Not many people still hang around on fanfiction, eh? Ah well, I'll still update here at the same time, just because I'm a fair and just god like that. :P just in case people prefer to read on , each to their own!
So, Frisk is apparently a bit of an arsehole. Sorry about that, kinda takes it after the writer. Honestly though, it just seemed like an appropriate reaction if you knew nothing about Toriel and suddenly see a giant goat person wearing a dress in front of you. Took it rather well, if you ask me! Don't woryr, this chapter is pretty much filled with FRIENDSHIP and MAGIC and all that bollocks. Eventually, anyway.
This chapter is even longer than the last one *GASP*
Hope you enjoy it! Let me know otherwise if I did something stupid! :P
Chapter 2 Making Friends
I woke up to a headache and pain all over my body. Must've been some party, bloody hell. I had the strangest dream, that I had fallen down a pit, broke my leg and a great white monster appeared. Okay, no more drinking for a while for me. Taking a moment to groan in pain, I opened my eyes to an unwelcome sight.
The room was rather dark but not pitch black and it didn't take long for my eyes to adjust. The first thing I noticed was that the bed was a little small for me, a child's bed. There were a lot of toys on the left side, all of various stuffed animals. There was a wardrobe, desk and chair nearby. Where was I?
Looking down at myself, I saw I was still wearing my uniform, black smart somewhat baggy trousers, black t-shirt with a black jacket with badges of my inspector rank in my shoulders and hi-vis bands around the wrists and arm. This was typical police uniform, but I found it strange I was still wearing my uniform.
My leg. My leg was in pretty bad shape. The trouser leg had been rolled up and my leg was wrapped up tight in bandages. They looked a little bloody, I don't remember bleeding, but it no longer looked like it was bent at a horrifying angle.
So then... it wasn't a dream? I fell down the hole...
Was I in that monster's house? Was she keeping me hostage? But why would she wrap up my leg if that was the case? Why would she put me on a comfy bed? Did she even know that I was an officer of the law?
Footsteps. Quickly, I considered pretending to be asleep, but decided a face on approach was more effective. I would not be scared of her, I'll confront her and ask her hat she meant earlier. Yes, I had to know what happened to those kids. Oh, not to mention about the whole monsters are real sort of thing. That too.
The door opened, slowly at first, then it burst open as a large fluffy creature hurled itself towards me with a howl.
"Oh sweet Jesus!" Shadow wasn't a puppy anymore and being a dog that was trained to bring big brutes down with his jaws my poor crumpled form might as well have been tackled by a rugby player.
But I still laughed as his tail wagged fast enough to break several things in the room, mostly the table lamp. I ignored that to pet Shadow, his tail wagging even faster as he became excited. He licked my face until I became a laughing slobbering mess.
There was laughter just by the door and I froze. Shadow sensed my discomfort an stopped, stepping to the side so he could lie by my side. There in the doorway stood Toriel, still barefoot and in the same clothes as before. She looked... happy, surprised and adoring. She wasn't showing any worry, malice or fear of me being in the same room as her, nothing that I expected a child murderer to act. I was confused, why was she acting this way? This didn't make any sense.
"Ah, my child," she said, her voice just as calm and kind as it was before. Again, this confused me. I hadn't met many murderers, Ebott was entirely too quiet for that, but I had read up on them and of serial killers. Always was a geek, I could spend hours watching cop shows and documentaries on serial killers, though not understanding how a person could possibly do that. They talked about how a serial killer who had been killing for years were often disconnected from emotions, but led surprisingly normal lives. That's how it was so hard to catch a murderer, they weren't special, they didn't cackle like evil doo-ers in every cartoon ever. They seem to lead and live a normal life. So, really, how did I know what to look for in a child murderer?
"'m not a child." I mumbled. It was quiet, but it seemed like Toriel had heard me.
"You're not a child?" She seemed surprised. Wow, okay well then. I realised I was rather short, 5'2 wasn't exactly something to brag about, but that sure did shatter my ego.
"No!" Yeah, that sounded insulted. Good. "Geez, lady I'm twenty six years old, plenty old enough for kids if I ever wanted any." Oh good going, Frisk. Live up to your name, throw out that training for talking to people. Well, Toriel wasn't... she was a living being that spoke English. Good enough reason to be polite to her.
