The Lonely Arc Chapter 9:
Frisk blinked heavily. Her chest hurt a lot, and when she opened her eyes, all she saw was white. She was out in the snow again. The flakes were drifting softly down from above. One landed on her nose and she brushed it away on her sleeve. She took a deep breath and a quick look around. She could see where trees and a branching path ahead. It took her a second to realize she was all the way back at the river. She started to laugh a little and tiredly ran a hand through her hair.
"Thanks a lot, Undyne, sheesh," she muttered.
.
She took a few moments to rub her hands together to warm them, then went to shove her them in her pocket, but she paused when her numbing fingers hit her cellphone. It felt like a block of ice. She pulled it out and looked at it, then smiled and punched in a number by muscle memory.
.
The phone rang twice and then she heard a click.
"Hello, you've reached the great Papyrus, who is calling?" Papyrus asked.
"Hi Papyrus, can I talk to Sans, please?" she asked.
"What? Oh! What a coincidence. You want to speak to Sans, and yet you have called my phone number! I am currently standing right beside him!"
"Well, I just wanted to hear your voice first," Frisk said, trying not to laugh. "And I'm pretty sure Sans lost his phone."
"Ah yes, that does sound like my brother. Very well!" he said.
.
She heard a shuffling and a little bit of high-pitched nyehing.
"Sup?"
"So, um… Hi. It's Frisk," she said. "Um, do you remember—?"
"Yeah. You okay? Where are you?" Sans asked.
"I'm fine. Pretty cold, I guess. I'm near the river crossroads. The one with the, um…" She looked around. There was also what was known as a dimension box and a signpost a little farther along. "The one with the weird box that moves your stuff for you?"
"Hang on. Go back to the empty guard station."
.
He hung up before Frisk could answer. She looked at her phone, then shoved it in her pocket. She hid her hands in her sleeves to protect her fingers from the chill and trekked back towards the vacant guard house. She looked around, but she didn't see anyone nearby at all. She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.
.
"Hey."
Frisk yelped and nearly fell over as Sans appeared over guard house's counter, grinning. "Did I scare you?" he said.
"Surprised! Just… surprised," she said. "Thanks for coming."
He walked out and offered a red and white bundle to her. Cautiously, she took it and unrolled it. She was taken aback to see that it was a long, striped sweatshirt.
"It was Papyrus's," he said. "It's a bit big, but it was the first thing I found." He shrugged.
Her face lit up and she smiled wide. "Thank you so much!"
.
She hurried to pull it on. Two sweatshirts were much better than one, and it went almost down to her knees. The sleeves were definitely too long.
"Good?" he asked. "We can get home right now if you want."
"Oh! W-Wait, just a second," she said. "I, um… I was hoping I could go play with the dogs."
"After all that?" Sans asked, raising a brow.
Frisk nodded. "I think it's important. And… And the puzzles with Papyrus, too. Especially those."
"That's good, actually, Paps loves those things," he said.
She nodded enthusiastically. "I got them memorized!" She stuck her thumbs up. "It won't take long."
"Got it, kid."
.
Frisk smiled bashfully. "Thanks for being so patient. I gotta get this right."
"Yeah. That's true. I, uh… Nah, sorry for tryin' to rush you. It's just…" He frowned and rubbed the back of his skull. "Seein' Undyne get you like that… I dunno."
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Frisk said— it had already almost slipped her mind. "I'm fine, really! Undyne usually gets me at least a few times each time! I mean, the first time even she got me so many times I can't even remember! She's really tough, so I kinda expect it now, and I mean, all that was a big surprise so at least it was different than normal. Spear's not so terrible a way to go."
"Yeah? Huh," he said. "Still. My bad."
"No way," she said. "Thanks for sticking up for me. You didn't have to."
"I know. Weird, right?"
She beamed. "Oh man, it's so much better having you in my corner again."
"Always am, kid." He winked. "Anyway, no problem. See you up ahead."
She blinked and he was gone.
xXxXx
Papyrus's puzzles were the same as ever. She followed his steps through the electric maze, took her time on the Junior Jumble, flipped his switches from X to O, poked at the frozen spaghetti on a table, and confidently strode across Alphys's trap as it malfunctioned and remained completely harmless. She was happy to play along, but she tried to talk quietly so he wouldn't recognize her voice from the phone calls this time. She felt pretty good about it, though, especially because her brother was grinning his face off, despite trying to play it cool. She loved that about him.
