Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale or any of its characters. This story was also written without knowledge of Deltarune's plot or characters.

IN SPITE OF YOUR SHADOW

-=-=-=-=- PART X -=-=-=-=-

RECOVERY

Frisk's eyes opened slightly. Her vision was blurry and she could only make out vague, fuzzy, shapes. The large shape next to her was mostly white, black, and green in colour. It made a groaning noise and moved. Her vision faded and she was unconscious a moment later.

It then felt like someone was carrying her. There was an arm under her back and another under her knees. Frisk pried her eyes opened. She was leaning against someone wearing a dark green coat. She tried to touch the material, but couldn't move her hands. She was numb in her extremities. The figure carrying her was moving slowly and with great difficulty. Everything was going dark again. She was out once more.

There were frantic voices all about. They seemed quite urgent about something. Frisk heard the sound of wheels on a hard floor, followed by multiple footsteps. There was a sort of squeaking and rustling sound. The wheels and footsteps started up again and the sound got farther away. They returned shortly afterward. She felt a couple of people pick her up and hoist her onto a soft-ish surface. She opened her eyes. Shining lights passed above her and she was wrapped in a bed sheet. A tall brown and teal figure appeared and began dragging the object she was on. As she rolled along her vision began to sharpen. The shining lights turned to fluorescent lighting fixtures and the brown and teal figure turned into a rabbit-like monster in a nurse uniform. The gurney she found herself on maneuvered next to a hospital bed and a second nurse appeared from behind her. The nurses unravelled the sheet and carefully slid her from the gurney to the bed before throwing the sheet back over her. Everything blurred for a moment. The nurses suddenly rushed over to the left. She looked over and saw Asriel lying on another bed. He didn't look good. The nurses fussed about for a moment before one ran from the room.

"As...ri...el…" Frisk croaked before going unconscious again.

A great deal of time passed before she next awoke. She found herself still in the hospital bed. The number of bindings holding her to it had doubled from the last time she was here. Frisk looked around and the only other people in the ward were Asgore and Alphys. Alphys was at a computer in the corner typing something up, and Asgore, standing fairly close by, was on the phone. She focused on Asgore and listened in as best she could.

"No. It's not-

…

Come on now, son. Don't be like that-

…

I know you're worried, we all are, but right now-

…

Your mother and I are just worried about your safety-

…

Asriel-"

"Asriel?" She piped up as loud as she could muster.

Asgore cast a nervous glance at her before turning away. He talked more quietly. A moment later, the speaker on the phone blared out "Frisk?" in Asriel's voice. Asgore pulled the phone away from his ear at the beginning of the outburst and quickly muffled the speaker with his thumb. He mumbled something into the phone before pulling the phone away from his ear again. This time the noise from the speaker was nagging and distinctly Toriel sounding. He groaned and let the nagging die down before putting the phone back to his ear. Alphys shot Asgore a glare and he took the rest of the call out of the room. Alphys got out from behind the computer and headed over to her.

"H-hey." Alphys greeted as she fidgeted nervously.

"Hey." Frisk returned.

The silence, very much like Alphys herself, was short and awkward. Alphys' eyes darted around.

"So… uh… h-how are you feeling?"

"Uh…" Frisk thought about it for a moment, "my fingertips feel a little numb and I feel like I have blisters in a few places."

"That's normal for second-degree frostbite," Alphys replied matter of factly, looking at a clipboard she took from the foot of the bed.

"Also, the straps are a bit tight."

"Huh? O-oh. Right. Let me just… just..." Alphys hesitated and her hand hung over one of the clasps. She retracted her hand and bit her knuckle.

Frisk raised an unamused eyebrow as she watched Alphys squirm. The doctor scratched the back of her neck and laughed nervously. Her eyes darted about, unsure of how to proceed. Frisk, after a few agonizingly awkward minutes, sighed audibly.

"L-look, " Alphys began, "after you a-attacked Asriel, we've all been a l-little… antsy around you. And after you escaped earlier, we decided it would be prudent to double up on the straps." She tapped her pointer fingers together and began sweating. "So… uh… I-I'm sorry."

Frisk sighed again and Alphys crept away. She couldn't really argue with the logic. She did attack Asriel, she did break her bindings and run, she did stab Asriel in the back. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"Alphys." she turned to face Frisk. "What happened to Asriel?" Frisk knew he was alright from the phone call she overheard, but he wasn't present in any of the ward's beds.

"He…" she seemed hesitant to continue, "He w-was sent to the hospital. They were better equipped to deal with his injury there."

Frisk nodded, or at least as best as she could in her position. With that, Alphys returned to the desk. Asgore walked through the door and headed over to Frisk, grabbing a chair that was set against the wall on the way over. He sat next to her.

"Howdy, " he said meekly, "I'm glad to see you're awake."

Frisk nodded again. A silence fell over them. The key presses from Alphys at the computer being the only noise of note. Asgore smiled, trying to elicit one from Frisk. She remained adamant in her blank expression. His smile turned sheepish.

"Golly." He mumbled to himself.

She shuffled around beneath the sheets and straps, trying to see if she could get more comfortable. Asgore twiddled his fingers nervously as he watched her shuffle about. She eventually sighed and gave up, the straps were too restrictive. She laid back and stared up at the ceiling, idly rapping the cot with her fingertips. She waited for Asgore to break the silence. He looked eager to talk but hesitant to start. No doubt due to the fact that she needed to be strapped down she figured.

"Is he alright?" Frisk asked, tired of the silence.

"Uh. It was a bit, touch-and-go for a bit, but he's fine now. The doctor said that Asriel will make a full recovery."

She smiled. "He sounded well enough."

Asgore chuckled, "yeah…"

She looked at Asgore and asked, "what were you two arguing about?"

He became sheepish and laughed nervously, "we weren't arguing."

Frisk said nothing. She merely gave him a look that suggested that she knew better. His coy smile dropped. Frisk didn't let up easily and Asgore knew this. Hesitantly, he began to divulge what he was discussing with Asriel and Toriel. She smiled when he said that Asriel was anxious to see if she was ok. It was nice to know that he was worried about her too. Frisk's face fell after hearing that Toriel suggested that she and Asriel be split up.

"How do mean?" Frisk inquired, concerned.

Asgore was reluctant to clarify but did so anyway. "After you… uh… well… had a… a scrap with Asriel, everyone's been… wary. Now we know it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what you were doing. We're going to get you help so you can get better. But until you do, your mother thinks that… uh… you should… uh… not be around Asriel."

Frisk's heart sank. She didn't know how to respond. She and Asriel shared a room. They always ate lunch, went to the movies, and played video games together. The two spent most of their time hanging out. She couldn't imagine being apart from him. Asgore watched as despair washed over her.

"Now now, " he soothed, "it'd only be for a little while. You can still see him at school too. I promise." She smiled a little at the reassurance. "Dr. Alphys contacted a specialist and you have an appointment on Friday," he continued, "I have no doubt that they'll come up with a treatment for you. Now… in the meantime, I'll talk to Dr. Alphys and see if we can't at least loosen those straps."