Chapter Nine :: Ode to the Rookie
…
There was a long boardwalk at the docks that stretched over the calm ocean waters, and the clear skies reflected across the surface like an untouched mirror. Frisk stood at the very edge of this boardwalk, far away from the shores and the rest of the world. The waves gently crashed against the planks and flicked shredded drops of heavy water against her bare legs, beneath the hem of a honey-coloured summer dress rested over her knees. Her shaggy hair brushed over her flushed cheeks as the winds picked up and swept the strands across her face, which bared a vacant expression as she delved deep into thought.
The onslaught of salt in the air attacked her senses and mercilessly reminded her of a childhood at sea. The ocean left a muggy taste in her mouth that felt suffocating and liberating all at the same time. Although she had bared witnessed to the brutality of man early on in life, and yet somehow… she missed the life she once had. Despite all of her horrific experiences as a child, she still found herself dragged into nostalgic trances every time she visited the sea. The sound of gulls brought her back to endless nights in a damp bunker, where she stared dreamily out of a porthole with childlike fantasises of swimming amongst the stars. The sight of tuna swimming erratically in clusters beneath her feet reminded her of the stories she'd tell to her sister. Chara always liked hearing about the ones where two girls would transform into fish and swim far away… towards a freedom where there would only be the two of them.
No one else. Just them.
Frisk suddenly realised that she had rested her heavy head in her hands the moment she heard familiar footsteps approach her from behind. And she slowly turned towards her company in a daze, ignoring the layer of sweat mounted over her skin.
"You look like you could use this." Asriel commented with a smirk, and held out a vanilla ice cream cone. Graciously, Frisk took it, and the melted droplets that ran over her fingers felt incredibly refreshing in the heat of the afternoon sun. As a crooked smile returned the life back to her sparkling eyes, she sarcastically replied,
"Is this your way of saying thanks for letting you hide at my apartment? I'm a little offended, in all honesty. I thought I was at least worth a cone with sprinkles." When she immediately noted how Asriel frowned at that remark, Frisk snorted as she casually leant backwards against one of the wooden bollards scattered along the boardwalk. With a laidback shrug, she smiled apologetically, "Sorry, didn't mean to touch a nerve. I guess I didn't really expect this kind of gesture coming from you. Usually when you want to say thanks, you just sorta grunt at me."
"I resent that. I can be generous when I want to. I might not show it a lot of the time, but I'm actually a really nice guy." Asriel boasted confidently with no hesitation. But as soon as Frisk bit her lip with a sceptical roll of her eyes, Asriel almost choked in disbelief, "What's that look for? You think you got me all figured out, huh?"
"No, no, that's not it! You're a complicated guy, Asriel. It's just… you have to admit, it's not like you're the most compassionate person in the city. For instance, think about what you do as a job, or better yet, think about who your girlfriend is and what she does for a living! Let's face it, you don't exactly have the track record of a saint, do you?"
Asriel remained as stubborn as a child when he scowled and crossed his arms, then he wandered beside her to lean back against a nearby bollard. With a pout puckered between the faint facial hair that framed his boyish mouth, he sharply defended himself,
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't believe that my job or my love life defines who I am at my core, so you may as well get that short-sighted opinion out of your head already. The kind of guy I really am is the kind that says thank you with a cone of ice cream, because that's what nice guys do."
Again, Frisk snorted with a large smirk stretching her full lips, then slowly nodded,
"Ah, right. Sure…"
"You still don't believe me? Fine. I'll prove to you that I can be nice, somehow." Asriel challenged himself as he whipped his gaze around the boardwalk. No ideas came to mind as he found that the two of them were completely isolated at the docks. And as he slowly gave up his search, his attention involuntarily wandered back to the girl sat peacefully beside him. When he did, his eyes grew distant and melancholy as he silently watched her in thought.
Asriel traced the way that the dress tightly cinched around her thin waist, and looked over the straps stretched against her prominent shoulders, which had attractively accentuated the length of her long neck. He noted the loose strands of hair captured in the corners of her mouth, coated in sticky ice cream which had made her lips glisten. And with a voice as detached as his gaze, Asriel commented, "Hey… that's a really pretty dress you have on."
"Ah, ah! Flattery is too easy…"
"No, I… I really mean it. Honestly, that had nothing to do with proving anything just now. I just wanted to… tell you that. That's all."
As Asriel seemed to withdraw into himself all of a sudden, Frisk's eyes slowly widened in surprise.
"Oh! I see." She said incredulously, before softly laughing, "Well, thank you. That's really nice of you to say. I guess you win."
