The week went by at an excruciatingly slow pace. School was as boring as ever, their time after school was as lonely as ever, Robert was as obnoxious as ever... The only thing that spiced up the routine a bit for Frisk were the monsters in their head, providing some commentary, casually assisting them with their homework here and there, telling the occasional joke or wisecrack. But even that didn't help all that much.

Alphys' increasing desperation was the worst. She could come up with precious few plausible solutions to their problem and none of them provided any useful results. Their lack of new knowledge didn't help either. In short, no progress was made since Toriel's arrival and it was driving the lizard scientist mad. They were all counting on her to figure this out, yet she was powerless. It didn't do her still-mending self-esteem any wonders. And as a direct consequence of that, Undyne was beating herself up for not being able to do anything to help, dragging the mood further down.

Still, there was a small light at the end of the tunnel, some solace to look forward to. Today was Friday. Just one more day of dreariness to go until the weekend.

The day didn't start off very well, though. Robert's latest, ever-so-subtle method of annoying them was to stand in the doorway to biology class so Frisk couldn't get in, back turned to them. It was an obvious instigation; Robert had been trying to get under Frisk's skin all week in the hopes that they would snap and attempt to physically harm him, which would give him an excuse to "retaliate".

Unfortunately for Robert, Frisk was not falling for any of it. Violence was exclusively a last resort to them, as it has always been. Undyne was increasingly incredulous with their behavior, wondering again and again how they put up with him.

After the fifth time of politely asking him to move, Robert finally relented. "Whatever you say, Dora," he snidely admitted defeat.

"Frisk, why did he just call you... 'Dora'?" Toriel asked.

Dora is some stupid TV show character that I happen to vaguely resemble. He thinks it's funny.

"I am getting really tired of this brat's shi- ...nonsense," Undyne caught herself.

Whatever. He can't keep doing this forever, right?

"...Right," Undyne snarled.

When they found their desk and the biology teacher finally came in to start the lesson, Frisk noted that today they were going to talk about the human skeleton. Oh, boy.

"HEY, FRISK! I THOUGHT YOU SAID MONSTERS DIDN'T EXIST IN THIS WORLD? BUT NOW THEY'RE TEACHING YOU ALL ABOUT US ANYWAY!" Papyrus was quick to comment.

No, no, no, this isn't about you.

"...HUH?!" Papyrus was completely lost.

Toriel stepped in to explain while Frisk tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. "All humans have skeletons to support all their organs, Papyrus. Without that, they'd collapse into a pile."

"WHAAAT? THAT'S CRAZY. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT. WE LOOK NOTHING ALIKE!"

Look. Frisk demonstrated by flexing their fingers awkwardly, so that their metacarpals pressed visibly against the skin on the back of their hand. Bones, see? And... They inhaled deeply and rubbed their hand against the side of their chest, hoping nobody would notice the odd gesture. Here I've got my ribcage.

"...THAT'S AWFUL. YOU KEEP SKELETONS TRAPPED IN YOUR BODY?" Papyrus sounded a little nauseous.

No, silly. These skeletons aren't alive like you are. They're part of us.

"SO YOU WERE PART SKELETON ALL ALONG?! YOU'VE NEVER TOLD ME THAT BEFORE!" That queasiness from before was replaced with boundless excitement in an instant.

...Yeah, that's close enough. In a sense, we're all part skeleton, I guess.

"THAT'S SO COOL! WE'RE ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY! NOW I DON'T FEEL SO BAD ABOUT BEING STUCK IN HERE ANYMORE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"


Frisk spent almost the entire biology lesson studying pictures of skeletons with Papyrus, who was practically entranced with curiosity. He only snapped out of it briefly to wake up Sans and tell him all about it. Frisk had expected Sans to respond with his usual disinterest, but he seemed almost as curious as Papyrus was, if a little more reserved about it. Near the end of the lesson, however, Sans nodded off again.

After biology class, it was time for English. Most of it came and went without any hassle, but when the teacher described the term "Fishwife" as a rude, rough and/or vulgar woman who is prone to shouting, it hit a little too close to home for Undyne. It took quite a bit of effort to convince her not to take it personally.

Then, after morning break, it was time for P.E. class. Now, normally Frisk didn't mind P.E. all that much. It could be fun. It could be, except when the teacher decided that it wasn't going to be. By choosing a sport most of the class isn't very fond of, like, say...

"Softball."

A chorus of groans sounded, followed by hushed complaints ("Does he even know what season it is?" "Can't we do something fun for once?" "This is why nobody likes you, teach."). Before the teacher could even berate them, his job was done for him.