.
Frisk also noticed Sans was watching her a little more intently than usual, even hanging around more closely when dog guards approached her in the snow, or when some of the ragamuffin teenagers from town jumped her. It ended up being fun, anyway, no need to worry. Snowy Snowdrake's pun game was strong, but Frisk's was stronger. She had learned from the best, after all.
.
As Frisk came upon the final hurdle before reaching town, a large, long bridge made of stone, but painted to look like wood, she took a little break to catch her breath. Papyrus was at the other end, ducking off to the side, whispering conspiratorially with Sans, just loud enough that she could hear the rhythm of his voice.
.
She took a deep breath and stepped out. There was little in the way of support, so she tried not to look down and walked straight ahead. Papyrus caught her from the corner of his eye and quickly took a position with his hands on his hips at the other end of the bridge. His scarf billowed like a cape and he frowned defiantly.
"Human! This is your final and most dangerous challenge!" he announced. "BEHOLD! The Gauntlet of Deadly Terror!" His magic sparked and a plethora of weapons appeared around the bridge, pointing squarely at Frisk.
She didn't flinch in the least. She was a little curious about where he'd gotten all these sharp things, though. She'd never asked. Maybe he'd borrowed them from someone.
.
"When I say the word, it will fully activate!" Papyrus said. "All the parts will swing violently! There will be fire, and blades, and slicing and…! And you will be…! And I will! Definitely! Emerge! Victorious!"
Frisk stuck her thumbs up.
"Okay! Then! I will! Activate it! Right! Now!" He didn't move at all. He stared at Frisk and flinched slightly. "Iiiiis what I would say if I was really going to use the dreaded Gauntlet of Deadly Terror. But! I feel like maybe its a bit… unfair?"
"You think?" Sans said with a smile.
"Yes! Ahem! YES, actually, I think this win would be much too easy now! There's no way I can use this!" He whisked the pointy objects away with a wave of his hand. "I have standards! I am a skeleton with integrity and class, after all! No way would I r-resort to using such overpowered tactics to defeat the small… tiny… human!"
"Then why'd you pull it out, bro?" Sans asked.
"Shush! ANYWAY! Now you have seen what I can do… HUMAN!" He pointed at her accusingly. "Seeing as I have definitely won this round, I challenge you to a duel! To fully claim my victory! I'll…! I'll capture you for sure! The next time I see you! Um. So, it'll be just at the end of main street, okay? Hope to see you there soon! GOOD BYE! NYEH!"
.
He marched away hurriedly. Frisk held in a laugh and crossed bridge, taking a deep breath on solid ground. Sans laughed and gently thumped her on the shoulder.
"Alright?" he asked.
She nodded. "He's so funny," she said with a smile.
"Sure is," Sans said. "I like that you can really feel all his internal conflict."
Frisk scoffed and rubbed her face. "God, I miss him," she said quietly.
"You got this," he assured her. "Hey, come by the house first, alright?"
"Yeah." She gave him a hug. "Thanks, Sans."
He smiled and gently patted her head, and the moment she released him, he vanished.
.
After all that, freezing, damp, bruised, and shaking, but with a smile on her face, Frisk stumbled through Snowdin. She found the sparkling rip in time close to the inn and stuck to it right away, before she forgot.
.
She greeted everyone on her way, but picked out Kid near the tree. She was relieved to see he was okay, but then again, why wouldn't he be? He met her with a smile before she'd even said a word.
"Yo! You're a kid, too, right?" he said. "I can tell because you're wearing a striped shirt."
"Y-Yup," Frisk said; she was shivering harder than she had realized.
"You new in town?" he said. "Never seen you before."
"Y-Yeah, j-just moved in," she said.
"From the city?"
"Y-Yup," Frisk said.
"Cool! Hey, want to hang out some time?" he asked.
He was so enthusiastic that Frisk had to stop herself from laughing. It made her heart light up. "S-Sure! I'm in the h-house with the sk-skeletons, just at the e-edge of town. S-Sorry, I'm g-gonna go, I'm freezing."
"Heh, yeah, you sound like it," he said with a sympathetic smile. "Maybe I'll see you around!"
"D-Definitely," Frisk said.
.
She hurried on her way. Coming up to the house was a bit surreal after what had happened before. She climbed the small steps and then cautiously knocked at the door. Usually, no one came, but this time Sans met her.
