"HUMAN!"
Aofil jolts awake.
"HUMAN, WHY?"
They burst out the bedroom door with eyes darting for Papyrus. They find him cowering in the chair Undyne used the night before, crying and fighting against his dream.
Aofil shakes him awake, "Wake up, Papyrus! It's just a," they halt for a second. Papyrus eyes burst open and he scrambles in his chair.
"It's just a dream," Aofil comforts, even though they know it's a lie.
Papyrus looks around in panic, "Don't worry, Pap. I'm here," Aofil leans into his sight, "Look at me," they manage to catch his attention, "It's fine. Relax. I'm here."
Despite Aofil's calming words they still see that Papyrus is unsure if it's real, "AOFIL?" he asks.
"Yes, Pap, it's me. You're safe."
He curls up with his arms around his legs, "I'M SORRY, HUMAN!" and his head sinks behind his knees, "I FELL ASLEEP ON MY POST!"
Aofil's hand finds his sulking shoulder, "I told you I didn't need you to guard me. But forget that. Your dream, what was it?"
Papyrus massages his arm, "FRISK, THEY!" he shakes it away, "NO, IT WAS JUST A NIGHTMARE! FRISK WOULD NEVER HURT US!"
"Of course they wouldn't," Aofil reassures with a smile, "It's Frisk, the human kid that saved you all."
Papyrus embraces Aofil, "IT FELT SO REAL!"
"It's fine, Pap," Aofil comforts again, "Do you want to go home to Sans?"
Papyrus shake his head on Aofil's shoulder, "NO, I SWORE TO PROTECT YOU!"
"How about we share my bed?" Aofil suggests, "It's big enough for both of us. And we can protect each other from the nightmares."
Papyrus nods.
Aofil pats his back one more time, "Come, Pap. Let's get some sleep."
After a couple more sniffles he nods again and they both crawl into either side of the bed. Aofil hopes that he doesn't snore.
He does.
Aofil folds their pillow over their head. How? It's not possible, he doesn't have a throat! Is he using his magic to snore? They push the pillow harder against their skull. Hold on, do it for Papyrus.
The snores echo through the house until early morning.
Aofil awakes as they notice the deafening silence. They look at the clock and to their relief it's not too early. They try to rub the sleep out of their eyes but stop as they realize that it's no use. Now their eyes are tired and irritated, fantastic.
"You awake?" they ask the empty side of the bed.
"Papyrus, you up?" they ask louder.
"YES, I'M COOKING BREAKFAST!"
Aofil samples the air with their nose. To their surprise it smells like, they taste it again just to be sure. Yup, porridge, and not burnt either.
They join Papyrus in the kitchen, "Night went by better?"
"YES, I PROTECTED YOU FROM THE NIGHTMARES!"
His enthusiasm is there, but reserved. Aofil recognizes that feeling. Papyrus is troubled by the nightmare, by the memories. But what did he dream about? Frisk? What did the kid do? Did they kill? Aofil heart sinks. Did Chara kill?
Why though? They sigh, they don't want to ask, but it seems like they must. Later though, they need to keep appearances up for Papyrus, he needs it.
Aofil smiles, "That you did, oh great Papyrus," they take in the smell from his cooking, "And now you're making me breakfast," they gush, "Truly, you are the coolest of dudes."
Porridge is flung across the kitchen as Papyrus turns around. Honor and glory is radiating off of him and he points his wooden spoon towards the horizon, "TO RECEIVE SUCH PRAISE FROM MY BESTEST OF FRIENDS IS WHY I TAKE ON THESE RESPONSIBILITIES!"
He poses heroically, "LIKE HOW I DID WITH FRISK!"
Aofil's color drains as they see Papyrus' question his own words with a conflicted expression.
"The porridge looks good," Aofil points out, "Want to eat in the sun? We had dinner in the rain, so why not breakfast in the sun? I'll prepare outside while you finish the porridge. Sounds good?"
Papyrus' smile returns, "WILL DO!"
