A/N In response to a question from a previous chapter, this is Frisk's first, and only, run.
Frisk stretched as they woke up. They rubbed the sleep out of their eyes as they sat up. They could hear Toriel making breakfast in the kitchen. Since she took up the brother's entire couch, Frisk had to sleep on the floor. They didn't mind too terribly, as anything was better than nothing. Sans had offered a pillow and blanket for them, but Papyrus replaced the blanket with a sleeping bag that was rather large for Frisk.
As they stood up, they were careful with their right foot. Though the wound was healed, their side still hurt whenever they put any weight on their foot. It gave them a limp that they weren't able to overcome. Frisk had a suspicion that they would carry this limp for a long time, if not forever.
Slowly, they walked to the kitchen to see what Toriel was making. After she and Papyrus had made their supper and realized how bad the skeleton was, she had strongly offered to be the one to make their meals while they stayed. Frisk could smell her making a butterscotch-cinnamon pie.
"How are you feeling, Frisk?" she asked when she saw them up.
"Side still hurts," they said with a small strain. "But I feel better than yesterday."
"That is good to hear," she accepted. "You feeling up to help me with the baking?"
Frisk clutched their side. "Better take it easy for a few days. My side hurts too much."
"Okay, my child," Toriel conceded with a look of worry. As she worked the dough, Frisk could hear stomping from upstairs and Papyrus showed up a moment later.
"GOOD MORNING!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Greetings," Toriel replied. "Will your brother be joining us soon?"
"I DON'T KNOW," Papyrus grumbled. "MY BROTHER IS SO LAZY. HE MIGHT SLEEP THROUGH BREAKFAST AGAIN."
"Dear me," Toriel chuckled. "Is he always like this?"
"INDEED," Papyrus confirmed. "SOMETIMES I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'D DO WITHOUT SOMEONE AS COOL AS ME TAKING CARE OF HIM."
Frisk tried to get a chair out, but the action caused their side to flare up. They hissed in pain and clutched where the wound had been.
"OH! DO YOU NEED HELP, HUMAN?" Papyrus asked.
"Yeah," they admitted.
"WELL FEAR NOT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS EAGER TO HELP A FRIEND IN NEED!" He grabbed one of the chairs and hoisted it into the air. "WHERE DO YOU WANT TO SIT?"
"I saw a screen out in the living room," Frisk said. "Can we do that while we eat?"
"YOU MEAN WATCH TV? SURE! MY FAVORITE PROGRAM WILL BE ON SOON AS WELL! IT WILL BE SECTACULAR!" Papyrus carried the chair out into the living room, setting it before the TV on one side of the couch. "MISS TORIEL, DO YOU WANT TO WATCH WITH US?"
"I suppose," she said from the kitchen. "Just give me a minute to finish making breakfast."
"OKAY!" Papyrus sat on the couch. "SANS! WAKE UP! MISS TORIEL IS MAKING A PIE! AND WE'RE GOING TO WATCH TV WHILE WE EAT!"
After a few minutes, Sans came down. "mornin', kid," he greeted Frisk. "sleep well?"
"As well as can be expected," they answered.
"so, what's for breakfast?"
"Mom's specialty; pie," Frisk said. "Butterscotch-cinnamon pie."
"so, you'd eat like that all the time in the ruins?" he asked.
"Pretty much," Frisk answered.
"WOWIE! AND DOES SHE GIVE YOU LESSONS, TOO?"
"Yeah. Some," Frisk admitted.
"AWESOME. UNDYNE HAS BEEN GIVING ME LESSONS ON COOKING AS WELL. AFTER ALL, ALL GOOD WARRIORS NEED TO KNOW HOW TO BAKE."
"yeah and he's getting better, too," Sans said.
"So what are we watching?" Frisk asked.
"OH! WE'RE WATCHING METTATON," Papyrus answered.
"Who's Mettaton?" Frisk asked.
"he's a tv star," Sans answered. "he does just about everything down here."
Frisk wasn't going to ask what they meant by that as they were pretty sure it'd confuse them more.
Papyrus grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. Frisk watched as the screen lit up in all sorts of colors. But then it went to a stand-by screen.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Papyrus questioned. "IT'S USUALLY MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!"
"huh. must not be airing anything yet," Sans guessed.
Before anyone could ask why, Papyrus' phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, checked who it was, then answered it in rapid succession.
