Polly's Eternal Adventure

"Now that's a cool entrance," I thought as I put up my guard.

Papyrus Blocks The Way!

I immediately check his stats, "ATK (38), DEF (22) - NYEH HEH HEH!!" He's just a bit above my level, which means I can handle this! For the first time in a while, I feel real DETERMINATION.

Papyrus: BEHOLD!!!

Papyrus unleashes his first attack, summoning bone projectiles in rapid succession. "Just as I expected, his magic revolves around bones."

Polly: But one thing I didn't expect… Is that the attack would be so slow?

I casually move to the side, easily dodging them. "Mercy is probably the best option at this point," I thinking to myself easily being disappointed. 

Papyrus: SO YOU WON'T FIGHT? THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!'

Polly: What?

'Blue Attacks,' huh... Sans had mentioned Papyrus might use them, but I've faced these attacks before. I know better. He sends out another barrage of bones, this time larger and faster. I stand still, letting them pass through me without harm. But as they finish, a single blue bone hits me from behind. It doesn't deal any damage, but suddenly, I feel a change—my SOUL turns blue, and a heavy weight settles over me.

Polly: Urk! What's... happening? Why do I feel so...?

Papyrus: NYEH HEH HEH! YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK!

Polly: (Wow, so even an idiot like him can trick me into his own trap. I better keep my guard up from now on.)

Papyrus: NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!

Papyrus sends out another wave of bone attacks, faster and more challenging to dodge now that my SOUL is blue. I stomp my foot, brace myself, and jump to evade the attacks. It's harder than before, and I barely make it through. Despite my efforts, I take a grazing hit—17/20 HP—even though it barely touched me. "If I keep taking hits like this, I'll be d-die!" I thought.

Polly: A heads-up next time?

Papyrus: OH? YEAH... HOW UNCLASSY OF ME. VERY WELL THEN, HUMAN! JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!

Polly: "Special Attack," huh... (I should be careful and watch for the switch in his attack patterns!)

I charged in and swung my stick in a downward motion at him. It dealt… 0 damage??

"You dodged the attack…" I said stand back up and facing him. 

Papyrus: OF COURSE I DID, HUMAN! "NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR ENEMY!"

I threw the stick aimed at his head and he swatted it away. And I quickly followed up with a punch which he narrowly dodged with a cut on his battle body. "[12 DMG -> 680 - 12 = 678 HP]" as the numbers appeared off his body for a short duration.

Polly: It's a good thing you took that to heart, or you would've just died.

Papyrus: NYEH!?! YES, YOU ARE RIGHT HUMAN AND WITH THAT BEING SAID…

Polly: (I can feel something swirling around… Like wind or something… Is it.. Magic?)

Papyrus channels a bit of magic and summons two large bones that spin rapidly, sending it toward my direction one by one. I just jumped over the first bone and when I circled around Papyrus to get to the other side the second came shortly after. I jumped over that as well… Or so I thought I would. Suddenly I feel that pressure of gravity again. I'm sent straight heading downward to the spinning bone in mid-air.

Polly: (He decided to use the blue soul effect while I was in mid-air so I'd for sure fall for the attack.)

Papyrus: "HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" THAT"S WHAT THEY'LL CALL ME! I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY!!! 

I figured something was strange when I wasn't affected by the Blue SOUL effect. So I purposely lagged behind a second in my jump, so just incase it does happen, I would fall in the gap of the attack, and so just stay below the attack and roll over to the side to dodge the attack successfully. "WHAT EXCELLENT REFLEXES, HUMAN!" Papyrus complimented. I charged in shortly after dodging and came in for a straightforward punch. "AND YET…NOT ENOUGH," He said dodging my attack.

Polly: I knew you would dodge that mediocre attack and that's why…

I cut off my sentence picking my stick back off the ground and wielding it once more. 

 "I took the chance to grab the stick." I said, revealing my true intention of getting back my weapon than attacking and grinning with confidence.

Papyrus: I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE TAKING ME SO SERIOUSLY HUMAN AND AS GRATITUDE FOR THAT I WILL YOU SOMETHING COOL!!!

Bone sprout from the ground, large and small and projectiles, ready. The ground trembles for a bit and then finally. "What the-" My sentence is cut off as soon as I found myself lifted off the ground by a platform made out of bones. The platform isn't big enough for much movement but just enough to take a step or two. "Is this his special attack?" I contemplate.

Polly: Damnit, Papyrus, just what do you have planned?

I mutter as bones come rushing at me and I forced to dodge in a almost standstill position. I had to jump over the larger bones and land on the platform repeatedly, I was in numerous poses just to dodge the projectiles, swaying to the left and to the right; even ducking was part of that.

