Every step was agony. Every jolting, pounding footfall sent a blade of pain through Papyrus's entire body.

It hurt. So bad.

He was close. Close to being done. To giving up. Giving in.

But.

But there was a voice. Soft and low and gentle. Familiar. Full of love.

It told him it was going to be okay. He was going to be fine. They were going home. That I know it hurts, but everything is going to be alright if you hold on, just a little longer.

Papyrus trusted that voice. He trusted the strong warmth of the Magic wrapped around him. He trusted the rhythmic pulse he could feel against his skull and hands.

He held on.

~o0o~

Asgore arrived at the Pure army camp. Commander Undyne was waiting.

"Commander Undyne," he greeted, "it is good to see you again."

She grinned and nodded. "You too, King Asgore."

For a moment, they walked in companionable silence. But Asgore noticed they were following a pathway that led deeper into Waterfall, not towards any of the buildings in camp. He glanced to Undyne, searching for an explanation.

"You heard there were a bunch of Corrupters?"

He nodded.

"They aren't fighting. Just sitting there, waiting. One'a 'em said they had a 'proposition,' and they wanted to talk to you directly. I wouldn't trust them."

Asgore chuckled dryly. "The only thing you can trust a Corrupter to do is lie."

"And try to kill you." Undyne concluded.

They walked towards the warzone.

~o0o~

Sans let out another string of furious curses.

They were hiding in a small tunnel a ways away from where Gerson used to run his shop, before the whole war tearing apart the Underground thing.

And there were Corrupters. Lots of them. Swarming the place. Well, not really. More just milling around, but there was still no way they would be able to get by without being seen.

Granted, he knew a few other routes to get back to Pure territory, but they were longer and slower, and he wasn't sure if Papyrus could make it.

Still. It was better than nothing. And it would give him a little more time to think about why in the world the entire Corrupt army was stationed so close to Pure territory.

It was almost like... they were an audience or something, just waiting for the show to start.

Regardless, he held Papyrus a little tighter, grabbed Alphys's hand again, and started pulling her along.

"come on. i know another way."

They started running again.

~o0o~

There was a large mass of Pure soldiers, ready to fight and defend the Pure side of the Underground. On the opposite side of the rather spacious cavern, seemingly the entire Corrupt army was just... lounging around. Waiting.

Asgore stepped up to the front of the Pure ranks and scanned the opposition.

"Howdy!" The high pitched voice startled him, and he stumbled back a step, looking around for it's source.

"Down here, pal!"

He looked down. There was a golden flower, like the ones in his garden, but bigger... and with a face. A face with a wide, friendly smile.

Asgore rubbed the back of his neck, not totally sure what to do. "Why, hello. Who are you?"

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" Flowey was bobbing slightly back and forth, in a very flower-ish way, Asgore thought.

"...Oh?" Asgore was slightly confused. He thought he knew just about every soldier in the army, but, while he was getting a sense of deja vú, he couldn't recall ever seeing Flowey before.

"Yeah! ... Goll-y, you sure look confused! How about I help you out a little, huh? I'm Flowey, commander of the Corrupt Army!"

Asgore took another step back, summoning a flame to his hand.

The flower laughed, bobbing on it's stem. "Oh, relax! I'm not here to kill you! Not yet, anyway, as fun as it would be. No, I'm here to offer you a proposition!"

Undyne had said as much. Asgore didn't trust the flower. "What's that?"

"We don't all have to die, here. I'm proposing a duel: your strongest warrior versus ours. Just they fight."

"As much as I like the idea, I don't see you surrendering peacefully if you lose, nor would we."

If it was possible for a flower to shrug, than Flowey did so. "Then where's the harm in it?" Flowey paused a second. "Tell you what. Think it over. Talk it out. Come to your conclusion. We'll wait for you, all you have to do is shout when you're ready."

And then the flower was gone, slipping back under the ground.

Asgore turned to see Undyne had heard the entire thing.

She gestured helplessly. She was just at odds with what to do as he was.

"I suppose we have something we need to discuss, then."

She nodded.