"Oh, quit your bellyaching, you pansies," Robert told off his classmates with a glare.

Frisk, meanwhile, had their own internal conversation to worry about.

"So what's "softball", then? Doesn't sound very impressive," Undyne asked.

Have you ever heard of baseball?

"Not really. I think some stuff like that washes up at the garbage dump every once in a while, but we never could figure out what it was for."

Ah, well, basically, it's a variation of that sport, Frisk explained as the class headed outside to the field. Only with a supposedly softer ball. One team tries to hit a ball with a bat and then run a lap around the field before the other team can find and bring the ball back.

"Hitting a ball with a bat? That sounds like it could be dangerous. Is there any protective equipment?" Toriel asked, obviously concerned.

There's supposed to be. A helmet, for instance. Only our teacher usually doesn't bother with it.

"That's... very irresponsible." Toriel's voice sounded like she might have used more colorful wording if the situation allowed for it.

What's the worst that could happen? Frisk asked rhetorically before continuing their explanation. There's a few "bases" which act like checkpoints where you can stop part of the way through if you can't make it all the way. Eventually the teams switch places, and whoever can run the most laps wins. There's a couple more rules, but that's the gist of it.

"So... It's a game where you distract your opponent, then run away as fast as you can." Undyne snorted, obviously unimpressed. "You must be really good at that."

Not really. I hate it. Robert's great at it, though. He can send the ball exactly where he wants it to go. I hope I get to be on his team.

"Pffft. If I were you, I'd take this opportunity to thoroughly humiliate him at his own game. He deserves that much."

Much to Frisk's delight, they were indeed assigned to Robert's team along with Ben and several other kids, although the way Robert was grinning like a hungry predator was a little unnerving. He was usually gleeful at the opportunity to beat everyone else at a game he was unequivocally superior at, but this was excessive, even for him.

"All right, listen up. We're batting first. Simon, you start. Then Dan, then Frisk. You all move up one base each time, got it? No taking risks. Then I'll go and bat it far out so we can all run home," Robert announced.

"Who does this guy think he is?!" Undyne's frustration with Robert had been building up all week, and Frisk began to worry if she could contain herself much longer. The weekend couldn't come sooner.

Calm down, okay? He's a jerk and a showboat, but he knows what he's doing.

And so Simon went, followed by Dan, both kids doing exactly what they were asked. Next it was Frisk's turn. They just hoped they wouldn't disappoint. Ben gave them an encouraging thumbs-up as they passed by, but that only told Frisk that their nervousness was plain for all to see.

Still, they managed to hit the ball and reach first base fairly easily. Undyne grumbled how they could've easily made it further, but Dan hadn't moved beyond second base, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Now it was time for Robert to show off his amazing skills. As he moved up, still flashing that malicious grin, Frisk noticed that he was gazing at them in particular, almost like he was sizing them up. Ben was nervously eyeballing Robert from his spot at the sidelines, then shot Frisk an odd look, then back to Robert. Was something about to happen? Frisk decided worrying about that wouldn't help, and instead focused on where they needed to go, resolving to start running as soon as they heard the bat impact with the ball.

Several tense seconds went by. Then, the very moment that telltale sound rang out, Frisk sped off. Within a split second, they had already almost reached second base, when-

"Frisk, WATCH OUT!"

Frisk had just enough time to hear Ben's voice and process what he said, but unfortunately not quite enough to act on it.

PAFF

Something impacted with Frisk's left cheek, hard. They instantly lost balance and fell to the right, landing on their side. Something in their right arm went CRUNCH, sending out a wave of intense yet strangely numbing pain. Their forward momentum sent them rolling over a little, bringing them to rest face-up. They couldn't tell what was going on around them any longer, and they felt their consciousness slipping away fast. The last thing they heard before everything faded away were the voices. Toriel, Papyrus and Alphys sounded distraught, but their words were drowned out by Undyne's bewildered yelling.

"Are you SERIOUS?! You dodged ALL of my spears back then and you're gonna let that little ball- the ONLY ball on the field hit you?! Oh, how freaking DARE that little- I'll freaking kill him! Hey, Frisk, get up! ...Frisk? C'mon, buddy, now's not the time for a nap! Frisk...!"


It took a little while for the entire game to grind to a standstill. Ben felt a little guilty. He could tell that Robert was up to something, but he had made no attempt to warn Frisk until it was already too late. As for Robert himself, from the looks of it he might have finally realized that maybe this went too far. Too little, too late.

The teacher, that useless asshole, was making his way over to where Frisk lay unconscious. When he was almost there, though, Frisk's right eye suddenly snapped open and they shakily staggered to their feet, a furious look on their face.

