RESETTING was like diving into the deep end of a dark abyss, and falling until you couldn't tell which way was up. Frisk usually was swamped by the darkness, their small SOUL the only thing they could make out in the pitch-black inkiness that enveloped them until they woke up, a small flickering red light of comfort, but this time was different. Instead of drowning in the darkness, Frisk tried to swim. They reached their arm out, past the small circle of light their SOUL provided and into the darkness.
Surprisingly, Frisk realized that as soon as they tried to reach out, they stopped feeling as though they were falling. frisk hesitantly tried to set their legs down and stand, but they could barely manage to stand on their shaking legs. Frisk's breaths were the only sound in this space, and they could feel their body start to grow heavier as time, the only constant in this strange area, moved forwards. Frisk knew it was only a matter of time before they sunk through the floor and woke up again, the RESET completed.
"Where do I go?" Frisk asked, their voice muffled in the strange setting. This place was creepy... it was almost like a void of nothingness. As if in response, whispers started to drift up around them, chillingly familiar yet very foreign.
Don't give up, Frisk! Stay DETERMINED… One whispered, close to Frisk's ear.
Frisk jerked around, flailing as the pressure on their body increased and they sunk ankle deep into the floor.
"W-Who's there?!" Frisk yelled, but the whispers weren't interested in giving answers.
Keep going, you're almost there! Another one whispered, and Frisk shivered before turning back and trying to run forwards, yanking their feet out of the tar black floor as they started sinking in deeper. Soon it reached their waist, and Frisk had to wade through the strange substance as they tried not to panic. The light from their red SOUL was the only company Frisk had, and they almost wished they would just give up and let this bizarre experience be done, over with, and forgotten.
And then, suddenly, a faint white glow could be seen up ahead. Frisk splashed towards it in desperation, and finally, they were able to see it. This was what they must have been looking for this entire time.
RESET / QUIT
"Just a bit more…" Frisk gasped, the blackness swirling up to around their shoulders. They reached out, trying to touch the QUIT option, but suddenly the entire screen started wavering in the air, lines of numbers and letters appearing in strips across it as parts of it blinked in and out of focus. Frisk's hand went right through the screen, unable to activate anything, unable to touch anything, unable to fix everything even though the answer was right in front of their eyes, and suddenly the darkness rose to Frisk's mouth, a strange substance that wasn't slimy or cold… just numbing.
Frisk jerked their head up and took a deep mouthful as air as they started to get swallowed up again by the darkness, when suddenly a voice, much clearer than the whispers from before, spoke in their ear.
[You're not allowed to QUIT just yet, Frisk.]
Frisk floundered about, trying to wrench their head around to see who had spoken, but it was too late- Frisk was swallowed up whole by the darkness.
.
Frisk jerked awake with a gasp, eyes snapping open as they sat up. The golden flowers once again surrounded their body, and Frisk shuddered for a moment as they recalled the feeling of absolute nothingness in the place they had been.
"Who was that…?" Frisk wondered, but their memory of the voice now seemed elusive, like they should recognize who the speaker was but now just couldn't remember.
Frisk sighed, blinked once more, rubbed their eyes, and finally they stood up. They didn't want to keep Sans waiting, after all.
.
Sans was waiting right outside of the Ruins' door, hands stuffed into his pockets as he stood in plain sight. "hey, glad to see ya again, kiddo," he greeted. "miss me?"
"Yes," Frisk answered. They ran to him, and although he didn't return the hug frisk gave him, he didn't push Frisk away, either. "That was… awful."
Sans's grin didn't move, but by now Frisk knew by the narrowing of his eyes he wasn't pleased as he glanced down at them after Frisk released him and stepped back. "…what happened? did you find something?"
"I… I don't know. There was… this voice, but I d-don't remember it clearly." Frisk looked away and rubbed their arm. "I tried to touch the QUIT option, but my arm went right... right through."
"...that's too bad. would've been nice if there was an easy fix to this like that, but i knew it was wishful thinking." Sans said with a small grimace. He glanced down at Frisk before grinning reassuringly at them and messing up their hair with his hand. "hey, lighten up kiddo, it's all right. how about we walk through the underground together? maybe having a day on the surface again would shed some light on things, or maybe something we missed down here."
Frisk knew Sans was putting on a front so they wouldn't feel so bad, so they weakly grinned and nodded at him. Sans motioned for them to follow him, and the two set off into the snow.
.
"SANS, THERE YOU ARE, YOU LAZY BROTHER! YOUR PUZZLES HAVEN'T BEEN RECALIBRATED YET! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU… UHHHH…. SANS… IS THAT… A HUMAN?"
