Frisk stepped through the overly wide gate, glancing around the snowy clearing.
Just as Sans had said, a tall, lean skeleton in gleaming white armor was pacing dramatically just ahead, muttering something under his breath and adjusting the red scarf that fluttered proudly behind him.
Sans appeared beside Frisk with a lazy blink.
"quick. behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."
Frisk, still unsure why she was following his lead, ducked behind the improbably lamp-shaped object nearby. Sans stood next to it as if nothing were out of place.
Papyrus turned sharply, striking a heroic pose.
"YOU KNOW WHAT, BROTHER!? IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T… RECALIBRATED… YOUR PUZZLES!"
He stomped forward, voice rising.
"YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"
Sans yawned. "staring at this lamp. it's really cool. do you wanna look?"
"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?"
Frisk winced behind the lamp.
"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE THE ONE TO STOP THEM! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN… THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS… WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT! RECOGNITION! I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!"
The MC, watching from within Sans, could practically recite the lines. But hearing them in person—Papyrus' booming pride, his endearing overconfidence—it hit harder. Papyrus wasn't just a joke character. He believed in his dream. That made him real.
"maybe this lamp will help you," Sans quipped.
Papyrus groaned in theatrical frustration.
"YOU ARE NOT HELPING, SANS! YOU LAZYBONES!"
He paused.
"i've been working this whole time," Sans added, still not moving.
"YOU'VE BEEN SITTING AND STARING AT A LAMP!"
"it's called multitasking."
Papyrus huffed and turned away, muttering about puzzles and his glorious future.
Once he was out of sight, Frisk stepped from behind the lamp.
"well," Sans said, watching his brother disappear down the snowy path, "that went well."
He turned to Frisk with a knowing grin.
"heh. you'd better head on ahead. my bro might try to catch you with one of his puzzles. but don't worry, they're not too hard. just don't lose your cool, kid."
As Frisk walked off cautiously, Sans lingered a moment.
Inside, the reincarnated soul stirred.
He remembered what came next. Snowdin. The puzzles. The fights. The choices.
And eventually… the judgment.
This was the neutral route. The first time. No resets. No deaths. Not yet.
But how long would it stay that way?