Chapter 2:
Not in Kansas Anymore
So, chapter 2 is out now. Yay! I might just see this through , as for how often I am going to post, I'm going to attempt to post weekly, usually around Saturday or Sunday in at least some semblance of a schedule. However, lord knows consistency is not my forte, so if new chapters don't find themselves on the web every weekend, I'm probably just a little tangled up with other things. I know you will be understanding, but I felt like I might as well explain myself ahead of time. It's bound to happen eventually, so might as well get it out of the way now, right? Okay, you're probably getting a little impatient by now, so I'll just go ahead and write up the chapter so you can listen to my rambling at your leisure after the story itself. Catch ya then.
Mid-writing update: *Checks calendar* Well, there goes the schedule.
"Huh." Asriel looked up into the blue and cloudy sky with his fists jammed into his blue jean pockets, thumbs brushing against his signature patterned, unzipped, yellow and green striped hoodie that covered over a dark green t-shirt as the footsteps being emitted by his simple black and white kicks helped fill the silence. "Haven't actually been outside in a while."
"Yeah." Frisk contributed to the destinationless conversation to help with the tension. "I bet."
Asriel stopped mid stride and leaned on a nearby tree that was located conveniently right by the sidewalk, on the edge of someone's property. It was a decent tree, not so large as to seem untame, but not so small as not to be able to support a person placing their weight on it, like Asriel was. It really contributed to the deliberately installed suburban environment in the area the two awkward friends were passing through.
"I'm not even going to beat around the bush here." Asriel suddenly blurted, scratching the back of his scruffy head nervously. "I'm- err, sorry about trying to kill you before." He apologized. "I mean, I already know you're past it, but it's still kind of fresh to me, y'know?"
Frisk nodded understandingly before leaning parallel to Asriel on the same tree, instantly marking this spot as their momentary resting point, leaving complete silence to be filled with conversation.
"Hey, umm… Do any of the others know about, well, me?" Asriel asked. "I mean, besides the obvious. Sans and Alph are kind of a given, seeing as how they were there during the whole experiment thing."
"Well, no." Frisk shuffled in her spot under the tree uncomfortably. "But I'm sure Toriel's calling everyone by now if she hasn't already." She smiled to the prince over her shoulder. "Don't worry, Azzy. We'll make a celebrity out of you, yet." She chuckled.
Asriel chuckled himself before catching onto his nickname. "Wait, what? What did you call me?" He asked, clearly tensing up for a split second.
Frisk held her now nervous smile as she kicked off the tree to face Asriel in his leaning position properly. "Azzy? What, you don't like it?" She asked, still holding a smile, but a little bit of a weaker one. "I thought it was cute."
"Wh- no, it's fine." Asriel pushed off the tree himself, trying to ignore the fact that Frisk inadvertently called him cute as he tried to settle his light blush. "It was just a bit of a surprise was all. And a little familiar." Asriel mumbled that last bit under his breath, trying to hold up a weak grin of his own.
Frisk resumed the walk with Asriel, trying to find the right words to finish the conversation with. The silence was deafening. Why didn't he say something? Was he nervous someone would overhear him talking about his attempts at murder, does he feel pent up? What was it? Frisk tried to analyze his expression and his body language, trying to get a read on what was going on in his mind as he vacantly stared off into the distance.
"You miss her, don't you?" Frisk blurted as her thoughts somehow skipped some part of her brain to become words without her consent. She almost threw her hands up against her own mouth, but that would've been a sign of backing down. If that's what the problem was, she needed to help him face it.
"...Yeah" Asriel admitted after a long pause, leaving his company nervously staring at him off the corner of her eye. "I guess I do." He shrugged.
"Do I… Remind you of her?" Frisk asked.
It was an innocent question, one that Frisk didn't think anything about. Just about everyone who met Chara had looked at Frisk as some kind of reminder. Just their faces and bodies were so similar, they could easily be mistaken for one another with enough effort put into it. Well, should Chara have been alive, that is.
Despite that innocence, Asriel stopped mid stride once again, startling Frisk as he gave her a strange look before shaking his head. "No, Frisk. No you don't." He said simply before resuming his pace just as abruptly as he had stopped it, not elaborating in the slightest.
He was a bad liar.
"So, where are we going anyways?" He asked, exchanging that thoughtful and distant look in his eye for one of curiosity. "You didn't tell me anything."
"Oh, sorry. Must've slipped my mind." Frisk planted her palm on the side of her head jokingly expressing her klutzy nature. "We're going to Sans' place."
"Sans'? Not Sans and Papyrus' house?" Asriel asked, his eyes slightly widened with surprise and curiosity. He received a brief head nod and reassuring smile from Frisk who must've sensed he was nervous about facing such a man who hated his guts to such a degree. "How did he get the money?" Asriel pondered aloud.
"He got a job, actually." Frisk sounded proud. "Man, I think it took a good three weeks of nagging a pestering from me and Toriel to get him to put himself out there and assemble a resume. If I'm being honest, though, I think what it took was Paps joining in." Frisk grew dreamy-eyed with nostalgia. "They love eachother so much, it's adorable!"
