Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The beginning was a whirlwind of pain, confusion and white. He didn't know how or why, but he felt drained. As if all the things that made him "He" had been taken from him, without pity or mercy.

He was sprawled on the ground, defeated and bruised, and he thought he should be screaming for the devastating pain, full of regret and despair at what had happened to him, loud enough to echo through the void forever, so that they could hear him.

But he was not, he is not really bothered by the pain, the whispers or even his own frightened and gradually silent thoughts.

In fact, after that, he never bothered with anything again.

...

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The emptiness that surrounded him from the inside out, and around him, was somehow distressing.

But every now and then, colored drops appeared on the Blank Sheet. Over time he must have noticed, how he felt more peaceful when the whispers grew louder and the colors dripped around him. At some point, which he does not remember which, he directly touched a color.

And he felt it.

And then he cried and threw up.

It was horrible but wonderful at the same time.

And as if it were a drug, he decided he wanted more.

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When he left the White Sheet he came across the most colorful and alive place he could have ever seen. He could almost have been dazzled. Small, colorful, digital screens simulated notebook sheets and kept wonders in a large floating sphere.

He was suddenly attracted.

He doesn't know how he did it, but he ended up being pulled into one of them just by approaching.

Within it are thousands of pulsating, living creatures. He looked at the colorful and unknown world around him, and for some reason he felt small, empty. More than normal.

But then he is attracted to something again, he then opens his right hand and manifests his magic by instinct.

In seconds the color of things, people and monsters, along with everything that existed, was sucked into his palm, he barely paid attention to the irritating people screaming in panic before turning anything after they lost their colors.

This went on for a while, he feels an attack coming on his back and responds with the same intensity to the skeleton and the fish that attacked him, when the last drop of life was sucked at him, they disappeared in agony.

He looks at his hand, he stops to admire and feel it, it was flexible, warm, colorful, magnetic. It was life itself. Essence of it remaining in color.

And it is his only for the price of life of countless extras. Leaving him alone to enjoy his hard work.
Or almost so.

- Hey! Stay there, Villain! - The voice speaks. He thought everyone had perished - What do you think you're doing with this AU?! - the voice behind him heroically declares, too vivid and unusual to belong to invisible beings and extras, but not very interesting, if it weren't so loud , it would be easily ignored - HEY! Answer me!

He then turns to the irritating and insistent voice before it screams again. His expression remains the same but the guest's goes through shock, horror, and disbelief.

The other being was unusual, curious.

Black, full of pixels on the body, blue marks on red eyes and rounded glasses, red blouse and suspenders and a jacket tied around the waist. He had a huge digital pen in his hands, the hem with a circle that read: Error. He was the most colorful and strange thing he had ever seen, or that he remembered having.

The other began to murmur, and now that the shouting was over, the empty, thirsty creature turned to color. The hunger for life instigating him, he closes his eyes and doesn't even think much when he swallows it.

He opens his eyes and pure happiness travels through his body.

He jumped, screamed and pirouetted.

And the stranger didn't seem happy about it. Asking him about what he did. He, still excited, responds by explaining what happened easily. The other one blinks.

And then the other one looks furious, enraged and upset, saying "how can you?", "You can't be him", and "you are not him", but the soulless being doesn't care about the lives of others, and neither does who the extras think he is or not. He is curious when the other falls on the floor in despair, remaining there in shock for some time, before getting up more dark and calm, and asking his name.

Name?

Oh, he didn't have one. He was just Him.

And then the other makes him happier, giving him a name for free!

Pale.

If he knew he would win so much from a massacre he would have done it sooner!

More and more moved and happy with everything, he realizes that the other also has an optimistic face, although it is somber.

He jumps through the white void a few more times before wanting more. Deciding to take advantage of his joyful time in exploration, he begins to dissolve in ink to move towards the enthusiastic unknown. Not leaving before hearing the other's strange name.

Template.

Chapter Text

He was lost in joy, emotion was gone from him a long time ago, but he was still exploring.

He's in Underswap now, it's a common place, he found Underfresh more interesting, but maybe it was just the emotion of the moment, literally. He was passing by some city and came across a child in a green and yellow sweater and a skeleton in a blue scarf, they were interesting clothes. He looked at himself.

Not to mention the torn part of a red bandanna tied on his arm, his clothes were common and dull. Common is boring. Color is good. Colorful is interesting. He would like his clothes to be more colorful.

Then he looks again at the couple of extras talking and has an idea.

He uses his paint to create sharp bones and shoots them both in the head. They didn't have time to scream. He approaches and removes the handkerchief and the sweater from the child's body. It was easy.

Now he had clothes with more color. Satisfactory.
He should do this again.

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- Stop where you are, wicked villain! Today your evil days are over! Because I, your archenemy, Template, will bring you to justice !! - Says the other, pointing his index finger at him in a heroic pose, they face each other and Pale, always neutral, wonders why so much emotion and energy.

Without ever changing his expression, he returns to the killing and ignores the other.

- H-hey! I trained all day for this, you can't just ignore me and attack a world again !! - Says the other angry and pouting like a child, not that Pale cares, it's just annoying.

A shower of attacks is created towards him, preventing him from continuing to suck everything and the battle between the two begins.

How unpleasant.

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He was a little confused by the pain. He had to teleport quickly away from the Undyne of the universe, which was attacking him with everything, the floor where he was lying was not so hard, and it was still damp. Maybe he was still at WaterFall?

With his skull cracked and his legs broken he thought it best not to open his eyes and just focus on his magic to get back to the Blank Sheet. But nothing happens, the pain and bruises interfering with trying to get back there.

- Get ready Pale! - He hears the voice of the most powerful and unpleasant being he knows - Well today- Oh my God!  What happened?! - He opens his eyes and sees his enemy running towards him worried. Oh. He was really at Waterfall.

- I know you don't like to talk very much but for the first time I don't want you to talk, you managed to get hurt badly here - Says the other kneeling next to Pale to analyze his wounds and start using healing magic, first on his skull and then on your legs. Oh, curious.

He thought that the other was what they called "idiot", but to the point of healing the enemy without asking, it is another level, he doesn't even know how to determine it anymore. Interesting but inconvenient.

- You know, when I saw you coming to this Au I came running, but then I lost sight of you, I didn't imagine that you would get hurt so much instead of hurting others. Like, you're very powerful and the only person who stops you, usually, is me.

- I mean, without bragging, but I am the strongest monster you have ever faced, despite having Undyne and Sans very powerful in this Au, I consider myself the person who gives you the most damage, in addition to being arch-enemies, so that counts for something. In fact, who left you like this?

- Well it doesn't matter, I'm probably stronger, I bet one day I'll beat you better than that, like, I don't want to hurt you, of course. But I kind of have to do it when we're in battle. Of course that's not what you want to hear, but ... Hmm .. I don't really know what you would like to hear, since we haven't talked much, well, there are my wonderful introductions to the battles but you never answer or seem to hear.

- But when we met we talked, even if not much, then you can hear. Maybe it's a reflection of your neutral and soulless face, but I'm sure you've thought of answering too, by the way, is your head better now? - Pale listened carefully to every word of it, but it took a while to process everything.

Why did Template speak so much? He wonders if he has actually talked to someone to compare, the extras? No. The whispers? Maybe, but are they classified as someone? Maybe talking to Template wouldn't hurt. Not that he cares. He hears the question over his head - Yes. - He answers.

- Great, now, since I'm helping you, could you stop destroying universes? - He asks with his face shining hopefully, Pale thinks - No - He says, he is not even against this story of conversation, it is not totally bad. The other is grumpy but continues to heal him - A poor guardian of existence like me, having to endure such ingratitude! - He says after a while putting a hand over his face in a dramatic way.

Pale doesn't understand the need for that. Was he poor? What did he mean by ingratitude? Perhaps conversations are not really strong of him.

After a while of a little more talk (in which only Template actually spoke), he is totally healed and Template is tired, the other says that he should stop his destruction for a while, for the sake of both. And that in battle he would have no mercy on him, because there he would return to the "classic hero".

Not that Pale cares or understands. He then gets up and leaves, leaving the other one grumbling about him being rude.

Template is not really an extra, he's too complicated for that.

Chapter Text

Seeing that strange being became “routine”.

Pale didn't know when fighting Template became a habit, but after fighting him for the tenth time a week, he realized it had become a routine thing.

Especially after Template's speech – We've fought over ten times this week! Do you have to be such a cruel enemy that you never relax?! As the Great Hero that I am, I have more to do!! – The black-boned one yells with an irritated pout at the neutral being, making Pale finally notice this frequency.

Okay, maybe Pale only noticed because Template commented, but he's just not very interested in mundane things like time.

Truth be told, Pale had no concept of time, when he wanted or needed something, he did it, he went after it. And with his bad memory with practically everything, it made sense that he didn't remember the moment he attacked an AU that already attacked three others last day. So it was only when the non-extra commented on his routine battles that he noticed it had become something recurrent.

He found (actually killed the owner and stole, as usual) a dictionary, and with enormous difficulty he discovered, these repetitive habits throughout the week defined a routine.

Pale then realized that by automatic he always did certain things:

Suck and Destroy the cores of such universes to get emotions.
Kill extras who have colorful and interesting clothes.
Battle against Template. Hearing ridiculous and meaningless stuff from Template.

He read that having a routine is good for the mental and emotional health of people (and monsters). But unfortunately, he still remained emotionless even with a routine, so he thought there was something wrong with his routine... Maybe he should do things more often for the emotional effect to be greater.

For some reason after meeting for the 23rd time this week (according to Template, as Pale obviously wouldn't count), Template seemed weirder than usual, saying things like Pale was doing this on purpose and being an "Ass". Pale tried hard but didn't understand.

The other one could steal another glass for his eyes if his wasn't working, because Pale didn't look like an ass, he didn't even have an ass... He did?

The battles these weeks had been tougher for some reason, but the other one always seemed a bit…tired? Pale couldn't tell. He would show up, cursing Pale briefly of nonsensical things and stuff like “Ass”, none of those long conversations (something Pale found strange), and they would fight. For some reason the other's glitchs seemed to be in greater quantity and his face often looked dark and angry.

Curious. But different from usual.

That's it, his experiment to increase the routine had no emotional effect and even made the habits change. For Pale this was a failure.

He then stopped destroying for a while, focusing on a part of his routine that hadn't changed, like clothes stealing.

After some time, which may have been too long, he went back to destroying. And then he saw Template again, but he was also weird in this encounter – Pale!! Are you okay? Where have you been? You were destroying too much and then it stopped completely for two months! I thought something had happened to you!

The emotion on the other's face was that same unjustified concern he'd shown when he'd healed his skull. He was standing next to Pale, raised his arms as if he wanted to hold his shoulders, but he didn't. He quickly backed away and coughed, his face taking on a different color.
He is sick? Pale didn't understand.

After that his routine returned to normal.

Chapter Text

Apparently, he was considered weird.

Mainly his clothing.

When he went to destroy Undersoft he was wearing some of his new clothes, and that made his day quite unusual.

His boring clothing pattern never attracted much attention so when he started killing and destroying he wasn't noticed as the real reason the world was being sucked to death until the moment they approached him, it also gave him time to explore. (if there was still some emotion left), or looking for new accessories. But the day he decided to wear his new clothes was different.

