For several seconds, Frisk could not move.

The gunshots outside had stopped.

Not because the men had given up.

Not because they had lost her.

They were searching.

Waiting.

The Black Roses did not lose track of people easily.

Especially not people who knew their secrets.

Frisk pressed herself against the wall, her breathing uneven as she stared at the monster standing between her and the door.

Papyrus.

A member of the Family.

A monster.

A criminal.

Everything Evelyn had described was running through her head at once.

Recruiter.

Manipulator.

Someone who could make monsters feel loved while dragging them into a life of violence.

The easiest way into the Syndicate.

The most dangerous kind of liar.

And yet, the skeleton in front of her was standing with his hands proudly on his hips like he had just made some grand entrance in a play.

"DO NOT FEAR, HUMAN," he declared. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS ARRIVED!"

Frisk said nothing.

Her eyes moved toward the door.

Then back to him.

Her escape routes.

She needed to know her escape routes.

She had spent her whole life surviving because she always knew how to run.

This was no different.

Even if she was trapped in a room with a monster.

Even if he was smiling.

Especially because he was smiling.

A sudden crash shattered the silence.

A gunshot rang out from outside.

The bullet tore through the broken window.

Frisk dropped to the ground with a scream.

But the impact never came.

A blue glow filled the room.

She looked up.

The bullet hung in the air.

Completely still.

Suspended only a few feet from Papyrus.

Her eyes widened.

She had heard stories about monster magic.

Everyone had.

But stories were different than seeing it.

Seeing a piece of metal that should have been moving faster than she could think stop in the middle of the air because a skeleton had decided it wasn't allowed to continue.

Papyrus turned his skull toward the window.

His expression did not change.

"THAT," he said, "WAS IMPOLITE."

Frisk looked at him.

He had not moved.

He had not even flinched.

The bullet remained floating beside him as casually as if it belonged there.

Footsteps approached outside.

Heavy.

Cautious.

The Black Roses.

A shadow appeared in the doorway.

Then another.

Then a third.

Their weapons were raised.

Their eyes immediately landed on Papyrus.

And they stopped.

The confidence they had while chasing Frisk through the streets disappeared almost instantly.

One of them lowered his gun slightly.

"Papyrus."

"YES," Papyrus replied. "THAT IS MY NAME. I AM PLEASED YOU KNOW IT."

The man didn't laugh.

"Move aside. She belongs to us."

Frisk held her breath.

This was the part where the monster turned her over.

Of course he would.

Why would a member of the Syndicate risk conflict with another organization over a human he had met less than a minute ago?

Papyrus looked back at her.

Only for a moment.

Then he turned to the men again.

"SHE IS UNDER MY PROTECTION."

The words were simple.

Certain.

The man stepped forward.

"You wanna start a fight over a girl?"

Papyrus tilted his head.

"YOU ARE CONFUSED."

The man frowned.

"What?"

Papyrus took a step closer.

It was not a threatening movement.

Not really.

But every Black Rose soldier tightened their grip on their weapons.

Frisk noticed.

They were afraid.

That was the part that scared her.

These were men who had chased her through the city firing real bullets.

Men who worked for Evelyn Kane.

Men who were willing to kill.

And they were afraid of him.

"YOU ARE STANDING IN OUR TERRITORY," Papyrus continued. "FIRING WEAPONS AT SOMEONE UNDER MY PROTECTION."

He pointed a finger toward them.

"SO THE REAL QUESTION IS,"

His voice became louder.

More dramatic.

"DO YOU WISH TO START A WAR WITH US?"

Silence.

Rain drummed against the windows.

Nobody moved.

Frisk could practically see the calculations happening behind the men's eyes.

One human was not worth a war.

Not tonight.

Not over a street thief.

Finally, the lead soldier took a step back.

"This isn't over."

Papyrus immediately smiled again.

The sudden change was almost unsettling.

"GOOD. BECAUSE I DISLIKE THINGS ENDING BEFORE THEY HAVE BEEN PROPERLY RESOLVED."

The man stared at him.

Clearly unsure what that even meant.

Then he gestured to the others.

They retreated.

Slowly.

Never turning their backs until they disappeared into the rain.

The room became quiet.

The blue glow vanished.

The bullet dropped harmlessly to the floor with a small metallic clink.

Frisk stared at it.

Then at Papyrus.

He had stopped a bullet.

He had made trained soldiers retreat.

He had threatened a war with a few sentences.

And now he turned toward her with the same bright smile he had entered with.

"NOW THEN," he announced. "ARE YOU HURT?"

Frisk did not answer immediately.

She was still trying to understand how the monster who had just intimidated armed criminals into retreat looked genuinely concerned about a stranger.

Evelyn had warned her about this.

The kindness.

The charm.

The way monsters could make you forget what they were.

Frisk took a small step backward.

Papyrus noticed immediately.

His expression fell.

Only slightly.

But enough for her to see it.

"AH."