"Whoa, Frisk, hold on now, you shouldn't be moving arou..."

The teacher's words sputtered out as Frisk blatantly ignored him, shambling past slowly but steadily. From the way they were caressing their right arm, something was definitely wrong with it, but they didn't seem concerned enough to stop and have it checked.

Instead, they shuffled over to where Robert was standing. Nobody knew what to say or what to do, least of all Robert.

Several painfully slow seconds later, Frisk had reached Robert's position, and now they were having a staring contest.

Ben watched the scene with bated breath. Everyone in class was at least vaguely aware of how Robert treated Frisk, and how much worse it was getting lately. It didn't take an oracle to predict that this would come to a head soon. From the looks of it, this was the moment.

And that moment stretched for what seemed like an eternity as the two children just stared at each other. Unmoving, unblinking.

...

Finally, Robert moved to say something, anything, to break up the silence. As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, though, Frisk's left arm whipped back and launched forward, planting a fist directly against Robert's chin.

Robert stumbled back and fell on his rear, more from astonishment than the actual force of the blow. He could only rub his chin and stare, slack-jawed.

"You did that on purpose, you punk," Frisk snarled.

Then, without saying anything further or looking at anyone else, they stumbled towards the edge of the field and half-laid down, half-collapsed, at which point the teacher finally came back to life and moved to check on them.

Suffice it to say, the entire class was stunned by what just happened. It was surreal. Frisk, the child who would not hurt a fly, just went and punched Robert in the face.


Frisk regained consciousness laying on a less-than-comfortable bed, in a room which they soon recognized to be the school nurse's office.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right," Toriel sighed.

Whuuhh... What happened?

"YOU WERE HIT BY A FLYING BALL AND LOST CONSCIOUSNESS! I WAS WORRIED SICK!" Papyrus yelled, far too loud for Frisk's liking.

"Pff, 'softer ball', my foot. To think, the kid that survived everything the Underground could throw at them, felled by a little ball..." Undyne commented.

A... ball? I don't remember anything...

Just then, the nurse came in. "Ah, you're awake, I see. How are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy... And my arm hurts," Frisk replied.

"That's to be expected. You've got a concussion and a fracture in your upper arm," the nurse explained.

Frisk only now noticed that their hurting arm was being held in place by a sling. "So what exactly happened?"

"You don't remember, do you? That's the concussion's fault. Anyway, that Robert kid sent a ball straight for your face during a game of softball. Then you fell over and landed on your arm."

Frisk nodded. "Ah, yeah, I think that sounds about right..."

"And then you just stood up and punched him immediately afterward."

"I... what?!"

The nurse nodded to affirm that, yes, they heard right. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. That's a perfectly understandable response after all that happened, and Robert's fine."

"Yeah, but... I don't remember doing that at all."

"Concussion. Anyway, looks like you were lucky with your arm. It'll probably heal fairly quickly."

"That's nice, I guess..." Frisk paused, still a bit woozy. "So... What now? Do I just go back to class?" They certainly weren't looking forward to facing Robert after having apparently punched him, especially in the state they were in now.

"No, we should get you home. It's Friday anyway, and you need some rest. Do you have your mom's phone number?"

"She's at work right now, she can't pick me up. I can make my own way home," Frisk claimed.

"Absolutely not. Concussions can cause spells of sudden dizziness. What if you walk onto the road and get run over? I'll get a teacher to bring you home."

The nurse left to make a call, giving Frisk some alone time. Well, not completely alone.

So do you guys know what happened? Did I really punch Robert?

"Uh, that depends on your t-technical definition of 'you', heheh," Alphys dryly commented.

What do you mean?

"What she means is, I took over for you while you were out and showed that punk why you don't mess with us! Fuhuhuhu!" Undyne victoriously declared.

...Oh, no. Oh no, no, no. Now that I've used violence, the gloves are off. He'll wreck me. Panic began enveloping Frisk's consciousness.

"Frisk, listen." Undyne's voice wasn't usually this calm and sincere. "I understand why you believe what you believe. Your goody-goody attitude turned out to be exactly what us monsters needed. Hell, we'd probably have never become friends if it wasn't for that."

Frisk took a deep breath, but said nothing.

"But this kid just sent a ball directly for your head, and I'm dead certain that it was not an accident. I know humans are tough, but I also know a thing or two about weak points. That might've messed you up real bad if you were unlucky, Frisk. You can't let him get away with that, or he'll do it again. And maybe next time you won't be so lucky."

