Frisk wasn't one to put things off, especially when her schedule was always so full. So in the early morning after breakfast she headed over to Sans and Papyrus' house, the events of yesterday still playing on her troubled mind.

She had known Sans and Papyrus for a while, now- several weeks, which felt like forever to somebody of her age. She had known them long enough, at least, to know when something was very wrong with both of them. The way that Sans acted yesterday, the way that Papyrus sounded on the phone... Was there something they were both hiding from her? Frisk frowned while she went down the sidewalk, waving to her neighbors as she passed, until their tall planky house came into view. Although Papyrus kept telling him to do it, it looked like Sans still hadn't taken down the Christmas decorations from the roof and doorstep.

Not sure what to expect, Frisk knocked and waited for Papyrus to answer. He might be out doing chores, but she hoped to not be waiting too long. The voice on the phone rose again in her head and blinked hard at her own memory; she couldn't quite see all that coming out of Papyrus' mouth.

Because soon enough, he answered, and he looked as goofy and cheerful as ever. "HUMAN! YOU'VE COME TO VISIT! DID YOU MISS ME WHILE YOU WERE HANGING OUT WITH SANS YESTERDAY?"

Immediately, Frisk felt guilty for thinking that anything was wrong with him. She grinned big, hoping that she wasn't interrupting anything, and nodded. Papyrus smiled wider, ushering her inside. "I KNEW IT! COME INSIDE! I HAVE LEFTOVER LASAGNA FOR YOU! ...ALSO, LOTS OF ORANGE JUICE." His eyes immediately turned serious, though, as Frisk looked towards the fridge. "BUT THAT'S FOR SANS, SO ASK HIM BEFORE YOU DRINK ANY OF IT!"

She wasn't actually in the mood for orange juice, but that and the lasagna squished on top of the cartons was apparently the only thing that Papyrus had in his fridge at all, and her throat was pretty dry. The child moved around the house, then, and yet saw no trace of the smaller skeleton. "Where is Sans, anyway?" His room was pretty quiet that day. She usually saw lights and music coming from there even when Sans wasn't home, perhaps something to ward off potential thieves or, as he said, snooping little kids.

At that, Papyrus shrugged, "I HAVE NO IDEA! HE LEFT AN HOUR AGO. HE SAID HE WANTED TO TAKE IN THE CITY FOR A WHILE!"

Frisk nodded faintly, returning to the kitchen. Maybe she would just have water. She grabbed a paper cup off the counter and helped herself, smiling back at Papyrus as if to say with her teeth, "That sounds nice."

"YES, HE'S BEEN GETTING OUT AND ABOUT MORE OFTEN LATELY!" Papyrus said, puffing out his chest proudly. Frisk didn't bother to point out all the times that he was out and about while she was traversing the underground, which for the most part seemed to be just an accidental secret between Sans and her. "AND YESTERDAY HE STAYED UP FOR A LONG TIME!"

You drink Papyrus' water.

Although your health is already maxed out.

This gave Frisk pause, while she took in cold water from the paper cup; with a noisy gulp she tilted her head to Papyrus, asking the question with her eyes. Sans was a monster that really liked his naps, and that included the "big nap" Papyrus referred to which every other monster knew as just sleeping. Oh, she and others would try to get him to stay up, when she could spare the time. Playing video games together, watching a scary movie that she probably was actually too young to watch, it would all end the same. She would look over and find that he was asleep; with a sigh of defeat, she usually joined him.

Papyrus caught the look and put a hand to his jawbone thoughtfully. "EH? YOU WISH TO KNOW HOW LONG? I BELIEVE HE WENT INTO HIS ROOM AROUND MIDNIGHT." Seeing Frisk's alarm, Papyrus sweat a little and continued, "I KNOW THAT SOUNDS STRANGE, BUT IT WAS FUN! ...FOR THE MOST PART?"

For the most part?

