A-n-B: this is an idea I've been kicking around for awhile, but it wasn't until I had stumbled upon searoot117766's human versions of the skelebros that I finally was able to ground it in my mind. It's sort of an OverTale AU in which everyone is human, but Frisk isn't a monster. So an all human, magical circus AU with an adult female Frisk. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Part 1: Hum Hallelujah
...
It was a new day.
Sun glistened through the edges of residual condensation left over from a cold spring night. The rays bent and swayed as a soft wind rocked lacy curtains, the bright light dancing across a sleeping face.
A soft moan left slightly chapped lips, followed by a muffled yawn, dainty arms stretching awake from a night of rest.
Frisk begrudgingly opened her eyes, blinking listlessly up at the ceiling.
She glanced over at the small clock on the side table, trying with all her might to focus on the small hands and numbers.
It was still early morning, she hadn't overslept.
Breathing out a sigh, she started to wake more fully, sitting up in bed, not without stretching yet again, muscles straining and contracting in different ways from head to toe.
She pulled her comforter off of her lower half and stood in a swift motion, feet finding purchase on the cold wooden floor which creaked under her weight. She rolled her eyes, this house was ancient.
A small southern home off the beaten path, decaying in its own elegant way. A testament to time and a strong reminder of the strength that can come from determination and perseverance.
Frisk had made her way to the dresser in the corner, pulling out an oversized blue and purple stripped shirt, a worn pair of jean shorts, black tights and obviously other dressing essentials and promptly assembled the items accordingly on her person.
She turned to the large standing mirror besides the dresser, giving herself a once over to make sure everything was in place.
Hair needed a quick brushing, the brown locks sticking up in a few weird spots as it made its way down to her shoulders, but overall she looked decent. She had grown tall in the past couple years, not overly so, but taller than her mother had been. Maybe even taller than...
Her hazel eyes drifted to the small jewelry box atop the dresser. She lifted the top to reveal a few trinkets, a couple pairs of earrings, several bracelets, but her hand went straight to a heart shaped locket. Frisk quickly took it and brought it over her head, tucking it gently under her shirt where it settled between her breasts.
Somehow, a feeling of calm washed over her. The locket had become a good luck charm of sorts and she had a feeling she was going to need all the luck she could get today.
She had a meeting at the town hall to discus the purchase of the land her house was on. Well it wasn't her house exactly. Ownership belonged to her and her sister, which she had politely tried to explain over the phone when the meeting had been established.
Her estranged sister who had left no trace as to where she had gone.
Though that kind of behavior wasn't exactly unexpected from Chara. She had always been that way. Staying out past curfew, sneaking out through the window, and overall simply doing as she felt inclined. She and Frisk were 'night and day' as her mother had always said, despite being twins. The second they had turned 18 Chara was out the door, onto bigger and better things, leaving Frisk to take care of their mother who had passed a year later.
She didn't even show up to the funeral, though how could she since no one could contact her, but still, somehow she had expected her to show up.
Frisk shook her head, blinking away the unpleasant thoughts.
Regardless, legally speaking, Frisk alone couldn't sign over the property.
Not that they were going to in the first place. Even with its decrepit walls and creaky floors, this was her home. It had been her mothers home, her sisters home. They could have the land when she was dead. Not like she would be leaving a lineage behind to take it off her hands.
She chuckled half heartedly to herself at the thought, finding it morbidly humorous how she had already resigned to a spinsters life being only 22 and all.
Tugging on her brown boots she headed out, locking the door behind her and pushing the screen door out of her way. It made a loud creaking whine as it swung closed.
The day was warm already as she set off onto the main road. It was a good 30-ish minute walk into town, but Frisk didn't mind. The air smelled fresh and there were new blooms all throughout the fields. It was absolutely beautiful out and she was determined to take it all in. Spring had definitely sprung and Frisk couldn't be happier.
Well, she probably could but she wasn't going to be greedy.
She had made it over the rusting metal bridge that went over the river dividing her land with the edge of the main town when a shiver ran through her, starting at the top of her head and going through her spine. She looked up from the pavement at the sensation, hands digging into her pockets a little deeper.
