"Undyne, are you there?" asked Sans into his phone. Undyne's loud, rambunctious voice boomed back through the speaker making Sans nearly go deaf.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'AM I THERE'?!?! I FREAKING ANSWERED THE PHONE! Who else would answer my phone?!" Undyne demanded.

"N-Nobody...," Sans answered.

"Well, I'm here like you asked. I hear a lot of chatter among the echo flowers tonight. Lots of people have come around here today it seems. I'm trying to find flowers with a girl talking. I would've heard Papyrus talking from one of these flowers from a mile a- way?"

Sans was surprised by her statement ending as a question. His hearing finally returned to normal and he turned his inner inquiries into vocal ones. "What's happening?! Did you find him or her? What did you find?"

"I-I hear Papyrus' voice...," Undyne stated.

"Tell me, what's he saying?"

"I'll put it on speaker."

Papyrus wasn't sitting too far away. He listened to the echo flower and then replied. "Indeed! The Great Papyrus does tend to take people by surprise! I didn't want you to believe you were alone, my friend! Okay, where were we...? Oh yes! The part where The Great Prince Papyrus came swooping in to save the princess from the dragon!"

He stood to his feet. He pulled out a sword that he had snagged from Undyne just for the occasion. Papyrus swung his sword at the imaginary dragon like he was actually fighting the imaginary fire-breathing lizard. "You shall never defeat me, foul beast! I, Prince Papyrus, shall free the princess from your blood-stained claws!" Papyrus continued to dance back and forth with his sword in an imaginary battle with it clanking up against the ground and slashing at the air with a swoosh! He laughed when he finally struck a "blow" on the dragon.

Undyne sat mesmerized by his performance. She had taught him herself how to use a sword. He was using every skill he had learned in an imaginary battle? Sans was surprised too. The sound effects were real and the situation sounded like it was right in front of him. Undyne silently cheered Papyrus on.

Claw after claw. Swing after swing. Dodge after dodge. After what felt like hours which was actually only mere minute, Papyrus pinned down the dragon with his sword and smiled victoriously. "Now, evil one, you shall leave this cursed place, never to return! If you shall even lay a single claw on my princess, you shall then drown in your own blood." As Papyrus recited what sounded like poetry to Undyne's ears, he drew away his sword that he had pointed to the ground and put it back in its sheath. His cape waved heroically in the wind that had somehow picked up. He picked up his phone and played a sound effect that sounded like the dragon flying away in defeat.

Sans slowly exhaled. That was why Papyrus was changing so much about himself. He was roleplaying as the person he's always wanted to be that he knew he never could be. His dreams had never satisfied him because he had never dreamed before. His lack of friends didn't help him and his innocence would never let him into the Royal Guard. However, here, in this small moment in the middle of paradise, he was Prince Papyrus performing the deed that only a fairytale character would ever be able to perform. Sans felt Papyrus' passion for this. Why he was getting into story writing. Why he wanted to talk to his friend every night on a late night walk through Waterfall. Maybe, it was at night he wanted to do this so he'd dream about his amazing feats in his story?

Papyrus continued. He reached out his hand to the princess and said in a deep, charming voice, "I, Papyrus, have fought off the dragon... Now, your brilliance will never be stolen from your home, your voice will never have to cry for help again, and your heart will never again feel fear... I will fight off all danger that ever threatens you and I will never abandon you in your time of need. If you should ever cry, I'll comfort you. If you should ever call for me, I'll be there in an instant. When your king sent me, I came rushing to this place without any thought of whether if I got injured. I only thought of you. I guess, what I'm saying is that forever I shall love you, my princess. Even if you don't feel the same feelings, my heart, even then, will forever belong to you...," Papyrus stated romantically.

Undyne was shallowly breathing and was crying to herself. It was just like a movie. The kind that she'd cry at because of all of the romance. She was barely able to hold the phone still.

Sans was silent. He was absorbing every word. The feelings of sadness came to him. Why was Papyrus acting like this? Was his dream of joining the Royal Guard really so important to change him like this? He then wondered why HE was thinking like this. He played his part right! Also, change was only natural in life. Why did he suddenly miss the old Papyrus?

Papyrus suddenly stopped. He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry! I didn't know what to say! I was just saying what I heard from other stories with a prince and princess! Well, what does thou think? Well, I'll be back again tomorrow night... I can't wait to hear your reply. Goodbye, er... I never learned of your name... If you could tell me, fair lady... Maybe a name to go with your story? Oh, you don't have to if you don't want to! I-I'm sorry! I should be minding my own business! Well, farewell!" he said before leaving the clearing.

