Chapter 5
Frisk shifted awkwardly under Papyrus' gaze. The skeleton in question was giving her a bright smile as he leads her towards an intersection that split into two different paths. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a small chest resting near a clump of trees. It was wooden, looked slightly worn, and had snowflakes and leaves decorating its surface, which gave the impression that it had been there for quite some time. She also noted the presence of a save point, which glowed even brighter the closer she got to it.
Papyrus suddenly stopped in his track, prompting Frisk to do the same, and the skeleton began to scoop out the area, no doubt looking for Sans. "WHERE IS THAT LAZY BONES?" He questioned, mostly to himself but loud enough for Frisk to hear him clearly. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS SINCE HE LAST RECALIBRATED HIS PUZZLES." He promptly began to stomp on the ground, the snow emitted a squishing sound as his red boots made contact with it.
Frisk didn't really know what to say in this situation. Papyrus wasn't supposed to meet her yet, it should have been Sans. Yet here she was, following the tall skeleton with both his brother and her new human friend missing in action.
Truthfully, Frisk wished she hadn't run into him so soon. She had no time to mentally prepare herself for such a meeting. After her last run, she couldn't ignore the guilt that consumed her every time he smiled at her or laughed.
"I'M SORRY ABOUT THIS." Papyrus says as he turns towards Frisk. "MY BROTHER SEEMS TO BE SLACKING OFF AGAIN."
Frisk averted her eyes away from Papyrus' gaze and nodded.
"YOU DON'T TALK MUCH." Papyrus noted. "ARE YOU PUT OFF BY MY GREATNESS? I CAN ALWAYS TONE IT DOWN IF THAT MAKES IT MORE COMFORTABLE FOR YOU"
Frisk winced and forced herself to look at Papyrus. "It's ok… I'm just-"
"WORRIED?" Papyrus suddenly injected. "ABOUT THAT FRIEND YOU WERE TELLING ME ABOUT EARLIER?"
Frisk paused. That wasn't what she was going to say, but she nodded anyway and promptly directed her gaze to her feet. "Yeah… sorry."
"NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE, FRISK. IT PERFECTLY FINE TO BE WORRY ABOUT THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT," Papyrus told her as he approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. It took all her willpower to avoid flinching away from his touch, and even then she still stiffened slightly, even though Papyrus didn't seem to notice. "IT MAY COME AS A SHOCK TO YOU, BUT EVEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE WORRIES. ESPECIALLY FOR MY BROTHER AND HIS IRREGULAR SLEEPING HABITS."
Papyrus seemed to pause for a moment and Frisk could see the pin-pointed lights in his eyes flare before reverting to their original state. "YOU KNOW WHAT WILL CHEER YOU UP? TESTING MY BRILLIANT TRAPS! DON'T WORRY, THEY WERE MEANT ONLY TO SPECIFICALLY TO CAPTURE HUMANS SO THEY SHOULD BE SAFE FOR A MONSTER."
Frisk tried to smile, although it came off as being forced and didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah... that sounds like fun." She said. "You should go ahead and double check your traps, I'll catch up soon."
"RIGHT, OF COURSE. WOULDN'T WANT TO RISK HURTING YOU." With that said, Papyrus removed his hand from her shoulder and scampered off.
Frisk instantly relaxed as she watched Papyrus disappear off into the distance. Her gaze turned towards the glowing save point and she approached it with quick steps. Her hands reached out and touch it and she was instantly consumed by it. The brunette closed her eyes, shielding them from the blinding light, only opening them when she was sure it was over.
She took in her dark surroundings and the three options before her. All of which still had cracks running through them. However, this time something was different.
She wasn't alone.
"Well, if isn't the Pacifist."
"Was wondering when you'd show your ugly mug." Frisk spat as her fist began to clench at the sight of the person before her. She could feel the blood rushing to her face as she angrily regarded them with narrowed eyes.
"That's funny, considering we both have the similar facial features." The person sneered as they raised their hands to gently caress that cracks along the surface of the three options. In particular, the reset button. "Besides, is that any way to greet a friend?"
"Friend?" Frisk said, the tone of her voice perfectly portraying her disgust at the comment. "After everything you've done? After everything you made me do? Why would you think I would ever be friends with you?"