'The hell...?' She thought, turning to look back towards the bridge, maybe it had been some sort of static shock.
But the bridge wasn't there.
She took a couple steps back, eyes disbelieving before turning back again towards where the town should be, but she wasn't on the main road anymore.
She was in a sea of tall grass, large blooms sprouting throughout. She felt like she was drowning in it. Frisk frantically turned this way and that, trying to ground herself, to find some purchase in the reality that she found herself in. However her frantic turning caused her feet to become tangled in some low growing weeds and with another quick surrounding establishing turn she began to fall forward, letting out a small yelp.
Though she never hit the ground.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Came a booming voice just above her, she was dangling mere inches from the ground.
The figure pulled her upright, gently steadying the brown haired girl before waiting for an answer.
Frisk took in a breath, trying to calm her racing heart. "Y-yes, thank..." Her eyes widened at what she saw. Dusty white hair on a youthful face, a large glittering smile that made it all the way up to their eyes, which were a hazel similar to her own though in a deeper brown range, flecks of an almost orange earthy tone making them light up in the sunlight. But what had stopped Frisk mid sentence was the sheer size of them. They were enormously tall.
Well that and the face tattoo that mimicked a skull.
Actually now that the shorter girl took them in, eyes drifting to the hand that was still holding her arm, they were covered in tattoos of the bones that were residing under the skin of that body part. Boney knuckles tattooed onto actual knuckles and so on.
Frisk had never seen anything like it.
But she wasn't one to sputter away from someone based on looks alone. She was just caught off guard, "-you." She finished with a small smile so as not to come off as rude.
The taller being seemed pleased, smiling even bigger, "IT WAS NOTHING THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COULDN'T HANDLE!" Papyrus declared triumphantly.
Frisk let out a small chuckle, this guy couldn't be for real.
"Well, I appreciate it. Thanks again...Papyrus was it?" She asked, straightening herself completely and situating her clothes, gingerly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
The man nodded, "YES THAT IS INDEED MY NAME. ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE ALRIGHT?"
Frisk was a little put off. They seemed genuinely concerned and she wasn't used to that kind of attention.
Her smile became more sincere, "Yeah, but actually I think I'm lost. I was heading into town and I guess I must have spaced out because now I'm-"
"OH WHAT TRAGEDY!" Papyrus declared, cutting off Frisk's explanation, "FEAR NOT MADAM, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BESTOW UPON YOU THE BEST CARE UNTIL YOU ARE BACK ON YOUR WAY. PLEASE, FOLLOW ME. YOU WILL NEED A MAP TO GET YOU BACK ON THE RIGHT PATH! MAKE HASTE!"
And with a cringe worthy amount of dramatic flair, Papyrus grabbed Frisk by the wrist and started dragging her off.
Frisk was again stunned into silence, they seemed to be moving at a lightening pace, tall grass whipping around them, and before she could even protest against the tattooed man's antics they had stopped again. The slighter human hunched forward breathing heavily.
Papyrus looked down at them sympathetically, "SORRY, I SOMETIMES FORGET MY GREAT STRENGTH!"
She gave him a wary glance, but was quickly sidetracked by the sight before her.
The tall grass cleared into a field, a beyond huge Big Top tent stood commandingly in the center of it all, smaller tents filling out the area around it, stalls and booths creating a labyrinth in any of the empty space.
It was a Circus.
Wait...Frisk had never seen a Circus come through her town in all her years and yet...here it was.
Loud, cheerful chatter filled the air, lively voices bouncing off the multicolored tents and banners. It was captivating and Frisk felt drawn to it.
Papyrus stood proudly next to her, his chest puffed out and hands on his hips. "ITS MAGNIFICENT YES?" There was only a slightly superior edge to his tone.
Frisk smirked, it was definitely something.
"COME, WE SHALL GET YOU THAT MAP AND YOU'LL BE ON YOUR WAY!" He gave her a kind smile and they started towards the fairgrounds.