But now he's mad! He'll want revenge!

"Yeah? Well, he can come get it. There's more where that came from. You said it yourself, this is your problem, no one else can help. And if you don't have the guts to solve this problem of yours, then I will do it for you," Undyne announced.

You can't do this! Panic gave way to anger. This is my body. I'm fine with you tagging along, but you can't just take control like that and live my life for me!

"frisk, buddy, you're absolutely right." Frisk flinched from Sans' voice; they hadn't even realized he was awake. "we technically have no right to intrude on your personal affairs uninvited like this. and if it were any different, we'd have done otherwise."

...However?

"however, it's just not that simple." Sans sighed. "remember what alphys told us? we don't know how many monster souls you're hauling around with you. it could be just us, or it could be several dozen..." Sans paused for dramatic effect. "or it could be all of them. every single one. anything that happens to you happens to all of us as well. i hate to tell you this, but we need to make sure you're safe. there's so much potentially at stake here. we can't afford not to care anymore."

Well, that was a sobering thought. Maybe, just maybe, all of monsterkind rested on their shoulders. Frisk gulped a little.

"hey, it's all right, though. you're doing fine. but i agree with undyne, you needed to stand your ground there. it's like my bro always says: anybody can be a good person if they really try. but y'know, sometimes they just need some... encouragement."

"SANS... I'M NOT SURE IF I AGREE WITH YOU OR NOT, BUT THAT SURE SOUNDED PROFOUND! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Papyrus praised.

"heh. you didn't think my skull was full of air, did you?"

"THAT SAID, THOUGH... WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH YOUR ARM, FRISK? THAT DOCTOR LADY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A "FRACTURE", BUT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT."

Ah... Well, you remember the lesson this morning about skeletons, right? When I landed, one of the bones keeping my arm in place snapped.

"...OH DEAR." Papyrus sounded very worried. "W-WILL IT GET BETTER?!"

Yes, yes. This sling keeps it in place so the bones grow back together. Frisk briefly mused if a broken bone to a skeleton was like a severed limb to humans. They suppressed the thought with a shudder. It'll take a little while before I can use this arm again, but it'll be just fine.

"PHEW. THANK GOD."

Around then, the nurse came back. "I've arranged for someone to bring you home. Can you walk?"

Frisk nodded. "I think so."

"Good."


When Frisk came home, they killed some time watching TV, waiting for mom to come home from work. When she eventually did, late in the evening, she was naturally quite distraught at Frisk's condition. Frisk tried to shrug it off ("It's okay, mom. I just tripped during P.E. I'm fine."), but mom was having none of it and moved away to make a phone call. When she came back, she announced she had taken the next day off.

"What? Why?"

"To look after you, of course. I'm not having you spend the whole day alone with a concussion and a broken arm."

Well, that depends on your definition of "alone".

When Frisk didn't respond further, mom looked at the clock. "Now, how about you head off to bed early? A good night's rest will probably help a lot."

"All right, all right..."

As it turned out, this was easier said than done. There was no comfortable position for Frisk to hold their arm. The dull headache didn't help either. After about half an hour of tossing and turning- Undyne, Alphys and Toriel had already fallen asleep at some point- Sans suddenly spoke up.

"hey, frisk. can i check out your arm for a sec?"

It was certainly an odd and sudden request, but Frisk didn't see much harm in it. Sure, just be careful, ok?

"thanks, buddy."

Sans took control and began moving the arm about in small, jerky movements.

Owowowow... Don't move it around so much, Frisk complained.

"sorry. this should be about right."

About right for what?

Sans didn't respond. Frisk felt a tingly sensation in their arm.

"hey, papyrus."

"MMH? WHAT?"

"help me out here, would ya?"

"WHAT ARE YOU... OH."

Mind filling me in here, guys?

Sans took a moment to reply. "ssh. need to concentrate. will explain later."

All right, then...

Frisk stared blankly toward the ceiling and tried to guess what the skeleton brothers were doing, but the sensation was almost soothing. Soon, fatigue overtook them.


Frisk woke up quite late in the morning. Odd. Papyrus hadn't woken them up early as usual, nor was he even awake to greet them. It was quite rare to catch the taller skeleton brother sleeping, but the rhythmic, almost childish snoring could only belong to him.

Oh well. Seems like everyone slept in sooner or later, even Papyrus. Frisk went on their morning routine while the monsters were still fast asleep.

It was only after Frisk rubbed their eyes with both hands that they realized their right arm was completely healed.


A/N: I've been looking forward to writing this chapter, personally. It was a bit of a challenge, but I think it turned out okay. Hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.