Over the next few days, Frisk began teasing with the idea of continuing on east. She didn't want to leave poor Papyrus… and she really enjoyed living with the skeleton brothers. But there was nothing more to do at the library, she had been in the town for a decent while now and seen everything, and most of all she felt like a burden to the brothers.
One of her main concerns was food and a place to stay at night. Upon further studying she found Waterfall, the next area, was deep within marsh caves, so finding a place of shelter might not be as hard as she thought.
She actually looked forward to seeing what was described as brilliant frozen masterpieces of water, looking as if they could move again at any moment.
Sans had caught her reading up about Waterfall.
She felt his presence over her shoulder for several minutes, but didn't bother to acknowledge it.
"…Looks like you're getting' ready to leave soon, Puppo."
Frisk cringed ever so slightly.
"… I've been… playing around with the thought…"
Sans rested his arms on the edge of the couch.
"Hey, its fine. Remember I said to let me know? If you want, I could take you there tomorrow just for a look-see. I've got sentry duty there." Sans said.
"Huh? I don't want to leave tomorrow!"
"Not leave, just look around. I go about halfway in for my station, so you get to look around that much of it."
Frisk looked down at the couch cushion.
"I don't know… I guess."
Sans pulled a juice box out of his pocket and broke the little straw off, taking it out of its wrapper. He threw the little wrapper on the floor, a pet peeve of Papyrus's. She was 90% positive he did it just to mess with the tall skeleton.
"Good. Besides, I wanna keep a loose eye on you anyways. The captain of the Royal guard likes to patrol around there a lot, and he's the last guy you wanna run into."
Frisk scratched behind her ear.
"Who is he, anyways?"
Sans took a sip from his juice. He looked away, almost guilty. Did he have some past with the captain?
"A dog. Names Dogamy. He uses this huge axe, and he hates humans like the plague. 'Cause his wife was killed by one of 'em."
Frisk's ears lowered.
"Oh… I don't know if I should feel sorry or be twice as scared…"
"Naw, Waterfall is pretty big. I doubt you'll run into him. Oh, and I've got a good friend who lives there. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you…" Sans trailed off, seemingly in deep thought. He grinned.
"Happy to see me? Do I know her?" Frisk asked.
The grin on his face didn't fade, but the lights in his eyes flickered.
"No, but you should be thankful for her."
Sans turned away before Frisk could ask more.
What was that about?
…
It took them twenty straight minutes to convince Papyrus Frisk wasn't leaving for good and wasn't even leaving at all at this particular moment.
The second Sans said he'd take Frisk to Waterfall he burst out in tears.
Frisk felt like the scum of the earth knowing she made Papyrus cry.
Eventually he calmed down, and they watched some tv show with a metal robot with leopard ears.
Frisk got up from the floor to grab her bag, and failed to see Papyrus's leg.
She ended up tripping over it high school style and planted her face into the floor.
She didn't move an inch after falling.
Hello carpet my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. She sang silently.
"HUMAN!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT IM SO SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU OH NO SANS THEY AREN'T MOVING WHAT IF I KILLED THEM OR HURT THEM REALLY BAD SANS WHAT DO WE DO!?"
"Calm down Paps. Got any broken bones, Pea?"
"Nhhhhhhhhhhhho" Frisk groaned, her voice muffled by the carpet.
"WHAT?! HUMANS HAVE BONES?!"
"Yup."
"OH MY GOD! THAT'S ABSURD! NEXT YOU'LL BE TELLING ME THEY HAVE SKELETONS INSIDE THEM, OR WE SHOW UP IN TEXTBOOKS!"
Sans burst out in hysterical laughter, while Frisk just considered the scope of what he just said.
"SANS, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?"
"Nothin, bro." Sans snorted.
She sat up, looking back at Papyrus.
He had his bulging eyes again.
I'm not even gonna start.
Sans eventually found his broken dignity and calmed down.
"Alright, alright, Frisk, I'm assuming you want to leave early?" He had the 'I just made an inappropriate joke' look on his face.
"…yes. And don't think about it. I know that look." Frisk glared at him.
"Fiiiine. Just get ready." Sans plopped back down on the couch.
