Undertale: Wholehearted Half-Souls

by HattyTheWriter

The ambassador of Ebott reunites with his best friend to give him his real body back. Soon after, a new malevolent force arises and strikes. All of the hard work the ambassador has done will be destroyed and death and despair will sweep the town- unless he and his brother can figure out a way to thwart the malice creeping through Ebott. They must stay DETERMINED to survive.

4. Shift

Chapter 4: Shift

The sun is well past the halfway mark in the sky. A tall, skinny skeleton is biking at blazing speeds, with a party invitation in one hand and the other hand on the handlebars in front of him. The pedals are moving at a break-neck pace as the tall and skinny skeleton, named Papyrus. He breathes heavily as he moves up the hill towards his home.

"NYEH...WHY...AM I…DOING…THIS AGAIN."

The minutes feel like hours to his skeletal body. After a great, long period of time passes, his brother apparates in front of him. "Hey bro, what's up?"

Papyrus slams his feet on the breaks and sighs. "SANS!"

"In the flesh…or should I say, in the bone?"

Sans winks while Papyrus shakes his head. "ANYWAY, WHY DID I AGREE TO MOVE TO THE TOP OF THE HILL?! IT IS MAKING MY MISSION GREATLY INCONVENIENT!"

Papyrus' cheekbones blare red as Sans shrugs. "Because you got tired of my crap, if I recall…" Sans smirks and smiles widely at his younger sibling. "Admit it, you miss me." Sans winks as Papyrus proudly looks up over Sans' head.

"I WILL ADMIT THAT I MISS YOUR BEDTIME STORIES, BROTHER. BUT STILL I MUST REMAIN STRONG AND THAT I CAN FEND FOR MYSELF!"

Sans nods gently. "You have DETERMINATION, don't you Papy?"

Papyrus nods passionately. "YES, AND I KNOW THAT THE PARTY SHALL GO WELL! EVEN THOUGH I STILL NEED TO GATHER MY AWARD-WINNING SPAGHETTI, WHICH I JUST REMEMBERED THAT I NEED TO DO. THEN, I WILL DELIVER THE FINAL INVITE!"

Sans smirks. "Sounds like a plan."

"YES. AND, I ALREADY TALKED TO SO SORRY AND HE WILL DELIVER THE BANNER."

"Heh, neat."

Papyrus then shakes his head, whilst tapping his foot and holding his hands on his hips. "I STILL HAVE ONE CONCERN, THOUGH: WOULD YOUR HOUSE EVEN BE FIT FOR THE HUMAN?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I KNOW HOW BAD YOU ARE AT CLEANING! AND, THERE'S GRILLBY'S!"

Sans smirks. "Oh, what about it?"

"YOU CROSSED OUT 'GRILLBY'S' AND PUT YOUR OWN NAME ON IT! IT'S LIKE YOU LIVE THERE NOW; THAT'S STRANGE! WHAT ABOUT YOUR OWN RESIDENCE? DO YOU EVEN CARE FOR IT?"

Sans shrugs this off and winks. "Eh, details. But hey, admit it…you still miss living with me and my sense of humor, don't-cha? Cheer up; laughter is good for the soul."

Sans lovingly nudges Papyrus with his right elbow, and Papyrus facepalms his cranium in defeat. "NYEHHHHH!"

"Just trying to lighten the mood, k?"

"WHY WOULD WE NEED TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD IF WE ALREADY HAVE A PARTY LATER TODAY, SANS?"

Sans shrugs and winks with his left eye. "Dunno, Papy. Just a funny feeling. Anyway, I'm gonna go distract the kid now, so that he doesn't get suspicious about the surprise."

Sans apparates away. Papyrus shakes his head and continues biking to his next destination.

…

The scene is painted over with light gray tones. Time flies backward, passing through many months until it stops at a timestamp marked "BB06". This means "barrier broken plus six months" for the folks who are in the know. A large sign with the words "Colorado Springs" on the front of it shows itself boldly for anyone who would peer at it, with its hard structure stretching up toward the sky. The mountains that stretch around this town kiss the sky mightily yet gently, and the buildings below are all organized and expand soundly for the one who views them.

