Hello, everyone! This chapter will be different. I've written an explanation as of why, and why I haven't been writing. If you would like to skip this, just don't read any of the bolded words. Please note that this Chapter doesn't take place a day after the previous chapter's date, and instead happens sometime after.
Anyways, whenever I've been writing LAF, I've been in a bad mood. You may have noticed if you've been following this story that I haven't written in a while. This was because of procrastination, not feeling up to writing, and writer's block. I'm finally back! However, I've been in a very good mood lately, so it would be hard to write the story the way I have. For this reason, this chapter is at a different time, where Papyrus is just starting to get everything under control. We also have more friends added to the character list. I hope that doesn't make the story any less interesting for you! Sorry for the long introduction. Let's get to it!
Papyrus could tell today was going to be special. Not just because he felt good, but because it was a holiday. Today would be his first Thanksgiving ever! Well, the first Thanksgiving he ever celebrated, that is. Thanksgiving wasn't a holiday down Underground.
As Papyrus got out of bed, a question entered his mind: Why was he so happy? The past few days had been excellent. They had started off terrible, with Papyrus confident they would be a mess. But each time, Papyrus found himself surprised at how much and how wide he had smiled that day, and how excited he had been. That didn't mean everything was working out. Obstacles would sometimes pop up and disasters would occur- Just the other day Papyrus almost lost his phone on the highway- but somehow, those issues would always get fixed. A part of him still felt trapped and still was negative, but he certainly felt better.
Then, Papyrus remembered what Sans had bought recently at the local pharmacy- antidepressants. Was that why the creature felt happier? Were those pills he had been taking fixing everything? Papyrus didn't like the sound of that. It wasn't like he wanted to be depressed, but the idea of relying on a little caspile to fix his problems made him feel... helpless.
He couldn't stop feeling blue so he had to depend on some tiny pills to help him. What kind of loser couldn't control their own emotions?
Papyrus almost slapped himself for thinking that. "No, Papyrus, you're not a loser," he whispered, but he still felt as if he was. "No, no! You gotta stop lying to yourself, you..." The man sighed. "You're not an idiot, okay?" He found himself wanting to cry, but he didn't.
There was a knock on the door. "Hey, you okay in there, Papyrus?" Sans called.
Papyrus sighed. "Yeah," he replied.
As Sans walked back into the living room, Papyrus felt frustration building inside him. He was ruining today. Tdoay was supposed to be awesome but in the span of 5 minutes it wasn't anymore.
No. It would be awesome.
Anger can make people do surprising things. As Papyrus sat, already dressed, in his room, he realized the longer he stayed in there, the sadder he'd become, or, at least, that's what his theory was. In an instant, he sprang up and ran out of his room and
fell down the stairs. What a wonderul plan, Papyrus, he thought.
Undyne, who had stopped showing yp every day, had visited for Thanksgiving, and as soon as she heard the thud, she rushed over to her friend. "Woah! Papyrus, are you okay?!"
Papyrus laughed at his silliness. The "Nyeheheh"s went on for a good 10 seconds before he was pulled off the floor and answered her question. "Yeah."
Sans tilted his head. "Bud, you landed on your skull. Doesn't that hurt?"
"Yeah," the scarfed and smiling skeleton repeated.
Sans shook his head. Papyrus could be very optimistic when he was feeling alright, and sometimes even when he wasn't. Of course he wouldn't make a fuss about something potientally harmful. "Okay, well, go sit down for a bit."
Papyrus was still wearing a large grin. "Yes sir!"
Papyrus was the kindest and the weirdest monster simultaneously, so no one reacted to his sentence.
--
Sitting around a table were Alphys, Sans, Undyne, Papyrus. Asgore, Toriel, and Frisk would have come, but they were too preoccupied in some sort of boxing match or something. Nobody really knew why they weren't there, so they all made their best guess.
"Sans. There is no way they are on the moon right now." Papyrus said, managing not to laugh.
"Oh really? I think we should ask the smart person." For whatever reason, Sans was proudly looking at Papyrus, as if he thought the Dreemurs could be on the moon when he said, "Alphys, could Asgore, Toriel, and the kid be on the moon?"
Alphys chuckled. Did he really think they were on the moon? No, it couldn't be... he was just acting. "Uh, n-no." she said with a smile.
Undyne groaned. "Stop the jokes, dude! I heard a human say today that Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, so we should be sharing what we're thankful for!"
Sans knew exactly what to say to that. "Okay. I'm thankful for pine needles."
Alphys raised an eyebrow. "I-is that a way o-of saying y-you're thankf-ful for b-being on the s-surface?"
"I am thankful for that, but no, it's a way of saying I'm thankful for pine needles."
Alphys saw Undyne getting angrier. Before she was about to shout, Alphys cut in frantically with, "U-um, I'm th-thankful f-for all of you!"
Undyne smiled. "Oh yeah?! Well, I'm thankful for everybody, even if they're annyoing! Beat that!" Alphys shook her head. Undyne could be so goofy. She loved it.
Papyrus was up for the challenge. "I'm thankful everybody and this house!" he exclaimed.
"Well I'm thankful for every house! And every non-house!"
"Well I'm thankful for... for..." Papyrus was having trouble thinking up something else, but he couldn't lose this far in. "Well, I'm thankful for... uh... pine... needles."
"I win." Undyne said, disappointedly.