Frisk took another gulp of her water and tilted her head in the other direction, and Papyrus shook his head, "WELL... HE HAS BEEN ACTING A LITTLE STRANGE SINCE HE'S GOTTEN SICK! FOR EXAMPLE..." The taller skeleton's brows shot down, furrowed deeply, as he remembered, "SOMETIMES, INSTEAD OF 'PAPYRUS', HE KEEPS CALLING ME 'BOSS'. AND AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD?-? BUT NOW I THINK HE'S BEING SARCASTIC?-?-?" Papyrus folded his arms, shaking his head again, "AND HE TURNED FLUFFY BUNNY INTO A CANNIBAL WHEN IT'S OBVIOUS THAT HE IS BY NATURE A VEGETARIAN! AND HE ALSO WOULD NOT CANNIBALIZE THE REST OF HIS FRIENDS, OF THAT I AM CERTAIN!"

"He what?" Frisk blinked, pulling open the fridge while Papyrus talked. Perhaps the statement would make more sense if she knew what cannibals and vegetarians were.

As Papyrus' voice filled the whole house, the child pulled out a square piece of lasagna and carefully placed it on a paper plate, sliding it into the microwave and clicking the Not Spaghetti setting, "... DISRUPTIVE AND HONESTLY THAT KIND OF STORYTELLING IS JUST NOT WHAT I NEED WHEN I'M STARTING MY BEDTIME SHIFT!" He squinted into the floor, "I KNOW THAT HE HAS CLEARLY NOT RESEARCHED THE CHARACTERS TO THE EXTENT THAT I HAVE, BUT USUALLY WHEN SANS IMPROVISES HE IS AT LEAST A BIT CLOSER TO THE CANON OF FLUFFY BUNNY!"

"Uhhh," was all the child said as she edged the lasagna out of the microwave.

Finally, the monster sighed, "BUT, WELL, HE IS SICK, SO I GUESS THAT MIGHT BE WHY. I'VE HEARD PEOPLE GET WEIRD WHEN THEY'RE SICK. IT'S LUCKY THAT I AM TOO COOL TO CATCH VIRUSES!"

"Sans is really sick?" Frisk asked with a mouth full of lasagna. It crackled in her mouth with a sort of energy that she could not describe, and shortly after swallowing her mouth full she burped. "'scuse me."

Papyrus frowned, sweating a little more, "WELL HE HAS TO BE! HIS THROAT SOUNDS ALL SORE AND HE ISN'T BEING HIMSELF! LIKE I SAID!"

"He was acting weird around me and Toriel, too," Frisk said as she took another bite. "But Toriel said that she didn't feel any fever on him or anything."

"THAT'S ODD." Papyrus said, squinting off to nowhere in particular while the child burped and excused herself again. "BUT THEN... I DON'T THINK ANYONE IN OUR FAMILY HAS EVER CAUGHT A VIRUS BEFORE. THEY AREN'T VERY POPULAR IN THE UNDERGROUND. SO I HAVE NO IDEA. IT'S PUZZLING, BUT NOT IN THE FUN PUZZLEY WAY." He sighed, and for once his cheerful expression almost disappeared completely. "I GUESS I'M JUST A LITTLE BIT..."

"...Bonetrousled?" Frisk finished suddenly, in the midst of chewing.

Papyrus blinked at her. "...YES?-?-?"

Growing quiet, child now looked into her empty cup and contemplated sticking her tongue in, trying to get the last drops of water. "Say... I forgot to ask you, did you call Sans yesterday?"

"NOPE!" Frisk looked up, also squinting her eyes. Papyrus scowled, "I DON'T BOTHER CALLING SANS ANYMORE SINCE HE NEVER KEEPS HIS PHONE CHARGED. I KEEP TELLING HIM, BUT..." he sighed. And then, just as quickly, he brightened. "I DID TALK TO ALPHYS OVER THE PHONE, THOUGH. SHE ALSO ASKED ME ABOUT SANS, AND THEN WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR UNDERNET PICS."

The reheated food wasn't really appealing to her anymore, but it would be unthinkable to just leave an empty plate when she had so easily helped herself to the lasagna in the first place. She took a last bite of the stuff and then, when the taste of it left her mouth completely by a burp of misplaced magic, Frisk chewed on the paper cup instead. "Are you sure you didn't call Sans? Maybe you just forgot?" The voice had been so unmistakable, even while at the same time so different. Sans had also admitted to it.