Asriel stared all the more intently at her in silence, and his arms loosened when his contemplative mind began to wander. Frisk wondered if he was quietly revelling in victory, but she was quickly caught off guard by the softened tone of his voice as he suddenly opened up,
"I bought a dress just like that for Chara once. I still remember how she looked when she wore it… I had never seen someone look so beautiful before. You remind me of her so much, Frisk. It almost hurts to look at you… you just look like how Chara used to…"
"I do?" Frisk asked in a whisper as she bashfully tucked strands of hair behind her ear. She honestly didn't know how to take this comment, so to put her mind at ease, she asked out of pure curiosity, "What was Chara like when you met her? You told me once that you loved her the moment you saw her…"
"Yeah, as clichéd as it sounds, that's exactly what happened. And, well, she was nothing I can really put into words… but in short, she was as large as life. I first saw her during one of my father's political rallies a few years back. There was a huge crowd around us, but she made them all seem so insignificant. The crowd parted in two waves – just like from the tale of the Red Seas – and she stood in the centre of the clearing soaked in the sun as if it was her spotlight. The strength of her voice carried over all the chanting and the megaphones… I actually thought she was calling out to me. And she had this unshakable confidence that I'd never seen in any woman before… everything about her at that moment was just… I don't know, mesmerizing…"
Asriel tenderly ran his hand through the long length of his dirty blonde hair as his gaze to the skies softened. Although his expression was half-hidden by the loose strands carried by the winds, Frisk was surprised to notice how a small tinge of crimson brought colour to his face, almost as if he was embarrassed the more he recalled the event. It was a strange sight, Frisk found, to see a concealed side to Asriel finally surface and reveal how bashful he could be. A small sisterly smile crept upon her lips as she suddenly noted how his blush deepened as he continued,
"We locked eyes for a few seconds, and that's all it took for her attention to drop on me before I even knew what was happening. And when she spoke to me with so much enthusiasm… she made me feel as if I was the most important person in her universe. She had this… indescribable presence, I wish I could put it into words. Though our secluded world didn't last very long when an audience quickly formed around her. Everyone seemed to hang off of her every word just like I was. She made us believe that anything was a possibility. She was like an unstoppable force as she promised the world to us on a platter. She was… god, she was just incredible. That meeting was the moment I knew I was hers for life."
Frisk remained mute in deep contemplation whilst Asriel sighed. His hand gripped into a fist as he rested it against his chest, and he went on as he caught on to Frisk's silent concerns,
"I know how it sounds. I'm not completely naïve to think that Chara hadn't had this effect on hundreds of guys before me. She's a natural-born leader, so of course she's going to have legions of devoted fans promising their lives to her just as I have. But, y'know, what separates me from everyone else in the world is the fact that she chose me. To this day I still have no idea why she did, but you know how she is – once Chara makes up her mind about something she wants, she will do everything in her power to get it. And she wanted me. Like I wanted her."
Frisk's eyebrows rose in surprise, as if she could practically hear Asriel's frantic heartbeat crashing against his chest. It was a surreal feeling to hear someone praise her sister so much, especially knowing what she does and what she's really like, but Frisk avoided the urge to interrupt him in the midst of opening up his heart to her. However, it was short-lived as Asriel's hand fell away from his chest, and his scowl returned as his shoulders hunched forward with disdain.
"Chara used to be so passionate about the two of us. I had never met a woman so protective of me until I met her… but now I'm lucky enough to get two sentences from her. To be honest, I should have seen this change coming from the very beginning. For as long as I've known her, there was always something… missing from her life. This void in her heart relentlessly festered and ate away at her soul, until she was completely consumed by it. I never knew what caused this to happen… until recently. And I'm willing to bet that you can figure it out as well."
Frisk hesitantly nodded with a regretful frown, and she reluctantly confirmed it aloud,
"I'm the only family she's ever had. I guess in a way, it makes sense that my absence had affected her this much…"
"More than you'll ever realise." Asriel stated sincerely, before he suddenly smirked with exasperation, "Truth be told, I'm insanely jealous of the way she favours you out of the both of us. Hm! Pathetic, right? I'm so desperate for my girlfriend's attention that I'm actually envious of the way she treats her twin sister…"
As Asriel solemnly laughed under his breath, Frisk shook her head and immediately disagreed.
"You're wasting your energy, Asriel. Sure, Chara cares for me, but it doesn't feel genuine anymore. When she holds on to me, I can feel it somehow. It almost feels like she's forcing herself to love. She puts on an act and expects total compliance in return. It's… actually kinda sad the more I think about it." Frisk timidly held her arms to herself as she suddenly felt a painful tear in her chest, almost as if she could quite literally feel her heart breaking, and her quiet voice strained in her throat as she solemnly continued, "We're not sisters anymore, Asriel. We haven't been sisters in a very long time. Now it feels as though she's grooming me into some kind of successor. God, I didn't ask this… I didn't ask for any of this! I just… I miss the sister I used to know…"
Asriel could see the clear anguish in her eyes as her voice ran out of breath and trailed away. As much as Frisk's expression begged not to delve further into this, Asriel's curiosity was too great, and he gently asked with a sympathetic gaze,
"Can you tell me what Chara was like when you knew her?"
Frisk lifted her gaze from the ground to stare off into the indigo skies, and let out a long-lasting sigh. Then, as she glanced at the boy waiting patiently at her side, Frisk answered almost light-heartedly,
"…she was clumsy."
Asriel spluttered and slipped off the bollard in shock.
"What? Chara?"
"Yes, our Chara. And no, I'm not making this up." Frisk confirmed and laughed at Asriel's almost theatrical reaction, before she continued somewhat cheerfully, "When we were both stupid kids, Chara was the most impulsive girl I'd ever known. She'd think of the most insane heists ever imagined, and then she'd act them out without fully thinking them through. And no matter how crazy the idea was, I'd go along with it every time – no questions asked – all because of how confident she always appeared to be. Although I assure you, it wasn't always as fun as I'm making it out to be. We faced our fair share of trauma. But in those times, we were always supporting each other like sisters are meant to. And, well… admittedly, I was the most supportive one out of the two of us… Chara used to cry a lot."
