AMS

POST HALLOWEEN

Franley could feel he was so close to mastering his powers again, and the thought of his left side becoming half skeletal excited him. He knew that form would further symbolize what his existence is for, and it will only further bring humans and monsters together. On the news, humans were already forming groups, holding up signs to fight for monster rights. This news would make him excited yet fearful, so everyday, he flew himself over to the barrier to see if humans were crowding around it or not. Then Halloween had come, and there were some humans with certain t-shirts who walked through the barrier and they went around the monster neighborhood trick or treating. Franley, Candy, Sans, and Frisk had taken it upon themselves to watch over the whole forest. Sans and Franley flew around, keeping an eye out, while Frisk and Candy climbed up a tower and used binoculars to look around. They each had carried walkie talkies so they could communicate without delay. Once all the friendly humans had waved and left the forest in peace, the royal family breathed in relief. Sans congratulated his son on using his power for such a long time without burning out. Frisk and the other monsters celebrated the promising future ahead by showering Franley and Candy with, well, candy. There was even a huge party in the center of the forest that lasted for hours. It didn't stop until late, so school was canceled the very next day.

Groaning, Franley opened his eyes. He looked at what his arm was draped over, and saw he had been spooning against Candy on their bed! Instead of letting go, he pulled her closer and inhaled her sweet scent. She smelled like vanilla and monster candy. It was intoxicating. He ran his fingers through her hair, skillfully and slowly untangling her locks. Once he finished untangling her hair, he removed the hair away from her neck and placed kisses all over her bare neck and cheek. Lastly, he tilted her sleeping face towards him and he planted his lips on hers. He made the saliva on his tongue glow with his magic, and he slid his tongue in her mouth. Though she was out cold, she moaned softly. A tent had started growing in his pants, and that's what scared him into stopping what he was doing. He looked down at her mouth, smirking at the light blue saliva trails he left in her mouth, over her lips, and on her neck. Franley took his sleeve and wiped it off. He knew she would be able to feel his lingering kisses, but he would at least clean her up. Frowning, he let go of her and walked over to the bathroom.

Candy woke up then, immediately feeling his lingering kisses on and in her mouth, and on her neck. She blushed furiously.

In my sleep?! B-baka!

Waiting for him to return to the bedroom, she reached under the bed and pulled out her sack of monster candy and began chewing on them one by one until she was sure she couldn't taste her brother anymore. When she could no longer taste his tongue in her mouth, she sighed. He had tasted good. He had tasted like blue raspberries. She gasped, suddenly remembering something she had accidentally heard Frisk say to Sans.

"Sans, how do you even taste like blueberries?" Frisk had asked.

She had heard Sans chuckling.

"The same reason why you taste like raspberries," he had responded.

He literally is a combination! Wait, so does that mean everytime he kisses me, I taste Sans and Frisk?

She rapidly shook her head at the thought, not wanting to explore that thought anymore.

Ridiculous. He is not our parents. He is their idiotic, older child.

Once the water warmed up to his liking, he clogged the drain and let the tub fill up. Franley turned off the drain once the tub was filled and he stepped in. Candy had to use the bathroom bad. She was pacing outside the bathroom door, waiting for Franley to be done. She was about to knock to tell him to hurry up, until she heard strained grunts. She wasn't sure what he was doing in there, but decided against knocking or saying anything. She hurried down to Frisk's room and knocked. The door opened a few seconds later.

"What's wrong, Candy?" yawned Frisk.

"May I use your bathroom? Franley's in the tub," asked Candy while doing a little jig.

Nodding, Frisk stepped aside to let Candy in to use her bathroom. Frisk decided to start making breakfast for everybody, so she started down the hall and stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sounds her son was making. Raising an eyebrow, she quickly walked past and down the stairs and into the kitchen. Then she stood still in thought.

I guess he's already at that age, huh? But, who would have made him so...excited? Maybe he saw someone at the Halloween party last night? That could be it. I just hope whoever he likes is a nice monster girl and not a trashy monster girl.

The thought of her son bringing a modest monster girl to her and Sans filled her with determination.

Candy came out of the bathroom feeling relieved, and closed Frisk's bedroom door behind her. She was careful not to make any sounds since Sans was still asleep. Walking down the hall, she noticed the bathroom door was open now, and the sounds had stopped. Franley was standing in front of the sink and mirror, brushing his teeth.

"Why were you grunting?" asked Candy.