The other human continued to sneer at her, their eyes glowing a deep and vibrant red that contrasted with their otherwise-childlike appearance. "Funny how in the last reset you attempted to liberate me from my so-called sins. What happened? Finally realized that not everyone is capable of being a good person"
Frisk paused at that comment. Her face reverted to its original pale tone as the anger that she felt towards the person in front of her slowly dissipated. She was allowing her emotions to plague her judgement. As much as she wanted to hate them, as much as she wanted to put aside her beliefs just to rid the world of their corruption… She just couldn't.
"But I guess you don't need my friendship, seeing as you've managed to befriend the glitch."
Frisk gritted her teeth at the insult towards her friend. "He's not a glitch."
"Glitch, Anomaly, whatever the hell you want to call him, it doesn't change the fact that he's not supposed to be here."
"What's your point, Chara?" The brunette desperately wanted to end this conversation. She could already feel Chara's poison effecting her emotions and she was secretly terrified of what effects long-time exposure would have on her.
"Oh, nothing really. But with him here, it seems as though I don't have as much influence on you as I normally would. Of course, that won't change the outcome. As long as I'm around, you will continue to fail until you've finally submitted to me." Chara foretold, her sneer morphing into a sinister grin. "And if I have to make you kill that new friend of yours over and over again until he no longer exists in any future timelines, then so be it."
Frisk's blood began to boil. She took a step forward, her fist clenched so tightly that she drew blood "I won't let you!" She exclaimed. Her eyes flared with determination as her eyes locked with Chara, who actually took a step back from Frisk. Their own eyes widened slightly in shock for a brief moment as they silently regarded the other.
However, the expression on their face soon faded away and Chara broke out in a fit of hysterical laughter. "Oh my… you seem to be confused." Chara laughed. "When have you ever been in control?"
Frisk frowned at the girl's sudden outburst. "Is this some sort of sick game to you? How do you justify hurting others for your own enjoyment?"
"I don't need any justification. Besides, I probably won't even have to make you do it. With how accident-prone you are, you'll write him out of existence yourself."
"What?"
"Let this sink in: every time you reset, every time you try to alter fate, that friend of yours will slowly cease to exist. As with each reset, the timelines will begin to fix itself."
Frisk's eyes widened in horror at the revelation. Her entire body stiffened and her mind went completely blank. "Cease to exist..."
"That's what I just said. Are you braindead or something?" Chara taunted as she raised a hand to push back a few locks of her brown hair. "The look on your face is just priceless." She cackled, her red eyes glowing brighter than before.
"I-I don't believe you." Frisk said. Chara was a very manipulative individual, but she wouldn't let her get to her like this. She couldn't let her win.
"Fine. But when your friend is gone, don't say I didn't warn you." Chara turned away from Frisk, her body slowly dissolving into the darkness that surrounded them both. "Go and have your fun, Frisk. But when this little adventure is over, you best be sure that I'm coming back." And with that said, she was gone.
Frisk was pale as she simply stared at the spot where Chara once stood. Her body was numb with shock as her brain was struggling to process everything that Chara had just told her. She was unsure of whether or not she should believe what she was told.
"But would Chara lie about this?" She thought, her gaze slowly lowering towards the damaged Reset button. She was a manipulative and evil individual but Frisk couldn't see any reason for the other girl to lie to her. There was absolutely nothing Chara could gain from lying to her about this.
After a few moments of her pondering and trying to figure out the motives of the deceased girl, with a sigh, Frisk gently pushed the Save Button.
When Kaylin exited Grillby's, the first thing he noticed was the increased number of monsters in the area, all of which circled the massive Christmas tree at the centre of town. "There's so many monsters here." He said. He didn't really know if he should be worried that one would notice him and realize that he was human or if he should be shocked by the sheer amount that populated the area.
"Yeah, this is the time where most monsters usually have breaks and the kids are off from school." Sans informed him as he guided him through the currently-crowded streets of Snowdin and towards the edge of town.
"Speaking of breaks, isn't yours over by now?" Kaylin inquired as he read the various signs that decorated the town as the two casually walked by. "I'm glad you're helping me and all, but I don't want you to get in trouble for slacking off."