Aofil lets the patio door slam to mask their sigh of relief. The floor is still a bit wet from yesterday's storm. Luckily the chest containing the pillows stayed intact. They open it and fill a pair of chairs.
Papyrus joins Aofil with two plates of steaming porridge.
Aofil takes the hot plate and puts it on their knee, "Thank you, Pap."
Papyrus bounces down on the chair, "NO PROBLEM, AOFIL!"
Aofil takes a bite, it tastes like Papyrus' spaghetti. Figures.
They don't hear any clanking coming from Papyrus' plate, "You not hungry?"
"I AM," he pokes around a bit more with his spoon, "BUT I DON'T KNOW!"
Aofil takes another bite while they figure out what to say next, "Hey, remember yesterday?"
Papyrus nods weakly.
"How that one lightning crashed on Ebott?"
He nods again with a bit more enthusiasm.
"And the sound it made? It almost knocked us out of our chairs!"
Papyrus snickers, "I WASN'T AFRAID!"
Aofil looks at the very wet spaghetti strands on the floor next to Papyrus' chair, "You? Afraid? Never," they indulge him.
"Or when the sky looked like waves?"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL THEM?"
Aofil points to a white and fluffy one, "Clouds."
"THE SURFACE HAS MUCH COOLER WEATHER THAN THE UNDERGROUND!"
"I know," Aofil leans closer, "And you haven't seen some of the coolest ones."
Papyrus' eyes opens wide, "COOLER THAN LIGHTNING?"
"Yeah! Although I don't think that there are dances to summon them."
Papyrus scratches his forehead through his mitten, "DANCES?"
Aofil halts another bite, "You know, the rain dance you did yesterday?"
"I DIDN'T! I WAS BUSY THE ENTIRE DAY!"
Aofil's stifles a curse. Dammit, not again.
"With what?" they try to save.
He twirls his hand before raising a finger, "HELPING QUEEN TORIEL WITH THE INTERVIEWS! THERE WERE SO MANY APPLICATIONS THAT SHE NEEDED ALL OF OUR HELP SORTING THROUGH THEM ALL!"
"Application for what? Wait," Aofil's throat tightens, "for the teacher job?"
"YES!"
And Aofil still hasn't managed to get their credentials going. Shit.
"WAIT! TORIEL TOLD ME TO GET YOU THERE EARLY IN THE MORNING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW!" he grabs Aofil's arm, "LET'S GO, HUMAN!"
Aofil resists Papyrus' tug, but it's to no avail. They're dragged through the house and the front door.
Papyrus stops at the steps outside the front door and looks around perplexed. He scratches his head, "WHERE'S THE CAR?"
Aofil slips out of Papyrus' hand, "Did you bring it? In the rain?"
"NO, I DROVE IT HERE THIS MORNING!"
"How? You slept here tonight."
Papyrus' smile fades and he turns around to Aofil, "I DID? YES, I DID! BUT!"
Aofil hates themselves for reminding Papyrus about the nightmare, but they have to, they don't want him to get stuck in his memories, "It was probably from your nightmare. Let me get some better clothes and we'll walk there," they pat Papyrus on the back, "Sounds good?"
Papyrus folds his arms, "BUT I WANTED YOU TO SEE THE CAR!"
Aofil agrees wholeheartedly, it is a thing of beauty. But mental health comes before cool looking cars.
They change clothes and pull out a large hoodie their dad used to wear, some sweatpants as well.
"Got some clothes for you as well, Pap," Aofil says as they walk down the stairs.
Papyrus accepts them, "THANK YOU! BUT WHY?"
"Um, you know, so that you and Sans have similar clothes."
Not that Aofil doesn't want to be seen walking with a monster at this time with all the newspaper stuff going on. No, never.
To both their surprises Papyrus fits rather comfortably into the clothes. He catches himself in the mirror, "LOOK, AOFIL! I'M JUST LIKE SANS!"
Aofil brushes off some dust from his orange sweater, "I hope not. One Sans is enough. Besides, if you're also him we wouldn't have a Papyrus."
Papyrus takes lead outside the door, "WHAT IF WE SWITCHED?"