Everyone was looking at him, some walking away, whispering, laughing or just taking pictures. Pale didn't understand why. Was it envy?

His rainbow blouse and purple pink skirt were very interesting and colorful together with his red boots made of rustic (but comfortable) fabric and his reindeer horn tiara.

It was an implicit commotion among the population around him, could everyone be jealous? Anyway, not that he cared. It starts to destroy and a real commotion begins.

- Stop there villain! Surrender now or get ready to fight! Well today, me, the Grea- PALE?! – The black skeleton lost its pose and looked at the neutral being with an expression of shock and disbelief – What, by my codes, are you wearing?! Looks like you're going to the carnival dressed as a Gay Christmas! And that doesn't even exist!

Pale thinks he would have been more interested in understanding the weirdness of his outfit if he knew what Carnival, Christmas or Gay was, and why did Template think he was dressed in it? He decided that he should ignore this conversation for now, at least until the battle was over.

With Template victorious and Pale trapped in masses of code blue that looked like a straitjacket on his body. Template started talking between curious and worried – Did someone steal your clothes? Forced you to use this?

- Are not mine. I got them.

- Oh, I'm glad they are- WAIT! YOU STOLE IT?! – Template said in a disgusted scream, Pale didn't pay much attention, the other was always too excited for his liking. But now he was being complicated, the clothes were his now, who cares if they're stolen?

- You can't steal what you want! And the people who are the real owners of these clothes? Did you attack them?

- Killed.

- YOU KILLED THEM?! – He let out a furious scream. Pale was starting to find him irritating, more than usual. Then as he couldn't get out he just turned his head to the side, uninterested. That made the other snort.

- You don't kill people for clothes!! Even being a cruel villain, be reasonable! – He says approaching the other with a frown and putting his hands on his hips.

Pale didn't understand the other's anger again, but decided not to question it. Template came out of her pose as a mother punishing her son and sat down across from the other as he healed.

- Anyway, why steal clothes? I thought you already had yours – Template asks, calmer but still with a shadow of anger in his expression.

- There was only one. Not much color. Boring.

Template listens and his eyes widen for a moment. He puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

- So you were looking for new clothes because you only had one that you thought was boring? It makes sense, I don't have a lot of clothes too, you know. Only the necessary. I thought you were like that too, but it's normal to want different clothes, common humans and monsters like to have them - Template started to say, not looking at any specific place, just trying to understand.

- But you said without much color... Would you only find an interesting outfit if it is colored, in some strong or strange color? It's a bizarre style, I have to say. But apparently you like it, what really matters is that, and apparently you don't mind people thinking it's weird either, so I guess it's okay - Template concluded, looking again at Pale.

- Well it would be okay if you didn't kill people to get your clothes. But other than that I understand everything - He completed, looking seriously at his enemy despite the slight tone of voice.

Pale takes a few seconds to process Template's long and quick conversation. Are all conversations like this or does Template just like to talk? So far there's nothing to prove their conversion process is wrong, so whatever.

He thinks Template got his hypotheses right, but he still doesn't see the reason for so much stress just because of a few routine deaths. Didn't extras die all the time? So how important is this?

- OH! I have an idea! You like colorful and interesting clothes, right? I could make them (or ask someone to make them) and give them to you! That way you won't have to kill anyone! What do you think? New clothes anytime you want and however you want for just the no-kill fee! Done deal?

Pale was surprised by the proposal, to be honest. He's not against the idea of getting new clothes without having to go looking for them in random AUs, especially since some people aren't easy to kill at first, and they end up in a fight and Pale doesn't like bloodstains so much. , can spoil the actual color of them and the fabric.

So it is a good proposal for him. But why?

Why would Template offer her time to get him clothes just so he would stop killing extras? It wouldn't change much. It wouldn't stop sucking and destroying AUs, so why? He would like to understand the reason behind Template's actions, why he was so complicated and unpredictable.

- Why?

- Hmm. Why what? Are you talking about the deal? Well, every life is important, and even a single person can make a huge difference in the collective's life and in its history - Template says with a wide smile that seemed much more exciting than the ones he did when posing at the beginning of fights.

It was the first time he had seen something like this in the other. It was different. He didn't understand why he got goosebumps at the sight.

- And also why no one should die because of an outfit! It's a piece of fabric, for the love of the creators! And then you-

- I do.

The other gave a victorious smile and stood up to do a great dramatic pose. But Pale's mind barely cared, still processing his smile.

Chapter Text

Talk.

He had learned this from Template, the non-extra and he talked in their fights. But was that really it?

He previously discovered that this "conversation" thing was quite interesting. It wasn't really satisfying, but not downright bad. He decided to find out more about it, and as the piece of paper he hoped had the definition of it in his dictionary was covered in blood (a consequence of killing so unpredictably), he decided to learn about it on some of his exploratory field trips.

He noticed some extras doing this, but it was weird how they did it. They spoke loudly, but not much like Template, and most of the time they spoke little, unlike Template, and they both spoke together, they didn't wait for the other to ask a question and then talk like Pale did, that is, it was weird.

That and other things, sometimes they talked touching each other, clapping each other, giving "hugs" and other things, other than him and Template did, after all, they never touched in their conversations. That's aside from the day Pale was healed, but Template barely touched him. Maybe he needed to watch more people.

He watched a couple of monsters do this with shrieks before bringing their faces together and touching their lips to each other. It was a strange scene. He just walked away, confused. He came to the conclusion that these extras didn't know how to talk.

He decided he wouldn't visit Undernovela again unless it was to suck it up.

It was a very confusing place and a little too dramatic. It reminded him briefly of Template.

Chapter Text

Pale was lying (or rather slumped) face down in a puddle of paint on Underfell's floor, he underestimated the abilities of the skeleton brothers and ended up losing an arm. It was a little demotivating.

So he teleported somewhere on the Surface and stayed in his puddle, waiting for his ink to develop and remake his arm before he went to eat this AU.

It's been a while since he's seen Template, but that doesn't stop him from recognizing the sound of his portal as he lands on his right side, looking up a little, Pale sees him looking at him with a look of concern and disappointment.

- Why am I not surprised? You, villain, underestimated the forces of good and decided to attack a universe not very hospitable, well done. Maybe that will stop you from destroying universes!

- Not.

Template lets out a tired sigh. Putting a hand on his face as he mumbled something like, "I don't have the patience for this", before he remembers something and his face lights up with happiness - Are you following our clothing deal?

- Deal?

The creator's face closes up – The deal for you to stop killing people for clothes so I could give it to you for free! Remember? Please tell me you didn't kill anyone for an outfit after that.

- I didn't.

- Ah, thanks to the creators. I thought you weren't going to make the right deal at first - Template says relieved, looking discreetly where his arm should be, looking slightly annoyed or worried.

- And my clothes?

The creator smiles a smile that could easily be described as manic before smoothing the glass out of his face (called glasses according to his new dictionary discovery) and taking out his giant pen and drawing a circle in the air in front of him.

There was a red mark where the tip of the pen passed and the circle inside began to glow. A portal.

From it fell dozens of colorful clothes, sweaters, blouses, dresses, pants, even shoes! Pale blinked, a little surprised, he found it incredibly satisfying and even lifted his head for a better look.

- So, what do you think?

The other's face had a proud and happy expression, he placed a hand on his chest and did one of his hero poses.

- Satisfactory.

Template throws a victory punch in the air. Pale doesn't understand what all the excitement is about. He gets up, even though he's still missing half his arm, and approaches the clothes. They were really interesting, and there were still accessories, necklaces, baubles, everything colored or shiny. If he had any emotions he would probably be happy.

- I'm glad you liked it.

He gives Pale that weird smile again, making Pale shiver and suddenly become more interested in the other.

- It was hard to find you outside of a fight, so I was thinking, what if instead of having to look for you (or give clothes to an enemy after a fight) I would go to your house and deliver you personally? What do you think?

- Don't have it.

- Do not have what?

- House.

- Oh yeah, you don't- WHAT?! What do you mean you don't have a house? A wily villain like you! If you don't have a house, where do you live?

- On the Blank Sheet.

And then Template's face twists into a grimace. His eyes fluttered and his body started to fill with pixels. Pale looks at his unusual reaction and has to admit that it makes him a little uncomfortable to see him trembling for something.

Template mumbles something about AntiBoid or something, and voices.

Pale wonders what he meant. As the other didn't seem to but remember his presence, lost in something, Pale decides to use the "incorrect" methods of communication and speak into the conversation even without a question.

- Template?

He finally seems to wake up, with a startled jump he looks around nervously at something before sighing in relief. Pale thinks the other has some special ability to become more complex and interesting that he uses against him at times like this. Because now Pale has taken an interest in his actions.

- Sorry about that... I don't think I can go to... How about I create a portal to your house and send you clothes every week?

- Week?

- Oh, hmm, just know it's going to be delivered - He says scratching the back of his neck and leaving. Pale gets his clothes in paint and they both melt until they get "home".

Chapter Text

Eating or soaking up something other than ink was normal for ordinary people, but absolutely strange and unnecessary for Pale.

He saw some beings doing this with substances called food. Some ate little, others a lot, depending on the need and desire.

One day he and Template met on one of their exploration days (Pale got the equivalent of a pencil, and other curious objects) and Template was eating.

The black-boned one offered it a little with a smug smile - This is the best chocolate in all existing universes!! And I, brave opponent, own it. Do you want to taste it? - He said.

Pale accepted, maybe it was like the colors.

Was not.

No emotion or relief passed. And she started to come apart in his mouth. Absolutely weird. He threw up.

The next thing he learned is that more enraged by the loss of universes, Template burst at the waste of chocolate.

Pale will have a scar on his skull as proof of this for a while.

At least, thought Pale, he is learning a little more about each other and the reality in which they live.

Chapter Text

Template hates the blank sheet.

It was a quick discovery made by Pale. Template hated what he called “home”.

Pale hadn't thought about it much before, barely making sense of the times when Template refused to look at the portals he made to the place when he sent clothes and accessories. Or every time he shivered when talking about the place or simply when he avoided talking about it.

By the way, he usually called the Blank Sheet... What was... Anti-Void? Yes, that's what Template calls the place. Every time he says the word, it sounds like he's speaking in pain or disgust.

Either way, Pale suspected the other didn't like the place. But the day came when they both met on the surface of Oceantale, in which..

- I don't like the Anti-Void, the 'Blank Sheet'... I've kind of spent a lot of time stuck in empty places and well... I don't think I can stay in one without going crazy, so in case you're wondering why do i avoid the place, well this is it… - Template told him one day when he was talking about the clothes he would like.

Pale was a little surprised to get an answer without even asking.

- I did not ask. - He responded earning a snort and an indignant stomp on the floor of the UA he had previously intended to destroy.

- I know you didn't ask, vile creature! I was just saying in case you were wondering why, out of curiosity or something, humf. He crosses his arms and sits next to Pale on the grass.

He is silent for a few long seconds and Pale finds it uncomfortable.

Shouldn't Template be talking about something insignificant right now?

Pale is more than used to the one-sided conversations where Template just talks instead of silencing. Not necessarily bad, just... An annoyance.

- Say something.

- Um, like what? WAIT! Do you want me to speak? Do you like to hear me speak? To talk with me? Without finding it tiring or anything?! REALLY? - Template speaks, the happiness in his voice and his bright eyes make Pale wonder if he should have spoken in the first place.

