Hello audience. Here is more of the story for your enjoyment. The story of Frisk the Undetermined continues. Hope you enjoy.
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Chapter 1: Grillbys
"Three burgers over here, Frisk!" A teenager of about eighteen years turned her head in the direction of the voice and nodded her head in acknowledgement. She was the sole waitress of Grillby's Bar, and thus constantly found herself moving about with little time for rest. Luckily, the place wasn't usually very busy, and the small size made it easy to move from one place to another. Plus, the roller skates that Grillbys had given her helped a lot. It had taken a while to learn how to carry plates and skate at the same time though. If she thought back on her first few months on the job. She shuddered. There was no way she'd saved him more than she'd cost him.
Turning and heading in Grillby's direction, she called out, "Yeah! I'm on it." Her short white skirt blew lightly against her legs as she moved, though it still held her tucked in blue, button up shirt in place. She skidded to a stop next to him and held out her platter. Grillby smiled and set the three hamburgers on top of it.
Grillby, the owner of said bar, was unique even in the bizarre world that Frisk now called home. He was humanoid, though his entire body was made out of solid flame. His head was more unique though, curled back into the typical image of a flame that people drew, and with only eyes where his face should have been. Frisk had often wondered how the monster could even speak. He wore a pair of glasses over said eyes, likely so that he looked a bit less intimating. He also wore a button up, short sleeved tux shirt, a black vest, and really professional looking jeans. Somehow, despite his lack of a mouth, he always seemed to be smiling.
"Not sure why you even have a menu, Grilz," she said with a slight chuckle. "You only serve one kind of food." Not quite true. He also served one kind of drink, but that didn't really make the menu any more necessary. He gave her his typical response, a shrug, and motioned for her to go deliver the food. Frisk dashed away.
Five years had disappeared in what seemed like the flash of an eye, only a couple days until her eighteen birthday, and the fifth anniversary of her final return to the past. It felt weird. After so much time spent jumping around in time, anywhere between twenty and fifty years worth, she'd lost count, for time to just run linearly. But she'd given up trying to make the world a better place. Who was she to assume she could do that? And things here… the simple slow passing of time… it felt nice in a way. Things were ok.
The door to the bar swung open dramatically, and before she even had time to look, Frisk knew who had entered. Only one person ever attempted to look cool walking into Grillby's. Dropping off the burgers, which took only a matter of seconds, Frisk turned to look in the direction of the now open doors. Sure enough, the entrance had been made by her best friend, Megan, who was at the moment striding into the room as one would expect an action movie hero to. It was likely because she'd seen too many Mettaton films, but Frisk wasn't really one to talk. She'd seen them all, probably almost as many times as Megan had.
Megan was a yellow stegosaurus of sorts, her body resembling a human dinosaur hybrid. She had a tail, two human legs, a relatively human shaped head with a snout, and a smile set of stegosaurus horns running from the top of her head to the back of her neck. Also of note were her metal arms, an addition that a mutual friend of theirs had made for her a year or so back.
The apparel she had adopted, however, hadn't come from a film that had been made by Mettaton, or by any monster for that matter. She preferred to dress as the iconic action hero, Indiana Jones. She wore the hat, the vest, a whip slung over her left shoulder, an adventurer belt from her shoulder to her hip, the white shirt, and the leather vest. She wore an identical looking shoulder bag, and even had a revolver in a holster on her hip. Frisk had seen her using it before, and there was no denying that the girl was skilled.
Of course she was also… As Frisk was thinking the thought, Megan took five steps into the bar, tripped, and fell. She'd been learning how to catch herself using her arms, but as they were a relatively new addition to her body, it hadn't yet developed into a natural reaction. As a result, they didn't move fast enough, and Megan ended up on the ground in a hump.
Eyes darting back to see how Grillby was doing on the next orders, Frisk set her empty platter on an empty table. Then she skated over to her friend, and helped her back to her feet. Sure, Megan could have done it by herself, even before she had arms, but that didn't mean she wouldn't appreciate the help.
"One of these days we are going to have to find a way to make sure you aren't so top heavy," Frisk said with a chuckle as Megan got back to her feet.