Toriel seemed surprised, then blinked a few times. "Oh, so were one of those children...?"
Oh no, she can't think... "Oh sweet no! No, certainly not!" I took a moment, taking a breather. Come on, Frisk. You can do this. "Sorry, I'm still a little shocked about the whole... you're really tall, white fur and horns and all." I cleared my throat, gaining my composure. "My name's Frisk, Frisk Fanshaw. I, uh. I don't have my bag, but I do have I.D there. I'm an inspector, a police officer, looking into the disappearances of seven missing children, one that disappeared only a few days ago."
Toriel seems to get the gist of it, though she didn't seem to entirely understand. "I'm sorry, your surface terms still confuse me, but I believe a 'policeman' is a guard upholding good and honesty?"
Uh. Well. Kinda. Close enough. "Sort of. Don't you have rules and regulations around here? You know, stealing is bad, don't beat people up etc? Where even is here anyway?" She did mention that she wasn't the only monster out there, that there were other ones out there. Enough to make a community I assumed.
Toriel smiled a kind smile. "My dear, I'm sorry for not explaining to you earlier. Welcome to the Underground. You fell from the top of the mountain and landed into our world, a world filled with monsters. You're the first adult human that has ever fallen down here."
The first adult human. So, other people had fallen down here? "You mean, like seven children?"
Toriel nodded, a sad look appearing over her features. "Yes, seven children have fallen down into the underground, at least in my lifetime." So more could have fallen down, perhaps before Toriel was born or she simply wasn't aware of it. How did children find this place? How come an adult hasn't fallen down into this area before? I had a lot of questions, but I needed something.
"Um, Miss Toriel. Can you grab my bag? I'm going to need to ask you a lot of questions and I have a feeling it's gonna take a lot of wrapping my head around. I just want to get to the answer of what happened to those children." Toriel didn't seem to mind and smiled, standing up and excusing herself before leaving the room, leaving the door open. I could hear her walking around the house, this must be a rather small house from the sounds of it, or maybe she's just heavy footed? There was soft clicking on the floor, before I heard a bark. Spot. Smiling, I whistled and with a yelp, Spot ran from his place, by the sounds of it he tripped a few times, before running into my room. He was panting, his ears alert and tail wagging ridiculously fast. He stood for a moment, looking at Shadow, then he pounded over and leapt up at the bed.
Into the bed. He leapt into the bed, hitting it and bouncing off. I couldn't help it. I laughed. Loudly. Enough to jostle my leg a little bit. So, my laugh was cut short by a gasp and a loud "sonnuva bitch!" from me. Toriel appeared suddenly, my bag in hand as she appeared worried. She didn't seem to take notice of Spot fumbling about on the floor trying to get to his feet again.
"I heard a shout, are you alright, my dear?" Toriel clutched my bag close to her chest, as if keeping it from dropping on top of me. I nodded, I didn't want to talk in case I started cursing more. Toriel seemed like the type to disapprove heavily of swearing, but hey that was stereotyping. "Well, I'm glad. Do be careful, I managed to heal the worst of the leg damage, though it is still fragile and fractured. Now that you're awake, you can have some monster food, they have healing properties that should help the recovery process." Like... what, medicine? In their food? No idea, doesn't make sense to me, but food sounded good about now.
My stomach apparently agreed, as it rumbled loudly, Shadow's ears perking up as he heard the rumble. Toriel smiled, giggling slightly. "I'm sure your questions can be done over some pie. How do you feel about snail pie?" Uh. I went to France once. I guess escargot was not entirely unpleasant. I nodded, smiling and thanking her. She smiled back and handed my bag to me before leaving the room.