Frisk grabbed her now clean sweater from the laundry- it still had a small rip in the sleeve but Sans was magic when it came to stains- and happily put on her new, fluffy coat.
She didn't zip it up, though, because it was a little tight, and although she could deal with it if very cold she didn't feel like it at the moment.
She also dug out the gloves she got a while back. She hadn't used them much since purchase- they got thrown in with Sans's socks and the rest is self explanatory.
Sans was at the door when she came back downstairs.
He bothered to put on sneakers. They were untied, though.
"At least you made a little bit of an effort." She muttered.
"Thanks, I'm very proud of myself." Sans replied.
"I very much appreciate your sarcasm."
"So do I."
"Be safe, Human!" Papyrus called as they left.
The cold bit her face at first, but she quickly adapted to the temperature.
She had grown a hell of a lot more tolerant to the cold since coming here.
Sans lead the way, trailing through the snow. He was oddly quiet, but she didn't try to break it.
As they walked, they took the same path that ran by the river. She slowed down as a familiar yellow star came into view.
Every time she touched one, she felt a rise of determination. She felt an energy… and when she died, she went back to the most recent star.
She had died twice, yet she was not dead.
The stars SAVED her somehow.
As they passed it, she gave it a light touch. The energy surge caught her off guard, but it felt good.
She was going to Waterfall.
They came to the place where the path branched off to the bridge across the river, but they kept going this time, to the cave. As they came closer, Frisk could see tiny specks of glowing blue from within its shadowy mouth.
Also inside was a lack of snow. Instead, the ground was a deep blue-purple.
Sans paused at the entrance.
"You ready, Snap Pea?"
Frisk nodded.
She felt a little light being somewhere she had never been before, but she tried to bury her fear.
"Watch your step around here, it's pretty darn icy. Especially downhill, like here."
Sans turned himself sideways and started making his way down the entrance to the cave rather slowly.
The second the snow disappeared, she realized why.
The ground was frozen marsh ground, and a thin layer of ice blanketed the soil. It was hard to see, besides the occasional shine or glimmer.
Frisk tried mimicking Sans's position. She still felt terribly unbalanced.
Suddenly, in a mere heartbeat, her feet slipped.
She couldn't keep in the squeak that slipped out her throat. Her heart jumped and her body fell.
She rolled down the rest of the hill, the gritty floor not helping to make her ride pleasurable.
"Heh, do a barrel roll!" Sans laughed from above. He made his way down beside her with smooth skill.
"Ooowww, you're a jerk." Frisk hissed from the ground.
Sans rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, you ok? I told you to watch your step."
Frisk sat up, her ears held slightly back.
"How can I watch my step on solid ice?" She growled.
Sans put his hands up.
"Jeez, someone's cranky. Look, it takes some getting used to, I'm sure you'll get it. You should've seen Papyrus the first time he came down here. He was young then, fell down and cried for ten minutes straight until I got him Nice Cocoa."
Sans stopped talking, and he looked intrigued about something.
"What?" Frisk asked.
Sans randomly bent down and put his face in front of hers, his eyes fixed on something.
Frisk jumped.
"What the hell, Sans!"
Sans raised his hand and pointed at her face.
"Ya'know, when you're mad your eyes get darker. That's pretty freaky, Snap Pea."
Frisk narrowed her eyes.
Sans stood back up again.
"There's a reason I call ya snap pea. Cm'on."
Frisk huffed and got up, being extra careful on the slippery ground.
The cave was very bright, with various glowing blue stones were lodged in the walls. They cast a soft, calming light over the sides and floor. It was quiet and peaceful, though admittedly very chilly.
Once she got past the frozen ground, she sort of liked this place.
The river ran along the path for awhile, before turning away. They reached a clearing where a few monsters were gathered, one of which was the familiar blue armless monster from Snowdin.
A sentry station was set up in the corner.
Sans went over to it.
"I thought you said you had to go halfway in?" Frisk said.
"I've got two stations here. This is the first one, the next one is further in." Sans replied, sitting down.
"Oh. How many sentry stations do you have?"