Asriel immediately scoffed at the thought.
"You're kidding, right? I mean, it's hard to imagine Chara with a vulnerable side at all."
"Everyone cries, Asriel. It's a basic human functionality." Frisk stated impatiently, before her expression slowly fell back into despair as a worrying thought abruptly sparked in her mind, "Maybe… the reason why she's become so cold-hearted and closed off is because of me. I supported her too much. Growing up, I was always by her side as her pillar of support. So when we were forced to separate, she no longer had me around to comfort her anymore. Maybe I'm the catalyst for her change. Maybe I'm responsible for the way Chara is…"
"That's a little arrogant of you to say, don't you think?" Asriel interrupted all of a sudden, and Frisk almost jumped in surprise. Then, as Frisk turned towards him with an eyebrow cocked in confusion, Asriel calmed his approach and told her sympathetically, "Your absence may have participated in shaping the way Chara is now, but don't you think it's unreasonable to take the entire blame for yourself? That's sorta arrogant to believe that. Because it sounds to me like you did the best a sister could do in a situation like yours. How egotistical to claim that you're the sole influence on her entire life! When it all comes down to it, you didn't make Chara's choices for her. Only Chara alone can do that. So don't beat yourself up about it, otherwise you'll stress yourself into an early grave."
For a moment, Frisk was paralysed with surprise by Asriel's sincerity. She felt her heavy heart lift as she found comfort in his words. Humbled by his kind efforts, Frisk genuinely smiled to herself and clasped her hands over her chest to feel the steady beating of her weightless heart. Only once or twice would her thoughts wander…
…I still wish I could've done more for her…
But Frisk refused to wallow in regret, and frantically shook her head with determination to overcome these moments of darkness. And so, she quickly went on,
"Since we're on the subject of Chara, do you want to go to the Underground to visit her later?"
"I would, but Chara told me to lay low for a while and avoid the place."
"Ouch. Is she still upset with you?"
Asriel reluctantly sighed as he gave into a moment of despair. Then, he abruptly jumped up from the bollard to ruffle his own hair in frustration and shouted with anger,
"Aahhh, this sucks! I really wanna see her to talk and make things right with her!" Asriel whined with sadness, before he clenched his fists and angrily scowled, "It's driving me crazy knowing that the fucking comedian is taking over my job! He's the shiftiest guy in the entire operation, yet he's the one who tends to our most personal matters with Chara close on hand! It doesn't make any sense!"
As Asriel said this, Frisk felt a discomforting twist in her chest, and it caught her completely off-guard as she realised just how bothered she was by this. It's bothering me a lot more than it should. For a moment, she felt her face burning from the heat of a fleeting blush, especially as she curiously asked,
"What does Sans do for Chara exactly?"
"He does whatever Chara tells him to do, just like the rest of us. But he mainly operates a car dealership trade in order to sell the products to hired gangsters and share the profits with Chara." Asriel explained begrudgingly, before a sudden burst of pure rage flared within him as he lashed out with a kick against a wooden bollard. The unrelenting brute force caused a jagged crack in the wood that splintered the bollard in half, and he seethed through the grit of his teeth, "It doesn't change the fact that I can't stand that smarmy asshole! If he gets any closer to my Chara in my absence, I swear to god the next time he wakes up, his head will be locked in a vice with my hands wrapped around the handle!"
Frisk swallowed nervously as this painted image tortured her imagination. She hoped with all of her being that Sans would not involve himself with Chara too closely for his own sake. But when she clasped a tight hold of her chest as her heart spiked up her throat, she felt her blush returning as she hoped for her own sake as well.
…
…
Late in the afternoon, Papyrus sat in the driver's seat of his undercover police cruiser and waited for Sans to hop inside. The skeleton brother was all too hesitant to enter at first, as he didn't particularly intend on being caught inside the wrong side of a cop car, but he couldn't find it within him to refuse his brother's request. Especially as he recognised an urgent tone to Papyrus' voice when he called to pick him up. Trapped into a corner with no excuse in mind, Sans gave in to his brother's demands and dropped into the passenger seat. As he did, Papyrus grinned whole-heartedly and quickly sped away from the side-walk almost recklessly.
"You're in a hurry to get somewhere, Paps. What's the rush?" Sans asked nonchalantly, masking his actual concerns under a veil of indifference before prompting, "Does this by any chance have something to do with whatever you wanted to talk to me about?"
Papyrus simply grinned in reply, but his silence was torture for his brother. It wasn't until they had reached an iron bridge stretching across the waters of the city river before Papyrus could no longer take the secrecy. The fiery amber skies leaked through the car windows and brightened up his excited smile as he lowered his sun-glasses further down the slope of his nose, and his whitened teeth flashed in the glaze of the sunset as he chimed,
"I got a lead on the case I'm investigating."
Sans stifled a gasp as his heart instantly plummeted to his stomach. A glaze of horror flared in the indigo pigment of his eyes for a moment as all of his fears were suddenly realised. And he took a second to brace himself before he feigned excitement,
"That's…that's really great, Paps. I'm so proud of you. I always knew you were going to be an exceptional asset to the force. You're already a hundred times better than I was." Sans told him sincerely, and his artificial grin morphed into a genuine smile as he watched Papyrus beam with pride and happiness. Unfortunately, Sans had to mercilessly disrupt the moment and hesitantly dared to bring up the one question he feared to ask the most, "So… you gonna keep me in suspense here or are you gonna tell me who your lead is?"
