Well, I think we've found Papyrus's "puzzle", the dummy sniggers as Finn reads the note attached to the frozen plate of spaghetti.
"Human!! Please enjoy this spaghetti. Little do you know, this spaghetti is a trap designed to entice you! You'll be so busy eating it that you won't realize that you aren't progressing! Thoroughly japed again by the Great Papyrus!" Finn reads aloud. They blink. "What's japed mean?"
It's like... being pranked, but in Britain, the dummy informs them.
Finn frowns. "How does he know about Britain?"
How do you know about Britain?
Finn decides not to answer that question and instead turns their attention to inspecting the room. The spaghetti doesn't look like it japed anybody. It's frozen onto its plate, which is stuck to a table. There's another table next to it, bearing what looks exactly like an unplugged microwave, except all of the settings are labeled "SPAGHETTI".
"Do you think he would mind if I ate the spaghetti?" Spaghetti is still spaghetti, even if it's frozen.
Maybe you should eat that other slice of pie instead.
Finn doesn't want to. They have a feeling it might come in handy later. But they realize that the spaghetti isn't theirs and was not intended for them. So, sighing, they take out their carrots and continue on their way.
The next area contains one giant puzzle that Finn spends forever trying to figure out before realizing it's already been solved. They cross a bridge onto a small plateau, where they find two more piles of dust. These transform into two human-sized bipedal dogs wearing dark cloaks and wielding axes, who immediately fall to fawning over one another, paying absolutely no attention to Finn, so Finn takes the opportunity to get safely out of range of the sharp blades.
"I feel... I feel like I should be doing something," Finn declares in frustration as they stumble upon another already solved puzzle, whose opened entrance leads to yet another one.
You ARE doing something, the dummy replies, amused. You're saving the entire underground.
"Yeah, but..." Finn turns in a circle, looking down at what was obviously a very fun puzzle to solve before it was solved. "Look at this. 'Turn every X into an O, then press the button'." It reminds them of the logic puzzles they used to spend time solving back in second grade. "Heroes always get to go through awesome challenges, overcoming cool obstacles and asserting their dominance and stuff."
Asserting their dominance, the dummy repeats.
"Yeah, but all the dominance has already been asserted - by the bad guy," Finn exclaims, gesturing to the ground. "Why can't I solve the puzzles? I'm good enough!"
I can't believe you're seriously complaining about not having to do a lot of extra and pointless work in order to save the world.
"Saving the world is boring," Finn grumbles. "I thought it would be exciting. Something people might actually want to read about."
Finn crosses another bridge and emerges into yet another puzzle, this one a collection of gray tiles arranged in a square across the entire walkway.
"And this one's solved too!" Finn cries, strangely exasperated.
Well, yeah. How do you think the "bad guy" is going to get through without solving all the puzzles?
Finn sighs and moves carefully across the tiles, moving on to find themselves in a large wooded clearing containing one empty human-sized doghouse and a mess of mushy snow spread out across the path. It's not that they're upset about not having to do more, it's just... it's hard to feel like a proper hero when one's only challenge is hunting down random piles of dust and brushing them with one's fingertips.
They pass the clearing and reach a small fork in the path - ahead of them lies another solved puzzle, this one involving large quantities of ice, and to the right is a much smaller path, leading down into some small clearing Finn can't see very well.
Take the right first, there might be monsters down there, the dummy suggests.
Finn follows its advice, and there is indeed a monster down there - just not what Finn had been expecting.
"AH! HELLO THERE, ER..." Papyrus trails off again, obviously trying to remember.
"Finn," Finn reminds him once again. He's standing near what appears to be a very muscular snow model of himself, complete with a scarf drawn on in red marker. There's another sizable lump of snow next to his boots, bearing the solemn letters "SANS". Finn wonders who would inscript a pile of snow with the French word for "without"; it doesn't look like Papyrus's handwriting.
"FINN! YES, INDEED." Papyrus looks even more perplexed and distracted than the last time Finn saw him and keeps fiddling absentmindedly with his cape in a very childish and cute way.
"How are your japes going, Papyrus?"
"OH! WELL!!! THEY ARE. UM. YES," Papyrus replies awkwardly, then - "YOU... ARE FOND OF JAPES?"
So fond, they find saving the world boring, the dummy snips inside Finn's head.
"Yeah!" Finn says brightly.
Papyrus brightens. "OF COURSE, EVERYONE LIKES JAPES. I KNEW THAT."
"Did you make that?" Finn gestures to the well-crafted Snowpyrus standing next to them.
"YES!! YOU LIKE IT?"
"It's amazing! I could never make something like that," Finn adds truthfully.
"HMM! WELL!!! YOU SHOULD ASSUME NO LESS FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS," Papyrus responds, evidently pleased. "SUCH CRAFTSMANSHIP IS ONLY TO BE EXPECTED. NOW, MY LAZY BROTHER, ON THE OTHER HAND...." He looks down at the lump of snow.
"He knows French," Finn observes.
"DOES HE?" Papyrus asks happily. "WHO IS THIS FRENCH? I MUST MEET THEM."
Finn laughs, and Papyrus, not knowing what in the Underground is funny but agreeable to the ends of the earth, laughs too.
"HAVE YOU SEEN MY PUZZLES, FINN?" Papyrus asks suddenly.
"Yeah!"
"DO... DO YOU LIKE THEM?"
Papyrus looks heartbreakingly nervous.
"Yeah!! They look like a ton of fun!!" Finn exclaims earnestly. "I wish they hadn't all been solved already. I love solving puzzles, and yours look amazing."
"REALLY?" Papyrus asks, then corrects himself. "REALLY!! WELL, OF COURSE. I DID MAKE THEM, AFTER ALL."
Finn giggles, and Papyrus grins.
"IF YOU REALLY WISH TO SOLVE MY PUZZLES - WHICH, OF COURSE YOU DO, THEM BEING DESIGNED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS - I WOULD PERHAPS BE WILLING TO RESET THEM," Papyrus offers.
Finn almost accepts that offer.
Finn, remember, we're on a mission...
Finn is forced to shake their head sadly. "I'd absolutely love to, Papyrus, but now isn't really a great time," they explain. "Would... would it be okay if I came back later?"
"OF COURSE!!!" Papyrus agrees, his face still alight. "WHAT AM I THINKING, I STILL HAVE A HUMAN TO CAPTURE, AFTER ALL. THOUGH THEY KEEP WALKING THROUGH MY PUZZLES... NEVER MIND!!! I SHALL BRING OUT MY FINEST WORK YET, AND THEY SHALL BE FORCED TO NOTICE IT!! FAREWELL, FINN!!!"
He speeds away up the path, walking faster than Finn would've thought possible.
"Did... did I offend him?" Finn worries.
I don't think it's possible for that guy to get offended, the dummy tells them.
Finn nods and, hugging the dummy close, continues on, pursuing the end of their mission.
They have two things to look forward to now.
YOU ARE READING
UnderHappened
FanfictionThe Undertale Genocide Route is happening, but a new card has joined the deck: Finn, a quiet kid with a love for stuffed animals who falls into the Underground soon after Frisk. At first, it doesn't seem like there's much Finn can do, until they dis...
