A/N Everything Undertale belongs to Toby Fox; Ginny, as well as anything unfamiliar, is of my creation.
Ginny screamed and jumped away from the railing, swinging her arms back. Unbeknownst to her, she was quickly reaching the other side of the bridge. Before she could catch herself, she tripped backwards over the railing. She tried to scream again as she felt herself falling, but it couldn't come out.
Not that it would do her any good.
She grunted as she felt long, bony arms catch her. They knocked painfully into her upper back and the backs of her knees, even through her overcoat and clothes. She looked up as she caught her breath, and saw that the skeleton that had scared her was the one who caught her. He must have been fast to move from essentially one side of the bridge to the other in that short amount of time.
His skull looked like a cartoonist's attempt at drawing a skeleton. His square jaw was long and blunt, as were his teeth. His eye sockets were tall and dark, yet still somehow friendly. What little she could see of his outfit was a round and white chest with some sort of symbol, and he wore a red cape that was somehow blowing behind him, despite the rain, and there being no wind.
At least, she thought they were a he.
"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" he asked. She flinched at the high volume of his voice, especially with him shouting near her ear. His voice was high-pitched, yet had a bit of grit to it. It reminded her of a supervillain in an old, cheesy cartoon.
She squirmed and writhed until she finally rolled out of his arms. She fell onto her hands and knees, groaning in pain through clenched teeth. She quickly stood up and tried to run. When she looked back on that memory, she wasn't sure if she was afraid of him, or if she had gotten so used to not hanging around people that she had become awkward and antisocial. But regardless, she tried to escape.
But apparently, he didn't want her to leave. He managed to grab her hand, tight enough to stop her, but not so tight that it hurt. Instead of skeletal fingers, she felt a large mitten wrapped around her wrist. When she looked back, they were the same red as his scarf. As were his big boots. His arms, legs, and waist—backbone?—were wrapped in what looked like black pantyhose, and he had very short blue shorts with a golden belt.
"I-I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, trying to pull her hand from his grip. Even though he wasn't hurting her, he was still strong. "I'm sorry for s-screaming! P-please let me go!"
He either didn't hear her, or he didn't listen. Instead, his eyes widened until they were round, and they somehow sparkled. "WAIT! WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO BE THE SISTER OF FRISK?" The corners of his mouth had risen into a smile, as if his face was flesh instead of bone.
This made her freeze. Her own eyes widened as she stared at the skeleton, who was still holding her wrist. "H-how do you know Frisk?"
The skeleton had introduced himself as Papyrus; or as he called himself, "THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" As he led her towards the monster neighborhood, he explained just how he knew Frisk. Upon her request, he even described Frisk, just so she knew they were her sibling. And they were just as she remembered: olive skin, short chestnut hair, and narrow dark-brown eyes. They had even been wearing the same clothes as she last remembered them wearing: their blue jumpsuit with purple stripes, and brown slip-on shoes.
Once that had been cleared up, Papyrus was more than delighted to tell her the tale of how Frisk had fallen into the underground and met up with all sorts of monsters. He had confessed to being employed to capture humans, as they were apparently needed to break the barrier keeping them in the underground to begin with. "BUT THEY WERE JUST SO KIND! AND LOVED PUZZLES, JUST AS I DO! IT DIDN'T EVEN MATTER THAT I WAS UNABLE TO CAPTURE THEM IN THE END. THEY FREED US ALL!"
When Ginny asked how long ago Frisk had come to them, the dates matched up. It had been mere days, if not only one, after they had ran away. He even revealed that the ambassador, whom had spoken so highly of and for monsters, was Frisk themselves. It hurt that they had been kept anonymous, as she could have found them earlier.
"DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, TALL HUMAN!" Papyrus said. "ASGORE'S CL—I MEAN, TORIEL, HAD REQUESTED THAT THEIR IDENTITY BE KEPT A SECRET! I BELIEVE IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE A SMALL CHILD."
That made sense, but it still didn't feel good.
Finally, they reached the monster neighborhood. Rather than like a human neighborhood, where the houses were largely similar, save for maybe colors and materials, each house was unique in its own way. Some were large, some were small. Some were isolated, some were so close together they were only a few steps apart. And some even looked like they had different environments, like watery swamps or barren deserts. How this was accomplished, Ginny could only guess via magic.
