Chapter Nine! This one is actually probably one of my favorites so far! So enjoy, and let us know what you think!
-mariahills-capsicle
The only think Frankie regretted about the last Spaghetti night was that he didn't really get to meet Sans' new friend, Riley. He had a lot of fun. Frisk was an awesome friend, and was helping him learn more and more sign language.
"Soon I'll know it all!" Frankie exclaimed to Sans on the way out the door.
"DON'T FORGET YOUR AMAZING SPAGHETTI LEFTOVERS!" Papyrus cried. He came dashing towards them carrying a huge bowl, which Frankie gratefully accepted.
"Awesome! Papyrus you're the best!"
"A GENUINE COMPLIMENT! NYEEEEEEEHHHH!"
"He'll get over it." Sans said as Frankie looked worriedly at the tall skeleton who looked about ready to explode. Riley came trotting out, side by side with Alphys. They skirted around Papyrus, who was still frozen in awe at the compliment. The two of them were still discussing the movie happily. Undyne followed them out of the house with a groan. Frankie watched as Riley noticed Sans and turned his way.
"Umm… Th-thanks, Sans, for inviting me. I… I had a lot of fun meeting y-your friends."
"You're welcome to come anytime." Sans said.
"M-maybe we should… get together s-sometime?"
"Sure." Sans nodded. Frankie watched Alphys lean over and whisper something to Undyne who smirked, but before he could continue watching the scene unfold, someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him into an extremely tight hug.
"NYEH! I MAY THE BEST, BUT YOU'LL MAKE IT TO SECOND!" Papyrus screamed. Frankie could only laugh, (or more like wheeze in the tight grip of the tall skeleton). Frisk, Toriel, and Asgore came out of the house next.
When Frisk saw Frankie firmly caught in Papyrus grasp, they covered their laugh with their hand. They shook their head.
I'll have to tell you sometime about how I met Papyrus and Sans. They signed.
"It was underground, right?" Frankie asked.
"HMM? AH YES! IT IS A GOOD STORY! SOMETIMES I TELL IT TO MYSELF BEFORE I GO TO BED… SINCE SANS ISN'T AROUND TO READ ALOUD ANYMORE." Papyrus looked sad only for a moment, "IT'S A STORY FULL OF FANTASTIC PUZZLES AND SUPERB PASTA-TRAPS, MADE BY THE GREAT-"
"You made Pasta Traps?"
He thought he did. Frisk signed, but Papyrus didn't notice.
"YES! AND WE FINISHED THE DAY WITH A GREAT FIGHT! AND OF COURSE-"
"Frankie? You ready to head out, kiddo?" Sans asked. Papyrus reluctantly released Frankie from his grasp.
"Sure." Frankie sighed. "Maybe next time I can come over you can tell me the story, Papyrus."
"OF COURSE! I'D LOVE TO TELL YOU THE STORY!" Then he looked over at Sans nervously and said in what might be described as a Papyrus-whisper, "SANS, I'VE NEVER TOLD ANYONE A STORY BEFORE. I'VE ONLY HEARD PEOPLE TELL THEM TO ME! WHAT DO I DO?!"
"You'll do great, Papyrus. Just say what you remember about meeting Frisk." Sans replied.
"OH! WELL, OF COURSE I'LL DO GREAT-"
"See you next Spaghetti night, punk!" Undyne grinned down at Frankie, "Later, Sans."
"Yup."
"R-riley, maybe… you could come over some time and we could watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie."
"That.. that would be really fun, Alphys. I r-really liked getting to know you."
"Me too!" Alphys smiled. "See you next time."
"Yeah!"
"See you l-later, Sans." Riley waved goodbye.
"Bye." Sans nodded.
"Goodbye, Sans and Frankie." Asgore and Toriel stood above them. Frankie turned to Frisk.
"Bye!"
You still should come over sometime. Frisk signed.
"I'd like that a lot." Frankie nodded. The two hugged goodbye and Frisk followed Asgore and Toriel into Tori's little car. Papyrus was the only one remaining now.
"GOODBYE, SANS! YOU MUST COME VISIT SOON OR I'LL BE FORCED TO USE DRASTIC MEASURES!"
"I'm sure. Why don't you come over some time, Papy?" Sans frowned.
"R-REALLY?! WOWIE! OF COURSE I WILL!" Papyrus nearly screamed. He pulled Sans into another ridiculously tight hug.
Sans and Frankie made it home pretty late, so Frankie was sure it would be bedtime the moment they got into the house. Sans lead his way in and sure enough with a yawn he said,
"Well, it's about bedtime, Frankie, why don't you go get ready?"
"Okay…" Frankie sighed. Then, hoping to change the subject, "Sans, Papyrus is pretty cool! Do you think he'll come over?"