Sans shrugged and turned his head back to him. "Nah, doubt anyone will even know I'm gone. Besides I already got a ton of work done today, a skele-ton." He joked before pausing. "Well, actually, my bro might notice, but he's used to it. You two should meet actually, I think you'd get along well."
Kaylin was unsure of that last statement. From what Sans has told him of his brother so far, the likelihood of the two getting along was slim, seeing as he determined to capture and probably kill him. "Um... if you say so." He said rather skeptically. He didn't miss the way Sans grin seemed to waiver slightly at his lack of enthusiasm.
"Come on, you shouldn't judge someone before you meet them." Sans told him. "Besides, my bro is really cool."
Kaylin didn't respond and simply looked away from Sans. He didn't doubt that Sans' brother was as great as he was currently making him out to be and, while he agreed that he shouldn't judge someone he didn't know, it was still unnerving that his brother hunted humans for a living. He heard Sans sigh and the two fell into an awkward silence as they continued on towards their destination.
They didn't have to walk far, as the houses and shops quickly became more and more sparse. In the distance, Kaylin spotted a two-story building fully decked out in Christmas decorations. It was by far the largest building in town and Kaylin silently wondered how Sans could possible afford such a large home.
"Well, he does have a brother." Kaylin thought as he stared in awe at the building. He glances to the left and notes the two mail boxes that sit next to the house: one was completely filled with mail, to the point where all of its contents were literally spilling onto the snowy ground, in contrast to the rather tidy mail box that stood at its side, which looked as though it hadn't been opened in a long time.
"That's a lot of mail." Kaylin muttered to himself. He couldn't help but feel slightly curious as to what all those letter was for and who they were directed to.
"Ah just a bunch of junk mail, nothing really important. "Sans cuts in, taking Kaylin off-guard. He flushed as he hadn't realized he had spoken loud enough for the other to hear him. He noted that when Sans gaze shifted towards the mail, his expression soured slightly and he looked almost… tired.
He wanted to ask who the letters were directed towards and why there were so many of them but decided that it was best to remain quiet. He could tell from Sans' expression alone that the skeleton didn't want to talk about it, and he felt pang of guilt at even bringing it up in the first place.
Once Sans reached the door, Kaylin thought of letting go of his hand, but was shocked when the Skeleton simply opened his door. "You don't lock your doors?"
Sans paused and looked back at him. Kaylin was sure if the other had eyebrows they would definitely be raised right now. "Why would I?"
"You know, to keep out intruders?"
Sans titled his head as he stared at him, clearly confused by him. "Well, something like that isn't common down here. Monsters are a bit closer-knit, ya know?"
"Oh." Was all he could say in response. "Wish humans were that considerate." Kaylin thought as Sans turned and entered the house. Sans removed his hand from his grasp in favor of stuffing it in his pockets the moment they stepped in. Kaylin ignored the way his hands twitch in response to the action.
The two enter what appeared to be some sort of living room area. To the left of the room was a giant flat screen television with some sort of game console placed next to it, a green couch, and large stairway that lead to the second floor of the house.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Sans said as he gestured with his free hand.
To the right was a long wooden table that was pressed close to the wall. On its surface was a plate that held a sizeable rock that was caked with sprinkles. Kaylin's brow raised and he squinted his eyes in confusion at the peculiar sight. Eventually, his curiosity got to him.
"Why is there a rock with sprinkles on it?"
"Oh, that's my pet." Sans stated as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I guess my bro decided to feed him again today."
"You have a rock as a pet?"
"Yeah, much less work to care for than a dog or a cat." Sans claimed and Kaylin snorted in response.
"That is true." He said in response as he made his way further into the living room area. "This is a pretty big house." He noticed that the TV had been left on and the channel that was currently playing was depicting a show he had never heard before. From what he could see, it looked as though the star of the show was some kind of android.
"Eh, if you say so." Sans shrugged as he followed him into the living room. The pin-pointed lights in his eye sockets shifting towards the screen. "That's MTT." Sans explain as he probably noticed the curious expression on his face. "My bro really likes this channel."