Franley wasn't surprised. He knew someone would hear him whether he wanted them to or not.

"I was grunting because I was scrubbing my skin really hard. I had monster candy stuck to my arms, so it kinda hurt to scrub it off," lied Franley.

"Oh," said Candy then she continued to walk downstairs, the smell of eggs and vegetables wafting through the air.

Shortly after, everyone was gathered at the dining table. Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne were drinking coffee; Sans was drinking ketchup; and Jock was sipping Frisk's favorite tea, golden flower tea. You can probably guess what Frisk is drinking.

"What do you want to drink?" Frisk asked her kids.

"I'll have some coffee please," said Franley, surprising Frisk and Sans.

Papyrus and the others weren't so surprised. They all knew he was growing up.

"I want some of that good smelling tea," said Candy.

Frisk moved her chair back to get up, but Franley put his hand up to stop her.

"I got it, mom," offered Franley.

Raising an eyebrow, she scooted back in. He closed his eyes for a split second and they started glowing bright blue. Slightly moving his hand around, he opened the cabinet where the cups were, and brought two out. He poured coffee in the mug and added cream and sugar. He then boiled water on the stove, turned the stove off when the water was at a boil, poured some water into the other mug and added the tea to it. He then brought the cups over to them.

"Careful. It's hot. Wait about three minutes," warned Franley.

The word hot made Candy think about his kiss marks, and it took everything she had not to blush at the table. Deciding to tease her, he rubbed his foot along her leg. This brought a blush on her cheeks immediately.

"Candy? Everything okay? You look a little red," asked Frisk.

Candy pressed her lips in a straight line and slowly nodded her head up and down.

"If you're really fine, then eat your food," said Sans.

He looked over at Franley who was eating his food no problem, and his expression was showing signs of content. But nothing else to reveal her blush was his doing.

She probably ate too much monster candy and isn't feeling well.

Candy slowly ate her food in silence. She and Sans were the only two left at the table. Though Sans had finished his meal a while back, he stayed behind to talk to Candy once she was finished with her food. This did not sit well with Candy. She only wishes she had the power to create shortcuts so she could escape. She wanted nothing more than to be away from Sans right now. She wished Waddles was still alive or that Mabel wasn't so depressed still. She had called Mabel and Dipper a month ago to see how they were doing and to tell them of her progress with friends and family and trust. She even told them about what happened with her brother and step dad. Dipper had told her he was proud of her and that Mabel would be too if her mind was right, and he went on to tell her all that happened with Mabel's treatment. He regretfully told her that Mabel wasn't getting any better. In fact, she seemed to be getting worse.

"Hey dad?" Candy asked while collecting the last bits of her food on her spoon and putting it in her mouth.

Sans had already been keeping an eye on her. He hummed in question.

"Dipper said that Mabel is getting worse. Would it be okay if we visited her one last time before...the chance escapes us?" quietly asked Candy.

Sans wasn't expecting her to say something like that out of the blue.

"Has worrying about her made you ill?" asked Sans.

Seeing it as a golden opportunity to evade any uncomfortable questions, she nodded her head, making her frown and unease more pronounced. Sans sighed a little relieved it wasn't anything seriously major and he allowed himself to relax.

"Sure. We can visit her. Let's do that this weekend. Frisk doesn't have any conferences scheduled then since she was going to take the day off anyway to relax, and I don't have anything to do then either, plus you kids don't have school on the weekends," said Sans.

Candy smiled a little bit.

"Thank you."

The weekend came more quickly than everyone thought, but it was still painfully slow for Candy, who had been counting down the days. The royal family went and knocked on Mabel's front door of the old Mystery Shack. Candy frowned. All of the work she and Dipper had put into the home was for naught since it was falling apart again. Dipper didn't have time to keep up with the home anymore. He was too busy tending to his twin sister. His twin sister who was most likely dying of depression. Everytime he would walk into her room, pick her up and give her a bath, she would think he is Waddles and begin talking to him, telling him her plans to prank her brother, Dipper. Dipper knew it was better to play along rather than try telling her the truth again. Last time he had tried to tell her who he was, she screamed for an hour. He made oink sounds whenever she paused to listen for a response from her favorite pig. It hurt his heart that she loved the pig more than him, but there was nothing more he could do.

Dipper came and opened the door, surprised to see his family. He looked down at Candy, who looked a lot healthier and was wearing beautiful clothing.