"HMM... I DON'T THINK I FORGOT!" Papyrus said. "BUT! AS LONG AS YOU'RE HERE, DID YOU WANT TO TAKE SOME OF THE LASAGNA WITH YOU?" Sheepishly he looked back towards the fridge. "I NEED TO MAKE ROOM FOR MY SPAGHETTI."

"I'm fine," Frisk said, grinning sheepishly back. "We don't have room in our fridge either."

"AWW. BUT MY SPAGHETTI... I WONDER IF I CAN CONVINCE UNDYNE TO TAKE IT..."

Frisk nodded, "Good luck with that. I better get going."

"NYEH-OH! OF COURSE, I HAVE MANY ERRANDS TO ATTEND TO! SEE YOU LATER, HUMAN!" Papyrus said, straightening. Frisk waved cheerily as she stepped out the door.

Some of the cheer dissipated by the time she was outside.

She didn't understand. Papyrus was just the same as he ever was, but Sans was still... not. She couldn't just forget the tension in his speech, and in the speech of the Papyrus as she heard on the phone. And she was still convinced that that was Papyrus that she heard.

Unless they had a third sibling, or cousin, that also spoke like that. But that wasn't likely.

So why did Papyrus lie?

Frisk felt a little sick in her stomach as she went down the steps and walked down the road. Well, it was time to talk to Alphys. If she had really called Papyrus, and that wasn't another lie, then she had also talked with Sans. Maybe she would have a better idea what was going on.


Despite the piece of lasagna that she ate, and the breakfast that she had eaten even before that, Frisk was still a little bit hungry when she went to Alphys' house soon after. But then, no matter how much magical food she ate she never seemed to get full. True, the lasagna had almost done the trick, but Alphys' food was sure not to.

The child smiled warmly after the lizardlike monster opened the door.

Alphys smiled warmly back, overjoyed to see them, "Frisk! Come on in! I-I wasn't expecting a visit today!" She quickly stepped back, allowing the child to walk in. "Did you want to finish watching Mew Mew Kissy Cutie with me? We only have ten more episodes to go!"

...If she said yes, she could ask for food to watch the show with. But if she said yes, she whould also probably end up spending the entire day watching this stuff. It was addicting.

So smiling weakly, Frisk shook her head. "I'm sorry, actually I came to ask you about something. I think I need your help."

"H-huh?" Now Alphys eyes practically shined like stars to hear such a thing. "Y-you need my help? With what? Is it more of your homework assignments? Just name it and leave it to me!"

Her enthusiasm, at least, was encouraging, although the child didn't think that she would be as happy when she heard the question. "Actually, it's about Sans." Just like that, sure enough, Alphys' grin disappeared. It looked like she was going to say something too, so Frisk took the initiative and spoke first, "Something doesn't seem right with him lately-" and true, lately just meant yesterday and today, but this was also a long time for her. "-And I heard that you also talked to him yesterday? Papyrus says he's sick. Did he seem sick to you?"

"H-huh? Is Sans sick?" Alphys hesitating, huffing, "Well he... he said he was feeling under the weather when he dropped by. I-I-I don't think that he looked very sick, but he wasn't here... for very long. S-sorry!"

Frisk scratched her head; she just couldn't make sense of it. "I think that something was bothering him. But I can't figure out what. At first I thought that something bad had happened to Papyrus, but... well, I'm just confused," the child finished, smile disappearing.

"I-I'm sorry..." Alphys stammered.

"What did you two talk about, anyway?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "Was it anything important?"

"Uh..." The look on Alphys' face told Frisk that she was reluctant to speak. Whether it was because something bad had happened, or just an issue of confidentiality, she didn't know. But Frisk didn't really care about confidentiality; that was just a word that Sans used on her once or twice. So she smiled brightly again patiently, expectantly. Alphys sighed and continued, "Well... um... Just said he was feeling a little under the weather. Trying to get used to us living on the surface and everything. I-it was taking a while to sink in that we were at p-peace with the h-h-humans and all."

That was what he was worried about? She felt even more guilty; it was supposed to be her job to keep the peace, and for the most part she thought she was doing all right at that (they'd see her skills as diplomat put to the test the next time the Bannungsritual-Fest came around in the city.) But if Sans was having doubts, that probably meant everybody was.

