A Second Chance (Papyrus X Flowey/Asriel)

Questions and Few Answers

(This was originally going to be published later, but with all your guys support I've been able to write more chapters faster! A big thanks to everyone, see you at the end of the chapter<3)

Papyrus and Doggely—now also known as Asriel and the occasional 'your highness' that made him physically recoil—sat quietly at Undynes table, unable to break the silence. Questions had of course been asked, maybe a little too many for Asriels liking, but any answers they did give were too ominous to be useful in the slightest.

Papyrus avoided eye contact with Undyne the most, the frustration in her eyes battling the betrayal she felt with every unhelpful answer. He could already guess what she was thinking, 'How could he keep something like this from me? Since when could he be such a good liar?' And the worst, 'how long has he been lying for?'

He didn't have to wait long before they gave up asking, now contemplating the next moves maybe just as much as they were.
Undyne finally groaned, slamming her fist on the table.
"Well we aren't just gonna sit around all day listening to you punks try and get out of this. I don't know how you got the Prince back, or why you're suddenly so secretive, but I do know I'm not going anywhere without answers." The monsters across the table winced at the royal title, both not doubting she would be stubborn enough to keep them there until they cracked.
-What do we say? We can't both get out of here fast enough, and it's not like we can both hide out anywhere.- Asriel rambled internally towards Papyrus, of whome only sighed.
"I think we should tell them, Asriel." he said defeatedly, finally making eye contact with the goat monster.
It took a few seconds of suspense before he relented, mostly due to his unrelenting urge to trust Papyrus's plan, but still he kept on the defensive.
"Fine, but only if you'll stop calling me all that formal stuff. I'm not 'the fallen prince,' I'm just-" he searched for the right words, eventually huffing out "I'm just Asriel. Got it?"
The quick nodding from Undyne and Alphys was all he needed, leaning back in his chair as he ran his padded digits through his messied fur.
"So," Undyne started again, "let's start with the important stuff. How?"
The seconds passing as Papyrus thought of the answer felt like agony for the impatient guardswoman and scientist, suspense only feeling like salt in the wound.
Papyrus decided then that words wouldn't suffice, standing from his seat as eyes all fell on him.

Admittedly, the last time he'd done this he'd cut his soul in half, but he was sure showing it for a few seconds wouldn't do too much harm.
He summoned all the courage he could as his sockets closed in concentration, a small glow appearing in front of him as half a soul floated just in front of his battlebody. He tried to block out the gasps as the others leaned in for a closer look, but the strain very quickly caught up to him, coughing roughly as it vanished just as suddenly as it appeared.
Now the three were focused on him, Asriel helping him down to his seat as he subtly tried to move his own closer, the shared burden much easier for Papyrus to bear.
"H-how did you.." Alphys questioned, only to stop midway through.
"If I'm honest, I don't know how he did it either." Asriel answered now, trying not to focus on how nervous Alphys seemed around him specifically.
"So you've got.. the other half?" Undyne asked slowly, as if she'd be sick if she took the information in any faster. She was never one to look away at gore and violence, but her best friends mangled soul? The very idea made her grip on the table tighten.
"I do. Can't tell you how, but he figured out some kind of machine thing and next thing I know I'm.." he held his chest, the soft pulsing of magic still unfamiliar as he trailed off.
"You said something about a ma-machine?" Alphys spoke up, the three practically seeing the cogs turning in her mind.
"I could always.. show you?" Papyrus hesitantly offered, somewhat bashful at the accomplishment.
"That would be am-amazing! I-I don't know how you managed to figure this out, b-but this could be a scientific brea-breakthrough!" She replied with a burst of energy, her passion for science on clear display.
"I-Its nothing special!" Papyrus now stuttered humbly, "Just a mixture of using excess magic to create a false membrane, along with a surge of blue magic to make sure my soul didnt dissipate too quickly," he explained semi-casually, leaving the trio slack-jawed. Alphys tried her best to follow along as Undyne quickly got lost in the terminology, looking to Asriel for help. He, unfortunately, probably understood less than half of what he was saying, more focused on how smart Papyrus sounded, and how much that heated up his face to think about.
"-and that's the basics of it! I didn't exactly think much about what would happen after, however." He finished, only leaving more questions in his wake.
"Wait, a-after?"
"There's been some- side effects" Asriel winced, Papyrus only following as a pang of guilt hit his spine.
"Like.. what?" Undyne asked once finally focused on conversation, and not the fact her best friend was way smarter than she ever imagined.
"Well my magic has been weaker than usual," Papyrus stated the obvious, "But we've also found were.. connected? In a way."
"Like the mind reading" Asriel chirped in, leaving Alphys and Undyne open-mouthed once again.
"Oh, can't forget the shared energy stuff!"
"Or when we get too far and it feels like we're basically dying" Asriel added with a little dramatics, now somewhat enjoying the shock they left the two other in.
"Hold on, you guys remember when I was testing Do-..Asriel, and Papyrus did that weird super-speed thing?" Undyne recalled in amazement, like a detective finally putting all the clues together on a big case.
Papyrus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I blacked out a little I think, but I do remember how worried I was about Asriel once I saw that spear going towards him, then it's all just the aftermath." His cheeks flushed a little, Undyne and Alphys quickly looking at eachother before hiding giddy smiles.

Eventually the mood got more comfortable as the questions went on, the four even laughing at the old suspicions as the day got later and later. Though, when the growl of Asriels stomach interupted one of Undynes 'super cool' stories, the group realized how much time they'd lost to conversation.
Alphys was the first to speak up again, Undyne internally cheering over how much more confident she was getting.
"I-I know it's a lot to ask, but do you two think you c-could stop by the lab sometime? No-nothing too intrusive, I just want to make sure nothings wrong!" She stumbled through her invitation, somewhat obviously leaving out that she would love nothing more than to study the two to the t.
Asriel and Papyrus shared a look before nodding,
"I don't see a problem in that! It'll be nice to get a real scientists opinion on my work" Papyrus smiled as he stood with Asriel, who tried again to subtly help how he could.
"I-I wouldn't say real scientist, you're just as much one as I a-am at this point! May-maybe we can even.. share a few notes?" She added on hopefully, almost jumping with glee when Papyrus agreed, unknowing that the next few days would be some of his busiest yet.
Finally, after a few more goodbyes and promises not to keep so many secrets, Papyrus and Asriel were off on their way to Snowdin, a weight lifted off their chests as they stepped shoulder-to-shoulder.

"They've totally got it bad for eachother, don't they?"
"Oh a-absolutely they do, I just hope Sans realizes that"

1416 words
(Welcome to the 20th chapter! This has got to be one of my favorites, even if a little dialog heavy. This story has been so fun to write, and the future only has more to come! A special thanks to those commenting and voting, and happy reading folks!)