Sans stared at Papyrus for a moment as Frisk clung to his side, grasping at his jacket's sleeve like a lost child. Technically, that was exactly what Frisk was. "yep," Sans finally agreed.
Papyrus's eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped open. "OH MY GOD SANS, YOU CAUGHT A HUMAN?! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO… WHERE DID YOU… WOWEE, YOU'RE AMAZING BROTHER!"
"hehe, it was nothin'." Sans said with a grin. "After all, i could feel the presence of the human in my bones." He winked at Papyrus, whose eyes narrowed but the grin remained plastered on his face.
"SERIOUSLY, BROTHER? NOW? WHATEVER, I'M TOO EXCITED TO BE MAD AT YOU. NOW, WE HAVE TO TURN THIS HUMAN IN TO UNDYNE!" Papyrus proclaimed. "THEN I'LL FINALLY BE POPULAR! EVERYONE WILL BE SO PROUD OF ME AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU SANS! WOWEE, YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT BROTHER!"
"uh… yeah, that's… not going to happen." Sans commented.
Papyrus snapped out of his daydreams, brow furrowing as he examined his older brother. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT HAPPENING,' SANS, LOOK, THE HUMAN IS RIGHT THERE."
"they said they saw you around and were too nervous to do this before, but they really want to see your puzzles before you had to take them away." Sans remarked, and instantly Papyrus's expression lit up. "so, uh, we can't take them to undyne just yet."
"OH! WELL, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS COULDN'T DENY THEM THAT… I'LL GO READY THE PUZZLES, SANS, MAKE SURE THEY DON'T SNEAK OFF!" Papyrus shouted, before turning and dashing into the deeper areas of the snowy forest.
"…heh. that went well." Sans turned and grinned at Frisk. "ready to do your stuff, kiddo?"
Frisk also gave a small smile up at Sans as they turned to look in the direction Papyrus had run. "Yeah." They were quiet for a moment before hesitantly speaking up again. "...I'll be really nice to Papyrus, so don't worry. Are you going to go ahead to all of your stations again and watch me from there?"
"nah. i'll walk with you for now. when you face paps, i'll be watching from the shadows, just… just in case."
"Okay. Let's go, then! We'll solve this thing, right Sans?" Frisk asked, brushing off the quiet reminder and trying to focus on the task at hand. Besides, the fact that Sans was keeping them company was great, and the idea that he would allow them to interact with Papyrus as they did signified that maybe the skeleton was forgiving Frisk... even if it was just a little bit. "We can solve this," Frisk repeated firmly.
"yeah, kiddo. everything'll be fine so long as you just keep that attitude."
.
And at first, it worked.
The soft echoes and sounds of rushing water echoed around them, and Frisk felt at peace. They had always liked Waterfall because of the quiet somberness that rested in every corner, a comforting lullaby of things from long ago. Frisk yawned and rubbed at their eyes, eyes slipping shut as they leaned against the cave's rough wall.
A shadow appeared over their face, darkening the soft skin-colored hue of their eyelids, and Frisk abruptly snapped awake with a start.
"here, kiddo, it's raining up ahead," Sans said with a grin, holding out an extra umbrella for them.
"I could've gotten one myself," Frisk replied with a soft smile. They pushed themselves to their feet, eyes turning to the statue that sat crouched in the soft light. "Just leave my umbrella with that statue, though... I can just share yours."
Sans glanced at Frisk for a moment, and then shrugged and rested the umbrella over the statue as a soft tune started drifting down the corridor. He turned back and studied Frisk, eye sockets softening. "…you really don't change, do you kid?"
"If only I didn't change at all," Frisk said simply, brushing off their hands on their pants. The two set off again, and soon Monster Kid joined the two to walk with them while they all huddled underneath the umbrella.
"I think this is my favorite view of the Underground," Frisk said quietly as they splashed through the puddles and gazed out at the castle. The crystals glimmering far above lit up the place with a blue hue, and Frisk sighed. "…I wouldn't mind staying in the Underground, you know? I just want to stay with everyone as time moves forwards."
"yep." Sans reached over and rustled Frisk's hair, an affectionate gesture Frisk was quickly learning was a common occurrence for skeleton's that lacked hair of their own. "me too, kiddo. me too."
"What are you guys talking about?" The Monster Kid piped up, running back up to them from where he had been standing. "Come on, you two wanted to see Undyne as well, right?"
Sans glanced at the rock ledge in front of the trio and shrugged. "welp, see, the problem is that there's a blockage here. frisk, get on my shoulders and i'll boost you up and go around. sorry kid," he added with a smile at the Monster Kid. "it's dangerous for ya to climb all over me without, uh, arms. want to try going around with me?"