The birds above sing sweetly as the sun sets in the distance gently. As nightfall breaks, if one were to drive into the city limits, one would not be pleased to see what was happening right around the corner in the depths of the alleyway closest to the city outskirts and entrance. Within it stands two opposing forces. One of them is a human kid who is tall and looks to be about as skinny as a twig. His head is bowed and his eyes are covered by his long, shaggy, brown hair. His tattered green and yellow shirt sinks slightly from his shoulders, and he is gripping his hands together and frowning at the ground. The figure that stands across from him is a bright blue bird with large feathers. He's wearing glasses and his beak shines brilliantly in the setting sun. He looks over at the human child, and a smirk covers his face.

"Why the heck did you wanna fight me, dude? I don't even know your name and you're challenging me to a brawl? How quaint. But, you don't know that I'm the best fighter in my grade level! You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

The human keeps staring at the ground, with his face burrowing into the pavement below. "You insulted me in class today, and I don't like that. Simply, you were being pretty mean."

The bird monster laughs and shrugs his wings nonchalantly. "C'mon, I was just teasing about the whole 'creepy' thing! And, I was teasing you about the whole 'dead parents' thing too! Did you know that laughing at yourself is good medicine for the soul? You should try it."

The human clenches his fists and growls under his breath. The bird monster chuckles and slaps his knee. "C'mon man, maybe I am a little insensitive but you gotta admit that I'm a comedy genius! Who else do you know spits witty words like mine? My jokes are killer!" The human child's eyes become unveiled for once, and the red dots gleam for the monster. The monster backs up and holds his wings up, with his smirk fading to a frown. "Now, that one I didn't try. I'm actually sorry, dude. For real."

The human shakes his head and sighs.

"Yeah, whatever."

The bird continues to speak. "You seriously wanna fight? Dude, you're taking things a little too far, don't you think?"

The human shakes his head and holds out his hands.

"I thought it would only be fair. You brag about your grades, your video game skills, and now your fighting ability." The human child looks up. A slight smile is plastered on his face, and his cheeks blush a rosy hue. "So, I figured that I would humor you."

The human stops smiling, and then grimaces. "The funny thing is though, even with you and your bragging in class, I still don't know your name. With a loud mouth like yours, I would think I would remember it by now."

The monster shakes his head and squawks loudly. "How could you not remember my name?! I am the great Ber…" The monster stops, then shakes his head and sighs. "No, you wouldn't remember it anyway. You're just like the rest of them!"

The human shakes his head, but doesn't speak. The bird raises an eyebrow, and then leans in closer to the human figure. "Wait, you're not like the rest of them. No, you're even worse! You never say 'hi' back to me in the halls! And, you're always sauntering around like you're an empty shell; a husk. What gives, man?" The human still refuses to speak, and the bird squawks again, but this time in awkward jubilation. "You really are creepy! I'm not joking now. Would it kill ya to speak up every once in a while? You should know that it's rude to ignore people, especially someone as grand and charismatic as me." The human continues to stare, and the bird raises an eyebrow. "I actually think this is the most I've heard you speak, ever."

The figure snorts, and shrugs. "Sometimes I just don't feel like talking." He lowers his head, and his voice rolls off of his tongue effortlessly. "Gets kinda hard to make friends when half of them that you know are monsters."

The bird folds his wings and eyes up the human suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The human sighs deeply and rubs his forehead. "If I told you, you would laugh."

The bird shakes his head and smirks at the human. "C'mon, tell me. If you tell me, I won't tell anybody. I have some pretty rock solid, top tier 'keeping secrets' skills! And, if you saw their full potential, I'd bet you'd be jealous of me, heh."

The bird laughs, and the human approaches aggressively. He marches with both of his arms swaying to and fro methodically, and as he walks up to the bird, he aggressively points into the bird monster's chest. He takes a step back and a sweat drop appears on the bird's head. "Hey…m-making the first move u-unannounced? No fair!"

The human shakes his head and his breath erupts from his mouth with a dry, droll lull. "Listen, bird. I'm not sure if my parents are alive or not, but it wouldn't shock me if they're gone. And, if that's the case, I bet it was monsters who did it. As soon as the barrier broke, things got crazy. You don't know jack, and quite frankly, I don't like the sound of arrogant monsters thinking they're hot stuff when really the only reason they're here in the first place is because of a human."