- It's tiring - Pale answers. Template seems to wilt a bit, pouting annoyed.

- But it's not uncomfortable - Pale completes, looking at the ocean from the beach they were on.

The silence continues again, but this time it's short and less uncomfortable.

- Good to know - is the only thing Template says.

Pale sees out of the corner of his eye that Template gives that different, soft smile. Template starts talking about something else after that, but Pale can't pay as much attention as he used to.

Chapter Text

“Friendship”, the word has always sounded very simple and uninteresting, but lately it is gaining meaning. At least Pale thinks so.

According to the stolen dictionary (which Pale is sure has always belonged to him), friendship: is a feeling of great affection, sympathy, appreciation between people or entities or reciprocal dedication between them. Synonymous with tolerance, familiarity, companionship and intimacy.

He doesn't really understand friendship.

But the more time passed, the more he thought he had it with Template.

Maybe because of the clothes, he thought, but lately he and Template had been seeing each other a lot, practicing conversation and somehow fighting less. Maybe because Pale is exploring the multiverse less and less as he no longer has to go looking for clothes, or maybe because Template is managing to stop him from sucking the creativity out of a universe with words and less with his fists.

Although it's unpleasant to be empty for so long, he's not upset about it, he thinks Template's presence makes him forget about it. He doesn't mind if they stay that way.

Mainly because Template has been flashing him those interesting smiles that always make Pale uneasy more often. Pale doesn't need to feel to know that smile seems more and more true and beautiful with each meeting.

And smiling means that the other feels affection for Pale, just as Pale tolerates him. So it means they are "friends", correct?

Pale suspects so.

And maybe he's even satisfied about it.

Chapter Text

- I've never seen a woman dressed like that, isn't she ashamed? As if being a monster wasn't enough.

Pale heard the angry voice behind him and turned to see a human woman pointing at him with a rectangular electronic camera and her face twisted in disgust.

Pale didn't understand, the colorful bathing suit and neon pink jumpsuit were surprisingly comfortable and colorful, what's wrong with his outfit this time?

She doesn't even know whether or not he killed to get them. (Which he obviously does, but doesn't do anymore, as Template gladly gives him news because of their deal.)

Pale doesn't care what the extras think, but the amount of times he goes exploring in some of his new clothes and ends up coming across it is surprisingly large.

Is commenting on other people's clothing a normal custom for extras? Like eat and talk? If that were the case, the extras would go from being mere extras to unpleasant creatures quickly.

Either way, he doesn't think much when he shoots the woman in the skull, who can't even scream before falling hard with her head pierced to the ground. He approaches his bloodied corpse.

Hmm... The upper clothes are dirty now, and the lower ones aren't interesting enough. Even with his best efforts not to kill for his clothes, Pale could almost be disappointed by the human's uselessness, but then he looks at the rectangular electronic on the floor.

He bends down and picks up the object in question. He was close but suddenly glows, his screen showing the dead human along with two similar children. They were ugly despite having interesting clothes.

He runs his fingers over the glossy screen, 9 dots appear on the screen that connect when he taps them. Interesting. Like a game or puzzle? He suspects so.

He goes back to the Blank Sheet and starts looking for the strange object. Maybe he should ask Template about it?

Chapter Text

Pale discovered that the more colorful and alive this universe is, the more attractive it is. But that with that positive factor also comes another negative, since not all the people in them are like normal extras.

He'd been in UnderFresh before, but hadn't stayed long, this time, he decided to explore the place properly. He didn't have any emotions up his sleeve, but he had a very colorful new dress and a pair of hot pink boots that he wanted to debut, so he decided to go somewhere where he wouldn't draw as much attention with them.

(It's hard to steal or kill someone when they're on the alert for you, was something Pale discovered in his later explorations.)

The place was so colorful and full of unusual monsters that Pale was just one of the crowd. Or at least he thought so.

- Hello, Brouski!

The voice was excited but had a strange tone behind it, Pale didn't think it was him and didn't even bother to turn around until he was tapped on the shoulder. It was Sans from AU, or at least it seemed..

He had a colorful jacket, an equally interesting cap, and… glasses (Pale vaguely remembers knowing the word from Template) very strange glasses. They were dark and had colorful words on them, almost as if they were engraved on them, but at the same time they were too static for that. Pale looks the stranger up and down.

"You look like an Ink, ya know bro? Even dressed weird." Said the other when he saw that Pale wouldn't answer. Pale thought for a few more seconds and decided, he liked the clothes. Taking advantage of the fact that they were no longer in the crowd, Pale attacks the other, one of them shooting a bone directly in the head. He is surprised when the other dodges.

Reappearing behind Pale, the colorful stranger pushes him into the next alley, just as he turns around the stranger grabs him by the arms and pushes him against a wall.

Standing face to face with him, the other's smile becomes dark and too wide to be normal for the body.

His glasses didn't have any words on it and Pale got a slight chill as he saw something popping out of the other's right orbit.

"I'm on a very important quest right now, so I don't have time to play." The stranger says, his voice sounding altered, as if it were two, and with a slight high that reminded him of Template's static. The stranger smiles more, looking his body up and down "But maybe I have time for a new body..."

Pale didn't wait for him to finish talking to dissolve in ink in front of him and reappear in a puddle meters behind him. Summoning two Blasters and shooting each other quickly.

The second the smoke cleared, the other disappeared, leaving Pale wary and slowly looking around at his surroundings.

- Is that the way to treat Sansy Fresh, bro?

The witty question comes from behind him, who turns around ready to attack only to see the other one yards away and backing away. The picturesque bespectacled being turns his head to the same before disappearing in a colorful "POOF".

- Like I said bro, I can't stray from my quest to play, but maybe next time I come we can have a radical time...

A dangerous extra, nothing like the other extras in their worlds... But for some reason, instead of feeling scared, Pale was just curious, but he didn't want them to meet again so quickly.

Afterwards, Pale didn't think much about the unpleasant encounter, forgetting about it after some time.

Chapter Text

Sounds were interesting.

They didn't have shapes or colors, but attractive vibrations and timbres, especially the ones Pale is listening to now.

He's in an AU of the surface, and the sky's darker in color (so it must be the period where the day reached its wane, which according to the dictionary means it is night).

Where Pale wandered there were many buildings and extras (many sitting at tables next to these buildings), many talking loudly (like Template), but many also hydrating themselves from strange liquids (the liquids smelled different from water, and different colors too) that came in strange bottles and glasses that Pale hadn't met yet.

He came to a specific building, which was called “... Bar's...” He wasn't sure what the last word was, but he was drawn to the strange box on the counter.

The box had no interesting shape or color, but sounds came out of it. Sounds.... Attractive.

He approached the establishment's box and touched it slowly, he noticed even before touching it that it emitted in addition to attractive sounds (patterned and slightly repetitive) it also emitted light vibrations, and when touching it he felt even more. Whatever it was, it didn't need color to be interesting.

A curious calm took over his mind and he ignored the noises of the extras at the tables scattered around the place and focused on the sounds of the box.

- Do you like jazz, young man?

The question made Pale open his eyes (when had he closed them?) and turn around to find the extra question. It was an old human who was sitting at the nearest table, with white hair on his head and brownish, humble clothes, nothing special, but the human was looking at him as if he expected something. Pale blinks and looks at the box and then at the human.

- What is Jazz?

The human blinks and laughs hoarsely before looking at him with gentle eyes. “It's the style of music you're listening to right now, young man. And apparently you have good taste.” Pale turns to the box again. Music was made up of sounds, so is jazz a type of sound? Good to know. “And what is the box?” He asks.

“It's a radio, it's for listening to music and many young people these days don't seem to know or care about it, but for me it's still much more durable and reliable than anything else my grandchildren like electronics” Pale might say that the whoever these "grandchildren" were they hadn't heard the box (or radio) correctly if they didn't like it.

- It's interesting...

He looks at the old man and considers whether or not to kill him to steal the box...

There were a lot of creatures around, maybe it would be risky to kill him (if he caused a fight the box/radio could get damaged), so he decides to grab the box and melt it in a puddle until the Blank Sheet.

There he looks up the learned words in the dictionary to confirm the truth of the human's words, while trying to understand how his new object works (and why does it "squeak"?).

Chapter Text

Pale couldn't get the radio to work.

It was a more complex mechanism than expected, but he thought he could decipher it, he was wrong.

He felt frustrated that he didn't have the answers in his dictionary. And with reluctance (which was basically a second's hesitation) he created a puddle and returned the box to the same place as before (or the place he thinks it was before).

He decides to go exploring determined to find an easier radio/box to operate.

He goes in universes with “music” presence like Dancetale and Underbeat, but despite having many satisfying sounds there, he doesn't find the snare in any of them. But just in case he leaves an ink mark on the universe to look at later...

He finds a similar object (but the box is different from the last one) in Underfell, from which sounds also come out. Pale approaches him to analyze it, but when he gets closer he realizes that the sounds produced are different from what he had heard before... Had you given him wrong information or was it just a different type of box?

The sounds are now more vibrant and automatic, and have voices, words and rhyming phrases that follow the rhythm of the music. Pale didn't find it as interesting as the other one, the previous box had calmer sounds and this one has much more sounds.... Rushed and violent. Pale doesn't find it unpleasant, just disappointing.

Without having to carry a box with the incorrect sounds, Pale wanders through the universe, dissatisfied.

He notices a monster in a red dress and very interesting yellow props, and for a moment he wonders where he should shoot so as not to damage the clothes, but then he remembers.

He has a deal with Template for that, he doesn't kill and earn clothes.

Oh, that explains why so many clothes appear on the Blank Sheet, that explains a lot.

Maybe he should write this down somewhere so he doesn't forget.... He blinks and tries to imagine if he's ever done anything against the deal, but he can't think of anything.

He wonders if Template could make him a radio/box.

Chapter Text

Pale was growing dissatisfied with the clothes deal.

However, he was even more distressed at the prospect of him ending up.

In the last week he started to get very common clothes, and repetitive colors. And some weren't so comfortable.

His most recent piece of stock, a green and red sweatshirt, was reasonably comfortable, and its colors matched being reversed, but it was still very simple and humble compared to the first clothes he'd received.

It was like other clothes: normal. The kind of clothes he could see extras wearing in their day-to-day lives.

As if that wasn't enough, a new type of outfit started being sent to Pale.

They looked ordinary, but they were different.

Not the different colored kind, just different, something Pale can't explain.

The fabric of some clothes was weird, they were really comfortable and there was something warm and familiar about them, but they still weren't that flamboyant and colorful.

And most were blue tones. He noticed that this type of clothing was being sent out more and more in the last few weeks, and he didn't know why.

Besides that he has the strangest feeling that he has magic imbued in them.

He wondered if Template planned to end his deal (he doesn't remember killing anyone in his exploration days, but his memory isn't that good), maybe he got tired of the deal, or didn't see it as advantageous anymore. ? Perhaps this explains the change in fabric quality.

Of course, Pale himself had already forgotten about the agreement's existence, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't feel the consequences if it ended.

Just the thought made Pale a little… “Frightened,” or what could be closer to that for a soulless being.

He didn't want the deal to end, he values his clothes, they were his treasures (and even unbeknownst to him, they were the only things that were truly his, not stolen).

Pale needed to make sure the deal still stood.

Chapter Text

Pale's questioning of the clothes leads to where they are now, the end of another battle.

