Two Worlds, Two Souls
Chapter 25: Finding Out
Frisk's Point of View:
Christmas was beyond far one of my favorite times of year.
I was beyond elated that I finally got a chance to be able to celebrate with my sister and my best friends. We were able to buy presents, wrap them, and put them under the tree or hand them out to friends. I was excited when Sans pulled out the sparkly wrapping paper and glittery bows that held my attention while I attempted to learn to wrap. It was fun, like hiding a secret from someone that they got to reveal, but it was a good secret, not a hurtful one.
Christmas had always been my favorite, especially with all the food…
That was my favorite part…
But there was still a lot to do. Apparently, we were hosting a Christmas party for some of our friends and the brothers. We were making sure all rooms were cleaned and ready to go in order to host such a dinner. We were going to have most of Bernie's family and that was when we planned to meet Vinnie.
I was so nervous for that.
But it was something that Sans and Angel had talked about at a later date after the scare we had by her birthday. Angel agreed to meet Bernie's eldest son. Sans still didn't like it, and all of us were very fearful, so we tried to take our minds off of it by preparing for the upcoming holiday. We hadn't brought it up again since, yet I knew it was bothering most of the residences' minds. We were all scared that Vinnie would take us away.
Angel had hope though, hope that he wouldn't. Especially if his mother was there to keep him from doing anything crazy.
So, while we approached the day with only a couple weeks left, Angel was trying her hands at different foods for the dinner. It was going to be mostly Angel cooking, but others were more than welcome to bring food as well. Angel seemed to be concerned about how the food would come out and had us others in the household tasting prior to the big day.
None of us minded it, Angel loved to cook, we loved to eat. Win, win!
"This is really a meal!?" My only comment that flew out of my mouth once I had tried my hand at my sister's sweet potato casserole. She had used pecans, maple syrup and lots of the orange-colored potato that made the dish very sweet. It couldn't believe it was so sweet and my sister was letting me eat so much of it!
"Don't eat the entire thing Frisk, even if it is better for you than most of what you eat." My sister could only roll her eyes at me while she watched me inhale.
"Little Frisk! You should eat other things too!" Papyrus held out one of the dishes he'd helped my sister with. "Look at this chicken! Won't you try some?"
"Oh!" With the fingers of a thief, the chicken was swiped from the container and landed on my plate. Our older siblings watched the interactions with mild interest before turning back to their own meals, silence coming over the two of them.
"Miss Angel?" My sister lifted her head to glance at Papyrus. "Do you know yet what you wish to cook yourself for Christmas Eve?"
"Too many most likely." My sister snickered as she thought about it. "I know I plan to do a few different vegetables, a couple different types of meats, plenty of snacks and dips as well as sweets. I've nearly decided on it all, but I'll put a list together in a bit so the others know what I'll have and they don't bring too much extra of the same thing."
"Oh, will you be making this dish?" Papyrus pointed down to the sweet potatoes while my sister nodded.
"They most likely will be a top contender among the kids, so yes, I plan to have those."
"Can we do some spaghetti?"
"We can make some." My sister had to draw the line at some point since we all knew Papyrus would only make spaghetti if he could. And while I wasn't opposed to that, I knew others would be. "We need to have a few different items between everyone. I also plan to make some barbeque meat balls in the slow cooker, a ham, squash, potatoes… I'll make some good choices."
"But that's not telling us everting!" I pouted at my sister.
"Oh, hush Frisk," my sister chided me. "A surprise never hurts anyone."
"Meh…"
"But I will need help with the preparations. Tomorrow I need you and Papy to head into town to gather a few things for me to start getting ready. Sugar, baking supplies, spices and a few vegetables that won't spoil, which I'll store until we get closer to the holiday to prepare." With a flick of her wrist, she handed over a list to the tall skeleton. "Can I trust you two to do that for me?"
"Of course, Miss Angel!" Papyrus snatched the paper from her before turning to me. "We'll get to go shopping again, Little Frisk!"
"Can we stop by to see MK and Milly? We haven't seen them in a while."
At the time, I didn't really notice it. My sister and Sans almost seemed to harbor a darker look when I mentioned our friends. They never had a problem with them before, so I couldn't understand what that look was really for.
The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds before turning away, acting as if the interaction had never taken place.