"So... do you... work here?" Frisk asked tentatively, was that a rude thing to ask a towering tattooed man?
"YES! MY BROTHER AND I ARE PART OF THE FREAK SHOW!" He proclaimed, "THOUGH I'M THE BIGGEST STAR!"
The girl gave him an impressed look, she bet they were.
Papyrus looked a bit embarrassed, "THOUGH...NO ONES EVER CALLED ME THAT..."
She quirked an thin brow at him, he continued, "BUT! BUT I KNOW THAT ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL KNOW OF ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WORLDS BEST LIVING SKELETON!"
Frisk let out a small laugh, she couldn't help it. "Well you've got my vote!" She commented and it seemed to give the taller male a boost in his confidence.
The two had made their way to the entrance, a beautifully intricate banner hung overhead, but Frisk couldn't make out the writing. It seemed to fade and change whenever she tried to look at it.
"AH! I FORGOT!" Papyrus suddenly yelped, hands frantically pulling on his white locks, "I'M ON CLEAN UP DUTY! I MUST GET TO WORK IMMEDIATELY OR UNDYNE WILL REPRIMAND ME!" He seemed almost fearful. Frisk gave him a quizzical look.
"UNFORTUNATELY, AND IT PAINS ME TO DO THIS, THOUGH NOT AS MICH AS UNDYNE WILL PAIN ME IF I DON'T GET BUSY, BUT I MUST GO! DO YOU SEE THAT MAN OVER THERE WITH THE HAIR?!" Papyrus gestured towards a lanky man with bright blue hair, "HES VERY NICE! HE'LL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE TASK OF EQUIPPING YOU WITH A PROPER MAP!"
He seemed frantic at this point, "GOODBYE..." His face quickly turned petrified, "OH MY GOD I NEVER GOT YOUR NAME. I'M SO RUDE!"
Another laugh escaped the brown haired girl's lips, poor guy couldn't catch a break, "It's Frisk," she extended her hand, "thanks for all your help Papyrus."
He returned her smile and then some, grabbing her extended hand and giving it a vigorous shake, "MY PLEASURE! GOOD LUCK, MAYBE I WILL SEE YOU AROUND!"
"Maybe," Frisk returned, but the second that Papyrus had let go of her hand he was gone.
This Undyne must be a fearsome person to behold.
Frisk looked over to the blue haired man again and started walking towards him.
He was chatting animatedly to a shorter dusty brown haired male behind the concession stand, "And man you would not believe what they told me!" Frisk overheard him saying.
"I bet you're going to tell me anyways," the shorter responded apathetically, though the disinterest in his tone didn't seem to deter his friend.
"Aw come on, B.P. Don't be like that-"
"Uhm, sorry to interrupt, but I need some help." Frisk finally interjected. The two men seemed to straighten up completely, they had been unaware of anyone listening.
"H-H-Hi! Welcome to Soul Suckers, the lollipop shop, home of the famous soul sucked sucker! Can I interest you in a free sample?!" B.P. quickly stammered out, he looked completely frazzled as if he had been electrocuted out of his seat, tone oozing with fake enthusiasm. He looked like a maniac.
"Ah...no?" Frisk was taken back by the shift in tone, "Sorry, you see I-"
"Ah see Burg, that's why you got to chill man. You're freaking out the customers," the taller commented, running a hand casually through his blue hair.
This only seemed to panic, Burg?..., more.
"No," Frisk quickly cut in, she didn't want to cause the poor guy any more duress, "I got lost, I was hoping maybe you'd know where I could find a map back into town?"
"Oh yeah, I can help you with that..." The taller had extended his hand in greeting as he trailed off.
"Frisk," the female quickly supplied, grabbing the hand in a nice firm shake.
"Frisk, great! Well folks around here call me N.C., and this here is BurgerPants," he gestured to his friend behind the counter who had started smoking a cigarette during introductions. BurgerPants took a long drag and gave a small lethargic salute, "He dropped a fully loaded burger onto his pants on his first day, stained something fierce so we've called him that ever since. Pretty notorious this guy!" N.C. wiggled his eyebrows in a lighthearted manner.