Pale fell and was trapped between neon blue and glowing chains as Template scanned and retrieved the universe with a keen eye, and through a floating screen full of algorithms and data about the damaged timeline.

While it was intriguing to see Template working with a concentrated gaze, Pale was already reminded of his recent doubts and quickly blurted them out.

- Are you going to break the deal?

The sudden noise made Template jump slightly and turn to him with a frown – No, why do you think I break our agreement, dear enemy? – He says before squinting at Pale and holding his pen intimidatingly – Do I have any reason to break it?

- You do not.

- Then why do you ask? – Template says, crouching next to where Pale was still chained (as if this form of conversation was very normal).

- You sent ordinary and strange clothes.

- HEY! I do my best, mainly because you need some ordinary clothes! – He replies shouting and a bit revolted, before regaining his composure and continuing – And what do you mean by “strangers”? Unless your definition of weird is what common sense considers normal, your complaint is meaningless.

- Strange, blue, different.

Template blinks, its pixels increasing in amount for only a second before returning to normal.

- Oh.

Next, the one who blinks is Pale. He didn't expect such a short and unexplained answer from Template, surely there's something wrong with those clothes, it only generated more questions from the insensitive creature.

- Is there something wrong with them?

- No of course not! Do you think I would do something wrong for you?

- I don't know.

- Oh shut up!

So there's nothing wrong with the clothes. But they are strange, different, even in essence. Or maybe Pale just thought so. However, there is something about them, from Template's reaction, that Pale is still unaware of.

He tries to think of an answer.

- You... don't like them?

Pale's last question reflects the only explanation he can think of: that Template didn't like the deal, or the clothes, and that's why he gave them to Pale. But the strange expression Template made right after her left him even more lost.

- N-No, just.. – Template looks away, his cheeks taking on a subtle color, making Pale uneasy – There's nothing wrong with them, they're different, that's all. Don't interfere with anything in the agreement...

Pale didn't find such a confident answer, and it didn't sit well with Template. The whole situation was too complicated for him. Especially now that Template has taken on a melancholy countenance.

- I mean, if you don't like them I'll stop sending them.

- I like them.

It was true, he had nothing against new clothes. Many of them were quite satisfactory, but their common (and yet somewhat unusual) appearance left Pale confused. For some reason his quick response provoked a much more expressive reaction than expected from Template, their eyes met and the (not so subtle) color returned to his face while other intriguing smiles appeared on his face.

For a second, Pale enjoyed such a lively expression.

Before Template's pixels got worse and he walked away, backing away while muttering disjointed things. In the next moment, Template spoke very quickly about having too much to do and needing to go, and in the blink of an eye Pale was alone on top of a pile of clothes at Blank Sheet.

Glancing at the side where the clothes in question lay, he wondered in a moment of clarity how Template had managed to get his magic into the clothes.

He would examine them more carefully once he got rid of the chains.

Chapter Text

Pale found that he enjoyed melodies and music regardless of having his "supply" of emotions, so it makes sense that he would find it satisfying to go to DanceTale or Underbeat, they are considered musical places, and it's not often that someone bothers him there.

What he didn't understand was how and why Template was there too.

He wandered around Snowdin, the one in Underbeat's neutral timeline 9 (he ended up discovering the location moments later), with his green and red sweatshirt and necklace of some gold material that Template had given him, something that looked valuable but that seemed to match with its humble look (without much extravagance and color) of today.

He heard music coming from the town square and he approached it curiously, the music was upbeat, the rhythm a bit electronic but good.

Pushing through the people, not bothering to rile the crowd, which seemed to be revolting as he pushed past to get to the front, he felt a familiar magical presence. When he got to the inner part of the circle, he witnessed the most unusual and confusing thing of all, first by irrational movements and second by Template.

In the center of the circle, Template and Universe Sans were.. Fighting? He's not sure, the movements were fluid, artistic and not offensive. It didn't look like a fight, what were they doing? And why were so many extras around them?

When his attention focused on Template his questions disappeared.

The other had an excited and manic smile on his face, and eyes bright and concentrated, he only looked happy like that when he beat him in fights, or in his one-sided and peaceful conversations. For some reason the sight made him uneasy.

- Is this your first time seeing a dance battle?! -The excited, childlike question came from the puny, hyperactive, yellow being beside him. He looked like any other kid, and the outfit wasn't that interesting - I watch a lot but don't tell my parents!

A dance battle? He didn't know the concrete meaning of dance, they had many variations and it was hard to remember. But it has something to do with body expression, so maybe it's a deathmatch of moves? This did not enter Pale's head, there was no way to kill with these moves, so the battle was useless.

It was the round of applause that made Pale realize that the incorrect display of the fight was over. He saw the crowd dispersing and Template waved goodbye to Sans with a smile before walking away with his pen, Pale walked towards him and they almost bumped into each other.

- Jeez, sorry- PALE?! - The other looked astonished to see him. Pale watched the face close to his closely, the other had ragged breathing and sweat trickling down his skull. He looked tired. A pity he didn't kill the opponent, it would have been worth it if he had.

- Pale, honorable enemy, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you came to feed on this universe, if you dare...

- You didn't kill your enemy, why?"

- What? What do you mean "my enemy"?

- They were battling, and you are stronger.

- It was a dance battle! And I like dancing and the Sans of this universe and.. Well, that's not the point, the point is that in a friendly dance fight nobody dies. You understand?

- I do not.

- In Dancetale your life can end in a dance battle, but in a friendly fight, between friends and acquaintances or just in common universes, usually not. It's like normal dance competitions.

 ...

- You don't know what dance competitions are, do you?

- I do not.

- Do you know what dances are? In the general term?

- I do not.

The weary sigh that came out of Template didn't give Pale any of the answers he was hoping for.

- Look, even though we're great enemies and I have nothing against teaching you how to, huh, live, I'm not a dance expert either...

Template puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully, Pale was patient in waiting for a valid explanation before leaving and continuing his exploration.

- Dance is a form of artistic body expression and fighting, depending on the people involved and the universe can be mortal or not.

- Hmm...

- You got it?

- I have nothing to catch.

Despite the tired snort he received from Template the mood between them seemed... lighter. It was almost comfortable, or some similar feeling too complex for him to think about at the moment. Template tugged at the sleeve of his blanket weakly and started walking and pulling Pale with him.

The contact was minimal, Template was just touching the fabric, but Pale was intrigued and couldn't stop looking at his hand (even if it was gloved).

Both were walking away from the city (as Pale interpreted the gentle tugs as Template wanting him to follow), and when it looked like it was just the two of them, Template let go of his sleeve and stopped walking. Pale blinked, why?

- From today, I want to add one thing to our glorious agreement: Lessons in common sense!! - He says with his chest out, Pale would like to know what he means by "lessons" (Or why Template thinks he needs them), but Template continues.
 

- Let's meet at AU SC–3.85, all right? I have an acquaintance there who can help me teach you, I mean, not that I need help, just “if”, you know? - He ends with a chuckle.

- Why?

- Because you need it! And it's only fair since every week I get you new clothes and there's no way I can confirm that you've stopped killing for nothing. Do you see?

- I can see.

- Exactly, perfect, we start on Thursday! Write it down somewhere so you don't forget!

When Template leaves with a confident nod and a tone that doesn't leave it open for discussion, Pale is frustrated, perhaps his meetings with Template weren't as satisfying as he had hoped, he thought.

The thought disappeared when in the next moment he remembered Template's bright smile as he touched the part of the sleeve that the other had touched.

He worries that the sweatshirt has gone from humble to perfectly relevant too quickly.

Chapter Text

Pale discovered something very interesting when he was exploring new universes, a magic box, but that didn't have magic, and that varied between colors and sounds!

The box was on display in a type of building that served as a market (shop, Pale learned), and there were several of them on display for all the monsters in the capital that passed by, including Pale, who soon understood the relevance of exploring such a universe and pledged to return again if possible.

He was instantly attracted to such boxes, they were thinner and taller than the musical box (radio, Pale recalled), they had a unique essence and even though they looked, they had no magic, and despite their unusual appearance, they were better than the radio.

It may have been one of the greatest and best discoveries ever made by Pale, to find a mechanism that expressed the colors he so loved, and still made such diverse and curious sounds. The sounds themselves weren't similar to such Jazz, but they were still satisfying.

Pale walked over to one of them while the monster that seemed to be in charge or owner of them went to talk to another monster, its discreet manner and the distraction of other monsters would allow for a robbery without commotion.

Pale approached the mechanism, watching the wire that connected the mechanism to a small hole in the wall of the building, even though he found it strange Pale follows his plan, lifting the slightly heavy box in his hand and then pulling.

Pale almost takes a tumble when he notices that the box was attached to the wall by the wire.

Annoyed by its unpleasant existence, Pale cuts the wire in half with an attack, but to his unfortunate surprise, the moment he did so the box turned black.

Not understanding what could have happened, he swings the box in his arms, hitting his screen and spinning it in the air.

- HEY! – Some uncomfortable and very irritated monster screams – WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING WITH MY TV!? - The bear monster screams, going towards Pale with a fist hard with wood and glowing orange about to hit Pale.

Pale had to let go of the box to protect himself from the attacks, soon a fight ensued, a frightened and curious crowd watching as Pale dodged every attack, sharp bones ready to throw in return. At some point, to Pale's misfortune, his bones accidentally attack his chosen box.

Out of spite, he promptly kills the bear when it is distracted by the loss of one of his boxes. Seeing the horrified crowd closing in for a fight, Pale flees.

He decides to get one of these colored boxes some other time.

Chapter Text

Pale followed a note made on the back cover of his dictionary that said to go to the SC–3.85 universe on a specific day (the note had three markings that signified the passage of time in Undertale, each time the colors of the sky on the surface of the original universe they became dark Pale crossed out a marking, so, after the three markings were crossed out, he realized that he should go to the described coordinates).

He arrived in the universe's Snowdin, (timeline 3, time pass 85), at the correct considerable time.

He wore a blue coat with pink and yellow details sewn onto its sleeves and hood, his standard shorts, and sneakers with colorful markings on the bottom, which glowed and vibrated every time he stepped forward (the shiny shoes, as well as his purple-pink skirt and his green and red hoodie were his favorite pieces of clothing, the hoodie for an as-yet unidentifiable reason).

He stood still, watching the boring Snowdin landscape of the universe (which he doesn't remember what it is at the moment) while waiting for something he no longer remembers as well.

Eventually, a blue bird monster with glasses, not very colorful clothes, approached him, a little nervous and... Worried? He looked between Pale and the other monsters behind him as if unsure about approaching, but quickly gathering courage and speaking – Hmm.. Sir? Are you okay?

- Yes.

- A-Are you sure? I mean, you've been standing there staring blankly at my new bookstore for two hours straight.

- Yes.

- Oh, ok then. If you need anything just, hmm, call me... – Said the monster before walking away very quickly, entering his bookstore again and then locking the door.

Pale ignored his strange reaction and continued to wait.

A while later, which Pale wasn't sure how long it was, Pale decided to move and explore the said universe (he realized that a layer of snow had accumulated on his skull and clothes, and staying there any longer could damage them. them).

He walked to where the snow began to melt and make him damp, past Waterfall, and to where the moisture had been dried by the heat of the environment. It was an ordinary environment, this was not a special universe indeed. And he thought he saw some monsters with interesting clothes, but he vaguely remembered that you shouldn't kill them for clothes and moved on.

