((Here we go!! ))

I finished eating Papyrus's spaghetti and we headed to bed. I had to sleep in the garage to avoid being spotted by Sans.

In was bright in the morning, I think. I couldn't really tell since I was underground. And uh, in case you didn't know, there isn't a sun or a moon underground...

I was looking through the garage until Papyrus returned. I wanted him to act as my body guard while I was trying to find my way out of this cramped underground nightmare.

But since he wasn't here, I decided to snoop around. I looked through shelves, but everything in the shelves and boxes all contained deadly stuff.

Knives, guns, explosives, you name it. This place had it all. I reached through one of the boxes to find a pen. "Hey! Something not deadly!" I exclaimed, pushing a button on the pen so I could write.

But it wasn't working. "Try pulling off the top." Flowery recommended, and I obliged. I pulled off the top and to my surprise I saw a knife underneath it. "I don't know what I was expecting..." I sighed as I tossed it back into the box.

I thought finding one harmless item would be impossible, until I noticed a purple box on top of the television. I approached it and tore the box open, and to my surprise, I saw laying neatly in the box, a photograph of Papyrus and what looked to be another skeleton.

The box was also full of drawings, looking to be drawn by a five year old. There were two other photos in there, but I didn't recognize who they were. Plus, there was always one person in the photo whose face was scribbled out with black pen.

I was staring at the photo of the mystery skeleton and Papyrus, puzzled. They looked younger and much happier. Especially Papyrus. If I compared this picture to how I last saw him...

He looked a lot more depressed and uptight now than he did back when this photo was taken.

I suddenly felt a wave of curiosity and pity for Papyrus.

Such a drastic change from then to now...what happened? Why is Papyrus all monotone and uptight like this? Did something bad happen before that caused him to act like this?

"I see Papyrus! H-he's coming back!" Flowey shouted suddenly. I scrambled to my feet to put everything I had taken out just now away, getting a glimpse of him outside. I put the box back and peeked out the window.

Papyrus was talking to someone...he looked to be the other skeleton I had seen in the photo.

"Hey, who's that other guy he's with?" I asked Flowey, in hopes he would have any clue.

"Maybe that's who Papyrus warned us about? I believe his name was Sans...Papyrus said that was his brother and he would kill us if we were caught by him!"

"Oh yeah...I think you're right!" I agreed, that picture flashing in my head again, making me sad all over again.

Papyrus soon arrived inside the garage and closed the door behind him. "(Y/N), let's get on our way to getting you out of here...that is what you want to do, right?" Papyrus asked, hoping his answer was correct.

"Mhm! Let's go!" I said, heading for the door. I opened the door and nearly screamed as I saw who I assumed to be Sans standing in my pathway.

"Eep!" Flowey cried out. Sans chuckled and I backed away from the door quickly.

Papyrus was a little surprised at how Sans had managed to discover he was up to something. "Sans, what're you doing in here?" Papyrus asked coldly.

I backed away from the two, not wanting to get involved.

"I could ask you the same thing~ I felt like something suspicious was going on, so I decided to my own investigating, boss." Sans said, walking closer to me.

My face went white as I continued to back away, Sans only nearing closer. "Don't tell me you were planning on keeping this human alive, right boss?"

I bumped into the wall just as Papyrus stood in front of Sans, blocking him from me. "I'll be completely honest with you: until a week has gone by, I fully intend to keep this human alive. Don't tell me you have a problem with that. Speak up if you do." Papyrus said harshly.

He glared down at Sans, a face saying: if you do have a problem with that, it's best you keep that problem to yourself.

Sans backed away from Papyrus and shrugged. "Not exactly, but why are you-?"

"We must be going. Farewell." Papyrus said, grabbing my hand and leading me out the door. As we got out, Papyrus gave me his cape.

"Use this to hide yourself. Pretend you're a monster." Papyrus said. I smiled at the cape and used it as a hood to hide my face.

"T-thanks..."

"See? I can be nice..." Papyrus said, a smirk appearing on his face since he proved that he could win this bet.

"Yeah, I guess you can." I said with a smile. "I'm glad we ran into you!" Flowey chirped happily.

So we continued our walk down towards the Waterfall. As we did, I decided I didn't like this silence. "Hey, uh, Papyrus..."

"Yes?" He replied softly. "Uh, about you and Sans..."

