A/N: WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of rape. Please read carefully!
I promise I'm not throwing this in there for shits and giggles...there is a real purpose here.
CHAPTER TWO – A Year Later
The whole town was abuzz with fear after the third woman in a row had been raped in the middle of the night. All three had been out walking, all three had been alone, but not all three had been human. The third was a rabbit monster named Clarissa. Although it hurt Frisk to see her story in the news, it made her feel better to know that the crime against this monster wasn't being ignored the way so many others had.
The whole thing made her nervous about going to work, but she couldn't just not go. She wondered if Sans would be opposed to walking her home until the perpetrators had been caught. She didn't have a car to begin with, but it wasn't an issue most of the time since she worked a block away from her apartment. That block distance seemed like so much longer at the prospect of walking alone in the dark.
She texted him that night before walking to work.
Hey Sans, question for ya.
She continued to get ready as she waited for a response. It came less than a minute later.
Hey Kiddo, answer for ya. It might even be related to your question.
She smiled.
How awful would it be of me to ask you to walk me home after my shift tonight?
She took a breath and put her phone back down on the counter. It wasn't like she was asking him to stand sentry over her the whole night, she thought. Even though they'd known each other a year, and she knew she could talk to him whenever she needed him, it still felt like she was asking too much of her friend.
It would make you an AWFUL-ly horrible person. The worst brat to ever bratwurst. Do I really have to?
She laughed a little, but then a worm of doubt wriggled in her stomach.
No.
She puffed out her cheeks and waited nervously. What if he really didn't want to?
What time do you get off?
Was he really okay with this?
At two in the morning. I'm sorry, Sans. You don't have to; I'll be fine.
Her stomach turned a little bit. She didn't blame him one bit for not wanting to come down to the store just to walk her a block. She would be fine. The path was mostly well-lit, and one of the apartments on the corner was part of the neighborhood watch. And yet, she still couldn't shake this horrible fear of walking home alone.
Did you really just apologize for wanting to feel safe? Don't be dumb, Frisk. I'll be there.
She breathed a sigh of relief and texted a thanks to him before she finished getting ready.
Her shift was long and boring, but she perked up when she saw the time was already one-forty-five. She finished her zone and went into the break room to get ready to leave. When she walked out, Sans was waiting in front of one of the empty cash registers for her. She smiled brightly and waived as she went over to him.
He hugged her shoulders. "You ready to go, Kiddo?" he asked.
"Yes, but I'm not a 'Kiddo'; I'm almost twenty-two years old."
Sans snorted. "That would make you a kiddo. You have three guesses about my age."
One thing she knew about monsters was that they lived an extraordinarily long time. She looked up at him for a moment, squinting her eyes and thinking.
"Five hundred," she guessed.
Both of his brow bones raised. "Damn. I'm not a grandpa yet."
Okay, too old, she thought to herself. "Three hundred?"
"Nope."
She let herself think for a minute as they walked down the dark path. She liked that he hadn't let her go yet; his arm around her shoulders made her feel even safer.
They stopped at her front door and she dug her keys out of her purse. "Two hundred and thirty-seven," she said as she turned to unlock the door.
"Nope. You're out of guesses." He came in behind her and shut the door. "One hundred and five." He flopped down on the couch and looked up at her.
She put her hands on her hips. "So, in other words, you're a kiddo, too." She loved the light blue that graced his cheekbones.
"Not by human standards."
Frisk sat down next to him and hugged his arm. "You're not a human, so I can't hold you to human standards. In monster terms, you're a young skeleton."
He tried to pull away, but she knew he was playing. She held on tighter.
"I am not," he whined. "I'm a fully grown, way-older-than-you, skeleton."
"Whatever. Baby Bones." She reached up and pinched his cheekbone. The light blue there darkened just a little.
"Nah, that's Papyrus. I'm Adolescent Bones." He looked down at her and laughed at the look on her face. "What?"
"Papyrus is the younger brother?" she asked incredulously. "But he's so…tall?"
Sans laughed. "Yeah, he's taller, but I'm older. Haven't you ever noticed how much of a child he is? He's so innocent."
She loved it when he talked about his brother. It was obvious how much he cared for the other skeleton.
"How old is he?"
"I'm not really sure, actually. I found him when he was a toddler, so I'm thinking maybe forty years younger than me?" He scratched his head. "It's hard to tell sometimes."