"So, catch me up," he said.
"I think it's going good," she said. "The dogs all th-think I'm a puppy and everyone keeps giving m-money for some reason. And I saw my friend, Kid. And I think Papyrus had a r-really good time!"
"Yeah, looked like it," he said. "Come in."
Frisk was taken aback. "A-Are you sure? Papyrus should be j-just up ahead, right?"
"Heh. Yeah. He'll probably just wait out there until you go get him. But you're still cold, right?" he said. "You've been outside for hours. You can spare a few minutes."
.
She nodded and followed him into the house and towards the kitchen. Her jaw dropped when she saw that he had hot cocoa and a sandwich waiting. "Sans, you didn't have to—!"
"Kinda did," he said. He went to the counter to grab a mug and plunked a few marshmallows into it. "Don't care how cool you are, no way I'm letting my kid run around freezing her ass off without any…" He lost track of his sentence when he turned to give her her drink and lunch and saw her eyes glistening. "Uh… kid?"
"Th-Thanks!" She took the hot chocolate carefully and sipped it. "It's… It's really good!"
"Buddy, you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine." She smiled and wiped her eyes. "Thanks for doing this. I'm excited to go up against Papyrus, actually"
"Oh yeah?" Sans put his hands in his pockets as she took the sandwich too. "He's pretty tough though."
"Mostly, I... I miss him a lot," she said around a mouthful, "and maybe he'll remember me. At least a little. Mom did, just a bit. A-And even Napstablook seemed to a little."
"I hope so, kid." Sans patted her shoulder sympathetically. "You know he'll be your best friend anyway."
Frisk gulped. She preemptively wiped her eyes. "Yeah, but…" Her cheeks flushed bashfully. "I just really want my big brother Papyrus back. I really miss him, you know? I kind of hate being away from him. We… We made a promise last time. Th-That we'd always be together, no matter what happens. I want to keep it."
.
Sans looked taken aback for a fraction of a second before he started to smile and ruffled her hair. "You know my deal, right?" he asked.
"With the memories? Yeah, mostly, I think," Frisk said.
"He's not quite like me," he said, "but Paps is a little more sensitive than some of the others. Plus, you know every time he's ever met you, he decides he loves you within like fifteen minutes. I think you'll be okay."
Frisk snickered and rubbed her head. "You're right. Well, anyway, even if he doesn't remember… I… I just really wanna hang out with him again, you know? But I'm already tired just thinking about it. His blue magic is really a downer."
Sans grinned. "Heh. Yeah. Long day. Double long day, I guess. Welp. I'm rootin' for you. Get warm. Go whenever." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Gotta do some junk. You okay on your own?"
She nodded. He was gone.
.
Frisk sat on the sofa and finished her sandwich. It was basically just chopped hotdogs, ketchup, and chips in bread. It wasn't bad, actually. She cleaned up after herself as best she could without being able to get anywhere near the sink. She also took off Papyrus's old sweatshirt and folded it. She hoped he wouldn't mind, but she went into his room and returned it to his closet. She felt like being a little lighter would probably be better for trying to dodge whatever he would decide to throw at her today.
.
She went back downstairs and pulled out her phone. She dialled Toriel's number and sat on the sofa. She honestly didn't expect her to answer, so when she heard her voice on the other end of the line, she almost jumped and her heart thudded with shock.
"My child, is that you?" she asked.
"Mom! Hi!" she said brightly.
"Oh, thank goodness. Are you well, little one? Where are you? You haven't had to fight, have you? I hope you're staying warm, and—!"
Frisk laughed. "I'm okay.I met a nice monster right outside the Ruins and we're best friends already."
"R… Really?" She didn't sound like she believed her.
"Yeah! A skeleton," Frisk said. "Think you might already know him! He tells really great jokes."
"Oh…!" She suddenly sounded relieved instead. "Oh, honey… That is good to hear."
"Yeah! So, I guess I was just calling so you wouldn't worry," she said. "I'm safe."
"Thank you, little one," she said. "You sound much better, actually. Good luck out there. Please be good. I sincerely hope no more hardship comes your way on your journey."
"Thanks, mom," she said. "I gotta go for now. Talk to you later! Love you!"
"Oh…! I… Hah. I love you, too, little one. Have a good day."