His voice softened.

"YOU ARE AFRAID."

She stayed silent.

What was she supposed to say?

Yes.

Yes, she was afraid.

Because she was alone with a monster.

A powerful one.

One who could stop bullets with his bare hands.

And she had been sent here to lie to his face.

Papyrus placed a hand against his chest.

"THAT IS UNDERSTANDABLE."

His smile returned, smaller this time.

"AFTER ALL, I HAVE JUST PERFORMED A VERY IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY."

For the first time that night, despite herself, Frisk almost smiled.

Almost.

And she hated that she did.

Because the mission had not even begun.

And already, the monster she was supposed to deceive was not behaving the way she expected.

Papyrus tilted his skull slightly.

The silence stretched between them.

Most people would have filled it.

Asked questions.

Demanded answers.

Forced her to speak.

That was what Frisk was expecting.

That was what she had prepared for.

Evelyn had spent hours drilling the story into her head.

The Black Roses caught you during a robbery.

They used you.

They abandoned you.

You escaped.

You have nowhere else to go.

You heard the Family protects monsters and humans who have nowhere else to turn.

She had repeated it so many times that it almost felt real.

Almost.

And yet the monster standing before her did not ask her who she was.

He did not ask why armed members of the Black Roses were hunting her through Family territory.

He did not ask what she had done.

Instead, his attention shifted to her hands.

Her scraped palms.

Her soaked clothes.

The bruises on her wrists.

His cheerful expression faded.

Not into suspicion.

Into concern.

"THEY HURT YOU."

It was not a question.

Frisk immediately pulled her hands behind her back.

"It's nothing."

Papyrus crossed his arms.

"THAT IS A LIE."

Her heart skipped.

For a split second, she thought she had already failed.

That somehow he knew.

That somehow he had seen through everything before she even started.

Her muscles tensed.

Papyrus pointed dramatically at her.

"YOU ARE BLEEDING."

Frisk looked down.

A small line of blood was running from one of the cuts on her palm.

"Oh."

"YES. OH."

He nodded.

"VERY SERIOUS."

She stared at him.

The seriousness in his voice almost made her laugh.

Almost.

"You're joking."

"NO."

A pause.

"WELL, PERHAPS A LITTLE."

Frisk caught herself before the corner of her mouth could move.

She quickly looked away.

She could not afford to like him.

That was the first rule.

Evelyn had made that very clear.

They are monsters.

They will make you think they care.

That is how they control you.

She took a breath.

Time to start.

"My name is Frisk."

The words came quietly.

Papyrus immediately straightened.

"FRISK."

As if he was committing it to memory.

"I AM PAPYRUS."

"I know."

His eye sockets widened.

"YOU KNOW OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS?"

There was pride in his voice.

A childish kind of excitement that did not match the image Frisk had created in her head.

She had expected cold calculation.

Cruelty.

Someone who recruited others with charm and false kindness.

Frisk had to remind herself who she was speaking to.

A Capo.

A high ranking member of the most powerful criminal organization in the city.

A recruiter.

Someone responsible for bringing others into this world.

"I've heard your name."

"GOOD."

He placed his hands on his hips.

"IT IS A VERY GOOD NAME."

Frisk had no idea how to respond to that.

The silence lingered.

Eventually, Papyrus's expression softened.

"WHAT HAPPENED?"

Frisk froze.

There it was.

The moment.

The first lie.

She had lied her entire life.

To guards.

To merchants.

To people whose pockets she emptied.

She knew how to make a story sound convincing.

So why did this one feel different?

Because he saved you.

The thought came uninvited.

She ignored it.

"I stole something."

Papyrus became still.

Not angry.

Not threatening.

Just listening.

"It was supposed to be an easy job. Get in, take what I needed, get out."

Another truth.

A truth wrapped around a lie.

"I got caught."

Papyrus did not interrupt.

"I didn't know who it belonged to. I swear, I didn't know."

That was the first complete lie.

She waited for him to doubt her.

Question her.

Accuse her.

Instead, his expression became sad.

The expression on his face caught her off guard because it looked like he actually believed her.

A monster who had every reason not to trust a human standing in his territory, with Black Roses soldiers chasing her, was looking at her like she was a person who had been hurt.

It was almost frustrating.

It would have been easier if he had been cruel.

It would have been easier if he had threatened her, thrown her against the wall, demanded every detail of her life.

That would have matched the stories.

That would have matched what Evelyn told her.

Monsters were predators.

Monsters were manipulators.

They smiled because it made it easier to sink their teeth into you.

So why did his sadness seem genuine?

"I SEE," Papyrus said quietly.

The volume of his voice startled her more than the words.

Until now, everything about him had been loud.

Every declaration.

Every introduction.

Every threat.

This was the first time he sounded almost gentle.

"THE BLACK ROSES ARE NOT KNOWN FOR THEIR FORGIVENESS."

Frisk looked up.

"You know them?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

Of course he knew them.

