At last Asgore has helped pay for reinforced locks and doors for Riley's apartment. After being in Sans' house for a week and a half she's no longer afraid to go back home- all her books and movies awaited her. And food besides spaghetti, of course. It was the morning after she returned home that she was on her way to town. It was, of course, a short walk to the grocery store. She needed to restock on some essential food items- coffee creamer (she knew Sans liked his coffee black now. She, on the other hand, couldn't stand it), eggs, bread, etc.
She made her way towards the grocery store with a spring in her step. Things were going well with Sans and her. Of course there was Sans' PTSD- which was pretty bad. But she had gone through the same thing for so many years after Ally had died. She knew Sans could get through it. She could help him. Of course she would, she would always be there for him. She… well… I really like him. A lot. She'd said that before… maybe… maybe there was a stronger word for the feelings she had for him- feelings that seemed to only grow stronger and stronger.
"Hey!" She spun around with a frown. Someone's shouting… at me? "Yeah! You with the scarf. I've seen you hanging around with that… that freak!" It's a taller woman with dark hair and dark blue eyes. She looked down at riley like she was disgusting.
"Excuse me?" Who does she mean?! Sans?!
"You and that freak-"
"Who?"
"That-"
"WHO?!" Riley spat. The woman reached out quickly and grabbed her wrist-
"That monster." She said the word like it was poison. "The skeleton- you and him! What? Are you falling in love with it?" She sneered.
"In love with a monster!" Someone else laughed.
"S-stop!" Riley gasped.
"Humans and them- we shouldn't mingle…" A man stepped forward. "You're mingling, Riley, a lot."
"How… who… Leave me alone!" She hissed, turning the other way.
"Trying to leave, little Riley?" Another woman laughed. "Trying to go back home to your thing?" Someone's foot stepped out, and she tripped, falling to her hands and knees. She got up slowly while the troupe who was tormenting her all laughed.
"Poor little Riley…"
"Poor little slut... little bitch!" One of the men grabbed her wrist. She yanked away quickly, continuing to walk down the sidewalk back home, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Then something hard hit her shoulder and she stumbled, nearly falling. They're throwing… rocks at me?! She was terrified, her heart was beating fast, she turned quickly and began to run.
"Come back here, Riley!"
"Come back here, you slut!"
"Monster fucker! She's a monster fucker!" Monster what?! The words burned. Sticks and stones may break… my bones… but words…. Words….
"Come back here, monster fucker! We'll heal you!"
"Tomorrow morning you won't even remember that thing!" Another rock hits her in the leg, she grits her teeth, pausing for only a moment.
"We'll beat the attraction out of you! Tomorrow you'll be all better."
"Monster fucker!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Up ahead, on the porch of the little house on the corner stood a woman. She was gesturing for Riley to come. I don't have many other options. Riley quickly followed the woman into the house. The woman slammed and locked the door behind her.
"MONSTER FUCKER!" The walls of the house wouldn't stop Red X. The small troop had grown into a hoard. "You're harboring a monster-supporter, a monster fucker!"
The woman, who had short light brown hair, light freckles, and bright blue eyes, held up a phone to the window for them to see.
"I'm c-calling the police. Get off my property before you all get arrested!" She gasped.
"You're on the list- woman! You're committing a crime, harboring a woman who's in love with a FREAK!"
"GET OUT!" The woman screamed. In front of the window she dialed the familiar numbers- 911.
"We'll be baaaaackkk!" Someone sang, and the group of Monster haters dispersed. The woman slowly set the phone down and hung up, turning over to Riley who was still sobbing.
"Are you alright?"
"N...no…" Riley whispered.
"Come sit down, I'll make you some tea." She gestured to the couch and then hurried away into the kitchen.
"Th-thank you…" Riley could feel that bruises were forming where the numerous rocks hit her. Her hands and knees were scraped up. Sans would notice. Sans… Sans was going to be angry. She knew Red X irked Sans more than anything. They had hurt his son, they had threatened his girlfriend. Every time you turned on the TV Red X had made the news in some way or another. They were destroying property, threatening people, and worst of all- killing. What would that group have done, had they caught up with her. She didn't know. She was terrified to guess.