The bird lowers his wings, and his brow furrows deeply. "Dude, that's not cool."

The human shakes his head. "If you were in my position, you'd think the same, wouldn't you?"

The bird scoffs and then lowers his head. "You don't even know if it was a human or a monster who broke the barrier, dude."

The human shrugs and holds up his fists and smirks. "Whatever, let's do this. How about you put your money where your mouth is?"

The bird's face trembles. He nervously yet quickly folds his wings and begins to approach the human. "Lucky for you, I'm gonna not hold back! Put up your…"

Before he can speak again, the human pounces on the bird and his fist flies into the bird's beak. The bird's head snaps sideways. He twists and wiggles on the ground like a worm. The squawks of pain grow in volume with every punch. "I'm sorry…PLEASE, have mercy! STOP…I can't…take…it."

The punches pull. The human's eyes glow a deep red, with his mouth trembling slightly. He jumps quickly to his feet and spits on the ground. The bird holds his battered beak with his wing and runs in the other direction. "What's wrong with you," he says nasally as he runs into the streets of the city.

The human smirks and turns around, walking towards the other end of the alleyway. "That was too easy. Serves him right, especially with everything going on with the society shift." He lowers his gaze and clenches his fists. "That blasted barrier. If it had stayed up…my life would be fine. But no, of course not. I'm supposed to be in control; he shouldn't dictate my life! He's just some idiot orphan who happened to stumble onto that find. Yeah, sure."

When the human reaches the end of the alleyway, he sees a tall monster standing in front of him. This monster is wearing a bright purple outfit, with flowing purple hair to match. Her muscles and spiked collars on her arms would scare off most people. As he walks towards her, he stops and stares up at her. He raises an eyebrow and tilts his head.

"Now, I don't think I've met you before. Who are you", the human asks.

The monster looks down at the human, gritting her teeth and snorting. "Oh, wait. I've seen you around. You're that weird quiet punk in school everyone talks about, huh?"

The human shrugs and lowers his head humbly. "If you wanna believe that, or call me that. I honestly don't care."

The purple monster taps her chin and chuckles. She smirks somewhat aggressively. "I remember now. We go to the same school. You're that one kid who got me in trouble once for eating chalk from the teacher's board, huh?"

The human tilts his head and twists a few locks of hair in-between his fingers. He stares to the side of him, pressing his lips together and casually glances at the sidewalk beside him. "I'm not sure what you mean."

The purple monster turns, spits on the ground, places her large, meaty hands in her pockets of her pants, and begins to walk in the direction in which she was originally walking before her pitstop. Before she can walk out of eyeshot, the human runs around the corner and stands on the sidewalk behind her. "Wait, what is your name?"

The monster waves her hand and smirks privately to herself. "Won't tell ya, kid. I'm a drifter; will probably be leaving this town soon enough anyway." The human lowers his head as the monster casually walks away. The purple, muscular monster lowers her head and bites her lip. She mutters to herself.

"That kid…that human kid. I don't know his name, and I'm not even that good with names. But that kind of face is…" She shrugs and lowers her head, smirking. "Heh…what a strange dude. It'd be weird if we somehow became friends…doubt that, though."

…

The party will begin soon. Frisk is laying across from his favorite skeleton friend, Sans, on the side of the road. They are watching the clouds pass over their heads and letting the sun beam down on them. Frisk sighs deeply, then tilts his head up towards the house while tapping his foot on the ground. "Sans, when am I allowed to enter", he asks.

"Don't worry about that right now. Enjoying the sun, kid? Sometimes it's fun to just lie on the side walk and do nothing."

Frisk looks back up at the bright blue sky, then gently touches his face. The shade of his face is beginning to turn red, and he quickly removes his hand from his face. Frisk then cheekily looks at Sans. "I guess I don't need sunblock."

Sans winks at Frisk and laughs. "That's the spirit. Doin' nothing's what I do best, and you're getting the hang of it."