~o0o~

They were almost there. Almost to Hotland. Alphys was having a hard time keeping up with Sans, but his tight grip on her hand kind of implied that if she tripped, he would just keep running, dragging her along.

She tried not to think about that.

And then Sans skidded to a halt. She almost ran into him.

"oh. oh. crap."

"W-what?" She asked, panting.

"i think i know why there were-... crap."

"What?" She asked again.

Sans shook his head slightly, then turned to her. "take papyrus."

A little surprised, she accepted the small skeleton, who whimpered a bit at being pulled away from his brother.

Sans continued. "now listen. i'm relying on you to get him safely home. if he dies while in your care, i will personally hunt you down, rip out your soul, and eat it. don't. let. him. die. ...just follow this path, it'll take you straight to hotland. get him to my dad. go fast."

Before he could leave, Alphys stuttered, "W-where are y-you going?! W-what's going on?"

Sans had already started to turn back the way they came. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "if they haven't already, the corrupt are going to issue a duel. their champion against the pure's. If they win, they'll tear apart hotland and new home, and corrupt or kill everyone inside. and if their champion is who i think it is, they're going to win, unless i do something."

And he took off running.

Alphys thought on that a second, before running in the opposite direction, towards Hotland.

~o0o~

Gaster was good at plans. Very good. In just a couple seconds, he would set his plan into motion, and escape the guard Asgore had asked to babysit him.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

"D-Doctor!! Doctor G-Gaster!" He paused. He knew that voice.

But Alphys was supposed to be in the Corrupt base.

He looked down the street. Sure enough, the yellow saurian was running down the street, fast as her short legs would allow. She was carrying something, too. Something small, and-...

Gaster didn't hesitate. He stood, ran to Alphys, then scooped Papyrus out of her arms. Then he turned, already running in the direction of the lab.

Alphys followed, telling him how Sans had saved them, then said something about the Corrupters issuing a challenge. He only half-listened, though, filing the information away for later use. Right now, Papyrus was priority.

~o0o~

Sans was almost there.

He was running along the cave tunnel leading to the large, spacious cavern the Corrupt had no doubt chosen for this occasion.

Truth be told, he couldn't care less if New Home and Hotland were destroyed. But Papyrus was in Hotland, so he couldn't let it be destroyed.

As he ran, he could hear voices echoing down the tunnel. Flowey, proclaiming their champion. The murmur of shocked horror, that only confirmed his suspicions.

And then he reached the mouth of the tunnel, and could see the entire battlefield. Corrupt army to one side, Pure to the other. Flowey, standing on the Corrupt side, his clone standing next to his commander. Asgore and Undyne looking on, shocked and horrified.

"Well, then?" Flowey sneered across the battlefield. "Do you just want to give up?"

That seemed to stir some life in the Pure commander. "NEVER!" She screamed.

"Then who's fighting for you?"

Before Undyne could say another word, Sans stepped out of the tunnel. "I A M ."

Another murmur of shock tore through the Pure crowd.

As Sans moved to stand between the two armies, in front of Flowey and the clone, Flowey glowered. "Sans. I knew you were a traitor."

Sans gave him a seriously? look. "okay, first of all, no. secondly, who says i was loyal to you in the first place? since, y'know, you forced me into working for you."

Before Flowey could respond, the clone waved him off. "it doesn't matter at this point. he's still fighting for them, and i'm fighting for us. what really matters, i think," he took a step forward, towards Sans, "is the slight adjustment i'm about to suggest in the agreement."

"oh?" Sans cocked his head slightly. "what's that?"

"well, we're both corrupt. we both have... standards. so, what i'm suggesting is this: the loser loses, same as it was, but the winner..." He grinned meaningfully. "the winner gets to go home and have a nice dinner."

Sans looked at the copy. That did sound nice, and it had been a long time since he had eaten.

He held out his hand. "okay. deal."

The copy reached out to shake his hand. But Sans reached out and grabbed his arm, and twisted. The clone let out a yelp as he was tossed sideways.

"what the heck was that?! we haven't even started yet!"