"Thanks," Megan said with a smile, but recoiled at the very mention of a change of wardrobe. "B…But I spent so much time on this outfit, Frisk…" She motioned up and down it. "I am Indiana Megan, discoverer of mysterious things and researcher of ancient stuff! This outfit is critical!" She sat down in an empty booth with a sigh. Then she smirked and said, "I'll have the usual."
Frisk returned the smirk. The usual was what most people ordered. It meant they wanted both items that Grillby served. There were really only three orders she ever got. Food, Drink, and The Usual. On the rare occasion somebody would come in and ask what they had on the menu. Which was probably why Grillby had it. Frisk giggled at the memory of the last time it had happened. It was always rather entertaining watching somebody's facial reaction upon opening the menu and reading, "Hamburger – Drink."
Skating back over to the empty table, Frisk picked up her platter and carried it back into the kitchen. "Megan wants The Usual," she said with a smile. Grillby's nod was nearly imperceptible, as he didn't even turn from the grill, but Frisk had gotten quite good at noticing it. Quickly taking the now finished meals, she raced back around and dropped them off. Then she came to a stop once more at Megan's table.
Placing her elbows on the table so that she could relax a minute, Frisk continued their conversation. "Your outfit is fine," she said as she gave it another once over. "Actually, I think it works pretty well for you. But…" she glanced at the metal arms. "We just need to find a way to put some weight on the bottom…"
"Yeah," came a familiar voice, chortling as he spoke. "But then wouldn't she be a bit Bottom Heavy?" The voice came from the booth seat that Megan was sitting on. Only she was on the outside portion, and the voice was coming from the inside. Basically, it should have been impossible for anybody to get there, as they would have had to slide through Megan. Yet, there he was, a young smiling skeleton.
"Eh?" he said with a chuckle, nudging Megan. Megan simply blushed. The skeleton coughed, as if attempting to cover up that he had been laughing. "Not funny, huh? My bad. Couldn't resist." He glanced between Megan and Frisk. "I'll have what she's having." Which was a kinda odd thing to say, as he most certainly hadn't been there when she ordered. But Frisk had long ago stopped trying to understand Sans the Skeleton.
As she turned to go, Sans cleared his throat. "I suppose Megan is probably here for the same reason that I am. With Toriel out of town for her monthly expedition to The Flowerbed to see if there are any more fallen humans, Pap was wondering if you had any plans for the next few days. He sent me to ask."
Frisk's emotion changed for a couple of seconds as she thought about the future. She hadn't been doing much of that lately. The closer it came to the anniversary, the less she tried to look ahead. It was too painful, and left her way too unstable. So all she could give was a general response.
"Not much. Probably wander around town. See what's up with the people here. Visit the library." Sans opened his mouth to say something else, but Frisk cut him off. Grillby was probably wondering what was taking her so long. "I… should probably get your order in. I am on the clock." She turned and skated hurriedly back over to Grillby.
As soon as Frisk was no longer in earshot, Sans turned his attention to Megan. "So…" Megan whispered, "Any news on the SITUATION? Heard anything from You Know Who yet?"
You Know Who. Sans couldn't bear to hear the name these days, but even those three words brought him a lot of pain. There had been silence for years, and it was unsettling. There wasn't even any guarantee that the man was still alive. After all, nothing like this had ever happened before. But without him, Sans felt like he was groping in the dark. And he hated that feeling.
"No," Sans finally replied, with a heavy hearted sigh. "Same as always. Still nothing but static. But the feeling in my gut is getting worse. Something really bad is on the horizon. And I am afraid." He'd never admitted that aloud before. Not even back when Chara was still… He shuddered and pushed the thought out of his head. So many terrible memories. So many regrets. "Toriel. If we ever do see her again, it won't be for a very, very long time." As he finished, his signature smile returned. A mask to hide his true emotions from the world.
Picking up Megan's food, and telling Grillby Sans' order, Frisk headed back to the table where he friends were whispering. She wondered curiously what they were talking about. She knew Megan was head-over-heels for Sans, but she wasn't sure the skeleton's feelings. Despite how close they had been at one time, she made sure to keep him at a distance now. He could read people too well, and she didn't want him reading her.