Aofil locks the door, "What do you mean?"
"WELL, WHAT IF I WAS LIKE SANS, AND SANS WAS LIKE ME?"
Aofil flips Papyrus' hood up, "That would be," they smirk, "very silly, I must say. You and Sans just ," they cross two fingers, "switching personalities?"
Aofil laughs, "With you just slumping back like he does," they mimic Sans laid back posture, "you'd fall over in a second."
Papyrus shoulders sink a bit.
"Don't be sad, Papyrus. I wouldn't trade you for anything," Aofil snickers again, "But imagining you like this tall and lazy guy, when I've come to know you as you are, it makes me laugh."
Aofil also imagines Sans with Papyrus personality, and it makes them laugh even more. They won't say it to Papyrus though. Though, the temptation is overwhelming.
"Cheer up, Pap. You and your brother are perfect just the way you are."
"YOU REALLY THINK SO?"
Aofil spots Papyrus' cheeks blossom under his orange hoodie, "Sure I do, skelebro," they reassure with a pat on his shoulder.
The parking lot outside the Town Hall is a lot more crowded than Aofil is used to. It's full. Why?
"So many cars," Aofil comments out loud, "Are they all here for the interview?"
Papyrus scratches his chin, "PERHAPS THEY ARE HERE FOR THE PRESS CONFERENCE?"
Aofil notices some photographers tapping their feet outside the door. One rattles the handle with no effect.
Aofil motions for a lonely tree so that they can talk to Papyrus in private, "Who's holding it?"
"QUEEN TORIEL! SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT HER SCHOOL AND THE NEW TEACHER SHE'S HIRING!"
Why though? She didn't do it before. Strange.
Aofil inspects the building. The front door is completely blocked by people at the moment, "You think we can get inside?"
Papyrus points to the backside of the building, "FOLLOW ME!"
They round the house and Papyrus climbs through an open window. Aofil isn't really what they expected, to be honest. Certainly not that, not again They shake their head before following him inside.
Aofil shuts the window behind them, "OK, Papyrus let's be," they turn around, "Oh, hi Toriel."
Toriel halts her fork in front of her half opened mouth, "Hello, Aofil. Papyrus. Why are you here?"
Aofil points to the bowing skeleton, "Papyrus told me that you summoned me for an interview."
She puts the fork down, "For another one? I thought I already hired you."
"You did?"
Toriel eyes narrow in thought. She opens a notebook next to her and skims it through, "Oh, Papyrus?"
He stands up, "YES, MY QUEEN?"
Toriel smile lessens at the word queen, "Now that you are here, could you please help Alphys and the others with the preparations?"
He salutes and leaves for the lobby.
Toriel returns to her notebook, "It says right here," she reads, "Hire the human," she puts a hand over her mouth, "I'm so sorry, Aofil. I forgot to tell you."
"It's fine, Toriel," Aofil smiles, "I'm here now."
Toriel shakes her head, "I'm sorry, it's not you I'm planning on hiring. It's the human I interviewed yesterday. The one that taught us human science."
Wait, didn't Aofil teach them? Why is she? Oh no.
Her unfazed look confirms Aofil's suspicions, her memories are jumbled. Their heart sinks, not her as well.
"Don't be sad, Aofil," Toriel comforts, "But this is for the future of our children. I need someone I can trust, and I trust my child."
Her muzzle wrinkles and her eyes can't seem to focus, like she's struggling to find the right emotion, "My child, the one that got me these snails."
She looks down at her plate, "What?" and with a confused hand she grabs her fork, "How can this be?" and picks up a potato, "Where are my snails?"
She throws the fork away from her like it suddenly stung her, "The flavored snails," she clutches her head, "I can't remember the flavor."
The fork bounces on the table and falls down on Aofil's leg, "Garlic," they whisper.
Toriel looks up at Aofil and her breathing slows down. Her expression stabilizes and her warm smile returns, "Yes, garlic, that's what they were. Oh, they were so tasty. Thank you, Aofil, for buying them," she reaches for her fork, "Oh my, where did I put my fork?"