BurgerPants waved him off uncaringly.
"Good to meet the both of you, but like I said I need to get into town." Frisk hoped she didn't come off as too gruff, but she did have a meeting to get to and lord knows how much time had passed. If the sun was anything to go by it almost appeared to be noon.
"Sure thing, there's probably some over at Guest Information, I'll take you there." N.C. happily obliged, gesturing in the general direction of the booth, "See ya burger-pi!"
Another long drag and a "See ya Guy," was all the response they got.
The two walked towards aforementioned booth, Frisk happily observing the general splendor that came from every angle. The banners were intricate and hung in grand dipping arches, hues ranging from deep purple to bright yellows. The tents and tapestries mirrored the same sentiment giving the air a collective mysticism and whimsy that was almost hypnotic.
Frisk felt eyes on her so she turned to her companion, who promptly redirected his gaze sheepishly.
"Is there something wrong?" She asked. Guy seemed almost embarrassed.
"Nah, sorry, you just look sorta...familiar is all. Have we met before?" He scratched the back of his head and gave a half smile.
She shook her head no, chestnut hair swaying to and fro, "No, not that I can think of."
He let out a light hearted laugh, "Yeah and Frisk is a pretty unforgettable name."
A blush instantly hit her cheeks. It was subconsciously done, but she quickly hid her face so that the taller male wouldn't see, "I suppose."
"Ah! Here we are! Guest Information!" He interjected happily, holding his arms out in a seemingly 'ta-da!' fashion. Frisk smiled. "Give me a second and..."
The blue haired male seemed perplexed, "Huh...There aren't any here. Hold on let me see if he have any boxes behind the counter."
He quickly hopped behind the desk, briefly disappearing from view as he searched. Frisk waited patiently, she had probably already missed her meeting and she wasn't pulling a night shift at the Diner later so really, at this point, what was the rush.
"Huh, wow. We are all out, must've been from the weekend rush..." He stood, scratching the back of his head again in what seemed to be a habitual fashion as he looked around, "Ya know, we may have some in storage if you'd like to wait for me to check-"
"nice cream, what're you doing at my booth pal?"
The two of them turned at the voice. What kind of greeting was nice cream?
Then it hit Frisk, N.C. nice cream...though really what kind of name was that?
'Pot calling the kettle' her brain happily intoned.
Guy gave a smile to the approaching male, "Sans, my man, I was looking for some maps for this sweet little lady here, but we're fresh out looks like."
"weekend rush," Sans responded with a careless shrug.
His hands were covered in bone tattoos just like Papyrus' had been. Frisk obviously put two and two together, this must be the brother that was mentioned, though he lacked the jarring face tattoo that his boisterous counterpart had. He was also much shorter than Papyrus though Frisk wasn't one to talk, they still had a good half foot on her. He had similar white hair but piercingly sharp eyes the color of a tropical ocean and just as clear.
He looked over at Frisk and she froze. She had been caught staring,
"see something you like?"
"No!" She quickly responded which caused Sans to holler with laughter.
He gingerly whipped a tear from his eye, "hey kid I'm just pulling your leg. so you lost or something?"
For some reason she felt incredibly embarrassed. She was an adult after all and an adult should be able to get their way home without such a fuss.
But she swallowed the small bit of pride that had suddenly come to the surface. However, before she could respond N.C. filled Sans in.
"Frisk here's just trying to get back to town, right?" She gave him a small smile to show her gratitude. He returned it in kind.
"well, my shift ended about ten minutes ago, i can take you if ya don't mind the company." He gave an easy going smile with a small gesture towards himself.
Frisk tried to protest but the slightly taller man had already begun walking away, presumably towards the way back into town, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his blue hoodie that fell around him baggily.
Frisk looked between the retreating Sans and N.C. unsure of really what to do. She didn't want to be a bother, but it didn't look like she had a choice.
She quickly thanked Guy, who returned it with a smile and wave, and quickly set off after the white haired person in the distance.
