Entrapped Soul Chapter 3

Some time later, Sirus and Papyrus were alone in the kitchen. Sirus watched as Papyrus studiously started the initial steps for making spaghetti. Taking out the noodles, filling a pot with water, bringing the water to a boil using fire magic, putting the noodles in, so on and so forth.

“Seems you already have the basics down, then.”, Sirus said. “I AM GLAD YOU APPRECIATE MY NATURAL TALENTS, SIRUS.”, Papyrus replied. “Well, that’s not the hard part.”, Sirus continued. Papyrus then proceeded to take out a bone and begin stirring the noodles. “Uh….Papyrus. You’re using a….bone...to stir spaghetti? Shouldn’t you use an actual spoon?”, he continued. “NONSENSE. A BONE IS ALWAYS THE BEST IMPLEMENT TO COOK WITH.”, Papyrus answered confidently. Sirus sighed as this went on.

“EVERYTHING IS GOING JUST PERFECTLY, SIRUS. RELAX.”

Sirus got close and looked into the pot. The noodles were obviously overcooked. And stuck to the bottom of the pot. “Ugh….Papyrus, I think we should start over. It doesn’t look exactly edible at this point.”, he said. Papyrus shook his head, and replied, “YOU SIMPLY DON’T KNOW WHAT FINE COOKING IS!”

Sirus started to reply, but suddenly one of the cabinets shook. “...eh?...”, he replied. When he opened the cabinet, there was a white, fluffy dog hiding inside. “What the…”, Sirus started, but before he could finish, the dog lept out, grabbed the bone out of Papyrus’s grasp, and landed on the countertop in one smooth fashion. He made a grab for the dog, but it ran away, knocking some plates and glasses onto the floor as it scampered off the countertop, bolting for the door.

“STOP THAT CANINE!”, Papyrus shouted. Sirus chased after the dog, but it was very, very fast, scooting out the doggy door and heading outside into the village, Sirus and Papyrus in pursuit. The chase went on for several minutes. Several times, Sirus and Papyrus got close to the dog, but it somehow seemed to find another burst of speed to stay ahead of them each time.

Eventually, Sirus and Papyrus chased the dog to the library. Somehow, it managed to leap and climb up into a small hole in the wall, squeezing in and hiding. “GREAT! NOW WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO USE TO MAKE SPAGHETTI WITH?!”, Papyrus shouted. “Uh….a spoon?”, Sirus replied. “STOP BEING SO RIDICULOUS.”, Papyrus replied. Sirus sighed, and floated up to the hole, and tried to grab the dog, but it receded into the wall, far enough in that Sirus couldn’t reach. He made multiple attempts to grab the dog, to no avail.

“....Urgh…..it’s no use. I can’t get that dog out of there without blasting the library to bits….which probably isn’t a good idea.”, Sirus replied, in a dejected tone. The dog started gnawing on the bone, to Papyrus’s dismay.

“hey, bro.”, Sans said, walking up to Papyrus and Sirus. “SIGH. THAT USELESS CANINE STOLE MY COOKING BONE.”, Papyrus replied. “I already tried to head up and grab the dog,”, Sirus said, “But I can’t get close to that dog. Got any ideas, Sans?”.

“sounds like you really gave that dog a bone.”, Sans replied. Papyrus gritted his teeth angrily. “SANS! THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR JOKES!”, he answered, angrily. “you’re right, pap. it’s a dog-gone cat-tastrophe.”, he continued.

“SANS! GOD! Please, stop with the jokes! I don’t have all day to spend on this!”, Sirus replied, his eye-light turning red for a moment. “Could you please, pretty-please, help get the dog out of that hole in the wall?”

“well…..okay, buddy. but only since you asked so nicely.”, Sans replied with a smirk. His left eye took on a faint blue glow. He clenched a fist, and a small pebble became covered in bluish energies, rose up, and flung itself at the wall, bouncing off harmlessly. “oh well…..i tried.”, Sans replied, shrugging. “SANS, THIS ISN’T FUNNY!”, Papyrus replied, stamping his feet on the ground. “YOU DIDN’T EVEN TRY, LAZYBONES!”

“eh. i’m tired. running that hotdog stand really takes it out of me.”, Sans casually replied. “No, you’re not tired, Sans. You’re just really, REALLY lazy.”, Sirus added. Papyrus sighed, a bit upset. “Okay, Sans. I’ll bite. What will it take for me to convince you to move that dog out of the crawlspace, already?”