After another few minutes, the sun's rays begin to seriously beat down on Frisk's body. They have passed the hottest part of the day by now, which is when they began laying on the sidewalk of the street. Frisk then gets up, stretches, and cracks his neck. "Screw it, let's go inside", he retorts. "I can't be out here too much longer. My mom's gonna freak if my hide becomes as bright as a tomato."

Sans takes a look at his watch. He then places his hands back behind his head and smirks up at Frisk. "Eh, sure. Now's a good time. But, could you first help me get up, kid? I don't feel like moving."

Frisk turns around and tilts his head slightly towards Sans. "Are you sure I'm not gonna have a bad time if I help you get up?"

Sans tilts up his head again and looks dead ahead at Frisk. "No, of course not." Sans' eyes then go blank. "You haven't committed any sins."

Frisk looks back at him, and silently stares. Then, he winces slightly. "I meant with getting you up from…"

"Nah, I'm just messin' with ya. You're a good kid…now, could you help get me up?"

Frisk sighs, walks over to Sans, and grips onto Sans' right hand. Frisk pulls, but Sans doesn't budge. Frisk pulls slightly harder, but Sans refuses to budge still. Sweat begins to pour down Frisk's scalp, and Frisk's arm begins to wince and jolt in pain. "Ugh, I'm trying but you're not helping!"

Sans winks at Frisk. "Sorry kid, I had a big breakfast."

With a mighty heave, Frisk pulls Sans up from the ground, and Sans wobbles for a few moments. After wobbling for a little bit, Sans stretches, yawns, and gives Frisk a thumbs up. "Ah, that's better. Thanks bud; let's head inside". Sans thinks to himself as Frisk walks through the door first. (Perfect, that should've been enough time for the others to finish setting up for the party).

As Frisk and Sans walk through the front door of Sans' house, a tall and lanky figure with a green and yellow shirt pops out from behind the bushes. Neither Sans nor Frisk notice the figure. They look down at the house and pull out a knife from their back pocket. Their bright white mask shimmers in the sunlight. "There you are. With all the people from Ebott there, I can get in and get out and let the crowd be my shield."

Frisk looks left and right, and notices that all of the lights in the premises are turned off. They look around left and right again. "I haven't felt this confused since the first time I fell on that flower bed in the Underground. Sans, what's going on?"

"Just wait a second."

Sans slowly walks into the darkness of the house. A half-minute passes. Frisk looks left and right, then takes a small step forward. "Um…Sans? Hello? Where'd you go?"

With a great jolt, the lights all brazenly turn on at once. There are many monsters and humans that jump into Frisk's vision at once. He looks around with glee. There are balloons everywhere in the room and his slightly older brother, Asriel, jumps out from the corner in a flower costume. Frisk then looks towards the back of the room and sees multiple pillars, as if he's back in the ruins again.

"SURPRISE", the crowd cries out as Frisk claps his hands together, while smiling gently at the group.

"Wow, thank you everyone!"

Asriel forces himself to grin and walks up closer to Frisk as he wears his costume. "Check it out, Frisk, it's just like how we first met in the Underground!" Asriel lowers his gaze a bit. (I'm still having bad memories, but that's not the important part. This isn't about me.)

As Asriel shows off his flower costume, Undyne walks out from the back part of the room and holds her blue spears up in the air with pride. Mettaton then busts through the back door, with Blooky in his arms, and he strikes a powerful, dramatic pose. Muffet then helps Toriel place the pie and cake on the table, which may or may not contain spiders and snails in them.

The room continues to fill up with humans and monsters as the town gathers into one crowded space. Some move outside onto the back porch with red cups in hand, each filled with soda. Mettaton salutes to Frisk and then poses dramatically once more, while Blooky still sulks in Mettaton's dominant arm. As Frisk's smile continues to widen, Undyne struts up to Frisk and places her hand on his shoulder. "We're holding this party for you kid, to celebrate YOU! Our hero Our ambassador. And we're also remembering your totally awesome journey through the Underground. That's our theme!"

As she cackles, the other attendees shout out "happy birthday, Frisk" as he travels through the room. Frisk spins around in the middle of the living room and gently places his hands on his heart. "Thank you so much, everyone. This is the best birthday I could ask for, really."