Frisk scrambled up onto San's shoulders as the skeleton steadied them, careful not to kick Sans in the face, before turning back to watch Sans lead the Monster Kid away. As he vanished into the darkness, Frisk saw him turn and mouth 'good luck' to them before he went to go find one of his shortcuts.
.
After fleeing from Undyne, Frisk woke up with a sore groan and sat up, staring down at the bed of golden flowers.
"Haha… what are you guys going here? Lost, like me?" Frisk wondered before moving alone in the dark corridors. Frisk shivered, wondering where Sans was, when suddenly a timid voice spoke up.
"um… I was told you were here to visit me… is that true…?" The watery voice asked, and Frisk jumped only to see Napstablook watching them from behind a pile of trash.
Frisk grinned in delight, relieved. "Oh! Napstablook! Yes, I came here looking just for you! ...My friend said your house was here and we never got to hang out in the Ruins, so I wanted to come say hello, if that's okay."
"w-wow… really? then, my house is this way… if you still want to come…"
Frisk followed the ghost, past the silent dummy that this time didn't budge even though Frisk could feel a gaze on their back. As they exited the trash pile and blinked as their vision adjusted to the different lighting, they grinned as they saw a familiar skeleton waiting for them, hands stuffed in his pockets as he leisurely leaned up against a wall.
"Hey, Napstablook, can I invite my friend to hang out with us too?" Frisk asked hopefully.
Napstablook turned and blinked. "oh… I don't know if he'll want to hang out with me though…"
"Of course he would, Napstablook! You're a really cool friend, he'll love you!" Frisk urged, before turning back to the skeleton.
"Sans!" Frisk called, waving. The skeleton opened one eye and nodded at them, and Frisk cupped their hands around their mouth. "Want to hang out with us?"
The skeleton lifted his head and he nodded at Frisk, flashing them a thumbs up.
Frisk smiled gently at Napstablook and started walking towards their house. "There, see?"
"…thank you," Napstablook said softly, then moved past Frisk as they hovered in the air. They glanced away from Frisk and a soft white blush could be seen on their face. "…you seem like a really nice person, frisk. please, call me blooky… all my best friends do…"
Frisk's smile faltered for a moment before they pushed past the dark feelings that fluttered in their stomach. The crimes Frisk had committed…. They had to put it behind them. Even if they never forgot them, maybe they should try and forgive themselves. If Sans could have forgiven them, even a little… then surely Frisk could give themselves a small bit of forgiveness as well.
.
The kid was trying, Sans had to give them that.
"hmm hmm hmm," Frisk hummed, and Shyren hesitantly hummed back, turning to face the small being who was being so kind to her. "hmm hmm hmmmm."
"hummm hummm…" Shyren hummed back, hesitantly approaching Frisk as she examined the human before starting to hum and sing beside them.
Sans chuckled, and pulled out a wad of paper before scribbling on the paper "CONCERT-5,000 G" and watching for any suckers- ahem, customers- to try and sell the tickets to. Out of the corner of his vision, Sans spotted Napstablook peeking out from around the corner and waved him over.
"heyyy, concert tickets, 5,000 G. but, let's see, for you, I'll make it 5 G since you're a pal of the performers. what do you say?"
"oh… i… um… don't have any money…" Napstablook stuttered, their eyes starting to water. "u-um… should i not listen?"
"wha- no, no! it was a joke, just a joke, c'mon don't cry." Sans said, reaching out to pat Napstablook before remembering they were a ghost. "look, you can just have the ticket, okay? as a friend. no payment necessary."
"oh… thank you…"
"no problemo. …hey, i see someone else, go enjoy the show, i need to get rid of the rest of these paper slips," Sans called, already lumbering away as he caught view of the monsters peering around the corners, intrigued by the rare occurrence of Shyren's singing.
As he hurried off, a wry smile touched Sans's lips. So long as he did this, Frisk wouldn't guess he was just screening monsters so only the friendly ones could come near Frisk when their guard was down. Frisk didn't need to know Sans was that over protective, already, after all.
Sans sighed, shaking his head. what a big softie, he thought in amusement. who knew i would care so much about that darn kid.
...i hope i'm right about them this time.
.
.
.
[You are filled with DETERMINATION. Keep going...]
((This month I'm so busy it's actually awful. So my updates are going to be a bit slower, please be patient with me! I'll do my best to update once a week or at least once every two weeks though. Also, all of you guys have been so, so supportive that every time I get a review/follow/favorite I'm really happy. I feel like I say this every chapter, but it still needs to be said- thanks for your guy's support. It means a lot. Well, until next time~))