at least a healthy snack!" Papyrus protested. "You and my brother both! There's nothing wrong with healthy food!"

"DON'T compare me to your brother! Flowey screeched, but his outrage was genuinely false this time and the two of them fell about laughing a little bit.

"Just for that, I won't fix you."

Before Papyrus could react even the slightest; the flower's magic flared to life, the world melting away to the specific concentrated blackness and focus of an encounter. A dozen thoughts occured to Papyrus at once: to Check, to increase his defense, and even to attack, but instead he focused on Flowey who apparently was not giving him a chance for any of it. The wave of green magic was knitting his bones together before he knew it, and the snow and and magically replicated overcast atmosphere of Snowdin was shimmering back in.

Papyrus flexed his foot experimentally, finding to his delight that the action caused him no more than the briefest of clicks as the magic that bound him finished knotting itself together.

"Thank you." he hefted himself to his feet, with relief, wondering not for the first time how Sans did it; sitting around like that all the time and doubly glad that the snow in question was mostly magic, or his trousers would have been feeling a lot more unpleasant...but it still left them at the bottom of a ravine.

"Well come on, let's see if becoming a school book nerd hasn't made you go soft."

Flowey's thick roots shot upwards and again, Papyrus found himself having little trouble questioning his innate knowledge that the vines would support him easily, despite being sure he had no frame of reference...maybe. Possibly.

"The Great Papyrus would never let something like books get in the way of his training!"

He used the wide, flat thorns and coils as foot holds to slowly but surely, hand over hand make his way back to the top..

It was hard work and by the time he finally managed to heft his arm over the foot path of the bridge, he was heaving with exhaustion. He leaned against the strut to catch his breath, and busied himself as Flowey wound himself cobra-like up the same path, the long vines shrinking as though they'd never been and he was nothing more than a facsimile of a golden flower once more.

They were silent a moment.

"It's not going to go back to the way it was." The flower intoned at length, his usual bobbing slowing to an introspective sort of sway.

Papyrus privately agreed.. He had checked his friend and that was something he knew he wouldn't unsee.

"No..." he began.

Something seemed to resolve in Flowey and it sparked something in Papyrus as well. He got the drop on Flowey this time, opening his mouth and speaking before he overthought it too much.

“You know...there are many humans that say you aren’t born with a soul. You earn one through facing adversity and overcoming obstacles and the decisions you make in your life. Kind of like you, just now.”

“Did you hear that from your human school?” the flower scoffed, though from the lack of follow up disparaging comments Papyrus knew he was both considering the statement and not angry with Papyrus for acknowledging the situation.

“Actually I got that from a human television show. But yes, it’s taught. It’s called ‘philosophy’”

“Even though they must know now that souls are real?”

“...Yes. I think it’s like LOVE and love.”

Flowey was silent another beat. “If I don’t want to come back to the surface...ever, will you still come to visit me?”

“Of course! We’re friends. Best friends.”

“Even after…’

“Pushing me off a bridge?”

“Y...yeah. Pushing you off a bridge.”

“Or any of the other stuff.”

Flowey’s expression shifted briefly to one of shock before he recovered himself and started to laugh. “Papyrus, that’s why I like you!”

“Maybe you can give some pointers to the new President of my fanclub.”

“That los--”

Papyrus looked at him.

“He’s probably doing a great job.”

“Yeah.”

***

Two Years Later:

"BROOOO!"

Papyrus looked up from the project he was working on grateful for the distraction. His nasal bone had been inches away from his drafting table and the proximity to the table wasn't exactly helping him work out the kinks in the design.

"COME ON! TWO DOLLAR SHOTS NIGHT! PLEDGES ARE BUYINNNNNG!”

"Yeah! yeah! Take a break at least!"

Papyrus still wasn't exactly known for being the booziest guy in the house or the biggest advocate of the party time, but the idea of stepping away from this work for awhile was a very tempting offer.

"Um...Go ahead." he told the brothers. "I will be sure to grace you with my GLORIOUS presence shortly!"

In spite of his resolve to try to focus on his work for another hour yet, the Skeleton found himself putting away his books and rolling up his blueprints. almost immediately after he heard the large group 's multitude of voices muffled by the door shutting behind them. He made no move to run after them, drumming his fingers on the tabletop in an uncharacteristic display of stagnation.

"Hmph. I can see these lazy human slackers have rubbed off on you. Sitting here staring into space."

The burst of intuition that had him eager to push off the outing suddenly made sense, and Papyrus picked up on the usual banter without missing a beat as easily as if they spent everyday together. "I WAS MOST CERTAINLY NOT BOONDOGGLING!" he screeched in mock anger, stomping his foot...to give him a leveraging anchor to heft the immensely heavy old bedroom window up far enough to allow his friend access. As a third year he' was now eligible for a single private room in the house, but it hardly mattered now as the housemates were long on their way to their campus event by now and those that had not gone probably assumed he was chatting with Undyne again. The flower was contained to his windowsill fern it seemed with no magic soil to move in, but Papyrus had offered his arm as he had in the Underground years ago.

The vines coiled around him and the Skeleton felt something. Something more than determination, a small thing that was not quite magic, and more like a shadow than anything but still tangible and barely there but like a candle guttering doggedly away with the urge to grow stronger.

It was what had brought Papyrus back to see Flowey that first Gyftmas above ground and what had brought him back after that...and finally what had brought him above ground for the first time tonight.

And that was enough.

#@undertalesecretsanta #@thesweetpianowritingdownmylife #undertale secret santa fic #frank tries to write #papyrus #flowey #true pacifist ending spoilers #sans grillby toriel frisk mentioned #off-handed mentions of parties and drinking

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