Frisk hung up, pocketed the phone, and got to her feet. Time to go fight Papyrus.
.
She braced herself against the chill outside and walked down the path out of town. Fog and snow began to roll in almost as soon as she was beyond the garage. She shielded her eyes with her arm and squinted ahead. Was that a speck of red? She sure hoped so.
.
As she got closer, she saw him through the blur of snow, standing quite heroically, his red scarf billowing. She tried not to smile too wide as she wondered how long he had been standing there like that. She waved. She saw him falter for just a second as if he dearly wanted to wave back before he stood up tall and straight, looking the part of the dashing hero.
.
"Human! You've finally arrived," he said. "I, the great Papyrus, have waited here for you! Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings. Feelings like… the joy of finding another pasta lover. The admiration for another's puzzle solving skills. The desire to have a cool, smart person think you are cool. These feelings… They must be what you are feeling right now!"
Frisk tried not to laugh. She stuck her thumbs up.
"Oh, you are?! I…! Of course, I can hardly imagine what it must be like to feel that way. After all, I am very great. I don't ever wonder what having lots of friends is like. I pity you, lonely human… Worry not! You shall be lonely no longer! I, the great Papyrus, will be your…!" He stopped himself— looked conflicted. It was all rather dramatic. "No. No, this is all wrong! I can't be your friend! You are a human! I must capture you!"
"Oh. Well, I still want to be your friend, is that okay?" Frisk asked.
.
Papyrus froze. He frowned. "Th… That voice?!" he said, and his eyes went wide. "Wrong Number?! Could it be?! No! I… I really, really must capture you! You'll go to the capital! Undyne will be proud of me! I'll join the Royal Guard! I'll finally be popular! Everyone will want to be my friend! I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning and I will smell like the sun and moon! The great Papyrus will finally be number one!"
"You're already number one in my book," Frisk said.
"Well then it must be a very cool book," Papyrus said. "I must admit, I'm having several conflicting emotions right this second. If you are Wrong Number, you…! You trusted me at a very vulnerable moment all those days ago! And I…! I do want to be your friend! I feel like it could even be our destiny to be the best of friends! But, no! I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't at least try! It's my duty!" He stood solid in the snow and his magic whisked bones from nowhere. "Are you ready, human?!"
.
Frisk took a deep breath and readied herself to move quick and light. She rolled up her sleeves and her soul shone bright through her. His must've shone back and connected in sync, because his hum shocked her mind with its upbeat pulse, but she couldn't see it through his battle body.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she said.
He grinned. "Good!"
.
He didn't move. Frisk didn't either. Her heart started to pound.
"Well?" Papyrus asked.
"What?" she asked.
"You start," he said.
"Me?" Frisk said with surprise.
"Yes! It's only fair," he said. "As I said! I'm a skeleton with very high standards, mostly involving fairness! You are my new fr… foe! My new FOE. So, you get to start!"
"B-But I don't want to fight!" she said.
"What?! I thought all humans loved fighting!" he said.
"N-No, I don't love it!" she said quickly. "Maybe we could not fight?"
"Nonsense, human, I still need to capture you! Think of it like a game," he suggested brightly. "Come on!"
.
He sent a rush of bones at her, but all she had to do was hop and not a single one even came close. "Good!" he said. "Your turn!"
Frisk shrugged.
"What? Nothing?" he said.
"Papyrus, I don't wanna fight you," she insisted. "Couldn't we be friends and… and maybe hang out or something instead?"
"Wh… What?! You… don't want to be a foe? Or a fiend? You… You really want to hang out with me?" he asked.
She nodded vigorously.
"I-I mean, of course you do! I am very great and cool and smart and definitely good at hanging out with… friends?! B-But after! After I capture you."
Frisk threw her hands up. "Okay, I surrender, can you capture me now?"
"WHAT?! No, human, you don't get it, that's not fair at all, I need to give you a proper chance," he said. "But, if you won't fight, then prepare yourself! Do you think you can handle my fabled blue attack?!"
"Oh dang."
.
Papyrus's eyes lit up amber, then flickered with blue as his magic raised bones that shone with the same light into the air. They shot at Frisk in a violent barrage, but she stood fast, shielding her face with her arms, wincing against the wind in their wake as they passed straight through her. She shuddered, took a deep breath, but then staggered forward as she felt a magically charged weight pull her down.
