Frisk's eyes slowly opened, and they sat up, their throat feeling dry and cracked and their eyes scratchy. The sofa squeaked underneath them, and Frisk blinked as their gaze scanned the quiet surroundings.
They were inside Sans's house.
When did they get here?
Frisk's fingers slowly uncurled and they gingerly reached up to touch their neck. A small raised scar was present under their fingertips, but the ugly, cracked feeling of the scab Sans had left on their neck was gone.
Frisk's breath caught in their chest, and they froze, mind racing as they swung their legs off the sofa and kicked off the blanket that had been draped over their body. They stood up quickly, too quickly, and stumbled under their own weight.
"FRISK, WAIT, DON'T GET UP!" Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs, and gloved hands caught Frisk just as they started to topple over. "I JUST FINISHED HEALING YOU, YOUR BODY NEEDS TO REST!"
Frisk sagged in Papyrus's hands, grateful for the support, but at the same time struggling to repress the need to go look at the machine one more time. They opened their mouth to beg Papyrus to help them back to the lab, but the words stuck in their throat along with the faint aftertaste of blood. Their throat seemed to itch, and Frisk broke off coughing as they covered their mouth.
"OH, UH, WAIT A MOMENT HUMAN, WE'LL GO PROCURE SOME WATER FOR YOU!" Papyrus decided, picking Frisk up gently and cradling them across his chest with one arm as he raced into the kitchen.
He quickly grabbed a clean mug from the counter and filled it with water, holding it up to Frisk's level so they could grab it and take a sip. Frisk sighed in relief as the water's coldness soothed their throat, the tang of blood being washed away and their throat clearing up a little. Papyrus waited for them to finish before setting them gently back down on the sofa and sitting down next to them. The couch shifted under the large skeleton's additional weight.
"FRISK… I HAVE TO ASK… HOW DID YOU GET THAT WOUND?" Papyrus asked nervously. "I FOUND YOU AFTER I HAD GONE WITH UNDYNE TO ALPHYS'S LAB AND NOTICED NO ONE WAS HOME AND I- WHY WAS THE MACHINE BROKEN LIKE THAT? WHERE IS SANS? HE NEVER LEAVES HIS LAB IN THAT KIND OF WRECK, UNLIKE HIS ROOM, AND I COULD TELL HE TRIED TO HEAL YOU BUT DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO FINISH IT."
Frisk's grip on the mug tightened, their hands turning white, and they glanced away. Their throat still felt sore, and they didn't know what to say. What to tell Papyrus about the fact that his only brother was gone forever.
How could they?
"…DOES YOUR THROAT STILL HURT? HUMANS AREN'T MADE OUT OF PURE MAGIC LIKE WE ARE, SO I HAD A BIT OF TROUBLE. IT SHOULD ONLY BE A SMALL SCAR THOUGH." Papyrus hopped up and ventured over to the table, coming back with a paper and a pencil. "HERE, THIS SHOULD WORK UNTIL YOU FEEL BETTER, RIGHT?"
Frisk weakly nodded, and released the mug with one hand, reaching out to accept the pencil. When Papyrus released it, Frisk's hand shook, and it clattered onto the floor.
"OH. ERM, YOU NEED TO HOLD ONTO IT." Papyrus said, his face set in a worried frown. He bent over and picked the pencil back up, giving it back to Frisk.
Thank you, Frisk wrote awkwardly. For healing me. They rolled the pencil in between their fingers staring at the worn-down nub of the eraser.
"NO NEED TO THANK ME, FRISK. WE'RE FRIENDS, SO OF COURSE I'D HELP YOU OUT!" Papyrus encouraged. He gently patted Frisk on the head with his gloved hand and flashed them a toothy grin. Frisk could tell he was trying to act cheerful, but his foot tapped the floor and his eyes followed Frisk's hand. "SO, CAN YOU MAYBE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED? I BET MY BROTHER LEFT YOU ON YOUR OWN AGAIN, I MEAN REALLY, IF HE WENT TO GET HELP TO HEAL YOU HE COULD'VE DONE IT IN A MORE RESPONSIBLE WAY. THAT LAZY BONES SHOULD'VE JUST CALLED ME-"
The pencil scratched across the page.