"Yes, Little Frisk, I haven't seen them much either. We should visit if we have the chance."
"Just be careful you two," my sister commented. "Robert's been in a mood as of late, you should probably avoid him if you see him."
"Oh, again?" Papyrus showed mild concern for the angry bear. "Is there something we could help with?"
"Nope." Sans replied so quickly he almost cut off Papyrus. "He's in a mood, nothin' ya can do but let it iron itself out. So, stay clear."
When Sans was saying it, it made Papyrus and I pay a bit more attention. A cautious look thrown between the two of us. Sans wasn't the type to really convey concern when it came to other monsters. When he got off his butt to say something, it always was a cause to pay a bit more attentiveness to the situation.
Had an altercation come up between Sans and Robert? Sans never stands up for anything, so that really surprised me…
Unless… did it involve Papyrus? That would be just about the only thing to get his boney ass moving.
"Oh… okay." Papyrus hesitated a bit with his answer, but respected Sans' orders.
"Robert just needs some time Papyrus," my sister commented, placing a hand on his. "When he's ready to ask for help, he will. But until he's ready, some people just need a bit of space to realize their actions and come to terms with them."
"I understand." Papyrus lowered his head a bit to suck in a breath. "The Great Papyrus will do as such. However! I will be ready when the older male wishes to speak to me, when he decides to!"
"Okay." The older siblings looked at him with smiles, yet I couldn't help but feel there was something darker among them. Sans and Angel never really lie to us, but they certain could withhold and manipulate the truth if need be.
I truly wondered what was going on to make this happen…
The Next Morning:
Papyrus and I were eager to leave the house the following morning.
Just as soon as we knew the markets would open up, he and I were dressed and out the door. I made sure to go to bed early for that since I hated waking up early, unless it involved food.
And there might have been a bribe of chocolate chip pancakes when we returned…
It was just Papyrus and I when we headed out. Sans was still sleeping at the time and Angel was hard at work in the house on a painting when we left. She was doing one for Sarada, apparently there was some sort of secret that was going to be hidden in the photo, but my sister refused to tell me. I had no idea if Sans knew this surprise as well or if was just my sister who knew, but she wouldn't tell me. I'd be surprised by whatever it is no differently than the others.
Papyrus had wanted to head out earlier to get the shopping done since the weather called for snow later today, so we'd be stuck inside. I wasn't opposed to that, since we'd just play video games all day. They were really fun, and beating Papyrus all the time certainly had its ups and downs (even if Sans would help him cheat to beat me here and there…)
Papyrus walked down the aisle, cart in hand, as we went about choosing the ingredients. I stood on the end of the cart while he rolled it around, grabbing some of the ingredients my sister had requested, some… not so much. Most of the time Papyrus would catch me in the act and have me put it back, but there were some moments where I was able to slip in a candy bar or two under his watchful eye socket. I had to hold back my giggling in fear of being discovered.
"Little Frisk… you got chocolate bars again, didn't you?"
I snickered at him. "Maybe they were already in the cart?"
"Little Frisk… you have too many sweets as it is." Papyrus shook his head while he pulled the bars from the cart and I pouted at him. "Miss Angel will be making more sweets and practicing, you do not need anything else to enhance you sugar intake."
"Awe… but Papy…"
"No buts, your sister would certainly have my bony hide for it if I did give you any other." Papyrus shook his head before chuckling at me. "Besides, she has pancakes waiting for you when we return. Won't those be good?"
"Yum…" I was already drooling at the thought.
After returning the chocolate I tried to sneak into the cart, Papyrus paid for the groceries and we were on our way home. I happily sat atop of Papyrus' shoulders while he walked home, a bag of groceries in each hand as he walked along the snow-covered road. Not many people were out at that hour, most of them still rousing from their sleep or preparing coffee and breakfast.
"Papyrus! Frisk!" We were stopped quickly as the very family we weren't sure if we'd be seeing were out and about. Maria was at the head of the charge while her two youngest nearly nipped at her heels with the way they rushed after her. Will and Robert seemed to take their dear sweet time as they grumbled in the back. Both of them looked tired and irritable.
Angel and Sans had said to stay away from Robert… but we didn't have to talk to him if we talked to Maria and the youngest ones, right?
"Hello Maria! Hello little ones!" Papyrus happily kneeled down closer to their level with me on his shoulders. I could still see eye level with the mother due to Papyrus's incredibly tall stature. "How are you all today?"