Sans grinned as he summoned a weapon, ready to fight. "we're corrupt. we both have standards. and most importantly, you need to remember, is that we don't play to see who plays hardest. we play to see who plays dirty hardest."

The clone growled, lunged to his feet, and summoned a couple attacks.

And then, then it began in earnest.

~o0o~

Papyrus groaned and blinked.

Everything ached. Even the IV in his Soul felt like it was more harmful than helpful.

He was lying on a hard, flat surface, with a large... something or other overhead. It looked vaguely familiar, but Papyrus couldn't figure out where he was.

Sharply aware of the pounding ache in his skull, he flopped his head sideways to look at his surroundings.

...

...That was the containment cell. The one Sans was supposed to be in. But Sans wasn't there, and it looked like the glass wall had been broken.

Papyrus struggled to sit up, whimpering in pain as he did so.

"Hey. Hey, calm down." Papyrus recognized the voice of one of his dad's assistants somewhere behind him. Then the monster came into view, and gently pushed Papyrus to lay back down.

"Whhhngh-..." Papyrus tried, but failed to speak. After a moment, he tried again. "Whhher-- D-aa-d-..."

"He came rushing in here, carrying you. As soon as he made sure you were going to be alright, he left again, saying he had to go save his 'idiot of an eldest son who doesn't know how to stay out of trouble.' Told me to keep an eye on you, and, when you felt well enough, to carry you home."

Papyrus nodded slightly, then closed his eyes. He was tired. Gaster had gone to go get Sans. Everything was going to be okay.

He looked up at the assistant. "C-an I go h-ome no-w?" He had to speak slowly around the pain in his jaw.

"Are you feeling well enough?"

Papyrus nodded. He really just wanted to go home, and go to bed.

"Okay, then. I guess so." The monster carefully pulled the IV out of Papyrus's Soul, and scooped him up. Papyrus let his head rest on his shoulder, closing his eyes.

Dad had everything under control. Everything was going to be fine.

~o0o~

Everything was going horribly.

Contrary to their last encounter, the clone was a lot stronger than Sans had realized, and he was taking a lot more damage than was okay.

Cringing at the horrible pain that was his body, he lifted a hand to send a few attacks out to meet the clone's. Then something slammed into his back, sending him sprawling. He struggled to his feet, summoning a weapon to his right hand, as the clone advanced confidently, a bone in his grip.

He just managed to lift his weapon to block as the clone slashed downwards. As it was, the blow still sent him stumbling backward.

The clone lashed out again, and again Sans only just managed to block, stumbling back a few more steps. And again. And again and again and again.

This wasn't good. He was only on the defensive. He would get worn out, and his defense would slip, and he would die.

He had to strike now, while he still could.

As quickly as he could, he lunged forward, attempting to run the clone through.

But before his weapon even touched the clone, an explosion of pain made his vision go dark for a minute, and he dropped to his knees as his legs stopped working.

Looking down, he saw the clone's bone weapon sticking straight out of his chest.

But that didn't make sense. He couldn't die now. This couldn't be over!

The clone knelt down in front of him, grinning. "you owe me a dinner."

And then Sans was falling, the clone's voice echoing distantly as he told the Pure army they had one chance to surrender, before he ripped them apart.

He was on the ground now. Completely unable to move.

He had failed.

Pain, crushing pain, obliterating all else.

He had failed.

It seared through his bones, piercing his Soul.

Sorry. So sorry.

Everything hurt.

Failed. Sorry, Pap. Failed. Failed you. Tried. Tried so hard. Wasn't enough. Sorry. Failed. Can't go any more. Sorry.

... Papyrus.

So sorry.

Papyrus.

So tired.

Papyrus.

They'll destroy the city.

Ṕ͏̀apy̧͝r͘ư͞s̶

You'll die.

You'll D҉̧i҉̶̢e͘.͘҉̀ ̴̨

C̡͜à̵͢n͏͞'t̸̕ ҉l̴e͢t̸ ͡t̢͠h͡at̸̀ h҉ą̷p͘͝͡p̡en͟͡.̸҉

Can't let Papyrus die.

