Pandemonium.

That was all Undyne could see. Terrified whispers and screams pierced through the air until it eventually became a constant ringing of senseless noise. Monsters were dashing back to their homes or attempting to process what was happening.

A cloud of confusion and fear enveloped the atmosphere as Undyne tried to collect her thoughts.

Mettaton. Captured. Flowey demanding for Frisk...

How did he do that?

A white haze blinded her from the hectic crowd as she felt herself rooted to the spot, unable to move or even think properly.

What do I do?

Everything was a blurr. She could barely register the scene, where the Royal Guards were attempting to control the situation, or even the words of one of them who was asking for her assistance.

Undyne blinked rapidly, inhaling deeply to calm herself, shaking away her momentary daze. She looked around again and felt her soul drop to a devastating chill.

Frisk was missing.

Pushing past the Royal Guard talking to her, she scanned the entire central, with all the desperation built up in her single visible eye. Please be nearby...

I won't lose another friend again.

I won't let it happen again.

As if the stars had heard her prayers, she saw Frisk on the other side of the square, ready to slip into the denser part of New Home. She burst forward, skidding to a stop right in front of them, blocking their way.

I can't let it happen again.

"Wait," Undyne said, breathing heavily. "Where are you going?"

They looked down at their feet, as if too ashamed to meet her gaze, and walked away. She did not have to get an answer to know what they were planning to do.

"Please..." She was almost pleading now, clutching their hand to stop them from going towards their doom. "I-I can't lose another friend. Not again."

At first, Frisk did not move from their spot. Slowly, they turned, meeting Undyne's eye that was alight with desperation. It seemed to strike something in them as their lips started quivering.

Finally, they relented.

"I'm sorry," they spoke emptily, as if they were tired of everything. Undyne almost was too.

Upon sensing that they were not trying to break free, she released her grip gradually and felt her soul loosened with relief.

"We can work something out," she said hopefully, putting her hand on their shoulders. "Together."

"Okay." Frisk did not sound convinced.

I need to keep an eye on them in case... but for now...

Undyne surveyed the seemingly interminable discord stretched out in her sight. "Are you coming?" she asked, looking back at them.