"HI, UNDYNE!" he greeted. Upon hearing the name, Frisk tensed up and Toriel came out of the kitchen. "I WAS GOING TO CALL YOU EARLIER, BUT I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE. WHAT? IS MY BROTHER THERE? WHY YES, HE IS! HUH? PUT YOU ON SPEAKER? OKAY."
Papyrus pressed a button on the screen and now they could hear the other person on the end of the call.
"what is it?" Sans asked.
"I just heard about a mass evacuation from the Ruins and that humans were involved," a woman said. "Report. Now."
"well, details are a little fuzzy, but it seems that several humans fell in at once and they were dangerous enough that the monsters decided to abandon the ruins and flee here for safety."
"And how many humans are there?" Undyne asked.
Sans looked up at Frisk, who held up all ten of their fingers. "ten, it seems."
"Have any of them come out of the Ruins?"
Frisk bit their lip and Toriel was worried as well.
"uh… none so far. in fact, i have it on good authority that they won't be able to leave for a long time," Sans said.
"How do you know?"
"one of the monsters that fled said they locked the doors behind them and they don't think the humans will be able to get around that."
"Well, don't take any risks. We just need one more Soul and if any of them leave, I'll be there to impale them and take their Soul myself! So be on the lookout. You too, Papyrus. If you see any humans, you are to report them to me immediately. Got it?"
"UH… RIGHT! OF COURSE!" he agreed.
"Good. So, have any humans showed up since the evacuation?"
Papyrus looked over at Frisk, the human nervously shaking their head.
"UH… NO! NO HUMANS HAVE LEFT THE RUINS SINCE THE EVACUATION!"
"Good to hear it," Undyne said. "I'll be needing daily reports. If you see a human, report them immediately and I'll take care of them."
"OF COURSE! WE'LL BE VIGOROUSLY KEEPING WATCH ON THE DOORS FOR ANY HUMANS THAT LEAVE."
"Good. I know I can count on you." With that, Undyne hung up.
Frisk let out a sigh of relief once they heard the click. "Thank you," they said.
"Indeed," Toriel agreed. "I know lying to your boss could not have been easy."
"TECHNICJALLY, I DIDN'T LIE," Papyrus said. "SHE ASKED ME IF ANY HUMANS ESCAPED THE RUINS SINCE YOU ALL EVACUATED AND FRISK HERE LEFT WITH YOU, DURING THE EVACUATION. THIS WAY, I DON'T LIE TO UNDYNE AND I DON'T GIVE YOU UP. NO BETRAYAL ANYWHERE! BEING FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IS EASY!"
Toriel chuckled at that. "Well, I suppose I should finish making that pie."
"in the meantime, mettaton's show is starting," Sans informed, pointing to the screen, which was now displaying something other than the colored bars.
"YOU'LL LOVE THIS, HUMAN!" Papyrus assured. "METTATON'S SHOWS ARE ALWAYS INCREDIBLE!"
"If you say so," Frisk said.
After a few minutes, the robot appeared on the screen in a red anchorman outfit, on what Frisk would later learn is his news set.
"WELCOME BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES," the box on a wheel said. "THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS. WE HAVE A BREAKING NEWS STORY THAT IS SURE TO SHOCK YOU ALL!" The screen next to him changed to display a graphic. "AFTER MANY LONG YEARS, MORE HUMANS HAVE ARRIVED IN THE UNDERGROUND!"
Frisk winced at hearing that and the skeleton brothers tensed up as well. Toriel came in with the pie, setting it down on a table, sitting on the floor to watch.
"WE HAVE RECEIVED REPORTS FROM SNOWDIN TOWN THAT A LARGE GROUP OF HUMANS WAS SPOTTED IN THE RUINS. THESE HUMANS WERE EVIDENTLY SO DANGEROUS, SO DEADLY, THAT THEY HAD TO EVACUATE FOR THEIR OWN LIVES! FORTUNATELY, FOLKS, YOU CAN REST EASY. THE SAME REPORTS SAID THAT THE ONLY KNOWN ENTRANCE TO THE RUINS HAS BEEN MAGICALLY SEALED TO PREVENT THE HUMANS FROM LEAVING. BUT… THIS IS ALSO CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION! AS EVERYONE KNOWS, WE ALREADY HAVE SIX SOULS. IF ONE OF THESE HUMANS IS KILLED, WE CAN FINALLY GET THE SEVENTH SOULD WE NEED TO BREAK THE BARRIER AND RECLAIM THE SURFACE FROM HUMANITY!"
