Welcome to Chapter Four everyone! You're slowly catching up to our writing, so I guess we're going to have to pick up speed. :)
Thanks to everyone who's read this, and especially to those who review! We really appreciate all of you!
-mariahills-capsicle
The next step of Spaghetti Dinner Night was apparently a movie. The last movie Frankie had watched had been some sort of old human cartoon about lions. It had been a pretty fun movie, but what Frankie really remembered was where he had watched it. It had only been a month before his parents were… well, anyways. He could remember sitting on the couch, his parents on either side of him. It had been in the last apartment they had stayed in. It was a pretty old one, and it hadn't been very well insulated, so they wrapped blankets around one another to keep each other warm. The ancient TV was somehow able to manage to play the movie all the way through, and afterwards they all fell asleep on the couch. It should have been his favorite memory, but it only made Frankie upset thinking about it. The idea of watching another movie right now felt like betraying some sort of secret trust between him and his parents.
Frisk had met Sans and Frankie in the hall and was signing frantically with a huge smile on their face.
"They want to know if you'll come sit with them." Sans said. "They say Toriel made some popcorn and they're all ready to start the movie." Frankie loved Frisk already. The child was the kindest human the little skeleton had ever met, and they were the only one Frankie had met who had treated him like a complete equal. But Frankie didn't want to see a movie now. He had been around these people nearly all day, and now he just needed to escape. He needed to go somewhere quiet. When he'd been around too many people all day Frankie had always returned to his alleyway. Now, he assumed, a safe and quiet place to go, would be Sans' house.
"I'm sorry," He said to Frisk. "I'd like to but I'm really tired." Frisk nodded understandingly, and then they signed something else.
"They want to know if you can come again soon." Sans said. Frankie nodded quickly, and then Frisk pulled him into a warm hug.
"Alright, kiddo." Sans said, "Are you ready to go?" Before Franklin could answer a scream came from the living room.
"GO?! SANS! YOU WEREN'T PLANNING ON LEAVING WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE, WERE YOU!?" Papyrus came rushing around the corner, straightening his red scarf.
"Errr… Paps." Sans chuckled.
"SANS! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE BEFORE THE MOVIE?!" Papyrus looked distressed.
"Frankie's pretty tired, bro. We're going to go home and get him settled in."
"Oh." Papyrus looked defeated, but then looked up, grinning again, "AT LEAST TAKE SOME OF MY SUPERB SPAGHETTI WITH YOU! I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT YOU'D DO WITHOUT MY COOKING!" Papyrus handed Sans a huge container of spaghetti. "AND DON'T FORGET! WHEN YOU RUN OUT, COME SEE ME!"
"Sure." Sans murmured, but Frankie noticed that he couldn't bring himself to look directly at his brother. "Well, kiddo." Sans said, "We best get going." Before Sans could move another inch Papyrus pulled him into a tight hug.
"IT WAS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU, SANS!" He cried again. Sans gave Papyrus a small smile and took Frankie's hand. With his other arm he held the large container of spaghetti.
"SEE YOU LATER, FRANKIE!" Papyrus cried.
"Bye, Papyrus." Frankie said, waving with his free hand. Frisk waved as well, and Frankie called one last goodbye before he and Sans exited the house. They walked home again, Frankie not daring to let go of Sans' hand. When they finally got back home it was getting pretty late and Frankie was falling asleep on his feet.
"Alright, let me put this in the fridge." Sans said after they entered the house. It was rather chilly, and some snow had blown in through the broken window, despite the blanket that was hung up to block the elements. Sans would need a new window soon. When Sans returned to the living room from the kitchen he gave Frankie a little smile. "Don't worry." He said. "I have a bunch of blankets. I'll figure out a way to get things fixed up." Sans led Frankie down the little hall to a small guest room. It was painted light blue, and it was sparsely decorated. There was a little bed with a large quilt on the far side of the room. A small dresser next to the door, and a little bedside table with a red-shaded lamp and a battery powered alarm clock. "Uh… it's not much, but… It's yours now." Sans said. Frankie looked up at Sans in awe. His own room? He would have been satisfied sleeping on the couch, but Sans had a room just for him? He hugged the older skeleton tightly.
"Thank you!" He whispered.