"Good!" MK was quick to respond while his tail wagged eagerly. "Can we play together Frisk?"
"Yeah!" I eagerly removed myself from Papyrus' shoulders, but before I hit the ground, the taller best friend of mine placed me right back where I'd been sitting only a moment prior by grabbing the back of my jacket.
"Little Frisk, your sister has many tasks we need to do once breakfast is over." The pout on my friend's face showed me that he was displeased that I'd forgotten. I sulked from his shoulders, crossing my arms in defiance.
"Sis won't mind for a little bit, wont she?" I quickly pulled out my phone to call her. "I'll ask!"
"Tch." Robert's hiss had us all jump for a moment before Maria was quick to his side to hush him.
"Robert, don't."
"Jeeze, what's your problem?" Narrowing my eyes at the eldest male. "You don't have to be rude about it."
"Little Frisk, don't instigate anything. Robert must not be feeling well." Papyrus quickly stood back up, apologizing to Maria and her family. "I think it would be best for us to head home, but perhaps we will see you all soon enough. Oh! Maybe we can spend time together at the fair? That would be f-"
"That fair is going to suck this year because of that damn sister of yours!" Robert hollered causing everyone to stand there in shock, even the ever-rude Will backed away a foot or so from his father.
"Robert!" Maria chided him. "Enough!"
"I will not let this idiot be the reason why the fair falls apart!" Shoving his wife into the snow, he rounded on Papyrus and me in an instant, growling deeply. A finger from his paw was pointed at Papyrus, only centimeters from the bone between his eyes. "It's because of you that bitch won't help out with the fair! You stupid and unhelpful skeleton! If you have any fuckin' brain cells in that damn skull of yours then you'll get that bitch to help us out! She's the only one in this damn town who can bake and bring in money or else we'll all suffer this winter!"
"ENOUGH!" A roar that came from Maria was what it took for Robert to finally back down and shrink only tad under his wife's infuriated glare. "How dare you accuse him of that? Oh, Robert! The nerve of you-"
That seemed only to make the male stand taller and nearly take another swipe at his wife. "Me?! ME?! You god-dammed harlot! You're always on their side! How 'bout you care about your fucken family for once rather than every sad faced monster in the underground?!"
The two bear adults shouted and screamed at each other in the middle of the street. Others began to look out their windows while the rest of us kids stood there, either frozen or unsure what to do.
I dared to look at Papyrus. Leaning around his skull, I quickly looked at his face to see just how distraught he was. He kept looking back and forth between the two adults that were fighting with an unsure look to his sockets. He kept looking between them, a boney hand of his trying to reach out, only to yank it back when they both snarled, either at each other or him.
"Papy?" I climbed down from him and tried to pull him back a bit from the fighting bears. All the kids were backing away and I was quick to pull the groceries from Papyrus' arms and hand them to Milly and MK, who seemed all too familiar with this fighting. I pulled on his arm, finally succeeding in dragging him back. "Let's go home Papy."
Milly and MK followed behind while Will trudged away most likely to their home. I kinda figured that the teen wouldn't want to follow us, perhaps he was heading to a friend? I didn't know since I wasn't much of a teenager yet.
Tears streamed from the skeleton's sockets as I was finally able to pull him away. Light sniffling I could hear from behind me and I couldn't blame Papyrus at all. He was a cinnamon bun, innocent of nearly everything. Sans and Angel were always gentle with him and how soft his soul was. I was really worried for him right now. I didn't think that there was many people who had ever yelled at Papyrus.
I blinked, pausing for a moment before I had to remind myself to move forward. That's why…
Sans and Angel had told us for the last few days or so to leave Robert alone since he was in "one of his moods" which was code for being an asshole. Something must have happened between them. Robert yelled about it being Papyrus' fault for Angel not helping out at the fair this year… but that didn't make much sense… Angel wanted to help out…
Unless she got into a fight with Robert? Maybe that's why and why she also refused to help anymore…
Just as the winds started to pick up did we finally make it back to the house. I opened the front door to see Sans lazing away on the couch, snoozing away while I heard my sister washing dishes in the kitchen. I could barely see her past the wall that cut into the entrance to the kitchen.
