In the two months that passed afterwards, Mettaton disappeared and with him, much of the joy in the Underground. Monsters began to despair, what chance did they have if a boss monster was taken? After Mettaton disappeared, Sans and Alphys worked harder then they had before, and managed to make a device that stopped the disappearances. This boosted some hope but not much.

Asgore and Toriel did what they could, as did Undyne. They, with the help of the old generals, Grillby and Gerson, trained the inhabitants who wanted to defend themselves. In doing so, they trained themselves as well. Papyrus helped go to the more anti-social monsters, that Frisk never met due to them hiding, and gather them. Many monsters wanted training so Papyrus helped with that as well, proving to be a good sparring partner.

Alphys and Sans worked hard to make Undyne’s armor better. Strengthening it and embedding protections into it. They did the same to Asgore’s armor. They weaved barriers into Toriel’s clothing. They made special armor for Papyrus. It didn’t look ridiculous and homemade like his old one had. The armor was more clothes than actual armor like Undyne’s. It consisted of a plain white, long-sleeved shirt, blue, jean-like pants, and special tennis shoes. The shirt and pants were made with spider silk, courtesy of Muffet, they were built so that it could withstand Papyrus’s immense speed and strength. The shoes made to give Papyrus the best traction possible. Muffet helped test them by pretending to try and catch Papyrus while he ran on her webs. She helped them for free, because a good chunk of her spiders had gone missing and she wanted what kidnapped them gone. The shoes and Papyrus’s speed kept him from getting caught, the shoes made running across the sticky webs as easy as running on flat ground.

While Alphys made the final tweeks on Undyne’s armor, Sans fiddled with Papyrus’s gloves. The gloves kept Papyrus from shattering things in his hands. Control was difficult for Papyrus, so Sans had made the gloves with old pieces of equipment he had found in the dump. The gloves had holes in them, worn down by near constant use. So Sans got to work repairing them with some spare spider silk and things lying around. When he finished, he smiled. Alphys then walked over.

“S-Sans, what a-are we g-going to d-do about P-Papyrus’s s-scarf? H-he insists on w-wearing it.” She wrung her hands.

“That’s fine.” she blinked, silent for a minute.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘THAT’S FINE’?! THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH ISSUE!!! IT COULD GET GRABBED!!!” She shouted in outrage, abnormal of her but not entirely uncommon, the sleep deprivation was getting to her. Sans was used to it and he looked at her calmly.

“Ever wonder why even when there is no wind, Papyrus’s scarf will move like there is?” Alphys nodded, seeming confused. “It’s because it’s alive. It doesn’t speak or anything but it has a special connection with Papyrus enabling it to convey its feelings to him as well as basic images. Nobody sneaks up on Papyrus because if he doesn’t notice you, that scarf will.”

“H-How is that p-possible?” Alphys was amazed. Sans shrugged.

“Not entirely sure, when I made it, I weaved some of Papyrus’s magic into it so he could move it like he could an arm or leg. Papyrus’s magic was hard to wrangle and I ended up weaving a bit of my magic in it too. Once it was done, it came to life. It doesn’t have a soul though.” Sans explained.

“T-that is s-strange, I w-want to t-take a look at it w-when t-this is all over, if it’s ok with P-Papyrus.” Sans shrugged again.

“Ask ‘im.” Alphys nodded.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flowey came to them a few days later, with the location of Quod Peccatum Cordis Tenebrosi.