He stopped on a type of reddish earth and metal bridge with bars on its sides, if he looked down it was possible to see scorching magma and some lava in the higher parts. This was a view he rarely saw. He found it satisfactory. He watched her for a while.

- Excuse me, buddy – said the voice somewhat hesitantly – But, who are you?

Pale slowly turns around only to come face to face with a young skeleton, a Sans, with glasses and a scientist's coat, looking at him warily.

It was at this moment that Pale remembered that he was in SC–3.85, in the third timeline of Sciencetale, waiting for Template.

Chapter Text

- Then? Who are you? You're not from here – said the young scientist, still cautious, but now irritated by Pale's perpetual silence. Pale blinks, turning to look at him straight on and not sideways.

- I'm Pale.

The other widens his eyes slightly, his posture relaxing only slightly, his gaze sharp up and down Pale, analyzing him. His expression doesn't seem impressed – So you're the one Template is talking about?

Needless to say, the mention of Template interested Pale, who walks towards the other still without any intention visible in his expression.

- Template?

- Yes, he told me about you being his peculiar "enemy", the one he wants to help so much - The skeleton said monotonously - Whatever the reason... - He mutters before turning and walking towards the big white building between the earth and lava that coexisted with the CORE.

He stops a few steps forward, before stopping and looking back a little surprised, and maybe worried.

- Hmm, are you coming?

...

- ...Or maybe, you'd rather just stand there?

Silence.

- Okay, why are you still standing still?

- Waiting for Template.

- Ah, well, he's not coming now, but he left me in charge of guiding and teaching you while he's gone. So, will you agree to come?

Pale reflects.

The other one seems easy to kill and harmless (he doesn't have enough LOVE to be a real threat), and he knew Template, and considering Pale no longer knows why he was waiting for Template in the first place, there's no harm in following him. If it goes bad, well (he might end up being a useless extra and easy XP).

He starts walking towards the other, slowly stopping next to him and looking at him as if waiting for something. The skeleton in a lab coat quickly looked away from him, as if he was uncomfortable, and continued towards the large white structure. Pale recognizes the letters on its facade spelling out the word "Laboratory."

The doors open for them and as they enter the building Pale can identify other assorted uninteresting monsters ahead, but he can't look at them for long before the extra in the lab coat tells him to stay behind him and not make any noise.

Pale didn't respond, but he found it a little surprising when in the next instant the extra grabbed his shoulder and teleported them to another place.

It was a white room, without much color and full of gadgets, in other words, uninteresting.

Pale looked around for anything complex, or with color, or with sounds, but the most he found was a strange machine, with a light blue soul in the center.

He approached it.

He put his hand on the glass, the soul became turbulent with the influence of Pale's magic pulling it closer, but before Pale even had the opportunity to feed on its essence, the extra (quite uncomfortable in Pale's eyes) abruptly pushes him away of the machine.

With a firm grip on his shoulder and without lights in his eyes, the other sharply reprimands Pale.

- What do you think you're doing, buddy?

Pale, not satisfied with this pathetic extra, doesn't bother responding, just melts into a puddle of ink and appears again meters away from the other. With an ink bone solidifying in his hand, he positions himself and attacks.

However, to Pale's surprise, instead of the other receiving the attack directly in the skull and dissolving into dust, the other deflects it with a calm smile.

Then Sans tries to use some blue magic on Pale. There is no effect, as expected. Scared, he becomes distracted and gives Pale the perfect opportunity to try another attack, which, to Pale's frustration, the other also manages to dodge.

- Hmm, a truly soulless monster. How unexpected.

Then the other uses blue magic on Pale's clothes, using them to carry and throw the other towards a wall, almost making Pale collide with a table full of papers and a very strange and metallic object.

He approaches where Pale was trapped, walking almost lazily towards him, and Pale waits for him to get a little closer so he can attack him.

- Just because I told Template that I was going to help you doesn't mean I have to tolerate your attacks – said the one in the lab coat before Pale could free himself and kill him.

Oh, that's right, this is Template's extra, he has justification for continuing to exist. Pale had forgotten.

- Anyway, first of all, let's go to the rules – Said the one in the lab coat, walking away and sitting on a black chair with wheels, looking tired – Don't touch anything without permission. Don't destroy anything. Don't use your magic on anything. Do not leave the room or speak or let anyone other than me in the lab see you. Understood?

Pale blinks, he thinks about those rules and considers the idea of writing them down in his dictionary, so as not to forget them, but they are not important enough for him to put them there, he reflects.

The one in the lab coat looks at him patiently, probably waiting for an answer.

- Yes.

- Sweet, so... - Said the one in the lab coat as he turned to pick up some papers on his unfortunately discolored table - My name is Sans, but Template said you could call me Science, and sorry for my lack of patience today, we've had a lot of work at CORE lately and i couldn't fully plan for your visit.

- Template told me that despite being dangerous you were not, in general, hostile – The other says with a funny tone, as if he doubted this for some reason. Why would the one with glasses doubt what Template said?

The other continues – ...And that you needed classes on, well, common sense. That is true?

Pale doesn't know what to say to the skeleton with the irrelevant name and glasses, but if Template thinks so he can assume it's the right thing to do.

- ..Yes.

– Well, the sooner we start, the better it will be.

Then Pale is released from the blue magic on his clothes and falls to the ground.

He doesn't get up.

- Hmm, are you okay?

Pale doesn't respond, just blinks and lifts his face (previously glued to the ground) and stares at the bespectacled scientist disinterestedly.

- Won't you get up?

Considering that Pale is indifferent to the cold floor, and has no intention of killing Template's glasses monster anymore, no, he has no intention of getting up. He doesn't respond either, of course, with little interest in maintaining a conversational process with the other person.

After a few seconds of silence just staring at each other, after it becomes clear that Pale is not going to respond, the scientist's shoulders sink and he lets out a tired and resigned sigh.

- Something tells me this is going to be a lot longer than I thought...

Chapter Text

Now sitting opposite each other, Pale and (Template's) glasses-wearing extra face each other in peaceful silence. The other drinks a mug of coffee while writing some things on a piece of paper with the word "RULES" highlighted.

- I'm finishing the list so you don't forget, Template told me that your memory isn't the best, but with that there will be no excuse if you forget something.

Pale, who doesn't care enough to listen to him, is looking neutrally at the room they are in, table, chairs, papers, common and annoying. The soul in a cylindrical glass container, and some of the strange metallic objects in the room, however, are interesting enough.

They're not colorful enough for Pale to take them for himself, though.

A noise catches the attention of his monotonous gaze, the other skeleton is now no longer writing but looking at Pale, with something between calm curiosity and tiredness, still a patient expression overall. Pale looks at him in silence.

- We can start?

- What?

– Answering your questions, the “Common Sense Class”? Already forgot?

- Yes.

– Wow, it looks worse than I thought, we had talked about this shortly before I started making the list. How do you remember the things in your everyday life, those that are not remarkable enough to remember alone, but still too important to simply let yourself forget?

Pale thinks.

He reaches into his large pocket, taking out his dictionary from his extensive inventory, he places it on the table and opens it, some pages are dirty with blood or ink, but what matters is the colorful notes on each of the pages.

There are some highlights in some meanings on the pages, such as friendship, dance and radio. As well as very brief multicolored notes with an irregular handwriting, suggesting different moods for each writing, some such as:

"Jazz – look for",

"Sweatshirt - Good",

"4\04 – Template",

"Template's Clothes = Don't kill", and many others.

The last page opened has a very faint black ink note saying "SC–3.85, Template – # # #"

- Wow – says the Glasses Monster as he approaches to look at the dictionary, reminding Pale of his presence.

He reads some of the notes with curiosity, and Pale, a little possessive, thinks about attacking him so that he doesn't take the dictionary, but then sees that one of the "Rules" is "not to destroy or attack", which prevents him from acting. .

For now.

- This is a way of remembering things, and if it works for you... – He laughs a little before looking at Pale with narrow eyes – Where did you get that dictionary?

- It's mine.

- That's not what I asked.

- Mine.

- Okay, okay, I've seen that you're a hard bone to gnaw.

After that the monster smiled at him with a wide smile and anticipation, as if he was expecting something. Pale blinks.

- Wow, what a difficult audience I have today – He then says, resignedly. He walks away and returns to sit comfortably in his chair – Let's start again, then, to break the ice.

- I'm Comic Sans, but Template always calls me "Three" or "Science", because with alternative universes it's easier to have a nickname, apparently. He did me a favor and in return I'm helping you, his... Enemy? – He speaks as if it were a question. Confuse Pale – Learning some more common things, about life, things, monsters and how to act.

Ah, Pale understands.

He moves his skull in affirmation.

- Lucky for you, I'm a great teacher and I'm very patient in answering Papyrus' questions, which should make this easier for us – He says, smiling a little more, before getting serious again – So, every Thursday I'll use my afternoon off to teach you little by little, answering your questions as best I can.

Pale agrees again.

- Understands?

- Yes, Monster-Glasses.

- Cool... Wait, what did you call me?

- Monster-Glasses.

- My nickname is Science.

- OK.

- You could call me that.

- Yes.

- And you will?

- No.

With a defeated laugh the monster takes a deep breath.

- And why don't you call me that?

- Difficult to remember.

- Hmmm... I see - said the Glasses Monster, Pale doesn't even try to memorize the other name, finally.

As he gets up and walks away towards what Pale thinks is a dull, gray closet, he opens it and takes a notebook out of it, before returning to the table.

- Since you like recording things in the dictionary so you can remember them, maybe you should have a diary! With it you can write down the things you don't want to forget and also have a good idea of the time in which things happen.

He says, then offering the small notebook, with a yellowish cover with orange details, to Pale. With an encouraging smile on his face, which leaves Pale a little... Lost on how to react.

- You can keep it, it's yours now.

Pale for a moment just looks at the Glasses Monster's face, and then his gaze falls on the notebook, the "diary", with mild curiosity.

After a few seconds his right hand reaches the object.

it stops close It's light, the pages don't have many colors, apart from some sections and numbers, they're quite empty, and while it's disappointing, Pale feels a certain affinity with the object so similar to the Blank Sheet where he lives. Knowing that it's like this so that Pale would be the one to fill it with color is...

- Satisfactory.

- I'm going to assume that means you liked it.

- Yes.

- Well, I think this could be a good start.

Paleo looks on, mildly interested.

Well, he may not be Template, but Pale can handle it, he's acceptable for an extra. Or maybe... Maybe the Glasses Monster isn't a mere extra.

Chapter Text

Monster-Glasses recommended that the first thing he does with his diary is to transfer the information from the dictionary to it, Pale follows his instructions and rewrites them with the other's watchful eye.

Comments like "Waste of chocolate = Danger", "Radio??" and "Telephone" made the scientist curious, but Pale offered no explanation for any of the entries. Soon, all the notes already made were rewritten and Monster-Glasses took the opportunity to tell Pale to write down extra "important" things.

- Like my nickname and the days when we have to meet again.

Pale nodded in confirmation and wrote it down.

- Why did you write "Monster-Glasses, Sciencetale #######"??

Pale looks back at him, unmoved by the obvious indignation in the other's expression.

- My nickname is Science, please write it like this. And we should meet every thursday, if hashtags help you remember the days... I guess that's fine.

