Two years.
Two years had gone by since that fated day, when Frisk and an as-of-yet unknown partner of hers broke the barrier and freed all of monsterkind from Mt. Ebott. Led by their beloved king Asgore, monsters once again smelt fresh air, felt the sun on their skin (or lack thereof), and saw vast, sprawling forests waiting to be explored.
The modern world, radically different than the magical world monsters remembered, accepted them with gracious yet cautious arms. Led by Frisk along with Toriel and Asgore, human-monster negotiations went off without a hitch, and soon monsters had forgiven the humans for their horrible actions so many decades ago. Entering a golden age only a year after their revival, monsters mixed their magic with the humans' advanced technology to achieve wondrous levels of scientific and magical advancement.
"so didja hear the news about frisk, bro?"
What had two years, however, brought for the former heroes of the Underground? A life of luxury, unsurprisingly enough.
Undyne, with her staggering physical prowess and burning determination, ascended to army general in little over four hours of arrival. By her side as always was Alphys, who also rose in rank along with Undyne developing new field tech for the soldiers.
Asgore had finally convinced Toriel to forgive him and move in, convinced that Frisk would need a father figure in her life. Although Toriel always kept a mask of annoyance on her face when speaking about him, it would never take a sharp ear to hear the slight hint of re-sparked affection for the king, and as always Asgore was happy to talk about the old days with her, nose nuzzling and all.
As for Frisk? Well, she just continued doing what she did best; live. Through good times and bad, Frisk remained the dependable, clever and kindhearted girl that monsters and humans alike grew to know and love. Rumors of a small video game detailing her adventures underground surfaced, but none were able to confirm it.
"WHAT NEWS? WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DO NOT?!"
"apparently, toriel found out that frisk can't grow anymore. magic and the underground's environment didn't react well to her, i think, and my studies show that-"
"BAH, I NEVER UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU GET INTO THAT SCIENCE-Y STUFF, SANS! GO NERD OUT WITH DR. ALPHYS IF YOU WANT, BUT A COOL DUDE LIKE ME HAS NO TIME FOR THAT STUFF!"
"well alright then, sheesh. the kid just wanted all of her close pals to know, it's really eating at her. whenever have you seen that kid sad anyway?"
"...SANS, QUIT YOUR GUILT-TRIPPING THIS INSTANT! I DO NOT APPRECIATE NOR TOLERATE IT!"
Sans could feel his ever-present grin widening a bit. Papyrus might be a bit flowery and dramatic, but he was a good guy. It just needed a little...prodding, that's all. Staring at his brother, Papyrus 'hmph'ed and turned away.
"I AM SERIOUS, SANS, I-I AM COMPLETELY CERTAIN THAT FRISK CAN...ERM...STOP LOOKING AT ME THAT WAY, SANS!"
"whaaaat? i'm not doing anything, that's all on y-"
*CRASH!*
Sans would have no time to finish his sentence as Papyrus jumped out the window and started running north, yelling about "VISITING FRISK FOR COMPLETELY INNOCENT REASONS THAT MAY INVOLVE SHARING COOLNESS". Chuckling, Sans leaned back and kicked his feet up unto the coffee table, turning the TV on.
"he'll be fine, you guys. shift the focus onto him, will ya? i ain't doing anything special, don't worry."
Let it be known that Papyrus had never bought anything in his life besides various tomato sauces, meatballs and spaghetti noodles. Understandably, walking into a small market and seeing all the different types of items confused him to no end. Nevertheless, he struck a dramatic pose as he walked up to the counter.
"I WOULD LIKE TO PROCURE ONE OF YOUR FINE PASTRIES, SIR!"
"Um, sure. Which one?"
"THE CIRCLE ONE! IT IS FOR A COOL FRIEND OF MINE WHO ENJOYS NON-SPAGHETTI DISHES! CRAZY, I KNOW, BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS OPEN-MINDED!"
"...Sir, a lot of our pastries come in a circular shape. If you'd like, there's always the anpan, brioche, perhaps the Berliner..."
"WHAT THE HECK?"
Papyrus felt his eyes pop out at the strange names. Which one was the right...one?
"ERR, UM...WHAT WOULD THIS FABULOUS AMOUNT OF COIN GET THE GREAT PAPYRUS?"
Taking out a whopping $0.75 and a ball of lint, Papyrus proudly smirked.
"...a baguette?"
"OOH, SOUNDS NEATO! BA...GUETTE! OKAY THEN, I SHALL PURCHASE THIS UNDER THE GLORIOUS BANNER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"
"Err, y'know what, this loaf is on the house."
"WHO'S HOUSE? I ALREADY HAVE ONE, GOOD SIR, BUT YOUR CHARITY IS MUCH APPRECIATED."
"I-It's just free. Take it."
Handing the skeleton the long loaf, Papyrus began to utter a victorious 'NYEH HEH HEH' before stopping himself short.
"WAIT...THIS IS MISSING SOMETHING. A-HA! HOLD ON THEN, OTHER BURGERPANTS, THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL RETURN! WITH CONDIMENTS."
Papyrus merrily jogged off to the isle labelled 'Toppings and Sauces' and grabbed the three nearest things to his right, holding them in his bony arm. Running back over, he slapped the three items onto the counter.
"HOW DOES IT LOOK, HUMAN? OTHER THAN MAGNIFICENT!"
"...Sir, this is creamy chipotle sauce, sprinkles and...are these bacon bits?"
