Papyrus had been ready for the shut down, but, not this. This was.... not what he'd been expecting. And Frisk, she was so strong and confident normally, sometimes she'd have the same look that Sans did when he was having a particularly bad day, but other than that, she was... not like this. She sounded hollow and heartbroken as she spoke of having done himself, Sans, and everyone else wrong, and followed it up with how she would spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to them.

But he could recall no wrong she'd done to him.

When they'd first met, the child had seemed a bit nervous, closed off, and not willing to talk much to the tall skeleton. Papyrus had been deeply wounded by her actions, but he'd always felt that perhaps it wasn't just as simple as her refusing his spaghetti, or her not really wanting to be around him or Sans. He hadn't dwelled on the thought too long though, instead he gave being her friend his all. He even talked Sans into doing the same! Though, he had refused at first, muttering about how "now might not be a good time" or "she's been through a lot, just let her be", but Papyrus would have none of that. It was only through both his and Sans' persistence(and perhaps some encouragement from Toriel) that she'd finally come out of her shell and became a real friend to them all.

And now his dear friend was distressed over not only Sans and his wellbeing, but some evil she was convinced she'd committed and was determined to mend. Paps' soul tightened uncomfortably in his ribs and a strange sensation slithered across his cervical vertebrae. It was like a sensation he remembered from a dream, or perhaps the kind of nightmare that you forget as soon as you wake up. But something else filled him as well.

All of a sudden, a knock tore Papyrus' attention from Frisk and the skeleton all but ran to the door and threw it open to see none other than Alphys with a halfhearted smile and a bag of tools in hand. He quickly ushered her in, following almost right on her heels as she made her way over to the couch and looked at the shorter skeleton. "E-excuse me," she nearly whispered as she pulled Sans' jacket off of him and his shirt as well. She looked over his ribcage intently, searching for wounds or cracks or fractures before opening her bag and pulling out a strange machine that she sat on the floor before hovering a shaky hand over his chest. "Y-y-you two m-might w-w-w-want to l-look away,"she said softly. After all, it was rude to look at another monster's soul without permission, but they needed to find out what was wrong and if her was alright.

Papyrus gently tapped Frisk on the shoulder and began walking to the kitchen, hoping she would follow. They had their fair share of things to talk about, it seemed.

But as he finally reached the kitchen, he couldn't find the words to say.

What could he say?

He was lost as to what deed Frisk had ever done that deserved her self condemned punishment. She was so kind and sweet. She'd never hurt a fly, much less say or do something to hurt anyone. But she was convinced she'd done something.

Pushing the thought away, he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out the hot chocolate mix before moving around to find a pot, fill it with water, and set it on the stove to boil. He kept unnaturally quiet the entire time, not sure where to begin, or better yet, where to start. Usually it as Sans and Frisk having these talks, but it typically started with some sort of argument, and Papyrus did not like to argue with anyone, especially not Sans or Frisk.

As the water came to a boil, he moved the pot off of the burner and pulled two mugs down to fill them, putting two scoops of the cocoa mix in each before stirring them and bringing them to the table.

The air felt tense and he couldn't look at the human. He felt awkward, and the lack of talking wasn't helping in the least.

Finally, after a few more agonizing moments of silence, Alphys walked in with a relieved smile on her maw,"S-sans is perfectly f-f-fine! He's just s-super exhausted. Let h-him sleep for a few hours and he'll be r-right as rain!" Papayrus rushed over to the lizard monster, relief clear on his bony features, and walked her to the door with many thanks for her coming out to check on Sans.

Once she'd left, he walked back over to Sans, noticing his shirt and jacket had both been put back on. He smiled fondly at his older brother, glad that there had been nothing wrong.

He didn't know what he would have done if anything had happened to him.

But he didn't forget the problem at hand.

He looked to the human. "FRISK... I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS YOU THINK YOU HAVE DONE TO ME OR SANS, BUT...." Papyrus walked over to her and pulled her into a gentle hug,"I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW, THAT WHATEVER IT IS, I FORGIVE YOU. AND I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU. WE ARE FAMILY, AND I TRUST BOTH YOU AND SANS WITH ALL OF MY SOUL. PLEASE DO NOT TORTURE YOURSELF WITH THIS, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT DESERVE IT. YOU ARE GOOD AND KIND AND DESERVE TO ONLY SMILE."