"Knowing Papyrus, he'll probably jump at the opportunity immediately. I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up at the doorstep tomorrow morning."
"Really? Awesome! I bet he'll really like Sir Barkley and Justice. What about Riley are you gonna invite her over sometime." Sans nodded.
"Sure!"
"Cool!"
"Alright, kid, I know what you're doing. It's definitely time for both of us to go to bed." Sans said. Frankie sighed.
"Fine…" He hurried into his room to change into his pajamas, but was excited to find Justice fast asleep on his pillow. He fell onto his bed, completely distracted by her. He stroked her long fur and giggled at her purring.
"Frankie…" Sans groaned from the doorway. "Come on, get up. It's time for bed."
"Sans, isn't she cute? She's sleeping next to Sir Barkley."
"Yes, she's cute." Sans replied, "But right now, it's time to get to bed."
"Alright." Sans stood in the doorway until Frankie pulled himself off his bed and grabbed his only pair of pajamas- dark blue with red spaceship prints and yellow stars. "When I come back you should be under the blankets with your pajamas on."
"Okay." Frankie said.
When Sans came back he found Frankie just way he'd requested, gently petting Justice.
"Sans," Frankie said, "Can Frisk come over some time?"
"Sure. We can talk about it tomorrow. I'm going to go to bed now-"
"Sans? What if I have a nightmare?" Frankie asked. He hadn't in a little bit, which was a rarity, the idea of having another absolutely terrified him.
"You're not going to have a nightmare, kiddo, I promise." Sans said.
"But what if I do?" Sans sighed.
"You can come get me and we'll talk about it, okay?" Sans said.
"What if I wake you and-"
"It's going to be fine, Franklin." Sans said. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Sans." Frankie whispered.
Frankie blinked. Something… something was wrong. The room- his room, had an eerie feeling about it. He slowly stood from his bed, shaking.
"Sans? Sans?" He whispered, not daring to talk louder. "Justice?" He tiptoed to his door, and opened it slowly, revealing blackness. "Sans?" No reply. So, he stepped into the hall, searching for the lightswitch.
When, at last, he was able to locate the switch he flipped it, but nothing happened. He shivered.
"Sans?" He whispered. The hall seemed to stretch out for miles before him, and his vision wasn't adjusting. Everything was still black. "Justice…?" I'll go back and get Sir Barkley! He'll help me find Sans! Frankie spun around to go back to his room where he knew Sir Barkley was waiting on his bed, but he found that his door had vanished, on either side there was only wall. He began to panic.
"SANS!? JUSTICE? ANYONE?!" The walls seemed to be closing in around him, he had only the choice of moving forward. So he ran, ran as fast as his little legs would carry him. "SANS?! WHERE ARE YOU?" Tears slid down his cheek bones. "SANS, COME BACK!" You're all alone. You're all alone, again. And then Frankie burst free from the corridor, finding himself sliding into the snow of their front yard. Before him, much to his joy stood Papyrus.
"PAPYRUS!" He flew into the skeleton's arms.
"FRANKLIN, WHAT'S WRONG? WHERE IS SANS?"
"He's gone!" Frankie sobbed. "I can't find him anywhere…."
"IT'S ALRIGHT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL HELP YOU FIND-" But before Papyrus could finish, there was a slashing noise. The tall skeleton faded into dust. All that remained was his red scarf. Frankie let out a yelp, throwing the dust off of himself as darkness engulfed him again. You're all alone. You'll always be alone. Shaking off the shock Frankie stared down at the red scarf in his hands, gasping for breath through his tears.
"P-p-papyrus? PAPYRUS! SANS! PLEASE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" But Nobody Came. And the darkness drew nearer, the walls were closing in on him, choking the life out of him. The emptiness, the anger, the sorrow… "NO!"
Frankie shot out of sleep, with a terrible scream. Then, realizing that he was sitting in darkness and Justice was nowhere to be found he screamed again, and then again- the last drifting away into sobs. There was the slam of a door, and the flick of a light, and Sans was standing in Frankie's doorway.
"Frankie?! Are you alright…?" Relief filled the little boy, but he couldn't shake away his tears.
"S-sans!" He gasped. He didn't want to move from his bed in case it was another dream. Sans came to him instead, offering him a hug. Frankie flinched, turning away.
"Frankie…" Sans looked almost hurt. "What happened?"
"You w-were gone. I was... " Sans set his hand on Frankie's shoulder, and the touch made Frankie realize that he was in reality, not a dream. He fell into Sans' arms, sobbing. "You can't leave! You can't ever leave! I was all alone, and… and… it was dark… and…"
"Hey. I'm not going to leave. I'm right here."
"Papyrus… he was there, but… he died. I was all… all alone…" He tightened his grip around Sans' shoulders, trying to calm his breathing, but to no avail.
