A-n-B: Sorry this took so long. There is sin within so hopefully that will make up for it? Good luck.
Part 4: Technicolor Beat
...
Frisk woke as if she was breaching the surface of water, breath gasping, heart pounding, cheeks flushed.
Her lips tingled to the touch.
She was sitting up in bed, looking around her room in a daze, eyes focusing and unfocusing until the railing at the end of her bed became an abstracted blur, mind going a mile a minute.
Of course she had kissed before, she wasn't completely inept. Hell, she had lost her virginity at the ripe age of 19 in an admittedly grief fueled recklessness after her mother had passed and had engaged in her sexuality several times since.
But this had been different.
There was a sweetness to it that she couldn't quite pin down.
And it had only been a kiss.
She was brought out of her internal contemplation by the doorbell.
Frisk looked over at her bedside clock, who would be here this early in the morning?
Savoring the warmth that still filled every vein from Sans' sudden embrace she got herself out of bed, pulling on some cotton shorts from her dresser, adjusting her baggy sleep shirt after, a small 'coming!' yelled towards the bell that was rung again.
Bare feet padded their way down the worn wooden stairs, with a practiced swing around the banister her body rounded towards the front door, hand gently leaving the carved wood that had assisted in her turn.
Running a hand gingerly through her brown bed-tangled strands she pulled the front door open.
There stood a bashful Sans, handsome and smiling, hands stuffed deeply in his pockets.
"so, uh, nice weather we're havin'..." He trailed off, a blush filling his cheeks.
Frisk couldn't help but tease him a bit, "I have been looking rather sun-kissed lately."
His blush deepened, eyes averted, "e-heh, yeah well," he composed himself, blue eyes holding her hazel gaze, "can you blame the sun?"
Her smile became embarrassed, Sans took a step forward.
"can i come in? thought i'd help you look..." He stood close enough for her to feel his heat radiate off of him. Frisk felt a headiness radiate from her chest, an almost desperate tinge of need spreading all the way to her fingertips.
Sans must have felt it too, his hand reached out and caressed the side of the shorter girl's head, fingers lacing and tangling in messy hair, "unless you've got something else in mind."
She instinctually leaned into the touch, though when it had become instinct she couldn't say, eyes closing, "Didn't you have some promise to Undyne about helping her this morning?" Frisk hummed, voice quiet and soft.
"this is why i hate promises," he smirked, leaning close, "they always seem to get broken."
His lips were on hers again and Frisk sighed into the embrace, arms wrapping around the slightly taller male's neck.
He leaned his weight against her, pushing her back into the house, kicking the door closed behind him.
Frisk gently pushed him against the now closed door, kiss broken, eyes half-lidded. He looked down at her sweetly, leaning forward to embrace her lips again, mouth parting as tongues met.
The heat of their breath mingled, flushing cheeks as hands moved to touch more.
Frisk's went to his firm shoulders, sliding under the baggy jacket to help coax it off. Sans shifted to permit the removal of the garment, arms sliding out of it and finding purchase on her hips to pull her closer, jacket discarded on the hardwood.
Her fingertips took in his shape, he was wider than he appeared, thick and strong. She traced her way back up to his shoulders, his neck, digits curling in his hair as she pulled him closer, trying to get more of his taste, a soft moan falling from her lips and onto his.
Sans became bolder, rough hands slipping under her shirt and heading up her back, tracing her spine along the way. Frisk pulled back and threw the shirt off herself. Breasts bounced as she settled, the male let out a small chuckle.
"well hello there," he commented jokingly, though his tone was unbearably deep and primal.
He met Frisk's eyes, asking for permission. She nodded, guiding a hand to her chest.
He was lost in her skin, large hands grouping and trying to feel as much surface area as possible, their pelvises met, igniting a low groan from Sans. He was hard already.
Frisk smirked, her fingers pulling at the edge of her companion's pants, "Need some help?" She asked coyly, Sans groaned.
"you make everything so hard don't you?" He responded, pulling off his shirt in a swift motion, giving Frisk a good eye full of the complete extent of his tattoos. Every stroke of ink in it's anatomically corresponding place, beautiful in an almost hauntingly morbid sense.
The sight stopped the shorter briefly as she took it in, hand tracing the slope of his ribs, mesmerized by him.