I was cut off by the sound of footsteps walking towards me. "Hush, I think that's-"

"Papyrus!" A voice boomed. I stopped in my tracks and flinched a little as Papyrus turned around to greet the figure. "Ah, Undyne. Nice seeing you here."

"Who's this little monster friend you've got with you? I haven't seen this one before!" Undyne said, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around. I held Flowey behind my back and tried hard to look at my feet to cover my face.

"Undyne, don't-"

And just like that, Undyne ripped off the cape and revealed my face. She gasped and stared in shock. I looked at her and laughed nervously.

"You have a human with you?! Traitor!! Why isn't it dead?!" Undyne barked angrily.

"Please, Undyne, trust me on this one! I-I have my reasons! Uhhhh....Asgore requested for this human to be kidnapped alive!!" Papyrus stated.

"He did...?" Undyne asked, fairly unsure if what he said was the truth. Papyrus glanced back and forth from Undyne to me.

"Y-yes...sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn't want anyone freaking out over it." Papyrus lied. I could see that Undyne was a good friend, and he obviously hated having to lie to her.

Undyne couldn't be treated as roughly as Sans for some reason....

I guess she was just special.

"We have to be on our way. I'd hate to keep Asgore waiting." Papyrus said plainly and grabbed my hand and the thrown cape.

"Bye Undyne!" I said and held onto Flowey with my free hand.

We dashed off, leaving Undyne with some food for thought. Soon we began nearing the exit to the Waterfall. "Hey, so I found a picture of you and Sans when you two were younger...."

"You were snooping?!" Papyrus asked, dumbfounded. "How else am I supposed to pass time?" I asked, chuckling a bit.

"Well, you do have a talking flower to talk to..." Papyrus pointed out. I laughed a bit and smiled at him. "I guess you're right about that!"

Papyrus tried hard not to smile, but I think I saw a small one. "So you can smile!" I said and giggled a bit.

Papyrus looked away and chuckled a bit. "Well, I wasn't always like this. Things just...I don't want to talk about it."

There was a small silence before I spoke up again. "Hey, why did you accept the bet?" I asked suddenly.

"Hm? What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean, you obviously didn't want to lie to Undyne, and I can't imagine you would want to speak to Sans like that..." I spoke softly, "You could've ended the bet anytime, especially since it was as stupid as it was. So why did you accept it? Or more importantly, why was the bet important enough to lie to your friends?"

Papyrus looked down at his feet and sighed a bit. "...I guess I was just tired of being mean...to be honest, I wanted an excuse to stop being cruel, even if it was just for a while...." He started.

"Back when me and Sans were younger I was nicer, and now people always whisper about how much I've changed...being nice felt nice, and being cruel felt good too, but...I guess I just wanted to be nice again. And you were my escape..."

Papyrus shook his head and laughed a bit. "I'm really an idiot for not breaking out of the bet by now."

I smiled at him. "You're not an idiot. I think that was pretty sweet of you to go through all that trouble just to keep the bet going."

"Yeah!" Flowey chimed in, smiling happily at this point. "Heh...thanks." Papyrus said, a smile on his face.

"Hey, you look nicer when you smile!" I exclaimed, Papyrus turning away and blushing in embarrassment. "S-shut it!!"

Me and Flowey laughed a bit after that. I guess this underground place does have a bit of niceness to offer.

Soon we entered the Hotlands, and boy was I ready to collapse. "(Y/N)?" Papyrus asked softly. "You don't look good..."

I forced a smile and nodded. "Just a bit sweaty is all!" I lied and continued on, my walking a bit shaky. "(Y/N), perhaps I could carry you? Skeletons aren't affected by this type of heat." Papyrus said, stopping in his tracks.

"You mean it?" I asked. He nodded. "Great!" I chirped happily and gladly climbed on his back. He held onto Flowey for me and continued to walk on. It was really nice getting a chance to rest, and with this heat making me sleepy....

I fell asleep.

(PAPYRUS'S POV)

What a little devil....falling asleep on me, eh? I guess they really were tired.. We soon approached Alphys' place, and I knew a way to get right through her, so maybe I could ask her for help on getting (Y/N) out of here?

People as sweet as this don't deserve to be stuck down here.

I remember the first time I saw (Y/N) cry. They looked so...innocent.

It reminded me of Sans when he used to cry.

They looked so helpless...

They just broke down in front of me. For some reason I wanted to...help them. There was something keeping me with (Y/N).

Not just this bet.

Not just the will to be nice.