Sans peers up from his sleeping position at the kitchen island, and smirks over at Frisk. He then looks at the various decorations and smiles. (Heh, they really outdid themselves…I respect that. I've been rooting for the kid for a long time…he deserves it.)

Toriel then makes her way towards Frisk, and then gently hugs him. "My child, we hope that you enjoy the party."

Asgore rushes in from the hallway near the kitchen and enthusiastically grins. "Uh, me too!"

After the chatter and celebration dies down and the partygoers go back to chatting and eating food, Sans shuffles over to Frisk, and tilts his skeletal cranium. "Well…what do ya think, kid?"

Frisk looks up at Sans and his smile radiates throughout the space. "I love it. Thank you so much."

Frisk's eyes then look up at the party banner above the sliding glass door in the living room. The party banner is covered in blue and purple hand prints, and there is giant blue and purple font that reads: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRISK AND USE THE PAPYRUS FONT NYEH HEH HEH". Frisk raises an eyebrow, then So Sorry comes in from the back corner of the living room, scratching his scalp profusely. "I'm so sorry...well, that's what I thought he meant." After taking a moment to catch himself, So Sorry continues in a much more positive tone. "I do like the colors and the mixed media, however! I'd say it's my best work yet!"

So Sorry beams with pride slightly, and Frisk politely chuckles. "I love it all the same. Thank you, So Sorry." Frisk then turns around to face the crowd. Many have adorned party hats in the past minute or so. Frisk then scans the room a second time, and scratches his head. "Wait, hold on…where's Papyrus? He's not here."

Muffet, Toriel, and the others begin scanning the room. Sans lethargically waves and goes back to sleep at the kitchen island. Muffet scratches her spider head. "Well dearie, I did see him an hour or two ago."

Frisk sighs with slight disappointment and looks towards the darkest corner of the living room. "Everyone else seems to be here…even Jerry."

A monster named Jerry, whose appearance can't really be described in a single sentence, takes a few paces forward and angrily looks at the party crew, as if he's deeply incensed or offended with something. "Where's the wifi? I demand to know where the wifi is; let alone what the password is."

Sans wakes up from his very short-lived nap and shoots daggers at Jerry. He then mutters, "what the actual fresh heck is he doing here? Time to try and get rid of the party crasher."

Sans then shrugs and looks sideways. "Oh, no wifi here. Too lazy to buy a router."

Jerry's face crosses and he places his hands on his hips. "Well then, this party blows. I want out. Could anyone give me a ride home?"

Nearly everyone at the party scolds him with a loud "NO" in unison. Frisk bites his lip and rubs the back of his head. Undyne then paces slightly frantically around the living room and thrusts her spear in the air that's in her right hand. "NGAAAH! This won't do! We can't begin without Papyrus!"

Sans shrugs and calmly wafts his voice over to Undyne. "I'm sure he'll get here eventually. He wouldn't miss this party for the world. He loves the human…he may even be obsessed with him a little bit."

Undyne holds her hand on her forehead. "It's not like him to be late. Or to be absent!" Undyne then smirks and looks down at Sans. She gently elbows him in the side. "That's more your speed."

Alphys then nervously walks up to Undyne. "Wait, U-Undyne…when you screamed out 'NGAH' I-I was supposed to do the same, to keep with t-the theme…right?"

Undyne grins heartily and gives Alphys a pat on the back. "Yes you are! But it's ok to forget sometimes, I guess." She cackles then continues to encourage Alphys. "Frisk digs this party no matter what! Don't overthink it."

Alphys rubs the back of her neck. "Heh, that's good…but on a-another note, how d-did my coat fit anyway?"

"It's supposed to fit like a regular coat of JUSTICE! I like it!"

Alphys looks down at her jacket, feels the edges, and blushes. "Heh…thanks, Undyne."

Light-hearted small talk that you would hear at a party flies into the air. As the chatter increases, Asriel walks up to Frisk and taps him on the shoulder. He removes the head portion of the flower costume and points to the back porch. "Frisk, let's go outside."

Frisk follows Asriel's lead and they head out to the back porch. There are a few monsters and humans in the backyard, but most seem to be crammed inside the house, along with the front yard and sidewalk on the front street. Asriel then takes off the flower costume in full and throws it to the side of the patio. He sits down on the patio with his arms across his kneecaps and Frisk follows suit.