"What kind of tea do you like?" The woman said from the kitchen.
"Any k-kind." Riley whispered.
"I'll make chamomile. It'll help calm you down." Riley quickly wiped away her tears as the woman came out to sit with her while the water heated for tea. "They're getting worse…" She frowned, "It's dangerous to be out on the streets when they're about. And they seem to know who you are."
"My… boyfriend gave them a bad time." Riley smiled, but she wasn't really feeling it.
"My name's Cait. What's your's?"
"R-Riley." She whispered.
"So, Riley. Your boyfriend's a monster?"
"Y-yeah. His name's… Sans…" She smiled genuinely this time. Sans was her's. She couldn't help smiling when she talked about it.
"My boyfriend… he's also a monster." Cait said.
"Really?" Riley frowned.
"Yeah. His name's Jay." Cait smiled. "He and I met not too long ago. See, I've been working hard to help monsters find good living conditions and good jobs…. That's where I met Jay. Got him his Pizza delivery job. It's not much, but it's good, and he has a small apartment of his own now. What about your Sans?"
"He… he's a janitor at a school."
"A school? I'm surprised. With Red X attacking places that support monsters many schools aren't accepting monsters as employees, or even students."
"Oh, it's a school for monsters." Riley smiled. "It's so nice. It's almost like… a haven I suppose."
"That's amazing! I hadn't heard of a school for monsters… It must be on the other side of town."
"It is! It's a very nice school." Riley smiled.
"Oh, you're bleeding!" She pointed to Riley's jeans and Riley looked down to see the area around her knees were all torn up in her jeans and blood was soaking through.
"I tripped…" She sighed.
"Here! Come into the bathroom. We'll get you cleaned up." Cait led her into her little downstairs bathroom and helped her clean her knees and put on some bandaids. There were a few sore spots on her body where the rocks had hit. They were going to be pretty dark bruises the next morning. Sans was going to be concerned.
"I think that's the teapot. I'll go pour the tea. Why don't you go sit down?" Cait smiled. Riley did as she said, and soon Cait came back into the living room with two mugs of tea.
"So! Tell me about your boyfriend. What's he like?!"
"He…" She smiled, already feeling better. "He… he's funny and… thoughtful… and he has a son- he loves his son and his brother more than anything. He's an amazing father."
"Wow… it's just Jay really, he doesn't have any family. He's great! So kind and gentle. It's strange to think that people would want to hurt him, or Sans… or any monsters! It's horrible. I can't wait until it's all settled down. Of course there will always be someone who wants to change things, who wants to continue to fight against this… but there will always be someone to oppose them. I want to be that person. I'm sure you do too."
"Of course."
"So… you and Sans… you go out in public a lot."
"Y-yeah… I guess. Enough. Sans… he… well… I guess when it comes to people hurting people he loves he has a temper. Red X figured that one out the hard way. They beat up his son, and he... well… he left them with a couple nasty scars."
"So that's how they know you. They must be keeping an eye on him." Cait frowned.
"I wish they'd just stop. The things they called me…"
"Don't listen to them. They don't know what they're talking about."
"You're a good person, Cait." Riley smiled.
"I try to be…. Hey! Maybe sometime we can get together- the four of us. You, me, Sans, and Jay! How's that sound? You two could come over for dinner sometime?"
"Sure! That sounds great! I can't wait to tell, Sans!" The two women talked for a while longer, finishing their tea.
"How are you going to get home?" Cait asked. "I'm sure you don't want to go out again. I would take you but… I don't have a car…"
"I'll… Oh! I'll call Sans… he'll come get me." She pulled out her phone quickly, dialing the familiar numbers.
"Heya." She smiled at the sound of his voice- it was the little things…
"Hey! Umm… This is an odd request-"
"Anything." Sans said quickly.
"Can you come pick me up. I'll explain when you get here."
"Where are you?" He sounded concerned.
"Umm…" Cait supplied the street names and Riley quickly gave them to Sans.