"A lot. You can go ahead if you want, just stick to the main path and don't get lost. It's easy to lose your way and freeze to death if you don't stay on trail. But you'll be fine. I'm sure you want to see the frozen waterfalls and the echo flowers."
Her gaze travelled over to the path, which continued onwards through the cave. The walls closed in around it, enshrouding it in sharp patches of dark.
She shifted between the path and Sans's eyes, before he made a shooing motion.
She nervously went onward.
She was still determined.
The path was darker, but much flatter. She still knew to be careful- the ground was rough enough to not be slippery but there were patches where the ground was deceiving.
The little blue stones looked beautiful, and she had an urge to obtain one. She decided not to for the time being.
There was another yellow star. It lit up the wall around it.
There was a little mouse hole under the star.
She touched it, ready for the surge it gave.
She then pushed it to the back of her mind and continued.
The path opened up again.
It ran in front of a giant, frozen Waterfall. The water had frozen in place, the surface full of little ripples and rushes like the most intricate art. The lights from the stones lit the shiny surface of the ice, casting an almost rainbow glow across it.
Frisk stopped as she reached it, gazing at the magnificent structure in front of her. The lights would shine a different way when she moved, and the ice had the most fantastic sparkle.
It's so… pretty…
Frisk took it all in for awhile, her tail swaying back and forth lightly. Then she carefully padded onwards, not able to take her eyes off the Waterfall as she did so.
She could hear the faintest sound of muffled rushing water, lost deep within the ice.
Then the Waterfall faded from view as the path grew larger, and so did the sound.
Everything was completely silent, peaceful. Not a single thing moved.
Until she heard a faint whisper.
Frisk's ears pricked up and she looked around, a little unnerved.
She caught sight of a large, glowing blue flower of the same color as the stones in the walls. It stood up tall, soft rounded petals spread wide. The sound was coming from the flower.
Is that an… echo flower?
Frisk slowly approached, kneeling beside the flower.
The ground around the plant was frozen, and frost clung to its stem.
It's amazing it can live here.
It seemed the flower was echoing a passing conversation.
The voices were warped and unrecognizable, but one sounded male and the other female.
"What does a skeleton tile her roofs with? Shingles!"
"Hahah… heh, knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Dishes."
"Dishes who?"
"Dish-is a very bad joke."
"Hahahahah! Nice one, my dear! Oh, I've got another one…"
The voices faded off.
Frisk was unamused.
Does everyone down here have an obsession with bad jokes!?
Frisk's question prompted thought.
Wait, they said skeleton… but that was a female. Was Sans maybe the guy? No, I don't think so… unless… that's the friend he was talking about having in Waterfall. Oh boy….
Frisk shook her head and stood up, putting her gloved hands in her pockets.
There were many darker pathways that lead off the main path, but she ignored them.
She listened to Sans's advice and stayed on the main path.
The river cut back into the cave, the frozen surface reflecting the light of the stones. It swiviled along the rocky walls and ground.
There were a few more echo flowers dotting the shore.
They echoed different conversations of various types. There was one particularly aggressive voice at times that seemed to be picking on other monsters. She spent a while listening to the flowers and exploring.
Frisk was beginning to feel a little lonely. She was used to the company of the skeleton brothers.
She shook herself.
She was going to be going off on her own again soon, she needed to get used to it again.
The last flower was only what sounded like heavy footsteps. It sent a chill down her spine.
The next part had ridiculously tall grass that went far over her head. It blocked the path, and cast thin shadows over her.
Frisk scowled as she realized she had to walk through it.
As she pushed it aside, the hair raised on the back of her neck. Her tail puffed up on its own.
Her body tensed for a moment, but she forced herself to brush it off.
It's just the frost.
She pushed through the grass, and growled every time it ticked one of her ears.
A curse of having wolf ears with very sensitive ear fur.
As she came out, she noticed the path ahead got much darker, shrouded in shadow.
The icy ground had small cracks in it, like something heavy was slammed into it.
Frisk swallowed, her determination fading.
Is there someone here? No, there can't be… I haven't seen a single person past Sans.
She felt a tickling sensation like she was forgetting something vitally important.
She kept going.
I'll go for a little longer, then turn back. It'll be fine.
She entered a large, dark room.