"ANYTHING COOKED BY MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS HAS AN EVENTUAL END GOAL OF HAVING FLAVORS...TO DIE FOR! NYEH HEH HEEEEEEH!"
"Whatever you say, then. You have exactly the right amount of money to purchase these things, are you sure that you...uh...want to?"
"YES!"
Staring at the tall, almost delirious skeleton, the employee finally sighed and bagged the items before handing it to Papyrus. Excitedly dumping the items out of the bag, Papyrus popped open the chipotle sauce bottle and drowned the poor thing, liberally applying sprinkles and bacon bits.
"HEY! W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"HOW ELSE AM I, THE GREAT AND RESOURCEFUL PAPYRUS, GOING TO TRANSFORM THIS BAGUETTE INTO A BEAUTIFUL SCULPTURE OF CULINARY PROWESS?"
"O-Outside, that's where! Dude, it's all over the counter, that's disgusting! What are you even trying to make?!"
Staring down at the bread drenched in chipotle sauce, sprinkles and bacon, Papyrus proudly held the soggy loaf in both gloved hands, eye sockets sparkling in awe.
Shoving it into a plastic bag and shoving that bag into another, Papyrus jogged off and out of the store with a triumphant 'NYEH HEH HEH'. Customers, having watched the scene, slowly returned to whatever they were doing, monsters in the store quietly laughing.
"...you never make me things like that."
"R-RG02, bro, I'll make you a nasty sandwich if you want! Any day! I'll make you anything, f-forever!"
"...thanks."
"Well, uh, it can't be all that bad, right? Frisk, think of all the things you can do at 54 inches tall!"
Smacking Asgore over the head, Toriel gave him an annoyed look as she resumed tenderly rubbing her back.
"Do not worry, my child, I as well as all your other friends will stand by you regardless of how-"
*knock knock knock*
"Hmm? Whoever could that be?"
"I-IT'S NOT PAPYRUS! I ONLY SOUND LIKE THAT AWESOME GUY."
"You can come in, Papyrus, the door is unlocked. My child, look glad, a friend has come to visit."
"DRAT, YOU ARE FAR TOO INTELLIGENT FOR MY WILY SCHEMES, YOUR HIGHNESS!"
Papyrus entered the room and clumsily bowed. Sweeping his gaze over to Frisk, Papyrus strode over, crouching down to meet the young girl's...face. 'Gaze', he mused, wouldn't be quite right.
"IS IT NOT A NICE DAY TODAY, FRISK? THE SUN IS SHINING, THE BIRDS ARE SINGING, AND HUMANS LIKE YOU...SHOULD BE NOT SAD! I HAVE BROUGHT A GIFT, FORGED FOR YOU AND YOU ALONE."
Plopping the odd amalgamation of bread, sauce and toppings in front of her, Frisk alternated her face swings between the bag and Papyrus.
"SO DO NOT CRY BECAUSE YOUR BONES ARE ON GROWTH STRIKE. BE HAPPY, AS THIS MEANS THAT I CAN NOW MAKE YOU ANY AND EVERY DISH YOU COULD POSSIBLY ASK FOR! IF YOU CAN EVEN SPEAK, BUT THE OFFER IS STILL HERE. NYEH HEH!"
"Thank you, Papyrus. Tori, dear, doesn't Papyrus' gift warm your heart, as well?"
Asgore stomped over, peering into the bag. Although by this point he wasn't quite sure what kind of food it was, it did smell pretty appetizing.
"As...long as it doesn't get onto the floor, I suppose. Well, my child, what do you think? It is your gift, after all."
Frisk, turning herself towards Toriel, then did something no one expected.
She smiled. And then laughed. An affectionate laugh, filled with the mirth and warmth of a child.
"Such a lovely sound, isn't it dear?"
"It certainly is...oh, I think I may just laugh too."
Papyrus, filled with confidence, started to excitedly squeal and jump up and down before collecting himself.
"...AHEM. OF COURSE IT WAS WELL DONE! THERE IS NOTHING I WOULDN'T DO FOR MY COOL FRIEND FRISK! BESIDES THE CROSSWORD, AS IT'S...EH...TOO EASY FOR A SKELETON OF MY STANDARDS!"
Frisk's laugh grew, and eventually Toriel and Asgore joined her. Papyrus, however, tilted his head in confusion.
"...WHAT? WHAT ARE WE ALL LAUGHING AT? DID SANS MAKE ANOTHER PUN WHILE I WAS OCCUPIED?! SANS, YOU KNOW I OUTLAWED PUNS WITHIN MY VICINITY AS PART OF OUR DEAL! SANS!"
"...huh?"
Waking up from his third nap, Sans groggily looked around.
"...huh. i think something called my name. and that something...is food."
Grinning, Sans made his way to the kitchen to clear out the fridge, swearing that he heard someone dissing on his puns.
A/N: Get ready for Papyrustale!
This story is going to be fun to write, as Undertale is a rarity; an entire likable cast of characters who all have at least three funny moments. Hopefully it gets better as I get better ideas, so stick with me. Promise it's gonna be a fun ride.
Now to answer a specific review on the other story, Of Misunderstandings and Spaghetti, from LarsMars (But I read the other reviews, thanks guys!). As you said, Frisk's gender is undefined in the game, and it's ambiguous enough to leave the decision to you. So I chose Frisk to be a little girl, because I felt it would work better in a story. I could have Frisk comfortably be a boy and not change much, though.
Alright then, see you guys next chapter!