- What is it?

- What?

- Thursday?

- What is- Oh, well, it's a day of the week, each week has seven days, the fifth day of the week is Thursday.

Pale nods.

He understands, he doesn't understand why humans and monsters mark time in such strange ways... But he tolerates it.

He then writes this down to remind himself that the next time it is "Thursday" (and what a strange name, Pale thought) in Sciencetale he should come to the Laboratory.

- Well, when you're done, let me know and we can start answering your other questions.

- I finished.

-But you didn't write down my name-

- I finished.

Glasses Monster looks to the side and takes a deep breath, with his fingers holding his nose bone, as if he is seeking patience and strength. Pale doesn't understand what could have caused such a reaction. Extras are so confusing.

– Well, anyway, let's start with the basics – Says the monster, gaining Pale's momentary attention.

- Tell me what you know and what you don't know and I will help you understand more about both. First, what do you know most, in general, about the world, or the reality we live in?

Pale looks at him without blinking and thinks for a moment.

- Colors. Template.

- ...That's not very good, but, hmmm ok? And what do you know least?

- Extras. Feelings. Things. Radio. Names. Template.

- You are aware that you answered 'Template' twice, right?

- Yes.

The tired sigh that came from the skeleton wearing glasses and a lab coat was loud and painful, and Pale tilted his head to the side, somewhat confused. He responded objectively, he doesn't see the problem with that.

The Glasses Monster sighs, and then sits down in the chair next to Pale, both still separated by the space of the uninteresting metal table. He adjusts the position of his glasses and looks at him more seriously (and now that Pale is looking more closely he notices that the other has red glass for his eyes, just like Template's)...

- Let's start with something easier then. Let's explore what you already know to the fullest, what do you think?

Pale is indifferent, he just nods in agreement, as he usually does for questions he doesn't care much about vocalizing.

- Great, let's start with the colors, what can you tell me about them?

Pale thinks...

He likes colors, he likes everything that is colorful, that is different and alive. Colors are satisfactory. Colors are important, he thinks.

- I like colors, they are important, satisfying.

- A good start, keep going.

- Yellow. Green. My first colors, I like them.

The other shook his head, raising his left hand in what was supposed to be a motivational gesture, even if Pale wasn't sure.

- Colors are everything. Everything that is complete, interesting, alive has colors. Colors are emotions, the more vivid and stronger the better.

Pale thinks of yellow and orange, about joy and euphoria, about energy and bravery, which in large quantities become mania and lack of control. He thinks about blues, about sadness and grief, about melancholy and calm, about passive integrity. He thinks about red, about determination and passion, about aggression and obsession, of the deepest fury. He thinks about green, about compassion and contempt, about envy and kindness, about the contradiction that life can take.

He thinks in many colors, he desperately wants them all, he feels this hunger to be alive. It's like being reminded of an addiction.

- Colors are everything. The more colorful, the more alive. More interesting. More exciting.

- Wow, this seems like a very important topic for you... Admiration for colors, how did it come about? – The scientist asks, apparently surprised by Pale's deep and long answer (who hasn't spoken more than 3 words per sentence so far).

Pale appreciates the reaction.

- I don't remember.

- Hmmm, what about Template?

- What?

- The second thing you knew more about, you answered "Template", can you elaborate?

The other's voice sounded a little strange for a moment, cautious, the other's gaze is as calm as before, but something seemed different... Not that Pale knew what.

While Pale spent some time in silence, the other after took advantage of the distraction to use blue magic to get a black coffee mug that had not been noticed by Pale until then. The mug lands in the scientist's hands, it doesn't seem very hot, it says "Bone-Tastic!".

Pale tries to focus on the question again when the other's gaze falls on him. And well, about Template... What to say about Template?

- Colorful. Friend. Satisfactory. Noisy. Confused. Annoying.

- Those are... Very strange and conflicting definitions, I thought you were enemies?

- Friends.

Pale is sure, he confirmed the definition in his dictionary ages ago.

Even so, the Monster-Glasses look at him insecure, it seems disbelieving, and then he looks away a little and mumbles something, before looking at Pale with new eyes, in this case, with a more understanding look.

Pale doesn't understand what's going on in his mind.

- That explains... A lot. About what he said about you, it just doesn't explain how you call him "satisfactory" and "annoying" at the same time - Monster-Glasses says before taking a sip of coffee - And I understand, he can be a bit annoying sometimes, but why call him that?

- He is. Troublesome – Pale agrees and adds, there is nothing more troublesome than fighting Template when he stops him from feeding on a universe.

- But is. Satisfactory – Pale adds, after all it’s true too. Template's company is the most tolerable, his clothing arrangement is satisfactory, and his one-sided conversations are acceptable. If it weren't for him, Pale would undoubtedly kill Monster-Glasses and leave, without thinking much of it.

The other one looks at him a little... Strange, though. But still drinking coffee calmly.

- In what sense, if you don't mind me asking? Because I'm afraid of misinterpreting what you meant.

- He satisfies me.

The scientist chokes and instantly spits out coffee, then he coughs and apologizes, before looking at Pale in disbelief.

Pale doesn't understand the reaction.

- In that case, we won't go into details, okay? You can't just tell people these kinds of intimate things.

Pale really doesn't understand the other's reaction.

However, as taught, he immediately notes that you should not talk about intimate things to people, including his satisfaction with his relation with Template.

- I'm happy for you both, but considering you are other versions of me this is very strange. So let's move on to another topic.

Pale agrees, a little confused. Meanwhile, the scientist gets up and quickly takes a cloth to wipe the wet, sticky coffee part of the table surface.

- I'll take into account that you didn't know what Thursday was for our classes and your plans. I'll start with some basic concepts and common sense about monsters, then time and location, cultural aspects and questions, whether about objects like... – The scientist looks sideways at something written in the dictionary

– ...Radio, what do you think?

- Acceptable.

- Great, first, monsters and humans are two different species, here underground we monsters...

With the strange moment soon forgotten, Pale continues his first "class" normally, not forgetting, however, to write some notes beforehand.

He didn't think he would forget them, but with Template in his mind he wanted to write them down anyway.

Chapter Text

- There is a whole cultural issue related to clothes, not just cultural but also about age, gender and historical conditions. Humans are very strict about their standards of clothes, and monsters are more flexible, even if this also changes from region to region.

Monster-Glasses was walking back and forth in front of a curious white wall that when illuminated by a machine that began to produce colors and images of clothes.

(What the monster called "slate" and "projector", Pale quickly wrote down to look up later in his explorations).

The "class" started with a comment from the other about Pale's clothes. What was just an ordinary outfit from Pale's pile is actually (according to the other, at least) something unconventional. Which started a talk about, in general, clothes.

Pale didn't find any information very satisfactory yet, but wrote it down anyway.

Another curious thing, apparently, despite being easily distracted and forgetting things, Pale is a good listener for long speeches and an agile writer, being able to transcribe a summary of what the monster says quickly and uninterruptedly.

Probably something he perfected when talking to Template.

- Clothes are essential for protection, defense and attack for monsters, as they can impart magic to objects, including the fabric of their clothes. Humans can do this too, but most don't have magic...

- There are also clothes suitable for locations, climates or situations, for example, there are types of clothing suitable for cold climates, hot and humid climates, or appropriate for situations such as funerals, going to the beach (or in our case, going to Waterfall) , or go on a date......

Images appear in succession in front of Pale of what he assumes are examples of the different outfits. Pale has at least one similar model in every example, which makes him as close as a soulless creature can get to being proud.

- But above that, personal taste is the most important category when choosing clothes, even if there are inappropriate clothing choices in certain situations or places, it is usually something easy to identify, such as, for example, not entering the laboratory in a bikini.

The monster laughs when he finishes the sentence as if it were something funny, Pale doesn't understand. The monster seems to sense your confusion beneath your indifferent expression, and soon stops laughing, appearing nervous.

- I had forgotten that you are a bit clueless about things that are not practical and literal. It is not an example of what to do.

Pale blinks.

- If it happens like that one day... Not really. DO NOT consider this a possibility - Monster-Glasses says, his eye sockets unlighted and his posture tense, as if just the thought makes him uncomfortable.

- It was already strange to explain that "the guy in the eccentric outfit" is my guest at work without raising questions, if you come in a bikini I don't want to imagine what my co-workers will say...

Pale writes it down as a warrant, and the other seems calmer. He turns to the "blackboard" again and with an easy smile returns to talking about the subject.

- With that in mind, of course you can wear your clothes without any problems, just be aware that some places and situations have limits on taste. Other than that, most monsters wouldn't mind seeing you in a different outfit.

Oh, that's satisfying.

Going on a surface exploration usually attracts attention to his attire (that and the fact that he's a monster). If he manages to go unnoticed in the crowd of monsters he could search further underground, take the opportunity to find a working radio and interesting things like that without being interrupted.

- Good.

Monster-Glasses seems happy with a vocal response from Pale, his calm and lazy smile seems more satisfied now.

- That's right, there is freedom to use whatever you want here - He said with a sideways smile, before widening his eyes and turning back to look Pale in the eyes, looking nervous once again.

- Actually, don't write that down yet, you have freedom, but you still have to dress, write down that you MUST wear clothes, don't just walk around just bones, understood? If not, might end up just dust. Hehe, got it? Just the dust?

Pale doesn't react, doesn't even blink, just takes notes with a dead look on his face.

- Wow, what a difficult audience, I'm starting to think you don't like bad jokes.

- I don't like.

- I'm starting to doubt whether you're another me or not.

In fact, Pale isn't sure it is.

He is a short skeleton, shorter than most Sans, but he always assumed he was one. Not that he cares if he's a Sans or not, he's already Pale.

- Well, continuing beyond the topic of clothes, we have the-

A loud noise of static interrupts the scientist, a familiar noise that instantly attracts Pale's full attention.

- For my codes, I'M SORRY!

Template was now in the room, emerging from a portal full of pixels.

In unusual haste and nervousness, he walks directly towards the Glasses Monster, barely noticing Pale. How irritating.

- I was very busy checking out a new universe that has just been created and I ended up getting distracted and it took me a while to see your message, it won't happen again Science, I, the GREAT Template, promise that!

- Relax, half an hour isn't that much, I've had much worse delays at work.

Template seems to relax, his posture is calmer and his shoulders lower and are no longer so rigid. He thanks Science for his patience, and for a moment the scientist just responds with a giggle and a "you're welcome" that makes them both laugh at something that again Pale has no idea why.

Their interaction no longer matters much, as Template then turns to look directly at Pale, his attention is received with Pale's complete satisfaction.

- Hello brave enemy, how does it feel to have such a unique opportunity? Are you grateful for our immense and humble kindness? Happy to be here? - He says with his typical exaggerated poses and bizarre words, Pale surprisingly doesn't find them uncomfortable at the moment.

- Satisfied.

- EXCELLENT! As it is your first class, I will stay to observe and offer my assistance if necessary - Template says with an excited expression before sitting in the chair next to Pale. He looks discreetly at the dictionary and notes on the table, but then looks back at Pale.

- Don't mind me, I'm just extra moral support, I won't disrupt the class anymore.

He says this and then looks straight ahead, towards the scientist and the blackboard.

Pale continues to stare at him, even when Monster-Glasses makes a coughing noise and starts talking again.