As she did, something clicked.
Any light present disappeared without warning.
Frisk stopped moving, eyes going wide.
W-w-what… oh no…
There was a deep, gravely growl from deep in the darkness.
Frisk tried to around, but she ran into somebody.
Oh my god.
She looked at the person, though she could see nothing in the dark.
Something flashed.
"You… human… you will pay for your sins!" The deepest voice she had ever heard grumbled now, filling her with fear.
"W-wait, I didn't do anything! Ple-"
She heard the shuffle of fabric, and a clang. She tried moving backwards…
There was another flash, and blazing pain across her torso. Her world heaved.
She screeched as loud as she could, still moving back but keeping her feet.
The lights came back.
In front of her stood a tall, stocky dog monster.
He was wearing a black hoodie, with armored knuckles. His boots were heavy and the bottoms were made out of what seemed to be metal.
The hood of his hoodie was up, but terribly torn. His fur was glowing white, smooth. His left ear had a tear in it. He had a small black mustache under his nose.
He held a battle axe in his huge paws, the handle made out of a smooth wood and the blade covered in deep scratches. The edge was red with her blood.
Frisk looked down.
The axe had made a deep, horrific slash in her torso, from one side to another. She could see the whiteness of ribs leaking through. Blood gushed from the wound, and she instantly felt dizzy.
Frisk gasped and tried putting her arm over it. Nausea rolled up her throat.
Oh my god… oh my god, that can't be fixed… no…
It was hard to breathe.
The dog growled.
"You only prolonged your own suffering. You will die."
Frisk couldn't stop shaking.
She spotted a switch on the wall behind him.
I need to get away, I need to get away… if I can just… I'll
Frisk let herself fall to the ground, crying out in pain.
She heard the footsteps of the dog approaching.
She stayed still until she he stopped.
She pushed her free hand into the frozen dirt and pushed with all the strength she had left, going between the dogs legs and behind him.
The dog let out a bark.
"Get back here, you l-"
She slammed the switch.
The lights turned off.
Frisk began running- rather, jogging- as fast as she could. Her bag was gone, but she didn't care.
It hurt so bad.
She heard another bark, but she didn't stop.
She couldn't stop…
The world was churning, just like her stomach.
She couldn't focus her eyes on anything, and black dots invaded her vision.
She heard a distant yell from ahead of her, and her ears pricked. They felt like they were stuffed full of cotton.
Her foot slipped in a sudden motion, and she went crashing down.
She couldn't get up again.
She let out a long, pained whimper.
She cried out for help with the last of her strength, the force hurting her that much more.
Everything was silent for a moment. Or for a long time. She couldn't tell.
Then she saw a familiar face a little ways away.
S… Sans? Her head was fuzzy, swimming.
Sans caught sight of her and started sprinting towards her, eye sockets wide and dark.
She didn't move. She coughed, tasting blood.
Help… me…
"Frisk! Frisk, what happened! Cm' ere."
Sans reached her and bent down. Frisk focused on trying to keep breathing.
It was getting so hard.
She could feel warm hands shaking her slightly, then turning her over.
She cried out lightly, but she didn't have the strength to do much else. She tried to swallow but the thick blood caught in her throat kept her from doing so. She reflexively coughed, sending more up into her mouth as she began choking on it.
Sans flinched.
He started to try to press something to her wound, but Frisk felt detached.
His eye sockets were pitch black.
"Come on Frisk. Come on, don't die… I made a promise to keep you alive! I spent all this time keeping you alive for her!"
His voice was seeming farther away… but something stood out to her.
Promise? To keep me alive?
It clicked.
He… he's not… he doesn't really…
She could no longer form thoughts. Everything was fading.
Something flashed on Sans's face, as if he realized what he said.
"No! It's not just that, please, don't! It's not just that, it's not just that, please, please! I'm sorry!"
She couldn't make out his words or understand him.
Everything faded to black.
She couldn't hear anything anymore.
At least she couldn't feel the pain.
It was actually… almost peaceful, warm.
Then she was falling all the same.
She realized something, but couldn't form it in the blackness.
The yellow came back.
She was back beside the yellow star she last touched.