The girl looked at the ground, brows furrowed. As she did, Alphys chewed on her lip and then added something else, sweating terribly to a point where she had to clean her glasses, "It...it's not a huge deal, but there is... something else, though, that... surprised me."

Frisk, of course, looked up. Alphys shrugged, forced a smile, and then uttered, "Well... We were in the middle of talking about that, a-and... When I said your name, he didn't seem to know who you were? Like, he had, uh..." Frisk's eyes were growing big, so Alphys cowered back a little bit as she spoke, "He said he had completely forgotten what your name was?-?"

"What."

"A-and!-!" Alphys clasped her hands together, grimacing, "And, uhhh, I thought that there was a little bit odd?-? He also forgot where your and Toriel's house was, but I've been needing a map to get around by myself even now, soooo..." Another shrug, a helpless shriveling of the shoulders. "I... I don't know?-? That was the most off thing. I mean, I get that a lot of people still call you 'h-human' and nothing else, so... but... um... yeah. Idon'tknow. Itwasweird."

Under the child's stare, nothing else was said. Even Alphys' nervous squirming eventually disappeared, as she instead ran her eyes over the human's face, looking for a change in reaction at all. But Frisk wasn't interested in giving one. Until at last, it was Alphys that again had to carry on this conversation. "Uhhh ...alsoooo... Did you... want anything to eat, or-?"

"Do you have any tea?" The child asked quietly.

"Y-yes! It's orange, though, is that...? Okay?-? Okay, I'll... b-be right back!"

And then in the laboratory house, the only sounds were the humming of machinery somewhere above and now the sounds of tea being boiled on the stove. When left to herself in that silence, Alphys sometimes started humming herself, and Frisk smiled a little despite the utter confusion going on inside. She clenched her hands together and frowned at them as if that was going to help her solve this puzzle.

A few minutes passed, and then there was a dinging noise in the kitchen. Alphys stepped out of it with a pot and two cups. "Here-! Here you go!"

You drink Alphys' orange tea.

It tastes like oranges. You are surprised.

The make of the cup and Frisk's messy drinking made a noisy slurp as she took the liquid in. Out of politeness, the monster sitting across from her waited for her to finish her first cup before relaxing and pouring her more. "Look, Frisk... Sorry that you're worried. K-kinda sorry for calling Papyrus, too, if that made him worried. ... ... ...B-but I think that everything is going to be fine."

"Yeah?" Frisk slurped a bit quieter.

"Yeah." Alphys smiled. "I-I know this stuff. When somebody's life changes so dramatically, it, uh, it takes some getting used to, you know...? And going up to the surface was a- well gee, it was a huge change for everybody!"

This was true; Frisk laughed a little, thinking of that.

And Alphys sighed as if in relief. "I guess what I'm saying is, give it a couple days. I'm sure he'll snap out of it."

"If he doesn't?" Frisk tilted her head as she asked the question; her second cup of tea was gone already.

The monster blushed, put on the spot. But then she said, with a forced confidence, "Then y-you can leave it to me! Andsomeoneelsewhocantalktopeoplewithoutflinching?.?.? Probably. Umm?-?" Deep breath, "It's... this is... a problem you shouldn't worry about, is what I'm saying. It's a problem for adults. And you've already done a lot, so- don't be concerned!"

It had been a stammered blur, but it did make her feel better. The knotting in her stomach, at least, had undone by now. "Thanks, Alphys," Frisk said, smiling. And then, like with Papyrus, soon enough she found herself wandering down the street, hands behind her head, watching the clouds drift on and off the sun.

That all was a relief, at least. Despite their beginnings, if she could trust anyone with a sensitive situation like this it was Alphys. Or so she chose to believe. And the advice sounded good; give it a couple of days. Nothing bad was going to happen in a couple of days, right? Days could pass quickly in New New Home.

With that over, though, Frisk had other business to get to before her homework.

Childish business.

She still had all of her pictures to draw.


Author's Note: The "Bannungsritual-Fest" is a fictional, headcanon holiday for the humans of Undertale that traditionally celebrates the banishing of the monsters. I wanted the name of it to be in German because of other headcanon reasons, although for the life of me I never learned in any of my classes an appropriate name for "monster-banishing festival" so I used Google translate for "banishing" and basically I am sorry if its a bad name. ;w;

Next Chapter: Who is There?