"Jeez!" she yelped. She didn't have time to straighten up before a bone rushing at her at knee level toppled her over.
"You're blue now," Papyrus said proudly. "That's my attack."
Frisk grimaced but, looking at the shine of her soul, it was definitely a deep blue now. Felt like a rock. "Oh fantastic," she muttered.
"You alright, human?" he asked.
Frisk couldn't help a smile as she straightened up, even as everything inside her felt like thunking to the ground. She brushed the snow from her hair. Her heart went a little faster. "Paps, this is a fight," she said. "If I gotta do it, let's go!"
"That's the spirit!"
.
Papyrus's attacks were relentless, precise, and quick, racing at her from the ground and cutting through the air above her head. She leapt and tumbled, diving between bones made of magic that he seemed to be able to summon indefinitely. Her heart was pounding. She whirled as another came up behind her and she bent backwards— ended up in a stumbling cartwheel to get around it. Her eyes went wide.
.
"Dude, did you see that?!" she exclaimed.
"Wowie, human, you're good!" he said. "I'm impressed."
"You're definitely no lazybones yourself," she said.
He grinned. He raised the magic up with his hand and bones came at her in a wave, arcing upwards and then down again as they raced at her. She sprinted for it and jumped, but the highest one caught her foot and she tumbled. That blue magic tugged her roughly to the ground, colliding with the rest of the attack on the way down. Hurriedly, she managed to roll back to her feet in time enough to hop backwards and try again on a second wave. She whooped excitedly when she cleared it. Papyrus cackled.
"Don't get comfortable, human," he teased.
"Comfortable? Did you see that? I just wrecked my knees," she joked.
"Oh! Are you okay?!" Papyrus said. "I… I mean! AHEM! Get ready! I might just be getting close to my special attack!"
"Dang," she said.
.
Papyrus raised both hands this time and rows of bones appears in front and behind her. She braced herself, then leapt over them like it was jump-rope. The attacks only got faster, and bones charged with blue energy entered the mix. Frisk had to dodge, then freeze to avoid taking a hard fall as they rushed straight towards her face. More came from above and she had to try to balance that weight that would make her slam hard to the ground with sliding under them. She stumbled, took a whack to the side and rolled over into the snow. Papyrus was nice enough to pause just long enough for her to regain her footing.
.
He raised what looked like a wall rushing towards and Frisk gulped. She took a few paces back before running for it and jumping. She couldn't quite make it, but she grabbed for the top reflexively— though it hurt her hands, she managed to scrabble up and over to balance on the odd shapes— she realized rather quickly that they were words made of bones. Papyrus gawked. She wobbled at first, then sprinted across the first moving COOL and leapt to the oncoming DUDE. She quickly confronted more magic flying at her face. She had no time— she braced to take it and it rammed against her chest, and though it hurt, she grabbed it as she tried not to lose her balance. Something happened, then, that she hadn't expected: it dislodged from its attack position.
.
She stood, staring with shock as she held the bone in her hands like a weapon, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as another one flew at her. With a yelp, she swung the one she held forward into it. The two shattered and exploded into amber tinted, sparkling dust that drifted lightly into the snow. The wall below her disassembled itself and she fell onto her rump, too.
.
"H-How…?! How did you DO that?!" Papyrus asked. "Hey, is your eye okay?!"
Frisk could do little more than shrug. She forced herself up again and stuck her thumbs up, but Papyrus hesitated. He shook his head quickly, put on a confident grin, and raised his magic up around her once more.
.
Frisk spun, wove, and tumbled through speeding pillars of white and blue, but felt her heart thunk heavily when she saw a field of bones racing towards her, backed by the towering sentinel of a femur. There was was no way— No! She couldn't think like that. She had to! She'd done it before, she could do it again.
.
She ran straight at it, as fast as her tired legs would carry her. She jumped and closed her eyes. Determined to fight that magic, determined to make it over no matter how crazy it seemed. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Something scraped her. She couldn't bear to look.
.
Her stomach plummeted and she did too. She tumbled to the ground, landing hard on her back, and she let out a groan. She opened her eyes and could see the calcified titan vanishing just past her line of sight. Just as she pushed herself to her feet, her gaze caught on the final attack, a bone coming straight at her at a rather leisurely pace. She took a deep breath. Her legs were so tired that she could barely make the jump. Her toe caught on the top and she stumbled, but didn't fall. She doubled over, holding her knees, panting to catch her breath.