Instead of a verbal response, Frisk walked up to her side, and she found herself feeling the slightest bit comforted by their presence.

~~~~

As usual, Papyrus got up in the wee hours of morning. Knowing that Undyne normally woke up around this time as well, he went out of the house, hoping to catch her.

Papyrus intended to ask about his job. Due to the attack the previous day, he was temporarily relieved of his duties, which meant he had a day off for the first time in weeks.

If there was one thing he did not take a fancy to, it was slacking off. Only with the earnest of dedication to his job would grant him the greatest honour to become a Royal Guard, and he always hoped that Undyne would recognise it.

It did not take long for Undyne to appear, surprisingly accompanied by the human. "Good morning, Papyrus. You are up early as always." She smiled, even as exhaustion tugged at her lips.

Papyrus returned it with a grin. "Good morning, Undyne, Frisk. Undyne, I was hoping if you could allow me back on my job... or at least let me help. There are monsters out there that require assistance, and I want to be there."

"Oh, I see..." Was that a trace of hesitance in her voice?

"I know, how about you and your brother assist in Waterfall? Find Gerson, and he will supervise on what you are supposed to do," Undyne suggested.

"... Undyne was just as a fool as you are, sending you as far as possible away from me..."

Involuntarily, he recalled the words Flowey spoke to him and found himself doubting her once again. He shook himself mentally.

"Okay," he agreed, but he could not help the drop in enthusiasm in his voice.

Luckily, she did not appear to notice, and left after waving a goodbye. Meanwhile, Frisk gave him a curious glance before jogging up to her side.

Once they were gone, Papyrus placed his gloved hand on his chest, feeling the beat of his soul. He felt terrible to even think about doubting Undyne's actions. After all, she was just doing what was best for him.

Failing to shake off that nagging feeling, he returned inside to prepare for his new task. Regrettably, his favoured "battle body" was damaged; he would not give a good impression with damaged armour, so he changed into a plain cream coloured shirt with a brown jacket, completed with a pair of darker brown trousers.

Not forgetting his orange-red scarf, Papyrus went to his brother's room. Much to his displeasure, Sans was still sleeping, for 12 whole hours!

Sighing, he gently shook him. "Sans, wake up."

He stirred, mumbling incoherently, probably something about getting five more minutes of sleep.

"Sans, wake up!" Papyrus raised his voice, causing his brother to almost roll out of his bed if it was not for Papyrus blocking the way.

"W-wha...?" Sans murmured groggily.

"We have a job to do," Papyrus informed him. "Undyne sent us to Waterfall to help."

"Uh huh..." Sluggishly, he pushed himself up, yawning. "All right, bro... I'm coming."

Sans' way of getting ready was simply getting out of bed and putting on the blue hooded jacket he was hardly ever seen without. Papyrus wanted to chide him about his laziness, but at this rate they would keep Gerson waiting for longer than necessary.

The trip to Waterfall was relatively quiet and uneventful. They met up with Gerson at his trinkets stall, where he was waiting.

"There you young'uns are," the tortoise-like monster said, cracking a smile. He was old, but Papyrus could tell that the fires of life still burnt in his eye.

"Undyne told me about everything last night," Gerson spoke solemnly. "It's nothing like what I've seen in my many years of living. Glad to have you two to help! Let's go."

As they walked, Sans - unexpectedly - raised a question. "So... what are you doing about those... Night Flowers?" He sounded tense.

"Ah, Undyne's orders are to move people away from them," he responded, "and inform them about those flowers. Why?"

"I was wondering if you could just destroy them," Sans replied causally, putting his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Well... we don't know much about those flowers in the first place, except that they came from golden flowers. It's better to stay away from them."

"What about ranged attacks?"

As their conversation progressed, Papyrus found himself taking a backseat from it, having nothing to say.

Gerson took a notably longer time to respond, closing his eye momentarily to think. "Yes, they should work. Of course, it does seem easier to just destroy those flowers, but... well, it's hard to explain. You know of the tragedy about the first human and the prince?"

Sans and Papyrus nodded. Every monster from young were told of that tragic tale, how they died because of the humans and how the kingdom nearly fell back to ruin if it was not for Asgore.

The old monster took a deep breath. "The golden flowers only appeared in the here because of what happened. As the flowers spread across the Underground, they were like little beacons of hope until it pretty much became our second symbol. It has a sentimental value... corrupted or not."

Mesmerised by the story, Papyrus could only manage a nod. Meanwhile, Sans did not say a word, seemingly disappointed, and from there on the subject was dropped.

"Oh! I just remembered," Gerson piped up. "Undyne also wanted you to check on her former neighbour... the ghost living at Blook Acres I believe. You two go ahead and do that while I check on everything else."

"Yes, sir!" Papyrus saluted, prompting a chuckle from the tortoise-like monster.

"There's no need for formalities. I've retired long ago, but I appreciate it! Wah ha ha!" he laughed. "Go on now."

The skeleton brothers waved their goodbyes and went up to the ghost's peculiar house. Papyrus took the initiative to knock on the door, stepping back afterwards.

The door creaked open, and the ghost timidly poked his head out. "Oh... it's you..."

"I'm Papyrus, and this is my brother, Sans!" he introduced, grinning brightly. "Undyne asked us to check on you."

"That's... nice of her..." the ghost said. "I'm Napstablook... um... you can come in."

The moment they entered, Papyrus noticed that the television was switched on, though there was nothing really playing. It took a second for him to realise that it was on the channel dedicated to Mettaton.

"Are you a big fan of Mettaton too?" he asked excitedly.

Napstablook shrank back, taken aback by his enthusiasm. "Y-yes... my, uh, former neighbour tried to get me a ticket for his live show yesterday... but it was cancelled... this one seems to be too..."

Papyrus looked over and noted that the ghost was right. Like yesterday, Mettaton's programmes were oddly postphoned.

"Don't you think it's strange, Sans?"

"I suppose." The shorter skeleton did not sound interested, but it came as no surprise. He never took an interest in the robot star.

It was then Papyrus heard static buzzing from the television. He gave Napstablook a quizzal gaze, which was returned with a confused stare.

In a blink of an eye, the television came back to life, and he took a sharp intake of breath.

It's Mettaton... and... Flowey.

Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen, taking in the scene unfolding before them. They were speechless as they learnt of Flowey's demand - for Frisk to come to the Core in 12 hours time.

Then, there was that cruel, wicked laugh that was deeply ingrained into their souls, such that the atmosphere seemed to have fallen into a petrifying chill.

"That's... horrible..." Napstablook whispered.

On the other hand, Papyrus felt pained. In his mind, Flowey was suffering. What he had just seen only proved it further, that the flower was doing whatever he could to alleviate his own pain and...

Frisk was a part of it.

Realising that there was a deep-seated animosity between the two, Papyrus was filled with dread, yet there was that warm feeling in his soul from yesterday stirring up once more.

I will save you, Flowey... and you too, Frisk.

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The symbol of this world is what you see on the cover. It's not really that important at this point.

Gerson was not initially planned to be somewhat important here, but I thought, why not? He's going to be slightly more important in the prequel though. ;)

If you enjoyed, votes and comments are always appreciated.