Hey, welcome to chapter 16! this chapter is chock full of plot, so it's bound to be at least somewhat interesting.
I also want to apologize for the delay, I've had a bit of writer's block, so the next couple chapters may come out a little slower. But anyway, on with the chapter!
Badd was walking though town, taking in the sights, until he came to the building he was looking for.
"Grillby's huh? Wonder if they got good burgers."
As soon as he said that, the punk hero heard a familiar voice.
"you bet they do. grillby's is the best place in town."
Sans was walking up to Badd, his smile a little wider than usual.
"Oh, hey Sans. You lookin for something to eat too?"
"yeah, i go here all the time. good food, fun environment, friendly faces, a good place all together. hey, actually, i was hoping i would run into you. there's something i wanted to talk to you about. come on in, i'll foot the bill."
Sans walked into the building. Badd shrugged to himself, before following.
"Hey, Sans." "Hi, Sans!" "Heya Sansy!" Were but some of the greetings Sans got as he walked into the building.
He simply waved at all of the patrons, some of which Badd recognized as royal guardsmen. Some of them waved at the hero, but luckily no one said anything.
There was an upbeat song playing on a jukebox in the corner, and a fire monster manning the bar.
Sans made a motion to follow him as he walked towards a bar stool. As Badd went to sit down, he noticed a pink disc on the stool he was about to sit on.
"A whoopie cushion? Isn't that a little old school?"
"what can i say? i'm a sucker for the classics. guess i should start hiding them better though. anyway, take a seat."
Badd did as such, before looking at the menu.
"Yeah, I could go for a burger and fries."
"yeah, that sounds good. hey grillbiz, we'll have a double order of the burg."
The fire elemental nodded, before moving into the kitchen.
Sans tapped the counter for a second, before looking over to his human companion.
"i saw your fight with my bro. you and pretty boy are real strong. only undyne has ever really been able to beat him. how did you break through his blue attack anyway? i thought it was impossible."
Badd gave a quiet chuckle.
"Actually, I was still under the effects of it."
The light in Sans' eye sockets seemed to dim for a moment, but he composed himself quick enough so that his companion didn't notice.
"huh. then how were you moving so fast?"
"Fighting spirit. For reasons even I don't know, the more psyched I get in a battle, the more my physical attributes increase. I've never lost a fight because of it."
Sans appeared to be in deep thought for a moment, but he snapped out of it when their food arrived.
"welp, grub's here. you want some ketchup?"
Badd looked at the bottle, before shaking his head.
"Nah, not really a fan of the stuff."
Sans shrugged, before proceeding to guzzle the whole thing. Badd looked at the short skeleton oddly.
What the... you know what, not even gonna ask.
The two had just finished their meal, when Sans decided to speak.
"hey, there's something else i wanted to ask you."
"Hm, what's that?"
Suddenly, time around the two seemed to slow to a stop. The jukebox stopped playing music, and the room seemed to dim.
Badd was trying to figure out what was going on, when Sans turned to him. For the first time since he met the skeleton, Sans wasn't smiling.
"have you ever heard of a talking flower?"
Badd froze. Of all the monsters he had encountered in the underground, Sans was one of the last ones that he expected to ask that question.
"Yeah. I have."
"so you know all about it. the echo flower."
Badd facefaulted.
"Um, that wasn't the flower I was talking about."
Sans sighed, looking at his empty plate.
"yeah, i figured as much, but i had to make sure. can't go telling just anyone about this stuff."
Badd gave a shaky breath.
"How do you know about him?"
Sans gave a small smile, no mirth in it at all.
"i know lots of things that most monsters don't. some of it not necessarily by choice. now listen kid, that flower is a cunning, dangerous little thing, and the other day, papyrus told me something that i hoped i would never hear. that shitty weed is talking to him. it's been giving him encouragement, flattery, even predictions. i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's trying to manipulate my bro. for what, i have no idea, but it can't be anything good."
Badd was listening intently to everything Sans said.
"That scummy little... look, I've had some bad run-ins with that thing too. So the next time I see it, I'll just take care of the thing then and there."
"i wish it were that simple kid, but he's not gonna reveal himself unless he sees an opportunity. look, just be careful, ok? that's all i'm asking."
Badd gave a frustrated growl, but nodded.
"Thanks for letting me know about this Sans. I just have one question. How are you able to stop time?"
Sans raised a brow, somehow.
"what d'ya mean?"
Badd was about to respond, bit then he noticed that there were significantly less patrons than there were earlier, and the jukebox was again running.
"What the..." He went to look back at Sans, but the skeleton was gone. Badd huffed. "Fine, keep your little secret..."
Seito was looking through the books at the library, (He refused to call it by it's name on the sign) trying to find information on why the monsters were trapped under the mountain.