.
"H-Hey, Papyrus…?" she asked, her voice wobbling. "Can we…? Can we take a break from fighting?"
"What's that, human? The great Papyrus is a bit too much for you?" he asked loudly, striding up to her and putting his hands on his hips even though he was huffing a little, too. "I can see you sh-shaking in your boots!"
Frisk leaned forward and held onto his leg to keep her balance, nodding.
"H-Hey," he said, his voice softening. "Human? Are you alright? We can take a break. I understand my attacks can be a little too much sometimes!" He snapped his fingers and the blue magic fell from her as if it were simply a shadow chased away by the sun. He bent one knee to join her close to the ground and patted her on the head. "Ooh, what's this? I didn't know humans could glow like that!"
.
Frisk frowned with confusion but, before she could ask, his cheekbones flushed faintly orange-amber and his eyes began to water. A puzzled frown crossed his face and wiped the tears away with his mitts.
"Why am I—? Nyeh!" He put a hand to his head quickly, flinching. "Why do I…?"
Frisk quickly grabbed him by the shoulders. "Papyrus? Are you okay?!"
"Wow, this is really weird!" he said. "I feel so happy and so sad all at once." He had to pause to wipe his eyes again, making a quiet nyeh sound, but then looked her in the face with shock, first, and then determined certainty. He took one of her hands and held it tight in both of his.
.
"Wait a second! We've met before, haven't we?" he said. "I'm sure of it! I feel like we're best friends! I feel like we should be playing in the snow and doing puzzles and watching action cartoons and cooking! I… I feel like I've really missed you! More than I've ever missed anyone in my whole life! I don't want you sent away, that would be the exact opposite of what would be good!"
Her heart thunked to the ground and she gawked. "W… Wait, what?!" she squawked. "You… You actually remember me?!"
"Yes! Well, I think so! I mean… Yes, definitely!" He suddenly looked bashful. "D… Do you remember me?"
She nodded and felt her eyes well up with hot tears. Her mind was reeling, she had no idea what was going on, and she couldn't care less. "I really missed you, too!"
.
His eyes widened. It seemed to click. He started to grin and grabbed her into a tight hug right away, lifting her up off her feet as hopped back onto his. His eyes glowed gently and he touched his brow to hers. "How could I ever forget you?"
.
The kid could have melted. She was grinning like an idiot, and she hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the head. He giggled loudly and then held her back, aloft, under her arms.
"Seems the great Papyrus has caught some happy tears and a best friend!" he said. "This was all wrong, though. I must apologize, human! I don't know why I didn't recognize you the exact second I saw you! It must've been all that blowing snow, I guess! But I'm so happy you're back! I'm sorry about that nonsense on the bridge, I hope I didn't scare you too badly with that gauntlet challenge!"
"No, no no no, it's fine," she said quickly. "I wasn't scared at all."
"Oh good. Excellent." He blew out the words like a sigh of relief. "I guess I really was victorious after all!"
"Of course, dude, you super captured me," she joked.
"Hm! Oh, I really am so glad." He gently bumped his brow against hers. "This is the best day I've had in a long time! However, you look completely exhausted, so I, the great Papyrus, will bring you home! And make you delicious spaghetti!"
"C-Can we make spaghetti together?" she asked.
.
Papyrus's eyes went wide and he gasped; he was all but sparkling and his eyes had literally lit up. "Are you serious?!" he demanded. "You want to cook with me?"
"Of course I do," she said.
He beamed and embraced her tightly. "I knew it! I knew you were good!" he said, cuddling her close. "Yes, of course, human, we will cook together and it will be excellent! Let's go right now!"
.
He bounded back to the house and burst inside bombastically. "SANS? SANS, ARE YOU HERE?" Papyrus shouted. There was no reply. He pouted, but only for a second. He put Frisk back on the ground and gestured widely to the house. "Welcome to—! Oh right. Nyeh heh heh! You've been here before. Wow, that's weird but I am so glad you're here! So, welcome back to our house!" He knelt down to take her by the shoulders and grinned. "Your house, too!" A cautiously hopeful look spread on his face. "You…? You will stay, won't you?"
"I'd love to," she said.
"Nyeh heh heh! Perfect! Like I said, we're family now! …I… did say that, right? I remember saying that," he said. "I remember saying that on more than one occasion, actually."
