𝚎𝚊t. (horrortale sans x reader)

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗

𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 - 𝚎[𝚞].𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚢, 𝚊𝚝𝚕𝚊𝚜, 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚍. 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚊𝚗

     "SO, HOW FAR CAN IT GO? DOES IT JUST FIX GASHES AND WOUNDS LIKE THESE, OR DOES IT DO MORE?" Papyrus asks, gently running his mitten-clad hand over the now completely smooth skin of (Y/N)'s previously wounded arm, doing his best to keep his voice soft, though they were both sure Sans was asleep right now.

"No, it fixes a lot more. I can't really control it, so I think it basically just fixes anything that I get injured from. When I fell, I think I broke some bones and gashed the back of my head – I say 'I think' because I'm not sure if I actually did or not. It sure felt like it, but after just lying there for a while, I was somehow all fixed up, so I assumed I was just sore from the fall... Remember when I complained about getting cold? It was to the point I was clearly getting frostbite. I don't know if monsters get that, but it could have made me lose limbs, like my toes and fingers, and once it sets in, it usually doesn't go away without treatment or amputation. But, after just a little while in your house, it went away..." she explains, pulling her hands into her lap. She looks up at him, smiling awkwardly.

"I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse. I just... I don't know what to do with it. I'm scared I might become reckless if I start thinking I'm immortal or something, you know? I'm not sure how much it works. I'm not sure if limbs would grow back or how well really large wounds would heal, but... I really hope I don't have to find out."

"I SEE... AND I SEE WHY YOU WANT TO KEEP THIS FROM MY BROTHER. I ADORE HIM, BUT NOWADAYS HE BECOMES... IRRATIONAL, ESPECIALLY WITH HUMANS. AND FOOD. AND ALSO, TERRITORY. SNOWDIN IS NEARLY EMPTY BECAUSE OF IT. HE SAYS IT'S TO PROTECT US AND OUR FOOD." he smiles, shrugging softly.

(Y/N) smiled, nodding. "That's.. That's really sweet of him. That almost feels out of place for him, but I suppose he doesn't feel comfortable showing me that side of him."

"WHICH IS SUCH A SHAME! MY BROTHER USED TO BE SUCH A STANDUP GUY. QUITE LITERALLY, HE WOULD DO STANDUP SOMETIMES, THOUGH HE MOSTLY STUCK TO PUNS AND WORDPLAY. I WANT TO SAY I DON'T MISS IT BECAUSE I USED TO BE SO ANNOYED BY IT, BUT... THAT WOULD BE A LIE! AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T LIE! MOSTLY." he says, getting to his feet and leading (Y/N) out of the bedroom.
"SPEAKING OF OLD HOBBIES, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME TRY OUT THE PUZZLES I'VE RECENTLY FIXED UP?"

"Oh, of course Papyrus. They better be good, though, haha," (Y/N) teased, following the taller skeleton downstairs. They stopped at the door so that she could put on boots and a coat, before following him out of the house. 

Despite the heavy snow that constantly covered the ground of Snowdin, it actually wasn't terribly cold today. A gentle wind blew on and off as they made their way through the quiet town, and then the outskirts. She hardly remembered walking through this area, spotting things like multiple small buildings with open fronts, baring a crest on top in the shape of a dog's faces – one of which was surrounded by tall snow structures, puzzles that had been previously covered by snow, and finally a pair of tables, one with a microwave on it and another with half eaten, very frozen pasta on it, the table containing it surrounded by an unsettling amount of dust. Finally, they made it to a large cleared out area, with a matte patch of ice. The edges around the patch seemed to be built up in snow and reinforced by compressing it, as if someone had taken the time to personally go around the patch and- Oh. Papyrus. Of course.

On one end, a divot had been dug into the ice, and on the other end sat a neatly stacked pile of tightly packed snowballs.

"HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A GAME CALLED 'GOLF'?" Papyrus asks as he walks over to the stack of snowballs, plucking one off and carefully setting it on the ice in a very particular spot, before looking up at (Y/N).

"Yeah. I've never played regular golf, though. Just mini golf."