Papyrus continued to innocently beam with pride as he stared out the windscreen towards the road ahead, until the car had reached the mid-way point on the bridge. The pair were directly centre of the river, held up by rigid girders and bridge suspenders on either side of them. It felt like a colossal iron cage had closed all around them, but only Sans felt as if he was suffocating. As Papyrus was blissfully ignorant of the dangerous territory he was about to tread, he cheerfully stated,
"I have reason to believe that our mayor's son Asriel Dreemur is connected to a lot of our underground crimes in the city."
And immediately as he said this, Sans' phony smile fell away within seconds. Even Papyrus had noticed how odd this reaction was, but even so, he went on just as before,
"Not much is known about this young man other than his estrangement from his parents, but I believe there's a lot of interesting secrets that he intends to cover up. The first time that Undyne and I had encountered him was strangely in a location known to us for its drug transactions. Funny coincidence, no? Well, that's what we believed after interviewing Mayor Asgore. Our mayor was fairly adamant about his innocence and his intentions to reconcile with his family… but that doesn't mean to say that his son intends to do the same."
Just then, Papyrus pointed towards the glove compartment locked in front of the passenger seat. For a moment, Sans was unsure what his brother was implying by this, but the sight of Papyrus' wiggling eyebrows had prompted the skeleton to curiously lean forward and rummage through the slot regardless of his confusion.
After much searching, he eventually pulled out a small stack of highlighted documents that was held together by a single paperclip. And after reading the first two sentences of the first page, Sans suddenly realised to this surprise that it was an exact copy of Shyren's article, detailing the night that Asriel had shot up The Core. Although Sans had only heard of the event from Chara's account, Sans was stricken into a shocked silence as he suddenly found himself learning of the incident for a second time from a different perspective. Sans had to wonder:
Does Chara know about this?
Papyrus misread the disturbed expression painted over Sans' face and assumed he was simply surprised about the incident alone, so he continued with a smirk,
"Asriel certainly has a troublesome reputation, doesn't he? The reason this hasn't become public knowledge yet is because someone is covering up his actions by silencing anyone who threatens to reveal the ugly truth about him. That's what I believe happened to the girl who wrote that article – she was killed for simply reporting the truth about him. How… how sickening is that?" Suddenly, Papyrus tightened his grasp around the steering wheel as his uncharacteristic anger flared like a searing hot rod until his knuckles were glazed in white, and his voice was low and shockingly intimidating as he stated, "I'm not going to allow that girl to die in vain, Sans. I'll find out what happened to her and see this case through to the very end. I'll stake my own life on it."
As he said this, Papyrus was soaked in the glaring sheen of the fiery sunset, and his marigold eyes were shimmering with an immovable purpose. It was the first time Sans had seen his kid brother this way – so matured and driven by a great sense of justice. It was an experience he could barely find words to describe. He knew then that this job as an FBI agent was changing him, and for the better. With an impish grin, Sans couldn't help but think:
Papyrus… I'm so proud of you…
Suddenly, Sans fervently shook his head as he couldn't afford to be distracted by the overwhelming respect he held for his brother when he had a job to protect him. As he returned the documents back into the slot, Sans fought through his paralysing awe and attempted to sway him,
"That's… really noble of you, Paps… but, y'know…"
"I'm so close to busting this operation wide open, Sans." Papyrus interrupted suddenly, before his burning gaze flickered towards his brother with admiration brightening his attractive smile, "You can see how close I am as well, right? I know you can! After all, you're the greatest agent I've ever known!"
Immediately, Sans froze in shock and his tired eyes shot wide open. And in turn, Papyrus paused in surprise as he realised what he had just admitted out loud. Whilst the long length of his face filled with a glowing crimson colour all the way up to his windswept hairline, Papyrus coughed in embarrassment as he murmured shyly,
"Uh… just s-so you know, th-that's the only time you'll ever hear me say that."
"Paps…" Sans exhaled in immeasurable happiness. There were very few reasons for Sans to genuinely smile since he had left the police force, but that moment was by far the best reason he'd clung to in a very long time. Sans knew that only Papyrus could affect him in this way, especially as he felt his hardened heart lift towards his throat.
However, the moment was incredibly short-lived when he noted how the car had suddenly shrouded in darkness after driving through the shadows of the city underpass. The roads were dank and neglected, and the over-ground train tracks weaved in between familiar abandoned buildings with boarded up windows and walls oozing with grime and graffiti. It took a long few minutes for Sans to snap out of his blissful trance, and as he finally realised where Papyrus had slowly rolled up and parked, Sans audibly gasped in horror at the sight of the towering neon sign above their heads, blinking red in warning – The Underground.
"Paps, what are we doing here?! This place isn't safe—"
"You read the article, brother! Asriel was seen with an accomplice who is known to frequent this establishment regularly. Doesn't it make sense to stakeout this prime location for clues on the case?" Papyrus exclaimed as he quickly grabbed hold of his brother's shoulders in a bout of desperation, and his marigold eyes strained with forlorn intensity as he pleaded, "I'm so close to figuring it all out, Sans. But I can't see any other way of progressing further without checking this place out at least once. Please brother, lend me your support to help me go through with this. You know I wouldn't ask unless… I really needed you."