"Heh, you're welcome, kiddo." Sans said. "I'll get you a couple more blankets." While Sans hurried into the hall to get some more blankets, Frankie set his torn up backpack on top of his dresser and slowly pulled out the few items he had in it. First, he pulled out a picture frame. In it was a picture of his mom and dad. He set it carefully on his bedside table. Then he pulled out a rubik's cube. He had found it in the trash. Some of the colored stickers were missing, leaving just black, but it still worked. He had solved it more times than he could count after his parents died. He set this on top of his dresser. Then he pulled out a red, torn hoodie and folded it, slipping it into the top drawer of his dresser. Lastly he pulled out his dad's hat. The only thing left of his father. He set this in the drawer on top of the hoodie. His dirty, old backpack was empty now, but he set it carefully down on the floor beside his bedside table. Sans returned with a couple more quilts.
"Here you are." He said. "I'm gonna have to find some way to fix that window, I guess."
"Sans?" Frankie whispered.
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Asgore, at Papyrus' house, he's the king, right?"
"Yup." Sans nodded.
"Oh. I bet if you asked him, he could get your window fixed." Frankie suggested. Sans looked like he was struggling to find the right answer.
"I..uh… guess so." He replied. "I'll call him then, tomorrow. For now… we both need some rest."
"Okay." Frankie nodded. He climbed into bed, pulling the quilt over top of himself. Before Sans could leave he said, "Sans?"
"Yup?" Sans said.
"I like your friends." He murmured.
There was a pause, "...I do too, kiddo." There was tinge of sadness in Sans' voice, Frankie was too tired to wonder why. He lay down, pulling the blankets up to his chin. "Goodnight, Frankie." Sans said, switching off the overhead light.
"Goodnight." Frankie replied.
Frankie found himself standing in the hallway that led to his old apartment. A feeling of Deja vu filled him as he approached their old apartment. Their door, door number 7, was ajar. Fear made him tremble as he reached for the handle and slowly entered their apartment.
"Mom?" He whispered. The word echoed into the darkness. Frankie reached slowly for where he knew the lights were. "Dad?" The lights flickered for a moment, and then came on. Frankie found himself reliving a nightmare. The house had been ransacked. Books had been torn up, the TV had been smashed. Across the wall by the window was written in black spray paint: MONSTER SCUM. The furniture was all toppled over as if there had been a terrible struggle. And there…. there, scattered across the floor, was just dust. Boot prints ran here and there. Frankie's breath came in gasps, he was beginning to hyperventilate, tears spilled over his cheekbones. He fell to his knees, and pulled his mother's scarf up from the dust. His tears turned into sobs, and then to screams.
Frankie shot out of his dream with a scream, "MOM! DAD!" There was a thump and a bang from somewhere else in the pitch black house. Then the door slammed open and the light flickered on, and Sans stood there,
"Frankie!?" One of his eyes was flashing blue and yellow, and there was more fear than anger in his expression.
"I'm sorry!" Frankie sobbed. "I'm sorry! I… I didn't mean to wake you. It was just… a nightmare." Sans blinked and the blue in his eye vanished.
"Hey," he said, coming across the room and sitting on Frankie's bed. "It's okay, kiddo… Everyone has those." Sans gave Frankie a loose hug. After Frankie wiped away his tears he looked up,
"Even you?"
"Heh…" Sans chuckled, "Even me." There was a long pause, while Frankie wiped away more tears, and then Sans said, "You think you're going to be okay?" Frankie nodded.
"Alright. Umm…"
"I'm fine." Frankie lied. He was still trembling, but he managed to stop his tears. "You can go back to bed. I'm sorry for waking you."
"You don't need to apologize, kiddo." Sans replied. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Alright." Frankie watched Sans leave, but just before the skeleton flipped the lightswitch, he cried, "Sans?"
"Yup?" Sans turned quickly.
"Can you leave the light on?" Sans hesitated, but nodded.
"'course." He said. Sans slowly shut the door, but after the older skeleton left, Frankie couldn't sleep. Too afraid of the horrors that followed him, he leaned against his pillow and watched the snow falling outside until morning.
"Hey, kiddo. How'd you sleep?" Sans asked when Frankie finally exited his room.
"Fine." Frankie lied.
"Well, I guess you're probably hungry. The only thing I really have is the spaghetti Papyrus gave us last night…"
"Spaghetti!?" Frankie gasped. "Can I have that for breakfast?" Sans chuckled.
"Sure." Sans led Frankie into the kitchen and helped him reheat some spaghetti. "You know." He said, "Papyrus and Undyne both love cooking spaghetti. Maybe sometime you can ask them to show you how it's done."