"see something you like?" He asked for the second time in their acquaintance. Frisk wasn't as quick to respond.
She gave him a smile, eyes seductive, "It's possible."
Sans pulled her to him, their bare chests flush against each other and igniting happy sensations in every nerve. The taller male slipped his hands into Frisk's cotton shorts, gripping her behind.
"you're turning out to be a real handful," he gave another playful squeeze before sliding the material off her hips, sliding them down her legs, gently guiding each of her feet out of their confines. He laid soft kisses back up, paying special attention to her knees and inner thighs, gently caressing her skin and reveling in the softness found in every nook.
Frisk fondly ran her hands through his white strands from where she stood above him, giggling the minutest amounts as he laid another kiss in the slope between her hip and pubic bone. Blue eyes glanced up at her at the noise, a smile against her flushed skin.
With a firm push against the top of his shoulders, Frisk guided Sans back into a sitting position, his broad back against the door. She quickly straddled him, moaning as their hips met, she was dripping with want.
She began trailing kisses along his brows, moving to his temple and down his cheek. Sans met her lips again when they finally made their way there, hands greedily exploring the expanse of her skin, grabbing and pulling and kneading. Frisk kept hers busy by freeing her partner's member from the confines of his pants, eagerly taking it in her palm and running the length.
Sans tensed at the touch, but quickly relaxed, the slightest moan escaping as she toyed with the head then firmly gripped the shaft.
The shorter couldn't take much more, that initial heady feeling now overriding any coherent thought that may have filled her head.
Angling her hips forward, she guided him to her folds, pushing his member up and down to lightly lubricate the skin for easier entry. Sans was just as impatient as she was, rough hands holding her hips in place as he took in the woman before him.
With a short glance at each other, Frisk pushed him against her opening, pure ecstasy consuming both their bodies as he slid in to the hilt. Frisk's head tilted back as absolute completeness radiated from her core. This was unlike any sex she had every felt, it was so overwhelming. She tangled her arms around his shoulders as she began to rock back and forth, impaling herself on him as deeply as she could.
Sans kept occasionally alternating his hold between her hips to just under her bottom, guiding her movements with each thrust forward.
They moved in sweet tandem, the taller male nipping softly along the exposed neck in front of him. Frisk moaned at a particularly rough bite.
Sans did what he could to help, but Frisk was largely in control. She picked up the pace of her movements and Sans met her momentum like a champ.
Frisk braced her hands against the door to gain more leverage. She was at the brink of completion, moaning hard with each downward thrust of her weight as she rode him relentlessly, until finally, finally, she peaked, free falling into bliss, allowing Sans to take over.
Without skipping a beat Sans continued to thrust up into her, prolonging her release until it was almost unbearable. He held her close, basking in the feeling of her wrapped around him, the sound of her voice, the grateful glimmer in her eyes as she gazed at him hazily.
Sans felt himself lose the small grasp of control he had, left eye turning gold as he lost any smidgen of restraint, magic unfurling as he too reached his ultimate high. He moaned loudly with several extremely demanding thrusts, pulling her down onto him like no tomorrow.
Breathing was heavy and uneven, both of them panting and smiling like crazy.
"that was-" Sans panted out.
"-I know-" Frisk interjected.
"-incredibl-" he continued.
"-I agree-" the brown haired woman interrupted again.
"-y exhausting." Sans finished. Frisk quirked a sweat slicked brow.
"Oh, not where-" another deep breath, Frisk pushing some stray strands of hair from her face, "- I thought you were going with that."
"hmm?" The other hummed questioningly, "oh, you thought, oh man how embarrassing." He gave her a wide, sated, smirk.
He was blatantly teasing her. Hazel eyes rolled.
He had already softened within her and with a small shift of their hips he slid out completely.
If either of them were embarrassed they didn't show it, which was something completely foreign to Frisk. If there was one common element in all her previous encounters of the primal kind it was this underlying note of awkwardness that made her question entirely her motivation for doing the act in the first place.
But this was something else. She felt safe, comfortable, happy even.
Frisk stood, grabbing up her clothing and slipping on her large shirt to at least have some semblance of modesty, Sans following suit.
She gave a him a nice once over, taking in everything she could about him, the slightly more than usually disheveled hair which was her doing, the nice glisten that had accumulated on his torso causing his tattoos to look even more saturated on his skin tone. A smile tugged at her lips.