"MTT? What does that stand for?"
"Mettaton television. The machine on screen is Mettaton, by the way."
As Kaylin continued to watch what was happening on screen, he couldn't help but ponder on how the monsters could be so advanced, although his initial impression on monster tech was probably skewed due to the fact that Toriel's house was devoid of things like these. But then again, that was quite an ignorant assumption to make, why wouldn't they be able too? If humans could do it, then why couldn't monsters do it as well?
"You know, you don't have to stand there." Sans mused. "We do have a couch, ya know." Kaylin flushed slightly and nodded as he directed his gaze towards the giant blue coach pressed against the wall. He had been drawn into the odd, yet strangely endearing, show without even noticing.
Kaylin shuffled over towards the coach, but before he sat down, he noticed that his foot was resting on something. He blinked and remove his foot to get a better glimpse of the object beneath his foot. It was a sock, and a dirty one at that. It looked like it hadn't been washed in months and it was showing a lot of wear and tear. Besides its dismal appearance, there were several sticky notes taped onto it, all of which had embolden letters written onto it telling Sans to remove the sock.
He heard a cough and raised his head to see Sans standing in front of him. The short skeleton quickly bent down and snatched up the dirty sock. "Sorry about that." Sans said as a blue tint appeared on his face, most likely from embarrassment, as he pocketed the sock. "I, uh, usually leave that there for my brother. It always rattles his bones when he sees it around."
"So you leave it around as a sort of prank?" Kaylin inquires curiously and Sans nods in response.
"Yeah, like I said, it's fun to see his reaction to it laying there." Sans pulled out one of his hands and awkwardly began to rub his skull. "Although, I probably should have moved it before I brought you here."
Kaylin shrugged and sat down onto the coach. "It's fine, I don't really mind. It just took me off guard." Sans grins widened slightly as he lowered his hand from his head. Kaylin noted that the other seemed relieved by his comment. "Besides, it's your house you can decorate it however you see fit." He teased. "If you think a dirty sock adds to the décor, then fine. That's your decision."
Sans chuckled at that before he took a seat next to him. "So, pal, what do you want to do now, huh?" Sans' gaze was focused entirely on him now. Now that Sans had decided to sit alongside him, he suddenly seemed to realized just how small the green couch actually was. Strange.
"Well, I had planned on finishing my fries." He hesitated. "But I wanted to ask you a couple of questions first."
"Shoot." Sans urged as he allowed himself to sink backwards into the couch.
"Why is it that none of the others seemed to recognize me as being human? I mean, besides a few monsters from the ruins and you, everyone seems oblivious to that fact." Not that he was really complaining, after all. If they couldn't identify him as being human, that drastically raised his chances of survival. "It's just seems weird that only a few people actually know what a human looks like."
"Well, it's been a really long time since the last human came here. So long that most monsters don't even know what a human looks like anymore." Sans clarified. "Heck, even my bro doesn't know what you humans look like."
"So how do you know then?"
"Let's just say I've read a lot about humans. Besides, most members of the royal guard are given detailed descriptions of what you guys look like." Sans paused and simply stared at him for a moment. Kaylin shifted slightly, feeling increasingly awkward the longer Sans stared at him. However, before he could question why Sans was staring so intensely at him, Sans spoke. "Tibia honest, you don't seem to fit most of the typical description."
"What do you mean?" Kaylin questioned.
"You don't seem to be a deranged, monster-killing psychopath."
"Wow, you monsters really do have a poor view on us humans." Although, could he really blame them? Humanity has done a lot of twisted things in the past and even now in modern day. "But thanks, I guess. I'm glad that I don't fit the stereotypes."
"Yeah, you would've had a really bad time if that wasn't the case." Sans chuckled. Kaylin didn't miss the sudden tone shift when the other said 'bad time', suggesting that he meant what he said, despite the joking manner in which he said it.
"Any more questions, pal? Or would you rather eat your fries and watch TV instead?" Sans winked.
"Yeah, I have one more." Kaylin said. "When you met me, you said you were expecting another human." He paused as he noticed Sans straightened and his smile tightened. "And you claimed that another human hasn't fallen down here in a long time. There's only one other human I know that's down here and they fell around the same time I did. So there's no way you could have meant them." He claimed.