She stumbled back, grabbing at her chest. It still hurt, but she knew it was no longer there. Her coat slid off her shoulders from the sudden movement and her bag slid off her shoulder as well.
It all came back.
This star… it saved me again… does that mean I can't die? But… wait…
She stayed still, still holding her chest. Her eyes were unfocused.
Sans… said… he said he had to keep me alive because of a promise… what did he mean by that? Was he only trying… because of that?
Thorns pierced her heart.
Time seemed to freeze, or maybe go too fast for her to comprehend.
She heard running footsteps, though very light.
She recognized them.
She stood up, feeling… cold.
Sans showed up, looking distressed.
Frisk was confused for a moment.
Why does he look… like that? No one ever remembers… right?
Sans stopped in front of her, panting slightly.
"H-hey…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Sans… what are you doing here?"
He recoiled slightly. An uneasy grin came onto his face.
"Oh, I'm just… checking up on you. Had a bad feeling, and-"
The cold spread.
"Not because of some 'promise' to keep me alive?" She snarled bitterly.
Sans froze, the lights in his eyes going dead out. His uneasy grin disappeared.
Frisk felt like she made a huge, huge mistake.
His head tilted slowly to the side.
"So… mind telling me… where you heard that?"
Frisk took a step back, this change scaring her.
"I… I just…"
Sans took a step forward.
"Or rather… should I say… when?"
His left eye socket blazed to life, a brilliant flame of blue and green.
Frisk stumbled back, eyes wide.
"You really are the anomaly, huh?"
Sans took another step forward.
Frisk felt desperate.
"W-what do y-you m-mean? A-anomaly?"
Sans looked extremely dangerous. He bared his fangs, a savage rumble ripping up from his chest.
"Anomaly. You just died. Then you turned back time, RESET. I thought you were it at first, but I tried to believe it wasn't you. I was dead wrong."
There was a strong crackling, and a burst of blue.
Two giant skull creatures materialized behind Sans.
They resembled Canine skulls, with huge, sharp fangs. Their skulls formed spikes at the top, and their empty eyes were lit by two blue pupils similar to Sans's left eye.
Blue flames danced from their mouths, curling around the sharp curves of their teeth and skulls.
Fog burst forth from their mouths and noses.
Frisk yelped and scrambled backwards, bumping against the wall.
Her heart slammed against her chest.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Sans took another few steps forward.
"Heh, like I haven't heard that. Don't worry, as pissed as I am, I can't kill you. That promise you were just talking about? That's why." Sans growled. The skulls disappeared.
Frisk put her arms up to her face, quaking violently.
"That friend I was talking about, who lives here? She made me make that promise. I hate making promises, but she asked me… "please, the next human to come through the door… protect them, guide them. Keep them safe from this cruel world." And I said yes. You should really be thanking her, anomaly. If it weren't for that promise, you would've been dead a long time ago. I would have sunk my teeth into your throat the first moment I met you. "
Frisk froze.
"… you promised that?"
"Yeah." Sans snarled. "I don't know why but I did. And I regret every moment of it." He froze. His expression loosened a little.
A surge of pain hit Frisk's chest.
"So… you weren't actually scared for me back then… you didn't really care if I died… it was all a promise."
Sans flinched, his expression changing even more. Widening. He was trembling.
"…"
Frisk grabbed the wall, using it to pull herself up.
"You… all those times… you acted like you cared if I was hurt, or if I was going to be hurt… it was all an act, huh?"
The blue in Sans's eye faded.
"…w-wait, I-"
"Shut up!" Frisk snapped.
She put her hand to her chest.
"You think I asked to be this way?! That I knew about this!? Yeah, I'm so evil, right! You're the fucking hero, and I'm just a bad guy? All because I fell down here, did what I could to not hurt anyone, and ended up with this stupid power? What about you!?"
Sans stepped back. His sudden outburst faded just as soon as it came.
"You would've killed me… all because of that! Or maybe because I'm just a fucking human! You never actually gave a single shit, did you?!"
"Frisk… stop."
Frisk snarled.