"Come on," she held out a hand shyly, "let's get cleaned up."
He took it confidently, lacing their fingers together and bringing the back of her hand to his lips, laying a soft embrace to her skin. She felt warm satisfaction in every pore as she lead him down the hall to the closest bathroom.
They were generally quiet as they helped each other get back to precoitus composure, movements soft and deliberate, sharing an intimate moment.
"almost forgot," Sans' voice was airy, hand going to his jacket pocket and pulling out her locket, he slipped it over her head, gently pulling her hair out of the chain. They shared a caring look, "much better."
Her fingers habitually went to touch the necklace.
The peaceful aura that was radiating between them was interrupted by a rather loud growl from Frisk's stomach.
They both let out a laugh. "Care for some breakfast?" The shorter asked, still stifling her laughter.
It was so ridiculous. All of it. Why now of all times was this happening to her? She had never felt this way and if it didn't feel so great she would say it was inconvenient. She was almost looking forward to her future as a spinster and now she...
Now she what?
They had already made their way to the kitchen, Frisk heading to the fridge to see what she had in order to assemble some form of grub, Sans taking a casual seat on one of the stools along the kitchen's island.
Grabbing a potato, some bell peppers, onion, eggs and cheese she set to make a quick hash scramble.
"Don't expect much okay?" Frisk commented to her companion who was lethargically watching her cut the produce. He smiled lazily, chin on his hand.
"as long as you've got some ketchup for me to drown it in i'll be fine."
She nodded, "I think I can make that happen."
Food cooking, though still giving the pan's contents an occasional stir, Frisk turned back to the white haired male, hip resting against the countertop.
"This is all pretty strange don't you think?" She asked, trying to gain some clarity on what this meant for the two of them.
"if by strange you mean great then yeah," Sans responded indifferently.
Frisk snorted, "Last I checked those words aren't exactly synonymous."
"maybe for me they are," he snarkily retorted.
"To each his own," her focus was back on making food at this point rather than the conversation, cracking several eggs into the pan that was already frying the other ingredients.
They fell into a harmonious silence, the smell of onion and oil filling the kitchen.
She placed a lid on the pan to let it steam and fry for a bit longer, brain free to return to the conversation at hand, "I guess that's a good thing then."
"i'd say it's eggshellent if anything," oh and he had done such a good job refraining from the puns.
She couldn't help but laugh, "now you're just egging me on."
"heh, eggcept that i'm not."
"Well, my brain feels all scrambled from this conversation." Frisk was divvying up the food onto two plates, grabbing some utensils and the container of ketchup in the fridge.
"really? it's cracking me up." Sans gratefully took the extended bottle out of his companion's hand, popping open the top and splattering the condiment liberally over the food before him.
Frisk had her fill of puns for the next forever years and promptly dropped the conversation, opting instead to stuff her face.
She peeked up to observe the male across from her. He appeared to be sufficiently happy with the meal, his movements were definitely more animated then they usually were.
"'s really good, i'm impressed." He complimented through a mouthful.
"Glad it meets eggspectations." How could she resist when he made it so easy?
They fell into another silence. Frisk found herself continuing to steal glances at Sans, mind racing.
"So what does this make us exactly?" She couldn't keep it in anymore.
"hmm?" Sans questioned, needing more clarity.
Frisk gestured vaguely between them with her fork, "Like, how is this going to work?"
Sans became mildly bashful, "i...uhm, ... i'm not really sure."
Well that made two of them. At least he was being honest.
Sans thought on it a moment, "it definitely complicates things..."
Frisk's features fell unconsciously, Sans quickly clarified, reaching out and putting a reassuring hand on her cheek, "i'm the complication Frisk."
She perked up at hearing her name, looking surprised.
He gave her a genuine smile as he scratched the back of his head, "i'm not exactly supposed to be here."
"Because you were supposed to help Undyne?" She was confused.
Sans looked equally so, " huh? oh no, because i, how do i say it..."
He fell silent, thinking his words over carefully, "you know how i said that some souls get stuck?"
Frisk nodded, thinking on the conversation they had the day before.
"well, i guess you could say i'm one of them, most of us back there are. we can't leave the circus." He didn't seem upset, or overly emotional about the information, "well i can, but not for long anyways."