For a few moments he just watches Template who has a simple smile on his face and a gradually less patient expression, he seems to be waiting for something.

He sometimes looks at Pale from the side of his eye, but is technically still facing forward.

Pale stares at him intently, not even blinking.

...

Eventually he turns completely to Pale, looking irritated. His hands ball into fists and he slams them shallowly on the table, angrily.

- Come on, answer! How rude can an enemy like you be? Stop ignoring him!

Pale blinks slowly, and then tilts his head to the side, somewhat confused, hoping that maybe another angle will make Template's words make more sense.

- I'm talking about the question that Science just asked you! Weren't you listening?

- No.

Template seems irritated by his response and slaps his palm on his face as if that would calm him down. Strange. He then turns to the Monster-Glasses (who Pale genuinely forgot was there) with his brow furrowed in something like concern.

- I'm sorry my friend, he tends to be more focused than that, I don't know why he's so distracted now.

- Hmmm, I can think of a reason.

Huh? Both he and Template seem confused by the answer, especially Template, as the other is very expressive, something Pale certainly isn't.

- What do you mean, my friend?

- Oh, don't worry about that Template, it's nothing.

The loose, easy smile never leaves the other's face, but somehow Pale thinks he looks more amused now.

- He's not a bad student, you know? I think he learned a lot today, I can't do anything about his memory, but with the new notebook he will at least have a place to check and remember things.

- That was a great idea friend, I knew I could count on you to help him!!

- Heh, you're welcome.

It's a bit unsatisfying to see Template with his attention focused on the other, especially when he's giving one of those smiles, those small and... Strangely soft ones. It's annoying.

After that Template leaves his side and approaches Monster-Glasses, they talk about class times and how Template will try to help him remember that and other things. The only time they talk to him is to tell him the class is over. It's tedious.

- Hey, want to hear some good news?

- Yes, friend, whenever you want.

- I told a chemistry joke in class - Monster-Glasses says while pointing discreetly at Pale - But the audience didn't show any reaction.

Boring and pointless. Uninterested in hearing more, Pale picks up his notebook (and some colored pens that he'll soon claim as his own) when...

- Pff-ha.

Template laughed a little, one hand covering his mouth, little pixels surging around him.

-Hey, why did the skeleton go to acting classes? He wanted tibia star.

- Pff-ahaHa.

Template laughed more.

- At least this one wasn't as bad as the first one - Template said, visibly smiling.

- Oh, is that so? Well then you know where do bad jokes about skeletons belong? In the skelebin.

- PFFF-HAHAHA!!

Template is laughing, the noise is loud and somewhat static, and Template's shoulders shake as for some reason he subtly rocks back and forth in the place where he is standing.

It's something Pale has never seen or heard before.

Sure, Template has laughed in his presence, maniacal laughs full of superiority and pride, but they've never sounded like this. His expression is also new.

The noise is annoying, but it's something new. New is interesting. And everything new about Template is interesting.

- Sans, that joke was horrible!

- Heh, but you still laughed.

- Yes, but that is not the point!

Despite Template being (what seems to be) scolding the other (incorrectly and unnaturally, as Pale knows that Template normally scolds aggressively and loudly), both have amused expressions on their faces, as if it were the exchange of words and the noise was satisfactory for them.

In the end Pale just sneaks over to a small puddle next to a mechanism with a bottle of water on top, and teleports out. There was no need to keep the commitment finalized.

(Still, he only left when he was sure to write down Template's new reactions to "bad jokes", something he plans to find out more about).

Chapter Text

- STOP WHERE YOU ARE, VILLAIN! This time, I, your arch-nemesis and great hero, Template, will not let you take advantage of alternate universes and the often innocent people who exist in them!

No matter how much Pale searches the dictionary, he never finds an explanation for the strange things Template says when they meet.

Saturday in Sciencetale, but an unfamiliar day in the alternate universe they're currently in. Othertale didn't seem much different from the original universe or Sciencetale, but there was a strange feeling in the air. That and the fact that there's no Sans in the universe, usually one of the first extras to find Pale (with the exception of Template, of course). Followed by Undyne, the human, and Papyrus.

Otherwise, it's a normal universe, ripe for extermination. However, Pale's feeding had to wait again, as Template emerged from the Snowdin Forest.

Seeing the other coming toward him, and uninterested in a confrontation, Pale flee.

Distracted by dodging a massive tree trunk hurled toward him, along with shouts like "HEY! Where do you think you're going?" and "Don't you dare run from our fight!", Pale doesn't notice the terrain changing from snow to slippery ice.

The next thing he knows, he's face-planted on the ground.

For a quiet moment, there's no sound nor movement, and Pale lies still, but a low sound coming from behind him reminds him of the chase, disturbing him. It makes him stand up. Or, in this case, try to stand up.

His arms outstretched in a pathetic attempt to stabilize himself, followed by his legs trembling as he pushes himself off the ice going up, and without any stability, he soon returns to the ground with a hollow thud.

- PFF-HAHAHAHA!!

In another moment, Template's voice might have been more receptive, but now was definitely not that moment. Turning his head slightly, he can see his enemy, still on the snow a few feet away, laughing so hard he's clutching his stomach and shaking. It's like the laugh the other one let out during Pale's last "lesson," only louder, still genuine.

Pale didn't tell any "jokes," but somehow managed to get a similar reaction from the other... It's a satisfying result.

Hmmm... Actually, now that Pale stops to think about it, the sound of his laughter isn't as annoying as he'd previously thought.

- Pale y-you- Pffahaha- You fell -pffheheeh - You fell like a sack of potatoes on the floor, I didn't PFF-HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! - Now the laughter was so loud that the other words were breathless, his smile had never been so wide, and Template seemed to be clenching his body in the midst of laughter.

Curiously, Pale had never seen such a reaction from Template.

He doesn't try to get up, just lets his body slide across the ice. After all, trying otherwise is pointless, he thinks. There's no point in trying to escape Template now when his company has become so welcome.

- Wow, I haven't laughed like that since— Oh, sorry, dear enemy, I got carried away, don't worry! Well, I, great Template, will help you up!!

Template says, even though minutes ago he almost hit Pale with an old log. Not that Pale cares.

Soon Template is stepping onto the ice too, he glides calmly over to where Pale is, looking almost graceful. Pale just watches him from below, aware of Template's smug expression — and from down here at least, his eyes are like crystals.

Predictably, the next thing Template does is an exaggerated pose.

- Here, foolish enemy, this is how someone wonderful like me walks on iceEH—

Within seconds and with a loud thud, Template was on the ground too.

It only takes a moment for Template to lift his face, contorted in mild pain. He and Pale look at each other, their faces quite close now.

Pale blinks in satisfaction; Template, on the other hand, closes his eyes, his face taking on a different color. No more than a second later, his expression twists into a grimace, and the look on Template's face turns deadly. He looks like he's about to strangle Pale.

- Not. A. Word.

Thankfully, Pale didn't need one anyway.

Chapter Text

Crying hurts.

Pale's eyes burn, the tears sliding down his face are silent, falling almost unnoticed. His breathing is labored, mixed with pathetic sobs and confused murmurs.

As if the lack of control over his own body weren't enough, the view of the mountain sunrise and its thin air don't help to calm Pale. If anything, the landscape only makes him more emotional. He tries in vain to wipe away his tears, his hands rubbing his face shakily, the sleeve of his sweater already damp from the effort, nothing stops the tears, though.

Pale has never been so sad.

He never thought a universe could have such a devastatingly melancholic essence. Before, Pale wouldn't have minded feeding on him, now, he is deeply regretful and guilty.

Definitely the last time he feeds on a Negatale variant; it's not worth it. Yet he unleashes his emotions to the fullest, reveling in them and feeling this sadness with the greatest intensity possible.

He suffers.

He sobs with guilt and regret, over violent actions he would never regret. He screams, in longing and despair, for Template, for Glasses Monster, and then for Template again. It's truly overwhelming.

He thinks of the people and monsters he's hurt and begs for forgiveness and apologies. He thinks of all the times he hurt Template in a fight, or in a conversation, and cries even more, until he's inconsolable.

Over time, the pain stops being devastating and becomes melancholic and bittersweet. He still feels bad, but now it's all reduced to empathy and sadness, and it's easier to deal with.

It leaves a calm behind, a light feeling in his chest, where his soul should be. He assumes this must be what they call "relief."

- You seem calmer now, are you feeling better?

Pale is a little startled when he turns around and sees the child. He admits he felt a hand on his back, running up and down, trying to calm him, but he hadn't bothered to turn to look at the source of comfort before.

Now that he looks at it, it's a very strange child.

Their eyes are large and empty, like nothingness itself. They are short compared to most human children he's seen, and they are so colorless that it bothers Pale to his empty core. It makes him consider offering his own clothes to cover them with some color.

Still, the child has a soft, compassionate smile on their face, and their hand grips Pale's shoulder as if trying to give him strength. It's not uncomfortable at all, it's even... Nice. It kind of makes Pale want to cry again.

- I've been watching you for a long time, but I never knew how to approach you. You tend to be hostile to most people, and I'm not one for fighting - Says the monochromatic child said as they sat down in the snow next to where Pale had been kneeling and suffering moments before.

- My name is Core Frisk, and you?

- M-Me?

- Your name, if you have one, of course.

Oh, he does not remember someone other than Template and Monster-Glasses looking to know about him. It's sad, still blue.

- Pale. I'm Pale...

- It's a pleasure to meet you, Pale! - It was the smile of a happy child, genuinely excited to make friends; it's satisfying. Pale quickly wonders if this child could be his friend one day.

- There are few Off-Code creatures like us in the multiverse, so I'm trying to get to know more before I settle down somewhere.

- Off-Code? What's that?

- Oh, you don't know? They're beings that exist outside the history and timeline of a single dimension, or that don't even have a universe. Me, you, Template, C...

- Template too?! - Pale asked, almost crying again at the thought of Template, he miss Template, but trying hard not to stray from the conversation so he could write it down in his notebook/diary later.

- Yeah, looks like you met him too. He's cool, isn't he?

- Yes, - Pale replies, without thinking much - He's my friend.

The child looks at him and laughs a little at that, as if there was something funny in what he said. He doesn't understand, but he almost cries. Oh, actually, he's definitely crying.

- Oh, don't cry! - the child said, quickly raising his little arms to desperately soothe Pale - I only laughed because I thought the way you said that was cute, Pale. I didn't mean to laugh at you, I promise.

- Sad... It makes me sad.

- Why so sad?

- Just blue, just sad. Negatale made me very sad.

Pale left out the fact that he had destroyed the place, of course, it was a minor fact now.

The child didn't answer, just looked at him sadly.

After that, Pale began to cry silently again, his face pained, now both of them staring silently at the horizon. The child didn't think much, just kept Pale company, their arms around Pale in a comfortable grip.

Later, the child disappeared, and Pale, still filled with emotion, wrote "Cool Gray Kid" in his diary, just so he wouldn't forget.

When he emerged from the universe, the sky was dark again, and Pale was completely indifferent to everything.

Not a hint of blue remained in his system.

Chapter Text

When Pale is restless, but not necessarily hungry, he tries to explore different landscapes he's not used to. The truth is that the quick notes in his dictionary, and the more complex texts that make up his new notebook/diary, both deal with important actions or things he needs to remember, but almost nothing about the places he's already been.