"I'll be there in a flash." He said before hanging up. It actually took Sans longer to get there than Riley thought, but soon there was a knock on the door. Cait got up quickly to open it.
"Hello." She smiled.
"Heya. Is… Riley here?"
"Right here!" Riley waved.
"Hey…" Sans frowned. "What's going on?"
"...I'll tell you later." She sighed. "This is Cait! Cait, this is my boyfriend, Sans."
"Nice to meet you!" Cait said, shaking Sans' hand. Sans nodded with a grin.
"Did you want to go home, Ri?"
"Yeah… we can talk there." She nodded.
"Alright…" He frowned, he knew something was wrong.
"See you later, Cait! Thanks so much!" Riley gasped.
"Of course! Oh! Let's exchange phone numbers so we can talk about having dinner sometime!"
After that was accomplished, Riley hugged Sans tightly and he teleported them away, back into Riley's apartment.
"What's going on, Riley?" Sans frowned. She sighed, gesturing for him to sit on the couch, and she sat next to him, taking his hand.
"Red X."
"What about them?" Sans growled.
"They… attacked me-"
"W h a t." Sans' eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth.
"They… they found me while I was walking to the store…. They called me… horrible names…" Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she spoke. "And they… They threw rocks at me!" She pulled down her sleeve on her shoulder to show him where a dark bruise was forming. Sans' pupils were dimming as he stared in fury at what they had done to her. "But Cait found me! She scared them away, Sans! She saved me, and helped me!" She pointed to the band-aids on her knees. "And she made me tea, and we talked for so long, and- her boyfriend's a monster too, Sans! She wants to have dinner with us sometime!" She grinned. Sans' expression softened.
"That's… great…"
"What's wrong…?" She frowned.
"What's wrong?!" Sans choked. "They would have killed you!"
"But they didn't. That's what matters." Riley whispered.
"The would have! And I wouldn't have been there… I…." He grabbed her shoulders suddenly. "I can't lose you, Riley! I can't! I… I'm…."
"Sans…" She frowned, "You're not going to lose me, remember? Not ever. Never. Ever." She leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him gently.
"I… I can't be sure of that." He whispered.
"Shh…" She held him tighter. "I'm not going anywhere, bonehead. I promise."
Sans had been on-edge ever since Riley told him about the incident. Everytime he thought about it, rage bubbled up inside of him, and he gritted his teeth. He wants nothing more than to completely dunk Red X, straight down to Hell where they belong. The short skeleton sat on the couch, waiting for Riley to arrive for their double date with that woman that had helped her, Cait, and her boyfriend, Jay.
Sans hesitantly flips on the TV, only to be met with new reports of Red X. Apparently now, the anti-monster organization was spreading cross-country. Sans frowns, flipping the TV back off. Riley would be there in fifteen minutes anyways, and he really doesn't need to be in a bad mood during the date. He lets out a long sigh, trying to relax.
Sans needs to preoccupy himself with something, or he was going to punch something.
"Dad? Is everything alright?" Frankie walks into the living room, taking a seat next to Sans. Apparently, Sans' rage was more easily noticed than he had previously anticipated.
"Yeah, everything's fine, kiddo." Sans sighs, giving his son a reassuring smile.
"You don't seem fine…" Frankie frowns.
"It's nothin', kid." The skeleton child seemed to understand it was something Sans didn't want to talk about.
"Alright… Well. Do you wanna play monopolop again sometime?"
"Heh. Sure, kid. That sounds great." Sans grins, his mood elevating instantly, "I'm sure Papyrus'd play it with you right now, if you asked him."
"Uncle Paps says I also cheat, but I think it's just 'cause I keep beating him." Frankie grins, Sans laughs,
"Probably. Maybe we could go to the store, and get another board game. One that Paps can play without accusing us of cheating." Frankie grins,
"Sure! Thanks, Dad! I-" The doorbell rings, "I'll get it!" The little skeleton dashes off and Sans chuckles, Riley walking in a moment later. She smiles under her bright blue scarf.
"Hey, bonehead! Ready to go?"