Aofil picks it up from the floor, "Here it is," they say while struggling to keep their voice stabilized. They hand it Toriel.
"Thank you, Aofil. You ready to teach the class soon? Oh, and did you bring the curriculum?"
"Yes," Aofil lies.
"Oh, human," Toriel smiles, "I'm so happy you stumbled into our lives."
Aofil's knees weaken and they're forced to take a seat. At least she seems stable at the moment. But how long will that moment last? Will she relapse every time she sees or thinks about Aofil?
Is she better off without them? Is everyone better off without them? They've already killed them all, and now they're the source of this insanity.
How much do Aofil care for them? Enough to let them go?
Toriel halts her fork, "Human, what's the matter?" and walks around the table. She puts her arms around the sulking human. She's concerned and caring, like always. She wants to help, but Aofil will only hurt her. They will just plague her with the memories she haven't experienced, and torment her with every look they give.
Aofil pushes her away, "I can't teach for you, Toriel."
"Why?" she says worryingly, "Are you unwell?"
Aofil can't answer her, they don't know how.
Toriel puts a worried hand on Aofil's cheek. She tilts their head towards her. With motherly eyes she tries to comfort. She dries off their eyes, "Are you stressed out, my child?"
Aofil's eyes fill up again and they take Toriel's hand in their. They give it back to her, "Goodbye, Toriel," and walk away.
Her pleading words hits Aofil like spears. She wants to understand, but it would only hurt her more. Like Flowey's attacks they pierce Aofil and their heart and soul bleed with every question.
"Human!" shouts Undyne from the top of a ladder, "When's your head injury done? I want to spar!"
"Forgive me again for breaking your phone, Aofil," apologizes Asgore from behind a podium, "I'll compensate you for it."
The double door slam behind Aofil and they elbow their way through the sea of humans outside. The journalist from before tries to ask them a question, but Aofil swats the microphone right back at them.
The sunset warms Aofil as they sit alone on their patio. They're leaned back so that they can't see their beautifully cut lawn.
They've switched shirts. The other one is hanging next to them with a collar soaked in tears.
The chair next to them is kicked over, and the pillows lie sprawled out on the grass.
The kettle inside their kitchen whistles and they enter to pour themselves a cup of Golden Flower tea.
They savor it. It tastes wonderfully, like always.
They pour it all out and rinse the kettle. They find a cheap human tea and brew that one instead before returning outside.
They pick up the newspaper and flip it open. It lands on page nine.
Aofil scours Mister Lister's list on how to monster proof your house. Might actually come in handy now right now.
The kettle whistles again.
It tastes like warm flavored water. No flavor in particular, just, flavor. Good.
They almost trip on the spot of ketchup left from a couple of hours ago, but they catch themselves on the sink.
They seat themselves again and open the contact section of the newspaper. They find the number for a local real estate agency and dial it.
"Mt. Ebott real estate, where the security is just as sturdy as the mountain," asks a woman's voice after a couple of tones. Aofil detects a bit of an uncertainty in her voice.
"Yes, I'd like to open up an ad for my house. Is there a way to do some sort of a trade for a place in another city?"
"Certainly, could I have your name and address please?"
"My name is Aofil."
The phone is knocked out of their hand. It smashes against the hard patio floor.
Aofil's sigh competes with the wind created by the shortcut, "Fuck off, Sans."
"just wanted to high five you, didn't see the phone," Sans explains from inside the kitchen. The refrigerator door is closed and he steps out on the patio with a bottle of ketchup in his hand.
He lifts up the fallen chair and pillows and leans back in it, "so."
"Don't want to talk about it. You're better off without me triggering the memories," they leave the skeleton, "Goodbye, Sans."
They walk inside and head for the stationary phone. They dial the same number.
"Mt. Ebott real estate, where the security is just as sturdy."
The call disconnects.
Aofil hangs up, "Sans."
"you've no proof."
"Cut the shit, Sans," Aofil turns around, "What do you want?"