After his last trip - an unsatisfactory meal from Negatale - Pale found himself tempted to seek to understand and get to know the places better without feeding on them, or at least before feeding on them.

Some places looked too much like the original universe: Dancetale, Overtale, UnderSwap, etc… But some other places were similar with some differences, while others were hardly similar at all.

There are some universes with landscapes, shapes, colors that don't exist in the most common ones, and if Pale can't feed on them, he must get to know them.

Taking into account, this is his first time (that he remembers), visiting UnderFresh.

The place is very visually pleasing, full of varied colors and shapes, and with that in mind, Pale dressed stylishly - After all, according to the Monster-Glasses, there are appropriate clothes for different situations and places, and Pale plans to put that information to use, since fitting in somewhere means not being bothered or attacked by its extras.

Pale emerges from a green puddle, next to a can of drink with an image of lightning bolts and… A lemon, he imagines. He is wearing an orange shirt with a smiling pumpkin (?) on the front, a purple, puffy leopard-print jacket, and neon green pants with dark rips at the knees.

He walks slowly, his wet sandals leaving marks on the ground as he walks away from the puddle, and around him are many shops - he presumes - with different monsters in colorful clothes chatting and pointing at bright shop windows and billboards.

No one seems to give him a second glance. Pale stops and raises his head high, proud of himself, before continuing to explore.

In one of the buildings he passes, there are several things displayed in front of a glass window. Although it says "toys" (something Pale isn't sure what it is) on the glass, there's a collection of objects that look a lot like a monster, or some unknown creature.

There's a sign that says "Free: TAKE, PLEASE!", right next to the objects; the writing is kind of sloppy and rushed.

What does "free" mean? Is it a type of object? Pale wonders as he stares at the word before turning his attention back to the objects.

The one closest to Pale is kind of strange: It's pink and small enough to hold in his hand, and fluffy, with wide eyes, large, pointed ears, a beak, and small bird feet. Pale doesn't know if the "toy" was based on a real monster or not, but it is (like everything in that world) colorful and very strange, in a way that Pale finds interesting.

Pale can't help but approach and tilt his head to the side, trying to get a better look at the creature. He glances back at the sign; it has several lines underlining the "please" in the phrase, how strange and… Hm… Did the little creature move in its place?

A sharp bone immediately appears in his hand.

Pale thought he saw some movement, but when he looks back at the creature, it remains motionless, exactly where it was before.

Looking at Pale as if it really saw him. Strange.

Pale stares at the creature for a while longer, but eventually tires.

Having lost interest, Pale disappears with the attack, turns around, and continues walking; he still has much to explore (and perhaps something new to acquire).

Passing two, three, four streets later, Pale trips over a small cat (animal, not monster), and drops one of his sandals. The little brown striped creature makes an unfortunate noise and sniffs Pale's fallen shoe as if examining it; Pale allows it, and then the cat begins to look at him.

Before Pale could approach the cat or the sandal, the cat completely freaked out.

The animal's tail and fur stood on end, it jumped, made a sharp, aggressive noise, and then ran away.

Pale didn't know what caused such a reaction; most of the time the animals stayed away from him, from his coldness and restlessness, he imagined, but they almost never became violent (after all, Pale had never tried to kill or eat one).

Questioning the possibility that perhaps an extra had caused such a reaction, Pale began to look around. Looking back, Pale came across something unusual.

The "toy" from before was on the ground just a few steps behind Pale.

Hm…

Pale stared at the object, he took a few steps back without looking away, just to reach where his sandal had fallen so he could put it back on his foot.

He then launched an attack, shooting and piercing the pink, furry creature right in it's center.

With the creature broken and stuck on the ground because of the bone, Pale teleports to the nearest spilled liquid and exits the universe.

That's enough exploring Underfresh for now.

Chapter Text

He appeared in Waterfall, again.

The landscape of the underground, blue waterfalls is beautiful, interesting in its different shades of cyan, and curious in its bioluminescence, but due to Pale's transportation tactics, which in this case boil down to traveling by means of liquids, this ends up being a very common destination.

What is common soon becomes boring, even with Pale's terrible memory (not that he has any idea how terrible it is), he emerges in the place so many times that many places and scenarios are familiar to him.

Waterfall, therefore, is not occasionally Pale's ideal destination.

Surprisingly, today it is.

Therefore, his outfit for today was chosen in advance (something still impressive for Pale, who is perhaps one of the only conscious creatures in the multiverse who has a minimal notion of what planning and routine are).

His yellow shorts are appropriate for humid climates, and his red floral shirt is quite similar to that of an extra-juvenile he saw approaching the surface coastal wetland (beach), and with durable water-resistant fabric.

This, combined with his hat and sunglasses lenses, means Pale is more than ready to handle the tedious biome. Satisfied with his good choice of clothing, he explores Waterfall once again (although, considering he doesn't remember enough from the other times, this may be his first real exploration).

He then starts walking, squeezing mushrooms just because he wants to see them glow, staring at the ceiling of artificial stars as if they truly fascinated him, and getting confused by every Temmie that bumped into his path (and who usually ran away from him after long minutes of expressionless staring that gave them the creeps).

He wades through the water, climbs up and down rocks, rummages through the garbage dump (and finds a small, inanimate brown bear made of cotton that he decides to keep), and walks a little further until he finds a dead end and simply stops.

He is still walking on a dirt path, but it stops abruptly, only to continue a few meters later, as if an eraser had been passed across the middle of a straight line, dividing it in two.

Between one end of the path and the other, there is only water.

The most curious thing for Pale, however, is the yellow monster (?) on the other side of the bank. It looks strong, but it is small and yellow, and has an interesting orange beak. The monster stares back at Pale in silence, the only sound it makes is a soft "quack!" back. Strange.

Pale could walk to the other side; it's not actually that far.

The waters are calm here, Pale thinks as he looks down, but they are dark; there's no way to tell the depth.

Surely that shouldn't be something that could stop him from doing what he wants.

Pale thinks he heard some strange noise in the distance, but without paying it any attention, and indifferent to the adversities, he walks forward and enters the water.

He sinks with a splash.

The water is cold and dark, and much deeper than it seems; moving his limbs inside it seems to require much more strength than he normally needs outside of it.

There is also no air there, to Pale's discomfort. There is only water everywhere.

He tries to go up, not desperately, but frustrated, and soon gives up when he realizes it's useless; he keeps going deeper no matter the movement, and the light gets smaller with each passing second.

He quickly gives up moving too; the lack of oxygen and the enormous amount of water engulfing his skull make him slow and heavy.

His whole body feels heavy. All his bones are numb.

He feels tired. He sees himself in the dark.

He closes his eyes.

He doesn't even notice the water trembling around him.

He only feels arms holding him from behind, hands gripping his ribs in a firm thrust, and then he's leveraged upwards in a single pull.

There's light when he opens his eyes again, but his vision is blurry and he's too busy gasping for air to pay attention to it.

Somehow it's still cold outside the water, not that it bothers him that much, especially since the land where he landed is warm against his cheek, but having his own bones rattling from the low temperature is pathetic.

Somehow the arms around him are still there in a firm grip.

Pale would have even forgotten about them, if seconds later they hadn't turned him abruptly, leaving him face up to the ceiling and... Template?

Somehow Template was there, and the arms holding him are his, he's kneeling on top of Pale.

His expression is one of serious panic and his face is completely strange, with blue lines coming out of his eyes, occupying the places where his blue markings would normally be. Some of the lines go towards the ceiling, others are stuck to Template's fingers.

Unusual.

That and the number of pixels on his body, there were so many that it was confusing, and Pale didn't need a good memory to tell that this is a very bad sign. He doesn't have much time to process more of this, though. Because soon Template starts yelling at him.

– PALE! My codes, are you okay?!

– I…

– YOU ASS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! Skeletons don't float! And you don't even know how to swim to try to save yourself, in fact, you barely tried to save yourself! What an idiotic creature, just deciding to stand still and let yourself drown?!

Template yells, his fists slamming against Pale's ribs in weak but aggressive blows, his face contorted in a angry frown. It takes a while to notice that Template is also trembling (probably from the cold), and signs of "errors" appear in his normally geometric and expressive eyes.

Pale presumes from the aggression, trembling, yelling, and pixels, that Template is, for some reason he hasn't yet identified, furious.

– If I hadn't gotten so angry that tears welled up, I wouldn't have even been able to pull us out of there! Do you realize that?! You could have died, you imbecile!

Pale blinks as he turns his attention to Template's cheeks. Now, with his face close to his own, it's easier to notice how the blue tears (a beautiful, bright color) are somehow threads.

Strange, he doesn't remember ever seeing them before. He should write this down in his notebook and ask the Monster-Glasses later.
He loses his train of thought when he's shaken once more.

- ANSWER ME!! Why didn't you just teleport? What was going through that empty skull of yours?

Once again focused, Pale's hand rises without hesitation to the other's cheek. His fingers touch the long lines that trickle down, detach, and solidify across the other's face. They are warmer than expected and contain quite a bit of magic, perhaps more than the attack of an ordinary monster.

- Your face... Lines...

The touch lasted less than desired, considering that in a few seconds Template jumps away (and out of Pale's sight) as if the touch burned him. The other's face took on a different color, and his angry expression was replaced by something close to horror.

- What do you think you're doing?! - How annoying, besides having left earlier than expected, Template was noisy again. If Pale could feel anything, it would be disappointment.

- You know what, I don't care, don't touch me and DON'T do something stupid like that again, are you listening?!

- Yes, you're noisy.

- I AM NOT— You know what, forget it, just know that I won't be around to help you next time!

Pale would roll his eyes if he cared. However, a subtle fact caught his attention: why was Template here? How did he find Pale? It's unusual for the two of them to see each other outside of their battles and "lessons.

- You... Here?

- What do you mean by that? Of course I'm here.

- Why?

- Because you're an idiot and you'd end up drowning! Obviously!

- Why here?"

- What kind of questions are those? Did you hit your head when you fell? I better take a look—

- Why in this universe?

- Becau- Template stops abruptly, he looks away from Pale, opens and closes his mouth a few times, still silent. And then he turns around again, pointing his finger at Pale, irritated, but not as much as before. His face takes on a different color again.

- Don't get cocky thinking I'm following you or anything, I just have to be on the lookout in case you attack a universe!

Oh. That makes sense. Although Pale still didn't understand why he would help him out of the water.

- I'm leaving, you clearly don't know how to appreciate my wonderful company!

With that, Template gets up from where he was sitting on the ground a few meters from Pale, he squeezes some parts of his clothes (which ends up spilling water on the ground), and then his fingers, those still wrapped in wires, twitch. In an instant, the wires that were firmly fixed to the ceiling fall lightly to the ground, as if minutes before they weren't strong enough to hold Pale and Template together.

After that, Template bends down to pick up his pen, creates a portal, and disappears from sight.

Pale remains in place for a few moments before the puddle of water where he was lying becomes uncomfortable and makes him stand up.

The yellowish creature, with feathers and an orange beak, watches him while he does so, looking a little curious. Pale ignores it, although he finds its colors interesting in contrast to the dark, bluish environment.

Pale continues walking, perhaps towards Hotland to warm up, and thinks that despite the unexpected event, the exploration before wasn't entirely useless.

(Surprisingly, he remembers to write down his new discoveries in his diary Notebook as soon as he arrives at the Blank Page).