Sans was tortured by the downcast sight of his brother, and knew he couldn't find the will within him to hold Papyrus back. As much as he valued his brother's safety, Sans respected him enough to believe he can hold his own when he needed to. Backed into a corner with no excuses to mind, the only family Sans had left was hung dolefully over his shoulders. It was too much to take all at once. Eventually, Sans sighed in defeat and told him sternly,
"Alright. I'll help you. As long as it's just this one time. I've… heard rumours about this club, and the patrons don't take kindly to outsiders, especially federal agents. It's too dangerous to do a thorough search without backup, so I don't want you back here again without clearing it with Undyne first. Can you promise me that, Paps?"
"Relax, brother. If we don't discover any suspicious activities linked to the case, I don't see any reason why we should have to come back. Does that ease your nerves?"
"It will once this is over and done with." Sans murmured as he begrudgingly unbuckled his belt.
Papyrus was already five steps ahead of him as he had quickly exited the car with the glint of his barely hidden pistol buried inside the pocket of his jacket. Sans nearly ripped the door from its hinges as he threw himself out and stumbled unsteadily to his brother's side, protectively taking the lead as he made sure to stay a few paces ahead. Papyrus cocked an eyebrow as he watched his highly-strung brother frantically whip his head back and forth to search along the street, but he didn't question this odd behaviour as they slowly approached the entrance of the club.
Sans hesitated for a few seconds with his hands placed over the double doors. Unbeknownst to the rookie agent, Sans had to take a moment to mentally prepare himself as an entire army of nerves relentlessly attacked every inch of him. It wasn't long before every one of his senses were suddenly dulled. Cold sweat broke over his forehead as his vision began to blur into a sheen of glistening snow-white, and a deafening high-pitched tone rang through his ears, blocking out every other noise in the environment. It took one last bout of strength to fight through this on-coming panic attack, until thankfully, he somehow managed to move forward on sheer willpower alone. With a long inhale of breath to calm down his frenzied heartbeat, Sans pushed open the doors, and lead his brother into the lion's den.
The club was as busy as it had always been. Groups of men in business suits gathered around attractive waitresses, clamouring for their attention and drinks, whilst a lively brass band played a jazz fusion on stage to rile the crowds at their feet. The onslaught of thick smoke immediately hit the brothers as they squinted through the dimly-lit entrance, and Papyrus had already began coughing as a result. Sans grabbed a hold of Papyrus' arm, and pulled his brother's ear close to him and shouted over the music,
"I can see a private booth on the far side of the room. It'll be the perfect place to lay low and watch out for anything suspicious. Follow me." Sans yelled, loud enough for his brother to hear, but also quiet enough to avoid any eavesdroppers passing by. And without sticking around long enough to hear a reply, Sans quickly lead him around the edges of the lounge to avoid being seen, and fiercely pulled his brother into the darkest booth in the club. Thankfully, it was out of sight from Grillby's bar and the large arched doorway leading towards Chara's office at the back of the building. They were safely hidden away from suspecting eyes, and Sans planned on keeping it that way.
Ten minutes went on by, and nothing extraordinary had occurred in that time. However, Sans couldn't keep still at all – his fingers tapped impatiently against the table surface and his leg bounced against the ground. Even Papyrus could see how agitated his brother was, which worried him extremely. Papyrus' vigilant eyes wandered from the scene in the club towards the anxious wreck of the skeleton that everyone feared, and noted how his artificial smile was as strained as ever before, to the point where Papyrus could practically spot the corners of his mouth twitching with nerves. Papyrus pressed his lips together in a tight line as he hesitated to say anything at all, but his worries got the best of him as he finally asked,
"Sans, you don't look comfortable at all. I'd have thought you visited places much scarier than this old dingy club. Are you feeling alright?"
As Papyrus began to reach out his hand to supportively place on his brother's shoulder, Sans immediately jolted out of his seat in surprise. Papyrus almost yelped as their eyes shot wide open, and their paralysed stares had locked into a paralysed state of shock. Sans was too tense to calm himself down even for a second. Before Papyrus could say a word further, Sans swivelled on his heels and shouted over the music,
"I-It's nothing, Paps. I… uh, I forgot to use the restroom before I came out to meet you. That's all it is. Stay here and guard the booth, okay? I'll… I'll be right back!"
Accepting this as truth, Papyrus simply nodded and sat back in his leathered seat as Sans rushed around the edges of the lounge towards the toilets. As he practically flew inside the safety of the men's restroom, Sans stumbled towards the grimy basin beneath a flickering LED light and almost collapsed against it. He caught a small puddle of water from the rusted taps within his palms before throwing it over his perspiring skull. It was a refreshing yet bittersweet sensation as drops of liquid slowly crawled over his heated skin, and broke away into bullets firing towards the sink. He stared at his bloodshot eyes in the cracked mirror, and the shadows beneath his withered sockets detailed the extent of his exhaustion. Slowly, he sighed and scolded himself,
"Hold it together… you've lived through worse than this… hold it together…"
Meanwhile, Papyrus kept his hawk-like gaze towards the arched doorway situated besides the bar where Grillby worked. Whilst Sans recuperated in the restroom, Papyrus had unwittingly spotted a couple of shady-looking men walking through the doorway with what seemed to be broken baseball bats in hand. Although Papyrus had only caught a very quick and fleeting glance at them through the density of the lively crowd, his gut instinct highlighted this small detail as a key element to his case… although he couldn't quite place it, somehow he knew that these men looked vaguely familiar…
All of a sudden, his attention was distracted by an hour-glass figure disrupting his line of sight. Papyrus blinked vacantly for a moment as he slowly looked over this person stood at the mouth of the booth, and noted how their sharply-cut nails ran delicately over the red-satin curtains draped by their side. It wasn't until Papyrus caught sight of their auburn bob-cut hair rested elegantly above their shoulders that his marigold eyes quickly lit up with recognition.