So. Toriel was nice. That much I gathered. She seemed happy when I was happy, or at least so far I noticed and she seemed worried when I shouted out and hurt my leg. Completely unlike that definition I got from the word 'monster'. I had expected her to eat me up as soon as she saw me with the taser, or took me away for torture because she was a monster. She called herself a monster, as in a race, or species. Out of all the names, why would you pick that one to name your species considering what the name meant, or was seen as? After seeing her caring about my well being, finding joy in my laugh... I find it hard to believe that she could be a child murderer. Not to mention, her reaction to my accusations, she flinched, sobbed and cried when I threw them at her. She felt guilty, horrible and to blame for what had happened. No. She didn't seem to fit the bill for a child murderer, but she still knew something. Something crucial that I was missing that would fit the pieces together. What was that? What was she hiding? She probably wasn't doing it intentionally to annoy me, but it was grating on me. I had to know. What happened to those children after they fell down here?
I made sure to note all my notes down on my notepad, listing what Toriel told me, how it connected to the children. If Toriel was not the murderer, and the longer I was spending time with her, the less likely it seemed she was the murderer, then who was? Someone who looked a lot like Toriel, sharp horns, droopy ears, yellow eyes, towered over most people. So far, Toriel had been the only monster I had seen, I assumed that monsters didn't all look like Toriel, but how did I know? The only point in reference I had was that Disney film I watched years ago. Was it like that? Did they come in all shapes and sizes, colours and either covered in fur or scaly? Imagine a monster that could climb on all walls and change colour to hide camouflaged. That... okay. That would be cool. So long as they didn't have the personality of Randall.
Toriel came back whilst I was still writing my notes. Shadow leaned against me, closing his eyes as he snoozed. Shadow was so comfortable around Toriel, he was a great judge of character normally, just another reason I didn't see Toriel as the killer, though I wouldn't tell the judge that. Spot. Well. Spot didn't hate anybody.
Toriel was wearing snail patterned mittens as she was carrying a pie dish with a lovely smelling pie in her hand. I actually don't remember the last time I ate, so I quickly wiped my mouth as my mouth salivated. Man, I was making the greatest impression on this lady monster. Bet she thinks all humans are freaks now. Toriel giggled, seeming very happy with my reaction as she was about to put the pie on the floor.
"Ah, um, Miss Toriel." I said quickly before Shadow woke up. "Sorry, back home if I put food on the floor, that means Shadow can eat it."
Understanding dawned on her face as she smiled brightly, thanking me for telling her and she instead puts the pie on my lap, the mittens beneath so I wouldn't burn. She was very considerate, almost like a mother.
Like a... mother. Ah shit. Just go and call a mother-like being a child murderer Frisk, use those diplomacy skills. Wow. She wasn't wrong, I was a cruel person for doing that. I must've frowned, or shown some sort of reaction to my thoughts as Toriel asked if I was okay.
I looked up at Toriel, then back down at the pie, unable to look at her. "Why are you so nice to me?" I looked up at her then, almost frustrated but I tried not to show it. By Toriel's blinking and blank expression, I assume I failed in that. "Man, I threatened to tase you, called you a child murderer and probably brought up some bad memories if your reaction was anything to go by. I'm pretty sure I made the worst impression possible."
Toriel smiles brightly, however. "Ah, do not worry, my dear. You were injured and terrified, anybody would have reacted in the same way. I'm just so glad that I found you first."
The way she said it sent shivers down my spine. "F-found me first?"
"Now dear, eat your pie. It has magical properties that should help heal your leg faster. I've run out of groceries, so you will be alone with your dogs for a while. Here." She drops a note on my lap and I take notice that it is a phone number, though not one I recognised in any country. "I noticed you already have a cell phone, call me if you need anything!" And off she went, quickly scurrying out of the room before I could protest or ask any questions. Wow. She sure was good at avoiding topics.
"Wait!" I tried lifting myself, then winced as I remembered my leg was pretty much butchered at this point. Shadow woke up, sensing my distress and licked my face. I sighed, patting his head, as he turned away and jumped down off the bed. Damn. Having a bummed out leg was going to be a lot more troubling than I thought. There wasn't much I could do about that, I figured. Settling down, I made a start on the snail pie. It smelled delicious! Toriel must be a really talented cook. I was awful at cooking, pasta was about as extensive as I got with cooking. Eating real cooked food was a blessing rather than take away or something from a tin.
