Chapter Text
‘A PICNIC WITH ALL OUR FRIENDS, WITH FOOD AND DRINKS MADE BY EVERYONE! ISN’T THIS EXCITING, SANS!?’
Papyrus was gazing around the huge, pretty garden at all the gathered monsters and humans, his eye sockets wide, almost shining, and his permanent grin much wider than usual. He was practically bouncing in excitement as he waved and yelled a greeting at everyone he met. Sans grinned in amusement as he glanced up as his younger brother, delighted that he was so excited. “yep, sure is.” He replied, walking beside his brother in slow, calm strides, hands in his pocket as usual.
‘OH, THERE’S FRISK! AND MISS TORIEL!’ Papyrus whirled around, almost bumping into Sans, and pointed towards Frisk setting a large pie on one of the pretty picnic tables in the garden. Beside them was Toriel, holding a large basket containing a variety of her homemade pies. Since Papyrus’ voice was so loud, both of them heard him instantly, and waved over to the two skeleton brothers. Toriel waved delicately with a warm smile, while Frisk raised their hand and waved aggressively in delight. It was a surprise to see Toriel here at the picnic, since it’s being held in the large garden behind Asgore’s cottage, and she was still on strict no-talking terms with Asgore. However, she seemed to have put aside her disdain towards Asgore to attend this picnic, which was a celebration among the monsters for being freed from the Underground for six months. After all, according to her, “Frisk really wished to come to this picnic to see all the friends they made during their adventure.”
Not all the monsters were here, as some of them were busy with jobs, or have moved too far away to come, but most of them managed to make it to the picnic, bringing food along to share. There were also some humans as well, friends that some of the monsters had made after they reached the surface, so the garden was quite full. It was a lovely sight, with sunlight from the clear blue sky shining on crowds of happy monsters and humans, sitting around picnic tables or on the green grass, with blooming flowers and shady trees surrounding them.
Papyrus dashed at full speed across the grass towards Frisk and Toriel, screeching to a halt just before he ran them over. He scooped Frisk up in a hug, and gave Toriel a hug as well after gently settling Frisk down. Frisk always noticed how extremely gentle he was when he hugged them, he always gave them tight, warm hugs, but kept them a few inches away from his body, as if he was worried that he might accidentally injure them if he held them too close.
‘hey toriel. hey frisk.’ Sans strolled up casually towards the two, winking at them, ‘glad to see that you both brought your amazing pies as well, toriel, i’ve been pie-ning for your pies for a while now.’
‘SANS WHY?!’ shrieked Papyrus in mock frustration, gesturing wildly. Sans’ grin simply widened, as Toriel and Frisk started giggling.
‘I am delighted that you are both here as well,’ Toriel replied, ‘And I am pleased that you enjoy my pies, I made them crust right for everyone.’
Papyrus let out an anguished yell, prompting Sans to burst out laughing and the other two to start giggling again. Although Sans was even more amused to see that Papyrus has a wide, genuine grin on his face at the pun, but was trying his best to hide it.
‘Konichiwa punks!!’ Papyrus suddenly found himself in a headlock, his skull being rubbed in aggressively by a strong, webbed hand. Undyne had arrived at the picnic, and somehow managed to sneak up behind all of them to surprise Papyrus. Alphys was there as well, feeling very nervous about joining such a big social event, but finally gave in after being showered with encouragement by Undyne, whom she was now living with. She gazed up at everyone, greeting them one by one shyly, while nodding over to Sans and hugging Frisk.
‘P…PLEASE DO NOT NOOGIE THE SKELETON…’ gasped Papyrus in desperation. Undyne laughed, and released him suddenly, causing him to fall face-first onto the grass, although she immediately bent down to help him up.
‘I…it’s a lovely day, isn’t it, everyone?’ Alphys remarked, to which everyone replied happily that it was.
Undyne took a seat and proceeded to excitedly inform everyone about the new house she and Alphys bought, how it had enough space for them to build a huge home lab for Alphys, how big the fire-proof kitchen was, and how there was even a large swimming pool. Alphys, gaining confidence from her, added to the conversation with how they had decorated the house. Everyone else listened with interest, with occasional teasing interjected by Sans and Papyrus.
Frisk, who was all the while smiling at this conversation, suddenly turned to Toriel, and began signing quickly to her. Toriel, having learned sign language to be able to understand Frisk, looked rather solemn all of a sudden.