None of them noticed Frisk's wince as Mettaton said that. They felt a small surge of guilt at the secret they were keeping but they didn't have the heart to tell these people the truth.
"OUR KING HAS RECEIVED WORD OF THESE HUMANS AND ADVISES EVERYONE TO STAY AWAY FROM THE RUINS FOR NOW. IF YOU SEE A HUMAN, NOTIFY A ROYAL GUARD AND THEY WILL HANDLE IT. IN OTHER NEWS…"
The report changed after that to things they were not interested in. They tuned the robot out to discuss this latest development.
"so, uh, that happened," Sans commented.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN?" Papyrus asked.
"Yeah. Just nervous," Frisk admitted.
"Perhaps it might be a good idea for you to remain in this house for a while," Toriel suggested.
"I can't stay here forever, mom," Frisk implored. "At some point, I'll have to get out."
"but it might be a good idea to lay low until this all blows over," Sans suggested.
"And when would that be? Five years? Ten?" Frisk shook their head. "I'll rest while I recover, but I can't stay in this house my whole life."
"But if you go out there, you could be killed," Toriel fret.
"not if they take precautions," Sans suggested. "you still got that cloak, kid. i could do some modifications to it so it conceals all of ya."
"YES. AND WE CAN ALSO VOUCH FOR YOU!" Papyrus assured. "WE WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ANYONE THAT MIGHT MEAN YOU HARM!"
"I still do not know about this," Toriel said.
"It's better than being couped up in here my whole life," Frisk pleaded. "I'll be fine, mom."
Toriel sighed. "Alright. If you boys promise to look out for them while they are outside the house," she said to the skeletons.
"SURE THING!" Papyrus agreed.
"i already did," Sans reminded.
"Okay then. Once you have recovered enough Frisk, you may go out with them. Now, how about we eat that pie before it gets cold?"
"Sounds good!"
Frisk spent the whole day in the brothers' house, Toriel teaching them a few things about Snowdin, as well as what else there was in the Underground, though Sans and Papyrus had to correct her knowledge at times, as hers was out of date.
The next day, Sans had finished the changes to Frisk's cloak and they wanted to go explore the town, Papyrus eagerly offering to be their guide. Toriel did express some concerns, especially as Frisk was still limping. But they told her that the limp might never go away, so she agreed to let them out on the condition that if they got too tired, they were to head back.
Frisk was shown around by Papyrus, seeing the Librarby, the Inn, and the Shop next door and various houses. Papyrus pointed out Grillby's but refused to go in. Frisk loved the crunch of the snow under their feet and saw a few kids playing with balls of snow. Frisk asked Papyrus what they were doing and Papyrus told them it was a Snowball Fight.
Frisk wanted to join in, but as their identity had to be kept secret, they stayed out. Papyrus took them into the woods and showed Frisk all of his puzzles and traps. Frisk found them all fascinating but suggested that they be upgraded in case those humans ever got out of the Ruins.
Papyrus was eager to have a companion in making puzzles, Frisk helping make suggestions and ideas on how to make them more challenging, as well as designing auto-solves for Monsters who went through the area regularly. Frisk also added 'fails' to the puzzles. While they couldn't design anything with any sort of lethality, they did design cages and walls that would shoot up if the puzzle wasn't solved correctly.
Frisk spent many of their days doing that with Papyrus. They found that they liked him a lot. His boundless energy was infectious at times and he had an innocence to him that Frisk envied.
Sans was also still trading jokes with Toriel, who was adjusting to living amongst other Monsters again, but she always wore her hood when going out. Their constant back and forth of puns annoyed Papyrus and when Frisk joined in, they giggled as he screamed and ran out of the house.
Toriel enjoyed living with Sans, though she didn't like sleeping on their couch. At times, she went out to try and find someplace for them to live, but Snowdin was almost packed. Frisk was fine with her taking her time to do that. They were having fun and they got to see so many new people, though they weren't able to show themself to anyone. But for now, Frisk was fine.