"Thanks for coming. Come in," ushered Dipper.

"How's mom doing?" worriedly asked Frisk.

Dipper sighed and shook his head as he plopped down on the sofa tiredly.

"Not good. She thinks I'm Waddles, and if I try telling her the truth, she freaks out. I fear his death triggered her to have dementia or something. Either way, she's losing touch with reality more and more, and I fear she's nearing the end," Dipper said, closing his eyes that have dark circles underneath them.

"Man. I wish I had powers to revive the dead," Franley wished.

"Heh. You and me both, kid. I'd do anything to have that pig be alive again. It would snap her out of whatever she's in. If you all want to see her, you can go ahead. She's upstairs in Candy's old room, coloring in a coloring book I gave her. If she calls any of you anything other than who you really are, just go along with it. For my sake," pleaded Dipper.

Understanding, they let Dipper take a nap while they walked up the creaky staircase, and pushed open the cracked door. Candy's heart broke in two. Mabel's bones were visible even though she knew Dipper was feeding her normally. Her skin wasn't peachy anymore. It was a cold, gray hue, and her once smooth white hair was now ragged, dull, and she was balding. Her eyes lacked any vibrancy to them, and she shivered like she was cold despite the house being heated throughout and her being underneath the blanket. Candy and the others walked forward, each of them sitting on the couch in the room.

"Miss Mabel?" softly asked Candy.

Mabel stopped coloring, and she slowly turned to look at Candy.

"Frisk? My, you haven't changed a bit," smiled Mabel.

She was missing most of her teeth now. Candy cried. Mabel didn't recognize her, and she couldn't tell her who she really was for fear of her freaking out.

"Yep. That's right. I've come to visit you," sniffed Candy.

Frisk felt for Candy. She knows that she had formed a special bond with her mother, and that her mother confusing Candy for her was no doubt painful for the little girl.

"Why haven't you come home these past few years?" asked Mabel. "I've missed you ever since you went off to run towards the mountains."

Candy didn't know all that happened to Frisk, so she decided to stick with she did know.

"Well, I married a Prince, and now he and I rule our own Kingdom. We've been extremely busy keeping peace and order," explained Candy.

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole reason either. Candy turned to look at Frisk with a worried expression. Frisk gave her a comforting smile and gave her a thumbs up.

"Really? Why would a Prince marry a ten year old? You're much too young for that responsibility!" sharply asked Mabel.

"See, I told him that too, but he assured me that I'd be perfect for him and the Kingdom. So far, he's been right," lied Candy.

"Where is this Prince, might I ask?" asked Mabel.

Unsure of what to say, Candy fidgeted with her fingers until Franley stood and stepped forward.

"That would be me," said Franley.

Frisk and Sans looked at each other, worried.

"Oh you're just a young thing as well! Why are two children running a kingdom?" asked Mabel.

"We manage," Franley replied, his voice cracking a bit.

Great. My puberty decides to start now? Terrific.

"Hmm. I see. Anyway, where's Candy? Surely she would have wanted to come see me."

Candy wanted to go bury herself in the ground right then and there, and never come out. Frisk came forward.

"Hi, Miss Mabel. It's me, Candy!" cheerily said Frisk.

Frisk hadn't told a lie in so long, that the feeling felt foreign to her and she became nervous.

"You're not Candy! Candy is just a child! You're much too old to be her!" shouted Mabel.

Frisk pursed her lips and sat back down, hiding her face in her hands.

"Frisk? Where is my little Candy?" asked Mabel, her chapped, pale thin lips quivering.

"She's uh...not feeling well. She has the flu," fibbed Candy.

Mabel's face fell and somehow lost more color, and gained new wrinkles.

"The flu? Poor girl," said Mabel, tears pricking at her eyes.

They all sat in silence, unsure of what to say next. Then, Mabel yawned. Candy and Franley hugged Mabel. Frisk and Sans waved goodbye to her, and they all went downstairs where Dipper's snoring was at its loudest.

"Should we wake him?" whispered Candy, glancing up at the stairs.

"No need. Mom's about to sleep, and he's exhausted. Let's just quietly show ourselves out," whispered Frisk.

They went outside and walked through Gravity Falls. A lot of humans who were supporting monsters ambushed them to wish them all luck and to ask the royal family for autographs. When they got what they wanted, they thanked them and let them leave. They waved at the supportive humans until they disappeared from sight.