"I'm thankful you won." Papyrus said happily, assuring her he wasn't upset.
She gasped. "Nevermind, you win!"
--
"Frisk, it does not seem very safe to climb the mountain! Maybe we should enter from where the barrier used to be!" A purple-robed goat called from halfway up Mt. Ebbot.
But Frisk had already climbed it all. They were really excited.
"Oh dear. We're going to have to climb faster." Asgore sighed.
Frisk patiently sat at the entrance of the mountain for 5 minutes until their technically-parents climbed up the mountain. Then, they slowly and carefully climbed down.
"Hey, Asriel!"
Up from the bed of flowers appeared a lonely, confused plant. "What?" Who was there?
Oh. The flower quickly ducked under the ground, and started burrowing away.
Frisk was there when he surfaced. Hooray.
The grumpy grouch looked quickly around him, and was relieved Toriel and Asgore were farther away, and hadn't heard what Frisk said. "I told you not to call me that, remember?!" He whispered harshly, "What are you even doing here?!"
"Today is a holiday. Thanksgiving, a day where everyone has a feast and spends time together."
Asriel raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And I wanted to spend time with you. And so did they." Frisk gestured to their mom and dad, who were somehow more out of breath than Frisk was.
The boy stared at Frisk for a couple seconds before speaking. "Wow. I knew you were an idiot, but I didn't think you were this bad!"
Frisk was confused. "Don't you think mom and dad would be happy to see their son?"
"No!" Flowey quickly lowered his volume and continued. "No, can't you imagine?!" He changed his face to look like Asgore's and starting whispering again in a voice resembling his. "Oh my! Our son is alive! And he's full of hatred and he's soulless and misses our other child and my heart is crushed!" he spat. "Isn't this day so great?!"
Frisk frowned. "Mm... I see your point... You... don't have to tell them... You could just hang out with them. Don't you want to hang out with someone?"
"No!"
"You do, I can tell. Mom, dad, here's my friend I told you about!"
As the two walked over, Asriel put on the happiest expression he could. "Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"
--
"P-Papyrus?" Alphys whispered, "Uh, I-I d-don't know w-why I'm a-asking you about th-this, but..." She looked pretty scared. "W-what sh-should someo-one do i-if they d-don't want to l-live?"
"Oh, they should think of something that makes them happy!"
"S-something th-that makes them happy?" she muttered.
"Yeah, like backpacks, if backpacks make you happy. Why do you ask?"
Realization hit Papyrus like a train going full speed. Alphys could tell. He was just sitting there, staring at her, and not looking very happy.
Alphys was getting more anxious by the second. Papyrus wanted to help, so he was going to tell. He was going to tell Sans and tell Undyne she needed help again.
But he didn't. "Alphys, why do you want to?"
She looked down and shut her eyes. "I j-just c-can't... do this an-nymore..."
It wasn't a very good answer but Papyrus could work with it. He nodded. "I understand that. What... what makes you happy?"
He... understood? No, no one understood Alphys. He was just saying that... "Um, my-my f-friends make me h-happy, k-kind of?"
Papyrus looked down. "Do... I make you happy?"
"O-of course!" The lizard answered quickly, "Y-you're my friend too!" But even with a friend around, she felt lost. She wanted to cry. "B-but st-still, I-I'm not sure w-what to do..."
Papyrus put his arm on her back. "Hey, I feel that way too, sometimes. Yesterday, I-I wanted to... not live... but I couldn't. And I didn't. I... I'm sorry you're feeling this way... um..."
Papyrus didn't know what else to say. Luckily, at least for the moment, that was all Alphys needed- knowing that someone was going through the same struggles as her. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Oh, I didn't do anything."
Asgore munched on his sandwich. It wasn't really Thanksgiving food, but it was food, so he didn't care. "So, you've stayed under here even when the barrier was broken?"
Asriel, who his parents now knew as Flowey, was eating grass. Just kidding he was eating carrots. Grass, carrots, same thing. "Yup."
This caused the once-king to frown. "That must be hard."
"Eh, you get used to it."
Everybody frowned, especially Toriel. "That's terrible, Flowey! I have an idea."
"Woah, that's new. An idea from you."
Toriel ignored the insult. "Why don't you come and live with us? You'd have to switch houses every week or so, but..."
Right when Asriel was about to say no, Frisk said yes.
"Well, that's settled then!" Asgore exclaimed.
"What?" Asriel yelled.
"Flowey, welcome to the family!"
"What...?" The trapped child looked up at him, wearing an expression that seemed to show gratitude. "I-I... you can't..."
His mother smiled warmly. "We can."
On the day of Thanksgiving, a child and her parents brought home a sentient flower in a small glass of water. The flower, who wasn't comfortable being around two of the three people helping him, told the shortest one.
"Don't worry," they said, filled with determination, "Sometimes, change is good. And I think you'll enjoy this change," the child lowered their voice so only the flower could hear him before adding, "Asriel."
So to the surface they went, starting something new.
Laughter was heard in the house of Sans and Papyrus. An exasperated fish was also heard. "Everybody here has a weird sense of humor."
Alphys saw her chance and took it. "S-so, you have a-a w-weird s-sense of humor too." She beamed.
The exasperated fish was now chuckling. "Okay, I'll laugh at that one."
That day, Papyrus came to a realization: he loved Thanksgiving.