"Really?" Frankie gasped. "Do you mean it?"
"Why not? They both love cooking. I'm sure they'd love to show you."
Frankie was only halfway through his breakfast when there was a knock at the door. He looked up at Sans questioningly, and the older skeleton looked shocked. After only a moment there was realization and sadness? He stood, "I'll get it." Only a few moments later Frisk and Toriel entered the kitchen to greet Frankie.
"Hello, dear one." Toriel smiled. Frisk waved with a huge grin.
"Hi, Toriel! Hi, Frisk!" Frankie said. "What are you doing here?"
"Toriel was taking Frisk shopping for some new clothes today, kiddo." Sans said, "She was wondering if you'd like to come with to get some new clothes of your own."
"I couldn't help but notice how old your clothes are, and it seems you only have one set. Perhaps we can find some suiting outfits for you, Franklin." Toriel said.
"Really?" Frankie gasped. "You mean it?"
"Of course."
"And maybe after we're done at the store we can go out for icecream." Toriel suggested. Franklin's head was spinning. Icecream?! He couldn't believe it. The idea that someone could just treat him kindly like that, even though they barely knew him, was unbelievable. It had been so long since anyone had looked at him with such kindness- since anyone had looked at him as a friend. And Toriel was treating him like family!
"I'd love to!" He cried.
"I thought you might." Sans said. Then Frankie had a thought.
"Will you come, Sans?"
"Oh… uh…" Sans looked down at Frisk who was nodding their approval of the question, and signing something. Sans sighed, "I'd like to." He said, "But I can't." Something in his voice made Frankie think that perhaps Sans really didn't want to go at all. Frankie instantly felt as though he had done something wrong again. He wants to get away from me. I woke him up in the middle of the night and he's mad. Frisk and Toriel both seemed to notice something strange too. Frisk signed something quickly.
"Yes, why not?" Toriel asked.
"Well… I've got to call Asgore about that window. It was freezing in here last night. I'm pretty sure it gave both of us nightmares." He chuckled, but there was something in his eyes that told Frankie Sans wasn't joking. He had nightmares last night too?
"Well, It would be fun, but that's alright." Toriel said. "I promise to have Frankie home by dinner." Frisk signed something quickly.
"They wants to know if you're ready to go." Sans said.
"Yeah!" Frankie cried. "Just let me get my boots." Frankie scrambled from his chair, and grabbed his old rubber boots that he'd left in the hallway when they'd come into the house the night before. He pulled on his boots and was ready to go just as Toriel, Frisk, and Sans joined him.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Frankie asked Sans.
"I'll be okay, Frankie. You'll have fun with Tori and Frisk." Sans replied. Frankie gave Sans a tight hug, as if he were afraid he'd come back and his new caretaker would be gone. "Heh… have fun, kiddo. Thanks for this, Toriel."
Toriel led Frankie and Frisk out into the fresh snow. "Luckily," she said, "They've already plowed most of the main streets." Toriel had a little cranberry-red car. It was a pretty old car, but it had been cleaned and it shone as though it were brand new. Toriel obviously took pride in owning it.
"Alright, dear ones, we're going to the thrift shop first." Frankie knew thrift shops were an excellent place to find lightly used clothes that other people didn't want anymore, and he also knew that anything was better than what he was wearing now. His clothes were terrible, torn, and covered in dust and dirt. His boots had holes in them, and the t-shirt he wore under his more-durable sweatshirt was probably almost non-existent due to all the wear and tear it had experienced. He was extremely grateful to Toriel for taking him out. By the time they reached the thrift shop, Frisk had taught Frankie half of the sign language alphabet.
'F-R-A-N-K-I-E.' Frankie spelled out slowly and meticulously. Frisk nodded with a big grin.
"Alright, you two. We're here!" Toriel said from the front of the car. They had parked just in front of the thrift store, and both of the children scrambled out eagerly. Frisk signed something, looking at Frankie gleefully.
"Can you do it slower?" Frankie asked.
'C-A-N-D-what?'
"Candy?" Frankie guessed. Frisk nodded. So, the last letter they had signed was a Y. Frisk signed something over at Toriel- a much more complex sentence. Toriel laughed softly.
"Well, I suppose you can get some Candy." She handed Frisk two quarters. "How about you go get your little treats, and then I'll look for some pants for you two and you look for some nice shirts."