G͉͙e̡͎̟̮̕͠ͅt̶̼͉̺̣̦ͅ ̞́u̶͈̦̫̤̞̙p̛̺̟̳.͚̩̘̩͎̣͖ ̫͍̖̙͚͉̖̙̼͡

Will not let Papyrus die.

G̣͍̩̭̩̤̱̕e͉̰̠ͅt҉̵̤̰̦̝̦͓ ̸̛̥̻̰̼͞ͅu̲̞͈̭̥̹͎̫͠p̷̛͙͎̪̺͎ͅ.͕̹̱̯̕ ̴͚̰̣̹̝̩̠͚F̴̸̴̻̹͚͖͖ó̗͉͎̗̼̭r͉̘̼̹ ̴͓̭͈̭͓̤̠̗͝P̪̖̜̗̟͍͓̰a̷̮p̴̶̴͓͕͖̭̜̞̠ͅý̙̘r̶̢̰̰̟̦̰̹͈u̴̢̥̪̘̥̠͢s̞̰̱͓̝̰̝̺̥̀.̣̻̹͇̳ ̨̱̻͍

Papyrus

Will

Not

Die.

I

Will

N̛̼̫o̘̫t̴̘̦͘ ̦ͅ

A͏̣̟̳̞̠̻̞̭l̤̘̯̥͎l̵̼̻̳̤̭o̻̖̱̜̪̪̳͝w҉͙͚͎̭̟̰̖̗͘ ̢̼̲̳̰̰̀

I̧͎ͅt̮̘̣͚̜̲̤͝͠.̷̖̹̤̦ ̡͎̘̻̣͎̹͔͎̟

... G͉͙e̡͎̟̮̕͠ͅt̶̼͉̺̣̦ͅ ̞́u̶͈̦̫̤̞̙p̛̺̟̳.͚̩̘̩͎̣͖

N̵͟o͝͝͝w͏͢ t̷͡͝a̵k҉̷e͡ ͢a͠ ̵́͠s̷͢t͡ep.̛͘ ̸̀R̛̀i̕̕g͏h̷̀t͜͞ ͠fo̷̢ot.͠ ͢Lé̕ft̢͡ ̡͏f̀͟͏o͜o̡ţ͟͠.̴̷́ ͘͜R͏҉͘i͟g̶h̀t҉̀ ̶̶a͜g̀a̸iǹ.̵͏ ̶́͢I͜g͢n̷o҉̵r̷̨e ̀t҉h̀̕e̴͡ ̨̨c̢͢h̵̢̀a͜͡o͘s. ̛́͝

O̡̕͝ņe͜ ̷̨͘g̕͜͡ơa̛l.̀ ̶̛

S̨t̴̛ǫ҉̢p̸ ̛͘t͜҉h̕ę͟m.̢ ̶̨

F̸͟o̢͢ŗ ̴Ṕ̡͏a͟p̧̀y̵r̴u̸̶s̀.͞ ̷͜

You're still standing? Well. No matter. ... Kill him.

A͜t̨t̨ac̴k̢͘.͏ ̢̕͞F̡͡r͡o͟m͏ ͏͢t̡h̴͘e͜͠͝ ĺ̸͘e̵f͟͡t̀͢.̛̛͏

D̀͜҉o̴͟͠e̶ś̴͏n͏͝'̴t̵ ͞m̛͘̕a̶t̨te̸͘͜r͘͜͢.́̕ ̴͠͡E҉̴͢a̸͢s̢̢͜ì̷l̕ỳ̢͟ d̡ǫ̛d̸͜g̵̢͘e̴̕͞d.͟ ̛͘

