"What the hell?" Sans said, backing away. "Papyrus?"
"Ah! Hello there." Said the clockwork Papyrus, his speech disjointed, as though he had to think for a moment on every word. "You are well. I was afraid they had injured you."
"Injured me?" Sans realized he could see the bodies of SCP soldiers lying in the corridor behind Papyrus. Their bodies twitched, the same strange metal clockwork slowly spreading over their exposed skin.
"Papyrus, bro …" Sans said, looking over the alternate version of his brother. "What happened to you?"
"I'm not sure." Papyrus said, his metal face twisting into a look of puzzlement. "They told me they had a puzzle for me to solve. They brought me to a room, and there was a cat … a cat made of clockwork! It wagged its tail and meowed at me. It was so cute! I pet the cat and …"
Papyrus's skull became strained. "It hurt … it felt like all my bones were grinding at once. I remember the people in the lab coats saying it was happening much more quickly that usual."
"Bastards." Sans said, looking over Papyrus.
"Now, now, Sans." Papyrus said. "You know better than to use language like that. We need to work together with humans if we're going to ever reach the surface."
A screech of metal made Sans look down. His other self's arm was only inches away. 3177's last words shot through his mind, "Don't touch him!"
He backed away from the arm while using his telekinesis to toss the arm away from him.
Paps stared at Sans for a moment before moving toward the arm.
"This … this is from your coat." Papyrus said, picking up the arm. "And your arm … Either you keep a spare arm for emergencies, or you aren't Sans?"
"It's a long story." Sans said.
"You are the other Sans." Papyrus said, metal eye-sockets narrowing. "The one who is causing trouble between the humans and the monsters. Site Director Murdoc told me about you."
"I'm causing trouble? I'm not the one who threw most of us in cages." Sans said, "I'm here to help."
Papyrus drew himself up. "Aha! Lies! They told me about you, Not-Sans! You want to keep us trapped Underground, despite everything these nice Foundation people have done to help integrate us with the surface."
"Integrate?" Sans said, not bothering to hide his disbelief. "They've locked half of us in cages! They've been experimenting on us! Dammit, Papyrus, look at yourself!"
"It was an accident." Papyrus said, though Sans noted just a slight look of distraction in his metal face as Papyrus's gaze fell on the metal arm in his grasp. "Wait … if this is Sans's arm then … he is injured. He's been hurt!"
"We're getting him help." Sans said, backing away even as Papyrus advanced on him, 3177's arm still in his grasp.
"You … you did this!"
"No, Paps, I didn't …"
Sans ducked as a clockwork bone flew through the air and buried itself in the wall behind him. Swearing, Sans turned and ran the opposite way down the corridor.
Metal Papyrus may have had trouble speaking, but he was quite fast. Sans managed to stay ahead, but he could tell it was only a matter of time before his alternate brother caught up with him. It would've been easy to simply summon a Gaster Blaster and reduce him to ash, but … it was still Papyrus. Even thinking about hurting him made Sans feel horrible.
Then again, what exactly was he going to do? If 3177 was any indication, whatever effected Papyrus was contagious, probably by touch. 3177 realized this and cut off his own arm to stop the infection from spreading. Sans couldn't just let him go back to the other monsters, not as he was. For that matter, why was he just walking around? If he was infectious, why didn't the SCP have him locked away.
The answer came to him instantly; they probably did. 3177 chased the soldier back to Site 37, he was looking for a way back into the base, likely with the intent of finding Papyrus, or some proof of him. Hell, he might have even caught the soldier and found out where Paps was being held. Sans goes into the cell, sees Paps in confinement, and did exactly what Sans, Fuku, and Artie did; freed what they believed to be a monster in distress. Sans probably moved to grasp Pap's arm, maybe rub the top of his skull affectionately, and that was how his arm was infected.
Another clockwork bone buried itself in the wall just ahead of Sans. He barely ducked in time to avoid slamming into it. Whatever happened, Sans realized he had to either find a way to trap or incapacitate his brother, or else he'd have no choice but to destroy him … no, that wasn't an option. He would not be responsible for his brother's death, not like this. He had to find a way to reach him, to make Papyrus understand.
More bones soon followed. Sans, unsure if contact with one of them would infect him, found himself diving, twisting, and leaping through the corridor with the intensity, if not quite the grace, of a professional ballerina.
"You cannot escape my expertly crafted assault forever, Not-Sans!" Papyrus shouted.
"Don't need to do it forever. Just long enough." Sans said before using a shortcut to slip behind Papyrus.
Papyrus slid to a halt and stared ahead for a few moments before shouting, "You shan't escape! I, the great Papyrus, will capture you!"
While Papyrus continued his tirade at the empty corridor, Sans dug his hands into his pockets. Eventually, he pulled out a small tube bearing the Doctor Wondertainment logo.
"Doctor Wondertainment's Bully Blocker." Sans read to himself. "'Pull tab and throw behind you to make those pesky punks pause in their pursuit.' Worth a shot."