"Ah! Miss Frisk, wasn't it? We met at Muffet's diner that one time?" Papyrus chimed in his usual friendly manner.
However, the woman slowly shook her head in reply, and her crimson-painted lips curled into a devilish smile.
"Not exactly, sir. I'm afraid you're mistaking me for my sister."
A sharp shiver immediately ran down Papyrus' spine as she spoke. He wasn't quite sure why it seemed as though the temperature of the room had dropped several degrees lower, but something unpleasant crawled down the back of his neck like a warning. He could feel something sinister in the air as her colossal presence overpowered the atmosphere into a sudden sense of unease. But he remained frozen in her domineering gaze, as if he was stricken into wordless awe at the mere sight of her.
The woman kept her eyes locked on his all whilst she delicately pulled the curtain from the wall, hid them from plain sight, and slowly sat down on the opposite side of the booth with her legs elegantly crossed and her military jacket slung over her accentuated shoulders. With her elbows leant across the table, she laced her fingers together and smiled sweetly to the bewitched rookie who couldn't take his eyes off of her for a single moment. Judging by the graceful way she moved, Papyrus knew within minutes that he was in the presence of a incredibly influential woman.
With a slight tilt of her head, her charming smile finally formed words,
"Pardon my intrusion. I saw you sitting alone and thought you might want some company. I hope you don't mind." She stated cheerfully with a slightly ominous undertone, which Papyrus hadn't picked up on at all, "Allow me to introduce myself – my name is Chara. I'm the owner of this establishment."
"You… you own this club?" Papyrus spluttered in surprise, whilst Chara hadn't flinched in the slightest. Papyrus could feel the pace of his heart racing a mile a minute, and in the midst of this adrenaline, he excitedly exclaimed, "This is perfect! Oh, um… excuse my manners. I'm FBI agent Papyrus, rookie investigator in narcotics and violent crime. If you wouldn't mind, can I ask you a few questions about a regular patron of yours? If it's too much of an inconvenience right now, I don't mind coming back another time and scheduling an interview…"
"I don't see any reason why we can't conduct it now, sir." Chara politely obliged whilst her sweet smile never once faltered, "May I ask who this is about?"
"I'm sure you've heard of our newly-elected mayor's son Asriel Dreemur, correct?"
For a moment, Papyrus could have sworn he saw the crook of her smile flinch in alarm, but he figured it was all in his head as Chara grinned even wider with an upbeat tone in her songful voice,
"I see. Asriel Dreemur… I'm sorry Papyrus, I'm afraid I can't be much help to your investigation. I've only spoken to the boy once or twice before, and I can't quite remember what we had discussed…" Chara lied through her teeth as she faked her disappointment, before she suddenly livened up with a plastered smile, "…oh, but I know he often drops by for a taste of our liquor! Grillby is head of staff at this establishment, and he's the best bartender we've ever had. Plenty of first-time visitors return as regular patrons after a sample of his cocktails. If I can convince you to share a drink with me, I assure you that my man makes a legendary dry martini…"
"That's very kind of you, but I'll have to decline this time. I'm driving so it'd be best to stay sober."
"Ah, finally. A patron with sense."
Papyrus laughed whole-heartedly as he dared to let down his guard. But he failed to see how Chara's eerie smile still hadn't move an inch. And soon, Papyrus got down to business,
"Well, the reason I bring up Asriel Dreemur is because we're interested in his recent activities and whereabouts. We've been receiving some disturbing accounts lately, so we'd like to gather as much evidence as we can before bringing him in for questioning." Then, as Papyrus whipped out a small notebook from his pocket and readily pressed his pen to the paper, Papyrus remained as professional as possible despite the eager tone in his voice, "By any chance, have you seen Asriel at the bar in the past week? And do you know if anyone was with him in that time? Any kind of information you can disclose will certainly be of help to us, and I assure you, nothing we've discussed will leave the confines of this booth."
Chara pursed her mouth into a slight pout as she rested her long forefinger against her lips. Beneath the dimly-lit lamp mounted on the wall, her silhouette coated in shadows made her appear to be lost in thought for a moment, before she dramatically sighed with a glum shake of her head,
"Hmm. I don't recall anything substantial. I apologise profusely, it seems as though my memory is failing to co-operate today…" The excitement on Papyrus' face quickly faded away as his shoulders slumped in disappointment, before Chara's smirk curled once a wicked idea played upon her mind, and her eyes suddenly lit up as she buoyantly asserted, "…ah, I tell a lie, actually I do recall seeing Asriel with a rather interesting looking man the other day. Although I don't know what they were talking about. They both looked so invested in what they had to say that I didn't want to interrupt the conversation."