Suffice to say... that pie didn't last long. It was delicious! It almost felt like it had some caffeine in it, which felt strange. As I ate it, I felt a tingling sensation, like I had drunk a lot of coffee and felt a lot more refreshed than before. My leg still hurt like hell, but it felt like I could ignore it easier now. I could live with Toriel forever if it meant eating that kind of food again! Yeah, I was pretty easy to please at heart. Guess seeing all the horror humanity could pull on themselves from seeing famous serial killers, people noted down as evil to the core and just the job in general, it was a relief to see that not everyone was entirely hostile.
Toriel's words didn't leave my head. She found me first and she was glad of it. What did she mean by that? Were there monsters that were actually dangerous? And the children fell down into a place like this? Man. There were too many questions running inside my head. It was exhausting my brain again, even after the boost of food. It was even more tiring realising that I couldn't even follow Toriel to answer my questions. I wasn't stupid, I knew a broken leg when I saw it. I wasn't going to be moving for a long while. Guess I would have plenty of chances to ask Toriel some questions about where this is, what monsters were, where the children had gone... how to get home.
I didn't have much, never really did much but work hard to get to where I was in my career, but I had a home. Had a house, a dog, life sorted, a job. It wasn't much, but that was home. Fuck it. Moping wasn't getting me anywhere. With a sigh, I fell back onto the bed, resting my head on the pillow, shifting around to try to sit up somewhat. Reaching into my bag, I tried to get a hold of my tablet. This was the best way I always found to pass the time. I was an avid reader, always been dubbed a bookworm in my school and that hadn't changed when I got a tablet. That just meant having more books without having to deal with the physical form. Yeah, my house wasn't the best for being clean. Well, the house was clean... if you ignored the dog hair and dirty dishes. And the books. Can't forget the books. Mostly books. Turning my tablet on, that had somehow survived the fall (they don't make technological devices like that anymore!) I realised that there were no wifi spots in this area. That didn't surprise me at all, but I hoped. Good thing that I had downloaded plenty of books ready for a situation like this. What else could I do? Later, I'll try to catch Toriel off guard and try to get those answers I'm looking for.
So, that's how I spent weeks at this house. Toriel took every opportunity to avoid me and since my leg was taking it's sweet time getting better, I couldn't really catch her off guard. Shadow wasn't any help, when I gave him the order to cut Toriel off, he did just that as ordered before melting into a fur-ball when Toriel petted him. Shadow didn't usually get much attention outside of work except from me, he was often too intimidating for anyone to want to pet him, preferring his own space. Toriel just seemed to break that barrier entirely, petting him just as he loved to be pet, the way I always pet him.
Again. Traitor.
Spot was just Spot. Let's be honest. She provided food and Spot immediately preferred her over me. Dogs.
I finally regained the use of my legs when Toriel took pity on me. After being stuck in bed for about two weeks, she came into my room after knocking. Her floppy ears peaked out from the doorway, her eyes blinking slightly as she noticed me sitting up, but making no progress getting up from my bed on my own. She opened the door wider, revealing that she was carrying two large thick branches. They seemed to be a strange shape, almost like...
"Crutches!" I couldn't begin to tell you how widely I smiled. I was just so happy to finally have a way of getting out of bed on my own! Toriel didn't seem to know what those were, judging by her surprised expression, but she seemed happy about my being happy regardless. Sure, I was ecstatic! My tablet had run out of battery a long while ago and I was currently devouring Toriel's book collection, I had to call out to Toriel for a while to convince her to even enter the same room as me whilst I was awake.
"You seemed rather upset just sitting in this room all day so, I've been looking for a solution to the problem." She smiled, seeming rather shy all of a sudden. "I'm not particularly talented a woodcarver, but I hope this will do until we can find something better." Wow, that really touched me. I wasn't usually the type to accept help like this, most of the time they felt like they were insinuating that I was too weak. Didn't get this inspector rank for nothing! This, though, the thought that I needed it not because I was weak, but because I was bored and needed to be entertained. That and I had tried and failed on many occasions to get out of bed and walk myself. Shadow couldn't handle my weight, despite being quite the big dog.