"Heh. I bet." Asriel muttered absentmindedly as they approached a house covered in about twelve different tones and shades of blue in a surprisingly neat fashion. Asriel looked at the big place in awe. "Geez! Papyrus really must've worked overtime to help his brother piece this place together!"
"Actually, no." Frisk held back a chuckle. "This is all Sans!" She gestured a beholding hand and waved it in front of her and Asriel, further accentuating what an impressive and uncharacteristic feat it was for Sans to put in such effort.
Not that the place looked like a mansion, of course. It blended perfectly in its surroundings, or would had it not been painted such a bold blue. It was a regular old two story house with a well maintained lawn and garage neighboring it. There was another green-leaved tree with healthy brown bark by the sidewalk and a cobblestone path leading to the front door that ran hand-in-hand with the smooth driveway.
Asriel was impressed, and still skeptical that the old, chubby, lazy-boned Sans that he knew was capable of pulling this kind of thing off. Then again, the skeleton didn't look like a fighter either, and anyone who assumed that never walked away unscathed.
The prince's approval of the house only heightened when Frisk took his hand and began walking to the front door, allowing him an even better view of the house. A blue sedan's hood peeked stealthily out of the garage door, a shiny aluminum, winking skull serving the role as a hood ornament. What Asriel saw through the slightly tinted windows brought him some semblance of familiarity when he saw a little trash in the back seat; fast food takeout bags and the sort.
When they approached the door, Frisk knocked three times on the blue door that held a white femur that loomed over the top of its threshold decoratively, but out of place.
A familiar hoarse voice called from within, beckoning them in. "It's open, kiddo." It spoke.
Just the grainy texture of his voice brought back quick flashes of memory that Asriel was trying to suppress, further whittling away at his fortitude. He gulped back his fear, and swallowed it in an effort to keep his pace directed forward and not back.
He wasn't scared that Sans was going to kill him, no. Sans was not that kind of man. He was ruthless, steadfast, and a true warrior, even if these traits are muffled by his laziness and lack of initiative, but still, not why Asriel was afraid. He was afraid, rather, of the awkwardness that would come when the two former foes brought to shake hands. A beautiful image when pasted onto words, but in Asriel's mind, this would only end in an awkward goodbye, leaving all parties thoroughly flustered and more than a little embarrassed.
Frisk seemed to notice the change in Asriel's posture and the sudden nervousness in his eyes. "You'll be fine." She consoled. "You gotta say 'hi' sometime anyways, right?"
Asriel was about to speak before he heard as soon as saw Sans walk around the corner. "Who're you talking to kid-... Oh." Sans' lazy smile didn't falter when he laid his heavy eyes on Asriel, but the dark pools seemed to reflect a sense of surprise in spite. A much better start than Asriel hoped for. "Good to see ya both again." Sans carried on casually, almost seeming to ignore the zombie in the room. Yeesh. Feels a little weird Asriel referencing himself as a zombie.
"Hey, Sans." Frisk returned the gesture while Sans moved swiftly to transit some of the dirty clothes laying on the sofa onto the floor next to it, seeming to sweep clean a spot rather than tidy up.
Sans subsequently motioned toward it, Frisk taking the seat without missing a beat, Asriel following suit more hesitantly and cautiously.
"Weird seeing ya here,
Dreamurr. What with the experiment failin' an' all." Sans brought up the topic inevitably, but in a much less abrupt manner than Asriel expected, despite it still being rather out of the blue.
"Errm, well, it kind of didn't." Asriel stuttered. He tugged at the collar of the shaded green t-shirt as though it were on fire, trying to pull the seething, suffocating thing away from his burning throat. He then moved his hand to idly massaged the back of his neck, blatantly expressing his unease. "I mean, I kind of woke up like this, and then…" His sentence died off at the end, slowly but surely.
Sensing her partner's distress, Frisk lept to the rescue, carrying on the conversation while Sans plucked away at a small pile of dishes, doing chores. "If I had to guess, I'd say that our operation was a success, although one with a bit of a delay. The transformation happened literally overnight."
Asriel breathed a sigh of relief and finally had a chance to calm himself when he realized the conversation was out of his hands, free to leave him behind.
"Well, works for me." Sans shrugged his shoulders lazily, the first sign of his old self Asriel managed to dig out. Sans had already gone through most of the dirty dishes, leaving them on the full drying rack. He then grabbed a towel a wiped off the water from his hands. He let out a sudden yawn to break the silence, pulling Asriel out of his observations. "Sorry. Caught me at a bit of a cleaning streak. Bro said I had to pull this place together or it'd fall around my ears." And Sans spoke the next sentence with his typical wink. "And I think I put a little too much work into this place to let that happen." He smiled a little brighter, even through the shadow of his grogginess. "Alright, kiddos. Scram." He motioned them up and lightheartedly pushed them towards the door. "I'm a little too tired for company right now and I don't want you guys to get bored. Good seein' ya again, Asriel." Sans waved them off his porch and they walked away, even Frisk now holding a raised eyebrow as the blue beacon slowly shrunk away behind them.