Unbidden, the image replayed in her head. Sans, covered in blood, looking at her with such pity. She'd seen him die… had caused it. But she'd learned how to hide those thoughts. Hopefully well enough that he'd never find them. She just had to push them down, like he did. Pretend everything was ok. That she was fine without the calming effect of having her mother around, that she didn't still have nightmares.
She always had this fear though, a fear of what she would become if Toriel were no longer around. If she would be able to keep herself from… changing. But Toriel would be fine. She always was. Nothing ever happened on her journeys to the flowerbed. The feeling was hard to shake though. After all, she'd killed Toriel herself on one such visit. If another human happened to fall down, who was to say that they wouldn't do the same?
She stopped next to Sans and Megan who had suddenly fallen strangely silent. "What were you two lovers talking about?" She asked with a wink. Megan blushed and Sans appeared awkward. "Just kidding. I heard you whispering something about Mom?"
Sans recovered quickly, going back to playing it cool. "Yeah, we were discussing whether or not Toriel would mind you coming over to mine and Pap's house for the weekend. I really don't like thinking about you being alone in that house. I mean, you are still a human after all. What if something happened?"
Frisk blinked, taken aback. Had he read into her thoughts just now or something? Megan, to her surprise, also seemed displeased with the idea. Perhaps she didn't like the thought of her being alone with Sans? "Jealous," she asked Megan with a knowing grin.
"No," Megan replied, attempting placate her emotions. "I just think it's completely unnecessary. I mean, this happens every single month, at pretty much the exact same time. You've never had a problem before, so it shouldn't be a big deal. You're almost eighteen. I was simply trying to explain to Sans that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself."
"That is flawed logic, and you know it," Sans pointed out, remaining calm. "Just because a problem hasn't happened before, doesn't mean that it won't. And the fact that she is almost eighteen is the reason why she shouldn't be left alone. All three of us know the repercussions. She may be Toriel's daughter, but as a human, she still isn't very popular, and her diplomatic immunity has almost worn out. And a few eccentric people…" Undyne the Undying was one such monster that came to mind. "…may not be willing to wait a week."
Frisk liked Sans' idea, to an extent. She had no intention of spending time at the house with Sans, but hanging out with Papyrus always made her feel better. Besides, there was something she was more afraid of than being around Sans', and that was being alone. The monsters didn't scare her. She'd long ago proven that she could handle herself against anything they could dish out, but being alone was never truly alone. She was still out there.
The nightmare girl, the one who had convinced her to try the genocide route, the one who had encouraged her the entire time. The one who had spent the first three yeas of this run attempting to make her lose control again. Sure, Chara hadn't said a word in over two years, but it didn't feel like she'd left. Rather that she was just biding her time.
"I wouldn't mind staying with you guys," Frisk responded. "I could work with Papyrus on his puzzles." Puzzles designed to capture humans, ironically enough. The puzzles were set up by the extension of the Royal Guard that Papyrus led in Snowdin. And as there really wasn't much trouble in the backwater town, that was literally all they did. Frisk wasn't a part of it, as much as she wanted to be, because Undyne had made it clear. No humans in the Royal Guard. She had, however, on a number of trips, helped Papyrus to set up traps.
Sans nodded, pleased with her reaction. A couple regulars who had just entered the building called for Frisk and she skated off to get their orders. Sans smiled as he watched her go. She was clearly in a lot of pain, but she hid it at least as well as he did. Took a phony to tell a phony though, and he was as phony as they came. Maybe that was why he always felt such a kinship to the human girl. Well… that, and she reminded him of Chara.
"What are you thinking?" Megan asked with clear concern.
"She is going to either be in the same house as me, or with Papyrus, when things go down. Either of us should be more than enough to protect her."
"But what if the silence finally breaks? I mean, we need it to! If You Know Who doesn't respond soon, we could easily end up way over our heads. And do you realize how suspicious it is going to look for her to be going in and out of Papyrus's room, while being absolutely forbidden to even open your door? This is not a good idea, Sans!"