"Wow, thank you!" Seeing my willingness, Toriel stepped more into the room, handing the crutches to my outstretched hands. I gripped them, pushing them against the floor and added some weight onto them. They seemed to hold pretty well! Now was the real test. Taking deep breaths, I pushed the covers back with the one foot I had working and tried to pull my bottom half off the bed. Yeah, it hurt like fuck. But the chance to get out of these gross sheets and maybe change out of my uniform, I was willing to deal with the flares of agony. It was sharp, like being stabbed (well I assumed, other officers from other precincts knew what that was like, not us here in Ebott) in the joints between my hip and leg several times. Ouch. Toriel held her hands together, ready to help but knowing that I had to do this on my own. Otherwise, how was I going to progress? Standing was the easy part, walking on the other hand... I'm sure I'll get there. I could, I knew I could.
After about ten minutes of struggling, I was standing. I was standing! Yes! And I felt absolutely gross. Could do with a good shower. My legs were shaking with the effort of standing, having not been able to for a long while. Seemed okay, haven't collapsed yet! This is great!
Smiling up at Toriel, I just had one more favour to ask, "Miss Toriel, do you mind if I use your bath?"
"Of course not, my dear! It had completely slipped my mind! It is down to your left at the end of the corridor. Whilst you are in the bath, I'll cook us a meal for tonight. How does hot dogs sound?" Delicious actually. I tell her so and she smiles, before leaving the room and disappearing to wherever she goes. Finally, I would be able to see what the rest of her house looked like! Shadow, who had been lying on the bed watching the conversation with interest, jumped down and watched me carefully as I attempted to take my first step. My right leg hung limply in the air and my arms were taking almost my entire weight. This took a lot of effort, something I couldn't afford to do too often. It'll be worth it, this once.
Eventually, I made it to the door, which was left open thank goodness. The house was... the walls were surprisingly yellow and very homely. Much nicer than my home. There were potted plants all along the corridor and several doors leading to other rooms down the corridor to the right of me. To the left, it seemed to open up to the front room, though it seemed pretty empty of any furniture. I went straight to the bathroom, I could always see the rest of the house when I felt clean again. Heading to the bathroom, I passed a mirror. Looking into it, I spotted myself, but not quite right. My eyes had huge bags, like that time I had to do night shift then straight to day without sleeping. My hair had been jostled in the time I spent bed ridden and was about as greasy as a battered fish in a fish and chip shop, felt that gross too. My face was quite a bit more pale than I remembered, though considering what had happened I wasn't at all surprised. I hadn't looked this bad in a long time, I'd be glad for the shower.
The bathroom was warm and cosy, blue tiles along the wall and a lovely white bath mat on the floor. It wasn't going to be white for much longer if I'm as gross as I'm feeling. Bless Toriel's kind heart, on the closed toilet seat I found a change of clothes, she must've gone out to buy them as well as fresh bandages to wrap my leg around should I need it. Simple jeans, a nice blue shirt top that was probably a little big on me, but that was no problem. Baggy is cool. She also brought boxers. With snails on. Huh. Interesting choice. Not exactly what I would wear normally. Oh, stop complaining Frisk, just be thankful. Toriel had been nothing but kind to me, despite my hostile reaction to begin with. I still couldn't process what she wanted by doing this, or what she gained, but maybe that was just her. She was just a person who loved taking care of others. Well, I say... yes, a person. Honestly, if I had my eyes closed, I wouldn't even notice she was a monster, her voice gave nothing away and she didn't treat me any differently for not having fur or horns coming out of my head.
Those were the thoughts I had in the bath. Always get the best thoughts when soaking in the bath. Many a case being considered and thought over whilst I'm in baths. Right now, I was debating my next plan of action. Do I stay with Toriel a while longer until my leg heals before I inquire how to get out of here? Do I push her to try to get the answer to where the missing children were? That seemed harsh, after she was so nice to me, I just don't think I could do it. I could try asking, was there harm in it? It'd be bringing up bad memories, and I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to help Beatrice Maxwell before she is... Let's not think of that.
I stayed in the bath until the water began to go cold. The water wasn't anywhere near clear anymore, gross. I had managed to get a good look at my leg after I got the bandages off before getting in the bath. It didn't look as horrific as I thought it would. My leg was bruised to all hell, black, blue, yellow and purple, but not red at least. There was a scar where the leg had been cut, I had to wonder if that was from when the bone must've been sticking out of my leg. How I didn't bleed out earlier, I don't know, I hadn't even noticed when I fell that I had been bleeding, my leg too painful to feel the blood soaking it. Hey, at least it wasn't numb, that was the worst that could happen.