"No! I may be a coward, but at least I can care about someone for real! I thought of you as a friend! Probably my best friend in this whole underground! I liked spending time with you, I looked forward to it! I would've been concerned if you got hurt, I would've tried to save you if you were dying! The reason I fought against Undyne was so that I could stay with you and Papyrus…"
Frisk was crying now, fat lines of tears streaming down her face.
Sans looked hollow, scared even.
"You… please don't tell me Papyrus is in on this too…"
"…no…" Sans's voice sounded strangled.
Frisk sucked in a shakey breath.
"Good, at least I know there is someone who cares about me for real. I always didn't like getting close to people, because of things like this. Yet I got close to you… and I guess I learned my lesson, huh? I just grow close to the wrong people… hell, at least Undyne was honest about everything. I'm a coward, an anomaly, but you're no better than me."
Sans's hands were balled up.
"Frisk… listen to me. I-I got mad, I-"
"No! I'm not listening to you! What, you think you're gonna tell me some lie, and everything is going to be okay? I'm not cowering anymore. I'm not going back either. I feel bad to punish Papyrus, but maybe you can explain what you did!"
Frisk turned to leave, her tail bristling with rage.
Rage that hid how truly hurt she was.
It hurt so bad, knowing that she wasn't ever actually cared about.
Everything… it was never real. It was all a fairytale. A distant dream of having a friend…
A close friend.
"Wait, please!"
"I'm. Leaving. Do whatever you like, you could even kill me if you want. Fuck your promise."
Frisk started running, unable to take anymore.
Sans didn't go after her.
Knowing the dog would be ahead, she turned off onto one of the side paths.
She didn't care about being lost, it didn't even occur to her.
She just wanted to get away.
Everything was a blur, and she didn't stop running.
Running…
There was a loud snap.
Something grabbed her leg, cutting into it, and she was pulled to the ground.
Frisk gasped as pain burst forth. Real, physical pain.
Frisk looked back to find her leg in the jaws of a massive metal trap.
Frisk felt… numb. She wasn't surprised, upset… just numb.
She didn't question why it was there, what it was meant for.
She gave her leg a little tug before just giving up and laying on the ground. She buried her face in her scarf, the tears still running down her cheeks.
Whatever… if I die, I just come back anyways. If I freeze to death, I'll be sent back to the star. It doesn't matter.
Not that he would really care.
…
Welp, there ya go.
Drama.
Sadness.
Yay.
Me Myself and I:Yay I got noticed! I feel so special.
But as you said, "(the really bad consent and reproduction jokes in this chapter don't help, do they? Lol)" no, no they do not. :D
Just imagine Papyrus's response to a bad pun. Almost sort of a face palm.
Im glad the Snowdon arc is over, it was starting to be a bit of a drag... But hey! Onwards! Am I right?
Have a great day!
Hello again! I feel so special that you take the time to review :D especially such well thought out ones!
I tried to be more… on the appropriate side this chapter. Sans did have one, but he didn't say it. Nope XD
Yup, I sorta face palm myself too for having such a crude sense of humor.
I'm glad it's over too. It was starting to feel like it was never going to be over, and the pacing was everywhere where it shouldn't be. Hopefully I'm back on track (things may have gone a little too fast here but that's more on my itching to get it down.)
You have a good day as well :3
Thanks for reviewing, and I look forwards to seeing you again!
iluvfanfic:oh. my. Gawsh. i just saw "too early" and i was ROTFLMAO. lol. it was absolutely, pawsitively, amewsing. Also tysm for answering my reviews. i feel so happies. also, domt worry about people being uncomfortable. (never google kinktober) XD
-Your pawsome reader,
iluvfanfic.
I'm glad you liked it! My art isn't the best, so sorry about that!
I should be thanking you for taking the time to review in the first place! I am happies too X3
I google everything everyone tells me not too :I hey, never google Boku no Pico (knowing that you probably will since I told you not too, make sure no one else is around and use headphones. It's really bad, really really bad. It scarred me for life.)
Thanks for reviewing, and I look forward to seeing you next time!
Phew, I am tired as all hell now. I typed this in one day, and that's actually pretty rough XD at least I have my Hot chocolate.
Have a good day/night, and I'll see you next chapter!
From the wolf in the mountains,
Comycat~