None of this was making sense, "I don't understand." Frisk stated blatantly.
Sans let out an awkward chuckle, "yeah me neither. that's just how it's been for...well for as long as i can remember really. paps and i just ended up there one day and we couldn't leave."
"What do you mean? You're here now right?" She was beyond confused.
"technically yeah." He shrugged.
"What do you mean technically? We just had- we just did-" Frisk was getting flustered, cheeks going bright red, "how could we have...you know..."
"boned?" Sans helpfully supplied with a shit eating grin.
"Sure whatever, if you're only technically here, whatever that means, how did we...?"
He let out a laugh, Frisk was not finding this at all amusing, "it's like how you are at the circus, you're there yeah, even though you're not?"
Frisk thought, then nodded in agreement, blush still prevalent on her cheeks.
"well that's what i am here." He simply stated.
Frisk supposed that his explanation made more sense. She couldn't shift the feeling of uneasiness that came over her though. "I guess that really does complicate things."
"we'll figure something out...that is... if you still want to." Blue eyes looked away embarrassed.
She looked at him fully, finding his averted gaze, "I'm game if you are."
They shared yet another smile, Sans looking relieved in a way she hadn't expected.
He stood, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a hug. She instantly relaxed into the embrace, she felt secure and warm. It was an almost intoxicating feeling.
Food fully consumed and all the happy and strange feelings aside, Sans had arrived partially to help Frisk accomplish something.
"Guess we better get started," Frisk breathed, tilting her head up to look at him, "I don't even really know how much of Chara's stuff I have, it may take awhile."
Sans shrugged, hands laced behind the small of Frisk's back, "we won't know til we start looking."
"Everything's up in the attic."
"lead the way." There was the slightest hint of mischief in his tone which caused Frisk to look at him curiously. He just eyed her complacently as she started walking up the stairs, taking her in from head to toe.
They padded up the stairs, gong down the hallway where the hatch for the attic was placed in the ceiling. Frisk was too short to open it without the aid of a stool or chair.
"Think you could help?" She gestured towards the ceiling, "maybe magic yourself in a useful way?" She playfully wiggled her fingers, giving him a joking nudge with her elbow.
"you can't go magicing all your problems away," he responded, lifting his arm up and on tip toes, fingers almost grazing the ceiling.
She let out a small laugh, not meaning to make fun of him but finding the effort endearing. He glared at her slightly though there was no ill intent.
With a little hop he managed to budge the opening up enough for it to open, a folded staircase nearly crashing to the floor, a thick rain of dust coming with it.
Frisk whipped her hands around, trying to clear the air, giving out a little cough, "Guess it really has been awhile."
"you don't say?," came the sarcastic response, Sans roughly wiping the dust from the shoulders of his jacket.
She rolled her eyes, already heading up into the now accessible room.
Cobwebs had practically created a utopia and a thick layer of dust blanketed every surface. There were boxes and old furniture stacked wall to wall. Small specks danced in the sunlight that beamed through the window placed near the point of the roof.
Sans made his way up, stopping besides her.
"looks like we've got our work cut out for us." His tone dripped with begrudging optimism.
"No time like the present?" She suggested hopefully.
She tried to make her way towards the middle of the room when she nearly fell, slipping on some dust and web mixture on the floor. Luckily she caught herself on a box, though the dirt and grime that had transferred to her hand was particularly unpleasant. She grimaced.
This was going to be harder than she thought.
...
Hours had passed and still no luck. They were at their wits end.
Most of what was there wasn't useful in the least. A couple boxes had some photo albums which had been lovely and nostalgic to flip through, but not helpful.
Frisk thought that there would've been something here, not to mention most of the containers weren't even labeled so she was taking a gamble for success with each one.
Sans appeared to be taking a nap in the corner, Frisk shook her head as she looked at his peaceful form, his chest slowly rising and falling, eyes fluttering the slightest bit beneath their lids.
Turning back to the task at hand, Frisk pulled another box towards her, ready to try again.
Jackpot. Inside was a mixture of trinkets that had been Chara's back when they shared a room. Frisk recognized most of the items until she came across a shiny red shoe box.
She gently brought it out and laid it on her lap, opening it carefully.