Drying myself was certainly a challenge, having only one arm free to do so as my other held my body up from falling. You never realise how bad one legged folk have it until you feel like living like a one legged folk. Being careful around my leg, I only dabbed it whilst I was sitting on the toilet seat, trying to dry it at least enough to wrap bandages around it. Scratching at the door, then a whimper. Ah, that was Spot who it seems wasn't used to being left alone without some companionship other than Shadow. He seemed to really like Toriel, though it seems like she didn't take him out with her this time. Apparently, there was no problem with dogs roaming around the Underground.
Bandaging the leg took time and effort as well, by the end of it, I was exhausted again. That bath probably didn't help wake me up, I always became more sleepy after having a bath. Getting changed into my new clothes, I opened the door to spot Spot (haha gettit?) rushing at my bare feet, sniffing them and wagging his tail before sitting and looking up at me with adorable wide eyes. Man, I really was a sucker for dogs. With a sigh, I whistled for him to follow me, Shadow appearing from my room with ears perked. Well, I slept with two warm furry bodies that night, feeling much more refreshed than I had been in a while.
…
Things progressed the same way for a while. I thanked Toriel for the new clothes, telling her that I loved them and she smiled brightly, saying she'd get my uniform sorted again soon as she had already sent them to be repaired. This woman, I would be sad to have to leave soon. My leg was getting better, slowly but surely. Still using the crutches, but I felt a lot more confident on them now. Two weeks passed, I was fidgeting on whether to ask Toriel about the children. I finally gained the courage that morning.
"Tori." She asked me to call her Toriel or Tori for short, Miss Toriel made her sound old, apparently. "Can I ask you something?"
Toriel beamed, she was currently baking one of her infamous butterscotch pies ready for lunch. I've had worse for lunch, her pies were always amazing. "Of course, my dear! How can I help?"
Well. Here goes nothing. Gay abandon and all that. "Is... is there more to the Underground than just here? So far, I've only seen you, a few Froggits and a couple of Whimsuns." I think I got the names right, they had introduced themselves after Tori gave them to stink eye for trying to 'engage in a FIGHT' whatever that means. I actually had to stop myself from giggling at the idea of me, 5'2 fighting a froggit the size of Shadow. It was amusing for a short while, anyway. "You mentioned other monsters, didn't you?"
Tori remained silent for a while, watching the oven baking her pie as if waiting for it to begin rising whilst she was watching it. She sighed, finally replying; "Yes, the Ruins is simply the entrance to the rest of the Underground. I sealed off the Ruins to the rest of the Underground a long time ago, after... the children..." I remained patient, putting a hand on her shoulder, as if to support her. Fat lot of good that was. Apparently, she appreciated it as she smiled, looking back at me. "They were so hopeful, so determined to go back home after falling here. I warned them, beyond the Ruins, monsters aren't so kind to humans as I am, or the Froggits or Whimsuns. I told them, if they leave the Ruins... Asgore would kill them. They didn't listen." She looks back down at her oven. "I haven't heard anything since. I- I just can't think about it."
Well. Okay, so one; guess who is the biggest arsehole in the country? Yoohoo! Frisk, extraordinaire heart breaker and cruel bastard pointing fingers at anyone who seems remotely related to a case and shout GUILTY. Way to jump the gun, Frisky. Second; geez, the children seemed to have really affected her. I couldn't imagine the situation, being a kind lovely woman taking in children who had lost their way down here in the Underground, only for them to want to go home despite the clear warnings Toriel gave them. Here I was, considering doing the very same thing, to want to go home, but to also save those children, if it wasn't already too late.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Tori." It sounded pretty lame coming from my lips, but she smiled slightly regardless.
"Not to worry, Frisk. You deserve to know, as you have been living here long enough now." I looked at her, quizzically, wondering what exactly she meant by that. "You are comfortable here, are you not?" Well, yes. What was she getting at? "I'm glad. It's been nice, having someone over. It's really helped." Might as well grab a knife and dig it in my heart, the way this conversation is going.