Sans eyes darkened, and his smile turned into a frown. "I would rather have her uncover all of my secrets, even the ones that you don't know yet, rather than having her be killed by some unknown evil when I could have prevented it." Megan looked away, as she always did when Sans got like this. It was at times like this, when his dark side began to come through, that she was reminded of just how dangerous the skeleton was. When she looked back up, he was gone.
The diner had gotten busy, and Frisk found herself running from table to table to table, dropping off food and picking up orders. She preferred times like this, moments that didn't give her time to think. It was the main reason she'd gotten the job. The other was to help her mother pay the bills. But in all honesty, that had been a close second. Nothing was more important than forgetting. It wasn't until Sans' food was ready that she was able to make it back to his table, only to discover, that per usual, he had up and vanished.
She set his burger down in his empty space. He could always magically appear and eat it later if he wanted. She'd have to remember to make him pay before she delivered his order the next time though. Megan looked troubled, and she had a couple minutes before the next burgers were ready so Frisk sat down on the seat across from her. "What's up?"
"Sans," Megan said with a sigh. "Sometimes I don't understand him at all. The closer I get to him, the further it feels like he is pulling away. He still keeps so many secrets. The more I learn the more I wonder if I will ever know who he truly is. Sometimes it just seems impossible."
"No," Frisk replied hurriedly. "Don't give up. Never give up. Nothing is impossible." Hypocrite. That's what she was at the moment. She glanced around at the monsters happily eating their food, chatting back and forth and laughing. She'd quit. The monsters were still trapped underground. No closer to getting free. Hundreds of runs, hundreds of tries, and they were still just as trapped as ever. They'd decided to make the most of their lives though, just as she had learned to. Every day, when she woke up, she made a vow to make the most of the life she was now living.
"Tell you what," she said. "How about you come with me to their house this weekend? You might be able to learn more about the ol' bonehead."
Megan's eyebrows instantly raised. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer, I'd love it to be honest, but are you really sure you are even allowed to invite me over to somebody else's house for the weekend?" She bit into the hamburger thoughtfully, still thinking about what Sans had said to her before disappearing. As she did, her emotions simultaneous changed.
It was something that always left Frisk unsettled. It was almost as if whatever weird darkness held Sans in its death grip, was now reaching out and grabbing hold of Megan as well. Her dark side would come, her face darkening, her lighthearted mood being replaced with a frightening intensity, and her demeanor itself becoming unsettling. "Have you felt it, Frisk? It's everywhere. I feel it. I taste it. It races through every pore of my being, both physical and mental."
Megan looked up, her eyes staring into Frisk's. Frisk's heart began to race, her pulse quickening. It sent a shiver running down her spine and she involuntarily shuddered. Megan's eyes were dark, terrifyingly dark, as if something else had come over her. It felt like she was staring deep into Frisk's soul and could read it her like a book. Yet, as always happened when Sans gave her that look, she found herself unable to look away. Standing up abruptly, Megan strode over to the bar's door. She turned around and said one more word. "Beware." Then she strode out into the darkness.
"I… What!?" Frisk called after Megan, heart beating even faster now. But of course, there was no response. She let loose one or two breaths, attempting to calm down her heart rate. That girl was definitely spending way too much time with Sans. She'd kept hoping Megan's charm would rub off on Sans, but as of yet, it was clearly vice versa. The last time Sans had gotten that intense though wasn't even in this timeline, and it was never a good thing.
She tentatively reached up and moved her hand through the air, sniffing as well. It seemed same as always to her, nothing that bizarre about it. She glanced around at the monsters, who were still giving off that general air of contentment. They didn't seem to have any clue what Megan was talking about. Perhaps it was a Sans thing? A part of her wanted to rush after Megan, but Grillby was calling her name, and the customers were waiting for food. So, standing back to her feet and dusting off her outfit, she headed back to the kitchen.
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Inside of a house that defied physics, by having no foundation and walls that were all together toll thin, a girl who looked strikingly similar to Frisk lounged on a satin black couch. Everything in the house was a dark black or purplish color, even the books on the bookshelves. And the clothes that the girl wore. Her ears each had three earrings, and her hair was died dark black with a purple stripe. Too much makeup and eyeliner added to the effect of her pale skin and red eye. Very emo in appearance.