"Hmm, let's see, fantasy, science, ah, there we go."
The idol picked up a book titled 'Monsterkind, a Brief History', and began to leaf through it. By the time that he finished the book, he was in shock.
"Unbelievable. Not only did our pathetic ancestors attack an innocent race simply because of unjustified fear, they went and murdered the prince of the kingdom fueled by that same fear 500 years later!"
Seito's eyes had begun to turn red in rage, before he calmed himself.
"Sigh. Well, I suppose that I'll have to correct our ancestor's grave mistake, and the best way to do that would be to find a way to free these poor souls from their undeserved imprisonment. I shall start looking for answers on how to do such a thing immediately! Although I should probably find Badd and tell him of my discovery first."
With that final thought, the blue haired hero put the book back, before striding out the door, giving a quick nod to the librarian.
As Papyrus entered his home, he noticed Zenko sitting on the couch.
"WHY HELLO ZENKO! WAIT... ISN'T SANS SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING YOU?"
"Yeah, but he left about half an hour ago, said he needed to go run some errands."
"OF COURSE. BY 'ERRANDS', HE JUST MEANS HIS FIFTH GRILLBY'S RUN OF THE DAY. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HE SEES IN THAT GREASE-HOLE. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MY LAZYBONES BROTHER! YOU WANTED TO 'HANG OUT', RIGHT?"
Zenko nodded enthusiastically.
"GREAT! LET'S HEAD UP TO MY ROOM! THERE IS A LOT I WISH TO SHOW YOU!"
The tall skeleton then grabbed Zenko's arm and led her to his room.
"Woah! There's so much stuff in here! Is that a pirate flag
"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A 'PIRATE' IS, BUT THAT FLAG SURE DOES LOOK COOL. I ACTUALLY HAVE A THEORY THAT HUMANS ARE A RACE OF SKELETON. WE SEEM TO HAVE THE SAME STRUCTURE, MINUS ALL THE FLESH."
"Actually Papyrus, humans have skeletons inside of them."
"WHAT?! ARE THEY TRAPPED? OH NO! WE HAVE TO FREE THEM!"
Zenko's giggles turned into full blown laughter.
"No, silly! Skeletons are a part of a human's body. They give our bodies structure, and help us move."
Papyrus looked very confused.
"HUMAN ANATOMY IS WEIRD."
"But most monsters have a similar body, don't they?"
"NOT AT ALL! MONSTERS ARE MADE UP OF THREE THINGS: EMOTION, MAGIC, AND DUST!"
Zenko went wide eyed.
"Monsters down here are made of magic?! How does that even work?"
"WELL, I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT, BUT YOU COULD ASK SANS. HE DOES SOME SCIENCY STUFF NOW AND AGAIN."
"Wow, never took Sans for a scientist of any kind, although there was a quantum physics book downstairs."
"SO, IF YOU'VE SEEN EVERYTHING, DO YOU WANT TO START THE HANG OUT?"
"Haven't we been hanging out this whole time?"
"WE HAVE? BUT IT DOSEN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS IN THE BOOK."
Zenko took the book from the tall skeleton and read the title.
"Hanging out, a guide. Papyrus, you don't need to read about hanging out to understand it, all hanging out is spending time with someone you care about."
Papyrus looked bashful.
"WELL, IV'E NEVER HUNG OUT WITH ANYONE BESIDES UNDYNE, SO I DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE A BAD IMPRESSION."
"Aw, Papyrus, you're making a great first impression by just being yourself!"
"WOWIE, HANGING OUT IS MUCH EASIER THAN I THOUGHT! NYEHEHEH!"
Sans had met up with Badd and Seito, who appeared to be having a serious conversation which they abruptly ended when they noticed him.
He had picked up the last few words, them being 'we must enact justice.'
He didn't know what to think of that, but the two had proven themselves to be trustworthy enough, so he'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
He lead the two humans back to his house. When he opened the door, he saw Zenko and Papyrus asleep on the couch, the former laying on the latter's lap. Badd and Seito entered next, and they looked at the scene with serene smiles.
"best leave em there. i fixed up my bedroom, so one of you can stay in there. the other can bunk in pap's room." Badd smiled at the short skeleton. "Thanks again for this Sans."
"don't mention it kid, don't worry about me, i'm not picky about where i sleep."
As the two humans entered the upstairs rooms, Sans looked upon the scene once more, before drifting off to sleep himself.
if these three keep up the way they're going, there might be a reason to start caring again. one can hope.
So, how was the pacing this chapter? Too fast? I feel like it was a little too quick. I omitted the Traditional Papyrus 'Date' scene because I couldn't find a way to make it interesting without directly breaking the 4th wall. I personally don't like 4th wall breaking unless it's done discretely.
Edited 3/16/20