“oh, you want to make a deal, huh?.......well…..alright. meet me at the park. we’ll go on a walk, and i can practice some of my jokes on you. how does that sound?”, Sans replied after thinking for a few moments. “Blackmail……...oh, alright, alright. You win. Just get this over with already.”, Sirus answered, with a sigh. Sans stood up, and cranked up the power level. His left eye now had a brilliant blue glow to it. He extended an arm, and swung. The dog was grabbed by Sans’s magical powers, and flung out of the crawlspace at high speed.

The dog was so surprised that it dropped the bone, and sent flying, although it landed on it’s feet in the street after a moment. Papyrus ran over and picked up the bone, hugging it and grinning.

“Yeah. Thanks. I think.”, Sirus said. “so, how about that trip to the park, then?”, Sans replied. “I would, but I kinda promised Papyrus i’d help him with his cooking. I could absolutely do it later tonight though….if that’s okay with you?”, Sirus replied.

“you mean, you’re giving me several more hours to myself? heh. you’re spoiling me, sirus.”, Sans replied, chuckling.

“Hardly. It’s just not convenient right now.”, Sirus answered.

“oh, come on, bud. no need to be so sir-ious.”, Sans replied. Sirus’s eye-light turned red, and he scraped his metal body with his claws, growling angrily. Sans merely chuckled at his joke.

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Later that day, after dinner, back at the house, Toriel was in the kitchen, taking care of the dishes. Undyne walked in, and casually sat herself down at a nearby chair.

“Hey, Toriel.”

“Hello, Undyne. Everything going well regarding our new guest?”, Toriel replied, looking at Undyne out of the corner of her eye. Undyne nodded half-heartedly. “Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”, she continued. “I don’t trust that robot. And it’s not just because he came in, guns blazing. He’s very dangerous, and there’s a lot we don’t know about that guy. Up until now, i’ve been letting him stay, because Frisk is okay with it.”, Undyne explained.

“Right. And if Frisk is okay with it, I don’t see why I should have an objection to it…”, Toriel started to reply, but Undyne cut her off. “I’ll tell you why. Maybe you forgot that I was chosen to be the village’s main protector, Toriel. Look, I know how you feel about Frisk. Like she can’t do any wrong. But i’m telling you that tomorrow, I plan to order Sirus to leave the village, and never come back.”, she said, grinning. Toriel stopped what she was doing, sighed, and turned around.

“No, Undyne. You may be the village’s official protector, but Asgore and I still have some say in decisions like this. We may not agree on some things nowadays, but one thing is certain; we trust Frisk implicitly. And if Frisk thinks that it’s alright to let Sirus stay in the village for now, then that’s how it is. The moment you try to make this official, Undyne, you’ll be voted down.”, Toriel retorted coldly, her usually soft eyes sharpening to slits. Undyne sighed angrily.

“Come on, Toriel. You gotta admit, he’s a suspicious character.”, Undyne replied. “Of course I do. And that’s why your job is to keep an eye on Sirus from a distance. However, my opinion, in the end, is the same.”, Toriel answered back.

“Okay. I get it, Tory. You’re acting as Frisk’s mom. Parental instincts. You want to think Frisk is perfect in everything she does. You think she can’t do anything wrong. Isn’t that right?”, Undyne continued. “Maybe I have a reason for thinking like that, other than the reason you’re suggesting, Undyne. So far, the decisions Frisk makes end up being the best ones. Not always the options I would have chosen…….but things pan out in the end, like they have in the past.”, Toriel said, quietly remembering to herself the first time she, Frisk and all the others stepped outside of the Underground.

“I understand why you’re so concerned about Sirus’s actions. But i’m asking you to try and have some patience and faith. Things in the past never make sense at first, but later, you’ll realize it was the right thing to do.”, Toriel continued. Undyne closed her eyes, thinking for a moment, before replying, “Alright, Toriel. Alright. I’ll give it more time. Just remember this discussion.”. Undyne walked out, slowly shaking her head in disbelief.

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Later that night, Sirus found Sans at the local park. Sans was sitting at a park bench, gulping down a bottle of ketchup. Sirus floated over to him and cleared his throat.

“oh, hey. glad you could finally ketchup with me.”, Sans joked. “...I had kind of hoped you were kidding about the jokes, Sans….” Sirus replied in a dejected tone. “hehe. sorry, bud. sometimes it just comes naturally. but uh, i did want to talk to you about a few things, actually.”, Sans replied, getting up with his usual cheery grin.