"It's alright…." Was all Sans could say, "Everything's gonna be fine. I'm not leaving."
"P-promise…?" Frankie whispered.
"I promise. I'll never leave." Sans lifted Frankie up and began walking down the hall. "Come on, kiddo, if it makes you feel better, you can sleep in my room tonight."
"I love you, Sans…" Frankie murmured. "You're the best."
"I…" Sans paused, opening the door to his room. "I love you too, kiddo." Frankie didn't dare let go of the older skeleton, as he slowly drifted off into sleep.
As Riley left Papyrus's house, she couldn't help but smile. That had gone a lot better than she expected. No one asked about the scarf. She let out a sigh of relief as she began walking back home. Home being an apartment near the town square. It was a good 20 minute walk, but she didn't care. During the walk, she found herself thinking about hanging out with Sans and everyone in the future.
Especially Alphys. It filled her with excitement to know that someone shared the same views as her regarding Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2. Riley shudders at the mere thought of the film. She glanced down at her phone. 12:43AM. Crap, is it really that late? She increases speed as she finally hits the city. She knows it's not smart to move slowly through this part of town.
Ah, finally. Town square. She reaches her small apartment building, just across from the library and coffee shop. The apartment itself wasn't that great, in fact, many would call her living accommodations awful. But the fact that it's right across the street from unlimited books and coffee fills her with pleasure and she doesn't care.
Riley unlocked the gate to the stairs, which she climbed quickly, in a hurry to get back to her apartment. When she reached the door, she stopped dead in her tracks. A big red 'X' was spray painted over the door, dripping down in places like blood. She looked cautiously around. Am I going to die? What if someone's inside? Maybe it's just vandals? What if- No. alright. I can do this. It's probably nothing.
She shakily unlocked the door, trying to ignore all of the impossible scenarios that tried to manifest themselves in her thoughts. It was dark. Riley felt for the light switch, hurriedly snapping on the lights before retracting her hand quickly. See, there's no one here. She takes a step in her apartment. The sound of crinkling paper sounds beneath her feet.
As Riley looks down, she sees an envelope, marked with the same red 'X' that was on her door. Oh god…. Is this a death threat? Have I been marked for death or something? Her mind swirled as she bent over to pick up the note, closing the door behind her and locking it. She looked at the letter, taking a seat on the couch. She carefully opened the letter, one of the things inside was a note written in red ink, or at least, what she hoped to be red ink.
"RILEY: We saw you with that thing. These things are not to be socialized with. If we ever see you with it again, we will not hesitate to pay you a visit."
That 'thing' what do they mean? Riley reaches into the envelope once more, pulling out the rest of the contents. She looked down in shock as she pulled out a picture of her sitting with Sans on the bench they had met each other at. Oh my god… are they going to kill me? I was just with them… what if they hurt Sans and his friends? Riley begins losing her composure, her anxiety taking over. I can't see them again. It's too risky. I don't want them to get hurt.
Riley puts the picture and note back in the envelope, setting it aside. No. i'm sure this is just some idiotic anti-monster weirdo trying to mess with me. I… No. I can't take that risk, can I? I can't see Sans again. I can't. If it means I'll be putting his life and everyone else's life at risk… I can't do it.
As much as it hurts her to do so, she decides it would be best to not see the kind skeleton again. Or his friends. She couldn't do it. If this threat held true, would she be killed if she did? Would the monsters be killed? Whatever the answer was, she wasn't going to find out. Riley numbly walks back to her bedroom and gets in her pajamas.
She gets in bed and glances over at her alarm clock. 1:23AM. Ugh. Getting to sleep wasn't going to be easy for her, that's for sure.
REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER EIGHT:
StarBee24: Aww...puppies and kitties and meeting new people OH MY! Can't wait for the next chapterhope Sans will ask Riley about what she's hiding under her scarf
Yes! :) Mmm... as you can see, right now that might be difficult. But of course, we're not giving up on Riley- ever!
sonicxjones: Aw Family time.
3 Yes! :D
Chip the Guest: Uhhhh, I was here before just as a guest and you merged my review with another, so I'm just gonna be chip the guest now, I seriously would adopt Frankie if sans didn't too cute, please don't give it a bad ending, pleeeeease
Oh gosh, I'm sorry! :(
Frankie is my favorite! Super adorable. I will say this: I cannot write tragedy. Like, no way in the world. That's probably a sad thing in some cases, but I just cannot bear to end something with sadness. It's like my dad always says, "If I want real life I'll watch the news. But since I'm reading fantasy I'd like good heroes, and evil villains, and happy endings." So... I don't think it's physically possible for me to end this badly. Besides, who could ever hurt the little skele-kid?! 3
Thank you all for the reviews! It's so awesome to hear from you all, and it's always very encouraging!