"Do you know who this person was?" Papyrus readied his pen as he sat on the very edge of his seat.
"Yes, I believe so. It's hard not to recognise his face when he was seen so wearily often in the newspapers only a few years ago." And immediately as she ended on this note, Papyrus stiffened in fear. He could barely hear his heartbeat thump erratically in his ears as Chara nonchalantly revealed, "You may recognise his name as an ex-agent in the criminal investigative division, although these days he's simply going by a comical nickname – skeleton, I believe it was…"
Papyrus could barely hear any other sound from the rest of the room other than the whisper of disbelief that passed his trembling lips,
"…Sans?"
Just then, a hand grasped the curtain from the other side, and the infamous skeleton brother in question impatiently tore the curtain apart with his eyes cemented towards the rookie, who stared back in a state of shock.
"Hey Paps, you almost done here? We'd better leave before we run into trouble—"
Immediately as his eyes wandered to the opposite side of the table, Sans forgot how to breathe the moment he saw her. His withered eyes slowly widened as far as they could go whilst his parted lips passed no air between them. Fear and loathing gripped at his throat as the spiralling world halted all around him. But still, Chara simply smiled in return as her breathy voice lowered,
"Looks like trouble has found you, comedian."
Papyrus mistook the look of horror on his brother's face and assumed he was merely surprised to see her there so suddenly. And then he gasped as he asked,
"Sans, you know Chara?"
Silence dragged on as Sans couldn't find the will to move. It seemed like his sense of reality had broken up into this hellish nightmare world that he couldn't escape. Numbed with fear, Sans simply stared wide-eyed in horror at the woman who had wanted him dead. Meanwhile, as Papyrus began to question his refusal to talk, Chara immediately jumped to his rescue and cheerfully spoke for him,
"I'm not surprised that Sans hasn't mentioned me to you, Papyrus. We manage a small trade together in the automotive industry, and although I wouldn't say we know each other, I've worked with him long enough to know just how aloof he can be, even with his own family it seems. Anyway, we're more like business partners at most. But I must say, I have to give him credit when it's due – I wouldn't share this trade with anyone else but him. Sans certainly takes great pride in what he does!"
Chara giggled at her own comment, and although Papyrus blinked in confusion as he couldn't find the humour in what she had said, Sans immediately scowled in response. His indigo-tinted eyes flared with internal anger as he knew exactly what Chara had meant. His hands balled into tight fists and his nails cut deep into his palms the more he remembered their last encounter. He still had the painful bruise on his jaw from where Chara had pistol-whipped him. Meanwhile Papyrus simply rolled his eyes in exasperation,
"I'm not surprised either. Sans is the most secretive guy I know! Oh, but then… if he knows Chara, this must explain how he knows Miss Frisk as well. Is that right, Sans? To be honest, now I'm a little disappointed. And here I thought my big brother had finally managed to get on a date with a pretty girl…"
As he said this, Chara doubled forward with loud laughter as Sans cocked an eyebrow in bewilderment. As she emerged from her seat to slowly approach the skeleton in question, her scarlet feline eyes were buried beneath her heavy lids, whilst the gloss of her perceptive smile appeared through the darkened shadows shrouding her expression. And when she gently caressed his heated cheekbone with a light brush of her sharpened fingertips, her devious grin widened,
"Don't lose hope, Papyrus. From the way this comedian turns red every time my sister's name is mentioned, it seems there might still be a chance yet…"
Sans pulled himself back with a look of disgust, as if he was repulsed to be touched by her. Yet he couldn't hide the glowering blush glazed over his skin, no matter how hard he tried. It was at that point when Sans knew he couldn't take any more of this intimidation. Without any warning to his brother, Sans lunged towards Papyrus to grab a hold of his arm, and pulled him out of the booth with all the brute strength he had left within him. And without even so much a gaze back at her, Sans muttered in parting,
"If you'll excuse us, Chara…"
Papyrus shouted out in surprise as he was suddenly rushed out of the booth, but he made no effort to free himself out of his brother's grasp as he immediately noted how uncharacteristic his abrupt anger had become. But he at least made enough of an effort to turn over his shoulder and called out to the woman left lingering at the mouth of the booth,
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Chara! Thank you so much for your co-operation! I'll come by again for a legendary cocktail next time!"
Chara waved back with a pleasant smile, until the skeleton brothers finally exited the building. And the moment that the double doors gradually swung to a halt once the brothers were no longer in sight, Chara's kind smile instantly fell away, and an unamused frown took its place. The lively brightness in her eyes had immediately dulled, and had been quickly been replaced by the emotionless empty gaze that every psychotic killer possessed. Slowly, Chara deeply exhaled. She was exhausted every time she was forced to keep up this 'normal' façade. It was like a mask she put on, but the tiring effort it took to wear it relentlessly torn at her energy.
And finally, Frisk emerged from around the edge of the doorway where she had quietly hid all this time. Avoiding the crowds and masses of drunkards, Frisk rounded the edges of the lounge and carefully approached her sister, who seemed to be deeply lost in thought. Frisk's eyebrows knitted together, and her voice was as low as it could go as she accused without missing a beat,
"You've always known about Papyrus, haven't you?" Chara didn't reply. Her silence had said more than enough. Then Frisk crossed her arms as she dared to ask, "So, what's going to happen now?"