I felt...happy around (Y/N). When I met them, everything came to life. I don't know why protecting them and getting them through this is such a big priority for me...

I knocked on Alphys' door. "Hello- ACK!!! Papyrus?!?" Alphys asked in shock. I glared at her. "May I come in?"

"O-of course!" Alphys said, stumbling as she scrambled to open the door wider for me to enter.

I entered the room and set (Y/N) down on the couch. I took Flowey and covered them with my red cape. "Why in the world do you have a human with you?!"

"Reasons. Asgore wanted them delivered to him alive." I stated plainly, "A question dawned upon me recently, and someone as smart as you must know the answer."

"Correct! I most certainly probably do! Ask away!" Alphys said, a crazy look in her eye. "I was wondering...if a human did happen to make it out of here alive, how would they escape the barrier?"

Alphys then burst into laughter, falling on her back and laughing. On and on and on.....

I glared at her as if I was about to end her life. That little...

She soon shut up and stood straight upright. "Y-you were serious?!"

"Are you implying that I came all the way here to ask you a funny question...?" I asked harshly, hovering over Alphys.

"Eeep!!! Forgive me sir!!" Alphys said and adjusted her glasses. "L-lets see...escaping would be impossible unless the human had a strong enough soul. That human would also have to have a monster soul to escape..." Alphys said.

"What? A monster soul?" I asked. That would be easy, but taking a monster's life... "Oh, not just any monster soul! A boss monster's soul! You know, like Asgore's!" Alphys explained.

"See?! So it would thus be impossible!" Alphys stated proudly. "....thank you." I said, rushing towards (Y/N). I picked them up and left quickly before Alphys could say anything else.

(YOUR POV)

I rubbed my eyes and sat up straight. "Papyrus...?" I asked softly. I looked to Flowey, who was beside me. "Flowey...?" They both had a sad look on their face.

"What's wrong...?" I asked. "Are we already there?"

"(Y/N)..." Flowey said softly.

I was confused beyond a doubt. "Look, it seems you can't leave here...without Asgore's soul."

"Who's Asgore?"

"He's the king...he's super powerful and intent on killing humans like you..." Papyrus explained. My eyes went wide.

I knew what he was saying. "You mean...!"

"You won't be able to leave the underground..." Flowey said for me.

I slowly started to tear up. "(Y/N)...?" Papyrus asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I slapped in away and stood up.

"Ha...ha ha ha..! Hah!" I began to laugh, hoping that if I laughed hard enough, all this pain would go away.

Papyrus and Flowey looked at me, sadly.

I'd never leave this place...?

A place where everyone is out to get me? Where everyone would cheer if they saw me dead? Where I'd have to hide for the rest of my life if I wanted to survive?

Why? Why is this happening to me?

All my friend and family? All those great things in my life...gone? To never be seen again? How could I do that?!

I began to laugh uncontrollably, tearing beginning to stream down my cheeks.

Soon every laugh became a painful one. The laughs grew louder and worse, I couldn't stop.

"Ahaha! Hahaha!" I cried out, falling to my knees in pain. Tears flowed and flowed, and the laughing stopped.

It turned into a weep. I was in agony. Pain. I never realized how deeply getting to the surface actually meant to me.

Suddenly, as I was on my knees crying, I felt someone hug me. I stopped weeping for a second to see who it was. Through teary eyes, I saw Papyrus.

He was hugging me tightly. "(Y/N), please stop crying! You're hurting yourself more this way....you're hurting me.." Papyrus said, holding me close.

My crying slowly stopped, and I hugged Papyrus back. It felt nice to finally get a hug.

Soon I stopped crying. "I'm okay now..." I said softly. "I'm sorry....for breaking down like that..."

"Don't be. I'm sorry in the end I was still useless...."

"You're not useless, Papyrus...you keep me going. Please don't think you are useless...since I'm stuck down here, you're the only good thing so far that is kind and I enjoy being around." I said and smiled.

Papyrus chuckled a bit. "I thought about it a bit...if you left, I'd feel empty. This might be a bad time, but...I'm really in love with you. You make me...whole again."

I was stunned by these words, and finally began crying again as we embraced. "I love you too you idiot!"

"As long as you're down here, I swear I won't let anything bad hurt or you happen to you, so please...don't cry..!"

Flowey smiled at us.

I guess the underground isn't so bad.

((The ending was rushed because I really wanted to finish this before the day ended and I had other things planned today so here you go!!))