[video] Feb 17th

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

[It's either very late at night or very early in the morning. Papyrus grins at anyone watching as he usually does, but this time around, something's off. His usual cheer seems forced, and there's a subtle, constant background rattle and the screen never quite seems to stay still.]

Hello again, everyone! This is the great Papyrus speaking, and... and I...

...

[For a moment, he seems at a loss for words. Then he rallies again and holds up his other hand. He has Sans's jacket in a tight grip, and clinging to the inside is an odd, distinctive sort of dust.]

I seem to have lost track of my brother!! That lazybones... now he's managed to slack off on naps! Is there no end to this?

So! If anyone has any idea where he is, please let me know! He probably just... fell asleep somewhere weird! There seems to be a lot of that going around lately.

[He starts to switch off the feed, then hesitates.]

Also, could someone bring some cleaning supplies to Sans's room? There's so much dust in here... I've been trying to get it all up, but it's just... getting everywhere.

[For a moment, he looks distressed, then he pastes the smile back on.]

O-once again, this is the great Papyrus! Signing out!!

Comments

video

[forwardmomentum]

[ this is alarming as shit, and miles looks appropriately alarmed, and intent. monsters only leave behind dust, sans had said. ]

Papyrus -- when was the last time you saw Sans?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

[Papyrus looks about the same. What's the alarm? Everything's fine, obviously, it's just a spill or something.]

Last night, just after bedtime! We always meet up for a story, you know. It's very important.

Video

[rraidergirl]

[ she thinks she's the last person he wants to see BUT HERE SHE IS!!!]

I'll look for him... Do you want help cleaning up?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

[Actually, it's a relief seeing her. She knows Sans pretty well too, right? And she picked up his habit of sleeping literally anywhere, apparently, so maybe she'd find him faster!]

You haven't seen him either? Now that's strange! Do you have any idea where he might be?

[video]

[averagemedium]

[Ah, it's this guy... Ryan has no idea about the dust, but the hints of distress there are enough to concern him (as is the mention of where the dust is.)]

I'll grab a few things and head back, I know it wasn't that messy earlier... figures, right? Turn your back for a few hours and suddenly your room's a mess.

[He gives the screen a small, reassuring smile.]

He's one of my roommates, I can help you track him down too if you want. I can sense people, so if he's hiding somewhere I'll be able to tell.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Oh, I didn't know you lived with Sans too!

[He smiles back, more out of this tryhard cheerfulness than anything real.]

That's a very useful skill to have! He probably... I'm sure he just left his jacket so he could crawl into some tiny out-of-the-way vent and take extra naps. He's so unbelievable sometimes!

audio

[tigermillionaire]

[Steven doesn't really know what going on, but it seems really off. Maybe he's jumping to conclusions, but...he's been in these kind of circumstances long enough to know how things can get out of control.

He isn't going to make any assumptions right now, but...there are other concerns.]

Hey, Papyrus...

I can come help you with him room if you want.

audio

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Steven! Yes, that would be greatly appreciated!

[There's a sound like fabric rustling.]

I tried to scoop it up, but it's just sticking to my gloves...

video;

[justabit]

Y-you guys are brothers? I thought the two of you were boning. [rick]

Hahaaa... just kidding. U-using the same joke more than once isn't... i-it's not that funny.

[The old man'll take a second to think of where he saw Sans last, because Sans is probably the only guy he likes on the ship right now so he'll try to be a little helpful.]

Wasn't he still in jail?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

No, no! We're just boney! Nyeh-heh-heh!

[Yeah that joke went entirely over his skull.]

He was released a couple of days ago, but he hasn't been going out much. So lazy!

[warandpeace]

I've not seen him around. Looks like you have volunteers to help clean, but if you need anything I'll help out.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Thank you! I'm sure he's around here someplace, if you could keep an eyesocket out!

Or... just an eye, I guess, in your case.

[vengeance_driven]

You might want to make sure he's not following that kid.

Sounds like he expected nothing but the worst out of him.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

That kid?

[He was trying extra hard not to think about them.]

Oh, no, Sans wouldn't do that! It's far too much effort.

video

[takeitslow]

You're Sans' brother? You sure he's just not napping somewhere else? He seemed to like the cell.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

[He couldn't have liked the cell, but Papyrus doesn't argue the point. Humans really liked their sarcasm, and this is probably more of that.]

It's very possible! The problem is, Sans could nap anywhere, and I have no idea where he might be this time!

Not here

[gainedlove]

[It hits like a brick to the chest, seeing that dusty coat. Frisk knows perfectly well what has happened, no matter how Papyrus is denying it. And they know who must be at fault, too.]

[It's their fault. They should have known Chara would do this, should have tried to stop it. If they had been there they could have protected Sans, could have...]

[With a miserable sob, Frisk pulls the blanket over their head and curls up into a ball, and tries again to make the world turn back.]

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Hello, roommie!

[Papyrus picks up on the uncomfortable implications here -- Tobias is a nice guy and a cool roommate, but he's definitely been down a dangerous path or two in his life.

Maybe if he were a more vengeful sort of person, or at least able to accept the truth, they'd be having a very different sort of conversation.]

I don't suppose you know where Sans is?

audio

[knaval]

[you know what riptide really wished he wasn't familiar with? people in denial. he saw it in trailbreaker and he can see it in papyrus, especially with the hesitating and verbal stalling.

riptide doesn't know what happened to sans, or even who that is, but it's clear it was Something Bad.]