PAPYRUS: MY UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE! IF I SUCCEED IN THIS CAPTURE UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!!

"If I get hit once I'll-" My thought process gets interrupted when I miss a jump and get knocked off the platform. "[3 DMG -> 14/20]" 

Polly: No-

Mani: I got you!

Mani says as she grabs my hands to help me land safely on the ground. 

Polly: Mani? Where the hell have you've been!?!

Mani: There were things I had to take care of but I've know-

Polly: Watch out! 

A bone comes heading towards us but I move Mani aside and parry the attack. "Oh, that's right! Your battling Papyrus!" Mani exclaims in notice of the situation.

[M] 

Polly: Fine, we'll talk about your situation later. But for right now, I need information on this guy.

Mani: Oh, okay! Let's see… He's 6'4 ft tall, He likes spaghetti, His social media account is…

Polly: No, not that! I need info that can help me win.

Mani: Got it! Well, that's easy! You ready to hear?

Polly: Yeah, what's the plan?

[M]

… … …

… 

..

.

Papyrus: I BET EVEN THE KING WILL DECIDE TO TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!!! AND MY BROTHER WILL ... WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH.

AND I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS!! BUT... HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SINCERELY LIKE ME???

Polly: You won't.

Papyrus: NYEH?

Polly: You say you want everyone to shower you with praise, love, and the attention of all monsterkind. But you haven't even considered whether any of it would be genuine.

Papyrus: NYEH? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

Polly: Think about it, Papyrus. If you capture me just to gain fame, are monsters admiring you for who you really are, or just because you did something they wanted?

Papyrus: BUT... I'LL BE A HERO! THEY'LL FINALLY SEE HOW GREAT I AM!

I charge in and strike my stick dead center of his battle body as soon as I saw him falter.

"[25 DMG]" Numbers peer off of him as he is down to 643 total HP.

Polly: Will they, though? Or will they just see you as a means to an end? Someone who captured a human because it was convenient.

Papyrus: I... I DON'T...

He summons bones from the ground but the pattern easily predictable it seems it's true as I read in the library. "Monsters express themselves through magic. So, the more excited we are, the more ATK or effect we produce during battle." It seems with this I can exploit attack patterns just like the battle with Toriel. It's a good thing I took the time in library to read all of the books even if some of them were pointless. I dodge the attacks with low difficulty. And counter with another strike but he blocks it reducing the damage by 50% "[10 DMG]."

Polly: You're chasing approval from others without realizing that true respect and friendship come from being genuine, not from doing what you think will make others like you.

Polly: You say you want everyone to shower you with praise, love, and the attention of all monsterkind. But you haven't even considered whether any of that is real. Fans? Admirers? They only care about the image of you, not you.

Papyrus: NYEH?

Polly: They'll cheer for the Papyrus they think you are—tough, strong, confident. But real friends? They see who you really are. They're there when the crowd isn't. When it gets quiet, and the cheering stops, what's left?

Papyrus: MY FRIENDS WILL BE MY FANS, AND MY FANS WILL BE MY FRIENDS! NYEH HEH HEH!

Polly: That's not how it works.

Papyrus: NYEH HEH HEH! BUT I WILL BE SO POPULAR, HUMAN! AND I WON'T BE LONELY! I'LL BE...

Polly: Alone. You'll be surrounded, but alone. You think Undyne admires you because of your "fanbase"? No, she sees you. She's a friend, and you'd have more of that if you stopped caring so much about the noise.

Papyrus: ...

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then shook his head dramatically.

Papyrus: WHY AM I WASTING TIME TALKING TO THE HUMAN INSTEAD OF CAPTURING??

He started charging up another attack, bones appearing and swirling around him.

Papyrus: YOU SNEAKY HUMAN! I ALMOST FELL FOR YOUR TRICKS!

I readied myself, knowing he was about to unleash something big.

Papyrus: I'VE HAD ENOUGH! TIME TO USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!

Suddenly, he struck a dramatic pose and raised his arms to the sky, summoning... nothing.

Papyrus: BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!

His voice boomed with enthusiasm, and I could feel the air around us tense with anticipation. I braced myself, half-expecting a barrage of bones or something equally terrifying. Instead, an awkward silence filled the snowy clearing. My heart raced for a second, waiting for whatever was about to happen.

Then, out of nowhere, a small dog waddled into view, completely ignoring the tension. The little canine had a goofy grin plastered across its face as it happily chomped away on a bone, which looked suspiciously like part of Papyrus' intended attack.

Papyrus: WHAT THE HECK!? THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!