"Yup." Sans was thankful they were just going to a little restaurant across town. Nothing fancy, so he didn't have to dress up. He takes her hand and they arrive there almost instantaneously. They had arrived before Cait and Jay, so they sat down at a booth next to each other, hand in hand. The other couple arrives a few minutes later. Sans had briefly met Cait before, but he'd never met Jay. Jay was a lizard-like monster with blue scales and piercing blue eyes, he stood nearly a foot taller than Sans, a few inches shorter than Papyrus. Sans stood up to shake his hand,
"Heya. Name's Sans." Jay smiles,
"Jay. Cait's boyfriend." After introductions, everyone sits down, and a waiter comes by to take their orders. Cait speaks up,
"So, Sans. Riley was telling me that you have a son?" Sans smiles,
"Yeah. His name's Frankie. Heh. He's a great kid." Cait smiles brightly,
"How old is he?"
"Nine"
The night continues much like this, talking about each other's personal lives and other various topics that were brought up. One of the televisions at the bar was switched to the news, and Sans' attention was immediately drawn to it. Though he couldn't hear it, he could read the caption on the news story.
Red X attack: Three dead- Two monsters and a human.
Red X had killed monsters in the past, but they had never touched a human. Sans bristles, clenching his fists. Riley had told him they couldn't hurt her, because she was human. That clearly wasn't the case any more, and Sans was terrified. He can't lose her. Riley seems to notice Sans' change in behavior almost immediately,
"Sans… Is everything alright?" He doesn't speak, for fear he might snap at her, he just points to the TV screen. Her eyes widen immediately,
"Oh… oh no… that's horrible…" Cait and Jay turn to see the TV too, their smiles fading quickly. Everyone was silent for a while, watching the broadcast. Apparently, Red X's anti-monster movement was really moving, spreading like wildfire across the country. Today marks the day that the first human died from Red X, and Sans was furious. They're not touching Riley. They're not touching Frankie. And they're not touching Papyrus. Or anyone I know. He hadn't realized that his pupils had disappeared from his eye sockets, leaving his eyes dark and hollow. Upon realizing this, Riley takes his hand, squeezing gently.
"It's gonna be alright, Sans…" Sans nods slowly, wishing he could believe her. He was so suddenly aware that he was sitting in the middle of a busy restaurant, putting a forbidden love on display for all to see.
"We… We need to go, Riley."
"Sans…"
"Now."
Frankie stood on the edge of Wren's porch. Despite his feelings the sun had decided to shine on that awful June day- he hated it, and the more he thought about it the more upset he became. Sans was talking to Brent, helping him haul the last few boxes to the moving truck. They had a long journey ahead of them. "Days!" Wren had said. "It's going to be so hard for us to visit, you'll have to write me tons of letters! Promise?" Frankie put his head in his hands and sat down on the step of the porch.
"Hey, Frankie…" Wren… She sat down next to him on the porch, frowning. "I know You're upset… I'm… Sorry…"
"It's not your fault…" he mumbled.
"I'm going to miss you a lot you know…" she smiled.
"I'm going to miss you too."
"Here! I have a present for you…" she pulled a folded piece of lined paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. He unfolded it with a frown. "That's… That's our address and… our home phone number and you can write to me and call me as much as you like. And I'll write you back… And…" She trailed off, tears in her eyes, "And… I… I don't want… I don't want to go…!" He hugged her quickly,
"I'll write to you every day!" He smiled, "And I'll have Frisk and Ella write you too. We'll all write to you."
"Thank you, Frankie." She smiled.
"Alright, Wren, are you ready to go?" Brent came out of the house with the last box to load into the truck.
"I think so…" Wren sighed, looking at Frankie sadly.
"It's time to say goodbye, kiddo." Sans frowned. Frankie nodded, standing up and helping Wren to her feet.
"Goodbye, Wren." He hated those words so much.
"G-goodbye." she whispered, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I'll see you again! Soon." Frankie gasped.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Brent set his hand on Wren's shoulder, "Come on, sweetheart." Frankie pulled away with a smile. He didn't know what else to say. Wren and her father climbed into their car and Frankie waved until they were out of sight. As soon as they were gone he fell into Sans' arms, trying to hold back his tears.