Mo̡͜r҉e.͟ F͏̡ro̸m͏ ̷͞͏be͟͞h͞͝í̸nd̵.̨ ̨B͟͠͡l̷̢͢o̢҉c̨̢̀k͢͢e̸̡̛d̸̀͜.̸̕ ͠

K̴e̡e̴͘p̧ ̕͏̢g̛oi̶͡n̶҉͘g.̴͜͡

F̨r̢͝͏o̢̡ḿ̶̴ a̴͠ll̨͟ ̴d̀͞i̴̸͝ŕé̴c̷̵͡t́i͡ơn̷̵͠s.́̕ D͠͡ơ̶͝e͢҉̷s̴n͡'͡͡t͜ ma̢͘tte͏r͠. ̧Dò̶͢d̀͏͏g̢͜e͞, ͝f̵͝͠i̶̛gh́t̶̵, ͞g͢et ̢h͞͝i̧̕t͘.̀ ҉̸

D̸̴̵ǫ̷͞e̸s͏n̡'t́͘͞ ҉̕̕m̡̛at̡t҉e̸r͝.̸͞ Ḱe̶̷ép̛҉ ͞g͟͞o̷i̕͏ng͜.̧̢̛ ͏́͞

Ǫn̵͏̀ȩ g̢͢oal͘͢.҉̶͟ ̢̡͡

T̴̀h̴͡e͏ ҉͝cl̨onè.̵̨͟ ͏W̕a̡͢ş̕ ͟f̡͟͜i̷͟ģh͘t̛͡i͏̛n̶g̨͞ ̡U͜n̷͡dy̵̨n̴̨ȩ.̸̡͟ ͢Tur̸̡͟n̷ȩ̷̨ḑ͞ ̢͜͝a҉̨ŕ͝͝o͜ú͘͟ń͘d̸̸͞. ͞

R̸͡éa͝c̵̸͟h͘͞i̶͢n̛͏g̴ o͡u̸t͟.̷̛͡

What is it going to take to keep you down?!

̡S͜u̡͡mmo҉͟n̴̨̨ ͘a҉ ̢͡B̢͏ļ̡̀a͘s͏te̸r̀͏.

More than you can possibly give me.

̀͠҉F̨҉i̵̛͢r҉e͜͞͏.̧ ͠L͝ań̨d̡ a̸ ͜h̢͡it͢. ̨

F͘o҉̡r ̷͟P̵̕a͢͞p̢͘y̷r̀͟҉u̧͞s̶͡.̵̀͜ ̕͜

T̶r̢̢͘y̴̧̕i̵n̵͞ǵ҉̕ ̸̨̛t̨̛́o̸ ͜͡r̡ún̶,̷̵̕ ̵̢͠w̴̧͟o̵n̢'͢t̀ ļ̷͝e̛t͘͜ h̸͢i͏͡m̨.̛ ̷̛͜

S͝h̢or̡̧t̛͜c̡̛uţ͘͠.̴ ͞Ŗ̢͠i͝͞g̢̀h́͝t͜҉ ̛́in̡ f̷ŗ́o͝n̷͞t͝ ̢o̵͜͝f͜ ҉͢h̨̡̛im̛.͡ ͢

L̷̨̢o̡̡o̡͘k̴̛͢s̷̢͡ ̴s̵u̷͝r̷̸̡p̴̀r̶͘͜íş̸e̵̶͜d͏̕.͏ ̧

Y-you-- no! You can't do that! Not anymore! They said you couldn't do that!

Like hell I can't.

T̛ú͟r̴n̸͟ h͟͝i͘m͏ B͝l̴u͘͢e.͝͠ ̀͢͞T̵̶̨h͏ŕ͢͜o̕w̶͝ ͏h̢i̢m̶.̡͝͡ ̸͞

T̴á̸k̶e̡ ̧͡a҉ ̀h͏̢i͏ţ̴,́ but ̵͜͠į́t͘̕ ͏d̵oę̶͘s͢͟n͡҉'̛̀t́͡ ̢m̀̕͟at̸͠t̸̕e͡r̶.