“Okay. I guess at this point, i’m an open book. What’s on your mind?”, Sirus said, crossing his arms.

“if we’re gonna be friends, i figure it’s always best to know a pal better. who and what are you, exactly?”, Sans asked. “...Heh…..now there’s a good question. I can’t answer it fully, to be honest, but i’ll tell you what I know. My name is Sirus. I am a Robomage, a special robot made by a special cult of humans hundreds of years ago. The same ones who created the Barrier that had been keeping all you guys stuck in there.”, Sirus explained. “I guess this also kind of explains why I came in there like I did. I figured that things hadn’t really changed. Shows just how little I know, huh?..........”, he continued.

“several hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge, buddy.”

“Less of a grudge, and more like standing orders, Sans. But, obviously, things are different now. I just hope the Robomage council will agree with me….”, Sirus replied. “robogame council?”, Sans asked. Sirus nodded. “Basically, every single other robomage that’s still around and kicking forms a council, and they try to work out agreements on what to do in certain situations. I hope they can come to see things my way. If not……...ah, I wouldn’t worry about it. They usually listen to me. I’m trustworthy to them.”, he explained.

“fair enough. where did you come from?”, Sans asked as they walked through the park. “Ah, i’m glad you asked. I have a tower far from here that I call home. I’m quite confident when I say that it’d put anything you guys ever came up with to shame. The utter pinacle of technology, fused with powerful magic. I think, that with enough time and resources, I could make, produce or modify nearly everything and anything. Perhaps even other monsters.”, Sirus proclaimed boldly. “sounds kind of dangerous.”, Sans said. “you’re starting to look more like the wizard of oz.”

“...ugh. Really, Sans? I swear, sometimes you have the mentality of a kid.”, Sirus replied. “Regardless, it’s your turn. What’s your story, huh?”

“me? well, uh….i don’t really have much i could tell you, buddy. i don’t remember the early years that well. i’m sans. sans the skeleton. what i do remember of my time in the underground, was that i was working as a sentry in snowdin forest, along with my brother, papyrus. we were keeping an eye out for humans. heh….i always caught up with them before my brother. i’m sure you know by now what he’s like.”, Sans said, putting his hands in his coat pockets.

“Yeah...I do. He’s very…..energetic….about anything he puts his mind to.”, Sirus replied.

“hehe. yeah. he’s really cool. while he was in the underground, he always really wanted to be a member of the royal guard, like undyne.”, Sans continued. “Seems like Frisk must have really put a dent in that plan…..actually, while we’re on that topic, Sans….if you and Papyrus were supposed to be on the lookout for humans, why didn’t you two nab him?”, Sirus replied. Sans stopped, and sighed.

“alright. i guess i’d have to go over this eventually….it is kinda hard to ignore. well, you see, in the forest, this was this big door. i’d usually go over there and practice my knock-knock jokes. but ah….one day, i was belting em out like normal, and a lady’s voice answered back. so i finished the joke. she was howling with laughter, like it was the best joke she’d ever heard. later, it turns out it was toriel, but i didn’t know that at the time.’, Sans started to explain. “Aha. What does this have to do with Frisk, though?”

“hey now. let me finish. we spent the whole day telling jokes, more or less. but i had to leave eventually. papyrus gets cranky if i don’t tell him a bedtime story. but she wanted me to come back the next day. which i did. again, and again, and again. telling jokes through doors. it’s a thing with me and tory now. it rules. but one day, i was belting em out like normal, but toriel didn’t seem to be so cheerful. when i asked what was bothering her, she asked me, to protect any humans that come through that door. i hated making promises, but i could tell it was important to her….and she found my jokes to be genuinely funny…...i couldn’t say no to someone with that sort of integrity.”, Sans explained, deep in thought.

“So, that’s the only reason?......a promise? And here, I thought you and Frisk were friends. Toriel’s the only reason you didn’t kill the kid outright?!.....”, Sirus replied, his eye-light turning yellow. “w-woah, buddy….chill out…..okay…..i admit, that’s what it was at first…...but….frisk sort of won me over, i guess. so eager to help anybody and everybody…..at this point, i wouldn’t want to hurt the kid. even if tory changed her mind and asked me to. frisk gave me some hope. hope that maybe, there won’t be any more….uh….well…..nevermind.”, Sans replied in an increasingly drawn-out tone of voice.