Undyne and Sans were quiet. There wasn't a word spoken. Finally, Undyne started yelling and crying at the same time. "I'VE CREATED THESE FEELINGS OF BEAUTY AND SORROW!! I've released him from the Royal Guard to make him write and create lovely, cliche scenarios like these! I don't know what to feel for him! He's found a roleplay partner who he obviously really likes, he has shown us this new side of him, AND HE MAKES ME CRY LIKE A FREAKING BABY!! MAKE IT STOP!!!" Undyne screamed into her phone.

Sans didn't think a single thought about Undyne he sighed and hung up without saying goodbye. Undyne screamed multiple times into the phone expecting for Sans to hear. It took her ten minutes to figure out that he had hung up. Then, she was screaming words of hate towards him before listening to the story Papyrus had finished again in the echo flower.

The next morning, Papyrus was up early. He was making the cinnamon rolls just like he said that he would. Sans was walking down from his room early that morning. When he opened the door, the smell of cinnamon smacked up against his face and he breathed in the heavenly scent. He forgot he was standing and nearly fell over from how amazing it was.

"Papyrus, why are you so amazing at cooking?!" Sans demanded from the top of the stairs.

"Sans! You're awake! You haven't even tried these yet! How do you know that they're amazing?!" demanded Papyrus.

"I can smell them," Sans replied as he warped downstairs and into the kitchen. He gazed at the cinnamon rolls from across the small room. Papyrus looked from him to the rolls and shook his head.

"Sans... They'll be done cooling in five minutes! If you'd like to have a couple then, you may. However, to eat one now would mean that your mouth would either melt or burst into flames!" Papyrus replied.

Sans shook his head. "But I don't exactly have a mouth, do I?" he said as he warped past him and to the counter where they were cooling. He snatched one and warped back to the living room before Papyrus could protest. He laughed a fake maniacal laugh as he held the roll in his hand. Papyrus stopped and smirked.

"Very well then. Eat it if you dare!" Papyrus taunted.

Sans grinned. "Sure I will. In four minutes."

Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes a little disappointed. He had wanted to see his brother regret his hasty actions to find that he had already taken into account the consequences. He slightly laughed and then shrugged it off.

Finally, after four minutes of waiting, Sans took a bite out of the roll and felt his face just melt from the cinnamon gooey, goodness. He then, literally, fell onto the floor.

"Sans!" Papyrus cried and he ran out to the living room. "What happened?! Are you alright?!"

"Welp, I'm dead now. You killed me with awesomeness."

Papyrus then smirked. "Oh no! Whatever shall I do?! I have killed my own brother by food awesomeness! Now, he lies before me dead. Whatever shall I do?"

Sans decided to play along. "Where shall I go? What shall I do? For I've been betrayed by my own brother. Now, I lay, dead before he. And yet, there is for one reason I fight to live."

Papyrus tilted his head. "Wow. I thought you'd inquire as to why I would ever say such a thing? Even so, why do you fight?"

"I NEED MORE ROLLS!! Actually, I've got a friend to visit. Don't suppose that I could go for a walk in the woods?" Sans asked.

Papyrus shrugged. "Very well, Sans! I, The Great Papyrus, resurrect you from the amazing death I've bestowed upon you!"

"Hooray. I live."

"Bye, Sans!"

As Sans walked out the door, he teleported again with the snap of his fingers. He reappeared at the door in the woods of Snowdin. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

He waited and waited. Finally, when he was beginning to get a little concerned, when he knocked, somebody answered. "Who's there?"

"Me."

"Me who?"

"Having an identity crisis? That's okay, I completely understand."

They both laughed. Sans was relieved to know that his friend in the door was safe. He sat in the snow with his back against the door and sighed.

The woman on the other side heard his heavy sigh and grew concerned. "Something tells me that something other than joke entertainment has brought you here... What's wrong...?"

Sans jumped at her sudden question. How was she so good at that?! He sighed again. He was here to tell her about it anyway. She spoke to him about once having children of her own. He thought maybe she could help him.

"Well, I mainly came because of my bro, Papyrus. He's been... different lately. You might wanna get comfy because it's a long story and I figured that you'd be the best person to tell it to."

She was silent for a moment and he thought he heard her nod. "Very well... Go ahead. Is there something wrong with your brother?"

Sans poked at the snow trying to figure out how to begin. He'd just take the story slow and steady... Not fast and quick so that she won't be able to understand. Tell it like a real story. Tell it like Papyrus would. He thought about the way his brother would put it.