Inside wasn't much. A couple official looking documents, some matching baby bracelets that must have belonged to herself and her sister and an envelope that had her name written across it, the penmanship clearly belonging to her mother.
She felt a sad tug at her heart, frowning unconsciously.
Frisk took the envelope out and turned it over to open it. With a small glance up at her still sleeping companion, she removed the folded letter inside.
'Frisk-
If you're reading this then that means that I wasn't able to bring myself to tell you.
Enclosed in this box is Chara's death certificate...'
Hazel eyes widened, mouth agape.
'...You know as well as I do that your sister was always a wild one, but believe me when I tell you that I have lost a part of my heart that I will never get back.
Her body was found days after she had left home. She had a fall and had succumbed to internal injuries.
There are no words to convey the grief of a mother losing her child, especially when there was so much I could have done to help prevent her untimely departure from us. It's an ache that I feel with every breath and I carry an unliftable weight from my failure to a daughter.
It may be selfish of me to not tell you immediately. I have every intention to, but I don't want it to be real. Speaking the words aloud will only make it true.
Please give your mother this indulgence.
I am not strong like you.
I love you with all my heart. My only ray of happiness is that I at least did good by you sweet one.
Please live a full life. Please stay hungry for all the beauty this world has to offer.
Stay determined.
All my love, all my heart,
Your Mother.'
Tears were running down her cheeks, she tried fruitlessly to muffle her sobs.
Her hands were occupied with trying to open the manila envelope that must have had said certificate.
It couldn't be real.
Her mother never kept anything from her.
And Chara would never-
She would never-
Her mother was right, saying it does only make it real.
She needed the documented evidence in her hand.
"Frisk? hey are you- why are you crying?" Came Sans' groggy voice.
She ignored him, finally getting the damn envelope open, nearly ripping its contents in the process.
Her hands shook, eyes scanning the swirling official print.
It was real.
It had happened.
Her sister was dead.
Her sister was gone.
Frisk was alone.
Her body hunched forward, back taut and ridged as sobs spilled one after the other.
"he-hey, what's going on?" Sans was kneeling over her, trying to figure out what had happened while he had slept. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling the poor girl to his chest.
He gently shushed her cries, holding her close, resting a cheek on the top of her head.
"tell me what's got you like this." He quietly requested.
Frisk tried to calm her tears, wiping at her eyes with the palm of her hands, papers splayed over her lap and on the floor.
He cupped her face, gently lifting her chin so he could see her eyes. He gave her a calming smile, placing sweet kisses on either tear-stained cheek.
The tears still didn't stop, but they weren't as forceful. "Chara, she's...sh-she's..."
Tears came hard again, Frisk holding the certificate out to him, unable to finish.
Sans eyed her with uncertainty, taking the offered paper.
He spared the distraught woman another look before scanning the contents before him.
"this..." His voice was quiet, "this doesn't make sense."
Frisk let out a sardonic laugh, "You're telling me."
"this can't be-" Sans shook his head lightly, reading the paper over and over again, "he said that she had it."
Sans looked up at his still crying companion, "she can't be dead, she has it."
Frisk composed herself a bit more, trying desperately to stop the tears with her forearms, "has what Sans? She's gone."
The words felt foreign as they left her mouth.
"gaster said...he wouldn't lie." He clearly wasn't paying attention to Frisk anymore, lost in his own thoughts.
Frisk looked at him when she noticed something incredibly peculiar.
"Sans?"
"she was supposed to have it, why would he lie?"
"Sans!" That got his attention.
He looked up at her, blue eyes wide and lost.
Frisk was slightly taken back by the raw emotion on his face, his cavalier mask completely dropped. He was hurting like she was.
Though she couldn't understand why.
"You're see-through." In hindsight this probably should've worried her more, but the two had more pressing emotional issues at hand.
Sans immediately looked down at himself, he indeed was becoming semi-transparent.
"shit," He looked back to her, "my times up."
"What?" She couldn't understand why this was all happening at once.
"i'm not supposed to be here remember?" His tone was slightly elevated.
His features went angry in no time flat, similar to when they first met, "good i've got a bone to pick with the boss."
With each word he was fading, becoming more translucent and voice going in and out.
Frisk had stopped crying, too transfixed on Sans' fleeting image. It was almost too much.
His features softened as he looked at her, hand attempting to hold her face, "don't do anything stupid oka-."