Sans was looking over the copper that Toriel had pulled out of Frisk. It seemed ridiculous. How could something so small be so dangerous? Frisk warned that this metal shard could kill someone, but how? Sans would think that it would just bounce off.
He needed an expert on humans to help him figure this out. And there was only one person in the Underground who fit that bill. He shortcut to Hotland, appearing in the Lab. Alphys was working on something on her computer.
"heya, alph," he greeted, causing her to jump.
"Sans! I told you, use the door!" she shouted.
"i know. i just love seeing your reaction," Sans giggled.
Alphys groaned. "Why are you here?"
"got somethin' for ya to check out," Sans held out the copper and Alphys took it.
"It looks like a piece of copper. But shaped in a weird way. Why do you need me to look into it?"
"you know of the situation? humans in the ruins?"
"Yeah. Saw it on the news," Alphys said.
"well, according to… a friend," he said, omitting that said friend was human, "they are armed with a new type of weapon. one that can kill with these things."
Alphys looked at the shard in her hand. "This thing? It can kill us?"
"and humans," Sans added. "they say that it could have killed them if it hit in the right place. that was pulled out of my friend. but i want to know, how can something so small be lethal?"
"And you want me to find out? Why?"
"you're the foremost expert on humans in the underground. if anyone knows, it's you."
Alphys looked over the bullet, turning it over in her fingers. "You know, I think I know what this is," she mused. "It's a bullet and it's the projectile for a weapon the humans made a long time ago. But… this looks slightly different."
"you're saying that thing is fired into you?" Sans asked.
"From a considerable distance, too. I think the weapon is called a gun and it can come in many different shapes."
"i still don't see how that tiny thing could be lethal."
"Usually, it wouldn't be. But at speed, it can even break bone," Alphys revealed.
"at what? five hundred miles an hour?" Sans asked skeptically.
"Over that. Some of the bigger ones can fire their bullets at supersonic speeds."
"how?"
"I'm not sure. I think it's some sort of chemical combustion. I could experiment and see what it would take."
"i'd also suggest finding a way to protect us from it," Sans recommended. "if humans really can kill us with pellets of copper, we need to be able to defend from it."
"I'll see what I can do," Alphys assured.
Sans shortcut back to his house and just in time, too. Toriel was making dinner.
"Sans! Where did you go?" she asked.
"oh, no where important," he answered. "kids back, yet?"
"I think they are still working on something in the forest," Toriel replied. "Your brother does a really good job of entertaining them."
"yeah. he's the coolest," Sans agreed. "by the way, how is the kid doing?"
"I am starting to get worried," she admitted. "They are still limping and it has not gotten any better."
"well, they did get hit in a pretty important place. admittedly i don't know a lot about humans, but i think that part might have been a muscle that would be needed for their leg. so, it makes sense it still hurts. it has only been a week."
"It is not just that," she said. "They seem to have less energy every day. And I catch them clutching their side at times and flinching in pain."
Sans hummed in thought. He should have asked Alphys about that while he was there. Then again, there was no way to ask that without revealing that Frisk was human. He wasn't sure if he could trust her, as she was the Royal Scientist and might tell Asgore. "don't worry, old lady. i'll look into it."
"Thank you, my friend."
Just then, they heard the door slam.
"BROTHER! TORIEL! WE'RE HOME!"
"And just in time, too," Frisk added.
"Supper is almost ready," Toriel declared. "You may set up the couch."
Sans walked out to help as little as he could. He saw Frisk shivering, but he decided it must have been from the cold, as it was snowing out there. Frisk and Papyrus were bringing a table over to set in front of the couch, getting the tv ready so the four of them could watch it.
"What did you do with your day, Sans?" Frisk asked.
"oh, not much," he lied. "how about your puzzles?"
"WE RECALIBRATED SEVERAL!" Papyrus beamed. "THEY'VE ALSO HELPED ME BUILD CAGES TO SHOOT UP WHEN THE HUMANS FAIL. SINCE THEY CAN'T FLY, WE DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT A TOP!"
"heh. sounds good. hey, kid, your turn to pick what we watch tonight," Sans reminded.
Frisk picked up the remote and Sans caught the slight wince as they stretched their side. What was going on?
"Let's see what's on," Frisk said as they started flipping through channels. Sans kept an eye on them, now worried. It might have only been a week, but he could tell Frisk was in pain but ignoring it. He was going to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with them.
End of Chapter 4