He was a Capo.

A leader in the Family.

The Black Roses were their biggest rival.

It was a stupid question.

But Papyrus did not mock her.

"OF COURSE."

There was no arrogance in his answer.

Only certainty.

"THEY HAVE BEEN ENCROACHING ON OUR TERRITORY FOR YEARS."

He crossed his arms.

"THEY ARE AN ORGANIZATION BUILT UPON FEAR."

The irony nearly made Frisk flinch.

If only you knew.

If only you knew I was sent here by them.

That I am part of the reason they are trying to destroy you.

The guilt came quickly.

Far too quickly.

She pushed it down.

It was not real.

It had been less than ten minutes.

She did not know this monster.

She did not know any of them.

Everything she had been told could still be true.

Maybe this was what they did.

Maybe they made people feel safe.

Maybe they made people feel understood.

That was what made them dangerous.

She had to remember that.

"SO," Papyrus continued, his usual enthusiasm beginning to return, "YOU STOLE FROM THEM."

Frisk nodded.

"And they wanted it back."

"NO."

The answer was immediate.

She blinked.

"What?"

Papyrus stepped closer.

Not enough to be threatening.

Just enough that she had to look up at him.

"THAT IS NOT THE RESPONSE OF SOMEONE WHO WANTS THEIR PROPERTY RETURNED."

His empty sockets moved toward the shattered window.

"THEY SHOT AT YOU."

Frisk's throat tightened.

The memory of the bullets flying past her returned instantly.

The sound.

The glass breaking.

The certainty that she was moments away from dying.

"Yes."

Her voice was smaller than she intended.

"They did."

Papyrus looked back at her.

The concern was gone.

Not toward her.

Toward them.

His posture straightened.

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT LIKE BULLIES."

The way he said it was almost childish.

Almost simple.

But Frisk had just watched armed men retreat from him without a fight.

She knew there was something terrifying behind those words.

"You don't even know me," she said before she could stop herself.

Papyrus paused.

The question seemed to genuinely confuse him.

"CORRECT."

Frisk stared.

"Why?"

She did not mean for the question to sound so bitter.

But it did.

Why would he?

Why would anyone?

Nobody had ever helped Frisk without wanting something in return.

People gave kindness because they expected payment.

Protection.

Information.

Loyalty.

The Black Roses had proven that.

Even their offer of mercy came with a price.

Papyrus thought for a moment.

Like the answer was complicated.

Then he smiled.

Because of course he did.

"BECAUSE YOU NEEDED HELP."

Frisk said nothing.

There had to be more.

There had to be some hidden meaning behind it.

Some manipulation.

Some calculation.

A reason.

"I'm a human," she said quietly.

For the first time, Papyrus seemed genuinely surprised.

"YES."

"And you're a monster."

"EXCELLENT OBSERVATION."

She frowned.

"I'm serious."

The humor disappeared immediately.

"SO AM I."

The room became quiet again.

Rain continued tapping against the broken window.

Papyrus looked toward the street where the Black Roses had disappeared.

Then back to her.

"WE PROTECT OUR OWN."

Frisk's stomach tightened.

There it was.

The recruitment.

The manipulation.

The thing Evelyn warned her about.

She prepared herself.

Prepared for the speech.

The promises.

The offer.

But Papyrus surprised her again.

"YOU ARE NOT ONE OF US."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"I'm not?"

"NO."

The answer came immediately.

"YOU ARE A STRANGER WHO ENTERED OUR TERRITORY WHILE BEING PURSUED BY DANGEROUS PEOPLE."

He placed a hand against his chest.

"SO I DID WHAT ANY DECENT PERSON WOULD DO."

Person.

Not human.

Not monster.

Person.

She hated that she noticed.

She hated that it mattered.

Papyrus turned and walked toward the doorway.

"COME."

Her body tensed.

"Where?"

He looked over his shoulder.

His grin returned.

"TO GRILLBY'S."

The name meant nothing to her.

Papyrus seemed to notice.

"HE OWNS A BAR."

Frisk's expression tightened.

"A bar?"

"YES."

"You take frightened strangers to a bar?"

Papyrus looked offended.

"THE WAY YOU SAID THAT MAKES IT SOUND VERY SUSPICIOUS."

"It is suspicious."

"NONSENSE."

He waved a hand dismissively.

"IT IS THE SAFEST PLACE IN THIS PART OF THE CITY."

Of course it was.

A Mafia safehouse.

Exactly where she was trying to go.

The mission was succeeding.

She had done it.

She had made contact.

She had earned his protection.

She should have been relieved.

She should have been thinking about the information she would send back to Evelyn.

Instead, as she followed Papyrus toward the door, her eyes drifted one last time to the bullet lying on the floor.

A bullet meant to kill her.

Stopped by a monster she was supposed to believe had no heart.

And for the first time since accepting the Black Roses' deal, a small and unwelcome thought entered her mind.

What if they were wrong?