UnderHappened

14 - Restoration

Finn doesn't remember falling asleep. They suppose they were just so exhausted and so emotionally worn that they just kinda collapsed, but they have no memory of it. They're awake now, holding the dummy tight, and Papyrus's dust is still in front of them, white and shimmering slightly like the snow.

They frown. Hadn't his cape been there as well, before they'd fallen asleep? Or had they imagined it?

Either way, it isn't there now.

Are... are you okay? the dummy asks nervously.

Finn shakes themself. "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay." They hate themself somewhat for falling asleep; who knew how much damage the demon had done while they'd been napping? "Let's... let's bring him back."

They reach out a gloved hand to touch Papyrus's dust, then stop, noticing something they've never noticed before - a rectangular, almost completely transparent button, popping up out of the dust.

They withdraw their hand, and it vanishes.

They reach their hand back again, and it fades back into existence - barely visible, but still there, about the size of a large chocolate bar. Looking closely at it, Finn can see large white letters printed across it, spelling the word "RESTORE".

"Do... do you see that?" Finn asks the dummy in wonder.

...See what?

Finn shakes their head, then reaches out completely and touches the dust, touching the button in the process. The letters flash yellow, and the button disappears. Dust begins swirling up, but Finn stays where they are, sitting in the snow, refusing to back away as they always do. They know who this monster is.

The dust swirls up into the shape of Papyrus, then solidifies into Papyrus himself, superhero suit and all - though, notably, lacking his red cape.

Papyrus opens his eyes, then blinks, confused, and looks down at Finn.

"FINN!! OH NO!! YOU ARE DEAD AS WELL?!"

Finn can't help themselves. It's just too sad. They burst into tears and, dropping the dummy, wrap their arms around and sob into one of Papyrus's boots.

They feel Papyrus stiffen, then, after a few seconds, awkwardly pat the top of their head. "THERE, THERE, FINN, IT IS PERFECTLY ALL RIGHT!! WE HAVE EACH OTHER, AFTER ALL!! YOU HAVE THE GREAT PAPYRUS ON YOUR SIDE!!"

Finn lets go of his boots and looks up at him, tears streaking down their face inside of their mask. "We're not dead, Papyrus."

"OH. REALLY?!" Papyrus brightens. "WELL. THAT IS SWELL!! I COULD HAVE SWORN MY PLAN DID NOT GO AS PLANNED!! BUT IT EVIDENTLY DID!! BECAUSE THE HUMAN DID NOT DO A VIOLENCE!!"

Finn grabs the dummy and staggers to their feet, still looking Papyrus in the face.

"I brought you back, Papyrus," they say quietly.

Papyrus falters, looking at them.

Finn throws back their hood and pulls off their mask, revealing their tear-streaked, human face. "I'm a human, Papyrus. A human child. I fell into the Underground after... after them. They were killing... they killed... everyone. But I discovered I... I can bring them back. So I did. And I've been following them. And then they killed you." The tears are starting to fall from Finn's face again, and it's getting harder for them to speak. "They killed you, when you've never done anything but be innocent and friendly and funny and kind. You just wanted to be friends, and they killed  you. They killed  you, Papyrus. How could they?! How could anybody DO THAT TO YOU?!"

Papyrus stares at them for a few moments.

Then he stoops down and hugs them.

He doesn't say anything, but everything is said.

Finn is too surprised to hug him back.

After a few moments, Papyrus lets go, rising back to his full height. He looks at them, and there are tears shining in his eyes.

"W-WELL," he says, then stops.

Finn feels their heart break again at the look in his eyes, and they feel miserable for saying all of that, but it had to be done. They take a deep, shuddering breath and wipe the tears from their face with their green-and-yellow striped sleeve.

There's a pause.

"UH. WELL. UM. YES. INDEED," Papyrus says awkwardly. "UM. WELL, FINN. HUMAN. AHEM. THERE HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN A... PERHAPS RATHER, ERM, DEVASTATING TURN OF EVENTS."

Finn nods.

"BUT NO MATTER!!" Papyrus is trying his best to return to his normal, cheerful state. "WE SHALL... ERM... STOP THE BAD GUY? YES!! I BELIEVE IN US. ALL WE NEED IS AN AGREEABLE PLAN. ONE THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE AWFUL PUZZLES BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WORK, AS PREVIOUSLY DISCOVERED."

"Your puzzles aren't awful, Papyrus." Finn looks past him, at the entrance to the cavern. The cavern that the human disappeared into not so long ago. "I need to go after them."

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL GO WITH YOU."

"No." Finn's gaze turns back to Papyrus. "They can't know you're still alive. It'll ruin everything. Nobody can, not if the human has any chance of learning it from them."

"SO OUR AGREEABLE PLAN IS FOR ME TO BE UTTERLY AND COMPLETELY USELESS, AS USUAL, WHILE YOU RISK YOUR LIFE SAVING MONSTERS WHO WANT TO CAPTURE YOU."

"Papyrus!" Finn exclaims, shocked. Where was all the sudden self-deprecation coming from? "No. I need you here, to protect the citizens of Snowdin. Make sure they know what's going on, and that they stay hidden. And most importantly, don't let them reveal themselves to anybody outside of Snowdin. They can't know you're still alive. They'll come back and kill you all again, then probably kill me too."

Papyrus nods, understanding.

"I'm going to go ahead, RESTOREing all of the monsters they've killed," Finn explains. "I'll send them into hiding, too, and then, hopefully, the human will leave the Underground, and we can all come out and celebrate."

They regretted it the moment they said it. It sounded far too childish, unreal, like the end of a fairytale. The human wasn't just going to "leave the Underground". They couldn't, because of the ancient spell Toriel had told them about.

They would have to be destroyed.

Somehow.

"I SHALL DO THAT," Papyrus declares. "YOU CAN DEPEND ON THE GREAT PAPYRUS!! I SHALL TOSS MY PHONE INTO THE RIVER!! NYEH HEH HEH!"

The skeleton seems way too happy at the concept of throwing his phone into the river.

"See you around, Papyrus," Finn says, smiling.

"AND YOU TOO, HUMAN! ER, FINN!!" Papyrus begins speedwalking away in the direction of Snowdin, then stops and turns around.

"ARE... ARE WE FRIENDS?" he asks in a completely different tone of voice.

Finn grins. "Yeah. We're friends."

Papyrus grins back, then turns around once more and continues on his way.

That guy sure is something, the dummy remarks, impressed.

"Yeah," Finn agrees, staring after him.

There's another pause.

Are... are we friends, Finn?

Finn squeezes the dummy. "We've been friends for a while."