"Hey!" She shouted after him, he didn't seem to hear, "Hey!" She shouted again, finally reaching him slightly out of breath. He turned as if everything was normal.
"hey is for horses kiddo," he said nonchalantly, "and last i checked you're a saddle short."
Frisk rolled her hazel eyes, straightening up.
Sans seemed amused with himself. At least someone was.
"Do you..." How was Frisk breathing so hard, "think you could...oh geez-" another ragged deep breath, "give me a minute?"
"aw did i leave ya breathless? maybe you should take a breather." His smile widened, his blue eyes looking at the nearly wheezing girl expectantly.
Oh lord, was he serious right now?
Frisk composed herself, "You're a real breath of fresh air, Sans, thanks."
He looked almost surprised, giddily so.
"i'm glad that you're not too winded then. i'm not c.p.r. certified, but i think i'd do mouth-to-mouth just fine if it was ribquired."
Was he...pun flirting? Was there even such a thing? Could someone stoop to such a level?
That was a bit beyond Frisk's realm. "Ha...yeah..."
A somewhat awkward silence fell, though Sans didn't seem bothered in the least, same easy going smile taking residence on his face.
A question suddenly came to Frisk's mind and left her mouth before she could think about it further.
"Hey, speaking of bones, why isn't your face tattooed too?"
Sans quirked an eyebrow and Frisk instantly started blushing, "Is that rude? Oh no I'm so sorry-"
"nah, not rude at all kid," his smile turned amused, voice even and unaffected, "it might be because i'm already a bonehead, but actually it's magic~"
Frisk wasn't buying it, "Your tattoos are magic?"
"do i see a nonbeliever?" he asked in feigned disbelief, "would a demonstration dissuade you?"
She bit, "Maybe my doubt will magically disappear," her words were accentuated by some sarcastic spirit fingers.
She had peaked Sans interest, "well i will require some assistance from my lovely volunteer. miss if you would please," he pulled at the end of his sleeve, "check to make sure there aren't any tricks up my sleeve." He seemed particularly proud of that one.
It only earned another eye roll and a slight shake of the head from Frisk, but still she obliged. There was nothing there but tattooed skin, ink running all the way up past where she could see. "You're clear."
He gave her a smirk that seemed to read 'just you wait kid'. "prepare to be amazed," his eyes were practically sparkling.
That wasn't the only thing sparkling. His left eye turned to a brilliant gold hue as Sans' hand began to glow with a blue ethereal force. He gently it ran over his hand and forearm leaving pristine unblemished skin in its wake.
Frisk eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock, hands going straight to the completely changed skin.
The tattoos were gone.
"That...that's a really neat trick." Frisk eventually responded, turning his forearm over again and again in her palms.
The taller male eventually took his arm back, "alright alright, better be careful kid or I'll start charging by the minute." Another quick swipe of blue magic and the tattoos were back in place before quickly being hidden again under a long sleeve.
The two started walking again, they had made it to where the tall grass had started back when Frisk had to catch her breath. Now the grass seemed endless, like they'd be swallowed by it at any moment.
"Sooo," Frisk began, looking for something to fill the silence besides the sound of rustling grass, "why does Papyrus keep his face tattoos on then? To perfect his whole living skeleton thing or-"
The white haired male was staring at Frisk, no glaring would be a better word. His entire presence and energy completely shifted to something else. To something dark, to something violent.
"Sans?" Frisk felt an immediate sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.
Sans seemed to be thinking over his words carefully as if trying to stay in control, "what...did you...just say?"
She was too scared to speak.
"that name that you said. how do you know my brother?" His tone was deep, menacing, his hands alight with swirling intense magic.
Frisk was shaking, "H-H-He helped m-me," she stuttered out. Her head was screaming to run, but her legs were planted in place, "H-he brought me here."
"liar." Sans breathed, he took a step closer, his right hand raised towards her. Frisk's body was lifted off the ground.
"papyrus is dead."
...
A-n-B: and there's part 1. Please let me know what you think in the comments. I see this as being a 3 or 4 part story, we shall see.
Again, please leave a comment all feedback is appreciated.