I smiled, holding back those feelings I could feel fluttering away. I was good at this, hiding what I was really feeling. "I'm glad to have been good company, I'm just sorry about the way we met." It was tense for a long while, just standing there with nothing else to say.
"Knock knock."
Blinking, I looked at Toriel. "Who's there?"
"Old lady."
"Old lady who?"
"Wow, I didn't know you could yodel!"
Cue me choking on air, then laughed really hard. I was quite the dork, but I didn't know she had it in her! Bad jokes, always the life of the party. If there was a Christmas Cracker joke or a Penguin bar anywhere, I was always on that shit. Bad jokes were always the best ice breakers. Could I top that?
"Okay, okay. Will you remember me in two minutes?"
She blinked, surprised by my sudden change of topic. "Of course!"
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
I pouted; "Hey, you didn't remember me!" She loved it! Spot ended up barking because he freaked out at how loudly Toriel was laughing. Smirking, I puffed up like a proud peacock for having cheered her up and found something we both had in common. Bad jokes! Either love them or hate them, finally I found a companion who loved bad jokes just about as much as I did.
After many hours of bad jokes, reading books together and eating dinner, I went to bed feeling much better about my situation. It wasn't so bad down here, Toriel and I got along once we put aside our differences and I put down my cop mind and my leg was getting better everyday. Soon, I'd be able to walk normally again. I couldn't wait! Sleeping came easily once I calmed down, I was ready for the next big day.
So. Why was I woken up at godforsaken o'clock in the morning? Shadow was barking, loudly. He never barked, not even the Froggits or Whimsuns bothered him. So, why tonight? Bloody dog, being a big pain in my arse. With a groan of effort, I got up out of bed, staying in the pyjamas Toriel had got me. She saw them and insisted I should wear them, because she found me adorable in them. Only her dog wide eyes she must've learnt from Spot convinced me to wear them and she gave me a fuzzy hug for it. That ego, man. About as bruised as my busted leg.
Shadow's barking was coming from the basement. Toriel told me that the exit to the Ruins did lie there and she wasn't comfortable going down there, but I was welcome to go down there if I was careful. I promised I wouldn't leave through the door until my leg healed, relieving her of her internal fear I knew she was having after her confession about the children. I hadn't bothered to go down the basement, however. What was the point if it lead to a door I wouldn't open? But that's where Shadow was barking his arse off right now, better go fetch the beast.
Toriel, slap me now.
The corridor down in the basement was blank, nothing but blank walls for a long while. Shadow was still barking like mad, then he was growling, scratching at the door. He seemed pretty annoyed at something. Did he want to go out? Why did he just scratch at the front door? And not at unforgivable o'clock too?
I finally spotted him at the end of the corridor, he was up on his hind legs, scratching at the door begging to go out. Fucking dog, really? If nobody could tell, I wasn't in the mood for this this early in the night.
Annoyed, I was about to call out, when I heard a couple of knocks.
"knock knock." Said a deep voice on the other side of the door, male and by the accent I could imagine him to be a cool bloke at the bar. Too cool. "woof woof! there's someone at the door!" When he said that sentence, however, his accent changed to be more gruff. Uh, I wasn't getting it. Shadow was wagging his tail, whining loudly, he hadn't noticed me at all. He starts scratching the door again. "you don't like knock knock jokes, buddy?" This voice sounded like he was taunting Shadow from the other side. Well, that sure answers why Shadow was getting all riled up if there was a strange man on the other side of the door taunting him. Really. It's too early for this.
"i got it, i'll throw you a bone. how about this one? knock knock." The monster (I assume?) on the other side knocked on the door again, the door sounded pretty thick from the sounds of his knocking. This just riled Shadow up more and he barked again. "dishes." Shadow just growled, landing back down on the ground and kicked the door. Well, he would've if he could've. "dishes a very bad joke."
I gave my position away at the other side of the door when I snorted, pretty loudly. Shadow turned quickly, his tail wagging and mouth wide open in a pant trying to look as innocent as he could. The person on the other side of the door went silent, surely he had heard my snort.