"oh, this and that, you know," he leans against the kitchen table, "normal stuff," and chugs some more ketchup, "like not running away from my friends and family that love me and that i love as well."
"What if I can't handle the weight?" Aofil lashes out, "Ever thought about that? Maybe you and Frisk are stalwarts of resets, capable of pushing aside all this. But I can't! The people around me are having psychological breakdowns right in front of me, because of me. They look and talk to me like I'm there, but their words are from before the resets."
Aofil slides down on the floor, "Toriel called me her child, because she was talking about me from before the reset," they shake their head, "Like I was a different person, like I was someone else entirely. She was talking about me, but not the me that was sitting next to her. Another me, the one in her memories."
Sans shrugs, "sucks, doesn't it?"
Aofil leers at Sans, "Big help as usual."
"and the nonsense about me and frisk being stalwarts? let me show you."
Sans shortcuts away for a minute before returning with Frisk.
"see?"
Frisk waves, Aofil returns it.
Sans circles his hand over Frisk's face, "you see this? this is the face of someone that didn't get an ounce of sleep this night, and the face of someone afraid of saying a single word because that might cause their family to go insane."
Aofil composes themselves, "So why haven't you told me this before?"
"because," Sans sighs deeply, "we didn't know how to solve this. so, frisk had to reset."
"Yeah, I know. I was there," Aofil reminds them, it isn't something one forgets.
Frisk leaves and puts their hands over their ears.
"What?" Aofil asks, "What did I say?"
"it wasn't anything you said, aof," Sans tries as well to compose themselves, "you were only there for the last."
Aofil's head jerks towards Frisk, and then back at Sans, "They've reset more?"
They realize the volume of their voice as they hear Frisk's sniffles.
"Frisk," Aofil pleads, "Frisk, how many times?"
No answer.
Aofil scrambles on their feet, "Frisk! How many times?" they cry out.
Sans steps in between, "aof, i've already chastised them."
Aofil feels lightheaded, "Then, how many times? Why can't I remember anything from those?"
Sans motions for a chair, "sit down."
"Why?"
"could you just believe me? sit down."
Aofil nods and takes a seat.
"now, from what frisk has told me, and from what i've managed to figure out is that you weren't a major part of the previous ones. they don't want to say how many, and i don't want to know. so don't ask."
Aofil would've fallen if they hadn't been sitting down, "I wasn't?"
"no, and from what i understand the one before was the first time they met you. they did things differently before."
Aofil looks at the crying child in their living room pressing their hands against their ear as hard as they can. They feel their strength surge out of them just looking at them. They're so small, and this weight is so big. How do they cope?
"also," Sans continues, "because you were such a huge change in our lives it suppressed the memories since they weren't applicable any longer. you gave peace to us all, and frisk."
"Just by being something entirely new?"
"exactly."
Sans take a big breath, "now, do you know why asgore is building the surface lab?"
"He wants to mix human science and monster magic?"
"that's not the whole story. you see, he wants to get his son back. actually, it might be better if you knew the whole story."
He walks over to Frisk and removes their hands, "hi, kiddo. listen, you have to tell aofil about everything," he lifts their chin, "and i mean everything, even the things about me."
Aofil can tell that Frisk is avoiding Sans' eyes.
"if we're gonna do this, we need them to know what happened down in the underground. no need to tell us about the other resets, they don't matter anymore," he ruffles their hair, "i'll let you have your human talk in private," and nods towards the sofa, "i'm gonna take a nap. wake me up when you're done."
A second later Sans is fast asleep on the sofa. Frisk walks slowly back to Aofil and climbs up on the chair opposite of Aofil.
"Is it a long story?" Aofil asks.
Frisk nods.
"Tea?"
Frisk nods again without meeting Aofil's eyes.
Aofil understands, and they enter the kitchen.
They pour out the cold tea and fill the kettle again. They pick up the human tea and bounce it in their hand before tossing it away.
They serve two cups of steaming Golden Flower tea to the table. Frisk drinks like they've been parched for months.
Eventually they put down a half empty cup.
Frisk takes a breath.