If she was being honest, the neighborhood was very charming. Everywhere she looked, there was something new or interesting to look at. Some of the monsters were out on their porches or lawns. They waved and shouted greetings to Papyrus, and to her, calling her 'new human'. They didn't make her feel strange or different. They treated her as if she was one of them; a potentially-new friend.
The house they were headed to was close to normal-looking. It definitely looked like an average human house, but looked to be made of purple stones. The two stairs leading to the porch, one on each side, were made of gray stone. Between the stairs was a pile of red and orange leaves. Green vines grew on either side of the door, and there was a stone tablet between them and above the door. On the tablet was some sort of symbol. It looked like a crest, with three triangles, a circle, and a pair of angel wings within the lineart.
"WELL, HERE WE ARE! THE HOME OF TORIEL!" Papyrus said, still quite loud.
"And Frisk is here?" She stared at the door, wringing her hands. She pressed her lips together, and began to feel herself shake. Finally, after so long, she would be reunited with the last of her family.
"PRECISELY!" Upon seeing Ginny's nervous posture and expression, he gently laid a hand on her back and smiled. Though it was a kind smile, it still unnerved her to see how malleable his bones were. Then again, he was a monster. From what little she had seen and had much heard, they didn't necessarily obey physics.
"THERE IS NO NEED TO BE FRIGHTENED," he said as they slowly walked up the porch. He seemed to be making an effort to lower his voice, whether it was so he didn't disturb the occupants inside the house, or to try and not make her more nervous. He gestured to the door with his free hand. "TORIEL IS ONE OF THE MOST KIND AND GENTLE MONSTERS I KNOW! SHE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO MEET YOU!"
She took a deep breath, and then let it out. If what he said was true, and Frisk was indeed here, she didn't want to waste any more time. But if they weren't here, and it was some sort of trap, she was ready to bolt.
She walked to the door, glancing at the windows. The drawn curtains were peach-colored, and were solid enough that she couldn't see if there were shadows of people inside, much less if the lights were on or off. She tapped her fingertips together several times before gathering her nerve up enough to finally knock on the door.
She backed away a step, flinching when she bumped into Papyrus, as the door opened. They were a tall monster, taller than Papyrus, resembling a goat in the face, and a lion in the paws and feet. Their thick fur was white with a hint of cream, their ears flopped in front of two small horns, and their reddish-brown eyes were kind, reminding her of a gentle parent. They wore a purple dress with long white sleeves, and had the symbol from the tablet on the chest in white and blue.
"Oh, well hello," she greeted with a soft smile. Her voice sounded old, though more like an aunt than a grandmother. "I wasn't expecting visitors, but welcome. My name is Toriel."
Ginny nodded in response, struggling to find the right words. "I... um... is F-Frisk here?"
"Frisk?" Toriel blinked in surprise.
Just as she was worried that her second intuition was right, and that she had walked into a trap, a small child peeked around the monster. They looked up at her, eyes widening and jaw dropping.
Her knees buckled under her until she fell on them on the porch, barely feeling the pain of collapsing on the concrete. After momentarily freezing, her heart was pounding. Tears burned her eyes. She held out her shaking arms and whispered hoarsely, as if she had been screaming, "Frisk!"
Frisk practically leaped at her chest, wrapping their arms tightly around their sister. They barely seemed to realize that she was hardly dressed for visiting anyone. All that mattered was they were reunited, at long last.
Ginny hugged them close, as if worried they would disappear again. She cupped the back of their head as they nuzzled their face into the crook of her neck. As tears fell down her own face, she could feel wetness smear against her throat, and heard sniffling. "I missed you too," she whispered. "So very much."
After several seconds, she felt eyes on her. Blinking the tears away, she looked up. Toriel had her paws to her mouth, but she could see that she was smiling. Her eyes were also sparkling with unshed tears.
Behind her was a new monster. This one was short, shorter than her, Toriel, or Papyrus, yet taller than Frisk. They were also a skeleton, but their skull was much more round and cartoon-looking, with a wide cheerful grin and round glowing eyes. They were dressed in a blue coat lined with short gray fur, a white shirt, black basketball shorts, and pink slippers. Their hands were stuffed in their pockets, and they were looking at Ginny and Frisk with what could only be described as curiosity.
"... you must be ginny," he remarked. His voice was deep, yet jolly-sounding. Unlike Papyrus, his teeth didn't move when he talked.
What have I gotten myself into?