Frisk nodded. Papyrus beamed.
"Excellent! And I meant it, too! I still mean it, I mean! I'll always mean it!" He bounced back onto his feet. "Get comfortable, it's time to cook spaghetti!"
.
As Frisk took off her shoes, the tall skeleton bounded around the kitchen. She could hear the sharp clanging of pots and pans, and rushing water. She wiped her eyes quickly but still couldn't keep the smile off her face. What was that feeling? Home? It sure was close.
.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw him plunking the water-filled saucepan onto the stove. He was already wearing his stained oven mitts and an apron that read "BONE APPETIT" with the lettering made of cartoon bones. He was about to dump the spaghetti into the pot, box and all.
"Ooh, ooh, wait," Frisk said quickly. "I need a chair."
"Ah yes, you are in fact quite tiny! Hang on just a tick!" He ran out of the room and, as soon as he was gone, Frisk turned up the heat under the pot of water.
.
Papyrus returned and dropped the chair down near the stove, then picked Frisk up and plopped her down on top of it.
"Okay, so! Let the great Papyrus show you how it's done!" he said. "You can be my excellent assistant! First, let's put the pasta in the pot!" He passed her the box.
She opened it, and he helped her reach over to pour it in.
"Oh! Okay. Different," he said. "And now—" Papyrus paused when Frisk stuck her hand up urgently. "Yes, human?"
"Do you flavour it with anything? Sometimes I put a little salt in. Just like a small spoon of it."
"Oh-ho!" Papyrus's eyes brightened. "That's not a bad idea!"
.
As he reached up into a cabinet to grab the salt, Frisk checked the back of the pasta's box and booped the oven's buttons to put on a timer.
"Okay!" he said as he salted the water. "Pasta's in! Time for the sauce!"
She wasn't sure where he had gotten the many tomatoes he was suddenly holding, but he smushed them in his mitts, cackling, and threw them into the other pan on the front burner. Pale red goop splattered all over the stove. He handed one to Frisk.
"Now you try!" he insisted.
Frisk frowned and smashed the tomato down into the pan.
"Excellent!" Papyrus said proudly. "Okay! Next step is… Um… Garlic! Hang on!" He went to scour the fridge.
.
While his back was turned, Frisk quickly picked the leaves and stems out of the goopy tomatoes.
"Okay, bad news, we are, in fact, out of garlic," Papyrus said. "But, never fear! I'm sure we can use something else!"
"What else you got?" Frisk said.
Papyrus picked her up and moved her to the fridge, and she knelt down with him as he opened up the small crisper at its base. She rubbed her chin and Papyrus mirrored her. She found an onion, and some leaves that smelled like maybe they might be an herb of some sort.
"Okay," she said. "This. And a knife, maybe."
"What for?" he asked.
"Chopping the onion?" she suggestion.
"Oooor…" He grinned. "We could use magic?"
"Ooh, okay, smash it to goo!" she said. "Take the skin off first, though."
"Wowie, human, you know a lot about vegetables!" He stuck his thumb up and took the onion from her, and with a wave of his hand, his magic was smashing the vegetables together in the pan without so much as scraping the metal.
.
Frisk watched with awe for a moment before she clambered back onto the chair and tore off little bits of the herb and threw them into the weird paste Papyrus was making.
"Now, for… Oh! Ack!" Papyrus put a hand to his eyes. "Oh gosh what is this stinging?"
"Onion stink!" Frisk gasped.
"Onion stink?!" Papyrus repeated.
"Water!" Frisk said.
.
Squinting through tears, Papyrus reached up to the sink to grab a rag and used it to dab water around his eye sockets. Frisk snickered and patted his shoulder reassuringly when he returned.
"Phew! That was weird! Didn't expect a vegetable of all things to get me," he said with a laugh. "I never use it because of the smell!"
"It'll be worth it," Frisk said, and hoped she wasn't lying.
.
They simmered and stirred the sauce, adding more seasonings, like some powdered herbs that looked like they had been in a cabinet since Snowdin was founded, and a little sugar. Just as they were about to drain the pasta, Papyrus's phone rang.
"Oops! That's probably Undyne," he said. He reached into his pocket to pull it out but with the oven mitts still on, he slipped and the phone went straight into the pot. "ACK!" he yelped. Papyrus tossed the mitts off frantically and reached into the boiling water to pull out his phone and waved it around.
