Wholehearted Half-Souls

Chapter 4: Shift (Part 1)

The sun is well past the halfway mark in the sky. A tall, skinny skeleton is biking at blazing speeds with a party invitation in one hand and the other hand on the handlebars in front of him. The pedals are moving at a break-neck pace as Papyrus makes his way to his home. "NYEH...WHY...AM I...DOING...THIS AGAIN."

The minutes feel like hours to his skeletal body. After a long period of time passes, his brother appears in front of him. "Hey bro, what's up?"

Papyrus slams his feet on the breaks and sighs. "SANS!"

"In the flesh...or should I say, in the bone?" Sans quips. 

Sans winks while Papyrus shakes his head. "ANYWAY, WHY DID I AGREE TO MOVE TO THE TOP OF THE HILL?! IT IS MAKING MY MISSION GREATLY INCONVENIENT!"

Papyrus' cheekbones blare red as Sans shrugs. "Because you got tired of my crap if I recall..." Sans smirks and smiles widely at his younger sibling. "Admit it, you miss me." 

Sans winks as Papyrus proudly looks up over Sans' head. "I WILL ADMIT THAT I MISS YOUR BEDTIME STORIES, BROTHER. BUT STILL, I MUST REMAIN STRONG AND THAT I CAN FEND FOR MYSELF!"

Sans nods gently. "No more bedtime stories, huh?" He smirks. "I guess this means that the sun is setting on that tradition." 

Sans lovingly nudges Papyrus with his right elbow, and Papyrus facepalms his cranium in defeat. "NYEHHHHH!"

"Just trying to lighten the mood, k?" Sans reassures. 

"WHY WOULD WE NEED TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD IF WE ALREADY HAVE A PARTY LATER TODAY, SANS?"

Sans shrugs and winks with his left eye. "Dunno, Papy. Just a funny feeling. Anyway, I'm gonna go distract the kid now so that he doesn't get suspicious about the surprise."

Sans apparates away. Papyrus shakes his head and continues biking to his next destination.

...

The scene is painted over with light gray tones. Time flies backward, passing through many months until it stops at a timestamp marked "BB06". This means "barrier broken plus six months" for the folks who are in the know. A large sign with the words "Colorado Springs" on the front of it shows itself boldly for anyone who would peer at it, stretching its hard structure toward the sky. 

The birds above sing sweetly as the sun sets in the distance gently. As nightfall breaks, if one were to drive into the city limits, one would not be pleased to see what was happening right around the corner in the depths of the alleyway closest to the city outskirts and entrance. Within it stands two opposing forces. 

One of them is a tall human kid who looks about as skinny as a twig. His head is bowed, and his eyes are covered by his long, shaggy, brown hair. His tattered green and yellow shirt sinks slightly from his shoulders, and he is gripping his hands together and frowning at the ground. The figure that stands across from him is a bright blue bird with large feathers. He wears glasses, and his beak shines brilliantly in the sun. He looks over at the human child, and a smirk covers his face.

"Why the heck did you wanna fight me, dude? I don't even know your name, and you're challenging me to a brawl? How quaint. But you don't know that I'm the best fighter in my grade level! You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

The human keeps staring at the ground, with his face burrowing into the pavement below. "You insulted me in class today, and I don't like that. Simply, you were being pretty mean."

The bird monster laughs and shrugs his wings nonchalantly. "C'mon, I was just teasing about the whole 'creepy' thing! And I was teasing you about the whole 'dead parents' thing too! Did you know that laughing at yourself is good medicine for the soul? You should try it."