He's not coming back. I'm sorry.
"…WHAT DO YOU MEAN? FRISK?" Papyrus's body went stiff, and one hand wandered up to touch his scarf. "H-HEY, WHY AREN'T YOU WRITING ANY MORE? THAT'S- THAT'S NOT TRUE, RIGHT? MY BROTHER IS JUST PUTTING YOU UP TO A PRANK, RIGHT?"
Frisk's grip tightened on the pencil, and they turned their head away, their hair falling over their eyes.
"FRISK? FRISK, PLEASE, TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING."
I'm sorry.
Papyrus fell silent from beside Frisk, and when he spoke again his voice had shrank from its usual boisterous tone into a small, quiet voice that didn't fit the skeleton at all. "WHERE IS MY BROTHER?"
Frisk hunched their shoulders and hesitatingly turned back to look up at Papyrus. The normally cheerful, confident skeleton looked lost, and his usual white color had turned into a grey hue. Did it matter if they told him now? Frisk had failed. The RESET would mean they were all alone now.
Sans was gone, and it was Frisk's fault. If they had just moved out of the way a little faster, if they had just gone with Sans, if they had just went back as soon as possible…
Sans gave his life to save me. It's my fault he fell down. I can't fix this.
A soft whine came from Papyrus's throat, and his hand twitched, like he wanted nothing more than to snatch the paper Frisk was writing on and study it as if there was some hidden code hiding the truth on it. His eyes flickered, and Frisk saw a reflection of how they felt in Papyrus: something inside of him had broken, and he was oh so very lost.
Papyrus's hands gripped onto the red scarf tightly, and his head bowed. "OH GOD…" His voice cracked, and Papyrus's shoulders started shaking violently as the large skeleton's breath came in hiccups. "OH MY GOD, SANS…"
His tears weren't the quiet, somber tears Frisk often had; they were loud, raking gulps of air and hiccuping.
Frisk shrank in on themself, and slid off the sofa to back away from the scene. This was their fault, and they couldn't- they couldn't watch this. They had to leave now.
Frisk turned and ran out of the house, banging open the door, heedless of the fact that they lacked any jacket as they plowed through the snow and out into the cold.
.
"…What are you doing out here in the woods?" Flowey asked curiously.
Frisk shivered, lifting their head up from their knees to blink at Flowey incomprehensibly. They shook their head, their throat still throbbing, and pulled their sweater's collar down so Flowey could see the mark.
The flower blinked, and tilted his head, considering the situation. "Golly, that looks painful. But did you fix your RESETS, at least?"
Frisk bit their lip and shrugged. They didn't know. They didn't feel any different, so maybe Gaster had come in after Sans had and…
They didn't want to think about it.
"Don't tell me I gave Sans some of my DETERMINATION for nothing." Flowey's eyes turned black, the mouth stretching into a gaping smile. "Speaking of, where is that skeleton? From your behavior, did something maybe happen~?"
Frisk squeezed their eyes shut and shuddered.
"Oh? Then… I suppose it's just you, me, and Chara then, right?" Flowey's face lit up, and his vines slithered up to brush against Frisk´s skin. "Surely that past incident was a mistake, right? Chara didn't mean anything by it! We can just go back to our original plans, and- and you, too! Then the three of us won't be alone, Frisk! We need you, after all- and golly, doesn't that work out for you too? What is there left for you here?"
Frisk's hands moved before they could think, ripping the flower's vines from their skin and leaping to their feet. Flower and Frisk gazed at each other, Frisk's chest heaving, and Flowey's toothy grin never wavering. "It's okay, Frisk," the flower giggled. "Sans promised to protect you, didn't he? Well I can actually follow through on that, unlike that failure."
Vines burst from the ground, winding around Frisk's body in a smooth, serpentine motion, yanking taught when the human tried to flee. "Come on, Chara. I have your body secured, so you can come back to me, right? I've missed you so much…"
No! Let me go! Frisk tried to scream, but they tasted blood and their voice crackled in their throat, unfamiliar and not responding to their command. The vines chaffed against their skin, tightening until Frisk couldn't move, their arms pinned down to their sides. It was futile to struggle, and Flowey giggled again as Frisk whimpered. They thrashed one more time, but the vines tightened with every movement until it hurt to breathe.
Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, slumping and going limp as they let the vines hold them up instead.
Fine.
Frisk was done, okay? They were done.
What was the point anymore? What- what did they have to gain by doing this? They were tired of getting ready to give up and then pushing themself to continue over and over again. And- and wouldn't it be nice to not have to make decisions anymore? Frisk could just let go and go to sleep as Chara dealt with whatever problems persisted. Frisk would be free from this cycle of hopelessness.
But Sans gave his life for you, part of them argued. You can't just let his sacrifice go to waste.
Frisk whimpered again. They were so tired though. And no one would come anymore, not with Sans gone, even if they called-
"FRISK!"
The vines immediately withdrew, Flowey hissing in annoyance and swiftly ducking out of sight, and Frisk fell backwards, straight into someone's arms. Hands squeezed them tightly, pulling them into an embrace, and a hand reached up to feel their forehead. "FRISK? YOU'RE NOT SICK AGAIN, ARE YOU? I- I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO, OKAY?"
Frisk's eyes slid open, and they gazed up at Papyrus for a moment in confusion as his words clicked.
Their eyes widened, and their lips moved, silently mouthing the question.
Papyrus went still, his eyes flickering for a moment before he picked Frisk up carefully. Tear tracts still marked his face, but he had still come.
...Why had he come?
Papyrus's footsteps crunched through the snow, and he didn't meet Frisk's gaze again as he silently studied the surroundings. They walked in silence for a while before Papyrus quietly started talking, his voice still rough from his crying.
"YOU- I-" He started, breaking off as his voice cracked. "I'M A HORRIBLE BROTHER." Frisk leaned their head against his chest, staring down at their hands. "I ALWAYS NITPICKED SANS, YOU KNOW? AND HE… HE ALWAYS CARED FOR ME. EVEN WHEN I PRETENDED TO TURN A BLIND EYE. I KNEW HE PRETENDED TO BE SANTA. I KNEW HE WATCHED OUT FOR ME AND WAS THE ONE TO PAY THE BILLS WITHOUT COMPLAINT. AND I- I NEVER TOLD HIM I KNEW THESE THINGS. WHAT- WHAT WAS THE POINT? I THOUGHT HE'D BE HAPPIER THAT WAY. HE SACRIFICED SO MANY THINGS FOR ME, AND IF HE KNEW HIS MAIN SACRIFICE FOR ME HADN'T WORKED… BUT I WAS A COWARD TO NOT TELL HIM, FRISK."
Papyrus shook his head, and a tear splattered onto Frisk's lap. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE KEPT THESE THINGS TO MYSELF. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO KEEP THESE SECRETS. I'M REALLY NOT GOOD AT PRETENDING, YOU KNOW. SANS WAS ALWAYS BETTER THAN ME AT THAT SORT OF THING. I SHOULD'VE TOLD SANS I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS GOING THROUGH AND HELPED HIM THROUGH IT NOT- NOT PRETENDED THERE WAS NO ISSUE IN THE FIRST PLACE."
Frisk shifted, and they turned their head to meet Papyrus's gaze. The skeleton's eyes shifted, and he unlocked the door to his house with a click as he gently set Frisk down and wiped at his eyes. He still hadn't answered their question, so Frisk picked up the crumpled piece of paper and wrote the question again.
Papyrus, do you remember the RESETS?
"…I'M SORRY," Papyrus whispered, voice breaking. Frisk felt the world tilt out from under them, and Papyrus wiped at his eyes again as his shoulders shook. "I KNEW ALL ALONG."
.
.
.
DETERMINATION.
((Don't worry guys- I'm back! And I finally have free time again. You guys were all really excited (and angry) over the last chapter, so thank you for all of the comments despite the wait! Somehow I can write 85 pages of this fanfiction in three months but fifteen pages of a research paper in the same time killed me. It's turned in now, though, and I am free from ever researching that topic again! I really hate spelling errors, so maybe after this story I'll look for a beta reader for once lol. Also, I feel bad because I found an Undertale story that made me actually cry and now I'm stuck in angst hell with the rest of you guys. Curse my love for angst. Anyways, thanks for reading and being here for me! Until the next chapter~))