‘You wish to use the bathroom?’ Toriel seemed to hesitate for a while, before nodding, ‘Very well then, but please do not take too long. Come back as soon as you are done.’ Frisk gave an apologetic, but half-hearted smile, before heading towards Asgore’s cottage hurriedly. Despite monsters not needing to use the bathroom, Asgore had one built in his house, in case Frisk or any humans visited him or stayed over in his cottage.
The five of them continued their conversation, while starting to enjoy one of Toriel’s delicious pies. Several minutes later, they began to realize how long Frisk was taking, and that Toriel was starting to get troubled by Frisk’s absence, as much as she tried to hide it.
About 10 minutes later, they saw Asgore heading over towards them from his cottage. Toriel looked away, but the rest of them greeted their king happily, with Papyrus giving him a hug, and Undyne practically flinging herself onto him in her excitement. Sans simply grinned, while Alphys continued to look bashful as she would always do in his presence. They all began chatting with him all at once, with Asgore laughingly having to tell them to slow down so he could answer them one at a time, while Toriel continued to stubbornly remain silent.
‘Ah, y...your majesty? H…have you seen Frisk?’ Alphys suddenly interjected, voicing out everyone’s concern, ‘They went to your house to use the bathroom, b…but it’s been a long time, and th…they never came back.”
‘Frisk? Well, I did not see them come into my house at all.’ Asgore replied.
‘But we saw them heading to your house, they said they wanted to use your bathroom.’ Undyne exclaimed.
Asgore pressed one paw against his chin lightly, thinking, before answering, ‘No, I have been in my house the past 10 minutes, and I did not see them entering or using my bathroom. Are they not somewhere in the garden?’
‘No, I do not think so,’ in her concern for Frisk, Toriel broke her silence towards Asgore, gazing towards him with a puzzled expression, ‘They said they wished to use your bathroom, and we saw them heading to your house.’ She paused for a while, and continued as she glanced down, clasping her paws, ‘I worry about them. It seems that they have not been well for the past few weeks. They started developing this tendency of suddenly dropping what they were doing and rushing away to remote locations, such as their bedroom at home, or bathrooms when we are out. For a while I assumed they were ill, and wanted to heal them or bring them to a human doctor, but there does not seem to be anything wrong with them. They often looked dazed or frightened whenever this happens, and I believe I have heard them talk to themself in their room before, while they were alone. It seems that they are doing it again.’
The group at the table fell silent, while the cheerful voices from other monsters and humans continued around them. Papyrus was the first to break the silence by standing up and stating confidently, ‘PERHAPS I SHOULD GO TO CHECK ON THEM, TO SEE IF THEY’RE ALRIGHT.’
‘Do not worry yourself over them, Papyrus, I shall go to fetch them.’ Toriel pushed back her chair, but Papyrus immediately stopped her.
‘NO, MS TORIEL, I WILL HEAD TO THE BATHROOM AND CHECK ON THEM. PLEASE CONTINUE ENJOYING THE PICNIC.’ Papyrus always felt the need to be useful towards everyone in any way he could, so he jumped at every opportunity of being able to offer assistance.
‘Very well. Please look for them and bring them back here, that would be much appreciated,’ Toriel answered with a grateful smile, while Asgore nodded in agreement.
‘I SHALL BRING THEM BACK SAFE AND SOUND, SO DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING, MS TORIEL. YOU CAN TRUST ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, TO ASSIST YOU.’ Papyrus continued enthusiastically, posing with one hand over his chest. He heard Undyne cheering, playing along with his dramatic act, and saw Sans’ grin widening. He felt a sense of pride. He always enjoyed being overly dramatic for the sake of the approval from both of the people he admired the most, it was nice to see them so amused by him.
He headed over to Asgore’s cottage with quick, long strides. It was a large, comfortable looking wooden cottage, very spacious with only one floor. Vibrant flowers and plants surrounded the house, and a large greenhouse stood beside the house. He searched around the house, calling for Frisk. It was much quieter around the house, but when he paused to listen, he could not hear any response from them.
He stepped into the house, calling for them again at the door. To his surprise, a much different but familiar voice replied him.
‘Frisk isn’t here. Now get out of here, your voice hurts my head.’