"He's done." Chara answered simply without a trace of amusement. She made no eye contact with Frisk as she confirmed in her terrifying serpent voice, "Those two will never set foot in the Underground again."
Without another word, Chara turned away and confidently walked towards the doorway leading to her office. Frisk watched after her, completely overwhelmed by the dignified way her sister stepped in her heels. She walked in stride – with purpose – as if the world bent to her will, and her will alone. And as the overpowering presence she wrought had depleted in the instant that she disappeared, the room immediately erupted into a louder commotion. It was as if every individual was affected by her aura, and the effect it had was a crushing weight of total domination, whether they were aware of it or not.
Frisk thought back to the conversation she had with Asriel earlier that day, and she finally understood what he meant by her incredible influence on people. No one was exempt. And no one was safe.
Left behind to the cage of her thoughts, Frisk stared at the double doors in fear for their lives, feeling helpless to stop whatever was about to come.
…
…
Papyrus dropped heavily into the driver's seat as Sans quietly followed behind. As he buckled up, Papyrus silently pushed down the brake and steadily crawled away from the Underground parking lot, then carefully drove through the underpass until the piercing glare of the crimson neon light could no longer be seen. But even so, the warning signs never lifted. It followed them wherever they went.
The brothers were condemned to silent contemplation as the encounter with Chara had left them both somewhat shaken. A complete array of mess had bolted Sans to an eerie vacant stillness whilst Papyrus focused on one specific detail that he could not overlook throughout that entire conversation with the owner of the Underground. He remembered every detail of Chara's account like a tape recorder in his mind, and yet one sentence stood out the most in its own glaring neon lights:
"…I do recall seeing Asriel with a rather interesting looking man… skeleton, I believe it was…"
Chara's breathy voice circled in his thoughts as if it echoed in the cave of his mind. So many questions and theories were suddenly brought up about Asriel and his brother's connection, as well as the possibility that Sans may have more secrets than he was ever lead to believe. But still, the mere inclination that Sans had anything to do with this case was incredibly dangerous territory that he was not prepared to tread. His unshakable suspicions about Asriel was as strong as ever before, and he knew that his gut instinct was right about the boy's involvement with the mafia… but Papyrus tightly strangled the steering wheel and his throat ran dry when he asked himself…
…could Sans be involved with the mafia as well?
The second that this seed had been planted in his thoughts, he fervently shook his head as he completely rejected the idea from his mind.
"No… that's wrong… it has to be… what am I thinking?" Papyrus chanted aloud to himself with a small trembling laugh.
Sans immediately caught on to his brother's internal torture, and broke out of his own misery to comment,
"You look a little distracted, Paps. What's on your mind?"
"I was just thinking about something that Chara told me." Papyrus admitted with a shaken smile. Then, as the car rolled to a halt at an intersecting red traffic light, Papyrus hung his head in a solemn silence. For a moment, he was too afraid to say anything at all. But despite his heartbeat plummeting to the depths of his stomach, as he somehow managed to muster the courage to turn to his brother with a lost look in his doleful gaze, "Chara said… she said that you knew Asriel…"
Sans inhaled a sharp intake of breath, and his ashen eyes widened with dread. Desperately, he called out to him in a cry,
"Papyrus, I…"
"There's no need to explain yourself, brother. So don't even try." Papyrus immediately cut him off. Sans stared in wide-eyed shock as Papyrus suddenly smiled just as gently as always, and softly, he assured him, "I… understand that these past few years have been hard for you because of Gast… um, because of you-know-who. I understand that, truly I do. It's the reason why I've kept myself at such a close distance all this time. Even though you closed yourself off from me, and even though you have a lot of secrets that you don't want to talk to me about… even so, I know you, Sans. You're my brother. And no matter what happens or what you do, you'll always be my brother. You're annoying and lazy and cryptic! But… still, I believe in you. You can do a little better, even if you don't think so. I promise…"
Despite the immeasurable guilt weighing down his heart, at that moment, Sans could not love his brother any more than he did then. He smiled his genuine smile that only Papyrus could make him do. And despite his best efforts not to let his feelings show, an incredibly small tear formed in the very far reaches of his bloodshot eyes as he thanked the universe for overlooking his sins and gifting him with the greatest and coolest brother he could have ever asked for.
Papyrus… I love you, so much…
The red light flickered off, and morphed into amber as Papyrus readied his hand on the brake. Slowly, Sans drifted his misty-eyed gaze towards the darkened road on their left where no other vehicle was found other than a curiously parked car sat in waiting at the traffic light. The windows were tinted, so the driver's identity was completely hidden, but Sans desperately spooled through the fog of his memory to recognise where he had seen it before. The shape, the colour, the make… something about that vehicle seemed oddly familiar… and it screamed danger… danger…
And immediately, alarm bells rang like blaring sirens as Sans finally figured it out.
It's… oh god, it's the first generation Lexus LS!
Suddenly, the thunderous engine of the car in question roared to life as the wheels spun furiously against the tarmac. Papyrus, blissfully unaware of the on-coming threat, pulled down the brake and rolled the car forward. And Sans screamed,
"PAPYRUS STO—"
But the Lexus cut him off as it collided and crashed into the police cruiser, crushing the driver inside.
…
…
…
Chapter Nine End. Chapter Ten soon…
Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you thought of this latest chapter in a review, and I'll see you all soon~!