She nodded, confused again. "You found him?"
Sans looked down at her with a soft glow in his eye sockets. "Yeah. I went to take some stuff to the dump one day. While I was there, I saw this little bundle of blankets waddling around. When I realized it was a baby monster, I scooped him up. Imagine my surprise when it's a little skeleton! He babbled at me, but he couldn't talk to tell me where he came from. Dad and I searched for his parents, but we came up empty handed. After about two weeks, Dad decided he was going to adopt him. I'd always wanted a brother, so I was ecstatic."
She rested her head on his shoulder blade. "He's really lucky to have you as a big brother, Sans."
He pulled away to hug her shoulders. "Thanks, Frisk. How are you doing? I mean with this whole mess?"
She shrugged a little. "I'm okay. Just kind of scared, y'know?" she looked down at her lap. "I think I might have to invest in a car."
Sans rubbed her arm gently. "Nah, y'got me. I'll walk you home every night."
She looked up at him, a little surprised. "Seriously?"
He nodded. "Of course. I can't imagine you'll be able to get a car tomorrow, and I don't want you to get hurt. So yeah, I'll be your bone-ified guardian for a bit. It's not like you didn't earn it." He smiled again.
She grinned. "Thank you." She wasn't sure two small incidences of standing up for him warranted his services as personal bodyguard for an undetermined number of nights, but she wasn't about to complain.
~LM~
Two weeks and four assaulted women later, she was nearly a wreck walking home. Even with Sans there, it seemed she might not be safe. Two women had been attacked with their friends or significant others there to keep them safe. One of the boyfriends took a stab wound to the chest and died later in the hospital. It terrified Frisk to think of Sans getting hurt trying to protect her.
Sans was a little on edge, too. He wanted to stop the attacks from happening, but it seemed the group dissipated once the sun rose and only reappeared when they were on the hunt again. He couldn't track them, which meant they had to be human. He couldn't even tell how many of them there were.
It was a rare night off for Frisk when she decided to walk across the street to the all-night café to get some dinner. The monster that ran the shop was a little off-putting at first, but once Frisk got to know her, she was a charming spider-lady.
She bundled up and put her keys and phone in her pocket before heading out. She looked both ways at the sidewalk and then took a step out in the road. Halfway across, she heard a muffled scream. She didn't dare stop in the middle of the street, so she hurried across and stopped to listen closely. She heard scuffling coming from the alleyway a building down from the café. She told herself to ignore it; it wasn't worth putting herself in danger.
And yet, the thought filled her with guilt. There could be someone in real danger, and she might be able to help. With a nod of determination, she pulled out her phone and texted Sans.
Hey, can you come over?
He had promised a few nights prior that he wasn't sick of her yet and to let him know anytime she needed him. Right now, she needed him, because she wasn't about to face this threat alone.
She took a few steps toward the alleyway when Sans texted her back, startling her. He was on his way. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward. When she heard another scuffle and another muffled scream, her heart jumped out of her chest and she bolted into a run. She turned down the alleyway and stopped short when she saw five large men surrounding a woman, already hurting her.
"Hey!" she screamed. "Hey, get off of her!"
She ran forward again, not sure at all what she intended to do. Filled with anger, she plowed right into one of the men, knocking them both over. In an instant, she realized what a terrible idea that had been.
The man's arms wrapped around her tightly as she started to struggle. All five men laughed. The one holding the other girl down pulled away and started yanking his pants back up.
"All right," said the one holding Frisk. "We'll get off of her. We're done anyway."
Another man slapped the bound woman's backside before untying her restraints.
"Come on, guys," said another man. "Let's take this one somewhere else."
The blood drained from her face. She started to struggle in earnest and screamed as loud as she could. It was nearly instantly muffled by a hand covering half of her face.
"Shut up, you loud bitch. You're the one that came to us." The man holding her laughed as he stood up, his arms still holding her in a vice grip. "It ain't our fault you're so fucking horny."
She closed her eyes tightly as excruciating fear bubbled in her stomach. It boiled its way into her chest and made tears spill out of her eyes. She didn't stop fighting, praying to whatever deity might listen that Sans would look down the alley and see her. As the men rounded a corner at the far end and her street turned out of view, she knew she was well and truly fucked.
A/N: Thank you for reading. Reviews are lovely.
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