A certain skeleton's eye sockets gazed thoughtfully at a chess piece. It was quiet in his abode, the only sound being the ticking of the clock. He glanced at the wall where it hung. Odd, he'd thought…. Well, maybe there was still time. He went back to staring at the game before him. His opponent began tapping their claws on the coffee table, and he at last decided.

It seemed his opponent had not been expecting the move. They looked over the chessboard and quickly moved one of the pieces. After his turn, they took their time. The skeleton monster waited patiently. The other monster raised a paw, completely focused. Everything froze for a moment.

He ignored the pause in time. Was there enough left to finish the game? It was his turn again. The game went on fairly quickly from that point. Skillfully, he cornered his opponent, but they were doing well too. He nearly growled with irritation upon realizing how close this would be.

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

Tick.

Silence.

It lasted for a full two of what would be seconds. Again he ignored it. "Your move," he said.

The other seemed to have noticed too. They too, ignored it and took their turn. "Check."

Tick tock.

Silence.

For seven phantom seconds, they were frozen in time. Both were surprised. Why was there another pause so soon? The two didn't bother to question it for long. There was no point. He carefully examined the board. With an emotion somewhat like happiness, he finished the game.

"Check mate."

Toriel sighed. "One day, I'm going to beat you, Papyrus."

Satisfied that he was able to finish the game, he replied, "you probably will. You literally have forever to practice."

"We both do," Toriel said, her tone dark.

Twenty phantom second pause.

"Well, here we go."

The goat-like monster nodded slightly. "Nearly time to die. Again."