His voice cracked with disbelief. The dramatic tension dissolved instantly, replaced with the ridiculous sight of the dog munching away, tail wagging lazily in the crisp air. Papyrus' proud posture faltered as he glared at the dog, his skeletal hand gesturing wildly toward the oblivious creature.

Papyrus: HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!!!

The dog looked up for a split second but clearly couldn't care less. It simply trotted a little further away, still chewing contentedly, its tail wagging in an almost mocking rhythm. I stifled a laugh, but the sight was too funny to suppress a grin. Papyrus' frustration grew by the second.

Papyrus: HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!

Papyrus' hands flailed as he watched the dog happily trot off into the distance, taking his "special attack" with it. His disbelief turned to pure exasperation as the dog disappeared over the horizon, the sound of crunching bones fading away with it.

There was a long, awkward pause. I could feel Papyrus' frustration in the air as he stared at the spot where the dog vanished, still in shock.

Papyrus: ...OH WELL.

His voice dropped a notch, a mix of disappointment and forced optimism. He straightened up, his shoulders rising in a last-ditch effort to reclaim his dignity.

Papyrus: I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK!

I couldn't help but smirk at the sight of him puffing up again, determination blazing in his eyes despite the bizarre interruption. He wasn't going to let this go. No way. This was Papyrus, after all.

I readied myself, shifting my stance slightly, wondering what sort of 'really cool regular attack' could possibly follow up such a hilarious disaster.

Arose did several bone projectiles appear from Papyrus readying to strike.

Papyrus: Sigh Here's and absolutely regular attack.

A just like that it seemed it felt like as if time froze for a moment as I feel a strange feeling… It's not a sudden attack, new move, or his blue SOUL spell…. It's something different. Those words… It's… Not the first time I've heard them. Which is strange considering I've never met this guy before the underground, nor heard, or anything… It's strange. But obviously this moment of thought couldn't last too long because the next thing I noticed was a series of bones structured in a wall—a bone wall attack! Came rushing towards me. "Now, how am I going to get through that?" I thought. But, regardless of the initial impossibility of the avoiding the attack I knew the obvious action.

Polly: 'Guess, I'm going to have to jump!

Mani: Whoa, he said normal attack…. Right?

Two steps, and then a leap over the first one, then the second and third. You'd think I'd be qualified for the Olympics by now. But then again, it might look a bit odd to casually jump over ten-meter bone walls like it's nothing.

I didn't forget about the other projectiles he had ready. I circled around Papyrus, dodging bones and closed in for an attack from behind. "You're wide open, Papyrus!" I exclaimed as I struck downwards with my stick. Instead of clashing his "battle body," it clashed with a sturdy bone that sprouted from the ground between [Blocking] my attack. 

Papyrus: PATIENCE HUMAN FOR I AM NOT YET DONE! NYEH!

Polly: Damn. I should've known you wouldn't be caught off guard like that.

Dancing around the snow, swaying left and right, jumping back and forth, closing the gap with more and more opportunities to attack, even dodging the bones that spelled out "Cool dude" on a skateboard? Clearly Papyrus wasn't going to hold out for too much longer. As he continued to attack I could feel that same feeling of wind swirling in the air but this time is more potent. "Something big is coming, I can feel it in the air." I mumbled.

Mani: Oh! It's this attack! Get ready, Polly!

Polly: Get ready? What's about to happen?

The ground trembled for a little and then lots of bone sprouted from the ground, I scrambled around evading them, "What's this!? Mani, you didn't tell me this!" I telepathically exclaimed to her and she just gave me a wink as if she expected this to happen. There wasn't time to pay attention to her as making a misstep would lead me to losing a foot. Eventually there was only one path, to go forward and straight ahead he was, I wasn't quick enough for the bones to rise up in front of me and block my path and so I jumped over it, weirdly enough they gravity of the blue soul effect he had on me didn't feeling like it was pulling me down anymore, more if it was pulling me up instead.

"I feel lighter!" I thought.

And for his last attack a huge bone had risen up, the only thing to do was either to continue soar or…

"Well, if that's how you wanna play it…" I said.

I clenched my fist and swung at the huge singular bone in my path and split it in half.

"I continue moving no matter what it takes!" I exclaimed.

Mani: Wha- What!? Polly, she… 

Papyrus: NYEH!? THAT HUMAN PUNCHED RIGHT THROUGH MY MAGNIFICENT AVERAGE ATTACK!??

Landing on the thick snowy ground, I grinned, catching my breath as Papyrus did the same. Summoning that many attacks for a so-called "regular attack" had clearly drained him.

"Wait, he's tired now. That means I can spare him!" I thought, glancing toward the Mercy button.

But as my hand hovered over it, I paused. 