F̷̡́o͜r͜ P̴̛͟ap̸y̷͠҉r̨u͏́s.̡͟ ̷͡͝

S҉h͞o҉͡r̵t͏̡̀c͏̧u̢̨t.͡ ̕͠J̡ust ͏̴ba̵̛rè̴l͜y ̴̡m͏͞i͏͝ş̴͞s͢͟͠e̢d́͡.̴͜ ̵̢͠

Bla̷̵͡s̴̡̀t̛͜e̢̕r̛s̶͘͜,̸̶ ̸͘͜ţh҉ę̛͜n̢̛.̛͘ ̴͟͜S͜͠u̕r͞r҉͏ouņd͜ ͡͞h͘͟i̡͘ḿ́.̢̢͏ ̡̡Fįr҉mi͘͟n̨͘͘g̢ ̵҉̀l̀i̵̛k̀e ̷d́o͏m̡i҉n̡͘o̢es̷͢.́͢ ̡͜A̸ ̴̨͘n͞͡ew̴ ̧͢on͟e ̶͟t̕ó̧ ̡͜t́͠ak̸̛͘e͜͏ ̨̧͜t͠͏h̡͘͠ę̵ ̵͟͡ol͢͢d̷'s ̀p̨҉͞ļ̀͝à̢c̸e̡.҉̡̡ ̨

M̧a̶̶͞k͢e ḩ͝͞i̶m̨̛͘ ̡͏r͞u̵̡͟n͝ ̧͡͝i̛n͜҉͟ ́͘c̷͢ir̷̨c҉͡l̸e̢̛s̀.̶ ͞Ḩ͝e̸̢'̧s̀͝ ̸͘͜g͢é̸͡t҉̸̨ti҉n̢g ̶҉t͏̶i͝҉̡ŗe̡̕d̴͞. ́

F̴̶ò̸r̶͞ ͘Pa͜͜p̨͝ý̵͟ru̧͡s̡.̛̕ ̢

B́͞ó̡̕ńę̴s̷̶. ̵̛͝Blu̶e̶͜.̧͘ ҉͡W̡͠e͘͞a̸̧͝p̢̀ón͞s̶.̸̨ ͝T̢en͞d̴r̀͡i̕͢l͠s̛ ̢ơ̸͡f̧̀ ̡M̧͠͡agi͘c͜҉̴.

H͜͠e̷'ą̶̛ ̴n̷ot͢͠͝ ̕̕ģ̷o̕͘i̶̸ng̸̛ t͞o͏ w͝in̸.̀

F̴͏òr̨̛͢ ̨̀P̸̀͝a҉̸͝ṕ̛y͏̸r͜u̸̵̢s.

Sans.

F́o҉r̕ ͜͠P҉̸a͜ṕ̷͠y̸͟r͢͡u͠s̛͝.͏ ͠

Sans. You can stop now.

F҉͜͞o̸̡͏r̴̢ ́͏P̵͏á͘p̶͢͝y͘҉̷r͝u̡͘s̛͏.̴̷ ̸̶

Sans, he's dead.

F̀̕͞o̵r̡̛ ̷̡P̴̀͜a̴͞p̢̧͡y̵͝r̴̡͞u̡͘͝s̛.

... You did it, Sans. You won. Papyrus is safe.

Just like that, reality came crashing back into Sans. Barely able to think, mind overridden with pain, he dropped to his hands and knees and started retching.  He was sick, so, so sick. Everything hurt more than he even knew was possible. His Magic twisted in his chest, forcing it's way out of his body, mainly through his mouth.

Everything

Hurt.

Everything

Hurt.

So much.

He fell over sideways.

Finished? Come on. Let's get you home.

Home. Yes, that sounded good. Okay. Home.

Movement. Lifting him up. Cradled in Gaster's arms.

It's okay, Sans. You can calm down.

Shouting. Noise. People. Astonished people.

Just close your eyes. It's okay. Just relax. Rest.

He let his head fall against Gaster's shoulder.

Don't worry. Papyrus is safe. You're going to be okay.

Try to block out the pain, but too tired. Just too tired.

Everything's going to be okay.

§

A/N

If anyone wants to know, I was listening to this while writing this last scene. It fits pretty well, I think.

[Aquí debería haber un GIF o video. Actualiza la aplicación ahora para visualizarlo.]

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Remember, votes and comments are not only always welcome, but always appreciated, too!