"That… Was weird" Frisk bemused aloud, returning Asriel's confused expression. "Guess he really must be busy. The big guy hasn't told me to shove off in years."
Asriel shrugged. "He's probably just tired. The Sans I knew never did any work without telekinesis. I'll bet it's taking its toll." He reasoned.
"You're probably right." Frisk shrugged back before looking back at the skeleton's house. "But still… He seemed off. I mean, he's definitely been putting in some more hours fixing up his home, but it seemed emotional. He looked distressed."
Asriel followed Frisk's gaze at the house and both stopped. "Alright, if you're so worked up about it, we can drop by tomorrow and see if he's still pacing a hole in the floor. For now, we have a full day of getting me integrated into society."
Frisk nodded in agreement before casting one last glance over her shoulder, maybe expecting Sans to close some shutters or something to give off a secretive vibe, but he did nothing of the sort. Shaking her head of seemingly misdirected, mistrustful thoughts, Frisk continued her journey back home without bringing up the subject once. Still, something really seemed off about Sans.
As I said before, consistency is not my forte. Sorry about the late post. I've been chipping away at this for about two weeks and it still seems mediocre, and I can't even seem to establish a schedule without feeling like this is a chore or something. So, instead, I will promise one thing. I will post Friday through Sunday if I have a chapter ready. Sound good? Okay. Onto reviews. (God, I'm tired right now, so sorry if I can't manage to come up with anything funny or witty to respond to your PMs with) You guys really went crazy on the reviews! dream1990 said "i love it" Well, I'm glad you do. I love writing this, so it's good to know this is a mutually beneficial relationship, eh? Next, a guest said "YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS" Well, it looks like somebody's getting excited. Yay! To follow that up, Electric Flame said "Sorry about my previous comment, I was so excited that I forgot to sign in. Whoops! Anyway, it's great to have you back" Likewise, Electric. It's good to be back, and to have you with us again. Glad to see you're getting into it! Next, a guest said "No real complains about what you're doing here. Except for one: where is and what do you plan on doing with Chara? No fiction that brings Asriel back is good enough if the author doesn't bring her back too." Well, (spoilers for people who haven't read the original) Chara is in Hell right now, and she will come back later to fight and nearly kill Asriel while possessing Frisk as a deterrent to prevent him attacking back. As for the last bit, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'll bet that somewhere out there, beyond the sea, there is a good Asriel story without Chara. An impressive and unlikely feat, it is still a possibility. Anyways, following that is Enderapprentice. "A warm welcome back c: man this brings back memories... I can actually remember word for word the ORIGINAL version of Asriel as it gets (yes including the 'other parts' I'm a freak you don't have to tell me) so if anything I could help you... If you'd like. If you could recall from the original version I remember everything up to the birth day beach bash thing lmao (like I said I'm a freak I remember things like this) anyways all freakyness aside... I like the recreation its like adding a new 'demention' to the story which I think is super cool. Can't wait to see what comes next! *noms on popcorn*" Glad to have you here, man, and I'm so glad to be back, too. I don't think that bit about repeating the story for me is necessary, I can remember enough of the main plot, but then again, I FORGOT ABOUT THE BIRTHDAY BEACH BASH! Oh my God, I liked writing that chapter just a bit too much. If I forgot that, maybe I could use the help. If you want to, fire a PM my way and we can talk it over. And thanks. Also, where are you getting all this popcorn? Maybe we shall never know… But that bit aside, we have one more review to wrap up this gargantuan reviews section. Probably should divide this into segments or something, but nah. We have LilSammyt with the last review. "Dude, you have no idea how happy I am that you are back. I first came to Asriel as it gets when I was browsing for some good Asriel x Frisk fanfictions. I was nothing short of amazed. I laughed so hard I cried at some points, and when I finished it it was hard to say goodbye. Then I remember about 7 months ago or something like that you said you were doing a reboot on Asriel as it gets. I was so excited, but when I came back a few days later and clicked on the bookmark there was an error next to your profile name. It showed your bio but not any of your fanfictions. I was so sad, and after many weeks of trying again and again to access your profile I sadly gave up. HOWEVER I happened to be in a curious mood yesterday and clicked the bookmark. My face lit up and a smile appeared on my face that stretched 10 miles when it didn't say error and I saw that the reboot was uploaded. Asriel as it gets original was almost amazing and I cant wait to see where we will go in this new story. You have a such talent in your writing. Well that's all I have to say for now so I will see you later. BYEEEEEEEEEEEE." Woah, I asked for a review, not an essay! Just kidding, I love the larger comments. They always give more insight and have more for me to think on. But in any case, yeah, sorry about the whole 'deleted profile' thing, I'm sure that was more than troublesome for a great majority of my readers. I have to apologize again, but I'm glad you felt curious when you did! And I hope to see a lot more of the lot of you. See you all again later. Bye!