((A/N: Thank you very much to Bee-Knee, Aperture Survivor, and JasherTheDarkened for your reviews!))
When Frisk woke up she was still drowsy, while this wouldn't sound too concerning, was usually very much a morning person, and on her Frist run before she RESET and before she started all of this mess, she would join Papyrus on his morning runs. The only time Frisk ever had trouble getting out of bed in the past was when she was sick, and Frisk certainly didn't feel ill. She forced herself out of bed, unused to this heavy, dizzy feeling and stumbled to the door.
What was happening? Frisk searched her mind for answers. Could this be the demon's fault? Frisk shuddered, suddenly recalling how the demon had called herself a Sloth demon, and the possibility of this all being one big coincidence just went down.
This conclusion for some reason troubled Frisk, and she felt like she should have figured out something, like she was so close to solving a puzzle and she was only missing one piece, it scratched at her mind but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't figure out what exactly was bothering her.
Frisk gave up and sighed, opening the door and heading towards the living room to say goodbye to Toriel. Toriel was in her usual spot in her chair reading a book, looking up when she heard Frisk. Toriel smiled warmly.
"Did you sleep well, my child?" She asked. Frisk nodded in reply, hiding her drowsiness, not wanting to risk yawning when she opened her jaw and worrying Toriel.
Toriel closed her book and went to the kitchen coming out with a small basket and placing it in Frisk's tiny hands.
"It's not a pie or anything, but I thought that you would appreciate something to eat on the way to your friends," Toriel said, a blush just barely visible through her fur. Frisk looked into the basket to see sandwiches inside, and Frisk found herself touched, she gently placed the basket and hugged Toriel tightly.
"My child?!" Toriel said in shock, uncertain of what to say.
"Thank you," Frisk said, tears escaping her eyes, she didn't want to say goodbye to Toriel. She no longer had a reason to, she no longer had the DETERMINATION to, but she knew that Toriel did not wish for this Frisk to stay. She was scared, she realised, of what would happen once she got to Snowdin, she was scared of what Sans would do to her if he didn't believe her, she was scared of dying for real, she didn't want to go, she didn't, she didn't, she didn't want to.
Toriel stood patiently waiting for Frisk to let go. She looked down at the young skeleton, she like all the other monsters in the ruins had been troubled by her sudden appearance, where had she been hiding? – Where had she been hidden? The child did not seem too upset by the loss of her parents and seemed so grateful for something as simple as sandwiches, so Toriel had come to the conclusion that whoever the child's parents were must have been abusive, this troubled Toriel and pulled at her motherly instincts, and she could only pray that the ones that the child was going to would treat her better.
Frisk finally forced herself to let go of Toriel. Sniffing, she picked the basket again and forced her jaw into a grin. Toriel forced a grin back, trying to hide her concern for the child.
"The exit to the ruins is this way, my child." She said, leading Frisk to the basement and towards the door, and Frisk was forced back to reality and the differences between this run and the others.
Looking at Toriel leading her to the exit with a smile on her face, suddenly, the differences didn't seem so bad. She didn't have to fight Toriel. She knew with certainty that Toriel wasn't going to die here. Things were different but that wasn't so bad because that also means that different good things could happen.
Toriel leads Frisk all the way this time, "Be careful, my child." She said in farewell, opening the large door for her. Frisk nodded and stepped out, as Toriel closed the door, Frisk shouted on impulse.
"Goodbye mom, I lofe you!" Frisk saw Toriel's final look of shock before the door finally closed.
Frisk looked down, feeling bad. She hadn't meant to say that, it came out without warning, she hadn't wanted to burden Toriel with that but… Frisk sighed, it was too late now, the damage was done, it was best she moved on.
It was only then that Frisk noticed that the cold wasn't bothering her. Despite having a sweater, Frisk was usually a shivering mess in Snowdin, but although she could tell it was cold, the only thing that made her uncomfortable was the wind whistling through her bones, and then she vaguely remembered Papyrus mentioning that Skeletons weren't bothered by the cold in a previous run.
She walked down the path towards Snowdin, the familiar feeling of being watched shivering up her spine. She realised things were once again different when she didn't hear the stick snap like usual, and she turned around to check to see that it was still intact. She frowned slightly, having a bad feeling about this.
Turning back forward she almost crashed skulls with Sans, startled, she fell back into the snow, eye sockets wide in surprise and fear. Sans chuckled.
"sorry, i didn't mean to scare you out of your skin." Frisk relaxed a little. Sans was offering his hand to help Frisk up. Frisk hesitantly took the hand and her eye sockets filled with confusion when his had didn't have a whoopee cushion in it. Sans was watching her carefully.
"i thought my bro and i were the only skeletons in the underground." He said in a relaxed tone, but his eye sockets when dark, "but tibia honest, the sweater of yours is awfully familiar." Fear pulsed in Frisk's soul, she had been recognised already, she scolded herself in the back of her head for believing that Sans wouldn't notice that she was wearing the exact same clothes.
"which leaves me wondering, how exactly did you become a skeleton? i wasn't aware that humans could that." He said pointedly.
Frisk opened her jaw, but no words came out, she desperately wanted to explain everything to him, beg for his forgiveness, but the look in his eye sockets scared her so much that she couldn't force the words out.
The two remained like that for several moments, Sans glaring and Frisk with her jaw opening and closing in silence.
The tense air was interrupted by the sound of Papyrus' voice. "SANS! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE ABANDONED YOUR POST AGAIN! WHAT IF A HUMAN WERE TO PASS BY?" Papyrus' voice was coming closer and Sans began to sweat anxiously.
Frisk let her guard down when she saw Papyrus, knowing that she was safe for now. Sans wouldn't do anything that would upset Papyrus after all. Looking to Sans Frisk confirmed her theory as Sans eye-lights came back and his smile relaxed.
"sorry bro, i got distracted." Sans apologised, but Papyrus wasn't paying attention, he had caught sight of Frisk and his eye sockets had widened.
"HELLO FELLOW SKELETON! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS; FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!" Papyrus introduced himself and Frisk shyly waved back.
"'m Fr- Frisk" She replied carefully, she didn't want to pronounce her own name wrong and have Papyrus call her that forever.
Papyrus looked absorbed in Frisk's existence. "I HAVE NOT MET ANOTHER SKELETON BESIDES MY BROTHER, WHERE DO YOU LIVE? DO HAVE OTHER FELLOW SKELETON FAMILY MEMBERS?" He questioned curiously. Frisk shook her head, answering both questions.
Papyrus looked troubled for a moment, before his face brightened again, "DO NOT WORRY, YOUNG FRISK, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAVE AN INGENIOUS IDEA! YOU CAN STAY WITH US! NYEH, HEH HEH!"
Sans looked at Papyrus with worried eye sockets, "are you sure that's a good idea bro. we don't kno-"
"SANS! WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS CHILD TO GO WITHOUT A PLACE TO STAY. THEY'RE BARELY OLDER THAN A BABYBONES!" If Frisk didn't know better, she could have sworn that she saw Sans wince. "BESIDES, AS FELLOW SKELETONS WE ARE ALREADY PRACTICALLY FAMILY."
Sans looked down, knowing there was no way to persuade his brother out of this now. "sure, bro. you really are the coolest, you know."
"NYEH, HEH, HEH!"