Just as I heard the door close behind me did I feel Papyrus' hand pull from mine. I quickly looked up to him in worry as his scarf covered most of his face as he tried to hide the streaming tears of orange that leaked from his sockets.
"M-my apologies, Little Frisk… I-I think I need some alone t-time…"
With a quick bound of his legs, Papyrus was up the stairs and into his bedroom without a second thought. Hearing the door close, Angel stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Oh Frisk! You're just in time… oh? I didn't know we were having guests for breakfast." My sister cast her eyes to MK and Milly who stood awkwardly with our groceries. "As happy as I am to see you both, where's Papyrus?"
It took my sister all of three seconds after saying those words to truly look us over. Angel saw the shock on my face as well as the deep upset on the other two children before she was quick to kneel down beside us. She quickly pulled the groceries from their arms (teeth in the place of MK) and hugged us all.
"What happened?"
"Mom and Dad got into a fight!" MK was quick to tell her. "Dad yelled at Papyrus, telling him that it was his fault that you wouldn't help at the fair!"
"Excuse me?" My sister gapped at the three of us. "He actually… why… God-dammit!"
My sister then flew up the stairs after the youngest male of our household. I saw her stop before Papyrus' door, knocking quickly to get his attention. The commotion actually woke Sans up from his snooze, he glanced around quickly before his gaze met my sister's from up on the second level before Papyrus' door.
"What the hell?"
"Sans! I need your help!" My sister's cry had the lazy skeleton moving faster than I thought he could. "It's Papyrus!"
A quick teleport left the two older siblings standing before his door, trying to get him to come out. I felt incredibly miserable for my friend, only guessing at the feelings that he felt as he hid away. What kind of guilt was he feeling? Papyrus cared about so many people and yet so many didn't seem to understand just how sensitive he was. A lot of times it was very scary, since it could get him hurt if he wasn't careful, thought I don't think he could even if he wanted to…
"Come on…" I motioned to my two friends to the kitchen. "Have you guys had breakfast?"
"Nu-uh." Milly nervously followed, bringing the groceries with her. MK followed shortly after while we arrived back. I took a few moments to take care of the groceries my sister had requested of us before, I helped make a plate for each of them before I make my own.
None of us are hungry however, the sweetness of the pancakes my sister had made did nothing to halt the worry in my gut.
Only a few minutes later did my sister return downstairs. She looked crestfallen before she joined us at the table, setting her head in her hands. She looked as if she'd aged to nearly forty in the span of ten minutes. She sighed deeply, sucked in a large breath, before she glanced up to address everyone who sat at her table.
"Sorry you guys, not trying to be a terrible hostess, but Papy is a bit… distraught at the moment. He won't come out of his room so Sans has teleported in and is trying to talk to him. To be perfectly honest, he… might need some time before he'll join us…"
"Sis… I'm sorry… I couldn't stand up for him…" I pushed my food away, making my sister's eyes widened even the tiniest amount. "We were just talking normally and suddenly Robert exploded at us. Papyrus tried to get us to leave…"
"I know Frisky… I know…" The guilt I felt gnawing at me while my sister pulled her seat next to me for comfort while we waited on the first floor. There was no guarantee that Sans would be able to get through to Papyrus, but I knew this would change him. It was yet to see if it would be for better or worse…
Witch's Note:
Oh my God! What a bastard! How dare he ruin our lovely cinnamon roll of a skeleton?! HOW DARE HE?!
Well, I guess the bullshit level is back to normal with terrible things happening left, right and center! Still, that stupid bear! I love him and hate him. Mystic Girl never liked him at all in case any of you were curious. I was wondering what all of you thought about that? Tell me your opinion of Robert!
And now onto our reviewers!
RoseCentury: 450 out of 900 what? You'll have to remind me it's been a few years.
ShunGod: Hopefully the bullshit was much more appropriate for this chapter! Hope you liked it!
Purrson: Hello our lovely new reviewer! Great to see you! And glad to hear we entranced you enough to make you binge our entire story in such a short span of time! As for the promise, it is for Angel to not agree to help out with the fair until Robert apologizes to Papyrus. And she also promised Sans that she would not bend to that promise she made to Robert, no matter how much an asshole he ends up being.
Thank you all for reading and we hope to see you next week! Please don't forget to leave comments and reviews! We love to hear from you folks!
Halloween Witch