"Okay... Once upon a time, there were two brothers living happily in a peaceful village... One short and lazy, one tall and confident. The tall confident brother, was constantly trying to get the attention of other people. He always wanted popularity. Because he wanted to become a respected person throughout the world in which he lived within. He then decided to join the Royal Guard to gain that respect. After two years of training, the captain finally said that he wasn't cut out for Royal Guard work. The news crushed him. So much that he gave up on that dream and most of his other dreams. He didn't tell his older, shorter, lazier brother because he didn't want the captain to get into trouble," Sans explained.

The woman on the other side gasped. She knew the story Sans was telling was true. Sadness filled her. She thought to herself about it and then listened as Sans continued.

"The older brother knew that he was hiding something. His brother was acting differently. The impact of his dreams being smashed caused him to change his personality severely. That was when... he met someone..."

"Who was it?" she asked curiously.

"We don't know her name. She never told him. He met her through an echo flower. They tell stories to each other through the echo flower and they tell each other stories while acting them out. The older brother talked with the captain who felt bad for him and the brother decided to meet this person who had changed his brother so much. He and the captain... eavesdropped on his conversation with her."

"What became of this?"

"It was amazing. The brother was putting his heart into making the story they've created into a reality. Sound effects, motions, dialogue, everything. I had only heard it from one end of a phone, but it sounded like it was right in front of me. It got the older brother thinking, why? He didn't care about the who. He didn't care about the whats, wheres, whens, and hows. The whys were all that existed. Why did his bro treat this stranger like his best friend? Why was she even whispering stories into the flower in the first place? Why was the brother dedicating so much time to simply acting out a story? Why does this change almost everything about him? WHY AM I ASKING A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS WITH NO ANSWERS TO THEM?!" Sans demanded getting annoyed with himself that he knows so much, yet knows too little.

"Okay, calm down... Is there any more?" she asked.

"Only that... when he was finished. He announced after he said all of that that the Prince who he was from the story loved her. Then, he said that he would like to know her name. I guess that kinda riled me up the most. Was he really in love with her, or was it part of the act? Why would he trust this person if he didn't know her name? Why- I'm doing it again! I need to stop asking questions. Then I got my face melted by cinnamon rolls the next morning and we began roleplaying. I'll admit that was also new."

The lady on the other side thought on all she had heard. Sans waited for her to process everything and to speak only when she had an answer. If he couldn't figure it out, then it would surely take her some time to come up with a logical answer.

"Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with this. Your brother made a friend. He enjoys her "company" and stories so much that he just can't help but return the favor. Like how I return the favor of answering your knock-knock jokes. Actually, the situation of you and me are awfully similar to him and her."

"Yeah, I thought of that... We're both different people, though. That still doesn't answer any of my whys!" Sans said.

"Well, I haven't told you my name. You haven't told me yours. I guess that the nameless friend is normal. Who would tell their name to a stranger? Well, besides your brother Papyrus. Also, I think that the whole love thing is part of the roleplay. The characters can love each other. That doesn't necessarily mean that the people have to. This brings up another topic, too. Why does Papyrus do this? After his dreams of being in the Royal Guard were taken away, he has had nothing to pursue. When he found this, he fell in love with his hidden talent. So, he continued to experiment to see how he can continue to discover more of himself. More of his personality! It's completely normal!" she replied.

Sans thought over what she said. When she put it like that, it did seem normal. Then why did he have a problem with it? "Then, why does it feel wrong...?"

"Maybe it's because you can't adjust to the change."

"...What?"

"I think the reason that this seems wrong is because you aren't adjusting to the sudden change. How long has it been since Papyrus broke away from the daily routine?" she asked.

Sans thought. He couldn't remember. Papyrus never was a fan of doing things different. Normally, he'd freak out if something was done different or "wrong". Now, that was completely flopped. Now, Papyrus was the one adjusting to change and he was the one gripping onto the past. Maybe he was the problem. Maybe everything has been changing so much because he wasn't used to it being that kind of different.

"Can I ask you something...?"

"You can ask me anything! What is it?"

"C-Can I know your name?"

There was a silence. Sans didn't know why he had asked. Maybe the fact that Papyrus didn't know his friend's name made him want to know her's.

"I thought that you wanted to wait until we met face-to-face."

"What if that day never comes and we never meet each other? What if we just stand on one side of the door, locked away from each other on one side forever both thinking that one day, the door will open and we'll meet. If something happens, I at least, want to know...," Sans explained. He thought harder. "And, if you tell me your name, I'll tell you mine..."

...

"My name is... Toriel. What's your name?" Toriel asked.

"I'm Sans."

"I like that name. Well, it's nice to finally "meet" you, Sans...," Toriel said.

"It's nice to finally "meet" you too..."