"My fur is going to get all frizzy if I keep this on for too long. I hope it's alright if I give the flower suit a break", Asriel remarks.

Frisk nods politely as Asriel's body begins to breathe. As both of the Dreemurr siblings sit down on the patio, Frisk turns to Asriel slowly. "So, Azzy, what did you wanna tell me?"

Asriel looks at Frisk with a gentle smile on his snout. "Well, I just wanted to say that you are loved." Asriel smiles and rests his head on his arms. "It's because of your popularity that I knew that this party would be a success. The town loves you the longer you're here, and you've helped us all so much. So, thanks."

Frisk smiles back at Asriel and sighs. "Thanks, Azzy. You always know how to encourage me."

Asriel chuckles back to his sibling. "You're welcome! I was given a second chance, and you were provided for me to help with that, too. How could I not be thankful?"

Back inside the house, Toriel and Muffet are arguing about whether the pie or cake should be served first for dessert. The chatter amongst the party goers continues to increase in volume. Meanwhile, the lanky shady figure creeps in the bushes in the side of the house. They dart from hedge to hedge, eyeballing the premises in search of someone.

As the figure leans out from one of the bushes, Sans looks up from the island inside, peers through the sliding glass doors, and takes a good, long look at the figure. An uncertain feeling enters his soul. He begins muttering under his breath again. "Wait…this guy was on our invite list?…Something seems fishy here. He's wearing a weird mask and stuff…eh, maybe I'm just forgetting that we invited him. Oh well…" Sans mutters as he drifts back to sleep.

The figure takes a longer look at the backyard. He then looks at a few humans, then a few more humans, and then narrows in on Frisk. Him and Asriel are now alone on the back porch, as the other party goers have dispersed throughout the backyard. The shady figure pops out from the bushes, while holding a knife behind their back, and marches slowly towards Frisk. "It's all his fault…it's all his fault. Your time has come, ambassador of Ebott."

As the figure slowly and subtly approaches, Frisk then looks at the flower costume off to the side of the patio, smiling slightly. "Hey, Azzy, when do you think you're gonna put the costume back on? It's part of the theme, after all."

Asriel laughs and rubs his hand through his hair. "I still wanna wait a little bit longer!"

Frisk smirks. "Haven't you gotten used to the sun by now, being above ground and all?"

Asriel chuckles and shrugs. "You may have a point, but that costume still gets REALLY hot! Humidity doesn't suit my wooly coat well, and that's why winter is my favorite season."

Frisk then scratches his head and puzzledly places a finger onto his lip. "Now that you mention it, didn't I see you wearing it in school once or twice?"

Asriel laughs. "Yeah, maybe."

"You're auditioning for the school musical, right?"

"Yup! I play a couple background characters for the production of 'Wizards of the Underground and the Monsters in it' or something like that. It's a lot of fun. And, this costume just worked for the party so I thought I would borrow it for the weekend while rehearsals are taking time off." Asriel's laugh then diminishes, and he calmly stares at the ground. "I just thought it would be good to use for the themed party for you, especially since I used to be a flower and all. I hope you like it."

Frisk nods. "I do, bud." He smiles and stares a little more intently at Asriel. "You're going to be doing a lot of singing this semester, huh?"

Asriel nods. "Yup. I have the school musical, and Reverend Alvin is giving me more solos to sing in the church choir for the rest of the year." He chuckles and rubs the voice box region of his throat. "My voice is gonna be shot."

Frisk smiles slightly. "You'll get through it ok. It's really awesome to see you use your talents."

Asriel beams back at Frisk as he looks up again. "Good! And hey, whatever makes you happy. I want this to be the best day you've ever had."

Frisk and Asriel both get up from the ground and turn to face the backyard. As soon as both Dreemurr children are able to see what's in front of them, the masked figure jumps at Frisk. Asriel's turquoise eyes look up with dread as the shiny silver knife flies out from behind the tall figure. His soul fills with fear and trembles like a leaf as Frisk tries to back up towards the sliding glass door. The knife is now high in the air, and Asriel then jumps quickly in front of Frisk. "FRISK, WATCH OUT!"