"Oh jeez," Frisk said. "Is it okay?"
"I don't knooowww," Papyrus said; he stared at the screen suspiciously and poked it. "I think I'll need to dry it? Probably?"
"Oh no! Uh… You wanna use mine instead?" she asked.
"Thank you very much!" Papyrus said.
.
Frisk pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it over.
"Oh wow, I've never seen one this old before, where did you get it?" he asked, turning it over in his hands.
"Ruins. Never mind, just call her back," she said, flipping the front open for him.
Papyrus dialled hurriedly and held the phone to his head. He tapped his foot, then frowned. "Hmm… She's not answering," he said. "I guess I'll try again later? Maybe Undyne doesn't pick up numbers she doesn't know."
Frisk shrugged.
"I don't quite understand that train of thought, honestly," he said. "I always pick up my phone! You never know who's on the other end. Why, just the other day I had a really nice conversation with a monster who was telling me all about a down-on-his-luck prince from far away lands who possibly needed to borrow some gold! No idea why they called me, though."
"You didn't send any, did you?" Frisk asked.
"Well, no, I am saving a bit for something, since… you know, very technically I do not actually have a job?" He grinned. "But! I sent a plate of spaghetti in the mail, in a nice envelope and everything. I hope it gets there alright!"
Frisk snickered, patting him affectionately on the arm. "Never change, dude," she said.
"Of course I won't!" he said brightly. "Why do people keep telling me that, I wonder…?"
.
The sauce began to bubble. Papyrus glanced with wide eyes between his phone and the sauce.
"Go set that out to dry," Frisk insisted. She rolled up her sleeves and grabbed the big wooden spoon. "I got this."
Papyrus stuck his thumb up, tossed her back her phone, and ran out to the other room. She stirred the sauce vigorously. It was actually starting to look quite similar to food. She wasn't sure what he had done with his phone, exactly, but when he returned, he was dusting himself off. She offered him the spoon.
"I think it's done," she said.
"Ooh!" Papyrus cautiously tasted the sauce and he whirled on Frisk with wide eyes. "Wow, this is really good! This may be the best spaghetti sauce I've ever had!"
"Oh y-yeah?!" she asked.
"Try it!" he said. He gave her the spoon.
She tested it hesitantly on just the tip of her tongue, but then she looked at him with surprise. "It's not bad!"
"Human, do you know what this means?!" he said, beaming at her. "You and I, being best friends, making spaghetti, being such a great sauce making team!? This must be what was meant to happen!"
"Y-You think so?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes, of course! This is right where you're meant to be. I'm so happy I found you again, because I'm sure you belong with my brother and I! In fact, I've never been more sure of anything in my life!"
.
Frisk stared back at him and her chest tightened. It all hit her in a wave. That was her big brother staring back at her, like nothing had changed in the least. She couldn't believe it. She shivered and, before she could stop it, tears dribbled down her cheeks again. Papyrus's face fell.
"H… Human?" he asked, tilting his head.
She sniffled and, quickly, his eyes lit up amber and he cupped her face in both hands, his magic cooing with a reassuring warmth through her skin.
"Oooh no no no, are you okay? Did I say the wrong thing?!" he asked.
Frisk coughed, but she couldn't help but laugh. "N-No, I'm just… I'm just really happy."
"Happy?" he repeated.
She nodded and then grabbed him in a hug around his shoulders. He froze and his glow died down in surprise.
"Thanks, bro, thank you so much," she said quietly.
Papyrus's cheekbones flushed. "B… Bro…? Brother?" he stammered quietly. He held her close, resting his hand on the back of her head gently. "I… Yes. Okay. I can do that."
.
She settled back on the chair, wiping her face on her sleeves. "Sorry about that, it's… It's just been a few really long days. I'm just so happy you still like me."
Papyrus looked shocked and he took her by the shoulders. "Of course I still like you," he said. "Even if I didn't remember you, I would like you! I mean, I did the first time we met, didn't I? And that's putting it mildly."
"Y-You remember that?" she asked quietly.
"Absolutely I do!" he said brightly. "I may not really get what's going on. But know that you can always rely on the great Papyrus! Alright?"
She nodded and again smiled. "You're the best."
He looked relieved and then smiled brightly. "I know! Ready for spaghetti?!"
"Yeah!" she cheered.