"Okay!" Frankie said. He followed Frisk happily over to a little candy dispenser. They each got a handful of little candies shaped like fruit.
'G-O-O-D.' Frisk signed. Then they placed their hand on their lips and brought it down to their other hand. 'G-O-O-D.' They signed again.
"Good?" Frankie did the same gesture and Frisk nodded. "Cool! I learned a word in sign language."
'M-O-M. S-H-I-R-T-S.' It took Frankie a while longer to figure out what Frisk was trying to say.
"Oh, right." Frankie nodded, "We have to go look for shirts. Where are the shirts, do you know?" Frisk beckoned for Frankie to follow them. They were in the little shop for a long time, but the trip was a success. Toriel bought Frisk a new outfit, and she bought Frankie three new outfits- a pair of pajamas, and two outfits for everyday.
"Don't worry, dear," she said, "I'm sure we can get you some more clothes later."
"Thank you so much!" Frankie gasped. He wasn't quite sure how to express his gratefulness. He hadn't had a clean outfit in four months, and he hadn't had pajamas in longer.
"Alright, you two. How about some icecream?" Toriel asked. Frankie and Frisk both nodded enthusiastically.
Good. Frisk signed again. I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M, Good.
"I haven't had icecream in months." Frankie said. Frisk looked mortified and then they grinned.
"Well, then!" Toriel said with a smile. "We'll have to get two scoops instead of just one to celebrate!"
As the cranberry-red car pulled away, Sans found his phone. It was still on the counter from the previous day. The skeleton suddenly grew conscious of what a mess the house was, this was surely no place to raise- to take care of a kid. A chill ran down Sans' spine as he remembered the shattered window.
Right. Gotta call Asgore.
Sans hated asking people for favors, but there was no way he could afford to replace the large window on his own. He sighed, scrolling through his contacts until he found the king. After pressing 'call', it only rang twice before a familiar voice picked up.
"Howdy!"
"uh… hey. It's Sans."
"Sans? How strange! You have never called me before! Why are you calling, if i might ask?"
Sans let out a weak chuckle, glancing over at the shattered window,
"Some vandals broke a window at my house… and uh… I guess you could say… i'm broke"
The king chuckled, he seemed to enjoy puns as well, but not as much as Toriel.
"I can certainly help with that! I shall send someone over to fix it as soon as possible!"
Sans felt guilty for asking such a favor,
"Thanks. Uh… as soon as I can, i'll pay yo-"
"Nonsense! It is what friends are for! you do not have to pay me back!" The king's voice was cheerful, he seemed to be having a good day. Sans still felt bad, but decided he shouldn't argue.
"Thanks, Asgore."
"It is no problem, Sans! I expect to see you at Spaghetti Dinner Night next time!"
Sans winced.
"Of course."
They said their goodbyes and Sans was alone again. He figured he should probably clean up a bit, if Tori saw this mess, she'd freak. Sans chuckled as he walked into the kitchen, imagining Toriel's reaction to the absolutely trashed house. He grabbed a garbage bag from underneath the sink and began picking up little pieces of trash. The skeleton had not even realized how much trash there was until he found himself still finding more after 30 minutes. It looked a bit better though, the small trashbin in the corner of the room was no longer spilling all over the floor, and the other various piles that had accumulated over the past 11 months had vanished. He looked at his handiwork, satisfied. Sans yawned.
I could probably take a nap before the kiddo comes home, Sans thinks to himself. It felt odd to actually be expecting someone. He shrugged and made his way to his room, pushing open the door. And I thought the kitchen was bad…
His room was trashed, as it usually was. Socks lie scattered across the floor like confetti, in the farthest corner of the room was a large pile of clothes, all of the outfits similar to what he was wearing now. Tomorrow. I'll clean it tomorrow.
The procrastinating skeleton sat on the edge of his bed, kicking off his slippers, and letting out another long yawn. He truly was tired, the amount of sleep he had been getting was less than what anyone could possibly function off of. Always plagued by nightmares. Sans shuddered, slipping under the covers. At least it was always the same nightmare. Sans had grown used to it. He wakes up in Snowdin. Everyone's gone. Papyrus. Undyne. Alphys. everyone. Everyone but them. The dream always ends with Sans dying, his own blood staining his hands, but it doesn't phase him. He just glances down and shrugs, smiling back at his killer before turning to dust- and he wakes up.
It was the same every night. Sans drifts off, allowing the darkness of sleep to consume him.