Sans tossed the tube at Papyrus's feet and took off running just as Papyrus turned. The tube bounced once before exploding into a spray of confetti and twenty or so differently colored pills no bigger than an inch across. Each pill bounced once as well before extending on either side, stopping only when they came in contact with a solid object. For the most part, this was either the floor, the ceiling, or one of the walls. In a few cases, it was Papyrus.
Sans glanced back to see Papyrus caught amid a bunch of multi-colored rods, effectively pinning him in place. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sans said, "Thanks again, Doc."
"Rrrgh!" Papyrus grunted, struggling to free himself. "Don't think you have befuddled me, Not-Sans! I, the great Papyrus, will escape!"
"I dunno." Sans said, sauntering closer to Papyrus. "Looks like a pretty sticky situation."
"I'm trying to be serious." Papyrus said, glowering at him.
"Hey, I'd never test your metal."
"Grah!" Papyrus said, "No more puns! You're as bad as my brother!"
Sans shrugged. "Oh, I'm worse. Now look, Paps, I don't know what crap the SCP has been feedin' ya, but they are not your friends."
"But … they helped me after I was changed."
"They're the ones who changed you, bone-head! That mechanical cat was infected! They made you touch it because they wanted to know what would happen."
"I'm … infected? But why would they do that?"
"I dunno." Sans said. "Maybe they were bored. Maybe they were just curious."
"But that means … that means when he touched me …" Papyrus squinted his eye-sockets shut and shook his head. "No! I would never hurt my brother! You're trying to trick me!"
"Prank? Pun, Joke? Yeah. But I'd never trick you, Paps." Sans let out a sigh. "Look, this is probably gonna confuse the heck outta ya, but I am Sans … a Sans from another Universe, a universe where you died, Paps. You died and … and it was my fault."
"Oh, Sans." Papyrus said. "You would never hurt me. We're brothers! We look out for each other."
"You're right. You're absolutely right. I should've been there, not you. I could've stopped her right there. I stopped her hundreds, thousands … maybe even millions of times, so many times that I didn't think it mattered. I let you face her alone, and now, this is all I have left of you."
Sans reached into his coat and pulled out Papyrus's scarf. He held it up so MetalPapyrus could see it, and watched as the metal-eye-sockets took it in.
"I'm not your brother." Sans said, tucking the scarf back into his coat. "But that doesn't matter; every time I see a Papyrus, no matter how strange, how different they seem … I still see mine … and seeing you like this … I hate it. I want to help, but I just don't know how. All I do know is that right now, you're dangerous … to humans and monsters. Knowing you the way I know I do, I can't imagine you want that. It doesn't matter what Undyne says; I know inside, you're a Royal Guard."
Papyrus bowed his skull. "Sans … my Sans. Is he okay?"
"I think he'll live." Sans said. "But he's going to need you."
"Need me?' Papyrus asked.
"Yes, he needs you." Sans said. "We always do, and now he only has one arm. You know how reckless we are."
"Yes." Papyrus said, smiling a little. "You are very careless … but if I am infected-"
"We'll find a cure." Sans said, "Maybe there's something here that can counter the effects. Maybe Glen can do something."
"Glen?" asked Papyrus. "Who is Glen?"
"Glen? Oh, she's great. She's a human, and she loves monsters like us; she's out there right now, helping us take control of this place. If anyone can pull a cure out of her squishy butt, it's her. But before that, we need to take back the core and free the others. And for that, we need all the help we can get."
"You mean … you need my help?"
Sans nodded.
"Even when my touch is so dangerousey?"
"Well, if you avoid touching people with your bare … er, metal, I think it should be fine. Besides, it'll give the SCP jerks who did that to you a good scare. So how about it?"
"Well …"
"I'll even talk with your Sans about picking up his socks."
Resolve entered MetalPapyrus's eyes. "It's a deal!"
Undyne and Alphys huddled behind the door. It was fortunate the doors were designed to take abuse, as there were no less than ten soldiers are the far end of the corridor currently firng at it. They didn't know what happened to Mister Spooks, though given his nature, he could be right next to them, but have no way to communicate.
"Running low on clips." Alphys said, slotting a massive metal magazine into her homeade blade launcher. "Shame Miss Melody's busy with those clowns in the cafeteria. I just hope her rendition of 'The Music Man' will keep them busy for awhile."
"Ha!" Undyne laughed. "Kinda wish I coulda watched the show."
Alphys pumped the first of the circular blades into place, before glancing over at Undyne. She'd taken a few glancing shots along the way, but nothing serious. Still, Alphys couldn't help but feel concerned.
"Your givin' me that look." Undyne said, giving her friend a sharp-toothed smile.
"I'm your wife. It's my right."
Undyne chuckled even as the edges of the door were slowly eaten away by gunfire. "Think we'll make it out of this?"
"Of course." Alphys said before firing her weapon. The circular blade bounced off the smooth corridor wall toward the soldiers. A scream made it clear the projective had hit something. "And then you can take me to a nice beach, like you promised."