Papyrus perked up, and quickly headed over to the direction of the voice. ‘FLOWEY?’
Flowey had been planted in a flowerpot, and was placed on a wide window seat by Asgore. He turned toward Papyrus with a frustrated expression. ‘I said they’re not here. Go away.’
‘FLOWEY! IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I HAVE SEEN YOU!’ Papyrus ignored Flowey’s response as he greeted him excitedly. ‘I HAVE HEARD THAT ASGORE IS NOW TAKING CARE OF YOU, BUT I HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY VISITED YOU HERE BEFORE.’
‘That’s because I don’t like visitors. I got him to keep me indoors so I don’t need to see anyone.” Flowey still looked annoyed, but sounded much less grumpy. As much as he hated it, he could not help having a soft spot for Papyrus, especially since the skeleton seemed so delighted to see him.
‘WHY ARE YOU NOT OUTSIDE, JOINING US ON THE PICNIC?’
‘I told you I don’t like visitors, idiot, I’m not gonna go out and I’m not gonna meet anyone.’ Flowey pouted, ‘Look, if you want to find your precious Frisk, they’re in the greenhouse.’ He pointed a leaf towards the greenhouse outside the window, ‘I saw them run in there about 10 minutes ago. Besides, that’s where they always hide if they start acting up whenever they come over to visit d-Asgore.’
‘THANK YOU, FLOWEY. I SHALL TALK TO YOU LATER.’ Papyrus, after flashing Flowey a grateful smile, immediately leaned over, threw open the window, and leaped out by vaulting over the window seat. Flowey shrieked.
‘Use the door next time!!” he heard Flowey’s yell behind him as he headed over to the greenhouse.
Papyrus pushed open the door of the greenhouse, and peeked in. Warm air wafted out of the door, but the greenhouse was completely silent. “FRISK?” he called out.
He heard a soft shuffling noise, like someone moving their feet slightly upon being startled. He headed into the greenhouse, searching around quickly, and finally found Frisk as they were in the act of trying to hide behind several large burlap sacks.
‘AH, THERE YOU ARE FRISK!’ he said cheerfully, holding out one hand, ‘COME ON, EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR YOU. DON’T YOU WANT TO…’ He stopped when he noticed Frisk’s wide-eyed, terrified expression. They were clutching their head with one hand, while holding out another hand with their palm facing towards Papyrus as if to stop him from getting any closer. For a moment it looked like they were about to speak, but instead they stopped themself, and began signing frantically.
(Not now. I’ll join the picnic later. Please let me be.)
‘ARE YOU ALRIGHT, FRISK? YOU SEEM TO BE IN PAIN. SHALL I CALL TORIEL OVER TO…’
‘ Leave. ’
Papyrus retracted his hand, recoiling his entire body from Frisk. That did not sound like Frisk’s voice. It had the same childish ring to it, but was much harsher, colder in tone. Frisk, for a moment, had a horrible look on their face. A wide grin, large glinting eyes. The look very quickly faded as they began to act even more frantic and terrified, hiding their face from Papyrus, keeping their eyes shut tightly, and wildly tried to wave him away.
‘Please go.’ This was said in a much softer tone, and sounded more like the Frisk he was used to. Feeling utterly confused, and perhaps just a bit frightened, Papyrus reluctantly obeyed, taking a few steps back while keeping his eyesockets trained on Frisk, before turning and quickly heading out of the greenhouse.
As he was closing the greenhouse door, it dawned upon him that he really shouldn’t have left Frisk. What scared him so much? Frisk’s voice? Sure, it sounded more malicious than usual, which did not fit Frisk at all, but maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe they were just sick but didn’t want to worry Toriel about it. He frowned as much as his permanent grin would let him. Something still bothered him, a faded memory, a fragment of something he couldn’t quite recall, or maybe didn’t want to recall. It nagged at him. That face, that voice. He knew who it belonged to, or at least, he felt like he should know, but just couldn’t remember. He had seen it before, that nasty, sadistic grin. Plastered on a face, shuffling over towards him in the snow, hands clutching something, covered in dust, a quick slash, pain across his neck, so cold…
‘Didn’t you find them in there?’ called Flowey, peering out at him from the window he left open. His usual false grin was on his face, but his expression was completely unreadable.