Sans opened his eyes. An all-too-familiar orange and yellow glow blurred in his vision. He blinked a few more times, the room finally coming into focus. The last corridor. Sans glances around in confusion, before his eyes fall upon the dark figure in front of him. The figure was cloaked in shadow, but their eyes were visible. Their blood-red eyes.
"hee hee hee…" Sans knew the figure was talking, but the laugh sounded like it was coming from all around him, it echoed through the pillared hallway, causing chills to run up Sans' spine. As the figure took a step forward, Sans instinctively took a step back.
"What'̶s҉ ̡th̢e mat̨te̶r S͝a̸ns͜? Y͞ou look̡ ͡f̀ŗi̕ghte͜ne͡d…" Sans could see their face now, a wide, broken smile spread across it like shattered glass. Their voice sounded like it was coming out of a radio, coming out in different octaves and frequencies. Sans glanced behind him, as if he expected an ambush. nothing about this was alright. Sans was scared. When he turned back, the figure was standing over another shadow… no… NO… A sickening feeling spread through Sans as he gaped in horror at the new arrival.
"FRANKIE!" Sans managed to choke out as the figure raised what appeared to be a knife at the small skeleton. Sans tried to move. Nothing happened. He tried to struggle. Nothing happened. All the older skeleton could do was fall to his knees- he tried to cover his eyes, but it was as if his hands were bound to the floor. He tried to look away, but he couldn't.
"Frankie! Listen to me, kid, you gott E… Frankie!" Sans shouted desperately, but the kid just turned to him, not moving from his spot. Frankie's eyes were wide with fear, a stream of tears pouring out.
"S-Sans?" Frankie's voice was quiet and distant, like he wasn't even there. Sans clenched his fists, that were still firmly planted to the ground, he appeared to be struggling.
"T-That's right, Frankie… You gott e…" Sans hissed critically, his very soul aching with desperation.
The knife was raised higher, Sans' eyes widened.
"Frankie! F-Frankie… please…" Sans' eyes were glued to the small skeleton, but Franklin didn't seem to register what Sans had said. The figure let out another laugh,
"Ḩ̶͜e̵͞h̷͘ ̵he̡h̶͠ ͞he͜͟h̸̛.҉̧.͡͠. ̶̀̀" Their voice was corrupted, it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. The knife raised just a bit higher before striking.
"NO! FRANKIE!" Sans managed to pull away from the invisible grasp, but it was too late. The blade struck the small child across the chest. Frankie let out a cry of pain, more tears falling from his eyes. The figure disappeared just as Sans reached Franklin, pulling the kid into his arms.
"F-Frankie… stay with me, buddy… just… stay…" Sans choked back a sob, but the kid couldn't speak. His bones soon fell into dust… and all that remained…
was his little red scarf.
"no… NO!"
The orange and yellow hallway had faded. Sans was no longer in the corridor, but in his bedroom, his left eye flashing rapidly between blue and yellow. His breathing was heavy as he sat up, holding his skull with both hands as he tried to forcefully will himself to calm down. But fear had taken hold of him, and he was no match for its grasp. The petrified skeleton could do nothing but sit there as the images of his hallucinated horror replayed in his skull.
it felt so real… It felt… too real… Sans removes his hands from his head, examining them in front of him. He was shaking, and not just his arms. His entire body continuously quivered as subtle tremors of terror ran through his bones. He blinked a few times, his pulsating iris dissipated, being replaced with emptiness. Sans tried to remember what he did to calm down after his previous nightmares- but it had been so long since those actually affected him, he couldn't think of anything.
What he needed now was something- anything- that could take his mind off of what had just happened. He found himself mindlessly walking down the hall, forgetting entirely to put his slippers back on. The house was empty. He felt numb, every step he took felt muffled. He finally resolved to sit on the couch, the disgusting orange couch looked much more inviting compared to his bed at the moment. He fumbled for the TV remote, his shaking hands made it a bit harder to clutch.
As soon as he pressed the 'on' button, the background noise of the TV seemed to sooth his thoughts. He didn't know what he was watching, and frankly, he didn't care. So long as it distracted him from his dream. Sans glanced over at the clock, he had barely been asleep for a half an hour. Toriel should be back soon… right? He found himself taking small glimpses over at the clock every few minutes, completely autonomously, of course. He shook his head, trying to focus on the TV. He needed to stop worrying… he needed to stop caring.