"Let's get you home, kiddo…" Sans smiled, hugging Frankie tight. In a flash they were back at the house. Frankie pulled away from Sans and turned to go to his room. Papyrus suddenly comes dashing down the stairs.
"FRANKIE!" He shouted happily. "I-"
"I'm in the mood Uncle Paps…" Frankie mumbled.
"BUT I GOT YOU SOMETHING I KNOW WILL CHEER YOU UP! I WAS GOING TO DRAW YOU A PICTURE OF SPAGHETTI, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH GREATER THAN THIS, BUT SANS INSISTED I BUY YOU SOMETHING. I CHOSE THIS," He glared at Sans, "ALL BY MYSELF OF COURSE…" He let out a nervous "nyeheheh" and handed Frankie a little present.
Frankie wasn't exactly in the mood for this, but he decided to get it over with. He quickly ripped open the red wrapping paper to reveal a huge pack of yellow stationary. It wasn't flowery or anything. It was mostly just cool patterns. It was perfect.
"Wow!" He grinned. "This is perfect!"
"OF COURSE IT'S PERFECT! LOOK!" Papyrus pulled out a slip of the yellow paper and showed it to Frankie. "YOU CAN WRITE ON THIS SIDE!" He points to the side with the lines, and then turns it over to the blank white side, "AND ON THIS SIDE YOU CAN DRAW A GREAT PICTURE OF SPAGHETTI! NYEHEHEH!"
"That's great." Frankie smiled.
"OF COURSE IT'S GREAT!" Papyrus paused, frowning. "DON'T WORRY, MY NEPHEW! YOU WILL SEE YOUR FRIEND AGAIN!"
"You think so?!" Frankie grinned.
"I KNOW SO!" Papyrus shouted.
"You're the best, Uncle Paps!" Frankie hugged his Uncle tightly. "I'm going to go write Wren a letter write now!"
"CAN I HELP!?" Papyrus gasped.
"Sure!" Frankie grinned, and together the two of them rushed upstairs to get to work.
With a sigh, Sans settled into bed, making sure his phone was on and the volume all the way up should Riley call him. Everything was going well, actually. Red X had not shown their face after the human incident, probably for good reason, now that people were actually getting concerned. Frankie was getting better after his friend left, thankfully with Papyrus helping him. And Sans was… happy. He smiles, staring up at the ceiling.
For the first time, in a long time, Sans felt like he could… live. With that in mind, Sans settles in for a long, peaceful sleep, closing his eyes. And then Sans wakes up in Snowdin.
REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:
CitrisDragon: Gah! So much angst! Also is a reset happens I swear, I will throw my phone across the room.
(Actually, probably not because I really like my phone...)
Anyway! Awesome chapter!
uhhh... sooo how's this chapter looking?
MechaSniper51:
Hey im early
Yups! lol
OppsieDasi: Time of death... *enter time here*
Died of this chapter...
How about this one? :D
anthonyabc268: I honestly am wondering what sans means when he said did he do anything bad I wonder what could be so bad but wow great work with I haven't been reviewing but don't worry still love ur story one of my favorites
Well... you know, flashbacks... sometimes you don't... you can't see reality. Sans could react using magic because of a bad flashback. He could react violently. On a less damaging note (sort of) He could say some pretty bad things too...
Awesome! I'm glad you love it! :D
MachUPB: Omigosh, the feels are real for Sans, and not in a good way. I just wanna burst through the fourth wall and comfort him! Great chapter, though, and I'm sure many will agree with me on that.
I think we need to call in some very good and understanding therapists to deal with people here; there's so much stuff going on that needs fixing (Frankie getting higtmares when he's not sleeping with Sans, Sans having this heckler-voice in his head as well as nightmares, Riley also with painful reminders of a not-so-good past, etc.), though everything will probably be fixed without external help anyway.
Anyway, back to my second sentence...
*Runs off to figure out how to travel through the fourth wall.
*Distant yells of frustration when realisation of the impossibility of the deed hits.
*Tries to travel into the story anyway.