"MINIATURE GOLF? BUT GOLF BALLS ARE ALREADY SO SMALL!"

"Haha, yeah. But mini golf is called that because the courses are smaller. So, you don't have a giant field of golfing lawn to play on, you kind of have a set track. It's a lot more digestible than actual golf, honestly. But it does use the same type of ball," (Y/N) explains as she carefully joins him on the ice, looking down at the snowball. "Is that what this course is? Golf?"

"YES! IT IS A GOLF PUZZLE! YOU MUST GET THE SNOWBALL IN THE HOLE!" Papyrus says excitedly, pointing to the divot on the other end of the ice patch. (Y/N) nods, smiling a little.

"That sounds fun. Do you have a putter for me to use?"

"PUTTER?"

"The.. The stick you use to hit the ball?"

"OH. NO? USUALLY, I JUST KICK THE BALL."

(Y/N) had to bite back a giggle. "Of course. Do you want me to solve it?"

"YES, PLEASE! I WANT TO BE SURE THE MECHANISM UNDER THE BUTTON IN THE DIVOT STILL WORKS!"

She looks up at him, nodding softly, before focusing on the snowball. "Did you intentionally pick snowballs, or was that more convenient?"

"IT'S PART OF THE PUZZLE! IF YOU MAKE TOO MANY MOVES, THE SNOWBALL WILL MELT AWAY! IT COULD BECOME TOO SMALL TO TRIGGER THE BUTTON, OR COMPLETELY MELT, AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO RESTART THE PUZZLE!"

"I see. That's pretty smart," (Y/N) complements, beginning to kick the snowball towards the divot. It was no hole-in-one, but it didn't take her very long to get it in, triggering the button inside. A little flag raised from the hole, though the mechanism seemed to struggle, mechanical whirring fighting against years of neglect and the elements. Nothing else seemed to happen as she looked around the surrounding area.
"That's neat. Is that all it's supposed to do when you get the ball in?"

"YES! WELL, I HAVE BIGGER PLANS FOR IT NOW. I'D LIKE TO CONNECT ALL OF MY PUZZLES TO ONE MAIN TRAP, SO THAT ONE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO SOLVE ALL OF THEM BEFORE PROCEEDING INTO SNOWDIN AND BEYOND."

"I see. This one seems to be in mostly working order, luckily."

"INDEEDY, IT IS! I SHALL MARK IT AS SUCH!" Papyrus says, reaching into his chest plate and pulling out a tiny flag, similar to one you may find marking pipes and other underground structures on the surface. He plants it beside the puzzle with a happy little 'Nyeh heh heh!', before getting back to his feet and leading (Y/N) to the next puzzle. Again, they pass the set of tables with the microwave and spaghetti, and she decides to ask about it.

"So.. What's with that? Did you make that? Is it.. Some kind of puzzle or trap?"

"UM..." Papyrus hums, turning to look at the display. He rubbed his chin curiously, inspecting the spaghetti. He tried to lift the plate, but it was frozen right to the table. He tried to move the spaghetti, but it was basically fused to the plate.
"I'M REALLY NOT SURE. THIS LOOKS LIKE MY WORLD FAMOUS SPAHGETTI, BUT I CANNOT SEEM TO MOVE IT. MY RECIPE IS VERY MOVABLE, SPECIALLY MADE THAT WAY SO THAT I CAN SPREAD THE JOY OF SUCH A MASTERPIECE TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS."

"This seems like it's been here awhile. There's a lot of dust around it."

"AH, YES, I SEE. IT SEEMS THAT, DESPITE HOW LONG THIS DISH HAS BEEN LEFT OUT IN THE COLD, THE REMAINING MONSTERS IN SNOWDIN HAVE FOUGHT TO THE DEATH JUST TO HAVE A TASTE. I DO NOT BLAME THEM! THE SUCCULENT SAUCE, THE SILKEN SPAHGETTI NOODLES, FINELY AGED IN AN OAK CASE... IT SEEMS THE PLATE FROZE TO THE TABLE BEFORE ANYONE COULD PUT IT IN THIS CONVENIENTLY PLACED MICROWAVE. BUT! THAT WAS, IN FACT, THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF THE PUZZLE, NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus exclaims, perking up as the memories of this puzzle flooded back to him.