"Where are you going with this, pal?"
"I just want to know who's the human you were expecting?"
Frisk peered into the wooden chest and took out a pair of pink gloves. Gently, she placed gloves onto her hands and relished in the much-needed heat that they provided her. Her hands instantly warmed up and became less numb from the lack of exposure to the coldness of the outside world.
There was a rustling in the bush and Frisk's head instantly jolted upwards. Her eyes focused onto the foliage before her as she took slowly backed away from the chest. Suddenly, a large icicle sliced through the air and broke free of the foliage and came at Frisk.
With almost inhuman speed, Frisk caught the icicle just as it neared her. Stopping it mere inches away from her face. With little to no effort the brunette discarded the icicle onto the ground next to her, her eyes locked onto the perpetrator. It was a rather large monster with legs reminiscent to that of a chicken, its face arranged in a way that it resembled that of a snowflake.
"Snowdrake." Frisk thought as she stared the monster down. The monster in questioned seemed to hesitate after seeing Frisk effortless stop his surprise attack. However, it would soon summon several more icicles, all of which much larger and sharper than the last.
With a battle cry, the Snowdrake launched the icicles at Frisk. With fluent motions, Frisk evaded the first two attacks that came her way before hopping onto the third and doing a mid-air flip and dodging another two. Landing on her hands, Frisk did a cartwheel and avoided another set of icicles that Snowdrake conjured after her.
Snowdrake huffed as he summoned even more icicles. It was clear to Frisk that the monster was growing increasingly tired from the use of his abilities. "Uh… D-do you want to hear a j-joke?" Snowdrake asked rather timidly as he continued to attack Frisk with icicles.
Quickly snatching a branch that was lying on the ground, Frisk got into a batting position and swung the branch, shattering any icicles that came near her. "Sure." She said rather cheerily despite the fact she was on the receiving end of the monster's attacks.
"Y-you better not snowflake out!" Snowdrake said as he watched Frisk dodge and bat away several more of his icicles.
Frisk smiled and laughed at the pun, although to the professional eyes it was clear that it was forced. However, Snowdrake didn't seem to noticed and actually seemed to brightened up at the sound of Frisk's laughter. "Oh wow, y-you actually laughed! "He exclaims as his attacks suddenly halted mid-air before dissolving into water and crashing onto the ground. "See, Dad was wrong!" he said, clearly in shock that anyone would find him humorous as he flew back into the dense forest.
Frisk sighed in relief as she watched Snowdrake's form slowly vanish off into the distance. She had been worried that Chara would have attempted something during that little fight, but she was glad that the other girl remained quiet, although her appearance earlier still had her on edge.
The human continued along the snowy path that lead towards the town of Snowdin and it wasn't long before another monster decided to have a go at her, this time, a member of the royal guard. "What's that smell?" The bipedal dog behind the sentry station questions. His eyes were squinted and his snout twitched as he sniffed the air. "Who's there?" Frisk instantly stood in place as Doggo attempted to locate her. "Is that a human?" He questions aloud and his head whirls around frantically.
After a few moments, Doggo finally gives up and slowly lowers below his sentry station. Frisk cautiously takes several steps forward, careful not to alert the dog to her presence, as she passes his sentry station.
After reaching an area with a frozen pond and managing to snag a snow-ball from the snowman, Frisk steps into an open area and was greeted with the sight of a frustrated Papyrus. "THAT LAZY BONES STILL HASN'T COME BACK YET." He huffed before he turned and spotted Frisk. "AH IT SEEMS THAT YOU'VE FINALLY DECIDED TO SHOW UP MY FRIEND." Papyrus says rather cheerfully despite his earlier rant.
Frisk waved at Papyrus, although she still avoided his gaze. "Sorry, got a little distracted."
"AH DON'T WORRY MY FRIEND, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FORGIVE YOU FOR YOUR TARDINESS."