...
Yeah, it's not working. Guess I'll just have to settle for another amazing chapter. :)
It's going to be alright! He's got Riley to comfort him! They have each other, that's what's important, and together they'll help Frankie.
Mr. Indigo: Bet you a hundred bucks that Chara is the voice inside Sans mind! Also, pretty sure that Sans needs an intervention at this point, since his sanity is mostly gone at this point...
Also, after last chapter I pretty much went and wrote an entire backstory for Red X! (I'm pretty much emotionally invested in this story by this point...)
If you want to read it then just say so in the replys of the next chapter and I'll just put it in my next review! :)
Well... Sans suffers from PTSD and it's just a process. He just needs help working through it.
That would be so awesome! Go ahead and post it, we'd love to read it. :)
sceera1: I'd wondered what happened to that voice that suspiciously sounds like flowey. Apparently it's still a problem. AAAAA! The feels! The romance! The never ending friendships that are falling apart! The key word of fanfiction for this is FLUFFY!
I keep on thinking it's going to reset any way, but instead of being random, it's because sans killed himself. "The tension, the uncertainty that at any moment i would wake up back in snowdin...it was like torture."
What do you think?
I dunno, after this chapter what do you think? lol
No but seriously, kind of a cliff hangar, huh?
Ed's. Curious. Kitten: SO MANY FEELS! I CAN'T TAKE IT! *hugs everyone* It'll get better soon, right?
Perhaps... *evil grin* It always gets worse... before it gets better...
Oito Y: HHHHHHHHHHHHH save me from the nothing I've become
Poor Sans, though, like really. Thank God Riley was there.
I cannot because I cannot save myself heheh...
Yes... Riley is extremely important in Sans' recovery- Frankie too.
iamdaraptor: This is reaching CQ's levels of heart-wrenching stories. I truly feel that this can rival Aftertale with how tragic and sad it is. In fact,it feels a lot like a mashup of Aftertale and the Insomnia comic. Why must you do this,man?!
It must always get worse before it gets better. This is why...
Guest: Great chapter! I really, really hope Riley finds a way to get rid of a certain voice in Sans' head!
Like i said, Riley is the key...
Anonymous: Wow, you did so well with Sans! Bringing in his horror of the resets was absolutely brilliant! My review for the last chapter didn't get posted, but I thought that one was brilliantly done as well.
Ohhh I'm sorry about the last review not getting posted... augh... sometimes I approve guest reviews and then when I go back to the reviews page they don't all show up. It's rude. But thanks so much! :D
trvlsize23: That was a good song! And this Chapter! Thanks!...aw man. Dem feeellss again!
ysssss that song is the best! :)
Awesome! I'm so glad you liked it.
nadiahardar: *sees iamdaraptor's comment*
Ayyyyyy
Something tells me that I'm half right but I'm missing something...hmmm
JFC SANS YOU POOR THING!
Frankie's SO gonna start to think like:
"Wait. Does my art trigger him because he doesn't want me? Is that why he has panic attacks every time he sees them?! Isn't he ready for the responsibility my?!"
He freaks out, leaves. Red X happens. Sad things. Freaks get dunked on. Everyone lives happily ever after. The End.
That's how the story ends right?
Well... I can't say anything. We've got a while before this story ends though...
Potato: Poor Sans...and Frankie. Frankie thinks that Sans can't see his work, when just certain things trigger him.
I'm surprised Frankie saying 'Timelines' didn't scare him a bit.
Yeah... augh poor kid. Poor Sans... poor everyone. :(
Huh! I didn't even think of that- good catch!
JustARandomGal: Omg this is the best fanfic ever I love it (and I mean the good kind of love XD) oh and no one has ever botherd to read my review before so thank you for that :)
Awww thanks! Oh, I always try and read and reply to people's reviews. I mean, reviews are so encouraging! Sooooo encouraging. I want the readers to know we appreciate them, so I always try and reply to all reviews. Because we love hearing from you all. :)
THANK YOU ALLLLL! Reviews are so appreciated! :DDD
See you on the next chapter! :)
-MH_C