She could feel it. The stench, and it had woken her up. Things were going to change at last. After two long years of waiting, sleeping, building the house for no other reason than that she had nothing better to do. Looking out the window of her house, she observed the restaurant of Grillbys.
"You tried so hard, Frisk," she thought to herself. "Nobody would ever deny that. But as I told you such a very long time ago, sooner or later, you are going to belong to me!" She kept silent though, biding her time. Frisk would find out soon enough, and then shed step in. For now, it was simply time to enjoy the show.
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Hours passed. Customers came and went. Frisk ran around wildly, attempting to keep up. For whatever reason, it was a very busy day. Towards the end, however, the store became silent. Nobody coming or going. Outside she could see the wind beginning to pick up, the snow beginning to swirl. A blizzard, pretty much an anomaly in Snowdin as it had only happen twice before in the last five years. About an hour before the typical closing time, Grillby declared that there was little point in continuing to be open.
Frisk grabbed her jacket, clocked out, and turned to leave. Then she stopped and glanced back at Grillby. "You going to be ok out there?" It was blizzarding and he was made of fire, so it made her rather anxious.
"Yeah," he said with a nod of his head. "I should be fine. Thanks for the concern though." The two of them stepped outside, and Grillby locked the door behind them. "I won't be opening tomorrow," he told her as the two began to go their separate ways. "I have some other things I'll be attending to. See you on Monday."
Frisk waved goodbye and began the long trek to Sans' house. The roads were deserted. Clearly nobody thought venturing out into the cold like this was a good idea. Frisk didn't disagree. Even for Snowdin, it was freezing. The wind rushed past her, and she clutched her coat tightly to herself. Where did the wind even come from? It was a question that she had asked herself a number of times while in Snowdin. I mean, they were underground.
She looked up, but as always was unable to see the ceiling at the top of the cavernous world. She knew it was there though. After all, there were never any stars up there. She shook her head, and turned her attention back to what mattered most. Getting to Sans house and out of the freezing cold.
Her thoughts coming back to what was happening around her, Frisk started to frown. As the wind pushed past her, she felt she could hear something. A voice, barely audible, calling out to her. But try as she might, she couldn't figure out if it was anything more than normal wind sounds mixed with her imagination and anxiety.
That was when she saw it, lying half-buried next to the Christmas tree in the center of town. A shoe with the word NIKE on it. Unmistakably from the world above. How in the world had it gotten down here? She paused again, listening to the wind, but she couldn't hear the voice anymore, if it had been there at all.
"Hello?" she called out into the darkness. "Is there anybody out there? Is there are human out there somewhere?" But nobody came. Genocide. The word raced through her mind, and she felt her heart beginning to beat faster again. "Calm down," she hissed at herself. Everybody was inside because of the storm. They weren't dead.
"Frisk? What are you doing there?" Megan called out, tapping on her shoulder, appearing as if out of the air itself. Of course, it was way more likely that she had simply been walking through the snow. Visibility was near zero, and Sans was the only one who could teleport. Right? "It's really cold out here, and you've been standing staring at that tree for the last ten minutes. What in the world are you thinking?" She glanced around but saw nothing of note. The shoe had long ago been buried in the snow.
When Frisk gave no response, Megan took her by the hand. "You must be suffering from frostbite or something. Come on. I am getting you to Sans house right now." As she strode roughly through the snow, Megan's eyes darted around warily. It was odd, as if she expected something dark and sinister to come barreling out of the snow at any moment.
Although it was only a five minute trip to Sans, the shivering cold and blinding snowstorm made it feel closer to an hour. Finally, Sans' house came into view, and Megan breathed an audible sigh of relief. Nothing had came out of the darkness, no demons, no humans, nothing. Finally, they had arrived at Sans' house.
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A NIKE Shoe. A mysterious feeling. And an unstable young girl. Frisk's peaceful world is about to fall apart. ;) Please read and review.