"you finally catching my jokes, pal? they are rather fetching, aren't they?" The person on the other side was the worst. Worse than Toriel, that was saying something. Well, he knew there was more than a dog on this side now after I practically broke my side in laughter.
After calming down, I came to the door. I knocked twice. "who's there?"
"Police." I answered. The voice at the door took a long moment, probably trying to place my voice and accent and put a face to it.
"police who?"
"Police, stop with your bad knock knock jokes!" I was rewarded by a hearty laugh on the other side of the door. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
Smiling, I struggled to get myself sitting down, panting and grunting at the effort. The person on the other side heard that and heard the thump of me sitting down. He stopped laughing. "you okay there, pal? sounded like you were having a hard time."
I sat so I had my back towards the door, leaning against it as I put a hand to my leg to stop it aching. "Nah, I'm alright, I shi-tzu not." Snickers from the other side of the door filled the silence. Shadow was still staring at the other side of the door, then he whined. "Why are you bothering my dog at this hour? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"eh. woke up. got bored. decided to practise some knock knock jokes for my big show. your pal didn't catch on to most of 'em." I could just picture the wide smirk on this guy's face. Wow, he really had a load ready for every opportunity, didn't he?
"He is a dog, he can only catch so many. Deep down, I'm sure he digs them."
"unlike you. you seem to catch on pretty quickly."
"That big show of yours sounds like a bust. Bet it's gone down to the dogs."
"ouch. brutal." He was silent for a while, before he clears his throat. "i've been knocking on this door for months. this is the first time someone has answered. what took you so long, bud?"
I considered what to tell him. Then decided, fuckit, what would it harm to tell him? "Broke a leg. You know how it is." Months huh? Toriel must've heard the knocks eventually, maybe she just didn't want to be reminded of the children? Didn't want to give herself false hope? Who knew.
There was a knock on the door behind me. "knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"adore."
"Adore who?"
"adore is between us." Well, he wasn't wrong. It still made me chuckle either way. This went on for a few minutes longer, knocking on the door, trading jokes with each other until I was growing too tired to think anymore.
"Sorry, I'm gonna have to quit out now or else I'm gonna fall asleep."
"heh. not to worry buddy, my brother is probably going to wake up soon. he loves getting up at the crack of dawn." That was quite the lame door joke, even his tired chuckle let me know that he knew it too. Bed time for the both of us. "are you going to be back? i had fun, even gave me ideas for the big show."
I had to smile. "Sure thing, I can come back late at night again."
"i gotta work just by the door, be there all day. sure you can't make it earlier, bud? gonna be bonely without you."
I wasn't sure what Toriel planned for tomorrow, we had just gotten comfortable hanging around each other and she even seemed to enjoy the company. I couldn't lie and tell him I would definitely be there but... "I'll try my best. See you later, door buddy."
There was a chuckle on the other side of the door. "night night, kid."
I barely made it back to my bed before I collapsed asleep, excited for more than one thing the next day.
Decided since Sans always speaks lower case, I'd keep it here. Canon and all that. I just suffer the wrath of my auto correct correcting the capitalisation all the time. Buggering thing.
Confession time! Actually, the scene with Sans knocking on the door and Frisk being the one to answer and not Toriel was actually the beginning idea for bringing this story to life. It all started there, then the rest of the story pieced together in my mind. Originally, I had been planning maybe ignoring that and taking the police idea to the surface and such, with Sans as a partner or something, but that just seems rather lame-o. To me, anyway. Got nowhere else for it to go otherwise P: AHWELL.
I figured the romance with Sans had to start somehow, I'm not a massive fan of LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT and since Sans likes to keep his heart close to his not-really-there-chest, it didn't make sense for him to not react poorly with Toriel not being the one knocking on the door if Frisk suddenly showed up on the other side. Cue, knock knock jokes. Bringing people together since doors were invented. Or something like that. *grumbles*
Chapter looks way shorter online than it does in my document. :c makes it look bad. Oh well.
Hope you enjoyed it! Work has calmed down lately so I may or may not update more often. Haha probably not. I'm too lazy for that. Updates come when they come I suppose! When my brain comes up with ideas :P
~Blackie