“Uh huh…...Sans, are you always this lazy? I mean, seriously. Is this really you? I can’t shake the feeling you’re hiding something.”, Sirus continued, his eye-light turning purple, then back to green.

Sans stopped dead in his tracks. He closed his eyes, then opened him. His eyes were gone, a genuinely creepy expression on his face and a disturbing tone in his voice.

“do you really want to know? if you do, i’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone else. i mean that.”, Sans spoke, coldly. Sirus nodded. “alright…...let me ask you something. suppose that every few days, you’d do your very best, but wake up one morning to find that you’re right back where you started. again, and again, and again. no matter what you did different, what you tried, that it’d all be for nothing, because you’d just be going right back anyways. would you be able to give it your all, realizing this?”, Sans explained, still in a chilling tone of voice.

“W...what?.....I don’t quite understand what you’re getting at, Sans….I….I mean, I guess….if I knew it was happening, i’d get tired of trying eventually….”, Sirus replied. Sans’s eyes reappeared.

“well, that’s why i act like i do, for the most part. i guess i’ve been through so many resets that i find it hard to give it my all.”, Sans continued. “Reset?......Sans, care to explain a bit further?”

“haven’t you ever felt like you’ve done something before, even though you’ve never actually done it before?”, Sans continued. Sirus nodded grimly. “that’s what i’m referring to…..i know it. there’s been a lot of resets. i’m not saying they’ve all been her fault, but i’m almost certain that frisk has reset things a few times, if nothing else.”, he continued.

“What is this ‘Reset’, exactly, Sans?......some sort of…..time travel?”, Sirus asked. Sans nodded. “frisk has this power, due to her determination. i can see it. she’s special. she has a high enough amount of determination in her heart and soul to do it at will. i….i hate to admit it, but it scares me a bit. i don’t want to go back, but every night, i dream that i’m back in the underground….sometimes i’m meeting frisk again for the first time…..other times, i see her in the judgement hall…..on rare occasions, with this inhuman, twisted grin on her face and blood-red eyes…..and i’m holding papyrus’s scarf in my hands. but i keep waking up to the same old, lovable, golden-hearted kid. i guess…”, Sans continued, but then choked up.

“...Sans…...take it easy. No need to panic quite yet...eh...hehe...heh…..uh….”, Sirus said, trying to calm him down with little success. “i guess, i’m just tired of doing the same things over and over. frisk acts like everything’s normal. like she doesn’t have a care in the world. but there’s something she’s hiding. i can’t get it out of her, no matter what i try. i’m worried that if she’s pushed too far, she’ll reset.”, Sans continued, eyes squeezed shut. He shook slightly, visibly upset. Sirus sighed and put a hand on Sans’s shoulder.

“Sans…….I understand. You don’t have to say anything more. You’re right, this is a problem. You worry that Frisk might reset, because she’s not happy with how things have turned out in the end.”, Sirus said. Sans took a few deep breaths and nodded. “Alright. I promised i’d do what I can to help around here, Sans. And I mean that. I think i’ll go and see how Frisk is doing, tomorrow. Maybe if I find a way to keep the kid cheerful, we won’t have to worry about a reset. Heck, maybe she’ll even forget about the whole reset thing. How does that sound?”, Sirus answered. Sans opened his eyes, grinning a wide smile.

“sure, buddy. that’d mean a lot to me. just don’t directly bring it up. it actually would be nice if frisk forgot about the power to reset.”, Sans replied. Sirus nodded. The two of them turned around and started heading back.

“That reminds me. I wanted to apologize again about earlier. I was completely wrong about what monsters are like nowadays.”, Sirus started. “eh, i won’t make any bones about it...heheheh.”

“Sigh…..Yep. No hard feelings.”, Sirus replied, tired of Sans’s jokes. “By the way, Sans…”, he continued, “I talked with a flower of some sort. Flowey, I think it called itself. The guy’s being held in Alphys’s lab for some reason. He wants out really badly. What do you think? What do you know about him?”

“honestly, i don’t know that much about him. but i know he tried to stop us from leaving the underground once. frisk stopped him. i don’t know why frisk felt it was a good idea to save him. flowey’s been nothing but trouble since she brought him out of there. a piece of advice, buddy. don’t trust anything he says.”, Sans answered. Sirus nodded. “I’m not. I’m just looking for the truth here. I guess Frisk would know more about this than me, huh?”

“heh. i guess so. i bet frisk knows a lot that nobody else knows.”