She smiled at his comment and found herself sparing a few glances at him just to see the look of childish delight on his face. "HERE IS THE FIRST OF MANY COMPLICATED PUZZELS THAT I HAVE CRAFTED." Papyrus motions with his hand to the open space between him and Frisk. "I THINK YOU WILL FIND IT QUITE SHOCKING TO HEAR THAT THE PUZZLE BEFORE YOU IS QUITE… SHOCKING! FOR YOU SEE, THIS, IS AN ELECTICAL MAZE!"
Frisk forces a shock expression to appear on her face as she peers down at the snow-covered ground. "I SEE THE LOOK OF FEAR IN YOUR EYES MY FRIEND, BUT DO NOT FRET! AS A MONSTER YOURSELF SUCH A TRAP SHOULD BE CHILD'S PLAY." Papyrus raises an orb into the air. "THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY SHOCK TO YOUR SYSTEM IF YOU TOUCH THE WALL OF THE MAZE SO BE CAREFUL!"
Frisk nods. Having already done this puzzle multiple times in the past, she was able to easily find the right walkway and avoided causing injury to the tall Skeleton. Papyrus seemed shocked by how effortlessly she managed to guide herself through the maze. "WELL, IT WOULD SEEM THAT YOU ARE FAR MORE BRILLIANT THAN I THOUGHT YOU WERE! YOU MANAGED TO PASSED THAT PUZZLE SO EASILY." He shifted the orb under his arm. 'YOU WERE ALMOST AS BRILLIANT AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
Frisk gigged as she dusted off some flakes of snow that landed on her shoulder. "No one can be as great as you, Papyrus." She admitted, giving the Skeleton a boost to his ego.
"OF COURSE NOT. NEVERTHELESS, YOU SHOULDN'T COUNT YOURSELF OUT, FOR ONE DAY YOU TWO MAY BE AS GREAT AS I." Papyrus turned away from Frisk. "SADLY SANS ISN'T HERE TO BASK IN OUR GREATNESS." Frisk could hear the sadness in his voice as he said that but, before she could try to cheer him up, Papyrus had already changed gears. "ALRIGHT MY NEW FRIEND, WE HAVE A LOT OF PUZZLES TO CHECK TODAY SO WE BETTER GET MOVING!" Papyrus suddenly slides backwards as he heads towards the next puzzle with Frisk in tow.
Papyrus and Frisk had stopped in front of a small shop with a blue-furred humanoid rabbit standing at its side. He perked up at the sight of the two and instantly brought out a pairs of ice creams that had a blueish tint to them.
"OH! Customers! "He greeted warmly and Frisk could see that he was shaking with uncontained excitement from their arrival. "Would you like some nice cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart!" The monstered offered as he extended his hands towards Frisk and Papyrus.
Frisk was going to decline the offer when her stomach began to growl. She blushed as she realized that she hadn't eaten all day, after all, she didn't really have the time seeing as Toriel had planned on destroying the only exit from the ruins.
Since she left the ruins, she had been too preoccupied with finding Kaylin, surviving and dealing with all the various differences in the timeline that she hadn't been aware of her hunger until the monster offered her food. "IT WOULD SEEM THAT MY FRIEND IS IN DESPERATE NEED FOR SOME NUTRIENTS." Papyrus notes as she reaches into his pockets and procures some gold. "WHILE IT MAY NOT BE SPAGHETI IT WILL DO FOR NOW."
Frisk wanted to object to Papyrus' paying for the ice-cream himself, after all she had some gold on her and it wasn't fair for her to leech off of him, but she froze when Papyrus gave her one of his signature smiles. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT PAYING ME BACK, THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN ALWAYS GET MORE GOLD." He claims as he hands Frisk her ice cream.
Frisk hesitates before taking the ice-cream anyway after her stomach growls again as if demanding that she eat the ice-cream. She took a few lick and couldn't help but enjoy the taste that assaulted her taste buds. Monsters sure knew how to make the most delicious snacks and food.
"Thank you." She says to both the ice cream monster and Papyrus. The ice-vendor just nods and tells them to come back again, while Papyrus puffs out his chest and places his hand on his armor.
"NO NEED TO THANK ME! AS A FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD IT'S THE LEAST I CAN DO."
Frisk smiles as she continues to lick her nice-cream. A feeling of determination welling up in her. She was going to protect this timeline. No matter what.