Have you even taken a moment? Like, sat down, maybe had a drink? You might wanna do that. It helps.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Oh no, I'm much too busy to do that! There's a-a mess everywhere, and he's still missing...

[While he speaks, there's rustling and scraping. He's still trying to fix this.]

Video

[pleasereset]

[Oh that... that doesn't sound or look good at all. Asriel swallows back the sick feeling in his gut the moment Papyrus holds up the jacket. Maybe Papyrus was right. Maybe it was just a dusty jacket.

Still, he should say something. Have a small fuzzy prince, Papyrus.]

Howdy... Papyrus. Did you hear from Sans yet?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Howdy to you too, Prince Asriel!

[Papyrus grins, trying to look cheerful as always. He's not so convincing today.]

I'm afraid not! He must be sleeping. He does that all the time, you know.

[skatebird]

Huh. You really are both skeletons.

[ Yata hadn't really doubted it after meeting Sans face to face but it's still pretty neat to have it confirmed. ]

Uh, I haven't seen him, though. You sure he's not just torturing people with his bad jokes?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Oh no, another victim of his lamentable sense of humor!! You have my condolences.

[The response is a little less genuine than usual, even though he does kinda mean it. Sans's jokes are the worst.]

That's a definite possibility, though I hope if he were awake he would have answered my messages by now!

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda frowns - oh no. Is that...?

She isn't close enough to Sans to feel the strings wrench if he's hurt, but if her suspicions are correct, she knows this pain. And even if they're not, something feels wrong.]

Is anyone with you?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Not at the moment!

[He glances around, making doubly sure. Nope. Just him and this mess.]

But you're welcome to drop by if you like, this is going to take awhile to clean up.

action

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

[It's not all that unusual to see Papyrus in their room and J has kind of accepted it that there's nothing she can do about it. And hey, it's nice that there's at least someone who makes sure that Sans doesn't turn their room into a dumpster. So it's all that bad.

She's also somewhat learned his schedule and knows when to expect him to drop by so that she can avoid dealing with him.

So, when she returns back to their room she's rather surprised to see the other Skeleton brother kneeling at their doorstep.]

Hey. What are you doing here? [Someone totally missed the network post]

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Oh, hello again! I didn't think you'd be back so...

[He trails off, looking around regretfully.]

Sorry, I think my brother left the room in quite a state! I was hoping to have it fixed by now.

[audio]

[breakin_ur_lore]

[This is the other skelly, right? Med'an sort of recognizes him, maybe. Or he's just racist and think that all skeletons look the same.]

I'm one of his roommates. But I haven't seen him since yesterday - I fell asleep last night in the medbay...

You should be able to send him a message through these things. There's a place where you can see everyone's picture...

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Oh yes, the directory! That is an excellent idea, but... I already tried it. My messages aren't going though, I don't think.

[But enough about that! You say you were in the medbay, new friend? How very interesting, let's think about that instead.]

Are you all right? Or did you just sleep there to get away from his relentless snoring?

[lets_see_what_happens]

[Gregor comes by a short time later with a broom, a dustpan, and a quiet expression on his face.]

Papyrus. How are you?

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Gregor! Hi there!

[Papyrus is too cheerful to be in the situation he's in right now. There's dust everywhere. Sans's clothes are in plain sight.]

I'm... a bit preoccupied at the moment, but it's good to see you!

video

[handing]

[He's trying so hard, and it's heartbreaking to watch. Not that Pepper knows anything about what happens to a skeleton when it dies, but a massive pile of dust seems to fit. Ashes to ashes, as they say. Regardless, it's clear that Papyrus is desperate to convince himself of a lie even as he tries to clean up the truth.

From the start Pepper's seen Papyrus' enthusiasm, his joy, his earnest desire to make others happy. That makes witnessing his pain all the harder to bear.]

Do you still need help cleaning up? [She understands fully the need to throw himself into work; Pepper is much the same when she's dealing with grief. There has been talk of resurrection among the crew members, and Pepper has to hope that this death would by some miracle also be a temporary thing.] Or help looking. Sometimes it's good not to be on your own.

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

Chief! Worry not, I won't be slacking in my duties!

[n fact, good luck getting him to stop anytime soon. Stopping means having the time to think, and thinking means facing something he's absolutely not going to accept. If only in name.]

There's still an awful lot of cleaning to do before I can pick up the search, but if you're free to help, I'd certainly appreciate it!

[Video, to start with]

[earthandpine]

Rosethorn's heart sinks when Papyrus gets to the word dust. Papyrus told her after that incident in the garden that there's nothing more to skeleton monsters than dust and magic. It's obvious what happened, and just as obvious that Papyrus is nowhere near ready to accept it.

She could kick herself, because she knew. She fully expected this to happen, but she handed the problem off to someone else rather than taking responsibility herself. If skeletons bled, she would have Sans' blood on her hands. And she had understood, after seeing how Sans reacted, exactly why Papyrus hadn't wanted his brother told.

"What room are you in, Papyrus? I'll be right there."

[coolskeletonnyehntyfive]

"Rosethorn!" The relief comes through in Papyrus's voice. She always seems to turn up when he needs help the most, and she's been so good at untangling his problems, making them make sense. He has no doubt she can help with this too, somehow. "I'm... nearly done in here, and then I don't know! I should probably wash these clothes and start looking for him. It'd be just like him to get wedged in someplace and not bother to ask for help, the lazybones!"