"Still not yellow, huh? I guess he's got more in tank waiting than I expected…" I thought.

For someone ridiculous as him, It makes sense that he'd refuse, I can't imagine the punishment he might receive if he fails to capture me. And besides, Papyrus wasn't just fighting for himself—he was doing this for recognition, for monsterkind, even if his approach was clumsy and a little self-serving. And honestly? I respected his spirit.

This fight wasn't pointless, not entirely. He was determined to protect his people and prove himself, and that took guts. But there was a difference between determination and senseless persistence. He didn't need to keep fighting to prove his worth—not to me. And as much as I enjoyed this battle, I had bigger things to deal with. 

I pressed ACT, gripping my stick tightly, and pointed it at Papyrus. With steady steps, I approached him, he doesn't seem to be out of breath but he did look pretty defeated in a way.

"Papyrus," I began, my voice carrying a mix of amusement and determination. "That was a good effort—really, it was. I've gotta admit, you made this… How should I say this… fun?"

Papyrus perked up slightly at the compliment, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten as he pushed himself up to stand a little straighter. 

 "OF COURSE IT WAS FUN! HOW COULD A DUEL WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS BE ANYTHING LESS THAN LEGENDARY?!" he proclaimed.

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his theatrics, but I quickly shook my head. 

 "I wouldn't say 'legendary' but a great effort." I said bringing the stick closer to his face as if pointing a blade at him. 

 "But what are you even trying to prove? You clearly don't want to hurt anyone—and as much as I can find you irritable, neither do I. This fight doesn't have to keep going, Papyrus. You've already shown me how strong you are. And trust me, I get it."

Papyrus blinked, his expression shifting from prideful to something more contemplative. I continued, lowering the stick a bit.

 "You're doing all this for recognition, for monsterkind. I get that. You're determined to protect them, to prove you're worth something—and that takes guts. But you don't have to keep fighting me to do that. I've seen enough, Papyrus. Out of all the monsters and guards faced you are the only one who continued on this path to capture me. That's pretty note worthy to me, very determined as well. You're better than I thought, dum-dum."

He tilted his head slightly, his empty sockets narrowing as if studying me. For a moment, there was silence between us, the tension of battle replaced with an unspoken understanding. I glanced over to the Mercy button and his name was still not yellow. So, I decided to go with a more direct approach. 

And so, I relaxed my stance, lowering the stick to my side as I let out a long breath. 

 "So, with that being said... will you accept my Mercy, O' Great Papyrus?" I asked with a satisfied grin.

 "YOU… WANT TO SPARE ME?" He said.

 "Yeah, I do."

Papyrus stared at me, his jaw slightly slack. Then, as if recovering his sense of self, he threw his arms up dramatically. 

 "NYEH HEH HEH! WELL, HUMAN, IT SEEMS I HAVE BEEN BESTED… IN A WAY! BUT FEAR NOT, FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER LEAVES A FIGHT WITHOUT A GRACEFUL EXIT!" 

 "What's he doing now?" Said Mani who arrived at my side.

I shrugged in response.

He puffed out his chest, his usual bravado returning. 

 "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DECLARE THIS DUEL A DRAW! FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, HUMAN, I SHALL CONSIDER YOU MY… RIVAL-FRIEND! A WORTHY OPPONENT, YET A COMPANION IN SPIRIT! YOU HAVE EARNED THE GREAT PAPYRUS' RESPECT!"

Baffled at his declaration I said, "I'm sorry, a draw? Rival-friend? Who said I wanted to be your friend?!"

 "NYEH HEH HEH!"

 "Quit it with the weird laughter!" I said mildly irritated again.

 "IT'S ALRIGHT, LONELY HUMAN, THE IDEA OF RIVAL-FRIENDSHIP MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND BUT WORRY NOT I'LL BE YOUR GREATEST FIRST ONE AND TAKE THROUGH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!"

 "Y'know, I'm actually not-"

And then he proceeded to run up towards me with great speed picking up a lot of snow behind him. It was unexpected so I got caught off guard when he grabbed my shoulders and gave me these… Hopefully-excited eyes of his, 

 "It'll. Be. Ok." He said rather uncannily with a thumbs up.

 "... Y-yeah sure."

I was honestly quite shocked and didn't know how to respond to that but if I'm being honest this had gone on long enough, so agreeing to this ridiculousness was the best option.

He let go of my shoulders and then held out his gloved hand toward me, and for a moment, I hesitated. And then I shook his hand. Normally I'd smile and just shake things off but I realized that I don't really care about him and I don't like him much, so, I gave him what I thought was a serious look showing him how I felt about him instead of telling him.