He was gone. The paper that had been in his hand swiftly glided to the floor.
The waterworks almost started again, but she had had enough. She straightened herself out.
What was she going to do?
She was so angry at the situation, at her mother, her sister. Why was it always her that had to be strong?
Why did she have to be the barer of everyone's expectations and hope for their future happiness or lack thereof.
Why hadn't they just talked to her?
She heard the house phone ring in the distance. She felt too hollow to bring herself to answer it the ringing just echoed in her ears.
Then it hit her, she looked out the window noting the position of the sun. It was approaching evening and, oh that's right, it must've been work calling. She had a closing shift that she was late to.
Being late already, Frisk was in no rush to get ready. She did, however, call her manager back so they wouldn't be too worried. Juggling a double life was taxing her time management skills.
She could only imagine how Chara must have felt dealing with it alone.
The air was distinctly colder, a brisk wind hitting Frisk squarely in the face as she left home. She pulled her light jacket tighter around herself, burrowing her chin into the collar.
She took deliberate steps, trying not to feel too much, trying to let herself process the information of her sister's passing before reacting to it emotionally.
Well, reacting more than she already had.
She had crossed the bridge without incident. Her eyes drifted shut as she let out a sigh.
"AH! IT IS YOU!"
This couldn't be happening.
Her eyes shot open at the voice. Instantly she noted her surroundings were different. Like they had been the first time she had ever mistakenly wound up in this nonsensical dimension of circus freaks and confusion.
She was surrounded by tall grass, bridge and road gone just like before.
Papyrus was approaching her in the distance, face jovial and energetic and so contrasted from Frisk's current mood.
"Why is this happening?" She groaned, was it too much to ask for some normalcy. A nice closing shift that wasn't interrupted by wonderfully sexy tattooed spirit men.
That thought threw her for a loop.
She was suddenly exhausted. She didn't have the strength to put up a front.
"WOWIE DO YOU LOOK TIRED!" The tall male chirped, finally making his way over to her.
Frisk was at a loss for words, what does one do in this situation?
The situation being that somehow the person in front of you is dead and that somehow your dead sister was responsible?
Honesty was the best policy.
"It's because I am." Frisk managed a smile for the other.
He bristled up, "WELL ITS VERY IMPORTANT TO REST WHEN THE BODY REQUIRES IT! I MYSELF TAKE CARE TO SLEEP PRECISELY EIGHT HOURS!"
Frisk waved him off, "Yeah...how are you here Papyrus?"
He seemed confused.
She felt compelled to clarify, "You're dead."
His shoulders fell minutely.
"OH..." A halfhearted chuckle, "Y-YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT..." He fiddled with his gloved hands, embarrassed.
"Everyone says my sister did it," Frisk continued, she felt the smallest twinge of remorse and found she couldn't look at the male directly.
"YOUR SISTER...? CHARA? OH THATS WHY YOU LOOK SO FAMILIAR!"
Was he serious right now?
How could he be so happy about this?
If Frisk wasn't in such a state of emotional overload she'd practically be impressed by his ability to be oblivious to any negativity whatsoever.
But at the moment that wasn't the case.
She was drained emotionally, physically, hell even spiritually.
"I CAN TAKE YOU TO HER YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT."
That got Frisk's attention.
"She's alive?" The sound of her voice was so raw and broken, practically heart wrenching.
"O-OH, NO...SORRY, BUT I KNOW WHERE SHE IS." The worst part was that he really did look sorry.
Frisk almost started to cry again.
"Please," she blinked away the beginning of oncoming tears, "please bring me to my sister."
The taller gave her the kindest smile, a simple upturn of the lips that managed to convey a complete understanding of the hurt she was feeling, of everything she was going through.
He kneeled down, presenting his back to her.
Was he expecting her to hop on for a piggyback ride?
He twitched his head for her to come on. Frisk quickly listened. He hooked his arms beneath her thighs and hoisted her up.
Apparently this was happening.
"BRACE YOURSELF, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET YOU THERE IN A JIFFY!"
She looped her arms around his neck to strengthen her grip. She nodded to affirm her readiness.
He started running.
Their surroundings became an indistinguishable blur, Frisk clenching her hands tighter around each other and burying her face into the back of the tall male's cape.
Then, just as suddenly, everything came to a halt.