‘YES. I DID. THEY SEEM PRETTY SICK. I’M NOT FAMILIAR WITH HUMAN ILLNESSES SO I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS WRONG. I AM ABOUT TO CALL TORIEL OVER TO…’
‘You’ve been standing by the door for a really long time,’ Flowey interjected, tilting his head slightly, ‘Just staring into space, with a blank expression.’ Blank, and with a strange glint in one of his eye sockets, but Flowey did not want to tell him that, ‘Something on your mind?’
Papyrus tried to answer, but he didn’t quite know what to say. Now that he thought about it, he had seen that expression on Frisk’s face, but not recently. It felt like years ago, a lifetime ago. But that was impossible. He had just met Frisk six months ago, when they were still traversing the Underground before the monsters were freed. They never made an expression like that during the time he spent with them, and they never spoke in that odd voice before (then again they didn’t speak at all while Underground). However, it still felt like, a long time ago, he had seen it…
‘Papyrus! You’re doing it again!’ Flowey said in exasperation, although he felt partially worried over the strange blank expression Papyrus kept getting. Papyrus shook his head, turning back to face Flowey, still unable to speak. ‘Look,’ Flowey continued, ‘If you really want to know what’s bothering Frisk, I can tell you, but I’m not sure if your naive mind can even grasp something this complicated.’
There was a change in Papyrus’ expression when Flowey said that, but that expression was gone as quickly as it appeared, although Flowey was almost certain that it was a look of pain. Flowey felt a pang of guilt for insulting Papyrus by calling him naïve. After all, he never enjoyed being called naïve, back when he was still Asriel. They always liked to call him naïve, and while they claimed they were simply joking, it still hurt.
‘Fine, idiot, I’ll tell you later, maybe after the picnic or something.’ He paused as he saw the greenhouse door being pushed open, and Frisk peering out nervously, ‘Although I think Frisk should be the one telling you this. They really shouldn’t be keeping dangerous secrets to themself, it’s going to destroy them from the inside sooner or later.’ He raised his voice just loud enough for Frisk to hear, prompting Frisk to gaze at him in exasperation.
Papyrus whirled around, his demeanour and expression changing suddenly, going from sullen and brooding to bubbly and cheerful. Flowey noted that the change seemed much too quick, almost forced. ‘FRISK!’ he said jauntily, ‘YOU WERE IN THAT GREENHOUSE FOR QUITE A LONG TIME, I HAD NO IDEA HUMANS USED GREENHOUSES AS BATHROOMS.’ Flowey frowned, that was a lie, Papyrus came into the house looking for Frisk first, he clearly knew where the bathroom was, why was he lying to Frisk like this? Frisk, however, did not seem to notice, and just smiled, ‘WE SHOULD HEAD BACK TO JOIN THE PICNIC, MS TORIEL AND THE REST OF OUR FRIENDS MUST BE FRANTICALLY WORRIED BY NOW.’ He held out a hand to Frisk, who promptly took his hand.
Before he led them away, however, he said to Flowey, still in a loud voice, but much softer and gentler than the voice he usually used, ‘I SHALL ASK YOU ABOUT THIS AFTER THE PICNIC.’ He turned back to look at Frisk, ‘DO NOT WORRY, FRISK. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT REVEALING WHAT IS BOTHERING YOU, YOU DON’T NEED TO TELL ME. I’LL JUST ASK FLOWEY ABOUT YOUR CONDITION.’ Frisk look horrified, and shook their head desperately at Flowey.
Flowey made a face at them, sticking out his tongue, ‘Yeah, sure, whatever. Just came back here once the picnic is over.’ He proceeded to slam the window shut with his vines, and drew the curtains.
Frisk gazed up at Papyrus, looking dejected. Papyrus’ grin faded a little, as he gently patted them on their shoulder. ‘I AM SORRY, FRISK, BUT I MUST FIND A WAY TO HELP YOU, EVEN IF YOU WON’T LET ME. THAT CHANGE IN YOU…BACK AT THE GREENHOUSE…I DON’T THINK THAT WAS A GOOD THING. AS SOON AS I KNOW ABOUT THE PROBLEM YOU ARE FACING, I SHALL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ONCE THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ON THE CASE.
Frisk sighed, realizing that nothing would change the skeleton’s mind, and simply allowed themself to be led back to the picnic table, wondering what excuse they should give Toriel this time about why they ran off so abruptly.