"Heh. Does this mean I get to see you in a bikini?"
Alphys blushed, but smiled. Her smile faded as she saw more soldiers approaching from behind.
Undyne spotted them too; she sent a flurry of magical spears toward them, killing some and sending the rest running for cover. Unfortunately, she had to move partly out of her own cover to attack, during which time one of the soldiers from the other side of the hall managed to hit her right in the shoulder. Undyne fell back against the door with a growl, clutching at her injured arm.
"Undyne!"
"I ain't dead yet." Undyne said, despite the pain evident on her face. "I'll keep them off us; you just deal with our other friends."
Their gazes met; at that moment, they both knew it was only a matter of time. More soldiers were joining the groups at either end of the corridor, and they wouldn't be able to reach the nearest containment room without being exposed to fire from both sides.
Without warning, a hole opened in the ceiling not far from where Alphys and Undyne were huddled. Alphys caught a glimpse of a red-haired human girl poking her head through the hole for a moment before quickly ducking her head back through the hole moments before bullets flew past where her head had been.
"Grab my legs!" They heard someone shout from beyond the black hole. Her hands flashed through the opening a moment later, each tossing a small metal sphere down a different side of the corrider. The spheres rolled quickly toward the soldiers for a few moments before detonating in an explosion of electricity that knocked every soldier off their feet.
"What the-" Undyne had time to say before the red-haired human dropped through the hole.
"Ta-da!" She said, spreading her arms. "Tesla grenades for the win!"
"When you've finished your victory dance, Claudia."
"In a minute." Claudia did indeed do a little dance, prompting an aggrevated sigh from the hole. Apparently satisfied, she stepped out of the way so Jinks could emerge from the hole. Alphys opened her mouth to ask what was going on, only to stop and stare as AgentSans fell out of the hole, followed by UNDRPapyrus
"Good thing you stole Tex Avery's sketching pencils." AgentSans said, brushing off the arms of his suit.
"Steal? I didn't steal." Claudia said, tossing a pencil in the air and catching it deftly. "I'm cataloging them, simple as that."
"For five months?" Jinks asked.
Claudia made a face at him. "Artie gets to keep a bag of tricks. Why can't I keep a toy or two? Helped us here, didn't it?"
"Wait! You're Artie's friends?" Undyne said, grinning. "The ones with that Glen lady?"
"That's us." UNDRPapyrus said. "We're here to help!"
"Claudia Donovan." The red-haired woman said before nodding at the others. "Jinks, the Sans from our dimension, and the Great Papyrus, finest chef of the UNDR-Ground. Did I say that right?"
"Perfectly, Miss Donovan." Papyrus said, beaming at her.
"We're here to help." Claudia said, beaming at Alphys and Undyne.
Alphys stared at her. "You're human."
"I would prefer the title 'genius', but I guess human's accurate enough." Claudia said with a shrug.
"Ha! Great timing, too." Undyne said as Alphys helped her to stand. "Well, come on! We got a core to take!"
"You follow me." Alphys commanded, pushing her wife back. "You're injured, and I've still got a mostly full clip. No arguments."
Only there was an argument; letters carved themselves into the nearby wall, spelling out the message, "Wait!"
"Spooks?" Alphys said, gaze narrowing. "Where the hell have you been?"
"SCP-3150. You need to see this."
The door with the plaque marking it as SCP-3150 was a short way down the hall, near where the larger group of soldiers had first attacked. She stepped into the room and immediately stopped, Undyne bumping into her a moment later.
Asgore slowly raised his head, dark circles under his eyes. He sat in the center of a strange energy field that glowed faintly blue, his head bowed.
The sparkling light of hope rose in the bossun's gaze as recognition set in. "Captain Undyne? Builder Alphys?"
"Your majesty!" Alphys said, stepping forward only for something invisible to grab her shoulder and hold her back.
The message appeared on the wall moments after it released her. "Energy field hurts. Trust me."
"On it." Claudia said. She moved to a console on the outer wall of the room and soon had the console face off, exposing the circuitry beneath.
As Claudia worked to free the King of the Underground, Alphys asked, "Are you okay, King Asgore?"
"A lot better now that I have some friendly faces to greet me." He said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault." Alphys told him.
"I let them into the Underground." King Asgore said. "I greeted them with open arms … I trusted them. If I'd have known …"
"If you'd have known, we'd probably still be right where we are." Undyne said. "We all wanted to see the surface; it's not our fault the jerks found us."
The field around Asgore hummed loudly before vanishing with a loud 'whoosh' sound. Claudia turned and approached King Asgore. "You ran into bad humans. Lucky for you, us good humans are way more awesome, and good humans from alternate universes just plain rock."
"And we're so modest too." Jinks said, rolling his eyes.
Asgore chuckled as they helped him to his feet. "Then you're here to help us?"
"Take back the Core, kick out the SCP." AgentSans said with a grin. "It's all part of the plan. You in, your Majesty?"
Asgore looked at them for a moment before a mighty trident appeared in his hands.
"Let's save the Underground."