They stood just outside of a small forest which Frisk vaguely registered as familiar. They had made it to the back end of the city limits. Papyrus really was amazing if not as flashy with his magic as his brother.
Frisk felt a strong inclination to enter, adrenaline running through her veins.
"SHE'S IN THERE..." Papyrus stated, gently lowering his companion to the ground, "SHE'S STUCK."
She gave him a curious look, "Stuck?"
Papyrus shrugged, "SHE WON'T COME OUT AND I CAN'T SEEM TO GO IN. IT'S BEEN A REAL NUISANCE."
Frisk gave a strained smile. It was dark and apparently she was going to have to go alone.
But with everything she had already experienced so far, she felt capable of handling it.
Plus her sister was there. This was her chance to say...well anything. Anything was better than the nothing that had already been.
"Why are you helping me?" Frisk asked.
Papyrus looked down at her like she was crazy, "BECAUSE I CAN, OBVIOUSLY."
Frisk laughed. "But didn't she, you know, kill you?" She gestured vaguely towards the trees before them.
"WELL...YES I SUPPOSE." He looked remotely offput, "...BUT SHE WAS ALSO A FRIEND. REGARDLESS, I HAVE A JOB AS AN ESCORT TO LOST SOULS, A DUTY I TAKE TO HEART. QUITE LITERALLY." He stood proudly, hands on his hip triumphantly and gave her a wink.
"Thank you." She responded, smiling gratefully.
He nodded, "GOOD LUCK!" And with those words he quickly faded away, similarly to how Sans had in her attic.
She briefly entertained the idea that maybe neither of them were real.
It quickly faded as she turned back towards the forrest.
Steeling herself, she let out a breath of finality, heading in and breaking the tree line.
It was even darker than she had anticipated.
"Chara!" She yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth to try and make her voice louder, "Chara! Where are you?!"
She kept a medium pace as she walked farther in, "I know you're here! I'm here to help!"
She looked around, trying desperately to see more clearly, but it was almost too dark to make out one tree from another.
"Frisk?!" She heard in the distance and her stomach clenched.
It was her sister. She really was here.
"Chara!" She started towards the voice.
"Frisk!" It was hard to pin down the direction the sound was coming from, it echoed off the trees and became lost in their canopies.
Frisk looked around frantically, trying to detect some inclination as to where her sister was.
Then she spotted something.
Glowing yellow flowers laced one after the other. She instantly followed their path, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The path of flowers twisted and swerved briefly before ebbing into a large bed, an iridescent glow hanging in the air due to their culmination.
Sat in the center, eyes wide and mouth agape, was Chara.
She looked just as she had the day she left, same green and yellow sweater and all.
Frisk couldn't stop the tears that came forth, making an immensely unattractive chocking noise in the back of her throat.
"You're," a large sniffle, "you're really here."
Frisk's legs gave out from under her, the weight of everything finally too much for her to bare.
Chara caught her fall, bringing them gently back to the bed of soft petals.
"It took you long enough." Chara huffed quietly, peeling herself away from her sibling.
Frisk almost rolled her eyes.
"Sorry," she took in a calming breath, "I only just found out."
Chara gave her an unimpressed look, "Not about me idiot, about the circus!" Her habitual insult was one of the most welcoming things Frisk had ever heard. There was this endearing edge to it though that was unfamiliar. "I had literally been going there for years before..."
And that's when her sister's act finally fell.
"Oh Frisk," she had laced their hands together, an intimate gesture that was rarely done, "I made a huge mistake."
"I know," Frisk felt like they hadn't spent a day apart, like they were little girls again with no qualms between each other, "why did you do it?"
Chara's gaze was pained, "It was an accident...I didn't mean to." She gave a bemused scoff, "I actually liked Papyrus."
She shook her head, lips in her telltale pout she gave when she wasn't getting her way, "I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. You know how I hate being out of the loop."
Frisk nodded, "That doesn't excuse killing someone Chara."
"Oh Frisk, ever the Saint." It was a bad joke and Chara knew it. She waved her hand dismissively. "It really was an accident."
"What happened?" Frisk needed her sister's side of the story, even if it didn't make a difference to anyone else.
Chara took in a breath, looking up at the small bit of sky visible through the trees, "I thought maybe Gaster was hiding something that I could've used to get in. So I broke into his trailer."