"I CREATED THIS MASTERPIECE FOR THE LAST HUMAN! THEY WOULD BECOME SO INVESTED IN TRYING TO EAT MY WONDERFUL PASTA THAT THEY WOULD NEVER REALIZE THAT THEY WERE MAKING NO PROGRESS! GENIOUS, IS IT NOT??" he says, turning on his heels, looking down at (Y/N) excitedly. She can't help but grin back at him, nodding.

"That is so smart Papyrus! I can't imagine how long it took them to realize the pasta was frozen. I'd probably be out here all day trying to get a taste," (Y/N) says, smiling up at the beaming skeleton. He continued to talk about his spaghetti and the past human, and while she continued to listen, her eyes caught some movement. She shifted her attention to the nearby sentient flower, who seemed to be watching from afar, perhaps just checking in. She offers him a smile, waving softly. He nods in return, deciding to pop up closer to the two, nearly spooking Papyrus right out of the subject matter he'd been rambling about.

"AH! OH? OH! HELLO FRIEND!" Papyrus says cheerfully, crouching down closer to Flowey's level. (Y/N) follows suit, resting her hands on her knees.
"WHAT BRINGS YOU ALL THE WAY OUT HERE? THIS WEATHER IS NO PLACE FOR A FLOWER."

"Do you remember Flowey, Papyrus?" (Y/N) asks curiously, and he nods.

"I wanted to check on (Y/N)." Flowey says to Papyrus, before turning his attention to (Y/N). "I haven't gotten to talk to you in a while. Are you okay? You didn't... Lose any toes, did you?"

"Oh, no, my tootsies are perfectly intact."

"YES! (Y/N) CAN HEAL VERY FAST!"

"Papyrus-" (Y/N) starts, biting her tongue to keep herself from becoming harsh, "Please, don't say that so loud. We don't know if there's anyone nearby listening in."

"OH. SORRY." he says shyly, rubbing the back of his skull. (Y/N) can't help but smile.

"It's okay Papyrus. Just be a little more careful, okay? I'm not sure what people would do with that information, but I don't plan on becoming anyone's test subject."

"So..." Flowey started, looking (Y/N) over, trying to find his words. "You have a healing factor?"

"I guess that's what it could be called. I'm not sure what all it can actually fix, but... Well, when I first fell, I could have sworn I'd broken bones and gashed my head. When I finally got up, I was fine. Then, I got that frostbite, but after just a little while inside, it was gone. Then, I was bitten by Snowdrake, but the bites completely gone a day later," she explained, pulling up her sleeve to show off her completely smooth skin.
"That, and a cut from a knife here. Sans saw the healing scar and got kind of..."

"HYSTERICAL."

"He thought there might be something under my skin that could taint my meat, since I wouldn't tell him what the scar was from. He's been keeping closer track of me than I first thought. He'd gonna go crazy when he sees that my arm's completely healed... But I don't want him to know that I can heal like this. He'd be the first to push the limits of this ability, and I don't want to end up dead just yet, haha," (Y/N) said, sitting down on her bottom and crossing her legs. Papyrus followed suit, getting comfortable.

"You're sure he isn't out here?"

"He was asleep when we left. I don't think he's awake yet. If he is, he'd know I'm with Papyrus and he'd probably not worry about it... right?" she asks, looking over at the tall skeleton. He shrugs, playing with the tattered hem of his scarf.

"I WOULD THINK SO... BUT HE CAN BE QUITE PROTECTIVE."

For a moment, the three went quiet, looking around. If Sans was around, there was no way he was close enough to hear their conversation. (Y/N) lets out a soft sigh of relief.

"We.. Should probably finish up with these puzzles and get home. Is that okay?"

"YES. LET US GET GOING. I HOPE TO SEE YOU AROUND FLOWEY!"

"Yeah, I'll see you around Flowey. Stay safe."

"That's what I should be telling you two. I'll keep an eye out until you're both home."

"We appreciate it. Thank you," (Y/N) says, waving as her and Papyrus took off towards the next puzzle.