She connected her gaze back with her twin, "Of course, I didn't find anything, I didn't even really know what I was looking for, but I guess I hadn't been quiet enough. Papyrus found me and I...I don't even know, I grabbed the closet thing and flung it at him to get away."
"I had thrown some sort of ornamental dagger that Gaster had. Papyrus stood there, frozen and shaking, then poof," Chara's hands splayed out to emphasize the noise, "he was gone, an orange heart floating where he had been."
"I took it, I didn't know what else to do. So I took it and ran home." Small tears started to stream down her face, features distraught, "But the heart started to dim and I was so scared, and I kind of tried to hug it thinking maybe it was cold-" Frisk snorted, Chara glared, "Shut up I didn't know what to do okay?! I had killed someone and then there was this weird heart thing what else was I going to think to do?"
Frisk composed herself, "I know, Sorry." She nodded for her sister to continue.
She huffed, "Well, I didn't know what else to do so I, I put it in my locket."
Frisk's eyes widened. "You what?!" This had to be a joke.
"Oh my god, clean out your ears, I put it in my locket, they're both hearts after all so I guess I figured it would work. But I was still afraid, so I tried to separate myself from it. I left the locket and ran. I had planned to leave home for good anyways, this sort of expedited the process and are you even listening?"
Frisk was in fact completely preoccupied with pulling out said locket and holding it in her hands like it was the most precious item in existence, like a small egg of a near endangered species.
She had had it all along.
That's why it kept staying behind.
Frisk pried the locket open and she could instantly tell the difference. A softly fluttering orange glow radiated around a heart that was nestled opposite of the photo placed inside, illuminating it gently.
"Told you so." Chara chided mockingly.
But then why? Why hadn't she seen this when she had opened it several days prior? Was it because she hadn't been in the right dimension?
Why were there perpetually more questions than answers?
Maybe it was simply a part of the allure of it all.
"Helloooo, Earth to Frisk. Jesus and I haven't even gotten to the most important part, the part about how your poor sister ran away and fell to her death, but oh well guess you don't care." Chara crossed her arms in a huff, sitting back on her heels.
Frisk gave a small glare, but it quickly flitted into a sad smile, "I'm sorry that I wasn't a better sister. Maybe if I had been I could've helped."
Chara's condescending features shifted, looking almost offended in a desperate sort of way, "Frisk no. I'm sorry. I know I'm really not the greatest to deal with, but I don't know, I can't help it. Or I couldn't help it since there's no more life for me to help anyways." A sad smile graced her lips.
"I wish I hadn't been a waste. I wish I had done something useful or even good. Falling in a ditch, how pathetic." She moaned sardonically.
"Frisk?" Chara's voice was soft.
"Hmm?" She responded, indicating that she was listening.
"Bring me back." Her twin stated vaguely.
"I don't think I can Chara," Frisk felt her heart ache, how she wished she could. Maybe try and make a greater effort to understand her sister, to be there even when Chara didn't want her to be.
The younger shook her head back and forth, "Not like that dummy. Bring me back to the circus with Papyrus. I'm tired of being stuck here. I want to be useful."
"How?" Frisk's voice was shaking. She was scared for reasons she couldn't yet identify.
Chara held her arms out, "Come here Idiot."
Frisk was skeptical, but fell into the embrace, hugging her sister tightly. "I'm sorry." Frisk found herself saying. Repeating it over and over.
Chara rolled her eyes, tightening her hold, "I love you, stupid face."
Frisk snorted, "I love you too, creepy face."
"Don't screw this up, Kay? Not like I did." Chara's voice was softer still and drifting.
And then, poof, Chara was gone, replaced by a hovering crimson heart.
Frisk was grateful that her reservoir of tears had been thoroughly depleted for the day, otherwise she would have been a bawling mass at this point.
She hugged the heart close, the semi-opaque entity nestling neatly around the orange one already housed in the locket.
With a final look at what appeared to be two very happy souls, Frisk clipped the locket shut, afraid they'd float away if left open.
It was a risk she couldn't take, no matter how silly it may be.
She held the locket close to her heart, eyes closing tight.
"Let's get you two home."
...
A-n-B: so basically this is just everything ex machina at its finest. Next chapter should be the last what whaaaaat!
